Green Options

Apples are not only delicious and an easy snack, but also very healthy in numerous ways. What are the main benefits of eating apples? What are some great apple recipes?

Apples are a great source of dietary fiber. As a result, they are believed to reduce the risk of some cancers, they improve the functioning of the intestines, eliminate cholesterol from the digestive tract, cleanse the lungs and colon, and help to prevent and potentially cure appendicitis.

Apples are linked to a reduced risk of prostate cancer, stroke, asthma and Type 2 diabetes. Moreover, as Healing with Whole Foods reports, due to all the pectin apples contain, they can help to reduce blood cholesterol and remove toxic metals from the body such as lead and mercury. In addition, apples are also found to play a very beneficial role in cleansing the liver.

I love to eat apples with peanut butter. It’s one of my favorite breakfast combinations. But here are a couple of interesting apple recipes that go beyond my apple and peanut butter dish. Enjoy a rice casserole with apples or apple noodle pasta for lunch or dinner sometime!

There’s so much more to the wonderful world of noodles than old-world durum semolina pasta. And no, I’m not talking about substituting stringy spaghetti squash or strips of summer squash for pastalicious goodness.  Did you know there are gluten-free noodles made from rice, soy protein, quinoa, and even sweet potato starch?

June on our Wisconsin farm and B&B, Inn Serendipity, ushers in a few weeks of chaos.  Tending everything from gardens to B&B guests, June packs in a cornucopia of duties that take time away from the kitchen and savoring the abundance of the early summer season.

Don’t get me wrong as I truly relish this time of year, when both the days and work lists are long but satisfying.  Which is why we need quality fuel, good food to provide energy for the day.  This Spring Spinach and Asparagus Pasta ranks our new seasonal favorite, as it blends the tender seasonal flavors of asparagus and spinach with a filling dose of pasta, nuts and cheese, seasoned up with a unique, savory soy sauce-based dressing.  Plus it makes a sizeable batch, perfect for easy leftovers throughout the week.

Read on for the recipe and enjoy:

Here is the continuing countdown of My Top 10 Techniques Every Cook Should Know about Continental Cuisine. Lets first review #10- #6:

Number 10, Spatchcock
Number 9, Sautéing
Number 8, Dicing
Number 7, Blanching Vegetables
Number 6, Cooking Pasta

Amanda Gold, a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle, recently came out with 10 techniques every cook should know:

Breading
Browning/searing
Dicing an onion
Folding
Making pan sauce
Rolling out pie crust
Making a roux
Segmenting citrus
Tempering
Making a vinaigrette

She said, “Mastering these will ease everyday kitchen chores and help you tackle more advanced recipes.” It is a good article, including video techniques and accompanying recipes. The bad - when was the last time you made a roux at home or the last time you tempered cream or milk - like for a crème brûlée? Do you make it often enough for it to be called “everyday kitchen chores”?

I love basil, and I even worked on a basil farm in college.  One of my favorite basil recipes is pesto, and my children love it too!  We make it from organic pesto we grow in our garden, and we eat it on baguettes, crackers, pasta, pizza, etc. It is really easy to make if you have a blender, but be careful to stop and stir often.  You can easily burn up the motor on your blender if you are not patient.

Organic Pesto

Pulverize in a blender:

• 1/4 cup pine nuts

At this point in asparagus season, I get a little tired of eating the vegetable every night for dinner. Simply steaming, grilling, or roasting the spears has grown old, so I start to add asparagus to pizza and pasta to ensure my children keep eating from the garden. This recipe for creamy asparagus pasta is light and easy to make, and organic ingredients makes it healthier and taste better.

Light and Creamy Vegetarian Asparagus Pasta

Cook for three minutes less than recommended on the package:

• 8 ounces whole wheat penne pasta

Add to pasta and cook for three more minutes, then drain:

• 1 bunch of asparagus cut into 3/4 inch pieces

In a medium bowl, whisk together:

• 1 1/2 cups organic milk
• 4 teaspoons mustard
• 4 teaspoons flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or less for kids)

The name pesto derives from tradition of making this sauce in a mortar with a pestle. The following recipe, which I encourage you to use a food processor for, unless you have a few spare hours, proves that you absolutely don’t need cheese to make a fantastic pesto. Purchase fresh basil (or grow it yourself!), and find a nice fruity olive oil.

Advance Preparation: Pesto freezes very well. Defrost pesto at room temperature, about

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Editor's note: We're pleased to welcome Colleen Patrick-Goudreau to the Green Options writing team! Colleen has taught vegan cooking classes in Oakland, California, for seven years, and is a columnist for VegNews magazine, and a contributing writer for KQED radio's Perspectives program. Her first cookbook, The Joy of Vegan Baking: The Compassionate Cooks' Recipes for Traditional Treats and Sinful Sweets, will be published

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With farmers markets opening up here in St Louis, it's time to get out those recipes that taste so much better with fresh, local produce. One of my favorites is this light summer pasta dish, which I modified from a Moosewood Cookbook to suit my own tastes. The raw sauce, with sweet tomatoes, basil, and creamy fresh mozzerella, starts with the classic Caprese salad flavors and adds a little something extra.

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