The First Signs of Spring

Despite the occasional slice of pumpkin or apple pie, toast with cheese or scrambled eggs, I mostly eat the same thing for breakfast—cold cereal (I’m currently a fan of Quaker Oat Squares), granola or oatmeal.

This week I bought my first batch of California strawberries to have with my cereal and simultaneously noticed that it’s getting lighter earlier in the morning—a glimmer, just a glimmer, that spring is on its way. My next move is to immediately go out and buy some sweet pea seeds to plant asap.

Having fresh fruit in granola makes me happy. Strawberries now, blueberries once they come into season in Washington, blackberries that I pick on the roadside in August, and then back to the end of the strawberry crop whenever that runs out—September I think. My fruit-rotation-system isn't 100 percent local, but I allow myself to count California produce as local since it's all at least West Coast. And beginning my day with fresh fruit gets me closer to the recommended 5 daily servings of fruit and vegetables. (http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/Publications/DietaryGuidelines/2010/PolicyDoc/PolicyDoc.pdf).

I like to cut store-bought granola that I buy in the bulk-foods section with about two cups of oatmeal that I toast myself—spread on a cookie sheet and baked for about 25 minutes in a 325 degree oven. This cuts the sweetness of the granola and the price. I usually add some toasted sliced almonds too and lately have started to sprinkle on some wheat germ—just a teaspoon or so.

Salmonfish for Lunch--Getting More Salmon into our Diet

Since the EPA discovered that tuna has dangerous levels of mercury, I’ve drastically cut back on eating it.  We do order tuna once in awhile at a fancy restaurant, but for sandwiches, I’ve discovered canned salmon—from wild Alaskan salmon.

Salmonfish is our go-to lunch on the weekends.  With sliced bread from the local bakery, spinach leaves on top and made with a mixture of mayonnaise, mustard, pickle relish and chopped celery if I have some, a salmonfish sandwich is a no-brainer.

I’ve recently decided that salmonfish could also stand as the official sandwich of the Democratic Party. Without spending for the EPA, the mercury findings and warnings would not have happened. And while Barry is still eating tuna instead of salmon, I have adopted his method of reducing the amount of mayonnaise and replacing it with mustard.

Check out the EPA recommendations at: http://www.nrdc.org/health/effects/mercury/tuna.asp
Watch a video of President Obama and tunafish at: http://www.parentearth.com/recipes/president-obama-makes-tuna-fish-with-his-kids/

Love and Marriage: Horse and Carriage: Soup and Salad: Pan Fried Fish, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw, Cornbread and Beer

I seem to have ready-made food pairings when I cook. Burgers and fries, obviously, but also green enchiladas and a red onion and orange salad; chicken salad and corn-on-the-cob; cassoulet and baked tomatoes; and, last night’s dinner, pan fried cod, baked beans, coleslaw, cornbread and beer. I’m in a bit of a rut, but if it ain’t broke. . .

I usually dredge the fish in cornmeal, but last night I used flour, which works just fine. I used a Bob’s Red Mill cornmeal mix for the first time and it was really great—more fluffy than my normal cornbread.  A bit of left-over kale with garlic gave the cornbread an extra kick.  My baked beans are just from the can, but someday I want to get out of that lazy rut and make my own. My daughter Kate cooks up a storm on the weekends and stores cooked beans in the freezer in meal-size portions, making them almost as easy as canned beans.

Bagged coleslaw is problematic for a household of two. Even if I use it two or three days in a row, te remainder left in the bag goes bad before I have had a chance to use it all--coleslaw the first day, a handful of  coleslaw tossed into any kind of soup or stew the second day and another handful tossed into a salad for day three. But even that doesn't use up all the coleslaw. I do resort to the bagged mix now and then, but I love to buy small green and red cabbages whole—they’re so cute! I always hated it when my mother put red cabbage in a salad, but lately, the idea that it's so healthy has converted me to doing the same thing.

Waffles and Oven-Roasted Broccoli

Don't you love to have breakfast for dinner? Omelets are my go-to meal when we get home late from traveling or when my creativity flags--it's just so easy and so tasty to throw in bits of left-over kale, sauté the remaining two or three mushrooms in the fridge and toss in whatever cheese is on hand along with plenty of salt and pepper. On the other hand, I actually plan for waffles.

I use a recipe in a small cookbook I've had since college, "Cooking with Wholegrains" that is, by now, a bit beaten. I used to have frozen tofu sausages in the freezer that were easy to microwave and serve alongside the waffles, but now-a-days we skip those 'cause they are so high in sodium. Surprisingly, broccoli works really well with waffles. Yep. It's true.

Roasting any vegetable is magical of course, but it really does change the character of broccoli. (That said, until I discovered this, I did in fact serve steamed broccoli with the waffles--keeping it on the crunchy side of course.) Roasting broccoli, tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper takes only 10-15 minutes or so in a 400 degree oven. It comes out slightly charred, sweet, and tasting nothing like the broccoli you thought you knew.

I suppose the reason this pairing works for me is the contrast of flavors--something on the tart and crisp side to contrast with the richness of butter, bread and syrup--something akin to having berries or oranges with waffles as well. Not that the principle of contrasts works 100 percent of the time. But sometimes unusual, but contrasting flavors work out--witness the times that the Top Chef judges point our unusual pariings that they didn't think would work, but that turn out to taste just right.

Here's an article I wrote about combining flavors:
http://www.livestrong.com/article/258258-how-to-combine-flavors-in-healthy-eating/