I know I talk a lot on this blog about eating locally, supporting your farmers market and area farms, and reading food labels. I have also started to become more interested in producing much of my own food. I am very much about taking personal responsibility for my diet, health and well-being, and that is what has led me to this point. I have found that living in Florida, if you want to be in control of what you put in your body, you have to be very proactive about it. When I lived in New England it was much easier, I could just shop at Whole Foods (when I could afford it) or Trader Joe’s (which was always affordable) and local farmstands, and I was pretty much guaranteed finding good, quality, and local foods easily and for a reasonable cost. Just look at the labels on many of your organic items, and those that are not from CA are most likely from a New England state. In Florida, where there doesn’t seem to be as much focus on local foods (besides it being a buzzword) it has challenged me to really take control of the situation myself. Which in itself is a good thing.

By the way, if this is a topic you care about, you should really join myself and other food bloggers in discussing the problem of obesity, in our Stuffed: An Insider’s Look at Who’s (Really) Making America Fat, Giveaway that is going on through the month of October. You could win a copy of the book!

Last year, I started with making my own ice cream and bread – foods that are pretty much staples in this house. I have always made my own sauces and really never used much in the way of pre-packaged meals or heavily processed foods. But in this day and age, that in and of itself really doesn’t prevent you from ingesting crap like corn syrup, MSG, colored dyes and a myriad of other chemicals, like artificial sweeteners, that are in more foods than you can imagine, if you don’t take the time to read those labels and educate yourself about what is in pre-packaged foods.

To that end, I decided instead of wasting hours at the supermarket reading labels, I would start making more stuff on my own and I would start with things that we eat a lot of. For me, dairy was one of the first things that I switched over to purchasing exclusively organic. Once I started eating organic eggs and drinking organic milk, I found that chronic stomach aches I had been experiencing went away. So when I decided I wanted to start making some more of my own foods, I decided to start with dairy. I have always been a cheese lover. Besides Wisconsin, which is known for cheese, a serious contender to the title of cheese state, would have to be Vermont, the land of Cabot, and tons of local artisanal cheese producers. I have always had a thing for dairy, and I love working with dairy products. So making cultured dairy products seemed like a good place to start.

Recently I purchased a Yogotherm from The New England Cheesemaking Company as well as the book Home Cheese Making.

I also purchased several different cultures for dairy products that we consume often – yogurt and kefir, as well as things I wanted to try my hand at – fromage blanc, buttermilk and creme fraiche. All of these items can be made in the Yogotherm.

So last week, now that things have settled down after our summer of visitors, I decided to make fromage blanc and yogurt. I was able to get a half gallon of raw goats milk from the farmers market that I used to make the cheese. It was a very simple procedure. Heat the milk to 86F, add the culture, stir to mix and then let cool to a72F and then transfer to the Yogotherm. Twelve hours later, transfer to a cheesecloth and let drip for another 6-12 hours. The cheese turned out very good. It is a bit dry, I think I might have squeezed too much liquid from it, so we have been using it as a crumbling cheese on to of eggs, pasta and salads. It does have a wonderful goat milk flavor and I would certainly make it again and probably monitor the liquid better.

Having that success under my belt, I decided to try my hand at yogurt. This was even easier. Use any kind of organic milk ( I used 2% Stonyfield) and ¼ cup of organic dry milk powder. Mix the two together and heat it to 180F. Let cool to 116F and add the yogurt starter. Place in Yogotherm for at least 6 hours, or until the consistency of thick cream.

This yogurt is really THE BEST I have ever tasted. It is not super sour like many plain yogurts, but it still has that quintessential tangy yogurt taste, yet there is a bit of sweetness. I am really enjoying it in the morning or as a snack with pumpkin butter and peanut butter mixed in and seeds with dried fruit on top. It has also been wonderful to cook with. I think next time I make it, I may try making it with goats milk. I have almost exclusively switched over to drinking goats milk. This is in preparation for making room for goats in my life…a pretty major lifestyle change, I will be talking about in a few months in more detail

If you are like me, you know the joys of reading cookbooks cover to cover like a novel. Looking at the photos, skimming the recipes, planning future meals and letting the creativity flow is one of my favorite pastimes. I have an entire bookshelf full of cookbooks in my kitchen. I have made at least one or two recipes out of all of them, but I like to keep things interesting, and generally I use cookbooks as inspiration for my cooking, rather than a step-by-step guide. Now with all the wonderful food blogs I have at my fingertips, I find myself using them as creative fodder more often, so in the spirit of conservation I have really tried to limit my cookbook purchases.

However, sometimes, a cookbook will really speak to me and when I purchase it, it will get a place of honor on my counter-top cookbook stand. Generally that spot is reserved for Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day but now it has a roommate Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon. Several people over a short time period told me that I should check this book out. I remember several patients we had at the holistic healthcare office I used to work at talking about Weston Price and fermented and cultured foods, but I never really explored it back then. However, based on all these recommendations, I decided to buy the book. I spent several days reading the introduction which discusses at length the similarities of food preparation (not necessarily ingredients) from traditional cultures all over the world. It also discusses at length the major food groups and gives a lot of information to think about. Now I know some people might read this and be converted right away. I am a skeptical animal by nature, and so a firm believer in moderation as opposed to dogma of any kind. But I have found a lot of useful information in this book, as well as confirmation of a lot of clues and messages I have gotten from my own body when I choose various foods to eat. So for me, much of this book rings true. Then there are the recipes – all of which I want to eat! Well maybe not the organ meat section, I have had quite enough of that to last me a lifetime. But the emphasis here is on real, whole, traditional foods – not new fangled, or processed foods -and some of the foods that fall into that category might be surprising to people – yet it does ring true. It really explores some of the information we, as consumers accept as reality, but may not be the truth of the matter.

For the past 2 months I have been exploring a gluten free diet. But I am not convinced yet that gluten is my culprit. I think my culprit is grains in general and Nourishing Traditions gives lots of information for why that theory may be true. It also gives a lot of suggestions for fermenting grains (and legumes) or soaking them in vinegar, buttermilk, yogurt or kefir as our ancestors did. There are examples from all over the world in this book to support this claim. The soaking allows enzymes and other friendly organisms to break down the phytic acid, an organic acid found in all grains (and legumes) that may make the digestion of grains (and legumes) harder for some people. This sounded like an experiment I wanted to try – not only because I wanted to find a way to digest grains better, but because I really like kefir, yogurt, vinegar and buttermilk, and thought the flavor might actually enhance the grain dishes. I have to say I had a lot of success in the past few weeks with bulgur, lentils and even oatmeal – something I have been trying to learn to like for years. After learning to soak lentils in warm water and apple cider vinegar, they have become so much easier to digest and are becoming a mainstay of our diet. This book has given Roberto and I the opportunity to actually enjoy foods that were previously not on the tummy friendly list. So just for that I am loving this book.

My favorite grain on the planet is buckwheat also known as kasha (which is not actually a wheat – but a grass). So I started the soaking experiment with buckwheat and lentils for dinner one night – serving them together as a pilaf. I served it with a modified version of Nourishing Traditions’ Moroccan Style Chicken (see my recipe after the cut) and roasted sweet potatoes. It was such a delicious meal – so filling and satisfying…and well, a breeze in the digestion department! I was feeling so inspired that night I starting soaking some Irish oats for breakfast the next day, and it was my best experience with oatmeal ever. I am not a convert yet, but I can see myself eating it more often. With all these successes, and so many other delicious recipes to try, I will most likely be featuring more and more of the recipes and ideas from this book.

Yesterday I ordered a bunch of cultures and cheese making supplies from New England Cheesemaking Supply Company so that I can begin making my own kefir, yogurt, buttermilk as well as some soft cheeses. Also, for more Nourishing Food ideas, I have found a great blog – The Nourished Kitchen authored by Jenny who is really a wealth of knowledge on this way of eating. I came across her blog a few months ago when she was doing a giveaway for a Kimchi and Sauerkraut (some of my favorite foods) Maker! I never wanted to win something so bad. I didn’t win, but that maker is certainly on my wish list, along with the CIA version of the Vitamix! In fact, I think I may to buy that maker today…it is under $30 and the only pickles I can find at the store now without corn syrup and dyes are $8 a jar – and I eat A LOT of pickles! Anyway, as you can see I am really excited about all these new discoveries. So likely this will be a topic of discussion in the future.

As I told Hank Cardello, author of Stuffed Nation during a very enjoyable phone conversation yesterday, I am still on the road of discovery about what “healthy eating” means to me. I don’t have all the answers yet, but the learning process sure has been fun, tasty and eye opening so far, and I am already about 8 years into the discovery process with so much more to learn. Speaking of Mr. Cardello and Stuffed Nation, keep your eye out for an intriguing giveaway we will be doing together in September to help spread the message about food policy and the fight against obesity in the US.

*Update: I am really happy to see the responses and comments on this article. If definitely answers my question as to whether these kinds of posts are valuable/interesting to my readers! Your comments always help me to decide which kinds of articles to write, and although I get great responses to my recipes, it seems that I always get very thought provoking comments on these posts I do on food quality. So I am moved to do more of these in the future. For more articles on this topic, check out my “Health and Wellness” category (categories can be found on the left hand side bar). Thank you all for comments!

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When we were at Whole Foods the last time we stocked up on meat and fish. It is pretty expensive, so I usually just get whatever is on sale or the cheapest. This is a way for me to ensure I am getting quality and “happy” meats and fishes, while at the same time, try new things since I am not always familiar with preparing what is on sale. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find good local sources, as of yet…hard to believe, I know…

When it comes to fish, I always look for “Wild” and “Fished in the USA”. So this time that meant we bought haddock and flounder. Not the most exciting visually or taste wise, (I prefer more fatty fishes like salmon and tuna, but Roberto is allergic), but I decided this would be a great exercise in expanding my horizon. I have never cooked with haddock before, so I decided to give it a whirl. I needed some inspiration, so I went on Twitter and asked around to all my buddies what to do with Halibut (since I misread what I actually had, halibut, haddock, same diff right?) and I got some great suggestions, like frying it, or making fish tacos. But this was a martial arts night and so I knew when I got home I would be exhausted and I am trying to watch weight right now, so frying was out of the question for right now (although in the future – definitely!). But my buddy Peter from Kalofagas suggested his recipe for Pistachio Crusted Halibut, using dijon mustard and panko.

So I decided to do a version of that. I didn’t have all the ingredients in his recipe on hand, so I went through the fridge and pantry to see what I could sub in. We really enjoy Salt and Vinegar flavored natural Kettle Chips, and in the back of the pantry I found an almost empty bag. So I decided I could use that in lieu of breadcrumbs – plus vinegar goes great with fish. I spread dijon mustard and Greek yogurt on the fish and then smooshed my potato chip and pistachio mixture on top. Then I put it in the fridge until we got home. I also sliced up some carrots rounds and fresh fennel bulb strips that we had left over from the farmers market, drizzled them with olive oil and seasoned them with salt and pepper and roasted them at 350 for about 20 minutes.

When we got home. I put the fish on top of the fennel and carrots, and baked everything at 350 for another 20 minutes. It turned out really delicious. All the flavors really complimented each other and it really brought to like otherwise boring haddock!
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This is about getting inspired by the cans in your pantry closet. I am an enormous fan of pumpkin. I am not sure if that is why my favorite season is autumn, or because pumpkin is so synonymous with my favorite season, I love it so much. Or maybe it is its deep orange color (which happens to be my favorite color). I think what I love most about it, is that it is still a “Seasonal Vegetable”. People generally eat pumpkin, in the autumn and early winter, the time in which it is ready for harvest. I am also a huge proponent of eating seasonally, so all of these reasons tickle my fancy! Plus I generally only eat it in season, so it is a treat for me every year.

Now when you bring in the element of canning, something I want to experiment with this year, you can have veggies and fruits that are not in season, because you prepared them for eating later, by preserving. I did not can my own pumpkin, here, but I did have some canned pumpkin in my pantry, just the same. I got a hankering to do something with it, and so I dove in.

I knew I wanted to make Pumpkin Quick Bread, but I also wanted to try a baked dessert too. So I went with Pumpkin Brownies.

Both recipes were great, and even Roberto loved them, which is great, because he is kind of iffy about pumpkin, especially in dessert items. So now I know there are several pumpkin recipes I can make that he will love too!

For the Pumpkin Bread I used a combination of these two recipes , one from No Fear Entertaining and the other from RecipeGirl but used yogurt instead of oil and added raisins.

For the Pumpkin Brownies I used this recipe, except that before the last 10 minutes of baking, I topped the brownies with coconut, so it came out with toasted coconut on top! YUM!

This is another recipe inspired by my new favorite cookbook,
Dishing Up Vermont.

This particular tagine recipe is perfect for the winter bounty of vegetables that we are experiencing right now. I would not call this a “tagine”, technically, but more of a stew, as that is the way it is prepared, as opposed to the traditional slow roasting method in clay that tagine in known for. However, the flavors are very much reflective of this well known Moroccan dish.

I did not have all of the ingredients in the original recipe, so I filled in the gaps with things that I had on hand, and I must say it was delicious and certainly very easy to make. I would encourage anyone to try this dish with whatever seasonal veggies you have on hand, while keeping the spices the same, and you are in for a real hearty treat. Topped with a nice dollop of strained Greek yogurt and you have a wonderful healthy meal, perfect for staving off the colder weather. It is definitely a dish that I will be making again.
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I have the very distinct privilege of announcing one of the O Foods Recipe Winners, from those participants who were featured on Bleeding Espresso. We had a really hard time deciding as there were so many great recipes. So Michelle and I decided to share our top three and go from there – but we both had the same exact top three:
Olive Ascolane from The Flavors of Abruzzo , Octopus in a Stew from Spanish Recipes and Chard stuffed with Riso Arborio and Portobello Mushrooms from Feed Yourself.
Uh oh! How to chose now???

So I decided to enlist the help of a real expert – our new pup Peperoncino!

I saw on Wendy’s blog that she recently had a contest and her puppy, Marco chose the winner, which I thought was brilliant. So I put the recipes on a slip of paper, put them on the floor and the first one he sniffed was the winner! Well it looks like Peperoncino wants some Octopus! So congratulations to Nuria, from Spanish Recipes who has won a $50 gift certificate from Amazon, with her Octopus Stew!

Thanks again to all of you who participated and be sure to stop over to Nuria’s blog for some more great Spanish Recipes!

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PierOgi Pasta

Here is a great fall pasta dish, that is so satisfying and chock full of veggie goodness. My best friend Jen, who lives in MA is Polish and all the women in her family get together the Saturday after Thanksgiving and make Pierogi for Christmas. I have always thought this is a wonderful family tradition. I love Pierogi, but have never made it myself. A long time ago, when I still lived in MA I was at Jen’s house…she was making a dish for dinner that she called Lazy Man’s Pierogi, which was from what I can remember: sauteed cabbage, onions and mushrooms tossed with sauerkraut, cottage cheese and egg noodles. It looked and smelled great and I always put it on the back burner for a “someday recipe”. Well that day came. But I decided to change it up a little.

I sauteed the cabbage, onion and mushrooms like she did. Then I added sauerkraut, some leftover tomato sauce and some Greek Yogurt. I cooked it all down until it was soft but still crunchy and then added whole wheat tortellini to it and continued to cook it for another 10 minutes so the tortellini had time to steam in the juices. I seasoned everything with salt, pepper, cumin and paprika. It turned out great and made enough to feed a small army! We loved it and it is something I will certainly be making down the road again! Plus I get to see Jen a week from today, when we head up north for our yearly trip to New England! YAY!

Well, now that the storm has passed and things have returned to normal once again (meaning it is sunny and hot and humid), we will return to our regularly scheduled programming of all things food related. Today I am going to talk about meat – specifically Happy Meat.

So what makes a steak “happy” (as my friend Judy calls it)? Well for those of you who haven’t read The Omnivore’s Dilemma, it has to do with the way the cow that becomes your steak lives its life. A cow that spends its post-weaning life on a feedlot eating grains and “additives” (read: cow parts) that it is not equipped to digest (and thereby given antibiotics in its feed to essentially keep it alive) is going to have a very different taste to it than a cow that lives in a pasture eating fresh grass and hay and living its life, well, like a cow is supposed to. Taste is one thing – but what does all those hormones/ antibiotics and cheap food it is fed do to you when you eat it? I won’t even go into the ethical debate(…watch me just fly right past that one…)

I don’t talk a lot about food ideologies on this blog, because I am a strong believer and affirmer of “to each their own”, especially when it comes to food. I learn so much from people by what they eat and so never in a million years would I try to convince someone to eat differently. The only reason I bring this up now is because until I read The Omnivore’s Dilemma I didn’t realize how bad things really are. So maybe you don’t realize it either. I mean, I knew about corn syrup, and additives and processed foods, been off those for years, but I didn’t have the foggiest idea how BIG and overarching this issue with corn is. I am horrified by the fact that Americans are like walking tortilla chips, made from CHEAP INDUSTRALIZED corn.
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In my quest to find healthy alternatives, eat my veggies and cut down on food costs, I have started trying to make pre-made foods that we enjoy at home, from scratch. One of those things are veggie burgers. We really love a good veggie burger in this house. It is a quick, easy meal that you can feel good about – and eat with oven baked fries!

Don’t get me wrong, we love the meat versions as well. But there is something lighter about veggie burgers, that we sometimes crave. They can be pretty expensive when you buy them at the grocery store and in keeping a balanced budget, we decided that store bought veggie burgers just weren’t going to make the cut. But that didn’t mean they had to be off the menu! Plus, finding a veggie burger at the store without soy products is becoming virtually impossible. Not to mention it is getting harder and harder to find veggie burgers with out a lot of additives these days as vegetarian food is also becoming industrialized at a frightening rate. So I got a crazy idea in my mind. I decided to do a veggie burger experiment. Try a few variations, using different beans, legumes and grains, until we got it right.

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