Thursday, August 28, 2008

Sounds good enough to eat!

I am working on constructing my cookbook and I am challenged by writing with more colorful descriptions. It is one thing to say "It was a delicious or beautiful tomato" and it is another to say "It was a plump, juicy tomato, not bright red but a blush color that is reminiscent of that perfect moment in a sunset. You know right where the sun hits the horizon and you get that quick moment of blush before the sun sinks into the darkness." This may be overplaying this a bit, but you get the picture. My next entry will be one of my recipes that I am going to be used in my cookbook along with the description. I am hoping to get comments, grading my descriptors. Have a great day!

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Simple Works!


This summer has been a great time to practice simple, fresh and healthy dishes. We had a beautiful tomato crop this year-heirlooms that were fabulous! My simple delicious and oh so popular dish was a simple vingrette with a touch of honey, fresh tomatoes, fresh mozzerella, zuchinni, fresh basil, salt and pepper, totally delicious!

Monday, May 5, 2008

Nutrition and the Foodie

Food is a passion for me, a way to express myself, something I can actually do fairly well and I love learning everything I can about it. But there is a downside, you can't be passionate or interested without needing to sample your work. This has caused an issue for me, a weighty one. So now the challenge is to get it off, keep it off, all the while continuing to enjoy my passion.

Of course one of the obvious solutions is to introduce more healthful, low-calorie foods into the process. I am constantly looking for ways to take some of my favorite dishes and find a lower calorie solution, without compromising healthfulness or taste. Healthful is a big issue for me. On the surface, all these low fat/not fat solutions seem to be a good alternative, and where calories are concerned this is true, but the story doesn't end there. Read the labels of the foods you eat, do you recognize all the ingredients, can you even pronounce all the ingredients? What about the sugars, remember they can be disguised in the _ose words, you know fructose, sucrose, etc. all sugars. Or how about hydrogenated oils? Yikes, stay away from those! I am not a big activist that likes to go on a rampage of my beliefs, but where these items come into play I do have a very strong opinion. High fructose corn syrup was invented to allow food companies to save money by concentrating the sweetness in a smaller quantity, and making a less expense overall product. In reality HFCS is nothing more then an agent that doesn't act like a sugar at all, it acts like a fat. Without getting into the technical chemistry lesson, I will just say that it tastes sweet, but the way that your body sees it from the inside is similar to the chemical composition of a fat, meant to be stored for the long haul, unlike sugar which is available immediately.

Hydrogenated oils are another story, first created to increase the shelf life of products that it's in. First of all, any chemically altered food is a little off putting, but as an experiment, put an open tub of margarine or crisco outdoors. Pick a place where flies might hang around. Notice that a few days later, the product is virtually melt and bug free. Anything that will not even attract a fly, frightens me and any product that is this solid, is having a tough time breaking down in your body as well. There a serious health issues with this item, high cholesterol, heart disease, to name a couple of biggies!

I guess the bottom line is this,
#1 The fewer ingredients listed on any food, chances are you are looking at something worth trying.
#2 Read the labels and start shooting for items where 90% of the ingredients are recognizeable, real foods.
#3 Start from scratch, there is no better way to be assured of real ingredients then to be in control from the point of creation. Experiment, make your own homemade ice cream, butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla - simple!
#4 I will take extra calories over an unhealthy choice any day of the week, I can burn off calories, but I can't figure out how to expel the chemically created foods from my body.

Well let this one sink in and see how it sets with you, do your own research, the internet is full of facts and information. Be proactive and find out for yourself what is best for you!

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

So there are many stages of being a "foodie".  There is the beginner foodie, where you have an interest in food just a tad above the basic need of satisfying hunger.  The next stage would be, adolescent foodie.  This is someone who asks you if you would like kosher salt, sea salt or regular- an expanded knowledge of food over the basic but not quite a true food expert.  

Then you come to the real "foodie". One who has at least 10 different salts, who knows you better make your French Laundry reservation 2 months in advance and be prepared to spend 4 hours on the most exciting eating experiences of your life. One who knows that prime can be more then a number, and to appreciate the reward that is realized from a pig nosing around in the forests of France!  

I consider myself to be a real foodie in the making.  I am a student, as well as a teacher in my quest of more knowledge.  I think I own at least 200 cookbooks, but still only use them as reference for I like to cook by taste, not by convention.  

SO here I am, writing my blog entry, hoping to encourage all walks of the foodie scale to chime in on their journey to figuring out the where, when and why of being a foodie. I plan on discussing everything from organics to genetically engineered food to get answers, explore options and situations.  The funny thing is I just don't know what the purpose is, other then an interest and thirst for learning. This isn't meant to be any kind of a political blog, just a way to communicate with others like us, voice our thoughts, ask our questions, get opinions and see what might be useable information for our quests to become a true "Foodie"!

IN THE BEGINNING!

Welcome to my blog.  This blog is a way to express my ever changing, ever growing, fascination with food and the businesses that surrounds food.  From the farm, right down to the end game of a successful dining experience, there is a story to know and experience that is had,  that makes it more valid or relevant.  So I will talk about my experiences from home cooking to French Laundry and hope that someone out there finds some inspiration to lead them to a food experience that will last a lifetime!