Category Archives: Health/Nutrition

Tofu Disruption

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Chef Brandon Jew preparing his tofu "burrata'' at the San Francisco Cooking School.

Chef Brandon Jew preparing his tofu “burrata” at the San Francisco Cooking School.

For some people, the thought of tofu is enough to disrupt their appetite.

But for others in the know, tofu is poised for the same geeky-chic disruption as so many other tech ventures.

Minh Tsai, former investment banker turned tofu master, is leading that charge.

The founder of Oakland’s Hodo Soy Beanery, Tsai brought together a group of the Bay Area’s top chefs and food writers last week at the San Francisco Cooking School to ponder and taste tofu 2.0 — the next iteration of thinking and cooking with the much maligned soybean product.

Tofu laab with shrimp, Asian herbs, quince and chicharron.

Tofu laab with shrimp, Asian herbs, quince and chicharron.

“We want people to talk about tofu differently, to take it to another level,” says Tsai.

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Get to Know Einkorn — The Only Wheat Never Hybridized

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Scones made with the most ancient type of flour.

Scones made with the most ancient type of flour.

 

Chances are you’ve never heard of einkorn.

I know it was new to me — until I received a sample of the intriguing flour, along with the new cookbook, “Einkorn: Recipes for Nature’s Original Wheat” (Clarkson Potter).

The cookbook is by Carla Bartolucci, who started growing this ancient grain known as einkorn with her husband at their home in northern Italy six years ago. Today, they are the largest growers in the world of what is purported to be the most ancient species of wheat and the only variety of wheat that’s never been hybridized.

Why is that important?

Because, Batolucci writes, not only is einkorn is much more nutritious than modern wheat (with 30 percent more protein to boot), but genetic testing has found that it lacks certain gluten proteins that people with wheat intolerances cannot digest.

That is not to say that einkorn is gluten-free. It has about as much gluten as modern wheat. The makeup of its gluten is different, however. It lacks high molecular weight proteins, making it tolerable to people who are gluten sensitive, but not for those who suffer from celiac disease.

A type of flour that may be suitable for those who suffer from gluten sensitivity.

A type of flour that may be suitable for those who suffer from gluten sensitivity.

As such, Batolucci’s daughter, who suffers from gluten insensitivity, is able to eat pasta, bread, crackers, cookies and other baked goods made from einkorn with no problem whatsoever.

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Introducing a Revolutionary New Product — Coffee Flour

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Get to know Coffee Flour, an intriguing new product you're going to be seeing a lot of.

Get to know Coffee Flour, an intriguing new product you’re going to be seeing a lot of.

 

Did you know that for every pound of coffee beans produced, there’s nearly an equal amount of waste created?

Coffee Flour aims to tackle that immense problem. It is the first company to dry and finely mill that pulp waste on a large scale to create a type of flour that has five times the fiber of whole wheat flour and more iron than any other grain.

Surprisingly enough, the resulting flour tastes nothing like coffee, either. Instead, the gluten-free coffee flour tastes heavily of citrus and cherry.

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New Matcha Energy Drinks (And Winner of Last Week’s Contest)

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Matcha and juice combine for this new beverage.

Matcha and juice combine for this new beverage.

 

The color may be ho-hum, muddy green in the glass, but the taste sure makes it a beauty.

Leave it to TeaPigs to come up with refreshing matcha energy drinks to take along anywhere.

If green tea is full of antioxidants, then matcha is even more so. That’s because you’re not just drinking liquid that the tea leaves have steeped in. Instead, you’re ingesting entire leaves, which have been ground to a very fine powder to make the fabled ingredient traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremonies.

Easy to take along wherever you go. But they are best tasting when chilled.

Easy to take along wherever you go. But they are best tasting when chilled.

I had a chance to sample the new TeaPigs Matcha Super Power Green Tea Drinks made with tea grown in Nishio, Japan, blended with water, juice concentrate and citric acid.

They come in three flavors: Grapefruit, Elderflower, and Apple. All are intended to be enjoyed chilled.

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Strawberry Tabbouleh — It’s A Thing

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Tabbouleh -- with strawberries. And you will love it.

Tabbouleh — with strawberries. And you will love it.

Who put strawberries in my tabbouleh?

Food blogger Sara Forte, that’s who.

And I’m grateful that she did.

I love tabbouleh, but I don’t think I would have ever thought to substitute fresh strawberries for the usual tomatoes in it.

The recipe for “Strawberry Tabbouleh” is from her new cookbook, “The Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon” (Ten Speed Press), of which I received a review copy.

Forte of Southern California is the creator of the beautiful blog, Sprouted Kitchen, which features photos by her husband, Hugh Forte. Her recipes are all about healthful, wholesome and seasonal.

SproutedKitchen

As the name implies, this book spotlights recipes that are typically served in one bowl such as “Pumpkin Pie Steel-Cut Oats,” “Herby Picnic Potato Salad,” and “Seared Scallops in Thai Broth.”

Her “Strawberry Tabbouleh” can be made with the traditional bulgur or quinoa for a gluten-free version.

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