Posts Tagged ‘Cooking’

More good veggie eats!

February 1st, 2010 by Charlie Gray

I hope everyone liked my first veggie recipe. For those of you who did, I have another one that I call Tofu and Vegetable Stir Fry; I promise the flavors are a lot more complex than the title. It’s a great combination of sweet, savory and spicy and most importantly, it’s incredibly nutritious. Remember, don’t be afraid to make whatever adjustments you’d like and use whatever veggies look the freshest. A note on technique, I boiled the broccoli and green beans in this recipe before I mixed them into the stir fry because I like them to be tender and not so tough, but if you like your vegetables to have a little more bite to them, just add them in with the onions and mushrooms. And if you did like the quinoa, it would also go great in this; I just used brown rice because it was all that was available.

Makes one generous size portion:

One of the cooking pans that is a little more rounded around the edges (like a saucepan rather than just a frying or sauté pan)

Enough water to cover about 2-3 inches of your saucepan

5-7 broccoli florets

6-8 green beans

Enough cooking oil to coat bottom of pan (preferably olive oil)

1 rounded spoonful of red onions (if they are not at the stir fry station, the salad station almost always has red onions; if there aren’t any, white onions are a perfectly good substitute)

1 rounded spoonful of peppers

1 rounded spoonful of mushrooms

1 rounded spoonful of shredded carrots (if carrots are cut into thicker pieces like a carrot stick for dipping, I would recommend boiling them with broccoli and green beans)

Half a spoonful of chopped garlic

Small pinches of the following spices: red pepper flakes, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, anise (if they don’t have the anise, it’s okay to leave it out)

10-12 pieces of tofu

Splash of teriyaki sauce

2 scoops of brown rice

Start by filling your saucepan with the water and place on the highest heat of the hotplate. Cover the pan with another frying pan and let the water boil (luckily these hotplates get very hot very quickly so the water boils within about 3-4 minutes). While the water is boiling, get the rest of your ingredients ready.

When the water is boiling, add the broccoli florets and green beans to the water, recover the pan with another to return the water to a boil, and cook for 2-3 minutes (you just want the vegetables to start getting tender). When the vegetables are done cooking, take them out of the water and then drain the water from the pan (I either pour it into 1 or 2 DC cups or into the sink where they wash all of the dishes).

Return the dry pan to the hotplate and heat the oil, then add red onions, peppers, mushrooms, and carrots. Turn the heat down to medium, medium-low (I think that’s 20-40 percent on the hot plates) and cook for approximately 5 minutes or until the vegetables soften and give up their water. Then add the garlic and sauté for approximately 2 minutes.

Then, add back the broccoli and the green beans, as well as the red pepper flakes, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, anise, tofu, and teriyaki sauce to the pan. Let those ingredients cook for a minute or two and then add the brown rice. Let the brown rice get up to temperature, 2-3 minutes, and that’s it.

I hope you like this recipe as much as the first one, and once again, if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or feedback, please let me know so I can make changes. Thanks so much and I hope you enjoy!

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Good Veggie Eats

January 25th, 2010 by Charlie Gray

As Kara mentioned in an earlier post, our new year’s resolution was to give vegetarianism a try. As you’re all probably aware of, it’s hard enough to find a decent meal at the DC when you’re an omnivore, but being a vegetarian makes things even more difficult. Therefore, this semester I will be posting some easy, healthy, and delicious veggie recipes that anyone can make in the stir fry station of our very own dining hall. Since there are no measuring devices at the stir-fry station, I’ll try to describe the measurements with words like “spoonfuls” and “splashes.” And keep in mind that the ingredients for these recipes are just my suggestions; you can alter them however you’d like to suit your tastes.

The first dish I tried making I would call spicy quinoa with a tofu peanut sauce; if you’re a fan of spicy pad thai I think you’ll like this dish very much. Kara introduced me to quinoa a few weeks ago and it’s becoming one of my favorite foods. It’s a grain that is similar in look and texture to couscous but it has a slightly nutty flavor so it is closer in flavor to brown rice. It’s incredibly nutritious as it is high in protein and fiber and low in fat; it’s also a great source of essential amino acids. I’ve noticed that it’s been available at the stir fry station this semester so if you see it, I would definitely recommend cooking with it. If you can’t find it or you’re not a fan of it, brown rice is always a good alternative. So here is the first of many healthy and delicious recipes you’ll see on VCfit this semester:

Enough cooking oil to coat bottom of pan (preferably olive oil)

Spoonful of mushrooms

Spoonful of zucchini or squash

A few pieces of shredded carrots

Half a spoonful of chopped garlic

1 Shake of ground ginger

1 Shake of ground cumin

Pinch of red pepper flakes

6-8 pieces of big tofu mashed up into crumbles, plus 10 more whole ones

Splash of soy sauce

1 heaping spoonful of peanut butter (the natural peanut butter provides a nice grainy texture and its consistency helps to thicken the sauce better than the regular creamy kind)

Splash of red wine vinegar

Enough water to cover a ¼ inch of the pan, probably about a cup of water or 8 oz.

2 rounded scoops of quinoa

Handful of chopped green onions

Put your pan on high heat and add the cooking oil. When the oil is hot, add the mushrooms, zucchini, squash carrots, and garlic to the pan. Turn the heat down to medium, medium-low (I think that’s 30-40 percent on the hot plates) and cook for approximately 5 minutes. You just want the vegetables to soften and give up their water.

Once the veggies are soft, add the ginger, cumin, and red pepper flakes, mashed up tofu, soy sauce, peanut butter, vinegar, and water. Let the sauce cook for approximately 6-8 minutes or until its thickened to the consistency of chili. Then add the quinoa and remaining whole pieces of tofu and let them cook until they are up to temperature, approximately 2-3 minutes. Garnish with the green onions and then it’s time to eat.

So in less than 20 minutes you can have a delicious and nutritious dinner. Apart from the peanut butter, every ingredient in this recipe you can get at the stir fry station; and the peanut butter is just over by the butter, jelly, and frozen yogurt machine.

I hope you like this recipe and if you have any questions, comments, suggestions, or feedback on how it turns out, please don’t be afraid to comment on this post. Just remember to be creative in the DC. You can take ingredients from the salad bar or even from the pasta station if you want to doctor up one of their sauces. Thanks so much for reading and I can’t wait to hear your feedback!

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Eating Locally in the Winter? Who Knew?

November 6th, 2009 by Charlie Gray

During the colder winter months, we all know how hard it is to get the fresh and local variety the Vassar farmer’s market provides; however, VC Fit recently learned how to eat locally grown foods all winter long!  On Wednesday, I attended a workshop called “Eating Locally in Winter,” hosted by the Poughkeepsie Farm Project.  Here, I learned how to continue to eat locally grown produce, even when the growing season is over.

Freezing Local Produce
Among the presenters was Jim Hyland of Winter Sun Farms, who described how to preserve fresh produce by freezing.  People freeze food all the time to preserve it, but improper freezing can diminish the nutrients and quality of the food.  To freeze fresh vegetables, Jim says to cook them in boiling water for a few minutes to stop their ripening, then remove and immediately “shock” the vegetables by submerging them in ice water to stop cooking, a technique known as “blanching.” Drain/dry the veggies the best you can (the drier the better), then put them in plastic containers/plastic bags, trying to keep air and moisture out. Immediately freeze. For blanching times for individual fruits and vegetables, visit this website. Winter Sun Farms also provides its members with locally grown, frozen produce during the winter months. If you’re interested in a membership, check out their website; you can even pick up your frozen produce in the College Center so there’s no need to go to the supermarket!

Lacto-fermentation
Poughkeepsie Farm Project intern Aliyah Brandt discussed lacto-fermentation, a way of using salt to preserve foods.  Lacto-fermentation is a process in which salt and whey interact with the natural vegetable properties to create lactic acid, a natural preservative.  Amounts of salt and whey vary by process, but visit the websites below for proper ratios.  Aliyah stresses using only non-iodine salt, because iodized salt prevents the proper breakdown to create lactic acid, and thus, won’t preserve the vegetable.  Special health benefits: besides allowing you to eat your local produce longer through the year, the product and brine liquid that is created in this process helps with digestion; eating the foods you produce this way aid in the digestive processes and speed up your metabolism!

Here’s a great online PDF file explaining the health benefits and process of lacto-fermentation, and an easy how-to guide on the methodology.

Wild Hive Farm
Another guest at the workshop was Don Lewis of Wild Hive Farm.  Don runs a successful café, bakery, and market that produces and sells products made entirely of local ingredients all year round, even when the harvests are over.  Don’s business exemplifies the ways in which people in the Northeast can continue to eat locally throughout the year without sacrificing quality or taste. If you’re looking for a gourmet, local treat, this is a great place to visit! In the future, VC Fit will check out Don’s operation, and tell you more about his mission and design!

In the meantime, check out Wild Hive Farm’s website.

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Arlington Farmer’s Market Today!

September 24th, 2009 by Kara Voght

One of my favorite fall indulgences when I’m back at Vassar is the Farmer’s Market from 3-7 p.m. Thursdays on Raymond Ave. by the Alumni House. Its features not only great seasonal produce, but also local baked goods and the best offerings from some nearby restaurants. Farmers markets are also pretty darn cheap; because the food is locally produced, there aren’t the same kind of built in transportation costs (which also makes it green!) Plus, if there’s a bounty of a particular crop for any given vendor, it will be cheaper than usual….gotta love supply and demand.

A lot of students I’ve talked to about the farmer’s market say its not that fun to go at school, because they can’t cook with the produce they buy at school the way they can at home. I agree it’s hard to cook here, but farmer’s markets still have some amazing fruits and veggies that you can snack on raw, and baked goods and meals are, of course, ready to eat.

A Few Farmer’s Market Recommendations:

  • Bring your own bags. Not only is it greener, but vendors also often don’t have bags to give you.
  • Go early or late. The earlier you go, the better the selection of produce. Conversely, if you go toward the end of the farmer’s market, vendors are likely to dramatically drop prices on produce they’d rather get rid of than bring back with them.
  • Bring cash, especially small bills. Lots of vendors don’t accept credit, and since their goods are usually under ten dollars, they may not always have change for a twenty.

September is a fun time to go, since it’s the end of the summer harvest and the beginning of the fall, allowing for some fantastic variety. For information on what’s in season now (and what will be in season soon), you can check out the New York Farmer’s Market Harvest Calendar for Fruits and Vegetables.

Epicurious (one of the best online cooking sites) has a really cool interactive map that links you to recipes for the produce in season, too.

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