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~ F

blog @ tastinghealth

]]> http://www.tastinghealth.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry090111-123506 Sofra Bakery and Cafe recently (ok, last week), and made mention of their moroccan style lentils with caramelized onions and greens. Well as I was looking for something to cook for lunch today to refuel after an hour spent shoveling snow, I noticed that lo and behold, I had lentils, chard, and onions all coexisting comfortably in my kitchen.

In true Fiona style, I threw everything in a pan at once and immediately started eating the whole mess with a ladle. No, not really. Really what I did was first caramelize the onions in a little bit of olive oil, a splash of white balsamic, and a drizzle of agave nectar, adding the chopped chard when the onions were done to my liking and leaving it covered over a low heat for a minute or two while the greens wilted. I then tossed in a can of organic lentils (Westbrae Natural - they are relatively low in sodium for a canned product), added some crushed red pepper flakes, salt, black pepper and a couple more splashes of the vinegar and turned up the heat to toss it all around for a few minutes while the excess liquid burned off. I was all about the onions today and wasn't planning on adding garlic, but when I tasted the dish it needed some so I tossed in a shake of garlic powder. Next time I'll use fresh and start the whole thing off with a little in the pan fo' sho'.

It was good. I mean really, really good. Damn tasty. I think I've also blogged about lentils, so I won't go on and on about folate and breasts again, but rest assured the little buggers are good for you. It was some quick and easy one pan cooking, and I hope you enjoy it if you decide to give it a try.]]> http://www.tastinghealth.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry090104-191857
A few weeks ago, my roommate brought home a menu for Sofra, the new cafe and bakery from the owners and chefs of Oleana. It is located at One Belmont Street, which is conveniently right on my way to work - where I was going less than a week later when I quickly popped in there and grabbed one of their Mezze that I had been daydreaming about since I'd seen the menu at my house, the lentils with caramelized onions and greens (oh but to decide between that and the whipped celery root with almond and garlic! Or the green olive and walnut salad!! It was a savory food lover's dream come true, but I was in a rush and went with the lentils - which were delicious of course).

Today, after my first run in more than just a few weeks (blame the holidays and a wonky ankle), I went in there again with Miss Leah PB, intent on getting a true lunch... and oh boy did I. The line was long, which was just as well because I spent the entire wait agonizing over whether to get the chicken or the lamb shwarma flatbread sandwich. I went with the chicken, butternut squash and leek option, and was not disappointed. In a bold move, I also decided to try a side of the parsnip hummus with tahini brown butter (parsnip hummus!!!), and grabbed a soy latte to sip while we waited. And let me say again, there was a wait. Nothing unreasonable, and I mean not one bit to sound as if I'm trying to sneak some criticism into my little review.... I'm building a small shrine to them in my home, really. I'm only trying to illustrate how insanely popular this place is already. Anyway, we waited and sipped, and finally went on our merry way with our purchases. Upon arriving at home and digging in, my first thought was that the sandwich was like butter... absolutely everything just melted in my mouth in the most delicious way imaginable. When I tried the parsnip hummus, I thought maybe that it was even better than the sandwich - but then I took another bite of the sandwich and decided that was my favorite, and so on and so forth. Heaven isn't too far away.

Sofra also sells some of the Oleana spice combinations, and a few of their dishes are pre-packaged in a cold case for the grab and go crowd. They have all sorts of sweets too, which I have yet to try (I don't have much of a sweet tooth, but a rose almond cake caught my eye, as did some homemade dulce de leche). They do breakfast until 11 Monday through Friday and until 3 on the weekends. Rather than waxing philosophical on how amazing their turkish breakfast must be (or the morning bun with orange blossom glaze?) I'll just post the link for any one who's interested in perusing their menu, it's replaced US Weekly as my light reading of choice these days. The also have signs plugging their CSA, signs advertising some cooking classes on Sundays beginning this month, and their clean up station has bins for dishes, recycling, paper goods AND compost, with multiple notes scattered about encouraging people to only take what they need.

All in all, I highly recommend it. In fact if anyone would like to meet me there for breakfast sometime this week, I'm game!


www.sofrabakery.com




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But beets... I have a love/hate relationship with beets. I like beet greens, and I hate waste. I also tend to love the accouterments that come along with beets in restaurants (goat cheese, greens, nuts, etc.), even though I stand firm in my belief that they make your greens taste like they were dragged through a muddy puddle and thrown straight onto your plate. But in small doses, with the tang of some chevre and dressed with something vinegary, I can handle them like quite the grown up. I do prefer the golden ones to the red, although then I begin to get anxious about what sort of delicious red/purple antioxidants I might be missing by passing on the darker ones until I take a deep breath and think "W.W.M.P.D... What Would Michael Pollan Do?". Cook and eat, damn it (although he probably would have dug them out of his own garden, but my back porch just isn't going to cut it).

What I did with my (golden) beets tonight was boil them and dice them. Yummy, eh? Not really. But the greens - along with some kale - were sauteed with some olive oil and garlic, and then tossed with a little salt, some crushed red pepper flakes and a splash or two of white balsamic vinegar. I tossed the unexciting boiled, diced beets in the mix and paired it all with some crusty whole grain toast smeared with peppery goat cheese, and my dinner was actually quite nice.

Look at me... eating all my vegetables like a good girl.

]]> http://www.tastinghealth.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry081202-071440 You can donate by going to their website.

http://www.massfarmersmarkets.org






]]> http://www.tastinghealth.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry081122-094334 cook, not a chef.

I recently purchased a used copy of Nigella Express: Good Food, Fast on Amazon. It came sans book jacket, a battered pink unidentifiable-until-opened hardcover, just as any good used book should. One of my favorite things about her idea of fast food is this... if it only takes 10 minutes to prepare something that you can then throw in the oven to roast for an hour or two while you do other very important things around the house, it's still considered quick and easy (I subscribe to this most especially in the winter, as the cravings for warm food take over and my salad greens wilt, unused in the refrigerator because I just cannot bring myself to eat them). Nigella writes in the intro to the chapter "Quick Quick Slow"...

"I exult in the liberation that comes from slow-cooking. And I adore the feeling of security and messy organization that emanates from the cozy knowledge that there is something gently braising away in the oven or, even, still snugly wrapped in the fridge, ready and waiting for it's oven time. This, for me, is one of the small pleasures of everyday life. It makes me feel involved in the kitchen, with food, when I'm busy elsewhere".

I read and reread this quote almost every time I open this book. It reminds me of the connection that all of us food-ophiles feel to the process of selecting and preparing the sustenance our bodies require, and beyond that, the enjoyment we take in it. Although it may (perhaps? No comments from the peanut gallery) add fuel to the fire that is my obsession with food, I take some comfort in the fact that in this I am not alone.

So throw something in the oven, and then settle down with a good book (or clean your bathroom if you must). And never trick yourself into thinking you don't have the time to cook. I've been guilty of that so many times in the past, but now I have Nigella to remind me that it needn't ever be the case. And you have me to do the same :)]]> http://www.tastinghealth.com/pblog/index.php?entry=entry081023-072613
Anyone who has had the pleasure of coming to my house has undoubtedly met Wally, also known as Fatty, Hungry Mungry, Fat Wallers... you get the picture. My vet has warned me time and time again that he needs to lose weight, at the risk of developing kitty diabetes and needing daily kitty insulin shots if he doesn't. I had tried reducing his food - and thought I'd been successful! No easy feat considering that, oh take today for example... I stepped on his foot when he basically ran under mine, just because I walked towards the general vicinity of his food dish. But lo and behold he's up two pounds from last year.

This time around, my vet recommended feeding him squash or pumpkin to supplement the cat food that I'm downsizing, so that he doesn't feel deprived. It's low calorie, full of fiber (so it will be satiating), and apparently cats love it. Well, Wally looked at me like I'd just killed his entire family the first time I plopped some canned pumpkin down in front of him, but once I figured out I needed to mix it into his food (no comments please), he chowed down. It's too soon to tell if it will aid weight loss, but one can hope.

Of course, being the nerd that I am I only give him organic canned pumpkin from Trader Joe's. It's only just occurred to me that they may cease to sell it after the holiday season and I'm beginning to panic.

And let's not even discuss what sort of crazy threshold I've crossed by blogging about my cat...







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Check out my Shaklee website and feel free to email me with any questions. I'm just getting started and haven't really tricked out the site yet with "Favorite Products" and such, but I'll get to it soon.

https://www.shaklee.net/fiona_larosa_waters

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Now for the good news about the upcoming fall... the apple season is starting (and with it the apple cider and apple cider donut season - try the ones at Russell Orchards in Ipswich MA). The nights are cooler and wonderfully comfortable for sleeping, warm sweaters and tall boots look great with summer dresses, and longer nights can mean cups of tea on the couch with a movie or a sweetie (or both), and more dinners/baths/meditation by candlelight... take your pick.

I was badly in need of a "me" day today, filled with things that would ease my mind and energize my body. I went for a run. I went to the farmers market and indulged in the best that the cusp of the seasons has to offer. I celebrated summer with a lunch of grilled havarti dill with heirloom tomatoes on homemade potato bread. I'm writing.

And I took pictures for y'all.









So instead of allowing the change in seasons to dampen your spirits, try taking multiple pictures of fruits and vegetable arranged in various ways on your kitchen table. It's guaranteed to lighten even the darkest of days!

(Bonus points if you name them and talk to them as if they are live models who will take direction or bask under the glow of your compliments).
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Toss the cooked corn kernals, beans and diced veggies of choice - I use tomatoes, red onion, and yellow or orange pepper - with cilantro, and then toss with a light dressing of lime juice (fresh squeezed please! You do NOT need to save so much time that you can't slice a lime and squeeze it), olive oil, and hot sauce of choice. You can really play with the flavors by choosing a more vinegar based hot sauce vs a peppery one, or even a fruity mango based sauce (or add diced mango! Some people are funny about fruit in savory foods, I happen to love it). Salt to taste, and you're done! You can add a little fresh garlic, but beware... I've found that it doesn't hold up as well in the leftovers. As an alternative you can try a little garlic powder in the dressing, if you really want to add that component.



On the subject of corn, because I happen to have some in my refrigerator, I finally tried a recipe I'd spotted in "Eating Well" earlier in the summer for a coconut creamed corn. Simmer fresh corn kernals in coconut milk (or "lite" if you prefer) with a little salt for about 12 to 15 minutes, until most of the milk has evaporated. Add cilantro, lime juice (hmm, a theme here?) and crushed red pepper... Voila! Amazing and easy, two of my favorite things.


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