Ode to the Vitamix -- and free shipping offer

I was going to title this "Why we love the Vitamix", but that will become obvious in my writing and I knew my wife would prefer the "ode!"

Anyway, this is it.  The King of gadgets in our kitchen and number one appliance we couldn't/wouldn't do without.

We've had our share of blenders during our marriage but they either didn't produce the results we wanted or simply broke with use.

We always wanted a Vitamix, but never wanted to spend the extra money.  In the end, we spent as much or more experimenting with other brands, so this time we did it right and bought the Vitamix 5200.

We had no idea was we were missing!  Here are a few features we absolutely love:

• Total speed control
• It can demolish anything and make is creamy (another blogger described it as powerful enough to blend a cowboy boot.  I haven't tried, but don't doubt it.)
• It self cleans (one small drop of soap and a quick swirl on high)
• It breaks down whole foods into such fine particles you don't see any chunks
• It can truly make "snow" out of ice
• Is completely reliable (it comes with a complete 7-year full warranty!)

We use ours at least once daily and often several times each day.  We use it to make whole food smoothies (no need for the preservative laden pre-mixed stuff with this baby), sauces, dressings, soups, peanut butter (to die for), ice cream, powdered sugar, mixed drinks, pancake/waffle/crepe batter,  hummus, salsa, and jam just to name a few.

I am proud that Vitamix agreed to be affiliated with us a couple days ago and am even more excited that as a reader of this blog, we have arranged for free shipping on your purchase, just click this link or call JP Minard, account manager at Vitamix, at 440-782-2303 or 800-848-2649 (ext. 2303) and mention discount code 06-006899.

Bring your family health and whole foods this New Year!

Making Homemade Bagels using Non-Diastatic Malt Powder

I really enjoy bagels and making them at home is quite easy -- and delicious.

I began with a couple of key *ingredients:  1.)  King Arthur Flours "Sir Lancelot" flour with a high gluten content that makes the bagel have a nice chew and 2.) non-diastatic malt powder to give the crusts a nice shine.

*If you don't have these exact ingredients, don't worry.  Use the best flour you have and replace the non-diastatic malt powder with brown sugar and you will still have a very nice result.

 We have a busy house, so I let the bread machine (and its dough setting) usually do the work.

I used the dough recipe on the back of the Sir Lancelot bag (8 Bagel Yield):

• 1 Tbs Instant Yeast
• 4 Cups Sir Lancelot Flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbs non-diastatic malt powder (or brown sugar)
• 1 1/2 Cups lukewarm water (a bit more during the winter or in dry climates)

Mix the ingredients making a stiff dough and let rise in a covered bowl for 1 - 1 1/2 hours until puffy -- though not doubled.  I let the bread machine handle all of this step.

 Next, divide the dough into 8 round balls, cover with loose plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.  I lightly spray the inside of the plastic wrap with a canola spray so that it doesn't stick to the dough when I later peel it away.

While the balls are resting, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.   Get a large pot of water (about 2 quarts), along with a 1 TBS of sugar and 2 TBS of non-diastatic malt powder (or brown sugar), boiling.  The bath gives the bagel its shiny crust and chewy texture.  Most commercial bagels are produced with steam, but lack the texture and taste of the traditional method.

After 30 minutes of rest, and with the oven and water bath ready, take each ball of dough and poke a hole in the center and set in a greased baking pan or parchment lined baking pan for 10 minutes of rest.

After 10 minutes, gently place each one into the bath for two minutes on each side.  Place as many in the bath as you can with crowding them.  After two minutes of bathing on both sides remove and replace on the baking sheet until they are all finished.

I made an egg wash (1 egg and 1 TBS of water blended) and brushed the egg wash over each bagel followed by a sprinkling of sesame seeds.  Feel free to add no toppings or any toppings of your choice. The egg wash helps keep them in place.

 My bagels were slightly over-done before 20 minutes, so watch them carefully and pull them out of the oven when they get a nice sandy-brown on top.

These were delicious -- and gone in two days.

Piloncillo or Panela = Unrefined Whole Cane Sugar

I was walking through our local grocery store (Meijer) the other day and saw a bulk bin of Piloncillo.

Never one to refrain from learning a new food (new to me), I stopped to explore.  Further grocer information about these cone shaped hard crystallized whatevers turned out to be small chunks of unrefined whole cane sugar for $1.99 per pound.

Not one to trust anything on first try, I only purchased three "cones" for about $.60.

I found that there are many names for this product including panela, rapadura, chancaca, papelon, panocha, atado dulce, gur, jaggery, nam oy or empanizao.

Why the cone shape?  There are actually many forms in which this can arrive and it depends largely on the mold used by the maker.  Watch how this natural product is traditionally made here:

The cones are very hard.  I read that in many cultures they hit these pieces of sugar with river rock to break them into smaller usable pieces.

Not wanting to risk breaking anything in our home I skipped the rock smashing and went for a fine grater we have and achieved a decent amount of sugar (think tea or coffee addition here -- not baking or jams).  If you try this you will notice a very strong -- but pleasing -- aroma of molasses as you grate the larger piece of sugar.

For larger quantities I decided to use our Vitamix dry blend container and it quickly pulverized the cone within a few seconds into a fine readily usable sugar.  I don't know that I would attempt this with an everyday blender.

Why Panela?  It isn't processed.  The vitamins, minerals and molasses are not removed and it contains natural proteins, calcium, iron and ascorbic acid.  Typical brown sugar has been processed and then had some molasses added back in to regain its brown color.

You probably won't want to use this for everything, but it is a great replacement for traditional brown sugar.  Look for it at your grocer, world market, or here.

Annie's Organic vs. Natural Macaroni and Cheese

I love what Annie's Homegrown provides for our family, trust what they produce, and appreciate that they champion healthier foods and environmental protection.

When I went to buy more Annie's Macaroni & Cheese I noticed two things:  A changed exterior appearance and that it had the Organic Valley logo on it.  So, I thought, what does this mean?

After some quick research, I discovered that there hasn't been a change but that Annie's produces two different versions:  The natural version I had been purchasing at our local grocery store (1 box for $1.79) and Amazon, and the organic version I picked up at Costco (15 boxes for $14.79).

So what's the difference?  The identical photo on the outside of the box showed the organic version having a darker orange color that I thought was just an issue with the printer, but after dumping both cheese packets side-by-side in the bowl (pictured), it really is a darker cheese powder.

Next I looked at the weight and both boxes offer 6 ounces of food.  Then I looked at the ingredient list where I did notice some minor differences (other than being organic) that I have highlighted:

• Organic Version: ORGANIC WHEAT SHELL PASTA, ORGANIC VALLEY ® ORGANIC CHEDDAR CHEESE (ORGANIC CULTURED PASTEURIZED MILK, SALT, NON-ANIMAL ENZYMES), ORGANIC WHEY, SALT, NATURAL SODIUM PHOSPHATE, ORGANIC ANNATTO EXTRACT FOR COLOR.

• Natural Version: ORGANIC SEMOLINA PASTA SHELLS FROM DURUM WHEAT, CHEDDAR CHEESE (CULTURED PASTEURIZED MILK, SALT, NON-ANIMAL ENZYMES), WHEY, BUTTERMILK, CREAM, SALT, NATURAL SODIUM PHOSPHATE, ANNATTO EXTRACT AND BETA CAROTENE FOR NATURAL COLOR.

Nutritionally, there are a few small adjustments in protein and sodium and a couple of other things, but nothing substantial enough to warrant attention.


The only real difference between the organic and natural products is that the all organic version offers organic cheese and the natural one does not.


I did like the overall appearance of the organic version best, but we've used the natural version for a couple of years with never a thought about color.  If your only option is the natural mac and cheese, I would be confident with that choice, but given that Costco provides us an almost 50% price reduction over the grocery store for an all organic version, that is what our family will choose.


P.S.  A longer blog on Annie's will be forthcoming.  As a quick note of interest, unlike other companies who pick a random name to market their product (see more here), Annie really exists!  Meet her in this video.

Don't be a Dum Dum, Try Yummy Earth Lollipops

If you've been a kid, you've had a Dum Dum sucker -- the giveaway candy of choice for offices across the country.  They taste great and are just big enough for little hands, but are loaded with artificial ingredients.  The ingredients according to Spanglers web site, include:

"Sugar, Corn Syrup, Citric Acid, Malic Acid, Salt, Artificial Flavor, Color Added (Includes Red 40, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 1). There is a trace amount of soy oil in the lubricant that we use in our cooking kettles. This soy oil has been refined, bleached, and deodorized and all of the proteins have been removed."

Our family was at a consignment store earlier this summer when the clerk asked if she could give the kids a sucker -- the corporate world's pacifier of choice.  Most hard candy in our house gets tossed, so I cringe with these offers of chemical-laden kindness, but decided to allow it this time.  To my delight, she handed them an organic Yummy Earth Lollipop.

Why hadn't I thought of this?  I looked up the company when I got home and discovered that two guys with children -- who wanted something better for them -- set out to make a naturally colored and flavored candy and succeeded.  Here is there story:

The best part (other than the childlike fun they seem to be having) is the ingredient list:

Organic evaporated cane juice, organic tapioca syrup and/or organic rice syrup, citric aid (from beet sugar), natural flavors, may contain organic black carrots, organic black currant, organic pumpkin, organic apple, organic carrot, organic alfalfa.

Doesn't that put a smile on your face?  I purchased a resealable bag of 50+ lollipops at my local grocery store for $4.99.  If they can't be found by you, try Amazon or buy direct from Yummy Earth.  Note that they also sell gummy bears/worms, sour beans, candy drops, and artisan candies now too!

The Yummy Earth flavors include:  wet-face watermelon, too berry blueberry, sour apple tart, pomegranate pucker, mango tango, googly grape, strawberry smash, and very very cherry.

To the families and businesses out there -- we can now do better!  Our kids can have chemical free treats!  Adults love them too!  These are the best tasting lollipops I have ever had!