good • man • eats » Mark Bittman

The Kale Vacuum

jared — Tue, 04 May 2010 16:57:39 +0000

Last night I taught the thirteenth class of my last ‘food literacy and cooking skills’ series. By the end of May I will have completed 2 sessions – 4 series – 16 weeks of classes. Each group of families has taught me as much as I may have taught them. And last night’s group was no exception.

To vary the experience a bit, I wrote a new menu for the Spring series. (In the future I intend to change the meals with the seasons.) Previously, the first meal was a Bittman recipe of pasta with shredded vegetable s. Actually, to be honest, that recipe was not so seasonal, but for my first time doing this I needed some leeway. This time around, the pasta dish could fit the needs of any season here in the NW. Last night families prepared pasta with spicy kale. (Another simple recipe of Mr. Bittman from his masterpiece, How to Cook Everything.)

The beauty of the dish is the simplicity of the preparation. In one pot you make pasta and in another pan you saute garlic and red chili pepper flakes. Throw in some chopped kale and a bit of water and then cover the pan for 5 minutes, till wilted. Once the lid is removed and the remaining water cooks off the kale pan, the pasta is cooked, drained and then thrown in with the kale. With some help in the kitchen or a semi-experienced home cook, you can prepare the kale while the water boils and then cooks the pasta. In 20 minutes it’s all done and it’s super delicious.

I should also mention that the use of kale is totally interchangeable. You could use swiss chard, collard greens or spinach. Hearty leafy veggies would work best because all they have to do is wilt. But you could easily try broccoli or cauliflower if you blanch them in the pasta water first.

In any case, my point is that this meal is relatively simple, while also being affordable, filling and tasty. And yet, last night I hit an interesting road block. Of the ten people present last night, only one had encountered kale before. (I base this comment on what I heard from members of the class and questions I had asked the participants.) The foreign-ness of kale was so strong that many of the families did not know what to do with it. Yes, I was surprised by this. And yet, I was in their same situation but 5 years ago. It’s only in the last 2 years that I learned about kale or swiss chard. This moment shows not only how far I’ve come as a recovering junk food addict, but also how immersed I am in the kale vacuum.

“The Kale Vacuum” : A place or state of mind wherein you assume everyone else can identify, prepare and if desired, consume kale. And let it be known that kale is but a symbol for many other whole foods that are unbeknownst to the average person. Be it kohlrabi, rutabaga, endive or fava beans, etc.

As an educator is this type of classroom, I am learning to assume nothing. At first, I thought families would take the class to improve their cooking skills. It turns out that some attend to experience cooking as a family. Others show up to show their kids what eating healthy looks like. Many arrive with the interest of improving their skills and knowledge base. Few begin the class thinking they will learn critical food literacy.

From my perspective, there are numerous goals of the class, including: food literacy, cooking skills, questioning food marketing, empowering young and old, encouraging kids to cook with their parents, and introducing participants to new techniques, foods and meal options. For all this good intention, there’s something deeply satisfying in knowing that a bunch of kale is a learning experience unto itself. Though I may remain in the kale vacuum for some time, I do hope to expand its holding capacity with each new set of families who complete my class. That’s a goal that I can surely live with.

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Interview with Mark Bittman

jared — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 00:48:55 +0000

For all you Bittman fans, here is a great interview to watch. The topics range from his views on basic cooking techniques to standard pantry items to the local food movement to dining with Adolf Hitler. Like his recipes, I think his matter-of-fact demeanor is rather charming and appreciated, especially when you think about the pretentiousness of foodies. Definitely a nice break from the sensationalism of the Food Network.

Enjoy!

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A Tax on Soda = Illogical Food Policy

jared — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 04:17:24 +0000

Yesterday Mark Bittman published an article on the soda tax. In “Soda: A Sin We Sip Instead of Smoke?“, Bittman explores the controversy of taxing sugar-sweetened beverages. The impetus for such concern are the rising rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes, both modern epidemics for children and adults in America. This is clearly a serious issue. And yet, the cure for this problem could not seem more ridiculous!

The abundance of HFCS – high fructose corn syrup is overwhelming. The scientific research on HFCS and obesity is growing. (For example.) And the popular (and controversial) response to the destructive evolution of food production is taxation. Let me explain why I believe this conclusion – a soda tax – is absurd or downright illogical.

The Farm Bill, our nation’s official policy on major agricultural issues, is the building block of industrial food’s influence on our food system. Of the many complex topics covered in the bill, one of particular interest here is the subsidization of corn: the millions, if not billions of dollars spent by the federal government paying farmers to grow corn. This cash incentive creates a lot of corn, so much corn that new means of using the surplus are invented regularly. One of the more commonly known “inventions” of subsidized corn is high fructose corn syrup.

Because corn is subsidized we have A LOT of corn. All this excess corn = excess corn products, one of which is sweeteners. And so it is no coincidence that HFCS is overly popular among producers of processed foods. Over the years the popularity of HFCS has exploded. And now we are faced with an epidemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes, for which links between the two are evident. Somehow the great minds that be have decided that taxing beverages with HFCS (and other sugary sweeteners) is the solution to this widespread public health concern.

Soda is the new tobacco.

But why tax soda when you can remove subsidies for corn? Isn’t that the problem?! Isn’t the abundance of cheap corn the reason for the abundance of HFCS, and thus the abundance of super cheap soda pop?! If corn farmers lost their subsidy, that would surely rise the cost of soda, let alone other products that rely on corn-based sweeteners. This line of reason raises another important concern…

If HFCS is scientifically proven to cause obesity and/or type 2 diabetes, why stop at taxing soda? If the subsidies are reinstated and the taxation seems more likely, shouldn’t we tax all food producers that use HFCS? The justification of taxing sugary beverages doesn’t seem to make the most sense. I fear this missing link would weaken the proposal in the first place. If taxation is the cure to correcting people’s behavior (a sad fact in and of itself), let’s not limit ourselves to beverages. Tax all of the greedy, sugar-pushing companies that feed off of our addictions and ignorance.

Or better yet, since everyone hates taxes anyways, stop subsidizing cheap food and let us reap the benefits of paying the real cost of real food!

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A Fresh Perspective (weekly menu 20)

jared — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 05:16:23 +0000

For those of us who cook at home, one’s library of recipes is both a treasure and a burden. Like an old babushka from communist Europe, the ripped pages, dog-eared cookbooks and scraps of scribbled meal ideas are piled away in the ever-growing corner or dusty cabinet. Each night we peruse the pages looking for a new idea, a fresh perspective. But every time we open the same books, a looming sense of doubt fills our hungry bellies. There’s only so many pot roasts, stir-fries and creamy soups to find in one’s hoarded collection. Thank goodness an outside world exists. If it weren’t for libraries, magazine aisles, Bravo TV, the food channel and other consumer-friendly sources of food ideas, we’d still be standing over the stove stirring at the same old pot of stew.

Last week, while volunteering at the Alberta Coop and cleaning out the various ‘free boxes’ at the store, I came upon a large pile of magazines. At first I did not know these pages belonged to well-known publications. I soon found out that the covers were intentionally removed even though the magazines were perfectly fine. (The reasons for this are a completely different matter.) Among the various options was a cookbook – a “holiday special” for this particular publication.

It was only moments before beginning this post that I bothered to note the magazine’s name. The lovely pictures and wonderful meal ideas sucked me in before I cared to know who wrote what. Well, it turns out that Sunset magazine, a monthly publication devoted to “West coast living” was responsible for this awesome find. Aside from the great recipe suggestions, the simple fact that I got this for free is good enough for me. I’m the kinda guy who will take random cookbooks for the sake of undiscovered ideas only to learn that such cookbooks are soon-to-be trash. Lucky for me, this particular find will not end up in the recycling bin. Instead, I’ll use it regularly next week to feed ourselves and entertain new culinary possibilities.

Suffice to say, I’m very excited about this week’s menu. It’s got flare and flavor, both of which a home cook needs once in awhile. So here’s what I got for the next set of meals:

Pan-fried trout with cornbread and kale (from Sunset)
Coconut-braised beef with rice and vegetables (thank you Mark Bittman)
Jalapeno-ginger butternut squash soup (from Sunset)
Nutted brown rice pilaf with sauteed greens and roasted sweet potatoes (from Sunset)
Braised white cabbage and roasted acorn squash (thank you Jamie Oliver)
Butternut squash gnocchi and swiss chard (from Sunset)

It’s hard not to agree that this menu looks rather fabulous. I’m also happy to provide links to all of the recipes so that those interested can explore these new culinary venues too. If this isn’t one of the best meal plans yet, I don’t know what else could be. And of course the best part is finding this magazine – a real savior in my search for new ideas on the same old ingredients.

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The Pains of Eliminating (weekly menu 19)

jared — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 00:01:53 +0000

Today signals the 5th week of my epic elimination diet. For the past 36 days I have avoided 19 different food items, including: citrus fruits, beans, vinegar, tofu, tomatoes, eggs and mushrooms. Suffice to say, this is not easy. In fact, I don’t wish this upon anyone. It’s one thing to be gluten-free 0r dairy-free or nut-free, let alone all three at once. But it’s a whole other beast to ignore a dozen or so common random food items. In both cases there are plenty of options; but in the latter lifestyle there is much more difficulty when interacting with the outside culinary world. If anything, the elimination diet makes you feel like a weirdo, alientaed from the “normal world.” A world I once proudly inhabited.

Drama aside, the weekly menu writing has faced gaining difficulty. At the moment I am most tortured by the absence of eggs and tomatoes in my diet. The egg-free issue totally affects breakfast options. Forget eating out. At the same time, I have to temporarily say good-bye to custard, quiche and other souffles. The casserole scene deflates when the egg is gone.

Tomatoes on the other hand, have absolutely killed my beef ideas. While planning this week I considered what I could make with ground beef. It seems like all ground beef recipes call for tomatoes; and if I want to braise some tough cuts, there again, are tomatoes.

There are lots of options out there. The problem is, I don’t know all of them. (If you’re reading this and have ideas, please comment and share them with me!) Considering this limited view of culinary possibility, here is the menu I wrote for the coming week:

Hamburgers, sweet potato fries and pickles (no pickles for me though)
Curried rice noodles with vegetables and ground beef
Three vegetables sides: braised greens, spicy roasted cauliflower and carrot/parsnip puree
Double Dutch mac ‘n’ cheese with chard and steamed broccoli
Coconut curry with beef and vegetables over rice
Sweet potato and sage soup

While flipping through Bittman’s How to Cook Everything I found a great recipe that uses beef and does not require tomatoes but curried noodles instead. As a fan of rice noodles, this meal shall be especially delicious. Having white rice noodles (as opposed to brown rice) is a nice change of pace. The Asian brands are cheaper and larger than the GF brown rice variety. Interesting though, this recipe only calls for 1/2 a pound of ground beef. With the remaining half I want to make the hamburgers. Normally I try to stick with 2 meat dishes in a week, but since this calls for two 1/2 pound portions, look’s like we’ll have three.

I also found a package of beef stew meat in the basement freezer. I’m thinking of throwing this into a green coconut curry with some vegetables. Yes, I know I make a curry dish regularly, but there’s something about the meat addition that adds excitement to the weekly rice meal.

Overall, it looks to be another fabulous week of food. Maybe later this week I’ll finally get around to posting a recipe for one of these dinners…

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The New Year (weekly menu 15)

jared — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 06:38:25 +0000

Welcome to 2010.

To begin this new year with a healthy start, I am excited to embrace a new cookbook in our collection. This year for my birthday I received a copy of Sally Fallon’s Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. Like many others, I hope to improve my health this year by eating more nutritious foods. Almost a cult classic, Fallon’s cookbook is the one to have if you are ready to challenge the mainstream interpretations of nutrition. You may have begun this journey if you read Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food: And Eater’s Manifesto. While this relatively short book examines the history of nutritionism in America, Pollan also argues that we must revert to a more simple and wholesome diet – one consisting of more whole foods and pastured animal meat. To meet this goal, I highly suggest Fallon’s cookbook. It is the cornerstone of revitalizing traditional foods in the modern home.

What originally drew me to this book was her writing on animal fats. Contradicting every “health eating” article, report or societal advice I had heard, Fallon argues that cholesterol and animal fats are not the enemy. Instead, butter, cream, cheese, organ meat, eggs and raw milk are nutrient-dense and good for you! (Note: To attain these nutrients one must consume fat from animals that are raised on pasture, eating what is natural for them.) Her ideas are grounded in the research of Weston Price, a dentist who traveled around the world studying the diets of non-industrialized people. His finding were both controversial and significant to the understanding modern disease. (See a previous post on this specific topic.)

The Weston Price Foundation website is an excellent resource to learn more about these ideas and if interested, ways to get involved in the ‘movement.’ Although I am not an official member of WPF, I do advocate their ideas (i.e. this entry.) Once I tackle the 70 page introduction of the book, I’m sure I will have much more to say on her dietary suggestions. That said, I have already prepared one of the recipes – a winter root vegetable soup – and it was awesome! I think it may have been one of the best soups I’ve ever made. When I make it again (in a couple weeks) I will definitely post the recipe with some pictures.

If you haven’t guessed already, I mention all of this info because this week I will be making another recipe from her book. Because I value her philosophy and am intrigued by the nutritional benefits of her recipes, I find myself drawn to the prospect of preparing many, but not necessarily all of the recipes in this book. This week I’ll make my second Nourishing Traditions recipe. Again a soup. The plan is as follows:

Roasted chicken with steamed broccoli and carrot/parsnip puree
Lamb shepherd’s pie
Vegetable curry with rice
Chicken and rice soup

A couple comments on this list: The curry is a spin-off of a Bittman idea I prepared after Thanksgiving; instead of turkey curry, I’ll make some vegetable curry. The soup is from Fallon’s repertoire and I will use some stock I made this week for the broth. One lesson we’ve learned from these menus I write is the potential for leftovers. I’m rather certain we will have lots of leftovers this week and so I am leaving one night open to those; and another night we’ll have a potluck (TBA on our dish though) So I think a 4-dish menu is quite reasonable.

Overall I think this will be a great start to the new year. I definitely look forward to a nutrient-dense year of local, seasonal, homemade eating!

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Where have all the simple meals gone? (weekly menu 12)

jared — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 20:22:48 +0000

For more than two years now I have planned weekly menus. The goals have changed over time, but the quality of life that results from my semi-obsessive planning habits remain choice and flavorful. Sometimes we find a theme for the menu- an ethnicity, a region, a cooking technique, a desire for cheeses or meats, etc. Throughout this process of reading recipes and planning feasts at home, I have noticed one big shift – my conception of a “simple meal.”

For most people a simple meal is one they don’t make – they eat out. For others, a simple meal might be cooking from a box or can. For me, ‘simple’ is defined by the list of ingredients, the required prep work and the time needed to make the meal. By the end of every week I want to plan a simple meal – minimal prep work and little time used. And yet, come Friday when I post my menu I see that this goal of mine is again, disregarded. In my attempt to write an easy menu for next week’s pre-Thanksgiving meals, I may have failed myself all (again.) That’s the bad news. The good news is that we will be eating some more fabulous dinners. Maybe this is a win-win paradox?!

Starting tomorrow and following through till Tuesday, here is what I put together:

Coconut curry squash soup
Baked lamb shanks with mashed sweet potatoes
Pasta with tomato cream sauce and steamed broccoli
Fennel risotto with dried chili and ricotta

My desire for simplicity originated with Mark Bittman, and he is still a guiding force in my food-focused thinking. I recommend his modern bible, How to Cook Everything to anyone new to the kitchen. When I think about simple foods I think about Bittman. The soup recipe I’ll use this week comes from Bittman, specifically an article he published this week on 101 simple holiday meals. It’s almost mechanical how easily he creates easy to prepare meals. I didn’t take the time to read through the list, but I imagine if you are interested it would be a good site to bookmark for future use.

The lamb and risotto come from another favorite chef of mine, Jamie Oliver. He’s another celebrity chef hailing from Britain and eager to spread the gospel of healthy eating. I won’t go into great detail here, but if you come across any of his cookbooks or his website, I highly recommend reading about him, his philosophy and the numerous recipe ideas he creates. I would say he is a step up from Bittman, at least when I compare their recipes. Oliver is especially honed in on fresh, seasonal and sustainably-raised ingredients. No matter who you choose, both gentleman are excellent starting points for novice home cooks.

The grand irony of the week is Thanksgiving. For the first time in my life I will not be going home (to Virginia) for the holiday. The trip is too costly and too short in length to make sense. And so, an almost dream-come-true scenario is born this week. I will be cooking and hosting our Thanksgiving meal. One day I hope this will be one of the traditions we take on as a household; a day when my East coast family travels West for the celebratory turkey day.

I digress. The irony of the holiday is my strong desire to cook as simply as possible, something I rarely do on a daily basis. I will write more on this later next week, as I want to share the menu I planned and discuss the tasty possibilities of single-ingredient dishes. Until next Thursday though, it looks like I’ll continue to complicate my kitchen plans!

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Cookbooks – What do you have? What do you want?

jared — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 01:33:32 +0000

Every so often I mention a cookbook in a post. I decided it would be helpful to write a list of the books I own and the books I want to own. Ideally, readers will suggest books too. What better way to share our collective food knowledge than by creating a cookbook resource page. I will begin with books I already own. Books I highly recommend will have an asterisk.

* How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman (a modern Joy of Cooking)
* The Gourmet Cookbook edited by Ruth Reichl
* Cook With Jamie by Jamie Oliver
The Best Italian Classics from the editors of * Cook’s Illustrated (a monthly magazine)
Baking Illustrated from the editors of Cook’s Illustrated
* Splendid Soups and Spectacular Sides published by Cuisine at Home
Open House Cookbook by Sarah Leah Chase
The Jewish Holiday Baker by Joan Nathan
Fresh from the Farmer’s Market by Janet Fletcher
Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart
What to Have for Dinner published by The Best of Martha Stewart LIving
The Minnesota Homegrown Cookbook presented by Renewing the Countryside

Here is a list of books I hope to get some day (assuming my wife does not hate a cookbook library!)

The Silver Spoon by Phaidon Press
Other books by Jamie Oliver
The French Laundry by Thomas Keller
The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Books devoted to seasonal NW cuisine

I’m leaving room here so that I can add books to my “hope to own” list. Please leave a comment on books you love to use or love to dream of owning.

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Seasonality saves cost (weekly menu 7)

jared — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 23:58:14 +0000

When it comes to meal planning, an important strategy to consider is seasonality. Here in America, with out lavish grocery stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and New Seasons (a Portland venue), we can purchase dozens of produce items from any part of the world and from any of the 4 seasons. It’s true that summer is hot, winter is cold, and spring and fall bring beautiful colors. But when we take the time to recognize nature’s bounty, our connection to these cycles is deepened and enriched. And for those of you who want to save money at the grocery store and eat local, seasonality is the concept to consider!

Years ago, when we lived in Seattle and I started to cook regularly, I began to plan meals for our weekly shopping trip. Although I enjoyed the process of reading recipes and discovering culinary possibilities, I did not consider the season of the year. It was only a few years later, while living by the 100-mile diet, did I seriously think about the season’s fruits and vegetables. All of a sudden I was exposed to produce I had never heard of – celeriac, rutabaga, kohlrabi, garlic scapes – to name a few. At the same time, my meal planning scope got a whole lot smaller. For example, the spice of Mexican or Thai cooking disappeared from our household the day temperatures dropped and the jalapeno bushed frosted over. I learned that the cookbooks we owned did not consider seasonality, nor Epicurious and Bittman. All of a sudden, I had to start all over again.

The month I started buying seasonal I also started buying local, and the coincidence is not completely owed to the 100-mile diet. The reality is that local is seasonal. Hence my advocacy for seasonal eating, which in my opinion is the key to truly eating sustainably. And with this in mind, let me introduce our menu for next week:

yellow split pea soup with butternut squash and kale (taken from Fresh From the Farmer’s Market.)
Mushroom and shallot quiche with a side of sauteed kale
Morel-crusted short ribs with polenta
Vegetable stir-fry with brown rice
Blackened catfish with sauteed kale and roasted butternut squash

(I am also excited to announce that the 2nd installment of the World Cuisine Potluck is happening on Sunday night. This potluck’s theme is Danish food – the original comfort food!)

Let’s look at the menu with a seasonal eye. Considering our kale is exploding in the backyard and we want to keep up with it, there’s lots of kale next week. Squash, carrots, mushrooms and onions also scatter among the recipes. The decadence of next week will be highlighted with the short ribs, of which just 2 ingredients have to bought at the store. The butternut squash will have two uses, and bulk goods in the house like rice and polenta will meet our grain needs. The funny thing is that each week I find myself wanting simpler meals, but come time to plan, I can’t help but find recipes that require a bit more time and a whole lot more flavor. These meals may be seasonal, but they sure aren’t convenient!

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The “hidden cost” of convenience (follow-up)

jared — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:39:18 +0000

Yesterday’s post on the inconvenience of convenience food has left me with rambling thoughts. I feel like I unleashed a rather humongous topic that has no real resolution. That said, the need for more people to cook for themselves is important to me and I know this topic will frequent my blog. The issue of home-cooked meals brings forth many issues, some of which are the following:

household priorities – health, work, family, entertainment, friends, enrichment activities (where does the hierarchy begin?)
women’s liberation – from the kitchen to the workplace
male liberation – from the workplace to the kitchen?
modern amenities – at what cost to do we sacrifice traditional knowledge for instant gratification
individual health – what are the benefits of home-cooked meals?

For those of you who are intrigued by the issues raised here, I highly recommend you read articles posted by Mark Bittman on his site. After the publication of a magazine article on Jamie Oliver the food blog world got in a huffy over this very issue:

Do we need people to learn how to cook for themselves or do we need fast-food restaurants to use healthier (whole food) ingredients?

As you might imagine, my thoughts lean towards the first perspective. Where do you think the healthy food should come from and who is responsible for bringing it to the masses?

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