Ah, Summer. It officially rolled in in the form of Memorial Day and warm, sunny weather just this past weekend. In my home, it was officially inaugurated on Monday when I planted my back deck full of flowers, herbs, and veggies.
And with this season of living an easier Au Naturale lifestyle, as the farmer's market options grow more numerous by the week, I make a promise-- nay, a pledge-- to you, oh loyal readers, to write more posts than I did in May. My apologies: my brain was actually filled with good post ideas, I just simply got very busy during my free (heh, "free") time and ran out of hours in the day to put those ideas down on virtual paper.
In any case, I did think long and hard about other small changes I could make to my pantry and I really couldn't find anything significant. Looking at the contents of my cabinets and fridge, I felt very confident that I had successfully cleared my food supply of processed and packaged crap and replaced it all with nothing more than the building blocks of food and nutrition, or as much as I knowingly can. Truthfully, I felt pretty good.
But something was still nagging at me, a feeling like I wasn't quite there yet. And the more I thought about it the more I realized that a fully Au Naturale lifestyle only existed within the walls of my home. As you may remember, I had decided early on that I was going to have to make the necessary excepions for restaurants and friends/family's houses. I couldn't see into the kitchens of every restaurant and goodness knows I wasn't going to grill the generous friend who invited me over where she purchased her chicken. But that was just the thing: I eat out every day at work for lunch. I also eat out at least a couple of times a week for dinner. Based on my calculations, really not much more than 50% of my total weekly food intake (70% on a good week) could be guaranteed as natural as I wanted it because it was not prepared by me in my home.
So what to do? Truly, I enjoy dining out with friends. I enjoy dining in with family. I am certainly not going to torch my social life and become a food hermit. If I can't always go to the Au Naturale, perhaps I can bring it with me. So I decided a big change would have to be the meal I eat out-of-home most often: the weekday lunch.
Truthfully, I should do it anyway. This is not a new concept. Eating out daily takes a toll on the wallet and especially so if I want to be picky and eat at Hannah's Bretzel (delicious, but certainly not cost-efficient). But for me the cost isn't the issue. It is the cleanliness, so to speak, of the food. So now I make a pledge to myself to do what most people do for economic reasons: bring my lunch to work. The easiest way to do this, again, is not novel. I simply need to take what is in my fully Au Naturale kitchen, mainly in the form of dinners, and expand them for lunch leftovers. Sure, I won't be able to do it every day, and especially while I'm traveling. Sure, it will get monotonous at times. But I guess that's just a challenge to make my meals that much more interesting. And that's good for you! More recipe alerts! You're welcome.
So, as I sit here enjoying a simple salad for dinner-- made with either all-organic or all market-based veggies, natch-- and a tangy homemade vinaigrette, I feel confident that tomorrow's lunch is the first of many to be eaten this way. The extra salad and vinaigrette in my fridge tells me so.
Speaking of which... I haven't provided a recipe in a while. See below for a perfect complement to a summer salad. You can use sherry vinegar, which I think would have been fantastic, but since I didn't have it I opted for a homemade red wine vinegar we get from a family friend. The red wine version gives it a nice kick, in my opinion, without overwhelming it. You can (and should!) add herbs such as basil or oregano to give it a little something extra, if you desire.
Vinaigrette Recipe:
2 TBS red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
2 TBS extra virgin olive oil
2 TBS fresh lemon juice
large pinch of salt
1 tsp dijon mustard
1/4 tsp fresh pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
combine all in a jar and shake vigorously to blend.
Again, you're welcome.
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
A Happy Cow Is A Tasty Cow
It was moderately warm out last night, warm enough for an excuse to use the grill. And grill we did, loyal readers, my boyfriend and I barbecuing up some thick but simple burgers. The starting point for this meal came from the fact that we both wanted something meat-like and grillable, however, my eco-concious boyfriend was adament that we either eat vegetarian or some sort of meat that has been raised humanely and ecologically. It was late when we started shopping, so to Whole Foods we went to make the trip quick and easy, picking up a package of ground-beef patties and a pack of beer-infused tofurkey brats to boot. As an FYI- don't ever bother buying the Tofurkeys. They were exponentially mediocre.
At home I was in charge of grilling, and I do have to pat myself on the back a little: I NAILED the medium rare on both burgers. And they were beyond delicious: the two of us couldn't stop oohing and ahhing after every bite, dripping with juice and swiss cheese (organic, of course). I dare say it's the best burger I've had in a very, very long time.
You probably want to know what we did to these burgers that made them so amazing. Other than rub a tiny bit of olive oil on both sides to keep them moist and from sticking to the grill, absolutely nothing. I credit the cow itself, and the rancher who raised him, with providing all the flavor.
You may remember the 5-step Animal Welfare Rating system from an earlier post. You see, the only way we were going to find ground beef quickly that met both my bf's ecological and my Au Naturale standards, without running around to every butcher or small market in town, was to rely on this system to help us pick the right item from Whole Food's meat counter. After perusing both non-rated and "1" and "2"-rated meats, we finally found ourselves some burger patties that were designated a 4 on the scale: "Pasture-Centered". This means, among other things, that our cattle and his friends and family:
And you know that when these cattle are outside, able to grow at a natural pace, able to eat grass instead of grain, and not pumped full of hormones or antibiotics, they tend to taste wonderful-- or in another manner of speaking-- taste how cattle are supposed to taste.
Happy, healthy cattle = healthy, tasty meat = happy, healthy human.
It's official: I'm never going back to mass-produced meat again. I encourage you to support your local farmer-- and your stomach-- and do the same.
As an aside, we also made some homemade sweet potato chips and regular potato chips with a variety of seasonings. They tasted great but never got quite crispy enough. When we figure out the right combination of time and heat, I promise to share it with you all here. Bon Appetit!
At home I was in charge of grilling, and I do have to pat myself on the back a little: I NAILED the medium rare on both burgers. And they were beyond delicious: the two of us couldn't stop oohing and ahhing after every bite, dripping with juice and swiss cheese (organic, of course). I dare say it's the best burger I've had in a very, very long time.
You probably want to know what we did to these burgers that made them so amazing. Other than rub a tiny bit of olive oil on both sides to keep them moist and from sticking to the grill, absolutely nothing. I credit the cow itself, and the rancher who raised him, with providing all the flavor.
You may remember the 5-step Animal Welfare Rating system from an earlier post. You see, the only way we were going to find ground beef quickly that met both my bf's ecological and my Au Naturale standards, without running around to every butcher or small market in town, was to rely on this system to help us pick the right item from Whole Food's meat counter. After perusing both non-rated and "1" and "2"-rated meats, we finally found ourselves some burger patties that were designated a 4 on the scale: "Pasture-Centered". This means, among other things, that our cattle and his friends and family:
- Must spend at least 3/4 of their lives on range or pasture when seasonal conditions permit. Removing an animal from range or pasture for more than 4 months in any one year or for more than 1/4 of the animal’s life is prohibited.
- May be removed from range or pasture only when seasonal conditions compromise the welfare of the animals or during extreme weather conditions when the outdoor environment is poses a risk to welfare
- Housed cattle must have continuous, unobstructed access to the outdoors
- May not be confined to an outdoor area that is less than 250 ft²/24m² per animal.
- Whenever confined outdoors, they must have a clean, dry place to lie.
And you know that when these cattle are outside, able to grow at a natural pace, able to eat grass instead of grain, and not pumped full of hormones or antibiotics, they tend to taste wonderful-- or in another manner of speaking-- taste how cattle are supposed to taste.
Happy, healthy cattle = healthy, tasty meat = happy, healthy human.
It's official: I'm never going back to mass-produced meat again. I encourage you to support your local farmer-- and your stomach-- and do the same.
As an aside, we also made some homemade sweet potato chips and regular potato chips with a variety of seasonings. They tasted great but never got quite crispy enough. When we figure out the right combination of time and heat, I promise to share it with you all here. Bon Appetit!
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Next Steps Part II: Small Steps Continued
Just kidding! I stayed at the same cabinet. Oh, I'm such a jokester. Hardy Har. Har.
There's another little white basic that screams "refined!" at me just as much as salt does. Do you notice that as far as the color "white" goes, it's supposed to represent purity but more often is really representing "empty"? After all, the color white is really the absence of all color. And in the case of food, the absense of color generally means the absence of nutrition.
But I digress. Today's post is not meant to be an art lession. If you hadn't already guessed over the course of the above ramblings, I've got a laser eye focused on sugar. Ahhh, sugar. Is there anything you don't make more delicious? But again, my brain asks: how Au Naturale is basic white sugar?
As it turns out, it's about as refined as table salt. It does come from sugar cane or sugar beets, yes, but after it's cleaned it goes through a "refining" process which includes, among other things, bleaching agents such as lime, phosphoric acid, calcium hydroxide and others to get the super white color.
Either raw sugar or organic whole cane sugar is your best bet if you want to go Au Naturale with your sweeteners. Yes, it has to be refined a bit of course; you have to extract it from the plant somehow. However, these sugars, like Celtic salt, can retain some of the other original minerals that they had in plant form, such as calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium.
Careful, though: Don't confuse raw sugar, with it's brownish color, to brown sugar you've probably bought at the grocery store. That brown sugar is just refined white sugar but with molasses added back in to get the brown, "raw" color. Art lesson again! (Notice how I said "back" in? Molasses were always there to begin with, but stripped out in the refining process. How ironic.)
Other good natural sweetener options include raw liquid sweeteners like raw honey, agave nectar, etc. but sometimes you need the solid stuff for baking or sprinkling or whatever. And as a disclaimer, I definitely think it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that any kind of sweetener in mass quantities is not healthy. This post doesn't advocate that eating a cup of raw sugar a day is going to somehow lessen your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes any more than if you ate a cup of refined white sugar every day. Sugar is sugar. But if it's going to be in my body, I'd like it to be as pure as possible.
On that note.. what else, loyal readers? What types of basic elements, or staples, should I be looking at more closely besides salt and sugar? What do you substitute- or what would you like to substitute- in your own pantries and kitchens?
There's another little white basic that screams "refined!" at me just as much as salt does. Do you notice that as far as the color "white" goes, it's supposed to represent purity but more often is really representing "empty"? After all, the color white is really the absence of all color. And in the case of food, the absense of color generally means the absence of nutrition.
But I digress. Today's post is not meant to be an art lession. If you hadn't already guessed over the course of the above ramblings, I've got a laser eye focused on sugar. Ahhh, sugar. Is there anything you don't make more delicious? But again, my brain asks: how Au Naturale is basic white sugar?
As it turns out, it's about as refined as table salt. It does come from sugar cane or sugar beets, yes, but after it's cleaned it goes through a "refining" process which includes, among other things, bleaching agents such as lime, phosphoric acid, calcium hydroxide and others to get the super white color.
Either raw sugar or organic whole cane sugar is your best bet if you want to go Au Naturale with your sweeteners. Yes, it has to be refined a bit of course; you have to extract it from the plant somehow. However, these sugars, like Celtic salt, can retain some of the other original minerals that they had in plant form, such as calcium, iron, magnesium and potassium.
Careful, though: Don't confuse raw sugar, with it's brownish color, to brown sugar you've probably bought at the grocery store. That brown sugar is just refined white sugar but with molasses added back in to get the brown, "raw" color. Art lesson again! (Notice how I said "back" in? Molasses were always there to begin with, but stripped out in the refining process. How ironic.)
Other good natural sweetener options include raw liquid sweeteners like raw honey, agave nectar, etc. but sometimes you need the solid stuff for baking or sprinkling or whatever. And as a disclaimer, I definitely think it goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway) that any kind of sweetener in mass quantities is not healthy. This post doesn't advocate that eating a cup of raw sugar a day is going to somehow lessen your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes any more than if you ate a cup of refined white sugar every day. Sugar is sugar. But if it's going to be in my body, I'd like it to be as pure as possible.
On that note.. what else, loyal readers? What types of basic elements, or staples, should I be looking at more closely besides salt and sugar? What do you substitute- or what would you like to substitute- in your own pantries and kitchens?
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Next Steps Part I: Small Steps
There was another tomato recall last week. Salmonella. Hmm.
But that's not what todays post is about, oh Loyal 3 or 4 readers. After a crazy month of work, traveling, and social engagements, things have calmed down. Spring has sprung (or has tried to as much as it can in Chicago). And with the new season, a new feeling of Au Naturale complacency has set in.
Not complacency towards the Au Naturale lifestyle, my friends. More like feeling like I'm on autopilot again, wondering if I'm doing enough to really be making a dent. Is it time for change? Yes, in my opinion, time for some changes big and small. Perhaps looking over my diet and making many small changes, I can bring myself closer to becoming completely Au Naturale. Big changes, done correctly, will not only assist in the same goal and allow me to call myself not only an additive-free human, but also a locavore with confidence.
But first the small changes. Every day when I look in my cupboards I see a variety of potential red flags staring back at me. Salt, for example. Seems pretty simple, but what must salt go through to get to my plate? I have thought about this before, in fact. There is a big Morton's Salt warehouse on my way to and from home and occasionally one of the big steel doors will be cracked open, garnering me a glimpse inside. Typically, what I see in the 3 seconds I have to look as I drive past is a huge pile of salt, 8 or 10 or more feet high, just sitting on the floor. Sitting on the floor! I certainly hope it goes through some sort of decontamination process after that. But at the same time, I fear whatever that decontamination process may be.
I happened to mention this to my brother a while back. He just shrugged. "Where do you think salt comes from?" he asked. True enough... I guess. But still, I wonder what happens to that salt during the journey from the floor of that warehouse to the blue cylinder in my cabinet.
Well, again, to the research I go. Log story short, most table salts contain additives, not least of which is an anti-caking agent like calcium silicate to keep it from clumping in humid conditions and flowing freely from the small holes in your salt shaker. Add that to the pollution from the mining process that is either left in or goes through a chemical bath to eliminate, and such a simple and necessary element is looking less and less Au Naturale than I would like.
So what to do? I can make a lot of condiments, but salt ain't one of them. My research shows that switching to Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt is the way to go. Both are unrefined so they maintain more naturally-occuring minerals, and come from less polluted sources. They are also a natural source of iodine, a necessary nutrient. Table salt has iodine added, but mainly because the naturally-ocurring iodine gets stripped away during the refinement process.
And there we have the result of small change #1. Many containers of salt in my apartment will now be donated to whoever needs or wants it (are you a loyal Chicago-based reader who would like some?) and a subtle yet important change to the diet commences. Now let's step over to the next cabinet and see what else needs to be tweaked...
But that's not what todays post is about, oh Loyal 3 or 4 readers. After a crazy month of work, traveling, and social engagements, things have calmed down. Spring has sprung (or has tried to as much as it can in Chicago). And with the new season, a new feeling of Au Naturale complacency has set in.
Not complacency towards the Au Naturale lifestyle, my friends. More like feeling like I'm on autopilot again, wondering if I'm doing enough to really be making a dent. Is it time for change? Yes, in my opinion, time for some changes big and small. Perhaps looking over my diet and making many small changes, I can bring myself closer to becoming completely Au Naturale. Big changes, done correctly, will not only assist in the same goal and allow me to call myself not only an additive-free human, but also a locavore with confidence.
But first the small changes. Every day when I look in my cupboards I see a variety of potential red flags staring back at me. Salt, for example. Seems pretty simple, but what must salt go through to get to my plate? I have thought about this before, in fact. There is a big Morton's Salt warehouse on my way to and from home and occasionally one of the big steel doors will be cracked open, garnering me a glimpse inside. Typically, what I see in the 3 seconds I have to look as I drive past is a huge pile of salt, 8 or 10 or more feet high, just sitting on the floor. Sitting on the floor! I certainly hope it goes through some sort of decontamination process after that. But at the same time, I fear whatever that decontamination process may be.
I happened to mention this to my brother a while back. He just shrugged. "Where do you think salt comes from?" he asked. True enough... I guess. But still, I wonder what happens to that salt during the journey from the floor of that warehouse to the blue cylinder in my cabinet.
Well, again, to the research I go. Log story short, most table salts contain additives, not least of which is an anti-caking agent like calcium silicate to keep it from clumping in humid conditions and flowing freely from the small holes in your salt shaker. Add that to the pollution from the mining process that is either left in or goes through a chemical bath to eliminate, and such a simple and necessary element is looking less and less Au Naturale than I would like.
So what to do? I can make a lot of condiments, but salt ain't one of them. My research shows that switching to Celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt is the way to go. Both are unrefined so they maintain more naturally-occuring minerals, and come from less polluted sources. They are also a natural source of iodine, a necessary nutrient. Table salt has iodine added, but mainly because the naturally-ocurring iodine gets stripped away during the refinement process.
And there we have the result of small change #1. Many containers of salt in my apartment will now be donated to whoever needs or wants it (are you a loyal Chicago-based reader who would like some?) and a subtle yet important change to the diet commences. Now let's step over to the next cabinet and see what else needs to be tweaked...
Monday, May 9, 2011
Happy Weekend, Everyone!
Or, I guess I should have titled it "I had a happy weekend, everyone!" Because spring is in the air and summer is getting just thiiis much closer, and all this weekend I found myself surrounded by Au Naturale goodness wherever I went.
Number one? The Evanston (suburb of Chicago) summer Farmer's Market began this Saturday! I got up early (for me) in order to hit it up. There's not a huge amount of selection and all the farmer's weren't there yet, but it's a start. Seasonality filled the air. I had my pick of a variety of asparagus, spinach, green onion, plants, and more. Most excitedly, the hand-rolled butter from last summer was available again- I snapped that one up quick. About 30 minutes and a full bag later, I had 2 bunches of just-picked asparagus, 2 bags of organic spinach, eggs, butter, mozarella, and mushrooms. Hmm, what shall I cook tonight?
Later in the day I was running errands when I passed a new local and organic small grocery store in my neighborhood. I quickly commandeered a parking spot and ran in for a look. It seems that Real Naked Food Chicago just opened, as many of their shelves were moderately empty, but I'm happy to welcome them to the 'hood and wish them tons of success. Both a grocery store specializing in local and unprocessed goods as well as a deli and juice bar, they join the ranks of Green Grocer Chicago and Dill Pickle Food Co-op in the local and organic grocery store concept. They are also the first of their kind to be within walking distance, so if I ever need a last-minute staple it's good to know they're there.
After all my running around, I came home to enjoy the Spring edition of Edible Chicago that landed in my mailbox this week. Remember Edible Chicago from an earlier blog post, oh loyal 3 or 4 readers? I didn't yet finish it, but I'm excited to see what's happening in the local Au Naturale universe and find the articles and recipes to be incredibly motivating. I hope you have subscribed to and are supporting your local Edible Community magazine, too.
I finished up the day by having dinner with a good friend who is in town for a bit. One of my loyal 3 or 4 readers, she brilliantly recommended Taxim, a new-ish Greek restaurant in town that uses seasonal ingredients from local farms such as Nichols Farm, Iron Creek, Mint Creek and more. They also make all of their marinades, breads, charcuterie, yogurt, and more in-house. The meal was spectacular (except the fried zuccinni- you can skip that one). If you are a local Chicagoan I highly recommend you check this place out.
I truly look forward to seeing what else will pop up in the next few weeks. Loyal readers: what have you seen in your cities, neighborhoods, regions, etc. that tells you the best of the growing season is upon us? What have you taken advantage of? What are you most looking forward to?
Number one? The Evanston (suburb of Chicago) summer Farmer's Market began this Saturday! I got up early (for me) in order to hit it up. There's not a huge amount of selection and all the farmer's weren't there yet, but it's a start. Seasonality filled the air. I had my pick of a variety of asparagus, spinach, green onion, plants, and more. Most excitedly, the hand-rolled butter from last summer was available again- I snapped that one up quick. About 30 minutes and a full bag later, I had 2 bunches of just-picked asparagus, 2 bags of organic spinach, eggs, butter, mozarella, and mushrooms. Hmm, what shall I cook tonight?
Later in the day I was running errands when I passed a new local and organic small grocery store in my neighborhood. I quickly commandeered a parking spot and ran in for a look. It seems that Real Naked Food Chicago just opened, as many of their shelves were moderately empty, but I'm happy to welcome them to the 'hood and wish them tons of success. Both a grocery store specializing in local and unprocessed goods as well as a deli and juice bar, they join the ranks of Green Grocer Chicago and Dill Pickle Food Co-op in the local and organic grocery store concept. They are also the first of their kind to be within walking distance, so if I ever need a last-minute staple it's good to know they're there.
After all my running around, I came home to enjoy the Spring edition of Edible Chicago that landed in my mailbox this week. Remember Edible Chicago from an earlier blog post, oh loyal 3 or 4 readers? I didn't yet finish it, but I'm excited to see what's happening in the local Au Naturale universe and find the articles and recipes to be incredibly motivating. I hope you have subscribed to and are supporting your local Edible Community magazine, too.
I finished up the day by having dinner with a good friend who is in town for a bit. One of my loyal 3 or 4 readers, she brilliantly recommended Taxim, a new-ish Greek restaurant in town that uses seasonal ingredients from local farms such as Nichols Farm, Iron Creek, Mint Creek and more. They also make all of their marinades, breads, charcuterie, yogurt, and more in-house. The meal was spectacular (except the fried zuccinni- you can skip that one). If you are a local Chicagoan I highly recommend you check this place out.
I truly look forward to seeing what else will pop up in the next few weeks. Loyal readers: what have you seen in your cities, neighborhoods, regions, etc. that tells you the best of the growing season is upon us? What have you taken advantage of? What are you most looking forward to?
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