Recently, I participated in an email recipe exchange project. The email arrived with two names and corresponding email addresses at the top and some instructions below. They read: "Send a recipe to the first person on the list, then copy the contents of this email, removing the first person's name. Add your name/email below the second person's email/name. Send to 10 friends and expect 36 recipes in your inbox soon."

The instructions also included some detail about the recipe you were to send: "the best type of recipe is the one you can jot down from memory and send immediately."

The promise of more off-the-cuff home cooking was what incented me to participate. After all, who needs more recipes? I have thousands on my bookshelves and even more available at my fingertips via the web. What we all could use are easy, basic approaches to food - things that taste great and you can scribble from memory as quickly as you can gather the ingredients.

Finally, I have to admit, I was curious what my friends (or really, friend's friends) cook. Cooking and food preparation are a very personal thing - with what concoctions are we nourishing ourselves on a weeknight when we need a no-fuss meal?

The answer, if it truly is reflective of the spectrum of american casual cooking, was... sobering.

Into my inbox floated the recipes: With exception of a few, there were myriad 'family favorites' prepared with a long list of, not Food - but "Food"... BRANDED food products, sitting in the ingredients lists as if they were a traditional staple.

(Note: if you are a sender of one of the recipes to me, I sincerely appreciate your heartfelt contribution, regardless of my critique.)

I suppose, given our food culture (or lack thereof), and the strong hold 50's style food customs have on our circa-2000 diet, I should not have been surprised. If I were writing to any cross-section of an American audience, I think I would have been less shocked. But these people were metropolitan New Yorkers, keen on current issues, conscious of diet as part of the picture of overall health.

One recipe in particular deserves to be printed for its complete lack of real food items, ignorance of traditional foods (... this is not Waldorf Salad...), and basically the less-than-pleasant feeling I get in my gut when I consider being presented with the final product:

I think this is called Waldorf Salad. It's a YUMMIE dessert.
1 carton cool whip
1 pkg pistacio pudding
1 can shreaded pineapple, drained
1 pkg mini marshmellows

warm cool whip to room temp, drain pineapple, and combine EVERYTHING!

Ewe! So what's the lesson here?

The lesson is that the food industry, with all their Food Products, and millions (if not billions) of advertising dollars, have convinced us - even the smartest among us - that their boxed, labeled food concoctions comprise the heartiest of American home cooking.

The lesson behind the scenes is that this is why we're getting fat, getting diabetes, heart issues - why in fact the top 8 diseases in this country are diet-related. Even when we set down to make a casual home-cooked meal, we are not eating food - we're eating food products.

It is my firm belief that focusing on health is not about food components, which fats to eat, how many carbs and proteins, but about food quality. The single most important thing people can do for their health is to eliminate food that comes in wrappers; that is - processed food, or "Food" (note the quotes).

"Food" is not Food. "Food" is processed food, meaning that what was once a plant or something natural, has been ground, extracted, boiled down, or broken down into its component parts, then reassembled, often with chemicals, additives, and other food parts to comprise something that looks natural. The problem is that it is not natural - and that we don't understand how our bodies process real food, which are the original plants themselves, that deliver a complex system of nutrients which all support each other's assimilation. When we fracture these elements and add unnatural components, we're fracturing the composition of the original food and making the body's job of digestion and absorption difficult and imbalanced. Not to mention all the sugar and fat that are usually added to make the final concoction palatable - which sabotage a healthy, balanced state. So if this is so precarious, why do we do it? WE don't do it - the food industry does, and they do it because it's really cheap to make, the profits are high, and they have lured us into thinking it's good for us.

Food means whole food - food that is as close to its natural form as possible. Be it plant or animal product, aside from the preparations we make in our kitchen, this Food is largely unadulterated, and our bodies have evolved on it for thousands of years.

There's a universe of amazing, beautiful, tasty whole foods out there just waiting to be discovered and enjoyed. They are simple to prepare and you don't need to worry about whether they have, for instance, the right amount of protein per serving. They don't have brand names and can't bear labels that espouse their health properties. But if you eat them most of the time, and avoid the cool whip, fat-free cream cheese, and boxed cake mixes , you'll find yourself enjoying food more (without the stress) and feeling better.

Below are two recipes I received that are made with real food, which are simple and delicious. Thanks to the senders - you know who you are.

Pear Cranberry Walnut Salad with Apricot Dressing

Mixed Greens
A pear or two
Dried Cranberries
Walnuts
Crumbled Blue Cheese

Dressing:
Apricot Nectar
Dijon Mustard
Canola Oil
Red Wine Vinegar
Salt
Pepper

Instructions:
Peel, core, and chop pears. Toss greens, pear, and cranberries together. Add the walnuts
and blue cheese on top or you can mix those together too.

Dressing:
Whisk the nectar, oil, and vinegar in equal proportions with about
half the amount of mustard. Adjust the proportions to your liking.
Salt or pepper to taste. Voila!

Warm Quinoa Salad with Edamame & Tarragon

* 1 cup quinoa
* 2 cups vegetable broth
* 2 cups frozen shelled edamame
* 1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest
* 2 tablespoons lemon juice
* 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon or 2 teaspoons dried
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup drained and diced jarred roasted red peppers
* 1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1.Toast quinoa in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring often, until it becomes aromatic and begins to crackle, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a fine sieve and rinse thoroughly.

2. Meanwhile, bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan over high heat. Add the quinoa and return to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook gently for 8 minutes. Remove the lid and, without disturbing the quinoa, add edamame. Cover and continue to cook until the edamame and quinoa are tender, 7 to 8 minutes longer. Drain any remaining water, if necessary.

3. Whisk lemon zest and juice, oil, tarragon and salt in a large bowl. Add peppers and the quinoa mixture. Toss to combine. Divide among 4 plates and top with walnuts.

Posted by themindfuleater at 01:42 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

The past year brought stories about health scares from ecoli to toys made in China, pet food made in China, (...anything made in China...) and then there are some stories which linger, more troubling-ly, and return again and again with increasing concern. Two such stories are those of MRSA, the new antibiotic-resistant bacteria which is now killing more people than AIDS (in the US), and Colony Collapse Disorder - the troublesome problem of bees, necessary for pollination and therefore integral to food production, flying away and not returning.

In his always evocative and eloquent way, Michael Pollan (did I mention, I *heart* Michael Pollan?) discusses these issues and how they're related directly to modern food practices, and the exact definition of sustainability in a tightly wrapped piece in the NY Times magazine. Read it.

Posted by themindfuleater at 04:18 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Until recent years, the ubiquitous "button" mushroom was THE American mushroom, most often available in a can. Thankfully, the past couple decades have brought to the American diet an endless variety of wild mushrooms of all different shapes, sizes, flavors and textures: shiitake, porcini, portabello, crimini (actually just baby portabellos), morels, enoki, chantrelles, oyster, maitake - the list goes on and on.

Also recently dispelled is the myth that mushrooms contain virtually no nourishment, and are hard to digest. Not true! In fact, the past few decades have taught us quite the opposite: almost all mushrooms contain powerful nutrients for health. Some examples: Oyster mushrooms have been shown to inhibit tumors and dramatically reduce cholesterol and show promise as a blood-builder; Shiitakes strengthen immune function, lower LDL cholesterol, are strong anti-virals, and have exhibited strong anti-tumor properties. Portabellos and criminis have powerful anti-tumor abilities, and Maitakes have been shown to lower high blood pressure, protect the liver, stimulate T-cell production, and inhibit the growth of tumors.

In Japan, mushroom extracts are part of the most progressive medicine in caring for cancer patients and strengthening delicate immune systems ravished by disease.

As it turns out, mushrooms are a powerful super food - and these super powers can be of great service to us as we fend off invaders during the cold days of winter.

Some tips:
• You can buy mushrooms fresh or dried. Dried are convenient to have on hand always, and reconstitute within 20 minutes. The reconstitution liquid makes a nutrient-dense and very flavorful broth.
• If buying fresh, inspect your mushrooms for vital signs; their gills (the underside of the cap) should be intact and undamaged, and the mushroom should not smell of ammonia or mold, but rather a pleasant odor evocative of earth. Be careful buying mushrooms suffering behind plastic - Mushrooms hate plastic, and often don't look so hot if they've been there for a while. Store your mushrooms in paper bags or glass. Never plastic.
• Mushrooms are best cooked. Many raw mushrooms contain a substance that makes the protein in them difficult to break down. This substance cooks out. Some mushrooms (such as morels) have substances in them that can cause serious gastric distress if not cooked out. In general, the nutrients in mushrooms are more bio-available when cooked.
• Cleaning mushrooms: always do this right before cooking. With a damp cloth, gently brush off any dirt. Washing mushrooms washes away delicate flavor, and mushrooms don't like a lot of water, so only submerge them if they're looking really grimy. In that case, fill a bowl or clean sink with cold water, and delicately swish your mushrooms around. Remove promptly.
• In case this has inspired in you a sense of adventure, make note of an old mushroom hunter's phrase: "there are old mushroomers, and there are bold mushroomers, but there are no old, bold mushroomers!" Don't pick and eat a mushroom unless you're absolutely, completely sure what it is. There are better things worth dying for...

Wild Mushroom Fricassee Over Farro (or Barley)
Note: This recipe calls for a pressure cooker to cook the grain quickly. If you're not so equipped, that's ok: you can cook it in a regular pot on the stovetop (1 part farro to 3 parts liquid - simmer for 25 minutes). You'll want to start that first, and skip step 4.

2 lbs mixed mushrooms (shiitake, chantrelle, cremini, oyster - whatever you want!)
3 T olive oil
1 1/2 t coarse sea salt
fresh black pepper
1 1/2 c. farro or barley (yummy, nutty grains!)
2 T butter
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 t all-purpose flour
2/3 cup dry red wine
2 T each of chopped flat-leaf parsley, thyme, and rosemary
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
grated parmesan cheese

1. Place a rimmed baking sheet in the middle of an oven and preheat to 450 degrees
2. Cut the mushrooms into 1-inch pieces, leaving small ones whole
3. Toss the mushrooms with 2 T olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Spread the mushrooms on the hot pan from the oven and roast there for 15 minutes.
4. Prepare the farro: In a pressure cooker over high heat, bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Add the farro and 1 teaspoon of salt, and secure the lid. When the pot comes to full pressure, reduce the heat to med-low and simmer for 9 minutes. Remove from heat, and slowly release pressure (with the gauge, or by running cold water on the closed pot at the sink). Test the farro for doneness, and if necessary, simmer, uncovered, for a few minutes more, until tender. Cover to keep warm.
5. Melt the butter in a large saute pan and add the onion and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Saute until the onions begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Reduce to low, cover, and simmer another 5 minutes.
6. Transfer the roasted mushrooms to the onion pan. Add the flour and saute, stirring, until the flour browns and begins to stick to the bottom, about 3 minutes.
7. Add the wine and 1/2 cup water. Scrape up the brown bits from the pan with a wooden spoon and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.
8. Add the herbs and garlic, simmer 1 more minute. Season with salt and pepper. Serve over farro, and finish with a sprinkle of parmesan.

Recipe borrowed from one of my favorite cook books, Peter Berley's Fresh Food Fast.

Posted by themindfuleater at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)