Roadtripping on the Coast of Cali - Post 1

While there are those who cherish raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, I hold recycling on street corners and composting in restaurants in special favor.  As I become more and more steeped in food reform as a result of my current line of work, I am feeling captivated and intensely concerned about food waste and sustainability.  The whole recycling bit goes way back...since I was very young, if green bins were nowhere to be found, I would haul stacks of paper with me until I found an appropriate home for them. Unsurprisingly, I thought Al Gore was THE man.  More recently, on a trip to India, I was struck by a simple act of recycling - while visiting my mother's village, when I couldn't find the "dustbin" after lunch, I handed my plate to the servant and watched as he tossed the chicken bones and inedible stems of spices in the backyard.  Of course!  Was I ever a fool.  There was no sophisticated system of garbage disposal there.  Return what comes from the land to the land.  If you choose to bring in products wrapped in the likes of plastic from the city, then take it with you on your way out or risk "soiling" the pristine land - this observation made my own footprint so easy to understand.

A Salad for All Seasons

When you step away from your phone and come back to ten group text messages on the topic of making quinoa...you know you are in good company.  I am very proud of my friend, Saaam, who is making a conscious effort to revolutionize her diet and eat for good health.  To encourage her new "foodstyle", we are keeping a food diary via text message to inspire each other - and, let's get real - keep each other in check.  Accountability works wonders for motivation.  My sis and I did this food diary thing awhile ago and it was really useful.  Share what you're eating, inspire your friends to try something new and celebrate small successes - I'm sure there's an app for that :)

Chicken Tortilla Soup for a Chilly Night

Shame on us.  We didn't cook ALL week.  One weekend away and we were totally thrown off schedule!  Needless to say, I will be kicking off my Groundhog Day with a looong visit to the grocery store - at least I know what I want to make, that's always half (err, 3/4) of the battle.  The beauty of this recipe is that everything I needed was already in my kitchen - doesn't get better than that with the sound of the wind whipping outside.

Homemade chicken tortilla soup is suuuch a nice way to warm up amidst the resurgence of this wintry weather.  AND how come no one ever told me that boiling chicken makes life in the kitchen so much easier?  I feel like I am really late to this party, but I am loving this new method.

Simple Smoked Salmon Sandwich

Oh, do you know the sandwich man,

The sandwich man, the sandwich man...

Yep, that's right.  Muffin man was so (18)80's...now that we know muffins aren't really all that good for you, it's time to upgrade this jingle for modern day tastes.  Enter, my husband, future proprietor of sandwich shop using fresh, local ingredients.  This is his dream in life.  On our wedding website, in describing ourselves and our favorite things, he started by listing sandwiches.  My mother-in-law was less than pleased that this is what her son wanted to broadcast over the world wide web; she kindly requested that he reorder his list.  But it stayed at the top...and this, ladies & gents, is how his legacy began.

***

While hubs is a computer geek by week, he quickly sheds his pocket protector, dons a chef hat and transforms into a world-class sandwich maker by weekend.  In other words, 

Perfect Preetham from Pittsburgh makes superb Simple Smoked Salmon Sandwiches on Saturdays & Sundays.

Ooooh snap, is that some awesome alliteration or what!?  (due credit goes to sis for the first part)  Ok, now you try it!  The alliteration, sandwich or both :-)

Recipe for Healthy People 2020: Miso Soup

For the USofA, today is Election Day...but for me, it's THAT and my hubby's bday!  After multiple trips to the polling station (less crowded at 6:15 PM vs 6:15 AM --> totally missed the memo on that), we had adequately repped red, white, and blue and decided that for dinner, we would pay homage to his love of Japanese food.  We made our classic shiitake miso soup in the Vitamix - a very straightforward, healthy, and light recipe when you want to spend minimal time in the kitchen and maximum time planted in front of the TV rooting for your favorite candidate.  Don't worry, I'm not going to jip hubby.  Tomorrow I (not WE) am making his favorite dinner and dessert...shh, it's a surprise!

Quinoa Upma

Oppa Upma Gangnam Style!

We were recently invited to lunch by my brother-in-law's wife's mother's first cousin (commit this to memory - there may be a pop quiz later!).  Within minutes, we discovered that he is a big time foodie - the kind of foodie who drives two hours in a foreign land to have a taste of a highly acclaimed restaurant, the kind of foodie whose mind frequently and not-so-secretly revolves around some food-inspired thought. His wife is an amazing chef with a remarkable repertoire of healthy food ideas, armed with organization skills that Martha Stewart would envy and a green thumb, judging by the umeboshi leaves thriving in their backyard.  We had found kindred spirits in this perfect "pear".