My New Lunch Obsession: Pret a Manger

A new job in a new part of town inevitably means having to find new places for lunch. Sure, your typical Corner Bakeries and Potbellys and whatnot abound, but there is no cafeteria in my new building to fix a simple salad and no Hannah's Bretzel or Chicago's Downtown Farmstand (RIP) for my Au Naturale fix.

It was more of an accident than anything else the first time I wandered into Pret a Manger. I had never been inside one before-- it's entirely possible I've never seen one before-- but it's funny how once you discover a place you can't un-discover it. I feel like now I see them everywhere. And that's a good thing! Pret is totally one of those au naturale fast food places that Michael Pollan was referencing when he answered my travel question. They sell sandwiches, salads, soups, and snacky things but everything is made fresh in-house daily, with organic when they can get it, and sourced locally as much as possible. The best part? They don't carry anything over day by day. If they have leftover food at closing, they donate it to local food shelters. As I've said in previous posts: good for my body and my conscience. You can even see how they react in real-time with employees constantly coming out of the back kitchen bearing freshly-made items to restock any items that are running low. It's nice to know that my Farmer's Market salad (my current lunch obsession de jour) hasn't been sitting and wilting since 9am. Only once have I entered to find them out of my choice, and when one friendly employee saw me hovering, he asked what I was waiting for then scurried into the back and had someone prepare the salad for me immediately. Great customer service! The prices are pretty reasonable, too.

Anyway, that's my new discovery and shout out for the day. I'm glad Pret exists, and I'm even more glad I found it in my new work 'hood. I certainly haven't explored all that is out there in regards to other potential au naturale options; I can sometimes become a creature of habit and I expect my current obsession with the Farmers Market salad to last a while until I decide I JUST CAN'T have it one day more. Perhaps as the weather gets better I will be more apt to venture out of the 3 or 4 block radius I've carved for myself. But until then, I've found my fix.

Michael Pollan is a God

With Michael Pollan, who's totally ignoring me.

No, he's not actually ignoring me. I mainly just photobombed him after he signed a copy of my book and while he was conversing with someone else. Yes, I was that person. No, I am not proud.

But I won't lie- I was SO super-psyched to see him in person. The BF and I bought tickets to his event/book tour/speaking engagement at Elmhurst College months ago. Michael Pollan is a huge influence on the Au Naturale conversion-- watching "Food Inc." was the tipping point and I've devoured pretty much all of his books-- so the opportunity to see him in person was just too much to pass up. It was a great event: he is a wonderful public speaker, and although a lot of the event was to promote his newest book, 'Cooked', I hung on to his every word and even learned some new and interesting tidbits. That ticket was $15 well spent.

At the end of the event, they opened up for some Q&A and I just couldn't resist. I thought of all that I had learned on this journey, all I still wanted to learn, and what kind of things I wanted to know about him if I ever got the chance to ask. When it was my turn to step up to the microphone, I decided to go with a problem that has plagued me since the beginning. One my loyal readers know about far too well.

After first telling him that he's been an influence on me and how I try to eat Au Naturale as often as I can, I explained that up until recently I worked at a job that involved lots of business travel to places where the nearest restaurant in a gazillion mile radius was McDonald's, making an Au Naturale diet virtually impossible. "As someone who also travels a lot, with your book tour and speaking engagements and whatnot," I opined, "I'm curious to know how you handle that challenge?"

Michael Pollan nodded enthusiastically. "That's a great question," he responded.

I beamed.

He then went on to explain that it was a struggle for him, too. He thinks airports are the worst. His safe bet is to eat vegetarian if he's on the road. However, he's encouraged by the number of small, fast food-like local and organic restaurants that are popping up everywhere, making it easier for those of us who need the fast food but don't want to eat... well, traditional fast food.

Nothing ground-breaking, but it was great to hear his take on it and reassuring that even he finds it as much of a challenge as I do. I was glad I asked the question, because although the actual travel part is no longer applicable to my life, the challenges of eating irregularly will soon be back.

"Wait, back up," you're thinking. "You're not traveling anymore?"

No, loyal readers, I am not. In the past few posts I've made vague references to Big Life Things and now it's time to reveal them! Not only do I have a new job (why I'm not traveling anymore) but in a few months I will be leaving the Real World to go back to school for a masters degree. Whoo hoo! I've been vague about it because I was terrified that I might not get into any program at all and then I'd be writing with my tail between my legs. But after over a year of taking standardized tests, writing more drafts of more essays than I can count, then struggling with the choice of where to go when I was fortunate enough to get accepted to multiple programs, it is over. For a few brief months, I can go back to a normal life. (By the way, the essay writing is why I was ignoring the blog: 1 free hour to write a blog post = 1 free hour to work on the essays some more. As much as I love to write, it was hell.)

The normal life, aka 9-to-5, evenings free, weekends free, will be short-lived, which is why my question to Michael still seemed relevant. My MBA program will be an super-intensive two years. Beyond classes, I will have group meetings, presentations, professional club events, case competitions, career treks, international travel and more. All these things will stretch into late nights, weekends, lunches, and beyond. 9-to-5 will seem like a dream.  I see lots of pizza and beer in my future (apparently MBA-ers like to drink. A lot.) I will be on a very restricted budget. I will most likely be living in the school cafeteria or subject to events that lure you with promises of food (because masters students, just like undergrads, love events with free food).

All of this will take a toll on the Au Naturale lifestyle. Back when I was doing business travel to college campuses, a lot of my clients were food service providers so I got a good inside look into the modern college cafeteria. It's changed a lot since my undergrad days, in a good way. A lot more fresh cooking, efforts to source locally, healthier fare. But it's still out of my control, and even when I'm eating at home I know I will be too rushed and too tired to often want to put a lot of effort into my cooking.

I'm going to try not to sweat it. I think the slow cooker will come out often, and I hope that the BF and I will be on the ball with canning and freezing some awesome produce at the start of the summer so we have staples at the ready when we need it. Who knows, perhaps things won't be as crazy as I'm making them out to be. From what I've heard, though.... well, we'll see. But it will be an adventure, and with any good adventure, I look forward to experiencing the ride and seeing where it ends up.

I'm So Bored!!!! (With Breakfast)

It's true. For someone who loves breakfast-- and certainly don't get me started on how awesome brunch is-- I am BORED.

The recent Big Life Things have meant that I now have more time for a proper breakfast. To be clear, I've been better about eating it since my Au Naturale conversion because don't you know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day?? But while I used to have just enough time to inhale a piece of whole wheat bread topped with almond butter and a banana before rushing out the door, I can now make eggs (pasture raised, natch).

So I make eggs. And more eggs. And even more eggs.

A few weeks ago I got antsy and started craving cereal so I started eating cereal. Hey, I thought, at least with the milk I'm getting more calcium in my diet. Then the cereal ran out. So I went back to eggs.

After getting bored again, I bought mushrooms from the mushroom guy at the winter Farmer's Market to try to make the eggs more interesting. Then I got sick of mushrooms.

So it's time to find something new. While I have lots of breakfast recipes (perhaps if you're good little kiddos I will post the ever popular cottage cheese pancake recipe) and more time than before, I don't want to spend all morning making breakfast for myself. Also because I am not even remotely close to being a "morning person", having to use enough brain energy to do something totally creative every day before the coffee kicks in is bound to result in failure.

But my biggest dilemma is that most recipes I've found either involve, you guessed it, EGGS, or are super carb heavy. For those of you who might remember the story of trying to kick my carbaholic habit,  I don't really love that option, either. So my key to preparing breakfast creatively is to find the creativity within itself: the creativity in ingredients.

So far, I've compiled just a few good ingredients that can be arranged in quick, varying ways:

Berries
Yogurt
Lox
Granola

So for example, I could make either a smoothie or a parfait with the fruit. But I know I need to add more or else I'll get bored. Again.  Here's where I turn it to you, loyal readers. Any favorites? Other suggestions? I will be happy to give you a shout out. What breakfast foods make you super happy in the morning? I'll give you all the credit via regular update with reviews, ratings, or even just recipe alerts. It's been a while since I posted one of those. I owe you at least that. Alright? Now get to it.

Where is the Au Naturale Drive-Thru??

There is a post I wrote sometime in the past that I desire to link to, but am too lazy right now to dig around and find. It's about expanding waist lines, the ever-present Health Thing, and the fact that eating too much Au Naturale food is still eating too much food. Perhaps you can go look for it on your own? (Tee hee. See what I did there?)

In any case, I was reminded of this post the other day- most days, lately- when I put on a pair of my more forgiving work slacks and had a muffin top the likes of which you only see in a Panera bakery counter. Blech.

(Wait- didn't I use that terrible analogy in a previous post, too? Someone look it up and let me know.)

This recent health decline is, without a doubt, due to the stresses of the Big Life Things that I mentioned 2 posts ago. During the height of it I didn't have much time to cook, when I did it was nothing really remarkable, and I dealt with the stress by eating and drinking way too much. I've never been much of an exerciser- more like a reluctant exerciser- but I've also been moving around a lot less than I normally do. If I wore a pedometer, it would be seeking counseling for neglect.

Granted, I could go out and buy those organic frozen dinners, but there's a lot of evidence that pre-packaged organic is getting less and less so, and it's a drain on the wallet. And it's a frozen dinner. Meh.
It also wasn't very motivating when we had all kinds of CSA deliciousness that should have been used before we could justify going out and buying completely different food. But, as sad as I am that the Farm Box season is over, I'm slightly relieved that I can go out and buy some staples to make easy dinners instead of having to figure out how to use what was given to me.

Sometimes I wish there was an Au Naturale version of McDonald's, complete with a drive-thru for seasonal ingredients, pasture-raised burgers and chicken sandwiches, quinoa parfaits, etc. Wouldn't that be awesome? Perhaps there's a business idea in there. In fact, I once sat on a panel at a college where students were giving presentations for charitable ideas/clubs for which they wanted start-up funding. One girl had just that idea. Unfortunately, it wasn't developed at all and she had really very little clue of what it takes to run a restaurant, or how to make money selling premium organic meals at a discount, but she had the right idea for the right reasons. In any case, I appreciated her vision then. And certainly now.

Here, Fishy Fishy Fishy...

I was posting the previous blog post onto my twitter feed (ahem) when my eyes caught this post from Slow Food USA:

Pacific Bluefin Tuna Overfishing


This, my loyal readers is TERRIBLE NEWS. Sadly, this news isn't new at all.


First of all, show of hands: who even knew bluefin tuna was in this much trouble? If you didn't, you're not the only one. At many a sushi restaurant here in Chicago you can still easily find it on the menu. It's not like shark fin soup, which everyone seems to know is bad. If a reputable US restaurant has it on the menu, it can't be that bad or unethical to eat, can it?


I admit that until a few years ago, I didn't think so. On our third date, the BF and I went to a sushi restaurant where he whipped out his copy of the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch list so he could order responsibly. I had never seen or heard of this thing. Clearly, our waitress did not either: as he probed where and how certain fish were caught, she kept assuring us the fish was fresh. Not was he was asking, ma'am. 

But I was intrigued (after the date, he remarked that he was glad I didn't run out of the restaurant thinking he was some sort of a freak for having a seafood guide). As I didn't have a smartphone to download the electronic copy, he gave me a nifty little wallet-sized Shedd Aquarium seafood guide. I've used the same one ever since. 

Which reminds me: I now have both a smartphone and a need for the updated guide. Hold on a sec.... okay, I'm back.

But when it comes to making only intelligent seafood choices, I'm not perfect. Sushi is far and away my favorite food, so it's really hard to say no to things that I'm just a sucker for, although they may be in the yellow zone. However, I do put my foot down on bluefin. There is a sushi restaurant near me that has a special (although I'm not sure why its called a special when it seems to be on the menu every time) that serves tuna sashimi 3 ways: otherwise known as 3 levels of fattiness. And make no mistake, it's delicious, without comparison. Every time a good friend from New York visits, she always requests one evening at this restaurant simply because of the tuna special. Last time, though, I inquired with the waitress about the type of tuna they used for it. As soon as she told me, I just couldn't order that appetizer along with her. You get one guess why.

Don't get me wrong- I wanted it. But I also want to be part of the solution, and the solution is not really all that difficult. By making my voice known with my dollars and decreasing demand, fishing will decrease. When that happens, the tuna population can relatively quickly bounce back. Fishermen overfish because they say their livelihood depends on it. But yet they've never given an answer to what they will do if they cause their own livelihood to go extinct. Cutting back won't make them a ton of money, but it will keep them in business for far longer than if they continue down this road. And with proper regulation- if that ever happens- we can all happily enjoy bluefin moving forward. But if not, enjoy your next piece, because it may be your last.

By the way, curious about what the Seafood Watch is? Click on that link above. They even have an app (available here) that you can download to have at your fingertips. Not only will it help guide you on responsible purchasing choices as it relates to seafood populations and ecosystems, it will also help you make healthy choices in terms of mercury levels, and your own health. 

Yowza

Ay, geez, I didn't realize how long it had been since I last posted. Yes, 2012 was not the greatest time for writing in the short history of the Au Naturale blog, my loyal readers, so if you are a loyal reader, thanks for continuing to be loyal.

I once read an article that took a very pointed jab at all the abandoned blogs littering the internets, and I swore I would never become one of those. Hey, look what (kind of) happened. So I'm slapping myself on the wrist (or back of hand, or across the face) to get back in shape.

You know what else I'm doing? Apologizing for not writing at all, which I swore to you I would never do again. So, there goes that resolution. But look! It's 2013! It's time for new resolutions! The slate is wiped clean!!! At least, I've decided it is.

In any case, I won't make any excuses. There's been a lot of things and big changes going on in my life in the past few months, and hopefully a few good ones coming up in the next few months. I'm not going to give details here because I feel like I might jinx it... as in, what if the good thing doesn't happen and then I have to answer for it? Granted, some of you readers are also folks I talk to on a regular basis and know what this is all about and are probably rolling your eyes at me. The rest of you are probably rolling your eyes because I could seriously not be more vague right now if I tried.

Disclaimer: this is probably the most annoying post I've ever written. Apologies.

But in any case, these Big Life Things have taken over my life, and in the times I finally felt like I had a free hour to write, I instead decided that was yet another hour to devote to working on the Big Life Things. And then I saw an update from a blogger I've been following who is working on similar Big Life Things, and I decided if he can find time to blog, so can I!

So here we are. Um. Hi.

As usual, I have many things I plan to pontificate on. I won't do it in a novel here. I can say that recently I enjoyed a lovely dinner with some good friends and we got into a discussion about healthy things, thoughts on meat vs. vegan, and the follies and thoughts of what has been referred to as the Western Diet and western diseases. My friends made some good points- some of which I agreed with, and some of which I didn't. The ones I didn't had to do with the fact that I am more of the belief than they are that the modern Western Diet- think corn everything, artificial everything, preservative everything- is a cause of many western ills. Do I think it's everything? No, because I don't believe that much of life has simple answers. But I can't imagine how many other things affect our health as much as our very wonky, very unnatural diet.

I didn't debate it much with them because it was super loud in the restaurant, I was uncomfortable because a rotating heater above our table made me feel like I was having post-menopausal hot flashes, and I didn't want to get into a heavy debate at such a lovely dinner. But wouldn't you know it, the next day I saw this article and it reinforced much of what I was thinking, including the fact that one factor cannot explain it all. I wish to learn more about this study:

New Health Rankings: Of 17 Nations, US is Dead Last

It's also a great argument for more gun control. But that is a discussion for a different day, in a different venue.

So ends my crappy new year's post. There are more that I've half-written until the guilt of not working on the Big Life Things left them idling in my drafts folder. But I see a light at the end of the tunnel, and expect this blog to make a resurgence. We're going to party like it's 2011.

What The Heck is a Caponata? *RECIPE ALERT*

I love finding recipes that are more than just tasty, but pleasant surprises, such as the leek and swiss chard tart.  Because sometimes you look in your fridge and see stuff that you have to use up right now or risk throwing in the garbage. You look for something that isn't too fancy, probably isn't going to blow you away, will "do the trick" if you will, but ends up being something you want to keep in your recipe box forever. The recipe below is one of those.

We've been pretty good about using everything in our CSA box, but we're not perfect. However, we've been better at anticipating when we're getting overwhelmed and been proactive about it, such as last weekend's canning adventure; stay tuned for details about that.  There was one week, though, where I decided I needed to be in charge of dinner. This was during the crazy period where the BF was acting as personal chef, dishwasher, and housekeeper, and I wanted to give him a break. I took a look at the fridge, grabbed a cacophony of veggies that needed to be used, including bell peppers and an on-the-verge-of-being-tired eggplant, and headed up to his place.

I then scrambled for a recipe.

Yeah, yeah, I wasn't as prepared as I needed to be. What else is new. But as he got home from work and began to wind down, I realized I needed something easy and fast. And eggplant and peppers and onions- surely there had to be zillions of recipes around the interwebz to help out. Much to my surprise, the "hey, this should work just fine" recipe that I quickly settled on shocked us both by how balanced and delicious it was. It was listed as an appetizer-y, salad-y, you could say caponata (does that work here? Yeah, I think it does. Let's call it caponata-y) food, but with some improv I turned it into a dinner sandwich so amazing that we pounced on the leftovers for seconds. It's now in the permanent repertoire.

The recipe, of course, is not listed below as I found it. In my creature-of-habit haze I automatically sliced the eggplant into half-inch slices and sweated it out with salt before I noticed that the recipe called for me to roast the eggplant whole. This, in turn, caused me to have to adjust how I cooked it. It worried me that the pieces looked a little dry after pulling it out of the broiler, but that was just on the surface. Once I chopped the slices into tiny cubes, I realized the interior was still juicy (well, as juicy as an eggplant can be... perhaps juicy is the wrong word?) and the texture still worked perfectly in the finished product. It also saved some cooking time, as well. Also, part of me wonders if roasting it whole would have even been the best way to do it: eggplant is a very bitter veggie on it's own, which is why taking the time to sweat it out is key. I fear the bitterness would have remained if I had just thrown the whole thing in the broiler.  If you wish to try it though- just prick the eggplant with a fork, roast for 30 minutes, then peel and chop- let me know how it turns out.

Below is the recipe as I made it in sandwich form. Capers are an option, but we didn't have any and I thought it was awesome. The BF thought capers could have worked, so again, if you wish, try it and let me know how it turns out. And I bet if you let it marinate in the fridge overnight it's even better the next day. We just thought it was too tasty to wait and find out. I wouldn't hesitate to do it again as a meal, but it's original caponata-y, appetizer-y intended purpose, topped on toasted slices of french bread or water crackers, will surely make it on the appetizer menu of my next dinner party. Holidays, anyone?

Eggplant & Red Pepper Caponata-y Sandwich

• makes 3 sandwiches
• 1 medium eggplant (about 1 1/4 pounds) 
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
• 3 tablespoons capers (optional)
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 
• 4-6 pieces whole wheat bread
• 3 slices mozarella or provolone cheese
• 
  

Preparation

1. 1. Slice eggplant into half-inch slices; season both sides liberally with salt and set aside for a half hour
2. 2. Preheat broiler
3. 3. Cut bell pepper in half lengthwise; discard seeds and membranes. Place pepper halves, skin sides up, on a foil-lined baking sheet; flatten with hand. Broil 15 minutes or until blackened. Place in a zip-top plastic bag; seal. Let stand 15 minutes. 
4. 4. While bell pepper is steaming in the plastic bag, rinse salt off of eggplant slices and pat dry. Lay slices on the baking sheet and broil for 10-15 minutes, until beginning to wrinkle 
5. 5. Peel pepper, then chop pepper and eggplant into small pieces. Do not mince.
6. 6. Combine eggplant, bell pepper, onion, and remaining ingredients in a medium bowl; toss well.
7. 7. For sandwiches, lay 2 slices of bread in toaster or broiler; top one piece of bread with a slice of cheese. Toast until cheese is bubbly
8. 8. Top cheesy bread slice with caponata and complete with other slice of bread

Late Fall Musings

I've been reflecting that there is so much to write about, and yet, so little in some ways. While I have a few recipe alerts, I also feel that I should be waxing poetic about something in the news as it relates to food, or agriculture, or preservatives, or what not. It's a good thing that I was running around like a chicken with it's you-know-what cut off when that study came out about organic veggies not being healthier. I did a lot of reading and following up on that study, how it was conducted (badly), what it was missing (a lot), and what else it was missing (the big picture). I have a lot of opinions on it which could be a 3 page manifesto. But don't worry, I won't go off on a rant about that. At least, not now.

I think this post is more of a thoughtful one, the kind of post that I had originally intended this blog to be: a journey through my Au Naturale "conversion", if you will. It's a post dedicated to the idea that having nothing to write about is, in and of itself, something to write about. It's the fact that I look back at what I've been eating over the past few months and my diet is somewhat unremarkable. And that- again, in and of itself- is remarkable. At least by other people's standards, but now no longer by my own.

"Okay, JC," I can hear all of you collectively sigh with accompanying eye roll. "Stop being so elusive and just say what it is you want to say."

What I've realized is that over the past few months, as much as I have been able to control it, my diet has been completely Au Naturale. I eat mainly what has come in our farm box or available at the market, supplemented by basic ingredients commonly found in grocery store bulk bins. The rare packaged goods are scary-word free. Much to my surprise, I'm also eating way more vegetarian than I ever have before. That is mainly due to the fact that we won't buy any meat that isn't raised humanely and properly (read: pastured), and considering the best meat can only be found at the Sunday market and at a premium price, it's become a special occasion type of thing. Long gone are the days where I bought packages and packages of steaks and chicken breasts to throw in the freezer. I've been better even in restaurants, sticking mostly with sustainable seafood or black bean burgers, but I'm not perfect. The lack of meat in the house means I'm now craving chicken on menus (I used to make chicken at home on an almost nightly basis so I ignored it in restaurants). Don't worry, though. I don't plan on becoming a full-blown vegetarian. In fact, I've had such a strong craving for red meat lately, I've been dreaming of the 2 pasture-raised strip steaks I snatched up just yesterday to enjoy with an awesome chimichurri sauce I haven't made in a long time. Mmm.... meat....

So for me, this is boring. And boring is exciting. I remember when I first started and I obsessed over every little thing, kept feeling like I was slipping up here and there. As I mentioned, I'm not perfect. But I'm feeling pretty good. In fact, while I'm not looking forward to my farm box ending in another month and a half, I am kinda looking forward to the day in late December when I get confused upon walking into a Whole Foods, having not had to shop for groceries, traditionally speaking, since May.

Reading this over, it almost sounds like a farewell post. Fear not, loyal readers! Much fun shall still be had with this blog. I've also realized that I don't necessarily need to write a novel each time I post; if anything, I should take a note from tumblr and keep this short and frequent. But as we've all figured out by now, I like to write. A lot. And so I shall continue....

CSA Efficiency (and a sorta recipe alert)

Well, it happened again, as it sometimes does. CSA produce was accumulating faster than it was being consumed. Between my travel schedule and some other life things that put the onus on the BF to be Head Chef for a few weeks, we were letting the food go the way of the compost bin.

Disclaimer: This is not a rip on the BF's abilities or initiative. Just imagine him coming home and being in charge of dinner and clean up for two while I busied myself with other things. That's a decent amount of time and responsibility to ask one person to do for another. Yes, he's great.

This week we did something unusually uncharacteristic of us: we planned ahead. In the past, it's been hard to sit down and pre-plan dinner. Beyond the time and organization needed, it takes some of the fun out of cooking and spontaneous menu planning based on what your stomach is telling you it wants at that moment. On the other hand, it can be necessary. This week it worked for us. We took inventory of what we had in our respective fridges and what we could make based on tried and true recipes, what we had already in-house, and what we needed to buy. One other uncharacteristic thing we did was to allow ourselves to go back and repeat recipes. We love trying new dishes and rarely repeat ourselves, even those dishes that we've loved, but it felt safe to do so this week.

So our dinner plates saw the likes of caprese salads, leek and swiss chard tarts, and more. The BF cold-canned some peppers to be consumed during the upcoming football season. Onions were set aside to make a batch of french onion soup this weekend. Feeling good, we looked at what remained: even more leeks, some peppers that escaped the canning adventure, carrots, and potatoes.

At this point we were both proud of ourselves and feeling a bit lazy. The laziness worked out well for one of the last remaining recipes on the list: the Hobo Dinner.

We've done this before, but I've never blogged about it, and feel like now would be a good time. Everyone has a need for a hobo dinner recipe. It's almost impossible to screw up and can be modified to include foodstuff that you need to use. In fact, in the past we've almost always made a vegetarian version, but we had some pasture-raised ground beef that we wanted to use and so made our first carnivore version.

I'm not going to post a formal recipe below. Seriously, this can be improvised so well that any recipe would be more an informal guide than hard and fast rules. Simply take any good roast-able or grill-able veggies- hot or bell peppers, carrots, zucchini, onions, even broccoli- and chop coarsely into chunks. Add potatoes (fingerlings are good because they're small enough to add whole; or grab some small reds or purples and just halve or quarter them), a couple of cloves of garlic, and a few generous pats of butter.  Season with some salt, pepper, and any other seasonings that suit your fancy- I enjoy rosemary. Wrap it all up in foil, and throw on your grill on medium to medium-high for about 45 minutes. Unwrap, and voila.

The great thing about this recipe is that, all wrapped up in foil, you can't really screw it up. The steam cooks everything without the risk of drying out, and you can easily do a readiness test  by unwrapping it slightly and testing a potato with a fork. If you wish to add meat, the juices will also keep the meat from drying out while seasoning everything else. No grill? Throw it all in the oven on 400.

I don't want to have to resort to a weekly hobo dinner if we get behind on our veggie usage; if we need to use it as a last resort only once or twice more during the summer, I will be happy.  But it's an easy and delicious recipe for anyone to have in their back pocket.

Beet Success **RECIPE ALERT**

I realize my re-experimentation with the Earthbox posts isn't really working. We've had many weeks of boxes for which I have not uploaded photos nor elaborated on how we use them. Part of me feels defeated, and part of me feels non-chalant: truthfully, we haven't done much with our produce except grill, eat in salads, or use as pizza toppings for a causal 4th of July get-together. In the end, they wouldn't have made for good posts. I probably would have lost readers.

However, there may be a few of you-- I'm looking at you, initial 3 or 4 early Loyal Readers-- who may remember my failed experimentation with beets detailed in one of last summer's posts.  For those of you who don't want to interrupt reading this entry to start all over with a different entry, suffice it to say I am not a fan of beets. Other than an amazing dish at Taxim in Chicago- and trust me, I've tried to find the recipe or at least a description-- I've never met a beet that I liked.

So, the more observant of you may have noticed that we've gotten beets in almost all of our boxes and are probably wondering how we've used them. As the BF is a big fan, they've gone with my best blessings to his fridge.

But they've sat there, neglected and unused. As we tend to cook most of our meals together, he hasn't really had a chance to use them on his own. Eventually, once the oldest batch was in danger of needing to be pitched, he proposed a solution that was both quick and shareable: Beet chips.

We've gotten good at making regular chips. I mean, really, who doesn't like potato chips in at least one form or another? With the abundance of potatoes that show up in the farm box, chips are both a non-labor intensive preparation as well as saveable future snack. Not that we've ever actually saved them. They're almost immediately consumed whenever we bake up a batch.

Beet chips are similar in may ways: easy to prepare, easy to store, easy to consume. And the best part of all? I ACTUALLY LIKE THEM.

So there you go! I'm sure the BF would like some variety in his beet preparation, but I'm happy if I only ever ate them in this form forever. And for those of you who are as beet-averse as me, go for the crispier, more carbon-covered ones. Normally I don't like burned chips, but for these, the crispier, the better.

As always, a few other notes before I grace you with the recipe. When it comes to any chips, but especially these, the thinner they are sliced the more solid and crispy they will be when out of the oven. If you have access to a mandolin, as we do, now is an excellent time to use it. Either the narrowest or second narrowest setting will do. If using a knife.... well, be careful.

Also, cooking times are approximate and should be adjusted based on your oven and how thin your slices are. We perfected the technique in my oven at 26 minutes. However, when making a batch in a different oven while on vacation, 26 minutes scorched them. We used a thinner slicer setting, but the oven callibration may have been different, too, and found that 15 minutes was perfect. Moral of the story: keep your eyes on the chips.

Enjoy! And if you are a new reader who likes beets, perhaps you'll like the cold beet soup earlier reviewed in this post. (See how I did that?)

Beet Chips

(serves 2-4, depending on your serving size)

Ingredients:
3 beets, de-stemmed

1 tbs olive oil or olive oil spray

Sea salt

1. Preheat oven to 375. Prick beets with fork and place into glass baking dish with 1 inch of water; cover with foil. Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until easily punctured with a fork. Remove from oven, allow to cool. When cool enough to handle, peel the beets.

2. Turn oven down to 350.

3. Adjust mandolin to the 1.5mm or 3mm setting. Slice beets onto plate or in bowl.

4. Line a baking sheet with foil; brush or drizzle olive oil lightly onto foil. Place as many beet slices as possible onto baking sheet without overlapping. (You may have too many slices to fit on one baking sheet, so you may need to repeat the process again a few times.) One by one, flip each beet slice over so they are coated on both sides with the oil.

5. Lightly shake sea salt on top of beet slices. It is not necessary to flip and salt the other side of the beets.

6. Bake beets for 15-26 minutes, depending on your oven setting. When chips begin to brown and curl up, they are ready. It is okay if some beets are not quite super crispy when you pull them out, as they will continue to bake a few minutes more out of the oven.

7. Enjoy!

A quick note- do not leave un-eaten beets out in the open for too long, especially in humid weather. They absorb water quite quickly and will turn limp and mushy. Store all uneaten beets in an airproof container for later.

Mama Mia! *RECIPE ALERT*

I started the Au Naturale diet to become a healthier person. Of course, it doesn't always work the way I intend. From all of my face-plants in the McDonald's drive-thrus on business trips to gorging on all-natural yet highly caloric homemade Cadbury Creme Eggs, my waistline continuously expands and contracts like a car tire on a hot day.

It seems like an oxymoron when you can eat local and organic yet still gain weight. But local beer is still beer. Pasture-raised meat is still meat- although leaner. And a pound of zucchini, as nutritious as it can be, is still a pound of food when eaten all at once.

And there, Loyal Readers, is how a relaxing weekend away almost split a pair of jeans.

A few weeks ago, the BF and I got to escape to the wilds of northern Minnesota for a long weekend away. Northern Minnesota is glorious, with many of the 10,000 lakes within driving distance (I personally counted about 45). We used the trip as an excellent opportunity to go through two of the CSA boxes in our possession: one from our regular Sunday pickup, and one from a rescheduled pickup due to the trip. Unfortunately, in our rush to grab the second box and pack it up before we hit the road at 5am for a 12 hour drive, I completely forgot to take a picture. But it was very similar to week 2, which you can see below:

Yellow pepper, zucchini, lettuce, 2 tomatoes (one green), sungold tomatoes, cucumbers, radishes, beets

Again, the cooking results from weeks 2 and 3 were nothing terribly fancy as we threw almost everything on the grill, along with pasture-raised chicken breasts from C&D Family Farms and Pirate Wurst brats from Crafthouse Market Goods. Seriously, it's hard to think of cooking anything indoors when the weather is amazing, and a front row seat to a glorious lake view only sealed the deal.  Lunches were leftovers or the BF's preferred vegan lunch meats on locally baked bread with the lettuce and tomato that you see above. And we passed many a lazy summer day away sipping on Surly beer, locally brewed in Minneapolis and only found in the Twin Cities. The BF loves Surly's Furious Red Ale, so we had to make a stop on the way up to grab provisions.

But man, was it a lot of food. When we were done just 4 days later we had gone through almost all of it, and by then I was swearing I would not drink alcohol nor eat my weight in food for the next week. So it goes to show: a lot of healthy food can still be a lot of food. More than once I was uncomfortable. But at least I was uncomfortable with food that won't have unintended effects on my body.

A few days after we got back, tired, without much in the fridge, and certainly not in the mood to cook, we threw together an easy pasta dish using Pasta Puttana noodles, the remainder of the veggies, and herbs from the back deck. Part improv, part slightly modified from a recipe online, it was light, refreshing, and flavorful. Not too boring, not too heavy on the oil, and quick to whip up, it was almost the perfect pasta primavera. Too bad we weren't drinking, because a crisp glass of Pinot Gris would have been the perfect accompaniment.

I raced to write down what we did before it slipped away forever. Note that we've made a few pasta primaveras since then and none quite measured up to this one. Although I'm sure they could have if I just took a minute to look back at what I wrote:

Pasta Primavera: (serves 2)

1 8 oz pkg seasoned garlic tagliatelle from Pasta Puttana
3 tbs olive oil
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
1/2 large yellow pepper, chopped
generous dash of crushed red pepper (if you like some spicy)
3/4 cup fresh basil
2 springs Italian oregano
1 spring hot n spicy oregano
freshly grated parmesean cheese

Directions:

Bring a pot of generously salted water to a boil. If using dried pasta, add to water and cook based on package directions. If using a fresh pasta such as Pasta Puttana, continue to steps below while waiting for water to boil.

Heat oil over high heat in large pan; saute garlic for a minute- keep an eye on it or it will burn.
Add veggies, saute for one minute.
Add herbs & red pepper flakes, and toss all together. Turn heat down to medium and cook everything for 3 minutes.
Turn heat to low and cover to keep warm while cooking/finishing pasta.
If using fresh pasta, add pasta to water and cook for just one minute.

Drain and return pasta to pot. Pour contents of pan (including remaining oil) into pot with pasta, toss together.  Serve with fresh parmesean cheese.

It's That Time Again, Kids....

I am in heaven. Pure bliss. You know why? It's that time of year again, the time that all Chicagoans suffer 9 months of the year just to get to.

Yes, folks, it's summer.

DISCLAIMER: For all of you scientists out there, I realize that it is not yet officially meteorological summer. But I am sitting on my back deck, sun shining overhead, iced latte in hand, staring at my beautiful flowers, herbs, and veggie plants. To me, this is summer incarnate.

And of course the start of summer means the start of the outdoor Farmer's Market and Year 2 of our CSA from Iron Creek Farms. Unlike last year, when I obsessed over which CSA to sign with to the point where we missed  the first few weeks of the growing season, the BF and I were on the ball this year and signed up in time to get the full bounty. I am beyond ecstatic that my groceries will be organic and local for the next 6 months.

So what does that mean for you, loyal readers? For those who have been following my trials and travails since this time last year, you may remember my well-intentioned but ill-executed plan to keep you updated on what we received in the weekly box and how we used it. While pondering the blog post for this summery day I thought, what the hell, let's give it a go again. You know what they say: If at first you don't succeed, etc. etc.

As it is the start of the growing season, our box isn't super big as of yet, but still filled with quite an array of goodies. Oh, and as a quick side note: our experiment with a full share in the Fall/Winter box was still a bit stressful for us last year, so we decided to stick with the half-share this year. It should hopefully be just enough for us to use for the week, while still providing some extras to freeze and store for the winter months.

Week 1: (L to R): sweet potatoes, sungold tomatoes, basil, tomato, beets, radishes, leaf lettuce, spinach

How we used it isn't terribly exciting, but I'm not complaining. As much as I love trying out new recipes with exciting, fresh ingredients, sometimes its just nice to enjoy the raw veggies in their purest form.

From the above selection, we made a few salads with spinach, lettuce, radish, and tomato; sweet potato chips; and simple cooked sweet potatoes with just a little butter. The Sungold tomatoes were so sweet we ate them straight as a mid-day snack for work. And the basil, which is easy to keep alive and fresh in a glass of water, is being used in Aunt Florence's pesto recipe, which freezes beautifully in small containers for whenever the mood strikes us.

Today we picked up this week's box, and while there are some repeats, we've got big, exciting plans for some others... which I will save for next week's post. I'm such a tease! But one has to create intrigue, no? Stay tuned. Also, please let me know below on how you would have used the above box. You know what they say: Curious minds, etc. etc.

Stove Top Popcorn *Recipe Alert*

In my previous post I mentioned that there is an equally easy, yet much healthier way of making microwave popcorn than the PFC-laden bagged stuff that you can buy at the store. It's called Popping Popcorn Yourself.

Well, isn't that what I'm doing, you ask? Buying bags and popping it myself?

No, it's not quite the same. I'm talking about buying plain, simple, unpackaged popcorn kernels. Go to your local Whole Foods and you can find them in the bulk foods section. Fill up a container and voila! You will probably end up with more kernels, and at a cheaper price, then buying a box of 5 indivdually wrapped, artifically flavored other stuff.

There are two ways of cooking this popcorn. The most healthy of which is to just put it in a brown paper bag, throw it in the microwave, and pop it like you would normally. Or, if you don't have brown paper bags, put it in a bowl and loosely cover. But not too loosely: my first attempt landed a ton of pieces of popcorn all over the microwave. That was tedious to clean up... and by clean up, I mean eat straight out of the microwave.

The second way is much tastier, almost as easy, and you get fewer unpopped kernels when you're done. In fact, we've made it on more than one occasion where there were no unpopped kernels at all. (It's strange how excited we got: it was like we won the gold medal in popping. Yes, we're nerds.) Granted, it's not quite as healthy as the air-popped version since it involves oil, but it's healthier in that you don't get bag chemicals leeching into the food. Also, the flavoring is all Au Naturale, as opposed to "butter flavored topping". I hate those qualifiers. They make me shudder.

So without further ado, below is the recipe, if you can call it that. More like a technique. And if you're the kind of person who likes their popcorn adulterated, like us, I've included tried-and-true topping methods. Go pop a pot and enjoy.

Stovetop Popcorn

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. of peanut oil (or other high smoke-point oil)

1/3 cup organic popcorn kernels

3 Tbsp. butter

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp. paprika (optional)
1/2 tsp garlic powder (optional)

1. In a 3-qt. pot heat the oil on medium-high.  When heated, put three individual kernels of popcorn in the oil and cover.  Once you hear all 3 pop, your pot is hot enough.

2. Turn off heat, pour in the remaining kernels and cover.  Remove from stove and gently shake back and forth while counting thirty seconds. This insures the kernels are all evenly dispersed and coated in oil.

3. Turn heat back on to medium-high, place pot back on stove and wait for popcorn to pop.

4. After popping has stopped, pour popcorn in to large bowl slowly, sprinkling with salt to taste periodically during transfer. 

5. When pot is empty but still hot place butter inside to melt.  Pour butter over popcorn.  Add paprika and/or garlic powder if desired.  Cover with saran wrap and shake to distribute butter, salt, and paprika more evenly.

Information Overload: #howdoesthisworkagain?

I'm still trying to figure out this whole Twitter thing. After obsessing over what my handle should be (and for those of you who forgot and have not yet started following me.. *ahem cough*... it is @AuNaturaleFood) I then decided to sign up for a personal account (@Jor_Cohen, in case you wanted to follow me there, too, but I find that I'm mainly sticking with @AuNaturaleFood). And to date, I still haven't quite totally mastered how/when to use hashtags or how to write in only 140 characters. Hey, I'm verbose.

One thing I did jump on was finding others to follow. It's not that many yet, per se, but seeing what Slow Food USA or Michael Pollen has to say is fun. It can also be a bit of a mind screw, though, when you sign up for things like FDA recalls.

I chose to follow that particular account because in my Au Naturale world I have become keenly interested in how things like conventional farming and overprocessing endanger our health. Especially since I found the below article:

A Second Chance for Faulty Food? FDA Calls it 'Reconditioning'

Um... ew? I don't think I can ever look at a carton of chocolate ice cream the same way again.

I thought it best to have a head start on FDA recalls so I could analyze and post as need be... but I never realized how many would show up in my twitter feed on an almost daily basis. At one point, I had 6 FDA recall alert posts in just 24 hours. In those particular examples many of the recalls have to do with the occasional peanut or other allergen showing up in a food that isn't supposed to contain it. But it's all a scary reminder that mass processing and toying with nature can have some unintended consequences.

Speaking of unintended consequences... the information overload continues for me outside of the Twitterverse as I now read any and every article that smacks of processing. Join me! It includes such articles as:

Microwave Popcorn Bag Chemicals Ruin Vaccine Efficacy

Whoa. I've read that the chemicals will leech into the popcorn itself while microwaving, but this is a new twist. It also brings up the general issue of PFCs in our food and in our bodies.... but as I like to say, that's another post for another day. Also another post for another day? An alternative to buying microwave popcorn: a recipe just as easy and equally as delish! Stay tuned for a recipe alert... although I don't know that it is so much a "recipe" as a technique.

Ooh! How about another fun (fun=scary) article?

CDC: 9 out of 10 Americans Eat Too Much Salt

While that statistic is hardly news, what I found most interesting is how salt ends up in so much processed food, and especially in foods where you don't expect it to exist at all. In the past I, along with many others, used to think that we Americans simply had a heavy hand with the salt shaker. But it explains so much to know that even when you're not manually adding it yourself you could be ingesting an overload. It could explain the continually high blood pressure rates in people who try to watch what they're eating. And it could certainly explain why, after cutting out the processed foods, I've noticed the changes in my own body that I wrote about in this post.

So in a post originally dedicated to my Twitter travails, I apologize for including you in my subsequent information overload. Unless, that is, it inspires you all to go on an information, fact-seeking mission yourselves. In that case: you're welcome!! Enjoy. Become smarter.

P.S. After all of this, please don't forget to follow me at @AuNaturaleFood. Do it now! Seriously, my self-worth is getting wrapped up in how many followers I have. It's the equivalent of getting excited when people "like" your Facebook posts. Sad, I know.

WATCH THIS NOW!!!

I know I haven't blogged in a long time, and I realize that posting a video link is kind of a cop-out. But if there is anything you should learn from my Au Naturale quest, learn this.

I've waxed poetic, or at the very leat mentioned, that food labeling can be deceiving when it comes to where or how your food is raised; not the least of which in the misleading advertising around where your eggs come from. The food industry, in it's never-ending quest to capitalize on trends, is using buzz-words that lead unknowing consumers to think they are buying one thing when they are really buying another. My eyes could fall out of their sockets the number of times I've rolled them in response to some store or restaurant that pats itself on the back by making you think they are selling the most humane and organic stuff, when really they're just selling something slightly better, but with an asterisk.

I love this video because it's short, sweet, and to the point. Still think that "cage free", "free range" and "pastured" chickens and eggs are all the same thing? Please watch this. In only 5 minutes you will learn exactly how mislead you have been by food industry marketing. Then go out and learn more about from where your food comes, and that your best intentions, through no fault of your own, may not be achieving the goal you desire.

http://video.pbs.org/video/2233336974

Post Easter Gluttony **RECIPE RE-POST**

As I try, and fail-- and fail miserably, mind you-- to avoid the mini Evil Bars of Doom filled with Easter candy delights that have crept up all over the office this past week, I am reminded of some better Easter treats that have been patiently waiting in the back of my freezer since this time last year.  Yes, loyal readers, it's the return of the Au Naturale Creme Eggs.

As a reminder and disclaimer, when I say "better", I mean in terms of Au Naturale-ness. Not in terms of healthy. There is nothing healthy in these, but isn't that what makes them taste so good?!?!

I did also try-- and fail again-- to find online a hilarious photo someone had posted on Facebook a while back: it showed a grocery store rack with a Cadbury egg display and a typed sign below saying "As per UK regulations, all of these Cadbury Eggs are certified free-range." Tee hee.

So, here again, for those of you who want the gluttony without the fillers, is the link to the homemade Creme Egg recipe. And yes, I realize I should have posted this a week ago. See the previous post for why I won't apologize- resolutions, people!

http://aunaturalefood.blogspot.com/2011/04/who-needs-cadbury-recipe-alert.html

Enjoy! And happy Easter/Passover to all!

Happy Anniversary to Meeee....

Really, that title should be singing "happy BELATED anniversary to meeeee" but guess what? It's my anniversary and my blog shall sing in whatever way I want it to.

So first things first: Hi, again! Yes, my loyal readers, I have neglected you for the longest stretch yet. And as always, I apologize, but that is probably ringing on hollow ears at this point. I am cheered though, in a strange reverse-psychology way, by the fact that I've gotten many zingers from loyal readers that they are disappointed by the lack of posts. You love me! You really love me!

But now, to the occasion at hand, which is celebrating my anniversary.

What anniversary, you may ask? Why, my Au Naturale anniversary. Back in January, I celebrated one year on the Au Naturale diet. I know, it's shocking to me, too. I can't believe that I've been doing it this long, but on a more significant level, I am impressed and proud of myself that my passion for the Au Naturale lifestyle is as strong a year (nay, at this point a year and 2 months) later as it was at the beginning. I am not an addictive person and I've been known to have fancies for things that burn strong then fade just as rapidly. But my committment to myself and my Au Naturale habits have stayed strong and true.

That doesn't mean that I've been perfect, of course. Far from it. In fact, I type this not even a week after returning from the first business conference of the year having shamefully gorged myself on the myriad of artificial candies, delivered in attractive candy dispenser form,  that we use to lure our clients to our booth. I was heartbroken that we ran out of the uber-fresh gummy bears. Because really, is there anything better than super fresh gummy bears? No, I don't think so. Although, the gummy bear episode was slightly ruined for me when one of my co-workers whispered in my ear: "You know, they use rock dust to keep them from sticking together." She then insisted that rock dust counts as natural. I responded that I would agree wholeheartedly if I could go outside and watch her eat a rock. And such was the end of that debate. (As I slid back to the candy dispensers for just a few more Sour Patch Kids. And yes, they are as popular now as they were back when I was a kid.)

But I digress! As much as I slip, I still see the benefits of my Au Naturale conversion, and how much it has become part of my lifestyle, in everyday actions.  The most humorous of which occurred my first grocery shopping trip after the farm box ended for the season, back in mid-December. After being spoiled by 6 months of having local, organic, and seasonal produce delivered to me, I completely forgot how to grocery shop. You get used to being given ingredients and then deciding what to do with them, instead of the traditional shopping style of deciding on your recipes then going out to buy all your staples. This difference didn't truly hit me until I found myself standing dumbfounded in the middle of the Whole Foods produce section. I honestly couldn't figure out what to buy. I could only imagine what the shoppers around me were thinking, seeing this random girl standing there with an empty cart and a look of fear and/or bewilderment on her face. It must have looked like I had never set food in a grocery store before in my life.

But what a wonderful, telling experience that is though, right? A few months later I've been able to get back into the produce shopping routine, but I still don't feel quite right buying organic tomatoes from Mexico in the dead of winter. I should mullify my skepticism, I suppose, for I live in the Midwest and I certainly can't just go without any veggies during these dark months. But it's become a struggle for me, and one that I am proud of. A year ago I wasn't even close to being in the same frame of mind.

So it being a first anniversary, and the anniversary falling close to the New Year, I though I wouldn't just reflect but also make some resolutions. For the record, I gave up on New Years resolutions a long time ago. They just seemed silly: why must I make resolutions on January 1? Why can't I make them on July 27th? But... well... I just wanted to do them now. And I think they are all pretty achievable.

Resolution 1: Stop beating myself up over not writing, and stop apologizing to my Loyal Readers who have heard it all before.
I realized it became a pattern of apology, excuse, repeat. Apology, excuse, repeat. Please know that when I don't write I hate it and I am truly sorry that I keep you all waiting. In the interest of full disclosure, writing this blog is really one of the most fun things I do nowadays. In addition to my Au Naturale lifestyle, this is something that I haven't lost interest in. It's fun for me to write, and fun for me to see everyone's comments. Sadly, though, the blog isn't a "necessity". I've had a lot of things going on in my life, including a grad school class, insane work travel, and other things that are considered priorities. When you only have a certain number of hours in a day, you dedicate them to priorities first and the fun stuff gets pushed back to any leftover hours. And for me, there just haven't been any leftover hours in the past few months. Let's just leave it as an unspoken given that I will be sorry when I abandon you for too long and not waste valuable kilabytes on my apologies and promises anymore, shall we?

Resolution 2: Be more vigilent on the everyday things that add up.
A few weeks ago I had a really bad eating week. As in, so much crap that once I topped it off with a decadent cupcake from one of the myriad specialty cupcake shops that are cropping up everywhere, I literally felt sick for days. After that, I decided I was going on a detox: no junk, no alcohol, high veggies, low carbs for a week. It only took about 3-4 days before I felt myself again (hey! More evidence on the efficacy of the Au Naturale diet!). However, I had a revelation. In my short lunch hours during detox week I was running down to the building cafeteria and making simple salads. Good stuff, but you know it's mainly industrial farming veggies. So while I wasn't eating any additives or processed items per se, I was probably stuffing myself full of pesticides.  The same goes for meat: As I've stated numerous times before, I love meat. I don't know that I will ever give it up, even though I've been eating much less of it than I ever had before. But much like the salads, I find myself faltering when going out to restaurants and eating what must be surely CAFO meat. It really defeats the purpose. I need to make sure that I develop the willpower to avoid the Bad Things- which can come in more forms than just processed packaged food- more often than I do.

Resolution 3: Experiment with more foods!
When I first started the Au Naturale diet I was on a mission to make everything from scratch. And I had a blast experimenting in my kitchen. For those of you early readers, you may remember that I made pita bread, cream cheese, Cadbury eggs, and more from scratch. Why did I stop? You can blame time, but you can also blame comfort with familiarity. I should try to make one traditionally processed food from scratch a month. Here is where I open it up to you, loyal readers, to suggest some ideas for experimentation. Yes, I take requests!

I think these are valuable and achievable resolutions, and I'm looking forward to sharing them all with you. Happy 2012!

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.