“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“Fermented foods help people stay healthy,” Sandor Katz author of New York Times best-selling book “The Art of Fermentation.”
Before we get to the heart of the matter of cultured foods, here is a photo of yesterday’s sky. I was at the pool and the sky was so beautiful I had to take a picture. The picture doesn’t do it justice, but you get the idea.
My husband and I do a good job of learning about what constitutes a healthy lifestyle in terms of eating and exercise, and then we implement what we have learned to the best of our abilities. Our latest foray into healthy eating is fermented {cultured} foods. Please understand that in no way do I consider myself an expert on cultured foods; I am far from an expert, and know just enough to be dangerous. We have been eating cultured foods for years, because we enjoy them, but have intentionally added more into our diet because of the health benefits. Here are some of our favorite cultured foods, all of which we buy at Mana Foods, for those of you on Maui: ~ Yogurt– Nancy’s Yogurt {contains 11 different culture strains} has been a staple for more than a decade. ~ Sauerkraut and Fermented Pickles- We have recently started purchasing sauerkraut that is raw and unpasteurized, so that the beneficial microbes are available to us. One of our favorite brands is Sonoma Brinery. Farmhouse Culture makes fantastic sauerkraut as well. I LOVE their Smoked Jalapeno Kraut; I don’t find it at all smoky, but perfectly spicy! My husband prefers the Ginger Beet flavor, which I also like, but not as much as the Smoked Jalapeno. Both of these companies offer excellent products that are reasonably priced. If you want sauerkraut, these are a must try! ~ Kombucha– We drink a little kombucha most days. Our kombucha comes from Maui Kombucha. ~ GoodBelly Probiotic Drink– This is a delicious nondairy nectar-like drink. My favorite flavor is Mango. If you sign up for their Goodbelly Challenge, they will email you some coupons! ~ Sour Cream- We often spoon a bit of cultured sour cream on our quesadillas. Sour cream is always a yummy addition to a spicy dish. ~ Tempeh– Tempeh is a fermented soy product from Indonesia. Our current favorite way to eat tempeh is seasoned with freshly ground salt and pepper and sautéed in a bit of coconut oil until golden brown. Eat with ketchup and you have something that resembles French fries. A heavy drizzle of Sriracha Sauce is a great addition, if you like a little mouth burn, like I do. We also make a delicious sandwich that we call a “TLT” meaning Tomato, Lettuce and Tempeh. It is fantastic on toasted ciabatta bread. Our tempeh is in the freezer until we are ready to eat it, and then it thaws very quickly. ~ Miso- I like kale salad with Outstanding Miso Sesame Dressing. There is also miso soup, which is delicious!
Here are a few of the cultured foods we’ve enjoyed in the last few days:
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Tempeh Sautéed in Organic Coconut Oil
Slice tempeh into approximately 1/2 inch slices. Spray skillet {we use cast iron} with pan spray, then melt about 1 tbsp. of coconut oil. When the oil is hot, add the tempeh slices. Season with freshly ground salt and pepper to taste. Sauté, turning occasionally, until golden brown. Serve hot with ketchup and Sriracha Sauce, or whatever you like.
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Yogurt with Pineapple, Peach and Cranberry Preserves
Put some yogurt in a bowl, and top with homemade preserves, and your choice of any or all of the following toppings: unsweetened coconut, maple syrup {the real stuff please, preferably Grade B}, good quality honey, cinnamon, cacao nibs, nuts, hemp seeds, ground flax seeds, Buckwheat Chia Crunch or anything else you’d like.
Pineapple, Peach and Cranberry Preserves
**This is really more of a guideline than a specific recipe. You can adjust everything to your taste, including changing the fruits to what you have available.
1 Maui Gold pineapple
1 quart chunked fresh or frozen peaches
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cinnamon stick
approximately 1 tbsp. good quality honey
Juice of 1/2 a juicy lemon
Grind of salt
Get a Maui Gold pineapple if you can {we buy ours at Costco, maybe Mainland Costco sells them also-I think they do}, otherwise a “regular” fresh pineapple will do. Cut up the pineapple into chunks {see previous pineapple blog post}. Put all of the pineapple chunks into a wide-mouthed saucepan {for better evaporation of the liquid}. Add 1 quart of peach chunks {we used the peaches we froze in August} and 2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries. You can certainly use a different berry if you are not a cranberry fan, but you can’t really identify them as cranberries as far as taste goes . Squeeze half a lemon and add the juice, and then throw in a cinnamon stick and a grind of salt. Spoon in some good quality honey to taste. We used about 1 tbsp. Bring to a boil, and then turn down the heat and simmer on low until thickened. The timing will depend on how juicy your fruit is. The preserves will thicken as they cool.
These preserves are meant to be made and eaten within a week or so; they are not preserved, so will not keep.
These preserves also taste great with one of our new favorite breads, from 101 Cookbooks. I have made several of her bread recipes, and we have loved them all.
Photo from 101 Cookbooks
Easy Little Bread from 101 Cookbooks 1 1/4 cups / 300 ml warm water (105-115F)
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (one packet)
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 cup / 4.5 oz / 125 g unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup / 5 oz / 140 g whole wheat flour
1 cup / 3.5 oz / 100 g rolled oats (not instant oats)
1 1/2 teaspoons fine grain sea salt
2 tablespoons butter, melted, for brushing
In a medium bowl, sprinkle the yeast onto the warm water and stir until the yeast dissolves. Stir in the honey and set aside for a few minutes, until the yeast blooms and swells a bit – 5 – 10 minutes.
In the meantime, mix the flours, oats, and salt in a large bowl. Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir very well.
Brush an 8-cup loaf pan {9″x5″} generously with some of the melted butter. Turn the dough into the tin, cover with a clean, slightly damp cloth, and set in a warm place for 30 minutes, to rise.
Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C, with a rack in the middle. When ready, bake the bread for 35-40 minutes, until golden and pulling away from the sides of the pan. I finish things up by leaving the bread under the broiler for just a heartbeat – to give the top a bit deeper color. Remove from oven, and turn the bread out of the pan quickly. Let it cool on a rack so it doesn’t steam in the pan. Serve warm, slathered with butter.
“There are only ten minutes in the life of a pear when it is perfect to eat.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
Ralph Waldo Emerson’s thoughts on enjoying the perfect pear may be true for raw pears, although I think his window is a little narrow. My new favorite way to enjoy pears is roasting them, which I will tell you about in a moment.
I try to walk most days, and enjoy listening to podcasts on my iPhone while I walk. I subscribe to a number of podcasts, several which have to do with my favorite subject-food. Here are some I highly recommend:
These podcasts are all hosted by Lynne Rossetto Kasper, who is an American food writer and radio journalist out of Minnesota.
The Splendid Table– hour long program which is “public radio’s culinary, culture and lifestyle program which celebrates food and its ability to touch the lives and feed the souls of everyone.” Key 3– a series of discussions with great cooks about the 3 techniques or recipes that they think everyone should know How to Eat Supper/How to Eat Weekends– short shows {around 10 minutes or less} based upon the 2 books
After I baked a couple batches of Mocha Truffle Cookies Saturday, I turned off the oven and popped in some fruit. “What’s that?,” you say. Putting the fruit in after the oven is turned off? Yes indeed! I popped some pears into the oven for about 50 minutes, and what emerged was tender, juicy fruit ready to eat in a variety of ways. Look at the gorgeous browning that occurred in that short period of time.
The first time I tried this, I roasted Bosc pears and Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced. My husband thought they needed a little something extra, so he drizzled just a bit of local honey over the fruit, and a touch of freshly ground salt. As most of us know, a little salt complements the sweetness of fruit. I sprinkled the fruit with sliced almonds after it came out of the oven, and we enjoyed it with some dark chocolate. Delicious! I have also just put the fruit in with no extras, and that’s good too. Plain yogurt is excellent topped with roasted fruit, nuts, cinnamon and a sprinkle of cacao nibs.
I got the idea for roasting with the oven off from the podcast How to Eat Weekends {episode from 6 October 2011}. If you listen to the podcast, you will hear about many other foods that you can roast, but I haven’t tried anything other than apples and pears {yet!}. The beauty of this method is that it is energy efficient, it is tasty and you can use fruits or vegetables that may not have stellar flavor if eaten raw {think tomatoes, apple or pears that may be a little mushy, etc.}. I hope you will listen to this podcast and then try roasting some of your own fruits and vegetables. It is quick, easy and delicious!
Roasted Pears
Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and fill with thinly {about 1/4 inch} sliced pears. Slide into the oven after you’ve turned off the heat and let the fruit “roast” for about 50 minutes. You can drizzle the fruit with honey and sprinkle with a little salt and nuts if you like. I didn’t put the nuts on before roasting, but think I will start doing this. Enjoy plain {warm or cold}, with dark chocolate or over ice cream.
Just for fun-perhaps you will find your city in this list of culinary winners from Saveur Magazine.
“These are decadent!” a comment from one of my coworkers
It’s been a long day, so this will be a quick post. I took these cookies to work today, & they were a hit. These cookies are great if you…
… are craving cookies.
… are craving chocolate or mocha.
… need a quick dessert to take to a potluck.
… want to surprise your friend with cookies.
… you had a light dinner and feel like a little dessert.
… you get the idea!
Mocha Truffle Cookies
1/2 cup unsalted butter 1/2 cup chocolate chips {I use Ghirardelli 60% Bittersweet} 3 tsp instant coffee {I use 2 packets Starbucks Via} 2/3 cup granulated white sugar 2/3 cup packed light brown sugar 2 eggs, lightly beaten 2 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour 4 tbsp plus 4 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/4 tsp kosher salt 2/3 cup Heath Bits ‘o Brickle Toffee Bits Maldon salt {optional, but a delicious addition}
In a large microwave safe bowl, melt butter & chocolate chips; stir until smooth, and then stir in coffee and stir until dissolved; let cool for 5 minutes. Add sugars, eggs and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt; add to chocolate mixture and mix well. Stir in toffee bits.
Drop by rounded tablespoonfuls about 2 inches apart {I prefer to weigh my cookie balls, making them 1 1/4 ounces each.} onto a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray, or lined with parchment or Silpat. Sprinkle a pinch {2-3 flakes per cookie} of Maldon salt flakes on top of cookies.
Bake cookies at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until edges are set. Cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheet, and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Makes about 24.
Notes: ~ To melt butter and chocolate chips, I microwave on 50% power for 1 minute, stir and then do another minute at 50% power. Microwaves vary, so your timing may be different. ~ Add chopped nuts if you like. ~ You can adjust the coffee up or down to your taste. ~ Don’t overbake! I take the cookies out of the oven when the edges are set {slightly firm}. The middle will be soft {that’s where the “truffle” part comes in}. ~ You can freeze the cookies. They are particularly delicious if you take them out of the freezer and wait for a couple of minutes before eating. Their texture is dense, fudgy and GOOD!
“The kitchen, reasonably enough, was the scene of my first gastronomic adventure. I was on all fours. I crawled into the vegetable bin, settled on a giant onion and ate it, skin and all. It must have marked me for life, for I have never ceased to love the hearty flavor of raw onions.” James Beard (1903-1985)
First of all, I have to tell you that I am super excited about the class that I signed up for, which starts this Tuesday! It’s called Science & Cooking: from Haute Cuisine to Soft Matter Science. It is offered through Harvard {yes, that Harvard!} and it’s free. Scientists and chefs will be getting together to teach this course about the science of cooking. Check it out!
This week’s farmers market find- freshly dug sweet Maui onions! Yum! We have been waiting for these & now they are here.
Just about everyone has an opinion about onions. We go through a lot of onions at our house, which is a good thing, because onions are a healthy food to eat, and they add great flavor to food. We love all kinds of onions- green onions {aka scallions}, shallots, leeks, white onions, pearl onions, yellow onions and sweet onions {Maui, Walla Walla, Texas Sweets, Vidalia, etc.}. They can be enjoyed raw, cooked or caramelized so that they are brown, sweet and jammy. This onion was delicious in a salad with arugula, steamed beets and thinnings from the basil seeds I planted a few weeks ago {apologies to those who will not be growing basil outside for awhile!}.
I hadn’t thought to pair basil with arugula, but it was a good match. I consulted the Flavor Bible, which is one of my favorite books, and that is where I saw that basil and arugula go well together. I dressed this salad with my usual arugula salad dressing of fresh lemon juice, extra virgin olive oil, freshly ground salt and pepper. I have not always been an onion lover. Like many kids, I ate my spaghetti with butter {I still love noodles with butter!}, salt and pepper. I don’t remember if I had cheese on it, but if so, I’m sure it was that awful stuff in the green cylindrical can; you know the one to which I’m referring. I think it was the onions in the spaghetti sauce to which my immature palate was objecting, but I’m not really sure why I didn’t want to eat spaghetti sauce. I had no problem eating chili or beef stew, which definitely contained onions. My mom’s {and now my recipe} delicious potato salad was eaten {by me} before the celery and onions went in. It must have been the crunch, in addition to the onions, that I did not care for. Crunch did not belong in creamy soft potato salad, in my opinion. Mind you, I was not really a picky eater. I ate just about everything, except celery, onions and this dressing that my grandmother made to dress dandelion greens. It was some kind of cooked dressing, and I really did not like it. In fact, I amazed my relatives with the quantities of food I consumed. “Does she have a hollow leg?” they wondered. “Where does she put it?” they inquired. Raw onions became a part of my diet in my early 20’s, when my husband returned from a business trip to Atlanta, GA with a sack of Vidalia onions. He bought them at the airport, like tourists buy Maui pineapples at the Kahului Airport. Boy, were those onions ever good; nice and sweet and perfect mingling in a bowl with sliced cucumbers, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. My mom makes great cucumbers and onions with apple cider vinegar, salt and pepper; I’m sure I just ate the cucumbers way back when. Now, I can’t get enough onions. Thankfully, most kids grow up and expand their food horizons to include foods they wouldn’t touch in their youth, but now find delicious. Several techniques can be employed to make onions more palatable, as well as make them more suitable for a particular dish. The way an onion is cut makes a huge difference on how it tastes in any given recipe. Click hereto view a Fine Cooking video on a few different onion cutting techniques. I usually cut onions 4 different ways: Large Dice– Large dice is great for onions that will be cooked in spaghetti sauce, stew, vegetable soups, this quesadilla filling and that type of thing. The large dice holds its shape during cooking, but at the end will be soft and pleasant to eat. Minced- Minced onions belong in guacamole, potato salad, coleslaw, some bean salads and places where you don’t want to bite into a big piece of raw onion, especially when that onion isn’t a sweet variety. Lyonnaise– Lyonnaise is also called “pole to pole” because you are cutting the onion in crescent shapes from the root end to the blossom end. It is my favorite way to cut onions! I love this cut for green salads, cucumbers and onions, pickled beets and recipes where I want to see the onion, and taste it, but not have big chunks. When I cut this way, I always thinly slice the onions if they are to be served raw. Even a strong onion {i.e. not a sweet variety} is palatable when thinly cut pole to pole. Sliced- Sliced onions are cut across the equator, and are great served raw or caramelized on a burger, sub {hoagie, grinder, etc.} or other sandwich. I think onions for sandwiches should always be sliced paper thin; pile them on, but they must be thin or they will slide right off {Tomatoes too should be thinly sliced, but my mom will disagree with me here.} If you are tired of your green onion slices rolling off the cutting board, try slitting the white part of the onion lengthwise, so you have half-moon slices-no more mischievous onion slices rolling around!
Not just a tasty vegetable and seasoning for many foods, onions have numerous health benefits. Click on this link to the National Onion Association for nutritional information, tips and recipes.
This is how one amongst us spent his day. . . not an ounce of friskiness in this pussycat!
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
“One of the very nicest things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.” Luciano Pavarotti
Maui Girl Cooks 