Life has been busy but slowing down…just in time for the holiday season! We are moved in and nearly settled, the outside of the house is freshly painted and we are planting new trees – a blood orange, 2 tangerines and a fuyu persimmon. I’m still trying to figure out if we can fit an olive and avocado into the landscape…
Now I can get back to my routine of cooking and spreading the word on nutrition – eating for health.
While I have finished my Nutrition Consultant certification program I continue to go to seminars to keep up to date on the latest. I just went to a seminar on Cardiovascular Health – it was amazing and informative. From what I learned at school and at this seminar, the ‘traditional’ heart healthy diet prescribed by the western medical establishment actually leads to heart disease! Wow, I thought we were beating heart disease but the truth is – while lowering cholesterol will lessen your chance of heart attacks that is not the end of the story. It is true the stats for death by heart attack has decreased, BUT the numbers of folks dying from congestive heart failure has gone up. One of the best selling drug classes today…statins does seem to reduce the risk of heart attack. However, one side effect is muscle weakness…last I heard the heart was a muscle. Hmmm.
So far we are not related to food but I am getting there…one interesting thing Dr. Lang covered was the heart energy. When we identify ourselves we usually point to our heart. Did you know it has been documented that heart transplant patients take on some of the personality traits of the person who donated their heart? Wow! And, there are actual measurements of electromagnetic waves emanating from the heart 6 to 8 feet away.
So when food is made for us from the heart – there really is something to it. As in “Like Water for Chocolate” it is not implausible for the energy of the cook to infuse the dish said cook is preparing. No wonder that chicken soup Mom make for us when we were sick is so healing.
Sometimes we just want a little home cooking – comfort served up warm and satisfying – well, really heartwarming and soul satisfying. We’re lucky in the Bay Area to have numerous ‘mom and pop’ eateries where the food is made from the heart. So lucky are we, that we can even find these at the weekly Farmer’s Markets. At my neighborhood market in Temescal/Rockridge, there are numerous stands – Crepes from Brittany, Thai steamed snapper from Andy and Cindy and Masala Dosa from Shyamala among others. Sometimes it’s hard to choose but I’ve been on a dosa jag. One crispy rice and lentil pancake filled with potato curry served with the requisite coconut chutney and seasonal gingery fruit chutney for brunch will keep me going until late in the afternoon. That’s the power of home cooking from the heart.
I’ve been making dosa at home for breakfast a few mornings a week. I follow Indira’s method though use equal parts brown rice to dal and make one rather unconventional (as far as I know) addition. Mostly from lack to time to make coconut chutney – I decided to throw a handful of fine grated dried coconut into the batter. I quite like it so that’s my main batter these days. I even add the coconut to my idli batter. And rather than using the flat griddle Indira uses (which is no doubt much easier) I just use my trusty cast iron skillet with a bit of coconut oil or ghee. For breakfast, I keep it simple by just making the pancake and filling with a potato based curry. Of course the batter and curry are made in a big batch ahead of time to last a few days. This way I have a relatively quick and nourishing (a nice balance of protein, complex carb and fat) breakfast to start my day out right.
Well, it’s nice to be back posting again. Next up will be a recipe for noodles I made for the food blogger’s picnic.
