A blog about goji berries plant
goji berries plantVegetable of the Month Club
We should eat more vegetables. But knowing doesn't translate into doing.
So let's keep it simple. How can we get more of those wonderful veggies into our wonderful bodies?
Adopt a vegetable of the week or month. Experts say it take us that long to form a habit.
Start with an easy vegetable, say the carrot.
Consider the carrot's statistics: Carrots are crunchy like potato chips, but without the salt. And you definitely can't "inhale" an entire bag of carrots like you can with chips because carrots fill you up much sooner! That's a good thing, right?
Next time you're at the grocery store, buy a bag of carrots. Try the bite-size baby ones. No prep time!
When you get home, divide the big bag into smaller, sandwich-size bags and put them in the refrigerator. Take one with you to work each day. Need a snack? Reach for a carrot bag.
Then progress to other veggies--cucumbers, spinach, cauliflower.
Sure, you'll have to get creative with some of them. A little dip goes a long way toward making some vegetables more palatable.
Got a salad shooter? Haul it out, dust it off, and run broccoli, zucchini, and spinach through it. Any vegetable will do. A food processor works, too, just put the appliance in a spot where you can use it easily on a regular basis.
Once you've shredded or julienned your vegetables, add a couple spoonfuls of your favorite dressing and you've got a tasty salad. Throw in some mandarin oranges or a diced apple for a little sweetness and zip. Chopped nuts or sunflower seeds add extra flavor.
Be sure not to go overboard with the salad dressing. A couple spoonfuls should coat all of your vegetables.
Eat a vegetable salad every day for a month and see how good you feel!
Try some shredded veggies in a sandwich and decrease the amount of meat.
Do you need to consume the vegetables in their raw state? No, not at all. Cooking enhances the nutrition of many vegetables, including carrots, and often aids digestion.
So why not cook up a delicious, nutritious pot of vegetable soup. Great news for the culinary-challenged: Making delicious vegetable soup doesn't require "Iron Chef" status. Just add the vegetables of your choice, some seasoning, and water, then let it simmer.
Traditional soup vegetables include onions, carrots, and potatoes, but experiment with different, more exotic varieties.
Put the soup in a crock pot or slow cooker in the morning and come home to a delicious supper.
Add a small amount of beef or chicken for flavor if you prefer, maybe an ounce or two.
Leftovers make a quick, nutritious lunch the day next. Pack in a thermos to take with you and skip the cholesterol burger and fat fries.
Start your own Veggie of the Month Club. It'll be a healthy tradition!
Looking for diet and weight loss tips? Kathy Ferneau has created an excellent resource for information on diets, healthy eating, and exercise. Click here: http://www.lose-weight-diets.com
Local Produce - The Chef's of Summer
I start making regular jaunts to the Farmers Market in late May. The market soothes my impatience after a winter of eating and working with forcibly ripened fruits and vegetables. As soon as the weather starts to warm and the air carries the smell of growing things again. I begin to anticipate summer's exquisite flavors. In the late spring, as the market gears up, I can find- among other things- wild ramp, morels and the first pencil thin asparagus at the Farmer's Market. When the tiny sweet strawberries of western Wisconsin arrive. I know we are well on our way to the full-blown bounty of summer.
I find myself prodding and sniffing the countless shapes and sizes of the deep red and golden heirloom tomatoes. Sweet and musty smelling melons strain on my plastic shopping bag like cannonballs. The market air is filled with the aromas of basil, kohlrabi, fennel, gan-lai, baby bok choy, peaches, blackberries and all the substances I, and anyone who cooks (or eats for that matter), has been waitng for.
The Farmer's Market- not unlike the crowded Marktplatz outside Orchestra Hall during Sommerfest- is a testament to Minnesota's love of summer and its rich culinary pleasures. Whether I'm enjoying a char-grilled bratwurst savored to the strains of Mozart on the plaza or an elegant meal comprised of all my Farmer's Market finds, food is the ultimate celebration of summer. I know I wasn't alone in thinking this way, and I was curious to know to know how other chefs, compatriots in the business, felt about summer and it's all too short palette of ingredients.
Ken Goff, Executive Chef at The Dakota Bar and Grill.
The Dakota Bar and Grill has long been known for both it's premiere spot on the Twin Cities jazz scene as well as Ken Goff's unique locally inspired cuisine. When I asked Ken about the summer foods he looks forward to he gave me an answer in keeping with his unique style. "After the first locally grown chives and sorrel, I look for Fava beans", he said. I found this to be a curious answer and quite unusual for a Midwestern chef. This lima bean like legume is more commonly associated with Middle Eastern cuisine. Ken looks forward to a local product grown for him by farmer Ulrich Blocher. Fava beans aren't as starchy tasting as lima's and surprisingly, they do go well with a good Chianti. Ken uses these fresh fava beans in a Vegetable Chowder. He simmers them, along with sweet corn and smoked trout, to be served alone as a soup or sometimes as a sauce with broiled Walleye.
Jacquelyn Hopkins, Pastry Chef The Saint Paul Hotel
"I know Iced Tea isn't technically a food, but it is what I immediately think of when you mention summer." Jacquelyn was raised in the south and her memories of sweating glasses of sweet tea are what summer is all about. It was a right of passage of sorts when at five years old; she was offered her first glass of iced tea to drink with the adults. This memory was incorporated into a tea flavored Ice Cream she created for the high tea service at the Ritz-Carlton in Philadelphia. For this, she infused Earl Grey in milk then used this milk to make the confection and served it as a finishing course for the mid afternoon break. As a pastry chef with an inherited sweet tooth she longs for the fruit of summer. Her favorite summer dessert, or as she put it "We sometimes had this as our dinner when I was growing up", is Summer Pudding, a Southern trifle of cake, custard and fresh picked fruit. Jackie recommends complementing Summer Pudding with a spinach salad for a cool and flavorful supper on a warm summer night.
Lenny Russo, Executive Chef, W.A. Frost
Lenny's outlook for summer is as expansive as the season is itself. "I grew up as part of a large Italian family with a big garden." His list of summer treasures reads like a seed catalogue. He did however spend more time talking about heirloom tomatoes than anything else, those homegrown varieties particularly with traceable lineages. The combination of small kitchen space at his restaurant and full tables has forced Lenny to refine his dishes to be quick and composed of no more than three flavors. Because of this, "these flavors must be bold and vibrant", he said. So he uses organic greens, farmhouse cheese from Love Tree Farms, heirloom tomatoes and sometimes even Periwinkle Roses grown around the garden. Among his favorite summer dishes is a chilled cucumber soup served with a celery seed cr�me fraiche and fresh dill, part of what he calls his backyard barbecue with a twist.
Lucia Watson, Chef/Owner, Lucia's Restaurant and Wine Bar
"The flavors of summer are unlike any other season", said Lucia. She looks forward to the intense flavors of local, especially organic, products as much as any chef I talked to. Her menus always reflect the season. So when it comes to summer, you can truly see her love of the season's product and demeanor by the selection of dishes she offers. She personally looks forward to the sweet corn of July and August. She told me about finding a small roadside stand near Afton one summer with the best corn she had ever tasted. When she returned to buy a bushel for her restaurant the farmer and the stand had vanished, never to be found again. This urban legend like tale personifies her desires to work with the best available of the season. She uses sweet corn, from more reliable sources, to make a sauce with chives and cream to be served over grilled catfish. Her favorite summer dish is a Gazpacho Salad combining red and yellow bell peppers with cucumber, scallion, tomatoes, avocado and feta cheese dressed with garlic and cumin infused vinaigrette. This dish epitomizes the season with its fresh flavors and vibrant colors. I have enjoyed this dish myself at one of Lucia's sidewalk tables with some crusty homemade bread while watching the Uptown natives stroll by.
Mark Haugen, Chef/Co-Owner Tejas and Bar Abilene
"There's nothing like biting into a fresh tomato warm from the garden", he said. As soon as Mark said this I was instantly transported to a hot summer day as a child in our family's own garden. Mark grows tomatoes for himself and his family in his own garden at home to relish with the pungent basil planted nearby. But at his restaurants, he looks froward to something a little more exotic to spice up his southwestern flavored menus. For this he has found local producers of tomatillos and heirloom chiles. In fact, some of these hybrid varieties of scotch bonnets and jalapenos come from a gentleman who grows them for competition then sends the plants to the restaurant to be used for both decorations and recipes. I was particularly interested in the way Mark uses my favorite summer vegetable, fresh sweet corn. One dish that really intrigued me was his exquisite hand crafted tamales. These are made by combining masa, ground corn paste, with fresh corn, flavoring it with barbecued pork, wild mushrooms or spicy shrimp then steaming them in a corn husk wrapper.
We all look forward to locally grown produce at the peak of summer for restaurant menus or entertaining at home. Whether its from the Farmer's Market or a special experience with a roadside stand selling sun drenched produce still warm from the fields. There are no other places I can think of, short of growing it yourself, that will provide the serious cook with the stuff summer memories are made of.
Tobie began his career as part of a restaurant and tavern family in Chicago. As a student of liberal arts at Kendall College he discovered his calling in the restaurant industry. Leaving school before graduation, he accepted an apprenticeship under Chef John Snowden at Dumas Pere L�Ecole de la Cuisine Francais.
The classic French apprenticeship prepared him for a career as Chef and consultant. Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises� re-opening of the legendary Pump Room in 1977 was his first project. Since then, he has used his creative talents working with restaurants all over the country. He currently resides in Minneapolis working with an active list of consulting projects including, The Sample Room, a renovation of an old bar to a modern eatery Ike�s Bar and Grill, classic dining in downtown Minneapolis, Monkey Dish Bar and Grill ; an outrageous fun concept in suburban Chicago among others. His articles have appeared in various local publications and he makes regular appearances on radio and TV. He is working on a book called �IMPROV COOKING�.
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