Food Sources: Nutrition director dishes on scratch cooking

Very few communities recommend their local hospital cafeteria as the best place to eat. But we do, thanks to Pat McCoy - aka "The Real McCoy" - director of nutrition services at Cloquet Community Memorial Hospital, and her team's imaginative scratch cooking.

Yesterday's lunch was a kale, strawberry and tomato salad topped with organic chicken and a flavorful vinaigrette. All of it was sourced locally.

The new fall menu begins at the hospital right after Labor Day, and will introduce a bowl bar of grain blends from InHarvest of Bemidji, and toppings of locally sourced vegetables and meat. Take a friend to lunch there soon.

This is the first year the Food Farm has brought produce to CMH for its staff, visitors, volunteers and patients. McCoy gives a cooking demonstration with samples so folks can learn new ways to cook the wide array of vegetables. And she incorporates the produce into the menus for the hospital and nursing home patients' menus, as well as the cafeteria.

"We are so fortunate here - our access to organic food is amazing," McCoy said. "Cooking doesn't have to be hard or time-consuming. We just have to get back to cooking."

McCoy is also teaching a class called "Your Healing Kitchen" at the Cloquet Public Library. She provides ideas, recipes and techniques for "plant forward eating" - not excluding animal protein, but not placing it at the center of the plate. McCoy believes the most powerful approaches for health, longevity and disease prevention are found right in your own kitchen. Her classes always include ideas flowing from what's in season, and her presentations dispel myths about cooking and offer fun glimpses into what's behind the scenes of cooking shows.

The Sept. 19 class will focus on preservation - fermentation, dehydration, salt preservation - aimed at broadening our skills beyond canning. On Oct. 17, Pat will teach how to make scratch soups and broths, including a healing broth for those with chronic illnesses or undergoing treatments such as chemotherapy. On Nov. 21 she'll teach a holiday class, with recipes and ideas for everything from gifts to novel approaches to celebrations. More information is available at

http://www.cloquetlibrary.org.

McCoy has also worked with the Cloquet Public Library on the design of their planned teaching kitchen, offering input to make it practical, functional and cost-

effective. Watch this space for information on the kitchen shower McCoy is planning. She and a fun-loving group are planning a party to equip the new teaching kitchen. You'll receive tastes of the best food and drink in exchange for your shower gift.

A huge inspiration for the nutrition services director was the Menus of Change program provided by Harvard University's school of public health and the Culinary Institute of America. She began learning how to reduce the risk of disease by improving dietary choices. She is also an advocate of practicing mindful eating.

Flavor is supreme in McCoy's approach. Suvir Saran, the author of "Indian Home Cooking" and "American Masala," introduced McCoy's taste buds to the wonders of cumin, coriander, cardamom and curry leaves, and her imagination began marrying those flavors to create American dishes that are full of complex tastes, yet somehow familiar and easy enough to cook for weeknight suppers.

The Indian word "masala" has two meanings that speak to McCoy – the first is toasting, grinding, infusing, or using fresh spices to layer flavors in simple but profound ways. The second meaning is the excitement and liveliness that comes from a houseful of friends and family.

McCoy is always thinking about how to brighten the flavors in both new and familiar dishes. Here are a few resources she's following now: J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, Milk Street, The Food Lab and Food52. And she is devoted to "The Flavor Bible" by Andrew Dornenburg and Karen Page.

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Here is a recipe from Pat's recent class at the Cloquet Public Library.

Kale quinoa hash browns

Melt in skillet:

1 tablespoon canola oil

2 teaspoons butter

Add:

1 cup fresh or frozen hash browns

¼ cup cooked quinoa

¼ cup finely chopped kale

Press mixture to compact in skillet.

Season with salt and pepper.

Heat on medium heat until golden brown, approximately 10 minutes.

Turn and heat 5 minutes.

Transfer to plate, garnish with seasonal vegetables and fried egg.

Sprinkle with mushroom umami.