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Rainbow Kitchen

Saucy Springtime: Butter Up to All Those Garden Goodies

By Allison St. Claire
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In participants of the Framingham Heart Study it was found that those with the highest level of vitamin K dietary intake had a 35 percent lower risk of hip fracture.

Spring greens are coming soon to your garden, a local farmers market, or grocery produce shelves – if they haven’t already for those of you in southern climes. After a long winter of mainly root vegetables and insipid, nearly lifeless veggies arriving from foreign shores after days in transit, these are the glorious days that mark the beginning of vibrant new produce providing vital nutrients to help us maintain optimum health.

And in a word or two – let’s talk vitamin K2. Especially for seniors where deficiencies in vitamin K are rampant.

Vitamin K2 is a potent health-boosting nutrient. Its primary function is to make various key proteins biologically active so that they can perform bone building, enhance cardiovascular fitness, improve blood sugar metabolism, carry on normal blood clotting, and help protect against cancer.

Vitamin K2 intake has a statistically significant inverse relationship to the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, and reduces the rate of mortality from coronary artery disease – and even risk of death from any cause.

In participants of the Framingham Heart Study it was found that those with the highest level of vitamin K dietary intake had a 35 percent lower risk of hip fracture.

So where do we find Vitamin K? In lots of berries and vegetables, egg yolks and other sources, but most relevant for today – in that most sumptuous pairing of green vegetables (K1) and butter (high in K2, among a multitude of healthy nutrients: www.justinpenoyer.com/2012/07/09/20-reasons-to-love-real-butter.)

Caveat: Check with your health care provider if you are on blood-thinning meds if you might be significantly altering your intake of K.

And a final, happy note from Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, nutrition educators: “The notion that butter causes weight gain is a sad misconception. The short and medium chain fatty acids in butter are not stored in the adipose tissue, but are used for quick energy. Fat tissue in humans is composed mainly of longer chain fatty acids which come from polyunsaturated oils as well as from refined carbohydrates.

 

Start Simple

Just butter – dabbed, rubbed, melted. Start with the best you can find and afford. European -style butter (higher butterfat content and usually much tastier) such as Pelugra is generally available in grocery stores; if not that, preferably organic, and/or cultured for a tangy less-greasy taste.

Start to dress it up. Check your fridge or spice shelf for your favorite herbs. Dill (green beans, carrots, potatoes), mint (peas, fava beans), cilantro (corn), parsley (asparagus, broccoli), rosemary (potatoes), basil (almost anything, especially tomatoes).

Add layers of flavor. Lemon juice, orange zest, white wine, balsamic vinegar.

Mix it up. Combine butter with another oil when braising fresh veggies. I use butter and olive oil for almost any vegetable, or butter and toasted sesame oil for cauliflower, eggplant, peppers and such.

Make it zesty and savory. Sweating or browning some garlic or onions in butter before tossing in some vegetables to cook is so standard – not a surprise when you taste how much butter elevates them to a level far beyond plain vegetable oil. (Which you want to avoid for any number of health reasons, none good.)

 

When You Want to Wake Your Taste Buds

Mix together

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), at room temperature

2 teaspoons minced jalapeno or serrano chiles, seeds and membranes removed

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice (from 1/2 medium lime)

2 teaspoons tequila (optional)

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon kosher salt

 

When You Want to Pamper and Impress

Start with the classic, basic (you learned this in high school Home Ec, remember?) bechamel sauce (roux).

5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon (2/3 stick) unsalted butter

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

4 cups half-and-half

Coarse (kosher) salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring frequently, until the roux develops a nutty aroma, about 10 minutes.

Bring the half-and-half to a simmer in a second small saucepan over high heat. Immediately add it to the roux in a slow, steady stream, whisking constantly until blended and smooth and continue to cook over low heat, whisking frequently, until thickened, about 3 minutes.

Now jazz it up with some flavors that create that added taste depth of umami. Add in proportions to your taste any of the following during the final cooking process: a sauteed onion puree, a bay leaf, nutmeg, cloves, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, cheddar cheese. Or before serving, grated Parmesan cheese, some tomato puree or any herb of your choice.


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Allison St. Claire loves to dream about, study, grow, play with, prepare and ultimately enjoy eating great food.

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