I
just finished teaching a semester
at Santa Rosa Junior College. I
taught three cooking classes: California
Low-Fat Cooking, Gourmet Vegetarian
and Salads and Salad Dressings, and
a basic culinary class. I am convinced
that I learn as much as my students.
It's difficult to choose which was
my favorite class to teach but certainly
the one that's the most work is
my salads class. In 4 weekly meetings,
the students made more than
30 salads and more than 20
dressings. Below I will share one
of my favorites with you.
Having a number of great salads
and dressings in your bag of cooking
tricks will keep you healthy all
year long.
|
 In
the News
The
May issue of the Journal of
Nutrition, a peer-reviewed journal,
reports on a study done by the
USDA Agricultural Research station
in Davis, California. The headline,
as I read it, was "Eating
Fresh Grapes Shown to Protect
Against Diabetes".
I don't have access to the journal
or the study but what I read
(on a list that I get daily
called Specialty Food News that
got it from PR Newswire - and
that ought to tell you enough)
is that in the study which was
done on rats, they took fresh
grapes which were then dried
and powdered. The rats fed the
grape powder had a lower incidence
of Type I Diabetes which
likely occured through a couple
of different mechanisms that
involve the antioxidants and
phytochemicals naturally found
in the grapes. And while eating
grapes might be OK, to a point,
since they are high in sugar,
I believe that the headline
is a bit sensational. It's not
really about eating fresh grapes,
is it?. Do you have any idea
who is pushing (but not funding)
this research? It's the California
Table Grape Commission. I don't
blame them for trying.
My
advice: eat grapes but not too
many since about 12-15 medium
sized grapes are one serving.
And remember that sometimes
you have to delve deeper to
understand the nutrition news.
If you've read any interesting
headlines lately, feel free
to pass them on to me.
|
 I
Need Your Help
Currently
it is Pressure Cook Your Way to
Better Health: Delicious Meals in
Minutes. I'd love to hear your ideas
for a DVD title. And if there's
anything that you really want to
learn how to cook in a pressure
cooker, I'd like to know that,too.
I've got recipes picked out but
I'm all ears. Some of you have likely
received a survey about this and
I truly appreciate what you have
to say, so feel free to speak up.
And
if you're one of the people who's
terrified of the using a cooker,
please tell me what I might do
or say to get you interested in
trying it. Does it help if I
report that I've had people tell
me that it's changed their life?
It dertainly changed mine, well
at least the cooking part.
Stay
tuned for more...
|
| Featured
Recipe
Summer
is a great time to eat salad. One
of my favorites is a Spinach
Salad with Cilantro Cashew Dressing.
I make my own baked tofu for it,
but you can buy it already made.
My favorite is still Small Planet
tofu from Washington state.
10
cups baby spinach, or a large
bunch of spinach, washed and dried
1cup
cherry tomatoes or 1 large tomato,
cut into wedges
1/4
cup canola or other vegetable
oil (McDougallers use veggie broth
and 1/4 teaspoon guar gum)
3
tablespoons fresh lime juice
2
cloves garlic, minced or pressed
1/4
cup chopped cilantro
1/4
teaspoon salt, or to taste
2
tablespoons coarsely chopped raw
cashews
Baked
Seasoned Tofu - 8 ounces
Stem
and rinse the spinach. Spin or
pat dry. Tear the large leaves
into smaller pieces and leave
the smaller leaves whole.
Arrange
the spinach in a serving bowl
or on a large platter. Top with
the tomato.
Put
the cashews in the blender and
pulse until they are powdered.
Add the oil, lime juice, garlic,
cilantro and salt and puree
until smooth.
Cut
the tofu into cubes or triangles.
Just before serving, pour on
the dressing and arrange the
tofu on top. Toss well at the
table and eat right away.
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