Prepping for a long week

There are exam weeks, as I approach the end of second year, where I just don't want to spend time cooking. I stay at the library for long hours, and if I can make it through dinner I feel that much more productive. I try to anticipate these weeks by freezing meal-sized leftovers of soups or chili, but that's not always possible. And I refuse to eat in the hospital cafeteria because each meal there--while pretty decent--is more expensive, less flavorful, higher in salt, and includes fewer vegetables than what I would cook at home. Not to sound like a total snob.

On Sunday afternoon while home doing laundry and studying, I opted to roast a fennel and onion: flavorful, versatile, good to have on hand for the week, made my house smell good. Monday night before bed I popped half a cup of white beans into my pressure cooker, and for last night's library dinner I ended up with a tossed stew of white beans, fennel, and onion. It was homey, comforting, and healthy towards the end of a long day. For tonight I'll stir the rest of the fennel and onion into tomato sauce and serve it over penne. Pretty nice for such quick meals. Of course, the atmosphere contributes a lot.

Minimalist fennel, onion, and white beans:

• 1 fennel bulb
• 1 onion
• 1 cup white beans
• olive oil, salt and pepper

Wash the fennel bulb and slice it crosswise (on the horizontal if you have it standing up) into rings, removing the thick core at the base and discarding the celery-like stalks at the top. Peel and slice the onion. Toss together in a roasting pan with olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, until caramelized. Toss every 10 minutes, checking to keep from burning.

Toss with white beans and adjust seasonings. Or: enjoy as a base for chicken or fish, toss into tomato sauce, etc.

Super Bowl Sunday salad!

I went to a couple of talks this week that emphasized the importance of protein. While osteoporosis is a well-known public health problem, sarcopenia, or the loss of muscle mass, is less well-understood by both doctors and the general public. Prevention of sarcopenia is perhaps one reason why people who stand or move around at work may be healthier as they age than people who sit all day (like med students). In terms of the obesity epidemic, concentrated protein (as in meat) is lower calorie and more filling than protein stretched across legumes and whole grains (which I generally prefer). Keeping it simple, most adults should aim to eat 1 gram of protein per day for every kilogram (or 2.2 pounds) of body weight.

In January, I made that resolution to eat more protein, and yet I still find myself gravitating towards vegetarian dishes and grains. To compromise, I decided to substitute quinoa for brown rice in a flavorful beans-and-rice salad. Mexican flavors of vinegar, cumin, and cilantro add spice to these dreary, late winter days, and are perfect for Super Bowl Sunday.

Quinoa "rice and beans":

• 1/2 cup dried black beans, reconstituted (or about 1 can of black beans, rinsed)
• 1/2 cup quinoa, cooked with 1 cup water in a rice cooker
• chopped tomatoes to taste (I used half a can instead of fresh tomatoes)
• 1/4 red onion, minced
• handful of cilantro, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 
• 1 teaspoon chili flakes (or 1 freshly chopped chili)
• 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1-3 teaspoons white vinegar
• salt to taste

In a large bowl, toss together your black beans and quinoa, then add tomatoes, onion, and spices to taste. Enjoy as-is, or with salad greens, eggs, or grated cheese (I added some cheese to mine and honestly I'm not sure that it adds much. But up to you.) I doubled the recipe and will have more than enough salad for lunches this week.

Before tossing

After tossing

Vegetarian two-pot supper

Sometimes you want to eat locally, but you don't really want to eat locally -- know what I mean? I don't really like rice and beans and tortillas unless they're well seasoned or served with a lot of cheese. But I want to be in touch with my surroundings and the people around me. Besides which, I'm limited by what's available in the grocery stores.

Tonight I decided to make rice and beans (both of which I happen to like in general) part of the meal, rather than the center of the meal. I cooked up two vegetables, separately: first chayote with red onion, garlic, and ginger; then large green beans with garlic, ginger, and red pepper flakes. Next I reheated my black beans, unseasoned, allowing them to soak up the flavors in the pan. In a separate pot I steamed some rice. I served it all in a bowl with cilantro, mimicking an "Asian rice bowl." Variety of flavors and textures, and pretty healthy!

Healthy tacos

Today we worked a long day, for here anyway -- we didn't get home until 6pm. Seeing patients nonstop for the first time in our careers is a novel and tiring experience. My housemates were on the verge of going out to dinner when we decided on an impromptu taco party. In this case, many hands make light work, and being limited to what we had in the house made for healthier and more delicious tacos than the norm, I think.

Our tacos were meatless, and I did not miss the meat one bit (more room for other stuff)! Here are some suggestions for getting more punch out of less salt and fat:

• sauté black or pink beans with garlic, half a chopped onion, cumin, paprika, and a dash of white vinegar
• pan roast corn by sautéing in a frying pan until browned, with or without chopped onion
• pan roast a mix of chopped vegetables, such as garlic, onion, zucchini, and green beans, until slightly caramelized but still crunchy (I did not add any water to the pan this time, and cooked for just a few minutes)
• serve with lime slices, cilantro, scallion, and hot sauce

I find that the spices, acid, and roasted flavors add so much more than beef, refried beans, and salt ever do. We also had avocados and a small amount of shredded cheese on hand, for that fat and salt!

Tacos are great for group dining because they have many components to cook, are fun to assemble, and timing doesn't matter (it doesn't matter if the food is served lukewarm). I cooked each component in the same frying pan, one after the next, making for fewer dishes.

Another raucous Friday night in Albany

Every Friday evening my housemate and I go to an extremely relaxing and yet challenging yoga class; we come home ready for dinner and bed.

White bean soup is one of my all-time favorite dinners. It's so simple and yet it took me a long time to get my version to taste as good as my dad's: the key is to use a LOT of garlic. This recipe makes a delicious base that can be easily modified -- see suggestions at the end.

White bean soup (1-2 servings):

• 1/2 head garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups reconstituted white beans (equal to 1 can, drained)
• red pepper flakes
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• parmesan
• salt & pepper

On medium heat, saute the garlic and red pepper flakes in the olive oil until fragrant, then add the white beans. Add about 1-2 cups of water and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Mash half the beans or puree half with an immersion blender so that the soup becomes thick but retains some texture. Season with parmesan, salt & pepper, and a few drops more of olive oil if you like. Substantial on it's own or with crusty bread.

Variations:

• Caramelize an onion with the garlic at the beginning -- this will make the soup sweeter
• Season with fresh chopped rosemary
• Add chopped kale along with the white beans; do not mash or puree the beans at the end

The multipotent version:

Differentiated to kale-and-white bean soup:

More spice, less salt

As with cholesterol, learning about hypertension earlier this year really scared me. Controlling your blood pressure is not a theoretical recommendation: high blood pressure stresses blood vessel walls, increasing their risk of rupturing. Plus, your kidneys, which normally regulate body fluid volume and therefore blood pressure, readjust to whatever new blood pressure you set for them via your diet. I'd rather my kidneys not get used to anything too risky!

Not to sound snotty, but the best way to avoid salt is to avoid processed and prepared foods. As I think of it, restaurants don't have your best interests in mind! They want you to enjoy the food and come back. Only you, cooking at home, have your best interests in mind.

One way to cook with less salt is to seek out more flavorful herbs and vegetables. For example: fresh ginger and garlic instead of soy sauce; toasted instead of salted nuts; roasted vegetables. This means branching out a little, experimenting with some new vegetables and finding a way to use up a bunch of herbs before they go bad, but with practice anyone can get there.

Fennel is anything but bland. Why not try it as your experimental vegetable-of-the-week?

Braised fennel and white beans:

• 1 fennel bulb (sold in packs of two at Trader Joe's)
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/2 cup white beans, reconstituted, or 1 can white beans
• 1-2 tbsp olive oil
• dried red pepper flakes
• salt & pepper
• optional garnish for the end: chopped parsley, parmesan

Cut the fennel bulb in half, cut out the hard white core in the middle, and slice the fennel into thin strips (varied thickness is fine). Heat olive oil in a pan, add the garlic and pepper flakes, and cook at medium heat for 1-2 minutes before adding the fennel. Saute until the fennel becomes softer and the garlic is fragrant, adding water as needed to keep from burning (it's okay to let the fennel brown a bit -- it adds flavor and according to our professor is only marginally carcinogenic!). Add the white beans and about 1/2 cup of water (or no-sodium chicken broth) and simmer on low heat for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper and parsley or parmesan if you like. Maybe you're starting to notice a theme with these recipes.

This would make a great side dish for fish or chicken; being a poor, busy, carless med student, I'm going to eat it on top of barley or pasta. Looks pretty good, no?

The play by play:

Luscious legumes, indeed

Sitting in the student lounge scarfing down hot, flavorful soup, it seems almost cruel not to share the recipe. The people to my left are playing foosball and pool; the women to my right are studying; others wander around in short white coats (short coats indicate students, not yet MDs). It's low-key.

Black bean soup:

• 1/2 bag dried black beans, reconstituted, or 2 cans of black beans
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 2-3 cloves garlic, peeled but whole
• 1 celery rib, in half
• 1 chopped carrot, optional (will make the soup sweeter)
• 3-4 tbsp ground cumin
• chili flakes
• salt
• canola oil

Heat the oil in a large post, then add onion, garlic, celery, and spices, and saute until soft. Add carrots and beans, then cover with lots of water and simmer for about an hour (enough time to watch one lecture). Puree with an immersion blender (or a food processor) such that the soup is about half whole beans, half pureed beans. Season with salt and more spice, and continue to boil off water as necessary to thicken the soup. This is hearty enough on it's own, but you could also serve it on top of quinoa or brown rice, or garnish it with some cilantro, hot sauce, and/or shredded cheese.

You'll notice a theme to these recipes: this is not that different from the chicken-chickpea curry below. To make split pea soup, skip the spices and use dried split peas -- otherwise the recipe is the same. For white bean soup I skip all the vegetables and increase the amount of garlic to about half a head... etc. So easy even a med student can do it!