Week 3: Must Do's in the Kitchen! Plus Grains and Legumes!

Organization is key when setting up a work station. Before we begin cooking in the kitchen we always prep our work station by gathering the following:

  • Large Cutting Board
  • Chef Knife, paring knife
  • Large bowl for compost
  • Several small glass dishes for portioning
  • SALT bowl -ready for use :)
  • Hand Towel
  • Apron
  • Wash Cloth
Having these items clean and ready to go before beginning any recipe allows for ease of transition into execution and ultimately - saves you time!

Mise-en-place is a concept that incorporates organization and is defined as "everything in its place" principal. Prior to cooking or preparing a recipe, you organize your station with the ingredients (measured, chopped and or sliced to recipe specifications) right down to the equipment (assembled and ready to go). This allows freedom to work thru your recipe more efficiently. 
This is an example of a mise-en-place from the web

This Weeks Recipes:

Muhammarah a delightful dip made with toasted walnuts and roasted red peppers


Roasting red bell peppers on the open gas range, to enhance flavors

Toasting walnuts in oven to add sweetness and improve digestibility 


Ingredients added to food pressor include, the sautéed garlic and olive oil, toasted walnuts and roasted red bell peppers 


Finished Muhammarah

Gluten-free Rosemary, Olive and Garlic Focaccia- A crunchy best friend of wheat focaccia :)



Stand mixer ready to combine the wet ingredients with the dry 


Dry Ingredients
blend of different flours and powders including potato, sorghum, tapioca, and millet, brown rice,  arrowroot and yeast


Wet Ingredients 
Blend of apple cider vinegar,  olive oil, warm water, 3 egg whites and agave nectar


Just before baking at 450 for 25 minutes 


Finished Focaccia 

A big lesson I learned this week involved selecting veggies. All veggies are not created equal!  When a veggie (like the red pepper in our muhammarah) is called for, keep in mind that size can vary and cause inconsistency in your recipe. We selected 3 large bell peppers and the end result was a bit more watery than expected. Luckily, Chef Kathy Thames had enjoyed this dish before and knew that we could quickly roast some walnuts in a saucepan and add them to the food processor to improve the texture. Keep in mind- if you have previously flavor balanced (like I did) prior to this addition you will need to do it again. In this case, I added more salt and olive oil to smooth out the dip. 

Another lesson I am learning throughout this experience is that the nutritional value of plant based foods  amplifies your bodies satiety cues. After consuming small portions of muhummarah, miso soup, polenta and focaccia I was FULL!. I couldn’t help but reflect on the fact that I was not only meeting dietary fiber needs (which help greatly with satiety) but also improving my overall nutritional status! Omega 3, 6 from the walnuts and olive oils as well as phytonutrients like the anthocyanin from the red bell peppers. Each ingredient can truly carry intentionality with it when we focus on how to incorporate or sub out less desirable ones, that ultimately can leave us still hungry.

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