Agave - 'Honey Water'

Agave nectar comes from the Blue Agave plant in Mexico. It's very similar to a cactus, but is called a Dragon Lily. While agave (pronounced ah-GAH-vay) is best recognized as the plant from which tequila is made, it has also been used for thousands of years as an ingredient in food. The nectar made from the plant is known in Mexico as aguamiel, or "honey water."

The Aztecs prized the agave as a gift from the gods and used the liquid from its core to flavor foods and drinks.

Agave nectar (sometimes called agave syrup) is most often produced from the Blue Agaves that thrive in the volcanic soils of Southern Mexico. Agaves are large, spikey plants that resemble cactus or yuccas in both form and habitat, but they are actually succulents similar to the familiar Aloe Vera.

If you have blood sugar issues, or want to avoid issues in the future or just want to live a healthier lifestyle agave nectar is a friend. Blue agave contains healthy bacteria in the form of inulins which are naturally occurring oligosaccharides that are healthy for your digestive system.

It's true that volcanic agave nectar contains close to the same calories per tablespoon as sugar (45) but because it is so sweet to your palate, you can use less. In fact, you can use about 1/3 cup of agave nectar to each cup of sugar thus reducing your caloric intake.

Because agave breaks down fats easier it improves the functioning of the gall bladder. It also helps remove the blockages in arteries associated with high cholesterol levels.

I use a swirl of this syrup on my homemade yogurt in the morning or evening. A colorful, long, shallow dish filled with yogurt drizzled with a long twist of agave (instead of the traditional honey) gives your guests the feel of Greece or Italy. Simple! This southwestern nectar is perfect on hot cereal and in tea. Sometimes a drop is squirted onto my fingertip for a taste of sweet when a sweet tooth complains. I also use it instead of brown sugar to sweeten my homemade granola before I bake it. I've used it in bread baking, replacing honey and molasses, and in other baked goods.

I love it! And it's good for me.

Agave. A beautiful food.

Pizza from the Heart

So many pizza commercials on television! The craving began. Though hungry and out running errands, still, my sanity prevailed. I knew the ingredients for a satisfying pizza pie were in my cupboards and fridge at home.

Cassie made a crust.

I simmered up fresh marinara, browned chicken with garlic, chopped some thin asparagus, and chunked some fresh, soft mozzarella cheese.

Caroline prepped a pan, preheated the oven, and helped assemble.

In less than 45 minutes, start to finish, we had a hot pizza and, man, was it good. MUCH better than any pizzeria in the vicinity.

Patience. Oh, so worth it.

Slow Succession - One Italian Woman's Breakfasting

Our countrymen could learn much from cultures far away. Such as how to eat. By this I mean what is eaten and how it is eaten.

My husband snarfs. He dishes his food up at the table as though he is the only one present. Then he eats quickly as though in a race, head down start to finish. Inadequate chewing then gulping. He says he thinks it's because when he was a kid - an only child - he had to hurry to get his share and then get out of there before the parents began to rag on him. Trouble is, he can't stop eating that way now.

Oh, he tries now and then. It's painful to watch. He sets down his fork, tries to chew more, to recognize flavors, enjoy the food. It's like observing a dog who's been told to sit and stay when he knows there's a chunk of sausage waiting to be devoured. Poor man nearly trembles. I give him kudos for trying, though. I have high hopes that he'll figure it out one day. In the meantime it's very hard for me to eat the way I prefer - slowly and mindfully - while he's noisily slurping, shoveling, and stuffing his cheeks in his race to the finish line.

An Italian blogger describes her breakfast manner in the following. It resonates with me.

I am not a breakfast person: when I get up, the first thing I crave is something hot and liquid, which translates into a cup of black tea, followed by another cup of black tea, followed, an hour or so later, by a cup of coffee made using my stovetop coffee maker. It is not until mid-morning that I turn my attention to something solid and that something has been, for more years than I can remember, una mela (an apple).

Una mela al giorno leva il medico di torno (an apple a day keeps the doctor away), you may remind me. The reason for my breakfast choice, however, is really my lifelong love for apples. It is certainly a great bonus that apples are good for my health. What has changed in the years is my favorite kind: that spot has been occupied for some time by the Mutsu apple. This time of the year it is not available in the stores, so I am currently breakfasting mostly with a Pinova apple and sometimes with a Golden Delicious. Just yesterday, I purchased some Ambrosia apples but have not yet tasted one.

So, here is the recipe for my apple-based breakfast. Take an organic apple of your liking and wash it carefully. Bite into it and savor the juicy morsel in your mouth. Chew slowly and concentrate on the texture and flavor. Repeat until you are left with just the core. Place it in your compost bin. Wait a few minutes, enjoying the apple's aftertaste, then cut yourself a small piece of excellent quality extra dark chocolate (at least 70% cocoa content) and break it into 2-3 morsels. Eat them in slow succession, savoring each one by letting it melt slowly in your mouth. Feel good.

 Above excerpt taken from the blog Briciole


Imagine if everyone could eat just one meal a day with such ease, patience, attention, and enjoyment.

The world would surely become a kinder place.

Breaking Bread

"You live in an amazing country and so do I. You've put a man on the moon. Right now in time is a moment when we're all confused about how brilliant we are and how technically advanced we are and that is fighting with what once made our countries great which is family, community, being together, and something honestly as simple as putting a few ingredients together and sitting your family and your friends and yourself and your girlfriend and your mother-in-law around that table and breaking bread. If you think that's not important then shame on you." ~~ Jamie Oliver

This week Tom and I took the girls to the Lorane Valley, a portion of the Willamette Valley's wine country.

Our first stop was Silvan Ridge where, after exploring the Old World style compound we gathered around a wooden patio table and broke bread, surrounded by acres and acres of newly budding grape vines.

Up the neighboring hill we drove, after our lovely meal, to our next destination Sweet Cheeks. There we enjoyed the magnificent hilltop vineyard view as well as dessert from home and wine tasting. Sweet Cheeks makes marvelous wine!

Meandering further along we came upon King Estates with its over one thousand acres of grapes, fruit tree orchards, herb and vegetable gardens all surrounding an impressive chateau which includes the winery and restaurant.

With temperatures in the low 70's the fragrance of blossoms, spring grasses, and rich soil was more intoxicating than the wine.

To share leisurely meals and treats with these precious people under a pale blue sky, amidst the liveliness of food growing up from the earth invigorated me. Walking among acres of vines carefully manicured for the best possible result rooted me to what is real and that is life. All life. But mostly human beings.

Jamie's quote above settles and strengthens my heart. The confusion between achievement and being is alarming. What makes a country great is her people. The same holds true for a community, and a family. While it is important that we work and create - that we 'do' - far more important is who we are and that is cultivated through sharing life's experiences with one another. Listening. Pondering. Laughing. Observing. Giving. Taking the time to know one another, to trust one another, to grow individually and together.

What better way to enrich ourselves than at the table with family and friends, a few simple ingredients put together, gratefully received?

"If you think that's not important, then shame on you."

Providing Joy

"In combining beauty with comfort and liveliness, the Italians are able to provide the joy in life which their conquerors in the past, no less than their friends and visitors at all times, have found unfailingly irresistible." ~~ from Italia: the Art of Living Italian Style, by Edmund Howard

Italia calls to many of us in our over-worked, under-enjoyed west. Her laid-back attitude about life as compared to our industrial, achievement-oriented culture, her love of all things beautiful as compared to our love of all things efficient, utilitarian, and easy, her spontaneity as compared to our appointment-driven compulsion to 'get the most out of every minute,' her liveliness and comfort combined with beauty as opposed to America's love affair with mediocrity. Yes, Italia's Spirit woos me.

Yesterday Cassie and Caroline hosted a St. Patrick's Day Party for several of their friends. They could have dumped some salty chips into a bowl, poured some M&M's into another dish, boiled some hot dogs and called it good.

But they didn't.

Instead they thoughtfully planned.

Irish food? Corned Beef hash, Irish Soda Bread, Lamb Stew, all good but not quite right. "Potatoes. Don't the Irish love potatoes?"

"Yes."

Fifteen large russet baker potatoes carefully washed, nicked of blemishes, kosher salted, and tightly wrapped in foil baked at 375 degrees for two hours. The house smelled fantastic! While the tubers roasted we three women grated fresh cheese, cooked up superior bacon, unwrapped creamy fresh local butter, and plopped local sour cream into pretty red bowls. The first chives of spring were appreciatively harvested, chopped, and slid into a tiny pink dish. Organic carrots were stick-cut and set to chill. Fruit was delicately washed, cut, drizzled with honey and pineapple juice. Crystal kosher salt was poured into a Japanese tea cup with a shiny, tiny spoon, and peppercorns placed next to it in a crystal grinder.

The table was set with green and gold cloths, pretty plates, green baskets, pretty plants in colorful pots, and a tall green, tapered candle surrounded by freshly cut purple-blossoming rosemary and pink heather. Bowls of food, baskets of hot potatoes, plates of vegetables, shamrock bedecked napkins, and 'the good' silverware added to the gaiety.

Light-hearted Irish tunes played merrily as my daughters' guests walked into the kitchen and spotted the bounty. Joy! The girls grinned as their knives cut through the perfectly cooked spuds as through butter. Delicious fats and seasonings were spread and sprinkled into and onto the steaming delights, then fruits and vegetables carefully spooned onto plates. Art. Young women created perfect plates of food as they spoke their happiness. "I LOVE potatoes. Nice BIG potatoes! And FAT! And Fresh Fruit!"

Then, sheer contentment - even bliss - as they savored every bite.

Cassie and Caroline provided beauty in a comfortable, lively setting. For hours and hours these young woman enjoyed each others' company, relaxed, legs curled under them while relaxing in overstuffed furniture, or sprawled out on huge pillows under shamrock garlands. Friendship. Relaxation. A space of time separated from the harried life of a high school student. The world of decisions, and homework, and parents, and boys, and responsibility drifted away for awhile. Refreshment took its place.

We all need time to restore in order to continue energetically creating our lives.

Healthy foods served in beautiful ways amidst comforting surroundings with people who love and support us just as we are.

Providing joy looks just so.

Hari Hachi Bu

Our stomachs have stretch receptors which signal information to our brains. It takes these little guys twenty minutes to tell our brains how full we really are. Most of us know this already.

In addition, if we regularly eat until we feel 100 percent full we will actually be about 20% overcapacity with every meal. The stomach will stretch a little bit more each time we eat to accommodate the extra food. Then, we'll have to consume more the next time we eat to get that same feeling of fullness. Vicious cycle.

While this signaling and stretching of the stomach was beneficial during the days when foraging and hunting for food were the norm it can be a detrimental mechanism with food readily available on every corner and in our own homes.

What to do?

Hari Hachi Bu.

Loosely translated, hari hachi bu means, 'eat until you are eight parts full (out of ten)'. The Okinawans - a population known for their very long, high-quality life spans - practice this habit. They do not go hungry, no, not at all, but they do stop eating before they burst at the seams. They simply leave a little room at the end of each meal.

Sensitivity to signals requires merely listening to your body, its sensations, learning from your eating experiences, and then practicing what is learned.

For example, last night I made a delicious roast beef dinner especially for Tom as his job is taking him away from home for twelve and thirteen hours a day this week. Grass-fed beef slowly roasting amidst fresh picked rosemary, smashed garlic cloves, and wedged onion. Red potatoes mashed to perfection. Perfectly steamed broccoli. And Cassie made homemade vanilla ice cream with the freshest ingredients including fair-trade, organic, no-soy, no-milk-powder dark chocolate whacked into chips. Some of Tom's favorite foods. Mine, too.

While I was careful to serve myself conservative amounts of food, it was so tasty. Moist meat, creamy potatoes, the broccoli with the just the right amount of bite. I ate slowly. I savored. I found myself near hari hachi bu with a little space saved for Cassie's ice cream.

But the potatoes. Just a few more. I still have room.

Stupid.

I ate a few more. Then, I ate some ice cream. I knew full well what I was doing but I did it anyway.

It wasn't that much food, but it was past 100%. Just a little. Just enough to make me feel over full. Not a good feeling. My few moments of pleasure eating that one scoop too many potatoes stayed with me for hours. I made myself move for the next couple of hours rather than sit and that helped. But I know my sleep was impaired for at least the first half of the night. I could feel my body still hard at work digesting when it should have been free to rest and restore.

The good in last night's experience is that I paid attention. I scolded myself for my stupidity, then forgave. Lesson learned. Lesson remembered - for now. Eat until you are 80% full. Why? For one, it feels bad not to.

Hari Hachi Bu. A wonderful aid when obeyed.

Making it Better

Small changes add up to big differences.

I have a chocolate cupcake recipe given to me years ago by an old farmer's wife. It's called Never Fail Cupcakes. Dense moist chocolate cupcakes that are simple to make and eagerly received.

Delicious and elegant with a fluffy vanilla butter cream frosting but oh, so sweet. Special occasions yes.

Often I just want to serve a bit of cake without all the sugary frosting.

For a lighter cupcake I simply sprinkle seven or eight chocolate, peanut butter, or white chocolate chips - or a mixture of two or three flavors - over the top of the already spooned in batter. Then, I add a hearty pinch of raw sugar sprinkled over the chips. The sugar adds sparkle and a crispy texture which complements the moist cupcake and gooey chips.

Very nice. I've been told they look 'fancy.'

Pleasure.

Never Fail Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 egg
1/2 c. sour milk *
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup hot water, tap is fine
1 tsp. oil

*If you don't have sour milk - and really, who does? - you can use buttermilk or sour your own milk by placing 1 1/2 tsp. apple cider, white, or rice vinegar into a 1/2 cup measuring cup. Fill to 1/2 measurement with regular milk and let sit for five minutes. Voila! Sour milk!

Beat all at once in mixer.
Place into buttered or sprayed muffin tin. (Can use chocolate chip/raw sugar method mentioned above, or add nuts, or anything you like, or bake plain.)
Bake at 375 degree oven for 20 minutes.
Remove from pan immediately to wire rack to cool. I use a fork or spoon to gently lift them out.
Can serve them split underneath good ice cream (homemade is best!), or cool a little then sprinkle with powdered sugar, or just cool and eat as is.
Makes 12 cupcakes.