How to Make Mushroom Risotto

How to Make Mushroom Risotto

Mushroom risotto is delicious and earthy tasting. It’s the ideal meal for a cool autumn day or a breezy summer day – really it doesn’t matter when you eat it, this dish is sure to be loved by anyone who loves rustic textures and earthy tasting food.

Here’s how to make it:

#1 – Coat the rice – Add a generous dashing of olive oil to a large non-stick soup pot. Then add the measured risotto rice. About one ¼ cup of uncooked risotto per person is the usual. Over medium heat constantly turn the rice until completely coated with the olive oil (it will look slightly glossy). Remove the pot from heat and set aside.

#2 – Add the mushrooms – Cut a variety of mushrooms roughly. You can use Shiitake, Oyster, Portabello, Porcini or just about any type that you like will do. Adding a few dried mushrooms will intensify the flavors in the dish.

Now add these to the oiled rice and stir along with the rice over medium heat for a few minutes.

#3 – Add the stock – Make a vegetable stock by using organic vegetable stock or make your own by simply boiling a variety of vegetables for several hours. You will need approximately one cup of stock per ¼ cup of uncooked risotto.

Once you have the measured amount of stock ready add to the pot containing the risotto and mushrooms and turn the head to low.

#4 – Constantly stir – The trick to a good risotto is to constantly stir it. You’ll need to set aside 20 to 30 minutes to make this dish and remember to stir every few minutes. Keep the rice moving and keep stirring for a creamy light risotto.

#5 – Add more stock – Have a reserve of stock ready as the risotto will absorb it very quickly. Add a ladle full of stock each time the risotto seems to be drying up – keep it moist at all times while cooking.

#6 – Season and garnish – Once the risotto is tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed (it should be moist and creamy), remove from the heat and set aside. Season your mushroom risotto to taste using salt and pepper. Garnish with chopped parsley and shavings of parmesan cheese.

This is a truly irresistible dish that stands well simply on its own. Serve with a chilled white wine and for variation replace the parsley with basil. You can also serve with oven roasted cherry tomatoes.

Veggie Popsicles

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Veggie Popsicles? What are they and how to make them

Popsicles are an all-time favorite summer treat for kids of all ages. For health-conscious moms they’re also a great way to get kids to eat (or slurp!) their five a day. And although popsicles usually tend to be fruit flavored you can actually make some fantastic tasting veggie varieties.

photo credit: tiffanywashko

Here’s how:

Carrot, sweet potato and apple popsicles

#1 – Place the sweet potato (with skin on) in a pot of boiling water and boil for 15 to 20 minutes (or until tender).

#2 – Remove sweet potato from water and run under cold water to cool. Remove the skin and place sweet potato in bowl. Set aside.

#3 – Peel the carrot and apple and chop into little pieces. Boil for about 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and add carrot and apple pieces to sweet potato. Reserve the liquid from carrot and apple boil.

#4 – Place all the ingredients plus half a cup of reserved liquid into food processor and whiz until smooth. If the mixture is not sweet enough then add a tablespoon of honey to sweeten to taste.

#5 – Pour the liquid veggie and fruit into popsicle moulds and freeze. Enjoy!

Other tasty veggie popsicle combinations:

Carrot, squash and coconut

Carrot, sweet potato and orange

Carrot, zucchini and coconut

How to Save Money on Organic Groceries

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How to Save Money on Organic Groceries

There is no doubt that organic groceries can be pricey. However, with the increasing awareness of what we should and shouldn’t eat for our health and the health of the planet, there may be a glimmer of hope. High quality food will become more affordable on a wider level.Voting with your shopping dollars will help towards that end.

In the mean time, here are a few tips to help you cut back on your organic groceries shopping bill.

Eat seasonally – if you do anything at all do this. Eating in season is not only a pleasure to all your senses – tomatoes taste like tomatoes, strawberries are a delight and potatoes are fantastic – but it also makes food shopping more economical.

Buying foods in season will be more reasonable than paying for pricier foods which need to be transported from other countries. Not only will this step save you money but you’ll also be helping the environment.

Plant some of your own – you don’t need a whole lot of space or the ability to plant a full vegetable garden. While the idea of being self sufficient is fantastic, not everyone can do it. That doesn’t mean, however, that you can’t cut costs and eat healthy organic product from your own backyard. The trick here is to keep it simple.

Start by planting easy to grow fruits and vegetables that will give you a good amount of food for very little cost. Good ones are organic lettuce leaves of all varieties (these are easy to grow in the summer and will save you tons of money to their supermarket alternatives), carrots, potatoes, onions, cabbage, broccoli, runner beans, tomatoes, strawberries, peppers and herbs of all sorts.

All the above are pretty easy for even the most novice gardener to grow and don’t require too much space. By planting just a few useful crops you can eat delicious organic produce in season and save money.

Groceries at the farmer’s market – more and more farmer’s markets seem to be cropping up all over. But you don’t need to visit the fancy ones to get great fruit and veg. Seek out the most humble local small farmers which still use responsible, traditional farming methods. You’ll get great food at great prices and help the local economy.

Note: Many small farmers take great care to not use pesticides or unnatural farming methods but are not registered organic farmers – this takes a great deal of time and money and many small farmers just can’t do it. But just because they are not registered organic farmers doesn’t mean they don’t produce healthy crops. Speak to your local farmer about their farming methods. And keep in mind at certain times local responsibly produced food is a better option to organic produce flown in from another country.

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