Quinoa

Quinoa for breakfast

My diet had to change. Instead of eliminating all my favorites, high in calories and fat, I started by eating quinoa for breakfast. Commonly mistaken as a grain it is a seed that has remained unchanged for 100’s of years.

It is quite good with a nutty flavor, high in protein, folate, iron and zinc. Heat one-cup soy milk, and one half cup quinoa about 10-15 minutes or until the seeds burst, add one tablespoon agave syrup and one half cup blueberries.

The total caloric intake between 325 and 350 calories, low in fat and a good source of fiber. The breakfast I want to eat, two eggs with two pieces bacon plus the butter to fry the eggs is almost 400 calories and high in saturated fat and not a good source of fiber.

It is difficult and at times I have no discipline. Eating before I go to work, in a big kitchen full of all the things I am trying to avoid, I don’t pick and do not have that ravenous feeling all morning and overeat.

I can then eat a large lunch and indulge a little by having cheese on my salad and grilled chicken. It’s tough. There are too many things ready to eat and we all have so little time.

Last week I met Bill and Sarabeth Levine at the National Arts Club where Sarabeth was making scones and signing her new book Sarabeth’s Bakery, From My Hands To Yours. Bill makes the famous Orange and Apricot Marmalade and brought a jar for everyone. The next day I put it on my quinoa, only 30 calories a tablespoon I used two and then ran out.

Today in the mail I received a package from the Levine’s, a large jar of Marmalade, I know what I will eat in the morning.

Thank you Bill.

As always I welcome your questions and comments.

Matthew Babbage

Salt

Salt has been used as a preservative for 1000s of years and is an essential part of our daily diet.

Sea salt and table salt have the same basic nutritional value and consist mostly of two minerals, sodium and chloride. Sea salt can be a more natural and healthy alternative and the difference between it and table salt are taste, texture and processing.

Sea salt, produced through evaporation with little processing leaves behind some trace minerals and elements adding flavor and color and come in a variety of coarseness.

Table salt, mined from underground salt deposits is more heavily processed to eliminate trace minerals and usually contains an additive to prevent clumping. Most table salt also has added iodine, an essential nutrient that appears naturally in minute amounts in sea salt.

By weight, sea salt and table salt contain about the same amount of sodium chloride. The average person needs only a couple hundred milligrams (mg) a day to stay healthy, but most get too much hiding in processed foods.

Whatever you like, try to consume between 1,500 and 2,300 mg of sodium a day if you're a healthy adult.

Something taken for granted today has a long and at times violent history, wars have been waged for control of salt deposits and now the new war on too much salt in the foods we eat.

Storage is not difficult and if kept clean and dry it will last indefinitely. Store in a cool, dry place away from any heat source or sunlight.

You should use a container that can be well closed after each use and be careful not to introduce any water when you are measuring or scooping it out of it’s container.

Glass with a tight fitting lid is the best choice being impervious and not transferring other flavors. If you are reusing something to store the salt you should also inspect the lid for damage and make sure it is clean and will not pass any flavors or odors from previous use.

Vacuum sealing is another good option, but it is very important when using any plastic to make sure it is food grade and not reused for food safety and sanitation reasons.

The great thing is that you do not have to buy large amounts and can have many types of salt in your panty.

I have, in my small NYC kitchen, kosher, table, sea, Himalayan and black salt. Each one was purchased for a specific reason and has their use but working in a professional kitchen I find myself always reaching for the kosher first.

Try what you like, and use in moderation, you can always add more but once you have added to much it is really difficult to fix.

I have found several salt grinders that I like. They contain several ounces of salt in a small bottle and you use it just like pepper mill. My favorite is is from The Salt Authority http://www.saltauthority.com/sea-salt-grinder.htmland and is inexpensive. They have a lot of great stuff.
If you have any questions or comments pleas email me at chef@matthewbabbage.com.

Joe Poon

I returned to Philadelphia last Thursday. Took the day off from work, on a 6:05am train from Penn Station, got to Philadelphia at almost 8:00am and went to an all day 10 course Chinese Banquet cooking demonstration by Chef Joe Poon.

If you have never had the opportunity to be part of one of Joe's classes, lectures or meet him it would take too long to explain what you have missed.

With his energy and enthusiasm it is hard to keep up.

I was one in a group of eight culinary professionals taking part in the class led by Chef Poon offered through The American Culinary Federation.

Me, I have known Chef Poon for several years first meeting him at the Philadelphia Flower Show. He spoke to the audience like they were gathered around the kitchen in his home while he wields a knife and produces a floral arrangement out of some unsuspecting cantaloupe, honey dew and watermelon.

Our day started with tea and traditional Chinese pastries. We spent about 1/2 hour in the kitchen and then did a tour of Philadelphia's China town. I have been there and eaten in so many of the restaurants but I was shown a different side. Traveling the streets with Chef Poon I no longer felt like an outsider.

We stopped at different places to eat things I never have before. I have been changing my diet for personal reasons over the last year and now I know pig offal will not be missed. Since I was there it would have been wrong not to try it and I would have felt as though I was insulting Chef Poon. It was not so bad and now I have a better understanding of a culture that is not mine. I am sure I eat things others would never try.

After our tour we returned to Joe's kitchen at 1010 Cherry street around 11:00am and started preparing our banquet, as Joe instructed us on proper culinary technique he also explained the health benefits of each food. One of the most important things, to me, learned is in the Chinese kitchen there is a specific reason for each action and movement, nothing wasted.

First up Joe's Roast Duck. I have tried for a long time to reproduce the duck you get in a Chinese restaurant with little or no success. In 10 minutes Chef Poon solved the mystery with simple explanation and concise direction.

For the next five hours the Chef had everyone in the group take turns at the wok.

We continued turning out plate after plate each dish being prepared under the instruction of a man who has dedicated his life teaching others what he knows.

I could not say what my favorite things were that day other than the roast duck but the jelly fish soup, abalone and fried rice I have already made in my little NYC apartment. They don't taste quite the same but as with anything, the more times you do it the better it gets.

Since starting to cook at an early age I realized there is more learning from my mistakes than any other time.

I hope to return to the Chef's kitchen before too long. It felt like coming home to a place I have missed.

Chef Poon's website http://www.josephpoon.com/ is a wealth of knowledge and offers so many things to do, the Wokn Walk Tour looks like a lot of fun, the spring/summer lobster feast that you could not find anywhere else at twice the price should not be missed.

As always I look forward to questions and comments. www.chef@matthewbabbage.com

The Sandwich

Standing on line at a neighborhood store I picked up, started reading and purchased Saveur magazine The Sandwich Issue http://www.saveur.com/sandwiches/.
I have always been a sandwich person, everything form pb& j, my mother's grilled cream cheese and her homemade jam for me as a child since I was a picky eater, and almost anything else that can be put, stuffed, piled or "gently placed" inside two slices of your average white bread, pita, matzo, roll or hunk that you tore off the end of a loaf of Italian or French bread.

This is an issue you must add to your collection. Next to my desk is a large stack of magazines, even though so much information is available on line I like periodicals. The feel and smell of the pages, it is to me visceral and the pictures fuel my imagination and transport me to the past reminding of places I been. I am fortunate having many of the sandwiches described.

Many articles are written about food and it's importance. We eat during holidays, special family meals, celebrations, for tradition, the list can go on forever but the main reason is we eat to survive.

From such a humble beginning we have elevated the "sandwich" to something ethereal, taken something simple and made it something hard to describe.

This is not bad, pizza has done the same thing. We look to always improve what we do but the funny thing is that no matter how hard you try even something like peanut butter and jelly on sliced white bread does not need much. Sometimes I like things unadulterated, unchanged. There is a place for Wonder bread, Skippy and some inexpensive grape jelly, add a glass of cold milk and it fits.

Like pasta every culture has one that is known around the world.
From Shawarma to Bocadillos, French dip to Bahn Mi, ham and swiss on rye to Carolina pulled pork the list and combinations are infinite.

Breakfast this morning will be fresh bread from Parisi Bakery parisibakery.com, still warm. As I write this I am waiting for Alleva's, http://www.allevadairy.com/, America's oldest Italian cheese store to open and whatever Robert recommends will go on the bread with some fresh mozzarella. If you walk by early morning you can watch it being made and also smell when they are smoking it.

As always I look forward to questions and comment. chef@matthewbabbage.com

Thanksgiving 2010

If patience is a virtue cooking in a NYC apartment is truly a test. I am cooking at home this morning for my wife, four dogs, two cats and one parrot, my furry, feathered family.

Having done a few things after work last night I was up early and walked the dogs had two cups of China town coffee, have my ipod on, I have taken what I watched my mother made growing up and changing things a little.
First up, I am not used to cooking for only two people. Time to scale back and think about everything involved. I started by discussing, with my wife, what we would have. Turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, baked yams with maple syrup and marshmallows, creamed pearl onions, macaroni and cheese, asparagus, and pumpkin pie.

I began by cleaning the refrigerator, it sounds like a strange place to begin and I know it has been done in the last six months but where did this stuff come from? The cabinets were next and it was the same as the refrigerator. I am not sure how things accumulate. By being organized before I began cooking, I didn’t waste money on things I already had, only bought what I needed and don’t have more stuff to try and find a place to keep.

I started at 6:00am, target dinner time 2:00pm, making pumpkin pie. I tried a different crust recipe than the one I always use, I will go back to the usual. I peeled potatoes and yams, put them in the pans and covered with water until later.

The stuffing is made from sliced white bread, celery and onion, turkey stock and sage with a little salt and pepper. It is the same way I remember my mother making it when I was a child.

Next I mixed one quarter pound soft butter with black pepper, kosher salt, and one tablespoon each rosemary, sage, parsley and thyme and spread it all over the turkey including under the skin. At 10:30 it went in a 400 degree oven for one half hour then I turned the heat to 350 degrees. It should have taken about three hours to cook, the formula is approximate but it is about fifteen minutes per pound, a 12 pound turkey cooks for three hours. Don’t ask me how but in two hours it was done. Fortunately for me I had everything ready to finish in the oven or on the stove top. I took the turkey from the oven at 12:30pm, removed it from the roasting pan to a large plate and covered it with foil to keep it warm.

The gravy was next. In the bottom of the roasting pan, under the turkey, I had put diced onion, carrot and celery. I added some turkey stock to the roasting pan that the turkey was cooked in and put the pan over a medium flame to deglaze and scrape up all the browned bits. As this cooked I mixed about one half cup all purpose flour with cold water and whipped it making sure there were no lumps and stirred it into the roasting pan of turkey drippings. It cooked for about five minutes and then I strained it and adjusted seasoning with salt and pepper. It is really quite good made this way and again is the same way I remember my mother making it.

We ate at 1:30pm, one half hour early. The best part of the day is being home with my family and cooking for them.

A few simple things that work for me and made it easier and less stressful.

Clean as you go. Make sure you have a list of everything needed. Stick to your list, making adjustments if necessary. It is better to have a few very good things rather than trying to have too much. Plan for the unexpected, for me it was the turkey cooking in less time. Don’t wait until the last minute to buy what you need, I bought the last can of pumpkin on the shelf. Your turkey needs to thaw in the refrigerator not on the kitchen counter. I recommend using kosher salt and this year used a pepper mill and fresh herbs, you will be pleasantly surprised. Most importantly remember to be thankful for what you have.
I look forward to your questions and comments and would love to hear of your successes and the close calls. Please send you emails to chef@mathhewbabbage.com .

It is getting colder and time to start cooking on the weekend.

Working in a restuarant does not mean I get to eat. Unless I make time to sit, not in my office, and have something to eat I won't. I am not a picker or eat the entire day while I cook. I only taste to make sure things are seasoned well and taste good. I seem to loose my appetite since I am smelling everything cooking it is so much a part of taste I guess you fill up just being in the kitchen.

On days I off I like to cook for my family. I make a few things that can be eaten later in the week with just a little effort having to make a few sides and reheat the main. It makes it easy to have dinner after a busy day and not order take out. Below is a recipe for short ribs. It is eay and requires only a few things. If you don't have a Dutch oven use something else and cover with tin foil. If kecap manis is hard to find you can use soy sauce but try low sodium. There is a difference with soy sauce and some are not good at all. I keep several types of Kikkoman and it is used in place of salt quite often. Please let me know if you have any questions and as always I can be reached at chef@matthewbabbage.com


Soy Braised Short Ribs

Serves 4

6 2x3 short ribs (about 4x3x2)
2 tablespoons coarse ground black pepper
1 table spoon kosher salt
1 cup ap flour
3 carrots peeled and medium dice
4 stalks medium dice
1 large onion medium dice
5 slices of ginger
2 cups red wine
1 cup kecap manis, Indonesian style soy sauce
Water
½ cup vegetable oil


Place a Dutch oven or heavy pan with a fitted lid over medium-high heat with oil. Combine salt, pepper and flour in a large bowl and dredge the ribs pressing the seasoned flour into the ribs. Put the ribs in oil and sear until browned on both sides, remove ribs to a plate and pour out all of the oil except about one tablespoon. Add carrots, celery, onions and ginger season with salt and pepper and sweat until just softened. Pour in the wine making sure you scrape anything stuck to the bottom and reduce by half. Add kecap manis and short ribs and add enough water to almost cover. Cook over medium heat for about two hours or until tender. Serve with sticky rice.

Nicole at Ed's Lobster Bar

This is Nicole La and works at Ed's Lobster Bar http://www.lobsterbarnyc.com/ at 222 Lafayette St. in Manhattan. I have lived in Little Italy for several years and just went the first time a few weeks ago. Inviting from the outside and a comfortable interior it is a place frequented by locals and tourists. The two times I have been in it has taken a few minutes sitting at the bar before anyone was able to get to me, I was a bit uncomfortable but settled in.
The raw bar is nice and you can see that great care is given in handling and preparation. I have sworn off eating raw oysters but could not resist when a large plate with several types of oysters came with fresh grated horseradish mixed with a little white wine vinegar, cocktail sauce and Mignonette. I watched as each one was opened, this is something you either can or cannot do, there is really no middle. I am not saying it can't be learned but it is easy to tell in the first few seconds if someone has what it takes. After opening Nicole carefully inspects each one, it goes on a bed of crushed ice and since you are sitting at the bar she serves you. You can see the satisfaction taken by being the professional she is.
I also had clam chowder and it is some of the best I remember having anywhere. I am pleased when it arrives that it has not been thickened, it is made well but the two times I have had it it is a little different. They do have a black pepper mill and I like it with a few heavy grinds and they have Westminster Oyster Crackers. These are good in their own and even better in chowder.
I have only been in for a quick bite always around opening time and it starts to fill up immediately so I cannot comment on the lunch or dinner menu. What we have had has always been enjoyable, it is not inexpensive but the quality explains why.
I have not met Ed. The two times I have sat at the bar he, it must be him with the Lobster Bar logo tattooed on his forearm, is surrounded by a grateful clientele that seem to be followers.
I have had the opportunity to meet Nicole, she has worked at Ed's for over one year and started working the raw bar. She has recently been promoted to raw bar manager but continues to work the station every day since there has been no suitable replacement. Not only would they have to open oysters and clams they need to replace the presence she has. Her warmth and outgoing personality, two things not all of us are capable, skill and self confidence are difficult to find when trying to hire a replacement. I sat with her for about 1/2 hour today and asked a few questions.

How long have you been in NY? About 10 years, before that NJ.

How long at Ed's? 1 and 1/2 years, before that I worked at a place in the LES as a manager of a restaurant. I like this more since I get the opportunity to use my culinary training.

Tell me about your recent promotion. I worked the raw bar and am now the raw bar manager but I have found no one to replace me. Today I have a guy from Maine trying out. His family is in the lobster business so I am hoping that it works.

Do you pick the oysters? No. Ed buys all the seafood. When I have someone to work I will help.

What is you favorite food? It is kind of hard to say. Working in this business does not mean you always eat well. We do a family meal here at work taking turns who cooks. I like more of an Asian diet and have stopped eating wheat and dairy. As far as my favorite it is chocolate. No particular kind, maybe a Snickers bar.

Where did you train? ICE the Institute of Culinary Education.

Why did you choose a culianary career? I like to bake and am good at it. From this I was working in and office and decided I should do what I am good at went to ICE and here I am.

Music, do you have a favorite. I like so may kinds, I can say I don't like country.

If you have the chance it is a great spot. Good beer on tap, a nice selection of wine and an opportunity to sit and let everything else go by for a minute. It can wait and will still be there when you finish. Say hello to Nicole and let her know that you read this.

Any questions or comment I can be reached at chef@matthewbabbage.com