An Amazing Surprise **RECIPE ALERT**

To continue my penance to you all for having taken such a long hiatus, I wanted to share an amazing recipe that you should all go make RIGHT NOW.

Do you ever have one of those kinds of cooking adventures where you think, "Hey, this recipe kinda looks nice," and then you proceed to be blown away by how incredible it is? Oohing and aaawing through every bite? Yeah, this recipe is one of those.

It came about a few weeks ago when we were just loaded up on Swiss chard and leeks from the farm box. We both love chard and leeks and were looking for a recipe where we could use up a whole bunch of either, but ideally both together. Also, being the late eaters we are, on this particular evening we knew we were getting a late start on dinner and needed something relatively fast. I found this recipe for a leek and chard tart and thought it fit the bill perfectly.

And did it ever! This tart was not only quick and easy but the flavors were just astounding. Truthfully, I didn't expect much out of something whose base ingredients were a leafy green and a mild onion. Yeah, doesn't sound terribly exciting, does it? But somehow they are balanced perfectly and the full savory flavors just come out and hit 'ya with every single bite. This recipe alert doesn't even need a full backstory to go with it. Just go out and make it. Now!

Well.... no backstory but of course I can never post a recipe without some notes. First, I did go with the store bought puff pastry. Remember, we were looking for efficiency. If you are lazy (or efficient) like me, just run to Whole Foods and pick up a package from the frozen section. You can't say the ingredients don't fit the Au Naturale mantra:

Second (and this is small), we only had about 1/4 tsp of thyme left in the container so we supplemented with dried oregano. Finally, the recipe calls for heavy cream. We took a risk and substituted skim milk instead, mainly to make it healthier. I feared that the skim might "water it down," so to speak, but like I said this tart was absolutely packed with flavor. If full cream could add anything more, well then, I'll eat my hat.

Thanks to both Smitten Kitchen and Epicurious for providing this recipe (I found the same one cross-listed on both sites). Enjoy!

Swiss Chard and Leek Tart
Serves as many as you can slice up. But officially: 8
Ingredients:
1 sheet frozen puff pastry (half of 17.3-ounce package), thawed
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
3 large leeks (white and pale green parts only), coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 bunch Swiss chard, ribs removed, leaves chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
1 1/4 cups whipping cream (We used skim milk)
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch of ground nutmeg

Instructions:
Roll out pastry on floured work surface to 12-inch square. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1 inch. Fold under; crimp edges. Cover; chill.

Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Add leeks and thyme. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cover; cook until leeks are very tender but not brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Add chard; saute until wilted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cool.

Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 425°F. Whisk cream and next 5 ingredients in large bowl. Mix in cooled leek mixture. Pour filling into crust.

Bake tart 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake until filling is puffed and just set in center, about 15 minutes longer (this only took our oven about 10 minutes longer). Transfer to rack; cool 10 minutes.

We inhaled half of it it before it occurred to me to take a picture.

I'm Not Dead Yet: Self-Promotion and **RECIPE ALERT**

Happy post-Thanksgiving, everyone!

I think there is something going around. A flu of some sort, but one that only affects bloggers. I know that I have gone my longest stretch yet without posting-- oh, the humanity!-- but other bloggers I know have remarked with a combination of guilt and curiosity that they, too, have been woefully ignorant in blogging over the past month. And other blogs that I follow I noticed have had a few cobwebs themselves. Daylight savings time malaise, perhaps? Too bundled up under heavy blankets to bother pulling out a pen... er, keyboard? Who knows. I'm not using this as an excuse for my pathetic lack of posting, dear readers. But I do find it most curious. And with that I apologize in advance for what will most likely be a long post, as I expound on so many things floating around in my brain. 

Anyhoo, just because I haven't been busying myself with the never-ending to-do list in my personal life doesn't mean I haven't been Au Naturale-ing myself up. Quite the contrary! The fall CSA share has been keeping me busy and my ears have perked up on some food-related items in the news that I shall be waxing poetic about in some following (and timely, I promise) posts. But first... shameless self-promotion time!!!

I have decided to dip yet another toe in the bottomless pit that is social media and sign my Au Naturale persona up for a twitter account. Now you can get your Au Naturale musings in carefully proportioned character limits at any time! This will help relieve the pressure valve of ideas and half-written posts that sometimes just can't get written when I want them to. (See exhibits A, B, and C, which will be the onslaught of musings to follow in the coming days.) It also is unabashedly a way to get the blog out there more, as I've gotten some great feedback and would love to recruit more loyal readers. I swear though, this is not a criticism of any of you, you've been great! Please don't take it personally. I promise I love you all. In the meantime, please follow me at @AuNaturaleFood. 

Now back to the exciting stuff. Besides the fun that is the new and interesting items in the CSA box-- celery root, anyone?-- it's been a blast to share this Autumn bounty with my more handsome half. As you may remember we decided to split a full box for the fall and it's been all kinds of fun to find recipes to fit our fresh and fabulous groceries, instead of the other way around. I've also been enjoying going back to basics quite a bit too. Sometimes it's just nice to enjoy a salad of fresh greens, carrots, peppers and celery and appreciate the flavors in their most pure and unadulterated form (and oh, Lordy, the carrots are amazing!)

Sharing has some other advantages, too. Sometimes it's easy to split everything up based on personal preferences; for example, brussel sprouts always go into the BF's take-home pile as he adores them and I most assuredly do not. Squash in any form goes into mine for the same reason. The one problem with always getting the spoils of what the other doesn't want is that you inevitably end up with sooooo much of just one thing. My boyfriend has had to blanch and freeze pounds of brussel sprouts that will no doubt last him through the end of the season and then some. And my squash? Thank goodness those things last a while because I still have 3 butternuts and an acorn hanging around even after already using a few others. And that, my fine friends, is where this week's recipe alert comes in.

Earlier this month I was on the road yet again for work, this time to the fine state of Iowa. I got on the plane healthy and rearing to go and a mere hour and a half later I stepped off sick as a dog. I was distressed not only because this was the second time I had gotten sick in as many months, the first being immediately after I got back from Israel, but it is not pleasant meeting with clients when you're sniffling and sneezing and snotting all over them while trying to close a business deal. It's also just not pleasant being sick in Iowa. Those of you who have spent any time in that state know what I am talking about (and I say this with all due respect and affection for all the fine people of the Hawkeye Nation). 

So for days I subsisted on nothing but soup and tea. When I got home I was convinced that my blood was actually turning into a form of soup, I had been eating it so much. But yet I was still not well so the quickly tiring soup diet had to continue. And to me, there would be nothing better to indulge my weary body than homemade butternut squash soup. As a fun bonus, it would also be a great opportunity to get to use my new kitchen toy, a stick blender that my bro and sis-in-law got me for my birthday. Thanks, guys! Side note: if you do not have one I whole-heartedly recommend picking one up! A must for any kitchen!

Fear not, though, if you don't have one, as this soup is still easily made without fancy kitchen gadgets. It is a flavorful, succulent, silky soup just perfect for cold winters days. Even better, it freezes beautifully so you'll never have an excuse to go back to the canned stuff. I still have some from last season that, on a day when I didn't have time to make a fresh batch, I simply defrosted and heated up. Tasted just as fantastic as if I had made it yesterday. 

The only note I have on the recipe below is in regards to the milk: it is up to you how much you want to add depending on if you like your squash soups on the thicker or thinner side. I generally don't put much more than a quarter cup in just because I like my squash soup pretty thick. And really, is fresh sage not the most underrated herb ever??? Don't skimp on it. Your taste buds and belly will thank you. Bon appetit!

Autumn Squash Soup

Serves 4

Ingredients:

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 3-pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, cut into 1-inch pieces (about 7 cups)

1 8-ounce sweet potato, peeled, diced

2 1/2 cups chicken stock or canned low salt broth

3 tablespoons chopped fresh sage or 1 tablespoon dried sage leaves (trust me, go for the fresh!)

1 1/2 cups (about) low-fat milk

Instructions:

Heat oil in heavy large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion; cover and cook until tender, stirring often, about 5 minuts. Add squash, sweet potato, stock and 2 tablespoons sage; bring to boil.

Reduce heat, cover and simmer until vegetables are very tender, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Using slotted spoon, transfer vegetables to processor and puree until almost smooth but some texture remains. return mixture to liquid in Dutch oven. (Alternatively, puree directly in Dutch oven with a stick blender.)

Stir in enough milk to thin to desired consistency. Simmer soup over medium-low heat 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before continuing.) Stir in 1 tablespoon sage and serve. 

A Box By Any Other Name.... **RECIPE ALERT**

Ah, the seasons. They just keep rollin' along. We are now officially in the midst of Fall. The trees have changed, most leaves have fallen, and it's getting dark now by 6pm (boo). I'm feeling pretty confident that we're well past our last late-season warm spell. It makes me sad, as summer is my favorite season of the year for many reasons. While I do enjoy the fall and many of the lovely trappings that come with it, I think I become forlorn because that means winter is just around the corner, and the next summer is oh so far away.

Summer ended in another way for me, too, a week ago: I picked up my last summer CSA share which, while small, was really quite the beautiful bounty as it was almost totally different than anything I got all season:

carrots, pie pumpkin, bell peppers, sweet potato, swiss chard, celery, broccoli

And for a bit I thought that would be it for the season. Sure, I plan to frequent the Farmer's Market for the last few Sundays they are open, but I wasn't really considering signing up for the Fall/Winter CSA share that Iron Creek was offering. I thought of how hard it was for me to get through a half box each week, and I was concerned that I would just be torturing myself to go the distance.

However, after much discussion with my boyfriend and conversations with my personal farmer, I was swayed to stick with it. The ever-supportive and encouraging BF offered to split a full share with me (after much debate on whether to split a full or half) and Tamera from Iron Creek assured me that due to the types of produce we would be getting throughout the Fall (root veggies, greens, potatoes, etc) they would keep longer and therefore reduce the stress of having to use up a whole box by the next week.

So we wrote a check and now, looking back, I am really really glad we did. Beyond missing the lazy beach days and evenings grilling out on the back deck that are the hallmarks of my summer, I was dreading having to spend my winter at Whole Foods buying organic produce from Chile or Guatemala or someplace way too far away. This Fall/Winter box goes through the middle of December (with some items lasting much longer than that), which means I will hopefully only have to shop for imported veggies for just a few short months until the market starts up again.


It also means that I get to experiment for a bit longer with veggies that I would normally shoo away. No, I have still not developed a taste for beets, and I must admit I do not miss seeing them in my box one iota. But the broccoli, of which I'm not a huge fan, keeps on coming, and now varying and very interesting types of cauliflower are landing in my crisper, too.

Back up a sec-- let me change that broccoli assessment a bit.  Over the summer I found that broccoli was beginning to grow on me (not literally, of course. That would be terrifying). I credit this change with the fact that when I do have a chance to eat a decent dinner on the road, my thirst for veggies has netted me more than a few side dishes of steamed broccoli. And really, I enjoyed them. Probably wouldn't have chosen them if there were other options, but my plate is always cleaned.

I have had about the same original feelings for cauliflower which meant, while eyeing the interesting green variety that had been chillin' in my fridge for a week, I felt the need to give this veggie a second chance. And after yet another week's worth of travel I was excited to dig into my overstuffed fridge for a cooking adventure.

The recipe I settled on--Cauliflower Steaks with Cauliflower Puree-- is really quite awesome.  I therefore share it with you below. And even if you don't have the patience or the inclination to try the whole thing, may I just say that simply caramelizing cauliflower is AWESOMELY DELICIOUS?!?!  Really. Just try it once. It has a nuttiness and a flavor all it's own that is totally different than basic cauliflower. I may just start eating that straight as a side dish as the mood strikes me.

Another cool thing about this recipe is that it can be used as an appetizer, a side, or a vegetarian main course. I decided to go for it as a main and am quite satisfied, although as I type this some Italian-style potatoes are roasting happily in the oven as the second part of my dinner. I would put a photo of the finished dish but really, cauliflower on top of cauliflower does not photograph well. If someone can find an artistic way to capture white on white (or light green on light green, as mine was) you win a prize.

And of course, it wouldn't be a true recipe alert if not for a few notes. You love it! I know! I found and modified a recipe that I found on Epicurious, where one should never discount the comment section. The majority of the negative comments-- that is, the few there were-- slammed the puree for being too bland. My version adds a number of different spices and flavorings that I thought made the puree anything but boring. I also substituted water with vegetable broth and added a touch of aged parmesan reggiano. If you don't want the cheese, don't have veggie broth, are not a garlic fan, or if paprika is too spicy for you, feel free to eliminate or substitute with other ingredients of your choosing. Also, many reviewers said they used a bit of truffle oil with great success. While that version sounds wonderful, alas I do not have truffle oil. Now, where is that shopping list?....

Cauliflower, welcome to my repertoire!
Cauliflower Steaks with Cauliflower Puree
serves 2


Ingredients:
1 1.5 lb head of cauliflower
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth (or water, if you prefer)
1 cup whole milk (I used skim because that was all I had and I think it worked just fine)
1 garlic clove
1/4 cup (approx) grated fresh parmesan reggiano
salt and pepper to taste
whole peppercorns
paprika to taste
2 tbs vegetable oil plus additional for brushing

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250°F. Using sharp heavy knife and starting at top center of cauliflower head, cut two 1-inch-thick slices of cauliflower, cutting through stem end. Set cauliflower steaks aside.

Cut enough florets from remaining cauliflower head to measure 3 cups. Combine florets, 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, and milk in medium saucepan, and sprinkle generously with salt, pepper, peppercorns and paprika. Add in a whole peeled garlic clove. Bring to boil and cook until cauliflower florets are very tender, about 10 minutes, stirring often to prevent curdling. Strain, reserving 1 cup cooking liquid. (NOTE: by the time I strained it I had only about a half cup of liquid left, which ended up being a perfect amount for the puree. I actually wonder if a full cup would make the consistency too watery.)

Spread florets on large rimmed baking sheet, and bake 10-12 minutes until slightly dry. Transfer florets to blender. Add reserved 1 cup cooking liquid in batches (to make sure it doesn't get too watery) and parmesan and puree until smooth. Return puree to same saucepan and increase oven temperature to 350°F.

Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Brush cauliflower steaks with additional oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Add cauliflower steaks to skillet and cook until golden brown, about 2-4 minutes per side. Transfer skillet to oven and bake cauliflower steaks until tender, about 10 minutes.

Rewarm cauliflower puree over medium heat. Divide puree between 2 plates; top each with cauliflower steak.

The Evil Bar of Doom is Franchising!

IT'S EVERYBODY'S WORST NIGHTMARE! RUUUUUUUN!!!!!!!

Actually, it is my worst nightmare. Not only has the Evil Bar of Doom opened an East location, it is directly in my line of sight 8 hours a day.

How can this be, you ask? A bar is a bar, it's not a person. It can't multiply itself.

No, it can't, but my company can hire more people (yay economic recovery... sorta).  Directly across from my office is another office that has lain vacant since the day I moved in. I never really paid attention to the room except for when visiting folks from other offices needed a place to crash for a day, and it was one less person I had to worry about annoying while making loud business calls.

But when I arrived home from Israel there was suddenly a new employee who had taken up permanent residence in that office. In truth I didn't mind. She's a pretty cool person and it has made our isolated little corner a bit more social. But just last week she created a major faux pas-- in my eyes only.

"I have a candy jar at home and had one at my last job, so I'm going to bring it in tomorrow," she enthusiastically told me one day, much to my horror. "Feel free to pop in and take whatever you want at any time!"

Oh, no. No no no. As we all know, I have no willpower. Since moving to my new office last February I've been able to avoid the Evil Bar of Doom's Central location (as I will now call it) by using the auxiliary kitchen by my desk. Yes, I slip on occasion, and I fully own up to my slips. But at least I have had some semblance of control. No longer, though, I fear. Not only is this one closer, but the way my door is situated in relation to her door and the jar of mini-candies sits in a line of sight that I cannot control, the lid mocking me, it's like that the jar screams at me 8 hours a day: "I AM HERE. EAT ME. EAT ME. EEEAAATT MEEEEEEE!!!!!!"

And I do. Really, what can I do? The only option is to keep my door closed all the time, but beyond the fact that doing that will give me a reputation as the anti-social hermit in the office, I will still know that the jar is there.

The good news is that she really does stock it with only the halloween "fun-sized" types of candies, so my gluttony is moderated. The bad news is that I've already raided it on more than one occasion. Every time I do I apologize to her, which is really me apologizing to me.

I need a plan. And fast.  Now that apple season is in full effect I've gone back to bringing a supply with me to fend off the regular 3pm cravings. But really, sometimes an apple can't do what delicious malted Whoppers can.

Any suggestions, loyal readers, on how I can tame the temptation? My first instinct was to ask for recipes for Au Naturale candy bars with which I can arm myself, but that itself is a slippery slope: if I know it's there, I will eat it even if I don't really want it, and I really need to maintain the relatively healthy eating habit I've built for myself. That being said.... recipes? Any other not-as-obvious suggestions? Or do I just give in? Say it ain't so....

Know Your Food, Know Your Farmer

We in the Au Naturale/organic world often say it, but the other week I actually did it.

Two weekends ago my boyfriend and I eagerly jumped on the "Farm Day" invitation extended to us by my CSA purveyor, Iron Creek Farm. Having never done a farm visit like this, and eager to see the fields from which my weekly produce springs forth, of course I RSVPed in the positive.

The Saturday of the apponted day was an unusually cool fall day for so early in the season. DISCLAIMER: Having been in Israel for a good chunk of September, where the weather was most decidedly mid-summer or "desert-hot INSANE", it's been a really wierd transition to be back here. I walked around for two weeks when I got back saying "What happened to September? Did anyone know where it went and how I managed to completely miss it?" I kept expecting that October 1 was September 1. This has been alternately confusing, frustrating, and I'm sure amusing to anyone who has come across me when I've been holding a coat like I've never seen it before and simulaneously scratching my head.

Anyhoo... maybe the day was seasonably cold, despite my screwed-up internal calendar. But off to LaPorte, Indiana we went, and because the wonderful BF was at the wheel (my car having suddenly decided to die a few days prior), we were early. Very early, in fact.

We arrived at an enormous barn just as they slid opened the door to reveal a table with a thermos of hot apple cider (made fresh, of course), donuts, and a crock pot of homemeade squash soup; and really, making squash soup from the squash you grow yourself just cannot not get any more homemade. The boxes of fresh-picked squash sitting in the background and waiting to go to market, ranging from acorn to butternut, just made the setting that much more perfect. The cider warmed my confused and cold extremities and the whole scene warmed my heart and reminded me why Fall isn't so bad after all.

We sipped cider and chatted with Tamera, one of the owners of the farm, as people streamed in, mostly parents with very young children and I wondered if we missed the whole point of this farm day. They did mention a hay ride, which I'm sure attracted the families, but I was there for research, damnit! All was not lost, though: the hay ride, which was almost cancelled due to a week's worth of rain turning the fields into a mud pit female wrestlers only dream of, went off without a hitch. We, being the non-children bearers of the group, sat on a metal rail at the front of the cart with Tamera to allow the children to enjoy the hay. Oh, and to make sure they wouldn't fall off into the mud. That would have been hilarious, though.

Perhaps I wasn't the only one who was cold

The first thought that struck me-- and surprised me-- was that the fields weren't, well, as "pretty" as for some reason I expected them to be. Granted, there was the mud; and it was getting to the end of the season; but considering that Iron Creek is an organic farm there were some weeds beginning to appear in some of the plots that had been fully cultivated for the season. The mud was a deep, rich black and has more organic component than many farms (I don't remember the percentage) so everything grows strongly there. I'm not complaining though- on the contrary, I'm glad that a farm can just look like a farm and not something out of Home & Garden magazine, although I did catch myself looking closely for baby faces in the perfect rows of cabbage. (Cabbage Patch kids? Hello? Anyone? The packaging artists definitely spent some time on a farm.)  After all, what matters is what's going into my fridge and body, right?  As we bounced along the rows, the beautifully pungent smell of broccoli wafted into my nose and more than a few times I wanted to jump off the hitch and grab some of that gorgeous produce. My BF nudged Tamera and told her to just drop him off in the hot pepper section and he'd find his way home.

I learned something more, though, than just what rows of brussel sprouts look like. Tamera mentioned, as we passed some bee containers, that they have a bee keeper who brings over his bees to help with pollination. You may or may not have read in the news that bees are dying off at an alarming rate, signifying problems on an agricultural scale that lead to much larger wordly problems in the food chain. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, check out this article.) Nobody knows what is causing this phenomenon, but this particular bee keeper has had no problems at all with his bee colonies. One potential reason why?  He only uses his bees to pollinate on organic fields which don't use pesticides. Bee death as yet another consequence of the overabundance of pesticides? Hmm, food for thought, me thinks.

Back at the main farm, we wandered through the enormous greenhouse housing an excellently nifty hydroponics system and the plants that had treated me to early summer tomatoes.

hydroponics in the front

These make my back deck peppers look so pathetic...

We visited with some pigs that Tamera's family keeps for themselves, who were more than friendly and willing to say hi in between happily foraging in the mud.

Sharing a tender moment...

Finally, we had the opportunity to pick our own pumpkins. Originally we were going to actually pick pumpkins from the patch in the fields, but due to the almost certain death-by-mud scenario they had brought up a selection by the barn. All the pumpkins were gorgeous, and as we later learned, ENORMOUS. In a big field, sat up against other brethren pumpkins, they looked proportional. In my dining room, they look mutant.

3 hours, 4 cups of cider, 2 donuts and a bowl of soup later, we headed back to the city. (Disclaimer #2: watch out for that cutoff on 94 from Indiana back to Chicago. We missed it and had to head all the way over to 55. Ugh.) Besides having a fun Fall Saturday activity, I was thrilled to have a chance to chat more with my farmer, learn how much effort it takes to do what she and her family do (Tamera mentioned that her summers are 80-100 hour work weeks) and see for myself how what I'm putting in my body is cultivated. It truly made my CSA experience more personal. Case in point: the next day, at my regular CSA pickup day, I took a few minutes to chat with Tamera and her husband and inquire about the expected overnight frost about which they were concerned. From that conversation I learned that it really, truly was the last week to get any sweet corn as the frost, which had indeed arrived, killed off the rest of the remaining crop. It was a much more enjoyable and fulfilling conversation than my typical, "Hi! I'm here to pick up my half share." 

Really, we all should take these field trips. I think if more Americans saw where their food was coming from and how it was grown, we'd be more conscious of our decisions to buy from Big Ag.

That evening, despite our exhaustion and bad mood from having to drive completely out of our way only to get stuck in inbound Chicago Saturday night traffic (if you know the city, you know the frustration), we decided to stay in and cook even though it would have been easier to just go out and grab something. We were inspired.  Truthfully, I don't remember what we ate. I just remember that it tasted good, and probably even tasted better since I could picture where it came from, just an hour and a half-- and a whole lot of care and love-- away.

Taking Off

Stop me if you've heard this one before:

Business travel blah blah fast food blah preservatives blah blah middle of nowhere blah no fresh food blah blurg blech.

However, while on last week's business travel, I noticed the following article:

O'Hare's New Garden to Supply Airport Restaurants

(it's okay- go ahead and read the article. I'll wait.)

My first reaction was... say what?!?!  But good for O'Hare! Perhaps this will become a trend at all airport restaurants. And for me, make just one more meal on the road that much more Au Naturale...

ARGHGHGH.

Damn you, Evil Bar of Doom. Damn you to hell.

And yes, that is a mini Hershey's chocolate square stuck in the top.

Note to self: didn't you buy a half pint of raspberries specifically to avoid temptations such as the above? Yeah, you did. So why don't you do yourself a favor and bring them to work. They are not doing you much good sitting at home. Idiot.

Drinking Your Sugar

I often apologize to you, oh loyal 3 or 4 readers (or 8 or 10, as my "followers" list is now telling me), for going long stretches without posting anything. I realize that I have recently been on an exceptionally long stretch, and that is partly due to to all of my usual excuses (busy! BUSY!!) as well as the fact that I've also been overseas.

Just the other day I returned home from an amazing 12 day trip with my family to Israel and Jordan. I absolutely love to travel abroad and it had been a few years since my last jaunt across the pond. Add that to the fact that Israel ranked #1 in my list of places in the world I hadn't yet been and reeaally wanted to see, I was giddy with excitement both leading up to and during the entire trip. This trip did not disappoint.

One of the things I love most about my travels is learning and experiencing different cultures. And one of the curious cultural differences between Israelis and Americans, we all quickly noticed, is that Israelis really don't drink. They have started experimenting with vineyards and wine production-- which really makes a lot of sense considering Israel's strategic location off the Mediterranean and hilly terrain-- and we enjoyed more than a few very tasty bottles of wine. But look around the average restaurant at dinner time and you will see most people drinking soda or water, with maybe the occasional table sporting just one glass of wine. The concept of having a cocktail while we perused the menu was very foreign to almost all of our waiters.  We threw around many different theories of why they don't really drink but who knows if any are correct. To someone like me who has spent a lot of time in Europe, where there must be something wrong with you if you don't have a glass of wine in your hand at all times, this was all very strange.

We realized that something must be up our first full night in Eilat, a resort town in the south of the country right on the Red Sea (and in case you're wondering, the sea is in fact a brilliant blue). Before dinner we decided to grab a cocktail at a bar with comfortable outdoor couches and toast the beginning of what was going to be a spectacular adventure. My mom and sis-in-law got a glass of wine, I got some sort of a fru-fru cocktail because it was made with either a pomegranate or fig liqueur (both native plants), and my brother and dad each ordered a vodka on the rocks (which I had the foresight to explain to our patient waiter that "on the rocks" meant "with ice") with two olives and a twist of lemon peel.

The waiter did not return for a while.  We joked that perhaps we had a trick order.

When he did finally return with our order, the wine and fru-fru drink were passed with ease. Only then did we realize the reason for the long delay: The glass of vodka set in front of my brother had no ice and two lonely olives bobbing haphazardly around the glass instead of being anchored on a toothpick. My father received a glass with just vodka. The waiter then set down a separate glass filled with nothing but ice, a small plate of olives, and a small plate of lime (not lemon) slices. It was clear that the bartender had never before received an order for a vodka on the rocks with olives and a twist. It ended up being do-it-yourself cocktail night!

Suffice it to say, we got the message very quickly that ordering cocktails was going to be a challenge in this country. And it was. To emphasize the point further: on our very last night before we returned to the States, my brother and dad ordered the very same cocktail before dinner (at this point they had learned to specify whether they wanted ice on the side or in the glass, and pretty much gave up on the concept of olives and a twist). The drinks arrived in a highball glass with a bright blue plastic bendy straw.

So went the tide for the duration of our trip. I mostly stuck with wine. However, there was one evening where the waiter showed up and first asked us if we wanted a cocktail of some sort, even suggesting a gin and tonic. I was encouraged: not only did he understand the concept of the pre-dinner cocktail, he even knew what a gin and tonic was! Considering the G&T is one of my favorite cocktails, I decided to pounce on the opportunity. My drink arrived without incident: a highball glass filled about 2/3 full with gin (par-TAAY!) and a small bottle of Schwepp's tonic water on the side.

Meh, close enough. But of course the Au Naturale side of me automatically went to investigate the ingredient list of the tonic water as I had an instinct that it would look different than it does in the States. I was not wrong. While there were still the same fishy "natural flavors" and a few other not-so-natural items, the most conspicuous difference is that this tonic contained sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.

I had pretty much expected as such, considering HFCS is quite an American invention. But then I became curious: are there any countries outside of the US that use HFCS? Once I returned state-side, I decided to investigate.

It's interesting that when you do a search for details of HFCS, the thing you find the most is the never-ending debate on whether HFCS is the same or worse for you than pure cane sugar. Some say it is the proliferation of this corn-derived substance that is the driving force of obesity and diabetes in this country, that our bodies react to it in a different, and decidedly worse way, than natural sugar. Others, most vocally the corn growers of America, insist that sugar is sugar no matter what form it comes in. There have been studies done that compare people who eat X amount of grams a day of HFCS as part of their diet to those who eat the same amount in pure sugar, but some have been discredited because they isolated just the fructose and sucrose into individual forms as opposed to doing the studies with the substances combined into food. The debate is enough to make your head spin.

But what I learned that I found the most interesting is not that yes, America creates and consumes more HFCS than any other country in the world, even though other countries do use some of it, but why. We all know that HFCS is much cheaper than cane sugar which is why you find it in everything. It's also easier to transport because HFCS is a liquid. But it's the extreme government corn subsidies paid to farmers, paired with a high tariff and restrictions on sugar imports, that are the main driving forces behind the low cost. I knew that corn sugar in the US is extraordinarily cheap, but I was unaware of the import factor. In other countries, it would cost more to built the systems needed to convert corn into HFCS than just use the natural stuff. This is why Schwepps uses sugar in their Israeli tonic water and HFCS in their American version.  And therein you find so much of what is wrong in the our food industry today.

I, for one, do not consider HFCS to be an acceptable ingredient in the Au Naturale lifestyle. Health debate aside, I have to wonder really how good it is for us to eat any substance that has been broken down, twisted, and reformulated so many times (and in a lab, no less) that it no longer really resembles food. Yes, yes, people will say that HFCS is "natural" because it comes from corn and corn is natural, but you could make a similar argument about a lot of additives (and the food industry certainly does).  This is not the same as taking a kernel of corn and just squeezing it hard enough that you get drops of sugar. This is pretty much changing the molecular compound to create something entirely different.

I believe that being healthy does not need to involve breaking down foods into each individual element and then pulling out those elements to be used in a vacuum. Why not just eat the original food in the first place? Enjoying an orange does a lot more for your body than just popping a vitamin C pill. So why should I eat something like HFCS that has to go through such a complicated process to resemble something that I can just eat in its natural form? I am no scientist and certainly do not have all the research, but I just can't believe that something formulated in a lab is as equally good for me (or has the same effect) as something I can find in nature. Our bodies are just not designed for that.

So there is my rant for the day.  Of course you are free to disagree with me. But now that I am back in the States and able to make myself a proper cocktail, I will continue to happily make G&Ts with my current favorite brand, Q Tonic. Ingredients: filtered water, organic agave, bitters, handpicked quinine, and lemon juice extract. Tastes great. No laboratory needed.

When CSAs Attack!! **RECIPE(S) ALERT**

Hey, look at that... I haven't been posting my weekly CSA pictures in quite a while. Time for catch up!

Week 5, perhaps? Peppers, eggplant, cucumber, zucchini, white onion, pattypan squash, tomatoes, broccoli. Whew!

And....

So then this would be week 6? Corn, spicy pepper, cantaloupe,  eggplant, red onion, cucumber, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, zucchini (double whew!)

And if that's not enough, here is this week's:

corn, watermelon, tomatoes, peppers, white onion, broccoli, potatoes, spicy peppers, squash

And these photos don't even include all the weeks I didn't take pictures, or last week which was given away to the BF since I was out of town.

What is the point of throwing all of these pics at you all at once? To show my exhaustion.

About a month ago, my produce was piling up, but not in a good way. I was acquiring veggies faster than I could use them. My humidity controlled drawers in the fridge were filled to capacity and so were most of the shelves, too. Some produce was beginning to rot. Others weren't, but were old enough that I might as well have just bought them in the grocery store. I was drowning under all of that produce and I couldn't make it stop.

I finally reached a breaking point. Enough was enough! It was time to engage in a serious cooking marathon. I rallied, I researched, I took notes.  I figured out ways to use all of my veggies without having to buy a lot of side ingredients, and to make things that did not need to be consumed the same day. I cleared out my evening schedule, and vowed to cook everything at once.

Aaand.... of course I hit a hiccup. As I think I've mentioned before, I am not the world's fastest cook. You could say I take Slow Food literally (hardy har). If a recipe says it should only take a half hour, I can count on the fact that it will take me an hour. (I think it's the chopping that gets me-- I'm always worried I will cut my fingers off.) And the first dish I attempted to prepare, the eggplant canneloni which did not come with an estimated time frame, took me well over 3 hours. So the cooking marathon got stretched into 2 evenings.

By the end, though, I ended up with some amazing dishes: grilled eggplant cannelloni with ricotta and prosciutto; grilled romaine and pecorino salad; pasta with a roasted eggplant and tomato sauce; carrot-zucchini bread with candied ginger; spicy tomatillo salsa; and ricotta and prosciutto gnudi.  And you, my loyal readers, get the spoils of the fruits of my labor (that is, you get the recipes and notes, if not the actual food).

Some notes on the dishes before we get to them:

The grilled eggplant cannelloni (where the eggplant IS the cannelloni) was my winner as the most spectacular. It was also the dish that took me an entire night. Even if you are a faster cook than I, which I am willing to bet you are, this dish still takes a while, probably a good 2 hours to be sure. However, a few of the steps can certainly be made in advance, such as the sauce or the ricotta filling, to save you some time. I recommend doing that.

There was some improvisation, of course, of which I am generally not good and therefore quite proud. I halved the grilled eggplant cannelloni recipe as half of it was going to take care of both dinner and lunch the next day, but even with the half recipe I was still left with an excess of the ricotta filling. I lamented to a friend the next day- what to do with this wonderful blended mixture? There wasn't enough to really make a second batch of the cannelloni. "Why not make a gnudi?" she suggested. What a great idea! Except... I had no idea what gnudi was.  See the recipe below for more details.

A word on the salsa: after making this salsa, I immediately swore I would never buy jarred salsa ever again. And I mean it! The fresh stuff is crazy easy-- as in, it took even slow-cooking me only 10 minutes to do-- and it was more flavorful than anything else I have ever had. It was also exceptionally spicy, considering I had mistaken a habanero pepper for a jalapeno. Oops!

The only recipe I am not including below is the roasted eggplant and tomato sauce. Because I'm lazy? Perhaps. But while not a bad dish, it wasn't my favorite. I will make the point though that I of course used an Au Naturale pasta: Pasta Puttana, made locally and fresh-- no dried noodles here, folks!-- here in Chicago. Also sold in convenient serving size bags. This stuff is so fresh, it only needs to be cooked for a few minutes to get it al dente. If you really want the recpe for the sauce, just message me and I will post.

Finally.... it occurred to me that leaving all of these recipes-- here and previously-- within the body of posts is not efficient for you, loyal readers, to reference. So moving forward, I am creating a second page on this site dedicated to a recipe list. It will take me a little bit of time to go back and add everything in, so be patient. However, I will still include recipes within each relevant post as I have always done.

So, without further adieu....

Grilled Eggplant Cannelloni with Ricotta and Prosciutto
As I mentioned, I halved the recipe when I made it but still had excess ricotta filling so I don't know if I was being stingy when filling the eggplant or if the recipe itself is a bit of overkill. Also, while I halved the actual ricotta, I probably used 2/3 of the suggested amounts for the additional filling ingredients, such as garlic, parsley, prosciutto, etc. It was flavorful without being overpowering. So if you are inclined to add extra garlic or cheese or anything, I wholeheartedly encourage you to do so.
serves 6


Ingredients:
2 large globe eggplants; 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds each
kosher or sea salt
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

tomato sauce:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
/2 yellow onion, minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds plum (Roma) tomatoes, chopped (no need to peel)
8 to 12 fresh basil leaves
1 tsp dried oregano
pinch of hot red pepper flakes
kosher or sea salt

ricotta filling:
2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese, or one 15-ounce container (I ended up using a skim one accidentally, and I still thought it was good)
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino or parmigiano reggiano cheese (I went for pecorino)
1/3 cup minced prosciutto
2 tbs minced fresh italian parsley
1 large garlic clove, minced (I used 2 cloves because garlic is yummy!)
freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino or parmigiano reggiano cheese, for topping

Directions:
1.  Slice off the eggplants' green cap, then cut each eggplant lengthwise into slices about 1/3 inch thick. Discard the first and last slices, which are mostly skin. You should get at least 6 large slices from each eggplant. Sprinkle them generously on both sides with salt, then set the slices on a rack and let stand for 30 minutes. Moisture will bead on the surface.

2.  Prepare a moderate charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill to medium (375). Pat the eggplant slices dry with paper towels, then brush on both sides with the olive oil. Place the slices directly oveer the coals or gas flame and cook, turning once, until they are nicely marked by the grill and pliable, about 3 minutes per side. They do not need to be fully cooked as they will cook further in the oven. Set the slices aside on a tray to cool.

3. To make the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add the onion and garlic and saute until the onion is soft and beginning to color, 5 to 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring often, until they soften and collapse into a sauce, about 10 minutes, depending on ripeness.

4.  Remove from the heat, and pass the mixture through a food mill fitted with the fine disk (or a food processor). Return the puree to the skillet over moderate heat. Tear the basil leaves in half and add to the skillet along with the oregano (rubbing it between your fingers as you do), the hot pepper flakes, and salt to taste. Simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thick and tasty. Set aside.

5.  To make the ricotta filling, put the ricotta, pecorino, prosciutto, parsley, and garlic in a medium bowl. Stir until blended, then season to taste with salt and pepper, Stir in the egg.

6.  Preheat the oven to 350. Choose a shallow baking dish large enough to hold all the eggplant rolls snugly in one layer. Spread 1/3 cup of the tomato sauce on the bottom of the dish.

7. Put a generous 2 tbs filling on each eggplant slice and spread it evenly. Carefully roll each slice like a jelly roll, and place the rolls, seam side down, in the baking dish. Top with the remaining tomato sauce, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle the pecorino evenly over the top.

8.  Bake until lightly browned and bubbling, about 45 minutes. Cool for 20 minutes before serving. Can also be refrigerated and reheated the next day.


Grilled Romaine and Pecorino 
I had a pathetic little bit of romaine that was about to go bad and I found this recipe. Who would have thought of putting lettuce on the grill? But it works- supposedly because of their natural sugar, they color up beautifully on the grill. It's just a nice twist to something we generally eat raw.
serves 4


Ingredients:
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
4 hearts of romaine, each 5 to 6 ounces, halved lengthwise with the core attached
kosher or sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
chunk of pecorino (or parmigiano reggiano, your choice) for grating
4 lemon wedges

Directions:
1.  Prepare a moderate charcoal fire or preheat a gas grill to medium (375)

2.  Put the olive oil on a tray or platter. Turn the romaine hearts in the oil to coat them all over. Season with salt.

3.  Place the romaine hearts directly over the coals or gas flame. Cook, turning as needed, until they are lightly browned on both sides, crisp in spots, and tender yet still a touch crunchy, 5 to 7 minutes.

4.  Transfer the romaine hearts to a serving platter or individual plates. Grind some pepper over the romaine, then grate cheese over them, using as much as you'd like. Accompany with the lemon wedges. Serve immediately.

Carrot Zucchini Bread with Candied Ginger
I've had my eye on this recipe all summer and the extra zukes in my fridge gave me the excuse to finally do it. Personally, I couldn't taste the ginger much in the finished product so next time I think I will add either more of the candied or ground. It calls for all-purpose flour, but I'd like to try it with whole wheat.. I just didn't want to mess with it the first time I made it.  Also- this recipe as written supposedly makes 2 8-inch loaves. My baking pans are 9 inches, not much bigger, but I was able to get all the batter in to make just one normal-sized loaf. So go figure. Pick for yourself based on your baking pan size.


Ingredients:
nonstick cooking spray for preparing the pan
3 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher or sea salt
1/2 cp minced candied ginger
3 large eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup carrots, peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater
1 cup zucchini, grated on the large holes of a box grater

Directions:
1.  Preheat the oven to 325. Coat two 8.5 by 4.5 by 2 3/4 " loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.

2.  Sift together the sifted flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder into a medium bowl. Stir in the salt and candied ginger.

3.  In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light and foamy. Add the canola oil, sugar, and vanilla, whisking vigorously until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the carrots and zucchini.

4.  Add the dry ingredients to the egg mixture all at once and stir with a wooden spoon just until blended. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared pans.

5.  Bake until the breads are well risen and firm to the touch, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let cool in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert and finish cooling right side up on the rack.

Spicy Tomatillo Salsa
What a coup this recipe was. I was struck with the idea of making salsa when I saw tomatillos at the market, but then they just sat on my counter for forever. If I had known how incredibly easy this was, I would have made it sooner. You really can't screw it up: My recipe was actually a combo of a few different ones, as the main one I had suggested both cilantro and grilling everything first to give it a smokey flavor, both of which I generally don't like. If you aren't down for spice, just eliminate the jalapeno; if you want a lot of spice, substitute a hotter pepper, as I (accidentally) did. And you can't go wrong with too much garlic!
makes about 1 1/3 cup


Ingredients:
1/2 pound tomatillos (about 5 medium)
1/2 small white onion, peeled and sliced
2 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1 jalapeno, chopped
kosher or sea salt

Directions:
1. Remove the husks from the tomatillos and wash them to remove any stickiness. Dry well. Coarsely chop.

2.  Put the tomatillos and onion in a blender or food processor. Peel the garlic and add to the blender along with the chile. Blend until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and stir in salt to taste (generally 1/2 tsp works well- can also be added when blending). You can add a little water or lime juice if you feel it needs thinning, but generally not necessary.

Ricotta and Prosciutto Gnudi
As I mentioned, this was an excellent way to use the leftover ricotta filling from the cannelloni dish. Gnudi is "naked pasta": basically the filling of a ravioli but made in the shape of gnocchi and eaten like it's own pasta. Full disclosure: because this was made from leftovers and I had more than enough dishes at this point, I made the gnudi and froze it, so I cannot yet account for how it tastes on it's own. But considering how good the ricotta was in it's original dish, I'm sure it will be a winner once I finally pull it out of the freezer.


Ingredients:
2 cups whole-milk ricotta cheese, or one 15-ounce container (I ended up using a skim one accidentally, and I still thought it was good)
1/2 cup freshly grated pecorino or parmigiano reggiano cheese (I went for pecorino)
1/3 cup minced prosciutto
2 tbs minced fresh italian parsley
1 large garlic clove, minced (I used 2 cloves as I like garlic)
freshly ground black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup all purpose flour

additional all-purpose flour for coating
Directions:
1. put the ricotta, pecorino, prosciutto, parsley, and garlic in a medium bowl. Stir until blended, then season to taste with salt and pepper, Stir in the egg. (this is the same instruction as above for the cannelloni recipe.)

2.  Sprinkle up to 3/4 cup all-purpose flour into mixture in batches and stir to blend. You want to use enough so that you can make small ricotta balls without it falling apart, but not too firm.

3.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with plastic wrap. Place flour in a bowl.  For gnudi, form one heaping tablespoon of ricotta mixture in a ball. Add to flour, toss to coat lightly, then roll into small log (like a gnocchi). Place on sheet and repeat. You can also make small indentations with the tongs of a fork to create spaces for the eventual sauce to cling to.

4. Cover and chill dough one hour. Alternatively, put baking sheet in freezer if you want to preserve (after 6 hours, you can then put them in a bag).

5. Bring large pot of salted water to boil. Cook gnudi until very tender, about 5-8 minutes (they sometimes say the gnudi will float when done). Serve with any sort of pasta (or other) sauce.

Bon Apetit!

This One is for Florence and Harold

When I first started writing the post about my recent trip to Oregon, I had to stop halfway through, erase it and re-write. I didn't realize that instead of writing about food, I instead had unconsciously begun to write about my great Aunt and Uncle who were the catalysts for the annual trip in the first place.

My great Uncle Harold and my great Aunt Florence were my de-facto grandparents growing up in an idyllic suburb just north of Chicago. Their house was just a few blocks from mine and it wasn't unheard of for me, while riding my bike around the neighborhood (this was back in the day when it was safe for children to do so alone), to stop in on them just to say hi. When I was probably about 10, we all flew out west along with their children and grandchildren to celebrate their 50th anniversary.  They were staples at every family occasion and major holiday. To this day we reminisce about Aunt Florence's Thanksgiving gravy, which we could never quite do on our own after they moved to Oregon.

Uncle Harold and Aunt Florence truly lived life to the fullest which I could say is the ultimate Au Naturale lifestyle, in a way. It's certainly one that I hope to emulate as I get older.  Uncle Harold-- who I took to calling "Huncle Harold" as a little girl and eventually got shortened to simply "Hunk"-- was quite the joker. For as long as I can remember he always greeted me with "Hey, it's ol' Whats-Her-Name!" even though he knew perfectly well what my name was. As my dentist growing up, he would make a point to first fill my mouth up with flouride and then ask me how my day was. I would get so frustrated when he then imitated whatever drooly incoherent response I gave back. 

The Hunk played tennis and could whoop anybody's ass well into his 80s. Once they relocated to Corvallis, he joined the local gym and took a cross-training class on a daily basis. He was the only man among a throng of younger-ish women and after class they sat around and had coffee and chatted. We took to calling those ladies "Harold's Harem". He was eventually the star of a television commercial the gym made, where he proclaimed loud and proud that he was training for a triathalon. (He wasn't, but we loved it anyway.) When we visited those early years, he always invited me and my brother to join him at the morning class. My brother went a few times, but I always declined, loving to sleep in the way I did. I always said "maybe next year". Uncle Harold passed away a few years ago at the ripe young age of 92, I believe. To this day I regret never getting up and joining him, even just once.

Huncle Harold also loved music and played in an ensemble. He took his martinis seriously: "Pour the gin and then just wave the vermouth bottle over the glass." He also baked a mean bran muffin that was a staple of our legendary breakfasts out in Corvallis, accompanied by jars of marionberry jam, locally roasted coffee, fresh fruit, and some sort of herbed or infused butter. Just this last trip, I learned from Aunt Florence that when Uncle Harold first retired "he couldn't boil water", in her words. He needed to take up a hobby, and baking was the one he fell into with great success. Our waistlines have always forgiven us his muffins.

Aunt Florence- or Flo, or Flush, depending on your mood- was equally a renaissance woman. She threw a mean pot and our family still has many of the plates, bowls, and flowerpots that she expertly crafted. She was in acting classes with the legendary Studs Terkel. And she was a total chocoholic. No trip could be started without my mom bringing her a tin of truffles. Aunt Florence made and appreciated good food, too. Before the airlines got too annoying we started a tradition of bringing her a pound of classic Chicago corned beef, a loaf of rye, and a jar of pickles. In the evenings after we left town she would go into the kitchen and totally chow down, then admit it with just a touch of guilt when we next spoke to her on the phone. We assured her there was nothing to feel guilty about- we've all done it, too! On one trip out to Corvallis when I first started growing herbs on my deck, I had lamented to her that I had more basil than I could handle. She immediately went to her recipe book, pulled out a piece of paper, and copied a pesto recipe down for me. I still have that recipe, on a the lined paper that is beginning to brown, and use it at the end of each season. This past trip I brought her one of the strawberry basil muffins that I packed as a travel snack. Looking back, I feel like the basil had come full circle.

The thing that amazed me most about Aunt Florence is that even as she got older and weaker in the body, her mind remained as sharp as a tack. This past trip she "held court" as she rested in bed and we gathered around and updated her on our lives. Inevitably she would tell her own stories that our stories had triggered. Someone had told her a joke that she wrote down and repeated for us with perfect comic timing.  I'm trying to remember it now, but I can't quite get it. It was hilarious, and I dare say a little raunchy.

I don't think I fully understood truly how much the two of them contributed to that grandparent role in my life until a few years ago, while I was thumbing through some old photo albums at their house and came across one that I instantly recognized: Aunt Florence and Uncle Harold, sitting at those tiny one-piece desks in a classroom at my Sunday School, staring very intently and with great interest at some sort of art project that a very young me had made. I remembered that day instantly as I looked at the picture.

"Uncle Harold and I were so flattered that you invited us to attend that day," opined Aunt Florence, as she looked over my shoulder at the photo.

"Really?" I asked, somewhat confused. "Why?"

"Because you invited your great Aunt and Uncle to Grandparent's Day," she responded matter-of-factly.

I was confused. Yes- so what? And then I realized what she had meant: technically, they weren't my grandparents. But they were the ones I wanted at that day dedicated to grandparents. And I knew it was Grandparent's Day- I remembered the event, and what it was called. But it seemed so natural to me that they should be there, and it never occurred to me that they were technically not my grandparents, even though I always referred to them as "Aunt" and "Uncle". It just simply made sense. That conversation was truly the first time it hit me in such a literal sense.

On August 14th, exactly 3 weeks after we returned from this year's trip out to see her, Aunt Florence passed away. She was 96 years young.

I miss her and Uncle Harold more than I ever thought possible. I have more memories of them than I could possibly fit here. They lived and loved life to the fullest, and if I can find the supply of whatever Fountain of Youth elixir they must have hidden somewhere in their house, I'm chugging it all.

In honor of their extraordinary lives, below are the recipes for Uncle Harold's bran muffins and Aunt Flo's pesto.  Should you ever get around to making either one of these, please raise a glass in their memory, and know that these recipes were shared-- and enjoyed-- with love.

Harold's Bran Muffins

Ingredients:
3/4 cup salad oil
2 beaten eggs
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cup bran

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 375.  Combine salad oil, beaten eggs, buttermilk and stir well. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, white sugar, and bran. Mix well.

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add liquid. Beat together, but do not overbeat. Bake in tins at 375 degrees for 20 minutes.

Notes: muffins supposedly come out better if batter rests in refrigerator overnight. Batter will keep for 3 weeks in refrigerator. Baked muffins keep well in the freezer. Also, for a different twist, add 3/4 cup chopped dates or 3/4 cup raisins.

Florence's Pesto

Ingredients:

3 garlic cloves

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2C olive oil

2C basil

1/4C pine nuts

1/2 cup parmesan

Instructions:

Put garlic, salt and oil in blender/processor- process smooth.

Add basil and nuts and blend.

Transfer to bowl and stir in parmesan.

Milestone

Let it be known that on Monday, August 22, 2011 at 4:10pm, I had my first sip of "regular" soda for the first time in all of 2011.

I was slightly disappointed in myself- I was hoping to never drink one of those things ever again. However, having been quite ill for no apparent reason the night before (funky stomach pains? Food poisoning? Allergic to relaxing vacations?) and still feeling a little shaky with a 10-plus hour car ride ahead of me, I needed to find the nearest can of ginger ale.

It was also pointed out to me that come the end of 2011, I can most likely truthfully say that I only drink one to two cans of soda a year. Certainly better than the average American. For that, I will forgive myself yesterday's indiscretion.

Green Pepper!

Look! Look look look!



(and yes, that is indeed a shark slipper in the background)


What you see there, my friends, is the first official pepper out of my Earthbox. This has made me unbelievably excited: due to the crazy windy storms we've had here throughout the summer, so many of the fresh buds on my pepper plants have been blown off that my crop is coming in late and very slowly. This is in sharp contrast to last year's cucumber harvest. I couldn't keep up with those guys.

The good news is another green pepper is about ready to be picked, a yellow is coming along nicely, and I've seen a good 3 or 4 reds that have started to form. My first poblano is coming in too, with a ton of flowers that are just ready to pop. Please, crazy winds, pleeeeease hold off!

Not the most insightful post, but I was just happy to share. You will be pleased to know that shortly after this picture was taken and I had tasted an unadulterated slice (delicious!!), this pepper gave its life to be part of an egg scramble with onion, tomato, and goat cheese with some toast and butter on the side. And of course, every single ingredient was fresh from the market or farm box.  Au Naturale all the way!

Ground Turkey Recall. Yawn.

This is old news already, but I think it still begs to be given some attention. Our good friends at Cargill, the folks who generously gave us CAFOs and genetically modified corn,  had to issue one of the biggest ground meat recalls in history due to salmonella contamination that has already killed one person.

Good work, Cargill.

Normally this news would not be worthy of a post. Sadly, food recalls are issued with as much regularity as movie premieres. And hey, it's just salmonella: apparently the USDA knew about this issue long before the recall but did nothing because salmonella is no big deal as long as you cook your food properly. This one, however, is noteworthy because this particular strand of salmonella is antibiotic resistant.  And that, my friends, gets to the heart of why CAFOs are as bad for us as they are for the animals that spend their lives cooped up in them.

Let's review: Turkeys (or cows, or chickens, or whatever animal you want) are forced to live in close quarters, therefore sharing diseases. They are fed a diet of foods they are not biologically equipped to digest, also causing illness. The way to deal with these illnesses when you're working with thousands of animals at a time?  Antibiotics! After a while, the strands of salmonella can only adapt and mutate to survive against those antibiotics. And us humans are left to defend ourselves against the resulting onslaught.

Not to say we still shouldn't be cooking our meals properly, or that animals that are 100% pasture-centered will never get sick or carry diseases like salmonella. Truthfully, in my eyes the USDA is more the bad guy than Cargill in this case, as the USDA will say it's unsafe for a small-scale farmer to slaughter or process his own animals on the farm yet they can't keep up with sanitation issues at the supposedly "safe" mass meat-processing facilities.

Totally natural meat (and not the "natural" branded meat that my local Dominicks is now touting, which is a play on the uneducated masses to eat mass produced meat without knowing really what it is still going through) is more expensive, so I've found myself eating less of it lately. And I loves me some meat! But in the end I'd rather eat less, enjoy what I'm eating more, vote with my dollars by supporting my local farmer, and be safe. That's much better than an antibiotic-resistant alternative.

Oregon, Oregon, Oregon....

How I love thee... let me count the ways!

Or, to use a less generic way of describing my favorite trip of the year: should I ever freak out, or lose my grip on reality, or have a nervous breakdown and need to escape from life and the Big City... you get the idea.... Corvallis, OR is where you will find me.

The annual family vacation over a long summer weekend is my favorite of the year primarily because of the fabulous family I have there-- my cousins Jeff and Patty and my Great Aunt-- but also because Oregon is the epitome of everything Au Naturale. Basically, everything you've heard about the Pacific Northwest is true: the scenery is gorgeous, the people are friendly, and the pace there... well, that's hard to describe. It's slow, but it's not Midwestern slow, the kind of slow that makes you want to scream "Hurry up!".  It's not annoying-tourists-on Michigan-Avenue-blocking-my-path-home-from-work-slow.  It's good, I'm-going-to-enjoy-whatever-it-is-I'm-doing-right-now slow. See? Hard to describe. Just trust me on this one.

As I've been doing this annual trip for 11 years now, I've developed an appreciation for and understanding of it's Au Naturale-ness long before I committed to the lifestyle myself. Beyond everything else I've mentioned above, the food and wine there is spectacular. Corvallis is a college town, home to Oregon State University (go Beavers!), but also home to some amazing restaurants and options for local, natural, and organic food at every turn.

Take Saturday Market, for example, as one of the highlights of the trip. It's the greatest farmer's market ever, so much so that when my cousin Patty suggested we skip it this year in favor of other activities because hey, "it's just the market", we almost skinned her alive. It's a huge market, the biggest I've ever seen, with all local and organic farms and where even the most basic of vegetables looks like they're on steroids. None of the booths were lacking for anything. In fact, just check out this assortment of fruit we grabbed for the dessert portion of the homemade meal we were making later in the day, including my favorite, the succulent marionberries I've mentioned in an earlier post:



L to R: Marionberries; strawberries; raspberries; blueberries

 The fruit was so amazing that Patty had to yell at us to stop snacking on it or else there would be none left for dessert. Instead, we bought a huge bag of the sweetest cherries to tide us over.

Saturday dinner, as has become tradition, is cooked at home with only what we've grabbed from the Market and what we pick up from the local fishmonger, who gets his catch fresh from the coast just a few hours drive away. Even I, who generally does not like cooked fish, can appreciate a fresh Pacific salmon.

Beyond the homecooked meal, however, Corvallis and the Willamette Valley in general can be counted on for great food and wine. On Friday night, we drove to nearby Philomath to dine at Gathering Together Farm, which may be the most Au Naturale restaurant I have ever visited. The name is strange, but that's the actual name of the farm where the restaurant is located. On the front porch they have only about 10 tables and are only open for dinner two nights a week-- so make your reservations now, folks! The head chef came from Chez Panisse in San Francisco and makes incredible dishes from the bounty they grow right on the farm. Whatever they don't have there comes from other farms just down the road. Add a great wine list from the excellent vineyards surrounding the area and we've never been disappointed. As a bonus, they keep the inside market open during dinner so once you're done stuffing yourself, you can also pick up some market-fresh items to take home with you. One stop shop!

I could go on and on... and writing this makes me feel that I should dedicate a post on our vineyard visits and the virtues/pitfalls of organic wine vs. non-organic wine vs. wine made with organic grapes... but I don't want to keep you reading about the details of my trip forever. I've done that a lot recently. That being said, if you happen to catch yourself on a flight west and need some vineyards or restaurants or camping/biking/boating gear (here is where I shamelessly plug my cousin's store, Peak Sports), I will be more than happy to profer suggestions. Suffice it to say I'm already counting down the days until next year's trip.

Beaten by Beets **RECIPE ALERT**

I'm a week or so behind on sharing my CSA with you:

Red pepper; cucumber; beets; carrots; Sungold tomatoes; blueberries

As you can see, this week's box was a little thin. No worries: the risk of joining a CSA is that there may be weeks where you don't get loaded up with the goods, and apparently week 4 was one of those. Nevertheless, I was thrilled to find that my brother & sis 'n law weren't going to be the only ones to enjoy blueberries, as well as intrigued by all the possibilities the Sungold tomatoes could yield in terms of recipes. In the end, they were so sweet and juicy I ended up just eating them as my afternoon snacks at work. I've never eaten tomatoes as a snack before, so you can imagine how amazing they were.

One item I was a little wary of seeing yet again were the beets. For those of you keeping score, I had also received beets in the last box so now I was two bunches in. I am generally not a fan of beets except for an amazing beet dish I had at Taxim, a restaurant I visited in an earlier post. Either Taxim's chef did something really well or my taste buds were changing.  In any case, the beets from my CSA were waiting patiently for me to use them and the first bunch was getting a little old. Without the Taxim recipe available to me, I needed to be creative.

I searched online and found a recipe for Roasted Beets with Oranges that incorporated mostly ingredients I already had in-house, such as my lovely homemade red wine vinegar, and logged glowing reviews that included multiple variations on "I hate beets but I loved this recipe!" I took that to be a good sign. I promptly invited my boyfriend over, ran to the store to grab the appropriate missing items, and got ready for a culinary adventure.

That is, however, until I read the recipe more carefully. To be clear, I generally peruse recipes thoroughly before committing to them, but for some reason in this case I managed to skip over the section that said I needed to roast the beets for an hour and a half first, and then after assembling the final dish I had to let it marinate for another hour. The two of us are absolute pros at eating dinner at ridiculously late hours-- sometimes it's almost breakfast, it seems-- so suddenly this dish seemed an impossible task.

What to do? It was after 7pm, I hadn't started to cook yet, and the options were looking bleak. I just didn't have a go-to recipe in my repertoire like I do for the vegetables I actually enjoy on a regular basis. At that moment, my eyes wandered to my cookbook shelf and I slapped my forehead.

Towards the beginning of the Au Naturale journey, but before the winter frost had begun to thaw, I swung by a shuttering Borders bookstore and ravaged what was left of the cookbook section. One of the two books I treated myself to was in anticipation of signing up for my first CSA: it's called Eating Local, published by Sur la Table. It's designed for the farm box subscriber in mind, and instead of being organized by dish or meal it's organized by main ingredient. So when you get a mess of, oh, say, beets, and need to know 4 different ways to use them up, you can just turn to the beet section. Even more fun, it features profiles of small, independent farms from all over the country, the kind of farms I choose to support and encourage all of you to support, too.  After buying that book I spent many a lazy night curled up on the couch, eagerly reading it from start to finish.

I grabbed the book off the shelf and to the beet section I went! While looking for a recipe that did not necessitate another run to the store, I found a recipe for Golden Beet and Buttermilk Soup, which was surely a sign: what an excellent way to use up the rest of the buttermilk leftover from the strawberry basil muffins! The only other changes were substituting green onion for chives (as I didn't have any); adding an extra clove of garlic (because we love garlic); and our beets were red instead of golden. If you happen to have the option of using golden beets I strongly recommend it. Using the red, the resulting dish was not physically unlike the bright pink of borscht:

Reactions-- and how I used the remaining beets-- after the recipe. Yep, I'm going to make you work for it:

Beet and Buttermilk Soup:

Ingredients:
1 pound beets, golden or red (weight without greens, about 3 medium beets)
1 large clove garlic, sliced
3 cups buttermilk (I used low-fat)
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives, or 2 tbs chopped fresh dill, plus more finely chopped for garnish
1 TBS sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar, or more to taste
kosher or sea salt


Directions:
1) Preheat the oven to 375. If the beet greens are attached, remove all but 1/2 inch of the stem. Reserve the greens and stems for another use. Put the beets in a baking dish, and add water to a depth of 1/4 inch. Cover tightly with a lid or foil and bake until a knife pierces them easily, 45 to 55 minutes. When cool enough to handle, peel the beets.


2) Cut the beets into quarters. Put the beets, garlic, and 1 1/2 cups of the buttermilk in a blender and puree until smooth. (You can use a food processor but the results will not be as smooth.) Add the remaining 1 1/2 cups buttermilk, the dill, and the vinegar and puree again. Season to taste with salt. Transfer to a covered container and chill well.


3) Taste before serving and adjust the seasoning. Serve in cups or bowls, garnishing each portion with a sprinkle of the chives.


So-- my thoughts?  Meh. Although I do appreciate that beets are quite easy to peel. I was expecting to wrestle with them like one often wrestles with peeling inconveniently shaped foods. I know what you're thinking now: "Really?? 'Meh?' Then why did you even bother to post the recipe?" Right?  I decided to post because my fantastic and honest boyfriend, who is ambivalent about beets and generally dislikes cold soups (there goes my gazpacho plans), thought this was really quite tasty. So for all you beet lovers out there, this soup is probably right up your alley.

Alas, though, yesterday I found myself in a quandary with the remaining beets that were beginning to get a bit long in the tooth. I decided to go for the original beet and orange salad- I had the ingredients, I needed to redeem myself from the chocolate cupcake I snagged off the Evil Bar of Doom, and I kind of didn't care that I might not eat dinner until 10pm... which ended up being the case. In addition to the fact that I am a slow cook-- so when a recipe says it will only take a half hour, I know that I'm in for a full hour-- I hadn't had a night home all week and the long time in between steps allowed me to get some things done, such as finally unpack from last weekend's trip (more on that in the next posts).

I would rate this one as refreshing and summery, and not too bad. And it's very colorful. I liked it better than the soup.  But still kind of a "meh".  I otherwise wouldn't post this recipe with a "meh" rating, but hey, this is going to be my first and last post dedicated to beets. After just two beet-centric cooking adventures, I'm pretty sure I'm done with them for good.

Roasted Beet Salad with Oranges and Beet Greens
(thanks to Epicurious for this one)

• Ingredients:
• 6 medium beets with beet greens attached

• 2 large oranges
• 1 small sweet onion, cut through root end into thin wedges
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon grated orange peel

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F. Trim greens from beets. Cut off and discard stems. Coarsely chop leaves and reserve. Wrap each beet in foil. Place beets directly on oven rack and roast until tender when pierced with fork, about 1 hour 30 minutes. Cool. Peel beets, then cut each into 8 wedges. Place beets in medium bowl.

Cook beet greens in large saucepan of salted boiling water just until tender, about 2 minutes. Drain. Cool. Squeeze greens to remove excess moisture. Add greens to bowl with beets. Cut peel and white pith from oranges. Working over another bowl and using small sharp knife, cut between membranes to release segments (or just carefully pull them apart with your fingers. Add orange segments and onion to bowl with beet mixture. Whisk vinegar, oil, garlic, and orange peel in small bowl to blend; add to beet mixture and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour. Serve.