Veronica's Kitchen Day 19: Good Fats

She never, ever used margarine. Olive oil was her best friend. And unlike Chef Paula Deen, if it called for butter, (and as much as she liked it), she used it moderately.

Veronica stayed as authentic as possible in her cooking, never sacrificing taste for calorie.  'Artificial', 'substitute', 'low-fat', 'non-fat', were rarely part of her language. And even when she did modify fat intake (for her own health), she did not let the "unglamorous" side of cooking obscure the exciting colors, textures, and palates she wanted to impart on those she fed. 

Fats and carbs were often topics of debate in our grandmother's kitchen. We'd argue about what is good, and how much is too much.  She'd consult the media on the latest trends, but mostly she'd take the advice of close friends. One year it was the wonders of canola oil. The next, grapeseed was all the rage. And then, of course, butter....well, there was nothing quite like the taste of butter.

In her later years, she shared her kitchen space more frequently with my mom.  Together they'd come up with new, healthy alternatives. One example was clarified butter(or ghee). This is butter fat that has been separated from its milk solids and water, making it much safer to cook at high levels of heat. Simple to make on your own. Just melt butter, and skim off all milk solids(white foamy layer that rises to the surface). Its properties are said to be healthier, and its fragrance just as delicious as regular butter.

At a cooking class I took in Paris, we were taught to use clarified butter for sautéing vegetables and cooking fish, because of its generally healthier properties. The results are lovely. But as grandma might have said, just use it in moderation!