ARE YOU BACKED UP?

This has been a month of adventures. Some of them building on familiar practices, like juice feasting and daily yoga and mindfulness practices; and some forays into new territory; a RASA Pantry & Cleanse trunk show at Suite 303 and a DETOX OVER DRINKS event at Huckleberry Bar.  The common thread running through the month was connection, collaboration, relationship and process of giving support and being supported.

So last Wednesday, the day of a the RASA Life/Huckleberry Bar collaborative event, I was minding my own business, getting some work done on my less than a year old i MAC- and all of a sudden-everything freezes.  A few hours of phone support later it's determined that the hard drive has likely gone kaput. And so the question became-"are you backed up?" It was almost comical. I've backed myself up in so many ways this month yet, in this one fundamental technological age requirement I dropped the ball.  Note to self: Sometimes you have to remind yourself to back your own self up.  And sometimes you need a little help from your friends.  

In many ways this was impetus for the DETOX OVER DRINKS event.  The collaboration was based on the concept that life, especially your social life, doesn't have to stop if you are taking a break from whatever your particular poison might be. In fact it can be a tasty adventure.  So, based on my experience with combining seasonal foods & herbs and Stephanie's cocktail know-how, we brought some dimension and deep background to the idea of alcohol free cocktails and developed a luscious menu featuring six mocktails.

Who's got YOUR back?

Rogue Rouge Shrub-for 1
3/4 oz Goji Berry Shrub* (Goji, Caraway, Vinegar)*
1/2 oz Beet Juice
2 oz Orange Juice
Shake ingredients with ice and strain over fresh ice.
Garnish with orange peel, a pinch of smoked salt and a sprinkling of crushed caraway seeds

* Goji Berry Shrub (cold method)
Soak 2c of goji berries in 3c water for 20-30 minutes.  Strain and mash the berries.
Place in a sterile glass qt container-a mason jar works well and add 2 cups raw honey, 2 tablespoons of crushed caraway seed and the peel of one organic orange.  Stir well to combing the ingredients and let stand for 2 days.  After 2 days add 2 cups of raw apple cider vinegar and the juice of one orange.  Let stand for 3 days to allow flavors to mingle and develop. Strain the "liquor" from the solids into a clean glass jar and store in the refrigerator.  The shrub is also really delicious with a splash of sparkling water.

AUTUMN WEEKEND

We were able to grab a rare weekend by ourselves in the Hamptons this past weekend.  The weather was glorious and we spent the days doing things that we wouldn't normally do in the summer months, when the crowds are fierce.  On Saturday we went to the North Fork to check out some Long Island wineries.  We drove into Sag Harbor and took the ferry to Shelter Island then hopped the North Ferry to Greenport. After orienting ourselves at the Southhold visitors center we promptly found The Northfork Table & Inn.  This lovely spot is owned and run by Claudia Flemming and Gerry Hayden.  While I worked at Gramercy Tavern, Claudia was the award-winning pastry chef there.  We were able to catch up with Claudia outside their newly launched Lunch Truck, her version of a roadside stand, tucked behind a lovely mural of the kind of old fashioned pickup truck she was looking for but could not find. Kirk  took a fabulous lobster roll for the road. There is no better treat when it is done right in the Hamptons, and this one was. He was in heaven. Claudia suggested we visit McCall Vineyards in Cutchogue. Although they have been growing and harvesting Pinot Noir and Merlot grapes for close to 15 years there, they just bottled their first eponymous wines in 2007.  Compared to some of the more established vineyards, they have just started tastings in their converted barn. The simplicity of the space was perfect. The wine was beautiful too. We tasted their 2007 Pinot Noir, Pinot Noir Reserve and Merlot. We enjoyed a bottle of the 2007 Merlot that evening with Lava Lake lamb rib chops, grilled eggplant and spicy mustard greens. 

Sunday we drove out to the surfer's beach at Ditch Plains and soaked in the warmth and wind, the beauty of the changing light, waves and surfers.  Later we drove to Gosman's Dock had some steamers and went to the fish market there to pick up some local day boat scallops.  The scallops were destined to be grilled for dinner.  I served them with a beet and red cabbage salad loosely adapted from a recipe by Fergus Henderson. We finished the meal with a simple salad of green figs, fennel and parsley and a bit of Le Chevrot. McCall's 2007 Pinot Noir was a lovely accompaniment to this meal.

Beet & Red Cabbage Salad with Crème Fraîche
adapted from “Beyond Nose to Tail Cooking” by Fergus Henderson.
Serves 4-6

For The Salad
2 beets, peeled and shredded in food processor, or grated by hand
¼ small red cabbage with its core cut out, very finely sliced

1 small red onion, peeled, cut in half and thinly sliced

fresh thyme leaves
2T capers in salt

For The Dressing
Extra-virgin olive oil
A modest splash of sherry vinegar

Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For Plating
a few spoonfuls of crème fraîche

a handful of parsley leaves

Combine all the elements of the salad adding a generous sprinkling of thyme leaves.  Add a few splashes of olive oil and a modest splash of sherry vinegar.  Toss well and allow the flavors to mingle for a bit.  Taste and season with a few generous grinds of fresh pepper and a bit of sea salt, if needed.  I find that the salt from the capers adds enough on its own.

To Plate: place a pile of the salad on the plate with a healthy spoonful of crème fraîche and a sprinkling of parsley leaves.

THIS IS NOURISHMENT

The angle of the sun changed suddenly.  It's cool and rainy after a summer of oppressive heat. Autumn is in the air and we are getting a taste of my favorite season.  My meal tonight is a single bowl containing the following:  mustard greens and black kale sauteed with garlic and cumin seed,  a garnet yam, steaming as I cut into it, its creamy texture is comforting.  After adding some raw, julienned beets, Seth's amazing sunflower sprouts, a sprinkling of spicy sunflower and pumpkin seeds, I drizzle some good olive oil and add a few pinches of Celtic sea salt.  At the last minute I put a forkful of Hawthorne Valley's lacto-fermented red cabbage into the bowl.  I sit alone, listening to some music and I am deeply satisfied.  

I am often asked about what I eat on a daily basis and also what I consider to be optimal nutrition, but I would rather ask:  What does it mean to be truly nourished? Yes, we are nourished or not nourished by the foods we eat, but nourishment is not confined to the foods we eat. The foods we eat, any physical or spiritual practice we engage in, the people we surround ourselves with and the overall climate of our environment all play a part in nourishment.  It does not matter if we are consuming the most pristine, organic food if we are rigid in our body, static in our mind and troubled in our heart when we eat.  So everything leading up to that moment, the very quality of your life affects your ability to receive nourishment. As we become more conscious about the foods we choose to eat and more sensitive to the effects those foods have on our body, we then begin to become more sensitive and refined in the choices we make about other things in our life. Our lives unfold from these choices.  So, curiosity, flexibility and responsiveness in the mind and the body are vital to true nourishment.

More important than labeling an approach to food, is the practice of being open and developing an intuitive sense of how your needs may change over the course of a week, a month and a lifetime. It is vital that we seek the resources to educate ourselves and continually cultivate the knowledge that we have the potential to be nourished by the choices we make and the life that ultimately unfolds from these choices. This is what I consider to be optimal nutrition.



LACIENTO KALE with CUMIN SEED & GARLIC
1 lg bunch Laciento Kale
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
Himalayan salt, to taste
1 lemon
Oil cured black olives

Slice the kale in ribbons about 1/2" wide and chop the stems into 1"pieces if they are not too woody.   Rinse the kale in plenty of water. Drain well.

Heat a large sauté pan and add olive oil and cumin seeds. when the seeds become fragrant and "pop" add the garlic.  After about two minutes, when the aroma of the garlic merges with the fragrant cumin add the kale and saute for about 5 minuts until the greens are softened. sprinkle a few pinches of salt on the greens and a squeeze of fresh lemon; toss to combine and serve with olives and hummus.