Policy Point Wednesday - How to fund the Child Nutrition Act?

In a struggling economy, finding money to help our most vulnerable citizens is difficult at best.  However, if you will give me some editorial leeway - some exchanges just make no sense: e.g. the current proposal  to fund the Healthy, Hunger-free Kids Act by cutting SNAP benefits.  It's not just a small cut: food stamp recipients will receive about $59 less per year in benefits.  While the new Child Nutrition Act does offer many important improvements specific to the needs of the food insecure, it does not offer food directly to families to offset this cut, nor does it help needy people with no children.

This does not mean that I don't think SNAP is overdue for an overhaul.  I am concerned that any liquor store or corner shop offering a few edibles can accept these federal dollars.  Since there are few limits on what qualifies as "food," there is little incentive for these fringe food purveyors to offer healthy options.  States have even been rebuffed in their attempts to improve public health by imposing restrictions on what foods may be eligible for purchase SNAP dollars.   

It is important to note that this isn't impossible: WIC, funded under the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, has taken the approach of balancing available funding with the food needs of its participants.  Each state has a specific list of WIC eligible food, typically including whole grain cereals, beans, dairy products, and certain canned fish.  It is my personal belief that WIC is what made the food desert project possible; most drugstores, even in the food desert, carry WIC-eligible foods.  


All that being said, these programs aren't always sufficient at the current level of funding.  SNAP and WIC dollars are often supplemented by charities.   Instead of using reductions in one program to fund the other, what if we looked at the bigger picture?  Logically, if one goal of the Federal Government is to promote a healthy diet for all Americans, perhaps the first place to look is the American diet.  Note that just under half our diet consists of products associated with feed grain: dairy, meat, poultry, eggs, and even sweeteners like HFCS: even the USDA has stated that these products should play a smaller role in a healthy diet. 


I propose that we consider funding the Child Nutrition Act through cuts to USDA feed grain subsidies.  While this will amount to a small increase in the price of the foods listed above, this small incentive to improve our diet has the potential to further improve the health of future generations.  Please, write your elected representatives and ask them to consider other funding sources for this very important legislation. 

Sundays with Sparky - Yakitori in Manhattan

A while back, we all went to visit Sparky's uncle in Manhattan.  When we're on vacation, we make an effort to eat outside our comfort zone, because I think learning the different ways people eat is just as important as learning to cook.  While Chicago has a sizable Japanese population and good sushi and plenty of Japanese comfort food, unfortunately we don't have many Yakitori bars here.  Yakitori are basically Japanese shish kebabs or brochettes usually of chicken parts - often giblets and other offal.  They are usually eaten with beer, much like American Buffalo Chicken Wings.

Sparky had seen Yakitori on a travel show, and was excited about it to the point that he was ready to hop a plane to Tokyo.  Fortunately, my brother's favorite place was right around the corner from where we were staying, so we headed there for dinner.  Sparky immediately ordered a bacon-wrapped quail egg and a chicken skin skewer, and liked them so much that he wouldn't share and we had to order our own.  The rest of us were a little bit less proprietary with our skewers, and so we were able to try quite a variety:

Quail egg and chicken skin


Chicken hearts, chicken cartilage, shishito peppers straight-up


Chicken gizzard, scallop

All were fairly plain, lightly seasoned and grilled quickly with very high heat - and we liked this approach. A lot.We also got to try their special "maki," I forget what it's called, but it's a tube shape of takoyaki (an octopus pancake - which I quite liked, it was a bit starchy, but with tender chunks of octopus) buried in tempura crumbles topped with spicy mayo.  Hidden inside the tempura crumbles is a "prize" that Sparky found - a tiny, candied crab.  He pounced on it and  pronounced it good.

Having a child who will eat his vegetables - good.  Having a child who willingly digs through a pile of food he's never tried before to taste a food he's never tried before - priceless.  


We finished our meal with of shiso (a green vegetable related to mint) onigiri and green beans with really teeney anchovies - delicious.  

The Food Desert Project - Succotash-stuffed Artichokes

Now that the November holidays are approaching, creative side dishes for this project got pushed to the front of the line - interesting vegetables, in particular, are really challenging when restricted to canned and dried products.  My inspiration came from Native American tribes, whose nonperishable staples are still used today.  Their staple foods were important for both travel and for trade; thus, native dried maize (corn) and beans were spread throughout the Americas.  Perhaps the most famous recipe using these native staples is succotash, a simple stew made from beans, corn, wild onions, sunflower seeds and animal fat - traditionally bear fat, but once adopted by European settlers, "pickled pork" enters the recipe and most modern versions are made with bacon.

Of course, these shelf-stable staples are still available to us, (well, with the exception of bear fat) even in the food desert!  However, it's always good to have something a little more versatile in your lexicon - say, something that could easily work as a quick appetizer in addition to being a side.  Thus, we employ the versatile artichoke, and make this native food into a one-bite snack.

Food Desert Succotash

2 tbsp dried minced onion

1 tbsp dried chives

2 tbsp white wine

1 can corn, drained and rinsed

1 can beans, drained and rinsed

1 can roasted red peppers

1 tbsp EVOO (or I suppose you could use bacon fat and add crumbled bacon)

1 tsp mustard

Soak the onion and chives in the white wine overnight (alternatively, put them in the microwave for 30 seconds on high and allow to steep until most of the liquid is absorbed.)  Combine the first 6 ingredients...

...and sauté in the olive oil/bacon grease until fragrant; stir in mustard.  Serves 8.  Nutritional Information.  You can also chill this and serve it with a viniagrette as a salad...or move on to recipe # 2

Succotash-Stuffed Artichokes

1/4 recipe Food Desert Succotash

1 8-10 count can whole artichokes 

3 tbsp roasted salted sunflower seeds

1 tbsp french fried onions

1/2 slice bread

Drizzle of olive oil

Cut a small bit off the bottom of each artichoke so it will stand up on its own.  Loosen the outer 2 rows of leaves slightly with your fingers so you can pull out the inner leaves,* being careful that the outer leaves remain attached to the bottom.  


Fill the cavity with succotash, repeating until all artichokes are stuffed.

Break the bread into small chunks.  Add sunflower seeds, bread, and french fried onions to your blender and blend until the bread is crumbled - don't let it become a paste.  Drizzle with olive oil and top the artichokes with this mixture.

Place in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes; finish under the broiler for a few seconds to crisp and brown the topping. (This is an excellent recipe for a toaster oven, BTW.)  Serves 5 for appetizers, or 3 for dinner.  Nutritional Information.

* You weren't going to throw away those artichoke cores, were you?  Good heavens, don't do that!  Stay tuned for a later installment of the food desert project where we will put them to good use; in the meantime they are safely tucked away in a sealed container in the freezer....

  

Policy Point Wednesday - The most important meal of the day

I've written a lot about USDA nutrition programs, like SNAP,  school lunch, and the summer food service program - but what about breakfast?  SBP, or the School Breakfast Program is one of the initiatives to prevent childhood hunger under the Child Nutrition Act.  Easy, right? 

Unfortunately, even the federal government can't agree on the best way to get breakfast to school kids.  A study of a piloted universal school breakfast program was fairly inconclusive about its results, both as to the benefits of school breakfast and whether or not a universal, subsidized program increased breakfast eating.  However, studies that led the USDA to pilot this program did show that breakfast at school helps reduce tardiness and increase attendance, and there are plenty of studies to indicate that breakfast does play a role in school success, wherever it is eaten.

Unlike universal breakfast, in-class breakfast programs have actually been shown to decrease skipped breakfast and to ensure that more kids recieve the benefits of a breakfast.  Arriving at school early and eating breakfast in the cafeteria create a barrier for some families; typically the children who most need the school breakfast have the most difficulty getting to school early.  In addition, school districts have found that as universal in-class school breakfast increases participation, it reduces the labor cost per breakfast, thus proportionately increasing the amount of the government reimbursement that can be spent on the food itself.  The schools piloting this program report that disruption to class time is minimal, as breakfast happens during school announcements and not instructional time.  Another benefit described by the participating children: SNAP dollars go farther now that more meals are eaten at school.

Sundays with Sparky - Apple of my Eye

OK, reaching into the wayback machine for a post I wrote quite a while back, but I think it's the first one I wrote about going to a farm to get food.  As you can see from the pictures, Sparky has grown from the chubby-cheeked boy shown here to quite a young man, now. 

We love apple picking - but the things that often accompany it, not so much.  After heading to apple country, we made one stop...but we promptly turned around and got back in the car after seeing the crowds, petting zoo, moon-bounce, cafe and other non-apple entertainment. We moved on up the road to Woodstock County Orchard, which not only was more our speed, and offered U-Pick raspberries as well. Tastings of the apple varieties and orchard maps were offered at the front tent:

Don't be dissuaded by the following sign

It's really a reminder to keep a careful eye on your kids. Everyone was very, very friendly and they have wagons to help you carry whatever burdens you've got.

The orchard was lovely, with Redcorts, Empires, Jonagolds, Jonamacs, Red Delicious, Senchu, and Honeycrisp ready to pick, and Galas at half-price as this was their last weekend. Not only were the apples less expensive than the other farm, there were bushels, pecks and half-pecks available. We bought a peck of Galas for $5, and a peck of mixed for $10 - and picked a pint of raspberries for $4. They also had local honey for sale.

Quote from the back of the farm's map "'Agritainment" is the latest trend at apple orchards. It means combining agriculture with entertainment, like petting zoos, hayrides mazes, etc... This isn't for us. Our priority is the fruit. We like the peaceful Woodstock countryside, and we think picking apples & raspberries is entertaining in itself."

We all had a great time, and arrived at Mitsuwa for dinner tired, sunburnt and full of apples. 



If you're interested in the opportunity to visit a farm, and you live near Chicago or Milwaukee, check out my local U-Pick Map.

The Food Desert Project - Yaki Onigiri with "Kalbi"

You know, if you just let an idea knock around in your head a bit, often a good idea will shake loose. Somebody kindly reminded me that I've been looking for a Sparky-friendly filling for Onigiri - Japanese rice balls(or, as Sparky incorrectly calls it "Triangle Sushi.") Onigiri differs from sushi in that the rice is not flavored with seasoned vinegar, only salt and a filling - one of the more famous versions is Hawaiian Spam Musubi.

Now, traditionally, Onigiri is wrapped in Nori, which is laver seaweed that has been pressed and dried into sheets; I'm certain all but the most sophisticated food deserts don't carry. However, the grilled version, Yaki Onigiri, typically is just brushed with soy sauce and doesn't have the typical Nori handle or wrap. While their nori-wrapped cousins may be filled with any salty substance: tuna or salmon salad is common, or Japanese pickled plums, the grilled ones are often unfilled, but as filling is not unheard of, I bring you...

Food Desert Yaki Onigiri with Kalbi

Mise-en-Place



Leftover Chinese takeout rice, or cooked short-grain rice (brown rice, if available, works fine)
1 Bag dehydrated beef nuggets, preferably teriyaki flavor (avoid liquid smoke flavoring if possible)
sesame seeds
Oil
salt
water
1 plastic baggie
1 teacup
1 spoon
nonstick skillet
saucepan

Coarsley chop the beef nuggets into large dice. Place in saucepan and add twice their depth in water; bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer, simmer for 1/2 hour or until nuggets are tender. Drain, and allow to dry a bit.



Heat up rice in a microwave or steamer (rice must be piping hot for this to work-one bento blog talks lovingly about how Japanese mothers hands are red and chapped from forming onigiri with rice straight from the cooker) Form your plastic baggie into a cone and put the point of the cone into a teacup or coffee mug; fill the point with rice.



Make a hole in the center of your rice with a spoon, drop in a beef nugget or two. Cover with rice.



Twist the top of the bag, using it to help you form the rice into a tightly packed triangle with flat sides and curved angles  (the unwrapped one in the second photo fell apart after cooking; if you have "holes" re-pack it in the plastic bag and press harder)



Coat your rice ball with sesame seeds and season with salt.

Preheat a bit of oil in your nonstick skillet, and fry your rice ball, carefully turning after about 2 minutes (or when the rice and sesame smell fragrant) Using a basting brush, lightly coat the top with soy sauce.



Turn again, and coat the second side with soy sauce. Serve hot.

Policy Point Wednesday - Obesity and Junk Food Junkies

The news is filled with people on junk food diets for various different reasons, indeed, TLC has produced a show entitled "Freaky Eaters" focusing on the extreme diets of individuals who have an obsessive relationship with food, often specific foods.  Recently, in local news, an office bet led a man to eat nothing but sausage pizza for a month (he won, easily.)

However, some junk food diets have a more political bent.  For instance, in SuperSize Me, filmmaker Morgan Spurlock ate nothing but McDonald's food for a month.  While many viewers focus on the types of food Spurlock ate, it's interesting to note how much Spurlock focused on the relationship of behavior and fast food: for instance, he "supersized" only when offered,  restricted his steps to approximately the average American's amount of walking, and made sure he tried every item advertised on the menu at least once.  Spurlock gained 24 pounds over the course of the month, and at the end of his experiment had a cholesterol level of 230.

In an attempt to show that weight is not related to the type of food eaten, Kansas State Human Nutrition Professor Mark Haub  has lost weight by eating a diet of primarily junk food and some low-calorie vegetables.  His diet also focuses on behavior, but is nearly opposite of Spurlock's diet - it is carefully controlled at 1800 calories per day.  The diet consists of :

• 80% “junk food” consisting of sweetened cereal such as Frosted Flakes, snack cakes, nacho cheese corn chips, honey buns, donuts, Pop Tarts, peanut butter-chocolate bars, chocolate cake rolls and breakfast pizza, etc.;
• 10% whole milk and other dairy protein; and
• 10% vegetables consisting of the equivalent of 1 can of green beans, celery, baby carrots, peas and carrots, waxed beans, etc.

Professor Haub notes that, while he is losing weight, his diet is extremely inexpensive: he spends approximately $5 per day for all the calories he needs. "It's portion controlled. I'm eating foods that are deemed by many to be unhealthy; we will see if they are," Haub said.  He created the diet to illustrate the point that weight is gained or lost by balancing calorie intake and calorie output - but is exploring other health issues that may arise from eating high-fat, high-sugar foods.  

  

Sundays with Sparky - The Tale of the Ox...(Oxtail Pitcha)

Sparky said to an ox,

           "Employing some Knox,
garlic, onions and wine
you'll transform to refined."
    He began the Pitcha

            with 3 onions and 2 cloves
of garlic which, uh

at 400 roasted

in their 

skins

'til

 wilted.

For the eponymous recipe of this blog, I felt like we really needed to pull out all the stops - and since oxtails are just not available in the Food Desert, it fell to Sparky to bring this about.  Fortunately, Sparky both loves oxtails (in our predominately Afro-Caribbean neighborhood they are quite common) and has a reason to want to master them: the winner of the 2009 sMACdown, which happened to be stationed right next to Sparky's entry, won - largely because it featured oxtails.  Time to smack those oxtails back!

Onion-braised Oxtails

This recipe caught my eye as  terrific starting place.

3 onions
2 large cloves of garlic
4 lbs oxtails
2 cups of red wine
1 cup water
2 bay leaves
Salt and pepper to taste

Aside from their process, which we will ignore, it seemed like good, simple flavors for beef, so Sparky scrubbed 3 onions and 2 garlic cloves well, and we roasted them in a 400 degree oven, removing the garlic after 15 minutes, and the onions for slightly over 1/2 an hour until they collapsed, allowed them to cool, squeezed them out of their skins and pureed them in the blender.  This was poured over the oxtails in a ziploc bag and left overnight.  The next morning, we deviated from the recipe by adding two cups of red wine,  a cup of water and two bay leaves, and allowing it to marinate for 2 hours.  Then we dumped the whole thing into the pressure cooker, brought it up to speed, and cooked it for 30 minutes.

  Oxtails really need a long, slow braise to bring out the silky gelatin that makes them so wonderful - and gelatin is crucial to the success of this recipe, so after testing to make sure they were not overcooked (meat should slide off the bones but not turn to mush) we put them in a cast-iron casserole and popped them in a 300 degree oven for an hour and a half, or until the meat falls off the bone when touched.  (If you want a hot braised dish, before putting the mixture into the oven, you could add peeled and cubed root vegetables like potatoes, carrot, and swedes (rutabagas) and serve the result as a stew, or, alternatively, add 2 quarts of fresh grape tomatoes and a sprig of fresh rosemary, and serve the result over cooked noodles for a warm winter dinner) 

Oxtail Pitcha

Having somewhat more elaborate plans for our oxtails, we allowed the mixture to cool, removed the oxtails and strained the broth to which we added 1/4 cup of Madeira (or sherry,) and quick-chilled them in separate flat containers in the refrigerator with ice packs on top (safe temperature controls are crucial in this recipe.  This will also give you a chance to see if you need more gelatin later; keep in mind that it is going to provide all the structure for your loaf - if it doesn't slice, or if slices "heal," you'll need to add gelatin.)  

We then created a mirepoix of carrot, celery and leeks and sauteed them until tender.  To this we added some diced red bell pepper which we had roasted in the oven, skinned and seeded.





The vegetables became the heart of our oxtail Pitcha - in a method not unlike making sushi, I pulled the meat off the oxtails (too "gucky" a job for Sparky) and laid it on a large rectangle of plastic wrap laid over paper towels.  We ladled some almost-set oxtail aspic over them (if your stock didn't set to sliceable, using half the amounts listed and your oxtail broth instead of consomme, follow these directions until step 3.)  We then laid the blanched vegetables in the middle, poured more aspic over them, and, using the kitchen towel, rolled up the meat around them.  Once the two sides of the plastic wrap met, Sparky folded them over each other, and then rolled the two ends to make a nice, tight sausage-shape.

This went into a mold (we used the ice bucket from our freezer) the top shelf of the refrigerator overnight.  Tomorrow (today if you're reading when this posts) we will unveil it at the LTH picnic; it will stay nicely cooled in the custom-fitted ice tray Mom had made the day before by freezing a ziploc bag of water weighted with heavy containers in the approximate shapes we needed.

Policy Point Wednesday - Nutrition Support Gains Local Momentum

I've written quite a bit on this blog about Federal nutrition support programs - but nutrition support doesn't have to stop there!  I recently read about a local foods initiative in the District of Colombia - the local governing body unanimously approved the Healthy Schools Act to promote better foods in DC area schools while FUNDING farm-to-school incentives at five cents per meal.  The buck doesn't have to stop at the White House!

The District of Columbia has become a model on how best to leverage and improve upon Federal nutrition support.  DC Hunger Solutions, an initiative of the Food Action Research Center, uses a three-pronged approach: finding local policy and legislative solutions, working to maximize participation in federal programs, and educating the public on the realities of food insecurity.  It is this umbrella that has brought initiatives, some previously discussed on this blog: the Healthy Corner Store, the Farmer's Market Collaborative, and advocating for improved wellness policies in DC Schools.

How can an individual citizen get this momentum going?  Start at the local level, contact your municipal representatives and ask what they're doing to leverage and support nutrition assistance programs - then ask them to advocate for State support!  Government doesn't make change unless citizens call for it; raising your voice to support those in need is critical, especially during times of economic hardship.

The Food Desert Project - Dr. Barrilleaux's Nearly-instant Oatmeal Custard

Often, when I'm stuck for ideas for this project, I begin surfing the internet - and often find myself in some extremely exciting places!  Today's post is brought to you by Benchfly.com, where I discovered a cache of excellent egg and bean recipes that suit this project to a T - despite that the site is neither about cooking nor food, but "a resource dedicated to providing researchers with the current protocols to support their lives both in and out of the lab."  As an homage to my love of science and scientists, I arranged to cross-post recipes, and here is theirs, exactly as posted on Benchfly:

Dr. Barrilleaux's*  Nearly-instant Oatmeal Custard

•1 egg
•2 tbsp raisins or other dried fruit
•1/4 cup milk
•1/3 cup plain quick-cooking rolled oats
•1 tsp sugar or honey

Beat the egg thoroughly in a bowl with a fork. Add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Microwave until semisolid, about 1.5 minutes, stirring halfway through. If you have even a modicum of self-respect, you’ll never go back to the gloopy so-called oatmeal that comes in a packet.

It may be tempting to skip breakfast in favor of a few more minutes of sleep in the morning, but remember: good science happens with a clear mind and a full belly. 

Thank you, Benchfly!  Of course, I wouldn't be much of a food blogger if I didn't experiment a bit and make a few tweaks.  We discovered that Sparky prefers chopped dried apple, brown sugar, and a tiny bit of vanilla and cinnamon in his oatmeal custard (pictured;) it really is a delightful quick breakfast. The above tweaks are our personal preference; we'd love to hear your variations! 

Nutritional Information for 1 serving. 

* Dr. Bonnie Barrilleaux is a postdoctoral scholar at the University of California, Davis, in the laboratory of Dr. Paul Knoepfler  She received a Ph.D. in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering from Tulane University. She has eaten nearly 2000 breakfasts as a graduate student, many of which involved sniffing a gallon of milk to decide if the expiration date was serious or just a suggestion. Her other favorite breakfast recipes can be found at BenchFly.com.

Sundays with Sparky - Raspberries mark the Last Day of Summer

As I started work on my google map of local U-Pick Farms I was surprised and delighted to get a message from a friend who had just started her own raspberry U-Pick farm.  She suggested we come up on Sunday, there was a pioneer festival in nearby Genoa, IL that she particularly enjoyed...with homemade pie! Since Monday was Sparky's first day at school, I thought this would be a great send-off to the summer, not to mention a nice distraction.  So we piled another Mom and a buddy for Sparky into the car, and off we went.

"Pioneer Days" is a festival sponsored by The Kishwaukee Valley Heritage Society on the last Sunday in August.  Genoa, apparently, was about the mid-way point in the Chicago to Geneva stagecoach run, and the festival celebrates that time, with a large group of Civil War reenacters, along with various townsfolk, offering a peek back in time.  After being totally misdirected to a park in the industrial side of town by my GPS, we happened upon the festival just off of Rt. 72 and Main St - read "happened upon" for "got stuck in the gaper's block caused by the stagecoach as it entered and drove on Rt. 72 for a short jaunt.  Not a sight you see every day!

The festival is a lot of fun, very homespun: Sparky and his friend were first entertained by some girls from the local brownie troupe who were teaching kids to play historical games like marbles and jacks, and then became infatuated with the "corn shucking" machines.  They each shucked about 10 ears of corn, and then had handmade corn bean bags made by the pioneer ladies at the treadle sewing machines.  Behind them, they totally ignored the fascinating process of spinning rope, and the blacksmith making nails and horseshoes.

Most of the reenactors were bristling with arms, and many were engaged in balloon quick-draw shootouts, or "drunken brawl" reenactments and such.  Of course, once I saw the pie, I was just as distracted as Sparky had been by the corn shucker, they had pie of almost every imaginable variety, all homemade, many heritage recipes like mincemeat (clearly, by about noon the pies had been somewhat picked over; impressive, considering the fair starts at 11)

We then left the relative mayhem of the festival and drove a couple of miles west to Kingston, IL.  UPberries is located just after the turn of a gravel road, just off of Kingston's Main St.

Between the Bionicle assault in the car, the motorcycles at the diner where we had lunch, and the shooting at the pioneer festival, it was a relief to get out of the car and be greeted with neat rows of verdant bushes, with little dots of crimson peeking between the leaves. The kids immediately got to work, and in fairly short order we had ten pints picked between the four of us.  The berries are enormous and juicy, the kind you can stick on the tops of your fingers,  and absolutely delicious.  (So juicy, in fact, that we all looked like we'd gone butchering instead of berrying!  With two energetic boys, this offered their imaginations fodder for the trip home (IIRC, zombies figured heavily in the conversation)  our share of the 10 pints of berries turned into several simple desserts, several days of snacks, and a few jars of our favorite, favorite jam ever.

A highly, highly recommended way to end your summer.

                                         

The Food Desert Project - Green Bean Poutine

I really wish I had thought of this idea all by myself.  You see, after I made the recipe index page, I realized that I was quite low on side dishes and vegetables, and I determined that I would use canned green beans for my next recipe.  I tried a riff off of green beans and potatoes, with an onion homage to the famous soup-can recipe...and, well, it failed miserably.  So I cast my net out wide on the internets, and found this gem.

For those of you unfamiliar with poutine, it is one of Montreal's most famous dishes and is sweeping the nation right now.  The story goes that a restaurant patron asked for cheese and french fries in a bag, and his host exclaimed "ça va faire une maudite poutine", or "it will make a *^%# mess!" (poutine translates as mess.) Traditionally, poutine contains french fried potatoes, gravy - usually with a chicken base, but often something like a Knorr packet gravy - and fresh cheese curds that "squeak."


Of course, a food desert isn't going to have fresh cheese curds - nor will I tolerate canned mushrooms or "gravy packets" for the purposes of this project...so I started by making my own cheese.


I'd been intending to experiment with Indian Paneer cheese for some time; after all, there are a great many terrific South Indian dishes that use Paneer, and besides - if you make the cheese, you control both fat and salt.  I found many, many recipes online, so I'll offer you my conglomeration:


Food Desert Paneer


4 cups milk
1/2 cup yogurt or yogurt whey
1 tsp vinegar

Bring the milk to a boil, add the other ingredients and whisk briskly.  


Adjusting the heat carefully so that your milk does not boil over, continue whisking until you start to see clumps of cheese on your whisk.  Stop mixing and wait until the cheese and whey separate completely and you have a milky blob floating in a yellowish liquid.  Strain through a clean coffee filter* and allow to drain for a few minutes.  Wrap the cheese carefully in the coffee filter (you should have a tuna-can-size disc, enough for about four to six servings) and put it on a plate in the refrigerator with a heavy weight (like a gallon of milk, if you can keep it stable) on top.  Nutritional Information




I decided that a traditional stock-based sauce would be too bland, so I opted for Sauce Allemande or Sauce Blonde, a stock-based sauce thickened by both a roux and a custard.


Food Desert Sauce Allemande


2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup chicken stock 
(a shot of white wine wouldn't hurt)
1/2 cup milk
1 egg yolk
Salt, pepper, chili flakes


Melt the butter in a small saucepan.  Add the flour and whisk constantly, cooking until the mixture has reached a decidedly tan color.  Add the chicken stock (and wine) and bring to a boil; it will thicken - continue to cook and taste for seasoning; add salt and pepper and chili flakes as desired.  Cool slightly.  Whisk the egg yolk and the milk (I use 1%) in a separate bowl.  Add a small amount of the sauce to the egg yolk mixture, whisking vigorously.  Again whisking vigorously, pour the tempered egg mixture into the sauce, which should thin out and then thicken as the eggs cook slightly (you may need to return your pot to low heat for a few seconds - stir, stir, stir!)


To assemble Poutine:


Heat 1 can green beens by lightly sautéing in a dry skillet.  Pile onto a plate and cover with chunks of paneer cheese.  Pour on the Allemande Sauce and serve immediately.  Serves 2. Nutritional Information

*Don't throw out the whey!  There are all kinds of uses for it - I plan to make ricotta cheese with mine, but you could use it instead of water when you make bread, you could use it to cook rice or polenta, etc.

Entered in the BSI Contest at http://ruchikacooks.com/