Spotlight on Vegetables – Tips for a healthy summer food preperation
One steamy afternoon last week, I joined a group by the pool. One woman was describing her meal plan for guests the next day. Understandably, unwilling to cook in the heat, she had called a caterer. For lunch she had ordered Chef’s Salad, Tuna Mold and Potato Salad; unimaginative but popular selections. Dinner was another matter. Granted, this woman, no kitchen fan (pardon the pun) is known for her limited, repetitious menus, but her choices, especially in the midst of a heat wave, seemed odd; Roast chicken, gravy, sides of stuffing, mashed potatoes and corn-on-the-cob. A newcomer to the group asked about vegetables and was told by the hostess-to-be that she never ate vegetables, so she didn’t cook or serve them. Truthfully, I pity the woman for opting to miss out on all the wonderful tastes and textures, let alone the nutrients, that vegetables offer, particularly in summer. This is the height of the growing season. The leaves on the trees, the flowers in boxes or gardens are subconsciously telling our taste buds to get ready for the best and freshest produce of the year, so I thought I would provide some vegetables tips.
Actually, we are lucky to be able to take advantage of a vegetable scene that improves each year. From the time man first moved habitats, he took seeds or shoots of plants he recognized as food sources with him and those plants made changes to adapt to new environments. The adaptations became known as “varieties” and often grew better in their new environment than in the original. As men traveled further, so did plants, sometimes becoming so important to the cuisines of their new countries and growing in such plentiful crops that their origins became foggy. Germany, Ireland and France love potatoes, and Italy is associated with tomato dishes, but potatoes and tomatoes come from South America and Mexico respectively. The U.S. and Southern Europe are famous for oranges and lemons, but they both come from South East Asia and who realizes that lettuce, in all its forms, originated in Egypt? Don’t even start on grapes or wines!
Over the centuries, man has cultivated the different varieties and hybrids, of these plants, even specialized in perfecting them. As transportation improved, it became possible to export the actual crop yields, not just the seeds and shoots, and people acquired a taste for non-local, even exotic fruits and vegetables. Today, it’s possible to move fresh produce from any spot in the world to any other within 24 hrs. and, of course, the market has increased proportionately. It’s a huge, lucrative industry.
Modern methods have benefited us in other ways too. Plastics, thermo pane glass, indoor heating, improved irrigation techniques have made it possible to grow some produce plants in artificial climates. Earth moving machines have cleared land, and brought in soil to create friendly environment for others to be introduced, thus adding to the available quantities and reducing the cost to the consumer.
These innovations sparked the interest of biologists, landscapers and perhaps, most of all, chefs. In the late 1970’s, a movement started to internationalize the public’s’ knowledge of produce and to direct attention to the seemingly endless variety out there. Research also began into the ancestry of certain items, tracing them back to earlier organically grown generations and recreating them to produce what we now purchase labeled as “Heirloom”.
Above all, the chefs wanted us to see dinner could be more than boiled peas, or green beans. (Even those two are renovated and back on the menu) Most importantly they want us to understand there are so many ways to preserve and prepare these many, many products, which now involve so many cuisines, that we can always find, not one but a selection of options to fit any circumstance or please any taste buds. For example, they started with avocados in salads, then guacamole now we mash it in mayonnaise to cut the fat content and consider it quite an ordinary item. Sun dried tomatoes, arugula, portobellos, the mentioned heirloom vegetables and kale are only a few of those that have followed over the years and gained wide acceptance.
Methods of preparation have followed the same ever widening path of approval. Forty years ago, vegetables were boiled, roasted around meat, occasionally sautéed (onions mostly) or steamed. Now they’re rarely boiled except to tenderize them to glaze or mash. They are still steamed and sautéed, but also roasted (on their own) sweated, broiled, grilled, microwaved and increasingly presented raw. I recall someone, about 25 years ago, proposing a” crudités platter” to a professional group as a fund raising party refreshment, being greeted with a lot of blank stares then shudders. Now raw veggies are standard fare even for teen parties. Americans, always focused on meat, are a bit late coming to the table, but we seem to be accepting produce as intrinsically part of a healthy diet, and an interesting one in its own right. Better still, we’re learning to use all parts of them, beet tops, carrot tops, fennel fronds for example, which were formerly considered “trash “.
The June 2013 issue of bon appétit Magazine has a great article on America’s growing awareness of the different varieties and potential treatments of vegetables. Given, some of the ingredients and suggested equipment are not to be found at the corner market and a bit pricey by mail order, especially if you add in S&H charges. Several of the preparations may be a bit involved for the novice chef, those with large families or the time challenged, but ideas are there and some of them quite easy to try. Peelers, mandolins and steamer baskets are inexpensive, even found in dollar stores, and routinely used in most kitchens, as are the cooking methods discussed. Grilling corn husks, while the coals cool then using them to infuse oil, boiling the cobs to render broth for soup bases, peeling zucchini in thin strips to make a salad or presenting green beans in a blended vinaigrette of salami, oil, garlic lemon, cilantro, and vinegar, are all affordable, simple, techniques that could add to your food experiences. The important thing is to keep an open mind and stay alert to ways to make a nutritious diet more enticing, particularly the vegetables. Funny, fruits don’t have nearly the aversion problems but veggies constantly get the bad rep—let’s change that!
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Other cultures have always accepted vegetables as a major diet staple. A stir-fry, curry or fajita all consist mainly of vegetables, as do goulash, kraut and most pastas recipes; all healthy, nourishing traditional dishes. America has its own heritage of dishes using vegetables; chowders many bean dishes and anything using squash, especially pumpkin, which is uniquely American. Unfortunately, they seem to be obscured in the dust of the drive to burgers and hot dogs. We’ve always considered recipes concentrated on vegetables as poor options to a slab of meat or simply as “sides”. The advent of fast-food did nothing to change that opinion. However, that attitude has been evolving with the growing focus on health and the importance of good nutrition.
Vegetables are an important part of our dietary needs. Protein may build muscles, and carbohydrates supply us with energy, but fruits and vegetables not only contain many of the important nutrients we need, but they provide the fiber that keeps our bodies functioning. If protein is the strength of the bodily machine and carbs it’s gas, then fiber is the grease and oil that lets it run smoothly. Just sticking to one or two kinds of vegetables isn’t advisable either. Different types contain different nutrients, all of which are necessary to our bodies’ well-being.
The thing to do is to get out there and try different vegetables, particularly done in different ways. You don’t have to like everything, but keep an open mind and be willing to at least taste. I have a child who hated, hated, hated Brussels sprouts, until one night they were presented roasted in a balsamic glaze sprinkled with rosemary. Presto changeo a new favo!! There is such a tremendous produce variety available nowadays that you’re sure to find several items that appeal to you. If you’re really health conscious, look up the separate classes and the individual nutritional values to create your personal list of tasting options. Or, since vegetables easily cross cuisines, make a list of your favorite recipes and then experiment with them using different veggies.
Above all don’t be intimidated by the “boutique” varieties touted by the chefs, restaurants, gourmet T.V. shows and magazines, nor, if you find them in your market, by their prices. Wild asparagus is different than regular green, as is French white, but green can be satisfactorily substituted in dishes designed for either. I haven’t been able to try all of the newest offerings, but I’m sure the same holds true for the recipes featuring them. This year’s color apparently is purple, which, recalling my botany course is due to anthricyanin, a tasteless, water soluble pigment that gives flowers and plants their red color. So the novel tint won’t affect the taste of the asparagus, artichokes, cauliflower or carrots. It’s mainly a visual difference not a culinary one and the old standbys can be substituted.
By the same token, when exploring different kinds of vegetables, or trying to find new ways to serve the old favorites, don’t be afraid to try new recipes or methods of cooking them. Steaming isn’t so removed from boiling, and roasting is good training for grilling. Sautéing isn’t hard either with a non-stick pan and cooking spray, so long as you keep to medium-low heat until you get the hang of it. For the novice, it’s wise to do at least one trial run of a new method. Cook a small amount of a familiar vegetable by itself, before attempting a recipe with other ingredients.
The same holds true for trying new recipes. Do a test tasting before serving one to a group and vet the recipe before even shopping for the ingredients. Familiarize yourself with the flavors of the cuisine it’s from and the qualities of any novel herbs or spices before you spend money. There’s always the chance that you won’t like it in reality, or off-chance something could spark an allergic reaction in a diner.
Finally, please make your menus seasonal. In summer, exchange the heavy starchy dishes for lighter vegetable ones. Not only don’t the fats and dairy products in winter dishes fare well in the heat, but also, they contain a lot of complex carbohydrates. We need more of those in winter to give us energy to keep warm, but as I’ve pointed out in all my recent posts on carbs, the body so values the glucose it manufactures from carbs, that it stores any excess thus creating fat. For most of us, that alone is enough reason to opt for the salad bar! Next week I’m exploring the Mediterranean Diet, so stay tuned!
