Even Health Counselors Get Sick...And Need Soup

ARGH!!!!!! I hate being sick. Besides feeling lousy and subsequently lazy, I also particularly despise being under the weather because I feel like I've failed at my job. "Health and Lifestyle Expert, you say. HA! Guess all that kale doesn't help after all, does it?", says the hunchbacked, moley curmudgeon in my head. "Yes it does!", I protest. "I NEVER get sick. This is just a freak occurrence!" And in all honesty, it is. I rarely get sick and when I do, it certainly passes quickly. Not this time, however. I was actually getting over a short lived cold last week when we visited our friends and their 7 month old daughter. Now, I adore this child and when we were told she had a cold I thought, "I've already had a cold (meaning I can't get another one) and she's just a baby. I can't get a cold from a baby!" And so I proceed to hold the baby, incessantly kiss the baby, and practically suck on the poor kid's face until we left. Three days later my cold was back with a vengeance and I've been resting (or trying to) for the last week. GOODNESS, can't a girl catch a break. It's certainly hard to relax when I've got so much I want to do and yet just making a simply meal for myself has been an accomplishment this week.



Alright, enough boo hooing. I will live, I will survive, and I have a lifetime to work hard so I might as well enjoy this little break. Monday I mustered the strength to make one of my favorite soups, Escarole with Borlotti Beans. Escarole is a hearty winter green that becomes surprisingly silky in this dish. Borlottis are a personal bean favorite of mine with their firm skin and creamy center. I know I shouldn't pick favorites, but this bean is tops for me. They are also an ideal introductory bean for they are nearly impossible to turn to mush. The finishing touch on the soup was a bit of leftover steak. I usually make a vegetarian version but the steak was crying out to me so I thought, why not? The meat was quite perfect actually and added a lovely bit of texture and depth. The soup also reheats beautifully and is quite nice over brown rice. I leave you now to take a nap. Enjoy!



Escarole and Borlotti Bean Soup
Serves 4
If you cannot find Borlottis, cannellini beans work just as well.

1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons of olive oil
8 leaves of escarole, washed and chopped
2 cups borlotti beans, cooked
1 cup leftover steak, cubed (optional)
4-5 cups of vegetable, chicken, or turkey stock or water
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
sea salt and pepper
olive oil to taste

In a medium stock pot, heat up the olive oil. Add in the onion and a pinch of salt and saute for 3-5 minutes, or until translucent. Add the garlic and escarole and cook until the escarole has wilted. Add in the beans and the steak with another pinch of salt and heat through, about 2 minutes. Cover the mixture with your liquid of choice, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes. Add in the parley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Ladle the soup into individual bowls and serve with a drizzle of olive oil on top.

Chicory, Persimmon, and Almond salad

A few years ago I used to greet each winter with a serious salad depression. My mother always served a salad on the dinner table (hippie mom, remember) and so as an adult, when the summer salad season (say that 3 times fast!) would come to an end, I just didn't know what to do. Without a salad, the table is simply bare to me. You've got to have something raw to brighten up the warmer, heavier dishes, right? To explain how much I love salad, When I was a child, and even into college, I could make any meal out of salad. Salad for breakfast? Ah, yeah! I distinctly remember when I was 12 years old, I made a romaine lettuce salad, used my favorite tortilla chips as a fork, and topped it off with low fat frozen yogurt. That's balanced, right?? My mom even claims that when pregnant with me she craved vegetables. (Unfortunately, she craved donuts and cake with my sister, who subsequently has a serious sugar issue. She will deny it, but it's true. Love you, Laura!)

So in the winter, why don't I just buy pre-bagged salad greens at Trader Joe's and call it a day? Because I'm a salad brat, that's why. Salad, like apples, can only come one way for me. Crisp with lots of flavor! What happens to pre-bagged and out of season salad greens, is they become wilty and dried out and subsequently, FLAVORLESS. You end up dowsing your salad with tons of dressing just to give it a little pizazz. I'm not knocking Trader Joe's but rather have realized I'd rather just wait and have something really tasty. Luckily in my culinary adventures I've realized I don't have to go without salad in the winter. I just need to change my definition.



Chicories, arugula, endive, and cabbage are delicious as salad and experience their peak in the California winter. (I know all you non-Californians say it isn't winter, but it is to us.) They are not as water logged as romaine, butter lettuce, and little gems, and certainly have a more "toothy" texture. They also run along the spicy/bitter taste profile, making them a perfect pair for sweet and tart winter fruits like persimmons and citrus. From a health perspective, bitter greens are particularly helpful in cleansing the system, which make them an ideal accompaniment for hearty winter fare.



This dish was inspired by a chicory and hazelnut salad we had at Contigo. This brilliant restaurant can do nothing wrong in my option, and the chicories were phenomenal. Along with the ahi tuna stew and patatas bravas (their garlic aioli is RIDICULOUS!), the chicories were certainly a favorite.

I served this salad with Umbrian lentils and something else. I really can't remember because I was too enamored with my salad. You will be too!

Chicories with Almonds and Persimmon
Serves 2

1 medium-sized head Chicory (looks like a small multi-colored cabbage), leaves washed and dried
1 Fuyu persimmon, peeled and diced
1/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons unrefined extra virgin olive oil
1-2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt

Place washed chicory leaves in a large bowl. Peel and dice the persimmon and add it to the lettuce. Throw in chopped almonds, cilantro, mint and scallions.

Drizzle with balsamic vinegar and olive oil, sprinkle with salt, toss, and you are done!

Love, Light, and the Sour Puss Part 1

There is no better feeling than being in front of my audiences. I know I've said it before but they bring such joy and light to my life. Yes it's hard work and yes I sweat like a pig. I'm actually not much of a sweater but get me in front of a group and it is Niagara falls. Holy goodness! My sweat is not the point, however. The point is that for all the love, energy and effort I give out, my audience throws it back ten fold. It just might be that the efforts we put out in our lives are generously mirror back. When we smile at neighbors, make friendly conversation in the gym, or help a co-worker, we not only create deeper connections with our environment and communities but also greater insight into a deeper personal self. Whoa! That's deep.

Just FYI, I have not always been a beacon of light and smiles, just ask my family and a few ex-boyfriends. This whole "smile and the world smiles back at you" thing is pretty new. In college I was renowned for my sullen expression and icy glares. I was certainly NOT the girl to ask for directions. I was overly selfish and primarily concerned with how the end result of any interaction affected me. They say we learn from our parents and though I believe nature and nurture both foot the bill, I just have to say this. From my perspective as a child, my parents' interactions were such that one always gave and the other always took. I was certainly not a stupid kid and quickly decided that taking was the path for me. And so it was, and it worked for me. Until it didn't. The problem with being selfish and negative is the underlying pulse of dissatisfaction. I'd experience moments of joy, love, thoughtfulness, but they soon dissipated leaving me with myself, my "grass is always greener" and "everyone has what they want but me" self. May I just say, that self sucked!

The turning point in my life came in 2000 with my diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. It was certainly a dark period and looking back, no wonder I became ill. At the time, I lived in a cubicle-sized dorm room and had scheduled my life down to the minute with classes, studying, and working out. Three to four times a week I'd call home, crying to my mother about my misery. Thinking back though, I can't remember why I was so upset. I didn't like school, fine. I didn't connect well with my friends, OK. I was driving myself crazy with restrictions, fair enough. But why the pain and desperation??? Because I had no conscious awareness of peace and gratitude.



Well, ask and you shall receive! Up came a huge dose of reality with my UC diagnosis and a lovely family label, "Girl with the butt disease" that has yet to wear off. The startling prognosis and realization that if you don't have your health, you really don't have anything, was quite a lot to take in for a 20 year old. And so I attacked my disease with the same aggression that permeated my life. I was going to make that UC regret the day it inhabited my little colon. I was going to make it beg for mercy with brown rice and broccoli, and when it had cried enough, I would kick it's ass to the curb. I became a strict macrobiotic, cutting meat, dairy, sugar, caffeine, eggs, and anything processed out of my diet. And it worked, until it didn't. (Part 2 on the way)



Here is one of my favorite macrobiotic recipes. It is delicious and mineral rich dish to warm you up on a cold winter's night.

Adzuki Beans with Winter Squash
Serves 2

1 cup adzuki beans
1 piece kombu (a seaweed very high in minerals)
2 cups butternut or kabocha squash, peeled and chopped
water
2 teaspoons unrefined toasted sesame oil
1-2 tablespoons tamari (wheat free soy sauce), add more or less to taste
3 scallions, chopped

Rinse and soak beans with the kombu for at least 5 hours or overnight. Drain the beans and chop the kombu into bite sized pieces.

Place the kombu and squash in the bottom of a medium sized pot. Top with the beans and cover with water (about 1 inch past the top of the beans). Bring the pot to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 45 minutes. Check half way to add more water if need be.

When the beans are done, stir in sesame oil and tamari. Top with scallions and enjoy.

Lamb Tagine with Apricots and Scallions

I cannot believe what a meat freak I've become!!! It's rather embarrassing to admit especially since I was the self righteous non-dairy pescatarian for 7 years. "Jamie, what piece of the chicken would you like?" a poor unsuspecting hostess might ask. "Oh, no thank you," I'd smirk. "I don't eat meat!" (FYI: A non-dairy pescatarian is someone who does not eat any animal products and fish occasionally.) I took meat out of my diet for health purposes at a time when my body seemed to rebel against everything I put into it. And I will say this...cutting out meat helped. Additionally, I cut out dairy, sugar, caffeine and wheat, which also helped. At that time I was a seriously strict, anal retentive black or white person. Meat: BAD, Brown rice: GOOD. Butter: BAD, Kale: GOOD. Brown rice and kale are still and forever will be in the good pile, however in the last year, meat and butter have left the dark side and entered the light.

Now, let me put my health counselor hat on for just a sec. Brown rice and kale should definitely be consumed MORE OFTEN than meat. Nutritionally speaking, meat is certainly not a daily necessity whereas whole grains and green vegetables are. A good tip I give my clients is to try to eat meat only once a day. I actually plan my meals such that if I know I'm going to have, say, LAMB TAGINE, for dinner I eat a vegan breakfast and lunch. That way I make sure to get in plenty of greens, beans, and whole grains while still enjoying my carnivorous indulgences.



OK, now I know I sound like a broken record here, but not all meat is created equal. Commercially raised animals lead awful, tortured lives and are loaded with antibiotics and hormones that are hazardous to your health. Therefore it is imperative to purchase organic, pasture raised, and hormone/antibiotic free meat. A few good places to find organic meat is at your local Whole Foods Market, the farmer's market, or a neighborhood butcher. (Find a farmer's market near you by using the Culinate icon to the right.) Many times the butcher will even order organic products for you if they don't carry them.



And lastly, pasture raised meat just tastes better. I actually bribed my mother-in-law with lamb if she bought me a tagine and when I served this dish up, she practically hit the floor. So delicious, so tender and nuanced, she really couldn't believe her taste buds. "It's all about the organic meat", I beamed.

So I leave you now to enjoy this amazing tagine. Traditionally served over couscous, I serve it with brown jasmine rice and roasted brussel sprouts. Enjoy!



Lamb Tagine with Apricots and Scallions
Serves 3-4
I prepared this dish in a traditional tagine however you can also use a dutch oven or heavy bottomed pot.

For the lamb
1 pound pasture raised ground lamb (** or 1 pound lamb meat cut into 1 inch cubes)
1/2 medium onion, grated
1 egg
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

For the tagine
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 onions, peeled and sliced into half moons
10 apricot halves, dried and sulfur-free (the apricots should be brown and shriveled rather than plump and apricot colored)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
salt to taste
3/4 cup water
1/4 cup toasted almonds, chopped
1/4 scallions, chopped

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together the lamb, onion, egg, salt and cinnamon. Form into small golf ball sized balls and lay them out in a Pyrex baking dish. Bake in the oven for 12 minutes. Remove the meatballs from the dish and place on a plate with paper towels to drain excess fat.

Reduce the oven to 350 degrees. In a saute pan, heat the olive oil on medium heat. **If you are using cubed lamb, brown the lamb in olive oil. If not, just saute the onions in olive oil. After adding the onions, season with salt and cook until soft. Add the meatballs (or cubed meat) into the bottom of the tagine and cover with the onion mixture. Add in the remaining spices and apricots and a dash of salt, along with 3/4 cup water. Cover and place in the oven for 1 hour.

Remove the tagine from the oven and take off the lid carefully. Top with toasted almonds and scallions and serve with couscous or jasmine brown rice.

Arugula & Red Cabbage Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Happy happy new year! I am back and have certainly missed blogging. The last two weeks I've been cooking up a storm. From meatball soup with kabocha squash and carnitas to apple crisp and persimmon cookies, I've certainly gotten my fill of rich food. You know you've had enough holiday eating when you wake up craving water and a salad. Something clean and refreshing, please! That being said, there's not one bite of holiday goodness I would give back. December for me is a month to let go, enjoy, and ring in the new year with love and self acceptance. Now I don't go crazy, like downing a box of See's candy, but if I want a persimmon cookie (or 4) I eat it. What's amazing too is that when I give myself permission to have what I want, I end up eating less. It's just not as much fun to gorge myself when I'm allowed to.

I haven't always been so ZEN about holiday eating, however. Consumed by guilt and fear of weight gain, holiday gatherings were a serious emotional ordeal. I constantly worried about what I ate, how much, and the caloric ramifications of my sugar-laden actions. Each bite of double chocolate cheesecake brought about simultaneous feelings of pleasure and pain. I loved my Mom's homemade cheesecake with its creamy decadence yet with eat bite, up went the calorie tab in my head. And of course the worst part of my eating insanity was the more I stressed about my food and tried to restrict it, the more I shoved into my face. I remember inhaling cranberry pear tart at midnight because earlier in the evening I stated I was done eating tarts! The more aggressive and restrictive I got, the more my inner child rebelled. "No more desserts, you say? I'll show you!!!" And of course who ended up stuffed to the gills and anxiety ridden after such a binge...me!

This nasty cycle went on for years and didn't really clear up until I started looking at food as a way to nourish and heal myself rather than a mechanism for control. I think it's almost impossible to take the emotionality out of eating. However, when we nourish ourselves in the context of self-care, gratitude, and love, the urge to stuff our over-active neurosis with food melts away. I now take the food I need, thank my tummy for digesting all I put into it, and I'm done.



How the heck did I even get on this topic? Oh right, craving salad. So here is my way of balancing out the heaviness of holiday fare and guilt...a bright winter salad! This combo is a great mix of textures with a fantastic sweet and pungent punch. Cabbage and arugula are also helpful detox foods, making this salad perfect for cleansing the system after unaccountable cookies and too much champagne.



Arugula & Red Cabbage Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Serves 3-4

3/4 of 1 head organic red cabbage
2 cups arugula, washed
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint, chopped
3 scallions, chopped
2-3 tablespoons unrefined and peppery olive oil (my fav is Bariani)
2 tablespoons sweet balsamic vinegar (my fav is again, Bariani)
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup dry roasted almonds, chopped

Start by shredding the cabbage. Place cabbage on it's flat end and cut in half. Cut in half again, which gives you 4 quarters. Place one quarter in the fridge for another time. Slice cabbage into thin strips, avoiding the white core. Cut the cabbage strips in half and place in a large bowl. Add in the arugula, cilantro, mint and scallions. Drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and toss well. Top with almonds and serve. Enjoy!

Coriander Collard Greens with Sweet Potatoes

"Are you sure this is safe for human consumption?", he said with a concerned look on his face. I had just placed a beautiful plate of braised kale with carrots and garlic in front of my new boyfriend. "Yes, Gray. Humans can eat all sorts of leafy greens. Mustard greens, bok choy, collards, kale. They are all delicious and really good for you." "I'm not sure," he wavered. "The only time I ever bought kale was to feed my pet iguana, Spud!"

And so goes the American relationship with greens. They are for garnish or iguana food, certainly not for the pristine palates of humans! In fact it is rare for anything green to cross most people's plates on a weekly basis, let alone daily (and no, parsley doesn't count). In my experience those who say they don't like greens just haven't had them prepared correctly. For example, I always thought I hated asparagus because my grandmother boiled it to grey mush. Yet there is nothing more divine in late spring than asparagus on the grill with a punch of lemon and Parmesan. OMG! We must all remember it's not the green we detest, but what's been done to it.



Gray now devours any green I put in front of him and loves every bite. (Or so he tells me.) So, what's my greens secret?...I NEVER steam or boil them. Alright, let me rephrase. I never serve vegetables prepared plain without any sort of aromatic or fat. Would you just boil meat and serve it up? I hope not. Greens, like any other whole food, need a little help. Aromatics (garlic, onion, shallots) bring out the greens' innate sweetness while fat rounds out the flavor. Steamed or blanched is fine, just be sure to top the vegetables with a nice vinaigrette, pesto, or fruity olive oil.



Most of my clients, particularly women, look to salads for their vegetable intake. While salad is good, it only gets you half way there. To really get all the vitamins and minerals you need, you've got to go darker and leafier. Try branching out from spinach and romaine lettuce and pick up a gorgeous bunch of kale or collard greens. These foods are not only delicious but also loaded with fiber to help move out all that excess holiday food ;)

This is a wonderful anytime dish and would even go nicely on your holiday table. What, you weren't going to serve anything green at your holiday festivities? Well, now you are. I also like to make extra and scramble it up with eggs in the morning.



Coriander Collard Greens with Sweet Potatoes
** FYI- Collards can be a bit bitter. If you are sensitive to this flavor, try the recipe with kale instead.

1 yellow onion, diced
2-3 tablespoons olive oil or organic butter
2 cups sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/4 cup water, divided
sea salt to taste
3-4 cups collard greens, washed and finely chopped (kale or swiss chard work well too)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

In a large saute pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and saute for 5 minutes, until onions become translucent. Toss in the cubed sweet potatoes and coriander and stir until evenly coated. Add half the water to the pan and cover, allowing the potatoes to quickly soften, 7-8 minutes. (Add more water if necessary.) While the potatoes are cooking, cut the collards. Roll the greens into long cigars and chop into thin strips from one end to the other. Cut the strips in half for even cooking.

When the potatoes have softened, remove the lid and add the collard greens and cilantro. Mix thoroughly and add another quick pinch of salt and the remaining water. Return the lid to the pan and reduce the heat to low. Let the saute cook for another 8 minutes or until the collards are dark green. Remove the lid and stir the mixture together. Season with salt to taste and drizzle with the lemon juice and a touch more olive oil. Enjoy!

Curried Sweet Potato Latkes

Martha Stewart always reminds me of Hanukkah. Not the Martha Stewart of today, but Martha circa 1982. Every December my mom drags out one of her most utilized cookbooks, "Entertaining, by Martha Stewart" and scours the pages to decide what to make. If you've never seen the book, I highly recommend checking it out. (Though I don't think you can find original editions anymore.) Besides gazing upon a young and seemingly jovial Martha, the layout and pictures are simply gorgeous. I will say this, the woman knows how to put a table together! I remember sitting at the kitchen counter, flipping each page with glee to see the next gorgeous dish Martha deemed a must-make for any real hostess. Yes, there are parts of this book that are ridiculous. Like the insane homage to table settings. Did you know different china sets must be used depending on the theme and time of year of said soiree? How many dishes do you think I have, woman? Though the recipes are traditional and certainly dated (crown roast of pork with paper tassels in tow), there is something very warm and comforting within its folds. To this day I like to sit in my mother's kitchen and turn to the page featuring "Black Bottom Pie"; a sugar and dairy bomb of a dessert that my mother never made and I yearned for.

Picture of my lovely mother in her holiday glory...on the phone as usual!
It's completely bizarre that I associate Martha with Hanukkah, especially as her book regales the numerous ways to host an authentic Christmas gala. Whatever! Ultimately it's about being with family, smelling fried latkes and wishing for one of our party guests to bring me that Black Bottom Pie!

Though maybe not up to Martha's standards (we did use every day plates, after all) this year's Hanukkah party was certainly a hit. For many reasons in fact, but particularly due to the sweet potato latkes. I sound like a freak when it comes to my mom's food but it's just so good that I one) can't stop eating it (what happened to mindful eating?) and 2) don't want to share it. Luckily there were plenty to go around so I didn't resort to horde-mode. These sweet, spicy, and starchy little cakes are a welcome twist on the classic potato pancake. It's a latke with spunk! Be sure to make extra as they are a brilliant treat for breakfast.



Curried Sweet Potato Latkes

1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled
1 onion, peeled
1/2 cup buckwheat flour (Buckwheat is a gluten-free flour that gives the latkes a nice crispiness. Whole wheat flour will work as well)
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoons curry powder
salt to taste
2 organic eggs, beaten
3 tablespoons olive oil, coconut oil, or ghee for frying (I usually don't recommend olive oil on high heat but this once won't kill you)

Grate sweet potatoes and onion and put together in a bowl. Add in the flour, baking powder, curry power and salt and mix thoroughly. Stir the beaten eggs into the mixture.

Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. Caution: You do not want the oil to smoke. Drop 2-3 tablespoons of the batter (depending on what size you like) into the oil and flatten. Fry over medium heat on both sides until golden. Place on a paper towel to drain excess oil. Serve with a dollop of sour cream sprinkled with scallions or apple sauce. Enjoy!