Dinner Last Night

My sister and her husband are up from Maryland visiting, and last night I made dinner for us and my husband. Somehow it ended up looking (and, I think, tasting) like quite the gourmet meal! I wanted to share what I did - no recipes, no exact measurements, which is how I usually cook - just throw it all together and hope for the best! Those of you who are pros in the kitchen (I may know a fair amount, but I'm no professional chef), please feel free to offer some tips as you see fit. :)

Stuffed Butternut Squash
I cooked about 1.5 cups of spelt berries in my rice cooker and added that about the same amount of leftover brown rice from the previous night. In a pan with olive oil, I combined fresh sage and parsley (growing in my kitchen), 4 medium celery stalks, pumpkin seeds, dried cranberries, 2 scallions, 1 shallot, garlic and a little salt - all finely chopped (heavy on the sage). Let that cook for 6-7 minutes then added the rice/spelt combination and heated for another 5 minutes.

In the meantime, at 400 degrees, I quartered a large butternut squash, cleaned out the seeds and baked on a baking pan for 30 minutes. I then took the rice mixture and scooped it on/in the four pieces of squash.

Greens
Simple - sauteed swiss chard and beet greens in a little olive oil and ended up adding a bit of water too - tossed in the pot and cooked about 5 minutes.

Beets
I don't usually cook beets the "proper" way, but instead peeled 3 medium beets, sliced into coins and boiled in water for about 10 minutes. Let them cool, then sprinkled some goat cheese, candied pecans and olive oil on top.

Falafel
These were not homemade and probably not necessary, because the rest was plenty of food, but they are so tasty. Plus, I wanted my sister and brother-in-law to try them. You can buy falafel patties or mini patties in the freezer section. I get the Papou's Kitchen brand (from Portland). I simply sauteed two minis per person in a pan with olive oil, a few minutes on each side.

That was it! I will post some photos later on, because my camera is not with me at the moment. Happy Friday!

Rice Cooker

If you don't have a rice cooker, I highly recommend that you make the small investment. I bought mine at Target, but they can be found anywhere kitchen gadgets are sold. They make cooking your whole grains so much easier. For those of you working with me, you know how important it is to include whole grains in your diet - brown rice, quinoa, millet, buckwheat, barley, amaranth - the list goes on! However, these grains do take longer to cook and you really do have to watch the pot to make sure nothing boils over or dries out. That is where the rice cooker comes in. You simply measure your grains and water with the measuring cup provided with the cooker, add to the pot, cover, push a button and let it go! No need to keep an eye on it, and usually it takes less time to cook.

For instance, this morning, I combined millet, steel cut oats and amaranth in my little rice cooker, added water and let it do the work while I hopped in the shower, got dressed and ready for my day. I came downstairs to the wonderful smell of my grains, ready to eat...just scoop some in a bowl and add real maple syrup, cinnamon, nuts, berries, dried fruit, coconut - whatever you like. This is a pretty common breakfast for my husband and me. It's also a great way to prepare whole grains, like brown rice, for dinner.

Try to steer away from processed pastas and breads and include some more whole grains in your diet - get yourself a rice cooker and you'll see how easy it is!