Vegetable Stock in the Slow Cooker

There is a chill in the air — okay, it's in the 70s — and I'm thinking ahead to a long winter of soups and stews.

The secret to a good vegetarian soup is an excellent stock. While there are many vegetable stocks on the shelves of the grocery store, I prefer to make my own so I can control the ingredients (no bht or msg or "natural flavors"). I make a good strong stock and freeze it in 1 1/2 cup containers. They are so flavorful that one container added to 4 1/2 cups of water makes a really good base for soup.

The vegetables used to make stock impart all their goodness to the liquid, and are pretty much tasteless mush at the end. I happily give them to the compost heap - they are full of fiber and minerals that feed the compost microbes. They turn it into black gold that I then spread on the garden.

The vegetable stock I stash in the freezer is a form of gold too. It will enrich every soup we eat this winter.

The key to a good stock is roasting the vegetables before simmering them. Think of the difference between golden sautéd onions and boiled onions. A few dried mushrooms contribute an almost beef-like richness. Vary the other vegetables, but if you find an organic parsnip make sure to throw it in. (I confess that I have hoarded last year's parsnips in my fridge all summer, pulling them out to make stock as needed. They get a little weird, but after peeling they're still good.)

Also, while a stock is a good place for diverse vegetables, don't add brassicas — they change the flavor and can get metallic-tasting when frozen. Keep to the base of onions, potatoes and carrots and your stock will enhance whatever soup (or risotto) you're making.

(When I buy fresh shiitake mushrooms, I wash and remove the stems, then dry them on a rack in the kitchen. When I add them to the stock, I feel like I'm getting free flavor!)

Here's the recipe for the stock I made this week.

Vegetable Stock
1 large onion
2 large carrots
1 large potato
1 large parsnip
1 stalk celery
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
4 dried shiitake or porcini mushrooms (or an equal amount of dried stalks)
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp tamari

Preheat oven to 450°F. 

Remove the papery peel from the onion and slice it thickly. Scrub the carrots and potatoes and cut in 1" chunks. Peel the parsnip and cut in 1" chunks. Chop the celery in 1" lengths. Place the garlic cloves, unpeeled, on your cutting board and crush with the side of your big knife. 

Place the vegetables in a lightly oiled baking pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until lightly browned, turning once, about 30 minutes total.

Meanwhile, soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup water until softened. Remove them from the water and check for dirt or grit. Pour the soaking water through a coffee filter, straining out any grit. Reserve mushrooms and soaking water.

Put the roasted vegetables in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add mushrooms and soaking water, bay leaves, peppercorns, tamari, 1 tsp salt, and 7 cups water. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Let cool slightly, then strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Press the vegetables against the side of the sieve with a wooden spoon to get the most liquid possible, although this will make the stock cloudy, so don't do it if you need a clear broth. Discard the vegetables.

Either use the stock right away, refrigerate it for a few days, or freeze for longer storage.

Makes about 8 cups.

Zucchini and Peppers with Feta

It is so easy to make yummy and visually appealing vegetable side dishes during harvest season.

Last night I reheated a bean and rice casserole for dinner. While it was warming in the toaster oven, I made this colorful vegetable sauté.

While a little olive oil warmed in a small skillet, I chopped a small red onion and slivered a half an orange pepper I found in the salad drawer of the fridge. I added these to the oil with a sprinkle of salt and pepper and let them sauté while I chopped a zucchini and diced a half tomato left over from lunch. These went in too with a little more salt and pepper. Then I cooked it over medium heat until the zucchini skin was tender. (Late season zucchini often has tougher skin, I find.)

As a finishing touch, I sprinkled some feta over the vegetables, turned off the heat and covered the pan. I let it sit while I took the casserole from the toaster oven and set the table.

It was a colorful companion to a delicious but brown rice and bean casserole.

Making kefir cheese

When I make kefir, I like to make it thick like sour cream. Then it's good eaten plain as yogurt, stirred into salad dressings, potato salads, or cooked vegetables, and used in baked goods (although its probiotics are destroyed by heating).

I make thick kefir by draining it through a coffee filter set in a strainer over a bowl until it's the consistency I want — from 30 to 90 minutes.

If I let it drain longer, it becomes even thicker like cream cheese. Then I stir herbs and vegetables into it and use it as a spread.

When the kefir is the consistency I want, I scrape it from the filter into a covered glass container and store it in the fridge for up to a couple of weeks. The whey can also be stored for a while, but it's probiotic benefits do wane with time. I drink it straight and Larry puts it in smoothies — usually within a couple of days of making it.

I really like these simple foods that are high in health benefits, low in cost, and add to our enjoyment of our daily meals.

Peeling Tomatoes

Peeled tomatoes ready to be chopped and
added to a sumptuous sauce

When I made fresh tomato sauce last Sunday, I took the time to peel the tomatoes. Each time I start to do this, I wonder if it's worth it. But it really is. Little rolls of tomato peel would take away from the soft sultriness of this tomato sauce.

And really, peeling a few tomatoes takes but a minute.

First, bring a pot of water to the boil. Cut an "x" in the bottom of each tomato. Put the tomatoes in the boiling water.

Cook the tomatoes for 3 minutes until the skin

starts to peel back at the "x".

Scoop out the tomatoes and put them in a bowl of ice water

When they're cool enough to handle (30 seconds or so), take them from the water and pull the skin off with your fingers.

Kefir Whey (Making Kefir part 3 of 3)

Draining the kefir to make it thicker gives the added benefit of separating out the whey.

Do you buy whey powder to add to your smoothies and protein shakes? Well the whey from kefir is the same as that, only fresher and still alive, so therefore I would assume better.

Whey protein is one of the best protein sources there is, and some research suggests it can help reduce risk factors for neuro-degenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. It contains amino acids that are easily absorbed by the digestive tract.

More importantly, it's rich in the precursors for N-acetylcholine (NAC). NAC is an immune-boosting amino acid complex that helps the body make glutathione, an antioxidant enzyme that is vital in protecting all the cell membranes in your body from free-radical damage. NAC also chelates mercury and other toxic heavy metals from the body.

Look at that whey, a by-product of making yummy kefir, and be thoroughly impressed by its health benefits.

Larry puts it into smoothies. I just drink it straight. It's tangy but not really flavored. And I imagine how happy it is making all the cells of my body.

It is so cool to be making power foods in my kitchen!

Making Kefir Taste Good (Making Kefir part 2 of 3)

Once the kefir has fermented, I pour it through a strainer to remove the kefir grains that will make the next batch of kefir.

And then I do another step. I line a strainer with an unbleached paper coffee filter (the basket kind) and pour the kefir liquid into it.

This separates out the curds from the whey. As the whey drains through into the bowl underneath, the kefir in the coffee strainer gets thicker and creamier. For yogurt to put in our lunches, I let it drain an hour or so. For a firm cheese I let it drain all day. (For anything longer than a couple of hours I put it in the fridge to drain.)

This simple draining technique lets me determine the thickness of the kefir I want to make. We never drink it. It's always at least a yogurt consistency.

Something Donna Schwenk recommends — and that I've found great — is to re-ferment the kefir with a strip of lemon peel in it. I add the lemon peel when I'm pouring the kefir in the coffee filter. This sweetens the kefir by giving the cultures something to munch on. It's worth trying with store-bought kefir too, to see if it makes it sweeter and more pleasant. (Also, try straining the store-bought one too — see if you can make it yummier.)

In the picture at left you can see I'm pushing the kefir through the top strainer to separate the grains. They will be little lumps in the top strainer. I take them out to start the new batch (see here.)

Under the strainer is another strainer lined with a paper coffee filter. It will separate the curds and whey.

In the bottom right picture, you can see the strained kefir in the top — ready to eat. In the bowl below is the whey (more on that tomorrow), and in the jar in the background is the next batch of kefir starting to ferment.

Making Kefir (part 1 of 3)

Kefir is easy to make at home. You don't need to keep it warm like you do yogurt so no special equipment is required, just a glass quart jar and some bowls and strainers.

The first step is to get some kefir "grains." These tiny white-ish transparent capsules are cultures of live bacteria and yeasts that ferment milk into the kefir we eat and drink.

I bought my grains from Donna Schwenk, and she and her team got me through the nervous first stages of being sure I was doing everything wrong. (I've since learned it's hard to screw this up.)

The grains reproduce as they enjoy the sugars in the milk. With each batch you get more grains.

If you decide you want to embark on the homemade kefir journey and are coming to my office, give me a couple of days notice and I will bring you kefir grains. Otherwise the extra ones end up on my compost (I'm sure the soil loves the infusion of beneficial yeasts and bacteria). Some people eat the extra grains, but I feel that would be too much for my system.

The picture above right shows the grains I've removed from a fermented batch of kefir and am preparing to put in a jar to start a new batch.

Some people's grains grow like little cauliflowers. Mine tend to be more like tapioca pudding. I do bash them a bit when I'm straining them out of the kefir. But they don't seem to mind. As I say, they reproduce rapidly.

I make kefir using whole organic milk from grass-fed cows. Kefir grains feed on the sugars in the milk. While you can make kefir from non-dairy milks, you need to add some sweetener to feed the grains. I've not done this, but you can get more info on Donna Schwenk's website or from her book, Cultured Food for Health, which I borrowed from our library and highly recommend.

To make kefir, put the grains in a clean quart jar. Pour in about 3 cups of milk — leaving room at the top for expansion while it ferments — cover and leave on the counter, out of direct sunlight — for 24-48 hours.

Kefir ready to be strained.

When it's separated into curds and whey, strain out the kefir grains. The liquid that is left is the kefir, ready to eat or drink. (More on that tomorrow.) Put the grains into a clean jar, pour in milk and repeat.

Cooking in the Time of Drought

I love my pressure cooker. It allows me to make dinner with nutritious beans in less than an hour.

My grandmother, who preferred to be vegan, gave me my pressure cooker on my 18th birthday. Many years later, it's still going strong. (I have replaced the seal a couple of times.) I used to bring down the pressure by running water over it. Now that I treasure every drop coming out of the faucet, I have learned to bring down the pressure quickly, but without water.

I put the sorted and rinsed beans in the pressure cooker, add cold water to cover by at least 4 inches, then cover and put on high heat until the pressure comes up to full. I turn down the heat until it's just simmering. Most beans take about 15 minutes; chickpeas take 22 minutes and soybeans would take even longer. When the timer goes off, I put the pot on the counter, aim the steam release in a direction where it will do no harm, and open it up. Steam flies. (I like to think it's steam cleaning my kitchen.) When the steam finishes, the lid unlocks and I can open it. I make sure to lift the lid away from me, because it's still mighty hot.

When the steam stops rising, I take out a bean and cut it with a knife to see if it's cooked through. If not, I put the lid back on, put the pot back on the burner, and let it simmer — not under pressure — another 3-4 minutes and then test another bean. They'll be done soon.

Then I drain the beans over my trusty pyrex jug. When the water cools I pour it on my plants.

Good beans, cooked quickly, with no water wasted.

Sprouts!

Watercress, alfalfa, and a sandwich mix
from Botanical Interests.

There is nothing like a handful of fresh alfalfa sprouts on a veggie pâté sandwich, or the crunch of mung bean sprouts in a stir-fry.

For years, however, I deprived myself of sprouts because the ones from the store tended to be slimy, or taste a little off. Or I was scared off by stories of bacteria and mold in the sprouts.

Then I saw this three-tiered seed sprouter for sale on the Mountain Rose Herbs website and thought I'd give it a try. (The fact the product is manufactured just outside Montreal probably helped my decision!)

Since then we have been enjoying fresh sprouts on our salads, in our sandwiches (marmite and radish sprouts on sourdough rye bread - a real treat!), and added as a quick crunch to dinner.

I'd experimented in the past with sprouting in jars - washing the seeds with water, letting them drain, repeating the next day, but the seeds would clump together and get moldy. Plus there was something unappetizing about a clump of sprouts in the bottom of a canning jar.

With this sprouter, my little seed garden is spread out on trays, the stems and leaves pressing upward, sometimes even lifting the lid of the sprouter if I don't eat them quickly enough. Harvesting is easy - I remove the lid and grasp a handful. They make a healthy snack eaten straight from the sprouter: crisp and fresh, and a little zingy in the case of radish, watercress or broccoli.

I try to rotate through the trays, seeding one a day so I get a staggered harvest. And while the instructions call for watering every 4 days, I've found that in cooler weather the enclosed humidity is enough after the initial watering. In hot weather the sprouts need to be stored in the fridge after 4 days.

Because you're harvesting the sprout in its first few days, you don't need to add fertilizers - all the nutrients the seed needs to grow are within it. It's actually quite a miraculous thing to watch. And it only takes up 8" of counter space.

Sprouts are also highly nutritious. They are high in enzymes which aid in the digestion and absorption of nutrients, so they help you get more benefit from whatever you're eating them with. They have chlorophyll, which helps alkalinize the body. They contain protein, vitamins and minerals galore.

Just make sure to get organic sprouting seeds - so you know you are not eating gmos. They're readily available at health food stores and some garden centers.

It's a fun adventure to embark on. And with sprouts on hand, there's always something good to eat.

Vegetable Stock

As the days cool off, I look forward to easy dinners of homemade soup.

The key to a good easy soup is an excellent stock. This provides a base flavor that combines with additional vegetables, grains and beans to make a delicious meal.

My favorite vegetable stock contains parsnips, which fortunately Finley Farm has been supplying me with this fall. The other day I cooked up a batch in my slow cooker. I could make it on the stove too, but the aroma of it cooking throughout the day is heavenly, and I can leave it to simmer without worrying about it boiling over or burning on the bottom.

I don't know how a single parsnip makes such a difference to 8 cups of stock, but it surely does. Although this stock is good without the parsnip, when I can get one I use it.

Vegetables ready to go in the oven

Traditional meat stocks are made with the animal carcass - the waste that would not be eaten. Vegetable stocks are made with vegetables you could eat instead of cooking into stock. By the time the stock is cooked, all the flavor and goodness is out of the vegetables and they are only good for the compost pile. This might seem a waste of good vegetables, but the stock is worth it. And potatoes, carrots and onions are inexpensive.

The only expense in the stock is the dried mushrooms – another necessary addition to get the excellent umami of a good stock. When I buy fresh shiitakes at the market, I dry the stems on a rack in the kitchen and then store them in a jar until I'm ready to make stock.

This recipe makes a strong flavorful vegetable stock. When I'm making soup, I use half stock and half water. There's no point using too much of a good thing. However, if you're making a soup that is mainly broth, use the stock at full strength and then taste it to see if it needs diluting.

This is not a fat-free stock. The olive oil is essential for the roasting that caramelizes and flavors the vegetables, and also to give it a yummy stick-to-the ribs deliciousness.

When you've made the stock, strain it and freeze it in 2-cup containers. Then you'll be ready to make delicious soups at a moment's notice.

After roasting

Vegetable Stock
1 large onion
2 large carrots
1 large potato
1 large parsnip (optional)
1 stalk celery
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
4 dried shiitake or porcini
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp tamari
7 cups water

Preheat oven to 450°F. 

Remove the papery peel from the onion and slice it thickly. Scrub the carrots and potatoes and cut in 1" chunks. Peel the parsnip and cut in 1" chunks. Chop the celery in 1" lengths. Place the garlic cloves, unpeeled, on your cutting board and crush with the side of your big knife. 

Place the vegetables in a lightly oiled baking pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until lightly browned, turning once, about 30 minutes total.

Meanwhile, soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup water until softened. Remove them from the water and check for dirt or grit. Pour the soaking water through a coffee filter, straining out any grit. Reserve mushrooms and soaking water.

Put the roasted vegetables in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add mushrooms and soaking water, bay leaves, peppercorns, tamari, 1 tsp salt, and water. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Let cool slightly, then strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Press the vegetables against the side of the sieve with a wooden spoon to get the most liquid possible. Discard the vegetables. The stock will be a rich golden color. Either use it right away, refrigerate it for a few days, or freeze for longer storage.

Makes about 8 cups.

Liquid gold

Stocking the Freezer

I reached into the freezer for vegetable stock the other day, and realized my stash was low. In fact, I was holding the last container in my hand.

That was not a good state of affairs. A good vegetable stock is crucial to delicious vegetarian soups and stews. (Larry finds it essential to his beef stew, too.)

So I spent three days this week re-stocking the freezer.

Three days in a row, I made stock in my slow cooker. 18 cups in all have been packed in one- and two-cup containers, labeled and frozen.

I've posted my favorite stock recipe before. You can read it here.

Although the parsnip is optional, I highly recommend it if you can find it. The stock won't taste like parsnip, but it will have an extra depth of flavor.

Now my freezer is packed with stock, and I feel like a contented squirrel knowing he has a stash of nuts to get him through the winter.

Commercial Salad Dressing

Salad dressing is one of the easiest condiments to make. Shake oil, vinegar and a few seasonings together in a jar and you have a simple vinaigrette that will made lettuce sparkle.

I've posted a few recipes for salad dressings on this blog, including one with beer, a simple honey balsamic dressing, another with walnut oil. Search through the salad recipes for others including citrus, zesty garlic and more.

I recently read the ingredients on a commercial balsamic vinaigrette:

water
soybean oil
balsamic vinegar
white wine vinegar
sugar
salt
spice
maltodextrin
modified food starch
yeast extract
natural flavors (including soy lecithin)
whey
xanthan gum
natural flavor
less than 0.1% sodium benzoate added as a preservative
garlic
onion
caramel color
propylene glycol alginate

This is why I make my own dressings.

Peeling Pomegranates

I really like the sweet-tart crunch of pomegranate seeds. I sprinkle them on our breakfast fruit, add them to salads, and use them as a garnish on anything that needs a little color.

The whole pomegranates last a couple of weeks in the fridge. The seeds will last a few days in a covered container.

Organic pomegranates are easy to find at this time of year. I was even given some from a friend's tree. Here is how I prepared them:


The challenge of a pomegranate is the red juice that sprays from the seeds with the slightest provocation. I've found the key to containing it is to do all the prep work under water. It doesn't alter the taste of the seeds, and it keeps my hands and clothes clean.

I first score the skin of the pomegranate with a paring knife, dividing it into quadrants.




Then I pull at the white pith, dividing the pomegranate into large pieces. The jewel-like seeds nestle in clusters and are easily pried free.




It takes a little patience, but with practice you'll be able to do this in under 5 minutes.



The small pieces of pith float on the surface. I skim them off with a small strainer, then drain the water off the seeds.



The result: a bowl of crunchy juicy seeds that will add flavor and color to any dish. Even better, they're full of heart-healthy, cholesterol-lowering, cancer-fighting nutrients. Enjoy them often during their short season.

Bad risotto

I have had two bad risottos recently, both in restaurants. One had too much lemon oil added at the end, and the other was missing the finishing touch of truffle oil that would have given it flavor.

Even if the chefs had been skilled in adding their flavored oils, the risottos still would have been one-dimensional. Risotto, like most complex dishes, requires layers of flavor cooked into the food. The rice is first turned in olive oil, butter and wine, then cooked gently in a well-flavored stock. A few vegetables can be added for color and texture. I sometimes grate some parmesan or lemon rind over at the end, but that's an extra layer, not a required flavoring.

Vary the flavors in this simple technique to make Asparagus Risotto or Corn Risotto - two of my favorites.

I think the trouble with both restaurant risottos was the lack of flavor in the vegetable broth. Few restaurant chefs know how to make a good vegetable stock - the essential basis for an excellent vegetarian risotto. Instead they rely on flavoring oils and end up with at best a one-dimensional flavor, at worse something inedible.

The best vegetable stocks are made by roasting the vegetables before boiling them - just as you would roast bones when making a meat stock. Add to this some dried mushrooms, and a little soy sauce to get that umami, and you have a great stock, suitable for the best risottos, soups and stews.

I love this stock from Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker by Robin Robertson, an excellent source for stews and soups that are ready and waiting when you get home from work.

Once the vegetables are roasted, the stock bubbles away without me. When it's done, I store it in 2-cup containers in the freezer, ready to make delicious meals.

The parsnips add another dimension to the stock, and I make many batches during parsnip season. However, it's a good stock even without them.

With a few containers of this great stock in the freezer, you will be ready to make delicious soups and stews to warm your evenings in the winter months ahead.

Roasted Vegetable Stock
1 large onion
2 large carrots
1 large potato
1 large parsnip (optional)
1 stalk celery
3 garlic cloves
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
4 dried shiitake or porcini
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1 tbsp tamari
7 cups water

Preheat oven to 450°F.

Remove the papery peel from the onion and slice it thickly. Scrub the carrots and potatoes and cut in 1" chunks. Peel the parsnip and cut in 1" chunks. Chop the celery in 1" lengths. Place the garlic cloves, unpeeled, on your cutting board and crush with the side of your big knife.

Place the above vegetables in a lightly oiled baking pan. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast until lightly browned, turning once, about 30 minutes total.

Meanwhile, soak the dried mushrooms in 1 cup water until softened. Remove them from the water and check for dirt or grit. Pour the soaking water through a coffee filter, straining out any grit. Reserve mushrooms and soaking water.

Put the roasted vegetables in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add mushrooms and soaking water, bay leaves, peppercorns, tamari, 1 tsp salt, and water. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

Let cool slightly, then strain through a fine mesh sieve into a large bowl. Press the vegetables against the side of the sieve with a wooden spoon to get the most liquid possible. Discard the vegetables. The stock will be a rich golden color. Either use it right away, refrigerate it for a few days, or freeze for longer storage.

Makes about 8 cups.

Chipotle Sauce

Sometimes a simple condiment transforms a sandwich into a fabulous taste experience.

This chipotle sauce is in that category.

I used it in grilled cheese sandwiches recently, and they went from humdrum to out-of-this-world. I smeared the sauce on the bread, layered in cheese, red onion, and cilantro, and cooked the sandwiches in butter in a cast iron frypan until they were golden and the cheese was soft. Simple and delicious.

The sauce is also good stirred into stews or soups to add a spicy smoky tomato flavor. It will last at least a week in the fridge. I've frozen a little for longer storage.

Chipotles are smoked jalapeños. Look for them canned in adobo sauce at your local grocery store. Once you open the can, transfer them to a jar and they'll last for months in your fridge. I keep one jar of the whole chipotles in adobo, and another that I've puréed -- it's quite firey and I use it sparingly in anything that needs a kick.

The tomato paste in this recipe tames the heat but leaves the flavor intact, and the molasses deepens the smokiness like good barbecue.

Chipotle Sauce
chipotles in adobo
6oz can tomato paste
1/2 tbsp molasses

Purée the chipotles in adobo in a blender or mini food processor. Measure out 3 tbsp. (Store the remainder in a jar in the fridge for months.)

Add the tomato paste and molasses to the 3tbsp puréed chipotles. Stir well to combine.

Makes about 3/4 cup.

Thirteen dollars

What can you buy for $13?

At the Finley Farms stall at the Hollywood Farmers Market last week, I bought 2 romaine lettuces, collard greens, cilantro, a bulb of fennel with leaves attached, a bag of malabar spinach, and a bunch of dandelion greens.

The amount of bio-available nutrition in this pile of organic greens cannot fit into a bottle of vitamin pills. And if it could, it would cost far more than $13.

Food. Good for you, good for your wallet.

Roasting Peppers

The peppers were overflowing the Tutti Frutti stand at the Hollywood Farmers Market last week, and I brought home a big bag of organic red peppers, poblanos and jalapenos.

I froze the jalapenos whole to use in chili and other spicy dishes throughout the winter. They defrost quickly, and still retain much of their heat.

The red peppers and poblanos I roasted and peeled, and then stored individually wrapped in the freezer. They add color and flavor to bean dishes and cobblers -- I feel rich when I have peppers in the freezer.

You might have noticed that I don't use a lot of red peppers on this blog. That's because organic locally-grown ones are only available for a short time each year. The rest of the year I pull them from my freezer - not for eating raw, of course, but for any cooked purpose they are great.

Poblanos are available year-round at Mexican markets, but I prefer the organic ones that only come to the farmers market in the fall. I grew some in my garden this year too - and harvested a dozen over the weekend. These are my favorite peppers - they have a rich flavor and a slight spiciness that I find addictive.

There are many recipes for roasting and freezing peppers. Mine is the simplest.

Roasting Peppers
Rinse and dry the peppers. Turn the gas flame on the stove to high and lay the peppers on the rack above the flame to char. I fit three on each burner. (If you don't have a gas stove, put the peppers on a rack under the broiler.)

Use tongs to turn the peppers as they blacken on each side. When a pepper is black all over, put it in a saucepan and cover it with the lid. Add peppers as they are blackened, and let them sit in the covered pot until they are cool enough to handle. The steam released as they cool helps release the skin.

To peel a pepper, hold it by the stem, and with a small knife scrape off the blackened skin. Do not run the pepper under water - this washes away the flavor. Don't fuss if some of the skin won't come off.

When you've peeled the pepper, cut off the top and then slice down one side to flatten it. Scrape out the seeds and the thickest membranes.

When you've prepped the peppers, put each one in an individual baggie and seal it. Then put them all in one big freezer bag labelled with the date and the kinds of peppers, and toss it in the freezer.

This winter, when you want a pepper, just pull it out and let it defrost in its small bag on the counter. Then chop it and add it to whatever you are cooking. Or toss it with olive oil, garlic and herbs as a quick appetizer.

Inexpensive and delicious - organic roasted peppers from the freezer are great.

Weighing food

My favorite kitchen tool is my digital scale.

It is essential for recipes in my English cookbooks which measure ingredients by weight. Weighing flour for baking is more accurate than scooping it into a cup.

I use it for beans and vegetables, although weight is less important there. (It also comes in handy for weighing packages for mailing.)

I remember my mother using her yellow kitchen scale to weight fruit for the Christmas cake and figgy pudding. She still has the scale, although now she's seen mine I think she's planning to modernize to digital.

My scale is made by Salter. I bought it years ago at the Sur la Table near my office. (It's handy / dangerous to have a cooking store within walking distance.) I've replaced the battery once, but have had no problems with it.

If you're in the market for a scale, consider the following:

Make sure it has a zero-out button. This means you can put a container on it, press the button, and it starts at zero. Then you can pour in your beans or flour and get the weight of the food, not the container. A simple, useful trick.

Both metric and standard options will be useful. Mine goes to 1/8th oz or 1 g. I've never needed to weigh anything lighter than that.

Also, consider storage. The advantage to a flat one like mine is things can be stacked below or on top of it. It sometimes even gets left on its side with no problem. You can get scales with attached baskets, but they will take up more room.

Finally, I made sure mine was easy to clean. Now I can't imagine cooking without it.

Adapting Recipes

Bert Greene, in his wonderful book Greene on Greens, confesses to his need to tinker with any recipe that comes his way. That's his creative genius at work.

I play with recipes, not because I have creative genius, but because I place limits on the ingredients I use, and have to alter most recipes accordingly.

For instance, you might have noticed that red peppers don't show up often on this blog. That's because organic red peppers only appear in the markets in the fall, so that's the only time I use them.

When substituting ingredients, think of how the one you're leaving out contributes to the dish - with texture, color or flavor - and think what would be a good replacement. Parmesan cheese can almost always be replaced by extra salt (no, not if you're a purist, but if you're a vegan it's better than fake cheese).

I don't use bacon, so if I want a smoky flavor I use chipotles, smoked cheese, smoked paprika or soy sauce.

This is not a new pastime for me. Some of my cookbooks have 20-year-old notes on my attempts to substitute honey for sugar and whole wheat flour for white in baked goods. (Some of these experiments were more successful than others.)

I am also a rare vegetarian who does not miss the taste of meat. Asian vegetarian restaurants with fake meat dishes - yuk. I like the taste of vegetables. Occasionally tofu. But not tofu that tastes like chicken. If I wanted chicken, I would eat chicken.

And don't even start me on tofu hot dogs and all that pseudo-meat made with processed soy and chemicals.

However I'll eat some cheese and dairy products. White rice and pasta. Many of the taboos of the health movement are okay by me in moderation.

So my recipe-adapting is completely according to my beliefs. Seasonal. Organic. Chemical-free. Delicious.

And of course, it's up to you to tinker with my recipes so they suit you and your family.

Summer Peaches

A ripe peach tastes like summer.

For a few fleeting but delicious weeks I feast on peaches, nectarines and plums, and then that's it until next year.

Let me remind you that conventionally-grown peaches, nectarines and strawberries contain higher levels of pesticide residue than is considered safe, so don't eat them. (Click here for the full list of non-organic produce to avoid.)

You are more likely to find good peaches and nectarines at the farmers market than the grocery store, because they are less likely to have been chilled before you buy them. Refrigerating ripe peaches keeps them at that state of perfection for a couple of days. Refrigerating under-ripe ones gives them a dull flavor.

It is an art to serve perfectly ripe stone-fruit. And yes, you have to ripen it yourself. Even at the farmer's market, it is rare to find ripe fruit. A ripe peach bruises easily and goes off quickly, so farmers pick it almost-ripe, and leave us to finish the ripening at home. Select fruit which smells good, but is still firm. The people at the farmstand can select good ones for you.

At home I put the peaches, plums and nectarines in a shallow bowl on the kitchen counter. I inspect each piece of fruit daily. If it is soft and fragrant, I either slice it into our morning fruit or store it in a bag in the fridge. This daily check is imperative, especially in this hot weather. Once one peach goes off, it spreads quickly and you can lose them all. If a peach has a small bad spot, I chop it out and then use the good parts immediately (tasting first to make sure it's still good). A bad peach won't harm you, but why have a bad taste experience? If a peach is soft and particularly fragrant, serve it or refrigerate it.

On a recent Saturday evening I served donut peaches (pictured) from Joshua Tree along with orange almond cookies for dessert. The peaches were the hit of the evening - beautifully ripe and fragrant.

Ahhh, there's nothing like summer.