Sarah's Cucina Bella » DDC

Homemade Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal

Sarah W. Caron — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 01:08:00 +0000

After two years of blogging (yes! Cucina Bella turned 2 yesterday! YIPPEEEE! Who knew this on-a-whim experiment with food writing would last this long?!?), it should be no surprise that I am finding the need to return to subjects I’ve touched on before. Specifically, oatmeal.

I originally wrote about oatmeal for Fit Fare (before I was the editor of that site) and then later sold a similar story to Associated Content. The gist? Oatmeal is so, so good for you. It’s a grain that is rich in fiber, which is great for digestion. Oprah turned me onto steel-cut oats, which are the tops for nutrition, but I am still a really big fan of rolled oats.

What’s so good about oatmeal? Well, oatmeal is rich in a type of fiber called soluble fiber. Soluble fiber isn’t digested by the body (neither is insoluble fiber) but it does turn to a jelly-like substance that binds to fatty compounds and moves things along. You know, as in out. It’s good for lowering cholesterol (including so-called “bad cholesterol” – LDL cholesterol) and also regulating blood sugar (particularly important for people with diabetes). A good resource that explains the differences between the types of fiber can be found here.

Oatmeal is also a good way to fill up in the morning if you are trying to lose weight, which I will be soon enough. But if you are like me, then you probably prefer flavored varieties to the bland canister one. Fortunately, it’s not hard to transform plain oatmeal into a flavorful delight. This recipe is great because it’s very fast and easy (particularly if you have a nifty apple corer like me . . . what an awesome purchase that was!!!).

Homemade Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal
serves 2

1 cup apple cider
1 cup water
1 tsp lemon juice
1 medium apple, peeled, cored and cubed
1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
sweetener such as honey, white sugar, brown sugar or Splenda, to taste (optional)

In a small saucepan, combine the apple cider, water, lemon juice and apple and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

Add oatmeal, cinnamon and salt and stir together. Reduce heat to medium and cook for about 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat and let sit for 3-5 minutes before serving.

Add in sweetener, if desired, just before serving (this oatmeal is sweet already, so you may not need it — Will and I like ours a little bit sweeter though).

Potential add-ins:

raisins – add 2 tbsp-1/4 cup when oatmeal is added
pears – substitute a pear for the apple
strawberries – add to the water mixture or substitute for the apple
blueberries – same as strawberries
almonds – add 2 tbsp when oatmeal is added

————————————————————–
This is a pretty local dish for me. The apple, apple cider and of course water are all very local ingredients. Oatmeal falls into my exception category, so this qualifies as my D ark Days Challenge meal for last week. Click here to find out more about the Dark Days Eat Local Challenge, created by Urban Hennery.

The post Homemade Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal appeared first on Sarah's Cucina Bella.

Dark Days: Two Local Meals

Sarah W. Caron — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 12:08:00 +0000

As I opened the window to write this, I realized that we truly are entering the dark days of winter. It’s nearly 7 a.m. and the sun has yet to light up the night sky, let alone peak above the treeline. I was spoiled (or perhaps not so) by the summer when the sun was bright in the sky before 6 a.m. … of course, Will and I slept less then too.

I joined the Dark Days Eat Local Challenge maybe two weeks ago, but got around to cooking my first two meals this weekend. Playing catch-up, you know? It wasn’t so bad actually, and I found that if I keep it simple, it’s easier.

For my first meal, prepare yourself … it was a little odd. I started out by making a steak, tomato and cheddar quesadilla. The tortilla was made by a local store that is committed to local ingredients (they even have their own dairy) – Stew Leonards. The tomato was from my mother’s garden. The cheddar came from Cabot — a co-op of cheese producing farms in Vermont. The meat was not local. I had some extra slices of tomato, so I whipped out some fresh mozzarella (made by Stew Leonards. It’s very cool to watch them make it.) and layered the two with some Massachusetts basil. I drizzled that with my non-local imported olive oil and sea salt. Yes, I know that quesadillas and tomato caprese salads generally do not go together, but it all tasted good!

For my second meal, I did a quick breakfast before we headed off to my stepson’s football game on Sunday (don’t get my started on why I am not that fond of 8 year olds playing football with that level of competition …). I whipped up some scrambled eggs for Will and Shawn (Connecticut eggs, I might add) and an over-easy egg for me. That was paired with some Massachusetts Chicken and Apple sausage from Al Fresco (yummy) and some Vermont bread toast with non-local butter. Not bad for a breakfast on the fly … and I managed to do a decent job of cooking it all, despite my challenges with breakfast.

The post Dark Days: Two Local Meals appeared first on Sarah's Cucina Bella.

Dark Days Eat Local Challenge

Sarah W. Caron — Sat, 27 Oct 2007 10:50:00 +0000

You might have noticed the little button in my sidebar for the Dark Days Eat Local Challenge. The challenge, which I joined earlier last week, is to cook one meal a week using 90 percent local ingredients. Local is defined by a 200 mile radius.

Sound easy? Well, there is a reason it’s called the Dark Days Challenge. The challenge is to do this during the cold winter months here in the northeast.

I intended to cook my first local winter meal last weekend but was sidelined by lack of time. Then this week was busier than I could ever imagine it would be. But it’s the weekend, so this weekend, I will cook two local meals (as soon as I get to the community grocer to stock up on local foods). I am really excited to get started.

My personal rules for this challenge:

- The majority (aiming for 90 percent) of ingredients must be from local sources. I generally don’t use a whole lot of processed foods, so with the exception of bread and pasta, they are out. Bread and pasta ideally should be made locally, but they do not have to be from local ingredients since wheat isn’t generally grown in this part of the country (but if I can find some ultra local bread and pasta, I will certainly use it). Rice is also acceptable with the same allowance.
- Local is defined as within a 200 mile radius, which for me means most of New York, all of Massachusetts and Rhode Island and parts of New Hampshire, New Jersey and Vermont.
- A meal is breakfast, lunch or dinner — and must be a full meal.

The post Dark Days Eat Local Challenge appeared first on Sarah's Cucina Bella.