Zesty Cook » Cooking Techniques

Powerful Parsnips and Day 9 of Zesty Christmas

zesty — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 13:07:21 +0000

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Just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite zesty dessert post. HINT: To find a list of the desserts you can click here… Remember, you can still enter the contest from previous days at the bottom of this post!

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With Christmas season quickly approaching I wanted to take a few minutes and talk about a vegetable that often is forgotten. The Parsnip. Personally I love parsnips but growing up, I never really knew what they were. We never had them at home usually just carrots and turnip were the staples… no parsnip. Not until I started cooking on my own where I would experiment with the flavor of parsnip.

Being sweet, parsnips are excellent roasted, a process that caramelizes their sugars. They also make good alternative chips, or can be layered with other root vegetables to form a spin on a scalloped root vegetable dish.

FYI – These parsnip chips are too die for.

Mashed parsnips are useful but do need rich additions to improve both the texture and flavor. Dry the pieces carefully before mashing, then add plenty of butter or cream, black pepper and sweet spices such as nutmeg.

Some dry mashed potato can also be mixed into mashed parsnip to lighten it and this makes a good topping for shepherd’s pie.

What is in the Parsnip?

A parsnip looks like a white carrot (and is, in fact, in the same family). Along with their sweet flavor, parsnips bring vitamin C, folate, and potassium to the table.

How to Pick the Perfect Parsnip?

Selection: Good-quality parsnips will be firm, straight and have no deformities or blemishes. The coloring will be even and white to cream.

Avoid: Avoid product that is dry, shriveled, soft or has dark blemishes. Yellow or tan coloring indicates old product.

Did You Know: Frost improves their flavor.

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Take care

zesty

The Power of the Hen

zesty — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 12:00:19 +0000

Good morning. A slightly different twist than my traditional post today. I wanted to talk to you about the power of the hen and the high quality food source called the “EGG”. Now I often don’t go on rants about health and protein balanced meals and if you saw my physique in full form you would know I do not frequent the gym everyday and pound protein shakes in on a regular basis. With that being said, I am a conscious eater and very much aware of what I am putting into my body. I tend to focus on things in moderation versus being overly strict with my consumption.

OK moving on to the story at hand. Eggs. Eggs are one of nature’s most nutritious foods. One large egg contains only 70 calories and an incredible amount of nutrition. Include eggs as part of your healthy diet and let the facts speak for themselves!

What’s in the Egg

Eggs are actually quite nutritious. They are not just fat (yolk) and protein (white). In fact, they contain a wide array of essential vitamins and minerals. Here is what’s in an egg…

Vitamins

A: good for the skin and growth.
D: strengthens bones by raising calcium absorption.
E: protects cells from oxidation.
B1: helps properly release energy from carbohydrates.
B2: helps release energy from protein and fat.
B6: promotes the metabolism of protein.
B12: an essential vitamin in the formation of nerve fibers and blood cells.

Minerals

Iron: essential in the creation of red blood cells.
Zinc: good for enzyme stability and essential in sexual maturation.
Calcium: most important mineral in the strengthening of bones and teeth.
Iodine: controls thyroid hormones.
Selenium: like vitamin E, it protects cells from oxidation.

Benefits

There are no nutritional differences between brown eggs and white eggs.
Eggs contain all nine essential amino acids, making them a complete protein food.
Eggs are one of the few foods that naturally contain vitamin D.
The egg yolk is the major source of the egg’s vitamins and minerals.
Two eggs provide one serving from the Meat and Alternatives group in Canada’s Food Guide.

Cooking Methods

Poached
Boiled
Scrambled
Fried
Hard-Boiled
Steamed
Coddled

Recipes

I wanted to share a few recipes over the past little while from myself that use eggs. There are so many recipes where eggs are the feature… below are a few.

Sources

Thanks so much for dropping in today. Eggs in my eyes are 2 things. Delicious and cheap. They are a great way to add protein in your diet for little cost and they are great for any time of the day. Look beyond breakfast when thinking eggs. Have a super Monday and I will touch base with you on Wednesday.

Take care

zesty

Low Calorie Stir Fry and Wrap Sauces

zesty — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:00:39 +0000

Hi All and Happy Wednesday. Let’s just say I have somewhat of a different post in store today. Not that I usually talk about low calorie ideas specifically but on occasion I drop in a low cal dish here or there. With that said, I got an interesting question from a zesty reader yesterday.

He asks:

I was wondering if you had any suggestions for how make some simple low-calorie, easy-to-make stir fry sauces? I basically living on stir-fry’s and wraps. I’m also calorie counting. So it kills me to see how much the calories add up in the sauces. I’d like it to be low calorie and also low sodium and I have to be able to make it in 30 seconds (ok. maybe 5 minutes). I know.. quite the challenge..

For sauce creations I really take one basic principle into account – BALANCE. For me it is all about the balance of flavors whether it be sweet and sour or mild versus spicy.

There are easy ways to infuse flavor in your food without all the calories and fat. Remember to experiment to please your palate. There are no rules when it comes to the flavors you enjoy. Here is the simple sauce basis I use.

The Zesty Basic Stir Fry Sauce

Ingredients

4 Tsp. cornstarch
2/3 Cup water (or chicken or beef broth, if desired)
3 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. vinegar
2 Tsp. sugar

Method

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth.
Add to stir fry just at the end, stirring well into the dish and let sauce come to a bubble.
Let simmer until sauce has thickened, then serve.

Here are a couple of my ideas when kicking up a simple stir fry sauce.

Mix in some grated ginger root and grated garlic.
Orange juice/lemon juice/lime juice ( the real deal) and mix
Nuts
Red pepper flakes and/ or hot sauce.
Flavored vinegars.

Well there you have it. I hope you submit your favorite sauce ideas for anyone who is reading and may be looking for other options to flavor their dishes. Thanks so much for reading and I cannot wait to hear if other have suggestions. Have a great Wednesday.

Take care

zesty