Shakespeare's The Tragedie of King Richard lll, Belasco Theatre

I haven't been able to stop thinking about the play, Richard lll, since attending the outstanding performance at the Belasco Theater in NYC www.shubertorganization.com/theatres/belasco this past Saturday. Mark Rylance, exemplifies Richard's dual personality gaining sympathy from the audience at times but remains clear he is the evil protagonist that will stop at nothing to achieve the crown of England. Plots are made and broken, brothers betrayed, leaders murdered, legends destroyed. Not bad for one play, and yet there isn't a moment during the play where you feel lost in the brilliant and sometimes funny dialogue which makes Shakespeare's characters so timeless. As the words at the beginning of the play declare, our bad days are over and we have in store more pleasant times. Hold on to your seats, you're in for a surprise! You can read the New York Times review here. www.nytimes.com

Where's the wheat?

Maybe its because I'm curious about gluten free diets or because of my fondness for all things called bread, I just finished reading two books, the first, Grain Brain by David Perlmutter, MD and the other, Wheat Belly by William Davis, MD. Both books object to eating wheat. Why? First of all, wheat, the kind that our ancestors ate up to the first part of the twentieth century was different in structural composition and quality from the wheat we consume today. By increasing yield and creating new strains, the wheat we consume today is a hybrid of the past, one that may beguile our digestive tract. In short, Dr Davis claims that rather than eat wheat we should be focusing our diets on vegetables, some fruit, raw nuts, dairy, eggs and grass fed meats while maintaining a low-carb diet. There is a week of wheat free diets including recipes at the end of the book. Brain Grain claims that modern wheat and carbohydrates can cause a host of brain related problems, chronic diseases, irritate the nervous system and contribute to Alzheimer's. The focus here is on the relationship between what we eat and how it contributes to our brain health. Both interesting reads no matter what position you have on food, health and diet. Although I'll still consume bread, probably not as much after reading these books.

Fall's Fennel

This is an adapted version of the fennel, cherry tomato, and crumble gratin from Ottolenghi, The Cookbook www.amazon.com

I am a true fennel fan and enjoy it best sliced super thin using a mandolin then adding a splash of lemon, olive oil, salt and pepper and mixed in with some fresh lettuces.  When we were in Florence last fall, fennel was in abundance at the markets and is a staple in Tuscan/Mediterranean cooking. The above recipe ( I changed the topping slightly) uses fennel, cream, cherry tomatoes, thyme, garlic and a crumble topping to add crunch and incredible flavor.  Find the recipe and book using the link above.

Roast potatoes and artichokes with lemon and sage from Ottolenghi's, The Cookbook

After spending some time reading through Ottolenghi's The Cookbook, I decided to try a recipe using the red potatoes that I recently purchased at the market. Although the recipe calls for new potatoes or small boiling potatoes, the red potatoes added a robust flavor that worked nicely with the other ingredients. The book and recipe can be found here www.amazon.com.

The finished product...

The sage really brings out the flavors of the vegetables and the cherry tomatoes and kalamata olives add nice color and texture to make this recipe really great.

I added a spring mix salad with lemon vinaigrette to compliment the lemony flavors of the artichokes and potatoes.

Inspiration is a cookbook away

I'm always looking for new inspiration in the kitchen and am enjoying my new library books (have been on the waiting list at the library for months for Yotom Ottolenghi's, The Cookbook www.amazon.com).

 This is one of my favorite fall dishes of golden beets with fresh kale and a peppercorn dipping sauce for extra zing. The apples are from our recent trip to Ithaca Farmers' mkt and for some whole grain crunch, Mary's Gone Crackers, are really good. Although this wasn't found in either cookbook mentioned above, just by leafing through a good cookbook the vicarious inspiration confirms that seasonal food is always a good bet and needs little fuss. I boiled the beets whole for about 40 minutes then cooled on a wire rack, peeled, and sliced adding a pinch of salt and pepper. The Kale was washed, spun dry and chopped into bite size pieces and seasoned with some freshly squeezed lemon juice.

The Broccoli-Kale Challenge and How the Right Audience Can Change the Game

The New York Times article, Broccoli's Extreme Makeover, about how to get Americans to eat more healthful foods using broccoli as the bait, is not a new dilemma but one that has been a challenge to doctors, nutritionists, slow food farmers, food companies, and parents for generations.  Why so difficult?

A quick look back to my own childhood memories of eating veggies especially broccoli are not happy ones. They were cooked too long and before the meal was underway declared the thing that would keep you from leaving the table because they were good for you. The paradigm shift for me came when I was first married and really wanted to understand how to cook vegetables so they would taste good. My introduction to all things vegetarian started with Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. She even has a cookbook called The Enchanted Broccoli Forrest to further entice vegetables to center stage. But it really wasn't until I had children that I learned how to make vegetables taste good and earn a respectable spot at the table. Other than Moosewood Cookbook, I scoured the library for books on how to cook.  James Beard and Alice Waters taught me how to combine food groups and Barefoot Contessa’s many cook books taught me how to love vegetables by simply sautéing or roasting with olive oil and spices. But this is my revelation not one that seems to be happening all over America.

The Times article challenges an ad agency to make broccoli cool. The idea to take kale and broccoli both low on the cool factor scale and let them duke it out for top spot seems like it might work. It worked for soda so why not broccoli? But I have to think that the audience that is targeted is older, more mature, already schooled in eat your broccoli it’s good for you. But what about the kids? That's the group that is formulating their life long eating habits and at the important stage of development. Why not talk to them about broccoli and what it is they like and don't like? A few group lessons with kids and their families learning the various ways to cook and eat vegetables can break the chain of boring, to tasty and interesting. This idea is not something I just thought up but has been proven to work. When kids are a part of the family dinner planning it becomes a team effort, a collaboration between generations. The first time I made roasted brussels sprouts my family was utterly surprised by the delicious taste that replaced the old memory of mushy and insipid. I could hardly wait to try other veggies this way. A little education goes a long way when it comes to cooking vegetables and unfortunately those methods don't seem to reach the masses.

The conversation to get broccoli or any other vegetable to be consumed is to start with educating the family on nutrition and various cooking methods so that they can find what works for them. Just by saying something is cool doesn't make it so. Rather than saying, "Have you had your veggies today?" Why not say, "Have you tried roasted broccoli?" I bet you can't eat just one.