Robyn Harrison's Blog

Posted by Robyn Harrison

Our local Farmers' Market unofficially opened on Tuesday of this week. It usually doesn't open until mid-July but a few enterprising farmers have been hard at work growing greens and harvesting asparagus. There were chard, kale, beets, beet greens and asparagus, as well as the perennial eggs and jams and jellies.

Advertising was word-of-mouth, and people were so excited to see fresh produce return to the plaza that the vendors sold out in less than an hour. Neighbors greeted neighbors, and those who were first in line took only a little so that everyone would have a chance to get a little something FRESH.

Though we have had no rain for 5 months, the river is full and the snow pack higher than usual, so there will be water for the gardens this summer. If Tuesday was any indication, the farmers' market will have plenty of customers all season long.

Eat Fresh

Eat Local

Eat Organic

Posted by Robyn Harrison

I'm nearly swimming in asparagus. We're picking 2-3 pounds a day and selling much of it at the farmers' market, but I'm keeping plenty for us to eat. I know asparagus season is short-lived and we won't see it in the garden again for a year, so we try to take full advantage of it when we have it.

Asparagus should be kept in the refrigerator, preferably stored in a jar or small bucket with the bottom end of the spears in water to keep them from drying out. The diameter of the vegetable doesn't seem to affect its taste, and if it is truly fresh, it shouldn't need to be peeled.

Freezing and canning asparagus just doesn't work, but you can stretch the season just a little bit by cooking the asparagus in a main dish that freezes well, such as pizza or quiche.

Eat up! Asparagus time is short.....

Posted by Robyn Harrison

Time to grab the bag, the bowl, the box,--whatever is handy--and head for the ditch banks: the asparagus are up. The little green spears that poke their heads up one day and are ready for picking the next inspire me to get outside and get re-acquainted with the garden.

When I was little, I thought asparagus were the limp, slimy vegetable that comes in a can. I didn't care for them, not one bit. When I was in my twenties, someone served fresh asparagus, lightly steamed, a little butter. I was in heaven. Now, I sneak out to the asparagus bed as soon as the temperature hits 70-degrees, hoping to be the first to find one of the little spears and pick it and eat it right then.

Asparagus season is only a few weeks, and during that time we eat asparagus nearly every meal because we know they don't can or freeze well: we have to enjoy them while we've got them.

Eat fresh.

Eat local.

Eat organic.

Eat asparagus!

Posted by Robyn Harrison

Rule Number One: Eat food.

Rule Number Two: Mostly plants.

Rule Number Three: Not too much.

Americans have fallen in love with super-sizing (mostly thanks to the fast food industry). Add this to the fact that many of us grew up with, "Clean your plate. You know there are children starving in ___ (fill in your choice of country)," and we eat much more than we need. Pollan suggests that westerners require visual cues to know when we have finished our meal: the plate is clean, the tv show is over. We've forgotten how to listen to our stomachs to know when to stop.

Eating should be about more than just food. It should be about our relationship with food--a cultural thing, if you will. Instead of mindlessly munching in front of the TV or (yikes!) eating at your desk, try to always eat at a table, and preferably with others--make it social. This will help change your relationship with food, and maybe with other people in your life as well.

There is so much more in Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. I recommend that you read it--but not during dinner.

Posted by Robyn Harrison

First, we'll review last week.

Rule number one: Eat Food.

If that seems like a ridiculous statement to you, read last week's blog or, better yet, read Michael Pollan's whole book.

This week, rule Number Two is: Eat mostly plants.

I love this rule. It goes right along with eat local, eat fresh, eat organic. Grow your own garden, shop the farmers' market, haunt the produce aisles of the grocery store.

Notice Pollan says "mostly" plants. He says to eat like an omnivore, but be aware of where your meat comes from and remember that "you are what you eat" as well as "you are what you eat eats, too."

Local, fresh, organic goes for meat as well as produce.

Posted by Robyn Harrison

In his newest book, In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan looks at the increasing rates of obesity and diet-related diseases in the US. Over the next several weeks, I'll be writing about what I learned from his book and adding a few tips and revelations of my own.

In the mean time, I suggest you find a copy to read for yourself. I'm a big proponent of public libraries, but in this case, I bought a copy so I could highlight sections and write in the margins and fold down corners of pages. Perhaps you'll want to do the same.

The first half of the book is devoted to the history of how we got where we are today: why we eat what we eat. It's a fascinating discussion, full of well-meaning people making dietary rules based on bad science. His writing is enlightening and entertaining, but the information left a bad taste in my mouth for food choices governed by politics.

The second half suggests some very simple rules for changing the way we eat.

"RULES?" you say. "Isn't that what caused our problems in the first place?"

Yes, but these "rules" are so common-sense, you'll be embarrassed you didn't think of them yourself.

#1: Eat food.

Food. Not food products. Not food with additives that you can't pronounce or digest. Eat food as close to its original state as possible, though cooking is admissable. Stay away from anything your grandmother wouldn't recognize as food. Eat whole foods: fruits and vegetables, the fresher the better. Meats: beef, pork, poultry, fish, wild game.

Think Seasonal Cooking. We're here to help.

Posted by Robyn Harrison

I admit it, I go to bed by 8:30 every night. It isn't that I want to, it's that I just can't stay awake much beyond that. I love having friends over for dinner, but, especially if I've been at the office all day, I start yawning during dessert.

Now, however, I have discovered BRUNCH! It is the perfect meal for entertaining. If the weather is nice, we can eat on the patio without needing extra lighting. If our brunch conversation suggests a hike, we can go. Best of all, I can cook in the morning and stay awake clear through dessert!

This week I've posted one of my favorite brunch entrees: the puffed pancake. It's cooked in the oven (I've even used my electric skillet), and should be served with a variety of toppings: syrup, fruit compote, even ice cream.

Easter weekend is coming up--it's a great time to try out new recipes. Make this one of them. In fact, why not invite your friends now for an Easter Brunch and Egg Hunt?

Posted by Robyn Harrison

One of my favorite "green" dishes used to be Watergate Salad--remember? It had nothing to do with the Watergate scandal itself, other than having become popular about the same time. It was a tasty blend of crushed pineapple, instant pistachio pudding mix, mini-marshmallows and "a tub of whipped topping."

I read those labels now and shudder at the long, unpronounceable names of ingredients and chemicals, and corn in the form of syrup, high-fructose corn syrup and corn starch (marshmallows!) I tried making it with whipping cream and almonds (there are more almonds than pistachios in the pudding mix...) and pineapple, but what to substitute for marshamallows? It just wasn't the same...

But there are plenty of things you can make that are even more green than artificial pudding mix--and they're much better for you! I recommend using fresh greens: Chard Tart and Caldo Verde, Sauted Winter Greens, or Spinach Mushroom Quiche.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Posted by Robyn Harrison

About this time every year I begin to tire of all the butternut squash, sweet potatoes and garlic and onions I have so proudly saved and served since we put the garden to bed last fall. I want something else, more variety, more, well, almost anything!

And, lo and behold, my wish was granted last week. There, among the produce in my local grocery store, stuck back behind the avocados, was a chayote--a type of squash I ate when I lived in Central America.

Trying to eat only vegetables that are in season locally is not easy, so I fudged: I once ate chayote in season, right? I took some home and reveled in eating something different for a change. I've posted some chayote recipes this week.

As I look out over the brown of the garden, I can see rhubarb leaves starting to unfurl. It won't be long before the asparagus are pushing up through the clutter of last year's leftovers. Variety is just around the corner!

Posted by Robyn Harrison

According to a study at the University of California in Los Angeles, the number of strokes experienced by women ages 35 to 54 has tripled since 1988. Blood sugar levels have risen, body mass index (a number used to measure obesity) has gone from 27 to 29, and waistlines are 2 inches larger than they were just a decade ago.

Eating more fresh vegetables and fruits, in lieu of processed, prepared "food products," is probably the best way to prevent this disorder: seasonal cooking, seasonal eating.

You can read more about the findings of the study here.

Posted by Robyn Harrison

Breakfast has always been touted as the most important meal of the day, and yet it probably receives less thoughtful attention than any other meal. It's quick and easy to grab a box of cereal, put some in a bowl, pour on a little milk, and, well, down the hatch.

But commercial breakfast cereals can be one of the unhealthiest things we eat. Boxed "dry" cereals often contain grains that have been refined, extruded, or otherwise highly processed, sweetened (often) with high fructose corn syrup. Health claims may abound on the label, but they are no substitute for a homemade, high fiber, whole grain granola.

Granola is easy to make and the options for varying the ingredients are endless. Add a little yogurt and fruit, and I'm good to go. I make granola twice a month (more often if I have company to feed) and sometimes grab a handful for a mid-afternoon snack. I'm happy to share the recipe...Breakfast Granola!

Posted by Robyn Harrison

Valentines Day is one of the Big 3 when it comes to "sweet" American holidays. Halloween, with its bags of commercially produced candy probably ranks as the highest for refined sugar intake. Christmas and Valentines Day follow close on its heels.

I admit that I succumb occasionally, rationalizing that Valentines Day is, after all, only one day a year, and I am, after all, making something delicious for someone I love. Thus, you'll see recipes for Pumpkin Cream Cheese Roll and Chocolate Cake Roll and 2 decadent kinds of New York Style Cheesecake, but I'll also offer one other: a cheesecake that uses honey--still sweet, but not refined sugar.

This recipe uses a 7" springform pan, just right for a small family. The ingredients are listed below. For the how-to's, see the recipe for New York Style Cheesecake.

Honey Cheesecake

Crust:

• 2 tablespoons melted butter
• 4 ounces graham cracker crumbs (about 8 crackers)

Filling:

• 2 8-ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice

Enjoy--and Happy Valentines Day!

Posted by Robyn Harrison

Natural Food Network is an industry publication whose mission is to provide a clear, compelling business case for selecting natural and organic products. The magazine is (understandably!) full of advertising, but there is also some great “food for thought.” This month’s issue deals with sweets: natural alternative sweeteners such as agave nectar, molasses and malt syrups from brown rice and barley, honey, and the herb stevia. The editor, Dan Bolton, cites the USDA statistic of Americans now consuming 20 teaspoons of sugar a day—more than 150 pounds a year! And, since this is an average, it means that for every person who consumes only 5 pounds, someone else eats 295 pounds!

Another article talks about using compostable disposables for packaging, especially alternatives to the ubiquitous plastic bag. China, which uses up to 3 billion plastic shopping bags A DAY has banned them and Whole Foods plans to phase them out by Earth Day.

You can read the whole magazine free online here.

Posted by Robyn Harrison

Wednesday's weather promised to be warm (at least for this time of year) and sunny so we decided to rally the troops and take a hike. What we'd planned as a leisurely walk up a canyon turned out to be navigating across some steep, rugged terrain--we could see where we wanted to be, it just wasn't easy to get there.

The hike took longer than expected, but the weather was indeed beautiful and we returned home happy and tired, and voted to relieve the refrigerator of its leftovers for dinner. My brother-in-law handed me 2 unlabelled plastic bowls with lids and said, "Here are 2 dishes of bison chili: it should be enough for all of us."

I dumped them both in the pot to warm them on the stove. When I served up the bowls I noticed this was indeed a strange chili recipe. There were sliced mushrooms, two kinds of meat, beans, tomatoes. He had actually given me a dish of chili and a dish of leftover spaghetti sauce. The resulting Italian-sausage-bison-bean-mushroom-spaghetti-sauce-chili was, shall we say, interesting. I won't be posting the recipe soon....

You will see soup recipes getting top billing on this Seasonal Cooking site this time of year. Soup is the perfect way to use dried and canned ingredients when fresh just isn't available. So enjoy our soups -- and label your leftovers!

Posted by Robyn Harrison

Brrrrrr! It’s cold outside! The temperature is dropping, the wind is blowing, and we’re expecting snow tonight. Okay, admittedly, that’s what winter is all about, right? It’s the season that, at least here in the desert southwest, gives us lasting moisture and reminds us that we can put on more clothes and still go outside and enjoy the sunshine.

OR….we can stay inside and read and cook and (this is my favorite part) get out the seed catalogs and dream about summer: all those heirloom tomatoes we’ll grow, which asparagus varieties, how many kinds of squash. Meanwhile, there are new recipes to try with what is still left in the pantry from last year’s garden.

AND…the Super Bowl is right around the corner! While I’m not particularly a fan of football, I AM a fan of big gatherings, and love putting together just the right appetizers and buffet dishes to suit the occasion and the guests.

Over the next couple of weeks you’ll see appetizer ideas, crowd-sized soups, and even some suggestions for hot chocolate recipes to warm up those who prefer to be outside playing football during the big game.

So pull out your guest lists and let’s get started planning our Super Bowl Parties!

Posted by Robyn Harrison

I recently ran across an article about vitamin B12 and the role it plays in mental acuity. The study, run by researchers at Oxford University, tracked 1,648 women and men age 65 and older and found that a lack of vitamin B12 could diminish cognitive function. Okay, I admit I’m not there yet, but, yikes! None of us can afford that—and none of us should have to, if we eat right!

B12 is found in mollusks (oysters and clams), fish, meat, milk and eggs. Many breakfast cereals are fortified with it. The NIH Office of Dietary Supplements website credits B12 with helping to maintain healthy nerve cells and red blood cells. It recommends 2.4 micrograms a day for people over 19. A cup of milk has .9 micrograms, a hard boiled egg has .6.

One easy, tasty way to make sure you are getting enough Vitamin B12 is to eat dishes that combine milk and eggs. I like the different variations of Spinach Mushroom Quiche or Hot Cheese Squares because they also incorporate fresh greens.

And…the leftovers are great for breakfast!

If you want to read the article on the study, you can find it in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, November 2007.