Lunching. (IN PRAISE OF BENTO)

 

 

Healthy lunches can be elaborate or simple and sometimes both! Using ingredients that might be readily available in the pantry (or leftovers from another meal) make the daily process of producing balanced meals-to-go a little bit easier.

 

Lately I have been seeing some great bento-style lunchboxes for sale. The cool thing about bento boxes is that each ingredient has its own separate compartment so you can really be creative and vary the things that go in. From a bean dip surrounded by fresh veggies, fruit and crackers to cold buckwheat noodles and shredded chicken with colorful roasted veggies (from last night’s dinner), lunch-makers can be endlessly creative and diverse with their lunch packing, staving off boredom all year long. Lunch-eaters can assemble and eat the meal in a variety of ways and really make it ‘their own’. It’s the same concept that launched Lunchables into the success stratosphere, but this version is 100% wholesome and homemade.

 

Use one compartment for a green salad, the lidded part for dressing/dipping sauce and cut a sandwich to perfectly fit into remaining sections. Don’t forget to add a sweet treat and, just a reminder, that nature provides us with many a nutritious dessert. Remove the pit from a date and stuff it with your favorite nut or seed butter and a drizzle of honey for an instant energy boosting (candy-like!) snack. 

 

Find some cool bentos here:

 

http://www.laptoplunches.com

black and blum at west elm (pictured below)

all-star Japanese bento boxes and accessories

 

 

 

 

 

A little lesson. (FARMERS MISO SOUP)

I am a miso lover. I need to have miso soup at least once a week, usually as the precursor to some sushi even though that feels like the lazy way out. Miso paste in general has so much more potential than a few cubes of tofu and some lonely sails of seaweed. By learning a few different (easy!) ways to use it, miso can be a staple in your fridge forever and ever. You, as the owner of a high-quality tub of miso, can reap the many health benefits for just as long.

Since it’s a fermented food, it is important is to avoid boiling miso. High heat will harm the living enzymes that make this a genuine superfood as it will also dull the unique flavors. Use miso to ‘finish’ dishes that you have created rather than adding it when there is still cooking to be done.

Miso to-do list:

-Mix into softened butter to make ‘miso butter’, the best topping for seafood ever.

-Mix with minced garlic and chili paste as a condiment for grilled meat.

-Whisk into salad dressing or marinades.

-Just miso solo in a bit of simple broth.

-I’ve seen people use it in pesto as a substitute for parmesan but…

Below is a hearty soup recipe that uses a bunch of fantastic end-of-summer vegetables, but any mixture of veg would work. Once the soup is off of the stove, dunk a measuring cup into the broth, scooping out about one cup of hot liquid. Drop a few spoonfuls of miso into measuring cup and whisk/stir until it is dissolved. Pour the miso mixture back into the soup pot and adjust to taste. You can simply repeat this process until you have reached the desired amount of umami.

Try potatoes, sweet potatoes, turnips, parsnips, cabbage, spinach and/or noodles. This recipe can be as elaborate or as simple as you’d like, the main thing is hot (not boiling) liquid*, dissolve miso, enjoy.

FARMERS MISO SOUP

(serves 4-6)

2 quarts stock or water

1/2 cup onion, chopped

1 kohlrabi, peeled and cubed into small chunks

1 celery rib, thinly sliced crosswise

1 cup chopped kale leaves

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 pound tofu, cut into small cubes

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 splash of rice vinegar

a few red pepper flakes

1/4 cup wakame seaweed, soaked in cold water until softened

1/4 cup miso paste (any color)

1/2 carrot

1 inch ginger

chopped chives to garnish

• Place the stock in a large pot and bring to a gentle boil. Add onion, kohlrabi and celery. Simmer about 10 minutes. 
• Add kale, garlic and tofu. Cook until all vegetables are tender, about 10 more minutes.
• Remove from heat. Stir in soy sauce, vinegar and red pepper to season. Taste and adjust. Add wakame.
• Take one cup of stock out of the pot and place in a bowl or measuring cup. Whisk miso into the hot broth and pour it back into the soup. Taste and adjust.
• Ladle soup into bowls and using a fine grater (preferably a microplane), grate some carrot and ginger into each soup and sprinkle with chives to garnish.
• When reheating the soup, warm it but don’t boil. I’ll say it again.

*Make your own stock! I love stock making.

https://upchefcreek.wordpress.com/2011/02/22/elaborations-veggie-dashi/

https://upchefcreek.wordpress.com/2013/04/19/balancing-it-out-alkalizing-broth-2/

Tofu gets un-white. (DRY SAUTE TOFU)

What could be more boring than talking about tofu? I am sitting here at my computer thinking, ‘it’s white’. But I am also a little burnt right now. Not fully burnt, just sort of golden and a little crispy. If you would like your tofu to have similar qualities without sticking all over the barbecue grill and without globs and globs of frying oil, I propose a dry saute. You will need one block of firm or extra firm tofu to start.

A few keys to success! First, slice the tofu. I usually cut the block into two or three thinner slabs. Keep in mind the final shape you want the tofu pieces to have… and you can leave the block in its whole form if you want to. Next, press the tofu. Place the tofu slabs on paper towels between two sheet pans. I place something a little heavy on top of that like the tea kettle or a few cans of beer or something. You will see water  in the bottom pan being absorbed by the paper towels. Leave that to happen while you prep other ingredients. Thirty minutes? One hour?  All good. Once drained, Place the slabs into a non-stick or cast iron skillet. Do not add oil or butter or any of the things you were taught to do. Don’t do it.

Then let the heat do the work until the desired color is achieved. Flip, repeat. It helps to press down on the tofu in the pan every now and then with a spatula to help the remaining water sneak out and get that colorized color going on. Makes a nice texture on the outside, stays soft and bitey in the middle. Cut into shapes and proceed with your regular tofu repertoire. Marinate, stir-fry, throw it in a soup.

Tiny bowls!

Elaborations. (VEGGIE DASHI)

Here is an example of a dashi that has been taken to the next level, integrating the principles of a vegetable stock and therefore upping its taste and nutritional value. In addition to kombu and water, there are fresh mushroom stems, scallion, carrot, dried shiitake, celery, garlic cloves, some herb stems, etc. The large pot shown in this picture will make several quarts, which can be frozen for later convenience. There are no real proportions for the stock, just fill the pot with as many good-quality scrap ingredients as you can (famous culinary school line: the stock pot is not a garbage can!) and add some cold water to cover the solids by about two inches. Bring it to a boil and simmer for about a half hour or up to an hour and strain. Waste nothing! Use it in any recipe that calls for stock or broth.

Give me a braise. (PORK BELLY)

Step 1. Find a gorgeous pork belly like this one. (The butcher rolled and tied it which made for a lovely presentation.)

Step 2. Take a look at this entry on the 3rd Ward blog and follow the recipe which takes you on a journey through seasoning, braising and cooling.

Step 3. Slice and sear the belly and use it in a delicious creation, as we did in our Noodle Bowls.

Step 4. Enjoy!