Eating In Season Out of Season

Many environmentally conscious foodies and home chefs feel guilty this time of year. Why?It's because we feel like we;re  expanding our carbon footprint by eating fruits and veggies from out of our regions. The problem is if we eat local, we'll basically starve til June.

 Famed Dirt Candy chef Amanda Cohen wrote about this in today's New York Times Food section. Chef Cohen has created one of the most famous vegetarian restaurants in the wold. She is known for her fun and innovative dishes  such as her vegetable ice cream salad (!) and portobello mousse with sauteed Asian pears and cherries. She has no qualms about buying imported produce and we shouldn't' either. Sadly we can''t move to SoCal just for the avocados and lettuce, nor can we move to Italy and Spain just for the olive oil. (although some gourmands have on this last).  Face facts. Our fruits and veggies have always been trucked in from faraway places and where they're from, they are in season There. is also the notion that the fruits and veggies that are on display now are inferior. Chef Cohen also advises to get over that.They are not inferior as I've found out with tomatoes and purple grapes.They're just as fresh and flavorful as their local counterparts are during the Spring, summer and fall months.

Her recipe contributions are all about the tomatoes. Chef Cohen loves tomatoes we all do, especially the ripe, red ones of August. Yet they don't have to be in season to taste good. There is a very good roasted winter tomatoes. The ingredients are what you'd expect basil garlic and olive oil. The surprise one is ginger which gives it an exciting zing. Coconut milk is added to another pomodoro dish. which gives it a South eastern Asian vibe. Red pepper flakes zest it up along with garlic and ginger. Chef Cohen suggests serving it over fish, rice or tofu.A third is is a tasty appetizer or an alternative to pizza. is roasted tomatoes and feta  on toast.It's first pressing the water out of the Greek cheese, then pureeing it with heavy cream.It's topped with the roasted tomatoes along with the tomato oil from the roasting. A splash of grapefruit juice along with the zest of a whole one is added for mouth puckering freshness. All this is layered along with half a cup of torn chickery or wild arugula  on your favorite bread that has been toasted. I'd recommend an Italian or French loaf for added flavor.

Don't feel guilty if you buy those grapes or tomatoes right now, It''s OK to eat them right now. They're in season  - somewhere and are ripe for the picking and eating.

Vegans Gone Glam

Vegans usually get a bad rap. They're either thought of crunchy granola types or ditzy Hollywood stars who eat nothing but lettuce leaves and avocados. There is a happy medium thanks to a Malibu couple that's giving the lifestyle a much needed boost. It's not only good for you ,it's also glam.

Jeff Gordonier of the New York Times Food section got to interview and eat with glam vegans Julie Piatt and Rich Roll in their Malibu , California home.Going meatless now is going mainstream. There are famed vegan restaurants on both coasts.and more and more people are embracing plant based diets.it's not dowdy any more . There's a sexiness and brightness to it with the promise of looking younger and having better skin without any surgery, serums or creams.One Britsh blogger, Ella Woodward claims it cleared up her skin as well as improved her health. For those who want to start glowing and cooking this way there are several good books to chose from such as Mr. Roll's The Plantpower Way, Deliciously Ella,My New Roots and The Lookbook Cookbook. It may take family members some time to embrace it. Most think non meat eating is strips of tasteless tofu over brown rice or mashed yeast. It's so much ore than that.

Maybe the best way to acclimate family and friends into this lifestyle is taking them to vegan restaurants. New York has some good ones, in particular Dirt Candy.Amanda Cohen , its owner worries about the faddishness of the movement however eating at her restaurant may change that.Her Portobello mousse will definitely be an American classic along with her broccoli dogs with broccoli kraut.Veggie burgers usually don't get a following however chef Chloe Coscarelli makes that happen, Her variety of tempeh burgers is getting their own fan base at her SoHo eatery thanks to her blend of different grains and spices made into a patty. Home chefs can easily copy this however remember that the ingredients are somewhat more costlier than beef. As Chef Cohen points out , going vegan is not cheap."It's not for peasants." she declares. Home chefs can start off with the pocketbook friendly Morningstar Farms brand of vegan foods. They have a good array of veggie burgers, fake nuggets, bacon and hot dogs. Buy different canned beans from Goya. These can be made into everything from burgers to casseroles.

The Roll family is on the right track with vegan eating. It gives them a boost while they give it glam. It's not a fad anymore. It's a lifestyle choice with very good benefits.

Vegan Dining Respun

Vegetarian dining is always often greeted with an upturned nose or a sneer. Many think it's a variety of tofu or veggie dishes done wrong. However in the last twenty to twenty five years meat and dairy free dining has taken on a more haute cuisine demeanor. A new generation of chefs is taking ordinary veggies to a whole new level of eating.

This is the case of chef Amanda Cohen , famed creator of the trendy lower East Side  restaurant Dirt Candy. She and the recently updated eatery were profiled in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. The article was written by Food regular Jeff Gordonier  and it explored different aspects of vegetarian cooking, It is not the menu of deprivation with a stern lecture about saving  the    planet. Instead it's a celebration of all things green. CHef Cohen cooks with butter cream and eggs too, something most vegetarian chefs shun, (dishes at Dirt Candy can be prepared two ways, one with animal based ingredients and without them for the truly vegan). She also has her ingredients delivered to her  as she has  no time to visit Manhattan's many farmer's markets. They're not all organic but they are accessible and something her fans can recreate at home.

Vegetarianism has always been a North Star in Chef Cohen's life. she turned to it when she was a Toronto teenager(although she harbored a soft spot for oysters and breaded sweetbreads). Dirt Candy was created because she became tired of the usual , dull and depressing veggie platters most restaurants reserve for non meat eaters.At first she turned to the great chef Charlie Trotters' cookbook about vegetables for inspiration.It paid off. There is the portobello mousse, carrots that are pickled and jerked and then served with a Memphis barbecue.There is even a vegetable ice cream salad.Mr. Gordonier even includes a flavor bomb recipe from her. Its a frozen cube of cilantro,parsley , Thai basil along with spinach , garlic and peeled ginger. The greens are then blanched and then put into an ice bath.The greens are then pureed and poured into an ice cube tray. Use the frozen blocks in stir fry or just for reheated rice,It can even work well with any meat or seafood too.

Vegetarian cuisine has been turned up a notch thanks to innovative chefs like Amanda Cohen. Veggies are not only revered , they're reimagined into new dishes..It's achance to rethink the belief of only eating greens.