(09/12/00 3:06pm)
I once had a co-worker who was beholden to cornbread. Joy was her name, and day after day she would head to the local deli where she bypassed the blintzes, tortes and puff pastries for the soup of the day and a generous hunk of cornbread.\nAfter months of watching her luncheon love affair, I made the bold suggestion that she try her hand at baking a pan of the cherished sustenance in her own kitchen. I thought it a reasonable suggestion; Joy had asked me for other cooking suggestions and basic recipes to bolster her burgeoning cooking skills. Surely I was right to recommend some basic bread making? \nWrong. Joy froze mid-munch at my proposition, a final morsel of cornbread poised between her thumb and forefinger. I have recognized the same expression on my students' faces when I hand out all-essay exams. With overtones of betrayal and shock in her voice, she informed me that novice cooks toast bread, slice bread and possibly, at Thanksgiving, assist in the tearing up of bread into bite-size cubes for stuffing. But bake bread? They do not even look at such recipes, let alone attempt it, she croaked, fleeing the room in a flurry of golden crumbs.\nI have learned since then that Joy's bread baking angst is shared by many novice and experienced cooks alike. But cornbread is the anxiety antidote for bread baking. Like all of its cousin quickbreads, it is nothing short of a kitchen miracle when the process is compared to the results. It necessitates little to no prep work, the ingredients are inexpensive and it requires few skills beyond stirring and turning on the oven. No yeast is involved; baking powder, and sometimes baking soda, raises the bread. These leavening agents produce delicate bread with a cake-like texture, tender crust and moist center.\nIt gets better. Whereas yeast breads call for some huffing and heaving to develop the flour's gluten and produce the expected chewy texture, the prescription for quick breads is exactly the opposite: work the dough as little as possible. Gluten development must be inhibited in quick breads to keep the end-product light. Just combine all of the dry ingredients in one bowl and all of the wet ingredients in another, and then integrate the two in one large bowl, stirring quickly. Gently mix until any traces of the dry ingredients are gone; do not worry about lumps.\nThe best recipes for cornbread are straightforward: few ingredients and no stringent requirements about details such as pan type or size. A good cornbread recipe can be memorized without effort; the measurements as easily recalled as a best friend's phone number. It can be made in a pan, ovenproof skillet, muffin tin or corn stick mold if you have it, and the amount of sugar and any additional ingredients can be modified to your taste. And, oh, the results are so very fine. Served warm or hot, plain, drizzled with honey or maple syrup, or a lone pat of real butter, homemade cornbread is a shining testament to the joy of home cooking.\nI attempted to convey some of these same ideas in a quick memo to Joy. Perhaps if she had the assurance that the composition was within her range of skills, she would give homemade cornbread a try. I enclosed the note and my favorite cornbread recipe in an envelope, attached it to a box of Anderson's old-fashioned yellow cornmeal and shoved all inside her locker without further mention.\nA hand-fashioned card with news of Joy's kitchen cornbread encounters arrived in my own locker three days later, tucked beside a plastic-wrapped, lopsided corn muffin. On the outside was Joy's abstract interpretation of a smiling ear of corn. Inside, a simple message: "Hallelujah. Love, Joy." I cannot think of three more fitting words to tell the truth of cornbread.\nFor the recipe, click here
(08/29/00 5:54am)
There is nothing that puts a crimp in a healthful eating regime like the start of a new semester.\nThe best of intentions are easily squelched by the need for expediency. Likewise, the ability to concentrate on the benefits of bran evaporates as the nightly reading list bulges beyond 200 pages.\nBut there are glimmers of hope, and one comes in resealable plastic bags in the produce aisle. It is pre-washed, pre-trimmed spinach, and it is one of the best-kept fast-food secrets in the supermarket. \nIf convenience is the key to maintaining a nutritious eating regimen, then spinach is the solution behind door number three. It is available in ready-packed bags year-round and will keep in your refrigerator for up to a week. Select bags with plump, dark green leaves with no signs of wilting, brittleness, yellowing edges or slimness.\nPopeye was right when he reached for his spinach. It is rich in the antioxidant beta-carotene, and is a good source of vegetable calcium and vitamin C. It is low calorie, too, weighing in at just 40 calories per packed cup. And while I would advise against Popeye's canned spinach preference, frozen spinach (either full-leaf or chopped) is a fine and frugal option.\nIf you are particularly harried, it is perfectly acceptable to grab a handful of spinach leaves out of the bag, sprinkle them with dressing and eat them without further adornment. People who want to avoid making meals from scratch can add a handful of health by stirring in torn spinach leaves to prepared soups; it adds only a minute of wilting time to the preparation, but delivers a bolt of fresh flavor. \nI like to saute a handful of leaves in a dab of olive oil, then scramble in a couple of eggs and a pinch of dill. This is one of my weeknight staples and takes three to four minutes to prepare.\nIf you eat a lot of pasta, you might want to expend 30 seconds of your time to enrich its healthfulness with spinach. During the final 30 seconds of pasta cooking time, add one or more handfuls of torn spinach leaves to the cooking water. Drain the pasta, and then toss with enough pasta sauce of your choice to coat. \nFor these still-warm evenings, I suggest combining the drained pasta and spinach with the juice and grated zest of one lemon. If you have fresh or dried basil leaves, add enough to suit your taste. Generously season the concoction with salt and pepper to taste, and finish with a smattering of Parmesan or goat cheese. Call it Pasta Florentine ("with spinach") to impress yourself and others.\nThere are few people on this campus or elsewhere who do not enjoy a good casserole. My spinach-rice option is comforting on the best of days, consoling on the worst. It goes well with many things but is equally satisfying on its own. The same can be said for the spinach-strawberry salad, except it is more of a final celebration of summer\'s offerings than a soothing dish. Both are chock-full of enough spinach to keep you strong to the finish of the day's end, if not the semester.\nSPINACH-STRAWBERRY SUMMER'S END SALAD\n1 10-ounce package cleaned, washed baby spinach leaves\n1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries\n1 small red onion, cut into very thin slices, separated into rings\n1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves\n2/3 cup roasted, salted, coarsely chopped cashews (optional)\nPlace spinach, strawberries, onion and cilantro in medium bowl; toss to combine. Drizzle salad with cumin dressing; gently toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with cashews.\nCUMIN DRESSING\nIn a covered container, combine 2 tablespoons orange juice, 2 tablespoon vinegars, 3 tablespoons salad oil, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon ground cumin and 1/2 teaspoon sugar; cover and shake vigorously to combine.\nPreheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter or spray with non-stick spray a 2-quart casserole dish. In a large saucepan, melt the butter over moderately low heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spread mixture in casserole. Set casserole in a large pan or dish; fill the large pan with enough hot water to reach halfway up the sides of the casserole dish. Place in oven and bake 45 to 55 minutes, or until set.\nSPINACH & RICE COMFORT CASSEROLE\n2 tablespoons butter or margarine\n3 cups cooked white or brown rice\n4 large eggs, lightly beaten\n1 cup milk\n1 12-ounce package Italian-blend shredded cheese (other cheese, including cheddar, Swiss or reduced fat may be used)\n1 10-ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained\n1/2 cup finely chopped onion\n4 large cloves garlic, minced\n1 tablespoon Italian herb seasoning\n1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (optional)