More thoughts while scanning groceries . . .

All sorts of odd responses to food and ideas as to what's "healthy."

Turkeys were more expensive this year. One woman rather complained about it, saying something to the effect of "I don't even know why we eat turkey." "Well, maybe we'll switch to eating pork someday," I replied. "I hope not," she said, "that's even worse for you." Huh? Who comes up with these distinctions? Maybe I have been suckered by the "Pork: the other white meat" campaign. I've heard about the evils of all animal protein, or the relative healthiness of fish or poultry over red meat, but this was new.

Another woman, pushing a toddler in her cart, bought coconut milk. I asked about it, since it was new to me and looked yummy. "Well, I wasn't going to feed her cow puss, and I didn't wan't to do soy because it's been so genetically modified, and I didn't want to do almond milk because it has nuts in it, but coconut's a vegetable." Cow puss? What a revolting term. Is that how you think of your breast milk? immediately popped into my head.

I enjoy reading gluten free or dairy free or vegetarian or raw or vegan recipes, just to see the creativity enforced by these restrictions. But it is troubling to see folks become catagorically prejudiced against entire food groups and speak scornfully of the gifts of creation and the wonders around us.

Two good salads +

#1: Slice asparagus stems in half lengthwise and steam. Pile asparagus, thinly sliced radishes, sliced pears, toasted walnuts, and your last dollop of ricotta onto a plate. Sprinkle with fresh thyme, salt and a splurge (ie, a copious rain) of black pepper. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette. Sit down at the table with your salad. Inhale. Make sure to try different combinations of flavor and texture. Radish and asparagus. Pear and radish, with ricotta. Pear and asparagus, then with a walnut, then with ricotta. Ricotta and asparagus, swirled in the balsamic vinager.

#2: Slice and saute a couple mushrooms with a little butter and salt. Once you have them in the pan, make a phone call: by the time you have gotten off the phone, the shrooms will be well underway. Wilt some spinach in the microwave for about 30 seconds. If you have gotten distracted and your mushrooms have gotten a bit cold, include them in the last step. Top with your mushrooms, thinly sliced radishes, chopped grapes, walnuts, fresh thyme, salt and pepper, balsamic vinaigrette. Finish off with a crumbling of goat cheese. Grapes and goat cheese are heavenly together!

And tonight's dinner: Pineapple chunks sauteed with evoo, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar until gooey; roasted asparagus; a nice crunchy slice of whole wheat toast. (White bread is just too pale to carry so much umami. Nothing compares to 100% whole wheat flour for wheatiness and chew.) Top a bite of toast with a bite of pineapple. Rejoice.

My next plan: top a smallish circle of pizza dough with thinly sliced pears arranged in a radiating flower, drizzled with evoo, more salt and pepper, maybe a drizzle of honey. And something I found by following a trail from the newspaper (WSJ, to be exact) to the internet, from Christopher Kimball on Julia Child to Lynne Rossetto Kasper: I'm going to add some clippings of rosemary leaves. I'll eat it with more of those toasted walnuts. You do keep a jar of toasted nuts in the cupboard at all times, don't you? Essential to one's well-being. And for more of that umami.

I just can't get enough freshly cracked black pepper. Next I'll need a recipe for black pepper cookies--we'll call them "biscuits" so that your sensibilities aren't violated.

As I scan groceries . . .

If we cannot control our appetites for food, then how are we to discipline our appetites for violence, sex, pleasure (caffeine, drugs, alcohol, etc) or the accumulative appetite? Obesity is entirely our own fault. We are individually responsible for whatever "conditioning" leads us toward this "disease."