Fast Food

Please take a moment to look at the Ronzoni pasta product pictured here....

I recently saw this product in a grocery store and I immediately thought "how rushed does your life have to be to feel the need or interest in buying a quick cooking pasta?".  Isn't pasta, by most definitions (unless cooked from scratch) quick cooking and generally cooked al dente within six or seven minutes?

There are a lot of things for which speed matters and cutting seconds, if not minutes makes a difference such as breaking a personal best record with running or swimming.  But our need for speed with food is often a poor combination.  Genetic engineering rushes the pace at which Mother Nature grows food so that plants grow faster and, hence, produce profit more quickly.  The fast food industry delivers a lot of fat and calories in record speed for low upfront cost with high back-end costs to our health and our waistlines.  While cooking is still popular with some, trends suggest that people are more interested in watching the Food Network than they are in cooking and will often remark that insufficient time is the reason why they do not cook. 

I doubt this quick cooking product originated in Italy, the motherland of pasta as people in Italy have no interest in rushing their food experience whether applied to growing their food, preparing their food or savoring their food.

Perhaps if this 3 minute pasta appeals to you and your rushed life or has already ended up in your pantry, you can spend the 4 minutes you saved pondering the benefits of eating s-l-o-w-l-y.  Eating at a tortoise-like pace can help you decrease the amount of calories you consume, improve your digestion and help you experience the food as opposed to conquering the food like a Guinness record breaking feat.  And, if you have another spare moment, consider becoming a member of the Slow Food movement locally or globally.  Slow Food is a movement that originated in Italy and has grown into a national organization with local chapters and an international movement that opposes many things that define fast food. 

What's the rush?  Being late can be fashionable if it's in the name of food!

The Food That Fits

Spring Food Runway

I don't know whether I am more excited about wearing linen clothes and open-toed shoes OR experiencing the arrival of fresh seasonal spring vegetables and fruits!
Unlike the price tag that adorns new fashion pieces for spring, seasonal foods are cheaper than their off-season counterparts.  Hence, you will no longer be able to say you can't find or afford these tasty treasures. 
Start looking for the items in this chart at your grocery stores and emerging farmer's markets.  Consider buying larger quantities and preserving your favorites for off-season pleasure without sacrificing flavor or expense, two things that often accompany eating foods outside of their normal growing time.  Go online or to your local library for resources on food preservation as with the popularity of "going local" and concern about rising food costs, there is renewed interest in food preservation.  A few specific suggestions include:

• The Big Book of Preserving the Harvest by Carol W. Costenbader
• Homemade Living:  Canning & Preserving with Ashley English
• Food In Jars blog

Get a jump on locating recipes that travel the spring food runway.  Revisit the spring issues of food and cooking magazines.  The articles may be outdated but the recipes can be timely and timeless. 
Look closely at where the produce is grown & try not to be fooled by early entrance seasonal impostors.  Be patient with Mother Nature's timing and your local growers.  Your taste buds and your local economy will be rewarded. 

The Food That Fits

Making Sense of Sauce

Bear Pond Farm

During a recent trip to the grocery store, I discovered Bear Pond Farm Savory Artichoke Pesto.  I dipped chips, topped pasta and licked this amazing sauce from my fingers.  Two days later I went back to the store and bought 2 more containers.  After I got home, I reviewed my receipt and realized I paid $5.99 for 6.3 ounces.  Ouch...I was feeling sticker shock at the realization that eating 2 tablespoons also meant eating one dollar from my food budget.

My interest in the ingredient list was two-fold - I wanted to know what combination of ingredients proved to be so interesting to my palette and so devastating to my wallet.

Ingredients:  brined artichoke hearts, non-GMO canola oil and extra virgin olive oil blend, pecorino romano cheese, jalapeno pepper, dried garlic, whey, concentrated lemon juice, citrus fiber, black pepper, guar gum, citric acid, and rosemary extract. 

The "little black dress" of my food wardrobe included all of those ingredients with the exception of citrus fiber (would grated lemon peel work?), guar gum and citric acid. 

I invite you to step into my food laboratory:

Lori's artichoke pesto on left...Bear Pond Farm Artichoke Pesto on right

I had a bag of Trader Joe's frozen artichoke hearts which I microwaved until thawed.  I transferred them to my food processor and added olive oil, grated Romano cheese, jalapeno pepper, garlic and black pepper.   Obviously, I was missing a few key ingredients and used frozen versus fresh artichoke hearts (a soon to be available in-season spring vegetable!).  I also forgot to add lemon juice which I think adds a lot to the amazing flavors in Bear Pond's version.  I agree that my pesto looks tired and boring compared to the masterpiece on the right, but this was my first attempt & it got me thinking...

Specifically defined sauces are a food fixture in many cultures.  Salsa is the Mexican term for sauce and is often comprised of cooked or uncooked vegetables and/or fruit, tomatoes, onions and chili peppers.  Pesto is derived from the Italian verb "to pound" and is most commonly made with basil, pine nuts, garlic, olive oil and grated cheese.  Coulis is a French term for puree and generally consists of pureed fruits or vegetables.  Chutney is an Indian condiment made of fruits and vegetables mixed with vinegar, spices and sugar. 

Whether you call a blended vegetable or fruit dip a sauce, a salsa, a coulis or a chutney, you can take just about any vegetable or fruit, put it in a food processor with a few key ingredients (olive oil, vinegars, lemon juice, spices...) and you have a formula for a great condiment that can be used in a variety of savory or sweet ways including:

• Sandwich spread
• Pasta topper
• Veggie or chip dip
• Mixed with grains such as quinoa or barley
• Pizza sauce

So, Bear Pond, despite my sticker shock, I have to thank you for your amazing product, for your flavor inspirations and for compelling me to think about the basic formula behind a sauce that delivers not only a great vegetable delivery system but also many creative meal dividends. 

One final "clothes-ing" thought for those of you who know The Food That Fits is based on fashion theory.  Scarves, wraps, shrugs, shawls, ruanas and ponchos are like the sauces of the food world.  Their names are rooted in culture but they provide a similar function -they add a bit of personality to an outfit, an extra layer for warmth and, if you are functionally fashionable, they do both!

Anthropologie scarf from last spring

The Food That Fits