Activia is the yogurt known for it’s probiotic Bifidus Regularis – which is used by many to help regulate their digestive system.  A few years back my sister mentioned how she had (regular) Activia every day to keep her regular.  I preferred Greek Yogurt though, it keeps you feeling full longer – maybe because of the higher protein level. they say 2 times higher than regular yogurt, but when comparing Activia to Activia Greek, it’s about 3 times higher.

I definitely prefer the Greek Activia  over regular Activia. It was a creamy thick yogurt with fruit on the bottom, which of course you have to mix together.  I’m  used to mixing plain yogurt with fruit so I’m not a fan of too sweet syrup with fruit on the bottom.  This was good, not too sweet at all.  My only complaint, if it’s a real complaint is that the website photo shows yogurt to the tip top of the container and it was a little low and not filled to the top.  Drat!  I would have liked that quarter inch more yogurt.  Here’s a coupon for 1.00 off Greek Activia.

I tried Garden Blueberry, Strawberry Patch and Orchard Peach.  My favorite was Garden Blueberry, my daughter liked the Orchard Peach.  I could use more fruit chunks, but I do add my own to bump it up a little.  These containers are a serving and are very portable. My husband and I took ours to work everyday and my daughter ate hers at home.

If you would like a chance to try Dannon Activia Greek Yogurt -

The Prize:

Activia Greek Yogurt, An Activia Greek Cooler (bag), and a Brand New Spoon, so you can dive right in!

How to Enter:

This contest will run through Midnight, EST June 1, 2013.  US residents only.

Take a look at the Dannon Activia Greek Yogurt and in the comments tell us which two flavors you like best.  (One Entry only)

Extra Entries:

1. Like the Cookerati Facebook Page - leave your facebook name in the comments and let us know.

2.  Join our mailing list by submitting the form below and leave another comment below to tell us that you joined. (You will recieve the weekly RSS Feed Email, plus any special emails).

Maximum of three entries total. (One of each type.)

Disclosure:  I was given an Activia Gift Pack to review.  The opinions are my own, I received no compensation for this review.

Duck Eggs

I was late to the farm market but needed eggs, so I made a bee-line to vendors that carried eggs.  Well, they didn’t have any chicken eggs but they had duck eggs. So I bought 3 dozen because I was in dire need.  I inquired as to the difference between duck and chicken eggs and found out a few things.

• Duck eggs are larger than chicken eggs.

• The ratio of  yolk to white in duck eggs are larger (more yolk and less white) than in chicken eggs.

• The shells are pretty strong, and harder to crack which means they last a little longer before going bad.

• The eggs are a little richer because of the extra amount of yolk.  I have heard that they are better in cakes but I haven’t tried them.

• Nutritionally they are close however,  a duck egg has twice as much cholesterol.

I’ve used the eggs in fritattas, and on over easy.  I can tell the difference in the over easy due to the larger more rich yolk but in the fritatta or scrambled it wasn’t as noticeable. Cook gently, I noticed that it tends to get dried out if cooked too quickly.

• Enter to win The Batali Brothers Cookbook Sweepstakes -  The contest is sponsored by Harper Collins and includes a round trip to New York City and a meet and great with Mario Batali on The Chew set – as well as a signed cookbook.  Last Day to Enter is May 29th.

• Earth Balance is hosting a Spring to Life Recipe Contest.  Grand Prize is a trip to Oregon, other prize winners receive one year supply of Earth Balance Products and gift packs. May 20th is the last day to enter.

• Wine and Dine at Papermoon Vineyards – take a tour of the vineyard, sip some wines and enjoy a wine and tapas dinner pairing prepared by Johnny Schulze of Zydeco Bistro Food Truck. This event takes place May 23rd st Papermoon Vineyards in Vermilion, OH – 50.00 per person.

• The Food Tales, Food Styling and Photography Workshop I mentioned last week, has changed it’s date, so you can still get it in on it.  New Date is June 22, 2013 in Queensland.

• Taste of Cincinnati is coming up May 25 -27th, 2013(Memorial Day weekend).   It’s a really large street festivals featuring more than 40 fine dining restaurants, plus it’s a music festival as well and free.

Before you go pick out something, get to know what your mother/wife appreciates,.  Not everyone would agree with me, my mother who has little interest in cooking, would be first to diasgree.  However, if I suggest something to my husband, he’s  finally stopped questioning my sanity and now picks out what I want.  Here are a few suggestions:

• Lodge Enameled Cast Iron Dutch Oven.  There’s a really expensive brand that though I covet, I don’t own.  I do own Lodge a USA brand that is comparatively less expensive, nice looking and does a great job.  It cooks like a dream.  Stews can start on the stove and go in to the oven to cook.  Cast iron heats evenly, and thoroughy.  The only drawback is that although the dutch oven cleans relatively easily, it does stain on the inside. I saw my dutch oven in the store one year right before Christmas and begged my husband to get it.  It made me very happy.  It’s too late to order this one and get it for Mother’s Day, but this is a thing of beauty.

I also have Lodge Cast Iron Frying Pans that I love, but they aren’t as pretty for a gift, and they make awesome fritattas.

• T-fal Ice cream maker- This is more a fun gift than a necessity.  I have been considering the purchase of an ice cream maker for a while and now I get to create my own flavor combinations.  My kids will probably want something that will have chunks of cookies in i but I have hibicus powder to experiment with.  I haven’t perfected it yet but I GET TO EXPERIMENT and that’s cool to me.

• A great steel lasagna pan.  I asked my mom for one at Christmas Twenty years ago and she picked a winner. I really don’t know what brand I have, but this looks like it.  I have had people tell me that they will steal my pan when I’m not looking.  It’s more light weight than a glass or ceramic pan of the same size and travels well.  I brought this to my mother in law’s yesterday with Shepherd’s Pie in it, enough to feed everyone plus some.

• I’m sure it’s too late to find this – but my husband bought me Temp-tations Old World Oven to Table Set and I was touched.  It wasn’t something I asked for, but he saw it and thought of me and it was perfect. So, if you haven’t ordered and sent out a gift, this is a nice set to use at a gathering -even my mother appreciates it.

Okay, it’s late, and you still have to run to the store.  These are a few suggestions of things I would appreciate for a gift.  The T-Fal was sent to me to try out, and I think it fits as a nice mother’s day gift.  The others, I received as a gift (sometimes requested it for a gift). The links to amazon do give me a minor of income – so minor that I have yet to earn anything and as I’ve said you can get these products at a retail store (except the Temp-tations).

There are other things that are appreciated for Mother’s Day – a family gathering where you all bring food.  Yesterday we brought Shepherd’s Pie – but I think the best gift was that my husband and his brothers painted his mother’s house for her.  It looks beautiful.

Cookware/Kitchenware for Mother’s Day – appreciated, or not?

• Since we like truck tours, and we like Ben and Jerry’s, we’re happy to bring you another Ben & Jerry’s Truck Tour in 2013.  I would like to encourage Ben and Jerry’s to recognize the rest of the country and hit the midwest states.  I think they could make it to Cleveland without burning up this time. Just a thought…

• Carla Hall’s Lounge is sold out …. for the Cooking Solutions event at the Monterey Bay Aquarium and there are a few other fun sold out things going on, but there are still a bunch more fun things open and if you look on Sunday morning- you could have breakfast with Carla Hall while you discover ways to help save the ocean one meal at a time.

• Help Chipotle’s raise money to support Local Matters.  Print off this flyer and bring it in on May 14th to Central Ohio Chipotle’s between 4 pm and 8 pm.

• Head out to classes in Clintonville’s City Folk’s Farm Shop.  There’s a full calendar of fun and interesting things to learn and a few are complimentary.

• The latest Saturday Evening Post has some healthy recipes by Ellie Krieger.  Check it out.

Edible shoots:

• Garlic
• Onion
• Broccoli and other Cole Crops
• Radish
• Turnips
• Peas
• Sweet Potatoes
• Lettuces and Other Greens

I’ve used the pressure cooker many times as a way to fix a meal quickly without losing the flavor or moistness. Since there is less evaporation due to the seal, you need a little less liquid but it’s still pretty juicy.  The most difficult part for me is always when I have to wait for the little button to go down, so that I can separate the pot and lid.  It’s always amazing how the meat is ready to fall apart after such a short time.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 – 2lbs Brisket
• 3 tbs oil
• 1/2 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 can tomatoes (I used my home canned – Quart jar)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp paprika
• pepper
• salt
• chipotle seasoning (optional)

Heat up the oil on the bottom of the pressure cooker. When the oil is hot, sear the brisket on all sides, while sauteing onions and garlic.  After the meat is browned on all sides, dump all of the other ingredients in, nestle the meat  and put the lid on, and seal it.  After about an hour, take it off the heat and wait for the button to go back down.  Using two forks, pull the meat apart and swish around in the sauce on the bottom of the pan.

The chipotle seasoning can make it spicy, so you can leave that out if you think it will be too hot.

Pressure Cooker Brisket in a Pinch

 

Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 20 mins

 

When you don’t have all day to slow cook a brisket on the grill, a faster shortcut is to use the pressure cooker

Author: Diana

Recipe type: Barbecue

Ingredients

• 1½ – 2lbs Brisket
• 3 tbs oil
• ½ onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• ½ cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 can tomatoes (I used my home canned – Quart jar)
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• 2 tsp paprika
• pepper
• salt
• chipotle seasoning (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat up the oil on the bottom of the pressure cooker. When the oil is hot, sear the brisket on all sides, while sauteing onions and garlic. After the meat is browned on all sides, dump all of the other ingredients in, nestle the meat and put the lid on, and seal it. After about an hour, take it off the heat and wait for the button to go back down. Using two forks, pull the meat apart and swish around in the sauce on the bottom of the pan.
2. The chipotle seasoning can make it spicy, so you can leave that out if you think it will be too hot.

3.2.1753

• Sunmaid Raisin and Gooseberry Patch have created a kid friendly recipe book – Sun-Maid Recipes for Healthier Eating.  The really good news is that it’s free.

• Ball – the company that brings you those very useful canning jars has a list of canning classes.  Check to see if you can find any in your area on their Fresh Preserving Site.  Also included in the list is the State Cooperative Extension website link.

• Village Harvest Rice is holding a Facebook Photo Contest.  Take your best original pictures of your favorite rice dishes that use the varieties of rice/grain that Village Harvest offers and submit them.  Entry submission is through May 31, 2013. Grand Prize is an international trip valued at 7,500.00.

I want my egg dishes to have some bulk to it; I don’t want to be hungry in an hour.  I add ingredients that will stay with us as well as have a ton of flavor. I try to use one pan – and while this is mostly a one pan meal(a one castiron pan meal), I do use the microwave for softening the sweet potatoes to speed the process up.  You can saute it on the stove, or bake it in an oven or toaster oven wrapped in foil to soften it instead.

Using a cast iron pan, I saute the mushroom slices and put the mushrooms aside.  I don’t want the mushrooms to absorb all the liquid and get mushy, so a quick saute and then set aside.  I quick saute the sausage, shallots and swiss chard stems together and it becomes the bottom layer.  After the sausage is cooked through and the stems and shallots are creamy , on top of this I place slices of softened sweet potatoes, chopped swiss chard, some black beans, the sauteed mushrooms and then I add in a little chopped swiss cheese and some fresh goat cheese.

The fresh goat cheese from integration acres is some of the best stuff I’ve tasted – so soft, and creamy and delicious. If you see it at the farm market, snatch it up.  It came in our Market Bag along with the swiss chard and the sweet potatoes last week.

Lastly, I pour a scrambled eggs mixture over top, using a spatula to lift the layers to allow the egg to seep underneath and a fork to guide the egg down through the layers.  Then I take a salty cheese – like parm and grate a very thin layer on top before putting the pan into the oven on a low broil.  Since my husband has to watch the sodium we use swiss cheese most often which is one of the lowest in sodium and I use only about an ounce, plus an ounce of goat cheese, and a sprinkle of parm.  Parmesan has the most, so a very, very, very light sprinkle will give flavor without too much sodium.  If sodium isn’t an issue you can add more cheese and Parmesan. If you would like it to be vegetarian, you can substitute vegetarian sausage – and we’ve used luna burgers crumbled also.  The sodium may be higher with vegetarian sausage so look at your labels.  Our beans were dried that I soaked and froze.  If you use canned, rinse the beans and drain first.

This is one of my favorite Sunday morning brunchfest ideas.  My husband and son love it too, it doesn’t leave them wanting to search the fridge for a snack in a half hour because it has so much fiber, protein and deliciousness in it.

Sausage, Swiss Chard and Sweet Potato Fritatta

 

Print

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

15 mins

Total time

35 mins

 

Great breakfast that contains plenty of delicious seasonal veggies for the late winter/early spring

Author: Diana

Recipe type: Breakfast

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1½ cups breakfast sausage
• ½ small onion
• Olive Oil
• Big bunch of swiss chard
• 1 small sweet potato – softened
• ¼ cup cooked black beans (or canned)
• ½ cup sliced mushrooms
• 1 tsp butter
• 1 ounce swiss cheese chopped
• 2 ounces chevre
• smidgen of grated parmesan
• 8 eggs

Instructions

1. Set oven to low broil.
2. Dice onion.
3. Separate stems from leaves of Swiss Chard.
4. Dice the stems and chop the leaves, keep separate.
5. Saute sausage, onion and swiss chard stems together until browned and softened.
6. Slice sweet potato into slices and layer over sausage mixture.
7. Saute mushrooms in a separate pan in 1 tsp butter.
8. Throw on swiss chard leaves, mushrooms and black beans.
9. Sprinkle cheeses around.
10. Scramble the eggs in a bowl and pour over everything in the pan, lifting the mixture for the eggs to get to the bottom and using a fork to get it to the middle of the mixture in the pan.
11. Place the pan on to the top shelf of the oven until the top of the eggs are cooked an not runny but still light in color and shiny.
12. Grate parmesan over top lightly before serving.

3.2.1753

My tip is to – dehydrate the stems, pulse them in the small food processor until they are a powder.  I use the mushroom powder in gravies, sauces, meatloaf, or in a meat rub.  They could be added to your deviled eggs, or if you make home made cheese.  A little bit of extra earthy flavor sprinkled in, on or around whatever you like.  I have a jar I keep in my cabinet near the stove to sprinkle as needed.  Magic Mushroom Powder – try it out.