Volume 1 Number 1
Choices in food, wine, dining & design
Beyond Olive: more ways with gourmet oils
Iron Chef’s (vegan) challenge: You’ll love these tapas
Entertaining issue: Crowd pleasers: Inspired potlucks & platters Storm in a cocktail glass Cheddar
Chardonnay
THE GENTLE KITCHEN Invitation to a free plant-based cooking class!
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ENTERTAINING ISSUE 2012/13
Ultimate tapas: Iron Chef Herb Faust accepts the vegan challenge 46
CONTENTS I’ll take Potluck: Turn up with a winning dish 56 Crowd pleasers: Fennel Friday with Chef Peter Clark 40
How to live the Great Life: Fill the platter and love your friends 60
Chocolate decadence: Can you share? 14
Beyond the olive: Gourmet oils to test 42 Shake it up: Try our signature organic vodka cocktail 26 The morning after: Fresh from Annapolis 37 A fine marriage: Vegan cheese and vino 28 Cover picture of cloche from Esque Studio $900. CONTENTS
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OPINION: How’s and why’s of plant-based cooking, by Leigh Kirk 6 OFFER: A free online vegan cooking class with Chef Adam Guthrie 4 COOKBOOKS: Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South 15 Every picture tells the Dirt Candy story 33 Soup tips 25 DESTINATION DINING: Pure Food & Wine New York City 16 DESIGN: Gifts for the hostess who has everything 8 Hostess cover-ups wrap it and rock it Santa Barbara style 10 Textile hunt leads to Soho 18 Gold & bronze inspiration 20 SHOPPING: What’s in your Gentle Kitchen pantry? 68 Spin the love with healthy noodles 65 CHEF’S PANTRY: Louisa Shafia - Welcoming saffron 21 TRAVEL: Day tripping – find a farm to love 11 Market mad: Learn about exotics in Kyoto, Chennai & Manila 69 RECIPE INDEX 75
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COOKING ONLINE Sponsored by:
Special offer to The Gentle Kitchen readers:
Feel good, live well! Free online Vegan cooking classes How to take your free class Adam Guthrie will be conducting free online whole food plant-based cooking classes at: www.ifeelgood.com.au “The course includes 12 online instructional videos, spread over 5 days and an e-book with 12 simple to prepare whole food plant-based recipes,” says Adam. “All the recipes are quick and easy and can be prepared in 30-minutes or less. We will look at what to stock in your pantry, how to make delicious breakfasts, nutritious lunches and prepare healthy dinners. Simply go to the website www.ifeelgood.com.au and subscribe to the free 5-day online class and discover how easy it is to live a whole food plantbased diet.” Available from December 15, 2012
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COOKING ONLINE love of good food and the benefits of a whole food vegetarian diet comes across clearly on the website’s cooking class videos as he prepares simple, healthy and delicious vegetarian dishes such as Scrambled Tofu on Sourdough – crumbled tofu mixed with fresh vegetables, spiced up with cumin, coriander and turmeric, pan-fried and served on sourdough toast. A quick, healthy and delectable dish that can be served up for breakfast, lunch or dinner in a dash.
Australian chef Adam Guthrie changed to a vegetarian diet at a young age to overcome obesity and depression following a personal life crisis. “I was 21 and got depressed and lived on steaks, chilli sauce, ice-cream and chocolate for three months,” recalls Adam. “My weight went from 80 kilos to 120 kilos and I felt like I was going to die – literally. Then I bought a copy of You Can Heal Your Life by Louise Hay and it changed my life. I took a month off work to do the exercises in the book and went to see a naturopath who got my diet sorted. I started to read books on health and nutrition, stuck to a healthy vegetarian diet and within three months I was back to my normal weight and feeling fantastic.” Adam and his wife, Roo, are living proof that it is possible to live a simpler, healthier, more sustainable and compassionate lifestyle within contemporary Western society. Vegetarians for more than 20 years, this enterprising couple are now sharing their healthy lifestyle knowledge and vegetarian cooking skills with the world through their I Feel Good website, offering online video cooking courses, wholefood
“We believe there are a lot of people like us who want to live simply, compassionately and healthily” – Adam & Roo vegetarian recipes, tips on healthy eating and growing your own produce and more. “We believe there are a lot of people like us who want to live simply, compassionately and healthily,” says Adam, whose passion for sharing his
“A whole food vegetarian lifestyle is better for you as it can prevent diseases such as heart disease, cancer, degenerative diseases and diabetes – and better for the planet,” adds Adam. “We should eat what we were meant to eat in the form nature gave us: whole food, in season and fresh from the garden. “Our aim with I Feel Good is to help others to switch to a whole food vegetarian diet, or even make a point of eating vegetarian meals a couple of days each week. It’s much easier than most people imagine – and much tastier! We want to provide a resource people can readily go to and learn from and enjoy the experience.” Adam who is a qualified Chef in his own right also recently completed a nutrition course with the distinguished Dr Colin T. Campbell, author of The China Study, through Cornell University. “The course was amazing,” says Adam, “It presented a powerful science-based approach to nutrition that can dramatically reduce your risk of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and obesity and improve your quality of life. Many doctors are turning to Dr Campbell’s way of thinking and I will be sharing what I have learned through a new free course about plant-based cooking on the I Feel Good website.”
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WHAT’S NEW TO COOK
Going crunk over Southern taste
Bianca Phillips has the passion of generations of Southern cooks in her blood.
With mama Delores and granny Ruth, she has successfully redefined and recreated the best and homeliest dishes from her beloved childhood. Now we can all benefit from three generations of soul-warming country cooking as Bianca has compiled dozens of family favorites in a new cookbook Cookin’ Crunk. She says “crunk” – a Southern slang term for getting excited – conveys her passion for veganism and for her Southern roots. The Arkansas native happily admits her recipes originated in the family kitchen: “I’m not a trained chef just a Southern gal who grew up hovering around the knees of my mama and granny in the kitchen. As a result my recipes are far from pretentious and gourmet – just simple comfort food free of meat and other animal products.”
“Ive been vegetarian since I was 14 and went vegan at 24 – at first my mom said ‘no cheese – you have gone crazy!’. “But now when we eat out together, she has what I have!” Her mom has been a huge supporter, even creating a vegan version of her legendary cornbread dressing, which is included in the cookbook. Bianca says she rarely cooks the same thing twice though she loves tofu. “I most often cook a tofu scramble, and maybe the vegan pimiento cheese,” she said. Savory dishes in Cookin’ Crunk include Chocolate Gravy, served over Whole Wheat Buttermilk Biscuits, Southern Fried Tofu Chicken and a great vegan interpretation of chicken and dumplings. Bianca shares her Southern vegan pantry essentials, revealing her adventurous palate, and is a big fan
Cookin Crunk’ Eatin’ Vegan in the Dirty South Bianca Phillips Book Publishing Company, Summertown, Tennessee 2012
of seasoning salts, black salt (kala namak) which she swears adds a real egg flavor, and her favorite Sriracha sauce (sweet-hot Thai chili sauce). “And I couldn’t have finished the book without granny’s vegan-adapted pie recipes,” Bianca said. Thank goodness for that! The recipes for cobblers, bread pudding, dark chocolate bourbon pecan pice and of course mint julep brownies are mouthwatering enough to adopt as your own family tradition.
Recipe:
Butter Bean Bruschetta Bruschetta
Butter Bean Spread
1 baguette 1 large tomato chopped 1 ripe but firm avocado, diced 1/4 cup minced red onion 2 tbsp chopped fresh basil 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/2 tsp salt Ground pepper
1 can (14 to 16 oz) butter beans, drained & rinsed 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 clove garlic, minced 1/4 tsp salt 1/8 tsp ground pepper 1 to 2 tbsp water
Directions Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Slice the baguette diagonally into 16 to 20 slices, each about 1 inch thick. Put the slices on a baking sheet and bake for 7 to 10 minutes until lightly browned and toasted to your liking. Put the tomato, avocado, onion, basil, oil, lemon juice, and salt in a large bowl and mis well. Season with pepper to taste. CONTENTS
Directions Put the beans, oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor. Process until creamy, stopping occasionally to scrape down the work bowl. With the processor running, add 1 to 2 tbsp of water as needed to achieve the desired consistency. Process again until very creamy. To assemble, spread a rounded tablespoonful of the bean spread over each baguette slice, scoop out 2 tbsp of the tomato mixture with a slotted spoon and top the bean spread and serve immediately.
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DESTINATION DINING
Pure Food & Wine: New York
Now, eight years later, you still need a reservation for dinner on a Friday night as scores of people move towards a more plant-based diet. At the restaurant, you can find an array of dishes including artisanal vegan nut cheeses made by the Brooklyn-based company Dr. Cow, a vegan take on sushi, surprisingly creamy lasagna, and desserts that any sweet tooth will crave. Each follow the standard practices of the raw food movement, which means nothing is heated above 116 degrees.
Elegant new dining tempts foodies from all quarters
Sarma Melngailis, the face behind this successful eatery (as well as the juice bar One Lucky Duck Juice and Takeaway, and the cookbook Living
Raw Food) has been in the business of raw food for about nine years. Her trek into this dietary world started as a happy accident; she tried raw
When Pure Food and Wine opened in 2004, I wasn’t sure if the concept of an upscale, raw-vegan restaurant would take off. But, people were intrigued and, shortly after opening, the restaurant received high accolades as crowds flocked to the Gramercy Park eatery.
food at the East Village restaurant Quintessence and found she liked what they were doing. After that, Melngailis moved to a mostly vegan and raw diet as an experiment, which she soon found boosted her energy, alertness, and overall well being. So, she stuck with it, and shortly after, opened Pure Food and Wine. Before that, she worked in finance, but left it to attend the French Culinary Institute, which gave her an edge when working with the first raw menu at her restaurant. The dishes, as well as the cozy yet elegant atmosphere, helped launch Pure Food and Wine as the first high-end, raw-food eatery in New York. The restaurant itself has been listed twice in New York Magazine’s Top 100 Restaurants, and has appeared in Forbes’s list of All Star New York Eateries five times. No wonder it is so packed. When we stopped in on a recent night, I marveled at how delicious everything on the menu sounded from Sunchoke
First course: King Oyster Mushroom Scallops with Brussels Sprouts and Shitake Miso Broth, miso glazed pecans, shaved radish, micro mustard. CONTENTS
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Chef’s Pantry Persian style with Louisa Shafia “Iranian saffron is something people have brought back to me as presents,” said Shafia, flaunting the delicate, golden flower pistils. “It’s kind of a classic thing, if someone comes and visits from Iran, they bring saffron, even if you aren’t a cook.” By Linnea Covington
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Taste of Persia perfumed and exotically spiced In a snug Brooklyn kitchen, cookbook author and Persian chef Louisa Shafia plucks ingredients from her pantry. First comes a plastic package of angelica powder, then, she pops the top off a canister of rose buds, and finally, the pretty 43-yearold delicately unfastens the lid to a slim blue tin of Iranian saffron. As she displays them on the industrial steel table she got for $150 in the Bowery, each item elicits a sigh of joy and enthusiasm. “Iranian saffron is something people have brought back to me as presents,” said Shafia, flaunting the delicate, golden flower pistils. “It’s kind of a classic thing, if someone comes and visits from Iran, they bring saffron, even if you aren’t a cook.” It’s been a long time since Philadelphia-raised Shafia has visited Iran, and, since she moved from California 1996, she CONTENTS
Traditionally, marmalade is made from sour orange, which the Persians invented centuries ago when they started preserving food in sugar.
has called New York City home. For over a decade Shafia has lived in the same railroad apartment in Williamsburg, which she now shares with her husband James Rotondi. When I stopped by for lunch, Shafia was in the throes of writing her second cookbook, The New Persian Kitchen, a tome all about Iranian cooking. Her last book, Lucid Food, also utilizes Iranian ingredients, but it’s more focused on cooking
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Strawberry extraordinary 2oz Purus organic wheat vodka 3 fresh strawberries 1/2oz lemon juice 1/2oz agave nectar A splash of club soda Put three cut strawberries into cocktail shaker with lemon juice, muddle them till partly pureed, add agave nectar, then vodka and a handful of crushed ice. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds. Pour everything with ice into a highball glass and top up with club soda.
Stormdrift
2oz Purus organic wheat vodka 1 1/2oz apple juice 1/2oz fresh squeezed lemon juice 1/2oz organic agave nectar 1/2oz orange juice. Combine all juices and the agave nectar in a cocktail shaker, add the vodka with a handful of ice. Shake vigorously for 30 seconds, pour into martini glass, garnished with a twist of orange.
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Steady hand: Edwin Chavez shows his style creating three new cocktails to try out on holiday guests this festive season: Strawberry Extraordinary, Southside with a Twist and our signature cocktail Stormdrift.
Southside with a twist
We used Purus Italian organic wheat vodka but an outstanding alternative is Square One’s organic American rye vodka. but colorful concoctions – Enjoy!
The Southside is always a favorite but for a twist, use organic vodka.
Gentle Kitchen Tip
2oz Purus organic vodka 1oz fresh lime juice 1/2oz agave nectar 6 mint sprigs Add all ingredients to the cocktail shaker, add crushed ice and shake about 45 seconds to break the mint. Strain into a white wine glass and garnish with a mint sprig.
Cocktails need beautiful lemon juice. Strain your squeezed lemon through a tea strainer to ensure there is no pulp or lemon to come through in to the glass.
Pictures: JILL SCALA CONTENTS
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Cheddar
Chardonnay We ask a sommelier to pair our favorite aged nut and vegan cheeses with a suitable quaffing wine... and for the adventurous there’s even a recipe to try at home.
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EXUBERANT
Presented by Herb Faust Foods beetroot texture, creamed tofu, real chocolate, dried olives
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smoked potato gyoza, oozing saffron veloute, shitake mushroom, wakame crumb, finger lime
rice cream and white chocolate sandwich, candied peanuts, raspberries
daikon rice noodle roll,spiced tamarind dressing, fresh herbs
cauliflower beignets, vine ripe tomato Herb Faust may have been a professional skateboarder but he’s better known as Australia’s Iron Chef celebrity winner. The cool chef was acclaimed by judges for his magical, fun, whimsical and exuberant dishes. We think you will feel the same way.... PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOANNE CRUICKSHANK
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Make this
Steamed Rice Noodle Roll 1 cup tapioca flour 1 cup rice flour 2 1/2 cups water pinch of salt
You’ll need a double boiler (pot with a steamer basket inside with a tight fitting lid). Bamboo steamers work well. Bring some water to the boil in the bottom of the double boiler, and place the steamer basket inside ensuring the water level is below the basket. Place a lid on top to keep the steam in. Keep checking the water level, making sure it doesn’t boil dry.
Daikon rice noodle roll, spiced tamarind dressing, fresh herbs
In a bowl, whisk all ingredients together to form a smooth batter. Lightly spray a piece of baking paper with oil, then using a palette knife spread a quarter of the batter into a rectangular shape that will fit into steamer basket. Place baking paper with rice noodle mix in the steamer basket, place the lid on, and steam for 4-5 minutes. Repeat until all the mixture has been used.
To assemble 1 small daikon, peeled and julienned 1 cucumber, julienned 1 handful mint leaves, washed and picked 1 handful coriander, washed and picked At the bottom of each rice noodle sheet, place all ingredients one at a time in a neat row then gently roll to form a tight cylinder, using the baking paper as a guide. Refrigerate until set. Tip: When handling the rice noodle rolls, keep your fingertips wet to avoid sticking.
Spiced Tamarind Dressing
1oz galangal, peeled and roughly chopped 1oz lemongrass, white part only and chopped 1oz scallions, peeled and roughly chopped 1oz coriander root, scraped 3 cloves garlic, peeled 2 long dried red chillies, deseeded 5 long fresh red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped 2 tbsp lime juice 2 tbsp palm sugar, grated 1 tsp salt 1/4 cup tamarind puree
Note: Flavor needs to be hot, sour and slightly sweet and salty. Adjust the seasoning if necessary.
Assemble dish Cut the rice noodle rolls into bite-sized pieces. Smear spiced tamarind dressing on to the platter or small plates and top with the cut rice noodle rolls.
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All vegan, good taste, great style
www.thegentlekitchen.com