Life's Colorful Palate

Friendship Dahlia

Last month, I took my first cooking class at the Moores Cancer Center in La Jolla.  I came to know the classes through a friend at 50 Friends Vineyard, Susan Faerber, who not only teaches the healthy cooking classes, but is also the WHEL (Women's Healthy Eating & Living) Study Project Director at the Cancer Center.  Click on The Healthy Eating Program for more info, as well as a class schedule.

Meeting Susan was yet another happy accident.  Not only did I learn a wealth of information on the benefits of phytochemicals, but I also added a bunch of healthy, delicious recipes to my cooking arsenal, some of which have come in very handy during this whole raw thing.  Stay tuned for a few of those recipes.

July's Class was even more thrilling - a class on healthy grilling tips - and to add to its allure, it was held at the Organic Gardens in National City.  Not only does the property boast a beautifully restored Princess Ann Victorian Home (built in 1896), it is also features a half acre organic garden, as well as a smaller Childrens' Garden used for education by local schools.


The Walton Estate (Now owned by the International Community Foundation)



Chidrens' Garden

 The Gardens are rich in history, being formerly owned and restored by Christy Walton, widow of the late Wal-Mart Heir, John Walton.  In 2006, Walton donated the home to the nonprofit International Community Foundation.  The story of how she came to embrace organic food and create the gardens for the health of an ailing son is both heartwarming and inspiring.  For more of the story, click here.

Every July, nestled on the pool terrace above the gardens, Susan holds what she affectionately refers to as her "Thrill of the Grill" cooking class.  Susan is a dynamic speaker and it is clear she enjoys educating people on how to create health through food education and preparation.  As we stepped down to the pool area, the smell of the rosemary in her Brick Grilled Chicken On a Bed of Fresh Herbs permeated the air.  Happy nose. 

Susan begins each class with a playful quiz, to help dispell common myths and educate her students, before digging into the cooking portion of the class.   She spoke about how to prevent carcinogenic charring and fumes, mostly by avoiding dripping fat over an open flame (cooking over indirect flame is much safer.  She talked about using barriers for the food, like herbs soaked in water, or cedar planks.  She also provided an informational handout, a list of grilling foods, how to prepare them, and their typical cook time. 

As the intro to her recipes handout states, "Barbecuing gets a bad rap sometimes as being the domain of fatty meats and high-calorie sauces, but the truth of the matter is that smoking and grilling don't add fat to a dish, only flavor.  With the right ingredients, the outdoor cooker can be the focus of cooking for a healthy diet."  Sounds, and smells, pretty good to me.

On to the food!  As she does in every class, Susan provided us with something to tantalize the tastebuds and snack on during the class, in this case a delicious Gazpacho (salad in a cup!), perfect for our current raw diet.  Gazpacho can be made many ways, but the flavors in this one practically leapt out of my cup and into my mouth, dancing a jig on my tongue.

Healing Foods Kitchen Gazpacho

1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, preferably heirloom variety, roughly chopped
1/2  pound cucumbers, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
1/2 green bell pepper (I used red because I prefer them)
2 scallions (white and green) roughly chopped
1/4 jalapeno, stemmed and chopped with seed, if you like heat
1/4 cup roughly chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (1/2 small bunch)
2 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh mint leaves
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for garnish
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 1/2 cups chilled tomato juice
4 ice cubes

On a cutting board, lightly sprinkle the garlic with a pinch of salt and smash it into a paste with the side of a chef knife.  Mix the garlic, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, scallion, jalapeno, parsley, and mint in a large bowl.  Season with the salt and pepper, to taste.  Stir in the olive oil and sherry and toss well.

Add half the vegetable mixture to the blender and pulse.  Add half the tomato juice and two ice cubes.  Pour into a large bowl.  Repeat with the remaining ingredients.  Store in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour for the flavors to come together.

Divide among chilled soup bowls and serve.  Makes about 8 one cup servings.

This is the Gazpacho I made using Susan's recipe the following day.  I garnished with fresh avocado to make it a full meal.

The recipes that followed were no shrinking violets.  There was Grilled Corn on the Cob with Garlic Butter and Fresh Lime, with habanaro in the butter for a little kick.  Grilled Sweet Potato and Scallion Salad was prepared using large diced chunks of sweet potatoes cooked in a grilling basket.  While the Sweet & Spicy Grilled Cedar Planked Salmon cooked, we took a tour of the grounds, and I was finally able to retrieve my camera from the car.

As we descended into the garden, the sweet smell of damp hay and fertilizer, along with minty herbs, filled my nose.  It became readily apparent that this garden is less about manicured aesthetics and more about quality and substance, as well as agricultural harmony.  I saw plants I had never seen before, like this one:

 
 Which apparently is a Passion Fruit blossom.  The enjoyment of the garden was enhanced by company, our friends Jim and Carmen, whose son had gone to school with the Waltons' as well as the gardner, Martha's, children, back when they were of elementary age.  Carmen enhanced the experience with stories of their days there, and the joy of the children playing in the garden.  Her niece, Maria, visiting from Mississippi, intrigued me with her horticultural knowledge and love for the plants (it was she who educated me on the purple alien above).

In the flower garden, the Goddess of the Sea faces the ocean, bringing a sacred appeal to the grounds.

After the tour, we returned to the pool area and feasted on the evening's offerings, a very indulgent and pleasurable experience after having been two weeks raw.  The only regret was we hadn't brought any wine.  We will be well prepared for next year.  Thanks to Susan, the Healthy Eating Program, and the International Community Foundation, as well as our friends who made it such a great evening.

The Raw Human Experience

"Even a brick wants to be something!"
                                   -Louis Kahn

The Raw Revolution has continued well into July, with a new challenge being set among four friends that we could remain all raw, all vegan, for the entire month of July.  First we allowed ourselves the enjoyment of July 4th weekend, before delving into our new found discipline.  This about sums up the spirit of that weekend:

And... then the fun was over.  Just kidding.  Sort of.  Then the fun began.

Raw has naturally defined cleaning out our closets in many ways, because, at least to a foodie, the learning curve on how to shop and plan meals is pretty steep.  I mean, anyone can eat an apple, but to prepare it in an interesting way that is still beneficial and feeds the creative side in the kitchen, is a whole new ball game.  If you are wondering how it's going, it can be evidenced by my lack of recent posts that it is, to say the least, a bit challenging.  Our household is three weeks in now, and we have adjusted pretty well at this point, with lingering headaches fading into the background and food preparation becoming more habit and less hassle.  I would have liked to document more of the road we have traveled, but as they say, life (or in this case, work) happens.  It is my hope I get a chance for some recap and to share what I consider some valuable information in the near future.

The whole hairbrained idea was conceived by Hillari and I the week before July 4th, as we lunched over our Venice sandwiches at 1134 and dished about health and wellness.  Despite OMPlate focusing on fresh food, we were still finding ourselves faced with the vicious up-down cycle of dinner, wine, and a groggy a.m. wearing a coffee i.v. matched by a weak promise to be more cognizant of our limits the next go around.  As we all know, old habits die hard.

I knew we were onto something when, a couple of days into the raw commitment, this appeared in the twilight sky over our patio:

No rain in sight, just a beautiful spectrum hovering above.

Let me assert:  abject repetition is boring.  Human creativity thirsts for dynamism and this is no different when it comes to repeating patterns that no longer serve us.  Yes, we thirst for celebration.  And it's important.  But my party hankering dries up when I observe myself becoming loathe to engage in normal daily activities simply because I overdid it the night before - in food and beverage -  yet again.  I am particularly sensitive to this when I notice it affecting my parenting.  My five-year-old need not pay for my lack of discipline.

More and more my body reminds me that old habits no longer serve me.  And I am committed to drinking life in, which is why it was time to go dry.  At least for a while.  I am not a brick, but I certainly want to live more intelligently than one.  And as we are the architects of our bodies, minds and souls, there comes a time to begin stacking things in our favor, and the favor of loved ones.  Plus moving to a raw lifestyle means vice is traded for the intense pleasure of eating foods packed with flavor and nutrients, as well as having energy at an even keel. 

Every raw blog I read going into this said that once you adjust to the raw diet, you will not longer crave most cooked foods.  I dare say they are right.  Not that I haven't had my moments of allowing the pendulum to swing back the way it came.  Hey, I'm no brick, I'm human.

Soul Food
Beyond nutrition, it is important to surround ourselves with those who encourage us to keep our lives fresh, people who remind us it is not just ok to continually evolve, but ideal.  Worlds open up when we bring ourselves to form partnerships with people who help us grow in leaps and bounds, and come ever closer to living with the Four C's: Clarity, Coherence, Creativity and Compassion.  And even though I just made those up, I like the sound of them.

I tend to surround myself with optimists because to me, dissent will creep on its own, like a dark mist, into any situation if given an open door, so why encourage it?  Positive thinking is contagious.  It's the flower that bears the juicy fruit in life.  My friend, Hillari, is full of optimism, and celebrates the human condition like no one else I know.  Her sisterhood has been an important part of my own personal growth.  And I know I am not alone in this.  She offers her guidance and friendship to many.  She makes it clear that obstacles are simply perceived, and if we put our minds to it, we are all capable of greatness.  Plus she meets, and often exceeds, my wackiness tenfold.

Example:  If I told Hillari I had a dream that I was abducted by E.T.s and had been impregnated with an alien child, and awoke to discover that it was not a dream at all but had actually occurred, without skipping a beat she would say, "and what do you plan to name the little hybrid?"  Can't help but love someone like that.  So thank you Hillari.

 Hmmmm..?

Having the support of her friendship, and well as that of her husband, Kai (with whom my significant other, Alec, has formed quite the bromance - more on that later - er, not that you were hoping for that), has helped us not only stick with this experiment, but thrive.  Kai and I have been busy coming up with recipes to thrill the tastebuds and keep us out of raw monotony (would that be rawnotony?), with all of us reaping the benefit of exploring something that contributes to overall health and well being.  No, one does not need to be an absolute purist, but allowing ourselves the discomfort of breaking from our normal routine to approach something with open curiosity - not because because we have to, but simply because we can - is truly a gift worth celebrating.  Hillari and Kai together make up soul food, so I suppose it is appropriate that I am writing this post today, on their 13th Anniversary.  Alec and I certainly celebrate your love and friendship today.

So there goes the rare dissertation.  On a more serious note, there are many health and environmental considerations when it comes to making our food choices.  I will have more on that soon, as well as a thought-provoking take on our hunter-gatherer instincts.  Ciao for now!
 

Glass Half Full

I Love Happy Accidents 
Through a series of seemingly random events, my significant other, Alec, managed to get us hooked up with a local wine enthusiast crowd known as 50 Friends Vineyard.  The vineyard is the brilliant baby of our new friend, JoAnne, who warmly welcomed us as #47 of 50 co-op friends who are collectively building and nurturing a small vineyard on the hillside of her property in Rancho Sante Fe.

The Vineyard Path

I Love Great Ideas

50 Friends Vineyard is completely sustainable.  The friends go to great lengths to make all processes earth friendly.  Wine bottles are being recycled.  Much of the cleared scrub was mulched and used for the pathway leading from the house and road. The rocks that have been sifted from the earth are used to build walls, pathways and borders.  The hillside is rich in adobe clay, which has been used to further stabilize some of the trellising.  Old pylons will be put to use later when the entertainment area is built at the top.



I Love The Earth!
Periodically (we try for about once a week), we head to the vineyard, about a 25 minute drive from Coronado, grab our ho and spade, and dig to our hearts' content.  It is a beautiful location and a great break from the normal rhythm of our daily lives.  The air is crisp, the breeze is kind, and I am a happy, happy girl.

When we joined, the heavy work had been done:  land cleared, earth turned, holes dug.  We showed up just in time to shovel compost (horse manure) into the two top and bottom rows, and to sift some more dirt to ready the holes for planting.  Alec got an education in trellis building and helped build the bottom three.

There is some fancy twisting involved, and a lot of pulling and leveraging to assure the vines have steady support as they grow with the weight of the grapes. 

We were not there to witness the planting of the first vines, but next time we showed up, lo and behold, there were the little beauties!

The vines won't produce for another 3 years; in the meantime, 50 Friends will buy grapes to make wine, hold events, and continue to foster community and local talent.  Alec and I are excited to be a part of the adventure, and look forward to watching the vineyard and friendships grow.

My Cup Filleth Over!

Earth, Love, Friends, Wine.  Thanks 50 Friends!

Spoiled Raw-ten: An Intro to Raw Week

Mid-June
This week, most of us, unless raised in a mainly vegan or raw household, are literally stripping down to bare bones and forgetting what we have learned over the years about food, and its preparation.  Many of us, particularly those who have access to computers and the blogosphere, have an exorbitant amount of food choices available to us.  We are, in a sense, quite spoiled.  Still, even with all of the choices, the main components of a typical Western diet tend to be cooked meats, grains and vegetables.  Unless it is Summer, most of us are not enjoying live, fresh foods from the garden at a typical meal, particularly at dinner, when the most substantial foods are usually consumed.  We tend to turn to what we know, or what we grew up with, to fill our bellies in a timely and satisfying fashion.

Make It Raw week is a play on words, meaning it is not just about the food, but allowing ourselves to step outside of our comfort zones and push the envelope on what we think we enjoy, or may not enjoy.  My own rut stemmed from getting comfortable with habits that were not the most resonant with who I am, or the life I wish to lead.  Celebrating the fact that I can exercise creativity and health through what I create in the kitchen is a subtle yet important step up from my previous putting one foot in front of the other cooking habits.  I guess you could say that practicing raw cooking-er-preparation contributes to living in the moment in one more respect, and I find it is an important one for my own health, as well as the health of my family. 

Raw's-Well
Because human nature dictates we typically fear that which we don't understand, I find the best way to get over the hump of moving out of my foodie comfort zone is through education.  Cultivating enthusiasm is easy to do as long as we are constantly upping the ante for ourselves via the learning curve.  This is easy with the raw diet, because I have found that there is a vast learning curve to the raw food movement.  The more I explore, the more I lift the veil of strange UFO (Unidentified Food Objects) activity, and I am able to embrace the possibility of intelligence beyond my own limited perspective.  And, it turns out, it's delicious!

Not Just for Treehuggers?

Good news, the raw diet is not just for hippies anymore!  It does not just exist in strange cult environments or in the pages of High Times.  It has come to the fore in the West much like Yoga has, and has begun to lose its mystique.  The raw diet does not just appeal to a purist lifestyle, and although the websites I have visited are mostly vegan related, the recipes are mouthwatering.  And, much like yoga, with practice and dedication, what at first may seem challenging or even limiting, soon begins to open up new possibility and new freedoms. 

The Raw Food Diet -or- Foodism, -or- Rawism, has been around for a long time, and has enjoyed press in more recent decades for its beneficial effects on what are considered Western diseases, namely  the Big Three: cancer, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.  For more great info on the types of raw diets, as well as history, go to the Wiki.

Or, if you have seven minutes, for a more entertaining perspective on Raw Food, watch this video:

In the Spirit of Adventure

While I have a great deal of admiration for those who dedicate themselves to a particular path, OMPlate is about exploration, not adhering to any certain doctrine.  So this week is about exploring food options, keeping with fresh, local, simply prepared foods and translating them as much as possible into the raw realm.  So look for some fresh ideas and experiments, as well as some useful references, like this page from The Raw Chef, Russell James, the UK's raw food enthusiast and educator. Great recipes, as well as suggestions for some raw food tools, which I will go into further in the near future.  For now, let's get excited about raw and set out on a delicious adventure. 

Tastes Like Chicken ('n Mushrooms)

A gourmet challenged me to eat
A tiny bit of rattlesnake meat,
Remarking, "Don't look so horror-stricken,
You'll find it tastes a lot like chicken."

It did.

Now chicken I cannot eat.
Because it tastes like rattlesnake meat.
                         
                                                    -Ogden Nash

Mom's Music
My mom married into the Italian side of our family, but you would never know it.  A practical, and, in her words, "lusty" girl from Queens, she enjoyed preparing robust, simple foods that would delight any palette. 

This simplicity was partially out of necessity.  She was a mother of four faced nightly with the task of preparing a meal that would fill bellies and infuse our cheeks with that healthy childhood glow.  Most days, we children were busy playing in the woods behind our New Hampshire home, and when called in for dinner, would fill the dining room with our outdoor voices and stories of our day's discoveries, innocent of the work that had gone into that evening's fare. 

She, like many women of her day, made the task of executing a nutrient-rich meal on a budget, with whatever the market offered (and in summer our garden), as natural as the sunrise.  Our meals not only provided sustenance, but a stable platform for family to engage each other in riotous, heated debate and raucous laughter.  I have a heady memory of our dining room, which looked out on the backyard and the woods beyond, as though the energy we cultivated outside was naturally carried in with us, and spiraled into something spectacular, all around her conductor's wooden spoon.  That music stays with me still.

Behold the Casserole
I am a sucker for a casserole, having grown up amid some pretty harsh New England winters.  There is nothing like enjoying a hearty, one-pot meal steaming from the oven after coming in from the cold.  One of my favorites was Mushroom Chicken, not just for the flavor, but the aroma that filled our house during its preparation. 

To this day, I prefer to eat food that is screaming hot, and I think it derives from diving into meals like this after holding myself back from it for a couple of hours during its preparation.  It may also derive from being the youngest of four, and survival of the fittest, as you had to jump in and grab what you wanted before the other wolves claimed it.  Needless to say, I developed pretty quick reflexes.

Mom prepared her mushroom chicken the classic way of that day, with Campbell's Chicken and Mushroom soup.  True to my own day, this version is prepared with farm fresh mushrooms and organic, free range chicken.  Mom also used chicken on the bone.  To her, it was the only way to get a truly intense and rich flavor.  I agree, so I also prepare mine bone-in, skin on.  For a lighter version, the skin can be removed first.  You can also substitute any mushrooms to your liking.

Mushroom Chicken (Serves 4-6)

4 chicken breasts bone-in -or- chicken thighs (I use both in this recipe)
1 package shiitake mushrooms, chopped
1 package beech mushrooms, chopped
about 2 tblspns canola oil

1 med sweet onion, diced
1 lg or two med shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, smashed

16 oz good organic chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
1/2 cup half and half
sprig thyme
salt, pepper, paprika to taste
lemon wedges

Remove chicken from fridge and season both sides well with salt, pepper and paprika.  Sit out for about a half hour to allow chicken to absorb seasoning (unless it's a hot summer day, then place in fridge after seasoning).

When chicken is done seasoning, place a large, deep skillet on med high to high heat and add about two tablespoons of canola oil.  Once pan is hot, add the chicken pieces two at a time and allow to brown, about three minutes each side.  Remove to plate.

Reduce heat to medium and add mushrooms.

Saute mushrooms until browned, adding a little oil if necessary.  Once mushrooms are browned (about ten minutes) remove them to a bowl.  

Over medium heat, add the diced onions and cook for two minutes.

Then add the shallots and garlic and cook for another minute or so, without browning.  Add the mushrooms back into the pan, then a half cup white wine, and simmer until reduced, about ten minutes.  Add the thyme and chicken broth and reduce almost half, about ten minutes over med-high heat.

Reduce heat to medium, stir in the half and half and add the chicken back in. 

Cover and cook over medium to medium low heat for about 20 minutes, or until the chicken feels slightly firm when pressed with a wooden spoon, or juices run clear.

One of the best things about cooking chicken this way is the moist heat, which makes it difficult to overcook, and even the breast turns out like this

You may serve the pieces whole or slice them up and serve.  In this case, I served the chicken with lemon wedges, short grain brown rice, and green beans with cashews.

Yummy.  Thanks Mama!

Guiltless Grilled Cheese: Not Just for Kids!

It's for the children.  Whenever I hear this phrase uttered, it is as though the utterer can think of no more noble a cause, and there can be no argument.  It's for the children.  I am released of any and all doubt or skepticism.  Take my wallet, take my soul.  Ah, the children!  Angels herald, violins play.

Clearly those who utter this phrase have never spent time with an overtired, ultra-grumpy five-year-old.

Aaaah The Children!

When I am surrounded by children, I think of Lord of the Flies.  They band together, form alliances, fashion swords out of simple, seemingly harmless household goods.  

My own inner child, however, is all sweetness and light, playful, gentle, not in the least Orwellian.  And she looooooooves grilled cheese.

Grilled cheese in the mornin', grilled cheese in the evenin', grilled cheese at supper time...

I will eat it with a house, I will eat it with a mouse.  Silence, inner child, I must blog.

Guiltless Grilled Cheese

Guiltless because this is a favorite childhood treat, because children don't experience guilt (we seem to learn it in adulthood), and because this particular recipe does not use butter.  It does, however, utilize a package, so here is my first openly cheating moment on OMPlate (as far as you know ha)!

I hope this isn't a dealbreaker for Keller, because he does a great grilled cheese with gruyere, which is heavenly, and much more grown up. 

However, harkening back to my roots and a time when Kraft Singles were like a fixture in every American fridge (along with the green torpedo of grated "cheese"), I am a sucker for the ooey gooeyness of pasteurized processed cheese product.  Alliteration at its finest, and hey, this one's organic!

So I use a whole wheat sourdough on most occassions, though it's great on a nice whole wheat squaw bread as well.  I put a little olive oil in a pan over med-low to medium heat.  I like to slow cook my grilled cheese for the extra gooey effect. 

I know this sounds like Grilled Cheese for Dummies, but I must follow it through to the end.  I place a piece of bread in the pan, add two slices of cheese on top, then sandwich it with the other slice of bread, and drizzle a little olive oil over it.  When the bottom starts to crisp (about three minutes), I flip it and sprinkle a little salt over the top. 

Once the second side is done, I remove it to a cutting board, wait a couple of minutes, and slice.

Toasty, cheesy perfection.

I usually accompany one of these with a nice spring green salad.  Today, however, I had a plethora of carrots and celery I needed to prep.

Notice the finger peeler, one of my favorite kitchen tools.  Peeling the carrots makes them slightly sweeter, and more appealing to my five-year-old, which means less chance of her binding and gagging me in my sleep. 

These veggies are great to keep around during the week for use in salads and with dips, like hummus.  I keep them in containers that are easy to grab and use for snacks. 

 They also add a great juicy crunch to a grilled cheese lunch. 

Enjoy!

Agretti with Crispy Pancetta

It is worth mentioning agretti because it has been getting a little push at the Saturday Mercato and because it is a very mild and versatile veggie with nutritional benefits similar to spinach.  I found an interesting history of the plant, as well as its functionality as an ingredient in glass making, on The Ethicurean blog.  Turns out this veg, new to me, is not so new to many.

As seen at the Mercato



As I do most things, I kind of attacked the agretti I had purchased at the market with my own ideas of preparation.  I familiarized myself with the plant as I washed and trimmed it.  I could tell even the smaller stalks were quite fibrous, and wondered how much cooking they would need to become tender. 

I decided to prepare some roasted garlic and crispy pancetta to enhance the flavor, and also to reel in some of my largely carnivorous friends.

First I preheated the oven to 375 degrees.  Then I took two bulbs of garlic, chopped off the tops, placed them on a square of tin foil, drizzled them with olive oil and hit them with some salt and pepper.

I folded up the foil airtight and roasted the garlic for a half hour.  Once they were done, I removed them from the oven and set them aside to cool.

Next I diced up some pancetta and added it to a pan over low heat.  Low heat allows the fat to render and the pancetta to crisp without becoming tough or burning. 

It cooked for about a half hour before becoming just crispy.  I used a mesh spoon to remove the pancetta to a plate lined with a paper towel.

I drained off the excess fat in the pan, then added a thinly sliced shallot.  I cooked the shallot for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then I added a tablespoon of olive oil, and the agretti.  I turned the agretti in the olive oil and shallots using a pair of tongs, then added a cup of water and covered it for ten minutes.

While the agretti was cooking, I took the cooled garlic bulbs and squeezed the cloves out of the paper casings, onto a plate. 

Once the agretti felt tender, I removed it to a plate, added the roasted garlic and pancetta, and tossed it all together.  I reserved a little pancetta for garnishing when ready to serve.

All in all, it was pretty tasty.  I hear the agretti is great in a pasta dish, I will have to give that a future try... still, kale has won my heart for now.

Beet It, and Bottoms Up!

Week Two
As you may have noticed, the weeks of OMPlate are not calendar weeks.  They are, much like life, days that tumble one into the next.  Hopefully with a smattering of structure. 

We started on a Wednesday, therefore I have been looking at each week loosely as a midweek to midweek thing.  However, each week builds on the other.  So this week's emphasis is on farm fresh, local, clean preparation and cooking.  Clean just means the simpler and more beneficial to your body, the better.  Of course beneficial can be a matter of research, common sense and intuition.  I like to think of whole grains, eye-popping, taste-bud blasting produce, with a balance of textures and flavors.  Of course, I am a novice, so this is wholly based on my own experience, limited education and perspective. 

Fresh On My Plate is going strong in our household.  I have done so much preparing and cooking, I have new calluses on my hands, and have found most of the kitchen items that were lost in our move to Coronado last November.

OMPLate is about reviving relationships... with food, with friends, family, and even self.  I have found that keeping things fresh and breathing new life into seemingly ordinary parts of our daily lives is such a great way to discover vitality in unexpected places.  Childlike enthusiasm is is a gift to be nourished and treasured.  As long as you cultivate enthusiasm, you can never truly be alone.  Which brings me to my blog buddy:

Mittens is already a lap cat at three months.  If she sat this still at 3 am, we would all be getting some sleep.  She is definitely fresh, and likes to be on the table, so I figure she fits right in.  She is naughty naughty naughty, and I just love that about her.

Concert in the Park
On Sunday, we gathered with friends at Spreckels Park for the weekly concert in the park, as we have been doing for the past couple of years.  When we first started attending, a friend of ours invited us to join a group of foodies who were weekly firing up their own dishes set to a theme, or secret ingredient, much like Iron chef.  The idea was: make a dish, bring it to the park, and share it with your friends. 

When we began, our friend, Denise, was documenting the scene on her then infant blog, There's a Newf in My Soup!  Today, Denise has thousands of followers, and has won much recognition in the culinary world for her page cataloguing great food, Newfies, and Coronado life.  I am learning immensely from her blog and the recipes, as well as enjoying some breathtaking photography.  Click here to connect with Denise's many talents... I am also hoping she has a Blogging for Dummies book I may borrow...

This year, friends have kept the "Concert Cooking" tradition going with a looser construct and spontaneous themes.  In the spirit of OMPlate, they were kind enough to designate Sunday, June 5th Farm to Table. Many hit the local farmers' markets, or plucked items from their own gardens for this one.

We enjoyed a performance by Lamb's Players Theatre, featuring Mixtape, and rocked out to a whole lotta eighties tunes while we enjoyed the fare.

Colors and flavors abound with this heirloom tomato salad, and the many other salads that were offered.  I admit, I am new to this documenting the concerts thing, and am adjusting to cradling a camera instead of a wine glass during the whole production.  This time, my wine glass won out for most of the occasion!  Thanks to everyone who contributed, I hope to do better next time... 

Of course I got photos of my own dishes, Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Pressed Onions

And the Agretti, which I prepared with some shallots and crispy pancetta.

Scroll down for the prep and execution of these dishes...



 Although I didn't get a picture of Jack and Sandra's dish, I did get a photo of their Boston pride, which made this former New Hampshire girl smile.  You can't see it, but that's a Bo-Sox hat under her sunglasses.

Carmen fashioned three different versions of what I consider the best bread known to man, Pompe a l'Huile, or "Oil Pump."  she was kind enough to send me the link with the recipe, which you can find here. 

This bread is not only a work of art visually, it boasts an airy yet dense, slightly sweet interior encased in a crispy, pliant crust.  I made sure to abscond with the leftovers to go with my coffee the next morning.  With which Mittens the kitten, too, was smitten.

 Pam brought the first tomato harvest from her garden, which were simply seasoned with a little salt, and served chopped, a perfect way to enjoy the backyard delights - sweet and juicy!

For dessert we had 6-year-old Olivia's Panna Cotta, with real vanilla bean and garnished with raspberries.  These babies were to die for, and I probably would have licked the plate if my 5-year-old hadn't beat me to it.



Not to be outdone by Pam's Peach Upside Down Cake

Smiles all around.

As the evening wound down and the sun sank lower, Sonoma commandeered my camera and snapped some photos of -well- a whole other perspective.  Thanks everyone for -ahem- contributing.  Here is a sample of her work:

 Thanks everyone for a great concert, looking forward to what the rest of the season brings...let's move back to the top of the food chain for some prepping fun...

Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese and Pressed Onions
As I formed a beet and goat cheese salad in my head, I thought it needed  a little hit of crisp, briny flavor, so I decided to add some pressed red onion.  I learned this years ago from Ming Tsai's Blue Ginger Cookbook, though mine is an extremely simplified version.

Using a very sharp knife, I thinly sliced a half a red onion:

Then I put it in a shallow dish and added some Marukan Seasoned Rice Vinegar to just cover the onions.  Then I placed another dish over it and added a weight, in this case a carton of Pomi tomatoes:

Then I placed the whole thing in the fridge to allow the onions to chill out while they absorbed the vinegar.  Then it was on to the beets.



I was not to be intimidated by the beet's ugly mug:

Still, I knew I needed some backup, so I turned to the master, Thomas Keller, for roasting instruction.  As he instructs in Ad Hoc At Home, I trimmed the stems to a half inch, cut off the nose, and scrubbed the snot out of them (okay he doesn't put it quite like that, but those little buggers are dirty).  Then I halved the larger beets so they would all cook evenly.

Next I laid them out on large squares of foil, drizzled them with canola oil, and hit them with a little kosher salt.  Canola oil has a mild flavor and high smoke point, and kosher salt is easy to control with its large granules, plus it's fun to throw on food with a chef-y flare.

I wrapped them airtight, and roasted them at 375 degrees for an hour and ten minutes, giving them a shake halfway through.  Then I removed them from the oven and allowed them to cool before peeling the skins off.  Keller recommends using a towel or paper towel and rubbing the beets in your hand to remove the skins, which I did, and it worked beautifully.

Gorgeous ruby medallions.  Then I put them in the fridge to further chill for the salad.  I also took out my baby arugula, rinsed it and spun it to dry, then placed it in the fridge to crisp.

While the beets and lettuce were chilling, I whisked up some of Keller's famous Honey Vinaigrette:

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/3 cup champagne vinegar

3 tablespoons honey

Keller combines the oils in a measuring cup, then puts the vinegar and honey in a Vita-Mix and blends them, then streams in the oils with the mixer on low speed.  I admit I didn't read the directions at first, and simply whisked them all together by hand.  Still tasted delicious, though probably not velvety like his blended version.  This dressing can be chilled in a covered container for a month.  I put my dressings in squeeze bottles for easy handling.  Makes 1 1/2 cups.

Once they were chilled, I removed the beets from the fridge and sliced them up.  Then I took one package of room temperature goat cheese (for easy spreading) and thickly smeared it with a spoon around the edge of a large platter.  I do this so there is ample goat cheese to go around for such a big salad.  I reserved the second package to sprinkle on the top of the salad.

I squeezed about a tablespoon of dressing into a large bowl, in a spiral pattern (so there are no pieces of lettuce drenched in a large glob of dressing), then added the arugula and tossed it together.  I arranged the arugula in the center of a large platter.  Then I took out the pressed onions, drained them, and scattered them on the salad.  Next I scattered the remaining goat cheese over the whole thing.

Then I took the sliced beets and arranged them around the rim of the platter.  Again, the result:

A salad as beautiful as it is tasty.  Next post:  Agretti!