When I was still living in Johannesburg, South Africa, there was a restaurant I would love going to called Mike’s Kitchen, it wasn’t that the food was particularly amazing, or even special, but what they had was a salad bar – a real innovation at that time and the only restaurant offering this. To me there was nothing better to eat than a delicious fresh salad and one which I could pick and choose my own ingredients.

On moving to New York and working in the city, I discovered that salad bars were a standard offering, they were everywhere and I was delighted. What could be easier to put together than a salad when all the work has already been done for you. This rapidly became my lunch time staple (along with frozen yoghurt – another novelty back in the 80’s).

Fast forward a couple of years to the arrival of the City Bakery first on 17th Street and now on 18th in NYC. I was in salad bar heaven. Not your garden variety salad with bowls of chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce, grated carrots, hard boiled eggs etc but gourmet salads using the freshest local, mostly organic ingredients frequently sourced from the nearby Union Square Farmer’s Market. It was truly inspirational and remains one of my most favorite places for lunch.
Since I obviously could not eat there every day, I started thinking what I could do to eat this way on a more regular basis and so the idea was born to turn my fridge into my own personal salad bar.

Once a week, I dedicate some time to chopping, dicing and slicing a variety of vegetables and salad greens storing them in glass containers in the fridge. I keep my assortment as varied as possible, allowing me to make not only salads, but also soups, stir fries and even roasted vegetables. Its time well spent and means a healthy and delicious meal can go from kitchen to table in no time at all. It’s also a wonderful opportunity to become truly creative and try new combinations of ingredients you may not have tried before.

Here is one of my favorite salads…

Mixed Greens with Clementines (serves 2- 3)

• 2 cups baby spinach leaves, washed and dried
• 1 cup arugula, washed and dried
• 1 small radicchio, washed and coarsely shredded
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 clementines, peeled and sectioned (if clementines are not available, substitute with grapefruit)
• 1 avocado, peeled and cut into cubes
• 1 mango, peeled and cut into cubes (optional)
• Sesame seeds to sprinkle
• Combine all ingredients and drizzle lightly with Balsamic Vinaigrette

Balsamic Vinaigrette

• 2/3 cups extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 teaspoon raw honey
• Pinch of salt
• Combine all ingredients in a glass jar and shake well until thoroughly blended

For more recipes, go to http://www.elevenelevenwellness.com/resources/
You will find salad recipes in each section of Remove, Revive and Sustain.

Turmeric, that pungent, bitter spice usually incorporated in curry powders giving it that deep yellow color, offers many health benefits.

In the Ayurvedic medicine tradition, Turmeric is regarded as a “cleanser of the body”. The root and powder are used in drinks, ointments and poultices to treat sore throats, indigestion, sprains, inflammation and wounds. Traditional Ayurvedics believe that it’s a powerful antibiotic, strengthens digestion and helps improve intestinal flora.

Despite this long tradition in Asia, it was not until the early 1070’s that laboratory researchers discovered the inflammation-fighting compounds prevalent in curcumin (the active ingredient in Turmeric).

One of the easiest ways to incorporate this beneficial spice into your diet is to use to eat it, so cook yourself a batch of delicious vegetable curry, or alternatively take it in supplement form.

Vegetable Curry (serves 4)

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon salt
½ butternut squash, peeled and cut into small cubes
¾ cup water
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into small cubes
½ head cauliflower, cut into small florets
¾ cup frozen organic peas
½ teaspoon garam masala
Cilantro (optional)

1. Fry the onion and garlic in olive oil until the onions are soft and opaque.

2. Add the spices and salt and sauté a few minutes, until you can smell the aroma of the spices.

3. Stir the spices from the bottom of the pot occasionally.

4. Add the butternut squash and sauté about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1 or 2 tablespoons of water to prevent sticking.

5. Add sweet potato and sauté about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

6. Add the rest of the water and scrape all the spices up from the bottom of the pot.

7. Add cauliflower and peas on top of the butternut and sweet potato, do not stir.

8. Cook until the vegetables are tender, about 10 – 15 minutes.

9. Just before serving, add garam masala and stir through.

10. Sprinkle with cilantro.

“Reading through recipes is like taking a delicious journey through an imaginary feast”

I love collecting recipes. My bookshelves at home are filled with recipe books, files containing recipes, newspaper cuttings and recipes written down on scraps of paper. Hundreds of recipes and still I feel compelled to keep collecting more.

Trying to figure out why, I finally came up with a reason. Reading through recipes for me is like taking a delicious journey through an imaginary feast. Tastes and smells are conjured up as I read through pages of exotic and sometimes not so exotic recipes ingredients. I am fascinated by some of the common foods that thread their way various cultures, reminding me just how much we are all connected to one another despite thinking we are so different to each other.

Memories come flooding back when I find a recipe book from my late grandmother. The book is easily over 50 years old but the taste of her trifle remains fresh on my lips. She was not a good cook but her trifle was amazing.

Like photographs or music, recipes also provide a link to people we love, experiences we cherish and tastes we treasure.

Here is one of my favorite recipes, enjoy.
Tandoori Salmon (serves 6)

6 6oz pieces of fresh salmon (preferably wild salmon)
Mix the following ingredients in a glass bowl -
¾ cup of plain yoghurt
4 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger or ¼ teaspoon ground ginger powder
1 teaspoon salt
1½ teaspoons ground cumin
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 tablespoon paprika
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon cinnamon
Juice of l lemon (about 2 tablespoons)

• Pour marinade over salmon, making sure each piece is evenly coated. Place in the fridge.
• Allow to marinade for about 2-3 hours.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Remove salmon from marinade, place skin side down on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and roast until salmon flakes easily with fork about 10 – 12 minutes depending on thickness.
• Serve with extra lemon wedges

Recipe adapted from Revive Stop Feeling Spent and Start Living Again

1. Try doing some of your shopping at local farmers markets if possible. Here is a great link to find one near you.

2. Never go shopping when you are feeling hungry. This will help prevent impulse buying – usually something junky – to satisfy your hunger.

3. Most of your shopping should be in the outer aisles – the produce, the meats, fish, eggs. The inner aisles are usually full of processed foods (which you want to avoid) – the ones full of sugar, trans fats and other preservatives that extends their shelf life. Processed foods also tend to have a lot of the healthy protective micronutrients missing and are high in sodium and low in fiber.

4. Buy fresh food whenever possible – the fresher the food, the more nutritious.

5. Buy organic fruits and vegetables whenever you can and if possible, locally grown. Locally grown fruits and vegetables are less likely to have been sprayed with pesticides and chemicals. It’s also a great way to support local farmers.

6. Choose the most colorful fruits and vegetables, the more varied the colors, the better. This way you will get as many different phytonutrients as possible.

7. Choose simple whole foods – those closest to mother-nature. The more refined or processed, the less the nutritional value.

8. As a general rule, if there are ingredients that you cannot recognize, pronounce or spell, you should not be putting those into your body. And no cartoon characters either.

9. Become a label reader – though most of the foods you should be eating do not require labels. If you do buy packaged or boxed foods, know what is in them.

10. Be wary of “all natural” labels. Although I recommend an all natural way of eating, “all natural” on a label is often meaningless and deceptive and a guise for hidden sugars.

11. Look for sugars in all its different forms on the label. A variety of different versions of refined sugars are often used to trick you into thinking that there is not much sugar in the product. Here are some of the different versions of refined sugar – cane sugar, brown sugar, beet sugar, date sugar, grape sugar, glucose, sucrose, maltose, maltodextrin, dextran, dextrose, sorbitol, corn syrup, fructose, high fructose corn syrup, corn sugar, fruit juice, fruit juice concentrate, barley malt, caramel, carob syrup and sorghum syrup.

12. Look for the number of grams of sugar on a label – 4 grams is equivalent to 1 teaspoon. If possible buy foods that contain 3 grams or less.

13. Try to buy grass feds meats and free range chickens. Organic meats and poultry without hormones would be next best and if you cannot find them, then chose lean cuts of meats and remove the skin from chicken as this is where toxins are stored.

14. Limit buying fish with a high mercury content. Choosing ocean caught fish is generally better than farm raised fish which are usually full of PCB’s.

15. Lastly, bring your own shopping bags with you to the supermarket.

One of the highlights of our recent visit to Rancho La Puerta was the morning hike to their organic vegetable garden followed by breakfast at the new cooking school. The hike is a gentle 2 mile stroll that provides a nice rest from the usual early morning mountain hikes.

We are met at the vegetable garden by Salvador who runs the gardens. He is an absolute treat. There cannot be too many people as passionate about their work as he is. Bursting with pride, he shows us the different varieties of oregano, lettuce and peppers which he pulls and snips for us to sample straight from the earth – sweet butternut squash, hot chilies, tender herbs and crunchy cauliflower. This is as local as it gets and you can taste it!  It’s a real inspiration to grow a vegetable garden.

No pesticides are used, crops are rotated and there is hardly a weed to be seen. The bees are in heaven and in fact Salvador has started keeping bee hives.  The vegetables provide a large majority of what is used for meals at the Ranch (as its lovingly known by all) and breakfast takes full advantage of the bounty at its doorstep.

Visiting the organic garden is the true embodiment of eating as close to nature as possible and also a reminder of how important it is to support local farmers by buying from farmers markets.  What a tasty and fulfilling way of eating!

I had signed up to take a cooking class the next day there with visiting chef Marie Simmons (www.mariesimmons.com). I had checked out the recipes that we were going to be making ahead of time and was very much looking forward to it. I was not disappointed; Marie was charming and the food we made was absolutely delicious.

I am happy to share a couple of the recipes that we made with you.

Oven Baked Cannellini Beans (makes 8 servings)

For the creamiest, most tender beans, it’s best to begin with dried beans.  Soak them for several hours or overnight and then oven bake.  Beans slowly baked in the oven tend to be more flavorful and have a smoother texture than beans that have boiled on top of the stove.  Make the beans ahead and refrigerate for up to five days.  Serve cold in salads, as a warm side dish topped with broccoli, cooked greens or stirred into soup.  Embellish them with sautéed cherry tomatoes, chopped Italian parsley and pitted Kalamata olives.

• 1 pound dried cannellini (white kidney) beans or other dried white beans
• 4 cloves garlic, bruised with a knife
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 small onion halved
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 to 3 cups water or unsalted broth, or more as needed

Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Place beans in a large bowl and cover by at least 2 inches with cold water. Soak the beans 4 hours or overnight in refrigerator.  For a short cut to overnight soaking you can place the beans in a large pot and add water to cover by 2 inches.  Heat the water to a boil and boil for 3 minutes.  Remove from heat and let the beans soak in the hot water for 1 hour.  Then drain and use.

2. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

3. Combine the drained beans, garlic, olive oil, onion and bay leaf in a medium (5 quart) or large (7-8 quart) Dutch oven or oven proof casserole and stir to blend.  Add enough water or broth to cover the beans.

4. Cover the beans and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the beans are tender.  Let stand for 30 minutes.  As the beans cool, they will absorb most of the excess cooking water. Whatever liquid is not absorbed should be strained off and discarded, or reserved for soup.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

We served the beans with the following recipe:

Roasted Tomatoes with Black Olives and Italian Parsley (makes 4 to 6 servings)

Use cherry tomatoes or plum tomatoes for this roasted topping for the cannellini beans. Serve hot or cold over either hot or cold beans

• 4 cups cherry tomatoes or 2 -3 pounds medium sized plum tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup pitted Kalamata olives, halved
• 1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
• 2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves, chopped
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, plus more if needed
• 1 garlic clove, grated.

1. Heat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Spread the tomatoes on a rimmed sheet pan, drizzle with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Roast turning at least once, until the tomatoes begin to blister, about 45 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool.

4. Scrape the tomatoes and their juices into a serving bowl.  Add the olives, parsley, oregano, vinegar and garlic.  Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed.  Gently fold to combine.  Serve with beans.

This was a delicious warm and satisfying dish, one of many that we made that day.  More another time.

It’s Fall, the sun has shifted, days are bright, crisp and sadly becoming shorter. For me, there is a certain nostalgia, a wistfulness about the changing season and the impending long winter (which I have never gotten used to after growing up in sunny South Africa). Luckily, it’s also the time of incredible abundance as the summer crops are replaced by earthy, hearty and warming foods. Salads and the lighter meals of summer turn into soups and roasts that feel nurturing and grounding and the outdoor grill gives way to the warmth of the indoor oven and stove top. One of my and Frank’s favorite fall soups is Butternut and Root Vegetable Soup. It’s warm, smooth, rich in color and incredibly satisfying to eat. Please enjoy!

Butternut and Root Vegetable Soup ( serves 8 )

1 large butternut peeled, seeded and cubed
3 carrots peeled and chopped
3 parsnips peeled and chopped
1 sweet potato peeled and chopped
1 large onion peeled and chopped
2 leeks cleaned and chopped (white parts only)
8 cups vegetable stock
2 cloves fresh garlic crushed
1 teaspoon ground thyme
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 tablespoons olive oil

1. Heat oil in a large pot, add onion and garlic and stir-fry till the onion is soft.

2. Add remaining vegetables, thyme and salt and pepper and stir-fry for a few minutes.

3. Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer till all the vegetables are soft (about 45 minutes).

4. Cool before pureeing.

5. Adjust seasonings and re-heat before serving.

My wife Janice has agreed to blog for us as well. We have been married for almost 30 years and she has been on this journey with me as my partner for all that time. She will be sharing her insights (hopefully a lot about food) with us as we go along. Janice is a great cook and is a big proponent of eating locally and seasonally. For more of her recipes, check out REVIVE where she did all the recipes.

We recently spent a couple of days in Rome en-route to visiting our family in South Africa. Instead of staying in a hotel, we decided to rent an apartment right near the Campo D’Fiori – the beautiful square that is home to a huge wonderful open food market. It was a daily feast for the eyes and the senses. Tables were piled high with the freshest seasonable fruits and vegetables – it was mouthwatering and we had to restrain ourselves from wanting to buy everything in sight. The colors were intense and glorious and the smell of the fruit heavenly. What a stimulus to cook and eat only the freshest that’s available. Supermarkets may be convenient but there is nothing like the abundance of a farmer’s market to make you want to get into the kitchen!

Being on holiday, I did not really want to cook so breakfasts became the opportunity to eat the sweetest small strawberries, cantaloupe, peaches and cherries and to savor the taste of the fresh picked produce.

After feasting our eyes on the sensuous melons, I was reminded of a delicious cantaloupe soup that I once had at Il Bucco – an amazing restaurant on Bond Street in NYC.

I have never been a big fan of fruit soups but it was so highly recommended by the waiter that I took his advice and it was truly incredible, sweet with a hint of spicy and so refreshing, perfect on a hot summer day.

Here is my interpretation…… enjoy

Recipe for Fresh Cantaloupe Soup

• one ripe canteloupe melon – peeled and seeds removed
• juice of one lime
• 1 TBS extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes
• pinch of salt
• 1/4 cup of fresh basil leaves cut into ribbons

In a food processor, process the half the melon, olive oil, lime juice , salt and red pepper flakes till its completely smooth the other half of the melon should be processed till its fairly smooth but still a little chunky – those little chunks add a great texture to the soup. Mix well and garnish with basil ribbons. Serve chilled but not too cold.

Fortunately farmers’ markets here are starting to spring up everywhere giving us all an opportunity to not only eat local but to also support small farmers and to delight in the deliciousness of fresh picked produce.