Horseradish

Another love in my life is horseradish. It is a root vegetable that is in the same family as mustard and broccoli. It is usually found in glass jars and mixed with cocktail sauce for shrimp. When I was young my Uncle Pat and I would see who could take more horseradish. He usually won. Whatever...

Horseradish contains mustard oils that are antibacterial. It is high in vitamin c, potassium, calcium and magnesium. For this recipe I crusted a piece of line caught Alaskan Sockeye Salmon and seared it on both sides. Threw it in a 300f oven for 5 minutes and let it rest for a couple minutes. I served it with red quinoa and kale with what else...garlic. The horseradish looses its pungency when cooked. Searing it until golden brown gives it an almost sweet taste with a little of that pungency left to make it interesting.

Its good folded into mashed potatoes, as a crust and in Bloody Mary's. Yum.

Jack Lalanne

Jack Lalanne (1914-2011) will live forever as an icon of health and fitness. In his career of more than seven decades he opened one of the first health spas (1936), hosted a TV show for 30 years, performed fitness stunts and tests of endurance and preached the power of juicing. I will remember him most for his unquenchable thirst for life. May we all find his passion and share it with those we love. Rest in Peace Jack and Thank YOU.

Quick and Easy

There are sooo many fast food restaurants. They all are good at efficiency and mediocrity. Some rise up and cut and fry fresh potatoes for their fries. Some say that their meat has never been frozen. Most have little to no consciousness around how the ingredients that good into their food are raised. There seems to be little or no care what affect this has on our environment. But they survive because they are quick and easy.

The quick and easy meal above costs about ten bucks. It's real cost on your health is:
Cheeseburger - 840 calories and 55 grams of fat
Fries - 620 calories and 30 grams of fat
Soda - 260 calories

The cost on our environmental health is incalculable.

Letter to Garlic

Dear Garlic,
I love you. I use you in almost all my cooking. You are the foundation of many cuisines the world over. You are anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal. You help clean my blood, cure my colds and help to prevent cancer. When I cook you in butter you add a deep savory flavor. When I brown you in oil you add a sweet nutty flavor. When I roast you you turn into a sweet wonderful roasted flavored paste. I can use you to make bread, pasta, sauces, dressings, roasts, sautes, stir fries, concrete, rubber & wood all taste good.
Thank You
Bob

How does Art influence You?

Art is a funny thing. It has the power to set off a myriad of emotions. It can inspire, it can sadden, it can anger.....My life would be incomplete without art. I simply cannot live in a space without engaging pictures or paintings hung on the wall. I get agitated and very short without art's influence. Its presence in my life directly affects my health and well being. It makes me a better person in some ways. It makes me think. I do not pretend to understand all the meanings of some works, but I know what I like and why I like it. That's what's really important.

The biggest thing for me though is the unending creativity and vision of our minds. I sometimes will stare in wonder how a painting was thought of and executed, never mind the great skill and time it takes to hone ones art to create subject matter that speaks. I am in awe of artists and how their minds work.

One such artist is my friend Randal Roberts. In his short venture into the world of art he has produced some of my favorite works. I have known him for nearly six years now. He is a very close friend, teacher, co-worker and sometimes pain in my ass. I love him dearly. Please visit his website and blog and check out his work.

http://allofthisforyou.com

http://randalrobertsart.blogspot.com/

Mustard

Mustard is one of my favorite condiments. It is made from the seeds of the mustard plant, vinegar, water and sometimes other flavoring agents (think honey mustard). A couple years ago I stopped into a local baker who makes fried egg sandwiches. I ordered one and he asked if I wanted ketchup or mustard. On any other normal day this is easy, but on this day I felt adventurous. Now some of you may be hip to the mustard on an egg sandwich square. I was not. WEll let me tell you, I lived in darkness before this day. It was an epiphany of flavor for me. Egg, cheese, good bread and a good mustard is currently in the rotation of favorite meals. Why am I telling you this now? I had one this morning. Joy!

Couldn't decide which picture I liked better. Still practicing the craft of shooting food.

Pan Roasting

Pan Roasting is a great cooking technique. For this post I pan roasted a turkey breast. First I heated a pan on medium high heat and added a little olive oil. I seasoned the turkey breast with salt and pepper. I placed it skin side down and seared it over medium high for about three minutes. You want it to get a nice golden brown color. I then turned the breast over. I added some crushed cloves of garlic, rosemary and lemon wedges. I placed it in a 350f oven for about 40 minutes. You want to roast this until it gets to an internal temperature of 160f.

When cooking poultry you want to reach an internal temperature of 165f. By removing the breast at 160f it will continue cooking and make that 165f internal temperature without drying out. Let the breast rest for at least 10 minutes. 20 minutes is better. By letting the meat rest you allow it to retain moisture.

PS - organic, free range, vegetarian feed, daily massaged, vacations in Maui & spiritually enlightened turkey breast was used for this post

Completion

I have finished my year long studies with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN). For the past year I have delved into nutritional theories and have trained to become a health coach. I will be setting up links on this page for anyone interested in completing a free health history. IIN has been a great experience and I look forward to sharing what I have learned here on this blog.

For more info on IIN go to: http://www.integrativenutrition.com/

Eating Animals

I just finished a book titled "Eating Animals" by Jonathan Safran Foer. He is the author of "Everything is Illuminated" that was made into a movie a few years back with Frodo. Good book. Both of them, but I am more referring to Eating Animals.

There are a lot of books out there on this subject. Too many to list. This one doesn't just ask the questions. It questions the questions and the author skillfully shares his insights on the subject. Its funny, its sad, its insightful, its a little preachy, but at the end of the day it is a worthy read for everyone. It has certainly got the conversation in my head going.

Bridget's Journey

My sister Patty's first child was born in the fall of 2006. She was born with Erb's palsy. None of us had ever heard of this. She had limited mobility in her arm. My sister started a blog to share Bridet's journey and recovery. Check it out here:

http://bridgetsbpijourney.blogspot.com/

I Resolve

To be a better son, brother, uncle, partner, cousin, friend and whatever else I am to those in my life. I am truly blessed to have the family and friends I have. They have helped me become the man I am today. They are an integral part of my life, health and well being. They are just as important to my nutrition as is the food I eat.