What a great day at the Brooklyn Food Conference. I met so many fab folks and was inspired by how many people in my city are dedicated to having a clean, accessible and sustainable food supply.
Many of my Natural Gourmet Institute colleagues were on hand too... here's a link to their blog, Blanched and Shocked, and Elliott Prag's post about the conference.
I would not give a fig for the simplicity this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity... Oliver Wendell Holmes
When I spend an entire
afternoon cleaning up after a Snow Leopard encounter (the new Mac OS guaranteed
to turn all QuickBooks files to confetti) followed by a three-hour weed-whacker
symphony (courtesy of my neighbor’s yard service) I crave quiet
simplicity.
Peace, contemplation, reflection…the space that allows us to recharge our battery, listen to our intuition and appreciate the beauty that surrounds us.
Lately I have been craving that kind of experience. After spending the summer in Vermont, living in an open-air cabin, waking to the sound of the loons and the crickets, I find myself particularly susceptible to the cacophony of city life and not so sure I want to acclimate just yet.
Being in the rhythm of nature…eating according to the seasons, waking with the sun and listening to the sounds of life around us…enables us to see the connectedness of ourselves to something infinite and helps to take the edge off of the things that just don’t matter.
When I get overwhelmed with the complexities of life, there are a few things that always seem to put me right: First, I remove the clutter that keeps me distracted. Next, I unplug and look for contemplative time either by sitting in meditation or walking in the woods. And most importantly, I try to connect to things that are beautiful, like a simple bouquet of zinnia from my garden… or a platter of figs.
The fig is considered
to be the first cultivated tree, and similarly, I suppose the fig leaf could be
considered the first cultivated fashion statement.
Figs are sexy in that that food porn sort of way. Out of hand (or better yet, out of someone else’s hand) figs are the absolute perfect food. Delicate and sweet, softly yielding to the bite while offering textural interest on the palate… you can’t rush when eating a fig, because it draws you in to the sensuality of the moment.
All of the sudden, the world becomes a little sweeter. The weed whackers yield to the songbirds and
the figs find their way to a bed of arugula with thinly sliced prosciutto and
Manchego… a statement of sublime elegance and simplicity and a gorgeous way to start the weekend.
And I'm beyond your peripheral vision, so you might want to turn your head...cause some day you're gonna be hungry... and eat all of the words that you just said... I am what I am, I am 32 flavors and then some... Alana Davis
Lunch is one of those
meals that I too often skimp on or snack through. A typical work-day lunch for
me is a few rice crackers with peanut butter, a piece of fruit, a glass of
kombucha and maybe some yogurt. If things are really busy, I might just have a
handful of tamari almonds and some dried mango… but I know better. When I eat a
good lunch, I have more consistent energy, I’m much more alert, and I don’t get
that crazy, weak-in-the-knees feeling when my blood sugar crashes at about 4:00pm.
So today, while working at home and feeling absolutely famished after a nice long run in the woods, I made a delicious, nutritious and—most importantly—super fast lunch.
This simple sauté requires just one pan and very little prep. It’s infinitely flexible and really yummy. If you’ve never eaten tempeh before, you really ought to give it a try. Tempeh is a fermented soybean product that is a great source of vegetarian protein and is full of vitamins and minerals.
As a gut-health vigilante, I am constantly encouraging people to incorporate more fermented foods into their diet. You see, gut health is not just about your gut. There’s a lot of compelling research linking poor gut flora to allergies, autoimmune diseases and even depression. Fermented foods offer a wide range of microbial organisms (think probiotics) that are the good soldiers in the fight for health.
Fermentation also preserves nutrients while breaking them down into more easily digestible forms.
You can find tempeh in any health food store or in the vegetarian section of a conventional grocer. Packaged tempeh is often made in combination with other grains or rice. Whichever you choose, the flavor is typically mild and the texture is great for slicing or crumbling.
Tasty Tempeh Saute (serves two)
I wound up serving this over a bed of arugula, which added another dimension of flavor and nutrition.
Delish.
Here are a few other
variations to consider:
- cooked white beans
and chopped rosemary
-chopped walnuts
-a splash of white
wine or veggie/chicken stock instead of the vinegar
-shredded carrots and
raisins or dried cranberries
God defend me from
that Welsh fairy, lest he transform me to a piece of cheese! William
Shakespeare
All it took was some
milk, vinegar, a little salt, and time. The result was a flavorful, delicate cheese that became the centerpiece of an easy weekend meal featuring
ravioli, fresh tomato sauce, sauteed swiss chard and roasted spaghetti squash. When I look at the pictures of the plate, it almost looks too fancy for how simple it actually was. Almost all the I researched different
ways to make ricotta and found that true ricotta is actually made from the whey
that is left after making other types of cheese, such as mozzarella… (I love
the fact that something so yummy is a by-product of something else that is equally
yummy...a two-fer!) In my simple
rendition, I started with cow’s milk. I buy raw milk from a local dairy because
I like the freshness as well as the beneficial bacteria that are important in
maintaining gut flora, but you can use pasteurized milk as well. You cannot,
however, use milk that has been ultra-pasteurized or homogenized. My favorite way to eat
ricotta is with honey and toasted hazelnuts. In making ricotta for that, you
can add some heavy cream to give it a little more body. I met a lovely woman at
the farmer’s market who said that in Italy she was served this same sweet
ricotta preparation but with an added piece of sharp cheese. Doesn’t that sound
like heaven? The ricotta filling
was enhanced with chopped herbs from my garden, a few toasted pignoli nuts and
a little lemon to brighten everything up. For the sauce, I minced garlic
and herbs with a little sea salt and olive oil and mixed that with chopped
fresh tomatoes. I made this before filling the ravioli so that the flavors
would have a chance to meld together. For the chard, I
blanched the greens first and then used that same water for cooking the
ravioli. This is a great way to save energy (heating only one pot of water) and
also to add some nutrients to your pasta water. See this link for more info on
cooking greens. The spaghetti squash
was poked a few times with a fork and then baked in the toaster oven at 350 F
for about 45 minutes. After cooking, I cut it in half, scraped out the seeds and
then used a fork to pull the flesh out in its spaghetti-like strands. Topped with
cultured butter and a little salt... The actual cooking
time for this meal was less than an hour. Hard to believe, isn’t it? Just
enough time to enjoy the candlelight, a glass of wine and some jazz on the
radio… Making ricotta: Ever since I read
Barbara Kigsolver’s awesome book, Animal Vegetable Miracle a few years ago, I have had a
hankerin’ to make cheese (and to move back to the country, but that’s another
story…) Ultimately, I want to make mozzarella, but I started with ricotta,
which is even easier than I thought it could be.
ingredients were found at my local
farmer’s market and in my garden. There was very little cooking involved, which
meant that I didn’t heat up the house on a warm summer evening… and each of the
veggies had a chance to shine in its peak-season flavor.
Anyhoo, this ricotta
was to become ravioli made with store-bought wonton wrappers… a quick solution
for making ravioli without pulling out the pasta machine.
Yield: about 1 1/2
cups of ricotta.
That’s it. Done. Easy, right?
For the ravioli
filling:
Chopped fresh herbs (I
used rosemary, basil, thyme and parsley)
1 teaspoon chopped
lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh
squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons pignoli,
dry roasted in a small cast-iron skillet and coarsely chopped
Combine all ingredients and then stir in the ricotta
Making the ravioli:
Place about a teaspoon
of the filling in the wonton wrapper
Brush the edges with
water
Fold over into a
triangle
Press the edges to
seal
Drop into boiling
water for about 3 minutes until heated through.
Earth laughs in flower… Ralph Waldo Emerson
Two farm markets in two days. Now that’s my idea of a great weekend.
Yesterday was a kitchen-extravaganza: First, chicken stock with the leftover carcass from the brick chicken and a triple batch of tomato sauce (actually, here in Philly we call it “gravy”) so that I have some extra in the freezer for when the busy school season gets underway… but that was just the warm-up.
I had it in my mind to make fresh ricotta cheese for home-made ravioli… it turns out that making ricotta is easier than you could possibly imagine, and with fresh raw milk from the farmer’s market, more delicious too! Topped with a no-cook tomato/herb sauce, it was quite a treat.
I’ll post details and recipes in the next day or so, but for now, it’s out for a walk with the dog and a little peace + quiet with the Sunday Times.
So in the meantime, here’s a quickie lunch cobbled together from my garden and the markets…
Arugula, heirloom tomatoes and basil tossed with lemon and walnut oil… shavings of goat gouda… and a roasted onion ciabatta roll from Wild Flour Bakery.
Simple, seasonal, divine.
Life seems but a quick succession of busy nothings... Jane Austen
There’s an expression: If you want something done, give it to a busy person.
As an expert on the receiving end of this equation, I have determined it to be a corollary to Newton’s Third Law of Physics (for every action, there’s an equal and opposite reaction) as well as a lesson in sausage making (you can put only so much in before it squeezes out the other end).
This is also why I have not blogged a whole lot in the last few months... I have, however, been cooking up a storm (including 6 weeks at Farm + Wilderness Camp in VT) and am looking forward to sharing some delicious recipes (stuffed cabbage, granola, grilled shrimp and pasta, Izzakate’s tofu) as well as some stories and insights.
So let’s get started, shall we? In case you haven’t noticed, I’m into food. I love cooking it, shopping for it, talking about it, writing about it, serving it, and of course, eating it. And I get really jazzed about other people who share this passion.
Back in February, the NY Times food section had a feature story about the foodie scene in Brooklyn… hipsters at the epicenter of the growing movement toward artisan foods, locally sourced ingredients and the beauty that comes from making something yourself… or getting it from someone you know.
Marlowe and Sons is one of those places. I had dinner there this Spring and it was absolutely divine. The Brick Chicken was arguably one of the simplest yet yummiest restaurant dishes I have had. I decided to make it last night and I had just the gal for the job (John Fiorella graced my freezer with 10 fresh birds early this summer… see this post for more info and a recipe for roast chicken).
Brick Chicken is a whole, partially deboned bird that is pressed into a hot skillet and weighted down. At Marlowe and Sons they use a 35 lb piece of scrap metal salvaged from the Brooklyn Navy Yard… lacking anything comparable, I filled a pot with water and put it in another pot inside of another pan (see photo). This cumbersome but wicked-cool technique cooked the whole chicken in about 20 minutes. Crispy on the outside, succulent on the inside.
Here’s a link to the recipe as featured in Saveur. And don't dare overlook the recipe for the chocolate caramel tart… I ate that at Marlowe and Sons too…whee doggie!
Last night I served the chicken over sautéed kale with a side of quinoa spiked with cherry tomatoes and herbs from my garden. As the quinoa soaked up the chicken’s pan juices it became even more delectable.
If you are new to quinoa, you are in for a treat. This delicious grain (it’s technically a seed) has been produced in South America since 3000 B.C.E. and was called “mother seed” by the Incas.
Quinoa is a great source of magnesium and manganese as well as vitamins B2 and E. It also happens to be a really good source of vegetarian protein. It is both wheat and gluten-free and is considered to be the least allergenic of all the grains.
Quinoa is simple and quick to make.
First give it a good rinse in a fine mesh strainer. Then, you’ll want a 2:1 ratio of liquid (water or a combination of water and stock) to quinoa. Combine in a saucepan, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and cover. It takes 15-20 minutes cook 1 cup of quinoa. You’ll know it’s finished when the grains are translucent and tender. Add more liquid if the pan gets dry before it is fully cooked.
I like to dry toast the quinoa in a skillet before cooking to give it a slightly nutty flavor.
You can serve quinoa plain with a little butter and salt or style it up with steamed veggies, herbs, dried fruit or nuts. It makes a nice summer salad and travels well. It’s good hot or at room temperature. I love it for breakfast with toasted walnuts, blueberries and a little maple syrup.
Here’s what I did to flavor last night’s dish:
2 cloves of garlic minced
A handful of cherry tomatoes halved
1/2 cup of fresh herbs (rosemary, basil, thyme), chopped
Coarse sea salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
Mix together in a serving bowl and let the flavors meld while the quinoa is cooking. When the quinoa is ready, fluff it with a fork and mix into the herb/tomato mixture.
And then get busy sitting down to a delicious, nutritious and wholly satisfying meal!
It’s been sort of a whirlwind… Barack Obama
On Fridays I work from home doing paperwork, phone calls and the myriad of the other things that didn’t get done during the week. It’s usually a pretty relaxed day and often it includes a long run in the woods or an hour of ice hockey with the Mother Puckers. I look forward to a quiet Friday as a much-needed time to rejuvenate, catch my breath and clear my desk.
Last Friday, however, was not one of those chill days. Oh no. It was back-to-back meetings followed by two school performances—one of which required a pot-luck dish that I had no time to plan and less time to prepare…
What could have been a recipe for disaster wound up becoming a new favorite dish that I have decided to call: Sweet Barackoli-Obeana…a nutritional stimulus package.
Elegant and simple, yet packed with nutrition in the form of roasted sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli topped with white beans sautéed in olive oil and garlic.
I love it because it fits all of my criteria: it is colorful and delicious, it is really, really easy to make, it is seasonal, and it is inexpensive. Even better: it is nutritionally complete as a vegetarian dish yet with the addition of some grilled sausages, supersizes into a hearty winter meal to satisfy a family with perpetually hungry growing boys.
The foundation of the meal is roasted sweet potatoes. These guys have been shown to have significant antioxidant effects, and are a good source of vitamins C and B6 manganese, copper and dietary fiber. Contrary to the name, sweet potatoes actually stabilize blood sugar levels and improve insulin response. They come in many sizes shapes and colors and vary in flavor and texture… the darker the variety, the higher the concentration of carotenes.
Broccoli happens to be one of the most nutrient-dense foods going. It’s got tons of vitamin C, as well as K, A, B6, E, folic acid, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium. Broccoli also contains anti-cancer compounds that are specifically linked to the prevention of breast cancer.
Add to that the fiber in the beans, and the incredible benefits of olive oil and garlic (simply too numerous to list) and you’ve got just about everything one could ask for in a meal.
Here’s what to do:
Grab a few organic sweet potatoes, scrub and cut into bite-sized chunks. Toss with olive oil, sea salt and some chopped rosemary or thyme. Bake on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven until tender; about 35 minutes. Be sure not to crowd the potatoes on the baking sheet… if you are making a big batch, it’s worth it to use two pans so that the bottoms of the potatoes caramelize for added sweetness and depth of flavor.
Next, peel and chop several cloves of garlic and sauté in a small skillet with olive oil, a few chopped herbs such as fresh thyme or rosemary, and a shake of red pepper flakes. When the garlic is sizzling but not brown, add about a cup of cooked beans (I used one can of cannellini beans—a white Italian kidney bean—but any bean would do just fine) and heat through. Just before removing from the heat, stir in a splash of soy sauce or tamari.
While this is going on, cut your washed, organic broccoli into florets and slice the stems (peel the outer layer of the stems to make them more tender). Steam for about 3-5 minutes until bright green.
To assemble: lay the roasted sweet potatoes on a large platter, arrange the steamed broccoli and top with the garlic/bean sauté. Voila!
If you are going for the gusto, consider a combination of chicken sausages grilled and sliced on the diagonal. Our co-op carries a wide variety of amazing sausages; we chose three varieties for this meal: spinach/fontina cheese, sweet Italian, and white wine/parsley.
Sometimes our fate resembles a fruit tree in winter. Who would think that those branches would turn green again and blossom, but we hope it, we know it… Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
In these dark days of winter, when it is especially hard to imagine that January will ever end, keep the hearth going with delicious, seasonal food that keeps the spirit bright and the body well nourished.
There are a variety of hearty winter greens that pack a lot of flavor—and that much more of a nutritional punch. The Kale family includes such delicious varieties as collards, mustard greens, turnip greens and dinosaur kale… they are descended from wild cabbage and rank among the most highly nutritious vegetables around.
Packed with vitamins C, B6 and manganese, winter greens are a great source of dietary fiber and minerals such as copper, iron and calcium. Better than a flu shot if you ask me!
I am a big fan of winter greens, and during this time of the year they are on the table at least four nights a week. Last night, it was a mix of mustard greens and dino kale sautéed in garlic and olive oil, served over whole wheat pasta, and sprinkled with prosciutto that had been crisped in the oven.
I also love to wrap collards around a mixture of rice and veggies, top them off with some tomato sauce and a little cheese, and bake the whole thing until the collards are soft and pliable.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
Wintry greens are tough, and the stems even more so. To ready them for cooking, pull the leafy parts off the stems and tear the leaves into bite-sized pieces. I find that blanching them in a pot of boiling water for 2-3 minutes enhances the color and makes the greens less fibrous and more easily digestible.
Recycling tips:
• After you blanch, remove the greens from the water with tongs or a slotted spoon… and then recycle that same water to cook pasta (which is then infused with extra vitamins and minerals)
• Cool the water and use it on your plants
• Keep the kale stems and a few leaves to add to vegetable juice…
To make a yummy kale dish:
• Blanch your greens for 2-3 minutes, remove and squeeze out excess water.
• Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil and a splash of toasted sesame oil in a large skillet.
• Add a few cloves of chopped garlic and maybe a shake of red pepper flakes... heat until the garlic is cooked but not browned
• Add about 3/4 cup of sliced purple cabbage, saute for 2-3 minutes
• Add the blanched greens.
• When the greens are just about cooked through add a splash of Thai fish sauce and two splashes of tamari/soy sauce.
• Cook for another two-three minutes while thinking about the how the beauty of winter offers us a space to go inward to ponder the quiet beauty of the season.
It’s coming on Christmas
They’re cutting down trees
They’re putting up reindeer
And singing songs of joy and peace
I wish I had a river
I could skate away on…
Joni Mitchell
The Solstice has passed, the days grow longer, and the party season continues in full festive swing.
I am enjoying some treasured afternoons at home, baking and preparing treats for celebrations with family, friends and neighbors.
The tart in the photo was made for a gathering last Saturday night and I am about to make another for an open-house this evening. It is simple yet lovely, it travels well, and is great re-heated the next day--assuming there is any left!
I love the Yeasted Tart Dough recipe from The Fields of Greens cookbook--a classic vegetarian cookbook from the Greens Restaurant in San Francisco… one of my absolute favorites! Over the years I have filled this tart shell with dozens of savory, seasonal fillings, and have yet to be disappointed.
Caramelized Onion, Fennel and Goat Cheese Tart
Yeasted Tart Dough, From Fields of Greens cookbook:
Turn on some awesome music. Light a few candles. Get your apron.
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water and set it in a warm place while you gather the other ingredients. Combine 1 cup flour, the salt and the minced lemon zest in a bowl and make a well. Break the egg into the middle of it; add the butter and pour in the yeast mixture, which should be foamy with bubbles. Mix with a wooden spoon to form a soft, smooth dough. Dust it with flour and gather into a ball; set it in a clean bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it is doubled in bulk, 45 minutes to 1 hour. If you are not ready to shape the dough at this time, knead it down and let it rise again.
Use a 9 inch tart pan with a removable bottom. Flatten the dough, place it in the center of the pan and press it out to the edge using either your knuckles or the heel of your hand. Add only enough flour to keep the dough from sticking. If the dough shrinks back while you’re shaping it, cover with a towel and let it relax for 20 mintes before you finish pressing it out. It should be thin on the bottom and thicker at the sides, about 1/4 inch higher than the rim of the pan. It can be filled immediately or refrigerated until needed. Once the tart is filled, bake in the middle of a preheated 375 oven for 35-45 minutes.
Filling:
Heat the olive oil in a large cast iron skillet or sauté pan. When the oil is hot, add the onions (or shallots) and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the fennel and season with salt and pepper. Cook until beginning to brown and caramelize—about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 tablespoon each of the rosemary and thyme and stir. Add olives and remove from heat.
Prepare the custard: In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and 1/2 + 1/2 with the lemon zest and some some salt and pepper.
Assemble the tart: Crumble goat cheese on the bottom of the prepared tart shell. Add the onion/fennel mixture on top of the goat cheese. Top with the custard and bake for 35-45 minutes at 375. It is done when the custard is golden and set.
Serve warm or at room temp.
Be sure to enjoy the meditative process of preparing the dough... and the delicious aroma while it bakes... but especially, savor the appreciative smiles on the faces of those you serve it to.
We've got the power, we've got the juice. We should do the job… Bill Clinton
This past weekend I was invited to speak at the Holiday Tea for the Professional Women’s Roundtable, a group that brings businesswomen together for networking and development. It was a lovely event, held at The Union League on Broad Street in Philadelphia…one of the most beautiful buildings in the city.
The topic was, “Balance during the holiday season,” and as an expert on Holiday Imbalance, it was a welcome challenge.
Actually, I think of balance as a relative state of mind...and true balance as the ability to be centered in the face of chaos and distraction. What better time than the holidays to put this concept to the test?
So, during the presentation, while gorgeous three-tiered trays of petit-fours were being delivered to each table, I led an exercise in mindfulness where I played my favorite holiday song (Christmas Wrapping by The Waitresses) and we all attempted to stay focused and centered as music played, tea was poured, and plates were cleared.
What I liked about this meditation (aside from the wonderfully irreverent opportunity to blast the Waitresses at The Union League!) was that it wasn’t about meditating at a Zen retreat in Northern California, or in a yoga class in Center City. It wasn’t even about a quiet moment with a cup of tea alone at home. It was about the reality of a busy, working woman’s life during the holiday season.
When we can be graceful—even peaceful—in the midst of the daily drama of life, then (and only then) will we find balance. So as we go merrily, merrily into the holiday season, I wish you all grace, peace and juice.
Yup. Juice.
As the holiday season gets into full swing, and your party card is literally hopping with opportunities (I think I have a full dozen soirees to enjoy this year!) a beautiful balance for holiday revelry (pate and champagne anyone?) is fresh juice.
I have had this hulking behemoth Champion Juicer for about 15 years and I find that this is the season where it is absolutely guaranteed to get a workout. Yesterday for breakfast I made a yummy elixir of
pineapple, apples, carrots, fennel, and beets… a sweet way to kick-start the day. Tonight, I rang in the cocktail hour with a spicy blend of carrot, fennel, parsley, spinach, celery, garlic and ginger, mixed with some tomato juice and finished with a squeeze of lemon. Today I received a delivery of a case of tangelos and a case of oranges purchased for a local school fundraiser…that means that we will enjoy fresh-squeezed citrus tomorrow—and, who knows, maybe a shot of Amaretto in that orange juice for a real holiday cocktail
treat!
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