A Healthier Kitchen Tip # 1 - Show Your Freezer a Little Respect!
That box on top of the fridge...you know, the one with peas, ice cream and frozen pizza? Your freezer? Well, it's a little hurt because it doesn't get the much needed credit it deserves.
Healthy Kitchen Tip # 1 - Show Your Freezer a Little Respect! When people think of eating healthy, the freezer is most likely one of the last tools of success that they think of. Healthy = Fresh, right? What's so fresh about a freezer?
Imagine living before freezers were invented. Having to rely on salt curing and drying foods to preserve them. Today people use their freezer for a few items and most likely end up throwing away tons of fresh food that could have been wrapped properly and frozen. Here a few ideas...
Tomato Paste - it really stinks only needing 1 Tablespoon of Tomato Paste and saving the rest in the fridge to inevitably throw it away two weeks later. Next time you use only a small amount of Tomato Paste, measure out the rest into 1 Tablespoon amounts and put on a parchment lined sheet pan or even a paper plate and put into the freezer. Once solid, put all little paste balls into a plastic bag and store in the freezer. Plop a little ball in your sauces and soups for a quick boost of flavor anytime!
Stock - Now that you know how to make fresh stock (Healthier Kitchen Tip # 10), Pour properly cooled stock into ice cube trays. Freeze and once frozen, put into plastic freezer bags.
Cookie Dough - Go ahead and make a whole batch of cookie dough. Roll dough into small balls and freeze the same way that you would tomato paste.
Pesto - I love, love, LOVE fresh basil pesto. Make a full batch and portion the exact same way you would tomato paste.
Are you noticing a pattern? Putting effort in your kitchen for one day, making pesto, sauces and stocks, could mean up to three months of a freezer PACKED with healthy, fresh flavor boosters.
Use your ice cube trays as automatic portion cups. If your berries are starting to turn, place some in your ice cube trays and cover with water or lemonade. On a hot day pop a few in your water for a cool, flavorful treat!
Keep coffee beans in your freezer to prolong their freshness, as well as keeping raw nuts in your freezer to prevent them from going rancid. No one likes rancid nuts am I right...?
Moral of this story, use your freezer to save time, money and to help keep your kitchen a bit healthier!
Basil Pesto Sauce
1 bunch fresh basil
1 cup baby spinach
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Place all ingredients into a food processor EXCEPT the oil. Blend the mixture and slowly drizzle in the oil as it blends. Season to taste.
Pesto is great on whole wheat pasta, grilled chicken or fish, or even as a dip for some amazing crusty bread!
Photos from www.bing.com
Healthy Kitchen Tip # 1 - Show Your Freezer a Little Respect! When people think of eating healthy, the freezer is most likely one of the last tools of success that they think of. Healthy = Fresh, right? What's so fresh about a freezer?
Imagine living before freezers were invented. Having to rely on salt curing and drying foods to preserve them. Today people use their freezer for a few items and most likely end up throwing away tons of fresh food that could have been wrapped properly and frozen. Here a few ideas...
Tomato Paste - it really stinks only needing 1 Tablespoon of Tomato Paste and saving the rest in the fridge to inevitably throw it away two weeks later. Next time you use only a small amount of Tomato Paste, measure out the rest into 1 Tablespoon amounts and put on a parchment lined sheet pan or even a paper plate and put into the freezer. Once solid, put all little paste balls into a plastic bag and store in the freezer. Plop a little ball in your sauces and soups for a quick boost of flavor anytime!
Stock - Now that you know how to make fresh stock (Healthier Kitchen Tip # 10), Pour properly cooled stock into ice cube trays. Freeze and once frozen, put into plastic freezer bags.
Cookie Dough - Go ahead and make a whole batch of cookie dough. Roll dough into small balls and freeze the same way that you would tomato paste.
Pesto - I love, love, LOVE fresh basil pesto. Make a full batch and portion the exact same way you would tomato paste.
Are you noticing a pattern? Putting effort in your kitchen for one day, making pesto, sauces and stocks, could mean up to three months of a freezer PACKED with healthy, fresh flavor boosters.
Use your ice cube trays as automatic portion cups. If your berries are starting to turn, place some in your ice cube trays and cover with water or lemonade. On a hot day pop a few in your water for a cool, flavorful treat!
Moral of this story, use your freezer to save time, money and to help keep your kitchen a bit healthier!
Basil Pesto Sauce
1 bunch fresh basil
1 cup baby spinach
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Place all ingredients into a food processor EXCEPT the oil. Blend the mixture and slowly drizzle in the oil as it blends. Season to taste.
Pesto is great on whole wheat pasta, grilled chicken or fish, or even as a dip for some amazing crusty bread!
Saturday, November 27, 2010
A Healthier Kitchen Tip # 2 - Try Something New!
Since moving to The Bay Area, I have been exposed to foods that I had never even heard of before. I am lucky enough to be friends with some vegetarians/vegans who have also introduced me to new, amazing foods.
Healthy Kitchen Tip # 2 - Try Something New! Here is your challenge... Go to the produce section of your grocery store and look for something you have never tried. Do a little research on that food, methods to cook it, or if it is able to be eaten raw. Take it home and try it! There is a chance you will not like it, but an even greater chance that you will love this new food and introduce it into your regular rotation.
Fresh Figs
Image from www.bing.com
Here a few foods that I tried for the first time in the last two years.
It makes it easier to have a healthy kitchen when eating new food and flavors. Try grilling a nice piece of white fish or chicken and topping it with a persimmon salsa.
2 Persimmons - peeled and cut into a small dice
1 Shallot - minced
1/4 Serrano Chili - seeded and minced
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
1/4 teaspoon Minced Ginger
1 teaspoon Finely Chopped Mint
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and adjust seasoning to your desire.
Sometimes we get into a culinary rut when it comes to cooking. Introduce new foods and your whole family will thank you!
Persimmons
Healthy Kitchen Tip # 2 - Try Something New! Here is your challenge... Go to the produce section of your grocery store and look for something you have never tried. Do a little research on that food, methods to cook it, or if it is able to be eaten raw. Take it home and try it! There is a chance you will not like it, but an even greater chance that you will love this new food and introduce it into your regular rotation.
Fresh Figs
Here a few foods that I tried for the first time in the last two years.
Tomatillo - peel the "husk" and rinse, otherwise they are sticky. Good in salsas and salads.
Pomegranate Seeds - sour, and crunchy seeds contain plenty of fiber.
Fresh Figs -from the mulberry family, good with cheese and cured meats.
Persimmons - eat only when ripe, can be astringent in flavor.
Quince - inedible raw - must peel and core and cook. Good slowly cooked into jam.
Fennel - yummy cooked or raw, has a licorice flavor.
It makes it easier to have a healthy kitchen when eating new food and flavors. Try grilling a nice piece of white fish or chicken and topping it with a persimmon salsa.
2 Persimmons - peeled and cut into a small dice
1 Shallot - minced
1/4 Serrano Chili - seeded and minced
1 Tablespoon Lime Juice
1/4 teaspoon Minced Ginger
1 teaspoon Finely Chopped Mint
Salt and Pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients in a bowl and adjust seasoning to your desire.
Sometimes we get into a culinary rut when it comes to cooking. Introduce new foods and your whole family will thank you!
Persimmons
Photo from www.bing.com
Sunday, November 21, 2010
A Healthier Kitchen... Tip # 3 - Make Sure to Keep Your Kitchen "Stocked"
Eating healthy isn't easy for some. When certain people think of healthy food they think bland and boring. Healthy eating can be anything but. It is important when trying to eat better, to give yourself options that pack a punch of flavor, but little of the "bad stuff" (i.e. sodium, fat, refined sugars.)
Healthy Kitchen Tip # 3 - It is important to always keep your kitchen "stocked." With stock that is! Chicken, beef and vegetable stock can add flavor to almost any dish without added fat and very few calories! Be sure to read nutrition labels on store bought stocks, and opt for low sodium ones. Regular store bought chicken stock can pack almost 100 mg of sodium in ONE CUP!! EEEK!!!
Of course, making stock is almost easier than putting on your shoes to go to the store. Chicken stock is made from chicken bones, water, mirepoix and certain herbs. Let's break it down a little further...
Raw Chicken Bones
COLD Water
Mirepoix - 2 part onion, 1 part carrot, 1 part celery - Wash, peel and large dice veggies.
1 Sachet - 1 Bay Leaf, 1 Thyme sprig, 5 Black Peppercorns, 2 Cloves and 3 Parsley Stems. - Wrap in a small piece of cheesecloth, tie with kitchen twine and float in stock.
The ratio of chicken bones to mirepoix is 5:1. Therefore, if you are cooking 5 pounds of chicken bones, you will need 1 pound of mirepoix.
DO NOT ADD SALT TO YOUR STOCK! WAIT AND SEASON THE ACTUAL DISH YOU ARE USING THE STOCK FOR.
Begin with cold water, add all ingredients and simmer uncovered no less than 3 hours. Skim the top occasionally because impurities will rise. Cool stock properly and strain. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to seven days. You could also pour cooled stock into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, empty stock cubes in a freezer bag to free up the ice cube trays.
Now that you have yummy stock, what to do with it you ask? Well, the possibilities are ENDLESS! I love using stock instead of water for soups, cooking rice and for a dash of flavor in sauteed veggies. Use stock to make gravies, stew and basic sauces. Have fun playing with stock in your healthy kitchen!
Healthy Kitchen Tip # 3 - It is important to always keep your kitchen "stocked." With stock that is! Chicken, beef and vegetable stock can add flavor to almost any dish without added fat and very few calories! Be sure to read nutrition labels on store bought stocks, and opt for low sodium ones. Regular store bought chicken stock can pack almost 100 mg of sodium in ONE CUP!! EEEK!!!
Of course, making stock is almost easier than putting on your shoes to go to the store. Chicken stock is made from chicken bones, water, mirepoix and certain herbs. Let's break it down a little further...
Raw Chicken Bones
COLD Water
Mirepoix - 2 part onion, 1 part carrot, 1 part celery - Wash, peel and large dice veggies.
1 Sachet - 1 Bay Leaf, 1 Thyme sprig, 5 Black Peppercorns, 2 Cloves and 3 Parsley Stems. - Wrap in a small piece of cheesecloth, tie with kitchen twine and float in stock.
The ratio of chicken bones to mirepoix is 5:1. Therefore, if you are cooking 5 pounds of chicken bones, you will need 1 pound of mirepoix.
DO NOT ADD SALT TO YOUR STOCK! WAIT AND SEASON THE ACTUAL DISH YOU ARE USING THE STOCK FOR.
Begin with cold water, add all ingredients and simmer uncovered no less than 3 hours. Skim the top occasionally because impurities will rise. Cool stock properly and strain. Store in an air tight container in the fridge for up to seven days. You could also pour cooled stock into ice cube trays and freeze. Once frozen, empty stock cubes in a freezer bag to free up the ice cube trays.
Now that you have yummy stock, what to do with it you ask? Well, the possibilities are ENDLESS! I love using stock instead of water for soups, cooking rice and for a dash of flavor in sauteed veggies. Use stock to make gravies, stew and basic sauces. Have fun playing with stock in your healthy kitchen!
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Healthy Kitchen...The Challenge.
I'm in nutrition class right now... aka I am going to class everyday feeling...well... fat. What's the second best thing about cooking? EATING!! I love eating, demonstrated by my ever growing waistline. Why oh why do butter and cream and chocolate have to be the best things ever created, yet some of the worst for you?
I must beging eating my favorites... "In moderation." My challenge to myself is too start cooking healthy, amazing recipes that will not make my pants shrink. I will share, I promise. For now, I am off to the kitchen!
I must beging eating my favorites... "In moderation." My challenge to myself is too start cooking healthy, amazing recipes that will not make my pants shrink. I will share, I promise. For now, I am off to the kitchen!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
When Life Gives You an Oyster - Shuck It.
I am not a fan of oysters. Not a fan. They are slimy little balls of chewiness. Blah. My father, as well as many other humans, could eat oysters right out of the shell. A little Tabasco and down the hatch! It down right grossed me out. I have had oysters ONE time that I liked them, and that was recently when my friend made fried oyster po boys. Now I could probably eat anything fried in cornmeal and enjoy it, but these babies were pretty amazing.
As aspiring a chef as I may be, I have never shucked an oyster. I have served oysters at Sunday brunch for over a year, but they came pre shucked. (Lucky me right?) I'm not saying I want to shuck 500 oysters for a wedding buffet or anything, but just to be able to say, "Of course I have a shucked an oyster. Duh I'm a chef." But in realizing what goes along with being a chef, maybe I am not as close I once thought I was. I don't want to be some cocky idiot with a tall hat, telling people what to do, I want to have as much culinary knowledge and experience that my food brain can soak up. I have known chefs that have SO much knowledge and if they didn't know, they faked it so well that I thought they knew. These are the chefs that I aspire to be. And how do I become a chef like the ones I have known? Do it. I need to get out there and shuck a dang oyster. And by golly I'd better make a little sauce and eat the sucker too. These time consuming little slime balls will not be a rift in my culinary dreams. They will not beat me! My shiny, unused oyster knife just relaxing in my knife bag will be soaked with the juices of some unlucky little buddies. All that is left to do now, is to shuck it!
As aspiring a chef as I may be, I have never shucked an oyster. I have served oysters at Sunday brunch for over a year, but they came pre shucked. (Lucky me right?) I'm not saying I want to shuck 500 oysters for a wedding buffet or anything, but just to be able to say, "Of course I have a shucked an oyster. Duh I'm a chef." But in realizing what goes along with being a chef, maybe I am not as close I once thought I was. I don't want to be some cocky idiot with a tall hat, telling people what to do, I want to have as much culinary knowledge and experience that my food brain can soak up. I have known chefs that have SO much knowledge and if they didn't know, they faked it so well that I thought they knew. These are the chefs that I aspire to be. And how do I become a chef like the ones I have known? Do it. I need to get out there and shuck a dang oyster. And by golly I'd better make a little sauce and eat the sucker too. These time consuming little slime balls will not be a rift in my culinary dreams. They will not beat me! My shiny, unused oyster knife just relaxing in my knife bag will be soaked with the juices of some unlucky little buddies. All that is left to do now, is to shuck it!
Some of my plated oysters, with which I did not shuck.
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Saturday, September 4, 2010
Who Ordered the Bi Valve?
I have been day dreaming about scallops. (Yes I know, food people day dream about weird things. Heck, maybe its just me.) Anyway, scallops have been on my mind. What exactly are scallops you ask? Besides amazing little culinary delights? Scallops are called bi valve mollusks because they have two hinged shells, or valves. Did you know they also have a series of blue eyes to see and be warned of predators as well? (My source: http://www.assateague.com/)
When I was young, my parents would buy itty bitty frozen scallops, probably not even real...just cheap shark meat wearing a scallop outfit. They would cook them two ways, one sauteed in butter, or fried in cornmeal, yes not the healthiest thing, but stick with me. I used to eat one at a time, enjoying each like it was a piece of exotic candy. The texture was just delicate and beautiful. That is when I developed this ever growing love affair with the little guys.
As I grew older and entered the culinary world I realized that when it comes to scallops, size does matter. That even though those sweet babies my parents would cook were amazing, that bigger ones existed and they were even better! I'm talking lovely golf ball sized scallops. Giving them a perfect golden sear...ahhh....just thinking about them makes my taste buds dance! Scallops have a texture that will literally melt in your mouth with a subtle sea taste. If you have not been exposed to them, please do yourself a favor and buy some! They are the little black dress of the seafood world. Accessorize them with the slightest hint of flavoring, but don't over do it. My favorite thing to do is sear them on both sides and serve them with a lemon grass cream reduction. Vegetable puree's work well also. Try something like carrot. The possibilities are endless... not to mention delicious!
When I was young, my parents would buy itty bitty frozen scallops, probably not even real...just cheap shark meat wearing a scallop outfit. They would cook them two ways, one sauteed in butter, or fried in cornmeal, yes not the healthiest thing, but stick with me. I used to eat one at a time, enjoying each like it was a piece of exotic candy. The texture was just delicate and beautiful. That is when I developed this ever growing love affair with the little guys.
As I grew older and entered the culinary world I realized that when it comes to scallops, size does matter. That even though those sweet babies my parents would cook were amazing, that bigger ones existed and they were even better! I'm talking lovely golf ball sized scallops. Giving them a perfect golden sear...ahhh....just thinking about them makes my taste buds dance! Scallops have a texture that will literally melt in your mouth with a subtle sea taste. If you have not been exposed to them, please do yourself a favor and buy some! They are the little black dress of the seafood world. Accessorize them with the slightest hint of flavoring, but don't over do it. My favorite thing to do is sear them on both sides and serve them with a lemon grass cream reduction. Vegetable puree's work well also. Try something like carrot. The possibilities are endless... not to mention delicious!
Diagram from http://www.enchantedlearning.com/
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