December 09, 2011: Sleepy Concerns

I’ve been a sporadic insomniac for just about forever. The combination of being of an extremely light sleeper (critters rummaging amongst leaves below my window will wake me up) coupled with being a very vivid dreamer makes for a rather broken sleep cycle. Any added stress doesn’t help. The tricky thing about insomnia is that you never know when it will strike, but Murphy’s Law assures that you will get a bout when you can least afford it!

A caveat here: I AM NOT A DOCTOR! These are things I have found to be generally true and certainly help ME, but if you have a sleeping condition, please see a doctor for help. I was amazed that while doing research for this article, that there are things I’ve always considered innocuous, but can be harmful to some people. For instance chamomile is part of the daisy family and can really mess you up if you have a daisy allergy!

The good news is that there are a few things that can help a regular sleep cycle. The bad news is that it may involve a change of behavior (but in a good way.) It is not a small coincidence that just about all these rules revolve around a healthy life style and a fair dose of common sense. It’s nothing you’ve haven’t heard before: exercise regularly, eat no or lean meats and more veggies, avoid excesses of: sugar, white flour, alcohol, caffeine, cigarettes, drugs of all sorts..oh…and food! Try to regulate your sleep schedule, so that you go to bed at the same time each night. Blah, blah, blah…like I said: it’s the old song and dance. Trouble is: I do ALL of these things and STILL have the occasional bout of insomnia!

So, my tweaks: first is a Zen approach to the whole event. Nothing is worse that the insomniac’s worry “If I don’t fall asleep soon, I won’t have enough sleep to function the next day.” Honestly, this is torture, but this added stress does nothing for the problem. I literally can’t count the nights I’ve gone without sleep, and while it certainly is not comfortable, you can do more than you think you are able without sleep. So first: LET GO of the problem (as best as you can) and find a way to distract yourself. Reading helps me, but I have learned to stay away from the very interesting, active plot-lines. Philosophy, for instance, puts me right out! I love movies, but they are too stimulating for purposes of rest.

I started this article with the idea of finding a food panacea for insomnia. Most authorities recommend a high-carb diet within four hours of sleeping. Carbs are said to increase serotonin, a neurotransmitter that reduces stress and promotes rest. So, a PB&J sandwich, pasta, oatmeal cookie and milk. Yep, generations of pre-school teachers knew what they were doing feeding kids cookies and milk before nap time! I find a warm drink helps, so my warm milk and freshly ground nutmeg is my “go-to” cure. It’s said to have tryptophan (another stress-reducer) but I believe it has more to do with the action and habit of a participating in a mundane chore. The same with making tea. Teas with herbs like chamomile, valerian, lavender, and lemon balm are said to help digestion and relax muscles.

Pets can help too: there is nothing so Zen and ready for a nap than a cat, and I have a friend who uses his two large German Shepherds like huge, cozy, hot-water bottles! Having no pets, I have to look to my inanimate buddy, pictured above, for an example. “Sleepy” was my crib-mate from my first days. He’s lost his closed lashes that earned him his name, and has had all the stuffing loved outta him a long while back, but he still has that relaxed demeanor that with one look, just as in childhood…lulls me off to the Land of Nod.

C’mon Sleepy. It’s been a long day. Off we go.

November 02, 2011: Tasty Healthy Snacks

I’m still working through the generous supplies from my friends and trying to figure the best way to use them. I got a bunch of kale from Pam’s CSA, but I was worried that with all the veggies she gave to me that I wouldn’t get to them. Answer: turn the kale into chips. Kale chips are a very delicious (and much more healthy) answer to potato chips, and their taste is more complex. By making them yourself, you can control the amount of fat and salt you apply, and they are super easy and fun to make. I would guess the kids would enjoy mixing these (after parents do the cutting.)

I wanted to also toast the raw peanuts that Yoshio gave me. The process and spices are identical for both kale and peanuts, yet the taste is very different. I did use olive oil for the kale and corn oil for the peanuts because “it just seemed right” to do so. The only problem is that a whole head of kale makes only a couple of cups of chips. You don’t have to worry about storing them for long, trust me, they’ll go pretty fast!

Preheat oven to 350°F. Wash kale and dry in a salad spinner. If you don’t have a salad spinner, blot them with paper towels until very dry. Remove stem ends and use for stock. You just want the leaves of the kale. Any stems will turn chewy when finished. I don’t mind that, but if only want the crunch o the leaves, spend the time to trim the stems completely. Cut pieces into 2-3″ pieces. Dribble with about 1/4-1/2Tsp. olive oil (only enough to make the leaves glossy.) Sprinkle with a little sal de mer, paprika, and chili powder and toss well. Spread kale on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Put in oven and immediately reduce heat to 300°F. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, turning with tongs often. When done, leaves will have a nice crunch to them. Cool. Cover. Store in a cool, dry place.

Same recipe for the raw peanuts, just sub corn oil (or peanut) instead of olive oil. For both these dishes, vary spices as you choose for each batch, to keep the kids interested!

August 25, 2011: Talk at Showa Institute

"Colcannon" (Kale, mashed potatoes, cream,& spices) Photo by Y. Saito via IPhone

A quick “thank you” to Showa Institute of Boston, Yoshio, Michelle, and the students from Japan for having me out, to once again talk about Irish Cooking. A perfect day of organizing my notes by the koi pond, cooking with Yoshio (always a pleasure) and meeting and talking to the students. Once again, Yoshio and I made a variety of Irish dishes showing the range of influences of different cultures on Irish cuisine. We made:

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Colcannon

Codling Cream

Irish Soda Bread

Recipes are available on last year’s entry “August 26, 2010: Irish Cuisine at Showa”

June 08, 2011: Dried Dill

Two of my favorite summer foods are my own potato salad and iced green tea. I’ll save the tea for the next post, but potato salad…quartered potatoes, sliced radishes, chopped celery, spices, mustard and mayo make a wonderful combination, but it is chopped fresh dill that makes it work. The trouble is that you can’t use the entire bunch of dill, unless you’re making enough potato salad for an army, and it goes bad soon. Solution: dry it. Now, this is old hat for those who have dried herbs before, but if you’ve never done it, it’s super easy to dry herbs that keep for much longer than fresh. You can also save a good deal of money: one bunch of dill dries down to about .3oz. of dried dill, which cost almost $6 at the store.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Remove the very ends of stems of dill. Wash and dry dill well in a salad spinner. Put whole dill (no need to remove stems before drying) and spread out on a cookie sheet with tin foil. Lower heat to 200°F and put tray in oven for about 20 minutes. Dill should be dry, crisp, but not burnt.  Cool. Rub dill to remove stems and discard them. The whole process takes about an hour at the most and you could do many different herbs at once.

1 Tblsp. Fresh Herb=1 Tsp. Dried Herb

May 31. 2011: Carrot a l’Etuvee

Last week, I was home to attend the wedding of my nephew, Jonathan and his new bride, Nikki. I was invited to cook for my family (a rare treat) as a follow-up to the wedding, at my sister, Mary Lou’s house. I made:

• Bruschetta with goat cheese-shallot topping
• Pumpkin Vichyssoise
• Beef Tenderloin with Cajun Spice/Dijon Mustard/Horseradish Crust
• Duchess Potatoes
• French-Style Asparagus (see May 10, 2011 entry)
• Carottes à l’Etuvée (steamed carrots w/no water)
• Boston Lettuce/Belgian Endive Salad w/ Pear, Toasted Walnuts, Macadamia Nut Oil & Balsamic Vinegar Dressing
• Pumpkin Cheesecake

This was a very challenging meal considering all the dishes and the time spent for traveling and for the wedding itself. Mary Lou set a beautiful table with her fine china, silver and Waterford crystal. Nikki donated one of her bouquets from the wedding, for the centerpiece for the table.

One of my “sure things” for this meal was the Carottes à l’Etuvée recipe. “Etuvée” is French for “steamed.” Fair warning, here: You may never make carrots any other way (I sure haven’t.) This recipe creates a fresh carrot, steamed in its own water and that results in a brighter color, firmer texture, and a more flavorful taste. It has a by-product as being one of the easiest dishes I’ve ever made!

Have your chosen quantity of carrots (washed, skinned, ends removed, and cut at 45°angle.) Here, it is important to get the mass of each piece the same, in order to get each piece to cook evenly. You don’t need to add any water! The carrots cook in their own juices. Add a pat of butter, a sprinkling of ground pepper and sal de mer, herbs de Provence, a bay leaf and a tiny bit of ground nutmeg to the pot. Cover and heat at medium-high until the carrots start to sizzle. Reduce heat to low, shaking the pot every once in a while (about 20 minutes) until the biggest piece is able to be pierced with a fork. Serve immediately.

That’s all for the best carrots you will ever have!

06.02.11 Update:

The diners, minus hosts & chef (photo: S. Swasey)

Just got the pics from the host, my brother-in-law Steve (thanks!) Steve absolutely hates veggies! He told me that he would not try the asparagus dish so I (unconsciously) served him twice the carrot dish! Steve was (silently) less than pleased at my doing so, but after tasting, he finished them all!

April 05, 2011: Macha Creme Brulee

Here’s a delicious and unique Japanese-fusion dessert: crème brûlée made with Macha (Japanese powdered green tea.) This NOT Chef Saito’s recipe, this is mine. The next time I meet him I will get his corrections and make appropriate changes. I liked this recipe and so did guests. The cream and the tea combine for a delicious taste and the crunchy caramelized topping is wonderful!

Macha Crème Brûlée:

• 2 Tblsp. Macha Tea
• 1+1/2 C. Milk
• 1+1/2C. Heavy Cream
• 1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
• 1/2C. Sugar
• 2 Whole Eggs+3 Egg Yolks
• Topping Sugar: I used an equal amount of white sugar & brown sugar, ground fine

Add milk and cream to pot and under low-medium setting, heat milk/cream to warm. Whisk in Macha until it dissolves. While milk is warming, in a separate bowl, beat eggs and yolks together and add 1/2C. sugar and vanilla and beat again. Pour in warm milk/cream and beat. Mixture will be frothy. Let settle a bit and strain equally into Pyrex bowls. Put bowls in oven-proof pan and add water to the bottom of pan. Cover this pan with aluminum foil and bake in 325°F oven for about 40 minutes. Check center of brûlée with toothpick: when it comes out dry, brûlée is done. Cool brûlée immediately and cover and chill when brûlée cools to room temperature. Before serving, cover each brûlée with topping sugar and caramelize with butane torch (it’s fun to do this before guests, but please have a fire-safe environment to work in.)

October 22, 2010: Spanakopeta (Spinach Pie)

Last night I made dinner for Chris and Sara. I/we made:

• Baked Chicken Breast with Tarragon Velouté
• Spanakopeta (Baked Spinach Pie)
• Carrottes a l’étuvée
• Pilaf with Cranberries (Chris made this-very good!)
• Mango-Apple Sorbet (Chris made this-AWESOME!)

When I spent my first year after college, in Washington D.C., I spent lunches trying spanakopeta (Greek Spinach Pie) at just about every Greek take-out place in town (and there were a lot back then!) Each owner insisted that their spanakopeta was the best, and while they were all delicious, none were quiiiiite perfect, in my book. Mostly, they were a little too oily and somewhat flat for my tastes. Also, I like my spanakopeta with more cheese and less fat than what they served. So, over the years I have perfected my recipe.

Spanakopeta

Ingredients:

• 4 Tblsp. Butter+4 Tblsp. Olive Oil
• 5 Eggs (beaten)
• 8 Oz. Feta Cheese
• 24 Oz. Cottage Cheese (I prefer Hoods-it’s creamier than most)
• 2 Packets of 10 Oz. Chopped Spinach (defrosted)
• 1/2 Spanish Onion (chopped fine)
• 8 Oz. Phyllo Dough (defrosted in fridge for a day)
• Spices: 1 Tblsp. Salt; 1/4 Tsp. Pepper, Oregano, Basil, & Dill Weed

Make the filling first. In a large bowl, beat eggs, add cottage cheese. Crumble feta fine and add to cheese. Squeeze water from chopped spinach and add to cheese. Chop onion and add with spices. Mix. Put cheese mixture aside.

Melt butter and add olive oil. Grease a 8″ x 14″ x 2″ Pyrex pan with the fat mixture on bottom and sides.

Now comes the hard part…working with phyllo dough. The dough usually comes with a plastic wrap. Use this and/or a dry towel to cover the phyllo dough after you unroll it. Here’s the thing: phyllo dough dries out FAST. Too much air and the dough dries out and the sheets stick together. Any moisture, and the sheets stick together. So you have to work FAST and replace the towel after you take sheets from the pile. Take 3-4 sheets at a time, lay them into the pan, and use the butter/oil mixture to coat. It’s best to “tack” the corners and the edges first, then butter the middle. Repeat until you have gone through half of the sheet. Add the cheese mixture and level out. Return to adding the sheets of phyllo until done. Tuck corners down and butter again. Slice diagonal slits in top sheets with a very sharp knife. Top with a sprinkling with dill weed and/or Herbes de Provence. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes. When done the top and bottom are a nice dark caramel coloring. Rest for about 10 minutes. Cut with a very sharp serrated knife into slices.

October 12, 2010: A Healthier Caesar Dressing

The weekend before last I made a meal for Teja, Barb, Nicole, and Katie that included a salad made from my healthier Caesar Dressing. I get a little queasy when I see recipes calling for raw egg. I always think there is a better way. Here’s a good example: a normal Caesar Dressing calls for at least one raw egg. I have substituted silken tofu instead. Same taste, consistency etc., but it is healthier, keeps longer, and I don’t have worry about salmonella poisoning!

Steve’s Healthier Caesar Dressing

• 2-3 garlic cloves (or what I use is 1 large 2″x1″ Elephant Garlic chopped small)
• 1/2 c. oil (more as needed, to get a smooth dressing)
• 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 2 tbsp. Lemon Juice (or juice from 1 small lemon; filtered)
• 1 Block Silken Tofu (water removed: place between plates; add pressure)
• 1 tsp. Dry Mustard (or Dijon Mustard…better, really)
• 1/4 c. Parmesan Cheese (more to taste)
• Anchovy Paste or chopped anchovies (optional)
• 1/4 tsp. black pepper
• 3/4 tsp. salt

Tofu from the market always has too much water. I place the block between plates and top with a pot filled with enough water to press the water out of the tofu. I ALWAYS do this in the sink (I’ve learned the hard way that tofu does not make a solid support!) I prefer fresh squeezed lemon, but I have used the bottled kind for this recipe. I usually pick up cheap lemons on the reduced rack at the produce area. These are usually not as pretty, but are at the peak of ripeness. I like Elephant Garlic as a rule (instead of regular garlic) as it adds a texture to most dishes. You have to section it before you process all the ingredients in a food processor as a big piece of garlic will jam the processor.

This is one of those recipes where it is almost impossible to screw up and takes several minutes (at the most) to make. The anchovies are optional (and more traditional) but I have not tried this yet, as I know it will not keep as long. This dressing is good on lots of salads. It’s good as a dip for fresh veggies. Safe, tasty, fast, easy, fun, and kinda loosey-goosey!

October 11, 2010: A Hunter-Gatherer Diet

 

Image courtesy of Method Fitness Blog

 

Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of making dinner for my friend Dan and his charming tenants, Craig and Emily. Dan has just started a diet called the “Paleolithic Diet” which has its own inherent restrictions. I was up for the challenge and the menu Dan and I came up with was:

• Beet Soup (I had whole grain croutons and sour cream for everyone but Dan)
• Salmon and Scallop Duo (Dan provided the “wild” fish)
• Sautéed Portobello Mushrooms with butter, garlic and lemon juice
• Lemon-Leek Risotto (Dan didn’t have this either)
• Asparagus in butter and lemon

The Paleo Diet attempts to reproduce what our Paleolithic (2 million-10, 000 years ago) ancestors ate, with the idea that the modern human genetic profile remains 99.9% the same from the Paleolithic period, yet after agriculture we introduced (variety to be sure) but also harmful things to our diet. The Paleo Diet has no grains, no dairy, no sugar, no legumes, no fermented beverages and no preservatives. The emphasis of the diet is “wild” protein like game, grass-fed beef, free range poultry, wild-caught fish, and vegetables.

Dan (in addition to being a great guy and a good friend) is about as far from a cave man as possible! He is a Harvard grad, a computer whiz, and just about the smartest man I know, so when he say a diet like this “just makes sense” to him, I’m inclined to listen up. Dan has effectively eliminated processed foods, “bad” carbs, sweets, meat with hormones and toxins, alcohol…essentially ALL the things that plague a modern diet, that cause heart disease, many cancers, food intolerances, diabetes, and tooth decay! In one fell swoop, Dan has eliminated ALL junk food from his diet!

Dan cautions me that he has only been on the diet for a little while, and when I asked him if he had any cravings his answer was “Not so far” but admits that many of things he has eliminated from his diet he could live without. Personally, I think diets tend to work because you are paying more attention to what you eat and moderating it, something that is wise, anyway. The danger of a diet is that when you eliminate something in your diet and you miss it, as soon as you go off the diet, you gorge on those things, negating the purpose of the diet. A diet should be something that is achievable, if it’s going to succeed. You make the diet a life-time experience, something that will last.

I think Dan has made a wise choice in his diet. I feel impelled to point on that our hunter-gatherers ancestors burned tons of calories in their quest to survive, so as a dog owner (Dan now owns three dogs, and he is such a kind master that he puts a new emphasis on the phrase “lucky dog”) I recommend that Dan take his beasts out for frequent walks. You’ll benefit, and they’ll love it, keeping you (and them) happy, hearty, and healthy for some time to come!

October 07, 2010: Koya Mountain Monastery

 

Photo: Charles Thuener (showing lunch and a fire ceremony)

 

This summer Yoshio was a guide taking a group through different parts of Japan. One stop was a Buddhist monastery in Kyo Mountains. The monastery was founded 1200 years ago by a Buddhist monk by the name of “Ko Bo” who was of the “Shin Gon” or “true word” sect of Buddhism. The monastery can only be reached by cable-car and is about as remote possible to the hustle and bustle of modern Japanese life, yet modern Japanese companies often send employees here for mental Zen training.

Yoshio’s family has belonged to the monastery for at least four generations back, (that he can accurately trace but most likely they have belonged for much longer). In addition to Zen training (and probably the most beautiful views on earth, judging from the photos Yoshio’s group took) the monastery serves “sho jin” or vegetarian cuisine. Having 1200 years of experience, the monks have refined their cooking to a visual and culinary art (however austere it may seem to a Westerner.)

A typical menu for the day might include:

Breakfast: Rice porridge with pickled plum and radish and a few vegetables

Lunch: Miso soup with a few pickled vegetables and rice

Dinner:

• Asparagus wrapped in tofu skin
• Five kinds of stewed vegetables
• Tofu with vegetables
• Wheat veggie dumplings
• Chestnut rice

The fire ceremony, shown above, is Buddhist ceremony commemorating the passing of ancestors.