Food Rules #38: Favor the kinds of oils & grains that have been traditionally stone ground

Pollan explains that grindstones were once the way to 'refine' flour & oil, and that more fiber & nutrients are left in those that are not refined by modern chemical processes. Newer oils tend to have more additives, too.

Try using avocado, sesame, peanut or extra virgin olive oils for cooking. Again, avoid refined white flour (so similar to sugar!) and try to eat more whole grains and oils like these that contain more favorable fatty acids.

That's it for today - Short & sweet! But I'll try to get one more blog post in before the Labor Day weekend. Enjoy this holiday with family & friends!

Food Rules #37: "The whiter the bread, the sooner you'll be dead"

Boy, what a title for a chapter, eh? The title, explains Pollan, comes from a cross-cultural bit of 'grandmotherly' advice, which suggests that other generations have been quite aware of the benefits of whole grains and the lack of nutrition white flour provides. Now I know plenty of people (myself included) who wax nostalgic about sandwiches from their childhood on soft, doughy white bread. Me? Cold meatloaf and ketchup sandwiches on squishy white bread. My husband talks about the fried bologna sandwiches on Wonder Bread he had as a kid. And what about Miracle Whip & Chipped Ham on white bread? Certain tastes/combinations can harken warm memories of being a kid...but I'm a little smarter now in terms of my food choices and I understand the lack of nutritional value that squishy bread has.

Bleached flour shows up in many grocery items as well. And most of us know and understand the benefits of eating whole grains: spelt (aka farro) is one of my favorite grains. Quinoa, wild rice, sorghum (we just brought in a sorghum syrup at PFW that is great on pancakes or biscuits)...ever had amaranth? Vella Cafe had amaranth pancakes that were to die for. There is a long list of whole grains and how you can prepare them. Using a homemade chicken or veggie stock adds another layer of flavor. We also carry red and black quinoa, which makes for a great presentation (and lots of protein!)

I've heard a lot of people complain about the lack of good bread in Chicago, too. There are a myriad of bakeries in the city, but many of them just carry the too-soft, slightly doughy style of baguettes that to me are devoid of flavor and good texture. They're also really cheap. You can definitely taste the difference when a good quality flour (and skill!) are used. And sure, some recipes work better with a bleached vs unbleached flour. But to circle back to Pollan's point, we should strive to include more whole grains in our diets than we do. Eating whole vs processed (i.e. bleached) foods is better for our overall health, decreasing our risk of certain diseases.

But I wouldn't turn down a cold meatloaf sandwich with Heinz ketchup on Wonder Bread right about now, though.

Food Rules #36: Don't Eat Breakfast Cereals that Change the Color of the Milk

And so once again I find myself having to apologize for not keeping up with this blog. But summer's keeping me busy! Last night, though, a repeat of the Oprah show featuring Michael Pollan was on and it guilted me into writing the next segment of this blog. Well, not quite, because I really enjoy reading and blogging about his book "Food Rules"...but it was still another reminder for me.

This latest rule is titled "Don't Eat Cereals that Change the Color of Milk". Now I must say I was a fan of Count Chocula, Fruit Loops & Fruity Pebbles as a kid. So sweet & delicious. I remember really liking how the texture went from crunchy to somewhat soft to totally soaked in milk, then drinking the little bit of milk from the bottom of the bowl. I haven't eaten cereal in years. But if asked, I'd say my favorite is Cheerios. Now the thought of drinking that pink or blue milk kinda grosses me out. Pollan's point, though is that cereals which change the color of the milk are obviously chock full of chemical additives, refined sugars and empty carbs. If I want to eat bright green or blue or pink I'm looking for kiwi or Michigan blueberries or lady apples.

But what if you are like Seinfeld and LOVE your cereal? Well, I guess at least go for whole grain cereals that aren't neon in color. Try making your own, like this recipe I found on epicurious.com: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mixed-Grain-and-Wild-Rice-Cereal-1435

You could also try making granola. This is actually a great tie in (surprise!) to our August staff selection at the shops, which is Milk & Honey Granola. We sell through several bags a day of this stuff, and I've heard more than one person's claim that this is the best granola they've ever tasted. This month you receive 1/2 off a bag when you buy another bag of granola at full price. We carry 4 flavors, each of them delicious, each made with real ingredients, with little else but dried fruit, nuts, honey & oats. And I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed that your milk isn't anything but white when you get to the bottom of the bowl!

August Staff Selection

Read on for staffer Melissa Yen's selection this month:

I love putting out the word about things that I am passionate about, which is (mostly) always food. Picking a staff selection was a pretty difficult thing to do, because Provenance carries so many great items. I tend to go home with something new every week. Nothing like leaving your paycheck at work! Speaking of work, I have two jobs, the other being at Milk and Honey Granola. I love working at two amazing, small local businesses, both run by incredible women. You see where this is going, don't you? Yes, Milk and Honey Granola is my staff pick, with full disclosure of course.I am just that honest. I really won't eat any other granola. You know the problem: no one else bakes it enough. All other granolas taste like raw oats to me! I have ranted and raved about this before. People are afraid to put color on their baked goods, cookies, pies, and granola. People, that is where the flavor is, in the caramelization of those lovely sugars. Don't be afraid to leave it in the oven for five more minutes. It's not going to hurt it.

I have spent many a shift making that lovely caramelized granola, back in the day when there was only one flavor and we shared a space with Terry's Toffee, another great product that Provenance carries. I won't tell you how many pieces of toffee I "sampled", McCall's Dark is my favorite. One day I baked granola for eight hours straight by myself! I think we were making the granola in thirty pound batches back then. So thirty pounds times at least five times; I don't even know how many batches that equaled. Math is not my forte, plus I lost track. The hardest part was not losing track when I counted cups of oats and honey and brown sugar. My mind tends to wander, as you may know if you read my blog, That's Not Lettuce. It tends to have lots of tangents, like this one here. Back to the important business at hand, Milk and Honey Granola. Funny, the part I remember most about that day is all the sheet pans I had to wash! I don't do any of the baking these days, but I do smell it baking all day long. Do you know how hard it is to resist that smell every day. Believe me, I don't. I can usually make it until after lunch, but then I break down and have to have at least a handful or two or three.

Eating Milk and Honey Granola right out of the bag is one of my favorite ways of enjoying it, although I would like to leave you with other ways to use granola, besides a snack or a topping for yogurt.

The easiest way to switch up your breakfast granola routine is to serve it hot, like oatmeal. You might want to try this once the temperatures drop a little. Just bring one cup of any type of milk to a simmer on the stovetop and add in half a cup of Milk and Honey Granola. Cook to desired consistency. You may need to tweak the recipe to fit your tastes. I like the combo of Vegan Papaya Cashew with almond milk.

Another way I love Milk and Honey granola is in cookies. How could you not? Why use boring old oatmeal, when you could add some crunch and excitement with granola! You can use any flavor, but I like the Blueberry Pecan best. You have to remove the dried blueberries as they have been baked into the granola. If you bake them again, they will get very hard. (I learned this the hard way. Poor little tooth!)


Chocolate Chunk-Granola Cookies
4 cups flour
4 cups Milk & Honey Blueberry Pecan Granola (remove dried blueberries)
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 lb unsalted butter
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
4 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups dark chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl and set aside.
Beat the butter and both sugars together in a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla to the butter mixture. Add dry ingredients until just blended. Add the chocolate. Spoon onto buttered or non-stick cookie sheets and bake in heated oven until golden brown, about 12-15 minutes. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.


In this fruit crisp recipe, feel free to sub out whatever fruit is in season, as we just missed strawberries and rhubarb. I think this would be great with peaches and the Cinnamon Raisin Granola.
Carol's Strawberry-Rhubarb Crisp


I thought this last recipe was so cool and very creative. And it showcases that granola is not just for breakfast anymore! It makes the perfect homemade gift. You can get some pretty ribbon at the fabric store and cellophane bags from the container store and you're in business! You do need a candy thermometer for this recipe, but don't let that scare you. You can pick one up at Sur la Table or The Chopping Block.
Happy gift making!

Maple Granola Brittle
Special equipment: nonstick bakeware liner (Silpat), candy thermometer, parchment paper
3 cups of original mix Milk and Honey Granola
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup fresh orange juice
¼ tsp salt
½ stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

Line a baking sheet with nonstick liner. Cook brown sugar, syrup, orange juice and salt in a 4 or 6 qt heavy saucepan over moderately high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon (be careful of splatters; mixture will be extremely hot) until the thermometer reads 285 to 290 degrees, about 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat, and add the butter and stir until butter dissolves. Then, quickly add the granola and stir until well coated. Immediately pour onto the liner, then cover the mixture with a piece of parchment paper. Roll out mixture with a rolling pin to ¼ inch thickness. Peel off parchment paper. Cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Break brittle into large pieces.

Food Rules #35: Eat Sweet Foods as You Find Them in Nature

With this rule, Pollan talks about eating whole fruits as opposed to drinking their juices - we tend to drink more of the juice because we feel less full, taking in more calories and less fiber. He also declares "there's no such thing as a healthy soda."

I will generally agree with those statements, however at home I find I'm more likely to make a smoothie in the morning in lieu of making a full meal for breakfast. I like the fact that I can put much more fruit in the smoothie and drink that than I would otherwise eat. Since I may not get a meal for several more hours (many times not until dinner because I am at work all day and being self-employed don't always get a 'lunch hour') I would rather have the smoothie to make sure I'm getting more servings of fruits & veggies.

As for soda...I hardly ever drink canned or bottled soda. I will have a can of Coca Cola every once and a while (like when I'm out the night before imbibing!) but I love sparkling water. I will drink twice as much water if it's sparkling than still. I don't know why - maybe because it's more like a cocktail? - but then I find myself feeling guilty about the added costs & waste from drinking bottled drinks. We recently got a Soda Stream at home and I LOVE it! The initial cost was $100 for the setup, which comes with 1 CO2 canister that makes approximately 100 1L bottles (50 2 liters) using tap water. Once the CO2 is out, you can exchange it for a full canister for around $15. That brings it to around 30 cents a 2 liter, unflavored. The Soda Stream came with several packets of 'flavored' sweeteners, which sounded unappealing until I tried them and now I find them utterly disgusting. Too sweet, too saccharin-y, and just plain HFSC. Instead, if I want a flavored soda, I add either one of the June Taylor syrups we sell at the shops or one of the many flavors a friend of mine has been having me test for her new line of syrups coming out this fall. I like that I can adjust the sweetness level to my taste (I like just a hint of flavor) as well as the carbonation, that there is so much less waste and I'm actually using tap water. I highly recommend getting a Soda Stream - in fact, some friends and I were recently joking that we're going to try and make our own sparkling wine at home with it as an 'experiment'...but I digress...

Here is a good article on making flavored syrups at home. In case you want to prove Pollan wrong and make your own sodas at home with fruit & herb syrups!

http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20100721/LIVING/707219976/1065/LIVING01

Food Rules #34: Salt & Sweeten Your Food Yourself

The levels of sodium and sugar in some foods & drinks are outrageous! If products have to sit on shelves for months (nay, years?) on end, they need to retain their "flavor"...hence the high levels of sodium in many canned & jarred foods. Try keeping those foods to a minimum in your diet, eating fresh foods, or foods with no added salt or sugar. You'll find that just a light sprinkling of non-iodized sea salt, a squirt of lemon/lime or fresh herbs will give it that extra flavor. Now, I LOVE salt. But I would much rather add it myself so I can taste it or better yet, so that it heightens the flavor of food, rather than NOT tasting it in a jar or can of prepared soup or sauce that has such a high salt content but that doesn't taste "salty".

Try this while we're able to get great seasonal produce in Chicago right now: steam or blanch veggies til they are crisp-tender, then taste. Still need the salt? Try sprinkling a touch of fleur de sel, smoked salt or another one of our flavored salts on them. Or, saute in a good olive oil. Simplicity at it's best! Fresh fruit at it's peak has so much natural sweetness you can balance it out with a dollop of creme fraiche or homemade whipped cream (no sugar added). Divine! We carry creme fraiche & Kilgus Heavy Cream regularly.

Also, read your labels. Try to avoid high-sodium and high-sugar (or artificially-sweetened) added products. Simplify. TASTE the real food!

July Staff Selection: Bron's Honey from Heritage Prairie Farm in Elburn, IL

From staffer staffer Jane Roberts comes our selection this month:

Bron's Raw Honey- Nature's perfect health food!

I first became curious about raw honey a few years ago when I began hearing more and more about its medicinal uses and health benefits, such as the power of local honey to combat seasonal allergies, or how a spoonful of honey could have the same effect as cough syrup for sore throats and coughs, and how its anti-bacterial properties made it a useful salve for cuts and burns. Loaded with antioxidants, raw honey is the healthiest choice among the various forms. It has the most nutritional value, and actually contains amylase, an enzyme concentrated in flower pollen, which helps digest starchy foods such as bread.

But wait! There's more! It also happens to be delicious!!!

My favorite local honey by far is Bron's Raw Honey from Bron's Bees, based at Heritage Prairie Farm in La Fox Illinois, with honey coming directly from the prairies of the Midwest. At the shop, we carry their raw buckwheat honey (with a deep rich flavor closer to molasses) as well as a raw honey infused with sage, both of which are really tasty, but I picked the plain raw honey because I love how versatile it is. Its mild flavor lends itself so well to any dish where a hint of sweet is what you want. Marinades, dressings, in baked goods as a sugar substitute, drizzled over pancakes, goat cheese, fruit, you name it! Provenance has its own hive with the farm too. Our hive's honey and honeycomb should be in the shops by August. How cool is that! Here are a few summer recipes that incorporate raw honey, adding a delicious little dose of sweet, healthy goodness to summer cooking adventures!

Save 10% all month long on all types of Bron's Honey in stock.