Robin Asbell's Big Vegan Blogger Potluck: Matcha Scones with Golden Raisins

I met Minneapolis chef, cooking teacher, and food writer Robin Asbell about a year ago at Rancho La Puerta when I was writing a blog for them about their cooking classes. I spent the day learning about her approach to food and cooking, which I wrote about for RLP and also published on San Diego Foodstuff.

Robin is a self-described "occasional pescatarian." She is basically vegetarian but periodically indulges in seafood. But for her new book, Big Vegan ( Chronicle Books, $29.95), she's delved into the Big Monty of natural foods: veganism.

You can have a chance to win your own copy of the book. See directions below.

Now, while I don't eat a lot of meat anymore I'm neither vegetarian nor vegan. I enjoy my animal products. But if I were to think about it, I certainly do prepare a lot of meals that would fall under the category of vegan, so it was no stretch for me to accept Robin's invitation to participate in a "blogger potluck" she's organized to introduce her book. For the next few days, participants listed below will be rolling out posts around recipes from Big Vegan for everyone -- even non-vegans like me -- to enjoy.

My pick was her Matcha Scones with Golden Raisins. I love matcha--the delicate  green powdered tea, usually whisked into hot water to make a frothy beverage in Japanese tea ceremonies. Matcha is easy enough to find at Asian markets.

Robin explains that, "I think I originally came up with the idea for a Tea and Food Pairing class, and I liked the color. I carry matcha with me when I travel just in case I can't get a cup of tea, and I sometimes put it in my smoothie. I'm really into tea, too."

The ingredients for the scones are pretty basic, but it was the first time I'd baked scones without using the traditional butter and cream that go into them. Instead, Robin uses Earth Balance margarine and coconut milk. And, I liked her suggestion for grating the margarine into the dry ingredients.

First, mix together the dry ingredients.

Then add the grated Earth Balance (it does come in sticks for easier measuring).

Rub it in with your fingers and then add coconut milk.

Finally, you'll add the plump golden raisins and mix it together with your hands before pulling out the dough onto a floured board and shaping it into a disk. The dough is a little sticky so be sure to have extra flour on hand for dusting.

Cut into wedges and then brush with more coconut milk before baking for all of 14 minutes.

Let cool and then enjoy with a cup of coffee or, of course, green tea! The scones are light and have subtle overtones of the matcha -- perfect with the bright punch of the raisins interspersed in each piece. And they certainly fit in with her philosophy about food -- and life:

“I’m an enlightened hedonist,” Robin said back when I first met her. “I want to have fun but I don’t want to suffer.”

Matcha Scones with Golden Raisins
From Big Vegan by Robin Asbell
(Printable Recipe)

For a treat, try these pale green scones, made with cake flour--the whitest flour of them all. It shows off the delicate color and flavor of the tea. You can go back to whole-wheat tomorrow!

2 1/2 cups/315 g cake/soft-wheat flour, plus extra for the counter*
1/4 cup/50 g sugar
1 tbsp matcha green tea powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup/55 g Earth Balance margarine, frozen
1 cup/240 ml coconut milk, plus extra for brushing
3/4 cup/130 g golden raisins/sultanas

1. Preheat the oven to 400℉/200℃/gas 6. Line a baking sheet/tray with parchment/baking paper. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, matcha, baking powder, and salt. With a pastry blender or grater, cut the margarine into the dry ingredients and work it in with your fingers. Pour the milk into the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Add the raisins and mix with your hands.

2. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured counter and form it into a dish about 3/4 in/2 cm thick for eight scones (or make two rounds for sixteen smaller scones; slice each round into eight wedges). Place the scones on the baking sheet/tray, 2 in/5 cm apart, and brush with milk. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, until the bottoms are browned and the edges are golden brown (bake smaller scones for about 10 minutes). Let them cool on the pan for 10 minutes before removing to cool on racks. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

* Note: Robin tells me she had included cake flour in the recipe but the publisher changed it to pastry flour. I made one batch with whole wheat pastry flour, which was all I could find at my local store, but the results yielded a heavy doughy scone. When I checked with Robin I learned about the change and made a second batch using cake flour--which is what is shown and written about above. What a difference. These scones were light and the flavor of the matcha came through. So, use cake flour or try white pastry flour. Let me know the results.

And, here's the rest of the potluck group with their Big Vegan recipe posts:

Robin Asbell: Maple Barley Granola
Leinana Two Moons: Baguette French Toast with "Cream Cheese" & Apple
Susan Russo: Mango-Jicama Salad with Lime Dressing and Pepitas
Bryanna Clark Grogan: Armenian Red Lentil Stew with Sesame Brown Rice
Nancie McDermott: Korean Miso-Tofu Soup
Jill Nussinow: Squash Quesadillas with Cranberry-Jícama Salsa
Sandra Gutierrez: Green and Red Spaghetti
Robin Robertson: Bengall Curry of Cauliflower and Kidney Beans
Julie Hasson: Spanish Chickpea Fritters
Pat Tanumhardja: New Potato Rendang with Green Beans
Leinana Two Moons: Sundried Tomato-Kale Calzones and Pumpkin Cherry Bundt Cake
Tara Desmond: Peanut Butter Tart with "Ganache"

Big Vegan Giveaway

Finally, I have a copy of Big Vegan to give away. Even if, like me, you're not a vegan, I think you'll find the recipes in this large book thoroughly intriguing and delicious. I've got a list of ones I've marked to try. So, I recommend you enter the giveaway.

Simply leave a comment below about the best vegan meal you've ever enjoyed. Comments must be posted by noon PDT, Monday, Oct. 24. The person I think wrote the most persuasive comment will win the book. I'll reveal the winner in my email newsletter on Tuesday, the 25th. You can sign up for it here or via the invitation on the right. So, enlighten us with your experience!

Need some extra encouragement? Watch Robin here tease her book and what you'll get out of it:




Print Page

Alisa Barry: Nourish and Nurture

One of my favorite food writing jobs is contributing to Rancho La Puerta's blog and app. Every month, I go down to their cooking school, La Cocina Que Canta, and participate in a hands-on class taught by a renowned cooking teacher, restaurateur, or cookbook author.

They've given me permission to put these posts on San Diego Foodstuff, so in the coming months you'll periodically see them. This week focuses on the charming and talented Alisa Barry.

Alisa Barry isn’t your typical Rancho La Puerta cooking instructor. She’ll tell you herself, “My food is not ‘spa food.’ I come from the Julia Child school of cooking, which preaches everything in moderation.”

For Barry, who owns the Atlanta-based specialty-food business Bella Cucina Artful Food, the celebration of food is all important. And, throughout her class at La Cocina Que Canta she urged the 16 participants to savor the process of making their dishes and to taste everything along the way—from the naked ingredients still in the ground to the various components of the dishes as they were being made, to the finished masterpiece.

“It’s important to use all your senses while cooking,” she says. “We’re so lucky to have such beautiful produce grown right here. Enjoy the colors. Smell it. Taste it.”

Indeed, for Barry, the connection she feels to La Cocina Que Canta is similar to her love of Mediterranean cooking. She discovered the possibilities of food during her junior year abroad in Madrid and it was reinforced when she went to Italy. What she has taken away from those experiences is the importance of fresh, local produce, and how “food is as much how we eat as what we eat.”

It’s that philosophy around which Barry created her business in the early 90s—after interning at Chez Panisse, working as head cook at Café Fanny, attending San Francisco’s Tante Marie cooking school, and working at Viansa Winery with the Sebastianis in Sonoma.

“My business is a vehicle for self-expression,” she says. “Everything starts at the table but expands from there.”

Anyone who has taken one of Barry’s hands-on classes appreciates that approach. From the start, she encourages her students to use the recipes as a guide and to feel free to improvise based on their own taste and imagination. I've already done that with a recipe of hers from that day that's now a staple in my repertoire: Wilted Winter Greens Phyllo Rolls. In fact, some of her recipes call for condiments produced by Bella Cucina—a Cranberry Conserve for her Grape + Gorgonzola Schiaciatta, a jar of Pumpkin Pesto for her Roasted Pumpkin + Sage Risotto—but she’s eager to suggest substitutions.

Lunch is on!

Of course, some recipes aren’t appropriate for much tweaking. In a recent class, Barry provided a bonus recipe for how to make fresh ricotta at home—mostly out of enthusiasm for this new discovery she made. As she explained, we could take just three ingredients—milk, cream and lemon juice—and, with care, easily have a cheese that tasted so much better than anything we could find in the market.

That three ingredients could combine to create dramatic flavor and texture is in line with Barry’s approach to creating recipes. Those in her book, La Bella Vita, feature the fruit of the land, prepared simply and designed to highlight the freshness of  ingredients. The 55 food products in the Bella Cucina line are hand made, based on Barry’s recipes and inspired by her travel abroad and by farms around the Atlanta area. “It’s all about the ingredients,” she insists. “When they have that much flavor, I like to keep it as simple as possible.”

Barry is at work on her next cookbook. The working title says it all: Nourish and Nurture. “Food is about feeding the soul as much as the body,” she says. “It’s a way we can slow down and enjoy one another.

How to Make Fresh Ricotta at Home
By Alisa Barry

Ingredients
1 half gallon whole milk (use the best quality milk you can buy)
1 ½ cups cream (see above)
¼ cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

Directions
In a large saucepan, heat the milk and cream over medium heat until the temperature reaches 180 degrees. Turn off the heat, add the lemon juice and let sit covered for 15 minutes.

Remove the curds from the liquid with a sieve or small slotted spoon into a bowl layers with cheese cloth. Tie up the ends of the cheese cloth and hang it over the bowl so it can drain any remaining liquid from the curd. Let sit for about 2 hours.

Makes about 4 cups.

Print Page

Making Soup with Deborah Madison: Food and the Deeper Self

One of my favorite food writing jobs is contributing to Rancho La Puerta's blog and app. Every month, I go down to their cooking school, La Cocina Que Canta, and participate in a hands-on class taught by a renowned cooking teacher, restaurateur, or cookbook author.

They've given me permission to put these posts on San Diego Foodstuff, so in the coming months you'll periodically see them. This week focuses on the great Deborah Madison.

On teaching days at La Cocina Que Canta, typically students arrive for a class, the instructor presents a quick intro to what will be happening during the session, and then everyone grabs a straw hat and heads out to the fields with Salvador the gardener to pick the produce they’ll all be cooking with.

Except for the rare times when it rains. And, for the first day of Deborah Madison’s four-day teaching extravaganza in October it rained. Hard. But, that was fine because as it happens, Day One was all about soups and there was no better day to make soup than that soggy Monday.

So, 15 of us sat around a long table and Madison led us through what you could call the soup-making journey—10 basic steps that most soups require, a conceptshe developed for her book Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. See, while 
recipes are wonderful, being liberated from them to make delicious soups through inspiration and basic knowledge is something a home cook can aspire to. Of course, we had seven of her recipes on hand to guide us in the kitchen that rainy day—from Red Lentil Soup with Lime and Spinach to Quinoa, Potato and Spinach Soup with Feta Cheese (recipe below).

And we also had Madison’s friend, food writer Penni Wisner, teaching with her, including showing us how to bake no-knead bread.

Madison, a chef, writer, and clearly talented cooking teacher, was among the first contemporary chefs to develop the farm-to-table menu style now so popular among restaurants across the country. With Greens restaurant in San Francisco, where she was the founding chef in 1979, Madison established a career that has led to 11 cookbooks (which have earned awards from IACP and the James Beard Foundation among others) and writing assignments from Saveur, Cooking Light, Gourmet, Food & Wine, Fine Cooking, and Garden Design.

While she admits she doesn’t spend time thinking about the connection between words and food, Madison believes that food is bigger than a recipe and has everything to do with what we are. For her food is a lens through which anyone can view his or her life.

“It has nothing to do with being interested in food, or a good cook, or a lousy one, or a foodie or any of that,” she says. “It has to do with everything we are, starting with nurture or the lack thereof.”

Given her enthusiasm for the bounty of the garden and farm, it makes sense that Madison’s starting point is the contemplative space of her home garden in New Mexico, and the community scene of the local farmers market. In fact, Madison spent time as a market manager and is a big fan of the Santa Fe Farmers Market. “It’s about running into friends, some of whom are the farmers, exchanging greetings and news, maybe sharing a recipe idea for some new squash or other produce, sometimes planning an impromptu dinner.”

One of her books, Local Flavors, gives advice on how to shop at a farmers market, but she also offers some tips for those just venturing away from the grocery store and into the open air:

• First of all, shopping at a farmers market for the first time is an adventure, and adventures are good for us to have, so go with an open mind and don't worry.

• Always make a pass through the market and take a look at what's there, the prices, the quality, what appeals to you, before you buy. That way you get the lay of the land. As you shop more and more at a market, you may find you have favorite vendors that you always return to—I know I do —but even so, I like to take a look around first just to see what's there.

• Do accept tastes and ask questions about foods that may be unfamiliar.  And just because you took a taste of something, it doesn't mean you have to buy. You’re sampling and informing yourself.

• If you feel very unsure about what the food you see at the farmers market, for you might well see different varieties than what's in the supermarket, start with those vegetables and fruits that are familiar, that you already use—carrots, onions, garlic, apples, strawberries. Then maybe choose one food that's new to you—a white eggplant, a different variety of cabbage, an exotic fruit.

Once you have that produce back home—and maybe it’s a soup kind of day like ours was—Madison has suggestions that include making your own quick vegetable stock from the trimmings you would ordinarily immediately toss into the compost pile, tasting the soup not just for more salt but perhaps acid to create balance (it turns out a little lemon juice can go a long way to creating that “aha” flavor moment), and to just make plenty.

“Soup generally gets better as it sits,” Madison says. “It can make an instant homemade meal when you’ve got a big pot on hand, and, if you give a little thought to the garnishes and textures, you can turn one pot into many soups.”

That’s the über cooking teacher offering practical guidance. But now that we're into cool, even cold, weather when soups become more than just a flavorful meal but, in their heartiness, are embracing and nurturing, it’s worth thinking about the connections Madison draws between food and our inner lives.

“Perhaps that’s where the magic lies,” she proposes. “Food is really about our larger, deeper lives, and we all have those, whether we’re close to our deeper selves or not.”

Quinoa, Potato and Spinach Soup with Feta Cheese
From Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

Serves 6

"This grain-based soup is light, delicious, pretty, fresh, and very simple to make. And with the quinoa, it's highly nutritious. What more could one ask of a recipe?" DM

Ingredients
3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 small bunch spinach, stems removed, leaves washed and chopped
8 ounces Yukon Gold or other potato, diced in 1/4-inch cubes
1 jalapeño chile, seeded and finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground, toasted cumin seed
1 teaspoon salt, to taste, and freshly ground pepper
4 ounces feta cheese, finely diced in small cubes
3 scallions, thinly sliced in rounds, including a few of the greens
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
1 hard-cooked egg, diced (optional)

1. Simmer the quinoa in 7 cups water for 10 minutes. When the quinoa is done, drain it, reserving the water, which you'll use in the soup.
2. While the quinoa is cooking, cut the vegetables and set them aside.
3. Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan with the garlic and chile, cook for about 30 seconds, without browning the garlic, then add the cumin, salt and potatoes. Measure the quinoa cooking liquid plus water, if needed, to make 6 cups. Add it to the vegetables, bring to a boil, then add the quinoa and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes, then turn off the heat. Taste for salt and season the soup with pepper. Add the cheese, then stir in the spinach and the scallions. As soon as the spinach is wilted, serve the soup, garnished with the cilantro and hard-cooked egg, if using.

Print Page

Robin Asbell: The Enlightened Hedonist

One of the best food writing jobs I've had is writing for Rancho La Puerta's blog and app. Every month, I go down to their cooking school, La Cocina Que Canta, and participate in a hands-on class taught by a renowned cooking teaching, restaurateur, or cookbook author.

They've given me permission to put these posts on San Diego Foodstuff, so in the coming months you'll periodically see them, starting with this piece on the wonderful Robin Asbell.

As Robin Asbell walked back to La Cocina Que Canta from the nearby fields where several of us had just squealed with delight picking leeks and basil, she chuckled at the notion of a well-known chef writing a piece admitting she didn’t like gardening because there were INSECTS!

“Who would say that?” she asked. “That’s just part of growing your own food. Silly.”

Asbell, who lives in Minneapolis, has her own small garden where she grows tomatoes, garlic, and herbs—including eight types of basil. It’s not really a surprise since Asbell is a self-described “occasional pescatarian”—a vegetarian who sometimes indulges in fish. Her interest in vegetarianism began when she was 16 and friends of her parents—both teachers—intrigued her with their vegetarian approach to food. Asbell had to prove her commitment, though. When she declared her intentions, her mom made her read Diet for a Small Planet and write a report on it.

Clearly, Mom had an impact as did the book. The incident launched Asbell into a career that began with her baking loaves of whole wheat bread in high school that she sold to a local co-op. Asbell studied art in college in Illinois and briefly attended graduate school before realizing she didn’t want a career as an academic and leaving to be a chef.

“I got my first full-time chef job at a jazz bar/vegetarian restaurant,” she recalled. “I was at school in Champagne, Ill., and I found the ad in a restroom. I convinced the owners to hire me and that was it.

Since then, Asbell has gone on to work as a private chef, teach, and write two books, The New Vegetarian Cookbook and The New Whole Grains Cookbook. Currently, she’s at work on The Big Book of Vegan, a collection of 400 recipes to be published by Chronicle Books in Fall 2011.

But on this sparkling September afternoon, here we are with her in la cocina looking over the various ingredients—including some grown on the farm just yards away. We’re making a smoky herb salad with tomato vinaigrette, a light Tuscan bean and salmon salad with bruschetta, goat cheese gnocchi with lemony broccoli rabe sauce, and so much more. The kitchen island is overflowing with greens and nuts and cheeses and surrounded by women not quite sure where to start. But Asbell gets the group launched and makes her way around to lend a hand, give tips, offer advice, and crack a joke or two.

We learned that when making gnocchi, it’s best to use as little flour as possible, not to handle the dough too much, and do a quick test with just one gnocchi—dropping it in boiling water to see if it holds together or if the dough needs just a tad more flour.

I got a great julienning tip. Using a carrot, Asbell showed me a way to cut on the diagonal and leave the pieces spread out like a deck of cards, then slice them thinly. Very cool. I worked through the carrots and then summer squash with relative ease.

We also learned to be sure to double check the oven temperature so that an apple streusel cake that is supposed to bake for 40 minutes at 350 doesn’t end up in the oven at over 400 degrees before being hustled out after 10 minutes. Let’s just say things happen and we learned from Asbell to roll with it and laugh. And,  actually, the cake still turned out well.

With seven dishes made and sitting on the side table buffet style, Asbell gave us a little insight into her philosophy of food and eating before we dug in. “I’m an enlightened hedonist,” she said. “I want to have fun but I don’t want to suffer.”

Composed Salad of Grains with Hazelnut Vinaigrette

From Hands-On Cooking Class, With Visiting Chef Robin Asbell

A beautiful presentation will elevate your meal to fine dining, and a marinated grain salad is as fine as anything out there. This is just a beginning from which to get creative. Whatever is fresh and in season simply needs an artful approach to look nice in a composed salad. Blanched asparagus, snow peas, avocado, or jicama sticks can liven up the plate.

Serves 6

1 cup barley, red rice, or kamut
1/2 cup hazelnuts
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 small yellow squash
1 large roma tomato
4 cups salad spinach, washed and dried
1 large red bell pepper, roasted and slivered
1 large carrot, julienned
1 3.5 ounce package enoki mushrooms, or 1 bunch asparagus, blanched

1. Cook the grain until tender, then drain and let cool. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the hazelnuts in a small baking pan or pie plate and toast in the oven for 10 minutes. Put the warm nuts in a kitchen towel and rub them to remove the skins. Put the cleaned nuts into a food processor. Pulse on and off to coarsely chop the hazelnuts. Remove half of the coarse chunks and reserve. Grind the remaining nuts finely, then add the parsley, garlic, and salt and grind them too. Add the vinegar and tarragon and process, then drizzle in the oil with the motor running. Stir 1/2 cup of the dressing into the cooked grain.

2. Cut the tomato in half vertically and scrape out the seeds, then slice in vertical spears. Use a channel knife or paring knife to slice shallow, lengthwise grooves in the yellow squash, and then slice thinly.

3. To compose the salad on a large platter, spread the spinach on the platter to the edges, then mound the cooled grain in the center, leaving some spinach exposed. Arrange the carrot julienne in four fanned groupings on the grain, evenly spaced around the edges. Arrange the squash between the groups of carrots. Place the pepper slivers across the top of the mound of grain, and then arrange the asparagus or enokis and tomato spears atop that. To compose on individual plates, place the grain to one side, and group the vegetables around the plate.

4. Drizzle the remaining dressing over the salad or salads and sprinkle the chopped hazelnuts over the top.

Print Page

Wilted Winter Greens Phyllo Rolls

I love a holiday appetizer that's healthy without tasting like you're sacrificing anything. So, when I took a class with the marvelous Alisa Barry at Rancho La Puerta's La Cocina Que Canta and tasted her "Savory Ricotta + Wilted Winter Greens Phyllo Rolls" I knew I'd be making them for parties. And I have, twice. Plus, I plan on introducing them to the kids I teach at Olivewood Gardens.

Alisa's recipe is straightforward and divine. I love the crunch of baked phyllo combined with the lusciousness of ricotta and wilted Swiss chard. The touch of nutmeg adds a spicy note. But, what's truly great about this recipe is how versatile it is. Add tiny pieces of preserved lemon. Add toasted walnuts or pine nuts. Or, as I did the last time, add scallions, marash pepper for some subtle heat, and plump raisins soaked in Grand Marnier for sweetness.

The other change I made to Alisa's recipe was to the assembly part. Alisa calls for folding one sheet of phyllo dough twice. That's fine, but yesterday I decided to make the rolls a little thinner so I sliced the sheet in half lengthwise and folded it just once. Since you roll the filled dough like a cigar, it's still plenty thick. But, I leave that to you.

 

Savory Ricotta + Wilted Winter Greens Phyllo Rolls
Adapted from Alisa Barry

1, 1 pound box frozen phyllo (or filo) dough (follow the directions on the box for thawing)

Filling:
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 cups mixed winter greens (Swiss chard, kale, arugula, for example)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 large scallions (green onions), sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon Marash pepper or other red pepper flakes
3/4 cup raisins, marinated for at least two hours in Grand Marnier
1 container (15 ounces) of ricotta
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

For Assembly:
Olive oil
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees and spray baking sheet/s with olive oil (or use parchment paper.

2. In a large saute pan, heat oil and add garlic, greens, scallions, and salt. Cook until wilted. Strain excess liquid and add to a medium-sized mixing bowl.

3. Add Marash pepper, ricotta, drained raisins, and nutmeg to greens and mix well.

To assemble, lay out one sheet of phyllo dough* and slice in half lengthwise. Brush both pieces lightly with olive oil. Fold in half lengthwise. Spoon two teaspoons of the filling mix at the short end of the dough and roll up like a cigar. Repeat with the rest of the dough and filling, placing each roll on the baking sheet. Brush the rolls with olive oil and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes or until brown. Depending on the quality of the phyllo and how many usable sheets you get, you should have about 3 dozen rolls.

*Note: When working with phyllo, be sure to keep the sheets from drying out. Dampen a dish towel and lay it over the stacked dough, removing it only to remove a sheet of dough and then placing it back over the stacked dough.


Print Page

The Gourmet Club Has a Sweet Tooth

I don't know about my co-hosts but I'm sitting here absolutely giddy celebrating our new president-elect. But it's time to get back to business and I'm looking forward to chatting with Michele Coulon of Michele Coulon Dessertier in La Jolla. We'll talk about her organic baking, trends in wedding cakes, some of the desserts we'll be seeing for the holidays this season and perhaps some Bridezilla stories.

And, our friend Mike Mitchell will join us at the top of the hour. He's got a new position as general manager of Cafe Coyote, which he has just started after a much-deserved vacation in Hawaii. I think he's got some island restaurants to recommend to us.

So, tune in for the hour. The Gourmet Club is the tastiest meeting in town. Robert Whitley is off traveling through Spain for the next couple of weeks so join Maureen Clancy and me this Wednesday morning on signonradio.com from 11 a.m. to noon Pacific. You can also podcast the show and listen at your convenience.

P.S. My Q&A with Jesus Gonzalez, creative chef and chief instructor at Rancho La Puerta's La Cocina Que Canta cooking school has just been posted on the wonderful food site, culinate.com. Take a look.



Print Page

The Gourmet Club Goes to La Costa Brava

Well, actually, it comes to The Gourmet Club in the person of Javier Gonzalez, owner of the Pacific Beach tapas bar and restaurant, Costa Brava, and neighboring wine and cheese shop, Pata Negra. We'll be talking to Javier about the restaurant, of course, but more broadly about trends in Spanish cuisine and that gorgeous tasting Iberico ham that he's now importing. This is a first for San Diego and a really savory, if expensive, treat. I just spend a couple of hours with Javier and my new buddy Fernando Hernandez, who runs Pata Negra and will be writing about the shop later this week. In the meantime, enjoy the conversation we'll be having with Javier on The Gourmet Club.

And, since it's the first time in awhile that Robert, Maureen and I have been in studio together in awhile, we'll be doing some catching up on where we've been eating and what we've been cooking -- including my cooking classes at Rancho La Puerta's La Cocina Que Canta.

The Gourmet Club is the tastiest meeting in town. Join Robert Whitley, Maureen Clancy and me for our regular Wednesday morning gathering on signonradio.com from 11 a.m. to noon Pacific. You can also podcast the show and listen at your convenience.


Print Page

La Cocina Que Canta Sings Again

I've just returned from a week at Rancho La Puerta where cooking classes at La Cocina Que Canta topped the menu of activity options for me. Three cooking classes in as many days and each was a unique learning experience, not to mention just plain fun.

I've already written about the hands-on class with Chef Jesus Gonzalez that I enjoyed in late April. I did another with him last Thursday with a Mexican fiesta theme. But I also took two classes by visiting Bay Area teacher and author Peggy Knickerbocker. One was hands on and the other a demonstration. What I came away with were not just some marvelous new recipes, but also some new products and certainly novel techniques that led to some delicious dishes.

First the new products. There were three, and I found all of them intriguing.

The first is agave syrup. The Ranch is big on using this as a sugar substitute, both at the cooking school and for guest meals. Also called agave nectar, it's a sweetener commercially produced in Mexico--specifically Jalisco, Michoacan, Guanajuato and Tamulipas. One reason it's become so popular at the Ranch is that it's said to be far healthier than refined white sugar. (I did, however, find a rebuttal online about its health benefits.) But, it's also a marvelous substitute for sugar and honey, especially in cold beverages, because it easily dissolves. Its consistency is a bit thinner than honey. If you use agave syrup as a substitute for refined sugar, use 1/3 of the amount called for in the recipe.

I bought a bottle at the Ranch but locally you can find agave syrup at Henry's, Jimbo's and Whole Foods.

Then there were Chia seeds. Actually, I found these not at La Cocina Que Canta but in the Ranch's dining room. Each morning, they sat in a small bowl next to a bowl of flax seeds.

Okay, so you know the first image that pops up when the word Chia appears.


I somehow missed the part that these are extraordinarily healthy supplements to a daily diet. I'm not the only one. The first person I spoke to by phone at the Hillcrest Whole Foods suggested I try calling Rite Aid or SavOn. Why? Because they sell Chia Pets there, he said.

What he needs to learn is that these tiny seeds are rich in Omega 3 and full of antioxidants. Because they are highly hydrophilic (they can absorb a lot of water), they're great for athletes. They also slow down how fast our bodies convert carbohydrate calories into simple sugars, so they're a great diet helper and they're good for diabetics. You can eat them whole. You can eat them raw. If you soak them in water or fruit juice (common in Mexico and known as chia fresca), you'll find the soaked seeds develop a gelatinous texture. This mixture can be added to puddings or cooked cereals. Or you can grind the raw seeds and add them to baked goods. I added a smattering to oatmeal at breakfast and tossed some on salads at lunch. I couldn't discern any specific flavor coming from them so it's a neutral way to add some good stuff to your body.

You can buy these online or at Whole Foods, Henry's and Jimbo's (when they're available).

Finally, a bit of a mystery was solved about the garlic I was so excited about finding recently at the La Jolla Farmers Market. We used the same garlic this past week, fresh out of the ground. And here was the source of my confusion. Instead of a head surrounded by dry paper with a dozen or so distinct cloves, the garlic I was trying to play with was spring garlic, more like a large green onion, sans paper and cloves. Peggy pointed out that what we're used to at the market is more mature garlic that developed its papery shield as it aged. The youthful spring garlic we were using was a little juicier (like an onion), not fully developed with cloves and far milder. So, if you happen upon these jewels at the farmers market, grab them and plan to use more in your cooking than you would with older, conventional garlic.


Or, try growing them yourself from cloves of garlic planted in the ground or a pot. According to The Garlic Store, it's best to plant garlic in the fall while the ground is still warm. FYI, bigger cloves equal bigger bulbs. If you want spring baby garlic, plant smaller cloves.

Now, I specifically chose to go to RLP to take classes from Peggy Knickerbocker because I've read her articles in Gourmet, the LA Times, Food & Wine and Saveur. She's also written several cookbooks, including The San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmers' Market Cookbook (with the wonderful photographer, writer and editor Christopher Hirscheimer -- also there last week), Olive Oil: From Tree to Table, Simple Soirees: Seasonal Menus for Sensational Dinner Parties (gorgeously photographed by Christopher) and The Rose Pistola Cookbook.

The classes were a treat, not only because she's just lit up while she teaches, but she has -- and shared with us -- lots of great tricks that translated into some wondrous dishes we tasted in class and ideas for dishes to try later at home. These are just a sampling but worth adding to your repertoire:

• Chop the leaves of rose-scented geraniums and add to a bowl of strawberries.
• You know you should toast most spices before using to bring out their flavors, but also toast whole peppercorns before grinding. Try doing this in a sesame seed roaster.
  
• If you make your own frozen yogurt, first drain the yogurt in cheesecloth or a coffee filter for at least 3 hours and up to 8 hours (toss the resulting liquid) before sweetening and adding to your ice cream machine. Eliminating the liquid means that instead of having a grainy frozen dish, you'll have the creamiest of desserts, truly reminiscent of rich ice cream.
  
• Roast strawberries. Really. We had this dish with the frozen yogurt and it wowed everyone. Using sliced strawberries, agave syrup (or a sprinkling of sugar), a little salt, freshly ground black pepper and balsamic vinegar, you roast them at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes. The result is lusciously jam-like. (Be sure to let the sliced strawberries macerate in the agave/sugar for about an hour before adding the other ingredients.)
  
• Slow roast tomatoes with olive oil, garlic, chopped herbs, salt and pepper. This is, of course, an old trick but if you're not going to use them immediately, Peggy suggested putting them in a jar and covering with olive oil. They'll last a week or so in the refrigerator. And, roast them on non-stick Silpat -- these fiberglass and silicone sheets are far better in aiding clean up than using aluminum foil. Sure, you use these on baking sheets for cookies, but they're terrific for simple roasting, too (I used one last night for roasted garlic shrimp).
  
• Use your (impeccably clean) hands instead of utensils. Use them for tossing salad to make sure greens are evenly coated with dressing. Use them to mix bowlfuls of messy ingredients. Coached by Peggy, guest Beth Masegian was utterly blissed out mixing a batch of red snapper ceviche.

• Finally, looks matter when it comes to taste. Think about how you're going plate your dishes -- what they're to be served in and how to arrange them in the serving piece. Peggy shared a tip that Christopher uses for photographing food. Instead of smoothing out something like a large bowl of lentil salad, let it form a more natural mound. It's a simple concept but it does look lovely.

I'm an acknowledged cooking class junkie, but the three classes I took at La Cocina Que Canta have given me a number of things to think about, not only for entertaining but also just going about my normal food routines. Toward the end of each week the Ranch offers a class in "how to take the Ranch home with you." These cooking tips may not have been exactly what they had in mind, but they work for me. That's a great gift.

Have some thoughts about Rancho La Puerta, La Cocina Que Canta or cooking schools in San Diego? Do you have a favorite neighborhood market or shop that carries unique or unusual foodstuff? Let me know or add to the conversation by clicking on comments below:

Print Page

A Day in a Singing Kitchen: La Cocina Que Canta

This month has been a whirlwind, what with a business trip and subsequent tsunami of work that has kept me out of the markets and off the blog for the most part. But, life is calming down and in that spirit I want to take a little side trip from market life to a sweet adventure I had before the madness began—a Saturday at Rancho La Puerta to play in their new cooking school, La Cocina Que Canta.

If you haven’t had a chance to visit the Rancho La Puerta fitness resort, which is just south of the border in Tecate, it’s something you ought to try. And if one of the reasons you haven’t gone is that the typical stay is a week—and at some expense—then the new program they’re launching is the perfect introduction, especially if you love cooking classes (a passion of mine).

What the Ranch is offering is a day trip on Saturdays that begins first thing in the morning at the Old Town Trolley Station. An air-conditioned coach provides transportation down to the Ranch and back. Once you arrive—it takes just over an hour—you’re shown to lockers where you can stash your stuff for the day, which could include a swimsuit, workout clothes, a tennis racket, hiking boots—whatever fits in with the kind of day you want to have. That’s because you can spend the morning before lunch and an hour or so after poolside (my choice), in a fitness class, on a hike though the colorful wild meadows, or indulging in a massage (my other choice) or other treatment like a mani/pedi or facial.

For me, the real fun began in the afternoon when a group of us were driven from the main quarters of the Ranch to La Cocina and the adjoining organic farm. The day was warm but not sizzling as we passed under an arbor thick with pink climbing roses to the sunny patio and then inside the hacienda-style building.

There, a serene tile courtyard led into the airy dining room and a charmingly rustic but amazingly equipped kitchen any cook would lust after.

On the enormous butcher-block-topped island with the requisite cooking school mirrors carefully angled above were what appeared to be several stations with different set ups containing bowls of produce, oils, spices, cutting boards, knives and individual recipes.

Chef and teacher Jesús González, dressed in elegant black, was waiting for us and after a brief welcome introduced us to the head gardener, Salvador. First things first. We were going to pick the vegetables that would go into our meal.

Salvador is a guy who is obviously adores his work and the six-acre organic farm reflects his devotion. In late April some vegetables and herbs were just starting to reach for the sun. The shady mulberry tree en route to the garden was thick with sweet long purplish berries that we briefly stopped to pick and nibble on.

Tomato and pepper seedlings were maturing in the nearby hothouse for later planting, but we made our way past row after neat row of multicolored Swiss chard, fennel, sorrel and mizuna to our destination where the tops of garlic, carrots and onions hid the bounty in the soil below.

Pulling out a small knife, Salvador quickly sliced up a pinkish white head of garlic he had just picked and gave us samples to taste.

It was still warm from the earth, gently fragrant and sweetly nutty. He showed us how to pick several heads and collected them in a woven basket, then led us to the carrots and finally the onions.

The pile in the basket was swelling and beautiful, but he topped it off with some heads of lettuce before shepherding us first through the greenhouse, which we wanted to see, and then back to the kitchen to begin the class.

First we reviewed the menu with Chef Jesús. To start would be “Tacos Delicias,” homemade corn tortillas featuring a hint of fresh jalapeño and spring onion and Three Sisters Mole. The next course was Filo Cups with Gravlax and Spring Onion Ice Cream. Then came a roasted carrot soup with fresh ginger and coconut milk, followed by Fennel Sorrel Salad. The main course was grilled red snapper with peanut butter chipotle sauce, spring vegetable ragout and black quinoa and cranberry salad. And, we had Asparagus Roulades with Fire-Roasted Tomatoes. For dessert was Orange Chocolate Mousse with almond cookies.

Chef Jesús explained the philosophy of the food we were going to be preparing, which was in tandem with the cuisine served at the Ranch—an emphasis on organically grown ingredients, rich in flavor but healthfully prepared in a Mexican Mediterranean style. Instead of sugar, there’s agave syrup. Instead of cream for the chocolate mousse, we would use low-fat cream cheese and cooked carrots. A typically salt-laden gravlax had a mere three tablespoons of salt and relied more heavily on spices like fennel seeds, green cardamom and black pepper corns along with green garlic, brandy, agave syrup and fresh chervil to infuse the salmon with flavor.

Then, he gave us a brief knife skills course along with some additional advice on technique—like peeling ginger with the edge of a spoon instead of a knife and how to make fresh corn tortillas with a press.

With this introduction completed, we were divided into teams of two, picked a recipe and got to work. The chef supervised and was there to help and advise and coach us on, but he was also assisted by the most wonderful staff. About half a dozen young chefs circulated and helped us with whatever we needed—figuring out the recipe, making sure we got access to a burner if we had something to sauté or an oven if we had veggies to roast. They hovered but didn’t interfere, demonstrated but didn’t dominate. So, we learned how to make tortillas, scale a salmon, slice carrots and evenly chop onions. In short, we (including some people who had never cooked before) prepared a fine meal and had a blast doing it.

By the end of the class, we had filled a long table with a stunning array of dishes, at which point we sat down, four to a table to enjoy our meal, accompanied by wine from the nearby Valle de Guadalupe. I think my favorite dish was the vibrant Black Quinoa and Cranberry Salad—so many flavors and textures. And so beautiful. And, prepared by two women who were astounded at what they had accomplished. Neither were cooks.

Black Quinoa and Cranberry Salad

Hands - On Cooking Class, with Creative Chef Jesús González

Serves 6

½ cup red quinoa

1 ½ cups water

¼ cup dried cranberries

¼ cup toasted pine nuts

½ cup fresh mango, diced

¼ cup fresh chives

1 spring onion, chopped

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons peppermint, chopped

¼ teaspoon allspice

¼ teaspoon salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

3 cups fresh salad greens

1. Bring the water to a boil and cook the quinoa for 15 minutes. Drain and put the quinoa in a medium bowl.

2. Add the cranberries, pine nuts, mango, chives and onion.

3. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, peppermint, allspice and salt and pepper.

4. Serve the salad on a bed of fresh greens.

Tired, full, but happy, we got to unwind before leaving by being serenaded by one of the staff, who shyly sat down with his guitar on a chair in front of the kitchen island and sang beautiful Spanish songs.

By now it was dark and time to get back to our bus and cross the border. The trip home, including the border crossing, was uneventful. We were back at the Old Town Trolley Station just before 9 p.m. and tumbled into our own cars to go home.

For those who love cooking classes, this is a real winner. Demonstration classes are fine—and the Ranch certainly offers those with Chef Jesús and a multitude of visiting guest chefs during the week. But if you have the opportunity to do a hands-on course, take it. There’s no better way to actually learn how to make a dish than doing it—with the help of experienced hands who can translate what’s on the page into viable technique. Plus, the day itself is a tranquil, delightful experience sans cell phones, computers and other daily distractions.

Saturdays at the Ranch costs $175. Transportation, lunch, dinner, classes and use of the facilities is included. Spa services are additional. For more information, go to www.rancholapuerta.com/saturdays.

Print Page