Back to my Roots

i have a pretty hard crush on farmers.  old, young, short, tall, hairy, bald, gracious and ornery. i love them all.  i love them so much, in fact, that i find myself stalking greenmarkets year-round just to get a little taste of what these geniuses have been up to.  in the winter months the pickings can be slim and some of my my most coveted growers take time off from the market, their absence making my heart beat a little faster when i think about how they will return with the first asparagus in the spring.  but for now, in the darkest, coldest months of winter here in nyc i rely and appreciate on those farmers who babysit their greenhouses and who also bring us those delicious, heavy to carry, winter root vegetables from their cellars that sustain us through the lean times.

i do my level best to "put up" (fermenting, freezing and dehydrating) as many  popular summer vegetables as i can during harvest time.  It's such a luxury to be able to reach into the freezer in January and pull out Basil puree for fresh pesto, or frozen zucchini and sweet summer corn for succotash. My husband and I make gallons of sauerkraut to ensure that we will have enough of those enzyme and probiotic rich foods to get us through flu season without illness.  of course i could go to the supermarket or the health food store and buy whatever organic vegetables i want, year round.  these days we have that convenience but we pay dearly for it on many levels.  california has apparently been going thru a chilly winter and i noticed that at our local health food store, the price of broccoli was $7 per bunch and cauliflower, $8.  I have been told that these prices will be coming down soon but it really made me think about the extravagance of abundance and how we have been spoiled for choice since most people unfortunately do not rely on their local farmer.  it also got me to thinking about one of the principles of the macrobiotic diet that always made great sense to me: eat within the parameters of your climate and your body will always know how to "act."  it will also know how to heal, protect, and defend the healthy homeostatic environment that we hope to create through proper nutrition and good, clean, joyful living.  in other words, eat what the earth gives you at the proper time...which leads me right back to my roots.

rough, ugly, gnarled and blemished (like my farmers), roots are some of the sweetest, creamiest, delicious vegetables you will ever know (again, like my good farmers).  you can poach them, puree them, mash, braise, roast and even eat some raw making them versatile, friendly and forgiving.  so why do so many people turn their noses up at them?  intimidation? perhaps. my best guess is that folks just don't know how to approach them (beyond thanksgiving dinner) or they just don't go looking for them at the winter greenmarkets.  they are all shopping at whole paycheck (whole foods) or waiting for asparagus in the spring!

in my little 3rd floor walk up on the prairie (in manhattan's west village) we are grateful to root vegetables in that they are a staple till we see the bounty of spring.  of course we indulge in those occasional extravagances from california and florida via the health food store every once in a while when we are feeling flushed or when a birthday rolls around and a request is made, but honestly we are quite satisfied with our beets, gold ball turnips, purple top turnips, black radish, watermelon radish, rutabaga (also known as swede), daikon radish, japanese sweet potatoes, parsnip, carrots, garlic, onions, moo radish, bordeaux radish, celery root, parsley root, horseradish, jerusalem artichoke and more!  we put them in soups, stews, roasts, purees and gratins.  they are hearty and stand up to big flavors while adding sweetness, texture and zing!

a favorite here is a Raw Winter Root Salad made by grating peeled beets, watermelon radish and daikon radish. i dress it with extra virgin olive oil, meyer lemon juice (a true winter extravagance), course sea salt, fresh ground pepper and chopped dill.  i usually use 4 medium sized beets (peeled), 1 large watermelon radish (skin on) and 1 small daikon (peeled).  we let this macerate and blend all its flavors together.  it's lovely on its own or served as a relish with a traditional beef stew, cardamom spiced lamb short ribs or a seared piece of fish.  this relish or condiment is also great on sandwiches and served with eggs....but isn't just about everything good when served with farm fresh eggs? 

A mixture of roasted root vegetables with herbs de provence is also a winner in our home. we make a big batch and reheat as needed. the vegetables are also quite good cold in green salads or in a pita as a sandwich with humus.  they are our favorite accompaniment to a roasted chicken and go well with eggs in the morning just like you would eat hash browns. you can also cut them in 1/2 inch rounds and saute them in coconut oil and then dust with turmeric. we like to do this with sweet potatoes in place of fries or chips with burgers.  roasting beets in my house is a breeze since i just place them whole and scrubbed on the rack in the oven. i take them out when i can insert a knife easily through and let them cool. i peel them and the kids eat them like apples or i cut them into salads or slice them onto sandwiches.  cheddar cheese on sourdough with homemade mayo and sliced beet root will always make my family happy!

if you like mashed potatoes (my husband LOVES them) you will like them even more if you include some parsnip, turnip, rutabaga or celery root.  I suggest slowly poaching them in heavy cream with sea salt and then mashing them into the drained potatoes with the sweet infused cream and roots.  amazing!  My absolute favorite way to eat root vegetables is in a gratin with LOTS of cream, thyme and a hint of nutmeg.  below you will find that recipe and i beg you to please try it. i think you will be very happy if you do!

as march approaches i am eager to adopt daylight savings and bring my family out of the winter darkness and toward the promise of spring and renewal.  i crave the warmth of the sun on my face and shoulders and look forward to putting the winter coats in storage.  i also look forward to seeing all of my farmers back at our local markets.  i know that they will bring not only fresh food from the rich soil they tend but also great stories and tall tales about how they make it taste so darn good!  i also look forward to their smiles and their generosity and our give and take relationship that grows my heart & my beautiful family so well.  i look forward to all of these things and more but for now i will get back to my roots and hope that when you call your Family2Table you will serve them something delicious and nutritious from your cellar or the the cellar of your local farmer.

ROOT VEGETABLE GRATIN

in a saucepan, saute 1 shallot finely chopped till translucent.
add 1 quart of heavy cream and bring to a simmer
add a generous bunch of fresh thyme and let simmer till reduced  and thick.
strain through a sieve to take out shallots and thyme
season with sea salt & pepper to taste and set aside.

preheat oven to 350 degrees

using a mandolin with much care, slice root vegetables into thin rounds
put down a layer of cream in a ceramic baking dish and alternate sliced root veggies with reduced cream in layers.  with each layer add a sprinkle of salt and a fresh grating of nutmeg.
build up till all is gone, press down to have a layer of cream on top.
cover with foil or parchment and bake for an hour.
uncover and continue baking till done - when you can insert a cake tester and it glides through.
cut into portions and serve with some freshly chopped parsley and lots of cream.

this dish can be made ahead of time and reheated.  it also stores well in the fridge for up to 5 days.  enjoy!

please contact me if you have any questions.
emilyduff@mac.com

Fish 'n Chips

on august 20, 2003 i got married.  it was a beautiful day.  everything i wanted it to be.  skip and i asked my sister, her husband and their 3 year old daughter to accompany us at 11am down to city hall to witness the big event. we all jumped in a cab, did the deed then afterwards came straight back to our apartment in the west village and immediately did 2 things. we opened a bottle of proseco and rang our local "a salt & battery" to deliver fish 'n chips.  it was promptly and lovingly delivered via vespa by a lovely young man from doncaster who joined us for a toast, wished us well and collected his $25 plus tip for our wedding day lunch.  cod dipped in beer batter and fried to a golden perfection, chips (some soggy & some crunchy). pickled onions, tomato & tartar sauce. nothing makes me feel more at home than this comforting meal.  it doesn't hurt that my husband is from australia and has had his fair share wrapped in paper and brought home for friday night meal.   we both love fish 'n chips.

i fondly remember a romantic trip with my husband the first time he took me home to australia.  we drove down to the queenscliff sorrento ferry for a drive down the great ocean road to apollo bay and a stay in a motel on the water.  when we got to sorrento we had a little bit of a wait till the ferry came and my husband asked me where i would like to go for lunch.  i did not even have to think. i was at the water and i wanted....that's right...you guessed it. fish 'n chips. and boy oh boy was that some good tucker! i will always remember that meal. the simplicity and perfection.  the flavor and the emotion.  the love and the falling in love over and over again down by the seaside. 

today when i crave fish 'n chips i stop myself.  i remind myself how i feel after i eat fish 'n chips.  not so good.  and i think about why that is.  let's see...my diet is really clean.  i do not eat any processed, industrial foods at all. i rely on traditional foods and traditional methods of food preparation. i know why... most restaurants and fish shops fry their fish 'n chips in vegetable oil.  specifically: soya oil.  that stuff is a killer.  why do they do this? because its cheap. tragic but true.  they can make lots more money frying not so fresh (and even frozen) fish in rancid oil as opposed to what traditional fish 'n chips used to be fried in...good old fashioned beef tallow.  some shops used lamb fat - that rocks too!  for those of you who are not familiar with beef tallow, it is the rendered fat from around the kidneys of a good grass fed cow.  a stable animal fat that has been used in cooking for hundreds of years and no one complained...to my knowledge, no one ever got sick from it either.  

passing on our love of fish 'n chips to our children was a given.  how could we hold back on our passion for comfort food?  why would we want to? as a matter of fact my son henry loves chips so much that he asks me all the time if we can get them at a restaurant.  unfortunately i always say no. bad mommy? nah...i love my kids and i don't want them to get sick.  french fries are fried in...you guessed it...vegetable oil in this silly country.  and what's more, most french fries are made from conventional idaho potatoes and if there is one thing you should always buy organic, it's potatoes.  those fat tubers do nothing but absorb everything that they are growing in - under the ground.  pesticides abound in conventionally grown potatoes.  do yourself and your family a big treat and leave those spuds alone.  also,  have you looked at the label on ketchup lately? in restaurants you will get heinz 57. one of those 57 is high fructose corn syrup. again, not something i want my kids/family to eat.  

so, what's a fish 'n chips loving mum to do? make it at home! and make it awesome delicious and cool by frying in beef tallow, using fresh fish from a local fisherman, using organic potatoes, dipping in homemade fermented ketchup and tartar sauce and creating a beautiful new batter by using sprouted flour and homemade ginger kombucha! i must say that this was the best fish 'n chips we ever ate. everyone agreed and i will definitely be making it again and again.  it takes a while and is a labor of love but hey....when we call our Family2Table isn't it always a labor of love? i know it is at mine. enjoy!

KOMBUCHA BATTERED FISH 'N CHIPS

1. bring beef tallow up to temperature (325)
2. make batter using 8 - 10oz. raw kombucha added to 1 cup srouted whole wheat flour, 1 tsp. of aluminum free baking powder and a generous pinch of sea salt.
3. cut and fry chips in batches, draining on a paper towel and then adding celtic sea salt.
4. portion the fish into "bites" - we used flounder. you can also use cod, hake, scrod or sea bass.  feel free to play and use squid as well!
5. season fish with sea salt & pepper.
6. dust fish in plain sprouted flour, dip in batter and then drop carefully into tallow. allow 3 minutes per piece but watch the look of the fish. it should be golden. you might need to turn it with a spider.  please don't crowd the pot - fry in batches.
7. drain on paper towel and sprinkle with sea salt.

FERMENTED KETCHUP
4 small jars of organic tomato paste 

1/2 cup pure grade B maple syrup 

1/4 cup sauerkraut juice (this ferments it)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 tablespoon celtic sea salt 

2 cloves of garlic minced or pressed through a garlic press 

mix together or burr with a hand blender

let stand at room temperature 24 to 48 hours 

put in refrigerator.

will last for a month, well sealed.

FERMENTED TARTAR SAUCE

let's start by making mayo - you will need a buttery, mild olive oil. i recommend chaffin family orchards - late harvest oil (order now).

1. Place 1 egg plus 2 yolks into a food processor

2. add the juice of one half lemon

3. add a generous pinch of salt

4. add 1 tsp. dijon mustard

5. add 1 TBS. fresh liquid whey

6. turn on and slowly drizzle in 1 cup of olive oil till emulsified.

7. place into a glass container and let sit out on the counter for 6 hours to ferment.

8. take out 1/4 cup of mayo and add to it 2 TBS chopped cornichon, 1 TBS chopped capers and fresh grated pepper.

dropping the fish into the tallow.

draining on paper and salting with celtic sea salt.

the final plate.

henry going in for the chips while i cook.

all this deep fried fish from 2 fillets that cost $12.25

The Art and Joy of the Sandwich

if you build it they will come. they will come and enthusiastically eat, enjoy and be happy. there is something about that hand-held crowd pleaser called the sandwich that makes all who indulge feel jubilant & satisfied.  add a cup of delicious soup and you have just defined "comfort." visit another country and you can generally tell a lot about the place by eating a sandwich. in italy i had some of the best sandwiches of my life. even at a gas station. in italy, sandwiches are serious business. usually served for lunch, the sandwich is, architecturally speaking, the perfect meal.  meats, cheeses, vegetables, savory spreads and fresh baked bread all brought together in a symbiotic, sensual dance of flavor, texture and delight.  ask anyone who has been to defonte's in brooklyn and you will see what i mean. quite simply,  the sandwich is the stuff that culinary dreams are made of. 

yes, i know, many of us (myself included) do not partake of our daily bread these days but that does not mean we cannot substitute and reinvent the sandwich in another form. lettuce wraps, brown rice tortillas, rice paper wraps, apple slices ( i like mine with chicken liver pate), etc. all make a tasty platform on which to arrange our favorite, fresh ingredients and create our own individual masterpiece.  

my family loves a good sandwich. i pack them for their school and work lunches. i often serve them for breakfast and sometimes we even eat them for dinner! sandwiches can be very special and quite far from the old days when mum would say "nothing fancy tonight, just some cold sandwiches in the icebox."  warm toasted sandwiches like croque madam, rubens and the ever popular post thanksgiving feast known as "thanksgiving on a roll" (fresh roasted turkey, stuffing, sweet potato and cranberry relish) have taken the sandwich into a new realm, elevating it to meal status.


after all, who can deny that good ole' stand-by the grass-fed hamburger when its been crafted to perfection. our family burger, "burger with the lot," is made of grass-fed bison and has a huge knob of cold butter jammed inside the patty when cooking, is served rare on a sourdough roll and is topped with melted cheddar, sliced beet root, bacon, caramelized onion, a fried egg, fermented ketchup and homemade pickles....and that has been trimmed down. it used to include a ring of fresh organic pineapple as well but the kids can't handle it when it's that big.  because i don't eat the bread roll, i usually wrap mine in a neat parcel made from a large romaine lettuce leaf. i have been experimenting with grinding different meats to make the best burger flavor. 50/50 grass-fed beef & bacon seems to be a popular burger recipe ratio these days. mmmmmm, good eats!  

when people ask me about my sandwiches and what i use to make them i always tell them to please cook their own meats.  lunch meats from a deli counter are dodgy.  that means, not to be trusted. processed meats can contain additives and most probably are not as fresh as they can be. i generally stay away from deli meats except for prosciutto and dry italian salami which i am not making at home.....yet.  i have gotten into the habit of roasting a well seasoned, herb stuffed turkey breast every saturday morning (i buy it from di paola's turkey stand at the market).  this usually provides delicious turkey sandwiches for the entire week which is about two or three times per week for three or four people.  same goes for chicken. roast or poach a whole pastured chicken each week. use the meat one night for dinner, use the leftovers to make chicken salad (meat, celery, red onion, tarragon, homemade mayo, sea salt & pepper) and then the bones to make broth for soups and sipping. that one pastured chicken will take you far. i hand slice my sandwich meats but i like the idea of having a small electric meat slicer in the home kitchen for getting the most value out of your meat.


other sandwich meats i cook are skirt and ny strip steak, bacon, uncured ham steak, lamb shoulder (my favorite with mint mayo) and grass fed, well peppered beef (RARE) - that always goes well on sandwiches with a thick layer of grass fed butter or horseradish mayonnaise & whole grain mustard with arugula or watercress.  this one is beautiful on german style black bread or pumpernickel.  and don't forget that all sandwiches are great "open-face" style.  some call this tartine but i generally refer to them as danish style open sandwiches and my favorites are goat cheese & cucumber, smoked salmon on thick butter with capers and thin sliced red onion or herring with curried cream sauce and dill. isn't pizza just an open-face sandwich on thin crust bread? a quesadilla, a mexican grilled cheese sandwich? a summer roll, a thai veggie sandwich wrapped in rice paper rolls? i think so.  remember, a sandwich can be anything you want it to be. fresh, delicious, mostly hand held and easy to eat...you decide.

sometimes a sandwich contains no meat at all.  my husband calls this a "salad roll." he likes cheese on his but you needn't do that either if you are on an animal-free diet (please say you're not).  greens, tomato, onion, shredded carrot, beet root, sprouts, cucumber, roasted veggies (peppers, squash, eggplant, onions, etc) and herbs. go for it!  these sandwiches are a little bit of farm fresh heaven and reflect what's coming out of the ground wherever you are.  the key here is in the condiments which should be homemade whenever possible.  a simple vinaigrette to soak the bread, fresh mayo, fermented mayo, herb mayo....start with mayo. here is a simple recipe.....


1 whole pastured egg
1 pastured egg yolk
1 tsp. dijon mustard
the juice of half a lemon
a generous pinch of salt


1 cup of good quality, buttery tasting, late harvest xtra virgin olive oil (chaffin family orchards is really good)
blend the first five ingredients in a food processor.
SLOWLY add in the olive oil in a thin stream - i hold mine way up in the air & drizzle so the stream gets really thin, almost trickling in drop by drop to emulsify.
this basic recipe can be played with in many ways. it is also a great base for a caesar salad dressing, have fun.

other delicious sandwich condiments are olive paste (pit and puree your favorite olive - nicoise, kalamata, picholine, etc. add olive oil - garlic if you want - and store in the fridge), herb and olive oil purees (like a pesto), roasted vegetable puree (red peppers, squash, eggplant, onions, garlic, mushrooms, etc),  spicy honey mustard, horseradish cream sauce, curried lentil or lentil & tomato spread,  sundried tomato paste, chunky salsas, nut butters, avocado & lemon puree, white bean puree......you get my drift, yes?  

now the bread. the floor and ceiling of our construction.  no pressure there.  the bread is almost the most important piece of the sandwich puzzle. truly great sandwiches start with great bread. "a symphony of crackle" as colette said in my favorite movie, "ratatouille." we are fans of the upstate NY bakery bread alone. we buy them at the markets and they are also available at whole foods. wherever you are located, please source out a fresh, well baked, loaf from a good bakery. we prefer the french levain but sometimes go for the sour rye with caraway seeds.  we also like the sourdough rye from hawthorne farms and the levain at le pain quotidian.  as far as ready made breads go we keep berlin bakery's sprouted spelt bread in our freezer at all times. my kids relate to this bread and i like the fact that it is sprouted.  if you are eating bread please make sure that they are traditionally prepared with only the freshest few ingredients. most packaged breads will have a huge list of ingredients i wouldn't feed to my worst enemy. and please don't be afraid of good bread. if you are not diagnosed with celiac disease or an allergy to grains, please enjoy a life filled with delicious, well prepared bread.  the best case scenario would be to bake your own traditional sourdough bread each week.  


so there you have it. sandwiches are cool. whether its a bacon egg and cheese sandwich for breakfast, a fresh roasted cold lamb sandwich for lunch or a grilled cheese quesadilla with salsa & raw sour cream for dinner, a sandwich is usually a good idea.  make your ingredients yourself whenever possible (even breads) and only buy the freshest cleanest food to put on your sandwich and in your body. be creative, play with variations and experiment with flavors to see what you and your family like.  The next time you call your Family2Table serve them a sandwich and see if they don't all light up with joy!  


some our family's favorite sandwich combinations:
tarragon roasted turkey with fresh mayo & arugula 
wild salmon salad, green onions & celery with fresh mayo and pea shoots
sardines on buttered bread with thin sliced red onion and dill
goat cheese & scrambled egg on bacon fat toasted sourdough bread
prosciutto de parma and fresh mozzarella with black olive paste
sliced ham and raw swiss cheese with spicy whole grain honey mustard
bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado with chipotle mayo
rare lamb with mint mayo and roasted red peppers
salad roll with roasted vegetable mayo
smoked mozzarella with arugula & sundried tomato paste
dark meat chicken salad with wild watercress
crispy pork and vegetable thai summer rolls with sweet chile sauce
hummus & roasted red pepper with shredded carrot and raisin salad
bison sausage and cheddar quesadilla with fermented salsa, sour cream and guacamole
crispy roasted cod with roasted tomato relish 
sweet italian pork sausage, balsamic roasted red onions & peppers


what are some of your favorite sandwich combinations?

Salad Days

one of my earliest culinary memories is of a table side caesar's salad at a local queens, ny restaurant aptly named caesar's.  at 6 years old i fully appreciated and always looked forward to their signature salad with garlic and oil crusted croutons, crisp romaine and creamy, dressing.  the performance by the waiter was mesmerizing and the shirley temples weren't bad either!  almost 40 years later, in my book, there is still nothing better than a great salad.  crisp greens tossed with good olive oil, a squeeze of lemon, sea salt and black pepper is simple, elegant and delicious. as a matter of fact i think i recently confessed that i eat this pretty much every evening after my main meal.  if you add vibrant, flavorful vegetables, fruits, cheeses, meats, fish, grains, nuts and seeds (you get the idea), the basic green salad climbs to new heights, easily going from appetizer or digestive to stunning entree.  you can do anything with a salad, as long as you don't try to add all of these components at once.  too many ingredients will always kill the essence of the dish, prohibiting star ingredients from truly shining and getting their due.  when it comes to the salad, we must really tip our hats to that most special ingredient, greens.

yes it is october and the weather is already changing here in nyc as is evident by my steam heater hissing in the wee morning hours (must cover that wicked dangerous hot pipe in the kitchen) and my wearing layers to the greenmarket this morning.  so, why am i talking about summery green salads? this week in florida 3,265 cases of salad bags sold under the the fresh selections, marketside, HEB and taylor farms labels have been recalled due to the risk of salmonella food poisoning.  it already happened with bagged spinach, remember?  i want to talk about this because bagged salad has become more popular than buying freshly picked heads of greens and that's not okay.  

when i began my cooking career i spent most mornings washing and spinning cases of salad greens and herbs.  wild watercress, radicchio, romaine, royal red oak leaf, bibb, buttercrunch, frisee, lollo roso, mache, mizuna, escarole, french crisp, chicory, dandelion, arugula, tatsoi and more.  filling up the big sink i would twist off the root stem and separate the leaves, watching the dirt fall into the water and sink to the bottom.  i would lift the leaves carefully out of the sink and place them into a large stainless steel bowl.  drain and clean the sink, refill and do it again. each variety would be soaked three times, spun dry and then laid in a white bin, lined with paper towels, labeled with the variety and date and kept in the walk in refrigerator.  some days i spent up to 3 hours meticulously doing this.  in my home i still do it and love every minute.

i love dirt. i especially love good mineral rich black dirt.  i love seeing it on my food when i buy it.  it is a sign that it has just come out of the ground. dirt means that it is farm fresh, it contains vital nutrients that will feed my body well and it will taste amazing.  bagged salad has none of this.  bagged salad is produced on an enormous scale, is an industrial food handled by way too many people not paying attention, is then placed in a "petri dish" (farmer john gorzynski's analogy) plastic bag, held in a refrigerated warehouse and then transported long distances to supermarkets. that's called a potential health risk (hello, FDA).  too many handlers not paying attention inoculate the lettuce with potential pathogens and then they are hermetically sealed in an environment that encourages those pathogens to grow. they are kept in that bag sometimes for weeks until the consumer, who thinks they are getting a convenient, pre-washed, healthy food buys it and takes it home.  most people do not wash bagged salad.  that's the idea right?  it's pre-washed. just open it up and go! hey, that sounds a lot like fast food to me. and we don't like fast food.

when i ask people what they eat when they are trying to be healthy they say, a nice, fresh salad.  there is nothing fresh about the salad you are eating if it comes from a bag.  the average head of lettuce (or any freshly picked vegetable) will lose 40% of its nutritional value by the time it hits the supermarket shelf.  the amount of petro-chemicals it takes to wrap it and get it there is a whole different blog all together.....bagged salad, by the time you get it home has lost its zing. the bloom is off the rose as they say.  it also doesn't taste as good as freshly picked greens.  i know some people will say that bagged salads are delicious but i challenge and suggest that you go to a farmers market and buy freshly picked, dirty greens - take them home and give them a nice cool bath, spin them dry and see for yourself.  in my humble opinion there is no comparison.  

i bought lettuce from john & sue gorzynski today.  i adore all of their product but their greens are stellar. my heads of lettuce were picked by john and then put up in a crate by his son tim at the union square greenmarket.  i brought those gorgeous dirt encrusted greens home, washed them 3 times, spun them and tucked them into my fridge until dinner when i will happily toss them with chaffin family orchards late harvest olive oil, balsamic vinegar, sea salt & pepper.  if you have a home with a yard (back or front) and you can plant a garden, please grow greens.  there is nothing better than harvesting what you grow and eating it straight from the garden.  if you are an urban farmer like me i suggest trying something like woolly pockets or a vertical garden system where greens and herbs grow really well.  small scale farming is safe farming because everyone knows what is going on with the product.  the product is real food.  we support real food by supporting real farmers. no farms. no food.  that's what it says on the gorzynski truck and it is the gospel truth.  tonight i will call my Family2Table with confidence knowing that they will be happy, well fed and healthy from the food we are eating and i hope you will to.  be well and enjoy!


here are a few of my favorite salads:


1. warm spinach salad with chantarelle mushrooms, shallots, goat's cheese and bacon vinaigrette (red wine vinegar, finely chopped shallots, dijon mustard and warm bacon fat to emulsify)
***you will need rendered bacon fat for this recipe.
clean chantarelle mushrooms and pull apart into pieces.
in a hot pan sautee mushrooms in bacon fat and olive oil
add cleaned spinach, fold in with tongs and turn off heat
add warm bacon vinaigrette and wilt.
plate and top with soft goat's cheese.
serve immediately.


2. wild watercress and endive with australian roaring 40s blue cheese, crispy macadamia nuts and sherry vinaigrette (sherry vinegar, dijon, shallots, olive oil, salt & pepper)
toss washed greens with cheese, chopped nuts & vinaigrette.
plate and serve.


3. arugula and enoki mushroom salad with rare, seared, peppered tuna in a ginger lemongrass caesar dressing. (egg yolks, lemon juice, garlic, anchovies, blanched chopped lemongrass, grated ginger, parm reggiano cheese, olive oil).
toss washed arugula and enoki shrooms in caesar dressing.
slice tuna and drizzle dressing on tuna.
**tuna can be seared and held in fridge until serving.  the best way to sear peppered sushi grade tuna is frozen so you get a good sear in a hot cast iron pan and the center remains really rare.


4. frisee with bacon lardons, blanched haricot verts & poached egg (soft boiled is fine).
blanch haricot in salted water and then in a salted ice bath.
add to washed frisee with lardons
toss with olive oil, salt, pepper & lemon juice
top with poached egg or soft boiled egg
break egg and stir yolk into salad.


5. mixed greens with barley, cucumber & roasted red pepper with preserved lemon vinaigrette. 
***preserving lemons is curing them with salt and takes a while. basically what you do is score the lemons into quarters making sure you don't cut all the way through.  pack them with good sea salt and put them in a sterilized glass jar.  pack as many as you desire into the jar so they are crammed in there and letting go of their juice. Fill up the jar with lemons, make sure the top is covered with lemon juice. Add more fresh squeezed lemon juice if necessary. Top with a couple tablespoons of salt. seal the jar and leave out at room temp for a few days. turn the jar and agitate the lemons. after a few days put in the fridge and continue to turn the jar.  you should have preserved lemons in 3 weeks or so.
to make the vinaigrette use the rind and cut into very small pieces. whisk with apple cider vinegar, oil and pepper. fee free to use more lemon juice if desired.
soak barley overnight in water and whey.
cook barley with added salt and cool to room temp.
roast red peppers in olive oil in oven with salt & pepper.
remove skins and cut into strips.
toss barley, cucumbers & red peppers with washed greens and vinaigrette.
is nice with sardines!


6. grilled mustard greens with ripe tomato, red onion and avocado with roasted garlic aioli.
***an aioli is a mayonnaise. puree 1 egg plus 1 yolk with 5 roasted garlic cloves, 1 TBS. lemon juice and a pinch salt. slowly drizzle 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil until emulsified. 
if you don't have a grill you can wilt in a hot pan but the char of a BBQ grill on the greens is really what you want.
toss mustard greens in olive oil salt & pepper and wilt on the grill
plate with ripe tomato (heirloom and cherry tomatoes are best i think) and avocado, finish with sea salt. add a dollop of aioli with washed torn basil and ENJOY!

Food Rules

a friend of mine who is worried about his health rang me the other day and asked what i thought about the movie "forks over knives" and should he become vegan?  i told him that a vegan diet is okay for a week or two detox but that's it. i also directed him to denise minger's extensive piece on "forks" hoping that would satisfy his burning desire to change his diet based on a movie that is ultimately rooted in the flawed research of t. colin campbell's china study.  i also advised him to read "nutrition and physical degeneration" by weston a. price which is data that i believe is rooted in fact and can be trusted.  he told me that he is desperate to find the right diet to restore his health.  hello....who isn't?  the absolute diet for optimum health does exists. it always has. however, please do not forget that we are all individuals and therefore require different nutrients from real foods to keep us at our vital best. if you are looking to restore what is lacking, i suggest working with a nutritionist who will order all the right tests and blood work with significant markers to let you know exactly where you need support.

as a chef, cooking instructor, locavore and mother of two young children i am constantly  asked "what do you feed your family?"  my first response is, "i feed them food."  people look at me as if i have three heads and want to slap me. okay, so maybe i can be a bit snarky at times but you have to understand that there are lots of products out there masquerading as food that are very toxic, scary chemicals.  and what's worse, people are buying them. real food does not come in packages. real food does not sit on a shelf without going bad and real food is not what is making our population so sick and sad. people want me to tell them what i serve for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.  they want me to tell them what they should buy, cook and feed their family. they want me to write them menus and email them recipes and that is what i do.  when it comes to food and "diet," people who are serious about their health and the health of their families want to be told what to eat.  these people want to follow the rules.

okay, i can dig it.  handing the responsibility of making important choices over to someone else can be quite a liberating experience - especially handing it to someone who will never steer you wrong. someone who has spent half her life dedicated to sourcing clean ingredients and putting them together in flavorful, nutritious combinations that would make even the pickiest eater happy.  okay, fine. i'm your chef.  i'm your teacher. i'm your girl.  i'm good to go. but let's get something absolutely clear. i'm a punk rocker and i've never been into rules. however, when it comes to real food i'm serious.  i guess you could say  i'm more of a food rules! kind of person. i celebrate the fresh. i cast my vote for the local. i praise the organic. i rejoice in the whole and i always, always put love into everything i make.


so, as a teacher dedicated to giving her students what they want, cool. food rules, you got it. let's go!


1. keep it simple - let ingredients sing and be the star.  don't go bananas with too many components to a dish.  an honest piece of super fresh, wild caught local fish in good butter and fresh herbs is a poem. recite it at least twice a week.  stay away from farmed fish, please. same goes for all meats - grass fed, pastured animals that have a sweet life eating what they were born to eat taste best and contain all the beautiful omega 3s and CLA you are looking for.  a freshly dug potato with butter, sea salt, sour cream and chives will make you so satisfied it's almost ridiculous.  get to a local farmer's market and buy a few local apples. then buy some local raw milk cheese. go home. slice or bite the apple. then taste a piece of the cheese....BANG! that's love. that's simple. 


2. soup. salad. cheese - a good rule for family meal-making. start with a cup of soup or broth made from real pastured meat or wild fish bones. always have some type of salad with your meal.  many parents say "my kids won't eat salad!" i say HA! perhaps not now they won't but when they see you eating it day after day and enjoying it, they will want to be a part of that vibe too. especially if you include them in preparing it.  washing and ripping greens and herbs is a great kitchen project for young ones. (oh yeah, no bottled salad dressings - that's a big rule). they can even dress the salad and learn basic pouring skills with olive oil, vinegar, a squeeze of fresh lemon, sea salt & pepper. cheese is my favorite way to end a meal.  of course we do a sweet now and then for "afters" but generally it's an enzyme rich piece of raw milk cheese.  a seasonal piece of special fruit with the cheese is a great end as well.  when fresh figs come to the table it feels like a birthday.  it is a good idea to shed a light of importance on these dear pieces of seasonal gold so that they are appreciated for the treat they are.


3. fermented foods with every meal - digestion is key.  foods are only nutritious if you are assimilating the nutrients.  you can eat really well and ultimately be malnourished if your gut can't do it's job. one way to help your gut out is to include real fermented foods at every meal.  that could be as easy as a dollop of good yogurt or sour cream on your soup or salad. a side of sauerkraut, a few pickles, a glass of kombucha or kefir.  fermented foods add spark the way citrus can.  check them out, you won't be disappointed.


4. good fats at every meal - healthy saturated fats are making a comeback (thank goodness) and should be eaten with gusto! animal fats from pastured meats (chicken fat, lard, beef tallow), wild caught fish, butter, avocado, properly prepared nuts and seeds (that means soaking in sea salted water and drying), olive oil, coconut oil and high vitamin cod liver oil every day.  good fats will satisfy with less food and keep blood sugar stable for longer ( a must for little people). remember to stay away from vegetable oils especially soy, corn, cottonseed and canola - blech!  they are predominantly genetically modified and hydrogenated. stay away from anything marked low fat, please. as a matter of fact stay away from anything that makes a health claim.  this is marketing and we don't like the taste of advertising.


5. natural sweeteners only, please - use raw honey, rapadura, succanat, palm sugar, coconut sugar, molasses, grade B maple syrup and liquid stevia to sweeten.  please stay away from refined sugars and artificial sweeteners as they tend to break down our immune systems and cause all kinds of problems - especially for children. all sugar free, chemical ridden products are out! 


6. not too many grains and if you do, properly prepared - soaking grains overnight in water with liquid whey, apple cider vinegar or lemon juice will make them much easier to digest.  soaking legumes will also make the nutrients more available and easier to digest.  when selecting breads, fresh baked, organic sourdough is best. if packaged please keep it to just a few ingredients (like 4!) 


7. feed nothing from a package. only fresh, local, organic (even this rule can be bent when you are buying local and farm fresh) and whole. ** if you must feed from a package, please read labels carefully and stay away from unhealthy oils, sugars, soy and other toxins like MSG (hydrolyzed vegetable proteins), etc. 


8. stay out of the supermarket - local greenmarkets are everywhere these days. support your local growers and patronize your local health food stores.  i realize that there are certain things we go to the grocery store for (i personally need d'agostino for my preferred scrub pads to wash dishes).  if 70% of your weekly food is coming from the greenmarket you are looking good!


9. because real (raw) milk is not legally sold in all states -- don't even get me started on this one -- i am not going to tell you that all your dairy should be raw.   i wish i could.  in a perfect world it would because that's the way our great great grandparents had it and that is essentially what i am telling you to do.  eat like them!  you can be creative and source raw milk and i applaud you if you do as there is nothing like it.  but, the next best thing would be to source local dairy that is grass fed and not homogenized.  raw milk cheese is best and always, always buy whole fat dairy.  the war on raw milk has been declared by our government and i am curious to see how far they are willing to take their lies "in the best interest of the people."  discuss!

so those are my very basic food "rules."  i told you it was simple. what's even easier is following all of these rules and not eating the crap that will make you feel horrible...and you know that it does.  it makes you sluggish, your bowels irregular, you get moody, your kids melt down, you get stressed out and chaos ensues. unnecessary.  the cleaner you eat the more difficult it gets to go off your diet and eat the "stuff" you once called food. your body is wise and it will let you know when you eat something that disagrees with it.  OH! okay, i have another really important rule that i forgot to put in the list......listen to your body!  duh.  


if all of this seems too overwhelming i would like to suggest changing your diet little by little.  what about this.....? start off by eliminating vegetable oils (corn, cottonseed, canola, soy, etc) from your diet and see how you feel.  these are really disgusting and do not belong in the human body.  trust me.  do this for a month. i dare you to tell me that you don't feel better. then remove refined sugars and artificial sweeteners (goodbye aspartame).  then caffeine. yes, caffeine. your body doesn't really need it - try an organic decaf.  slowly, little by little you take away the bad habits (soda, fast food, packaged snacks) that are doing you no favors and implement the beneficial, real foods that will nourish and replenish.  a good yogurt or kefir, a traditionally prepared sauerkraut, a beautiful raw honey and grass-fed raw milk cheese, nutrient dense pastured eggs with yolks so orange they look like a tropical sunset, wild caught fish and my favorite, grass-fed beef.  before you know it you will be craving pate and making beef bone broth every weekend just because you feel so amazing!  not to mention the fact that these foods are all REALLY YUMMY!

i'm sure i could come up with more rules (elbows on the table?! not in my house!) but why bother, you get the idea. eat and enjoy. that's the important part.  you need to come up with your own rules for you and your family. my 6 year old daughter is already writing new rules for ours....hers are about colors.  "if the color doesn't exist in nature, don't eat it." smart kid.  i am perfectly clear about why we should be eating real food and want you to be as well. i would also like everyone to view meal planning and cooking as an opportunity and a privilege not an obstacle or a chore.  when you realize how unlimited you are in your choices to properly feed and nourish yourself and your family with love and good spirit you will bring your Family2Table not necessarily with rules but with creativity, recipes and ingredients that will restore and maintain your vibrant health and get you shouting food rules! food rules! food rules!  


now just in case you are interested, this is what we ate yesterday.


BREAKFAST:  pastured eggs scrambled in lard with uncured ham steak and heirloom cherry tomatoes. toast grilled in bacon fat. raspberry kombucha and farm fresh milk to drink.


SNACK: toasted seaweed and salmon jerky


LUNCH: thyme roasted chicken with root vegetables and goat's cheese salad.


SNACK: asian pear slices with sharp cheddar cheese.


DINNER: lamb burgers served over stewed lentils with thickened yogurt and sauteed kale.  raw milk vanilla ice cream for dessert with honey sweetened chocolates.


my menu for today.......


BREAKFAST: whole milk raw cow yogurt with sprouted sunflower seeds, crispy almonds, coconut flakes and blueberries (frozen from august).


SNACK: popcorn with coconut oil and sea salt


LUNCH: sprout salad with soft boiled egg, smoked salmon & sour cream with chives


SNACK: almond raisin bread with lots of butter and a big glass of milk


DINNER: buffalo kielbasa and cheese quesadilla (brown rice tortilla) with salsa, sour cream and avocado.

here is a recipe for my favorite lentils that i served with the lamb burgers yesterday

soak 1 lb. dry french green lentils in warm water with 2 TBS whey for 24 hours.

drain and sort through for stones and set aside.

add 3/4 cup tomato paste, 1 TBS grade B maple syrup, pinch cayenne pepper, 1 tsp sea salt & 2 TBS fresh thyme leaves and incorporate for a few minutes in a saucepan on med-hi flame, saute 1 large diced onion 2 carrots diced, 2 stalks celery diced and 1 clove of garlic, crushed, in a good fat of your choice (i use lard or olive oil) until translucent.

add 1 quart filtered water & then lentils (add more water if not totally covering lentils)

bring to a boil and then simmer until lentils are cooked - not mushy (about 30 - 40 minutes).

add salt & pepper to taste, cover and let sit for an hour or two to finish cooking.

lentils will hold in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

if you have any questions about ANYTHING please contact me at chefemilyduff@gmail.com