yay! i squid it!

the bird has been missing in action for a bit, but she is back. relocated in oakland and reinvigorated to resume her explorations of the healthy and tasty side of things.

tonight, for the first time, i cooked calamari. i was introduced to fried calamari as a child and so was waned early from my squirmishness towards squid. being both stubborn and a sucker for logic, once i had admitted to liking that fried ring of squid, not knowing what it came from or looked like before being battered and thrown in the fryer, i could not rescind my allegiance when the truth of octopus and squid was revealed to me. i had tried it, i had liked it, it had looked just that way before it was fried and put on my plate. i liked squid. i couldn't take it back.

but just because i was okay with squid didn't mean i was okay with dealing with squid. it scared me. it still kind of does even after cooking with it. tubes and tentacles and that fine line between sweetest thing ever or rubber disaster...it's like walking a tight rope. and i'm not known for my tight rope skills. but it was time to put on the leotard, slap on the make up and climb up the ladder.

my only advice about cooking calamari is this (unless you are frying or using a recipe that calls for a long slow low simmer) cook it quick! drop it into a pot of boiling salted water and leave it there for no longer than 30 seconds. yes, 30 seconds. it sounds a little unbelievable, but anything longer will overcook it and turn it to chewy rubber. so prepare the sauce or the rest of the dish separately and flash cook the calamari and add it at the end.

why take the risk with squid? there are many reasons. squid contains about 90% of our daily copper needs. a copper deficiency is generally at the root of anemia since copper plays an important role in our absorption and metabolism of iron and the production of red blood cells. it also contains selenium, which fights inflammation and helps relieve the symptoms of arthritis. it's got lots of important b vitamins - b2, b3 and b12. and it's high in phosphorus which aids the body in using calcium to build bones and teeth. plus, it's yummy.

calamari with broccoli rabe, tomatoes and spring onion

1 lb calamari (tubes and tentacles), cleaned and tubes sliced into rings

1 bunch organic broccoli rabe

1 can organic diced tomatoes

3 organic spring onions, sliced thinly

1 medium yellow organic heirloom tomato, diced

6 cloves garlic, chopped finely

fresh parsley, chopped finely

sea salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

red pepper flakes, 1 tbs (or to taste)

juice of 1 lemon

steam the broccoli rabe with 1/3 of the chopped garlic

in a large skillet add the remaining garlic, spring onions, and tomatoes (including liquid from canned tomatoes)

season with salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and chopped parsley

bring to boil, then reduce heat and simmer 5 - 10 minutes

when ready, combine tomato mixture and broccoli rabe in a large serving bowl

bring a pot of salted water to a boil, add calamari, remove after 30 seconds and drain immediately

add calamari to bowl

stir and season with salt, pepper and red pepper to taste

add the juice of the lemon

serve over pasta, serve over rice, or serve alone. and enjoy.

my heart has sprung a leek.

with valentine's day just on the other side of this weekend, it seems like the perfect time to dive into something that is good for the heart. so i decided to buck up, bite the bullet, wash the grit away, and deal with leeks. there is always so much fuss and drama surrounding cleaning leeks that i have always been frightened away from them. i have steered well clear, convinced they are a hassle, convinced i'll mess it up. and it makes me a truly happy bird to report that that is entirely not the case. leeks are pretty darn easy. just wash away the grit at the roots if they are dirty and just go for it, full steam ahead.

leeks may have a bad reputation and a bad name, but you'll be better off if you give them the benefit of the doubt, ignore the rumor mill and take the next step. leeks are a heart's best friend. like garlic and onions, they belong to a group of vegetables called alliums. it's actually suggested that we get at least one serving of allium vegetables per day. if you want to get the most nutritional value out of those allium vegetables, it's best to slice them thin and let them sit for 5 minutes between cutting and cooking.

how do those leeks go and treat your heart so sweetly? well, to begin with, leeks contain the flavonoid kaempferol, which protects blood vessel linings from damage. they also contain b vitamin folate, which keeps our homocysteine levels in balance and, in turn, protects us from cardiovascular disease. and, on top of that, they have antioxidant polyphenols, which protect our blood vessels and blood cells from oxidative damage. so come on, be your own sweetheart, and eat some leeks.

i decided to make my leek debut with a fish dish. and i upped the ante by adding shallots and garlic, other alliums, to the mix. i'm happy to report that is was a success and there are no broken hearts here on valentine's day.

lemon garlic cod with shallots and rainbow chard, leeks and asparagus over rice

lemon garlic cod

one piece of fresh cod (about 1/2 lb is plenty to serve 2, i got wild caught alaskan cod)

3 lemons

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

2 small shallots, sliced

1 tbs parsley - dried or fresh, depending on availability

salt & pepper

preheat oven to 385

in glass baking dish, lay out cod (after you have washed it, of course)

add shallots

salt & pepper the fish to taste

sprinkle parsley on top of the fish

spread garlic over the fish

slice 2 of the lemons in half, squeeze juice over the fish, place lemons in baking dish to cook with fish & shallots

bake in oven about 10 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes with a fork

when done, remove from oven & squeeze the juice of the 3rd lemon over it

rainbow chard, leeks and asparagus

1 bunch rainbow chard, washed & chopped

1 bunch leeks, cleaned and sliced thinly

1 bunch small asparagus tips, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped finely

sea salt

add all the vegetables and garlic to a pot with about 1 inch of water, salt to taste

cover, bring to a boil

reduce heat and simmer until vegetables are tender

drain vegetables

serve fish & steamed vegetables over rice. and enjoy.

green bayby!

the early bird likes her greens, that is for sure. and yesterday was a big day for the green and yellow packer nation. handily putting the chicago bears to bed for the season, green bay is going all the way. and so it's only fitting to make today's post green.

in honor of the big event, i decided to throw caution to the wind, put my fears aside, and take the plunge. i juiced. for the first time. and it was amazing.

the early bird is no stranger to the wonders of juice and i have long been enjoying them - in new york i developed a pretty serious thing for liquiteria and bequ juice - but never before have i had juicer and veggies in hand and done the dirty deed myself. lucky for the bird, the tiger has a very nice juicer, that he doesn't use and is willing to share. and even luckier for the bird, berkeley bowl has all one's veggie needs, fresh and cheap, so that it actually makes economical sense to roll up your sleeves and get into juicing. by new york standards, you will pay anywhere upwards of $8 for a fresh green juice. today i juiced at home with produce that cost less than $4 all together, which yielded enough juice for 2 juices today and enough for another 2 with the leftover veggies i will use tomorrow. so, for under $4, i made 4 green juices. yes, the juicers are a bit of a labor of love to clean. but cleaning the produce and cleaning the juicer is actually not that labor intensive and it most certainly is worth bringing the cost of green juice down to about $1/juice.

okay. so green juice. what do i put in it? i used kale, romaine, celery, cucumber, parsley, and green apple. i could have also used ginger and lemon. why do i drink it? well it's pretty simple - the healing elements that are found in green leafy vegetables are so powerful and synergistic, that there is no synthetic equivalent. there is no synthetic medicine or supplement that can do what raw, fresh green leafy vegetables can do. and doctors, nutritionists and dietitians all recommend that we get 3 to 5 servings of these green leafy vegetables every day. juice is an excellent way to get these servings. it is also ideal because they are still raw and their nutritional values have not been compromised at all as a result of heat or preparation.

yeah, kermit, it's not easy being green, it's AWESOME! why?

well, the five main benefits of the ingredients in green juice are:

• chlorophyll
• trace minerals (potassium, magnesium, calcium, chromium and selenium)
• vegetable protein
• enzymes
• alkalizing abilities

these components give the immune system and muscles the building blocks they need, bring oxygen to our blood and tissues, prevent disease, and help balance the alkalinity of our blood, in turn, helping us flush out the build up of lactic acid in our joints and muscles. a green juice a day will keep the doctor away, at least in a more positive way than say no health insurance keeps the doctor away.

ask the bird.

curiosity might have killed the cat, but the bird can satisfy yours.

you have questions, i know you do. and i have answers, at least i hope i do. so ask away. email me at theearlybirdlikeshergreens@gmail.com and stay tuned for answers here on the blog.

turmerific!

so over the course of the past few months i have developed an ever-increasing fondness for turmeric. it's just so good. and so good for you. and last night the tiger and i were out to dinner with friends at an ethiopian restaurant in oakland at which i broke my ethiopian food virginity. i'm not sure how i got this far in life without ever having had an ethiopian meal, but somehow i did, and, like with most other life experiences or "firsts", the longer you wait to do it, the more anxiety builds up. so this was a big deal for me. would i like it? would i even know what to do when the big family style platter was set down in front of us all with a few baskets of that crazy bread? would i make a mess? would i embarrass myself? would it be painful? so i took a big breath, threw caution to the wind, took the plunge, and let a red lentil dish called mesir wat take my innocence and ignorance away. red lentils in a berbere sauce. mmm mmm mmm. it doesn't get much better than that. and, so, just like that, my turmeric adoration was whipped back up into high gear. and so this is a post about a spice. a spice that makes anything it touches better and that might be one of the best things on the planet for us. it has insane health benefits. the active ingredient in turmeric is curcumin. it has long been known for its anti-inflammatory benefits, but has more recently been shown to help heal or prevent many health conditions from cancer to alzheimer's disease. it is a natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent. it has shown itself to be useful in preventing and stopping growth of existing cancers such as prostate, breast, melanoma, and childhood leukemia. it is a natural liver detoxifier (turmeric and beets will undo any and all of your sins. okay, maybe not all of them.) it reduces the growth of plaque build up in the brain which may slow or prevent the spread of alzheimer's disease. in chinese medicine, turmeric is used to treat depression. it is a natural painkiller, it aids in fat metabolism in the body, and its anti-inflammatory properties make it a natural treatment for rheumatoid arthritis. so, hurry up and get your hands on some turmeric. it's a little yellow wonder powder.

sometimes you just gotta roll with it.

oh the joy of sushi rolling! it really is pretty darn simple, even a bird can do it with a tiger watching. it's all about prep and a sharp knife, so if you've got a sous chef hiding around somewhere you are absolutely golden. otherwise, get ready to slice and dice - well, okay just slice and slice. and slice a little more. there are a few basic things to know about sushi rolling. first of all, you want to use sushi rice and you want to prepare it with the rice:water ratio on its package, it's too starchy to drain off excess water if you guesstimate quantities and use too much water and it becomes paste. the second key to rolling sushi is that once the rice has been steamed, you want to add rice vinegar immediately, while it is still hot. this will make it the right consistency to spread and use in your rolls. use plenty of vinegar, stir it in and coat all of the rice, and allow it to cool before you proceed with rolling. i allow it to cool on the counter before i transfer it to the fridge. the third thing you want to know is that a piece of plastic wrap between the nori and the bamboo rolling mat will make rolling easier and prevent the roll from ever sticking to the mat. when rolling your sushi, make it tight, don't be afraid to really put some pressure on it, you want the roll to be solid and tight so that when you slice it, it doesn't fall apart. and the most important thing about making sushi rolls is that you have to have a clean, sharp knife in order to cut. keep a small bowl of cold water next to you as you work. the duller the knife, the more likely you will be rinsing your knife and wiping it clean between each slice. if the blade is dull or has sticky starchy residue from the nori and rice, it won't slice through, your roll will tear, things will fall apart, it will be a messy situation. there will probably be cursing. quite possibly tears. definitely frustration. if you have a clean sharp knife though, it's easypeasy, you just slice right through the roll and leave a trail of perfect little pieces of maki.

what you need to roll sushi:

sushi rice

water

rice vinegar

bamboo mat

bamboo or plastic paddle or spatula (to spread rice on the nori)

sheets of nori

plastic wrap

sharp clean knife

pickled ginger (optional)

wasabi (optional)

soy sauce (optional)

things i like to roll in sushi:

cucumbers

asparagus (i blanch them first)

oshinko

red peppers

yellow peppers

baby corn

bamboo shoots

water chestnuts

avocado

kimchi

jicama

a basic bird's eye view to rolling sushi

prepare your sushi rice, add rice vinegar, cool

prepare the ingredients for your roll - clean and slice and anything else you need to do them

spread a sheet of plastic wrap over your bamboo mat

place a piece of nori on top of the plastic wrap

spread a thin layer of rice across the nori

line ingredients up across nori horizontally (in relation to you), starting in the center and keeping centered

before you roll, dab your finger in your water bowl and lightly wet the edge of the nori closest to you and farthest from you - this will help the nori seal to itself

now you are ready to roll - bring the side of the nori closest to you up and over the contents, apply some pressure and create seal where it meets the other side, then roll so it is closed entirely, make it tight and always roll away from you. once roll is secured, unroll bamboo mat, remove from plastic wrap, transfer to cutting board

using the sharpest knife you have, slice your sushi roll

enjoy!

heart skips a beet.

that's right. something that can turn your pee red is actually really, really good for you. really.

i feel like there's no way to go about this without sounding like an over zealous bragging mother, but beets are a sort of wonder food and the list of their health benefits is extensive. beets have nutrients that help protect against coronary artery disease and stroke, birth defects, and certain cancers (particularly colon cancer), lower cholesterol levels, promote nervous system health (especially for the eyes), have anti-aging benefits, and, to top it all off, are excellent detoxifiers. the betalin pigments in beets trigger "hook up" activity in the body's phase 2 detoxification process. this is the metabolic step in which our body "hooks up" toxic substances with small nutrient groups so that they become neutralized, water-soluble & get excreted in our urine. what makes beets so special is that most of their health benefits are unique, in terms of the nutrients from the beet that deliver or contribute to the health benefit. there is more than one way to skin a cat, but many vegetables skin their cats the same way. beets, those ingenious little buggers, have their own cat skinning tricks. most vegetables give us antioxidants through beta-carotene, but beets contain two different antioxidant careotenoids that are not nearly as common in other vegetables, called lutein and zeaxanthin. similarly, their red color comes not from anthocyanins, as is the case for most distinctly red vegetables, but from unique phytonutrients called betalains. and variety, it is said, is the spice of life. so, the more types of antioxidants and nutrients we can get, the better for our bodies. each of them interacts with our bodies and our cells in a different way, no matter how slight, and that will affect exactly what they do and how, and, in turn, the way it benefits our health.

and the red pee thing has a name: beeturia. it is nothing to be alarmed about, it's simply a sign of the genetic inability to break down the beta-cyanin pigment in the beet. roughly 10-15% of the population fall into that category.

okay, so the early bird has laid the case that beets are a must have for low calorie high fiber detoxifying super cardiovascular nutrition. but i think many of us have yet to embrace the beet because they seem cumbersome and dirty when bought fresh or we have antiquated notions of them pickled in jars, on our grandparents' plates, or in some soup called borscht. hesitate no longer. they are super delicious and super easy. all you need is a little bit of time, the effort is minimal, the skill level low. get some beets and roast them.

easy peasy beet roasting. 101.

preheat oven to 375, make sure rack is in the middle of the oven.

if the beets still have greens attached, cut off the greens, clean them and set them aside. they have their own amazing nutritional value and are absolutely edible.

wash the beets.

wrap them in aluminum foil (you can wrap them together in a single foil packet with all the beets or you can wrap them individually).

place them in the oven, on a baking sheet if you have it, or directly on the rack if you don't.

roasting will take anywhere from 45-90 minutes, depending on the size and the beet itself. to test, poke them with a fork (you don't remove the foil), they are done when the fork goes into the beet without any resistance.

when beets are done, remove from oven.

unwrap the beets and peel them as you rinse them under cold water. the roasting loosens the skin enough that it slips off easily and the water from the faucet cools the beets and helps keep the red staining on the hands to a minimum.

and there you have it - roasted beets.

so roast those beets and keep being naughty, no one is really making a list or checking it twice, and the beets will detoxify all your sins.