Eat a little dirt before you die?

My first post on something health related! See? "Healthbaked" - it really works!

Today I found a delightful article about the benefits of being slightly less clean on the New York Times' website and it got me thinking. Before I launch into my own thoughts, take a minute to give the article a quick read: Babies Know: A Little Dirt Is Good for You

In my teenage years, I developed a love of horses and all things that went with them. I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to learn to ride, and, to increase my time around the horses, I volunteered to take care of day-to-day tasks around the barn in exchange for more riding time. Naturally, I was at the barn every weekend and every school break from age 14 straight on up through college.

In the years where I was at the barn 3-5 times a week (14-18), I cannot remember having a single illness. And anyone who has spent time around a barn knows that you cannot be outside of your car for more than 10 minutes without managing to somehow ruin your outfit and/or get your hands a little dirty. So, scientifically speaking, it would seem that my anecdotal evidence corroborates the science of this article. In other words, I am a full-fledged believer that us humans are meant to spend quality time with dirt.

In a world of Purell sanitizers and antibacterial soap, it seems that we have moved away from our co-evolutionaries (germs), and I wonder if this is perhaps one of the reasons for an increase in autoimmune disease prevalence (eg, MS [as named in the NY Times article], arthritis, psoriasis, etc...and maybe even behavioral disorders such as autism). Perhaps these diseases would be less prevalent if we took the time to remember that we spent the last several thousand years in the great wide open and spend a bit more time in an environment that our bodies have evolved to work in. And it seems the old phrase, "a little dirt won't kill you!" might need to evolve, because it seems that "a little dirt will help you!"

To your health!

Energy Cookies

In preparing for a recent ski trip, my boyfriend suggested that I make some cookies that we could tote along on the slopes. Both of us love oatmeal raisin cookies, so I decided to beef up this recipe so they were a bit more satisfying and (I hoped) would stave off hunger a bit longer. I am happy to say that I feel as though I achieved success; the cookies were delicious and very satisfying. Here's what I did:

Oatmeal Raisin Date "Energy" Cookies
*Note, this recipe contains pecans which could be substituted for another favorite nut variety or left out altogether

Ingredients

• 1 C Unbleached all purpose flour
• 1/2 C Whole wheat all purpose flour
• 1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
• 4-5 T Cinnamon (I know this sounds like a lot, but I may have actually used more; tweak to your own tastes)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1tsp baking soda
  
  
• 3/4 C (1.5 Sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature (leave the butter on your counter for 30 mins or so)
• 3/4 C white sugar
• 3/4 C brown sugar (light or dark is your choice; I used light this time but plan on using dark next time)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 eggs
  
  
• 2 C Old Fashioned Oats
• 1 C raisins
• 1/2-3/4 C chopped dates (make them about the size of a raisin)
• 1/2 C finely chopped roasted pecans
• 1/2 C Roasted, Unsalted sunflower seeds

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit
   
   
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to ensure equal distribution.
   
   
3. In another bowl, cream the butter and the sugars (beat for about 2 minutes or until the color lightens and the mixture starts to look a bit fluffier than before).
   
   
4. Add vanilla and 1 egg; mix until egg is incorporated and batter no longer looks excessively shiny (30 seconds give or take a few)
   
   
5. Add egg #2 and mix until the egg is incorporated and batter no longer looks shiny (30 seconds give or take a few)
   
   
6. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture and stir or beat on lowest setting until just incorporated
   
   
7. Add remaining flour mixture and stir or beat on lowest setting until just incorporated
   
   
8. Add oats and stir to incorporate (note, the dough gets *really* heavy here, so using a mixer might not work very well, and you risk burning out your mixer engine if you're going slow enough to not make a mess)
   
   
9. Add Raisins, Dates, finely chopped pecans, and sunflower seeds and stir to incorporate
   
   
10. Drop cookie dough by spoonfuls (or use a 1/2 ounce cookie scoop if you have one available) onto an ungreased cookie tray. Leave 1.5-2 inches between cookies to allow for spreading
    
    
11. Place cookies in the oven and bake for 12-14 minutes; shorter bake times will result in chewier cookies, so shorten bake time to 10 minutes if you prefer your cookies softer. I baked mine for about 13 minutes to give them a bit more strength to hold up to us toting them around the mountain.

All in all, this recipe was a success. I'd love to hear of any recipes you've adapted to beef up the energy in them or if you give this one a try and have suggestions, I'd love to hear those, as well!

Happy eating! :-)

"Sweet 'n' Salty" Chocolate Cake

By and large, I am not a fan of store-bought baked goods. Because I love to bake (and because I love to tweak things to my taste), I prefer the homemade version. Knowing this, my boyfriend asked if he could help me bake a cake for my birthday (I was ecstatic to hear this offer!). Also knowing my love of baking, he had gotten me a new baking-oriented cookbook (would it be safe to call this a "bakebook"?) called Baked for Chrismakkah (half Christmas, half Hannukah).

Included in this bakebook was a recipe called a "Sweet and Salty" Chocolate Cake that I decided would be the perfect way to celebrate this year. This cake had 3 layers of moist chocolate cake each soaked with a salty caramel syrup and then covered with a caramel chocolate ganache and garnished with fleur de sel (gray sea salt).

This cake is a fairly intensive creation, and I would have to estimate that all in, we spent a good 4 or so hours on it's creation. Along the way (and much to my amusement) my boyfriend unfortunately stumbled onto some unsweetened flavors that I wouldn't recommend tasting (dissolved unsweetened cocoa powder, vanilla, and salted heavy cream), but I digress.

What follows is my evaluation of the baking and tasting processes :-)

Caramel

This recipe involved making caramel in 2 different batches (a salty caramel flavored with the fleur de sel and a regular caramel), and making this caramel (a first for me!) was one of the more nerve-wracking parts. First we had to scald the heavy cream (no big deal), and then we had to caramlize -read: heat to 350 degrees Fahrenheit- sugar, corn syrup and water.

I am moderately experienced in making fudge, but I confess that everytime I am required to heat a liquid mixture to a certain temperature, I get a little nervous. My nerves were not helped by the fact that I dumbly threw my glass-enclosed candy thermometer into a pan of water in the sink after the first batch and then had to use a surface/laser thermometer to approximate the temperature in the 2nd batch. Luckily enough, both batches of caramel turned out great (we both taste-tested a few times here). The salty caramel had a mild salt aftertaste that balanced the sweetness beautifully and the regular caramel had a deliciously unadulterated caramel sweetness - mmm mmm good!

Cake

Making the cakes was not particularly difficult, but as the cocoa had to be dissolved in hot water and then allowed to come to room temperature, it was a bit time consuming. Well worth it, though, as the batter was thick and rich and addictively tasty. I decided to divide the batter into 3 parts using a food scale in hopes that each of the layers would be equal in size. It worked! The layers turned out almost perfectly symmetrical, and required no cutting to make a level cake.

Caramel Chocolate Ganache

Finally came the time to make the caramel ganache (this is where the regular caramel came into play). The ganache was a mixture of dissolved cocoa, sugar, heavy cream, the aforementioned regular caramel, and LOTS of butter. It whipped up beautifully and was my first really successful frosting (ie, held its shape well, stuck nicely to the cake, and tasted delicious without being overly greasy).

Putting it together

We assembled the cake on my cake saver. The order was:

1. Cake
2. Salty Caramel
3. Fleur de sel garnish (this was applied after the ganache on the last layer)
4. Chocolate caramel ganache

Final Thoughts
I really loved this cake, but if I make it again, I have decided that I would prefer to up the fleur de sel in the salty caramel and omit it as a garnish. The reasons for this are two-fold.

1. Texture is very important to me, and I am not a fan of mixing velvety textures (eg, cakes, brownies, muffins) with crunchy textures (eg, nuts, salt). For me (and my boyfriend, too!), the distinct crunch of the salt interfered with our enjoyment of the cake
2. The fleur de sel garnish tipped the cake to being just a touch too salty for my taste

That said, I am excited to experiement with other recipes from the Baked bakebook. I tried their PB cookie recipe over the holidays and have decided that it is my absolute favorite PB Cookie recipe ever (and I love PB cookies!).

Guacamole

“You know, I never used to like avocados…and then I found out they were fattening – now I LOVE ‘em!” ~ Paula Deen, Paula’s Party, Food Network

I think we’re getting to a point where everyone knows that although avocados are fattening, they’re full of the good fats (monounsaturated, in this case) that we should be eating - albeit still in moderation. Avocados are finding a more mainstream place in American society, and although I can’t say that my reason is the same as Paula Deen’s, I am also a fairly recent convert to the avocado fan base.

Among their many uses, avocados make a great substitute for mayonnaise (try sliced avocado on your next burger or sandwich if you don’t believe me), and they’re also a great base for several dips (all that I know about involve predominantly Mexican flavors), including my newest favorite dip: guacamole.

Here’s the recipe that has become a favorite in our household, and it has even been known to sway people who had, until that point, insisted that they didn’t like avocados:

Equipment

• 1 molcajete (lava stone mortar and pestle; any textured mortar and pestle should work reasonably well)
  

Ingredients

• 1 medium jalepeno, finely diced (adjust to taste)
• 2 T diced white onion
• 1/8 t salt (optional)
• 2-3 T medium-chopped cilantro
• 1-2 medium, ripe avocados, pitted and quartered

Note: Avocados can be reliably selected in 1 of 2 ways:
1) Gently squeeze the avocado; those that give just a little are ready to be used
2) Remove the stem at the narrow end of the avocado. If you see bright green, the avocado is fresh and should be ready for use

• 2 tsp of diced tomatoes (seed tomatoes before dicing to maintain best guacamole texture)
• Juice from 1 lime (adjust to taste)

Process

1. Add ¼ to ½ of the diced jalepeno, 2/3 of the cilantro, all of the onion, and all of the salt to your molcajete and grind until you produce a uniformly textured green mush (the salt acts to help macerate the other ingredients; it isn’t critical to the recipe)
   
   
2. Add your avocado. Take the quartered avocado pieces and peel back the tough outer skin. Add the bright green fruit to your mortar and grind until the avocados are almost entirely mashed (little chunks are OK – I think they add another layer of authenticity!)
   
   
3. Squeeze in the juice from at least 1/2 the lime (or to taste), add the diced tomatoes and the remaining cilantro, and STIR these ingredients in using a spoon
   
   
4. Serve with fresh veggies (or chips or pita or on a sandwich), and enjoy!

Health Baked: An Introduction

A recent surge of blogging on the part of my friends has inspired me to start keeping a blog. And I think I have finally found a really good premise, which has gotten me even more fired up to write.

Anyone who knows me knows that I am most conversant in 1 of 3 areas. In no particular order, those areas are animals (odd facts and figures as well as a need to say “Awwww!” about every critter that crosses my path), Food (eating, cooking, baking), and health (current events, pharmaceutical rants, and a general passion for researching health-related concepts/conditions). My blog will focus on 1) My health musings and 2) My foodie musings.

With that decided, I bid you good health and good eating. More to come soon!