November’s Be Well update

Posted on 04. Nov, 2009 by Ellen in Canola Recipes, Health & Fitness

Manitoba Canola Growers is a member to CanolaInfo.org   The Heart Smart Diabetes Kitchen cookbook is a partnership with CanolaInfo and the American Diabetes Association.  With over 150 recipes and 6 videos, the recipes are all fresh, fast and flavorful recipes made with canola oil.  Check out a sample of recipes, the videos and if you want to purchase the book, where to find it. http://www.canolainfo.org/heartsmart/

 Here is my top 10 core cooking idea list.  It can be for the beginner cook or a good reminder for the more experienced cooks with some great recipes in the list.  

Top 10 Core Cooking Ideas:

1. Use heart healthy oils such as canola oil. Canola oil is one of the healthiest culinary oils in the world with zero trans fat and the lowest amount of saturated fat of all common cooking oils.  It is also a good source of omega-3 and vitamin E and K.
2. When sautéing, make sure you sauté pan is hot before adding your oil.  Heat your oil up and then add your meat or vegetables.  You wan that food to sizzle!
3. If you are using a non stick oil spray, heat up your pan up, remove the pan from the heat source, spray your non stick spray, place back on the heat source and cook away!
4. When sautéing onions or shallots and garlic, always start with onions and then add garlic after a minute of letting the onions cook.  This will help to ensure that the garlic does not burn.  Try Farfalle with Salmon and Asparagus recipe http://www.mcgacanola.org/food_recipe_individual.cfm?id=432
5. Make a home made dressing.  You can use a 1-1 ratio.  A wonderfully, easy, delicious recipe is

Vinaigrette:  Juice of 1 lemon, 1 tsp (5 mL) of Dijon mustard, 1 tsp (5 mL) of mayonnaise, 1 garlic clove minced, dash of salt and pepper.  Combine and blend together.  Slowing add 2 Tbsp (30 mL) canola oil.  Dizzle on your favorite salad greens.

1. Bake with canola oil.  You use less fat and will have less saturated fat in your baked items.  It produces a moist baked product.  Sweet Basil Quick Bread recipe http://www.mcgacanola.org/food_recipe_individual.cfm?id=225
2. Use parchment paper for easy clean up for baking but not for roasting of meats, potatoes or vegetables. Parchment paper keeps the moist and makes the meats, potatoes and vegetables soggy.  For roasting meat, potatoes or vegetables use a non-stick tin foil instead.
3. When baking with yeast, there are two types. Rapid or Quick Rising and Traditional or Regular yeast. When using rapid or quick rising yeast, like in the Great Tastes of Manitoba Potato Curry Focacia recipe, there is a rest time of 10 minutes and then the dough is formed.  Traditional yeast needs 2 rising times and therefore doubles the time to make the bread rise.   http://www.mcgacanola.org/food_recipe_individual.cfm?id=429
4. Both baking soda and baking powder are leavening agents, which means they are added to baked goods before cooking to produce carbon dioxide and cause them to ‘rise’. Baking powder contains baking soda, but the two substances are used under different conditions.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate. When baking soda is combined with moisture and an acidic ingredient (e.g., yogurt, chocolate, buttermilk, honey), the resulting chemical reaction produces bubbles of carbon dioxide that expand under oven temperatures, causing baked goods to rise. The reaction begins immediately upon mixing the ingredients, so you need to bake recipes which call for baking soda immediately, or else they will fall flat!  http://chemistry.about.com/cs/foodchemistry/f/blbaking.htm   Check out Judy’s Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe http://www.mcgacanola.org/food_recipe_individual.cfm?id=433

1. Always cook with love and happiness.  This is something my grandmother taught me and it has served me well.   

Eat Well…Ellen

Ellen

Ellen is two things: bossy and a foodie. She loves to tell everyone why they should cook with canola oil by indulging in her love of cooking and teaching.

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