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A Chef and A Zebra

Aug 22

Posted by admin in cooking, food universe, gardening, healthy eating, lifestyle

With farm markets bursting with product and flavor, it’s time for you to join the cars at the side of the road and become a chef. After all not all chefs deal with major food companies who arrive at their back door with a week’s worth of supplies. Sure that’s fine for paper towels, but produce and meats. Nope.
You can be a modern-day chef who visits a garden or works with a farmer and makes his meals based on what’s in market or at the stands. Now’s the time to practice creativity and elevate the basic recipes as you try fresh-picked possibilities.  Emails are overflowing with peach teasers as the East Coast bounty is turning the basic peach lover into a peach canner or at least one who freezes slices for smoothies. Of course, tomatoes are filling baskets and corn readies itself for new grill recipes. Here’s a simple trick: Wash, husk corn, and put it on the grill. Let it make its popping sound; turn, and repeat til kernels beg to be eaten. The sounds of summer.
What’s stopping you? The answer should be: Nothing. The produce is so fresh, brimming with an aura of jus’ picked begging for your attention. This is what a chef who markets does. Chefs, sous chefs, or even line cooks who are on a mission buy the freshest items possible. That’s how a daily menu works. Sure there are plenty of stand-bys, but daily specials thrive in a market environment. Home cooks can do it; it’s not that hard. Shop, talk to the produce stand people, and hit “Epicurious” for strategies. Time to be creative.

Here’s a simple exercise: Zebra heirloom tomatoes, small yellow potatoes, pickling cukes, corn beggin’ to be husked, and peaches of every size and variety (try the new darling donut peach). Add a protein and your bounty meal is bursting with flavor. However you dance the ingredients, they are ready for your creative tong.

Now’s the time to practice. The market waits for no one.

 

 

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Food Survival Strategies

Jul 27

Posted by admin in beer, cookbooks, cooking, food universe, healthy eating, lifestyle

It’s hot. Ugly hot. Wanna eat a big meal? No way. What’s the solution?

How ’bout several small meals? Maybe even more than three! That’s the strategy behind the new book of 400-calorie recipes. The complete title: 500 400-Calorie Recipes. The title goes on to say “Delicious and Satisfying Meals That Keep You to a Balanced 1200-Calorie Diet So You Can Lose Weight without Starving Yourself.” Yes, that’s a true mouthful but one that you can take in small bites.

The basic philosophy is quite simple: Don’t stuff yourself. Make small meals; gain more energy and in the process maybe you’ll cut down on the starved sensation and lose some weight. Nothing wrong with the theory which enables you to meet your daily needs but to get there in smaller portions instead of one gluttonous, over-indulgent experience. Here’s the plus: You won’t feel weighted down. Seriously. A recent report on the importance of portion control (“Healthy Eating Strategies by Generation”) from the NPD Group attests to the fact that consumers are aware of the healthy lifestyle benefits. This book clearly spells out a simple life plan that is easy to incorporate.

The strategy is quite simple. Recipes focus on nutrient-dense and low-calorie ingredients that you can eat amply and pair with smaller portions of more filling foods such as grains or beans. Author Dick Logue works with each meal part and gives recipes that say, how about substituting this and saving the calories. For instance, after a complete chapter of what he calls traditional breakfast dishes, he revisits breakfast with “New Ways to Think about Breakfast,” a chapter that is less egg-centric and more focused on introducing other vegetables into the breakfast meal such as eggplant, a handy substitute in a frittata. An egg substitute product is used generously in a number of recipes.

Here’s a sampling of calorie light recipes that might get your creative juices flowing again during the upcoming heavy weather-laden month:

–Italian Dinner Salad–has a sense of the kitchen sink with its antipasto components complemented by chopped chicken breast. A great make-ahead selection.

–Beef Stew with Root Vegetables–the secret ingredient here is the addition of a dark beer! The recipe still comes in under 400 calories!

–Frozen Fruit Cups–now we’re talking: A non-ice cream freezer dessert that takes minutes to prepare and finishes off any meal.

Enough recipe teasers. The author likes the 500 concept as his prior books attest (500 High-Fiber Recipes, and 500 Low-Cholesterol Recipes. Let me say that 500 recipes can be a bit daunting but if you find a number of new possibilities, you’ll be way ahead of the game.

With its healthy focus, the thick book should keep you thinking and planning survival meals during the hot season and throughout the year.

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News Laws; More Wine, Less Whining

Jul 1

Posted by admin in alcohol, champagne, food, food universe, news, tourism, wine

Big news on the wine front: “Ship it” is the phrase of the new month. Maryland now allows residents to receive wine shipments from out-of-state wineries. No longer do DC workers have to use their office addresses for wine shipments. Hello; that’s progress. Yet, the state is ready to boost its coffers with new tax initiatives that hit the bottle hard. Alcohol tax increases amount to a 50% sales hike. That should slow down the tab.

Virginia joins the customer-friendly philosophy by allowing consumers to BYOW, bring their own wine to restaurants and pay a corkage fee. Just one common courtesy here: Don’t bring something that is already on the restaurant’s wine list. You want to keep the restaurant in business and not add to their operating cost burden.

Maybe my favorite legislative enactment is from Maryland which requires food purveyors, farm markets, and grocers to define what those “local” signs really mean. This word has had a true liberal dosing of meaning. Big banners often proclaim local only to learn that one store’s definition involves hundreds of miles while one really means the nearby grower. The law applies to fruits, vegetables, fish, and shellfish by requiring a defined point of origin. Let’s keep those signs accurate and support the true definition of local.

Oregon’s wine industry, with its much hearalded 2008 Pinot Noir accolades, just got an additional boost. License plates can now advertise wine country which should boost sales for the entire tourism industry. Why not tag something so impressive!

Celebrate the red, white, and blue by toasting these impressive legislative enactments. OK, one is costly (a 9% alcohol sales tax), but it may help the coffers in a responsible way.

Enjoy the 4th.

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Potatoes Getting Mashed Up Again

Jun 24

Posted by admin in food, food universe, health, healthy eating, lifestyle, news, USDA

I know, I know, it should come as no surprise to me or anyone that potatoes, in all forms, are the villains of the food universe. They have been beaten up by the South Beach diet folks, and the school nutrition people chimed in recently, but a large-scale food study probably added the extra topping. Even my beloved baked got scathed in this study.

Let’s cut to the chase. In a Harvard study entitled, “Changes in Specific Dietary Factors May Have Big Impact on Long-Term Weight Gain,” the potato ( in all forms, with fried leading the list) tops the chart of offenders. This study says it is not just a matter of how much we eat but specifically what we eat that will determine our future body frames! We are not talking about a small study or one over a short period of time; rather an examination of three major studies encompassing results over 20 years. That in itself is impressive: A true clarion cry or calorie headliner!

What changes need to be made in our diets to digest the conclusions. First off, yes, the potato, needs to be reduced (eliminated) or we will continue to rock the obesity numbers. Very sad reality. On the other hand, the love of nuts continues to be a positive. Well-known cookbook author Susan Herrmann Loomis may help you discover some new uses for nuts.

Sure, everything in moderation, but grabbing a handful of nuts over the small bag of chips proves a healthy decision. Yes, fruits and vegetables have overall high scores. Let’s hear it for the new USDA plate!

Yogurt scores well, too, and makes it into the slimming column. Another interesting takeaway from the study is that getting less sleep, less than 6 hours, proves a weight-gaining decision. Go for fruits, vegetables, nuts, whole grains, and yogurt. Get 8 hours of sleep, and you’ll be following the right approach to lessen weight gain.

I begin now: Major lifestyle changes ahead since there’s never been a potato I haven’t liked!

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Unknown Fruits and Vegetables: New Friends

Jun 21

Posted by admin in cooking, food universe, gardening

We’ve all heard the stories how families had never seen some vegetables in their fresh form but just assumed canned or frozen were the only options. Jamie Oliver made food history with his tour of West Virginia and the food revolution he stirred. Budget constraints have an impact on food purchasing and in these times of spiraling food costs, the tried and true head the shopping list.

Yet, I have earned a new education. Without my early membership in a CSA, I might never have tried some of my new friends. It’s you Kohlrabi I’m talking to. Not that the stand employees had many ideas how to handle this rather awkward looking vegetable; they were curious what I would uncover. With my trusty computer and numerous search attempts, I found no shortage of recipes but after the early experimentation, I settled on a personal Waldorf Salad.  Kohlrabi, apples, nuts, and cranberries became perfectly united with just a little lemon juice and a dollop of mayonnaise. The crunch worked and this veg gained star status in our house. Consider starting it from seed as Gurney’s catalog offers some enticing recipes!

Maybe the trendiest vegetable of the year award will go to KALE. From an unknown to super-star status and expensive marketing (kale chips at $7.95 a bag), this prior, semi-unknown proved a most versatile companion to many dishes. The biggest caveat is that a small bunch shrinks to a minuscule size when cooked. Buy more than you need or if you are lucky enough to find it, get a big, triple-washed bag (remember kale neared the top of last week’s pesticide list), and go wild with recipe creations. Kale can handle experimentation or if you focus in one direction, it loves sesame oil and rice vinegar with a sprinkling of tamari in a hot skillet.

Rhubarb may tie with Kale for top trend honors as the once unfamiliar fruit now champions a legion of followers or as the food52 people learned, rhubarb parties are a big hit! Maybe the house’s personal favorite recipe involves using way less sugar than previously imagined and cooking bite size pieces until just soft. Cool, taste, and freeze the majority as this is a fruit that loves oatmeal. OK, we had plenty of rhubarb-strawberry events but love pulling out a little bit as a cereal or dessert add-on. Have you tried it with Greek yogurt? A winner.

Actually these three foods moved to star status in our house this year, and we haven’t even talked about health benefits! Are we ever lucky as so many new choices are coming into market and it’s only the first day of summer. Our list will expand.

Happy Solstice.

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Trouble in FoodLand

Jun 13

Posted by admin in Administration, coffee, Environment, FDA, food, food universe, healthy eating, news

Maybe it’s the extreme heat gripping parts of the country or maybe it’s just that time of the year when the ducks get lined up properly and months of research come rushing out the gates. That’s where we are in the food world.

I challenged Congress (the House) when they came up with the money-saving notion of switching to styrofoam cups in their cafeteria. It seemed like a backwards step then as environmental issues needed to be considered. Now several months later the formaldehyde/styrofoam study has come out, and it validates much of what many of us have believed for a long time. Skip the styrofoam.

The same goes for food on pesticide lists. For a number of years there have been lists of fruits and vegetables that should be considered safe and those that should by default move into the organic purchase pile. There have always been some obvious ones such as the berries which hug the soil. (If you crave strawberries, consider organic).  It was common knowledge that if you could peel it, you could remove many of the invading pesticides. Not so fast, Jones.

The report from The Environmental Working Group points a rather strict finger at a fruit that is readily available and well recognized by most: The Apple. It tops the latest list of fruit-invaded pesticides. Apples have had other issues in the past with spraying, but the common belief has been that you could wash the apple well and solve the problem. This report discredits that philosophy.

So what is one to do? It is true that organics have an increased presence in most grocers and markets, but as we well know, the price for switching from the regular produce aisle to the organic one can greatly increase one’s food bill. Not everyone is a candidate for organic shopping. We want variety, and the apple has often been the mainstay of packed lunches and a go-to snack.

According to the report, the apple has some company that gives pause to summer purchases: Cilantro was tested for the first time, and the herb ranked highest in overall pesticide infusion. Its position gives it the unenvious title of having the most unapproved pesticides in any product since the guide was first started in 1995! Not a good position to be in.

Here are the rankings of the 53 fruits and vegetables from the “Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides. Celery is probably pretty happy as it no longer tops the Dirty Dozen; it dropped to 2nd place! Celery, spinach, sweet bell peppers, potatoes, lettuce and greens (kale and collards) are the vegetables most likely to retain pesticide contamination. As for those on the Clean Fifteen, (The vegetables least likely to test positive for pesticides), they found onions, sweet corn, asparagus, sweet peas, eggplant, cabbage, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms. As for the fruits that score the best, those with the least pesticide residue, think avocado, mango, pineapple, watermelon, and grapefruit.

Just a week or so ago, the USDA introduced The Plate and took the Food Pyramid out of our lexicon. The plate is stacked in favor of fruits and vegetables. A little irony there, as we need to put the safest fruits and vegetables on the plate; not just any fruits and vegetables!

Timing is everything. Don’t forget your reusable container for coffee!

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Time to Refocus Your Geometry: Pyramid Death

May 31

Posted by admin in Administration, First Lady Michelle Obama, food universe, gardening, healthy eating, lifestyle, Michelle Obama, news

Just as color alerts became a confusing part of our daily routines, the food pyramid chart has confounded “new” thinking about food and is about to die a natural death. As in, it will be removed from the visual universe of what we should eat. It is high time the icon was put aside into the annals of food history. Yet, what will the new look say about our food when all is revealed on June 2? The pyramid becomes history, and the plate details the new food visual.

Not just any plate, but one that has been approved by the First Family. A plate that says, less is better but what constitutes less will be unveiled in stages. We have become a full plate society from our parents earliest admonitions to finish your food to dining out and expecting full plates brimming over with food. Oversize restaurant portions were supposed to imply monetary value but instead helped contribute to our obesity numbers.

The President and the First Lady exemplify their commitment to exercise and good eating habits. The White House Garden has been a huge success and farm markets continue to expand in close proximity to the White House. At the same time some of the nation’s top chefs have contributed their time and expertise to improving the school lunch program. Logically, the next step is to take the tired pyramid of foods and replace its message with one that stresses vital health information. This is a more active focus that demonstrates the importance of being active and eating healthy. In addition to the USDA, other government agencies will help drive the important message.

Making the plate a thing of beauty with an emphasis on fruits and vegetables is a natural starting point. After all we are in the heart of the growing season and product availability. Grocers are competing with farm stands to show that locally grown food can be readily available to all shoppers.

Eating healthy has new rules and as a nation the time has come to step up to the plate and move into a healthier position. We welcome the pyramid retirement party.

It’s time to set up a healthy plate.

 

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Vegetable Anarchy

May 17

Posted by admin in Administration, First Lady Michelle Obama, food universe, healthy eating, news

It’s hard to believe that a single vegetable can be the arch enemy of the cafeteria line. We’ve talked plenty about the high caloric count that seems representative of the school lunch program. Jamie Oliver created a Revolution around it and top chefs have joined First Lady Michelle Obama to create front page awareness of the startling and disturbing childhood obesity numbers. Can one food, a vegetable in fact, the lowly potato, mash up such emotion?

According to the USDA, the blame rests with the potato, and the Department wants to cut back its prominence in the school lunch program. Irony of ironies: The Agriculture Department has identified the white potato as its top villain, but the Idaho Potato Commission just received top marks from the American Heart Association for the spud’s benefits. Who’s the villain?

Let me think about that. Is one food responsible for the rise in obesity, diabetes, or heart-related issues? Can there be a negative super-food? Potatoes, even white potatoes, can be served in a number of ways–schools are making adjustments to the fried mentality. Rather than blame one food or one color of food, let’s concentrate on the reality: Overeating is the arch enemy, and we CAN do something about it. At the same time, we cannot lose sight of childhood hunger issues. The School Lunch Program (which for many youngsters now also includes a breakfast tray) is important and in more cases than we want to count, may be the primary sustenance for a significant part of the population.

We can cut back on fried foods and try to introduce additional vegetables into our diets, but remember not everyone’s food budget has the same monetary input. Oliver drew attention to the fact that many of the children and the parents in his test community had no familiarity with fresh vegetables. We can make changes, but we do not need to point fingers at the simple spud. It is not the root cause of the problem! The potato industry has, of course, galvanized its members with a strategic program: Keep Potatoes in School.

Sure the sweet potato appears as the potato survivor, but the school lunch program needs continual, additional re-imaging. The focus must be greater than just delivering the potato its death knell.

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The Archivist and The Chef

May 16

Posted by admin in Administration, cooking, food, food universe, History, restaurants

What a great story line: An archivist walks into a restaurant and says he likes to cook. The chef responds, I like history! Welcome to the world of David Ferriero, the Archivist for the National Archives and the world of award-winning chef, Jose Andres. The two atypical paths have come together in a joint effort that will combine the food history from the Archives collection with the restaurant acumen of recent James Beard Outstanding Chef recipient Andres.

Now a little background. The National Archives is the Nation’s repository of history, and the impressive food collection is a vital piece of that history. They have culled their materials to create an exhibit which will open June 10, 2011. “What’s Cooking, Uncle Sam?” will showcase 85 original records which trace the origins of the programs and the legislation aimed at the food supply and reflect the effects government programs have had on our food choices and preferences. Visitors will have an opportunity to examihttp://www.allbeforecoffee.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=8289&action=edit&message=10ne letters, diaries, photos, and maps from the collection. The Exhibition will focus on four broad themes: Farm, factory, kitchen, and table.

Then there is the world of internationally recognized Spanish chef Jose Andres who makes his home in Washington, DC and is the master of the restaurant scene with his restaurants under the creative arm of his ThinkFood Group. Andres will serve as the Chief Culinary Advisor to the exhibit. He calls himself a “cook and a storyteller,” and his most humble story, apropos to this exhibit, is his own personal success and achievements in his adopted country. Andres’s passion for food and how it can teach us to understand nations and history will become evident in the July 4th opening of his newest endeavor, America Eats Tavern. It is no coincidence that this pop-up 6-month restaurant will be on 8th Street within view of the Archives and in the Cafe Atlantico space which will move to  a new home.

Andres believes that chefs tell a story and that this restaurant, opening in collaboration with the Archives exhibit and in partnership with the Foundation for the National Archives, will expand food knowledge for all visitors. This unique, first-of-a-kind partnership will open the eyes of visitors to understand our nation’s past and project them into understanding the importance of food in our culture and our heritage.

Different titles; different jobs: One Nation of Food.

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A GF World

May 6

Posted by admin in FDA, food universe, gluten-free, health, news

It’s hard to believe that food labeling laws are proceeding at a crawl of a snail’s pace. Or not proceeding at all, depending on whom you ask. GF labeling Legislation was supposed to be in place three years ago (I love the line from the piece that describes the time period as the equivalent amount of time it took to build the Tunnel between France and Britain.) Some manufacturers have taken advantage of the increased marketing opportunities for labeling a product gluten-free. Shameful, but true. With the increased attention and awareness of Celiac Disease (May is National Celiac Awareness Month) and of finding significant numbers of individuals who have discovered they are gluten intolerant, it is devastating and dangerous that these protective laws have not been enacted.

We are not talking about a trend unless we are referencing the increased shelf space for GF products. Rather this is a health issue that needs attention in the current environment. This past week there were numerous outreach programs to call attention to the numbers of individuals affected by the disease. Will all of these efforts help? Possibly one of the most powerful benefits will mean that more people will be tested for this type of diet and many will feel better if they make the switch to a GF lifestyle. Not a trend; a healthy reality.

What can manufacturers do? Continue to examine product line and make certain that all the safety precautions have been applied to ensure that the labeling is accurate. Just this week Barbara’s Bakery, the cereal manufacturer, added to its GF lineup. Why not have Puffins Multigrain? Freezer options continue as well with Glutino expanding its pizza lineup with multi-paks. What happens if you are time-starved but crave a complete Italian entree, then Caesar’s GF linup works wonders. You have numerous freezer choices including manicotti, shells, lasagna, and gnocchi. Add your favorite sauce, and you’re covered!

Choices abound. Read the labels carefully and make certain your specific health and allergy needs are met. In the meantime, let’s hope that the FDA gets moving.

 

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