Day 7: Let It Be Easy

"Emily honey, what do you want for lunch?" the camper bumped from side to side, trotting along the sandy desert road. "Ummm, I'll have, a butter sandwich!" "A butter sandwich?" my grandfather asked, confused. "She loves butter" my mom said, shrugging her shoulders.

I feel so fortunate to have grown up in an era where food was simply...food. Fast food was still a novelty, we were blissfully unaware of the potential consequences of eating it. We used to go to McDonalds for a treat, which now seems as ridiculous to me as smoking cigarettes to relieve stress, or having a shot of whiskey to loosen up before giving a speech.

A few weeks ago, I met for lunch with Dr. Katja Rowell. After finishing med school, Dr. Rowell worked as a family physician. She soon recognized a common theme in many of the families that were coming in: disordered eating and obsessive dieting. She started up a practice, called "Family Feeding Dynamics". She helps families learn how to help guide their children at the dinner table, without teaching them restrictive food rules or to place significance on what they are eating. She advocates instead, for showing your child how to listen to their own hunger cues. Check out her website, it is a really cool thing that she does!

http://www.familyfeedingdynamics.com/FFD/home.html

Childhood obesity is a hot topic these days, and many people in the medical profession believe that being overweight is synonymous with increased health risks. "Your child needs to lose weight" the doctor points to a health chart. "We want to get their numbers down so that they fit inside this curve". The parent feels waves of shame and panic. They decide to put their child on a diet, restricting certain foods that they believe to be "unhealthy". The child begins to covet the forbidden foods, and experiences shame when they find occasion to indulge. The disordered eating pattern establishes, restrict, indulge, regret, remorse, restrict, indulge, regret, remorse.

While it is true that many of the lifestyle patterns that lead to being overweight also are associated with chronic diseases, it is possible to be overweight and still be healthy. We can't control the shape that our bodies will grow, but we can control how we treat them, talk to them, and listen to them.

Messages of the thin ideal, and how to achieve it, are everywhere. The magazines at the grocery store promise us that we can lose 10 pounds of fat in 3 weeks, which would require that a person accumulate a deficit of about 35,000 calories. Given that an average dietary recommendation is about 2000 calories a day, over 21 days, most people would need to consume about 21,000 calories total. So even if you starved yourself for the entire three weeks, you would still need to burn about 15,000 calories to lose the 10 lbs of fat. This you could achieve by simply running 150 miles over the course of the 3 weeks (average of 7 miles a day). So...don't eat and run 7 miles a day..does this sound healthy to you?

Earlier this evening, I walked across the park and yanked on the smooth metal handle of the YMCA entrance door. It was locked. Damn. My health insurance covers 75 % of my gym membership provided I go to the gym 17 times a month. I have been slacking off a bit this month, requiring that I need to go every day for the rest of the month to reach the 17 day mark. I didn't realize that they closed early on Saturdays.

As I turned to walk back to the apartment, the irony hit me. Every time I have been to the doctor over the past year, it has been to treat some sports related injury. Rather than reducing my risk for insurance costs, my exercising is increasing it! My insurance company is rewarding me for costing them money. In black and white thinking, things are either "good" or "bad", with no regard for the dose that makes the poison. But black and white are limited shades in our vibrant multicolored world. I returned home calmed by the thought, and slipped into my chair where Christina brought me a steaming cup of orange tea.

Eggplant and Zucchini Parmesan

Slice 1 medium eggplant into 1/4 inch thick rounds. They the slices flat and sprinkle with salt (allowing the brown liquid to sweat out). Damp the liquid with a paper towel and turn them over, repeating on the other side.

Slice 1 large zucchini on a slant, so that the rounds are about 1/4 inch thick.

Set out 2 bowls in front of you, one with flour, one with egg, and one with coarse cornmeal. Dip the zucchini and eggplant in flour, then into beaten egg (use 2 eggs), then coat with coarse ground cornmeal. Season with salt and pepper and place in a hot frying pan with olive oil coating the bottom. Brown on both sides, using a fork to turn, then remove and place on a paper towel to soak up excess oil.

Layer the eggplant on the bottom. On top of each eggplant, place about 1 Tbsp of tomato sauce (from yesterdays pizza recipe), and some fresh mozzarella cheese. Add some shredded fresh basil and top with zucchini. Repeat to desired height. Place in a 375 degree oven for about 10 min, or until cheese melts.

Serve with

1 large head butter lettuce, lightly dressed with 1/2 Tbsp Sherry vinegar and 1 Tbsp olive oil and fresh ground pepper.

Christina's vote: "This meal aroused my palate, multiple times"

B is for basil and burdock- day 4

A nutrition researcher at the U of M was on MPR today talking about childhood obesity. She introduced a relatively new term, which identifies an issue facing adolescent populations today. "Food illiteracy". She told a story about a 9 year old boy to whom she was providing dinner. She placed a baked potato in front of the kid.
"What's that" The child asked, totally ignorant of the relationship between the brown crusty thing on his plate and his favorite side dish which comes in waffle, shoe string, steak, seasoned, and chili cheese variety.

I confess, I didn't actually hear the program first hand. I was walking back from the gym, watching a squirrel greedily dig up a hidden stash of acorns, and marvelling about how similar his stare down resembled that of a park junky. The phone buzzing in my pocket caught me off guard. I hit the green button.
"Oh hi" I said. In an era of caller ID there is no need for formalities.
"Do you realize that some kids don't even know what a potato looks like?" Christina launched right into her reason for calling.
"I am not surprised" I said, remembering my experience working with the Minneapolis high school kids on a farm.

"Will you go and pick some basil for me?" I once asked a kid.
"Whazzit look like?" he replied, puzzled.
"Well, um, it's green and.." Words failed me. The baggy clothed student cocked his head to the side and rolled his eyes and said.
"howm I supposed to find that. It's ALL green out dere!"
"Okay I'll come with you" I said, slightly bitter because I did not want to leave the stove. We shuffled out into the field, and I felt my bitterness fade as I watched the kid bend down and pick the leaves I pointed to. He brought them to his nose and sniffed a little.
"Damn, that smells goooood" he said (I didn't want to break the moment to scold him for swearing, so I let it slide). We filled our basket with basil, and went back into the kitchen. He clutched a sprig of basil in his hand for the entire rest of the day, wafting it in front of his friends, braving the risk of being taunted, and teaching them how to read in the language of food.

B is for basil and burdock

Kinpira Gobo
Peel and shred (using the shredder attachment on a food processor makes this process easy)
3 burdock root pieces (about 1 foot long)
5 large sweet carrots
In a large frying pan, heat
1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 Tbsp grapeseed oil (or just use 2 Tbsp toasted sesame if you love the flavor)
add the shredded burdock and carrot and
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp mirin
cook for about 15 min on medium to high heat, stirring constantly. Turn the heat off and add 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds and 1 tsp rice vinegar
This is a slightly different version of the traditional Japanese dish, I am told that the Japanese do not use vinegar and add a bit of sugar to their recipe.

Basil and citrus honey mustard dressing on chopped romaine
In a large salad bowl, whisk
the juice from 1 lemon
the juice from 1/2 orange
2 tsp honey
2 tsp grey poupon Dijon mustard (I considered using wasabi, but I couldn't find any in my cupboard)
1 1/2 tsp french basil
1/2 tsp ume plum vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp chopped leeks
When the dressing is thoroughly mixed, add about 1/2 a large bunch of chopped romaine lettuce. Season with salt and pepper (and orange zest if you want to get fancy)

Salmon
Rinse and pat with a paper towel until it is EXTREMELY dry 12 oz of salmon (assuming 2 very hungry people are eating this dinner) Now, here is my salmon trick. Coat the bottom of your frying pan with olive oil, and heat the pan until it is really hot, almost smoking. Place the whole fish face down in the oil and immediately shuffle the pan a little so it doesn't stick. It is really important that the fish is dry, because otherwise the oil will pop up and burn you (and you get a better brown that way). Cook for about 1 min, then flip to the skin side and do the same thing. Remove from the pan and place into a baking dish. Squeeze the juice from 1 orange on top. Add the whites from 2 leeks, some salt, pepper, and orange zest. Shake about 1/2 tsp of soy sauce on top. Sprinkle lightly with brown sugar (as though it were salt). Bake at 350 for about 15 min (or 12-18 min, less if you prefer it pink, more if you like it a little well).

Enjoy!

Christina's vote: I would consider doing time for this dinner.

The co-op shopper vegetable soup

“Just to clarify, how much of the flour do you use for the ravioli?” said the smokey voiced newspaper editor on the other end of the line. I paced nervously around the living room, a hot phone glued to one ear causing a stream of sweat to form at the base of my ponytail-lifted temple. “Um, well you won’t end up using the whole pile, it really depends on the weather..just enough until the dough is sticky” I said, feeling stupid. “People will follow your directions EXACTLY” she said “you need to give precise directions, and we don’t have the space to explain all that” I began wishing I were more careful in recording my recipes, more organized.

“I loved that soup you made last week” our friend Gerry said “and I wanted to make it, but the recipe looks difficult to follow”

I am reminded of the saying: when one person tells you that you have a tail it is probably not worth worrying too much about, but when two people tell you you have a tail you better check to see if it’s true. The good news is, once the tail is identified, something can be done about it. One could accentuate one's tail, cutting slits in the backs of their pants so that the tail could break into the light of day and be waved around free in the wind. In the case of my recipe vagueness, embracing the quality is extremely tempting (who wants to bother with bookkeeping in the kitchen?). It is not very useful, however, and does not fall in line with what I am trying to do.

"What ARE you trying to do Emily?" I ask myself.

If I had a mission statement, it would sound something like this: “To try to inspire people to cook at home, and to inspire the home chef with ideas about how to palatably use fresh produce in everyday cooking.” While sharing my love of food, some stories, and some vague recipe ideas is nice, and entertaining for me, it is not incredibly useful if my recipes can't be replicated. Thus, I have lined up the measuring cups like soldiers ready for battle. I have a pen and some paper on my kitchen counter. I have called in for the backup set of measuring spoons. I am ready to face my tail head-on, and to begin a new phase of blogging. The mission: to share love, stories, AND recipes that are easy to follow.

On a side note, today is my father’s birthday. I got a lump in my throat while talking to him on the phone this morning, as he told me about what everyone ordered at his birthday dinner last night. I wished I could have been there, but he lives halfway across the continent. The people in my family have very different tastes and dietary restrictions, and finding something that can be enjoyed by everyone can be extremely difficult.

Macrobiotic, paleo, vegan, vegetarian, gluten, casein, soy free, Midwestern-New England vegetable soup. This recipe has a lot of ingredients, however I made sure to record careful measurements of everything I put in, so hopefully it will be easy to follow!

The stock

In a stock pot, add:

2 small yellow onions, chopped

½ Tbsp salt

1 cup water

4 cloves garlic, mashed

bring to a simmer. Prepare the remaining vegetables while the first group of vegetables simmer (about 10 min). Roughly chop and add:

1 cup white mushrooms

½ package of celery

6 carrots

½ Tbsp salt (again)

8 cups water

4 Thai basil leaves

1 Tbsp four peppercorn blend

Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) for 1 hour. After the hour is up, turn off the heat, strain the stock, return it to the burner and begin the soup.

In a medium sized soup pot, add:

1 Tbsp olive oil

½ tsp salt

½ small yellow onion, diced

½ large russet potato, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced (the smell that reminds me of college)

¼ rutabaga, peeled and diced

2 cups stock

simmer, covered, while you prepare the remaining vegetables (about 10 min)

Add:

5 white mushrooms, diced

1 zucchini, diced

¼ cup cauliflower, broken into small pieces

2 more cups stock

simmer covered for about 10 min. Then add:

12 ounces crushed tomatoes (I used a can of organic, seasoned with basil)

1 tsp dill

¼ tsp white pepper

½ tsp french basil

½ tsp cumin

½ tsp salt

the remaining stock

Simmer for 15-20 min, covered

garnish with 2 chopped green onions and 1 bunch chopped Thai basil

~enjoy

Valentines Day Miso Soup

“I am getting a double chin” I whined, one crisp winter morning while gazing into the bedroom mirror. Christina was sitting up on the bed, her neck and shoulders scrunched against the wall.
“You’ve always had a double chin” she said, in the tone a person takes when they have grown all too accustomed to calming a loved one’s neurotic hyperactive sense of vanity.
“really?” I said. “always?”
“Yes” she replied, “it’s like baby fat”
“Baby fat??” I said, horrified by the words.
“yeah, it’s cute” she replied.
When Christina says things like this, she completely interrupts my self loathing. She crashes my pity party. It’s like she is hovering over my shoulder, waiting for me to reach my hand over to touch a hot stove and then WHAP, she slaps my hand away. I wake up from my trance, both more in tune with reality and less afraid of it.

It is exactly the opposite of what I was inviting her to say. Instead of denying my foibles she says “let me get a better look at that” and then “oh yeah, that’s a bad one.. and I love you even more” How can a person hate anything about themselves in the presence of such love?

When I was younger, I didn’t believe in romantic love. When a boy would tell me he loved me, I would respond with some ridiculous task, some quest to make him prove his feelings. Fortunately for me, the proving of love is just the sort of adventure that young men seem to enjoy. It rouses their competitive instinct, else I doubt that any of them would have put up with me.
“I love you” He would say.
“You don’t really love me” I would respond “you love the idea of loving someone”

My first boyfriend brought chocolates or jewelry to my locker every morning. The second started a fight in my honor in the playground. Of course playground love isn’t real love. It is not even a real drama, more like a rehearsal of lines with the professionalism of a Christmas pageant. Throughout my early twenties, I wore my relationships like an over sized costume, too immature to grasp that their was something more meaningful in love than the satiation of my ego. I didn’t stop doubting the sincerity of love until I met Christina. Her incredible ability to laugh at herself, to turn a mountain back into a molehill, makes me willing to share myself out loud. Perhaps it is my own sincerity that has relieved me of my skepticism, but with Christina I have no doubt of love. Happy Valentines day everyone!

Extra Rich Miso Soup
With mushrooms, tofu, and edemame

Dashi
(do not be afraid of the fish flakes in this recipe, you will scarcely notice the fishiness in the flavor of the soup..although the smell of fish will permeate your kitchen…still the fish adds a richness that would be hard to get without adding them)
8 cups water
2, 4 inch sheets Kombu
¼ cup anchovy bonito (fish flakes)

Soak the kombu in cold water for 45 min-1 hour. Then bring slowly to a boil, removing the kombu before the boiling starts (when the little bubbles form). Add the fish flakes and boil for 5 min. Turn off the heat, leaving the pot on the burner and cover for 15 min. Strain through a Paper towel (Viva brand works well for this), or fine mesh cloth.
Soup
½ large yellow onion sliced thin
1/3 package firm tofu cubed small
mushrooms (I used 6 oyster and 3 shitake), diced
edemame (optional)
3 Tbsp mild white miso (or 2 Tbsp dark miso)
1 Tbsp butter or oil
Wakame (dried and shredded)

Make dashi above, and keep warm on the stove. Add the wakame (optional if you like seaweed in your soup). Remove a steaming cup of the liquid and stir the miso paste in. Then pour the melted paste into the rest of the broth.
In a separate pan, heat a little oil or butter. Add onions and mushrooms and cook until they soften. Add tofu. Cook until heated through and add to the soup. Garnish with shelled edemame (optional)