A Great Leg of Lamb Recipe

So we actually did this last week - and I will be making it really soon - but I might forget....

This was a GREAT way to use a leg of lamb. For those phobic of the supposed game like flavor of lamb, this recipe is warming and delicious and complimentary of lamb but covers all flavors that you might not like. For lamb lovers, this is not so powerful it ruins the lamb flavor but really compliments it.

It took a bit but my favorite way to have lamb is slow cooked. It gets all tender and just falls apart in your mouth.

Wow.

It's good with brown rice or with the kicheri recipe I posted last week.

We omitted the yogurt on top and there was nothing missing. This was just absolute heaven.

Try it!

http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/RECIPES/RECIPES/meats/afg_lamb_spin.html

Quinoa Sausage Artichoke Casserole

A few weeks ago I had accidentally defrosted an extra Italian sausage from our freezer, and I decided to make a pantry type casserole (meaning I use whatever I have in the kitchen at that time to put something together). I made some quinoa (soaked and then cooked according to package directions, except reduced the water by about half since I had soaked it), peeled and trimmed a few baby artichokes I had on hand and then par-boiled them (meaning I cooked them in salted boiling water until just tender), and then I browned the sausage. I then oiled a glass pan and laid the quinoa down, sprinkled about 3/4 cup chopped parsley and thyme, then the sausage, then the artichokes. I topped it with a dollop of goat cheese on each artichoke half and baked at 350 for about 30 minutes (until goat cheese was brown).
So easy and so tasty! Next time I am going to mix the quinoa, herbs, and sausage with 1 or 2 eggs to help hold that mixture together.

You can make casseroles like this ahead of time and bake the night of any time. They are great because it uses whole grains (you can use rice, quinoa or millet for gluten free versions or spelt for a non gluten free option), everything gets cooked in advanced and all you do is assemble. It is also an easy way to get herbs into your meal. It also creates a balanced meal with good proteins, carbohydrates and fat with vegetables. The best way to round it out is to serve with a side of vegetables like a salad and you are good to go.

A Spring Meal to Entertain

I have talked about this before, but I wanted to share again.

The best way to entertain and leave people feeling taken care of and nourished, is to keep it simple.

Yes, simple is best! Some of my favorite TV chefs talk about this all the time - Mario Batali (an expert on cuisines of the different regions of Italy) and Ina Garten (a Martha Stewart type chef who puts high values on quality and refinement of food). If you pick, fresh, and good quality ingredients and cook them as they were made to be prepared, you will inevitable create a good meal.

A week ago we had guests over and I did just this. It was entirely driven from ingredients I found at the farmers market and my awareness about what spring menus should include. Here is what we prepared:Green Salad with Italian Dressing
Roast Chicken cooked on a vertical roaster and stuffed with lemon, rosemary, sage, thyme and oregano
Quinoa with fava bean and pea puree
Roast baby artichokes and zucchini (roasted in chicken drippings)

Why each item was selected
Spring is one of the best times for chicken. Eggs are also abundant right now. The herbs which were stuffed into the chicken not only impart flavor, but also have their own special nutrition and now that I have my herb garden out front, I have no excuse but to use them!
Spring is also a great time for veggies like artichokes and zucchini. Here in Half Moon Bay we almost always have artichokes. They are great for the liver and gall bladder, and spring is definitely a good time for cleansing and supporting the liver. I used baby artichokes for this meal - the trick with either baby or full artichokes is to peel back to the tender leaves, trim the tops and bottoms, par boil (boil for a few minutes until just soft) and then roast so you still get a tender but crispy texture.
Fava beans and peas are also some of the lighter plant items like fava beans and peas. Served with quinoa (which I soaked the night before to help with digestibility) is an easy way to deliver their taste without overbearing the palette.
Lastly, the green salad is a great way to get herbs, plus fat with the olive oil and very nice flavor. Not to mention fiber, vitamins and bulk to the meal.

Dessert was simply fruit (strawberries and raspberries) alongside Coconut Bliss ice cream. This is a great product based on coconut milk and meat, agave nectar (which in moderation I am a fan of compared to other sugar products). Again, really simple so it was easy on me, and everyone left feeling great.

Velveeta and Cheddar Commercial

A family holiday staple when I was growing up was this broccoli casserole that was rice, frozen broccoli, onion and Velveeta basically. It was the tastiest thing I always thought.
Yes, the holistic nutrition educator and food coach used to eat Velveeta! Part of the reason I do what I do today though is from my own experiences. After eating in a more traditional way, I have found optimal health (oh I do apologize for the evangelical element of this post, but stick with me for a few more moments).
So onto my point - yesterday I watched a commercial where a mother and son are in the grocery store and she is on the phone and because of hard times is cutting everything she needs from the store in half because she is 'cutting back'. Then it pans to her picking up Velveeta and a block of cheddar and it says something to the effect of "You don't have to cut back because Velveeta is just as good as cheddar".
Of course they don't say they have the same nutritional value - that would be a lie. But by holding them up to each other, and saying Velveeta is just as good as cheddar implies that they are the same. Give me a break!
Read the ingredients on Velveeta next time you are in the store. It's plastic cheese basically. If you can't read the ingredients, why are you eating that? With everything else we have in terms of pollution, bad eating habits as a kid, health issues, etc etc, why eat these types of things? If your answer is that eating on a budget means cheap food, think again! Feeding the whole family for your health is more than feasible on a budget.

Salad Dressings

These can be used for green salads - warm or cold as well as grain salads. Make a full batch and keep them in the refrigerator to replace store bought dressings. These are better for you because they use ingredients you can control the quality of and freshness. It is also more cost affordable which we all love!

Italian Dressing
½ cup balsamic
¼ olive oil
2 tbls mustard powder or 2 tbls Dijon mustard
salt and pepper
2 tsp dried oregano
2 crushed garlic cloves, finely minced

Mix all ingredients and store in a jar.


Citrus Vinaigrette
2 tbls orange juice
1 tbls dijon mustard
1 tbls rice or cider vinegar
1 tbls olive oil

Whisk and store.

Cilantro Vinaigrette
1 tbls honey
3 tbls olive oil or veg oil
handful of cilantro
salt and pepper
½ tbls Dijon
1 lime, squeezed
½ -1 roasted jalapeno (optional)

Put all ingredients in blender. Adjust to your likings.

What do you do about Breakfast?

When I talk about breakfast, I want you to first clear your mind of the image of someone shaking their finger and saying in an old and crackly voice 'breakfast is the most important meal of the day'.

That said, it's true. Breakfast is THE most important meal of the day. I have a long list of why, but let me highlight the top three:
1. Helps regulate blood sugar
2. Great opportunity to get fresh fruit, eggs and whole grains like oats in your diet
3. Gives you energy to start the day

What does this all really translate to -Better able to manage your weight and a healthy body and immune system

There are three disservices you do to your body by not eating breakfast.

1. By not eating, signals are sent to your body that you are starving it. So it holds onto whatever food you do give it and stores it as fat for energy needed later.

2. By not eating regularly your metabolism will slow down and it becomes more difficult to lose weight.

3. By the time you do eat, you are so hungry you overeat and typically the wrong things like chips, sweets, etc. So you end up eating more of the wrong type of calories.

Now that I have convinced you that breakfast will keep you at an ideal weight and in good health, what do you eat?
Another time I will talk about cholesterol and eggs, but for now, trust me that they are fantastic for you. Whole eggs too - the white are hard to digest and rob you of nutrients. The yolks are truly the best part.
1. Frittatas, scrambles, nests (leafy greens and tomatoes made into pockets and eggs baked inside) are all great options.
2. Oatmeal, quinoa cereals with fruits and nuts are also tasty
3. Soups are great for breakfast too. They are warm and nourishing
4. Coconut smoothies with coconut milk, fruit, water, green powder are fantastic because they are portable and will definitely take you through to lunch

What about Cherios, Chex, and all the other cold, boxed cereals?
These all use a machine called an extruder to be produced...sounds scary in itself eh? You should be worried. They put the grains under tremendous pressure to puff and shape them. Studies are showing some serious side effects from this process on rats and while they are rats, I still would not use these as a staple item.
You have likely heard about all the sugar in these too, so read the label too. Simple grains plus sugar are going to spike insulin which causes a deep crash. You can't focus, you get more hungry and eat all the bad things again.

Root Vegetable and Mushroom Pie with Rosemary Biscuit Topping

I received a subscription to Bon Appetit for the holidays and I am so happy I did. The photographs, the ideas, the recipes! This is a winner. I decided to swap the flour in the pie mixture with arrowroot powder - it is a great thickener with no weird flavor or texture. The trick is adding it more towards the end (where with flour you need it at the beginning). You could definitely do the BA recipe for biscuits, but I decided to try a gluten free biscuit. Your choice, but I wanted to highlight that this could easily be GF and DF (dairy free), and it is a much more interesting way to get your root vegetables (and it has pretty much every root veg in there!). Much of this can be done ahead, so this can be a slow cooked Sunday meal, or it can be a comforting weeknight meal that you just assemble the night of.

You can find the recipe at:
http://www.bonappetit.com/magazine/2009/03/root_vegetable_and_mushroom_pie

I have re-posted the recipe, but with my changes here:

Ingredients
filling
6 cups homemade chicken or vegetable broth
2 very large carrots, peeled, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large celery root (celeriac), peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 large parsnips, peeled, quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch pieces
1 large rutabaga, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 turnip, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 oz dried porcini mushrooms, covered with hot water for 10 minutes. Reserve liquid and chop mushrooms into 1/2 inch chunks
3 tablespoons butter or oil
3 cups chopped onions
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
2-3 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream (optional)
2 tablespoons imported dry Sherry
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Preparation
filling

• Bring 6 cups stock to boil in large pot over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve bouillon. Add carrots and next 5 ingredients. Simmer until vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Drain; reserve vegetables and broth.
• Melt butter in same pot over medium heat. Add onions; sauté until beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Mix in garlic and rosemary; stir 2 minutes. Gradually whisk in reserved broth. Cook until reduced by about half. Add the arrowroot powder. Then cream and Sherry. Cook until sauce is thick and reduced to 4 cups, whisking often. Mix in reserved vegetables and parsley. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer filling to buttered 13x9x2-inch baking dish. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover with foil; chill.
• Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake filling, covered, until bubbling, about 50 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare biscuits.

biscuits

Pre mix 1 cup rice flour, 1 cup tapioca flour, 1 cup cornstarch, 1 cup potato flour

7/8 cup of the flour mixture
1/2 tsp xanthum gum
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary
1 tsp sucanat
1/2 tsp salt

3 tablespoons butter or vegan non-hydrogenated margarine
1/2 cup buttermilk

In a mixing bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter until it resembles the size of peas. Stir in the buttermilk and work gently until the dough forms a ball. Roll out onto a dusted surface and roll to about 3/4" thickness. Cut the dough into rounds. Lay on top of the vegetable mix.

Final Preparation

Lay biscuit dough atop hot filling by heaping tablespoonfuls; sprinkle with pepper. Bake uncovered until tester inserted into center of biscuits comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool 15 minutes.

Natasha's Sheppherd's Pie

This is really one of those things that I put together based on flavors I knew were in a regular Shepperd's pie, but I either didn't want to follow an exact recipe or wanted to replace the typical 'white' products with something more nourishing. This is also a great recipe to make on Sunday and quickly re-heat for a nourishing and tasty weeknight meal. Just serve with a salad for a whole meal!
Specifically I did a mix of russet potatoes with sweet potatoes to top it. And I did ground beef and natural chicken livers (you really can't taste them in this application) to give the meat portion more nutrition. I also did a lot more vegetables in the mixture than you would normally find. Lastly, I didn't use flour to thicken the sauce and instead used arrowroot powder. Give it a try! The only thing I would change next time is to find an alternative to the worcestershire sauce. Additional herbs, some tamari and anchovies would probably do the trick if you didn't make your own full on batch of worcestershire.

Serves: 4 large servings or 6 smaller servings

Ingredients:
1 small onion, finely diced
2 stalks of celery, finely diced
2 carrots, finely diced
1 lb beef
1/2 lb natural chicken livers (soaked in lemon juice for 2 hours, rinse and pat dry, remove filament), finely chopped
1/2 cup beef broth
1/2 Tbls arrowroot powder or cornstarch
1 Tbls worcestershire sauce
1 russet potato
1 sweet potato
Butter (optional)
Cream (optional)
Olive Oil

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 F.

1. Scrub the russet and sweet potatoes and poke with a knife. Toss in the oven and bake for 45 minutes until they are soft. Set aside and let cool.

2. Over medium heat, warm a bit of olive oil or butter and soften the carrot, onion and celery. Season with salt and pepper as it cooks. Set aside.

3. Warm another tablespoon of olive oil and toss in the beef. When mostly cooked, toss in the livers.

4. A minute after the livers are added, toss in the broth and worcestershire sauce and let come to a boil. Add the arrowroot powder (or cornstarch) and cook for a few more minutes until the sauce is thick enough to leave a line when you run your spoon through it.

5. Combine the meat and vegetables and put in the bottom of a medium casserole dish (I personally like Corningware products).

6. Take the potatoes out of their skins and mash in a bowl. Mix with just olive oil, or butter and cream (don't be afraid of the fat - remember, in moderation it is good for you and will satiate you.

7. Top the meat mixture with the potatoes.

8. Put in oven and bake until warmed through and potatoes are a little crispy on top.

Carnitas

I was skeptical when Ben told me last week that he was going to make homemade carnitas....I just thought 'uhhh'. I like it from the taco shop and I rarely get it because it is so fatty and makes me nauseous, but I do like it. He found the recipe here: http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/004198carnitas.php

I will tell you two things about this:
1. This is EASY!
2. This is the best carnitas I have ever had

I really recommend this recipe and I suggest trying this one week. You can use this for tacos, empanada filling, soup, burritos, etc etc etc! With a snappy little salad on the side and some mashed avocado, fresh radishes and fresh made salsa and lime, you can't beat a tastier meal. I wanted to add that we use non GMO corn tortillas in our house. They are readily available, and if you have a choice, why add more junk to your system? You shouldn’t! Most corn, unless otherwise noted, is genetically modified (GMO). I suggest reading Michael Pollan’s The Omnivores Dilemma if you really want a nice picture of how this came about and what it is.
This was a great meal because we got to control how fatty it was, the quality of ingredients and we got to connect with our food.
A true whole food meal with a ton of flavor and love.

Weekly Menu for 1/18/09

Monday: Liver and onions, herbed millet, sauteed spinach
Tuesday: Millet and Arab spiced chicken over parsnips and onions, celery root soup and sauteed zucchini
Wednesday: Posole with steamed greens
Thursday: Homemade carnitas tacos with taco bar fixings (avocado, radish, salsa, corn tortillas) and sauteed zucchini
Friday: Leftover posole and greens

You may be asking yourself, goodness gracious what is she doing on Monday! I have not spent a great deal of time talking about my involvement with the Weston A. Price Foundation or Nourishing Our Children campaign, but one of my goals for 2009 was to incorporate more principals from WAPF and the Nourishing Traditions book by Sally Fallon (given my profession, it is my duty to try things on myself first!). The last three weeks I have added raw milk. This next week I wanted to try organ meats. There is a lot more I can write about why organ meats are good for you, but the short of it is that they are rich in vitamins A and D which are good for a variety of things in your body. Each week I am going to be trying something from Nourishing Traditions - a great book I highly recommend you pick up, and will try to give a review of the recipe each week. My involvement with WAPF doesn't mean I am against vegetarianism - I respect and support each persons choice to do what they want. I also still have my own realistic ways to incorporate good food into a busy life. Stay tuned to see how I continue to do this!

Weekly Menu for 1/11/09

Here we are in the second week of the new year! This week's menu is simple, but nutrient dense. It is a busy week so I chose things I knew we could pre-make today (Sunday) and then either warm up or toss together throughout the week. Here is what we have:

Sunday: Homemade bratwurst with cabbage and potatoes (with skins)
Monday: Simple grilled shrimp over spinach with citrus vinaigrette and a side of brown rice
Tuesday: Lentils with Indian flavored cauliflower topped with cheese
Wednesday: Marinated flank steak over rice with black beans and spinach salad
Thursday: Chicken stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in bacon and baked, sauteed spinach and quinoa
Friday: Fiesta fiesta!! Just kidding. Something fun and impromptu here.

A note about the homemade sausage. Friday night the husband took some time ( a few hours) to research and then make his own sausage. It was quite the experience, but I highly recommend it if you are a make from scratch type person. Sausage is usually packed full of nitrites and nitrates and fillers like non fat milk and such. These are just meat and spices. The best part is we get to season the way we want as well. Sausage is not a low fat dish either, but the important thing is to BALANCE the meal by having at least half the plate being vegetables. I will post more information about this after the husband does a write up for me.
Have a great week!

Winter Minerals

Something I have touched on in my blog, but perhaps never clearly said is that we are generally out of touch with our food. That is such a general statement so let me elaborate with an example. How many of you still buy tomatoes this time of year? How about peaches? Look around, and you will notice those are not in season. Your next question might be something like 'so what if it is not in season?'. Well, I am not trying to change the world here (just trying to mix our modern time restrictions, busy schedules and technology with more traditional ways of eating and living), but if you think about produce in your own home and how great it tastes when first picked you can imagine that the nutritional value of that food is much higher at that time. If you are eating out of season foods they have to travel from somewhere not near here. That means possibly eating foods that have been irradiated, genetically modified, waxed and who knows what else. The best way to know what to buy, is to go to the farmer's market and look around. Right now our farmers market is closed here in town for a few months, but there are several CSAs (Community Supported Agriculture) available in most all communities that directly supply you with seasonal foods. You can also go to the grocery store and look around for what is abundant and priced right. Right now you will see a lot of root vegetables, squash and hardy greens like kale, chard, cabbage and brussel sprouts. All of these foods are extremely rich in minerals and winter is the perfect time to re-mineralize your body. Again, most people don't think of each season as a time to nourish yourself for a particular reason. As a result many people continue to eat the highly refined and processed foods without a regularly supported diet of seasonal foods and eventually they become depleted and sick (with a cold, digestive disorder, etc). You will notice that these foods are cheap too. Eating whole foods is not only nourishing, but easy on the pocket. Combined with organized meal planning and a good pantry and you are set! This posting was the inspiration for me making Sally Fallon's Winter Root Vegetable Soup from Nourishing Traditions. If you don't own this book, I suggest buying it or picking it up at the library. It is a good informational text, as well as cookbook. This soup is extremely tasty and will make you feel warm and nourished!

The Ol' Fashioned Way

I heard something funny the other day (okay, possibly this won't be funny to you, but humor me). Someone said 'Oh yeah I am going to try to lose weight the old fashioned way - Weight Watchers'.
Where to begin here. True, that is a program that has worked for a number of people including many celebrities. True, it can teach people how to eat without overeating.
False, it is in NO way the old fashioned way. Eating foods from a box, counting calories and points is not how generations before us kept healthy.
So let me share with you that the old fashioned way to managing weight is focusing on whole foods and whole meals. No counting calories, no counting points, no warming up food from a box in minutes in the microwave, no eating on the run. I get that people are busy and I get that it can be stressful to plan meals and put it all together (I can help with this, don't forget to check out my web site at www.LLittlefoodcoaching.com). But remember that every little bit counts, and with each week you can add a new habit from the real old days that brings you back to a way of life that uses nutrition to stay healthy.

Crockpot Success: Black Beans and Pork

I want to begin this post with a note about my crockpot history. I will keep it short - I have only made one thing I actually liked in it. This made #2! It was great, and really really easy. The great thing about anything crockpot is it has the taste and love of an all day cooked meal, and really all you have to do is throw the ingredients into the pot, and set it. I actually made this on Sunday because I knew I would just want to warm it up after my long day today. We made some homemade salsa, cut up an avocado and scooped out some organic Greek yogurt and served with a salad and it was DELISH!

We used thick Greek style yogurt instead of sour cream like the recipe called for. Two reasons, whenever I buy sour cream it is usually for one recipe - and I don't like to waste. This week I am doing two other recipes that use yogurt as a sauce, and the plain thick yogurt tastes just like sour cream. Better for you too - give it a try next time.

The recipe originally came from Real Simple magazine. You can find it here: http://food.realsimple.com/realsimple/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1694943

I made it spicier and I would recommend not adding the salt until the end. It made the bean skins hard on the outside and if you add the salt after it cooks it should eliminate that issue. Two other things we changed is we seared the pork in a pan before putting in the crockpot, and we cooked this for 5 hours, not 4 thus making it more like a stew and not soup.



Ingredients:

2 12 oz bottles of lager beer (I used Sheiner Bock - highly recco this choice)

2 tablespoons chopped canned chilies in adobo and 1 tbls of adobo sauce

1 tsp cumin

1 large onion, chopped

1 pound dried black beans, rinsed

1.5 lbs boneless pork butt

Kosher salt

Greek style yogurt

Salsa

Avocado

Cilantro



Heat a pan to high with a tsp of oil. Sear the pork on all sides.

In the crockpot bowl toss in the pork, beans, beer, cumin, onion, chilies, adobo sauce and 3 cups water. Cover and set on high for 5 hours (depends on your slow cooker and whether you want this more like soup or like stew).

Add 1 tbls kosher salt. Stir and adjust according to taste.

Top with a scoop of yogurt, avocado and salsa.



Re-use in tacos, casseroles or eat on it's own!
Excuse the lack of photo. I was experimenting with the new light box, and it wasn't working and we were hungry...so we ate :)

Title: Dang Good Potato Peeler

That is me at about 7 years old in my Omi's restaurant. She owned it for 21 years - it was an authentic German restaurant and she made the best. People still run into me and talk about her food today. She passed away last year. I loved her, and her food very much.

I grew up in that restaurant and I can't express how valuable it was to me, and how much I wish to share that love of food with everyone, and hope to pass a similar experience onto my own children someday. I was put to 'work' starting when I could walk practically. My first job was peeling potatoes -and I was dang good at it. I 'washed' dishes (more like played with bubbles in the sink), made what I called 'kinky' cookies (basically sugar cookies that are fed through a meat grinder like device to make a tube shaped cookie and we would arrange them in weird shapes), and I dusted and vacuumed. Eventually I took orders, cooked apple streusel with her, learned key techniques like keep the stove on medium heat and don't rush pan frying of breaded meats!

So I learned some valuable restaurant and home management techniques, but I also learned how to make things from scratch, how to appreciate that effort, and how to express myself with food. I look back on it now and I think wow, I was so young when I started running around in that kitchen. I got yelled at for getting in the way don't get me wrong (Omi wasn't exactly the sweet southern kind of grandma ;) ) but imagine how important I felt being able to have a job in the kitchen and participate in bringing all that joy to people.

My heartfelt story comes to you because I wanted to share that the kitchen is a place where big things can happen - for kids and adults. It is a place of expression, sharing, love, satiation. It's just a dang good place to be. I don't know if my Omi or parents ever thought growing up in the restaurant would impact me like it did, but I can tell you that my friends who had similar experiences share the same healthy love of food I do, and I will go on record saying it has a huge impact.

By the way, thanks Mom for cutting my bangs....using scotch tape as a guide.....kidding, they don't look that bad :)

Imagine Food 50+ years Ago

About a week ago I was having a conversation with a couple who are family friends - they are in their early 70s. We were talking about food, cooking, meal planning and eating throughout the day and I was so pleased to find that they never touch convenience foods that so many people couldn't imagine a vocabulary without. For example, we were talking about snacks, and one of my favorites is sliced turkey or chicken with a dollop of hummus on a romaine leaf with a sheet of nori (what they wrap sushi in). I immediately assumed convenience and said 'an all natural deli turkey could work' and they both looked at me and said 'Oh no honey, too salty and I can make it so much better'. THAT ROCKS!
(shame on me too for assuming convenience)

This is why I love thinking about food in the same way several generations ago treated it. You know, simple stuff like the idea that chickens have legs and should run free. Or you really should only eat what you need to and get it fresh from your own garden - not from a shelf with stabilizers and additives and other weirdness.

The original idea behind convenience foods might have been good - food that you can grab quickly and prepare without much effort so the now hard working man and woman in the house can be extra productive. But the food that comes pre-packaged is largely manipulated to only slightly resemble real food when you look at the actual ingredients (try actually reading the ingredients from time to time and see if you can pinpoint exactly what each is - I guarantee it will be a difficult exercise). We have gotten so used to the idea of having foods so readily available, and not reading the packaging, that we have also forgotten what real food is!
Times are different now and while both men and women work full time most of the time, and run a family and household etc, our economy, our accessibility, awareness - it has all changed since these foods first came out. So let's adjust our eating habits to re-align with traditional choices in a modern manner.

I won't say don't ever reach for the convenience foods - that is not realistic. But take the time to shop the farmers markets and eat seasonally. Take the time to prepare at least 4 dinners a week at home, and pack your lunch half the time when you go to work. Instead of buying a cake for your sweet craving try to make a new recipe from your favorite baking book. Just pick one thing to add each week and in a year you will have added 52 good habits!

Kombucha Update

This is my first time making kombucha and the process has been really interesting. I know it is a SCOBY (see my earlier post http://littlefieldofgreens.blogspot.com/2008/08/kombucha-and-coconut-kefir.html), but the whole thing is still so surreal to me. Let me walk you through it.

Here is a picture of the kombucha after a week. It has been sitting in a ceramic bowl in our cabinet covered with a paper towel to keep bugs and such out. Let me tell you, the smell is not light. This stuff is good, but there has been a faint vinegar smell in that part of the kitchen. Kind of freaks me out, but I am willing to sacrifice some things in the name of food and traditional eating!

So what happens is the 'mother' SCOBY I started this with last week has now duplicated and spread to the size of the vessel I put it in. This SCOBY started out as only about 3x3 inches - and grew to the full size of this bowl. Underneath this white mass is the kombucha liquid.

What I did today since it appeared to be ready (smell was right - fermented (NOT rotten), taste was mostly un-sweet as the SCOBY used the sugar we brewed with the tea to feed itself), and jarred the liquid and put it in the fridge. The liquid not being sweet is what you look for because it shows that the sugar has been consumed by the SCOBY. Here is a picture of our kombucha for the week:

By tomorrow, because I put a lid on this jar, it will have some natural carbonation forming and we can drink it. You really should have no more than 8 oz a day (more if you are sick, stressed or had some trauma).

I then took some of the liquid, plus part of the SCOBY (it grew too large for the new vessel I bought for this) and put it in a jar. I brewed some organic oolong tea, mixed it with organic turbinado sugar, and let it cool to about body temperature. Then I mixed the tea and the SCOBY from my original batch in the jar and put a new paper towel on, put it in the cupboard and there is going to be another batch ready for me next week.

What is so odd to me about this beverage is that it starts with something, the SCOBY, that just about can't be killed. You want to keep the process sanitary, but basically, that SCOBY will just keep replicating and producing as much kombucha as you choose to make. The kombucha itself then has these amazing properties of other fermented products such as aiding in digestion, providing good bacteria and promoting good cleansing.

Fermented food is actually pretty easy to make (with the exception of the coconut kefir -that is best done with a group because of all the work). I think when people hear that term though, they think rotten and gross. When I say people I don't mean all on earth, because the Russians love kvass (fermented beet juice which is a great blood tonic and was often drank more frequently instead of water because water was tainted), and the Koreans love kimchee (fermented cabbage with carrots and radish and chilies), and the Germans love sauerkraut - just to name a few. Making the kombucha looks disturbing, I know this. But, it is producing an amazing beverage and like other fermented foods deserves a try.

Easy Does It

I was working out at the gym today and this commercial came on for some dieting product where you 'eat 35% less without even trying' by eating their supplements with your meals or something. The tag line at the end was 'dieting is hard and our product is easy!'. Nevermind that the whole thing was animated and showed this cartoon who was a little pudgy going to impossible and unhealthy skinny.
It reminded me of two things:
1 - I don't advocate 'dieting'. Atkins, South Beach are all good in their own way, but none are sustainable and none advocate a wide spectrum of wholesome and nutritious foods that work for your body (because remember, we are all unique in how we digest our food based on genetics, toxic exposure, tastes and physiology). A well balanced diet is what helps maintain weight, good health, immunity and happiness. Not to mention, depriving yourself of a fabulous glass of wine, or a piece of cake to celebrate with friends is just plain wrong and will drive you nuts to the point where you binge and ruin your mindset and weight management goals.
2 - Food should be about more than just key words like 'easy'. Eating is something that keeps you alive and healthy and energetic. You do it at least 2-3 times a day, EVERY DAY! I really feel that on the whole, our culture has lost sight of how much of a direct impact food has on your health, your skin, your mood, your hormones, my list goes on. I will talk a lot about food quality and that is part of it, but really what I am trying to address here is that it is not always about getting a meal done in under 30 minutes, or picking up to go food - you have to feed yourself properly! And don't get me wrong, I love the 30 minute meal uprising in the last few years, but I also have a significant appreciation for a slow cooked roast, or stews that cook for hours and I love to shop for that meal, plan it out and feed myself and those around me with it.

Some people don't share this same opinion, and I admit, food and food quality are very high on my priority list in life. I have some core values about food, and I just simply stick to it.

Kombucha and Coconut Kefir!

I briefly mention in my profile that I could not eat dairy (more specifically the milk protein, casein) for about 8 years. And with some changes in my diet including better food combining, and cultured foods, I was able to turn my digestive wellness around and can now eat dairy again. It was a sweet day when I figured that out.
The key to the whole thing I am convinced, were the cultured foods. I made cultured vegetables out of cabbages, kale, carrots. They are good, and I still make them occasionally, but they are not really convenient for bringing into work (and actually, don't do this if you make it - it can be mistaken for sewage or something totally rotten). And you may ask why eat these things that smell so bad - but I tell you, they taste great and when you eat anything that has been cultured you feel amazing. It takes away sweet cravings, aids digestion and just balances you out. Truly, truly amazing stuff.
The other thing I cultured was young coconut juice and the meat inside. I got this from The Body Ecology Diet www.bodyecology.com. This book changed my life (Thank you Donna Gates!). Now this stuff is amazing for you, and tastes fantastic. It does not have a strong coconut flavor, but has a light essence. And because it is fermented, it has a bubbly champagne like mouthfeel.
Culturing I think is a job best done with a group. First of all, it is a bit cumbersome so it is nice to split the duties. Second, food and health are about community and I have found a great group of friends to share in this culturing exercise with me about every 6-8 weeks.
This weekend was all about culturing. We always do coconuts, and then one new thing. And I finally found a kombucha mother to make our own kombucha (You read my posting about limiting the budget to no more than $120 - and $2.50 bottles of kombucha are not in the budget but I love it dearly and so does the hubby!).
So many people have asked me 'what is kombucha'. I looked it up and it is a 'SCOBY' - Symbiotic Colony of Bacterial Yeast. It is so, so simple to make. Really the hardest part is getting a mother from someone (the mother is the starter - kind of like what you do with sourdough bread). And I found someone in Alameda (thank you again Melissa).
Basically what you do is boil some water, dump some sugar in and brew tea (pure black tea or green tea - no herbal, oils, flavors, etc). Let it cool and then add the kombucha mother. This should be done in a glass container. Cover with a paper towel and let sit for a week in a dark, 70 degree-ish area. After a week, the mother will have split and created 'babies' and the babies can be made for a new batch, composted, or shared with a friend. You drain the liquid out, put it in the fridge and brew a new batch with the mother or babies.
So every week you can continue to make your own kombucha, and the mother just keeps regenerating. Makes for some interesting symbolism.
It seems odd. But let me tell you, it is only in the last 50-75 years that we as a society stopped culturing our food. We have lost this part of our relationship with food and it is sad because cultured foods are so amazing for you - vitamins, digestive aids, probiotics.......the list goes on. It takes a little bit of work, but this is your health and well being - take the time to invest a little extra in it.