Loving Real Food

This is my Mother's  Food and Recipe collection.  When I want great healthy food I always turn to my mother Rosaria.

Pasta and peas in cream sauce can be transformed depending on what you have in the fridge:

Pasta and zucchini

Pasta and fennel

Pasta and radicchio

And my favorite, asparagus.

Or, risotto and peas\

Risotto and fennel

Risotto and roasted vegetables......

You get the idea.

And to play even more, use different wines for your risotto.

Use different grains as well...

Finally, don't forget to eat every bite, but not at a single sitting. Buon Appetito 

If anyone tells you that cooking is easy, don't believe them. Cooking requires preparation, timing, pacing, and an understanding of cooking methods for each ingredient to shine. Oh yes, you can open a cookbook, jot down the ingredients, stop by the grocery store to pick up what you don't have and three hours later you might be able to put a meal on the table resembling the one in the cookbook.

The real challenge for the modern family is to find easy way to feed one or two or more people after a hard day at work, commuting, and collapsing on the couch with no energy left for much else.  EASY EATING, simple fare to fill our stomachs until someone has time to coordinate a real meal is what we need. No wonder we pick up ready chopped vegetables, deli fare, pizza, burgers...

So, what can you do to eat healthy fare and still not be a slave to cooking and shopping and cleaning up?

SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFESTYLE

Here are the rules:

1. Prepare only one complete meal a week, on  a day when you have more energy and time, and make extras so you can have them as lunches or snacks the rest of the week. One big lasagna, or one whole chicken, or roast.

2. Buy real food in its original state, seasonal fruit and vegetables to last two weeks and stock up on eggs, milk, cheese and yogurt to last a couple of weeks. These will be your stand by when time is really short. Yes, you can have yogurt a few times a week for breakfast and for supper; salads with nuts and cheese will become stand by for lunches and dinner; and omelets and frittata will fill you up beautifully if you throw in extra veggies, peppers, olives, etc.

3. Once a week, as you prepare that weekly big meal, stock up on staples such as rice, pasta, canned beans, canned tomatoes, tuna and sardines, mayo, mustard and ingredients to make your favorite meals you put together from a new recipe, or from a previous one you have learned to make without looking up anything.

Before you know it, you'll be enjoying your own prepared meals more, and your palate, your stomach and your overall health will improve.

Rosaria-

General Food Rule: Know the Origin of your Food!

I have no qualms eating this trout! I know this lake, what flows into it, how it is being monitored. How often do we ask ourselves where does this fish come from?

This is albacore tuna season here in the Northwest.  Boats leave  ports for the day to catch the prized Albacore.  Most catch , 80-90%  is shipped to other countries to become sushi in some fancy place. Few tuna become food on our local tables.

These fish are caught one at a time, using what is called a pole-and -line, or troll-and-jig method.  When a fish bites the jig, the fisherman hauls it by hand onto the boat, checks the size, and keeps only the right size.  The by-catch is now back in the sea, where it can grow to full size.  This way, no endangered species is caught accidentally.

The U.S. and Canadian albacore fisheries in the Northwest are mostly small, family operated. Last year, they received a boost from Seafood Watch, located at the Monterey Aquarium, receiving a status of  "Best Catch" , meaning the seafood caught this way is sustainable and well managed.

If you like to read more about this, and to get great recipes of Albacore Tuna, visit  Northwest Palate Magazine, July/August 2010 issue, or go online: nwpalate.com 

Breakfast: one whole-wheat pancake, half a sausage, fruit, coffee.

Lunch: salad greens with feta and lemon vinaigrette, tuna and crackers.

Dinner: lentil soup with cheesy toast.

My secret logistic:

1. Make enough soup to last a few meals. Freeze individual servings for another day.

2. Never, ever skip breakfast! I offer variety and balance each morning. Hubby never ate breakfast until he was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes. This is an important meal for keeping him healthy.  We used to have two pancakes, two eggs, sausage and toast.  Look how breakfast has been slimmed down to a MINI MEAL.

3. Serve as much salad as you can.  I combine fresh greens and cooked ones.  I've talked about how I pickle eggplant, peppers.  I fish these out and chop and sprinkle on top of salads to add color and contrast.  The cherry pepper on the tuna is a good example.

4. I use a variety of breads, crackers, muffins, for the starch component.

Valentine,  everyday!

(p.s. notice that I vary the serving pieces too!)