No-skill cookbook touts organic food

During the past two decades, the organic food movement has blossomed from home-gardening hobby to multibillion-dollar industry. And with mainstream retail outlets such as McDonalds, Starbucks and Wal-Mart entering the game, the ubiquity of organic foods will only grow.
"Food to Live By: The Earthbound Farm Organic Cookbook," (Workman, $21.95) does an excellent job harnessing the benefits of organic food without being preachy.  Written by Earthbound Farm co-founder Myra Goodman, the book offers a wide range of recipes designed to flaunt the flavors and textures of organic ingredients. These dishes are best kept simple, and Goodman serves up plenty of examples.

Her seared tuna steaks with a fennel-coriander crust take only minutes from start to finish and burst with flavor and freshness. And Goodman's Mexican meatball soup is a cheerful dish, perfected with a sprinkling of cilantro leaves on top.  The simplicity of the recipes make for an added bonus: even the heaviest dishes would work as well in the summer as in the winter.

The book also makes excellent use of white space. Goodman doesn't force excessive commentary, which makes her hints all the more useful. They range from tips such as using pasta water in sauces and freezing pesto to a devilish mini-recipe for bite-size Bloody Marys: spear cherry tomatoes on toothpicks, dip them in vodka, salt and pepper and munch.  It's also a pleasant surprise that the book (with corporate logo on cover) spends no time shilling products. Besides an interesting history of Goodman's organic evolution, Earthbound Farm receives no special attention.

If fault can be found with Goodman's recipes, it's that her focus on clean flavors sometimes goes too far. Her lamb curry is a simple, delicious dish, but the end result seems more a thin stew than a silky curry. A splash of cream and a cornstarch slurry to thicken it worked wonders.
The book has a nice mix of innovative recipes (iced ginger melon soup, California Waldorf salad) and traditional favorites (creamy potato gratin, rosemary-roasted chicken). It also features a section on raspberries, the first produce Goodman sold in 1984.

While geared toward organic ingredients, this book would be a great addition to the conventional kitchen. Maybe the home cook will even learn a little about healthy eating, probably what Goodman intended in the first place.

Seared Tuna with Fennel-Coriander Crust

1/4 cup fennel seeds
3 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons whole white or black peppercorns
Coarse (kosher) salt
4 tuna steaks (each about 3/4 -inch thick and 6 ounces)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1. Place the fennel, coriander and peppercorns in a spice mill or clean coffee grinder and grind to a fine powder. Spread the spice mixture on a plate.
2. Sprinkle salt on both sides of the tuna steaks. Dip each tuna steak in the spice mixture, lightly coating it all over.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the tuna and cook, turning once, until cooked to taste, about 2 minutes per side for medium-rare. Serve warm.

Mexican Albondigas Soup

For the meatballs:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup finely diced yellow onion ( 1/4 -inch dice or smaller)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 large egg
1/4 cup heavy (whipping) cream
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the soup:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium-sized carrots, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
1 large leek, both white and light green parts, rinsed well and thinly sliced (about 1 cup), or 1 cup diced yellow onions ( 1/4 -inch dice)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 jalapeno peppers, stemmed, seeded and thinly sliced
1 cup diced fresh or canned tomatoes, with their juice
10 cups store-bought low-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon chili powder
Coarse (kosher) salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
1. Make the meatballs: Heat the olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and the cumin, thyme and oregano and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is soft and fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes.
2. Place the egg and the cream in a small bowl and whisk until combined. Add the bread crumbs and stir to combine.
3. Place the beef in a medium-size bowl. Add the onion mixture, the egg mixture and the salt and pepper and mix with your hands to combine. Form the beef mixture into 1-inch meatballs and place them on a platter. Refrigerate the meatballs, covered with plastic wrap, for at least 1 hour or as long as overnight. (The meatballs can also be frozen at this point for up to 2 months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight before proceeding with the recipe.)
4. Make the soup: Heat the 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-low heat. Add the carrots and leek and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and the jalapenos and cook, stirring constantly, until the garlic is soft but not browned, about 2 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes, stock and chili powder. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and let simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Add the meatballs and adjust the heat so that the soup simmers gently, uncovered, until the meatballs are cooked through, 8 to 10 minutes.
7. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste. Serve the soup hot, garnished with the chopped cilantro. Any leftover soup can be refrigerated, covered, for up to 3 days.

SOURCE: http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/journalgazette/living/16533076.htm