Iceberg to Arugula

I love basil. Not in the same way I love my family…but close. Each Spring, I get my plants going either from starts or seeds and then spend the Summer using this gloriously spicy herb in everything from soups, sauces, compound butters, salads and anywhere else I crave it’s delicious pungency. Bright, lemony and peppery all at once, these silky, lush leaves deliver bite sized bursts of Summer wherever they are added.

A mainstay of many Summer herb gardens, basil is easy to find during the warm months. Look for it at your Farmers Market, in CSA boxes or better yet, your own back yard. Basil plants are happy in the ground or in pots if you don’t have much room. They love full hot sun as long as they get ample water in the morning.

If you’re growing your own plants, watch them carefully. In optimal conditions, if they get too happy, they’ll begin developing long stalks with buds that will eventually flower (see picture). Once this happens, that particular branch of the plant will no longer produce leaves, but flowers instead. Frankly, as cute (and edible) as the flowers are, they make crappy pesto.  Pinching off the flower buds as they develop will encourage the plant to make more leaves. Be aware that in the deepest heat of Summer, you may need to pinch back newly formed buds daily.

In historical lore, basil can mean very good things (love and affection) or very bad things (scorpions and evil spirits). My favorite bit of basil lore is the Eastern European tradition of a suitor presenting a sprig of basil to his love as a request for her hand in marriage. (Though as much as I adore basil, if it was my hand being asked for, there had better be a diamond chillin’ out somewhere on that sprig…)

While basil is frequently associated with Italian cooking, it’s actually thought to have originated in Asia where it shows up in many Asian soup and salad dishes (Pho anyone?). The foodie part of me can’t help but wonder if early Italian explorers encountering basil for the first time, tossed aside the silks and spices they were probably there for and broke out into a spontaneous happy dance after their first taste.

Arguably the best known use of basil in the West is in traditional basil pesto. It’s a simple recipe which makes it extremely important to use the very best ingredients you can afford. I prefer to use real Parmigiano Reggiano cheese and the best olive oil I can find. I’m partial to the deep green/gold California varieties (I’m liking Bariani and the UC Davis Silo blend oils the most right now.*)  There are MANY varieties of basil to choose from, but in my opinion, the Sweet or Genovese basil varieties tend to make the best pesto.

Once your pesto is made, it can be used in several delicious ways (see below for suggestions). Be sure to refrigerate and use it up within a week.

Basic Basil Pesto

1/4c. Pine nuts, toasted

1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese, freshly grated, lightly packed

1/2 c. Olive oil

2c. Basil leaves, loosely packed

1-2 cloves Garlic (depending on how much you love garlic)

1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Salt to taste

1. In a food processor bowl add pine nuts, basil, cheese and garlic. Pulse until coarsely combined.

2. With motor running, add olive oil in a thin stream through top feed spout. Add more oil if the resulting pesto is too thick.

3. Add pepper and salt to taste.

Makes about 1 cup

Serving suggestions for Basil Pesto:

• Toss with freshly cooked pasta of any type.
• Mix some with mayonnaise or on its own for an incredible sandwich spread.
• Mix with ricotta cheese and add as a layer to lasagna.
• Mix some in with eggs to make a frittata base or unforgettable scrambled eggs.
• Add a dollop to a summer vegetable soup just before serving.
• Add 1 cup white beans, 2 tbsp pesto and 2 tbsp oil packed sundried tomatoes to a food processor and whirl until combined. Spread on bruschetta and top with a drizzle of olive oil, fresh sliced tomatoes and a grinding of fresh pepper.
• Fresh tomatoes and basil are magical together. Try sliced tomatoes slathered with a bit of pesto as a salad.

Pesto can be made ahead and frozen, just be sure to leave out the cheese, oil, salt and pepper until ready to prepare. Be sure to use within 3 months.

*No compensation was received for the mention of these products. I just really like them. Of course it probably helps that I live smack dab in the middle of Bariani olive country and UC Davis is my Alma Mater…….

I’m hungry.

Fortunately, I happen to be in my community garden which tends to inspire me come dinnertime. This evening, surveying the pretty pagoda like pepper plants, I notice some fairly rotund specimens begging to be picked. However, before doing so, I realize I’m faced with a big question.

Green or red?

Many peppers are considered immature and unripe in their green  stage, though we can eat them anyway. If left on the plant, they go on to mature to their final color: glossy red, orange, yellow or even purple. The mature peppers are generally sweeter with a more rounded and balanced flavor than in their green form.

Unfortunately, as I’m contemplating this question I notice I’m starting to salivate uncontrollably at the thought of Peperonata, a tender dish of sautéed or stewed sweet peppers. Since I think this dish is equally as good with green or ripe peppers, I excitedly snap 4 gorgeous specimens from their stems and hightail it home.

In addition to the ubiquitous bell peppers, there are Sweet Italian and Banana Peppers as well as some of the hotter Jalapeno and Thai varieties. The Italian sweets were responsible for bringing the Peperonata to mind. For dinner this evening, I selected a mix of bell peppers and Italian Sweets. The base recipe I use calls for thinly sliced sweet peppers (any color will do, though it looks best when multiple colors are used), thinly sliced sweet onion, olive oil, salt and black pepper. The vegetables are coated in the oil and cooked slowly over medium to medium high heat (without browning) until tender. Once done, peperonata can be used as a pizza topping, a sandwich filler (it’s fabulous in a hoagie roll with grilled sweet or hot turkey sausage) to top polenta or on it’s own as a vegetable accompaniment.

It also makes an incredible addition to eggs as in this recipe for a frittata. Along with a green salad and a wedge of good European style bread, this frittata makes a wonderful light lunch or dinner meal without heating the house up too much during these hot Summer months. 

Peperonata Frittata

2 sweet Italian or 1 bell pepper, sliced into thin (1/4”) strips

1 small sweet onion, sliced into thin (1/4”) strips

4 eggs, beaten slightly

1 tbsp chopped mixed herbs (basil, chives, parsley, marjoram)

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt, Freshly ground black pepper

1 tbsp olive oil

2 tsp fresh grated parmesan cheese (optional)

1. Add oil to a 8-10 inch nonstick omelet pan or skillet.

2. Heat oil over medium high heat and add peppers and onions. Stir to coat all vegetables with the oil. Cook 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are very tender. Reduce heat if needed to prevent browning.

3. In a small bowl, crack eggs and add garlic, salt and pepper. Whip with a whisk until thoroughly blended.

4. When vegetables are tender, arrange them in an even layer on the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat down to medium and pour the egg mixture evenly over the peppers.

5. Run a heatproof rubber spatula, gently around the sides of the frittata to keep it from sticking to the pan. During cooking, gently pull the edges of the frittata away from the pan and tilt it slightly to allow any liquid egg on top to run underneath where it will cook when it contacts the pan directly. 

6. Briefly (30-60 seconds) cook the other side of the frittata to ensure doneness. You may flip the frittata in the pan or you may slide it onto a plate and transfer back (topside down) to the pan.

7. Slide frittata out of the pan and sprinkle with chopped fresh herbs and cheese if desired. Slice into wedges and serve immediately. 

Makes 2-3 servings.

Last week was a rough one. Major projects due, sick child, avalanches of e-mails, presentations to prepare, assorted conference calls, laundry begging to be done and to cap it all off, the unexpected and untimely passing of a colleague of mine. I stumble into the weekend deeply weary, saddened and suffering from my second migraine of the week.

It’s time to run away.

I generally post about food and the experience of eating, but not today. Today is about self preservation and the importance of taking badly needed mental heath days. 

When I’m overwhelmed, I retreat to the ocean. Generally I favor the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate Recreation Area, a hilly, lush green swath of land just north of San Francisco. I’ve been escaping here for years in times I needed to recapture my sanity when it threatened to float away from me like a helium balloon.

About two hours from my home, even the drive is therapeutic. The hot Sacramento valley temperatures fade as I drive toward the cooler marine climate. I cross the southern portion of the Napa and Sonoma wine country admiring the beauty of the espaliered grapevines already showing signs of the harvest to come. Taking the last exit off Southbound US 101 before crossing the Golden Gate bridge into San Francisco, I find myself on a quiet deserted road that loops around and leads to a tunnel. Deep below the highway, the tunnel connects the outside world to the beautifully undeveloped Headlands.   

The tunnel itself is long and utilitarian, lined with black stained concrete. Dark, dank and hushed, it’s vaguely sanitarium like, though I find it oddly comforting. On the other side, I pass families of quail quietly grazing along the side of the road and catch a fleeting glimpse of a dodgy fox. Mist washes briskly over the verdant hills and casts a cool gauzy haze over the sun. I feel my jaw beginning to relax and my shoulders drop. I open my windows to let the eucalyptus infused sea air wash over my weary psyche and allow my mind to luxuriate in nothingness.

I spend 1-2 days on these journeys, I only get to do it once, maybe twice per year. Fortunately I have a wonderful husband who perhaps doesn’t completely understand my need to run away but respects that I need to do so and is willing to hold down the fort while I recharge. 

Do you need to get away too?

Some things to consider:

1. Figure out where makes you happy. I can’t answer that one for you. Might be the mountains, might be your own backyard, spend some time thinking about it

2. If possible, go alone. I‘ve found much personal renewal happens as soon as I remove the external interference. This includes other people. I speak as little as possible on these retreats, frequently going entire days without having uttered a word. (I’m sure people who know me well will find that hard to believe, but it’s true). It helps me think about where I am in my life, where I’m going as well as what I can do better. Virtually every time, I return home with a deep gratitude for what I have.  

3. Pick the right time. Frequently I end up on Stinson Beach which is a little farther North than the headlands. It’s a great three and a half mile walking beach, but it’s horrifyingly clogged with beachgoers on Summer and holiday weekends. I go on weekdays, early in the morning before the marine layer clears. Save for a few fishermen, I’m alone; coddled intimately between the earth and sea in a thick blanket of mist that all but blots out the sun. It sets the mood for my wandering meditation.

4. Make no plans, do what feels right. On the beach, I search for seaglass. Periodically, I stop, sit and think. I also write, because that’s what makes me happiest. I write about what I’m feeling and what I’m seeing. This post was mostly written on the beach, on a pad of paper which brings me to the next rule….

5. No electronics. I switch off my cell and leave it in the car. My beloved red mini laptop is stowed in my office at home. I am happily oblivious to the news the whole time I’m gone.

6. Music is deeply transformative for me, I choose carefully what I listen to because it sets the mood. I avoid the radio or anywhere I must listen to ads or news. For this trip, I listened to serene Spanish classical guitar music.

7. Eat well. Seek out good food or bring your own. It’s hard to recharge when your gut is groaning from a load of greasy, heavy fried or fast food.  At Stinson Beach, I like the Parkside Cafe. It was the site of one of my “wow” meals several years ago. A simple unfussy plate of sautéed English peas, early tomatoes, herbs and linguine that was deliciously well beyond the sum of it’s parts.

8. Guilt. It wasn’t really an issue for me to escape when I was single. But now as a wife and mother, I have two housemates to consider and for a while I felt guilty about it. After talking it over with my husband, I realized that a temporarily absent mommy is better than a stressed out screaming one.

I arrived home today. Healed, transformed, recharged and ready to face my life again….tomorrow.

This post is dedicated to Anita Michalovskis 1/7/60-6/19/10. Rest in peace friend.

I dig potatoes.

Literally….dug up a whole bunch the other day. Growing potatoes is rather easy and the foliage makes surprisingly attractive, albeit temporary, shrubbery studded with cute white and yellow flowers. Last year I began volunteering to help keep up the vegetable garden at my local elementary school during the Summer months and I’ll be doing the same this year. The perk is that in exchange for tending  the plots, you get to harvest whatever happens to be available the day you show up. This week, it’s potatoes: big hearty Russets.

I have to admit that pulling up the first clump of potato plants was something of a revelation. Examining the tangled mass in my hand, I realized I only had part of the haul which spurred me to excitedly fish through the soil like an overexcited child searching for eggs on Easter morning. It’s fair to say that I don’t normally get THAT excited about potatoes. But this is a similar point to the one I made in my sunflower post last year: If you shop for your produce mostly at the grocery store, it’s easy to develop a disconnect between the item itself and the fact that it did indeed come from a plant. Especially something as prosaic as the dirty brown, rough, lumpy Russet potato.

Doing your own vegetable gardening helps reestablish that connection. In the American food landscape of ubiquitous quick, processed foods, there is something inherently cool about seeing a food in it’s “just harvested” stage…..or maybe I’m just a major food dork. In any case, the harvest is a reminder of how precious and special unprocessed food really is.

If you want to grow your own potatoes, be sure to locate a source that sells organic seed potatoes. In warmer climates the time to plant has past, but there is always next year to think about….

Here are a few online sources:

Wood Prairie Farm

Maine Potato Lady

Peaceful Valley

Farm Fresh Living

In general there are two types of potatoes, waxy and starchy. Russets are the latter, which makes them ideal for mashing, whipping and thickening soups or stews. If you’re looking for a potato that will hold it’s shape in a potato salad recipe you want a “waxy” type potato such as a red new potato. Russets will simply fall apart and give a mushy texture. If you’re lucky enough to have some freshly dug Russets from garden or Farmers Market, here is a favorite Irish style mashed potato recipe.

Champ

2 large Russet potatoes

1 c. 1% milk

1/4 c. light sour cream

4 tbsp butter

1 bunch green onions, washed, trimmed and thinly sliced (white and light green part only)

½ tsp each salt and pepper (or more to taste)

1. Add 2 quarts water and 1 tsp salt to a large pot over high heat.

2. Peel and quarter potatoes and add to pot, leave pot uncovered.

3. While potatoes are cooking, add milk to small saucepan and place over low heat.

4. When water comes to boiling, reduce to medium high heat and simmer potatoes until tender. Insert a knife into one of the potatoes, when there is no resistance the potatoes are done.

5. Drain potatoes in a colander or sieve. Place foil over the top to keep warm.

6. Add butter and onions to the same pot over medium heat, stir until onions are tender. If using a sieve to drain the potatoes, take a rubber spatula and push the potatoes thru the sieve into the pot with the butter and onions. Alternately you may use a food mill, potato ricer to process the potatoes or an old fashioned potato masher after adding the drained potatoes to the pot.

7. Once the potatoes are sufficiently processed. Add the salt, pepper, sour cream and half the warmed milk to the pot and stir. If the potatoes are too dry, add the remainder of the milk and stir.

8. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Garnish if desired with fresh snipped chives and serve at once.

Makes about 4 servings.

                                                                                    I know I’m not alone. Millions of women are out there just like me, juggling career, children and sanity on a daily basis. Yet, no matter how frenzied the day is, one thing is always true….there MUST be dinner.

In and amongst all the cooking I do, I have a few standby “go-to” recipes for busy evenings. To qualify as “go to”, recipes need to be tasty and pull together very quickly. Here’s one of my favorites: my own version of the Indian inspired Mulligatawny Soup. Simple, quick, slightly exotic and along with some warm bread (try Naan) and fresh fruit, deeply satisfying.

Mulligatawny Soup

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

1 tbsp olive oil

4 large carrots, peeled and sliced

1 large yellow onion, sliced

32 oz low sodium chicken stock

12 oz light coconut milk

1/2 cup long grain fragrant white rice (try Basmati)

1 1/4 cup water

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tbsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 F

2. Place chicken in a lightly oiled oven proof dish, sprinkle on salt, pepper and cayenne. Place dish in oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

3. In a small pot, or rice cooker, add rice and water and cook until done and tender. Cover and hold until needed.

3. While the chicken and rice are cooking, add oil to a 3-5 quart pot, over medium high heat. Add onion and carrots, reduce heat to medium, cover and allow vegetables to soften slightly.

4. Add curry, coriander and cumin to vegetables and stir until coated.

5. Add chicken stock and coconut milk to vegetables. Increase heat back to medium high.

6. Cut cooked chicken into cubes and add to soup as well as the cooked rice.

7. Add cilantro and stir well. If soup is too thick, extra stock or coconut milk may be added.

8. Adjust flavors to taste with salt, pepper or more of the spices if desired.

Anyone have any “go to” recipes to share?

Have you ever been in your house minding your own business when all the sudden the chocolate ice cream in your freezer begins to call your name? If so what’s your next step?

 1. You are stoic, the very model of willpower. You ignore the call of the siren… “Damn you Ben and Jerry, you will not win this one!!!”

2. You surrender. Thinking its futile to resist, you grab the whole carton only to emerge from a closet 2 hours later shaking off a cocoa induced stupor. Flecks of fudge adorn your lips and chin while clumps of defrosted cookie dough glisten in your hair. Slowly, somewhere in the back of your numbed out brain registers a feeling of dread, depression and failure. 

3. You simply have a scoop and enjoy.

If you are someone who diets regularly, this scenario may sound somewhat familiar.

I’ve never been a fan of weight loss diets because they tend to set up a temporary situation rather than developing a more sustainable healthy lifestyle. Weight loss diets also can set you up to treat food as the enemy, the focus is on fewer calories rather than the quality or even the identity of the food itself.

This works out well because once food is the enemy, it becomes really difficult to enjoy it anyway. Of course the problems come later- after the weight loss which can render the newly graduated (and lighter) dieter terrified to eat anything “good” for fear of losing control and gaining everything back. If the dieter does allow him or herself permission to eat that decadent dessert, the experience may be so wrapped up in guilt and fear that it’s virtually impossible to truly enjoy.

Really, it’s kind of sad.

Since I love food of all kinds, I’ve never been much of a dieter. Oh, I did try my share of diets when I was a teenager/young adult, convincing myself I was overweight simply by comparing my lanky figure to those more naturally willowy, slight and less amply mammaried than I was. In truth, my 5’9” 150# frame would hardly have been considered overweight by any stretch.

Those who know me well, know of my love for ice cream. In fact, I love it so much that I generally don’t buy it for fear that I will overeat it at home. (I suspect I’m not alone here.) However, these days for those who are interested in avoiding the corpulent consequences of overindulging, there are numerous low fat, low sugar and low calorie versions of decadent foods. So, if I wanted to eat ice cream everyday without busting the scale, I could indulge in the sugar and fat free stuff.

But I won’t…..

Personally I have never understood the concept of the diet “dessert”. It seems to me that if I am craving a particular dessert and instead choose an anemic substitute, that craving is not only not going to go away, but now I’ve consumed x number of calories from the crappy substitute and I STILL WANT THE REAL THING!!!

Research suggests that people will eat more of the lower calorie substitute than the real stuff anyway. So what’s the point?   

Lately I have been experimenting with something called “mindful eating”, that is, I have been trying to be a bit more “in the moment” while I am enjoying a favorite food. For many, eating is an activity that can be fraught with distraction, emotion and indifference. How often in your week do you sit down and really pay attention to what you’re eating? How often do you really notice food texture, quality, nuances of flavor, smells and appearance? How often are you eating meals that are even worthy of eating this way?

When you’re busy with the wild daily frappe we call life, many of us (including me) find ourselves taking meals while working, driving or herding children. Some of us are simply too preoccupied with something else such as a personal situation or a bad day to pay attention. I wanted to see if mindful eating would help me slow down and be satisfied with less. I found it takes quite a bit of practice, but it works.

If you want to give it a go yourself, try this exercise:

1. Get two serving sizes of your favorite food (no, the whole Haagen Dazs container does NOT count as a serving, look at the label) 

2. Eat one serving while doing something else, watching TV, talking on the phone, etc.

3. Wait until the next day and eat the second serving. Be sure to sit at a table without any distractions. Slowly eat the food and think about how it feels in your mouth. Try to identify the flavors and what they may make you think about, does it make you happy to be eating the food? Why?

4. Compare the first and second servings. Which one did you feel more satisfied with? Which one did it take you longer to eat?

I’m finding I can’t always eat mindfully, but I am getting better. I’m also finding it to be a more rewarding and satisfying way to eat. I figure that we have to eat or we die, cravings happen and sometimes the best way around them….is through them…..

*For a great resource on mindful eating, check out Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch.

Like so many other people I have been watching Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution on ABC. I’m watching for a variety of reasons, but the main one is that aspects of my day job are very similar to what Jamie is doing in this project. I don’t work in schools (yet….) but I do work in institutional healthcare kitchens training cooks to be better cooks. Change is difficult, especially when you are trying to convince a cook who has done the same job the same way for 25 years that there is a better way.

I genuinely appreciate and understand what Jamie is trying to do. Improving the quality of any institutional food is a lofty but worthy goal. However, as someone experienced in this arena I’ve found myself sometimes chuckling at his well intentioned but ill planned culinary assault on the kitchens providing public school lunches in Huntington, West Virginia. Clearly he expected to roll into town, declare his “Food Revolution”, fix the problem and ride off into the sunset leaving the town better and more well nourished than he found it.

That’s not what happened.

Instead he ran into VERY heavy resistance from the school cooks, some members of the media and the community at large. He spends a good chunk of time wondering why no one is “on his side”.

Some other celebrity food personalities such as Paula Deen and Rachael Ray are also getting in on the act, using their influence and contributing recipes to help fix the problem. I think it’s a great start, but it doesn’t take into account that this is a job that goes way beyond showing up with better recipes and star power. It’s about changing a deeply ingrained food culture that values cheapness above quality and ease of preparation over real culinary skill. The results of this culture are accepted reliance on heavily processed foods and cooks who have spent most if not all of their careers heating and serving rather than actually cooking.

Real improvement takes time. Time to build a trusting relationship with workers who really don’t want you there. Time to revamp the food ordering and procurement system. Time to build essential culinary skills in workers who likely have no formal training and only know how to open boxes and reheat.

In my experience I’ve found that the most important thing I can do to help turn around an institutional kitchen is to build pride in workmanship in the cooks. I show these workers what they really can do. Something as simple as teaching a cook how to make a real sauce instead of ripping open an instant packet can be a revelation. The funny thing about pride and excitement is that they are infectious and sustainable.

Truth be told, I was actually a bit offended by the Food Revolution show at first. It implied that in the US virtually nothing is being done to improve the quality of school lunches and we needed a hero to light the way because we simply can’t figure out on our own that catsup and French fries aren’t vegetables. On the contrary, I am aware of many organizations and people who spend their working days slogging through soggy acres of limp fish sticks and greasy pressed chicken nuggets slowly, doing the unglamorous grunt work that is required to make real sustainable change. Some of these heroes include:

Chef Ann Cooper: The Renegade Lunch Lady

CAFF Farm to School Initiative

Marin Organic School Lunch Program

and the countless and many times anonymous foodservice directors and dietitians who  slowly make positive changes happen with astonishingly little money.

Bottom line is: I’m not offended anymore, because I have put Jamie and the other food celebs in perspective. They are the flash in the pan that brings attention to the problem. They will help lay the groundwork and funding for the real heroes to come in and get the job done.

What do you think?

I teach culinary courses at my local food co-op and Whole Foods store. The most recent class I taught was Braising Basics. It had been a while since I’d done a braise, but I found myself falling in love with this technique all over again during my prep. The steps are so simple and if done correctly, produce a meltingly tender, richly flavored (yet relatively cheap) meal that only gets better with time.            

Braising is perhaps deceptively simple. After teaching my class, I read through the students evaluations and noted one that sniffed that the topic was “far too simplistic for me.”

I guess she missed the point because in the simplicity lies the beauty of braising. Unfortunately, for many hard nosed foodies fortified by a steady diet of “Iron Chef” and “Hell’s Kitchen” braising may indeed appear boringly elementary.

The point that is easily lost here is that the the simpler the dish, the less flash and dash there is to hide behind. Simple dishes ask for solid skill and technique, not complicated recipes or ingredients. 

In that spirit, I give you the technique for perhaps the most well known and loved of braised dishes: the Pot Roast.

Braising is a long, slow method which involves cooking the meat in a covered vessel while it’s partially submerged in a flavorful braising liquid. Meat cuts that braise well include any part that was hard working during the animal’s life such as the shoulder or leg muscles.  Look for these cuts that braise well:

As a bonus, these cuts boast more pronounced flavor and because they’re generally fairly tough they are relatively cheap as meat goes. Braise-worthy meats are generally loaded with connective tissue which melts down during the long slow cooking process. The end result is that after losing it’s structure, the meat simply falls apart and becomes irresistibly tender.

Simple steps:

1. Heat 1-2 tbsp Vegetable Oil over medium high heat in a heavy ovenproof pot with a tight fitting lid.

2. Blot the meat with a paper towel to remove any surface moisture that may impede browning.

3. When oil is hot, (sprinkle a bit of water in the pot, if it sizzles, it’s ready) add the meat and allow it to brown over medium high heat until it no longer sticks to the bottom of the pot. This should take about 6-8 minutes per side. As the meat browns, it will release itself from the bottom of the pan. You can test periodically to see how well the meat is coming away from the pan but be careful not to force it, you may tear the meat and remove all the great flavors you developed by browning. 

4. Remove browned meat from pot and cover with foil.

5. Remove all but about a tablespoon of fat from the pot. You will find that the bottom of the pot is now coated with browned material from the meat. This is really flavorful stuff that will enhance the flavor of the final dish. The French call this “fond” and the goal is to scrape it up off the pan and incorporate it into your dish.

6. Keeping the heat at medium high, add a variety of aromatic vegetables to the pot (diced carrots, onions, celery, fennel, leeks and/or peppers) For this dish, I like to use about a cup of classic Mirepoix… though here I had no celery because my husband ate it all without telling me prior to starting the dish….grrrrrr.

7. Stir the vegetables around to coat with the fat in the pan, if it’s too dry you can add a bit more vegetable oil. As the vegetables heat up, they will begin to release their water and start to dissolve and pick up the fond. Using a wooden or non metal spoon, scrape the fond off the bottom of the pan and stir the vegetables, you will notice your vegetables getting darker and more fragrant as they pick up the fond.

8. Add the meat back to the pan on top of the vegetables and add a braising liquid. The liquid should come up 1/2 to 3/4 of the way up the side of the meat. Avoid totally submerging the meat. When I make pot roast I like to use straight red wine (Burgundy, Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot). But you can also use 1/2 wine, 1/2 beef stock or all beef stock if you prefer.

9. Add aromatic ingredients to further enhance the flavors. I like to add cracked peppercorns, thyme sprigs, a bay leaf and 3-4 crushed, peeled garlic cloves. You can enclose these ingredients in a cheesecloth bag to make a bouquet garni or simply add them to the pot if you are going to strain the braising liquid later.

10. Bring pot to a boil, cover and place in a preheated 350 F degree oven. The larger the piece of meat, the longer it will take to fall apart. Start checking after an hour for smaller pieces (less that 2 pounds) and 2 hours for larger pieces (more than 2 pounds). Stick in a fork and see if the meat comes apart easily. If the liquid level has dropped, add more to the pot.

11. When the meat has reached desired tenderness, remove it carefully from the pot and cover to keep warm.  Strain the braising liquid through a sieve and use it to accompany the meat or place it in a saucepan and boil it down (called “reducing”) by half to thicken and concentrate the flavors. In either case, you will want to add salt and pepper to taste prior to serving.

The end result is rich, go easy on the portion sizes, shoot for a meat portion no bigger than your fist. Load the rest of the plate with roasted vegetables, pour a glass of the same wine you used for the braise and enjoy.

Hmmmm……11 steps for this simple technique??? Would you agree they are fairly easy steps? The great thing about learning a technique is that once you learn it, you can apply it to make your own recipes. That’s why when I teach my classes, I teach technique and not recipes.  I’ll be doing more technique posts in the future….any requests???

Hmmm…..Kandy Korn, Ambrosia, Cotton Candy, Honey Treat, Sugar Buns and Sugar Pearl. 

I’m not making dessert plans, I’m planning a summer vegetable garden and these are the names of some of the corn varieties available. I notice lots of sugary sweet sounding vegetable names….makes me wonder what’s next….Festering Cavity Bell Peppers? Diabetic Coma Beets?

Supersweet varieties of corn have been around since the 1950’s when they were developed by the University of Illinois. However, it’s only really been since the 1980’s they’ve been gaining in popularity…. which is about when as a country our obesity rates began to skyrocket. Coincidence??? I’m not sure, though it has been readily observed that the American tastebud is much more primed for pure sugar these days. Perhaps this has carried over to veggies???

My question is: is this a bad thing? Does it really matter that some veggies are extra sweet?

Two thoughts come to my mind:

1. There are boatloads of evidence that show that folks who eat lots of fruits and vegetables tend to live healthier and longer lives. Quite a bit of this evidence comes from epidemiological studies. (Meaning that researchers follow a whole bunch of people, look at their lifestyle and dietary habits and then look for differences between the folks who got sick and those who didn’t). However, there is still quite a bit of investigation into the “whys”. If you follow health news at all, you likely have heard stories about naturally occurring chemicals in food (phytochemicals) that appear to contribute to better health. Some examples include resveratrol found in grapes and red wine and curcurmin in turmeric.

That said, there’s still quite a bit of investigation needed in this area. It seems plausible to me that the more naturally occurring variety we have in our fruits and veggies, the more access we will have to a wider variety of phytochemicals. Conversely, if we’re all eating the same variety of carrot (because it’s the best selling and the sweetest) over and over again, what are we missing out on from other varieties of carrots? Science is still trying to answer that question… stay tuned.

2. Science aside, I frequently wonder about what fruits and vegetables tasted like before mega-mile food transportation was the norm and people ate locally not because it was the cool thing to do, but because it was necessary. I listen to my father in law muse dreamily about the “Summer Transparent” apples that used to grow on a neighbors tree more than a generation ago. (When I Google “Summer Transparent Apple” I get nothing) My own father goes respectfully reverent when talking about his grandfather’s fruit trees. Somewhere in his 60-something year old body is a boy who loved nothing better than to trawl those treetops in search of the perfect plum. European immigrants, my great grandparents grew their own heirloom varieties of fruit: peaches, plums, apricots.  I read MFK Fisher and wonder what the fruit emitting “opulent fragrance on the screened porch”* must have tasted like in her early 1900’s childhood. Better? More authentic?

For those reasons and because I like to challenge myself to be a more adventurous eater, I crave more diversity in fruits and veggies than what the grocery store offers. The Farmer’s Market is an awesome resource which I use frequently, but this year, I’m trying an experiment: I’m planting all heirloom vegetables in my garden.

I really want to know what certain vegetables actually taste like, not the hybridized-for-maximum-growth-and-sweetness variety, but the old timers, the heirlooms. In his fabulous book Blithe Tomato, author/farmer Mike Madison talks about his own experiment in growing heirloom grapes for his market customers. He laments that the ubiquitous big seedless flame grapes, available in the summer months are “crunchy sugar water” with little actual grape flavor. Unfortunately, his grapes didn’t sell all that well despite the outstanding flavor. He reasons that was because of the seeds (no one wants seeds!!! They’re bothersome) and also perhaps the flavor, not sweet enough, too complex, too much work to eat.

I’m ready to work a bit harder for my food. I can’t help but think a healthier life just may be ahead. Stay tuned.

If you want to grow heirlooms here are some resources:

• Heirloom Seeds
• Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds
• Seed Savers Exchange
• Victory Seeds
• Heirloom Acres Seeds

*From “The Measure of My Powers” by MFK Fisher. An essay which can be found in her book The Gastronomical Me

On any given day I can pratter on endlessly about certain foods: gelato that makes my taste buds pirouette in anticipation, stinky cheeses that stop just short of making me wince or plump, sweet blackberries just plucked from creek fed beds on a hot day.

Today? It’s lentils.

Lentils you say?? Aren’t those a bit uhm….boring in comparison? Allow me to backpedal a bit. I like beans and we eat them fairly frequently in our house in soups, dips and stews. Most of the time, I use the canned varieties for the sake of speed in pulling a meal together. However, I do find that beans cooked from the dried (or fresh) state tend to have better flavor and texture than the canned ones. However, dried beans need to be soaked for a time before using and even the quick soak method can be longer than I want to wait when I’m making dinner on a busy weeknight. (Though if you do happen to have the time check out the dry bean cooking tips over at Kitchen Therapy).

The lentil has something great going for it that beans don’t: they are the Speedy Petes of the legume world. From a nutrition standpoint, much like beans, lentils have a lot going for them. They’re loaded with folic acid and fiber (trust me, your heart LOVES that!)

There are several varieties of lentils, some of which are pictured above (red, French Green and brown). Like beans, lentils themselves have have a very mild flavor. The magic happens when they are cooked with other ingredients, they take on the flavors of the rest of the dish. Since they are small and lens shaped, they also contribute welcome texture to many dishes and in true speedy fashion, there is no soaking required. Just add them during the cooking process as you would pasta and cook until tender. Before using lentils, spread them out on a white dish towel or plate and remove any non-lentil interlopers such as tiny stones or other grains.

During the winter months, I like to keep my freezer stocked with hearty soups and stews to help get dinner on the table quickly during the week. This Lentil Soup is generally camping out somewhere near my Ben and Jerry’s stash. I like to serve this as a dinner entree with fresh fruit or salad and a really good loaf of bread with garlic spiked butter.

Lentil Soup

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

2 carrots, trimmed, peeled and sliced

2 ribs celery, trimmed and sliced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 1/2 cups crushed tomatoes

2 tsp dried thyme

1 cup dry lentils (any kind will work)

4 cups low sodium beef or vegetable stock

1 smoked ham hock (optional)

1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar

Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1. In a large soup pot, heat olive oil over medium heat and add onions, carrots, celery, garlic and thyme. Cover pot. Stir occasionally and if vegetables begin to turn brown, stir and reduce heat to medium-low.

2. When vegetables are tender, add tomatoes, stock, lentils and ham hock (if using)

3. Stir soup and turn heat up to high until soup is boiling, then reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender, about 30-40 minutes.

4. Remove soup from heat and extract the ham hock if using. Cut as much meat from the ham hock as possible, cut into bite sized pieces and add back to the soup.

5. Add salt and pepper to taste and stir in Balsamic vinegar.

Makes about 8 cups. Freezes well (use within 3 months).