Food Poem Fridays: Iroquois Prayer THE THANKSGIVINGS

The Thanksgivings

Translated from a traditional Iroquois prayer by Harriet Maxwell Converse

We who are here present thank the Great Spirit that we are here to praise Him.

We thank Him that He has created men and women, and ordered that these beings shall always be living to multiply the earth.

We thank Him for making the earth and giving these beings its products to live on.

We thank Him for the water that comes out of the earth and runs for our lands.

We thank Him for all the animals on the earth.

We thank Him for certain timbers that grow and have fluids coming from them for us all.

We thank Him for the branches of the trees that grow shadows for our shelter.

We thank Him for the beings that come from the west, the thunder and lightning that water the earth.

We thank Him for the light which we call our oldest brother, the sun that works for our good.

We thank Him for all the fruits that grow on the trees and vines.

We thank Him for his goodness in making the forests, and thank all its trees.

We thank Him for the darkness that gives us rest, and for the kind Being of the darkness that gives us light, the moon.

We thank Him for the bright spots in the skies that give us signs, the stars.

We give Him thanks for our supporters, who had charge of our harvests.

We give thanks that the voice of the Great Spirit can still be heard through the words of Ga-ne-o-di-o.

We thank the Great Spirit that we have the privilege of this pleasant occasion.

We give thanks for the persons who can sing the Great Spirit's music, and hope they will be privileged to continue in his faith.

We thank the Great Spirit for all the persons who perform the ceremonies on this occasion.

Recipe: Cranberry Chutney

Thanksgiving is when the foodie side of my family gets together (about 8 families) and makes a massive Indo-fied autumnal meal with something for everyone (read: lots of vegetarians and pescatarians). I'll try to take lots of pictures this year and post as many recipes as I can. Cranberry chutney (my mother's adaptation) is perhaps the most enduring part of the tradition, so I'll start with that.

Cranberry Chutney
16 oz. fresh cranberries, rinsed
2 cups light brown sugar
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon orange zest

1" piece ginger, peeled and minced

1-2 teaspoons red chilli powder (depending on how spicy yours is -- mine is very hot)

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan and stir well. Cook over medium heat until cranberries pop open (about 10 minutes). Skim and discard the surface foam. Cool to room temperature. Refrigerate, covered. The chutney can keep for a while (in theory, but, at least with us, it's always finished in a few days).

Recipe by Miz Hummus: Antioxidant Powerhouse Salad with Citrus-Ginger Dressing

From Miz Hummus (another guest blogger!), here is a tasty way to eat a rainbow of super free radical-fighting veggies!

Antioxidant Powerhouse Salad with Citrus-Ginger Dressing for 5

Salad:

5 handfuls baby spinach (about 2 Cups)

3 beets, peeled and grated

3 large or 5 small carrots, peeled and grated

10 radishes, trimmed and grated

10 mushrooms, sliced

1 avocado, diced

2 handfuls cherry tomatoes, halved

Can add: raisins or dried cranberries, sprouts

Dressing:

2 tbsp. minced fresh ginger

1/4 Cup lemon juice

pinch salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/3 cup olive oil

Whisk dressing ingredients.  Toss salad ingredients, and plate salad.  Serve dressing on the side for people to pour over the amount they want themselves.

Recipe: Warm, Crunchy Broccoli Salad

I love broccoli, but it's not really used in Indian cooking, so when I'm making Indian food for dinner and I have some in the fridge, I'm not always sure what to do with it.  Yesterday, we had a salad with a ginger-y dressing, dal with spinach, brown rice with saffron, tomato-cilantro-chaat masala raita, and diced yams with ginger and dried cherries, and I served this warm broccoli salad alongside.  This is not exactly an Indian recipe, but the flavors complemented the other dishes.

Warm, Crunchy Broccoli Salad for 4 as a side dish

3 small heads of broccoli, florets chopped into bite-sized pieces and stems peeled and chopped, and steamed until al dente

2 cloves garlic, minced

Juice of 1/2 a lemon

2 tbsp. almond butter

1 tbsp. olive oil

1/4 cup apple cider

freshly ground black pepper

salt

(I like to steam broccoli with a small amount of water in a covered microwavable dish.  It's quick and you lose fewer nutrients compared with blanching.)

In a saute pan, warm olive oil on medium heat and add garlic, and allow to warm until garlic is softened and olive oil is permeated with the garlic.  Put into a large bowl.  Put the apple cider into the saute pan and let it boil on high heat until it's reduced to a more syrupy consistency.  In the large bowl, combine the warm garlic and olive oil mixture, reduced cider, lemon juice, almond butter, and salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste, and toss with the still warm broccoli.

Recipe: Diced Yams with Ginger and Dried Cherries

It is officially fall, and yams abound.  I like everything to be spicy if it's going to be sweet, and sour to boot if I can help it.  So here is a quick and easy recipe for yams with sweet heat.

Diced Yams with Ginger and Dried Cherries for 4 as a side dish

2 shallots, peeled and minced

1/2" piece ginger, peeled and minced

1/4 Cup dried cherries

4 medium to large sized yams, peeled and diced

2 tbsp. olive oil

salt to taste

splash of Applejack or apple cider

Heat olive oil in saute pan on medium high heat.  When hot, add shallots and ginger, and saute until fragrant.  Add dried cherries and saute until cherries have softened.  Add diced yams and salt to taste and toss to combine with shallot-ginger-cherry mixture.  Add a splash of Applejack or apple cider, cover, turn heat down to low, and let yams steam cook until tender, about 5-10 minutes (depending on the size of your dice).

Food Poem Fridays: Dale Ritterbusch's GREEN TEA

Green Tea
by Dale Ritterbusch

There is this tea
I have sometimes,
Pan Long Ying Hao,
so tightly curled
it looks like tiny roots
gnarled, a greenish-gray.
When it steeps, it opens
the way you woke this morning,
stretching, your hands behind
your head, back arched,
toes pointing, a smile steeped
in ceremony, a celebration,
the reaching of your arms.

Recipe: Pumpkin Pancakes

Every fall we make pumpkin pancakes! They're yummy, spiced, taste wonderful with maple syrup and/or some diced apples softened in a pan with cinnamon and brown sugar, or made into little "sandwiches" with maple-tinged cream slathered between. Mmmm...

Pumpkin Pancakes for 4

One.

4 large eggs
1 1/3 cups whole milk
3/4 cup canned pure pumpkin
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Two.
1 1/2 cups whole grain pancake mix of your choice (I like Pamela's) -OR-
1 cup whole wheat or buckwheat flour
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour or almond flour

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

Three.
1 1/4 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Grapeseed, canola, or olive oil spray
Maple syrup

Whisk eggs vigorously in large bowl until fluffy. Whisk in the milk, pumpkin, butter, and vanilla to blend well. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, whisking just until smooth (will be thick).

Spray a large (preferably nonstick) skillet or crepe pan with oil spray; heat over medium heat. Ladle batter into skillet (about 1/3 cup per pancake). Cook until bubbles form on surface of pancakes and bottoms are brown, about 1 1/2 minutes per side. Repeat with remaining batter, spraying oil between batches as needed.

Serve with syrup (and/or diced apple cooked until soft in a pan with a little cinnamon and brown sugar).

A Dozen Adults in the Mountains for a Weekend

It's beginning to become a tradition for us to go up into the mountains for one weekend each fall with our friends, mostly courtesy of a very generous pediatric infectious diseases physician who has now let us use his mountain hang suite twice. (We dream of buying a second home near the beach sometime, just to return the favor to him.)

So, what does one serve to a dozen adults over a weekend in the mountains? Below is this year's menu.

FRIDAY SUPPING

Spanish Olive Mix

Cocktail Samosas & Mango Chutney

Baby Spinach Salad with Dried Cherries & Shallot Vinaigrette

Mozzarella & Fresh Tomato Pizza with Whole-Wheat Crust

Portobello Pesto Pizza with Whole-Wheat Crust

Red Seedless Grapes

Local Empire & McIntosh Apples

Hudson Valley Camembert

Coach Farm Herb Goat Cheese

Manchego, Six-Month-Aged

New York State Cheddar, Extra-Sharp

7-Grain Crackers

(Friday, everyone arrived from the city at different times, so it was good to have some items that could be kept out for snacking over a long period and re-heated for the late arrivals.)

SATURDAY BRUNCHING

Multi-Grain Pumpkin Pancakes & Maple Syrup

Broccoli Frittata with Herb Goat Cheese

Clementines

Bananas

Orange Juice, Coffee & Black Tea

SATURDAY NIGHT

This year we went out to a local organic bistro that had live music, then came home to make some S’mores. (Last year we made tilapia in a white wine sauce, roasted wild mushrooms, and an autumn salad.)

SUNDAY BRUNCHING

Banana Bread

Blueberry Muffins

Whole Wheat Banana Muffins

Yogurt & Banana Nut Granola with Pomegranate Seeds

Toast (there was butter, peanut butter, and local strawberry-raspberry preserves)

Clementines

Bananas

Orange Juice, Coffee & Black Tea

SNACKS

Roasted Salted Cashews & Pistachios

Grape Tomatoes

Chili-Lime & Blue Corn Chips with Chipotle Salsa

Veggie Burgers (there was multi-grain bread, mango chutney, and baby spinach)

Local Apples

Celery

Creamy Peanut Butter & Local Strawberry Raspberry Preserves

We also served garnacha tintorera, prosecco, and riesling. Nearly everything was organic! : )

Food Poem Fridays: William Makepeace Thackeray's BALLAD OF BOUILLABAISSE

The Ballad of Bouillabaisse

By William Makepeace Thackeray

A Street there is in Paris famous,

For which no rhyme our language yields,

Rue Neuve de petits Champs its name is -

The New Street of the Little Fields;

And there's an inn, not rich and splendid,

But still in comfortable case -

The which in youth I oft attended,

To eat a bowl of Bouillabaisse.

This Bouillabaisse a noble dish is -

A sort of soup, or broth, or brew,

Or hotchpotch of all sorts of fishes,

That Greenwich never could outdo;

Green herbs, red peppers, muscles, saffern, Soles, onions, garlic, roach, and dace;

All these you eat at Terre's tavern,

In that one dish of Bouillabaisse.

Indeed, a rich and savory stew 't is;

And true philosophers, methinks,

Who love all sorts of natural beauties,

Should love good victuals and good drinks.

And Cordelier or Benedictine Might gladly, sure, his lot embrace,

Nor find a fast-day too afflicting,

Which served him up a Bouillabaisse.

I wonder if the house still there is?

Yes, here the lamp is as before;

The smiling, red-cheeked ecaillere is

Still opening oysters at the door.

Is Terre still alive and able?

I recollect his droll grimace;

He'd come and smile before your table,

And hoped you like your Bouillabaisse.

We enter; nothing's changed or older.

"How's Monsieur Terre, waiter, pray?"

The waiter stares and shrugs his shoulders ; -

"Monsieur is dead this many a day."

"It is the lot of saint and sinner. So honest Terre's run his race!"

"What will Monsieur require for dinner?"

"Say, do you still cook Bouillabaisse?"

"Oh, oui, Monsieur," 's the waiter's answer;

"Quel vin Monsieur desire-t-il ?"

"Tell me a good one."

"That I can, sir; The Chambertin with yellow seal."

"So Terre's gone," I say, and sink in

My old accustomed corner-place;

"He's done with feasting and wine drinking, With Burgundy and Bouillabaisse."

My old accustomed corner here is -

The table still is in the nook;

Ah! vanished many a busy year is,

This well-known chair since last I took.

When first I saw ye, Cari luoghi,

I'd scarce a beard upon my face,

And now a grizzled, grim old fogy,

I sit and wait for Bouillabaisse.

Where are you, old companions trusty

Of early days, here met to dine?

Come, waiter! quick, a flagon crusty

I'll pledge them in the good old wine.

The kind old voices and old faces

My memory can quick retrace;

Around the board they take their places,

And share the wine and Bouillabaisse.

There's Jack has made a wondrous marriage;

There's laughing Tom is laughing yet;

There's brave Augustus drives his carriage;

There's poor old Fred in the Gazette;

On James' head the grass is growing:

Good Lord! the world has wagged apace

Since here we sat the Claret flowing,

And drank, and ate the Bouillabaisse.

Ah me! how quick the days are flitting!

I mind me of a time that's gone,

When here I'd sit, as now I'm sitting,

In this same place--but not alone.

A fair young form was nestled near me,

A dear, dear face looked fondly up,

And sweetly spoke and smiled to cheer me.

- There's no one now to share my cup.

I drink it as the Fates ordain it.

Come, fill it, and have done with rhymes;

Fill up the lonely glass, and drain it

In memory of dear old times.

Welcome the wine, whate'er the seal is;

And sit you down and say your grace

With thankful heart, whate'er the meal is.

Here comes the smoking Bouillabaisse!

Recipe: Sweet and Spicy Trout with Yellow Bell Pepper Dice and Brussels Sprouts

The other day, we had some left over brown rice, some fresh trout filets, a few bell peppers, and some brussels sprouts in the fridge, hence this Chinese-influenced, sweet-and-spicy meal-in-a-bowl. 

Sweet and Spicy Trout with Yellow Bell Pepper Dice and Brussels Sprouts for 2

1/2 Cup cooked brown rice, flecked with black sesame seeds

About 20 brussels sprouts, chopped (I cut each into eighths, lengthwise)

1 yellow bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced

two 1/4 pound trout filets

1" piece ginger, peeled and minced

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

2 Tbsp. nama shoyu

2 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar

1 tsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. black bean sauce

4 Tbsp. Peanut oil

Dash hot chilli sesame oil

For the brussels sprouts:

In a wok, heat 2 Tbsp. peanut oil over medium high heat.  Add half the ginger and half the garlic and saute until fragrant but do not let the ginger or garlic brown.  

Add the brussels sprouts, half the shoyu, half the rice wine vinegar, and the brown sugar, and toss.  

Continue sauteeing until the brussels sprouts are cooked and the liquids are completely reduced, about 10 minutes.

Simultaneously, for the fish and bell peppers: 

In a pan, heat the other 2 Tbsp. peanut oil over medium high heat. Add the yellow bell peppers and saute until they soften.  

Add the remaining ginger, garlic, shoyu, and rice wine vinegar, and the black bean sauce, and cook, stirring, until the mixture begins to caramelize and the liquid has reduced by about half.

Place the fish filets atop the bell peppers, dash a bit of sesame chilli oil onto them, lower the heat to medium, and cover to let the filets steam cook atop the bell peppers. (Mine took about 5 minutes, then I removed the fish skin.)

Put half of the brown rice into each of two bowls, top the rice with the sauteed brussels sprouts, top the brussels sprouts with a fish filet, and top each fish filet with the caramelized, diced bell peppers.

Recipe: Tuna Steak with Japanese Vegetables

I have recently been reading about Harumi Kurihara, the "Martha Stewart of Japan." She makes a dish of bite-sized steak with chopped vegetables that is just as do-able with tuna steak (not very unlike the trout with diced, caramelized yellow bell pepper and shredded brussels sprouts that I made the other day, if I do say so myself -- I'll post that recipe next).


Fish-and-vegetables are the basic ingredients of many of the meals I make. They make a light, nourishing meal, with endless possibilities for variation.

Tuna Bites with Japanese Vegetables for 4
About 2 lbs tuna steaks (3/4" thick if possible)
Olive or peanut oil for cooking
2 tablespoons finely chopped ginger
¼ Cup finely chopped watercress
¼ Cup scallions, chopped
¼ cup ribbed and finely chopped celery
Small handful shredded shiso leaves (or a mix of fresh basil and mint leaves, shredded)
Dashi shoyu sauce, to taste (a half-and-half mixture of fish stock and soy sauce)
Grated daikon or radish


Cut the tuna steaks into bite-sizes pieces. Heat the oil in a ridged griddle pan or frying pan and quickly cook the cubes, browning on all sides. (I added a bit of hot chilli sesame oil for the sesame flavor and the heat.)


Mix the chopped vegetables, except the daikon/radish, together. When the tuna is cooked to your liking, place it on a serving dish with the chopped vegetables on top. Make the dashi shoyu sauce and pour it on. Top each serving with grated daikon/radish.

Food Poem Fridays: Robert Frost's BLUEBERRIES

Blueberries

By Robert Frost

Blueberries as big as the end of your thumb,

Real sky-blue, and heavy, and ready to drum

In the cavernous pail of the first one to come!

And all ripe together, not some of them green

And some of them ripe!

You ought to have seen!

In Awe of Raw (Guest post by Miz Capsicum)

Miz Capsicum has been a friend of mine for more than a decade, and is a singer-songwriter who has been eating a vegan and half-raw diet for about two and a half years. As I have received multiple requests for posts on eating raw, I asked Miz Capsicum to guest blog about her experience.

Also, recently, I had caught a cold, and was supposed to meet up with Miz Capsicum and our mutual friend, and canceled our get together both because I wasn't feeling well and because I was concerned about infecting them with my cold virus. I was really struck when Miz Capsicum was so unconcerned about possibly catching my cold -- recently, her partner had had one, and she hadn't caught it even from him. So I have been wondering, does Miz Capsicum's diet hold the secret to better immune system functioning?

~

About my diet: I am 99% vegan but occasionally eat bread and desserts which may contain any number of non-vegan substances that I pretend not to notice. And sometimes I put butter on that bread too. : ) As well as being vegan, at least 40% of what I eat in a day is raw, with no more than one or two meals with cooked foods in them per day. (I would like to include more organics, but conventionally grown foods are much easier to come by in my neighborhood, and much less expensive, so unfortunately I don't get as many organics as I'd like.)

Prior to becoming vegan, my diet looked more like Miz Masala's: vegetarian with fish here and there, plus eggs, and unlike Miz Masala, I also handled cheese and milk.

I used to have acid reflux all the time, and terrible indigestion. I was losing my voice and canceling shows. But I have experienced a huge improvement in the past two and a half years. I'm still working on making my diet more consistent and managing my impulsive eating urges (I have a sweet tooth), and on continuing to help my body's natural detoxification systems re-balance and function as they ought (I still have one major persistent symptom: acne) through a gradually lighter diet and colonics.

Miz Masala asked me if I felt that eating more raw foods and staying vegan enhanced my immune system, and the simple answer is, Yes: increasing the amount of raw food in my diet has benefited my immune system. How and why it works as it has been taught to me operates on a set of principles that are at some variance with the assumptions underlying Western medicine. One of the views I've adopted as my own as I've learned more about healing the body through nutrition is that the cause of illness is the presence of toxins in the body. Toxins increase via the consumption of poisonous substances, but also through indigestion and improper elimination, a much more common circumstance than we think.

The cleaner, more alkaline, and less toxic the body, the smoother its intricate and beautifully designed systems can function. Raw foods, when eaten in the proper dietetic combinations, serve to alkalinize, cleanse, and facilitate proper digestion and elimination.

As for my own health, I'm so grateful that I've been learning more about healing through food. It's a lifestyle and a commitment to your own health in the short and long run. I find that I really enjoy learning about food and health and watching my body heal.

Thai lettuce wraps from the popular all-raw restaurant Pure Food & Wine in New York City. (I have tried them, and they're delicious.)

~

What is the raw diet? The raw food movement prescribes a diet of unprocessed, preferably organic, plant foods that have not been heated above 116 degrees F. The theory underlying this diet is that cooking destroys the enzymes in plant foods that assist in the absorption of nutrients and elimination of toxins and diminishes the nutritional value and "life force" of food (which sounds very similar to me to the "prana shakti" concept in Hinduism). People are considered to be on raw diets if 75% or more of what they eat is living (raw). Raw "cooking techniques" to make dishes of varying textures and easier digestibility include sprouting seeds, grains, and beans; juicing, chopping, and julienning fruits and vegetables; soaking raw (not roasted) nuts and dried fruit; making "milks," "creams," and "ice creams" from nuts and young coconut; and blending, dehydrating, culturing, fermenting, and pickling raw foods.

Recipe: Yellow Moong Dal

At request...

Yellow Moong Dal

1 Cup dry yellow moong dal

2 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp olive oil

1 green chilli, stemmed and chopped (or 1/2 tsp. red chilli powder)

1 tsp. ground turmeric

1/2" piece ginger, peeled and minced

1 chopped tomato

Salt to taste

1/2 Cup finely chopped fresh cilantro

If you don't have a pressure cooker, soak dal in 2 Cups water overnight (or for several hours during the day).  In a pot over high heat, roast cumin seeds until fragrant, being careful not to let them burn.  Turn heat down to medium high and add oil, a stemmed and chopped green chilli (or 1/2 tsp. red chilli powder), ground turmeric, and ginger.  Add the dal and the water it's been soaking in, the chopped tomato, and salt to taste, and stir.  You can add more water at this point if you like your dal to be more soup-y.  If you are using a pressure cooker, follow its instructions for pressure cooking at this point.  If you're using a regular pot, turn heat back to high, bring to boil, then turn heat down to medium, cover, and let simmer until dal is cooked (~20 minutes).  The dal should be so mushy that each lentil is no longer distinct.  When it's cooked, turn off heat and stir in chopped cilantro.  Serve hot with rice if it's soup-y or chapatis if it's thick, or drink like soup.

Variations: 

- add a clove of minced garlic at the same time as the ginger.

- add 1/4 of a chopped onion, and saute it in the oil until at least translucent or at most browned before adding anything else to the oil.  

- add popped mustard seeds.

- add a pinch of asafoetida (also known as hing).

- add chopped greens like mustard greens or spinach at the same time as the tomato (if you add greens, you won't need the cilantro).