Hold Onto Your Heat

Quicktip

by Kate Hehyoe

Hold Onto Your Heat: Want to keep a cooked dish warm until serving? Use your microwave oven as a warming oven but don’t fire it up. A microwave oven’s insulation is good enough to retain heat for quite a while. If your dinner is finished in stages, put the ready dishes in the microwave and close the door; just don’t turn it on, especially with metal cookware in it.

Quick Tips

Find more tips to shrink your cookprint in Kate Heyhoe’s book Cooking Green

Gruyere-Toasted French Bread

Quicktip

by Kate Hehyoe

Broiler Quickies: Gruyere-Toasted French Bread
Another Recipe to Cook While the Broiler’s Hot

Pop this goosed-up version of a cheese melt under a hot broiler, right after you’ve broiled a main dish. Slice a loaf of French bread in half lengthwise. Slice each length into pieces, about 3 inches long. Drizzle or brush 2 tablespoons walnut oil on the cut surfaces. Combine 4 ounces shredded Gruyere cheese, 1 tablespoon mayonnaise, 2 teaspoons coarse-ground mustard, and 1/8 teaspoon white pepper. Distribute on the bread. Broil until cheese bubbles and serve hot. (Serves 4)

Quick Tips

Find more tips to shrink your cookprint in Kate Heyhoe’s book Cooking Green

Barley-Brie Risotto

New Grain Cooking: Barley-Brie Risotto

By Kate Heyhoe

A One-Pot, Fast and Fabulous Meal

This is one of my favorite pressure cooker recipes, and was intended to be part of Cooking Green, but we ran out of space. So I’m sharing it now. It’s a good example of the types of recipes found in the book.

This is an economical, one-pot dish, but my family loves it simply for the way it tastes: rich with creamy Brie cheese and cozy with toothy bites of barley. As a bonus, it meets all my requirements for being green: it’s meat-free, use ingredients you can buy in bulk to reduce packaging waste, and requires little cooking fuel.

For the cook, it’s a model of carefree cooking, needing only 12 minutes of active prep. And if you keep a wedge of Brie in the fridge, most of the remaining ingredients are staples or pantry-ready, so you can whip up an easy, no-brainer dinner without planning or stress. There’s almost no chopping involved, so it’s almost as fast as waiting for take-out (and perhaps more nutritious and delicious). Try it. I think you’ll like it, as a meat-free main course, side dish, or lunch.

Barley-Brie Risotto

A New Green Basics Recipe

Serves 4 as a side; 2 as a main

Green Meter:

• Green Goodness: Pressure cooker saves fuel and time. Meat-free entree or side
• Prep/Cooking Times: 12 minutes prep +30 minutes unattended
• Prime Season: All year
• Conveniences: One-pot meal, little chopping, mostly pantry ingredients

Shrink your cookprint with this meat-free main course, which my husband even prefers to traditional risotto. Toothsome, tasty barley cooks in half the usual time with a pressure cooker, and stands in for rice in this robust risotto-style dish. Brie adds a cheesy spin different from the usual Parmesan (but feel free to gild the lily with Parmesan on the side, if you like). Unless the rind is hard or tough, I leave the rind on the brie; it falls apart with heat, but you may remove it if you prefer. Domestic Brie works fine in this recipe, or experiment with other types of cheeses made close to home.

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup pearl barley
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-1/2 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or tamari)
• 2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, minced (optional)
• 1/4 pound Brie, in small chunks
• Freshly ground black pepper

1. In a pressure cooker, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Stir in the barley. Cook 3-4 minutes, shaking the pan or stirring occasionally, until toasted. Stir in the onion and garlic. Cook until the onion softens, about 2 minutes. Slowly pour in the broth and soy sauce (they’ll splatter at first) and add the rosemary, if using.

2. Lock the lid in place. Cook over high heat and bring the cooker to full pressure. Reduce the heat to medium-low, or adjust as needed to maintain even pressure. Cook 18 minutes, remove the pan from the heat. Let the pressure drop naturally. The barley should be tender but pleasantly chewy; if not done, add more broth or water and cook a few minutes without pressure, stirring occasionally. (If not serving right away, cover the pot. Reheat before adding the Brie, thinning with more stock if the mixture seems dry.)

3. Stir the Brie into the hot barley until melted and absorbed. Serve with a generous grinding of pepper.

Double Up Roasting

Quicktip

by Kate Hehyoe

Double Up: Roasting two chickens uses about the same amount of energy as one. So roast two at the same time, enjoy one for dinner and save the other for sandwiches, tacos, or simply another meal. Freeze the meat for chicken salad.

Do the same with turkeys at Thanksgiving; after all, aren’t the leftovers the best part of the Thanksgiving dinner?

Quick Tips

Find more tips to shrink your cookprint in Kate Heyhoe’s book Cooking Green

Big Green Companion

by Kate Heyhoe

Yippee! My book Cooking Green has gone back for a second printing—which in this era of ailing publishing is a major event. Reviewers have praised the book for its solid, well-researched content presented in a very absorbable, thought-provoking fashion (not fluffy or green-lite, but not dry or taxing either). It also won the 2009 Green Book Award for cookbooks. Discover more about Cooking Green: Reducing Your Carbon Footprint in the Kitchen, and how to shrink your own cookprint.

Which brings me to another book that often appeared with mine, as part of several Earth Day book reviews: Big Green Cookbook. Both this book and Cooking Green have the same goal: greener cooking by using fewer resources and reducing emissions. Both books tackle the subject matter well, as reviewers have said, and deserve a hot spot in the new green kitchen. But the authors take markedly different approaches.

In Big Green Cookbook, Jackie Newgent, a registered dietitian, presents a great collection of 200 recipes, each with a nutritional profile. A 37-page introduction highlights the basics of practical green cooking. Her other green tips are solid, short and snappy, scattered throughout the book as sidebars or brief textboxes. My book, Cooking Green, presents 50 green-model recipes but devotes 160 pages to understanding the hows and whys of cooking and greener strategies, and the impact, presented chapter by chapter in a logical sequence.

Cooking Green and Big Green Cookbook are really more complementary than competitive. By this I mean each book is different from the other in a good way, and each one has much to offer without duplicating the other. Taken together, the sum of the whole is bigger than the sum of the parts.

If you’re truly interested in shrinking your cookprint and shifting into a greener lifestyle, these two books will get you quickly on your way. Big Green Cookbook lives up to its promise: it’s plump with recipes, and readers can get greener tip by tip, rather than topic by topic. Cooking Green takes a more comprehensive approach: it gives you the tools you need to understand how to cook, shop, and live greener—even beyond the kitchen—so you can make your own decisions every day, in any circumstance.

As I often say, going greener is all about making choices, and in this case (and even though I could be biased), the choice on these two books should be “yes” and “yes.”

• Big Green Cookbook:
  Hundreds of Planet-Pleasing Recipes and Tips for a Luscious, Low-Carbon Lifestyle
• by Jackie Newgent
• Wiley 2009
• Paperback; 400 pages
• ISBN: 978-0-470-40449-2

Kate’s Wakame Salad

Why Wakame? Why Not!

By Kate Heyhoe

Wakame salad has become the darling of sushi bars and take-out cases. It’s slightly spicy, with a sweet-tart balance, and a toothsome chewiness that belies its origins as a sea vegetable—especially one that has been dried, reconstituted, prepared as a salad, and shipped frozen. Once thawed, prepared wakame salad sells for several dollars a pound. But you can make your own wakame salad in minutes at a fraction of the cost, and serve it now or freeze it for later enjoyment. It keeps beautifully.

Look for dried wakame, which is also used in soups, in Japanese, Korean or specialty markets, including health food stores. Regular wakame comes in long strips, but fueru wakame is already cut into bite-size pieces, which can be chopped after rehydrating into smaller bits or used as is. If you spot dried agar agar strands, add some to the salad for more texture and taste (rehydrate in water and squeeze dry.)

Why wakame? Like other sea vegetables, it’s a nutritious and mineral-rich, sustainable superfood with a low-impact cookprint. It’s especially rich in protein, calcium, iodine, magnesium, iron and folate. And you may be surprised at just how delicious it can be. If you’re a fan of the wakame salad served at sushi bars, try making your own with this basic recipe below. You can season to taste, and it costs less than half of what you’d pay for prepared versions. Plus, a package of dried wakame is shelf-stable and makes several servings, so it’s an excellent pantry item for when you’ve run out of lettuce or fresh salad fixings.

Kate’s Wakame Salad

Serves 4

While the wakame rehydrates, mix the dressing in the bottom of a serving bowl. Then simply add the slivered wakame, toss and serve at room temperature or chilled. The salad will be darker than commercially made varieties, which use preservatives to retain the bright green hue.

• 1 ounce dried wakame seaweed

• Dressing:
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 2 tablespoons grapeseeed, canola or neutral flavored oil
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• Red pepper flakes to taste
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds

Rinse the wakame, place in a bowl, and cover with water. Soak until soft, about 5 minutes. Squeeze dry and trim away the spines if the pieces are whole. Slice or chop into thin strips, and toss in a bowl with the dressing. Serve now, or cover and chill until ready to serve. The salad will keep refrigerated 3 days, or may be frozen and thawed in the refrigerator.

Copyright ©2009 Kate Heyhoe, NewGreenBasics.com

Thai Style Albacore

with Lemongrass & Mushrooms

Serves 2-3

• 3 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 lb albacore tuna, loin cut into 1-inch chunks
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1 stalk lemongrass, minced
• 1 small shallot, chopped
• 2 dried chilies (or to taste)
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 2 cups shitake mushrooms, sliced
• 2 cups bok choy, shredded
• 1 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
• 2 tsp nam pla (fish sauce)
• 1/2 tsp palm sugar
• 1 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

1. Heat the oil over high heat. Add the tuna and season with salt & pepper. Stir fry the tuna until the chunks are seared on all sides.

Remove to paper towels to drain and set aside.

2. In the same pan (adding oil if necessary) add the lemongrass, shallot and chili peppers. Fry until shallot begins to turn golden.

Add the garlic, shitakes and bok choy. Stir fry 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce, nam pla, palm sugar, cilantro, and the reserved tuna.

Toss together until thoroughly incorporated and hot through.

3. Serve immediately over steamed rice, bean thread noodles or soba noodles.

Recipe courtesy of Chef Eric Jenkins

 

About Wild Albacore Tuna

 

Troll-Caught Albacore Tuna Recipes

• Grilled Curried Albacore Cakes
• Albacore in Puttanesca Sauce
• Moroccan Tuna Skewers with Zucchini and Oranges
• Thai Style Albacore with Lemongrass and Mushrooms
• Salade Nicoise Sandwiches

Salade Nicoise Sandwiches

Makes 6 sandwiches

• 3 six-ounce cans of troll-caught albacore, drained
• 2 1-pound soft French or Italian bread loaves
• 3 tablespoons drained capers
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 6 tablespoons olive paste (olivada) or olive spread
• 2-1/2 ounce packages fresh arugula or watercress
• 2 tomatoes, sliced
• 1 red onion, thinly sliced

1. Combine albacore, capers, mayonnaise and fresh lemon juice in medium bowl, add pepper to taste.

2. Cut each bread loaf crosswise into 3 pieces, then halve each piece lengthwise. Pull out centers of bread pieces, leaving 1/2- inch-thick crusts.

3. Spread olive paste on inside of each bread piece, then line with a generous amount of arugula or watercress.

4. Spread on 1/2 cup of the albacore mixture, top with the sliced tomatoes and onions, and replace the top pieces of bread.

 

About Wild Albacore Tuna

 

Troll-Caught Albacore Tuna Recipes

• Grilled Curried Albacore Cakes
• Albacore in Puttanesca Sauce
• Moroccan Tuna Skewers with Zucchini and Oranges
• Thai Style Albacore with Lemongrass and Mushrooms
• Salade Nicoise Sandwiches

Moroccan Tuna Skewers

with Zucchini & Oranges

Serves 6

• 1-1/2 lbs fresh tuna, cut into one inch cubes 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp cayenne
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro 1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice Salt & Pepper to taste Zest of 1 lemon
• 4 oranges, cut into small wedges 3 zucchini, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1. Mix together the cumin, paprika, turmeric, cayenne, garlic, cilantro, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt & pepper and lemon zest.

2. Pour over the tuna cubes and marinate, preferably at least 2 hours, but no more than 6.

3. Divide the tuna onto the wooden skewers—that have been soaked in water—mixing with the zucchini and orange wedges.

4. Grill the skewers over medium high heat for 6-8 minutes, turning occasionally and brushing with the leftover marinade.

5. Serve hot or cold

Recipe courtesy of Chef Eric Jenkins

 

About Wild Albacore Tuna

 

Troll-Caught Albacore Tuna Recipes

• Grilled Curried Albacore Cakes
• Albacore in Puttanesca Sauce
• Moroccan Tuna Skewers with Zucchini and Oranges
• Thai Style Albacore with Lemongrass and Mushrooms
• Salade Nicoise Sandwiches

Grilled Curried Albacore Cakes

Serves 2

• 1 lb albacore chopped into fine pieces
• 2 large eggs
• 4 stalks green onion, chopped
• 1 tbsp fresh Italian parsley, chopped
• 1/3 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 heaping tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp curry powder
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 1-3 cups Panko bread crumbs
• 1/3 cup olive oil for cooking

1. Patties—Add albacore, 1 egg, green onion, bacon, parsley, parmesan cheese, Dijon, curry powder, salt & pepper and just enough Panko bread crumbs to bring the mixture together enough to form patties. Refrigerate for at least an hour, and then form patties.

2. Grill albacore cakes in pan or on grill with olive oil for about 4-5 minutes each side or until golden brown and hot through. Place sauce on a plate and top with tuna cakes.

Recipe courtesy of Chef Eric Jenkins

 

About Wild Albacore Tuna

 

Troll-Caught Albacore Tuna Recipes

• Grilled Curried Albacore Cakes
• Albacore in Puttanesca Sauce
• Moroccan Tuna Skewers with Zucchini and Oranges
• Thai Style Albacore with Lemongrass and Mushrooms
• Salade Nicoise Sandwiches

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