Sotto Una Buona Stella – Under a Lucky Star

June 18, 2015February 8, 20163 Comments

BUCA Restaurant in Yorkville
And it was a lucky star tonight for those who gathered at Buca Restaurant in Yorkville to enjoy having Michelin star Andrea Berton from Milan present a dinner with resident Chef Rob Gentile, Buca restaurant. It was a full house for a magnificent meal. It was our great pleasure to enjoy an evening with such fine chefs and staff to assist them. The spectacular dish of the evening was Chef Burton’s Uovo (Egg). A white chocolate shell which had a somewhat rough texture and appeared to be sprayed on a very lightly texture yogurt mouse and exposed a brightly coloured mango yolk when you broke into it. It was not too sweet, had a lot of flavour and perfect texture. The yogurt mouse was almost ethereal in its lightness and texture.

Enchantment by the SEA
The second runner up was Chef Andreas’ black cod with russet potato, sweet pea, brodo di prosciutto. Honourable mention must be given to the raw B.C. spot prawn crudo by Chef Gentile. This event benefited Community Food Centres Canada for low income communities. A wonderful evening was had by all and for a good cause.

Acidic and Alkaline Foods

May 13, 2015September 21, 201539 Comments

THE FOOD PARADOX
Acidic Foods Can Have An Alkalizing Effect
It’s very important to understand that eating an acidic food does not automatically mean it makes your body more acidic. With the same premise, eating an alkaline food does not mean it will have an alkalizing effect on your body. Meat is alkaline. But, when ingested, meat releases acids that results in acidifying your body.
The Acidic Lemon
The primary example is the lemon. A lemon contains citric acid. Concentrated citric acid is pH 2, which is a strong acid that can eat through clothing. But, guess what? Lemons, despite being acidic themselves, happen to push our bodies to be a little more alkaline. Here is the paradox. Our bodies react with some acidic foods to produce an alkaline state of health.

Acidic foods such as lemons, limes, grapefruits and apple cider vinegar* will alkalize your body. *Apple cider vinegar is high in acetic acid. This vinegar became very popular in around 2000 as our health awareness improved. At work, people would have a bottle of apple cider vinegar on their desk. Some individuals would drink an ounce of apple cider vinegar every morning to kick start their day. Today, they are taking a shot of pure, organic coconut oil in the morning – for good health. I suppose together with the vinegar and coconut oil, you would get a very healthy cocktail -or- a coco-nutty salad dressing.

Why Do You Want To Alkalize Your Body?
According to the Alkaline Diet, when your blood and tissues are slightly on the alkaline side of their homeostatic pH range, your body works more efficiently. When your body is more on the acidic side, the body begins a cascade of imbalance, manifested as fatigue, sickness, weight gain, irritable gut and so on.

When we eat Alkaline “FORMING” Foods such as certain fruits, vegetables and other components in our diet and nutritional intake we can expect to experience the following: improved vitality, well-being and positive outlook, fewer colds and the flu, slow or reverse aging by promoting healthy cell growth. Is that enough incentive?

(be careful what you read) Cucumber leads in this Alkaline chart—> Alkaline foods . This chart shows cucumbers with PH 31.5. Wow! However, I read in many places that a cucumber has a PH level of 5.5. The same as beans. Here is another one: Soda = 2. Coffee = 4. Cucumber = 7. this means the PH level of foods will vary. Blame it on the soil. Garden soil can be amended to better meet the nutritional needs of plants. Adjusting pH is one component of the process. The best way to gauge nutrient and pH requirements is to test soil samples through a local county office or with a home kit. Furthermore, cucumbers need an acidic soil PH 6.0 – 7.0 to grow well.

Can You Have Too much Alkaline Food?

The nutrition you are missing out on (animal protein and some fruits & veggies)
Now, the alkaline diet is not all bad. It does eliminate many foods that were already known to be bad for you including refined sugars, processed foods, and excessive meat/dairy consumption, but it also eliminates foods that can be very beneficial. Beans and legumes are a great source of phytonutrients, fiber, and protein; all of which have multiple benefits including cancer prevention. written by Dr. Zagst

I agree whole heartedly. Dr.Zagst continues to say. “Many alkaline diets prohibit fruit consumption; fruits are a great source of vitamins, fiber, and antioxidants that reduce inflammation within the body.“ This is where I fail to see his logic. Fruits are not necessarily prohibited in alkaline diets as you can see on the above chart. However, people on pure alkaline diets will experience muscle loss. Protein filled salmon, quinoa, almonds, egg yolks are loaded with amino acids, vitamins and healthy fats to maintain and build muscles. Eggs should be a primary food source in any lean muscle building nutrition plan. I know, some of you pale faced vegans are rolling your eyes. Sorry, I just can not fathom living without fish or Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Consuming 60% alkaline foods daily is recommended.

What is your alkaline level?
Take yous own litmus test to see you alkaline level. Place the litmus paper in your saliva one hour before a meal or 2 hours after a meal. And there you have it. We used litmus paper in high school chemistry class. Contact your local high school chemistry teacher, local labs or pharmacist to get litmus paper. You can test yourself periodically if you wish.

What are the top 7 alkaline foods?

DID YOU KNOW?: American children that are expected to live shorter lifespans than their parents. If current trends continue, 95 percent of Americans are expected to be overweight or obese within two decades. It’s been a long time since we lived as hunter-gatherers. It follows, then, that the fastest way to recover our natural health and vitality is to return to a way of eating and living that more closely matches with our genes and biology.

Spicy Roasted Salmon

May 8, 2015February 21, 201611 Comments

SPICY ROASTED SALMON is a tasty way to prepare salmon. Poached or pan fried salmon is so tedious, tiresome and boring. Coat your salmon with a spicy rub before roasting it. You can make extra rub and store it to use later on a roasted acorn squash. (This is a healthy alternative to the usual brown sugar and butter coating for squash.)

SPICY ROASTED SALMON
RECIPE
Ingredients
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 tsp sugar substitute (optional)
2 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp dried chipotle or cayenne pepper
1Tablespoon grated lime rind

Directions
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Place fish skin side down on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Mix spices and place on top of salmon.
Roast in center of oven 8 to 10 minutes until done.

The rub is enough for 4 salmon fillets.
I use half of the rub and I roast 2 salmon fillets.
I have one for dinner and then have the other one cold for lunch a few days later.
You are busy.
You don’t have time to cook each and every meal.
I store the rest of the rub to use for a roasted acorn squash that I will make at a later date.
These ingredients store very well in your pantry.

YOUR FOOD TIP
So how do you tell if your fish is done?
Do you flake it to see?
No.
Have you ever had a restaurant serve a piece of fish where the sides have been cut to see if it is done?
Drop a paring knife into the middle of the fish from a height of about 6 to 8 inches.
If it goes through the fish, it is done.
If it meets resistance, return it to the oven and roast a few more minutes.
Please do not overcook this wonderful salmon.
You may just as well have used canned salmon because that is what it will taste like.

You will have succulent juicy healthy salmon by following these directions!

Don’t Panic Buy Organic!

May 5, 2015November 2, 20224 Comments

When Should You Buy Organic?

You might wonder if the nutrients in organic food are higher than those in non-organic food. We assume they are higher. Especially since they cost more to buy. But, it is not always the case.

Some Farms still spray their crops. The wind takes the dust to nearby organic farms?

Dirty Dozen And Clean 15

All fruits and vegetables are good but Some Are Better Than Others.

Download this FREE Brochure. Paste it on your fridge and give to your friends. Keep a copy in your wallet for your grocery shopping trips. Your friends and your body will thank you for it.—> CLICK HERE-(to download/print the PDF). It’s fantastic!

What is EWG?

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) have generously provided us with this excellent shopping guide. EWG studied 46 conventionally grown fruits and vegetables over a ten year period and have listed the ones with the most peswgticide contaminants and those with the least amount of pesticides.

Their “Dirty Dozen” have the most contaminants. The clean fifteen has the least contaminants defined with both organic and conventional produce. Nice work EWG!

Pesticides

It all began 4,500 years ago in Ancient Mesapotania, where the first known (organic) pesticide was elemental sulfur dusting. In 1959, the dominant arsenic spray used to preserve the orange groves in Florida was on the decline as organic sprays were emerging again. We are still left with residual arsenic in the soil including other synthetic pesticides that are still being used.

Aerial view showing orange grove being sprayed – Winter Garden, Florida.

New Farm Methods since 2017

We are really talking about are pesticides. Do we spray our produce with poisonous chemicals or not? Starting on the top L-H Side–>(1) Electrostatic Sprayer with a specific lower diffuser (named Gib-Dor) are designed to combat the Brown Spot on these pear trees (and apple trees). (2) Florescent spraying (since 2017) is in the experimental stages, used on apricot trees. (3) Electrostatic charge sprayer generate saving to the farmers. (4) Yet, according to the SBS News: The National Farmers’ Federation has defended the continued use of a British-made herbicide that’s allegedly been behind thousands of deaths overseas. (5) Drones spraying crops.

KING SPUD The Mighty Potato

White potatoes have such a high amount of pesticides that the potato farmer will not eat them but have a separate potato patch for their family consumption. The interesting Michael Pollan film “Botany of Desire” (available on YouTube) explains this in length.

THE JOY OF A FRESH TOMATO

BY examining the tomato, Food Chemists at the University of California found that organically grown tomatoes have a significantly higher amount of vitamin C than their non organic counterparts. Don’t kill the good stuff with pesticides!

My favorite tomato is called the Kumato (green/purple) tomato from Spain. I really like the taste. It reminds me of tomatoes when I was a kid. Kumatoes are not genetically modified. They are a cross breeding of tomatoes and can be grown hydroponically.

BELL PEPPERS ARE EQUAL in VITAMIN C

For Both Organic and Non-Organic Foods ~ But wait, there’s more….

Sweet bell pepper are very tasty and colorful. But peppers, like all vegetables, must adhere to scrutinous washing with vinegar. Non-organic bell peppers are sprayed many times during its growth cycle. We are looking at 49 possible carcinogens, nine suspected hormone disruptors and nine neurotoxins. Question: How much gets into our system? Answer: “All of it!” Bell peppers on the “DIRTY DOZEN” list.

Pediatricians 👩‍⚕️ Don’t All Agree 👨‍⚕️

A new report claims that organic food does not have “any meaningful nutritional benefits or deficits.” Conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the report recommends that pediatricians take the findings of the report into account when giving nutritional advice to parents. from www.naturallySavvy.com

A study showed that on average organic produce had 27% more vitamin C, 21% more iron, 27% more magnesium and more than 13% more phosphorous than conventional produce. These facts can be referenced in Dr. John La Puma’s book “Chef MD’s Big Book of Culinary Medicine“.

Organic chart provided by ecochildsplay.com

RATE YOUR PLATE (Using EWG Guidelines)

You can drop your pesticide exposure by 90% when you follow the EWG GUIDELINES. When I didn’t see blueberries on their short list, I went to the EWG site. Blueberries don’t have to be organic. I can buy conventional blueberries. Visit www.EWG.org to rate your plate.

What is GMO?

GMO ( genetically modified organism) produce; using genetic engineering techniques were designed build a better tomato and thwart pests. GMO tomatoes are not labeled in your grocery store and may have unknown allergens.

Sun Dried Tomato Dip

April 10, 2015February 21, 2016Leave a comment

HEALTHY ‘TASTY’ DIP
Now that you have made your decorated goat cheese, you can make a tasty and healthy dip to serve with it. The dip is very versatile.This dip is great with crudités or crackers, on sandwiches, or with cold meats. It can be made a day or two in advance and served at your chalet, lake house, sailboat or right at home. People always enjoy this combination goat cheese /sun dried tomato spread. This pairing pops with flavour and is a big hit with my friends. I am often asked where I bought it! Instead of crackers or I prefer sourdough baguette slices. Crisp and tasty. Although crackers have evolved to gluten free and no preservatives which you can buy at your local supermarket. I find that most of these healthy crackers are very flavourful and will change the taste of my goat cheese / sun dried tomato dip. Over my years of reading about healthy foods, I would always come across the information that with respect to bread, we should eat rye bread or sour dough. I was puzzled by the sour dough as it was white bread after all. Then one day I came across some information that explained it.

RECIPE
Ingredients
1 package (3 1/2 oz) sun dried tomatoes
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup loosely packed basil leaves
1/4 cup loosely packed flat leaf parsley
2 garlic cloves peeled
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar substitute (optional)
1 green onion coarsely chopped including green tops

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Use the pulse feature until everything is chopped to a coarse consistency not liquid. Refrigerate until needed. The flavour is even better the next day. Serve at room temperature over goat cheese with toasts or crackers.

This is a tasty dip and will keep in your fridge for 7 to 10 days, limited only by the freshness of the herbs. You can then make this in advance or use up the left overs as a salad dressing, to toss your vegetables and some more olive before roasting or add to a soup for more flavour. The addition of mayonnaise or buttermilk will transform any leftover dips into sauces or salad dressings.

EVENING OUT: I just brought the sun dried dip to a birthday party last night. I paired it with a goat cheese log rolled in herbs. There were herb crackers and whole wheat sourdough croutes. This was a big hit! People kept going back again and again for more. They were addictive. This was more popular than the smoked salmon platter!

FOOD FACT: The acid in the sourdough slows down the absorption of the bread. That is how the San Francisco gold miners were able to sustain themselves all day long with just a loaf of sourdough bread. Hence the San Francisco sour dough loafs. The flour/simple carbohydrate is broken down into sugar which starts even in the mouth with salivary amylase and eating a slice of white bread is not so different than having a piece of pound cake as far as your body is concerned.