Found at: http://www.anguillaguide.com/article/articleprint/2399/-1/126/
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Eating My Words by Chef Daniel Orr
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A weekly Column by Chef Daniel Orr
Daniel Orr is Executive Chef at Kitchen Stadium, Santorini Restaurant, Famiglia and the Tapas Lounge and Rum Bar at CuisinArt Resort & Spa and is working on “A Chef’s Diet” Cookbook and Cooking in Paradise.
A HEALTHY PANTRY
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Chef Daniel Orr
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A pantry has many different meanings. To me, hearing the word floods me with images of BBC’s Masterpiece Theater and the great houses with butlers and cooks scurrying around with silver trays full of tea and crumpets. That is a pantry I will have to live without - tea is okay (especially if it is green tea with all its antioxidants) but the crumpets with jam and jelly aren’t regulars on a modern healthy eating regime!
Nowadays a pantry is usually a closet crammed full of sugar, white flour, canned goods, oils, cookies, crackers, chips, and convenience foods used to whip up a quick meal at a moment’s notice. But a healthy pantry is one that contains little canned or snack food, some spices (no older than six months), some dried food like legumes, a little pasta and some good teas, raw honey and a few other necessities. A pantry that contains more than 25 percent processed, canned, or packaged food is an unhealthy pantry.
Most food we eat should be fresh and served within a day or two of purchase.
The longer food sits around, the fewer nutrients and enzymes are available to provide health. And what is food for? We eat food first for nutrition and second for taste or desire (or is it the other way around? I am a chef, after all). Stocking the pantry with the less-than-healthful stuff doesn’t leave room on the shelves for good choices or an abundance of taste.
My home pantry is like a tour of the world’s cuisines. I even have it labeled with various ethnic sections such as Latino, Asian, European, Southwestern, etc. I love to play with these ingredients when I’m cooking because each dish becomes a journey, making cooking and eating more fun.
Healthful food doesn’t have to be bland, boring, or uncreative. I want flavor and excitement. One thing you must do, though, is use foods while they are fresh so that your dishes are as nutritious as possible. Grains left to sit on a pantry shelf for longer than six months will most likely have weevils, small wormlike organisms that probably don’t taste like much, but most likely you’d want to avoid eating. (Having friends for dinner takes on a whole new meaning when this happens.) Any grains such as oatmeal, brown rice, and barley should be stored in airtight containers in the freezer.
Oils should be kept refrigerated, as they are less likely to become rancid.
Oils should be bought in dark bottles, as light can pass through clear bottles, causing oxidation (as will heat, if they are kept by the stove).
Always sniff oils if you haven’t used them in a while - you will be surprised how quickly they go bad if stored at room temperature. Good, lightly processed olive, sesame, flax seed and nut oils go off more quickly than their highly processed brothers and sisters but have much better flavor and nutritional value. Buy them in smaller quantities to ensure freshness.
We are brought up to think we live in a world of abundance. However, overstocking the pantry with snack foods will provide a temptation to snack constantly - if the food is there, we’ll eat it. We should buy less prepackaged food specifically because it has that long shelf life. Long shelf life means foods are preserved with chemicals or have hydrogenated oils to maintain shelf life, which means unwholesome food, and that can lead to bad flavor and texture, not to mention ill health.
A healthy pantry is one where only necessities or flavor and nutrition should reside. It makes your life easier and more interesting because it allows you to cook with a wider palette of flavors and aromas. It shouldn’t be overwhelming and impossible to control its freshness. If you are eating a balanced, wholesome diet that includes fresh fruit, vegetables, lean meat and fish, legumes, oats, brown rice, you won’t need to fill your pantry with processed food. You can shop every couple of days for fresh ingredients to build your meals around, and use your pantry for inspiration and variety.
You’ll end up saving money and your health by spending less on those prepackaged foods.
Remember - a healthy pantry is a happy pantry.
Brown Rice and Legume Salad
with Almond and Herbs
You can vary this recipe to use whatever is in your pantry. It’s a great way to use up leftover brown rice and cooked grains. Serve this as a side dish, a pita sandwich stuffing, or a main course salad. Toss in any of your leftovers to make a second meal without much work but with tons of flavor and appeal.
And remember - recipes are only guidelines, so adapt this to your own taste.
Have fun and - don’t be afraid of flavor!
2 cups cooked beans or lentils
2 cups cooked brown rice
_ cup extra virgin olive oil
_ cup chopped fresh herbs (mint, oregano, basil and others)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large tomato, diced small
_ cup Italian parsley, coarsely chopped
_ cup almonds or sunflower seeds, roughly chopped
1 teaspoon lemon zest
juice of a lemon
1 teaspoon hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste
Toss all ingredients together and season to taste. It is best to make this salad at least 30 minutes before serving to give time for the grains to absorb the flavorings. As with all make-ahead dishes, remember to adjust seasonings just before serving.
Note: Diced chicken breast, turkey breast or tofu added to this salad give it a protein power-packed punch that will keep you going at the gym or during a busy work day.
Great served warm as well.
I’d love to hear from you. I am collecting recipes and stories for future articles and books and would love to include your favorite family recipes and food memories from the kitchen, the garden or the sea. You can reach me at
dorr@cuisinart.aior stop me on the road if you see the CuisinArt Chef Mobile.