Whenever I travel, the first thing I like to do in a new town is eat a meal.  That's how I get to know a place.  My luggage did not arrive with me, and so I kept my jeans on and went into town for a meal.  I had my first dose of dreamy fish tacos and a guacamole that tasted so buttery.  Avocadoes that are ripened on the tree and picked when ready are so, so much better.  They're sweet and rich and I was in love.  So after breakfast on my first day, I parked myself on the beach to soak in the sun and watch the ocean.  I had packed some snacks with me, but the parade of delicious snacks that are sold on the beach is too great to resist.  Here are a few of my favourites.  Oh, and for the record, I did drink plenty of tequila and beer, but it seems I didn't take any photos of it.  Go fig.

 

Agua fresca!  This one is made with jamaica, or hibiscus, and it's this absolutely perfect tart sweetness.  They steep the hisbiscus flowers, making a concentrate that gets chilled and diluted to make this drink.

 

Horchata!  Quite simply, this is an almond and rice milk concoction that is flavoured with canela, which is the super intense bark of the cassia, or cinnamon tree.  It's totally dairy free, and has a really appealing richness with absolutely no chalky aftertaste.  

 

Ok, so you're lounging on a beach chair, and the most delicious margaritas keep arriving (una mas, por favor!) And the following sort of processional buffet cruises past, with folks selling all kinds of dreamy snacks.

This nice guy walked up offering marinated, grilled skewers of mahi mahi.  He's got a skewer of limes, and chili sauce in his pocket. This fish was meaty and so crazy delicious.  Later on in the day this same guy came around with a tray of oysters on ice.  I ate two, and they were honestly the best oysters I've had in my life.

Doughnuts are a big deal in Mexico, it seems.  This guy was from Detroit, and moved to Mexico 8 years ago.  And he worked the beach selling the doughnuts that his wife makes with that same Motown swagger.  "This caramel is SO good, I'm a little jealous of it..." was the line that got me to buy one.

And as if it's all not already enough, this crazy candy cart comes rolling along the beach.  And although I can't eat any of this stuff, I really appreciate this kind of service.  Plus, there were masala gummy worms on this cart.  Masala gummy worms!  I think maybe India should be embarassed for not coming up with this one first.

This was one of my favourite things of the whole trip.  Thick, juicy wedges of the most beautiful fruit are crammed into a plastic cup.  Then doused with lime dipped in salt, and splashed with chili.  It was a perfectly messy and totally refreshing snack.  The flavour and sweetness of the fruit was so good because it was so REAL...something that we never get to taste when we're far away and this fruit ripens on a truck.

And finally, dear friends, here's a video of the kind of thing I stared out at for days.  I find the ocean very comforting, and can get lost in the rise and fall of these waves.

 

I just spent 9 glorious, sunny days in Mexico!  I was in major need of a vacation, and just booked myself into this dreamy little hotel in Sayulita, a cute little hippie surf town north of Puerto Vallarta.  My hotel was like a Mexian ashram, with yoga classes, a rooftop sundeck and smoothie bar.  It was quiet and relaxed, and I had this very short walk to the beach:

After the gorgeous sun and easy relaxation, the food was the highlight of this trip.  Mexican food is crazy delicious, and quite curiously similar to Indian food in both flavour and preparation.  I passed easily for a Mexican, and people were often surprised to discover that I'm Indian.  "Ahhh, In-di-A-no!"  they said, with a bit of disbelief.  Here is a series of the plates, tables and delights that I tucked into.  I had the luxury of time to savour everything, eating slowly, tasting and appreciating all of it.  I don't get to spend that kind of time with my food, and it was satisfying and lovely.  

Mexican breakfast is eggs, salsa and beans, with tortillas and a cup of really delicious Mexican cofee.  It's fresh and delicious, and I lingered over this table with my book and free refils.

Breakfast burritos with housemade salsa were simple and really yummy.  And yes, beans for breakfast are as uh, exciting for the pipes as you might think.

Chilaquiles are by far my favourite thing about Mexican breakfast.  Strips of day-old tortilla are deep fried, then doused in a tomato sauce.  There is some soured cream and a bit of queso fresco, or fresh cheese, crumbled on top.  Eggs are scrambled, and this place served the most insanely delicious refried pinto beans.  I think they were cooked down in a rich chicken broth, which made them so tender and quite gorgeous.  Two fresh salsas rounded this plate out, and all together is a fantastic meal.  Also does wonders for a hangover, if you're curious.

A meditation on tacos.  On the coast in Mexico, the fish tacos are amazing.  You can have them fried or grilled, and there's generally always some cabbage involved, plus salsa and some cream. 

The steak tacos were just as awesome, and the salsas at the top of this picture were out of this world delicious.  Good tacos have many different salsas and garnishes, and it's one of those things where the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts.

These are fajitas, and I ordered the super deluxe plate, with fish and steak involved.  They were messy, and exactly what I wanted to eat.

Even the takeout is awesome.  3 fish tacos to go!

Shrimp tacos.  Lemme tell you something, the shrimp here were these dreamy, sweet buttery things that I'd never eaten before.  Grilled with garlic, they were so totally perfect underneath these crunchy vegetables and fiery salsa.

More shrimp tacos.  My only limitation on eating these was the capacity of my stomach.  Since breaking up with starch, my stomach can't really handle the corn tortillas, so I did start just forking in the insides of the tacos to save a revolution in my digestive tract.  For the record, my mouth constantly was happy to just keep eating.

There actually ARE burritos in Mexico, and they're pretty yummy.  Though I can't help but think they're only on the menu cause visitors keep asking for them.

Huaraches are one of my favourite things to eat.  It's a relatively thick flatbread, made from corn, then deep fried.  Sometimes they're stuffed and rolled out, like pupusas and parathas.  On top are greens, salsas, cheese and some meats.  It's a textural wonderland, and I like it when there's some briny onions or a charred tomatillo salsa invovled too.  Huarache is the Spanish word for sandal, specifically the kind with the bit that goes between your two first toes.  The edible version is named after the bed of the sandal, which is the same shape as the fried flatbread.  

Poblanos are these really fresh, bright chiles, and sometimes they're also crazy hot.  When you char them, they mellow a bit, but the charred chili pairs so beautifully with fresh cheese and tomatoes.

This was a really beautiful calamari soup.  The broth was chicken stock and tomato, and the pieces of meat were so tender and flavourful.

Huitlacoche is a very special sort of fungus that grows on decaying cobs of corn.  It's got the same kind of earthy, mushroomy sexiness of truffles, but with a creamiess that's quite compelling.  I ate huitlacoche here, in a butter sauce over a steak.  It was so rich and very delicious.

Being right on the coast, I ate ceviche a LOT.  The fish was mahi mahi, and it was meaty and so flavourful.  There is something very right about sitting on the beach eating fish.  It might be obvious, but in a world where we're so dislocated from authentic experience, it was quite an appreciated novelty.

This version came with three buttery, sweet slices of avocado.  I have never eaten an avocado that has ripened all on its own before being picked.  The flavour was deep and rich, and filled the spaces between the sour, oniony heat of the fish with a lovely creaminess.  I never got tired of eating this.

One afternoon I was beat, and just wanted to take a sandwich back to my hotel.  I got a club sandwich, that came with this wonderful sesame green bean salad.  And lemme tell you, this club sandwich was easily one of the best I'd ever eaten, anywhere.  Toasted bread, proper spread of all ingredients on top of each other and generous layer of mayonnaise.  

My last supper in Sayulita.  This cut of steak is specifically Latino, and incorporates part of the skirt, but in a way that is not familiar to me.  It was served with chimichurri, and offered a delicious respite from the heavy corn tortilla.  I splurged on this meal, and enjoyed the solitary savouring of each bit of that luscious steak.

My love for Mexico definitely starts in the kitchen.  And to me, the best kind food is simple, thoughtful, and fresh.  

 

 

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It’s been one full year since my breakup with sugar, starch and dairy.  I’ve worked really hard over the last year to forge a new relationship with food, and to find a new way to eat.  It’s been tough and uncomfortable, and amazingly rewarding and delicious.  This has likely been the most intense and transformative year of my life. 

I just reread my breakup letter from a year ago, and it’s funny to see that you can still feel how sad I was about that breakup as you read.  My heart was so heavy, and I was sure that cutting sugar, starch and dairy out of my diet would be the beginning of the end of joy, flavour and comfort in food.  And for this girl, who’s also a chef, it was nothing short of terrifying. 

But the stakes were high, and I needed to make some change.  So with one shaky foot in front of the other, I did it. 

So what happened?  So many amazing things.  First, I fell in love with food in a whole new way.  But second, I replaced mindless, emotionally stringy behaviour with more consciousness and awareness, which was really the hardest bit.  I really loved food before this, but I didn’t fully understand food, nor did I trust it.  Now I feel as though I’ve connected myself to this delicious life force that has literally allowed my body to transform into a healthier, more balanced version of itself.

Right out of the gates, the food was so delicious!  I’ve been fortunate enough this year to be able to afford some pretty substantial spending on really good food.  I don’t compromise, and eat food that is of the best quality I can find.  And when you eat high quality foods, you notice right away that they taste really good.  Pesticides haven’t muted the real flavour of the food, and it hasn’t made a very long journey from field to table, so you can trust that it was picked only when fully ripe.  But basically, I shifted my focus from the foods my mouth wanted to taste, to the foods my body actually needed to thrive.  Accepting that there’s even a difference with what my mouth wants and what my body needs was itself a huge deal.

I started experimenting in the kitchen and slowly some interesting things began to happen:  my organics bin filled up three times as fast as my garbage can, and I was cooking ALL the time (dishes piled up in the sink!)  But then there were more subtle things, like I came springing out of bed in the mornings, full of energy and well rested.  My skin cleared up completely, and my digestion was a series of smooth and complete transactions.  My body just had this overall sense of higher efficiency, and I felt really good.

I have had the delight of weekly sessions with a really wonderful doctor who has taken very good care of me, and have come to really appreciate acupuncture.  Twice a day I take a packet of herbs, and I drink them standing over the sink.  For 30 seconds, two times a day I think about and offer myself my own good intentions.  Seems like a relatively small thing, but when was the last time you consciously offered yourself your own good intentions? 

After about 6 weeks of this new plan, I felt pretty amazing, but I realized that I was also eating all of my meals by myself in my apartment.  Angela, my TCM doc told me that the negative impact of the social isolation is just as bad news as what the sugar, starch and dairy are doing to my body, so don’t sacrifice one for the other.  Thus emerged the 80/20 rule.  If I stick to my plan 80% of the time, the other 20% can include time with friends, or out at a restaurant, or if someone makes me a cake.  This is one of the most sensible, do-able ideas about how to eat I’ve ever heard. 

I have spent many moments in the 20%.  Just wanting to eat a sandwich, or to drown my blues away in peanut M&Ms, or the ultimate: late night, not-so-sober poutine.  I’ve been relieved to discover that these sessions of eating outside the lines have become less and less enjoyable, as the impact on my insides is more noticeably disruptive now that it’s not the norm anymore. 

I’ve also learned to be more gentle with myself, and that I’m my own top priority.  It feels good to take care of yourself, and to really, consciously nurture your own wellness.  But it takes time and effort, and some major reworking of your habits.

Life has really surprised me, and the transformation I’ve gone through in the last year has blown my mind.  It’s just more evidence of what is possible when you put an honest, dedicated effort forward. 

 

 

 

I just found this great little video about my cousin Jonathan.  He's a fantastic bass player, and all-round lovely guy, though what's missing from this video is his tradmark giggle.  We don't see each other very often, and on occasion, I've seen his name on the sign out front at The Rex, but I'm big sister proud of him, regardless.

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One of the key elements in our reFRESHing Our Menu project at The Scarborough Hospital has been broadening our menu to reflect the diversity of the community we serve.  In this effort, we have built some important relationships with local mosques and imams, and have worked to get more halal meats and culturally appropriate menu items available for Muslim patients.

A recent article in the Toronto Star featured our new patient menu, and mentioned this culturally appropriate focus.  Unfortunately, the truth of what’s really happening was obscured, as the article said that as a result of this project, we have taken pork off the menu and all the meat is halal.   This is in fact not true.  We do have pork products on our menu, and halal meat is available for those who request it.  And as our from-scratch production capacity increases, and we move to our choice menu, we will add more recipes with pork to the lineup.  This project focused on developing recipes for culturally diverse dishes that could be made in-house for Muslim patients, as a good portion of the halal meals we offer are pre-packaged, frozen meals.

I would also like to take a moment here to talk about what it means for meat to be halal.  The word halal itself means “permissible, or allowable” by Islamic tradition.  In order for meat to be halal, the animals need to be slaughtered and processed according to guidelines set out in the zabiha, which is the proper process for slaughter.  Essentially, halal certification on meats tells you about how the animal was slaughtered and how the carcass was butchered.  Halal certification does not tell you about how the animal was raised, what it ate, or anything about the operational practices of the farm.  What’s more important is the fact that halal meat (and kosher meat for that matter) is virtually undetectable by taste, and the nutrition is identical to that of meat slaughtered the conventional way.

There has been some empassioned feedback around the availability of halal meat and pork on our patient menu.  And while we welcome any and all input from the community, it’s important to get the facts straight first. 

 

I've had a crush on all things Japanese for a while now.  I love the attitude and the style of Japanese culture, and the mind-blowing attention to detail.  The food is so brilliantly thoughtful and unique, and I have serious love for good knives and high quality writing supplies.  I have thought many times of learning the language, then packing up my life here and heading to Japan to see if I can find a kitchen in which to try and make myself a worthy student.  

Last night I went to see Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and it was totally perfect.  It's a movie about Jiro, an 85 year old sushi chef who is hailed as the world's best, and is still working full days in his restaurant in Tokyo.  There is a dance, it seems as chefs form the rice, then lay the fish on top; like a choreography of sorts.  They brush the fish with sauce, then place it down on the plate, and there is this unctuousness about the fish that is mesmerizing.  Here's the trailer, go see this beautiful movie for yourselves.  The filming is gorgeous and the soundtrack is perfect.  Oh, and the vision of an expert knife slicing through a big, fleshy piece of fish is surprisingly sexy.

 

I’m down to my last two weeks of this hospital project, and amidst the whirlwind of wrapping up and final plans, there are so many important lessons and bigger connections popping up that I find myself wishing for more time to really do this well.  But alas, decisions have been made, and we’re well into the home stretch on this pilot effort to get more locally sourced, homemade, wholesome food onto patient plates at The Scarborough Hospital.

A very common question that I get asked is whether I’ve figured out how to make my local, sustainable food cheaper than the existing model, as though that is the primary goal of this effort.  My answer is the same every time: the idea that real, wholesome food should cost less than processed industrial food is ridiculous, and we should stop thinking this way.  There is no way that good, proper food can cost less than what we’re serving now.  And don’t forget how embarrassingly little is spent on food in hospitals in the first place.  In many cases it’s less than 2% of the entire operating budget, and that translates into less than $8 per patient per day for three meals.  Here are some more compelling numbers:  it costs $1200/day for a hospital bed in Ontario, yet we spend less than 1% of what it costs to house a patient to feed a patient.  Meanwhile, hospital patients are considered chronically malnourished populations, and abour 40% of the food we send up on trays is returned and thrown in the garbage.  This level of waste is unacceptable, and impacts us all, because we are funding this madness.

Let’s zoom in a bit on why industrial food is so cheap.  There are two good reasons: one, industrial food is cheap because we don’t pay the full costs.  The planet and the developing world are subsidizing our cheap food, and thus full costs are hidden, and unconsidered.  The second reason focuses a bit more on a hospital context.  The reason industrial food is so prevalent in hospital kitchens is because big food corporations met the call of budget strapped hospital administrators and created this whole world of edible food-like substances.  They created these foods that are cheap to produce, easy to store, and requiring minimal labour to prepare.  This food is so highly processed, there is little to no real nutritional value left, nevermind the fact that it’s flavourless and unappetizing.  What’s more, this whole budget-focused shift forced Nutrition and Food Services staff (including dieticians) to adopt the idea that “nutritionally adequate” food was acceptable to serve to patients.  And for the last 25 years or so, we’ve been serving the budget and not the patients this way.

This is the big truth out of all of this, my friends:  the only way to feed patients for such little money is to serve them something other than food.  Let me say that again.  The only way to feed hospital patients on the budget we’re working with now is to NOT serve them real food.  The one population of people who have really been losing out in all of this is the patients.  There is no conversation about the kind of food that SHOULD be served to hospital patients as they heal and recover, no thought about the crucial role that food plays in people’s lives.  But we've had years and years of impossible budget cuts and letting accountants and corporations decide what goes on those trays. 

We must accept that we need to spend more on hospital food.  I’ve just spent 9 months working with an amazing team of people trying to make this work, and the good news is that we don’t need to spend a lot more to do it.  Even a 20% increase in food budgets will put exponentially better food on patient trays.  It’s a small investment now for much greater savings later.  But if you don’t think food is important, you won’t see the truth of this either. 

Let’s take a minute to understand what got us to the place we're in: we didn't think food was important, slashed food budgets, and are left with a wasteful model that is not actually effective.  An industrial food model does not work, for anyone, and certainly not for patients in a hospital.  We can do much better than this, my friends…I’m sure of it.

 

Ok, folks.  I don't know how many of you know about Vandana Shiva, but you all should.  She is a physicist, an activist, and in my opinion, a messenger of truth.  I first heard her speak at Terra Madre in 2008 and I was completely mesmerized by her power and grace (nevermind that smile and giant bindi!).  I love Vandana's ability to plant herself firmly on her truth, and then speak thoughtfully and provocatively from that place.  Plus, I believe so strongly in the power of aunties to get shit done, and she's the best example of this.  

Since then, I've had the real joy of meeting and cooking for Vandana Shiva, and she continues to blow me away with her powerful conviction.  Geroge Stromboulopoulos had her on his show this week, and here's the video.

 

I remember hearing some sensible talk about creating a no-fail environment when you're trying to make some big change.  I took this approach when I broke up with sugar, starch and dairy, and I'm using it now, as I learn to pay more attention to how I dress and use what I've just learned from my dreamy makeover courtesy of my pals at Steven & Chris.  

I've got all these lovely new clothes to incorporate into my wardrobe, but when I just added the new hangers to the rack, I was so clearly looking at two different versions of me: one old, one new...and it didn't feel right.  And then it got me thinking...what if everything in my wardrobe made me look awesome?  What an idea!  Don't keep anything that doesn't make you look awesome.  The whole point of clothes is how they look on YOU, not how they look on a hanger in your closet.  But it seems like such a new, crazy idea, right?  Why do we do this?  Why do we keep clothes around for the people we might be and the people we once were?  Why don't we just have the clothes for the person we are now, and let everything else go?  

So I was ruthless, and tried everything on.  And if it didn't make me look awesome, it was pitched.  Also, if all four seasons had passed and I hadn't pulled something off the rack, it was tossed too.  All told, this experience produced 2 1/2 garbage bags of clothes that were happily donated.  

And I have a closet full of clothes that make the person I am right now, look awesome.

I was in a 7-11 the other day, and saw this sign on a row of petrified produce.  It's hilariously token for this to be placed amidst the quick, sweet, fatty, starchy things that 7-11 is famous for.  I wanted to grab all of these poor things and run out of the store.  I suppose the fact that fresh produce is even involved at all is a sign of change, but who's gonna pay $1.50 for an imported granny smith apple?  Besides, who really walks into a 7-11 in search of a nice piece of fruit?!

When I got to the register, I saw this sign, and it made me laugh.  Why pay $1.50 for an apple when you can get 4 doughnuts for $2?  It's such a beautifully clear illustration of this problem.  Although they all   ripened on a truck in transit, those rows of fruit are likely the most wholesome things in the whole store.  And they're three times as expensive as one bit of industrial sweet starch.  We need to see more of the true costs of things like these doughnuts, cause that deal IS actually too good to be true.  We cannot continue to have the planet subsidize our artificial need for convenience.