I’m a bit obsessed with Matcha green tea.

Maybe it has something to do with the bright grassy flavor that almost makes the mouth pucker. Perhaps it’s because with Matcha, you drink the entire tea leaf, not leaves infused in hot water and then removed. It could be the disarmingly green color and hear me clearly, it should be bright and bold.

The color actually reflects the quality of the tea. While there are cheap versions of Matcha out there, you’ll find them to be dull in color and flat in flavor. Spend the money and invest in good Matcha. You might find yourself newly obsessed. This Japanese green tea typically is served infused with hot water and a special whisk to froth it. Often times, and in the United States it’s become popular to whisk Matcha with hot milk for a creamy beverage.

Maybe you’ve tried Matcha and you didn’t know it. If you’ve guzzled a Green Tea Smoothie or licked and slurped Green Tea ice cream, then chances are pretty high that you too have lapped on the luxurious green tea that is Matcha.

So it’s not such a far leap to consider how that bright, grassy flavor might deepen the creamy decadence that is Coconut Rice. I give you two suggestions below: for a more subtle Green Tea Coconut Rice, use only 2 teaspoons of Matcha and you’ll find the tea will paint the rice kernels a pale green with a flavor profile that is creamy, almost sweet with a slight green tea finish. For something a bit more bold and pictured below, use 2 tablespoons of Matcha green tea and you’ll find a much more pronounced tea flavor, a bright green hue with a slight creaminess of coconut. This bolder Green Tea Coconut Rice really works well and stands up to Asian cuisine like the Thai take-out we ordered for dinner earlier in the month.

Green Tea Coconut Rice

This is one grassy and stark green rice. If you want something a bit more subtle where you get the green tea flavor in the finish with the coconut milk playing front fiddle, use only 2 teaspoons of Matcha. I tried it this way and it is a subtle cerulean green with a creamy slightly sweet flavor that ends on a grassy bright note. I prefer mine with more tea and even found it stood up to the flavors of Thai food when we paired it with take-out earlier in the month. It’s your call. I wouldn’t suggest swapping out light coconut milk for the real deal. It’s really quite pronounced of a difference and your rice is left wanting that supple quality that the full fat milk brings to it and the mingling with tea. Also, I tried this recipe with basmati rice but found the texture to be superb with a long grain white rice which served as a great canvas for the flavors. Special thanks goes out to friend Caryl at Lotus Foods for giving me samples of their specialty Mekong Flower rice to test in the recipe. It cooked up beautifully and gave a great texture.

YIELD: 6-8 side servings

1 1/2 cups water

2 tablespoons Matcha green tea

2 cups long grain white rice

1 13.5 ounce can coconut milk

1. Rinse rice twice and discard rinsing liquid. Set aside.
2. Bring water to a gentle boil. Measure out your Matcha and place in a measuring receptacle (like my Pyrex 2 cup measuring glass), slowly whisk in the boiling water. Now this is key: while you are eventually going to add enough water to the Pyrex glass to equal that 1 ½ cups, initially during the whisking stage, you want to only pour in a little bit of water- say ½ cup as it will make whisking easier. As you notice that any large clumps or notice that your tea is without clumps, add the rest of the hot water and whisk.
3. Add your coconut milk and whisked Matcha tea to a heavy pot and place over high heat, stirring together. Once you find that the coconut milk and Matcha have integrated well and you are beginning to have larger bubbles on the surface of the liquid, add the rinsed rice and stir.
4. Cover your pot and turn down the heat. Simmer for 20 minutes on low heat.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS
This is a very versatile and unexpected side dish. The key is to pair it with foods that will not overpower the Matcha and coconut flavors.  I’ve provided a few ideas to get you started. Let me know if you come up with your own pairing suggestions.

FISH- Consider pairing with a filet of salmon or perhaps this Confetti Tilapia.

VEGETARIAN- Serve with a side of the white beans from this stew.

CHICKEN-  Try this with roasted chicken seasoned with garlic, ginger and shallots.

DOUBLE THE COCONUT
You could dice fresh coconut and throw it into the pot for an extra punch of coconut or textural difference. You could even toast some unsweetened coconut and then sprinkle some on top of your finished fluffed rice as pictured above. I find that the rice is lovely without either of these additions, though I tried it with both. Your choice.

May his memory be a blessing. In my heart, a yahrzeit candle burns, two years later.

You go to bury the dead. You put something dead into a still living soil.

And what if you planted something real and still waiting for its blooming-

What if you look for a way to keep the memorial burning longer than a 24 hour candle

to put down roots that will grow and stretch out like leaves and blossoms.

to be surrounded by daisies and Monkey Grass, life thriving among the living.

Green Tea Granola- it’s not exactly what you might think of when cooking with tea.

Cooking with tea might conjure up thoughts and notions of Tea Smoked Duck. While I’m a fan of this delicacy, there are so many other variations of how to cook with tea. Robert Wemischner wrote a cookbook on it that made its way into my cookbook collection years ago. I met Eric Gower over a mutual love of Japanese green tea at the Expo West tradeshow a while back and his recent recipes in Sunset Magazine show me he is still very much enthralled with tea. Local chef Daniel Patterson recently featured several of his tea recipes in an issue of Bon Appetit including a recipe for Matcha & Pistachio Crusted Halibut that had us practically licking the parchment paper.

When meeting someone who’s an avid tea drinker, I find we share a certain passion for the act and art of tea. Gale Gand and I found ourselves chatting happily about the joys of single estate teas at a Common Threads event a while back. I seriously lament never taking James Norwood Pratt up on his offer of a tea tour in San Francisco though we did share a conversation about tea at a Specialty Coffee show reception years ago that kept me riveted. Local mixologist and one of the guys behind Encanto Pisco and Cantina, Duggan McDonnell and I quickly found ourselves chummy when talking about tea and the art of infusing it into cocktails. He is not alone, Chicago mixologist Adam Seger has been known to play with tea in his signature cocktails. He mixed one mean tea cocktail at Nacional 27, when I visited his restaurant a few years ago.

After water, tea is the second most consumed beverage in the world. Tea is not something you quickly guzzle- it requires much of you. Years of working with tea only deepened my appreciation for all of the people involved- all of the hands cultivating, picking, and blending it. A cup of tea truly is a communal experience.

India, China, Sri Lanka, Africa and Japan are all known for their tea cultivation. As of 2008, only two farms in the United States cultivate tea leaves. Our climate and environment is not one in which tea grows well or easily. The World Tea Expo meets yearly to bring together tea purveyors and tea lovers to cup and discuss, to connect and discover single estate teas or unique blends. Similar to the way wine drinkers consider terroir, the soil, air, climate and environs, each contributes to the specific flavors you find when drinking Camellia Sinensis leaves. I would sometimes marvel at seeing premium tea leaves rolled tightly and wondering about the person who hand-rolled them. The amount of people-work involved behind the scenes can sometimes be staggering and definitely makes part of my tea drinking experience one of gratitude.

So let’s you and I think outside of the tea cup and consider all of the other ways that tea can be used to enhance your food and dining experience. During upcoming weeks I will be playing with tea and encouraging you to as well.

For a snack idea that’s good to the grain, try this recipe for Green Tea Granola.

It may seem anathema to a tea purist to consider cooking with Gyokuro tea. I’m not going to lie, this is one fine, expensive tea. The color of the leaves resembles a greenish blue hue and the leaves are typically hand-picked. It is considered an exquisite tea in Japan and deserves to be paid its homage as a treat. If you’re looking for more of an everyday drinking tea, I’m going to suggest emailing me offline for recommendations because this is not it unless you have a deep pocketbook. That said, I was known to keep a small collection of it at my desk and in the afternoons, I would pull out my stash, pinch a few leaves and place them directly into my mouth, foregoing the tea cup. From there I would chew the crunchy leaves and let the tannins hit my palate as I picked up that slight walnut flavor that made me a fast fan of Gyokuro. Since the flavor profile bears a slight walnut flavor, it wasn’t a far leap to bake broken leaves into shortbread with walnuts and then infuse the sweetened oil to stir into oats.

If you would prefer to brew up a cuppa, this green tea typically only should brew for 2 minutes at a less hot heat in the 140-160 degree range as you do not want the water to burn the leaves or let them steep too long where the tannins would be more pronounced equating on the palate to a bitter taste. Whatever you decide, you will not want to miss next week’s morsel as we explore a different type of green tea.

This past Saturday, early in the morning, we decked out tables with pink and coral tablecloths in front of Noe Valley Pets and nearby Omnivore Books. As San Francisco food bloggers arrived with their freshly baked goods, we assembled them into categories by price and hugged the participating bakers or in my case tackled them with iPhone instagram photo-taking.

A box of cherry chocolate macarons flanked a box of mini macarons on one table. On another gorgeous loaves of sprouted wheat sourdough and miso rye bread sat near a dark chocolate earl grey tart. Dispersed over the tables we positioned s’mores cookies near bubblegum marshmallows and gluten free chocolate chip cookies.

Peanut butter chocolate dream bars schemed with nearby peanut butter and jelly cheesecake bars. Chocolate raspberry sables were situated near strawberry tarts. From the cheery presence of a table well filled with sweet treats, passersby began meandering over to the San Francisco Food Bloggers Bake Sale before we opened.

Throughout the day, a steady stream of people popped by the table as bakers mingled, catching up with old friends and meeting new ones. This is truly one of the joys of participating in something like a bake sale.

From the desire to do good in our community comes community. This is priceless.

I have enjoyed working with Anita, Irvin and Shauna the past few years to organize the bake sale. In fact, I still remember befriending Irvin that first year as we both were the only bakers to bake gluten free. New friendships have been a bake sale perk. All of the amazing volunteer food blogger bakers make the bake sale one happy event. Aside from this, our reason to bake is bigger than us. At Taste of the Nation, there was a prevailing attempt to keep front of mind the reason for the fete and likewise, we had some good opportunities to talk with people at the bake sale who walked by, interested in baked goods as much as the cause at hand. It surprises me still to hear the statistic that 1 in 5 children in the Bay Area are at risk of hunger.

Being a part of the nationwide Great American Bake Sale and joining hundreds of home cooks baking across the United States for Share our Strength is something that reminds us that the issue is much larger than just something occurring in the Bay Area. The work being done to bring awareness and resources to the issue is far bigger too. I’m happy to report raising $1140 for Share our Strength was a sweet way to spend a Saturday in Noe Valley this April.

Green Tea Granola

A healthy food blogger friend and I chatted recently and he lamented that bake sales never have healthy choices from which to choose. I apparently decided to take that as a challenge and whipped up a batch of granola with just enough oil and a hint of sweetener. I had a tendency of munching on a few tendrils of Gyokuro tea leaves at my desk with their walnut flavor and had been toying with baking them into granola for a while now. I’ve baked it into shortbread cookies for the Bake Sale for Japan last year. This is not a particularly sweet granola. Instead, you’ll find it to be slightly roasted in flavor  from the amaranth, sesame and oats with a delightful nutty accent of the walnuts and green tea mingling with just a hint of maple syrup and agave. I give some suggestions of how to modify this recipe in a few end notes.

YIELDS: 7 pint sized mason jars (perfect for a bake sale fundraiser – cut out colorful labels listing the ingredients so shoppers with food allergies can be informed.)

4 cups rolled oats

2 cups chopped walnuts

1/4 cup sesame seeds

3 tablespoons amaranth

1 cup sultanas (golden raisins)

2 tablespoons Gyokuro green tea

6 tablespoons grapeseed oil

3 tablespoons agave

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/4 teaspoon cardamom

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 350. Place a sheet of parchment onto a four-sided baking sheet.

2. Place a pan over medium high heat and let the pan get hot. Test that the pan is hot enough by putting a drop of water in the pan. If it sizzles, then the pan is hot enough and you’re ready. Pour the amaranth in your hot pan 1 tablespoon at a time. The amaranth pops quickly, so take heed for they will burn quickly.

3. Pour the popped amaranth after it’s popped, into a bowl with oats, walnuts, sultanas and sesame seeds. Stir the mixture.

4. In a small sauce pan and over low heat combine the grapeseed oil, maple syrup, agave, cardamom, salt and Gyokuro tea leaves. Stir until heated through and combined. The green tea leaves will tinge the sweetened oil slightly.

5. Stir the green tea oil into the oat mixture until coated. Pour the green tea granola onto the baking sheet and spread it out evenly. Bake for 25 minutes in the oven and stir twice during the baking. Place the baking sheet of granola on a rack after it’s done to harden and cool.

MAKE IT GLUTEN FREE: Use certified gluten free oats in place of regular rolled oats. Also, if you’re going this route, make sure all equipment used is thoroughly washed down if it might have come in contact with gluten. Keep all wheat products and products with gluten segregated from your work surface and away from ingredients you’re using to make your granola.

LIKE IT SWEET: Add another tablespoon of maple syrup. That will still only give you a slight maple flavor. If you really want it sweeter, my suggestion would be to top some vanilla yogurt or other flavored yogurt which are typically pretty high in sweetener with an ounce of granola.

Just in case you haven’t heard yet, tomorrow is kind of a big deal.

All around the country, home cooks and food bloggers will be hosting bake sales to benefit Share our Strength as part of the Great American Bake Sale. I remember my friend Nissa participated in a Brooklyn bake sale a few years ago and I found myself hankering to be a part of a bake sale in San Francisco. A few years ago, Gaby Dalkin of What’s Gaby Cooking helped organize an arm of the bake sale with food bloggers.

Share our Strength’s #NoKidHungry campaign is looking to eradicate childhood hunger in the United States by supporting local resources and also appealing at the legislative level. In the Bay Area alone, 1 in 5 children are at risk of hunger. This issue is one that is often not easily seen. As a San Franciscan and a food-passionate person, I think all kids should have a shot at developing their own taste memories. I’m a fan of Share our Strength and have volunteered with them for several years in different capacities. It’s a non-profit I feel strongly about and am looking forward to being a part of their local Cooking Matters program next month.

I’m particularly excited to join Anita, Irvin and Shauna again as an organizer for the San Francisco Food Bloggers Bake Sale. We will be convening on Omnivore Books from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., which means you can drop by Omnivore and attend the Alice Medrich talk from 3-4 p.m. and make sure to pick up some treats on your way out!

I’ve been playing in the kitchen with green tea and will be making up a batch of Green Tea Granola that’s also gluten free. Come pick up a jar on Saturday and look for the recipe here next week with photos of the bake sale.

If you’re gluten free, vegan or have food allergies, we will have a vast array of homebaked goods to choose from. So whether you’re jonesing for a loaf of bread, cupcakes, cookies, macarons, tarts or quickbread, we’ve got you covered.

Doing good never tasted so sweet.

SF Food Bloggers Bake Sale Bakers:

Anita from Dessert First

Stacie from The Flirty Blog

Namthip Paine

Mariel from OriginalCinn

Erika from honeynhero

Nichole from Mad Dough

Cristina from Bake for Change

Angela from A I Love Baking

Allison from Bake Your Heart Out

Katy from Dining with Dusty

Suzie from Suzie Sweet Tooth

Scott from In Scott’s Kitchen

Andrea “Kittie” from Chef Kittie

Angela from Pastry Angie

Ariel from Cake Sharing

Pei-Yee from Dulcinea Bakeshop

Stephanie from Desserts for Breakfast

Laura from She Eats Well

Penni Wisner

Eleanor from Kitchen Salt

Katie from I’d Have Baked a Cake

Faith from Click Blog Appetit

Patricia from The Pie Store

Moi

Rose from Magpies Recipes

Kellan from A la Tart

Shauna Sever

Irvin from Eat the Love

Sabrina from The Tomato Tart

Lisa from With Style and Grace

Charissa from Zest Gluten Free Bakery

It’s no secret that my dear sweet Beck’s appreciation for artichokes and cheese almost rival his fondness for beer and cheese. Where the Wild Rice Frittata called out to me from the table of contents of the “Ancient Grains for Modern Meals,” the Artichoke-Rosemary Tart with Polenta Crust had Beck written all over it.

I thought it might be a delectable splurge in our gluten free exploits and knew it would provide many meals for Beck while I traveled for work this week. With rapt attention, he dove into his slice of tart. There might be a very good chance that this tart might find its way onto the table for his birthday or perhaps the Sardine Tart with Sweet Bell Peppers and Currants (p. 174) with a modified gluten free crust.

While the recipe below may look arduous and long, it’s quite easy to pull together and makes for great leftovers.

Artichoke-Rosemary Tart with Polenta Crust

Reprinted with Permission from “Ancient Grains for Modern Meals” by Maria Speck. Copyright 2011 Maria Speck. Printed by Ten Speed Press.

SERVES: 4 as a main course or 8 as a starter

POLENTA CRUST
1 ½ cup low-sodium vegetable broth

1 ¼ cup water

½ teaspoon fine sea salt

1 ¼ cup polenta or corn grits

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese (about 2 ½ ounces; use the large holes of a box grater)

1 large egg, at room temperature

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

ARTICHOKE CHEESE FILLING
1 cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt

2 large eggs

½ cup finely chopped green onions (about 3)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary

¼ teaspoon fine sea salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 (12 ounce) package frozen quartered artichoke hearts, thawed and drained

2 ounces crumbled goat cheese (about ½ cup)

½ cup shredded Parmesan cheese

To make the polenta crust, bring the broth and water to a boil in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the salt. Using a large whisk, slowly add the polenta in a thin stream, and continue whisking for 30 more seconds. Decrease the heat to low and cover. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon about every 2 minutes to keep the polenta from sticking to the bottom. Remove the saucepan from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10 minutes, stirring a few times. The polenta will be fairly stiff. Stir in the cheese, egg and pepper.

Grease a 10-inch ceramic tart pan with olive oil or coat with cooking spray, and place on a wire rack. Have ready a tall glass of cold water. Dip a wooden spoon into the water as needed as you spread the polenta mixture across the center of the pan, pushing it up the sides. Set aside to firm up at room temperature, about 15 minutes, and then form an even rim about ¾ inch thick with your slightly moist fingers, pressing firmly. No need to fret over this- it’s easy.

Meanwhile, position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375.

Prepare the artichoke cheese filling. Place the yogurt, eggs, green onions, parsley, rosemary, salt and pepper in a 2-cup liquid measure or a medium bowl and combine well with a fork. Distribute the artichoke quarters over the crust, cut sides up, forming a circle along the rim and filling the center (you might not need all the hearts). Sprinkle the goat cheese on top and gently pour the filling over the artichokes. Sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

Bake the tart until the top turns golden brown and the filling is set, about 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and set aside at room temperature to firm up for at least 20 minutes, 40 if you can wait. Using a sharp serrated knife, cut into slices. Serve with more freshly ground pepper on top if you like.

TO GET A HEAD START
The polenta crust, as in steps 1 and 2 can be prepared 1 day ahead, as can the entire tart. Cool to room temperature, chill for a couple of hours, and then cover with plastic wrap. Allow the tart to come to room temperature before serving or gently reheat to warm (not hot) in a 325F oven for about 30 minutes.

TO LIGHTEN IT UP
Use 1 cup non- or lowfat Greek yogurt in the filling instead of whole-milk yogurt.

“Cooking made me appreciate food. It made me slow down and enjoy. Today we call this ‘mindful eating.’ I believe this happens naturally- when you cook (Speck, p. 5).”

If you ask a person on the street what they think about whole grains, healthy might come to mind. Whole grains are the rage right now and touted by everyone from diet books to call-outs on the front of food packaging.

Author and self-declared whole grains enthusiast Maria Speck takes a very different approach as she starts her cookbook “Ancient Grains for Modern Meals” when she says, “I don’t want to tout the health benefits of whole grains because I don’t believe this will actually make us eat them (Speck, p. 6).” She describes her style of eating by something she calls “the truffle theory” wherein she could easily eat more store-bought truffles but finds herself satisfied with only one or two truffles rolled by her hands. Her preface in a book on whole grains comes from a passion for eating good food that happens to be good for you.  She cooks what she likes to eat.

“[E]ating is about pleasure first, and dieting last. I believe food has to be mouthwatering and seductive to stay in our meal plan for good. This is why I use rich natural ingredients like butter, cream and bacon, though in moderation. To me, whole grains, are the ultimate comfort food (p. 3).”

Her playfulness essay “Never Give up Baguette, with Butter” points to indulging but comes after 33 pages disseminating interesting details on specific whole grains as well as tips on baking with whole grains. In these pages, she shares historical data, provides tips on what to look for when you shop for whole grains and defines the differences between whole grains and pseudo-grains or pseudo-cereals like quinoa.

This book serves as a sturdy resource and Speck makes a good teacher, coaxing you on the way to store whole grains (in glass jars to line the pantry shelf, p. 19) and providing two excellent charts on quick-cooking whole grains and slow-cooking whole grains on pages 24 and 25 that serve as good advisors on which whole grains should be reserved for weekend cooking projects when time is not as much of an issue and which can make it into your weeknight meal in 30 minutes.

Throughout “Ancient Grains”, Speck includes helpful endnotes on how to get a head start with a recipe or how to make a recipe vegetarian. I particularly found the surplus of tips peppered through her book to be helpful such as inverting a baking pan if you don’t own a pizza stone (p. 176) or how to quickly soak your grains (p. 7). The par-boiled brown rice recipe on alone (p. 26) will add a handy tool to the busy home cook’s weeknight arsenal. She asserts that the most important tool you have in the kitchen are your hands. I couldn’t agree more and credit my early developmental years in pottery class for a penchant in getting my hands dirty.

Knowing that I would be embarking on a gluten free regimen, I considered the ample opportunities that discovering other whole grains would allow. For those avoiding gluten, they cannot eat wheat, rye, barley, triticale, spelt, kamut, einkorn and others. This leaves a stunning array of other whole grains that are feasible and gluten free like the pseudo-cereals, quinoa, amaranth and buckwheat, to name a few. If we find that we get back on a gluten eating pathway, I will deftly turn to page 203 and whip up a batch of Wheat Berry Fools with Grand Marnier Figs.

Last Saturday, the sun warmed our typically chilly city. The last thing I could imagine doing was staying inside instead of finding a spot of grass with a book in a park. The ease in making the Lemon Quinoa with Currants, Dill and Zucchini (p. 90) gave me something refreshing to nosh on for a late lunch and later accompanied me as a welcome substitute to airplane food on a recent flight. Fresh and bright lemon blends with the dill and zucchini along with a vaguely sweet flavor note of currants and the slight toothsome texture of quinoa.

For a fast breakfast, one morning I pulled together the ingredients for the Warm Muesli with Figs, Pistachio and Anise (p. 42). While I opted for gluten free oats and serving this cool with a cup of kefir poured atop and left to sit for 10 minutes, I found this combination of dried fruits, nuts and oats satisfying.

I had been eyeing the Wild Rice Frittata with Prosciutto (p. 67) from that quick glance at the table of contents in the bookstore and it did not disappoint. Instead of adding the prosciutto, we made it vegetarian and that combination of mushrooms, hearty herbs and wild rice imbued a meaty and savory quality to this dish. The frittata made a fantastic to-go lunch tucked in my bag as I rushed out for an appointment.

Are you still with me? If you are, good things come to those who read, er, wait, at least I’ve always thought so.

“Be it a quick meal on a weeknight or a slow feast for a special occasion, good food is worth the wait. Waiting helps me to appreciate the effort that goes into cooking (p. 166).”

If I was to summarize “Ancient Grains for Modern Meals” in one word, it could easily be “indomitable.”  She won an IACP award recently for “Ancient Grains” and rightly so. This book is a life’s work. The amount of research and kitchen time that went into writing this book is worth praise. I found myself in Thessaloniki and also wanting to be learning Greek cooking from her mother. Her storytelling is engaging. The one thing I think would serve it well in reprints is to add a page on gluten free grains or perhaps include this demarcation for gluten free recipes in the back of the book. While I know its intent is not to be a gluten free cookbook, I do find a curiosity and eagerness for tackling acceptable grains by the gluten free community.

Speck’s appreciation for the good life with good food serves as a reminder that eating healthfully doesn’t have to be boring or restrictive. A dash of cream or a dollop of butter sometimes really brings out the flavor of food. I like her European approach to cooking, cuisine and probably could talk her ear off about my adventures in Greece.

Stay tuned tomorrow for Speck’s Artichoke-Rosemary Tart with Polenta Crust recipe.

“I don’t have time to cook.”

“I don’t know how to cook.”

I’m looking at you and starting a series over the next three months inclined to get you aproned up and game on.  You and I might have something in common. I work a more than full time job and have a list of extracurriculars that keep me hopping on my toes like a firewalker trying to glide over coals. That hum of activity makes me hum right along. And these days the song of choice is “Pyro” a la Kings of Leon.

So many nights I come home trying to pinch myself with reminders that, “yes, I do like cooking” and “no, it will not come between me and a recent discovery of the new Battlestar Galactica.” Ah, such is life, friends. You have a choice to know what goes into what you eat or not. You have a choice to get as anal-retentive as you want about how salty or sweet you want your food. Or you can let people feed you and keep the legions of folks working in foodservice afloat and for that chefs and cooks the country over thank you. But seriously, what’s keeping you from the kitchen?

During April, May and June, I am highlighting three cookbooks for the novice cook, the one who doesn’t yet own an arsenal of assistance. Yet. Okay, I’m also eager to share these with those of you who relish the latest cookbook with the delight of a child and birthday cake. Since you and I have an understanding between us, I will be reviewing the cookbooks one at a time and like a slow braised leg of lamb, hope that as you stick with each cookbook review, you come out on the other side inspired to try something new, to kick up your heels in your kitchen, to turn it inside out until it looks like you want. Think of this as a field trip in your own home and like that fifth grader deliriously happy to head into the Big Cats exhibit at the local zoo, get ready and snag a glass of wine or a tumbler of water. Settle in, the show’s about to begin.

Now where were we?

Ancient Grains for Modern Meals

One evening last Fall, we stopped in at Green Apple for Christmas gifts. In spite of us having pulled names for gifts, we still went shopping for something for Beck’s mom and dad. I skirted the new fiction aisles, veering a hard left at the edge of this revered neighborhood bookstore for a section I know well and scavenge with regularity.

I meandered past the vegetarian cooking section, past food lit. and kept walking past new releases all the way to the back by the used books section. This area interests me in a different way than the other cookbook blocks because here I can see what people bought and get a feel for books that have already been loved and brought back for someone else to sink their time and attention.

Looking for nothing in particular, I scanned the spines, learning as I looked. The indigo spine with goldenrod typeface stared out at me and simply said, “Ancient Grains for Modern Meals.” Perfect! I could imagine Beck’s mom with her penchant for bread baking sinking her teeth into this book until I started reading the table of contents and began flipping through the pages. I showed the book to Beck trying to conceal a plan hatching in my mind.  My lovely husband, who plays the role of sous-chef, hand model and partner-in-eating-crime but does not really cook, looked at the book and said, “We should keep it.” Without hesitation and with a smidge of reticence, I shelved it next to others in my cookbook library before we headed to their house for the festivities.

Well into my holiday break and on a mental break, I found that the cookbook author and I shared a number of contacts in common on Facebook, so I befriended Maria Speck, imparting our unexpected results of a gift-getting mission gone awry.

As I conceived of how I wanted to tackle cooking my way through the “Ancient Grains for Modern Meals” cookbook, I considered meal times and also wanting to experiment with different kinds of grains. My pantry is stockpiled with grains. If you have visited La Vie en Route before, you will know that I too, am already a whole grain enthusiast from my foray into Bulgur Collard Cakes and Bulgur Salsify Salad with Sultanas and Verjus Vinaigrette to Winter Wheat Berry Porridge Parfaits not to mention the Patriot Oats as a few recipes I’ve concocted and shared here before.

One point of departure remained between my former whole grain gusto and my present incarnation: gluten. For health reasons, Beck and I have begun a journey of taking out all foods and drinks with gluten from what we eat to see if this helps us determine a permanent course of action for health. Hear me when I say, I still think non-GMO whole red winter wheat berries from the Midwest are a delight with their chewy, nutty and ever so subtly sweet flavor, and eating wheat and gluten might be right for you. We are just trying this out to see how our bodies respond. We are listening closely.

Stay tuned for the cookbook review on Wednesday and then again on Thursday, when I share her recipe for an Artichoke-Rosemary Tart with Polenta Crust.

You don’t want to miss either bites.

It might seem like a given that a non-traditional person may not crave ritual.

I counter the presupposition happily. Each weekend, Saturday evenings to be precise, I pad into the kitchen, already clothed in pajamas to measure our black turtle beans and pour them into a big red bowl. They cascade into the bowl like dominoes clicking against one another when tipped over. The swish of water navigates between the beans until they are covered. I tackle this weekly soak as a ritual reserved right before bed.

This small act readies me for the coming week when the cooked beans will be our sustenance after a long Monday working and later in the week when we are looking for something healthy to eat that’s fast. They provide a continuity that sets us on a steadier path of making good choices. When paired with rice, we join the throngs of people around the world for whom rice and beans constitute a major part of their regular repast. These powerful ingredients work well together in forming a complete protein. Some people also turn to  beans for their low cost. Beans have a way of connecting the poor and the rich- their humility belying their strong health benefits.

Every two weeks, I know that quart sized jar will be running low and I subsequently plan a visit to the bulk bins. There’s something satisfying about watching an almost empty jar become full again. In its way, that emptying and refilling of the jar is reminiscent of life. In its way, it comprises the most basic ritual of all.

You may be vegetarian or vegan. Maybe you’re gluten intolerant or a real food purist. Perhaps you’re just looking to make healthier changes to your everyday choices. Can I suggest making beans a regular part of your routine? They are food of the soul of this non-traditional person who delights in the morning ritual of finding those hard black buttons hydrated and plumped overnight. They serve as signposts for what counts.

Creamy Black Beans with Melted Onions

I use beef broth in this recipe. If you are vegetarian or vegan, feel free to substitute in vegetable broth. I’ve tried it that way and it’s still tasty though you may need to add a touch of salt as needed. Some pots of beans are kind of soupy with a lot of liquid. I like to cook these low and slow so that the liquid gets reduced down into a creamy consistency and the onions take on a melted quality. The beef broth adds a bit of an umami flavor note and an ever so slight smokiness.

YIELD: 6 side servings
TIME: overnight plus 2 hours

2 cups dry black turtle beans

4 cups organic beef broth (I use Pacific Foods)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

4 sprigs of fresh cilantro

1. Allow your beans to soak overnight by covering the dried beans with water, making sure there is an extra inch of water above the beans, as you will find them plumped up the next morning.

2. Drain the soaking water the next day and discard it. Place beans in a heavy pot with beef broth, onion, cumin, olive oil and cilantro. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn down the heat and cover the pot partway with the lid, letting the ingredients simmer.

3. Low and slow is the name of the game here. Check and stir the beans occasionally. The beans will be done when they are soft and edible but not mushy with the liquid reduced to an almost gravy-like consistency, around an hour and a half to two hours.

4. Remove the cilantro sprigs and discard. Serve.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:
These are my go-to beans as they are versatile, so I like to keep them pretty true to form as stated above. I’ve noted a few ways to consider serving them below. Make them your own and adapt away (and if you do, leave a comment – I’d love to hear how your creativity runs wild).

- Serve with polenta or steamed rice with sautéed greens for an easy meal.

- Add extra broth as you heat up leftover beans and make an easy black bean soup. Serve with a dollop of plain’s goat milk yogurt and chopped raw red peppers.

- If you’re feeling particularly frisky in the kitchen, use an immersion blender and puree until smooth for a healthier take on refried beans.

- Stir in a spoonful of Oaxacan mole for a bit of chocolatey complexity and with fresh corn tortillas.