Culinary Chameleon

The simple question, "Where are you from?", has been a source of anxiety for me my entire life.  My typical response to this question has always been, "Uhhh not really anywhere".  For some reason, in my younger years, I felt gypped that I did not have a singular place to call home.  I was born in New York City to southern parents,  and moved about every five years from there on out.  My family lived in some wonderful places, New Orleans, Brazil, New England, North Carolina and the beautiful South Carolina low country. Each locale, rich with it's own distinct character and food culture.  But where was I from?

Fast forward to present day, and the question I am asked most frequently, now that I cook professionally, is "What is your favorite dish to cook?".  In the beginning, this inquiry stirred up as much anxiety as the "Where are you from?" question of my youth.  For some reason, I felt that if I was a true professional, I was required to have a set focus, a dish or distinct cuisine that I could focus all of my energy towards.  Some people devote their whole lives to perfecting one specific dish.  What was my dish?  What was my cuisine?  I often envied cooks and cookbook authors who's name evokes an immediate knowledge as to what their book or restaurant is about.  Flay, Batali, Child, Yan and Lagasse all have a culinary identity.  But what was mine?

Over the past several years, I have been focused on "healthy" or "better for you" cooking.  This is a nice large umbrella that can encompass my chameleon-like culinary tendencies.  One can take a classic, Brazilian, Creole, or Southern recipe and most often find some way to make it a bit better for you.  This is my passion and focus now and while "healthy" and "better for you" do not immediately conjure up a specific cultural identity, I hope it incites curiosity.  You never know if you will getting French, Brazilian, Creole or Southern influences in one of my recipes, but you can be assured, that there will always be something about it that is better for you.

This week I had the pleasure of teaching a Brazilian vegetarian class at The Cook's Warehouse, with my partner in crime, Chef Nancy Waldeck.  Alas, Brazilian vegetarian seems like an oxymoron, but truly it epitomizes the marriage of my love for multicultural cuisine and healthier eating.  My recipe for today is one that we prepared in class.  I have taken a decadent fried, meat and cheese filled Brazilian snack called a Pastel, and morphed it into a lovely baked, veggie filled treat that can be enjoyed guilt-free.

Baked Veggie Pastéis:

Dough:

2 Cup WW Pastry Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

½ tsp Sea Salt

1 TB Unsalted Butter

1 TB Cachaça or Vodka

1 Egg

1 Egg White

1/3 cup Warm Water

Filling:

1 cob fresh Corn, cut from cob

1/2 cup Tomato, seeded and chopped

1/2 cup chopped Hearts of Palm

1/3 cup finely chopped Yellow Onion

1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack Cheese

Step One:

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer.  Add butter, alcohol and eggs.  Beat on medium speed until incorporated.  Turn off mixer and scrape down sides of bowl.  Resume medium speed and slowly drizzle in warm water.  Mix until soft dough forms.

Step Two:

Turn out dough onto a floured surface and form into a rectangle and wrap in saran wrap and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Step Three:

While dough is chilling, prepare the filling by placing all the ingredients in a medium bowl.  Stir to combine and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Step Four:

Roll chilled dough to a 1/8 in thickness.  Cut dough into rectangles that are approximately 3 inches x 6 inches.  

Step Five:

Place 2 TB of filling in center of dough and brush washer along edges of dough to seal.  Fold dough over filling and crimp edges with a fork.

Step Six:

Brush top and bottom of pastry with egg wash and place on a parchment lined sheet pan that has been brushed with olive oil.  Sprinkle a pinch of course sea salt on top of pastry and spray or brush with olive oil

Bake at 400 deg for 20-25 minute, until golden brown and crispy

Beautiful chopped veggies for the filling

A pizza cutter is an easy way to cut out your rectangles of dough

Place a heaping tablespoon of filling on one end of the dough and rub outer edges with water, using your finger or small pastry brush

Fold dough over filling

Crimp edges with a fork to seal in the filling

Brush the top and bottom of pastry with egg wash

The finish product!

Make every plate something to be passionate about!

Super Salad

I had an amazing time last Friday, speaking to the Sixty-Plus group at the Piedmont Hospital in Fayette County.  For this engagement, I was asked to talk about anti-cancer foods and demonstrate a couple of recipes using these items.  Since my allotted time was relatively slim, I needed to pack as many cancer fighting foods into one dish as possible.  To break down healthy eating into its most basic form, know that if you are eating a rainbow of colors (and I am not talking about Skittles or M&M's here), you are eating healthfully.  In addition to thinking about color, I needed to include some of our major talking points for anti-cancer eating and combine it all into to a beautiful and palatable dish. Below are some of the ingredients we use on a regular basis in the healthy kitchen, all of which are included in my Super Salad recipe.

Garlic:  Fresh garlic is at the top of the list of anti-cancer foods.  Always use fresh garlic and allow it to sit for several minutes after grating or chopping it.  This will allow the anti-inflammatory allinase enzymes to activate, which in turn increases the health benefits of the garlic.

Turmeric/Healthy Oils and Black Pepper: Turmeric is a native Indian spice with a beautiful golden color and an earthy smell.  This spice, when used in conjunction with a healthy oil (Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Grapeseed Oil, Canola Oil), and fresh cracked black pepper, increases the bioavailability of its active ingredient, curcumin.  Curcumin is an anti-inflammatory.  A teaspoon of turmeric can easily be added to sautéed vegetables or salad dressings, without compromising the flavor of your recipe.

Capers and Red Onions:  Both of these foods contain high levels of a flavonoid called quercetin, which has anti-inflammatory properties.

Fresh Herbs: Fresh herbs contain vitamins and add a beautiful pop of color and freshness, without adding a lot of calories or fat.

Whole Grains: Brown rice, quinoa, millet, faro, sorghum, spelt, kamut, amaranth, freekeh and teff are all examples of whole grains.  These grains are filling, easily digestible and chock full of antioxidants. Most of these grains gluten-free.

Tomatoes: Not only do tomatoes come in a variety of colors, they are high in the nutrient lycopene. Lycopene is especially important for prostate health.

Red Peppers: Red peppers also contain lycopene and have more vitamin C than an orange.

Low Fat Dairy Products:  Naturally lower fat dairy products like feta and parmesan cheese are great sources of flavor.  Because these cheeses are stronger in flavor, you can use less of them.

Lentils/ Beans:  Both of these foods are wonderful sources of non-animal protein and very economical.

Pomegranate Molasses: This is nothing more than reduced 100% pomegranate juice and a great way to add some extra antioxidants and sweetness to a salad dressing.  Pomegranate molasses can be found at Whole Foods, Cooks Warehouse, Buford Highway Farmer's Market, DeKalb Farmer's Market and Cherian's Market.


Super Salad:

For the Salad:

1 cup of your favorite whole grain, uncooked (quinoa, faro, kamut)
1 cup of lentils, cooked according to package directions
1 pint of grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup dry packed sun dried tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped red onion**
1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives
3 TB of capers, drained and rinsed
1 cup of fresh chopped herbs, I like a mixture of dill, parsley and basil
1 oz of crumbled feta
5 oz box of arugula

Dressing:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon pomegranate molasses (local honey can be substituted)
1 grated garlic clove (a microplane grater works best)
Sea Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a jar with a tight fitting lid and shake to combine.

Step One:
Cook you chosen grain according to package directions.  Grains will have different cooking times, but in a pinch, a good rule of thumb for preparing these items is the 1-2-3 method. i.e. One cup of dried grain + two cups of liquid = 3 cups of cooked product.

Step Two:
Combine all of the above items, except the arugula in a large bowl.  Drizzle with salad dressing and toss gently to combine.  Serve on top of a bed of arugula.

Salad will keep well in the refrigerator for three days. Serves 4-6.

** Soaking raw red onions in a small bowl of ice water for about 5-10 minutes will take a lot of the sting out of the onion, making it more palatable.  Just drain the water off before you add the onions to your salad.

I love this salad recipe, but more importantly, I love sharing the knowledge I have accumulated over the past few years, working with healthy chefs and dietitians at all of the Thomas Chapman Family Wellness Centers in the Piedmont Hospital network.  How can you not be passionate about what is on your plate, when it is so healthy for you?  Enjoy!

The New Recipe Box

My cherished recipe boxes from my grandmother Leak (left)  and grandmother Zachary (right).  Look at their handwriting, it tells so much.  Guess which one was the 1st grade teacher and which one was the artist?

One of my most prized possessions are the two recipe boxes that belonged to my grandmother's.  Each is overflowing with handwritten, food stained, index cards and newspaper clippings. These boxes are time capsules, perfectly showcasing the trends of the day as well as long cherished family recipes. Several times a year, I pull out these boxes and take a walk down memory lane.  

I love perusing the old index cards and clippings.  Feeling grateful for the many wonderful family meals  I enjoyed at each of their dinner tables.  I fondly remembering the fresh baked apple pie and my favorite chicken casserole.  I went in search of my grandmother Zachary's chicken casserole recipe last week, when I was in desperate need of some comfort food. I decided to make up a batch for myself.  It hit the spot, but I know it used to taste even better surrounded by family, as we sat at my grandmother's lace-covered dining room table.

Look at this collection of dinner party menu's.  Certainly, I have no recollection of what was for Christmas dinner in 1975, but it's nice to know we had oyster dressing, which is still a staple at all of our family holiday meals

Over the years, I have also, kept a record of my dinner party menus and have several journals dedicated to menus and party ideas.  I have never started a recipe box, but do have folders full of magazine clippings and recipes printed from the internet.  Of course, my newest "recipe box" is my blog and website.  It may not be as quaint, as an old handwritten box of recipes, but it is my way of preserving my family favorites, as well as my original creations.   I can only hope that one day, my grandchildren will be appreciative of the history I am collecting in my virtual recipe box.  

Below is the neatly written index card recipe for the favorite chicken casserole of my childhood.  It's not health food, and quite honestly, I would never even try to recreate this in a healthier version.  Sometimes, fond memories are all the nutrition your body and soul require.

Don't forget to make every plate something to be passionate about!

www.thepassionateplate.com

Tomato Time!

Beautiful assortment of tomatoes: Canned, Yellow, Beefsteak and Sun Dried

Summer is tomato time in the south.  Before, I even enjoyed eating tomatoes, I recall my mom, aunt and grandmother, gushing over the delicious tomatoes from the garden.  These tomatoes were always on my grandmother's dinner table, simply peeled and sliced on a plate. Nothing more, nothing less.  Sadly, I did not appreciate these garden delicacies at the time.  It would be many years later before I comprehended the love of a home grown tomato, and how different it was from the unfortunate tasteless orbs on display year round at my local supermarket.

As my palate matured, I grew into a true tomato lover.   I have more than made up for my earlier lack of tomato consumption over the past twenty years.  In fact, last summer, I took part in a large scale tomato canning session with my Can-Can Girls.  I don't recall exactly how many pounds of tomatoes we put up, but I do remember that it took six of us, two full days to complete the task of preserving summer's bounty.  

So treasured, were my jars of canned tomatoes, that I refused to eat them, for fear of running out before the next tomato canning summit.  I had become a selfish hoarder.  Well, about a month ago, a date was set for tomato canning 2014.  This meant that I had less than ten weeks to consume the dozen or so quarts of tomatoes, sitting quietly in the cool, darkness of my canned goods pantry (formerly my hall coat closet).  

The beautiful canned tomatoes make a lovely rustic pasta sauce, which I have been eating quite a lot of lately.  This sauce requires nothing more than a can of tomatoes, two grated garlic cloves, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper, sauteed in a bit of olive oil.  As much as I enjoy this tomato sauce, it was time to come up with another recipe in which to use my stock of tomatoes.  Thus, the Tomato Mop was born.

Years ago, I enjoyed a dish called tomato mop at a British Pub, called The Fox and Hound.  I vividly remember the warm and richly flavored tomato sauce, topped with melty goat cheese and served with crunchy garlic toasts. This dish makes a great appetizer or a wonderful vegetarian main dish, along side a simple green salad.  

If you are not fortunate enough to have a coat closet overflowing with home-canned tomatoes, I would recommend using organic, fire-roasted tomatoes instead.  

I hope a home-grown summer tomato is in your future, but if not, enjoy the deep tomatoey flavor of my Tomato Mop.  And.....don't forget to make every plate something to be passionate about!

Tomato Mop:

1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil

3 cloves of garlic, grated

2 15 oz cans of organic fire roasted tomatoes, drained 

1 can of organic tomato paste

1 cup of chopped, dry packed, sun-dried tomatoes 

1/2 teaspoon of raw sugar

Salt and Pepper to taste

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

4 oz of goat cheese

Step One:

Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a skillet.  Add the garlic, canned tomatoes and tomato paste.  Cook and stir until tomato paste has melted and incorporated into the canned tomatoes.  Next, stir in sun-dried tomatoes, sugar, salt and pepper and red pepper flakes (if using).

Step Two:

Place tomato mixture into a pie plate, coated with non-stick spray.  Crumble goat cheese over top of tomatoes and place under a broiler, set on HIGH, until cheese begins to brown.  Tomato mop can be served warm or at room temperature with garlic toasts.

Garlic Toasts:

1 baguette in 1/4 inch slices

Non-Stick olive oil spray

1-2 large cloves of garlic, Peeled

Spray baguette slices with olive oil spray and grill on both sides on hot a grill pan, until crispy.  Or, place toasts on a sheet tray and toast in the oven on 350 degrees for about 8-10 minutes.

While toast is still warm, rub a raw garlic clove gently, over both sides of the bread.

Bonus:

If  you happen to have any of the tomato mop leftover, it makes a great breakfast, reheated and served with a poached or sunny side up egg on top.

Spreading the Love

For the past year or so, I have been learning the art of preserving from the wonderful women in my "Can-Can Girls" group.  My skills increased with each session,  but perhaps I relied too heavily on the other's expertise to get the job done.  Quite frankly, as much as I liked canning, I wondered if maybe, I was there more for the camaraderie, gourmet lunch and glass or three of wine. 

It is a good thing that I absorbed plenty of knowledge during our group work sessions, because as it turned out, the last time we girls got together, the price of admission, was a dish inspired by a recipe from the book Preserving by the Pint, by Melissa Mc Clellen.  This meant I had can all by myself!

My first three jars of Tomato-Corn Relish.  How cute are these jars?

Never one to miss a party, I dove head first into this charming book on small batch canning.  I chose the Corn and Tomato Relish featured on page ninety four.  With my ingredients and jars purchased, I began my solo canning session early one Saturday morning.  The house was quiet, except for the lovely sound of glass jars, gently clanking against one another in a large pot of boiling water.  I chopped, measured, sterilized, filled, processed and listened for the triumphant popping sound of the jars, sealing.  Success!  I had so much fun making that first batch of relish, that I made and processed another recipe the very next day.  One week later, I found myself teaching a neighborhood friend how to can.  I must have been feeling pretty confident that day, as we put up pickled okra and Spicy Apple Cider and Mustard Glaze  from Preserving by the Pint.  We had a great time and I was happy to be the instructor, rather than the student.  Even more satisfying, was that I feel certain that I have spread the love of canning with my friend. 

Apple Cider Glaze and Pickled Okra
The Glaze will be perfect on a pork tenderloin and the pickled okra is destined to garnish a spicy bloody Mary

Southern Summer Salad: Inspired by the corn and tomato relish

Southern Summer Salad:

Salad:

1 bag of mixed salad greens

1/2 of an English cucumber, sliced

1 large beefsteak tomato, cut into wedges

1 avocado, diced

2  scallions, thinly sliced

1/2 cup toasted pecan halves

1/4 cup of cooked and crumbled, proscuitto or bacon

1 half-pint jar of corn and tomato relish*

Place ingredients in a salad bowl in the order listed above.  Toss with a light coating of dressing just before serving.

*1/2 cup of seeded and chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup of fresh corn kernels may be substituted for the relish.

Dressing:

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon coarse Dijon mustard

2 teaspoons local honey

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Pinch of cayenne

Sea Salt and pepper to taste

Combine ingredients in a mason, attached the lid and shake it up.

I have certainly found a new hobby to be passionate about!

Rekindling a Romance

Oh La La!

My love for all things French started with my first bite of a croissant amande, when I was ten years old.  We were visiting family friends who lived in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower, in an utterly fabulous apartment.  I remember that the kitchen was a city block from the dining room and the butter sat out on the kitchen counter and never spoiled.  It was magical.  At that age, I was a shy tomboy, who refused to wear the carefully chosen outfits that my mother had packed for me.  Instead, I wore my very faded, too large jeans, that were held tight around my waist by a purple hair scrunchie.  The look was completed with my favorite bright gold Brazilian soccer jersey.  I was not chic.  I was painfully shy.  But, I walked alone, every morning to the boulangerie to to purchase my beloved croissant amande, which I ordered in my best French and paid for in funny looking coins.  Thirty-plus years later, this is still a precious memory.

That initial trip to Paris, made me want to return there as often as possible.  Luckily, I had several more opportunities to visit the city of lights during my teens and twenties.  Then life happened.  Job, marriage, kids etc...  Thus, twenty years have passed since my last visit.  Where has the time gone?  Now,  I am the mother diligently packing suitcases for my children and hoping that they will wear the cute and appropriate outfits that I have selected for them.  More importantly, I hope that they will fall in love with this magical city, just as I did thirty years ago.

Certainly, I am a bit nervous, just as one always is when visiting an old friend who you have not seen in years.  But if you are truly friends, you will feel immediately at ease, once reunited.  I think my first bite of a true croissant almond, will be the perfect reunion with this special place.  I just hope Paris, did not hear me go on and on about how much I enjoyed Venice a couple of years ago.  It is never a good idea to temporarily toss aside an old love for a brief fling.  I hope Paris can forgive me for that brief indiscretion.  I feel certain that my love affair with this city will be renewed with fervent passion and continue to have a place in my heart for the rest of my life.  For this is a place that I am truly passionate about.

Feeling Saucy!

My version of mustard-based BBQ sauce

 I am far from being a barbecue expert, but I certainly have a very strong opinion of what good barbecue is.  For me, "barbecue" is a chopped pork sandwich with a North Carolina style thin vinegar and ketchup based sauce. Although I fancy myself to be quite an adept saucier, barbecue sauce is not really my forte.  Even more foreign, is the South Carolina style mustard-based sauce, that I have been challenged to create.

This sauce challenge presented itself last week when making Thai turkey burgers for an event at the new Chapman Family Cancer Wellness Center in Newnan.  The Thai turkey burger recipe is from chef Nancy's Taste and Savor cookbook and is always a hit every time it is served.  There was just one part of the recipe that we thought could use a little tweaking, in order to showcase the "better for you" mantra of our healthy kitchen.  The ginger-lime bbq sauce recipe, which accompany's the turkey burger, started with a store bought mustard barbecue sauce.  Although the store bought sauce was convenient and tasty, we just knew that we could make a mustard sauce base that was quick, delicious and above all, better for you.  I happily volunteered to see what I could come up with.  Below is the resulting recipe, which tastes wonderful as is, or can be adulterated with the additional ingredients in the ginger-lime sauce recipe.

A sampling of my sauce ingredients

Mustard BBQ Saucy Sauce:

1 cup yellow mustard

1/2 cup raw-unfiltered organic apple cider vinegar

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon white pepper

1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat.  Stir to combine and cook until brown sugar has melted into the sauce.  Continue to stir and cook for another five minutes.  Sauce can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days and reheated as necessary.  Yields 1/2 cups of sauce.  Recipe can easily be doubled or tripled if a greater volume of sauce is required.