Black-eyed Peas with Collard Greens and Ham
It happens to be fast, cheap and healthy, but that’s not why we love this dish.
I have an impulsive aversion to any recipe that is advertised as being “easy,” “cheap,” or “healthy.” Those are good things, but I often worry that the writer was more focused on easy or cheap than what I really care about- flavor. Back when I was learning to cook, the “quick and easy” staples of the supermarket checkout line magazines generally tasted “quick and easy.” And the “healthy”recipes? Let’s just say that applesauce will always be a dreadful substitute for fat.
This recipe is like that girl in high school who dressed in Salvation Army garb and looked fabulously chic. While she’s cheap (make your own judgement about whether or not she was easy) you can’t help but be fascinated by her. Read more
It’s always been about the parents, Jamie.
As I began my career teaching parents how to cook, I made a critical decision: my job was not to try to convince parents that junk food is bad for their kids. My job was to empower those who already care. As someone who wants to see major changes in the way Americans eat, this is the best use of my energies. Plenty of people already care. Too few know where to start.
I want to love what Jamie Oliver is doing on “Food Revolution.” I really do. We’re on the same team.
But I don’t.
I was only able to stomach about three episodes of his first season. I think I might make it through the whole series this time, thanks to the opposition Jamie got from the Los Angeles Unified School District.
Jamie is wasting his energies on the unmotivated. This made me absolutely crazy in the first season. Why spend so much time on people who really don’t even have the merest interest in the importance of diet and health to quality of life? Taking a morbidly obese, processed food junkie and trying to get him to buy and cook a pasture-raised chicken is absurd. It’s like expecting my kindergartener to read Nietzsche. Read more
Go ahead. Don’t drink your milk.
A great friend of mine from Hinsdale called a few weeks ago. She shared the buzz about who bought our old house. We emptied our gripe-bags of winter illness war stories. Then she changed the subject.
“…so I also have a food question for you. I was reading your post about hot- no, very warm- cocoa and it got me thinking. You know, Sarah [her 6-year-old] won’t drink milk. So I give her chocolate milk instead- “
“Oh lawdy no.” I interrupted her. It was rude. I know. But I also know Elena and I knew where this was going. “I’m going to just set aside this whole excessive accommodation thing. You know that makes me nuts. Seriously Elena. How do you imagine that this is having a net positive effect on her health?”
“Well, kids need to drink milk. They need it for their bones, right?”
No.
They absolutely do not need to drink milk. Read more
