Thursday, October 28, 2010

75 trillion Pixel/Cells and Counting


Spice, Spice, my Kingdom full of Spice

Let me live happy, let me live wise

Make mine a long journey

That this fit body does guise.


Spice, Spice, my Kingdom for that Spice

An ode to the maker for code does he have

To me comes the potient

A mix for the salve!



EVERY day I wake or head off to sleep I think of myself the same way: I am an organized mass of just about 75 trillion cells, give or take a billion or so, just like a computer screen is awash with pixels. Each cell has color and frequency, dimension and an application. HOW amazing we are. That thought sends me thinking of how, when I eat, I add the right, tasty nourishment to each of those tiny bright lights that make and shape me into how I look and feel.

Think about it. Each of us is our own Human Web@. Keep the light shining bright. For me, a little exercise, sleep to restart, balance with fun food that functions in a colorful tasty way keeps that frequency free, clear and running smooth. Enter the world of Vegetable, Herbs, Spice. The new VHS for the body@.

Roasted Cauliflower with Tumerica and Ginger*
Ingredients
2 tbl blended olive oil
1 tbl black mustard seed
1 jalapeno, finely diced
1 tbl fresh ginger, grated
1 teas tumeric
1 head cauliflower, broken into large pieces

Method
Heat oven or toaster oven to 425 degrees. Toss all the ingredients with a touch of fresh sea salt and coarse ground pepper to taste. Toss onto 12 X 12 inch piece of aluminum foil. Bring up sides lightly an put into oven Roast until just crisp, about 20 minutes. Serve as snack, side or entree.

* I love this adapted from the Food Network and roast it whole with a touch of added olive oil to keep it moist turning the oven to slow roast at 350 for about an hour, then serving whole with fondue forks.

Monday, October 25, 2010

A True Pharmacopeia of Rockin' Health


Depend more on food and less on drugs to preserve health. Here is a food pharmacopeia of goodness in my stirfry salad with a touch of oyster sauce and soy. The cut, stirfry and flavor is what a good cook is all about. Simple, clean, healthy and fun.

Ingredients
1/2 cup of you favorite fresh vegetables cut into 2 inch pieces, such as cabbage, peapod, pepper, onion, scallion, tomato, celery, carrot, bamboo shoots
2 cl garlic, slivered
1 tbl ginger, slivered
1 tbl mixed olive oil
1 teas soy*
1 tbl oyster sauce
1/4 cup water

Method
Heat a cast iron pan, wok or your favorite saute pan. Add the oil and then starting with heavier veggies, start to stirfry adding more as you go, tossing and grabbing a sip of wine in between!
As the veggies cook combine the soy, oyster sauce and water. Add the ginger and garlic. Stirfry again. DO NOT OVERCOOK. Let veggies be crisp!

When all is tossed and glistening, add the liquid mix, toss and serve. Enjoy with a friend, or eat it all by yourself!

* for those who want an alternative to soy, use a pinch or so of coarse sea salt.


Tuesday, October 19, 2010

EAT ME!


Eat Me!

Burger, Burger on the Wall,

Who’s the finest of them all?

Could be beef, might be pork

Maybe chicken says

that bite with fork!

Is it turkey, Is it ham ?

What would make all

fine for man?

We know bacon, we know spam

But all excluded, this ain’t no can.

Open minded, spiced and fresh

Cook is quick, so fine a trick!

Black Bean’s the one!

Black Bean’s the pick!

With skill and toil, and blend of kind,

This protein rocks, a welcome find.


A Variation on this Theme*, highly digestible vegetable protein! Yahoo!

Ingredients

2 (14 oz) cans black beans, drained

3 Tbsp mayonnaise

¼ cup dried bread crumbs

¼ cup dried panko crumbs

2 tsp cumen

1 tsp oregano

¾ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

vegetable oil

hamburger buns

Method

Using a knife or coupe, chop coarsely half of the black beans. Remove and reserve. Add the balance back to the bowl and work lightly to a smooth paste. Stir in other ingredients.

Stir in reserved black beans, reseason and cook on grill pan, grill or in your favorite sauté pan. Garnish to preference and serve on you favorite hamburger bun.

* component idea forwarded from Gourmet

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

' Evacuate the Dance Floor '


Make that workspace kitchen of yours a dance floor. Here, Wednesday in Chicago, and the 'Music is Taken me Underground' . Natalie Horler and Cascada has got me goin' and my kitchen's rockin'! Web waves have scored Jason du Rulo cuz 'Whatcha Say' translates today to this:

In the last month Vanity Fair ran a piece on Ferran Adria, London Times on Alain Ducasse. Grant Achatz, Charlie Trotter, Thomas Keller, and Chicago, new on the street, Girl and the Goat, Stephanie Izard have all been claiming media lines for reasons particular to their passions.
Reading, learning and thinking, I almost forgot I was a cook too! My career has taken a different twist than my fine dining, farm to table or consulting past. It keeps creeping more and more to my favorite cuisine, Vegetable Alchemy, casual, tasty, sexy and healthy colorful with hardly any money down!

While Alain Ducasse calls for a new 'gold standard' and simplicity at Plaza Athenee, and Ferran heralds work on cuisine now at Harvard, you and me have to take a look at the home kitchen and how we cook. We need a NEW recipe our day to day food. We have to know what to eat, and eat well, for simple money that brings healthy fun to muscles, mind and bones. A start might be setting your web dial Pandora Radio to CHOSE YOUR ATTITUDE! Mine's on Replay by Iyaz. Back up the rap that opens your soul to cookin, rockin and learn'. Let no man come knockin' when your cookin' tent's rockin'. Chose a sound for the mood and dish that you do. Sound brings frequency and frequency will soon bring you fabulous fla'vor! 'Cook to the tune' tm with T.I on Paper Trail, Live Your Life! cuz YOU Are Beautiful, Akon. High on cooking is a good thing and sound brings it forward!

The dish I am sending takes a little more time, but where do you want to go when the music's rockin? Chop, slice and dice your way to color, flavor, and a fan finish. Wield your knife to the beat but only on the cutting board! Learn your mind to the sound of form and function in peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes and homemade touch of ricotta. Pull down a simple web eggplant roll up recipe. Top that scoop of fresh ricotta with olive oil, lemon, cracked black and chile pepper. What you don't use keeps for another two to three days of salad, sandwich, entree or dessert. Yours will be no comparison to store bought. Who knows, while you're getting your cookin' grove on, you might meet that 'Sexy Bitch' in One Love by David Guetta.....Of course, please excuse me ladies, but I know you will make that 'sexy' your way!

For the ricotta take time to measure the salt and vinegar. As the L.A. Times shares, get the temp close to right or you might find the ricotta dry. Vegetable Alchemy, vegetable centric, but not vegetable only. Vegetable Alchemy for a new kind of food sound. The food, I claim, sings like Cobra Starship blasts: it makes some Good Girls Go Bad!

Your Homemade Ricotta
Ingredients
4 1/2 cups whole milk (1 qt)
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teas salt
1 1/4 teas distilled vinegar

Method
Heat the milk and the buttermilk to 185 degrees in a heavy bottom pot. Turn off or remove from the heat. Stir in the salt and the vinegar. Stir gently. Let stand
5 minutes. The curds will form as it stands. Using a slotted spoon pull the curds slowly to one side of the pot. Let stand again an additional 5 minutes.

Line a strainer with paper towel or cheesecloth if you have it. Slowly scoop the cheese curds to the cloth. Let drain one minute and bring up the sides. The ricotta will form a ball. Tighten the cloth slightly. Remove the ricotta to a container and refrigerate until ready to use.

The whole process takes about 20 minutes, 10 of which are cooking time. Do not boil. Medium heat is find until you reach that 185 temp.

Don't worry, it won't Break Your Heart, Taio Cruz, or your budget, Right Round, Fio Rida! Do It!