I've been using an oil spray pump for a long while now - I switched from Pam to avoid both the waste of the empty cans and the many ingredients added to help it spray and keep it from spoiling. In my experience, though, pump sprays are notoriously mediocre, spraying in clumps rather than mists, and never for as long as I'd like between pumping. Still, small prices to pay for a reusable container that sprays nothing but the pure oil of my choice.
After five or six years, my last pump finally pumped its last. After a bit of looking around, I came across the Cuisipro Spray Pump at Extra Ingredient. At $14, it was more than I had paid for my last one, but after using it for the first time this morning, I think it was well worth the few extra dollars.
Amazingly enough, it does, in fact, mist, and has an easy pump action. It's a little thing, but in my experience, a few good, essential kitchen tools can be the difference between a pleasant cooking experience and a painful one. For a dramatic example, spend a week using a relatively dull utility knife before switching to a sharp chef's knife - you'll know exactly what I mean.
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 05, 2008
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Lazy woman's health food: beets and sweet potatoes
As happens all too often, my kitchen has a backlog of dirty dishes and, as I confessed to just a couple of posts ago, I was lacking the motivation to do anything about it or cook dinner by the end of the work day yesterday. Fortunately, I had the ingredients for a lazy woman's healthy dinner that took all of 10 minutes of active prep time.
Ingredients:
Beets
White wine vinegar
Sweet potatoes
Yogurt (I prefer Greek, which is increasingly available in grocery stores)
Garlic powder
Salt
Cheese, optional
**I was able to purchase everything but the vinegar, salt and yogurt at the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market and, with the Goat Lady Dairy starting to offer yogurt, the list of grocery store items will soon be even shorter
I scrubbed the beets and wrapped them in foil with a splash of the vinegar, which I think aids the sweetness of the beets. Then, I scrubbed the sweet potatoes, poked holes in them and stuck everything in a 400 degree oven.
Then I read a book for an hour.
Once the sweet potatoes were soft to the touch and the beets could be easily pierced with a knife, I mixed together the yogurt, garlic powder and salt while the beets cooled a little. To avoid pink hands and to buffer the heat, I slapped on some latex gloves and peeled the beets by rubbing them briskly with a paper towel; they were then sliced to roughly 1/4-inch disks... very roughly.
I cut open the potatoes - Rob topped his with cheddar and cinnamon; I stuck a dollop of the yogurt on mine. I divided the rest of the yogurt between our plates and topped with beet slices. I sprinkled the slices with the tiniest bit of kosher salt and tah-dah, a lazy woman's healthy dinner.
The beets are a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Arabesque - they also suggest a drizzle of olive oil which I often do, using Giacomo's brand. It nights like these that make me wonder why I ever fall back on pizza delivery...
Ingredients:
Beets
White wine vinegar
Sweet potatoes
Yogurt (I prefer Greek, which is increasingly available in grocery stores)
Garlic powder
Salt
Cheese, optional
**I was able to purchase everything but the vinegar, salt and yogurt at the Greensboro Farmers Curb Market and, with the Goat Lady Dairy starting to offer yogurt, the list of grocery store items will soon be even shorter
I scrubbed the beets and wrapped them in foil with a splash of the vinegar, which I think aids the sweetness of the beets. Then, I scrubbed the sweet potatoes, poked holes in them and stuck everything in a 400 degree oven.
Then I read a book for an hour.
Once the sweet potatoes were soft to the touch and the beets could be easily pierced with a knife, I mixed together the yogurt, garlic powder and salt while the beets cooled a little. To avoid pink hands and to buffer the heat, I slapped on some latex gloves and peeled the beets by rubbing them briskly with a paper towel; they were then sliced to roughly 1/4-inch disks... very roughly.
I cut open the potatoes - Rob topped his with cheddar and cinnamon; I stuck a dollop of the yogurt on mine. I divided the rest of the yogurt between our plates and topped with beet slices. I sprinkled the slices with the tiniest bit of kosher salt and tah-dah, a lazy woman's healthy dinner.
The beets are a recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks, Arabesque - they also suggest a drizzle of olive oil which I often do, using Giacomo's brand. It nights like these that make me wonder why I ever fall back on pizza delivery...
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Versatile ingredients: polenta
I was poking through my now defunct food blog, Thought for Food, when I came across a post that I thought deserved updating and revision...
Though I consider cooking to be one of the great pleasures in life (right below eating), I am not immune to the challenges of finding motivation to spend an hour or more in the kitchen after a full work day. The fact that my office is a mere staircase away from my kitchen doesn't seem to be much help either.
What does help, though, is having a few versatile pantry ingredients that can be easily paired with anything that happens to be in the fridge. An often overlooked favorite of mine is polenta. This mixture of cornmeal, water or stock and salt can be ready in 15 minutes and paired with everything from spicy Mexican flavors to mellow Mediterranean flavors and everything in between.
There is a lot of flexibility in the basic recipe for polenta, largely depending on how soon you want to eat. To serve two people in 15 minutes, bring 1 1/2 cups water, stock or a combination of the two (you could even use a combination of milk and water for a creamier polenta) to a boil. Whisk in 1/3 of a cup of polenta slowly - if you pour it in too quickly, your cornmeal will clump and you'll be left with a truly inedible mess. Whisk in salt and pepper to taste, along with any other seasonings you like, such as garlic or cayenne pepper. Reduce heat and stir frequently until it thickens to your liking; I prefer my polenta fairly thick, much like a hearty oatmeal.
Now, while the above recipe works well, if you have the extra time, you can achieve a much creamier texture by starting with more liquid, say 4 cups or water and/or stock. Again, whisk in the cornmeal once the liquid comes to a boil and turn the heat to low. Stir frequently. If the polenta thickens before you're ready to serve, whisk in more liquid (preferably warm liquid) and keep going - you can keep a pot of polenta on the stove for most of the day if you're vigilant about stirring every 15 minutes or so, and adding liquid as needed. The cornmeal grains will absorb the liquid and plump, leaving you with a smooth texture, as compared to the more grits-like texture of the quick recipe.
Once you have your basic polenta recipe made, you can top it with just about anything you have available.
For a Mexican twist, spread the polenta in a baking dish and top with taco meat (leftovers work great here) and Jack or Colby cheese, then bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheese melts, about 15 minutes. Serve with taco toppings like shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and avocado or black olives.
To incorporate Mediterranean flavors, spoon polenta onto a plate and top with a quick, chunky tomato sauce made by sautéing chopped sweet onion, garlic and red and/or yellow bell peppers in olive oil until crisp-tender. Stir in a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, 2 Tb of tomato paste, a pinch of red pepper flakes (if you like a little heat) and a large splash of white wine and simmer until heated through, about 20 minutes. Stir in chopped kalamata olives and top with feta cheese.
Or make a quick polenta "lasagna" by spreading the cooked polenta into a baking dish and topping with jarred tomato sauce and whatever else you like in lasagna: cooked meat, mozzarella and/or Parmesan cheese and sauteed veggies of any variety. Again, bake just until the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes in a 350 oven.
But my all-time favorite polenta topper, and an amazingly healthy meal, is sauteed greens. I sauté sliced garlic and onion (it will maintain its texture better if you slice it vertically, from root to stem) in olive oil, then add chopped sundried tomatoes, golden raisins, red pepper flakes and washed torn greens - any combination of kale, chard, mustard or turnip greens. Cover and let greens steam, stirring frequently. It should take less than 10 minutes for the greens to cook down enough, depending on the time of year and age of the greens (baby greens being more delicate and therefore cooking much more quickly). Season to taste with salt and pepper, then serve on a plate of polenta and, if you like, top with shredded Parmesan, Pecorino Romano or feta cheese.
Because it has a relatively neutral flavor and is so easy to prepare, polenta is a great jumping off point for a variety of meals.
A final word to the wise: you can spend a bundle on the boxes of cornmeal called polenta, or you can buy a bag of coarsely ground cornmeal and have this dish for pennies per serving.
Though I consider cooking to be one of the great pleasures in life (right below eating), I am not immune to the challenges of finding motivation to spend an hour or more in the kitchen after a full work day. The fact that my office is a mere staircase away from my kitchen doesn't seem to be much help either.
What does help, though, is having a few versatile pantry ingredients that can be easily paired with anything that happens to be in the fridge. An often overlooked favorite of mine is polenta. This mixture of cornmeal, water or stock and salt can be ready in 15 minutes and paired with everything from spicy Mexican flavors to mellow Mediterranean flavors and everything in between.
There is a lot of flexibility in the basic recipe for polenta, largely depending on how soon you want to eat. To serve two people in 15 minutes, bring 1 1/2 cups water, stock or a combination of the two (you could even use a combination of milk and water for a creamier polenta) to a boil. Whisk in 1/3 of a cup of polenta slowly - if you pour it in too quickly, your cornmeal will clump and you'll be left with a truly inedible mess. Whisk in salt and pepper to taste, along with any other seasonings you like, such as garlic or cayenne pepper. Reduce heat and stir frequently until it thickens to your liking; I prefer my polenta fairly thick, much like a hearty oatmeal.
Now, while the above recipe works well, if you have the extra time, you can achieve a much creamier texture by starting with more liquid, say 4 cups or water and/or stock. Again, whisk in the cornmeal once the liquid comes to a boil and turn the heat to low. Stir frequently. If the polenta thickens before you're ready to serve, whisk in more liquid (preferably warm liquid) and keep going - you can keep a pot of polenta on the stove for most of the day if you're vigilant about stirring every 15 minutes or so, and adding liquid as needed. The cornmeal grains will absorb the liquid and plump, leaving you with a smooth texture, as compared to the more grits-like texture of the quick recipe.
Once you have your basic polenta recipe made, you can top it with just about anything you have available.
For a Mexican twist, spread the polenta in a baking dish and top with taco meat (leftovers work great here) and Jack or Colby cheese, then bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheese melts, about 15 minutes. Serve with taco toppings like shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and avocado or black olives.
To incorporate Mediterranean flavors, spoon polenta onto a plate and top with a quick, chunky tomato sauce made by sautéing chopped sweet onion, garlic and red and/or yellow bell peppers in olive oil until crisp-tender. Stir in a 28 oz can of diced tomatoes, 2 Tb of tomato paste, a pinch of red pepper flakes (if you like a little heat) and a large splash of white wine and simmer until heated through, about 20 minutes. Stir in chopped kalamata olives and top with feta cheese.
Or make a quick polenta "lasagna" by spreading the cooked polenta into a baking dish and topping with jarred tomato sauce and whatever else you like in lasagna: cooked meat, mozzarella and/or Parmesan cheese and sauteed veggies of any variety. Again, bake just until the cheese is melted, about 15 minutes in a 350 oven.
But my all-time favorite polenta topper, and an amazingly healthy meal, is sauteed greens. I sauté sliced garlic and onion (it will maintain its texture better if you slice it vertically, from root to stem) in olive oil, then add chopped sundried tomatoes, golden raisins, red pepper flakes and washed torn greens - any combination of kale, chard, mustard or turnip greens. Cover and let greens steam, stirring frequently. It should take less than 10 minutes for the greens to cook down enough, depending on the time of year and age of the greens (baby greens being more delicate and therefore cooking much more quickly). Season to taste with salt and pepper, then serve on a plate of polenta and, if you like, top with shredded Parmesan, Pecorino Romano or feta cheese.
Because it has a relatively neutral flavor and is so easy to prepare, polenta is a great jumping off point for a variety of meals.
A final word to the wise: you can spend a bundle on the boxes of cornmeal called polenta, or you can buy a bag of coarsely ground cornmeal and have this dish for pennies per serving.
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Disaster and dine
Some nights, dinner appears effortlessly out of a seemingly empty fridge, sometimes as simple as a baked sweet potato and a pile of roasted green beans. Some nights, I like to put a little more effort in, perhaps even following a recipe, like the night before last when I set out to make a scrumptious sounding Hazelnut & Chard Ravioli Salad from 101 Cookbooks.
So, I had beautiful goat cheese ravioli from Giacomo's, and appealing substitutions of pine nuts and mustard greens from the market. It's a rather long recipe - not complicated, just plenty of steps involving plenty of pans. I started with the butternut squash croutons... which never quite crisped... but no worries, butternut squash is one of the candies of the veggie world regardless of texture. Moving on.
Sauteing onions, check. Ravioli slowly boiling themselves to the top of the pot, check. Time to wash the greens.
Dirt, my friends, comes part and parcel with shopping at the farmers' market. You wouldn't know it from a grocery store, but most of our food does, in fact, originate in soil. Washing greens, then, is an endurance test: dunk the torn, de-stemmed leaves in a bowl of cold water, swish to dislodge dirt, lift the greens into a colander, clean out the wash bowl and repeat (and repeat and repeat).
As I tore these mustard greens, however, they seemed a little dirtier than usual, with large flakes of dirt shooting across my counter and sticking to my hands. I covered the first bowl in cold water and saw all the flakes float to the surface... some of them looked a little frayed at the edges. I scooped up a palm-full of dirt, held my hand practically to my nose, and realized that the specs of dirt I had been diligently attempting to wash away were in fact tiny bugs, millions of them.
Now, I have certainly picked a bug or two out of my produce before and continued my merry meal prep because it's like the slow foodies like to say: the only thing worse than finding half a worm in your apple is eating apples no self-respecting worm would bore into. I'm paraphrasing.
But millions of tiny bugs coating each of my dozens of mustard leaves? My apologies to the farmer who sweated over that greens patch (and only charged $1 for the entire grocery bag of greens - come on, guys - ask for what your food is worth!!) but everything was swept into the trash. I submerged my dishcloth in water to drown the remaining bugs, then had Rob give me a full-body scan in the hopes that being reassured by my one true love that bugs were not, in fact, covering every inch of my body would keep me from having to take a scalding shower where I scrub myself with a brillo. Beyond a couple moments of feeling imaginary pairs of miniature legs climbing me, it worked pretty well.
Once the bugs had been dispatched with, I decided that sauteed portobello mushrooms would be a workable replacement for the missing bulk of our dinner. These were also a farmers' market purchase but a week and a half old so the shrooms had already lost a good bit of moisture, on their way to becoming dried shrooms. But it's getting late (even for us, who eat after 9 more often than we'd like) and we're hungry so I just chop them and throw them in a lightly oiled pan.
Shortly thereafter, as I was grating lemon zest and parmesan for the garnish when I noticed the acrid smell of the mushrooms burning. Not just a little scorched but beyond repair and taking my pan with it. Yup, an operator error stole my last ditch effort at salvaging our meal.
So there we were with six large, cooked raviolis, a pan of sauteed butternut squash and caramelized onions, toasted pine nuts, grated lemon zest and some shredded parmesan cheese, proving yet again that some of the best meals (and ideas in general) are borne of mistakes. The greens or mushrooms would have added a lovely and nutritionally-packed element, but by piling all the ingredients on the ravioli, we had an amazing meal filled with distinct, light flavors.
Hurrah for happy culinary endings!
So, I had beautiful goat cheese ravioli from Giacomo's, and appealing substitutions of pine nuts and mustard greens from the market. It's a rather long recipe - not complicated, just plenty of steps involving plenty of pans. I started with the butternut squash croutons... which never quite crisped... but no worries, butternut squash is one of the candies of the veggie world regardless of texture. Moving on.
Sauteing onions, check. Ravioli slowly boiling themselves to the top of the pot, check. Time to wash the greens.
Dirt, my friends, comes part and parcel with shopping at the farmers' market. You wouldn't know it from a grocery store, but most of our food does, in fact, originate in soil. Washing greens, then, is an endurance test: dunk the torn, de-stemmed leaves in a bowl of cold water, swish to dislodge dirt, lift the greens into a colander, clean out the wash bowl and repeat (and repeat and repeat).
As I tore these mustard greens, however, they seemed a little dirtier than usual, with large flakes of dirt shooting across my counter and sticking to my hands. I covered the first bowl in cold water and saw all the flakes float to the surface... some of them looked a little frayed at the edges. I scooped up a palm-full of dirt, held my hand practically to my nose, and realized that the specs of dirt I had been diligently attempting to wash away were in fact tiny bugs, millions of them.
Now, I have certainly picked a bug or two out of my produce before and continued my merry meal prep because it's like the slow foodies like to say: the only thing worse than finding half a worm in your apple is eating apples no self-respecting worm would bore into. I'm paraphrasing.
But millions of tiny bugs coating each of my dozens of mustard leaves? My apologies to the farmer who sweated over that greens patch (and only charged $1 for the entire grocery bag of greens - come on, guys - ask for what your food is worth!!) but everything was swept into the trash. I submerged my dishcloth in water to drown the remaining bugs, then had Rob give me a full-body scan in the hopes that being reassured by my one true love that bugs were not, in fact, covering every inch of my body would keep me from having to take a scalding shower where I scrub myself with a brillo. Beyond a couple moments of feeling imaginary pairs of miniature legs climbing me, it worked pretty well.
Once the bugs had been dispatched with, I decided that sauteed portobello mushrooms would be a workable replacement for the missing bulk of our dinner. These were also a farmers' market purchase but a week and a half old so the shrooms had already lost a good bit of moisture, on their way to becoming dried shrooms. But it's getting late (even for us, who eat after 9 more often than we'd like) and we're hungry so I just chop them and throw them in a lightly oiled pan.
Shortly thereafter, as I was grating lemon zest and parmesan for the garnish when I noticed the acrid smell of the mushrooms burning. Not just a little scorched but beyond repair and taking my pan with it. Yup, an operator error stole my last ditch effort at salvaging our meal.
So there we were with six large, cooked raviolis, a pan of sauteed butternut squash and caramelized onions, toasted pine nuts, grated lemon zest and some shredded parmesan cheese, proving yet again that some of the best meals (and ideas in general) are borne of mistakes. The greens or mushrooms would have added a lovely and nutritionally-packed element, but by piling all the ingredients on the ravioli, we had an amazing meal filled with distinct, light flavors.
Hurrah for happy culinary endings!
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Local meat links
A reader just happened to have received the following list yesterday and was kind enough to pass it along. I haven't sampled food from every one of these farms but the ones I have tried have been a pleasure - Wards' bacon is the best to ever cross my lips; Hilltop ostrich is great (and the flavor just isn't that gamy); and we just tried goat from Weatherhand this week and were pleased with the steaks we grilled - I'm looking forward to trying some braised dishes after buying more this weekend.
Baldwin Family Farms
Ca swell County
1-800-896-4857
vmac@baldwinbeef.com
(BEEF)
Back Woods Family Farm
Free range chicken eggs and meat& PORK
They are at the curb market on Sat
Hilltop Ostrich Farm
Forsyth County
336-760-6189
ostrichonhilltop@aol.com
OSTRICH MEAT
Homeland Creamery
Guilford County
336-685-6455
milk@homelandcreamery.com
www.homelandcreamery.com
MILK PRODUCTS SOME BEEF and PORK
M & M Farm
Ca swell County
336-234-9216
CHICKEN EGGS
Moore Farm
Randolph County
336-622-5618
bradsfarm@yahoo.com
www.ncchoices.com
pasture raised pork
Rising Meadow Farm
Randolph County
336-622-1795
annandron@risingmeadow.com
www.risingmeadow.com
LAMB
Rocking F Farm
Guilford County
336-451-4787
mafields@bellsouth.net
www.RockingFFarm.com
BEFF
Terrell Double TT Farms
Randolph County
336-861-5085
beefmaster@ttbeef.com
www.ttbeef.com
Ward's Farm Fresh Pork and Eggs
Guilford County
336-697-0281(also at the curb market)
WeatherHand Farm
Randolph County
336-685-4800
weatherhand@aol.com
www.epicourier.com/Weatherhandfarm/
CHICKEN ,GOAT (Also at the Greensboro Curb Market)
Natalie Foster
Cornerstone garlic farm
(Okay, not meat but this woman seriously knows garlic - great stuff!)
Baldwin Family Farms
Ca swell County
1-800-896-4857
vmac@baldwinbeef.
(BEEF)
Back Woods Family Farm
Free range chicken eggs and meat& PORK
They are at the curb market on Sat
Hilltop Ostrich Farm
Forsyth County
336-760-6189
ostrichonhilltop@
OSTRICH MEAT
Homeland Creamery
Guilford County
336-685-6455
milk@homelandcreame
www.homelandcreamer
MILK PRODUCTS SOME BEEF and PORK
M & M Farm
Ca swell County
336-234-9216
CHICKEN EGGS
Moore Farm
Randolph County
336-622-5618
bradsfarm@yahoo.
www.ncchoices.
pasture raised pork
Rising Meadow Farm
Randolph County
336-622-1795
annandron@risingmea
www.risingmeadow.
LAMB
Rocking F Farm
Guilford County
336-451-4787
mafields@bellsouth.
www.RockingFFarm.
BEFF
Terrell Double TT Farms
Randolph County
336-861-5085
beefmaster@ttbeef.
www.ttbeef.com
Ward's Farm Fresh Pork and Eggs
Guilford County
336-697-0281(
WeatherHand Farm
Randolph County
336-685-4800
weatherhand@
www.epicourier.
CHICKEN ,GOAT (Also at the Greensboro Curb Market)
Natalie Foster
Cornerstone garlic farm
(Okay, not meat but this woman seriously knows garlic - great stuff!)
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Cutting up a whole chicken
I have to confess that I sometimes use my blog as an electronic filing cabinet, storing links and videos I might want to reference later...
I've always done a disservice to the souls of chickens I've bought whole (and dead and plucked - don't be gross) and attempted to cut into pieces - a terrible guilt to bear. It was quite the relief when a new friend told me about this brilliant YouTube video in which a community college instructor makes the process idiot-proof... unfortunately, these are among the rarely-seen un-embed-able videos in the YouTube library.
Buying whole chickens is certainly more affordable... and dark meat is not the evil we've come to believe it is - when the animals are raised according to their nature. Pasture-raised animals have been shown to have higher levels of those great omega-3s and lower levels of the scary saturated fat that comes of feeding animals foods their bodies aren't meant to process.
So, buy a whole chicken, then watch these videos to cut it into 8 lovely pieces:
I've always done a disservice to the souls of chickens I've bought whole (and dead and plucked - don't be gross) and attempted to cut into pieces - a terrible guilt to bear. It was quite the relief when a new friend told me about this brilliant YouTube video in which a community college instructor makes the process idiot-proof... unfortunately, these are among the rarely-seen un-embed-able videos in the YouTube library.
Buying whole chickens is certainly more affordable... and dark meat is not the evil we've come to believe it is - when the animals are raised according to their nature. Pasture-raised animals have been shown to have higher levels of those great omega-3s and lower levels of the scary saturated fat that comes of feeding animals foods their bodies aren't meant to process.
So, buy a whole chicken, then watch these videos to cut it into 8 lovely pieces:
Saturday, June 23, 2007
Being my own personal chef
I spend an inordinate amount of time cooking... my choice. I enjoy time in the kitchen, playing with flavors, watching meals come together and all of the sensory pleasures what come from working with food - the textures, sounds, smells and, of course, tastes. But lately, I've been feeling the time crunch when I am torn between spending after-work hours preparing the kind of meals Rob and I want to eat and spending that time working on the house or one of my many jobs.
This weekend, I finally convinced myself to spend a good chunk of Sunday preparing our meals for the week. Because our primary grocery source is the farmers' market and our CSA (Consumer/Community Supported Agriculture) bag, menu planning is an ingredients-down task. It ended up like this:
Then clear a few hours of a day and cook. For the best flavor, only cook things partially so that when you heat them at mealtime, they don't become overdone. I made the pieces of the tuna dish but didn't even unwrap the tuna. Likewise, I boiled the potatoes and prepped the veggies but didn't make or add the dressing.
Finally, when working from the market, i.e. shopping once a week, be sure to keep in mind the shelf-life of different ingredients. For example, we'll eat the tuna tonight because it is the most delicate/perishable.
My fridge is now packed with well-labeled containers (e.g. "chopped scallions for potato salad") - now to see how footloose and fancy free weekday evenings become...
This weekend, I finally convinced myself to spend a good chunk of Sunday preparing our meals for the week. Because our primary grocery source is the farmers' market and our CSA (Consumer/Community Supported Agriculture) bag, menu planning is an ingredients-down task. It ended up like this:
- Bunch of kale
- I made polenta and will saute the kale in olive oil with sun-dried tomatoes, golden raisins, red pepper flakes and lots of garlic
- Beets
- I roasted these in my toaster oven. Some will be shredded for a beet tzatziki to serve with tuna (Healthy Eating for your Heart). The rest I will either eat on salad or as a snack.
- Carrots
- Most of these went into carrot and cashew sandwiches (Vegetarian Times) and the rest were sliced as a salad topping
- Fennel
- I'm not a fennel fan but am eager to become one. I sliced these bulbs thin and did a quick rice vinegar pickle. We'll eat it with the tuna tonight.
- Yukon gold potatoes
- These were boiled and made into an herbed potato salad with kidney beans (Fresh Indian).
- Salad bag
- Yup: salad. Any veggies left over from the above dishes were chopped, sliced or otherwise prepped and used as salad topping.
Then clear a few hours of a day and cook. For the best flavor, only cook things partially so that when you heat them at mealtime, they don't become overdone. I made the pieces of the tuna dish but didn't even unwrap the tuna. Likewise, I boiled the potatoes and prepped the veggies but didn't make or add the dressing.
Finally, when working from the market, i.e. shopping once a week, be sure to keep in mind the shelf-life of different ingredients. For example, we'll eat the tuna tonight because it is the most delicate/perishable.
My fridge is now packed with well-labeled containers (e.g. "chopped scallions for potato salad") - now to see how footloose and fancy free weekday evenings become...
Friday, June 15, 2007
Strawberry preserves, two ways
Following my annual tradition, I put off strawberry picking - and therefore jam making - until it was so late in the season that I had to call farms to make sure there were still strawberries to pick. Perhaps my fears were a little premature this year because though the fields at Ingram Farm were certainly thinned-out, my sister, nephews and I were able to pick more than 10 pounds in just a couple of rows.
In the afternoon, I used roughly half of the strawberries in two jams. I made the first with great results last year: Strawberry Margarita Preserves. It was a little thin last year and even more so this year. It's not that I didn't believe the thermometer when it said the preserves hadn't reached the ideal temperature to gel... or maybe it was that... For a tried and true instrument, I seem to have a hard time trusting thermometers. I always end up thinking it's not properly calibrated, or I don't have it in the ideal spot between the top and bottom of the pot or that after an hour, my preserves could possibly still be runny. Fortunately, texture and flavor are two different things in making preserves and even if this did turn out to be syrup, it's still mighty tasty.
The second batch of preserves is from my fancy canning book, Mes Confitures. This book reads like it's 80 years old, but was just released in 2002. Really elegant, interesting recipes, including (I hope) the preserves I started yesterday: Strawberry Preserves with Black Pepper and Fresh Mint. It's a three-day process, starting with macerating the strawberries with sugar and lemon juice overnight. Today, I will boil the mixture, then let it sit overnight again. Tomorrow, the final cooking and canning.
Keep your fingers crossed - two flavors of strawberry syrup would be fine, but something spreadable would be even better.
In the afternoon, I used roughly half of the strawberries in two jams. I made the first with great results last year: Strawberry Margarita Preserves. It was a little thin last year and even more so this year. It's not that I didn't believe the thermometer when it said the preserves hadn't reached the ideal temperature to gel... or maybe it was that... For a tried and true instrument, I seem to have a hard time trusting thermometers. I always end up thinking it's not properly calibrated, or I don't have it in the ideal spot between the top and bottom of the pot or that after an hour, my preserves could possibly still be runny. Fortunately, texture and flavor are two different things in making preserves and even if this did turn out to be syrup, it's still mighty tasty.
The second batch of preserves is from my fancy canning book, Mes Confitures. This book reads like it's 80 years old, but was just released in 2002. Really elegant, interesting recipes, including (I hope) the preserves I started yesterday: Strawberry Preserves with Black Pepper and Fresh Mint. It's a three-day process, starting with macerating the strawberries with sugar and lemon juice overnight. Today, I will boil the mixture, then let it sit overnight again. Tomorrow, the final cooking and canning.
Keep your fingers crossed - two flavors of strawberry syrup would be fine, but something spreadable would be even better.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Take fresh approach to eating
This column was originally printed in the News & Record on June 13, 2007.
Though cooking is one of my passions, cooking and I had a falling out once the local produce grew skimpy this winter. My pans lay fallow in their cabinet and my knives grew bored and dull. I would quickly use the greens or sweet potatoes I bought at my weekly farmers’ market visit, then aimlessly roam the aisles of the grocery store only to return home with coffee and dog treats.
But in the last few weeks, my kitchen has been shocked back to life by the onset of the
For most people, eating this way sounds nice but as doable as spending a full day at a spa each week – it just doesn’t fit into life as usual. Dietary changes are tough: they mean rethinking how and where we shop, confronting the places where our emotions are linked to our kitchens and convincing those we share meals with that there really are better ways. Sometimes it means saying goodbye to our favorite dishes, like the casserole with cream of mushroom soup and Rice-a-Roni that Rob and I used to devour greedily. But the overall benefits to our physical health, and the health of our economy and environment, make transitioning to a whole and, preferably, local diet worth every ounce of energy.
I encourage you to think about dietary change as a gradual process defined by a mantra from The Real Food Revival by Sherri Brooks Vinton and Anna Clark Espuelas: better choices, more of the time. Start small by visiting a farmers’ market and buying treats like artisanal cheese or homemade pastries. The next time you go, buy vegetables you’re familiar with. The third time, buy unfamiliar vegetables, comforted by the knowledge that you are buying from the farmers, people who are happy to share a variety of ways to prepare everything they sell.
Then become your own personal chef – the trick is a little organization and one free afternoon two or three times a month. Make lists for everything, including: enough recipes to feed you until the next time you can cook, arranged from complex to simple so you end your day on an easy note; groceries you didn’t get at your market visit; and, most importantly, a prep list of ingredients so that you can chop once for multiple meals (and, wonderfully, minimize the onion-induced sniffles).
Once your kitchen counter is covered with freshly-prepared meals, divide everything into the number of portions your household eats in a night. Put your meals in the refrigerator until cool, then freeze. Each night, move a meal or two from the freezer to the fridge to thaw overnight; all you’ll have to do come dinner time is heat your pre-prepared food in the oven or microwave.
A parting word of advice: healthful eating doesn’t have to be complex. A dinner of roasted asparagus, slices of pear, a piece of whole wheat bread and a small hunk of cheese represents several food groups, takes 15 minutes to prepare, and tastes like an afternoon at a European sidewalk café.
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Last week in the CSA bag
As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, it's CSA season and I am going to try to keep some recipes and other food-related thoughts posted. Last week, our CSA bag included:
I've been making a practice of making a huge salad over the weekend then eating off of it all week. Alton Brown suggested nested tupperware containers, with holes poked in the top one, for thawing seafood in the fridge; I've found this works equally well for keeping salad fresh throughout the week. I put the green onion, snow peas, radishes and garlic scapes in the salad along with the oh-so-delectable crunchy sprout mix I recently ran across in the produce section of Earth Fare.
Much of what was left went into a massive stir-fry (recipe below).
The beets were the really notable meal, though. We ate them with baked sweet potatoes (I put Greek yogurt and cinnamon on mine - really creamy and wonderful). Heirloom varieties are Pat & Brian Bush's trademark - the Chioggia Italian heirloom beets are a reminder of why we are so lucky to have farmers like them.
I put the beets in a foil pouch with a splash of white wine vinegar and roasted the beets and the sweet potatoes in my toaster oven at 375 for an hour. (I love cooking in my toaster oven because it automatically turns off at the end of the timer - and it's energy efficient.) Once cooked, I peeled them (rub with a paper towel to remove the skin, and be sure to wear gloves if they're the traditional red beets), sliced them thickly and topped with a squeeze of lemon and a tiny drizzle of good olive oil. They're unbelievably sweet and flavorful, and they don't have the undertone of dirt that grocery store beets sometimes have.
Not only was it a delicious meal, but it took only 15-20 minutes of active prep time and an hour of unsupervised cooking time.
- Salad bag of mixed lettuces
- A head of lettuce
- Green onions
- Snow peas
- Broccoli
- Chioggia beets
I've been making a practice of making a huge salad over the weekend then eating off of it all week. Alton Brown suggested nested tupperware containers, with holes poked in the top one, for thawing seafood in the fridge; I've found this works equally well for keeping salad fresh throughout the week. I put the green onion, snow peas, radishes and garlic scapes in the salad along with the oh-so-delectable crunchy sprout mix I recently ran across in the produce section of Earth Fare.
Much of what was left went into a massive stir-fry (recipe below).
The beets were the really notable meal, though. We ate them with baked sweet potatoes (I put Greek yogurt and cinnamon on mine - really creamy and wonderful). Heirloom varieties are Pat & Brian Bush's trademark - the Chioggia Italian heirloom beets are a reminder of why we are so lucky to have farmers like them.
I put the beets in a foil pouch with a splash of white wine vinegar and roasted the beets and the sweet potatoes in my toaster oven at 375 for an hour. (I love cooking in my toaster oven because it automatically turns off at the end of the timer - and it's energy efficient.) Once cooked, I peeled them (rub with a paper towel to remove the skin, and be sure to wear gloves if they're the traditional red beets), sliced them thickly and topped with a squeeze of lemon and a tiny drizzle of good olive oil. They're unbelievably sweet and flavorful, and they don't have the undertone of dirt that grocery store beets sometimes have.
Not only was it a delicious meal, but it took only 15-20 minutes of active prep time and an hour of unsupervised cooking time.
Whatever You've Got Stir-Fry
This is a based on recipe in Zen: the Art of Modern Eastern Cooking - I modified it based on what I had on hand.
Note: To store fresh ginger for up to six months, cut the ginger into 1-inch lengths and peel. Place in a sterile glass jar and cover with a decent quality sherry. Store in the fridge. When cooking, just mince or grate as you would fresh ginger. The sherry adds a sweet note to the ginger, and can be used separately, such as in this sauce, adding a subtle ginger flavor.
sauce
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 orange, zested and juiced
1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium
2 tablespoon fish sauce (Get this at Asian food markets like Dynasty at the corner of Spring Garden and Pomona. Fish sauce has a terrible smell but adds an unidentifiable but complex flavor to whatever it is in.)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil; finely chopped
2 hot chiles; minced (Remove seeds and membranes for less heat)
1/4 teaspoon, or according to taste, red chile flakes
1 tablespoon garlic; minced
Combine lime and orange zest and juice with remaining ingredients. Set aside.
stir-fry
The only trick to stir-frying is knowing your ingredients well enough to be able to cook from those with the longest cooking times to those that cook most quickly. Generally, the heft of the raw veggie is a pretty good indicator: kale takes longer than spinach, carrots take longer than bell peppers, onions take longer than mushrooms... or at least most mushrooms. Beefy fungi like portobellos can cook for a while.
Use whatever veggies and/or proteins you have in the house, including but not limited to:
Add a touch more oil; once heated, stir-fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir-fry veggies, starting with those that take longest to cook, like onion and carrot. Cook until starting to soften then add the next layer of veggies and so on. (If using spinach, don't add until the last minute of cooking, after the sauce and protein have been incorporated.) This step will probably not take more than 10 - 15 minutes, from first veggie to last.
When the veggies look about 3/4 of the way cooked, add the protein and sauce to the pan and toss gently to incorporate. Serve over rice, preferably brown.
Yield: 6 - 8 servings
Preparation Time: Depends on your quickness with a knife - cutting the veggies is the real time consumer of this recipe.
Note: To store fresh ginger for up to six months, cut the ginger into 1-inch lengths and peel. Place in a sterile glass jar and cover with a decent quality sherry. Store in the fridge. When cooking, just mince or grate as you would fresh ginger. The sherry adds a sweet note to the ginger, and can be used separately, such as in this sauce, adding a subtle ginger flavor.
sauce
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 orange, zested and juiced
1/4 cup soy sauce, low sodium
2 tablespoon fish sauce (Get this at Asian food markets like Dynasty at the corner of Spring Garden and Pomona. Fish sauce has a terrible smell but adds an unidentifiable but complex flavor to whatever it is in.)
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup fresh basil; finely chopped
2 hot chiles; minced (Remove seeds and membranes for less heat)
1/4 teaspoon, or according to taste, red chile flakes
1 tablespoon garlic; minced
Combine lime and orange zest and juice with remaining ingredients. Set aside.
stir-fry
The only trick to stir-frying is knowing your ingredients well enough to be able to cook from those with the longest cooking times to those that cook most quickly. Generally, the heft of the raw veggie is a pretty good indicator: kale takes longer than spinach, carrots take longer than bell peppers, onions take longer than mushrooms... or at least most mushrooms. Beefy fungi like portobellos can cook for a while.
Use whatever veggies and/or proteins you have in the house, including but not limited to:
- Broccoli spears
- Slivered snow peas
- Vertically sliced onion
- Bok choi: leaves removed from the stem, both bunches sliced (the stems take longer to cook than the leaves)
- Sliced Napa cabbage
- Mushrooms: shiitake, portobello, oyster or even button, preferably fresh. (Clean by brushing with a toothbrush designated to kitchen tasks. Washing mushroom changes their texture for the worse.)
- Sliced bell pepper
- fresh ginger to taste, minced or grated
- garlic to taste, sliced or minced
- Almonds or cashews, un- or lightly-salted
- Chicken
- Seafood or fish
Add a touch more oil; once heated, stir-fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir-fry veggies, starting with those that take longest to cook, like onion and carrot. Cook until starting to soften then add the next layer of veggies and so on. (If using spinach, don't add until the last minute of cooking, after the sauce and protein have been incorporated.) This step will probably not take more than 10 - 15 minutes, from first veggie to last.
When the veggies look about 3/4 of the way cooked, add the protein and sauce to the pan and toss gently to incorporate. Serve over rice, preferably brown.
Yield: 6 - 8 servings
Preparation Time: Depends on your quickness with a knife - cutting the veggies is the real time consumer of this recipe.
Thursday, May 10, 2007
Garlicky Greens with Pomegranate Molasses and Anise Crust
Last year, on my now languishing food blog (RIP Thought for Food - perhaps you will inform again someday), I would occasionally post the contents of our CSA (Consumer/Community Supported Agriculture) bag and share some of the recipes I used. This past Saturday marked the first CSA bag this season, breaking my long, winter demotivation for cooking. This recipe is a Frankenstein's Monster inspired by a greens pastry made by Zaytoon and using pieces of a Cooking Light empanada recipe and an OregonLive.com greens recipe. This is not fast but it's mighty tasty.
Garlicky Greens with Pomegranate Molasses and Anise Crust
Wash greens by swishing in a bowl of cool water. Lift greens into a colander (don't pour - it just dumps the dirt back on top); repeat swishing and draining until there's no dirt at the bottom of the wash bowl. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a pot; add greens and cover, starting with those with the longest cooking time. Allow to wilt completely, probably no more than 5 - 6 minutes. Shock in cold water then drain in colander, pressing out excess liquid with the back of a spoon.
Wipe the pot dry; heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and crushed pepper flakes; saute, stirring frequently, until garlic is lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and salt and cook until onions are soft and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.
Squeeze the remaining liquid from greens and add to pot with onion mixture, breaking up clumps of greens. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses and cook until just heated through. Add lemon juice or peel. Set aside.
This would be perfectly lovely to eat without a crust but...
To make the crust, strain spices out of steeped water.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a food processor; pulse 2 times to combine. Add butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor on, slowly pour spiced water through food chute; process just until dough begins to form a ball (dough will be crumbly).
Preheat oven to 400.
Garlicky Greens with Pomegranate Molasses and Anise Crust
- 9 Tb hot water
- 1 star anise pod
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 whole peppercorns
- 2 lb greens (I used braising greens and spinach; kale, collards and chard would also be good), stems removed, torn into big pieces (Note: keep greens separated by cook time, i.e. kale takes about 5 minutes in the steamer but spinach takes 1 minute-ish).
- 1 Tb extra-virgin olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 1/4 tp crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 small red onion, sliced thinly, vertically
- 1/4 tp kosher or sea salt
- 2 Tb pomegranate molasses (available at halal markets, e.g. Jerusalem Market)
- 2 Tb lemon juice or the minced peel from 1/4 preserved lemon
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (available at Earth Fare or Deep Roots or you can use another cup of all purpose)
- 1 tp baking powder
- 1/2 tp sugar
- 1/2 tp salt
- 2 Tb butter, chilled, in small pieces
Wash greens by swishing in a bowl of cool water. Lift greens into a colander (don't pour - it just dumps the dirt back on top); repeat swishing and draining until there's no dirt at the bottom of the wash bowl. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a pot; add greens and cover, starting with those with the longest cooking time. Allow to wilt completely, probably no more than 5 - 6 minutes. Shock in cold water then drain in colander, pressing out excess liquid with the back of a spoon.
Wipe the pot dry; heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and crushed pepper flakes; saute, stirring frequently, until garlic is lightly golden, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onion and salt and cook until onions are soft and beginning to brown, about 4 minutes.
Squeeze the remaining liquid from greens and add to pot with onion mixture, breaking up clumps of greens. Drizzle with pomegranate molasses and cook until just heated through. Add lemon juice or peel. Set aside.
This would be perfectly lovely to eat without a crust but...
To make the crust, strain spices out of steeped water.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt in a food processor; pulse 2 times to combine. Add butter; process until mixture resembles coarse meal. With processor on, slowly pour spiced water through food chute; process just until dough begins to form a ball (dough will be crumbly).
Preheat oven to 400.
Divide dough into 2 equal portions. Working with one dough portion at a time, press dough into a 4-inch circle on heavy-duty plastic wrap (There's a lot of plastic wrap in this section - you can also get reusable plastic and burlap pastry bags). Cover with additional plastic wrap. Place dough in freezer 5 minutes or until plastic wrap can be easily removed.
Slightly overlap 2 sheets of plastic wrap on a slightly damp surface. Unwrap 1 dough portion; place on plastic wrap. Cover dough with 2 additional sheets of overlapping plastic wrap. Roll dough, still covered, into an 11-inch circle. Repeat procedure with remaining dough. Place both portions in freezer for 5 minutes or until plastic wrap can be easily removed.
Remove plastic wrap from 1 dough portion; place dough, plastic wrap side up, into a pie plate coated with cooking spray (I use a pump that I fill with olive oil). Remove top sheets of plastic wrap. Spoon filling onto dough. Remove top sheets of plastic wrap from remaining dough. Place dough, plastic wrap side up, over filling. Remove top sheets of plastic wrap. Pinch edges of dough together to seal. Cut several slits in top of dough to allow steam to escape. Spray crust top with cookie spray.
Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until crust is crisp and beginning to brown.
6-8 servings
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Kingsolver on local food
Barbara Kingsolver, best known for her Oprah Bookclub novel, The Poisonwood Bible, has a book coming out next month that documents her family's year-long quest to eat food grown in their garden or by people they know. Animal, Vegetable, Miracles apparently explores Kingsolver's personal food revelations, like the joys of eating conscientiously raised meats (as opposed to vegetarianism), and takes advantage of Kingsolver's background as a biologist to explore why our current food system is so detrimental to both the consumers and the Earth. If Kingsolver's previous works are any indication, this will be a not-to-miss book.
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