May 2012

The Latin Tongue: El Loro

Part of making this eating adventure work involves a lot of flexibility. I've said it before and I will say it again, I am sure. It comes down to the fact that when you don't really know what you are doing or what you are getting yourself into, you cannot be attached to the outcome. So, like the fool I am, I sent us on another wild goose chase. It started when I was on my way to a sheet metal shop for some home repair work and I swore that I saw something resembling a Latin eatery. All it took was a quickly read sign with a "La" something or other and I was ready to go.

 

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Multivitamin...Do I Need You?

As a Health Coach, people often ask me what supplements they should be taking. Notice, the question isn’t usually if they should be taking them at all, but what they should be taking. A lot of health care practitioners including doctors, chiropractors and nutritionists recommend daily consumption of dietary supplements, especially multivitamins. This recommendation comes in response to the average American diet, which includes only three servings of fruits and vegetables each day instead of the recommended seven to nine. French fries are counted.  

 

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There's a New Pie in Town! Introducing Red Wagon Pizza Co.

I first met Pizza Pete (a.k.a Peter Campbell) before our school's fundraiser on a balmy night this past February. I was in charge of the bar (no small feat for this particular fun-lovin' SW Minneapolis Catholic school) and Pete was in charge of . . . you guessed it, the pizza. Hours before the event, I was putting the kegs on ice and stacking bottles of wine and I could smell the woody smoke filtering into the gym. The smell of burning wood is evocative of so many good things, it seemed impossible to imagine a better welcome for all the parents coming to love up our school.

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"Ripe" Cookbook Review, A Feast For the Senses.

At first glance, Ripe may look like just another cookbook. All you have to do is open it up to see the difference. This book is alive with color and for me is very evocative and strangely alluring. I wanted to dive in, to read, to go shop for food and, well, maybe to cook (actually, I just wanted to eat). So, in short, look at this book and then go out to eat. Ok, perhaps that's a little shallow.

 

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A Trio of Asian Spices Goes Beyond Ginger

When it comes to yielding flavorsome herbs and spices, the most productive parts of plants are usually above the soil: leaves (basil, sage, cilantro); seeds (mustard, nutmeg); fruits (chiles, tamarind); and even flowers and buds (saffron, cloves, capers). However, just below the culinary sight line and no less robust in taste are seasonings derived from roots and stems.

Some, like cilantro roots, are often discarded despite having as much flavor as the leafy or fruity parts more commonly used for spices and herbs. Others are mainstays of the pantry, such as bulbous onions and garlic, and root-like ginger. But if you’re looking to liven up your spice repertoire with new down-to-earth seasonings, give the following tasty trio a try.

Sensational Stems

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The Latin Tongue: Taqueria Morales/La Poblanita

Well, we're back after a brief hiatus. We heard from a number of folks after our 4 month review saying that they would love us to continue checking out local Mexican restaurants. We were easy to convince and so we pulled out our trusty list and then threw it out as the place we wanted to go didn't seem to have a name. At least not one that we knew.

 

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Why it’s Ethical to Eat Meat

The belief I’m about to argue — that eating meat is ethical — has been, for me, 25 years in the making. For much of this time, paradoxically, I was a vegetarian because I thought eating animals was morally reprehensible.

 

What a self-righteous twit I was.

 

At my in-laws’ traditional Thanksgiving dinner, I recited graphic details about industrially raised turkey. (Do you know what debeaking is?) At the counter in a fast-food restaurant, I’d loudly order a cheeseburger with no meat. (I want a bun, cheese, pickles, lettuce and onions…but no meat!) At a neighborhood pig roast, I asked the host if he had ever read Charlotte’s Web. (You would never be able to eat pork if you had.)

 

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SGT May Book Club: Farm City

Spring is just about the perfect time to be reading a book that might just inspire you to turn that little plot of unused ground into something productive. You certainly don't have to live in Oakland California, although as you find out in this excellent read, it might make it much more interesting. Of course if you are as bold a spirit as is author and urban farmer Novella Carpenter, you find your own way to make things happen, education included.

 

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All About Sprouts, Part 2. Recipes and Nutrition.

This is part 2 of a piece of work about all things sprouting. Part 1 takes you through the basics of what you can sprout and how to sprout it. There are also guidelines for specific sprouts. Finally, Part 1 is also where you will find a list of sprouting resources and literature. Part 2 focuses on how to eat and cook with sprouts as well as many of the nutritional benefits of them.

 

How to Eat Sprouts

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The Spice Odyssey: Cloves

Cloves

Spices yield depth and dimension to many consumables. In The Spice Odyssey, I shared my family’s journey to America and their unfortunate loss of ethnic cooking and the accompanying spice. One of my greatest gains with marrying someone from South Asia has been an introduction to the vast world of spice.

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