Daily Nourishment in Challenging Times
Times are tougher for most everyone right now, and it’s overwhelming to think about the challenges facing a lot of us. When I think about why food that is nutritious and pure, colorful and natural, is so important to me, especially when times are difficult, I can’t help but think of my mother.
When I was very young, a toddler, my mom and I lived in a Volkswagen van. I don’t think she thought of us as ‘homeless’, but the fact was that we lived in a van without the luxuries of a kitchen or running water. That was in California, for about 9 months. When she sold the van she purchased a one-way ticket to Hawaii for us (Yes, you read that right, one ticket. She wrapped me in a blanket, we pretended that I was an infant, and I sat on her lap for the entire flight). When we first arrived we lived on the beach in sleeping bags, probably for a couple of weeks, then in a rustic cottage in the hills of the island volcano. This was in the early 70’s and my mother’s lifestyle choices were cultural as much as financial – during this time of Peace and Love, I doubt she would have used the word destitute, we ate well and laughed a lot, but we sure didn’t have any money! The reason why I’m sharing this story here is that during these years my mother made her own yogurt from scratch, in large glass jars which she ‘baked’ in the sunshine. She made home-made granola and bread, even if she had to borrow a friend’s kitchen. I remember gathering fresh mango from the trees of wealthy home-owners (we asked first) who were more than happy to have us clean up their front lawns of fallen fruit. I remember when I was a older, we were in an apartment and I was in first grade, how exciting mom made my introduction to Brussels sprouts – ‘tiny perfect cabbages drenched in melted butter”. I wasn’t exposed to processed, packaged or artificial food during these years. And our food was a source of celebration and joy that I remember to this day.
To make my memories more extraordinary, my mother isn’t a great cook. She read nutrition books when I was a baby and she understood the connection between good food and good health. I think she also just intrinsically understood the importance of quality food for our well-being, emotional as much as physical. From a budget perspective, it is less expensive to eat brown rice with tofu, carrots and cabbage, for example, than a fast food meal. And, staying healthy through a clean diet is much less expensive than getting sick and going to the doctor if you live in the USA without health insurance!
Recipes for Joy and Health
So this blog is dedicated to meals I’ve made recently which bring our family joy during this distinctly un-joyful time. The recipes are full of seasonal produce, colorful, easy to prepare, healthy and delicious. If any of them bring joy to you and your family I’ll know that in some way they have helped ‘Save our World’ a tiny bit, for at least the duration of a meal.
Skillet Tomato Pie with Olives, Goat Cheese and Buttered Phyllo Sheets.
It was a NYTimes Cooking recipe for Spanakopita by Alexa Weibel that taught me how easy it is to use phyllo dough sheets as a pie crust in a caste iron skillet. Cooking the pie on the stove-top for 5 minutes gives it a gorgeous golden bottom crust and putting the skillet in the oven for 20 minutes finishes off the pie perfectly. We have a garden and we’re also members of a local CSA so we have tons of tomatoes begging to be eaten during July and August. This pie uses up, deliciously, at least a lb of cherry or plum tomatoes:
Preheat oven to 400F. Melt 6 Tablespoons of Organic salted butter. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9-10″ caste iron skillet with melted butter. Working with one phyllo sheet at a time, lightly brush the top of the first sheet with butter, then lay it in the skillet, buttered-side up, with an overhang on all sides.
Repeat with 11 more phyllo sheets, rotating each sheet in a different direction as you add it. 12 phyllo sheets gives a substantial crust but feel free to add more if you want it thicker. I get two pies from one roll using 12 sheets. Crumble 3 oz of soft goat cheese on the bottom of your pie, then top with 1 lb of organic cherry tomatoes sliced in half (any ripe tomato you have would work, sliced in bite sized pieces, at least 2 cups) Toss in a handful of kalamata olives, and salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle a tablespoon of chopped fresh oregano over the top. Fold over phyllo ends onto tomatoes, leaving center of pie exposed. Brush phyllo ends with remaining butter and sprinkle a teaspoon of olive oil over tomatoes and herbs. Cook pie on the stove-top over a medium flame for 5 minutes. Transfer pie to your preheated oven for 20 minutes. Let sit for five minutes before serving.
Spring Rolls with Fresh Herbs and Shrimp
I combed through probably a dozen Pinterest recipes for spring rolls for inspiration and to learn the basics of making them. Mine are by no means authentic, but a creation from what I had on hand in my herb garden and my personal taste. The rice paper wrappers can be found in the Asian section (where you find the soy sauce and pre-made stir-fry sauces) in most grocery stores. I found that 20 seconds was the perfect amount of time for them to soften under water.
Prepare one cup each of organic fresh basil, mint, and cilantro (rinse under cold water and trim stems). Rinse three small organic seedless cucumbers (or one large seedless cucumber) and slice lengthwise, julienne style. I also used 1 cup of organic broccoli sprouts.
In a small saucepan add 24 small (or 16 medium) raw shrimp with the juice of one large organic lime. Simmer until shrimp are cooked through, about 3 minutes. Set aside. For your dipping sauce: Mix together 1/2 cup of soy sauce, 1 TB of toasted sesame oil, the juice of two organic limes, and 1 TB of fermented chili paste. Add cold water to a glass baking dish until it’s about 2 inches deep. Arrange your dish with water, two clean dinner plates, prepared vegetables, shrimp and a package of dry 6 ” rice wrappers all within arm’s length to prepare your work area. To make each roll, take a rice wrapper from the package and submerge it into the water for 20 seconds Lift wrapper out of water and flatten onto your first plate. Layer each of your herbs and vegetables into the center of your roll. Place 3 small or 2 medium shrimp on top of herbs. Fold the bottom edge of your roll over filling, fold the sides in and roll up your roll. Place completed roll on 2nd plate and repeat the process until 8 rolls are completed.
Black Cherry-Pistachio Salad With Charred Scallion Vinaigrette
This incredible salad is a NYTimes Cooking recipe by Angela Dimayuga. I have no edits to offer besides choose organic cherries and scallions – it’s as beautiful and delicious when you make it as it looks in the photo!
Summer Borscht
This is an Ina Garten recipe which I tweaked slightly by; halving the sour cream, adding a 1/2 cup each of chopped boiled carrots and potato, and I replaced the dill with cilantro. This soup is a perfect Summer dinner served with a green salad and warm crusty bread.
For the added carrots and potatoes just boil three organic carrots and one large organic potato in salted water until soft, about 10 minutes. Let cool on the counter or the fridge as you do with the beets. (You want to boil them separately from the beets though so that they don’t turn red). Once cool rub the skin off with your fingers, it should come off easily, and dice in the same manner you dice the beets. Add to soup with beets and chill as recipe indicates. For those of you who aren’t crazy about dill, cilantro offers a refreshing kick to this as a garnish albeit it a distinctly non-Russian flavor! My preferred bread with borscht, hot or cold, is pumpernickel but when in a pinch a crusty French loaf is wonderful too. https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/summer-borscht-recipe-1947169?soc=socialsharingpinterest
Caramelized Cherry Tomatoes with Spaghetti.
This recipe is so easy and bursting with summer flavor. The trick is to use cherry tomatoes (larger ones get mushy) and to be patient while they simmer – it will take 15 to 20 minutes for them to caramelize and start to pop.
Set a large pot of water, with pinch of salt, to boil. Heat 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large skillet and add one organic red onion, sliced thinly. Cook about 3 minutes, then add 8 cloves of organic garlic, finely chopped and red pepper flakes to taste.
Cook for about a minute, until garlic just starts to brown. Add 1 lb of organic cherry tomatoes, making sure all of the tomatoes are submerged in the oil. Stir in 1/3 cup of white wine, one tablespoon of sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Let everything simmer over a medium heat for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile add spaghetti for 3 or 4 servings to your pot of boiling water and cook per instructions on the package. You’ll see the skins on the tomatoes start to caramelize and eventually pop. Add cooked spaghetti to skillet and toss to coat evenly with tomatoes. Garnish with fresh torn basil and coarsely grated Parmesan cheese.
Making Every-Day Decisions that You’re Proud Of
Choosing organic food is the surest, easiest, way to make sure that you’re not ingesting poisons from pesticides and herbicides used in conventional farming. When you choose organic you’re also supporting farms that aren’t contaminating our soil and water with these pesticides and herbicides. For more information on how choosing organic is good for your health and the health of the planet check out my blog Shop Organic on a Budget. For more recipes I offer 5 more of my favorites in 5 Flexitarian Recipes that are Good for Your Health and Good for the Planet.
5 Flexitarian Recipes that are Good for Your Health and Good for the Planet!
Small choices we make around what we eat – supporting local farms, growing vegetables and herbs at home, choosing organic whenever we can — this all enhances our food experience and helps nurture our health, personally and collectively.