How Ultra-Processed Foods Are Killing Us - Marion Nestle - Food - The Atlantic

How Ultra-Processed Foods Are Killing Us - Marion Nestle - Food - The Atlantic

The Four Fish

Reading a fascinating book by Paul Greenberg called "The Four Fish." Its an eye-opening look at how the human race came to favor basically four species of fish for eating and how we have affected their ecology. Though I love eating food from the sea and believe most is quite healthy to eat, I think its good to be aware of the health of our oceans and the fish that live in it.

Autumn Beckons

This Labor Day Weekend is especially foretelling of the season to come. With "Earl" bringing cooler air and brisk winds to the northeast, it signals(earlier than usual) that autumn is certainly on its way. I can't wait. Although I love the summer, once fall approaches, my wife says my eating habits change dramatically. When snacking I switch to apples, nuts, and dried fruit - especially apricots. As it gets colder I do get a pretty severe chocolate habit. As I'm sure many others do, I start to crave soup and stews, savory stuff. Last year I discovered some pretty amazing soups and other hearty fall dishes and I'll be writing about more of them this year. For us, a membership in a CSA pretty much has guaranteed an abundance of fall produce and we are eager to start cooking . Stay tuned.

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Eating mix of fruits, veggies may cut lung cancer risk – The Chart - CNN.com Blogs

Eating mix of fruits, veggies may cut lung cancer risk – The Chart - CNN.com Blogs

Farro Salad with Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Basil | David Lebovitz

Farro Salad with Tomatoes, Mushrooms and Basil David Lebovitz

Jersey Tomatoes!!

Its rough when you have a pile of fresh produce from your CSA and you need to use it up before it goes bad. You have to think fast on your feet. We had lots of potatoes and tomatoes this week. On the left is sliced yellow and red tomatoes with mozzarella dressed in a really fantastic basil pesto vinagrette. The dish on the right is a simple potato salad with a shallot, white wine vinegar and mustard dressing. Below I've just listed the dressing for each. For the potato salad just chop up some potatoes, whatever kind you like and boil them until done, then add the dressing. Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best.

Basil Pesto Vinagrette

1 cup tightly packed basil leaves

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp minced garlic

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp pine nuts toasted

In a food processor roughly chop the basil, garlic, nuts, salt and pepper for a few seconds. Next add 1/2 cup olive oil and blend for a minute or so. Pour the pesto mixture into a bowl and add 1/2 cup olive oil and the vinegar.

Mustard Shallot Vinagrette(adapted from epicurious.com).

1 large shallot minced

1 tbsp whole grain mustard

1/2 tbsp Dijon mustard

salt and pepper to taste

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

3 tbsp olive oil

handful of parsley

whisk all ingredients together and add to cooked potatoes.

grilled whole fish with herbs

I saw this recipe recently in Mark Bittman's column in the Times. Actually, after searching for a while online, I found that its a very popular recipe and really a quite easy way to have a good meal and impress your friends as well! This is another situation where cooking with fresh herbs really makes food shine.

1 or 2 whole fishes cleaned, with or without the head on. Ideal fish are Branzina, sea bass or rainbow trout

a few lemon slices seeded
large garlic clove sliced
about 5 sprigs of fresh thyme per fish
olive oil
salt and pepper

Heat grill or broiler
Open the fish and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place about 4 slices garlic spread out in each fish. Place 2-3 lemon slices in fish along with 4-5 sprigs of thyme, drizzle generously with olive oil inside and outside the fish. Grill fish until done. Branzina takes about 7-8 minutes per side, smaller fish like rainbow trout really only need 4 minutes per side.