Radicchio: Garden Series Part X

This will likely wrap up my 2013 garden series, which I'm happy to report was ten posts in total.

I finally made it out to the garden to clean it up a couple weeks ago, before the real winter weather rolled in. Under the mass of dried and dead tomato vines and the pole bean hedge, I found that I still had plenty of Swiss chard, sage, parsley, and thyme (no rosemary).  And radicchio!  What a beauty!

In standard store-bought salad mixes, I am not a huge fan of the thick, bitter leaves.  And although Italian eat radicchio regularly (hence its Italian name- and those are hard Cs there), I totally grew this one for its looks and it didn't disappoint.  It starts out as a hardy green that forms a head.  At one point, I tried sautéing these green leaves with salt and olive oil, but the dish was too bitter to eat - so much so, I started to wonder if the plant is actually poisonous at this stage.

Then I left the plants to themselves and they started turning their famous deep purple at the veins and edges. Quite beautiful, really.  I decided that once they turned full purple, I would try grilling or braising them... something to get some char on the cut side and to be served with vinaigrette.  It worked.

SIMPLE RADICCHIO, BROWNED AND DRESSED

• 1 small head radicchio (or endive or romaine hearts)
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup balsamic or apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 t. dijon mustard
• More salt and pepper, to taste
• Parmesan cheese, to garnish (optional)
• Polenta-No Burns, No Mess (optional serving suggestion)

Peel outer leaves off of the radicchio until you reach the clean, tight inner leaves.  Trim stem end and slice lengthwise in half.

Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet (this skillet should have a lid that fits it for later) over medium-high heat.  Once hot, place the radicchio in the skillet, cut sides down.  Allow to sizzle for a minute, reduce heat to medium-low and cover.  Allow to cook for about 2-3 minutes and turn off heat. The radicchio will release a lot of moisture, so to avoid oil splatter, you can leave the skillet covered until sizzling subsides.

Meanwhile, put 1/4 cup olive oil and vinegar into a Mason jar or similar container. Add mustard, a pinch of salt, and a few grinds of black pepper.  Seal jar and shake well.

Remove the radicchio from skillet using tongs and place on top of polenta (or by itself on a plate). Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with vinaigrette (you'll have plenty leftover for future salads), and top with parmesan. The radicchio will still be slightly bitter, but should be balanced with the vinaigrette and have some nice, crispy edges from the browning.  Enjoy!

Eating Well

Well, maybe.  We humans can't quite figure out this very basic survival instinct, can we?

Having read multiple books and watched documentaries and listened to lectures and so on, it seems that we are very confused what how to eat well.  No matter how much we praise things like flax today, tomorrow it will be deemed over-estrogenic and out out out!  And it is generally well-known these days that low-fat diets lead to weight instability (and inhibit healthy brain function) and that once-vilified butter is way better for you than trans-fatty margarine. It seems to me that keeping it simple is the way to go.

Of course, I'm not the first person to notice this (thank you Michael Pollan, personal idol).

And I mean simple in a variety of ways.  Unless we have diagnosed health problems, our nutrition should not be so complex that we cannot figure it out for ourselves - after learning the basics, of course. It should also not be so strict that we can never indulge.  I call this the Mental Happiness-Body Forgiveness Principle (actually, I don't and just made up that term right now).  If I don't feel like a bad person for enjoying a slice of birthday cake or poorly planning my day's food plan, I will probably feel good and healthy afterwards.

And our food should generally be simple, too.  Limiting pre-packaged and processed foods makes a huge difference, which throws a wrench into the simplicity of planning meals. Now, understand that I make complicated foods at home, like gumdrops and marshmallows.  Each of these require a couple of processed ingredients that I wouldn't suggest eating all of the time, like carageenan gel and boxed pectin, and well, sugar, albeit organic and fair trade.

People tend to make the assumption that I have a sugar addiction, which is not true.  Sure, I enjoy sugary treats, but for me candy works perfectly. If I want something sweet, a couple of pieces of candy quenches the desire and I'm done with it.  I understand that having candy around doesn't work like that for everyone, though.

So why am I offering this diatribe?

I just finished with the main phase of testing my food sensitivities.  And speaking of simplicity, this was an inordinately complex process. Each day started with a large glass of water and liver-support tea before eating anything.  And before coffee.  I also tend to skip breakfast normally, so I had to get on schedule.  Breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner were all planned and balanced and, thankfully, good.  But I did have to make and pack all of my food, every day.

Water is calculated on individual body weight, daily weather, and activity level.  It's a normal amount of water, but I needed to drink steadily throughout the day and not save it all for the evening like I tend to do.

I also needed to take a probiotics supplement.  I should start by stating that I feel weird about supplements - or anything that is expensive and takes weeks to work, if it does at all, and offers no proof of success. And the whole Butter-Margarine-Butter Problem (also just made that up), in which a wonderful new supplement is considered poison a year later (fish oil, I'm looking at you).  But probiotics are awesome.

Without getting too detailed, taking a program of probiotics does wonders if your systematic yeast is off.  I will try to keep this short, especially if you've seen Gentlemen Broncos and would rather never hear the word "yeast" again. Basically, because I've taken antibiotics a couple of times in the past year, my bacterial balance was thrown off.  I cannot believe how much better I feel after the probiotics.  It worked within two weeks and now I'm done with them until the next time I notice symptoms.


Anyway, I felt great for the duration of this process.  I'm currently taking a three day break to enjoy the holiday weekend and eat some treats, but now I have a common sense plan to go back to.  Here it is:

• Eat three meals a day, plus a snack and a small dessert.
• Lunch and dinner should be mostly vegetables, some cooked and some raw.  Don't eat anything raw that doesn't sound appealing raw.  (That's my takeaway, since raw zucchini sounded gross and it was gross and it made me feel gross.)
• Remember to include protein. Fat, too, but I was already on board with that.
• Remember to eat fruit (I'm notoriously bad about actually eating fruit).
• Stop drinking water a few hours before going to bed.
• Stick to olive oil and butter for cooking fats.
• Weigh oneself every morning to collect data on weight gain.  This is for checking water retention (read: inflammation), not actual weight.
• Keep track of other negative responses to food, like upset stomach, increase in seemingly-unrelated health issues, traditional allergic reactions, or skin irritation.
• Continue to make meals look appealing and attractive and enjoy them.
• Don't worry about it.

These guidelines allow me to feel well and determine if a new food is something I react to.  Or that something that is commonly reactive is fine for me, like wheat or dairy (YES!).

So here's a balanced meal that makes me feel good.  Hopefully it makes you feel good, too.


A BALANCED VEGETARIAN DINNER

• olive oil
• onion, sliced hull-to-hull
• carrots, diced
• beet (here I used a candy-stripe or "chioggia" beet), diced
• zucchini, diced
• 2-4 shiitake mushrooms, sliced
• kale, chopped
• handful of mixed greens per serving
• apple, diced
• 2 ounces cheese, diced (I used blue cheese) (optional)
• 1 ounce goat cheese, per serving (or 2-3 ounces if not using other cheese)
• balsamic vinegar
• dried cherries or cranberries, handful per serving (optional)
• pepitas or sunflower seeds, handful per serving
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat a tablespoon-ish of olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add onion and sauté until softened, then add carrots and beets.  Once softened, add zucchini and shiitakes.  Continue to sauté until all vegetables are cooked through and slightly browned on the edges.  Season with salt and pepper, toss, and add kale.  Stir in gently and cook until kale is bright green.  Put about half of this on a plate and top with goat cheese and seeds.

Place mixed greens in a bowl and  top with apple, cheese, and dried fruit.  In a jar, pour in equal amounts balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Add a pinch of salt, cover, and shake to emulsify and pour over salad.

Depending on  your opinions about combining apples and dried fruit with everything, you may want to stick with just goat cheese and mix half of the cooked veg directly into the salad.  Top with the goat cheese, vinaigrette, and seeds and dig in.

(About 2 servings)

And finally, don't forget to enjoy these last few weeks of summer!

The Plan, or "Dieting"

I will be the first to tell you, I don't diet.

I'm of healthy weight and like to eat.  General concepts like "everything in moderation" and "eat food, not too much, mostly plants" work better for me than psyllium husks; non-fat, food-like products; and fake sugar.  I find the forced limitations of dieting to be damaging in more ways than beneficial.  Not to mention that the latest new thing will be negated in a few days or years and replaced by the next, with equal and exhausting enthusiasm.

On the other hand, I'm not too fond of my poor complexion or dry eyes or other discomforts that bother me from time to time.  And I have allowed myself to be convinced that if I find which foods might be causing these reactions in my body, I might just be able to clear them up.  How great would that be?

Well, perhaps not so great if it is determined that I react negatively to foods I love.  Like any member of the nightshade family or mushrooms or dairy.  Or wheat.  But, I already do not eat the foods I dislike, so I suppose that the culprits must be ones I enjoy.

Taking in all the factors, I have decided to complete a three-week regimen that is something like a modified elimination diet.  I repeat, I am not interested in losing weight.  I want to reiterate this fact, because I do not have a weight problem and have shocked at least four (well-rounded, intelligent, open-minded) people by stating that I do not have an innate "female" desire to be über-thin and consequentially well-liked by all.  I simply want to be healthy and feel good.

Luckily, the food I am eating throughout the regimen is satisfying.  Whole and low-reactive foods can still be delicious and, well, pretty!  Making my meals look good makes a huge difference when I'm missing lattes and pastries.  Or any of the celebratory LaMar Donuts that my coworkers brought into work last week (they're so good!).  It also helps that if I feel fine after eating wheat and dairy products this week, lattes and pastries are in my near future.  Woo-hoo!

It is somehow comforting that I did not feel fine after eating copious amounts of flax seeds last week.  Ugh.  I am supposed to start my day with a bowlful of "flax granola" (above), which is a morning routine I quickly came to dread...even the prettiness of it couldn't save that one for me.  Then I realized that me practically gagging on the stuff was some sort of a negative reaction and that I should probably eliminate this "fabulous" health food.  Since cutting this part out and replacing it with tasty things, like fruit and Silk Coconut milk, I feel so much better emotionally about breakfast that I feel better physically, too.  Yay!  First "diet" lesson learned.

Everything else has been satisfying and fulfilling.  It feels wonderful to have eaten 99% whole foods for several days, but to also feel full and eat good-tasting meals. It's nice to discover that recipes that sound boring, like julienned carrots and a shredded raw beet (above, with a candy stripe beet from my garden), are actually really great.

I'm learning to put together common-sense, balanced meals and am looking forward to the end of the trial period, when I can start developing my own recipes that are based on a solid, balanced theory of eating.  I think it will lead to some brand-new, delicious recipes for Omnivora!

Most importantly, figuring out what doesn't really work for me doesn't mean that anything is out of my life forever.  I can learn how to manage problematic foods in a way that allows me to enjoy them if I love them.  And that is what eating well is all about, right?



MANGO CUCUMBER SALSA
Adapted from The Plan, by Lyn-Genet Recitas*

• 1 mango, small dice
• 1 pickling or English cucumber, small dice
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 jalapeño
• sea salt
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)

If you have a gas range (and I hope you do!), roast jalapeño over open flame, until well-blistered.  Set aside to cool.

Combine mango, cucumber, and lime juice in a bowl.  Mince jalapeño and stir into salsa, along with cilantro, if using.  Salt to taste and serve with anything you can think of...like fish or other meat, or tortilla chips, or broiled tofu.  It's delicious and you will love it.  I will be making it for an upcoming salsa party.


*The dietary plan I am following is The Plan, by Lyn-Genet Recitas.  I really am having a great time with it and I hope to learn about the foods I don't handle well.  The book is an interesting read, but could use a cookbook editor - planning for The Plan can get out of control.  The website offers shopping lists and alternate menu plans, based on previously held dietary restrictions.  It definitely helps if you like to make spreadsheets and are generally analytical like I am.

Small Towns & Greasy Spoons

I went home again this weekend.

This time the trip was planned well in advance, as it has been a year since my father passed away and we held a small family gathering to honor him and spread his ashes.  I haven't mentioned this part of my life here on Omnivora, because maybe it's too personal and, well, not entirely food-related.

However, I have written about how my mother has shaped my relationship with food in positive ways, and I also have my dad to thank.  He loved food and would try anything.  He appreciated a hard day's work (his hobbies included hunting and ranching), but also the meal to follow it with equal gusto.  He was very much the uncomplaining type and would be happy with a smothered hamburger or a beautiful salad (as long as there was enough of it).

Today, my brother told us about the Canada fishing trips he and my dad took.  They would fish for walleye until they would limit out and then catch a few pike for fun.  And dinner.  One of the regular meals they had with their guides was cornmeal-breaded walleye pan-fried in whale fat and served as a sandwich on white bread with mayonnaise and salt-and-vinegar potato chips.  I cannot tell you how much I want to try that.  Really.  Plus, have you ever had walleye?  Super good.

Oh, and we also did a 10k.  Here.

After spending most of the day in the sun, hiking around the land I grew up on, building physical and emotional memorials for my father with my family, we were all rather hungry.  We went to the only place in town, which happens to have been around my entire life, The Beulah Inn.

It's a small town greasy spoon, complete with dark bar in the back and the occasional "pie lady."  (This time, she was a cake lady.  Ask me if you don't know what I'm talking about...might be a country thing.)  I hadn't been in years, but the visit made me nostalgic and I immediately thought of childhood things like the bi-weekly gymkhana, dancing to the original Cotton-Eye Joe and yelling "bullshit!" when I was too young to be allowed to in real life, and learning how to properly milk a goat.  All things, of course, that are fond memories of my father.

The food is nostalgic, too, and perhaps not just for me.  The fare is standard and traditional, with Colorado touches, like the aforementioned smothered burger and house-made green chile.  The menu has barely changed in decades, which means they still have hand-cut french fries that are worth the drive from town.  But, they have adapted as well, including vegetarian and gluten-free options.  In other words, I am going to add The Beulah Inn to the My-Hometown-Is-Awesome Tour.  Which is already complete with a castle and Moon Rock.  Really.


**I didn't think to take food pictures while we were eating, because I intended to write about something completely different.  But that is best saved for next time.  Once again, for balance and full spectrum.

Get Out of Town!

This past weekend I hightailed it out of the city for some peace and quiet.  And good food.

After my very city weekend last week, I felt the need for balance by having a follow-up rural weekend. Right after work on Saturday, I packed up and went south to my family home to spend time with my mom and to get away from it all.  No sirens, no street lights, no night clubs, no pollution, no arguments with the landlord, no cell phone reception... no gang fights down the block.  Just the mountains, fresh air, rain, and wholesome food.

I've credited my mother for my appreciation of cooking and food in previous posts.  What I may not have mentioned is that she is practically a self-taught nutritionist. I have learned from her more than I even realize about what we eat. When a friend exclaims to me how great it is that bananas are full of potassium or that flax seeds should be ground or soaked for better absorption in the body, I'm surprised that not everyone already knows these things.  In other words, I am very lucky for my food education I received from my mother.  Once again.

So what did we make for dinner?  Seasonal quiche, of course.  Gluten-free, with any and all fresh garden produce we felt like throwing in.  It's lighter than the traditional kind and wide open to adaptation, so it's one of those dishes that is self-contained like a casserole, but not boring.

This time, we used beautiful forbidden rice and white cheddar for the base/crust.  The turnips were from my garden, sweetened and balanced with carrots.  Swiss chard from someone else's local garden topped out our veg. We garnished with a perfect avocado and a slice from the first Japanese Black Trifele heirloom tomato to ripen on the vine.  We ate on the porch overlooking the mountains, enjoying the petrichor after a day of showers.  We did well for ourselves and we ate our vegetables.  And protein.


HIGH COUNTRY QUICHE

• 2 cups cooked rice or quinoa (your choice of variety)
• 4 oz. shredded cheese (cheddar or Monterey Jack are great)
• 1 T. olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1-2 cups root vegetables, chopped, like turnips
• 3 cups greens, trimmed and chopped
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• salt and pepper
• avocado, optional

Press rice or quinoa into the bottom of a quiche dish or deep pie plate (grease it first!).  Sprinkle cheese over it evenly and set aside.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put olive oil and minced garlic in a cold sauté pan and set to medium heat.  When the garlic barely starts to sizzle, add onions and stir a few times.  Add root vegetables and allow to cook for several minutes.  Add salt to season and to draw out some of the moisture.  Do not stir too frequently, in order to get some browning on the vegetables.  When the roots are almost cooked, toss in the greens and cook everything down until you start to see a little caramelization and sticking. This means that enough moisture has cooked out of the vegetables and your quiche won't be waterlogged.

Meanwhile, whisk together eggs and milk.  Add a pinch of salt and few grinds of pepper for good measure.  When the vegetables are cooked, scoop them into the prepared quiche dish and pour over the egg mixture.  Bake for about 45 minutes, until center is set.

Serve with slices of avocado.  And heirloom tomato slices, if you have them.  Next time, switch up your veg, swap out the cheese, and try a different grain.  I love options and renewal...which is the whole theme of a weekend away.

Sunday Dinner

I didn't grow up with Sunday dinners - but I was lucky enough to have a homemade family dinner most every evening.  Very lucky, and I believe this fostered my love for food and cooking.

I found out only a couple of years ago that my mother, who taught me how to cook, grew tired of cooking a long time ago.  I have also come to realize that learning how to cook from one's mother was dying tradition even by the time I was a child.  I value having received the education, and more so before my mother was over the whole thing.

Because normally I am cooking for just myself, I have the option to put together something quickly or make something as elaborate as I choose.  I think that for families, today's world would make it nearly impossible to have family dinner every night.  I wonder if the specialness of Sunday dinners will survive a little longer than the daily grind...

I think that I am increasingly enchanted with the idea of Sunday dinners.  It makes an allowance for a time-consuming, special meal that I can share with loved ones or enjoy in solitude.  It's a chance to impress or to remind - oneself as well as others.  It's like having recital, but takes the pressure off the rest of week by requiring no dress rehearsals.

After a few weeks of eating simply, I decided to make ravioli.  From scratch.  The day was beautiful and my back patio is now in its season.  The garden is brand new, but it's coming along quickly.  (Actually, this photo is from eight days ago and the garden already looks completely different.  Yep, that's compost in the corner.)  Photo courtesy of my dinner guest.

HOMEMADE RAVS, FOR SUNDAYS

• 1/2 recipe fresh lasagne noodles, or fresh pasta dough if you have a pasta machine
• 1 bunch kale or other greens, stemmed, thinly sliced

• 1 pint ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs
• olive oil
• 1/2 t. salt, plus more for pasta water
• a few grinds black pepper
• 1/2 recipe tomato-butter sauce
• parmesan, for serving

Cut the lasagne noodles into square(ish) pieces or roll out your fresh pasta dough and do the same.  If you go with the store-bought fresh lasagne noodles and made the sauce in advance, this could actually be a weeknight meal.

Steam kale and set in strainer in sink to drain well.  Place the ricotta in a medium bowl and crack in both eggs.  Stir to combine well and season with salt and pepper.  Give the drained kale another once over with a knife and stir into ricotta mixture.  Set a large, well-salted pot of water to boil.

Put a spoonful of ricotta mixture in the center of each pasta square. Bring opposite corners together over the filling to create a triangle and press to seal.  If the pasta just doesn't stick to itself, use a little water as a binder.

Once water is boiling, add the ravioli and boil about 5-6 minutes.  When they are done, they will float to the top and have an al dente texture and appearance.  Don't worry, you'll know it when you see it.  Use a "spider" (or large, wide slotted spoon) to gently fish the cooked ravioli out of the water.  Set aside onto a towel-line platter to soak up some of the cooking water.  Serve with a ladle of tomato sauce over each ravioli and a sprinkling of parmesan cheese.

Serves 4, or 2 with lunch leftovers.

P.S.  Happy Memorial Day!  I don't know how to grill, so you get pasta instead.

Easiest, Quickest Drop Biscuits

Seriously, you can make the batter in less time than it takes to preheat the oven.

Now, I grew up in a small mountain town in Colorado and biscuits were not a common addition to our meals.  But when I am craving a little snack or quick dessert, drop biscuits have become a go-to dish.  They are great warm with butter.  And with jam or apple butter for a sweeter note.

They are not fancy, but they are just what you might want when you start thinking about it.  All warm from the oven, with butter melting into the crumb... so good!  And all in about the time you can brew a cup of tea to go with them.

QUICK DROP BISCUITS

• 2 cups flour
• 1 T. baking powder
• 1/2 t. salt
• 1/2 cup butter, cold
• 1 1/4 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Set out two baking sheets, line with parchment paper or foil.

In a medium bowl, whisk flour, powder, and salt together with a pastry blender (or fork).  Cut in cold butter with the pastry blender (or fork), until butter is cut into pieces the size of peas.  Measure out milk, but leave in measuring cup.

Once the oven reaches temperature, stir milk into flour mixture.  Once well combined, scoop large spoonfuls onto the baking sheets.  You can use two spoons for less mess.  Measure out about six on each sheet and bake for 10-14 minutes, until edges start to turn golden.  Let cool slightly and dive right in.  It's that simple.  Really.