Welcome back to you and me. It’s been 3 months since my last Roasted Peppers blog entry; sad news and some good news. Sad news – my husband Eric who is 64 and has dementia (frontal temporal lobe) is now living in a nursing home. On the bright side Roasted Peppers has been named by
-
Fair Trade USA
as one of the 300 best food blogs in the country.
The last months Eric lived at home we ate a simple and nourishing diet. Dictated by the time requirements of Eric’s daily needs and dietary recommendations it was a win-win. I went back to my macrobiotic roots, remembering recipes from the past and incorporating new learning.
Grains were our staple and (mercifully) kept Eric’s flora and fauna on an even keel. I kept Eric on the
B-R-A-T diet (banana, rice, applesauce, toast) with small amounts of vegetables. Living in the provinces of Connecticut afforded me great spring foraging (fiddlehead ferns, young dandelions, early purslane and nettles (before they get furry and sting when touched) and morel mushrooms.
We always had a pot of brown rice ready either warm from the rice cooker or waiting to be steamed or fried. We also enjoyed millet, barley, buckwheat, and refined grains – quinoa, couscous, and bulgher. I recorded lots of recipes as I incorporated old and new cooking styles and came up with a few duds (millet and broccoli for one).
I gave a number of impromptu and scheduled cooking classes to friends who came to visit with Eric and people I met at the Co-op and Farmer’s Market who asked “What are you going to do with the…”.
A skill, habit, method, doctrine (not sure which) that has become so ingrained I’m completely unaware of is how I cut and slice vegetables. The first principle of cutting a vegetable taught in macrobiotic cooking is preserving the energy and balancing the yin and yang in the vegetable. The bottom, root, or stalk end is yang (contracting force) and the top end, bud, flower, connector to the leafy top is yin (expanding force). To balance yin and yang in any vegetable cut open top to bottom and/or slice pieces on a diagonal.
For any vegetable, slice across on a slight diagonal rather than cutting round rings; diagonal pieces produce a pleasing shape on a dinner plate or vegetable dish. A good example is cutting a carrot julienne style. Cut the carrot in diagonal slices to the thickness you desire, then stack carrot slices and cut lengthwise into julienne style pieces. Another example – any type of squash; Slice in half lengthwise, scoop seeds from a winter squash, lay open side down on a cutting board and cut lengthwise slices to desired thickness, slice across on a slight diagonal. For summer squash – slice in half lengthwise, slice each half in widthwise slices to desired thickness, stack and slice lengthwise, then across on a diagonal to make cubes or larger chunks.
Try cutting vegetables in this manner and let me know what you discover. Do they taste different? How about their appearance? Other observations?
Zucchini and Cous Cous
I discovered this recipe a few weeks ago during zucchini overload week with a specimen that hid under the leaves and look at like a baseball bat when picked. The key – use these large vegetables immediately after picking (best to leave in the garden an extra day than harvest and cook the next day).
(Serves 2-4)
2 tablespoons olive oil
4-6 cups unpeeled zucchini cut in one-half inch cubes
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons bullion or one-half cup concentrated chicken stock
1 cup cous cous
1 cup water (one-half cup if using stock)
One-fourth cup thin sliced basil leaves or any other herb or combination
Grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Siracha – optional
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat, add olive oil and turn to medium high, add zucchini and sauté 2 minutes, add garlic, turn heat back to medium and cook another 5 minutes, occasionally stir or swirl the pan. Add bullion or stock, cook 1 minute, add cous cous and water, stir to combine, cover, turn heat to lowest setting and cook 5 minutes. Remove cover (so zucchini will stay bright green) and let sit another 3 minutes. Fluff with a fork, fold in grated cheese, transfer to a serving dish or serve right from the sauté pan. Garnish with herbs; give each bowl a squirt of Siracha chili sauce if you like a little heat. You could easily double or triple this recipe to serve a crowd.
