Our Favorite Reference Books

Whenever we come upon food questions, be it innovating here at Peas or interacting with food in our personal lives, these are the books we turn to for answers.
























Larousse Gastronomique

What hasn't already been said about the most quintessential culinary reference text? It's not called 'The World's Greatest Culinary Encyclopedia' for nothing!

If you've not yet had the pleasure, be sure to allot ample time for your first encounter with Larousse Gastronomique; one seemingly simple question will lead to another and then another... you'll get sucked in for hours!
























The New Best Recipe Cookbook

The ultimate reference for rediscovering classic dishes. They cook dozens of variations of a single recipe to uncover the best version so you don't have to!
























On Food and Cooking - Harold McGee

We've witnessed both culinary and food science folks alike clutching their copies of On Food and Cooking and referring to it as 'The (Food) Bible.' Granted this book speaks to a scientifically-minded audience (which we appreciate), McGee was one of the first to provide scientific explanation for traditional culinary practices.
And he's a fellow San Franciscan to boot!
























Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone - Deborah Madison

A fantastic, non-pretentious introduction to cooking vegetables, fruits, bean and grains from the most common to those quite obscure.

A great gift for someone looking for a guide with whom to explore the world of produce.
























The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition - UC Berkeley
Varieties of fruits, vegetable, grains, legumes and meats are each spotlighted with an overview of each foods qualities/nutrients (both well known facts and surprising new ones), seasonal availability, shopping and storage tips, several preparation methods and serving suggestions.

We love the nutritional info provided in such a useful serving size!
























What's a Cook to Do? - James Peterson

This is the book we reach for when we think, 'How do you (fill in the blank)?
All the tips and tricks one could hope to pick up in a lifetime all in one place!
From the basic to intricate, this is the ultimate reference for kitchen techniques.

Sugar 9 Ways!

We, at Peas of Mind, like to avoid adding sugar whenever possible, but there are some situations where added sweetness is necessary. For example, let's say your child has a few friends over and you decide to make lemonade. Might you consider using a 'raw' type cane sugar or maybe even agave syrup to stand in for the good ole' white standard?

Refined white sugar is 99.9% pure sucrose, which means it is almost entirely absent of any vitamins or minerals. When considering alternative sweetners, natural food stores offer such an overwhelming selection that its tough to know what to choose. Below is a chart we created to help differentiate among several natural sweetners:


Note the sweetners that are "sweeter" than white sugar (honey and agave). These naturally contain fructose which, molecule for molecule, tastes sweeter than the sucrose in table sugar. That means that you can use a smaller amount of honey or agave to acheive the same sweet taste as sugar!

Sources:
On Food and Cooking - Harold McGee
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agave_nectar

Stuffing That Won't Stuff The Waist

Sweet Lentil Stuffing
November, 2009 Reci-pea

Serves 4

• 1 sweet potato, baked, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup lentils
• 3 cups vegetable broth or water (or a combo of both)
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
• 1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 Tbl of extra virgin olive oil + extra for drizzling
• salt and pepper to taste

Wrap the sweet potato in aluminum foil and place into an oven at 450F. Bake until tender.

Preparing the lentils: Over medium-high heat, drizzle a 1/2 Tbl of extra virgin olive oil into a large saucepan; add the onions and saute until translucent. Add all of the broth or water to the pot. Bring to a boil. Once the liquid is boiling add the lentils. Bring the lentils back up to a boil, and then lower the heat to a simmer. Add the raisins and cover the pot. Continue to cook for about 20-30 minutes.

(Note: adding the lentils after you have brought the liquid to a boil makes them easier to digest, which is especially beneficial for young children)

Once the lentils and sweet potatoes are cooked and prepped, in a large bowl combine the lentil-raisin mixture, sweet potatoes, cherry tomatoes and fresh parsley; drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, then salt and pepper to taste.

Tales of Homemade Pizza

We were recently invited to an extraordinary evening of pizza-making. Hosted by Cooking for Geeks, we were in pursuit of ways to achieve the crispiest pizza crust at home.

Here at Peas, we often make pizza from scratch at home. Making your own pizza is a great way to get kids into the kitchen where they can experiment and create a combination all their own. It makes for a darn fun dinner party as well. Making pizza together is a joyous experience, and its incredibly economical to boot.

Mmmmmm... heirloom tomato.


Producing a crackly crust can be tough to achieve at home, even when using a pizza stone in an oven at the highest temperature setting.

On this particular evening, our insanely curious friend hacked the lock on his home oven so he could effectively bake with the oven in cleaning mode. Yikes!!! At a temperatures nearing 900 degrees at times, one pizza cooked in a mere 45 seconds! Do not try this at home!!!


That gadget in hand is an infrared thermometer. Yes, it says 845 degrees F!



Now that's crrrrispy!


Here's a safer way to imitate this crazy hack.

The "Cast Iron Skillet + Broiler" Method:

Crank your oven to its hottest (approved) setting with a rack in the central position. Heat a cast iron skillet on the stove top, giving it time to get super hot.

2 minutes before you bake, switch the oven to the broiler setting.

When you're pizza is topped and ready to bake, invert the cast iron skillet and slide your raw pizza onto the scorching hot base of the skillet. Carefully (!) transfer the skillet to the oven (now on broil). Keep an eye on that pizza because it will cook faster than imaginable!


What's your spin on homemade pizza? Tips to share?

Thanks for hosting, Jeff!!!

The Story Behind the Black Bean Polenta Puffet

Being that her dad was raised in Alabama, its not surprising that the owner of Peas of Mind grew up eating grits.

Inspired by this childhood favorite, the Black Bean Polenta Puffet was originally called the Black Bean & Grits Puffet. When nobody in California knew what grits were, polenta was the perfect substitution. But wait, what's the difference between polenta and grits?

Two main differences:
1. The corn ground to make polenta is finer than that of grits, a difference that affects the final texture.
2. The corn used to make white grits is soaked in lye to remove the bran. The resulting corn is called hominy, which is also used to make masa harina (used to make tortillas.)

* Image from: http://www.food411.com
* http://www.grits.com

The Best Treat on the Street

Tricks, treats, costumes, and homemade popsicles! Our Toasted Coconut Yogurt Pops are the perfect Halloween treat to serve the neighborhood kids! They are a healthy, fun alternative to handing out candy, and they are low in sugar and high in protein!

Toasted Coconut Yogurt Pops:
Serves about 5 depending on size of mold

• 6oz of plain or vanilla yogurt
• 1 Tbl soy milk (or regular milk)
• 2 Tbl toasted coconut + extra to sprinkle on frozen pops
• 1/2 tsp agave syrup or honey
• 5-8 mini Dixie cups
• wooden popsicle sticks*

In a bowl mix together all of the ingredients. Pour the mixture into the mini Dixie cups and place into the freezer. (Feel free to use other types of molds to hold the yogurt mixture, for example: small glass shot glasses or an ice cube tray)

Set a timer for 40 minutes. When the timer goes off, the mixture will be hard enough to push a popsicle stick into place. Continue to freeze for 8 hours. When ready to serve, let the Pops sit at room temperature for about 3 minutes, at which point they can be easily removed from the mold. Sprinkle with extra coconut and serve.

This recipe can easily be doubled if you are feeding more kids!

*You can use many items as a popsicle stick. For example: cut chopsticks in half, use toothpicks, plastic spoons (cut the top off). Just be sure there are no sharp edges!

Choose your Salt

Have you ever wondered why the grocery store sells so many kinds of salt when all you ever use while cooking is Morton's? It's our mission at Peas of Mind to offer healthy foods for your kids. Foods that are low in sodium, fats, sugars, and all the bad stuff. Here is a guide to help you decide the right salt for you.

When comparing the sodium content of different salts, it is crucial to compare them on the basis of weight and not volume. Sea salt and Kosher salt are composed of large, irregularly shaped flakes which makes them... fluffy. Table salt crystals are small and uniform and therefore you can pack more of them into the same container (much like filling a pail with sand versus marbles). This is why different types of salt should not be used interchangeably in a recipe that measures by volume.

Salt is about 40% sodium by weight.

Sea salt contains small amounts of other minerals like Magnesium, Calcium and Potassium that dilute the sodium but not by much.

Typically, neither Sea nor Kosher salt have added iodine the way table salt does.

Here is a sodium comparison of 1g of Table Salt, Sea Salt, and Kosher Salt



As you can see, there is little difference among them (the sea salt being lowest due to its trace mineral content.)

Impact of Shape on Taste:

The most significant advantage that Sea and Kosher salt possess over table salt is the way their shape affects the delivery of salt onto the tongue. (This advantage is only applicable when the salt is in crystal form; once dissolved, it is nearly impossible to distinguish between different types of salt.)

Table Salt: Sand

When a crystal of table salt hits your tongue, it dissolves quickly, all at once, stinging the tongue with a sudden shock of SALT! This can often detract from the other flavours in a meal, making it unpleasantly salty.

Sea Salt: Rocks

Sea salt's larger crystals dissolve more slowly, delivering a subtle saltiness over a longer period of time in the mouth.

Kosher Salt: Feathers

Kosher salt's long curved flakes have a larger surface area than sea salt rocks do. Kosher salt flakes land on the tongue like a feather. A thin flake of Kosher salt delivers an immediate zing (similar to that of table salt) when part of the flake hits the tongue. As the remainder of the curved flake rolls onto the tongue, that zing is drawn out, making for an exhilarating eating experience.

To sum it all up, use sea salt when you're adding salt to food right before serving it. If you don't want to blow your budget on sea salt, Kosher salt is a decent fallback.

Sources:
Wikipedia
Nutrition Data blog
The Wellness Encyclopedia of Food and Nutrition by Sheldon Margen, M.D., University of California, Berkeley, Random House Inc., 1992.