Zester Daily

5.6.13 -

I pause, unsure how my question will be received. “Have you had kale chips?”

That was the first time I posed the question to a patient in a medical exam room. With more than a decade of practicing internal medicine under my belt, I had never felt particularly inspired or successful in counseling my patients about their weight. Then I attended Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives (HKHL), an annual medical conference at the Culinary Institute of America in St. Helena, Calif., a gathering aimed at training doctors in nutrition and cooking. Within weeks upon my return, I was “prescribing” my first recipe.

Like many of my patients in the San Francisco Bay Area, John, who is in his late 40s, is overweight. He has never been successfully motivated to slim down because no “diet” has ever worked for him. When I bring up his chart and show him his body mass index (BMI), he says,  ”I’m fat, but nothing I try ever works.”

Chipping away at the weight issue

“What do you eat on an average day?” I ask. “Do you eat fruits and vegetables?” John says he loves vegetables and loves to cook. He even volunteers at a local farmers market. But he has a weakness: “Chips,” he says. “I can’t stop eating chips.” John’s idea of chips is the potato variety, soaked in fat, fried and overly salted. I suggest he try kale chips and give him a simple recipe (see below). I tell him he can eat as many as he likes.

A month later, John has lost 5 pounds and is perceptibly happier and more confident. “Doc,” he says, “No doctor has ever given me a recipe before. Those kale chips are so good! Thank you.”

Granted, obese patients need more than a recipe for kale chips to find their way to a healthy weight, but a simple nutritious and non-fattening recipe is a first step and a great incentivizer. By giving John a fantastic-tasting substitute for his beloved chips rather than forbidding him to eat one of his favorite treats, I was able to convey that a different way of eating would allow him to enjoy snacks while feeling healthier and losing weight along the way.

Healthy recipe Rx

When doctors discuss food, it’s usually in the context of nutrition rather than flavor, as in: “You’ve really got to cut back on the junk food.” Well, patients know that, they just may not know what to replace their junk food with. What if doctors began giving out simple recipes for healthful, whole-food alternatives before they handed out prescriptions for cholesterol-lowering medication? Or gave a prescription for exercise and a decadent tasting fruit-based dessert to help control blood pressure?

Traditionally, medical schools do not include coursework in nutrition or, certainly, in cooking, and insurance companies are unlikely to reimburse for nutritional counseling. It’s much faster and easier to write a prescription for a drug, and because it may require no change in lifestyle or self-discipline on the part of patients, they may prefer a pill as well. And if the doctors themselves aren’t the best role models, due to long work hours and the same poor dietary and exercise habits she is asking her patients to rectify, they may not have credibility behind their message.

How do we change this? First, doctors must learn about nutrition and healthy cooking. Showing patients how to shop and cook, and giving them actual recipes should be the next step doctors take. This would instigate a cultural shift and require advocating for insurance coverage, but the change would improve the nation’s health and save health-care dollars in the long run.

Cooking for the cure

Dr. David Eisenberg, a professor at Harvard Medical School, is devoted to this idea. He founded Healthy Kitchens, Healthy Lives with the goal of turning physicians into foot soldiers in the war against obesity and other nutrition-related diseases. Over a four-day course each March, doctors swap scalpels for chef’s knives, and white coats for aprons, as they attend cooking demonstrations and get hands-on in the kitchen. They leave the conference with a changed perspective and a renewed zeal to talk prevention.

“I’d like to see the medical profession and the culinary community join forces,” says Eisenberg, “and make a united front to improve the nation’s health.”

An HKHL alumnus, Dr. John Principe, completely restructured his Chicago-area practice and now has a teaching kitchen. Principe, who says that he had been “burnt to a crisp by the methods of conventional medicine,” credits Eisenberg and HKHL for saving his career. “The ability to empower people to take control of their health through the simple tools of a knife, fire and water is amazing,” he says. “It’s primitive but essential!”

A sprinkling of other programs around the country are also taking the initiative in teaching doctors how to cook. Dr. Robert Graham, associate program director for the Internal Medicine Residency at New York City’s Lenox Hill Hospital, runs a six-week program to instruct medical residents in nutrition, weight management and exercise. Students take cooking classes at the Institute of Culinary Education. The University of Massachusetts Medical School offers cooking classes tailored to physicians’ medical specialties, and Tulane University’s Medical School and Johnson and Wales University recently established the first Culinary Medicine collaboration, with the goal of pairing physicians and chefs.

So picture this: At your next checkup, you’ll be weighed in, get your blood pressure checked, and your latest cholesterol and blood sugar numbers. Then your doctor will hand you her favorite kale chip recipe or one that turns frozen bananas into ice cream. It seems far-fetched now, but it would make medical and fiscal sense to make such a scenario a reality in the immediate future.

Dr. Shiue’s Kale Chips

Ingredients

1 head kale, washed and completely dried

a few pinches of salt, to taste

1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Wash whole kale leaves, shake out or dry in a salad spinner, then place on a rack to dry thoroughly. Depending on your temperature and humidity conditions, this can take an hour or several hours. Alternatively, dry thoroughly with towels.

2. Preheat oven to 275 F.

3. Once kale leaves are completely dried, tear leaves off the fibrous central stem into bite-size (potato chip sized) pieces and place onto two baking sheets in a single layer with some space around each leaf.

4. Sprinkle on salt and drizzle with a small amount of olive oil, about 1 tablespoon per baking sheet. Toss with tongs to evenly distribute salt and oil.

5. Place prepared kale leaves into the preheated oven, and bake for 20 minutes, turning over leaves halfway through baking.

Serve immediately.

Variations: Experiment with tasty seasonings, including cayenne pepper with a squeeze of lime juice, Bragg Nutritional Yeast and nori furikake.

Top photo: Baked kale chips. Credit: iStockphoto

4.8.13 -

“One of the most significant medical discoveries of the 21st century is that inflammation is the common thread connecting chronic diseases,” writes Dr. Mark Hyman, author of several books on health and wellness. The conditions he’s talking about include diabetes, heart disease, obesity and even cancer, all driven by inflammatory foods in your diet. But the good news is there are lots of foods to decrease inflammation, too.

Cut your finger, and observe what happens: redness, swelling, thumping pain. That’s the process of inflammation —  the immune system rushing in, sending growth signals to the skin and blood vessels to help repair damaged tissues. Now imagine you have a chronic wound that just won’t heal.  ”It’s like wild fire out of control,” Dr. William Li told USA Today, describing the inflammatory process that drives the proliferation of cancerous cells.

When the immune system detects cancer, it produces inflammatory molecules to help put out the fire. But tumor cells are sneaky. They mask themselves to keep the immune system from prevailing and feed off the growth signals that inflammation creates. What’s more, cancer cells initiate inflammation on their own, secreting inflammatory chemicals that cause more proliferation and growth, and the cascade continues. The cancer cells increase exponentially, refusing to die like normal cells, producing masses called tumors that generate blood vessels on their own so they can nourish themselves, grow bigger and spread.

Fat cells, too, secrete inflammatory chemicals, underscoring the link between obesity and chronic disease.

So what causes chronic inflammation?

Hyman blames the usual culprits, including lack of exercise, stress, overeating, refined carbs, processed foods, sugars and artificial sweeteners, imbalances in gut bacteria, insufficient fiber, dairy, gluten and bad fats.

Unlike proteins, which our body breaks down into amino acids, the fats we eat get incorporated directly into our cell membranes, said Jeanne Wallace, a Ph.D. in nutrition who has reviewed the thousands of studies on diet and cancer. In a multi-step process, those fats then signal our cells to secrete chemicals that are either inflammatory or anti-inflammatory. The good fats — the ones that get converted into prostaglandin E3s and signal cells to reduce inflammation — include omega 3 fatty acids, she explained, found in abundance in wild, fatty fish, in animals raised on pastures and in a few plant foods, including flax, chia and walnuts to some degree.

The bad guys are certain omega 6 fatty acids from commercially-raised animals and trans fats from fried and processed foods, including oils that are hardened via the process of hydrogenation and turned into shortening, into some margarines and sometimes into commercial nut butters. These fats get converted into prostaglandin E2s and other chemicals that promote inflammation.

The bad guys, however, can also include plant sources high in omega 6 fatty acids– beans, grains, nuts, seeds and especially their oils,  Wallace said.

The problem here is that fat conversion can go either way, she said. The fat may be converted into healthy or unhealthy prostaglandins, depending on your insulin levels and other factors in your body, and we have very little control over the process. Wallace, who counsels cancer patients on diet and supplements, recommends eating these whole plant foods in moderation and avoiding most plant oils, which contain an overabundance of omega 6s. Olive oil is her oil of choice because of the abundance of omega 9 fatty acids, neutral in their effects on inflammation, along with other compounds that impede it.

Through her extensive research, Wallace has identified these foods to fight inflammation.

Top foods to decrease inflammation:

10 Apples and apple cider. Wallace, however, advises her clients with blood sugar issues to avoid fruit juice because of the sugars and to eat apples along with a little protein or fat, which will slow down the sugars’ absorption.

9 Brightly colored berries. These are also on Wallace’s top 10 list of foods that regulate blood sugar.

8 Olive oil. Buy cold-pressed, extra virgin oil in dark bottles, Wallace advised. And when you cook with it, use a low temperature and don’t let it smoke.

7 Hot peppers. They’re high in capsaicin, a potent compound that generates heat and inhibits inflammation.

6 Onions. Have you ever known a vegetable so sweet yet so mighty? According to onion experts, the best ones are the red and yellow-skinned varieties grown in northern soils. Peel them gently, then cut them and then let them sit for a half hour to develop the full complement of healthy compounds.

5 Grass-fed, grass-finished (often called pastured) organic meat, dairy and eggs. Visit the Eat Wild website to find good local sources of these products. And when in doubt, ask farmers what they feed their animals to increase omega 3s. You don’t want “grain-fed,” which increases omega 6s.

4 Leafy green vegetables, especially spinach. Wash these vegetables well even if the package says they’ve been pre-washed because the threat of the E. coli contamination is real. Cook spinach to help you absorb its minerals.

3 Green tea. Look for fresh-smelling, green leaves, especially gyokuros and senchas

2 Wild, fatty, cold-water fish Choose fish that are small and eat low on the food chain, including anchovies, sardines, herring and wild salmon. Here’s a list of some good salmon choices, including canned salmon from BPA-free cans. Also, eat the fat, which contains the healthy omega 3s.

1 Culinary seasonings. Curry, ginger, garlic and parsley top the list of foods that fight inflammation. All herbs and spices are rich in antioxidants, Wallace said, which help protect fragile omega 3 oils from turning rancid when heated. Even more significant, they inhibit inflammation-promoting molecules (called nuclear factor kappa B) that cancer cells secrete. In fact, some scientists suggest that spice consumption might explain why cancer incidence is so much lower in India than in most Western countries, giving “the spice of life” its most significant spin yet.

Simple Spicy Salmon, With Ginger Juice and Garlic

My secret to moist, tasty salmon is a clay baking dish, which is available in most kitchen specialty stores. You have to soak it in cold water for half an hour before using it and then place it, along with the ingredients, in a cold oven. Trust me. I’ve cracked many a clay vessel.

Serves 4
Ingredients

4 cloves garlic, chopped, divided in half

3 heaping tablespoons grated ginger

4 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

2 large pieces of wild salmon

Pinch of red pepper flakes

Directions

1. Soak the pot in cold water for half an hour.

2. Prepare the sauce. Chop the garlic first. It needs to sit about 15 minutes before cooking to develop its host of cancer-fighting compounds.  Grate the ginger, then squeeze the juice out of it into a mixing bowl. Add the lemon juice, salt, pepper and half the garlic and stir.

3. Place the fish in the clay pot and add the sauce.  Sprinkle red pepper on top and then cover.

4. Place covered clay pot in a cold oven, then turn the oven to 350 F and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until fish is flaky. Add the remainder of the garlic at the end.

Top photo: Simple spicy salmon, with ginger juice and garlic. Credit: Harriet Sugar Miller

4.4.13 -

Chinese meat demand overtook that of the United States in 1992, and according to the Earth Policy Institute, the Chinese were eating more than double the amount of meat that Americans were consuming last April.

Today, classic Chinese vegetarian recipes are falling out of favor as meat consumption continues its ascent in China while it declines in the United States. Yet both nations must take responsibility to work together to minimize the impact that meat consumption has on the environment.

Traditionally, Chinese cuisine demanded far less meat than today’s Western diets as it was often used sparingly for stocks and sauces, as flavoring or as garnish to add texture to veggie-based dishes. Meat, especially pork, has always signified wealth and thus, with rising incomes, Mainlanders in China have wholeheartedly embraced a meat-heavy diet to demonstrate success. Pork and also fish are particularly important at business meals, as conspicuous consumption is said to “give face,” or demonstrate prestige and respect, to guests.

Chefs teaching classic Chinese vegetarian recipes

Not all Chinese are moving in this direction, though. I recently attended a monthly cooking class hosted at Tianchu Miaoxiang organized by Sixth Step Buddhist Retreat, a program that invites Beijing residents to spend a weekend in nature, meditating and learning about the Buddhist lifestyle.

Each month, free classes are organized to help residents learn how to cook non-meat dishes using seasonal ingredients. This time, Chef Tian, a Sichuanese chef, taught us to cook with mushrooms, eggplant and Chinese yam, known in Mandarin as “shanyao” 山药 This tuber is grown in areas surrounding Beijing and throughout northern China.

Before winter comes to an end, head to your local Chinatown or Asian specialty food shops and take advantage of these two (translated) recipes.

I included the Chinese ingredient names for rare items so you can show this to the shopkeeper, assuming s/he can read Chinese characters.

Faux Coral Fish Rolls (珊瑚鱼卷)

The original recipe suggests imitation fish 素鱼一条 but I don’t like to cook with imitation meats and moreover this will be hard to find outside of Greater China.

For the fish rolls:

1 package tofu skins 豆腐皮

1 kilogram shitake mushrooms 鲜香菇

1 kilogram winter bamboo 冬笋

1 medium-sized carrot 胡萝卜

1 kilogram eryngii mushrooms 杏鲍菇 (or any other type of mushroom you enjoy)

1 bunch coriander 香菜

½ green and red bell pepper each 青红椒

1 celery stalk 芹菜(for garnish)

2 grams salt

2 grams mushroom powder (non-meat bullion works) 蘑菇精

Optional: 1 can of imitation ham 素火腿 (can be bought at Chinese shops)

Directions

1. Cut the tofu skins into squares about 3×3 inches (these will be used like taco shells).

2. Julienne the shitake, bamboo, carrot and eryngii.

3. Separate the coriander leaves from the stems and save both.

4. Thinly slice the bell peppers and if you’d like, the imitation ham.

5. Take the celery and slice thinly length-wise; flute the tail.

6. Steep all ingredients in water until ready to use (the celery tails will curl).

7. Take all ingredients out of the water and layer atop the tofu skins. Roll the tofu skins up (like a soft taco or burrito), then tie closed with the coriander stems; set aside.

8. Microwave the tofu rolls for 1 minute.

For the sauce:

3 grams oil

Minced ginger to taste

10 grams ketchup

5 grams tomato sauce

10 grams sugar

8 grams white vinegar 白醋

½ cup of water

Directions

1. In a wok, heat the oil and cook the ginger until fragrant, then add the ketchup, tomato sauce until bubbling then add sugar and white vinegar; cook until the sugar melts and add a ½ cup of water until it boils.

2. Take the boiled tomato sauce and pour atop the micro-waved rolls; use the bell pepper strips and fluted celery to garnish.

XO Sauce Eggplant Sticks (XO 茄条)

Serves 8 to 10 as an amuse-bouche, canapé or appetizer

Ingredients

2 Asian eggplants (the long variety not the round one), sliced into sticks (the size of French fries will do)

2grams minced ginger

XO sauce (a fermented and flavorful fish paste available at any Asian goods food shop; as it’s usually made with shrimp or fish, if you are vegan ask for 素XO浆)

2 grams garlic oil (you can make this by adding a few garlic heads to vegetable oil and letting it sit)

2 grams salt

2 grams mushroom powder

8 to 10 narrow cocktail glasses

Directions

1. Place the eggplant on a microwave-safe plate and cover with plastic wrap; microwave for 5 to 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl, place the cooked eggplant, ginger, garlic oil, salt, and mushroom powder together and mix together until ingredients are distributed evenly.

3. Spoon the eggplant mixture into the cocktail glasses and press down.

4. Spoon XO sauce atop the mixture, garnish with the coriander leaves leftover from the tofu rolls.

Crispy Chinese Yam (酥山药)

Ingredients

200 grams Chinese yam

Oil

Tempura powder (to coat)

Spiced salt (a dash)

Green and red bell pepper, minced (for garnish)

Directions

1. Cut the yam into ½-inch slices and blanch in boiling water briefly before dropping into cold water and leaving until ready to use again.

2. Pour oil into a wok until it is  about 2 inches deep and heat until 250 F (or the surface is starting to undulate).

3. Take the yam slices and drop into the tempura powder until evenly coated, then drop into the oil and deep fry until the exterior turns a golden yellow; remove with chopsticks or a slotted spoon and place on paper towels to let dry.

4. Drop the minced red and green pepper and drop into the wok with the remaining oil, fry until fragrant and then add the fried yam slices, turning over in the oil until evenly cooked. 5. Sprinkle with spiced salt.

6. Remove with slotted spoon onto plate; eat immediately.

Top photo: Eggplants in cups. Credit: Manuela Zoninsein

3.29.13 -

Along with the return of robins and whirling bees, I count the appearance of dandelions among the first signs that spring has officially arrived. I look forward to seeing their cheery butter-yellow flowers, and admire their tenacity as plants. It takes a survivor’s spirit and dogged determination to thrive in the manner of dandelions, growing everywhere from lush fields to the worst of disturbed ground, even in cracks of sidewalks. As much as I admire dandelions’ perseverance, I also particularly enjoy them as a food. Their edgy bitter green flavor is a welcome addition to mealtime after a long winter filled with dreary grey skies and heavy slow-cooked dishes.

Every part of the dandelion plant is edible. Perhaps you’ve enjoyed a salad of bitter greens served with bacon and a splash of vinegar, or savored a cup of dandelion root coffee. You may even have delighted in dandelion flower fritters or sipped dandelion wine. But have you eaten every part of the dandelion?

Where to look for the best dandelions

I learned from edible wild plants expert Samuel Thayer how to eat two of the less commonly eaten parts of dandelions, the flower stalks and crowns. After a few years experience eating them, I’d say that dandelion crowns are among my favorite spring foods.

I playfully call them “yard artichokes,” because their rich flavor is somewhat reminiscent of artichoke hearts.

To find the best dandelion flower stalks to use as food, seek out large plants in shady areas. These grow in tall grass, which forces the stalk to grow quite long in order for the flower to not be obscured by grass. Longer stalks mean more food with less picking. Seek out the youngest, most pale green flower stalks, as they will be most tender.

Remove the flower heads from the stalks (and be certain to eat them or make dandelion wine). Boil whole flower stalks in boiling water for 10 minutes, as recommended by Thayer, then drain them. Serve dandelion stalk “noodles” dressed with a little butter and salt, or incorporate them into your favorite dishes as a vegetable.

Harvesting tips

Harvesting dandelion crowns takes a bit more technique. The crown of the dandelion is the tight knot where the leaves meet the tap root. Even in a large plant, it may not be more than a single bite, but it is a very satisfying one. Seek out young spring dandelion plants that have not yet flowered. Look for plants with a tight nest of new buds at their core.

If you are harvesting an entire dandelion plant, either because you intend to eat it, or because you are, gasp, weeding it, the first step is to wash the plant free of as much dirt as possible. Cut off the root, and peel away the outer leaves, and you will be left with the little nugget that is the crown. Rinse it again as thoroughly as possible under running water because it is likely to be very dirty.

Thayer, however, has come up with a clever method of harvesting dandelion crowns without all of the dirt. He uses a sturdy teaspoon with sharpened edges to selectively harvest crowns from the plants. I’ve found that a grapefruit spoon with serrated edges or a pocketknife also work well. Again, seek out large dandelion plants that have yet to flower. Use your spoon or knife to carve a cone-shaped piece of crown right out of the plant, which is still in the ground. Harvested in this manner, the plants require little additional rinsing to remove any remaining grit and dirt. Even if you intend to later remove the entire plant, if you find that you particularly enjoy dandelion crowns, harvesting them in this manner saves time.

Dandelion crowns have a touch of the same bitterness as dandelion leaves and feel like a solid bite of vegetable in the mouth. Use dandelion crowns as you would asparagus, adding them to any soup, salad, or stir-fry. They can be eaten raw, but I prefer to serve them cooked.

My favorite way to serve “yard artichokes” is similar to how I’d serve real artichokes. Steam prepared dandelion crowns until they can easily be pierced with a knife, usually around 10 minutes. While they are steaming, prepare small ramekins full of melted butter kissed with a squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt. Dip the steamed dandelion crowns into the butter bath before enjoying the tender morsels like the toast of spring that they are.

Top photo: Dandelions. Credit: Erica Marciniec

3.8.13 -

When Julia Cotts, executive director of the Garden School Foundation, invited me to teach a Japanese cooking class to the garden club at 24th Street Elementary School in Los Angeles, I chose two classic Japanese dishes: miso soup and onigiri, or rice balls. Basic miso soup is made with seafood stock called dashi and seasoned with miso paste. Tofu, scallions and seaweed are familiar ingredients in everyday miso soup. Onigiri is a portable rice ball made with short-grain rice; it’s filled with a morsel of meat, fish or pickled vegetable and wrapped in nori seaweed.

What was different from my usual Japanese cooking classes was the choice of ingredients I was given to work with. “We will use the vegetables and fruits grown by the children,” Cotts  explained. I was ready to discover new flavors for my miso soup and to teach how to make onigiri by hand.

The first things you notice upon setting foot into the elementary school’s garden are the beautiful pepper trees. They help diffuse the noise of the nearby freeway and filter the dust of the city. In 2003, a group of teachers and parents came up with the idea of turning the school’s old concrete parking lot into a community garden instead of paving it with new asphalt. Ten years later, the garden is thriving. A variety of winter root vegetables and leafy greens as well as herbs grow in the raised beds. One entire section of the garden is devoted to growing fruit trees. The kumquat and Satsuma tangerine trees have clusters of bright orange fruit ready to be picked. Bird feeders made from pine cones smeared with peanut butter hang on tree branches. I am enchanted with this garden. It reminds me of the garden in the novel “The Secret Garden” — one that has magical healing powers. Only this garden is real. It’s an exemplary garden where children can learn to appreciate nature and develop life skills by learning how to grow food.

For the cooking class, more than 50 children and parents, mostly Latinos, came to watch as I made miso soup and onigiris. Some of the parents only spoke Spanish, but the children were eager translators. “Hojas de Marisco,” someone said about the big kombu seaweed I dropped in the soup to make the dashi broth. Most of the children had seen seaweed washed up on the beach but never eaten it. “Seaweed is like a vegetable,” I said as I took the hydrated seaweed out of the broth. “It’s full of good nutrients like vitamins and fiber.”

I cut up the seaweed and passed it around for everyone to try.  Some brought it up to their nose to smell. Some thought the seaweed felt rubbery. I loved hearing their reactions and giggles. “Don’t you sauté some onions in oil first?” asked one parent. “No, I don’t use any oil to make miso soup,” I said.

Next, I threw in a bag of dried bonito flakes, which look like wood shavings. The konbu seaweed was strange, but the bonito flakes looked even stranger. I strained the ingredients to finish the dashi broth. Everyone was entranced by the aroma of the amber-colored dashi.

Nontraditional ingredients flavor miso soup

To flavor the soup, the children harvested broccoli, kale, Swiss chard, cauliflower, lettuce and a variety of herbs like parsley, dill, oregano, chives, cilantro, epazote and savory — not exactly what I would consider candidates for making miso soup. But it was up to the children to decide, and let’s begin by saying freshness is the best ingredient for all cooks.

They washed and chopped the vegetables and filled the stock pot all the way to the rim.  I let the soup simmer awhile and then added the miso paste. It was the most colorful, complex and fragrant miso soup I ever concocted. Everyone tried using the chopsticks to pick up the morsels of vegetables from the soup. Some used them as a skewer. Who would have thought of using these herbs in the soup except the children who grew the foods in this garden?

A long soup line formed immediately, and everyone was drinking it with gusto. Some fathers gathered around the pot of miso soup asking for more. “It’s like menudo but healthier,” one father remarked. “This miso soup is so delicious,” shouted Cotts, who gave some to her toddler son.

We then moved on to making the onigiris with the rice I brought, and we decorated them with herbs, flowers, fruit and vegetables. The rice grains stuck on fingers, so I told them to dunk their hands in the bowl of water before handling the rice. Japanese rice is stickier than the long-grain rice Latinos are used to eating. Some children were already familiar with nori seaweed from eating sushi. Onigiris are like sushi’s distant cousin — another finger food, but without the fish on top. The pack of 50 sheets of nori disappeared in no time.  Some children decorated the onigiris with nasturtiums and kumquats. I have never seen onigiris so colorful and original. I was relieved that none looked like Hello Kitty. Those few onigiris that were not quickly eaten sat on the vinyl floral tablecloth bathing in the sun with the loveliest expressions.

Dashi broth

Ingredients

1 (6-inch long) piece of Kombu seaweed

4 cups filtered water

2 cups bonito flakes (Katsuobushi)

Directions

1. Take the kombu and make several crosswise slits in it using scissors.

2. Steep the kombu in 4 cups water over medium heat. Just before the water comes to a boil, pluck the seaweed out of the water. Discard or use it to make optional secondary dashi (see below).

3. Turn heat to low, then add 2 cups dried bonito flakes. Do not stir. Let the bonito flakes steep gently like tea for one minute. Turn off the heat.

4. Strain the mixture in a sieve lined with a paper towel or cheesecloth, and then the dashi is ready to be used for making soups and sauces. Discard the flakes or use it to make secondary dashi.

Variation: For added umami flavor, add one or two dehydrated shiitake mushrooms to the dashi. First, soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup of water overnight. Add the soaking liquid and the mushrooms to the broth. Keep it in the broth to simmer. Follow Step 4. Discard the mushroom or slice it up and eat it with a little soy sauce or put it in your miso soup.

Secondary dashi

To make secondary dashi, combine the used kombu seaweed and bonito flakes with 4½ cups of filtered water in the same saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, then strain. It is great for use in miso soup.

Miso soup

Makes 4 servings

This miso soup is made with turnips, snow peas and tofu.  You can use a variety of vegetables in your miso soup.

Ingredients

4 cups prepared dashi, divided

2 baby turnips, thinly sliced

5 to 8 snow peas, veins removed

⅓ of a tofu brick, sliced into half-inch cubes

3½ to 4 tablespoons white or red miso paste or a combination of both

Directions

1. Pour 3½ cups of dashi into a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the turnip and snow peas and cook over low heat for 1 minute.

2. Thin the mixture with a half cup of dashi broth. Add enough to lend flavor without making the broth too salty.

3. Add the tofu to the broth. Bring to a simmer until the tofu is heated, about one minute.

4. Add the miso paste and mix thoroughly into the soup.

5. Divide the broth between four bowls. Garnish with scallions and serve.

Tip: Miso soup does not improve in flavor when reheated, so you will experience full flavor once all the ingredients are added.

Creative Onigiris

Makes 4 onigiris

Onigiri molds come in different shapes and sizes. Moisten the mold and place it over a slightly damp cutting board to prevent the rice from sticking. You can also use your hands to mold the onigiris.

Ingredients

2 cups freshly cooked short-grain rice

Salt to taste

Onigiri mold, or you can use your hands to mold the onigiris

A small bowl of water to dunk your hands and mold

Directions

1. Season the rice with salt to your taste. Fill the mold halfway with rice and make a small dent in the middle and place the filling (see below) in it.

2. Cover the rest of the mold with rice and pack it in well without pressing too hard.

3. Turn the mold over to take out the onigiri. Dunk your hands in the bowl of water and moisten your hands lightly. Press the onigiri with your hand so it holds its shape.

4. Wrap the onigiri with a strip of nori seaweed or serve it plain or with furikake (see below).

Tip: Stick your wet finger into a bowl of salt and dab the salt on your palm before molding the rice.

Fillings ideas

• Umeboshi (pitted pickled plum)

• Salmon

• Grilled chicken

Sprinkle ideas for the top of the onigiri, called furikake

• Roasted black or white sesame seeds

• Various nuts

• Katsuobushi (bonito flakes)

• Raisins

• Herbs

• Vegetables

Wrap ideas

• Nori seaweed cut into strips

• Shiso leaves

Top photo: Children in the cooking class taste the miso paste. Credit: Sonoko Sakai

2.22.13 -

Hear this, Congress: Scientists do make a difference!

Recently, researchers have begun turning their attention to a burning question in food science: Should you eat vegetables raw or cooked? The answers are evolving, and a lot more complex than a simple yes or no. It depends on what vegetable you’re talking about and how you cook it.

Cabbage, like other cruciferous vegetables,  is teeming with cancer-preventive compounds, but you have to handle it tenderly to reap those special rewards. Food scientist and crucifer expert Dr. Paul Thornalley, of the University of Warwick in Great Britain, has some practical advice for capitalizing on cabbage.

Tip 1: Keep the touch gentle. Eat cabbage raw or lightly cooked.

Cooking cabbage (and other crucifers) at high temperatures for prolonged periods destroys the active enzyme myrosinase, needed to turn compounds called glucosinolates into others called isothiocyanates, which in turn are responsible for the cancer-preventive actions. Translation, please?

Cabbage rolls probably won’t turn the trick.

Lab studies have shown that crucifers can prevent cells from being damaged by toxins, inhibit cancer cell proliferation and the inflammation that drives it, and suppress the growth of blood vessels that cancer cells make in order to spread. (That’s the process of angiogenesis.) Several studies have also shown reduced rates of certain cancers among people with diets high in crucifers.

When you boil cabbage leaves, however, the myrosinase is destroyed and the glucosinolates end up in the liquid, Thornalley said.  To help preserve the enzymes, do a quick sauté or light steam instead.  Even if the heat destroys some of them, bacteria in your gut will take over their role and transform glucosinolates into isothiocyanates to some degree. As for microwave cooking, to minimizeglucosinolate loss, keep the time, temp and amount of water you use low.

What about baking or braising or roasting crucifers? Thornalley hasn’t tested that yet, but said that very high temperatures — much higher than 212 F (100 C, the boiling point of water) — for prolonged periods will probably kill them off. In fact with all crucifers, if you’re aiming for the most cancer-preventive activity, raw is best, he said. 

Tip 2: When you cut crucifers, make sure the pieces are fairly large.

They should be about half an inch (a centimeter) or larger for vegetable leaves such as cabbage and ⅕ teaspoon (a millileter) or larger for flowers such as broccoli.  Using smaller cuts, Thornalley said, will destroy the enzyme’s ability to create the cascade of actions that produce cancer-fighting compounds.

Tip 3: Don’t let cut crucifers sit on the counter for more than two to three hours.

They will lose those magic compounds. Instead, keep cut cabbage and other crucifers in the fridge, where the compounds should last for several days, he said.

 So if you’re not counting on cabbage rolls or finely-shredded coleslaw for your daily dose of cancer-fighting crucifers, what can you do with that head of cabbage instead? Here are some ideas (from my humble kitchen, not Thornalley’s lab):

• Raw chunky coleslaw – Cut in strips at least ½ inch thick. Dress with cold-pressed, extra virgin olive oil and a little vinegar. Add raw scallions, cut on the diagonal, carrots and red peppers, julienned. It doesn’t seem to matter how small you cut the carrots, peppers and scallions. Top with caraway or cumin seeds, which may help avert the gas. And chew well, over and over, which, from my abundant experience, definitely aids in that department.

• Raw chunky cabbage soup — This can be any variety of healthy soup, with the cabbage added at the end so that it doesn’t actually cook. Cut the cabbage in ½-inch squares (or larger), which are easier to get into your mouth than long, thickish strips.

• Lightly sautéed cabbage – Sauté chunky strips briefly in olive oil on low to medium heat. (Don’t let the oil smoke because that turns it rancid.) Add spices, seeds, sauces, other quickly sautéed veggies. Wrap the mixture in a lettuce or steamed collard leaf, or serve up a moo shu platter.

• Lightly steamed cabbage – Use a steamer so that the cabbage doesn’t cook in the water and use as little water as possible. Cook quickly, then add some tasty seeds, herbs, sauce. And it can’t hurt to throw the cooking water back into the final dish.

• Sauerkraut – It’s simply raw cabbage that’s been fermented, meaning healthy bacteria are produced, which increase the cancer-fighting properties. Look for local brands that haven’t been pasteurized (heated in order to destroy germs.) Or make your own. For a more potent anti-cancer recipe, add some turmeric to mustard and mix with the kraut. Or stir this turmeric concoction into the mustard. The black pepper enhances turmeric’s cancer-fighting actions; the cumin powder, its earthy flavor.

• Kimchi — This is fermented cabbage, Korean style. Find a local supplier who doesn’t use loads of sugar to counter the intensity, or make your own. And be forewarned: Korean red pepper powder can be explosive. Once again, a light touch prevails.

Simple Korean Kimchi

Adapted from a recipe by Danielle Levy, plant-based cook and Registered Holistic Nutritionist (RHN)

Here’s a quick way to make kimchi at home. For a whimsical touch, serve in glass tea cups.

For the vegetables:               

1 medium to large Napa or Savoy cabbage, cut into bite-sized chunks

12 cups cold water

¼ cup salt

2 large cucumbers, cut in small half moons

5 scallions, minced

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup chopped chives

For the paste:

1½ cups water

¼ cup almond flour (ground almonds)

1 tablespoon coconut sugar or ½ tablespoon Xylitol made from birch, not corn, to sweeten (optional)

2 tablespoons Korean red pepper powder

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped

1-inch piece of ginger, peeled and chopped

1 stick lemongrass, minced (optional)

Directions

1.  Let the cabbage soak in a large container of salted water for at least 4 hours. Then rinse it several times under cold running water, and pat it with a towel to remove the wetness.

2.  Make the paste: Using a skillet, bring the water to a simmer and add the flour. Whisk over medium high heat for 3 minutes. Add the sweetener, and continue to simmer for another minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Mix all the remaining paste ingredients in a food processor, then add the flour mixture.

4. Combine cabbage with cucumbers, scallions, chives and soy sauce. Add the paste. Put the mixture into the glass jar, and let it sit at least 24 hours. The longer it ferments, the better.

Should you ferment foods at room temperature or in the fridge? “You’ll get more significant microbial development” at room temp, fermentation guru Sandor Katz said. On the other hand, you might feel safer in the cold, especially if you live in hot climes.

Cabbage in the garden. Credit: Harriet Sugar Miller

2.20.13 -

Late winter is usually a somber time in the garden. But in Southern California, it’s citrus season — bringing a combination of riotous color and flavor intensity that cannot be matched any other time of the year. Whether it’s the heady fragrance of smooth-skinned Meyer lemons or the ruby red intensity of Moro blood oranges, citrus gives winter something to celebrate.

Winter is also a season that has had my heart since I began growing olives and pressing a new crop into olio nuovo, that very special first-of-the-season extra virgin olive oil that smacks of fresh fruit, green grass and tart, bitter artichoke. I was smitten from the first drizzle on a grilled slice of rustic bread. And ever since, I’ve been scheming to use extra virgin olive oil at every opportunity.

While a simple emulsion of freshly squeezed Meyer lemon juice with olio nuovo is divine on salad, I went in search of decadent and found it with the help of my new BFF in the kitchen, a Vitamix blender. Pressing one button and waiting six minutes results in a custard that is pure silk — whether the final outcome is slightly chilled and mounded into an awaiting tart shell or lightly frozen and scooped onto a pool of raspberry coulis.

I’ve made plenty of custards in my day, laboriously stirring egg yolks and sugar over a double boiler, ever watchful of impending lumps while adding juice and butter.

But the Vitamix rocked my little world, and I embarked on a grand and glorious tour of possibilities. The first stop was this Meyer lemon olive oil custard  – or curd, as some would call it.

The key to the recipe is to use any blender whose blades can generate enough friction heat to gently cook the mixture quickly. The thermometer reading when I completed the cycle topped off at 170 F, plenty of heat to fully cook the eggs and plenty of speed to whisk the ingredients together in a remarkably smooth finish.

But the best benefit of this blender technique might be that the controlled low temperature and fast processing time could preserve the key health benefits of extra virgin olive oil. I went straight to the best source in California to confirm my suspicions.

“Exposure to light, oxygen and excessive heat deteriorates the natural antioxidants of extra virgin olive oil and removes some of its healthy benefits,” says Selina Wang, research director of the UC Davis Olive Center. “Using the freshest oil and keeping the cooking temperature and time to a minimum help to preserve the polyphenols and antioxidants without the risk of oxidation, which breaks down olive oil’s nutrients and flavor.”

As for its taste, I shared my lemon curd with Zester Daily co-founders Corie Brown and Chris Fager when I joined them for lunch, smuggling a purse-sized cooler into a swanky restaurant. They both agreed it topped the mark for creamy and lemony, but it was the mysterious hint of a different kind of tartness, an herb-like, grassy lemon verbena flavor, that finally gave away this custard’s secret ingredient.

6-Minute Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Custard

Makes 6 servings

This versatile custard can be served warm in a cocktail glass as a satin finish to a special dinner, chilled in a tart shell with a garnish of fresh fruit and whipped cream, or frozen and scooped like gelato. Just let it rest for 10 minutes before serving to reach optimum consistency.

Ingredients

3 whole eggs, room temperature

½ cup sugar

½ cup Meyer lemon juice, strained

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons lemon zest

½ cup extra virgin olive oil, preferably fresh olio nuovo

Directions

1. Place all ingredients but the olive oil in a high-speed blender (must be capable of generating frictional heat above 160 F).

2. Turn the blender on to its highest setting and process for 4 minutes.

3. While continuing to run on high speed, pour in the olive oil and blend for an additional 90 to 105 seconds until you can see the custard firming up on the sides.

Notes

This recipe was created using the Vitamix Professionial Series 750, using its “hot soup” programmed cycle. It can be replicated by setting the blender at its top speed and running for a total process time of 5 minutes 45 seconds.

The custard can be refrigerated for up to three days or frozen for longer storage. When defrosted, it will return to the same creamy consistency as when fresh.

Top photo: Lemon curd in a pastry shell. Credit: Caroline J. Beck

2.11.13 -

Cultures all around the world have rejuvenating herbal tonics, taken to strengthen and support the body. Think of the spring tonics our grandparents knew and swore by. A number of these elixirs are also aphrodisiacs, employed to arouse our emotions and feelings of love. With Valentine’s Day coming up, what better time to give them a try?

Botanical aphrodisiacs are often highly-prized and costly (ginseng, for example), but the romantic cocktails, cupcakes and sorbet (we got inventive!) below call for five main ingredients that are inexpensive and readily available in the U.S.

Aphrodisiac list to remember

Each has a cultural tradition of promoting health and well being while also supporting libido: Ashwagandha, native to India; damiana, found in Central and South America; horny goat weed from China; maca from Peru; and schisandra from China. All can be obtained as organic dried herbs or powders from Starwest Botanicals. Many are also available from Frontier Coop. Organic fairly-traded Ayurvedic herbs can be found at Banyan Botanicals, and if you’d like to try growing any of these plants yourself, Horizon Herbs can supply seeds. 

You may be inspired to try these treats for Valentine’s day but remember they can be enjoyed any time, alone or with a partner. Here’s to health and pleasure!

Evening Energizing Cocoa

Ashwagandha, Withania somnifera, a relative of the tomato, is one of the most important tonic and restorative herbs in Ayurveda, India’s ancient science of life and medicine. In India,  ashwagandha root is traditionally boiled in milk as a drink. It has a slightly bitter taste, so we like to combine it with cocoa to make a relaxing and restorative evening drink, adding the aphrodisiac effects of chocolate to that of the ashwagandha.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

½  to 1 teaspoons ashwagandha powder

2 teaspoons cocoa powder (or to taste)

¼ teaspoon cardamom powder

1 cup milk or almond milk per person

10 drops vanilla essence

honey or maple syrup  to taste

Directions:

1. Mix dry ingredients in a saucepan.

2. Add milk and bring just to the boil, then remove from heat.

3. Add in the vanilla and sweetener to taste.

* * *

Damiana Iced Tea

Damiana, Turnera diffusa, is a tonic herb found in Texas, Central America and tropical parts of South America. Damiana is a tonic for both sexes, balancing hormones and supporting the nervous system as well as increasing libido.

Serves 2

Ingredients

2 heaped teaspoons damiana

1 heaped teaspoon mint

some rose petals

Directions

1. Put ingredients into a jug.

2. Pour boiling water on them, brew for 5 minutes.

3. Strain and chill.

4. Serve over ice.

* * *

Horny Goat Weed Liqueur

Horny goat weed, or Epimedium, is an herb worth trying for the name alone. It is grown as ground-cover plant in dry shade, and the species used as aphrodisiacs are Epimedium grandiflorum, E. sagittatum and E. brevicornum. The leaves, which can be used fresh or dried, have a pleasant mild taste and a mild stimulant effect. 

Makes about two weeks’ supply for one person.

Ingredients

A handful of dried horny goat weed leaves

A slice or two of orange

3 or 4 cardamom pods

1 tablespoon brown sugar

About a cup of whisky

Directions

1. Loosely fill a jam jar (roughly ½ pint size) with the dry ingredients

 

 

2. Pour in enough whisky to fill the jar and submerge the contents.

3. Put the jar in a warm dark place for two weeks then strain and bottle.

4. Enjoy a small liqueur glassful, sipped slowly, as and when you wish.

* * *

Maca Cupcakes With Vanilla Fudge Icing

Maca, Lepidium meyenii, looks a bit like a turnip and is a staple in the high Andes. Its strengthening and hormone balancing benefits are cumulative over long periods, though some people find it immediately stimulating. The powder smells like butterscotch, but blander and with a slightly bitter taste. Maca can be added to porridge, breads and cakes. Our favorite maca recipe is for these cupcakes. Matthew loves the combination of hard, sweet icing, a soft, light cake and sensuous strawberry melting in the mouth.

Makes 10 to 12 cupcakes

Ingredients for cupcakes

½ tablespoon vinegar

1 tablespoon corn syrup or honey

4 tablespoons butter

½ cup light brown sugar

½ cup milk or oat milk

1 cup white flour

2 tablespoons maca powder

1 tablespoon boiling water

½ teaspoon baking soda 

Directions

1. Warm vinegar, corn syrup, butter and sugar together in a pan.

2. When softened, beat until mixture becomes a creamy batter.

3. In another container, mix milk, flour and maca powder.

4. When well blended into a runny batter, pour over the cake batter.

5. Mix the two batters together to form a semi-liquid mixture.

6. Pour into 10 or 12 muffin cases.

7. Bake at 180 C (350 F) for 15 to 20 minutes, until golden on top and cooked through.

8. Cool, and add icing, as below.

Vanilla Fudge Icing

For 10 or 12 cupcakes

Ingredients

1 teaspoon butter

1½ cups sugar

½ cup milk

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

10 small, very ripe strawberries

Directions

1. Melt butter and sugar in a saucepan.

2. Add milk and stir continually until it reaches boiling point.

3. Continue cooking until the mixture arrives at the soft ball stage (115 C, 240 F).

4. Cool a little, add vanilla extract and beat until smooth.

5. Spread on the cup cakes.

6. If the icing gets too stiff, warm it over hot water.

7. Decorate the top of each cupcake with a small, very ripe strawberry while the icing is still soft.

* * *

Schisandra Syrup and Sorbet 

Schisandra, Schisandra chinensis, berries are the fruit of a Chinese vine in the magnolia family and are known as “five flavor berries” for their complex taste. Besides their aphrodisiac effect, they promote overall health and vitality, improve memory and concentration and help protect the liver, support the endocrine system and act as a powerful antioxidant.

Serves 2

Ingredients for syrup

1 cup schisandra berries

3 cups water

1 cup sugar 

Directions

1. Put schisandra berries into a pan.

2. Add the water and simmer gently with the lid on for 30–40 minutes.

3. This stage is complete when the berries have given their brown-black color to the water.

4. Allow to cool for a few minutes.

5. When almost cool, put in blender and blend for a few moments.

6. Strain through a sieve.

7. Add sugar, and bring to a boil, cooking for a couple of minutes longer.

8. Allow to cool, giving a rich syrup

Ingredients for sorbet

1 cup schisandra syrup (as above)

Juice of 2 or 3 oranges, freshly squeezed

1 ripe banana

Directions

1. Mix the syrup and orange juice.

2. Peel and slice the banana and freeze it.

3. When frozen or nearly frozen, add the banana to the syrup mix.

4. Beat with a hand blender until creamy, then freeze again.

5. Serve in a chilled dish.

Top photo: Ashwaganda. Credit: Julie Bruton-Seal