Keen What? Quinoa and Conquistadors!

The Incas knew that Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) helped to increase the stamina of their warriors. In fact, the Spanish Conquistadors, in an effort to control South America (this was way before your time, actually before the time of anyone able to read this blog), destroyed quinoa fields. At one time it was almost extinct! If this tasty stuff is worth such a fuss, maybe we should give it a try.

Quinoa looks like a grain, but in fact it’s a seed that's packed with all 9 amino acids (meaning it delivers in the protein department). It's also chock full of magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus, all of which are thought to be helpful for people troubled by migraines, diabetes and heart issues.

Today’s illustration shows uncooked red and white quinoa seeds ( it also comes in pink, orange, purple and black- though I have yet to see those). I recommend starting with the white, which has a milder flavor than the red (both are delicious and nutty). Quinoa is not cheap, but given all the nutrients that are packed into each tiny seed and the fact that it will expand to at least twice its size when cooked, this is a solid case of ‘good things come in small packages’.

Someone should have tipped off those Conquistadors. Instead of searching for gold, they should have been harvesting this seed with a wealth of goodness.

Next blog we’ll skip the history lesson and get down to cooking!

Lettuce Wrap-Up

What did the salad say to the… oh never mind… let’s save that joke for the next time you hang out with a four year old.

What you do need to know, is how to store your lettuce and not waste a bit of goodness.

The hardier sorts of leafy greens, like Romaine, have greater tolerance for sitting in the fridge. Leaf lettuce, like our friend Red, will not last quite as long. Wash and dry both of these, wrap in some paper towels and store inside a plastic bag in the crisper drawer of your fridge.

Our other favorite, Arugula, is fast company and requires (well, prefers) slightly different treatment. Use it ASAP, but if you need to store it, wrap the roots in a damp paper towel and store in a plastic bag. Of all our featured leafy greens, Arugula needs to be enjoyed first.

Salad time is just around the corner, so lettuce be ready!

Spin Cycle: Lettuce

Now that you have some lettuce in your life, how to take care of it? Let’s start with the prep part.

• Remove any wilted, brown or slimy bits.
• Always wash in cool/ cold water. Go to the sink and either use a colander or swish it in a bowl (changing the water until it’s clear-a spinner will help you do both) and drain.
  
• Dry your lettuce – if you have a salad spinner (as in today’s illustration) have fun, but don’t spin the life out of it. You can also do the none-gadget thing and dry your leafy greens with a towel.
• Get it down to bite sized. There are two schools of thought: either tear along the natural lines of the leaf, preventing yellowing OR cut it with a sharp knife to avoid crushing the tender leaves. I guess this means that anything works!
• The drier the leaves, the easier time any dressing you use will be able to cling.

Lettuce Get Acquainted: Three favorites

• Romaine (the long one in the back)
• Arugula (the next one with the long stem)
• Red Leaf (the name says it all)

Romaine is top notch in the lexicon of lettuce. Full of vitamins, minerals and fiber, its long firm leaves are wonderfully crunchy and hold their own when it comes to dressings and other ingredients. This is what you’ll get when you order a Caesar Salad that’s made properly!

Arugula is technically a vegetable and not a lettuce. That said, I’ve never witnessed it being kicked out of a salad as an imposter. In Europe it’s called ‘rocket’ which better describes the peppery sharp taste that’s terrific on pizza (just as it’s coming out of the oven) or in a salad with milder greens.

Red Leaf is softer than our other featured lettuce-y friends. Leaf lettuces are milder in the crunch department and more delicate in flavor. A simple light dressing will suffice. These large pretty leaves can also dress-up a tuna or egg salad by situating themselves between the plate and main feature.

Whatever sort of lettuce you choose to keep company with, look for a crisp, un-wilted compact character with no hint of sliminess and a minimum of brown in the stem.

Keep in mind, that generally speaking, the darker the leaf color, the higher it is in nutrients.

Lettuce eat!

Broccoli: Sauced!

Now this is getting out of control! Who thought that getting reacquainted with broccoli could be such a rewarding and exciting experience (your mother, that’s who…. But let’s not go there)!

Dipping Sauce (this is good for all sorts of veg… cooked and raw, hot, cold and inbetween)

In a jar (with a nice tight lid) mix the following:

• 1/2 cup of Soy Sauce
• 2-3 Tablespoons of Rice Vinegar
• 2-3 Tablespoons of water (or to taste... if you like it strong, skip the water)
  
• 1 Tablespoon of Sugar
• 2 cloves of Garlic minced (which means chopped very fine)
• 1 Tablespoon of peeled minced fresh Ginger Root
• A couple of finely chopped Scallions (optional)

Shake it all up and you are ready to go! This is one of those imprecise recipes. Use right away or within 2 days (can also be used as a marinade).

Maybe it's time to teach your mother a few things!

Broccoli: What Your Mother Didn't Tell You

She probably did not tell you how to prepare this stuff! (Or maybe you just weren’t paying attention…well, don’t squander another opportunity to learn about preparing broccoli.)

• After washing in cool water, drain and get out your best knife and a cutting board.
• Cut off the bottom of the stem and discard the end.
• Hold (but don’t crush) onto the top part with the florets and use them as a handle. Take your knife and pare away and leaves and tough outsides off the stalk. You can discard these bits too (illustrated in the foreground off the board).
• Cut off the stalk just below the florets.
• By cutting, separate the florets into little mini bunches.
• Slice the stalk into sticks so that they are roughly the size of the floret stalks.

You are ready to steam! After a few minutes, check for doneness with the sharp tip of a knife. It should slip in to the stem. A bit of resistance means that you haven’t overcooked your veg (which is a very good thing). Don’t forget your mitt and don’t forget that the steam wants to escape! (see ‘Steamed!’ blog from January 15).

You know what? I bet your mother didn’t teach you how to make dipping sauce either. That’s our next installment… if you can’t wait, a splash of soy sauce on that lovely, bright green, lightly steamed broccoli is just the ticket. Yum!

Broccoli 101: The Noble Veg

I hate to sound like your mother, but broccoli is very good for you. Now, don’t go away. The next few episodes of New Kitchen Primer are going to change your relationship with this noble veg.

Today is about how to choose a magnificent head of broccoli. Although broccoli can come in a few outfits (green, white and purple), today’s illustration is what you will typically come across. Choose a firm, heavy head with compact florets (the top part) and firm stems. Avoid a broccoli that looks like it’s ‘been around the block’. By this I mean, avoid any broccoli sporting little flowers, yellow patches or a wilted and rubbery demeanor.

In the mean time, how about the sub-text that went unmentioned when your mother was bugging you to ‘eat your broccoli’?

Cooked, broccoli is an excellent source of vitamin C and potassium. It also has folic acid, vitamin A, iron and phosphorus. Broccoli is even anti-cancerous! Now how can you argue with your mother about eating all that goodness?

If your enthusiasm knows no bounds, and if it's washed, you can eat it raw. If you are not yet that hard-core regarding veg consumption, stay tuned for the next exciting installment: What Your Mother Did Not Tell You.

What Thyme Is It?

Time to do a little research in Harold McGee’s book On Food and Cooking (which I recommend to any one with even a pinch of food geek in them). Here’s a small sample of what I found.

Thyme keeps company with garlic, cinnamon, cloves and oregano because all of these can kill disease microbes, which is probably why people started using herbs and spices in the first place.

Define Herbs and Spices? They are plant material that is used for flavoring in small amounts. Thyme falls into the category of herb because it comes from the green part of a plant. It’s the cells on the outside that store aromas. Thyme has glandular hairs on stems and leaves that contain aromatic oils.

But how about thyme itself? Just as you will find many types of mint, sage and other herbs, the thyme varieties at the market yesterday were all beckoning. I noticed that the English Thyme was better suited to shade planting, a must for my city garden. I bought the other, full sun variety, just to see if it would survive. And the... Lemon Thyme. I’m about to suggest something a little weird, but I hope that you will trust me just enough to give this a try. It’s a flavor pairing not to be missed.

Next time you have (a small reasonable serving of good quality) vanilla ice cream, sprinkle about a teaspoon of fresh lemon thyme leaves on top. Seriously terrific. What time is it? It’s spring thyme!

Gowanus Botanical Garden Report: My Favorite Thing!

We have a joke in our house about Pip (my canine pal). She is very indiscriminate and always ready to show enthusiasm. Every bark translates as,‘My favorite thing!’.

Unlike Pip, I like to think that I am very discriminating. So, when I say that spring is ‘My favorite thing!’ I really really mean it.

Here is some of what's happening at the ‘Gowanus Botanical Garden’. Because my garden is a city garden and presents a few challenges, the edible bounty at the moment is limited to herbs and grapes. Oh… and strawberries.

The first illustration is a very young strawberry plant. The buds you see will turn into flowers whose centers will turn into strawberries. These are usually ripe for Sylvia and my father’s birthday party in late May, early June.

The next illustration is of a grapevine waking up. This little bud will extend itself and eventually transform into some lovely purple grapes. The birds take full advantage and usually get first pick!

Next we have young sage leaves. As the season progresses, they will be come longer and more plentiful. Burnt butter and freshly chopped sage will make for a very quick ravioli sauce.

And finally, oregano. The dried stuff in the cupboard will be neglected until winter begins. There’s nothing like stepping out into the garden to collect something fresh.

My favorite thing!

Beautiful Ugli

Walt Whitman was writing about President Abraham Lincoln’s face when he wrote:

“…so awful ugly it becomes beautiful”

He could have been writing about our Ugli Fruit.

Remember the entry when our Ugli was not ripe? I was waiting for the expected yellow color but couldn't resist when the not yet yellow, but carefully observed fruit, was soft and fragrant.

Success! Juicy and delicious as promised, it tasted sort of like a grapefruit but sweeter. What I did discover is that you should cut off all the pith (the white stuff between the skin and fruit). Maybe this was necessary because our fruit wasn’t fully yellow, but the segments are large and a small paring knife was all that was required to remove the final membrane holding in the juicy inner fruit.

Whitman knew that just like Lincoln’s face, once you get acquainted with something unusual there’s beauty discovered. Ugli was delicious.

Hercules and Hydroponics

These are the tomatoes mentioned in the last entry. Noticed how I threw around the word ‘hydroponics’? Did it work? Were you impressed?

Now you can be impressive too (or know what this means next time you buy an out-of-season hydroponically grown tomato).

The Greek word for ‘water’ is hydros. Fused with another Greek word ponos, meaning ‘labor’, we have a new word used to explain this form of agriculture. Plants that are grown in water without the use of soil are hydroponically grown. The water is reused, nutrients are easily dispersed and because it all happens in a controlled environment this method is used to grow many many tomatoes cost effectively.

In Greek mythology, the Hydra was a water monster that grew two heads for every one cut off. It was Hercules who finally figured out how to do the Hydra in. Now imagine the monster as a tomato plant, plants often make two branches where they are cut off just like the Hydra. Did you ever think that tomatoes had anything in common with ancient mythological monsters?

Maybe next time you buy an out-of-season, soilessly grown tomato, you might also think of water monsters and Herculean efforts - something that will not be required to enjoy a nice fat tomato!

Sprouts! An Unintended Outcome

Sometimes looking for one thing means you stumble upon another (don’t look for sugar snap peas before June). At the Farmer’s Market this morning, my unintended find was Sunflower Sprouts. “Ah Ha” (I said to myself…although if I had said this aloud, no one would have noticed in the bustle of the market) “ I am going to use these as a substitute for lettuce in this afternoon’s BLT” (as in bacon lettuce and tomato sandwich).

Nutty and full of body, I had a hunch that they would make a nice stand-in for the L part of the equation and even add a bit of crunch.

Sprouts are germinated plant seeds and although some sprouts are toxic (don’t go in your garden for random sprouty stuff), many (just like these) are nutritious and very good for you.

Buy sprouts as fresh as you can, eat them as soon as you can and until then, keep them refrigerated until you are ready to wash them thoroughly in cool water and enjoy.

PS The BLT was superlative. Farm raised bacon, whole wheat bread, hydroponic tomatoes (like sugar snaps, they are not in season just yet), sprouts and some lovely French mayonnaise.

April in Paris: The French Paradox

Your shoe is untied! Really! OK, it’s not untied, and that is the end of my April Fool’s moment. What I really think of in April is Paris. And why not? It’s always good to have a dream and I may not have been there in April, but I have been there on occasion (Cathy used to call Paris home). It’s my next favorite place after Brooklyn. But I digress…

Let’s get on to something about food. “The French Paradox” is all about food. This is not something I made up (and no April Fool’s joke). The paradox of the French is that they manage to eat all manner of things that we Americans consider ‘bad for you’ (cheese, meats, wine, pastries…I’m getting hungry!). The paradox part is that as a culture, the French have lower rates of obesity, heart disease and other health problems that we associate with eating.

How do they do it? Paul Rozin, a psychology professor at the University of Pennsylvania, has compared the eating practices of people in the United States and France. He suggests that it’s not so much what we eat, but how we eat and what our cultural relationship with food consists of. The French have a pretty strict set of rules regarding food, here they are.

• Eat small portions
• Do not snack
• Do not eat alone
• Take your time

Doesn’t sound too difficult does it?

I think it also helps that the French eat food that (with the exception of white flour and sugar) is not processed. They also spend more money and effort on the quality of their meals and have a real appreciation for what is in front of them. They also walk. Exercise is part of eating.

So… while we may not be in Paris, it’s possible to bring a little bit of France to our own lives in the form of healthy food culture and perhaps a nice long walk.

Bon Appetite!