(Photo: Ann Grummon, www.6acrestudio.com)
As life has gotten bigger and wilder in the last few weeks, my mind has become full of untamed beasts, all clamoring for my undivided attention. I have spent the last few days trying to wrestle each of these beasts into cages, to no avail. They will be wild. So, rather than a trip to the zoo, how about a little safari through life in its natural habitat? Here we go.
Posted by realfoodroad on May 18, 2013
http://realfoodroad.com/2013/05/18/quests/
The Share, L to R: Potatoes, Butternut Squash, Red Peppers, Eggplant, Pumpkin, Jalapenos, Salad Mix. I love the colors here!
Posted by realfoodroad on September 26, 2012
http://realfoodroad.com/2012/09/26/csa-share-15-and-gleaning-endings-and-beginnings/
L to R: Cilantro, Basil, Parsley, Lettuce, Chives, Bell Peppers, Eggplant, Radishes, Tomatoes, Garlic Chives, Pickling Cucumbers, Rosemary, Kale, Yellow Squash, Zucchini, Salad Mix.
Posted by realfoodroad on July 12, 2012
http://realfoodroad.com/2012/07/12/csa-share-4-and-blueberries/
Getting the most out of every bite of food I put in my mouth helps me fight the urge to graze my way through the kitchen. When I say “the most”, I mean the most flavor, texture, and nutrition bang for the calorie buck. One way to add layers of flavor and texture easily is to toast.
Posted by realfoodroad on July 6, 2012
http://realfoodroad.com/2012/07/06/rule-of-the-road-2-toast-it/
So yesterday was my birthday, and naturally my thoughts turned to…
Weight Loss.
(Sigh)
Another year older, and those unwanted pounds seem harder and harder to shed. You would think I would have no problem with my weight, with all the healthy, seasonal, local fruits and vegetables I eat. Well, it wouldn’t be a problem, if that were all that I ate.
But it isn’t.
Posted by realfoodroad on June 24, 2012
http://realfoodroad.com/2012/06/24/fooding-let-me-explain/
Rhubarb and strawberries are soulmates, and they’re in season right now in New England. Both of their seasons are short, so don’t wait. Get out there and get yours. Strawberries that are local and in season taste nothing like their flavor-pale cousins shipped into your grocery store at all times of the year. Local strawberries are a true local delicacy. The strawberries grown in New Hampshire taste entirely differently than the strawberries grown in California (I know, I taste-tested them last year on our family trip), even when the Cali strawberries are eaten fresh-picked and local. The soil and water matter.
Typically, even though it’s botanically a vegetable, rhubarb is used as a fruit, in desserts and jams, and strawberries come along for that ride, because they bring needed sweetness and juiciness to the party. I wanted to shake that up a little bit this week, and find some savory ways to play with both of these lovely, pretty-in-pink-and-red beauties.
Posted by realfoodroad on June 2, 2012
http://realfoodroad.com/2012/06/02/rhubarb-and-strawberries/
First, a completely gratuitous picture of The Dog, 8 months old and such a good girl!
Completely unrelated to my last post, merely coincidental, I have re-upped on the Big Double-W to lose some of the stress weight I’ve gained in the last three years. The plan has changed a lot since I last used it, and I could really use some structure to get me back on track (read: stop me binging on bread products and butter all day long). The plan offers up some meal ideas to get beginners started on the road to more nutritional bang for their caloric buck. But I am no beginner.
Posted by realfoodroad on February 27, 2012
http://realfoodroad.com/2012/02/27/i-never-could-leave-well-enough-alone/
Ok, so I didn’t think I had anything to say about this, but I realized I actually do have a lot to say, because I understand what living with diabetes is like, and because I just really dislike mean people.
You may be aware that Paula Deen recently shared her diagnosis of diabetes with the viewing and eating public. She may have timed it poorly by also announcing her partnership with Novo Nordisk, a maker of diabetic supplies. She and her sons are developing recipes for the Novo Nordisk website, as well as endorsing their products. Well, you may also be aware that, because she didn’t mention her diagnosis for three years (and why it’s any of our business still eludes me), lots of stuff hit the fan, with folks all over the web blaming Paula Deen for how other grownup people who can cook and eat whatever they want, cook and eat her fine, fine Southern recipes. Somehow, Paula Deen is at fault for all those grownup people who chose, of their own free will, to try out some of her unabashedly full-octane fat/sugar/flour delectables.
What you may not know, is that there is this bizzare, on-again, off-again, feud going on between Deen and another food personality, chef Anthony Bourdain. He has no problem being publicly rude to her on social media and in print. Well, in what I can only call an effort to attract attention to himself, Bourdain tweeted another completely unnecessary rude remark about Deen this week.
Posted by realfoodroad on February 26, 2012
http://realfoodroad.com/2012/02/26/anthony-bourdain-im-calling-you-out/
Aaaannd…we’re back. I have an experiment for you to try at home. I tried it and was quite surprised at the result.
We have been consumers of a particular “buttery spread” that gives the impression of being real food because it is “made with yogurt”. It’s also made with partially hydrogenated soybean oil, mono and diglycerides, and artificial flavors. But it’s tasty, and made it through initial scrutiny because I thought it would help me lose weight…yeah.
We also have salted and unsalted butter in the fridge. Why do I have both real and fake butter in the house? You can’t bake with fake butter, the recipes don’t come out right, and we like real butter on our real popcorn, popped in a pan on our stovetop. I also like to finish sauces with butter, and cook eggs in a bit of butter.
Measure out a tablespoon of whatever “buttery spread” you’ve got in the house, and then measure out a tablespoon of butter. You’ll notice (I hope!) that that’s a lot of butter/spread, more than you will use on a piece of toast, for example. Yet that is the “serving size” commonly referred to on labels and on weight loss plans.
So, back to the experiment. Put two pieces of that real bread you now have in the house (right?) in the toaster, and toast it up just how you like it. Spread as much spread as you normally would on one piece of toast, and as much butter as it takes to cover the other piece of toast the same way (it will help if your butter is soft and spreadable, like the spread). Unless you are toasting humongous slices of bread, you probably used about a teaspoon to a teaspoon and a half.
The eye-opener: I used a teaspoon of each on my toast slices. At that serving size, the “point” value difference per serving on my weight loss plan was only .5-yep, that’s 1/2 a point. The difference in taste, well, as you might expect, I preferred the buttered toast. It was more satisfying in my mouth, and I felt I enjoyed it more, which is a significant weight loss factor, mouth-feel satisfaction. The taste of the spread is pleasing, but is also industrially engineered to be exactly that. So you might actually be tempted to eat more of the spread, than the butter.
For the explanation of this claim, I direct you to a post on La Vida Locavore, a very good food blog. Jill Richardson discusses the book “The End Of Overeating” , and the fact that we are wired to enjoy certain flavors, and how the food industry has profited by producing foods that are hypertasty. I haven’t read the book, but it sounds like a good one to pick up. Jill also relates some of her own experiences with food that rang true for me, too.
So, enjoy your toast, and when your buttery spread is used up, get some butter instead. In moderation, it’s a perfectly wonderful real food.
Disclaimer: As if it isn’t patently obvious, I am not a doctor. Please do not confuse my passionate opinion for medical advice. Please. Because it’s not.
Posted by realfoodroad on September 19, 2009
http://realfoodroad.com/2009/09/19/i-cant-believe-i-stopped-eating-butter/
Remember the Velveteen Rabbit?
The Velveteen Rabbit was looked down upon by the other fancier, more modern toys, that believed they were “real”. He was seen as shabby and “not real” because he was a simple, old-fashioned toy. But the old Skin Horse shared his wisdom with the VR, telling him the real secret to being “real” was to be really and truly loved.
Well, as you know, the VR does get really and truly loved by his boy, and in the process gets covered in nasty scarlet fever germs and tossed in the bonfire pile. Along the way, he meets some living rabbits, and finally understands he can’t be real unless he is alive. Thankfully for those of us who love happy endings, the Nursury Magic Fairy grants the VR his wish before the bonfire is lit.
Real food is like the Velveteen Rabbit. For decades, grocery stores have been filling with convenience foods, instant foods, and imitation foods, pushing raw, fresh real foods off the shelves. Think about this the next time you walk into your grocery store: the produce, fresh meats, cheeses and dairy products, as well as the deli counter, fish counter and bakery, are along the walls. What’s filling up the rest of that valuable real estate? For a long time now, cooking “from scratch” has been seen as old-fashioned, a time-consuming (read: wasting) chore, definitely not modern. Convenience foods are the height of modern, the latest artificial flavor or color, packaging not to be ignored, quick, easy, and well, convenient to the “modern cook on the go”. Taking advantage of our desire to save time, work, and money, and of our attraction to the new and different, the food industry has convinced us to throw real food on the bonfire pile.
Real food is food that is or has recently been alive. It is food that we “really and truly love” by sniffing, touching, washing, peeling, chopping, tasting, cooking, savoring. When was the last time you picked up and sniffed a big beautiful lump of monosodium glutamate, disodium guanylate, and hydrolyzed corn protein, to enjoy its fresh fragrance and glorious color? Right.
In his excellent book, “In Defense of Food”, author Michael Pollan gives many suggestions on how to identify and eat real food, but one of the most simple and easy to apply is:
“Don’t eat anything your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.”
Time to play Grocery Magic Fairy and rescue real food from the bonfire. Start small: read the label on your bread. Your great-grandmother’s bread recipe had flour, yeast, sugar, milk or water, salt and maybe an egg for tenderness. Maybe some oatmeal for texture and flavor. What’s in your bread?
Before your head explodes when you think of making all your own bread, breathe. You don’t have to do that. There are breads in the grocery store that are pretty close to your great-grandmother’s bread. Just read the label before you toss it in your cart. The store’s fresh-baked bread is probably not too far off the mark; you can always ask them what’s in it. With allergies on the rise, food sellers are used to this question. Another (really delicious) option is a local bakery. Bread is usually baked fresh each day; day-old bread, just as delicious, can often be had at half-price, and you’re supporting a local business that will actually appreciate your patronage. Not only is that real food, it’s local food too. Bonus!
Now, go love some food and make it real.
Posted by realfoodroad on September 11, 2009
http://realfoodroad.com/2009/09/11/what-makes-food-real/
