Flower Mac

Since I am on a whole food kick I have been experimenting with vegetable dishes that my kid might eat.  The other night I came up with “Flower Mac” and it was quite good.

Saute one shallot and garlic clove in olive oil.

De-glaze with wine wine and add one whole head of cauliflower chopped up.

Add plain rice milk (or veggie or chicken broth) and throw in a hand full of thyme.  ( I did add 2 tbs butter, too!)

Salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer covered until its soft.  Once the cauliflower is soft puree in blender until smooth.

Use as sauce over your choice of  whole grain pasta.  I topped mine with paprika and shredded carrots to  give it some color.   You can use anything you want to add flair because  its pretty bland looking on its own.

Jim and Z loved it!!

Enjoy good food

dayl

A new food challenge

As a parent concerned about nutrition, I’m always trying to balance making healthy meals that both the kids and us grown-ups will enjoy. I’ve recently decided to add the new twist of trying to be as vegetarian as possible, because I’m concerned about how the animals are treated before making it to my table.

So now I have a new twist. A new filter to run my potential meals through before offering them to the family.

Anti-inflammatory.

Wha?

Frustrated at my lack of progress in healing my doctor-diagnosed Achilles tendonitis, I made an appointment to see a Chinese medicine practitioner, Marya. After making the appointment, I saw Physical Therapist Dan and got the problem fixed (FYI, it wasn’t Achilles tendonitis after all!), but I still went to see her because I want to heal well, and I want to be able to start running again as soon as possible. In addition to doing a little Shiatsu massage and acupuncture, she prescribed an anti-inflammatory diet.

What is an anti-inflammatory diet, you ask?

The answer is: “Remove everything that’s fun from your diet.”

Seriously. Foods I shouldn’t be consuming include: caffeine, red meat, wheat, corn, soy, dairy, and sugar.

I wasn’t so worried about the sugar and red meat, since we don’t eat it much of either anyway. But part of my “going vegetarian” endeavor has involved a lot of pasta. I just bought a bunch of fresh basil to make pesto. I guess I can put it over fish and veggies instead of pasta… I made the mistake of perusing some vegetarian-only cookbooks, and found myself falling asleep just flipping through the pages. I’m having more fun looking at my Bon Appétit Cookbook by Barbara Fairchild, because everything is so interesting and delicious.

Here is the meal I’ve planned for dinner today:

Almond Crusted Cod with Leek & Lemon Cream (from the Bon Appétit Cookbook: it actually called for sole, but there wasn’t any sole available, the cod was fresh), to be served with saffron-lemon infused brown rice (my own creation), and rainbow chard sautéed with garlic (Anna’s idea). I know the cream in the leek & lemon cream sauce is on the no-go list, but I have to start somewhere. Almonds are highly recommended, as are leeks and lemons and chard, so I think this will be a good meal. Plus, Marya suggested using coconut oil in cooking, so I can use that when preparing the fish. I’m fairly confident it will be interesting enough for Brian and I, and the kids will like it as well. Well, I don’t think they’ll be crazy about the chard but it’s worth a try.

bok choy, carrots, basil, spring garlic, rainbow chard and collard greens from the Farmers' Market

I found a recipe for a bok choy & shrimp salad with won ton “chips” (from Prime Time Emeril) that I think we’ll try tomorrow.

I sure would appreciate any other ideas to expand my repertoire!

In good health,
~Krista

Blessed Mary, Full of Condiments

I’m spending Easter morning having a delightful brunch & blogging session with Vivacious Gourmand. Of course we had to come to my favorite place. Perfect for delicious food, delightful ambiance and … THE BLOODY MARY BAR. Every weekend, Urban Farmer hosts a famous Bloody Mary Bar. $5 Bloodys, with a spectacular array of interesting potential condiments.

Urban Farmer (at The Nines hotel in downtown Portland) has a wonderful menu, sourced from local producers and assembled with great attention to detail.

My favorite part? I can eat meat here!

My heightened awareness about the commercial meat industry has caused me to want to be a vegetarian. Knee-jerk reaction. However, I believe (based on science) that human animals are omnivores. I thank the animal rights activists for drawing these inhumane conditions to my attention. But just as I can’t agree with them that there is no place for zoos in our society, I also can’t agree with them that humans shouldn’t eat meat.

Bears and monkeys are omnivores. I wouldn’t expect them to not eat other animals. Nor can we expect that of humans. But… and it’s a big but… I simply cannot tolerate supporting a commercial meat industry that treats the animals inhumanely. I was watching a trailer from a documentary-in-process made by a local animal rights activist. She was drawn to my attention because she is protesting Oregon Zoo housing elephants. I can’t agree with her on that point, but the rest of her documentary really opened my eyes and caused me to think long and hard about where my meat is coming from. I actually haven’t eaten meat since watching that.

So… back to Urban Farmer. They proudly advertise their local suppliers, and only choose farmers that maintain proper standards for sustainability and conditions for the animals. I’m so glad, because this was delicious:

Eggs Benedict, with shaved ham from Tails & Trotters

While we were here, Urban Farmer happened to be hosting their twice-annual uh-may-zing brunch buffet.

A buffet delicious enough to photograph

We met this charming photographer, Erin Berzel, who was photographing the buffet. If I’m not able to run the Hippie Chick Half on Mother’s Day, I’m totally coming back with my family for the brunch! Oh, and did I mention the Bloody Mary Bar has bacon swizzle sticks available? Local, humanely-produced bacon, of course.

This picture sums up my feelings about Urban Farmer:

Now THAT is a happy breakfast situation.

Cheers,
~Krista