Eggplant Parmesan (no pasta)

First, slice the eggplants, salt, and let sit one hour to reduce bitterness.  Rinse and pat dry.

Then sautee in olive oil.

For the tomato sauce, we used a semi-homemade version with canned whole tomatoes from Trader Joe's, onions, oil and fresh basil.

Layer the eggplant with sauce and plenty of fresh mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, then bake at 350 for approx 45 minutes.

Bison ribeye (Linder Farms)

The trick with bison is not to cook it to death. This is a sliced ribeye served with greens and salad.

Cooking calamari at home - more fun with mezcal

Though I love calamari, I've never made it myself.  It turned out to be easy and cheap (from Santa Monica Seafood).  It's already clean, so it was as simple as slicing and sticking it in the pan with olive oil, garlic and a "glug" or two of mezcal.  I had it with an arugula tomato salad dressed in balsamic.

Do you follow a diet?

Many people, if not MOST people I know follow a diet, or have extrapolated and adjusted a diet to meet their needs and help them stay slim. Gyorgy Scrinis argues that the quality of your food is what matters.  We would do ourselves and our world a favor if we figure out what natural, high-quality foods work for us and make us happy.

Good lord, the latest in gross and alarming chicken news

It's all weird, wild stuff.  Some of it, we've heard before, but of course in labeling news, I didn't know that we're allowing chicken from China to go without origin labels.

Are you a picky eater? Is there something wrong with that?

I am an extremely picky eater for a lot of reasons, and I have seen it annoy those around me.  But what can I say or do?  My choices belong to me, and I have my reasons.  Some of them have to do with my digestive health, and you don't want to know what I mean.  Some of them have to do with the health of the planet and the health of the animals on it, and I bet you don't want to hear about that either. 
I'm extremely sensitive to carbohydrates. In my mind, I'm doing everyone around me a favor by avoiding them, since I become anxious and angry eating them.  I don't expect anyone else to take care of me, and I am perfectly happy to go hungry if there's nothing appropriate available.  I'm in no danger of malnutrition.

Ground lamb from Safeway/Vons

Product of New Zealand, $6.99 per pound for ground.  I thought the meat tasted pretty good, like lamb should, with a strong but not sour taste.  The patties were made with 1 egg, fresh sage and oregano, pepper, paprika and red pepper flakes. 

Your chance to eat a whole pile!

It comes every day.  For me it was baby lettuces with extra radiccio olive oil vinegar and red pepper flakes.

The $4 tomato

The $4 heirloom tomato lasted three meals and had barely any acid.  This one really proved that tomatoes are fruit.

Dairy fat not linked to weight gain

In fact, some studies linked here show the opposite, basically because fat is satiating.  To make matters worse, food companies realize that skim milk isn't appetizing, so they do funny stuff to make it look and taste better.  That funny stuff can end up making the milk, which in a natural state is pretty healthy for many people, actually dangerous by oxidizing the cholesterol.

Mezcal-spiked onion soup with Asiago

My Italian friend taught me how to make a simple onion soup.  We used beer (Sierra Nevada Pale Ale) because we didn't have white wine, and the result was delicious with no detectable beer taste.  This time, I had neither, so I used mezcal, as I'd just seen an article in LA Weekly about fancy and interesting new cocktails.  The picture includes a brand in my cupboard, and I love onion soup, so I went for it.  I used 12 white or sweet onions, though my friend recommends cippolini as the best-tasting.

I put them in a giant pasta pot with plenty of olive oil and a bit of good vegetable broth, cooking them down on medium heat until everything was soft and releasing water, about 30 minutes.

Then I added about 1/2 cup of mezcal and a little boiling water.  I cooked this down on high heat for quite a while, stirring occasionally, but in the end I had more liquid than when my friend made it.  The mezcal left a unique smoky flavor, very nice with a little butter, fresh ground pepper, and grated Asiago.  You could use Parmesan.

Whole grains may not be what you think

Even I, a person obsessed with understanding the corrupt BS of American food labeling, did not know this about "whole grains."  As it turns out, it can be a mix of processed crap in the right proportions that TRUE whole grains would be found in if they were intact.  Always, be careful out there.

So many reasons to eat your greens

Throughout history, people have known of the amazing powers of green leafy vegetables.

Now this is getting truly scary

A federal poultry inspector has died of health problems that may be linked to the chemicals used to reduce the bacterial load under factory farming conditions.

Seasonal drinking, too

Here's a short article on why it is a great idea to eat seasonally.  The pics shows my Friday night drink of mezcal with oro blanco, a lovely grapefruit in season in California right now.  I got the fruit from the Santa Monica Farmers Market.

Amazing corruption

Sometimes it is as if you reach a level of saturation with the continued corruption of our government.  Today I'm there on account of the Monsanto protection bill, and this.  Food company lobbies have succeeded in buying our "representatives" completely, as many states are making it illegal to document and share findings of animal abuse in industrial food lots.  You can't make this stuff up.

3 parts Cali, 3 parts Italy

Easing back into eating at home.

Italy:
Parmesano reggiano
olive oil
white wine vinegar from Modena

California:
avocado
cabbage
greens 

Have you tried nettles?

Nettles are very good for humans, containing tons of nutrients like calcium, A, C, and iron.  They've also been used forever as a treatment for arthritis, since the stingers will cause an anti-inflammatory response.  I found them for $2 a bunch at the Saturday Santa Monica farmers market, and I tried them on my sore neck and wrists, in my eggs, and with my shrimp.  It was fun and strange to gently tap them against my sore spots and feel the minor stinging.  I did feel some relaxation later, and I thought they tasted good with my normal eggs and greens breakfast, as well as with the curry shrimp and cabbage shown.

Bitter foods are good for you

I crave arugula and radicchio, and lucky for me they're really good for you.  They even reduce sugar cravings!

The photo is salad greens topped with radicchio in oil and white wine vinegar, fried onions, and a filet mignon with ricotta salata crumbled on top.

Weird stuff in our meat

Chicken doesn't agree with me anymore, and I find it simply doesn't taste like chicken.  Or not very much like chicken, maybe it's watered-down chicken?  The last good chicken I tasted was from an Amish store in the midwest. 

Although 90% of the beef I eat is grass finished and grass fed, from a small farm that feeds no growth hormones or antibiotics, I've still been able to enjoy a piece of commercial beef now and again.  But nowadays there are new drugs that make the muscle grow like crazy, so that might be ending too.

Binge eating, food addiction, and athletic performance

I read The Hunger Fix by Dr. Pam Peeke with some interest. Sometimes I binge, making excuses about binge foods and what I'll do to mitigate the effects, and I feel horrible afterwards.  I would look at my tummy in the mirror and beat myself up.  I would weigh myself, sigh, and promise myself to be better. Although I didn't enjoy reading the book, it turns out that its suggestions have been effective and powerful for me, with some unintended consequences.  Instead of following the complete program, I used behavior modification techniques that appealed.  Specifically, I came up with ways to trigger dopamine and serotonin release that didn't involve food.  When I wanted to gorge, for instance, I would give myself a facial or roll out my muscles instead.

Not enough time has elapsed to say I am cured, but in two weeks since I've read the book, I haven't binged.  I've experienced common binge triggers that have precipitated a massive feed, such as the fact that it's Friday night, or the mere presence of more than one serving of cheese, but it hasn't happened.  In fact, I haven't been very hungry at all, abnormal in any situation. I didn't skip meals, but I cut my intake.  Very soon, I looked and felt great, how I always hope to maintain.

I competed in a kettlebell lifting contest a few days ago.  I trained hard, I reached my goal several times in practice, and I was ready.  When the moment of truth came, I wasn't able to finish.  I'm pretty sure it is because I hadn't eaten enough.

Food additives to avoid

Bless the Caltons for researching these dangerous chemicals the FDA allows in our food.  You probably already read labels carefully, but here are a few more crazy ingredients to avoid.  I haven't read their book yet, but it is on my list.

Healthy - what does it mean?

Healthy means eating your colors. If you can walk to get your groceries, prepare, and enjoy them with loved ones, friends, or pets, even healthier.
This year, my cranberry sauce was enlivened by fresh grated ginger.

Winter is full of gorgeous tasty greens.