When I was younger, I thought of pureed foods as baby foods and food for the elderly. Now I look at them and see them as smooth and luxurious. I have tried making them before but they never look like they do on the cooking shows. Imagine that. LOL. When I see them on cooking shows, they look so smooth and luxurious and I can only imagine how good they taste and feel. As I have been reading about and listening to chefs talk about them, I have been struck by a couple of simple steps which make all the difference.
One is to begin by peelings and/or washing your produce. This made me laugh, as this month the Pampered Chef guest special is your choice of serrated or vegetable peeler. Having a good vegetable and/or serrated peeler can be invaluable. I love serrated peelers for fruits and vegetables with hard to remove skins like kiwi, peaches, tomatoes, mangoes, etc. Having the right tools to begin is important.
The second step I learned is to steam your produce for 12-15 minutes. The best purees are from fruits and vegetables that soften as you cook them. Having a steamer insert for your pot is important. You can cook them without a steamer; however, the steamer makes it easier to get the produce in and out of the water.
The third step is to work in batches. Everyone has talked about pureeing your food in small batches in the blender or food processor and then running your puree through a food mill or tamis. Doing so removes all the parts of the puree which will affect the smoothness. Voila! You should have a smooth and luxurious puree, one that would feed your soul when you eat it.
As I have been thinking about this process, I came to realize it is kind of like me and my life. There are so many times I have gone through a transformation in my life where I have had to wash off the impurities of life. I am sure there were times the Ultimate could have used a serrated peeler to remove some of the hard to remove parts of my life and heart. I know I have had moments when I have been steamed and gone though high pressure situations. I have also consented to being run through a spiritual tamis to remove those things which would limit my ability to be of service.
Knowing what I have gone through in my own journey has made me appreciate what my fruits and vegetables go through to be transformed into a puree that feeds my soul.