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Posts tagged ‘Vegetables’

Mar 1

The answer to the question keeping you up at night

I know what’s making you toss and turn at 3 A.M., and it’s not your daughter’s report card or your nutty client.  But fret no more!  The tossing and turning can stop, because I have the answer to the question keeping you up at night.  Are you ready?  Here it is: Read more

Jun 29

The Secret about Kale

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Increasingly, I hear conversations that go something like this:

Fred:  I don’t eat carbs any more — they make me feel so bloated.  

Ginger:  I know!  I have a kale smoothie every morning; it’s so much better than all those carbs.

Fred:  Oh, that sounds good.  I had this great kale salad for lunch yesterday — I feel so much better when I don’t have carbs at lunch. 

Just so we’re all clear on this . . . KALE  IS  A  CARBOHYDRATE!  There are three categories of macronutrients that we humans consume: protein, fats and carbohydrates. Most food has a complement of these nutrients, as well as water, fiber and splatterings of micronutrients (vitamins and minerals and such). Kale is no exception — there are small amounts of protein and some trace fatty acids in kale, plus vitamins and minerals, but it is primarily a carbohydrate. In fact, most fruits and vegetables are primarily carbohydrates. If you are eating lettuce and radishes, you are eating carbs. If you are eating blueberries and Brussels sprouts (not together, I hope), you are eating carbohydrates. Swiss chard, collards and spinach?  All carbs. Have I made my point? I hope so, and I hope that you will continue to eat a range of these wonderfully healthy plant-based foods. Read more

Apr 18

A is for Artichokes (and also for Almonds)

IMG_1054Growing up, artichokes were a springtime treat, steamed and served with little ramekins filled with melted butter and lemon juice for dipping the leaves into before we scraped off all that artichokey goodness from the leaves with our teeth. Simplicity in itself. Eventually, I met my darling and was introduced to his mother’s sublime, steamed artichokes stuffed with a magical triumvirate of bread crumbs, parsley and garlic, lovingly laced with extra virgin olive oil.

“What about some Parmesan?” I would ask her, filled with ideas of improvement, “or even Pecorino, maybe some anchovies?”  To which her reply was a shrug, a gesture, the merest raising of an eyebrow to suggest ever so gently that this would be gilding the lily.

We have eaten our artichokes following my mother-in-law’s original recipe for many years, but recently I’ve been searching for a delicious way to enjoy these without all the bread-y stuffing.  Trust me, it is not without trepidation Read more

Feb 18

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

 

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Hold onto your hats everyone,  I am going to come right out and say I disagree with T.S. Eliot …. April is not the cruelest month; that honor goes to February. Think of it; the dark darkness of deep December (which at least had some festivities to keep you going) is past, Read more

Nov 28

Taking Stock From Thanksgiving

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After the excesses of Thanksgiving, I like to have a few days of brothy soups to clear the body of all that stuffing. I am always surprised by how easy it is to make a nourishing bowl of aromatic broth from modest beginnings. Think of it — an old carcass, some water and a paltry handful of vegetables, add some heat, skim a bit and soon you have a steaming bowl of flavorful stock — really, turning dust into gold is nothing compared with this type of alchemy.

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