Cooking courses move online

It's 2 o'clock on a Tuesday, and 18-year-old Shoshana Bushee of Mequon is at home in her kitchen, doing her homework.

Bowl, whisk, spatula - check. Double boiler, check. KitchenAid at the ready, check. Chocolate chips, eggs, check.

The homework: Make a chocolate mousse.

The high school senior is enrolled in eAchieve Academy, the virtual charter school operated by the School District of Waukesha. Her favorite class is Worldwide Cuisine, the source of today's lesson.

Not so long ago, before the Internet, even in the early days of the Internet, it would have seemed crazy to teach a high school cooking class anywhere but in a kitchen classroom housed in a brick-and-mortar school.

Teachers like Sheri Schlitt, a family and consumer science teacher for 28 years, are proving otherwise.

Schlitt, who lives in Mukwonago and is employed by the Waukesha schools, started teaching her classes online six years ago, beginning with child development. This school year she added Worldwide Cuisine, a class she previously taught in a classroom. Between the two semesters, it's drawn 170 students from all over the state, many in southeastern Wisconsin but as far away as Rhinelander, Hayward and Madeline Island.

Every week a different country and its cuisine are studied. Students must make one of three recipes typical to the country, rated by level of difficulty. For example, recipes for the French unit were crepes (easy), chocolate mousse (medium) and quiche Lorraine (hard).

The class is perfect for Bushee, who for the last four years has been baking and decorating cakes for special occasions (including two weddings) and who aspires to be a pastry chef. Before signing up for this class, she had already taken two Wilton cake decorating classes.

Does she feel she's missing something by not having a teacher looking over her shoulder to guide her?

"Sometimes it might be nice to have a teacher present," she said, "but (this way) I can cook when I have the time, and I can experiment."

Today, for example, she was employing a technique for separating eggs that she saw in an online video: using an empty plastic Coke bottle to "suck" out the yolk. (It worked quite well.)

Schlitt said there are trade-offs.

"They miss me standing over them," she acknowledged, "but they are able to learn from their mistakes." Also, in a kitchen classroom the students work in groups, sharing the tasks. At home, they do it all themselves - and, in addition, "there's no fooling around."

Instead of showing their teacher their finished soufflé or sautéed pork chops, students take photos of the dishes they make - often step by step - and they answer a series of detailed questions, comprising their "reflections" about the experience. They are graded on thoroughness of their answers, not how well the dish turned out.

Bushee tried taking step-by-step photos with the first recipe, but with camera in one hand, spoon or pot handle in the other, she worried about dropping the camera into the pot. Now she just shoots the finished dish.

Schlitt said even without being there, she can tell when a student hasn't made the recipe.

For example, they'll answer the question "What problems did you run into" by saying "no problems."

"How could you have no problems making baklava?" Schlitt said. " I have problems making baklava."

Students she busts in this way are sent back to the kitchen.

And it's not as if the students never get a chance to talk with their teacher.

Once a week for an hour, students can log in and "meet" at the same time for a lecture, PowerPoint presentation, maybe a cooking demo and discussion. Students can "raise their hands" to ask a question, and they can type messages among themselves. On a good day, about 30 students join in, Schlitt said.

For those who don't, the sessions are recorded and can be viewed later. According to Schlitt, students are expected to view each session; if they don't, it will show in their test results.

But the students move at their own pace, a hallmark of virtual learning. If they miss a week's lessons, they can catch up without penalty.

Among her eAchieve students have been an Olympic skater, students doing mission work and a model, Schlitt said. Besides full-time students, there are also students who attend a regular school full time but sign up for an extra class online.

Classes are tuition-free - an online textbook is furnished - but students' families are responsible for purchasing the food used to make the recipes. That's one other difference from an in-school cooking class.

That's why, Schlitt says, when choosing recipes she tries to be sensitive to the fact that not every home will have a fully equipped kitchen, the means to buy expensive food, or access to less-common ingredients. This is one reason she offers recipe choices.

The final project requires that students profile a country Schlitt did not teach in the class, reporting on not just the cuisine and its origins but also travel information, currency, customs, etc.

Most students last semester prepared a slide show for their final project, combining photos and text.

About 25 virtual schools are operating in Wisconsin, according to Patrick Gasper, communications officer for the state Department of Public Instruction. Next fall there will be 29. About 4,857 students are enrolled full time statewide. The state does not have figures for students who attend a regular school and just take a class or two online.

While he said he hadn't heard of another cooking class, John Jacobs, director of the Wisconsin eSchool Network, said that online versions of courses requiring hands-on activities are not uncommon. There are even construction classes (think "shop") teaching the fundamentals: quality control, how to read a blueprint, etc.

One advantage to an online cooking course is that it can serve more students, Schlitt said. She noted that a lot of family and consumer science classes have been cut from school curricula.

"The beauty of this is that you can have a student in a district where they don't offer the class. . . . and they can still take it through a virtual school."

It also opens up the class to other students. Boshee and her family, for example, follow a kosher diet. For the chocolate mousse, she checked each egg to make sure it didn't have any blood, and she used dairy-free chocolate chips.

Making such accommodations for every recipe "would be impossible in a face-to-face classroom," Schlitt said.

Another of her students this semester prepared a gluten-free, lactose-free macaroni and cheese recipe using gluten-free pasta, almond milk, lactose-free cheese, kale and bacon.

"There is no way I could go and shop and buy gluten-free foods and accommodate her health concerns" in a classroom setting, Schlitt said. With an online class, "kids who have health considerations or religious restrictions can still participate."

Schlitt isn't stopping with this one class. This summer, she'll be creating an online version of Chef Foods, a class for students interested in careers in the culinary-hospitality industry.

"It's still a cooking class, but whereas Worldwide Cuisine is cultural, this will be more on cooking basics," she said.

eAchieve also will offer a culinary co-op, which requires that students either have taken or are concurrently taking Chef Foods and a careers class. These students are placed in a restaurant or other food service or hospitality situation for on-the-job training.

In the traditional model, Schlitt would regularly meet in person with the employers. Now she'll be meeting them remotely via Skype.

You don't have to be in high school to enhance your cooking skills via courses online. Here are just a few options open to home cooks:

Epicurious Online Cooking School, with the Culinary Institute of America

cookingschool.epicurious.com

Four courses are offered: Classic American Desserts plus Mexican, Italian and Mediterranean Classics. Works on desktop, laptop, tablet or smartphone. Each course of 8 classes costs $49.

America's Test Kitchen Cooking School

onlinecookingschool.com

Membership gives you access to more than 100 online courses using video, photography, illustrations and quizzes for hands-on learning. Members also can communicate one-on-one with the test cooks and share successes and challenges with peers. Free 14-day trial. Memberships start at $19.95 a month.

ProChef Podcast Training

ciaprochef.com/fbi/podcasts.html

Shortish cooking lessons (from about 1 ½ minutes up to 22 minutes) are available for $4.95 each. Lessons, or "modules," fall under basic kitchen preparation, boot camp, bread and baker, cake art, exceeding expectations (hospitality-oriented) or gluten-free baking.

Top Chef University

topchefuniversity.com

Taught by Top Chef contestants including Richard Blais and Stephanie Izard, the 200-plus cooking lessons offered here are grouped under 12 courses, 18 lessons per course. The lessons range from 5 minutes to 30 minutes. Visitors have access to any as long as they're a paying member. Memberships cost $24.95 a month or $199.95 annually.

Rouxbe Online Cooking School

rouxbe.com

Visitors can sign up for home or professional-level courses. The Cook's Roadmap course: Level 1 and Plant-Based Cooking: Level 1 each cost $49.95; subsequent levels will be rolling out in the next few months. The professional-level courses, still in development, will go up to Level 15. Rouxbe (pronounced roo-bee) also offers a version for use in secondary schools.

Escoffier Online International Culinary Academy

escoffieronline.com

Professional-level training is available from this online version of the famous culinary school through video tutorials and collaborative, interactive cooking experiences with classically trained chefs and classmates. Culinary Fundamentals and Pastry Arts programs each cost $3,995. Students work at their own pace but have 12 months in which to complete the course.

Last semester's Worldwide Cuisine students were guinea pigs. What did they think of their online cooking class experience?

Following are a few students' reflections:

"In what other class can you eat your homework?! Not only did I improve my cooking skills, but I learned a great deal about the history, traditions and food customs of all the regions studied."

" The course has increased my chore list at home. I now have to cook once a week. But it is a chore I like to do."

"I used to be almost afraid to cook. . . . I learned several new techniques from taking this course . . . how to make a roux . . . (and) how to make egg rolls."

"I love the fact that we not only tried to cook things but learned about where the ingredients come from."

"When I had other schoolwork that was just so hard and I really needed a break from it, I knew I could just start working on cuisine.

"My dream is to travel, and this class has helped me get a big picture of a lot of countries. When I do travel, I will go and try all the foods, no matter if it's haggis or a delicate cake, I will broaden my horizons."

Nancy J. Stohs is food editor of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Email her at nstohs@journalsentinel.com. For food and dining updates: www.jsonline.com/food/facebook. Twitter: @NancyJStohs.

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Baker has attracted loyal following for her homemade toaster pastries

Maybe you don’t think too much of Pop-Tarts, the mass-produced, sugary, toaster treat designed to appeal to a kid’s love of sweets and a parent’s love of convenience.

But your nay might turn into a yay if you taste a homemade version made fresh with local fruit, natural ingredients and no preservatives.

And if you like the store-bought Pop-Tarts, you’re probably going to love the homemade toaster pastries made in Winston-Salem by Jelaina Frelitz, the owner of Yay Snacks Bakery.

“They are the thing people go rabid over,” said Frelitz, who sells about 100 of the toaster pastries a week.

The pastries, which usually sell for $2.50 to $3 apiece, are handmade with a tender, buttery crust and such homemade fillings as strawberry and sweet potato.

Since 2011, Frelitz has been attracting a loyal following for her pastries, crackers and breads. She bakes them in a renovated house next to her home on the Southside.

The bakery does not have a retail location. Frelitz has sold her goods at the Cobblestone Farmers Market. She now sells them at Krankies, Washington Perk and Provision Co. and Let It Grow Produce. She also makes select desserts for Mary’s Gourmet Diner and crackers for Mooney’s Mediterranean Café. And she has a popular bread club of customers who sign up for six or eight weekly deliveries of homemade loaves, buns, rolls, pita and crackers.

Frelitz, 33, grew up in Michigan. She always liked to cook, but professionally she darted from one job to another, working as a bartender, teacher, bookstore clerk and waitress. As an adult, her interest in food grew, and bread-baking became a serious hobby.

She and her partner, musician Ryan Pritts, moved to North Carolina about seven years ago after a chance visit during their travels around the country. Her brother had just moved to Greensboro, so she and Pritts moved there, but it wasn’t long before they relocated to Winston-Salem.

“Greensboro is a nice place, but I feel really at home here,” Frelitz said. “There’s just this sense of community in Winston.”

When she and Pritts were looking for a home about 2½ years ago, they happened to find two houses next to each other in the Southside. Pritts decided to buy both because they were cheap and Pritts wanted to build a recording studio in one. The houses needed work, but Pritts is handy. “He has an awesome skill set,” Frelitz said, and friends pitched in, too.

As they started renovating the houses, Frelitz was looking for something different to do.

“I was in the kitchen one day kneading a loaf of bread,” Frelitz said, “and it was almost like a comedy sketch. I was up to my elbows in dough, saying, ‘I don’t know what I want to do.’ Ryan is staring at me and finally he says, ‘I think what you’re doing right now is what you want to do. I mean, you get up at five in the morning to make bread.’”

Frelitz already was feeding friends and neighbors on a regular basis. She already had a repertoire of tried-and-true recipes. Everything else came together quickly.

The house with the studio had room to spare, and Frelitz soon found out what she needed for a kitchen to qualify as a bakery by the N.C. Department of Agriculture. And then she was off and running.

She had made friends with employees at Krankies and other stores, so she soon had places to sell her wares.

The bakery name was easy.

“I have a tendency to get really excited,” Frelitz said. “For years when people came over I would say, ‘Oh, do you want a snack plate?’ Then I would come out with all these snacks and say, ‘Yay, snacks!’”

Her sister gave her the idea for the bread club. “She said you should start a private club where people sign up to get your bread. I said, ‘That’s a great idea. There already is something like that (for produce). It’s called a CSA (community-supported agriculture).’”

So Frelitz’ bread club is set up much like a CSA. People commit to six or eight weeks, paying $6 a week in advance for her fresh bread. Each Thursday, she makes one sandwich loaf, or eight to 12 buns, or rolls, or a pound of crackers for each member. She delivers to those who are close or she arranges a pick-up spot when members live farther away.

Becky Zollicoffer, the owner of Let It Grow Produce, likes Frelitz’ baked goods so much that she stocks them and she belongs to the bread club. “I really like her multigrain crackers, and her pita bread is exceptional, too,” Zollicoffer said. “It’s fun because it’s a surprise, but you always know it’s going to be something delicious.”

Frelitz, too, likes the variety of baking something different each week. She has a maximum of 20 members at a time.

“I make something different every week, and you’re getting the freshest bread possible. I usually am letting it cool just enough so I can bag it and deliver it.”

The club is her favorite part of her job, Frelitz said. “That makes me feel like a neighborhood bakery. Sometimes I just take a walk down the street to deliver the bread.”

The club is beneficial because it gives her some capital to buy equipment, and it can allow her to make something special, knowing she already has a market for it.

Bread, though, wasn’t her first product. It was crackers, and they are her second-most popular item, next to the toaster pastries. She makes a lavash-style cracker with different herb and spice toppings. She also makes a popular olive-oil cracker.

“I love crunchy, salty crackers,” she said. “They are an essential part of my diet.”

Other baked goods include Parker House dinner rolls; burger buns; a loaf made from English muffin bread; and a savory, pull-apart (“monkey”) bread with mozzarella.

Frelitz has also made such desserts as a Granny Smith apple cake, orange-cinnamon coffee cake and sweet-potato whoopie pies for Mary’s Gourmet Diner.

“I like that she’s so creative,” said Mary Haglund of Mary’s. “She‘s unique and her unique quality comes out in her baking. Like the Pop-Tarts. Who does that? And they are mind-blowing!”

In general, Frelitz said, she tries to make breads and other baked goods that other bakeries in town don’t make.

She feels strongly about not using preservatives, and she sources local and organic ingredients when she can. This winter, she has been making a lot of toaster pastries with a sweet-potato filling.

Frelitz said that one reason her toaster pastries appeal to people is because they are not too sweet. She doesn’t even put frosting on them. “I use as little sugar as possible,” she said. “I believe the ingredients should be delicious on their own without needing a lot of sugar to make them taste good.

“People like that. They feel good about eating them.”

Frelitz said that the last year and a half has been busy but rewarding. “It’s way more work than I real- ized, but it’s pretty perfect.”

She has no plans to hire help or greatly expand the business. “I like it being just me. I’m intense, and I’m fast-paced. I’m most comfortable with just my brain and my hands in the stuff I’m making.”

She also likes the instant gratification inherent in a small business. “I’m feeding people, and it’s great to get all this feedback.”

“It tastes the best when I’m the happiest. And I’m the happiest doing small batches. I don’t want to be a factory,” Frelitz said.

“I want to bake for people who get excited about it.

And we do have that in Winston — people who get really excited about food.”

Pita Bread

Makes 12 pitas

3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour (preferably King Arthur), plus more for kneading/rolling out

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons active dry yeast (or 1½ teaspoons instant yeast)

Pinch of sugar or tiny squeeze of honey or maple syrup

1¼ cups water, room temperature

2 tablespoons neutral oil (canola, olive, grapeseed)

Cooking oil spray

1. Fill a clean spray bottle with water; set aside. Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large bowl until evenly distributed. Add water (and honey or maple syrup, if using) and oil; stir with sturdy spoon until dough comes together. Cover bowl with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow it to rest about 20 minutes to make mixing easier.

2. Sprinkle a clean surface with a little flour and scrape the dough out. Knead about 5 minutes, then invert bowl onto dough and allow it to rest 10 minutes. Knead again for another 5 minutes. At this point, the dough should be soft and pliable but not sticky. If necessary, sprinkle a handful of flour onto the dough and knead it for a few more minutes.

3. Place dough into an oiled bowl big enough to hold twice the quantity of dough you currently have. Lightly spray the top of dough with cooking-oil spray. Cover with plastic wrap and allow it to rise until doubled, 1½ to 3 hours, depending on how warm your space is.

4. One hour before you are ready to shape the pita, place an inverted cookie sheet in oven and preheat to 475 degrees.

5. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface, roll into a long snake and divide it into 12 equal pieces. Work with one piece at a time, keeping others covered with plastic wrap.

6. Shape each piece into a ball, flatten slightly with your hand and allow to rest, covered, for about 10 minutes. Then, using a rolling pin, roll each piece into a round disk, about ¼ inch thick. Lightly flour surface again as needed if dough starts to stick.

7. Once all the pieces of dough are all rolled out, use spray bottle to lightly mist dough with water. (The mist helps the pitas puff in the oven to create the pockets inside.) Gently transfer as many pieces as will fit at a time (generally 2) onto the hot baking sheet. Bake until just puffed up like a balloon, about 3 minutes. Remove with oven mitts and a pancake turner to avoid burns from escaping steam, and allow them to deflate. Stack and cover with a towel to keep them soft until all are baked. Serve right away or cool to room temperature on a rack, stack and store in a plastic bag at room temperature up to 3 days. The pitas also can be frozen.

Recipe from Jelaina Frelitz.

English muffin bread

Makes 1 loaf

1 cup 2 percent milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon sugar

½ teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

1 tablespoon warm water

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

½ cup local stone-ground cornmeal

Cooking oil spray

1. Fill a clean spray bottle with water; set aside. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat, add milk, sugar and salt; whisk to dissolve. Heat until small bubbles begin to form on the surface of the milk. Remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm (about 100 degrees).

2. In a large bowl, measure out the 3 cups flour. Dissolve yeast in a tablespoon of water. Add yeast mixture and lukewarm milk mixture to the flour, stirring hard with a wooden spoon until a very soft dough forms. It will be sticky.

3. Flour your hands and knead the dough right in the bowl about 5 minutes, adding no more than an additional ¼ cup flour. (If you add too much flour, the bread will be drier and tougher than desired.). Oil a clean bowl and scrape dough into it. Turn dough to coat with oil, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double, about 1½ hours, depending on room temperature.

4. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface, shape into a rectangle about 6 by 10 inches. Dimple the surface with your fingertips to dispel any trapped air, and tightly roll it into a cylinder that is just a bit longer than your loaf pan, pulling the dough taut to create tension. Gently rock the loaf back and forth under your hands to remove any remaining air bubbles and pinch the ends closed.

5. Spray the loaf with water and sprinkle the very wet loaf with cornmeal, making sure to cover the entire surface area, including the bottom.

6. Place into a lightly spray-oiled loaf pan, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until dough is about 1 inch above the rim of the pan, about 1½ hours.

7. Heat oven to 350 degrees and bake loaf until bread is a deep golden brown on top and bottom and the loaf sounds hollow when thumped on the underside, about 35 to 40 minutes.

8. Cool on a wire rack and wait at least an hour to slice or else you will mash the crumb. The bread will keep wrapped at room temperature for 4 to 5 days. Leftover bread is great for French toast.

mhastings@wsjournal.com

(336) 727-7394

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Yumi Media Reacts to Study Showing Benefits of Veganism for Fibromyalgia Patients

On February 15, Yumi Media responds to a study that demonstrated how people on vegan diets experienced fewer fibromyalgia symptoms, showing how nutritious, meat-free diets bolstered by products from companies like Quorn can improve the symptoms of fibromyalgia and other conditions.

According to Dr. Michael Greger's Care2.com article, a plant-based diet may be the best way to go for people with fibromyalgia.

Dr. Gregor notes that vegetarian diets have successfully alleviated symptoms in various diseases. “Other inflammatory conditions have been successfully treated with semi-vegetarian ‘flexitarian’ diets,” Dr. Greger wrote, citing Crohn's disease as an example. “Cutting down on meat may also help reduce the risk of cataracts, obesity, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes, though there does appear to be a stepwise drop in risk as one’s diet gets more and more centered around plant foods.”

“Both vegetarian and raw vegan diets led to significant improvements in fibromyalgia symptoms, but what about just mostly vegetarian diets or mostly raw vegan diets?” asks Dr. Greger. “How plant-based does one’s diet need to be to effectively treat fibromyalgia?”

Upon reviewing past studies, Dr. Greger found that fibromyalgia patients on a “mostly vegetarian Mediterranean diet” did not get better after two weeks. When the study was [reviewed], the editor noted that [the vegan ‘Hallelujah diet’] had the most impressive results of any recent fibromyalgia study – three times the improvement that the Mayo Clinic was reporting for their fibromyalgia program.” The “Hallelujah diet” is strictly plant-based, requiring a person to consume the freshest, non-processed “plant-based” food.

Yumi Media is grateful for these findings and says, “We’re impressed by these findings and we encourage everyone to eat nutritious meals.” They add, “Companies like Quorn provide healthy meat alternatives that can be substituted into your favorite non-vegetarian recipes, so it’s easy for people to make that transition into a new routine.”

Yumi Media is a food website devoted to delivering the latest and greatest in food news, recipes, and products to incorporate into your own healthy lifestyle. Launched in 2012, Yumi Media was founded by a group of friends as a way to explore their mutual love of food while sharing that love with the community at large. Whether you’re looking for something cutting-edge, comfort food like mom used to make or something in between, Yumi Media is your one-stop resource.

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Need some Mediterranean diet ideas? Try these recipes

 

The news this week: A diet rich in olives, olive oil, nuts, fruits, beans, fish, vegetables and whole grains -- also known as a Mediterranean diet -- was shown to lower the risk of heart disease. Weight loss wasn't studied, but it's sure to be a positive side effect of eating this way.

Registered holistic nutritionist Peggy Kotsopoulos, host of “Peggy K’s Kitchen Cures” on Veria Living TV and author of the upcoming book “Kitchen Cures” has come up with some Mediterranean-inspired dishes that are easy, quick and full of those healthful ingredients.

Branzino With Tomato and Kalamata Olives

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil3 cloves garlic, minced1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes1/3 cup pitted kalamata olives, coarsely chopped2 tablespoons capers1 teaspoon dried oreganoSea saltFreshly ground pepper4 (5-ounce) branzino fillets

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Whack the garlic cloves, peel and mince them and add them to the skillet. Add the crushed tomatoes and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile, whack the olives, pit them and roughly chop. Add olives to the sauce along with capers, oregano, salt and pepper to taste; adjust the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Slip the fillets into the sauce, and make sure the fillets are covered with the sauce. Cover and simmer until cooked through, about 10 minutes.

Serve on top of cooked quinoa or greens.

Serves 4.

Mediterranean Quinoa Salad

2 cups cooked white quinoa1 cup grape tomatoes, halved½ cup diced cucumber½ cup pitted and chopped black olives¼ cup chopped walnuts, chopped3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil½ teaspoon sea saltPinch fresh ground black pepper1 teaspoon dried oreganoJuice of ¼ lemon¼ cup feta cheese, crumbled (optional)

Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix well.

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New Study Finds Mediterranean Diet Highly Beneficial -- Here's How to Get Started

Oven-steamed halibut"Eat less meat." That was one of my resolutions for 2013, and so far, I've kept it. (Yes, that statement gives me a lot of leeway, but it's a start.) And with the recently released study reinforcing the heart-healthy benefits of the Mediterranean diet (less red meat, lots more fish, veggies, fruits, nuts, and olive oil) I feel like I have a new-found impetus to keep it up.

I have plenty of company: From the families, schools, corporations, and chefs across the country who are supporting the Meatless Monday campaign, to those who've decided to embrace a vegetarian, or even vegan, diet, piling on more vegetables and grains on your plate just makes sense.
Related: Declutter Your Fridge

Want to join in? To start you off, here are 5 hearty, tasty, easy meatless recipes that will help to get you on the right track, and still satisfy your family.

Sweet potatoes and lentils are a natural pairing - serve over rice and you're set for dinner

Colorful and veggie packed, this ultra-fast stew gets a hint of sweetness from raisins and carrots.

This black bean picadillo will save you a trip to the grocery store-chances are you'll find most of the ingredients already in your kitchen.

Not quite ready to go all the way to vegetarian? The health benefits of eating more fish are undeniable, so hit the fish counter!

Related: How to Tell When Your Food Is Done Cooking

The recipe (pictured above), made with sustainable Alaskan halibut and served over quinoa, gets crunch and extra flavor from a tomato, cuke, and apple relish.

Salmon roasts at the same time as green beans to get dinner on the table in a little over half and hour.

Whether you decide to go meatless for just a day-or a lifetime of meals--it's an investment that pays dividends.

What are your favorite Mediterranean Diet meals? Let me know in the comments!

--By Catherine Lo

More from Good Housekeeping:

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The perfect vegetable

Greenhouse tomatoes are just about the perfect ingredient for Chef Anthony-John Dalupan.

They’re versatile enough for the Windsor Yacht Club chef to use in almost any dish. They offer colour, nutrition and, most of all,  flavour.

Besides, greenhouse tomatoes are in season most of the year and they’re local, available from the big, sprawling greenhouses around Leamington and Kingsville.

Dalupan created dozens of dishes years ago for the cookbook A Taste of Ontario, put out by the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers organization. It still remains in print and in demand.

“It’s the perfect vegetable,” said Dalupan. “It’s grown in ideal conditions. It’s picked at its peak of flavour and ripeness.”

That’s what convinced him to continue to use greenhouse tomatoes, along with local cucumbers and sweet peppers, in his cooking.

When it comes to this fruit, there are lots of tips, recipes and nutritional information, and we’ve tried to include it here. Dalupan has provided a recipe for his Tomato Cheese Strata, one of his favourite dishes, along with the Spiced Up Greenhouse Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Pasta.

“The strata is basically a quiche. The ingredients are just positioned a little differently. And instead of crust, it has croutons,” he says. The bonus is the recipe takes just minutes to make and works well as an appetizer, a brunch or light lunch dish.

Local greenhouse production is gearing up for the 2013 season, with vegetables heading to market in late February and early March. Peak production continues mainly from March through December.

Greenhouse vegetables: Nutrition powerhouses

Ontario greenhouse tomatoes provide a good source of vitamin A, vitamin C and lycopene. The powerful antioxidant is known to help prevent certain forms of cancer, heart disease and other diseases. A medium tomato contains only 26 calories.

Seedless cucumbers are low in calories and packed with fibre and potassium.

Greenhouse peppers are high in vitamin B6 and folacin and a single pepper has more than 200 per cent of the recommended intake of vitamin C.

Source: Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, Foodland Ontario

Versatility with varieties: Here’s a quick guide to the different varieties of greenhouse tomatoes.

Beesteak: Large, juicy, lots of flavourful pulp.

Plum or Roma: Narrow, fleshy, with fewer seeds, ideal for sauces or oven-roasting.

Cherry clusters: Small, sweet, available year-round, ideal to pack with lunch.

Yellow and orange: Mild, colourful, low in acid, easy to slice and dice for salads and salsas.

Cluster: Slice, dice or stuff these medium-sized tomatoesfrom the vine.

Source: Foodland Ontario

Chef’s tip: Seed a tomato by cutting in half from side to side, not from the top to bottom. If you cut from top to bottom, you expose of the seed compartments inside the tomato. Scrape the seeds out of the tomato with a small tool, or your finger.

Cookbook available: For a free promotional copy of A Taste of Ontario, contact the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, 32 Seneca Dr., Leamington. Call 519-326-2604 or 1-800-265-6926. The cookbook can also be downloaded or viewed on the organization’s website ontariogreenhouse.com.

Buying, storing greenhouse vegetables: Look for tomatoes with bright red colour, heavy for their size, plump, firm, evenly shaped and free of cracks and bruises. Store at room temperature, away from direct sunlight where they can lose their fragrance, taste and nutrients.

Storage in the fridge is not recommended because of the change in texture and decrease in flavour. Store stem-side up and use within a few days. Consider buying tomatoes at different stages of ripeness, so they can be used over several days.

For cucumbers, look for long and firm cucumbers, dark and vivid green. They should be heavy for their size and free of marks and soft spots. To maintain freshness, protect colour and retain natural moisture, keep them sealed in the original plastic wrap and store in a cool, dark place or in the crisper bin of the fridge. Mini cucumbers are best kept refrigerated in their packaging.

Look for sweet peppers that are smooth, firm and plump, with thick, shiny skins. Avoid any with cracks and soft spots. Store in the fridge.

Source: Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, Foodland Ontario

Fast facts, by the numbers: In all, 224 growers in Ontario have about 2,270 acres of greenhouses, almost 2,000 acres of them in this area, including Essex, Kent and Lambton. The vegetables are grown hydroponically with water and growers use integrated pest management so the good bugs manage the bad bugs.

Ontario greenhouse growers produce annually more than 420 million pounds of tomatoes, 300 million English cucumbers and 165 million pounds of sweet bell peppers.

Most of the greenhouse produce is exported to the U.S. and the Ontario industry sector employs more than 10,000. The Ontario greenhouse industry’s farm-gate value reached almost $700 million in 2011.

Windsor Yacht Club chef Anthony-John Dalupan created this dish made with greenhouse tomatoes, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, in Windsor, Ont. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)

Windsor Yacht Club chef Anthony-John Dalupan uses chopped red pepper, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, in Windsor, Ont. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)

Windsor Yacht Club chef Anthony-John Dalupan uses greenhouse tomatoes, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, in Windsor, Ont. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)

Windsor Yacht Club chef Anthony-John Dalupan uses chopped onions, Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, in Windsor, Ont. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)

Windsor Yacht Club sous-chef Ben Atkinson chops a tomatoe,Thursday, Feb. 14, 2013, in Windsor, Ont. (DAN JANISSE/The Windsor Star)

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Best Diet Advice From New Books

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Dried and true: Beans make healthy, tasty, cheap comfort food

In winter, there’s nothing more comforting than a warm, meltingly tender bowl of beans — whether as soup, side dish or cassoulet.

The best starting point for those meals is dried beans, one of the most frugal items at the grocery store and healthiest forms of protein. Dried beans also can help many of us succeed at those New Year’s resolutions to save money and eat better.

The problem is, dried beans scare home cooks. They require forethought because most recipes call for soaking them overnight. Plus, there’s a lot of conflicting advice. To soak or not to soak? When to add salt? To cook in the soaking liquid or start with fresh water?

We contacted experts to sort through confusion: Nancy Harmon Jenkins, author of half a dozen cookbooks focused on Mediterranean cuisine; Megan Lambert, a senior instructor at Johnson & Wales University in Charlotte, N.C.; and Steve Sando, owner of Rancho Gordo, an heirloom bean company based in Napa, Calif.

2 COOKING METHODS

If you are a home cook who plans ahead, you should soak the beans ahead of time. Place the beans in a pot covered by 3 inches of water, and let sit for 6-8 hours. The next day, bring the beans to an initial boil and then turn down to a simmer. Depending upon the age and type of bean, it can take an hour and a half or longer to cook the beans. You may have to add water from time to time if the beans absorb it all. Do not salt the beans until they are tender because salt can turn out mealy beans instead of creamy ones. (Chick peas and runner beans need to be soaked.)

If you are a procrastinator, beans may need to be a weekend meal or one enjoyed on a day when you are working from home. Or you can make a basic pot of beans one day to use in a recipe the next day.

Sando suggests a method from Russ Parsons, food editor at the Los Angeles Times. Place 1 pound of beans and 6 cups of water in a Dutch oven and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, put a lid on the pot and place it in a 350-degree oven. Cook until the beans are done, 1 to 2 hours; you want a tender bean, but dried beans produce a firmer end result than canned. The bean’s skin can split, but you don’t want the beans to be disintegrating.

Add 1 teaspoon of salt halfway through the cooking time. Parsons swears the beans taste better this way.

Consider doubling the beans that you need for a recipe and freezing half. That way you have them on hand to make soups, baked beans, salads, or purees to spread on toasted bread.

CONSIDER THE SLOW COOKER

Lambert, whose husband is Mexican, often cooks black beans at home. She soaks the beans overnight and then brings them to a boil. She then transfers the beans and their cooking liquid to a slow cooker, adding a chopped onion, a bit of lard and some epazote, a Mexican herb that some believe lessens beans’ gas-inducing effects.

Epazote can be bought fresh at Latin groceries or dried at Penzey’s stores or online, penzeys.com

SEASONING OPTIONS

There are so many ways to season a basic pot of beans. Use salt pork, side meat or a smoked turkey leg. Use sauteed diced celery, onion and carrot. (This is Sando’s recommended method with heirloom beans.) Use quartered onion, bay leaves and black peppercorns. Use garlic, sage and rosemary. For more ideas, check out the variations of Jenkins’ basic Tuscan beans.

THE PROBLEM OF GAS

There is debate among our experts about how to lessen the gassy effects of eating beans. Some cooks insist on dumping the soaking liquid for this reason. But Sando and others insist it does not matter. The only remedy is to get your digestive system used to eating beans. Or as Sando says: “The secret is to eat more beans.”

WHERE TO BUY

Buy beans where the turnover is frequent so you won’t end up with old beans.

Heirloom bean sellers like Sando’s Rancho Gordo guarantee that the dried beans are fresher. Order online at ranchogordo.com or Zursun Idaho Heirloom Beans (zursunbeans.com). One interesting tidbit from Sando: his business was up almost 35 percent last year. “In this economy, that’s wild,” said Sando, who beans sell for a premium at $5.50 for a pound. It appears dried heirloom beans may be becoming more mainstream.

TUSCAN BEANS WITH OLIVE OIL AND AROMATICS

This dish could be a main dish with bread and a salad or a side dish to grilled chicken breast, pork chop or steak. Dried cannellini beans can be found at Whole Foods but check cooperative grocery stores and specialty grocery stores. From “The New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook,” by Nancy Harmon Jenkins (Bantam Dell, 2009).

1 ½ cups dried white beans, such as cannellini, soaked overnight and drained

Any or all of the following aromatics: 1 small onion, quartered; 1 garlic clove, lightly crushed; 4 or 5 sage leaves; 2 bay leaves; 2 bay leaves; 12 black peppercorns; 1 small dried hot red chili

¼ cup best-quality extra-virgin olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black or white pepper

1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley

Set beans in a saucepan and add 3 ½ cups water and any or all of the aromatics. Do not add salt. Bring water to a boil, turn the heat down, cover the beans and simmer gently for 30 minutes to 1 ½ hours, adding boiling water from time to time if necessary to keep the beans from scorching. Be attentive; if the water gets low, the beans will scorch very quickly. Cooking time depends on the size and age of the beans, which is hard to assess. At the end of 30 minutes, start testing the beans to judge how tender they are and continue testing periodically until the beans are done. They should be very tender but not falling apart.

Remove beans from the heat and drain them, reserving the cooking liquid. Discard the aromatics used in cooking the beans. At this point, if you wish, remove about ½ to ¾ cup cooked beans and crush them gently, using a fork, in about ½ cup of the reserved cooking liquid. Then stir in the crushed beans with the whole cooked beans. Add more cooking liquid if you wish to reach the desired consistency. Or leave all the beans whole and add ½ cup or more of the reserved cooking liquid.

Add olive oil to the beans while hot and stir to coat the beans well. Dress them with one of the combinations or devise your own:

1 garlic clove, minced, and 6 scallions, both white and green parts, sliced on the diagonal.

A little chopped raw onion and finely slivered fresh green chilies.

The juice of ½ lemon along with ½ teaspoon ground cumin and chopped fresh hot red chilies or a pinch of hot red pepper flakes.

Finely minced fresh green herbs — basil, dill, fennel tops, chervil, sage, lovage, borage or others.

Taste and add salt and freshly ground black or white pepper after dressing the beans. Whatever the flavors or garnishes, however, the beans should be sprinkled with minced parsley before serving. Serve hot or at room temperature.

Yield: 6-8 servings

CHICK PEA STEW

This Turkish dish has a lot of ingredients but it’s easy to cook and delicious. Drained yogurt is made by draining the yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined strainer for several hours. This dish keeps well for a few days in the refrigerator and benefits from being made ahead. From “Mediterranean Harvest: Vegetarian Recipes from the World’s Healthiest Cuisine,” by Martha Rose Shulman (Rodale, 2007).

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 onions, sliced

4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin seeds, crushed

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, crushed

1 teaspoon brown sugar or 2 teaspoons pomegranate molasses

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar, sherry vinegar, or lemon juice

4 tomatoes, peeled and chopped; or 1 (14-ounce) can of tomatoes, drained and chopped

½ teaspoon Aleppo pepper, or ¼ teaspoon sweet paprika and 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

4 ounces leaf spinach

½ pound dried chick peas, cooked and drained; or 2 (15-ounce) cans chick peas, rinsed and drained

Salt

¼ cup chopped fresh herbs, preferably a mix of flat-leaf parsley, dill and mint

Lemon wedges

Drained yogurt (see headnote)

Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and add onions. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes, and add garlic, cumin and fennel seeds. Cook until onion has colored slightly, 5 to 8 minutes. Add sugar and stir together for a minute, then stir in the vinegar, tomatoes and Aleppo pepper or substitutions. Cook, stirring, until the tomatoes have cooked down a bit, about 10 minutes.

Stir in spinach, chick peas and about 1 teaspoon salt. Add enough water so the dish can simmer. Simmer uncovered over medium heat, stirring often, about 20 to 25 minutes. The stew should be saucy but not watery. Add salt to taste and stir in the herbs. Serve with lemon wedges and yogurt.

Yield: 4 servings

DOWN-EAST BAKED BEANS

Adapted from “Serious Pig: An American Cook in Search of His Roots,” by John Thorne with Matt Lewis Thorne (North Pointe Press, 1996).

1 pound (2 cups) Maine yellow-eye beans (acceptable substitutes: Great Northern or white navy beans)

¼ pound salt pork

½ cup dark, full-flavored molasses

2 tablespoons dark rum

1 teaspoon mustard powder

Salt and pepper to taste

Pick over the beans, removing any debris or pebbles. Place beans in a nonreactive pot, cover by 3 inches of water and let sit for 6 to 8 hours.

Place beans and what remains of soaking liquid into a large pot, adding more water if necessary to ensure the beans are covered. Bring this to a simmer, and after 15 minutes, check every 5 minutes until a sharp breath will split the skin of a bean. Then drain the beans into a colander, sitting on top of a bowl to catch the cooking liquid. Return cooking liquid to pot and let simmer on the stove while preparing beans for baking.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Cut salt pork into bite-sized pieces and pour boiling water over to cover well. Drain after several minutes, discarding the liquid. Mix the salt-pork pieces into the prepared beans and pour them together in a 2-quart bean pot. Stir in the molasses and rum. Dissolve mustard powder in a bit of water and mixt this in well. Add seasoning to taste, starting with about ½ teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Pour over just enough of the simmering bean liquid to be visible through the beans.

Turn off the heat under the pot of simmering bean liquid. Reserve to add to baked beans as needed.

Cover baked bean pot and put in the oven. Bake beans for 5 hours, tasting occasionally, noting texture and seasoning, and adding more of the remaining bean liquid — or else water — as necessary. When beans are soft and succulent, stir them well, uncover and bake ½ hour more to thicken the liquid into sauce.

Yield: 4-6 servings

CARIBBEAN BLACK BEAN SOUP WITH ROASTED GARLIC AND TOMATOES

Follow general instructions on cooking the black beans, reserving beans and broth to add to this soup. Adapted from “Heirloom Beans,” by Steve Sandoz and Vanessa Barrington (Chronicle Books, 2008).

6 garlic cloves, unpeeled

Olive oil

4 whole fresh or canned plum tomatoes, with juice

Salt

½ pound black valentine or black beans with cooking liquid

½ medium yellow or white onion, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

1 medium carrot, peeled and chopped

1 ½ teaspoons cumin seeds, toasted and ground

1 teaspoon dried oregano

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 cups chicken or vegetable broth

Freshly ground pepper

Sour cream, optional garnish

1 avocado, pitted, peeled and sliced, optional garnish

Fresh cilantro leaves, optional garnish

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Put garlic cloves on a sheet of aluminum foil, drizzle with olive oil and wrap in foil. Put tomatoes in a baking dish. (If using fresh tomatoes, cut them in half and put them cut side down in the dish.) Season with salt and drizzle with olive oil. Roast the tomatoes and garlic in the oven until soft, fragrant and brown, about 20 minutes.

Place beans and their broth in a soup pot and warm over low heat.

Warm 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, chili and carrot and sauté until fragrant and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes.

Add onion mixture, cumin, oregano, cayenne and chicken or vegetable broth to the beans.

Peel roasted garlic cloves. Chop garlic cloves and tomatoes coarsely and add to the beans. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Bring soup to a simmer over medium-low heat and cook till the vegetables are soft and the flavors are blended, about 15 minutes. Let soup cool slightly.

Transfer about half the soup to a blender. Blend until smooth. Return to the soup to the pot, stir and adjust the seasoning.

Ladle soup into warm bowls and garnish with sour cream, avocado slices and cilantro, if desired.

Yield: 6-8 servings

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'So could I survive a week without croissants and four bottles of Merlot?' How Jenni Murray is already shedding the pounds on the 2-day diet