by Graham Kerr
Add just enough salt to the water to avoid the need to add more at the table.
Steam
Steaming is swift and offers good retention of flavor, color, and nutrients, provided that the food is not steamed for too long. Every unnecessary minute on the heat will seriously reduce this method’s benefits. So I urge you to use a timer every time you steam.
The vegetable is placed in a perforated basket that is suspended over vigorously boiling water and covered tightly with a lid to contain the steam. The best material is stainless steel. The most useful size for a small family is 9 inches in diameter by about 3 inches deep. There are times when I use two baskets: root vegetables, which take up to 20 minutes, are cooked in the lower tray, and their leaves, which take only about 5 minutes, are added to the top tray at the 15-minute mark.
Steamed vegetables are dull surfaced—they do not reflect light. A very light spritz of olive oil from a manual spray will help enhance the color, or try a scattering of fresh herbs and perhaps a light dusting of smoked paprika to make them look much more appealing as well as add flavor without compromise.
I add a light sifting of sea salt to the vegetables before they are steamed. Some salt will dissolve on the surface and some will be lost, but it’s better to control the amount than to succumb to the top dressing assault so often used at the dinner table.
Drip-Stew
Drip-stewing is one of the oldest known cooking methods, dating back thousands of years to ancient China. A three-legged clay vessel with hollow legs supports a bowl, into which meats and vegetables are piled along with enough water to at least fill the legs. The covered pot was traditionally placed in the hot cinders of a fire. The water boiled in the legs, releasing steam and indirect heat to the foods in the bowl. You can duplicate this method using a large pot and a kugelhopf cake pan.
Microwave
Much has been said about fiber-agitating cooking by microwave. Some suggest that because of its speed and lack of water/steam exposure, this method retains the most nutrients. Others counter that while that may be marginally true, it is equally true that the texture of the plant is changed. Both are true.
Heat is developed by the microwaves’ rubbing fiber on fiber. It’s cooking by friction, and for plants, the entire piece cooks at exactly the same time all the way through. This process is what changes the texture. Because normal heat penetrates gradually, you tend to get a softer exterior and a firmer center. Microwaving provides a slight change from what we know as normal.
I most often use my microwave to partially cook—or start—certain foods. For instance, I take a good-size russet potato (8 ounces) and cook at full power for 7 minutes, then turn it over for a further 1 minute. I let it rest for another minute and then cut it in half lengthwise. I then cut deeply into the exposed (still just undercooked) flesh, brush it with olive oil and sprinkle on paprika and sea salt, and slip it under a broiler to brown for about 5 minutes. In 15 minutes, I have a quick and attractive alternative to a baked potato in its jacket, which would have taken about 1 hour. I do the same with winter squash to ease the cutting process; I then seed, season, and roast.
Using this method, I save time while allowing for a more natural texture and the addition of browning and seasoning absorption that would otherwise be lost by straight-through microwaving.
I must add here that the microwave promises speed and to some extent delivers. But if speed becomes the central goal, then much of what we know to be the great sensual benefits of cooking could be lost, and eventually we will hand over our entire food supply to those who will do it for us. When speed rules, it quite logically blazes a path for convenience, which in turn eventually displaces scratch cooking and its fresh ingredients.
Thermal (Hay Box) Cooking
For thermal cooking, you will definitely need a piece of equipment currently made by Thermos. I own two units, which I find extremely useful as an alternative to the slow cookers that tend, in my opinion, to overcook, especially vegetables. Since I use it often, I’ve included it for interest’s sake; it is by no means a recommended essential.
The hay box is a well-insulated thermal container that can hold two stainlesssteel covered saucepans of 20-cup capacity. Vegetables are brought to a boil in a carefully (lightly) seasoned broth or water. (I love to leave the vegetables in large—2- to 3-inch—chunks.) The container is sealed with a very thick lid. You can then go to work—and 6-7 hours later return to vegetables cooked entirely (quite soft) but still in their original shape. The cooking liquid is superb as a clear soup, and each vegetable—say, carrot, parsnip, turnip, rutabaga, or cabbage—will have shared its flavor with its neighbor—lovely stuff.
Again, a spritz of olive oil or a sprinkling of fresh herbs will be enough to serve them as is. Any surplus can be mashed together for a perfect creamed (without cream) side dish of absolute smoothness or a good soup base.
Braise
This moist-heat method starts with browning the vegetables in oil, then cooking covered in the oven or on the stovetop (also known as poële) with liquid. Particularly when a stock is used, as the liquid and herbs are added, the flavors combine and penetrate the vegetables and enrich the cooking liquid as it reduces.
I cut the vegetables into about a 1-inch dice and briefly shallow fry (see “Sauté” on page 54) in just enough ordinary olive oil to stop them from sticking, about 2 teaspoons for four portions in a nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet. When just lightly browned, I add a clove or two of chopped garlic and 1 level tablespoon of grated gingerroot, stir briefly, and then add a good vegetable stock (see page 288) to half cover. Add a dusting of sea salt and a fresh herb of your choice, such as oregano. Cover tightly and allow the vegetables to part simmer/ part steam over medium heat (300ºF) until just tender; for root vegetables, about 35 minutes. I finish the dish with a very small amount of arrowroot mixed with cold water to a thin cream, called a slurry; take the hot pan off the heat, drizzle in the slurry, and stir until it just becomes glossy, reflecting the light. Overdone thickening is ghastly!
Roast
By far my favorite dry-heat method is to oven-roast root vegetables and some greens like Brussels sprouts, preferably in a convection oven. Clear glass ovenproof baking dishes do really well; cast iron is also good, but the enameled varieties can be costly and heavy to work with.
As with the moist-heat methods, root vegetables should be evenly diced to ½ to 1 inch. (Some vegetables, like beets, can be roasted whole, wrapped in aluminum foil.) I season lightly with sea salt and smoked paprika (for color and flavor) and often add some powdered rosemary. I then spray the surface with olive oil and place the dish in a preheated oven, generally at 375ºF. Depending on your choice of vegetables, you should allow just 40 minutes, with one good toss and stir after the first 20 minutes.
The dry heat (especially if using convection) will evaporate a good deal of the water content, causing a concentration of flavors with a slight caramelization of the plant sugars. There should be no need to add oil or fat to help the vegetables glisten, but fresh green parsley always enhances the eye appeal.
Sauté
Sauté sounds so much nicer than pan-fry, but that’s about what it is—but with more flourish. With a medium to hot pan surface, food is cooked using a small amount of oil.
The key to effective sautéing lies in the pan heat. It can take a good 5 minutes for a pan to reach 350ºF—and I strongly suspect that most pans fail to reach this surface heat. As a result, food tends to leak water as it heats, boiling rather than frying, which holds back the browning effect and the release of natural volatile oils in such vegetables as onions, garlic, and peppers.
One way to know just how long it takes for a pan to be effective is to buy a small surface thermometer usually used for outdoor grills. You put it in the skillet and it reads the surface temperature. After a while you will know when the pan is hot, but the temperature gauge is a good way to learn. Sautéed foods can be tossed (great fun to learn) or stirred carefu
lly and infrequently ... allowing time for the food to settle and get the browning effect. Again, season lightly and add fresh parsley. Added oil or fat is not needed.
Stir-Fry
When Danny Kaye was alive, I used to cook with him on his full-size professional gas range at his home in Beverly Hills, and I have a memory of his using a large wok—a steel bowl-shaped pan that fit well on the large gas flame. Because I’ve seldom met anyone else with a similar installation, I’ve adjusted the stir-fry method to be done in a large flat skillet with reasonable sides, 2-3 inches. (There are, however, lots of styles of woks that are suited to both cooking on gas and electric stoves. There’s even an electric wok, if you are so inclined to purchase another appliance.)
Like in sautéing, the pan has got to be hot—but not incandescent! I prefer good-quality nonstick, well-sealed cast aluminum that’s got a reasonably heavy base. At about 350ºF and using just 1 tablespoon of olive oil for four portions, add diced (to about ½ inch) foods in order of their texture: carrots first and bean sprouts last. Avoid scorching the likes of garlic, green onions, and ginger by adding these later, after some fluids have been released.
It really isn’t necessary or beneficial to continuously toss and stir. In fact, it’s better to let the ingredients settle and brown a little. Two wooden spatulas work exceptionally well for tossing. The Chinese use large chopsticks. Metal tools will play havoc on nonstick material.
As with all other methods, I very lightly season with sea salt before stir-frying because I like to add soy sauces or other Asian seasonings, and there is plenty of sodium to go around. MSG and added fats or oils are, in my opinion, absolutely unnecessary.
I almost always make a small sauce to add at the last moment, with a reduced vegetable stock mixed with miso and a little cornstarch or arrowroot. But always be ultra-cautious with starch additions—too much is truly awful; however, it can quickly be thinned down with added stock.
Deep-Fry
I’m listing the deep-frying method because I need to explain why I’m not giving you some cooking guidelines. To immerse a food in hot oil, especially after it has been coated with batters or breading, is an attractive idea sensually. To avoid noting its almost universal enjoyment would be crass.
Having said that, I find that keeping a relatively large quantity of oil in a pot with the expectation of using it only occasionally is naive. Set it up and, like the baseball field in the movie Field of Dreams, you may find yourself coming back to the fat pot with more frequency than is good for you. Which, of course, means more fat. And fats that are exposed to oxidation through heating increase the presence of free radicals, which offset the nutritional benefits of the vegetables you are cooking.
Oh—and when we eat out, my wife, Treena, orders only six french fries if they are offered. Nothing is banned—but a reasonable moderate quantity must be the first and firm rule.
CHAPTER FIVE
How to Grow, How to Cook
In my first year with the garden, I grew 34 plants, and I plan to introduce a further 26 in year two. All 60 are described in this section of the book. Since many entries do not benefit—or suffer—from my personal experience, I relied on the wisdom of others, such as my local knowledge posse and writers and gardeners such as Steve Albert, whose The Kitchen Garden Grower’s Guide has become my companion along the way, and should be yours as well. With Steve’s brilliant encyclopedia at my side and the advice of my other experienced gardening friends—Scott Titus, Charlie Yaw, and Debbie Mitchell, among others—I was able to gather a few important growing characteristics for each plant as well.
What I have tried to do is give you just enough information to get you started and to encourage you to go that extra mile for any particular plant. There are so many resources for you to call on, and I have included some of those in the reference section at the back of the book. But you will, no doubt, find your own local knowledge sources, which will be invaluable to you as they have been to me.
For each vegetable, I’ve given a nutrition profile that clearly shows the benefits you get from that plant. I loved getting this information down on paper and rejoice in the fact that not only did the plants provide an incredible array of tastes, aromas, colors, and texture, but these very attributes announce the presence of the truly remarkable combination of nutrients needed for our vibrant health.
Oh yes, you need to know that I’ve rounded off many of the numbers, since they seem less bothersome when, say, protein is shown as 1 or 2 grams rather than 1.36 or 1.95 grams.
My kitchen has taken on a whole new feeling, as the garden provided such unrivaled freshness, seasonal variety, and the adventure that can come only through observing the miracle of growth at the speed of life.
Each plant, therefore, goes from seed to harvest and then to the kitchen with a selection of recipes, both simple and more complex yet always seeking to provide the most enjoyable nourishment possible.
Glossary
The following list of gardening/growing terms includes explanations and notes on terms used throughout the book. Here, too, are those terms used as shorthand in the captions to the illustrations that accompany each plant listing.
Annual: a plant whose entire life cycle occurs within 1 year.
Biennial: a plant with a 2-year life cycle that seeds in the second year.
Blanch: sheltering the plant (usually the stem) from sunlight by heaping earth or mulch up to the leaves (used for celery and leeks, for example).
Blight: leaves suddenly wither; begins with yellow spots that go gray and then black. Remove the plant ASAP.
Bloodmeal: dried blood; comes from meat-processing plants (abattoirs) and is usually mixed with water. It is a very high-nitrogen fertilizer.
Bolting: a plant’s response to too little water, too much heat, and/or poor soil; going into flower or seed.
Cloche: glass or plastic cover to protect plants in the beginning of a growing season; plastic milk jugs can be used.
Companion planting (con): plants that will not grow well in the same vicinity.
Companion planting (pro): plant characteristics benefit side-by-side plantings.
Compost: ideally 50 percent nitrogen, 25 percent phosphorus, and 25 percent potassium, with a pH of 7.
Compost tea: watered-down compost. An easy way to mix is to half fill a watering can with well-matured compost. Add the same quantity of water and let it sit for a day in the sun (hence the term tea). Let it settle before pouring the tea onto the soil (not over the plants). You can replenish the water three times using the same compost.
Cool season: a plant thriving at 60ºF-65ºF; doesn’t do well in warm summers (75ºF plus).
Cottonseed meal: a useful slow-release fertilizer with 7 percent nitrogen, 3 percent phosphoric acid, and 2 percent potash.
Depth: to some degree, a shallow-rooted plant will do well next to one with deep roots, as they don’t draw nutrients from the same level of soil.
Determinate: plants that stop growth with a flower at their apex; the fruit of these plants usually matures all at the same time.
Feeding/fertilizer: organic material used to increase nutrients for plant growth.
Fish emulsion: a fertilizer made from the by-products of the fish-processing industry, which is considered acceptable for use in organic horticulture and adds micronutrients to the soil.
Floating row covers: usually fabric but also fine netting suspended over wire hoops to protect plants from flying pests and low temperatures.
Germination: the number of days from planting to the first evidence of a shoot breaking out of the soil.
Green manure: made up from leaves that mature quickly; used to add structure to the soil (organic contents).
Harden off: tender plants grown indoors are taken outside for 2-4 hours a day for up to 7 days to help them adjust to cooler temperatures before planting outside.
Harvest: The number of days from seeding (and sometimes transplanting) until you can expect to harvest. This can g
uide you in setting out subsequent plantings.
Height: Tall plants can partly shade smaller plants, so if the lower plants need full sun, be careful about the positioning, On the other hand, a plant requiring partly shady conditions may do well with a tall companion.
Humus: decomposed plant material (compost) added to clay soil to help bonding and to help sandy soil retain water.
Intercropping: sowing or planting fast-growing plants between slow-growing plants (for example, mâche and radishes with peppers and tomatoes); also deep-rooted plants alongside shallow-rooted ones.
Lime: used to lower the acidity of soil that is too acid (7 pH upward); it is a calcium compound.
Loam: medium texture with good organic matter that includes no silt, clay, or stones; retains moisture.
Lodge: when a long-stemmed plant (like onions or garlic) is bent over toward the ground; helps provide extra growth to the bulb.
Mildew: caused by various fungi; manifests as a white discoloration.
Mulch: a layer of usually organic material added around plants to control weeds, retain moisture, and protect from heat and pests.
Nitrogen (N): stimulates leaf growth and stems; found in bloodmeal, guano (bird/bat droppings), hoof and horn meal, soybean meal, and cottonseed meal.
Organic: substances obtained from natural sources; soil developed without manufactured chemicals.
Perennial: a plant can survive for three or more seasons.
Pests and diseases: only a few are mentioned; for a fuller discussion, see the resource at the back of the book.
pH: scale of acidity or alkalinity of soil; plants can be particular.
