DAY SEVEN

This has been an interesting week, to say the least. With temperatures hovering mid-90's and the heat index close to 104°, I couldn't have picked a better time to choose to eat only raw food. The experience has opened up a whole new range of possibilities for those inevitable power outages that accompany tropical storms and hurricanes. Living in Florida guarantees that sooner or later another big storm will render us near helpless when the power is out for days at a time. While the neighbors may be outside grilling up some dead animal, I'll be well versed in preparing some tasty raw vegetable dishes.


Aside from having a great hankering for a glass of wine one evening, and the dull headache from caffeine withdrawal early in the week, I've had a wonderful time participating in the 7-Day Raw Food Detox program sponsored by The Raw Divas.


I've wiped down the stove a couple of times, but just to keep off the dust! I'm removing the microwave from the kitchen counter. How nice to have more space. It will be a perfect place to grow my sprouts! And, yes, organic produce is more expensive, but my grocery bill this past week was considerably lower, as I purchased fewer items.


Now that the detox program comes to a close, I'm eager to make a new batch of almond milk and turn it into some dreamy, creamy raw ice cream. The almond milk and frozen bananas make a super base for a variety of flavors. Adding fresh fruit: peaches, strawberries or mango for example, provides some fabulous taste treats, eliminating any feeling of deprivation yet avoiding all those synthetic chemicals, fat and sugar in commercially prepared ice cream. And I'm looking forward to both the novelty and challenge of preparing some of Nomi Shannon's extremely appealing suggestions and instructions for eating well while eating raw. Presentation plays a big part in our food satisfaction profile. Instructions with beautiful colored images abound in Nomi's book, The Raw Gourmet. My mouth waters as I pore over it looking, learning and lusting.

There are many books available and plenty of websites on hand, to help with learning to make a transition from eating condensed, cooked foods to increasing the portions of live, raw food in our daily diets. For those interested in becoming a raw foodist there are many programs and coaches available to lend inspiration, education and support. The Raw Divas have just introduced their new 30-day program, The Body Enlightenment System (BES) which promises to be an excellent way to move toward vibrant health with daily coaching and support.

During this adventure, I've discovered a bevy of raw food websites. Raw Food Right Now has been a regular read for me for quite some time. Following along with Justin and Heidi as they continue on their journey as raw foodist, baring their souls, unapologetically, about their happy experiences and real life dilemmas. Their honest, down to earth approach will do much to encourage novices. Karen Knowler's upbeat eZine, Successfully Raw, gives you some in-depth direction from across the pond by an enthusiastic raw foodist with a good deal of experience.

A big advantage to replacing cooked food is the time savings and ease of clean-up. But the ultimate reason to eat live, fresh, clean (chemical free) food is the amount of energy you free up, the boost you give your immune system and the immediate changes you can see in the way you feel, the way your hair and skin look and feel and the changes in inches you quickly notice. In all fairness, I planned to wait until tomorrow morning to get on the scale, but as I sat here writing, my curiosity got the best of me.

The bathroom scale registers 8 lbs lighter than it did a week ago.

What an easy way to shed fat. I ate tasty, easy to prepare foods and exercised. I've been walking between 4 and 5 miles each day, and had super support, wonderful suggestions, and on-going encouragement from Amy and Tera, The Raw Divas, and from many of the other women doing the seven day detox with me.

I encourage you to look into the amazing health benefits of including more raw food in your daily diet, it's the surest way to get on the road to being healthy and staying healthy. Synthetic drugs, whether prescription or over the counter, are not going to prevent nor cure any ailment. They only mask the symptoms and add side effects with dangers of their own. Taking care of our bodies is our responsibility. Why wait to get sick? Take a few easy steps to prevent the most common ailments so prevalent in our society: obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart attacks, and cancer.

Put a little green in your life daily!

RAW FOOD DETOX

I've been busy, reading up and gearing up for a seven day raw food detox program, courtesy of The Raw Divas. I believe there are about 700 women from throughout the world taking part in this week's program. We started last Saturday evening with a 24 hour fast, just water. Each day we've limited ourselves to organic fruit and veggies with no adornments. Smoothies, lettuce wraps, veggie nibbles, fruit and lots and lots of water. Exercise and ample rest are part of the program. This is a wonderful way to give our bodies a much needed rest. Help the digestive system cleanse itself and as a by-product, lose a few pounds.

I recently realized that I've been eating an awful lot of cooked food. It may be vegetarian and it may be organic, but I know better. In the mid-80's, when it became my turn for the inevitable change of life, skinny old me, started putting on some serious weight. At first, it was fine. It was nice to have something between my skin and bones. Before I knew it, there was an awful lot between my skin and bones and it was FAT.
Between Food For Life by Neal Barnard, M.D. and Fit For Life, Harvey and Marilyn Diamond, I not only lost weight but had super energy and was the picture of health. I added walking to my day, ate nothing but fruit before noon, ate nothing after 8 p.m. at night and for lunch and dinner I paid close attention to proper food combining. 60% -70% of what I ate was raw fruit and vegetables.

I'm back to it this week, with a vengeance. I feel great. Meal preparation is quick, simple, delicious and clean-up is pretty minimal. I haven't turned on a stove burner since last Saturday. No deadly rays emanating from the microwave, just a blender, salad spinner and my handy chef's knife. No walking up and down the aisles at the grocery store either—a straight shot to the produce department or better yet, just a stop at a produce market or farm stand.

I'm not going to proselytize. We each have to make decisions about our lifestyle and health on our own. But I will encourage everyone to become more aware of the tremendous role our food plays in our health and overall well-being. Most of us take better care of our cars than our bodies. I strongly recommend reading Randall Fitzgerald's The One Hundred Year Lie to get a better picture of how the deadly diseases running rampant today have a direct correlation to the marvelous technological advances of using synthetic chemicals to manufacture our food and drugs. Millions of sick and dying people are proof of how our bodies are reacting to these toxins and carcinogens.

Check out Mike Adams website and newsletter. Up-to-date information on food and drug related issues along with excellent articles to keep us informed in layman's terms. And if you would like to experience the support of a couple of great ladies who've put together a no-nonsense, no mumble-jumble, FREE, seven day raw food detox program, check out The Raw Divas. They've put together a super support program, with simple instructions and a fabulous forum.

Guess I'll have to amend my sign-off from "Keep on Cooking" to:

TO EAT WELL, EAT RAW.

I

Alfredo Who?

Back in the day, before just looking at rich foods put on pounds, I would often whip up a mean Alfredo sauce for a group of friends on a Sunday night after we'd spent a day in the pool, and were settled in for the evening with a tall Scotch and soda and a classic movie spinning off the VCR. It was the quick and easy comfort food that appealed to all of us, with the sharp bite of a good freshly grated Parmesan and the rich, mouth feel of butter and cream, all lavishly laced over pasta cooked to al dente perfection.

What a delightful surprise to run across this quick, easy, fresh dish of pasta with ricotta, Parmesan and fresh spinach. The feel is much like Alfredo but the overall calorie count is much reduced. I love the little nest of freshly grated Regianno perched atop the pasta, don't you? It looks like a lot of cheese, but the marvelous rasp produces a virtual mound with just a couple of scrapes across the cheese. Hardly worth counting those calories, right?

This along with some 69 other summer recipes are featured in fresh - The Best of fine Cooking from the folks at Taunton Press. Check it out.

Fusilli is suggested, but I had multi-grain, tiny penne on hand, which worked just as well. Using a ridged pasta helps to catch the sauce, assuring each bite is equally flavorful. The following set of instructions makes enough to serve six. I cut everything in half and had three generous servings.

Ingredients: 3/4 - 1lb fresh spinach, stemmed, washed and cut into chiffonade; 2 TBS olive oil, 4 small scallions, thinly sliced (I used two shallots). Freshly ground black pepper and kosher salt; 1 cup ricotta cheese, preferably fresh; 1 cup half and half; pinch of nutmeg; 1 TBS unsalted butter; 1 lb fusilli or penne pasta; 1/2 cup fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Directions: Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add about 1 Tbs. salt.
Prepare spinach in chiffonade. Stack several leaves at a time, roll up and cut crosswise into 1/4 inch strips. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over med-high heat. Add the scallions or shallots and cook, stirring until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the spinach and a pinch of salt and pepper to the pan. For a bit of a kick, add some dried red pepper flakes.(optional). Cover and steam until leaves are wilted but still bright green, stirring up from the bottom of the pan as needed.

In a small bowl, stir the ricotta, half and half and a few gratings of nutmeg. Stir the ricotta mixture and the butter into the skillet with the spinach and season to taste with salt and pepper. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the pasta until al dente, about 12 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking water, drain well and return the pasta to its pot over low heat. Add the spinach mixture and enough of the reserved cooking water to make a sauce that lightly coats the pasta. Toss thoroughly. Transfer the pasta to a warm serving bowl or individual bowls and top with grated cheese and a few fresh grinds of pepper.

Till next time . . . keep on cooking!

Sin-Free Chocolate Chews

The good folks at King Arthur Flour, who fill the Baker's Catalogue® with so many good things to bake, call these lusciously decadent, deep dark chocolate cookies, 'sin-free'. In actuality they are low fat, but anything this good can't possibly be free of sin.

These are very easy to make, the only caution I would proffer, is plan ahead as the batter requires chilling before it is ready to handle for baking. Directions call for 3 hours or up to overnight in the fridge. I went with a hair less than 3 hours as I hadn't read those words of instruction when perusing the recipe. I'll just have to make them again (wonderful to have a legitimate excuse for more) to see if chilling longer produces more cookies. The recipe says the yield is fourteen big (3 1/2") cookies. My yield was 9. An ample amount, to be sure, as I was serving them for dessert with freshly churned strawberry frozen yogurt (thank you, Heidi Swanson and David Lebovitz). One cookie apiece was fine and I've enough left over to satisfy my chocolate urge for a few days.

Chocolate Chews

2 1/4 cups (9 oz) confectioners sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder ( I didn't use any)
1 cup cocoa powder (Dutch-process or natural)
3 large egg whites
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Whisk together the sugar, salt, espresso powder, and cocoa. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir together the egg whites and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the egg whites and mix at low speed of an electric mixer for 2 minutes. The batter will seem dry at first, but will become shiny and smooth as it mixes. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the batter for 3 hours or up to overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Thoroughly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. (I only needed one for my 9 cookie yield). Drop the dough in ping pong sized balls onto the prepared baking sheets; a tablespoon cookie scoop works well here. Bake the cookies for 12 minutes. Remove them from the oven, and cool on the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.
©2006 the King Arthur Flour Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

While on the subject of King Arthur, check out their European-Style Artisan Flour. A wonderful blend of wheats for producing crusty hearth loaves. Check out the recipes at the King Arthur website. I ordered a couple of bags of the Artisan Flour recently to use for some everyday bread but found a wonderful recipe for a Tuscan-Style Coffeecake on the back of the bag. The rich dough with a tight, yet tender crumb, is sweetened with a filling of dates and raisins and for an added crunch treat, toasted walnuts and I just had to go over the top with the addition of some dried citrus. This is a fine bread to serve at tea time or with morning coffee. It toasts nicely, too.

Tuscan Style Coffee Cake

Till next time . . . keep on cooking.

Book Nook

June was a good reading month. Lots of favorite authors, as well as new ones, kept me glued to the printed page.

Nora Roberts . . . . . . . . . . Irish Born Trilogy

Born in Fire; Born in Ice; Born in Shame

Khaled Hasseini . . . . . . . . A Thousand Splendid Suns

Michael Ondaatje. . . . . . . Divisadero

Michael Connelly. . . . . . . The Overlook

Ariana Franklin. . . . . . . . .Mistress of the Art of Death

Elizabeth Berg . . . . . . . . . Dream When You're Feeling Blue

Mohsin Hamid. . . . . . . . . .The Reluctant Fundamentalist

Nicole Mones . . . . . . . . . . .The Last Chinese Chef

Practice Makes Perfect

Good cooks are consistent and the only way to be consistent is to practice. Emerson is noted for speaking to consistency. Often misquoted as "consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds", when he actually said, "foolish consistency is the hobgoblin...etc." but he finished that thought quite succinctly by saying: "With consistency a great soul has simply nothing to do." But for the ambitious cook, once he is consistent with one dish, he can move on to perfecting another. In the kitchen, there is never a time with nothing to do.

Over the past couple of months, I've been making the same pizza over and over. It's a wonderful feeling of accomplishment to have a repertoire of meals one can whip up with full confidence that the finished product will be a success. In addition, when there is 'nothing' on hand but a tomato and some cheese, how nice it is to be able to produce something other than a grilled cheese and tomato sandwich!

How much more impressive, too. Now I'll grant you, it does help to have a ball of dough tucked away in the freezer. But that's part of keeping a well stocked kitchen pantry.

The pizza dough I've been using is the "light as air"pizza dough courtesy of King Arthur Flour. This is a nice quantity that mixes up easily for one large or two smaller pies, freezes well, and produces a light, tender crust with just the right bite of chewiness. To freeze the dough: after the first rise, I divide the dough into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap and then place in a plastic freezer bag.

The topping is simply vine-ripened tomato, sliced and allowed to drain on a plate; really good quality olive oil; freshly grated Parmesan cheese, and either thinly sliced or grated mozzarella cheese. I vary the herbs. If using fresh basil, it's added after the pie comes out of the oven. Dried herbs should be added prior to the pie going into the oven. I've been using either a nice dried Italian herb mix from Penzey's or dried Mexican oregano.


I've found that flattening the dough out with my hands is preferable to rolling it out with a rolling pin, but either method does the job. Use only a light dusting of flour on the rolling surface, you don't want to incorporate more flour into the dough, just use enough to keep it from sticking. Letting the dough rest a bit during the stretching makes it much easier to handle, too.

I bake the pie on a pizza stone which is set on the lowest rack in the oven. The secret to a crisp crust is to have a very hot stone in a very hot oven. Preheating the oven at 500°F for a good 45 minutes to an hour is desirable. When ready to add the toppings, first spread a light coating of olive oil over the dough to act as a barrier, to prevent the liquid from the tomatoes making the crust soggy. Then I spread a light layer of grated Parmesan cheese to act as another seal. Same principle as making quiche. The cheese is always the first layer before the other ingredients, protecting the crust from liquid.

I quickly blot any extra liquid from the sliced tomatoes before adding them to the pie and then top the tomatoes with the grated or sliced mozzarella cheese and if using dried herbs sprinkle liberally over the top. The pizza is ready to be transferred onto the pizza stone. I use a wooden peel but a rimless cookie sheet will work. The alternative is to bake the pie on a baking sheet. Heating the sheet first will produce a crispier crust than putting the pie onto a cold sheet. Lower the oven temp to 450° and give it a good 12 - 15 minutes and then start keeping your eye on it. With my oven, the pizza is usually ready in under 20 minutes.

I realize not everyone likes pizza as simply prepared as those above. These are my favorites. The simple, fresh, sweet taste of garden ripe tomatoes, enhanced with a good dark, cold pressed fruity olive oil, blanketed with a rich layer of opulent full milk cheeses acting as a perfect foil for a combination of vibrant herbs. Mouth-wateringly satisfying. Do experiment with other topping combinations, make it a few times, develop confidence and consistency. It's a great item to master.

Till next time . . . keep on cooking.

Succulent, Savory, Simple

With a few select ingredients, fresh from the market and not long from the South Florida farm fields, an impressive lunch for friends came together with just a few easy steps. Individual eggplant and tomato gratin with mint, kalamata olives and feta cheese accompanied by a crisp green salad turned out to be a hit with my recent luncheon guests.

Gratins ready for the oven

This dish can be assembled in a full size oval gratin dish, to serve family style. The dish should be shallow to allow the gratin to crisp nicely. A deep dish pie plate would work, too. The prep has three main steps: preparing the eggplant, cooking the onions and garlic and assembling the gratin (layering all the components).

For the eggplant: 2 lb eggplant; 2 1/2 Tbs olive oil; 1/2 tsp coarse salt.
For the onions: 2 Tbs olive oil; 2 medium onions, thinly sliced; 2 cloves garlic, minced.

For the assembly: 3 or 4 ripe red tomatoes, cored and cut into 1/4 inch slices; 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint; 1 cup of crumbled feta cheese; 1/3 cup pitted and quartered kalamata olives; coarse salt; freshly ground black pepper to taste; 1 1/2 Tbs olive oil; 1/3 cup fresh breadcrumbs, tossed with 1 tsp olive oil; 1/3 cup chopped toasted pine nuts (optional).

Cut and cook the eggplant: Trim the ends from the eggplant and, using a vegetable peeler, peel off 1/2 inch strips of skin along the length of the eggplant every 1/2 inch or so (or leave it unpeeled, if you like). Cut the eggplant crosswise into 3/8 inch slices and cut the widest slices in half. Heat the oven to 450°F. Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper. Lightly brush the parchment with olive oil. Arrange the eggplant slices in one layer on the parchment, brush them with olive oil and sprinkle with 1/2 tsp salt. Roast until the slices are lightly browned and somewhat shrunken, 20 - 25min. Let cool. Reduce oven to 375°F.

Cook the onions: While the eggplant is roasting, heat 2 Tbs olive oil in a medium skillet. Add the onions and sauté, stirring frequently until limp and golden brown, about 20 minutes. Reduce the heat to med low once they start to brown. Add the garlic and sauté for a couple of minutes until soft and fragrant. Spread the onions and garlic evenly in the bottom of a well oiled 2 qt shallow gratin dish or individual dishes, as pictured. Let cool.

Assembly: Put the tomato slices on a shallow plate to drain for a few minutes and then discard the collected juices. Sprinkle 1 Tbs of the mint over the onions. Starting at one end of the baking dish, lay a row of slightly overlapping tomato slices across the width of the dish; sprinkle with some of the mint and some of the feta. Next, lay a row of eggplant slices against the tomato slices (overlapping the first row by two-thirds). Sprinkle again with mint and feta. Repeat with alternating rows of tomato and eggplant slices, seasoning each as you go and occasionally pushing the rows back. Tuck the quartered kalamata olives randomly between tomato and eggplant slices. When the dish is full, sprinkle the vegetables with about 1/2 tsp salt and any remaining mint and feta. Season lightly with freshly ground pepper and drizzle with 1 1/2 Tbs olive oil. Thoroughly combine the breadcrumbs and pine nuts (if using) with 1 tsp olive oil and sprinkle mixture over the gratin. Cook until well-browned all over and the juices have bubbled for a while and reduced considerably, 60 - 70 minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.

Fresh breadcrumbs made from rye bread.

I used one eggplant, two onions, and three tomatoes for the 3 servings shown above. That would also fill a 10" gratin dish. The recipe is easily expanded to accommodate larger portions. This is a very forgiving assembly. Don't skimp on the feta, salt as you go along and use good olive oil to bring out the best flavor. Fresh breadcrumbs give the dish an over the top finish.

Till next time. . . keep on cooking.

Purple Jasmine Rice

This colorful sticky rice from Thailand, with its rich taste and aesthetic appeal is used primarily for feasts and celebrations. Grown by the Phakao Cooperative, "using traditional methods, chemical fertilizers and pesticides have been replaced with organic fertilizers and natural plant extracts to produce a premium, quality, environmentally friendly rice."



The purple rice is mixed with naturally perfumed White Jasmine rice to give it an ideal texture while retaining its vibrant purple color and sweet flavor. The rice is quick cooking, using a ratio of 1 1/2 times the amount of water to rice. Simply bring the rinsed rice and water to a boil, stir, cover and lower heat to a simmer until all liquid has been absorbed. Using a pot with a glass cover certainly facilitates cooking rice.



While the rice was simmering away, I sautéed half a diced sweet onion; 3 small yellow squash, sliced; 1 sliced jalepeño, seeds removed, in a little olive oil. I gave those veggies a head start and as the squash approached crisp/tender, added 3 radishes, cut into wedges; and 3 sliced green onions,white and lower portions of the green part only. Meanwhile, I defrosted a cup of shelled edamame and tossed those in after the radishes and green onions. Off heat, I tossed the entire sauté with 2 TBS of tamari, freshly ground pepper and sprinkled on a bit of freshly minced cilantro. The rice was ready and so was I.


Almost any vegetable combination will work for a quick dish like this. Start the aromatics first, then add the items that require more cooking, leaving the delicate items for last. Season it to taste with a tahini dressing, peanut sauce, oil and sherry vinegar, the possibilities are endless. A dash or two of tamari, with a whisper of toasted sesame oil is another fine finish.

Light luncheon rice bowl - quick and easy.

Check out purple jasmine rice along with red quinoa and other organic grains to add variety to mealtime.

Till next time . . . keep on cooking.

Simple Fare

With a little imagination, the old comfort food stand-by, macaroni and cheese, takes on a whole new profile. Arborio rice, the short grain rice commonly used to make risotto, cooks up quickly in a pot of salted water, much like cooking pasta. Years ago, when I first started cooking Chinese food, I found cooking brown rice, with this same method,to be easy and fool-proof.

This little side dish or main meal, depending on your proclivity, calls for garden ripe tomatoes, minced garlic, fresh basil and fresh mozzarella. Simple, delicate in flavor, quick and easy to prepare. I used the less expensive cow's milk fresh mozzarella packed in water for this dish. Using the pricier buffalo milk mozzarella is fine, but not necessary. I prefer to save the buffalo milk variety for Caprese salad or other straight from the container application. The cow's milk cheese is great for mixing with pasta or rice and perfect for topping a pizza. And remember, the buffalo milk mozzarella is not only twice as high in fat content but close to three times as expensive!

Italian Rice Tossed with Tomatoes and Fresh Mozzarella

2 cups Italian short-grain rice
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1 clove garlic minced, more if desired (I desired)

1/4 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves, minced (use chiffonade technique)

1/2 tsp salt, freshly ground black pepper

1 TBS balsamic vinegar

2 - 3 large ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks

2 egg-size pieces fresh mozzarella, cubed

Bring a pot of filtered or spring water to a boil, add salt and then add the rice a little at a time, bring back to boil and stir once, lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, until it is al dente. 15 - 18 minutes. The rice will be slightly chewy, light and delicate.

As the rice cooks, heat 2 TBS of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic and the basil. After a couple of minutes, mix in the salt, pepper, vinegar and tomatoes. Gently turn the tomatoes once or twice in the flavored oil to warm them. Don't let the tomatoes cook down. This isn't a sauce, just flavored tomatoes.

Drain the rice in a colander, leaving it a bit wet. Turn it into a serving bowl and immediately sprinkle in the cubes of cheese, a few at a time, stirring with each addition so they don't clump together. Then gently mix in the tomato mixture from the skillet, taste for salt and pepper and serve.

recipe adapted from The Outlaw Cook

This is a mild, delicate dish. Don't expect overwhelming spiciness. It's intended to highlight the soft, moist, texture of the melting fresh cheese against the sweetly acidic taste of perfectly ripe tomatoes gently kissed with the basil, garlic and balsamic vinegar. The rice adds a slightly chewy counterpoint, tying the dish together for a simple main dish or fantastic side dish. With summer here, fresh from the garden meals, allowing the produce to be the star, guarantees some great meals!

Till next time . . . keep on cooking.

Summer Salads

Salad #1

It's only the beginning of June, yet the air here in Orlando is already beginning to take on that heavy, wet sauna-like feel, much like the sensation you get if you hold your head too close to the sink as you drain a pot of pasta. The time of year when running the oven for hours at a time can only be termed masochistic.

On the other hand, with produce stands brim full of lovely local selections, why not eat more food in its uncooked state? That's right, RAW. While the Raw Food Movement is certainly gaining momentum among many divergent groups, I'm not suggesting we forsake favorites that require some form of cooking to achieve their appeal, but that we make raw food the center attraction at more meals.

Salad #2

Fresh fruit smoothies for breakfast, salads for lunch, a glass of freshly extracted carrot juice for mid-afternoon break, and instead of accompanying the evening serving of animal protein with a starch: potatoes, rice, pasta, etc., serve a couple of raw veggies along with cooked ones. Take advantage of the fabulous flavors of fresh produce, get your 9 servings of fruit and veggies a day, increase your energy level, boost your health, and as an offshoot, perhaps shed a few pounds.

Salad #3

One of the things I like best about putting together a salad is—no recipe needed. No exact amounts crucial to the outcome. No precise ingredient needed to achieve success. Experiment. Use what's freshest, use what's on hand. Aim for a variety of nicely diced or sliced vegetables in an array of colors, a mix of textures, some soft, some crunchy. Add some bite with vinegar or lemon juice, some heat with fresh chilies or ground spices. A generous drizzle of your very best extra virgin olive oil adds an eye-appealing sheen and a must have luscious mouth-feel along with a depth of flavor that complements the crisp, fresh vegetables.

I often add a little something sweet. Raisins or some cut up fruit: orange segments, mango pieces, diced peaches, pineapple tidbits, sliced apple. Pumpkin seeds or nuts are a great addition to salads. Lightly toasting them in a dry skillet adds a wonderful layer of flavor, as well as packing in more nutrition. Walnuts, pecans, pine nuts are just a few suggestions.

Adding a bit of cheese includes some protein and calcium. Here's the bean and corn salad shown above with a little diced Monterrey-jack cheese with jalepeño. An added layer of zing! But feta or chèvre or sharp cheddar would be just as good. The bean and corn salad is sprinkled with Adobo seasoning giving it a Southwest touch. (I noticed that the Adobo seasoning in the supermarket, and I checked several brands, listed salt as the first ingredient. Avoid these. I purchase my spices and seasonings from Penzey's and the Adobo seasoning I use is made up of onion, garlic , black pepper, Mexican oregano, cumin and cayenne pepper. No salt. I add my own to taste.)

Salad #3 with Cheese

Salad combinations are only limited by our imaginations. Starting out conservatively is good. But with each successive salad, be a little more adventurous. Try different vinegars, various oils, for instance, if you have walnuts in the salad, try a drizzle of walnut oil. If you have fresh raspberries on hand, add a few to the salad and use raspberry flavored vinegar in the vinaigrette. The addition of different types of cheese gives the same old salad a different taste and look.

Tips: Use the freshest ingredients. Limp, tired, old veggies are not salad prospects. Buy small, young, firm veggies. Young vegetables are sweet and tender, the bigger they grow, the better off they are in a cooked dish. Keep fresh herbs ready to use. Grow some pots on the patio, especially basil and thyme. Buy parsley and cilantro regularly at the farm stands or market. Wash and spin them when you bring them home, then stand them in a glass of water and cover with a small plastic bag or plastic wrap then store in the fridge. They stand up well using this method and are crisp, clean and ready for mincing when you reach for them. Add a variety of olives to your pantry along with some interesting peppers. Roasted red peppers, pepperocini, pickled jalepeños, kalamata and niçoise olives, and pitted pimento stuffed Spanish olives.

Build a salad around a can of beans, that you rinse and drain. White beans as well as black and pinto beans make a great addition to diced vegetables. See the sautéed corn and black bean salad above. Open a can of tuna, drain and add it to a mixed greens salad with some sliced celery and onion (salad #2). Oil and vinegar replace the standard mayo and it's still called tuna salad. Tastier and healthier.

Enjoy the harvest, make life in the kitchen easy and fast without sacrificing flavor or nutrition. Make fresh, raw vegetables a regular part of each menu plan. They're great!

Until next time. . .keep on dicing!

Why Eat Organic ?

Mike Adams at NewsTarget.Com covers the latest in medical / health news, and entertains us regularly with CounterThink Cartoons. Check it out. . . great food for thought.

We each need to take personal responsibility for our health. The combination of technological breakthroughs, "better living through chemistry", coupled with product demand by an ever increasing population, we're living too long and being way too fertile, has resulted in the food industry being forced to find ways to meet the demand for food while faced with fulfilling stock holders' profit expectations. As a result, our grocery shelves are filled with colorful packages of 'stuff'. One quick read through the list of ingredients on any given package makes it very difficult to even call it foodstuff.

Eating whole foods, particularly organic whole foods, gives our bodies the best ammunition to do its job and do it well—maintaining a strong immune system and giving cellular regeneration the best chance of producing new healthy cells in each organ.

Some of Spring's Bounty

Fresh butter lettuce embraces a lively little salad of red bliss potatoes, hard boiled egg, celery, vidalia onions, and edamame. The dressing is a combination of equal parts Silver Palette Organic Wasabi mayo and regular mayonnaise. Quick, easy, tasty and healthy.

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BOOK NOOK

May reading was a major indulgence in popular fiction. But lots of fun reads!

Stuart Woods . . . . . . . . . . Fresh Disasters

Laura Lippman . . . . . . . . . . What The Dead Know

Every Secret Thing

Anne Perry . . . . . . . . . .We Shall Not Sleep

David Baldacci . . . . . . . . .Simple Genius

David Liss . . . . . . . . . A Conspiracy of Paper

James Grippando . . . . . . . . . Lying With Strangers

Till next time . . . Keep on Cooking.

Asian Noodle Bowl

Comfort food, fast, easy and oh, so good. This is a neat little bowl of Udon noodles in a spicy broth with vegetables. A few shrimp or some thinly sliced chicken could easily be added.

Udon noodles are Japanese wheat noodles that cook quickly and can be served hot or cold. Those pictured are Hakubaku organic noodles, made of 100% organic whole wheat flour and water. No other mystery ingredients. Udon noodles cook in about four minutes after being dropped into boiling water. Drain, then rinse well with cold water. They can be reheated easily by submerging them in hot water or in the case above, broth.

Ingredients:

4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

6 oz Udon noodles

1 medium red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 cup broccoli florets, cut into bite size pieces

1 1/2 cups snow peas

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1 med jalepeño pepper, sliced (optional)

3 TBS chopped cilantro

2 TBS tamari, shoyu or light soy sauce

2 tsp grated fresh ginger (a microplane does a good, quick job)

1 tsp Asian chili-garlic sauce
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:

Boil Udon noodles for 4 minutes in a quart of dark vegetable broth, or chicken broth would be fine, too. Remove the noodles from the broth, rinse under cold water, drain and set aside. Bring the broth back to the boil and add the broccoli florets, red pepper and (jalepeño pepper, shrimp or chicken, if using). Cover and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from heat.

Return drained noodles to pot. Add snow peas, green onion and cilantro, and remaining ingredients. Cover and let stand off heat for another 3 - 4 minutes until snow peas and onions are crisp-tender. Serve in deep bowls with a squeeze of fresh lime juice and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro. Chop sticks make the noodles easy to grasp and a big spoon lets you slurp up the wonderful broth.

This will make 4 starters or 2 main servings.

Another easy meal, ready in minutes, fresh, fast, nutritious.

Till next time . . . keep on cooking!

Farmers Market Finds

A bunch of beets, a pound of green beans and three ears of corn were my goodie finds at the Farmers Market on Sunday. Remember, I'm cooking for one, so quantities are small. These fresh vegetables had been grown by a Belle Glade farmer, Jonathan Morris and his wife, Amy, and carted up to the Orlando Farmers Market.

I shucked the corn as soon as I got home, and washed, topped and blanched the beans. The beet greens had seen better days, unfortunately, so out they went. Had they still been fresh and perky, I would have used them immediately. The greens are fragile and don't have much of a shelf life once harvested. I stored the beets for another day. With $5.00 worth of vegetables, I proceeded to plan a few meals, starting with lunch on Sunday.

Corn off the cob is a less messy proposition to eat than corn on the cob, so I often slice off the kernels and sauté them in equal parts of olive oil and butter with a dash of thyme and a generous sprinkling of salt and pepper. The blanched green beans were sautéed in a little garlic infused olive oil with a sprinkling of dried red pepper flakes and once they had heated through and taken on just a little color, some salt and pepper and a dash of Pickapeppa finished them off nicely.
Before I started the beans and corn, I diced a juicy, ripe tomato and dressed it with a little salt and lemon juice and a bit of lemon zest and let it rest to absorb the flavors.

To appease the protein police, I tossed a couple of tablespoons of hummus on the plate (as if anyone ever heard of a protein deficiency in this country) along with some leftover focaccia. The result? A plate filled with colorful veggies, vegetable protein, white whole wheat flour and a little healthy oil. Imagine, filling all these nutritional requirements and it tasted wonderful and was ready in under 20 minutes from start to finish. My kind of fresh fast food.

One of my goals with this blog is to encourage the casual cook to stop buying convenience foods, fast foods and processed products and cook whole foods regularly with enthusiasm and confidence. One doesn't have to spend a fortune, slave hours over a hot stove, or have a culinary degree to enjoy healthy whole food meals. The few meals covered here, built around the beets, beans and corn, are a good example of simple foods prepared quickly and with ease—without sacrificing flavor.

The pale colors in this sweet and sour stir-fry belie the vibrant flavors. Perhaps a red pepper instead of the soft green of the cubanella would have been a better choice, but I used what I had in the veggie bin!

Here we have the green beans, leftover sautéed corn combined with onions, peppers, napa cabbage, bean sprouts and green onions in a sweet and sour sauce served with soba noodles topped with peanut dressing and crushed peanuts.

The sweet and sour sauce is a very unsophisticated slurry of equal parts: water, brown sugar, rice vinegar and ketchup. It tastes good, it's fast and easy, it didn't come in a bottle laced with synthetic chemicals, and it's made from items most folks have on hand. For this small batch of veggies, I used 1/4 cup of each item to make one cup of sauce. Taste for salt and pepper. Play it by ear. A bigger batch of veggies will need more sauce.
The buckwheat noodles (soba) provide both protein and fiber. The dressing is not homemade. Whole Foods' house brand organic peanut sauce works for me. Another item that's handy to have on hand.

And here are the beets, roasted and sliced, resting on a bed of sweet green leaf lettuce and peppery watercress. A few thin slices of Vidaldia onion, some crumbles of Gorgonzola and a few toasted walnuts all dressed in a light vinaigrette that includes a dash of fresh orange juice to complement the orange zest sprinkled over the salad.


Wash beets and place on a large piece of foil, drizzle with olive oil and fold up foil to form a packet. Place the foil packet on a baking sheet or small shallow pan and roast in a 400° oven for 40 - 50 minutes. They should be crisp tender. Pierce with the tip of a sharp knife to check. When the beets cool, peel, slice and toss with a little of the vinaigrette. Toss the washed, dried greens with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat the leaves then plate the items attractively, finishing off with some freshly grated orange zest (optional).

Citrus Vinaigrette: 4 TBS extra virgin olive oil (use the good stuff); 2 TBS red wine vinegar; 2 TBS orange juice; salt & pepper.

Then I was left with green beans. A pound of green beans is a lot of beans for one person! I decided to do a Thai red curry with the beans and a few other vegetables, influenced, I suspect, by Prik King. With a fresh supply of red curry paste on hand, coconut milk in the pantry and lots of compatible aromatics to accompany the beans, it was a winner. While I made the curry, I put some jasmine rice on to cook.

Thai curry is made from a curry paste, a blend of more than 10 seasonings and spices. As opposed to Indian curries which are developed from a wide selection of dried seasonings and spices. Yes, I know. We can buy a can of yellow powder called curry powder but it doesn't do justice to the authentic taste and aroma of an Indian curry made from whole herbs and spices that have been freshly roasted prior to using. But that's Indian curry.

My little can of red curry paste contains: dried red chiles, garlic, shallots, salt, lemon grass, kafir lime, galangal, coriander seeds, cumin and cardamon, all conveniently packaged together, ready to go for less than a dollar. Similar to an Indian curry preparation, the curry paste is first cooked in oil to bring out the flavors and the color, then the coconut milk is added in two stages. Thai cooks separate the thick, heavy milk at the top of the can from the thinner coconut milk at the bottom of the can. Do not shake the milk before opening, then gently spoon off the top portion of the milk into a small dish until ready to use.

I used a medium Vidalia onion cut into wedges, a sweet red pepper cut into strips, a jalepeño with the seeds removed, cut into strips, two young carrots sliced on the diagonal for quick cooking in the stir fry and the rest of the blanched green beans. The veggies were sautéed in olive oil in layers starting with the onion and peppers then adding the carrots and green beans. when the veggies are crisp tender (just a little under done) remove them from the pan and stir 2 TBS of red curry paste into the oil in the hot pan, press the frying paste with a wooden spoon to blend it with the oil. Be careful about breathing too deeply close to the pan. The chiles and spices are very pungent. After frying the curry paste in the oil, spoon the thick coconut milk into the pan and bring it to a boil mixing it carefully with the paste. Continue cooking the paste and coconut milk, letting it boil very gently until the oils in the pan start to separate. Little oil droplets will appear on the surface of the sauce. Do not boil too rapidly as the oil won't separate. Once the oils separate, add the remaining thin portion of the coconut milk, 1 TBS Asian fish sauce, 1 TBS lime juice and 1 tsp sugar and the sautéed ingredients. Thinly sliced chicken or pork could be included and sautéed with the veggies. Simmer gently for another 10 minutes or so until the oil separates out again. A rich color and tiny droplets of oil in a curry means it was made correctly.

The veggies ladled over jasmine rice with a generous portion of sauce, served piping hot makes an exotic, spicy one dish meal.

A few selections at the farmers market, corn, beans and beets, inspired these dishes. All quick, easy, tasty, attractive and a little out of the ordinary. None requires exact proportions, all reheat beautifully.

Till next time . . . keep on cooking.

Lasagna - An Elegant One Dish Meal

However you choose to spell lasagna, ending it with an e or an a, this layered noodle dish is a popular Italian specialty. The big debate arises over what is nestled between the layers of tender sheets of pasta and whether the provenance of those structural noodles is fresh from an Atlas roller or slipped from a blue box. I've gone both routes, and if all the other elements are done to perfection, the choice of pasta is almost irrelevant. In my opinion, fresh pasta should be showcased with minimal adornment, lasagna has too much going for it to highlight the pasta.

Then there is the faction that stubbornly adheres to the dish's old world origins with the meat layers separated from the pasta layers with a rich, creamy béchamel sauce. Given that Louis de Béchamel, attributed with originating the white sauce, was French, the debate rages on as to what constitutes an authentic lasagne(a). I choose to go all the way with red sauce and save white sauce for other applications. Though there's nothing wrong with the way my Italian friend, Melina, makes a lasagna, believe me! Despite the prevalence of white sauce.

My personal choice is simple layers of pasta with fresh ricotta cheese that has been mixed with beaten egg, freshly grated Parmesan cheese, minced fresh parsley and salt and pepper. Each layer separated from its brother with a light coating of red sauce and thin slices of whole milk mozzarella cheese. The entire dish laced on the bottom, between layers and over the top with a perky fresh tomato marinara sauce. I love vegetables, but keep them out of my lasagna and I prefer a meatless rendition, if I'm having my druthers.

I have friends who are partial to a rich ragù that I've adapted from The Frugal Gourmet. They've indicated that the combination of layers of ricotta alternating with layers of ragù is a winner in their book and to please everyone, about once a year, I put one of these meat and cheese combos together.

This was the week. My friends, Paul and Betty, were celebrating their first wedding anniversary and I wanted to offer a toast to them for many more happy years ahead.

We started the meal with shrimp cocktail. The large, sweet, fresh shrimp recently off the boat from Key West. Followed by an adventurous little salad of torn green leaf lettuce, thinly sliced Vidalia onions, diced vine- ripened tomatoes, crumbled Gorgonzola cheese and spicy hot, toasted walnuts. The pan-roasted walnuts dusted in sugar and ground chipotlé were a bold companion to the piquant cheese and the two somewhat brash components lent just the right character to the sweet mild greens that had been lightly dressed with a mellow Asiago dressing.

Foccacia, warm from the oven, with rosemary and kosher salt, was good for mopping the zingy cocktail sauce (fresh horseradish is a must) with the shrimp, the dressing on the salad and any traces of red sauce from the lasagna. The dense, cake-like crumb, sweetened by a heavy dose of olive oil within and served with herbed olive oil for dipping, could have been dessert by itself.

But we ended the meal with a simple presentation designed by a clever chef in Treviso. Freshly churned lemon ice drizzled with vodka. The light fresh tart taste of the lemons was a fitting end to a rich meal. And the unexpected appearance of the ice cold vodka, straight from the freezer, lent just the right air of decadence to the finale.

The meal was complemented with a feisty young red Zinfandel and a pleasantly mellow Cabernet. Rich French Roast coffee added the final touch to an extremely enjoyable, casual meal with good friends.

Get-togethers like these are rich rewards for spending a day in the kitchen. As you might have guessed, this was not a 30 minute meal!

Ragù

1/2 cup olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 rib celery, finely chopped

1 med carrot, peeled and finely chopped

1 med yellow onion, finely chopped

1/4 lb pancetta, finely chopped

1 pound ground sirloin

1 pound ground pork

1/8 cup chopped parsley

1 1/4 cups chicken stock

1/2 cup dry white wine (I use dry vermouth)

1/2 sm can tomato paste

3 TBS butter

1/4 cup heavy cream (I use half & half)

1 tsp chopped fresh sage of 1/2 tsp dried ground sage

1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt & Pepper to taste

Heat a large, heavy bottom stainless steel dutch oven or kettle. Add the oil, garlic, celery, carrot and onion. Sauté until the onion is transparent, about 10 - 15 minutes. Add the pancetta and sauté 5 minutes. Add the chopped meats and brown until crumbly. Add the parsley, chicken stock, white wine and tomato paste. Bring to a boil, then turn down heat and simmer gently partly covered for about 2 hours. When all is well homogenized, add the butter, cream, sage and cheese and simmer carefully for another 5 minutes or so. Skim any accumulated fat from the top of the sauce then season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ricotta Layer

one pound ricotta(approx 2 cups)

one egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley

dash of 1/2 & 1/2

Salt & Pepper

In a medium bowl mix all ingredients to spreadable consistency (add cream or 1/2 & 1/2 to thin as needed).

Assembling the Lasagna

In addition to the fillings (meat and cheese or just meat or just cheese) and the pasta sauce you will need a generous 4 - 6 oz hunk of whole milk mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced. Or you can grate it, if you prefer, and an additional half cup of grated mozzarella and a 1/2 cup of freshly grated Parmesan cheese for the top.

You will need 5 - 6 cups home-made marinara sauce or pasta sauce of choice. Spread about a cup of sauce evenly over the bottom of a 9 x 13 glass baking dish. Cover bottom of dish with lasagna noodles (I like to soften hard ones by placing them in simmering water until they are slightly pliable - no need to pre-cook). You will need 9 lasagna noodles for a 9 x 13 dish (3 layers of 3 noodles). If using fresh pasta sheets, cut the sheets to fit the dish, allowing for 3 layers of noodles.

Whether the first layer is meat or cheese is a personal preference. It doesn't make any difference in the finished product.

Gently spread the ricotta over the layer of noodles. Then layer on thin slices of mozzarella, then add a thin layer of sauce before adding the next layer of noodles. Place a layer of the ragù over the second layer of noodles, add a layer of thin slices of mozzarella, then a thin layer of sauce and top with the final 3 noodles. Carefully cover the top three noodles with sauce. The dish can be prepared up to this point, covered with foil and refrigerated until ready to bake. If refrigerated, let stand at room temperature for at least 45 min before baking in a 350° oven for 55 - 60 minutes. Bake covered with foil for the first 45 minutes. Carefully remove the foil and evenly spread a mixture of 1/2 cup of grated mozzarella and 1/2 cup of grated Parmesan over the top. Return to oven and finish cooking uncovered. Dish should be bubbly with the cheese taking on a little color - don't overcook as it will be dry. Let stand at least 15 minutes before cutting. Serve with additional sauce if desired. A sprinkling of freshly minced Italian parsley makes a lovely finishing touch.

This is a special occasion item. The more often you prepare one, the easier it becomes. Be sure to allow enough time to enjoy the process. Being rushed and/or stressed not only puts undue pressure on the cook but inevitably ruins the final dish. The best food is simple food prepared with joy and love.

Till next time . . . keep on cooking.

The copycat rides again . . .

It should be no surprise to my readers that I'm an unapologetic member of the Heidi Swanson fan club. If Heidi proposes a technique or ingredient that appeals to me, be sure, I'll be right behind her, trying it out or performing my own riff. No surprise then that her recent posting of David Lebovitz's frozen yogurt recipe from his new book, The Super Scoop, was high on my list of must do's!

Heidi made vanilla and so did I—the first batch. It was so good, I had to have more and of course, I had to add my own little fillip. With fresh strawberries available at unheard of low prices, $1.67 for a quart in the market, why pick your own? And I love strawberry ice cream but I've not been happy with commercial frozen ice cream or frozen yogurt laced with big hard rock-like berries. To offset that, I prepared a generous cup of strawberries by giving them a few whirls in my mini food processor and added a couple of teaspoons of Polaner's all fruit strawberry jelly. This added some juicy body to the crushed berries and sweetened them naturally at the same time. I mixed the crushed berries with the balance of the washed, hulled berries that had been sliced.

I followed Heidi/David's instructions for allowing the organic, full cream, plain yogurt to drain overnight in the fridge, then added a teaspoon of vanilla and a half cup of sugar. I let the vanilla base process in the ice cream maker until it was almost finished (about 15 - 17 minutes) then I began adding the sliced berries and their juice, a tablespoon at a time, until I liked the ratio. I was looking for a light pink color with well balanced flecks of berries. This step becomes a matter of preference: add more; add fewer.

Ice cream, sorbet, or Italian ice made in these convenient electric appliances, is done when it reaches a stage very similar to soft serve ice cream. It continues to harden when placed in the freezer, and is just right for making picture perfect scoops after about 3 - 4 hours. Then it tends to get very hard. No mystery synthetic chemical stabilizers to keep it soft. A very reliable method of preventing it from turning into an iceberg is to add a little alcohol at the very end of the mixing. Vodka is best as it has no flavor to conflict with the ingredients or you can use a liquor to complement the flavor. I had no vodka on hand, but I did have some triple sec. I mixed in two generous tablespoons just as the frozen yogurt finished setting up. If the alcohol is added too soon, it will prevent it from freezing properly in the ice cream maker. There was no noticeable orange taste in the finished strawberry yogurt.

If you have an electric ice cream maker, I'd certainly encourage you to try your hand at frozen yogurt. What pleases me most about this is the purity of ingredients. This is nothing more than organic whole milk yogurt with a little flavoring and a little sugar. Read the labels on the commercial products. They sure have to use a lot of strange stuff to produce the end result, don't they?

Till next time . . . keep on cooking.

On the cheap, again . . .

Here I go with another bargain meal. Couldn't help myself. I had this lonely little eggplant in the vegetable bin. When I bought it the other day, my intention was to make a small batch of caponata. I love the sweet and sour flavor of this wonderful relish to eat on rustic bread or toss into a mixed greens salad. But it didn't come to pass. Instead, I made a petite portion of eggplant Parmesan on the fly.

With no tomato sauce made up, and only a couple of fresh tomatoes on the sill that were still a bit on the hard side, I really had to improvise. I tossed a 15 oz can of organic diced tomatoes into the food processor with two cloves of garlic, whirled that around until it was fairly smooth and then poured it into a saucepan with four of my stash of frozen veggie broth cubes (1/2 cup) and a generous sprinkling of a Penzey's blend of Italian herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Then let it all simmer very gently. I didn't want it to cook down too much, but wanted it to have enough time to develop a little depth of flavor while I prepared the sliced eggplant.

I used the standard breading technique. Dip in flour, then egg wash, then panko (gives a much crustier finish than standard dry bread crumbs). Now here's a little trick I learned from the good folks at Cooks Illustrated. Instead of frying the eggplant slices, while I was slicing and breading them, I preheated the oven to 425° and placed a baking sheet in the oven to heat up. As the eggplant slices were breaded, I set them out on a wire rack. Once the oven had reached temperature, I removed the hot baking sheet (carefully) and swirled on a tablespoon of olive oil, then placed the breaded eggplant slices on the sheet and into the oven. The slices will brown nicely in about 30 minutes. Keep an eye on them and turn them over after about 20 minutes. If you are doing a larger batch, use two sheets, switch and rotate them about halfway through the cooking time.

To assemble, spread a generous layer of the tomato sauce in the bottom a baking dish. Layer on the eggplant slices, dollop each with a little tomato sauce and then sprinkle with a combination of grated mozzarella and Parmesan. Return to the hot oven and bake until bubbly and the cheese has browned. About 15 minutes of so.

While the eggplant was in the oven for its final bake, I sliced up some of the ciabatta I baked the other day and toasted it over medium heat in a little garlic infused olive oil and a sprinkling of those same Italian herbs.

This meal did take a little more than 30 minutes, but not more than an hour and most of that time was baking time,waiting for the eggplant to brown, and then for it to heat through with the cheese.


It was a dandy supper, concocted on the fly with a .99 can of tomatoes, a 79 cent eggplant, about a 3 oz piece of store brand mozzarella and a perhaps a quarter cup of grated Parmesan, and let's not forget the leftover bread. Granted this was dinner for one or two, but it wouldn't take much more to make it dinner for three or four. Just buy a bigger eggplant.



Till next time . . . keep on cooking.

With a little planning . . .

What fun I had recently, mixing up my first batch of Ciabatta dough. Ciabatta is a rustic-looking, light textured oval loaf, perfect for splitting lengthwise to make a pan bagna—stuffed Italian sandwiches or panini—grilled Italian sandwiches.
I've been a novice bread baker for over 40 years. I remember standing in the kitchen after putting the boys to bed, mixing and kneading a cool rise white bread that rivaled Pepperidge Farm. I thought that was an accomplishment. Little did I know that there were far better, chewy, dense, fragrant artisan breads, lovingly kneaded then baked in brick ovens. I led a sheltered life growing up. White air bread was the norm in our house.

Americanized Italian Rustic Bread

After several bread baking classes at Harriet's Kitchen, in the early '90's, and after studying and practicing the methods and techniques of Nancy Silverton and The Village Baker, Joe Ortiz, I was well on my way to producing rustic, full flavored loaves with crunchy crusts and soft, moist interiors. Faithful to each episode of Baking with Julia on PBS, I watched pros measure, mix, knead, shape and bake a wide variety of the basic food that has been with us since man discovered fire.

Bread is served at every meal and in between. When there is nothing else to satisfy, a slice of bread, plain or toasted, slathered with everything from suet, to baked beans, to peanut butter and jelly have provided a fast, nourishing meal or snack. Man probably could live by bread alone, as long as it's made of whole food ingredients and not filled with air and synthetic chemicals. My bread doesn't have a very long shelf-life. It's eat it up or freeze it. Both are easy to do.

There is something so relaxing, almost therapeutic, about working with yeast dough. Is it the aroma or the sensual touch of kneading soft, yielding dough? Is it the miracle of putting together a little flour, salt, yeast and water and watching this blob of dough rise to the top of the bowl? Or the fun of poking a finger into that light airy bowl of dough and watching it deflate like a balloon that has lost its air? Or is it the sense of pride, the soul-satisfying accomplishment as we pull that handmade baked loaf from the oven, the whole house delightfully perfumed with a hot, yeasty aroma?

Millions upon millions of home bakers have mastered the art of baking bread. Some for the sheer joy of doing it; most to keep body and soul together. In this day and age, with so few healthy shelf choices, we bake bread for the sake of our health, but the sheer joy of accomplishment is in no way diminished.

Hot from the oven, Ciabatta dipped in first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil with Italian herbs and freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano, vine-ripened organic tomatoes and fresh basil from the garden is perfect for a light lunch or makes a great starter.

Two steps are required — plan ahead.

1. Starter, (sponge, biga) is mixed up the night before: Combine 1/2 tsp instant yeast; 1/2 cup of tepid water; 1 1/2 cups of King Arthur Organic Unbleached All Purpose flour or White Whole Wheat flour, in a mixing bowl (I used the bowl of the Kitchen Aid mixer). Cover the bowl and allow to rest 12 hours or overnight.

2. Dough: To the biga (above) add: 1 tsp instant yeast; 1 1/2 tsp salt; 3/4 cup + 3 TBS water; 1 TBS olive oil; 2 cups King Arthur Flour (same type as used in the biga).

Procedure: Mix/knead all of the dough ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer (10 minutes), a food processor (90 seconds), or a bread machine (dough cycle). The dough is much too slack to knead by hand, so you need to use a machine. Once mixed, let it rise, covered, for about an hour, it will easily double in size. Then flow the sticky dough into a rough 10 x 15 oval on a lightly greased baking sheet. Let it rise, covered, till very puffy, about 2 hours. Bake the Ciabatta in a preheated 425°F oven for about 25 minutes, until it's golden brown. Cool it in the turned-off oven with the door cracked open.

Till next time . . . keep on cooking.

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BOOK NOOK

Here's the list of books I read (finished) in April.

Burning Bright . . . . . . Tracy Chevalier

One Hundred Year Lie . . . . . . Randall Fitzgerald

The God of Animals . . . . . . Aryn Kyle

Deep Storm . . . . . . Lincoln Child

Obsession . . . . . . Jonathan Kellerman

Daddy's Girl . . . . . Lisa Scottoline

The Watchman. . . . . . Robert Crais

Sick Puppy . . . . . . Carl Hiassen

Body Surfing . . . . . . Anita Shreve

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