Cinnamon Apple Scones

More baking with my local grains. Today I made these scones.



Cinnamon Apple Scones
I found these really quick and easy to make using my food processor. If you don't have one, just cut the butter into the flours using a pastry cutter or two knives, and grate the apple with a hand grater.

2 cups soft whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1/2 cup Khorasan wheat flour (or whole wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup natural granulated sugar (evap. cane juice)
6 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter or nonhydrogenated margarine)
2/3 cup plain yogurt (dairy or nondairy)
1 large baking apple, coarsely chopped or grated

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet.

Put the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, and butter in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture looks like course crumbs. Add the yogurt and pulse to mix. Pour the dough into a bowl. Core and slice the apples (I use one of those hand apple slicer-corer things.) Place the apples in the food processor. Pulse to chop. Add the chopped apples to the dough and knead them gently into the dough. Form the dough into a disk and place on prepared baking sheet. Press it into a 9-inch circle. Use a sharp knife to score the dough into 8 wedges. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Place on wire rack and cool 5 minutes before serving. These are best warm but if you save them, you can heat in a toaster oven before eating. They can also be frozen.

Local Grain CSA

Well this is exciting. We now have a local grain CSA here on the Central Coast of California. It's called With The Grain and run by John DeRosier in Paso Robles. Every two weeks I'll get a box with an assortment of local grains. My first box contained hard winter wheat flour, spelt flour, soft white wheat flour, Khorasan wheat flour, rolled oats, and cracked millet.

We had the cracked millet cooked into a porridge for breakfast Friday. We often have whole millet porridge but this cooks a lot faster and was creamy and delicious. This weekend, my daughters and I made some bread using the recipe from Laurel's Bread Book. We used a combination of the winter wheat and spelt flours and made one plain loaf and one cinnamon raisin. Both were absolutely delicious!

The Importance of Libraries

I usually stick to food related topics but libraries are very important to me and, I believe, important to the citizens of the United States.

President Obama’s new budget proposal to congress calls for a freeze to federal library funding. Freezing funding to public libraries that are already suffering from budget cuts will negatively impact so many people who are relying on the library more and more as a source of information, education, job search assistance, and entertainment. This is the place where those of us suffering in this down economy get so many of our needs met for free. It is vital that libraries are able to provide the materials and personnel needed to serve the public.

In addition, funds for school libraries need to be included in his plan. When school budgets are cut, libraries are often one of the first areas affected. This is bad for students, as well as teachers. School librarians are essential for teaching students to become independent library users—able to find and evaluate information. Librarians are also essential for increasing student literacy. Librarians encourage kids to read and help them find books that fit their interests and reading levels. The school library is the place where students can find that one book that turns them into lifelong lovers of reading.

Please write or call the White House, and ask President Obama to amend the budget proposal to support and sustain public and school libraries.

New study on GM corn

A recent study published in the International Journal of Biological Sciences, showed that three GM corn varieties may have serious health effects. Monsanto corn NK 603, MON 810, and MON 863 were fed to rats for 90 days--the longest in vivo test performed with mammals for GMOs. The analysis showed that the rats suffered effects on the kidney, liver, heart, adrenal glands, spleen and haematopoietic system (I think that is blood). See the complete study here.

The scary part is that those products are approved for consumption in the US . . . genetically modified foods need to be tested BEFORE they are approved by the FDA. And these products should be banned, until further studies are done.

Healthy Meals on a Budget

It doesn't have to be expensive to eat healthy and organic. Look for fresh fruit and vegetables at your farmers' market and buy whole grains like brown rice in bulk. One of the staples in our house are beans. Not only are they inexpensive, but they are full of protein, fiber, minerals--plus they are filling and satisfying, especially when the weather is cold.

Check out this article I wrote for VegFamily magazine--there are several of my favorite recipes as well.

And here's another article I found recently.

Organic really is healthier

A new study done by the University of Aix-Marseille for the French food agency (AFSSA) and published in the journal Agronomy for Sustainable Development shows that organic foods are nutritionally superior to conventionally-grown versions. According to the study, organic produce contains more minerals and higher levels of antioxidants. Animal foods produced organically contained significantly more polyunsaturated fat than non-organic animal products. In addition, organic vegetables contained 50 percent less nitrates than non-organic produce. No more than 6 percent of organic produce tested contained pesticide residue. For more information, check out this article.

Indian Scientists Calling for a Moratorium on GM Foods

Noted Indian scientist P.M. Bhargava is calling for a moratorium of at least eight years on genetically modified (GM) food products in India. He says independent testing needs to be done before any GM product should be considered for approval. In fact, he totally blasted the report that was used to get GM foods approved in India in the first place, calling it "ludicrous" and saying it was "full of lies and absurdities." It will be interesting to see if India is able to stand up against Monsanto and ban GM products.

Check out this article in The Hindu for more information.