Leslie Cerier
Cooking up a Fresh Feast
Zoe Helene interviews The Organic Gourmet, Leslie Cerier
Photos by Tracey Eller
| There’s a reason Leslie Cerier teaches at some of the finest spas and retreats, and there’s a reason her classes are so popular. Twenty plus years of wisdom and amassed expertise, authenticity, warmth and passion certainly help. Leslie’s classes are informative and fun Leslie specializes in whole foods and organic cuisine. Her cookbooks are packed with information about how to eat local, seasonal and organic foods that are delicious, good for you, and good for the planet. She’s the author of five cookbooks, including Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook, Going Wild in the Kitchen, and The Quick and Easy Organic Gourmet. She has earned the trust of wellness professionals and students alike, especially for her expertise in healing foods, grains and gluten-free cooking, and transforming potentially dull special diets without sacrificing flavor and satisfaction. |
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What exactly is ‘seed-to-table’?
Seed-to-table cooking is a celebration of the earth’s bounty. It’s about adapting to fit what’s fresh. It’s about creating recipes from what you just picked from the garden or what the farmer just harvested. It’s about composing a dish by walking through the organic farm or garden and letting the beauty and the bounty inspire you, then taking that happy feeling into the kitchen and cooking up something luscious. I love baking pies with fillings that reflect the bounty of the season. I just posted a blog about that.
What are some of the benefits?
You know your food. You follow the chain of the food from the ground to your mouth. You understand its origin, its quality, and its potency. I want to know what’s going into my body.
Then what would be the ideal food scenario?
The ideal is local, seasonal and organically grown.
OK. Let’s break that down. Why local?
Local is the most fresh you can get, and there’s nothing tastier. Plus, fresh is more nutritious. Also (and this is important) buying local supports local farms and people who love putting their hands in the soil. The heart and soul of the gardener goes into the food that goes into your body. And of course local also means you don’t truck it across the country, so next-to-no carbon footprint. The goal is to be part of the solution and respect the environment by making the lightest footprint while still feasting.
Feasting sounds great. OK, so why seasonal?
Seasons are different everywhere. In certain places in California you can harvest most of the year. I live in New England where seasons are distinct and often extreme. We’re seeing fascinating innovation in local greenhouses to prolong seasons, especially now we’re already experiencing climate change and weather is getting more and more unpredictable. There are some foods that store well, like root vegetables from autumn harvest and some things like parsnips and carrots that can be ‘over wintered’.
What’s that mean, ‘over wintered’? That’s new to me.
It means leaving ripe vegetables stored in the ground over the winter, because they do well there if you know what you’re doing. When the ground softens in April you pull them up and the ones I’ve had are super sweet and juicy.
And why organic?
Organic is essential when you’re looking at the highest good and the bigger picture. If you poison the soil you poison the planet and you poison yourself. That’s common sense. There’s plenty of scientific research proving that organic is better for you, let alone the planet and the other life forms living on it. If you’re interested in the science of organics, The Organic Center is a great resource.
So does it taste so darned good?
Because of the love and devotion that went into growing and cooking the food. The produce is coming from the heart of the Earth and the heart of the farmer. Then you put your heart into it when you make a meal and then the person who gets to eat it does so with love – so it is combined love, and you can taste that. There’s a lot of gratitude too. So its love and grace you’re taking into your body and that’s healthy.
I love the idea of urban gardens and kitchen gardens.
Sprouts, mushrooms, and herbs you can easily grow in your apartment. You can start from seedlings or seeds. Some like sun, some like partial sun, but you find that spot in your home. That’s an easy, inexpensive, incredibly abundant way to have fresh food right at your fingertips.
Your cooking class credits read like a wish list of eco-luxury spas and retreats. What is it about these places?
They’re about expansion and supporting authentic self. And they’re just so exquisitely beautiful that you just feel well. You get to that place of exhale—like coming home to yourself.
How do you see your role as teacher?
I show people that it’s easy and simple and they can do it. That it doesn’t have to be super complicated to put healing, healthy, delicious food in your mouth. It just requires being stocked with some great essentials and knowing how to work with those essentials. And people have fun in my classes.
And do you eat the food you make in class?
Of course! We make this amazing food in class and then we eat it together. At Esalen we eat outside on a deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean. How much better does it get?
I have to say, Esalen really calls to me.
My friend Charlie (who used to be head chef) calls Esalen an acupuncture point on the planet. And it’s true.
You’ll be teaching at Rancho La Puerta this month (March 10 – 17). Is it as beautiful as it looks?
Yes. Yes, it is. Everything is first class without being pretentious and in my mind that’s because it is earth-based. Same with Esalen and Kripalu and Omega. Your whole heart opens. It’s very special.
And Kripalu is more about yoga?
They’re a center for yoga and wellness. The yoga is gentle and deep. They’re renowned for their yoga. I’ve been practicing since I was a teenager so I love that. Yoga is about unity and wholeness and about being present. My way of teaching and cooking and eating is like that. Cooking and eating is a lot like yoga. It’s all about the Yum.
And Omega is more focused on integrating mind/body/spirit?
Omega was co-founded by a medical doctor who is a pioneer in the field of holistic medicine, so my classes there are geared towards working with health practitioners. For instance, I’m going to teach with a celiac nutrition expert, Melinda Dennis. Celiacs are people who can’t digest gluten so we help them learn to live gluten free without sacrificing flavor, satisfaction, energy, or overall health—that’s the sort of classes I tend to teach at Omega. My approach is about plenty. How can we find substitutions that work in place of what the person shouldn’t eat. So even if you have serious restrictions with diet, there’s still plenty.
You’ve got quite a lifestyle, Leslie.
I’m blessed. It’s true. I’m blessed and I’m grateful.
So how do we find all this glorious, locally grown organic food?
If not from your own garden, look for farmers markets. If you can’t get to farmer’s market it’s great that you can go to Whole Foods or Natural Retailers to get organic food. But the small scale, the artisan heart-to-heart connection is where it’s at, and buying direct supports your local economy.
Tell me about community supported agriculture.
CSA’s all work a little differently. With most, you commit to a fee so they can focus on growing the food and so they know what to grow. Some of them deliver, some don’t. I like to go to the markets and the farms myself, but whatever it takes to make sure you get the right food, do it. If that means you have it delivered, go for it.
Going to these places is fun for you—they’re destination points?
Absolutely! I love going out to the CSAs and chatting it up with the farmers and whoever else shows and just being in the scene. It’s a community, and they have community events around harvests like strawberry pick potlucks or potato dig potlucks. Ways to bring people together around food. This is true grassroots as in we’re going to make it our own.
Leslie’s Essentials
Stainless steel cookware is light and versatile. Stainless steel ladles, tongs, pancake turners, measuring spoons and whisks are preferable to silicone- or plastic- coated kitchen tools.
Cast-iron is the original non-stick cookware. Griddles, pots and pans, and Dutch ovens cook food slowly and evenly while releasing small amounts of iron into the food, making it more nutritious.
Glass cookware retains heat for a long time and allows you to watch foods cook inside.
Wooden cutting boards are preferable. Keep them in good condition with a fine mineral oil.
Glass jars are great for storing grains, beans, salt crystals and leftovers.
Leslie’s Pantry
Leslie’s favorite staples are made with wild-harvested and organic ingredients.
Bob’s Red Mill offers a wide variety of whole grains, whole grain flours and nut flours, including gluten-free products. bobsredmill.com
Frontier Natural Products Coop has a full line of Fair Trade, certified organic dried herbs, spices, vanilla and other extracts, flax seeds, sea vegetables and more. frontiercoop.com
Lotus Foods focuses on exquisite, exotic heirloom varieties of organic certified rice. lotusfoods.com
Maine Coast Sea Vegetables has certified organic sea vegetables such as dulse, kombu, kelp, wild nori, alaria, sea vegetable snacks and seasonings. seaveg.com
Navitas Naturals is a reliable source for gourmet organic cacao butter, cacao paste, cacao powder, cacao nibs, goji berries, maca powder, coconut oil, hempseeds and more. navitasnaturals.com
Nutiva products include organic hemp seeds, organic hemp oil, organic extra-virgin coconut oil. nutiva.com
Selina Naturally offers sustainably produced Celtic, Hawaiian and Portuguese sea salts, olive oil, ghee, nut and seed butters. celticseasalt.com
Shiloh Farms offers organic grains, beans, dried fruits, nuts, seeds, sweeteners and much more. shilohfarms.com
South River Miso has superb organic, aged misos. southrivermiso.com
Nori Rolls with Gingered Tofu
Makes 8 nori rolls
Grated beets and carrots combine with tofu, rice, and nori to create a beautiful mosaic pattern in every slice of this delicious roll.
4 cups Exotic Rice Blend (recipe follows)
1 tablespoon light sesame oil
1 tablespoon tamari
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
14 ounces extra-firm tofu, sliced into long rectangles about 1/2 inch thick
2 cups grated beets
1 cup grated carrots
8 sheets toasted nori
2 to 3 tablespoons umeboshi paste
2 tablespoons wasabi powder, or more as needed
2 tablespoons water
Tamari
Make Exotic Rice Blend. While rice cools, heat oil, tamari and ginger in a medium-size skillet over medium heat. Add tofu and fry for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until golden brown on both sides. (You may need to fry the tofu in a couple rounds.) Slice tofu slabs into thirds to make long strips.
Mix beets and carrots in a bowl.
Lay a sushi mat on a clean work surface with bamboo strips running horizontally. Place a nori piece on the mat, shiny side down. Spread about 1/2 cup rice on the nori, leaving the top 1 1/2 inches bare. Lay 2 or 3 tofu strips across the rice, horizontally, followed by some carrot-beet mixture. Gently press filling into rice. Spread some umeboshi paste over the top inch of the nori.
Starting at the end closest to you and using even pressure, use the sushi mat to roll the nori tightly and evenly around the rice and fillings. Be sure to pull the leading edge of the mat back so it doesn’t get incorporated into the roll. Once complete, give the mat a gentle squeeze along its entire length, then let the nori roll sit inside the mat for a minute to ensure a tight roll. Gently unroll the mat and use a very sharp serrated knife to slice the roll into 8 rounds. Repeat with remaining ingredients.
Put wasabi powder and water in a small bowl and stir to form a paste. For a thinner, less pungent dip, add a little more water.
To serve, place wasabi bowl in the center of a platter and surround it with the sushi rounds. Provide small bowls for tamari.
Reprinted with permission from Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook by Leslie Cerier (New Harbinger Publications).
Exotic Rice Blend
Makes enough for at least 8 nori rolls
Cooking with black forbidden rice or Bhutanese red rice adds color to nori rolls, making them a feast for the eyes as well as the palate.
1 1/2 cups black forbidden rice or Bhutanese red rice
1/2 cup sweet brown rice, rinsed
4 cups cold water
Pinch of sea salt
Combine rice, water and salt in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil; lower heat, cover and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until all water is absorbed. Uncover rice and let stand for about 1 hour, until cool enough to handle, before making nori rolls.
Lemony Quinoa Salad with Toasted Sunflower Seeds
Serves 6 to 8
With its bright, sprightly flavors, this is a wonderful springtime dish. To make the sunflower seeds more easily digestible, soak them overnight.
3 3/4 cups water
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed
1 cup raw sunflower seeds
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Bring water and salt to a boil in a medium-size saucepan. Add quinoa, lower heat, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until all water is absorbed. Transfer quinoa to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature.
Meanwhile, toast sunflower seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, for 3 to 5 minutes, until they are aromatic and start to pop. Add sunflower seeds, lemon juice and oil to quinoa and stir until well combined. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
Reprinted with permission from Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook by Leslie Cerier (New Harbinger Publications).
Lemon-Parsley Dressing
Makes about 1 1/4 cups
This light, refreshing dressing is great on green salads, coleslaw, steamed vegetables and cooked grains.
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 cups parsley leaves
2 scallions (white and green parts)
1 tablespoon chopped green bell pepper
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Put all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
Reprinted with permission from Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook by Leslie Cerier (New Harbinger Publications).
Online Resources
Leslie Cerier
lesliecerier.com
Tracey Eller
ellerimages.com
The Organic Center
organic-center.org
Rancho La Puerta, Mexico
rancholapuerta.com
Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health, Western MA
kripalu.org
Esalen Institute, Big Sur, CA
esalen.org
Omega Institute, Rhinebeck, NY
eomega.org
Melinda Dennis, RD
Nutrition Coordinator of the Celiac Center at Beth Israel
deletethewheat.com
I was featured as a guest blogger on ListProducer.com
Paula Rizzo says, “I became acquainted with Leslie Cerier, The Organic Gourmet, through The Medicine Hunter, Chris Kilham and his wife, Zoe Helene and she knows her stuff when it comes to gluten-free grains. Here’s a few that she thinks everyone can try with ease.”
10 Gluten-Free Grains For Everyone
by Leslie Cerier
Amaranth is a tiny, slightly nutty flavored ancient grain. The Aztecs believed it held the secret to long life and vitality and celebrated holidays by eating toasted amaranth. It’s a complete protein, has more iron than most grains, and is also a great source of many other minerals. Whole amaranth is delicious on its own or cooked in combination with other grains in pilafs, and in warming morning porridges with oatmeal, dried fruits, and coconut.
Buckwheat is a complete protein, rich in iron, selenium, and zinc, and a fair source of B vitamins. It cooks very quickly (just fifteen minutes). Buckwheat groats are white to pale green and have a mild flavor. You can cook them as is, sprout, or roast them, and buy them already roasted, also known as kasha. With its eastern European roots, kasha is a natural in stuffed cabbage rolls, in croquettes, marinated salads, and kasha varnishkes, a dish made with sautéed onions and pasta.
Corn is unusual in being both a fresh vegetable and a grain available in a rainbow of colors, each with a slightly different nutritional profile, so mix it up and cook with different varieties. Like amaranth and quinoa, corn has a long history of cultivation in the New World and was venerated as a sacred food. Because all varieties of corn are low in tryptophan and lysine, it isn’t a complete protein, but all varieties of corn are a good source of magnesium and thiamin, and a fairly good source of a few other minerals and B vitamins. Corn grits, millet and teff can be cooked together in the same pot since they all take 15-20 minutes. Corn grits and polenta are delicious for a quick breakfast, or at any time of day. For a super main dish made with grits, add sautéed onion, kale, and cheddar cheese.
Millet is a small, round, yellow grain originating about five thousand years ago in China, where it’s still a staple. Like most grains, it tends to be a little low in lysine, so it isn’t a complete protein. It is, however, a great source of magnesium, and a fair source of other minerals and some of the B vitamins.Millet has a wonderful sweet taste. You can toss it into any soup or stew about twenty minutes before it’s ready (this is a great way to thicken a dish that’s turned out too thin.) When cooked, it sticks together, and once it cools you can slice it, making it a great choice for polenta, croquettes, and loaves.
Oats are often grown in close proximity to wheat and also often processed in the same facilities. For those with wheat intolerance, this shouldn’t pose a problem. However, if you have celiac disease, be sure to look for packages labeled gluten-free, which are carefully processed and packaged to avoid cross-contamination. Oats have a variety of health benefits. They can help lower cholesterol, reduce blood pressure, and prevent heart disease and cancer. They also enhance immune system function, help stabilize blood sugar, and may even be helpful for insomnia, stress, anxiety, depression, and a variety of other health problems. Oats are a complete protein, high in fiber, thiamin, and minerals. Oats make a delicious breakfast cereal, cooked alone or with amaranth, teff, or goji berries, coconut, or whatever dried or fresh fruit you like, and maybe a sprinkling of cinnamon.
Quinoa, similar to amaranth and buckwheat, doesn’t come from a cereal grass, so it isn’t technically a grain. Like most of the other psuedograins, quinoa is a great source of protein—one of the best plant sources, in fact—because it contains all of the essential amino acids and is rich in folic acid and several minerals. Like corn, quinoa comes in a rainbow of colors: tan, red, and, black. Each has a slightly different texture and flavor, but generally speaking, quinoa has a light sesame-like flavor, cooks in 15 minutes; tastes great on its own or mixed with other grains, and it works beautifully in stews and salads.
Rice, Whole grain rice is fairly rich in fiber, niacin, a few other B vitamins, and several minerals. But when it’s processed into white rice, almost all of its valuable nutrients are lost, so it offers little beyond starch. For those on a gluten-free diet, rice comes to the rescue as pasta in the form of numerous types of Asian noodles, as well as a few good brands of rice pasta that you’ll find in most natural food stores. Rice has been bred to survive and thrive in a broad range of conditions, leading to countless varieties in existence today.
Sorghum, also known as milo, is a small round grain with the texture of pearled barley. While it isn’t a nutritional powerhouse compared to other grains, it is a good source of iron, potassium, and fiber, and also provides a few B vitamins. It’s even lower in lysine than most grains, so the quality of its protein isn’t as good. When buying sorghum, look for sweet white sorghum. It’s the best-tasting and most digestible variety. And don’t be put off by “white” in the name. That’s not white as in refined, it means the grain itself is a pale color. It has a flavor similar to untoasted buckwheat, and a texture that makes it a good stand-in for barley. Try it in marinated salads, pilafs, and soups.
Teff nutrients concentrate in the germ and the bran and because it is so tiny, smaller than the period at the end of this sentence, the germ and bran make up almost the whole grain, making it impractical to refine, so any form of teff is a whole-grain product, by default. It offers fairly high-quality protein, but like most true grains is somewhat lacking in lysine. It’s high in fiber, iron and some of the B vitamins and is also a good source of calcium, and other minerals. Teff’s tiny grains have a texture like poppy seeds and a mildly sweet flavor reminiscent of chocolate, hazelnuts, and molasses. (The flavor of ivory teff is milder.) Whole grain teff cooks quickly (just fifteen to twenty minutes) and blends well with a wide variety of vegetables, seasonings, other grains, and fresh and dried fruits.
Wild Rice is a better source of protein than most true grains, containing a fairly good amount of lysine. It’s also high in many minerals and some of the B vitamins. It has a delicious nutty flavor and a pleasantly chewy texture. It blends well with other varieties of rice, making it a natural for pilafs. True wild rice has defied domestication, so most of the wild rice sold in the United States is from hybridized versions grown in rice paddies in Minnesota and California. Support the natives (plants and human) and seek out truly wild rice.
Adapted and excerpted with permission from Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook By Leslie Cerier (New Harbinger Publications) www.lesliecerier.com
Leslie Cerier, “The Organic Gourmet” is a national authority on gluten-free cooking and baking specializing in local, seasonal, whole foods and organic cuisine with 20 + years experience: Chef, Educator, Environmentalist, Photographer and Author of 5 cookbooks: Gluten-Free Recipes for the Conscious Cook (2010), Going Wild in the Kitchen (2005), among others. Leslie teaches vegetarian cooking for health, vitality and pleasure nationwide. Leslie’s expertise in culinary nutrition has led to her being much sought after by natural food companies, health professionals and private clients to help them translate challenging dietary allergy issues into culinary success and meal satisfaction. www.lesliecerier.com
Via The list producer: http://www.listproducer.com/2011/08/30/list-of-10-gluten-free-grains-for-everyone/#comment-566
