There’s a great website out there called Everyday Dish TV, run by Julie Hasson, author of “Vegan Diner”. They post recipe videos on a regular basis. This is the latest one, Pumpkin Spice Bars, by Sarah Matheny, author of “Peas and Thank You”. And it’s also gluten free. Once I procure Xantham gum, I’m going to make it myself. They look delicious.
I have a friend who came over the other night, and it was dinner time. I asked if she wanted to eat with us. I was cooking Mushroom Veggie burgers with all the fixings. The burgers had rice and other grains in them. She exclaimed that she is on the Paleo Diet and that she was only eating proteins and vegetables, but just this time she could eat with us.
The Paleo Diet confuses me. Why would anyone want eat like a caveman? Or revert to a diet of 30,000 to 40,000 years ago. I’m not even going to stand on defense of veganism here, it is just that basic question, “why go backwards?”
I was perusing Facebook, and came across a link for Colleen Patrick Godreau’s lastest podcast , “The Newest Diet Fad: Paleo.” So I took a listen. It is informative and well-thought out. She discusses the reasons we should not pick up this kind of diet, and why it is even impossible because we don’t know everything the Paleolithic person consumed. And she talks about “Pasturbation” If you want to know what that is, get on over and listen. And you’ll have a bit more information for the next time one of your friends say “Oh, I’ve gone Paleo.”
It is a New Year, and I’ve been dodging writing for quite awhile. I want to write, but life and work get in the way. I’ve been taking care of some family stuff, and working on getting a different position at the Job. It’s an important step in my culinary career.
I want to share this information I just came across. You may already know about it, but I didn’t. Check out this blog about the 100 day Real Food Challenge. Lisa Leake and her family cut out processed foods, and realized how much better they felt. And then they blogged about it and built a Challenge that any of us can take. I think it’s fabulous, and fits right in with Jaime Oliver’s Food Revolution. There’s another site out there called Eating Rules, take a look at that as well.
There are a few other folks out there doing this kind of challenge. It seems to be connected by Michael Pollan’s “In Defense of Food,” published in 2009.
I don’t think any of my readers would argue that Americans need to change the way we eat. We cook, skrunch, extract, and re-form food, and then sell it in packages and cartons to the public, with “added” nutrients, and claim it is healthy. I’ve contended for a long time that is not the way to eat. I’m a Chef, I work with whole foods, proper foods, and turn them into something that is yummy and delicious on your plate. However, they do not get stored in a freezer or can for up to two years, waiting for someone to open it up and eat it.
So these food challenges that pop up are very cool. And I like to see that some of us are starting to eat better. And step by step we can turn back from a Processed Nation to a Whole Nation . If more of us stop buying what’s pre-packaged, and buy the produce, we can send a very loud message in the form of consumer dollars to the people who make the food. We want fresh, wholesome, whole ingredients, and we want to cook our food ourselves.
And if you want to learn to cook, contact me. I am a culinary instructor.
We are on track with the newly implemented weekly menu and food budget. Yesterday I was reminded once again why the Partner does not go without chocolate. (We had cut out chocolate bars due to expenses.) There have been studies that relate chocolate to fighting depression (along with several other “super” foods). I had already made a trip to Trader Joe’s and going out again for chocolate bars was not an option. I did, however, have a bag of raw Cacao Powder from Navitas Naturals that I purchased for a class. The class was cancelled, so I still had the chocolate powder in the cupboard. So I looked up some recipes that use this ingredient.
I was rewarded nicely with a recipe for a Chocolate Mousse that uses avocados, maple or agave syrup, and vanilla. I had all the ingredients, so I whipped this up for an after-dinner treat. The inspiration was adding a bit of orange zest. Chocolate and orange play nicely together, and since avocado is basically the “cream,” I knew it would work well. I’ve adjusted the recipe to reflect this change. The next time I make it, I’ll use less sweetener. I mixed maple and agave because I did not have enough of either.
I will say that this is not a cheap dessert. The cacao costs $1.25 per ounce and maple syrup runs right around .63 cents an ounce. The vanilla flavoring costs approximately $1.23 per ounce. I use the real kind, not the imitation. Avocados are in season right now, so they are running right around .25 cents each (or less if I can get them on sale), and oranges are insanely cheap, .49 cents lb this week. The recipe yielded 3 cups, and cost a total of $3.67. The cost per serving is $0.91 cents, if split into four, $1.22 if split into three.. So not something to run out and buy unless you really want to splurge, or use a cheaper cocoa powder. However, having the ingredients in the house made making this dessert a snap. It’s done in a couple of minutes, and if you want, you can eat it right away.
This recipe comes from Navitas Naturals website, submitted by Karen Farrell
Ingredients
Process
We are on week 2 of the newly implemented weekly menu/grocery shopping/prep plan. So far, so good. Compared to last month’s figures, I’ve already saved over $200.00 in food cost. I’ve thrown out less food than I have in the past, and I’ve actually used up almost every single vegetable I had in the house. I’ve got a few tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 1 green pepper, 1 yellow onion, and some lettuce. I’m inspired by this new plan and how it is working. We’ve stayed on target with the menu, with a few adjustments here and there. I did get sick for two days last week, and even though the menu schedule shifted, there was no additional expenditures, no running out to a restaurant for quick eats. I had made enough food on my days off for the Partner to survive a sick day or two.
I had some left over vegetables from the weekly cooking, so I let loose a soup. I love making soups, and there is usually more soup made than can be eaten. Not this time. I’m sure this Weekly Kitchen Sink Soup will go fast. It’s been rainy and gloomy for two days now, perfect soup weather.
This soup goes great with salad, or when it’s cold and rainy. The combination of ginger and clove is powerful, add the fennel into the mix and it becomes a potent hummy soup guaranteed to satisfy even the heartiest appetite.
Ingredients
Process
I know, I’ve been irresponsible to you, my readers. I haven’t been terribly inspired lately about creating new recipes. I’ve been consuming a book on Food History that’s 550 pages of dense reading. It covers the history of food from late pre-historic to modern times. I really need to finish this book. I’ve also been reading a few other vegan cookbooks published this last year, both for ideas, and reviews. I’ll be writing about those soon.
It still does not explain my inexplicable blogging silence. I’ve been working, and trying to get the household food cost under control. I have instituted a weekly menu, that includes a grocery shopping list, and a prep list. The idea comes from the Happy Herbivore. She provides readers with menus, so that they can go and cook yummy, healthy vegan food without worry. I doubt I’ll ever be that industrious. The menus I am creating are based on what I’ve discovered my partner likes to eat. And believe me, this has taken years.
I like the weekly menu because it gives us a plan to follow. It takes the guess work out of what am I cooking after a hard day’s work, creating less stress about cooking when I get home (especially while I’m at work). A weekly menu also provides left-overs for lunches over the next few days, so that the Partner has food to eat. This cuts back on food cost because we aren’t buying so many of the pre-packaged food that she relies on all too often (yes it happens). I don’t like the weekly menu plan because it takes some of the spontaneity away from cooking. I’m impulsive, and like to try new things. I’ve been known to go to a grocery store at 10 p.m. at night because I’ve just got to try something new. This also saves on food because I’m not running around town looking for one specific item. I stick to the menu, I stick to the shopping list, I save $$. We have talked about reserving one or two times a month for me to go off on culinary fits. I think it is a necessary valve for a Chef to have a bit of creative freedom.
We’ll see how long I keep this up. The weekly menu is an awesome idea. Last week was the first week, and it did help provide the structure I need in order to get fresh food on the table every day. Lastly, the best thing is I can take one of my days off and bulk cook some of the food for the week. Yes I’m cooking every day, but cooking the beans and rice, and other prep-intensive items on just one day removes even more stress from the every day cooking. And really, cooking should be stress free. There’s just a lot of planning involved.
Ingredients
Process
When we think of thickeners, classic French cooking comes to mind with a mixture called roux. Roux involves butter and flour. The butter is melted and the flour added to the butter and then cooked until the flour loses its pasty taste. This roux is then added to soups and sauces to thicken them. Roux is a large component in Country Gravy, and Alfredo Sauce. And alongside veal stock, it is the backbone of Classic French Cuisine
It’s not so surprising that there is more than one kind of thickener in the world. Arrowroot, cornstarch, tapioca starch, potato starch, kudzo, and others can be used in various ways to thicken sauces, soups, and other mixes. Arrowroot is my favorite. It is flavorless and gives a glossy sheen to a soup or sauce.
Arrowroot is indigenous to the Tropical Americas, and was a staple food of the Arawak People. It is high in calcium, carbohydrates, and potassium, but not protein, or vitamins. It is not considered a replacement food in the United States, unlike other cultures, where it has been used for people with sensitive digestive systems, and as baby food.
Transforming the diet from animal to plant base, understanding what ingredients to use is important. Arrowroot can replace that fattening and pesky roux. 1 tsp of arrowroot equals 1 tbsp of flour. It needs to be mixed with cold water into what is called a slurry, before adding it to a hot liquid. I’ve used it in soups and tamari based sauces. It is the base for my White Gravy recipe.
It is possible to explore the other thickeners as well, I just haven’t branched out yet. The only time I used potato starch was when I experimented with making paper (messier than cooking if you can believe that!). As I learn and read more, it will probably show up in some of the Kitchen Shaman Recipes.
So go ahead and try out this great ingredient. Don’t be afraid to try new things, especially in the kitchen!
There is still time to register for my next class at Luci’s Healthy Marketplace, 1590 E. Bethany Home Rd, Phoenix, AZ, on . Please register today for fun learning about tofurkey and pumpkin bread. There will be Chocolate Avocado Pie, and Tofurkey cooked in a classic style. There will be cranberries as well.
One of my favorite tools in the kitchen is the microplane. They come in a couple of different forms, and whatever variety you use, they are great to have. Microplanes can grate ginger, and whole nutmeg, zest lemons, limes and oranges, and mince garlic. Once you grasp how to use this little gem to grate fresh nutmeg, you’ll never buy ground nutmeg again.
My next favorite handy tool is a mini food processor, or mini food chopper. I laughed at it when I first saw it. This handy Food Chopper Plus by Black & Decker makes quick work of mincing garlic, chopping cilantro, mincing onions, or any other chopping job too small for the regular sized food processor.
The first chopper I used like this one came from former roommates, and though I berated the tiny little work horse, once I tried it, I fell in love. When the roommates moved out I mourned the loss of this time saver.
This little gem runs a good $25.00 on the retail market. I live in an area with an abundance of Goodwill thrift stores. We went last weekend on 50% off day, and I found one, in good shape. I tested it out and I’m in heaven. No more hand breaking knife mincing with garlic and cilantro. After a full day of chopping at work, sometimes I need the time savers at home.
My next favorite tool is the rolling pin. I don’t get to use it much these days, with the partner being gluten free, but on the same Goodwill trip, I found a very nice, well-weighted rolling pin. I hope to use it often when I finally tackle cooking gluten free vegan desserts and pies.
As a chef, you would think that I want to spend lots of money on my tools. But with perfectly good equipment, discarded by those who no longer need them, why spend the extra bucks? Shop smart when looking for kitchen tools. You don’t have to spend a fortune to get good quality machines. Read reviews on products, and then see if any of the thrift stores in your area have these items. It can go a long way in saving both time and money.
![[Valid RSS]](http://www.kitchenshaman.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/valid-rss-rogers.png "Validate my RSS feed")
