Author: Isabel Montclaire

Recently my friend Ellie gave me her recipe for blue cheese vinaigrette. Blue cheese makes a savory and tangy dressing that adds a lovely zest to a salad made of ordinary vegetables. If I have a bottle of homemade salad dressing or a special sauce on hand, I can always make something yummy to eat in a snap.

I looked at Ellie’s recipe then remembered my friend Joanne’s recipe for a creamy blue cheese dressing. Without even thinking about it, my mind merged the two recipes as if a marriage of recipes had just occurred in my head. Creamy meets vinaigrette and falls in love in the fridge. Imagine that, of all places! The end result was a salad dressing so delicious that I couldn’t stop tasting it and suddenly ¼ of the bottle was gone. Who said you can’t drink salad dressing straight out of the bottle?

This emphasizes the point I have made for quite awhile. The most valuable skills in the kitchen are flexibility and adaptability. Those give you the freedom to play and experiment and you will feel much joy along the way.

Here is Ellie’s original recipe:

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ teaspoon coarse salt or seasoning salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
pinch sugar
¼ cup white-wine vinegar
¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup blue cheese crumbles

Combine the first five ingredients together then add the olive oil and blue cheese. Then I   add the following ingredients from the creamy blue cheese dressing recipe: 2 cloves garlic, 2 tablespoons lemon juice, 1 ½ teaspoons sour cream, a teaspoon of a no-salt herb blend. I used half white balsamic vinegar and half white wine vinegar, and half avocado oil. I didn’t have Dijon mustard so I used stone ground mustard. My all-time favorite mustard is Pommery Mustard de Meaux and it’s the only mustard I use. You can get it online. Apparently the kings of France have been eating this same mustard since 1632.

We have all noticed food inflation and blue cheese is not exempt. A four ounce container of crumbles is upwards of five dollars. My favorite brand is Castello, made in Denmark. I used the “Plenty Method” and bought two 19.4 ounce packages at a wholesale food source for only $17.62. I froze one package (yes, you can freeze some types of cheese) and then stored the rest in a 100% airtight container. When I buy blue cheese this way I can buy three times more. And I don’t have to worry about the cheese going to waste because I properly store the extra amount.

I took Ellie’s evolved blue cheese vinaigrette recipe over to her house to try. She was impressed and wanted the recipe!

Last week, I set out to make a loaf of bread in my bread machine. I used my “go-to” recipe; it is simple and always turns out well. I mix the ingredients then press the on button and walk away. But this time when I pressed the button, I heard a loud screech and the dough blade stopped. Oh no, it’s broken! I felt jangled, like I had suddenly lost a dear friend or maybe even a family member. I almost wanted to cry. That machine and I had some history. And I was very hungry for a warm piece of crunchy toast covered with melted Irish butter mixed with honey (if there were only two foods in the world and those were bread and butter I’d be good with that).

But what to do now? I didn’t want to throw the dough away. In a spontaneous move, I plopped the contents on the kitchen counter and mixed the dough with my hands. Then, once mixed, I kneaded it for a few minutes. I could definitely tell when the dough was finished; suddenly it took on a certain firmness and it seemed to say “you can stop now.”

I had read about making bread in a cast iron Dutch oven. I had one, in fire engine red, and I was so happy every time I used it. I oiled the pot and plopped the wad of dough smack in the middle. In a moment of ingenuity, I put the Dutch oven on my cat heating pad to make the rises speed up. I thoroughly enjoyed watching the dough rise; it was a living being! Ninety minutes later, the bread was ready to be popped in the oven.

I removed the bread from the oven and let it cool. Then the anticipated moment had arrived. I cut off a piece and without having the patience to toast it first, took a bite. I was filled with surprise and delight. The crumb was tender and fluffy almost like cake, yet the crust was brown and crispy. This bread was far better than the machine’s bread, yet I had used the exact same recipe. This bread seemed more whole and complete.

Over the next few days, I pondered. Why was my bread so much better than the machine’s bread? Maybe it was because my spirit infused the dough. I had lovingly kneaded and tended the dough while watching it rise. That bread must have absorbed my joy because that is exactly what it tasted like. It didn’t take much more effort to make that loaf the old-fashioned way. I like these words: edible joy. That’s short for homemade toasted bread, butter, and honey. Are you hungry now?

Lately I’ve been thinking about the concept of “spaciousness”, which means there is lots of empty space between things. After all, this is the way the entire universe organizes itself on the macro and micro levels. Think of all the empty space that exists between the galaxies and the stars within them. And then consider all the empty space between the electrons and protons in atoms.

But wait! They say nature abhors a vacuum. And apparently nature also abhors kitchen cupboards, drawers, and counter tops. The idea of empty space is not very popular in our society – jam packed is the American way. Most people’s kitchen cupboards and drawers are so full that there isn’t even enough room to squeeze in a packet of yeast. Empty space is like a big, deep breath of fresh air. Empty space makes it easy to move things around and get to them. Have you ever noticed how cumbersome it is to move something out of the way to get to something else? That’s annoying! Empty space gives you ample room to move.

You can free up space in your kitchen by dispersing items you don’t use often. One of the ways you can do this is to eliminate “single purpose, occasional use” items. Those are the gadgets and machines that do only one thing and although they do that well, they don’t get used often. Examples of these are bread and ice cream machines, waffle irons, and popcorn makers. If you use the item often then they are not “SPOU’s”.

For example, last week my salad spinner broke. This was inconvenient because we were harvesting lettuce from the garden every day. What is the workaround? Hmmmm . . . I washed the lettuce then after giving each leaf a quick flick of the wrist, I put it in a large colander and shook it. Then, I put the leaves in a cotton pillowcase and fluffed them up. The lettuce was not as dry as it would have been had I used a salad spinner but it was good enough. If I want the lettuce to be completely dry, I put it on a dishtowel and let it air dry for an hour or so. And last summer, I accidently figured out how to make ice cream without using an ice cream machine, and it was utterly delicious. Are so many gadgets really necessary?

The place where my salad spinner once sat is now empty. Paradoxically, that emptiness creates space and there’s fullness in that. Wow! That makes my head spin, just like that salad spinner. Well, maybe not that fast! But tell ya’ what, I’m not likely to fill up that empty space anytime soon.

Last week I wrote about the umami taste which adds a lovely meaty, savory flavor to your culinary creations. If you want to add the umami flavor to your food, add MSG – monosodium glutamate – a white crystalline substance that is similar to salt. But MSG has a horrible reputation because it’s thought to cause reactions such as headaches, flushing, and rapid heartbeats. How could this potent magic dust have such bad rap?

Thinking about MSG made me remember when I was in the kitchen with my culinary genius friend Bill. He grabbed a red and white container of Accent which is pure MSG and sprinkled it in the soup. I was intrigued, suspicious, and horrified all at the same time. Is he trying to poison me? But I trusted Bill’s culinary expertise and the next time I was at the store, I bought a bottle of Accent of my very own.

Several years later I read the book “Umami: Unlocking the Secrets of the Fifth Taste”. The authors talk about how MSG got such a bad reputation and dispel the myth. They cite how the scientific community has rigorously studied MSG and found it to be benign. Nothing indicates it is more dangerous than ordinary household ingredients such as salt and baking powder. Good to know. MSG is made from a natural fermenting process, much like the one used to make yogurt, cheese, and soy sauce.

A dash of MSG adds that indescribable “oomph” to dishes. You know the feeling. That’s when you taste a thing you made and you think to yourself “darn . . . something is missing here; this tastes like a flat tire”. What to do? MSG to the rescue! A little dab will do you. And when I say little, I mean little, like ¼ or ½ teaspoon. This is NOT a case of “if some is good, more is better”. No. Add too much and your dish will take on a nasty, off flavor and you’ll probably have to throw it down the drain. I know because I have done this. MSG is dynamite – even more potent than salt – so blast your food with this savory flavor bomb and level-up your cooking with one small sprinkle. In fact, I call MSG “The Atomic Seasoning”. Maybe I should write the manufactures of Accent and suggest those three little words could be their tagline. Who knows, I might win a lifetime supply of Accent and a free trip to their manufacturing facility. Fun! Worldwide annual production is around three million tons. MSG, apparently you’re not such a bad boy after all because that is a whole lot of atomic sprinkles. Try MSG, you’ll like it!

The most powerful thing you can do to enhance your culinary experience is to add the umami flavor. “I can hear you ask, “What is that?!” Umami is the fifth basic taste, along with sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. The Japanese call it “pleasant savory taste” or “deliciousness”. The term for this distinct taste was officially coined in 1908 by a Japanese professor and scientist named Kikunae Ikeda.

One of the best books I have ever read on food was “Umami: Unlocking the secrets of the fifth taste”, by Ole Mouritsen and Klaus Styrbaek. This book takes a deep dive into the history, chemistry, taste physiology, and culinary uses of foods that contain the umami flavor. However, after reading all this discussion and explanation, I can summarize the book’s central message in one sentence: it’s better with bacon! I am not kidding! Bacon explodes with a protein called glutamate which gives umami foods their potent and savory flavor.

My favorite section of the book is the complete list of seasonings that contain the umami flavor along with pictures. The pictures made it easy for me to memorize the list and I added a section in my pantry devoted to umami seasonings. I try to add one or two umami seasonings to whatever I cook. Seasonings that contain umami really do bomb the food with explosive flavor and concentrated sensory delight. Being able to experience such complex and savory deliciousness makes me so happy to be alive.

By now I can imagine you are curious to know what foods contain this mysterious magic ingredient. Inquiring mind want to know! Here is a partial list of foods that are umami seasonings. As you can see, most are commonly available.

Umami Seasonings

Aged cheeses – blue cheese, gorgonzola, sharp cheddar, and the rinds of parmesan
Anchovies
Asian condiments – dashi (said to be the embodiment of umami), kombu and nori seaweed, miso paste, fish sauce, and shrimp paste
Beef broth
Black truffles
Caramelized onions
Cured meats – bacon, pancetta, prosciutto, and salami
Dried mushrooms – morels, shiitake, and my favorite – dried porcini powder
MSG – monosodium glutamate
Soy sauce and tamari
Star anise
Tomatoes – particularly ketchup, tomato paste, and sun-dried
Walnuts
Worcestershire Sauce
Yeast extract – Marmite

Recently my beau James gave me a pound of bacon. This inspired me to cook the whole thing at once and crumble it into little pieces. Adding just a few crumbles to whatever I eat adds a huge flavor burst and a little goes a long way. Bacon is a lovely umami seasoning. And guess what? Bacon is wickedly good on a maple bar! Japanese professor and scientist Kikunae Ikeda would have loved those. I am just sure of it!

Recently a reader sent me a sweet letter and a handwritten recipe. You know by now how much I love a handwritten recipe! And if that recipe was handed down from generation to generation then that recipe is truly a treasure to me. Here is a recipe for “Raisin Toffee Bars” from Beverly and Jack Hollen of Mountain View, California. The recipe belonged to Beverly’s late mother-in-law. This is a good breakfast cookie. Once in a while you can start the day off with dessert, you know. There. I just gave you permission.

Raisin Toffee Bars

½ cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
½ tsp salt
1 cup Kellogg’s All-Bran Original cereal
1 cup flour

Combine the butter and sugar. Mix thoroughly. Add beaten eggs, vanilla, and salt. Stir in All-Bran and raisins. Add the flour and stir until thoroughly mixed. Bake in a greased 9 x 9 pan at 350⁰ for 30 minutes.

Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tbsp butter
½ tsp vanilla
1-2 tbsp milk

Beat until smooth then spread.

The local store did not have All-Bran cereal so I looked for it when I went shopping in Madras. I was surprised that I had to visit three stores in order to find it. All-Bran, you are playing hard to get! One of the criteria I use when writing about a recipe is that the ingredients have to be readily available. I wondered if another type of cereal might work. The closest substitute I could think of was Wheat Chex but . . . that didn’t work very well. All-Bran may be a bit elusive but it’s versatile and could become a welcome addition to your pantry. Plus, in addition to being a yummy ingredient to include in your baking, it’s also delicious to eat straight out of the box while you are making the cookies. I can vouch for that because that is what I did. The cereal has a wonderful crunchy texture and the just right amount of sweetness. Check out more recipes at all-bran.com. I want to try their version of banana nut bread soon. This cereal won’t hang around long in my pantry.

When I made the cookies a second time, they only took seven minutes to make because I had already memorized the recipe. I used dried fig pieces instead of raisins. I did not make the frosting because the raisins and figs added just the right amount of sweetness for me.

This is the ultimate quick and easy cookie recipe. Thank you Hollen family for sharing your late mother-in-law’s treasure. Who knows, in a hundred years the cookies made from this handed down recipe may show up in someone’s lunch box!

Last week, I wrote about how to make a sauce using an “un-recipe”. An un-recipe is a list of ingredients, estimated amounts, and steps.  Un-recipes inspire creativity, spontaneity, and freedom. Just say no to tedious exact measurements and instructions. Use artistic license and become a liberated and joyful cook in your kitchen.

Thinking about un-recipes shot me back to the time when I used recipes as formulas. I didn’t have the courage, experience, or creativity to put my own spin on recipes by switching up or out ingredients. I was loyal to the unspoken recipe “shoulds and musts”. Sometimes I would read a recipe and pass on it because I didn’t have all the ingredients it called for. Or, I would buy that one ingredient, use it, and forget I had it.  By the time I needed it again it had expired and end up in the trash.

What did I do to break free from the chains of recipe bondage and transform my cooking experience into one of freedom, ease, and joy in the kitchen? I began to create a pantry stocked with what I call “Master Ingredients”. That is a list of basic staple ingredients that serve as a foundation. Then I added in a few deluxe extras called flavor bursts. Those are concentrated flavorings that kick up my cooking a notch. I keep my panty simple; ironically, this carefully curated list of foods spawns great creativity. I store my food in pretty glass jars on open shelves; there is truth in the statement “out of sight, out of mind”. The food on display gives me ideas about what I can create. The show of jars is more appetizing than a mish-mash of cluttered bags and boxes. The food almost seems to jump off the shelves and say “cook me”! I’m yours!

The un-recipe evolved slowly but surely. Eventually, I was able to open up any cookbook, magazine, or website and know I could make almost anything without going to the store. I had options. If the recipe called for something I didn’t have, I had enough experience and courage to try certain substitutions.  For example, maybe I didn’t have chopped dates, but I did have figs, prunes, and dried cherries. I started to feel like an artist in my kitchen! I mixed and matched, added some of this and a little of that to my heart’s delight. I describe un-recipes like this: it’s painting in front of a blank canvas with a palate overflowing with color versus painting by numbers.

You too can be an artist of flavor and presentation and create your own pantry of Master Ingredients.  Un-recipes are fun and then some!

Last week, reader David Hudson told me that he saved the enchilada pie recipe I wrote about in a recent column and that he made his own enchilada sauce. Being a scratch ingredients kind of a gal, I wondered why I hadn’t thought to make my own. I asked David for the recipe and was very excited about the prospect of trying something new.

The recipe looked easy enough. Mix oil and flour together, add herbs and spices, and simmer it for a few minutes on low heat. Next, mix in tomato paste and add broth until the sauce is the right consistency. The recipe called for chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, oregano, cinnamon, and salt. Then it dawned on me. This was the perfect un-recipe! I could make the base then season it any which way I liked. In an Indian food mood? Add curry, garam masala, and tamarind paste. What about Spanish? My favorite spice lately is smoked paprika which adds a lovely rich and pungent flavor. It pairs well with garlic, cumin, oregano, lime, and honey. Creole? Worcestershire, garlic, tabasco, paprika, cayenne, thyme, oregano, and bay leaves. The possibilities are endless.

So many choices but . . . what if you make a mistake and your enthusiasm goes down the drain along with your sauce? I use Julia Child’s technique to do taste tests. Put a small amount of the sauce in a little bowl and add a dash or a splash of the seasoning in question and then taste. Gradually add in the flavoring to the big batch until you get it right. This way, you won’t risk ruining the whole thing. Now you can become a fearless international foodie! Italian! French! Freedom! The possibilities are endless. After you get the seasoning right, next time you can cook the herbs and spices with the oil and flour and that will intensify the flavors.

Un-Recipe Sauce
(adapted from cookieandkate.com/enchilada-sauce-recipe)

3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp oil
Dried herbs and spices
2 tbsp tomato paste
2 cups broth or bouillon
Splash of vinegar
Salt and pepper

Combine the flour and oil; softly simmer on low heat for a few minutes. Add the herbs and spices and cook until fragrant. Add the tomato paste, then the broth, raise the heat and bring to a simmer. Stir with a whisk until the sauce has thickened. A splash of vinegar at the end adds a subtle tanginess.

I need to make a disclaimer here. I haven’t tried all my suggestions but I think of it like this: the music of food. You can be a symphony conductor in your kitchen! Wing it, sing it, experiment, and have fun! You can’t go wrong with that, ever.

Last week, long-time Wheeler county resident Jon Bowerman invited me to his house for lunch. He wanted to show me how to make one of his favorite recipes, $50,000 chicken. FIFTY THOUSAND DOLLARS, wow, that’s expensive! It must be really good.

When I arrived, the first thing I noticed as I stepped into the kitchen was his beautiful chrome and black woodstove adorned with many hanging cast iron pots and pans. The dark wooden table in the kitchen was set with pretty blue dishes and wine goblets. I suddenly felt like a school girl who was playing hooky for the day, taking time off in the middle of the week to just relax and have fun.

I was thrilled to know that the recipe had only four ingredients and no pots and pans or dishes to wash. That’s an “un-recipe” – just a list of ingredients and steps. There is no need for exact measurements; just use your senses to get it right.

Here is what you need:  

Skinned chicken breasts or tenders
Sauerkraut
Thousand Island dressing
Swiss cheese

Preheat the oven to 350⁰. Oil the bottom of a baking dish. If you use chicken breasts, cut them lengthwise into pieces about half an inch thick and layer them in the dish. Next, make a layer of the sauerkraut followed by a layer of Thousand Island dressing. Pop the pan into the oven. We kinda’ lost track of the time but it probably took about 45 minutes until the kitchen was filled with a lovely aroma and little bubbles were popping away around the edges of the pan. Jon pulled the pan out of the oven and covered the entire top with Swiss cheese and slid it back into the oven until the cheese had melted. When he finally took the pan out of the oven, my mouth was watering and I felt like a racehorse chomping at the bit. Buttered, toasted breadcrumbs sprinkled on top would be a crunchy addition.

Jon put the pan on the table and we served it up. I made my favorite cauliflower dish (I will write about it sometime) and Jon made a salad with romaine lettuce, palm hearts, and homemade vinaigrette. Can you believe this? The chicken was so good that I ate four helpings! I am not kidding! All the while I thought about what a special treat it is to receive an invitation to a friend’s home for lunch or dinner. Being “at table” with friends and family is one of my very favorite things to do in life. Sitting down to a beautifully set table and eating delicious homemade food is one of life’s greatest and simplest pleasures. That’s definitely worth at least $50,000!
How to Eat

Last week, the world witnessed the crowning of King Charles III. I wonder how many people know that he is a deep and progressive thinker with a life-long interest in organic food production and environmental sustainability. He has made vast contributions in these areas.

His book, “Harmony: A new way of looking at our world” is my all-time favorite book. I read this book when it was first published in 2010 and now I am re-reading it. Have you ever read a book that is so thought-provoking that you savor it like a bottle of fine wine? You read a few sentences or paragraphs and then pause for a moment or two to drink in the ideas and reflect upon them? This book is like that, slow going. Even though I read the book years ago, I have thought about it many, many times since then.

Why did this book have such an impact on me? The book explained the reason for sensations that I had for years but could not identify or understand. I have noticed that food not only has flavor, it has a “feel” too. I’m not referring here to the feel of texture, but as an intrinsic quality. Organically grown and humanely raised food definitely feels different than food that has been grown or raised in discordant conditions. This awareness adds a lovely layer of delight to the culinary experience. To know that someone else out there experiences organic food in the same way I do is such a relief to me. It’s always nice to be understood and validated.

Foods raised with agricultural practices that are in harmony with the earth undoubtedly carry a positive energetic charge. They just feel better to eat and they have a lovely subtle layer of sweetness. Food definitely has an aura. This unfurls a whole new spin on the idea of “soul food”. After all, food is life, so eating such vibrant food intensifies your whole sensory experience. Recently, I opened a jar of peanut butter that was utterly delicious and it resonated with my entire being. When I took another look at the jar, the label said “organic”. That’s just one example. I’ve experienced many other accidental “blind tastings”.

In my opinion and the king’s opinion too, the best food on the planet is grown or raised with practices that maintain the integrity and interconnectedness of the entire food chain – the microbes, plants, insects, fish, birds, animals, and people as well as the water, air, and soil on which we all depend.

This book is out-of-print but is available from Abe books and as an e-book from Amazon. If you read this book please let me know what you think about it.