<Warning! Mild rant ahead … but there’s also a “recipe”>
It seems everyone is an expert on food these days! Whether they’ve read the latest book on wheat and can espouse to you how its more evil than Satan himself, or there is handwringing about corn, or angst about conditions for chickens, or pigs, or the evils of eating meat, or people going all paleo, it seems everyone has an opinion about food these days! I don’t know if its just me hitting my crotchety middle years, but those opinions seem to be getting more and more antagonistic!
Food should be something that unites us! I know we all want to be special, and food seems to be one of those defining things these days. Perhaps its because fashion is more widely accessible, perhaps its because anybody can buy granite countertops for their kitchens at Home Depot, that diet and food are becoming the new “thing that makes us unique”! I think it was William Gibson in one of his recent novels who put forward the idea of scarcity and difficult-to-find being the hallmark of the luxury “class”. After all, just how special IS your Hermes scarf if just anyone can walk in, plunk down some moola and acquire it.
Don’t get me wrong, I cook and bake gluten-free for Christ’s sake, and I go to great lengths to ensure that what I make is safe for my celiac customers. But, that being said, there is an element of the current gluten-free mania, spurred mainly by pop-culture non-fiction books, that is sweeping the nation! And people seem to be headed in a more and more restrictive diet direction. Food seems to be becoming the new ascetisim and definition of character! … and it comes with its own paint-by-numbers templates, with cookbooks and blogs abounding telling us what to do and what to think about our food, and how to properly embrace these aspirational lifestyles (yes, I am fully aware of the irony of this statement as I type it … on my blog)
[GARD align=center]
In my opinion, food has become far more complicated than it ever needs to be for 95% of us! There was a time when people cooked three square meals a day. Food was simple, nourishing, made from scratch, and usually made without recipes! It seems we have lost our way somewhere. We’ve lost our understanding of cooking methods and techniques that allow us to look at what’s in the fridge or the garden, and come up with dinner! The fact is, when I’m cooking (as opposed to baking), I seldom use a recipe, but I do use some general methods and guidelines in terms of proportions (e.g. brown=flavour, 1 T flour will generally thicken 1 c liquid).
I think its time to take back the simplicity of food! After all, shouldn’t we just be able to enjoy some potato salad without being wracked with guilt?! </rant>
And so, dear reader, I’m thinking of starting a series of blog posts highlighting different ways of cooking things! There are only so many ways of applying heat to things to cook them, and each one of those methods has its advantages and will draw out, or transform the flavours of food in different ways! (think bake = dry heat, boil = wet heat, you get the picture). This is really helpful stuff to know if you are getting really tired of the same old pan-fried chicken breasts for dinner! or if you find yourself without a stovetop, or oven for a period of time! Try a braise next time, or poaching your chicken breasts in some stock with a bit of vermouth.
Here’s a simple one to start you off, and its perfect summertime fare because you can make up a batch of it and get out of the kitchen!
This potato salad was an impromptu add-on to our meal last night. I’ve been craving potato salad after ingesting some horrendous stuff from the supermarket last weekend on a whim (#protip – never grocery shop hungry!). As I passed by the new potatoes at the greengrocer last night, I remembered I still hadn’t had any decent potato salad, so I picked out some of the potatoes. I also happen to like dill in my potato salad, and as I was picking out a bunch, this little ladybug was perched on top — the cute factor kind of sealed the deal.
Today’s cooking method is STEAM. I know all your recipe books tell you to boil your potatoes for potato salad and mashed potatoes. I’m telling you, steam is a much gentler way of cooking your potatoes evenly, and keeping them intact! You’ll find the texture is much better as well. Boiling is such a violent way of cooking something that is really just starch molecules holding onto each other for dear life!
And in keeping with the talk of methods, think of this recipe as guidelines, not rules! If you want to add something crunchy to it like bell peppers go for it, don’t like garlic? leave it out! Because potato salad should be easy 🙂
Ingredients
- 5-6 large new potatoes, cut in 1" dice
- 3-4 green onions, sliced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 celery rib, small dice
- 1/4 cup or so chopped pickled beans (pickles also work, use whatever tart notes YOU like!)
- 2-3 T mayonnaise
- 2-3 T sour cream
- salt and pepper
- 2 T or so fresh herbs (I like dill, chervil is also very nice, summer savoury)
Instructions
- if you are using new potatoes, just cut and place in a steamer basket. If you are not using new potatoes, try and pick something a little less starchy - red-skinned wax potatoes or Yukon golds are nice.
- Steam the potatoes 10-15 minutes until you can piece them through with a paring knife. Steaming cooks them evenly while letting them retain their shape!
- While the potatoes are still hot, place them in a bowl with everything except the mayonnaise and sour cream, and toss to let the flavours intermingle.
- When the potatoes are cool to the touch, add the mayonnaise and sour cream and toss thoroughly to combine.
Latest posts by Janice (see all)
- A Real Food Manifesto - June 27, 2015
- Strawberry Preserves, French style - June 16, 2015
- Gluten-free All Purpose Blends: Intro - June 7, 2015
Hi Janice, I have to say I agree with you on how we are being made to feel guilty about everything we eat. It seems you can’t eat a piece of yummy bread without someone going off on how it’s causing belly fat or bloating. I may be somewhat in your same age group and remember eating food and actually enjoying it without getting sick. I think as long as you eat fresh and avoid packaged food and artificial ingredients you’re still pretty safe. Nice rant.