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Dispatches From The World of Singer/Songwriter Heather Pierson

Dispatches From The World of Singer/Songwriter Heather Pierson

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Saturday Morning Musings – Add a little spice!

22 Saturday Mar 2014

Posted by heatherpierson in Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

cooking, food, spices

One of my greatest passions in life is cooking.  I love to be in the kitchen, cooking for myself, for friends, for me and Shawn.  I wrote a while back about fridge essentials and had promised a follow-up about pantry staples – and that’s still on the agenda – but this week I’m thinking about what’s in my spice cabinet.

I’ve got a good collection going and I’m always looking for more.

If you have nothing else in your spice rack, I think these are the absolutely-must-haves:

  • sea salt
  • black pepper (freshly ground is best – so much tastier!)
  • garlic powder (for when you don’t feel like mincing fresh)
  • basil
  • oregano
  • parsley
  • crushed red pepper (for a little heat)
  • cayenne (if you enjoy a little more heat, like I do)

Soups, pasta, you name it – these few will get you through most anything.

Then there are the baking essentials:

  • baking soda
  • baking powder
  • cinnamon
  • nutmeg
  • clove (whole and ground)
  • vanilla extract
  • coconut oil
  • dried peppermint

Other leafy spices that are a must for all kinds of cuisine:

  • sage (mushrooms and sage.  mmm.)
  • rosemary
  • thyme (do you have that song stuck in your head now?)
  • marjoram (another sweet leaf – try it instead of basil!)
  • tarragon (great with mushrooms and asparagus)
  • cilantro (salsa, bean dips and fillings, Indian curry top-off)
  • bay leaves (a must for soups)

I love Indian food, so I keep some other must-haves around:

  • turmeric (bitter root – essential – stains your clothes, watch out!)
  • ginger (another essential bitter root with lots of great uses)
  • cumin (whole and ground)
  • coriander (ground – this and cumin are also great in Mexican cuisine)
  • cardamom (pods and ground)
  • saffron (so expensive and so wonderful when cooked into basmati rice)
  • paprika (just the smell of this is worth keeping it around)
  • yellow mustard (whole seeds and ground)
  • garam masala (I cheat and buy it. I’ve actually never made my own – but I should try!)

Other miscellaneous spices/flavors that I use on occasion:

  • onion powder
  • celery seed
  • kelp granules
  • dill
  • chili powder

When Shawn and I were on the road in Florida last year, we found an amazing place in St. Pete called Savory Spice Shop.  I could’ve spent thousands of dollars in there!  Dozens of varieties of sea salt, peppercorns, leaves, roots… holy moly!   I did finally settle for a few things:

  • tikka masala
  • hot yellow curry
  • red Thai curry
  • curry leaves

So.. this is what I’ve got.  What’s your favorite spice, or combination of spices?  Any suggestions of spices I should try?  I’d love to hear from you – especially if you’re into vegan cooking!

Saturday Morning Musings – What’s in your fridge?

01 Saturday Mar 2014

Posted by heatherpierson in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

cooking, diet, eating, food, food shopping, fruits, healthy eating, shopping list, vegan, vegetables, vegetarian, vegetarianism

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about my conversion to vegetarianism.  I received a lot of positive responses as well as a lot of questions and some requests for shopping lists.

First of all, eating healthier means that you’ll be spending a lot more time in the kitchen.  If you love to cook, then you’re ahead.  If you don’t… well, I can’t relate but I can only suggest that you think of cooking as an adventure.  Because it is!  🙂

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this question, “You don’t eat meat or dairy?  Well, then what DO you eat?”  That has always seemed to me like an odd question – but there are a great many of us who rely on fast food or on heat-and-eat meals.  Cooking from scratch at home may require more time, but in the long run you’ll be saving money and be healthier – what could be better?

So, this week I have put together a list of what I believe are some basic ingredients that every refrigerator must have.

Starting with veggies:

ONIONS.  The most essential veggie.  Onions are in everything – sauteed into stir-fries and sauces, baked on top of pizzas, cooked into soups, garnished onto salads.  I always say that most of my favorite meals begin with onions and garlic being sauteed in olive oil.  Yellows are my go-to onion, but Vidalias and reds are awesome too.

TOMATOES.  (Technically a fruit, yes, but what the hell.)  Both fresh and canned.  I prefer grape tomatoes, which seem to last longer and can be chopped into and onto pretty much any dish.  For larger tomatoes, romas and heirlooms are my favorites.  Canned diced tomatoes are sometimes necessary, and the ones at Trader Joe’s are my preferred brand.  I also like Whole Foods’ 365-Organic Brand of crushed tomatoes with basil.  Perfect for building a spaghetti or pizza sauce.

CARROTS & CELERY.  Two more essential staples for soups, salads, stir-fry, steamed sides, and of course are great raw snacks on their own.

POTATOES.  Baked; mashed; sliced, boiled and fried (or baked, if you want to be healthier) for French fries.  Chopped into curries.  Cooked into soups – minestrone, of course, and homemade potato leek soup is so good and so EASY!   Yum.  I am probably a little TOO fond of potatoes.  Starch in moderation isn’t too bad, is it..?

MUSHROOMS.  You either love ’em or hate ’em, but I personally love me some fungus.  White button mushrooms are the staple in my kitchen.  Portabello caps are choice as well for things Italian.  Shiitakes are excellent for stir-fry and in miso soup.  One time, years ago, I bought some monkey head mushrooms and made a soup with them.  It was… interesting.   Definitely worth trying once just for the experience.  (Hey, like I said – cooking is an adventure!)

BELL PEPPERS.  Greens are usually the cheapest and most plentiful, depending on where you shop, but red and yellow taste so sweet and wonderful and are a great addition to anything – and are absolutely worth every penny of the higher price tag.  (Onions, green peppers and celery are the holy trinity of Cajun cooking!)

BROCCOLI.  How did broccoli become stigmatized as the “veggie that kids hate”?  I always loved it, and I also love how versatile it is.  Raw or cooked, broccoli crowns should always be available for an appearance.  Pasta dishes, salads, soups, stir-fry (you see a theme here, eh?  We eat a lot of those four things).  Steamed with a little bit of pepper?  Nothing finer.  Another good raw snack as well – though I have to admit I’ve always preferred my broccoli cooked.

LETTUCE.  Everyone should be eating more salads (including me!).  For me, organic romaine hearts are the way to go.  Spring mix, when it’s in season, is perfect.

Those are the essentials that I think one must never run out of.  And in the freezer of course I always have peas, corn and green beans.

Oh… and two more things that we keep in the freezer: Amy’s California Veggie Burgers and Rice Dream Vanilla Pies!  We also keep our bread in the freezer because we don’t eat it quickly enough to leave it out.  Barowsky’s breads are our favorite.  I also make my own bread – which is REALLY fun and you should try doing it sometime if you’ve not tried it before!

Then there are the fresh “floaters” that make semi-frequent appearances on my cutting board and in the steamer: zucchini, kale, asparagus, spinach, green onions, leeks, Brussel sprouts.

Onto fruits (which I don’t keep in the fridge, but close enough)!

BANANAS.  Every single morning that I’m home, I have a smoothie with a banana, rice milk, hemp protein and a little bit of carob powder.  The perfect way to start the day.

AVOCADOS.  One of the most perfect foods to ever evolve on this planet.  Absolutely delicious.  I make a lot of guac, but avocados are also great when chopped into a salad, taco or burrito, sliced onto a veggie burger – or just cut one in half and eat the whole thing with a spoon.

APPLES.   Yep.  Apples.  ’nuff said.  My favorites are Braeburns and Galas.

CLEMENTINES.   A quick and healthy snack that’s easy to peel.

I always keep blueberries in the freezer for pancakes and muffins.  And then the fresh “floaters” in this category are: peaches, plums, kiwis, grapes.

Dried fruits are essential, too.  Raisins and dates for starters.  Apricots are yum, too.

MORE FRIDGE STAPLES (in no particular order):

Rice milk (much better than soy)
Hemp protein
Eggs (I eat maybe one a week – and we buy them from a farm just around the corner)
Peanut butter (we buy Trader Joe’s brand, which will separate if not kept in the fridge)
Tahini (for making cheese-like sauces)
Hot sauce (Beast Feast Maine is our preferred source)
Annie’s Goddess Salad Dressing (our favorite)
Follow Your Heart Vegenaise (I love it on my French fries)
Tamari
Miso (for soups and spreads)
Fresh lemon and lime (for hummus and guac, respectively)
Fresh basil and pine-nuts (for pesto!)
Mustard
Salsa

Okay, so that’s the fridge covered.  Next time, I’ll open up the cabinets and take a look at cans, spices, grains, and more!

Saturday Morning Musings – Food (habits) for thought.

15 Saturday Feb 2014

Posted by heatherpierson in Uncategorized

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

diet, food, health, Heather Pierson, life, looking back, perspective, vegan, veganism, vegetarian, vegetarianism

Unlike a lot of folks, I didn’t buy or even demand any chocolate for Valentine’s Day.  I gave it up years ago (as I briefly mentioned in an earlier post) in my effort to cut caffeine entirely out of my diet – and, eleven years later, I’m still completely caffeine free.

My diet has long been a thing of fascination to my friends and acquaintances over the years – and to myself as well as it continues to evolve.

There was a single moment that changed my relationship to food that resonates to this day, nearly twenty years on.  I’ll never forget it.

It was a warm spring day in Auburn, Maine, and I was first in line waiting at a red light to cross over Center Street.  I was twenty years old, and I was working in and had just recently started renting an apartment in Lewiston.   In that moment, life was good.  I had the music up, and the windows down for the first time that spring.

The vehicle that happened to come to a stop in front of me at the intersection changed my life.

Rolling down Route 4 from the north in Turner came an open-sided truck from DeCoster Egg Farm, not carrying eggs, but the hens that produce them.  Hundreds of them, crammed thickly into cages.  Their movements were a terrible struggle.  Their cries of discomfort were unmistakable.   Feathers drifted free and were carried by a breeze over the long line of busy, mid-day traffic.

I turned off my radio as tears burned down my cheeks.

“That’s it!” I declared out loud to myself.  I was done being a meat-eater.

The seeds for this epiphany had been planted when I was a young girl.  I’d been a staunch supporter of animal rights as a youngster (following my mother’s footsteps) and used to bring to school all of the shocking literature that my mom received from organizations like International Fund for Animal Welfare, World Wildlife Fund and Greenpeace (just to name a few of the organizations of which she was a pledging member) and display it off the front of my school desk.  These mailings often included glossy, color images of baby harp seals being clubbed to death; household pets being sold in Asian meat markets; wolves shot by snipers from Alaskan helicopters; majestic humpback whales beached and bloodied by harpooning.  My teacher would often despair of my campaigns and would ask me to remove the photos; my classmates never tired of teasing me about it.  I didn’t care – in my mind, I was bringing attention to serious matters.

“We need to speak for the animals because they can’t speak for themselves,” I was often fond of saying.

“Well, why do you still eat meat then?” my classmates would sneer.  And I never had an answer.  I would simply stammer and blush with embarrassment.

During these same years, I was taking piano lessons from Helen Davidson who, along with her husband, owned and operated a farm in Hebron.   Sometimes after my weekly lesson I would go out to the barn with Helen to visit the cows.   She introduced me to one particular little calf, saying, “This is Malcolm.”

For the following months, I would look forward to the occasional visit to the barn to see Malcolm and to feeding him from my tiny hands.

Then, there came a day when Malcolm was no longer in the barn, and I wondered to myself where he had gone.

At the dinner table one evening, as I was a few bites into my dinner, my father looked at me and said, “How do you like your Malcolm burger?”  A sharp pang of sadness and outrage sliced through me.   I don’t remember what happened after that – I was only in fourth or fifth grade – but I’ve not yet forgotten that terrible feeling.

As a child, of course, you eat what your parents serve you, and so the memory of this incident slowly faded and I continued on the omnivore’s path, right up until the day I saw that truckload of chickens.

Red meat was easy to give up (I didn’t eat that much of it anyway).  Pork, seafood and turkey, not a huge deal either.  Chicken was a bit more difficult, as I had relied upon it as a staple.

Slowly, I learned to replace my proteins, learned how to do more with beans and nuts.  I fell in love with cooking, with experimenting with flavors and colors and aromas.

My detoxification didn’t end there.  The following year, I quit drinking – a huge hurdle to clear.  Eventually, I gave up dairy, too – I had become increasingly less tolerant to it, both physically and philosophically.  Soda was long gone, as were preservatives, food colorings, fillers.  Gone, too, were most simple sugars.   It would take me hours to go food shopping, carefully reading labels, researching ingredients.

Little shifts here and there have taken place over the years – rice milk instead of soy; hemp protein in my morning smoothies replaced spirulina; various vitamin supplements have come and gone; maple syrup and honey have made comebacks, as did eggs two years ago.

For me, all of these choices have been wise and good.  However, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this diet for everyone.  Being a damn-near-vegan can be hard work sometimes.  When you cut out meat, dairy, refined sugars, caffeine, food colorings, preservatives and additives, one fact is abundantly clear – you’re gonna be spending a whole lot of time in the kitchen, which I’m lucky that I do love to do.  Cooking is a creative process for me and, like any other creative activity, there are moments of… I guess you could call it “cooking block.”

“What the hell am I going to make tonight?”

One of these weeks – maybe next week – I’ll talk a bit about what I think should be included in a well-stocked pantry.   Stay tuned.  🙂

And for the record, I’m not one of those “meat-is-murder” vegetarians.  I believe that the Davidsons were absolutely right to raise their own beef.  Better that than to buy it in the supermarket, coming from some hideous factory farm in who-knows-where.

I couldn’t do it.  Raise a calf and then butcher it?  Or raise a rifle to a deer in the woods?  I admire and respect anyone who can and does.  Certainly in a matter of life or death, I imagine I could.  I figure, though, that if I can live without doing these things, or without asking others to do it on my behalf, then I will try for as long as I am able.

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