Padron Chiles

Finley Farms has been selling small thin-skinned green peppers called Padron chiles. I bought a few to try.

They're a mild pepper with just a little spicy flavor. When lightly charred and salted they make an excellent pre-dinner snack.

And I figure they're pretty healthy.

I simply heated my cast iron fry pan, and dry roasted the chiles until they were brown in places. Then I sprinkled them with salt, placed them in a bowl, and put them on the table.

We ate all but the stem and the clumps of seeds.

If you see Padron chiles, pick them up and try this simple snack.

Charred Zucchini and Onion Salad

Cooking vegetables in a cast iron frypan without oil is similar to barbecuing. The vegetables char and blacken and develop great flavor.

I usually use this technique when making Mexican food - it adds a smokey flavor to tomatillo salsa and enchilada sauce.

This recipe, however, is more Italian in nature, using basil, thyme and balsamic vinegar to season the blackened zucchini and onions.

It's from Peter Berley's interesting book The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. It's a little too heavy on the seitan and tempeh for me, but has some good ideas like this one.

(There's nothing wrong with seitan and tempeh, but they are usually used to imitate meat. I don't like meat so I'm not interested in trying to replicate it.)

I cut the zucchini in 1-inch rounds. It looked a little weird, but I was happy with the chunkiness of the finished product. You could cut the slices lengthwise instead if you prefer.

Charred Zucchini and Onion Salad

3/4 lb green or yellow zucchini

1 large red onion

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1 tbsp chopped basil

1 small clove garlic, chopped fine

1/2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped fine

pinch of red pepper flakes

salt to taste

Cut the zucchini in 1-inch slices and the onion into 1/2 inch rings. Heat a cast iron fry pan over high heat until very hot (water should sizzle when a few drops are tossed on it). Lower the heat to medium and place the zucchini and onion on it. Cook for 6-10 minutes per side, turning each piece when it is brown in spots and beginning to char. Don't let it get too black.

The vegetables need to be in a single layer, so do a few batches if you have too much for your pan.

When cooked on both sides, put the pieces in a large bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, basil, garlic, thyme and red pepper flakes. Whisk well. Pour over the hot vegetables and toss to coat. Cover the bowl and let marinate at least 10 minutes. Toss again and salt to taste before serving.

Serves 2-3

Mint is good in place of the basil. The salad lasts well in the fridge for a couple of days.

Sunday breakfast

After an early morning trip to the Hollywood Farmers Market this morning, we were
ready for a big breakfast.

We buy all our produce for the week at the market, and today that included many melons. It was a heavy load that we hauled back to the car.

So omelets and fried potatoes were in order.

I picked a tomato, a jalapeno and some basil from our garden to stuff the omelet, along with a few slices of avocado. The potatoes were parboiled, then sautéed in butter and olive oil with a little salt, pepper and Mexican seasoning.

Afterwards we felt re-energized to go out and work in our garden.

Summer Tomatoes

We returned home to find our tomatoes flourishing.

Here you can see one behind an eggplant, a poblano and some basil,  all of which are also thriving.

Is there anything as delicious as the first tomato of summer, drizzled with olive oil, scattered with basil, and seasoned with a little salt and pepper?

It's good to be home.

Souvenirs

We visited a few cooking stores in Paris. While I was tempted with large copper pans and a few heavy cookbooks, I came away with the perfect portable prize - a wooden spoon. After all, I can never have too many wooden spoons, and this is a lovely one that fits well in the hand.

In a London souvenir shop (of all places) I came across another treasure - a roll of greaseproof paper.

Back in the '70s, when my grandmother would travel from England to visit us in Montreal, she would bring treasured rolls of greaseproof paper. Mum used it to line the tins she made fudge in so the confection would tip out easily. Wax paper, which was the closest to greaseproof she could find in Montreal, was not the same. The wax would melt when exposed to heat, leaving a messy residue on the food.

I think parchment paper is probably the same as greaseproof, but I've never tried it. I reach for an ancient roll of greaseproof on the rare occasion I need to line a cake tin.

And now, I have a back-up roll in the pantry.

All together a successful trip.

Heathrow airport

I have spent many hours in Terminal 2 at Los Angeles International Airport, and I have never had a meal like I had at Heathrow airport.

Local organic greens, fresh vegetables, good dressing, goat cheese - I almost forgot I was in an airport.

Fork

Our final breakfast in England was at Fork, a restaurant on the Marchmont Road in Bloomsbury.

The blackberries made me long for home and our own blackberry bushes.

It was time to get back to the land of healthy eating.

Train food

We took the train up to Sheffield to visit my aunt.

It was a Sunday, so the train stopped at every little town (definition: pub and church).

Fortunately, there were sandwiches to fortify us on the 3-hour ride. Way better than the food provided on the transatlantic plane, I might add.

(Rocket = arugula).

Breakfast in Bloomsbury

In London, we stayed in Bloomsbury, near the British Museum, a district known for its turn-of-the-century writers and intellectuals like Virginia Woolf and John Maynard Keynes.

We ate breakfast our first morning at the Bloomsbury Coffee House, a basement café in the St. Athan's hotel.

I ordered the potato pancakes with scrambled eggs. It was fine, but the highlight was the customer who ordered after us.

He was a committed vegan who wanted to know the sourcing of all their ingredients. He asked where their veggie sausage patties came from. The waitress went to the back and returned with the box of Linda McCartney vegetarian sausage patties from the freezer. He read the small print ingredients out loud, commenting on each one. Then he asked if the chickens who laid the eggs were fed non-gmo corn. He had a thousand questions. The waitress was very patient. I was shaking with suppressed giggles.

We left when he starting asking about the tea.

Veggies in London

Veggie pie in a Bloomsbury pub.

After the challenges of being a vegetarian in Paris, it was a pleasure to get to London, where vegetarians are vociferous and catered to.

In England, there is a vegetarian-friendly logo for food, just as there is a cruelty-free logo in North America for beauty products. So vegetarians don't have to read the fine print to know there are no animal products in their marmite or ketchup.

Not surprisingly, "natural flavorings" are not as prevalent. These seemingly innocent words appear regularly on labels in North America, hiding the fact that they can be derived from animals or genetically-modified organisms. I don't buy products that contain natural flavorings. When Stoneyfield yogurt started including them, I wrote to ask if the flavorings they used were vegetarian. They responded that they have no way to know. I stopped eating their yogurt.

Our first meal in London was at a pub (surprise!) which had both veggie and meat pies. There were a variety of sauces one could order with the pie. I ordered one, and a few minutes later the waitress came back to apologize because they could not be certain that the sauce I had ordered to go with my pie was vegetarian. They thought it was, but they couldn't guarantee it.

If American waiters were as conscientious, they would warn vegetarians about pretty much everything on the menu. Because natural flavors are an integral part of the American eating experience, whether they're derived from pigs or cows or berries. And the flavoring companies don't tell you the source - trade secrets, you know.

So it was a relief to be back in England, land of the cranky vegetarians, after a week in Paris, land of the arrogant carnivores.

Poilâne

You might remember me writing about trying a recipe by the great French baker Pierre Poilâne (you can read that post here).

The original Poilâne bakery still exists in Paris, so of course we had to visit it.

It's a small shop with racks of bread at the sides and in the window, and a woman at the cash register at the back. Two other women served the customers. When I say it was small, 6 customers standing around meant there was no room to move. Larry went outside while I browsed.

Poilâne was famous for not making baguettes. Instead he made giant round loaves called miches.

There was no way Larry and I could eat a miche between us. It would have lasted us days. We would have had to eat it instead of croissants. We would have had to take it on the airplane (what would we tell customs? Would it fit in my carry-on?).

So I looked for something smaller. There were no signs saying what each loaf was, and at this point in the trip my brain was worn out from conversing in French (as a Montrealer, I'm embarrassed to say that, but I have lived in LA for 15 years). So I pointed, smiled, paid and escaped into the street, clutching my small loaf.

It was an egg bread, I think, a little too light, puffy and white for full satisfaction, but still good.

We took it, along with our leftover cheese from lunch a couple of days before, to Luxembourg Gardens for a picnic dinner. We sat on a bench with our bread and cheese. A community orchestra of children and grown-ups played Irish jigs and ragtime in the nearby bandstand. It was a great Paris experience.

Salad for Lunch

We got caught in the rain strolling through the Marais, and found shelter under the awning of this little café. (We didn't keep track of the names of the places we ate at. Next time.)

Instead of our regular lunch of bread, cheese and salad, we had individual salads. Mine was an excellent green salad with a tangy vinaigrette. The toast holds a slice of slightly warmed well-aged stinky cheese.

Wonderful.

Pain au chocolat

I know - You're saying "Joy, this is supposed to be a blog on healthy eating. Why are you showing me pain au chocolat? Is it a new health food?"

Unfortunately not.

But I ate it anyway.

At home, I eat organic and healthy. When I travel, I let down my hair a little. I won't avoid croissants or cheese or baguette (or red wine, for that matter) when I visit Paris. That would feel weird.

Food in Europe is generally not as pesticided or processed as it is in North America. We eat real food, not fast food, when we travel, and I still don't eat meat or fish because I prefer not to. We walk miles every day when we're in a city, so I don't worry about the calories, and it really is part of the adventure to sit down and eat something very local.

Ah yes, that's my justification for all this decadent food - I was supporting the local food movement!

This was a mid-morning café allongé and pain au chocolat (we split one between us) in a café outside Père Lachaise Métro on our way to see Jim Morrison's grave.

Yes, it was as delicious as it looks.

Bergamot

At the end of our first day in Paris, we ate dinner at Bergamot, a restaurant near Faubourg St. Germain on the left bank. Bergamot is a herb (also known as monarda or bee balm) so not surprisingly fresh herbs played a part in all the dishes.

I had pasta - a vegetarian stand-by. The penne was mixed with a small amount of tomato sauce to make it orange, tossed with some cooked carrots and zucchini, and served with fresh mint, basil and chives sprinkled on top. Very nice.

Larry had a piece of meat. On the side came the meal's highlight - a round of mashed potatoes topped with a drizzle of pesto and half a cherry tomato.

The round was made by packing the mashed potatoes into a tall round cookie cutter (or by cutting rounds out of a rectangular dish of mashed potatoes - I don't know which).

Round things were very popular in Paris. At a cooking store we visited, I found a French cookbook devoted to preparing food using these tall round metal shapes. I did not buy the book. That's just too fussy for me.

But I do plan to drizzle pesto over mashed potatoes - it really is an excellent match.

Lunch on rue Rivoli

We enjoy wandering the streets of Paris. After a stroll through the flower market on Ile de la Cité we crossed over to rue Rivoli in search of lunch.

We found a table at a sidewalk café on the busy boulevard where we could watch pedestrians, cyclists, cars and fire engines navigate the busy street and sidewalk in front of us.

We shared a green salad, a magnificent cheese plate, and a carafe of red wine.

Is there a better way to spend a lunch hour in Paris?

The cheese was exceptional, and there was a lot of it. Our waiter was shocked we couldn't eat it all, and offered "un doggy bag." He carefully wrapped the cheese in foil so no kind touched another. We weren't sure when we would find time to eat our leftover cheese, but we dutifully carried it back to our hotel room.

Breakfast in Paris

The next morning we left our hotel in search of breakfast. A bakery down the street smelled great. We were told the croissants would be out of the oven in 2 minutes. We waited. Wow. Best croissants ever.

Dinner in Paris

Larry and I recently returned from a trip to Paris and London. While I don't have pictures of all the meals I ate, I do have some good stories which I'll share with you over the next couple of weeks.

We got into Paris later than expected because of the air traffic controllers strike. After checking into our hotel near Bvd. St. Michel, we headed out for a late dinner. Late for me - it was 10 p.m. But many people were eating at the brasseries and cafés in the neighborhood.

It is not easy to be a vegetarian in Paris. This first night I ordered a dinner salad - a large salad of many vegetables, hard boiled eggs and a mustardy vinaigrette. I asked that it come without the ham.

The waiter proudly presented me the salad with pieces of chicken on top instead of the ham. I told him actually I wanted it with no meat. "Au naturel (naked)?" he questioned. Yes, I assured him. He brought the salad back with no meat. "Tant pis pour vous, (too bad for you)" he said as he rushed off.

EWG organic list

Each year I write about the Environmental Working Group's list of the most pesticided produce in America.

This year they've added genetically modified crops to their list.

As always, let me remind you that it is always better to eat fruit and vegetables. Every cancer study out there says that people who eat more vegetables are less likely to develop cancer. So eat vegetables, even if you can't find/afford organic ones.

However, if you can avoid these heavily pesticided crops, your nervous system and endocrine system will thank you. (Most pesticides are neuro-toxic or hormone-disruptors. This includes the Weed'n'Feed and Round Up you put on your lawn. Don't do it.)

A brief aside on genetically modified organisms (gmos). Wheat, corn and soy are always gmo unless labelled non-gmo or organic. In the produce aisle, however, most foods are not gm. The exceptions are zucchini, Hawaiian papaya, and some varieties of sweet corn. EWG advises people to buy these organic in order to avoid gmos.

The good news is that sometimes really toxic pesticides are taken off the market because they can be detected on foods. Last year EWG singled out green beans because they were often contaminated with two highly toxic organophosphates. Use of these pesticides has since been restricted by the EPA. Unfortunately, non-organic leafy greens still show residues of organophosphates, and EWG recommends avoiding them.

Sadly, tests in 2008 found that some American-grown summer squash contained residues of organochlorine pesticides that were phased out of agriculture in the 1970s and 1980s. The toxic chemicals are still in the soil in some farm fields. Yet another reason to buy produce from organic farmers who feed the soil, not poison it.

Produce to avoid if not organic:
apples
celery
cherry tomatoes
cucumbers
grapes
kale / collard greens
hot peppers
imported nectarines
peaches
potatoes
spinach
strawberries
summer squash (zucchini)
sweet bell peppers

Produce that is safe to eat if not organic
(Although think of the soil and future generations)
asparagus
avocados
cabbage
cantaloupe
corn (if not gmo)
eggplant
grapefruit
kiwis
mangoes
mushrooms
onions
papayas
pineapples
peas
sweet potatoes

Get a downloadable app of this list, and donate to EWG to support their good work here.

Beet Salad

Some dishes are too simple to be called recipes. This is one of them.

Cook beets until tender. I prefer to scrub them well and then roast them in the toaster oven at 350°F until a sharp knife slides in easily - 30-60 minutes depending on the size of the beets.

Let them cool enough to peel them. Or leave the peel on - it's edible, but the beets are prettier without it. Cut off the top stem part and the thin root end and discard. Cut the beets into wedges.

Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and crumbled goat cheese.

If you're making it ahead, stir together all but the goat cheese. Crumble that on just before eating so it doesn't turn pink.

Smoked Chilies

I was browsing the Mountain Rose Herbs website recently, putting together an order for tonic herbs, when I noticed they had smoked chili flakes. I had to buy some. Smoke is such an excellent flavoring in beans and barbecue sauce - getting chiles infused with it sounded great.

When the packet came, I opened it up and sniffed cautiously. Not cautiously enough. These chiles are hot and smoky. Yum. I added a spoonful to my favorite chili. I think I could have added even more, but I find with chiles it's best to start slowly. And it was an excellent stew. I served it with brown rice and sautéed greens.

Here's the recipe. If you don't have smoked chili flakes, you can use the regular kind. Add chili powder to your taste.

The smoked chili flakes will give a smokey flavor that will match well with the smoke of the fireworks on Fourth of July.

Chili
1 cup pinquito beans or pinto beans, dry
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1/4 cup oil
1 cup green lentils
6 tsp chili powder
1 tsp smoked flaked chiles
1 tbsp dried Mexican oregano
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp paprika
14-oz can diced tomatoes
1/4 cup tamari
salt to taste

Cook beans in plenty of boiling water until tender, about 90-120 minutes depending on how old the beans are. Drain off the water.

Sauté onion, garlic and carrot in oil until soft, about 10 minutes. Add cooked beans, dry lentils, spices and tomatoes with their liquid. Stir in 2 cups of water and bring to the boil. Simmer the chili, uncovered, for 1 hour, adding water as necessary so it doesn't dry out. Add the soy sauce and simmer another 30-60 minutes. Season with salt to taste.

Serves 6. Even better reheated the next day.