Reflect-ology pt.2

Just a clarification for the previous "Cooking reflect-ology" post:
The 5 ingredients should be seen as a basis for a dish or two or three.  You don't need to make a whole elaborate menu with them. For example a great salad has 5 ingredients.  Or you could make a rice dish with the five ingredients.  Or a fish dish and a vegetable dish using the 5 ingredients. Using the ingredients together in one or two dishes is probably the most fun and simple way to approach reflect-ology.  It's also more realistic for everyday situations when preparing many plates requires too much time.
I can give you an example using the following ingredients:

Vegetable: red cabbage
Starch: brown rice
Fish, meat or legume or eggs or cheese: ling cod (local white fish)
Condiment, herb, spice: fresh red chili peppers
anything you fancy from the supermarket: papaya

The fish can be steamed or baked wrapped in the red cabbage leaves.  It would be served with the brown rice and a fresh salsa made with the papaya and chili peppers.

This is just an example of the many possibilities.  With the same ingredients you could stir fry the chilies, red cabbage and fish and use them to season the brown rice.  The papaya could be caramelized in a pan and used on top of the rice dish for presentation.

You could add other ingredients like butter and olive oil to cook the fish and the rice or to bread the fish, etc...

The ingredients and combinations are limitless!

Kitchen reflect-ology

Sometimes we feel we had enough of the city and work and scream: "I need a holiday!!"  We get sucked right into the routine.  Unfortunately we can't head to some exotic destination whenever we feel like.  Most of the time we can't even sit back and relax in our own home.  We are too stressed, busy and full of schedules and deadlines that we forget to give ourselves a little time-out.  In these situations our eating habits can make things even worst.  We start skipping lunch, eating out too much, cooking the same things all the time or stop cooking altogether.

It's time for some kitchen "REFLECTOLOGY" - stretch, imagine, chop, enjoy.

Try this exercise to get you back into the fun of grocery shopping and cooking for yourself.
Save some time after work for shopping and one hour for cooking.  If you think you need more time, first try the exercise on a Saturday morning.
The idea of this exercise is to break from the rules and habits.  At first it might seem difficult but think about it, don't do what you are used to and feel compelled to, do what you feel like doing.

Let me explain things more clearly.  The exercise has a few simple rules:

- Choose one ingredients from each of the 5 categories below.

- Stray from the ordinary: choose only ingredients that you have not used for a while or that you have never tried.

- Avoid choosing something obscure and totally strange: the ingredients should inspire and create a cooking adventure and discovery - not a nightmare.

These are the 5 categories:
- Vegetable
- Starch
- Fish, meat, legumes, eggs, cheese
- Condiment, herb, spice
- Anything you fancy from the supermarket

Naturally, you can use the basics from your pantry without restrictions: oil, butter, salt, pepper, basic spices, flour, etc.  It's not survival camp!
Don't take too much time shopping.  It should be natural and partly impulsive.  Keep in mind that the ingredients will end up in the same pot or plate.
You have one hour to cook, including 10-15 minutes to research the ingredients and come up with a menu plan.

Adventure and cook. Try new techniques or cooking styles you had ignored or forgot about.  For example if you think steaming is boring - try it!

The point of the exercise is to think about the variety and fun that's ready for you to explore on a daily basis. Cooking can become a necessity but should always be creative and enjoyable.  Don't start thinking that you have to follow the rules every time you cook.  The exercise should be done once in a while when you think you are getting repetitive and need to brainstorm.  It will help you adopt new ingredients, techniques and add "new" to your best recipes and menus.

wine tasting - Passion of Portugal

The label of this wine is a bit plain and the name is cute but somewhat cheesy/cliche' for a wine. These are all adjectives that luckily do not apply to the wine itself.  The wine is a bit like passion: dark colorful purples, seductive softness and warmth.

WINE: 2008 Passion of Portugal, Vinho regional Lisboa, Casa Santos Lima.

Price: $13.10 - $13.99 at local BC stores

Grape varieties: Tinta Roriz, Tinta Barocca, Pinot Noir



Color: dark, intense, very lively to be a 2008 bottle

Nose: generous, spiced vinous berries, hint of barrel ageing

Mouth: well-balanced, luscious, fruity trending to spicy.

About the grapes: Portuguese red wine is usually a great deal because for the price it offers honest wines with rich flavors that always please. This wine is a blend of three outstanding varieties. The Tinta Roriz (Tempranillo in Spain) is a noble grape that produces full-bodied, intense wines that can show aromatic, herbal fruit and silky texture. Tinta Barocca is an old Portuguese variety also used for making Porto. It is thin-skinned, dark and colorful, plummy, with sweetness, berry fruit aromas and good ageing potential like Tinta Roriz. Pinot Noir (probably the smaller percentage used in this blend) is an elegant, smooth floral/fruity grape not usually associated with Portugal. "Passion of Portugal" combines these varieties wonderfully creating a wine that has the color and sweetness of Tinta Barocca, the intense herbal fruit of Tinta Roriz and the balance of Pinot Noir. If sometimes Portuguese wines at this price point can be a bit 'winy" and angular, this one is silky and rich.

Soil and region: the vineyards are in Alenquer, not far from Lisboa and the ocean.  The vines are grown on clay and limestone rolling hills. Until 2009 the Lisboa region used to be called Estremadura. The Alenquer area is a bit warmer and less wet and can produce very good wines.

We really liked Passion of Portugal for its welcoming warmth and lusciousness and would suggest pairing it with roasted eggplant, grilled lamb or as a party ice breaker with nibbles.

Ageing potential: the wine has the grape variety pedigree, color and intensity to be aged for a couple more years but don't overdo it.

Notes: according to the producer the wine won various awards (for the 2009, 2010 and 2011 vintages.)

 

Tomato debate

I know a couple of people that don't like tomatoes -weird I know. But taste is different for all.
You could say as a general statement that tomatoes are the most popular vegetable/fruit.  They are easy to prepare, good for you and quite versatile. Here in Canada due to the cold climate and short summer they cannot be grown very easily.  for most of the year we need to rely on greenhouses.
I ask myself: is it more energy efficient to grow a tomato in a greenhouse here locally or to use the energy from the sun to grow tomatoes in California and Mexico and then transporting them all the way here?  I could not find a clear answer.  A similar research from Sweden found out that growing tomatoes in Spain for sale in Sweden needed less energy use than a local greenhouse.  However Canada and California/Mexico are much further apart than Spain and Sweden.  You can find more info about this study at http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6064

Other things to consider are the lower use of pesticides in greenhouses and possible higher water needs to grow vegetables in more arid places.

 It's a bit of a dilemma.  I would suggest to limit your environmental footprint by eating more tomatoes in the summer months when local tomatoes are available. If you have a sunny spot on your balcony or garden you can grow  tomatoes easily.  For us here in British Columbia tomatoes are growable if a small plant is purchased in early May and placed outdoor with lots of rich soil under a homemade greenhouse - a tight clear plastic screen will suffice.  Your home-grown tomatoes will show you what a good tomato should taste like. It is not worth to buy bland watery tomatoes in the cold months.

We should enjoy food and prepare it with care but also remember that it comes from somewhere and that within the scope of "reasonable" we should try to buy food that is safe to eat, grow and transport.

I personally prefer regular field tomatoes grown in fields.  I find they have a more solid texture and usually better flavor.  If I buy local greenhouse tomatoes it's the sweet grape tomatoes.
What do you think or know about the energy-efficiency of tomato growing? Feedback is very welcome!