So often we look at cooking as a chore, something to get through. And sometimes it really feels like it after a hard day, no doubt. But even the Top Chefs of the world, whose kitchens full of line cooks with laser-like precision and focus, can get sentimental about cooking. How? Family. Thomas Keller of famed restaurants The French Laundry in Napa and Per Se in New York is the embodiment of perfectionism in the kitchen. Recipes in his French Laundry cookbook can take hours to prepare. Yet when his long-lost marine father came back into his life recently, he cooked him a simple meal of BBQ chicken with collard greens and strawberry shortcake. What could be more satisfying?
Even Thomas Keller has become a little more casual by recognizing what's important in life, and it has been reflected in his new, more casual restaurants. When we cook at home, it is often an expression of love. It doesn't have to be complicated, it just has to be done by you to be special to the people who receive it.
Cooking is the only art form that literally becomes part of every cell in our body. And to say food is just about vitamins and antioxidants is really selling food and ourselves short on many levels. The care with which a meal is made tells us intuitively that we're getting something good.
A pleasurable experience with those whom we love while we're eating lowers our stress levels and increases our digestion. According to Marc David of the Slow Down Diet, the cephalic part of our brain that registers the aromas, textures, presentation and whole dining experience comprises anywhere between 30-70% of digestion. So don't rush through it.
Keller's story is a great reminder to take time today to appreciate what you do when it comes to nourishing yourself. Choose dining companions you enjoy or be by yourself for much-needed solitude. Even if what you're eating isn't "perfect", be grateful and enjoy the experience. As with food, your body, and your life, it's the thought that counts.
That's the first thing my husband and I said when we had these roasted pumpkin seeds fresh out of the oven...they're better than popcorn!
When you're carving pumpkins or squash this season, save the seeds for this yummy and nutritious treat. Here's how:
Boil fresh pumpkin or squash seeds in
salted water for about 5 minutes. Drain seeds; spread out on cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Sprinkle seeds generously with superfine sea salt and bake 20-30
minutes at 325 degrees until seeds are dried out and are very slightly
browned. Some may even pop like popcorn when you take them out of the oven.
With the holidays just around the corner, it's that time of year again to be cooking up squash. I'm going to share with you a way to cook almost any squash without all the effort of peeling and chopping. How?
Pumpkins and squash come in a variety of sizes from large to small and wide to narrow. For a pumpkin, take a sharp, long chef's knife and place it on it's side so that the stem is parallel to the counter. Using a substantial and sharp chef's knife, chop it in half cross-wise through the pumpkin (not through the stem!). Scoop out the seeds using a grapefruit knife (or Williams-Sonoma has this neat-o gadget) and set aside.
Place pumpkin or squash open face down into a roasting pan filled with about 1/2" - 1" of water. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 minutes (for a small delicata squash) or 50 minutes (for a 2 1/2-lb sugar pie pumpkin). Pumpkin is done when you can easily squeeze the sides while still in the pan or when you can very easily slide a spoon through the flesh.
See tomorrow's blog to learn how to roast the seeds....it's better than popcorn...mmmm delish!
For Facebook friends, this blog is originally at www.SandraKeros.com/blog and www.SandraKeros.com/recipes
Sometimes making someone smile gets the point across better than preaching "what's good for ya". Here's a fun, short European video that I guarantee will make you smile.
My sister Leslie, a classically trained pianist-turned-editor-turned-mom, sent this to me. If this makes you smile, then please spread the good word, my friends!
Being sick is no fun. And putting others at risk is...well, risky.
The New York Times reported today that in New York State, a judge halted mandatory vaccinations of health care workers. Nurses, teachers and other public workers are suing the state under the premise of civil rights infringement. It seems as though not wanting a vaccine could mean losing their job. Is this fair?
Doctors on both sides of the debate end up confusing the public. Some say that vaccines are being produced so fast with higher than "safe" levels of mercury that they can put us at risk for onset or delayed brain injury, even autism. On the other hand, doctors on TV are strongly telling us to vaccinate to prevent widespread flu.
In the end, we want an external authority to tell us: yes or no to vaccinations. However, as much as I have wanted to find that authority, he/she/it doesn't really exist. Doctors are people and they make decisions based on information given, while others question that information in the first place. I believe that each of us has a responsibility to gather and make sense of information collected from a variety of sources and make a decision right for you.
My own research has led me to forgo the flu shot and focus more on eating quality, farm-fresh in-season organically grown/raised food and to actively reduce stress as much as possible. I have provided some articles below as a suggestion of where you could start on your own research.
Whether or not you choose to vaccinate yourself or your children you should be aware of something that the media is NOT discussing. That is, when you eat naturally grown foods in season and lay off stimulants like sugar, caffeine and many of the additives in convenience foods, then your body adjusts to the demands of your environmental conditions and you stay well. Not that anyone needs to be "perfect" about the foods they eat, but building healthy habits over time builds your immune system so you are naturally prone to health.
Here is some recommended reading on the subject of vaccinations:
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/09/26/Flu-Vaccine-Exposed.aspx
http://www.momsagainstmercury.org/mercury.htm
http://www.jsonline.com/news/29295284.html
http://www.cdc.gov/FLU/ABOUT/QA/thimerosal.htm
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/health/16vaccine.html?_r=1
http://blogs.healthfreedomalliance.org/blog/2009/10/08/the-great-swine-flu-mystery/
Anything one can do to help a small farmer in need is a good deed indeed. Especially when great food is involved.
Il Cane Rosso, a casual rotisserie and sandwich shop in the Ferry Building, hosted a special fundraising dinner last night to help Soul Food Farm in Vacaville get back on its feet after a devastating fire in September.
On the menu: an ingenious Bloody Mary Salad (heirloom tomatoes topped with celery-horseradish vinaigrette) to start, followed by a perfectly roasted sliced top sirloin by Prather Ranch, comfort-lovin' Heirloom Organics potato gratin, and Dirty Girl Farm tomato-braised romano beans with a glass of Dumol 2006 Pinot Noir from Sonoma. Many of the farms came together to donate the food; and portions were so generous I had enough leftover to take home (but I ended up giving it to a homeless man outside the Muni station).
At the end I savored a couple bites of fresh warm Devoto Gardens apple cake while oohing and aahhing over the entire dinner experience with the folks next to me. Having quality farm fresh food, excellent wine, and great convo with food-lovin' folks is a wonderful way to toast to the farmers and the chefs who support them so that we all can keep enjoying real food grown and raised the right way. And for 50 bucks in San Francisco, this was a great deal, especially as a fundraiser.
I used to nod my head in disbelief at my brother when he would buy yet another cymbal for his drum set(s) or "crucial" part or tool for one of his many motorcycles. However, when it comes to the kitchen, I can be just as guilty. After all, tools are a lot of fun to play with - but - too many can clog your drawers and give you more items to clean.
Here are $150 worth of kitchen tools that you can easily do without:
Stainless steel soap bar. This is supposed to remove the smell of garlic and onion from your hands. It works, however, you can simply rub your fingers up and down the large stainless steel section of your chef's knife for the same effect. Herb and onion chopper. Once you peel and chop an onion in half - or rinse and pat dry fresh herbs - it doesn't take much longer to chop them yourself, unless your chef's knife is dull or you're feeding an army solo (then a food processor might help). No need for extra cleanup. Avocado slicer. Sure, this may make slicing an avocado happen in one fell swoop, but unless you're doing 20 avocados in one sitting, you're just fine using a knife (to cut in half & score the flesh) and spoon (to scoop out). Mushroom brush. Shhh, I still own this little guy but I never use it. Simply dampen a paper towel or towel and wipe off the excess dirt on a mushroom and you're done. Egg separator. Great intention, but another drawer clogger. The sides of the egg shell are well designed to separate an egg white from its yolk. Electric can opener. Does anyone still use this? My grandma had one but that was back in the '70's when I think they might have first come out. Then again, it's probably good, though, if you have arthritis.
And the most expensive item on the list... Electric Carving Knife. Just shoot me so it's over.
When my family moved from suburban Detroit to rural New Hampshire before my sophomore year in high school, I used to think that farm life wasn't as "cool" as fast-paced city life. Old farms on the way to town were worn down and dilapidated, almost abandoned looking. Nothing going on there, it seemed.
Boy have things changed in the big city and on the farm. Today, farmers are the stars of popular movies like Fresh and Food Inc. Urban community gardens are popping up in abandoned lots. Buying vegetable starts at the farmers' market to grow either with neighbors or on one's windowsill has become a chic trend.
The other weekend in NH, I was driving around familiar roads that I hadn't been on in years. I noticed that the old farms I overlooked in high school now had parking lots filled with families bustling around baskets of apples, ice cream and shelves filled with locally-grown handmade epicurean delights. My favorites stops were at Gould Hill Farm, Beech Hill Barn, and Diamond Hill Farm, but there are so many more that I wished I could have seen.
You can check out places to pick you own produce and unwind in bucolic bliss anywhere in the U.S. at www.pickyourown.org. It's a really nice trip down memory lane, even if you didn't pick your own apples as a kid.
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