Today's brunch was fun and wonderful. It's always so good to laugh with our friends. I'll be off-line for a week or so.
Happy Yule to all!
Monday, December 24, 2007
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Food gifts
Oh my stars and bells, where have I been? It's not as if I haven't been cooking. I just haven't been posting!
So - food for gifts. Do you like to get this? Do you like to give it? I'm partial to both! This year, I'm branching out: I'm giving away cute little bags of the pancake mix I invented that's loaded with many healthy whole grains. Amaranth, oat flour, brown rice flour, flaxseed meal... all kinds of things. It makes fluffy, nutty pancakes and waffles and probably nifty biscuits, too. Haven't tried that, yet.
I also ventured into rum cake territory. I ran into an ethical dilemma with this one. If you google "rum cake recipes" you get a million hits, most of them the old Bacardi rum cake recipe from the 60s. It's a very popular cake and I can't disagree: it's great!
But it uses a cake mix and instant vanilla pudding mix. And oh blessed Gaia, I can't do that! I'm sorry. I just can't. Those two things would load my beautiful cake with...with... you know.
I hate to cook with anything that comes with a 6-inch list of poly-syllabic ingredients only a chemist can read. And don't bother telling me that even broccoli has a long list of "poly-syllabic ingredients only a chemist can read." I know everything on the planet is made from basic chemistry.
It's not the same thing and you know it.
But I really wanted rum cake.
I can handle the cake mix part without any problem. I have tons of recipes for a basic yellow cake. Easy. But what did the pudding mix add? I had no idea and I didn't think it would do any good to check the box for ingredients. I doubt there's any Real Food in the stuff.
But I make pudding. What goes in the pudding? Milk, of course. Sugar, cornstarch, egg yolks. Vanilla. That's about it.
Ah. I bet the cornstarch does something. Adds binding, thickening, moistness, and it's the only ingredient that's not already in the cake. Was it that simple?
What the heck. Won't know if I don't try. So, here's the recipe. It made moist, dense, lovely rummy cakes. From scratch. And you can pronounce every organic ingredient.
Meals by Marlene Rum Cake
3 cups whole wheat white flour
2 cups sugar
½ cup powdered dry milk (my only nod to processed food. I wanted to replace the liquid ingredient (milk) with rum.)
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp cornstarch
½ cup butter, softened and cut into small chunks
1 ½ cups spiced rum
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
Combine the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Add the butter, rum, and vanilla. Beat on low speed until combined, then on high speed for 2 minutes. Add the eggs and beat on high speed for 2 more minutes.
Pour into a greased bundt pan or 2 greased 9-inch round cake pans. Bake at 375 for 25 to 30 minutes.
CAUTION! Stand well back when you open the oven and open it slowly. There WILL be a small explosion of flames because of all the rum. It should go out immediately, though.
Check with a toothpick to see if cake is done. Cool on wire racks for 10 minutes, then remove from pans. Cool thoroughly on the racks.
*Note: for gifts, I baked these in small loaf pans. You could easily give away a whole cake, though.
Like the original cake, this should keep well. With all that rum, it ain’t spoilin'!Let me know if you make it or any changes you make. This is a big experiment!
Friday, November 30, 2007
Making Fat
I’ve been thinking about fat.
Not in the “I’ve got too much of it and need to lose some” kind of way, but in the nutritional way.
One of the offerings in this month’s package from the meat CSA is a side of pork. I have to confess, I didn’t even know what a side of pork was. Adventure is part of the charm of belonging to a CSA. Ah, but Google knows. A side of pork is the part that bacon comes from. More specifically, I think it’s the part that’s left after the bacon and ribs have been removed.
It’s fat. And I have a big slab of it. You can see why I’m thinking about it.
I’m supposed to render it and get lard. The powers-that-be in the CSA gave us some general instructions and pointed us to someone’s blog where it’s discussed. But I couldn’t find the blog and anyway, I had something just as good.
In an honored place on my bookshelf is Jessica Prentice’s Full Moon Feast and I knew perfectly well that she talked about rendering fat. In fact, she has a whole chapter devoted to it. I’ve read it before, of course, and it’s thought-provoking. Enough so, that I generally try to avoid non-fat, low-fat, skim… whatever, and try instead, to eat the Real Thing.
Jessica makes no bones about the idea that fat from free-range, grass-fed animals is not the enemy of our health. Sugar, refined grains, processed food, animals raised in cages or feedlots… these are the enemies. This is the kind of idea that makes so much sense to me, that I have to be careful I don’t just accept it without investigation. After all, everyone will tell you that fat is bad. Every person in the health industry. Nutritionists. Dieticians. Lawyers, even. It’s one of the accepted doctrines of western civilization.
Why do we think that? Why don’t we agree that the other list is far more dangerous? Why doesn’t the government’s food pyramid put those items in the “use sparingly” category?
We all know that heart disease, high cholesterol, stroke, diabetes, etc. are at epidemic levels. We all know that this epidemic has been growing the last 80 years or so and we’ve let the “authorities” tell us it’s because we eat too much red meat, too much bacon, too many eggs, too much fat.
The “authorities” never tell you that the last 80 years have also seen the growth of the processed food industry. That in that time, we’ve become completely dependent on Big Agriculture and food created in laboratories. That even our fat has become adulterated by chemically grown plants and animals stacked up in feedlots and fed food they were never intended to eat.
And of course, we eat way too much of this stuff, because, as Jessica says, it’s not satisfying. Especially if we eat the ‘skim’ varieties. Fat used to be healthy. It used to be nutritious. It used to be satisfying. And most of us didn’t get “fat” from it.
Challenge yourself. Eliminate all the sugar and processed food from your diet. Buy local, organic produce and meat. Eat artisan whole-milk cheese and dairy products and don’t worry if your meat has yellow gobs of fat in it. Try it for a while and see if you’re not in better shape.
I’ve been eating this way for several years. It’s been a gradual process and I’m not completely there, yet. But my cholesterol is about 30 points lower than it was when I was doing the low-fat diet thing and eating processed foods and fake sugar. My weight is about the same. I still don’t have diabetes or high blood pressure.
And I can really enjoy my food.
Not in the “I’ve got too much of it and need to lose some” kind of way, but in the nutritional way.
One of the offerings in this month’s package from the meat CSA is a side of pork. I have to confess, I didn’t even know what a side of pork was. Adventure is part of the charm of belonging to a CSA. Ah, but Google knows. A side of pork is the part that bacon comes from. More specifically, I think it’s the part that’s left after the bacon and ribs have been removed.
It’s fat. And I have a big slab of it. You can see why I’m thinking about it.
I’m supposed to render it and get lard. The powers-that-be in the CSA gave us some general instructions and pointed us to someone’s blog where it’s discussed. But I couldn’t find the blog and anyway, I had something just as good.
In an honored place on my bookshelf is Jessica Prentice’s Full Moon Feast and I knew perfectly well that she talked about rendering fat. In fact, she has a whole chapter devoted to it. I’ve read it before, of course, and it’s thought-provoking. Enough so, that I generally try to avoid non-fat, low-fat, skim… whatever, and try instead, to eat the Real Thing.
Jessica makes no bones about the idea that fat from free-range, grass-fed animals is not the enemy of our health. Sugar, refined grains, processed food, animals raised in cages or feedlots… these are the enemies. This is the kind of idea that makes so much sense to me, that I have to be careful I don’t just accept it without investigation. After all, everyone will tell you that fat is bad. Every person in the health industry. Nutritionists. Dieticians. Lawyers, even. It’s one of the accepted doctrines of western civilization.
Why do we think that? Why don’t we agree that the other list is far more dangerous? Why doesn’t the government’s food pyramid put those items in the “use sparingly” category?
We all know that heart disease, high cholesterol, stroke, diabetes, etc. are at epidemic levels. We all know that this epidemic has been growing the last 80 years or so and we’ve let the “authorities” tell us it’s because we eat too much red meat, too much bacon, too many eggs, too much fat.
The “authorities” never tell you that the last 80 years have also seen the growth of the processed food industry. That in that time, we’ve become completely dependent on Big Agriculture and food created in laboratories. That even our fat has become adulterated by chemically grown plants and animals stacked up in feedlots and fed food they were never intended to eat.
And of course, we eat way too much of this stuff, because, as Jessica says, it’s not satisfying. Especially if we eat the ‘skim’ varieties. Fat used to be healthy. It used to be nutritious. It used to be satisfying. And most of us didn’t get “fat” from it.
Challenge yourself. Eliminate all the sugar and processed food from your diet. Buy local, organic produce and meat. Eat artisan whole-milk cheese and dairy products and don’t worry if your meat has yellow gobs of fat in it. Try it for a while and see if you’re not in better shape.
I’ve been eating this way for several years. It’s been a gradual process and I’m not completely there, yet. But my cholesterol is about 30 points lower than it was when I was doing the low-fat diet thing and eating processed foods and fake sugar. My weight is about the same. I still don’t have diabetes or high blood pressure.
And I can really enjoy my food.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Reclassify Salt?
The medical community (who are they, exactly?) is asking the FDA to reclassify salt. Right now, salt is considered GRAS – Generally Recognized as Safe. The new classification would make it a food additive tied to limitations.
Why, you ask?
It turns out the medical community is tired of treating our excessive-salt related illnesses. They consider excessive salt intake to be a public health hazard and want the government to force limitations of it.
Lest we forget: salt is essential for humans. We’ll die if we don’t have some in our diet. But like a lot of other essential nutrients, too much is poison. That skittish happy medium is once again in the spotlight.
The medical community is focusing on processed foods, which of course, makes me want to jump up and down in joy. The food industry has known for decades that they put a dangerous amount of salt in the processed food, but they’ve done very little about fixing it. Because after all, processed foods taste perfectly horrid if they aren’t loaded up with salt and/or sugar. Nobody would buy the stuff if they had to eat it with a sensible amount of salt.
Wait, let me repeat that. Nobody would buy the stuff if they had to eat it with a sensible amount of salt.
Can we all say “D’oh!”?
Government regulations can force the industry to lower the amount of sodium in their food products. But they will want us to buy these products, so they’ll have to do something to help the taste. I shudder to imagine what they might come up with.
We’re in bad shape on this, too, because salt is addictive. We have three or four generations that have grown up on this heavily salted diet of processed foods. If that’s what you’ve eaten for most of your life, you’re going to have a hard time learning to like Real Food. Cutting back on salt is like quitting smoking.
Most people have no idea what Real Food is supposed to taste like. And when they’re forced to eat processed food that is low in sodium, they HATE it. The good news is that, like quitting smoking, it gets easier over time. If you start eating Real Food, your mouth gradually forgets the overly salted taste of the fake stuff and you begin to actually TASTE the food you’re eating. Stick with it for a year or two and you’re probably home free. I know when I try to eat processed food, I’m not usually successful. I can’t stand the taste of the stuff, whether it’s a can of Campbell’s soup or a frozen meal from Lean Cuisine.
So we’ll see what happens. The food industry is fighting the doctors' recommendation and the food industry has a lot of money. I’m not going to place any bets on what the FDA will decide. In the long run, it doesn’t matter. Like I said earlier, the food industry will have to put something in the food to make it palatable and that something will probably not be good for us. The answer is to stop buying and eating processed foods.
That’s always the answer.
Why, you ask?
It turns out the medical community is tired of treating our excessive-salt related illnesses. They consider excessive salt intake to be a public health hazard and want the government to force limitations of it.
Lest we forget: salt is essential for humans. We’ll die if we don’t have some in our diet. But like a lot of other essential nutrients, too much is poison. That skittish happy medium is once again in the spotlight.
The medical community is focusing on processed foods, which of course, makes me want to jump up and down in joy. The food industry has known for decades that they put a dangerous amount of salt in the processed food, but they’ve done very little about fixing it. Because after all, processed foods taste perfectly horrid if they aren’t loaded up with salt and/or sugar. Nobody would buy the stuff if they had to eat it with a sensible amount of salt.
Wait, let me repeat that. Nobody would buy the stuff if they had to eat it with a sensible amount of salt.
Can we all say “D’oh!”?
Government regulations can force the industry to lower the amount of sodium in their food products. But they will want us to buy these products, so they’ll have to do something to help the taste. I shudder to imagine what they might come up with.
We’re in bad shape on this, too, because salt is addictive. We have three or four generations that have grown up on this heavily salted diet of processed foods. If that’s what you’ve eaten for most of your life, you’re going to have a hard time learning to like Real Food. Cutting back on salt is like quitting smoking.
Most people have no idea what Real Food is supposed to taste like. And when they’re forced to eat processed food that is low in sodium, they HATE it. The good news is that, like quitting smoking, it gets easier over time. If you start eating Real Food, your mouth gradually forgets the overly salted taste of the fake stuff and you begin to actually TASTE the food you’re eating. Stick with it for a year or two and you’re probably home free. I know when I try to eat processed food, I’m not usually successful. I can’t stand the taste of the stuff, whether it’s a can of Campbell’s soup or a frozen meal from Lean Cuisine.
So we’ll see what happens. The food industry is fighting the doctors' recommendation and the food industry has a lot of money. I’m not going to place any bets on what the FDA will decide. In the long run, it doesn’t matter. Like I said earlier, the food industry will have to put something in the food to make it palatable and that something will probably not be good for us. The answer is to stop buying and eating processed foods.
That’s always the answer.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Easy plans
I'm in the kitchen today. My own, this time. I must get started on baking for the holiday. And I have chili to make with turkey leftovers. I've decided to make a batch of sausage.
My back hurts, so no sitting at the computer. Standing and cooking is just the ticket!
My back hurts, so no sitting at the computer. Standing and cooking is just the ticket!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Raw Milk
If you live in California, you will shortly not have the right to buy raw milk.
AB 1735 takes effect on January 1st, having passed the legislature with no debate and no warning to dairy farmers or consumers.
This is not how our ruling bodies are supposed to work.
Read the letter from Ron Garthwaite and Collette Cassidy of Claravale Farms and then write to your legislators. More information can be found at www.Organicpastures.com
I use raw milk for my yogurt. It makes the best yogurt I've had this side of Ireland and I don't want to give it up. Raw milk is safe and much healthier than the pasteurized junk put out my the Food Industry.
Sure, it needs to be produced by a properly clean dairy. Isn't that true for all our milk?
Oh, right. The pasteurized stuff can come from cows standing in their own muck, because it gets pasteurized. Silly me.
I truly do have a hard time holding down the sarcasm and cynicism when it comes to rulings like this. Help us out and write a letter or send an email.
Dairy farmers are fighting back.
AB 1735 takes effect on January 1st, having passed the legislature with no debate and no warning to dairy farmers or consumers.
This is not how our ruling bodies are supposed to work.
Read the letter from Ron Garthwaite and Collette Cassidy of Claravale Farms and then write to your legislators. More information can be found at www.Organicpastures.com
I use raw milk for my yogurt. It makes the best yogurt I've had this side of Ireland and I don't want to give it up. Raw milk is safe and much healthier than the pasteurized junk put out my the Food Industry.
Sure, it needs to be produced by a properly clean dairy. Isn't that true for all our milk?
Oh, right. The pasteurized stuff can come from cows standing in their own muck, because it gets pasteurized. Silly me.
I truly do have a hard time holding down the sarcasm and cynicism when it comes to rulings like this. Help us out and write a letter or send an email.
Dairy farmers are fighting back.
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Prep Day
The turkey is brining, the cornbread is drying, the sweet potato casserole is cooling. The giblet stock is in the frig, as is the homemade cranberry sauce, and the prepped ingredients for the stuffing. The housekeepers are coming but after that I'll probably work on the veggies for tomorrow.
What to do for dinner? I've been quite persistent at using up leftovers this week, so I have room in the frig and freezer. We still have some spaghetti sauce, but I don't want to use pasta. I also don't want to cook the spaghetti squash, yet.
I think I'll make a soup out of the sauce. Add some water (or maybe wine), throw in some cannellini beans and toast some bread with olive oil, salt and pepper. I've got a rind from the parmesan cheese that will go good in that, too. The sauce already has spinach in it, but I'll see what's in the freezer, in the veggie department. The more, the merrier!
Sounds good, no?
What to do for dinner? I've been quite persistent at using up leftovers this week, so I have room in the frig and freezer. We still have some spaghetti sauce, but I don't want to use pasta. I also don't want to cook the spaghetti squash, yet.
I think I'll make a soup out of the sauce. Add some water (or maybe wine), throw in some cannellini beans and toast some bread with olive oil, salt and pepper. I've got a rind from the parmesan cheese that will go good in that, too. The sauce already has spinach in it, but I'll see what's in the freezer, in the veggie department. The more, the merrier!
Sounds good, no?
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Thanksgiving Plans
I get to cook nearly everything this year - a real treat for me! I'm brining the turkey, which is probably old hat to everyone, but since I don't usually do the turkey, I've never tried this before.
The brine is made and is cooling in the frig. Tomorrow morning, we'll pack the turkey in it and load it into our cooler with lots of ice.
Tomorrow, I also need to make the cornbread for the stuffing (something else I haven't had for a long time, since I don't do the turkey) and I'll make the sweet potato casserole, too. That leaves the oven clear for turkey and stuffing on Thursday. I've decided to forego dinner rolls, this year. I like to make the rolls, but really, why would we need more bread?
I will probably also do the prep work tomorrow, for the green bean/mushroom salad and the sauteed shredded brussels sprouts, and maybe the giblet gravy to use as stock for the stuffing. Thursday, I'll make the mashed potatoes and the stuffing. Appetizers are just crackers and cheese. Our guests are bringing the dessert (a lemon pudding cake) and I already have the pumpkin ice cream done.
So, um... it looks like Wednesday is my big cook day and Thursday is finish-up-and-set-the-table day.
I love to cook!
The brine is made and is cooling in the frig. Tomorrow morning, we'll pack the turkey in it and load it into our cooler with lots of ice.
Tomorrow, I also need to make the cornbread for the stuffing (something else I haven't had for a long time, since I don't do the turkey) and I'll make the sweet potato casserole, too. That leaves the oven clear for turkey and stuffing on Thursday. I've decided to forego dinner rolls, this year. I like to make the rolls, but really, why would we need more bread?
I will probably also do the prep work tomorrow, for the green bean/mushroom salad and the sauteed shredded brussels sprouts, and maybe the giblet gravy to use as stock for the stuffing. Thursday, I'll make the mashed potatoes and the stuffing. Appetizers are just crackers and cheese. Our guests are bringing the dessert (a lemon pudding cake) and I already have the pumpkin ice cream done.
So, um... it looks like Wednesday is my big cook day and Thursday is finish-up-and-set-the-table day.
I love to cook!
Sunday, November 18, 2007
Eating Local and Fair Trade
An article in Sunday’s Chronicle (Farmers in Developing World Hurt by ‘Eat Local’ Philosophy in U.S. by William G. Moseley) pits Eat Local advocates against poor farmers in Africa. According to Mr. Moseley, it’s our fault that farmers in third world countries can’t get a fair break even when they turn to Fair Trade practices.
You know, I just can’t see it. In the first place, very few Eat Local advocates insist one must never buy anything from someplace else. How many of us live next to salt flats? How many can grow cinnamon or cumin or other spices? Have all of us given up coffee or tea? Chocolate?
The very people who want to eat local, are the same ones most likely to buy Fair Trade organic food when they need or want something they can’t get locally. We’re the ones who insist on food grown with fair labor practices and living wages for workers. But that doesn’t mean I have to buy all my food already processed and packaged at the grocery store, in order to support a farmer somewhere.
If I choose to buy my potatoes from a local farmer, I’m not putting a farmer in Africa out of business. If I decide to make my own spaghetti sauce from tomatoes grown by the farmer selling them at the farmer’s market, instead of the Fair Trade Organic brand found at Trader Joe’s, am I really responsible for starving children in China?
I think it’s a stretch.
In the second place, and this is the biggie, these third world farmers are put out of business because America subsidizes our own corporate farms at a horrendous rate and we flood the world market with our subsidized mono crops. Solve that problem!
Africa’s problems are a lot bigger than the elite of America shopping at the farmer’s market on Saturday. I’m not about to get into it on this blog, either. But the farmers there need more choices and freedom and markets, there, where they live. Their whole answer is not selling to a niche market in Europe or America.
Look, it’s hard enough to get people to think about where their food comes from and what’s in it. Let’s not let all the air out the movement before it even gets off the ground. Our own farmers are going out of business. Charity is fine. But I want to keep the farmer down the street in business before I’m going to worry about the farmer in Africa or Mexico.
You know, I just can’t see it. In the first place, very few Eat Local advocates insist one must never buy anything from someplace else. How many of us live next to salt flats? How many can grow cinnamon or cumin or other spices? Have all of us given up coffee or tea? Chocolate?
The very people who want to eat local, are the same ones most likely to buy Fair Trade organic food when they need or want something they can’t get locally. We’re the ones who insist on food grown with fair labor practices and living wages for workers. But that doesn’t mean I have to buy all my food already processed and packaged at the grocery store, in order to support a farmer somewhere.
If I choose to buy my potatoes from a local farmer, I’m not putting a farmer in Africa out of business. If I decide to make my own spaghetti sauce from tomatoes grown by the farmer selling them at the farmer’s market, instead of the Fair Trade Organic brand found at Trader Joe’s, am I really responsible for starving children in China?
I think it’s a stretch.
In the second place, and this is the biggie, these third world farmers are put out of business because America subsidizes our own corporate farms at a horrendous rate and we flood the world market with our subsidized mono crops. Solve that problem!
Africa’s problems are a lot bigger than the elite of America shopping at the farmer’s market on Saturday. I’m not about to get into it on this blog, either. But the farmers there need more choices and freedom and markets, there, where they live. Their whole answer is not selling to a niche market in Europe or America.
Look, it’s hard enough to get people to think about where their food comes from and what’s in it. Let’s not let all the air out the movement before it even gets off the ground. Our own farmers are going out of business. Charity is fine. But I want to keep the farmer down the street in business before I’m going to worry about the farmer in Africa or Mexico.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Good things to eat
Super-easy pasta sauce for two people:
1/4 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced (large cloves - lots of garlic!)
1 large tomato, diced
1 jar anchovies, drained
1 or 2 basil leaves, chopped
Sautee the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil (you can use the oil from the anchovies if you want) for a minute until the onion softens. Add tomto, anchovies and basil. Let simmer until liquid from tomato has reduced, 5 - 10 minutes. Stir it occasionally.
Serve over whole-wheat pasta or spaghetti squash, with parmesan cheese.
You don't need salt for this. The anchovies take care of that!
I roasted pumpkins last night and I've got lots of pumpkin pulp, so it's going to be soup time. Maybe a loaf of pumpkin bread? I'll use it up one way or another. I roasted the pumpkin seeds this morning and they're still in the pan, crunchy and salty. I've had a few. Must stay away!
It's also time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. It's kind of nice that this meal is traditional and includes favorites from previous years. There is very little planning to do. I could almost do it in my sleep. Our meal is with friends and it's always a potluck. I wouldn't mind doing the whole thing, but I think other people also enjoy preparing the food. The thunder must be shared!
1/4 onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced (large cloves - lots of garlic!)
1 large tomato, diced
1 jar anchovies, drained
1 or 2 basil leaves, chopped
Sautee the onion and garlic in a bit of olive oil (you can use the oil from the anchovies if you want) for a minute until the onion softens. Add tomto, anchovies and basil. Let simmer until liquid from tomato has reduced, 5 - 10 minutes. Stir it occasionally.
Serve over whole-wheat pasta or spaghetti squash, with parmesan cheese.
You don't need salt for this. The anchovies take care of that!
I roasted pumpkins last night and I've got lots of pumpkin pulp, so it's going to be soup time. Maybe a loaf of pumpkin bread? I'll use it up one way or another. I roasted the pumpkin seeds this morning and they're still in the pan, crunchy and salty. I've had a few. Must stay away!
It's also time to start thinking about Thanksgiving. It's kind of nice that this meal is traditional and includes favorites from previous years. There is very little planning to do. I could almost do it in my sleep. Our meal is with friends and it's always a potluck. I wouldn't mind doing the whole thing, but I think other people also enjoy preparing the food. The thunder must be shared!
Tuesday, November 13, 2007
Mercury
Have you heard about the "comprehensive" study (shouldn't all studies be comprehensive?) about mercury in fish from the delta? It's been in the paper lately. We've known for years that there is mercury in fish and we have to be careful how much we eat. But now they've determined that the amount of mercury depends on the type of fish and where in the delta it lived.
So some are safer than others. Basically, the larger, predator fish have more mercury than the smaller species and the fish caught nearer Sacramento will have more than the fish caught lower down. Great. Information we need, as long as we remember to take it to the store with us and ask the seafood clerk where the fish was caught and hopefully, he or she will know that.
Not really likely, methinks.
My only point is a complaint I've had ever since I was a teenager: why do business people (whoever or whatever kind of business) feel they have the right to pollute our water (in this example) to make it easier and cheaper for them to do business?
This has always pissed me off. In this particular case, the mercury (most of it) is a holdover from our golddigging days. You heard me - over 150 years ago! It was cheaper and faster to blast the hills with high-pressured water and wash all the debris into the rivers, so that's what they did.
Okay, maybe they didn't know they were washing mercury into the rivers and condemning their descendants to a polluted environment and poisonous fish. But this kind of thing happened all over, with all kinds of industries. It's why we insist on having regulations on businesses, now. It's why businesses will pack up and go to China or someplace without regulations, so they can poison those people and save some money.
And my reaction has not changed from the way I thought 35 years ago, and this is the way I run my own business, now:
If you can't afford to run your business in a way that protects and sustains the environment and the people around you, then don't be in business. Please, do something else. We don't want you.
So some are safer than others. Basically, the larger, predator fish have more mercury than the smaller species and the fish caught nearer Sacramento will have more than the fish caught lower down. Great. Information we need, as long as we remember to take it to the store with us and ask the seafood clerk where the fish was caught and hopefully, he or she will know that.
Not really likely, methinks.
My only point is a complaint I've had ever since I was a teenager: why do business people (whoever or whatever kind of business) feel they have the right to pollute our water (in this example) to make it easier and cheaper for them to do business?
This has always pissed me off. In this particular case, the mercury (most of it) is a holdover from our golddigging days. You heard me - over 150 years ago! It was cheaper and faster to blast the hills with high-pressured water and wash all the debris into the rivers, so that's what they did.
Okay, maybe they didn't know they were washing mercury into the rivers and condemning their descendants to a polluted environment and poisonous fish. But this kind of thing happened all over, with all kinds of industries. It's why we insist on having regulations on businesses, now. It's why businesses will pack up and go to China or someplace without regulations, so they can poison those people and save some money.
And my reaction has not changed from the way I thought 35 years ago, and this is the way I run my own business, now:
If you can't afford to run your business in a way that protects and sustains the environment and the people around you, then don't be in business. Please, do something else. We don't want you.
Pumpkin Ice Cream
I have to confess, this is one of my favorite things to do with pumpkins. Pie is great, especially with whipped cream. Soup is even better and lets not forget all the yummy casseroles and side dishes you can use it in.
Ah, but ice cream...
I made some yesterday and it will last a while. Partly it's for dessert on Thanksgiving, in which case, maybe it won't last for a while. I may have make more.
Darn.
It's so easy, too. Dangerously easy. But once you do it, you will never want store-bought ice cream again.
I had some pulp left from bake fest, so I blended it well and cooked it until it was thick, like in the can. I do this all the time, anyway, so it wasn't a special step for just the ice cream. Feel free to use the canned variety, here. It's one place that's good to do, just be sure to get the organic variety.
I have one of those Cuisinart ice cream makers, the kind that you keep the bowl in the freezer and pour your mixture into it and turn on the machine and let it go. Easy, easy! Here's the recipe (from cuisinart.com):
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp molasses
1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
Using a hand mixer and medium bowl, combine the milk, brown sugar, and molasses. Mix until the sugar is dissolved, 1 - 2 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and spices.
Add the cream and vanilla, stirring just until mixed. Turn the machine on and pour in the mixture. Run for about 25 minutes.
That is it! If you want, you can add graham cracker chunks, pecans, or even chocolate chips to the mix about 5 minutes before it's done. I like to leave the ice cream plain and let each person add what they want.
You'll notice the recipe calls for heavy cream and if you're like most Americans, you're screaming. But let me tell you: you want to use the heavy cream. I've tried it with skim or nonfat milk and it just doesn't work. When you buy that stuff in the store, look at the ingredients. They have to add all kinds of weird things to "fix" the texture.
Ice cream is meant to be creamy. Don't be afraid. Just eat a small serving - say 1/4 cup. You'll be surprised at how satisfying it is.
Ah, but ice cream...
I made some yesterday and it will last a while. Partly it's for dessert on Thanksgiving, in which case, maybe it won't last for a while. I may have make more.
Darn.
It's so easy, too. Dangerously easy. But once you do it, you will never want store-bought ice cream again.
I had some pulp left from bake fest, so I blended it well and cooked it until it was thick, like in the can. I do this all the time, anyway, so it wasn't a special step for just the ice cream. Feel free to use the canned variety, here. It's one place that's good to do, just be sure to get the organic variety.
I have one of those Cuisinart ice cream makers, the kind that you keep the bowl in the freezer and pour your mixture into it and turn on the machine and let it go. Easy, easy! Here's the recipe (from cuisinart.com):
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 tbsp molasses
1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla
Using a hand mixer and medium bowl, combine the milk, brown sugar, and molasses. Mix until the sugar is dissolved, 1 - 2 minutes. Stir in the pumpkin and spices.
Add the cream and vanilla, stirring just until mixed. Turn the machine on and pour in the mixture. Run for about 25 minutes.
That is it! If you want, you can add graham cracker chunks, pecans, or even chocolate chips to the mix about 5 minutes before it's done. I like to leave the ice cream plain and let each person add what they want.
You'll notice the recipe calls for heavy cream and if you're like most Americans, you're screaming. But let me tell you: you want to use the heavy cream. I've tried it with skim or nonfat milk and it just doesn't work. When you buy that stuff in the store, look at the ingredients. They have to add all kinds of weird things to "fix" the texture.
Ice cream is meant to be creamy. Don't be afraid. Just eat a small serving - say 1/4 cup. You'll be surprised at how satisfying it is.
Monday, November 12, 2007
Leftovers
Remember that I said I'd use the skirt steak for spaghetti sauce? It's still in the freezer and frankly, I'm beefed out. I'll leave it there and do something else with it when I'm in the mood.
Not that I didn't have spaghetti. There was enough cross-rib roast that we ate less than half of it on Saturday night, but I cooked it all. The leftovers were cut up and used as the base for the spaghetti sauce, which I made yesterday. So we'll get at least five meals from that one roast.
I tried to be good, too. I'm really struggling with my weight right now, enough that my husband has actually offered to help. That's extreme, folks. Not because he doesn't help with things, but because he would normally never suggest I was less than perfect. I'm serious!
So we had the original roast sliced over salad and our pasta was spaghetti squash. It's really good served as a pasta with sauce and it's nice to eat as much as I want and not feel stuffed.
I get more meat from the CSA next Monday. For now, I have enough prepared meals in the freezer to get us through the week, so I don't need to buy more meat. I like to have 2 or 3 vegetarian meals every week anyway, so we're not eating meat all the time.
Not that I didn't have spaghetti. There was enough cross-rib roast that we ate less than half of it on Saturday night, but I cooked it all. The leftovers were cut up and used as the base for the spaghetti sauce, which I made yesterday. So we'll get at least five meals from that one roast.
I tried to be good, too. I'm really struggling with my weight right now, enough that my husband has actually offered to help. That's extreme, folks. Not because he doesn't help with things, but because he would normally never suggest I was less than perfect. I'm serious!
So we had the original roast sliced over salad and our pasta was spaghetti squash. It's really good served as a pasta with sauce and it's nice to eat as much as I want and not feel stuffed.
I get more meat from the CSA next Monday. For now, I have enough prepared meals in the freezer to get us through the week, so I don't need to buy more meat. I like to have 2 or 3 vegetarian meals every week anyway, so we're not eating meat all the time.
Friday, November 9, 2007
What to do with all that meat
One of the challenges of belonging to a CSA is that you take what you get and figure out what to do with it. It's a challenge, but it's also fun, so I look forward to it. At this time, I only belong to a meat CSA (Bay Area Meat CSA - clever, huh?). Once a month or so, I get a bag with a few different cuts of meat, maybe a chicken and some eggs, too. All of the meat is from ranchers in the area and all the animals are raised on pasture and grass-fed. Or bug and grain-fed in the case of the chickens and eggs.
The meat is delicious in a way that feed-lot meat cannot even compare to*. I may be crazy, but I don't think it's very expensive, either. It doesn't look like a lot of meat, but it seems to last and I try real hard to not buy anything extra from the store. 'Cept bacon, of course. I have to have my bacon.
So I have to put my thinking cap on and figure out what to do with it. Last month, I got a whole chicken, which gave me a huge laugh because it still had its head and feet attached. Not having grown up around farms, this was a big event for me! I also got a cross-rib roast, a pork loin roast, a skirt steak, and a chuck steak. Oh and a dozen eggs. I do wish I could get more free-range eggs.
It's just my husband and me, for the most part, so these cuts of meat represent 3 or 4 meals. It's a good thing I'm a personal chef. I know all about preparing a meal and freezing it!
The chuck steak turned into Guinness-Braised Chuck Steak, which I fed to my grandsons along with my husband. It was very popular and we still had leftovers! The pork loin was covered in mustard and maple syrup and roasted, then served with heavenly Sherry-Raisin Sauce. I think I posted that recipe in an earlier post. That beautiful chicken massaged with paprika and olive oil and roasted with onions, carrots, celery, and barley in some chicken broth. You have no idea.
I haven't decided what to do with the x-rib roast, but that's for tomorrow and I think I'll use the skirt steak to make my dad's oh-so-yummy-straight-from-the-old-country spaghetti sauce. By then, it will be time to pick up my next order of meat!
*Warning! Dangling particples! Yes, I know it's there.
The meat is delicious in a way that feed-lot meat cannot even compare to*. I may be crazy, but I don't think it's very expensive, either. It doesn't look like a lot of meat, but it seems to last and I try real hard to not buy anything extra from the store. 'Cept bacon, of course. I have to have my bacon.
So I have to put my thinking cap on and figure out what to do with it. Last month, I got a whole chicken, which gave me a huge laugh because it still had its head and feet attached. Not having grown up around farms, this was a big event for me! I also got a cross-rib roast, a pork loin roast, a skirt steak, and a chuck steak. Oh and a dozen eggs. I do wish I could get more free-range eggs.
It's just my husband and me, for the most part, so these cuts of meat represent 3 or 4 meals. It's a good thing I'm a personal chef. I know all about preparing a meal and freezing it!
The chuck steak turned into Guinness-Braised Chuck Steak, which I fed to my grandsons along with my husband. It was very popular and we still had leftovers! The pork loin was covered in mustard and maple syrup and roasted, then served with heavenly Sherry-Raisin Sauce. I think I posted that recipe in an earlier post. That beautiful chicken massaged with paprika and olive oil and roasted with onions, carrots, celery, and barley in some chicken broth. You have no idea.
I haven't decided what to do with the x-rib roast, but that's for tomorrow and I think I'll use the skirt steak to make my dad's oh-so-yummy-straight-from-the-old-country spaghetti sauce. By then, it will be time to pick up my next order of meat!
*Warning! Dangling particples! Yes, I know it's there.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Thanks to an idea from Leslie Stiles in the Contra Costa Times Food Section, I had a wonderful autumn dinner the other night.
I had a couple of smallish squashes that I'd used as decorations for Hallowe'en. Just had 'em sitting out on a table surrounded by leaves and candles. More of an autumn-y decoration than Hallowe'en, but I decided they'd been sitting around long enough and it was time to eat them! So based on Leslie's suggestion:
I washed them and cut the tops off, cleaning out the seeds and pulp. I then layered some sliced zucchini, onion, mushrooms and cooked spinach (steamed and squeezed dry). I had some leftover manchego cheese so I threw that in there, too. Then I beat up a couple of eggs with 2 cups of milk and salt and pepper. This mixture was (very) carefully poured into the stuffed squashes. This must be done slowly, allowing time for the liquid to settle to the bottom and around the vegetables. I even used a finger to push some of the filling aside and let the milk run in.
Those were really full gourds!
I put the lids back on and baked them at 350 for an hour or so, until the the squash meat was tender when I poked a fork into it. Now came the tricky part, 'cause Leslie didn't mention how to serve these things. Each squash could easily serve two people, but cutting them open would be a challenge with all that yummy stuff inside!
So I went for dramatic rather than clean. First, I let them sit for about 10 minutes so everything would thicken up and settle. I got out our nice soup bowls and placed one of the squashes inside, then sliced it in half length-wise. Using a big spoon, and with my fingertips gingerly helping with balance, I moved one half to the other bowl. The squashes sort of fell on their sides and the filling spilled out a little into the bowl, but it was very attractive. Bright orange squash meat with the green-skinned zucchini, brown mushrooms, and green spinach with the milky sauce was simply gorgeous.
And oh, yes. It tasted terrific!
I had a couple of smallish squashes that I'd used as decorations for Hallowe'en. Just had 'em sitting out on a table surrounded by leaves and candles. More of an autumn-y decoration than Hallowe'en, but I decided they'd been sitting around long enough and it was time to eat them! So based on Leslie's suggestion:
I washed them and cut the tops off, cleaning out the seeds and pulp. I then layered some sliced zucchini, onion, mushrooms and cooked spinach (steamed and squeezed dry). I had some leftover manchego cheese so I threw that in there, too. Then I beat up a couple of eggs with 2 cups of milk and salt and pepper. This mixture was (very) carefully poured into the stuffed squashes. This must be done slowly, allowing time for the liquid to settle to the bottom and around the vegetables. I even used a finger to push some of the filling aside and let the milk run in.
Those were really full gourds!
I put the lids back on and baked them at 350 for an hour or so, until the the squash meat was tender when I poked a fork into it. Now came the tricky part, 'cause Leslie didn't mention how to serve these things. Each squash could easily serve two people, but cutting them open would be a challenge with all that yummy stuff inside!
So I went for dramatic rather than clean. First, I let them sit for about 10 minutes so everything would thicken up and settle. I got out our nice soup bowls and placed one of the squashes inside, then sliced it in half length-wise. Using a big spoon, and with my fingertips gingerly helping with balance, I moved one half to the other bowl. The squashes sort of fell on their sides and the filling spilled out a little into the bowl, but it was very attractive. Bright orange squash meat with the green-skinned zucchini, brown mushrooms, and green spinach with the milky sauce was simply gorgeous.
And oh, yes. It tasted terrific!
Wednesday, October 31, 2007
Blessed Samhain!
I won't quote Shakespeare. I think witches are cool.
In fact, I'm dressed as one as I write. Well - I'm a cat-witch. And I can't find my pointy hat. I can't find pumpkin liqueur, either, which is a real shame, 'cause have you ever had Pumpkin Martinis?
One part liqueur, one part rum, one part half and half. Shake with ice and pour into a martini glass rimmed with cinnamon-sugar. Top with nutmeg.
Oh my.
I'm going to be good and not make myself any pumpkin cupcakes but I am fixing a delicious pork loin with Cider-Sherry sauce. This sauce is one step this side of heaven and it's a Weight Watchers recipe.
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup raisins
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp unsalted butter
Combine all except the butter and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 11-12 minutes, until reduce to 1/2 cup. Remove from heat and swirl in the butter. Serve warm with ham steaks or pork loin.
Have fun!
In fact, I'm dressed as one as I write. Well - I'm a cat-witch. And I can't find my pointy hat. I can't find pumpkin liqueur, either, which is a real shame, 'cause have you ever had Pumpkin Martinis?
One part liqueur, one part rum, one part half and half. Shake with ice and pour into a martini glass rimmed with cinnamon-sugar. Top with nutmeg.
Oh my.
I'm going to be good and not make myself any pumpkin cupcakes but I am fixing a delicious pork loin with Cider-Sherry sauce. This sauce is one step this side of heaven and it's a Weight Watchers recipe.
1/3 cup dry sherry
1 cup apple cider
1/4 cup raisins
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp unsalted butter
Combine all except the butter and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil 11-12 minutes, until reduce to 1/2 cup. Remove from heat and swirl in the butter. Serve warm with ham steaks or pork loin.
Have fun!
Monday, October 29, 2007
What is local?
Over at the Eat Local Challenge blog, there's a great article by Gary Paul Nabhan discussing local food.
Gary Paul Nabhan: Deepening Our Sense of What is Local and Regional Food
He makes a lot of good points, but his general thesis is that we need to think about what we're doing. Think about why we do it. It's easy for someone like me to just jump on a bandwagon because I like the sound of it or it "feels right" or seems to make sense. That's okay to start with, but at some point, I know I need to sit down and tell myself why I believe something is true or not.
I have a comment or two about a few of his points:
"3. The miles a food travels (“food miles”) must be placed in the size and volume of the mode of transport, its source of fuel, and its frequency of travel."
As long as we settle in cities, the farmers are going to have to get the food to us. Yes, we can have urban gardens, even rooftop gardens, but it would be a rare city that could grow all its own food within urban limits. Even buying food at the farmer's market from a farmer 20 miles outside of town will require some transportation. Most farmers drive hundreds of miles everyday to various markets in a given region. It's still "local" by our definition, but there's a lot of fossil fuel put into it, anyway.
"4. On farm energy and water use matter. If a farm near Tucson Arizona is irrigated from a canal that transports Colorado River water hundreds of miles (and at high ecological cost to wild riverine species), or if it uses fossil groundwater set down during the Pleistocene pumped by fossil fuel set down in Iran during the Pennsylvanian era, what is to be gained by promoting its food?"
This one is near and dear, since I was born in Tucson and lived there for 35 years. It's a desert, folks. Eating local in a place like Tucson requires some real effort. And we need to be honest with ourselves: these places were NOT meant to support large populations. I don't care if you do like the sunshine. If you insist on living there, learn to like jicama, dried beans, and pear cactus. That's what the area can support.
"5. Other on-farm inputs matter just as much. Where are the sources of hay for livestock, compost for garden crops or nitrogen for field crops? They should be locally if not regionally-sourced. Why call lamb locally-produced in Idaho when its flock has wintered part of the year in California and its hay comes in from southern Colorado?"
This is a good one. Now I think it's traditional for ranchers to move the herd from one locale to another. That's what cattle drives are. But is it "natural?" Is it sustainable? Dunno. What about our own sheep and cattle in California that are grass-fed? What do they eat in the summer when the grass is dead and brown?
"6. Fair-trade with other cultures, localities and regions is fair game. "
I think it would be a sad world, indeed, if we did away with trade, altogether. Trade has always been the engine for human interaction, for exploration, for expanding our knowledge of each other and the world. So someone is always going to grow something that is needed someplace else. Spices. Coffee. Maple syrup (please don't make me give up maple syrup)!
Maybe what I want is the romantic vision of the trader coming into town and setting up on market day, visiting with people and participating in the local events that happen there, and talking about his home and life. We lose this with our sterile, effecient middleman procedures, when the food is shipped to a central warehouse and sent from there to stores around the country. We don't get to meet the trader or grower and talk about life in that place or life in our place. Our food becomes empty.
And that's sad.
Gary Paul Nabhan: Deepening Our Sense of What is Local and Regional Food
He makes a lot of good points, but his general thesis is that we need to think about what we're doing. Think about why we do it. It's easy for someone like me to just jump on a bandwagon because I like the sound of it or it "feels right" or seems to make sense. That's okay to start with, but at some point, I know I need to sit down and tell myself why I believe something is true or not.
I have a comment or two about a few of his points:
"3. The miles a food travels (“food miles”) must be placed in the size and volume of the mode of transport, its source of fuel, and its frequency of travel."
As long as we settle in cities, the farmers are going to have to get the food to us. Yes, we can have urban gardens, even rooftop gardens, but it would be a rare city that could grow all its own food within urban limits. Even buying food at the farmer's market from a farmer 20 miles outside of town will require some transportation. Most farmers drive hundreds of miles everyday to various markets in a given region. It's still "local" by our definition, but there's a lot of fossil fuel put into it, anyway.
"4. On farm energy and water use matter. If a farm near Tucson Arizona is irrigated from a canal that transports Colorado River water hundreds of miles (and at high ecological cost to wild riverine species), or if it uses fossil groundwater set down during the Pleistocene pumped by fossil fuel set down in Iran during the Pennsylvanian era, what is to be gained by promoting its food?"
This one is near and dear, since I was born in Tucson and lived there for 35 years. It's a desert, folks. Eating local in a place like Tucson requires some real effort. And we need to be honest with ourselves: these places were NOT meant to support large populations. I don't care if you do like the sunshine. If you insist on living there, learn to like jicama, dried beans, and pear cactus. That's what the area can support.
"5. Other on-farm inputs matter just as much. Where are the sources of hay for livestock, compost for garden crops or nitrogen for field crops? They should be locally if not regionally-sourced. Why call lamb locally-produced in Idaho when its flock has wintered part of the year in California and its hay comes in from southern Colorado?"
This is a good one. Now I think it's traditional for ranchers to move the herd from one locale to another. That's what cattle drives are. But is it "natural?" Is it sustainable? Dunno. What about our own sheep and cattle in California that are grass-fed? What do they eat in the summer when the grass is dead and brown?
"6. Fair-trade with other cultures, localities and regions is fair game. "
I think it would be a sad world, indeed, if we did away with trade, altogether. Trade has always been the engine for human interaction, for exploration, for expanding our knowledge of each other and the world. So someone is always going to grow something that is needed someplace else. Spices. Coffee. Maple syrup (please don't make me give up maple syrup)!
Maybe what I want is the romantic vision of the trader coming into town and setting up on market day, visiting with people and participating in the local events that happen there, and talking about his home and life. We lose this with our sterile, effecient middleman procedures, when the food is shipped to a central warehouse and sent from there to stores around the country. We don't get to meet the trader or grower and talk about life in that place or life in our place. Our food becomes empty.
And that's sad.
Friday, October 26, 2007
They're Taking my Raw Milk!
This is too important to let get by:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/10/26/MNM2SVJDN.DTL
The California legislature has passed a law, with no public debate, that will pretty much put raw milk ranchers out of business. I want my milk raw, folks. Unpasteurized. From a clean farm withequipment and clean cows who've been out on pasteur all their lives, and with all the bacteria it's supposed to have.
Yes, I will buy it illegally if I have to, assuming I can find someone who's selling it illegally. But I shouldn't have to. This is ridiculous.
For the record, I don't use raw milk when I cook for clients. I don't even give it to my husband. The use of raw milk is an individual decision and the government has no right to take it away.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/10/26/MNM2SVJDN.DTL
The California legislature has passed a law, with no public debate, that will pretty much put raw milk ranchers out of business. I want my milk raw, folks. Unpasteurized. From a clean farm withequipment and clean cows who've been out on pasteur all their lives, and with all the bacteria it's supposed to have.
Yes, I will buy it illegally if I have to, assuming I can find someone who's selling it illegally. But I shouldn't have to. This is ridiculous.
For the record, I don't use raw milk when I cook for clients. I don't even give it to my husband. The use of raw milk is an individual decision and the government has no right to take it away.
Getting Your Children to Eat Vegetables
Let me warn you up front: this post may piss you off. Honest, I'm more subtle when dealing with clients, but since this is my blog, the gloves are off.
Everyone's heard about the cookbook debate. Did Jerry Seinfeld's wife rip off a nutritionist's cookbook? For the record, I doubt it. She's got kids, someone advised to "try this," it worked and since she's married to a celebrity, she had an in for getting a book published. End of story.
That's not what bothers me.
It's the whole idea of catering to our kids. THAT bothers me. Seriously, I've met people who always feed their kids separate meals, because the little tykes don't like "grown-up" food. This seems to be a big thing with the current crop of American parents, especially the middle/upper-income, educated group. I cringe every time I hear about it. What do these people think they're doing?
I can imagine how it gets started. New Mom home from the hospital has very little help or support and can't get the hang of breastfeeding. Maybe she has to go back to work. The hospital gave her formula, so why not use it? So Mom starts feeding the baby it's own special food, made bulk in a factory someplace and shipped in a cardboard or plastic container. When baby gets older, Mom and Dad buy the little jars of "baby food." Because it's a baby, right? Babies can't eat Real Food, can they? The parents never learned they could start with things like mashed potatoes, applesauce or bananas, rice cereal, etc., and as baby gets older they could just mash or blend up the food they eat and feed it to the kid. Graduate to cutting the real food into tiny pieces so an older baby can eat those. They don't NEED THOSE JARS OF BABY FOOD!
But Mom and Dad are now well convinced that the child must have special food. It's always had special food. So they never actually give the child the food that Mom and Dad are eating. And suddenly, we have an incredibly picky child who won't try anything except quesadillas and boxed macaroni & cheese, or pizza. With just cheese. Along with anything from McDonald's or Taco Bell, of course.
Look. If you're serving fresh, homemade meals with lots variety and vegetables, you're kids are not going to starve if they don't like something! Even if they don't like lots of things and at every meal, they're hiding something under the plate or surreptitiously feeding the dog under the table. It's OKAY.
Just keep feeding them. Don't make a special meal. Heck, don't even argue with them. Just serve the food, eat it yourself, clean up the kitchen (or have the kids do it) and get on with your life. Don't give them snacks later. They should have no other options except what you prepared for dinner.
They'll figure it out. You can encourage them, you can dress up the veggies with sauces or seasonings or cheese or anyway that you like to eat them. Serve them plain once in a while, but make things look attractive on the plate. Place a slice of lemon on the broccoli. A tiny pat of butter on the peas. Let the kids use the salt and pepper shakers. And if they turn up their noses and only eat the meat and potatoes, so what? I promise, if you keep serving them, if you cook them skillfully, and make them look nice, someday the kid will surprise you and start eating it.
Maybe they'll try it at a friend's house or at a restaurant and decide it's okay. After all, you're just Mom, what do you know? But somebody else's mom, or a chef somewhere, can give them something and they'll go for it. It's the nature of the beast.
Expose them to food. Let them watch the Food Network or those silly chef competitions. Take them to the farmer's market. Take them to a "pick your own" orchard. Have them flip through the cookbooks and choose a meal for you to cook. Let them help cook. Plant a garden. Get their school to plant a garden. Make food fun. Enjoy it yourself.
But DON'T cook them special meals. You'll still be doing it when they're teenagers and they will not be grateful. They'll think they deserve it and you're the one to provide it. Makes me shudder.
Everyone's heard about the cookbook debate. Did Jerry Seinfeld's wife rip off a nutritionist's cookbook? For the record, I doubt it. She's got kids, someone advised to "try this," it worked and since she's married to a celebrity, she had an in for getting a book published. End of story.
That's not what bothers me.
It's the whole idea of catering to our kids. THAT bothers me. Seriously, I've met people who always feed their kids separate meals, because the little tykes don't like "grown-up" food. This seems to be a big thing with the current crop of American parents, especially the middle/upper-income, educated group. I cringe every time I hear about it. What do these people think they're doing?
I can imagine how it gets started. New Mom home from the hospital has very little help or support and can't get the hang of breastfeeding. Maybe she has to go back to work. The hospital gave her formula, so why not use it? So Mom starts feeding the baby it's own special food, made bulk in a factory someplace and shipped in a cardboard or plastic container. When baby gets older, Mom and Dad buy the little jars of "baby food." Because it's a baby, right? Babies can't eat Real Food, can they? The parents never learned they could start with things like mashed potatoes, applesauce or bananas, rice cereal, etc., and as baby gets older they could just mash or blend up the food they eat and feed it to the kid. Graduate to cutting the real food into tiny pieces so an older baby can eat those. They don't NEED THOSE JARS OF BABY FOOD!
But Mom and Dad are now well convinced that the child must have special food. It's always had special food. So they never actually give the child the food that Mom and Dad are eating. And suddenly, we have an incredibly picky child who won't try anything except quesadillas and boxed macaroni & cheese, or pizza. With just cheese. Along with anything from McDonald's or Taco Bell, of course.
Look. If you're serving fresh, homemade meals with lots variety and vegetables, you're kids are not going to starve if they don't like something! Even if they don't like lots of things and at every meal, they're hiding something under the plate or surreptitiously feeding the dog under the table. It's OKAY.
Just keep feeding them. Don't make a special meal. Heck, don't even argue with them. Just serve the food, eat it yourself, clean up the kitchen (or have the kids do it) and get on with your life. Don't give them snacks later. They should have no other options except what you prepared for dinner.
They'll figure it out. You can encourage them, you can dress up the veggies with sauces or seasonings or cheese or anyway that you like to eat them. Serve them plain once in a while, but make things look attractive on the plate. Place a slice of lemon on the broccoli. A tiny pat of butter on the peas. Let the kids use the salt and pepper shakers. And if they turn up their noses and only eat the meat and potatoes, so what? I promise, if you keep serving them, if you cook them skillfully, and make them look nice, someday the kid will surprise you and start eating it.
Maybe they'll try it at a friend's house or at a restaurant and decide it's okay. After all, you're just Mom, what do you know? But somebody else's mom, or a chef somewhere, can give them something and they'll go for it. It's the nature of the beast.
Expose them to food. Let them watch the Food Network or those silly chef competitions. Take them to the farmer's market. Take them to a "pick your own" orchard. Have them flip through the cookbooks and choose a meal for you to cook. Let them help cook. Plant a garden. Get their school to plant a garden. Make food fun. Enjoy it yourself.
But DON'T cook them special meals. You'll still be doing it when they're teenagers and they will not be grateful. They'll think they deserve it and you're the one to provide it. Makes me shudder.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Shopping Geometry
Good tip today from Loulie@Loulies.com. This is something I also teach when I give a cooking class:
Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. If you can enter a grocery store, buy your week's groceries, and never get to the center aisles, you're eating healthy food. The center is where all the processed food resides. These are the aisles loaded with sugar, salt, unhealthy fats, corn syrup, and unpronounceable ingredients born in a chemical laboratory.
These items are expensive, too, and we're paying for ill health, as well. It's true, these are also the items that are usually on sale. When was the last time you saw a two-for-one on organic apples? Misplaced priorities, as usual.
Shop the perimeter of the grocery store. If you can enter a grocery store, buy your week's groceries, and never get to the center aisles, you're eating healthy food. The center is where all the processed food resides. These are the aisles loaded with sugar, salt, unhealthy fats, corn syrup, and unpronounceable ingredients born in a chemical laboratory.
These items are expensive, too, and we're paying for ill health, as well. It's true, these are also the items that are usually on sale. When was the last time you saw a two-for-one on organic apples? Misplaced priorities, as usual.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Grass-fed
The USDA has passed some standards for grass-fed meat. I'm leary of anything this organization does, but these standards seem to be on the good side. Here are a couple of links:
The USDA release: http://www.ams.usda.gov/news/178-07.htm
A blog article by Bonnie Powell that gives us a good explanation:
http://www.ethicurean.com/2007/10/16/grass-fed-label/
The USDA release: http://www.ams.usda.gov/news/178-07.htm
A blog article by Bonnie Powell that gives us a good explanation:
http://www.ethicurean.com/2007/10/16/grass-fed-label/
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Successful Meals
Don’t you love it when you prepare a meal and everyone goes, “YES!”?
That happened to me on Saturday when my grandson’s were staying over. While my husband entertained them by slaughtering them at Monopoly, I prepared some Chicken Parmigiano over spaghetti squash, with sautéed kale.
It’s hard to go wrong when you dip chicken pieces in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs/parmesan cheese, then brown them olive oil. That meal is going to be GOOD. Smother them with homemade marinara and mozzarella cheese, and bake it for 20 minutes, and that meal is going to be GREAT.
I thought the spaghetti squash would be a fun alternative to pasta and fewer calories, too. The kids loved it. And you may think 11 and 12 year old boys wouldn’t eat kale, but they did. I never showed any sympathy when my kids tried to hate vegetables and they’ll eat just about any of them, today. I’m glad my daughter’s doing the same thing with her kids.
All I did with the kale was chop it up and sautee it in a little olive oil with salt and pepper. I had half a lime sitting around so I squeezed that into it. Flavorful and healthy!
That happened to me on Saturday when my grandson’s were staying over. While my husband entertained them by slaughtering them at Monopoly, I prepared some Chicken Parmigiano over spaghetti squash, with sautéed kale.
It’s hard to go wrong when you dip chicken pieces in flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs/parmesan cheese, then brown them olive oil. That meal is going to be GOOD. Smother them with homemade marinara and mozzarella cheese, and bake it for 20 minutes, and that meal is going to be GREAT.
I thought the spaghetti squash would be a fun alternative to pasta and fewer calories, too. The kids loved it. And you may think 11 and 12 year old boys wouldn’t eat kale, but they did. I never showed any sympathy when my kids tried to hate vegetables and they’ll eat just about any of them, today. I’m glad my daughter’s doing the same thing with her kids.
All I did with the kale was chop it up and sautee it in a little olive oil with salt and pepper. I had half a lime sitting around so I squeezed that into it. Flavorful and healthy!
Monday, October 15, 2007
Cooking Class
We had a great cooking class on Thursday! Mind you, it was a small cooking class, since I had just three students. But that's okay, we had a good time without you, anyway! Sort of like a cozy meal with friends. But we'd have an even better time if more of you are able to come to the next class.
That will be on November 8, 6:00 pm at the Pleasant Hill Community Center. Visit the Rec department online to sign up. It's the Indian Summer Cooking Class and we'll be making Acorn Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice, Hazlenuts and Dried Cranberries, Kale Salad, and Corn Pudding. This is a beautiful vegetarian Thanksgiving meal, if you have someone like that at your table this year.
My three students and I got busy chopping right away, with two of them working on the peaches and leeks for the chicken and the third student mixing the batter for the chocolate-pear cake. Once we had everything in the oven, we washed the greens for our salad and made our dressing. Then we sat and discussed easy tips for meal planning, grocery shopping and how to find locally grown organic food.
Then we ate! You know that time of silence that happens when people are hungry and first start eating a delicious meal? We all did that! It was so funny! But after a few bites, we got back to our discussions and enjoyed the wonderful food. Thanks to all my students for their help!
That will be on November 8, 6:00 pm at the Pleasant Hill Community Center. Visit the Rec department online to sign up. It's the Indian Summer Cooking Class and we'll be making Acorn Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice, Hazlenuts and Dried Cranberries, Kale Salad, and Corn Pudding. This is a beautiful vegetarian Thanksgiving meal, if you have someone like that at your table this year.
My three students and I got busy chopping right away, with two of them working on the peaches and leeks for the chicken and the third student mixing the batter for the chocolate-pear cake. Once we had everything in the oven, we washed the greens for our salad and made our dressing. Then we sat and discussed easy tips for meal planning, grocery shopping and how to find locally grown organic food.
Then we ate! You know that time of silence that happens when people are hungry and first start eating a delicious meal? We all did that! It was so funny! But after a few bites, we got back to our discussions and enjoyed the wonderful food. Thanks to all my students for their help!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Leftover Soup
I’m sure you know that I mean soup made out of leftovers. Must eat more vegetables! I’ve been saying this to myself for years and progress is painfully slow. I really like bread. I like cheese. I LOVE corn chips and salsa (with cheese or without). So my sincere attempt to add vegetables sometimes involves throwing these things on salad. But I’m nowhere near the several servings a day I need.
So – today, I made soup. I didn’t have much in the frig: my main goal was to use up the celery. You know how it is. You need one stalk of celery for a recipe and what do you do with the rest? So I cut it up, along with an onion. I sweated these in a little olive oil, then added a can of chicken broth. There was a rind of parmesan cheese in the frig, so I threw that in and let it all cook a bit. Then I took out the rind, mashed the vegetables with my stick blender (I love my stick blender), added a bit of milk and some leftover frozen mixed vegetables that had been hiding in the freezer.
A little salt, pepper and parsley: great soup! I’m sure the parmesan rind helped a lot. I’m going to save these from now on for just this purpose!
I didn’t skip the bread: I had some croutons I threw in there. I’m big on crunch. But I ate extra veggies, today! And I have more soup for tomorrow!
So – today, I made soup. I didn’t have much in the frig: my main goal was to use up the celery. You know how it is. You need one stalk of celery for a recipe and what do you do with the rest? So I cut it up, along with an onion. I sweated these in a little olive oil, then added a can of chicken broth. There was a rind of parmesan cheese in the frig, so I threw that in and let it all cook a bit. Then I took out the rind, mashed the vegetables with my stick blender (I love my stick blender), added a bit of milk and some leftover frozen mixed vegetables that had been hiding in the freezer.
A little salt, pepper and parsley: great soup! I’m sure the parmesan rind helped a lot. I’m going to save these from now on for just this purpose!
I didn’t skip the bread: I had some croutons I threw in there. I’m big on crunch. But I ate extra veggies, today! And I have more soup for tomorrow!
Monday, October 8, 2007
Gluten
I’ll shortly be starting an experiment. My husband and I have decided to reduce the amount of gluten in our diet. We’re not allergic to it, at least not in any obvious way. But wheat has become a ubiquitous food item, one of those otherwise innocent and healthy ingredients that has fallen victim to the food industry’s penchant for cheap calories.
It’s in processed food – dishes it has no need to be in, but is used as a filler or binder or to add protein. We don’t eat very much processed food and I don’t think we get an unreasonable amount of gluten. But I adore bread and will often snack on it and I love cakes and pies, too, although we seldom eat them. I eat the waffles I wrote about last week. And I use flour as a thickener and don’t get me started about crackers. I could eat crackers all day. My husband has the waffles or cereal for breakfast and he has a sandwich at lunch. He’s better than I am about not snacking, but if I serve a dessert, he’ll eat it.
I sometimes have clients who ask about gluten-free diets and I’d like to have the experience to make them good food. Baking is the hardest part and the main issue to tackle. It’s easy to avoid gluten if you just eat meat and vegetables, but people seem freaked out at the idea of not having muffins or bagels or cookies. So I want to start experimenting with other grains and seeing if I can come up with waffles and pancakes without using wheat flour. I know I can buy gluten-free bread for sandwiches and I’ll probably do that to see what the loaf is like and how it tastes. I’ll be a tough customer, that’s for sure.
I’ll never be satisfied with a purchased food item that uses chemicals or sugar or gums to make the product work. I’d rather give up drinking soda than drink the sugar-free stuff with those horrid fake sweeteners. I’d rather use real butter than the chemical-laden stuff they call margarine. So I’ll be looking for a loaf of bread that uses good, whole-grain flours that don’t contain gluten, without adding some strange ingredient to hold it all together.
This should be interesting. I’ll keep you posted!
It’s in processed food – dishes it has no need to be in, but is used as a filler or binder or to add protein. We don’t eat very much processed food and I don’t think we get an unreasonable amount of gluten. But I adore bread and will often snack on it and I love cakes and pies, too, although we seldom eat them. I eat the waffles I wrote about last week. And I use flour as a thickener and don’t get me started about crackers. I could eat crackers all day. My husband has the waffles or cereal for breakfast and he has a sandwich at lunch. He’s better than I am about not snacking, but if I serve a dessert, he’ll eat it.
I sometimes have clients who ask about gluten-free diets and I’d like to have the experience to make them good food. Baking is the hardest part and the main issue to tackle. It’s easy to avoid gluten if you just eat meat and vegetables, but people seem freaked out at the idea of not having muffins or bagels or cookies. So I want to start experimenting with other grains and seeing if I can come up with waffles and pancakes without using wheat flour. I know I can buy gluten-free bread for sandwiches and I’ll probably do that to see what the loaf is like and how it tastes. I’ll be a tough customer, that’s for sure.
I’ll never be satisfied with a purchased food item that uses chemicals or sugar or gums to make the product work. I’d rather give up drinking soda than drink the sugar-free stuff with those horrid fake sweeteners. I’d rather use real butter than the chemical-laden stuff they call margarine. So I’ll be looking for a loaf of bread that uses good, whole-grain flours that don’t contain gluten, without adding some strange ingredient to hold it all together.
This should be interesting. I’ll keep you posted!
Wednesday, October 3, 2007
Whole Foods
Mark Morford talks about Whole Foods, here. If you read it and you're not familiar with Morford, keep your sense of humor about language. It won't hurt much, I promise.
But about Whole Foods. I know that even among the elite of Foodies, Whole Foods has its detractors. They are not perfect, especially from a local foods perspective. They started out with lots of local farmers on board, but have since gone the way of more and cheaper. I mentioned in an earlier post that their frozen veggies come from China and a lot of produce is from points Way South. A lot of meat is from New Zealand, a lot of fish is from everywhere else.
Okay, they're far from perfect. But Morford's right. They do more and better than nearly any other grocery chain in the country. If your choice is Safeway or Whole Foods, I know which one I'd recommend.
My preferred order for grocery shopping is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), the Farmer's Market, then Whole Foods. I get what I can from the first two and whatever else I need, comes from WF.
And it's easy to avoid the produce from other countries because at Whole Foods, they tell you where it's from. They'll give you the name of the farm, right there on the display. I don't see this being done in any other stores. Even though they've sold out in a lot of ways, they still offer lots of produce from local farmers. Buy that and try to find the organic version. That's the produce that's in season where you live. Which is the healthiest way to eat.
Unlike Morford, I'm not tempted by the fancy glitter. Even at Whole Foods, there are entire aisles I almost never go down, because I'm not after processed foods or wildly expensive gourmet items.
But my blessed Gaia - the cheese. I have no resistance in the cheese department. Can I have one of each, please?
But about Whole Foods. I know that even among the elite of Foodies, Whole Foods has its detractors. They are not perfect, especially from a local foods perspective. They started out with lots of local farmers on board, but have since gone the way of more and cheaper. I mentioned in an earlier post that their frozen veggies come from China and a lot of produce is from points Way South. A lot of meat is from New Zealand, a lot of fish is from everywhere else.
Okay, they're far from perfect. But Morford's right. They do more and better than nearly any other grocery chain in the country. If your choice is Safeway or Whole Foods, I know which one I'd recommend.
My preferred order for grocery shopping is a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), the Farmer's Market, then Whole Foods. I get what I can from the first two and whatever else I need, comes from WF.
And it's easy to avoid the produce from other countries because at Whole Foods, they tell you where it's from. They'll give you the name of the farm, right there on the display. I don't see this being done in any other stores. Even though they've sold out in a lot of ways, they still offer lots of produce from local farmers. Buy that and try to find the organic version. That's the produce that's in season where you live. Which is the healthiest way to eat.
Unlike Morford, I'm not tempted by the fancy glitter. Even at Whole Foods, there are entire aisles I almost never go down, because I'm not after processed foods or wildly expensive gourmet items.
But my blessed Gaia - the cheese. I have no resistance in the cheese department. Can I have one of each, please?
Monday, October 1, 2007
Easy Breakfast
Mornings are hard on people. Getting ourselves and various family members to all the places we have to be, is stressful. It's a shame really, because mornings are such a beautiful time of the day. The world seems peaceful and clean as the sun rises and the birds start to sing and hop around the yard. Mornings should be a time for thoughtfulness and serenity, sipping our coffee or tea and just enjoying the start of the day.
Yeah. Right.
Okay, it's not like that at your house, is it? Not here, either, I'm afraid. But there are a few things you can do to not only make your morning easier, but healthier, too. Now there are lots of web sites that will teach you about making your bed as soon as you get out of it (I do this and it really helps) or how to greet the sun with a yoga position (I do this sometimes). I'm not going to get into those tips.
But - waffles. Yes, I can tell you about waffles.
My kids loved Eggos when they were little and even then, I cringed whenever they ate them. I hated to buy them. Fake food at its worst. And usually, I got up quite early and made the kids a fresh, homemade breakfast. It's my favorite meal and I love all kinds of things for breakfast, so it was for me as much as it was for them. But they would beg for Eggos. Go figure.
My husband loves Eggos, too. But I'm NOT eating them. He agreed, that if I could find a waffle recipe that made waffles he liked and could just pop in the toaster, he would eat those. The guantlet was thrown and I immediately took up the challenge.
So here's the recipe, found on Cooking Light.com. I make a double batch, let them cool on racks, and store them in the freezer in those gallon-size plastic bags. Take out one or two, throw in the toaster and there you are. Easy waffles made with organic whole grains, flaxseed meal, free-range eggs and organic milk. Not a preservative in sight.
I add a cup of walnuts and extra cinnamon to my batter and I use a normal, thin-size waffle maker. These fit into the toaster better.
I encourage you to give it a try. Eat Real Food!
Yeah. Right.
Okay, it's not like that at your house, is it? Not here, either, I'm afraid. But there are a few things you can do to not only make your morning easier, but healthier, too. Now there are lots of web sites that will teach you about making your bed as soon as you get out of it (I do this and it really helps) or how to greet the sun with a yoga position (I do this sometimes). I'm not going to get into those tips.
But - waffles. Yes, I can tell you about waffles.
My kids loved Eggos when they were little and even then, I cringed whenever they ate them. I hated to buy them. Fake food at its worst. And usually, I got up quite early and made the kids a fresh, homemade breakfast. It's my favorite meal and I love all kinds of things for breakfast, so it was for me as much as it was for them. But they would beg for Eggos. Go figure.
My husband loves Eggos, too. But I'm NOT eating them. He agreed, that if I could find a waffle recipe that made waffles he liked and could just pop in the toaster, he would eat those. The guantlet was thrown and I immediately took up the challenge.
So here's the recipe, found on Cooking Light.com. I make a double batch, let them cool on racks, and store them in the freezer in those gallon-size plastic bags. Take out one or two, throw in the toaster and there you are. Easy waffles made with organic whole grains, flaxseed meal, free-range eggs and organic milk. Not a preservative in sight.
I add a cup of walnuts and extra cinnamon to my batter and I use a normal, thin-size waffle maker. These fit into the toaster better.
I encourage you to give it a try. Eat Real Food!
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Meat Recall
21.7 million pounds of meat?
My stars and whistles, people, what are we doing to ourselves? Is it really necessary for one company to produce that much meat and send it all over the country? Why can't we have smaller, localized processing plants that handle the meat from a few ranches? I don't how many ranches would be necessary to make a profit, but I don't think we need one company doing this much.
We're asking for trouble. No - we're begging for it.
So if you have this meat, dispose of it like they've instructed. Then run to your nearest farmer's market or Slow Food connivium and ask them to help you find pasture-raised local meat. Or go to www.localharvest.org and search for meat by your zipcode.
STOP buying meat at the usual grocery stores. Insist that your meat not be raised in a feedlot and fed on corn, soy, and the parts of other animals.
Don't depend on the USDA. You are the only one who can make sure the food in your house is safe food.
My stars and whistles, people, what are we doing to ourselves? Is it really necessary for one company to produce that much meat and send it all over the country? Why can't we have smaller, localized processing plants that handle the meat from a few ranches? I don't how many ranches would be necessary to make a profit, but I don't think we need one company doing this much.
We're asking for trouble. No - we're begging for it.
So if you have this meat, dispose of it like they've instructed. Then run to your nearest farmer's market or Slow Food connivium and ask them to help you find pasture-raised local meat. Or go to www.localharvest.org and search for meat by your zipcode.
STOP buying meat at the usual grocery stores. Insist that your meat not be raised in a feedlot and fed on corn, soy, and the parts of other animals.
Don't depend on the USDA. You are the only one who can make sure the food in your house is safe food.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Pumpkins!
I love pumpkins. I like squash in general and winter squash is sweet and yummy. I love the autumn feel that comes with seeing a grouping of vibrant, colorful gourds on a table or in a bowl. And we can do so much with this fabulous food!
For me, there's nothing better than pumpkin soup (unless it's French Onion Soup - I'll have to get back to you on that). Orange, warm, smooth pumpkin soup served in the shell: wow. And so good!
How about Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes? This great idea comes from Jessica Prentice of Wise Food Ways and I make it every Fall. Just peel up some butternut squash, white potatoes, and sweet potatoes, boil them up, drain the water, and mash them with creme fraiche or buttermilk or yogurt, salt, nutmeg, mace, or allspice. These are fabulous!
A big hit at my house is Cooking Light's Sweet Potato Casserole. Feel free to substitute butternut squash for this, too. I'll pass on the marshmallows (fake food - sigh) but I'll use the brown-sugar-butter-pecan topping.
This is all great comfort food, but remember that these orange-fleshed foods provide nutrients needed at just this time of year. They're good for you! Be sure to look for them at a farmer's market or find a farmer who's growing them. Buy them local and hopefully, organic. You'll really notice a difference in taste!
For me, there's nothing better than pumpkin soup (unless it's French Onion Soup - I'll have to get back to you on that). Orange, warm, smooth pumpkin soup served in the shell: wow. And so good!
How about Pumpkin Mashed Potatoes? This great idea comes from Jessica Prentice of Wise Food Ways and I make it every Fall. Just peel up some butternut squash, white potatoes, and sweet potatoes, boil them up, drain the water, and mash them with creme fraiche or buttermilk or yogurt, salt, nutmeg, mace, or allspice. These are fabulous!
A big hit at my house is Cooking Light's Sweet Potato Casserole. Feel free to substitute butternut squash for this, too. I'll pass on the marshmallows (fake food - sigh) but I'll use the brown-sugar-butter-pecan topping.
This is all great comfort food, but remember that these orange-fleshed foods provide nutrients needed at just this time of year. They're good for you! Be sure to look for them at a farmer's market or find a farmer who's growing them. Buy them local and hopefully, organic. You'll really notice a difference in taste!
Thursday, September 27, 2007
The Truth in Cartoons
I thought today's Pickles cartoon was kinda funny in a hopeless, cynical kind of way:
Pickles Sept 27
How many people live their lives doing exactly this thing. Eating what's convenient and never giving a thought to where or how or why the food got there. Which is exactly how the food industry wants it.
Pickles Sept 27
How many people live their lives doing exactly this thing. Eating what's convenient and never giving a thought to where or how or why the food got there. Which is exactly how the food industry wants it.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Baking mixes
One never knows where one will find Good Ideas about food. This week, it was Mother Earth News, of all places. There were enough Good Ideas to give me a few entries, so today's is about making up your own baking mix.
I've been doing this since my kids were little ones. I mean, just read the list of ingredients on the box of Bisquick or Aunt Jemima pancakes. Is this really what you want to be eating? Giving to your kids?
Everyone harps on saving time, but really and truly, how much time does it take to mix your pancakes from scratch? Five minutes, maybe? And that's if you don't have the mix made up ahead of time!
So mix up the dry ingredients in whatever amount works for you. To use the example from Mother Earth:
5 pounds whole wheat flour (or go half and half with unbleached all-purpose flour; but I just don't have that stuff in my house!)
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup oat bran
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup baking powder
1 tbsp cream of tartar
3 tbsp salt
Mix it all up and store it in an airtight container. Store some in the freezer if you won't use it within a month.
When you're ready to make pancakes, just use your mix on a 2:1 ratio with milk and eggs and oil. (Two cups mix with one cup milk, one egg, one tbsp oil). I love nuts, so I usually add some walnuts to the batter, and don't forget to throw in some fruit, if you want!
The same mix can be used to make biscuits.
You save time in the morning and you're not feeding your family a factory-mixed conglomerate with preservatives. Now, don't say anything about the mix that tells you to "just add water!" I swear, you are not saving enough time to make the health and taste trade-off worth it!
I've been doing this since my kids were little ones. I mean, just read the list of ingredients on the box of Bisquick or Aunt Jemima pancakes. Is this really what you want to be eating? Giving to your kids?
Everyone harps on saving time, but really and truly, how much time does it take to mix your pancakes from scratch? Five minutes, maybe? And that's if you don't have the mix made up ahead of time!
So mix up the dry ingredients in whatever amount works for you. To use the example from Mother Earth:
5 pounds whole wheat flour (or go half and half with unbleached all-purpose flour; but I just don't have that stuff in my house!)
1 cup wheat germ
1 cup oat bran
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup baking powder
1 tbsp cream of tartar
3 tbsp salt
Mix it all up and store it in an airtight container. Store some in the freezer if you won't use it within a month.
When you're ready to make pancakes, just use your mix on a 2:1 ratio with milk and eggs and oil. (Two cups mix with one cup milk, one egg, one tbsp oil). I love nuts, so I usually add some walnuts to the batter, and don't forget to throw in some fruit, if you want!
The same mix can be used to make biscuits.
You save time in the morning and you're not feeding your family a factory-mixed conglomerate with preservatives. Now, don't say anything about the mix that tells you to "just add water!" I swear, you are not saving enough time to make the health and taste trade-off worth it!
Sunday, September 23, 2007
Our Farm Bill
Sunday morning. We get two papers on Sunday, the SF Chronicle and the Contra Costa Times. A leisurely breakfast and time to read them both.
So there’s a great article in the Chron about the farm bill. Yeah, that one.
I know the House passed it and sent it on to the Senate. I know they made some important but very small changes. We continue to be in deep doo-doo, folks.
The crux of the article is that the farm bill is archaic. It had its use at first and hopefully, solved the problem it was created to solve. But like a lot of programs, it wasn’t supposed to live forever. Congress’s continual renewal of it is destructive and expensive.
We lobbied. We wrote letters and emails and sent faxes. We told our representatives over and over, what was wrong with the bill and what they needed to change. They aren’t listening. They continue to let the various food industries write their own portions of the bill. They continue to give billions of dollars to large-scale agriculture and corporate farms. They continue to subsidize, cotton, soy, corn, dairy, sugar, peanuts, etc. They continue to subsidize monoculture and fertilizer and pesticides.
They don’t subsidize vegetables, nuts, or fruit. They don’t subsidize organic. Sure, California complains about that because California grows most of the vegetables, nuts, and fruit, and not so much of the other stuff. But the point is not which state gets the money. The point is the damage done to our health and to the economy because our government subsidizes Big Ag.
This is also the bill that pays farmers to not grow something. Umm… how do I get in on that?
A lot of us question whether subsidies are good at all. Personally, I’d like to see them go away just on simple free market principles. The example in the article was about salad: if people are demanding a variety of nutritious, dark greens for their salads, but Congress is subsidizing iceberg – guess what a farmer grows? If he wants the subsidy, he grow iceberg. Sure, stubborn people scrounge around until they find a farmer who grows what they want. But why should it be so hard?
And because the market can’t control what’s available to buy, we have to pay much more for those nutritious greens. The subsidies for iceberg means it costs the farmer a lot more to grow them. (This is just an example - the farm bill does not subsidize iceberg lettuce.)
We want organic, we want fresh. We want research and innovation. We want rotated crops and farming methods that nourish the land.
We get monoculture. We get factory farms and sludge piles and fertilizer and pesticides. We can corn syrup as a way to use up all the corn that’s grown and the corn syrup gets put into nearly every kind of food that’s available to buy. We get diabetes. We get fat. We get cancer.
Follow the money.
So there’s a great article in the Chron about the farm bill. Yeah, that one.
I know the House passed it and sent it on to the Senate. I know they made some important but very small changes. We continue to be in deep doo-doo, folks.
The crux of the article is that the farm bill is archaic. It had its use at first and hopefully, solved the problem it was created to solve. But like a lot of programs, it wasn’t supposed to live forever. Congress’s continual renewal of it is destructive and expensive.
We lobbied. We wrote letters and emails and sent faxes. We told our representatives over and over, what was wrong with the bill and what they needed to change. They aren’t listening. They continue to let the various food industries write their own portions of the bill. They continue to give billions of dollars to large-scale agriculture and corporate farms. They continue to subsidize, cotton, soy, corn, dairy, sugar, peanuts, etc. They continue to subsidize monoculture and fertilizer and pesticides.
They don’t subsidize vegetables, nuts, or fruit. They don’t subsidize organic. Sure, California complains about that because California grows most of the vegetables, nuts, and fruit, and not so much of the other stuff. But the point is not which state gets the money. The point is the damage done to our health and to the economy because our government subsidizes Big Ag.
This is also the bill that pays farmers to not grow something. Umm… how do I get in on that?
A lot of us question whether subsidies are good at all. Personally, I’d like to see them go away just on simple free market principles. The example in the article was about salad: if people are demanding a variety of nutritious, dark greens for their salads, but Congress is subsidizing iceberg – guess what a farmer grows? If he wants the subsidy, he grow iceberg. Sure, stubborn people scrounge around until they find a farmer who grows what they want. But why should it be so hard?
And because the market can’t control what’s available to buy, we have to pay much more for those nutritious greens. The subsidies for iceberg means it costs the farmer a lot more to grow them. (This is just an example - the farm bill does not subsidize iceberg lettuce.)
We want organic, we want fresh. We want research and innovation. We want rotated crops and farming methods that nourish the land.
We get monoculture. We get factory farms and sludge piles and fertilizer and pesticides. We can corn syrup as a way to use up all the corn that’s grown and the corn syrup gets put into nearly every kind of food that’s available to buy. We get diabetes. We get fat. We get cancer.
Follow the money.
Friday, September 21, 2007
My Weekly Meals
I've been enjoying my cooking this week. It's always fun to pick out a few seasonal recipes and then be able to purchase about 80% of the ingredients at the farmer's market. I bought everything I needed on Saturday it's worked out great, as usual.
Yesterday, I made a batch of stuffed piquillo peppers. Yum! Brown rice, a tomato, some parsely and a smidge of saffron (nope, that's not local). Cover 'em with cheese and bake for about 20 minutes. Those peppers were spicy, which I really like!
This was a variation on Marion Nestle's recipe in last month's Cooking Light.
I served them with leftovers from the night before: grilled tilapia with a pinto bean salsa. Also a Cooking Light recipe.
Today, I've got some pork sausage from my CSA order and I'm going to cook it up with some roasted mushrooms and butternut squash that I have leftover from another meal. Don't know this recipe yet - I'm winging it.
Yesterday, I made a batch of stuffed piquillo peppers. Yum! Brown rice, a tomato, some parsely and a smidge of saffron (nope, that's not local). Cover 'em with cheese and bake for about 20 minutes. Those peppers were spicy, which I really like!
This was a variation on Marion Nestle's recipe in last month's Cooking Light.
I served them with leftovers from the night before: grilled tilapia with a pinto bean salsa. Also a Cooking Light recipe.
Today, I've got some pork sausage from my CSA order and I'm going to cook it up with some roasted mushrooms and butternut squash that I have leftover from another meal. Don't know this recipe yet - I'm winging it.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
U.S. Food Policy: Breastfeeding promotion and formula marketing
U.S. Food Policy: Breastfeeding promotion and formula marketing
This is a great article. Take a minute to click on the link and read it.
There are so many possible issues to address when the topic is breastfeeding and most of them are real and important. This is the kind of topic that I could fill a book writing about, but for now, let me just say this:
Women - we can breastfeed. Nearly all of us. Nearly all of the time, for the amount of time a baby needs it.
But, like a lot of things related to women, we do it better when we have a community that supports it. Women are communal creatures. We learn by observing, by gosssip, by instructions, by practice. Almost by osmosis. If a girl is around women who breastfeed with contentment, with joy and satisfaction - that girl will breastfeed successfully when it's her turn.
But if she's left on her own, with a job to return to and no flexible schedules or community to help, and with the convenient packet of formula the hospital gave her - she's doomed. All of the little conflicts, all of the discomfort, all of the questions, will just pile up until she's overwhelmed and the baby is crying and the house is dirty and dinner is not ready and the boss wants that report...
We need to do better. As a community, we need to provide what women and babies need: time, emotional support, and someone to do the dishes. We need a society that accepts women and babies into all aspects of the culture, even the workplace.
After all, that's not just "her" baby lying there. That's a human being who will grow up to have a place in the neighborhood you live in. You have a stake in all of it.
This is a great article. Take a minute to click on the link and read it.
There are so many possible issues to address when the topic is breastfeeding and most of them are real and important. This is the kind of topic that I could fill a book writing about, but for now, let me just say this:
Women - we can breastfeed. Nearly all of us. Nearly all of the time, for the amount of time a baby needs it.
But, like a lot of things related to women, we do it better when we have a community that supports it. Women are communal creatures. We learn by observing, by gosssip, by instructions, by practice. Almost by osmosis. If a girl is around women who breastfeed with contentment, with joy and satisfaction - that girl will breastfeed successfully when it's her turn.
But if she's left on her own, with a job to return to and no flexible schedules or community to help, and with the convenient packet of formula the hospital gave her - she's doomed. All of the little conflicts, all of the discomfort, all of the questions, will just pile up until she's overwhelmed and the baby is crying and the house is dirty and dinner is not ready and the boss wants that report...
We need to do better. As a community, we need to provide what women and babies need: time, emotional support, and someone to do the dishes. We need a society that accepts women and babies into all aspects of the culture, even the workplace.
After all, that's not just "her" baby lying there. That's a human being who will grow up to have a place in the neighborhood you live in. You have a stake in all of it.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
Lighthearted...
I always fret a bit about the wasted food when they do this kind of thing. But it leaves you with a smile.
School gardens
I think it's encouraging when I hear about people planting gardens in odd spots. I think they are great for the community and we really need to expose our children to the Real World of our planet's ecosystems.
Even the rich are doing it. An article in today's Times talks about a prep school in Delaware that has started a garden. The students do the work, they use the food in the cafeteria and include it in the science curriculum.
Call me crazy, but I think every school in America should do this and that includes the high schools. It can be part of vocational training (gardening, farming, cooking, etc.), science (soil science, food science, biology, ecosystems...). I would even go so far as to suggest working in the garden should be a requirement. This can be flexible, obviously, for disabled students, but nearly everyone should be able to do something. There's also the benefit of getting the kids outdoors. We never get too old to need that.
Think of the fun: the kids plant some seeds, grow a plant, harvest it, cook it and eat it. When they go home and see the box of Hamburger Helper, don't you imagine they're going to start asking Mom and Dad why they can't eat Real Food? Like they do at school?
Even the rich are doing it. An article in today's Times talks about a prep school in Delaware that has started a garden. The students do the work, they use the food in the cafeteria and include it in the science curriculum.
Call me crazy, but I think every school in America should do this and that includes the high schools. It can be part of vocational training (gardening, farming, cooking, etc.), science (soil science, food science, biology, ecosystems...). I would even go so far as to suggest working in the garden should be a requirement. This can be flexible, obviously, for disabled students, but nearly everyone should be able to do something. There's also the benefit of getting the kids outdoors. We never get too old to need that.
Think of the fun: the kids plant some seeds, grow a plant, harvest it, cook it and eat it. When they go home and see the box of Hamburger Helper, don't you imagine they're going to start asking Mom and Dad why they can't eat Real Food? Like they do at school?
Friday, September 14, 2007
Birthday Beer Bacchanals
Friday brings long lunches and the chance to catch up with old friends and former co-workers. As a personal chef, I spend a lot of time alone, so these events are important to me. I really miss my friends now that we no longer work together!
So today was the 3 B's: birthdays to celebrate with a beer bacchanal at Jupiter's. It's really easy to tell that we're older than we used to be. These affairs are much quieter than you'd think. And I didn't even think to bring a camera. But you can't beat the fun of Jupiter's patio on a sunny Berkeley day along with their home-brewed beer.
You knew I'd get around to something being done locally, didn't you? I'm sure most of the ingredients are not local, but Jupiter's does brew their own beer (along with it's sister pub, Triple Rock, down the street). Sorry. This isn't a review of these places, but go ahead and check them out. My devotion to them is based on years of memories and friends, as well as the good beer.
So today was the 3 B's: birthdays to celebrate with a beer bacchanal at Jupiter's. It's really easy to tell that we're older than we used to be. These affairs are much quieter than you'd think. And I didn't even think to bring a camera. But you can't beat the fun of Jupiter's patio on a sunny Berkeley day along with their home-brewed beer.
You knew I'd get around to something being done locally, didn't you? I'm sure most of the ingredients are not local, but Jupiter's does brew their own beer (along with it's sister pub, Triple Rock, down the street). Sorry. This isn't a review of these places, but go ahead and check them out. My devotion to them is based on years of memories and friends, as well as the good beer.
Thursday, September 13, 2007
Cooking at Home
I've been trying to include a lot of local food in my diet for a couple of years, now. It's been a great experience and there's no doubt I love the food. Yesterday, I talked about my canning frustrations, but when all is said and done, the simple truth is: I love to cook. So I'm always trying to make my own... whatever. I like to buy local ingredients and go from there.
This includes my quest for the perfect yogurt. I wasn't interested in yogurt with "fruit" or anything else in it. I wanted plain, true yogurt. I'd add my own mixings at home.
The baseline was the yogurt I had for breakfast in 2003 at Glenloe Abbey in Galway, Ireland. It was creamy, rich, and fresh. It tasted like the milk had just come from one of the cows we could see outside the restaurant window, grazing in the Abbey's pasture.
Back home, the search began. And failed. And failed again.
Okay, it's a no-brainer that Lucerne or Dannon or Yoplait weren't going to make the grade. In fact, it wasn't always easy to even find plain yogurt in those brands. Everything was loaded with sweeteners and flavoring (rarely with any actual fruit, mind you - but lots of flavorings). So I moved on to Strauss (not bad), Nancy's (still not bad), and Pavel's (too strong). But none of them came close. It's true that by this time, I no longer remembered the exact taste of my baseline yogurt, but I figured I'd know it when I tasted it.
As I got more into buying local foods, the search was complicated by the location factor. Technically, Strauss is local, but can I really be sure the yogurt in the store came from a cow in California? Certainly the milk was mixed in a factory with milk from other parts of the country. Not good enough. Then I found Redwood Hills Goat Yogurt and that came pretty darn close. About as local as I could get, it was creamy and rich. I loved it. I had a hard time finding it sometimes, but it was great.
Except... not quite there. I was content, but a little bud of dissatisfaction kept nudging me on. What if, I occasionally thought, WHAT IF - I made my own yogurt?
I don't always move quickly. The thought fermented (hee) in my mind for a while and when I read Barbara Kingsolver's marvelous book "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral" I came across her chapter on making cheese. Which led me to http://www.cheesemaking.com/ and the New England Cheesemaking Supply Co. Okay, I know. It's not local. But I could buy a yogurt maker from them, couldn't I? See, just like with canning, I needed some hand-holding when it came to making yogurt. They not only sold a great yogurt maker, they had lots of instructions.
So I jumped in. Fresh raw milk from Claravale Farms (which I could get at Whole Foods or pick up with my occasional grocery order from Three Stone Hearth), a little bit of powdered milk, some yogurt starter and...
Oh yeah. If this yogurt is not at the baseline, it's too close to call. I'm hooked.
This includes my quest for the perfect yogurt. I wasn't interested in yogurt with "fruit" or anything else in it. I wanted plain, true yogurt. I'd add my own mixings at home.
The baseline was the yogurt I had for breakfast in 2003 at Glenloe Abbey in Galway, Ireland. It was creamy, rich, and fresh. It tasted like the milk had just come from one of the cows we could see outside the restaurant window, grazing in the Abbey's pasture.
Back home, the search began. And failed. And failed again.
Okay, it's a no-brainer that Lucerne or Dannon or Yoplait weren't going to make the grade. In fact, it wasn't always easy to even find plain yogurt in those brands. Everything was loaded with sweeteners and flavoring (rarely with any actual fruit, mind you - but lots of flavorings). So I moved on to Strauss (not bad), Nancy's (still not bad), and Pavel's (too strong). But none of them came close. It's true that by this time, I no longer remembered the exact taste of my baseline yogurt, but I figured I'd know it when I tasted it.
As I got more into buying local foods, the search was complicated by the location factor. Technically, Strauss is local, but can I really be sure the yogurt in the store came from a cow in California? Certainly the milk was mixed in a factory with milk from other parts of the country. Not good enough. Then I found Redwood Hills Goat Yogurt and that came pretty darn close. About as local as I could get, it was creamy and rich. I loved it. I had a hard time finding it sometimes, but it was great.
Except... not quite there. I was content, but a little bud of dissatisfaction kept nudging me on. What if, I occasionally thought, WHAT IF - I made my own yogurt?
I don't always move quickly. The thought fermented (hee) in my mind for a while and when I read Barbara Kingsolver's marvelous book "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral" I came across her chapter on making cheese. Which led me to http://www.cheesemaking.com/ and the New England Cheesemaking Supply Co. Okay, I know. It's not local. But I could buy a yogurt maker from them, couldn't I? See, just like with canning, I needed some hand-holding when it came to making yogurt. They not only sold a great yogurt maker, they had lots of instructions.
So I jumped in. Fresh raw milk from Claravale Farms (which I could get at Whole Foods or pick up with my occasional grocery order from Three Stone Hearth), a little bit of powdered milk, some yogurt starter and...
Oh yeah. If this yogurt is not at the baseline, it's too close to call. I'm hooked.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Preserving
September is Eat Local Challenge month, and of course, I signed up. I try to do this even in months when there is no challenge.
I like this month's theme, though: the beginning of the harvest and turning our thoughts toward preserving our food. I love all the blogs about people canning their harvest, and all the wonderful pictures of glorious jars on shelves, but let me be honest: I'm food preservation challenged in the biggest way.
I grew up typical 60s American suburban. Our food came from the grocery store - in cans, boxes, and preferably frozen. TV dinners were the rage. Add to that a mother who worked full-time and who hated fish, cheese, and mushrooms. When it came to most of our meals, it needed to say Swanson or Chef Boy-ar-Dee. I was 16 before I saw a fresh strawberry.
My mother grew up on a farm in Texas and she hated everything to do with it. She hardly ever talked about it and I never heard her pine for the fresh vegetables of her youth. Except for okra. When okra was in season, she bought it by the bushel-full and mixed it up with cornmeal and salt, deep-fried it, and we'd sit at the table eating pounds of it. I still love that stuff. She also bought yellow squash and cooked it with a cream sauce and lots of pepper. I loved that, too.
So you can see it was unusual to ever get "fresh," let alone freshly grown. And the idea of canning anything - well, the idea just never occured. I didn't even know the average human being could do that kind of thing. If you had asked me, I probably would have said it came from a factory somewhere. Everyone knows that!
I've done some canning over the last few years. Just fruit - chutneys, sauces, butters - easy stuff. I've never even tried jams because the idea of using pectin makes me nervous. I'm not sure what it is, you see. Any other food I want to preserve, I do by freezing. I'm the freeze queen, or I would be if I actually had something other than the side compartment to our Amana. I'd love to buy a chest freezer but what do I do about our famous California brown-outs and blackouts? Does a freezer need a separate generator?
So here's my problem: I'm totally enamored of Real Food. I would love to spend days cooking and canning all kinds of fresh produce, in all kinds of exciting ways. But I need a teacher. I need people to do it with, who'll talk and laugh and have a good time while we work. Who'll show me what pectin looks like and how to use it. Who know how to use a pressure canner or what the saurkraut is supposed to look like after a few days. People with Experience.
It would be so cool to really know how to do it.
I like this month's theme, though: the beginning of the harvest and turning our thoughts toward preserving our food. I love all the blogs about people canning their harvest, and all the wonderful pictures of glorious jars on shelves, but let me be honest: I'm food preservation challenged in the biggest way.
I grew up typical 60s American suburban. Our food came from the grocery store - in cans, boxes, and preferably frozen. TV dinners were the rage. Add to that a mother who worked full-time and who hated fish, cheese, and mushrooms. When it came to most of our meals, it needed to say Swanson or Chef Boy-ar-Dee. I was 16 before I saw a fresh strawberry.
My mother grew up on a farm in Texas and she hated everything to do with it. She hardly ever talked about it and I never heard her pine for the fresh vegetables of her youth. Except for okra. When okra was in season, she bought it by the bushel-full and mixed it up with cornmeal and salt, deep-fried it, and we'd sit at the table eating pounds of it. I still love that stuff. She also bought yellow squash and cooked it with a cream sauce and lots of pepper. I loved that, too.
So you can see it was unusual to ever get "fresh," let alone freshly grown. And the idea of canning anything - well, the idea just never occured. I didn't even know the average human being could do that kind of thing. If you had asked me, I probably would have said it came from a factory somewhere. Everyone knows that!
I've done some canning over the last few years. Just fruit - chutneys, sauces, butters - easy stuff. I've never even tried jams because the idea of using pectin makes me nervous. I'm not sure what it is, you see. Any other food I want to preserve, I do by freezing. I'm the freeze queen, or I would be if I actually had something other than the side compartment to our Amana. I'd love to buy a chest freezer but what do I do about our famous California brown-outs and blackouts? Does a freezer need a separate generator?
So here's my problem: I'm totally enamored of Real Food. I would love to spend days cooking and canning all kinds of fresh produce, in all kinds of exciting ways. But I need a teacher. I need people to do it with, who'll talk and laugh and have a good time while we work. Who'll show me what pectin looks like and how to use it. Who know how to use a pressure canner or what the saurkraut is supposed to look like after a few days. People with Experience.
It would be so cool to really know how to do it.
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Food Values
The life of a food purist is not an easy one. Take shopping day, for example. I first must go to the farmer's market, since that's where I'll find local, fresh, and organic food. Local is the key word, here and it's usually my first criterian. Not only am I not going to buy fruit and vegetables from Mexico or South American (or China!) I'm going to try not to buy them from Georgia, either. Or even Washington or Oregon. I'm going to first look for food that's grown within 100 miles of where I live. And yes, I'm really lucky in that regard, since I live in the Bay Area. It's amazing what's grown or found within 100 miles of here.
So after the farmer's market, it's off to Whole Foods for whatever I absolutely must have that wasn't at the market. I'm usually pretty lucky there, 'cause I can still find most of my produce from local farmers. Whole Foods puts up signs telling you where the stuff was grown. Try looking for that at Safeway!
In general, the local thing works pretty well for me. I only buy what's in season, so there's no need to get the asparagus from Peru. I got it when it was harvested in California. After Whole Foods, then I hit Safeway for the few items my husband refuses to give up, like Mocha Mix, cereal, turkey bacon, etc. That list is getting smaller and smaller, thank goodness.So three stops for groceries and beyond that, I also belong to a meat CSA which distributes once a month. That requires a trip to Berkeley, but I get grass-fed meat from local ranchers, as well as eggs from chickens that got to scratch for their food, and I'm hoping for a heritage turkey or ham for the holidays.
My last stop will probably be Peet's coffee (a non-local item I'm not giving up!) to pick up a 2 pound bag of beans. But I'll get that tomorrow when we go see a movie. Peet's is next door to the theater.The taste of the food is so far beyond what's sold in normal grocery stores that I hope I never have to go back to them. It can be a challenge, but it's worth every minute!
So after the farmer's market, it's off to Whole Foods for whatever I absolutely must have that wasn't at the market. I'm usually pretty lucky there, 'cause I can still find most of my produce from local farmers. Whole Foods puts up signs telling you where the stuff was grown. Try looking for that at Safeway!
In general, the local thing works pretty well for me. I only buy what's in season, so there's no need to get the asparagus from Peru. I got it when it was harvested in California. After Whole Foods, then I hit Safeway for the few items my husband refuses to give up, like Mocha Mix, cereal, turkey bacon, etc. That list is getting smaller and smaller, thank goodness.So three stops for groceries and beyond that, I also belong to a meat CSA which distributes once a month. That requires a trip to Berkeley, but I get grass-fed meat from local ranchers, as well as eggs from chickens that got to scratch for their food, and I'm hoping for a heritage turkey or ham for the holidays.
My last stop will probably be Peet's coffee (a non-local item I'm not giving up!) to pick up a 2 pound bag of beans. But I'll get that tomorrow when we go see a movie. Peet's is next door to the theater.The taste of the food is so far beyond what's sold in normal grocery stores that I hope I never have to go back to them. It can be a challenge, but it's worth every minute!
Teaching cooking
I've got two cooking classes coming up and I'm hoping these will really be fun. I've taught small groups - usually demos in homes where everyone gets involved. These are actual classes through the parks & recreation department.
I can't wait.
The first class is October 11 and according to the announcement, I said we'd be preparing:
Roasted Chicken with Pears (or peaches if they're still around)
Radicchio, Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad
Upside Down Pear Cake
The second class is November 8 and I'm into a vegetarian dinner:
Acorn Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice, Hazelnuts and Dried Cranberries
Kale Salad
Corn Pudding
I'll have some freebies for people, lots of recipes and of course, we get to eat! Let there never be a doubt why I decided to start cooking for a living!
If you're in the Bay Area, you can register for the classes at www.pleasanthillrec.com
I can't wait.
The first class is October 11 and according to the announcement, I said we'd be preparing:
Roasted Chicken with Pears (or peaches if they're still around)
Radicchio, Arugula and Goat Cheese Salad
Upside Down Pear Cake
The second class is November 8 and I'm into a vegetarian dinner:
Acorn Squash Stuffed with Wild Rice, Hazelnuts and Dried Cranberries
Kale Salad
Corn Pudding
I'll have some freebies for people, lots of recipes and of course, we get to eat! Let there never be a doubt why I decided to start cooking for a living!
If you're in the Bay Area, you can register for the classes at www.pleasanthillrec.com
Monday, September 10, 2007
Food ingredients
Just a quick note cross-posted from my writer's blog. An article in the Contra Costa Times recently pointed out the difficulty of tracing contaminated food back its source. This is one reason I don't buy any produce in bags and why I severely limit purchases of processed food. Here are a couple of quotes from the article (and the link. Hope it works):
http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_6791221?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
"Companies increasingly are paying others to make the foods we eat - or the ingredients in them - and then selling it under multiple brand names.""Generally, the identities of contract manufacturers remain secret for reasons of commercial confidentiality.So how can consumer learn where their food comes from?The truth of the matter is today, to a large degree, you can't. ...and efforts to improve on it have been beaten back," said Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives for Consumers Union."
See, this is what gets my goat. I prefer to know what's in my food. I like knowing, at least in a general sense, where the ingredients came from. 'Secret for reasons of commerical confidentiality'? Your contract manufacturer's have to be secret? What the hell for?
http://www.contracostatimes.com/search/ci_6791221?IADID=Search-www.contracostatimes.com-www.contracostatimes.com
"Companies increasingly are paying others to make the foods we eat - or the ingredients in them - and then selling it under multiple brand names.""Generally, the identities of contract manufacturers remain secret for reasons of commercial confidentiality.So how can consumer learn where their food comes from?The truth of the matter is today, to a large degree, you can't. ...and efforts to improve on it have been beaten back," said Jean Halloran, director of food policy initiatives for Consumers Union."
See, this is what gets my goat. I prefer to know what's in my food. I like knowing, at least in a general sense, where the ingredients came from. 'Secret for reasons of commerical confidentiality'? Your contract manufacturer's have to be secret? What the hell for?
Opening Post
I'm doing my duty and separating my blogs. THIS BLOG is about food.
Why food?
Wellllll.......... because I'm a foodie. Because I'm a personal chef. Because I can't deny the fascination implied in evolving on a planet along with food sources and then watching what happens when we try to pretend it didn't happen that way.
Because food tastes good. (Okay, maybe that's the biggie).
Because I want to know what you think about food and food policy and what you eat and how hard and how easy that is for you.
I want to know what you feed your kids. What you'd like to feed your kids.
I want to ramble and laugh and tease about food. I want to talk about my business and maybe talk about my clients (but I promise to be nice - and discrete). Because I want to stretch my wings and try new things and find out how you're making food work for you.
I want to hear from you. Opinions. Facts. Trials. Heartbreaks. Weight gains. Weight losses. Pregnancies. Breast Feeding. Nutrition. Fast food. Slow food. Safeway, Alberstons, Molly Stone or Whole Foods. Costco. Walmart. What works for you. What doesn't.
I'll preach. I'll flail. I'll probably make fun at some point.
I'm impatient. I'm compassionate. I may use rough language and I may express strong opinions you don't agree with. Jump in, although I reserve the right to restrict rude and useless posts. No flaming allowed, but feel free to let me know what you think.
This blog is about food. Food - is about life. Join in. Let's talk
If you're in the Bay Area, see my website at http://www.mealsbymarlene.com/. Maybe I can cook for you.
If you want to know about writing, see my writing blog at http://mardott.livejournal.com/
I've written one newly completed novel, currently titled "Dunallon" and have one in progress called "Galaxy Farmers." No cookbooks, although it's possible that Galaxy Farmers will include recipes and tips about gardening, canning (or otherwise preserving), and the many magic ways food interacts with our lives. It 's about Real Food produced by Real Planets. Hey - we have one of those!
See? This should be fun!
Why food?
Wellllll.......... because I'm a foodie. Because I'm a personal chef. Because I can't deny the fascination implied in evolving on a planet along with food sources and then watching what happens when we try to pretend it didn't happen that way.
Because food tastes good. (Okay, maybe that's the biggie).
Because I want to know what you think about food and food policy and what you eat and how hard and how easy that is for you.
I want to know what you feed your kids. What you'd like to feed your kids.
I want to ramble and laugh and tease about food. I want to talk about my business and maybe talk about my clients (but I promise to be nice - and discrete). Because I want to stretch my wings and try new things and find out how you're making food work for you.
I want to hear from you. Opinions. Facts. Trials. Heartbreaks. Weight gains. Weight losses. Pregnancies. Breast Feeding. Nutrition. Fast food. Slow food. Safeway, Alberstons, Molly Stone or Whole Foods. Costco. Walmart. What works for you. What doesn't.
I'll preach. I'll flail. I'll probably make fun at some point.
I'm impatient. I'm compassionate. I may use rough language and I may express strong opinions you don't agree with. Jump in, although I reserve the right to restrict rude and useless posts. No flaming allowed, but feel free to let me know what you think.
This blog is about food. Food - is about life. Join in. Let's talk
If you're in the Bay Area, see my website at http://www.mealsbymarlene.com/. Maybe I can cook for you.
If you want to know about writing, see my writing blog at http://mardott.livejournal.com/
I've written one newly completed novel, currently titled "Dunallon" and have one in progress called "Galaxy Farmers." No cookbooks, although it's possible that Galaxy Farmers will include recipes and tips about gardening, canning (or otherwise preserving), and the many magic ways food interacts with our lives. It 's about Real Food produced by Real Planets. Hey - we have one of those!
See? This should be fun!
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