Garden Candy

What to do with Kale

2010-11-14T10:50:00.002-06:00

Red Russian Kale

I'm known among my friends (and it seems anyone Matt talks to) for my love of kale. Sometimes I wonder if it is an irrational love, but I don't think so. I do have an overarching love for leafy green vegetables, but kale receives extra reverence. It may have something to do with my German roots - Germany hosts a yearly kale festival!

What's so great about kale, you ask? For starters, 1 measly little cup of cooked kale has 94 to 180 mg of calcium and is one of the best sources of lutein and zeaxanthin, which may help to prevent macular degeneration. Kale is also off the charts when it comes to beta-carotene, which is the plant form of vitamin A and a potent antioxidant. One cup of cooked kale has well over 100% of the daily requirement for vitamin K, which is vital for bone health. For some reason, it's been drilled into our heads (thanks to the Dairy Council) that dairy products are the only and best sources of calcium, but leafy greens are also great for bone health.

I'm sure I could go on and on about the health benefits of kale, but instead I'll address the most frequently asked question regarding kale....what do I do with kale? Oh so many things...

I throw some chopped kale into my eggs in the morning. Use it to make quiche which is a healthy quick breakfast (or lunch or dinner). I like to cook up a couple of cups of quinoa and add some sausage, roasted carrots, onions, and beets, and some sauteed kale. It's an absolutely delicious fall or winter dish that warms and nourishes to the core. I highly recommend using red Russian kale and lacinato kale (also called Tuscan or dinosaur kale), as these two varieties are the most flavorful and not as fibrous as curly kale.

Here are few of my favorite kale recipes:
Cajun Corn and Kale Salad from Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables
Kale and Bean Bruschetta from Bon Appetit
Kale and Cannellini Soup from Bon Appetit
Pasta with Butternut Squash and Kale from Megan Tempest's blog Tempted
Sweet Apple Walnut Kale from Cynthia Lair's website Cookus Interruptus
Creamed Sesame Greens from Greens Glorious Greens by Johanna Albi and Catherine Walthers

Nutrients in Orange Fruits and Vegetables

2010-11-08T08:36:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving is getting closer and all the orange vegetables are in season right now - winter squash, sweet potatoes and carrots. The vegetables are all rich sources of beneficial nutrients like beta-carotene, vitamin E, and potassium. What to learn more? Read the full article on livestrong.com

Vitamin E Sources and Benefits

2010-11-06T08:01:00.000-05:00

I've been writing articles on various nutrition topics for livestrong.com. Here's a recent article I wrote entitled Vitamin E Sources and Benefits. Read to to learn how to make sure you're getting enough of this potent antioxidant.

The Joy of Fresh Herbs

2010-11-05T16:03:00.000-05:00

Check out this article I wrote in the November issue of Mindful Metropolis entitled The Joy of Fresh Herbs. I explore the varied uses, flavors, and health benefits that fresh culinary herbs have to offer. Think you should only eat more fruits and vegetables for better health, think again. Many culinary herbs, such as rosemary and parsley are rich sources of minerals and phytochemicals that have healing properties.

Delicious Caesar Salad Dressing

2010-09-27T21:02:00.001-05:00

Well, here it is late September, and I haven't written enough during the growing season. In fact, I haven't written in over a month. I like to think it's because I've been so busy making and freezing pesto, canning tomatoes, freezing berries and peaches and kale, and drying peppers. Yeah, let's just go with that.

So I was flipping through the new October issue of Bon Appetit, and I found a Caesar dressing recipe. The recipe is called Caesar Salad with Sourdough Croutons. I absolutely love chicken Caesar salad, but pretty much all Caesar dressings you can buy at the grocery store taste terrible and are full of soybean oil. Soybean oil should be avoided as much as possible, because it's full of omega-6 fatty acids which promote chronic inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation is associated with heart disease, diabetes, polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) among other conditions. Salad dressings should be primarily made with olive oil, which is rich in healthy monounsaturated fat. You pretty much have to make your own, because finding a salad dressing at the grocery store made exclusively from olive oil is all but impossible.

I used mixed greens from the farmer's market and cooked up sliced chicken breast in olive oil and garlic. I then tossed the greens and chicken with homemade croutons made from Ezekiel bread (since it's whole grain), diced tomatoes from my garden, and this delicious Caesar dressing. To make homemade croutons, I followed Bon Appetit's recipe, but also sprinkled them with dried rosemary before putting them in the oven, but you could use dried oregano or thyme as well. Enjoy!

My Response to Rachel Laudan's Article In Praise of Fast Food

2010-08-15T22:19:00.000-05:00

Rachel Laudan, in her essay entitled In Praise of Fast Food, seems to imply that we, the advocates of slow and natural foods, think any sort of processing of food is inherently bad, which couldn't be further from the truth. As a nutritionist, I do believe that minimally processed foods, generally speaking, are preferable to highly processed foods. That being said, using the word processed to identify whether a food is healthy or unhealthy will only confuse and mislead. In the nutrition world, processed food is thought of as unhealthy and minimally processed as healthy. This processing generally refers to refined sugars, white flours, and store-bought foods that contain 20+ ingredients, such as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, potassium sorbate, BHT, and the list goes on. When people refer to processed food this is what they mean. They aren't talking about canning tomatoes or making yogurt or cheese. I think I would be hard-pressed to find anyone who actually thinks this type of processing is a problem.

While I agree with Laudan that the pastoral life has been glamorized in contrast to dirty urban life, I don't think they are so far off the mark. This glamorization can be seen on food packages showcasing happy cows grazing on grass and other pastoral landscapes. While it is very true that the life of peasants was full of hardship, sickness, and death as Laudan points out, there are and always were prosperous farmers who produced and ate a wide variety of produce, dairy and meats. This is in contrast to our current monoculture farming that has made it very difficult for farmers to make a decent living. Besides, I'm not sure anyone is advocating that we individually grow and mill our own grain for bread. After all, towns have had bakeries for over a thousand years precisely so we wouldn't have to sit at home all day doing it ourselves. What would be more sustainable is a return to the days of the local bakery, brewery, and butcher which used to be ubiquitous, but have now been replaced by national chains that deliver inferior quality with extra additives. You'll have to forgive me for my lack excitement about a slice of bread I could squish into the size of a marble.

Furthermore, Laudan implies we should stop worrying about “pesticides on apples” and “mercury in tuna,” because we have always had to worry about we eat citing the horrors described in The Jungle. The Jungle actually describes the early days of food industrialization, when we decided to make things more efficient by shipping livestock to Chicago for butchering and packing instead of handling things locally. We've come a long way since then, but I'm still worried about mercury and pesticides. The fact that it's perfectly legal for a substance known to cause cancer to be sprayed on my food concerns me.

As a city-dweller, I have my own possible delusions of the slow country life, but I know from growing up in a small town, that I never worried about rats running through my garden or people throwing cigarette butts into my lettuce. I'm sure rural life has its own disadvantages, but a quick drive to a local farm minus the Chicago traffic is a definite plus in my book.

Perhaps Laudan's essay is less pro fast food and more a response to the perceived self-righteousness of advocates of whole and natural foods. Much to my chagrin, I am perhaps the most self-righteous person I know, and I had my years of arguing with people about the merits of organic food and naturally-raised meats, but I found that to be the fastest way to alienate people and have since changed my tune. Being a graduate of a natural medicine school, I know a lot of people interested in food, and very few among them are self-righteous. As a nutritionist and I know at least some of my fellow nutritionists would agree, we must find a way to find a union between idealism and realism. Most of us advocates of whole, naturally-raised, minimally processed food are just trying to do the best we can for our own health and for the environment and we are eternally grateful to all of those who discovered the sweetest varieties of apples and least bitter beans, so that we may enjoy our food now.

The Many Challenges of Growing Tomatoes

2010-07-24T20:50:00.001-05:00

The garden has been growing like crazy, with some things growing faster than we can eat it. (Kale, you know who you are.) The kale has grown with very little attention since planting. The tomatoes, on the other hand, have demanded more than their share of coddling.

I have seven tomato plants of the following varieties:
Fargo yellow pear (2)
Garden peach (1)
Oregon spring (1)
Mr. Stripey (1)
Nepal (1)
Mystery (1): I seem to have misplaced the tag

Blossom end rot
For awhile I was fighting Blossom End Rot (BER) which is brown spots at the blossom-end of the tomato. The amount of BER can vary from a small spot to the majority of the tomato. BER is due to a deficiency of soluble calcium and can be often caused by insufficient water. If the soil isn't wet enough, calcium in the soil isn't soluble and thus cannot be absorbed through the roots leading to BER. I do believe insufficient watering was the problem. We've had a dry spell here in Chicago, up until last night that is, when we had thunderstorms with major downpours. In June, I was watering once daily and coming home from work to wilted tomatoes. The water evaporates quite readily since we've been having frequent hot days in the 90s. Because I'm growing my tomatoes in pots, they dry out much more quickly than if I had grown them in the ground. (Next year, I think I'll have the soil tested for contaminants and if it's ok, I'll plant directly in the ground.) The BER seems to have mostly affected the earliest tomatoes, and I have been able to cut off the bad part and salvage the rest of many of them. Yesterday, I picked the first large red tomatoes with no BER, and Matt made a batch of pico de gallo. (See picture above.) The yellow pear tomatoes have been unaffected by BER, but cherry tomatoes are less susceptible.

Cracking
My tomatoes have also been afflicted with cracking of the skins, which I learned is from inconsistent watering. The yellow pears have been most affected. I have been watering morning and evening now, so hopefully this will reduce some of the cracking. The cracked tomatoes, just don't look as nice, but they are perfectly edible.

Falling pots
Because my tomato plants are so tall now and in 5-gallon buckets, windy Chicago keeps knocking over the pots of the largest plants. This has resulted in large quantity of green tomatoes falling off. Yesterday I tied the tomato cages of five of the seven plants to the fence in our yard, which is working great. None of them fell over in the storms last night.

Despite the problems, the tomatoes we have had so far have been amazing. I'll give the full report on the which varieties we like best by the end of the season. So far, while I love the yellow pears, they aren't quite as good as some of the larger varieties much to my surprise. The skins seem to be quite thick on the yellow pears, which may be due to the sweltering days we've been having lately. So far, Mr. Stripey is my top pick.

Time to take the pesto pizza with homegrown tomatoes out of the oven!

Garlic

2010-07-19T16:06:00.000-05:00

This dirty-looking pile is my garlic harvest. I planted it back in early March, and the bulbs are small, but look really good. It gave me so much pleasure back in April to see the tall shoots coming up. I then neglected the garlic for many months, as I became distracted by the explosion of greens and herbs and subsequently obsessed with every change in the tomatoes and peppers. Meanwhile, the garlic bulbs were slowly growing despite my inattention. At some point a few weeks ago, the green tops dried up and fell over. I kept thinking to myself, maybe it's time to pick the garlic. Matt asked me multiple times whether I didn't think it was time. Finally, today I dug it up - the dried out tops being the sign that they were ready to be picked.

My greediness kept it in the ground longer than it needed to be. I kept hoping that maybe if I left it a little bit longer, the bulbs would get bigger. Apparently, if you want a really good garlic harvest, it is best to plant garlic in the fall for harvest the following summer. Live and learn. This is one of my favorite things about gardening - learning so much year to year. Though I still need to cultivate the patience to accept that I have to wait until next year to apply my new found knowledge. Luckily, I have to wait only a couple of months to plant more garlic, though it will be next spring before I'll see those promising shoots pushing through the soil. Until then, I'll continue with my tomato, pepper, and kale fixation.

Oh how my garden grows

2010-07-05T21:00:00.000-05:00

It's been too long since I've written, but I thought I'd give you a sampling of the bounty my garden has offered so far this season. The first picture is actually from about 1 month ago, right after we returned from Spain.

We've had bountiful greens - Red Russian kale and lettuce

Picked the first set of yellow beans the other day and made a salad with some canned tomatoes, goat cheese, basil from garden, and olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Beans and herbs I picked this morning. Cilantro for cilantro crema and basil for pesto.

Real Oranges

2010-05-29T17:00:00.000-05:00

Since much of the day yesterday was spent waiting for luggage, we spent some time by the pool. Later while everyone else took a siesta, I decided to spend some time writing, and thinking about food, of course.

Matt and his Dad brought back some amazing oranges from a roadside farmstand. The juice oozed out of my orange as I tried to peel it. I love not only that these oranges are so deliciously fresh and juicy, but they look like real oranges. They have some spots of brown, that make them seem more authentic and as though they actually came from a tree in the recent past as opposed to our perfectly-painted or ethylene-gas-ripened counterparts available back home.

Natural beauty seems to be a common theme here. There are beautiful flowers and plants growing in yards and in pots on porches. Every yard is not a lawn so much as it is an expanse of blooming rhondendron or an overabundance of lavendar or rows and rows of tomato plants. The stuccos houses and stone walls and streets seem to meld in more of a union with nature than our perfectly manicured lawns and houses with vinyl-siding back home. There is a large rosemary plant next to the pool, which I will definitely find a use for. Maybe crushed into some olive oil for dipping bread. I will definitely miss this beautiful place, especially the wildly climbing plants, bushy herbs, and orange trees.

Eating in Spain

2010-05-29T14:32:00.002-05:00

I dated this post back to the day I actually wrote it, because I had limited internet access during our trip.

More than 2 days after arriving here in Jimena de la Frontera in Spain, Matt and his Dad drove back to Sevilla (where we flew in) to pick up our missing luggage. I'm overjoyed to finally have clean clothes, my swimsuit, and perhaps most importantly, my camera in order that I may share with you all the delicious and beautiful food here in southern Spain.

It's sunny and beautiful here in the land of orange groves and amazing olive oil. The olive oil we've been eating from the local market tastes amazingly fresh and full-bodied and it cost under 3 Euros for a 750mL bottle. After a long nap on Thursday in order to recover from our flight, we prepared dinner at the house where we're staying. Matt made mussels cooked in white wine with celery. I made a simple salad with lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers dressed with olive oil and vinegar. We had bruschetta with tomatoes, olive oil, garlic, basil, and grated Manchego. We ate dates wrapped in Serrano ham. I love a meal like this one – full of local and fresh ingredients, all with distinctive flavors.

Remember I didn't have my camera at that point, so you'll have to just imagine the beauty and deliciousness of such a meal.

Marvelous Greens

2010-05-23T17:03:00.000-05:00

I have my camera back, and I realized I better post some pictures of the garden before we leave for Spain on Wednesday. Above you can see my marvelous greens. From left to right, there is red Russian kale (the absolute hands-down best variety of kale I have ever had), lettuce mix, and spinach. My spinach is a bit holey, because something is eating it. If anyone has any suggestions, I'd love to hear them. I'm afraid my lovely lettuce and spinach bolt by the time we get back from Spain, especially since it's 90 degrees here in Chicago today. I do love the term "bolt" which means to go the seed, but it sounds like the greens are running away, because they can't stand the heat! Luckily, the red Russian kale should keep producing all summer. I think I will pick some today for the first time. It has really taken off with these longer days and warmer weather.

I owe you an update on the tomatoes I started from seed. They all died a painful death at the hands of Jonesy, our mostly cute and cuddly cat. Last weekend, I went to an heirloom plant sale and picked up 5 tomato plants plus my sister bought me Mr. Stripey, another heirloom tomato plant. They are all happily flourishing in 5-gallon buckets in the backyard. We are trialing 1 tomato plant and 1 basil plant (see below) in our 2 self-watering containers. I'll keep you posted on their progress. So far, the soil seems to be staying very wet.

The bell pepper plant I bought last week already has a blossom, which I will pull off today. According my internet research, you should wait until the plant is full-grown before allowing the blossoms to the stay on the plant. That way the plant will be better able to support the weight of the peppers.

We're off to the southern coast of Spain on Wednesday. I'll be sure to detail my adventures in the land of Iberico ham, olive oil, and ceviche.

Inaugural Salad from the Garden

2010-05-15T20:42:00.000-05:00

My lettuce is absolutely flourishing, and I've made the first couple salads from the garden this week. Growing my own vegetables makes me immensely happy. I like being able to produce something that is so useful and necessary. Our economy has moved away from producing things to providing services, which is what I do. As a nutritionist, I provide a service, but I don't create anything. Being able to create in the garden and in the kitchen is entirely therapeutic.

I wish I could show you a picture of how my lettuce looks rights now. It's big and leafy - as lettuce should be. It's a lettuce mix, so it contains leaves of various shades of green and red. I went out of town last weekend and left my camera at a friend's house, so you'll just have to trust my less than eloquent description.

I made a very simple salad yesterday. Mixed greens with candied walnuts and dried apricots with a simple herb vinaigrette. I candied some walnuts by sauteing them in butter and pouring maple syrup over them and cooking them until the maple syrup cooked down and coated the walnuts. Yum! Matt asked me if I could just "do that to all the walnuts!" I used Turkish apricots, but really you could use any kind of dried fruit. This salad is not at all earth-shattering, but that's the beauty of having really fresh high quality ingredients. You don't need to do much to have a delicious meal.

Pick up some local greens before the weather gets really hot and all the spinach and lettuce bolt. Your whole body will thank you.

Self-watering containers

2010-05-02T19:13:00.000-05:00

I've been known to kill plants, because I forget to water them. Mostly houseplants, because I don't get as excited about them as I do about plants that I can eat. For fear of my dehydrating my plants, Matt made me 2 self-watering containers for tomato plants. That way they'll always be well-hydrated, even when I get sidetracked by life and forget to pay them a daily visit or we go out of town for a weekend. They hold water for up to a week.

To make a self-watering container, you basically place a 5-gallon bucket inside of another 5-gallon bucket and make a reservoir out of a yogurt or sour cream container plus a few more steps. For detailed instructions, see The Urban Homestead's blog. I'm eager to try them out. I'll post pictures once I plant a tomato in one of the self-watering containers.

Through my internet research, I have learned that tomatoes won't produce as much fruit in 5-gallon containers as in larger containers or in the ground unless you buy varieties specifically for container gardening. I'm going to take my chances this year with regular varieties in 5-gallon buckets, especially since I'm planning almost half cherry tomatoes, which I suspect will do better in buckets than large tomatoes.

Right now, my tomato seedlings are pretty tiny. I'm growing Garden Candy aka Yellow Pear (of course), Nepal tomatoes, and 2 other varieties from my sister. You can see a picture of one of my seedlings above. On May 15th, I'll pick up some heirloom varieties at the Kilbourn Park Greenhouse plant sale. Perhaps I'm being overly ambitious with the tomatoes...that remains to be seen.

Garden Beginnings

2010-04-26T14:56:00.002-05:00

Finally spring is here, and it's time to plan and plant my garden. It's been awhile since I've written, and in that time, I quit my old full-time drudgery of a job and am now working part-time and doing some writing for livestrong.com. Now I have some more time on my hands to devote to my garden! During the last few weeks, I have started some seeds inside and planted some early-season vegetables in my garden.

This year, I made my own plot in the backyard of my apartment building, by buying bags of topsoil, garden soil, and a compost and manure mixture. I mixed them all together and built a plot ~8 inches deep on top of the grass. I decided not to dig into the soil to grow edible plants due to concerns about lead contamination of the soil. So far, it's working out great, and I may expand since as always, I have big gardening ambitions for the season.

In early March, I started 2 varieties of tomatoes (Nepal and Garden Candy), red Russian kale, broccoli, basil, and poblano peppers inside. There were quite a few casualties thanks to our cat. I lost all 4 broccoli seedlings, much of the basil, and a couple tomatoes. I've been guarding all my remaining seedlings with a cover in the form a drinking glass which acts like a mini-greenhouse for the plants and protects them from the sniffs and tail flicks of our otherwise very lovable kitty. Since it's still early, I'll direct seed the rest of the basil and all of the broccoli. My sister has some extra tomato starts for me, and I'm also planning to check out a plant sale on May 15th at the Kilbourn Park Greenhouse to buy some heirloom tomato starts. I'll grow all of the tomatoes and peppers in pots this year.

The two pictures above are my spinach and lettuce mix seedlings. The lettuce is much too close together and will need to be thinned out. I was concerned about using seed leftover from last year, but apparently, it's a non-issue given the dense and robust-looking sprouts. So far, I have planted garlic, onions, spinach, and lettuce directly from seed. These are all cold-hardy plants that can tolerate cool weather. The last frost date for Chicago passed on April 22nd, so now is the time to get your salad greens planted if you haven't already. They will bolt or go to seed in hot weather, so it's best to plant them earlier rather than later. The picture below is how my garden looks today. Follow along for more updates!

Quinoa Salad

2010-02-20T15:22:00.000-06:00

Here's a recipe for a quick and delicious quinoa salad. Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) means the "mother grain" and is the traditional Incan grain. Quinoa is high in protein and is also rich in iron, zinc, and folic acid which are all important nutrients, especially for for pregnant women.

This recipe is loosely adapted from the Cajun Corn and Kale salad recipe from Farmer's John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables. You'll notice that leafy green vegetables permeate most of my recipes - I have grown to love and crave leafy green vegetables which I eat pretty much every day. Leafy green vegetables are rich in calcium and vitamin C as well as vitamin E and beta-carotene, which are potent anti-oxidants.

Quinoa Salad with Greens, Corn, and Tomatoes

Ingredients
2 cups quinoa
3.5 cups chicken broth, stock, or water
1 large bunch of collard greens, kale or Swiss chard, stems removed
1 cup frozen corn
2 tomatoes (I used canned whole tomatoes since tomatoes aren't in season)
1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1.5 teaspoons Cajun spice seasoning (1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 big pinch of each of the following: cayenne pepper, black pepper, dry mustard, crushed fennel seeds, dried thyme)

1. Boil 2 cups quinoa in 3.5 cups of chicken stock, broth, or water. Turn heat down and simmer for about 15 to 20 minutes or until all of the liquid is absorbed.

2. While quinoa is cooking, boil large pot of salted water. When water is at a rolling boil, add de-stemmed collard greens, kale, or Swiss chard. Cook until tender about 5 minutes. Drain in colander and allow to cool. When greens are cool, ring out the excess water and finely chop.

3.Combine quinoa, greens, corn, tomatoes, and onion in large bowl and toss to distribute evenly.

4. Combine garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, and Cajun spice seasoning in a small bowl and whisk together until well-blended. Toss with quinoa and vegetables. Serve warm, room-temperature, or cold.

Pasta with Butternut squash and Collard greens

2010-02-07T21:10:00.000-06:00

So, here's a relatively quick, but tasty weeknight meal that is full of vegetables. You can always replace tempeh with chicken if you like. Tempeh has a such a nutty and hearty flavor, that even the most devoted carnivores won't miss the meat. If you've ready any of my posts before this one, you know I am definitely a meat eater, but sometimes I enjoy a meat-free meal. When it comes to soy foods, tempeh and tofu, 2 traditional soy foods, are the way to go. Steer clear of the highly processed texturized vegetable protein (TVP) and foods containing soy protein isolate.

Recipe
Cut 16oz tempeh into thin slices. Sautee in olive oil a few minutes until golden and then turn over and sautee until golden on the other side. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cut butternut squash into ~1 inch cubes. Sautee in butter until tender ~10-15 minutes.
While squash is cooking, boil water for and cook the pasta.

Add 1/2 chopped onion and a bunch of collard greens (or other greens such as Swiss chard or kale) to the squash. Add a splash of white wine and cover and cook ~5 minutes. Add chopped fresh sage during the last few minutes of cooking time. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Now toss pasta with 1 tablespoon olive oil, vegetables, and tempeh. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

Monsanto wants to sell Genetically-Modified Roundup Ready Alfalfa

2010-02-06T08:19:00.003-06:00

Monsanto is at it again, wanting to sell roundup ready alfalfa. Public comment extends until February 16th.

Read my comment below and consider submitting your own. We cannot let Monsanto continue to dictate farm policy.

I strongly urge you NOT to approve this genetically-modified roundup ready alfalfa. We don't know the true environmental impact of introducing this gene into the ecosystem. When this gene inevitably ends up in the seeds of the organic alfalfa grower next to the one using the GMO-variant, Monsanto will sue and put the farmer out of business, as they have done before with their roundup ready corn. Among other concerns is that it paves the way for copious use of Roundup, a toxic pesticide, to be used on alfalfa which animals eat and will then, of course, end up in our bodies when we eat the meat. Additionally, what is the point of round-up resistant alfalfa since it grows like a weed - no pesticides necessary. To allow Monsanto to create another "product" out of a plant has no benefit whatsoever to Americans and only harms human health, farmer viability, and the environment while lining the pockets of the people at Monsanto. Again, I strongly urge you to ban round-up resistant alfalfa.

Sincerely,
Margaret Wertheim, MS, RD, LDN
Registered Dietitian

Nutrition according to my feet

2010-01-31T20:22:00.000-06:00

On Tuesday after work, I went for my first massage with a massage therapist here named Nourhy. Matt gave me a gift certificate for 3 massages for Christmas - an amazing Christmas gift! Nourhy has a lovely relaxing massage studio here in Chicago. During my massage, after having learned that I am a nutritionist, she examined the bottoms of my feet, and told me these four things:
1. My diet is nutritious.
2. I drink enough water.
3. I don't always eat when I should.
4. I burn a ton of calories.

Now, don't think I'm crazy because I believe my foot diagnosis. There is a lot that the trained eye can tell about a person's diet by looking at their physical appearance. I, unfortunately, am not trained in foot diagnosis, but next time, I'll ask more questions.

The first two are right on the mark, so I like to think. The third and fourth items were surprising to me, since I am not one to skip meals and I've been trying to lose about 5 pounds which isn't happening very easily. One would think I need to eat less. First things first...

I don't always eat when I should
Whenever I visit friends, I tend to develop a sense of panic any time I realize that there will be more than a 5 hour span during the day without eating. I don't like to be hungry and have nothing or nowhere around me to eat. I'm strongly committed to my 3 meals a day, especially during the work-week. I usually eat a hearty breakfast of 2 eggs with vegetables and toast, followed by leftovers that I heat up at work for lunch, and usually a home-cooked meal or sometimes take-out for dinner. There's usually an after-work snack in there to tide me over til Matt gets home. I'd say it sounds like I'm doing pretty well. The more I thought about it, I realized that my worst time of day was about 10am until lunchtime which is anywhere from 11:30 to 12:30. I tend to be completely ravenous and barely able to think by 10:30, so much so that I become unproductive. The result is that I tend to scarf down my lunch with desperation which causes me, at times, to overeat. Overeating leads to a sluggish mind and body in the afternoon. Getting yourself to the point of starving only leads to crankiness and later overeating. All of this brings me to...

I burn a ton of calories
Apparently the reason I'm starving all the time is because I "burn a ton of calories", which I believe to be the result of work stress and my mind being on overdrive much of the time. I often have a hard time sitting still. I always feel the need to be doing something. I do think I have less ravenous of an appetite on the weekends. If I'm such a calorie-burning machine, then why is it hard me to lose a couple of extra pounds, and the answer to that, my friend, is stress. So stress makes me burn a lot of calories and stress prevents me from losing weight. Seems like a paradox. If you abide by the phrase "calories in, calories out", you may think I'm crazy. People in the nutrition world love to use this phrase meaning that it's simple math - as long as you burn more calories than you consume, you'll lose weight. I'm not a believer. I believe that human metabolism is much more complex than simple addition and subtraction, but that's a topic for another day. Stress leads to chronically elevated cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone which evokes our fight-or-flight response, helpful if you're a caveman that needs to get away from a lion that wants to eat you. Harmful, if you are hospital dietitian with too many patients to see and not enough time. Cortisol tells your body to store fat. So, it appears I am caught in a vicious cycle.

Well, in order to remedy the situation, I started bringing a snack to work to eat at about 10:30 which replenishes my energy and allows me to be productive and not ravenous by lunchtime. As for the stress, I'm working on it - yoga and not forgetting to breathe. (Much of the time, I forget.) As for my feet, hopefully next time there will be a better report.

Chicken Stock

2010-01-23T17:46:00.000-06:00

Today is a gray winter Saturday here in Chicago, which makes it a perfect day to make chicken stock. I always like to have some stock available in the freezer, so I can pull it out whenever I need some. It is an important addition to many recipes. Stock is great for cooking grains, such as rice, millet, or quinoa, because it provides a richness or flavor that is not achievable achieve when cooking in water. I'm a huge fan of Ray Bayless, and many of his salsas and sauces are cooked with stock or broth. In French cooking, stock provides the base for many sauces. Matt just bought Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, and stock used in many meat and vegetable dishes, not to mention soups, like French Onion in which stock is a necessity.

Note that there is a difference between stock and broth. Broth is made primarily from meat, whereas stock is made from bones. The bones provide gelatin which gives the stock richness and a smooth texture. You can always buy chicken broth at the grocery store, when you have a recipe that calls for it, but (you knew there'd be a but, didn't you) commercial chicken broth is make mostly from the skin of the chicken, whereas traditional stock is made from the bones with varying amounts of meat which gives it a richer flavor and makes it more nutritious.

Speaking of nutrition, since you know it always comes back to that, stock is also nutritious. The gelatin, which comes from the breakdown of collagen in the bones, will make your stock gel when refrigerated. Gelatin is a source of protein and is especially rich in the amino acids proline and glycine. Adding some lemon juice or vinegar when you are cooking the stock helps to release beneficial minerals such as calcium into the stock. The addition of vegetables and herbs, such as carrots, celery, onions, and parsley also release their minerals into the broth. Parsley is especially rich in calcium and magnesium, two minerals especially important for bone health. Stock can be especially beneficial for people with digestive disorders, as it help to soothe the GI tract. Don't forget about the healing benefits to the immune system. Many cultures turn to soups and broths to help recover from a cold or the flu.

Making stock really doesn't take much effort, but it does require you to be home for a block of time. Right now, my stock is simmering away on the stove while I sit and write here at the kitchen table, while Matt studies on the couch in the living room. It's nothing special, but to me, it makes for a cozy Saturday afternoon. I also get an immense amount of pleasure out of taking a jar of stock out of the freezer for a recipe. Simple pleasures! Also, if I know where my chicken came from (which I do), then I know I'm making the best quality stock possible.

Chicken Stock
Start with the carcass of a whole chicken or turkey and add to large pot. Add the neck and giblets, if available. (Alternatively, put a whole cut up chicken in the pot. You can then use the meat for other dishes.) Cover with cold water. Add chopped carrots, celery, and onions, and fresh herbs if available. I highly recommend parsley. Bring to a boil and skim the scum that rises to the top. Simmer for about 3 hours. Strain and reserve broth in glass jars. Refrigerate and skim the fat off the top (if desired, but not necessary). Freeze broth in glass jars about 2/3 to 3/4 full. If you fill the jars too full, the broth will expand when frozen and break the jar. Alternatively, for a brown stock, you can roast the carcass with the vegetables at 425 for about an hour for a rich brown stock which can be used for beef or other dishes that contain red meat. See a picture of brown chicken stock above.

Now, think of all the delicious dishes you can make which use stock or broth. Check out my previous posts for recipes that use stock:

Happiness is a box of farm fresh vegetables
How about some color?

Sprouted Wheat Sourdough Bread

2010-01-09T17:42:00.010-06:00

It's now the middle of winter here in Chicago. The holidays have past, and it's time to work on those winter recipes - things that I don't make in the summer, because it's too hot to turn on the oven.

My first project is sprouted grain sourdough bread. For Christmas, I received a book I've been coveting for awhile, Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz, which is full of recipes for fermented and cultured foods. Yum! Growing up, sourdough pancakes were always a treat. My Mom and grandmother always had a sourdough starter in the refrigerator. Christmas morning, in particular, my family always had sourdough pancakes with Canadian bacon - "sourdoughies" as my sisters and I affectionately called them. I've tried my hand at sourdough white, rye, and wheat bread made with flour, so I decided it's time to try my hand at sourdough sprouted wheat bread.

You may wonder what the point of baking or eating sprouted grain bread is in the first place. The process of sprouting a grain (or nut or legume) decreases the phytic acid levels. Phytic acid occurs naturally in whole grains, and it binds to beneficial minerals decreasing their absorption by your body. Decreasing the phytic acid levels in the wheat berries by sprouting increases mineral absorption when you eat it. Additionally, sprouted grains are easier for the body to digest, since enzymes in the seed are activated with soaking which partially digest components of the wheat berry. In addition, the sprouting process produces vitamin C. Using sourdough starter instead of a traditional yeast has benefits as well. Sourdough starter is comprised of both bacteria and yeast, which breaks down the sugars from the wheat to produce lactic acid and acetic acid, which gives the bread that characteristic sour flavor. Lactic and acetic acids are beneficial for your digestive system, by keeping the pH of the colon low, which prevents pathogenic or bad bacteria from colonizing.

Sprouting grains
Whole grains, such as wheat berries (what I used) are sprouted by soaking them in water for a day, then placing them upside-down in jars with either a sprouting lid or cheese cloth over the top to allow the water to drain out. Be sure to place jars of sprouts upside-down over a small bowl to catch the water. The sprouts stay moist from the soaking process, but not so wet that they rot. The sprouts are rinsed every 12 hours and allowed to go for 2 to 3 days until little tails shoot out from the wheat berry.

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Making the bread
To make 1 hearty loaf of bread, I started with 3 cups of wheat berries. Once they were sprouted, I transferred them in about 3 batches to the food processor to "grind" them, but since the wheat berries weren't totally dry, I ended up with a dough. I then took all the dough and put it in my KitchenAid mixer and added 1/2 cup of sourdough starter. I mixed it with the paddle until well-mixed and then added the dough hook for kneading for about 5 minutes. If you don't have a mixer, you can simply mix with a wooden spoon my hand. The dough will be somewhat sticky, buy you need not add flour. Now, butter or oil a loaf pan, and add the dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a towel and allow to rise 12-24 hours. Bake at 325 for about 45 minutes to an hour or until the bread pulls away from the side of the pan.

The bread has a great sourdough flavor and tastes hearty without the wheatiness of many 100% whole wheat breads. Unfortunately, that's the best written description I can come up with. I asked Matt how he would describe it, and his response was, "I don't know, but I kinda want some right now."

Happy New Year!

2010-01-03T20:51:00.004-06:00

Well, it's been a few busy months. Much of my writing energy has been diverted to writing articles for new column as the Chicago Green Living Examiner at examiner.com. I've been craving to write about my one true passion - food! I'll try not to have such a long lapse again.

Matt and I are lucky enough to regularly receive beef and venison, raised and hunted respectively by Matt's Dad and Uncle Frank. We actually bought a chest freezer to accommodate the bounty of meat. It's such a joy to be able to simply open the freezer, defrost some meat and cook dinner without having to go to the store and wonder where the meat came from. The result of all of this is that I'm always looking for recipes to use the cuts of meat we have. We end up getting a lot of ground beef and ground venison. My favorite ways to use ground beef (besides burgers with decadent toppings like avocado or caramelized onions) are picadillo (Mexican spiced ground beef), chili, and ragu. Now, I have found a new favorite use which is this delicious meatball recipe from Bon Appetit. The recipe calls for lamb, but they were delicious when I made venison meatballs as well. I also substituted honey for pomegranate molasses.

As a nutritionist and environmentalist, you may wonder how it is that I advocate all this meat eating. I do believe that meat has a important place in the diet of humans. Our teeth indicate that we evolved to be omnivores. We also owe our large brains to meat-eating. Meat is a rich source of vitamin B12, iron, and zinc, to name a few nutrients. Nutrients in meats are easily absorbable. It's important to strive for balance in eating as in all areas of life. Meat should be accompanied vegetables at all meals. Eating too much meat and rich foods can cause some indigestion, but there is a balance to be achieved. Listen to your body. I was a vegetarian for a period in my life, and I became anemic and had the worst acne of my life. Once, I started eating meat again, my energy levels increased, and overall, I felt much better.

Enjoy this recipe of the year from Bon Appetit. While it appears to have many steps, it shouldn't take more than an hour or hour and a half to prepare.

May your 2010 be filled with joy and nourishing food!

For the reluctant Brussels sprout eaters

2009-10-18T17:19:00.010-05:00

Just walking around the farmer's market with a large stalk of Brussels sprouts is enough to incite questions from complete strangers. A couple of weeks ago, we got our very own stalk in our CSA box. We counted them at 79 sprouts! As a child, I hated Brussels sprouts, but came to appreciate them as an adult. Unfortunately, I live with a reluctant Brussel sprout eater, and the task of eating 79 Brussel sprouts on my own seemed daunting. This recipe makes the sprouts buttery and crunchy, and even Matt considers them to be "tolerable", which according to him is a huge compliment when it comes to Brussels sprouts. (It doesn't hurt to serve them with steamed mussels and a baguette with brie.) Not only are Brussels sprouts delicious (well at least I think so), but they are rich in vitamin C, beta-carotene, and folic acid, among other vitamins and minerals. They exemplify why vegetables are so healthy. They are nutrient-dense, meaning they have lots of vitamins and minerals packed into a small amount of calories. "Nutrient dense" is pretty much the opposite of the "empty calories" you'll find in a coke - calories, with no benefits whatsoever.

This recipe also comes from Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetables. I'm convinced this is a necessary cookbook for anyone with a CSA.

Browned Brussels Sprouts in a Parmesan Crust

Ingredients:
1/2 pound Brussels sprouts (about 2 cups)
salt
1/2 cup olive oil (I used 1/2 butter and 1/2 olive oil)
1 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a large skillet. Add the Brussels sprouts and a large pinch of salt; cook until bright green and just tender-crisp, 5 to 7 minutes depending on size. Drain; briefly rinse under cold water to stop cooking.

2. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the Brussels sprouts; cook, stirring occasionally, until they begin to brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Add the bread crumbs and slowly roll the sprouts around until they are completely covered. Continue cooking until the bread crumbs are brown, 3 to 4 minues.

3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the sprouts to a serving platter and immediately sprinkle with Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

By request, here is the recipe for the mussels.

Ingredients:
3 pounds mussels
1/2 cup white wine
6 cloves garlic
1/2 cup chopped parsley
juice of 1 lemon

1. Wash the mussels in cold water and discard any whose shells are open.
2. Place mussels, white wine, garlic, and parsley in a large pot. Heat on high for 10 minutes shaking the pot every few minutes.
3. Squeeze lemon juice on mussels. Enjoy!

Did you say "tanning supplies?"

2009-10-04T14:48:00.009-05:00

I'd always wanted to try canning tomatoes, but had never done it...until this year. A few weeks ago, we finally found a farm stand where we bought a half bushel of Roma tomatoes. This was after checking 3 or 4 farm stands over the course of a few weekends with no luck. That evening, I decided I'd better figure out where to buy a water-bath canner in Chicago, so I made some phone calls. The first large retailer I called transferred me at least 4 times until I was finally transferred to the sporting goods department. I politely explained that I doubted they had what I was looking for in their department. I then called another large chain store, which shall remain nameless, that sells pretty much everything you could ever want for your kitchen. You can buy a canner on their website, but I wanted to double-check that our local store carried the item. I called the first location, and asked "Do you carry canning supplies?" (Matt told to me ask this, since every time I asked about a "water bath canner" and started to describe it, the person on the phone got very confused.) Her response was "tanning supplies?" Because that make so much more sense than "canning supplies." I said "No, canning supplies. Like for canning tomatoes." After waiting for several minutes, she told me no. So figuring that she probably just had no idea what I was talking about, I decided to call another location of this same store. I asked the same question "Do you carry canning supplies," and much to my dismay, I received the same response: "Tanning supplies?" Perhaps, I overestimated my fellow city-folk. I suppose we do live in Chicago, and it was summertime. But as far as I know, this store is not particularly known for its tanning supplies.

I took that last phone call as a sign and decided to try the Ace Hardware nearest our apartment on Sunday morning. We walked up to the store and saw taped to the window in all its glory a sign saying "Your Canning Headquarters". Woo-hoo! I happily bought my water-bath canner and jars and left with the satisfaction that perhaps I am not the only weirdo in Chicago who actually cans things.

We canned 13 quart jars of tomatoes and used some of the leftover tomatoes for pizza and salsa. Next year, I'd like to do even more. It's quite a bit of work, but totally worth it. Today, we used 2 jars for chili.

Labor Day Barbecue

2009-09-09T19:07:00.009-05:00

Here's a sampling of pictures of food we made for our Labor day barbecue. Above is Baba Ganoush made with eggplant from our CSA.

And just a simple salad with mixed greens, sliced tomatoes, and parmesan cheese shavings served with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Matt's delicious pico de gallo made with local tomatoes, onions, and cilantro.

And I'm passing along the recipe to this amazing salad. This is a perfect late summer salad as all the ingredients are in season right now.

Cajun Corn and Kale Salad
(from Farmer John's Cookbook: The Real Dirt on Vegetable by Farmer John Peterson and Angelic Organics)

Ingredients
1 quarts water
4 ears sweet corn
1 large bunch kale (stems removed)
2 teaspooons salt plus more to taste
1 large red bell pepper, diced
l green bell pepper, diced
1 large tomato, diced
1 small sweet onion, minced
1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1.5 teaspoons Cajun spice seasoning (1/4 teaspoon salt, 1 big pinch of each of the following: cayenne pepper, black pepper, dry mustard, crushed fennel seeds, dried thyme)

1. Bring 2 quarts of water to a boil in a large pot; add the ears of corn. Turn off the heat and let the corn cook in the hot water for 5 minutes. Set the ears of corn aside and reserve the cooking water. When the corn is cool, slice the kernels from the cobs.

2. Return the corn water to a boil and add the kale and 2 teaspoons salt; cook until kale is just tender and still bright green, about 5 minutes. Transfer the kale to a colander to drain and cool. When the kale is cool enough to handle, squeeze out the excess liquid with your hands and then finely chop.

3. Toss the kale with the remain ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Season with salt to taste.