Ubuntu

After reading The Omnivore's Dilemma, and getting re-energized about eating more plant-based meals, there is no better place to go than Ubuntu in Napa.  They have the most delicious, most creative, and most visually beautiful vegetarian food that I have ever eaten.

I went for lunch with my friends Sue and Stephanie last weekend. It's the perfect place to share dishes, and to let the server choose for you.  We started with the most gorgeous soup I've ever seen - a chilled cantaloupe soup.  Turns out it tasted even better than it looked, and I was not sure that was possible.

The bowl arrived with fresh herbs, edible flowers, pickled radish and lime peanuts.  Then our server poured a liquid of  "clarified cantaloupe" over the entire dish.  Fantastic!  And who the heck thought of clarified cantaloupe??  I googled it and found just one listing that looked like waaaay too much work.  So glad the folks at Ubuntu aren't as lazy as I am.

Next we were given an assorted beet salad with preserved lime, pistachios, squash, mint, more edible flowers and the tastiest little morsels of "torn potatoes", like little pillows.

Next we had the only thing on the menu that I would have passed on; it was a chickpeas dish in a wonderful romesco sauce with a poached egg on top.  I'm not a fan of gooey eggs that leak out onto my food, but Sue and Steph like poached eggs so we didn't exclude it when we told our server to bring us whatever she suggested.  It was delicious, as I easily ate my way around the egg.

Our last savory dish was focaccia with truffled pecorino, purple haze carrots, radishes, fennel and a sweet puree off apricot.  Although the dishes are small, it manages to completely satisfy and, amazingly, there was no fighting over the last bite!

But don't forget about dessert...as you can imagine they are equally gorgeous and delicious.  We could have done fine with just one, but I couldn't decide between the meyer lemon cake or the apple tartlets, so we got both!  

 

Now we just needed to take a nice, long walk around downtown Napa.  Good food, good friends, good times... doesn't get much better than that! 

A Nice Reminder

I spent all day at the Santa Rosa farmers' market cooking three different squash recipes and then came home and taught a Thai cooking class tonight.  So I can't even bring myself to talk recipes right now.  But I will talk about eating.
I just finished reading The Omnivore's Dilemma by my favorite food detective, Michael Pollan.  I can't believe it took me this long to read it.  I read Food Rules more than a year ago and saw him speak on the book tour (I highly recommend searching his lectures out on YouTube AND reading the book, of course).  Truth be told, Food Rules can be read in about 20 minutes  - I like that in a book!  I'm not ashamed to say that's probably why I read that one before his others.

Generally when someone recommends a book to me, I ask, "Does someone get killed in it? Cuz if not, I'm not reading it." ( I'm a biiiig murder mystery fan.).  Turns out there's plenty of killing in "The Omnivore's Dilemma."   Chickens, cows, pigs... and eventually us if we keep eating the way most Americans do.

When I saw Food, Inc. a couple years back, I gave up eating any animals (I also recommend seeing that movie).  It lasted about 6 months. I wasn't good at being a vegetarian; there's a lot of combinations of food to consider to give you the right amount of protein, and additions of certain foods to boost your nutrition intake, and I was probably a little too lazy to take all that on suddenly, without a maybe  little research or thought.  But I tried.  I found myself, however, feeling really tired.  So I decided that my body needed some animal protein, and I believe people are built to need different amounts and kinds of protein, from none to a lot (Hi ,Mom).   I decided I would eat organic chicken from time to time, and salmon every once in a while, but eat predominantly plant based-whole grain meals.  And it seems to work for me.

I gave up beef and pork (oh, how I miss you, sausage!),  and I still maintain that, with the exception of a secret deal I made with prosciutto that if someone make me an appetizer with it, I'd have to eat it at the risk of appearing rude (snicker snicker).  Technically I also gave up lamb, but I never ate lamb anyway, so big whoop.

Reading Omnivore's Dilemma  was a great reminder of what I believe to be true about what I eat and how it affects my health.   Even more than that, I was reminded about the power I have to "vote with my fork," to support the local farms that I am so fortunate to live amongst, and to hopefully encourage others to think, learn and act in a way that brings us all to a healthier way of life.

If you haven't read it, please get in your car and hit the library right now (unless it's not open yet).  And if you read it more than a  couple years ago, ask yourself if you could use a little reminder, and go check it out again.  It worth the time.

Now I'm starting In Defense of Food, also by Pollan...stay tuned.  And I'll try to not get too "preachy."

Look at me....I'm a farmer!

My first two potaotoes!  I'm such a proud parent!

I am notoriously bad at keeping anything alive besides myself and my dog Maxx.  Seriously.  I had a fake ficus years ago and I came home one day to find a dropped leaf  on the carpet.  But last year I managed to successfully grow 2 tomato plants, so I was feeling a little cocky and decided to try potatoes along with tomatoes this year.  I was cleaning out my pantry and found a bunch of neglected red potatoes, covered in "eyes".  So into the ground they went and two months later, I dug up my first two beauties.

As a kid I used to eat fruit and veggies from my grandparents' backyard.  Still to this day I can't find an orange in any store that is as perfectly sweet and juicy as the oranges off my grandpere's tree.  You know that the produce you buy from local farms are just better tasting than anything you could ever buy in a store.  As it turns out they are generally more nutritious, too.  But the produce you get from right outside your back door is even better than those at the farmers' market.  I think it's the added flavor of pride!

I decided to prepare the potatoes as simply as possible.  I heated some olive oil in a cast iron skillet and added a large clove of garlic, sliced in half.  Over medium heat the garlic will infuse the oil with is wonderful flavor.  I cut the potatoes into bite-sized pieces and popped them in the hot oil.  After about 8-10 minutes the potatoes were cooked through and crispy on the outside.  A little pinch of salt and pepper, and call it a day.  I wanted to taste the potato, not muddle it with a bunch of other flavors.  And they were delicious!  The flavor was not overwhelmingly different from the ones I normally buy, but there was a noticeable richer flavor to them.  Again, maybe it was the pride.

I decided to continue with my "simple prep" concept and scramble some eggs to go with my potatoes.  In  the same cast iron skillet, I added a little pat of butter (don't be afraid of butter, just respect it) and tossed in some grape tomatoes that I halved. I love pan roasting tomatoes this time of year; they are so sweet and juicy, and after a few minutes in a hot skillet, their skin starts to burst and they soften to perfection. I whisked 2 eggs with a dash of milk, salt & pepper and poured it into the hot pan.  Turn the heat to low and add a little sprinkling of sharp cheddar and in a couple minutes your fluffy eggs are ready.  I topped the potatoes with the eggs. sprinkled some chopped chives and cut myself a crusty pieces of French bread.... this is a good way to start the day.  It's simple.  It's easy.  It healthy.  And best of all, it is super delish because it is all fresh and seasonal....