Experience Nutrition

Tag: bamboo steamer

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Daily Healthy Recipes by Melanie Albert: Arizona Winter Harvest Bowl The Beauty of Local Farmers’ Food

    by Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, speaker, retreat host, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLCs

    I am so in awe of our beautiful Arizona farmers’ Winter bounty. Today’s intuitive recipe was inspired by many of the incredible veggies I purchased at the Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market this weekend. Thanks so much to so many of my local farmer friends for all the passion, dedication, and hard work to grow the beautiful produce for all of us to enjoy.

    Thanks, Farmers!

    • Blue Sky Organic Farm: beautiful Romanesco
    • Maya’s Farm: unique purple and white cauliflower, edible flowers
    • Steadfast Farm: fresh sunflower sprouts, Iitois onions and amazing rainbow of purple, yellow, and white carrots
    • Rhiba Farms: wild arugula
    • Golo Family Farms: sweet lime

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    In addition to showcasing the beautiful Arizona Winter veggies, I also wanted to share a simple way to cook the veggies in a bamboo steamer to keep them vibrant and colorful. Once we’ve gently steamed the veggies, we can finish them with a simple dressing.

    I invite you to Intuitively create your dish using these recipe steps as a guide. When you choose your vegetables consider their different colors, different textures, and different flavors. Also, use your intuition to determine how much of the veggies you’d like to cook. For me, I like to cook a small batch so I can enjoy a meal one day and then eat the left-overs for lunch the next day.

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    Bamboo Steamer

    • Romanesco
    • Purple cauliflower
    • Yellow and purple carrots
    • Wild arugula
    • Iitoi onions, cut on bias
    • Sunflower sprouts

    Dressing

    • Sweet lime
    • Extra virgin olive oil
    • Coriander seeds
    • Sea salt

    Extras

    • Rose brown rice
    • Edible flowers

    SIMPLE STEPS: Arugula Saute

    • Pre-heat saute pan on low-medium heat.
    • Add olive oil to pan.
    • Sweat onions for a few minutes.
    • Add arugula and cook for a few minutes.
    • Add Sunflower sprout and cook for about a minute.

     

    SIMPLE STEPS: Dry Toast Coriander

    • Pre-heat small sauce pan or pot on low heat.
    • Add coriander to pan and toast for a few minutes.
    • Remove from heat and save for the dressing.

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    SIMPLE STEPS: Bamboo Steamer

    • Bring a few inches of water to a boil in a large stock pot.
    • Cut all vegetables into bite-sizes pieces.
    • Place vegetables on steamer, with space between each, to allow steam to rise and cook the veggies.
    • Sprinkle a few pinches of sea salt on the veggies.
    • Cover the steamer.
    • Steam for 5-7 minutes until the veggies easily fall off the fork.

     

    • Drizzle lemon, olive oil, and sea salt, and coriander seeds on the veggies to create a dressing.
    • Gently hand toss the veggies in the dressing.
    • Adjust flavors. Add more olive oil, lemon, or salt to suit your personal taste.

     

    • Gather your plating mise en place.

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    • Plate the veggies with brown rice.
    • Garnish with edible flowers.

     

    Two Cooking Events this Weekend in Phoenix, February 17 and 18, 2018

    Taste of the Market, Downtown Phoenix Market, Saturday, February 17, 2018, 10am. If you’re in the Phoenix area, I’ll be hosting the Taste of the Market Cooking demo at the Downtown Phoenix Market on Saturday, February 17, 2018 at 10am. I’ll be shopping the market and then will create a bamboo steamer and sautéed greens dish. Stop by to learn these culinary techniques and taste the amazing food from our local farmers.  Downtown Phoenix Farmers Market, Central & McKinley, 14 E Pierce Street, Phoenix, AZ (Central Ave & McKinley)

    Intuitive Cooking Experience: Winter Farm-to-Table Cooking Class at the Farm at South Mountain, Sunday, February 18, 2018, 11am-1pm. Full hands-on intuitive cooking class at The Farm at South Mountain. Cost $45 per person + tax.

    I’ll intuitively shop the Saturday farmers’ markets for local, Phoenix fresh, justharvested produce the day before the class. During the hands-on cooking experience you’ll learn culinary skills and dishes from my book, “A New View of Healthy Eating.” You will create:

    • A beautiful, unique Asian-inspired salad with ginger dressing
    • Seasonal chickpea hummus with fresh herbs
    • Colorful veggie stir-fry with lots of greens

    You’ll learn a few simple key culinary skills:

    • 3-Ingredient salad dressing, as the foundation for the perfect dressing
    • A basic hummus that you can adapt with all kinds of herbs and spices
    • The proper steps and process to make a veggie stir-fry

    PURCHASE TICKETS HERE

  • A New View of Healthy Eating: Bamboo Steamer Veggies

    A New View of Healthy Eating: Bamboo Steamer Veggies

    By Melanie A. Albert, intuitive cooking expert, author, and speaker. Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition Group, LLC

    During the last few weeks, we’ve been steaming quite a few veggies with a bamboo steamer at cooking classes and demos in the Phoenix area. Some of the venues include The Farm at South Mountain, the Downtown Phoenix Public Market, the Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine (tomorrow, April 19), and with my 12-year old niece Meredith, while working on our Kids Cookbook.

    To me, steaming veggies in a bamboo steamer has become part of my everyday life over the last few years, but I’ve learned that so many people have never used a bamboo steamer. Thus, this blog focuses on the process of a cooking with a bamboo steamer and some of the different creations people have had fun making during recent classes.

    Take a look at the bamboo steamer veggies from recent cooking classes and events. We have 2 more hands-on Intuitive Cooking Experience classes at The Farm this season: April 23. 11am-1pm and May 21, 10am-noon. You can call me at 602.615.2486 to register for the May class.

    Spring Farm-to-Table Intuitive Cooking Class at The Farm at South Mountain, Phoenix, AZ

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    For the upcoming Kids Cookbook: Created by Meredith, my 12-year old niece.Will post a separate blog on her creating and finishing process. By the way, the next Kids Cooking Class at The Farm at South Mountain (the last class of the season) is May 6, 2017, 11:30am-12:30pm. Not yet on the calendar, so you can register by calling me directly: 602.615.2486 

    Excerpt from “A New View of Healthy Eating”

    Bamboo Steamer Carrots with Cumin Seed Lemon Dressing

    Bamboo Steamer Carrots

    A bamboo steamer is key to the new view of the year-round healthy eating kitchen. First, learn to steam carrots with the mindful process of steaming. Once you learn how to steam carrots, use your bamboo steamer to steam all kinds of veggies. Try a rustic medley of roots such as carrots, sweet potatoes, and golden beets. Or quickly cook butternut squash and pumpkin as the base for a warm fall soup. Also, experiment with steaming a mix of spring veggies like asparagus, Brussels sprouts, collard greens, and kale.

    Bamboo Steamer Carrots with Cumin Seed Lemon Dressing

    Finishing carrots with a simple herb and citrus dressing adds richness to the simple carrot. Enjoy creating a cumin seed lemon dressing by toasting cumin seeds for added flavor and aromatherapy, lightly tossing the carrots by hand with the dressing and mindfully plating your carrots. Enjoy!

    SIMPLE INGREDIENTS

    • 6-8 large carrots, rainbow if available, sliced
    • ½ tsp cumin seeds
    • Pinch sea salt
    • 2 tbsp flat-leaf parsley
    • ½ fresh lemon
    • 2-3 tbsp walnut oil (or extra virgin olive oil)

    SIMPLE STEPS

    1. Steam Carrots
    • To set up the bamboo steamer, fill a large (6- to 8-quart) soup pot with 3-4 inches of water, place over high heat, and bring to a boil.
    • Place sliced carrots into the bamboo steamer. Spread out the carrots so that they do not touch each other to allow the steam to rise and cook the carrots. Sprinkle carrots with a pinch of sea salt.
    • Place bamboo steamer on top of the pot with steaming water. Cover with lid and let steam for about 5-7 minutes or until just cooked.
    • Test the carrots for doneness. When carrots easily come off a fork, they’re ready.
    • Once the carrots have finished cooking, pour them into a large bowl.
    1. Cumin Seed Lemon Finishing Dressing
    • While the carrots are steaming, prepare the finishing dressing.
    • To toast the cumin seeds, heat a small sauté pan over low heat. Add the seeds to the pan and cook lightly until fragrant. Once done, remove the seeds from the pan.
    • To make the dressing, gather the lemon and oil, and roughly chop the parsley.
    • Squeeze the lemon juice on the carrots and drizzle with the oil. Gently toss with your hands to coat. Add the toasted cumin seeds and sprinkle with a little salt. Add the parsley and toss again.
    • Mindfully plate and enjoy.

    Learn more about simple intuitive cooking in my new book, “A New View of Healthy Eating: Simple Intuitive Cooking with Real Whole Foods”