Comfort Food Reigns

You've seen these individual components before, but here they are together providing a delightful supper dish. That's a little serving of quinoa with sautéed corn and grape tomatoes that have been doused with fresh lemon zest and a generous squeeze from a native Meyer lemon (don't let anyone kid you, they don't only grow in Californina) and taking pride of place, none other than my latest favorite veggie—roasted butternut squash with tamari and a light lacing of raw honey. That dark blob in the back? Slices of whole wheat quick bread that I told you about earlier, too.

The only modification I'd make in the future, if I were to assemble this same cast of characters, would be to add something green. The plate is certainly lacking something green. Remember the rule of thumb, fill your plate with colorful food items, avoiding anything white. That's a healthy approach to food selection. Next comes, don't overcook the food. Don't drown it in rich, fatty sauces, and for heavens sake, don't buy it already prepared in a jar, box, bag or can. Cooking from scratch doesn't take much longer than opening a package, and besides, it's healthier, less expensive and tastes so much better, it's worth the extra few minutes.

Find a food writer you enjoy. My new best friends are Mark Bittman , I check out his entries in the New York Times and Crescent Dragonwagon. They provide me with some great new ideas for preparing quick, easy, healthy meals. But my earlier tutors, Julia Child and Jacques Pepin and the local chefs I took classes with, have given me a good background for being able to peruse a recipe and make adjustments or just plain avoid it. Keeping food preparation simple, few ingredients and few steps, not only makes the process simple, but the end product tastes much better, too!

I like the fresh take on whole foods that Heidi Swanson provides in her blog and cookbooks. The savory bean dishes that Steve from Rancho Gordo suggests are high on my list of things to make and eat. Not to mention, purchasing the great heirloom beans and fresh grains Rancho Gordo provides.

Becoming familiar with the list of Superfoods and adding them to your daily/weekly diet will not only improve your health and trim your waist, but it will give you a variety of new foods to eat and fresh ideas to try.

Till next time . . . keep on cooking.