In my new found passion of cooking and creating magic in the kitchen I picked up a book at the airport called, In the Defense of Food. It's an eye opener to the daily lives of America and our Western Diet. Honestly, have you have stopped to think about what the common man eats these days. How many pre packaged foods do we buy? How many things on the shelves are labled "healthy" but are just more processed foods? What happened to real food? Food without chemicals and all these ingredients that help with this disease, or prevent that illness!? It just made me crave some cultural good-home cooking. Pollan (the author) brought up a great cook, in all other cultures food is passed from one generation to the next. Do we (as Americans) eat what our great grandparents did? The media, the government, and the nutrionist now govern our diet- we gave them control of our kitchens!!! I think its time to take it back. At least in my household, I am really striving not to serve processed foods. I am not focusing on cutting carbs, or eating certain fats (cause face it every couple years a new study comes out proving the last one wrong), mainly I am striving to eating balanced meals every day, every week. Whole foods. Fresh vegetables. Making meat a sidedish not the main course. Eat red meats, white meats, fish...... you know just a little bit of everything, in small portions. And let me tell you even in the last few months of slowly adjusting into this diet, we feel so much better. More energy. More healthy! It's a process and it takes work, lots of work. Whole foods means a lot more chopping, slicing, peeling, and sweating in the kitchen. I just want to get back to the basics. I want to enjoy my meals. Since when did eating become animalistic and almost annoying. Other countries in the world enjoy the meal, spend time together, celebrate another day during dinner. It's a festivity not a chore. I miss that. I miss culture in America. I know this country is a Melting Pot of many but did we have to elimnate all?!
I recently purchased the "Whole Foods Market Cookbook." It's amazing, so many fun creative recipes, not too hard. Everything is from scratch, so that is the only hard part. You create all your own dressings, sauces, marinates. Once you have all the items in your house though it is pretty easy and delicious!
Tonight I made 'Fragrant Ginger-Lime Chicken Fingers' and 'Lemon Capellini Salad'. It was a citrusy night! Perfect with a nice glass of wine and great when it's 100 degress at 10 o'clock pm!
Can you post those recipes--both of those sound GOOD!
ReplyDelete"Fragrant Ginger-Lime Chicken Fingers"
ReplyDelete1 clove garlic minced
1/4 cup lime juice
8 tblsp fresh minced ginger
1 1/2 tblsp tamari (didn't use)
1 tblsp sesame oil
1 tspn cornstarch
1/8 cup water
1 lb. skinless boneless chicken
2 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1/8 cup black sesame seeds
3/4 cup unbleach all purpose flour
2 large eggs whisked with 1/2 cup water
canola or vege oil for sprayin
-In a large bowl combine the garlic, 2 tblspn ginger, lime juice tamari, sesame oil, cornstarch, and water to make the marinade. Marinate the chick for at least four hours (i only did for 45 min still was great). In another large bowl combine the bread crumbs, 6 tblspn ginger, and sesame seeds.
-Preheat oven to 450. Set up an area for breading the chicken: flour in one bowl, eggs in the next and crumb mixture in the next. Dip chicken in each one. Place the chicken on a lightly oiled sheet pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until it is done!
(The Whole Foods Market Cookbook)