How to Really Cook Real Food

Home cooking is an act of resistance "against the infiltration of commercial interests into every last cranny of our lives" (Michael Pollan, Cooked, 2013).  Cooking is transformative and so much more than mere reheating or assembling which is much of what passes for cooking in these United States.

While hungrily awaiting my copy of Pollan's latest from my local library, I relished an amuse bouche of a review by America's Test Kitchen editorial director Jack Bishop, who dared critique Pollan for being, like to many Americans, a dilettante in the kitchen.  The four recipes Pollan shares from his culinary adventures chronicled in the book occupy 19 pages of instructions.  While I'm still anxious to get my hands on the book, the review reminded me that there are better places to learn, really, how to enjoy the pleasures of cooking on a daily basis, and make these work in your busy life.

The best book that really teaches how to cook that has crossed my kitchen table this year, by far, is The Garden of Eating by Rachel Albert and Don Matesz (Planetary Press, 2010).  This culinary duo tell you not only what to eat (real food) but, both clearly and deliciously,  how to cook it on a daily basis when time and money are on a budget.  Both have extensive training in nutrition, Chinese medicine, and culinary arts, and they've created a tome, grounded in the principles of nutrient-dense, produce-driven, paleo-inspired eating, which can transform your kitchen, your daily cooking and your health.  Most importantly, the recipes are quite delicious and mostly simple, with ingredients that are widely available. 

The shining gems here are in the tips on organizing your kitchen, pantry, and cooking week from these seasoned veterans.  These are things I've taken years to learn and incorporate into my life, such as always roasting an extra tray or two of vegetables when I turn on the oven, and following simple formulas for meals like breakfast and lunch, relying on condiments to add variety to these formulas and boost flavor and nutrition. These habits take a little discipline to acquire yet pay off tremendously in pleasure, health and economy.  Sustainability concerns are addressed in the introductory chapters and throughout, like organics, sources of animal foods and ways to reduce the use of plastic in your kitchen.  The recipe for Better Barbeque Sauce has already become a family favorite.  If you are interested in ordering the book, please use this link to the authors' website.. 

If you are the kind of person who learns best not from books but in person, check out my upcoming cooking classes and demos:

• May 1st, 9am, Santa Monica Farmers' market cooking demo.  Click here to register for this free class.
• May 11, 12:30-3:30 Mokolumne Hill, CA Fermentation demo and hands-on class.  Contact nishanga@earthlink.net for details.
• Sunday, June 2nd 10am-1pm: Further Adventures in Fermentation, hands-on at Biofuel Oasis in Berkeley, click here to register.
• June 5th, 6:30-9pm: Fermentation for Summer Vibrancy, hands-on at 18 Reasons in San Francisco, register here.

Feeling Spring

This week has been a week of celebration.  Spring officially arrived on March 20th along with the first asparagus and strawberries at the farmers' market.   I passed my qualifying exam for my doctorate in nutrition from Hawthorn University, advancing me to doctoral candidacy as I work on my dissertation.   And this is my 100th post on Gastronicity!  I would have never known I'd take it this far and that the blog would help to spawn a book as well.  

After I got the good news about my exam I cooked up the dinner you see pictured, a nod to the flavors and feeling of spring.  Salmon steaks poached in mirin and tamari topped with  Fermented Cilantro Relish, a side of dandelion green and dill kraut, steamed asparagus, escarole salad with pickled beets, kumquats and candied walnuts, a glass of  cotes du rhone, a side of Morel's sourdough rye and butter and that family favorite, strawberries, creme fraiche and brown sugar for dessert.  Spring has hit, and I'm craving light, fresh and green.  Rather than embarking on a formal spring cleanse, simply incorporating spring foods into the diet cleanses gently and gets us in the mood for the rapid growth and movement of the warmer seasons.  Making your own fermented condiments is a great way to add flavor, variety and nutrition to your spring menus.  Spring ferments are best made more quickly than those in fall and winter and do well to incorporate some pungent flavors as well as salty and sour, to support the reawakening of our energy.  I like to make green condiments of many varieties, such as Nettle Pesto, to sneak in an extra vegetable serving into meals.  Nettles are popping up now in the California hills at the the farmers' market and offer incredible nutrition once you blanch them to remove the sting.

While condiments based on fresh green herbs appear in many cuisines, mostly they taste best when consumed shortly after they are made.  Incorporating capers into a classic recipe provides a source of lactobacillus which will ferment the sauce if left out overnight, allowing it to stay fresh-tasting and bright green for up to a week.  Try it with fish, on beans or eggs, meat, roasted vegetables or a baked sweet potato for an extra dose of green power to help you begin feeling spring.

Fermented Cilantro Relish

This riff on salsa verde, pesto and/or chimichurri gives you the flavor and health benefits of a fresh herb condiment with superior keeping qualities and probiotics. Seek out the salt-cured capers (most are made with vinegar) which are truly fermented and the source of the bacteria that will make this recipe a success.  Based on the recipe for Fay's relish in Heirloom Beans by Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo and my pal Vanessa Barrington, author of the wonderful make-it-yourself kitchen manual  DIY Delicious.

2 tablespoons salt-cured capers

1 bunch cilantro, coarsely chopped (stems OK)    

1 medium shallot, coarsely chopped                                                                                                      

2 garlic cloves or 2 stalks green garlic, coarsely chopped

Zest of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more for keeping

 Soak the capers in water to cover for at least 20 minutes.  Drain, and combine the capers, cilantro, shallot and garlic in the bowl a food processor with the chopper blade, and pulse to chop into a coarse paste.  Add the lemon zest and olive oil and pulse briefly to combine.  Alternatively, chop all ingredients finely and mix to form a paste.  Place into a small jar with a lid, cover, and let sit at room temperature for 24 hours.  Refrigerate and enjoy for up to a week.  Pour thin film of olive oil over the top for storage if you like. 

Raise the Roots

A staple food of winter for our forebears, root vegetables come in a dizzying variety and can be prepared in many ways to fuel you year-round.  A walk through the farmers' market reveals the new crop of turnips (scarlet, golden, purple, and more, with a subtle spiciness), rutabagas (a bit starchier, sweeter, and more off-white than a turnip), beets, radishes, small medium and large, carrots, sweet parsnips, and the lesser-known celery root (celeriac) and root impostor, current chefs' darling, kohlrabi (actually a tuber and a member of the extra-healthy brassica family).  All are delicious cubed, tossed with olive oil and salt, and roasted at 450 degrees until crispy, or boiled until tender in stock or water and mashed with white miso and butter for a less starchy alternative to potatoes, rice or pasta.  In recent years root and other starchy vegetables have taken the place most grains in my diet, and are in fact higher in minerals and fiber and generally lower on the glycemic index than whole grains, while they  tend to alkalinize rather than acidify the body.  Root vegetables are a lot easier to find locally grown than most grains in my area as well.  When the weather begins to warm, I think of eating many of these veggies raw, too, as in the recipe that follows.

Winter Root Salad

As winter begins to yield to spring, we start tiring of yet another tray of roasted root vegetables, delicious as they may be. Take a turn on winter vegetables and grate them into a salad instead, a refreshing bite that hints at the new growth soon to burst forth. If your digestion is strong or your condition hot, enjoy it raw in abundance, but if your digestive fire is a bit weak, try smaller quantities, and let it ferment lightly before eating as described below. Try a vegetable you've never enjoyed before, like my new favorite kohlrabi (you can use the greens, sliced thinly, in this recipe in place of the cabbage) or sweet parsnips or tangled, delicate celery root.

For the salad:

1 cup cabbage, sliced thinly or shredded

1 rutabaga, turnip, celery root, or kohlrabi bulb, grated

3 carrots or parsnips, grated

1 tart apple such as Pink Lady or Granny Smith, grated

For the dressing:

1 tablespoon white or chickpea miso

1 teaspoon prepared mustard such as Dijon

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

1 orange or lemon, juiced

2 tablespoon olive or walnut oil or a combination

1 tablespoon fresh dill or fennel fronds, coarsely chopped

Mix the first four ingredients in a large bowl. Place the dressing ingredients in a blender or food processor and puree, or mix thoroughly by hand with a fork. Pour over salad and serve immediately, or leave out at room temperature up to 2 days to lightly ferment for increased digestibility.

UPCOMING: I had a great time this weekend testing recipes for my upcoming class March 11, to be co-taught with Alex Lewin, author of Real Food Fermentation at 18 Reasons in San Francisco (see the blog sidebar for links to register).  He made corned beef with brisket from Marin Sun Farms and we enjoyed it wrapped in fermented whole cabbage leaves, with a cultured butter and Irish soda bread on the side...come, cook, ferment and eat with us in San Francisco.

If you want to really plunge into nutrition and cooking techniques, and take charge of your health,  sign up for my weekend-long class Integrative Nutrition through the Seasons: Winter and Spring at AIMC Berkeley on March 2-3.

Never Stop Learning

Deep in the winter, we wrestle, concious or not, with issues of health, vitality and longevity.  This is the most yin time of year, when we should rest a bit more and bring our focus inward.  It is a wonderful time to study, contemplate and plan.  A recent study found that education was the most important social factor linked to longevity.  I wanted to share with you a number of ways to educate yourself further on nutrition in 2013:

• FREE WEBINAR: Tuesday, Jan 29 4pm PST.  Logon, call in and join me in a webinar on seasonal eating for wintertime via Hawthorn university.  Get a taste of distance learning, and check out their great offerings in nuheretrition education.  This is where I'm soon to be getting my doctorate (once I knock out that dissertation...).   I'll be doing Spring nutrition on April 2nd, as well, stay tuned for more. Follow this link to register for Tuesday's class.
• HANDS-ON FERMENTATION CLASS: Sunday, Feb. 10th in Berkeley, 10am-1pm. Learn to get your ferment on, or refine your technique with troubleshooting tips.   Click here for details or to register. 
• FREE AUTHOR TALK AND DEMO: Thursday, Feb. 28th 7-9pm in Berkeley.  Join me and my co-conspirator Alex Lewin, author of the wonderful, superbly illustrated culinary guide, Real Food Fermentation for a dual fermentation talk and demo at the Ecology Center.  If you aren't local, Alex's book is a great resource to check out--it gives detailed, step-by-step instructions for fermentation projects and gave me many new ideas.
• COOKING CLASS AND DINNER: Monday, March 11, 18 Reasons, San Francisco.  Alex and I team up again to bring you a culinary adventure:A Fermented St.Patrick's Day: Beyond the Boiled Dinner.  I'll be teaching Fermentation for Health: Spring there on Monday, March 25th as well, check back for details or join the 18 Reasons mailing list to get updates of all their amazing classes. 
• NUTRITION CLASS AND CERTIFICATION:  Licensed acupuncturists and nurses can earn continuing education credits in my two-weekend in depth class on seasonal nutrition, integrating Chinese and western medicine in Berkeley.  Saturday and Sunday, March 2/3. Visit AIMC CEU classes for all the details and to register.  Interested lay people are welcome also, and students, faculty and alumni get a discount. 
• NUTRITION CLASS FOR HERBALISTS: July 19th and 20th.  I'll be a part of the wonderful Food as Medicine lecture series at the Ohlone herbal center, check it out here. 
• LEARN BY DOING:   Because I feel guilty posting here without sharing a recipe, I'll finish with a gentle reminder to get back in the kitchen.  Right now, roasted vegetables are a staple food.  Plus, turning on the oven warms up the house.  The best version I've had recently is from Tyler Florence's new book cookbook Fresh.  Hmm...do I see a theme here?  It was roasted Brussels sprouts, apples and potatoes topped with a combo of creme fraiche and parmesan.  As exciting for breakfast under a poached egg as for dinnner along side a lamb chop.  Check out the recipe here. 

New Year's Resolution: More Green Soup, Less of Everything Else

It’s as cold now as it ever gets here in sunny California. I’ve busted out the silk long underwear, never take off my new fuzzy white hat, and eat soup with breakfast, lunch and dinner to keep warm. I cheer myself up by making camping reservations for the summer. My January maintenance plan: the perfect triad of running, dancing and yoga, and more green soup, less of everything else.  Green smoothies may be all the rage, but green soup is a better choice for cold weather and offers milder, but real, cleansing effects.

Green soup happily incorporates the produce of the season.  I adore the interesting roots and fruits of wintertime: celery root, with its intimidating tangles concealing creamy off white subtly perfumed flesh, squat aromatic fennel, complete with feathery fronds for garnish or salad, seductive pomegranate, wont to kiss you with an embarrassing spray of bloody juice, puddingish persimmons, seemingly already spiced with cinnamon. These delights may take a little more effort than the blowsy produce of the summer, delicious with just a splash of olive oil and salt, but winter produce provides sophisticated pleasures and deep nourishment, helping to warm our bodies and strengthen us to the core.

I’m using diced celery root and fennel in place of regular celery in dishes right now and enjoying the superior flavor. Favorite salad to go on the side of a warming winter stew, roast or braise: freshly grated celery root, apple, and parsnip (plus or minus sliced fennel, shredded cabbage, grated carrot or jicama) tossed simply with olive oil and lemon juice and finished with freshly grated nutmeg.  Pomegranite seeds garnish everything, and a Fuyu persimmon is a portable and delicious snack or slices into salad happily, while the trickier Hachiya requires careful timing for a chin-slathering sensuous treat, preferably shared with an intimate friend. 

Most of us want a break from the overindulgence of the holidays at this time of year, yet crave warming, hearty dishes to keep us fueled. Making soups and stews is a great way to fill that bill. I recently had minor surgery and my go-to food for easy prep and improved healing was this aromatic green soup. If you want to drop those few pounds so easily gained over the holidays, or simply prevent winter spread, try this New Year’s resolution: more green soup, less of everything else.

Cream of Green Soup
The fennel and tarragon lend their licorice taste to a silky puree of humble greens and sweet potatoes, creating a balm for your gut and your spirits that can be eaten at any time of day. Garnish with sauerkraut, crème fraiche or herb pesto for extra nutrient and probiotic punch. In Chinese medicine language, this soup strengthens the spleen and lungs and moves the liver qi, while using bone broth makes it a kidney tonic. My favorite winter bone broth is made with a whole chicken carcass, a pound of chicken feet, and a couple ounces of Astragalus/Huang Qi to strengthen the immune system and prevent seasonal illnesses.

1 tablespoon lard, bacon grease, coconut or olive oil
½ yellow onion or 1 small leek, chopped
1 small bulb fennel, sliced (about ½ cup)
½ tsp sea salt
1 teaspoon each turmeric and curry powder
1 quart bone broth (see recipe in this post), vegetable stock, or water
1 cup kale, coarsely chopped
1 small sweet potato, diced (about 1 cup)
3 tablespoons white or chickpea miso
1 teaspoon dried tarragon (optional)
1 lemon, juiced

In a medium soup pot, heat the fat on medium high heat. Add the onion, fennel and salt and sauté until the onion begins to turn clear, about 5 minutes. Stir in the spices and sauté until well distributed and fragrant. Add the bone broth, kale and sweet potato and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a simmer and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes. Add the miso, tarragon and lemon juice and puree with a handheld blender until smooth, or allow to cool and puree in an upright blender. Taste for salt, pepper and lemon, and correct the seasoning.

UPCOMING CERTIFICATE COURSE: Licensed acpuncturists, students and anyone with a passion for nutrition is invited to study seasonal nutrition with me in depth over 2 weekends in Berkeley, March 2/3 and Sept.21/22, 2013.  Visit the AIMC CEU  website and scroll down for all the details and to register.

Soup Season

It's December and the throes of apple season in my house.  My Granny Smith tree provides more than enough apples for our family, and it is a great challenge and joy to try to use them all.  Apples work their way into every dish for a few months at this time of year--grated into muffins and cookies, fermented with cabbage, spiced into chutney, snuck into soups like this one, sauteed with cabbage and sausage, in pies and baked whole, and as a part of one of my favorite snacks, apple slices with almond butter and raisins. And apple butter, of course, for holiday gifts.

Speaking of which, I'll be giving copies of Real Food All Year to people on my list who don't already have a copy.  What a great way to share the gift of health and the pleasure of cooking with your loved ones.  My publisher, New Harbinger, has offered a promotion code for 30% off of all their titles for your holiday shopping, now through Dec.19th.  They have an amazing collection of self-help books, aimed at professionals, and a small but excellent selection of books on nutrition.  To order, visit their website here and enter REALFOOD12 at the prompt when ordering.*  This offer beats the Amazon price and supports a local publisher.

Curried Apple-Squash Red Lentil Soup
I adapted this recipe from Anne-Marie Colbin’s wonderful book The Natural Gourmet.  This soup can be eaten for breakfast, lunch or dinner, takes well to all kinds of garnishes.  I like it with a big dollop of yogurt and a topping of kraut or kimchi.  Freeze a portion or two to keep you well nourished and grounded when the holiday busyness hits later this month.  The curry spices add extra anti-inflammatory, immune boosting power and warmth, as does the kick of ginger. 

1 cup red lentils

1 medium onion

1 tablespoon butter, coconut oil or olive oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 tablespoon curry powder or a mix of cumin, coriander and turmeric

2 cups butternut squash, cubed

2 Granny smith or other tart apples, cubed

5 cups bone broth or water

1 6” strip kombu seaweed

1 2” knob fresh ginger, grated

Juice of 1 lemon

Sea salt to taste

Place the red lentils in a bowl and cover by 2” with water, and leave to soak overnight.  When you are ready to make the soup, dice the onion.  In a large soup pot, heat the butter or oil and sauté the onion, mustard seeds and curry powder over medium heat, until the onion begins to turn clear, about 10 minutes.

Drain the lentils.  Add them, the squash and apples to the pot and briefly sauté.  Add the bone broth or water and the seaweed.  Cover, bring the heat to high, and bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and simmer for about 45 minutes, until all is tender.  Squeeze the ginger and lemon juice into the pot, and puree in a blender or with a hand blender if you like.  Finish the seasoning with salt to taste. 

 *Sale ends Dec. 19th, 2012. Valid for online and phone orders in the US. For discount, enter code REALFOOD12 in the promo code box at checkout or tell your customer service representative.

Relishing Cranberries

Cranberries appearing in the organic section of the market are a sure herald that the season has shifted, whatever the weather is doing.  Berries are something I strive to eat as many of as possible, and while the last of the local strawberry crop can be found in my farmers' markets still, they are but a reminder of their summer glory.  Cranberries are closely related to blueberries, rich in antioxidants (higher than broccoli!) and vitamin C, can prevent and treat urinary tract infections and kidney stones.  I've learned to love cranberries raw and whole, in salads, and to appreciate their extreme sourness.  But my deepest cranberry love is as a condiment, preparably fresh and not too sweet, as part of a holiday meal.

I was piqued by a recipe in last month's Sunset magazine for an Indian spiced cranberry relish as part of a feature on spiced-up sides for Thanksgiving. I figured it would be amenable to fermentation, added dates to balance the tartness of the berries, a persimmon for extra color and digestive benefits, and turned down the heat a bit.  Fermenting made the flavor even more complex and will help it keep longer, up to a couple of weeks. It was especially memorable atop some grilled salmon this week, but I've also been known to eat it straight out of the jar.  I'll be bringing it to Thanksgiving this year, secretly supporting the digestive power and immunity of my loved ones.  My nutrition teacher during acupuncture school, Daniel Jiao, said that cranberry sauce would help counterract the drying and heating effect on the lungs that turkey (called "fire chicken" in Cantonese) can have.  Persimmons, too, are used in Chinese medicine to lubricate the lungs, strengthen the spleen, and treat alcohol intoxication, all helpful for withstanding holiday excesses. 

Fermenting with fruit is often best done by adding whey, which helps prevent the results from getting alcoholic by encouraging lactic acid bacteria instead of yeast.  I've been getting my whey lately by allowing a cup or so of raw milk to sour and separate at room temperature, then straining the results, but you can also get some by straining yogurt, as follows:

 

Whey and Yogurt Cream Cheese

Whey will keep a few months in the fridge, the cream cheese a few weeks.

1 qt. whole milk organic yogurt

Place a colander over a large bowl.  Line it with a kitchen towel and pour in the yogurt.  Cover.  Let drain 8-24 hours.  When it has achieved a consistency you like, pour the whey into a small jar and scrape the yogurt cheese off the towel into a container of your choice.

Cranberry-Persimmon-Date Relish

Adapted from a recipe in Sunset (Nov. 2012), this is a digestion-enhancing Indian spiced raw condiment for your holiday table. Vary it according to what fruit you have in abundance.

1 tablespoon coconut or olive oil

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

¼ tsp turmeric

1 bunch cilantro, stems removed

1 large jalapeno or other medium hot chile, coarsely chopped

1 cup fresh cranberries

1 large Fuyu or very ripe Hachiya persimmon, coarsely chopped or mashed

¼ cup dates, pitted

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons yogurt or raw milk whey

Heat a small frying pan on medium high, and add the mustard seeds and cover, letting most of them pop. Turn the heat down to low and  Add turmeric stir to brown.  Remove the pan from heat and set aside.

Put the jalapeno and cilantro in the bowl of a food processor set with the chopping blade, and pulse until coarsely chopped.  Add the cranberries, persimmon and dates and pulse again until you get a texture you like, similar to salsa.

Using a rubber spatula, scrape the relish into a bowl, and gently stir in the sugar, salt, whey and spices.  Place in a jar and seal, opening daily to check the flavor and release pressure.   After 2 or 3 days of fermentation, when the taste is to your liking, seal and store in the fridge.