[1] Frozen grapes keep chilled drinks (photo © Foods & Wines From Spain).

[2] A medley of grape colors looks best (photo © Melissa’s Produce).

Here’s a way to keep cool your glass of white wine or other cold drinks that are served without ice: Use frozen grapes as ice cubes!

They’re decorative, and when the drink is finished, tasty grapes that have taken on a hint of the drink are left to enjoy.

In addition to white wine, rosé, sparkling wine, use frozen grapes to chill:

 
You can also use them in drinks that typically have ice:

 
You can mix and max types of grapes, but make them seedless for more elegant consumption (i.e., no need to dispose of the pits).

How do you eat the grapes at the bottom of the glass?

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Sprouted bread is typically a product sold in natural food stores. In our little municipality—the island of Manhattan—the supermarkets are very small and you have to go to a natural foods store to find anything sprouted.

Fortunately, we have more than a few Whole Foods Markets which carry sprouted breads (check both the fresh bread and freezer sections).

And Silver Hills Bakery is a sprouted brand worth seeking out. Their whole grain products are so much more delicious and nutritious than conventional whole-grain breads.

And tastier than other sprouted brands we’ve tried.

So if you’re already a whole-wheat guy or gal, try sprouted. And if you eat supermarket white bread (with allowances for baguettes, challah, focaccia, rustic Italian loaves, and artisan breads from bakeries)…you’re in for a taste treat.

One that’s good for you!
 
 
WHAT ARE SPROUTED FOODS?

Sprouting, also known as germination, is a common practice used to improve the digestibility and nutritional value of :

 
The sprouting process involves soaking the food for up to 24 hours, then draining and rinsing repeatedly over several days.

It’s labor-intensive, but beneficial nutritionally (more about that in a minute).

To make sprouted bread, sprouted whole grains are milled into flour. It’s that simple.

We typically consume whole-grain breads instead of refined grains, but we’ve taken the next step.

Beyond conventional whole-grain bread, we’ve become a convert to sprouted grain bread because… we’ve discovered that it’s delicious!

In particular, a sample of sprouted breads from Silver Hills Bakery arrived, and we couldn’t stop eating them—especially the most textured, seed-loaded varieties.

Silver Hills Bakery has converted us to sprouted-grain bread and is our Top Pick Of The Week.
 
 
THE BENEFITS OF SPROUTED BREAD

It’s great that a slice of sprouted bread has 22g or more of whole grains (depending on variety) and 6g of protein (there are 3.6g in regular whole-wheat bread).

The USDA’s 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines recommends that Americans consume at least 3 servings of whole-grain foods daily, which adds up to 48 grams of whole grains. Two slices of Silver Hills bread will get you there, almost.

Sprouted bread has 47% less gluten than regular bread, 75% of the carbohydrates, and about 40% of the fat of even conventional whole-grain bread. There’s a greater amount of naturally occurring fiber, vitamins, proteins, and other nutrients.

As a bonus, sprouted bread is low glycemic, and more easily digestible.

But we’re in it for the great flavor.

Whether it’s avocado toast or toast with cream cheese or jam for breakfast, in a ham and Swiss or grilled cheese sandwich for lunch, or in the dinner bread basket, give us sprouted grains!
 
 
ABOUT SILVER HILLS BAKERY

Silver Hills Bakery is a Canadian-based company that sells in Canada and the U.S. Its lines include loaves of bread, bagels, buns, and tortillas.

They’re better-for-you bread options: sprouted whole grain nutrition, low-carb, gluten-free, and allergy-friendly.

The products are:

 
We’ve tasted the breads and bagels:

The Loaves: There are 16 different loaves, of which the majority are organic. For the texture we love, pick Squirrelly (sprouted wheat stuffed with sesame and sunflower seeds) and The Big 16 (oat-topped sprouted wheat stuffed with 16 seeds and grains). A fan favorite we haven’t tried is Mack’s Flax (sprouted whole wheat with whole flax and ground flax).

The Bagels: While the bagel textures are conventional—you wouldn’t know they’re sprouted, since the crumb* is smooth—we enjoyed them for their lower carb, low-glycemic profile. And the flavor is far better than the leading brand of frozen bagels! The flavors: Cinnamon Raisin, Everything, Plain, and Sesame Sunflower.

Silver Hills products are sold fresh and frozen, depending on the variety and the store. Look for them at Target, Whole Foods, and on Amazon. Here’s a store locator.
 
We’ve tried some other sprouted brands, but nothing tastes as good as Silver Hills. It’s worth seeing out.

There are plenty of recipes on SilverHillsBakery.ca.
 
________________

*Bakers use the term “crumb” to describe the interior consistency of breads and cakes. They can be light or dense, smooth or textured, etc.

[1] Sprouted power! Silver Hills Bakery’s lines are loaded with it (all photos © Silver Hills Bakery).

[2] Breakfast or snack? A sprouted bagel with peanut butter and fresh strawberries.

[3] French toast with Silver Hill’s Cinnamon Raisin sprouted loaf.

[4] Sprouted power for lunch. Your sandwich will taste better, too.

[5] Snack or first course: cheesy cauliflower spread on toast. Here’s the recipe.

[6] There are also sprouted hot dog and hamburger buns.

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[1] The three main types of onions: red, white, and yellow. But that’s just a start. Here are the different types of onions (photo © National Onion Association).

[2] A hot dog with raw onions, cilantro, and melted Swiss cheese (photo © Murrays Cheese).

[3] Beer-batter onion rings wih horseradish dipping sauce. Here’s the recipe (photo © QVC).

[4] A caramelized onion, potato and Gruyère pizza with rosemary. Here’s the recipe (photo © Domestic Gothess).

We’ve got onion uses and onion trivia for June 27th, National Onion Day. Onions are a vegetable we may not think a whole lot about. But Americans eat an average of 20-21 pounds per year.

“It’s hard to imagine civilization without onions,” quoth Julia Child. How do we enjoy them?

 
Here’s a recipe you may not have made before, but it couldn’t be easier: Baked Onions.

> The different types of onions and when to use which type.

> The history of onions.

> The year’s 6 onion holidays.

> More uses for onions.
 
And now…
 
 
ONION TRIVIA

Why do onions make you cry?

Sulfuric compounds are released when the cells of the onion’s flesh are cut. To cut down on the crying, chill the onion and cut into the root end of the onion last. Our special tip: Wear swim goggles when cutting onions! The reason sweet onions don’t make you cry is because there’s little sulphur in the soil where they’re grown.

One medium onion contains how many calories?

Just 45 calories. A one-cup serving of raw onions contains 64 calories.

What cocktail is garnished with an onion?

The Gibson is garnished with a pickled pearl onion, called a cocktail onion. According to The Webtender, these lesser-known cocktails are also garnished with a cocktail onion: Gent Of The Jury, Pan Galactic Gargle Blaster #2, Patton Martini, and the Yellow Rattler.

What should you eat to get rid of onion breath?

Chew on parsley.

What city was known as The Big Onion?

Before it was known as the Big Apple, New York City was called the Big Onion because it was “a place from which you could peel off layer after layer without ever reaching the core” [source]. However, Chicago is more rightly called called the Big Onion: “Chicago” is the French interpretation of the local Miami-Illinois Nation’s word shikaakwa, which means “stinky Onion” after garlic (not onion) plant that grew along the Chicago River [source].

More Onion Trivia

 
We close with an old English rhyme:

“Onion skins very thin, Mild winter coming in. Onion skins very tough, Coming winter very rough.”

Onion trivia is courtesy of the National Onion Association.

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