Watch this KTVC cooking video, in which NOURISH Evolution founder Lia Huber demonstrates how to dice a bell pepper. It’s a simple cooking tip that will help you save time in the kitchen.
NOURISH Evolution Kitchen Tips: Dicing a Bell Pepper from Lia Huber on Vimeo.
Fresh corn is one of summer’s most delicious treats. Watch this cooking video in which NOURISH Evolution founder Lia Huber shares a smart cooking for how to cut corn kernels off the cob — safely!
NOURISH Evolution Kitchen Tips: Cutting Corn from Lia Huber on Vimeo.
In this video, NOURISH Evolution founder Lia Huber shares a simple cooking tip she picked up in Greece: grating garlic for more pungent garlicky flavor.
NOURISH Evolution Kitchen Tips: Grating Garlic from Lia Huber on Vimeo.
Next time you need to juice a lime or lemon, try this cooking tip: Use a citrus squeezer. In this cooking video, NOURISH Evolution founder Lia Huber demonstrates how to use this simple kitchen tool.
NOURISH Evolution Kitchen Tips: Easy Lime Squeezing from Lia Huber on Vimeo.
Prepping onions is one of the most basic kitchen skills and doing it right will save time on busy nights. In this cooking video, Lia demonstrates how to cut an onion in no time.
NOURISH Evolution Kitchen Tips: Dicing an Onion from Lia Huber on Vimeo.
Minced onions are used in so many recipes! Watch as NOURISH Evolution founder Lia Huber shows you how to mince onions quickly and safely.
NOURISH Evolution Kitchen Tips: Mincing an Onion from Lia Huber on Vimeo.
Watch this cooking video to learn how to devein shrimp to prep this popular shellfish for any recipe. NOURISH Evolution founder Lia Huber shares a simple technique to peel, clean, and devein shrimp.
NOURISH Evolution Kitchen Tips: Deveining Shrimp from Lia Huber on Vimeo.
Ever wondered how the chefs mince garlic so quickly? Watch and learn here. as Lia demonstrates a simple technique to prep and mince garlic.
NOURISH Evolution Kitchen Tips: Mincing Garlic from Lia Huber on Vimeo.
by Alison Ashton
Whenever I pull out the pressure cooker to whip up some bean soup, I wonder why everyone doesn’t have one. You may remember these stove-top appliances from your grandmother’s kitchen. Before there were microwaves there were pressure cookers, and Grandma relied on hers to get dinner on the table fast. Problem was, her cooker tended to rattle menacingly and even explode on occasion. Then microwaves came along and pressure cookers went the way of the hoop skirt, as an editor of mine used to say.
Now pressure cookers are making a comeback, along with other traditional techniques, like canning or cooking with offal, that stretch tight food budgets. A pressure cooker is simple–it looks like a big stockpot, except the lid has a gasket and a lock to create high pressure that cooks foods up to 70 percent faster than traditional techniques. That’s good news if you want to enjoy healthy, inexpensive fare like dried beans and whole grains, as well as tough cuts of meat, but don’t care for the long cooking times these ingredients often require. Dried black beans cook in about 20 minutes, and hearty grains like wheat berries are ready in 30 minutes instead of an hour–or longer. Pressure cookers are planet-friendly, too; because they do the job so quickly, they require less energy.
New models have foolproof safety features, like locking lids that can’t be opened until the pressure is released and automatic-release functions so you don’t have to drag a hot, heavy cooker to the sink and run cold water over the rim to cool it down. The automatic release function is helpful, too, when you want to stop cooking partway through to check the doneness of ingredients.
A 6- or 8-quart cooker as a good all-purpose size (pressure cookers should never be filled more than two-thirds high and only halfway for ingredients that expand, like beans and grains). I like stainless steel, too. It costs a bit more than aluminum, but you can use a sturdy stainless-steel pot to brown and sear ingredients before adding liquid and capping the pot with the lid. Stainless-steel pressure cookers with automatic release functions retail for about $120, but you can find one on the Internet for much less.
It’s easy to adapt existing recipes to use a pressure cooker. Soups, stews, braises, and steamed dishes lend themselves well to the pressure cooker; start with half the called-for cooking time. Lia’s recipe for Braised and Glazed Five Spice Short Ribs would be an ideal candidate for the pressure cooker. If you give it a try, let us know how it goes. In the meantime, make my recipe for black bean soup–it’s a wonderful midweek treat on a chilly fall evening.
A longtime editor, writer, and recipe developer, Alison Ashton is a Cordon Bleu-trained chef. She has worked as a features editor for a national wire service and as senior food editor for a top food magazine. Her work has appeared in Cooking Light, Vegetarian Times, and Natural Health as well as on her blog, Eat Cheap, Eat Well, Eat Up.
Seafood can seem a conundrum. In one ear we hear “eat more fish” for the benefit they bring our bodies, in the other we hear “the oceans are being overfished.” So what’s the answer . . . how are we supposed to feed a growing global appetite for seafood when supplies in the world’s oceans are dwindling? That’s the question Monterey Bay Aquarium has been asking for years alongside other groups like the Blue Ocean Institute and the Ocean Conservancy.
And according to a ground-breaking report released by the Monterey Bay Aquarium entitled Turning the Tide: The State of Seafood, they’re closer than ever to knowing the answer. “Ocean life is still in decline and we clearly need to take urgent action to turn things around,” says aquarium Executive Director Julie Packard in the report. “The good news is that we know what it will take, and that key players are working more closely than ever to solve the problems. I’m confident that we can and will create a future with healthy oceans.”
So, just what will it take?
There are many factors that play into the health of the oceans that can be roughly boiled down to two golden rules: that fish species aren’t captured faster than they can reproduce, and that the environment remains healthy so that those fish—and the entire ecosystem–can thrive. Here is a snapshot of what Turning the Tide has to say about the state of seafood:
In the Wild
The major stakeholders in ocean affairs–environmental scientists and those who manage the fishing operations (which are called fisheries)–have in the past butted heads on which course of action to take to restore fish populations. But now there is considerable consensus on what can be done to change course. “Fishing communities and conservationists are crafting innovative solutions to ensure that there will be fish to catch—and people to catch them—for generations to come.” Solutions like regulating the type of fishing gear used and the amount caught, and a system called “catch shares” in which fishermen, cooperatives and communities are allowed a specified share of the annual catch. The result of these initiatives is an eco-friendly balance that enables fish, fishermen and fishing communities to thrive long-term.
On the Farms
The report also announced that, for the first time ever in 2009, we as a global community will consume more farmed fish than wild. Aquaculture is indeed one of the solutions for feeding global demand for seafood, but it must be regulated on an international level in order to protect both the health of marine ecosystems and the health of the consumers who eat it. Groups like the Pew Charitable Trust and the World Wildlife Fund are working to set healthy, sustainable aquaculture standards on both a national and international scale.
At the Market
There is no question that consumers’ desire to make sustainable choices is at an all-time high, due in large part to programs (like the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch) empowering them to do so. The report spotlights several positive initiatives that this interest has spurred. For instance, several leading chefs upped the ante to “Save Our Seafood” by pledging not to serve any fish on the Seafood Watch red “avoid” list (think the Give Swordfish a Break campaign rolled out across much of a menu’s best-sellers). It’s a bold move, and one that will inevitably broaden our seafood palate as a nation. So expect to see more fish like sardines and Acrtic char on menus in the very near future.
Other highlights from Turning the Tide are the huge strides made in making sustainable seafood more accessible in mass market channels, from WalMart to major food service companies. It’s getting easier to identify sustainable seafood at the counter too. The Marine Stewardship Council’s blue “MSC Certified” label backs up a robust program of sustainable standards, traceability and accountability for wild-caught fish throughout the supply chain, from producer to plate. Its sister program, the Aquaculture Stewardship Council, is in development and will offer a similar certification and labeling program for sustainably farmed seafood.
What You Can Do
All this talk of sustainability and reports can sound daunting, but all in all the message of the State of Seafood was a positive one. There is a lot that can be done to restore our oceans and fish populations to health while providing the world’s human population with delicious seafood.
How’s this for empowering: every time you make a seafood purchase you’re contributing either to the decline or rejuvenation our seas. Here are three things you can do to help turn the tide in the right direction:
1) Memorize a short list – Seafood Watch released their Super Green List. We at published our Super Seven. Both of these lists are great to have down pat for when you’re at the fish counter.
2) Be aware and adventurous – There is a plethora of resources out there, including , to help you choose wisely, and sometimes those choices may take you out of your comfort zone. Delve in with an open mind and give new species a try.
3) Talk back – Let people know that you’re concerned about our oceans, whether it’s your policymakers or the guy behind the fish counter. Our combined voice equals market demand which goes a long way towards driving change.
