Category Archives: Health/Nutrition

Chef Jeremy Fox’s Yellow Eye Soup with Rancho Gordo Heirloom Beans

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Yes, there's a lot of garlic in this veggie-bean soup, but you'll welcome it, I promise.
Yes, there’s a lot of garlic in this veggie-bean soup, but you’ll welcome it, I promise.

If I told you this soup takes more than two heads of garlic to make, would you balk?

Fear not, though, because that copious amount won’t result in a dish (or home-cook) that reeks. The garlic taste is prominent to be sure, but it’s not aggressively sharp or overwhelming pungent. Instead, it gives this vegan bean and veggie soup a deep, delicious flavor that you taste and feel all the way to your core. In other words, the kind of soup your body craves especially at this time of year.

“Jeremy Fox’s Yellow Eye Soup” is from the new “The Bean Book” (Ten Speed Press, 2014), of which I received a review copy.

It was written by Steve Sando, the founder of Napa’s Rancho Gordo, a specialty food company known for growing and sourcing heirloom beans prized by discriminating chefs and home-cooks around the country; and Julia Newberry, general manager of Rancho Gordo.

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Sponsored Post: Savor the Holidays with Farro Salad with Pistachios, Tarragon, and Pazazz Apples

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Enjoy this farro and apple salad on the go or at your holiday table.
Enjoy this farro and apple salad on the go or at your holiday table.

As the holidays roll around, so does our appetite for indulgence. But that doesn’t mean our well-intentioned eating habits have to fall by the wayside even when we treat ourselves lavishly.

“Farro Salad with Pistachios, Tarragon, and Pazazz Apples” is the perfect example of that.

This delicious salad is packed with good-for-you fiber from chewy, nutty tasting farro and fresh, juicy slices of apple. Best yet, most of it can be prepared ahead of time, a real plus when you’re juggling multiple dishes to prepare for your holiday table.

Now’s the perfect time to pick up Pazazz apples at Albertsons, Safeway, and Vons. Grown by a small group of family farmers across North America, this late-season variety that’s related to the Honeycrisp is at its peak now through June.

With shiny red skin like a holiday ornament along with yellow-green striations here and there, these apples are so snappy, and bursting with sweet, tangy juice.

Crunchy, juicy Pazazz apples are at their peak through June.
Crunchy, juicy Pazazz apples are at their peak through June.

What’s more, apples are extremely rich in fiber, with one medium one providing 4.4 grams of dietary fiber or about 16 percent of the recommended daily value. For this grain salad, I purposely don’t peel the apple, as that would slash the fruit’s fiber content by half.

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Discover What’s Sure To Be Your New Favorite Cornbread — Made with Masa Harina

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Ditch the cornmeal for masa harina instead for this outstanding cornbread.
Ditch the cornmeal for masa harina instead for this outstanding cornbread.

When a craving for cornbread hit one day, Los Angeles recipe developer Jess Damuck didn’t run to the store upon realizing she was out of cornmeal. Nope, instead she reached for masa harina instead.

And in the process created the very best version of cornbread.

Moist, fluffy yet somehow crumbly, “Masa Harina Cornbread” exudes deep corn taste like there’s no tomorrow.

The recipe is from her new cookbook, “Health Nut” (Abrams), of which I received a review copy.

Don’t let the title scare you, as this isn’t a rigid cookbook filled with good-for-you recipes that aren’t necessarily the most satisfying. Instead, Damuck, a former culinary producer for Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, has assembled more than 100 recipes that make use of real butter, real cheese, and whatever type of milk you prefer.

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New Safe Catch Trout Fillets

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Tender, lightly smoked Safe Catch trout fillets make a great addition to pasta.
Tender, lightly smoked Safe Catch trout fillets make a great addition to pasta.

The name Safe Catch says it all.

The Sausalito canned seafood company purports to be the only brand that tests every catch for mercury. Its newest product, Safe Catch Trout Fillets, is tested to a limit of 0.1ppm, more stringent than the recommendation by the Food and Drug Administration. The product has even been given the nod by the American Pregnancy Association.

I had a chance to try the new products, which come in two varieties: Skinless, Smoked Trout Fillets in Water; and Skinless, Smoked Trout Fillets in Sunflower Oil with Chili. The former contains only trout, water, and salt. The latter has only trout, sunflower oil, salt, and chili.

Two new varieties of trout.
Two new varieties of trout.

The rainbow trout fillets in both are boneless, mild tasting, tender, and flaky.

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Patagonia Provisions’ New Tinned Sardines

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Grilled bread with summer tomatoes and new Patagonia Provisions Sardines in Coconut Curry.
Grilled bread with summer tomatoes and new Patagonia Provisions Sardines in Coconut Curry.

They may be little, but they pack a punch — in more ways than one.

Patagonia Provisions, the eco-conscious food division of the outdoor gear company, just debuted its newest product: tinned sardines.

If you needed a reason to eat more sardines, just consider: They are a great source of omega-3s, protein, calcium and vitamin B-12. Because they feed on plankton, as opposed to other fish, they don’t have the high levels of mercury that larger fish often contain.

The sardines for Patagonia Provisions are caught by family-owned fishing boats off the coast of northern Spain, where the silvery fish are plentiful and sustainable.

Two new varieties of sustainably-caught sardines are now available.
Two new varieties of sustainably-caught sardines are now available.

I had a chance to try samples of two new varieties: Sardines packed in extra-virgin olive oil, and sardines in coconut curry.

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