Some Food For Thought on Earth Day

Perusing the plethora of food available in the grocery store can be a relative gauntlet of choice these days. A little information can go a long way to helping you ‘hedge your bets’ in the produce aisle, as you try to reconcile the sometimes conflicting values of sustainability, price, nutritional value, and taste.

 

Turns out organic apples and conventionally grown grapefruit are two good choices while we wait for more local fruit to grow. My rhubarb is getting bigger by the day, and those scrumptious local strawberries aren’t far off, but if you want to get your five daily servings of fruits and vegetables, chances are you are buying some out-of-season produce from the grocery store.

 

While the Environmental Working Group (and nutritionists, along with me) advocate that you eat produce of any kind rather than eating no produce at all, you can substantially reduce your exposure to pesticides by avoiding the ‘Dirty Dozen’ plus two more veggies that might have pesticides of special concern. If at all possible these potentially ‘dirty’ varieties should be bought organic, or avoided in favor of the ‘Clean 15’ – those that are conventionally grown but up to 98% of samples tested had no pesticide residue, and no single sample had more than 5 different chemicals (some of the ‘dirty’ ones had up to 64 different pesticides in a single sample). And if you’re wondering, all samples were tested after being washed and/or peeled.

 

Two crops that the Working Group added as an addendum to the ‘Dirty Dozen’ - leafy greens (kale & collards greens) and green beans - were due to their testing positive for the presence of organophosphates, a class of insecticides that are toxic to the nervous systems of humans. Thankfully these insecticides are being withdrawn from use, but they are still applied to certain crops and pose serious hazards to health. This is especially true of children exposed to higher levels of organophosphates while in the womb (see Rauch et al. 2012[i] in the resources below). The Working Group also found pesticides in commercial baby food – testing 190 samples each of green beans, pears, and sweet potatoes. While the sweet potatoes had virtually no detectable pesticides, the other two weren’t so hot. Check out the website found in the resources below for further details.

 

The Dirty Dozen + 2

• Apples (98% of samples tested positive for pesticides
• Celery (96% tested positive; 13 different pesticides found in a single sample)
• Sweet bell peppers (15 different pesticides found in a single sample; 88 different pesticides residues found in total; high levels of organophosphates)
• Peaches
• Strawberries (13 different pesticides found in a single sample)
• Nectarines – Imported (100%; highest total weight of pesticides; high levels of organophosphates)
• Grapes (15 different pesticides found in a single sample; 64 different pesticide residues in total)
• Spinach
• Lettuce (78% tested positive)
• Cucumbers (81% tested positive)
• Blueberries - Domestic (13 different pesticides found in a single sample)
• Potatoes (91% tested positive)
• Green Beans (high levels of organophosphates)
• Kale & Collards (high levels of organophosphate

 

 

 

The Clean 15

 

• Onions (98% of samples had no detectible pesticides; no sample had more than one pesticide)
• Sweet corn[ii] (98% of samples had no detectible pesticides; no sample had more than one pesticide)
• Pineapples (More than 90% of samples had no detectible pesticides)
• Avocado (98% of samples had no detectible pesticides)
• Cabbage
• Sweet peas
• Asparagus
• Mangos (78% of samples had no detectible pesticides)
• Eggplant
• Kiwi (75% of samples had no detectible pesticides)
• Cantaloupe – Domestic (60% of samples had no detectible pesticides)
• Sweet potatoes
• Grapefruit
• Watermelon (67% of samples had no detectible pesticides)
• Mushrooms

 

While the Working Group used a number of metrics to determine a compound score of pesticide contamination[iii] in every case, each one was weighted equally to represent the uncertainty inherent in the current knowledge of the effects of pesticide exposure.[iv] They state:

 

The EWG’s Shopper’s Guide™ is not built on a complex assessment of pesticide risks but instead reflects the overall pesticide loads of common fruits and vegetables. This approach best captures the uncertainties of the risks of pesticide exposure. Since researchers are constantly developing new insights into how pesticides act on living organisms, no one can say that concentrations of pesticides assumed today to be safe are, in fact, harmless.

The Shopper’s Guide™ aims to give consumers confidence that by following EWG’s advice, they can buy foods with consistently lower overall levels of pesticide contamination.

 

While organic produce will always help you limit your pesticide exposure, these fruits and veggies can be expensive compared to conventionally grown varieties – which aren’t all bad according to the ‘Clean 15’. Another way that you can increase the sustainability of your choices is to choose what is local, and what is in season. Both of these traits tend to reduce price, which is always an important value in our food choices. So imagine my surprise when my usual winter fare of organic local apples, and conventional seasonal grapefruit turn out to be two good picks.

 

While you're filling your basket, you can also feel good about those sacks of onions, tempting avocados, and spring asparagus that you don't find in the organic section. If you want to indulge in berries or spinach out of season, look at the freezer aisle. Often these popular foods (along with green beans and stone fruits) can be had a very reasonable prices when bought organically but frozen. And really, these frozen forms will be copacetic with the light steaming, blending or baking that you are planning on doing with these gems anyway – AND you can often find them on sale, and stock up. Now THAT is Very Good Food – good for you, good for the earth.

 

 

 

____________________________________________________

[i] Rauch et al. 2012. Association of Prenatal Exposure to Organophosphate Pesticide Metabolites with Gestational Age and Birth Weight. Environmental Health Perspectives 120(7):1055-1060. Available online at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3404666/

[ii] Sweet corn is differentiated from commodity corn grown for use as animal feed or biofuels, which tends to be grown from GMO seeds which are designed to withstand heavy pesticide applications. Some sweet corn for human consumption is also grown from GMO seed – if this is a concern opt for organic varieties, which cannot be grown from GMO seed to meet certification standards.

[iii] Contamination was measured in six different ways: percent of samples tested with detectable pesticides, percent of samples with two or more detectable pesticides, average number of pesticides found on a single sample, average amount (in parts per million) of all pesticides found, maximum number of pesticides found on a single sample, and total number of pesticides found on the commodity. “ For each metric, [The Working Group] ranked each food based on its individual USDA test results, then normalized the scores on a 1-100 scale (with 100 being the highest). To get a food’s final score, [they] added up the six normalized scores from each metric. The Shopper's Guide™ shows a full list of fruits and vegetables in order of these final scores. http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/

[iv]Our goal is to show a range of different measures of pesticide contamination to account for uncertainties in the science. All categories were treated equally; for example, a pesticide linked to cancer is counted the same as a pesticide linked to brain and nervous system toxicity. The likelihood that a person will eat multiple pesticides on a single food is given the same weight as the amounts of the pesticide detected and the percent of the crop on which pesticides were found.

 

 

Celebrate Spring!

The weather might still be iffy, the air chilly, and your nose sniffly, but today it is officially SPRING!  So the vernal equinox gives you as good an excuse as any to plan a nice meal that celebrates the season, as spring brings to mind all manner of new shoots, budding growth and delicious green things to create a fresh and delicious feast.

We are still waiting for the first asparagus to appear in the Pacific Northwest, the peas have just sprouted, fall-planted favas are just beginning to flower, and strawberries are a looooooooooong way off.  There are, however, other springy seasonal foods that abound in garden and market right now.  Roots and greens that overwintered might include: parsnips, turnips, kohlrabi, sunchokes, carrot, kale, leeks, broccoli raab, mustards, and green garlic.  Tender plants that you or the farmer transplanted early and nurtured through the calamity of February might include radish, lettuce, arugula, bok choi and beet tops. Not to mention the weedy and wild delights like dandelion leaves and buds, chickweed, and nettles.  Even some hardy herbs might be raising their leaves in defiance of the hail and gale - I have lovage, salad burnett, parsley, chives, oregano and marjoram ready with verdant delights.  You might also have rosemary, thyme, tarragon, and/or chervil in your midst (these are on my planting list this year).  So see?!  Many seasonal delights abound for a springly feast.

But you need not restrict yourself to what is purely available RIGHT NOW outside your front door.  Lovage for one reminds me of celery, so that would be a nice, fresh and crispy accompaniment.  Harvesting a few small leaves from my garden doesn't prevent me from buying a full head at the store, or from a farmer that more foresight than I and has one available for market this early.  The first, frost-kissed artichokes are arriving from California, tender and scrumptious wrapped in rows of blistered leaves.

With that being said, dreams are not of sugar plums in my head,
but a crispy crunchy salad with a bracing vinaigrette!
What should accompany such a verdant spring delight?
Eggs are a great choice this time of year, symbolizing new life.
So should it be a frittata? Ricotta tartlets? Deviled eggs work too.
What says spring to you?

So to celebrate, here is my idea for a weeknite spring-time feast.  Always subject to change of course - how will you celebrate spring?

Black Sheep Creamery Fresh Milk Cheese with Honey and Vanilla

drizzled with vanilla fig balsamic vinegar 

served on New Cascadia multigrain boule

Spring Salad of Radish, Watermelon Daikon, Dandelion Buds, Celery and Celeriac on Butterleaf Lettuce

served with lovage-caper-mustard vinaigrette 

Spinach, Roasted Oyster Mushroom, Leek and Feta Frittata

served with some nice white wine

Happy Spring Eating!

For some happy spring delights in the garden, check out Gardening in the Round

Lovely Lilikoi

While in Hawai’i recently, I got to indulge in one of the seasonal treats of the Island winter – lilikoi. While not botanically different from purple passion fruit, lilikoi a.k.a. yellow passion fruit, has slightly larger fruits with more tartness.  You won’t be able to grow lilikoi anywhere that it drops below 40 degrees F, making it a special tropical treat (many thanks to Irene for sharing!).

The tartness of these fruits coupled with the many seeds makes lilikoi less desirable for fresh eating but fantastic for juicing.  From here you can make jelly, sorbet, or vinaigrette, but we think its true calling is to become Lilikoi Martinis! You’re shocked, I know.

Depending on the size and your powers of extraction, it takes 10 or more fruits to make one cup of juice.  Irene had gathered probably two dozen or so and we got about 3 cups worth of the precious elixir. The key is to be patient and give the juice all opportunity to separate from the pulp. Fortunately, it is easy to recruit a ‘stirrer’ for this process, as the other hand is left free to hold a wine glass, a camera, or whatever one fancies.

While I can’t grow a lilikoi in Portland, there are two passion flower vines that are hardy enough to withstand our climate, either of which could also be ‘juiced’ according to the same protocol.  Until I have my own vine that bears fruit, I’ll just have to dream about lovely lilikoi.

Lilikoi Juice

1) Get out a large, fine mesh strainer that fits over an appropriately large glass bowl or measuring cup (glass makes it easier to see when the juice is touching the bottom of the strainer, but you could use any non-reactive vessel that is big enough). The idea is to have the strainer fit completely within the bowl but be suspended by it, so that no juice gets lost out the sides and the whole thing isn’t too tippy.  We used an 8 cup/2 quart/2 litre pyrex measuring cup, with an 8” diameter strainer.  This set up comes in handy for many other events in the kitchen, so it is worth investing in. Also get a medium sized stainless, glass or ceramic bowl for pulp discards.

2) Prepare a clean glass stoppered bottle or lidded jar to hold the finished juice.  We used a Grolsch beer bottle – the kind that has the stopper mechanism attached.  Chose something that will make it easy to pour the juice out of, but avoid plastic if you can as it can contribute flavors/odors from the last thing that was in it.

3) Cut the lilikoi fruits in half and scrape the pulp and seeds into a blender carafe.  When you get 2-3 cups of pulp accumulated, pulse on low 4 – 5 times to break up the pulp a bit, but not so much as you start pulverizing the seeds.

4) Transfer the blended pulp to the mesh strainer (that is over a bowl) and stir gently with a spoon to move the pulp around and let the juice escape into the vessel below.  When juice is only sporadically dripping out, transfer the pulp to another bowl but don’t throw it out (yet). 

5) Continue steps 3 & 4 above until you have used all the lilikoi and reserved all the spent pulp.  If the juice in the bowl touches the bottom of the mesh strainer it will slow/stop the accumulation of juice.  If this happens, suspend operations temporarily and pour off the juice into the prepared bottle from step 2. Resume.

6) When all the lilikoi have given their tangy innards to the cause, return all of the used pulp to the strainer and stir to release any remaining juice.  Then while still over the catchment bowl, find another bowl that just fits inside the strainer and use it to push down on the pulp to really squeeze out every drop of goodness (it keeps dishes to a minimum if this is the same bowl as the one that you have been putting the reserved pulp into, so some prior test-fitting might be in order). Don’t push so hard that you wreck the strainer. Pour off any additional juice from the catchment bowl into your bottle.

7) Ta-da… You are now the proud possessor of lilikoi juice!  Make yourself a martini – you've earned it! The juice will keep in the fridge, tightly covered, for a week or more.  Freeze for longer storage.

*The waste pulp makes great compost, just beware that you might get some volunteer lilikoi sprouts in the pile too – which might not be a bad thing!

Lilikoi Martinis

Serves 1 | easily doubled

Once you've made the juice, this is relatively easy! The absolute best is to use juice that has not been put into the fridge yet - it retains this beautiful floral perfume that is especially intoxicating.  

Fill a martini shaker 1/3 full with ice. Shake briefly to help breakup the ice, then open and add:

• 2 oz good vodka
• 1 oz lilikoi juice
• ½ to 1 oz simple syrup* (or to taste)

Shake vigorously and strain into martini glasses.  Double everything to make two if your shaker allows – your friends will be very appreciative!

Now sit back and enjoy the sunset…

*To make simple syrup, add equal parts sugar and water to a pan (1 cup of each is lots). Heat to a boil then reduce to a simmer, stirring constantly until the sugar has dissolved. Let cool and store in a covered bottle in the fridge, where it will last a loooooong time.  Discard if the liquid becomes cloudy or smells badly, which are signs of mold.

How to Make Substitutions Without Loosing Your Mind - Part 2

A Veg Turkey From: http://why-veg.com/tag/vegan/

Two of the dishes that may be the hardest to successfully replace or recreate at the VGF holiday table are: a satisfying main dish and stuffing.  Compounding this problem is that to many, this is part of/the whole/the only reason to be having this dinner anyway.  But don’t despair!  Being open to replacing the traditional roast meat and it’s breadcrumb stuffing, rather than recreating them, leaves many more avenues open to experiencing delicious (and usually more healthful)  alternatives. 

Alternatives?! No, I am not saying that instead of ham you should be happy with a beancurd and kale casserole.  Rather, I mean being happy with a dish that fulfills all of the scrumptious functions of, let’s say a roast turkey, can be had without, let’s say, relying on the main dish being sculpted like a turkey. Personally, I find the ‘fake drumsticks’ and the like to be deeply disturbing (and keep in mind, I still eat meat, occasionally – the hubbie is the veggie; see the first post for details). 

So, I guess that is my long and drawn-out point: you can recreate or replace.  If you desire the meaty chew and the slather-it-in gravy attributes of the roast beast, then by all means make a main that has those qualities (see homey & substantial below).  If you really just want a meatless main that is visually appealing and elegant enough to win over {your significant other’s} {special people}, go for a version of the ‘elegant & contained’ option below.  Breading/Stuffing/Dressing will be covered in 'Part 3'

Making a Meatless Main

Press-In Crust ready for filling

For something elegant and contained, try a savory tart or individual tartlets.  A lovely seasonal combination of chanterelles,leek and kale (and one of my favorites) is great place to start, but any of your favorite vegetables roasted or sautéed could take their place using the same press-in crust.

Shmeat Loaf with Mmmm mushroom gravy

For something homey and substantial, try a meatless loaf that can be presented more like a roast and served with traditional accompaniments like gravy and cranberry sauce.  Shmeat Loaf is a crowd pleaser, for vegetarians and omnivores alike – it and the Mmmm mushroom gravy are both vegan(!) too, but you’d never notice.  You can make this ahead of time too and just reheat in the oven the day of your feast.

For something comforting yet refined, try a layered dish of grains and vegetables in a pretty oven-to-table dish.  While calling it a ‘casserole’ conjures up images of Tuesday tuna surprise, more sophisticated dishes like the classic Italian tiella di verdura sound as special as they taste.  I found just such a recipe in Nancy Harmon Jenkins’s New Mediterranean Diet Cookbook that I’m dying to try.  Here is a very similar version, albeit without the rice (which you could easily layer in, or substitute with millet or quinoa).

Eggplant Timpano

Or the slightly more labor-intense but parcel-perfect Eggplant Timpano featured in this Tuesday’s FoodDay in the Oregonian.

Somewhere between comforting and contained is the tamale, a Mesoamerican staple of the Christmas table.  Tamales consist of a filling, either sweet or savory, surrounded by a corn-based dough and them steamed in a leaf wrapper (corn husk, banana or plantain leaf) which is removed before eating.  The sky is the limit when considering fillings so these can be very fun to experiment with.  There is even a local food cart, Koi Fusion, that is making tamales with an Asian twist, filling them with longbeans, daikon, short-rib and some fabulous spices.  I know the short-rib is less-than-vegetarian, but you get the point.

The ingredient list is short, and their only need a small tweak to make vegetarian or vegan as you like.  The corn base is actually masa, a special treatment of dent corn (as opposed to sweet corn) with lime to remove the husks and, as it turns out, unlock some of the bound nutrients in the kernels.  Most well-stocked grocery stores now carry masa, a common brand is Maseca which also makes a blend of masa especially for tamales, though this is not crucial and you can use just masa (I don’t know what makes them different).  Traditionally made with lard, you can substitute vegetable shortening, coconut oil or vegetable oil to make them vegan. We are making these today, so I will post it soon!  If you have access to a copy of The Veganomicon by Moskowitz & Romero (truly, the vegan bible) I am using their recipe as a base – you can find it on page 59.   Otherwise try this recipe from Vegetarian Times

 Note: They mention that ‘masa for tamales’ contains fat, presumably they mean of animal origin, and so to use plain masa instead.  The ingredient list on my bag of Maseca for Tamales states only: “selected corn treated with lime”. If you are unsure however, uses plain masa.

For the first in this series, check out Part 1 - aka 'The Crazy Season is Upon Us'

The Crazy Season is Upon Us

As the happy commotion of late summer activities made way to the blazing glory of fall, I find myself now contemplating the dying light of December(!). How quickly we find ourselves at the precipice of the shortest day, and headlong into ‘the crazy season’ in more ways than one.  ‘Tis the season to remember the important things in life: friends & family, a warm meal, shelter from the storm.  So as you gather round to celebrate, give thanks for this day: the present.

I am thankful for all the wonderful meals that I have had the pleasure of sharing with friends and family over the years.  I am grateful too that many loved ones have graciously adapted their favorite recipes to accommodate JJ’s and my restrictions with meat and wheat, among other things.  Whether you are new to the substitution game, or just stumped on specifics, making holiday dishes allergy friendly might be easier than you think.  Here are a few of the most common encounters: breadcrumbs, chicken stock, and the magic that is bacon.

How to make substitutions without loosing your mind - Part 1

Breadcrumbs

Conventional Subs

• GF Breadcrumbs are more widely available now in many specialty grocery stores
• If you have GF bread around, toast the slices until dry and then pulse in a food processor
• As long as the favor was not the failed part, I keep the results of ‘bread experiments’ sliced up in the freezer, and then thaw for making into crumb or croutons as needed

Creative Subs

Popped Amaranth

Depending on the function the breadcrumbs are fulfilling, numerous other ingredients, or combinations thereof, could be successfully employed:

• Topping/Crunch/Coating: quinoa flakes, slivered or sliced almonds, popped amaranth
• Body/Moisture Absorption: cornmeal/polenta, almond meal, GF flour like brown rice, or simply cooked rice or another GF grain; any of these could also be combined with some veg starch, such as potato or tapioca, especially if making a patty or loaf

Animal Stock/Broth

Chicken/Light Broth

Option 1 – Premade Vegetable Stock – good quality is important!

My favorite pre-fab veggie broths are from Wolfgang Puck (which I can't seem to find anymore) and Field Day Organic.  I've tried others and they can be exceptionally anemic and/or salty.  That being said, unfortunately the low-salt versions tend to also suck.  You can add a little poultry seasoning to reinforce the idea of ‘chicken’ if you like.  You can make your own veggie stock too, and I applaud you, but don't have the time myself, nor the freezer space to do this regularly.

Option 2 – Bouillon cubes

Good bouillon cubes are by Edward & Sons or Rapunzell.  Using bouillon you can get a little closer to the flavor right off the bat, with Edward & Sons Not-Chick’n 

Option 3 - Substitution

Depending on the recipe, you could sub all or part of the stock called for with water, white wine (diluted if necessary), or even a splash of rice wine vinegar.  Use your judgment accordingly when augmenting water as a substitution – I’m not telling you to make ‘chicken noodle soup’ with a bottle of wine!  Whatever you choose, amping up the spices can help to make up for any deficit in flavor.

Beef/Dark Stock

'Mushroom Liquor' from soaking dried ones

Option 1 – Premade liquids

Pacific Foods brand is ok for vegetable stock, but where they really shine is with their mushroom broth.  Mushrooms in general have great umami flavor that helps to give depth.  Using the soaking liquid from reconstituting dried mushrooms is another great option too, just be sure to strain it through a coffee filter or paper towel to catch any grit.

Option 2 – Bouillon cubes

Go for Edward & Sons Not-Beef bullion cubes.

Option 3 - Unctuous Onion Base

UOB - Unctuous Onion Base

Make a batch with this recipe, then thin it with a mixture of red wine and vegetable stock.  Let it simmer, the longer the better, to cook the alcohol out of the wine and allow the flavors to marry.  Add any spices you desire – bay leaf, black peppercorn and herbs complementary to the rest of your dish would be a nice start.

The 'secret' to veggie bacon flavor! Smoked paprika

Pork Products

Bacon

Flavor – smoked paprika, liquid smoke mixed with maple syrup, smoked salt

+ Texture – For a bacon-y base, sauté

• mushrooms, swiss chard stems &/or cubed firm tofu in
• caramelized onions, garlic, and
• a healthy dose of either smoked paprika or the liquid smoke & maple syrup mix, salt & pepper
• add a splash of veg stock

Swiss Chard stems - don't throw them out, make bac'n!

And you will have delicious smoky nuggets!

If you have neither paprika nor liquid smoke, try finishing the above with smoked salt before serving.  The grill can also impart vital smoky flavor – combined with a salty sweet glaze, you can get close to why all the reasons people love bacon.

Sausage

Tomato sauce with soyrizo

Flavor – many Italian seasoning mixes that contain fennel can really mimic the flavor that sausage imparts to a sauce (such as Williams-Sonoma Italian Sausage Seasoning). Another option is Montreal steak spice, or try a diy srasoning mix by combining:

• 2 T hungarian or sweet paprika
• 1 T coarsely crushed fennel seeds
• 2 t each of dried thyme, oregano, ground coriander, and garlic powder
• ¼ t – 1 t crushed red pepper flake depending on the desired level of heat

Mix together thoroughly and store in an air-tight jar. Use by the tablespoon (About 2 T for 1 lb of 'shmeat' or 30 oz of sauce).

+ Texture - Try commercially available ‘soyrizo’ or a like product, which tastes like spicy Mexican chorizo.  Read the label to ensure that the product is also gluten-free, most are.  Other options are to include one of the seasonings above with Quorn meat-free grounds, crumbled firm tofu, and/or ground or diced mushroom (especially portabello, porchini, shitake or crimini) which will give you a good texture and flavor approximation.

Hope this gives you some ideas on how to substitute for meat and/or wheat in your holidays dishes, and throughout the year.  For tips on how to reinvent some traditional side dishes in the VGF fashion, check out last year's post:
Very Good Food for the Holidays: Side Dishes Reconsidered

Or Check Out Part 2 of this 'series' - Making a Meatless Main

Now we're cooking with gas!

So excited to have a gas stove!  Apparently fourth stove is the charm (ask JJ). $300 later we have a great looking Jen-Air down draft gas stove with electric convection (!) oven and lots of extra pieces like an indoor grill insert.  All it took was three stoves, a range top, many visits to the Rebuilding Center, and one otherworldly trip to deep south Portland a la craigslist.  Reduce, reuse, recycle, ragu!

Simple Summer Pleasures

Serves 1 to 100

As you may (or may not) have noticed, the blog has been on a bit of a vacation this summer, with the author being preoccupied with, among other things, a whole home energy upgrade, a ‘collateral damage’ reno of the master bedroom due to the former (working on paint and plaster as we speak), massive garage sale, and the usual summer guests & travel.  So I do apologize, dear readers, for the lack of posts.  But do not despair as food is always near the forefront of this gal’s brain, and I have been amassing photos and recipes for a deluge of posts now that things are settling down somewhat... (except for the start of The Grape Harvest, the plethora of which will undoubtedly produce its own deluge of recipes as we try to deal with a bumper crop this year…stay tuned for that one!).

In these last warm days of a beautiful summer, and the chilly march into fall, it is the simple pleasures of life that are most rewarding.  I was fortunate enough to spend two days on the edge of the Hood Canal, west of Olympia, WA, soaking up some of the best the Northwest offers: warm sun, lapping waters, a babbling brook, and the hummus-filled air of lush cedar forests. 

In this environment, one needs little more than le cose essenziali della vita – the essentials of life – the phrase that Italians use to refer to bread and cheese.  For those on a GF journey good bread can be very hard to come by, causing borderline obsession at times (this is especially true for me when seeing the simple act of swirling fresh bread in tangy-sweet balsamic vinegar and luscious olive oil).  And so with the addition of the sublimity of summer wrapped up in a garden-grown tomato (thanks Carol!) and a riff on gremolata, one need only sit back and savor the simple pleasures of life.

Making the gremolata ahead of time makes this simple meal easily portable to any of your favorite late-summer destinations, and a decadent yet easy repas for beach, trail or picnic -- a bonus when there is so much to explore and precious little time to do so.

The ‘Essentials of Summer’ Lunch

With so few ingredients, quality is key to a sublime experience: splurge on (or make!) good bread, good cheese, good olive oil, good aged balsamic and local sunkissed tomatoes.

For each person:

• Cut 2 to 4 pieces of GF bread (depending on size) – New Cascadia’s multigrain boule is my personal favorite, and pictured here
• Drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (such as Napa Valley Naturals ‘sweet and fruity’) and aged balsamic vinegar (such as Napa Valley Naturals balsamic grand reserve)
• Spread on a layer of gremolata (recipe follows)
• Add slices of your favorite cheese (Some definite winners include brie, fontina, fresh mozza, creamy chèvre…or a pungent blue for those of you that swing that way).
• Arrange slices from one medium-sized perfectly ripe tomato
• Add coarse salt and fresh-ground pepper
• Top with additional oil and vinegar if desired

(Arguably an equally sublime dish could be made without the cheese, making this vegan if you choose a vegan, GF bread like most available from New Cascadia Traditional http://www.newcascadiatraditional.com/ )