basic cooking and cutting techniques

you never make the same thing exactly the same

This is a funny thing about cooking. Everything you could possibly think of affects the food you make. Your mood, the weather, your environment, not to mention the quality of ingredients and where they came from, or how long they’ve been sitting in your pantry all affect how a recipe is going to turn out. Sometimes these things only have a small effect, but I wanted to put it out there for you to think about anyway. Another thing: If two people make the same exact recipe, the dish will come out differently for the same reasons I listed. Everyone has a different energy and personality, and that goes into the food. So your coconut bliss granola parfait, on page 35, is going to look and probably even taste a little different than mine, and that’s okay. I want you to own that parfait, because it’s made from your hands and that’s pretty rad.

Go ahead and be creative. Don’t feel like you have to stick to the recipe exactly. If something calls for zucchini, and you can’t stand zucchini or only have broccoli, then give the broccoli a whirl or just leave it out completely. Don’t feel trapped by these recipes. Recipes are building blocks or springboards that help guide you in making delicious, vibrant meals. If the recipe is a spring recipe but it’s wintertime, then change the vegetables to whatever is in season at the moment and you have a whole new dish.

dried vs. fresh spices and herbs

Both dried and fresh herbs have their place in plant-based cooking—often in the same recipe. With dried herbs, you always want to add them to the recipe toward the beginning, either sautéed in oil or water, or blended into a sauce or dressing. Since they have been dried you must reconstitute them, which will bring out their flavor. You need more fresh herbs than dried herbs to get a concentrated flavor. For example, if a recipe calls for dried coriander, I might use a teaspoon or tablespoon. But if I wanted fresh coriander (cilantro), I would use more like one-quarter of a cup. With fresh herbs, you want to add them to the recipe toward the end or use them as a garnish.

toasting nuts and seeds

Adding nuts and seeds to a dish or using them as a garnish is an easy way to up the flavor, presentation, and nutrients of a recipe. I always buy raw nuts and seeds, then toast them myself in a skillet (rather than in the oven, where they are more likely to burn). Over a medium flame, heat up your skillet and add the nuts or seeds. Make sure the flame is not too high. The pan doesn’t need oil because the nuts already have plenty. Stir frequently or shake the pan back and forth. Try not to walk away from the pan for too long because they will burn before you know it! Keep stirring until the nuts are golden brown and fragrant. Depending on the nut and how much you chopped it (this should be done before adding them to the pan), this process could take anywhere from two to ten minutes.

seasoning to taste

Many recipes say season with sea salt to taste. This is because everyone’s taste buds are different and my preferred level of salt is going to be different than yours. You will need to season the recipe to your preference, but remember it’s always best to cook the salt/seasoning into the food rather than applying salt at the dinner table. Adding salt in the cooking process brings out the natural flavor of the food, and you will end up using less salt in the long run (and we could all use a little less salt in our lives). Start with a little, and add a touch more as you go along. If you add too much at the beginning, it will be very difficult to fix the saltiness of the recipe.

Another way I season recipes is to use shoyu, tamari, or coconut aminos. Shoyu is a high-quality, unpasteurized soy sauce made by fermenting soybeans with water, salt, and wheat. Many of the brands found at Asian markets or regular grocery stores are high in sodium and contain alcohol. Try to find a high-quality shoyu or soy sauce that does not have alcohol. Tamari is the wheat-free version and is thicker and stronger in flavor than shoyu, so you can use less. I prefer tamari because it’s gluten-free. Coconut aminos is the new kid on the block; it is raw, gluten-free, and soy-free. Experiment with all of these seasonings to see which you like best.

knife techniques

In an ideal world we would all be born with knife skills. Learning proper knife techniques can save you time, heartache, and frustration (and fingers in many cases). If possible, take a class near you or watch videos online. But the best way to learn knife skills is to practice. So get out that fancy new chef knife and get to choppin’! Below I describe the most commonly used cutting techniques.

chiffonade

A chiffonade is a fine slice or shred of leafy vegetables or herbs. You would use this cut for lettuce in salads, wraps, or tacos and with fresh herbs like basil. To chiffonade, simply stack a few leaves, roll them into a cigar shape, and slice. Remember to remove any tough, woody stems that you want to exclude from your preparation.

chop

Chopping a vegetable means it can be cut into chunks that do not need a uniform or specific shape. This is most commonly used for soups, stews, or anything that gets pureed.

diagonal

Also called a bias cut, cutting on the diagonal means you position your vegetable at a 45-degree angle on the cutting board while aiming your knife in the same direction as you cut. The angle to which you have your knife will determine how long the diagonal cut will be. I use this cut mostly for sautéed vegetables, stir-fry, and soups.

shredding

Shredding is usually done with cabbage and carrots for dishes like cole slaw, and can be done by hand or with a food processor. To shred by hand, first remove the wilting outside leaves of the cabbage. Cut it in half down the center, then cut those pieces in half again. Carefully cut out the stalk. Put the flat side down on the cutting board and straight slice down one side of the cabbage until it’s all in strips.

dicing

Dicing is cutting a vegetable into small cubed pieces. That usually means cutting the vegetable the long way first, then turning it to cut in the other direction. The size of your dice depends on how wide you cut these rows. You would use this cut anytime you want your vegetable in uniform pieces.

half-moon/quarter-moon

This is achieved by cutting a round vegetable like a zucchini in half lengthwise, putting the flat side down, then cutting perpendicularly down the vegetable in whatever thickness you desire. To do a quarter-moon, cut the halved piece in half again lengthwise before cutting down the vegetable. This cut is beautiful and great for any dish.

julienne

This describes the cutting of vegetables into uniform, matchstick-sized pieces. Begin by neatly cutting the vegetable on the diagonal at about 45 degrees. Next, stack one to three pieces and slice into strips longways. If some of your strips come out thicker than others, you can always go back and slice them thinner. You could use thicker matchsticks for sautés and thinner ones for raw salads.

mincing

Minced food is chopped finely into tiny bits. Mince the ingredients using a rocking or chopping motion, so that the front or tip of the blade maintains contact with the cutting board, while the back of the knife moves up and down, back and forth, doing the work. Use the sides of the knife to “pile” the ingredients repeatedly, as you continue mincing into very small particles. I use this technique for herbs and ginger.

prepping station

There is a saying in cooking known as mise en place (pronounced meez an plahs). This literally means “set in place” in French. It refers to having all your ingredients “in place” before you start your recipe.

So the first thing you do when trying out a new recipe is read the recipe once all the way through. This ensures that you know what steps will be happening so nothing sneaks up on you while you are cooking! It also helps you to have all the necessary equipment and tools for the recipe out on the counter. Then you get all your ingredients ready and put them all together near your cutting board, bowl, sauté pan, or whatever tools you are using to prepare the recipe. I call this the “prepping station.” It’s good to have out numerous glass bowls in a variety of sizes to hold your ingredients.

Start by measuring all the wet and dry ingredients, measuring out the spices, cutting the veggies, and whatever else you need to do for the recipe before combining ingredients. Voilà. It’s all mise en place!