FROM MY KITCHEN

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FROM MY KITCHEN

Cooking with Jeff Lake

Jeff Lake loves collecting knowledge and sharing it. It’s the same with his cooking. In fact, you might say his cooking is one more way this biology professor shares the knowledge he collects-kind of a recipe for life.

“Cooking is about nurturing others and yourself, and is best when shared with those you care about,” Lake explains. “In that, too, I’m always exploring new approaches, new techniques, new cuisines, and combining flavors in new ways.”

Lake, who lives in Tecumseh with his wife, Julie Whiston, is a biology professor at Adrian College. He grew up in Iowa and discovered his love for plants, gardening, science, and the great outdoors at an early age. “I was very curious about how things worked,” Lake said. “That continued on throughout my life.”

He attended Grinnell College in Grinnell, Iowa, just east of Des Moines, majored in biology and went on to the University of Georgia in Athens where he earned his doctorate in Plant Biology and Botany. In addition to biology classes, Lake teaches four of the classes in the AC Environmental Studies program. He also handles all of the live animals in the department, including snakes, which are part of the school’s Track and Explore program at Michigan International Speedway.

“At Grinnell, I saw the real impact a great professor can have on their students,” he said. “I knew from that point I wanted to teach in a small college setting where education is really valued, and you can get to know your students and really make that impact.”

His interest in cooking evolved more slowly. “I had some interest in cooking even as a kid,” he said. “We had a big garden and would do homemade jellies and put up garden produce. But food was a pretty simple thing growing up in rural Iowa, and a sort of rotation of foods were a big part of life.”

Once he finished college and was living on his own, he confesses to being a bit clueless about nutrition and eating good food. “I soon decided I wanted to improve what I was feeding myself,” he said. “So, through a mix of reading, cookbooks, and some judicious use of Food Network, I started to teach myself to cook.”

But his food journey didn’t end there. In graduate school in Georgia, he remembers noticing wine could be more than just an alcoholic beverage — it could be a very real part of a good meal.

“I started going to tastings, and I was very lucky,” he said. “Hugh Acheson (the Canadian chef and restauranteur) was then a very good, largely unknown chef whose only restaurant was in Athens. He would do wine events at the restaurant, and Julie and I attended, got to know him, and learned more about wine and incorporating it into a meal.” Lake said the first big wine dinner he attended at the restaurant featured a winemaker from Chateauneuf du Pape in France.

The winemaker highlighted the difference vintage can make with side by side tastings, and how those differences affected pairing wine with food.

“I just continued from there,” he said. “For me, wine is also a very academic pursuit. There is so much to learn about wine — each region, type of grape, vintage, and so on — you never get bored.”

Lake also prefers to cook “seasonally,” that is, using whatever local produce is available in any given season. In summer, he is cooking with tomatoes, zucchini, green beans, corn, and melons. In spring, he looks forward to morels and asparagus.

“I am very passionate about the cooking season and what is available locally,” he said. The Chateauneuf du Pape was on the menu when Lake and Whiston brought over his South-of-France meal, which included a baba ghanoush appetizer, ratatouille, and roasted lamb slow-cooked at 300 degrees until it practically fell apart upon serving. For dessert, Lake prepared a stone fruit pie from a recipe by Anthony Bourdain, the chef and host of “Parts Unknown” until his death in 2018.

Lake said he is always exploring new approaches, new techniques, and new cuisines and combining flavors in new ways. “There is a fascinating mix of mastery of traditions and creative exploration that very much appeals to me,” he said. “I have some ‘standbys’ that I like to return to, like the ratatouille, and in the winter, cassoulet. But I really need to always be trying new things.” n

South of France

RATATOUILLE

Lake developed this recipe over time after following a number of other recipes. “I think of ratatouille as more of a process than a precise recipe,” Lake writes of this recipe. “This was a peasant stew from southern France — it is decidedly not ‘high’ cuisine. But it is very flavorful and delicious.

Ingredients 1-2 eggplants, peeled and diced or sliced 2-3 medium zucchini, sliced thin 1-2 onions, diced 1-2 garlic cloves, minced 3-4 pounds tomatoes, peeled and diced 1-2 sweet red peppers, diced Basil, chiffonaded or thinly sliced Salt and Pepper

Before I begin cooking, I do all my prep work. This starts with peeling the eggplants, dicing or slicing them if narrow, and salting them, then setting aside in a strainer. Then, I cut up the remaining ingredients. Sweat the peppers and garlic to taste in olive oil (or any other oil you prefer). In a Dutch oven, build a “stew base” with one or two diced onions, a few minced garlic cloves, the diced red peppers and the tomatoes and bring to a simmer. You want more or less similar amounts of diced onions and peppers. Add tomatoes — if they aren’t in season, 3 standard cans of diced tomatoes will work. Add some white wine, chicken stock or water to thin the stew a bit if needed. While this is cooking and coming together, squeeze the excess moisture out of the eggplant and then sauté it in batches separately until lightly browned, then add to the stew in batches. Do the same with zucchini. Aim for about the same volume of zucchini, eggplants, and tomatoes. Add the basil, cook for a few minutes, and serve.

BABA GHANOUSH

This Mediterranean dip is based on eggplant and tanini, which is a sesame paste, essentially. Again, this is a recipe built over time based on my experience and my own taste. The recipe has way more lemon in it than some may like, but since I love acidic flavors, I enjoy the extra lemon. Baba Ghanoush is great served with pita bread or vegetables as an appetizer or snack.

Ingredients One large eggplant 1/3 c. tahini Juice and zest of two lemons 1 head of garlic, roasted, plus 2 cloves raw Salt and pepper Smoked paprika to taste ½ t. cumin Olive oil

Cut eggplant in half, coat generously with olive oil. Add salt and place cut side down in an ovenproof dish. Peel skin off garlic head, remove tips, and wrap in foil with a dollop of olive oil and a few drops of water. Seal foil packet and put packet and dish with eggplant into a 350-degree oven. Roast 1-1/2 hours, until very tender. Remove eggplant flesh, and squeeze garlic cloves into a mixing bowl or food processor. Finely mince two fresh garlic cloves, and add to eggplant and roasted garlic. Add zest and juice of lemon and tahini, along with other ingredients. Mix by hand or pulse to desired texture. I prefer more texture than comes from hand mixing; the food processor allows a smoother dip. If mixture is too thick, add olive oil to desired texture. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve with raw vegetables or pita.

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