Rice Milk 101

If this isn’t easy, I don’t know what is.
This is how you make rice milk:
Step 1: rinse 1 cup of brown rice.
Step 2: put rinsed rice in blender.
Step 3: add 2 cups water.
Step 4: blend.
Step 5: strain milk.
Step 6: drink.

Over the past few months, I have been considering getting off the soy wagon. The research and information that is surfacing about to the health food industry’s little darling, reveals that it may not be as virtuous as once believed.

As with the issue of cow’s milk, I don’t want to go heavily into the details, as this is purely a personal choice. In addition, the research I’ve explored isn’t exactly from non-biased sources, and although very interesting, I don’t feel comfortable making sweeping statements that I can’t back up.
So, I did a little research of my own, and it is evidence enough.
To be frank, for the past several months, my premenstrual syndrome has been rather, ahem, out of hand. I’ve been suffering from all the classics: serious, devil-possessed mood swings, cramps, swollen everything, and being a holistic nutritionist I know that this is a sign of a major imbalance. After picking up my usual container of soymilk a while back, it hit me like a ton of tofu bricks: could this estrogen-mimicking legume be the source of my suffering? I’ve been hitting the carton pretty hard since moving to Denmark, for there is a serious lack of alternative vegetarian protein sources available such as hemp, spirulina, and bee pollen. In an attempt to keep my protein levels where they need to be, I’ve been drinking and eating more soy products than usual. Everything in moderation they say…I have been punished.

So, since I’ve put the kibosh on soy, a miraculous thing has occurred: the PMS has improved significantly, so much so, that my last monthly bill came by complete surprise, instead of sending me the oh-so-unsubtle signals of irrational crying spells and painfully bloated breasts. Too much?



Rice milk is a very simple and inexpensive thing to make, and in my opinion, better than soy. It is not a good source of protein, so it should not substitute protein foods in your diet. However, I think rice milk would be very helpful for those transitioning from dairy milk to non-dairy milk.

To the instructions that I’ve listed above, I will add the following:

- Add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon of honey to the rice while blending. You can even add vanilla, stevia, agave nectar, or make chocolate rice milk by throwing in some cocoa powder.

- Use the finest strainer you can find to separate the rice grits from the milk. Alternatively, you can purchase rice and nut milk bags at health food stores, which are made of fine-mesh fabric, designed specifically for this purpose.


- Keep rice milk in a sterilized, sealed glass container for up to four days. Shake before use.

- Wondering what to do with those rice grits? Use them to make rice porridge for breakfast: simply cover the grits with water, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer with cinnamon and raisins until the water is absorbed. Then add rice milk. Waste not, want not!

Mustard to Relish

If you’ve lived in Toronto at any point in your life, you will have heard of Pusateri’s Fine Foods. It’s a very upscale grocery store that sells gourmet everything; even the toilet paper is special.
Seeing as it is so very close to my house, I sometimes find myself in there, roaming the seductive, dimly-lit aisles just to check out all the things I can’t afford, but like to salivate over. I know that one day, I too will be able to purchase the $130 bottle of balsamic vinegar di Modena, just like the woman dripping with diamonds, except that I will still be happily wearing my moccasins from Value Village and my dad’s flannel shirt. I digress…
One of the things that always captures my imagination is the mustard aisle. How can there be so many different varieties and so many flavours? Honey mustard, Dijon mustard, whole grain, curry mustard, merlot mustard, tequila mustard, tropical mango mustard, and…I’m not kidding, red raspberry wasabi mustard. I saw it with my own eyes. With the prices just about as outrageous as the aromas, I wonder how such a humble seed could cost so much money. This leads me to my next penny-pinching culinary adventure: DIY gourmet mustard. For less than a dollar, you can have a jar of home-made mustard that will knock the socks off any of those derisory Dijons.

A word on the health benefits of mustard
You didn’t think you were getting away with just the recipe, did you? This must be your first time here.
The unique healing properties of mustard seeds can partly be attributed to their home among the Brassica foods found in the cruciferous plant family. Remember those? I wrote about them here.
Like other Brassicas, mustard seeds contain plentiful amounts of phytonutrients called isothiocyanates, which have been repeatedly studied for their anti-cancer effects. In animal studies - and particularly in studies involving the gastrointestinal tract and colorectal cancer - intake of isothiocyanates has been shown to inhibit growth of existing cancer cells and to be protective against the formation of such cells.
Mustard seeds are also a very good source of selenium, a nutrient which has been shown to help reduce the severity of asthma, decrease some of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis, and help prevent cancer. They also qualified as a good source of magnesium. Like selenium, magnesium has been shown to help reduce the severity of asthma, to lower high blood pressure, to restore normal sleep patterns in women having difficulty with the symptoms of menopause, to reduce the frequency of migraine attacks, and to prevent heart attack in patients suffering from atherosclerosis or diabetic heart disease.



Mustard seeds are even a very good source of omega-3 fatty acids! Wow! They also contain considerable amounts of iron, calcium, zinc, manganese, magnesium, protein, niacin and dietary fiber.

Commercial mustards, even expensive ones often contain sulfites; nasty preservatives that I wrote about in this post.
Making your own mustard will obviously help you avoid this unwanted addition.
Mustard is also a great condiment choice for people watching their waistlines. While it is very flavourful, mustard is low in calories and fat, compared to hefty mayonnaise, and ketchup, which is loaded with sugar.

Okay, now to the good stuff.
This recipe is for one very hot mustard. You can omit the black mustard seeds if you prefer something milder, but even the yellow seeds produce a potent condiment, not for the faint of heart. If you have ever been to France, this is the equivalent of their grocery store mustard, but in North America we're used to the bright yellow stuff that graces ballpark franks, which this is certianly not. Be warned.
I found that the flavour of the mustard was slightly bitter right after I blended it, but this disipated after a couple days or so, and then became a full-bodied, eye-opener. Enjoy!

DIY Gourmet Mustard
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp. yellow mustard seeds (mild flavour)
2 Tbsp. black mustard seeds (spicy flavour)
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar (I used just apple cider vinegar, it’s much healthier!)
1 tsp. sweetener (agave, honey, maple syrup)
½ tsp. sea salt
1 ½ tsp. grated onion
¼ tsp. ground pepper

Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients and refrigerate overnight (or for 12 hours) to allow the mustard seeds to soften and absorb the flavours.
2. Place mixture in blender and mix on high for a minute or two, until the seeds have broken and the mustard thickens.
3. Transfer contents to a clean jar and enjoy!
This will keep for about 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

You can add any flavours that you want to this basic recipe. Try fresh herbs like dill, tarragon, or thyme. How about a clove of garlic? Dried fruits? Horseradish? It’s up to you! You can find mustard seeds at some grocery stores, but health food stores will certainly have them in stock. Try to find organic to ensure that the seeds have not been irradiated.
So get creative and start making your very own gourmet mustard today. You will relish every bite.

information resource: whfoods.com

Holy Moley, Bread

Now that you have mastered milling your own flour, you’re ready to put that beautiful, nutritionally dense, flavourful stuff to good use.
This recipe hails from the Bible. That’s right the from good ol’ word of God to straight to your bread board, this loaf is packed with healthy whole grains and high-protein legumes – it’s like a meal in itself! They really knew what they were doing back in those days.
This is the very same bread that is said to have kept Ezekiel alive in the desert for two years. You think I’m kidding around? Here is the scripture taken from Ezekiel 4:9 - “Take thou also unto thee wheat, and barley, and beans, and lentils, and millet, and spelt, and put them in one vessel, and make thee bread thereof; according to the number of the days that thou shalt lie upon thy side, even three hundred and ninety days, shalt thou eat thereof.” So there.

The amazing this about this bread is that when these six grains and legumes are combined, they create a complete protein that closely parallels the protein found in milk and eggs! There are 18 amino acids present in this unique bread, including all 9 of the essential ones, from exclusively vegetable sources – naturally balanced in nature.

A word about Complete Proteins
Protein is essential for many bodily processes, including building and repairing tissue. You use protein to make enzymes, hormones, and other body chemicals. It is an important building block of bones, muscles, cartilage, skin, blood, hair and nails.
Protein is made of smaller components called amino acids, 12 of which are manufactured by the human body. Another 9, called essential amino acids, must be obtained from food.
A complete protein or whole protein is a protein that contains all of the essential amino acids. These can be found in animal foods such as red meat, poultry, seafood, eggs, and dairy. The vegetarian sources of complete proteins include soy, spirulina, hemp seeds and quinoa.

Since most vegetarian foods do not contain all nine essential amino acids, foods must be combined to cover the entire spectrum, otherwise a deficiency will occur. Traditional combinations include beans with rice or corn, beans and grains, beans and nuts, and grains and beans, which all form complete proteins. When you eat hummus and pita, nut butter on whole grain bread, pasta with beans, lentil stew with rice, you are eating complete proteins. It is essential for vegan and vegetarians to pay close attention to combinations of foods so that they obtain all the essential amino acids and stay healthy!
The good news is these foods don't necessarily need to be eaten at the same time in order to be used by the body to build protein, as once was thought. Recent studies show that the body has an amino acid “pool” with about a 24-hour window. The beans you ate for lunch and the rice you had with dinner will make a complete protein once digested, and your finely-tuned-machine-of-a-body will assemble the amino acids for you, without you giving any it further thought. Incredible!

Here’s the recipe for Ezekiel bread. I am telling you, this is not a loaf of Wonderbread, people, this is the real deal. God does not fool around. If you don’t like heavy breads, don’t make this. If you cannot find wheat berries or spelt berries, buy the flour pre-milled. Everything else should be right on your grocer’s shelf.

The next time I make this recipe, I will bake half the dough and freeze the remainder since the loaf is rather large.

Ezekiel Bread
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups wheat berries
1 1/2 cups spelt berries
1/2 cup barley
1/2 cup millet
1/4 cup dry green lentils
2 tablespoons dry kidney beans
2 tablespoons dried pinto beans
2 tablespoons dry Great Northern beans (if you cannot find these, use 1 extra tablespoon each kidney and pinto beans)
3 Tbsp. yeast
1 Tbsp. sea salt
2 cups warm water



Directions:
1. Begin by milling the wheat berries. Place in blender and process until the flour stops falling into the center of the container. Sift to desired texture. Set aside. This should yield about 2 cups wheat flour
2. Combine all other grains and legumes in blender and process until the flour stops falling into the center of the container. Sift to desired texture. This should yield about 3 cups of flour.
3. In a large bowl, mix water and yeast until dissolved. Add 3 cups of the grain and legume flour and mix by hand 500 times (or a lot).
4. Add 2 cups of wheat flour and mix until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.
5. Drop dough onto a floured board and knead for approximately 5 minutes.
6. To make a braided loaf, which was the traditional shape used in Biblical times, form a ball with the dough and slice into 3 pieces, and then form these into “snakes” (see photograph). Pinch dough at top and braid to the bottom.
7. Let this rise in a warm place for about an hour.
8. Preheat oven to 350F. Once heated, place bread on a baking stone or baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake for 30-35 minutes.
9. Break bread with loved ones, eat and enjoy.
Few things are more satisfying than baking bread, especially when you know exactly where your ingredients come from. This is an exceptionally healthy bread, the way they it used to be eaten, so bake a loaf today and have a holy moment. Lordy, it’s a good thing.

p.s. If you still haven't gotten around to making hazelnut butter, you'll be really sorry when this hot loaf of bread comes out of the oven.

It's Miller Time

So, I’ve just discovered something amazing.

You can mill flour. At home. In your blender.

For years I’ve known that buying flour pre-ground in the store as opposed to making your own, is like eating frozen TV dinners instead of having your grandmother cook you up a delicious Salisbury steak. Okay, strange example, but you get the picture. Moving on.

Why mill you own flour anyway?
I think that the number one reason you should grind your own grain flours is for the health benefits. All commercially made grain flours have had the germ removed. This is the part of the grain that contains the majority of the nutrition, since it is the part that allows the seed to germinate. Without the healthy oils, vitamins and minerals that make up the germ, the (dead) flour can happily sit on the shelf for months or even years and still be edible.
In addition, when flour is milled, the bran or “shell” of the grain is broken, leaving the insides exposed, causing the loss of vital nutrients and oxidization of fats. Ever noticed how right after you peel and apple, it starts to turn brown? The delicate, vulnerable interior of a grain goes through the same degradation process and almost as quickly.
Whole Wheat in fact, loses 45% of it's nutrients within the first 24 hours after it has been milled, and by the time 72 hours has passed it has lost a whopping 90%! That is 90% of the original nutritional value of a very wholesome grain that does not make it in to your body. Is it any wonder we have to take nutritional supplements?
Milling your own flour ensures that you preserve the grains’ vital nutrients for your consumption since you will use it immediately.

The second reason is flavour. The taste of the flour I made myself actually tastes like something. Even the “good flour” I used to buy at health food stores, never tasted this good, and often they were dry and sometimes tasted bitter (this indicated rancidity!) With home milled flour my bread is moister and has a wonderful fresh and nutty taste that comes from the inclusion of the germ.

Finally, grinding your own flours can give you access to flours that you might not be able to get otherwise. For example, spelt flour or kamut flour can be hard to find in a regular supermarket. However, finding the whole grain is often easier as whole grains keep a very long time and so are easier for stores to carry. Also, these specialty flours are cheaper when ground at home. A pound of spelt grain is much cheaper than a pound of spelt flour assuming you can find it. Also, you have control over how much you have on hand, how fine or course it is ground, etc. For those that are gluten-sensitive or intolerant, you can even make high-protein flours from beans and lentils. I baked a loaf of bread from all the grains in the photograph at the top of this post. It's a meal in itself, I guarantee!

How to become a Genuine Miller
Most people don’t believe that they can grind flour in their home blender (isn’t it only good for making milkshakes?), but it’s true – even a very cheap one, like mine, can get the job done. All you have to do is add enough grain so that it doesn’t just fly around inside the container. If you add at least 2 cups of grain, the weight of it will keep the kernels down around the blades.

1. Place at least 2 cups of the grain (or legume) of your choice (wheat, kamut, spelt, barley, quinoa, rice, millet, lentil, chick pea…) in a blender.
2. Turn the blender on high and watch the show. The grain will continue to ground finer and finer, and it will rise up the sides of the blender. You will know that is finished grinding when the flour stops falling into the center of the centrifuge.
3. Remove flour from blender and sift according to your preferences. I used a rather large-holed sieve because I like eating grainy bread, but I recognize not everyone shares my love of sand-textured baked goods. If you like a lighter flour, use a fine-mesh sieve. You can see the grit that comes out of the flour in the photograph. I actually saved these and sprinkled them on top of the bread I baked, but the birds love that stuff too, if you don’t.

That’s it. I wish it were more complicated and impressive, but now you really have no excuses to keep buying dead, nutritionally void store-bought flour.
Stayed tuned for the next post when I will walk you through baking a loaf of bread, step-by-step, made with flour that you milled all by yourself. Even your blender will be flabbergasted.