Norteño eating

It's thanksgiving week, and I'm vacationing from the diet that took me from 242 lbs down to 206 pounds. Not only to enjoy the holiday foods but also to reset my metabolism so I can continue dropping weight once I get back on. But enough about me and my diet. I wanted to share some valuable information about microbes. Have been reading Sandor Ellix Katz's book, Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods , a delightful book on how to ferment anything from cheeses to mead to kimchee, along with info on the health benefits of fermented foods. Surprisingly, Katz misses a trick for cheeses, which I will now share with you. If you pick up a book on how to make cheese, you will find out that many cheeses must be made not only with a curdling agent called rennet, but also a microbial agent called a mesophilic starter and possibly one called a thermophilic starter. Both of these agents are microorganisms which convert the lactose in the milk to lac

Nearly a month later, I have lost more weight, although the weight loss has slowed. Down to 211 pounds as of this morning. Again, not depriving myself, eating healthy, plenty of energy, and the fat is slowly melting away. Cravings have also melted away, for the most part. I wouldn't mind a little artisan sourdough bread, I really miss my own baking, but I don't CRAVE it, and I don't crave sweets or alcohol, either. Just happily living on my own stored body fat like a bear in winter. People are commenting on the difference in my appearance, and I can see it too. My pants are baggy, and I will soon need to punch more holes in my belt or buy a new one. What's exciting is that I can LIVE this way, it will be no hardship for me to stay on this diet for several more months, if I choose to. In fact, I may well just stick with this diet for life, with a few modifications. Because I FEEL better. Part of that's due to carrying around 30 fewer pounds than I was, but ther

Well, I've gone from 242.5 to 215.5 pounds in less than two months, and most of it is due to the slow carb diet. That, and walking 3 miles or more most nights. How has it been? Over all, the best experience I've had losing fat. There have been a couple of days when I dropped a couple of pounds seemingly overnight and felt a little wasted the next day, but it happens. Over all, my energy level is up, I feel better, I look better, and I could swear my hair is growing in thicker as well. The tough parts, oddly, are the once-a-week mandatory misbehavior days. See, with the slow carb regimen I really don't crave sugar, starches or alcohol, so it rather takes the fun out of misbehaving. But I do it anyway, it's part of the diet. And I suffer for it. The day after a misbehavior day, my weight usually increases by several pounds. I have little energy. Emotionally, I sometimes am depressed for a day or two afterwards, not binge-eating guilt or anything like that, just over

As my readers have likely figured out, I like food. Maybe too much. In the wake of my divorce, my weight climbed to 242 pounds, an all-time high. I didn't look good, didn't feel good, and was diagnosed with hypertension. Something had to be done. So I did it. And I've lost twenty pounds in a month. I plan to lose another thirty. How did I do it? Initially, I eliminated alcohol,salt, sugar and caffeine from my diet. Completely. I started eating mostly fresh veg, with very little meat or poultry. This generated some serious short-term weight loss. Unfortunately, after a few weeks of that, my energy level plummeted to the point where I was unable to function. So I had to make a change. Happily, I came upon a blog that claimed you can lose twenty to thirty pounds in a month on something called the "slow-carb diet." It's a simple diet. You eat 3-5 times a day, every meal has a protein such as eggs, meat, fish or poultry, a serving of legumes (beans, lent

Turnips are arguably the Gregory House of the vegetable world: homely at first glance and repellent to the uninitiated, but complex, multifaceted and ultimately quite compelling. They are in fact so versatile in fact that it is difficult to know where to begin; Raw, they are crisp, and at once sweet,peppery and earthy.Roasted, they become soft like cooked potatoes, their sweetness is enhanced, their pepperiness mellowed; turnips make a great addition to a winter vegetable roast, and can be mashed and combined with mashed potatoes to good effect. Their greens are delicious, cooked. You could, if you wished, cube the turnips, parboil, saute in the drippings of your roast meat, and throw in the chopped turnip greens at the last moment for a great accompaniment to roast duck, pork or beef. You can also pickle turnips with beets. This is a middle eastern appetizer called liffit, and it is common on the tables of middle eastern restaurants. Pickled turnips are a pinkish purple, beautiful

Last spring, a friend of mine gifted me some of her sourdough starter. Such is the nature of a sourdough starter that I have been baking pretty much every week so I could make room to feed my microbial friend "Buddy" additional flour, water and sugar. I have been questing in the course of this weekly baking adventure to approximate what I think of as a good, artisan sourdough bread. Good, of course, can be in the eye of the beholder. What I have been after is a complex flavor, a crust which is crispy and sufficiently done to develop plenty of caramelized, toasty flavors, an open and almost translucent crumb, with the inner surfaces of the bubbles appearing glossy. I am getting there. There are several "tricks" or techniques that I have learned along the way. The first is using a fairly wet dough. Much of the texture of the crumb is determined by the moisture content of the dough. Doughs with a lower moisture content tend to have fine, closed grains, a t

The following is something I adapted from a Mexican recipe for escabeche de col, pickled cabbage. By using a light hand with the heat, and sauteing the cabbage until it is just wilted, the recipe is transformed into a muy Mexicano version of coleslaw. Vegetable oil I head cabbage, shredded 3-4 onions, peeled, cut in quarters and thinly sliced 4 large carrots, peeled and thinly sliced 6-10 Jalapenos, finely diced 1 cup white vinegar 1 Tbs or more kosher salt a tablespoon or more of dried mexican oregano This seems like a simple recipe, but it has its subtleties. The first subtle bit is in the sauteing. The idea is to saute the veggies in a bit of oil just until the raw taste is off them and they sweeten. You DON'T want them tasting raw and by the same token you DO want a bit of crunch in them, so pay attention and don't over/undercook them. By simply sauteeing them lightly, you not only get rid of the raw taste, you bring out the sweetness of the veggies, and that

I've been talking to local New Mexico chefs and restaurant owners lately about the possibility of buying their veggies from local farmers. I've been surprised how many say "You know, we really don't serve produce in our restaurant." And then they'll add, "except for some lettuce and tomatoes." This last referring to the habitual garnish for many Mexican restaurant platters. Sadly, many of our local restaurants don't serve any veggie side dishes with their meals, but that will be a rant for another day. Today, I want to talk about "some lettuce and tomatoes." This is an afterthought for many local chefs because it is the ubiquitous and only semi-edible garnish that goes with burritos, enchiladas, tacos etc in many Mexican and New Mexican restaurants. It is a pile of shredded iceberg lettuce with a few scattered cubes of diced tomato added. It is typically not dressed or seasoned, it is just there on your plate like some tiny, half-

Of all the chasers for tequila or vodka, sangrita has to be at the top of the list. No, not "sangria," that's a Spanish-style red wine punch. Sangrita, meaning "little blood," is a traditional tequila chaser, and a party in your mouth. There are many recipes for sangrita on the web, most of them weak-kneed and cowardly renditions of the real deal. Here is how I make it - this recipe is adapted from the wonderful book, Mexican Desserts and Drinks: More Than 200 Sensational Mexican Recipes by Socorro Muñoz Kimble and Irma Serrano Noriega. Combine in a blender - 2 cups tomato juice 1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice 1/4 cup chopped raw onion 2 fresh chiles (serrano or if you want it really hot, habañero) juice of a lime 1 tsp. sugar a pinch of salt Chill. Serve as a chaser for tequila or vodka. Or add the hooch directly into the sangrita, which makes it what some call a bloody Maria.

I was talking with a friend of mine recently about lamb. Miguel is a chef and restauranteur, and runs what is arguably the finest dining establishment in town. Miguel carries lamb, but lamb chops and ground lamb only. "People are funny about lamb" Miguel explained. "Lamb chops and our ground lamb are all we can sell." This, my friends, is a sad state of affairs. Lamb is a delicious and versatile meat, and there are great ways to prepare every part of it. So I am going to share with you several ways to do yummy stuff with lamb. This week, lets talk about the leg- Leg of lamb is probably the leanest cut, and it is tender as well. There is a layer of fat and membrane on the leg which you are well-advised to remove at least in part before cooking the leg. Probably the most familiar cut of lamb to Americans, the leg is usually served roasted. But when I lived in a mostly Arab community in Michigan, I learned another way which is purely heaven. It is marinated,

Yet another way to use eggplant. The white sauce calls for an extraordinary amount of garlic, but it mellows as it simmers in the milk and is not at all intense. 1 large eggplant Olive oil 1/2 pound macaroni 3 Tbs butter 3 Tbs flour 2 cups of milk 3 sprigs of thyme 2 Tbs fresh chopped basil 1/2 head of garlic, peeled and crushed or minced (that's half a HEAD, not half a clove) 1 cup parmesan, asiago, romano or other aged hard cheese (you can even use jack cheese, it won't hurt my feelings) Peel the eggplant and cut it into 1/2 inch cubes. Salt it and leave it set for half an hour if you are afraid it might be bitter. I never bother with this, but different strokes. Put the eggplant cubes to saute slowly in olive oil. Get the macaroni boiling and cook until just tender. Drain. While the eggplant is slowly sauteing and the macaroni is boiling, make a roux of the butter and flour. Add the milk, garlic and herbs. let simmer slowly until thickened. Add the cheese