Thursday, January 19, 2012

Thoughts on Modern Eating


I'm walking the aisle of a major bookstore, searching for answers on my new modern cuisine. With what must be hundreds of thousands of books, my eye seems to beeline.! " Be What You Are", the book title says. Be What You Are,! I say to myself. I did not know I was in the self help section, but why not? I need help. I need answers.

I skim the book and speed through the tests. What am I? Right now what I am is developing a modern way to eat, to enjoy cooking and understand how the right food for each of us makes a huge difference biologically without calling out food and medicine or reactive food. Sure, this may not be for mainstream guy on the street at this time. But who knows, maybe it is, maybe it will be. It combines my interest in science, my background as a chef, my love for fitness, the body and a lifestyle of low impact, plant based food with a modern approach.

I see the kitchen design magazines on shelves. Close by are groupings of food as entertainment, food as health and wellness. food as living, food as social, food as cultural, food as travel, food for growing and food for showing. Weight watchers, weight losers, weight gainers, Food, Food, Food. Food is everywhere and oddly enough, right around the corner are more magazines that are reactions on food: food for diabetes, gluten free food, cancer and heart disease food, homeopathic food and EAT Right Food, I guess to responding to so many eating wrong food. The list of those magazines wraps itself nicely into magazines on pharmaceuticals and cosmetics using isolated food nutrients in suppliment and cosmetic ways. It is all about food and food extensions. Food as Entertaining runs that full monty extending reversal reality from wrongful eating to Food as Medicine. But still, I cannot find my food magazine nitche yet. What am I? What is my cuisine?

I am looking for a way to recipe ideas that start with ingredients paired to the body, true biology based eating matching me and food. I want to have fun and food and science every day. I want cell matching, digitally presented reasoning behind what I eat and enjoy with fresh forward thinking thoughts. I want a personal teaching cuisine. So, What am I? Suddenly I am a developer of a new modern food style: plant based, low impact, body smart, Vegetable Alchemy, cell smart. I want you to be interested. Start building your link to recipes of a purposeful modern cuisine, fresh flavorful, fun blended with a nod to your biology whenever we eat. This mole below is great for your insides! What does that mean? More on that when I figure out how to tell you in a way that is upbeat without the medicinal flavor of Food as Medicine. Give me feedback or just be patient. We will get there. We cannot do this overnight. Use with pastas, vegetables. seared tofu, seitan, pork and chicken. This is Who I am, my human biology driven teaching cuisine.

The Purpose of Pumpkin Seed Green Mole
Ingredients
1 cup pumpkin seeds, hulled, lightly toasted
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon oregano leaf, crushed
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
6 red chiles, seeded
1 cup chopped onions
2 cloves garlic
2 romaine lettuce leaves
1/2 cup cilantro, fresh, stems and leaves
2 cups vegetable stock or chicken
sea salt

Method
Place first four ingredients into a spice grinder. Crush and place into a food processor. Add all ingredients, blend. Store refrigerated. Use hot as a sauce or cold as a spread.

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Please Sir, Can I Have Some More?


A weekend full of sports and workout. Super Sunday approaches. Winters in Chi-town get exciting on the tube as channels compete for viewing tennis, basketball, snowboarding, soccer and golf. I watch and think more and more about ideas on how to grow out Vegetable Alchemy changing the world for low impact living. As sports commercials tout burgers, pork and chicken, I settle into examining my stash of home-styled new misos and start chopping away. Quick Winter Vegetable Soup takes shape. What miso will it be? barley, chickpea, brown rice, white bean or red? Miso, miso on the wall.....barley gets the call.

A friend sends a note on f/b....' Check it out.... from a diary of sayings from Albert Einstein! ' " I have no special talent. I am only passionately curious." Well, so am I right now, about Miso and how great it is in a low impact world. Planet Minded, Body Smart. I find it 'curious' that with decades of food and beverage experiences, cooking in all types of cuisine, all over the world, now after all that background, I just feel more comfortable moving my lifestyle to plant based and low impact, sports to food and living. As for those of you reading, grab a beer and check it out. Call a friend over as this easily makes two hefty bowls. Knife practice makes perfect. Vary the veggies as you like. It's fun filled cheap!

Miso and Vegetable Soup, spoons of savory satifaction.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup onion, chopped 1/2 dice
1 cup celery, chopped into 1/2 inch dice
1 cup Idaho potato, peeled, cut into 1/2 dice
1/2 cup green pepper, seeded, cut into 1/2 inch dice
1 cup kale, stems intact, washed and cut into thin strips
2 cloves, garlic, chopped fine
2 tablespoons barley miso
1 cup firm tofu, cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 quarts vegetable stock, divided
1/2 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon oregano leaf
1/2 teas red pepper flakes
sea salt and fresh pepper to taste

Method
Heat a three quart wok or stock pot. Add the olive oil. Stir in the vegetables up to and including the garlic. Cook over medium heat until the kale starts to wilt. Stir 1/4 cup of the vegetable stock with the miso. Add the remaining stock to the vegetables and bring to light boil. Cook about 3-4 minutes until the potatoes are soft. Stir in the tofu, cilantro, oregano, red pepper flakes and season lightly. Simmer one minute. Stir in the barley miso mixture. Simmer one minute and enjoy!