Un Déjeuner Fantastique

Like simple ingredients combined in an effective dish, several factors transported me from a small corner cafe at Clay Terrace mall to a rustic country restaurant in France. The Zay women lunched at Petite Chou in Carmel, Indiana. We ate immersed in wintry natural light around a thick wooden table as long and broad as the side of a barn. Coffee was self-serve at a bar; croissants beckoned delicately from behind glass. Large 18th century maps of Paris stretched across the walls. Newspapers were on hand. People leaned over tables and plates in earnest conversation.

My aunts and cousins were tempted by breakfast crepes, open-face egg sandwiches, and goat cheese salads, and I ordered Warm Mushroom Duxelles. In classic French cooking the mushrooms are cooked until all liquid boils away, then the mushrooms are made into a kind of paste and spread over bread. I enjoyed Petit Chou's mushroom duxelles, which consisted of a variety of local mushrooms, coarsley chopped and cooked slowly, then served with a butter and white wine sauce over thick slices of French bread. It was a fantastically simple yet satisfying meal. I would make mushroom duxelles at home and would certainly try Petit Chou again.

Check out the website: http://www.cafepatachou.com/
Check out the menu: http://www.cafepatachou.com/pc_ct_alldaymenu.pdf

(And yes, I had to use a translator to write the title. Sigh.)

Wild Yeast Breads

Below: Some breads I've made with the wild yeast. Yum!
First photo: Simple white boule.
Second photo: White/wheat batards.
Third photo: Multi-grain dinner rolls (white, wheat, rye flour, oats, flaxseed, pumpkin seed, bulgur, molasses, brown sugar).

Mortar and Pestle: For an Adventurous Cook and a Strong Arm

When I was in second grade, I was having a hard time sharpening my pencil in Ms. Frye's obstinate manual sharpener. Ms. Frye laughed at me. "You need to give it a little oomph!"

"Oomph?"

Ms. Frye laughed again, finished sharpening my pencil, and explained that "oomph" is slang for some serious muscle power.

A mortar and pestle is a kitchen tool that indeed requires 'oomph,' or 'elbow grease.' To use it is to assume a task far less delicate than mincing or chopping, but the mortar and pestle is an iconic reminder of a cooking truth--things taste better smashed.

Some may say it better, but simply put, I think smashing ingredients brings out more flavor than making clean cuts. That's why garlic presses are so popular, and why crushing half a lemon over a tilapia filet adds more flavor than simply placing lemon slices on top.

I have seen mortar and pestle sets at Target, Ikea, and World Market for anywhere from $10-$20.

Some ideas for the mortar and pestle:

Season a Stir Fry (3T): Obtain fresh ginger, garlic, and any spices you wish. Coarsley chop a few cloves of garlic and chunks of raw ginger (take the skin off the ginger first). Add them to the bowl. Then, add some sea salt (the coarse sea salt adds friction and aids in the mashing of the tough ginger). Mash until a paste is formed. Add it to your stir fry. Add in the final moments of cooking for an especially loud flavor.

Make Guacamole (1 cup): Chop onion and garlic in whatever quantities suit your taste buds. Cut an avocado in chunks. Add the onions, garlic and a little salt to the bowl and smash. Then, add the softer avocado and blend. Dice a roma tomato and stir it in. Season with salt, pepper and lime juice. Eat it right out of the bowl!

Mix spices: Blend spices in traditional baking recipes with the mortar and pestle before adding them to the batter. This "activates" the flavors.

You Have to Try This

A Disclaimer: I thought this would be gross, too, the first time I heard it.

But it's not.

Why does everything we put on ice cream have to be sweet? Try the following (in small quantity, because it's very rich): Vanilla Ice Cream** + A Drizzle of Olive Oil + A Drizzle of Sea Salt.

I first heard this suggestion from a caller on NPR's The Splendid Table, a cooking show that airs Saturdays at noon.* I was very skeptical, until one night I found I had all the ingredients and tried it. It's so rich it knocks you flat after a few spoonfuls, but it is deeeeelightful. (And I don't use that many e's lightly.)

*Is it sad that I plan my Saturdays around listening to this show? At least it's not Saturday night...
**I Suggest the "Five" line of ice cream, which contains only five ingredients.

One Year Later

When I started this blog after Thanksgiving last year, I thought for sure the project would be abandoned by now. Happily I continue to pursue all-natural eating.

A few reflections:

1. It's nearly impossible to eat all-natural socially.
I've had little success eating all-natural at a table other than my own. This isn't a knock on friends, it's just a fact of life. Most packaged food purchased at a store has some kind of preservative in it. And most institutions I know who prepare food en masse start with packages. And most people I know can't spend an hour cooking dinner from scratch. In keeping with my original goal, I don't want my healthy eating pursuits to impede healthy community. So, I've become at peace about breaking the rules sporadically at social functions and community dinners. Sometimes I actually can feel the effects of this decision later, because I'm no longer used to eating certain ingredients that are common in most American diets, but I'm okay with this. It's not always about having full control over what you eat. Plus, I know I'm eating all-natural when I'm by myself or cooking for others.

2. I used the "Ingredients, Okay" and "Ingredients, No Way" list a lot less than I thought.
Why? Probably because I'm mostly shopping around the "perimeter" of the grocery store, where the fruits and vegetables, meats, cheeses and dairy items are located. These don't really have a lot of artificial ingredients, or extra ingredients at all.

3. The numbers don't lie.
When I have a chance to crunch the numbers, I'll show you my triglyceride and cholersterol levels last year, versus this year. In spite of eating more butter, eggs, dairy and meat this past year, everything bad that's in the blood...went down!

4. Eating naturally is a great opportunity for creativity and culture.
I feel like a primitive artist when I create my plate. Natural foods have great colors, textures and unique flavors on their own. In the absence of artificial additives, the foods come to life. I've also begun delving into different cultural staples that weren't a part of my upbringing--coconut oil, raw ginger, eggplant, and others.

5. The fridge got a face lift.
What was in my refrigerator at this time last year?
Diet Coke
Sugar Free, Fat Free Yogurt
Margarine
An onion and a green pepper
Sugar Free Ice Cream
Sugar Free, Fat Free Caramel Syrup
Lean Cuisines
Eggs
Shrimp, Ground Beef and Ground Turkey
Corn Tortillas (with preservatives)
Salsa (with preservatives and high-fructose corn syrup)

What is in my refrigerator now?
Coconut Milk
Fizzy Water
Butter
Free-Range Eggs
Eggplant, Onion, Garlic, Celery, Carrots
Pomegranates, Apples, a Mango
Frozen Spinach, Corn,
Shrimp, Ground Beef and Ground Turkey
Organic Sprouted Corn Tortillas
Salsa (no preservatives)

Goals for the Coming Year
1. Drink more water.
2. Eat more raw foods.
3. Rathern than focusing on the negatives (what is this food additive and will it kill me?) Research the health benefits of specific foods and implement them as homeopathic and preventative medicine.

Bread Book

Continuing in my adventures with wild yeast, I've purchased this book by Daniel Leader from half.com. Leader has his own bakery in the U.S., but has traveled extensively in Europe exploring different breadmaking techniques from the most state-of-the-art bakeries to the most traditional holes-in-the-wall across Germany, France, Italy, Poland, and more. All the recipes in the book begin with some kind of starter. The starters vary in composition depending on the origin and type of bread. Currently I have three starters in my fridge. I've had a few successful recipes and will post some pictures soon.

Sweet, Sweet Potato

A friend and I tried a delicious pizza this evening from RealSimple magazine. The toppings: thinly sliced sweet potato and shallots, tossed in olive oil and seasoned with fresh thyme, salt and pepper. Spread the ingredients over a whole wheat pizza crust, and bake in the oven. When pizza is halfway done, dot the top of the pie with cubes of brie (as much or as little as you desire).

Serve with a side of mixed greens, tossed in a balsamic vinegar and olive oil dressing.

While this pizza is meatless, I think a nice spicy sausage would compliment the sweetness of the sweet potato and the creaminess of the brie.

For dessert, hold your friend's three month old baby on your shoulder and nuzzle his soft cheek while you burp him.

See the recipe at: http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/sweet-potato-brie-flatbread-00000000041512/ (baby not included)