Many believe that cancer strikes because of poor genetics or poor luck–because of factors that are outside our control. Some believe it’s simpler than that; it strikes because we’re living longer and have more time to develop the disease. Yet there is much evidence to suggest that cancer often strikes because of the lifestyle choices we make, and because our eating habits and the quality of the foods we consume have deteriorated. No culture in all of human history has ever eaten as we do now.

How did it happen? How did  the thread of well being that wove one generation to the next begin to unravel? One answer, I think, is that large-scale, continual change has been the reality for as long as most of us have been living. We’ve grown so accustomed to it that we rarely consider how unusual the extent and pace of this change has been. Further, the transformation of both our food supply and food habits promised to be “new and improved.” Without adequate perspective, most of us couldn’t know where these developments would lead or predict that the unraveling might destroy our garment of good health.

While it’s true that poor health is built into our modern food system, the story does not have to end here. We all have the power to step around this system and, in our own homes and without much difficulty, to understand and undo many of these changes.

Real food--past, present and future

©Photo courtesy of: DTR@Ruhlman.com

The following are specific examples of how our eating habits and food quality have changed since WWII. These examples are worth noting for two reasons: because they correlate with rising cancer rates, and because they are all under our control.

• Introduction of refined vegetable oils and trans fats. Since WWII, we have transitioned from traditional fats like butter and olive oil to industrial vegetable oils and trans fats, which have no nutrients and can fuel cancer growth because of their high rates of omega-6 fats. In excess, omega-6 fats cause internal inflammation.
• Feeding farm animals grain instead of grass. In response to a postwar increase in demand for animal foods, farmers implemented shortcuts to save time and money, chief among them feeding animals corn and soy (nearly all of it genetically altered) instead of grass. These seeds have an abundance of inflammatory omega-6 fats and nearly none of the beneficial omega-3 fats found in grass. In addition, conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid thought to have important anti-cancer benefits, is found in foods that come from grass-fed animals. It is missing in animals that live on grain.
• Reliance on antibiotics and hormones in raising livestock. It has become common for farm animals to be given antibiotics to promote growth, or simply to prevent disease rather than treat it–the latter compensating for methods of feeding and rearing that are inherently unhealthful. Many cows are also given hormones to fatten them faster and to increase their milk production. When we consume milk and meat from these cows, the hormones we take in can stimulate the growth of our own cells, including cancer cells.
• Use of pesticides in growing food. The 1940s and 1950s marked the beginning of the pesticide era. Decades later, most of us carry internal traces of more than 200 environmental chemicals, many of which play a role in the initial development of cancer cells, and in the development of individual cancer cells into dangerous tumors. On a broader level, immune cells are able to work better and harder when they are protected from toxins.
• Increased intake of sweeteners. Consumption of sweeteners has increased exponentially since WWII. Here, I am referring to white and brown sugar, and also to high-fructose corn syrup, which was developed and marketed in the last 40 years and is toxic to our bodies. These sweeteners weaken immune strength. They also cause blood sugar spikes that prompt a surge of insulin and insulin growth factor (IGF). This surge makes cells, including cancer cells, grow faster and enhances their ability to spread into neighboring tissue.
• Reliance on processed and packaged foods. Postwar prosperity stimulated our appetite for processed and packaged foods; these have been sold to us as a convenience but they are more correctly impostors–looking like food and filling us as food does, but providing little or no nourishment and even causing harm. Most processed foods contain refined vegetable oils and trans fats, high-fructose corn syrup or sugar, and white flour. Processed foods may look like the foods that nourished past generations, but they are less nutritious; they promote inflammation; and they encourage weight gain–all of which increase cancer risk.
• Reliance on a few ingredients to provide all our nutrients. Since WWII, the pace of our lives has quickened in unimaginable ways and, as we have become busier, our diets have become less diverse. We used to get nutrients from a variety of foods. Yet today, according to scientist Stephan Guyenet, processed foods made with white flour, sugar and refined vegetable oils comprise more than 50% of our calories. These food choices harm us in two ways: by the damage they cause in their own right, and by the way they crowd out foods that offer a diversity of nutrients for detoxifying carcinogens, strengthening immunity and quieting internal inflammation.

Inflammation: The Tie that Binds

Nearly all of the changes described above increase inflammation inside of us, which matters because inflammation is the underpinning of cancer and other modern illnesses. Even among those who have cancer, patients with the lowest levels of inflammation have the longest lives. According to Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, inflammation levels, which are easy to measure, are a better indicator of patient survival than is overall health at the time of a cancer diagnosis.

Our understanding of inflammation and it’s role in disease is relatively new, which is why we haven’t heard much about it when it comes to disease prevention. Another reason is that that avoiding inflammation is inexpensive, not patentable and doesn’t require a prescription, so it’s not in anyone’s interest to spend time promoting preventive measures.

Changes We Have the Power to Make

It is always easier to avoid a problem than it is to fix it after it has happened. Yet it is not too late for us to reconnect with food that is real rather than manufactured, and to reduce our chances of getting cancer or of having it recur. The following are ideas you may want to consider for moving forward–choosing a pace that feels comfortable to you:

• Limit refined vegetable oils and trans fats like margarine–especially those made from corn, soybeans, safflower, cottonseed, and sunflower seeds. Replace them with butter from pastured hens, olive oil or virgin organic coconut oil. On the rare occasions when these won’t do, refined coconut oil or canola oil may work as a back-up. While these two oils come with some considerations and might best be used moderately, they are not thought to be inflammatory.
• Look for meat, dairy products and eggs from animals raised on grass, and from animals that have not received antibiotics or hormones. Chickens always receive some grain, but they should be raised primarily on pasture; labels will say “grass fed” or “pastured.” Animal products will also be labeled “free of antibiotics and hormones.” (A certified organic label says nothing about whether an animal was raised on grass, but it is an indication that animal foods are free of antibiotics and hormones.)
• Whenever possible, opt for food that is grown without pesticides. Organic certification is one proof of purity, but you can also ask the farmer who grows your food. You may remember from past posts that the Environmental Working Group publishes a shopper’s guide to pesticide residue on fruits and vegetables. This guide can help you prioritize your organic purchases.
• Consider filtering your tap water to minimize your intake of toxins like flouride, pesticides and pharmaceuticals. Carbon and reverse-osmosis filters both do the job well.
• To the extent you can, cook at home. This may challenge you, but remember that most restaurants use the cheapest quality ingredients: refined sugar, industrial vegetable oils, and meat and dairy products from animals fattened on grain and given antibiotics and hormones. When you eat out, you can control what you eat, but not the quality of what you eat–and quality is what matters most.
• Remember to read labels. To avoid listing sugar as the first and largest ingredient, food manufacturers often list it under many different names: evaporated cane juice, molasses, corn syrup, honey, sucrose, fructose, glucose, maltose, and more. Watch for and avoid these hidden sugars, as well as refined vegetable oils and white flour.
• Aim for reducing your intake of sweets and keep in mind that, because sugar can be addictive, it may take time–a month or even longer–for sugar cravings to subside.
• As often as possible, replace white flour with whole-wheat flour. See Bold Baking #1 for ideas on how to make this substitution work.
• Broaden your diet to include a variety of plant foods that promote health and work against many common forms of cancer. It’s ideal to eat all sorts of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, beans, nuts and seeds. You can supplement these with high-quality meat, fish, eggs or dairy if you make these foods a part of your diet.
• Learn to recognize and appreciate living fermented foods, which can inhibit the growth of certain cancer cells and play a role in detoxification. See Living Foods.
• Try to work cancer-protective foods into your diet. For individual cancer cells to develop into dangerous cancers–and for existing cancers to spread– they need new networks of blood vessels to feed them. Inflammation enables the creation of new blood vessel networks, so foods that reduce inflammation are cancer protective. These include certain green teas, mushrooms, spices and herbs. For more information, refer to Foods that Fight Cancer, by Beliveau and Gingras.

In Closing

We need ways of food gathering, cooking, and eating that support good health rather than work against it–and that assume we have patience, a willingness to learn, and a durable vision of what a good life entails. Cooking at home; knowing the farmers who grow our food; eating in season; relying on a variety of fresh ingredients that are free of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones; consuming only grass-fed animal products; limiting our use of sweeteners, and using traditional fats are the threads we can use to re-weave the fabric of our well being.

Cancer-Fighting Green Tea

Copyright 2010, Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul

One of the most important ways we have of replenishing and strengthening the population of microorganisms inside of us is by eating living foods–also called fermented foods. Fermentation is as old as humanity. The process transforms our food, preserving it and making it more nutritious and digestible; the food then transforms us.

Around the world, fermented foods are prized for their contribution to good health and long life. Our modern American culture, however, has lost much of its connection to these foods and its appreciation of their many benefits. Living fermented foods can be hard to come by and, where they are still found, we often don’t recognize them or value their importance.

Put simply, living fermented foods matter. They have the potential to impact our well being in such a significant way that they are worth getting to know–and worth appreciating for their power to support a level of good health that is vibrant, deep and lasting.

Sourdough Starter and Cabbage for Kraut

©Photo courtesy of: DTR@Ruhlman.com

Defining Living Fermented Foods

Fermentation gives us chocolate, wine, beer, bread, salami and sauerkraut. It also transforms milk and cream into yogurt, cheese, cultured butter and buttermilk. For more adventurous eaters, fermented foods may include tempeh, miso, kimchee, fermented vegetables, beet kvass, kefir and more. In truth, nearly all of the foods we consider “gourmet” are the product of fermentation.

It’s important to know that not all fermented foods are still alive when we consume them. To be “living”–that is, to provide us with the benefits that living microorganisms offer–they must not have been heated to the point at which microorganisms die. So, sourdough bread is alive before it’s baked, and even though it can be highly nutritious, it is not a living food when we eat it. Similarly, fermented foods like pickles or sauerkraut that are bottled and heat-processed to remain stable on a shelf are not living foods. And sauerkraut or pickles made with vinegar may be tasty, but they are more correctly preserved foods; they are neither living nor fermented.

Some fermented foods bear tell-tale signs that they are alive. Miso and fermented vegetables like sauerkraut, kimchee and pickles will be refrigerated when  you buy them. Fermented vegetables will also contain herbs, spices, and salt as their only other ingredients; vinegar will not be listed on the label. Yogurt, yogurt shakes and buttermilk will say “contains live cultures” on the container. For all of these to remain potent living foods, you need to refrain from heating them.

The Many Ways That Living Fermented Foods Improve Our Health

Before our ancestors had refrigerators, fermenting was their primary means of preserving milk, cream, vegetables, fish and meat. Fermentation worked as a natural preservative by using microorganisms to break down foods, a process that happens to be toxic to food-spoiling microbes. Now that we have refrigeration, there are other reasons to treasure living fermented foods; the overarching one is that fermentation is a living process capable of changing, in important ways, the character of our gut and of the foods we eat. More specifically, fermentation:

• Improves digestion. Most of us have used or consumed antibiotics, processed foods, sugar and chlorinated water. All of these make it difficult for the diverse population of microflora within us to flourish. Fermented foods, on the other hand, dramatically improve digestion by promoting the growth of healthy intestinal flora. This enables us to absorb more nutrients from the foods we eat so, over time, we get a higher level of nutrition from the same quality and quantity of food.
• Makes foods more digestible. Fermented foods are essentially pre-digested, which makes it easier for us to absorb their nutrients. Some people who don’t tolerate milk, for example, can eat yogurt without difficulty.
• Makes foods more nutritious. Fermentation creates new nutrients in foods. More specifically, as the microorganisms in fermented foods mature through their full life cycle, they create vitamins that were not present before–including B vitamins like folic acid, riboflavin, niacin, thiamin and biotin.
• Strengthens immunity. Since 70%-80% of our immune system resides in the digestive tract, a healthy digestive system is the key to a properly-functioning and robust immune system. It is also our first line of defense against disease.
• Removes toxins from food. Fermentation reduces or eliminates toxins in food. Cassava, for example, contains cyanide until it is fermented. Many whole grains and beans contain phytic acid, an “anti-nutrient” that limits our ability to absorb and retain minerals, until it is neutralized by soaking (a form of fermentation).
• Makes foods more flavorful. Fermentation changes the flavor, aroma and texture of foods in wonderful ways. Consider how milk becomes tangy yogurt or the way fresh, crunchy cucumbers turn into sour dill pickles.

Living fermented foods are ideally taken as condiments, and a small portion a day seems to be enough to reap their many benefits.

What About Probiotics?

A high-quality probiotic supplement may be useful for a period of months if you are ill, if you have been on antibiotics, if you tend not to remember to eat fermented foods regularly, or if your digestion is weak and your population of beneficial microorganisms is low.

Our grocery store shelves are also lined with foods and drinks that have had probiotics added to them, but these seem to be a costly marketing ploy. They approximate old-fashioned living fermented foods that contain diverse microorganisms, but the fermentation process is missing–and the process is the point. If you need a probiotic supplement, it would be better to find a good one and take it as “medicine.”

Living fermented foods are natural probiotics. They sow your inner garden with seeds that have been used for all time and, unlike manufactured foods, have always been a part of our culinary tradition.

Finding Living Fermented Foods

Fermentation is generally not an industrial process; it can’t be in our litigious society where foods have to be sterilized with chemicals or heat to remain stable during transport and for long periods on store shelves. Further, making living fermented foods is as much an art as it is a science, which makes the process difficult to standardize; each batch is unique. For these reasons, living fermented foods are best made on at home or on small farms by people who care about our food heritage and about quality.

The best way to obtain living fermented foods is to look for them at farmers’ markets or in the refrigerated sections of local health food stores–or to make them yourself, which is not difficult. You might look at making your own fermented foods as a way of embracing the living energy in your own environment, building inner well being out of the living forces around you.

My favorite book on fermenting at home is Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz. If you are at all intrigued by the idea of fermenting yourself, you will want to have this book on your shelf. And if you decide to give fermenting a try, consider starting with yogurt. When you make it yourself, which takes little time, the quality and flavor are so superior to that of even the best commercial yogurt that I suspect you will not go back to buying it.

How To Make Homemade Yogurt

Copyright 2010, Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul

The fact that feeding a family feels challenging, however, does not reflect on us. It doesn’t feel hard because we ourselves are limited; it feels hard because it is hard. The task is intrinsically challenging and can, at times, be a struggle for every one of us. I have built my personal and professional life around food, yet there are still days when I want to hide under the covers as dinner time nears.

When kids are at an age or phase that makes them more selective about what they eat, the task looms still larger and can become more frustrating. It’s demoralizing to shop for food, prepare it, and then watch it be pushed away. And it’s disheartening to finally find nourishing food our children will eat, and then have it wiped off their list because peers deem it “uncool.”

Finding the fortitude to face the challenge squarely and to meet its demands creatively takes a lot of energy, especially when food manufacturers spend millions selling us quick and cheap “solutions.” Time is the great commodity, after all; we might resist giving up what precious little we have when our efforts are unappreciated or rejected. “Not worth it,” our small internal voice may say.

After spending more than two decades feeding my own children, who range in age from twenty-one to five, there are still questions I wonder about:

• What is nourishment really? When I was growing up, my grandparents lived an hour away. Each time I visited, they had a ramekin-filled treat waiting for me: either jello with sliced bananas or chocolate pudding. I enjoyed these equally and, despite their few nutrients, they nourished me. Even today, I have one of the special ramekins on my desk holding odds and ends and within close view. My attachment to this memory makes me wonder what actually constitutes nourishment. Maybe a loving attitude and loving gestures–and a feeling of having been considered–are among the most important nutrients we offer. Perhaps even jello served with love can help sustain a child by passing on the caring that went into it’s preparation. In the ideal, I wonder if food needs to express both good intentions and love to nourish us on the deepest level.
• What is our responsibility? How much looking away when our children are not eating well is all right, and how much is an abdication of our responsibility? When is giving into their demands for “what their friends eat” all right and when is it simply surrender? And when is it okay to care a little less when the caring becomes too difficult or when our ideals and efforts are rejected too many times? As parents, the responsibility for making healthful foods available to our children probably falls to us; if we don’t do it, who will? But, after that, we may need to let go and give children room to express their preferences, respecting the normal push-pulls of early childhood and later peer group pressures that affect what children eat. Maybe our most important responsibility is to focus on eating well ourselves–on embodying the ideal–and trust that, with exposure and gentle guidance, what our children eat will work itself out in time.
• How much choice do we give our children about what they eat? The answer to this question probably needs to change over the years and with each child. It may be that our role is to arrange our tables so that children, on their own, can reach for and select whatever they need for their growth and nourishment. This would mean filling our tables with healthful options that increase as children grow and then any choice is all right: We decide what to offer and they choose what to eat. Young children might eat only salad one day and only soup another, but over a week or so they would likely get the balance of nutrients they need.

It is because I still have questions–and because I still wonder at the challenge of it all after decades of enjoying, and even loving, food gathering, cooking, and dishing up food for children–that I can offer this: If feeding a family is a struggle for you, know that it is for most of us. We press on on, not because it is easy, but because we all must eat. When we eat well, our bodies are nourished. When we eat as a family, we are all kept circling in the same orbit. It’s not only the food that works this magic. It’s the food and the talk. The food and the laughter. The food and the encouragement and validation that get dished up day after day. Each one of us, no matter how big or small, deserves a place at the table. To make room is empowering and deems each of us worthy. And making room now is important because the really dependent days of children are few and fleeting; sports and music lessons and clubs soon narrow our window of opportunity.

In the end, the best way to feed a family may be to care and prepare, and then let go, just as we do when a holiday approaches. Think about how we work to complete all we can ahead of time. We take care of the details that will make the holiday memorable, and then we let go and allow it to unfold, enjoying the experience no matter what happens because we know that we can control our own contribution–what we give to the experience–but we cannot control the outcome. Family meals work the same way.

Our role may be to put in energy and care when we gather and prepare food–at a level that we enjoy and can sustain. When we can’t cook ourselves, we can find sources of good clean food and buy it, and we can try to find pleasure in the process. Without being negative or overly-controlling, we can also set standards that we believe are necessary and true. I am certain of this: If we can find a way to enjoy the time we spend in the kitchen, and if we can keep the struggle away from mealtime, our children will come to appreciate the foods we serve.

In the end, the foods children eat or reject (their autonomy) and what we want them to eat (our agenda) are less important than our willingness to keep at the task: eating well ourselves, offering food joyfully, and letting go of the rest.

Here is a recipe that makes everyone in my house happy, including me. It’s as easy as real homemade pizza can be. It tastes good. And it’s an extension of last month’s post because it’s whole-grain baking that really works. No-Knead Whole-Grain Pizza Crust

Copyright 2010, Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul

The Problems With Refined White Flour

There is no trick to using refined white flour to make light and tender baked goods; it handles these jobs effortlessly. But there is something else white flour does in the process. It creates inflammation inside of us by pushing blood sugar up in a dramatic spike and then plummeting it down again. This is a roller-coaster effect we should avoid because our most devastating diseases, including cancer, are often preceded by years of subtle internal inflammation. Blood sugar spikes happen whether we use white flour in sweetened baked goods or in savory baked foods like biscuits, breads and pizza dough. Another problem with white flour is that it has been stripped of  nutrients, so rather than label it a food ingredient, we might think of it as a “tool” we can use to lift baked goods, and to lighten their flavor and texture, but only when nothing else will do.

Why Whole-Grain Flours Are Better

There are many varieties of whole-grain flour that we can use for baking, and all are nutritious and flavorful. While there are some baked goods that can handle a transition to all whole-grain flour, others will not. But even a portion of whole-grain flour added to a recipe will lessen its impact on blood sugar in a meaningful way, minimizing the roller-coaster effect. In addition, substituting at least some whole-grain flour makes baked goods less flimsy and more substantive, while adding flavor and complexity. The whole grain flours I have used most successfully are barley flour, oat flour, buckwheat flour, whole-wheat bread flour, whole-wheat pastry flour and rye flour.

Miniature chocolate cupcakes made with whole-wheat flour

Whole-grain fruit and nut bread

A Golden Rule of Bold Baking

If I could encourage one change to the way you bake–one Golden Rule to follow–it would be this: Every time you bake, replace up to half the white flour in your recipe with whole-grain flour. Nearly every baked good, whether savory or sweet, can handle this substitution. You may need to add slightly more salt to make the change work, and you will know this by tasting the finished product and then making a decision for the next time. In my experience, most people will not notice the switch and those who do will often find the recipe improved. This is true even of finicky children, and it’s because whole-grain flour has flavor, character and integrity that are missing from white flour. This switch works for pie crust; it works for pizza dough; it works for muffins, cakes, quickbreads, and pancakes. It works, period.

How to Substitute Whole Grain Flours

The information below can help you learn how to use whole-grain flours in baking; if you already use them, it can offer new ideas and approaches. The points I have included reflect years of experimentation and my own best thinking on this topic. Yet, like all good learning, the process is ongoing. As I make new discoveries, I will share them with you.

• Whole-wheat bread flour, made from hard wheat, is best for pizza crust, bread, foccacia, and some pancakes. Whole-wheat pastry flour, made from soft wheat, is better for muffins, biscuits, popovers, scones, waffles, pie crusts, cakes and many pancakes. Think of chew as a goal when you use whole-wheat bread flour; think of tenderness as a goal when you use whole-wheat pastry flour.
• Batters comprised of all or mostly whole-grain flour benefit from a rest before baking. A rest will improve the flavor; it will also lighten the texture, making it smoother and less grainy, and give the flour needed time to absorb liquid in the batter. A rest can be as short as 15-30 minutes to be effective, but it can also be as long as overnight in the refrigerator. For a longer rest, baking powder remains potent, but baking soda should be left out and then mixed in thoroughly just before baking.
• If you completely eliminate the white flour in a recipe and replace it with all whole-grain flour, you will generally need slightly less flour than the original recipe called for. Three cups of all-purpose flour becomes about 2-3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons of whole-wheat flour; in this case, the total flour has been decreased by 2 tablespoons (1/4 cup=4 tablespoons).
• Converting a recipe to all whole-grain flour may increase the volume of batter. In a muffin recipe, for example, you may get more than the standard 12 muffins. In a cake recipe, you may need to allow for a slightly longer baking time.
• If you convert a recipe to all whole-grain flour and find the result too dense or “wheaty,” try adding a tablespoon of orange juice in place of the same quantity of liquid to mellow the wheaty flavor. You can also add back a small portion of all-purpose flour. This will lighten the texture, increase the rise, and add strength to your baked goods (“adding strength” means that what you’re baking will hold together and not fall apart).
• Most cakes, banana breads, lightly-textured blueberry muffins, and scones work well with up to half whole-wheat pastry flour. Popovers can accommodate half or, for those with a more sensitive palate, about one-third whole-wheat pastry flour. Biscuits and hearty muffins–banana and bran, for example–can be made of all whole-wheat pastry flour.  Pancakes and waffles work well with all whole-wheat flour, either pastry or bread, depending on the recipe. I make delicious bread and pizza dough with a combination of whole-wheat bread flour and rye flour, and use no white flour at all. Of course, these are my observations and conclusions; as you begin to experiment, you will draw your own conclusions based on your tastes and preferences.
• To achieve a light texture in sweetened baked goods, it is best to mix whole-grain batters until the ingredients are just combined and no longer.
• Whole-wheat flour is an ideal match for bananas, so you might begin your experimentation by adding a portion of whole-wheat pastry flour when making banana bread, cake or muffins.
• Oat flour pairs well with chocolate. You don’t need to buy oat flour; simply put a portion of rolled oats (not quick oats) into a spice or coffee grinder and grind the amount you need, taking care to make it extra-fine. Use oat flour in place of the all-purpose flour in a fudgy brownie recipe and see what you think. Oat flour tends to keep baked goods moist without making them heavy or dense.
• Barley flour is fun to work with because it adds variety to your ingredient list and imparts a pleasing flavor. Since its gluten is weak, it doesn’t promote a good rise, but it can be added successfully to muffins, cookies, and pie crusts. Using too high a percentage will cause your baked goods to fall apart. I find it works well to substitute barley flour for up to a quarter of the all-purpose flour in a recipe.

A final thought: Appreciating the character and integrity of whole-grain flour in baked goods may require our palates to adapt, slowly and over time. It’s good to keep this in mind because it means that baked goods made with a large percentage of whole-grain flour may not hold their own alongside airy confections made with white flour and refined sugar. Served alone and with confidence, however, they will be savored. And, over time, they will be preferred.

Sources for Superior Baking Flour and Two Books on Whole Grain Baking

All baking flour is not equal; this is especially true of whole-grain flour. Factors like how and when it was milled and how it was stored make a significant difference to the taste and quality of your baked goods. In addition, using superior flour allows you to include a higher percentage of whole-grain flour than you would otherwise be able to. I rely on three companies for all of my baking flour:

King Arthur Flour: This company has been doing business for 200 years, producing a huge variety of wonderfully consistent, high-quality baking flours. They also sell many baking supplies, as well as their own cookbook called Whole Grain Baking. If you run into baking trouble or have general questions, they provide a Bakers’ Hotline, and the people who staff it are both knowledgeable and eager to help. King Arthur Flour

Anson Mills: This is a small, young company dedicated to organically growing, harvesting and milling near-extinct varieties of heirloom grains. Their flours are costly but beyond compare, especially their Colonial Whole-Wheat Pastry Flour. I also use their Buckwheat Flour and Red Fife Bread Flour. When you have a few minutes, you might enjoy looking at the delicious recipes on their website. Anson Mills

Fiddler’s Green Farm: This is a small organic farm, with a business owned and operated by two Maine families. They stone-grind and mill flour to order, just as Anson Mills does. I use both their Rye Flour and their Whole-Wheat Bread Flour. Fiddlers Green Farm

There’s one other book I want to mention: Pure Dessert, by Alice Medrich. It’s a beautifully written and photographed book that presents whole grain flours (and other high-quality ingredients) used in interesting ways. This book does not fall under the “health food” category by any stretch; it’s a gourmet dessert cookbook that, if you bake a lot, you may want to consider for your cookbook shelf. It includes several recipes that will familiarize you with buckwheat flour, chestnut flour and other whole-grain flours. The book is displayed under “My Favorite Tools” in the left column of this blog post if you want to have a look.

Click here for the recipe for Miniature Chocolate Cupcakes: Recipe

Copyright 2010, Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul

Consider this short history of the “organic” label. When our grandparents were young, food was grown on traditional family farms. No chemicals were used and so food was inherently organic, but without the label.  In the middle of the last century, with young people moving away from family farms and with the introduction of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones, farming became more industrialized. As a response, in the 1960s and 1970s an “old-fashioned” organic movement took root. Its focus was practical–growing food without chemicals–but it was also philosophical; farmers were committed, above all, to permanence and sustainability. This was farming with integrity, a way of meeting current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. And, thus, the first “organic” label was created.

In the last decade, this label has grown in breadth and popularity as it has been shaped, in part, by large corporations that value profits over sustainability. “Organic” has developed a magical connotation and has been used to bestow a halo of good health, for us and the planet, that may not always be deserved. “Organic” has also been reduced to a marketing program–a name to attract us–that often offers no guarantee of goodness. There is nothing healthful about organic pop tarts, organic soda, or organic evaporated cane juice; as New York University Professor Marion Nestle states, “Organic junk food is still junk food.”

Sometimes labels can make it easier to understand our options, but I wonder about the value of an organic label that can increase our food costs without adding the meaning it once did–or the meaning that we imagine it does. Under the law, “organic” currently refers to any food that is mostly free of synthetic substances, has no antibiotics or hormones, has not been radiated or fertilized with sewage sludge, was raised without pesticides and contains no genetically modified ingredients. There is no question that this is all good. But is it enough? Does it tell us everything we need to know?

©Photo courtesy of: DTR@Ruhlman.com

Interestingly, organically-labeled food can meet all these ideals and still, to some degree, diminish our world and erode our good health. When soil is farmed without being enriched, for example, it is gradually lost to erosion by wind and water; and without using compost to replenish the soil, it takes 700 years for one inch of new topsoil to develop. Choosing not to use compost is one way that modern organic growers have let go of the deeper set of goals prized by “old-fashioned” organic farmers–those who pioneered the movement and those who perpetuate their farming methods and philosophies today.

Old-Fashioned Organic Goals

For the Planet’s Health:

• Enriching soil with compost to the extent that growing food depletes it. Compost is quite literally gold. As mentioned above, modern organic growers often fail to farm in a way that takes this wisdom into account, and precious topsoil is not only not built up, it is lost.
• Distributing food close to home and on a limited scale to maintain a small carbon footprint. It’s not uncommon for modern organic sellers to import vegetables from China and fruits from South America and then transport them to us in the United States. Old-fashioned organic always aims for food with a lighter environmental footprint.
• Maintaining crop diversity. Planting a variety of crops is the way old-fashioned organic farmers support an array of beneficial insects and soil microorganisms; these nourish fertility and plant life, promote resilience, and form the foundation of a healthy farm. In contrast, many modern organic growers produce only one or two crops. This is cost-effective for the farmer and makes it easy to run a business in the short term, but it is a practice that cannot be sustained over generations.

For Our Health:

• Selling food that is whole and mostly unprocessed. A good deal of the modern organic market consists of highly-processed junk food made with organic white flour, organic sugar, organic corn syrup and organic vegetable oil–none of which contribute to our good health. What’s more, organic dairy farmers sell milk, cream, yogurt and cheese that are highly-processed and many steps removed from the raw milk and cream their cows provide. These “certified organic” foods do little to improve or maintain our health.

For Both Our Health and the Planet’s Health:

• Raising animals outdoors with grass as food. Most organic farmers today house their animals indoors on concrete and feed them organic corn and soy, which creates miserably poor health for the animals and, over time, for those of us who eat the foods they provide. These foods are, among other considerations, too high in omega-6 fats to be good for us, promoting chronic internal inflammation and disease.

It can be hard for any of us to know the “best” choices to make, and difficult to measure the lengths we should go to acquire “good” food.  The answer, I think, is to care less about a “certified organic” label, which costs farmers both money and time, and more about a deeper set of ideals. Put another way, an organic attitude may matter more than an organic label.

So, where do we begin? First, we can use our food choices to invest in a way of life rather than a label, and we can think small instead of big, developing a more direct connection to the land where our food is grown and to local farmers who use sustainable growing practices. These are farmers who treat their animals as if they matter, and who care for their land as if they are stewards for future generations: working on a small scale, feeding animals grass instead of grain, distributing food nearby, and using no pesticides, antibiotics or hormones. Their foods often cost less than those with a “certified organic” label, and you will know their quality because you will know the farmer. Second, regarding packaged organic food, we can look at ingredient lists and make every effort to avoid white flour, sugar–including evaporated cane juice and corn syrup–vegetable oil and additives, even if they are labeled organic.

The bottom line is this: Regardless of the label, foods that are good for the planet and good for us come from farmers who define their work in the positive. These farmers not only care about producing food with an absence of chemicals. They also care about upholding old-fashioned organic goals, and they maintain a genuine, forward-looking and active approach to growing food in the same way that it has been farmed throughout time. To these farmers, “organic” is not a production method; it is a connected and protective attitude toward both the wider world and all of us who eat. You can meet farmers like these at farm stands, farmers’ markets, and community supported gardens, and their products are often sold at local health food stores.

Food Shopping With an Organic Attitude

As suggested above, food that is grown the old fashioned way doesn’t always have a “certified organic” label; it may not have any label at all. Quality is what you’re after and you will find it when you gather ingredients from farmers who care.

Animal products should come from animals raised on grass and without antibiotics and hormones. The label, if there is one, will say “grass-fed” or “pastured.” It will also say “antibiotic and hormone-free.” In the case of eggs, if you are shopping in a grocery store look for “high-omega” eggs, which come from hens who have had flax or alfalfa added to their feed.

Fruits, vegetables, grains, beans, nuts and seeds should ideally be free of pesticides and grown from seed that has not been genetically modified. If budget is a consideration, which for most of us it is, have a look at the Environmental Working Group’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides. This list can help you prioritize your organic purchases.

Where to Shop

Farmers’ Markets and Community Supported Gardens. The single best piece of advice I can give you is to find a local farmers’ market or community supported garden and make going there a part of your routine. Most farmers’ markets offer both produce and animal products. A whole new world of food will open up to you, and you will have the joy and privilege of getting to know your farmers. From a practical standpoint, the excitement and inspiration of the market or garden will follow you home, and will still be there when it comes time to cook. Locate local farmers’ markets, community supported gardens, and year-round sources for responsibly grown food at Local Harvest.

Grass-Based Farms. By getting to know farmers in your community, it’s easier than you would think to buy food from animals raised on grass, with or without organic certification. Have a look at the state-by-state directory at Eat Wild.

Mail Order. Other sources of good, clean food abound. Have a look at a variety of options for ordering what you need by mail at Where to Buy Real Food.

Local Stores. Finally, shop at your local health food store, which may sell food from local growers and will certainly offer other healthy options.

Note to readers who keep kosher. If you keep kosher and have questions about where to find kosher grass-based animal products, please email me and I will gladly point you toward those I know about.

Copyright 2010, Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul

Let’s start by clarifying which of the more common vegetables are crucifers, and the length of this list may surprise you: arugula, brussel sprouts, swiss chard, mustard greens, radishes, horseradish, turnips, bok choy, cabbage, kale, watercress, wasabi, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, rutabagas and collard greens.

The good news about crucifers is that they are said to have substantial cancer fighting power. According to Dr. David Servan-Schreiber, they prevent precancerous cells from developing and promote the suicide of cancer cells; they also break down certain carcinogens.  These are important reasons to try, when we can, to incorporate cruciferous vegetables into our diets.

Yet the bad news about crucifers is that, in certain situations, the very same chemicals that fight cancer may also be toxic and do us harm. It is not unusual for plants to contain toxic chemicals; they provide an important means of self defense and necessary protection against the elements. The naturally-occurring chemicals in crucifers are called goitrogens. Current research suggests that when we consume them in small amounts, they increase our need for iodine. When taken in large amounts, they can damage the delicate thyroid gland. They are also thought to prevent iodine from passing into breast milk, which is worth knowing if you’re a nursing mother.

©Photo courtesy of: DTR@Ruhlman.com

What, then, do we do about the goitrogens in cruciferous vegetables? Many food scientists who study this issue believe that cooking crucifers is helpful. Boiling them for 30 minutes destroys nearly all their goitrogens. Steaming crucifers until they are fully cooked reduces their goitrogens, but doesn’t eliminate them entirely. Fermenting crucifers–as in traditional saurkraut, for example–does not eliminate goitrogens, but sauerkraut is meant to be eaten in small amounts as a condiment so its benefits likely outweigh any concerns.

To be honest, these cooking solutions leave me with more questions than answers. If I boil crucifers, should I discard the soaking water, along with many of its important nutrients? And if I consume the cooking water–for example, when I boil cauliflower as part of a soup–am I taking in goitrogens even though the cauliflower is cooked? What effect do baking, roasting and sauteeing have on goitrogens. And if it’s the goitrogens that confer cancer-fighting benefits, do I really want to eliminate them entirely?

Science changes all the time, and our understanding of the science changes, too. Further, there is often a difference of opinion among scientists who consider questions like these.

So, is it worth keeping this issue in mind? I think it is, though your response may depend upon your own personal lens. If you have a thyroid condition, you may want to thoroughly cook your crucifers; knowing that your thyroid gland is vulnerable, caring for it well may be your priority. If, on the other hand, cancer-prevention is your goal, you may decide to lightly cook your crucifers and intentionally retain some of the goitrogens. Either way, we can probably all agree that it would be difficult to eat the variety of important vegetables we need while excluding a list of options this large.

Here is what I do about crucifers: I hedge my bets. I almost never eat crucifers raw. Nearly gone are raw broccoli and cauliflower for dipping, cole slaw, and salads of arugula or kale. On the rare occasion that I do eat these vegetables raw–when I, perhaps, eat a garnish of raw arugula–the quantity is small. And I personally don’t worry about which cooking method I use as long as my crucifers are indeed cooked. With this approach, I am counting on the fact that I’m avoiding excessive exposure to goitrogens and, at the same time, benefiting from some of the cancer protection these plant chemicals are said to offer. I also make an effort to increase my iodine consumption for two reasons. First, iodine is needed for normal thyroid function and helps to compensate for the goitrogens I am taking in; and, second, because iodine itself provides important cancer protection. My choice of an iodine-rich food is kelp, which is a sea vegetable. But there are others, like ocean fish, that you might prefer.

Two Easy Cooked-Up Cruciferous Sandwiches

With each of the recipes below, it works well to prepare a batch or two of the filling and then refrigerate it to use for several days. This bit of up-front work will enable you, when you’re hungry, to cook up either sandwich in minutes.

Broccoli-Cheese Melt

When I have broccoli in the house, this Broccoli-Cheese Melt makes a good last-minute meal, with a bowl of soup or salad on the side. My children even like it for breakfast, which might be reason enough to give it a try. It’s my own take on a recipe I learned years ago from Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook, and the broccoli mixture works just as well on a sandwich as it does inside of an omelet if you have leftovers. When you’re combining these ingredients, keep in mind that there’s  no “right” measurement. How much you’ll get depends on how large your onion is and on how large or small your broccoli pieces are when you measure their quantity. But rest assured that you really can’t go wrong: you are practically guaranteed a good sandwich out of this effort. So trust your own sense of proportion and taste, and enjoy!

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

about 3 cups broccoli florets and peeled stems
1 small or medium onion
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus extra for seasoning
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
extra-virgin olive oil
freshly-ground pepper to taste
2-3 slices of hearty whole-grain bread
good quality melting cheese, grated or thinly sliced

Recipe

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place the broccoli florets and stems into the bowl of a food processor fitted with a metal blade. Chop them into fairly fine pieces and then put them into a medium-sized bowl.

3. Peel the onion, cut it into quarters, and place the quarters into the food processor bowl; there is no need to wash or wipe it. Pulse the onion until it is finely-chopped, but take care not to let it liquefy. Then, using a rubber spatula, scrape the onions and any remaining broccoli pieces into to the bowl with the chopped broccoli. Stir in the sea salt and basil.

4. Warm a spoonful of olive oil in a skillet over a medium-low heat and, when it is warm, add the broccoli-onion mixture. Saute the mixture until it is well cooked, but the broccoli is still a bright green, about 8-10 minutes. Turn off the heat, and season to taste with additional sea salt and freshly-ground pepper.

5. Using the rubber spatula, spread the broccoli-onion mixture onto the bread slices and then cover each with cheese. Place the bread slices on a tray and warm them in the oven until the cheese is melted and slightly bubbly, about 10 minutes. Serve warm.

Kale Toasties

This is my new favorite sandwich recipe, and I learned it from the farmers at Keith’s Organic Farm Stand in New York City’s Union Square. Just try to envision this: a hot pan-cooked tortilla filled with delicious kale, caramelized onions, sharp cheddar cheese and a bit of spicy brown mustard–cooked so that it can be easily picked up and devoured. The measurements here are intentionally imprecise because they can be, because any way you combine these ingredients–any way you like them–your sandwich is going to be memorable.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 teaspoon fine sea salt, plus extra for seasoning
a bunch of curly kale, stripped from the stem, cleaned and roughly chopped
extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium or large onion, cut in half from root to stem, then peeled and thinly sliced in the direction of the grain
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
4 small whole-wheat or corn tortillas
good quality sharp cheddar cheese, grated or thinly sliced
stone-ground dark mustard

Recipe

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil and add a teaspoon of sea salt. When the water boils, add the chopped kale and cook uncovered for about 5 minutes. Drain, let cool, and squeeze out any remaining liquid.

2. Warm a spoonful of olive oil in a skillet; cast iron works well if you have it. Add the onion slices and a sprinkling of sea salt and cook over a low heat, stirring often, until the onions become light brown and slightly “melted.” If the onions begin to stick to the bottom of the pan, you may need to lower the heat or add a bit more oil. Browning the onions in this way can take 20 minutes or longer, but your patience will pay tasty dividends. When the onions are nicely caramelized, add the drained kale and minced garlic and cook for a few extra minutes. If needed, add a bit more sea salt and then transfer the mixture to a plate and set aside.

3. Place the tortillas on a counter. On two of the tortillas, spread as much cheddar cheese as you would like; a thin layer is enough for me. On top of the cheese, spread as much of the kale/onion mixture as you want to use (you can save what you don’t use for another day). On the other two tortillas, spread a thin layer of mustard and then turn the two mustard-covered tortillas over and place them on top of the kale-covered tortillas.

4. Wipe the skillet clean and warm it over a low heat. Brush a thin coating of olive oil over the bottom of the skillet, and place the first sandwich into the skillet. Cook it on both sides, until it is crispy and light brown. Repeat this process with the other tortilla. Then cut both tortillas into halves or quarters, and serve them warm.

Copyright 2010, Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul

]]> http://ellensfoodandsoul.com/blog/2009/12/30/the-crucifer-paradox/feed/ 8 http://ellensfoodandsoul.com/blog/2009/12/05/gathering-around-the-table-2/ http://ellensfoodandsoul.com/blog/2009/12/05/gathering-around-the-table-2/#comments Sat, 05 Dec 2009 22:21:22 +0000 admin http://ellensfoodandsoul.com/blog/?p=2931 December is here, and that means it’s holiday season for most of us, a time of year that often involves welcoming guests and spending more hours in the kitchen than we may be used to. If you’re already feeling stress because you believe you can’t gracefully pull off all that’s expected of you, it may help to remember that serving a holiday meal is not a performance, and your guests are not coming to judge or measure. These are people you love, who love you. We all long to eat homemade meals with family and friends, especially when the meal is a celebration, so you can be sure your guests will arrive feeling anticipation and gratitude.

One way to take the pressure off yourself as cook, and to shift some of the emphasis away from the meal, is to give your guests an ample welcome by offering starters to nibble on and to take away hunger’s edge. Try beginning with a loaf of hearty whole grain bread; then add a plate of olives or tapenade, a bowl of bean spread, marinated goat cheese, and pickled red onions for crunch and color. If these don’t measure up to your idea of holiday fare, how about mixed baby greens tossed in a vinaigrette; miniature potato pancakes with spoonfuls of applesauce; or whatever is traditional in your family? The point is to provide starters that are good tasting and easy to prepare in advance, and that don’t cost a king’s ransom–and their purpose is to begin satisfying your guests before they formally gather around the table. If you follow these with a main course that has some depth, a salad or some simple side dishes and a refreshing finish, you’ll have a meal to remember and one you can pull off. What’s more, even if you buy the main course, side dishes or dessert, your starters will earn you the credit and reward for having served up a home-cooked celebration.

Take a deep breath and internalize the belief that h0liday meals don’t need to be complicated or require days of fuss, and that good home cooking is always possible and surely worthy of your guests. There can be real satisfaction in making a meal to share with those you love, especially one that manages to be both nourishing and celebratory. And the time spent preparing it, when seen in anew, can begin to feel worthwhile. So go out and buy a beautiful loaf of bread. Then pull out your nicest serving bowls, put on some holiday music, and take up your wooden spoon. This will be fun, I promise.

Italian White Bean and Roasted Garlic Spread

Makes about 2 cups: Prepare up to 5 days ahead

This spread is especially good with slices of bread, crackers, or a platter of fresh vegetables for dipping. If you cook extra beans, you can combine all the same ingredients into a nourishing bean salad by simply skipping the puree step. And if you’re pressed for time, you can make this spread with two 15-ounce cans of white beans. In this case, eliminate the first five items on the ingredient list, and use vegetable broth instead of bean broth in Step 4. You may also need a bit more roasted garlic, lemon juice and sea salt than the recipe calls for.

Ingredients

1 cup dried cannellini, great northern or navy beans, soaked for at least 6 hours
1 piece kombu
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt*
1 sprig each fresh rosemary and thyme, or 4 fresh sage leaves
8 whole garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon more for roasting the garlic
1/4 cup freshly-squeezed lemon juice
1-1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt, plus extra for seasoning to taste

*I use coarse sea salt to season the cooking water because it’s less expensive and works beautifully. But fine sea salt, if that’s what you have, will work just as well.

Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Drain the beans and discard the soaking water. Then put the beans into a medium-sized lidded pot and cover with 5-6 cups of cool water. Bring the beans to a boil and skim any foam that rises to the surface. Then add the kombu, bay leaf, sea salt, fresh herbs, and 2 unpeeled cloves of garlic. (If you cut the cloves in half before putting them into the pot it releases the garlic’s beneficial compounds into the cooking water.) Lower the heat and simmer the beans, partly covered, until they are consistently tender–about 1-2 hours. The cooking time will vary depending on the age and size of the beans. When the beans are finished cooking, remove the kombu, garlic cloves, herb stems and bay leaf. Then drain the beans and reserve the broth for later use. (If you plan to make the spread another day, store the beans in their broth and refrigerate.)

3. Drizzle 1 teaspoon of olive oil over the remaining 6 unpeeled cloves of garlic. Wrap them in parchment paper and then foil and roast them in the oven for 30 minutes. Then unwrap the garlic and set it aside to cool.

4. Into the bowl of a food processor, place the beans, olive oil, lemon juice and 1-1/2 teaspoons of fine sea salt. Squeeze the roasted garlic out of its peel and add that to the food processor as well. Then puree the mixture, adding as much of the reserved bean broth as you need until the consistency is as you like it.

5. If the flavor needs brightening, add additional sea salt or fresh lemon juice to the puree.

6. Serve at room temperature or refrigerate for up to five days.

Kalamata Tapenade

Makes about 1-1/2 cups: Prepare up to 5 days ahead

There are so many ways to serve this tapenade, which is a stroke of good fortune for us. It’s delicious on hearty bread slices or bruschetta, with or without soft cheese. And if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers, try using them inside a frittata, on a salad or over pasta–or, frankly, as a dollop on a spoon when no one is looking!

Ingredients

2 cups kalamata olives with pits, or about 1-1/2 cups pitted olives
2 medium garlic cloves, peeled
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons capers, drained
3-4 tablespoons fresh parsley leaves
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon organic lemon zest, optional

Recipe

1. Pit the olives by pressing on each one with the side of a knife. Then you can easily remove the pits.

2. Place all of the ingredients into the bowl of a food processor and coarsely chop.

3. Serve immediately, or store in the refrigerator for about 4-5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving.

Note: I have found that tapenade sometimes becomes too strong if the garlic is left to sit. If you’re making this several days in advance, it might work better to wait until the day you’ll serve the tapenade to add 2 cloves of minced garlic.

Marinated Goat Cheese

Serves 8: Prepare up to 5 days ahead

I’ve adapted this recipe only slightly from one served at the White Dog Cafe in Philadelphia. It’s beautiful served on a platter or over crisp salad greens. And if you happen to make it in the summer some year, it’s perfect served alongside heirloom tomatoes. But then what isn’t?

Ingredients

12-ounce goat cheese log, chilled
1 organic lemon, sliced into thin rounds
3/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herbs: chives, or leaves of fresh parsley, basil, thyme, rosemary or sage
heaping 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
heaping 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
pinch hot red pepper flakes

Recipe

1. Cut the goat cheese log into about 16 slices and smooth the edges so that each slice is a neat round. Arrange the rounds in a single layer in a glass or ceramic dish that has sides. Then scatter the lemon rounds on and around the cheese.

2. Mix the olive oil, herbs, pepper, salt and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Then pour the mixture over the cheese and lemon slices.

3. Cover and marinate the cheese for at least 6 hours, or up to 5 days. If you are making and serving this on the same day, you can marinate the cheese at room temperature. If you are making this ahead of time, marinate the cheese in the refrigerator and then bring it to room temperature before serving.

“Pickled” Red Onions

Makes 1-1/2-2 cups: Prepare several weeks ahead

This recipe was published in Gourmet Magazine a couple of years ago, and you can cook it up in minutes. Pickled onions are a tasty condiment with a vibrant pink color, and they provide an ideal visual and textural contrast to the bean spread, tapenade and goat cheese. If you find yourself with leftovers, try adding them to a sandwich or to a roll-up with the bean spread, or tossing them into any sort of salad.

2 medium red onions
2 teaspoons coarse sea salt, divided*
1 cup apple cider vinegar

Recipe

1. Slice each onion in half from the root end to the stem end, and peel each half. Then cut off the root and stem ends, and slice each onion half with the grain into thin 1/8″ slices. This is called a “saute slice.” (If you don’t know what I mean by the onion’s “grain,” look down at the onion and you will see fine its fine lines. These lines are the grain and you should cut the onion in their same direction.)

2. Fill a 2-quart saucepan with 4-5 cups of water and 1 teaspoon of coarse sea salt. Bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the onion slices to the boiling water and cook them for 1 minute. Drain the water and place the onions back into the saucepan.

3. Add the remaining teaspoon of sea salt and the apple cider vinegar to the saucepan, and add just enough cool water to barely cover the onions. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer uncovered for 1 minute. Then remove the pan from the heat.

4. Let the mixture cool for a few minutes. Then transfer the onions and brine to a glass or ceramic bowl and allow  the mixture to cool to room temperature.

5. Cover the onions and refrigerate them for up to several weeks. The onions will turn a beautiful shade of pink and they will crisp as they cool.

*As above, I use coarse sea salt to season the cooking water because it’s less expensive and works beautifully. But fine sea salt also works.

In the realm of dessert, the crisp may be the finest friend a home cook has. It’s so much easier to make than pie and yet not a sweet to shirk at because, in its rustic simplicity, it’s lovely to behold and delicious, too. And to its list of virtues we can add that its blend of  fruits, whole grains and nuts actually nourishes us.

Preparing wholesome sweets may have developed my kitchen skills more than any other endeavor, and experimenting with whole grains and natural sweeteners for baking has led me to results that have endeared these ingredients to me. I have come to treasure them, as you will too, for their flavors and for the nutrition they bring to a part of my cooking where I least expect to find it. It’s true that a crisp calls for sweetener, but we can rely on natural options and then use them wisely. I’d say that once we step into the realm of sweets, a crisp is everything a dessert should be.

Apple Crisps of Autumn in Splendid Variation

Serves 6

The nature of a crisp is this: fruit piled high as a bottom layer, baked under a crunchy topping–usually a coarse mixture of oats, nuts and flour held together with a good quality fat and some sweetener. For our master crisp recipe, we’ll use pure maple syrup to sweeten both the filling and topping. It has the vitality and essence of earth and sun, and a flavor no Aunt Jemima can manufacture. What’s better, maple syrup provides a connection to those who settled this land, and was for much of American civilization the only sweetener available other than honey, which required adventure and daring to gather.

As for apples, a mix of both tart and sweet is best. One classic and readily-available combination is Granny Smith and Golden Delicious, but other apples work just as well and can make for an interesting change.  Consider tart apples like Ida Red, Macoun, Macintosh, Cortland, Gravenstein, Jonathan or Northern Spy. And sweet apples that are good for baking include Gala, Baldwin and Stayman Winesap.

Master Ingredient List

Filling:

6 apples, peeled and cut into either 1/4″ slices or 3/4″ chunks
2 tablespoons whole-wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons apple juice
Juice of 1 lemon, plus zest if organic
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch fine sea salt

Topping:

3/4 cup rolled oats (not quick oats)
3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup almonds, walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup maple syrup
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened, or 3 tablespoons melted virgin organic coconut oil

Master Recipe

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and select a 2-quart, or 8″ x 8″ dish for baking the crisp. It’s best if you can use a dish made of ceramic or pyrex; metal doesn’t work because it reacts with the acid in fruit and can break down. One beautiful aspect to a crisp is that it’s almost endlessly adaptable. If you’re baking for 3 or 4 people, you may want to cut the recipe in half and bake it in 4 ramekins. In this case, you’ll need to shorten the baking time to about 30-40 minutes. If you’re feeding a crowd, you can double the recipe and use a large baking dish, keeping the baking time about the same.

2. Next you’ll want to make the filling. In this step, simply mix the filling ingredients together in a medium-sized bowl. You’ll notice that you have a choice as to how you cut the apples. Chunks have a rustic, down-home appeal and the advantage of taking less time to chop, while slices create a more refined presentation and cook somewhat faster. You’ll also see that the filling calls for little sweetener. We don’t need much because the topping itself is sweet, though keep in mind that if you use mostly tart apples you may need a little more maple syrup to balance the flavors. As for the flour in the filling, its purpose is to thicken the juices the apples give off when baking and it creates a fine result.

3. Pour the filling ingredients into the baking dish and, in the same bowl (there’s no need to rinse it), mix the topping ingredients together. Using your fingers or a wooden spoon, work the fat into the topping well, taking care to fully coat the oats and nuts. For the best flavor and presentation, be sure to spread the fat evenly throughout the topping.

4. Crumble the topping over the filling and bake the crisp for about 45-60 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling around the edges. If the crisp is brown on top but the filling isn’t ready, cover it lightly with foil–shiny side down–to finish the cooking. Serve the crisp warm or at room temperature.

Variations

These are all simple, delicious ways to vary and embellish an apple crisp. Keep in mind that, since fruit sizes vary, the quantities listed are approximate. What you’re looking for is a nice full baking dish of fruit, with room enough for an ample quantity of crispy topping.

Add dried fruit: Add either 3/4 cup raisins or 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots to the filling. To make this addition, combine the dried fruit with the apple juice and lemon juice already called for in the recipe and simmer the fruit, covered, until it’s soft. Cool before adding it, along with the juice, to the filling.

Add pears and cranberries: To 4 medium apples, add 3 medium pears (Bosc, Bartlett or Anjou are nice and there’s no need to peel them) and 1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries. Also add 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger to the filling.

Add harvest fruits: To 3 medium tart apples, add 3 medium pears (as above, Bosc, Bartlett or Anjou work well and don’t need peeling), 1-1/2 cups seedless red grapes, 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves.

Add blueberries: To 4 medium apples, add 8 oz. fresh or frozen blueberries.

Add plums: To 5 medium apples, add 8 sliced plums. The Italian plums that ripen as the season turns are especially tasty, but all plums work. Also, replace the lemon juice and zest with the juice and zest of 1 orange.

Questions Answered

Do I  have to peel the apples? The recipe really does work better if you peel the apples. If you’re in a hurry and getting the optimum result is not as important as your time–by all means, skip the peeling. The crisp will still be tasty. But one of the qualities of an especially good crisp is the way some of the apples break down and become almost saucy, while others hold their shape. When you include the peels in a crisp, they hold the apples together and stand in the way of this delicious development.

Why, in step 4, does the foil have to be placed on the crisp shiny side down? Aluminum will react with the acid in fruit and can break down, finding its way into your food. The shiny side of foil is more stable, which means it breaks down more slowly than the dull side. Heavy-duty foil also breaks down more slowly than ordinary foil does. My usual routine is to place a piece of parchment paper between foil and food, which also solves the problem nicely.

Can I make a crisp ahead of time and serve it later or another day? It’s easy to prepare any or all of this recipe ahead of time or over time. You can make the crisp topping ahead and refrigerate it for about a week. You can make the filling early in the day and refrigerate it for later on. You can do the same with the whole crisp. And you can bake the crisp up to a day in advance and gently reheat it before serving (in an oven preheated to about 300 degrees for 20-30 minutes–lightly covered).

Copyright 2010, Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul

]]> http://ellensfoodandsoul.com/blog/2009/11/07/apple-crisps-of-autumn-in-splendid-variation/feed/ 6 http://ellensfoodandsoul.com/blog/2009/10/19/the-properly-diced-onion/ http://ellensfoodandsoul.com/blog/2009/10/19/the-properly-diced-onion/#comments Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:00:11 +0000 admin http://ellensfoodandsoul.com/blog/?p=159

Have you ever considered the surprising generosity of an onion? It holds onto nothing of itself as it spreads its essence throughout every dish it graces. The onion gives of itself without being diminished and makes itself indispensable, lessons for living we could all heed. I never thought of it before, but the onion is a role model, able to shine alone or exist amiably within a group, and essential to the integrity of whatever it’s a part of.

You may not know it, but the onion is ancient among vegetables; it was a form of currency during the Middle Ages and was used to pay rent, an approach we might all wish for in this down economy. And even today, the onion is included in the cuisine of nearly every culture. It is endlessly adaptable and necessary always. How many vegetables can boast that–and how many of us, for that matter?

There are so many ingredients that, if need be, I could carry on without–not so, the onion, at least not without a sinking sadness in my heart and the sure knowledge that whatever I planned to cook would be much the worse for its absence. 

The Properly Diced Onion

If you’ve been experimenting with this month’s master soup recipe, then you’ve been dicing your share of onions. I thought I ought to explain the proper way to do it because it’s also the easiest way and the one that will give you the nicest result. What’s more, dicing onions is a skill worth cultivating because it’s the starting point for so many delicious recipes. You’ll need to use a sharp, straight-edged knife for dicing. Serrated knives work for cutting bread and tomatoes, but won’t get you anywhere with onions. In general, 1 large onion will give you about 1 cup diced; 1 medium onion will give you closer to 3/4 cup.

Step One: Wash the onion and peel its loose outer layers. As a first step, it’s a good idea to rinse the onion before cutting it since it grows beneath the soil. As you’re washing, you can also remove the loose outer layers of peel that come off easily.

Step Two: Halve and finish peeling the onion. Notice that every onion has two ends: a root end, which has a hard round stub with hair-like roots attached to it, and a slightly pointed stem end. Begin by cutting the onion from it’s root end to its stem end, dividing the onion in two. This is the only step in which you will cut into the root; in the remaining steps, you’ll take care to leave it in tact. Your goal is to end with two similar onion halves. Then finish peeling each half.

Cut the onion from root to stem.

Step Three: Decide how large or small your dice will be. Diced onions generally range in size from 1/4″ square pieces to 3/4″ square pieces. Your objective is to end with small squares that are all about the same size. So, once you decide what size dice you’re after, you will need to keep this in mind as you begin slicing the onion.

Step Four: First set of slices. This next step involves slicing into each onion half. Begin by placing the cut side of one onion half on your cutting board. If you are right handed, the root end should be to your left. If you are left handed, simply reverse this. Now, with your knife perpendicular to the cutting board, make several slices into the onion, taking care not to slice through the root end. The space between each slice should range from 1/4″ to 3/4″ and depends on how small or large you want your finished dice to be. Repeat this step with the second onion half.

Slice into each onion half, with knife perpendicular to the board.

Step Six: Dice the onion. As a final step, you will now dice the onion. If you are right handed, place the root end of one onion half on your left and the stem end on your right. Beginning at the stem end, cut across the slices you just made to create your first dice. Repeat the process, leaving space between each slice to give you the size dice you want. Then do this with the second half and you will have diced an onion just right!

Dice each onion half

An onion diced just right!

Soup is the “Grand Old USA” of the food world. In fact, soup, rather than apple pie, should hold the coveted place of honor as our national food for the simple reason that it best reflects who we are. After all, apple pie is exclusive, a club meant only for apples–and certain types of apples at that. Soup, on the other hand, is all smiles and outstretched arms. It lifts the heart as it makes room for every sort of vegetable, grain, legume, animal food, and even many fruits. Maybe that’s why it’s such a comfort. Soup is inclusive. It has a generosity and openness that make us feel warm and safe and nourished. Soup also has the good-natured virtue of being loved by children. What better way to raise our spirits when they sag than with a bowlful of this sort of consolation and love?

Some people think of soup as dinner food, but I eat soup at any time of the day and, in fact, reheated soup makes a wonderful breakfast. Yet certain soups are better during specific seasons of the year. Thick bean soup, for example, is rich and filling, and most welcome in the cold of autumn or winter–while a light broth refreshes and cools in warmer months. No matter when or how we serve it, soup is probably the very best way I know of coaxing good, nourishing food into unsuspecting mouths.

A Simple Pot of Soup
That You Can Make With Any Lentil, Pea or Bean

Serves 4-6

There is no trick to making homemade soup. Anyone can do it and it’s so easy that once you learn how, you will abandon cans and soup mixes forever. Why base a recipe around lentils, peas and beans? Because a soup like this is full of nutrition, basic and uncomplicated, well loved in its many variations and, with a slice of crusty whole grain bread, a meal in itself. What’s encouraging is that with a single master recipe and some basic techniques, you’ll be able to make a wide array of soups to suit any mood or season. In fact, once you have the technique down, you’ll hardly need a recipe at all. Don’t be dismayed if your first pot of soup isn’t perfect; nothing ever is. But then that’s not the standard we should aspire to. Is it good tasting? Did it nourish you well? Was it fun and easy to make? These are the questions worth asking.

Master Ingredient List

• 2 tablespoons butter or extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, diced into 1/4″ pieces
• 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
• 1 carrot, cut lengthwise into quarters, and then cut crossways into 1/4″ pieces
• 2 ribs celery, diced into 1/4″ pieces
• 2-3 cloves garlic, chopped well
• herbs, spices, water and additional ingredients as detailed below
• 1-1/2 cups beans, soaked for at least 6 hours in plenty of cool water (if necessary; see below)
• 1 piece kombu, optional
• fine sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
• chopped fresh parsley or basil, optional

Specifications By Bean Type

These are basic variations for making one delicious pot of soup. There are countless ways to experiment and embellish these variations further. Yet, even if you stick to basics and leave out the extra ingredients, your soup will still be delicious.

• French, green or black beluga lentils: Cooking water: 6 cups. Cooking time: about 35-40 minutes. Possibilities: add 1 bay leaf and a sprig of fresh thyme to the soup when you add the lentils. It can also be nice to add 1-2 cups chopped spinach or green Swiss chard in the last 2-3 minutes of cooking. These greens need only enough time to wilt. Soaking lentils is optional, though I always soak mine before adding them to the soup pot.
• Red lentils: Cooking water: 7 cups. Cooking time: about 45 minutes. Possibilities: add 1/2 teaspoon each dried thyme, basil and oregano when you saute the onion. Red lentil soup can also be delicious with 1-2 cups chopped spinach or green Swiss chard added (see lentils above). Red lentils should not be soaked.
• Green split peas: Cooking water: 8-9 cups. Cooking time : about 2 to 2-1/2 hours–during which you can put your feet up and read a good book or accomplish about half a dozen tasks, so no worries about the time! Possibilities: add 1/2 teaspoon celery seeds when you saute the onion. Add 1 bay leaf and 1/2 pound peeled, diced sweet potatoes when you add the split peas. If you’re feeling adventurous, add 1/2 pound unpeeled blue potatoes instead of the sweet potatoes. Consider replacing 1/2 cup of split peas with 1/4 cup barley and 1/4 cup dried baby lima beans. It’s best to soak barley, lima beans and split peas, and you can combine them in the same soaking bowl.
• Cannelini, navy or great northern beans: Cooking water: 8 cups. Cooking time: about 1 hour. Possibilities: add a sprig each of fresh thyme and rosemary, as well as a bay leaf, when you add the beans. You can also add a 2″-3″ piece of fresh parmesan cheese rind if you like. If you don’t plan to make a thick puree, white beans pair well with blanched kale or escarole added 5-10 minutes before the end of cooking (see Q&A below). It’s nice to finish this soup with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice or a bit of freshly grated parmesan cheese. White beans require soaking.
• Black beans: Cooking water: 7 cups. Cooking time: as with green split peas, about 2-1/2 hours. Possibilities: add 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme and 1-1/2 teaspoons dried oregano when you saute the onion. If you like some gentle heat, also add 1/2 finely chopped and seeded jalapeno pepper at this time. Add 1 bay leaf when you add the beans. Finishing this soup with chopped parsley leaves or cilantro can add a splash of  color. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice will brighten the soup as well. Black beans require soaking.
• Mung beans: Cooking water: 7-8 cups. Cooking time: about 45 minutes to an hour. In Traditional Chinese Medicine, these homey beans are thought to stimulate detoxification and they’re one of the most cherished foods in India’s Ayurveda. Possibilities: add a sprig of fresh thyme when you add the beans. As with lentils, you may also want to add 1-2 cups chopped spinach or green Swiss chard toward the end of cooking. Finishing the soup with chopped parsley will also enhance the color of the soup. I always soak mung beans, but it is optional as they are easy to digest.

Master Recipe

This master recipe was inspired by one I learned at the Natural Gourmet Institute. It’s easy to follow and gives beautifully consistent results.

Step One: Butter or Oil. In a heavy soup pot, warm the butter or olive oil over a medium-low heat. Adding this small amount of high-quality fat will help capture the essence of your soup, carrying its aroma and personality throughout.

Step Two: Onions and Sea Salt. Add the diced onion, which will be the foundation of your soup, and the sea salt, which will help draw out its flavors. I suggest coarse sea salt because it’s less expensive, but fine sea salt will work just as well–simply use a little less of it. If you take your time and caramelize the onion slowly, cooking it gently until the pieces become translucent and then brown, your soup will have a round and robust flavor. You can use this knowledge to affect the intensity of your soup, cooking the onion for less time to achieve a more delicate result.

Step Three: Carrots, Celery and Any Dried Herbs. Here you have a choice to make. You can add the carrots and celery to your soup shortly after you begin cooking the onion. A longer cooking time will result in a more potent flavor. Or you can add them to the pot just before the onion is finished cooking, and warm them for just a few minutes before adding the water. Again, it depends on how intensely flavored you want your soup to be. This is also the step in which you will add the chopped garlic and most dried herbs, if you are using them.

Step Four: Beans, Kombu and Water. Once the onions and vegetables are cooked to your liking, add the beans (discard the soaking liquid), kombu and water to the pot. Then bring the soup to a boil, skim and discard any white foam that appears, lower the heat and simmer the soup partly covered until it is ready. If, toward the end of cooking, you have more liquid than you’d like, you can uncover the soup while it cooks to allow for evaporation and a deeper concentration of flavors.

Step Five: Tasting the Soup. As you approach the end of cooking, start tasting the soup to see if it’s ready. The sign you are looking for is tender lentils, beans or peas. Since cooking times depend on both the type and age of the bean you use, there is no firm rule. A taste will tell.

Step Six: Finishing the Soup: When your soup is ready, remove and discard the kombu and fresh herb stems if you used them. Also, discard the bay leaf, unless you want to follow our family tradition: whoever finds the “lucky leaf” in his or her bowl gets a kiss and lots of good luck!
Now taste the soup to decide what else it may need; this is best determined when the soup is not too hot so you may want to turn off the heat and let it sit uncovered for a few minutes. If you made the soup with white or black beans, do you want to puree some or all of them? The easiest way to do this is with an immersion, or stick, blender Just put it into the pot and puree the soup until you achieve the texture you desire. If you are using a regular blender, be sure the soup has cooled somewhat, and leave the center hole of the lid open during blending so the contents doesn’t explode. If you are not going to puree your soup, would it benefit from the addition of chopped, fresh greens? If so, stir them into warm soup and allow them five minutes or so to wilt. No matter how you finish the soup, remember to check the seasoning. You will likely need to add fine sea salt (don’t add coarse sea salt here; it’s too easy to over salt the soup as it takes time to break down). Keep in mind that you don’t want the taste of salt in the finished soup–just enough to brighten the flavors and that’s it. How about freshly ground pepper, a squeeze of fresh lemon or chopped fresh herbs? Any of these can enliven a soup and finish it beautifully.

Questions Answered

Where can I buy some of the less familiar ingredients like beluga lentils, mung beans, or kombu? My favorite source is Goldmine Natural Foods. You can order by phone at 800-475-3663 or online at www.goldminenaturalfood.com. They have a wonderful selection and service you will appreciate. Kombu is also available at most healthy food stores.

How do I wash, sort and soak beans? Before you cook them, all beans need a good rinse. It works best to put them in a bowl full of water and swish. Then pour off the water and repeat until the discarded water runs clear. After you wash the beans, you’ll need to sort them by putting them on a plate or tray–or simply sifting through them with your hands–and discarding any that are cracked. Also, look for small stones, bean wannabes that will try to work their way into your cooking. You will need to discard these as well. Because beans contain “phytic acid,” most need to be soaked after washing. Phytic acid binds with minerals and makes them unavailable to you, though it is reduced or eliminated by soaking. This immersion in water also makes beans more digestible, which means less gas forming. To soak, simply put beans in a bowlful of cold water and let them sit for 6 to 24 hours. Your goal is for them to be generally softened. If you find beans uncomfortable to digest, a longer soak will help. If the day comes when you find yourself cooking bean soup on short notice, there’s a quick-soak method that will rescue you. After washing and sorting, put the beans in a pot and cover them with 3″ to 4″ of water. Bring the water to a boil and simmer the beans for five minutes. Then remove the pot from the heat and let it sit, covered, for 1 to 2 hours. Then discard the soaking water and proceed with the recipe.

Why use kombu? Kombu is a mineral-rich sea vegetable that won’t change the flavor of your souop; it will simply make it more nutritious by adding minerals like iodine. There’s no need to wash or wipe the kombu. Simply place one piece, about 4″-6″ long, into the soup pot. You can buy kombu at most any healthy food store, though all the soups are perfectly wonderful without it if you don’t have it on hand.

Why does it matter what size I cut the vegetables? The size of your vegetables affects how quickly they cook. If your vegetables are of a similar heft–carrots and celery, for example–and they’re different sizes, some will be overcooked while others are undercooked. The best way to ensure optimum flavor and texture is to cut similar vegetables into approximately the same size.

How do I blanch kale or escarole? To blanche any vegetable, plunge it into boiling salted water, bring the water back to a boil as fast as possible, boil for a few minutes–just until the color comes up and the vegetable is slightly tender–and then drain the cooking water and run very cold fresh water over it to preserve the color and texture. Then proceed with the recipe.

How do I use an immersion blender? Using an immersion blender is my favorite, and perhaps the easiest, way to puree a soup. Set it upright in a pot of soup, turn it on and move it around, avoiding the surface so that it doesn’t splatter.

Copyright 2010, Ellen Arian, Ellen’s Food & Soul