The Emporia Gazette

February 12, 2012

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Last week we looked at the Angel Food Ministry, which is a nationwide program to alleviate hunger in America.

Three churches in town are participating in the program. Orders are taken around the beginning of the month for delivery at the end of the month.

The primary choice is a box of food that should feed four people for a week. You can also order supplementary boxes that are specialized. The program organizers work hard to ensure all the foods are quality products, fresh and nourishing.

Last week was all about the meat offerings, so this week we’ll look at the other things. Just as a reminder, it helps to have certain staples on hand to make a meal go farther. Grains, breads, and crackers and beans have very long shelf lives and are filling as well as nutritional. Aim for whole grains, wheat breads and brown rice to ensure you receive the maximum fiber and vitamin benefit. Keep a few onions and potatoes around for flavor and bulk, and it’s nice to have garlic on hand if you like garlic.

As an example, the chicken-flavored rice and vermicelli pouch (generic Rice-a-Roni) should result in three cups of food once cooked. For four people, that’s 2/3 of a cup each, which isn’t a lot if you’re hungry. Adding an extra cup of cooked rice won’t dilute the flavor. Adding a cup, more or less, of green peas (or other cooked, diced vegetable) will bulk it up even more, and then, if you top it with a cheesy white sauce, you’ve bulked up the serving closer to two cups. A smaller portion of meat, a warm whole-grain roll to sop up sauce with and a second vegetable will fill the plate right up. But wait! That’s not all!

You can do a Chinese stir fry with thin strips of pork or chicken, a cup or two of peas, maybe some chopped broccoli and a scrambled egg. How about mixing in a can of stewed tomatoes and a few bites of beef or chicken, a chunk or two of potato and onion and a dash of garlic for a nice stew?

Pasta Primavera is more of an opportunity than a recipe. It’s based on a pasta dish with whatever sauce you have on hand and whatever vegetables are fresh. It could be rotini with carrots, peppers, onion and a cream sauce, or angel hair with broccoli, cannelloni beans, mushrooms and a marinara sauce. Traditionally, pasta primavera is spaghetti with fresh vegetables tossed in olive oil.

The January Angel Food box has peas and broccoli in it. If you added two dollars worth of chopped carrots, bell pepper and olives, you would have a hefty side dish, or even a main vegetarian course.

PASTA PRIMAVERA

4 cups mixed vegetables, chopped

3 Tbsp. olive oil

Salt and pepper

1/2 tsp. Italian seasoning or other herbs

1/4 cup pasta sauce

1/2 pound pasta (in this case, the 7 ounces of rice in your box)

Bring salted water to a boil and add the pasta. While it’s cooking, sauté the vegetables in the oil for about 10 minutes, stirring only occasionally, until vegetables are just barely cooked.

Turn the heat very low under the vegetables and add a quarter-cup of sauce, followed by a quarter cup or less of water, broth or wine. Season with herbs, salt and pepper to taste. Drain the pasta and add to the pan, tossing until everything is lightly coated. If the sauce seems thick, add a splash or two of the pasta water. Serve with some grated parmesan on top if you have it, and bread sticks. This would go great with a baked chicken leg quarter.

The January box has a pound of dried pinto beans. We covered bean basics last July, so you may recall that one pound of dried beans makes six cups cooked. The official USDA serving size is a half cup, so that’s 12 servings, or three meals’ worth of beans. Plus, beans and rice together make a complete protein, eliminating a nutritional need for meat in that meal.

Last week we talked about boiling some of the chicken to make a stock. Use that stock to boil up your beans for added flavor. Once cooked, toss two cups cooked beans with two cups of the cooked rice and vermicelli and add a can of stewed tomatoes. Add one-inch pieces of cooked meat and serve with tortillas or cornbread. Take an extra cup of cooked beans, the last cup of rice and vermicelli and make a soup with chicken broth and bits of chicken meat from making the broth. Season it with onion, garlic and maybe even add potatoes for a nice soup. Or, you could try this recipe:

HONEY BAKED BEANS

2 cups dry beans, soaked

1/2 to 1 lb. ham

1 large onion chopped

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1 cup honey

2 tsp. dry mustard

3 Tbsp. ground ginger

1 tsp. each salt, pepper

Drain the soaked beans and cover with 3 quarts of fresh water. Bring to a boil, then lower heat to simmer. Cook until the beans are tender, about 40 minutes. Drain the beans, but save the cooking liquid. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Put your beans in a five quart baking dish. Stir in the ham, onion and garlic (the ham is optional, but keep it in mind when you add salt). Whisk the honey and spices into 2 cups of the bean cooking liquid, then pour this over the beans. Stir, cover and bake for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. If the beans seem to be getting dry, add a little more liquid. Laying strips of bacon on top before baking is certainly an option!

This next recipe can be enhanced with an extra 1/4 cup of fruit, such as blueberries, raspberries, mashed banana, chopped apple or pear, or even chopped nuts. The package should make six small muffins. This recipe will build six larger muffins.

BIGGER BLUEBERRY MUFFINS

7 oz. package of blueberry muffin mix

2 oz. cream cheese

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup berries or fruit

Cut the cream cheese into the dry muffin mix using a pastry cutter or fork. Add eggs, milk and vanilla. Fold in additional fresh fruit or nuts. Pour into prepared muffin pan. Bake 15 to 18 minutes and serve with whipped butter or marmalade (whipping the butter makes it go farther!).

Finally, the box has six packages of instant oatmeal. Make the bowl bigger by adding in fresh or dried fruit or nuts. Prepare it with warm milk instead of water. Stir in a spoon of yogurt instead of butter or jelly instead of sugar. Oats stick to your ribs and some extra fructose will help keep the full feeling going until lunch.

I just got a peek at the February boxes, which are full of beef, chicken, beans and rice. There is a “Frozen Sides and Fixin’s” box, a “Super Value Fajita” box, and 20 lbs. of tree-ripened Florida tangerines just for starters.

If you are interested, call one of these groups for more information: Grace United Methodist Church (342-2240), Church of the Nazarene (342-2858) and First Presbyterian Church (342-0375). Cash, money orders and vision cards are accepted. How angelic!

Next week we’ll take a peek at a new Kansas cookbook/memoir by Carolyn Hall: “Prairie Meals and Memories.” The week after that is right before Valentine’s Day. Do you have a date? How about a date recipe? Send me your best date recipes (and maybe the story of your best date?) and we’ll read all about it Feb. 11. Write me at murphysmenu@yahoo.com or 517 Merchant, Emporia KS 66801. The deadline is February 5. Let’s get cooking!