Thursday, April 17, 2008

Bag O'Goodies

Bag o’ Goodies….


Round 2 of the farmer’s market proved to be far more enjoyable than the first; the sun was out, the sky was blue, the flowers were in bloom- what a glorious day! We loaded up our reusable bag (wishing that we’d brought more than one!) Speaking of reusable bags: we recently started carrying a new (beautiful) version of our reusable canvas bags at the store. These simply designed canvas bags are elegant enough to be more than a grocery bag, and are 100% utilitarian. I use mine at the farmer’s market, store, library, for work, as a purse…. Really, the list goes on. The bags are a great deal too- only $5.

So today, I bought lots of flowers, some edible, and plan on finding a creative use for them tonight. I’ll let you know how it goes. (The edible flower trend has become almost mainstream these days!) See you next weekend!
-Josie

Friday, April 11, 2008

Home Artisan

I have this goal to be a creative, 100% artisan when it comes to food. At one (recent) point in my life, I had a freezer full of homemade jam, a yard of fresh vegetables, a deck covered in herbs, and a refrigerator with homemade cheese and bacon. I even made my own bread.
I’m really excited that the spring growing season is here. I have tomato seeds and basil plants in the greenhouse; it’s far too cold for them to be outside now. We’ve begun our little garden; the onion sets are in the ground, our chard is flourishing, we’ve planted our peas- I can just taste the first harvest salad. I want to expand the garden this year, so that I can actually create whole meals from my yard.

Once I get back to making cheese, and bread, and the pork belly in the bottom of my refrigerator is done curing, I’ll have quite the feast. I am looking forward to it!

I'm also looking forward to this weekend.
I'd like to get better at is the art of charcuterie. I had my first taste of sausage making as part of the charcuterie club at school. It’s a really interesting process, with so many variations: aromatics, meats, fats, curing time, style, size and shape. On Sunday, April 13, Randall Cronwell, a teacher at OCI, will be teaching a class on Artisan Sausage Making. He’ll give tips on using spices, grinding the meat and stuffing the sausages. After the class, we can feast on our creations, like fresh sausage and white bean salad. I’m ready to beef up my skills.
-Josie

Tools For Cooks

Cooking, like most hobbies, has its own set of tools and gadgets. There are the basic necessities, without which one cannot do much at all. There are the convenience items that help speed up processes or simplify tasks. And then there are the novelty tools; the ones you don’t really need, but really, really want. There are also gadgets that are far overrated. They’re better for taking up space and cluttering the counter than anything else. (In my opinion) Now, to be honest, I have more than my fair share of “stuff”, and I have no intention of parting with any of it. However, when it really comes down to it, there are a couple of things I can’t live without. Six months ago, when asked what most important kitchen implement was, I’d have said my hands. Second to my hands, I’d say a good knife. My 8 inch chef’s knife is one of my most valued possessions.
While I was at school, I discovered many tools I loved (like the immersion blender), china cap and mortar and pestles. When working with spices, using a mortar and pestle results in a deeper, more pungent flavor. It can also be used for pesto, chile pastes, or crushing ginger or garlic. I like the complex, fragrant flavors that develop when you don’t use a food processor or food grinder.
Last week, a new mortar and pestle set arrived in the store. They are very attractive, come in several colors, and are available in two sizes. Try one for making an aromatic rub for grilled pork, like the Garlic Rosemary Rub.
-Josie

Garlic Rosemary Rub

10 cloves garlic
2.5 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice

Combine all ingredients except the lemon juice in a mortar. Pound the garlic until it is a paste, then work on incorporating the other ingredients. Add the lemon juice and mix well.
Use as a marinade for pork or lamb, or even vegetables that are to be grilled.

Signs of Spring

The farmer’s market is open! I’m looking forward to Round 2 tomorrow, and the weather promises to be far better than last week’s perpetual drizzle.
It was worth braving the cold though, to see the enthusiasm of the crowd, and to get a glimpse of what spring has to offer-
There was green in every direction. To start, swiss chard, broccoli rabe, brightly colored rhubarb. Also, old and new leeks, and lots of fresh eggs, of various colors and sizes.

The most intriguing item for most people were the nettles. I’ve worked with them before and enjoy the unusual, peppery taste. The plant has small, tender leaves. When working with nettles, wear thick rubber gloves and cut off the tender tips and small leaves.
To prepare nettles, they should be blanched in boiling salted water; this will remove the toxic sting, yielding a product similar to blanched spinach. Nettles must be cooked or used dried- don’t eat them raw.
Interestingly, vegetable rennet for making cheese can be extracted from green nettles, and the boiled leaves make a green fabric dye.

At a restaurant in Napa last year, I ordered a first course of Nettle Ravioli with Ricotta; it was a good way to use the nettles. A simpler, lighter use is Nettle Pasta with Buerre Noisette. The herbaceous pasta pairs wells with a quick sauce of nutty brown butter. It would be the perfect end to an early spring day.

-Josie

Nettle Pasta with Buerre Noisette

Thursday, April 3, 2008

More on Cornstarch



Writing about cornstarch prompted a deeper investigation (and a trip to the store for a box of the stuff). There’s really a lot to cornstarch.
Corn starch thickens to a satiny smoothness and glossy appearance. It is flavorless. Recipes thickened with corn starch have a brighter, more translucent appearance than those thickened with flour. Corn starch also blends more easily with cold liquids than flour because it doesn't absorb liquid until it's cooked.
You can use corn starch in place of arrowroot, potato starch or all-purpose flour when thickening sauces or gravies, preparing puddings, and making pies.
Corn starch has the same thickening power as arrowroot, and tapioca, therefore, you can substitute the same amount. However, corn starch has twice the thickening power of plain flour, so it's necessary to use half as much. (i.e., when a recipe calls for 1/4 cup of flour, use 2 tablespoons corn starch).
When you use cornstarch, gradually stir cold liquids into cornstarch until it's completely smooth. Keep stirring gently throughout the cooking period. If you stir too vigorously, the mixture may break down and thin out.
Always cook cornstarch over medium-low to medium heat. (Cooking over high heat can cause lumping or thinning).
Cook the mixtures for a minute; it takes that long for the starch granules to swell to their full capacity, which thickens the mixture.
Remember, cornstarch mixtures can’t be frozen.
So, in the interest of increasing my kitchen knowledge (and not because I’m addicted to chocolate...), I played with recipes for a Dark Chocolate Pudding. This isn’t like Jell-O pudding cups (not that those are bad in any way)- this is the real thing. This pudding is dark, rich, creamy, and thick- the kind that a spoon stands up in. I started with a CIA recipe for white chocolate pudding and made adjustments until I found a combination that I liked.
This goes without saying (but I feel that I must); use a good quality chocolate. It will make a difference, especially since the chocolate flavor really comes through. And, since you’re going to the trouble of making real chocolate pudding, you might as well make real whipped cream to go on top. Because of course, chocolate pudding (as are most sweet things) is even better with whipped cream. And add chocolate shavings while you’re at it.
-Josie

Dark Chocolate Pudding

Through Thick and Thin….

In the class, “660 Curries” with Raghavan Iyer, rice flour was used to bind the pigeon pea fritters. He explained that rice flour doesn’t require a slurry; it can be used as it is. This surprised me, and started me thinking about thickeners in general. I don’t work with rice flour very often, and know very little about it. I figured that I’m not alone in that. How does one decide to use cornstarch or rice flour? Or arrowroot? Which ones need a slurry? What is a slurry?

First, it helps to understand what each thickener is made of and how it’s used, and then look at appropriate application. There are so many thickeners, that you really could write a book on thickeners alone. For the purpose of basic kitchen use, I’m going to look at a few of the more common ones.

Cornstarch is a so -called “super-thickener”. It is made of starchy granules that attract liquids and expand. However, the expansion only lasts for a short time, and breaks down with high temperatures. It should also be noted that acidic foods decrease the thickening power of cornstarch.
Before adding it to hot foods, make a paste by mixing cornstarch with cold water- this is called a slurry be careful not to overcook as it will begin to break down and thin out. Stir continuously but gently; too much vigorous whisking will cause loss of texture.

Once the cornstarch paste (slurry) has been added, cook over medium heat and bring to a boil for about one minute. Remove from heat. Recipes with cornstarch should not be frozen.

Cornstarch will result in a cloudy sauce or filling (like lemon meringue pie), but creates a nice sheen on pie crusts.

There are many other ways to use cornstarch. Popular shortbread and cake recipes call for replacing some of the flour in the recipes with cornstarch to produce a finer texture. You can also make your own cake flour by replacing some of the flour with cornstarch.

Tapioca starch is made from cassava plant. It is can be used both in desserts and savory recipes. It is essentially flavorless, and is noted for its texture as a thickening agent. It does not require a slurry.

Arrowroot is a white powder extracted from the root of a West Indian plant. It both looks and feels like cornstarch, and is used in a similar manner. It is flavorless. Arrowroot mixtures thicken at a lower temperature than those mixtures made cornstarch. Before adding to hot liquids, mix arrowroot with the cool liquids in the recipe (this is the same slurry that is used for cornstarch). Cook it until the mixture thickens, and remove from heat immediately to prevent mixture from thinning. To substitute arrowroot for cornstarch, use two teaspoons of arrowroot can be substituted for every 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Arrowroot results in a clear, shimmering gel, like a fruit Jell-O. It can also prevent ice crystals from forming in homemade ice cream.

Wondra is the same as instant flour. It is a low protein, pregelatinized wheat flour to which some malted barley flour has been added. The processing of it results in a fine grained flour that dissolves quickly in either hot or cold liquids, and is most often used to thicken gravies and sauces.

Rice flour is a finely ground powder of rice, used commonly in Indian cooking. It is used as is, without making a slurry.

Hopefully, this short study in thickeners helps clarify the basic types available, how to use them, and where they’re from. Again, this is not an exhaustive explanation- as you can see, it’s quite a thick subject.
-Josie

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

Currying Flavor

Marinated Chicken with Almonds and Peppers

March certainly went out like a lion, weather wise (who knew it would snow in March?). And, March classes at In Good Taste ended on a roaring note as well. Celebrated Indian food guru Raghaven Iyer taught “660 Curries”. (That’s almost two curries for every day of the year!) It was a nourishing experience in every sense of the word.
We started with plates of crispy pigeon pea fritters with a silky yogurt-tomato sauce, consumed moist catfish with mango-coconut sauce, and devoured juicy chicken with almonds and peppers. His Basmati Rice with Spinach and Onion was cooked perfectly. For dessert, there was succulent pineapple, raisins and chiles over vanilla ice cream. In a word- yum. But Raghaven didn’t stop with the food. He also brought a pantry of knowledge, featuring tricks and tips of the most interesting (and useful) kind.
For example- his rice dish was a result of the correct ratio of rice to water (1 cup soaked rice and 1 ½ cups water) and good quality Tilda rice. Everyone took notes as quickly as they could- struggling to decide whether to take notes, or take another bite. To whet your appetite, here are a few of the best nuggets of information that I walked away with.
-the thinner the chile, the hotter it is
-“Indian bay leaves” = leaves of the cinnamon tree
-good basmati rice is aged at least 5 years- this helps reduce the starch levels.
-there are 125 varieties of mango in India
-there is no need to make a slurry when using rice flour as a thickener

-Josie