Respect Your Food

In an age when respect has become something that is not as common as it used to be, I thought perhaps that starting with food might help us all remember the importance of the general concept.

If you respect your food, you will be thinking of how to eat it at its peak. You will treat it as you would like to be treated, allowing it to show its best qualities. Sometimes this might just mean a sprinkle of sea salt on a garden tomato or carrots from the market just rinsed and eaten, with the tops still on! But everything from meats to desserts can be treated with respect by using fresh ingredients and adding sauces or condiments that match well with the intensity of flavour in the food.

Summer is an easy season to respect food, as there is so much that is fresh. The markets and gardens are overflowing with all colours and kinds of fruits and vegetables and herbs you can manage to eat fabulous food without even cooking in the summer!

• Fresh basil leaves with sliced tomatoes and bocconcini cheese, drizzled with good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar
  
• Chicken pieces roasted on the grill with sprigs of rosemary and/or thyme under the skin (or stuffed into a slit in the meat if you prefer)
  
• Peaches or plums and a few berries if you have them, tossed in a sprinkling of sugar and a squeeze of lemon juice, served over yogurt, ice cream or angel food cake

As we move towards autumn and everyone gets back to those routines of winter, think of respecting bag lunches too, with homemade pickles or some zucchini loaf pulled from the freezer to jazz up your day. I guarantee it will bring a smile to your face, and you will respect yourself more for having cared about your food.

I am including the recipe for pickles that we use, from an old hippie friend. It is simple and tasty. If you would like my zucchini recipe, just send us an e-mail!

Dave Zen’s Pickles

For each clean 1 quart jar, put the following:

1/2 cup vinegar
2 tsp coarse salt
1 tsp sugar or honey
a few dill sprigs
1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and cut in half
OPTIONAL: 1 tsp chili flakes or a hot pepper if you like spicy pickles!

On top of these ingredients, place clean pickling cucumbers in jar. Pack them in, but treat them with respect – no squishing.
Fill the jar with boiling water.
Leave jar for 24 hours, then turn upside down for 12 hours. Shake gently and store for 3-4 days. (You can store them for longer if you prepare sealer lids and rings as instructed for canning and ensure seals are effective – the lids will be tight on the jar and will not make a noise if pressed.)

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.