California vegetable experience for those with "nature deficit disorder" (San Francisco: foods, activity)

[dclamb3]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

But like chard, it's good lightly salted and peppered, sauted in olive oil with fresh garlic and sun-dried tomatoes then tossed with pasta. Thereafter the sky's the limit with what else you may wish to add (besides freshly shaved parmesan - that's an imperative) such as toasted pine nuts, capers or other goodies.

Just finished "refreshing" (160 pounds of compost) one of our raised garden beds and planting our first row of chard. The next follows in two weeks. After that, beets. Then comes the second bed with more goodies - peppers, tomatoes, eggplant, squash and more - with a third to follow with corn and who knows what else.

Sounds amazing. You can never go wrong with capers.

[dclamb3]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Stay away from sugar. Use stevia (a natural plant product) or agave nectar for sweetness.

Agave nectar is a very controversial sweetener these days. I recommend reading up on it, then deciding for yourself. (I don't think there's any right answer, only what is best for each of us.)

I used to use it a lot more than I do now. Now I use it, but on very rare occasion.

Sometimes I sweeten with homemade syrups made from raisins, etc.

Although, I typically try not to sweeten at all, if I can help it. Lucky for me, anything more than the slightest hint of sweetness is too sweet for me, so I don't need a lot in my life to begin with (which helps).

[TrueTimbers]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Well, being retired helps. The only down-side is you generally have to be somewhat along in years to achieve it.

.

I am not retired, (I suppose semi retired) but try to weave a self sufficient lifestyle in with self employment...

We were just laughing at our thread bare second hand cloths we wear, and my old truck, holes in the bumper of my spouses car... and so on and so forth...

Hmmm love it..! We used to make yogurt every week but lost access to the raw milk..

Kiefer!
I am not a fan of milk kefir, but we make and drink water kefir and Kombucha.. (Being a microbe fan and all..)

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by TrueTimbers

I am not retired, (I suppose semi retired) but try to weave a self sufficient lifestyle in with self employment...

We were just laughing at our thread bare second hand cloths we wear, and my old truck, holes in the bumper of my spouses car... and so on and so forth...

Hmmm love it..! We used to make yogurt every week but lost access to the raw milk..

Kiefer!
I am not a fan of milk kefir, but we make and drink water kefir and Kombucha.. (Being a microbe fan and all..)

We use the kefir for frruit smoothies which are usually our breakfast and a good source of probiotics.

[TrueTimbers]

Originally Posted by Woof

Peach kefir. I have to have my fix of sugar. But stay away from Nancy's, that one has unpleasant gastric effects for me.

So many people have been telling me that kale is good, I'm going to have to get some today, even though looking at it gives me the heebie-jeebies for some reason. Does it taste good raw in an ordinary mixed salad with vinaigrette?

No I am not a fan of raw Kale... But then again I am not a die hard vegetarian..

Peach Kefir? Water or milk?

Why not make it at home? Nothing like fresh with all all those probiotics alive..

Probiotics can cause upset until your body adapts to them... Sorta like with beans...

With water kefir, one has to use sugar and fruit in the water.. The Kefir eats up most of the sugar in the process..

Those microbs are what make all life possible... Love and respect those little guys... (Yes I am a microbe nut case.. from compost to kefir..)

------------------------------------------------------

alternate sugars for me. Raw honey (Yes someday I want to do bees), home made Maple syrup.. (I will miss that in California) or organic brown sugar, a little molasses..

I tend to go free of sugar, with most things, not big on sweets..

[Woof]

The kefir I just threw away (because I seem to have gotten colitis from it) is a milk based one. The one I like best (can't remember the name, just bought it once) is non-dairy.

I don't like stevia, in any of its forms. I have a bit of a sweet tooth and usually use sucralose to sweeten things because of diabetes, and yes I've heard the long list of medical horrors that it supposedly causes, including diabetes, tumors, brain damage, etc.

[jaijai]

Originally Posted by TrueTimbers

No I am not a fan of raw Kale... But then again I am not a die hard vegetarian..

I'm actually not a fan of kale cooked or raw.
But just last night i had dinner at a friends house.
She did something with kale that was so impressive ... so yummy and satisfying.
And no kale got caught between my teeth which is one of the reasons i don't like to eat it.
I'll have to find out exactly what she did but it involved coconut oil (probably lightly tossing the kale in it) and then just briefly baking it at 150 degrees until it was just a bit crispy but with a little moisture left although that "moisture" was i suppose the coconut oil.
It was truly delicious and the texture was perfect.
I could have eaten 10 times the amount that she made and, like i said, i'm not a fan of kale.

[dclamb3]

Originally Posted by jaijai

I'm actually not a fan of kale cooked or raw.
But just last night i had dinner at a friends house.
She did something with kale that was so impressive ... so yummy and satisfying.
And no kale got caught between my teeth which is one of the reasons i don't like to eat it.
I'll have to find out exactly what she did but it involved coconut oil (probably lightly tossing the kale in it) and then just briefly baking it at 150 degrees until it was just a bit crispy but with a little moisture left although that "moisture" was i suppose the coconut oil.
It was truly delicious and the texture was perfect.
I could have eaten 10 times the amount that she made and, like i said, i'm not a fan of kale.

Sounds like kale chips. Yumm.

[jaijai]

Originally Posted by dclamb3

Sounds like kale chips. Yumm.

Something like it although because of the relatively low temperature and the quick baking time it falls within the raw food "guidelines" .... cooking above 92 - 118 degrees (varies among the people in the raw food community) greatly reduces the nutrient content of the food and also destroys enzymes although that's a point of contention as there are people who say that the enzymes may be destroyed anyway by stomach acid during digestion.
I love really well prepared raw food (some of the creations are amazing) but many raw food people are quite extreme and rigid.
They become something like (actually, very much like) religious fanatics.

[dclamb3]

Originally Posted by jaijai

Something like it although because of the relatively low temperature and the quick baking time it falls within the raw food "guidelines" .... cooking above 92 - 118 degrees (varies among the people in the raw food community) greatly reduces the nutrient content of the food and also destroys enzymes although that's a point of contention as there are people who say that the enzymes may be destroyed anyway by stomach acid during digestion.
I love really well prepared raw food (some of the creations are amazing) but many raw food people are quite extreme and rigid.
They become something like (actually, very much like) religious fanatics.

Guilty as charged. I was so rigid I eventually drove MYSELF nuts. lol I was a "raw local-only in-season only vegan with about 14 different food intolerances" foodie. lol

We won't even discuss the time it took me so long to select a product once (weighing all the pros and cons of each) that security came to check on why I'd been in that same spot for nearly 50 mins. lol

It was enough to drive anyone nuts. lol Eventually, I gave up being so strict, and downgraded to a more sane "vegetarian, that's usually vegan, but not always, and sometimes a raw foodie, too" foodie.

Having that flexibility in your life does wonders for your sanity. lol Life is too short to be so rigid.