There are many ways to love a vegetable.

"The most sensible way is to love it well-treated. Then you can eat it with the comfortable knowledge that you will be a better woman for it, in your spirit and your body too."
-M.F.K. Fisher

I've been thinking a lot about the food we eat and how we handle it before we consume it. So often food is regarded as an object of disdain, either because we feel it makes us fat or cooking is an activity which is loathed. Vegetables are frowned upon, grains and legumes are looked at with a curled lip. We eat to fill a void instead of eating to nourish our souls. We eat frozen or canned vegetables, throw them in the microwave, cooking them until they are limp unrecognizable mutations of their former selves. We stir canned soups and boxed rice with all the frustrations and stresses of our day. We dump frozen chicken in a bag and shake it until it is coated with excessive sodium and flavors that taste as though they came from a drugstore isle.
There is no positive intention put into the preparation of our meals. No loving caresses for the broccoli or rutabaga that are placed on the dinner table, no words of affection whispered into the ear of corn (hopefully GMO free). We have lost our connection to the food we eat, forgotten all the hard work and energy it has expelled to get to our kitchens. We have forgotten the taste of a fresh sugar snap pea just picked from the vine or a cantaloupe warmed by the summer sun dripping juices down our arms. FOOD IS A GIFT. It is a scrumptious creation that gives us life.
Cooking is my daily meditation. A way I can share my insides with my friends and family. Nourishing their hearts and souls with vegetables the earth produces and bestowing on us the gift of health and life.

Temphe Stew by Lisa Witzke

Serves: 4-6 prep time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
1 med. Onion
5 carrots
6 stalks celery
2 small red potatoes
1 package tempeh
1 cup fresh or frozen peas peas
5 T olive oil
2 T flour
½ t dried sage
1 t dried rosemary
1 ½ t dried thyme
½ t marjoram
1 ½ T yellow or white miso
1 ½ T stone ground mustard
3 T tamari

note: if you substitute fresh herbs for dried double the amount

Directions:
Bring 3 cups water and 1 T tamari to a rolling boil
Add tempeh, reduce heat, simmer 10 minutes.
Drain tempeh and set aside.
While tempeh is simmering
Chop onion, carrot, celery and potatoes, set aside.
Prepare rue:
Heat 3 T olive oil, stir in 2 T flour, stirring constantly over medium heat until golden brown.
Add in onions, sauté 3 minutes. Add carrots, celery, potatoes, herbs and pepper to taste.
Sauté 3 more minutes, add 4-6 cups water. Simmer 20 –30 minutes until veggies are done.
While stew is cooking:
Cut cooked tempeh into small triangles. Heat 2 T olive oil, add tempeh, turning until browned on all sides.
You may need to add a bit more oil during cooking.
Add tempeh to stew.
Add peas. Cook 10 minutes.
Turn off stew.
Ladle out 1cup liquid into a bowl add 1 ½ T miso, 1 ½ T mustard and 1 T tamari, stir until blended.
Let stand 10 minutes. Serve.

YUMMY!!!

So I wanted to start a blog about food. I know there are a ton of them out there but, I wanted to share my recipes, cravings and thoughts with the world. I love eating. I love cooking food for people and to watch them eat, especially if it's delicious food. So here is my first recipe. Try it! I hope you like it!

RAW KALE SALAD

This recipe came from my friend Jo delAmor

Ingredients:
(use organic ingredients whenever possible)

1 bunch kale
¼ t sea salt
1 avocado
2 medium tomatoes
1 cups sprouted lentils
1/4 cup sesame seeds
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Directions:
1. Wash kale and remove stems by either cutting along the spine or grabbing from the base of leaf and pulling along the stem toward the top, stripping the leaf from the spine. Chop kale into small pieces.
2. Place in a large bowl and sprinkle with sea salt.
3. Massage the salt into the kale until it turns bright green and goes limp as though it's been cooked.
4. Dice tomatoes and avocados.
5. Chop fresh herbs.
6. Add all ingredients to the kale in the large bowl and toss until well mixed.