Joy is a return to the deep harmony of body, mind, and spirit that was yours at birth and that can be yours again. That openness to love, that capacity for wholeness with the world around you, is still within you.
—Deepak Chopra
Cooking and preparing meals is an art of intuition and a science of basic cooking knowledge. Blending the two together will help to create fabulous meals. Below is a list of basic cooking techniques that are used throughout this cookbook. It will be helpful to familiarize yourself with them before moving on to the recipes. When making a recipe, use your intuition as to whether you should add more or less of certain ingredients, and how long to cook some dishes. No recipe can ever be perfect because of the incredible variations in ingredients, cooking equipment, and the person preparing the recipe.
Chiffonade: This cutting technique can be used for leafy greens, such as chard, kale, and collards, and fresh herbs, such as basil and mint. Stack the leaves one on top of another and roll tightly lengthwise. Then slice with a sharp knife crosswise to make long, thin strips or ribbons.
Chopping: A chef’s knife is typically used for chopping. This general technique involves cutting the food into pieces when no specific size or shape is called for.
Dicing: Dicing food produces small, even squares or cubes. Diced vegetables are typically ⅛- to ¼-inch cubes. Slice the food item into long strips, and then cut across the slices to make cubes. This technique can be used for onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, yams, and squash, as well as many other vegetables and fruits.
Julienne Cut (Matchsticks): The julienne cut creates small matchstick pieces. This technique is particularly useful for cutting vegetables that go into sushi rolls, as well as for many other recipes. Simply take your vegetable, a carrot, for example, and cut it diagonally into ⅛-inch slices. Then take each slice and cut lengthwise into thin strips.
Mincing: Mincing is a technique used for cutting food into very small pieces. Strong-flavored foods such as garlic, shallots, onions, fresh ginger, and hot peppers are typically minced to incorporate flavors evenly. Use a chef’s knife and start by slicing the food, then chop back and forth in a rocking motion until the food is in small, fine pieces.
Shredding: Shredded vegetables add a juicy, delicate flavor to salads and can also be used to add extra nutrients to baked goods. Food can be shredded by hand with a handheld stainless steel grater or in a food processor with the grating disk in place. For vegetables, the finer the shred, the sweeter the flavor.
Slicing: Slicing is a broad term used for cutting food into various shapes, such as disks, wedges, or strips. Recipes typically will explain the nature of the slice. Green onions and carrots can be sliced into rounds. A bell pepper can be sliced lengthwise into long strips or sliced horizontally into rings. Apples can be sliced into thin wedges and potatoes can be sliced into rounds or wedges.
Zesting: Zesting is used to remove the outer portion of citrus skin where all of the delicate oils hide. You can zest a citrus fruit with a specialized zesting tool or with a fine rasp grater. The key is to just remove the outer skin and not the bitter white pith beneath. Always zest citrus before juicing.
Marinating: Marinating is pouring a liquid that contains an acidic and/or salty substance, such as vinegar, citrus, or tamari, over the food and allowing it sit for a period of time so that the flavors will penetrate the food.
Soaking: Soaking is placing a food in a bowl and covering it with a liquid, usually filtered water, so that the food can rehydrate as it absorbs the liquid. Keep the bowl on your kitchen counter at room temperature. This technique is used for soaking nuts, seeds, beans, whole grains, and dried fruit.
Sprouting: Any raw seeds, nuts, or beans can be sprouted. Sprouting “wakes up” the seed for germination, leading to much more nutritious food. Sprouted foods have higher levels of amino acids, minerals, and vitamins. In the wintertime when fresh, local produce is not as widely available, sprouting is a good alternative for eating live, raw, nutrient-dense plant foods. To sprout, soak your nuts, seeds, or beans in a bowl of filtered water overnight, or for about 12 hours. Then drain and place into a quart jar with a sprouting lid. Every morning and evening, rinse the seeds with fresh water and drain. Make sure they never dry out. Keep doing this until the seeds have sprouted and have reached a desired length or age. For large beans like pinto, black, or kidney that I plan to cook, I place a few cups of dry beans into a large bowl, cover with 3 inches of water, and soak for approximately 24 hours. Then I drain and rinse the beans with fresh water several times and leave the soaked beans in the bowl, uncovered, to sprout. Be sure to drain and rinse them twice daily to keep them moist. I only sprout them until there is a very small tail, 1 to 2 days. Then they are ready to cook! If you are new to sprouting, try green lentils—they are one of the easiest things to sprout! Other foods that we like to sprout are broccoli seeds, radish seeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, truly raw almonds, and mung beans.
Puréeing: Puréeing food turns it into a thick, smooth liquid. A blender works best to purée foods, though a food processor or handheld immersion blender may also be used. Place foods such as steamed squash, frozen or fresh fruit, or cooked soups into a blender. To blend hot foods, fill the blender no more than halfway, then remove the center cap on the lid to release the steam, place a towel over the lid, and hold it firmly in place. Start on the lowest speed and gradually increase as food is blending.
Freezing: Freezing your own fruits and vegetables that you have either harvested yourself or bought from the farmers’ market is a great way to preserve food. Also, freezing your leftovers will make it easy to have healthy homemade meals on nights you may not want to, or have time to cook. Be sure to label and date your food and use it within 6 to 12 months.
Baking: Food is placed in a baking dish or pan and into a preheated oven. Moisture is released from the food while it is baking and circulates in the oven. When you are baking more than one dish at a time, be sure to stagger the dishes so that the air can circulate in the oven. All oven temperatures will vary slightly, so you may need to adjust your temperature and/or cooking time to your oven. It is best to purchase a small oven thermometer to measure the actual baking temperature of your oven and then adjust it accordingly.
Blanching: Vegetables are quickly boiled, usually for only a few minutes, and then plunged into a cold-water bath to stop the cooking. This technique works to preserve colors and nutrients in food.
Boiling: Food is placed into water or a cooking liquid, such as stock, in an uncovered pot that has reached a temperature of about 212°F, or when bubbles are visible on the surface. The food is cooked by the rapidly moving liquid. The boiling point can be defined as the temperature at which the vapor pressure of a substance is equal to the external, or atmospheric, pressure. When cooking at higher elevations, the boiling point of a liquid will be lower due to the drop in atmospheric pressure. For each 1,000 feet above sea level the boiling point drops by about 2°F. Water-soluble substances, such as salt and sugar, raise the boiling point of water.
Braising: Food is lightly sautéed, then a small amount of a flavored liquid is added and the pan is covered while the food cooks and absorbs part of the liquid.
Broiling: Turn your oven dial to “broil” and place the food in an oven-safe dish on the rack level indicated in your recipe.
Parboil: Food is partially cooked in boiling water; the cooking is then completed by some other method.
Poaching: Food is cooked by submerging it into a liquid that is just barely simmering. Be sure the food is covered in the cooking liquid by ½ to 1 inch. The cooking liquid is usually stock or water with an acid added to it, such as lemon juice or vinegar. Fresh or dried herbs and a salt or salt seasoning are also added (except for eggs—do not add salt while poaching eggs). This technique works to retain the original shape of the food.
Pressure Cooking: Cooking with a pressure cooker decreases cooking times tremendously. Temperatures inside a pressure cooker can reach 250°F, much higher than boiling temperature. Never fill a pressure cooker more than half full and be sure to use the recommended amount of liquid.
Roasting: Food is cooked by dry heat in an oven, usually with some kind of fat added.
Sautéing: Add a small amount of oil or fat to a heated skillet or sauté pan, then add your cut food. Keep the food moving in the pan to prevent burning and sticking. Sautéing is a quick-moving process that necessitates having all of the ingredients within arm’s reach and ready for use. If your food begins to stick to the pan during cooking then add extra fat, water, wine, or stock to the pan.
WATER-OIL SAUTÉ: If you would like to lessen the amount of oil in a dish, you can replace half of it with water. Continue to sauté as directed above.
NO-OIL SAUTÉ: It is not always necessary to sauté in oil. Instead, you may add a small amount of water, broth, or white wine to the pan and sauté as directed above.
Simmering: Cooking food in a liquid on the stovetop where bubbles are barely breaking the surface is simmering. This is usually done by bringing the liquid and food to a boil first and then reducing the heat to low to medium-low and cooking with a lid on the pot.
Steaming: Steaming is a great way to barely cook vegetables until they are crisp-tender. This method of cooking retains more nutrients than other methods. Place about 2 inches of water in a pot, then place a steamer basket in the pot and add your food. Place a lid on the pot and cook for a certain amount of time. You can test doneness with a fork—food should pierce easily, but the fork should not easily go all the way through the piece of food.
Steeping: Steeping extracts color, flavor, and nutrients from the substance being steeped. Place food or herbs into a ceramic or glass dish and pour boiling water over them. Cover the dish and steep for the directed amount of time. Herbs or food are then strained out of the liquid.
Stir-frying: Place the cut food in piles on your cutting board or in separate dishes and line up from longest to shortest cooking time. You may use a wok or a large skillet, but be sure to use stainless steel, not nonstick. Heat your pan over medium-high heat and add some fat—usually coconut oil. Begin by placing the food with the longest cooking time in first, then move up to the food with the shortest cooking time. Keep the food moving in the pan constantly to prevent burning—this process usually only takes a few minutes. Then add a small amount of liquid to the pan and cover with a lid to quickly finish the cooking by steaming.
Toasting: Raw seeds can be toasted to improve flavor and digestibility. To toast seeds, heat a thick-bottomed stainless steel skillet over medium heat. Add enough seeds to the pan to create one layer. Keep the pan moving over the heat source to prevent burning. When the seeds are lightly golden or you have heard popping sounds, then the seeds are done. Immediately transfer them to a plate to cool. Seeds that can be toasted include pumpkin, sunflower, and sesame.