ED says - Eat your beans

In the face of a recession you can either hunker down with a Costco-sized case of Top Ramen or learn to cook.

The Economic Downturn, or ED as my friend Stan and I like to call it - can have some unexpected perks. For example - learning to cook and specifically, learning to make food from scratch. I'm already a convert of course, but what better way to save money and get better quality food for your buck? I'd rather not buy my vitamins and minerals separately, when I can get them in my food. It's also empowering, a creative outlet and a social opportunity too.

Plus you get to EAT what you make...

I'm writing a magazine article for my Writing About Food and Health class on just this topic. It goes into how whole foods like vegetables, beans and whole grains are the original budget food - La Cucina Povera (poor people's food). What better way to make one chicken breast stretch into a meal for 4 than by making a succulent stew beefed up with creamy white canellini beans? Sounds like a way to try the "little bit of this, little bit of that" approach again too...

I made just such a dish for my Culinary Skills class exam yesterday after pulling "Chicken Stew" from the hat. I took the leftovers home and added some canellini beans that my kitchen station partner hadn't used up in her dish. I actually like it better with the beans.

My new favourite beans are Cranberry Beans - aka Pink beans or Borlotti or Romano beans. They have a lovely creamy texture, almost nutty flavour and they don't fall apart in cooking like Canellini beans seem to. And talk about budget food... I bought a little tub of dried beans for 99cents. It held 4 cups of dried beans, each cup making 3 cups cooked - so 12 cups of cooked beans for 99 cents! I have a feeling that rivals Mac and Cheese on economical... not to mention filling...

Since I should be studying for finals right now, I'll leave the info on cooking and loving beans up to Culinate.com today.


Culinary Skills 2 Chicken Stew

1 -2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 small onion, diced

1 boneless/skinless chicken breast, cut into 2 inch chunks
2 chicken wings, tips cut off
1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 baby zuchini, in 3/4 inch slices
1 baby crook neck squash, in 3/4 inch slices
1 clove garlic, minced
6 Crimini (brown) mushrooms, 1/4 inch slices
3/4 of a small can of fire roasted tomatoes
1/2 cup chicken stock
3 sprigs fresh tarragon, leaves removed, stems discarded
pinch of dried oregano
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
1 cup of cooked Canellini or cranberry beans

Crispy Capers, to serve (below)
Brown Rice, to serve


Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat, add the onions and cook until translucent. Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the chicken wings, sprinkle with smoked paprika on both sides, turning once. Add the cubed chicken breast, sprinkle with remaining smoked paprika and brown on all sides. Remove the chicken breast (leave the wings in) and set aside.

Add the vegetables, mushrooms and garlic to the pot. Cook until lightly browned and starting to soften a bit.

Add the tomatoes, stock, tarragon and oregano. Bring up to a boil, then reduce heat to low-medium, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the browned chicken breast, cover and simmer on low for an additional 10 to 15 minutes, testing a piece to ensure it is cooked but not overdone. The goal is succulent, moist chicken.

Stir in the vinegar and add salt and lost of black pepper to taste. Simmer a minute or two.
Serve over a bowl of brown rice with crispy capers (below).

For the crispy capers - drain 1 or 2 teaspoons of capers well. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the capers to the hot oil (be careful, if they aren't dry they will spatter), and let them brown and crisp, stirring occasionally. They will be crunchy and lightly browned when done. Remove from the pan, drain on paper towel. Serve over stew (or salads!).

If you need more than just taste for encouragement....
Beans are packed with fiber (naturally cholesterol-lowering, filling, blood sugar stabilizing and much more), anti-oxidants, magnesium, folate, and vitamin B6. Bean consumption is linked to lower cancer and heart disease rates too. Bastyr is even completing a research study that has demonstrated eating beans leads to weight loss - not surprising with their amazing satiety factor...

Enjoy!

The Flavor Bible - ok, I like it.

When my housemate's boyfriend came by with this heavy tome under arm - I had mixed feelings. The Flavor Bible is a compilation of foods, herbs and spices - pretty much anything you can imagine that is edible and has a taste - organized alphabetically with a listing of every flavour that complements it, as well as descriptions of the flavour characteristics, qualities and strengths.

My initial reaction was mild annoyance - I love being creative and relying on my senses in the kitchen. I think too many people are put off from cooking by thinking they have to follow recipes or techniques or that there is some magical law that basil goes with Italian cuisine, cumin with Indian, ginger with Asian etc. I didn't give the book much of a chance.

I cracked the pages a day later and realized what a wealth of information I had my hands on. This book is the result of the immense creativity of countless imaginative chefs. I'm a convert now. Instead of being a do this, not that manual to flavour combinations, it actually adds to the creative, intuitive nature of cooking I enjoy most by giving cooks a new way to look at flavours and new ideas for stepping outside their norms. It definitely reminded me to think outside what I've learned and try something new.

Yesterday I made a dinner salad that tasted so amazing I squeeled with glee on my first bite and forced my roommate to try a bite. She agreed it was incredibly delicious. It still felt like my own creation because it didn't come from a recipe, even though the Flavor Bible nudged me to try the additions I just couldn't see in my mind (note to self - not my senses, but my MIND couldn't imagine them).

Under the grapefruit entry, it nudged me to use up the mint I had on hand and add some hazelnuts too. I tentatively wrapped a tiny bit of mint, avocado and grapefruit in a spinach leave, dipped it in the dressing I had made and tasted it. I was sold. And this salad was born...


Grapefruit-Mint Quinoa Spinach Salad - serves 2

This salad is high in protein, iron and calcium due to the amazing little South American grain, quinoa. It has an amino acid profile equal to meat - i.e. it is a complete protein. It is also gluten free for those who are sensitive little flowers (like myself). However, I love quinoa for its flavour and versatility and for how it coats the spinach leaves and soaks up the tangy dressing in this salad.

Quinoa
1/2 cup quinoa, rinsed well and drained
3/4 cup boiling water
(makes 1 1/2 cups cooked quinoa)

Shallot Vinaigrette - (warning this is from memory! I'll try to make it again soon to test out the proportions...)
1 small shallot, peeled and minced
about 1/4 cup sweet, fruity olive oil
about 2 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
about 1 tbsp. sherry vinegar
juice from 1 small lemon
2 tsp. dark, flavourful honey
sea salt - plenty to taste
black pepper

Salad
half a bunch of spinach, well washed, long or tough stems trimmed and discarded
1/2 an avocado, cut into small cubes
1/2 a pink grapefruit, supremed
2 tbsp. hazelnuts, toasted and chopped coursely
handful of fresh mint leaves, cut into thin ribbons (chiffonade)

Directions:
Quinoa
Place the quinoa in a small pot. Add the boiling water. Stir, add a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, cover with the lid, reduce heat to lowest setting and let cook for 15 minutes.

Do not lift the lid or stir while cooking. Little steam vents form that keep the grains separate, stirring disrupts them and causes it to become a gloopy mess.

After 15 minutes remove the lid and tilt the pan to the side. If you see water, cover and return to cook for another few minutes. Once no water appears, it is done. Let sit covered, off the heat for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

Dressing: While the quinoa is cooking, make the dressing. Whiz all the ingredients except the oil together with an immersion blender or regular blender. Drizzle in the olive oil while blending so that it emulsifies into the dressing. It should be creamy and slightly thick. Taste and adjust vinegar, oil, salt and pepper to taste. My dressing was slightly sweet but had a nice tangy, saltiness too.

Salad: Place the spinach in a bowl, spoon the quinoa (it can be still warm) over top, tossing it a little bit so the quinoa and spinach are mixed together.

Drizzle with some dressing.

Place the avocado and grapefruit over top, sprinkle with the sliced mint and chopped hazelnuts.

Enjoy!

Rhubarb Revisted...

Guess what - (on again about last few posts on rhubarb...) strawberries are high in oxalates too -- but amazingly... hazelnuts are a good source of calcium, second only to almonds... so enjoy a slice of balance : )

My mom emailed me three variations of her infamous tart. I imagine her pulling the hand scrawled papers and yellowed newspaper clippings from her blue rubber banded bible... "The McCormick's Spice Islands Cookbook".

Deciphering which one was "Mom's original strawberry rhubarb hazelnut flan" was mostly based on the degree of strawberry staining they'd each accumulated. In the end, we decided that it was likely a hybrid of them all - as she, as most great cooks, took the best elements from each recipe, and combined them into perfection. Here is a hybrid that incorporates all the elements I remember- however, I have not tested it yet...

Strawberry-Rhubarb Flan with Crisp Hazelnut Crust

Pastry
1/2 cup Hazelnuts, toasted
3 tbsp Sugar (for a less refined version try Sucanat or Rapadura)
1 1/4 cups All-purpose flour (try replacing half with whole wheat or spelt pastry flour)
1/2 tsp Salt
6 tbsp Chilled butter, cut into small pieces
1 Large egg, beaten

Filling
3 cups Rhubarb, chopped (in 1/2 inch pieces)
1 cup Sugar (or Sucanat or Rapadura)
2 tbsp Cornstarch
2 tbsp Melted butter
2 cups Fresh strawberries
1/4 cups Apricot or red currant jelly

Pastry:
In a food processor, pulse toasted hazelnuts and sugar until nuts are finely ground.
Add flour and salt, process until well combined. Transfer to large bowl.

Using fingertips, work butter into dry ingredients until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Stir in egg with a fork. Do not over work - mixture should be crumbly.

Press into 10 inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom. Refrigerate for 30 min.
Prick bottom and sides with a fork. Line with foil and fill with dried beans.
Bake at 350 f (180c) for 15 minutes. Remove foil and beans.

Bake an additional 10 minutes or until golden. Place on rack to cool completely.

Filling:
Combine rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch and melted butter. Mix thoroughly. Spoon into pie shell and spread out evenly.

Bake in lower half of oven at 425F for 10 minutes.

Reduce oven to 350F and bake for about 30 minutes or until pastry is golden brown and rhubarb is tender.

Let cool thoroughly at room temperature.

Hull strawberries, cut in half and arrange, cut side down on top of cooled pie. Melt jelly in a small saucepan over low-medium heat and brush over strawberries to glaze. Let cool thoroughly before serving.


Recipe, with love added by Carol Bathgate