Healthy Food Chart

Our Chef Silvia writes about “cooking as a form of spiritual practice – the Zen of the kitchen – a perfect blend of the practical with the profound, and the gift of both.” Below is her most recent ” A Note From The Chef” along with a few recipes…one for gluten free dumplings!

I didn’t always know that the kitchen was a healing place. As a child, all I knew was that it felt good when I was there. The kitchen was where abundance always reigned, where tantalizing aromas from steaming pots on the cook top drew me in, and overflowing platters held any number of treasures ready to satisfy my hunger in an instant. It didn’t matter what the outside world looked like; the kitchen was neutral ground, a place of respite from life’s little annoyances – from scraped knees to aching hearts – a soothing balm that simply nourished.

We’ve all heard it said that it’s the journey, not the destination, where the true prize waits. Now, as an adult and professional chef, I often wonder if we’ve lost some of the kitchen’s inherent magic when our focus is on the finished dish rather than on the process of preparing it. Does the real soul of the kitchen evaporate when we approach cooking as a chore rather than a pleasure?

There are few things in life that offer multiple gifts as readily as the kitchen. Good food is the most obvious, but it’s the more subtle contributions that most surprised me, becoming clear only after years of observation. I didn’t realize that as I was stirring a sauce, chopping an onion, kneading the dough, or performing any number of tasks that cooking demands, that I was really practicing an ancient meditation. Cooking, by its very nature, requires one’s full attention. Any deviation produces almost instant consequences – burnt sauce, a cut finger, a forgotten ingredient…

Over the years, I began to recognize that cooking was a practice of presence my otherwise cluttered mind so desperately needed. When I cook, my mind is still, relaxed, focused only on the task before me – because it has to be. This is the true gift of the kitchen, comfort for a tattered spirit, a place to rest and regain strength, while it provides sustenance for the body.

The idea that I could be training my mind in the art of meditation and still end up with something wonderful to eat just never ceases to amaze me. What could be more loving, more nourishing, more healing than this? This is cooking as a form of spiritual practice – the Zen of the kitchen – a perfect blend of the practical with the profound, and the gift of both.

Chef Silvia

Chicken Soup With Bok Choy
What would healing be without a little chicken soup? This recipe is a step by step instruction on a basic soup but with a little eastern twist – in keeping with the Zen theme of this month’s cooking article – bokchoy. In addition, rather than boiling a whole chicken to make the broth, this recipe sautés chicken thighs and shallots for a richer, fully flavor. Follow this recipe as a starting point and then feel free to implement any of the suggested variations.Ingredients – Makes about 6-8 servings

6 bone-in chicken thighs
1 small shallot – finely minced
1 clove garlic – finely minced
1/4 cup flour for dredging the chicken
¼ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons chicken base *
2 quarts water
1 large sprig fresh parsley (including stems)
1 teaspoon tomato paste or 2 – 3 tablespoons crushed tomatoes (optional – but great for added color and flavor)

* Chicken base is a concentrated paste that is wonderful for adding flavor to any broth. They come in small glass jars by the chicken broth in most supermarkets, available in beef, seafood and vegetable.Instructions

Instructions

• Place large stockpot over medium heat and heat until hot but not smoking and add olive oil.

• Season chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour (shake off excess) and brown on one side (about 2 minutes). Turn and add the garlic and onion and cook for an additional minute or so, or until the onion softens. • Add the water, bring to a boil, lower the heat to simmer, add parsley and cook for about an hour until the meat begins to fall off the bone. Remove the meat and set aside.
• Add the base one teaspoon at a time, stir and check the broth. If too watery, add a bit more base until you reach the desired flavor. Add the tomato and stir.

• In the meantime, remove the meat from the bone and add to the stockpot.

• Chop the bokchoy horizontally in ¼ inch slices and add to the pot.

• Cook for an additional 5 minutes or just until the bokchoy is softened but still has a bite to it.
• Serve in individual bowls and finish with fresh chopped parsley

Variations
Add carrots, celery, leeks, escarole, or other favorite as a substitute for the bokchoy, or combine a number of vegetables for a chicken vegetable soup
Add rice, pasta or dumplings (or even gluten – free dumplings – see recipe below)

Gluten – Free Dumplings

1 cup gluten – free flour (You will need 1/4 tsp Xanthum Gum if not already in flour blend)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt + ½ tsp pepper
½ cup whole milk
1 egg (beaten)
4 tbs canola oil

Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, pepper, milk, and canola oil. It should look like course. Add some fresh chopped parsley if you like or any additional seasoning you may want. Using a teaspoon scoop out small ball size portions of dough and add to the simmering broth. Don’t overcrowd the dumplings. Cover and cook for about 10. Dumplings should be light and fluffy.