Many people I know have a funny relationship with food: they are on constant diets, yet continue to gain weight. I’m not counting people with real health problems, but those consistently obsessed with weight loss and dieting (although I suppose this could be considered a real health problem psychologically).

We are a nation obsessed with our image and one of the most obvious ways to control our look, short of surgery or buying new clothing, is to control what we ingest. The problem as I see it, is that when we stop listening to our bodies and rely on special diets, we deprive ourselves of what our bodies actually need. If you don’t have strict enough control, you end up bingeing when you are confronted with the food your body craves.

Each of us is in fact a unique individual with special needs only our bodies understand– not a diet book that can supposedly work miracles on millions. If we can stick to real foods (fruits, vegetables, grains), without too much added salts and sugars, staying away from processed goods (which just make you crave more), our bodies eventually regulate and notify us about what is required for continued function. Of course, I’m no nutritionist.

There is one woman in particular I run into every month or so on the street: oh Stacey! You look like you’re losing weight!

It may or may not be true. This greeting, or, “Wow, you’re looking great,” are two common conversation starters people like to provide when it has been a while between sightings (and continues our obsession over our bodies). Every time I see this particular woman it is the same statement, followed by, are you on a special diet? Every time I see her I provide the same secret answer.

She asks, one because it is polite I suppose, but two, because she has a litany of legitimate health problems, many of which can actually be solved if she can create a healthy relationship with food. She is looking for the secret. Sure, I tell her. I’ve been frying my eggs in leftover bacon fat. I eat pork chops, roasted chicken, yogurt, cheese and a lot of vegetables, raw or sauteed in olive oil… You know, whatever is around.

Well you must cook a lot, she counters. I make lasagna, that’s it.

Well, that’s good, I say, that you cook. But in my mind I’m reminded of weekly food calendars, with hers looking something like this: Monday, lasagna; Tuesday, lasagna; Wednesday, lasagna… In the time it takes to make lasagna for a week, could she make, say maybe some chicken? Or in even less time some fish? Or really, anything other than lasagna?

Sure I cook (not as often as most people think), but most of what I make are quick meals that take just as long as opening a can and setting the microwave– and even faster than heading to a restaurant and placing an order. If it’s a food that takes longer to prepare, I make enough for leftovers I don’t mind eating cold or which can be reheated easily on the stove top (I don’t have a microwave).

So the secret special diet is that it is not a secret at all. It’s one people generations before us followed because there was no alternative: eat foods with ingredients you can name, know where they come from, or how they are produced or grown. Avoid processed and packaged food and drink, stay away from corn syrup, hydrogenated oils and bypass the advertisements telling you to load up on sugars, starches and new “low-calorie,” “all natural” treats… And maybe one other thing: Follow the variety seasons offer.

As I ate my breakfast this morning I thought about her question and was inspired to take a picture. Was I glad I was not eating lasagna? Yes. Was I glad this meal took all of 8 minutes to prepare? Yes.

There is no recipe to this meal because by the picture I think it is pretty straight forward:
sauteed asparagus
an egg, however you like it
a piece of cheese
slice of whole grain toast with butter
some other veggies or fruit, if available
fresh herbs, if available

I love winter. Silly to say now, as we all, myself included, embrace the spring with an unrelenting hold, despite the mild rainy interruptions. Maybe it is easier to say, as it is on its way out, but I love the crisp smell of decay in the air as winter begins. I love hot chocolate, sledding, snowmen, sweaters, ice formations, and enormous fireplaces to snuggle up next to with a cup of broth. I love the first taste of root vegetables– sweeter on the east coast than the west coast because the bitter cold and vegetable’s death allows the sugars to concentrate more (take that west coast weather!). Perhaps it is because mine and D’s birthdays both fall in the dead of winter, or the stews, roasts and braises that beckon friends over and keep them long into the night because no one dares go outside.

Admittedly, I also love the spring. That first warm rain and pop of bud on the trees, the first inkling of cherry blossoms and that initial push through frost from the ground. It’s the promise of harvest all over again, springing to green.

D and I spent the winter eating from our CSA’s winter share. Pretty much root vegetables for the past 4 months– most not posted. Although I think D is convinced it was less of a winter share of mixed vegetables and more of a beet share. Needless to say we were both overjoyed at the first glimpse of green as we took a walk through the greenmarket a few weeks ago, even if it was just broccoli rabe, asparagus and scallions mixed with some cellar-over carrots and potatoes, it was pure heaven. In the past two weeks I have purchased over six bundles of asparagus, broccoli rabe and scallions and threw in one bunch of spinach I spied last week.

I once heard a chef say something to the effect that Nature got it right: when we eat by seasons we’re sure to get sick of something, but you don’t have to worry– by the time you’re tired of it, the next season comes around. When I tried to explain this to D he seemed less than pleased: “All I’m saying is you better work on your canning and preserving skills.” (Might D be a little bitter the tomatoes I canned over the summer only lasted until January?)

The above salad is the first real green salad of this year. I say real, because while I’m sure we have had a salad in a restaurant over the winter, they were few and far between and hardly compared to the freshness of this baby. You know that’s true from D’s response: “I never thought I would be so happy to eat a salad.” (Remember that one come mid-summer when D refuses to eat another salad.) We added broiled salmon on top and a few boquerones, or white Spanish anchovies and a parsley-sour cream pesto. You can add whatever protein you have, or just eat this as a side.

First Spring Greens Salad
Serving Size= 2. Active time= 15 minutes.
1 pound salmon fillet
6 boquerones (optional)
1 bunch arugula
6 radish
1 spring onion or 2 scallions
1 carrot

Parsley “Pesto”
1 large handful parsley
juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic (optional)
2 Tablespoons sour cream
2 Tablespoons olive oil

1) Preheat broiler and sprinkle salmon fillet with salt and pepper. Broil 4-6 minutes, depending on thickness, until slightly blackened for medium-rare.
2) While salmon is broiling, wash and chop the arugula, radish, spring onion and carrot and distribute amongst two bowls.
3) Place parsley, lemon juice, sour cream and olive oil in a blender and puree until thick and evenly chopped.
4) Once salmon is finished, lay over salad, top with boquerones and add a few dollops of the parsley pesto over everything.

I’m guest blogging over at Sustainable Table. My first post is all about vermicomposting (worm composting). Truly, not as disgusting as it sounds (or looks). Since picking up my worms I have swayed many unbelievers– including D who first thought my worms totally gross and now gets extremely mad if we forget to feed them or throw something out that could be destined for the worms.

So many have changed their tune that at our last party I had a group of 8 friends standing around our worm bin asking questions and participating in a feeding (I kid you not and swear most parties do not resort to worms for entertainment or conversation).

Composting is a great solution to stamp out our dependency on synthetic fertilizers, especially petroleum-based ones. It is easy to accomplish in any space– from small scale apartments to large farms. What to do with the compost? Your houseplants and garden will love the rich compost you provide for them. Not much of a planter? Donate your harvested compost to a community garden, neighbor or friend who does plant. You’ll have a friend for life (and maybe some veggies out of the deal!).

Vermicomposting is ideal indoors in a small apartment or house. You can find these, dare I say, fashionable, cedar worm bins on ebay (my friend L has one and loves how it blends into her decor). I have a basic plastic bin with a lid I bought at a discount store for about $10. A bin that will fit under the kitchen sink is a perfect size for a small family.

There are no noticeable bad smells associated with vermicomposting. The only smell will be a sweet Earthiness, and only noticeable when the bin is open, during feeding time. You can still go on vacation when you have your worms and they are not nearly as difficult to care for as a cat, dog, or even fish!

Head over to my post on Sustainable Table: Vermicomposting 101 to read the ins and outs of vermicomposting.

Over the past few weeks I updated Sustainable Table’s Dairy pages. The research taught me a lot about the U.S. Dairy Industry and I’m happy to finally share it with you, my readers. My pages are slowly going live and I’ll post each new one as it goes up.

Thought you knew everything about milk? Think again. This first page is all about Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone, or rBGH. Ponder this: We are outraged when athletes voluntarily inject themselves with performance enhancing growth hormones (we don’t drink our athletes’ milk), but the dairy industry pumps cows full of growth hormones and we guzzle the poison up, without knowledge or outrage.

The result of rBGH is that cows produce more milk, which equals the cash cow shown above (my rendering). RBGH turns dairy cattle into milk machines, wearing them down and out faster than pastured cows, it destroys cows’ health leading to a slew of horrible and painful conditions, leading to a regiment of antibiotics and more. And humans? Increased risk of cancers.

Can it get worse? Of course. Monsanto, producer of Posilac, the number one selling rBGH, is fighting rBGH-free labeling currently taking place around the country. Out of consumer fear of what’s in the milk, dairies are beginning to label when their products do not contain rBGH. Monsanto claims it’s libel and misleading to say something is rBGH-free, implying that the synthetic hormones are bad. (Aren’t they?) What about all those “Fat-Free,” “Low-Carb,” “High Fiber,” “Low-Sodium” labeling that is smacked on just about every box, can and bag at the grocery? Aren’t those misleading? Implying they are healthy (or more healthy), when in fact they are still packed with so much other junk they’re horrible for you.

But no worries, there is hope. Head over to Sustainable Table’s Issues pages on rBGH, www.sustainabletable.org/issues/rbgh to learn more and find out what you can do to take action.

Keep posted for information when my pages on the U.S. Dairy Industry, Raw Milk and Hormone go live!
Sincerely,

Stacey, NYC Milkmaid