James Beard Award-winning chef and author Michael Ruhlman is out with his latest cookbook and is sharing much more than just recipes.
James Beard Award-winning chef and author Michael Ruhlman is out with his latest cookbook and is sharing much more than just recipes.
The Cleveland native offers food for thought on preparing food from scratch.
“We’re taught by food manufacturers that cooking is hard,” Ruhlman said. “When you know the basics, you can see that it’s not. Cooking is fundamental to our humanity.”
In “From Scratch,” Ruhlman wants readers to be comfortable in the kitchen by delighting both their palate and intellect.
Ruhlman joined Dr. Todd Pesek, holistic physician and Heinen’s Grocery Store chief medical officer, for a special program Feb. 4 discussing how cooking from scratch can bring unity, peace, focus and good health.
“I hope you would leave inspired and able to see how cooking from scratch can be simple, nutritious and be another way to relieve stress from our busy lives,” said Shilah Cipriani, wellness consultant at Heinen’s in Chardon.
Cipriani joined fellow wellness consultant Christine Dowler in organizing the program, which emphasizes buying more basic ingredients (whole foods) and using more color wheel fruits and vegetables.
Attendees were invited to sample a variety of Superfoods — plant based, nutrient dense, calorie sparse and health empowering foods — which Pesek advocates from his book “Eat Yourself Super,” popular with lifestyle advocate and former Cleveland Browns quarterback Bernie Kosar.
Recipes included black bean and avocado salad and “chello,” a refreshing and fruity gelatinous concoction with chia seeds, resembling Jell-O, but more nutritious.
A sampling from Ruhlman’s book included a Pozole Verde rice dish with tomatillos, poblano and serrano chiles.
Both speakers highlighted the many benefits of cooking and enjoying a meal made from scratch.
They said it can be empowering, save money, be healthy and therapeutic.
In “From Scratch” — through the recipes for 10 classic meals — Ruhlman teaches readers how to cook almost anything, and highlights how learning one recipe really well can open the door to dozens of others.
“I love this book,” said Ina Garten, author of the “Barefoot Contessa” cookbooks and host of the Food Network show of the same name, in “From Scratch” reviews.
Ruhlman graduated from University School in Hunting Valley and wrote for “Northern Ohio Live” magazine.
He is currently the author or co-author of more than 25 books including “Grocery, The Buying and Selling of Food in America,” which introduced him to Pesek.
“This book digs into the cultural evolution of the grocery business and its impact on our diet,” Pesek said. “I am in three chapters with the main one being ‘A Walk in the Medicine Cabinet.’ In this chapter, he discusses when I took him out into the woods and shared a bit about wild crafting herbs, and foraging food and mushrooms.”
He later invited Pesek to be a guest on his popular podcast “From Scratch with Michael Ruhlman” on the episode titled, “Foraging.”
Pesek added small dietary changes can lead to healthy new habits and encourages people to try one of the following for at least 21 days.
“That is how long it takes to form a new habit, or break an old one. If you feel generous, give me 28 days, just to make sure,” he said.
His suggested changes include:
• A salad a day, no exceptions. Make it a big salad.
• Cut out refined sugar.
• Trade your coffee in for a tea latte. Whisk one teaspoon of matcha powder with warm water or almond milk. Sweeten if you wish with coconut nectar or maple syrup. Make this your morning routine.
• Honor your food by preparing it and sitting down to eat each dinner.
• Aim to eat the rainbow throughout the week. Keep a checklist to make it a game.
• Take your supplements every day, without exception.
• And though this is not food-related, Pesek also encourages people to take a daily walk (bundle up).
Cipriani said not to be afraid to add new “superfoods,” herbs and spices to dishes.
“It really is so much more nutritious to cook at home then to eat processed foods out at fast food places and restaurants,” she said. “It is so important to know exactly what you are putting in your dish and your body.”
Ruhlman and Todds’ books contain cooking techniques and family friendly “superfood” recipes to inspire success in the kitchen and in personal wellness journeys.
“Planning ahead and food prepping is an important part to eating nutritious food and cooking from scratch,” Cipriani said. “It is a lifestyle, not a diet. You don’t have to eat less, you just need to eat right.”
