Mushroom-Pistachio Phyllo Pinwheels

I was in a cooking mood yesterday so decided to try some recipes from a new cookbook I got when I went olive oil tasting in Los Olivos a few weeks ago. The book is by Theo Stephan, the owner of Global Gardens, and it features Caliterranean Food and uses lots of olive oil and vinegars.

I wanted to make her phyllo rolls but the filling was mostly olives and, as much as I love olive oil, I just do not care for olives. So I made up a mushroom filling to compliment the pistachios and feta cheese and it came out great.

Here's what I did, if you want to try it . . . or if you want the original recipe, you click here to find out more about her cookbook.

Also . . . if you have any leftover of the pistacio-parsley mixture, it is a great substitute for parmesan cheese on pasta . . . we sprinkled some on our salad too.

Mushroom Pistachio Phyllo Pinwheels

Olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound mushrooms (baby bella, crimini, white, etc.), coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon medium sherry
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
3/4 cup shelled raw pistacios
1/4 cup parsley leaves
4 ounces vegan feta cheese (optional)
1 (1-pound) package phyllo sheets
1/4 cup blood orange balsamic vinegar

Place a skillet over medium-low heat. Coat bottom with olive oil. Add onion and sauté 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, mushrooms, sherry and salt.. Saute 10 more minutes, or until mushrooms are tender. Let cool slightly.

Place pistachios and parsley in food processor fitted with metal blade and mince until nuts are ground. Remove to a small bowl. Pour mushroom mixture into food processor and pulse to mince.

Set up work station. Line a board or tray with parchment paper. Place about 1/2 cup olive oil in a bowl with a pastry brush. (You may need to add more as you assemble the rolls.) Have pistachio mixture, mushroom mixture, and feta in easy reach. Also, divide the number of phyllo sheets that come in your package by 4. If it’s not an even number, some may have different number of sheets. For example, the phyllo I use contains 18 sheets, so I used 5 sheets for two rolls and 4 sheets for two rolls. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Assemble as follows: Place one sheet of phyllo on the parchment. Brush lightly with olive oil. Place the next sheet and repeat for remaining sheets for that roll. Then sprinkle 1/4 of the mushroom mixture over phyllo – leaving about an inch clear on one shorter end of the rectangle. Sprinkle 1/4 of the pistacio mixture over phyllo, again leaving the end clear. And then 1/4 of the feta. Roll the phyllo tightly ending with the clear inch space. Use extra olive oil to seal the roll. Repeat with remaining phyllo and filling until you have 4 rolls. Slice each roll into 1-inch slices and place on baking sheet.

Bake 25 minutes, or until top and sides are golden. Pour vinegar into a small pan. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes to reduce. Brush the vinegar over the tops of the pinwheels. Serve immediately.

Makes 40

Victory for milk labeling

Companies like Monsanto and Eli Lilly don't want consumers to know if their milk and other dairy products come from cows treated with bovine growth hormones. They've tried to keep growth hormone-free products from being labeled as such by lobbying the FDA, suing dairy farmers, and urging governments to curtail farmers' freedom of speech.

Now I guess I can understand why these companies have a vested interest in keeping the information about the growth hormones a secret, given the public's aversion to it . . . but why in the world has the state of Ohio been trying to "rBGH-free" and "produced without artificial growth hormones" labels from dairy products. Yup, it's true -- they tried to make it illegal to tell consumers how their milk was produced.

Well, in 2010, a Sixth Circuit court decided that milk produced with synthetic hormones is different than milk produced without it. The court found:
- A compositional difference does exist between milk from untreated cows and conventional milk.
- The use of rBGH (rbST) in milk production has been shown to elevate the levels of insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1), a naturally occurring hormone that in high levels is linked to several types of cancers, among other things.
- rBGH (rbST) use induces an unnatural period of milk production during a cow's "negative energy phase." Milk produced during this stage is considered to be low quality due to its increased fat content and its decreased level of proteins.
- Milk from rBGH-injected cows contains higher somatic cell counts, which makes the milk turn sour more quickly and is another indicator of poor milk quality.

But Ohio was still trying to get around the ruling and figure a way to keep labeling illegal . . . however, according to an Oct. 31st Sacramento Bee article, "The State of Ohio today agreed that it will no longer pursue regulations limiting labeling on organic dairy products."

This is a real victory toward consumers gaining the right to know what is in their food and how it's produced. Hopefully, this is a step toward getting all foods produced by genetically engineering to be labeled.

Sometimes you just have to take care of yourself

You know how you have those weeks when you just have too much going on and you're just trying to make it through? Well, I'm on my second one of those. It has been just nonstop at work, at home, with school, kids . . . you name it. I got home from a stressful day at work, completely exhausted, only to face two school assignments due, a mound of dirty dishes, a pile of books I need to review, a blog post I need to write, bills to pay, orders to fill . . . and something is wrong with my server so I'm not getting my emails. I was about ready to lose it . . . I'm sure you've been there too.

So I was just about resigned to another dinner of frozen veggie potstickers eaten at my desk while trying to get everything done when . . . I stopped myself.

I made a cup of green tea and sat in my chair for 45 minutes and read. I even dozed a little. Then I got up and made myself a nice, homemade dinner. I lit a candle, poured a glass of wine (just a half--I did still have to do my schoolwork), and had a wonderful meal.

Now, I feel so much better and more relaxed. I may have to stay up later to finish what I need to do but at least I feel like I took care of myself and everything is not so overwhelming.

Of course, the book I read is a novel I'm reviewing and the meal I cooked is from a cookbook I'm reviewing so I even got some work done on my 'to dos'--but in a good way.

12 Minute Applesauce

My daughter LOVES homemade applesauce. Unfortunately, I don't always have the time to make it. So today, she really wanted applesauce for an afterschool snack, so we tried this experiment. And it worked! Now she can make her own homemade applesauce whenever she wants. Here's how we did it:

1) Core and cut 4 apples into small piece - she used our apple corer/slicer (the little handheld kind that cuts the apple into 8 wedge) and then cut each wedge into small pieces . . . we didn't bother to peel them.
2) Place the pieces in a microwave-safe bowl. Sprinkle cinnamon over them. Add enough water or apple juice to cover the bottom, about 1/8-inch high.
3) Cover bowl, leaving a little opening for steam to escape. I used the lid for the bowl, but angled it so there was a small opening. Microwave on high for 10 minutes.
4) Mash apples with a fork. Taste and add sweetener if needed (our apples were quite tart, so we used just a little brown sugar, but maple syrup, stevia, agave, honey would work great too).

It was really, really good!

Deception in the Natural Cereal Industry

There is a huge difference between cereals labeled "organic" and those labeled "natural" according to a report done by the Cornucopia Institute. The word "natural" is basically a marketing ploy to get us to think the product is safer and healthier than regular cereals, but there is no regulation or really even a definition of what "natural" means. "Natural" cereals contain ingredients grown on conventional farms where the use of toxic pesticides and genetically engineered organisms is widespread. In fact the Cornucopia Institute tested cereals by leading natural brands including Kashi and Mothers (now owned by Kellogg and Pepsico) and found that they contained high levels of genetically engineered ingredients.

Many companies that offered organic cereals are switching to conventionally-grown ingredients and calling their products "natural." Barbara's and Annie's have drastically reduced their organic cereal offerings . . . so don't assume the cereal you've always eaten is still organic . . . be sure to check the label and buy only those with the USDA organic seal, not those trying to mislead consumers.

To make the deception even worse, the supposedly "natural" cereals are often priced higher than regular cereals. Watch this short video to find out more and check out this cereal scorecard to see how your cereal rates.

Really good vegan cookies

When I want a cookie, it pretty much has to be homemade. Storebought cookies never seem to have the right texture. Either they're too chewy or too dry--and almost always too sweet, especially the supposedly healthy fruit-sweetened ones.

But even homemade ones have to be right . . . so I'm always experimenting. Well, I hit on these the other day and I I have say these are one of the best I've come up with. They are crisp but moist, taste great--and best of all they are made with whole grain flour and are lower in fat and sugar than most cookies. Give them a try and let me know what you think.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup oil
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups spelt or whole wheat flour
3/4 cups unbleached white flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinammon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2/3 cups vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil 2 cookie sheets. In a large mixing bowl, beat together the oil, peanut butter, applesauce, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk the spelt flour, white flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Pour the flour mixture into the wet mixture and stir until combined into a stiff dough. Stir in the chocolate chips. Scoop tablespoons onto prepared cookie sheet. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until edges are golden. Remove to wire racks to cool.

Makes 3 dozen

October is NON-GMO Month

According to the Organic Consumers Association:

- In 2011, Monsanto added sweetcorn, sugar beets and alfalfa to the list of GMO crops that already included field corn, cotton, canola, soy, and papaya - without regulations to protect organic farmers from contamination and no labels to respect consumers' right to know.

- However, also in 2011, Monsanto couldn't hide its failure any longer. Its GMO crops toppled over and were strangled in the fields, attacked by the very insects and weeds they were genetically engineered to resist.

October, 2011 is Non-GMO Month. You can get involved. Check out these sites for more information:

California: LabelGMOs.org

NYC to DC - Oct 1-16 - The Right2Know March

Austin, TX - Oct 2 - Rally for Real Food

Nationwide - Oct 15 & 16 - Millions Against Monsanto World Food Day Events