The Wild Leeks of Spring-time
Filed under: Food & Cooking Tips, Living Green, Potatoes & Veggies
Some call them Ramps, others Ramsons. Folks from the far South and the West of
our country don’t know them at all because they’re a wild spring vegetable
of northern hardwood forests from South Carolina to Ontario.
Ramps are a delightful relative of the onion family (also closely related to the lily family). Their flavor is strong and earthy. They have tones of garlic, shallot and onion, yet have an elusively unique gingery spiciness.
Pioneers made certain to hunt their ramps for the nutrients they offered, being one of the very first green edibles of spring after a long winter of subsistence on stored vegetables. They say that the city of Chicago got its name from the native Potawatami “Checagou” which means “onions” or “skunk”, most likely due to the aroma from the proliferation of ramps that could be collected in the hardwood forests on the shores of Lake Michigan.
Buying Salmon - Health and Value Secrets!
Filed under: Food & Cooking Tips, Healthy Lifestyle
by Chef MartyYaffee, Certified Culinary Educator
Martin Yaffee
It’s a dilemma! Even when cash is loose and flowing, the cost of wild salmon has always made salmon seem like an extravagance, but with a tight economy, it seems to look even more beyond our fiscal reach. Is it worth it? And if not, what are the alternatives?
Salmon is truly “the king” of “the good fats” fare. It’s one of those foods that has no equal in providing us with those omega-3 fatty acids that our bodies absolutely can’t do without in our continuous production of new cells. Our body literally makes billions of new cells every day and for them to be created healthy, we need an adequate supply of omega-3 fatty acids which our cell membranes are actually made of. These particular healthy fats come from oily fish like salmon, sardines and tuna.
Herbs: For Cooking and Health
Natural herbs have been in use since the dawn of time. The Chinese have been using these flavorful weeds for everything from spicing up a favorite dish to curing allergies. Common herbs are most known for their culinary uses. There are medicinal applications for herbs as well.
The Native Americans knew the value of an herb. Whether it was to cure a toothache or cure an upset stomach, there was an herb for everything. Some of the best foods are made to taste that way because of an herb.
What would a pumpkin pie be without the herbs. The most popular sausages get their flavoring from natural herbs. Most of them can be grown right in the household garden. People forget the value of an herb until they try to cook without them. Herbs may be an overlooked little plant in the yard, but it is a plant that can pack a punch. They have been for centuries.
While hiking in the Alps two people came across the body of a man whom the hikers thought had fallen and been injured. As it turned out, it was the discovery of the century. The body was that of a man who had lived over 5,000 years ago. He had been caught in the big freeze with the entrance of the ice age. What made this so unique were the things he carried with him. One of these items was a small leather pouch of herbs. The herbs were reputed to be for medicinal purposes.
Go Ahead… Sauce it
Anyone watching their weight is generally told to keep away from sauces. And, I would agree if you are talking about Hollandaise, or any of those other creamy, fatty recipes.
The thing is, if you make it yourself, you control the ingredients and can make it healthy. The best part is, when you add a sauce it usually makes the meal a lot less boring and you have much less tendency of load up your plate with unhealthy things like butter or sour cream.
And, sauces are easy.
I have one basic rule: If the pan that I just cooked (usually meat) in has anything stuck to it, I make a sauce (not to mention, making a sauce in that pan makes cleanup a lot easier too).
Steamed Vegetables are Healthy, but
But, they are boring!
Many diets will instruct you to steam your vegetables so they retain the most nutrients and that is fine. The problem is, when you serve them it’s necessary to load them up with butter or margarine to make them taste good.
This defeats all the good you have done by steaming them.
Here’s an approach that will give you the nutrients from steaming, but also eliminate the tendency to load them up with fats and oils at the table…
Cheese or not to Cheese
There is nothing like a pizza with a ton of mozzarella cheese on it.
Or, maybe lasagna filled with ricotta?
The problem is, all of these soft mild cheeses don’t really give you the “bang for the buck”. You have to use quite a bit of each of them to make the dish taste right. This adds a ton of fat and calories.
Serving Sizes
This recipe “serves 4″. What the heck is a “serving” anyway?
If you look at it this way, a typical dinner would include a starch, a vegatable, a meat and a small salad. This means that you plate will hold 3-4 servings of food. This would be a typical meal.
Herb Blends for Cooking
You can blend herbs together to make many different fragrances and flavors. Some of the most popular seem to almost compliment each other as well as the food we put them in.
For some of us, natural is the way to go. With an endless supply of fresh herbs, which you can dry, there is no end to the mixes you can make for dips and salsas, or spreads and appetizers. I have included some of my favorites to give you an idea of what you can do with the herbs you grow.
Here are several common blends of herbs you usually end buying at the store. Blending them yourself will save you a ton of money.
Salad Dressings
I know that we don’t count calories on this site, but just for giggles flip that bottle of creamy dressing over. Here’s what I found:
Adding that egg…
I love eggs.
But, we all know they are high in fat and cholesterol.
And for that reason, whenever I eat any eggs, I want them to look like eggs on my plate. Fried, or sunny, or poached… you get the idea. If I decide to splurge and consume a little more fat and cholesterol than I normally would, I want it to look and taste like an egg.
In other words, there is no reason to use real eggs in recipes like meatloaf, cesar salad, pancakes or any other meal.
So, what do you do when the recipe calls for “1 egg”?