Make a Diference

OK, so In Defense of Food turns out to be a little harder to get through than The Omnivore's Dilemma.  Maybe I need the young readers edition from here on out!  You know it's bad when you're only on page 60 when you get the reminder email from the library telling you that the book is due.  But I renewed it and I will carry on...

Although I haven't been reading much, I have been teaching a lot of cooking classes lately and love sharing info about simple changes that people can make to eat and be healthier.  During this time I've also, like many of us, been watching the car crash that has been the debt ceiling debate.  I was struck by one report about how our growing health care costs are crippling our country.  It can't be denied.  We are becoming more and more unhealthy, and I firmly believe our food - the kind and the amount that we eat- is at the root of it all.  So I've put together a few of my simple changes:

1) Eat real food...not processed, not packaged.  If it doesn't have a bar code, a list of ingredients and the dreaded "food label, it is a whole food.  Think vegetables and fruit.  Eat those up!
2) Get rid of the white stuff...white rice, "enriched" pasta, white bread, white sugar...all of that stuff. Your  nanna was right when she said, "The white the bread, the quicker your dead.."
3) Dump the soda. And don't be fooled by flavored water; make your own. Fill a pitcher with water and add lemon and cucumber slices to it...drink that instead.  Nothing unnatural about it.  Every time I hear someone complain about having a headache or feeling tired, I ask when they last had a glass of water.  The answer is usually hours ago or not at all.

We'll stop there.  It's just three simple things to try.  I've got a lot more, but let's just try those three for now.  Make a commitment to give it a go for a week, and see how you feel.  I think you'll be surprised at how easy it is and how much better you'll feel.  I have a friend who adopted these ideas and after a few months, her blood pressure was back to normal after 5 years of being in the dangerously high range.

We may not balance the budget with these 3 rules, but it's a start at being healthier.  And that is just as important to me.....

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....

Figs Are Here!

I've been doing cooking demos at a few farmers' markets in the area lately, and the offering has been, well, little boring, to be honest.  I was feeling somewhat defeated last weekend when two of the veggies I intended to be the "star" of two different recipes were no longer available - fava beans and asparagus.  Our weather has been so wack-a-doo that it's hard to depend on anything besides kale, salad greens and onions.

So I'm walking around feeling uninspired.  Then I saw the arrival of summer squash and got a quick little pick-me-up.  The zucchini and caserta squash would make nice substitutes for the fava beans and asparagus as it turned out.  But I got a kind of school girl silliness when I spied....figs.

Finally, something truly new and interesting!  I'm sure I've mentioned it before, I like to eat as seasonally as I can.  So I've waited for figs for a looong time.  And I knew just what I wanted to do with them: fig tartlets and  fig and arugula pizza.  No, not on the same night!  But actually, that's not a terrible idea.

So here are my non-recipe recipes for my two favorite fig dishes....

Fig Tartlets Cut a sheet of puff pastry into equal squares, separate, place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and bake according to package instructions.  Remove from oven and cut each one in half separating top from bottom.  Place a tablespoon of goat cheese on the bottom, top with sliced figs and some arugula that you've tossed with lemon juice.  Place the top puff pastry piece and dig in!

Arugula and Fig Pizza
This is essentially the same deal as the tartlet, but on a Boboli bread shell.  Drizzle a little olive oil onto the bread shell, top with goat cheese and fig slices.  Cook 8-10 minutes according to package, remove from oven and top with arugula that has been tossed with lemon juice.  Add a little red pepper flakes if you like it a little spicy, like I do.

According to one of the farmers I talked to this past weekend, they won't be around for long, so go out this week and grab a bunch. 

What do they do for me?

Figs contain more fiber that any other fruit, so they will keep you satisfied and feeling full.

They help keep your blood sugar regulated.

They are a natural laxative.

They help control blood pressure.

They protect your skeletal system.

Hello Fava Bean

My sister took me to a book signing for Marie Simmons at Greens in the city.  Annie Somerville interpreted a few dishes from Annie's new vegetarian cookbook, Fast and Fresh Vegetarian.  One of the dishes was a creamy polenta with fava beans, English peas, and I forget what else - but it was fabulous!! I don't think I'd ever had a fava bean before and certainly had never cooked them ...Anthony Hopkins' Hannibal Lecter had made me completely uninterested.  When my sister said that she's never cooked them because "they're too much work," I heard a triple dog dare.

I was doing a cooking demo at the Sebastopol farmers' market the next weekend, so I asked one of the farmers that had fava beans, "I heard these are hard to deal with?"  He said, "yes."  Dang, could my sister be right?

Not giving up yet (sibling rivalry is great, isn't it?!), I approached another farmer later that week in Corte Madera.  When I said the same, "I hear these are hard to deal with," he quickly said "no."  And then he explained to me  that all I had to do was blanch them for a few minutes and the skins will easily break open and out comes the bean. Maybe late in the season the bean inside has a bit more coating to it and you would have to peel that off, but still, that doesn't seem like a lot of work to me.

I bought a bunch of beans and went home wondering what the heck to do with them.  Got to love Google.  After looking at a ton of recipes  (well, 4 or 5 is about my limit, really) I found an idea for a dip/spread and made a few adjustments to make my new Springtime friend....Fava Bean & Arugula Spread on Watermelon Radish:

By the way, watermelon radishes were new to me, too....but oh, how I love them .  Sooo pretty.

Oh yeah, and I win the triple dog dare.

Fava Bean & Arugula Spread                                                                             Makes 1 cup

1 pound fava beans

1 cup chopped arugula, divided

2 ounces goat cheese

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Zest and juice from one lemon

¼ teaspoon salt

Pinch cayenne

¼ cup chopped radish

·         Bring a large pot of water to boil and add fava beans.

·         Cook 3 minutes, then plunge into a bowl of ice water to stop cooking.

·         Shell the beans and place in a food processor along with ½ cup arugula, goat cheese, dill, lemon juice & zest, salt and cayenne.  Blend until smooth paste forms.

·         Place mixture in a bowl and fold in remaining ½ cup of arugula and chopped radishes.

·         Serve on radish slices. (crostini works, too, but I always try to keep it veg-based)

Pantry Pasta

Every once in a while my fridge and pantry get a little over-loaded.  So many recipes to test, so many dinner parties, so many cooking classes.  Next week I've got a lot of classes, so I need to make some room.  It's time to do a little "pantry cooking."  It's instinctive cooking at its best.  I just pull out what I've got and turn it into culinary magic.

Today it's Pantry Pasta.  I had some authentic Italian orrechiette.  It's so authentic that there's not a lick of English on the package.  I was able to at least figure out "12 minuti" for the cooking time, but the rest is lost on me.  I love these little pasta "ears."  They're nice and chewy, and the cup shape holds sauce beautifully.

When you cook pasta remember a few things:

1) Don't try to speed it up by using hot water from the tap; it leaches lead and other materials from the pipes.  Always use cold water and let it run a bit before putting it in your pot.

2) Use a large pot, much larger than you think you might need.  Pasta needs a lot of room to bounce around; that helps keep it from sticking and clumping.  Maybe this is where "go big or go home" comes from??

3) Your water should be salted generously - it should taste like the sea.  And always save some of the cooking liquid to help make a healthy sauce.  In this recipe I only used about a tablespoon of olive oil, 1/2 cup of cooking liquid and some spices to make the sauce.

4) The healthiest way to cook your pasta is just to al dente - so it still has a bite to it.  Pasta cooked this was, rather than boiled too long, provides you with a slower, even release of glucose into your bloodstream, which gives you longer, sustained energy.

So now for my non-recipe recipe....

Cook pasta according to directions, on the lighter side of cooking time.  While the pasta cooks, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet and add sliced onion and a few minced garlic cloves.   

When the onions are soft and starting to brown, add roasted red peppers and pepperoncini.

After a few minutes add chopped baby spinach, smoked paprika and red pepper flakes (I'm a spicy girl!  Not  to be confused with a Spice Girl.)

Stir just until the spinach wilts, only a minute or two.  When pasta is cooked, drain, reserving some of the cooking liquid and toss orrichietti with the vegetable mixture.  Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/4 - 1/2 cup pasta liquid.  Add shredded parmesan cheese and salt & pepper to taste.  Bellissimo!