Kitchen Revolution

The other night we were in the ER: A little too aggressive on the Christmas wrapping was my boy. The gash was not too serious, but bad enough to not want to wait until morning to follow up.

We waited for three hours to see a nurse. So did many others. People with emergencies brought on by cold, alcohol, neglect -- but many of them, it appeared, had illness caused by not eating well. Folks carrying pounds they needn't. With sallow skin, missing teeth and bowed spines. In this, the richest country in the world.

Shame on us.

People want to feel good. And it should be an inalienable right. But here and now, it is really hard. Just that night, we were trying to find something good to eat. Not a burger, not fries. We were in a relatively large town, for this part of the world. The closest we could come was Panera, and even they didn't have any plain bagels, just something called a "French toast" bagel --  the counter girl couldn't even tell me what was in it. The "vegetable" soup, which she told me was gluten free, was loaded with pasta. At least it was soup. Sugar and refined carbs are cheap -- and you can't even find a take-out joint that doesn't serve them if you don't mind the cost.

But the food industry's skimping on food costs is only creating a bigger bill for us down the road. And sadly, if we keep eating what they serve, we run the risk of sabotaging our genetic metabolism so drastically that even if future generations want to nutritionally manage their health, they won't be able to.

Scary, isn't it?

It doesn't have to be.

In the New Year, right here, I am going to research and give you a weekly tip to make your kitchen and the food you eat more healthy. Designed so that if you follow week by week, you'll have made a serious effect in a few months. And if you follow to the end of the year, imagine.

Let me know what you think. Argue with me. But above all, think about it.  And take back control.

Kitchen Reform. Coming in Janurary. Right here.

Make change happen. No one will do it for you.

Cranberry conundrum

Every year about this time I go into Cranberry stashing mode. For as much as the small red berry is touted for its health benefits (face brightening! cholesterol lowering! gum protecting!) it is  one of the few truly seasonal fruits, available in its whole form only in winter.

This is because the cranberry -- also known as the bounceberry because bouncing machines are used to test the veracity of the fruit -- needs cold weather to grow, and so is unlikely to be supplied by Mexico, though small quantities are grown in Chile. If you associate the bogs where cranberries grow up with New England, (as I do), be surprised: over half of all cranberries actually hail from Wisconsin, which is apparently why Cranberry Cheddar is such a good idea.

And as good as cranberry juice is (I'll definitely share my husband's rum cosmo this winter), I have to admit that a small dollop of cranberry sauce is the perfect foil for most winter meals. A venison roast, a herbed leg of lamb, even a butternut squash stew, is complimented by the sweet savory, like Bogie brightened by Bacall.


And this is where our dilema perennially occurs. What to do with the superfruit -- which on its own is not only sour, but bitter as well -- to enhance its star qualities and still let it take center stage? For the cranberry is not really a team player until it gets to the plate.

In my childhood home, this always meant three things: cranberry relish, cranberry sauce, and, of course, cranberry log. In order to appease the different cranberry appetites in the household, namely, her own, my mother's table generally hosted more than one form of the berry. Thanksgiving dinner was likely garnished by not only the ubiquitous Ocean Spray cranberry log, complete with the striped indents from the side of the can, but a cooked cranberry port sauce and a raw orange cranberry relish.

I don't generally have time for this. Friday night, when kids are coming in from lacrosse, filtering down from their rooms, hungry, to drag me from work for food, the last thing on my mind is preparing three cranberry dishes (even the log is a bit time consuming, as I must get it out whole). So I have taken the tastes of all and come up with one dish to suffice for everyday cranberry imbibing -- not, of course, to question the reign of those other dishes on the holiday table. (Though you should try this, Mom, it's really good! and quick!) And, with the addition of the orange juice, I can cut down on the amount of sugar in those other recipes, which is necessary to combat the sour fruit.)

Everyday Cranberry Sauce

One bag of cranberries
juice of two oranges
1/2 cup raw sugar (any sugar you have will do, brown sugar makes it really special and honey takes it to a whole 'nother level.)
cinnamon stick

Combine ingredients in a pan over medium heat and simmer, covered (cranberries are wicked messy when they pop, especially on an electric stovetop), for 15 minutes, or until fruits have popped sauce is of a uniform consistency. It will be shiny and thick, but berries will not totally disintegrate. Makes about 2 cups.

Can be stored in the fridge for up to a while, and doled out with each meal for a superfruit punch. If you hoard them, as I do, just throw the bag in the freezer -- industry sources say it will keep 9 months but I have used them after a year to no ill effects.

Enjoy! And Bon Sante!

Happy Salmon

Our salmon arrived from Alaska, a shipment of pink, plump, vacuum-packed fillets that put our freezer to the test. It is so over-stuffed, with cherries and peaches from our orchard, beef from our favorite butcher up north, and now the fish, that we have to lock it to make sure the door stays sealed.

To allay the problem, I decided to cook salmon for 14 to celebrate a friend's birthday. Problem was, I didn't want to be cooking at the last minute, nor did I want my husband to be at the grill during the soup course (though truth be told that is probably his preference). So the week before, when he was traveling, I cooked salmon every night, to perfect a preparation.

I roasted it, pan seared it, sauteed it, broiled it -- everything short of poaching it in oil, which Mario Batali touts. In the process, I unwittingly followed the anti-wrinkle diet highly touted by Dr. Nicholas Perricone -- by the end of the week, my skin was glowing like a bulb, no lie. I was luminous as Cate Blanchett's Galadriel in Lord of the Rings -- and in fact, used to my ruddy, puffy complexion, a trifle embarrassed by the attention it brought.

Salmon, rich in omega-3s, which provide lubrication and anti-inflammatory powers to not just your skin but heart, brain and joints, really is a power food. In addition, it possesses DMAE, or Dimethylaminoethanol, a nutrient which protects the integrity of cell membranes, deterioration of which leads to aging, and prevents the formation of arachidonic acid, which causes wrinkling. It also reportedly elevates mood -- a study of cranky teens showed those eating higher levels of fish rich in omega-3s were less hostile, important not just to beleaguered parents, but because hostility is an early indicator of heart disease.

At the end of the week, I had perfected the recipe and my complexion, and now as I learn more about omega-3s, think it was not just the party but the dish that made everyone so happy. I roasted the salmon and topped it with a cilantro-walnut sauce made with flax oil (both walnuts and flaxseed are also high in omega-3s, cilantro removes heavy metals, lowers cholesterol and helps kick stubborn viruses).

So go ahead, eat your salmon.

Roasted Salmon with Cilantro-Walnut sauce

serves 8

8 salmon fillets, approximately 2" wide by 5" long and 1.5"thick
sea salt

for the sauce
1 bunch cilantro
1 clove of garlic
1/2 cup walnuts, roasted
1/2 cup flax oil or walnut oil
sea salt
pepper

Roast the walnuts ( I do it in the toaster oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes, or until golden brown) and whiz them in the barrel of a small food processor with the garlic clove until pulverized. Add the oil and cilantro, with the stems cut off. Process until a thick sauce forms, if you would like the sauce thinner use more oil. Salt and pepper to taste.

Preheat broiler. Lay salmon fillets on an oiled cookie sheet, skin down, and broil for 5 minutes. Rotate and broil 5 minutes more.

Serve the sauce drizzled over the fillets.


Try with Mint and Cashew Green Beans -- easy!


Green Beans tossed with Mint and Cashew
serves 8

1 lb. green beans, cleaned boiled to the texture your family likes (we like them crunchy)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup mint leaves, shredded
2 T cashews, pounded to small pieces
sea salt

Melt butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add mint, cashews and a pinch of salt. Toss with beans. May be served at room temperature -- but not too appetizing cold, as butter will harden.


Enjoy!

Box of Summer

End of season at the Farmer's Market is sad. Gone are the Sundays of sampling fresh cantaloupe(July), peaches (August), then apples(September) from a table where you compete with bees. Gone the little last minute impulse buys that make your weekday routine a little happier, like a fresh-picked herbal tea or lemony soap. Gone the chance for a weekend morning social (maybe even accompanied by a few stragglers playing bluegrass) before heading back to the day's chores.

But for those of us who like to buy tomatoes in bulk, the future looks bright.

This past Sunday, I got a box of tomatoes that my 6-year-old could have fit in for $8. Not just the end of the crop, mind you, though there were a few rotten ones in there, especially since I waited until Wednesday night to make sauce. No, these were thick, juicy beefsteak tomatoes, smaller Romas and some rusty pink heirloom tomatoes, jumbled like one big happy family in their cardboard container, smelling like the last box of summer.

These ..

Roasted Tomato Sauce

Adapted from my mom

1/4 bushel of tomatoes, any variety
1 onion
3 heads garlic

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Chunk tomatoes into quarters, layer with slab chopped onion and slivered garlic on a roasting sheet.

Check every 20 minutes and stir in anything on top that is browning. Cook 1 1/2 hours total. Let cool 10 minutes. Mash with a potato masher until desired consistency -- I like it a little thicker but kids seem to not like chunks of tomato.

become this. yum.

Enjoy!

Curry this

Healthy is a progression, at least it was for me. I learned to be concerned about my weight in 10th grade, when a friend convinced me we needed to go on a "diet." (We lived in London, and I am fairly certain we discussed this over bags of Maltesers, milk chocolate covered malt balls which are conducive to eating by the handful.) I am not sure what our "diet" was, except that it made the sweets all the more tasty -- her mother made a pistachio pudding cake with ginger ale (really!) that still rocks my mind.

In college, "dieting" was a two-day cleanse consisting solely of very large chocolate chip cookies heisted by the stack from the dining hall. In my first years of working, I would go to the gym before work, and to happy hour after, eating free appetizers and drinking wine spritzers to save calories (and money). Clearly I was learning balance.

 Of course I learned to eat salads, asking for dressing on the side. I made soups, leaving out the pasta. One of the first "healthy" cookbooks I got -- from my mother, I believe -- was Jane Brody's Good Food Book. While the high carbo style didn't do much for my body -- instead of the promised high kicks, I got what felt like a rock in the gut, diagnosed much later as gluten intolerance -- there are some of her recipes that I return to time and again.

It is only in the last ten years that I have kicked up eating healthy to eating locally, and this is the step that has truly made the difference. When I found this huge cauliflower (at the Farmer's market, not in my own garden as this photo might suggest), such a far cry from the cellophane-wrapped waxy white florets usually found in the grocery, I immediately thought of Jane. She makes an easy vegetable curry that will jolt your world. Try it.

Cauliflower Curry

adapted from Jane Brody

1 large cauliflower, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup broth
1/2 cup coconut water, or more broth
chopped cilantro and Greek yogurt, to garnish

Heat 1 teaspoon of oil in a large skillet. Add the garlic and stir until translucent. Add the spices and roast one minute.

Add the cauliflower and stir to coat with spice. Roast, stirring so doesn't burn, a few minutes then add broth and coconut water. Let simmer until cauliflower is done and sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes, depending on how big your cauliflower is. Add more broth or coconut water if you want more sauce or if it begins to dry up (again, depends on how big your cauliflower is).

***Spoiler alert!!!!!
Cauliflower is way healthy: high in fiber, antioxidants and vitamin K, it provides digestive support via an enzyme that provides protection to the stomach lining plus -- get this -- possesses the ability to prevent, and perhaps even reverse, blood vessel damage. By the way, the French like it too -- and have you ever met a French chef who chooses a food solely due to its health benefits? -- the chouxfleur shows up in François Pierre La Varenne's Le cuisinier françois, the original  French cooking, though it was not common until  Louis XIV introduced it to the table.

And so we are introducing it to ours. This is how we get our 5-year-old to eat healthy items: "No, don't eat that, I don't want you to grow up and be bigger than me!" (totally untrue, but totally works, by the way.) It occurs to me that might work with adults as well, so here goes ..... don't try this at home ...

Enjoy!

Healthista

Saturday night I was at a rocking party, thrown by friends of the Middleburg Polo Academy. It was a night in Casablanca, replete with tented outdoor banquets, henna tatoos and tarot readers. We met the polo ponies, sipped champagne, and ate lamb merguez. The men wore tuxedos and dinner jackets, the women gowns and heels, and we lounged on banquets tented in silks.

Everyone looked gorgeous, dancing under the stars until way too late. We are in general, perhaps, a healthy bunch out here, living outdoors, many working with animals or land daily. One neighbor in particular, though, just radiates health -- her name is Holli Thompson, a nutritionista working hard to get the news out about a healthy lifestyle. And it's clear she practices what she preaches: It's hard not to come away from an encounter with her wanting to emulate her glow, and her lovely calm.

So yesterday, a bit drained from lack of sleep and champagne, and inspired by the fresh spring onions at the Farmer's Market, I made her Pineapple-Cucumber Gazpacho for a pick-me-up. My husband loved it. The zest of the pineapple combined with the smoothness of the cucumber, crunch of ground almonds and zip of cilantro is perfect, on its own or as a precursor to curry, which is how we approached it. It is loaded with vitamin C, healthy fat and antioxidants; the addition of the almonds makes it not only yummy but cholesterol-lowering. Cucumbers are a great way to add fiber, as they come packaged with the water extra fiber intake requires. Try to buy organic, or at least the baby ones without wax on them, as the skin contains nutrients best consumed without any chemicals that might be trapped in the wax. 

Cucumbers are an ancient food, going back some 3,000 years in Western Asia. The Roman Emperor Tiberius was said to have cucumbers on his table every day no matter the season. Roman gardeners invented greenhouse methods to grow them year round, such as a raised bed in a frame on wheels that moved to optimize the sun. Can you imagine being the one guy solely responsibility for making sure the Emperor's cucumbers were in full sun? Time to move the cucumbers...

Thanks Holli! 

Pineapple-Cucumber Gazpacho

adapted from Nutritional Style

4 cups fresh pineapple, cut into pieces

4 cups cucumber, cut into pieces

5 scallions

2 tbsp lime juice

2 inches ginger root, peeled

1 tsp celtic salt

1 handful cilantro

2 tbsp avocado oil

1 1/2 cup raw almonds-ground

1 Tbsp organic apple cider vinegar

Add all above ingredients to high speed blender and blend.

(Be sure to grind the almonds first.) 

Garnish with cilantro, and drizzle with avocado oil to serve. 

Enjoy!

Plays well with whipped cream

We have a new toy. Once again breaking my vow of no one-trick ponies, I bought an apple peeler. We love it. It makes processing apples like playing for my 5-year-old, who loves the neat spirals that come off the apple. It peels, cores and slices in about a minute, and you don't even have to wash the apple.

So I guess that makes it not a one trick pony.

Our apples, and again I have to admit that I do not have any idea what variety they are, have just the right sweetness for me. Pan-fried in butter with gobs of cinnamon, I can them for later use in pies and crisps, or just solo. This is so easy, I have started to do it in the slow-cooker (in about half the time as applesauce) and can in 1 quart jars, thinking I'll get a pie a jar. This recipe fills a slow cooker, which makes about 3 quarts. Which is all I can can at a time (yes, I meant that), so it works out. The apples are just cooked, soft without falling apart, crusted with cinnamon but not soupy.

Pan-fried apples with cinnamon

basket of apples, perhaps 2 dozen, or to fit your pan or slow cooker
cinnamon
butter

Peel, core and section apples. Melt about two tablespoons of butter in a large skillet, or in the slow cooker. Pile in the apples. Sprinkle with cinnamon. Cover and let cook for about 30 minutes at low, stirring to incorporate the cinnamon and keep from sticking to the pan, but not too often; I like the sections to stay firm and together. In the slow cooker, I leave for three hours on low, stirring just once after about an hour to distribute cinnamon.

May be canned in jars the size you wish, or just consumed, in a pie or just with a spoon.

Plays well with whipped cream.

Enjoy!