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Recipe
Afghan Split Peas with Apples and Cinnamon

You can substitute green or brown lentils for the split peas.

½ cup split peas
1/4 cup onion, small dice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 cups apples, peeled, cored, and diced
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp sugar
¼ cup apple cider vinegar

Soak the split peas in water for at least 2 hours. Drain.
Heat up the oil and butter in a medium saucepan.
Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the sugar and keep cooking until the onions are very soft and starting to pick up color.
Add the apples and cinnamon and cook for 5 minutes with the onion.
Add the split peas and cover with 4 cups of water. Bring to a simmer and cook covered for about 30 minutes-1 hour, or until the water has been absorbed.
Check the pot one in a while to make sure there is enough liquid. Add more if necessary.
One the liquid has been absorbed, add the vinegar and simmer down until it is like a thick stew.
Serves 2.

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October 26, 2008   |   0 comments
Tags: Appetizers, Fall, Healthy, high-fiber, Vegan, Vegetarian
Blog entry
In Season: Sweet Potatoes

There are so many sweets and desserts associated with Autumn. Candy apples, apple pie, apple crisp, candy corn, pumpkin pie, sweet potato pie, sweet potatoes with marshmallows (yuck) - the list of Fall favorites goes on and on. What I find funny about this is that most of the fruits and vegetables used in these dishes are naturally sweet, and yet they are usually prepared with lots of sugar, masking their true identity as nutritional powerhouses. We could get so much nourishment from eating these fruits and vegetables if we just prepared them simply.
Sweet potatoes are the perfect example of this. Even though I have always liked sweet potatoes, they were never a part of my habitual diet. I always associated them with heavy preparations with lots of butter, sugar, and spices. They almost seemed foreign to me. But something changed this Fall, and I have been eating them often. One of the reasons I have been eating them so regularly is because I am trying to cut back on my intake of sugars and sweeteners. Sweet potatoes provide me with natural energy and a sweetness that hits the spot, which makes me not want dessert after my meals. When the weather changes and the leaves turn to their gorgeous hues of orange and red, I always crave warmer things that provide comfort and fill me up heavily. This fall I have not had any cravings for desserts or simple carbs, because the nutritional content of sweet potatoes is providing me with sustainable energy, and their natural sweetness is preventing any needs for finding refined sugar in other places.
Another reason that I have been eating them so regularly is their preparation and texture. I have to admit that I have been a bit boring in how I cook them, because all I ever do is wrap them in foil and bake them (usually at 375° F for 1 hour). Once they are baked, I can mash them up with seasonings and other ingredients, or just cut them into cubes and toss onto my salads. Tonight I added baked cubes to a pot with mustard greens and beans. Their texture is soft and mashable, yet they can hold their shape and get tossed in with other things.
Sweet potatoes are very nutritious. They are filled with vitamin A and C, both water-soluble vitamins that have antioxidant as well as anti-inflammatory properties. Vitamin A is definitely the vitamin for Fall, as it is found in so many of the vegetables in season-squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes are the most obvious examples of this. They are also rich in manganese, copper, fiber, potassium, and iron. Even though these beautiful tubers are native to Central America, they have made their way into the diets of many cultures. Christopher Columbus brought them back to Spain, from where they then went to the Philippines. The Portuguese brought them to Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. I was even surprised to find Japanese sweet potatoes at the farmers market today. They were white and starchy, their texture almost reminding me of yucca.
The bottom line is that we have all of these naturally sweet, yet incredibly nutritious vegetables in season now. My favorite of the moment is the sweet potato, but I encourage you to find your own. And try them without sugar!!!

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October 21, 2008   |   2 comments
Tags: Antioxidant, Fall, Healthy, high-fiber, Vegan, Vegetarian
Blog entry
I love Turkish Food

I love Turkish breakfasts. Well, I love all Turkish food, but breakfast most of all. A typical Turkish breakfast consists of breads, olives, cheeses, jams, honeys, tomatoes and cucumbers. When I say jam, I mean rose petal and quince, and when I say honey, there are usually a variety of different floral honeys to choose from. Cheeses range from soft feta to hard Kasar. Turkish breakfasts are healthy and abundant with flavors. I remember being surprised the first time I traveled to Turkey, and saw vegetables (For all intents and purposes I am referring to tomato as a vegetable. Yes, I know it is a fruit!) at the breakfast buffet. I quickly adapted because I realized that eating savory foods was much healthier than the sugar-laden and subsequently sugary "sugar-free" junk food that is marketed to us as breakfast in the US. Also, it was not hard to conform to a new way of eating with such abundant beauty.
I will also never forget when I fell in love with Simit, a hollow, circular bread covered in sesame seeds, which is sold all over the country. I have never been a big bagel fan, which is probably the closest comparison to this type of bread. However, unlike bagels, simit is less chewy and dense, and is more "bread-y". Simits tend to be big, so most people will cut it into quarters and include parts in the bread basket. I ate my first simit with my friend Harika. She taught me to pair it with a soft cheese and drink Ayran (a yogurt drink) along with it. I will never forget that breakfast on the Bagdat Caddesi on the Asian side of Istanbul.
Turkish food is all about combining contrasting textures and flavors. Cheese is oven served with tomatoes and watermelon, as their salty and soft vs slightly sweet and crisp textures contrast in a way that combines beautifully. Another breakfast treat that we feature on the show this week is Tahin Pekmez, which is tahini (tahin in Turkish) with pekmez (a molasses made from grapes or carob). The nutty flavor of the tahin contrasts with the sweetness of the pekmez. This summer I traveled to Turkey again, and enjoyed this combination for the first time. Even though it was my third time in Turkey, I was discovering new things every day. Instead of pekmez, I would drizzle honey over the tahin on top of my bread. Side note: At dinner one night we had fried eggplant with tahin pekmez on top. The flavor combination does not have to be limited to just breakfast!
Another favorite breakfast food was poca, which I learned to make from my friend's housekeeper, Nur. Poca (pronounced poh-ja), are buttery breads filled with feta and herbs. When I caught her in the kitchen one morning throwing all of the ingredients together, using coffee cups and her hand to measure, I went in and estimated everything she was doing. One Turkish coffee cup I estimated to be 1/4 cup. When I returned to New York, poca was one of the first things I made.
My friend Ria and I have discussed breakfast in great detail. She lived in Turkey for some time and loves the food there as well. It is her theory that our obesity problem would be greatly reduced by making savory breakfasts mandatory. I have to agree with her. Imagine if we ate the Turkish way, and had tomatoes and cucumbers for breakfast, with a little bit of salty cheese and some freshly baked bread. How does that compare to yogurts with 18 grams of sugar per container and packaged cereals with ingredients we can't even pronounce? Or fried donuts covered in glaze?

Just some Turkish food for thought.

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October 12, 2008   |   4 comments
Tags: Breakfasts, Cheese, Healthy, Mediterranean
Tasty Tip
Tahin Pekmez

In Turkey, people often combine tahin (tahini, a sesame seed paste) and pekmez (a molasses) to use as a topping for breads. One is nutty, and the other one sweet, so they combine beautifully!

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October 10, 2008   |   0 comments
Tags: Breakfasts, Healthy, Mediterranean
Cooking Show Video
Menemen: Scrambled Eggs with Tomato

Menemen is a delicious breakfast dish typical of Turkey. It is made by cooking lots of chopped tomatoes and peppers with eggs. We love that Turkish breakfasts are so healthy; a typical meal has fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, olives, honey, and jam. Our friends at Caravansarai in Istanbul put together this video for us, after they bought all of their ingredients at the local market. Afiyet Olsun!

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October 10, 2008   |   0 comments
Tags: Breakfasts, Healthy, Mediterranean, Travel
Recipe
Spaghetti with Sunchoke Sauce

Sunchokes, otherwise known as Jerusalem artichokes, make a delicious pasta sauce. When boiled, their crisp texture gives way to a creaminess unattainable by any other vegetable. They also taste very similar to artichokes when prepared this way.

1 1/2 cups sunchokes (about 2-3 medium sized ones)
4 anchovies
1 tablespoon capers
1 can of tuna, packed in water
1/2 lemon, juiced
200 g spaghetti
Salt and olive oil
Parmesan cheese

Rinse the sunchokes and cut up into medium-sized chunks. Place in a small pot covered with water. Bring to a boil and simmer until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
Puree the boiled sunchokes with the anchovies and lemon juice in a mini blender until smooth. Add water, or the liquid from the tuna can if you need to loosen the puree.
Meanwhile, heat up a pot of water with a dash of salt and a lug of olive oil, and cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on their package.
Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and drain the spaghetti.
Transfer the sunchoke puree into the pasta pot, and pour the reserved cooking water in slowly, just until you have a nice consistency. You might not use the full cup. Add the capers and tuna and toss in the spaghetti. Divide among 2 plates and garnish with Parmesan cheese.

Serves 2.

This is a deliciously creamy pasta sauce made with sunchokes, otherwise known as Jerusalem artichokes. You can boil them with their skins on, and puree them with some of the cooking water to get a nice consistency.
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October 7, 2008   |   0 comments
Tags: Entrees, Fall, Healthy, Mediterranean, Pasta & Risotto, Sauces, Spreads, & Dips
Blog entry
Spaghetti with Sunchoke Sauce

Today I felt like one of those kids who plays hookie, but then gets really spoiled. Granted I stay home and work from my kitchen every day, but today I really felt naughty. Yesterday I somehow hurt my foot, and can barely walk. I have been limping all over the place and am trying to take it easy. So for lunch, I made this dish of Spaghetti with Sunchoke Sauce with anchovies, capers and tuna. It was so divinely delicious that I found myself licking the plates and pots shamelessly. It reminded me of when I was little and would stay home sick from school. I would always get to eat macaroni and cheese on those days, because it was my mom’s only allowance of junk food. I would eat the whole thing and lick everything to my hearts content.
My special dish today was not junk food at all, in fact it was incredibly healthy. I made a puree of boiled sunchokes with anchovies and lemon juice, and then mixed it with the pasta cooking water to give it a creamy consistency. Afterwards, I added about 1 teaspoon of capers and water-packed tuna fish, and stirred it all together. It was one of the best things that I have eaten in a really long time. I bought sunchokes at the farmers market the other day. They were extra bulby, and so I asked the farmer the best way to peel them. His advice to me was “don’t”. My training makes me want to peel everything, but if I had tried to peel these sunchokes there would have been nothing left. I cut them up into even pieces and boiled them with the skin on. Sunchokes have the flavor of artichokes, but with a much more creamy consistency- it is like eating the pure heart. I added the capers and anchovies for their salty flavor, and the tuna to give it some body. It was so simple, yet I feel soooo much better!

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October 7, 2008   |   0 comments
Tags: Entrees, Fall, Healthy, Mediterranean, Pasta & Risotto, Sauces, Spreads, & Dips
Recipe
Buckwheat Crepes with Goat Cheese and Smoked Trout

Buckwheat crepes, or Crêpes de Blé, are filled with savory ingredients and widely eaten across France. Hard cider is the drink of choice to go with these thin pancakes, and we would not want to stray from that tradition. This recipe is for buckwheat crepes filled with a mixture of goat cheese and goat milk yogurt, topped with smoked trout and chives. All of these ingredients can be sourced from the Northeast region, and are to be paired with some local hard cider. Our pick is the Autumn’s Gold from Eve’s Cidery.

For the Crepes:
1 cup unbleached white flour
½ cup buckwheat flour
3 large eggs
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ cups milk (divided)
½ cup butter (1 stick), melted
½ cup cold water

Mix together the flour, eggs, salt, and ½ cup of the milk in a bowl. Whisk until smooth. Add the remaining ingredients, adding the water last until the batter is quite thin. If you need to, use a blender to get the batter completely smooth. However, a few little lumps will do no harm.

Heat up a skillet on a medium high flame to be hot, and pour in some batter. Tilt the pan immediately to spread the batter all around in a thin layer. Once the edges are cooked through and there are little bubbles everywhere, use a spatula to flip the crepe over in the pan. It takes a few sacrificial crepes to get the hang of what you are doing, so do not get discouraged if your first ones are not perfect circles. The dough makes enough for about 12 crepes.

For the Filling and Garnish:
1 log of fresh chêvre (if you can get one with chives, even better)
4 tablespoons of goat milk yogurt
Fresh chives
1 filet smoked trout
1 tomato or roasted red pepper, medium dice

Mix the cheese and yogurt together, along with some freshly chopped chives, until the mixture is smooth and creamy. This mixture should be thick, but easily spreadable.
Spread a dollop of the yogurt/cheese mixture in the center of the crepe. Fold it over in half, then in half again. Repeat for the remaining crepes. Use a fork to flake the trout filet, and then top the crepes with the diced tomato and fresh chives.

This is a great recipe for crepes using buckwheat flour, just how they do it in France. They are filled with a goat cheese spread and topped with flaked smoked trout and chives.
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September 30, 2008   |   2 comments
Tags: Entrees, Europe, Fall, Fish, Healthy, high-fiber, Local, Whole grain
Recipe
Apple Shallot Flat Bread with Smoked Cheddar

This recipe comes from Autumn Stoscheck of Eve's Cidery in Ithaca, New York. As a cider maker, she is perpetually surrounded by apples, and always coming up with creative ways to use them in the kitchen. We love these flat breads that not only use hard cider to make the base, but also showcase crisp apples in the topping. Make this one night in the Fall or Winter for a rustic casual dinner.

Ingredients:
Basic Pizza Crust (usually enough for 2 medium pies)
Olive oil
Yellow onion, thinly sliced
Shallot, thinly sliced
Hard cider
Smoked Cheddar Cheese
Tart green apples, cored and thinly sliced

Prepare the basic pizza crust.

Saute the sliced onion and shallot in oil until they smell really good.
Add enough cider to cover the onions and shallots and reduce.
Blend to a puree when cool. Season with salt and pepper.

Spread cider/shallot puree on stretched pizza dough, like you would tomato sauce.
Top with thinly sliced apples and grated smoked cheddar cheese.

Bake until the pizzas are cooked through.
Slice and serve.
Serves about 8 as an appetizer or 2 individual pies for a full meal.

Autumn Stoscheck of Eve's Cidery gave us this recipe. She is constantly using apples in creative ways in her kitchen, and we were lucky enough to be there for this one. She makes a puree of shallots and onion cooked down with cider, which then serves as the base for a apple and cheddar flat bread.
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September 30, 2008   |   0 comments
Tags: Appetizers, Entrees, Fall, Healthy, Local, Vegetarian
Blog entry
Husk Cherries Are Going Out of Season!!

Husk cherries, ground cherries, cape gooseberries- whatever you want to call them- are going out of season. You must get them while you can! You might have overlooked these little fruits, as they can easily hide beneath their husks. But you can’t let the last of the season go without trying a few. All you have to do is peel off their paper husks, and then pop them into your mouth. They are almost nutty in taste, with only a slight sweetness. It would be hard for me to compare their taste to anything that I have ever had before, as they are nowhere near as sweet or acidic as a berry. I went to go buy a bunch the other day and found out that the farmer who was selling them to me had picked the last that she was going to pick for the season. You can store them for up to a month in your kitchen, meaning you can stock up. And so I repeat- Get them while you can!

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September 25, 2008   |   1 comments
Tags: Healthy, Local