Have you ever tasted the sweetness of a carrot?
When I first started cooking for other people after college, I turned to the Fanny Farmer Cookbook which was my first cookbook, given to me by a dear friend from college. It was then that I discovered marinara sauce. I thought this recipe was the holy grail of marinara, not growing up in an Italian kitchen what did I know? In addition to tomatoes olive oil, garlic, and tomato paste, the recipe called for a stick of butter, refined sugar, and two whole carrots. I learned that the carrots "cut" the acid from the tomatoes. Years later I learned to remove the butter and sugar and finally appreciate the sweetness of the carrots alone. The way they cut the acid was to balance it with sweetness.
Turnips, beets, parsnips, potatoes, carrots, onions, and other root vegetables have grounding properties and when cooked in a stew or soup, or roasted in the oven, produce natural sweetness. Preparing food this way has helped me reduce cravings for my once loved ice cream. I love these ease of cooking these nourishing plants, and am happy to have relinquished my refined sugar cravings.
Tonight I prepared carrots, turnips, butternut squash, garlic, red onion, kidney beans in a dutch oven with cumin and corriander and baked in a dutch oven for 45 minutes. For the last 10 minutes, I added kale. Hearty stew for an autumn evening.
When I first started cooking for other people after college, I turned to the Fanny Farmer Cookbook which was my first cookbook, given to me by a dear friend from college. It was then that I discovered marinara sauce. I thought this recipe was the holy grail of marinara, not growing up in an Italian kitchen what did I know? In addition to tomatoes olive oil, garlic, and tomato paste, the recipe called for a stick of butter, refined sugar, and two whole carrots. I learned that the carrots "cut" the acid from the tomatoes. Years later I learned to remove the butter and sugar and finally appreciate the sweetness of the carrots alone. The way they cut the acid was to balance it with sweetness.
Turnips, beets, parsnips, potatoes, carrots, onions, and other root vegetables have grounding properties and when cooked in a stew or soup, or roasted in the oven, produce natural sweetness. Preparing food this way has helped me reduce cravings for my once loved ice cream. I love these ease of cooking these nourishing plants, and am happy to have relinquished my refined sugar cravings.
Tonight I prepared carrots, turnips, butternut squash, garlic, red onion, kidney beans in a dutch oven with cumin and corriander and baked in a dutch oven for 45 minutes. For the last 10 minutes, I added kale. Hearty stew for an autumn evening.