On Life As A Picky Foodie

I had a post written and ready to put up.  Completed, done, signed, sealed, deli--- then I had a conversation with a woman about life insurance.  Because when you’re an adult, you need to talk about things like that.  Eesh.

So we talked about death, this woman and I, and how much DW would get, how much I would get in the event of.  Somehow every amount of money sounds ridiculous.  “We’re sorry for your loss, but here’s the cash we agreed to pay you.”

Now I know, rationally, as an adult, that this is a necessary step to take, but the rest of me was screaming about how wrong all of this was.

Still, I sat through the thirty-eight minutes of questions – do you have a terrible illness?  Have you had a terrible illness?  Have your parents had a terrible illness?  Do you envisage getting a terrible illness?  Is there any reason to suspect you will have a terrible illness at some point? 

Some questions made me laugh: do you regularly go potholing or bungee jumping? 

Other questions were downright terrifying: about alcoholism and drug abuse, about family histories and previous health problems.  I wondered how people who do suffer such afflictions feel having to divulge God knows what to the stranger reading the questionnaire on auto-pilot.

What does this have to do with food, health and general Picky Foodie themes, you ask? 

Well after this young lady had finished making sure my kidneys, liver, lungs and heart have no history of crapping out on me, after she had made sure that I don’t have any STDs, that I’m not HIV positive and that I don’t suffer from psychosis, neurosis or other psychiatric problems, she said “I’m very sorry but I’m going to have to ask you a sensitive question…” she hesitated.  Then she got the courage to continue: “What is your dress size?”

Uh, what? 

I couldn’t resist: “THAT is your sensitive question?”

I’ll let you come to your own conclusions on just how ridiculous that conversation was.  But in honour of my waistline and yours, I would like to share a lovely New Potato salad recipe.  It keeps well, travels well and fills you up regardless of your dress size.

Let me say this: I’m not a fan of the popular potato (I know, I don’t drink nor do I like potatoes.  And yet, I live in England.).  Last week, at the farmer’s market, however, DW mentioned how much he would enjoy some from time to time.  As fate would have it, a great looking spud salad was featured on one of my favourite mainstream recipe sites – Food52.  This is the second time I make this dish in as many weeks, and the second time it disappears remarkably quickly.    

New Potato Salad
(adapted from Food52)

The key to this recipe is to make it while the potatoes are still warm so they can soak up the lovely vinaigrette.  Prep time is around a half hour from start to finish.  It keeps well in the refrigerator for a few days and is hearty enough for grey summer days yet refreshing enough for sunny picnics. 

-  1 kg new potatoes, scrubbed and cut into large bite-sized pieces
-  1 T ume plum vinegar
-  100 gr rocket (arugula)
-  2 T fresh chives, finely chopped
-  2 spring onions, finely chopped
-  1 T mustard
-  1 T balsamic vinegar
-  1 T pomegranate vinegar (optional–replace with an additional T of balsamic)
-  2 T olive oil
-  ½ t salt or to taste

Bring the potatoes to a boil in a pot of water.  Cook for about 10 minutes, until soft but not mushy.  Drain and put in a large salad bowl.

Add the ume vinegar and salt to the potatoes and mix gently so the potatoes pieces stay more of less whole.  Then gently mix in the chives and spring onions.

For the vinaigrette:  whisk together the mustard, vinegar and olive oil.  Pour over the potatoes and mix in well. 

At this point, the mixture should still be relatively warm.  Now is the time to add the rocket (arugula). 

Serve warm or at room temperature. 

The other day a well-meaning friend and I were talking about chicken.  This is a person who cares about the environment and is raising her kids in a conscientious and responsible way.  When I asked her why she didn’t buy the chickens from the store nearest us, she looked at me with a smile and said “I can’t afford them.”

This isn’t the first time someone has indicated that my choice to eat the way I do is based on the fact that I can afford to do so.  I thought nothing of it and got on with my day.  A few hours later, however, it realized how angry I was.  My anger wasn’t directed towards this person but rather at the concept that to eat “healthy” you have to have money.

First of all, what does anyone know about anyone else’s finances or monetary decisions?   

But, more importantly, my choice is not (just) a question of economics.  It is, however, about what I am able to afford.  I am able to afford healthy food because I can’t afford to be ill.  I am able to afford the nutritional choices that I make because I can’t afford to trudge through my days with low-energy.  I simply can’t afford to while away my time at doctors’ offices or in bed, with aches and pains and sniffles.  Being down, or borderline depressed isn’t something I can afford.

Mankind didn’t always eat this much meat.  In the past, servings were the opposite of what they are now: vegetables weren’t side dishes, meat was.  I’m not a yuppie health freak – or maybe I am; regardless of labels, what I am interested in is feeling well, being happy, sucking every last second out of life, be it in my exercise routine, in my job, in my relationship, in my work and, of course, in every second I spend with my daughter.

Yes, I choose to eat mostly organic produce.  And I get as much as I can from farmers’ markets or from the farm deliveries (the UK equivalent of a CFA in the US).  Yes, when I do eat animal protein, I choose to do so from sustainably, humanely raised animals. 

Some fruits and vegetables are sprayed more than others – so if you’re watching your wallet (and who isn’t these days), you can educate yourself as to which ones are more important to buy organic.  Check out the Environment Working Groups’s list of which fruits and vegetables are most/least sprayed for more information.

And is having meat, fish, eggs or poultry every single day actually healthy?  

If your answer to my previous question was yes, I invite you to read Michael Pollan, Dr. Dean Ornish and Colin T Campbell for starters.  Mr. Pollan isn't vegan, he doesn't have blue hair, nor does he live in a teeppee (or a yurt).  But he does advocate that we "eat food.  Not too much.  Mostly plants."  And with good reason.  Dr Ornish has demonstrated time and again through clinical research that people can reverse coronary heart disease through diet and lifestyle.  T Colin Campbell is a Professor Emeritus at Cornell with more than seventy years of research experience.  He also grew up on a dairy farm.  

We vote with our money, we send messages to huge corporations and small farmers with the food choices we make.  I can’t afford to spend mine on chickens who are fed chemical crap, crammed in cages smaller then their bodies, with no access to light, fresh air, the outdoors.  I can’t afford to eat GM vegetables topped with pesticide sauce.  I can’t afford to not think about where my food is coming from – not as a mother thinking of my child’s future, not as an inhabitant of this earth, not as a woman concerned with my own health.

Interesting articles and further reading on the subject:
-    The LA Times on routine antibiotic use in animals  
-  Moms for antibiotic awareness
-  A recent study comparing supermarket prices to those at farmer’s markets

And now for the zucchini recipe... 
In the past few months, I have been a little remiss about posting recipes.  You see, right now, my time in the kitchen is extremely limited.  These days, it's more about throwing things together in fifteen seconds than being able to spend hours testing, tasting and perfecting.  That is my life as a new mother, apparently.  To be honest, I wouldn't mind so much except for this blog.  So, I kept putting off posting new recipes because they weren't as exact as I wanted them to be.  But for now, I guess my life is going to be more chaotic, my time is going to be minimal -- maybe you'll indulge me in less formal posts, dishes and measurements for a while. For my part, I promise I won't post recipes that are any less than wonderfully delicious.    

Zucchini and herb salad with broccoli flowers
(serves 2-3 as a starter or a side dish)



-  3 good sized zucchini / courgettes
-  1/3 hard pear
-  approx. 1/2 cup fresh chives, finely chopped
-  approx. 1/8 cup fresh mint, chopped
-  approx. 3/4 cup rocket (arugula), roughly chopped
-  handful broccoli flowers
-  sprinkle of rock salt
-  1/2 T balsamic vinegar
-  splash of good olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Centigrade (392 Fahrenheit).  

Cut the zucchini into three pieces and then cut those pieces into quarters, lengthwise.  Spread on a baking tray.  
Using a sharp knife, cut the pear into slivers as thin as you can get them, and then sprinkle over the zucchini.

Roast for about 20 -25 minutes (check and shake after about 15 minutes to make sure they don't burn.)

At the bottom of your salad bowl, whisk together the olive oil and vinegar.  
Combine the mint, chives, and rocket and mix.  

When the zucchini is soft but still has a crunch, pull it out of the oven (the pear should have darker edges by now but it shouldn't be burned).  Allow to cool for a few minutes and then add to the herbs in the salad bowl  Mix well, sprinkle with some rock salt and broccoli flowers and serve immediately. 

Books: What I Eat / The Leon cookbook

I recently came across a wonderful tome called What I Eat: Around the World in 80 Diets.

In it, the authors have documented what people around the world consume in a day. 

The first thing I loved about it were the photographs: each subject was captured at work, at home or wherever they seem to eat, surrounded by a day’s worth of food. 

Then came the table of contents: divided by caloric intake, it is incredible to see the difference between the 800 calorie diet in Kenya as compared to the British housewife who consumes an average of 12300 calories a day. 

As I paged through, I realized that although I often work with food diaries, and talk about food with almost everyone I encounter, even I am rarely privy to that kind of detail.

In our diet-obsessed culture, we focus on quantities and in-versus-out; we read up on what’s being touted as “healthy” this week and attempt restriction in many forms.  But really, how often do we stop and think about what it is that we’re eating, the nourishment that we’re getting and what an incredible thing it is to be able to eat without giving it a second thought?

What was amazing to me was how many of the cultures I can dip in to without having to travel to the places where some of these people were photographed.  In New York, London, Los Angeles, almost every cuisine in the world can be found – incredible!!!

I’m not going to give you the whole “there are children starving…” lecture, but I do want to say this: next time you start getting down about food or how much you weigh or worrying about having enough variation, why not be grateful instead?  Because we are do so lucky to be able to choose how we are going to nourish ourselves.  And that choice, my friends, is up to each one of us. 

And sticking to the theme of books (it is, after all back-to-school month), I have some really exciting news: three recipes of mine are being featured in Leon Book 2, Naturally Fast Food  coming out on September 6^th!!! 

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Leon restaurants, it is a chain in the UK that prides itself on offering healthy, fresh meals fast. 

Last November, I invited the owners, round for a raw feast.  I knew when I caught them sticking their fingers into dishes for one more taste that they had enjoyed their meal.  Happily, they asked me to contribute some of the recipes of the food they had eaten to their upcoming book.  And I, of course, said YES!  

So check out my green smoothie recipe on page 41 and the four pages devoted to the meal that include two more fabulous recipes that are always a hit (pages 152 - 155). 

Though I am not a raw foodist – or, for that matter, an anything-ist – I am pretty partial to the amazing versatility that playing with food in its most raw state allows.  It’s fun, gorgeous and absolutely delicious when made right. 

With love,

Gabriela

P.S. As of this week, On Life As A Picky Foodie has become a blog!  Though you will still be getting this weekly newsletter, you can also now check for more regular updates: I will be posting interesting articles that I find, thoughts, events and more.

check out the fascinating article from Mother Jones Magazine about toxicity in seafood