Savory Sesame Brown Rice Crackers

Make your own brown crackers?  Yes, you can.  I just did.

Why make your own?

Let me give you just one reason:  Did you know that they put talc in rice? TALC!  Talc ingestion is highly correlated with stomach cancer! We’ve been rice eaters for years and we just found this out by accident.

Hubby went to the store to buy brown rice.  Our usual brand was not in stock but he found this Korean brand instead.  It says Brown Rice No Talc U.S. No.1 Supreme Quality.  At the back, it says rinse rice lightly 3-4 times before cooking.

We found out talc is regularly used to polish the rice and make it shiny! A Japanese study showed that washing 9 times CANNOT remove the talc completely and talc is indestructable once ingested.  There is a prevailing hypothesis regarding high incidence of gastic cancer in Japan: chronic inflammation caused by bacterial infection enhanced by high salt intake and carcinogens (TALC) that leads to cancer.  Most Japanese and Korean moms wash the rice till the water runs clear. Washing and milling your own brown rice (unpolished rice) avoids the possibility of ingesting talc and possible residual fertilizers.

That’s why I’m thrilled with my Wondermill.  I can mill not just organic, talc-free rice, but also whole wheat, rye, beans, quinoa, teff,  nuts, lentils, chickpea and amaranth just to name a few!!

So here’s what you can do with your brown rice flour— my go to recipe for crispy, Savory Sesame Brown Rice Crackers.

Savory Sesame Brown Rice Crackers

3/4 cup brown rice flour
2 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp minced parsley
1/2 tsp salt
1  tsp brown sugar
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp onion powder (add more for oniony flavor)
1 Tbsp olive oil
4 Tbsp water

Measure out 2 cups brown rice. You will have more than enough brown rice flour for baking these crackers as you’ll be using only 3/4 cups brown rice flour for this recipe.

Washing rice gets rid of clinging starch left off in the processing so the cooked rice is not gluey.  It also removes any possible trace fungicides or additives like glucose so rinse brown rice four times, drain water and spread rice on a baking sheet and dry at 170 F for 25 min. or air dry.  Mill rice on the Wondermill.  It takes just 3 minutes!

Mix brown rice, sesame seeds, parsley, salt, onion powder, brown sugar, olive oil and water. Form a dough, squeezing if necessary. Using a rolling pin, spread it on parchment paper/ Silpat.  Crackers are crispier when dough is rolled thin.  Score dough into diamond shapes using a pizza cutter.  Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes or till lightly golden brown.  Make sure to let crackers cool so they crisp up. Enjoy!

Cheers,

Ann  (momgateway.blogspot.com)

Super Tender Passover Brisket and Real Salt Giveaway

Is Your Salt Real?   Do you use REAL sea salt - pure, unrefined, untreated with chemicals and no additives?

I grew up using coarse sea salt with specks of black and grey. We used to think it was kind of dirty but my mom said that's the color of natural sea salt.  My mom used to get this from the local market. This salt was freshly made -- sea water collected in shallow pools, exposed to the sun to evaporate all the water, raked and repeatedly sun-dried until the speckled, coarse, uneven salt crystals were ready to be harvested.  

That's why I was surprised that most brands of sea salt in the U.S. supermarkets are sparkling white in color. Even sea salt from the Mediterranean and coasts of France are pure white!

Here in the U.S., most sea salts are quarried from underground salt mines. To make iodized salt, potassium iodide and other ingredients may be added: calcium silicate, magnesium silicate, calcium phosphate or carbonate and even  dextrose -- to make salt-free-flowing.  Many salts intended for food processing are highly purified and stripped of their natural trace minerals so the "impurities" don't interfere with food processes!  You can read more about how salt is made at: http://www.madehow.com/Volume-2/Salt.html

Since my diagnosis we've been using pink Real Salt or sometimes Himalayan Salt because they have not been stripped of their natural minerals and flavor. It sort of reminds me of the verse about us being the salt of the earth and that salt that has no flavor  is worthless and fit to be thrown out and trampled underfoot.  White salt has not lost it's flavor but lacks the natural minerals that have been purified out by processing.

Most cancer patients have vitamin and mineral imbalances and are low in iodine, magnesium, zinc, calcium, selenium, other minerals, trace elements and Vitamins C and D.  It's said, a pinch of quality sea salt in several glasses of pure water each day provides us with minerals and trace elements we need stay healthy.  To help build my immune system, I take a small amount of minimally processed sea salt daily and mega-doses of vitamin C but I'll talk more about this vitamin in a later post.  

Meanwhile, would you like to make this succulent and delicious, No Fail Passover Brisket with just four ingredients?  It's so easy to prepare for any occasion.

 Super Tender Passover Brisket

     6-10 lbs of grass-fed beef brisket

     Olive oil

     Freshly crushed black pepper

     Real Salt

Rinse lightly the surface of the beef brisket. Pat dry with a towel. Spread olive oil evenly on all the surfaces.  Add generous amounts of freshly ground black pepper and Real Salt. (Don't worry, it won't be too salty as the salts will go to the with liquid that accumulates in the pan).  Wrap seasoned brisket with aluminum foil.  Place in the oven for 7-12 hours at 200 F. Cooking at very low temperature for a long time will make the brisket very tender. You can tell if the meat is ready when you can smell the distinct aroma of the cooked brisket. I found out 7 hours in the oven is just right for 6 pounds if you want meat that's tender but easy to cut cleanly with a knife.  Important: After taking it out of the oven, don't remove the foil tent and just let the meat rest for 20 minutes to 1 hour before slicing. 

Real Salt Giveaway:

My friends at Real Salt will be giving away a goodie package of  Real Salt (kosher and fine). I'm so happy I could share these product with you. I highly recommend them so please enter this giveaway so you can see for yourself how different real salt tastes.

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Real Salt Giveaway ends on June 30, 2012. Please leave a way to get in touch with you. Let me know if you friended momgateway on Facebook, shared this post on Facebook or followed momgateway on Twitter. Winners will be selected on June 31 and contacted by email.  Thank you so much.