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Food as Medicine. The title alone intrigued me and drew me to the Ferry Building on a weeknight. On April 19, 2011, the Asian Culinary Council brought together a dynamite panel of perspectives to address this interesting idea.

This included guest moderator and UC, Santa Cruz professor anthropology, Nancy Chen, who penned the book “Food, Medicine, and the Quest for Good Health” in 2008.  Ayurvedic practitioner, Michelle Warner informed the audience that Ayurveda started as a sister discipline of yoga. While one restored the soul and body, the other worked symbiotically to restore the body through food and nutrition.

Jane Lin shared how trying to bounce back after her first pregnancy brought her into the kitchen to make soups from her childhood and that she now prepares through her business, Mama Tong, as foods for “confinement”, the first 30 days of a baby’s life for post-partum women.  California Culinary Academy instructor and friend, Vinita Jacinto, talked about the importance of seeing the universe on your plate with such rapt enthusiasm for cooking and variety of ingredients that was infectious.

Each of the panelists introduced me to new ideas that gave me food for thought. The final panelist, John Garrone, was a bit of a local celebrity to me and I looked forward to learning more about the healing properties of mushrooms. This founder of Far West Fungi gave a short tutorial on several types of specialty mushrooms, indicating that they make a good alternative to meat, and are high in protein. He started describing how shiitake can help boost your immune system. Oyster mushrooms can help lower cholesterol. The bulky “Lion’s Head” mushrooms assist with digestive problems and brain problems. He touched on the “King Trumpet” with its thick, dense texture and anti-tumoral properties.

Then he got to the mushroom of all mushrooms, the one that makes my mind up for me when in a restaurant, he began extolling the virtues of the Maitake. Also known as “Hen of the Woods,” this mushroom is anti-tumoral, anti-diabetic and anti-viral. It also just happens to taste ridiculously good when sautéed simply with a bit of olive oil, garlic and thyme, as I suggest below.

I left the evening awash with information and glad to be reminded that we can learn from each other and continue broadening our palates and as we do, the food we eat can nurture and nourish us.

A few Saturdays ago, I bumped into John Garrone at the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. I gushed like a giddy schoolgirl about my growing fascination with mushrooms. They are an ingredient I enjoy eating regularly. That day I picked up some King Trumpets and a large Maitake, which he said would work well steeped in hot water to make a tea. I had other ideas for that Maitake…

Maitake Mushrooms & Swiss Chard with Garlic Chips

CLEANING & CUTTING: When working with Maitake mushrooms for the first time, as a reminder, you don’t want to wash them. If you see any dirty bits, simply dampen a paper cloth and dab. Also you want to take a knife and cut the gangly Maitake arms into smaller pieces from the base.

STORAGE: Store Maitakes in a paper bag in your refrigerator and they should keep for about a week.

FIND THEM: You can buy Maitake mushrooms from Far West Fungi, inside at the Ferry Building or on Saturday’s outside in the Ferry Building Farmer’s Market. You can also pick some up at Safeway or local grocery stores as I noticed the brand Mycopia is starting to pick up good distribution in mainstream and many neighborhood stores.

FINAL NOTE: The entire mushroom is edible and I have a hunch you might find that this combination of textures- the wilted Swiss chard leaves, the slightly chewy Maitake and the crisp bite of garlic chips will easily integrate this seemingly mysterious ingredient into your regular repertoire.

YIELDS: 2 servings

1 lb. swiss chard

2 garlic cloves

1 tablespoon grapeseed oil (plus ½ tablespoon grapeseed oil)

dash of chili flakes

¼ teaspoon thyme

1 cup Maitake mushroom pieces

½ cup low sodium vegetable stock

1. Chop up one garlic clove.

2. Cut a notch into the bottom of your Swiss chard leaves to cut off the bottom bulkier stem and then chop up the green parts of the leaves.

3. Place garlic and 1 tablespoon of oil in a medium sized pan and sauté over medium low heat until the garlic starts browning. Add in chard pieces at this point and stir in until covered with oil. Saute for a few minutes.

4. Then add in the vegetable stock and set to simmer until the stock has cooked down into the chard. Add in the chili flakes and stir.

5. In a small pan, add remaining oil and the other chopped garlic clove and sauté over low heat. Once browning, add in maitake, thyme and a pinch of salt. Saute for a few minutes until garlic is brown and the mushrooms look cooked through.

6. Serve greens on plate and then spoon mushrooms and garlic chips onto the greens.

Carrots, with their graceful, tapered bodies, create such an image of something ripped by its hair from the comfort zone of cool moist soil. After months of darkness, being nurtured by a soil that gently parts to accommodate its slow growth; suddenly, forcefully yanked into a new, bright environment.

Ever have days like that?

When I first moved to San Francisco from Boston many years ago, I felt completely disoriented by this new, super-active, activity-driven environment I’d been plunged into, so far from the comfort of my family and friends. I had friends back in Boston ready to rent a moving van to come pick me up at a moments notice, but people here told me to be patient; that the rule of thumb for an east coast to west coast move was 2 years to get settled, 5 years to get rooted. It was in fact a painstakingly slow rooting for me, and one of the many lessons I learned was the value of patience; that everything isn’t going to fall into place and feel like home right away, or even after only a few months.

Today, looking back, while I acknowledge there are a lot of really wonderful places to live in this country, and I’ve been lucky enough to live in quite a few of them; I’ve become so firmly rooted here with deep, interconnected roots with new family and friends, that I can’t imagine living anywhere else.

Tangerine-Ginger Carrots with Cocoa Nibs

Cook’s Notes:

• If you’re starting to plan a chocolate-centric Valentine’s Day dinner, this can make for a great side dish with the cocoa nibs adding just a hint of chocolate with the tangerine and ginger.
• As a little information on cocoa nibs, they are essentially the foundation of all chocolate in an unsweetened form. Cocoa beans that are used to make chocolate beans are roasted and then winnowed to remove their thin shells, or hulls. The roasted beans shatter into fragments in the winnowing process, and these fragments are cocoa nibs. Nibs from different beans are blended to create a particular flavor profile, and finely ground to a thick paste, called chocolate liquor. This liquor, when hardened into bars is the unsweetened chocolate we see on our market shelves. It’s also the foundation of all chocolates. Only recently have nibs themselves become a product. They are wonderful in this recipe where they infuse the glaze with just a hint of chocolate. I’ve also added them to granola. Buy some when see them and start experimenting!
• Save the tangerine shells for making citrus, herb salts. I’ll be posting a recipe for this later this week.
• I used Satsuma tangerines, but any tangerine will work beautifully with this recipe.
• For more citrus-y recipes for seasonal fruits and veggies, come by my blog The Wimpy Vegetarian for a visit.

Ingredients…

• 2 bunches carrots, mixed colors (about 1 pound without the green tops)
• 1 ½ cups freshly squeezed tangerine
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger, about a 2” piece
• 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cocoa nibs
• 1 teaspoon salt

Making It…

1. Peel and stem the carrots, leaving about 1 inch of the green stems intact.
2. Combine the remaining ingredients, and add the carrots. Add enough water to just cover the carrots. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer, and simmer until the carrots are tender. The length of time for this will depend on the thickness and freshness of the carrots, but 15-30 minutes is a good range to work with.
3. When the carrots are tender, remove from the pan. The sauce should be thick and glaze-like. If it isn’t, reduce it until it is over medium heat. Pour the sauce over the carrots.
4. Serve warm.

When you live in the city by the Bay, a myriad of options for weekend diversions lay at your fingertips. That said, one of the best things about living in San Francisco is being a stone’s throw from easy adventures- think of them as stay-cations with a Bay Area flare.

One of our favorite jaunts to retreat into the rustic beauty of Northern California winds up the One along the coast or you can take the road inland to make it to Mendocino.

On a recent trip, we discovered this darling little shop off the beaten path selling cookbooks and cookery. I wandered in, salivating over all the colorful enamelware and eyeing their selection of oilcloth tablecloths reminiscent of Tex-Mex restaurants. As we waited in line to purchase a cookbook for a friend, my eyes lit up as they settled on the small jars of Mendocino Sea Smoke.

See, I’ve come to associate Mendocino not just for its vibrant arts community but for its foraged salt and foraged mushrooms. Since I haven’t yet seen mushrooms for sale to bring home as weekend souvenirs, you better believe I latched onto one of those little jars. They describe the taste of the salt in that little jar as a “bonfire on the beach” which is pretty right on since the sea salt is slow smoked over smoldering sea kelp, maple and alder wood. Hand crafted from seawater collected off the Mendocino Coast, a tiny booklet tied to the small jar describes the process in which the sea salt is made.

In January while attending the Fancy Food show at the Moscone Convention Center in downtown San Francisco, it would be my luck that among the thousands of people walking the aisles and sampling cheeses, chocolate and other specialty food, I would run into Lora and Bob La Mar, aka Mr. and Mrs. Mendocino Sea Smoke. I told them about finding their handcrafted salts in the small store. From two passionate food-enthusiasts to another, that small chat made my day of discoveries complete.

Now, weeks later from our weekend adventure in Mendocino, this finishing salt has become a star player in the kitchen. Sprinkled on salmon or even on tossed pasta with vegetables, a pinch of this Mendocino foraged sea salt makes any meal a little bit magical.

Take these parsnip fries. Roasted root vegetables such as parsnips are a winter treat. Slow cooking them in the oven at high temperatures brings out their natural sweetness. While sweet potato fries over the past few years have become a specialty of burger menus in the know in the Bay Area, I would posit that the humble parsnip might be a dark horse in the running. Baking the fries makes for a less intense and healthier way to enjoy this French fry alternative. When paired with the particular sweetness of the parsnips, the kelp and slight smoky flavor of the Sea Smoke makes these fries finger-licking good.

Parsnip Fries with Smoked Sea Salt

YIELDS: 4 servings

• 2 large parsnips
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed oil
• ¼ teaspoon smoked sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 400.
2. Slice off both ends of parsnips. With a peeler, peel skin off or leave it on and slice 1/8 inch off of two sides of the parsnip so as to make two flat surfaces. Slit the parsnip in half vertically using care to slice straight down and of course to avoid fingers. If the parsnip halves still seem thick enough to allow halving them again, do so.
3. Take one long piece of parsnip and begin cutting into fries. Continue cutting the other pieces of parsnips until all are cut into fries.
4. Place cut parsnip fries on roasting sheet and drizzle the oil over them. Toss them until all parsnip fries are coated with oil and make sure the fries are not touching.
5. Cook for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before moving the fries to a bowl.
6. Sprinkle smoked sea salt over the fries and toss to coat.

SERVING SUGGESTION: These roasted parsnip fries with smoked sea salt would be fantastic served with the lamb burgers and tzatziki.

Once while browsing for a cartoon channel in my TV, I came across healing food show by Renee Loux in KQED . She was sharing the recipe for chocolate mousse with one magical ingredient – avocado and suggested to use a mixture of natural sweetening agents like agave nectar, maple syrup, organic sugar instead of using a single one. For the dinner, that night when I made this for dessert, everyone scooped out big spoonfuls of the creamy mousse with the strawberry I served it with. A delicious and simple dessert indeed.This mousse is egg-free, vegetarian, gluten free, low calorie and what not!

I tasted avocado for the first time in India. It was during one of our vacation to Coorg. They called it butter fruit there and when I tasted it raw, I didn’t develop a liking for it and after that I didn’t get a chance to eat it. Years later when I went to UK, I ate a sandwich with avocado from Tesco but again I didn’t have the time to buy the fruit and explore with it. Then when I moved to US and had a chance to taste Mexican food, I began to use avocado in my cooking. I was told by my doctor friends that avocado has monounsaturated fat which is a good fat for the body and they have high fiber content and also is rich in potassium, vitamin B, E and K. Importantly avocado acts as an anti-inflammatory, means it helps to reduce inflammations in the body.

Did you know?
1. Avocados contain good fats. According to American heart association, it is advised to eat a diet that is low in saturated fat and cholesterol. Avodadoes have primarily unsaturated fats. They help to lower both total and low density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.
2. 1-oz. serving of avocado contains 0.5 grams saturated fat and has zero trans fat, sodium and cholesterol.
3. Since avocados has unsaturated fat, eating them in moderate quantity can help to reduce the risk of heart diseases.

Today I am sharing a recipe for a dessert that has avocados in it. Did you hear me? Yes, incredible right!!! What I thought to be rivals are now the best ever couple on earth. Smooth avocado and blissful chocolate is a marriage made in heaven. I am going to make you feel like living in a dream by adding coconut palm sugar and agave nectar instead of white sugar. Using natural sweeteners that have low glycemic index is going to make you enjoy the dessert guilt free. I love it for the fact that they are healthy and people who crave for a chocolaty dessert during a weightloss can still enjoy 1-2oz of this mousse once a while.

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE WITH AVOCADOS
Source: Renee Loux
Serves: 4

Ingredients
2 large avocado – ripe
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tablespoon agave nectar
2 tablespoon natural honey
2 tablespoon organic sugar (for added sweetness – optional)
2 tablespoon organic all natural maple syrup ( use if needed – adjust sweetness to your taste)
or organic coconut palm sugar
1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
1-2 teaspoon vanilla extract (no sugar ones)

Ripen strawberries for garnish

Directions
1. Whisk all the ingredients in a food processor to a smooth creamy texture. Add little water if needed. Check for sweetness before you serve. Scoop out the mousse in a parfait, wine or martini glass. I used a shot glass to serve and I served chilled.

2. Garnish with juicy strawberries.

Tips:
1. This dessert is low calorie but that doesn’t mean you could eat one bowl after another. Remember stick with one serving size.
2. Since it has multiple natural sweeteners, you can use little of each and come back for more if needed.
3. Not ideal for women with gestational diabetes. May be a little after your doctor’s/ dietician’s approval.
4. Recently I read about coconut palm sugar in Dr.Oz show and that seems to be a healthy alternative for those who are diabetic and pre-diabetic. Infact, you can go about using it like sugar. That is, for 1 tablespoon of sugar you should use 1 tablespoon and that makes it an easier option during baking as you don’t have to crack your brain for the measurements.For more healthy eating and low calorie food ideas, check my blog Spices and Aroma.

Reckoning with a vegetable or ingredient for the first time is a lot like a first date. It involves asking questions, spending time together, and sizing each other up. Obscure fruits and vegetables tend to be a fascination of mine since I’m not quite as adventurous in the protein category.

Thus, I recently was caught on a Saturday morning at the Ferry Building farmer’s market eyeing a stalk that resembled a tiny felled redwood tree with roots creeping out at one end. The farmer saw me looking and intervened to make an introduction.

“That’s salsify. It’s a chef favorite. Pair it with meat and a good amount of fats to draw out its flavors.”

Intrigued, I thanked him and set off with one stalk in my oversized canvas bag. The date had begun.

Back in my kitchen, in the tender afternoon light that jags across the countertop, I regarded the salsify and the salsify regarded me. We began the dance.

As we were getting to know one another, I found it smelled similar to bacon in a vegetable form. While roasting, the salsify filled our kitchen with an aroma that might have acted as an invitation to our flat mates to come say hello. Salsify and sultanas are a well-made match.

During the winter months, the idea of salad changes with the seasons. Salads with roasted veggies make a satisfying and hearty winter supplement. In this riff on wild rice salad, roasted salsify root brings a savory note. Bulgur gives a slightly nuttiness and the combination of naturally sweet sultanas plays off the tartness of the verjus. This makes a good side dish to bring to a potluck or works well as leftovers served atop greens.

Bulgur Salsify Salad with Sultanas and Verjus Vinaigrette

SERVES 6 side salad portions

Salad

• 2 teaspoons grapeseed oil
• 1/2 celeriac, minced
• 1 salsify root, peeled and minced
• 1 cup bulgur
• 1 3/4 cup water
• 1/3 cup sultanas (golden raisins)
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped
• 1 tablespoon basil

Dressing

• 1/3 cup Verjus
• 2 tablespoons shallots, chopped
• 1 teaspoon garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil

1. Preheat oven to 450.

2. Cut off the celeriac stalks. Carefully, with a paring knife, peel the skin off of the celeriac bulb. Cut the celeriac in half. Take one of the halves and mince it. Do the same thing with the salsify: cut off both ends and begin carefully peeling the skin off with your paring knife. Cut the salsify up and mince it.

3. Place the celeriac and salsify root pieces on a roasting pan and drizzle grapeseed oil over them. Jostle the minced celeriac and salsify in the oil until all the pieces are coated.

4. Roast celeriac and salsify for 30 minutes or until soft. Let cool.

5. While the celeriac and salisfy are roasting, place the water in a pot over medium high heat. Once the water is at a rolling boil, add in the bulgur and turn the heat down to medium-low. Cook for 10 minutes uncovered.

6. Over low heat, toast the chopped pecans for a few minutes. Turn off heat and set aside.

7. Whisk together the verjus, shallots, garlic, grapeseed oil and basil.

8. In a large bowl, spoon in the bulgur, roasted vegetables, toasted pecans, and sultanas. Pour in the dressing and mix until coated.

______________________________

Annelies Zijderveld is the editor and publisher of La Vie en Route, a blog of food, poetry and art a la carte. She’s thrilled to be a new contributor for Cook Local and share her San Francisco and Bay Area culinary exploits. Find her en route @anneliesz

Hello food lovers !

Let me introduce myself before I start with my post.

I am Vijitha Shyam, a molecular biologist by profession and an ardent food blogger/ freelance writer/ photographer by passion. I reside in South Bay with a 14month old toddler and oh yes, a husband too. I author the blog “Spices and Aroma”.

Spices and aroma is a humble attempt to share my love for Indian cooking. This is my canvas where I paint the different colors of tastes. For a girl born and brought up in a typical Southern Indian household, the word spices and its aroma evokes a lot of cherished memories from the kitchen. My space will carry recipes of authentic Indian dishes, of-course a lot from my mother’s, mother-in-law’s and grandmother’s kitchen and their cooking tips and tricks to survive the trade. I am experimenting on healthy cooking and different cuisines as well so you will find a whole lot of menu ideas. Most of my recipes are the ones I have grown up eating and I am tweaking few recipes with local produce and ingredients. Being a typical foodie and a cook, I give importance on the freshness of the ingredients used. I love to shop in my local farmer’s market every week. There is no harm to shell out couple of more dollars to get the nature’s best and its a great way to support the community.

Roasted cauliflower and broccoli with quinoa spice powder

A few months ago, I set out to make few changes in my lifestyle. One beautiful morning of April last year, I started with a new regime. I had couple of good reasons to point out to my friends and family if they bombard me with questions. There are quite a handful of brats waiting to catch me but they are real sweethearts who enjoy rubbing me on the wrong side. Giggles and jokes and mockery are part of my bond with them.

I have been raised in a family where fresh food is cooked with ingredients found in the local market and my mom still doesn’t store any leftovers in the fridge. Like in every Indian home, leftovers are given away to maid servants/watchman. Mostly what they cook gets done the same day. She cooks with seasonal produces and never likes to try new recipes and never buys out of season produces. “How on earth can watermelon be available in winters? Its a summer fruit eaten in tropical countries to lower the body heat and now every fruits and vegetable is available year round” She would complain. “Man wants to prove that he is superior to nature or what” she would lament about the changing world. She is one shy women with strong views.

The menu at home would get repetitive but assured that they are healthy, nutritious and safe for the body. I followed her rules when I lived with my parents. Once I flew out of the nest and started to live in England, I got into the habit of cooking over the weekend, store and eat them all week long.  Then the same practice continued after I got married. I would spent days reading a novel or watching a movie but wouldn’t lift my ass to fix something fresh for the day. I would make chicken curry or lentil stew or vegetable stir fries in bulk and make fresh rice/rotis whenever we sat for a meal. Even eating schedules were haphazard. With the intention to impress the new bride, my husband would take me to every new  restaurant in town. The typical diet I ate in the US were cheesy, sugary, huge and deep fried. Along with the love for my husband, something else grew left right center in the two+ years of marriage. Yes, that something was my body. My BMI went close to 30. For the record, I was a slim bride.

After watching too many episodes of Dr. Oz I arrived at a conclusion that American diet can lead to chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.  One fine day, I bell rang in my head and I went back to basics. I went back to my childhood days where my mother would prepare fresh meals at 7 in the morning and even now when I close my eyes thinking about that, my nostrils would flare and I would inhale the smell of lentil curry and fresh stews. That’s the smell of my home. I want my son to have the same experience. I decided to recreate the scene for him but there was a little change in the time. My cooking happens at 7 in the evening. Anyways the nose can still sense the same smell right?

At this age, I am over weight but gladly no cholesterol or blood pressure but I suffered from gestational diabetes which puts me at high risk for diabetes at 40. My family doctor suggested I eat whole grains and become vegan. I smiled back as an answer without revealing the disappointment in my face, a disappointment not because I might become diabetic but because I have to leave meat/diary products.

On the drive back home, I spoke with my alter ego that was hiding deep inside me, even she was equally disappointed with the thought about becoming a vegan, we argued, fought and finally decided with eating everything in portions and eating whatever I ate as a child. Again it was nothing but back to basics. A self realization I thought to myself. It’s all about eating home cooked portion controlled food with tons of lentils, whole grains and vegetables with egg, chicken, fish, shrimp or lamb once a while.  It is a flexible diet, also a personal diet that would satisfy my cravings in a genuine way like licking a tablespoon of natural peanut butter for dessert instead of  indulging in a bowl of ice cream or bread pudding.

Then I went on the with the diet and yay! it worked and I have lost close to 20 pounds. I still have a long way to way and I wish to run a marathon one day. For a healthy lifestyle, the first step which I took was to buy local and seasonal foods. Buying out of season means that it has been grown in heated greenhouses or it comes from another country which means that they have plucked well before time and this will affect their nutritional value. Both these are creating carbon emissions. My motto for this new year is eat more plant based food, less animal products and exercise.

The first vegetable that got my attention on the farm stand were these chubby cauliflower and pretty broccoli heads. I decided to roasted them with little olive oil, salt and pepper and then before few minutes of final roasting I wanted to add a little crunch with my own quinoa spice mix. For that, I dry roasted quinoa and pound them into a coarse powder, even the dry red chillies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, couple of cloves, cinnamon and cardamons were roasted in a dry pan and ground to a smooth powder. I mixed them with the coarse quinoa powder and voila you now have a super delicious whole grain spice powder in hand. You could add this to soups, lentil curries, dumplings, flavor the rice, rub for meat/seafoods and even a little sprinkle over your butter toast.

Did you know?

1. Broccoli is rich in vitamin C, A, folic acid and calcium. For vegans, broccoli is an excellent source of calcium and one serving of it is equivalent to a glass of milk. Since broccoli is rich in fiber, it improves your bowl movement and also know to prevent colon cancer.

2. Cauliflower known as edible flower has zero fat, is rich in vitamin C and for those of you who know about South beach diet eat mashed cauliflower in the place of mashed potatoes.

3. Cauliflower and broccoli are the best examples of a cruciferous vegetable and research suggests that eating cruciferous vegetable reduces the rate of cancer. A chemical by name sulforaphane found in broccoli is found to increase the activity of enzymes that nullify the effect of cancer causing agents.

RECIPE

Source: My mother

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 small cauliflower head – cut into florets
• 1 small broccoli head – cut into florets
• 2-3 large garlic cloves – minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1/2 lemon juice (optional)

For the spice mix

• 1/4 cup dry quinoa
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 dry red chillies or 1 teaspoon chilli powder
• 2 tablespoon coriander seeds or 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds or 1/2 tablespoon cumin powder
• 2 cloves
• 2 cardamons
• 1/2 inch cinnamon stick or 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder

Directions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 400′F on conventional mode.

2. In the mean while, clean and wash the cauliflower and broccoli florets. Pat dry them with a kitchen towel and set aside.

3. Dry roast the quinoa in a dry pan for 3-4 minutes. Cool and pound into a course powder.  Set aside. Add oil to the same pan, roast the dry red chillies, cloves, cardamons, cinnamon,coriander powder and cumin seeds. Saute for 2 minutes, be careful not to burn them down. Cool and grind in a blender to a smooth powder. Mix the quinoa with this powder and store in an airtight container.

4. In a large bowl, add the florets and toss in oil, salt and pepper and garlic and mix well with hand or spatula to combine. Place in a baking tray and roast for 15 minutes. Turning the florets after 10 minutes of cooking.

5.  After 15 minutes, add the quinoa spice mix and roast for further 2-3 minutes. Squeeze of little lemon juice for taste. Serve hot with lentil curry and brown rice.

An easy breezy nutritious side is ready with very little preparation time. So whats holding you now? Venture into your local farmer’s market and see the difference in taste and texture by yourself.  You will love it for sure.

After the festive abundance and chaos of the holidays, January is a time to celebrate emptiness. Naked trees, unburdened by heavy clusters of leaves and fruit; fields resting in a barren state, while nature quietly replenishes.

I think about how to do the same, even while filling myself up on resolutions, affirmations, and goals for the year ahead. I start each year with the best of intentions: to fill my life only with things truly meaningful to me.

A weekly yoga class with a favorite teacher.

Morning hikes in the quiet, new day to listen to nature.

A weekly forage at the local Farmer’s Markets.

A nice start, I’ll think. But, then I want to add a little more to the mix. So I add a ¼ cup of volunteer projects. Oops, the phone just rang, make that ½ cup. Two handfuls of freshly squeezed friends, family and loved ones, and a pinch of reading, which of course leads to a book club, and hey I’d love to host the next one at my house.

As I start to slowly mix, correcting the seasoning with a dash of language and writing classes, it becomes clear that the bowl is far too small for everything I’m piling in. Ingredients spill over; the mixture is lumpy; and I end up with an unappealing mess. How did this happen, again?

By thinking more is better.

And sometimes it is. Life, like most recipes, is more than just one or two ingredients. But the secret with both is to know when to stop.

A great example is my butternut squash soup. It was the first winter soup I made, and through the years it evolved from a soup of 12 ingredients that took a couple hours to make, to my newest version of seven ingredients, including the water and seasoning.

The pure flavors of this largely unadorned soup reveals how the multiple layers of my former versions muted the butternut. I’m a big fan of layering flavor, but this soup is a shining butternut squash solo versus a symphony.  A soup where restraint creates that perfect balance of abundant flavor unmuted by surrounding noise.

Now If I could just figure out how to do that in life.

* This posting can also be viewed on The Wimpy Vegetarian blog.

Butternut Squash – Apple Soup

Cook’s Notes:

• It’s important to roast the squash past the tender stage into a slight caramelization, to bring up the natural sweetness of the squash. This contributes to the fabulous squash flavor of the soup.
• An immersible blender can be used to puree the soup, but it likely achieve the smooth texture that’s possible with a counter-top blender.
• When using a blender to puree soup, never fill the container more than half way with hot liquid; one-third full is best. Trust me.

Ingredients…

• 2 medium butternut squash
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 5 cups water
• 1 cup apple cider
• 1 teaspoon salt, to taste

Making It…

1. Preheat the oven to 400° F. Slice off the top and bottom from the butternut squash; slice in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds and pulp with a spoon. Peel the squash with a potato peeler, and chop the squash into 1″ cubes. Toss in a little olive oil, lightly salt and spread on a baking sheet. Roast until very, very soft and lightly caramelized, about 30 minutes.
2. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium high heat and cook until lightly browned. Lower the heat and add the remaining olive oil and the onion. Saute until the onion begins to caramelize – about 20 minutes.
3. Add the squash, water, apple cider, and salt to the pot, and bring to a simmer for 10 minutes to mingle the flavors.
4. Pour the soup into a blender and puree to a smooth, silky soup. See Cook’s Notes for tips.
5. Pour the pureed soup back into the pot and reheat. Correct seasoning if needed before serving.

Hello all,

I wanted to introduce myself before starting into the first recipe post. My name is Cora Hardin, and I’m a pretty common phenomenon in the San Francisco Bay Area — a mid-twenties techie transplant with no prior culinary skills or interest, who became completely enamored with the fresh abundance of produce in Northern California. After completely overhauling my diet over the last two years to a clean eating lifestyle, I now find myself looking forward to the multiple weekly farmers’ markets and my CSA delivery. This January I’ve even – gasp! – started to plan my weekly meals ahead.

Of course, enthusiasm for farmers’ markets is easy to sustain when they are filled with fragrant strawberries and peaches, but it’s proven to be a bit more challenging during the winter months. In order to keep myself going back and encouraging experimentation as I teach myself, more or less successfully, to cook, I’ve taken the challenge to abstain from supermarkets as much as possible in January. Hello, local, fresh, and seasonal foods!

My latest Sunday excursion to the Palo Alto California Avenue Farmers’ Market left me with plenty of beautiful vegetables I had never cooked with before: fennel, leeks, orange cauliflower and watermelon radish. I considered many different recipes from the list below, but decided I wanted to use all of the ingredients together and, fully inspired by the examples, created my own version.

Inspiration:

Creamy Fennel and Leek Soup from Pinch My Salt

Couscous with Fennel, Chickpeas and Chard from NYT Recipes for Health

Cauliflower and Leek Soup with Nut Brown Butter and Toasted Hazelnuts from the Daily Green

Fennel, Leek and Orange Cauliflower Mash laced with Christmas Beans 

Ingredients:

• 1 large fennel bulb
• ½ large white onion
• 1 large shallot
• 1 watermelon radish
• 2 large leeks, white and light green parts only
• 1 small head orange cauliflower
• EVOO
• Salt
• ¾ cup vegetable stock
• 4 ounces Christmas Lima Beans from Rancho Gordo
• ¾ cup water, plus water to simmer beans
• ¼ cup whole milk

 Instructions:

1)      After rinsing thoroughly, soak beans for at least 6 hours. I soaked them for nearly 24 hours and received big, plump beans.

2)      Rinse beans again.

3)      Cover beans in water. Bring water to a boil and reduce heat. Let simmer for ca. 50 minutes.

4)      Drain beans. Drizzle beans with EVOO and sea salt. Sautee for five minutes.

5)      Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.

6)      After 5 minutes, add ¾ vegetable stock. If possible, use a mild home-made stock.

7)      Add ¼ cup brown rice or other grain to beans and vegetable stock.

8)      Let simmer for 40 minutes, or until grains fully cooked and beans soft.

9)      As rice cooks, clean and slice fennel bulb, onion, shallot, watermelon radish and leek. Break cauliflower into small florets.

10)  Place all vegetables on baking tray. Drizzle with EVOO and a pinch of salt. Mix vegetables to distribute oil and salt evenly.

11)  Roast vegetables in oven for 40-50 minutes, until tender. Broil for last 5 minutes to brown.

12)  Once vegetable mix is tender, separate into two portions. First portion should be about ¾ of the total, second should be ¼.

13)  Place ¾ of vegetable mixture into tall bowl or food processor. Puree while slowly adding ¾ cup of water and ¼ cup whole milk.

14)  Slowly lift rice and bean mixture under the pureed vegetables.

15)  Place vegetable puree in bowl. Top with roasted vegetable mix left over from step 12.

16)  Serve while still warm.

Yesterday, we put out the call for some guest writers here on Cook Local – Bay Area. Today I want to introduce you to our first guest writer – Cora.

I asked Cora to tell us a little about herself and here’s what she wrote.

My name is Cora Hardin, and I am a 26-year old Palo Alto, CA resident. I grew up in Germany surrounded by a mother who focused her doctor’s practice on food as preventative medicine, and a father whose favorite food was fast food. As a child, of course, I was deeply embarrassed by this un-cool, health-focused approach and ignored my mother’s cooking wisdom. After coming to the US for college, spending time in Florida and Wisconsin soaking up questionable cafeteria food and sausages, I finally ended up in California, where I work a typical Silicon Valley software job by day. Having moved here about two and a half years ago, I was suddenly surrounded by lots of people just like my mother – people with a wild passion for organic, local food culture. I let that enthusiasm sweep me up and have started to build a deeper connection to my food by going on farm tours, shopping farmers’ markets, and trying to teach myself how to cook over the past year. I now eat mostly, but not exclusively, vegetarian.

I write about my adventures at revamptradition.tumblr.com, where I’ll be documenting my month without supermarkets this January.

Look for Cora’s first post sometime next week!