The Healthy Cooking Coach

Gluten Free Pasta with Dairy-Free Pesto

If you follow a wheat-free or gluten-free diet, or you aspire to, you may be pining for pasta. I realize you don’t just want pasta, you want great tasting pasta to enjoy in your favorite recipes. Five to 10 years ago that might have been an iffy proposition. All that has changed. Here in 2011, it’s definitely a reality. I’ve tried several brands of gluten-free pasta and listened to colleagues, friends, and bloggers who cook and eat a lot of pasta.

If you tried some of the earlier gluten-free pasta options and found them soggy and unpalatable, don’t rule out the newer versions. I found two brands I really like and highly recommend.

The brand that receives the most raves is Tinkyata Pasta. This stone ground whole grain brown rice pasta has a firm texture and great taste. It’s free of wheat, gluten, corn, eggs, dairy, casein, nuts, and peanuts. So if you or your family members have multiple food allergies, this is probably the best brand for you. It's also certified organic and kosher certified. It has a great mouthfeel and holds up well to sauces.

Tinyata makes 18 wheat-free, gluten-free pastas, including spaghetti, spinach spaghetti, spirals, vegetable spirals, shells, grand shells, fusilli, elbows, fettucini, lasagna, penne, and little dreams (a kid kind of shape). Ingredients: organic brown rice, rice brand, and water. Spinach and vegetable pastas contain added vegetables. 

I tried their brown rice spaghetti a few months ago when one of my cooking students used it to make her final recipe for Whole Foods Cuisine I. She topped it with the Practically Paleo Pesto recipe from my book, The Garden of Eating. (The recipe can be made with basil and parsley, mint and parsley, or cilantro and parsley.) My students were impressed with the pasta and the pesto. I would definitely buy that pasta. I want to try some of the other shapes made by Tinkyata. I have a dairy-free mac & cheese recipe from The Spunky Coconut Blog flagged in my inbox. I'll let you know when I try it.

The other gluten-free pasta I really like is Andean Dream Gluten-Free Spaghetti. It’s gluten-free, corn-free, organic, and Kosher. Ingredients: organic Royal Quinoa and rice flour.

I prepared it according to the package directions for the final class and potluck for my recent 5-week Whole FoodsI Cuisine course at Southwest Institute of Healing Arts (SWIHA) in Tempe, AZ. I topped it with Practically Paleo Pesto pulled from my freezer (recipe from The Garden of Eating). I set out parmesan cheese, dulse flakes with toasted sesame seeds, and sea salt as optional additions; people seemed to enjoy it as is.

The plate on the right, my lunch on Saturday, contains Caveman Chili, Better Brussels Sprouts, Roasted Mushrooms, and Herb Scrambled Eggs from The Garden of Eating, the Quiona-Rice pasta with Practically Paleo Pesto, a mini grassfed beef kafta kabob, and Glutino rice crackers. One of my students also made a chicken recipe from my book that was also a hit (not pictured) that I'm eating for lunch today. For dessert, we had three flavors of Ice Dream, dairy-free, coconut milk "ice cream", (from my Ice Dream Cookbook) with Mango and Blueberry Sauces, Karly's Cocoa Sauce, and cakey-textured Chocolate Chip Ice Dream Sandwich Cookies from the same book. The verdict: An enthusiastic row of forks up! You can find some of those recipes on my blog.

Even the skeptics were impressed with the pasta. One had never eaten gluten-free pasta and doubtedthat it would taste good; the other had tried gluten-free pasta years ago and had been so underwhelemed that he gave up on buying it again. The skeptics and the rest of loved the flavor, texture, and mouthfeel. I now have a eight new converts to gluten-free pasta.

By the way, if you like Quinoa check out my Cooking with Quinoa Class at Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ, on Sunday, June 26th, 2011. The same class will also run on Sunday, July 17th, 2011. You can read more on the Cooking Class page of this blog. I will show you more great ways to add quinoa to your recipe repertoire.

If you want to make my Practically Paleo Pesto, a dairy-free twist on the classic, click here. Adjust the garlic, salt, olive oil, lemon juice, and pepper to your liking. I frequently make it to use up leftovers parsley, basil, cilantro, mint, or some combination of these. It freezes fairly well. I pour it into varying sized small jars (label the contents and date it), cover it with a layer of olive or avocado oil, and freeze. When I want it, I transfer it from the freezer to the fridge a day or so in advance, making it ready to add to Angeled Eggs (Deviled eggs minus the evil sounding name), blanched vegetables, a tossed green salad, an omelet, or mayo. It’s also great spooned over cooked chicken breast, pork loin, sliced tomatoes, or over baked potato, polenta, or gluten-free pasta.

Note: To punch up the flavor after defrosting, you may need to adjust the seasonings. Also, remember, every time you remove some of the pesto from the jar you need to add a layer of olive or avocado oil to the jar to completely cover the pesto to keep it from oxidizing.

If you don't already own a copy of my Garden of Eating Cookbook, click here for ordering information. If you buy it directly from my secured web site you'll receive it within one to two weeks if you order it by insured media mail (faster if you pay for expedited delivery). You'll receive a sample shopping list that goes with the sample month of menus in chapter 13. You'll also get it for a much better price ($34.95 +  sales tax if you live in Arizona) than anywhere else online. Expect to pay $130 or more for a copy on Amazon.

Do you have a favorite brand of gluten-free pasta? Do you have a favorite use for pesto? An unusual ingredient you add to it? I'd love to hear from you. Please let me know by posting a comment below. Click comments and follow the prompts. Come back as often as you like to share more info with my readers. You can do this with any of my blog posts.

PrimalCon 2011

I just I returned from the second annual PrimalCon, The Primal Blueprint Experience, April 15 to 17th, 2011 in Oxnard, CA, where I spent two and a half days socializing, exercising, eating, and hanging out at a beach park on Mandaly Bay. Other than breakfast in the hotel and sleeping in a plush hotel rooms at night, I and the other 100 participants and staff spent 99% of our waking hours outdoors.

What brought all of together was our mutual interest in paleo and primal diet and lifestyle principles and our love for  outdoor activities. I immediately felt at home with this group. Where else could we find ourselves surrounded by so many people who have such similar views and interests about diet and fitness?

Technology break
I went three and a half days without a computer or my usual to-do lists. I had my phone but kept it off most of the time, except to text a handful of texts. This break from technology and my usual routine created space for new ideas to flow in, ideas I will share with you as they take shape.

Primal fare
The hotel provided a made-to-order omelet bar with bacon, sausage, and fresh fruit for breakfast. Midday we munched at on chocolate and vanilla Primal Smoothies, berries, apples, tangerines, veggies, nuts, nut butters, with the option of turkey one day and bunless burgers, green salad, leftover grilled veggies, avocados, and dark chocolate on the next. Dinner consisted of lavish Mediterranean and Asia Pacific-themed primal feasts.

  Primal fun
Activities included Morning Gentle Movement Sessions, Barefoot Running, a Posture and Movement Lecture, Ultimate Frisbee, Slacklining, Mind Body Obstacle Course, Gorilla Ninja Training, Kettle Bell Training, Survivor-Style Team Challenges, Samba Dance Night, Primal Blueprint Fitness Challenge, Primal Blueprint Seminar with author and Primal BluePrint founder Mark Sission, Primal Cooking Demos led by me, plus sun, rest, and relaxation.

I participated in two early morning gentle movement sessions that combined yoga and  tai chi-style warm-ups and stretches led by body worker Angelo Dela Cruz. I aim to incorporate some of those moves into my weekly stretching routine, especially on those computer breaks I intend to take more of. I attended a barefoot running class with Barefoot Ted, leader of the barefoot running movement and the 5-Finger shoe phenomenon.

Nearly half of the people there wore my favorite footwear, Vibram 5-Finger shoes. Most of the other half went barefoot while a small number wore running shoes.

The primal plunge
On the second night, I joined 40+ participants in a pre-dusk ocean plunge into the 55˚ F surf, followed by a dash to an oversized hot tub where we warmed up, chilled out, chatted, shared stores and recipes, and sampled 85% dark chocolate.

 Sunsets on the beach were amazing!  Aaron Fox, another one of Mark's assistants took most of the pictures I've posted here. I took the one of my dinner plate (below) and of Quincy (also below).

 

Primal cooking classes
I set up, prepped for, and conducted two outdoor cooking demos where I prepared four family-friendly recipes from my book, The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook.

Here's what I made:

• Blanched Crudité Platter of Seasonal Vegetables
• Spicy Almond Butter Dip (a variation on my Spicy Peanut Sauce)
• Cashew Dill Dip
• Dark Chocolate Dipped Date Nut Truffles

I shared my "shop ahead, chop ahead, and cook ahead so you have healthy food on hand when hunger strikes" philosophy. I explained about the virtues of cooking with two or three days or meals in mind and mixing and matching leftovers and fresh foods (much like wardrobing) for fast and easy meals and snacks. I talked about freezing extra portions for future meals and demonstrated a cool way to cut and de-seed bell pepper to reduce prep and clean up time. I shared a couple of key knife safety tips. (You can watch me make the recipes on my set of two cooking DVDs.)

I packed a lot of practical information into two 90 minute sessions. The cooking classes were a huge hit (they didn't have cooking classes at PrimalCon 2010) and I received rave reviews and an invitation to next year's event. The parboiling technique and the dips got the highest accolades. I expected that; they've been favorite of mine and of my cooking students, clients, and friends for more than two decades. They liked the grain-free, gluten-free, dairy-free, date-sweetened truffles but they were more interested in the the vegetables and dips.

Added bonuses
I enjoyed a break from cooking and meal planning (other than what I did for my two 90 minute cooking demos near the picnic tables and grills). I met two couples that live in the Phoenix metro area who were thrilled to meet me and find out about the Phoenix Paleo/Primal Diet Meet Up group I belong to that hosts monthly potlucks and lectures. They’ll fit right into our local tribe and have great recipes to share. I heard about similar groups in other cities (some with 100 to 150 members) that I might eventually visit and do presentations for.
 
I met primal diet and fitness expert, author, and  blogger Mark Sisson and heard him speak. I have his three books and have followed his blog, Marks Daily Apple. He’s turning massive amounts of people on to the health and fitness benefits of paleo and primal diet and exercise. You'll see links to Mark's book at the bottom of this post. I'll be reviewing two of them soon.

I met and befriended an adorable dog named Quincy owned by Gail Kearns, mother of speaker, author, fitness coach, and former professional triathlete Brad Kearns.

Brad, one of Mark’s right hand guys, is skilled at organizing people, equipment, and athletic events. He founded a non-profit organization that promotes cardiovascular fitness for kids called Running School. The organization conducts events on campus at partner schools in Northern California and Nevada, tracking students' aerobic conditioning results against national standards and helping kids make healthy lifestyle choices and develop positive attitudes towards competition, so important at a time when most schools have outsized physical education, leaving kids without a healthy outlet for their energy or the opportunity to develop an exercise habit at an early age. If you have kids, check out the link to Brad’s running school.

Gail chauffeured me to and from the Burbank airport to Whole Foods Market to shop for my demos, to the beach on Mandalay Bay, to and from a house a mile away where I did the bulk of my prep, and back to the airport at the end of the conference.

I bonded with Quincy when he sat on my lap (the only open space in the car) on the ride from Whole Foods Market to the conference site when the car was filled to the ceiling with luggage, food, and supplies for the weekend. Although I now consider myself more of a cat person than a dog person, Quincy quickly wiggled his way into my heart and temporarily took the place of my two cats while I was away from home. There he is on the right.

PrimalCon 2012
I am excited about participating in PrimalCon 2012, reuniting with the people I met in 2011 and bringing more people from Phoenix. If you’re into paleo or primal diet and fitness or curious about it, check out Mark’s blog, his books (see links below), videos, lifestyle recommendations and resources, and his conferences and lectures.

Paleo & Primal Pesto with Mint & Parsley

I love pesto, but not the usual kind with parmesan cheese. I actually prefer dairy-free pesto made from fresh herbs, nuts, garlic, olive or avocado oil, lemon juice, sea salt and pepper. I have a master recipe that I adjust, depending upon what herbs I have on hand. I’ve made it with basil and parsley, with cilantro and parsley, and with mint and parsley. I recently made a lot of the mint version afer I inadvertently left six packages of fresh pint at home when I needed to take them with me for a big dinner event I was doing for 40 people. (Yes, I do occasionally forget the 110th ingredient when I'm packing for a cooking class, cooking party, or big dinner party.) Lucky for me someone picked up mint for my big shindig and I knew what I to do with the overflow of mint in my fridge the next day. Lucky for me Practically Paleo/Primal Pesto freezes well!

Pesto beyond pasta
Pesto’s extremely versatile. Think beyond pasta! (If you do serve it over pasta, try gluten-free brown rice pasta or quinoa pasta.) I like to drizzle or dollup it over blanched vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, sweet red, yellow, or orange bell peppers, green beans, or some combination of two or more of these). I like to serve this for breakfast, lunch, or dinner with some kind of protein and fresh fruit or a starchy or dense vegetable.

You’ll see a recent breakfast on the right. Sometimes I toss the pesto over a green salad (romaine or baby greens with sliced fresh tomatoes scallions or roasted onions, and cucumber or celery) with or without diced chicken breast or salmon.

The pesto in the photo on the right has noticeable traces of oil because I scooped it out of the jar I'd covered with oil a couple of days before. Photo credit: Rachel Albert © Copyright 2011.

You can also serve the pesto over grilled freshly cooked tuna, pork, or a burger at the table. Mix it with homemade mayonnaise and use it as a spread for a lettuce-based wrap or a dip for chicken tenders. Drizzle it over an omelet. Dollup it over a baked potato. Dunk celery and jicama sticks in it. If you eat goat cheese, I think it would be yummy poured over soft goat cheese then served with jicama sticks.

Preserving pesto
Whether refrigerating or freezing the pesto, once I pour it into jars (I prefer 8 ounce or smaller jars) for storage I pour olive or avocado oil over the top to keep the air off and prevent oxidation. That makes it look good so you’ll still want to eat it. Each time you scoop out some pesto, add a layer of oil on top to cover it. If you plan to freeze it in glass jars, leave an inch of space below the lip (indentation) in the jar to allow for expansion during freezing. To thaw, transfer a frozen jar of pesto from the freezer to the frige and allow all day or overnight for it to defrost.

Super vibrant green pesto
I recently discovered that using the Vita Mix (rather than the food processor) to puree the pesto emulsfied it more, turning it a lovely green avocado color and removing every last lump. It had a consistentcy like mayonnaiase. I’m sure a BlendTek would work just as well.

Practically Paleo/Primal Pesto

Prep: 20 to 30 minutes/ Cooking: 5 to 15 minutes (for nuts)/ Yield: 2 cups; 16 servings
                   
Unlike conventional pesto, this one is made without Parmesan cheese, or any cheese for that matter. If you're a little short on mint, add more parsley to make up the difference. If you need to avoid nuts, try the take-off on Pistou––the French Provençal version of pesto without nuts.  Either can be used to baste salmon, white meat fish, or chicken before baking, roasting, or grilling. It can also be stuffed under the skin of chicken breasts before baking.

Source: Modified from a recipe found in The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook by Rachel Albert & Don Matesz
   
Ingredients:
2 packed cups fresh mint leaves, rinsed, spun or patted dried, stems removed (see variations below)
1/4 cup lightly toasted walnuts or toasted or raw pine nuts; double if desired
1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves, washed and dried, stems removed (double if desired)
1 teaspoon finely ground, unrefined sea salt (Celtic Sea Salt or Redmond Real Salt), or to taste
2 to 3 medium to large garlic cloves, chopped or crushed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice; double if desired
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil or (refined or virgin pressed) avocado oil
Additional oil or preservative-free chicken broth, optional
3 drops vitamin-E oil (optional), as a preservative
1/4 teaspoon ground white or black pepper

1. Process all ingredients in blender, Vita-Mix, or food processor and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape sides with spatula. For thinner consistency, add a dash of oil, broth, or stock with motor running. (For best results and the most vibrant green hue, use a Vita Mix or blender and puree until the mixture is totally green and free of lumps. I couldn’t get it as smooth with the food processor.)
   
2. Taste and adjust sea salt, pepper, or lemon juice to your tastes. If too salty, add more parsley a handful at a time and blend until smooth, stopping to scrape the sides with a spatula.
3. Transfer to clean wide-mouth jar that allows very little air space.
4. Cover and refrigerate. After each use, top with thin layer of olive oil to prevent oxidation.
5. Use within 1 week, or freeze in ice trays, transfer to sealed container, and use frozen pesto within 2 months. 

2 tablespoons: 75 calories, 1 g carbohydrate, 8 g fat, 11 mg calcium, 115 mg sodium
  
Variations:

• Practically Paleo Pumpkinseed Pesto: Replace nuts with lightly toasted pumpkinseeds. Use hulled green pumpkinseeds sold in natural foods stores.
• Practically Paleo Pistou: Omit nuts. Add 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste. This will eliminate 17 grams of fat and 189 calories from master recipe. Add more parsley or mint as needed to thicken.

If you like this recipe, order a copy of this book! You’ll love it!
The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook by Rachel Albert & Don Matesz

Play with Your Food

Did your mother ever tell you to stop playing with your food? I don’t recall my mother ever telling me that. If she did it didn’t stick in my mind. Thank heavens because I still enjoy playing with my food and encouraging you to do the same.

Do a mental dress rehearsal
Tinker with the colors, shapes, and textures of foods, how they go together, and how you arrange them on a plate, in a bowl, on the table. Before assembling a meal do a mental dress rehearsal imagining how the pieces will fit together to make an artful, appetizing presentation.

Do you have something green and leafy or flowering? An orange, yellow, or red vegetable or fruit (or several of these colors)? Do you have something beige, brown, black, or white? Forget monochromatic beige or brown meals! Do you have a contrast of creamy, crunchy, and chewy? Do you  have something sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and pungent...or at least three of these flavors? A mix of flavors will satisfy your taste buds and add to your enjoyment.

Get your hands into it
Get your hands on the food. Try to buy it from as close to home as possible. Pick it up feel it (is it ripe or rock hard?); give it a whiff (does it smell ripe and fruity, green, herbaceous, fresh?).

Although I no longer make bread, I recall the sensuous and satisfying feeling of working the dough into supple submission, noticing when it changed, when it was ready, shaping it, watching it magically rise, and then sinking my teeth into it, later, at the table. Coleslaw that requires kneading and crushing offers a similar pleasure So does artistically arrange blanched vegetables on a platter, toss a colorful assortment of ingredients into a salad bowl.

Catch it on camera
This might not appeal to you, but I like to take pictures of what I eat––at home, at the farmers’ market (before I eat it), in restaurants, and at friend’s homes. I enjoy capturing the beauty of the food and being able to share it with others. To make a great food photo requires a playful attitude and, often, some degree of fiddling with the food, the place setting, the camera angle, and the lighting. I like taking photographs and turning them into custom-made greeting cards for friends, clients, and colleagues… and of course, sharing them with you on this blog!

 So where am I going with this?
I think healthy eating should be an enjoyable act, something that brings pleasure to all of your senses (and mine too!). Eating healthy food shouldn’t be some kind of austere sacrificial act, something to suffer through for the sake of meeting your daily nutritional needs.

I'll admit it, I take a strange pleasure in knowing that my meals and desserts provide vitamins, minerals, fiber, antioxidants, protein, fats with a favorable fatty acid profile, etc., but when the meal is over and the dishes have been cleared away, what matters even more is that I feel  deeply satisfied. I think having a playful attitude about food helps.

Are you playing? Every day in some way?
Play is so important to our health (you know this, right?) We all need activities that bring out the childlike spirit we may have lost, repressed, or suppressed. We need to do things that fully engage us and make us lose track of time and to do lists, that make us laugh and lighten up.

What can you do to play with your food? How can you bring a more playful attitude to the acts of shopping, cooking, serving, eating, and sharing food? What can you do today, tomorrow, this week, this weekend, or this month to have more fun with your food? What are you willing to commit to doing differently? 

Take a cooking class or a series of cooking classes? Buy a new fruit or vegetable each week? Try a new recipe each week? Work your plate into a work of art? Mimic something you saw presented in a magazine, cookbook, or restaurant meal? Change the shape of something you ordinarily make using cookie cutters, a whimsical shaped baking pan or mold, an unusual arrangement? Learn how to carve vegetables and fruits? Make edible table decorations? Take pictures of your meals? Invite your children or spouse to join you in the kitchen or in plating the food? Put on some great dancing music and let it move you as you prepare and plate a meal?

Btw: I didn’t create the food art animals you see on the right. I wish I did! If I did I would cite the source and get permission to use his/her photos. If I’ve infringed on anyone’s copyright, I have not done it knowingly (hopefully that absolves me of any repercussions!). Someone sent them to me a couple of years ago. (Who knew vegetables would be so expressive?)

One of the things I aim to do in the next month is create some imaginative vegetable and fruit art. Of course, I or wee will take pictures of antics and post them here on this site!

Talk to me
How do you play with your food? What could you learn from your kids or grand kids about playing  with food? Tell me what you already do or plan to do to make healthy eating more fun. Do you have ideas that might inspire other people to eat well, live well, have more fun in the kitchen or at the table? I’d love to hear from you and so would the rest of my readers.

Photo credits (food shots): Chef Rachel Albert © Copyright 2010

Btw: I didn’t create the food art animals you see on the right. I wish I did! Honestly, I don’t know the source of the pictures. If I did I would surely cite the source and get permission to use his/her fabulous photos. If I’ve infringed on anyone’s copyright, I have not done it knowingly (hopefully that absolves me of any repercussions!). Someone sent them to me in an email a couple of years ago and I fell in love with  them. (Who knew vegetables would be so expressive and show so much emotion? Love those mushroom guys and the funny red pepper bunny!) One of the things I aim to do in the next month is to get together with a friend and create some imaginative vegetable and fruit art. Of course, I or wee will take pictures of antics and post them here on this site!

In the meantime, here’s a recipe I created that’s great for drizzling over vegetables and decorating a plate. You can put it in a bottle and use a spoon to spread it over your favorite foods or you can pour it into a plastic squeeze bottle (I know, I know, I’m normally adamant about avoiding plastic containers because of the endocrine disruptors they emit. You don’t have to keep the dressing in the plastic squeeze bottle (I don't store it in plastic). I used a spoon for the pictures on the right!) By the way, you can also decorate your plate with bottled balsamic glaze, a cooked down version of balsamic vinegar with a thick, sweet flavor, a syrupy consistency.

Photo credits (food shots): Chef Rachel Albert © Copyright 2010

Honey Balsamic Dressing

Prep: 15 to 20 minutes        Cooking: 0        Yield: about 1 1/4 cup

I got the idea for this recipe from one I found in a pamphlet from The National Honey Board (check their web site for more great recipes). I tinkered with their recipe (it was super low in fat and not as thick and viscous as I wanted). I wanted to make it more like one that my friend Heather and I had eaten on a chicken and vegetable salad at a restaurant here in Phoenix. For more great honey recipes click here.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup extra-virgin avocado oil or extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons white or yellow prepared mustard (the wet kind, not the powder!)
2 tablespoons raw honey (from your state or region, if possible); double if desired
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme, tarragon, or basil or 1 teaspoon dried (double if desired)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon finely ground unrefined sea salt (I use Redmond Real Salt or Celtic Sea Salt)
1/4 teaspoon ground white or black pepper
1 teaspoon Apple Fiber Powder, optional but desirable for emulsifying the ingredients (I use Now brand)

1. Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Alternatively, combine ingredients in a blender or Vita-Mix and process until smooth. Add additional honey as/if desired and blend again.
2. Transfer to a glass jar or bottle, label and date, then refrigerate. Use within a month or two for best results. (It might keep longer.)
3. Serve over grilled or sautéed vegetables, toss with a green salad, or drizzle over baked, broiled, or grilled fish, poultry, or meat.

Raw, Fermented Salad Dressing

Looking for a good salad dressing? It’s difficult to find a store bought brand that doesn’t contain refined vegetable oils ( corn, safflower, sunflower, canola, cottonseed, partially hydrogenated oil, or generic vegetable oil), fructose or high fructose corn syrup. Many supermarket brands includes those hazardous ingredients along with artificial colorings, flavorings, chemical preservatives, and sometimes MSG.

Salmon bellies with herbs, green salad with avocado and ZukayTomato Provencal Dressing. Photo by Chef Rachel Albert-Matesz © 2009

Very few companies are willing to pay what it costs to make dressings with pure, extra virgin olive oil. They use cheap vegetable oils that are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids that promote inflammation, suppress your immune system, and increase your risk for developing cancer and other degenerative diseases. Photo Zukay Foods

When I heard about Zukay’s Raw Fermented Salad Dressings on the Cheeseslave blog, I thought, “I’d like to try them.” So I contacted the company, told them what I do for a living, and asked them to send me a sample pack to test, which they did.

Cultured salad dressing?
These unique dressings are modeled on the practice of fermenting vegetables, fruits, and condiments practiced by traditional people around the world. If you look at the cuisines of China, Japan, India, Indonesia, Germany, and many others you will find picked or fermented foods. This practice was used to extend the shelf life and season of vegetables, to add flavor, add beneficial cultures (good bacteria) to the diet, aid digestion, and support health.

Very few people make cultured foods nowadays. It’s a lost art. I did it years ago when I was into macrobiotics, but I don’t do it now and haven't for many years. Who pickles garlic, onions, radishes, peppers, or cauliflower? Who makes sauerkraut, sushi ginger pickles, or natural dill pickles? Bottled version of these foods in stores  are usually pasteurized, which destroys the live cultures these foods used to contain when people made them for local consumption, and many contain vinegar where salt and time were used the sour them in the past. Many more contain artificial flavorings and colorings.

Now you don’t have to make these probiotic products even if you want to enjoy the flavor of old fashioned fermented foods free of additives. Zukay Live Foods is located in rural, eastern Pennsylvania (luscious farming country; I think they have more farmers’ markets per capita than anywhere else in the U.S). The founders of the company, who have been conscientious natural foods shoppers and eaters for years, get their ingredients from as close to home as possible. They support family farms in their state and region. They use simple ingredients without chemical names and numbers to make products you could reproduce in your own kitchen–––if you had the time and inclination to do it.

Beef kafata kabob, blanched veggies w/Zukay Cucumber Mint Dressig & olive oil. Photo above taken by me, Chef Rachel Albert-Matesz © 2009

What no oil?
Not only are these dressings made without refined vegetable oils, chemical preservatives, refined sugars, or additives, they’re also fat-free and oil-free. But this isn’t your typical fat-free salad dressing. These dressings are made to be mixed or served with other wholesome foods.

If you’re like me–––and you don’t follow a fat-free diet¬¬¬–––you can add extra virgin olive or avocado oil to the dressing in whatever ratio you like or you could serve the dressings over a salad tossed with sliced avocado, chopped olives, soaked and dehydrated or toasted nuts, or bacon. You can use the traditional 1 part acid (vinegar or lemon juice) plus 3 parts oil ratio (although I found that too dilute with these products) or mix Zukay salad dressings with 1 or 2 parts oil, which I thought came out just right.

Salt-free salad dressing
Since they’re made without added salt, you can add that to taste or leave it out. Try unrefined mineral rich sea salt (I like Celtic Sea Salt or Redmond Real Salt) or wheat-free tamari soy sauce (Eden or San J brand) or add some sea vegetable flakes to your favorite foods at the table.

Low carb dressing
Since these dressings don’t contain sugar or other sweeteners, you can use them even if you’re following a low carb diet. They contain only 1 or 2 grams of carbohydrate per serving (2 tablespoons), which amounts to only 4 to 8 calories before you add your favorite fat or oil source.

Six flavors to choose from
Carrot Ginger
Tomato Provencal
Cucumber Mint
Sweet Onion Basil
Red Pepper Cilantro
Tomato Pepper Pesto

I’m not sure which one I like best. This week I’ve been into Tomato Provencal. Last week I was keen on Cucumber Mint. The week before I preferred Sweet Onion Basil. Rather than add oil to each bottle, I have mixed a portion of a dressing with oil in a smaller bottle or poured the oil-free mixture over a salad and added avocado to my serving. I haven’t tried them as a marinade for chicken, but might try that next week. Not just for raw salads, I’ve used them over parboiled vegetables. Check out previous posts to learn this technique.

Photo right courtesy Zukay Live Foods.

If you’re not in the habit of eating cultured (naturally fermented foods) on a daily basis, it might take a few days or a week or two to get into the flavor. Your taste buds might need some time to adjust. Adding some unrefined sea salt can help. Once they do, I think you’ll really enjoy the dressings. I found that after a few weeks I liked the dressings even more than on the first or second try.

Where to get these dressings
Zukay is a start up company. Right now their products are sold in limited areas. If you don’t find them in natural foods stores in your town or city, you can order them directly from Zukay online. You can also ask your local health foods stores to stock their products! They also sell fermented salsa and relishes. I haven’t tried them yet.

If you try these dressings, tell me how you like them.

When Life Gives You Lemons…

Buy an electric citrus juicer.  Every winter for the past five or six years my cooking students, Ray and Gloria McNally, have generously given me bags of fresh lemons from their trees.  I’ve dutifully and tediously juiced them by hand using a wooden citrus reamer or a hand held lemon press.

Several times Ray has recommended I get an electric citrus juicer he got inexpensively from Fry’s Electronics for $12 to $18.  This year I took him seriously. I figured that was a bargain compared to the price of the two massages I would probably need to relieve the ache of carpal tunnel syndrome that juicing that many lemons by hand was likely to aggravate.

I don’t live close to a Fry’s Electronics Store so I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond hoping to get a $15 citrus juicer I found on their online site. They were out of that one so I got the Cuisinart version. I paid a little more for the Cuisinart model but I knew it would be worth it. I own a Cuisinart convention toaster oven, crock pot, pressure cooker, mini chopper, three of their ice cream makers, a set of their grill tools, and their stainless steel pots and pans. I've been impressed with the quality and durability of all of their products.

Besides, I had a Bed, Bath and Beyond 20% off coupon and I knew either company would replace the machine if it failed. FYI: B, B & B coupons never expire. The store will honor they past the expiration date and allow you to use more than on $5 off coupon per visit. So back to the lemons taking up almost one-third of my prime refrigerator space.

101 lemons
I decided not to tackle only a portion of my lemon supply at one time. I wanted to see how long it would take to wash, halve, and juice 101 lemons, and get them into jars in the freezer. I set my collection of small mustard, sun-dried tomato, and canning jars along with a supply of empty vitamin bottles on the counter.

I rinsed the lemons in the sink, halved them in batches of 12 and placed them in a bowl next to my new citrus juicer. I reviewed the directions (always a good idea when you buy a new appliance) and got to work. In 90 minutes I juiced 101 lemons, producing 8 quarts of juice that I promptly poured into the jars with a narrow funnel.

How to freeze in glass jars
I use as little plastic as possible for food storage. I store most foods in glass jars or Pyrex and Corningware containers with lids, whether they’re destined for the fridge or freezer.

The key to freezing in glass is to leave an inch of space in the jar between the juice and the top of the jar if it has the same diameter top to bottom. If the jar narrows at the top, leave an inch of space below the place where the jar narrows so it won’t shatter during freezing when the liquid expands. 

I chose small jars for the lemon juice so I would be likely to use each jar of thawed juice within a week––before it turns sour.  When citrus juice turns sour it becomes so bitter and sharp that it can ruin a recipe.  If this happens, don’t toss it—you can use it to soak casserole dishes, pots, and pans with baked-on or burned residues or to remove the doughy coating left on bowls, utensils, and food processors after mixing bread dough. You can also use it to clean your kitchen sink by mixing it with a little baking soda.

What can you do with the peels from your labor? Compost if you have a yard and garden. Rub the peels over your elbows to soften rough spots. Rub them on your face as an astringent before discarding them. If you have has many as I do and no where else to deposit them, you may have to just toss them.

If you live in a citrus growing region and you're growing tired of lemonade, here’s another idea from my previous cookbook, The Garden of Eating.

Remember, Lemon juice makes a great stand in for vinegar in this and many other recipes.

Lemonette–––alternative to vinaigrette

Prep: 10 minutes/ Yield: 3/4 cup; 6 servings

Replace vinegar with lemon juice and vinaigrette becomes Lemonette. A good rule of thumb for vinaigrette is 1 part (tablespoon) vinegar to 2 or 3 parts (tablespoons) oil. Use more oil relative to to vinegar if you prefer a less sour taste. Add a dash of honey if you want a sweet taste. Not just for tossed salads, this dressing tastes great with parboiled vegetables or as a seasoning for tabouli made from brown rice or quinoa.

FYI: Look for unrefined, virgin-pressed oils sold in dark bottles. Olive oil dressings thicken in the refrigerator. Store them in the side door or remove the bottle 15 to 20 minutes before serving to allow the mixture to liquefy or briefly run the bottle under warm water. 

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, optional
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground black or white pepper, or to taste
1 tablespoon (raw, preferably local) honey, optional
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed, about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon
1/4 teaspoon finely ground, unrefined sea salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive, walnut, or flax oil or unrefined, untoasted sesame oil (such as Eden brand), or a combination of 2 or 3 oils
1 tablespoon warm water

1.  Combine all of the ingredients except the water in blender or small food processor. Cover and process until smooth. With machine running, add 1 tablespoon warm water and blend again.
2.  Taste, adjust as needed, then pour into small jar, and serve or cover and refrigerate.
3.  Use within 2 weeks for best flavor.

2 tablespoons: 166 calories, 1/2 g carbohydrate, 18 grams fat

Variations:

*  Add 2/3 to 1 tablespoon Dijon, creamy white, or yellow mustard to the recipe above.

*  Shallot Lemonette: Use garlic or omit. Increase pepper to 1/2 teaspoon, add 2 minced shallots, and 1 1/2 teaspoons dried, crumbled or 2 tablespoons chopped, fresh basil leaves. 

*  Shallot & Mustard Lemonette: Add 2 teaspoons Dijon or creamy white mustard to Shallot Vinaigrette.

*  Italian Lemonette: Add 1 tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon each of dried, crumbled basil, oregano, and thyme or rosemary leaves.

*  French Lemonette: Add 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard and 2 teaspoons dried or 2 rounded tablespoons minced fresh herbs (basil, thyme, chives, dill, oregano, parsley, or some combination). 

*  Mediterranean Lemonette: Add 2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley and 2 teaspoons minced fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried, crumbled thyme.  

Source: The Garden of Eating: A Produce-Dominated Diet & Cookbook by Rachel Albert-Matesz & Don Matesz (Planetary Press 2004).