Whole Wheat Pelmeni!

There are so many delicious places to eat out in Bellingham. One of my personal favorite is Pelmeni. Pelmeni is a very successful Russian dumpling restaurant on State street with two menu items: beef or potato. Every time I go and spend 6 dollars I always wonder: if they are able to make so many Pelmeni in such large quantities I bet I could too while improving the recipe. So, that is exactly what I have done. I have replace the white flour with whole wheat flour and the beef with ground turkey and pork. Here is my healthier Pelmeni recipe for a fraction of the price. Enjoy!

Ingredients

Dough:

1 ½ cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 eggs

½ cup warm water

½ tsp salt

Filling:

¼ lb ground turkey

¼ lb ground Pork

½ onion grated

3 cloves garlic minced

salt and pepper

Directions

1. Pour flour onto a large cutting board and make a volcano

2. In a mixing bowl mix eggs, water, and salt together

3. Pour half the egg mixture into the volcano and carefully mix dough together

4. Add the rest of the egg mixture slowly until dough just comes together, you may not use all egg mixture

5. Kneed the dough for about 5 minutes

6. Place dough in a bowl, cover with cellophane, let rest for 30 minutes

7. While dough rests, place turkey, pork, onion, garlic, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and mix until completely combined.

Forming the Dumplings

You can make the Pelmeni any size that you like. The ones at Pelmeni are about the size of a chestnut. I chose to make mine a little bigger to make it easier to work with the dough this first time. By the end I was able to make tiny dumplings that would be great in chicken soup!

Directions

1.  Cut the dough into small pieces and roll into small balls like seen in photos
2. Dusk the the ball with flour so it does not stick
3. I used a wine glass to roll out the dough, make sure it is very thin
4. Roll until about 2 inches in diameter.
5. Place a small amount of meat mixture into center of dough
6. Pull sides together and pinch all sides to close the dumpling
7. Pull the ends of the dumpling together to form the shape of the dumpling
8. Dust with flour so it does not stick with others
9. Repeat until all dough or mixture is gone.

Cooking

1. Boil a large pot of salted water
2. Reduce heat to simmer and place desired amount of dumplings into water
3. Cook until the dumplings float
4. Cook for an additional minute or two
5. Drain and serve in bowl with white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, curry powder, chopped cilantro or dill, and sour cream on the side.

The pelmeni also freeze great! Now, we all know that this is not a balanced meal, there are not veggies or fruits! I would highly recommend making a spinach and yam filling pelmeni with your meat pelmeni to make sure you are getting enough vitamins and minerals with dinner. A great veggie substitute for the meat is mushrooms (especially chanterelles). Enjoy! Remember to have passion for your food and compassion for your body :)

 

Substituting Stroganoff

There are many recipes that can be improved in little ways to vastly improve the nutrition of the dish without disrupting the flavor. Today I am going to give you a list of some healthy substitutes along with a fantastic recipe! Some of these substitutes may seem obvious and some may seem silly but if given an open mind I think everyone could really see the benefits. Here is my list of favorite substitutes:

      1.     Whole Wheat Flour, I know this is a duhhh but I’m not talking just with the breads or pastas. Who told us we couldn’t make our cookies out of whole wheat?

      2.     Unsweetened applesauce for butter or olive oil (in baking). This one is amazing! I have made everything from brownies to bread by replacing the olive oil or butter with unsweetened applesauce.

      3.     Evaporated skim milk for cream. This is a great way to lower the saturated fat while still keeping the thick creamy flavor.

      4.     Olive oil for butter (in cooking).  In previous posts we have already discussed the benefits of replacing the saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats and this is an easy place to start.

      5.     Quinoa for couscous. Couscous is in fact a form of pasta. It is made from refined white flour there for there is a way to improve it. The best way I think is quinoa. It has virtually the same flavor with a much healthier profile.

      6.     Ground Turkey for ground beef. This is a great substitute. It has much less saturated fat.

Tonight I made one of my favorite dishes making 3 easy substitutes in order to significantly improve the health while still creating one delicious dish: Stroganoff. I took the classic Beef Stroganoff with pasta and turned it into Ground Turkey and Spaetzle. Okay, I feel like maybe you read the work Spaetzle a few times trying to figure out what exactly it is I was trying to spell. I assure you Spaetzle will be a new favorite after this. They are a cross between a past and a tiny dumpling. You make a batter that is sieved through a colander into boiling water to make the small pasta like dumplings. The three substitutes I make were ground turkey for beef, whole wheat Spaetzle instead of white, and condensed skin milk instead of cream.

Ground Turkey Stroganoff

 

Ingredients

1.5 pounds ground turkey

12 whole cremini mushrooms sliced

2 shallots ½ inch dice

1 tbsp thyme

1 tbsp better than bouillon paste

½ cup White Wine

Condensed Skim Milk

 

Directions

     1.     Place ground turkey in skillet over medium high heat until all pink is gone. Salt and pepper. Set aside with juices from meat.
2.     In same skillet add 1 tbsp canola oil and shallots over medium heat.
3.     Once shallots have become see through add the cremini mushrooms, thyme, and allow to caramelize
4.     Add white wine and bouillon and stir till completely dissolved.
5.     Add ground turkey back into skillet
6.     Add condensed skim milk until desired thickness and creaminess.
7.     Allow to cook together for another 3-5 minutes

      8.  Salt and pepper to taste

Colander Spaetzle

Ingredients

2 eggs

½ cup water

1 ½ c whole-wheat flower

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp baking powder

Dash of nutmeg

Directions

     1.     Bring a pot of water to boil

     2.     Meanwhile, In a small bowl beat eggs and water together

     3.     In a larger mixing bowl at all other ingredients

      4.     Whisk eggs and water into the dry ingredients

      5.     Beat with a spatula until batter becomes gluteny

      6.     Hold colander over water, place mixture in colander and using a    spatula push the contents through the holes of the colander.

      7.     When finished bring back to a boil and turn off heat.

      8.     Strain Spaetzle

      9.     In a skillet with 1 tbsp olive oil add the Spaetzle and toss until Spaetzle just starts to become a little crispy on the edges

Sushi Sunday!

Sushi night is always one of my favorites. It is easier than you would think, more fun than going out to sushi and it is much nicer on your wallet. Last post we touched on the different types of fats: saturated, unsaturated, and trans fat. The Squash Soup was a way to get a creamy taste without adding cream or  other saturated fats. This post is about finding health alternatives to our protein choices to lessen the dangerous fats and allow for the healthy fats in our diets. Many of our popular protein choices in America today are high in saturated fats. The fat you can see in steaks or other animal proteins is mostly all saturated fats and a lot of it at that. High saturated fat diets have been seen to lead to many diseases like heart disease. Although there are many different benefits to red meat including minerals such as iron only a limited amount should be consumed. When fatty animal meat is limited fish is a great meat to get the protein you need with the healthy unsaturated fats such as Omega-3. Omega-3 and Omega-6 are two types of fatty acids that our bodies need and cannot make themselves. Omega-3 and Omega-6 are both shown to have great health benefits including lower blood pressure for a heathy heart and brain functions. There are many tasty and healthy fish dishes you can prepare but I would like to share with you sushi making. This is a fun way to make dinner with friends and family. It gives everyone an opportunity to be a part of the process. Enjoy!

The first part to making sushi is the shopping. There are a few necessities but lots of room to make your favorite creations for any kind of sushi you would like to make. Let us start with the shopping list:

Essential

• Bamboo sushi roller (you can find at Haggen)
• Sushi seaweed paper
• Sushi Rice (I use Kokuho Rose)
• 1 carrot, julienne 
• 1 cucumber, julienne
• 1 avocado sliced
• Sushi grade fish, I use tuna from the Coop
• Wasabi
• Soy Sauce

Optional

• Imitation Crab
• Cream cheese (very little remember this is the saturated fat)
• Panko Flakes (adds a crunch to your sushi)
• Any thing else you desire from tobico caviar to apple slices (get creative)

Once you have all your ingredients you need to make your sushi rice. The trick to making the sticky rice is FOLLOW DIRECTIONS. This is one of the only times I will say don't try and be creative. The best say to make the rice is to follow this video (I do not use the kombu seaweed in the video). Make sure you rinse the rice very very well.

After the rice is made and the veggies are julienned it is now finally time to assemble and make your creations! 

Directions

1. Lay your sushi mat on a flat surface such as a cutting board or counter top.

2. Lay one sheet of sushi seaweed paper on top of sushi mat

3. Wet fingers to keep sushi rice from sticking to your hands and flatten a layer of rice on 3/4 of the seaweed paper

4. Place a few grains of sticky rice onto the edge of the paper to allow the sushi roll to stick together on the ends

5. Add the desired ingredients, here are some of my favorite combos:

        ~California Roll: Imitation Crab, Carrot, Cucumber, and avocado

        ~Tuna, cream cheese, and cucumber

        ~Spicy Tuna (recipe at bottom), carrot, cucumber

        ~Spicy Tuna and Creme Cheese

        ~Imitation Crab, cream cheese, and panko flake

        ~ Avocado, carrot, and cucumber

        ~Anything your heart desires

6. After you have your ingredients chosen make sure it is not too much and place about an inch from the edge of the start of the rice layer

7. After the ingredients are placed it is time to roll. Orient the sushi paper so the side lacking rice on the edge is farthest away from you. Grab the paper and rice closest to you and fold over on top of the ingredients. Try and tuck the paper tightly under the ingredients and proceed to roll the sushi as tight at possible.

8. Once the roll is formed roll it into the bamboo sushi mat and press firmly between hands to form a tight roll.

9. When cutting the sushi you want to use the sharpest knife you have. Wet the knife under cold water. When slicing the sushi try and make one cut through the sushi as apposed to sawing the knife back and forth.

10. After slicing the sushi place on a platter and proceed to the next roll.

There are many different ingredients to use and many different ways to roll your sushi. For tips on rolling youtube is your friend. Enjoy your glorious sushi dinner! Be creative and remember to have passion for your food and compassion for your body. Cheers!

Spicy Tuna Recipe

1 cup Chopped Tuna
1 tbsp Mayo
1 tbsp Ground Chili Paste (Asian aisle at Haggen)
Sriracha to taste

Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. You can leave tuna as coarse or as fine as desired.