Five Flavors Kitchen

The Deadly Nightshades

 Eggplant, NYC, 3.21.09

I have a healthy respect for deadly things - rattlesnakes, bungee jumping, vampires... I realize that it's a dangerous world with things that should make me afraid, and I avoid them.  Transylvania, I'm so not there, however,  I have never felt threatened by eggplant.  Many people think that  this is foolish because eggplant along with tomatoes, peppers and potatoes belong to a family of plants called solanacea, usually referred to as "nightshades". Now the nightshade family also includes some very toxic plants - belladonna (THE deadly nightshade), jimsonweed and mandrake. These contain a powerful alkaloid, atropine. (Atropine is named after the Fate in Greek mythology who chooses how a person is to die). Yes, atropine is a powerful hallucinogenic and could kill you. It also has many medicinal uses and  it is not the alkaloid found in eggplant or the rest of the parmigiana ingredients. Tomatoes, potatoes, eggplant and their mild mannered cousins suffer guilt by association.

The principle alkaloid found in eggplant and its relatives, solanine, is greatly reduced by cooking. (Actually there are therapeutic  uses of this compound too.) Hmmm maybe there was a reason that all Italian grandmothers cooked their tomato sauce for hours on end. People with arthritis are commonly told to avoid the nightshade group. The thought is that the solanine causes bones to excrete calcium which is then deposited into soft tissue. I'm not sure about this. I don't think they eat a lot of eggplant in Sweden, for example, and people still get arthritis and other inflammatory conditions.

Eggplant is a bit of a contradiction. According to some sources it's both yin and yang. It is cooling in nature and affects the Large Intestine, Stomach and Spleen.  It is sweet and can tonify Qi and Blood, but it is also clearing and moving. It has a descending quality that sedates yang so it could be useful for someone with hypertension. It clears toxic heat and is often used in the treatment of skin diseases like mastitis and because it moves Blood, eggplant can also be helpful in the treatment and prevention of menstrual cramps. It builds, it moves, it clears, it seems pretty perfect to me.

 The very sensitive should perhaps test a nightshade free lifestyle for a few weeks to see if it makes any difference in any arthritic symptoms. You never know. The rest of us should consider how eggplant can make us happy.  Can one get expanded consciousness from eating eggplant? Try this out.

My mother made classic eggplant parmigiana. My cousin, Thelma, made eggplant rollatini. I could never figure out which one I liked best so I combined them. I also grilled (in Manhattan that means broiled) the eggplant slices instead of frying them. This does two things: it makes the dish lighter and also makes the eggplant sweeter.  Then you layer the eggplant as you would in making a parmigiana, but alternate layers of mozzarella and ricotta cheese.

Eggplant, fear not. It will bring you great joy.

Notes revisited

Synesthesia or What?

Ok, can anybody tell me what vanilla has to do with earbuds or hearing in general? Yes, people who find notes in coffee, this means you.

It's only polenta

 

My mother would never make polenta for anyone who wasn't family or a really, really, really good friend. Even as polenta found itself on the menus of high  end restaurants her belief held firm. She never saw the packages of prepared polenta in the dairy case at the local supermarket which was probably for the best.

Like mashed potatoes and mac n cheese, polenta is high up there in the comfort food category. Texture aside, this also makes sense energetically as corn is sweet and has an earth elemental association. It is traditionally a peasant food and goes to the Stomach and Large Intestine -  organs that grab on, take in and assimilate - organs that are not associated with refinement. Corn tonifies Qi and Blood, regulates digestive processes and is considered a diuretic. It is often used to promote Heart strength and sexual capacity. Corn helps us get rid of the dampness that is stifling our fire.

Some people consider corn a toxic grain, but do not believe these misguided souls. High-fructose corn syrup is another matter entirely different.

Polenta, like most sublime things, is really simple - water, cornmeal, a little salt, kind of a three dimensional corn tortilla. Sure you can dress it up, but polenta is basically plain. People always talk about how hard it is to make polenta, how it gets lumpy, how long you have to stir the pot. This is simply not true. My apologies to all those famous TV chefs out there, but you're leading the public astray. Most sources have you add the cornmeal to rapidly boiling salted water and whisk like hell to prevent lump formation. My mother, though, had the easiest, lump free method of making polenta. (Yes, I am admitting, my mother was right about something!) She started with mixing the cornmeal with cold water and added it in as a kind of slurry.  Later I  to just started mixing the cornmeal with the cold water at the start and stirring until it was done.  It can take 30-40 minutes to cook, but the constant stirring doesn't take place until the cornmeal starts to thicken.  My mother used a ratio of 1 cup cornmeal to 4 cups water. There are several good ideas on alternate cooking methods at this link.

For those that embrace microwave cooking, polenta making is quick and easy. Mix a cup of cornmeal (course grind best) with 3 cups of water and microwave on the default setting for 3 minutes. Stir and put it back in the micro for another 3 minutes. Again stir, you may have to add a little more water and then once again cook the now thickened polenta in the microwave another 3 minutes.  It should be done. If it isn't done it will be soon. Zap it some more.

Polenta can be the base for any number of additions. Cheese is a frequently used additive which makes the plenty both corny and cheesy - a little bit embarrassing but you know you gotta love it anyway. Besides, if you're with your people, lack of pretense is just fine.

Polenta with water spinach, NYC, 3/12/09

Ginger

Chinatown, NYC, 2.14.09

Made it through February, well almost.  It was cold and gray last weekend and I got a cold - not a bad one, but just enough to make me want to stay inside and drink tea, ginger tea and watch Netflix. Did the trick,  I was functional by Monday. Yes, Ginger gets a lot done.  It is spicy, shakes and moves, especially up and out. Like other spicy herbs and foods, ginger gets one set for change. Did you ever notice that no one named "Ginger" is ever boring? Ginger Rogers, Ginger Baker and Ginger from Gilligan's Island  - not a dull one in the lot.  No one is ever named "Dill"

Ginger is a much discussed rhizome and has a lot of therapeutic uses.  Ginger reduces nausea, resolves phlegm and has anti-inflammatory properties that can be useful for people with ulcerative colitis and other chronic inflammatory conditions. Traditionally ginger is used to treat problems like colds, cough, allergic rhinitis and nausea.  It is also used to detoxify the harsh properties of other herbs. So some herbs are processed in ginger to make them safer for use.  We can use ginger soaks/marinades to reduce contaminants in shellfish and fish. Ginger also treats seafood poisoning if our precautions in preparation of seafood are not enough. Every wonder why ginger is used so often in fish dishes in Chinese restaurants?

Ginger is really easy to use and a little goes a long way.  If you don't use ginger often you can just freeze it and cut it frozen when you need it. Using ginger is really easy too.  For ginger tea you just slice some - say about 3 to 5 slices and simmer them in a cup or two of water. You can sweeten the tea if you want or even make your own ginger ale. If you want it stronger use more ginger and/or less water. Better directions are here. Adding ginger to your marinade for fish or to the soaking water for clams and mussels will help draw out toxins like heavy metals. Better to use fresh water for this purpose for about an hour. Do this just before cooking.  You don't want to soak your shellfish in fresh water overnight.  Then you'd probably have dead shellfish and that would not be so good. There are lots of easy to find recipes for ginger written by people with test kitchens so I will defer to them. There's also a really good ginger chocolate combination made by Roni-Sue's Chocolates at the Essex Street Market. (Was part of my research for the previous post.) At any rate, ginger should be your friend regardless of any connections to Facebook.