Food Rules #33:Eat some foods that have been predigested by bacteria or fungi

...otherwise known as "Gee, I love the titles to Pollan's chapters". I must talk an awful lot about food with my friends because each time I read thru another section of this book, I think to myself: "wow! I was just talking with someone about this!" So, yeah, my friend Nancy met with a nutritionist (I hope this isn't some big secret or anything, Nancy!) who told her about the great digestive benefits of fermented foods and probiotics. Actually, we were talking about how eating these types of foods helped with how our bodies can sometimes feel after a night of heavy drinking, which Nancy & I sometimes, on very limited occasions, do. Sauerkraut, yogurt, soy sauce, sourdough bread, kimchi...all foods that have been "transformed" by microorganisms. They also help strengthen immune systems, aid against allergic reactions & inflammation, and let's face it, add lots of great variety, texture and flavor to our diets. Interesting that several of these foods show up in many European and Asian countries' diets.

I'm going to give this relatively-simple recipe a shot when I can get heads of cabbage at the farmer's market this season. This should be great with all those Cedar Valley brats I have in my freezer! http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/sauerkraut-recipe/index.html Then I can drink several beers and not worry about how my body might feel the next day. Right?

Food Rules #32: Don't overlook the little oily fishes

Mackerel, sardines, anchovies...all little oily fish, high in omega 3s and fortunately not the ones that tend to be overfished like tuna, sea bass & swordfish (which also tend to have higher mercury levels). I thought I never liked sardines (some fuzzy memory of my dad eating a smelly, slimy & overly salty version from a can in the 70s...with peanut butter!). But I had fresh grilled sardines on vacation once and now when I see them on menus at restaurants I know really take pride in fresh ingredients, I do crave them. The same goes for anchovies. I am not a big fan of the ones packed in salt, that have a very strong flavor. But vinegar & oil marinated white anchovies? Delicious. So delicate with a lovely briny quality. At the shops we carry Matiz sardines in a can and people buy them 4 or 5 at a time sometimes. We also have marinated white anchovies from Ortiz, a Spanish producer that now uses sustainable fishing methods for all their products, including an amazing tuna in olive oil. Try the white marinated anchovies on top of tomato and herb bruschetta, or on a salad.

By the way, if you are curious about which fish are a better choice to get when you are out at a restaurant or buying them to prepare at home, the Shedd Aquarium has a "Right Bite" Seafood Wallet Card for keeping on your person. Download the card for free at http://www.sheddaquarium.org/pdf/Shedd_seafood_wallet_card_2009-2010.pdf. Dirk's Fish on Clyborn also has started including info on fishing & sustainability in their display cases, which makes it much easier for me to decide what I'm making when I go there.

June Staff Selection: Quinoa!

Our June Staff Selection was chosen by Nicole Benjamin:

So many grains, so little time. What's a girl to do?
Growing up in an Assyrian family hailing from Iran, rice was, without question, king. It still is one of my go-to comfort foods, but as I grew up, I learned the importance (and excitement) of playing the field. As of late, I've been spending a lot of time exploring the natural wonders of quinoa, courtesy of River River Farms. Quinoa was a staple of the ancient Incas, who referred to it as "the mother grain."
Makes perfect sense as it contains more protein than any other grain.
Furthermore, because it contains all 8 essential amino acids, it's a complete protein. And since the flavor is rather mellow (dare I say, bland), it's quite versatile & may be used in salads, baked goods, as a side, or even for breakfast. Plus, it's a suitable replacement for couscous, bulgur or...rice. Sweet! Summer is a great opportunity to play around with this mighty grain as it's a perfect accompaniment to whatever might be on the grill. See my suggested recipes and then let the creativity flow based on your own taste proclivities.
Rice River Farms is a fabulous, family-owned and family-oriented business headquartered in Spooner WI. We carry all 3 quinoa varieties that they offer - golden, black & red. The only difference is the color, so get your grain on and see where the exploration takes you.

Stop by the shops in June for 10% off Rice River Farms quinoa.

NOTE: Now we all know that grains must be rinsed prior to cooking.
This is an important and imperative step prior to cooking quinoa.
Quinoa seeds are coated with saponins, which are naturally-occurring plant chemicals that keep insects from eating the plant. Saponins left intact make for a very bitter taste, so definitely have a bowl or fine mesh strainer handy for rinsing. Here's more info & recipe ideas:

http://www.riceriverfarms.com/recipes/153

Food Rules #31: Eat Wild Foods when you Can

Wild, foraged foods are more nutritious. So interesting that this is the next food rule I read after taking over a month to post again since Rule #30! I've gone to 2 dinners in the last week that featured foraged ingredients. Morels & ramps, in several forms. Delicious! One dinner (a preview of an up-and-coming underground dinner club) was prepared by a chef who foraged and grew several ingredients herself. And there are even full-time foragers who supply to restaurants!

Another point Pollan makes pertaining to this rule? The plants we as a modern society have omitted from our diets are mostly the bitter ones, containing higher omega-3 fatty acids, which make them less shelf-stable, turning rancid more quickly. Salad in a bag...great invention or our trying to feel like we are getting our RDA of veggies? Omnivore's Dilemma talks about how these 'mixed field green salads' in a plastic, compostable container are even sprayed with a type of gas that allows them to hold up longer, while in transport from California to our bellies here in Chicago. Mike Roper spoke this week at a "Locavore Dinner" I attended and said his restaurant, the Hopleaf, doesn't feature a "spring greens" salad on their menu in January, because there simply aren't any greens in the midwest at that time of year! And I still stand by my claim that nothing beats a salad of greens picked that day - buttery, tender and available soon at a farmer's market near you. (FULL DISCLOSURE: we do carry Earthbound Organics' salad mixes at our shops...yes, because they sell, but we also want to round out our offerings so that you can create an entire meal from what we stock. We have decided, though to at least carry organic produce whereever local/sustainable/seasonal are not possible.)

So to get back to the point about bitter greens, I'll share one last tidbit of information: when our bodies taste bitter substances (like radicchio, dandelion, mizuna & other bitter greens & foods...even bitters!) our livers instantly begins a cleanse. My friends over at Merz Apothecary preach the "bitters" gospel...their clientele includes many Eastern-European born folks in their 70s and 80s that swear by their twice-daily German or Swedish bitter shots for sickness-free living. All that aside, what about the argument that bitter is one of the primary components of a well-rounded dish or cocktail? Bitter, sour, sweet, salty (am I forgetting umami?)...each flavor dynamic contributes to a successful, balanced plate or drink.

The bitter truth...

May Staff Selection

The May PFW Staff Selection was chosen by Richard Sparks. Here's what he has to say about this month's item, Capriole Fresh Goat Cheese:

Having come from Michigan, May marks for me the first solid month of the growing season, or should I say eating season??? Everything from asparagus to rhubarb is ready for picking and serving up fresh. Just coming out of a rather depressing winter, my mouth is watering for those first snow peas, crispy arugula, and my mother’s pan-fried, buttery morel mushrooms.

May also stirs up all kinds of family food memories. My first lessons in using a paring knife came from prepping all that fresh asparagus we put up in the giant chest freezer in our garage. Being a city boy now, I long for those family treks through the woods foraging for morels. I still hold the family record for the largest blacktop found. My brother will hotly contest this claim—whatever! I also remember watching the backyard rhubarb patch grow, awaiting that first pie. Hmmmm, sounds like I need to put a bug in Jane’s (Sugarkist Pies) ear, though I am sure there is some fabulous rhubarb-based concoction in the works—HINT!

Speaking of hints, it must be time for a weekend road trip to visit the family in Michigan. Since the city farmer’s markets don’t really get going until the beginning of June, I just may have to take a cooler and load up from the many farm stands and markets along the way. Do yourselves a favor and head out to your Midwestern homestead, drink up the spring and bring home some May, seasonal favorites for your dinner table.

Can’t make it out of town or need some special ingredients for your favorite springtime recipes, stop by Provenance Food and Wine! We all love to talk about food and the perfect wine for dinner. Share with us your cooking ideas…we promise not to pry Granny’s secret recipe out of you.

Capriole Fresh Goat Cheese logs are 10% off thru the month of May.

Food Rules #30: Eat Well-Grown Food from Healthy Soil

Sure, organic soil is healthier than soils that have been treated with chemical pesticides, herbicides & the like. So eating organic local foods should be all that much better for you, right?

This Rule reminds me of Biodynamic farming. Biodynamics was essentially created in the late 1920s by Rudolf Steiner, who was approached by some farmers that expressed their frustration with how their crops were yielding less year after year, even with the invention & availability of modern fertilizers & other soil treatments. Steiner concluded that the ecosystems within these farms were out of balance by the introduction of these 'foreign' elements into the areas. Biodynamic practices help create a healthy ecosystem without the introduction of chemicals. Compost from animals living within the system, integrated pest management and several other practices help keep the soil healthy and maintain a balanced cycle that keeps the lifeforces flowing and alleviates the need for chemicals.

Now, biodynamics is becoming more and more common with winemaking, which is essentially agriculture, but we don't see it too often with farming of other crops. Angelic Organics in Caledonia, IL uses biodynamic practices and they've got some of the best produce I've tasted. It all goes back to the soil and the care that is put in in the fields (much like wine i.e. grapes).

If anyone knows of other biodynamic farms in the midwest, I'd love to learn about them. Also, I would encourage anyone to take a class or seminar or read a book on biodynamics. Nicolas Joly, the French winemaker from the Loire Valley, has written some books on biodynamics; Tyler Colman, aka Dr. Vino, is based in NYC but occasionally teaches a 1/2 day class on biodynamics at the University of Chicago that is very informative and his teaching style is very approachable.

We carry a number of biodynamic wines at the shops that I encourage people to try if they are interested in tasting more of these wines and/or supporting methods that are kind to our soils!

Food Rules #29: Eat like an omnivore

Pollan proclaims that whether or not you even eat animal products, expand your horizons and add new foods to your diet (plants, animals & fungi). There is such little diversity in the supermarkets - they sell foods that are cheap to make, the vegetables have been modified to withstand long travels; some of them hold up for a much longer time than most veggies would when just picked from the garden. What a great argument for getting out to the local farmer's market. Try heirloom vegetables, beans & even different breeds of animals. Diversify your portfolio, if you will. The greater the diversity in your eating habits, the more likely your nutritional needs will be met, and the less likely you will become bored with your diet. I will defend that diversity tastes better, too!