Salmon with Tarragon

 

Beautiful salmon with garden herbs.  A quick and easy dinner when served
with steamed broccoli and brown rice.

Our garden tarragon is finally taking off after several rough starts.  Friends have mentioned how easy it is to grow but that hasn't been the case with us.  We finally found a somewhat shady spot with good soil that works for tarragon in our beds.

With that said, not everyone loves tarragon.  I grew up with it and it is an intuitive herb for me.  Bernaise sauce is an amazing, yet indulgent, treat as is tarragon cream over chicken or fish.  Tarragon may be used in teas and soft drinks, and has medicinal and industrial purposes as well.  I hope to make a big batch of tarragon vinegar before the end of the season to use throughout the year.  With a distinctive sweet anise scent and flavor, it is found in cuisines around the world. 

Now that our tarragon plant is thriving, I am excited to use it in our recipes.  This one is super simple!

Serves:  4 - 5
Prep time:  5 minutes

Parchment paper or foil
1 large fillet of salmon, about 1-1/4 pounds
butter or oil, as needed
several sprigs tarragon. about 2 Tbsp chopped leaves
Two lemons, zest the peels then slice fruit into wedges
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.



Zest the lemons, yellow part of the peel only.  The white pith is bitter.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.  Brush fish lightly with oil or butter then top with tarragon and lemon peel.

Season with pepper and a pinch of salt.

Cook salmon about 8 minutes.  Let set for a few minutes before serving.

Squeeze fresh lemon juice over to finish the dish.

Each 4-ounce serving of salmon offers approximately 175 calories, your entire daily need for vitamin B-12, and over half your daily need for niacin, selenium, and phosphorous.  We used Coho salmon for this recipe as it is fresh and in season through October.  It offers an ideal ratio of 3:1 parts omega-3 fatty acids to omega-6 fatty acids.

 

My Buddha lemon

Every late autumn/early winter I look forward to finding Buddha's Hand lemons in the Farmer's Markets.  They don't have pulp, juice, or seeds, but their zest is incredible.  When in season, substitute them for regular lemon zest.  I like to keep them on the counter because they exude an amazing citrusy yet floral aroma and my kitchen smells so good.  The zest and peel may be used in a variety of ways to include candied peel, flavored sugars or salt, baked goods, and infused in vodka.  They may be a little pricey, but they are a special treat.  Explore!

 

- Kim Fielding

Salmon with Spinach Sauce and Toasted Walnuts

A simple twist on our favorite salmon.  Top with pureed spinach and toasted nuts.

I am quite enamored with Placer County and their produce.  Two wonderful cookbooks have been published by Joanne Neft and Laura Kenney to demonstrate how to use produce in season.  The Art of Real Food has brought eating within the season to another level.  The cookbooks published by these thoughtful women are worth adding to your cookbook collection.

Cooking like this doesn't happen over night.  As we adjust to local produce available, we need to make plans for future meals with freezing, canning, pickling, and dehydrating.

The most vivid recollection I have of eating in the season comes from my neighbors in Moraga, the Tysons, who baked everything from scratch.  They canned and pickled, and did everything they could to preserve what was fresh and local.  I have a memory of driving to a farm in Lafayette to pick plums at sundown so Eleanor could make jam.  Those were sweet times.  We climbed through those trees, ate plums until we almost exploded, and brought back baskets-full of fruit to the cook. 

This recipe comes from the same experience.  We picked spinach from the garden, used local walnuts instead of the pine nuts originally asked for, and otherwise adapted the recipe to our Bay Area climate.

Serves:   4
Prep and cook time:  30 minutes

3 C.  spinach leaves, blanched
1/4 C. Parmesan cheese, fnely grated
1/4 C. sour cream or Greek yogurt (a little more tang if you use the yogurt)
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tblsp. butter and 1 Tblsp. oil
4 fillets salmon, cut into equal-size pieces
1/4 cup walnuts, toasted  (or pine nuts as the original recipe suggests)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Blend the spinach, Parmesan, and sour cream or yogurt in a food processor or blender.  This is spread on the salmon just prior to baking.

Wring out excess water from the blanched spinach and puree with cheese
and yogurt or sour cream until smooth.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Mix butter and oil in a skillet and sear the salmon.

Season salmon with salt and pepper and cook in butter and oil
until just cooked on the edges.

Spray a foil-lined pan with Pam.  Place salmon pieces, skin-side down, on the foil.

Parchment paper also works well.

Top salmon with spinach mixture.  Bake until salmon is just cooked through, at most a few minutes.

Sprinkle toasted walnuts over cooked salmon with spinach and serve with
 brown rice and salad.

My audience was surprised at how good this tasted. Simple food.

Each serving of 4 oz. salmon and 3 tablespoons spinach sauce provides approximately 290 calories, 3 g fiber, and a full compliment of vitamin B 12.  Over two-thirds of your daily requirement of protein, vitamin A, vitamin b-6, manganese, phosphorous, selenium, and niacin are included in this healthful recipe. 

- Kim Fielding

High-Fat Dairy Products, Like Whole Milk And Cream, Can Lower Diabetes Risk

For a while I have been speaking against low-fat or non-fat dairy.  Finally, there is a clear study that shows that normal fat, which is known as high-fat dairy, lowers the risk of diabetes. Anything that lowers the risk of diabetes lowers the risk of heart disease but there are no studies for this one. 

High fat consumption can't be transferred to meats as those are shown to increase the risk of diabetes and heart disease. Both skim milk and whole milk contain about 12 grams of sugar.  As for fats, skim milk has less than 0.5% and 84 calories while whole milk has 3.5% fat and 146 calories.  With regards to dairy, the positive effect of drinking normal fat milk is most likely because fats are much better in creating satiety and possibly do not promote sugar cravings.
 

High-fat dairy lowered the risk of diabetes by 23%.  Eating fatty meats gives you more diabetes and heart disease. Just being more fatty doesn't help.  High calories obviously could not make the difference but the high fat does.  Skim milk is like a juice," sugar water", and as a result may increase more insulin production,  more sugar craving and more diabetes.  Just a theory.  The above article was presented in Vienna 1 week ago. Hey, enjoy all but real sour cream!
http://www.medicaldaily.com/high-fat-dairy-products-whole-milk-and-cream-can-lower-diabetes-risk-303208

Roast Eggplant with Garden Salsa

Flavorful and colorful, this was a winner at cooking club.

Once a month or so, six of us girls get together for our own Loyola Cooking Club.  Taking turns at each of our homes, the hostess of the month chooses the theme.  Over the years we have cooked and shared our best chocolate cake or cheesecake (we always waddle out the door on those days!), or it could be something as simple as lemon where a meal is made using lemon in all recipes from beverage to dessert.   Or it may be that all recipes come from a certain cookbook, or nowadays, a blog.

Our hostess this time asked us to make recipes from the Smitten Kitchen blog, written by Deb Perelman.  The banter that accompanies each post is fun and I found myself liking this woman who is not only a clever writer, she is an amazing cook.  We decided that each of the eight prepared recipes were delicious (well there was one that wasn't quite as good as the rest), and we will definitely be visiting this blog again.  This recipe received thumbs up by all in attendance.

One eggplant makes eight servings
Prep and cook time:  about 30 minutes

1 to 2 tablespoons plus 4 teaspoons olive oil
1 eggplant cut in 3/4- to 1-inch slices
Salt and pepper to season eggplant
1/3 cup finely diced red onion
2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 ounces (1/2 cup) crumbled feta
2 tablespoons capers, drained
2-3 Roma tomatoes, diced
3 tablespoons minced fresh mint leaves
Freshly ground black pepper.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Coat a large baking sheet generously with olive oil, about 1 to 2 tablespoons. Arrange eggplant rounds in a single layer. Sprinkle with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Seasoned and ready to go into the hot oven.

Roast, without disturbing, for 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully flip each piece: the undersides should be blistery, dark and a bit puffy and should release from the pan with no effort. If they’re not, let it cook longer. Once flipped, sprinkle them with additional salt and freshly ground black pepper and return the pan to the oven for another 10 to 12 minutes or so, until the undersides match the tops.

Nice and browned and slightly puffy.  Mix the salsa ingredients
while the eggplant is cooking.

Meanwhile, place the red onion and vinegar together in a small bowl and let sit for 10 minutes*.  Mix crumbled feta, capers, tomatoes, mint, onions and vinegar, and remaining 4 teaspoons olive oil (I used less!) in a bowl. Adjust seasoning. Add more vinegar, if desired. Add freshly ground black pepper, to taste.


Ingredients for the topping are ready to be mixed.

A final touch, mint blossoms for garnish.

Each serving includes one slice roasted eggplant topped with several spoonfuls salsa (about 1/4 - 1/3 cup).  Calories come in under 100 calories, over 3 g fiber, and over 2 g protein per serving.  As the salsa and eggplant are veggies, there are lots of good vitamins and minerals as well.  The very small amount of cholesterol and saturated fat comes from the cheese.  Otherwise, the fats are mostly monounsaturated.

*Soaking the red onion in vinegar softens the bite of the onion.  Toss the whole mix of vinegar and onion into the rest of the ingredients when making the salsa.  This was another little gem gleaned from Deb Perelman's blog!

- Kim Fielding

Should you always eat organic?

There is no simple answer but the short one is no.  Why eat organic at all?    

There are many reasons for that.  It is more nutritious, contains more minerals and vitamins, is non-GMO, and is free of many poisons like antibiotics, hormones, herbicides, fungicides and insecticides.

There are also certain disadvantages. Perhaps the biggest argument against organic foods is the expense.  Organic produce is about 50% more costly than the conventional variety, and meat and milk costs even more than that. Productivity is greater within industrialized agriculture and more skill is required to do organic gardening.   Apparently organic gardening is more drought resistant, and organic farming is friendly to the soil and healthy for the farmer. 

One more advantage about organic produce – it tastes better (most of the time).  However, taste is an acquired feature and is different for different people.  Organic strawberries might be less sweet than conventional strawberries, but have greater flavor. 

Because of the higher price of organic foods, be selective when buying produce. Depending on how the food to-be grows, look at how much permeable surface it has and how much spraying and irrigation it requires.  Try to eat certain foods only in organic varieties unless they are purchased from a Farmer’s Market.  Watch foods are – strawberries, watermelon, artichokes, potatoes, peanut butter, milk, meat, tofu and coffee. 

When buying organic, look for the following USDA regulated terms on food labels:

·     100% organic - means the food has no synthetic ingredients

·     Organic - means the food has a minimum of 95% organic ingredients. It can also use the organic seal.

·     Made with organic ingredients - means the food must contain at least 70% organic ingredients.  These foods cannot use the organic seal.

Meat, eggs, poultry, and dairy labeled "organic" must come from animals that, among other things,  have never received antibiotics or growth hormones.

Standards for organic seafood have not been set.

     
Today, organic has turned into an industrialized monster business. Many organic brands today are owned by the same companies that once tried to convince the consumers that organic was no better.  These companies have now invested themselves in the organic label because that is where the consumer walked. If years ago it meant locally grown without pesticides or chemicals, today it means a label  that is also heavily regulated by USDA.  The cow that produces Organic Milk might be fed organically grown feed, but may not be able to see daylight or grass from its pen. 
     
But how would you know the good-organic from bad-organic. Clearly there are other parameters by which food can be measured.  Organic production can reassure the absence of pesticides, unnatural fertilizers, and genetically modified organisms, but one must also look for free-range or pastured animals and perhaps the small carbon footprint of locally transported foods. 

When you eat locally grown, seasonal fruits and vegetables – those usually do not require too much additional chemicals and who cares if those are labeled organic or not.. 

Simple Ratatouille

All fresh ingredients for the ratatouille make for a delicious treat.

Ratatouille is a French Provencal vegetable stew featuring tomatoes, courgettes (zucchini), eggplant, bell peppers, onion, garlic, and herbs.  Usually served as a side dish, we love ratatouille as a meal with pasta, over fish or other proteins, and as a dip.  Very versatile, there are lots of ways to make this flavorful medley.  To keep things easy, we offer a one-pot recipe which is modified from a ratatouille recipe found on the Real Simple blog.  (They offer great recipes and food ideas.)

A quick note:  this recipe was made at around 7000 feet elevation.  Cooking times may vary (be shorter) if you live in the lowlands.

Simmering and softening the ingredients.

Makes 3 - 4 cups

3 Tblsp. olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
1 large tomato, coarsely chopped
1 medium eggplant, top trimmed off, unpeeled, and cubed
1 medium zucchini, top stem trimmed off, halved lengthwise and then thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, remove stem and seeds, cut into quarters, then into thin slices
1/2 - 1 tsp. kosher salt
1/4 - 1/2 C. chopped fresh basil
freshly ground pepper

In a large pan, heat the oil and saute the garlic, onion, and bay leaf over low to medium heat until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.  Add the tomato, eggplant, zucchini, bell pepper, and kosher salt, and cook over medium heat until the vegetables have softened (particularly the eggplant). Stir in the basil and add a few grinds of black pepper.  Remove from heat and serve.

A batch of ratatouille keeps in the fridge for several days.
 Use glass jars with lids for best results. 

One recipe will make six to eight servings.  The entire stew above offers approximately 580 calories, loads of vitamin C, manganese, and fiber.  Be cautious with your use of salt.  This mix is so flavorful, you really don't need to add very much while the mixture is cooking.  My first batch seemed to get saltier as it sat.

This recipe was made in the morning and it just seemed
too perfect not to use it for breakfast.  Voila, top with a poached egg!
The nieces all loved this.  Toast would be a great compliment.

- Kim Fielding

Chicken and cholesterol

Types of cholesterol  - good or bad, sometimes could be very confusing. When you see your doctor they tell you that your cholesterol is high but... Our bad cholesterol is the LDL-cholesterol and it should be less than 165 if you're otherwise healthy.  It should be less than 130 if you have one medical condition, or less than 100 if you have diabetes, and less than 70 if you have already had a heart attack.  But even bad cholesterol LDL could be not so bad. Our good cholesterol is called HDL, and higher  numbers are better.  Sometimes your total cholesterol can be high because you have high HDL.  As I said, cholesterol can be confusing but your diet should not be confusing.
 

Let’s talk about chicken.
 

Today chicken is considered as a default healthy protein for most people.  Somehow chicken made a name for itself as a healthy meat but people should know that it doesn't lower cholesterol and as a matter of fact regular consumption of chicken will raise your cholesterol.  In reality, chicken is a big source of fat. Actually, chicken breast has exactly the same amount of fat as lean pork, beef or lamb.   Even white chicken meat raises cholesterol as it contains both saturated fat and cholesterol, plus the way the chicken is raised may have multiple other  unhealthy elements. 
 

Here are some facts about most chicken on the market.  Feedlot chickens are fed with hormones to make them grow faster, their feed is full of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and they are given antibiotics to keep them from getting sick while packed in with hundreds or thousands of other chickens.  Most chicken you eat at the restaurants  are these type.

Alpha Living is about going to back to the beginning and eating what your grandparents ate. Your grandparents did not eat chicken every day. Chicken was actually considered to be a luxury and people ate it no more than once or at most twice a week.  So, if you are trying to lower your cholesterol then try to increase vegetables and plants in your diet.  As far as chicken, eat only the organic free range version and only once or twice per week. 
 

Weeknight Green Bean Supper

Fresh green beans, tomatoes, ground turkey, onions and other seasoning
make a quick and easy supper.

Here we have yet another green bean recipe inspired by the season.  Dr. Mariam first introduced this easy one pot dinner in our book "The Alpha Plan" which offers recipes for college-age kids and new cooks.

Although this recipe features ground turkey, you may also use ground beef or crumbled tofu.  Spices are mild so feel free to add more heat or seasoning as you desire.

Another bonus - this recipe tastes even better the next day.  Great left-overs.

Serves:  6
Prep and cook time:  about 30 minutes

1 onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
A package of ground turkey, 1 pound ground beef, or crumbled tofu
1 pound trimmed green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 can diced tomatoes
dash of salt and pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Saute the onions in the oil for about 3 minutes.  Add the ground protein and cook until no longer pink,  Add the green beans, tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and bring to a simmer.  Cook for 20-30 minutes.  Test the beans for doneness.

Sprinkle the parsley over before serving.  This dish is yummy served with pilaf or brown rice and a green salad.  We have also served the turkey version of this dish with a cauliflower/new potato mash.

Each serving offers about 320 calories, half your RDA for protein and selenium, and a third your daily requirement for iron, niacin, vitamin B6, and phosphorous.  With just shy of 4 grams fiber, be sure to balance the main dish with a high fiber side dish or two.

- Kim Fielding

Fancy Green Bean Salad



Cooked green beans with dressing.  They are about to be tossed with freekeh
and lots of fresh herbs.  Refreshing!

I picked up the latest Bon Appetit magazine, August 2014, and fell in love with the salads presented by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.  My green bean salad falls very short of their presentation, but the basic ingredients that these two genius chefs offer us make even the most basic chefs shine. 

First off, we used only home grown veggies and they aren't particularly pretty.  The green beans had been frozen then defrosted but were stringy.  The key to stringy green beans is to cut them into short pieces.  The other thing that I was missing was tahini.  After living away for almost a month, I am slowly but surely finding out what is no longer in my pantry - tahini being one of them.  Okay, so without tahini, let's make this salad work..... and it does.

Serves: 5 large helpings
Preparation time:  30  minutes

The recipe, altered from the magazine version, is as follows:

1/4 cup dried freekeh, cooked
1 pound whole green beans, trimmed, and cooked
1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
A very large handful of herbs to include: parsley, cilantry, and mint

Dressing:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1small clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon diced shallot or red onion
1/2 tsp. maple syrup
Salt and pepper to taste in the dressing


In a jar with a lid, add all ingredients together and shake to blend.  Place cooked freekeh and cooked green beans in a bowl.  Stir the dressing ingredients into the green bean, freekeh mix, then add the walnuts, and half of the herbs.  Put the salad onto a platter then top with the rest of the herbs.

Sadly I didn't capture a photo of the salad served on a platter with all of the herbs and nuts sprinkled atop.  But it was yummy.

Each serving offers around 200 calories and almost five grams of fiber and protein.

- Kim Fielding

Sugar

Epidemic of obesity continues despite all the public efforts. The simple reason is that obesity is a disease and not just what people do to themselves.  It  is genetic and environmental, meaning that you get it if you're prone to sugar intolerance and you still use the sugar.  Once you are addicted, it is hard to stop it.  Just like other addictions (tobacco, alcohol, hard core drugs) it gets worse with stress.   Obesity is the mother of variety of other problems, like diabetes, heart disease, joint problems, gallbladder disease, sleep apnea and many others.  Once obesity develops it’s very hard to treat it, (though there is some progress with new medications) it is hard to lose weight and even harder to maintain the lost weight. We need to concentrate  on prevention of obesity and its ramifications.   Start from the baby in the mother’s womb, children, youth and the rest of us.

Parents can play very important in influencing their children's health habits. Unfortunately most of them influenced them in the wrong way if children are given soda at home or sweetened juices and quickly  get used to the sweet taste and develop an early addiction to it.  Regular sugar consumption eventually is going to turn into some kind of a medical problem.

For practical purposes, there is not a lot of difference between sugar and heroin; both are derived from natural plants and sugar from sugarcane or sugar beets as 90% of the nutrients are discarded to form the crystalized sugar. Heroin as you know is derived from opium poppy seeds. Both sugar and heroin are causing craving, addiction withdrawal and dependence.  As a matter of fact sugar addiction costs a lot more deaths in United States -about 300,000 per year compared to heroin that is about 600 per year.

"Want to eat something sweet" is a sound coming of the tired brain. Would a piece of dark chocolate do it?  Not always! 

Just because diet drinks are calorie free does not mean that those are risk free.  Zero cal can seem good but artificial sweeteners are bad for people.    When person is eating diet foods, they think that they're consuming fewer calories

and as a result the give themselves an opportunity to eat more. The artificial sweeteners confuse the brain and a person eats more. 

So, what is the solution?

Read the labels; avoid anything when sugar is one of the first ingredients.  Eat honey in small amounts, seasonal fruits and dark chocolate when you “crave” sweets. And, baklava on a rare occasion. By the way, the real baklava is sugar free, the sweetness comes from honey.