Day 34: Kitchen Scraps and Mirepoix
Wow, we’re almost at the end of this journey! How are ya’ll doing so far? Have you convinced yourself to do something to improve your food habits? Even a small step can go a long, long way! And you know what, whatever food habits we have did not happen in 40 days. So we shouldn’t expect
to undo all these habits in 40 days. Be kind to yourself and gently ease your way into the healthier path. If you fail today, stop and ponder why. Change your strategy. Get support from friends and family.
A key concept in Culinary Medicine is knowing how to make a basic broth which we can use as the base for stews, soups, and sauces. In my culinary medicine course, we were taught how to prep our aromatics using basic knife skills and set aside the scraps to make broth as shown in the video below.
https://youtu.be/vT2TzQFMkx4
But I prefer using the recipe for vegetable broth from my culinary arts course. We use a mirepoix of onion, carrots, and celery (2:1:1 ratio), bay leaf, and thyme sprigs. This broth is very flavorful and aromatic. But whenever I strain the vegetables, I always feel bad about discarding them. So now, I found a happy compromise. I use carrot and onion peels and the leaves of the celery (parts which I typically discard) then add thyme, bay leaf, and dried Shiitake mushrooms. This broth has tons of umami flavor and the mushroom can be used for other dishes.
You can also small-dice the onion, celery, and carrots and add garlic and ginger as your basic mirepoix to cook your favorite dishes. When making gumbo or other hearty stew, use garlic, onion, and green bell pepper instead. Try different combinations of herbs and spices to add more depth to your flavors.
Herbs are the leaves and tender stems of aromatic plants whereas spices are the seeds and barks like star anise and cinnamon. Typically, you add the spices and the hardy herbs like rosemary and thyme in the beginning of cooking. But the tender herbs like parsley, cilantro, basil and the like should be added at the end of cooking as garnishes to get much of the flavor.
to undo all these habits in 40 days. Be kind to yourself and gently ease your way into the healthier path. If you fail today, stop and ponder why. Change your strategy. Get support from friends and family.
A key concept in Culinary Medicine is knowing how to make a basic broth which we can use as the base for stews, soups, and sauces. In my culinary medicine course, we were taught how to prep our aromatics using basic knife skills and set aside the scraps to make broth as shown in the video below.
https://youtu.be/vT2TzQFMkx4
But I prefer using the recipe for vegetable broth from my culinary arts course. We use a mirepoix of onion, carrots, and celery (2:1:1 ratio), bay leaf, and thyme sprigs. This broth is very flavorful and aromatic. But whenever I strain the vegetables, I always feel bad about discarding them. So now, I found a happy compromise. I use carrot and onion peels and the leaves of the celery (parts which I typically discard) then add thyme, bay leaf, and dried Shiitake mushrooms. This broth has tons of umami flavor and the mushroom can be used for other dishes.
You can also small-dice the onion, celery, and carrots and add garlic and ginger as your basic mirepoix to cook your favorite dishes. When making gumbo or other hearty stew, use garlic, onion, and green bell pepper instead. Try different combinations of herbs and spices to add more depth to your flavors.
Herbs are the leaves and tender stems of aromatic plants whereas spices are the seeds and barks like star anise and cinnamon. Typically, you add the spices and the hardy herbs like rosemary and thyme in the beginning of cooking. But the tender herbs like parsley, cilantro, basil and the like should be added at the end of cooking as garnishes to get much of the flavor.
COOKING CHALLENGE
Try a new herb or spice like thyme and bay leaf when you cook a soup-based dish.