News — Benefits of Maine seaweeds

I love cookbooks- they are mini vacations.  In fact, while traveling I try to buy a regional cookbook as my trip souvenir.  I love to read about how someone discovered the joy of food, different ways to cook and new ingredients or twists on old standards.  Here are some of my favorite cookbooks.

The Irish Seaweed Kitchen is my all time favorite cookbook.  I began my seaweed journey because I was looking for a natural solution to a chronically itchy scalp and seaweed gives me lasting relief.  But then I wanted to know all about seaweed.  Prannie Rhatigan’s book really opened my eyes and the photos are stunning.  She covers everything seaweed from starters, to main dishes but for me the revelation of using seaweeds in baked goods, especially paired with chocolates really changed my baking.  My book is well loved now and as familiar as an old friend.

A newer book I really like is The CSA Cookbook- “No-waste recipes for cooking your way through a community supported agriculture box, farmer’s market or backyard bounty.”  There are so many recipes that tell you to “save the stems for another use” and you have no idea what the other use is.  Well, author Linda Ly has recipes for “other uses”.   How about kale stem pesto?  Or chard stalk humus?  The most interesting use of ingredients has to be using tomato leaves in pesto and sauce.  According to Linda, the leaves, “add another dimension, making it richer, more fragrant and more tomato-y”  I can’t wait to start experimenting.

A great book for busy cooks is Food That Works.  Author Malia Dell has put together a comprehensive guide for busy people who want to eat good food and cut down on take out meals.  “Food That Works is a cookbook-guidebook hybrid that eases you into eating more meals from home and fewer meals out. It provides you with weekly meal plans to fill your calendar with wholesome, fresh dishes you already know and love (burgers, tacos, chili, BBQ chicken, and so on). “  Have you ever seen the meals in jars with beautiful layers?  Well, this cookbook will explain the method and before you know it you will be eating good food and feeling better.  

My old favorite is The Settlement Cookbook- it has lasted longer than my marriage.  My sister gave it to me over 30 years ago.  It is so loved and my favorite page- brownies is covered with chocolate smears.  

Do you have a favorite cookbook?

Links-

http://irishseaweedkitchen.ie/

https://vimeo.com/123280350

http://foodthatworks.info/

There’s sweet, salty, bitter, sour and umami.  Umami is the earthy robust taste sensation that became official in 2000.  Identified in 1909 by Japanese chemist, Kikunae Ikeda, the translation means roughly “delicious taste”.  It’s a meaty, savory, deep taste and when you add umami to your cooking you add a robust depth.

Our umami taste begins with glutamate, which is an amino acid.  Seaweeds are very high in glutamate as well as fermented sauces like soy, miso and worcestershire.  Aging also brings out umami.   Aged cheeses, cured meats including bacon and prosciutto will bring a pop of flavor to whatever you are cooking.  The cool thing is you don’t need a lot of an umami rich ingredient to add complexity to whatever you are preparing.

Seaweeds are one of the best ways to get umami into your diet.  Maine produces all kinds of seaweeds from fresh to frozen to dried.  Maine is actually number one in the country for seaweed production and our seaweeds are valued worldwide for their quality and flavor.  It’s our cold, mineral rich waters that make our seaweeds so sought after.

One cold July day out on Gotts Island with the wood stove going we made a soup with a base of local seaweed.  It was simple, we just put a bunch of seaweed in our stockpot and fired up the wood stove.  After a few hours, we strained the broth and added some root vegetables.  The soup was thick, rich and yummy.  Just what we needed on a cold summer day.

If you want to try a little Umami flavor in your everyday cooking I recommend Dulse flakes.  Dulse is a slightly purple seaweed full of minerals, vitamins and those elusive trace elements.  The flakes resemble coarsely ground black pepper and you can simply sprinkle on whatever you want.  It will enhance pasta, rice and potato dishes and honestly no one will suspect you have boosted both nutrition and flavor.

I know this is going to sound a little radical but I love adding seaweeds, especially dulse flakes to anything I am baking but especially chocolate.  I like to make brownies from scratch but last spring after volunteering brownies for a meeting I realized I just didn’t have time.  I bought a mix and livened it up with the addition of a tablespoon of dulse flakes soaked in dark rum.  If it sounds a bit weird think of all the gourmet chocolate bars with sea salt added.  Trust me, it’s divine.  

If you want to learn more about umami and seaweeds here are some great websites

http://www.umamiinfo.com/

http://www.seaweedcouncil.org

If you are looking to add a bit of fun and adventure into your next happy hour- try seaweed.  Seaweed is gaining popularity in all sorts of dishes mainly for it's high nutritional content and earthy umami flavor but seaweed can also be found in alcohol.

I heard about Marshall Wharf's seaweed beer a few years ago and got very excited-  the idea of seaweed and beer!  Honestly, I'm not a big beer drink but their Sea Belt Scotch Ale is yummy.  It's a dark beer with some lovely ocean notes.

Whiskey is another way to try seaweed.  Celp from Scotland has a piece of seaweed floating in the bottle.  It's the Scottish version of a good tequila.  

And how about changing your Bloody Mary to  an Ocean Mary by adding a rim of seaweed flakes around the glass.  Seaweed salt is easy to make- mix equal parts of your favorite seaweed flakes with a nice sea salt.  For a spicy, slightly celery mix add a bit of Old Bay Seasoning.

To get your happy hour and the weekend started right- join our Plastic Free Friday Giveaway on FaceBook https://www.facebook.com/DulseandRugosa/

The roses are starting to bloom on the mainland.  They will be a little later out on Gotts Island and this is always such a sweet time of year.

At  Dulse & Rugosa we use some form of rose in just about every product we make, but some products are especially rich in Maine roses.  The roses we use are the Rugosa Rose.  While not native to Maine and perhaps like the beloved lupine considered invasive, the "beach rose" is part of the seashore in Maine. Starting with the scented petals of deep pink and white by fall the rose hips provide much needed Vitamin C for anyone facing a Maine winter.  Rose hips are nutritious and delicious in teas and jams.

One major benefit of roses is their scent.  It is such a natural, sweet but not cloying scent and no matter the weather evokes a sunny day by the ocean.  Carly has created a rose petal rich roll on perfume oil designed to help calm and relieve tension.  The base is Calendula infused sweet almond oil enriched with lavender and peppermint essential oils and sweetened with rose and chamomile petals.  One of the benefits of being "skincare chefs" is mixing up wholesome goodies for your skin.  Headache oil is aromatherapy for you, not the room. 

Our Island Face Scrub is also rich in handpicked Maine island roses. Our gentle face scrub is beneficial to all skin types but especially helpful for breakouts. Roses have an anti-bacterial property that can help calm irritated skin.  When you combine the power of rose petals with the magic of Maine seaweeds you have a gentle yet effective combination of natural ingredients to keep your face clear and happy.  Natural ingredients are a more effective and safer way to fight pimples then using weird chemical that have the potential to be harmful.

Another way we utilize the benefits of rose petals in in our Rose Witch Hazel.  This is an infusion of rose petals into witch hazel and the results are divine with a heavenly scent.  Witch hazel is another wonderful product for acne prone skin.  Try our Rose Petal Witch Hazel to spot treat an annoying pimple, as a face toner after a hot, sticky day or dab on irritated skin.  

Our Rose Petal Witch Hazel is the base for our Rose Petal Creme which is a great creme for faces that need a bit of moisture but not too much.  It's light, creamy with a dreamy rose scent.  

Treat yourself and your skin to the gift of rose petals.

As always, we want to thank you for supporting our small business.  Reading our blog, following us on social media and especially purchasing our products keeps our small business in business.