Create your own recipe: a 12-step plan

This past Wednesday I agreed (with a 24-hour notice) to do a radio interview with one of my dear friends, Julie Motz. She has two radio shows on KWMR, Marin and needed a fill in for a cancelation. She requested that we talk about my forte: creating a recipe. I’m honored she thinks so ……..thank you, Julie. Some how, and luckily, for me, working under pressure produces great products, and this time was no different.

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Enough info for a book

In the past, articulating my process of creating recipes has been daunting, an unreliable and an inert task requiring self observation, brainstorming, research, and more. …. i.e. too burdensome to stick to it. Thankfully, I did it, I was able to succinctly recite my process. And was pleasantly surprised to see that my one hour of free-flowing journaling revealed 11 steps, wow! Could I really make so many decisions so effortlessly? Apparently so, and the realization put a welcomed feather in my cap for this reliable talent.

I now had plenty of material, enough to fill a book, short chapters, yet nonetheless I acquired quite of bit of notes. The 30-minute radio interview will be the condensed version. And, I will produce said book soon, I’ll keep you all posted.

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11 just won’t do

Now, those of you who know me will understand that 11 just won’t do. It needs to be an even number… could I merge two items into one to make 10? … no. So, there must be one more to make 12 components. AND YES! the one I missed is pretty much the first and foremost component that I think of, that I keep in mind throughout the whole process:  the audience, the participants in the meal. So, it’s listed here as the first component to building a recipe.

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Revision

Since writing this post the day after the radio show, I realized I omitted a key component: RATIOS. So, I am revising my list –and yes– I put two items together (rather than having a total of 13 steps). Twelve, an even number, a dozen is much better than ’13,’ — don’t you think? I put flavors and aromas together, not-so-much of a stretch, for the greater population. Those with a discerning nose and tongue, and alchemy recipe makers, would beg to differ, yet my artillery to their steadfast ways is that tasting is 70-90% with the nose so I think that it’s fair enough to put the two together.

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A shortcut to being fluent in the kitchen

Julie gave an observation and posed a question to me in the radio interview:  that success in the kitchen is similar to learning a language, and wondered if there is a shortcut a person can do.

Three things came to mind, that brings the 12 components to just three. To create a really good-tasting recipe a person needs to:

1. get to know the vegetables, condiments, the ingredients (spend time at the Farmer’s Market and at the grocery store)
2. have a basic understanding of cooking methods, cooking techniques (read Harold McGee’s “On Food and Cooking”)
3. have a basic understanding of herbs and spices (read Jill Norman’s “Herbs and Spices”)

I suppose many of my recipes come to fruition from just these 3 main steps.

Click here to see, and to buy “My favorite culinary books to become fluent in the kitchen.”

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Radio interview: How to Create a Recipe

Click here to listen to the interview on “Art’s Desire” Julie’s radio show broadcasted on KWMR, Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2011.

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Here are  my….

12 components to making a recipe

Each of the following will, eventually, sooner than later, have its own detailed info. And, will be a foundation for a handbook.

This list is not in any particular order, except for the first component. The first step, below, will invariably always be the first thing we think of when creating a recipe, it’ll always be required to know who you are cooking for, how many, the time of year, etc. This is what I call the ‘magic touch’ … it isn’t tangible, yet is a major component of what goes into the making of a dish.

The rest of the steps will have varying degrees of importance. Depending upon the situation, each step may or may not have an important role. Meaning to say — that #4, flavors — would likely be the second-most important factor when you are making a specific ethnic dish. Or – it could be that #6 is highest priority because you want to make a creamy soup, for example. 

1.The magic touch
(i.e. taking into account, knowing and/or anticipating the audience – who will be participating in consuming the food, the ambiance, the weather, season, time of day, etc)

2. Food, the ingredients
(example: roots, tubers, stalks, stems, leaves, heads, bulbs, buds, berries, fruit, flowers, nuts, seeds, grains, and meat, fish, poultry, fowl)

3. Ratios
(i.e. how much to put of one ingredient vs others in the dish)

4. Flavors and aromas
(Flavors — ex: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, unami)
(Aromas — ex: citrus, bouquet, aromatics: garlic, ginger, onion… and so much more)

5. Colors
(ex: mono-color, multi-colors, dominate color with sprinkles of a contrasting color)

6. Textures
(ex: creamy, crunchy, chewy, gooey, crispy, juicy, runny, soggy, squishy, slimy, solid, soft, firm, fatty)

7. Shapes

(ex: rounds, rough cuts, cubes, triangles, half moons, slivers, match sticks, diamonds, squares)

8. Sizes
(ex: all– or some– bite-size pieces, chopped, minced)

9. Visual presentation
(ex: composed with bite-size pieces, versus mashed, or tossed with multi-colors)

10. Temperature
(ex: hot, steaming, chilled, cold, spicy, refreshing)

11. Cooking method
(ex: high heat versus no heat, wet vs dry, short term vs long term)

12. Energetic value of the food
(ex: expansive vs contractive, upward vs downward, stimulating vs calming)

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Cooking methods:

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/cookingmethods/a/dryheatmoist.htm

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Flavor wheels of the world:

http://www.eblong.com/zarf/flavorwheel.html 

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The 6 tastes:

http://www.eattasteheal.com/ETH_6tastes.htm

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Cooking with ratios:

http://ruhlman.com/

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Understanding textures:

http://www.ifst.org/learninghome/helpforteachers/lessonplantopics/foodtexture/

http://www.foodscience-avenue.com/2008/10/food-texture.html

Here is my PALEO version:

Ingredients

• 1 medium Butternut squash, roasted (or steamed)
• 3 medium potatoes (boiling potatoes), roasted (or steamed)  (NOTE: based on what I’ve read I believe that in-ground foods were dug up and used during the Paleo era. Click here to read more about potatoes in the Paleo diet.)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 medium carrot, chopped (t’is a shorter, wider and sweeter variety)
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2-inch ginger, thin slivers (no need to peel)
• 1 cup coconut flakes, blended with 2 cups water; and strained)
• 2 cups veggie broth
• 1/2 cup creamy almond butter or hazelnut butter
• 1 tsp tamarind paste (or more to taste)
• 1 small anaheim or poblano pepper, seeds and membranes removed (or for more heat use a jalapeno pepper, or for very spicy: serrano, habanero or thai pepper)
• 1 orange, juice and pulp
• 1 lime, juice and pulp
• 1 tsp kelp granules

This soup has a kick, most people said it is medium spiced with a good balance of sweet and sour.

*****

The HOT kick comes from red pepper flakes and red chilies. The SOUR punch comes from the pickled red chilies and from the tamarind. The smooth SWEETNESS comes from the roasted squash and caramelized onions and carrots. And, there’s a bit of sugar in the pickled red chilis and a bit of sugar in the tamarind sauce. Both condiments would normally not be my choice –because of the added sugar– however, I used what was at my fingertips. For alternatives, see the “substitutions” list, below.

*****

Ingredients

• 1 medium Butternut squash, roasted (or steamed)
• 3 medium Romanze or Desiree Potatoes (boiling potatoes), roasted (or steamed)
• 2 tbls oil (a neutral oil is best)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 medium Chantenay carrot, chopped (t’is a shorter, wider and sweeter variety)
• 3 ribs celery, chopped
• 2-inch ginger, thin slivers (no need to peel)
• 2 cups coconut milk (or 1 cup coconut flakes, 2 cups water; blend and strain)
• 2 cups veggie broth
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
• 2 Tbls tamarind sauce (has red pepper flakes, dates; will add photo and ingredients another time)
• 2 Tbls pickled red chili sauce (will add photo and ingredients another time)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• Add red pepper flakes to taste

Substitutions

…for a ‘true’ PALEO version:

• Click here to see the recipe.

…for the tamarind sauce:

• 2 tsp tamarind paste (100% tamarind)
• 2 medjool dates
• 1 orange, juice and pulp
• 1 lime, juice (and pulp for extra sourness)
• pinch red pepper flakes

…for the pickled red chili sauce:

• 1 Tbls minced pickled red chilies

Asian Refreshing Pressed Salad, with scallions and ginger

Makes 4-6 cups (depends on the size of each veggie)

• 1 napa cabbage, leaves only, chopped
• 1 savoy cabbage, chopped (and/or 3 baby Bok Choy, leaves only, chiffenade)
• 2 carrots, grated, or shaved and cut to 1/2 inch pieces
• 2 celery ribs, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced on the diagonal
• 1 inch ginger, minced
• 1 bunch parsley, leaves only, chopped
• 1 small cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 tsp salt

• Garnish: toasted pumpkin seeds

1. Toss and massage all ingredients well (except pumpkin seeds).

2. Place in salad press for 3 – 12 hours.

TIP: if you do not have a “salad press,” then try my trick, see image, below.

3. Serve, topped with toasted pumpkin seeds.

A salad press can be found online and at Asian markets, click here to see product.

I use a wide-mouth bowl (any non-reactive bowl will do), with a salad plate placed on top of the salad. The dumb bells are putting weight onto the salad mixture. The pressure pushes water out of the veggies, the flavors mingle and then some of the liquid is re-absorbed when the weight is removed … making an incredible good tasting vinaigrette (with adding just a touch of vinegar and oil).

Since taking this image, I now use more weight, and stack in this order:

1. a wide-mouth bowl
2. the salad mixture
3. a salad plate, placed on top of the salad mixture
4. a bucket of water, placed on top of the salad plate
5. a dinner plate, placed on top of the bucket of water
6. a 20 lb dumb bell, placed on the dinner plate

This version of my Raw Indian Bread is

wonderfully flavored with fresh basil,

powdered ginger and minced fresh curry leaves,

as well as the kala jeera seeds.

Topped with hemp seed pate.

My favorite Indian spice – this cousin of cumin – is sweet, nutty and pungent. It’s just the right touch in taking dehydrated breads to a new level, to transport you to the sights, sounds and soul of India.

Kala Jeera (black cumin) is a member of the parsley family and is used in Indian breads, soups and sauces, often used in conjunction with fennel, nigella, black mustard and ajwain seeds.

Health benefits are experienced through ingesting, inhaling and topical applications.

Buy them at your local Indian market.

1 plum

1 apple

1 cup water

3 cups ice (or 1 cup coconut milk, omit water)

3 sprigs thyme

Top each serving with a few drops of Balsamic Vinegar

Slow-carb version:  add Coconut Milk and serve as a soup

Raw Vegan Caprese Salad

Sliced fennel and green apple dipped in lime zest and juice

Sliced green tomato draped with Basil Blossom Olive Oil

Blended pine nuts, olive oil, green tomato and basil

Topped with chopped parsley

Click this photo for a vegetarian version:

Click this photo for a vegan version:

A stacked, vegan, version of a

Caprese Salad (Insalata Caprese).

The sliced fennel and pear were dipped in lemon juice.

The tomato was dipped in olive oil infused with basil blossoms.

The roasted cauliflower was blended with basil.

Served with a Relaxed (raw) Kale Salad

with pumpkin seed oil, sea weed and pecans

BTW – the centerpiece is a collection of cones that came from a pine tree in Lafayette,

the rosette-style cones were a great complement to the table.
(Curious – does anyone know the name of the pine tree?)

T’was hard to select a star player of a meal when two of the three dishes really stood out. I’ll give my vote to this one, tho, because it clearly can stand on its own — the flavors, the textures and the adventure of eating it. A couple of days later, I served it “vegan style” as an appetizer (an antipasto) for a luncheon with 14 women.

This is a cheese-free version of a Caprese Salad

• Sliced fennel bulb marinated in lemon juice (next time I’ll use a couple of shaved fennel slices, see more info in the note, below)
• Sliced apple marinated in lemon juice (I served this salad again using sliced pear, and it tasted terrific, too).
• Sliced tomato (a thick slice)
• Mashed potato with coconut milk (and a bit of salt)
• Basil Butter
• Diced yellow bell pepper

Click this photo …to see a vegan Caprese Salad:

(and click the photo below to see a RAW vegan Caprese Salad)

TIPS for a Vegan Caprese Salad:

• Use coconut oil mixed with an equal portion of olive oil instead of the butter when making the Basil Butter.

• Or – blend 1/2 cup of mashed roasted cauliflower with 1 bunch basil.

TIPS for a RAW Vegan Caprese Salad:

• Use pine nuts, almonds, or macadamia nuts, and olive oil (instead of the butter when making the Basil Butter).

• Or – blend cauliflower with 1 bunch basil, and with olive oil, and/or another oil and/or a few nuts.

TIP: blending oil with the cauliflower will help tone down its strong flavor b/c the oil is protecting it from oxygen.

Lentils, Quinoa, Basil Butter, and Candied Orange, Ginger (with Tamarind Paste)

Here’s the porridge (or soup)

I had leftover  (cooked and unflavored) lentils and quinoa:

I had leftover Candied Orange and Ginger:

 (sorry, for the blurry image)

 Also in my frige is Basil Butter:

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Sweet and Sour Lentils & Quinoa w/Basil Butter

Ingredients:

• 1 cup cooked lentils and quinoa
• 1 tbls Candied Orange and Ginger
• 1 tbls Basil Butter (this is similar to my Cilantro Butter)

Directions:

1. Heat in saucepan on low to medium heat until heated through.

2. Enjoy.

3. Click on each of the links above for their recipes.

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TIPS:

To make a soup version, add more liquid, such as:

• broth
• coconut milk
• carrot juice