Eat Simply, Eat Well

How to never run out of Lemon Zest again

September 8, 2015 by aplough

You know how it is: you’re browsing through cookbooks, food magazines, or blogs, and you find a beautiful recipe you can’t wait to try. You have nearly every ingredient except…lemon zest. Maybe lemons are something you don’t normally keep in the house. Or maybe, as has happened so often with me, you’ve juiced the last of your lemons for dinner the night before and tossed the remains into the compost without a second thought. And now? That unused lemon peel is something you wish you had available. There’s a way to make it happen.

Lemons are one of the most versatile ingredients in my kitchen, so I keep them on hand all of the time. High in Vitamin C and a good source of folate, they also add incredible flavor to nearly any type of food. Whenever a dish needs a little more zip or a little more flavor or the balance of acid, I cut off a wedge of lemon and squeeze a bit of juice over the top of whatever I’m making – even a simple egg is elevated with a drizzle of fresh lemon juice!

Lemon zest, I’ve discovered, is equally valuable as a taste-changer. This morning, I sprinkled a bit of zest over the zucchini I’d sautéed to go with my morning eggs: glorious! They went from being just OK, to tasting really, really great. I add lemon zest to pilaf. I toss lemon zest into Greek yogurt to use as a dip or sauce with fish, lamb, baked eggplant, add it to zucchini bread, toss it in muffins, add it to Raspberry Scones – you name it.

This is one place where it pays to buy organic. Why? Because you want to be able to use the entire thing without being concerned about the pesticides that lurk on the skins of nonorganic lemons. Also, conventionally grown lemons are usually waxed before shipping in order to keep the skin from bruising. These are usually plant, insect or petroleum based waxes to which have been added either ethanol, milk caseins or soap for consistency – delicious, huh? Yeah – no. The bottom line is, you never know what’s in there. If your lemon isn’t organic, please don’t use the zest.

Organic lemons are a much better option, but are also more expensive therefore you won’t want to waste anything.

Here’s the trick to getting the most value for your money: before cutting open a lemon to juice it, wash the whole lemon, dry it off, zest it with a Microplane, and freeze the zest in a little labeled container in the freezer for use whenever you need it. You can do the same thing with oranges and limes.

And just like that, you feel like a genius: you’ll never be without lemon zest again.

One organic lemon provides:

1 tablespoon zest
3 tablespoons juice

How do you use your lemon zest and juice? Let us know in the comments below!

Wild Mushroom Pizza Pie

September 7, 2015 by aplough

Looking through pictures from exactly a year ago, I am still amazed at what a good mushroom season it was. The woods were full of porcini, and we filled multiple baskets, day after day, that we subsequently dried, froze and preserved. Beautiful, perfect, delicious porcini.

But years are as different as the seasons within them, and so far, this is not a porcini year. Not to worry. There are still mushrooms in abundance, and with rain falling nearly every day, they have the watering they need to fuel their growth. Chanterelles (Cantharellus cibarius)are having a boom year, and it’s one of the most recognizable mushrooms – it’s golden peachy color beaming out against the background of mossy green, and sometimes hidden among the fallen birch trees of nearly the same color. The dark Black Trumpet mushrooms (Craterellus cornucopioidus) are showing up all over the country too – and once you’ve seen these, remember where they were. Easy to identify once you find them; they are not easy to see against the background and shadows of the forest, but the good news is they come back again and again every single year – so if you keep your new spot secret, chances are good you’ll find some every year..

One of my favorite mushrooms, even more so then my gateway mushroom the Chanterelle, are Hedgehog Mushrooms (Hydnum repandum). A pale peachy cream in color, it’s readily apparent where they get their name once you cut through the thick stem even with the forest floor and turn them upside down: the undersides are covered with tiny, soft, little teeth that match the color of the rest of the mushroom. You’ll be certain of exactly what you are looking at. Typically they grow in large groups underneath fir trees or in mixed forests in my part of the world, they have a sturdy, meaty texture and a wonderful flavor. Clean them well – in the forest if possible. As you can see from the picture below, those little teeth on the underside like to hang on to things, but if you clean as you pick, you’ll be giving your future self a gift. If snails have reached the tops of the mushroom first, simply use your mushroom knife to carefully cut away the affected pieces. Check the bottom of the stem: if there are little holes, cut the mushroom in half to make sure it’s not filled with worms. Sometimes you can save it; sometimes you can’t. But a minute in the forest saves ten minutes in the kitchen, so it’s worth taking a few moments to check and clean.

Occasionally I toss the hedgehogs into a roasting pan with chicken, onions and thyme – the flavors meld together to create a perfect harmony of flavors, especially when served over brown rice. But today, they are being served up without meat, shining in a dish along with onion, tomato and Italian spices, reminiscent of a deep dish pizza. I found the inspiration for this recipe in a now out-of-print Finnish-language mushroom cookbook Hulluna Sieniin (Crazy for Mushrooms). It runs over 845 pages and has the most extensive collection of mushroom recipes I have ever seen. Having been lucky enough to walk out of the woods with a basketful of hedgehogs and chanterelles, and despite the fact that I was covered with forest debris, pine needles in my hair, and needing a nice, hot, shower, I browsed through the book and the recipe for “Orakas Pizza” or “Hedgehog Pizza caught my eye. And indeed it was delicious. But I wanted it to be a little bit better – a little bit healthier.

So I made it again.

This time, I used a whole wheat crust, and olive oil instead of butter. I left out the cream and added a bit of egg and milk. This time, it wouldn’t even pretend to be a pizza: it’s absolutely a pizza pie: a pie that tastes like a pizza would, but with the crunchy crust, a lot more filling and a little egg to keep the filling from sliding all over the place. Low fat, full of whole grains, mushrooms, onions and tomatoes, seasoned with garlic, salt, pepper and Italian seasoning, this is healthy comfort food.

If you can’t find hedgehogs, Chanterelles make a fine substitute. If there is another mushroom you have on-hand or really love – use that instead. It’s all good. But keep those hedgehogs in mind, and snap them up when you can – they are a real treat.

Meanwhile, I’ll be back in the woods again, loading up my basket with whatever I find, and secretly dreaming of porcini.

Wild Mushroom Pizza Pie

Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F

Step 1 – Make the Crust:

1 1/4 cup/ 3 dl / 140g whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons cold water

Pour all of the ingredients into a medium-sized mixing bowl and stir until it comes together. Knead the ball of dough with your hands until it’s smooth. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of a 10″/ 27 cm tart pan.

Step 2 – Make the Filling:

2 tablespoons olive oil, butter or ghee (do not use coconut oil – the flavor doesn’t suit this dish)
1 liter/quart/4 cups fresh hedgehogs or chanterelle mushrooms, roughly chopped
2 yellow onions, peeled and diced
3 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 teaspoons Italian seasoning (Pizzamauste)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup milk of choice (cow, oat, rice)
1/4 cup grated cheese

In a large frying pan over medium heat, cook the mushrooms and onions until they both soften and the mushrooms have released most of their juices, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, garlic, and spices and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until nearly all of the juices have evaporated. Turn off the heat and let the mixture cool for 5 minutes.

Step 3 – Assemble & Bake:

Transfer the mushroom mixture to the crust-lined tart pan and spread it out evenly. Combine the egg and milk into a small bowl, and pour it evenly over the top. Sprinkle the grated cheese evenly over the entire tart. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.

Serves 4-6.

Looking for other recipes to open up the Fall season? Try these:

Did you like this post? What are you making with your mushrooms? I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!

Bircher Muesli

September 4, 2015 by aplough

If you haven’t tasted Bircher Muesli before, welcome to your new favorite breakfast.

Bircher Muesli is one more gift the Swiss have given to the world: specifically, physician Max Bircher-Benner, the physician who created the muesli around 1900 for his patients. The original recipe consisted of a whole apple, grated; one tablespoon of nuts, one tablespoon rolled oats soaked in 3 tablespoons of water for 12 hours; juice from one lemon half; and one tablespoon of either cream, honey, or sweetened condensed milk. The dish was to be served first thing in the morning before any other food was consumed. In general, consumption of fresh fruit and vegetables was considered an important part of therapy at Bircher-Berner’s hospital. Source: Wikipedia/Muesli.

I first encountered Bircher Muesli when I was on a long work trip in Bielefeld, Germany, where I stayed at the Sofitel for more than 2 months. As anyone who has spent extended nights in hotels knows, the shine of the more indulgent offerings on the breakfast buffet: pastries, bacon, eggs – quickly wears off after a couple of days. I found myself looking for simplicity in simple oatmeal and fruit, and mostly ignored this giant bowl of what just looked liked soggy, cold oatmeal, with the label: “Bircher Muesli”.

But after 2 weeks, running out of ideas for new options, I decided to try it and loved it! It became my staple breakfast for the rest of my stay. Back at home, I explored ways to make it, and recently, it’s been back on in my morning breakfast bowl. Life has been extremely busy over the last few weeks and full of new and exciting things, making time in the morning more precious than ever. I am not one to skip breakfast, or any meal for that matter, and I like to start with something substantial and really healthy. The great part about Bircher Muesli is that you can prepare the whole thing the night before, place it in the refrigerator, and wake up to a ready-made, delicious, healthy breakfast.

The main components:

rolled grain: I use rolled oats, but you could use barley, rye, spelt or any dry cereal
nuts or seeds: favorites are sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds or cashews – but get creative! Your favorite nut will work. Just chop them up if they are not small already
fresh fruit, grated: I nearly always use a banana, and then one other fruit in season. This morning I used pear; yesterday it was peach; in the winter it will be apple and/or orange
juice of 1/2 lemon – just as the doctor ordered
sweetener: 1 tablespoon maple syrup or honey
pinch of salt
plain yogurt, kefir, quark or buttermilk
your choice of milk: cow’s, nut, seed, oat, rice…

Breakfast – the most important meal of the day

Once you get the hang of it, you’ll find yourself making it over and over again – which means you’ll never have to skip the most important meal of the day, ever again. You can even make it in a glass jar, secure the lid, and turn it into a a “breakfast-to-go”. I like to add fresh fruit to mine: basically whatever fruit is in season at the moment, but you can certainly eat it straight out of the jar as-is for a super-simple and healthy option.

The overnight rest makes this breakfast even healthier!

Soaking of the oats, seeds and nuts is a great way to make them even healthier as the soaking in the acidic ingredient created by the addition of lemon juice (or yogurt, kefir, etc) deactivates anti-nutrients, while soaking in general neutralizes the phytic acid and enzyme inhibitors. This makes it easier for your body to digest these ingredients and allows it to make more efficient use of the beneficial micronutrients they contain. For a more complete explanation, read The Nourishing Gourmet‘s post on “Why Sprout“.

A few notes:

If you have issues with gluten, use certified gluten-free oats.
If you can’t or would rather not use dairy, feel free to use all non-dairy milk in this recipe.
Get fancy with your add-ins and make it your own! I like to use coconut flakes; the leftover pulp from making nut milk; dried cranberries, lingonberries, or other dried fruit; and orange juice for part of the liquid when oranges are in season.
For additional flavor fun and variation, try adding spices to your Bircher Muesli. I like to use cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cardamom, or some combination thereof. Start lightly – I try to use no more than 1/2 teaspoon total spice so as to not overwhelm the other flavors.

Here’s this morning’s version to get you started.

Bircher Muesli

1 cup/2.5 dl old fashioned rolled oatmeal flakes
2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
2 tablespoons raw pumpkin seeds
1 banana, grated
1 peach, (peeled if not organic) and grated (can sub in apple, pear, pineapple…)
2 tablespoons dried cranberries
2 tablespoons dried coconut flakes
1 tablespoon maple syrup
juice of 1/2 lemon
pinch of sea salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 cup/2.5 dl plain yogurt (kefir is actually my favorite, but less available)
1 cup/2.5 dl milk of choice (cow, goat, nut, seed, oat, rice… My favorite is cashew or almond milk)

Place all of the ingredients in a 1 quart/1 liter bowl, pouring the liquids in last. Stir until well combined; secure a lid on top, and place into the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, divide the mixture into two bowls and top with fresh fruit of your choice.

Serves 2.