Vegetable Stock

Wow...I can't believe it's been over 2 months since my last blog post. Life's been busy, and I've been trying to adjust to my wife's decision to step beyond being vegetarian, and move into being vegan. Of course, this happened right after I discovered how to make homemade paneer (an Indian cheese, which I'll blog about later). Despite my initial resistance, I'm slowly embracing her choice.


In the fall and winter months I like to make soups. The key to a good soup is to start with a good stock. Though it's possible to buy stock from the grocery, I prefer to make my own. Stock is fairly easy to make, but it takes a bit of time. Fortunately, once the ingredients are prepared, it's just a matter of letting it simmer. Today, we're looking at making Vegetable Stock. This recipe is one I've been using for a while, but feel free to use vegetables you have on hand, and your favorite seasonings. If you know you're going to be making stock, try saving some of your vegetable scraps from other meals you prepare (once they've been cleaned of course!). 


Not only do I use this for soups, but also for making rice, beans, quinoa, as a braising liquid for kale and heartier vegetables like brussels sprouts, as the base for sauces, etc. Basically, most places where you use water, you can substitute stock to add additional depth to your flavors.

Ingredients:

• 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups celery, coarsely chopped (approx. 4 ribs)
• 2 cups carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped (approx. 4 carrots) 
• 1 cup broccoli stems, trimmed, peeled and coarsely chopped (approx. 2 stems)
• 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped (I leave as much of the onion skin on as possible for color)
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms (I use baby portabellas)
• 2 large cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
• 2 Tablespoons ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped)
• small bunch parsley/cilantro
• 1 Tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 Tablespoon black peppercorns
• 1 Tablespoon whole coriander
• 1/2 Tablespoon whole mustard seed
• 2 bay leaves
• 8 cups water

In large stock pot, heat oil over medium heat and sweat all vegetables except mushrooms and cilantro. 



Once vegetables and aromatics become fragrant and release some of their moisture (approx. 10 minutes) add water and remaining ingredients. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer for 30 minutes. Remove from heat and let ingredients continue to "steep" in water for 20 minutes - 1 hour. 



Strain stock through fine mesh sieve or china cap. Makes approx. 8 cups stock. Refrigerate and use within 1 week, or freeze in ice cube trays for later use.

Great Interview with Alice Waters

Wow - between vacation and prepping for my upcoming Yoga Teacher Training, I've fallen behind on my blogging.


Hopefully I'll have some more tasty recipes and random stray thoughts coming soon, but in the meantime I wanted to let you know about a wonderful interview I heard on NPR today with Alice Waters, owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, CA.


Alice Waters was at the vanguard of the "local, sustainable" food movement. Over the past 40 years she has cultivated partnerships with local farmers, ranchers and other providers who are all passionate about fresh, seasonal, organic food. She has also started a foundation to bring healthful, local food to schoolchildren with a program called "Edible Schoolyards." 


While I do enjoy the convenience and cost-effectiveness of shopping at large supermarkets, I do try to support local growers at farmer's markets and other shops that source locally. Honestly, I could really do more along those lines - convenience usually wins out - but I want to make an effort to do better in that area. One thing I do, though, is do most of my shopping around the perimeter of the store, and only get 20-30% of my groceries from the aisles. Even then, I try to focus on ingredients rather than prepared foods. The perimeter of the store is where the fresh produce, meats, cheeses, dairy and even baked goods are usually kept. I focus on the aisles where you find rice, beans, canned tomatoes, pasta, etc. Things that  you use to MAKE delicious dishes. I would say that only about 5% of my grocery cart is filled with prepared foods, and usually "snack" or "dessert" things like ice cream, chips or sometimes a particularly yummy looking cake. 


There's a difference in the way you relate to food when you take the time to gather it thoughtfully and with intention, even if "gathering" it means taking your time to choose the freshest, juiciest apple from the entire bin of apples in front of you. The food stops being a disposable commodity designed to fill your belly, and takes on the quality of being something that nourishes you or your loved ones. When you actually meet and chat with the person who grew the apple at your local market, though, you develop a reverence and respect for the food, and take time to lovingly prepare it. 


I hope you take the time to listen to the interview linked above - it may change the way you think about food forever.

Zucchini Noodles with Mushrooms and Pesto

Most of my favorite meals happen as the result of me looking in my fridge and seeing what kinds of leftovers and unused (but still fresh!) produce I have on hand. A few days ago, I had some leftover pesto sauce, some sliced portabella mushrooms and some zucchini. Add in some garlic and onions, and you have a light, healthy, nutritious meal.


Zucchini Noodles with Mushrooms and Pesto


1/2 cup Basic Pesto Sauce
3-4 medium zucchini
1 cup sliced baby portabella mushrooms (or any other mushroom you have)
1/2 medium yellow onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic
salt

olive oil
Fresh grated Parmesan Cheese (optional)


Start by slicing zucchini into Zucchini Noodles with a mandoline slicer. In large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Toss in garlic, sliced onion and a bit of salt and cook till soft and onion is becoming translucent. Increase heat to medium high, and add in mushrooms and sautee until tender (2-3 minutes). Add in Zucchini Noodles and CAREFULLY sautee until tender (5 minutes). REMEMBER: NEVER handle your zucchini roughly! Add in Pesto Sauce and toss till thoroughly coated. Adjust salt and serve, topping with freshly grated Parmesan Cheese.

Zucchini Noodles

Zucchini is one of my favorite vegetables. It's a great workhorse and can be used in a variety of different cuisines as a main course, as a side dish, in a stir fry, fried, sliced, diced, sauteed, roasted, grilled, steamed. The list is endless. One of my favorite ways to use zucchini is as a substitute for noodles either in a side dish or as a main course. This does require a special tool called a mandoline (and not one of those 8-stringed instruments you find in folk, bluegrass and Godfather music. My mandoline slicer is over 10 years old, cost about $25 at the time, and isn't fancy, but it gets the job done!


Zucchini Noodles


3-4 medium zucchini, washed (you could peel the skin off if you'd like, but I prefer to leave it on.)


Fit the mandoline slicer with the small julienne blade. 

 Cut the ends off the zucchini, and lay it, lengthways, on the mandoline. Place the hand guard on top of the zucchini, and in smooth, even strokes, run the zucchini over the julienne blades.

 The result will be long, thin strips of zucchini about the size of spaghetti.

Zucchini noodles can be added raw to salads, cooked into an omelette, steamed or sauteed in a bit of oil till they are soft and used as a substitute for pasta. Be careful, though, as the zucchini can easily break into small bits if handled roughly. And NOBODY's zucchini should ever be handled too roughly!

Spicy Peanut Sauce

Spicy Peanut Sauce
I posted this as part of a recipe, then realized that it would be good to include it as a stand-alone. After all, Spicy Peanut Sauce can be used in a variety of dishes like stir frys, noodles, chicken wings, lettuce wraps, etc. Spicy Peanut Sauce rocks.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 scallions, chopped fine
1 garlic clove, chopped fine
1 tablespoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger root
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter (I used creamy JIF)
1/4 cup soy sauce
zest and juice of 1/2 lime (may increase this to taste)
3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
Sriracha chili sauce (to taste)

In a saucepan heat oil over moderate heat until hot but not smoking and cook scallions, garlic and ginger, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer, stirring. Simmer sauce, stirring, until smooth and cool to room temperature. Sauce may be made up to 3 days ahead and chilled, covered. If sauce is too thick after chilling, stir in 1 to 2 tablespoons hot water until sauce reaches desired consistency.

Pesto Cream Sauce

This is fabulous over ravioli, tortellini, and just about any other filled pasta.

Pesto Cream Sauce
2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 cup Basic Pesto Sauce (without cheese added)
1/2 cup Heavy Cream
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp nutmeg
salt and pepper


Melt butter in skillet over medium heat. Add pesto sauce and stir until butter and sauce are blended. Slowly add heavy cream, stirring frequently until pesto is mixed in with cream, and steam begins to appear (do NOT boil cream!). Slowly add parmesan cheese until it melts and sauce thickens. Add nutmeg, salt and pepper. More cream may be added if sauce gets too thick, or more cheese can be added if you like sauce a bit thicker.

Pesto Basics

Many of us remember significant firsts in our lives - first car, first girl/boyfriend, first...well...you get the idea. I remember my first taste of pesto as if it's yesterday. It was when I worked for Houlihan's Olde Place restaurant back in the early '80's. We had a pizza on the menu which featured pesto sauce instead of tomato sauce, along with artichoke hearts, black olives, tomatos, slivered almonds and a few ingredients I'm forgetting. But, like Macho Grande, I'll never be over that pesto. Herbacious, garlicky, nutty...I was hooked. I mistakenly tried to make it with dried basil once. Once.


Basic Pesto Sauce

• 3 cups FRESH basil leaves (stems removed), rinsed and dried
• 2-4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 cup pine nuts or walnuts
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
• salt and freshly ground pepper

Place basil, garlic (start with about 1/2) and nuts in food processor and blend, adding oil slowly, until it forms a liquid-y paste (when you stop blending, a little bit of the oil should begin to pool). Add salt and pepper to taste, and more garlic if you wish. Remove to bowl, and fold in parmesan cheese. Taste and adjust seasonings.

(photo from Google Images)

HINT: I usually wait to add cheese until after I toss the sauce with pasta, otherwise the cheese will melt and get clumpy. Also, pesto freezes well, but not if the cheese is already added in.


For the more Adventurous: 
For a "crudo style" pesto, instead of using a food processor, finely chop the basil, crush the garlic and nuts together in a mortar and pestle, and then mix all ingredients together in bowl, adding oil bit by bit.