A Good Dish

making food simpler

Helping Along Your New Year’s Intentions by Having Vegetables at the Ready

A heaping portion of salad a day…
Triangular bowl by Tom Jaszczak

Eat healthier is always at the top of my list of New Year’s resolutions. For me that means eating less flour and sugar, drinking plenty of water and eating lots more vegetables. Sound familiar? Every January I start off full of good intentions and every year I do a little bit better. When I think about how I eat now compared with years past, there is no contest. There are so many more organic and local options that eating healthy is easier now. Always making sure we have celery, carrots, lettuce and other salad fixings in the refrigerator, leftover greens and some bags of vegetables in the freezer is a sure way to insure I should have no excuses.

Having fresh greens, like watercress, in the fridge and making a big salad makes eating better easier
Bagged kale salad from Costco puts a salad on your table in minutes

Jicama, watermelon radishes and cabbage are easy to find in January and add crunch and volume to cold weather salads. Seaweeds like arame and hiziki can be tossed with julienned carrots and onions and topped with a sesame vinaigrette. Thinly cut and massaged kale or a bag of arugula is an easy way to add a green salad to your diet any time of year or simply sauté that same kale, arugula, cabbage, watermelon radish or watercress with garlic or onions for a warm dish. Costco sells a prepared bagged kale salad ready to eat. All you have to do is dress it. The classic winter salad, the Waldorf (apples, celery, walnuts), is usually made with mayo and too creamy for my taste. Same thing with celery root remoulade but substituting a combination of yogurt and mustard for the mayo or using a vinaigrette solves that problem in both cases.

Root vegetables (beets, carrots, parsnips, squash and rutabagas) last a long time (most in the fridge, squash on the counter) and are easy to roast. Leftovers make a great base for salads or poached eggs or can be added to healthy up or substitute for your breakfast potatoes. I often make extra when roasting sweet potatoes for supper so I have some left over for breakfast or lunch that week. Making extra veggies, whatever way you are preparing them, will provide you the means for making healthy meals for a couple of days ahead.

Another way to up your winter vitamins and minerals is to get in a green smoothie. Just toss some greens in your blender alongside an avocado, some frozen fruit and/or yogurt, kefir or nut milk, perhaps upping the protein with nuts or seeds, and you can have a nutritious liquid meal in minutes.

Eating better can be the easy part of our New Year plans. Keeping your refrigerator and freezer stocked with vegetables can help that happen.

A green smoothie is an easy way to get in more veggies
Tumbler by Tom Jaszczak

When Autumn Gives You Apples, Make Applesauce!

Homemade applesauce in a Maiolica bowl
by Stanley Mace Andersen

Fall is apple season and right now bins of fresh crisp red, green and yellow apples are ours to buy – the markets are full of them. When you have more than you can eat out of hand, cooking apples is a way to intensify and diversify their flavor. Making applesauce is the simplest means by which to transform apples to another level and doing so will generate wonderfully sweet aromas in your kitchen. Homemade applesauce tastes great served with pork, chicken, potato pancakes, with walnuts, pumpkin and chia seeds or on its own. It can be tailored to your own preferences for spice and consistency and is much more flavorful than the generally bland jarred varieties. You can substitute some applesauce for part of the butter in a muffin or cake recipe and it supplies a healthy amount of fiber, always a positive. I make it because I love to eat it and it is one of the easiest things I know how to cook.

A potful of cut apples with cinnamon ready to be cooked

There is almost nothing to it except cutting up the apples. We like to eat applesauce made with the skins (which also adds lovely color) but if you don’t, all you have to do is put it through a food mill after cooking or peel the apples before cutting (although the peels add color and flavor). I usually buy the 2 bags for $5 of sometimes bruised and sometimes perfect apples that one of the farmers at our market offers but any variety you like will work. Just cut up an assortment of apples (composting the cores), add 1/2 cup of water to get things cooking, toss in a cinnamon stick, sprinkle liberally with cinnamon, cover and simmer until mushy (about 20-30 minutes), stirring occasionally. Really – that is it!

Mason jars of applesauce can stay in your refrigerator for weeks

If you like ginger or cardamom or nutmeg, add some. If you like the consistency thinner, add more water or a little apple juice or cider. If you have a ripe pear, plum or a handful of cranberries or raspberries, toss them in to cook along with the apples. Apples and cinnamon together are sweet enough that I never add sugar of any kind. The finished applesauce keeps for weeks in a covered glass jar in the refrigerator or you can process it in a water bath like jam and keep it on a shelf until summer. If you make it now, I’ll bet it will be gone long before we even get to winter!

Homemade applesauce in a maiolica bowl by Stanley Mace Andersen

Strawberry Bruschetta – A Toast to Summer

Strawberry Bruschetta
Plate by Mary Barringer

I was never in love with bruschetta (I’m always trying to avoid more bread) but Strawberry Bruschetta changed my mind. For some of you it may not be a new experience but I tasted it for the first time recently at a wine bar happy hour with a friend who was visiting from DC. We were both amazed at how something so simple could be so delicious. Since June is peak season for strawberries in the Northeast, I thought I would start off the month with an easy recipe that is suitable for an hors d’oeuvre, starter or light meal.

The strawberries can be prepared different ways but the two I found best were cutting and tossing with balsamic vinegar and olive oil or slicing and drizzling with an aged balsamic (or balsamic that has been reduced by simmering if you don’t want to spring for the expensive stuff). The spread layer can vary, the most common being goat cheese or mascarpone. I like it with plain ricotta but even cream cheese or butter work. For a lighter or vegan version, you could leave off the cheese completely, perhaps adding a smear of jam under the berries. And to make without bread altogether, try a slice of cucumber.

 

The most popular herb in recipes for strawberry bruschetta is fresh basil (going with the balsamic, cheese, etc.) but I like it with fresh mint, too, and even parsley could be good in a pinch. The toast, itself, can be almost any kind of bread but a dense sourdough or whole grain baguette is an easy size when sliced. For hors d’oeuvres, little specialty crisps (like the Trader Joe’s Fig & Olive Crisps) work perfectly with a single small berry or slice for a one bite serving. For a meal, a larger piece of bread is useful, served like an open faced sandwich. Strawberries are a delicious alternative until tomato season arrives and it is fun to use what is in season for some surprisingly tasty bites! 

Version 1 with mint on left, Version 2 with basil on right
Oiled Maple board by Edward Wohl

STRAWBERRY BRUSCHETTA

Version 1:

  • Wash, hull and cut in bite-sized pieces fresh strawberries.
  • Whisk equal parts balsamic vinegar with extra virgin olive oil.
  • Add a pinch of salt and black pepper.
  • Pour over cut berries, toss and let marinate while you prepare toasts.
  • Cut thin slices from a baguette and toast until golden brown and cool.
  • For a richer bruschetta, drizzle or brush toasts with additional olive oil.
  • Spread each toast with ricotta, mascarpone, cream cheese, butter or fresh goat cheese).
  • Top the cheese with a spoonful of the marinated strawberries on each toast and sprinkle with torn fresh basil or mint leaves.

Version 2:

  • Cut thin slices from a baguette and toast until golden brown. Drizzle lightly or brush with a good olive oil and let cool. For an hors d’oeuvre, use small crisps on their own.
  • Spread each toast (or crisp) with ricotta, mascarpone. butter, cream cheese or fresh goat cheese and sprinkle with a bit of salt (salt optional).
  • Top with thinly sliced strawberries (for crisps just use one slice).
  • Drizzle with aged or reduced balsamic vinegar (or a vinaigrette made from equal parts vinegar and oil) and sprinkle on chopped fresh basil or mint leaves.
Bite sized version on crisps with cream cheese

Another Shot of Winter Gives Us Another Chance to Cook

From The Yosemite Suite (2010-11) by David Hockney

Even though we’ve changed the clocks ahead (when are we going to give up that antiquated routine?), it still feels like winter in New York. Nothing like a little snow on branches to make us forget that Spring will be here next week. But it will. We’ve had little glimpses. And until it gets here, make soup and ginger tea, make oatmeal for breakfast before it gets too warm and be cosy!

We will be traveling for a few weeks, researching food, wine, markets and all things clay. Be back in April with lots more posts. Until then, keep warm and enjoy bundling up with a steaming cup or bowl while you still are able. 

Buds around the Central Park Reservoir in February

My New Favorite Breakfast – Add Greens!

Scrambled eggs with arugula
Terra Cotta plate by Mary Briggs

You may not ordinarily think of making a vegetable for breakfast, but tossing a couple of handfuls of quick cooking greens in your pan a minute before adding your scrambled eggs takes a ordinary breakfast up a nutritional notch. If you are vegetarian or vegan, simply add the greens to your tofu scramble or beans. If you like savory oatmeal, corn grits, congee or another porridge rather than sweet to start your day, adding greens is a no-brainier. Keeping some fresh arugula or spinach in your refrigerator is an easy way to insure you always have greens to cook. You can get one or two servings of veggies out of the way before you leave home in the morning.

Keep fresh quick cooking greens on hand in the fridge
Frozen vegetables can have more vitamins than fresh!

You could make a sandwich out of your scramble or eat it straight up. (If you don’t eat bread, adding vegetables is a way to bulk up your breakfast). If you wanted to enrich your eggs even more, you could sauté an onion before adding your greens or simply toss in some leftover vegetables from your previous meal. Peas, asparagus, sautéed or steamed greens, mushrooms and even zucchini all work well. I never use broccoli or cauliflower because I can’t handle the aroma early in the day but if you are careful not to overcook and the smell doesn’t bother you, go for it. Full disclosure – someone (who shall remain unmentioned) went through a broccoli in the morning phase and since she often overcooked it, we’ve had trouble even thinking about using it ever since! Keeping some vegetables in your freezer means you’ll have a veggie on hand to add. Frozen peas, green beans, artichoke hearts and mixed vegetables all work well. Just heat them in a little butter or oil to take the cold edge off (they are already cooked) and add your eggs to scramble. Grating in some fresh (or a pinch of dried) turmeric makes it healthier (anti-inflammatory/antioxidant) and spicier. Or try a handful of chopped fresh herbs (dill is especially good but even parsley works) to your scramble – already an improvement!

Sautéed arugula only takes a minute to prepare
Scrambled eggs with mushrooms, baby kale and turmeric

Another possibility, if you prefer fried or poached eggs, is simply to cook or warm your vegetables (with arugula or spinach it only takes a minute) and top the greens with your eggs or put it all on a piece of whole grain toast. If you don’t eat bread but do eat grains, topping leftover quinoa, grits or kasha with greens and poached or fried eggs is delicious and quite filling. Whichever way, you’ve bettered your breakfast without much effort. Without the effort of an omelet or frittata, adding greens easily ups both the nutritional profile and satiety level of your breakfast. It is eye pleasing and, best of all, tasty!

Green Breakfast Sandwich