Old Bay Salad Dressing – Makes GREAT Cole Slaw!

Red Cabbage Cole Slaw

Not long ago I was at Whole Foods and enjoyed a sample of Tessemae’s All Natural Lemon Chesapeake Salad Dressing. It was delicious – with a familiar yet special flavor. So I bought a bottle even though it cost about $5.00 per 10 ounces. My husband, Charles, went wild over it! So I set about to recreate it in my kitchen. After countless tastings, Charles finally said “that’s it; it’s great!”  And that’s how we came up with this Old Bay Salad Dressing recipe.

We have enjoyed this dressing a lot – in fact, it’s become our go-to salad dressing:
- mixed with sliced cabbage to make cole slaw
- over greens
- over artichoke and tomato slices

INGREDIENTS

1 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil|
1/3 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (Do not omit! See food safety tip below.)
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon Dijon or brown mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Food shopping tip: Old Bay Seasoning comes in at several sizes:
- 6-ounce size — available at Amazon online or in supermarkets.
- 24-ounce size  (great price!)– available at Amazon online or in Costco stores.

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients into a bowl or tall glass container and using a whisk, mix well.

Time-saving tip:  In order to dirty as few dishes as possible, I make, serve, and store this dressing in one tall glass container, specifically this  21-ounce “working glass.” Before storing in refrigerator, I just pop one of these matched lids onto it.

Also, these working glasses (with lids), in both the 14- and 21-ounce sizes, are available at Williams-Sonoma online. And in our local store, you can even buy individual working glasses with matched lids.

STORAGE

Refrigerate for up to one week.  Olive oil will harden when it gets cold, so when you remove the dressing from the  refrigerator, you will need to let it come to room temperature before serving or put it in microwave for 10 seconds on high. Whisk to re-mix.

Time-saving tip: I have found that the warmest part of my refrigerator is the door. So I store this dressing in the refrigerator door and then it takes less time to warm up to room temperature.

FOOD SAFETY TIP -  Before you head to your kitchen, please read this Food Safety Tip!

When you combine garlic and oil, you create an environment in which botulism (a deadly food-born bacteria) can grow. According to the University of Colorado Extension Service, to prevent the possible growth of botulism when mixing oil and garlic, you should always ”add an acidifying agent such as lemon juice or vinegar to the recipe at the rate of one tablespoon per cup of oil.” Also you should “discard infusions after one week, or sooner if apparent cloudiness, gas bubbles, or foul odor develop.

Enjoy and be healthy!
Peace,
~Leni

Arugula Pesto

INGREDIENTS

1/3 cup walnuts
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 – 2 peeled garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
zest of 1 small organic lemon (optional)
2 cups tightly packed baby arugula (5 ounces)
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS Place all ingredients into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until finely chopped.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

A FEW OF THE MANY WAYS YOU CAN USE THIS PESTO…

• SALAD DRESSING - Bitter arugula pairs well with sweet balsamic vinegar and buttery extra virgin olive oil to make a great salad dressing!

• STUFFED MUSHROOMS 

Mushroom Caps stuffed with Arugula Pesto mixed with extra Parmesan Cheese and garnished with Parmesan Cheese

 

• APPETIZER SALAD – Just spoon Arugula Pesto over sliced tomatoes and avocados! Who knew healthy food could be this amazingly delicious!

• SOUP – To 1 cup of a chicken, beef, or vegetable broth/stock, add 1/4 cup Arugula Pesto. Sprinkle with grated Parmesan, if desired. Note: The soup will have tiny walnut pieces in it, and that’s a bit unusual for a soup, though quite nice, at least to my taste.  If you prefer, you can omit the walnuts in the pesto.

Cilantro Chutney (an herb sauce)

Some yeas ago, Edward Hamann, a culinary expert on food from the Asian subcontinent and a wonderful cooking instructor who is now at Sur La Table, taught a small group of us how to make his fabulous Fresh Cilantro Chutney (Dhaniya ki Chatni ).  I started with his amazing recipe, added turmeric, black pepper, and made a few other minor changes, and that’s how this Cilantro Sauce recipe came to be.

This delicious sauce transforms the ordinary into the extraordinary – and it’s easy to make. We love it! For a while this sauce was the new “ketchup” at our house. I served it with everything from scrambled eggs to pan fried fish, and, of course, curries. In fact, it was this Cilantro Chutney that made me want to learn more about herb sauces and led me to create the other herb/vegetable sauces on this blog: Charmoula, Arugula Pesto, and Artichoke Lemon Pesto.

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
¾ cup chopped walnuts
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon peeled and roughly chopped fresh ginger
4 cloves peeled garlic
2 Serrano peppers, stemmed and roughly chopped, including some of the seeds
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ – ½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
3 bunches (about 7/8 pound) fresh cilantro, including all but the very ends of the stems

Note: I like to add dry ground or finely chopped fresh turmeric (and freshly ground black pepper) wherever I can get away with it. It’s so healthy! Adding 2 teaspoons of ground turmeric to this recipe does not negatively affect the taste, in fact you hardly even notice the turmeric, so why not add it?!

DIRECTIONS

Food processor

Add all the ingredients to the food processor fitted with the metal blade and process to desired consistency.

Blender

Place the ingredients into a blender – in the order given above — but do not put all of the cilantro into the blender at one time. Blend and then add more cilantro and blend again. If needed, stop the blender; push the cilantro down toward the blade; then place the cover on the blender and blend until a lovely smooth sauce results.

HOW TO STORE

• Store in the refrigerator for a few days

• Freeze in 100% food grade silicone muffin pans. When frozen, just pop the frozen “muffins” out, and place them in a plastic freezer bag; store in the  freezer for use anytime.

A FEW OF THE MANY WAYS YOU CAN USE THIS CHUTNEY (SAUCE)…

• Use as a condiment to liven up almost everything, including fish, chicken, eggs, or tofu.
• Use as a hot or cold sauce to go with almost everything.
• Mix with ripe avocado to make a lovely dip or spread. I just put some of this Cilantro Sauce-avocado mixture on slices of daikon and it was fabulous. The next time I need to bring an appetizer to someone’s party, this is what I plan to bring – it’s delicious and a great conversation starter too!
• Sauté any vegetable in olive oil and mix some of this sauce in at the end.
• By the way, I just mixed some of this sauce with some sautéed greens. Superb!
• Add to soups — bean soups, chicken soups, vegetable soups, fish soups.
• Add olive oil to make this sauce into a salad dressing!

Lebanese-Style Lentil Soup with Kale and Spinach

The calendar says fall and the abundance of summer veggies has tapered off…so it’s time to start making hearty soups again! Yesterday my husband and I had lunch at the Lebanese Taverna where they serve a wonderful Lentil Soup (Shorba Addas) that’s rich in greens (spinach?) and spiced with lemon, garlic, and cilantro. With this soup on my brain today, I picked out a Food and Wine recipe to make a lentil soup like the Lebanese Taverna’s.

But instead of making the recipe as shown, I made the soup using Monamifood Garlic Flavors Cubes, Cilantro Sauce Flavor Cubes, and Zesty Citrus Flavor Cubes – which meant I didn’t have to run to the store for any ingredients; just open my freezer! It made it easier and faster to whip up this soup for a Sunday lunch…and, if you ask me, it made this wonderful soup even more delicious than it was when I made it by following the Food and Wine recipe!

This recipe makes a LOT of soup, so you will have plenty left over to give to friends or freeze – or both!

Ingredients

2 cups small green lentils, picked over and rinsed

* Small (really tiny) green lentils are available in our Whole Foods store in the bulk section. But this variety of lentils is not essential. I have used brown lentils before, with good results.

16 cups water (yes, 16 cups!)

3 tablespoons Better Than Bouillon Organic Chicken Base (or Vegetarian No Chicken Base)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 very large onions, diced

2 pinches of crushed red pepper

4 Monamifood Smooth and Mild Garlic Flavor Cubes

4 Monamifood Cilantro Sauce flavor cubes

1 Monamifood Zesty Citrus Flavor Cube

1 bunch organic kale (curly variety), stemmed and torn into small pieces

2/3 of a 16-0uncd bag of frozen chopped organic spinach

Directions

In a large stockpot, place the lentils, water, and Better Than Bouillon Chicken (or No Chicken) Base. Partially cover and cook over medium heat until the lentils are barely tender – about 25 minutes. (Do not over cook the lentils or they will split and the soup will be grainy!)

Note: Unless you have two, large (11-inch diameter), non-stick saute/frying pans, you will need to saute the onions in two batches. If you were to put all the onions in one pan, they would steam rather than saute.

While the lentils are cooking, heat 1 ½ tablespoons of the olive oil over medium heat in a large 11-inch non-stick skillet. When the oil is hot, add half of the diced onions and one pinch of the crushed red pepper; saute, stirring occasionally, until the onions start to get lightly browned. Remove the onions from the pan and set them aside.

Cook the remaining onions with a pinch of crushed red pepper in the same 11-inch non-stick skillet. When the second batch of onions start to get lightly browned, add these onions — and also the reserved onions — to the pot with the lentils. Stir to mix.

Continue to cook the soup over medium heat. Add the cubes (Garlic, Cilantro Sauce, and Citrus) and stir the soup while the cubes melt. Taste and add a little more Better Than Bouillon Base, if desired.

Add the chopped fresh kale and cook for about 3 minutes. It will soften and turn a lovely deep green color. Then add the frozen spinach and simmer for another minute or two.

Individually season the soup at the table

Individually season the soup at the table! Just pass a small pouring container (creamer, perhaps) containing a few defrosted Monamifood Zesty Citrus Flavor Cubes and a small bowl with a few defrosted Monamifood Cilantro Sauce Flavor Cubes.

Enjoy and be healthy!

~Leni

No-Name-Yet Healthy Mushrooms (Curry; Miso)

My first attempt to make sauteed mushrooms with mostly turmeric for flavor, was real flop, and it has now been removed from this blog — which is why you won’t find it on this page any more.

Instead, let me suggest sauteeing the mushrooms in olive oil and some Sweet Curry Powder (which is not sweet, just not very hot). I chose Penzeys Spices Sweet Curry Powder because the first ingredient is turmeric and it also contains black pepper, but of course, you could add more black pepper to taste.

While using Sweet Curry Powder instead of turmeric doesn’t provide as much turmeric as if you used mostly turmeric, it tastes a LOT better!

But curried mushrooms do not go with everything…so I started to think again about what I could do to make a great sauteed mushroom dish that would go with most foods…and I came up with sauteed mushrooms and miso! It’s really good.  I don’t have the proportions down yet…but it’s something like 8 ounces of sliced baby portobello mushrooms sauteed in a little olive oil. Then before the mushrooms are fully cooked, pour into the pan a mixture of about 1/2 cup water and a tablespoon miso. Cool until the liquid evaporates and the miso has lightly coated the mushrooms.

Miso.  The darker the miso, the stronger the flavor. Try it you’ll like it!

Ingredients for sauted mushrooms with curry seasoning

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 large white  onion, diced (approximately 1/3-inch dice)

• How to dice an onion (a short video)

2 1/2 teaspoons Penzeys Spice Sweet Curry Powder

freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1, 8-0unce box  baby bello mushrooms , sliced (baby bello are baby portobello mushrooms)

pinch of hot red pepper (Note: Use a spoon, not your fingers to avoid possibly burning yourself when you touch your fingers to your eyes.)

salt, to taste, if desired

Optional additions to mix in

1  Smooth and Mild Garlic Flavor Cube I think this works quite well. Just mix a defrosted Garlic Flavor Cube in at the end so that the garlic won’t burn. I took a small (about 1/3-inch high cube) and defrosted it in the microwave and then added it to the cooked mixture of onions and mushrooms. It made the mixture a bit less grainy and more mellow. Very nice.

• Note: If you are defrosting a small amount of food such as a Garlic Flavor Cube in your microwave, it’s a good idea to add something else to the microwave at the same time so that the microwaves have more food to work with. I just keep a half cup of water handy by the microwave and use it over and over for this purpose, as needed.

A squeeze of fresh lemon or lime juice  -  I added a 1/2 teaspoon lime juice after adding the Garlic Flavor Cube. I think I’ll add more next time because it was very nice.

Optional garnish to add on

fresh chopped cilantro (Of course, if you love cilantro, add a touch of green!)

Directions

Heat the olive oil (1 tablespoon) over medium heat in a large (10-inch), heavy non-stick skillet. When hot, add the onions and saute over medium heat, stirring occasionally. When the onions start to become translucent but still have crunch to them (about 8 minutes), add in the curry powder and black pepper; stir to mix; continue to cook over medium heat for 3 more minutes, stirring constantly. (This helps the spices mix and develops their flavor and it prevents the turmeric from tasting awful as it does – at least to me – when it’s raw/uncooked!).  Add a little oil or a little water, if needed, to keep the spices from burning. Remove the onion mixture from the pan and set aside.

Add the second tablespoon of olive oil to the pan (the pan from which you just removed the onions.) When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms. Stir to mix and continue cooking and stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes or until some of the mushrooms get a little brown at the edges.

Now add the onion mixture to the mushrooms in the pan. Add a pinch of hot red pepper and salt, to taste, if desired. Mix well and continue cooking, stirring constantly, for about 4 minutes.

How to use this versatile recipe

Add a few spoons on top of chicken, fish, tofu, eggs, and assorted grains. Mix some into greens and other veggies.

Enjoy and be healthy!

~Leni

Singapore Noodles Plus

This is one way that I can get my family to eat more veggies and not complain. I take one order of Singapore Noodles (take-out from a local Chinese restaurant) and to that I add: onions, Savoy or Nappa cabbage, mushrooms, garlic, turmeric, and black pepper and serve it on a bed of fresh baby arugula.

Is this the PERFECT anti-cancer food? Definitely not. After all, noodles are not low on the glycemic index and the restaurant probably uses “vegetable oil” rather than canola or olive oil in preparing this dish. In addition, the slivers of chicken in the dish are from chickens that most certainly have not been raised without hormones. But this dish is EASY to make and DELICIOUS! And…by adding so many healthy foods to one order of Singapore Noodles, we end up with a dish that, on balance, has a lot more positives than negatives — and one that my family really enjoys.

Ingredients

3 ounces dried sliced shitake mushrooms (Why mushrooms? How do mushrooms help to prevent cancer?)

olive or canola oil

1 large onion, cut into wide slices (Why onions? How do onions help to prevent cancer?)
6 cloves of garlic, minced (Why garlic? How does garlic help prevent cancer?)
1/2 head of cabbage (Savoy or Nappa), cut into 1/2-thick strips (Why cabbage? How does cabbage help to prevent cancer?)
1 serving of Singapore Noodles from a Chinese restaurant (take-out)

turmeric (Why turmeric? How does turmeric help to prevent cancer?)
freshly ground black pepper
tamari or soy sauce

baby arugula (Note: Arugula is a cruciferous vegetable just like cabbage so it acts like cabbage in helping to prevent cancer.)

Chinese hot pepper sauce (for example, Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce)

Directions

Reconstitute the shitake mushrooms according to the package directions OR just put the mushrooms into a bowl, pour enough water into the bowl to just barely submerge the mushrooms in the water; set a small plate on top of the mushrooms to keep them submerged; let them sit for 30 minutes; then remove the reconstituted mushrooms from the liquid with a slotted spoon. Squeeze some or the liquid out of the mushrooms and set the mushrooms aside. (Note: You can strain the mushroom liquid and use it for soups and sauces.)

While the mushrooms are being reconstituted, cut the onions and cabbage into pieces as suggested above and then…

In a large wok (14-inch is good), heat the oil over medium-high heat; when the oil is hot add the onions and stir fry until the onions are wilted and starting to turn translucent; remove the onions from the wok and set them aside.

Add more oil to the wok and when the oil is hot, add the garlic and quickly saute it, removing the garlic from the oil with a strainer before the garlic turns brown; set the garlic aside. Add the sliced cabbage to the hot oil, adding the pieces with the thicker ribs before adding the pieces with the thinner ribs. Stir fry the cabbage until it starts to wilt. Return the sauted garlic to the pan with the cabbage and toss the cabbage to distribute the garlic.

Turn the heat to medium-low and add the Singapore noodles to the wok. Then add the reserved mushrooms and onions and toss to mix well.

Sprinkle the contents of the wok with turmeric (you can add a lot!) and freshly ground black pepper. Season to taste with tamari sauce. Serve on a bed of baby arugula. Pass the Chinese hot pepper sauce at the table.

Also, this dish goes well with Chicken with Chaat Masala since the seasonings in the two dishes are quite similar. So if you want more chicken in your Singapore Noodle Plus dish, just add some chunks of Chicken with Chaat Masala.

Enjoy and be healthy!

~Leni

Why garlic?

The anti-cancer benefits of garlic, as reported in Dr. Servan-Schreiber’s book Anti-Cancer, page 121-122:

• reduce carcinogenic effects of nitrosamie and N-nitroso compounds in food
• promote the death of cancer cells in colon, breast, lung, prostate and leukemia cancers
• possible reduction in kidney and prostate cancer in people who consume the most garlic
• help regulate blood sugar so that cancer cells don’t grow as much

And…here are a few tips on how to prepare garlic to maximize the bio-active healthy components:

• According to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s database About Herbs, Botanicals, and Other Products, “Preparation of garlic, such as heating, microwaving, or drying, can substantially reduce the allyl sulfur compounds (allicin and alliin). Crushed raw garlic is highest in these components..”
• According to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), crushing OR chopping garlic is the best way to maximize the bio-active healthy components of garlic.
• AICR suggests that you wait 10-15 minutes after crushing or chopping the garlic so that the anti-cancer substances have a chance to become activated.  AICR video

For more on the health benefits of garlic, see the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s website about Herbs, Botanicals and Other Products. (Note: At this link there is a consumer and also a health professional tab. It’s worth reading both of them  – or at least skimming the professional information and reading through the consumer information.)

Enjoy and be healthy!
~Leni

Why turmeric AND black pepper?

DRY/POWDERED OR FRESH TURMERIC – PEEL, CHOP, FREEZE AND USE ANYTIME!

Curcumin and other chemicals found in turmeric are powerful anti-inflamatory and anti-cancer agents. However, turmeric can interfere with some chemotherapy treatments and reduce their benefits, so if you are getting chemo (infusion or oral) be sure to check with your doctor about whether it’s OK to add turmeric to your diet.

TURMERIC AND BLACK PEPPER – THE COMBO!

Turmeric and black pepper: Black pepper makes it easier for your body to absorb turmeric. And since turmeric is not easy to absorb, I always add some black pepper to a recipe that calls for turmeric or sprinkle some black pepper over the curry or other turmeric containing food on my plate.

For more information about turmeric and it’s healthful properties (and some cautions)

• Memorial Sloan-Kettering’s website – Integrative Medicine, Herbs. Here you will find all the details and background research on turmeric!
• NIH National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine
• U of Maryland Medical Center – Complimentary Medicine
• Q & A with Andrew Weil, MD and Huffington Post Article by Andrew Weil, MD
• Wall Street Journal article about research on health benefits of turmeric and also which supplements contain most bio-available form of turmeric, bcm-95.

You can buy fresh turmeric at Whole Foods (though you may have to ask them to oder it in for you) and Asian supermarkets.

Fresh turmeric – peel, chop, freeze and use anytime! I buy a few pounds at a time and then process it for storage in my freezer. Here’s how:

Peeling turmeric

• Wash the turmeric to get the dirt off.
• Using a vegetable peeler, peel the skin off; discard the skin.
• Rinse the peeled turmeric with water.
• Place the peeled and rinsed turmeric into the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until the turmeric if finely chopped.

Turmeric after processing in food processor

• Line a rectangular storage container with 2 pieces of parchment paper, with the paper overlapping the sides of the container. (The photo below was taken before I found that using 2 pieces of parchment paper, one on top of the other, would make it easier to remove the contents of the container when it’s frozen.)
• Use a spatula to spread just enough of the “grated” turmeric to cover the parchment paper with a thin layer of turmeric.
• Place 2 sheets of parchment paper over the turmeric (with the paper overlapping the sides of the container).
• Spread just enough of the “grated” turmeric to cover the parchment paper with a thin layer of turmeric.
• Repeat until container is full: alternating 2 sheets of parchment paper and one layer of turmeric.

Thin layer of turmeric over parchment paper

• Cover and freeze.
• When frozen, remove all of the turmeric at once from the container, by pulling up on the parchment paper.
• Take this frozen block of turmeric and parchment paper layers and place it into a plastic freezer bag; store in freezer.
• Break off any size chunk anytime!
• Or, you can break the turmeric into pieces before you freeze it, as shown in photo below. However, since I took this photo, I have found that sometimes when I freeze turmeric in pieces as you see in photo below, the turmeric sticks together in large clumps. So I now leave the turmeric pieces in the parchment paper in the freezer bag.

Pieces of frozen turmeric in freezer bag

Note: When using fresh turmeric, use at least about twice as much as you would if you were to use dry powdered turmeric, since it is less concentrated and has a milder flavor. And…remember to always add black pepper to your recipe and serve with food that has some oil or fat!

BTW: Fresh garlic and ginger

I also store fresh garlic and fresh ginger in the same way! Just peel, process, freeze, and store! This way you never run out of the healthy foods you need for cooking!

Want to create some great food using these ingredients? Go to How to Create Fabulous Fresh Herb Sauces!

from left: frozen pieces of garlic, turmeric, ginger

Enjoy and be healthy!

~Leni

GARLIC (Part II): Caesar Salad Dressing

Why garlic?

It makes everything — almost — taste great. And…it’s helps your body ward off cancer. For more on the anti-cancer properties of garlic, see the previous post, Garlic: Smooth and Mild Garlic Paste

Since I now have a bunch of frozen discs (“cubes”) of my Smooth and Mild Garlic Paste stashed away in the freezer, it’s so easy to whip up something garlicky delicious anytime. The other day I made the best Caesar salad dressing I’ve ever made!

I always make my own salad dressing. I’m not a fan of store-bought bottled dressings. They mostly come in plastic bottles(not good) and contain “and/or” oils – so you never know exactly what oil is in your salad dressing – though it’s probably the cheapest one of the oils listed. And when it comes to taste, even the best of the store-bought salad dressings (also the most expensive) taste just OK.  That’s why I make my own salad dressing. And it’s easy when you have garlic discs (“cubes”) tucked away in your freezer.

MY FAVORITE CAESAR SALAD DRESSING

This recipe doesn’t contain exact measurements because it’s easy (and fun) to experiment – -and you really can’t go wrong. For example, if it’s too lemony; just add more olive oil. If it’s not salty enough; just add more salt or mustard or anchovy paste — whichever you want.  And if you don’t have anchovy paste, you can omit it; it won’t be Caesar dressing, but it will be good!

Ingredients

The APPROXIMATE measurements given below make enough salad dressing for a few servings.

Approximately 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 disc (“cube”) Smooth and Mild Garlic Paste disc, defrosted

Approximately 2 teaspoons anchovy paste

• Look for an anchovy paste that contains just anchovies or just anchovies and olive oil

• If you can’t find anchovy paste, just make your own. Put the contents of a tin of anchovies (anchovies and olive oil) into the work bowl of a small food processor and process until it forms a puree (paste).

approximately ¼ teaspoon Dijon mustard

approximately 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Take a small glass bottle, (an empty spice jar is perfect for making a small amount of salad dressing), and fill it with the above ingredients. Shake until well blended. Be sure to shake again  right before serving.

Note: This dressing should be refrigerated promptly after preparation and used within 2-3 days for maximum safety and quality.

Comment on salad making

Sometimes instead of adding herbs to the salad dressing I am making, I add herbs directly to the salad. The fresh herbs (as opposed to the herbs that have been sitting in the dressing for a few days) add a fresh taste and fragrance and turn up in unexpected forkfuls — which makes for a more interesting salad!

Enjoy and be healthy!

Leni

GARLIC: Smooth and Mild Garlic Flavor Cubes

Note: Smooth and Mild Garlic Flavor Cubes used to be my favorite way to prepare garlic and keep it on hand. But since developing this recipe, I learned that, according to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center’s database About Herbs, Botanicals, and Other Products, “Preparation of garlic, such as heating, microwaving, or drying, can substantially reduce the allyl sulfur compounds (allicin and alliin). Crushed raw garlic is highest in these components..”

And , according to the American Institute for Cancer Research (AICR), crushing OR chopping garlic is also a good way to maximize the bio-active healthy components of garlic. Also, AICR suggests that you wait 10-15 minutes after crushing or chopping the garlic so that the anti-cancer substances have a chance to become activated.  AICR video

So no longer make the Garlic Flavor Cubes because to do so requires heating… What do I do instead? I buy a big bag of garlic and put the cloves into the food processor fitted with the metal blade and then process until the garlic is finely chopped. Then I place a few sheets of wax paper over the bottom of a glass container and using a spatula I spread the finely chopped garlic in a thin layer on the wax paper. Over that layer of garlic, I place a more few sheets of wax paper and then I spread another layer of garlic on top of the wax paper. In this way, I make a “garlic layer cake.” Then I just cover the top layer of garlic with wax paper and pop the lid on the container and place it in the freezer. When the garlic is frozen, I lift each layer of garlic by the wax paper ends and break the garlic into pieces that I store in freezer bags in the freezer. This way I always have garlic on hand!

And if you still want to make some Smooth and Mild Garlic Flavor Cubes…here’s the recipe:

SMOOTH AND MILD GARLIC FLAVOR CUBES

This garlic paste is smooth and relatively mild – just like roasted garlic– and it’s perfect for adding to cooked or almost cooked dishes – without getting that garlic bite. I started making this garlic paste a few days ago after listening to the host of the NPR’s Splendid Table discuss garlic on her August 15 show.  Now I’m adding garlic paste to everything – well, almost everything!

Ingredients

2 large heads of garlic (not imported from China and preferably organic)

• Monamifood “Why Garlic?” How does garlic help to prevent cancer?
• The garlic from China that I’ve seen is incredibly white and seems to last forever. I don’t know what they do to it, but I imagine they must chemically treat it. So I try to avoid garlic that’s imported from China. Instead, when I buy either organic garlic or non-organic garlic that’s grown in the USA.
• I found a nice little bag of fresh garlic at Trader Joe’s the other day — enough to make a few batches of this garlic paste.
• Also, Costo sells a 3-pound bag of garlic grown in the USA.
• Garlic, like so many fruits and vegetables is  harvested in the late summer, so it’s a great time to buy really fresh garlic and make lot of  this paste and put it away in your freezer.

Extra virgin olive oil

Water

Directions

To separate the cloves of garlic in one easy motion, place a head of garlic on a cutting board and smack the garlic with something smooth and heavy (such as a meat mallet or the flat bottom of a jar).

Next use your mallet or the back of the jar to gently smash any of the cloves that haven’t already been smashed by the blow that broke the cloves apart.

• Why should you lightly smash each clove?  “Active molecules of garlic are released when a garlic clove is crushed and are much more easily assimilated if they are dissolved in a little oil.” (Anti-Cancer, page 122). In other words, to absorb the healthy stuff that’s in garlic, you should bruise/lightly smash/lightly crush the garlic and consume it with oil.
• Lightly smashing each clove also makes the next step easier!

Peel the paper off of each lightly smashed garlic clove.

Please note: The directions immediately below were revised on 9-3-09 and 9-26-09  in order to suggest a procedure that would result in less splattering:

Cover the bottom of a medium-sized heavy sauté pan with slightly less than 1/4 inch of olive oil and 2 – 3 tablespoons of water. (Note: The purpose of the water is to prevent the garlic from burning and developing a bitter taste.)

Add the garlic, cover the pan, and heat over medium heat. (Note: The cover will keep you from getting splattered and let the garlic steam as well as saute.)

When the oil is warm, gently shake the pan back and forth over the burner to keep the garlic moving — just like you would if you were cooking popcorn the old fashioned way. Keep gently shaking the pan back and forth until the garlic turns LIGHT tan in color (like light carmel color).

You may find it necessary to add more water. If so, when you open the lid, carefully (with the opening facing AWAY from your face) add a little more water and close the lid immediately. Or just start with more than 2 tablespoons of water in the pan. Feel free to experiment — using more water if you think it will keep your garlic from sticking.

I like to stop heating and shaking the garlic when the garlic is mostly but not completely light tan in color.

• Note: When garlic gets a brown in color it gets bitter. So don’t let your garlic get brown. If you are cooking a large batch of garlic (many times the amount given in this recipe,) then separate out the smaller and the larger cloves and cook them in two separate batches. That way you can cook the large cloves without letting the small cloves turn brown.

Remove the cover after about 2 minutes (with the lid opening pointing away from you face so as to protect your face from possible splattering) and check on the color of the garlic. When it has  turned light carmel in color on most sides, use a slotted spoon to remove the garlic to a plate; let the garlic sit on the plate to cool.

When the garlic and the oil it cooked in have cooled, add both to the work bowl of a small food processor; process until you have a smooth puree (your wonderful mild garlic paste).

Use a spatula to scrape the garlic paste out of the work bowl and into your glass storage container.

Store in the freezer (NOT in the refrigerator).

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UPDATE

I wrote to allexperts.com and specifically to the experts on food safety to ask about the safety of garlic in oil…because way back in my brain I remember learning that there might be some issues with botulism if the oil and garlic mixture wasn’t handled properly.  Here is the answer I received:

“I have read your blog and I think your process is safe to recommend to your readers. I do suggest that you make it very, very clear that the garlic paste should be frozen IMMEDIATELY and not refrigerated. The combination of the low-acid garlic in a no-air environment (by mixing with oil), and room-temperature storage can support the growth of C. botulinum.

For a research-based article on garlic that you may find interesting (and may want to share with your readers), please see: Garlic by Linda Harris.”

Carol C. Schlitt, MS, CFCS
Extension Educator, Nutrition and Wellness
University of Illinois Extension

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To freeze small portions of garlic paste to make great Garlic Paste Cubes, you can use a silicone mini muffin pan. Just place a tablespoon or so of the paste into each section of the muffin pan. (You don’t have to fill each muffin space up). Let it freeze overnight. Pop the frozen garlic paste discs or “cubes”  out of the muffin pan and freeze them in a freezer-type plastic bag.

If you don’t have a silicone mini muffin tin, follow the instructions given earlier for freezing cubes of pesto. But be sure to let the garlic paste cool completely before you scrape it into the lined muffin tin.

Uses for your garlic paste…

The uses for this garlic paste are endless! Here are some of the ways I have used it in the last couple of days:

• added it to a chicken broth when making a chicken soup
• spread it on toast and topped it with sliced tomatoes for a nice garlic-tomato bruschetta
• added it to a pot of beans
• added it to a pasta sauce I was making with the fresh tomatoes in our garden
• used it in making salad dressing
• topped hot veggies with it

I would love to hear your comments on how you have used it in your own cooking.

Enjoy and be healthy!

Leni