GardenFork – Eclectic DIY

  • Quinoa, Beans, and a Clean Pantry

    Poached egg on beans and quinoa

    Thanks to Eric and Tony, I’m poaching eggs like a line cook at a country club brunch.

    My local grocery store has a bin for the food pantry. I looked in my pantry and saw five cans of chicken noodle soup. I can’t remember the last time I ate soup from a can, because we make our own. It’s more likely that those cans expire before we ever use them. There was just a lot of good food and my grocery store couldn’t make it easier for me to donate to our local food pantry.

    I had an open bag of quinoa that if I didn’t use, I would have to toss. Quinoa is a grain that is packed with good stuff. It taste like couscous, but has more protein and fiber. The only problem I’ve found with quinoa is if you over cook it, it will get gummy and can turn slimy.

    First, soak Quinoa for at least 15 minutes. Then strain it through a very fine mesh sieve. Quinoa is very fine and it will run right through most colanders. Using a ratio of Two to One Water to Quinoa, bring quinoa to a slight boil and then turn the heat down to a simmer for 30 to 35 minutes or until tender and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

    I mixed half quinoa with beans, baked onions, and fresh spinach and topped it with a poached egg. Very filling and tasty!

    For more information about quinoa, check out Daniel Delaney’s WTF show and blog. http://danieldelaney.com/wtf/quinoa/

  • Paccherri Pasta with Poppy Seeds : GardenFork.TV

    Our Pasta with Poppy Seeds Recipe comes from Joe Brancaccio of Brancaccio’s Food Shop in Windsor Terrace, Brooklyn, NY. You can make this recipe with other kinds of pasta, but the big round tube pasta works best. Its real good; make this and then tell us about it in the viewer forum.


    1 lb of Paccherri or other big round tube pasta

    1 medium onion  sliced thinly from top to bottom

    1 cup  chicken broth  – you need high quality broth for this

    2 tablespoons butter

    2 tablespoons poppy seeds

    small handful of basil leaves, sliced thinly

    1/2 cup mix of romano and parmesan cheese – not the stuff that comes in a round tube

    olive oil for cooking

    add 2 glugs of oil in a saute pan

    over low heat, sweat the onions in the oil, you do not want the onions to brown, but  you want them wilted nicely

    add the chicken broth and allow it to reduce, toss the onions in the broth a few times while this cooks.

    when the broth has thickened a bit, take the pan off the heat and add in the butter, stir it lightly

    add in the poppy seeds, toss to mix

    then stir in the basil and cheeses

    then eat.

  • Social Media for Small Business : GardenFork Radio

    Social Media Consultant John Federico joins us to talk about how small businesses can use social media. John can be reached through his website: www.newrules.com

    photo by Stockarch

  • Crazy is rarer than you think : GardenFork Radio

    Eric reflects on how we can see light out of tragedy, ways to volunteer in your community, using super glue as a high tech band-aid, we talk about the Roku Box, Boxee, appleTV box with Daniel Delaney of What’s This Food, and we meet GF viewer Warren on Skype.

    links to sites mentioned

    Jon Stewart, The Daily Show http://www.thedailyshow.com/full-episodes/mon-january-10-2011-denis-leary

    http://volunteermatch.org

    http://redcross.org

    http://lionsclubs.org/EN/index.php

    Daniel Delaney’s What’s This Food?

    photo by penywise

  • How to start a perennial flower bed : GardenFork Radio

    Freya from Chalet Nursery in Wilmette, IL joins us to talk about how to start a perennial flower bed in your yard. Starting  perennial flower bed is not hard, especially when you listen to an expert like Freya, not like Eric. Call our listener call in line: 860-740-6938 and ask a question or leave a comment.

  • Rugelach – Roll Up Treats : GardenFork.TV

    My Grandmother and Mom made Rugelach for the Christmas holiday. We also called Rugelach ‘roll-ups’ not sure why, maybe it was easier to say. But, Rugelachs are easy to make, and with Eric’s recipe for rugelach, you can too. Our family’s version of rugelach used the classic nut – sugar mix, but we also used jam or jelly. Its important not to use too much jam or jelly; when you bake the rugelach, some of the jam may seep out and burn you cookie sheet. Not a good thing.

    Eric’s Rugelach Recipe

    2 cups all purpose flour

    2 sticks butter – cold – cut into 1/2 cubes

    3 teaspoons sugar

    8 ounces cream cheese – cut into 1 inch blocks

    1 teaspoon salt

    2 cups chopped walnuts

    1/2 cup brown sugar

    1 teaspoon cinnamon

    lemon zest – optional

    Preheat oven to 350F

    In a food processor, pulse the flour and butter together until the flour coats the butter and the mix starts to look like large cornmeal.

    Add in the cream cheese and pulse to mix it all together, it should start to form small marbles, and also just some fine powder as well. ( it never looks like it does on the food TV shows, don’t worry )

    Put the flour mixture into a large bowl, and start to add small amounts of ice water, about 2 tablespoons at a time. Mix the water into the flour until you get a dough that is wet, but dry enough to handle.

    Shape the dough into a big disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and put in the freezer for about 10 minutes, or the fridge for 30 minutes. You can also leave the dough in the fridge until the next day if you want.

    Mix the walnuts with the brown sugar and cinnamon. You can also add lemon zest to the nut mix.

    On a floured counter or plastic wrap, or whatever you like to use for dough, try to shape the dough into a big circle, like a pizza. If it isn’t perfect, don’t worry, use a pastry scraper to cut out a rough circle, save the extra pieces.

    Pour the nut mixture onto the circle of dough

    Cut pizza slices into the dough. the outside of the slice should be 1.5 – 2″ wide.

    Roll up the slices so they look kinda like croissants.

    Place on a greased baking sheet, bake at 350F for about 30 min. The crust should be slightly golden, you can bake them more if you like, just don’t burn them.

  • Tornadoes, Cast Iron, Baking Bread: GardenFork Radio

    Severe Weather correspondent Tyler joins us today to talk about tornadoes, apple TV, the new viewer forum, a new way for seasoning cast iron, baking bread, and Viewer Mail. Call our listener call in line: 860-740-6938

    photo by taliesin

  • Do apple seeds have arsenic in them?

    I had not heard that appleseeds had arsenic in them until a viewer asked about it on our how to make applesauce video.

    With a little searching, I found the Department of Energy Ask a Scientist site, where this question of arsenic in appleseeds was answered to my satisfaction.

    Question –   Do apple seeds have arsenic in them? Is it dangerous to
    process apples with the seeds still in the fruit?

    The good news: apple seeds do not contain arsenic. The bad news:  apple
    seeds DO contain cyanide. As for processing the apples, what kind of
    processing are you interested in? Grinding apples and pressing them for
    cider doesn’t release enough cyanide to be a problem;  neither does cooking
    apples and straining them to make a sauce. About the only way you can
    actually ruin into a problem with the toxicity of apple seeds is if you save
    the seeds from about a bushel of apples and eat them all at once.

    So, as long as you don’t eat a bushel of apple seeds, you are fine. Eating a bushel full of anything could probably kill you, don’t you think?

    What other poisons in food myths, rumors, facts have you heard about? Let us know below.

  • Green Travel : Take the Train : RealWorldGreen.com

    Air Travel has a huge carbon cost, its not green at all. Consider travel by train, its very green, and much less stressful. Watch this episode of Real World Green and green your travel. How do you green your travel or vacation? Let us know below:

  • Green Your Car, Increase Your MPG : RealWorldGreen.com

    Learn how to get better gas mileage and green your car in this Real World Green video, on location at Eric’s dad’s house. Some more information than you need to know in this one, but still, you’ll learn some tips on getting better MPG from your car. Let us know your suggestions in the comments below:

  • Green Your Office Paper Use : RealWorldGreen.com

    Greening your office starts with paper use in your office or home. Recycled Paper is just the start to an eco office. Watch here as we show you a few ways to make your office more green, and less full of paper. How to you green your office and home? Let us know below:

  • Green the Office : Take the Stairs : RealWorldGreen.com

    Be Green and Healthy, forsake the elevator and take the stairs. Learn more in this Real World Green video. How to you green your health? Let us know below:

  • Improve Your Gas Mileage : RealWorldGreen.com

    Improving your gas mileage MPG is one way to green your life, and its not that hard. Here we take a ride in Mark’s Shelby GT Cobra and talk about greening your car mileage. What’s your way to get better MPG? let us know below:

  • How to Recycle Glass : RealWorldGreen.com

    Recycling glass does not get as much notice as recycling plastic, but we have a lot of glass in our waste stream. Let’s look at how to recycle glass in this Real World Green video. Let us know your thoughts below:

  • How to Recycle your Cell Phone or Smartphone : RealWorldGreen.com

    Cell Phones and smartphones should not be tossed into the garbage. They’ve got some toxic materials in them, AND they may be of use to people who need a cell phone, but can’t afford one. Watch as we show you how to recycle your cell phone or smartphone

  • Make Paper CD Cases : RealWorldGreen.com

    Plastic CD cases are wrong in many ways, so why not grab some paper from the recycle bin and make your own Paper CD or DVD cases? Today we show you how to make paper CD DVD cases, or holders, or whatever you want to call them. How do you  make CD DVD cases? Let us know below:

  • Green Your Fast Food : RealWorldGreen.com

    You can green your fast food, sort of and its ok to eat donuts, just watch us first. Green your fast food, auto, and your life by being greener in your car and your take out food. The Labrador Retrievers join us in this video to help out with the donuts! Watch all our RWG Videos for more green info on carbon footprints and practical green tips on recycling, eco lifestyles, and having a green life, office, and home: link here.

  • Refurbished Tools are Green : RealWorldGreen.com

    Need a new tool? Consider buying a refurbished one instead and green your garage and home. Watch Real World Green to learn more. Let us know your thoughts below.