#011 / 2003 Peace Tour: Learning Lessons and Healthy Recipes

LEARNING LESSONS AND HEALTHY RECIPES

#11

The older I get the more humbling experiences I have along the way. I have always been so quick to judge. Some of the people I disliked the most have brought good fortune down on me and I feel ashamed because I have had such ill feelings towards them.

I would never have used the title “Godmother of Poetry” if my old nemesis C Ra - I’ll have to do a chapter on him one day - hadn’t used it first when he quoted me for something. A reporter once dubbed me that, but it never would have occurred to me to use the title for myself if C Ra hadn’t done it first. He elevated me. Now that title is what I am best known for.

Recently a “Beatlick News” quote was prominently displayed in an ad within the prestigious “American Poetry Review” during April, National Poetry Month. During the People’s Poetry Gathering in New York it was all over the newsstands, even my landlady at the East Village Bed and Coffee had heard of “Beatlick News.“ The person who bought the ad is someone I just can’t abide; yet he gave my publication so much stature and exposure. Good for him, shame on me.

And that takes me to my friend Jeffrey. The first time I met him Beatlick Joe said he had an old friend from Albuquerque stopping by. Jeff roared in on a Gold Wing motorcycle during a cross-country trip. He smoked and talked incessantly, mostly about money, and neither of us ever got a word in edgewise. He has this gravelly New York accent that grates like a hasp on the eardrums.

But over the years I have come to really appreciate the old motorhead. He has great taste and a generous heart. Recently he had a heart attack, he’s only in his forties. His dad died of a heart attack at 41. Now Jeffrey has really changed his lifestyle, quit smoking, lost 40 pounds, and he is a great inspiration to me. Who knew?

Jeff quit eating meat and dairy products. He has had angioplasty to ream out his arteries, so he is very conscious of fat - my enemy, too. He follows a diet that keeps his fat intake to 20 grams a day. That is equivalent to three pats of butter!

But the goal is to avoid the butter, of course. He has substituted soy products for cheeses, milk, and margarines. We had a fabulous Caesar salad with soy Parmesan.

For hunger pangs, Jeff bites down on fennel seeds, a natural appetite suppressant. When he is craving pizza, he throws salsa over some bread. With some soy cheese on top and the bread toasted just right, that can be a really quick and satisfying treat.

And that is the key, to get the satisfaction from the substance and flavor in healthier choices. Another of his tricks is to go to the health food store and buy sesame sticks. He grinds them up in the coffee bean grinder and puts them in a shaker. Sprinkled over something a little too bland, the sesame spice perks up just about anything.

The goal is to get the good HDL fat levels in your bloodstream higher and the bad LDL levels in your blood lower. Animal meats and dairy products process to the harmful fat that clogs arteries. Vegetable oils help pass out the bad fat through the liver bile. Another key function for removing the fat is to drink lots of water so the fat has something to attach itself to in order to be passed along.

Jeffrey has really taken all this to heart. Being in his kitchen and seeing his example has helped give me an inspiring kick-start and another one of those lessons in humility.

Here are some recipes I have adapted from the Food Channel

Recipes:

Salmon with spinach

6 (6-ounce) salmon fillets, boneless and skinless

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

Pesto, recipe follows

1/2 to 3/4 cup very fine bread crumbs

1 teaspoon soy butter

2 oranges and 2 grapefruits, peeled and segmented

Citrus Soy Sauce, recipe follows

Steamed Spinach Leaves, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Heat a 12-inch non-stick sauté pan over a high flame. Season the salmon fillets with salt and pepper. Add a small amount of oil to the pan and sear both sides of the salmon quickly, just a few seconds on each side, leaving the fish very rare. Remove the pan from the heat, and place the fish on a work surface. Wipe out the pan and reserve for later use.

Spread a 1/4-inch layer of pesto evenly over 1 side of the fillet. Sprinkle the top of the pesto with a light, thin dusting of fresh bread crumbs. Carefully invert each fillet into the pan and place it over a medium flame. Toast the bread coating, adding tiny bits of soy butter to the pan that will melt into the salmon underneath. Once the bread is toasted (after about 1 minute), place the pan in the oven for about 3 minutes, just to heat the fish through.

To serve, mound 1/6 of the spinach in the center of a warm dinner plate. Invert 1 salmon fillet onto the spinach, crust-side up, and ladle citrus soy sauce around the sides.

Place 1 orange segment on top of 1 grapefruit segment in the sauce at 3 different points on the plate.

Pesto

2 tablespoons pine nuts

1/2 teaspoon chopped garlic

Salt and pepper, to taste

6 cups fresh basil, thoroughly washed and dried

1/2 cup olive oil

1/2 to 3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs

In the bowl of a food processor place, pine nuts, garlic, salt, and pepper. Add the basil and process again. With the motor running, add the oil in a stream slowly, scraping down the sides of the bowl occasionally. Add bread crumbs a little at a time, just enough to make pesto spreadable. Process and repeat until the pesto is the right consistency. Remove from food processor and set aside until ready to use.

Citrus Soy Sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup ginger, peeled and thinly sliced

1/4 cup shallots, peeled and thinly sliced

1/8 cup garlic, peeled and sliced

1 cup dry white wine

1/8 cup champagne vinegar

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons fish sauce

1 cups grapefruit juice

1 1/2 cups orange juice

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 cups vegetable stock, reduced to 1/2 cup

1 cup olive oil

In a non-reactive saucepan, sauté the ginger in 1 tablespoon olive oil for 1 minute over medium heat. Add the shallot and garlic and continue cooking for 1 minute longer. Deglaze the pan with white wine, champagne vinegar, soy sauce, fish sauce, and all 3 fruit juices. Reduce the liquid volume down to 1 cup. Add the stock, bring it to a boil, and cook another 3 minutes.

Strain, pushing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible, and place the liquid into a blender or food processor. With the motor running on low, add the remaining olive oil in a slow stream until all the oil is incorporated.

Yield: about 1 1/2 cups

Steamed Spinach: 2 pounds loose spinach leaves

Wash spinach thoroughly and drain, leaving some of the water clinging to the leaves. In a 12-inch saute pan over medium heat, saute the spinach in a small amount of olive oil until it is wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain excess moisture, season with salt and pepper.

Potato Gaufrettes: 2 large baking potatoes, like russets, and soy butter.

Preheat oven at 350 degrees.

Peel potatoes and slice thin in a criss-cross cut on the zig-zag part of the mandolin. Lay out the slices on a baking sheet. Brush with soy butter and bake until crisp, about 12 minutes.

Chai Tea

1 tablespoon fennel seed

6 green cardamom pods

12 whole cloves

1 cinnamon stick

1 (1/4-inch) piece ginger root, peeled and thinly sliced

6 black peppercorns

7 cups water

2 tablespoons Darjeeling tea

4 tablespoons brown sugar

1 cup soy -milk

In a medium saucepan, combine fennel seed, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon stick, ginger root, peppercorns and water. Boil for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and steep for 10 minutes. Add the tea, bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer 5 minutes.

Strain mixture, discard spices and return the tea to the saucepan. Stir in the brown sugar and milk. Serve immediately.

Coconut Shrimp

Peanut or vegetable oil, for frying

1/4 cup cornstarch

3 imitation egg whites

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cups flaked coconut

1 1/2 pounds jumbo shrimp, peeled with tails on

Red Curry Sauce, recipe follows

1 green onion, white and green part, chopped

1 handful fresh mint, hand-torn

Heat 3 inches of oil in a large deep skillet or heavy pot to 325 degrees F.

In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch, imitation egg whites, salt, and pepper until foamy. Spread the coconut out in a pie dish. Dredge the shrimp with the cornstarch/egg white mixture and shake off any excess. Press the shrimp into the coconut flakes; turn shrimp over and press into coconut again to coat both sides.

Deep-fry the shrimp in batches until the coconut is golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Using tongs or a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp to paper towels to drain. Arrange the shrimp on a platter, serve immediately with red curry sauce and garnish with green onion and mint.

Red Curry Sauce:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons Thai red curry paste

1 cup unsweetened coconut milk

1 lime, juiced

Place a small pot over medium heat and coat with the oil. Stir the red curry paste into the pan and fry that up until aromatic. Slowly pour in the coconut milk and continue to stir to incorporate. Add the lime juice (and 1 of the squeezed out halves for added flavor) and cook for 5 to 10 minutes to thicken. Pour the sauce into a nice serving bowl and serve with the coconut shrimp.

Yield: 1 cup

Tofu Satay with Peanut Sauce

Marinade:

1 cup soy yogurt

1 teaspoon freshly grated ginger

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 1/2 pounds tofu patties, cut into strips

20 wooden skewers, soaked in water 30 minutes

Vegetable oil, for grilling

Butter lettuce leaves

Fresh cilantro leaves

Peanut sauce, recipe follows

Combine the yogurt, ginger, garlic, and curry powder in a shallow mixing bowl, stir to combine. Place the tofu strips in the yogurt marinade and gently toss until well coated. Cover and let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for up to 2 hours.

Thread the tofu pieces onto the soaked skewers working the skewer down the middle of the piece, so that it stays in place during grilling. Place a grill pan over medium heat and brush it with oil to prevent the tofu from sticking. Grill the tofu satays for 3 to 5 minutes on each side, until nicely seared and cooked through. Serve the satays on a platter lined with lettuce leaves and cilantro; accompanied by a small bowl of peanut sauce on the side.

Peanut Sauce

1 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 teaspoons red chili paste, such as sambal

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 limes, juiced

1/2 cup hot water

1/4 cup chopped peanuts, for garnish

Combine the peanut butter, soy sauce, red chili paste, brown sugar, and lime juice in a food processor or blender. Puree to combine. While the motor is running, drizzle in the hot water to thin out the sauce, you may not need all of it. Pour the sauce into a nice serving bowl and garnish with the chopped peanuts. Serve with chicken satay.

Yield: 3 cups