Basic Eating: Food Defined, Not Refined.

Comments are Open Again

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Wed, 16 May 2012 02:34:00 +0000

Recently I noticed that there continues to be a lot of traffic to the blog, more than ever it seems. I don't know if this is humans, bots, both, whatever. But in any case, I thought I would re-open commenting and see what happens. So feel free to post a comment, suggestion, question, clarification, or all of the above!

Nice New Format

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 13:43:00 +0000

Just a quick note - this new flipcard format is especially good for an archived blog like Basic Eating! I hope this enables you to take a quicker look around and learn about lots of different foods, book reviews, and thoughts about environmental eating.

Final Post of Basic Eating

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 12:59:00 +0000

Hello everyone,

I've come to realize that it's much harder to shut down a blog than to start one. Maybe because starting takes effort whereas ending can happen through effort or lack of effort. I'm afraid that I've lapsed into the latter these past nine months or so, with a smattering of posts. I was tempted by the strange fact that the number of visits seemed to increase since I cut way back in November of last year, which is why I left this as something of a project in limbo.

It it time to move on now, so I will bring the blog to a definitive close. I wrote up a nice little list of ten ways that the blog has changed the way I eat, shop for, and grow food. I hope this list will inspire you, dear reader. I leave all of my old posts up here, for now - but I'm going to deactivate the comments, etc. In no certain order:

Began Eating in Season: This was easier in California thanks to incredibly forgiving seasons, but it has been a revelation to (re)learn that strawberries are only around for three weeks, that apricots might only be around for two...and it makes food special again.
Joined a CSA: This is one of the best ways to get at #1, and to support local agriculture. Yes, we still have some rutabagas in the fridge from January (ok, so much for in season...) but we wouldn't have even eaten a rutabaga if the CSA hadn't introduced it.
Stopped Using Supermarkets: This isn't 100% true, but we are pretty close. Supermarkets have so many wrong things about them that I won't launch into it, but suffice to say that avoiding them is good for quality of life, too.
Started a Garden: I've always wanted a veggie garden ever since I helped my mother grow hers when I was a little kid (this didn't carry over once we moved from Iowa to Massachusetts, thanks to rampant deer). For the past two summers I have been giving it a try with mixed but increasing success.
Foraged for Wild Food: As the series I ran last fall demonstrates, there is more edible food than you might think, even in your own backyard. Now when I see purslane I don't think weed, I think healthy alternative to iceberg lettuce!
Composted and Used the Compost: We've been composting regularly since living in San Francicso, but it wasn't until I got to use my own compost for #4 that I really appreciated why it's such a great thing. My advice - if you have curbside composting (a la SF), still consider making a little pile for yourself, for your very own black gold!
Read and Reviewed a Bunch of Books: Okay so I might have read many of these anyways, but the blog did act as impetus to increase my knowledge about food and the issues behind it.
Became a Regular at the Farmer's Market: This is obviously tied to #3, but I do make it my business to attend every week of our local farmer's market, barring unforeseen circumstances. I don't want to see these go away and I hope my regular attendance and support will help the movement continue.
Ate Less Meat and Fish: I was never a big carnivore but learning about the environmental and ethical implications of how we chomp our flesh these days has decreased my enthusiasm considerably. That being said, we did just join a meat CSA which I think is a nice way of voting with the wallet if vegetarianism/veganism isn't the choice for you, right now. Even so, I can easily say we eat at most 50% of the meat and fish that we used to, and this will continue.
Became More Aware of Brands: Through sites like GoodGuide and books like The Better World Shopping Guide, I have learned a lot about which corporations are "better" (by many different measures) than others. I've also learned about the incredibly convoluted and evolving structures of organic foods companies, sometimes to my chagrin. As a result, our pantry has become a more sustainable place.

Well, that's not it, but enough. Thank you again for reading this blog over the past few years!

Sincerely,
Jeremy Warner

Guest Post: Eating Local: Happy Stomach, Happy Earth

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Sat, 16 Jul 2011 12:22:00 +0000

Going organic isn’t the only way to save the planet and eat healthier. Eating local can bring fresher food to your fridge, minimize your food’s carbon footprint, support farmers in your area, and preserve farmland.

Of course, you probably won’t be able to eat ALL local ingredients day in and day out. The good news is, you don’t have to. Any small step you take to preserve the environment helps. Interested in eating local in your meal planning? Follow these tips and you will be eating local food items in no time.

Join a CSA

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is a program which allows individuals to support a farming operation by giving money to farmers upfront in exchange for a weekly box of food. Find CSA farmers on the Local Harvest website. The website also provides lots of information on how to find a CSA program that will best suit you.

Go to a Farmers’ Market

Rather than going through an intermediary to get your food, like a supermarket, go straight to the source. Farmers’ markets allow you to buy directly from the person who has grown your food. Find a farmers’ market near you on the USDA website.

Build a Backyard Garden

If you live in a climate where plants thrive, don’t hesitate to build a garden. Chives, basil, lettuce, carrots, and raspberries are among the easiest fruits, veggies, and herbs to buy. If you don’t live in a plant-friendly environment, try starting an herb garden on your kitchen windowsill.

Find a Restaurant that Supports Local Farmers

Ask neighbors, farmers, or foodies what restaurants carry local products. When you eat at local restaurants, don’t hesitate to ask if their products are locally grown.

So there you have it -- several ways to integrate some local eats into your diet. All it takes is a little extra time to help the environment, and your stomach!

James Kim is a writer for foodonthetable.com. Food on the Table is a company that provides online budget meal planning services. Their goal is to help families eat better and save money.

Eat Local, Wherever You Are

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 13:17:00 +0000

On occasion, I've written posts about simple recipes or foods that are particular to one region or another. My limited effort has been happily eclipsed by a Wiki project called "MyCityCuisine.org." This site is impressive and has information about many obscure and wonderful dishes that you might find (or want to find) on your travels. I was contacted by Emilie from the site and she's written a blurb, which I copy here:

MyCityCuisine.org, a Wiki project dedicated to helping answer the question 'What Should I Order?', is currently looking for contributors!! The project's goal is to help travelers discover local foods from all over the world. Food is an integral part of the local culture so naturally tasting local food is high on most traveler's to-do list. However until now there has been no single comprehensive source for this information. The MyCityCuisine project aims to fill this void.

You can contribute to this project in the following ways:

Write a new dish description
Expand an existing dish description
Correct mistakes in an existing dish description
Suggest a new dish to be included
Upload a new dish photo

This site is for those interested in tasting local food, not for someone looking to cook it at home, so recipes aren't required. Visit MyCityCuisine.org to add a dish from your city!!

Take the Oxfam GROW Pledge

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 14:27:00 +0000

Those of you who follow this blog know that the food system is incredibly complicated in many ways. One frustration (albeit one that I haven't written very much about) is the increasing use of crops for ethanol. This "sustainable" solution has already resulted in spiking corn prices and deprivation of cropland for the more important purpose of making food. With a growing world population, the solution is and will continue to be the retaking of forest and other wild lands to grow more crops. So Oxfam's new campaign caught my eye. They are asking for people to take the following pledge:

Demand that our leaders use crops for food, not fuel.
Pressure Congress to make sure ALL our food aid actually reaches those who need it most—right now, half never makes it.
Hold corporations accountable when they bet on food prices, causing costs to spike and people to go hungry.
Push world leaders to help small farmers, who are facing more frequent droughts, floods, and storms.

Sure sounds reasonable to me - will you sign too?

More information about Oxfam's GROW Campaign

The USDA's "MyPlate"

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 12:38:00 +0000

Here it is! After a long flirtation with the ancient rulers of Egypt, the USDA has come up with a new graphical representation of what foods and how much of those foods you should be eating. This was released yesterday after many months of secrecy. I have to say, it looks an awful lot like those good old four food groups that I grew up with! How much discussion/lobbying do you think went into the EXACT division of the plate, such that protein gets almost but not quite a quarter of the plate? This is also definitely an internet era plate; if you go to the webpage you will see that it is interactive. I clicked on protein and was glad to see it wasn't all meat, although I'm a bit mystified that cheese is not considered "protein" but rather has its own special place on the table...

Overall, I think this plate is a victory for healthier eating, and is much easier to understand than the confusing and industry-driven pyramid. Let's hope that particular relic makes its way deep into the jungle and is never rediscovered!

Website: Choose My Plate

Hot Cross Buns

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 22:20:00 +0000

I don't know too much about them, but I've heard that they are traditionally eaten on Good Friday (that would be today). Interestingly, some sources claim that they predate Christianity, and that the cross is in fact a Greek symbol. Whatever the case may be, we came across these while exploring Milford, Connecticut. The bakery is Scratch Baking.

Thanks to Dave for taking this picture for me!

Book Review: Four Fish

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Sun, 03 Apr 2011 21:55:00 +0000

Sarah and I celebrated our six-month wedding anniversary yesterday by splurging on a deluxe French meal at Bistro du Midi, a relative newcomer to the Boston restaurant scene. I decided to try the "authentic" bouillabaisse, which did not contain a one of the five fish laid out by the Marseilles Bouillabaisse Charter. Considering that most of those five fish are caught in destructive and unsustainable ways, that was okay with me.

This delicious soup did contain a hefty chunk of monkfish, which I ate with no small amount of guilt, knowing that this fish was also a poster child, of trawling a.k.a. scraping the ocean floor with a hoe. I learned this distasteful fact reading the book Bottomfeeder, by Taras Grescoe. This book basically utterly depressed me about the state of the oceans, and despair doesn't typically inspire. So it was with some trepidation that I decided to tackle another depletion-of-the-oceans book, Four Fish.

I was pleasantly surprised. Paul Greenberg is an investigative journalist but he's also a fisherman, and as such provides an angle that's often missing from the complicated world of ethical seafood consumption. He also makes a very smart decision by focusing on a small handful of very important fish: salmon, bass, cod, and tuna. In each section he makes the occasional foray into other fish, such as hoki, a "replacement" for the depleted Atlantic cod.

We are living through a very important time in human's relationship with seafood; the next few years will witness the first time that aquaculture (fish farming) accounts for more than half of all fish consumed in world. This is due to the explosive growth of fish farming but also to the stunning collapses of natural stocks throughout the world. Greenberg does an excellent job of framing this transition, all the while keeping the reading enjoyable.

If you eat seafood, and most of us do, then put this book on your reading list now!

1st Harvest of 2011!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Sun, 20 Mar 2011 22:22:00 +0000

After a nearly six month hiatus from this blog, I've been thinking about posting again. The first day of spring felt like an auspicious occasion, as the gloom and gray of New England winter is gradually giving over to crocus and daffodil and the promise of a real spring!

Sarah and I also took this day as an opportunity for an outing to learn more about the earliest crop to grace New England. That crop, of course, is maple syrup! After consulting with the official website of the Massachusetts Maple Producers Association, we located a sugar shack a reasonable distance from Boston, which also happened to be close to one of our favorite local farms, Green Meadows Farm.

This shack was to be found on the property of the Ipswich River Wildlife Sanctuary, and was the real deal - wood fire, lots of steam, etc. We learned all about sugar maples on a somewhat silly tour, and I discovered that the process of getting the sap out of a maple is awfully similar to certain procedures within the purview of a hematology/oncology fellow (sorry, Sarah).

For those of you not in the know (which included me, until today), maple sugaring season is incredibly short, only six weeks long. It is basically the season where temperatures are above freezing during the day, and below freezing at night, and ends right around now. It takes 80+ gallons of sugar maple sap, which tastes somewhat like coconut juice in unboiled form, to make one gallon of finished product.

Read more about maple syrup here, from a post last year.

Image from Flickr Creative Commons

E is for Exciting New Adventures

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 05:01:00 +0000

I have been writing this blog for a little over two years, including through some very momentous and important times in my life. Through passion and at times a certain tenacity, I've posted around 530 posts exploring what it means to eat simply and possibly sustainably. Recently, through the natural rising and ebbing of my interests, the blog has begun to take a much lesser role in my life. Initially, I thought that posting once per week might keep my interest piqued, but it hasn't been quite enough. While it seems that I have more readers than ever, I think that this is the time for a sabbatical, quite possibly a permanent one.

Given that this might be the last post of the blog, I wanted to review my "manifesto" and add some thoughts that I have developed over two years of intense thinking and reading about food, where it comes from, and why it's so important. If we are going to live in a world that contains safe, clean food that doesn't contribute heavily to global warming or to petroleum stocks depletion, we all have a lot of thinking, reading, and action ahead of us. So here is a recapitulation:

1. Basic Food is Healthy: After plumbing the depths of NutritionData.com, which gets most of its information from the USDA, I can definitely continue to agree with this (nonscientific) statement wholeheartedly. You will continue to hear conflicting reports on whether diets rich in fruits, vegetables, and fiber prevent or delay diseases but these studies will always be flawed because they rely so heavily on individual recall and questionnaires. But even if you don't buy into my assertion, you will probably agree that...

2. Basic Food is Better for the Environment: A more refined statement would be that minimally processed, locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables are good for the environment. Organic means fewer pesticides and less fertilizer, local means less petroleum used in transport, and minimally processed also implies savings on energy inputs. Buy whole foods that never saw the light of a supermarket through your farmer's markets or local CSA's, and give backyard gardening a try. In my rookie gardening year which just concluded, I managed to grow a surprising amount on all of 32 square feet! Meat, by the way, is high impact on the environment whether local or not, so perhaps ethics (humane treatment, etc.) should be your guiding light when and if you do eat meat.

3. Basic Eating is Less Wasteful: It's sort of self-evident, but if you prepare your own food from scratch you aren't going to waste a lot. Sure, you'll have potatoes go bad in the cupboard and bean sprouts spoiling in the back of the refrigerator but you will still come out ahead. The United States and to a lesser extent the world continues to waste incredible amounts of perfectly good food, and that should be a travesty, on all counts.

4. You Know What You're Eating: Perhaps not so true, considering humble foods like cabbages and garlic can have thousands of molecules within, only a few of which have been characterized. But, at least you know what you're NOT eating: MSG, preservatives, chemicals, pesticides (hopefully!) and the lot.

5. Basic Foods Come With Their Byproducts: Yes, carrots have a peel and when they are old, you have to peel them. It's not a joke that this is the sort of knowledge that may be lost in our modern world of "baby" carrots, boneless skinless chicken breasts, and orange juice. It's frustrating to have a pile of orange peels sitting on the counter after making a 1/2 cup of juice, but it's also the real way of things. As a humanist I enjoy having a real world experience, once in a while.

6. Basic Eating Preserves Food Diversity: So true! Mostly, because going to a farmer's market where you are confronted with 30 varieties of apples will probably lead to trying something new and unexpected. Yes, we all have our favorites, but a healthy helping of food curiosity goes a long way. Luckily, many restaurant owners have also bought into this idea and have made deals with farms to supply scarce and heirloom foods, partly through Slow Food USA's Ark of Taste project.

Now for the challenges, which have been made more poignant by Obama's failure to keep agribusiness out of the Department of Agriculture, along with the right tide that just swept the country. Don't hold your breath for a Farm Bill that will be equitable to small, organic outfits. Given that politics will probably continue to fail this movement, it is up to YOU to pick up and carry the mantle of Ecotarianism!

7. Prepared Food is Convenient: True, but it doesn't have to be low quality garbage. If you have a local "fast food" type restaurant that actually has a social mission (such as b.good, around here), make an effort to patronize them. Encourage your neighborhood baker to grind their flour at a local mill. Consider what it would be like to have a neighborhood baker, instead of a Dunkin' Donuts. Do you think 15,000 of these in the United States (apparently the corporate plan by 2020) will be a positive thing?

8. Prepared Food is Cheap: Welcome to the distortions of subsidies and carbon mispricing. If you don't price by what comes out of your wallet, you will realize that prepared foods are expensive. Expensive for society, expensive for diversity, expensive for social justice, and expensive for the ecology of the planet. Here is a value investing tip: unpopular but healthy and basic foods such as dried beans and lentils are in fact quite cheap. You can eat basically for reasonable cash outlay.

9. Food Preparation = Jobs: I've written about this less than any of the other areas, and don't want to comment too much more on it. I realize that growing and harvesting food can be difficult, dangerous, and demeaning work. Sending a round piece of frozen batter through an automated frosting machine a la Krispy Kreme does seem quite a bit simpler. But there's got to be better ways to keep the economy stable and robustly employed than this!

10. Are Prepared Foods Ever Healthier? Besides a few robust examples (concentrated tomato products, nixtamalization) the answer remains a resounding...nope.

Thank you again for reading the blog, especially those of you who have been on board since the beginning! Please take this opportunity to become a fan on Facebook and/or Twitter, or subscribe via a reader, so that you will be notified if and when there are any future posts.

Five Fabulous French Foods

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 02:07:00 +0000

France may be a vegan's nightmare, but there are some really good eats to be had. Now that I've been back in the United States a little over a week, I can reminisce about five foods I enjoyed that were very, very French. Cheese, wine, and chocolate mousse are excepted from this list since they are generally available here. In no certain order:

Having a Field Day

1. Foie Gras: Yes, I'm aware of the general horror and disapproval of the methods used to produce fatty geese with fatty livers. This is the dogma but I can tell you another side of things. We traveled extensively through the French countryside and saw many, many foie gras farms. We saw what appeared to be happy geese, running around yards, uncrowded, unfilthy, uncaged. If this is misery, I'll take it. Eating good foie gras is basically like eating butter, straight up! Unless you are having foie gras ice cream, which I can definitely say might be the best thing I've ever eaten.

Avant Garde Crepe

2. Galettes: You haven't had a crepe until you've had a galette. These are the traditional savory crepes of Brittany and Normandy. They're made of buckwheat and have a much more powerful flavor than a plain flour crepe. Try the complete.

I do rather fancy butter!

3. Burgundy Snails (Helix pomatia): These hapless creatures sacrifice their lives by the millions to the hungry escargot eaters of Paris. We actually sped through our two weeks in France without eating snails, but I did enjoy their underwater brethren fruits de mer, at the seaside town of Cancale.

Pickled.

4. Calvados: Sarah and I knew that northern and western France were cider country, but we didn't realize that calvados, which isn't the most French of names, is an apple brandy hailing from the region of the same name. Along our travels we came across a cute (and historic) village on a hill by the name of Domfront. In this village were several old school distilling machines made of copper and brass and looking straight out of the Steam Age.

Mmm...Macarons?

5. Macarons: According to some sources these Oreo predecessors have been around since at least the 8th century. We literally couldn't turn a corner in Paris without seeing a display case packed full of the slightly psychedelic cookies. Intrigued, we finally bought a few at the best of the best place, La Grande Epicerie. I don't know...maybe they're an acquired taste? Personally I will stick with macaroons, of the coconut variety.

All images from Flickr Creative Commons.

Book Review: Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Thu, 28 Oct 2010 04:01:00 +0000

One thing we knew for sure going to Paris is that we didn't want to dine at musty fusty multi-Michelin starred restaurants. Yes, yes I know some are surely stellar, but it just wasn't our scene. In fact, we didn't even want to make any reservations, period. So when we came across Clotilde's book, we knew we'd hit pay dirt. Clotilde Dusoulier is the author of the successful food blog Chocolate & Zucchini, as well as a few books. This one is her personal take on what's good eating in Paris, by arrondisement.

One of the best things about this book is that she doesn't stop at restaurants. In fact, only about half the book is devoted to what she calls "Eats." The other half is devoted to "Shops" but only those we really care about - fromageries, epiceries, and the like. Even poissonneries have their own section. She has a few suggestions for culinary bookstores, and places to find cookware etc. Even if you don't have a kitchen at your disposal, it is more than a little fun to stop in some of these authentically Parisian markets!

Her restaurant reviews give you a very personal idea of the decor and cuisine that you can expect, along with useful things like phone numbers and operating hours. She even has a section on how to order in French restaurants for the language challenged.

Highly recommended! Find a copy here.

Culinary Adventures in France

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 04:01:00 +0000

Sarah and I are back from our honeymoon in France, with the added excitement of general strikes and scattered fuel shortages, considered the most disruptive since the 1960's. While many of the monuments were closed, solidarity didn't seem to extend to the restaurants, bistrots, brasseries, cafes, confisseries, patisseries, boulangeries, fromageries, epiceries, or chocolateries which were happily open to our perusal. While our trip wasn't exactly a whirlwind, it was something like a category 1 hurricane so I feel like I only got a glimpse into how food works in France. So I'm obviously no Julia Child, but I've tried to make a few ecotarian observations, some of which were a bit surprising:

1. Portion Sizes are Huge: Contrary to whatever stereotypes seem to cling to the notion of the French portion size, were were continuously overwhelmed by absolutely huge meals. For the first 3-4 days in Paris we only ate twice per day and were constantly full. No, we didn't go crazy and order 10 course dinners or gorge on bread (okay, we did gorge on bread). A typical example, we would split a salad for an appetizer and a platter putting the Cheesecake Factory to shame would roll out of the kitchen festooned with four slabs of goat cheese, each approximating the size of a full wheel of Brie. Next, something approximating a tenth of a cow along with a heap of fries the size of Idaho came out on a roast beef carving tray. Trust me, this phenomenon was repeated too many times to be a fluke - the French portion sizes are huge.

2. Take-Out is Interdit: After 30 minutes of gnawing at the bovine remnant, we asked to take home the more-than-half which was still left. We were met with a look of consternation as well as a distinct cooling of friendliness. We quickly realized that we had asked for something that doesn't really happen in France, which is to take food home from a restaurant. The obvious upside is that styrofoam and other plastic bogies make much less of an appearance in France. But the not-so-obvious downside is that there's a lot of what seems to be wasted food. The big question, from an ecotarian's viewpoint, is what therefore happens to all this food? Do you know?

3. Meat the French: I knew from advance reading that France was a country that really likes meat. But the extent to which we had difficulty finding any vegetarian options was really pretty astonishing. Even the one time we went non-French and had a buffet Chinois (the usual refuge of a striving vegetarian, with at least one tofu option), there was not a one non-meat dish. The mystifying thing is that we saw plenty of vegetables in markets; they just never made it into a restaurant. Statistically the United States has a higher per capita meat consumption than France (124 vs 101 pounds, from 2002 statistics) but there's a wide variation in there. My hypothesis is that the United States is a country of ridiculously rabid flesh-chewers (truly, the Reds) and more reasonable flexitarians or vegetarians (go Greens!), while the French are constant meat-eaters. Since eating less meat is one of the top three actions you can make to mitigate climate change, seems like both countries need to be a bit more like India - 5.2 pounds of meat per capita, per year.

4. They Live the Vie Local: Consider this - Europe is the most heavily populated continent. France, for example, is roughly the size of California but has twice the population. Then, it's really pretty amazing that they haven't wrecked the countryside with suburbs, like we have in this country. Agriculture, real agriculture, starts just outside city limits. Dairy cows, foie gras farms, fields of buckwheat and corn and cabbages, all are closer to the city centers (even of Paris, a city-region of 10 million inhabitants) than the inevitable American exurb. This will matter, maybe not for 50 or even 100 years, but I think that we Americans will regret the slaughter of our conveniently located agricultural land so that everybody can have a huge pesticide patch (sometimes known as "the lawn") a swimming pool, and a Walmart down the street.

5. Markets aren't Farmer's Markets: Don't get me wrong, I love Farmer's Markets and get most of my fruits and vegetables from them. But they will always be niche here in America, for reason #4 primarily. In France market days are very different. They are bigger and much more heavily attended. But hardly any of the sellers at the markets are farmers, and finding a stand selling food from a single farm is a big time rarity. The purpose of the markets is to bring the food to the people, and the people come to the food. Not all of the food might be local, but the sellers are small time and friendly and knowledgeable. Just about the opposite of those fluorescent warehouses we Americans get herded to!

Look for a book review later this week, and next week I'll write about some of the foods we enjoyed that were truly French. The recipe series will resume later.

Picture taken at Villandry, where the gardens are made of vegetables!

E is for Eiffel Tower, Here We Come!

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 04:01:00 +0000

At first, I thought I might actually get a post out this week. But the small matter of a wedding and a honeymoon (starting today) have definitely superseded the blog! We are off to Paris to enjoy the sites great and small, not the least of which will be markets, fromageries, charcuteries, boulangeries, patisseries, and maybe a chocolatier or two.

So a bientot, and I'll be back to posting towards the end of October or maybe in early November.

Image of a Parisian market from Flickr Creative Commons

D is for Dal

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 04:01:00 +0000

If you can learn to make dal, you can seriously consider becoming a vegan. And trust me, making dal is definitely within grasp of pretty much anybody who can boil water. I'm only going to include the most basic recipe here, but variations are endless and this is a great meatless main dish.

History: Dal, which is basically lentil stew, is one of the most important sources of protein to hundreds of millions of vegetarians, mostly living in the Asian subcontinent (India, Bangladesh, etc.). While it would be difficult to pinpoint a time in history when dal came into being, that time would basically be as soon as people figured out how to boil lentils, peas, and beans. Masoor dal, which is made with red lentils, is probably the most common.

Ingredients (serves 4):

1 cup dried red lentils
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced
4 green cardamom pods
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
2 cloves
1 teaspoon black pepper, cracked
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons of peanut or some other oil
Fresh cilantro for garnish

Method:

1. Place the lentils and the ginger in a clay pot and add water to cover, by about one inch. If you don't have a clay pot, any metal pot is okay, although the lentils won't cook as evenly or as quickly.
2. Bring the lentils to a simmer and cook for 20 to 30 minutes. Red lentils cook faster than other types.
3. When the lentils are done, heat the oil in a small skillet and briefly saute all the other ingredients except for the salt. Two or three minutes should be enough, your goal is to develop the flavor of the spices a bit, basically to toast them.
4. Combine everything together, salt to taste, and garnish with the cilantro.
5. Serve as a stand-alone soup, on top of rice, or with flaky bread like naan.

Embellishments and Substitutions: There are many traditional dals beyond Masoor dal. The most obvious substitution is to try a different kind of lentil (yellow lentils are a common switch) or another legume altogether, such as a bean or a pea. Some good ideas for additions to a basic dal recipe are tomatoes and other garlic relatives such as onions, chives, etc. Using other accent herbs and spices will of course change the nature of the dish. Experimentation will only lead you to tastier dals!

References:
1. Wikipedia
2. Recipe adapted from How to Cook Everything, by Mark Bittman.
3. Image from Flickr Creative Commons

C is for Cole Slaw

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 04:01:00 +0000

When you think about it, cole slaw is one of the most versatile salads/condiments out there. You've probably had a lot of cole slaw in your life and none of it is ever quite the same.

History: At the most basic, cole slaw is shredded cabbage with some sort of vinegar or mayo-based sauce. The word, in fact, comes from a Dutch word koolslada, which literally means cabbage salad. In one form or another, this is a condiment that's been eaten since at least Roman times. How it became the 2nd most popular condiment in America (just behind potato salad) is a bit obscure to me, but so it is. The recipe that follows is from my grandmother's cookbook. It's a bit unusual because of the heavy dill flavor, but is definitely delicious!

Ingredients:

1/2 small onion, diced
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper, ground
1/2 teaspoon dry powdered mustard
1/2 teaspoon celery seed (optional)

1 carrot, grated
1/2 green pepper, sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh dill
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 green cabbage, sliced

1/4-1/2 cup mayonnaise

Method:

1. Mix first set of ingredients and let marinate while preparing the cole slaw.
2. Grate carrot by hand or in a food processor.
3. Chop dill and parsley.
4. If using a food processor, switch to the slicing blade and send the pepper and cabbage through.
5. Combine all ingredients and mix with mayonnaise.
6. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving.

** A bit of food safety advice: cole slaw should be kept no longer than three days if made with mayonnaise, and no longer than five days if made with vinegar. Do not allow cole slaw to stay at room temperature for any longer than two hours.

Embellishments and Substitutions: The most obvious target of substitution for cole slaw is the cabbage itself. An easy switch is to try adding or substituting red cabbage or Napa cabbage (which has a much milder flavor). A popular exchange is cabbage for broccoli, the so-called brocoslaw (yes, it is duly noted that I haven't yet had a post on broccoli - broccoli! - a situation that will be remedied, eventually). If you like a mild anise flavor, try grinding some fennel into the mix. Other ideas might be to try some other fresh herbs and onion relatives, but careful not to overpower the delicate flavors of the cabbage and carrots. I've had cole slaws with raisins or pineapple chunks in them, both of which add a nice sweetness and might obviate the need for sugar. Finally, if you like a little heat, why not replace the bell pepper with a poblano or even a jalapeno?

References:
1. Wikipedia
2. That ain't no KFC cole slaw! from Flickr Creative Commons

Heirloom Thursday: 5 Beans to Try

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 04:01:00 +0000

You can use all sorts of beans to make baked beans, with the obvious point that they need to at least be dried beans. Dark colored beans such as black beans or kidney beans just don't seem like they'd be right, although I can't exactly tell you why. The first two below, you can find anywhere. The last three are all available through Rancho Gordo.

Navy Beans: These have been around at least since the time of the Pilgrims, and are also sometimes called pea beans or Boston beans. They are the quintessential plain white bean. They have also been the official state bean of Massachusetts since 1993. One of the easiest dried beans to find.

Fasolia Gigandes: These are unusually gigantic white beans which were cultivated in Greece. They are also called yiyandes. If you use these, you're going to need to go for the longer side of the initial soak (30 minutes) and test them for doneness; they might need to go more than three hours, but maybe not. One place to look for these would be a Turkish store, which are more common around here, at least, than Greek stores.

Mayacoba Beans: Mayacoba, or maicoba beans are fairly common further south, another name for them being Peruano. They are also just called yellow beans, sometimes. The modern variety has been around since 1978, although yellowish beans have been discovered at sites more than 4,000 years old. These beans were at one point the victims of a bizarre patent dispute, but now have made their way back to the United States as an heirloom.

Cranberry Beans: Cranberry beans, which are unusual but not uncommon, are one and the same as an heirloom variety cargamanto, from Colombia. They belong to the bean "race" Peru, but the exact time or origin I couldn't find. These beans are actually mostly tan, but with a splash of cranberry color in random and interesting patterns. The eyes are white. They have got a velvety texture and pleasing mild taste and are one of the most versatile dried beans.

Vaquero: These neat beans look like a head on collision between navy and black, as envisioned by Jackson Pollock. There are other splotched beans called orca beans, perhaps reminiscent of killer whales. These are more like splotchy cows or horses, and are close relatives of Anasazi beans, so named after the cliff-dwellers that probably first cultivated them.

References:
1. Wikipedia
2. Images from Rancho Gordo, Wikipedia, and Flickr Creative Commons

B is for Baked Beans

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Wed, 15 Sep 2010 04:01:00 +0000

We've had a cold snap this past week in New England, which is a good reminder that fall and winter really aren't that far away. So what better time to start thinking about baked beans! This recipe will keep the oven running for three hours so doubles as a decent way to heat the house on a cold day.

History: I happened to learn last week on a farm tour of Allandale Farm, that shelling beans don't grow very well in Massachusetts. So it is a bit ironic that baked beans are so closely tied to Boston, a la Beantown. The history of the baked bean is a bit obscure. Beans, as you will recall, are native to North America and as such weren't known elsewhere until Columbus and beyond. In the mid 1500's they were brought to Italy and to France, and the dish we call baked beans is thought to have evolved out of cassoulet. The molasses that was so important to Boston is probably the real reason why baked beans developed such a foothold. Another interesting bit of history is that this was one of the first canned foods, and was provided to the army during the US Civil War.

Main Ingredients:

1 pound dried beans: navy or a similar white bean is usually used.
8 ounces of salt pork or bacon, or 2 tablespoons of butter.
1/2 cup of molasses or maple syrup.
1 small to medium onion, peeled and quartered.
2 teaspoons ground mustard.
Salt and pepper, to taste.

Method (adopted from Bittman's How to Cook Everything):
1. Put the beans in a pot, cover with 2" of cold water, and bring to a boil.
2. Boil for 2 minutes, then turn the heat off. Preheat the oven to 300F.
3. After 15-30 minutes, drain the water from the beans and save it.
4. Cover the bottom of an oven proof pot with the salt pork or bacon or oil.
5. Mix the beans with the sugar, the mustard, salt, pepper, and the onions, and put the whole mixture on top of the fat.
6. Add back the water to cover the beans by one inch.
7. Bake uncovered for three hours, stirring about every 30 minutes. Taste periodically and add more salt, sugar, or mustard as necessary.
8. (only if you used meat) Bring the meat pieces to the top, increase the heat to 400F, and brown them for 10 minutes or so.

Embellishments: This is a recipe ripe for experimentation, mostly with spices and the proportions of the sweet, sour, and salty ingredients. Try curry-type spices, or chili powder if you like heat. Another good idea is to add stock at the end of the cooking and you have an instant soup!

References:
1. Wikipedia
2. How to Cook Everything
3. Image from Flickr Creative Commons

Heirloom Thursday: 5 Apples to Try

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 04:01:00 +0000

With something like 7,500 varieties to choose from, how are you going to select apples for your applesauce? It's hard to go wrong, although if you use a lot of tart apples like Granny Smith, you will probably need to add sugar. With some guidance from PickYourOwn.org, here are five varieties that will guarantee you an excellent sauce:

Gala: Gala apples are party apples - not red or yellow, but a swirling blend of the two. They are the result of a cross between Golden Delicious and Kidd's Orange Red, and were developed in New Zealand in the 1920's. They are firm and sweet with a thinner skin than most apples. They have risen from obscurity in many countries (they were introduced to the United States only in 1965) and now account for 20% of all apples grown in the United Kingdom, for example.

Fuji: These are considered the best for applesauce, along with Galas. They were developed at the Tohoku Research Station in Japan, in the late 1930's. Due to intervening events, they weren't introduced until 1962 but are very popular. They're the 4th most common apple in America, and 80% of China's apples are Fujis!

Jonathan: These are a bit harder to find than the above two, mostly because they aren't the most attractive. When and if you do come across some, grab the opportunity! They were grown by Rachel Negus Higley and named after her husband Jonathan, in the early 1800's.

Golden Delicious: This is an apple I would never pick off the shelf to eat, so it's interesting to learn that it makes for an excellent sauce apple. It was introduced in 1914 as a companion to the Red Delicious but aside from the name, it isn't closely related. It is the official state fruit of West Virginia.

Melrose: This is a coarse-fleshed apple which is the official apple of Ohio. It was introduced in 1944, and is similar to the Jonathan.

A is for Applesauce

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 04:01:00 +0000

For the next six months, roughly, I've challenged myself to come up with a literal alphabet soup of Basic Eating recipes. Each of these is a framework for turning a basic ingredient into a vital condiment or main dish, usually with ease. If you're new to the blog, make sure you click through the ingredients with links, as these will take you back to other posts I've written about them! This week, I'm launching into applesauce at the same time that the Northeastern United States is launching into apple season. We traveled to upstate New York for a family gathering over the Labor Day weekend, and found several orchards filled with laden trees, like the one in the picture. What a better time to think about one of the ultimate comfort foods!

History: Put fire and apples together and you get applesauce. So presumably this side dish has been with us for a long, long time! At least since canning came about, I figure (before that, most apples probably went into cider). Despite the fact that it's so common, applesauce doesn't have that many cultural connotations. Probably the most well known are as an accompaniment to latkes and other potato pancakes. It's also a traditional accompaniment to pork products in Germany and Scandinavia. Vegans have co-opted applesauce as a butter/egg alternative for baking.

Main Ingredient:

Apples

Recipe:

1. Throw a large number of apples (figure one quart of applesauce per two pounds of apples) into a pot in relatively large pieces. Don't bother to core them or peel them. Any type will do, although many will add some tart ones to brighten up the flavor.

2. Add a bit of water, about 1/2" to the bottom of the pot and bring to a boil over medium heat, covered.

3. Simmer uncovered until the apples lose form. This can take a variable amount of time especially depending on your apples. Figure 15-30 minutes, with occasional stirring.

4. Send the apples through a food mill. This inexpensive device is essential to making applesauce and most have a sieve for chunky and smooth settings. If you object to additional kitchen accoutrements, rejoice in the fact that you don't have to peel or core apples if you use one. If you have a stand mixer, many have attachments which do the same thing (usually called sieves or grinders).

5. (optional) Can your applesauce. If you are doing this, make sure that you don't let things cool for step #4, and follow these very clear instructions from PickYourOwn.org.

Embellishments: One thing that homemade applesauce rarely needs is sugar. But there are many things that can be added to literally spice it up. Generally don't add more than a ground teaspoon of spice to a batch to start; if you're adding another fruit, try starting with a ration of four apples: one other fruit. Here are some ideas:

Cinnamon

Cloves

Green cardamom

Chipotle chiles

Peaches

References:
1. Wikipedia
2. Bittman's How to Cook Everything

The Next 180 Days

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 04:01:00 +0000

Happy September! The character of the blog is about to change quite a bit, for the next six months at least. Why? I'm getting married for one thing, a month from tomorrow in fact! We will be going to France (yes, L.T.!) for our honeymoon, to enjoy some amazing food, among other things. While I do enjoy writing about food, I'll be much more focused on eating the food while in France.

Beyond that, though - it turns out that I've written about quite a few basic foods by this point. The original goal of my blog has been met and exceeded. To be exact, I wanted to learn about as many foods as I could - where they come from, whether they're sustainable, and whether they're healthy. I've learned a lot and have clearly been making better choices in my life regarding what goes in the pantry and what goes in the hatch.

At this point I'm going to start a new "series" which will result in much less frequent posting. I call it "Basic Eating by the Alphabet" although I'm definitely open to other name suggestions! Once a week, I'm going to post a very general recipe which can be made using basic ingredients with many variations. Next week I'll start it off with (A)pplesauce and we'll see where things go from there. I'll usually follow this up with a post on some of the more notable varieties of the main ingredients (apples, in this instance).

Thanks for reading, and I'll see you on a less frequent basis but I hope you'll keep checking in! If you haven't already, become a Facebook or Twitter fan or subscribe to the feed so that when the posts go up, you'll know about it.

When else would I get to use this awesome picture? From Far West Fungi at the Ferry Plaza.

Book Review: Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 04:01:00 +0000

This book was my indispensable helper for writing about wild edibles the other week, and is really a fun field guide. Peter Del Tredici takes an almost entirely different view from the standard "invasive species are bad" mantra. He observes, truly enough, that the invasion has already occurred and that efforts to maintain pristine native landscapes are, in fact, completely artificial.

Instead, he makes an astute observation - that there is an urban ecology, and just like the culture mixing pot of cities, this ecology is a true pastiche of continents and regions. It is also often the only green that inhabits a landscape which could easily look like the surface of the moon.

Take the dry salty margins of interstates, for example. The next time you find yourself driving along the Mass Pike or any other road that slices through urban areas, take note of the foliage growing alongside. The Mass Pike, for example, is completely swathed in ailanthus trees. The effect is that you actually feel like you're driving through a somewhat verdant area, which could just as easily look like an industrial wasteland.

This book contains 200 of the most common plants you are likely to encounter in the urban environment in the Northeast, which he defines as the region from New England down to Washington DC, and west to Detroit. I don't think there's every been a book published quite like it, or at least one that so successfully avoids the pejorative "weed."

A must-have for anyone who is able to tolerate spontaneous landscapes and isn't overcome with the urge to rip everything out to make way for their Kentucky bluegrass heavily fertilized and watered lawn! This is the real "World Without Us" and you can see it in prime time, now. You can buy the book here.

Molecular Monday: Ascorbic Acid

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:01:00 +0000

Ascorbic acid, much more commonly known as vitamin C, was a common feature of many of the wild edibles I wrote about last week. The name ascorbic acid pretty much explains how this vitamin was discovered - "not scurvy." It has been known throughout human societies for thousands of years that certain foods were needed to prevent scurvy, whether they be citrus fruits or even pine needles. The first controlled scientific experiment in history took place in 1747, when James Lind randomized some sailors to receive normal rations, and the other to receive a citrus supplement (lemons and oranges). The citrus consumers avoided scurvy, although the causative factor, vitamin C, wasn't discovered until 1931.

Abundant Sources: The funny thing is that oranges and lemons are very much in the middle of the pack, with 50 mg and 40 mg per 100 grams, respectively. Papayas, strawberries, and persimmons all have more vitamin C (60 mg per 100 grams). Red pepper has almost five times that of a lemon, 190 mg per 100 grams. The heavyweight of the plant kingdom is the kakadu plum, with 3100 mg per 100 grams! Check out the table from Wikipedia for a more complete list.

Structure and Synthesis: Almost every animal can make its own vitamin C, primarily in the liver. Some animals such as reptiles and birds make vitamin C in their kidneys. And then there are the humans. It pretty much comes down to us, the other primates, some monkeys, and the guinea pigs as the only animals that can't make their own vitamin C. Why? Figure it out and I'll nominate you personally for a Nobel prize, I promise.

Mechanism of Action: Vitamin C is known to be an antioxidant in most circles. This may be true in vitro, but it isn't entirely clear that having a bunch of vitamin C on board reduces general oxidative stress. In fact, under certain conditions it can act as a pro-oxidant. What is clear is that vitamin C is a critical cofactor for about eight different enzymes in the human body, including several which maintain the structure of collagen (thus explaining why scurvy is a disease of collagen, amongst other things).

Health Effects: Scurvy is hard but not impossible to get in the developed world. It manifests as bleeding gums and other mucous membranes, loosening of the teeth, and strange bruises, especially on the thighs and legs. These symptoms are of course nonspecific, but if untreated generally progress to death. So the importance of enough vitamin C is clear. A minimum level as suggested by the WHO is 45 mg/day. But what about all those megadoses you always see advertised? First of all, there is good evidence that these high doses don't help with getting over colds. Aside from that, high doses of vitamin C will almost guarantee you diarrhea, and might also cause your body to absorb too much iron, leading to iron overload.

Clinical Trials: There are quite a number of clinical trials ongoing re: vitamin C - 72 to be exact. I couldn't find any coherent theme, but it may behoove you take a look at the list.

Bottom Line: It's critically important to get the minimum amount of vitamin C, although this should be easy to do when eating basic foods, even when you don't have a lot of citrus.

References:
1. Wikipedia

Common Yellow Woodsorrel (Oxalis stricta)

noreply@blogger.com (Jeremy Warner MD) — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 04:01:00 +0000

(This post is part of a week long blog-a-thon to celebrate Massachusetts Farmers Market Week. This blogathon is sponsored by In Our Grandmothers’ Kitchens; please also consider a donation to Mass Farmers Markets. The organization’s donation link is here.)

For the last post of this week, I'm going to go back to that patch of weeds near the front door. Interdispersed among this patch, and perhaps a bit hard to appreciate, is the common yellow woodsorrel, a sight very familiar to many a gardener. But did you know it was edible?

History: Oxalis is a very large genus, with 900+ species. Most of these species are edible and some have been consumed around the world for thousands of years. This one is particular is native to North America, and was used in several ways by Native American tribes. All wood sorrels have a similar look, something like a clover and sometimes even called a shamrock. They usually form seed pods and some form tubers. The common name "sour grass" gives a hint to the taste.

Growing: Again, don't worry - it will grow anywhere where there is dirt and sun. It generally prefers dry dirt which is a little sandy.

Harvesting: All parts of the wood sorrel are edible, at all times in the life cycle.

Eating and Processing: It's not uncommon to find the leaves and the pretty yellow leaves as a garnish in a salad. You can also throw an entire plant into a pot of hot water and get a tisane which supposedly tasted a bit like green beans. If balsamic vinegar is a too distantvore for you, you can try squeezing the juice out of the greens into a bottle for a vinegar substitute.

Health Information: The major constituent of this plant is oxalic acid, which is also found in many other foods in similar quantities, and in others in toxic quantities (rhubarb leaves, for example). You would have to eat a lot of wood sorrel to encounter a problem, as long as you have normally functioning kidneys. If you don't, you run the risk of forming calcium oxalate kidney stones, which are definitely no fun. I found some sources claiming high levels of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) in wood sorrel, but nothing that gave specifics.

Relevant Website: Squidoo

Bottom Line: A tangy treat just waiting to be eaten, and a thirst quencher too!

References:
1. Wikipedia