I got back to school at around noon today, just in time to join my class for the afternoon practicum on sauces.

I’m not sure about you, but I’ve never really been one to experiment much with sauces. Besides pasta toppings and maybe something on a special dish, I don’t usually give them a second thought. Today, though, we made a wide variety of sauces that could change just about any dish dramatically.

The first thing I worked on was an almond sauce, made with soaked blanched almonds, shallots reduced in white wine, canola and olive oils, vegetable stock and an entire head of roasted garlic.

I didn’t try any of the finished products today (I’m still nervous to subject my stomach to things like umeboshi paste and pureed bell peppers), but the general consensus was that this was a garlic sauce, not an almond one. I could tell that just by the smell of it- definitely potent!

I also worked on a parsley-pumpkinseed pesto, which eventually went atop udon noodles.

There are tons of variations on pesto (you can use just about any herb and nut/seed imaginable), but I’d never considered parsley as an option for it. It smelled very…green, to say the least, but seemed to go over well with the rest of the class.

Speaking of pestos, there were two other varieties, as well: a classic basil-pinenut mix, and a mint-pistachio one that went unpictured.

The pestos were popular, but not the udon noodles. I’m not a fan, either- they just taste so overpowering to me!

Other sauces included yellow curry (far left) and yellow bell pepper coulis (far right), with rice for tasting:

A creamy beurre blanc, with heavy cream and three sticks of butter (probably one of the most stereotypically “unhealthy” dishes we’ll make in this program):

A bright red carrot-beet sauce, which I was told tasted like tomato sauce (alongside the unmixed parsley pesto):

A leek-asparagus coulis and a chimichurri sauce,

The latter of which was drizzled over grilled seitan skewers.

A red pepper coulis and a slightly over-kuzu’ed (kuzu is a thickening agent) mushroom sauce that turned a bit gelatinous:

And two variations on a corn hollandaise, both with and without butter.

Though it was kind of a bummer not to try everything, I’m glad I erred on the safe side and stuck to some bland Cheerios and a banana as an afternoon snack. My appetite isn’t quite back yet, so I don’t want to mess with it too much. Tomorrow we’re covering poultry, which I’m actually excited for…I’ve never tried cooking chicken by myself before, so I’m eager to learn!

How frequently do you use sauces in your cooking? And what’s your all-time favorite type of sauce? Um…does chocolate sauce count?

Happy Wednesday, everyone!

I’m feeling about 75% back to normal, so I’m heading back into the city this morning for school. My appetite still hasn’t returned and I’m a little under the weather, but I’m getting antsy to be busy and healthy again!

Monday was spent mostly laying in bed, chugging water and sleeping. By yesterday I felt okay enough to eat something…meaning dry toast, dry Cheerios, an apple and soup. Goin’ crazy over here.

I also re-read four trashy teen novels from a series I loved in high school that didn’t require too much concentration or comprehension:

C’mon, I know someone else out there read The A-List. It was right up there with Gossip Girl. (I had a horrible headache from being dehydrated, so watching TV or computer time was out of the question.)

And spent lots of time being smothered by this girl:

Her affection gets kind of frustrating when your stomach hurts and all she wants to do is lay on it. It’s a good thing she’s cute…

So, yes, I’m glad to be almost back to normal. I honestly can’t remember the last time I was this sick…hopefully the next time doesn’t happen until this is a distant memory, too.

* * *

Anyway, there’s something else I wanted to talk to you guys about this morning: agave nectar.

A few weeks ago in school, we had a sugar lecture in which we learned about various forms of sweeteners and their pros, cons and effects on the body. A lot of the stuff I was familiar with (high-fructose corn syrup is easily the worst; maple syrup and honey are some of the best options; all sugar, natural or not, should be used in moderation), but one thing that really surprised me was the instructor’s take on agave nectar as a sweetener.

Though it’s touted as a total health food with a low glycemic index, it turns out that more and more doctors and nutritionists are shying away from the stuff, due to more extensive research coming out about it. Apparently, the extraction of agave nectar from the agave plant (the same plant tequila comes from) is far more processed than the companies would have you think, and the glycemic effects are exaggerated (which makes sense, since I’ve always found agave incredibly sweet for a low-glycemic product). A classmate sent me a link to this article, which I thought was worth sharing:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mercola/agave-this-sweetener-is-f_b_537936.html

Now if you read my blog frequently it’s probably pretty clear that I’m not afraid of sugar, nor do I think it’s the devil. However, I’m wary of foods that tout themselves as “healthy” when they’re really not. If you want some sugar, eat some sugar- just don’t think you’re doing yourself wonders in choosing one kind of it over another. I’m taking this article with a grain of salt, because I do believe there’s more to this issue than one author could cover, but I do think it’s unfair for industries to portray their food as something different than it is. The average consumer isn’t going to have the time to research every ingredient…heck, I’m interested in this stuff and I don’t even do in-depth research all that often. I’m curious to hear what you all think about this…

Have you heard any of the adverse research about agave nectar? What is your sweetener of choice?

Hey everyone! Sorry to go all MIA. I just wanted to pop in to tell you all that I came down with a horrible stomach bug on Sunday night and have been doing nothing but sleeping for the past 36 hours. Hopefully I’ll be better by tonight or tomorrow at the latest- enjoy the week for me!