potagerdeparis
food diplomacy through the story of a mealArchive for Reflection
The Times They Are A Nutty
For the last several weeks, I have found that EVERYTHING tastes terrible. Dishes sound good, cooking them gives pleasure, however in the taste department, EPIC fail.
I have found that the food I cook, as I did before, just don’t have the same taste after surgery. I have tried to do a bit of internet sleuthing on various medical sites, however, there does not seem t be any explanation for this change, other to than to validate its existence.
I am a few weeks out before I can have raw vegetables, so the desire for freshness is a ways off. I am also willing to try to eat foods that I have not desired or wanted in a long time. Foods that I would never buy or eat I am now trying to see if they can dance on the palate. This has not resulted in a decent meal in weeks.
However, during nutty times in one’s life, turn to the nut for inspiration. This morning I made a pecan hoecake with orange zest that was divine. Topped with sugar-free apricot spread and a large latte. I was thrilled. I have been thinking, non-stop, about pancakes and that I wanted to soft and warm texture that is both sweet and fluffy. While the hoecake is far from fluffy, it’s resemblance to the pancake did the trick.
Hoecakes are a version of the johnnycake popularized in the 1700s. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term hoecake first occurs in 1745, and the origin of the name is the method of preparation: field hands often cooked it on a shovel or hoe held to an open flame. Hoes designed for cotton fields were large and flat with a hole for the long handle to slide through; the blade would be removed and placed over a fire much like a griddle. They are usually made with corn meal, but I used multigrain pancake mix with protein powder, pecans, an egg yolk, almond milk, and vanilla extract, and orange zest.
Happy Labor Day and please remember that as we celebrate the economic and social contributions of workers, both inside and outside the home, that it can be nutty at any time.
To read about women’s contribution to the modern labor movement, please click here.
To view Life magazine’s slideshow about the American worker, please click here.
DIY culture post surgery
I need to harness my own form of technological imagination in creating food that will work with my permanent gastro changes. Anne shares some important points to consider that overlap the technological imagination and the gastro-imagination. Those that cross pollinate to my area are:
- Innovation is a process, not a product
- The future begins in the imagination; designers hack the present to create our futures
- Working with other people to make things is important for the construction of shared knowledge
- Collaboration across differences is the key to innovation
- Designing culture is, therefore, an ethical project
As I struggle, I found come up with a raw salad with three ingredients that rocked my world this week-end. Mushrooms, hard cheese, and vinaigrette created a beautiful meal that I had over and over again. I do think that I may never tire of this. The title of “mushroom” carpaccio is a play on thinly sliced beef carpaccio. Re-purposed, re-imagined, and absolutely delicious.
Mushroom Carpaccio
The salad of shaved raw porcini mushrooms that are served throughout Italy are the inspiration here. A simple vinaigrette and shaved goat cheese (Capra Sarda) rounds it out. You can add some baby arugula for a spicy note, or just scatter celery leaves on top. The thinly sliced mushrooms break down with the vinaigrette and the creamy, nutty, flavor of the cheese adds some nice flavor.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound large white mushrooms, sliced paper think
- 1/2 pound Capra Sarda (firm goat cheese like Pecorino Toscano or Parmigiano-Reggiano)
- 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice or white wine vinegar
- 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup celery or baby arugula leaves
- salt and pepper for the vinaigrette
Slice mushrooms paper-thin and lay on a plate/platter so not to overlap.
Mix together vinegar or lemon juice, salt, pepper, and olive oil in a separate bowl so they are completely combined.
Sprinkle celery leaves or arugula over mushrooms.
Using a vegetable peeler, add 10-12 slices of hard cheese on top.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of vinaigrette on top of salad.
2 months, 4 days and one very large broccoli
It has been 64 days since my surgery and have been feeling great. I have been experimenting with different recipes and found that while nothing tastes good, I am still enjoying the love of food. My relationship to cooking has not changed, but I find cooking on a smaller scale, 3/4 cup per meal, has resulted in a tremendous amount of food going to waste. That breaks my heart as I never have thrown out so much food.
In honor of this milestone, tonight I made a light summer meal with poached salmon that was topped with home-made pesto. To go along with the salmon, I make a saute of pickled shallots, spinach and quick cooking black lentils.
The flavors of summer with the fresh pesto and quick pickled shallots were a nice remembrance summer flavors. Summer leads to fall and I am thinking about a trip to Paris to nourish the mind and body. Besides a one-on-one shopping and cooking experience with Miss Lunch and French macaroon baking class at Cook’n with Class in Montmartre, I am looking for other opportunities to experience Paris with the new model of my stomach.
Lunch in the Loft (which is run by Miss Lunch) is a wonderful, intimate food salon that I can’t recommend enough. Dining in her sunny, art-fulled home and then deconstructing the meal was both a pleasure to the stomach and the mind. This time I hope to spend more time creating a menu, shopping at the Marche d’Aligre, cooking together and then dinning together on our meal.
David Lebovitz, author and food blogger, has suggestions for gluten-free gastronomy in Paris (from 2007). But other suggestions would be recommended.
- A gluten-free restaurant has opened: Des Si et des Mets. It features multi-course menus as well as Sunday brunch. (63, rue Lepic, Tél: 01 42 55 19 61).
- Soya (20, rue Pierre Levée, Tél: 01 48 06 33 02) is a hip vegetarian restaurant which has clearly marked gluten-free dishes on the menu. The restaurant isn’t strictly gluten-free, though, so that might be a consideration.
- A gluten-free take-out and food shop has finally opening in Paris: Biosphäre, located at 57, rue St. Maur (Tél: 01 48 06 08 81). I haven’t been in there yet, but it’s likely a haven for those on gluten-free diets.
As a girl can dream, I will plan my trip and look forward to the enjoyment of Paris, food, and networking with others who share this journey.
À tout à l’heure.
A good appetite, but everything tastes terrible
For a foodie, an off palate is a terrible thing to have. While I am hungry, my palate has not been cooperative. I have returned to eating regular food (except for raw, nuts, sugar, and bread). I have put my toe in the water for all kinds of food, however nothing hits the spot.
• Let’s Be Frank hot dogs with grilled onions (without the bun) – no go
• Crustless quiche with mozzarella, butternut squash and pancetta – no go
• Turkey burger, avocado and fat-free 1000 Island dressing (without the bun) – no go
• Chicken makhani, yellow lentils, and raita – no go
What do I need to do to feel sated? Just when I thought I was over sugar-free popsicles, I find that it is the only thing I want to eat.
It is strange that what you want and what your body wants are sometimes at odds with each other. Taste is not singularly located in the mouth. There are two cranial nerves that innervate the tongue and are used for taste: the facial nerve (cranial nerve VII) and the glossopharyngeal nerve (cranial nerve IX).
The facial nerve innervates the anterior (front) two-thirds of the tongue and the glossopharyngeal nerve innervates that posterior (back) one-third part of the tongue.
Another cranial nerve (the vagus nerve, X) carries taste information from the back part of the mouth. The cranial nerves carry taste information into the brain to a part of the brain stem called nucleus of the solitary tract. From the nucleus of the solitary tract, taste information goes to the thalamus and then to the cerebral cortex. Like information for smell, taste information also goes to the limbic system (hypothalamus and amygdala).
Given the complex relationship between our mouth and brain, I think it is important to know what is going on post-surgery. Many other folks post about this problem, and there isn’t a sufficient answer as to why it happens, however it does end.
I have been walking farmers’ markets, viewing cooking shows, and reading cookbooks to find inspiration, creativity, and sustenance–but it is not coming.
In light of this, I will turn my attention to people whose food and culture is foreign to me and see what blooms. I will be spending 10 days with individuals from Norway, Netherlands, Nigeria, UAE, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, India Canada, the UK, Russia, and Eastern Europe, etc. and hope that as we get to know one another, that their food stories will give me some much-needed inspiration.
I deeply believe that the sharing of a meal connects us. Food, cooked with love, nourishes the body, the soul, and creates relationships. I raise my fork to gastro-diplomacy. (For more information about gastro-diplomacy, please read the following posts on the USC Center on Public Diplomacy’s website or read Paul Rockower’s blog on the Huffington Post.)
L’Aus Du Fallafel, 34 rue Des Rosiers, 4ème arr.
The BEST falafel in Paris can be found in the Jewish Quarter. It was a religious experience.
Independence from the pureed and soft
For the last four weeks I have been living the life of soft and pureed food. From protein shakes, to pureed chicken or tuna salad, hummus. I cannot tell you how absolutely boring this has been, however, I made a commitment to following the program and for doing this right. There is no alternative.
So, on July 4th (my father’s birthday) I will celebrate with the next step in my food intake. I now get to graduate to food that is not pureed and softened. I get to have cooked vegetables, protein, and almost all other food except for raw food or sugar.
I am planning this first meal as if it is my last. Where to go, what to do have, how to prepare it? I am giddy thinking about venturing to the farmer’s market to see what to cook, eat, share.
These past few weeks have really taught me to consider the food that I am eating and savoring what is to come. Many people ask me if the items that I will be saying goodbye for good are worth it. For me, they are. I did not jump into the surgery quickly. I had to examine why I ate what I did, when I ate the food, and what the food said about me. I came to realize that while loving all things related to food, cooking, and celebrating through food, I also need to find other things to fill those empty spaces in my life.
So I say good bye not just to the pureed and soft, but I say good-bye to empty spaces in my life. I feel free in the independence that will be coming my way in this new chapter. In the planning of the potager, space and layout is done with both utility and beauty. While formal lines are usually the traditional layout, sometimes, your physical space, or your body, does not conform to formality. Understanding your physical space and what you do to fill up the holes, is paramount to a successful transition to a more positive lifestyle.
The potager is not just a personal expression of cultivation, but has roots in political and social movements. The potager du Roi (fr: Kitchen Garden of the King), near the Palace of Versailles, produced fresh vegetables and fruits for the table of the court of Louis XIV. It was created between 1678 and 1783 by Jean-Baptiste de La Quintinie, the director of the royal fruit and vegetable gardens. It is listed by the French Ministry of Culture as one of the Notable Gardens of France. This potager has weathered many of rulers, movements, styles, and crops.
Today the garden is open to the public. It produces over fifty tons of fruits and thirty tons of vegetables each year, which are sold in Versailles markets and at the school. In addition to teaching, the school regularly re-introduces historic varieties and carries on an extensive program of experimentation. Students come with at least two years’ prior university education, and spend a further four years studying at Versailles, including carrying out studies on their own small plots, and planning and executing a project on a particular terrain.
So , as I experience a form of independence on July 4th, we can’t forget how the Bastille was stormed on July 14th and the independence the French masses sought for themselves from the tyranny of the King and Queen. “Let them eat cake” will never been thought of in the same way after gastric bypass.
A new chapter
Today, I will be undergoing Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. It is a permanent re-configuration of my stomach and small intestines. Yes, permanent. I have been preparing for this since January so it is not a quick decision. For me, the biggest change will be how do I cook, plan, smell, taste, and experience food in the ways that I have in the past with the new rules.
In order to process this, I have frequently visualized either traveling to Paris, eating in Little India, walking the local farmer’s markets, and then trying to put together recipes which take into account the elimination of sugar, fat, and white carbohydrates that are on the “avoid” list post-surgery? Will I ever get to eat a French macaroon, a baguette, pomme frites from Chez L’Ami Louis (fried in goose fat), veg samosas, and all the other favorites on my list? What if the answer is “no”?
This blog will take you on the journey with me. Reviewing the many blogs and video diaries of individuals who have also walked this path, I will tell you what you won’t see here: (1) before and after photos; (2) recipes for “protein” shakes that will fill my plum-sized stomach starting on June 4th; (3) recommendations to use infant or toddler-sized cups and dishes.
What this blog is about is living a life filled with healthy, beautiful and low-fat food that enriches the soul, the palette, and the stomach. You will see how the food is both prepared, recipes, and displayed so that sustenance and sustainability are incorporated into every meal.
This blog is for the self-described “foodies” who love all kinds of good, healthy, fresh food and who have had the same surgery. I have not found recipes or musings about eating fresh and local food rather than strategizing which low-fat or fat-free processed product is best.
I hope that my resources and links, along with recipes and questions will be of interest to the WLS community. For those who want to know why, it is simple. I have done very drastic modifications to my body to stay alive based on the genetic roll of the dice. Now I want to move beyond the hacking of my body, to be in it a different way and to consider the aesthetic aspects of a rich and full life.
Welcome to my journey.
potagerdeparis 