Standing the Test of Time: the Universally Popular Cheesecake

Grab a fork—National Cheesecake Day is on Sunday, July 30th!

The familiar sweet treat is generally a mixture of soft cheese, eggs, and sugar poured into a crust of graham crackers, shortbread, or sponge cake. Today’s varieties range from the pristine New York Style to flavored cheesecakes (like chocolate, lemon, or pumpkin) and added fruits (like berries, cherries, or pineapple,) decorated with nuts and whipped cream, baked or unbaked.

It isn’t actually a cake at all but more of a cheese tart or flan or custard pie. The Basque-style cheesecake is much like a custard and baked to the edge of burnt. In 1996, a savory salmon cheesecake took top prize in a Better Homes & Gardens’ recipe contest.

Cheesecake, like many things, started with the Greeks. Cheese molds discovered on the island of Samos are approximately 4000 years old, and experts speculate that humans ate cheese products well before this. A form of cheesecake gave energy to the first Olympic athletes in 776 BC. These first cheesecakes consisted of cheese pounded into a paste and formed into a loaf with honey and wheat flour, then baked.

When the Romans conquered Greece, they made cheesecake their own, called it “libum,” and published a recipe for it during the first century AD in a comprehensive food work by Marcus Porcius Cato, a politician. This version is very similar to the Greek’s but added eggs to the mixture. It, too, was formed into a loaf, then baked in a fire, on leaves under “a brick.”

By the end of the first millennium, countries all over Europe were making their individual styles of cheesecakes thanks to the Romans expanding their empire. In the 16th century the French developed Neufchatel cheese, soft, creamy and a favorite of Napoleon’s used often in cheesecake recipes.

Meanwhile in 1872 America, a dairy farmer named William Lawrence, of Chester, NY, was trying to recreate Neufchatel for this side of the pond. He didn’t, but he did discover an American classic: cream cheese, called so because it WAS creamier and richer than Neufchatel.

In the 1920’s restaurateur Arnold Reuben experimented with cheese pies as desserts for his menu. He tweaked and perfected until he unveiled the New York style cheesecake, made with cream cheese, egg yolks, heavy cream or sour cream, with a little sugar, lemon, and a graham cracker crust. The authentic New York cheesecake stands on its own without fruits, nuts, flavors, or whipped cream.

Simple and unadorned or loaded with layers of flavors, cheesecake’s creamy goodness is universally popular. Today is a great day to treat yourself to a slice of this ancient and historical classic.

Cheesecake from Savoia Pastry Shoppe, Rochester, NY

Strawberries: Sweet Little Hearts of Goodness <3

There are a couple of basics to know about strawberries. First, they are one of the top four healthiest fruits per serving on the planet. Second, the healthiest strawberries are organic strawberries, even though they may be a little smaller. The industrial agriculture industry douses strawberries with pesticides because they are delicate and prone to maladies like pests and disease, so if you’re eating them regularly, grow your own or go organic. Third, they should be eaten as soon as possible after harvest and purchase because they lose their nutrients quickly after two days off the plant.

They are an ancient fruit—and a fruit, not a real berry as the name suggests—and the Romans wrote about them. By the Middle Ages, strawberries were taken from the wild and cultivated, though it would be the mid-18th century before anyone developed a true garden variety, which happened in France.

Here are some more strawberry facts to enjoy with some shortcake:   

• They are grown throughout the world, but the United States annually produces at least one million tons more than any other country and grows 25 percent of the world’s strawberries.  

• All 50 states grow strawberries, and 94 percent of American households eat strawberries at least once a year.

• This fruit is a member of the rose family.

• Each strawberry has approximately 200 individual seeds, and birds are responsible for much of the seed distribution in the wild.

• One cup of strawberries has 46 calories and 113 percent of the daily recommendation for Vitamin C. They have exceptionally high anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, which promotes heart health and fights cancer. Research shows that strawberries also regulate blood sugar, even after a heavy dessert. During the Middle Ages strawberries were used to treat depression. They’ve even been used as toothpaste.

• In folklore, Bavarian farmers tie small baskets of spring strawberries to cows’ horns to appease elves into getting the cows to give more milk and healthy calves. Another superstition says that two people who share a double strawberry with fall in love. <3 

Time to Twist & Dunk: Happy National Oreo Cookie Day!

Happy National Oreo Day! Yes, it’s a thing, and lots of people are celebrating the “World’s Best-Selling Cookie” (true) by buying and eating more of them.

But the beginnings of the cookie that makes so many people happy are rooted in drama. It started with two brothers, Jacob and Joseph Loose, who owned the American Biscuit & Manufacturing Company in the late 1800s. They were having disagreements on the next chapter for their company when Jacob became ill in 1897 and had to step away to recover.

Joseph took advantage of his absence and found new business partners in their competitors, New York Biscuit Company and United States Baking Company, thus creating National Biscuit Company (Nabisco.) When Jacob returned to the workforce, he found his own new partner, John Wiles and formed the Loose-Wiles Biscuit Company, but they were never able to compete with Nabisco.

Speaking of competition, Sunshine Biscuits’ Hydrox sandwich cookie is the original chocolate cookie outside, creamy filling inside treat, which was introduced in 1908. Four years later, Joseph and friends from Nabisco unveiled their copy of the popular Sunshine sandwich, the “Oreo,” origin of the name unknown. The filling was sweeter, the chocolate cookie not as crunchy, and the marketing a step up. The companies went back and forth for 50 years, but eventually the Oreo left Hydrox in the dust for good.

Here are a few more facts about today’s icon, so grab a handful of them with a glass of milk:

• The chocolate cookie design used today has been around since 1952. Today’s filling was developed by Sam Porcello, a food scientist who retired from Nabisco in 1993 and who holds five Oreo-related patents.

• Since 1912, more than 450 billion Oreos have been produced in 18 countries worldwide; annual production since 2017 is up to 40 billion. Sales in the United States and China account for 70 percent of the total.

• The first special flavor offered was lemon, but it was discontinued soon after. Other more unusual Oreo flavors include Swedish fish, watermelon, root beer float, waffle & syrup, pina colada, hot chicken wing (China only,) wasabi (China only,) and green tea (China and Japan.) Some of these are still available, and some can only be seen at the Museum of Failure in Los Angeles.  

• The cookies are kosher and, technically, vegan. The ingredients are vegan, but there is a possibility of cross-contamination with milk at the factory. Oreo also offers a gluten-free version.

• A 2022 study reported in the Physics of Fluids journal proved that the Oreo creamy filling cannot be split in the middle but always stays on one of the chocolate cookies or the other. According to Nabisco, around 50 percent of customers twist the cookies open and 50 percent take a bite of the whole cookie, and women are more likely to twist.

• A high school math class analyzed Oreos and found that 21 percent of the cookie is filling and 79 percent is cookie; a Double-Stuf Oreo actually has about 1.86 times the amount of filling of a regular Oreo—not quite double;  the Mega-Stuf contains about 2.68 times the amount of a regular.

• A study at Connecticut College showed that the same “pleasure center” in the brains of lab rats that is activated by cocaine and morphine is also activated by the world’s most popular cookie. Coincidence? I think not. And the rats like to eat the creamy filling first.

Enjoy your day!

13 Days of Halloween: #4 The Future is in Your Food

The word “divination” comes from the Latin word divinare meaning to predict. Humans have always been curious about the future. Ancient Etruscans, Romans and Babylonians read the organs and entrails of sacrificed animals to discern future events. The Greeks sought out oracles with direct lines to the gods. The Italians developed tarot cards in the 14th century to channel what was coming. But common folk were interested, too, and didn’t have access to oracles and other tools for foretelling.

What they did have was food. Maybe it started as a game, or maybe it started with an eccentric old woman living in the woods mixing herbs and frog toes, but the Celts and other civilizations began using fruits and vegetables to predict love and fortune. This was especially poignant this time of year for the Celts, as it was the end of their calendar year, the end of the harvest, and the time when the spirit world and physical world were the closest.   

Here are three foods, probably in your kitchen right now, that hold the powers of prognostication.

Apples

Always kind of a gross game that has most likely met its permanent end after COVID, bobbing for apples began at the ancient Roman festival for the goddess Pomona and continued at Samhain and Halloween celebrations ever after into at least the 20th century.

There are several versions, the most familiar being putting apples into a tub of water and trying to grab one with your teeth. Girls have been known to carve boys’ names into the fruit prior to dunking, and whoever’s name was pulled was, supposedly, who she would marry. More dangerous variations of this game include “snap apple” where participants spring for spinning apples---with candles inside of them—dangling from tree limbs. Or guests can try their luck at snagging one from a tray of burning brandy. Good times.

The seemingly safest way to use this fruit for fortune telling is to peel the skin from the apple all in one strip and throw the strip over your shoulder. Scrutinize the peel for a legible letter of the alphabet, and it will be the initial of your future beloved.

Eggs

The ancient Greeks and Romans also practiced oomancy (oo-man-see) or predicting with eggs. A common practice in the early 18th century, the “Venus glass” was called out and forbidden specifically by Rev. John Hale as he tracked down candidates for the Salem Witch Trials.

The method is simple. Concentrate on your question. Add hot water to a clear glass or bowl. Either crack an egg and separate the yolk from the white and pour the white into the water or pierce a hole in the egg’s shell and allow the white to drip into the water. Shapes and images may appear that should help answer the question.  

Onions

This vegetable has been used for hundreds of years for cleansing the home, attracting abundance, finding true love, and making decisions. There are many YouTube videos on the onion and making it work for you, but you can try the following easy customs to begin.

This centuries-old ritual needs a little patience. If you are having trouble making a “this or that” decision, you’ll need two onions. Think about your question. Carve “this” answer in one and “that” answer in the other onion. Put the onions away in a cool dark place. Now we wait. The first onion to show a green sprout will be your answer.

An Ayurvedic cleansing practice splits one onion into quarters. Place one quarter in each corner of the room to clear old energy that may have collected there from negative events, stress, worry, or just stale energy.

Another ritual uses only the skin of the onion to welcome abundance. Hold a piece of onion skin in your hand and focus your intention for abundance (new car, bigger house, money, job, etc.)  Hold the onion skin with tongs, and light the skin on fire, letting the ashes drop onto a plate or bowl. Take the ashes outside, and think about your intention again as you empty the bowl into the wind.

Best wishes for finding love, health, and abundance with or without produce.

13 Days of Halloween: #7 Gluten-Free Candy

Many families have gone gluten-free, so if you want to increase the chances of your treats being enjoyed instead of rejected, check out these links for updated lists of gluten-free candy. Also, check the bags for either the phrase or seal for “gluten free.” (see photo) Have a happy and SAFE Halloween!

From Celiac.org: This page includes lists for many holidays and a downloadable PDF for Halloween. https://celiac.org/gluten-free-living/gluten-free-foods/gluten-free-candy-list/

From Celiac.com: This list is a comprehensive A to Z list with lots of candies in general https://www.celiac.com/articles.html/safe-gluten-free-halloween-candy-chocolate-list-r4930/

13 Days of Halloween: #11 Breaking Bread (Irish Barmbrack)

Five Points Bakery, Buffalo, NY

It isn’t clear how long Barmbrack has been around, but it has been a treasured part of Ireland’s Halloween celebration for well over 100 years. The actual Gaelic name, bairin breac, means “speckled loaf” referring to the fruits dotting the inside. The later term, “barm,” may refer to a rising agent derived from the froth of fermented ale used instead of yeast in the bread.

With Samhain being the end of the Celtic year, people were looking ahead and wondering what the next year would bring. This bread became a popular holiday fortune telling “game” as bakers added trinkets into the batter: a coin, a piece of cloth, a bean, a ring, a stick, and a pea. Many partakers hoped for the ring, which meant getting married within the year, or the coin for good luck or wealth. The pea meant no marriage next year and bean meant no money coming. The cloth also meant bad luck or poverty, and the stick would bring unhappiness or disagreements.

Here is a simple recipe to enjoy the traditional way, toasted and buttered. While many recipes call for soaking the fruit overnight in strong black tea, a little whisky can be added to amp up this treat.

Click here for the recipe. The full list of ingredients is in the video description.

Eggs, Unscrambled

Traditional Pysanka egg decorating is rich in symbolism. The deer on this ostrich egg can stand for wealth, prosperity or leadership.

(This article, written by Glynis Valenti, was originally published in The Times-Leader newspaper.)

Over the past seven millenniums bird eggs have nested in the human dietary pyramid as a substantial component of meals in virtually every culture. Long before the Greeks got chickens from the Egyptians, hunters and gatherers and early Asian and Indian populations had already discovered this compact food source.

Now it’s a breakfast staple in America and appears throughout the rest of the day in quiche for lunch, pasta at dinner and those cookies baked for an evening snack. This little spheroid is also feared by many as the root of high cholesterol and heart disease. Separating the fact from the myth is almost, literally, like separating the yolk from the egg white.

Eggs come in all shapes and sizes. One of the largest eggs is the ostrich egg, left, and here, clockwise, are an emu egg, two types of chicken eggs, a quail egg and duck egg.

Regarding cholesterol, the American Egg Board is broadcasting the fact that cholesterol levels in eggs have dropped over the past few years from 215 mg to 185 mg. While this is good news, it isn’t necessarily the natural cholesterol level in the egg that is a problem. In actuality, the body absorbs very little cholesterol directly from foods. The calories from fat (50 percent) in the yolk, however, are the levels to watch. Egg whites are 87 percent water and 13 percent protein with no cholesterol or fat.

It has been determined that eggs do not cause heart disease. Harvard Medical School says that there is no correlation between heart disease and eggs—except in diabetics, where studies show an increased risk. Eating egg whites, egg substitutes or limiting the number of eggs eaten per week will lower that risk.

The chicken egg is a high quality, natural source of protein and all the amino acids humans need. It contains vitamins A and E, the B vitamins and is one of the few foods with natural vitamin D. At about 70 calories per large egg, it is a good choice for weight loss programs. The choline in egg yolks contributes to infant memory functions when taken during pregnancy, and improves memory in adults. The yolk also contains natural substances called lutein and zeaxanthin that reduce the risks of cataracts and age-related macular degeneration.

The bottom line is that the average person (not diabetic) can probably eat one egg per day, while cutting back on saturated fats in other foods, without adverse affects and, in fact, will probably benefit. Incidentally, most bird eggs taste nearly the same and are relatively bland. What would most likely change the flavor of the egg itself is the individual bird’s diet, for instance fish as opposed to seeds.

Emilie Freeman, egg artist, demonstrates one of the last procedures in the decorating process: removing the wax and unveiling the finished egg.

The largest egg from a living bird is that of a North African ostrich with an average length of six to eight inches and a diameter of four to six inches. The smallest bird egg comes from a Jamaican hummingbird, the vervain, and is between one-third and one-half inch long.

Many cultures have used the egg in traditional rituals, even long before Christianity. Pagans used the egg as a symbol of springtime and rebirth. The egg is part of the Jewish Passover celebration as a symbol of life and hope of salvation. The Chinese give family and friends dyed red eggs to announce a birth, and Japanese parents decorate eggs with likenesses of their children. Easter is generally the time that Christians dye eggs, originally representing the resurrection, for baskets and decoration.

Artist Emilie Freeman has been creating one-of-a-kind Pysanka eggs for 38 years. This Ukrainian tradition began before 988 AD and involves intricate designs in melted beeswax layered with a series of colored dyes. The designs and colors are symbolic, so the artist can give them as messages or tokens of goodwill. Yellow represents light, youth and hospitality; blue represents the sky, air or good health. One of Freeman’s favorite symbols is small dots, representing the Virgin Mary’s tears, but a recurring pattern in her work is the “star” or “rose.” Symbolically it represents “God’s love for man,” but she says she likes the pattern’s style.

From a how-to brochure on Pysanka Freeman reads, “’Pysanka is the release of earth from the shackles of winter. As long as the Pysanka are decorated, goodness will triumph over evil in the world.’” She laughs, “That’s why I do it—to keep goodness in the world.” She also says that it’s a constant experiment and those trying the art should just have fun with it.

Deviled, fried or painted, no need to be wary of the “incredible, edible” egg. It’s been part of human meals and rituals for thousands of years, a symbol of spring and new life.     

Pysanka is a Ukrainian tradition dating back to before the year 988 AD.

Happy, Healthy--You Are What You Eat

Vetter Beef starts with a crossbreed of Holstein and Black Angus. The cows graze in free-range pasture and are fed a blend of grasses from the farm with high quality, all natural minerals, vitamins, and amino acids, filling their complete nutrition requirements every day.

(This article was written for and appeared originally in The WEDGE Newspaper, August/September 2021 issue)

When Bob Vetter was a boy growing up in rural New York, farms fascinated him. His family didn’t farm, but one down the road did, and he started visiting, watching the activity, learning about the animals. That family put him to work, and he knew he wanted to work with farms for the rest of his life.

As Vetter continued learning and working with other farms, he became a Registered Animal Scientist with the American Registry of Professional Animal Scientists (ARPAS) and a Livestock Nutritional Consultant. His focus was on family farms and helping them with better production, healthier animals and “believing in family farming” that could compete in larger agriculture markets.

Along the way, Vetter discovered that he was feeling sick when he ate mass-market beef, suspecting additives in the meat as the culprit. So, he set up an experiment. He purchased his own cow and raised it on the diet he prescribed to many of his clients: grass, hay, and alfalfa supplemented with amino acids and all-natural mineral and vitamin supplements; no hormones, no antibiotics, no animal by-products.

“Cows have nutritional requirements for their bodies just like we do,” Vetter notes. “It stands to reason that the more nutritious the food for the cows, the more nutritious the beef will be for humans.”

He had the beef processed, ate that, and was no longer sick. At that point Vetter decided to raise his own cows.

Bob Vetter shows one component of what the cows eat daily. Alfalfa and hay are stored in silos and ferment naturally, providing nutrients and probiotics, aiding digestion, and keeping the cows happy.

One of his clients purchased a dairy farm between Avon and Honeoye Falls in 1955. For over a decade Joe Mroczek and his son Andy have used Vetter’s consulting service to enhance and optimize feeding and production for their herd of Holsteins, but the farm has been scaling back milk production little by little due to society’s waning demand for milk products.

“COVID was the final nail in the coffin,” says Andy.

It turns out that school systems are the biggest consumers of milk, and with the closure of schools last year for remote learning, the family made the difficult decision to cease operations.

About the same time, Vetter was looking for a new location for his small herd of beef cattle in the Finger Lakes that would be closer to his home in Avon. One day he stopped at the Mroczek farm with a proposal that would keep him closer to his family and keep the Mroczek farm operating. 

“Today’s start-up costs for a farm, well, it just isn’t feasible,” Vetter says. “Combining my business with Andy’s is allowing us to grow at a rapid rate.”

Andy agrees, adding, “An empty barn deteriorates.” Having activity in the buildings and animals in the pasture keeps the farm functional and healthy. The farm also produces wheat, corn, soy, and hay for feed, rotating the fields for optimum quality and soil health. In fact, Mroczek Farm received an award in the 1980s for its environmental conservation practices.

The new partnership, a combined total of 100 years of farm experience, will continue the commitment to cleanliness, quality, and sustainability utilizing the systems already in place for silos, pastures, barns, and feed. They are also using crossbred cattle, Holstein (dairy) and Black Angus (beef.) This combination produces hybrid vigor: bringing out best traits of the breeds while decreasing the worst traits. In this case the result is excellent marbling in a lean meat that enhances flavor and tenderness without a heavy outer covering of fat.

Vetter adds, “Everyone wants Black Angus, but I’ve eaten some tough Black Angus. I’ll put my steak up against a Black Angus steak anytime.”

Working together is keeping two businesses going:  a 66-year-old family farm and a growing beef business. The partners are, from left to right, Andy Mroczek, Joe Mroczek, and Bob Vetter with his sons Evan and Wyatt.

Each day the cows on this farm are checked and walked to confirm overall health and are fed a largely home-grown diet with a complete nutrition package. Their bedding is natural hay, and barns are cleaned daily with the manure carted to a separate pit to use for crop fertilizer. Cows are put into the free-range pasture in the morning and wander back into the barn out of the mid-day sun, where water and fresh hay are available for grazing. When the cows are sent for processing, it’s to a local, relatively small USDA-inspected facility.

In the barns, the lights and noises are low. The cows are serene—curious about visitors, but not anxious or jostling or bellowing. Humans in the barns speak in quiet tones and move slowly. This is by design, according to Vetter. The calmer, less-stressed the cows are, the happier they are, and this is reflected in the end product. 

“When you buy ground beef in grocery stores and fast food, chances are much of it comes from a big facility that processes large quantities of meat a day,” explains Vetter. “You don’t know where it came from or what the animals have been through. It makes a difference in what you’re eating.”

 Vetter says that working with his farm clients and seeing their commitments to quality food led him to “want better” for his wife, Jessica, and two sons, Evan and Wyatt. He says each day inspires him to provide not only a living, but an improved quality of life for his family, the animals, and for his clients and customers.  

Beef from Vetter’s can be purchased at the South Wedge Farmers Market (see the SWFM Facebook page to see when he’ll be there,) through the website www.VettersBeef.com, and at Weaver’s Farm Market in Canandaigua.

Lento Restaurant and its Locally Grown Commitment

"Lento" means "slow-paced," and from day one, this restaurant committed to the farm to table, slow food philosophy. This article was published in the August/September 2018 issue of The Wedge newspaper. 

In 1986, McDonald’s opened its largest restaurant to that date, in Rome on the popular Piazza di Spagna, one block from the historic Spanish Steps. Romans—and Italians—were outraged. To a culture so interwoven with its revered familial culinary heritage, the brash arrival of the world’s epitome of cheap, fast, mass-produced meals was a stunning wake-up call.

Italian activist and journalist Carlo Petrini organized a movement to protest this trend and, in a nutshell, promote and preserve traditional farming, crops, livestock, preparation methods, and recipes. This was the Slow Food movement which made its way throughout the world.

Around this same time in the United States, a chef/restaurateur named Alice Waters became one of the first American chefs to seek out, use, and promote locally grown, organic produce and meats.  Her restaurant, Chez Panisse in Berkeley, led this trend, which eventually morphed into what is now “farm to table” and “farm to fork.”  Google this in Rochester, NY, and several choices will pop up. One of those is Lento at Village Gate.

Art Rogers, owner/chef, Lento Restaurant

Art Rogers, Lento chef/owner, says that 11 years ago when he opened the restaurant, he was all-in with the local food movement and applying it to his business. After studying Hospitality Management at the University of New Hampshire, he went to Maine to see a restaurant called Primo. This was a “full farm restaurant” where everything from herbs to livestock was grown on the premises and provided the restaurant fare, in effect, a restaurant on a farm. Anything the farm didn’t produce was purchased from nearby farmers and purveyors. Rogers was enchanted, spent the next three years at Primo, then returned to Rochester to open Lento.

He began by connecting with farmers, but many didn’t want to work with restaurants, finding them too demanding. Now, Rogers says farmers are calling him, which gives him a wider range of ingredients (meats and greens in particular,) gives the farmer a steady income stream, and gives the diners better quality and more choices on the menu.

The influx of locally sourced food keeps Rogers and his staff inspired, too. With area farmers making use of greenhouses to extend the growing season, he can design the menu with what is available on any given week, but also plan ahead for fresh items coming. For instance, he likes working with root vegetables, potatoes, and onions, and those are available locally all year.

“We get to change it up all the time,” Rogers says. “Especially when you know the new stuff is coming, like corn about this time of year. That first hit is really special. Or the first batch of cherry tomatoes. I feel like I have to get my hands on them right away. It’s better when you’ve waited for it.”

Critics of the farm-to-table movement say that it is pretentious and caters to the wealthy class. From this perspective luxe farm dinners with high price tags have become trendy, rather than making “real food” more accessible to those in need. In fact, one downstate restaurant charges a non-refundable, advance payment of $258 per person for a meal at their own farm, with wine pairing an additional $168.

Rogers doesn’t agree with the criticism but says it is a “grey area.” Because he works with individual farmers and fresh, high quality foods, his costs are higher than if he were to order from a distributor buying large quantities from industrial agriculture companies.

Currently 100 percent of Lento’s meat is sourced locally all year, as are their salad greens. In July through October, at least 95 percent of the remaining menu ingredients are local, but in March and April the selections are understandably limited. Rogers lists Lento’s farmers and purveyors on the website, www.LentoRestaurant.com, so customers can see the local names and places behind their meals.

“Restaurants will post a sign that says, ‘We use local when available.’ That’s a clue that it’s not really local,” he explains. “If people were really educated on the food system, they would want to eat like this [farm-to-table.] But now costs are costs, and people don’t always care where their food comes from. The food system is broken. We eat too much meat, but it’s cheaper than produce. It’s upside down. Farm-to-table and Slow Food shouldn’t be ‘a movement.’ It’s the way people should be eating.”

In 2015, Lento Restaurant was nominated for a James Beard Award, the only restaurant in Rochester to achieve this. Lento is located at 274 N. Goodman St. For reservations or more information, call (585) 271-3470 or visit www.lentorestaurant.com.

Article and all photos by Glynis Valenti

Root Vegetables: It's What's Inside that Counts

Root vegetables aren’t pretty. They aren’t like a baby pepper that transforms into a shiny, chiseled green block or like a plump, sun-kissed heirloom tomato. They are the workhorse veggies, staples that (no pun intended) ground the meal.

Before industrial agriculture and year-round availability of produce at the grocery store, root vegetables were harvested at the end of the season, stored in “root” cellars and eaten during the cold, lean months of winter. This makes sense given that root vegetables are just that: roots that store all of the nutrition for their plants above-ground. All of that energy, vitamins and minerals are beneficial to humans, too.

Carrots and potatoes are common root vegetables, but three others—parsnips, beets and sweet potatoes—are inexpensive and have some unique qualities that add nutrition and variety to favorite winter dishes.

Parsnips look like large, pale carrots but are used like potatoes. Researchers say the plant originated in Europe, and ancient Romans ate it, though they called carrots and parsnips by the same name. Before sugar cane, parsnips were used to sweeten foods. Farmers developed plumper, fleshier parsnips and harvested them late to increase the sugar. Vegetables in the same family include carrots, celery, parsley, fennel, celeriac and chervil.

Nutritionally, parsnips are high in fiber, low-calorie, low fat, cholesterol free, and harbor valuable omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids.

Generally parsnips can replace potatoes in recipes because of their similar physical properties. Try dicing them for soups or mashing them with potatoes or cauliflower to add some nutritional and flavor zip.

Beets, related to turnips and spinach, have their own unusual properties and benefits, most obviously the betalain pigments that give beets rich colors.  As with many phytonutrients, betalains provide antioxidant and anti-inflammatory support, but these combined with beet levels of Vitamin C and manganese appear to target eye health and nerve tissue.

The beet was cultivated along the Mediterranean as early as 2000 BC and in China during the first millennium AD. During this time, though, beets were grown mainly for their greens above ground, also nutritious. In the 19th century, sugar beets were developed in Germany and harvested as an alternative to sugar cane. Today one-third of the world’s sugar supply comes from beets.

Preliminary research indicates that beet phytonutrients inhibit a type of enzyme producing cell messages that trigger inflammation. In cases of chronic inflammation like heart disease, atherosclerosis and resulting Type II diabetes, stopping these molecules reduces dangerous inflammation. Because of this, scientists have been doing tests on various tumor cells and beets with promising results. Another nutrient found in beets, betaine, is showing positive results in decreasing cardiovascular system inflammation.

Beets are best when small to medium-large size. Watch for small bruises or holes because the pigments contained within the skin will leak from a punctured root. To conserve the pigment and nutrients, beets should be cooked with their skins intact and with about an inch of stem still on the root. The valuable betalains are susceptible to heat, so recommended steaming time should be kept to less than 15 minutes and roasting or baking time to less than one hour. When removing the outer skins wear rubber or disposable gloves to keep the pigment from coloring the hands. Root skins should peel off easily with a paper towel.   

There are over 400 varieties of sweet potatoes throughout the world, but only two varieties are commonly grown in the United States: one with gold colored skin and white or yellow flesh, the other with tan or brown skin and orange flesh, commonly called a yam. However, it is not even in the same botanical family as a true yam, which is grown only in tropical climates, nor is it related to the common potato. The yam misnomer began when African slaves coined the North American sweet potato “nyami,” the Senegalese term for a similar-looking root grown in Africa.  

Ten thousand years ago inhabitants of Peru were growing the sweet potato, which is actually part of the morning glory family. Columbus took them to Spain from the New World, and the Spanish and Portuguese grew and exported them around Europe, Africa, the Philippines, and Asia after that. Native Americans in the south were already growing them, called “batatas,” and sweet potatoes are still a southern cooking staple.

The darker the flesh, the more beta-carotene inside, and this is the type of beta-carotene from which human bodies can directly produce Vitamin A. In Africa and India school children are fed sweet potatoes to support healthy eyes, bones, skin and immune systems. It’s said that the sweet potato sustained Civil War soldiers during the winter months.

Sweet potatoes produce their own healing nutrients, sporamins, when the root’s flesh is damaged. These are stored in the vegetable flesh, so humans ingesting the vegetable may absorb these healing antioxidants, as well. Research indicates that sweet potatoes could help those with intestinal tract maladies or with high levels of mercury, cadmium or arsenic in their systems. 

An unusual benefit to people with Type II diabetes has to do with the body’s production of insulin regulator adiponectin, produced by the body’s fat cells. Sweet potatoes increase the production of this hormone, and, contrary to the usual avoidance of starch for diabetics, one medium sweet potato boiled or steamed will provide about three grams of dietary fiber and only register around 50 on the glycemic index.

Boiling seems to be the best way to preserve the nutrients and keep the glycemic index low. Studies also show that the beta-carotene is best absorbed when eaten with a small amount of fat. Adding a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil or some crushed walnuts to a medium steamed or boiled sweet potato will be enough to reap the benefits.

True, root vegetables look a little rough on the outside, but so do diamonds when they’re first dug out of the ground. Using each of these in a winter dish every week could save a bit in the budget and add a boost to the immune system. It’s what’s inside that counts.

The Uncommon Cucumber

In summer heat, think “cool as a cucumber.” Really.

The phrase comes from this plant’s ancient history of medicinal applications and its perceived ability to cool the blood and reduce inflammation. As it happens, the cucumber does have both soothing and anti-inflammatory properties among many other attributes.

First, it’s technically a fruit, not a vegetable. While most of us recognize the elongated dark green tube, there are hundreds of varieties in which you’ll find orange, yellow or white cucumbers in various shapes and sizes—even round. For all of the varieties, there are, for the most part, only two types grown commercially: “slicing” and “pickling,” both green.

It is believed to have originated in the wilds of India at least 5,000 years ago, then moved to the Mediterranean (where it probably got its name.) The Romans loved them as both food and medicine. Emperor Tiberius insisted on eating one per day, so greenhouses were built to accommodate his request in the winter. Christopher Columbus brought them to Haiti for Spanish settlers, and, by that time cukes had reached the UK, and English settlers brought them over here. The French, from Canada, introduced cucumbers to Native American tribes in the Great Plains and Rockies of what is now the US.

At more than 90% water, it’s hard to believe that cucumbers are so full of health benefits, but here are a few that will have you slicing and dicing right away. And make sure you eat the seeds and skin—the nutrients are concentrated here. 

• Compounds called lignans have been found in cukes. In a nutshell, they reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer and have been found to inhibit the growth of some cancer cells.
• Not only can snacking on cucumbers curb hunger, but they also fight bad breath. Try holding a slice on the roof of your mouth for 30 seconds to freshen up.
• Cucumbers are a traditional hangover cure, too. Munch on a few slices after a night out for the B vitamins and electrolytes plus the hydration, and you’ll wake up without the headache. 

Have a bumper crop of cukes to get through? Start eating healthier tonight with this easy, tasty recipe for Cucumber and Grilled Pineapple Salad with Fresh Basil from Martha Stewart. (Click here for more of her awesome cucumber recipes—you’ll want to buy more plants next year!)

The Artichoke: Thistle be Interesting

Today’s cultivated artichoke is an ancient member of the thistle family and close relative of the cardoon, a prickly, hearty plant native to North Africa and Sicily. The edible globe portion of the plant is not really a vegetable or a fruit, but a bud that will flower if not harvested.

Writings from around 300 BC mention their being grown in Italy and Sicily. About 1000 years later, Moors were cultivating them in Spain, and Arabs grew them in Sicily.  Artichokes came to the United States with French immigrants in the late 1700s, and were first grown in Louisiana. The commercial artichoke industry didn’t take off until 1922 when Andrew Molera leased his sugar beet land in Monterey County, California to Italian farmers who wanted to grow artichokes.

Today, in the US, all commercially grown artichokes come from California, and Castroville, in Monterey County, is billed as the “Artichoke Capital of the World.”

Here are a few more facts about the plant that Pliny the Elder (Rome, 23-79 AD) called “one of nature’s monstrosities:”

• Norma Jean Baker (aka Marilyn Monroe) was crowned the first Queen of Artichokes in Castroville in 1947.
• Artichoke hearts are actually “baby” artichokes whose leaves are still tender and whose inner “chokes” haven’t developed.
• George and Martha Washington grew them at Mount Vernon, and Thomas Jefferson grew them at Monticello.
• There are 140 varieties of artichokes throughout the world, but only 40 are commercially grown.
• The name originally came from the Arabic “al-hursufa,” to Old Spanish “alcarchofa,” to Northern Italian “arcicioffo” (influenced by “ciocco” meaning “stump,) and to the Italian “articiocco.”
• The plant’s botanical name comes from the Greek legend about Zeus’s human girlfriend, Cynara, who Zeus brought to Mt. Olympus but who kept sneaking back to Earth. This made him angry, and he turned her into an artichoke (Cynara cardunculus.)
• Benefits of eating them include everything from stimulating sex drive to preventing cancer. Pliny, in spite of his physical description of the plant, touted its powers to freshen breath, increase the chance of conceiving a male child, and cure baldness. Research shows that artichokes detox the body and provide aid for digestive disorders like diarrhea, irritable bowel syndrome and indigestion. It lowers blood pressure and “bad” cholesterol, boosts the immune system and protects against diabetes, heart attack, stroke, and, yes, several types of cancer. It can decrease risk of birth defects and osteoporosis. Chewing the leaves after a night out can relieve hangovers.
• People with allergies should be cautioned about artichokes because they are thistles and related to ragweed, marigolds, daisies, and chrysanthemums.
• One odd effect of eating artichokes that 40 to 60 percent of people experience is its tendency to make subsequent foods taste sweeter. The effect will dissipate after having something to drink, i.e. water. 

For a super easy and delicious artichoke dip from AllRecipes.com , click here. Three ingredients, in the oven for 20 minutes or until top browns, and you’re done! 

Pairing artichokes with wine can be tricky. If they are served without too much cheese, opt for a crisp, fresh-flavored white wine on the dry side such as a light Pinot Gris, Chablis, Sauvignon Blanc or a Champagne or Prosecco--nothing too sweet or heavy. If the artichoke heart is served in cheese sauce or deep fried, try a traditional Chardonnay or an Orvieto, or possibly a Chardonnay/Pinot Gris blend. 

Feel Good Friday: Earth Day Buzzzz

It’s Earth Day, and one of THE most important components of our food chain is the bee. According to USDA statistics, one in three bites of food we take is the result of bees and pollination. However, over the last decade bee populations have suffered continued and astounding losses with everything from bitter long winters to cell towers taking the blame. One of the most serious conditions is Colony Collapse Disorder, and scientists are busy investigating possible links to parasites, a virus and pesticides. For humans, the survival of bees means our own survival.

Today we’re celebrating these industrious workers with a few fun facts. In addition to their vital role in insuring our food grows, bees are the only insect to produce a food for man—honey, of which, per capita, we consume more than one pound each per year.

• Honey bees have been making honey in the same way for more than 100 million years, and honey seems to last indefinitely. Explorers found a 2000 year old jar intact in an Egyptian tomb.
• Bright colors of flowers attract bees, and researchers believe that dark lines, called “honey guides,” on some blooms help insects to the centers for pollination and nectar.
• Though research is still being done on proposed and traditional health benefits, honey is a valuable source for minerals, vitamins and anti-oxidants. The darker the honey, the more anti-oxidants properties.
• A honey bee on a collection trip will visit between 50 and 100 flowers.
• If it takes two million flowers to make one pound of honey, one bee would need to fly an estimated 90,000 miles to gather what it needs.
• Mead, a honey wine, may be the oldest alcoholic beverage, per evidence of a Chinese vessel dated from 9000 years ago. Drambuie is a Scottish liqueur made with heather honey, whiskey, spices and herbs.   

Feeling Good? Here's one last nod to the bees--and an idea on how to recycle those Happy Hour bottles. Have a great weekend!

Irish Potato Bread (Potato Farls)

This is a short post, but this is also a really quick “bread.” Because St. Patrick’s Day is coming, I thought I would try an Irish Potato Bread. As with most breads, there are variations on this. The recipe I used—also known as potato farls--is super easy, and I would probably make mine a bit more “bread like” the next time around by adding more flour and some baking soda.

That said, farl is most likely derived from the Scots fardel and refers to a round cut into quadrants. The dough is primarily mashed, boiled potatoes with a little flour and salt.  After rolling into a round shape and cutting into four wedges, they are grilled or fried in a skillet. The flavor is kind of bland, but is traditionally dressed up with some butter, salt, black pepper, bacon, chives or a dollop of jam.

As noted, this recipe—or at least my version—reminded me more of potato pancakes or my mother’s potato patties more than bread. However, I think it would be excellent topped with corned beef and cabbage with diced carrots, or with corned beef and an egg the next morning. By the way, the dough is easiest to work with when the potatoes are freshly cooked (15-20 minutes) and still warm.  

This recipe, credited to Jane Baxter, is directly from a sweet article in The Guardian . Enjoy!

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes

Makes 8 small farls
500g floury potatoes, such as King Edward or desiree
50g butter
50g plain flour, plus extra for rolling out
¼ tsp baking powder
Salt and black pepper
Extra butter, for cooking

1 Peel the potatoes, then cut them into quarters. Cover with water in a saucepan, season with a pinch of salt and cook for about 15 minutes or until they become tender. You can check this by sticking a knife into them, it should slide out again easily. Drain well, then return the potatoes to the pan.

2 Melt the butter in a pan and add to the potatoes. Mash until smooth. For the best results, pass the potatoes through a potato ricer or mouli – otherwise, use a standard potato masher.

3 Sift the flour with the baking powder into the potato mix and stir to combine. Taste for seasoning and adjust, if required.

4 The dough should come together and away from the sides of the pan. You can add more flour if the mixture is too wet and a little milk if it is too dry.

5 Divide the dough into two halves. Form one piece into a ball, then roll it out on a floured surface and into a rough circle with a diameter of about 15 cm and a thickness of 5mm to 1cm. Cut the circle into quarters.

6 Heat a non-stick shallow frying pan over a medium heat with a little butter to grease the surface. Transfer the four pieces to the pan and cook for around 3 minutes or until golden brown. Flip over and cook the other side for another 3 minutes. Remove to a warm plate.

7 Repeat the process with the other half of the dough mix.

St. Joseph's Bread

Last year at this time I was working on a feature article on seasonal breads and couldn’t find any St. Joseph’s bread anywhere. All I had were my memories of Savoia Pastry Shoppe in my old neighborhood bringing hot loaves out first thing in the morning and people waiting in line for them. But this year, I’m back in Rochester and am seizing the opportunity to introduce it to those who don’t know about this bread.

St. Joseph is, indeed, Mary’s husband and the man who raised Jesus Christ. March 19 was designated St. Joseph Day by Rome in 1479, but it had already been observed for 500 years at that point.

Many churches and communities hold a feast in his honor. This partially stems from the Middle Ages when St. Joseph is credited for saving Sicily from famine. There was a severe drought, and Sicilians promised to honor St. Joseph with a feast if he sent rain. The fava bean became a symbol of the feast as the crop saved the island from famine. At St. Joseph’s feast—held during Lent--there are only meatless and cheese-less dishes of vegetables, breads, soups, cakes and pasta. Everyone is welcome to bring food and eat food, and sometimes food is given to shelters.

While there are a couple of versions of St. Joseph’s bread, this one is an egg bread, as in adding eggs to the batter, and the crust is egg-washed, hard and golden brown, sprinkled with sesame seeds. It’s said that the seeds represent sawdust, since St. Joseph was a carpenter.  

There are also many shapes to the bread, the symbols being as follows (per goldencroissantbakery.com):

• Monstrance (holds the Sacred Host)
• Chalice (consecration of the bread and wine at the Last Supper)
• Cross (crucifixion of Christ)
• Dove (Holy Spirit)
• Lamb (Jesus, the Lamb of God)
• Fish (symbol of Jesus)
• Heart (Sacred Heart of Jesus, Immaculate Heart of Mary)
• Palms (palms cast at the feet of Jesus)

Here is a recipe for St. Joseph's Bread from Saveur.com.