ColumnEven if you’re not sticking to a specific diet, constraint can breed a creative kitchen. 

“Are you a vegan?”

“No.”

“Are you a vegetarian?”

“No.”

“Then why do you cook like one?”

I laughed.

It’s true, most of the time my creative kitchen experiments have some element of gluten-free, raw, vegan madness, and I rarely launch into making meat myself (although I would love to master a lamb roast, because it seems like something Julia Child would approve of). But I don’t have a diet that’s 100 percent defined by one or the other.

I like attempting vegan baked goods, but I also have a hard time turning down the local eggs we get from our CSA farmer, with which sometimes bits of feathers and traces of dirt are included. If a recipe calls for butter, I’ll switch it out for olive oil, not because I have some low-calorie-I-need-to-stick-to-a-crazy-strict-diet-of-only-kale-and-lemon-wedges attitude towards butter (I do find pleasure in eating after all, and sometimes that pleasure comes in the form of lots of butter), but simply because I like the challenge. And let’s be honest, if you’re going to be consuming a fair amount of it, you might be better off with the olive oil.

Cake made with eggs, butter and flour? Follow a recipe and anyone can be a traditional baker.

Cake made with quinoa and olive oil? Now that’s a challenge.

Give someone a blank slate and they may feel overwhelmed by the options. Give someone some limits and they are forced to come up with a creative solution to work around said limits. This holds true for many domains, far beyond the kitchen. We are human beings, we like overcoming obstacles. When we finish something that was challenging, we feel a sense of accomplishment, and that fuels our desire to do even better next time. Something along the lines of, “I managed to make that AND it was good.”

A close friend who has recently been on a vegan diet for health reasons wrote an email about an unexpected effect the change in eating habits was having: “For me, my interest in cooking has been rejuvenated. Cooking without meat and dairy is challenging and dare I say ‘fun.'”

Exactly.

It’s fun, because success doesn’t seem like a given. Changing what we are used to is hard. The options at first feel limiting. But then, as you jump in, you quickly realize that the options are endless, albeit the limitations. And cooking should be fun. Otherwise you’d be eating microwave dinners every night.

Mastering a creative kitchen with limitations, even if they are self-induced, is like playing a game. One point for every time you don’t use regular flour, two points for trying ground flaxseeds instead of an egg, and five points if you manage to use avocado instead of butter. I don’t know what the points lead to, but if you’re competitive in nature like myself there’s a little voice in your head that says “winner!” every time you master a new level of culinary creativity.

There are the days when we just want to make the classics – I will for one never attempt to make a gluten-free, vegan version of my favorite Swedish cinnamon rolls, because they simply won’t be the same – but for all those other days, it’s important to inspire creativity. Bored with what you’re doing in the kitchen? Take out a few main ingredients. Without even launching into the health benefits of doing so (that’s another article entirely), a change in ingredients can be the kick in the pants you need to enjoy cooking.

If we don’t have fun with food, we’ll never eat well, and to find enjoyment sometimes we need to give ourselves some constraints. You never know what will happen. Olive oil cakes for example, and there certainly are worse things in life.

This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’ weekly column at EcoSalon: Foodie Underground, an exploration of what’s new and different in the underground movement, and how we make the topic of good food more accessible to everyone. More musings on the topic can be found at www.foodieunderground.com.

Image: Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: Constraints Breed a Creative Kitchen appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnFrom recipes to love, Ask Foodie Underground has the answer.

Dear Foodie Underground,

Are dietary restrictions a right or a privilege?

When you disconnect that IV (irrevocably vegan) drip and venture into someone else’s dinner party, should you ask or expect your frantic host to accommodate your dietary demands?

Is it the host’s responsibility to prepare an extra buffet table to deal with your antipathy for meat, cheese and wheat stalks? Or are you obliged to give your dietary mandates the night off?

I am eagerly awaiting your answer, if not the next bowl of edamame.

Hip Deep in Hummus

Dear Hip Deep in Hummus,

Dietary demands are a touchy subject, but with a little social finesse you should be able to wow any guest at your next dinner party. These days, it is in fact the host’s obligation to check in on dietary restrictions. You don’t want anyone passing out at the table because they’re allergic to peanuts and your chocolate mousse was sprinkled with them, now would you?

People are allowed to eat as they choose, whether or not what they’re eliminating from their diet will actually have a negative effect on them. It’s not up to you to determine what makes them feel good.

That being said, if you’re hosting and your specialty involves a hefty dose of dairy, gluten and carnivorous delights, make it. Extra buffet table? No. But be sure you have at least one dish that satisfies a variety of dietary restrictions; it will push your culinary limits after all, and you might find yourself concocting a recipe you soon can’t live without.

And a word to the wise: Eat what you want, but if you’re the kind of company that is off nightshades and eggs, but you don’t offer to bring your own dish so that your gracious host doesn’t have to go out of their way to cook for you, you can expect them to start befriending some new dinner guests.

With love and sea salt,

Foodie Underground

***

Dear Foodie Underground,

I like to pretend that I love quinoa as much as the next person but really all I want is hot wings.

How do I make delicious hot wings but present them as “foodie couture”? How would I incorporate a mason jar so that I can do the whole country chic thing?

Thanks,
From Me and America

Dear From Me and America,

I appreciate your nationalistic attitude, it’s important to celebrate local food tradition after all! And who says wings and foodie couture can’t go together? There’s a reason Pok Pok opened up a New York City location after all. All you need to do in order to feel no shame bringing your wings to a foodie party is to put an edgy flavor in your glaze: cardamom, fish sauce, sesame seeds… the options are endless.

And while you’re at it, go ahead and serve them in a mason jar. Just make sure there is a layer of herbs that accompanies the flavor of the wings lining the bottom. The last thing you want to do is make something that isn’t food porn worthy. You might just start a new food trend that even Paula Deen can get behind.

With love and sea salt,

Foodie Underground

Have a question? Send it to Ask Foodie Underground. Email food [at]ecosalon[dot]com with any and all food questions. The more complicated the question, the better, and we won’t say that we can be bribed, but if it comes with a food porn attachment or a recipe, you just might get a response a little quicker than you think.

The post Ask Foodie Underground: Dinner Party Etiquette and Foodie Couture Wings appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnFrom recipes to love, Ask Foodie Underground has the answer.

Choosing the wrong food truck or not knowing what to make with your leftover foraged figs can have disastrous consequences. Food is a serious business, and you certainly wouldn’t want to make a culinary faux pas. Which is why we’re launching the official Foodie Underground advice column, Ask Foodie Underground.

Think of it as lifestyle advice for the modern food lover; everything you ever wanted to know about food, from recipe ideas to dating queries.

Types of question we will be accepting:

• What should I do with all of my leftover radish tops?
• Is there an inappropriate time to use a mason jar?
• What should I eat while I’m waiting for apple season to kick in?
• An acquaintance of mine is using my quinoa and chia cake recipe and calling it her own, I kind of want to put too many bitters in her next cocktail, but I know better. What is the appropriate course of action?
• If I am out on a first date and he/she orders a pina colada as a drink, what should I do?
• My chickens just won’t stop laying eggs, do you have a new egg recipe I haven’t thought of?
• Can I put goat cheese sprinkles on my roasted beets without getting made fun of?
• What size of ice cube would I want to make if I wanted to seem cutting edge?
• I’m getting married, should I serve my cakes on tree stumps or vintage whiskey barrels?

It’s the place to take the food related questions you’ve never dared to asked before. We’ll give our own Foodie Underground spin as well as bring in the help of experts. Not sure what cocktail to make with your newly made basil and lemon infused simple syrup? You might want to turn to the internet, but Ask Foodie Underground is better than Google; we’ll ensure a response that’s thought out, researched and full of sass.

Have a question? Send it our way.

Email food [at]ecosalon[dot]com with any and all food questions. The more complicated the question, the better, and we won’t say that we can be bribed, but if it comes with a food porn attachment or a recipe, you just might get a response a little quicker than you think.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Image: Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: Launching a New Advice Column for the Modern Food Lover appeared first on EcoSalon.