On Life As A Picky Foodie

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. 

Apologies for the change in post.  DWs guest blog will be up next week. 

This week, the kitchen felt more like a blank page when I have writer’s block than a place to come up with loveliness.

Usually, I cook to feel better, to distract myself, to be productive and have some play time.  Cooking is often my only creative outlet.  Best of all, I get to eat my “artwork” in the end.  Once in a while, however, the kitchen is the last place I want to be.  In those rare times, figuring out what to make is a real challenge. 

A lovely man passed away this week.  I didn’t know him all that well and yet I’ve known him all my life.  I have been lucky enough not just to know my grandparents really well, I was also raised around their friends.  This bunch of people have known one another since the nineteen forties.  They have lived through each others’ marriages, the births of their children, wars, farewells and reunions, illnesses, deaths, and everything in between. 

It is a real gift to know people of such a different generation as well as I do, and I feel my life has been immensely enriched because of it. 

A lovely man passed away this week.  He was a part of that generation and a great friend to my grandparents.  Chances are, you didn’t know him but this man had a way of making others feel special.  He remembered everyone’s birthdays.  He welcomed me every time I arrived in Israel.  He called my grandmother on Friday’s to wish her a Shabbat Shalom and every year on the day my grandfather died to say he was thinking of her.

On his death bed, he said “I never knew I was so important.”  Thankfully, people got the time to tell him he was.  Not that it makes his death any easier. 

Nine years ago, my grandfather died.  He went in an instant. Though he didn’t suffer, there were no warnings or goodbyes.  This man, on the other hand, went through universes of pain in the last month of his life.  But he got to say goodbye.  And those who loved him were able to tell him how they felt.

There is no “best” way to die, but there is a “best” way to live.  And this week, with my heart hurting, that is what I am thinking about.  So no, I don’t really feel like cooking.  Instead I want to go for long walks with my daughter and my husband, finish my novel, call the people I love, follow the sunshine.

Existential thoughts aside, however, dinner still has to be put on the table. 

If you read this blog then you know that one of the favourites around here is hummus.  Beans, however, haven’t been going over all that well lately.  In addition, I’m trying to create meals that can be adapted for everyone’s tummy – from the omnivorous Pappa’s, to the novice baby’s. 

I decided to adapt Matt Amsden’s recipe from his book Rawvolution.  The first time I made it, it disappeared like magic and was immediately requested again.  So I made it a second time.

For our supper, I used it as a thick dressing on top of a roasted vegetables and greens.  When guests came for lunch, I served it with crudités and raw crackers.  For my daughter, I mashed it with baked squash.

And the best part?  No soaking, no cooking, no farting. Just measure, chop, blend and serve.

Zuchini Hummus

(adapted from Rawvolution, by Matt Amsden)

-  2 zucchini, chopped roughly (the original recipe calls for peeling them.  I don’t.  It gives the hummus a light green hue, which be a consideration if you are dealing with colour-sensitive eaters) 
-  ¾ cup tahini (I use the unhulled kind due to its nutritional benefits)
-  ½ cup fresh lemon juice
-  ¼ cup olive oil
-  1 teaspoon sea salt
-  1 ½ teaspoon ground cumin
-  ½ cup fresh parsley, chopped and a little extra for garnish (optional – see zucchini comment)

Start by blending the zucchini with the lemon juice and olive oil.  Add the rest of the ingredients and blend well.  The result is a lighter than traditional hummus, both in taste as well as in texture.

Note: the original recipe calls for 4 peeled cloves of fresh garlic.  I don’t add any garlic at all, but many people love it in their hummus.  4 cloves is a lot, however.