Good Foodies

Apple Peels — something not to waste. Why? Because apparently a recent study says that they might help prevent cancer. I’m all for that. Just the idea of wasting something annoys me anyway, so after we peeled all of our windfall apples for sauce last season, we decided on what to do with the rest — cores and peels.

You can make a juice diffusion from the cores — but that’s a bit of work and something that would be better in a kitchen twice the size of ours, since the cores must soak in boiling water for six to eight hours. It does make a fabulously clear and good juice, and can be repeated at least once with the same peels.

Many people candy the apple peels and mix them with candied ginger for a snack. Some people fry and sugar them, and use them as dessert garnish. The deepest concentration of apple pectins, however, are beneath the peel, so I thought I should make a kind of marmalade. I mean, why not?

We were relieved when we arrived in the UK to find quinoa. Because it grows in South American and is another of those ‘new world foods,’ we were afraid it would be hugely expensive and hard to find. Not so! This supergrain that is a complete protein (which means that it has all nine essential amino acids), is quite widely available. We’re always in the market to find new ways to eat it. It was suggested that we cook it in white wine, to enhance its nutty sweetness. Now that we have an abundance of dried mushrooms, we’re hoping to use it in some pilaf-y dishes as well. How do you like it? Or do you like it? For some, quinoa seems to be an acquired taste, like couscous. I imagine if it’s paired with brown lentils, it could be quite tasty, and nutritionally complete…

Summer usually means salads, but with the chill in the air that we’ve experienced, it’s not easy to get down that iceberg lettuce. Instead of diving back into soups, we’ve been experimenting with warm salads. A pasta salad with chunks of cucumber, Greek olives, red onions, chopped tomatoes, feta cheese and cilantro was tasty-tasty, and could have been a contender for the July No Croutons Required challenge, but alas, we forgot to take pictures. We’ve experimented with warm black beans, chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce and, corn, cheese, crumpled chips and salsa in a version of a traditional 7-layer salad, and that’s been just as good. Our salads, we’ve noticed, are getting bigger and bigger and certainly are no longer accompaniments to the main course — garnished with pumpkin and sunflower seeds, slivered almonds and cranberries, they are the main course. That’s one of the joys of summer eating — salads with everything in them but the kitchen sink.

Our order from The Flour Bin with our gluten powder has arrived at last. We will embark on a second, less time-intensive version of “wheat meat” very soon. It’s been a busy week, catching up for work with both of us, but we’re happy to report that unpacking is continuing apace, on this our first free weekend at home in what seems like ages, and our guest room will soon be somewhat inhabitable (if one doesn’t mind stepping over huge overstuffed pillows and sharing the bed with the PG Tips chimp) and actual knitting and looming might occur! Also, we’re thinking a bit of dirt digging might also happen. Mind you, we have no actual garden space by any means, but we have tons of windowsills and hope to bring a few fresh herbs into a windowsill garden soon.

Just a little kitchen update on a blustery Sunday.

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