There is Nothing Like FRESH!

There is nothing like Fresh!

Fresh is just picked, peak flavor, peak nutrition and peak dining experience.

I am back in sunny California and read about the 2 feet of snow in Virginia and am so grateful for the bike strand along the Pacific and the fresh, did I mention fresh, fruits and vegetables at the farmer’s market.  Who can’t get their 5 a day in when they melt in your mouth?  Avocados for $1, red raspberries the size of blackberries and asian pears that squirt pear juice with every crunch.  

Tonight I made pesto pasta with fresh basil.  Just the washing of the leaves produced an aromatic essence that provoked people walking downstairs to remark on the fragrance of the much loved leaf.  We sautéed fresh baby zucchini and added baby grape tomatoes to the dish.

Voila! 

Two weekends ago I went to Boulder.  There was snow there but the beautiful Rockies and dry air that did not rip through you, made the 26 degrees feel like 40.  Most of the whole foods, organic food products and packaged health food you see in your grocery is made in Boulder.  LA has it as far as fresh produce, Boulder has it as far as prepared foods.  Celestial Seasonings teas were birthed there in 1969.

Both LA and Boulder have a plethora of restaurants that I dream of on every corner and the block in between the corners.  Fresh, organic, with unique tastes, combinations and integrity.  Gluten free, vegan, vegetarian, grass fed, local, organic are not the exception, but the rule.

Two of my children work for Whole Foods Market in LA and Boulder. Each market does over $1 million dollars a week in sales.  “If they build it, they will come.”  It is all about supply and demand.  If we demand quality food and stop buying the pretend, processed “looks like food, tastes like food, but is not food”, then change can happen.  Vote with your dollar.

I did a nutrition class at Whole Foods in Manhattan Beach last week.  It is their flagship store in the LA area.  I realized as I was talking to the crowd that the demographics was not the same as the Virginia/NorthCarolina crowd I was accustomed to.  They did not have the same barriers and challenges as we do in the mid-Atlantic states to get the freshest, healthiest food all year long.

But the bottom line is we eat every day, more than once a day and the fresher the food the better it tastes and the better it is for you.  So in this winter season eat local as much as possible, eat fresh as much as possible and avoid the processed pretend food.  Your body will thank you and if you give your taste buds a chance, they will never go back. “Once you are real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always.”  (Margery Williams, The Velveteen Rabbit)

Fresh Pesto

2 cups fresh basil leaves washed, stemmed and packed in 2 cup measuring glass

3-4 cloves of garlic

1/4 cup pine nuts

1/2 cup fresh grated parmesan cheese

1/2 cup EVOO

Pulse the garlic cloves, basil leaves and pine nuts in a food processor till chopped.

Add the grated cheese and pulse.

Drizzle the oil as the processor pulses until pureed.

Great on pasta, toast, and egg and tomato sandwiches.  Bon appetite!

Food Passions

I recently returned from a cyclist dream vacation.  My sisters and husband and I rode thoroughbred bikes on an island that was meant to be riden.  From sheep bike paths to the mountain climbs with switchbacks and down hill spins in open bowls with the Serre de Tumatana Mountains surrounding you, to vast open rides sharing the rode with hundreds of other cyclists and car friendly motorists, there was the Mediterranean Sea in all its beauty waiting to refresh your soul.

The day was not complete without the masterful art of Ivan (pronounced Yvonne), our personal local Mallorcan chef.  Each night he prepared an experience for us that delighted our senses on every level.  The aromas from the kitchen called us down, the colors on his artist palate wooed us as he carefully arranged each ingredient as if the plate were a canvas.  After presenting each of us with a beautiful masterpiece in front of us, we would wait for Ivan to explain his creation.

"IN MALLORCA....", he would begin,  with fire in his eyes.  "IN MALLORCA, we only use the best ingredients.  Without the BEST ingredients you cannot have the best dish to eat.  So first we start with only the best.  IN MALLORCA we grow everything from the earth without GMO.  We hate GMO IN MALLORCA!!  Tonight I make for you TUMBET, a traditional dish from MALLORCA.  I find the best eggplant, the best potatoes, the best tomatoes and the best peppers."  He waves his arms around like a orchestral conductor as the heat of the kitchen collects beads of sweat on his olive skin.

"First I saute each of the vegetable in the best olive oil.  Only the Extra Virgin Olive oil from right here in MALLORCA.  Then I layer the vegetables one by one starting with the potatoes, then the eggplant, then the peppers.  I use the simple earthenware clay pot made right here in the village of Campanet to layer the vegetables and then I bake the individual casseroles.  I make the fresh tomato sauce from the best tomatoes and I cook the tomatoes down first on the stove with the garlic and the onion, before I add the Basil from the garden here outside this door, and the salt and the pepper.  I wait until the last to add the spices so they do not cook down, but stay fresh.  This is important to only add the erbez (herbs) and spices at the end."  He purses his lips and pinches his finger and thumb together as he speaks, but the passion in his eyes is intoxicating.

The potatoes melt in my mouth, the eggplant comes alive with flavor, the roasted pepper has just enough heat to complement the refreshing tomato sauce, so fresh it drips of innocence.  The olive oil and the basil are like wedding vows that promise to delight and love.  I can’t imagine what could be better than Tumbet, and it is just the first night.

Then I realize the Tumbet is just the starter course.  "And next I have for you...."  Ivan continues, his grin widening as he clears our empty plates.  I decide right then,  I will have to cycle at least 70 km each day to enjoy all of Ivan's food passions, because I wasn't leaving any crumbs behind.

The Summer of Your Soul

There is nothing like summer!  As a kid I thought it would last forever.  And with August here, the reality of the finite days of summer, makes us squirm.  When we know something is coming to an end we want to savor it, make it last longer, let it leave its' indelible ink written on our hearts.  Last night I took a sunset cruise around the ICWW near my home.  There were so many colors of blue in the sky and on the sea, I could not capture them all to memory, so I just sat and absorbed them thru my skin.  I did not want that connection to end.  We take pictures so we can't forget, but when we look at them later, we remember the moment in our mind, but we often lose the impact of how it really felt in our whole body and soul.  The true visceral impact takes us back to not just what the eyes saw, but what our soul felt.  It is in the soul that there is the greatest potential to be moved and changed.  

In the book, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, a young girl is forced to help support her family due to an alcoholic father.  She lies about her age and lands a editing job in Manhattan.  At fifteen she gets her first paycheck.  Sitting at her desk  she pauses to feel the paper check between her fingers, the wind on her cheeks from the open window, the wooden floorboards beneath her feet and the soft cotton dress around her shoulders.  She wants to remember this moment forever.  With that experience magnetically resined in her brain, it is unlikely her capacity for gratitude will ever be diminished.

We cannot make changes that stick only with our minds.  We try, we fail, we try again.  We practice because practice makes perfect.  All these things are important, but the soul has to take over.  Herein lies the passion, the value,  the connection to who we are.  In the final month of summer, take time to embrace the little things of joy and gratitude each day brings you.  You can't be grateful for all things, but you can be grateful for one, and another and another.  Wholeness is the sum of many parts.

Start with the parts and see what you can build.  Maybe a sandcastle that even if the waves wash it away, the experience will have left an impression that sticks.

Resilience

     We had our first frost last night.  I was out at 9pm with a flashlight harvesting my peppers, basil and dill.  The basil is still drying in the dehydrator while the dill waits patiently for a turn. 

     This morning the pepper plants were frozen and black like much of the garden’s inhabitants.  But there standing proud and full of life was the Rosemary and Swiss chard.  I thought why is it that some plants can endure the cold and others just shrivel up and die?  It comes down to resilience.  The ability to come back even stronger after something challenging happens.  I want to be Rosemary.

      Winter is coming and I can’t stop it.  I want a new throw for the couch, a new sweater and new boots.  I want a good book to read and some warm soup and hot tea.  I want to sit and just be.  I want to stop and slow down and get ready for winter.  It’s a mindset, the cold thing, and I am dreading it.  If I can just be, I can enjoy today and the transition to winter.  I don’t have to stress about the holidays, or worry about electric bills; I can just be present today, with my book, my tea and my new warm throw.

     Today I made lentil soup and veggie burgers from cooked grains.  I have been making these recipes for over 30 years.  They still nourish and satisfy after all this time.  Why?  Because they are made with real food and they instantly bring me back to the stories that surround these recipes.

     In Red Boiling Springs at the bottom of Bakerton Hill, we lived on lentil soup and split pea soup.  It was cold the winter of 1977.  It was our first winter as homesteaders and the locals used to say, “Don’t them Yankees know, you get your firewood in August?”

     It was February and the snow was falling as we were trying to fell trees on the side of the hill.  We stopped the traffic as we buzzed them into firebox sized pieces much too green to be burned.  Our pipes froze that winter, too, for 6 weeks.  About as long as the schools were closed in Jackson County.  We’d just bust the ice in the creek and draw water to bath and clean with.  We had a gravity fed spring for drinking and cooking water.

     It was a full days job staying warm, keeping the fire going and getting water.  Oh and of course making soup and hot tea.  In Buffalo, NY they made T-shirts “I survived the winter of ‘77”. I became a pioneer the winter of ‘77 and I loved every minute of it.

Lentil Soup

2-3 Tbls olive oil

1 cup diced onion

2 cloves garlic minced

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced carrots

½ tsp thyme

½ tsp marjoram

1 tsp basil

1 tsp. oregano

1 28 oz can of crushed tomatoes (or fresh)

2 Tbls vegetarian soup blend dissolved in 2 quarts of water

2 cups dry lentils rinsed and drained

Garnish with: (optional)

A squirt of soy sauce

2 tbsp Nutritional cheesy yeast

Heat the oil in a large soup pan.

Saute onion and garlic, add celery and carrots and herbs.

Next add the tomatoes, water, lentils and soup blend.

Simmer 45 minutes until the lentils are tender.

Split Pea Soup

2-3 TBLS olive oil

1 large onion chopped

2 cloves garlic minced

3-4 carrots diced

2-3 celery stalks diced

1 tsp dried rosemary, 1TBLS fresh

2 quart water

2 TBLS veggie soup blend

3 white potatoes diced

2 cups dried split peas rinsed and soaked

salt and pepper to taste

Saute onions and garlic on olive oil

Add carrots and celery

Add rosemary and sauté

Add soup blend to water and add to pot

Add potatoes and dried split peas

Bring to boil and simmer uncovered for 1 - 2 hours until peas are tender

Garnish with nutritional yeast and Bragg’s liquid aminos

Serve with corn bread and salad!

Jam n' Jellyfish

Jellyfish, the name itself conjures up questions. How can a fish be likened to jelly, that sweet gooey yum married to peanut butter on toast? I first encountered a jellyfish at age five in the waters of Laguna Beach, California.  How could such a soft creature have such a pungent sting?  I have tried to avoid

them ever since, but recently believe we can learn from their nature.

The beach is my most favorite place to walk in the world.  Unlike the mountains that provide vistas of nurture and strength, at the sea it is just you and the power of the ocean and the vastness of the sky. You can't deceive yourself by the sea.  Transparency is inevitable.  

I recently spent a week at Kiawah Island with my Connecticut high school girlfriends.  I arrived early with JoAnne from California and we walked along the strand our first morning taking in the sunrise.  California girls see plenty of sunsets but a sunrise, now that's worth getting up for.  Your first walk on the beach each year after the winter has finally rolled back to sleep is always brand new.  The wind and waves and sea birds beckon you to shed your layers of worldliness and human suffering at the tiny boardwalk along with your shoes.  Your feet sink into the sand and the surrender begins.  By the time you reach the surf your heart and soul are ready for the plunge. Leave it all behind.

We strolled along the pristine island uncluttered by seaweed and rocks, suspended in timelessness.  That first morning we spied a lonely jellyfish washed up on the shore.  Fortunately the following days as we played in the waves, we never felt the sting of a jellyfish.  We walked the beach every day and never saw another one until the last morning.   Everyone had left for the airport and Kitty -Jo and I were taking a final jog on the beach and there lay a single jellyfish in the

I wasn't able to capture a picture of us jogging
along the beach that final morning, but this is
how we felt! Energized by friendship, sun and the
currents of life!

sand.  Like bookends to mark our week together on the island their story tells the story of friendship.

The jellyfish is a symbol of acceptance and faith.  The jellyfish does not swim but depends upon movement to sustain life. They move and flow with the currents and teach us the value of trust and acceptance while going with the flow, able to change currents when necessary.  Because of their softness and non-rigidity they have the ability to not become entangled in the webs of life. Their transparency teaches us the power of our own inner strength when we can let vulnerability transport us to authenticity.  

So my conundrum is which name came first? Was jelly named after the fish or the fish named after jelly?

Either way I love jam more than jelly, and they both are made from sweet summer berries! And there is nothing better than homemade jam! You can find a pick your own or buy in volume when the prices are good.

This winter when the beach is a distant summer memory and the freshness of juicy

berries is absent from the marketplace, open your cupboards and indulge in the work of your hands infused with love.  A bit of summer with each bite and you will hear the ocean, leave it all behind.  

Bon appetite!

I have included a recipe for strawberry jam made with honey instead of sugar.  There is also a link for canning basics it you have never had the joy of attempting an amazing age-old art. Talk about feeling empowered!

Strawberry Jam

Ingredients

•                6 cups chopped strawberries

•                Two boxes powdered pectin

•                1 ½ cups honey

•                2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Instructions

1.             Wash and sterilize six 250ml jam jars. Boil the flat parts of the lids in a small pot and keep at a low simmer.

2.            Mash the berries with a potato masher and place in a large heavy bottomed saucepan.

3.            Add the pectin, stir with a wooden spoon, and place on a burner over high heat and bring to a rolling boil. Stir and boil for 1 min.

4.            Remove from heat and add the honey and lemon juice and mix well. Return to heat and bring to a boil again, stirring occasionally. Boil for 5 min, stirring constantly.

5.             Remove jam from heat and let sit for a couple of minutes, stirring occasionally. It will thicken slightly. Ladle jam into hot jars, then place a flat lid on jars, and add screw rings.

Immerse jars in hot water bath, and boil rapidly for 8 min. Remove from bath and place on a towel on the counter to cool.

Resource: http://www.simplebites.net/sugar-free-honey-strawberry-jam

Canning basics

http://www.simplebites.net/canning-101-the-basics

What Do You Love About Christmas?

What do you love about Christmas?  As we hustle around with our to do lists, (check, check, check) we can find ourselves mumbling and complaining of the many things that fill our days and our nights this time of year.  Let’s take a moment to reflect on what makes our heart sing at Christmas.  One of the joys I have is arriving home each day and looking in the mailbox to spot any envelopes addressed by hand.  I love Christmas cards!  It is the one time of year to connect with those who have moved away or family that no longer lives close by.  As a child who grew up in 4 states and went to 5 schools before moving to another state to go to college and yet another state to get married and start a family and two more states after that to raise a family, I have friends and family scattered all over.  Let me reiterate, I love Christmas cards!  I love the ones with the pictures and the notes that give me a snapshot into their lives.  I know with Facebook, we can stay connected all the time, but there is something magical about everyone stopping for a moment to wish the ones near and dear to them blessings of health and peace and prosperity.

My Mother used to sell Christmas cards and there were huge binders full of samples that filled our kitchen table.  She did it to raise money for Easter Seals.  She must have raised a lot of money because she spent a lot of time on the phone pitching the cards. After school I would find her sitting at the kitchen table with a neighbor, books open, glittering angel wings or red shiny Christmas balls catching my eye, only adding to the anticipation of Christmas morning.  When the day came for her to address, stamps and seal her personal cards, it was a production.  She would line us up with a sponge and a small water bowl with instructions to dab just the right amount of moisture on the envelope so it would close, but not ruin the card.  It was a mini cottage industry for a day.  Watching the stack of cards signed and sealed grow taller gave an amazing sense of accomplishment.  Family traditions are the things that make each Christmas touch your soul in places that make all the check lists worth it.

I am offering a recipe that is not part of a family tradition.  We get so overwhelmed with sugar, sugar, and more sugar at Christmas, I decided to offer a delicious dessert that is sweetened naturally without sugar.  Maybe you can start a new tradition in your family. 

Blessings of Health and Peace and Joy to you and all your loved ones!

Polynesian Pineapple Date Bars

Filling:

2 cups chopped dates ( I get fresh Medjool and chop myself)

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

21/2 cups crushed pineapple with juice

Base:

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup shredded coconut

1/3 cup chopped macadamia nuts

3 cups rolled oats

1 cup orange juice

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup cold pressed canola oil

Cook filling over low heat until thickened

MIx dry base ingredients

Mix wet base ingredients in a separate bowl and add cooked dates

Combine both mixtures

oil a 9x12 glass pan

Press 1/2 of the base mixture into glass pan

spread date filling over top

Top with remaining base mixture

Bake 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes

Bon Appetite!

What's Not to Love about the Fall?

What’s not to LOVE about the fall?

Warm nurturing colors against a backdrop of blue that can boast neither Duke nor Carolina blue.  It is God’s true blue that not only expresses His handiwork but His faithfulness.  The intensity of the contrast of the reds and gold against that blue is accentuated when the sun’s rays play their part to create depth and focus to draw our thoughts inward.  In stillness there is strength and purpose.   Wake up before dawn and gander outside and draw your attention upward.  Your vision will behold some of the awesomeness that inspired Van Gogh’s “Starry Night”.

What’s not to LOVE about the fall?

I got married in the fall 35 years ago.  As I think about my marriage metaphorically I picture an oak tree whose roots go down deep.  As the seasons change in our lives from birthing and raising children to growing businesses to empty nesters there have been storms we have had to weather.  There have been strong winds that have caused the tree to sway and break branches.  There has been sunshine and warmth that has brought on new growth and greening of the leaves.  And then there has been the fall, when the vibrant colors remind me of the hope within all of us for a life full of creative possibilities!  

What’s not to LOVE about the fall?

I love soup and this is the time of year I love to make a pot of it on the weekend and have it warm me up throughout the week. I grew up on Campbell’s tomato and chicken noodle soup as a kid.  I never experienced the depth of flavors of homemade soup until I married my husband. My first ever soup that I made was lentil soup from our first cookbook, Cooking Creatively with Natural Foods 
By Edith and Sam Brown(recipe posted in my January 2012 blog).  

I want to share with you my Fall Harvest Soup because it conjures all of the feel good feelings about fall with its autumn colors and unique taste.  So take some time this weekend to peel and chop, simmer and spice.  Then venture out into the woods and let the fall colors wrap you a blanket as you watch your feet take a step forward and another and another after that on your journey home.  You will be delighted to know the pot of soup on the stove is waiting for you!

Bon Appetite!

Fall Harvest Soup

4 lbs. of orange veggies & apples: 

Add a dollop of plain NF Greek yogurt or
plain soy yogurt before serving!

- 1 large or 2 small butternut squash (about 2 lbs.)
- 2 to 3 sweet potatoes (about 1lb)
- 2 apples (about ½ lb)
- 4 to 6 Carrots about ½ lbs)
2 quarts liquid: 

- 1 quart vegetable broth and 1 quart water, or reserved liquid

Extra virgin olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp ground ginger or 1 TBLS freshly minced or grated

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp curry

Salt and pepper

1 cup 100% apple juice (local freshly made is best!)

Peel and roughly chop the first 4 ingredients – the 4# of orange veggies (and apples).  You can cook them two ways:

1. Boil in a large pan with the water for about 30 minutes or until tender, reserving the cooking water to add to soup.

      2.  Roast in the oven at 350 degrees for 45- 60 minutes

Heat 3 Tbsp of olive oil in a large soup stainless steel pot.

Add chopped onion and garlic and sauté until translucent. 

Add seasonings.  (Ginger, curry and cinnamon)

Add the soup stock and water (or reserved liquid from boiling the veggies/apples)

Add the cooked veggies and apples

Heat thoroughly.

If you have an immersion blender you can puree the soup right in the pot.

If not add part of the soup to a blender and puree, continue in stages until all of the soup is pureed.

Thin with apple juice until desired consistency.  Salt and pepper to taste.

  

Heat and serve. 

Garnish with toasted sunflower seeds, toasted pumpkin seeds, and chives.

May add a dollop of Plain NF Greek yogurt or plain soy yogurt to the middle of the soup bowl before adding seeds.