Rules for Omnivores

This summer, I've read a number of fascinating books about food, including two by Michael Pollan. The first is called Omnivore's Dilemma and talks about where food comes from. In this hefty book, Pollan discusses the origins of 4 distinct meals. First, he follows a McDonald's hamburger from the corn fields, to a ranch, to a feedlot, to a slaughterhouse and examines where the lettuce and tomato come from on industrial agriculture operations. The biggest issue he addresses is the methods of coaxing more products and meat out of corn and cows that they would not naturally provide, which in turn damage the environment.

The next meal is an organic meal from Whole Foods, and so Pollan goes to the beautifully-described, quaint organic farms to research the reality of the "supermarket pastoral" genre of writing that plasters organic food packages. (Not quite as small or "pastoral" as you might have imagined.) In a related meal, he looks for a less industrial organic experience and finds a "beyond organic" farm in Virginia, in which cows, pigs, and chickens are all grown on the same small farm, as well as small amounts of various kinds of crops. Essentially, he describes how all of the animals and organisms work together to create the most productive farm possible, while still living the lives they were more or less intended to.

Finally, Pollan goes all the way back to the beginning and decides to hunt and gather his own meal near his home in San Francisco. He describes his adventures into hunting wild boar as well as how to gather fresh mushrooms as they're in season. This leads to an excellent discussion of the merits and demerits of eating vegetarian, and whether or not he has personally come to feel that he should or shouldn't eat a vegetarian diet. The entire book was good, but this chapter made the book for me. It really addressed a lot of questions I had and provided a good rationale for eating and appreciating an omnivorous diet. I'd definitely recommend this book if you want to ponder where our food comes from and why we eat the way we do.

However, if you want a quick, down-and-dirty, just-the-basics description of the kind of foods and habits that will keep us most healthy (and least miserable), Pollan's latest book is called Food Rules. In the introduction it  discusses how populations all over the world stay surprisingly healthy with all manner of diets, but how overwhelmingly unhealthy the western diet has become. The book discusses the collective wisdom that our culture has seemed to have lost over the years, which has led to our downfall (or up-gain, as the case may be). After the short introduction, it is literally 64 rules, with about a paragraph of explanation of each one. I read the entire thing in an hour. The book is categorized into three broad guidelines, which are 1) Eat food. 2) Mostly plants. 3) Not too much. I loved the simplicity of this book so much, I'm going to write a few following posts on my favorite rules from the book. Either way, I highly recommend this if you're looking for a quick read on healthy food habits.

Digging the Cuisine in DC

When Ben was little (7ish), his parents took them to Washington, DC. He apparently remembers every detail of this trip, particularly the Air and Space Museum. Ever since I've known him, he's dreamed about going back and enjoying tons of museums as an adult. When we were considering our options for this summer, DC came up again and seemed like a good possibility, given that his brother Joe and his girlfriend live there. We were psyched to find a nice little bed and breakfast directly next to Joe's apartment building, which had a fantastic breakfast every morning.

On our last night in DC, Joe says, "Wow! You guys really did DC!" And that we did. We took in a minimum of 16 different museums/monuments, etc. It was a great place to get stamps in our National Parks/Monuments Passport book :-) We even managed to teach Joe something new: the art of planking. (See below.)

While Ben was thrilled at the museums (he would have preferred to have gone to more!), I thoroughly enjoyed going out to eat every night. Added to that, Joe and Jocie live in Dupont Circle, which between it and the next neighborhood over, seems to be foodie central. Here are some of the places we ate: 

• Wood-fired pizza at Pizzeria Paradiso and yummy gelato at Dolcezza
• Ben had signed up for the DC area Groupon service, and had come across this Indian restaurant called Heritage India that was close to Joe's apartment, so we went there (and used the Groupon) and it was great! I had some nice appetizers including a fantastic yogurt and curry chicken, tomatoes in a balsamic reduction and a mango lassi (my favorite). 
• After a rainy afternoon to clear the heat and humidity on Friday, we ate at Ben's Chili Bowl, famous for having been an organizing spot for civil rights activists in the 50s and 60s.
• We took in the Hirshhorn Museum of Art and the Air and Space Museum (see pic below for Ben's gleeful eyes!) and then found an upscale, fast-food Indian place in Chinatown called Merzi. It was very similar to Chipotle, and very good! Here's a pretty accurate review of it. 
• We also got Joe his fix of Astronaut ice cream. He hadn't had it since he had visited DC as a child, but this is how he described the flavor: "It's like hard cotton candy that tastes like ice cream with the consistency of chalk." Turns out, that was a pretty accurate memory! (See pic above)

• Another day we had an early supper of Korean dumplings at a place called Mandu, which were quite enjoyable. I was pleasantly surprised, given my general dislike for Korean flavors. We finished that day off several hours later after a thunderstorm at Shake Shack with a peanut butter shake that was amazing!! Added bonus: Michelle Obama had eaten there for lunch!
• And just for irony, we went to Washington, DC, and had some excellent Mexican food :-) at a beautiful restaurant called Lauriol Plaza. I had tamales with a fantastic green sauce (my best guess: oil, broth, green chilis, cilantro and cumin).
• Since our flight wasn't supposed to leave until 5 PM on Wednesday (and ended up being delayed another 2 1/2 hours), we had time to bum around that day as well. After an interesting walk through Ford's theater, I decided to stop and get some ice cream at a place in the guidebook called Cowgirl Creamery and have a late lunch at the airport. I walked into the store, and it turns out that it's a cheese store! (This is the next best thing to an ice cream store, in my book.) So I got some very flavorful string cheese and a fresh dill pickle and called it a day. 

And that, folks, is some of our culinary adventures through DC!

1 down, 2 to go!

1 trimester down, 2 to go! :-) Shetler baby #1 is due January 18! This picture is from about a month ago, when baby was about an inch and a half long, and had arms, legs, a heartbeat, and was moving around :-) I had another ultrasound today and saw eyes, ears, and mouth, and confirmed the unlikeliness of Down's.  

We're really excited, but man, there are tons of decisions to make, not the least of which is what process to go about birthing a child. We know a number of people who have had home births (including the former owners of our house! 2 of their children were born here :-)), as well as a number of different other techniques (natural, standing, water birth, etc.). So, who knows where we'll end up on that one. And then there are all the other decisions like where to put a nursery (and what to put in it), disposable or cloth diapers, a name, etc. One thing we did decide on (and were thankfully in agreement on), was that we don't want to know the sex of the baby until it's born. Related to that, Ben said, "Then we get to pick out 2 names!" To which I said, "Then we have to pick out 2 names!" 

Thankfully trimester one went pretty well for me. Actually, it wasn't even confirmed until I was about 8 weeks in, so that made it easier :-) I didn't have much nausea, outside of slight queasiness related to an empty stomach, which happens quite often. However, I was totally exhausted for much of May and June. If I hadn't had a positive pregnancy test, I was about to ask for a mono test. Thankfully, I'll have something to show for this exhaustion! :-) While I was waiting in a doctor's office for an hour this morning, I read at least 3 baby magazines, and one referred to the second trimester as "the honeymoon trimester" so I'm hoping it'll be a bit more enjoyable :-)

Welcome back!

After a crazy month of being out of town 20 out of 30 days (Tucson, LA, Philadelphia, DC), I'm finally back in the sweet hot dry heat of Puh-hoe-nix (as my non-AZ friends say). After 7 super-damp hot (but fun) days in DC, I'm actually ready for some dry heat (emphasis on the dry). This is a post I've been meaning to write for about 3 weeks, and now I finally have time and energy.

A small habit that Ben's parents and we have developed is to have a meal ready on the table if either of us returns from the airport in the general time frame of dinner. This is fantastic for me, because when I get home from a trip at supper time, the last things I want to do are cook from my empty fridge or go out for yet another meal. This is a fun thing to be on the receiving end of, and it's also a nice way to get fresh stories from the returning travelers.

Hence, when Jay and Marilyn returned from Indiana last month, I took up the cause and had supper ready at their house when the Super Shuttle dropped them off. Since I had just received a 10 bottle shipment of Salsa Lizano (a tangy, non-spicy sauce that Jay discovered on SST in Costa Rica), I had a hankering to make our favorite food to go with it: the super-simple Cuban Black Beans from the Extending the Table international cookbook. They are ultra-simple and can be made with less effort than it takes to read this post.

Cuban Black Beans
from Extending the Table


1 c. green pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 16 oz. cans black beans, undrained
1/2 t. dried oregano
3 T. vinegar

Saute green peppers & garlic in 2 T. oil. Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes on low heat. Serve over white or brown rice and a splash of Salsa Lizano if you have it. (I have 5 extra bottles if you want some!!)

To go with this, I made my favorite cold green bean salad from the More With Less cookbook, which is basically an egg salad with green beans and the best part: dill pickles.

Green Bean Salad
from More With Less


3 c. steamed green beans, cut in 1 inch pieces
4 hard-cooked eggs, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 large dill pickle, chopped
2 T. vinegar
1 t. salt
2/3 c. mayonnaise

Combine beans, eggs, onion, and pickle in medium bowl. Mix vinegar, salt and mayo together and pour over salad. Stir gently to combine. Chill and serve. Serves 6.
[Note: I don't like raw onions, so I steamed the onions along with the beans to take some of the bite out.]

We also had some yummy hummus and garlic toasts they had sitting around, which rounded the meal out. For dessert, we had my favorite easy, "healthy" dessert: Peanut Butter Banana Tortillas. (Hey, it's got fruit, that makes it healthy, right?!)

Peanut Butter Banana Tortillas


4 tortillas
2 bananas
peanut butter
2 T. chocolate chips

Follow this process for each tortilla: lightly brown tortilla on one side. Take it out of the pan, and spread peanut butter on half of the browned side. Slice half a banana and lay them on top of peanut butter. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips over the bananas. (Careful: Put a few less than you think, because it's easy for the chocolate to take over the whole thing.) Fold tortilla over and brown both sides of the tortilla. Serves 4.

Happy summer eating!

Inspired by Jack

After some very sleepy days, I've been waking up to Jack Johnson on my iPod. One day this week, the song I woke up to was "Banana Pancakes" and I swore the house smelled like syrup when I woke up. So, all week long, banana chocolate chip pancakes were on my brain. (And if you haven't heard the song, it's a great rainy day/call-in-sick song :-)) Hence, tonight, on my first day off from school, pancakes were on the list. I went straight to Allrecipes, and this is what I found. Hope you like it! I included some of the tweaks listed by reviewers as well.

Banana Chocolate Chip Pancakes

1 c. flour
1 T. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 egg, beaten
1 c. milk
1/2 t. vanilla
2 T. apple sauce (or oil)
2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 c. chocolate chips (optional)

1. Mix dry and wet ingredients in 2 separate bowls. Combine the two mixtures. Batter will be lumpy.

2. In lightly oiled skillet, drop batter by 1/4 cup full into pan over medium-low heat. Cook on both sides until golden brown. Cooking slowly ensures the bottom doesn't get too dark, while still getting the inside done.

Guaranteed

On Thursday, Hesston College's Bel Canto choir was in town, and a few of the choir members stayed overnight with us. When a friend asked if some of the others could come to our house afterwards for dessert, I said sure (as I love an excuse to make dessert).

As I debated what I wanted to make, I knew I had a bunch of extra apples, so I looked for an apple dessert. Since I had about an hour or so to make this before leaving for the concert, and pie and I have a testy relationship, I wanted something more cakey. This situation always leads me to the same answer: an apple cake recipe that Marilyn's sister gave me several years ago. I make this cake when I want an absolute guarantee that people will love it, and that's what I got. The cake is good, but the caramel sauce is unbeatable.

When all was said and done, there were 11 students and 5 hosts at our house till almost 11 PM that night, the cake was gone and everyone loved it. So next time you need a guaranteed yummy cake, try this one.

Caramel Apple Cake

3 eggs
1 3/4 c. sugar
1 c. oil
2 c. flour
1 t. soda
1 t. salt
1 t. cinnamon
2 c. chopped apples
1 c. chopped nuts (optional)

Beat eggs, sugar, and oil. Fold in dry ingredients. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes.

Caramel Sauce

1 T. corn starch
1/2 c. white sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. water
1/2 c. butter
1 t. vanilla

Cook in saucepan over medium-high heat until thick. Serve warm over cake.

What can I do with this?

"Hmm, let's see. That's about to go bad. I have a ton of that. I always have a little of that. What can I do with these things? How can I put them together?" Anyone ever have this self-conversation? Anyone else talk to yourself? Ok, maybe that's just me. (At least that's what my first college roommate told me :-))

Either way, some people make dinner every night with this conversation. I, however, am not that person. I don't get home, and then see what's in the pantry. On Saturday, I figure out what I want to eat/make this week, and then get the ingredients for those things. This generally eliminates the rotting 3 tomatoes, the 14 cans of cream of mushroom soup, the extra cup of olives, etc. (In fact, I just ordered this and this, as depicted above, to assist in this process.)

However, since we started gardening, the "What can I do with this?" conversation is a bit more present in my extensive self-conversing. (Let's just say, we definitely lived through cilantro week, which I'll write about later. It's a close relative of strawberry or peach week.)  I don't mind doing this occasionally, because it makes for some creative cooking. That's what happened a few weeks ago, when I was pondering my cilantro shrubs, the contents of my freezer, and my newest favorite flavor. As I surveyed these items, I concocted this southwest flavored cucumber corn salad. It's nice and refreshing, and I imagine there's quite a bit more creativity to add to it. See what you think-

Southwest Cucumber Corn Salad

1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 c. corn (fresh, frozen or canned)
1 T. cilantro, chopped
1/4 c. green onions, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. oil
1 T. white wine vinegar
1/4 t. southwest spice rub
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Combine first 4 ingredients in bowl.

2. Put garlic and oil in small microwaveable container. Heat in microwave for 30-60 seconds. [Omit this step if you like raw garlic.]

3. Combine garlic and oil with vinegar, spice rub, and salt and pepper in small bowl. Whisk together. Pour over vegetables in bowl. Chill or serve at room temperature.