The Microwave is My Friend

I like using the microwave to heat and de-frost food because it's fast and convenient, but I haven't actually used it to cook a dish. I have however tried 3 desserts using the microwave, but that will be for a different blog post.

I also avoid frying food. Especially deep-frying. I find that I'm sensitive to oily food and will feel sick if I eat too much of it (which isn't that much). I don't try to be THAT healthy, but my body just makes me.

So, besides WHFoods, I also like to read Science Daily for more info on healthy food and cooking.

Here are some very interesting and informative articles:

Antioxidant Levels In Cooked Vegetables Vary With Cooking Method -- Healthier To Griddle-Cook Or Microwave

This article shows that these methods make the highest loss of antioxidant for:

• Cauliflower - don't boil and microwave

• Peas - don't boil

• Zucchini - don't boil and fry  

Green beans, beets, garlic - keep their antioxidant levels after most cooking treatments (boiling, pressure-cooking, baking, microwaving, griddling and frying). 

Vegetables that increase their antioxidant levels after all cooking methods - Green beans (except after boiling), celery and carrots. 

Artichoke - the only vegetable that kept its high antioxidant level during all cooking methods. 

Griddle and microwave cooking helped maintain the highest levels of antioxidants, produced the lowest losses while "pressure-cooking and boiling [led] to the greatest losses".

Culinary Shocker: Cooking Can Preserve, Boost Nutrient Content Of Vegetables

Boiling and steaming maintains the antioxidant compounds of vegetables. 

Frying causes a significantly higher loss of antioxidants in comparison to the water-based cooking methods.

Now, I'm glad I don't like frying and fried food, but my family loves french fries. Glad to find out that Microwave Pre-Cooking Of French Fries Reduces Cancer Chemicals

The discovery of acrylamide - a possible carcinogenic in humans -- has led to much research being done to investigate the benefits of alternative cooking methods. Acrylamide forms during processes such as frying, baking and roasting where high-temperature and low-moisture conditions exist.  

Although numerous studies have been conducted to explore the possibilities of reducing acrylamide levels in French fries, a team of researchers from Turkey has shown that by reducing the frying time and hence the acrylamide formation by microwave pre-cooking of potato strips prior to frying. 

The researches showed that microwave application prior to frying resulted in a marked reduction of the acrylamide level in the surface region. When the potato strips were subjected to frying after a microwave pre-cooking step, acrylamide content in the whole potato strip was reduced by 36%, 41% and 60% for frying at 150, 170 and 190oC respectively. 

"Microwaving French fries before cooking takes little time and in fact, microwave pre-cooked samples fried to the same degree of cooking appeared to have a more acceptable colour, probably due to the more gentle heat treatment they experienced during frying," says lead author Koray Palazoglu, of the University of Mersin, Turkey.

Lazy Pasta Recipe

This only works if you have tomato soup already made.

From my earlier post on tomatoes, we see that when eaten together with broccoli, they work best against cancer. So I decided to make pasta with broccoli for a quick lunch.


Lazy Pasta Recipe

Pasta
Tomato Soup
Chicken or Prawn
Broccoli
* Optional - Bird's eye chili and/or Dried Chili (I like my pasta spicy)

In a pot of boiling water, cook the pasta you wish to make -- I made spaghetti.

Steam the broccoli for 5 minutes. I love using my rice cooker's steamer.

In a pan, heat some olive oil and cook the chicken or prawn with some chili, according to taste. Add in the tomato soup. Done!

To serve, place pasta in bowl. Pour the tomato sauce over and place the broccoli on top. There you have it, a healthy and quick meal.

Note: If you want a more spicier sauce, add in some chili sauce as well.

Broccoli

Broccoli is considered one of the Top 10 Healthiest Vegetable to eat. So if you're not a fan of vegetable, try to at least have broccoli in your diet. WHFoods says that it provides you with a special cholesterol-lowering benefits if you cook it by steaming. Raw broccoli is good but steaming it is better as the cholesterol-lowering ability of raw broccoli improves significantly when it is steamed.

How to prepare :
Cut the broccoli florets into quarters and let sit for several minutes before cooking to enhance its health-promoting benefits. Steam for 5 minutes. 

WHFoods recommends to include broccoli as one of the cruciferous vegetables you eat on a regular basis. Have it at a minimum, 2-3 times per week, and have a serving size of 1-1/2 cups. The best would be to have it 4-5 times per week, and increase your serving size to 2 cups. 

Spinach

I like spinach. It's one of the vegetables that I've always liked. I especially love making poached eggs on spinach. Yum!

We all know that spinach is a great vegetable, but what's the best way to cook it?

According to WHFoods, they recommend boiling it to help reduce its concentration of oxalic acid. And to keep boiling time for just 1 minute to minimize loss of nutrients and flavor. The boiling water after cooking spinach should be discarded. Do not drink it or use for stock because of its acid content.

• Use a large pot (3 quart) with lots of water and bring to a rapid boil. Add spinach to the boiling water and boil for 1 minute. Begin timing as soon as you place the spinach in the pot if you are using 1 pound or less of spinach. If you are cooking larger quantities of spinach bring the water back to a boil before beginning timing the 1 minute. 
• Do not cover the pot when cooking spinach. Leaving the pot uncovered helps to release more of the acids with the rising steam. Research has shown that the boiling of spinach in large amounts of water helps decrease the oxalic acid content by as much as 50%.  

They also recommend to include foods belonging to the chenopod family- including beets, chard, spinach and quinoa - in your diet 1-2 times per week. For leafy food like spinach, the recommended serving size is at least ½ cup, and even more beneficial, one full cup.

Tomato Soup

I bought a whole pack of organic local tomatoes at the supermarket the other day thinking that I would be using it. A few days passed by and I still haven't cooked anything using tomatoes. As they were getting riper and I had a whole bunch to use, I decided to make tomato soup.

Found these 2 recipes online 

• Garden Fresh Tomato Soup 
• Fresh Tomato Soup 

and decided to make a mix of the two :)

Feel free to use whichever recipe I linked above or my adapted version. My version would include a bit more garlic and no salt as I tend to omit salt in my recipes whenever possible. I also mixed in some roux as I've never tried that before and wanted to experiment with it. Just go with what works with your tastebuds!

Easy, Fresh Tomato Soup 

4 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped (about 8-10 medium sized tomatoes)
1 medium sized onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chicken broth (or veg stock or a mix of both)
1-2 teaspoons brown sugar, or to taste

* Optional - For the roux:
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

In a large stockpot, heat the olive oil. Using medium heat, cook the onions until translucent and then add the garlic. Cook for a few minutes but don't let it brown.

Add in the tomatoes and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and then allow to simmer for about 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes are soft. Add in sugar to taste and it's done!

* If you want the soup thickened, make a roux by melting the butter over medium heat. Stir in the flour and mix it well. Stir constantly as you don't want the roux to burn. You will see the yellow color start to become darker. Cook until it is medium brown. If small black specks start to appear, it has burned and you will need to start over as it will give a bitter taste. Once it's done, whisk in a bit of the tomato soup and then stir in the rest.


Notes:

• Most recipes would require you to blend the soup but I prefer my soup chunky as it gives a rustic and more wholesome look. Okay, I'll admit that I'm a bit lazy as well.
• Having the roux thickened the soup and it really was nice, but it can also do without for a healthier soup.
• Or, you can add 1 cup of milk or cream instead for a 'bisque'.
• Had the leftover soup the next day and it was even more delicious!
• I would have added carrots and celery if I had them. Maybe about 1/2 - 1 cup each. If I did, I would have chopped them roughly about the same size to let it cook evenly. 
• If I felt I need some meat in the dish, I'd add tiny meatballs!

But, wait!

I also tried this method today and it's another way to get a thickened soup without doing a separate roux.

Easy Tomato Bisque from ehow.com.

I used the same ingredients as my recipe above. The ehow.com recipe is a bisque, so it calls for half-and-half. I'm just doing a normal tomato soup.

The alternative method:

Heat the olive oil. Cook the onions with sugar. Add in garlic and cook a little more. Add 1 tablespoon flour and stir constantly for 1 about minute.  Add in the chicken broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Allow to simmer for about 15 minutes until the soup has thickened. Voila!