Feeling your ingredients

I’m wondering whether you are like me – in using ingredients, mostly vegetables and fruits, I am fortunate to be able to take time to wash and prepare them using my fingers as much as I can, although I depend on well sharpened knife most of the time at the end.

For example, in “ricing” cauliflower, I break up florets by separating them into tiny pieces by finger to a desired size. Broccolis, Brussel sprouts, asparagus, kales, and other vegetables receive a similar treatment. In using yellow mung bean sprouts for Korean inspired dishes, after washing, I pluck off ends one by one, which can be quite time consuming, and yet soothing.

This all may sound cumbersome and a waste of time. Sometimes you can do that only partially. Doing so allows me to closely observe what I plan to use, gauge its energy level, take out undesirable parts, and decide how we use it. Take kale – if what I have is several days old and feels tortured and tired, instead of using it for a salad, I may opt to mix with other vegetable in a cooked dish. Or, if it’s fresh enough for a salad, I can decide how long I’d want to “massage” it after starting. Because most of us do not live close to the source nor can afford, timewise, to go shopping every day to pick out fresh ingredients, it’s helpful to understand the energy level and adapt different approaches suitable for individual ingredients.