Patrick - I'm intrigued by the simplicity of your dal dish! When I first started cooking, I was much more excited by throwing as many things into a recipe as I could.. all the spices! all the sauces! etc.. but as I get a little bit older and starting to place much more importance on ingredient quality, I realize what I've missed out on by ruling out seemingly simple dishes! I'll have to give that one a try. Will definitely go in the book if we get enough submissions to make something. I'll at least compile a PDF
Jay - Michael Pollen really hit it on the nose with that title. I think that's a great philosophy and one that seems like it's fairly democratic in terms of taking into account how most of humanity has eaten for millenia. I love *your *quote about Food being something that would have been recognized by one's great grandparents!! Amen to that one. Would love to hear what a quick lunch idea or easy weeknight meal is in your family, it sounds like others may be able to replicate them if we've got some other foodies in the group! My own diet right now has gone under a lot of transformation over the past few years. Currently I've been operating under what I've ended up nicknaming the "No Slave Diet", for lack of a better title. Meat is only allowed if it has been ethically cared for from start to finish, i.e. organic, grass-fed, grass-finished, likely had a name, I can google the farm and confirm its claims. No farmed fish. If either of these are not available, then I keep it plant-based (including eggs and honey). No dairy out of respect for the treatment of cows and their environment. Removing dairy consumption has also significantly improved cystic acne and a variety of other small health complaints so I keep it to oat or full fat coconut milk these days. Organic and regenerative agriculture is prioritized for all foods consumed here as well, with the cumulative goal being that foods consumed should not be grown up in an environment of indentured servitude and exploitation of humans, but in tune with a more holistic/naturalistic collaborative set of ideals. I've been keeping it fairly simple and local as much as possible, although I read *Grain by Grain* by Bob Quinn (published by Patagonia) wherein he describes his own journey as an organic, regenerative farmer and he claims that organic is the lowest carbon footprint no matter what, compared with conventional agriculture. His example is tomatoes, I think, with organic tomatoes shipped to the US still having a lower carbon footprint than conventionally grown nearby the consumer, because of the immense damage that pesticides and monocultures have on our planet. Obviously, organic AND local would be ideal! :) Also after reading *Silent Spring* and having several loved ones battle different mystery auto-immune troubles, I'm convinced that some of these are 2 generations of accumulated pesticide ingestion from the mother's side showing its ugly face, so I try to avoid it as much as I can. The working title took its inspiration from a vegan Oogle (contemporary-trust-fund-punk-train-hopper-type) that I encountered at work last fall who had a portrait of a cow tattooed on her arm with the banner: TO SERVE NO MAN. On Mon, Aug 21, 2023 at 5:26 PM Jay Lonner <jay.lon...@gmail.com> wrote: > It’s really bizarre to me that despite many impressive advancements in the > biomedical sciences we still haven’t nailed down what constitutes the > optimum human diet. I try to follow the well-known heuristic from Michael > Pollan’s book “In Defense of Food” — “eat food, mostly plants, not too > much.” (“Food” here is understood to be something that might have been > recognizable to one’s great-grandparents, which is to say not synthesized > in a lab somewhere.) > > I place greater importance on eating in season and with locally sourced > ingredients (when feasible) than buying organically-grown food. My > intuition is that milk from the dairy literally up the road probably has a > lower overall environmental impact than a nominally organic product trucked > in from California. I also do my best to minimize highly-processed starches > such as sugar, flour, and white rice. > > My wife and I are avid cooks, and spend a great deal of time together in > the kitchen. It’s a good way to stay connected in spite of busy workdays, > and for me has the additional benefit of being a creative outlet. I find > that I exercise different mental muscles when cooking than I do in my > career, which is something I’ve come to value. > > In light of my enthusiasm for cooking, and the sheer extent of cookbooks > and specialized kitchen equipment I have access to, I don’t have specific > recipes to offer that would be widely applicable to a group of > idiosyncratic bicycle fetishists. But if you’re not familiar with the chef > and restaurateur Yotam Ottolenghi I’d recommend picking up one of his > cookbooks — “Simple” is probably the one to get. > > Jay Lonner > Bellingham, WA > > Sent from my Atari 400 > > On Aug 21, 2023, at 9:32 AM, Patrick Moore <bertin...@gmail.com> wrote: > > > I'll be interested, both practically and academically,* in what others > consider the ideal diet and I would consider buying a list cookbooks if it > weren't too biased in the direction of "eat nothing but bacon all the time." > > I'll start. I don't like to cook, tho' in the past and in the right > circumstances I've cooked largely and well, but living *solus* I find it > a bore. So in addition to certain types of food I prefer simple food; but I > detest poor food and therefore I dislike most prepared foods. Besides all > this, I belong to the Orthodox [Christian] church where fast days -- > basically, no animal products, tho' the principle of *economia* always > applies -- outnumber non-fast days. Lastly, I gave up meat entirely for > multiple reasons. > > So my repertoire ranges from vegan recipes to spinach quesadillas and > cheese sandwiches with mayo and lettuce and pickles (don't laugh; a good > cheese sandwich goes well with a fine Shiraz). I tend to like breads and, > somewhat less, potatoes and rice -- and beer. My mother controlled type 2 > diabetes and incipient heart trouble for 30 years by avoiding salt, fat, > sugar, and eating lots of vegetables, styrofoam chicken breasts, and lots > o' rice, being Filipina. Me, I prefer to ride my bikes. > > One very simple vegan recipe that I like: a modified Indian dal recipe. > > The basic recipe is cook the dal (I use, in order of preference, red, > orange, or green, but not brown lentils from the bulk bins at Sprout's) > until it is soft but not mushy. You can use vegetable broth in place of > water. Prepare a savory oil: heat 1/8 cup [for large single serving] of > neutrally flavored oil (not olive! which I use for most things) and > "sautee" or "boil" small amounts of some or all of cumin, coriander, > garlic, mustard seed, red pepper, fenugreek, and/or black pepper for 30-60 > seconds. > > Put lentils on long-grain rice, strain oil and pour over lentils, eat like > this or add any, some, or all of full-fat yogurt, hot Indian mango pickle, > and English sweet chutney. > > As I tend to overdo things I've turned this into a lentil stew: sautee > chopped onion, add liquid and cook lentils partially, add chopped spinach, > cook until lentils are soft but not get mushy. Serve as above. > > Another recent "recipe" I invented recently because I had little in the > fridge and didn't want to bother shopping: sautee lots of garlic in olive > oil, liberally add red pepper, after a bit add a cup or 2 of peas, I use > frozen, sautee some more until peas thawed and mostly cooked, add 14 oz can > of *full fat* cocoanut milk, cook som more, eat over long grain rice. > > Oh, and peanut butter: Sprout's has an inexpensive house brand pure peanut > butter, just peanuts and salt. The oil separates so you have to stir > thoroughly; I store it upside down in the pantry until use, and after > stirring store in the refrigerator. Decent bread and a wee bit of jam with > whole milk ... > > Tip: If you cook a lot of dried legumes, get a pressure cooker. Crockpots > are also useful. > > [Aside: I am very proud to say that when bringing up my daughter part time > as a single father she never ate prepared foods, not even for school day > breakfasts. (Well, some exceptions: I briefly bought Annie's Mac 'n' Cheese > until I decided it wasn't good enough, and we once tried McDonald's chicken > nuggets -- she got sick. We did order in pizza occasionally.) She got > home-made scrambled eggs and chips in the morning, or real oatmeal, > home-made chicken nuggets and chips in the evening, or else home-made mac > 'n' cheese or occasionally home made pizza. One recipe she loved, again > short of ingredients and unwilling to go to Albertson's 1/4 mile away, was > garlic spaghetti: sautee lots of garlic in lots of olive oil, serve over > pasta with grated Romano or Parmesan. She would clamor for this when > friends visited. Funny, now, she is a very accomplished and very inventive > cook; she spontaneously invents interesting recipes based on what > ingredients are at hand.] > > > *Very odd, now that I think of it, that this term should come to mean > "without practical import" -- I know that this is not *all* that it > means, but it does have this meaning in certain uses. So: "academic" has > come to mean in part, "Not important except for a few isolated eggheads." > Now that's something to think about! > > On Mon, Aug 21, 2023 at 8:41 AM Coco Menk <cocom...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> Hey everyone! >> >> I've got a couple thoughts for this thread - >> >> 1) How many of you all have read Grant's *Eat Bacon, Don't Jog*? Anyone >> subscribe to his food ideas or any other "alternative" diets? Cyclists tend >> to be pretty health-conscious and independent minded, just curious what >> kinds of ideas people are jiving with these days. Vegan? No-carb? 100-mile >> diet? Anything goes? I love hearing about what works for people. I know >> Grant's book has definitely informed my own choices a bit, specifically in >> regards to processed sugar and carbs and simpler forms of exercise. (Not >> looking to sh** on which diet is working or not working for anyone at this >> time! Save that for a different thread) >> >> 2) I'd love to compile a collection of favorite recipes! What do you make >> for yourselves/your families? What's your favorite sandwich you bring on >> your bike rides? Any bike tour go-to's? >> >> 3) If I were to compile the recipes into a nice looking book/zine, would >> that be something folks would be interested in purchasing? >> >> Stay people powered! >> xx >> Coco >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "RBW Owners Bunch" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To view this discussion on the web visit >> https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/1a78fbbf-4b55-4ffe-a13e-fbb4b42c9dcfn%40googlegroups.com >> <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/1a78fbbf-4b55-4ffe-a13e-fbb4b42c9dcfn%40googlegroups.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> >> . >> > > > -- > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Patrick Moore > Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum > > --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Executive resumes, LinkedIn profiles, bios, letters, > > and other less well defined but still important writing services. > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > > *When thou didst not, savage,* > > *Know thine own meaning, but wouldst gabble like* > > *A thing most brutish, I endowed thy purposes* > > *With words that made them known.* > > Shakespeare, Tempest, Act 1 Scene 2 > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgsVFC0OOt8mrVLYOGtYs2MKjLP318VJ15YcaWmd9rLPEg%40mail.gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/CALuTfgsVFC0OOt8mrVLYOGtYs2MKjLP318VJ15YcaWmd9rLPEg%40mail.gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to a topic in the > Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. > To unsubscribe from this topic, visit > https://groups.google.com/d/topic/rbw-owners-bunch/9RUrsnq4-So/unsubscribe > . > To unsubscribe from this group and all its topics, send an email to > rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/B7E524EB-EE90-44B3-B544-B5C42A9DAB80%40gmail.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/B7E524EB-EE90-44B3-B544-B5C42A9DAB80%40gmail.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. 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