You: the clever cook

When my friends tell me they can’t cook, I am at a loss for words. I believe that anyone can cook. The key is to not expect all of your meals to taste and look like what you would see at a five-star restaurant (because why would you then go to a five-star restaurant?).

Tamar Adler seems to agree with me, as indicated by her recent TED talk. She points out that the Ancient Greek word for a cook is “mageiros,” a word that is not coincidentally similar to “magic.” Adler goes on to question what this “magic” really is and who has it. She concludes that it’s the clever cook that is the real magician. In listening to her anecdotes, you’ll be inspired to believe that we all have the potential to be magical, clever cooks.

Valentine’s Day

Chocolate and San Francisco. Two nouns that have a history of hardship, often shrouded in fog. Two nouns that I love dearly and, as such, merit recognition in a Valentine’s Day recipe.

When you try to think of classic San Franciscan dishes (cioppino? Green Goddess Salad? Dungeness crab?), it becomes clear that there aren’t very many that use chocolate. I was forced to innovate, and I chose to go big with the most iconic of SF food items: sourdough bread.

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To my good fortune and the help of the internet gods, I discovered a recipe for chocolate sourdough bread. The next step was to collect my ingredients. As homage to my inspirational nouns, I decided to source ingredients honorably and, when possible, locally. San Francisco is a place where it’s easy to find responsibly produced chocolate, with even traditional grocery outlets carrying certified products. Ironically, the greater challenge was working with the San Francisco microorganisms that were instrumental to my sourdough starter (a crucial ingredient when making the famous bread).

The recipe did take some time to come together, but the final product was worth it. Chocolate and San Francisco are now two nouns that, when combined, bring me to my knees.

Chocolate Sourdough Bread

-1/2 cup sourdough starter
-1 cup lukewarm water
-1 t yeast
-1/2 T sugar
-1 1/4 t salt
-2 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
-3.5 ounces dark chocolate
-1 t vegetable oil
-water for spritzing

1. Combine all ingredients except for the chocolate and mix until just combined.
2. Add the chocolate to the dough and mix well (try to make sure that the chocolate is distributed evenly through the dough).
3. Cover the mixing bowl with a towel and allow to rise until doubled in size (approximately 90 minutes).
4. Give the dough a few gentle kneads to make sure everything is well mixed.
5. Lightly grease the baking sheet and place the dough onto it, gently shaping it into an oval loaf.
6. Cover and allow to rise until for about 1 hour or until it puffs up – towards the end the rising time you’ll want to preheat the oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Spray the top of the loaf lightly with water.
8. Make two diagonal slashes in the top of the loaf using a serrated bread knife or other sharp knife.
9. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the bread is a very deep golden brown.
10. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Slice and serve, preferably warm and on a foggy morning.

Recipe modified from: http://www.instructables.com/id/Chocolate-Sourdough-Bread/

Duped by Pretty Words

We’re duped by pretty words, 

that condone the way we eat,

redefine what we perceive as healthy,

and in some cases make us unable to make the right decision even if they are right in front of us. 

To top it off, we lie about what we eat,

and whether we actually try to eat better,

because we want to tell people what they want to hear (that’s human nature).

These lies mask serious, legitimate problems with our general well-being, 

making it very challenging to implement solutions to these problems,

and easier to accept the status quo,

which continues to keep us duped by pretty words.

Does TV make us fat?

If you didn’t get the connection between eating and brain chemistry before, you will hopefully get it after watching this engaging little video. Note that some of the science-y stuff is very diluted (as mentioned in a previous post, digestion is quite complex)!

Foodiesm and Brain Chemistry

The past few days have been a little more food-focused than most others, and that says a lot given my profession. Kicked off with Food Day on Monday, highlighted by Deepavali/Diwali on Wednesday, and concluding with Halloween “weekend,” this week has provided no break for my kitchen. It was a week well-spent in terms of food culture currency. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I met others who are passionate about helping people reconnect with real food, listened to an inspirational talk by David Kessler, baked a stuffed pumpkin and screened “Nourish” for the GoodGuide team, learned how farm workers in our very own country have been largely forgotten in this food revolution, made kaju katli with a friend, and am going to a holiday dinner tonight.

It would be unrealistic to expect everyone to care this much about their food, that everything they do revolves around understanding more about what nourishes them. I do think that we’ve drifted a little too far from the social norms that used to help keep our eating habits in check, though. If you ask David Kessler, he’d have a lot to say on the topic.

Kessler believes, and has some good evidence, that sugar, salt and fat are addictive substances. They have a powerful influence on brain chemistry and, without any checks or balances, can have easily become the backbone of our diet. These checks and balances play a role in the strength of the neural circuitry built around our susceptibility to the addictive nature of sugar, salt and fat – and they are most important in the first years of life. We have the power to shape this circuitry, and subsequently impact many decisions we make throughout life. (Brand managers have already figured this out – it’s why marketing to kids and moms is so important to them). To be more clear: It’s biologically ordained that sugar is addictive. We’ve facilitated this addiction by making sugar ubiquitous, surrounding ourselves with cues that encourage its consumption, and normalizing its overconsumption.

So what does all this have to do with my week of high-octane foodiesm? It goes back to brain chemistry, to laying a foundation for individuals to subconsciously make better decisions when it comes to food. Cooking. Exchanging. Sharing what I’ve learned. Leading by example. One step at a time, building, or rebuilding, neural circuitry.

Does ethnic food exist?

Food anthropology has always been fascinating to me. How did tomatoes end up in the United States – or even in Italy for that matter? Where did vindaloo curry come from? Why does every culture have a dough-wrapped dish (empanada, calzone, pierogi, dumpling, samosa)? I can never get enough of these historical bits that show how food had traveled over time.

That’s why reading this article from the Wall Street Journal was both puzzling and fascinating at the same time. The article described how the existence of “ethnic food” is hotly debated by restauranteurs. I understand that restauranteurs need to label ethnic cuisine. If they didn’t, how would Yelp or Menupages categorize their restaurant? But outside of the restaurant world, I’d guess that there are a whole host of definitions for what constitutes ethnic food. Even the author has his take, saying ethnic food “seems to me to mean food eaten by people poorer than we are.” His rationale follows: “I have never heard French, Scandinavian or Japanese cuisine referred to as ethnic food, but it is used for, say, North African, Indian or Caribbean dishes.” I’d have to disagree with this conclusion, but that’s the charm of food – it’s whatever you want it to be.

The fact that this debate is even taking place is a sign that defining dishes by country is becoming challenging, probably a result of globalization. In many metropolitan areas you can now find fusion cuisine that blends flavors and spices from two different countries. From a nutrition standpoint, that can be a good thing (if we pick out the healthy dishes from the cuisine) or a bad thing (if we pick out the unhealthy dishes from the cuisine). Regardless, a century from now, food anthropologists will have some pretty interesting trends to document.

What comes to mind when you hear the term “ethnic food?”

Bringing your own lunch could: make you a better cook

For those of us participating in the Food Network’s Healthy Eats September Brown Bag Challenge, October 3rd marked the first day we could take a break from bringing lunch to work in four weeks. We’ve probably saved some money and shed a few pounds. I believe we’ve also made ourselves better cooks.

Whether you realize it or not, bringing your own lunch carries the added benefit making you savvier in the kitchen. The simple act of preparing more meals is actually a way to regularly practice culinary arts. Yes, there may have been some lunches that weren’t so hot and maybe even some injuries along the way, but ultimately, you developed your kitchen skills. More specifically, you may have improved your knife skills, tried out new recipes, learned about flavor combinations, used your appliances more efficiently, practiced various cooking techniques, discovered new ingredients, treated your friends to some great meals, and appreciated real food.

Here are a few recipes I never would have found if I didn’t prioritize brown bagging my lunch a few years ago: Pesto Ice Cubes, Tortellini Salad, Artichoke Squares, White Bean and Kale Pizza, Sweet Potato Peanut Butter Bisque.

By paving ourselves a path back into the kitchen, we create long-lasting change that is much more rewarding (for you and society) than the one that results from a takeout lunch. That’s why, for me, the end of September is less a sigh of relief and more just the passing of another month.

We’re teaming up with fellow food bloggers to host a Brown-Bag Challenge, a month-long initiative to eat consciously and save money by packing a lunch each weekday instead of eating out. Join us here and share what you’re eating on Facebook and Twitter with the hashtag #brownbag.

French women ARE getting fat

Five years ago, “French Women Don’t Get Fat” topped the New York Times bestseller list. Today obesity rates are steadily climbing in France, with the most recent statistics putting 14% of the country’s adult population in the obese category. Compare this to 8%, which was the obesity rate in the country ten years ago. Then compare it to 33.8%, which is the rate of adult obesity in the United States.

What’s happening? In her bestselling book, Mireille Guiliano described the French approach to food and eating as the basis for why French women didn’t get fat. This theory was supported by Dr. Jean Marc Catheline in an NPR report, which stated “the French obsession with food is exactly what has protected them against obesity.” The obsession seems to have worn off. Trends seem to indicate a shift in how French youth perceive food, with “the un-French habit of eating anywhere, anytime” taking hold. Food culture in France is changing.

French health officials aren’t sitting idly by as obesity rates climb. A national obesity plan has been put into place to help curb the problem. Included in the plan are television ads encouraging healthy eating and physical activity and removing vending machines from schools. Kudos to the French attempt to nip this problem in the bud!

Why foodiesm is a public health solution

Last month, B.R. Myers opened Pandora’s box by painting foodies as detrimental to food systems change. Since his piece was published in The Atlantic there have been a slew of articles both supporting and negating his criticisms of this movement.  Chefs, journalists, and food systems thinkers have weighed in, exposing the factions amongst the most active foodies of our time. One point of contention is around the notion that being a foodie is a privilege of the elite. Another is around whether and how the food industry can be involved in food systems change. Regardless of where people position themselves on these issues, I think it’s important to realize that foodies, as a whole, help improve the public’s health.

To give this discussion some boundaries, I’d like to define a foodie as “one who has a passion to learn about food.” No one can argue with the fact that foodies, by this definition, have taken this country by storm. Some examples of their influence? They’ve helped turn brie into mozzarella. They’re making farming cool again. They’ve been inspired to devote their careers to good food. They’re improving  school food. Are there foodies who have no direct connection to any of these changes? Yes, of course. But I’d argue that even these individuals are having an indirect effect on food habits across America in the same way haute couture impacts mainstream fashion trends.

As Bryan Walsh points out in TIME,

“…there’s the real value of the food movement, whatever your stance on eating meat: it encourages people to think about their relationship to the food on their plate, about the environmental, social, political, moral and yes, even culinary factors affected by their choices. B.R. Myers scolds foodies for being too obsessive about food, but if anything, most Americans have lived in a state of willful ignorance — about where their food comes from and what it really costs.“

I emphasize the last part of that quote because that’s the reason the foodie movement has the power to become an incredible public health solution. While I don’t have the exact stats, I’d confidently guess that the Americans who live in a state of willful ignorance about their food vastly outnumber those that don’t. In a sense, foodies have unknowingly become public health advocates, promoting an education campaign that gets people to care a little bit more about what they are putting in their mouths. As Michael Pollan states, the foodie movement “is not purely about pleasure–people are very interested in the system that they’re eating from.” Little by little, the actions of foodies are reshaping how we collectively think about food and building a food culture. Already, this movement has had the power to influence what shows up in our supermarkets. Down the road, I believe it has the power to get more people to eat less fast food and more vegetables, transformatively affect consumer demand, and improve our overall health.

My favorite class was home economics

I am constantly surprised by the number of twenty-somethings I meet who have absolutely no idea how to put together a simple, healthy meal with fresh ingredients. In some cases, it goes beyond lack of knowledge to outright fear of the kitchen. I know that there are multiple reasons to explain this phenomenon: long hours at the office which leave little time to cook, the relative ease of picking up takeout, growing up with processed foods – all of which are byproducts of society’s general lack of support for (or loss of interest in?) good, real food.