Turkey Meatloaf with Mom

In the snowdrift that is Long Island and taking some time off from private clients this week and next, I decided to cook some turkey meatloaf for my mother in a way she’s never had it before.

In my life and times studying and eating food, I have always loved meatloaf. However, I can’t put meatloaf and healthy in the same sentence. Usually, because the “meat” used for a traditional meatloaf was the cheapest and fattiest cut ground up with whatever leftover vegetables there were and shaped into a loaf. It was gourmet even back when it surfaced in the 1950′s kitchen, but it was cheap and easy to make.

So I bring you a slightly healthier, slightly more elegant version of my mother’s meatloaf, made with her by my side, doing what she always does – direct and nag me that I’ve dropped onions and peppers on the floor. She doesn’t care that Julia Child did as well. I could only imagine how mothers have influenced the great chefs. I wonder if Bobby Flay had the same relationship with his mother when he was inventing things as a kid in her kitchen. Love, take it any way you can!

So, here’s the recipe. I bet your mouth is watering and your heart full, the way you should always approach cooking.

An elegant Turkey Meatloaf

Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced small

1 shallot, chopped small

3 cloves of garlic, smashed and chopped fine

2 carrots, peeled and diced small

1 tablespoon of olive oil

2 lbs 97% lean ground turkey

1 28 ounce can of crushed san marino tomatoes (imported from Italy – organic is best)

2 eggs (organic, cage free are best)

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

Herbs de Provence (2 teaspoons)

Fresh rosemary chopped (2 teaspoons)

1 teaspoon paprika (ground)

pepper to taste (there’s enough salt in the tomatoes)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix turkey, tomatoes, bread crumbs, eggs, and chopped rosemary in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon (your hands are better – make sure to clean them thoroughly first!) and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a 12 inch frying pan with high sides and add onion, shallot, garlic, carrots, herbs de Provence and paprika once oil is hot. Saute 10 minutes until carrots are soft.

Add vegetables to the meat mixture. Stir to combine.

Place mixture in 13X9 baking pan and bake at 350 1 hour. Check at 1 hour for doneness with toothpick to see if comes out clean and top is set.

If you like, mom adds ketchup and breadcrumbs on top to form a crust. I would never do this, but sometimes, mom’s way is best and traditional! And traditions are important. I might also add reserve some of the tomatoes and add to the top with additional fresh chopped herbs for the same effect, but mom won this time

Enjoy the snow!

Endocrine disrupters and the feminization of the human species?

According to an article published in the Independent (London) on December 7, 2008, entitled “It’s Official: Men really are the weaker sex“, the author, Geoffrey Lean writes: The male gender is in danger…and a host of common chemicals are to blame.

Men, if its one reason to eat organic food, it should be preserving your penis and your masculinity! Read on…

The chemicals are known as “endocrine disrupters” or quite literally “gender benders” because these chemicals will interfere with hormones. The chemicals include: “phthalates” which are used in food wrapping (think shrink wrap on your meat! and other packaged food – especially vaccuum sealed food like cold cuts!), flame retardants in furniture and electrical goods and many pesticides.  Now more than ever, eat organic! And, organic local food from the United States (anything that is “organic” but that is grown in a foreign country and imported gets sprayed as soon as it enters the United States! and its probably sprayed with something pretty strong given the xenophobia of our government and foreign dirt and farming! – ever tell a custom agent you’ve been on a farm in a foreign country and you’ll be quarantined for weeks)

A report released by CHEMTrust, a British organization that studies chemicals independently, demonstrated that male fish exposed to these chemicals actually developed eggs in their testicles.  The female hormones that end up in the sewage that contaminate these waters from overuse of oral contraceptive pills has also affected the fish in this way. In addition other chemicals are to blame for feminizing properties. There are actual centers of excellence at various universities now dedicated to this gender bender study of endocrine disrupters. It is very scary stuff because the future of our species depends upon this.

As a nutritionist I am especially interested in this and many of my clients, both male and female have complained to me of the inability to get pregnant (females) and trouble with pregnancy with their wives (for my male clients). They all want to know, what can I eat to help and now its more, what shouldn’t you eat! What shouldn’t you expose yourself to, but it may be beyond your control. That is the scary part, that this is no longer a problem of what one person can do, but an entire ecosystem, an entire planet is showing signs that our collective industrialization and the chemicals overflowing in our environment in our drinking water (despite purification folks! even if you are getting your water from Fiji! and I don’t even want to begin to tell you what kind of CO2 damage you are doing by getting water from Fiji not to mention what you are doing to the local economy and water supply in Fiji, but I digress!)

So what’s happening, what is the outcome in humans, because seriously, do we really care about Fish in British waters (we should!!! 1) we eat that fish – and you are what you eat, hate to tell you 2) fish are smaller and show signs of what is happening first before it happens to us, but shows the damage that is coming!)? Well, what is happening is a feminization of the human species. More women are being born than men. Global ratios of women to men are shifting. I know being single and living in a big city, I wonder, where are all the single men, I think sometimes I’m just crazy, but really, there are more women and certainly more women being born. The article in the independent cites how communities where the waters are heavily polluted with phtalates and other gender bender chemicals many more girls are born and in the US and Japan, more than 250,000 babies that should have been born male, have been born female. But somehow the evidence seems weak as a scientist, I wonder, where’s the proof?

The article cites sperm counts are dropping precipitously. Hamsters apparently produce nearly three times the amount of sperm than humans do these days…where they used to produce 150 million per milimeter of sperm fluid, now they produce 60 million over 50 years. The hamsters are still producing 160 million.

While there are always outliers as my good friend Malcolm Gladwell loves to write about, what is more the norm is that people are having trouble reproducing. We are also having less interest in sex, it could be what we are eating through the chemicals in our food, but also what we are drinking, breathing, putting on our skin and putting on our heads at night when we sleep. It is wise to take a look at the composition of your pillow and perhaps eat an organic apple or two if you want to retain your masculinity. Think of your penis!

Sobel Wellness featured in world bride magazine

Read about some winter motivations and see some great recipes in world bride magazine. Read more about it here:

http://www.worldbridemagazine.com/health_and_welness/Health.htm

Some great inspirational stories, recipes and good stuff await.

apples, restaurant consulting and poached eggs

Its so easy to buy gifts for me. I just asked all my family members to get me cookware. One my recent acquisitions was an egg poacher. Being a chef, I want to use as few short cuts as possible. One of my major challenges in cooking has always been poaching eggs. I could never got the vortex quite right, the vinegar always got into the flavor of my egg…somehow it just never looked pretty. But now, I have a lovely egg poacher. At first I didn’t like it because the cups were plastic and the thought of heating plastic didn’t thrill me. Also plastic is not non-stick (neither is non-stick cookware, completely non-stick). But I just take a bit of olive oil and paint it on the cups with a paintbrush and viola – beautiful poached eggs that come out of the cup.

I’m very happy now with my new toy. I make all kinds of poached egg treats but in natural healthful way. Now I can also bring poached eggs to you as part of my delivery service. Although I am not certain how long I would eat them and if I’d really want microwaved poached eggs…but I could certainly make them and bring them to you for breakfast or to your office. Certainly let me know and check out the catering services on my website www.sobelwellness.com .

I recently also bought some gala apples.  I made a mistake and bought some that were not organic. They were covered with this nasty waxy film. I have no idea what that is, but I really don’t want to be eating it. Also the apples are tremendous. They are not sweet. They sort of have this staid taste that tastes like apple – but almost as if it were canned and very old. Nothing like the crisp sweetness of a fresh organic apple.

I’m in the process of looking for work as a restaurant consultant. If you or anyone you know is starting up a restaurant concept and would like to benefit from incorporating whole, natural and local foods onto your menu as well as offer perhaps one or two dishes that are healthful, not just healthy in the classical boring flavorless sense, please let me know.

I’m also looking to establish myself as an expert to the media. I’m working on writing a book, but that’s a labor of love and not one I always have time for. Instead I am hoping to garner some media exposure now and gain the ability to be able to write as time allows. If anyone you know has any needs for someone to speak on Alice Waters-esque food preparation or restaurant/menu, home catered meals that are delicious and health balanced, let me know. If anyone has any connection to Alice Waters at all, I want to meet her more than I can breathe and would love to be able to expand her brand to New York.

Bon Appetit and Salud!

Chinatown Vegetables, Coconuts and other fresh finds

As I am starting to navigate the foods and supplies of Manhattan for my new cafe, I started in the food mecca…Chinatown. Perplexed by the vegetables, stands of fresh flopping fish and amazing smells (some not so amazing) I was drawn to the lights, the crowds and the buzz that is New York’s Chinatown.

I have been researching areas most Westerners don’t often go. The Hong Kong Supermarket at 157 Hester Street and the other one at 109 East Broadway. As well there is an amazing Thai market where fresh curry pastes, galangal and kaffir lime leaves abound. I never thought I would find these ingredients outside of Chiang Mai and boy was I ever relieved and delighted to find Bangkok Market on a tiny little street called Mosco Street (102 Mosco to be exact) which you get to by following Mulberry all the way down from Canal until you hit the intersection of Worth Street (if you do, you’ve gone too far).

I will be starting a tour of the Foods of New York shortly (probably in the spring) and believe me, this market will be on it. As well there are fabulous other authentic international markets in New York such as a Greek Yogurt factory in the West Village which I have not yet been to, but am dying to visit.

Exciting things abound and great vegetables await my pot. The Greenmarket in union square was just the beginning, but still a home and a favorite. Many of my vegetables will still come from there as well as smaller markets closer to the cafe, the local CSAs, a new service called Urban Organics and the 4th Street Co-op. I will be investigating suppliers as the restaurant grows and checking out who Spring Street Natural and Quartino Organics use. Any tips on suppliers would be much welcomed.

luscious organics cafe

I am excited that I just put my first press release together for my new cafe. www.sobelwellness.com/luscious-organics-cafe.html. I want to share a copy with you all and I’d love if anyone could help me get this into time out or other fun publications that are looking for health oriented restaurant and food options. I am hoping to kick off a lunch and dinner deliver service to wall street analysts (those who still have jobs) and other people in the downtown area that are looking for a healthy alternative to take out Chinese, pizza and sushi.

An enticing new healthy oriented organic café, juice bar and lunchtime take out opportunity has just come onto the downtown New York scene and diners throughout the city looking for an intimate environment that is more similar to a posh loft-like living room than a typical restaurant are invited to sample the unique sights, sounds and tastes of Luscious Organics, a vegetarian organic café and juice bar, conveniently located in the Atmananda Yoga Studio, at 324 Lafayette Street, on the border of SoHo and the Central Village one block south of the world famous Bleecker Street. The space is a downtown gem, an urban oasis for all things healthy and holistic offering classes, workshops and now an incredible new café and juice bar where you can have a juice, enjoy a full meal or order a healthy lunch to pick up or be delivered to your office.

From the moment you enter into the inviting surroundings at the newly re-managed restaurant, the holistic experience begins. Floor to ceiling windows, high ceilings, warm inviting lighting and the intimate environment of your living room and beautiful communal table are a beautiful complement to the subdued red-shaded lamps, elegant multi-colored floor to ceiling curtains and dark wood flooring throughout the studio that surround the open kitchen and juice bar just one block from SoHo, New York, NY.

Seated at either the juice bar or a real dining seat at one of Luscious Organics’ dark wood communal tables, accented with highly contemporary, white dishes, flatware and tall vases of fresh lilies, enjoying the scents of fresh herbs and spices wafting from the kitchen, you know you’ve come to the right place to sample the delicious fare of health supportive vegetarian organic cuisine. You don’t even realize after a while that there’s no meat, very little dairy and eggs and that everything coming out of this kitchen is fresh, minimally processed and wholesomely delicious.

The Luscious Organics menu embraces the culinary style of health and the yogic lifestyle. The menu highlights the bold fresh flavors of nearby Chinatown, the union square greenmarkets and other sources of local produce that support community agriculture and local farm eggs characteristic the New York Hudson Valley and surrounding farms in upstate New York and Pennsylvania. Savor such dishes as velvety butternut squash soup with local greenmarket pears, heartwarming lentil soup with fresh market root vegetables, lightly stir fried bok choi with black sesame ginger glaze, braised Brussels sprouts, sesame and honey accented Asian cabbage slaw, tarragon infused spinach quiche accented with local farm fresh goats cheese, coconut brown basmati rice, orange walnut quinoa with ginger and orange rind, lime-chili marinated tofu with fresh vegetables and many other delights. Complete your meal with one of the tempting hand-crafted desserts, many of which are gluten free and naturally sweetened without refined sugars prepared fresh daily in the kitchen. Top off your meal with a delicious cup of chef and owner Meredith Sobel’s proprietary “Creative”tea, a mix of teas, fruit flavors, fresh ginger and chai spices that captures the whimsical creative yet inspirational nature of her cooking and her personality. And as Meredith herself, the knowledgeable owner of Luscious Organics greets you with a warm smile, you are immediately captivated by Luscious Organics’ thoughtful, savvy service and the love that is freshly infused into each and every dish.

The relaxed sophistication of the dining room of this café in New York, NY flows into the adjoining yoga studio where you can stop by and take a class. There are classes in the early mornings, midday and many in the early and late evening to accommodate a variety of schedules. Take a class and stay for dinner or pre-order you meal to go and it will be packed and ready for you to take with you upon finishing your class. Our express yoga, chill and lunch service will be kicking off in the New Year and will include an express yoga class and to go lunch which you can enjoy at your desk after class. There are two showers in the studio to accommodate your midday needs.
Luscious Organics is situated off the living room of the Atmananda Yoga Studio in downtown Manhattan in the area of Soho. Luscious Organics is open Monday to Wednesday from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Juices and Smoothies available some Thursdays. Dinner is served at approximately 7:30pm-9pm. Selected weekend lunch service will also be available twice a month. A website will be available shortly with detailed weekly hours. Interested guests are encouraged to call 646-209-4519 for a recording of weekly hours or email lusciousorganics@gmail.com. Weekday lunch take out or dine in service is available by order only and all orders must be placed by 10:00am. To order lunch or to make a dinner reservation, please call 646-209-4519 or email lusciousorganics@gmail.com. Complimentary delivery service is available in the downtown area and will be expanded throughout Manhattan shortly. Call for more details. Seamless web service will also be available soon.

About the Atmananda Yoga Studio
Discover a beautiful New York oasis of all things organic, health oriented and focused on connecting your mind to your body. The calming, sophisticated space includes dramatic 14-foot ceilings. For more information or to make a lunch or dinner reservation, please call 646-209-4519 for the café directly or 212-625-1511 for the studio or visit http://www.atmananda.com. The studio and café are located at 324 Lafayette Street, between Houston and Bleecker Streets, on the 7th floor. Take the #6 train to Bleecker Street or the B/D/F or Q trains to Broadway/Lafayette and exit at Lafayette and Houston. Walk one half a block north to 324 Lafayette Street. The café’s website will be up and running soon. For immediate cyber-information, please visit www.sobelwellness.com/luscious-organics-cafe.html.

vegan baking, gluten free cookies and en masse cooking

So I have been experimenting with gluten free baking. What’s the deal with gluten anyway? So many of us are inflamed and on top of it have poor digestion. My body is so attuned to eating that if I go one day eating a non-whole foods diet, I get a bit ill. Most of us however walk around stressed, overworked, underpaid, underloved and our blood is literally boiling, and we don’t even realize it. Eating non-plant based fatty foods from animals that have not been eating a quality diet, or fats that are highly refined as well as excess sugars and foods that turn quickly to sugar once ingested (high glycemic foods) doesn’t help reduce inflammation, it actually increases it. Eating a plant based diet rich in whole unaltered grains (i.e., not ground into a flour and not removing the fiber – whole grain flours are better than non-whole grain – but once a flour you are already starting to lose some of the whole gain goodness). The problem is, sometimes we want something a bit sweet. Inflamed and all. I would love a piping hot bowl of pumpkin soup sweetened with agave, but sometimes I either don’t have the pumpkin on hand or I don’t want to cut them up (thanks to my super heavy vegetable knife, its a bit easier, but sometimes I feel like I need a cleaver or a machete, which the people who run my cafe said we have somewhere, oh boy!).

So instead, I turn to whatever else is available…and then I pay for it. Yesterday I was preparing a miso soup, greens stir fry with bean casserole. Pretty healthy right? I also was planning to sell these gluten free ginger snaps made with sorghum flour and rice flour. I am not sure what sorghum is, but they were pretty good. However, no one wanted dessert and I was stuck with an open bag of cookies. There are all kinds of rules I am learning about selling things that are open and how long they can last, so basically, I can’t sell them. So then I got stuck with them. And they were really good, too good. Often times though these store bought cookies are a) super expensive and b) sugary. I’ve been experimenting to see what I can sell in my cafe. Despite training under a pastry chef, pastry and dessert has never really been my thing. I mean I love to eat it, but its so much more of a science than cooking, which is truly an art.

Many of my cafe and catering clients however love vegan baked items and want them, so I am experimenting with vegan baking. I do a lot of vegan cooking in the cafe, although I am not a vegan and despite 20 years of avoiding eggs, I do love my organic brown eggs, especially when I get them from Traditional Nutrition Guild or the Union Square Farmers market and they are all different colors with the speckles. Its amazing. I still don’t quite understand what makes an egg brown, white or any other color for that matter. I do understand the taste difference between a fresh organic egg and a store bought one. But I am trying other things: egg replacer (I feel like this stuff is unnatural and nothing more than cornstarch, so I am still looking for something more natural), applesauce, honey (some vegans don’t like me to use it). I’d love any feedback from vegans who are as natural as possible and have ideas for me. I can do gluten free baking, but vegan baking has been incredibly difficult. I tried vegan quiche as well and it didn’t quite come out right.

This morning I poached an egg and enjoyed it with curry powder and two slices of gluten free bread made from flax, tapioca flour and cornstarch. I think the fact that its made with corn starch, delta glutalactone (what on earth is that?) bothers me a little…but I am not yet baking bread myself. This is also a yeasted bread. I think a bowl of brown rice or quinoa or whole grain cereal from Bob’s Red Mill is still a better choice for my carb intake. Otherwise that bag of gluten free cookies is going to be calling my name.

farmers market and CSA foraging – this week’s finds!

So I have been loving working with NYC greenmarkets. Its so much fun to just walk the market, see what’s fresh and make up a recipe. Sometimes this can be frustrating for people who I meet at the market who want recipes right then and there. This is artist’s work I tell them. The recipe didn’t exist before the morning. I’m happy to take their name and email and add them to my mailing list. Each of my monthly newsletter feature one of the recipes I have created from a day of cooking at the greenmarket.

Lately I have been enthralled by two things at the market: eggplant and garlic. Its funny, eggplant just seems so ordinary. It has been around forever and its a staple of Italian, Japanese and Eastern European cuisines (especially in Jewish households hailing from Brooklyn like my Grandmother and Aunt who would put eggplant in everything). The funny thing though is I thought I didn’t particularly like eggplant. At least I never liked the eggplant I had in Italian restaurants or that my Aunt prepared, and the eggplant I had in Japan was ok, but this past week I got two deliveries of eggplant with my CSA and I made stir fries and a version of ratatouille with them and boy were they delicious! I made the ratatouille with delicata squash, the eggplant and a peach that was just a bit too ripe to eat raw. Wonderful! I’ll post the recipe as soon as I write it up and the first picture I’ve posted with this blog is the finished product.

As for the garlic. I’ve never seen garlic in its natural state before with stalks called scapes that are perfectly edible and taste like a scallion. They are wonderful too. I’ve used the scapes in stir fries and soups. I’ve not seen the scapes around lately and I am guessing they are now out of season. I see most garlic with hard brown stalks which I’m not adding to anything I am cooking! But the garlic at the markets lately is still so wonderful and soft. It smashes immediately into a wonderful oily pulpy almost syrupy mash and its just great to work with. I made some marinara sauce with fresh tomatoes using the garlic and it just was divine. Marinara sauce is probably the world’s easiest food to make. Just tomatoes, garlic, oil and a bit of garlic. Boil, wait. mmmmm. I served quinoa pasta with it, which was also delicious and gluten free.

Salivating? Excited? You should be, I am! I advise you get out there to the market and buy some eggplant and fresh garlic. Cut both up (smash the garlic with a chef’s knife) and roast it with a little olive oil and salt at 400 degrees for 30 min or wait just a bit until I post the recipe to see how to invent something a little different with your eggplant.

I work alternating Saturdays on the greenmarket on 106th and Central Park West, I hope to see you there around 11am and you can watch me make some interesting recipes with whatever is fresh that day. Bring your writing pad to take notes on how to develop the recipes or sign up for my newsletter and I’ll send them to you.

See you at the markets!