I started with a bowl of crisp, fresh lettuce. I added tomatoes, cucumbers, shredded cabbage and a sprinkling of crumbled feta. Now all my salad needed was some dressing. So I dumped on a few spoons of sugar and some water. No, wait -- that's not right! But if you read the ingredients on many bottled salad dressings, you'll find out that sugar and water feature prominently. In fact, it's so common that one brand proudly mentions "no sugar" on the package.
I'm not just talking about inexpensive mass-market brands that you might expect to be loaded with junk, either. I have often chosen Newman's Own dressings in the belief they were more wholesome than many competing products. Perhaps that's true, but they're not free of water and sugar; these are ingredients number two and five in Newman's Own Balsamic Vinaigrette. And their Creamy Balsamic variety has 7 grams of sugar per two-tablespoon serving. I guess "creamy" means "sweet."
I don't mean to single out Newman's Own. The bottle of Marzetti Olive Oil and Vinegar Vinaigrette in my fridge also contains water and sugar. Even the Cindy's Kitchen Lemon and Shallot Vinaigrette I picked up at Whole Foods for a pricey $5.99 contains honey, and water is its first ingredient.
I don't really know why commercial salad dressings contain water, but I'm going to guess. First, water is cheap. Second, replacing oil with water reduces the fat content, which might appeal to people who are shopping based on the number of fat grams listed on the nutrition facts label. Finally, I'm going to charitably assume that the acidity of vinegar may vary from batch to batch, and manufacturers may be obliged to add water to bring the acidity to desired (or perhaps even government-mandated) levels.
I don't really know why commercial salad dressings contain sugar, either, but anyone who has read Salt Sugar Fat: How the Food Giants Hooked Us can probably come up with a good guess. Sugar tastes good and makes certain mass-production cooking techniques easier.
If you don't want water and sugar in your salad dressing, here's a simple alternative. To a large individual serving of salad, add:
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 Tbsp of your favorite vinegar or lemon juice
- Salt and fresh-ground pepper to taste
- Onion powder and dried oregano to taste
Toss and enjoy.
Because if it contains sugar water, it's not salad dressing, it's salad soda!
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Monday, February 24, 2014
Confessions of a lentil noob
I've cooked a lot of things in my lifetime, but until last week, I had never cooked lentils. I recently picked up a package in my local supermarket. I know there are different colors and varieties of lentils, but I don't know what kind these were. They were brown and looked like, well, lentils.
The directions on the bag said to cover with 6 - 8 cups of hot water, bring to a boil, cover with the lid tilted, then simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or to desired tenderness. I figured the results of that would be rather bland, so I added a few other ingredients.
I started by sautéing some chopped onions, celery and parsley in a little olive oil. Once the vegetables had softened a little, I added the lentils and 6 cups of water, along with a bay leaf, black pepper, a dash of chili powder and a fair amount of cumin.
I also figured a considerable amount of salt would be required to make the lentils palatable, but I didn't want to turn my healthful lentils into a high-sodium dish. Lentils themselves have almost no sodium. I ended up using a little over half a teaspoon.
Once the water came to a boil, I covered the pan (tilting the lid as instructed, which I guess allows some of the steam to escape) and reduced the heat. I started checking for doneness after 15 minutes. It ended up taking more than half an hour for the lentils to become tender enough. Here's how they looked:
I was afraid the end product would be more like a soup than a side dish, but most of the water ended up being absorbed. I used a slotted spoon for serving, so as to drain any liquid that remained.
As for the taste, the consensus among my wife, my teenage son and me was "not bad." Not the most delicious thing, but certainly edible and filling. I found the amount of salt sufficient, although I think more salt would have made the flavor better. My wife liked drizzling some balsamic vinegar over the cooked lentils.
It's amazing was how much food results from cooking a pound of lentils! They nearly filled two one-quart Chinese soup containers. Two to three of us ate lentils as a side dish for three meals, and there's still half a quart left. I put those leftovers in the freezer and will find out in the near future whether reheated frozen lentils are appetizing or not. Stay tuned for the results!
The directions on the bag said to cover with 6 - 8 cups of hot water, bring to a boil, cover with the lid tilted, then simmer for 15 - 20 minutes or to desired tenderness. I figured the results of that would be rather bland, so I added a few other ingredients.
I started by sautéing some chopped onions, celery and parsley in a little olive oil. Once the vegetables had softened a little, I added the lentils and 6 cups of water, along with a bay leaf, black pepper, a dash of chili powder and a fair amount of cumin.
I also figured a considerable amount of salt would be required to make the lentils palatable, but I didn't want to turn my healthful lentils into a high-sodium dish. Lentils themselves have almost no sodium. I ended up using a little over half a teaspoon.
Once the water came to a boil, I covered the pan (tilting the lid as instructed, which I guess allows some of the steam to escape) and reduced the heat. I started checking for doneness after 15 minutes. It ended up taking more than half an hour for the lentils to become tender enough. Here's how they looked:
I was afraid the end product would be more like a soup than a side dish, but most of the water ended up being absorbed. I used a slotted spoon for serving, so as to drain any liquid that remained.
As for the taste, the consensus among my wife, my teenage son and me was "not bad." Not the most delicious thing, but certainly edible and filling. I found the amount of salt sufficient, although I think more salt would have made the flavor better. My wife liked drizzling some balsamic vinegar over the cooked lentils.
It's amazing was how much food results from cooking a pound of lentils! They nearly filled two one-quart Chinese soup containers. Two to three of us ate lentils as a side dish for three meals, and there's still half a quart left. I put those leftovers in the freezer and will find out in the near future whether reheated frozen lentils are appetizing or not. Stay tuned for the results!
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Sunday soup
It was a Sunday. The weather was cold. I planned to be home for the next few hours. And my refrigerator's vegetable drawer was well-stocked. In other words, it was the perfect time to make cabbage soup!
This is an easy soup to prepare. It's very forgiving. You can omit ingredients, substitute other ingredients, change the proportions, or vary the cooking time, and nothing bad will happen. You'll still end up with a hearty and nutritious result. So what follows is more of a template than a precise recipe.
The one trick to this soup is to avoid adding the root vegetables too soon, so they don't become mushy.
Ingredients:
In a large pot, saute the onion, celery and herbs in a little olive oil (or any other kind of oil, or butter) for 5 or 10 minutes until they begin to soften.
Add the cabbage and liquid ingredients, including enough water to fully cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour, until the cabbage is fairly tender.
You may need to add water occasionally during cooking. You can cover the pot or not. If you do, the cooking time might be a bit shorter. If you don't, you're more likely to need to add water.
Add the carrots and/or parsnips. Increase the heat to bring the soup back to a boil, then reduce it again and simmer for half an hour.
Add the potatoes. As before, adjust the heat the bring the pot to a boil and then back to a simmer. After 15 minutes, start checking the root vegetables for tenderness by poking with a fork. Once they're all tender enough for your taste, the soup is ready.
Taste the soup and add salt or pepper as needed.
Serve as a first course, or with crusty bread to make a full meal. Make approximately one zillion servings!
This is an easy soup to prepare. It's very forgiving. You can omit ingredients, substitute other ingredients, change the proportions, or vary the cooking time, and nothing bad will happen. You'll still end up with a hearty and nutritious result. So what follows is more of a template than a precise recipe.
The one trick to this soup is to avoid adding the root vegetables too soon, so they don't become mushy.
Ingredients:
- One onion, chopped. Any size will do. Or you could use leeks instead.
- Several stalks celery, chopped. The exact quantity doesn't matter.
- One medium head green cabbage, cored and coarsely shredded.
- Fresh dill, chopped. Or parsley. Or both. Or any other herbs. Or dried dill. (I also threw in a dried bay leaf, since I happened to have some.)
- Several carrots and/or parsnips cut in one-inch lengths.
- Several potatoes, cut in large cubes. I used three large, peeled russets. If you use a thin-skinned variety, you could choose not to peel them.
- Four cups chicken broth. Or you could use vegetable broth. Or any other type of broth or stock. Or just water.
- Additional water as needed.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
In a large pot, saute the onion, celery and herbs in a little olive oil (or any other kind of oil, or butter) for 5 or 10 minutes until they begin to soften.
Add the cabbage and liquid ingredients, including enough water to fully cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour, until the cabbage is fairly tender.
You may need to add water occasionally during cooking. You can cover the pot or not. If you do, the cooking time might be a bit shorter. If you don't, you're more likely to need to add water.
Add the carrots and/or parsnips. Increase the heat to bring the soup back to a boil, then reduce it again and simmer for half an hour.
Add the potatoes. As before, adjust the heat the bring the pot to a boil and then back to a simmer. After 15 minutes, start checking the root vegetables for tenderness by poking with a fork. Once they're all tender enough for your taste, the soup is ready.
Taste the soup and add salt or pepper as needed.
Serve as a first course, or with crusty bread to make a full meal. Make approximately one zillion servings!
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Filipino fare in Queens
This is a story about food I'd never eaten before, in a place I'd never been before. Because of that, I'm unclear on a few of the details, but it was an interesting and enjoyable dining experience that I want to share with my readers.
I had just dropped a family member off at LaGuardia Airport and was driving home to New Jersey. It was lunchtime, and I decided I could find a more interesting meal in Queens -- where I had never dined before -- than if I returned to my hometown. I randomly selected an exit off the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, pulled into a parking space, and used my phone's web browser to search for restaurants on Yelp. I discovered that I was in the Woodside neighborhood, and that Filipino and Thai restaurants were prevalent there. I selected a Filipino place a few blocks from where I happened to park.
That's how I ended up at Papa's Kitchen. Here's a picture of the exterior, and the view looking westward on Woodside Avenue.
It was around 12:30 PM on a Saturday, and the sign in the front window said "open," but I didn't see any customers inside. I was about to walk away when a woman asked me to come in. At first she said they wouldn't be open until 3:00 or 4:00. However, when I asked if she could recommend any other restaurant nearby, she insisted that Papa's Kitchen would open early for me. I protested briefly, not wanting to put the staff to any trouble, but she said it would be no problem.
I soon learned that my kind hostess's name was Beth (I hope I'm spelling that correctly), and that the gentleman preparing food in the kitchen area behind the counter was Miguel. Then my second point of confusion arose. Beth said the restaurant could prepare a dish of vegetables, with a slightly spicy coconut milk sauce, for me. She did briefly show me a printed menu, but didn't give me any time to study it or suggest that I could choose from it. I assumed that, because the restaurant had opened early, most dishes weren't available at the moment, and I accepted her suggestion. A few minutes later, though, a couple entered. They clearly knew Beth. Although she mentioned that they should have called ahead, she seated them, offered menus, and allowed them to choose what they wanted to eat. Interesting!
Anyway, my food soon arrived. I found out that the dish was called laing. It was mostly a stewed, shredded green vegetable that reminded me of collard greens. There were also some thin slices of a crunchier, tan vegetable, and a few bits of meat -- I don't know what type. The sauce was indeed coconut-based and moderately spiced. The meal was accompanied by steamed white rice. When I asked Beth about the green vegetable, she said it was taro leaves. Here's a photo:
I had just dropped a family member off at LaGuardia Airport and was driving home to New Jersey. It was lunchtime, and I decided I could find a more interesting meal in Queens -- where I had never dined before -- than if I returned to my hometown. I randomly selected an exit off the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway, pulled into a parking space, and used my phone's web browser to search for restaurants on Yelp. I discovered that I was in the Woodside neighborhood, and that Filipino and Thai restaurants were prevalent there. I selected a Filipino place a few blocks from where I happened to park.
That's how I ended up at Papa's Kitchen. Here's a picture of the exterior, and the view looking westward on Woodside Avenue.
It was around 12:30 PM on a Saturday, and the sign in the front window said "open," but I didn't see any customers inside. I was about to walk away when a woman asked me to come in. At first she said they wouldn't be open until 3:00 or 4:00. However, when I asked if she could recommend any other restaurant nearby, she insisted that Papa's Kitchen would open early for me. I protested briefly, not wanting to put the staff to any trouble, but she said it would be no problem.
I soon learned that my kind hostess's name was Beth (I hope I'm spelling that correctly), and that the gentleman preparing food in the kitchen area behind the counter was Miguel. Then my second point of confusion arose. Beth said the restaurant could prepare a dish of vegetables, with a slightly spicy coconut milk sauce, for me. She did briefly show me a printed menu, but didn't give me any time to study it or suggest that I could choose from it. I assumed that, because the restaurant had opened early, most dishes weren't available at the moment, and I accepted her suggestion. A few minutes later, though, a couple entered. They clearly knew Beth. Although she mentioned that they should have called ahead, she seated them, offered menus, and allowed them to choose what they wanted to eat. Interesting!
Anyway, my food soon arrived. I found out that the dish was called laing. It was mostly a stewed, shredded green vegetable that reminded me of collard greens. There were also some thin slices of a crunchier, tan vegetable, and a few bits of meat -- I don't know what type. The sauce was indeed coconut-based and moderately spiced. The meal was accompanied by steamed white rice. When I asked Beth about the green vegetable, she said it was taro leaves. Here's a photo:
I don't know if this recipe is very similar to what I had at Papa's Kitchen, but it will give you the idea. The recipe offers some advice, which suggests that expert knowledge is required when working with taro leaves:
Do not stir the ingredients while cooking so that itchiness of the taro will not spread on the dish, otherwise it will cause an itching sensation in your tongue when eating this cuisine.
Raw taro, like some other vegetables, apparently contains calcium oxalate, which can be toxic and is minimized by proper preparation.
I can't say that laing is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten, but I enjoyed it, and it didn't make my tongue itch. I found it very filling, perhaps because of the high fat content of coconut milk. Even though I didn't finish the whole serving, I still wasn't hungry six hours later. It did leave me hungry to try more Filipino cuisine the next time I get the chance.
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
A Ruthenian Christmas: A kielbasa story in words and pictures
First of all, let me say that not every post on TrueGrub is about healthful food. Today we're going to talk about some decidedly high-fat, high-sodium stuff that happens to be a traditional holiday favorite in my family.
Second of all, let me say that I'm not Ruthenian. (We'll get to the subject of Ruthenia in a moment.) But my wife's family is Ruthenian, and I'm the cook in my household, so I've had the duty and privilege of preparing some traditional Ruthenian dishes for the holidays.
Now, about Ruthenia... Ruthenia is a place. Or, rather, Ruthenia was a place. Scholars -- and members of my wife's extended family -- don't agree on exactly where it was, but it was clearly somewhere in Eastern Europe. Wikipedia describes it better than I could.
Suffice it to say that my in-laws say their ancestry is Ruthenian, and their holiday tradition includes kielabasa. Kielbasa with brown sauerkraut, to be precise, which I prepared yesterday.
It began with a visit to the Union Pork Store in Union, NJ last weekend. These two photos show just a fraction of the huge assortment of sausages and other products offered there.
At that point, since I wasn't planning to serve the kielbasa until the next day, I stored the pans in the refrigerator. On Christmas Day, I brought them to my sister-in-law's house (once again safely wrapped in a large plastic bag). She heated the pans in a 350-degree oven for about an hour.
The kielabasa was just one part of a multiethnic holiday meal that included mushroom soup, Italian-style antipasto, ham, pierogies, green beans, carrots and babka. The feast was enjoyed by all, Ruthenians and non-Ruthenians alike.
Happy holidays and good eating!
Second of all, let me say that I'm not Ruthenian. (We'll get to the subject of Ruthenia in a moment.) But my wife's family is Ruthenian, and I'm the cook in my household, so I've had the duty and privilege of preparing some traditional Ruthenian dishes for the holidays.
Now, about Ruthenia... Ruthenia is a place. Or, rather, Ruthenia was a place. Scholars -- and members of my wife's extended family -- don't agree on exactly where it was, but it was clearly somewhere in Eastern Europe. Wikipedia describes it better than I could.
Suffice it to say that my in-laws say their ancestry is Ruthenian, and their holiday tradition includes kielabasa. Kielbasa with brown sauerkraut, to be precise, which I prepared yesterday.
It began with a visit to the Union Pork Store in Union, NJ last weekend. These two photos show just a fraction of the huge assortment of sausages and other products offered there.
I purchased three links of kielbasa, roughly five pounds total. I'm not a kielbasa expert, but I know there's more than one kind, and I know that I usually buy the kind known as krajana, which is coarse-ground. Another customer, who appeared to be an elderly Eastern European lady, tried to talk me into the fine-ground version, which, if I understood her correctly, is called mielona. I was almost persuaded, but in the end I stuck with the familiar krajana.
The first thing I did when I got home was to seal the kielbasa tightly in a large plastic bag. If this step isn't taken, the refrigerator and everything in it will reek of garlic!
On Christmas Eve, I liberated the kielbasa from its plastic prison...
...and assembled the other two ingredients for my dish: sauerkraut and slab bacon. The sauerkraut was a couple of two-pound bags or ordinary kraut from the refrigerated section of my local supermarket. The bacon came from the Union Pork Store. The variety and quantity of bacon aren't critical. I had about a third of a pound.
I diced the bacon...
...and cooked it in a nonstick pan until slightly crispy.
Then I drained some, but not all of the grease. I drained as much liquid as possible from the sauerkraut and added the kraut to the pan. I cooked it for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden. This combination of smoked pork and light caramelization produces the "brown sauerkraut" that's key to the dish.
Next, I sliced the kielbasa. I like to cut half-inch slices on the bias, which provides plenty of surface area to encourage mingling of the juices from the kielbasa and the kraut. You can see the coarse texture that characterizes krajana kielbasa.
Then it was just a matter of combining the brown sauerkraut and the kielbasa slices in a couple of aluminum baking pans.
At that point, since I wasn't planning to serve the kielbasa until the next day, I stored the pans in the refrigerator. On Christmas Day, I brought them to my sister-in-law's house (once again safely wrapped in a large plastic bag). She heated the pans in a 350-degree oven for about an hour.
The kielabasa was just one part of a multiethnic holiday meal that included mushroom soup, Italian-style antipasto, ham, pierogies, green beans, carrots and babka. The feast was enjoyed by all, Ruthenians and non-Ruthenians alike.
Happy holidays and good eating!
Monday, December 9, 2013
Hanover frozen rice and beans
Can it be? I believe I've found a food product that's tasty, inexpensive, nutritious and convenient.
My local Shoprite stocks Hanover brand frozen Brown Rice, Black Beans, Peppers & Onions in a steam-in-bag.
The ingredients list is just what the name of the product implies: cooked brown rice (water, brown rice), cooked black beans, green and red peppers, onions.
The 10-ounce bag contains two servings, each of which has 160 calories, 1 gram of fat, no saturated fat, 45 mg of sodium, 8 grams of dietary fiber, and one gram of sugar.
Just throw the bag in the microwave, and it's ready in four minutes. With a little salt and pepper, it's quite tasty.
It usually costs about $1.50. This combination of low cost, low fat, low sodium, high fiber, easy preparation and decent flavor is hard to beat!
The only thing I wonder about is whether some of the nutritional benefits of brown rice and black beans are lost when they're pre-cooked and frozen. This Askville post suggests that rice's nutritional qualities do suffer from pre-cooking. This post, on the other hand, suggests that they don't. And here's a video comparing cooked vs. dried beans, although it focuses on canned beans, not frozen. None of these sources seems authoritative.
Readers, if you have information about the nutritional characteristics of pre-cooked frozen rice or beans, please comment.
My local Shoprite stocks Hanover brand frozen Brown Rice, Black Beans, Peppers & Onions in a steam-in-bag.
The ingredients list is just what the name of the product implies: cooked brown rice (water, brown rice), cooked black beans, green and red peppers, onions.
The 10-ounce bag contains two servings, each of which has 160 calories, 1 gram of fat, no saturated fat, 45 mg of sodium, 8 grams of dietary fiber, and one gram of sugar.
Just throw the bag in the microwave, and it's ready in four minutes. With a little salt and pepper, it's quite tasty.
It usually costs about $1.50. This combination of low cost, low fat, low sodium, high fiber, easy preparation and decent flavor is hard to beat!
The only thing I wonder about is whether some of the nutritional benefits of brown rice and black beans are lost when they're pre-cooked and frozen. This Askville post suggests that rice's nutritional qualities do suffer from pre-cooking. This post, on the other hand, suggests that they don't. And here's a video comparing cooked vs. dried beans, although it focuses on canned beans, not frozen. None of these sources seems authoritative.
Readers, if you have information about the nutritional characteristics of pre-cooked frozen rice or beans, please comment.
Skier's sustenance
Greetings from Winter Park, CO, where I'm fortunate to be enjoying a few days of skiing. Needless to say, exercising outdoors when the temperature is 4 degrees can work up an appetite. Also needless to say, ski areas' on-mountain restaurants aren't renowned for the quality of their food. Today's lunch was a pleasant exception.
I grabbed a quick meal at the Club Car restaurant at Winter Park Resort's Mary Jane base area. I chose an item called "The Brat." According to the menu, the bratwurst is locally made and nitrate-free. It was served with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and a piece of baguette.
The brat wasn't especially salty or garlicky. If I'm not mistaken, the dominant spice was cloves. Really, the sauerkraut was the star of the show. It also was not too salty. It was garnished with paprika, which I found both unusual and delicious. The mashed potatoes and bread weren't anything special, but provided much-needed calories on a ski day.
The larger question is how to find decent food when skiing. Often, the first step is to avoid the cafeteria. Although far from fancy, the Club Car is a table-service restaurant. The prices are higher than in the cafeteria, but not by much. The brat was $11.95. An ice tea set me back another $3.25. With tax and tip, the whole meal cost about $19. Not cheap, but at the same resort, a burger, fries and soda at the cafeteria can cost $17, and the quality is awful.
There's certainly good food, even gourmet food, to be found at ski resorts, but my focus is on something that can be consumed quickly so I can get back on the slopes, for under $20. In that category, the brat hits the spot.
I grabbed a quick meal at the Club Car restaurant at Winter Park Resort's Mary Jane base area. I chose an item called "The Brat." According to the menu, the bratwurst is locally made and nitrate-free. It was served with sauerkraut, mashed potatoes and a piece of baguette.
The brat wasn't especially salty or garlicky. If I'm not mistaken, the dominant spice was cloves. Really, the sauerkraut was the star of the show. It also was not too salty. It was garnished with paprika, which I found both unusual and delicious. The mashed potatoes and bread weren't anything special, but provided much-needed calories on a ski day.
The larger question is how to find decent food when skiing. Often, the first step is to avoid the cafeteria. Although far from fancy, the Club Car is a table-service restaurant. The prices are higher than in the cafeteria, but not by much. The brat was $11.95. An ice tea set me back another $3.25. With tax and tip, the whole meal cost about $19. Not cheap, but at the same resort, a burger, fries and soda at the cafeteria can cost $17, and the quality is awful.
There's certainly good food, even gourmet food, to be found at ski resorts, but my focus is on something that can be consumed quickly so I can get back on the slopes, for under $20. In that category, the brat hits the spot.
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