If you grill it, they will come....

One of my favorite nights during summer months is Sunday.  While many people would choose a different day, as Sunday is the end of the weekend, beginning of a new work week, etc., I picked that day because our friends get together for a BBQ,  every Sunday from Memorial Day weekend until Labor Day weekend.

In addition to great conversations and beautiful weather that we get to enjoy on a beautiful downtown balcony (thanks Marty!) the food we make is simply good food.  It’s a sort of pot luck theme and most of our friends bring something delicious they made with farmers market vegetables, or dessert from a local patisserie or a great bottle of wine.

Brad, my boyfriend, is in charge of the grill.  And I, being someone who cooks professionally, am in charge of some pretty important details like the meat marinade, vegetable prep and marinade, and typically some appetizers.  Now, little do many of these friends know, but all the food I make is much healthier than they are accustomed to. But I have to brag a bit because during every BBQ the inevitable shout of “Kendra, this dip is amazing! What’s in it?” or “the vegetables are so good tonight!” comes along.

The thing I love the most about these BBQs is that I get to introduce food to people who may have never had something like Greek yogurt before, let alone made into a caramelized french onion dip.  Or I get to show people that you can put the asparagus right on the grill, no need to wrap them in foil or roast them in the oven!

This brings me to my the topic of vegetables on the grill.   Delicious! If have hesitated in the past to put your veggies right on those searing hot grates, prepare yourself for a whole new world of flavor this summer.  Vegetables, unlike animal proteins, can char without the concern of carcinogens forming on the charred surface.  And because you can get those vegetables nice and dark they develop such amazing flavor that is unattainable with any other cooking method.  And one of my favorite vegetables on the grill is Asparagus.

Now, I am sure many of you are groaning because of the inevitable thought, "asparagus makes my pee smell.”  Ha! Yes, this is true.  But let me at least enlighten you with the reasoning behind this and then we will continue on to how delicious and healthy it is for you.  The reason you have such vibrantly scented bathroom trips after you eat asparagus is due to an amino acid that gets excreted called asparagine. So, whether you feel better or not about it, whatever, but at least you have some random fact that might get you kudos for blurting out at your next bbq.

In addition to being delish, asparagus has some very good nutrient content.  For one cup of asparagus you get about 25 calories, half of those coming from protein.  Asparagus is also a good source of beta carotene, vit C and A, vit. B6, potassium, phosphorus,  iron, riboflavin and thiamine. So eat those asparagus spears and make your body happy (just don’t forget to spray the air freshner after you use the restroom, ha!)!

 

Grilled Asparagus

 

·      1 lb. asparagus, washed and ends trimmed about 1”

·      1 T. olive oil

·      fresh squeezed juice from ½ medium lemon

·      fresh sea salt and cracked pepper (about 1 t. each)

Place asparagus in baggie or bowl and toss with olive oil and fresh lemon juice.  Mix so the stalks are all coated then sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Grill until tops are beginning to char and asparagus are tender, about 7-8 minutes.  Enjoy!

Whole Foodsapalooza!!!

Tonight I was welcomed into the magical place of Whole Foodsland.  It was glorious (I think I see Blue….)! As a chef who spends on average 8 hours in a Whole Foods store every week (that translates into 4 or 5 trips) I can tell you I have seen the inside of many a Whole Foods location, new and old and this is a beaut.

No new store can even come close to the grandeur and beauty of this store.  I liken it to my own little Disneyland (that I get to visit every week!!!). It is a huge candy shop for those who are health conscious, those who have allergies, those who want pure and unadulterated food and those who value a green grocer.

Now, for my play by play…

After I parked my car on the second floor of the covered parking garage (located adjacent to the store) I took the escalator down to the first floor where I was greeted by a beautiful mahogany and brass bartop belonging to the coffee house/local beer bar, 1550.  

Next I met my lovely friend and amazing dietitian, Dawn Jackson Blatner, and we walked into the expansive section called “Whole Body.”  The Whole Body section provides organic and sustainable clothing, yoga equipment, mind/body/spirit literature, cookbooks, beauty products and specialty health foods.  

It was in this section that I spotted Dawn’s cookbook prominently displayed and looking great!

After we weaved our way through beautyland (not without a handful of samples from Jurlique, Burt’s Bees and ZumBar soap) we popped through the produce section where we were stopped by Rick Bayless at his Frontera Grill station (thanks Rick for coming even during the NRA show! You’re a trooper...).  The steel and wood fish case was next.  A wraparound design with a high bar on one end to sit and enjoy some fresh fish was really a sight, I can’t wait to see it filled with all the lovely colors of sea critters!

Then we saw the holy of most holies.  The bulk bins.  Now, just to warn you, I am going to spend some time on this section.  I am going to get all cartooney with my high voice and excitement level and jump up and down and clap my hands like a little girl who just got a pony. Seriously, I heart the bulk bins here.  I am including some pics so you can sort of get an idea of how massive this section is.  These sleek containers house everything from garbanzo beans to buckwheat groats to locally produced granola to organic malted milk balls (they’re delish. Yes, of course, I have had them)!  Now, I am a HUGE advocate for the bulk bins as you are able to get as little or as much as you need for one or fifty recipes.  Also, it saves on

 packaging and the labor cost of making, filling and shipping all those cute little resealable bags (you know you like those rice bags.  Time to let go….).  There is a make your own granola bar. (Skip and clap inserted here.) There is a nut butter station. (Squeek of excitement here.) And last but not least there is a – get ready for it….here it comes….oh, boy- a bulk sweetener section! (Heel click, squeaky chirp of excitement and lots of happy giggles should definitely be inserted here.)  This section holds local honeys and agave nectar. YAY!

Next we hit up the wine and cheese section where Dawn informed me I was most certainly a “bad influence” on her. What? That’s crazy. The wine selection is lovely and next to it a wine and cheese bar stands, with a high bar, stools.  Here you have the option to have wines by the glass and to have wine and cheese flights.  How fun is that?

After we turned around and noticed all the different Kefir yogurts (Dawn is addicted…) our eyes moved down the row towards the milk selections and the egg selections.  That's when

I noticed these darling little farm fresh eggs, nestled into a sweet little home of faux hay.

I mean, could that be cuter?!

Next we stopped at the Vosges sample table because you would have to be clinically deemed INSANE to walk past that, down the aisle a bit I made Dawn try some mate tea (delish if you haven’t had it) and then I believe we did get more wine. Oops!

We scooted past the bakery (trouble!), through the Chicago dedicated eateries (Pilsen Taqueria, Taylor Street Italian, etc.) and past the immense selection at the Food Bars.  At this point we were like two kids at Christmas.  We couldn’t stop looking around and getting excited about the quinoa flakes or the agar agar or the selection of bulk spices!

Overall, it is really a stunning shop, worth stopping by any time of the day and we didn’t even see the riverwalk! (it’s a huge section with outdoor seating along the Chicago river, supposed to be stunning)  The staff was extremely friendly and the vendors were incredible.  The events they have lined up for the summer are family friendly in addition to some that are geared towards the dude and some for the ladies. Well done!

Thank you Whole Foods for offering us this sneak peak! I am most certainly looking forward to learning the zigs and the zags of this new store. Bulk Bins, I’ll be seein’ you soon!

"We're not worthy....we're not worthy!!"

For most chefs Thomas Keller is an enormous source of inspiration.  His Napa restaurant, French Laundry, made him famous and he has now expanded his incredible talent to Per Se, in New York, and his bakery, Bouchon, in Las Vegas and Napa..  His belief in sourcing seasonal ingredients from local purveyors as opposed to wholesalers and supply chains has earned him many accolades and has influenced many chefs who are now opening restaurants with similar beliefs. (If you are in Chicago check out The Bristol and The Grocery, fabulous.)

I recently had the extreme pleasure of meeting Thomas Keller and cannot speak highly enough of him. He was in Chicago, visiting the Williams-Sonoma on Michigan Avenue, to sign copies of his latest book, Under Pressure.  The book, a beautifully manicured guide to sous vide cooking, is worth every penny. The pictures are stunning, the layout flows beautifully and the explanation of assembly superb.  Most people will use the book as inspiration, as opposed to following the recipes to a T, or attempting to prepare sous vide.  But that is perfectly ok with him.  In an interview a few years ago with Powell’s books in Portland, Oregon, he reiterated his belief that recipes should not be a specific roadmap or a blueprint for your food, rather a source of inspiration, a loose guide for flavor combinations and techniques.

This, among with his belief of using local and seasonal ingredients, is one of the reasons I find Chef Keller to be such an important influence in our culinary culture today.  I cannot speak enough about the importance of trying to use local and seasonal ingredients.  It is better for the environment, it is better for the small farmer, it is better for your health and the food tastes better! Think about how much better a strawberry that you purchase from your farmer’s market in June tastes than a strawberry flown from South America in December.  There’s a reason for it! Eating seasonally means you are getting produce that is picked when ripe which in turn means all the vitamins, minerals and flavor compounds have been allowed to mature.  When you are buying berries in the dead of winter they not only taste drastically far from a ripe summer berry, but they are lacking a lot of important nutrients.

So, my message for you all today is try and visit your farmers market this summer.  Even if you only purchase one or two things, I believe you will feel good that you are supporting a local farmer and feel good that you are providing your body with beautiful food that tastes incredible.  Plus it’s a fun thing to do during these months of lovely weather! My favorite market is the Green City Market in Chicago, at the south end of Lincoln Park.  If you are there early on a Saturday you will most certainly see me running about smelling produce, picking up fresh flowers and noshing on a whole grain scone.  Come say hello! And you can meet some amazing people along the way….

Thank you, Chef Keller, for helping inspire people with ingredients, dishes and beautiful cuisine.