vegetable « (y)our food choices™

Spring is truly sprung when those miraculous shoots of asparagus push their way up and out into the fresh air. Imported organic asparagus is available year round, but we try to eat the local stuff instead, when it’s available, and then move on to whatever comes into season next. Asparagus is full of vitamins (especially K), minerals, dietary fiber and protein. Like most veggies, it’s great both raw and cooked. We eat lots of it at this time of year when it’s at its most tender.

More often than not, we roast it whole on foil-lined baking sheets, tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with a little sea salt. Asparagus tastes like nothing else, so however you enjoy it, you really taste it. A random search for asparagus recipes drummed up over 41 million hits, reminding us that people have been eating it for thousands of years. It seems to love cheese and cream and butter, but then again, don’t we all. It’s confusingly infamous for not pairing well with wine, but we haven’t found that to be true. A bottle of your favorite Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc or sparkling wine is a nice accompaniment to this spring veggie.

As veggie prep goes, asparagus is a breeze to clean, but stems that have grown “woody” need to be peeled before cooking. If you cook asparagus for a blended soup, you may need to strain the stubborn fibers after pureeing. Most blenders just aren’t up to the task of breaking them down.

The asparagus pizza recipe that follows was inspired by a delicious, seasonal pizza on the menu at The Plant Organic Café on the Embarcadero at Pier 3. Our tasty iteration is nothing like it, but the beautiful spring asparagus on both reminded us of why we miss the season when it’s over.

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Roasted Asparagus, Arugula Pesto, and Feta Cheese Pizza

1/2 pizza recipe (see recipe below for pizza made with coconut flour or click here for our traditional pizza recipe)
1/4 – 1/3 arugula pesto (or homemade basil pesto, or gasp…store bought 😉 )
1 bunch pencil thin asparagus, trimmed and cut into half
2-3 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
2 eggs

Optional items: raw walnuts, red pepper flakes, thinly sliced lemons,

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. After shaping the pizza on a baking sheet, spread the pesto over the pizza dough. Decoratively place the asparagus spears over the top, then add the crumbled feta cheese. Place in the oven for 3-4 minutes. Take the pizza out of the oven and crack the two eggs on top of the pizza on each side, place it back in the oven for another 7-8 minutes.

For runny eggs, you’ll want to prebake the pizza for a longer time 4-5 minutes then add the cracked eggs and finish baking for an additional 6-7 minutes.

For hard yolks, you can place the eggs on top of the pizza before you place it in the oven and bake for the full 10 minutes, or so.

Pizza Dough made with Coconut flour
Makes 2 pizzas

2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (2 ounces) coconut flour
1 teaspoon rapid rise yeast
2 teaspoons salt
1 – 1 1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons + 1 tablespoon olive oil

Food Processor Method:
Add the flours, yeast, salt in the bowl of a food processor, pulse to combine. With the processor running, add 1 cup water and 3 tablespoons olive oil through the feed tube.

Process the dough for 30 seconds to 1 minute. The dough should come together as a ball. If the dough is too dry add 1 tablespoon of water at a time through the feed tube. The dough should be slightly sticky to the touch, and may look slightly textured and not completely smooth (this is due to the coconut flour).

Form the dough into a ball and place in bowl with the additional tablespoon of olive oil. Turn the dough to coat it in oil and cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel, or plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until doubled in volume 2-3 hours, or less, depending on the warmth of your kitchen.

When ready, divide the dough in two and proceed to form the pizza. At this point you can stretch the dough with your hands or roll the dough out on a floured surface. If the dough becomes too tight and does not stretch, cover with a lightly damped towel, or plastic wrap and let it sit for up to 10 minutes to relax before trying to shape it. This dough is great for a thin crusted pizza. The thinner you can get the it without tearing, the crispier it becomes.

Bake the pizza in a preheated 500 degree oven with your favorite toppings for 10-15 minutes. Don’t overload the pizza with a lot of toppings and cheese, a little goes a long way.

Stand Mixer:
In a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix the yeast with the flours and salt. Add the water, 1 cup to start, and olive oil and mix on medium speed for about five to seven minutes. If the dough is too dry add a little more water, a tablespoon at a time. If too wet, add a little flour, again a tablespoon at a time. Once the dough comes together, coat the dough with the additional tablespoon of olive oil, and cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rise until doubled.

By Hand:
In a large bowl, add the flours, salt, and yeast, mix with a wooden spoon. Add 1 cup of water and 3 tablespoons olive oil, mix until will combined. On a floured surface, turn out the dough and knead by hand for 5-10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and comes together in a ball. Form the dough into a ball and place in bowl with the additional tablespoon of olive oil. Turn the dough to coat in oil and cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel, or plastic wrap, allow to rise until doubled, 2-3 hours.

Citrus pineapple juice--more nutritious and tastier than the carton.

Last summer we were inspired by the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead. The film tells the story of Joe Cross and his now-famous trek across the U.S. in a quest to loose weight and get healthy by drinking only fresh fruit and vegetable juices. Along his journey, Joe met a few people who joined him on his fasting crusade, and as the story goes, changed their lives for the better.

While the film, in the beginning, seemed destined to be more like an infomercial for Breville Juicers than a documentary, the message of change was more powerful, emotional, and humane than watching any episode of The Biggest Loser.

If you want true inspiration to change your eating habits and lose excess weight, or just want to be healthier, then you should watch Joe’s film. Then you should go out and get yourself a juicer. You’ll be glad you did it.

Our first fast only lasted three days. We did it a week before we were to run the first half of the SF Marathon, and even though we could have continued on a diet of juice and fresh fruits and vegetables after three days, we thought it best to break the fast and go back to our regular food choices – albeit with the addition of juicing. We needed calories from grains to keep us going as we trained and that meant eating solid foods.

Those three days really changed our lives. The first day was the hardest, as Joe describes in the film. Jason suffered from a horrible migraine headache that included vomiting (we know, not a pleasant topic for a food blog). He spent the first evening in bed. The next morning, however, after a refreshing fruit juice and some green tea, everything changed. Energy levels increased for both of us and by the end of the second day we saw noticeable changes in our skin tone. The puffiness around our eyes was gone, wrinkles seemed to be fading away, and a glow came into our complexions. This was only after day two. By the afternoon of our third day we felt incredible, and each of us had dropped three pounds. A pound of weight per day! We know. This sounds like an infomercial. But this was our experience and we’re serious about it.

We were also preparing for our trip to Spain and our interest in traveling Spain’s countryside eating and drinking just fruit and vegetable juices started to wear on our food traveling souls. After our trip, the holidays came at us with a vengeance. We held many of our temptations at bay this year and for the first holiday season in the history of our lives together, we finally came to understand what moderation really means.

Now, after all the candy and treats, booze and cocktails, processed food and many, many bags of potato chips, were tackling the New Year. We’ve hit the reset button on our diets—even though it is with a gentle hand and a few weeks late. We are eliminating alcohol from our lives for the next few months. We’re also taking a clue from former President Bill Clinton and fellow foodie Mark Bittman by working on becoming vegans – even if it’s just part time. And of course, there will be more juicing. We’re not setting goals or keeping a dietary journal of everything we consume. Our plan is to just be more conscience of what we put into our bodies and to pay attention to the effects it has on our lives. In a few months you’ll probably read about an incredible elk roast that we prepared from a long lost recipe, but that is all part of the balance of our lives. If you’re life is off balance watch Joe’s documentary. We hope it will inspire you just as it did us. The goal is to find your balance in life.

Pineapple Citrus Juice

Yield 5+ cups

½ pineapple – peeled
2 grapefruits –peeled
2 oranges – peeled
1 lemon – peeled
2 limes – unpeeled and organic

Put the items in your juicer as suggested by the manufacturer. The juice will keep in your fridge for up to 24 hours without loosing many nutrients. However, with all fresh juice, it is suggested that you consume right away to maintain maximum flavor and nutrition.

Note about organic: Whenever possible use local, organic fruits and vegetables for juicing, especially if the skin or the peel is part of the juice. If organic produce is not available in your area, remove the skin before juicing.

Another note about organic: We know that many people are skeptical about the merits of organic produce. In our opinion, even if there isn’t a significant difference between commercial produce and organic for our own consumption, there are problems with pesticide run-off affecting water quality. Even more, farm workers are exposed to extremely unsafe levels of chemicals known to be carcinogenic and we eat cheap food at their expense. In other words, if you’re not going to think about your own quality of life, at least think about the choices you may have on the quality of the lives of others.