Cooking

Answered by April Dodd

Christopher - sounds like you know your way around a kitchen! Your description of red cabbage as a minerally, stout relative of green cabbage is spot-on. The flavors are different, and we treat them differently as a result. Red cabbage has bolder flavor than green cabbage; it's more peppery, and can even border on spicy. So we pair it with things that complement and contrast those flavors. Try these two very different recipes to see how flexible red cabbage can be: first, a braise with apples and brown sugar to play on cabbage's sweetness, but balanced with bold spices (caraway, allspice) and a generous amount of vinegar; and second, a Cambodian salad that counts on cabbage's robustness to carry the big flavors of lime juice, fish sauce, and fresh chilies. Happy cooking! - April D. Braised Red Cabbage with Apples and Juniper Cambodian Beef Salad

Answered by April Dodd

Great question, Dee. When you sweat those foundational vegetables - whether it's just onions and garlic, or a classic mirepoix, or something else - what is happening has to do with the vegetables being exposed to direct, more intense heat (in contrast to the gentler heat of a simmering sauce, soup or stew). When you just have your mirepoix in the pan, those ingredients are getting up to the neighborhood of 300°F, which is when we start to see browning occur via the Maillard reaction and caramelization (remember that there are plenty of sugars in things like onion and carrot), two chemical processes that catalyze new flavor and aroma compounds. Once those flavors have been developed, you can move on to adding liquid - at which point the temperature drops to a maximum of 212°F - which distributes those complex flavors through the sauce, soup or stew. Does that make sense? - April D.

Answered by April Dodd

You're not alone, Carol - lots of folks have strong feelings about celery. In terms of a substitute, it depends on what you're making. What we ask ourselves when thinking about substitutions is: what role is this ingredient playing in this recipe? When we use celery, it is very often for a pop of crunchy texture. In that case, a good stand-in might be shaved fresh fennel or radishes, or sliced jicama or bok choy - the choice will depend on the flavor profile of the dish you're making. Hope that helps! - April D.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Howard - It depends on the recipe, but I usually just cut it in half. For certain meat recipes I might buy a different cut or piece of meat. For example, if I wanted to make a prime rib for two I'd buy a bone-in ribeye steak. If a recipe calls for pork butt, I might use boneless pork ribs. For baking recipes it's a little bit trickier since the perfect balance of ingredients is so important. It \can\ be done it just might take a little bit of tinkering to get it perfect. For halving eggs, I usually go by weight. One large egg weighs about 1.73 ounces. If you don't have a scale, you can whisk the egg together and eyeball half. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Barb - Wine buying can definitely be overwhelming. The staff in a wine shop are a fantastic resource for selecting wines. Because there are so many varietals and so many of those varietals could be appropriate in a dish, recipes aren't specific. For red wine, I usually prefer something that's fruity, smooth, and mellow without much oak flavor. Most Merlot, Chianti, and Côtes du Rhone would be fine. For white wine, you want something that's lean and fruity without oak. I like Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio for this. You don't need to spend a lot of money - you won't notice the difference between a $50 wine and a $12 wine in cooking. Our wine expert, Stephen Meuse, wrote a great article on the concept of House Wines - inexpensive wines that you'd want to drink every day. He recommends some additional wines that would also be great in cooking, but also great to have on hand for entertaining friends. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Rachael - The short answer is - no. Much of the flavor in these long-cooked dishes comes from the meat itself, which is extracted over the hours of cooking time. Since seitan and tempeh neither have the depth of flavor of meat nor can be cooked for hours you would not be able to develop the same flavor. What I would suggest instead are some really flavorful stews that rely more on the additional flavors than the protein. Here are some of our recipes that I think you could add vegetarian protein to - Peruvian Quinoa Stew and Indian Spiced Kidney Bean Stew. I would also recommend any stew with a lot of chiles (a New Mexican chile stew, for examples), mushrooms (for umami), or bold spices (a paprikash). I would probably coat the tempeh or seitan with spices and some cornstarch and brown it in the pan first, remove, and then add it back in at the very end for 5-10 minutes so you can simmer the rest of the ingredients and build flavor without the protein breaking down. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Mitchell - It's such an incredibly hard time for restaurants in our communities so I'm sure they truly appreciate your support. But, whoa - 10 lbs. is a lot of potatoes! First, make sure to store the potatoes in a cool, dry, dark place to maximize their freshness. A basement is ideal for this but I realize not everyone has a basement and not everyone's basement is cool, dry, or dark. Find the coolest part of your home and store them there. The only fingerling recipes I've made during the quarantine are the smashed potatoes, the papas arrugadas (definitely serve with one of the mojos), and our pasta recipe with potatoes. Here are some additional ideas: potato leek soup (ramps are about to be in season and would be great in a potato soup too), any sort of potato salad (I'm partial to our mayonnaise-free Austrian potato salad), potato gratin, nicoise salad (or, really, any kind of green salad with a soft-cooked egg and boiled or roasted fingerlings), you could peel, boil, and mash and use the potato to make gnocchi or potato rolls - and freeze! There's a recipe out there somewhere for Cacio e Pepe potatoes that I've been meaning to try since I love the pasta. Seems like a perfect place to use fingerlings. I know you make a lot of pizza and I think a topping of our fontina-parmesan cream with sliced, cooked fingerlings and bacon would be amazing! Hope that helps, Mitchell, and happy potato cooking!

Answered by April Dodd

Hi Ariel, Safflower oil can be a great choice for cooking, ranging from cold preparations to high-heat frying. The high polyunsaturated fat content of safflower oil means that it remains a liquid even when refrigerated, making it a good option for salad dressings and other cold dishes. It is nearly flavorless, though, so it's not bringing a lot of flavor to the table. High-oleic safflower oil has a high smoke point (440 to 520°F), making it a great choice for high-heat wok cooking, skillet charring, and deep frying. We are not dietitians or nutritionists, so I would recommend that you consult with a health professional for information on the health benefits and drawbacks of safflower oil. I can tell you that safflower oil has a similar makeup to canola oil, so if you like using canola oil in your cooking, safflower is a good option for you, with the added benefit that safflower has a higher smoke point.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Lesa - my number one choice for a balanced meal from canned goods is a canned bean stew. Bloom some ground spices in oil, then add beans and broth or coconut milk and dried herbs. You can add canned diced tomatoes, canned vegetables (canned spinach, peas, and corn are decent options) and finish with jarred pickled veggies like jalapeños or giardiniera, balsamic vinegar, or pomegranate molasses. There is a viral chickpea stew on the internet (just google "the stew") that would be a good option using dried versions of the fresh aromatics called for in the recipe and canned spinach for the fresh greens. Happy canned cooking! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Cody - For a mirepoix (carrots, onion, celery), you could try adding fennel. Definitely \not\ onion, but could at least add a different flavor component. In India they use a very potent ground spice called asafoetida, or hing, which has a similar flavor to garlic when sautéed in butter or ghee. You can purchase it online at The Spice House or on Amazon. Using a lot of flavorful herbs and spices can also add a great deal of flavor so you won't miss the onions and garlic. Best of luck! Lynn C.