Italy goes crazy for KAMUT®
 In just eight short years Italy has become the top consumer of Kamut®, which is primarily grown in Canada and the US.
According to Bob Quinn, president of the Kamut Association, "they are consuming 43 per cent of everything grown now in the world."
Italians, who have a diet rich in pasta, breads, pizza and pastries are very accepting of this ancient grain and are easily making the transition from wheat to Kamut®. In fact, Italian manufacturers are producing 80 percent of the worlds Kamut® products which total around 1400.
Taste is the primary factor in the success of Kamut®. It has a similar character to durum wheat, however kamut lovers will tell you its more hearty. Many believe that this is because unlike wheat, Kamut® is an original and has not been bred for high yields and ease of harvesting. Culinary experts say that pasta made of Kamut® is easier to cook because it doesn’t overcook as easily as its durum counterpart. The price of Kamut® is slightly higher because it only yields about one third of the grain per acre than wheat, but you can be assured the Kamut® in your product is certified organic because that is the only way it is allowed to grow.
Penne with sweet chili pesto
4 small fresh sweet red chiles (less depending on your tastebuds)
3 oz goat cheese
3 organic garlic cloves
1/4 cup fresh basil
1/2 cup organic olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pounds Kamut penne pasta
3 tbsp toasted pine nuts (optional)
Puree garlic, basil and chiles in a food processor. Add olive oil and puree again. Add pine nuts if desired and puree once more. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cook Kamut penne according to package directions. Rinse and drain well.
Toss the pasta with the pesto sauce in a bake-proof dish. Dot the penne with the goat cheese and broil until cheese is partially melted. Plate and serve. Serves 4.
Ahi Tuna Tarter
Wonton Crisps
18 wonton wrappers
2 tbsp Carlina’s Cucina organic olive oil
3 tbsp sesame seeds
Preheat oven to 300°F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut the wonton squares on an angle to make two triangles. Arrange the wonton triangles on the baking sheet. Brush with olive oil on one side.
Sprinkle lightly with sesame seeds. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. These can burn easily so watch on them closely.
Let cool on a cooling rack.
Tartar Mix
6 ounces sushi-grade tuna, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
2 tbsp green onions, green parts only, finely chopped
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp organic tamari
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp peeled and grated fresh ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp Carlina’s Cucina orange infused olive oil
2 tbsp cilantro, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped organic mixed greens (add arugula if available)
salt to taste
1 avocado, diced into 1/4-inch pieces
1 tomato diced into 1/4-inch pieces
cilantro sprigs for garnish
Mix tuna, green onions, sesame seeds, tamari, toasted sesame oil, ginger, garlic, orange infused olive oil, cilantro, tomato and salt together in a medium bowl. Mix well and refrigerate.
Right before ready to serve, add the avocado and mix. Place a heaping teaspoon of the tuna mixture on each wonton triangle. Place another wonton triangle on top and garnish with finely chopped organic greens and cilantro. Serve immediately.
NOTE: Do not leave the tuna out at room temperature for more than 1 hour.
Serves 8.
 Fresh look at Fish Farming
The story behind rising global consumption of seafood is a culinary success. Marketed as brain food, as an antidote to heart disease and as a healthy protein alternative, global seafood consumption is going up ten percent a year. With wild fish stocks being pressured by commercial interests and our love of seafood, it’s hard to see how sustainable this can be. One estimate is that wild salmon can only currently satisfy one third of world demand. As international fisheries can be hard to police and the fact that climate change will certainly change ocean ecosystems, its worth taking a fresh look at fish farming.
Fish farming gets a bad rap, especially on Canada’s west coast where salmon is the main commercial species. British Columbia is the fourth largest producer of farmed salmon in the world after Norway, Chile, and the United Kingdom. The most common criticism is that salmon aquaculture threatens wild stocks through disease transfer and competition for the ocean habitat.
Atlantic salmon and Pacific Chinook are the main salmon species farmed in BC. The west coast industry began with Chinook, but many operators switched over to Atlantic salmon because of lower costs. Using Atlantic salmon is often seen as a threat to native stocks. However, Chinook still makes up about 25 percent of the west coast fisheries.
Salmon farming is maturing as an industry, and some operations are taking steps to farm as sustainably as possible. For the environmental leaders, this means things such as no antibiotics, hormones, feed regulations and increased monitoring. Following a similar effort in the UK, many fish farmers are now seeking organic certification to deliver proof of concept to today’s fish consumers.
Atlantic Canada Fishery at a Cross Roads
By Kathy Birt
 Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) is looking at addressing the issue of declining species in Atlantic Canada with a holistic "ocean to plate" approach.
The entire East Coast fisheries has seen countless problems in the past 10 to 15 years, including: declining stocks, invasive species, siltation build up of harbours and bays as well as an overabundance of nutrients. "Agricultural fertilizers that help crops grow, can cause weeds to grow invasively (in waters) and choke out oxygen," says DFO’s Dave Dunn.
Historically, the approach to declining fish stocks was focused on individual species. Because of an intensive study of the Northumberland Strait - which separates PEI from the mainland - DFO is changing the way fishery problems are approached. "We need to look at the ecology of the ocean … to look at all the species and their environment … the single species approach has not worked," says Dunn.
Baked Apples
6 large, organic sour apples (e.g. Granny Smith)
1 cup organic maple syrup
3/4 cup chopped nuts (hazelnuts/walnuts/pecans)
1/4 cup raisins
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
pinch salt
1/4 cup organic butter
1 cup African Red Rooibos
Preheat oven to 350°F. Rinse and core apples. Arrange apples in ovenproof dish. Mix maple syrup, spices, nuts and salt. Stuff apples with mixture and heap slightly. Dot with butter. Pour Rooibos into the dish. Bake for approximately 20 minutes until apples are tender. Baste occasionally.
Serve hot or cold with your favourite topping ... cream, ice cream, whip cream or just on its own. Serves 6.
“In 1999 the findings from research conducted in Japan indicated that the anti-aging properties found in Rooibos far exceeded any other known plant on earth.”
www.antiaginglifeextension.com |
