Just Eat It.

This might seem like a silly post but I don't care. I don't have a recipe or some learning to share, just common sense.

As a person who enjoys cooking, I cook. But sometimes I remember I can just eat. I don't need to cook. For example, you can eat a beefsteak tomato like you do an apple. Just bite in. A friend of mine in high school did just that. She got a tomato out of her bag, wiped it off, and then bit into it. She ate the whole thing, no core, no nothing left over. I cracked up. I had never thought of eating a whole tomato like that.

Why is that funny? (Remember the beginning of the original Iron Chef when the host bites into a red pepper. It's a crackup!) I guess it seems childish. When someone doesn't know how they are "supposed" to eat a particular food or when they just go for it without thinking about other people, it's funny. But it's common sense. You can eat asparagus or a cucumber like you would a banana, or break off florets of broccoli by hand and just munch them like you would grapes. And the same goes for other foods too - a loaf of bread, a salami, a hunk of cheese, a cake. But think how much easier it is to just eat it. Cut out the middleman.

I don't recommend this behavior except for healthy foods of course. Enjoying fruits and vegetables more easily is a good thing. Cake probably not so much. So even when a food isn't small enough to be eaten whole, like berries or the cherry tomatoes above, take a bite and enjoy it anyway.

Susan

Wrap It! Don't Bag It!

I've been trying to get my hands on one of these but the recession is making it difficult. They are reuseable sandwich wraps, called Wrap-N-Mats which unfold to be placemats. Cool idea. But my two closest local retailers, the Mills Peninsula Hospital Healing Store and the local Whole Foods are both out and have no plans to buy any more. I asked! Bummer!

Now I think I will just buy two online. They should be perfect for picnics, school lunches, or day hikes. I intend to use them when we go to Stern Grove concerts this season.

Check out the website! Hopefully your local retailer has some in stock.

Susan

Feeding Babies

My daughter is now a toddler so I think I can safely write a few things I learned about feeding her solids as a baby. Hopefully this information will be useful to other new parents. I garnered most of this info from reading books, talking to my daughter's pediatrician, and by using my intuition, which has been a huge help in this adventure called motherhood.

First off, I learned it doesn't make sense to offer a baby any solid food until he or she has lost their tongue thrust reflex. Otherwise, they just send it back out again.

Second, I learned when babies need the nutrition from solid food they also become developmentally ready for it. Around six months of age, babies begin needing more iron and other nutrients than is supplied from breastmilk and/or formula. At about this same time, they loose their tongue thrust reflex and can sit up well enough to be feed and swallow something solid. They can also pay attention and be involved.

Third, eating something solid is a learning experience for them. We are so accustomed to eating we can fail to be aware of all the ways in which eating is a new experience for babies. If you are learning to control your tongue and to push food around in your mouth, "eating" a bad tasting pureed jarred "baby food" wouldn't teach you anything. You can't manipulate it and it tastes horrible. A semi-solid bit of rice cereal mixed with breastmilk or formula would be something you could move around and would taste good.

Fourth, if you were given something new to eat, something you had never seen before and knew nothing about, wouldn't you check it out first? Wouldn't you touch it, smell it, see if it was cold or hot, etc.? That's just what babies are doing. They need to touch their food to do some preliminary investigation before trying some and especially before swallowing some. All this investigation adds up to a mess. But mess is the cost of doing business. (There are limits of course. I gave my baby daughter thick rice cereal once so she could practice feeding herself. It was a total disaster. It got everywhere!)

Fifth, feeding involves control. When you feed yourself you decide, and have control over, when you eat, what you eat, where you eat, how much, how fast, and even whether you eat something or not. When feeding your baby, you must share these decisions. You can choose when and where and what to feed your baby, but you can't decide how much, how fast, and whether your baby is hungry or not. It's not for you to say. Only your baby knows. So feeding involves paying close attention to your baby's signals. Is she interested in having another bite? Is she making eye contact with you or the spoon? Is he turning his head away when you bring up the spoon? Is he keeping his mouth closed? Are you getting frustrated? Are you beginning to slip food in his mouth while he isn't looking? Or thinking he has to finish what's left? If you are, stop. It isn't for you to say. Let your baby be in control. (Not to freak you out, but eating disorders involve someone's right and natural ability to regulate how much they eat and whether they eat being taken away or undermined. Your baby, like all of us, has an innate ability to regulate so don't get in the way.)

Lastly, taste matters. My daughter eats well today because food I make tastes good. I keep things simple. It's easier for me and better for both of us. She has many chances to get acquainted with tastes and flavors and to decide if she likes something or not. I am honest with her when it comes to food.

I was surprised how important I found feeding my daughter to be. It isn't only about how delicious, natural, or healthy (or organic or perfect or etc...) the food I choose is. Many other factors are important. In feeding her, I am teaching her how to eat respectfully as well as healthfully. Don't underestimate what is involved, especially considering the world we live in. For more information about feeding babies and children see my recommended books link.

Susan

Practice makes inspiration.

It must be said, practice can make perfect, but only once, maybe twice.

One day in culinary school, I had to make Roasted Lobster with Zucchini Risotto garnished with dried Squash Blossom. It was during our last semester, after already six months of cooking Monday to Saturday. I studied my recipe after demonstration, planned out what pots and pans I needed, decided what to prepare first, second, third, fourth, etc. and then went in to practical and began. The result was the best dish I made during school. The lobster was sublime, the risotto was creamy, loose and shiny, the dried squash blossom was colorful and crisp. The chef was very pleased. He said my lobster was perfectly cooked, which the French never say. A compliment is saying not bad, "pas mal".

I have thought often about that plate. Every time I make something for dinner and it turns out crappy, which seems to happen in spurts, I remember that I do have skill, I do have talent.

But I realized the other day that it isn't the perfection of that dish I care about, it is how beautiful the image of it in my mind is. It was a beautiful plate. The lobster was that great orangey-red, the risotto was a creamy yellow with little brunoise specks of green, and the dried squash blossom was both. Together they were beautiful and tasted wonderfully. (I think I ate it before class ended which I barely ever did. Most food became dinner for me and my husband.) It is the inspiration of that plate I need while at home alone in my kitchen, about to prepare dinner for the upteenth time.

So forget perfection, go for inspiration. To get some you have to accept some practice. I've been trying to enjoy more fresh spring vegetables - young fava beans, slender asparagus, crisp green beans. I want to eat more vegetables in general but thinking of it that way is completely boring. I need some ideas and inspiration to commit to practicing some new recipes. For that I've been studying a cookbook I've had for years but never really dug into, Chez Panisse Vegetables, by, of course, Alice Waters.

The plate of vegetable dishes above are nearly all made from it - moroccan carrots, beets with sherry vinegar, orange juice, olive oil, and walnuts, fennel a la grecque, and shaved raw asparagus with lemon vinaigrette. And all amazingly good! And simple. Really. The carrots are just peeled and simmered until tender in salted, simmering water with a crushed garlic clove, then cooled and tossed with a little cumin, paprika, cinnamon, salt, and cayenne before being dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. The beets are just roasted at about 375F for around 45 minutes or until tender, then peeled and dressed with sherry vinegar while warm. When cool, they are tossed with orange juice and olive oil and topped with toasted walnuts. And the asparagus are just what they are described as, raw and shaved thinly then dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt and pepper. That is it. Only the fennel a la grecque takes time. The other dishes are so simple it's riduculous. And of course they look beautiful too. It is inspiring that beautiful, healthy food like this is simple and elegant. But I never would have known it if I hadn't practiced a few times with another inspiring dish in my mind.

Susan

Ginger Salad Dressing

I like eating raw vegetables - carrots, green beans, celery - but most of the time I need a dip or salad dressing to make them more appealing. When I was a kid my parents, who met in Japan, liked to take my brother and I out to eat at a restaurant called Shogun. It was a cook-in-front-of -you type place we loved. While we waited for our table in the bar, my brother and I would have a kiddie cocktail. I would have a Shirley Temple and he would have a Buck Rogers.

Once seated, we were served our dipping sauces and salads. The dressing on the salad was the most compelling part of the meal to me. The steak and shrimp and mushrooms that came off the grill were great. The way the cook flung around the pepper grinders and cleavers was impressive, but all for show, only the salad dressing was for real. It was completely different than any salad dressing we had at home. There was no vinegar bite, no mayonnaise. It was just awesome.

A few years ago, I was surfing the web for Japanese restaurant style miso salad dressings. I found several recipes but somehow didn't find one that "tasted" right. A few pages in to my search, I came upon a recipe (I would attribute the website if I could find it again) that peaked my interest. With onion, ginger, celery, tomato paste, lemon juice, and rice wine vinegar, it "tasted" amazing.

I made it that night and the memories started flowing back. Uncanny! I think you will enjoy it too.

Ginger Salad Dressing

• 1/4 C chopped white onion
• 1 T chopped fresh ginger
• 1 T chopped celery
• 1/4 C vegetable oil
• 2 T rice wine vinegar
• 1 T water (optional)
• 1 T soy sauce
• 1 1/2 t tomato paste
• 1 1/2 t sugar
• 1 t lemon juice
• 1/2 t salt

1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender.
2. Blend until smooth and uniform.
3. Transfer to a container and store in refrigerator.

This goes wonderfully with soy sauce or sesame oil seasoned foods, like my Yummy, Sticky Chicken Wings or Thighs. Serve it over cold lettuce with ripe tomatoes and a sprinkling of black sesame seeds for contrast. It is also delicious as a dip. Enjoy!

Susan