CANNED COLESLAW, ANOTHER PICKLED WONDER.

Just a month or so ago, I posted a story and a recipe for Boston steamed bread. At the time I said that, with just three items on your survival menu, you could be substantially healthy and full. Those items were: steamed bread, coleslaw, and baked beans. And what made this a survival no-brainer was that all three could be stocked on your pantry shelf. Sure, you would need to do some foot (and hand) work, by either buying these as "regular", manufactured products or canning the foods yourself. This post talks about canned coleslaw, something that you may not have heard of or suspected wasn't even possible. But, of course, it is - more than possible, and it's easy to make.

Cabbage is healthy food.

Now, some of you may either like or dislike sauerkraut. Well, that's a close cousin to the canned coleslaw. The ingredients are just about the same. The difference is that sauerkraut is a fermented food, and canned coleslaw is a lot more like the freshly made side dish that fried chicken, fried fish, and hot dog lovers crave. Beyond that, cabbage, whatever form it's served up in, is cheap, healthy, and available almost any time during the year. In my book, that easily makes it a miracle food. And, for people who really like coleslaw, like I do, having canned coleslaw on the shelf is a tempting idea.

Here's a tip. One way, I've heard of, to get into the canning mode is to make it a social event by organizing a canning group. You get with a few friends to plan, buy, and process some food item together. That helps you overcome some of the inertia involved in trying out a different canning experience. And there may be several reasons that you haven't yet tried out a new canned item, including relatively ignorance of canning procedures, the need to buy a quantity of ingredients that might surpass your canning desires or capacity to store, or just the need for some company in order to undertake what seems to be a huge task. A canning group can help.

I’m including a recipe, and almost all the recipes for canned coleslaw are simple and have the same ingredients. . After all, it is regular coleslaw - minus the mayonnaise. And most everyone agrees that the canned coleslaw turns out every bit as crisp as the freshly made kind. It's pickled on the sweet side, and that's a traditional way - adding acidified syrup to low acid veggies. The result is really pickled cabbage, and it makes great coleslaw. It maintains its crunch, and you could eat it straight from the jar. But that's a lot of pickling syrup. So, you'll probably prefer to drain it well and mix it with mayo. And it can be thrown together in just a minute for a picnic or a potluck dinner.

Coleslaw Recipe for Canning (or Freezing)
1 medium head cabbage
1 large carrot
1 green or red sweet pepper (optional)
1/2 medium onion (optional)
1 tablespoon salt

For the brine syrup
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, celery seeds, or dill weed (optional)
1 teaspoon mustard seeds

Cut finely or shred the vegetables into a big pot. Add the salt. Let stand 1 hour. Drain
water and rinse twice. Then drain again.
Boil syrup ingredients together for a couple of minutes. Make sure you completely melt the sugar and the syrup is clear.

Add the syrup to the vegetables and pack into pint jars. Remove any bubbles that form using a spatula. Process jars in boiling water for 20 minutes. If you're not sure about the canning process, you can pack the slaw into freezer containers and put it in the freezer where it's good for up to a year.

This food is good tasting as is (as pickled cabbage). Or, for the traditional coleslaw taste, it should be drained and mayonnaise added just before serving. That’s what makes canned coleslaw an entirely portable food for a picnic, despite the heat. You carry the unopened can with you and do the final touches to your coleslaw just before meal time.

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ROASTED VEGETABLE SOUP IS A MEDLEY OF SUMMER ABUNDANCE

As humble as it may be, I’m singing the praises of roasted vegetable soup. So, taking from the summer abundance theme, it’s time to make a really delicious vegetable soup. This soup has something for everybody – healthy nutrition, weight control properties and great flavor for the “I’m-all-for-taste” food lovers. And, don’t let anyone fool you; consuming cold foods in the hottest months is not necessarily the best way to reduce body heat. On the contrary, eating hot foods whenit's hot outside is actually an age-old remedy. People in tropical countries know this best - the sweat created from eating hot foods, like soups, causes the body to cool off - not heat up. Of course, the cooks in the kitchen who are making the soup may be hot and sweaty for a part of an hour. But, then again, they, too, in a short time can enjoy a delectable soup.

To give you further evidence supporting my enthusiasm for vegetable soup, I’ll tell you about two excellent  articles that, in my opinion, are well worth reading.

The first article, “Still Counting Calories? Your Weight-Loss Plan May Be Outdated”, summarizes a 20-year nutrition and weight study that involved 120,000 men and women from the health professions. All participants were healthy and not overweight when the study began. The lifestyle factors looked at were: diet, exercise, sleep, TV watching, smoking and alcohol consumption. Results showed that the average weight gain was about 20 pounds in 20 years. But not everybody gained so much weight. The study shows that what was eaten made more difference than the number of calories consumed. While physical activity was another factor for increased weight, it still had less effect than eating the right kinds of foods.

As might be imagined, the foods that led the list of “bad” foods – more pounds gained - were, in order: French fries, potato chips, and sugar-sweetened drinks, followed by red meats and processed meats, other forms of potatoes, sweets and desserts, refined grains, other fried foods, 100-% fruit juice, and butter. The “good” foods – those that added fewer pounds –  also not surprisingly, were: fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Study participants who lost the most weight consumed 3.1 more servings of vegetables each day. Greatest weight loss was among people who ate more yogurt and nuts, including peanut butter. Consumption of dairy products, other than butter and yogurt, didn’t affect weight gain, one way or another. Apparently, the “good” foods were not only filling but seemed to help in maintaining proper body metabolism. Also, one glass of wine a day had no important effect while other types of alcohol in even modest quantities added pounds. Smoking lowered weight gain slightly. Of course, smoking is still a bad idea because of its role as a cause of disease.

The second article, titled: " How Soup Can Help You Lose Weight" tells how a diet emphasizing soup helps tame the appetite and control weight. As an example, this article reports that eating a moderate-size plate of chicken and vegetables with a glass of water keeps the stomach full for a couple of hours. But then hunger kicks in. On the other hand, if you blend the food with the water in a hot soup, you’ll stay hunger-free for three or more hours and, therefore, less likely to be snacking in a short time. Is it magic? Well, sort of. (It's body magic. Or soup magic, I'm not sure which.) Scientists have documented these differences with ultrasounds and MRI scans of people's stomachs.  Apparently, water passes straight to the intestines because the brain considers the solids as the only "real" food. In some surprising way, the brain takes all the soup as one quantity to be digested and holds it there longer. (By the way, the brain treats sugary drinks like plain water not like soups.) So, while commercial foods and pharmaceutical companies are striving to find ways to control appetite at a good profit, of course, the simplest way to avoid hunger pangs is to blend solid food with water in a healthy, hearty soup. And, here’s the best part, vegetable soup is as good at curbing appetite as either chicken or fish soup and usually lower in calories.

So, in keeping with our summer abundance theme, let's use all that fresh food from our gardens and at farmers markets to make nutritious soups. And, if just about any vegetable-based soup is good, oven roasted veggies keep more flavor than boiled ones, and that makes a good soup doubly delicious. Everyone will ask for more and why not? At a total of about 150 calories per bowl, no one will have to feel bad about asking for seconds. Of course, it will be even more filling and just a few more calories topped with a couple of tablespoons of plain yogurt or accompanied by a small amount of whole grain bread or crackers with cheese or hummus.

And if all this isn’t enough to make you start your Meatless Mondays, ASAP, please don’t read any further. But, if you’re more than convinced than ever that a vegetarian or mostly vegetarian diet is the way to go, keep on reading and take note of this sure-to-please recipe.

Recipe for Roasted Vegetable Soup

4 medium tomatoes, halved

1-cup green beans, stringed but uncut

3 medium carrots, halved
2-3 medium zucchini, squash or eggplant, halved or quartered
Small amount of olive oil - to taste
3 garlic cloves, finely minced

4 cups vegetable stock or 4 cups water with 2 consume cubes (can be vegetable or chicken)

1-cup fresh spinach

2 tbsp. parsley or cilantro, finely chopped 

½ tsp. paprika or chili pepper

Salt (sea salt is best) and black pepper to taste

Optional: ½ tsp. basil or thyme

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Place the veggies in an ovenproof pan or dish. Toss lightly with oil to coat the vegetables. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove pan from oven, add garlic and toss. Return veggies to oven and bake for another 15 minutes or so until the vegetables are lightly browned.

If oven baking is more than you can stand in the hottest time of the year, roast veggies the Mexican way on a comal (or any heavy grill pan you have on hand). Place veggies on the hot grill pan with a light brushing of oil (or none at all) and turn occasionally until browned - but not burned.

When the veggies are nicely roasted, take them out and put them in a large pot. Add vegetable stock, paprika, spinach, a bit more oil if you like, parsley or cilantro and other seasonings. Simmer at medium heat for about a half hour, stirring from time to time. Don’t overcook it. Optional thickening can be done with a small amount of cornmeal or a couple of tablespoons of blended beans or peas. Or, if you like, you can mush the veggies up some or put the soup through a blender and then return it to the pot. Any way you want to serve it, this soup will be good and filling.

 

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FIVE COMMON FOODS THAT CAN CURE YOUR AILMENTS.

Some home remedies are already in your kitchen
Some simple foods, found in most kitchens, are not only culinary geniuses but also can be home remedies for your ailments. Maybe we don’t know exactly how these foods cure, but all of them, especially when combined in the diet, tend to detoxify the body and strengthen the immune system. That’s a great start toward health. So, why not give them a trial to see if they help your complaints? Since they’re common foods, none of them are likely to hurt you. They’re also items that won’t stretch your grocery budget. And, with their frequent dietary use, you may be pleasantly surprised to find that you need a lot fewer doctor visits.

This is the short list of nothing less than five miracle-foods: APPLE CIDER VINEGAR - GARLIC – HONEY – CINNAMON - ROSEMARY

VINEGAR (Especially, apple cider vinegar)
Vinegar in any of its forms is a tasty and healthy ingredient in cooking. Throughout the ages, vinegar has been indispensable in the kitchen as a food flavoring, preservative, and medicine. In more recent times, scientists have evaluated how vinegar burns fat, reduces cholesterol and increases vitality. As an effective detox for the blood stream, vinegar is linked with healthy kidneys, bladder, and liver.

While wine and balsamic vinegars are great tasting, apple cider vinegar ia a lot cheaper than some of the more “fashionable” vinegars. And apples are among the most health-giving fruits available as they contain a many valuable minerals such as potassium and magnesium. All of the goodness in apples is found in apple cider vinegar. Cider vinegar helps the blood to flow more freely instead of becoming thick and pasty, a condition that leads to high blood pressure.

GARLIC
Garlic is a pungent bulb that has been used as a medicine as far back as 5000 years in ancient Sumeria. Called Russian penicillin, garlic can help treat respiratory infections and prevent heart disease and cancer. Somewhat like onions, garlic is a wonder food rich in powerful sulphur compounds, chromium, beta-carotene, vitamins B and C, potassium and selenium. Garlic in the diet helps fight infection and reduces cholesterol levels and cancer risk. It also stabilizes blood pressure.

COMBINED GARLIC AND VINEGAR
Combining garlic and vinegar in the diet isn't a new idea. Both ingredients have been in use together for centuries as both food additives and medicines. According to traditional sources equal parts garlic and vinegar is good for health maintenance and medical use. Taking 2 to 4 teaspoons of the mixture after each meal helps to fight off many different diseases. Also, using both garlic and vinegar for cooking and as a salad dressing is a good idea. But, cooking any of these miraculous foods causes the loss of some health benefits.

HONEY
Honey is a natural sweetener, prepared by the bees from the nectars of various plants. It’s a great source of energy, containing about 69% glucose and fructose and providing 64 calories per tablespoon. It has occupied a outstanding role in traditional medicine throughout human history.

Honey contains a variety of vitamins and minerals. It’s good for your skin and has anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. Traditionally, it has been used as a treatment for wounds, burns and ulcers. Honey contains antioxidants that improve body immunity, including respiratory health. It can also help prevent cancer and control cholesterol levels. In a series of experiments involving patients with type-two diabetes, honey proved itself to be the healthiest sweetener.

CINNAMON
Cinnamon is a tasty spice, obtained from the inner bark of several trees native to South East Asia. It’s medicinal value has been known from antiquity. This spice has antimicrobial action, can settle an upset stomach, and is even a remedy for diabetes. Apparently, cinnamon assists the body in the use of insulin. People with type-two diabetes achieved significantly lower blood sugar by taking just 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon every day. Cinnamon can also help to maintain a healthy weight. Since it stabilizes blood sugar, it helps control the glucose spikes that trigger the hunger cravings.

ROSEMARY
This flavorsome herb is also known as the Pilgrims Flower. It’s a member of the mint family, and it's associated with increased blood supply to the brain and with long life. It contains a particular antioxidant that works well with your immune system to block allergy triggers. If you find you’re sneezing from allergies or your joints are stiff, rosemary in your cooking can be a good tonic.

Drinking rosemary tea is a remedy for headaches and migraine. Just adding a couple of teaspoons of rosemary to a pint of boiled water. Remove from the heat and steep for 10 minutes. Then strain and drink.

TRY WHIPPING UP A COMBINATION OF ALL FIVE MIRACLES.
If you’re like me, it’s not always easy to do complicated cooking preparations – above and beyond what we have to do each day to put nutritious food on the table. And, then, there’s the problem to remember to take medicinal concoctions at intervals during the day. So I’ll share with you a recipe that goes well with our everyday menus and is easy to make. It’s a salad dressing that combines all five of these miracle foods. Use it one or more times a day on green salads and vegetables.

Five-Food Miracle Vinaigrette Dressing
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (organic is best)
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tsps. honey (raw honey is better)
3 cloves crushed garlic
1/2 tsp. crushed rosemary (fresh rosemary is better)
1/2 tsp. powdered cinnamon
Season to taste with salt and pepper.

The oil, vinegar, and honey can be combined with a blender or whisk. The result you want is to combine the oil, honey, and vinegar to get an emulsion (this is where the vinegar and honey separate and become suspended in the oil). After emulsion, whisk or stir in the seasonings. This dressing can be used safely for up to a week if it’s stored in a glass container with a tight lid and kept in the refrigerator.

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