We made cinnamon rolls with the kids at the Y!  They enjoyed eating them while watching the other kids run.  Go kids! Go!

Menu:

cream of watercress soup

local spring mix salad with herbs and radish

baked trout Meuniere

roasted beef with fresh herbs

blanched asparagus with lemon sauce

baby onions in cream

lemon buttermilk cake with rhubarb compote

~~~~~~~

…from the Kirkman House website:

Come join us on May 6 for an evening from the past, with a classic 1800′s menu in the beautiful historic Kirkman House Museum.  Chef Melissa Davis will prepare this authentic meal which will be served on fine china in elegant style.

Tickets: $50 per person on sale April 15.

Limited number of seats available.

Pre-sale tickets only.  Call, stop in or mail payments directly to the Kirkman House.

This is a benefit dinner.  Proceeds go directly to Kirkman House Museum.

http://www.kirkmanhousemuseum.org

It’s nearly a month past the first day of spring and Walla Walla is finally starting to show signs that the season has arrived. Trees are in bloom around town, colorful flowers are popping up everywhere and warm days intermix with wet, cloudy ones. I love this time of year. But for me, the season doesn’t officially begin until the local asparagus arrives.

Last week I put on an event and asparagus was on the menu. Rather than buy the California version, I called my favorite local farmers to see if anyone had asparagus available yet. Lucky for me, Alan Schreiber, of Schreiber and Sons out of Pasco, was picking his first asparagus of the season that day! I jumped in my car and didn’t think twice about making the trek to the Tri-cities. Having the first-pick of the season was well worth the three-hour drive, and my guests appreciated and enjoyed it as well.

Since then, I’ve heard through the foodie grapevine that local Walla Walla farmers are picking their own asparagus very soon and will have it available at various locations around town. The Worm Ranch on Wallula Road expects to have some this week and the Ol’ Timers usually place an ad in the UB when theirs is available.

For those not so excited as I to make the trek all around town for a single bunch of asparagus, many of the local markets are now carrying Washington-grown asparagus. If you’ve never tried asparagus, you are in for a treat! It’s delicate crisp flavor is really like nothing else. To me it tastes like spring, others compare it to artichokes or the heart of the broccoli stem. No matter how you describe it, it’s delicious and oh-so-good for you.

People have been eating and enjoying asparagus for thousands of years. There is even a recipe for asparagus in the oldest surviving recipe book, Apicius’s De re coquinaria. Asparagus is low in calories and is very low in sodium. It is a good source of vitamin B₆, magnesium and zinc, and a very good source of dietary fiber, potassium and antioxidants such as Vitamin A and C, as well as chromium, a trace mineral that helps insulin transport glucose from the bloodstream into cells.

There are as many ways to prepare asparagus as there are ways to describe it. I love it simply sauteed al dente, with a pat of butter, sprinkle of salt and squeeze of lemon. Or grilled over hot coals and drizzled with olive oil and lemon. Baking it with some olive oil and parmesan is nice as well. Some like to serve it with a hollandaise sauce, bake it in a quiche or on a pizza with olive oil and garlic. Graze makes a lovely asparagus panini with bechamel sauce. Anyway you decide to cook it, enjoy it while the local stuff is still available. Asparagus has a short season, from April to June, and once it’s gone, we have to wait a whole year before we can enjoy it fresh once again.

We will be having a asparagus tasting event this Saturday, April 28^th. For those brand-new to asparagus, or those seasoned asparagus connoisseurs, come join us for a fun afternoon of asparagus bites and conversation. Contact me directly for more info.

How to Prepare Asparagus:

Wash with cold water. Take one asparagus spear and bend the lower half until it snaps. The lower half will be tough and semi-woody. Take the cut upper portion and lay it next to the rest of the bunch. Cut the others where the first spear snapped. Now they are ready for cooking!

Alternately, you can peel the lower portion of the spear rather than breaking them off. I prefer the snapping/cutting version.

Simple Lemon Butter Sauteed Asparagus

1 lb. Asparagus, trimmed

1 tablespoon butter

dash of olive oil

salt and pepper

1 lemon, juice and zest

Heat a large skillet on medium high heat. Add butter and olive oil until melted. Add asparagus to pan and stir to coat in butter. Cook until bright green and just tender. Remove from heat, sprinkle with salt, pepper and lemon zest and plate. Just before serving, drizzle with lemon juice.

Steamed Asparagus with Creamy Tarragon Sauce

2 bunches asparagus, tough ends trimmed

1/2 cup plain yogurt

6 tablespoons mayonnaise

4 teaspoons chopped fresh tarragon or 1 teaspoon dried

1 tablespoon lemon juice

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Bring water to a boil in a large saucepan. Put asparagus in a steamer basket, cover and steam until tender-crisp, about 4 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk yogurt, mayonnaise, tarragon, lemon juice, water, mustard, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Drizzle the sauce over the asparagus. Serve warm or cold.

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Have you ever stopped to think about why you eat certain foods and dislike others?
We all come into this world under different circumstances, different cultures and traditions.  Our parents are our first food teachers, passing down their knowledge and preferences with what they eat and prepare for us.  We learn with and without words what foods we like and what are suitable for consumption.  If our parents are limited in what they eat and prepare, we as children learn those habits as well.
As we get older, we experience the world beyond our family dinner table.  We try new things at the homes of friends, at restaurants and, if we are lucky enough to travel, foods outside our American borders.  Some people welcome new things with excitement and anticipation, while others approach them with fear and anxiety.  The way we eat is personal and a representation of our life experience so far.  We eat what we know, what we like and what is culturally acceptable.  Some people take their personal food identity even further, with a passion for learning and evolving, by seeking an understanding beyond what they already know and what the food advertising world tells us we should eat.
There is a lot of confusion in our country these days with ever-changing fad diets, food trends and “scientific studies” telling us what is or isn’t healthy.  Back in the 1970s we were told eating fat was bad for us, after that red meat was the bad guy, then sugar, and now it’s wheat.  Why is it we are so confused while other countries — Italy and France, for example — eat all the pasta, butter, bread and wine they want without a hint of guilt or confusion?  Michael Pollan, in his book “The Omnivore’s Dilemma,” points out that America is a country without “a single, stable culinary tradition to guides us.”  We are a country of immigrants, each with different food cultures.  It is no wonder we feel so overwhelmed and confused when faced with the question of what to eat.  With so many options and thousands of new foods coming into the market each year, we can no longer rely on our inherent knowledge of what is “good” and “bad”.
Some people will choose to do nothing.  They will continue to eat what they grew up eating, what tastes good to them and what’s convenient.  And that’s fine.  Everyone is allowed their own path.  But for everyone else out there, confused and looking for answers, education and a openness to try new things is key.  We all get stuck in food habits because what we know is comfortable and we don’t have to put much thought into the process.   But taking ourselves out of the routine and trying something new can bring amazing results.
I spent the last two weeks on a detox diet, eliminating meat, dairy, sugar, caffeine and wheat from daily meals.  It was a challenge to come up with satisfying meals that were not based on meat or dairy. But it encouraged me to see mealtime in a whole new way, focusing more on plant foods like beans, vegetables and grains, and less on the easy, well-known animal foods.  Skipping any processed foods for that period shed fresh light on the whole grocery shopping experience, making me realize how much we as American rely on ready-made foods.  We’ve been conditioned to believe that we don’t have time to make a meal from scratch — and why bother if it’s already made for you? We’ve been convinced we don’t want to be like our mothers, spending hours in the kitchen.  But reading those labels, those processed meals are FAR from the original, with loads of unnecessary chemicals and unrecognizable ingredients, often lacking in the foods it should contain.
Those two weeks gave me an appreciation for foods in their natural state, of all the wonderful beans and grains that are underused in our culture.  I realize how easy it is to make my own foods from scratch, how it’s not as difficult as the food media wants us to believe, and how much better my body feels when I skip the packaged junk.  Being open to continually learning and growing when it comes to food we put in our body gives us a chance to reflect on what we believe and what we think we know.  It’s easy to take the word of some authority on the matter and not give it another thought, but do they really have our best interest in mind?
Skip reading the next “scientific study” or jumping on the bandwagon of the next food trend.  Take a cooking class to sharpen your kitchen skills.  Read a book like “The Omnivore’s Dilemma.”  Try some new recipes online.  Try a detox diet for a week.  Skip the processed junk and make food with a friend or invite your family into the kitchen to help out.

We may be a country without a single, stable culinary tradition, but with a little education and back-to-the-basics attitude, we have the opportunity to be a country with vast knowledge and ability to navigate our complicated food world with ease.

Today I made a lovely citrus juice from blood oranges, grapefruit and navel oranges.  It had a beautiful rosy hue and I tried to make it last throughout the day, though it was so delicious I wanted to drink it all at once.  Maybe I’ll buy more fruit next time, so I can make enough to last a couple days.

Lunch was leftover peanut butter coconut milk soba with veggies.  It was even better the second day:)

For dinner I made a nourishing savory miso soup with wakame, carrots, mushrooms and snap peas.  I boiled udon noodles to add to the kid’s soup.  So satisfying, warm and delicious.   Perfect for this rainy cold (almost) spring day.

This was the first time I made a miso soup from scratch, that actually tasted like the ones you get at a nice Japanese restaurant.  I started by make a dashi stock with bonito flakes and kombu, strained them out and added the veggies until tender.  Adding the miso paste to the individual bowl before serving ensured no damage to the flavor of the fragile miso.

This morning, I had the lovely oat pancakes again.  I find them more satisfying than any other breakfast food option.  To switch it up a bit, I topped them with a raspberry rhubarb compote I made last week.  What a beautiful match!  Nibbling on them while checking my morning emails, I thought these would make a wonderful rolled crepe, if I made the batter thinner.  Next time!

For lunch, I threw together white beans with assorted veggies we had in the fridge.  A leftover potato, cubed, some corn, asparagus and fresh spinach.  I sauteed the potatoes and asparagus, then added the rest of the items to warm and wilt.  Topped off with some pinenuts, it was quite nourishing and savory!

My husband, who was home at lunchtime, came up with his own creation with the ingredients on hand. His was a cold spinach salad with white beans, cashews, corn and a balsamic-olive oil dressing.  It was delicious as well.

For dinner, I thought I’d mix it up a bit and go international with some falafel.  Normally, we would drizzle a yogurt dressing over them, but the no dairy rule cancelled that thought.  They were still quite yummy, with all the fresh veggies and a light drizzle of olive oil.  The kids weren’t big fans, so I made them some last minute pasta.

For a nice snack, I also made some strawberry-raspberry spelt muffins.  Instead of sugar, I used honey and they were plenty sweet.  Dicing the strawberries in small pieces made for a nice touch, so each bite rewards with tasty bits of strawberry.  I made 30, and we almost made it through all of them before they started to get stale.  Next time, I’ll pack some away in the freezer for future snacking.

Some of the positive things I’ve noticed since starting this detox:

I’m not eating out of boredom anymore.

No longer part of the processed food world, I’m seeing with new fresh eyes the sad state of food we live in.  The majority of food that fills the shelves of grocers is far from it’s original natural state, processed and packaged, to help?? consumers??  We’ve become so immune to in, surrounded by it daily that we don’t even notice how far we’ve come from when our grandparents were growing up.  Sad indeed!

I don’t need coffee like I thought I did.  I just like the taste and convention.

…two more days to go.  Then I’m thinking of easing back in, with some easily digestible dairy foods.  and maybe a beer or two.

I recently wrote an article for Lifestyles magazine, sharing the appeal and steps of a spring detox diet. At the end of the article, I thought it would be helpful to offer to my readers a step by step guide, by doing the detox myself for a month and writing about it on my blog. It sounded great on paper, but what it really meant in my life was actually having to do the detox.

I begun the detox this week, cutting out dairy, meat, sugar, caffeine, wheat and any white refined foods. We’ve been eating lots of veggies, beans, grains and drinking almond milk. Of course, I miss the butter, milk and coffee, but missing the wheat is the biggest surprise. I realize we have become so dependent on wheat and I crave it in it’s many forms.

With this new diet, having to replace wheat with other grains, I’ve been reminded the glories of other grains. Each having it’s own unique flavor and texture, they can be utilized in more than just bread. I’ve been making grain salads for lunch, with fresh chopped veggies, like peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes and fresh herbs. To replace our morning bowl of cereal, we’ve been making flourless oat pancakes, hot spelt porriage and oatmeal with dry fruit.

More and more we hear about folks with gluten allergies. I could venture to guess that the overuse of wheat in our culture has brought this on, but who can say. Those with wheat allergies or an intolerance could benefit from some non-wheat ideas, as could those of us who realize we’d like to eat more of a variety of different types of foods. Every food has a different nutritional profile, so eating a variety of foods not only makes for an interesting life, but also provides the body with an assortment of the essential nutrients for optimal health.

Here are a few different interesting grains you may or may not be familiar with. As I’ve mentioned before, it is ideal to soak your grains prior to cooking, so as to reduce the phytic acid that inhibits mineral absorption. A couple hours is better than nothing, but 4-8 hours is ideal. I just put my grains in a mason jar on the counter the night before. As Jamie Oliver would say, “easy peasy”.

Oats
(gluten-free)
Oats in their whole form are called oat groats. They can be cooked whole and added to vegetable or green salads. High in protein, a half cup can contribute nearly a quarter of your daily requirement.

Steel cut oats are the groat cut into small pieces. These make a nice oatmeal or soaked and ground for pancakes.

Oat flakes are what we call rolled oats. Not only is it delicious as a breakfast hot cereal, it makes lovely granola, mixed with melted butter, honey and nuts and baked until crisp. I like to boost the nutrition in baked goods by adding oats to cookies, muffins, bread and in meatloaf, instead of bread.

Oat flour make a wonderful substitute for wheat flour in many baked goods. But because it does not contain gluten, it will not bind like wheat, making for a crumbly product.

Spelt
(not gluten-free, but many people with allergies to wheat can tolerate)
Spelt in it’s whole form is called either spelt or farro. As with oat groats, spelt makes a nice addition to salads. A nice combination is spelt, belegin endive, tangerine and goat cheese. Or roasted vegetables with spelt, wilted spinach and pine nuts.

Spelt flakes make a nice addition to a pot of oatmeal, or use like you would normally with oats.

Spelt flour replaces wheat flour beautifully in all recipes, because it does contain gluten.

Quinoa
(gluten-free)
Quinoa is not actually a grain, but a seed and most often used in it’s whole form. Because it has a balance of all the essential amino acids, it is a complete protein. Before cooking, rinse with water to remove the naturally-occuring saponins, which give a bitter taste. The quick cooking time makes this whole grain an ally for last minute dinners. Use as you would with rice, in salads, as a pilaf or a simple side dish.

Amaranth
(gluten-free)
Like quinoa, amaranth is a seed rather than a true grain. And like quinoa, it is most often used in it’s whole form. It is packed with iron and calicium and has triple the fiber of wheat. It is also easy to digest, making it beneficial for those recovering from illness or transitioning from a fast. Use like you would rice.

Millet
(gluten-free)
Most often used in it’s whole form, millet is a nice addition to any diet. It’s mild, almost nutty flavor goes well in salads, in baked goods and as a stand-in for rice. I like to toast it briefly before cooking, to retain it’s form and bring out the nuttiness. It also makes a great porriage.

Buckwheat
(gluten-free)
Whole buckwheat is called buckwheat groats. Toasted groats are called kasha, commonly used in Russian cooking. Either toasted or not, buckwheat groats make a nice addition to salads or mixed with seasonal veggies for a hearty meal.

Buckwheat flour can be used for pancakes, used together with other grains for bread or made into a japanese pasta, called soba. Buckwheat is high in rutin, a flavonoid that protects against disease by strengthening capillaries and preventing blood clots.

No matter what the reasoning is, including various non-wheat grains into your diet is good idea. For fun or for health, cooking an assortment of grains breaks up the monotony of your everyday diet. I’m glad I did.
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Steel-cut oat flour-less pancakes

2/3 cup steel cut oats
1/3 cup raw buckwheat groats
1/2 cup plain whole milk yogurt
¾ cup water
1 egg
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine oats, buckwheat, yogurt and water in blender jar. Cover and let soak overnight or 6-8 hours in the refrigerator.

Put blender bowl onto the base. Add remaining ingredients to grains and blend until smooth. Preheat a skillet. Pour about ¼ cup batter and cook for about 2 minutes on each side or until golden. Repeat until all batter is used.

(Recipe adapted from Cynthia Lair’s Cookus Interruptus)

For breakfast, I made up some oatmeal with spelt and rolled oats.  I added coconut oil, raisins and a dash of maple syrup.  It was tasty!

My husband had a bowl of granola with almond milk.  The kids decided they’ve had enough of the detox, and are back to toast, butter and fruit for breakfast.

Also for breakfast, a berry smoothie, with almond milk, raspberries, strawberries and blueberries. I made enough extra for snack later in the day.

For lunch, I was short on time and made peanut butter and honey sandwiches on spelt bread.  It satiated me until I got home and could make a real meal.

For dinner, I made sauteed kale, wild mushrooms and onion until just tender and added cooked farro.  With a drizzle of tamari, my dinner was complete.  It was delicious and satisfying.

I’m really starting to get the hang of this diet.  With lots of fresh fruits and veggies in the house, all I need to plan ahead is the grain and protein.  I soak a few grains the night before, and think about what protein I might use.  If it’s going to be beans, I soak them as well.  With those two components out of the way, it’s just a matter of adding a variety of veggies to a pan, cook them until they are almost done, add the grains/proteins and the meal is ready.

I make almond milk almost daily, as we use it up for smoothies and granola.  Smoothies are our saving grace, for those snackish moments, or when we get home starved and need something instant.

My husband found our juicer in the unpacked boxes in our closet and we can start tomorrow with some fresh juices as well.  I’m thinking apple-carrot-ginger! Yum!

I feel great, making a healthy BM everyday, and don’t feel deprived in anyway.  I’m thinking I’m going to keep going for another week, but don’t think I can keep up with taking pictures of all my food.  Remembering to take pics, trying to get the right lighting and uploading every night is exhausting!  But I said I would, and I’m going to finish the week off.  I will continue to track my intake and post menus, for those interested.

This has been a great project so far; my husband and I are both glad we decided to undertake this food adventure.  I’m learning alot about myself, my food habits and vices and the foods I can really do without.  It’s a wonderful awakening and experience.

Thank goodness it’s almost the weekend, so we won’t have to get up early and pack lunches. But no days off this week.  I have a catering gig Saturday and cooking classes Sunday.  I’m going to continue with the detox, but the family is off the hook.  Amongst all the other stuff I have going on, I can’t take my daughter’s tears when presented with a snack she can’t eat at the after-school program and my son’s “This is what we’re having for dinner?”.  I know it’s good for them, and we’ve gotten out of the habit of eating vegetarian meals at home, so the food is unfamiliar.  So maybe I won’t make them continue with me, but I will start preparing these same sort of meals here and there through the week.  It’s delicious and nutritious, just not what they are used to eating.

Without further ado, here is what we ate for our third day of detox.

For breakfast: steel-cut oat pancakes with raspberries and orange juice.

For lunch, the kids had peanut butter and honey sandwiches on spelt bread, carrot sticks and apple slices.

For my lunch, I had leftover brown rice and black beans, with fresh salsa and sauteed spinach.  I sprinkled a few pine nuts on top for crunch and a little extra protein.

For dinner:  tofu wild mushroom lettuce cups with tamari and sesame oil.  I steamed some broccoli as well.  It was tasty!! For the kids, I left out the mushrooms, but they ate one and said they were full.  I heated up the leftover soba from last night and they gobbled it up.

The morning started out good with some yummy ground steel-cut oat pancakes, blueberries and raspberry smoothie for the kids.

And some spelt-oat meal, blueberries and a tangerine for the adults.  The oatmeal was a bit of a challenge, as I love mine with lots of butter, cream and maple syrup.  I compromised with coconut oil instead of butter, almond milk for the cream, itty bitty drizzle of maple syrup and dash of salt.   It was delicious!

Inspired by the teenagers in my morning cooking class, I made a lovely black bean-corn salad for lunch.  It had: red bell pepper, green onion, cucumber, cilantro, lime juice, jalapeno,avocado, olive oil and salt. My husband and I ate every last morsel.

For dinner, I went off the menu, as I craved something without beans.  I saw this buckwheat soba in my pantry, right next to the can of coconut milk, and dinner was decided. Soba with peanut sauce!  I used to make this for a client friend of mine, who hired me when she had twins.  She liked her peanut sauce with almond butter instead.  This one was made from a can of coconut milk, peanut butter, tamari and a dash of rice vinegar.  A little chili paste would make a nice addition, but we were out.  To this sauce, I added the cooked noodles, peas, cabbage, orange bell pepper, green onion and cilantro.  The whole family gobbled it up.

The second day was easier than the first for me.  No more coffee-withdrawl headaches, no cravings for snacks.  Though it was a challenge when I visited the Walla Walla Bread Co. for a meeting today, knowing I would be bringing home a loaf of warm spelt bread made it easy.

Surprisingly, I don’t crave sugar.  I thought that would be one of the hardest things.  Knowing I am making healthy choices, that it will only last a week, and my determination to do this right have made me forget about my love of sweet things.  If I want a sweet treat, I pick an apple, orange or banana from the fruit bowl.  If I’m really just hungry, I have a drink of smoothie or slice of that yummy spelt bread.

My family, on the other hand, are having a harder time.  My daughter broke down in tears today, when she realized that she couldn’t eat the muffins we were making in cooking class.  I reminded her she could have some next week, and consoled her with the offer to make a special batch together.  For the time being, she could enjoy a cup of frozen blueberries, one of her favorite foods.  She wiped the tears and became my helper for the day.

My son follows along, but with no excitement.  Both kids understand why we are doing the detox and share with their classmates the details, seemingly with pride.  Maybe because they like to show off interesting things they know and do.  Whatever the reason, they are still on board with me and don’t seem to be dragging their feet too much.  They did have rice “sushi”rolls for lunch today, which is a special treat. It’s not all bad:)

The husband appeared to be flowing with the process but admitted to having major cravings and feelings of not being satisfied.  He is a big dairy guy, treating himself to a snack of cheese and crackers at least once a day. In the past, when I packed his lunches, he was never satisfied with a mere veggie-bean salad for lunch.  This is sort of that lunch all over again, for a week.  Hopefully the next few days I will come up with enough interesting meals to keep him going.