Steel Cut Oats

I've been 'meaning' to try these for many months now - well I finally did this week and I love them! 12 minutes cooking on the stove and you have a yummy bowl of oats ready to top with more yumminess. Steel Cut Oats are very nutritious - they are low on the glycemic index, high in soluble fiber (8g/serving) and protein (6g/serving). (I bought Arrowhead Mills Organic Steel Cut Oats) Many of the food blogs I read regularly feature some delicious bowls of oatmeal they make, so I was well inspired. Today it was a TB natural peanut butter, 10 raisins, 1/3 banana and a drizzle of honey. The other day it was a TB of plain greek yogurt, a handful of blueberries and a drizzle of honey. Another day I used sunflower seed butter and banana. I also plan to add some chia seeds, ground flaxseed, almond butter, or walnuts. The possibilities are endless and what a great way to get a nutrition boost in the morning.

Here's a great breakdown of the different terms for oats that I saw today on Tastespotting.

Lemon Cucumber Goodness

Yes, you heard right, LEMON cucumber! No, it's not citrus-y in the least - in fact it's crisp, a little sweet and flavorful - and all cucumber. Thad and I had never seen these pretties before when we ran across them a few weeks ago at an interesting booth at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market. The woman also grows over 50 varieties of organic heirloom tomatoes and quite a variety of zucchini and squash.

The skin of this heirloom lemon cucumber is a little thinner than a typical cucumber, but there are pricklies to be rubbed off. And of course there are seeds inside, but what a pretty picture they make! The first time we bought them I sliced them thin with some heirloom zebra striped tomatoes and a bit of a purple sweet pepper, tossed in some white wine vinegar, EVOO, salt and pepper making a delicious crisp fresh salad that just screamed summer! Tonight I'm using this one in a lemon cucumber and pesto salad to take advantage of the abundance of fresh basil. (see recipe)

Every time we discover something new to us at the farmer's market it makes us wonder how many varieties of produce have been 'lost' to us in the world we now live in where fruit and vegetables are grown by corporate farms for their hardiness and ability to ship 3000 miles across country rather than for their beauty and unique tastes. I did a bit of research online and found that lemon cucumbers date back to 1894!