Top 3 Things I Learned This Week.

Update: practice makes perfect, it’s true! Well, I can’t quite claim that I make perfect tourne vegetables, but after much practice (and a few blisters), I think I finally get it.  I am excessively proud of this!

1.This week was all about eggs.  Not just on their own, but as a base for sauces (which they emulsify), soufflés and desserts (in both of which they provide color, flavor and structure).  From a nutrition standpoint, eggs are no longer on the no eat list– most guidelines, including from the American Heart Association, consider one egg a day safe for the average person.  Besides being a good protein source (7 grams per egg), eggs are full of nutrients including iron, vitamins, minerals, and carotenoids, including vision-preserving lutein and zeaxanthin.

2.  Do you like winter citrus? Then try this easy technique to present your citrus beautifully: supreming (segmenting) citrus.  Sounds fancy, but is very simple.  First, cut off the top and bottom rinds of your orange or other citrus fruit.  Then use your knife to follow the curve of the fruit to slice off the rest of the peel.  Finally, cut in between the membranes of each segment to get nice, juicy wedges.  We used this technique to make the salad with chicories (radicchio, endive and escarole) in the photo above.  And don’t waste the juice! Squeeze out the leftover membranes and pulp and use that as the base for a delicious vinaigrette for your salad.  We dressed the salad we made in class with the orange juice, a squeeze of lemon juice, olive oil and some Dijon mustard.  Besides the chicories and supremed Cara Cara oranges, the salad included beets and chopped pistachios.  It’s a stunner, delicious and full of nutrients.

3.  Continuing on what we learned last week about herbs, do you know how to make persillade? This is a simple and delicious garnish that you can toss onto almost anything to enhance both appearance and flavor.  Mince parsley (just the leaves of flat Italian parsley, not the curly stuff), mince garlic, and toss them together in a 2:1 ratio for a very versatile flavor accent.  We had this scattered over roasted potatoes, but you can really use it for any savory dish.

Thanks for coming by!

For information on healthy cooking and wellness, join me on Facebook at The Doctor’s Spicebox. And if you’re in the San Francisco Bay Area, come cook with me! I’ll be teaching my next class in a month, on 2/17: Cooking with Tofu. There are still a few spaces left. I’d love to see you there! To your health!