Dishing on Heirlooms

What exactly is an heirloom vegetable? There is some confusion out there about what “heirloom” really means. Heirloom vegetables come from seed lines that are genetically unaltered. So what does that mean? Well, first you have to understand why scientists began genetically altering plants in the first place.

Back in the 1950s, food researchers began looking for ways to improve the ability of vegetables to be transported over long distances without bruising or overripening. Consumers were beginning to expect uniformity in their store bought vegetables, so large scale growers wanted to develop a method for these plants to grow the same way no matter where they were planted. To do this scientists began altering fruits and vegetables on the genetic level.

When this started taking place, small scale farmers and gardeners began to preserve the original seed lines of staple fruits and vegetables to ensure they would always be around. They passed them down from generation to generation, which is where we get the term “heirloom” when we talk about these plants.

The seeds for heirloom vegetables come from lines that range from anywhere between 60 to 120 years old. When you eat an heirloom tomato, you are eating the exact same vegetable that people were eating as far back as the late 1800s. You are actually taking a bite out of history! How cool is that?

There are two main benefits to heirloom vegetables compared to their modern counterparts.

• First, you get a much wider variety when you grow these types of veggies. The size, shape and color of the vegetable from a single seed can all be very different.
  
• Second, there are a lot of people who feel that heirloom vegetables are much tastier than the generic types. Personally, I think the taste is also affected by variables such as water, soil and amount of sunshine.

So if heirlooms are so great, why isn’t everyone growing them? Like anything else, with the benefits you also get some drawbacks. The biggest problem with heirloom seeds is that some of them require very specific growing conditions. You just might not be able to grow that variety of heirloom bean that you love if the soil isn’t just right. Gardeners are often willing to sacrifice a little variety and flavor for the peace of mind that they’ll be able to actually grow the veggie in their gardens.

So which type of vegetable should you use in your recipes? Honestly, it’s really up to you. I like to grow and eat heirlooms sometimes just to keep the seed line going, but I don’t see any major difference between heirlooms and regular veggies, as long as they are grown organically.

Butter vs. Margarine - The Great Debate

There is a lot of debate about butter and margarine. I think butter tastes better and is often a better cooking ingredient than margarine, which can become watery when heated, but what I’ve discovered is that either choice is bad if it’s used too much. As with most things in life, the key is moderation.

In poking around on the Internet, it’s easy to see why people get confused about whether or not they should use butter or margarine. There are some studies that say margarine is better because it is lower in saturated fat and some that say butter is better because it is a naturally made substance with easily absorbable nutrients and not chemically created like margarine. Personally, I use butter, because it is the least processed (the shortest ingredient list), it tastes better and it makes a better cooking ingredient than margarine.

Overall, margarine is lower in fat and cholesterol. According to the Mayo Clinic, margarine is the healthier choice – as long as you are choosing the right margarine. Margarine has the advantage because it has no cholesterol and is higher in polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats – the kind that help increase “good” cholesterol and reduce “bad” cholesterol. Ironically, margarine also has trans fat. Even the healthiest of margarines still has some quantity of trans fat, and trans fat is the worst kind of fat you can have, because it both lowers good cholesterol and increases bad cholesterol. Confusing, isn’t it?

The added flavorings of some margarines has improved enough to have a richer, more buttery taste. I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter does not use hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil – the process that creates trans fat – so it can be a good alternative when baking. The Mayo Clinic recommends Benecol and Promise Activ, which have been fortified with plant stanols and sterols, which can help reduce LDL cholesterol levels.

What concerns me is that, thanks mostly to marketing efforts on the part of the margarine industry, we might start thinking margarine is a healthy food, and feel more comfortable using it liberally. Even when the label says it is trans fat free (which manufacturers are allowed to claim if there is less than half a gram of trans fat per serving), there is still a trace of trans fat in margarines that have hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oil. To be fair, butter has a trace of trans fat too, but it is naturally occurring. In the end, neither choice is ideal if you’re trying to lower your cholesterol, and whether you choose butter or margarine, both should be used sparingly. Most cooking should be done with healthier oils like grapeseed and safflower.

Until next time, eat well!

Corn Salad Tweetcipe

I was browsing a culinary newsletter today and read an article about charter yacht chef Victoria Allman and her new cookbook. It brought back great memories of living and sailing in the British Virgin Islands and I found myself musing the all too popular “what if I could go back and do it differently…” I was a massage therapist and day spa owner back then, but a few years ago I changed careers and am now pursuing another fun vocation – personal chef.

The fresh corn on the cob that we’re getting right now prompts me to share Chef Allman’s recipe for Fresh Corn Salad. To make this a main dish just add 4 or 5 large poached shrimp per person.

Fresh Corn Salad

Yield: 4 servings

Adapted from "SEAsoned" by Victoria Allman

Salt
4 ears sweet corn
12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
4 to 6 fresh basil leaves, chopped fine
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
Freshly ground black pepper
1 head Boston leaf lettuce

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook corn for 3 minutes, then plunge the ears into ice water. When cool, cut the kernels from the cobs.

Mix corn kernels, tomatoes, basil, vinegar, oil, onion, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Taste; add more vinegar or oil if needed.

Place a lettuce leaf in the center of each of 4 plates; fill with corn salad.

Variation: To serve as a main dish, top with poached shrimp.

Pink Pickled Onions Tweetcipe

Every once in awhile, when I’m eating in a restaurant, I come across a dish that has pickled onions in it. The onions, whether in a salad or as a garnish, make the plate visually appealing and make my taste buds say “hello!”

I was cooking for a client a few months ago and a green salad was on the menu. I wanted to add something a little different to the salad and decided to make pickled onions for the first time. I don’t know why I waited so long – the recipe is incredibly simple, the onions keep in the refrigerator for a month or more, and it’s a great ingredient or garnish that adds pizzazz and hints of “gourmet” origins.

Pink Pickled Onions

8 ounces champagne vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
2 Serrano chilies, seeded and julienned
2 medium red onions, thinly sliced

In a small saucepan, bring the vinegar, sugar, and chilies to a boil. Stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat. Place the sliced onions in a glass container and pour the liquid over them. Stir. Place the container in an ice bath to cool. Serve chilled in salads and with meats. These are also great on sandwiches.

Easy Food Switches You Can Make for Your Health

In January, most of us start out with resolutions to eat better, make healthier choices, or simply to add more fruits and veggies to our diets. It doesn’t take very long for life to get in the way of our best intentions, does it?

Between vacations that tempt us to eat (and drink) too much to summer barbecues and get-togethers that tempt us with potato chips and fried chicken, it can be more difficult than ever to make healthy changes to our diets.

There are some quick and easy switch ups you can make to your meals and snacks to make them healthier, and because this time of year makes it easy to find a variety of fresh fruits and veggies, you can let your imagination run wild. Try switching from potato chips or Cheetos to carrots or celery with peanut butter. You can buy baby carrots and already-prepared celery sticks to make it as easy as opening the fridge.

Do you love starting your morning with something sweet to accompany your coffee? Apples with peanut (or almond) butter, a dash of cinnamon and a drizzle of honey is a lot healthier – and more satisfying – than your average toaster pastry. Because it will keep you full longer, you may even find that mid-morning donut a little less tempting! The occasional handful of chips or donut isn’t bad. The key is balance.

One of the easiest switches you can make for healthier eating is from canned vegetables to frozen ones. I’m talking about the plain, unadorned frozen vegetables – not the kind with a butter or cheese sauce that bumps up the calorie count! Fruits and vegetables start to slowly deteriorate after they are picked. Frozen fruits, vegetables, and even fish are frozen almost immediately after being caught, cut or picked. This process suspends the depletion of all the nutrition contained within the food, preserving those essential vitamins and minerals. The deterioration doesn’t stop in fruits and vegetables that are canned, and the nutrients are filtered out even further when the canned food is processed with high doses of salt and water. Plus, through the canning process, salt and water changes the taste and texture, which is much less noticeable in the frozen variety. While there is always an exception, most vegetables can freeze just fine and retain their nutritional value.

Don’t get me wrong — I prefer fresh produce over frozen any day, but I like to eat seasonally fresh foods. For instance, I don’t purchase fresh corn on the cob in January, because who knows where it was shipped from and how long it has been stored? If a recipe calls for a vegetable or fruit that is out of season, I like to use the frozen organic option.

Most folks seek quick, easy meals that, whether they know it or not, often run high in calories and low in nutrition. With moderation and some easy switches that won’t take up any more time to prepare, you can eat better for your health.

Until next time, eat well!

Grilled Cheese Stuffed Jalapenos Tweetcipe

Jalapenos are often used to flavor other dishes such as salsa, cornbread and nachos. I’d like to show some respect to this rather unappreciated vegetable with a recipe that features the spicy green pepper. You may have tried a variation of this appetizer that sometimes goes by the name of Jalapenos Kisses, but homemade and grilled can’t be beat! Warning: these warm little appetizers are not for the tender-mouthed!

GRILLED CHEESE STUFFED JALAPENOS

Makes 40 stuffed jalapenos

20 large mild jalapenos, cut in half lengthwise and seeded (use gloves to protect your fingers)
1 – 8 oz package cream cheese
1 t milk
Pinch of salt
1 t powdered chipotle or chili powder
20 pieces of bacon, thin sliced and cut in half

Place 40 toothpicks in water to soak. Mix cream cheese, milk, salt and spice in a medium bowl until smooth.

Fill each jalapeno with some of the cream cheese mixture. Wrap each in a piece of bacon and secure with a toothpick.

Place jalapenos on a grill plate (a metal plate with holes in it) and grill over medium heat until peppers are roasted and bacon is cooked. Do not flip or turn. If the peppers are burning or the bacon fat is causing flare-ups, place a sheet of foil on the grill and move the jalapenos onto the foil until done. Serve immediately.

Eat the Rainbow

When you’re busy and on the run it’s tough to eat healthy, isn’t it? Trying to remember how many servings of this or that makes me feel like reaching for a bag of potato chips and calling it a day. But, eating healthy is something I do try to do, and one way to make it a little easier is to eat the rainbow – and sorry, I am not referring to Skittles!

“Eating the rainbow” is all about adding more color to your diet. The idea is that as long as those colors are fresh fruits and veggies, you’ll be able to eat healthier without putting a lot of thought or effort into worrying about servings per day. Filling in the rainbow might not be an easy task, but I try to get as close as possible every day (while avoiding those tempting rainbow Twizzlers).

To fulfill your “red” requirements, go for tomatoes and beets. Cooked tomatoes especially provide excellent nutritional value. Foods like carrots fulfill the orange requirement, as do, well, oranges. There are some food items that come in more than one color such as squash, which can be either yellow or orange. As far as I know there are no real differences in the nutritional value in the varied colors of the same vegetable, with the exception of red bell peppers. Setting aside the outrageous cost of red bell peppers for the moment, they contain as much as four times the Vitamins A and C than their green counterparts.

Green might not get special emphasis when you’re looking for a pot of gold, but it’s obviously the most important section of the food rainbow and one of the healthiest colors to add to your plate. You can’t go wrong with a half-green plate at dinner. I cook some sort of green leafy vegetable almost every day and all that I have noticed is that each green takes a different amount of cooking time. For most palettes, cooked greens just need a little water or vegetable broth added along with a dash of salt and pepper. But to vary your green experience I suggest adding ingredients like sliced pieces of garlic or shiitake mushroom for additional flavor.

When thinking about eating the rainbow, don’t limit yourself to the basics. There are a ton of tasty choices that will give you the balanced diet you are looking for and help improve your health. This list is only a start to the many options that are available to you in helping you achieve that balanced diet:

• Red: tomatoes, grapefruit, watermelon, guava, red bell pepper
• Green: spinach, collards, kale, broccoli, Swiss Chard, avocado, asparagus
• Orange: sweet potatoes, mangos, carrots, apricots, papaya
• Yellow: pineapple, yellow bell pepper, banana, squash
• Blue/Purple: blueberries, plums, eggplant, blackberries

While white isn’t technically a color in the rainbow, it’s a good idea to include garlic, chives, onions, scallions, and leeks, both for flavor and for the health benefits they offer.

It’s ok to mix things up and experiment with the different varieties of food that are out there. Do not limit yourself or your cooking to the items that first come to mind. Spinach and other low fat, nutrient-rich produce get a bad rap from the Tastebud Police, but there are many healthy foods out there that, with the right flavoring or recipe (like my Gazpacho Soup), can make your list of favorites.

Until next time, eat well!