Tater Talk

Quote du Jour

John McDougall, MD interview with Diane Peterson in the Santa Rosa, CA, Press Democrat, June 2, 2012

      

     Question: Dr. McDougall, do you regard yourself as a radical?

     “Open-heart surgery is radical. Eating oatmeal and potatoes is not radical.”

One Potato...

Dr. McDougall's response makes me think of Ireland's Irish Oatmeal and the long time staple of the Irish diet, the potato - two important foundations of a healthy diet.

• Ireland has a website devoted to the potato: Potato.ie, Ireland's Feel Good Food
• and Ireland's #1 Potato Blogger,  The Daily Spud

Two Potato...

Uncle Alvie, who liked his food served hot, never appreciated a long-winded table grace. He'd say the cook worked hard to get everything served all at once, and nice and hot, then you watch the food cool down as grace is said. "I never talk to my taters!" he said. "Bless this food, Amen", suited him just fine.

Three Potato...

After an inspiring weekend at a McDougall Advanced Study Weekend, I opened my local newspaper, The Contra Costa Times, and found this lovely water color of potatoes.

Here's a link to the news story that accompanies this picture:

Give the spud its due cred

There are hundreds of potato varieties, and many I hope to try. A friend told me she ate a truly red potato in Peru. It was high in the Andes mountains at a Peruvian Restaurant and memorable for its deep red color. And here we call a potato red because of it's reddish skin. (Looking at Dave Johnson's watercolor makes me think it should be called a Blush Potato!)

The potato is one of the world's healthiest foods. This link the provides all you ever wanted to know about the potato: World's Healthiest Foods

I can't believe that it's considered "controversial" because it's in the Nightshade family of plants. Also in the Nightshade family are bell peppers, cayenne pepper, chili pepper, eggplant, potatoes, and tomatoes. People have been sustained by these delicious veggies for thousands of years!

Four...
Some folks assume potatoes are fattening, which is untrue. It's what's added to the potato recipe that can create dietary disaster.

Not much imagination is needed to figure out what ingredients move the no-fat potato to an off the charts artery clogger. A medium-size baked potato has about 115 calories, contains no cholesterol and no fat. Add just 2 animal-based ingredients, bacon and cheese, and look what happens:

Five potato...
Potatoes don't need bacon, or butter, or sour cream, or cheese, or milk, or ranch dressing to taste delicious. They don't need to be fried or rubbed with oil or butter before baking. They don't need to be drenched with mayonnaise to taste terrific in a salad

Six Potato...
There are multiple plant-based ingredients that provide the same flavors and textures as any animal-based product. Creamy, rich, velvety smooth,salty, smokey, etc.? Except for melting (casein provides the melting ability in cheese), all of these attributes can be found in plant-based ingredients.  

First think: What are the qualities you want in a plant-based dish you are preparing? 

• Creamy = Cashew Cream. 
• Salty crunch like bacon = roasted and salted almonds
• Smokey = liquid smoke (also used to give meats their smokey flavor)
• Cheesy = Nutritional Yeast (Movie Theaters sprinkle on popcorn to give cheese flavor

Seven Potato...
No two people are the same. Beyond the basic needs of food, water and shelter, some folks require more sleep, others seem to always be cold, some people thrive in noisy environments. Sometimes, in trying to accommodate the needs of others, you may lose sight of what you need to be happy and healthy.

I can tell you, from personal experience, you can change your life. You have the personal freedom and responsibility to yourself, to thoughtfully incorporate your healthy needs into your day-to-day living to provide yourself and your family with a healthy spiritual, physical and emotional whole life. You can change your diet!

And a fun part of this dietary journey to healthy eating, is educating your palate...because
the food MUST taste delicious!

More!
Here is an interesting recipe and video from the Irish Potato.ie website:

Potato, Caramelized Onion and Thyme Tart

And here's the video. Skip brushing the crust with an egg wash.

For 50 years of Mr. Potato Head check out
The Mr. Potato Head Collector's Page

From Kumquats to Pamplemousse: It's Citrus Season

Quote du Jour
     We're marching to battle. We need you my boy.
     We're about to attack. We're about to destroy
     the Perilous Poozer of Pamplemousse Pass!
     So, get into line. You're a private, first class!
         ~ Dr. Seuss, I had Trouble in Getting to Solla Sollew

Pamplemousse

What a fun word! It's French for grapefruit, and no one could use the word more cleverly than Dr. Seuss.

Pamplemousse, Pomelos and Grapefruit are the largest sized fruit in the family of citrus, Citrus Maxima. Oranges and lemons are mid-size. And the smallest fruit in the citrus family are kumquats.  

Stops at Fruit Stands

I'm thinking of making a "VeggieBound Stops at Fruit Stands" bumper sticker. It's so interesting to find varieties of fresh fruit and vegetables that we've never tried before. 

Earlier, this week, while traveling up Hwy 5 in California, just north of the Grapevine, we stopped at The Murray Family Farms roadside fruit stand, and found an extensive variety of citrus fruit, many we had never seen before.

Next to their bins of gorgeous fresh citrus fruit, they had samples of each variety. We couldn't decide which ones we liked best, so we purchased several varieties to take home. Here's a link to the Murray Family Farms website,

http://www.murrayfamilyfarms.com/

and a photo from their website, showing many of the varieties we sampled.

A rainbow of citrus from murrayfamilyfarms.com

The Nagami Kumquat

The Nagami Kumquat is oval and about
the size of an olive. Eat whole, or cut in
half and serve in salads.

Roll then Eat...
Workers at Murray Family Farms stand demonstrated how to eat a Kumquat. 

Roll then Eat... Roll the small fruit between 2 fingers to release the citrus oils in the kumquat skin, then pop the whole fruit whole in your mouth. The taste begins with bitter and tart then becomes sweet and juicy, and they're delicious.

The variety at their stand right now is the Nagami Kumquat.



An Awesome Resource

University of California, Riverside
Citrus Variety Collection Logo 

UC Riverside Citrus Variety Collection

We're kicking ourselves for not taking photos inside the fruit stand, but we were in a rush to get home. So I went online to find photos of the varieties we purchased, and found a terrific resource, the University of California, Riverside Citrus Variety Collection website:  

UC Riverside, World Renowned Citrus Variety Collection

Each variety of citrus in the UCR collection has a carefully recorded provenance with photos. So, to take advantage of their photos, I've included links to the 6 varieties of citrus we purchased at the Murray Fruit Stand. Although we like all the citrus we bought, the Tarocco Blood Orange is our favorite. Click on each name for information on that specific variety:

1. Autumn Gold Naval Orange
2. Cocktail Pummelo Hybrid
3. Dancy Mandarin
4. Nagami Kumquat
5. Tahitian Pummelo
6. Tarocco Blood Orange

UC Riverside Citrus Days
One of these years, I hope to attend a UC Riverside Citrus Day to tour their citrus research areas and to taste more varieties. 

Whole Foods from the New World
Foods of the Americas Family Day Much closer to home and on my calendar, is the UC Botanical Garden at Berkeley on Sunday, October 5, 2014: Foods of the Americas Family Day (free with Garden admission). 

When life gives me lemons, I make

lemonade, or lemon viniagrette, or...

Art Appreciation: Designing History into Clothes

Quote du Jour

  If you see a turtle sitting on a fence post, you may not know how it got there,
  but you can be darn sure it had help. ~ Will Rogers

Beyond Art

Symbolism + Beauty

Designed to wear on a global stage, two recent items of clothing stand out for including historic symbols in fashion forward ways: the hat Aretha Franklin wore at Obama's 2009 Inauguration, and the sweaters designed for the USA Olympic team.

The hat and the sweaters contain design elements that pay homage to those who came before us. I am in awe of such artistry.

Wearing a hat specially designed for the occasion,
 Aretha Franklin sings at Obama's 2009 Inauguration.

Respect

As Aretha Franklin sang My Country 'Tis of Thee, at Obama's January 20, 2009 inauguration, I marveled at the symbolism represented in the design of her hat. 

Recalling the bandannas women slaves wore to restrain their hair, the big bow, decorated with a bit of bling told a story all its own. I was awed by her moving tribute to the "land where my father died," and the joy that our land - finally - became a place of freedom for all.

Worn at a jaunty angle, the hat conveyed a joy worthy of the day and worthy of the ages. It's apparently at the Smithsonian now.

Shortly after the inauguration, I downloaded her song from iTunes. A secret pleasure, when driving backroads, is to open all the windows and play Aretha's My Country 'Tis of Thee...full blast!. It's a BIG song, and Aretha branded it for the ages.

Enjoy Aretha's singing this song on YouTube: 

 Aretha Franklin: My Country 'tis of Thee, CBS video

And those USA Olympic Team Sweaters          
WOW! 

Worn by models at the unveiling of the team clothing, the sweaters looked pretty blah to me. Seen alone, I can understand the "ugly sweater" thinking. But when worn as a group, wow!

Team after team, entered the Olympic Stadium, wearing just about the same jackets and pants, differing only in national colors. Then Team USA entered, wearing sweaters!

Pattern, color, vibrancy. The team radiated youth, energy, pride, joy, and were branded as stars from head to toe!

Team USA enters Fisht Stadium, 2/7/2014.                                       StarTribune.com

Made at Ball of Cotton Knitting Factory in the City of
Commerce, California, the sweaters are a patchwork of
   patriotic colors and symbols. LosAngeles.CBSLocal.com

Made in the USA, too!
Sixty workers at the Ball of Cotton knitwear factory in the City of Commerce, California made the USA Olympic team sweaters.

Using American grown wool, in a patchwork of patriotic colors and symbols, the sweaters wrapped each athlete in warmth and comfort. The inspired design is uniquely American. 

Bravo Ralph Lauren

Check out the Ralph Lauren website to learn about the design and manufacturing of these sweaters.  www.RalphLauren.com

Yay Team USA!

Upcycling at its Best: A Story of a Special Dress

Quote du Jour
    Curly Locks, Curly Locks, will you be mine?
    You shall not wash dishes, nor feed the swine,
    But sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam,
    And sup upon strawberries, sugar, and cream.

    ...but sit on a cushion and sew a fine seam,
    And thou shalt have fabric as fair as a dream,
    The red of my veins, and the white of my love,
    And the gold of my joy for the braiding thereof

                                        ~ James Whitcomb Riley

Remembering this poem as Pussycat, Pussycat from Richard Scarry's Best Mother Goose Ever, I used the snippet "sew a fine seam" to Google this nursery rhyme. This poem is really titled, Curly Locks, Curly Locks, and it's a fanciful rhyme of love.

"Fabric as fair as a dream," a phrase that starts me imagining a dress worthy of such fabric...a wedding dress.

Threads

From One Generation...

My mother sewed most of my clothes and all the important dresses in my life including my wedding gown. Most of my wedding photos were lost in a basement flood years ago. One of the few I have left, this photo, of our cake cutting, shows the general design - empire waist, long sleeves - and the lace fabric.

The wedding dress sewn for me by my mother.

I loved my dress, and always appreciated the thought and time my mother put into making this special dress. It meant a lot to me that she made it.

Years later, when my own daughter became engaged, I was so happy when I asked her if she'd be interested in my using the fabric from my dress to make her rehearsal dinner dress, she said yes!

As you can see, I had plenty of fabric, so much in fact, that I didn't need to cut into the dress. Only the fabric from the train was used to make the rehearsal dinner dress.

It was important to me to make a dress for my daughter that she would feel beautiful wearing, that it be comfortable and fun...and include all the love, thought and care that my mother put into my dress.

...to the Next

     Wearing her rehearsal dinner dress made with 

     fabric from my wedding dress, my daughter and 

     her new grandfather-in-law show some fine 

     footwear!

My daughter wanted a simple lined lace 

dress. For comfort and today's closer fit, 

the lining needed to stretch.

I had a few things to learn! It had been at

least 20 years since I'd done any sewing, 

and in that time so much had changed: 

now most fabrics stretch, either knits or 

woven with spandex, and my old sewing 

machine just couldn't handle stretch fabric.

Using the internet for research and YouTube for tutorials, I read all about Sergers, found a highly recommended basic model at a price I was comfortable paying, and taught myself how to use it. I LOVE MY SERGER! 

I took my good ol' time to get the dress just right. My daughter kept saying she wanted it shorter and tighter. And I kept biting my tongue...short and tight...and I'm glad I did. 

When she walked into her rehearsal dinner, I could tell she felt wonderful about how she looked. To compliment the grooms' Texas family, she wore boots. Next thing I knew, the groom's grandfather rolled up his pants legs and posed with my daughter for this photo. 

Sewing this dress for her was ultimately a gift to myself. To have experienced this "thread" of love, from my mother and now me, and to see her so happy...I will carry this very special memory of this joy for the rest of my life.

And though my mother's health kept her from attending the wedding, her comments about the rehearsal dinner dress? It's too short, it's too tight. Mom, I wouldn't change a thing!

Going back a few more generations

Mom on her wedding day in 1945

1945: Mom's wedding dress 

My mother wore one of her Women's Army Corps uniforms at her marriage in December 1945. After the war, she dyed the fabric a dark color and had several more years wear from it. She really liked her uniforms. She said even military women's hair could not touch their collar - she had frequent haircuts since her hair always grew fast.

1923: Grandma's wedding dress

The 1923 photo, below, of my grandmother's wedding still surprises me. I knew her when she was in her 60s and 70s and grandma didn't seem to care for stylish clothes. Yet, look at this photo. Her dress was a shorter length, and the style of her veil is definitely 1920s. Her shoes would have been in style at my 1971 wedding, with their short heel and square toe. I'd never have guessed they were made and worn in 1923. The men's clothing could still be worn today, of course, duh.

And all the flowers, although this particular photo doesn't show the abundance of flowers that were used for decoration. Today you'd see that quantity of flowers only at funerals!

My grandmother's wedding in 1923.

Next Blog

Making a friends' wedding dress into her daughter's rehearsal dinner dress

(Way back, I'd promised to blog about making tamales. Then my mother passed away. With thoughts focused on life transitions, somehow the wedding dress project is upper most in my mind right now. So the plant-based tamales will be kept on the back burner for a few more blogs. Stay tuned, they're delicious!).

...nor feed the swine? Good thing I'm a piggy!