I am a Clevelander and Michael Symon the famed Iron Chef and celebrity du jour also, hails from this mid-west town.
Along with his acolyte, Johathon Sawyer, cuisine in Cleveland continues to function as a pork delivery system, along side of french fries in duck fat and fois gras as garnish.
Food trends happen for many reasons and conspicuous consumption factors in, I’m sure.
But at what point do we question celebrating gratuitous overindulgence as a substitute for culinary genius?
I get it. If you like bacon then food cooked with or otherwise augmented with bacon is delicious.
Like ice cream? Like Bacon? Mix the two and, voila! Genius!
I think not.
It’s like putting a girl in a bikini on a car.
Is it a better car? Is the design imaginative or ground breaking?
Or is it just a car with a scantily clad girl astride?
A dish which is flavorful and healthy, appealing to the eye and created without death and suffering; now that takes some talent!
Make cauliflower sexy; without bacon! and make me lust for a fruit dessert over the chocolate molten, whatever and I’m impressed.
There is a place for everything, I will concede. However, the Malthusian mathematics will come back to haunt is all.
Technology aside, there is only so much land to fill the appetites of food porn addicts and the lowest common denominator of palates!
And while some of my favorites may be no more or less creative and unique, I would like to think that they are environmentally friendly and healthy.
Coconut milk soups, fruit purees, fried broccoli rabe with Marcona almonds, nut creams both sweet and savory and an endless array of spices and greens presented in inventive and unexpected ways will satisfy and delight time after time.
Check out the article below for a short list of tired favorites.
Former President Clinton now considers himself a vegan. He’s dropped more than 20 pounds, and he says he’s healthier than ever. His dramatic dietary transformation took almost two decades and came about only after a pair of heart procedures and some advice from a trusted doctor.
Summertime around here has meant a huge flurry of activity.
The hot and steamy weather hasn’t slowed us down much but appetites tend more toward light and flavorful rather than rich and filling.
And the schedules are all over the place! From sport activities to musical gigs, weekend getaways and family gatherings I find that preparing and serving nutritious meals is more challanging than ever.
Especially when I am not there to supervise everything!
Well, I’ve learned to “let go” and create easy, ready to prepare and assemble food for my family; even the picky ones.
I have been in the habit of keeping a big container of cooked brown rice in the fridge.
I also will sautee corn with cilantro and onions and keep that around.
In addition, I’ll chop green onion and fresh cilantro and keep that in the fridge, also.
There are always cans of organic vegetarian beans or refried beans in the panty.
I also make sure to keep stocked up on ripe avocados and limes.
By having these ingredients handy eating on the fly is healthy and quick.
Even the little ones can do it; even the chronically lazy!
We also like to garnish with fresh salsa and a tangy homemade yogurt or sour cream.
This meal and it’s many variations has become a summertime staple that everyone can enjoy and customize to their own preference.
Burrito style for those who are always running late and eating on the way or pizza stlye with a little Manchego cheese for weekend movie night.
So, don’t get frustrated get creative!
These budget friendly meals are flexible. Use what you have around and get fancy when the budget allows.
They are built in to be nutritious so you just can’t go wrong!
With only healthy options even the least culinary inclined among you can’t help but choose something delicious and nutritious while you enjoy a little fun in the sun!
I remember growing up in my European immigrant family with great food.
Some from Italy and some from Eastern Europe but all of it driven by the freshest ingredients and much of it, meatless.
My grandmas and aunts always had their own gardens and were “putting up” or canning something at any given time.
For me summertime always means tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches.
These were not gourmet growing up.
They were just any bread with mayo, fresh tomato and “crunchy” salt on top.
I spruced these up a little by grilling artisan whole grain bread with olive oil to give crunch and texture to the bread and I’ve also added big fleshy leaves of basil for that peppery edge that basil can give.
Kaniwa from Roland Products, pronounced “Ka-nyi-wa”, is a staple grain of the ancient Aztec and Incan cultures whhich has been cultivated for thousands of years throughout South America.
The crunchy, earthy grain is loaded with protein and makes a complete meal when mixed with vegetables.
Kaniwa Plant
Roland Foods offers a wide variety of specialty foods from around the globe and was kind enough to send me this box of Kaniwa to try at home.
I have cooked with Quinoa in the past and I love it.
Kaniwa is similar to quinoa but seems to feel hardier and denser.
I gathered all the vegetables I could find and chopped them to equal size.
1 package of Grape tomatoes cut in half, 7 green onions, 1/2 of a red onion, 1 can of pinto beans, 2 cups of corn, 1 red pepper, 1/2 of a English cucumber, 1 bunch of cilantro,the juice of 3 limes, 1/4 cup of olive oil and salt to taste.
I garnished with avocado.
I put all of the chopped vegetables in a bowl, cooked the 12 oz. box ( about 2 cups ) of Kaniwa and added to the veggies.
I added it hot to the vegetables to bring them to peak flavor.
I find that adding hot grains to the veggies gives off just enough heat to liven the flavors.
I mixed everything then added the olive oil and the lime juice.
Serve and garnish with half an avocado.
Add salt to taste.
This was fantastic.
Everyone loved this vegan, protein rich meal which could also be great as a side dish with grilled salmon.
