Broccoli Rabe with Slow-Roasted Tomatoes

The warm weather has gotten me super excited about summer recipes. So this entry will explore an easy preparation for a sensational side dish. This recipe is pretty standard within the restaurant industry, so if you ever wondered how they do it – this is how.

This dish pretty much goes with any protein and you can certainly put it on top of any starch, or even a sandwich. Feel free to substitute broccoli, broccolini, or asparagus in this recipe. It works great for all.  This particular dish can be vegan if you simply omit the butter, but I have found that it helps a lot with the bitterness of the vegetable. I’d say to add a touch of a sweetener (agave nectar, brown sugar, even a balsamic reduction will do) to offset it.

Broccoli Rabe

Ingredients:

1 Bunch Broccoli Rabe (with bottoms cut off)

2 Cloves Garlic (sliced thin)

½ Shallot (diced small) or half a white onion works as well

1 Tablespoon Olive or Coconut Oil

2 Tablespoons butter (unsalted)

1 teaspoon Red Chili Flake

6 Slow Roasted Tomatoes (see recipe below)

1/8 Cup White Wine (whatever you have left over works)

¼ Cup vegetable or chicken stock

½ Lemon or 1 teaspoon Lemon Juice

Directions:

1. Get a pot of water on and bring it to a boil. Take the raw broccoli rabe and place into the boiling water for about 30 seconds to a minute.
2. Strain and place in a container with iced water (too cool and stop the cooking process)
3. Heat up a large pan on medium/medium-high heat. Once the pan is hot reduce to a medium heat and put the oil in the pan. Add the garlic and shallot and sweat (sauté until translucent)
4. Add in your broccoli rabe and slow roasted tomatoes and toss (or stir) to coat it in the oil. At this point, add your lemon and white wine to the pan and allow it to reduce to almost nothing, creating an almost dry pan.
5. Add stock and red pepper flake. Increase flame to medium-high. Move the rabe and tomatoes around to allow the steam from the liquid to cook it and infuse the flavor.
6. When it is almost cooked (just before the stems become limp) add butter or sweetener. Salt and pepper to taste.

Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Ingredients:

6 Plum tomatoes (sliced into 8ths)

1/8 cup Olive oil (or if you have some kind of garlic infused oil, it works the best)

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon parsley

1 teaspoon basil

1 teaspoon mustard powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon chive

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
2. Toss sliced tomatoes in olive oil (or at  least enough to just coat them)
3. On a sheet tray (cookie tray) with a roasting rack placed on it (if you don’t have one, it’s no biggie) place the tomatoes on so they are not touching.
4. Combine all spices and herbs in a bowl and then sprinkle on top of the tomatoes. If you like other herbs or you want to use something else, go for it! Just make sure they are well seasoned and you will be fine.
5. Place in oven until they become semi dehydrated. You will start to see them look dry and maybe even start to brown a bit. Once this happens, pull them from the oven and let them set and cool. 

Ramp Whipped Skin-On Root Vegetables

This will probably be the easiest thing you can possibly make that I have written so far. I figured it was time for an easy recipe that requires little time to prepare, while still being a crowd-pleaser. Spring is in full swing and there are all kinds of goodness to go around. This low-calorie and complex carbohydrate recipe will really allow you to see the hearty beauty that spring has to offer.  This is a large yield recipe meant to be utilized later. If you scale back, just keep the ratio in mind. This isn’t an exact recipe by any measure.

If you do not have ramps, substitute the bulbs and stems with 4 cloves garlic (roasted preferred if you have it); and 3 scallion greens cut thin. 

How to utilize:

I chose to serve this hot on a spoon as passed Hors D’oeuvre. Mashed potato bars have been trendy for a bit, so it’s nothing to impress your friends with this dish and pipe it on a spoon with a pastry bag.

You can also serve this family style, I would garnish with thinly sliced ramp leaves or some kind of green oil.

This can also be flipped into a basis for potato pancakes. Add some onion, pepper, celery and thicken with flour or quinoa flour until thick enough to form a loose ball. Form cake size patties and sear in hot pan with olive oil. These go great with breakfast or as a salad topper. However, for the salad topper, I would say to skip the flour and form a loose patty and sear it; if it falls apart, think of it as less fork work.

Ingredients:

3 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes

2 lbs. Parsnips

2 lbs. Turnips

2 lbs. Carrot

3 lbs. Sweet Potato

6 Ramps (with leaves cut off and reserved to the side)

4 Tbls. Olive oil

1 Tbls Coconut oil

Directions:

1. Cut all ingredients in half long-ways. DO NOT PEAL! (but take the tops off)
2. Cut into half-inch sections (large dice).
3. Place in pot with enough water to cover the top of product.
4. Bring to a boil. Allow to cook until fork tender.
5. Strain ingredients and put back into pot.
6. Sweat chopped ramp bulbs and stems in 1 Tbs Olive oil until translucent. Transfer to pot.
7. Add chiffonade (thin slice) of remaining ramp leaves into mixture.
8. Add 2 Tbs Olive oil and 1 Tbs. Coconut Oil to mixture.
9. Using a hand mixer, whip ingredients until incorporated.
10. Season with salt and pepper to taste. 

Gluten-free Mexican Veggie Burgers

Going with my g-free theme this month I would like to present my Mexican veggie burgers of the gluten-free variety. This is a pretty standard recipe that I do basically once a week and do a large batch of veggie burgers. I also tend to have a heartier style patty. If you want a more traditional falafel style burger, take a quarter of the ingredients and blend in a blender until smooth, then simply add back into the mixture.

Utilize this recipe with pickled veggies, burger buns, and salads. Feel free to create variations and explore what you have in season! I also chose to top this dish with Lemon-Mustard Braised Greens, instead of a crudité or pickled something or other. No particular reason, just switching it up. Will be posting later on about variations and whatnot. 

Ingredients:

1 #5 can beans, pinto (or cannellini)

1 #5 can beans, black

½ c. Quinoa (cooked)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 Zest of lime

1 Celery Stalk diced (about ¾ cup)

1 Bunch diced asparagus ends (save the tips for something else!)

½ Red onion (diced)

1 C. Pickled veg (chopped)

7oz Chipolte De Moreno (diced)

1/3 C. Corn meal

1 C. G-free flour

¼ C. Corn starch               

½ C. G-free breadcrumb

2 Eggs (whole)

1 tsp. ginger

1 tsp. cumin (ground)

1 Tbls. Pepper

¼ tsp. Celery seed

1 Tbls. Siracha

2 tsp. salt

Directions:

1.  Combine all ingredients in large mixing bowl

2. Mix with hands until fully incorporated

3. Test seasoning and consistency with small meat ball sized patty before doing whole batch

4. Using a 3oz ice-cream scoop, portion out patties

5. Sear in non-stick pan with olive or coconut oil

6. Serve on toasted bun

Local cuisine: enhancing your experience

I want to enhance the eating experience – plain and simple. It is my one true goal to enable you to fully enjoy your meals the way nature originally intended. It’s through the information and education that I am able to provide that I hope to enable my readers to take the next step in the right direction so that they may take hold of their lives through what you eat.  I sincerely hope that what I have provided so far has been helpful and informative in your decision making. You hear it all the time:you are what you eat; and it’s true. You can only output what you input.

“If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” ― J.R.R. Tolkein

First, allow me to share a story with you. Early in my culinary career (it’s been seven or eight years now), I was working in an upscale diner-esque atmosphere in Atlantic City, New Jersey. A little background: when you start off in the culinary field, you usually start off being a prep person then move up to pantry/cold station where you are in charge of salads and desserts. This is where I found myself at this particular moment in time.

It was a usual summer day of hectic prepping and getting ready for the throngs of tourists for the Atlantic City Air Show. The time was late July, or early August; I can’t remember specifically. One of the dishes I had to mise en place was a “fruit salsa” that went on a cake. One of the ingredients in this dish was blueberries. In my prepping travels, I found myself (as anyone working in the industry will tell you) standing perplexed in the walk-in fridge, wondering: “Why did I come in here?!” As I slowly recovered from my “walk-in syndrome,” my gaze fell upon a container of blueberries. “Ah-ha!” I exclaimed; and reached for the box. However, once I grabbed the item and looked at it, I realized something – these blueberries were from California. Now, I’m not sure if you know this, but Hammonton, NJ is the blueberry capital of THE WORLD and is located approximately 40 minutes by car from Atlantic City... The. Blueberry. Capital. Of. The. WORLD!

How can it be cost effective for a food distributor to ship blueberries across the country when the “best” blueberries in the world are less than 100 miles away?

It was at this pivotal moment in my life that I started to ask questions and gather information regarding the issue of local sourcing.

“Food is our problem. Food is our solution” – Ron Finley

If you’ve ever created a dish or grown an edible plant such as an herb and cooked with it, you understand that there is a bond created between you and the experience that can be very rewarding and instantaneously gratifying. You know when you put your heart and soul into that creation; the result is a direct projection of your dedication. Now, the time has come to take it to the next level.

Locally sourced product allows you to enjoy the fruits of your land - your personal land that you call home. Now, I’m not saying you need to start being a gardener or farmer and raise your own produce and protein (but you should). I’m merely stating the fact that it takes less money to transport the product, there are fewer middlemen (thus making it cheaper), and here’s the best part: you personally support small business and your local community. On a microeconomic scale, if we keep the money in one location, it tends to reverberate.  Go to the source.

If you’ve ever traveled, you came into contact with foreign substances to which your body had no prior exposure. You may have noticed having a reaction to these elements.Be it a runny nose, headache, or cold-like symptoms, your body reacts to foreign substances. Now take a moment to pause; and think.

Where did your food come from?

If you travel to another location and suffer some kind of side effect or possible illness/death (think of infiltrated/untreated water systems) by simply exposing your being to that intrusive and strange substance, what else could it possibly doing to the inside of your body - what are the long-term effects?

Does the constant collision of international pathogens with your immune system wear away at your body so much so that it’s almost like WWIII inside your being?

I’m not a scientist by any measure; but, I am still doing a lot of research into this with the hopes of finding an answer. It’s something to think about.

My experiences that I’ve had with local cuisine have been nothing more definitive than game changing.

When you drink wine, you are supposed to inhale first to prepare your palate to taste it properly. This allows to you enjoy the wine to the fullest… blah, blah, blah. But here’s the thing: the air you breathe, the water you drink, and the pollution that surrounds you are elements of your environment. You dwell in it; it dwells in you. When any pollutant or chemical hazard is exposed to your area, it is exposed to you. It is your interactive world.

Here comes the good part. If your body doesn’t have to focus on defending itself against foreign elements, the brain allows more ease of taste. When I cook local product, I find that I use less salt than with imported items. Why? Because all those pathogens have already been exposed and are contained in you; you get to taste food for the way it was meant to be. Not frozen or in a can; and certainly a burger made out of thousands of cows from all over the world! This stuff is as fresh as you can possibly get. Processed foods tend to be full of salt, sugar, and fat’s to make them taste like what we are expecting. News flash! Local and fresh product tastes better. It’s as simple as that. Take for example: have you ever grown your own tomatoes? Are they not the best tomatoes ever? They’re local; that’s why.  

If you want to experience this phenomenon known as local cuisine ,there are many things you can do:

1. Join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture): These tend to be local farmers who have a size of land portioned off for financial contributors. You pay a flat rate at the beginning of the season and each week you get to go to the farm and either receive a box/basket worth of produce or pick out what you want from a selection.
2. Eat at local restaurants that source locally: I would suggest contacting your state’s agriculture department. They often list sustainable businesses and farmers on their website, and have a variety of useful information specific to each region.
3. Purchase locally grown food from your supermarket: Most supermarkets will supply local (or at least within the state) produce and meat when it’s in season. However, you are not going to notice a huge price difference until the supply is greater than the demand. Keep an eye out for these items.

We are able to take control over what we eat. We do not have to be subjected to corporate influence over our dietary choices. We are all one community that depends on each other for survival. Help us help ourselves and create a sustainable world that we can enjoy and grow in, not a world created for us by financially driven corporations.

Pickled Vegetable Salad with Zinfandel Poached Pears

One of my favorite processes to do is pickling. I love it for the endless possibilities that you can transform not only the taste, but the appearance of it as well. Today, I am going to expose you to a very light pickling solution. I will be doing some other variations, but I do like the light flavor and keeps veggies super crisp for a while (at least a month). Also keep in mind; you don’t necessarily have to use the exact proportions of vegetables that I use in this recipe, or even those ingredients. The goal of this post is to give you a simple and light pickling recipe that you can utilize across the board.  Feel free to also apply this application to small spring vegetables if you can find them where you purchase produce. They are a really easy solution to dressing up a dish and increasing the flavor.

You can utilize different ingredients to create other variations on it. For example: if you want to make your pickling liquid dye your product red, simply add beet juice to the mixture. If the color yellow is the one you seek, utilize some turmeric. Keep in mind as well that when you are pickling things such as radishes, or any lightly colored produce, that it tends to run in color, or absorb the color of the liquid. Given this information, you can deduce that if you pickle red cabbage, no matter what color the pickling liquid, it will run red and turn the entire liquid that color and therefore everything else in it. For this reason I have chosen to utilize white/light green cabbage. Looking back, I would use a savoy cabbage to provide a different texture and for some more contrast in color. Like I said – do whatever tickles your fancy.  

One thing must be made clear; in order to pickle something properly, it must be submerged in the liquid. To accomplish this, I have tried many variations on how to keep the product submerged. The best method is putting some beans (or some other small heavy objects) in a plastic bag and placing it on top of the product. This will keep the product below the liquid. Make sure that you do use a container with a lid and keep refrigerated. This is not a product that should be kept in dry storage, or out on the counter.

I also chose to include wine poached pears in this picture. I simply peeled the pears, submerged them in wine in a pot and allowed to simmer for 20 minutes. Once that is done, take the pears out and reduce the leftover wine liquid until there are bubbles on top of bubbles. This creates a reduction from it. I will explore wine poaching fruit in another post. But, if you want to duplicate this dish - it is pretty easy.

Pickling veggies

Ingredients:

• 7 Radishes (julienne)
• 2 Carrots (julienne)  
• 1 Fennel head (julienne)
• 1 Onion (julienne) use red onion to die liquid pink
• ½ Cabbage head (julienne)

Pickling liquid (if you have pickling spice, simply substitute all spices for 3 Tablespoons pickling spice):

Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1/2 teaspoon celery seed
• 1 Tablespoon pepper corns
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 teaspoon coriander seed
• 3 cups vinegar (white to absorb color, red to add color)
• 4 cups water

Procedure:

• Combine all veggie ingredients in a container(s) that has a lid. You want the container(s) to be filled almost to the top to leave room for the liquid to cover the product.
• In a hot pot, put in spices and toast briefly (about 30 seconds max) to help bring out some essential flavors.
• Add vinegar and water. Bring to a boil
• Carefully pour hot liquid into container(s) with veggies.
• Allow to cool. Cover and store in refrigeration. 

Breakfast Pita Pizza

I’m not sure about you, but two of my favorite things in the world are pizza and breakfast. Yes, I’m American – I know. I decided one morning to combine these two amazing ideas into one mini-pie of awesomeness.

As a general rule, you can substitute any ingredient in this recipe with something else. This is cooking, not rocket science; it doesn’t have to be exact. If you don’t have cilantro, any herb will do. You can also substitute or omit the cheese. I chose not to have any meat on this particular pizza, but feel free to throw some sausage or bacon on there as well.

I would encourage you to be creative and make something that is completely your own. This is also a great way for a family style meal. By simply setting up stations with prepared ingredients, you can feed a whole army and everyone will get what they want. This recipe works well after you add the ingredients to fold it up like a slice (taco shape). Enjoy!

Ingredients:  

• 1 pita bread warmed 
• 3 Tablespoons tomato sauce 
• 2 eggs scrambled 
• Cheese as desired 
• 1/8 small red onion (shaved or diced) 
• 1/8 cup cilantro 
• Sriracha

Directions:

• Warm pita in hot pan until soft 
• Using the same hot pan, scramble eggs 
• Once eggs are done, add cheese if desired 
• Smear tomato sauce on pita 
• Add eggs on top 
• Garnish with sprinkle of onion and cilantro 
• Add meat if desired 
• Top with Sriracha

Make your fridge work for you

In my vast ponderings of information to provide to my readers, I found myself staring at the fridge trying to figure out what to make or address. It occurred to me that one of the biggest issues with eating healthy is the fact that most people (including myself) are extremely lazy and sometimes just don’t want to cook for whatever reason imaginable. So, I’d like to provide you with some of my restaurant knowledge.

This method of batching and staples will allow you to utilize leftovers and be able to create healthy and fresh dishes in literally a few minutes. The trick is to do a batch big enough to sustain three meals (on average). Doing this size batch allows you to also utilize seasonal produce, and experiment with different variations and truly perfect your dishes to the point you want them to be. I’ve created a list below with a brief explanation as to why I’ve included it and how to utilize it. Please feel free to comment on other staples that you keep!

Pre-cut product – one of the hardest things about cooking is chopping veggies to be cooked. So, I have found it very easy to, when making something, cut up some extra and set it aside in a bag or small container. This way you can have items ready to go, and not mess with a cutting board or the mess that can populate all over the counter. Help you help yourself, and stay prepped! If you juice, or do smoothies; take an hour aside one day a week and get some bags prepped up with your usual suspects. This way all you do is take the bag, dump it in, and you’re in business!

Fruit – Whether it’s fresh fruit, or preserved fruit, having these sweet products in your fridge allows you to have a quick grab-and-go snack, or simply add a sweet component to a spicy dish. Fruits are also great for dessert applications. Keep in mind as well that avocados are fruits.  I’ll be addressing preservation methods of fruit a little bit later on in the blog progression, as items get into season.

Vegetables – These are key; probably the most important. Without fresh vegetables, you will suffer from a serious lack of nutrients. Furthermore, try and buy these as local as possible to reduce greenhouse gasses and cost of labor and transportation on large companies.  I will be going into greater detail on which vegetables can be utilized to do what, but I will provide a quick list for you below:

·         Dark leafy greens – these are essential. The versatility and nutritional value of dark leafy greens (kale, spinach, collards, and mustard greens) is incomparable to the space they can take up in your fridge. You can use these in soups, smoothies, sauté’s, or even braises. 

·         Celery – I love utilizing celery in almost everything. I shave it down to use in salad, it’s a basis for soups, adds a nice pop to roasted or braised veggies. This is a standard item in the professional kitchen. Also, eaten raw, it takes more calories to consume it than it actually provides.

·         Carrot – I use carrots in a lot of applications. Traditionally speaking the carrot is one of the base elements in classical cooking. I use carrots to roast, steam, juice, and add some crunch and color to slaws.

·         Onion – yet another staple in the professional kitchen. I would suggest exploring different kinds of onions if you can. White, Spanish, and yellow onions are the varieties most used in cooking. However, by using a red onion, you can jazz up a dish and add some color to it. I also find red onion to be a little more potent in the raw form.

·         Peppers – Ranging from sweet bells, to spicy habaneros, peppers are a great addition to have on hand. You can roast them, or just eat them raw with a dip. The possibilities are endless and they really add to the subtle crunch of a salad if shaved down. These can also be used in other applications like salsa and bruschetta.

·         Root vegetables – these include radishes, potatoes, and beets. These are great to roast or to fry. You can also use them to beef up the yield of a soup or simply braise them with some meat. But, since they are underground, they tend to have a higher caloric count.

·         Seasonal – Also stock 2-4 seasonal vegetables. These range from asparagus in the spring, to tomatoes in the summer, and squashes in the fall.  There’s simply nothing better than produce that is fresh and ripe and local! Get creative!

Herbs – bring in another level of complexity into your dishes. You can utilize these in many ways ranging from soups, sauces, sautés, dips, salad additives, and garnishes. I would suggest stocking the following: parsley, cilantro, thyme, oregano, rosemary, and basil. The possibilities are endless; and it makes your dish so much better to have a nice pop of green on it. Herbs also aide in the aroma of the food, which then stimulates and prepares your palate. I would also highly suggest stocking herb oil as well. It’s a quick and easy way to utilize herbs that may be going bad and preserve them longer while maintaining a good flavor.

Beans – Being one of the highest sources of plant based protein in the world, beans allow you to simply add them to anything and increase your protein intake. You can add them to salads, patties, soups, sauces, stews, or even pureed into a “hummus”. So, hopefully you can see the full utilization of this versatile product and its importance in diet.

Rice/grains – Having some pre-cooked items like this are super useful when it comes down to utilization. You can add ingredients and create cold grain salads (bulgur wheat, faro, barley, quinoa, etc.) or simply do a quick pan fried rice, or whip together a quick veggie patty (not burger, burgers have meat). It’s also very easy to reconstitute/reheat with a small amount of liquid and garnish and completely change the flavor profile.

Pickled vegetables – This is a great way to preserve vegetables that may be going bad soon. You can also use these veggies (and liquid) as salad toppers and the liquid as a flavoring agent in your salad as well. You can also use this as a great crunchy addition to any sandwich, or simply as a side dish. Drain the vegetables from the liquid; add some acid (vinegar, or citrus) and some seasoning/herbs and you’ve got marinated vegetables ready to go. By modifying the pH level of the holding liquid, you are able to maintain freshness for weeks at a time. Pickling also offers you a fat-free option in your consumption without losing any flavor, if you’re not into the raw movement as much as I am.

Juice – If you are buying it in the store, or juicing yourself, this is a must have for me. You can drink them straight, mix them with some booze, or reduce to a sauce. I’ve also found it very helpful to have juice around when making vinaigrettes, simple desert sauces, and glazes. I do a lot of Caribbean/Mexican influenced cooking and creating a sweet and hot profile is possibly one of my favorite combinations.

Yogurt – I use yogurt both for its nutritional purposes, and as a sour cream or heavy cream substitute in sauces and soups. It is a bit tangier, but I find it to be a pleasant change from the heaviness of cream. I’ve also utilized this as a base for spreads (substitute for mayo), and a great alternative to plain vanilla iced cream. Simply by adding some vanilla extract, and a touch of cinnamon, you have a healthy and sweet snack.

Reductions - a highly useful sauce-on-hand, reductions are simple, sweet, and ready to use. I would suggest reducing some juices (orange or apple), a wine (usually red), or soy. These can easily be thrown on some fruit or yogurt as an additional sweeter; but on a more natural level. You can easily use those as a basis for numerous sauces and simple garnishes.

Citrus – I have found this to be one of the most underutilized products in the home kitchen. Citrus fruits (lemon, lime, orange, and grapefruit) not only provide brightness to a dish, but you can also zest the outer flesh to increase the citrus flavor. A lot of times, I have citrus lying around that’s completely zested, exposing the pith and creating a dry flesh texture. This is completely fine, and you can still utilize the juice, or merely eat it raw or segment it into a salad.

Milk/butter – As fattening as butter is, and with all the negative annotations associated with milk, I still utilize them, but in small amounts. Milk is great for making dairy based sauces and thinning out creamy dressings (instead of using water). I would urge greatly that if you buy milk, you get whole milk. By the time all the fat has been taken out for 2%, 1%, and skim, there is hardly any nutritional value whatsoever. Butter is also good for classic sauces, and adding a little in a sauté dish does add another level of dimension to the dish that is quite pleasing. Although, I will say, when I use butter, it’s usually about a teaspoon per portion at most.

Cheese – I’m a cheese fanatic! I love cheese in dishes, especially with something fried or on sandwiches. Cheese is a great way to increase protein on a dish, or simply add extra flavor or saltiness. I would encourage you to explore any local cheeses that you may encounter. The cheese scene has become very artisanal lately and there are a ton of great new styles, and twists on old ones as well. I would say steer clear of things like cheese whiz or American cheese – it’s not really cheese, but some over processed combination of chemicals designed to taste and feel like cheese. I would also suggest having a small container or bag with pre-sliced, shredded, or grated cheese. It’s so much easier to just reach in and grab what you need and move on.

Eggs (hard boiled) – Eggs are a great and simple source of protein. But I find when cooking them, I just get annoyed with making a dirty pan or pot. So I offer you this suggestion: take half of your eggs and hard boil them. You can use a marker to indicate which ones are already cooked (don’t tell the health department I told you to do this!), or simply keep them in a separate location. This way you can easily take some precooked meat or vegetables from the night before, throw in a sliced cooked egg, or mash it all up into a salad. The quick and easy possibilities with this are pretty much endless.