Low Carb Cooking Class! (LC3) -- Roasted Vegetables

Time for another installment of Low Carb Cooking Class!

Today’s lesson is for people who claim they don’t like vegetables.

Let’s get one thing out of the way: despite what has been pounded into your head for pretty much your entire life, vegetables are not actually required in the human diet. They’re just not. I’m sure that is quite shocking to some of you. (What about fiber?! What about feeding your gut bacteria? What about the phytochemicals?! Don’t we need quercetin, resveratrol, curcumin, sulphorophane, and other goodies we get from plants? Well, sure, they might be helpful in certain circumstances, but required? Nope.) There are no essential nutrients—none—that you get from plant foods that you can’t get from animal products. You can, indeed, live on a “zero carb” or animal-only diet. (Kind of like the opposite of veganism.) You don't even need the fiber. In fact, lots of people with IBS and other issues related to impaired digestion of plant material seem to do better on diets low in indigestible fiber. I’m not saying I recommend a zero-carb diet; only that it is, technically, possible. (And not only is it possible, but many people are absolutely thriving on this way of eating, when just about everything else—including regular ol’ low carb and ketogenic diets—did not give them the results they were looking for.) According to the Food and Nutrition Board of the Institute of Medicine of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, “The lower limit of dietary carbohydrate compatible with life apparently is zero, provided that adequate amounts of protein and fat are consumed.” And since fiber is a carbohydrate, zero dietary carbohydrate means zero dietary fiber. But again, I’m not saying a zero carb diet is recommended or optimal; I’m simply noting that you don’t need to force down copious amounts of indigestible plant material if you really, really don't like it.

But for those of you out there who do want to include vegetables in your diet, but maybe aren’t the biggest fan of them, why is this? My guess would be that you grew up in a home where your only exposure to vegetables was via frozen or canned vegetables heated up in a microwave, or fresh vegetables boiled beyond all recognition, with flavor and texture both rendered completely unappetizing. If you don’t like vegetables because you’re accustomed to being served veg that are mushy, soggy, bland, and just plain lifeless, that ends now!

Low Carb Cooking Class! -- Roasted Chicken & Veg

Just when you thought my blog was becoming nothing but rants about ketogenic diets…

It’s time for another installment of Low Carb Cooking Class!

We’ve covered lots of ground so far in this series on very simple and easy cooking for low carbers like myself, who want to eat delicious, homemade low carb foods, but who are not about to spend a fortune on almond or coconut flour, erythritol, coconut aminos, and all sorts of other esoteric ingredients that are absolutely not required in order to put a nutritious and yummy low carb meal together. Here’s the territory we’ve visited so far: 

• Introduction to this series and why I'm writing it

• Stocking your kitchen with low carb staples in order to make all of this a breeze

• How to season food to give things different flavors even when you use the same main proteins and vegetables (i.e., make the same food taste totally different so you don't get bored)

• Tips for cooking in bulk and in advance

• Using salt, heat, and acids to up your cooking game

• Roasting meat and vegetables together in one baking dish -- possibly the easiest way to get real food on the table that doesn’t involve opening a can of tuna or calling for takeout.

To be honest, I feel kind of silly writing blog posts that boil down to, “brown ground meat in a skillet with some onions and zucchini, and add some salt.” I mean, really? There are people who don’t know how to cook low carb like this? But maybe there are. And that’s what this series is all about—low carb cooking that is simple, easy, and above all, practical—the kind of cooking you’ll do all throughout the week, on busy nights when your kids have six different activities going on, or you get home from work and you’re ravenous, and you “don’t know what to make” for dinner.

I have a nice collection of low carb, ketogenic, and Paleo cookbooks, and I love flipping through them for the food porn (and for ideas…food ideas, not porn ideas, haha), but to be honest, I rarely make any of the dishes in them. I have no kids and no boyfriend, so in preparing food for myself, sometimes dinner is as boring simple as a can of salmon and a raw green pepper. I think we somehow got this idea that every meal has to be the stuff of legends and worthy of being posted on Instagram. (I do not post pictures to Instagram, mostly because I’m a terrible photographer, but also because no one wants to see pictures of a can of salmon and a green pepper.)

So, in the interest of keeping things simple yet delicious, today we’re going to cover something that should be a staple of basic cooking for just about everybody, whether they eat low carb or not. It’s time for roasted chicken!

Low Carb Cooking Class! (LC3) -- Meat, Veg, Bake, Done!

Welcome back to class!

Last time, we covered a ridiculously easy way to make delicious low carb meals using ground meat, vegetables, and just one pan. I’ve got something similar for you today, except instead of the stovetop, this strategy calls for the oven:

Meat.

Vegetables.

Olive oil.

Salt & pepper.

Bake.

Cooking literally does not get simpler or easier than this. This is truly for the people out there who claim they “don’t know what to cook.” After today, you no longer have that excuse.

Low Carb Cooking Class! (LC3) -- Herbs & Spices (And Ground Meat "With Stuff")

Class is back in session!

In the previous post, we explored three things that professional chefs use prodigiously, but which are woefully underutilized in the home kitchen: salt, heat, and acid. I alluded to a fourth thing, but said we would explore it in a separate post. Well, this is that post. In case you missed the previous posts, we’ve covered why I’m writing this series, how to stock your freezer, fridge, and pantry with low carb staples to make cooking a breeze, and tips for using some of those staples for cooking in advance or in bulk. Like I covered in the intro post, my goal is to show newbies out there (and old hands who need a reminder) just how easy it is to stay on a low carb plan. No detailed meal plans needed, and no shopping lists that rival blueprints for the International Space Station. When you keep certain items on hand, and you know what to do with them, you don’t need to plan what you’re having for lunch three weeks from now.

Today’s lesson: herbs & spices -- and a tasty one-pan meal that couldn't be easier.

Low Carb Cooking Class! (LC3) -- Pro Tips for Home Cooks

Class is back in session!

The theme of this series is: if you have time to wait for fried chicken, pizza, or Chinese food to be delivered, then you have time to whip up a completely yummy low-carb, Paleo, or ketogenic meal. In earlier posts, we covered how to stock your freezer, fridge, and pantry to make meal prep a cinch, and tips for cooking in bulk and in advance. That’s sort of “prepping the battlefield,” as they said when I was in the military. Setting the stage, if you will. Now, it’s time to start talking about how to take these ingredients and starting points and turn them into meals.   

Professional chefs will tell you their “secrets” aren’t really secrets at all. They’re actually basic, fundamental things that the pros simply employ differently in the kitchen than home cooks do. Sure, maybe they went to culinary school, did a few years staging under more established chefs, and know way more than you or I do about creating culinary magic, but that doesn’t mean we simpletons can’t hold our own and serve ourselves and our families delicious low carb food. We’re not out to win Chopped All-Stars, after all, just to put some edible food on the table, right? If you want to impress people, then quit reading my blog and go read this one instead, for Paleo. (Or this one, for low carb.) (Or this one, for keto.)

For the rest of us, who just want to make easy and convenient low carb meals, here goes.

Low Carb Cooking Class! (LC3) - Kitchen Prep

Class is in session!

Welcome to the second installment of Low Carb Cooking Class, a.k.a. LC³.

As I explained in the intro post, we’re starting things off with what is probably the most important lesson: how to stock your kitchen so that you can have delicious low carb meals ready quickly and with no need for advance planning. I realize that, as a single and childless individual, my notions of how simple it is to prepare food is approximately seventeen million lightyears away from what moms and/or dads of large families experience. That being said, I still have never understood some people’s certainty that they are incapable of sticking to a certain type of diet—be it Paleo, low-carb, keto, or anything else—without a “meal plan.” Even the phrase “meal plan” makes me cringe. It’s as bad as nails on a chalkboard for me.

I refuse to do meal plans for clients. I’m sorry, but you are a grown adult and I am not going to tell you what to have for lunch three Tuesdays from now. What I will do, and love to do, is show people how easy it is to stay low carb without a meal plan. (As they say, instead of cooking a fish for someone, I prefer to teach them to fish.) When you have a basic understanding of what to cook and how to cook it, you don’t need an instruction manual. (I did say this isn’t rocket science, yes?)

BUT: The thing is, even if you know what to cook and how to cook it, you can’t cook it if you don’t have it. So that’s what today’s post is about: what to keep on hand in your kitchen so that, when it’s mealtime and the house (or your life in general) is in chaos, the one thing you won’t have to stress over is what to make for dinner. (Or breakfast or lunch.)

Low Carb Cooking Class! (LC3) - Intro

Whaddup, y’all?

I tweeted this not long ago:

I don't understand ppl who "don't know what to cook." Grnd beef, onion, zucchini, lots of Indian spices, 1pan, done! pic.twitter.com/Z7SFKPM9m4

— Amy Berger (@TuitNutrition) June 14, 2016

If the unexpectedly large response to my tweet is any indication, there are a lot of people out there who want some super simple and quick low carb meals that can be put together in minutes. I have to say, I was surprised by the response. I guess I’ve been at this long enough that it’s never a struggle for me to prepare something to eat, and I don’t rack my brain trying to figure out how the odd mish-mash of things in my fridge and pantry can be turned into a meal that someone—me, usually, but on occasion, other people, too—would consider palatable and actually want to eat.

I take it for granted that everyone thinks cooking is as easy as I do. I’m no Michelin-starred chef, but I’ve been feeding myself for over three decades now, and I’m still here. (I’ll let you decide whether or not this is a good thing.) I don’t create dazzling, four-course gourmet meals every night (or ever, pretty much), but I can usually whip up a tasty low carb meal by grabbing a bit of this, a little of that, and a bunch of that other thing over there.

And that’s really the issue, folks: whether you’re cooking for one or cooking for a crowd, not every meal you prepare has to be the stuff of legends. You and I are not Iron Chefs, and we are not aiming to “beat Bobby Flay.” (Apologies to my overseas readers if you’re not familiar with the Food Network or the Cooking Channel in the U.S.) We do not have to jazz everything up with some fancy-schmancy roasted jalapeño & garlic aioli, or create a sweet & sour gastrique to impress the people gathered around the table. With a couple of good pots & pans, a baking sheet, and a well-stocked pantry, fridge, and freezer, low carb cooking is a breeze. Most cooking is a breeze. Really, it’s much simpler than you might think it is.

With this in mind, I am starting this “Low Carb Cooking Class” series, or, as I like to think of it: LC³.

Book Review: Sweet & Savory Fat Bombs

    

Like I said in the title of my review of this book on Amazon, Martina Slajerova has outdone herself! Her first book, The KetoDiet Cookbook (which I reviewed on the blog a while back) is a great addition to any low-carb kitchen, but with Sweet and Savory Fat Bombs, she’s knocked it out of the park. I’m not kidding, kids. This one’s a keeper!

(Before I go on, in the interest of full disclosure: I received a courtesy copy of this book. Take that for what you will.)

Whether you prefer sweet or salty, chocolatey or fruity, this book delivers. Even if you have a nut allergy or dairy sensitivity, there are plenty of delicious fat bombs here for you to enjoy. It goes way beyond the usual fat bomb recipes: peanut butter, chocolate, coconut. (Not that there’s anything wrong with those!) There’s orange creamsicle, dulce de leche, green tea & lemon, gingerbread, pistachio, strawberry basil. A huge variety of out-of-the-ordinary flavors and textures to keep you going back to this book again and again.

Book Review: Growing Tomorrow

Tl; dr – read, read, read, love, love, love.

Growing Tomorrow is the second book by author and farmer Forrest Pritchard.  As I said in my gushing praise for his first book, the NYT bestseller Gaining Ground, the dude knows how to write. (He also knows a little something about farming. If you live in the DC area, check out Smith Meadows farm in person if you are so inclined, or if Berryville, Virginia is a little far for you to wander out to, you can find them at many markets all over greater DC.)

Growing Tomorrow is part travelogue, part cookbook, and above all, an homage to small, family farms, sustainable and humane production of plant and animal foods, and the people who dedicate their lives to making sure those of us who can’t or won’t farm for ourselves have access to food we trust, raised in ways we value. The book is an account of the author’s visits to eighteen farms across the U.S., to share the stories of how they are growing and raising plants and animals sustainably, humanely, and, believe it or not, profitably. It’s proof that one can make ends meet without cutting corners, exploiting workers, poisoning the land, abusing livestock, or cheating consumers. Working in tandem with mother nature and reliable, regular customers, small farms can do things “the right way” and stay in the black. (Granted, it often takes several years to get there after pants-wetting years spent in the red, but farming is generally not a quarter-by-quarter profit seeking enterprise. If you are unable to take a long—very long—view of things, farming is probably not for you.)       

As the author discussed in an interview he did on the Real World Paleo podcast, one of his goals was to highlight the diversity of today’s American farms and farmers. Forrest visited farms on the west coast, east coast, north, south, and everywhere in between. In 2016, we’re about as far as it gets from the dour couple in the famous painting, American Gothic. From fruit orchards in southern California to an organic grain farm in Iowa, to a sustainable fishery in Massachusetts, there’s no region ignored, and certainly no lack of ethnic diversity, either. The farms featured in Growing Tomorrow show that farming has nothing to do with the color of your skin or the language you grew up speaking, and everything to do with courage, grit, determination, and most importantly, a sense of humor and a pathological love of hard work in difficult conditions.     

From what I know of Forrest, he pours himself into everything he does. Nothing is done halfway and nothing is done without an unwavering dedication to quality and authenticity. Not on his farm, and not in his writing. This was evident to me before I even got to page one of the book. From the dedication alone, I knew this book would deliver:

“To my fellow farmers—people of faith, creativity, and deep good humor. It’s long overdue, but on behalf of our country, thanks for lunch.”

Are you kidding me? I told you he could write!

Book Review: The KetoDiet Cookbook

Fact: I’m a pretty boring cook. I generally keep things really simple in the kitchen. Lots of ground beef, baked sausages, steamed or roasted vegetables, meat & vegetable quiches, and lots & lots of canned seafood. This works for me. I’m single and I live alone. No picky kids to feed, no spouse or significant other who turns his nose up at leftovers. I could eat the same things three days in a row and be perfectly content.

It’s pretty funny, then, that I have a sizeable cookbook collection. What can I say? Just because I tend to stick to a relatively small culinary repertoire doesn’t mean I don’t like reading new recipes and, even more, looking at drool-worthy pictures of delicious food. (Yes, I’m a “food-porn” junkie, whether it’s LCHF or not.) I don’t often follow recipes step-by-step. If I’m making something for the first time, then yes, I stick to the recipe as written. But once I’ve made something a time or two, I tend to alter things a bit and make it my own. This is one of the best things about cookbooks, for me: inspiration. Above anything, cookbooks give me ideas for new things to try. New flavor combinations, new cooking techniques, ways to cook vegetables I see at the farmers’ market and have no idea what to do with. (Celery root and sunchokes, anyone?)

BUT: Even though I don’t use cookbooks as my roadmap in the kitchen every day, I know lots of you out there are always on the lookout for trustworthy low-carb, keto, and/or Paleo/Primal recipes. And with the exploding popularity of these dietary strategies, there is a corresponding explosion of cookbooks popping up online and in brick-and-mortar stores. I reviewed Jimmy Moore and Maria Emmerich’s The Ketogenic Cookbook a few months ago, and today, I’d like to share another keto winner with you. It’s The KetoDiet Cookbook, by Martina Slajerova, who is the brilliant woman behind the KetoDiet App, and she also has a great blog with tons of amazing recipes and down-to-earth info about keto diets in general.

I get emails from people interested in LCHF and ketogenic meal plans. This isn’t something I’m keen on creating, but since I know there’s such a high demand out there for good recipes for people who don’t want to just brown some ground beef in a skillet, add some hot sauce, roast some cauliflower, and call it good, I’m happy to have books like this to recommend.

Book Review: The Ketogenic Cookbook

As promised last time, here it is, a review of the recently released, hot-off-the-press, new cookbook by the Livin’ la Vida Low Carb man, himself, Jimmy Moore, and wildly successful low-carb & keto diet coach, Maria Emmerich.

If you’ve become bored with your same-old, go-to, low-carb and ketogenic meal repertoire, and are looking to rekindle your passion for this way of eating, this book is for you. If you can’t stomach the thought of another plate of eggs & bacon for breakfast (that is, if you’re a breakfast eater at all), or if you think you’ll scream if you have to choke down another bunless cheeseburger, consider this book to be the inspiration you’ve been waiting for. (Although, if you ask me, bacon, eggs, and bunless burgers never get old!)

The book is called The Ketogenic Cookbook: Nutritious Low-Carb, High-Fat Paleo Meals to Heal Your Body.

Awesome Cuts of Meat You're (Probably) Not Eating: Beef Heart!

Hey kids! It’s time for another installment in my ongoing adventures in culinary curiosity. Today’s unconventional cut of meat: beef heart! Eek! Yes, the heart! Is there anything—anything—more primal, more animalistic, than eating an animal’s heart? (Maybe killing the animal myself and tearing its still-warm heart right out of its chest, but cut me some slack. I live in suburbia and I’m pretty sure the neighbors would call the cops if they caught me slaughtering a cow in the backyard. Not to mention the cleanup job required afterward…)

So yeah, I did it. I bought two beef hearts when they were on sale at this farm in Northern Virginia. (Two dollars a pound! Insanity!) They’ve been in the freezer for a while, because I didn’t know what to do with ‘em. Occasionally I would remember they were in there and I’d do a little searching online for recipes. Most of them involved a grill, which, believe it or not, I do not currently own. So they stayed on ice until I found something else to do with them. I stumbled across a recipe that was for a slow cooker, and since slow cookers are pretty much the easiest way to cook just about anything, I figured I would start there. (And yes, grilling a beef heart would be more primal than putting it in a slow cooker. One step at a time.)

Warning: this post contains close-up images of a beef heart. If you think that will disturb you or make you queasy, feel free to skip this post. (On the other hand, if you’re a masochist, read on!)  

Slow-Cooked Collard Greens; a.k.a. Awesome Cuts of Meat You're (Probably) Not Eating: Ham Hocks!

For a white Jewish girl born and raised in New York City, I am absurdly fond of southern, African-American inspired soul food. Ribs, cornbread, fried chicken, sweet potatoes laced with brown sugar…pass me a plate. Better yet, pass me two plates, and also a wet-nap, if you have one handy. But just because my individual metabolism can’t quite handle the dose of carbohydrate that comes with those sweet potatoes, cornbread, mac n’ cheese, and the molasses, ketchup, sugar, and brown sugar lurking in the BBQ sauce on the ribs, doesn’t mean I can’t get a fix of some good, down home food that’s good for the body and the soul. And just because I am a white Jewish girl from New York City doesn’t mean I can’t cook some of it, myself. Exhibit A: slow-cooked collard greens, complete with ham hock! (Yes, that’s right, a ham hock. I said I was Jewish; I didn’t say I keep kosher. And thank goodness, because there are way too many delicious things to do with pork. A life without bacon is no life at all. <--- That would make a great bumper sticker.)

Garlic Scape Pesto

Sure, you’ve heard of garlic. You may have even come across elephant garlic at the store. (It looks just like regular garlic, except each head/bulb is about three times the size of the normal ones you’re used to. You might even say it’s baseball-sized…) But have you ever heard of garlic scapes? Probably not, if you shop exclusively at the regular supermarket. But if you frequent farmers’ markets or smaller stores that stock local produce, you might have seen these intriguing things recently. (Depending on where you live, of course. Antarctica, not so much. And if you’re in some other part of the southern hemisphere, where it’s winter now, not so much there either.) Up here, in the mid-Atlantic/Northeast, they’re usually available earlier in the season, like May-June, but I stumbled across these (at this place) last week and couldn’t help snagging a few. Why? Because they make some pretty amazing pesto. (And if you can’t track these things down where you live, no worries. Next May will be here before you know it, and you can try your hand at this then.)

Restaurant Flavor, Home Kitchen: Coconut Curry Tomato Sauce

As much as I enjoy cooking—and I enjoy it a lot—I also enjoy the simple pleasure of dining out. After a long day at work, or, heck, even a Saturday spent lounging on the couch, it’s nice to go somewhere with a pleasant atmosphere and have someone else cook dinner for me (not to mention bring it right to my table). Personally, I think breakfast out is even more fun, but it does lose some of its charm when you steer clear of biscuits, raspberry danishes, and pancakes and waffles dripping with syrup. The thing is, when we eat in restaurants, sometimes it can be hard to know what we’re getting. What’s really going on back there in the kitchen? Are they using wacky ingredients with lots of additives and preservatives? What kind of oil are they frying in? Do they make their sauces and dressings in-house, or do they come out of a 5-gallon bucket they get shipped in from some factory every few weeks? I don’t let these issues stop me from enjoying a meal out with friends, but if you’re concerned about your health, they’re worth thinking about. One of the best things we can do for our bodies, our waistlines, and our wallets, is cook more of our food at home.

Awesome Cuts of Meat You're (Probably) Not Eating: Beef Tongue!

I know what you’re thinking.

Tongue?

TONGUE?!

Amy, first you told us to eat beef shanks—including the super-scary bone marrow that comes with them. As if that wasn’t enough, then you told us to cook chicken livers. LIVERS, for crying out loud! But this—this might be too much.

Are you actually, seriously, with a straight-face, telling us to eat TONGUE?!

Yes. Yes, I am.

WARNING: This post contains graphic, hardcore, XXX pictures of cow tongues. If you have a gentle stomach or are under 18 years of age, please stop reading now. 

Steak Success! (a.k.a. Steakgasm)

 FINALLY! Seared on the outside, pink on the inside!

Chicken breasts so dense and rubbery they could double as hockey pucks. Pork chops you could substitute for sandpaper. Steaks so tough and impossible to chew they could stand in as shoe insoles. Each of these equates to meat dish murder, all three forms of which I’ve committed at one time or another. For someone who fancies herself a not so terrible cook, I’ve been responsible for many a culinary faux pas. And that’s really a shame, because why bother going to the extra effort of procuring high-quality animal protein if I was just going to (pardon the pun) butcher it?

Fortunately, I’m happy to report I’ve learned a thing or two about not rendering a good steak completely inedible, and I thought I’d share my tips here in case any of you out there have had the same experience: overcooked, dry, and a serious workout for the jaws. (Not to mention an even more serious disappointment, because that steak sure smelled good, didn’t it?)

Low-Carb Lemon Ginger Cheesecake Truffles

Watching your sugar intake can be a bummer sometimes. I mean, let’s face it; there are plenty of reasons most of us like sweet treats, and number one topping that list is that THEY ARE YUMMY. So what’s a low carb or Primal eater to do when that late night or not-so-late night sweet snack attack hits? You could dive head-first into the Oreos, but since none of you have Oreos in your house (right?), you could try today’s recipe instead. I have nothing against Paleo and Primal desserts that employ things like almond and coconut flour jazzed up with dates, bananas, maple syrup, honey, and the like (well, I do, but not much, and it’s a topic for a different day anyway), but there are low carbers among us who really need to be more careful about the amount of sugar we consume, whether it comes from regular ol’ white table sugar or organic, unsulfured blackstrap molasses delivered on the wings of unicorns. But just because we can’t down “Paleo brownies” or “Paleo banana bread” any more often than we used to inhale the conventional stuff doesn’t mean we’re left out in the cold when it comes to desserts.

Awesome Cuts of Meat You're (Probably) Not Eating: Chicken Liver!

Liver.

*Shudder.* The mere word is enough to strike terror and dread into the hearts of little kids and not-so-little kids alike. This is unfortunate, because liver is one of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet. Our minds tend to automatically gravitate toward fruits and vegetables when we think about vitamins and minerals, but make no mistake: animal proteins are loaded with them, usually in higher quantities than we can get from plant foods. So when we hear that phrase—“nutrient-dense,”—it’s time to start thinking more about beef and less about, say, orange juice. And among animal foods, a category that delivers one of the biggest nutritional knockouts is organ meat. Yes, organs. You know, those other things animals have besides the muscle tissues that end up in our supermarkets as boneless, skinless chicken breasts, steaks, ground beef, and other such cuts designed to make us forget that the tasty morsels we like to eat come from creatures that were once living, breathing beings with organs, bones, skin, and feet. (Not to mention heads and eyes, but let’s stick with one scary thing at a time.)   

So, liver. Like most people in late 20^th and early 21^st Century America, I grew up horrified by liver. Not because of any stigma surrounding eating meat, in general, or organs, in particular. Mostly it was the smell. My mother, like any good Jewish cook, made a mean chopped liver. Or so I was told by countless family members and guests at our Passover Seder table. Personally, I couldn’t gag down even one forkful because it was so foul. Same goes for her (supposedly) delectable liver and onions. Two Eastern European Jewish-type delicacies, and I couldn’t stand either one. (I’ll stick with latkes and stuffed cabbage, thankyouverymuch.) It was the taste, but it was also the smell. If that stuff tasted gamey, it smelled even worse. But in my defense, I wasn’t one of those kids who tried something once, hated it, and refused to ever, ever give it another go. I’d tried liver several times over the years, and its appeal never got any better. (Or, more accurately, its repulsiveness never lessened.)

So, yeah, I grew up a liver denier, and I was perfectly okay with that. And then…

Cranberries: Get 'em Before They're Gone!

Like all seasons, fall and winter bring with them a bounty of foods that we identify with those specific times of the year. And if we choose to eat with the seasons, depending on where we live, we have to wait until the time is just right for some of those specialties to make their appearance: the first tender, green asparagus spears of spring; cherry tomatoes as sweet as raspberries in summer; squash, apples, and pears in fall; beets, carrots, and other roots in winter. You can, of course, consume these foods all year long, but you’ll pay more for them at the store and, frankly, they’ll taste like cardboard. (Not to mention they’ll be slightly less nutritious, having been shipped perhaps thousands of miles from where they were grown to arrive at your store. Some nutrients degrade over time, like when they camp out for weeks in warehouses or take very long-distance railroad or boat rides.)

But colder weather offers us two wonderful, nutritious, lower-carbohydrate fruit and vegetable options that we can enjoy all year long in the form of cranberries and pumpkin. I’ll leave pumpkin for another time. Today, let’s talk cranberries!