Tag Archives: plant based

The Culinary Socializer – Lemon

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If you’ve ever made a meal and it wasn’t quite there, just didn’t have the pzazz or the flavors that make you sing. Perhaps it’s a soup that sat in the fridge for 3 days, or a rice pilaf that’s flavors have sunk.

Try adding a little lemon juice. Just a little, too. Not enough to give the dish a lemon flavor, either. Just enough for it to enhance the other flavors that are already there. If a dish is a party, think of lemon as a great conversationalist. Someone who draws the other party-goers into talking, not someone who takes over the conversation and doesn’t let anyone else speak.

I have used lemon juice in this way for years in the restaurant business, often finding that it’s the time that I use the LEAST amount of lemon juice that produces those great comments that we chefs love (even if we say we don’t!). I’m talking 1/16 of a teaspoon per order here. So 1/4 of a teaspoon for a four person soup, or pilaf. Try it, you’ll be pleasantly surprised.

Meal Plan July 2 2012

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Weekly meal plans focus on vegetables as the center of the vegetarian diet.

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This week experimented with scalloped potatoes using coconut milk and flax seed as the creamy binder. Dash of white wine vinegar worked wonders to set of the sweet cremy oniony sauce. The etestament to these is that my family ate them all down the day before I had a chance to photograph them!

The Thai soup is in the style of Tom Kha, using tofu instead of chicken and generous quantities of ginger and fresh squeezed lime along with fresh basil. Paired with the earthy barley and deep sweet of the raisins, a very satisfying combination.

I’m a great fan of the cousa squash, which seems to have a little less bitterness than zucchini, although the shelf life is shorter. The season is now.

  • Cousa squash, snap peas and beet greens in spiced curry sauce with kohlrabi-cucumber and mung bean salad
  • Glazed tempeh and broccoli in roasted garlic and tomatoes; scalloped potatoes and kale
  • Thai soup with chinese cabbage, bok choi and tofu; barley, zucchini and raisin pilaf
  • Coconut chole with green beans; brown rice with caramelized onion and napa cabbage

Kale from Echollective Farm, Mechanicsville IA
Bok choi and kohlrabi from Salt Fork Farm, Solon IA
Potatoes, green beans and snap peas from Oak Hill Acres, Atalissa IA
Beet greens and Chinese cabbage from Grinnel Heritage Farm, Grinnel IA
Cousa squash, zucchini and broccoli from J.T.’s, can’t remember where! IA

Meal Plan June 25 2012

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Again managed to incorporate as meany greens as possible this week. Beet greens, Chinese cabbage, collards, kale, bok choi, dill, mint all incorporated this week.

  • Tofu and snap peas in caramelized leek sauce with spiced rice and beet greens
  • Curried black-eyed peas and kale with barley-collard green pilaf
  • Tempeh with spiced beets and dilled chinese cabbage, spinach and beet green slaw
  • Mixed vegetables in miso sauce with potato and kohlrabi in tomato-mint sauce

Featuring vegetables from Echollective, Salt Fork Farms and Grinnel Heritage Farms.

As always veggieburgers are available to pick up every Monday at Hillel House. Pre-order by emailing burtfamilyfoodservices@gmail.com

Kale chips ‘n’ more

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What to do with all those spring greens? Kale chips are popular but experiment with other greens that often end up yellow at the bottom of your crisper. Radish greens, beet greens, mustard greens, turnip greens. Just make sure to cut the spine and make a thinnish layer on the oven pan.

Use the stems, cut finely, to thicken sauces, or toss into the stockpot for great added flavor and depth to your home made stock.

Spring green chips

1 bunch kale or other spring/fall green
2 tsp sunflower oil, or extra virgin olive oil
1/8 t salt
1/8 t paprika

Optional: pinch cayenne

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Strip the spine from the greens either with a knife, or by pulling your hand firmly along the spine to remove leaf, Cut leaves into bite sized pieces. Sprinkle salt and paprika over greens. Be sure to sprinkle widely so that the powders do not clump in one place. Drizzle oil over greens and gently toss to evenly distribute the oil over the leaves. Place the in a thinnish layer on an oven pan or cookie sheet. It doesn’t need to be a single layer, just not a bunch of them piled on top of each other. Check after 5 minutes, but usually takes 7 or 8 minutes. May take 10 or 12 minutes if it’s a thick pile. Greens should be browning and a little crispy. Transfer to a paper towel to remove excess oil if necessary.