baby, it's cold outside

Can you get it up for salad when it's 28 degrees? (Or in Drea's case, minus 100 up there in the Canadian frostbite belt?) 

Winter in the Northern Hemisphere is a huge deterrent to snacking on crudités. I want hot toddies. Steaming lasagna dripping in melted cheese. Stew! Garlic bread! Pot pie.

What to do? Well, for starters, eat hot, white plant-based food. That's right! Hot. White. Food.

Apparently, there's lots of inflammation-fighting flavonoids in nuts,  and vitamins C, B and quercetin in white veggies. (Can you hear the tune in my head? Bowie's Wedding Song?) As far as the hot part, there's the psychological satiety factor with a hot meal. It has the illusion of sticking to your ribs more than say, radishes dipped in nonfat yogurt.

COOK ONCE, EAT TWICE!

The other thing about cooking a big old hot meal is: leftovers. Cook big, then put leftovers in small, reheatable containers for the days to come. Less work - and it gives you the opportunity to reimagine the food in different settings. Just like writing! Same character, new scene. For instance, I always cook a whopping big salmon when it's on the menu for dinner. (I broil mine, with minimal marinade.) Next day, I put it on my toast at breakfast, then fling it into my salad or warmed veggies for lunch.

I made this omelette for the fam yesterday, and it mostly got eaten up (there's still a sliver left - I may sneak it into something later). Actually, it was a frittata, not an omelette, because it was puffier and broiled at the end. Here's the recipe - try it tomorrow with breakfast:

HOT WHITE FOOD FRITTATA:

ingredients:

half an onion, chopped

1/2 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup diced cauliflower

3 ounces feta cheese

6 eggs

1 Tbsp curry spice (good for blood pressure)

1 Tbsp olive oil

• Preheat broiler
• Heat oil in cast iron skillet and sauté onions and mushrooms. 
• Add cauliflower and sauté until almost brown
• add in the beaten eggs and cook until almost done
• sprinkle in feta and spice, then transfer the entire skillet to oven
• Keep an eye on the sucker (I left mine in about 30 seconds too long because I'm a multi-tasker)

4 servings

Combine with fresh fruit and a dollop of yogurt (I'm a little embarrassed by the presentation of the food in the above photo. I'll work on styling my shoots better in the future.)

LUNCH

Yesterday's dinner tofu reheated and mixed with a handful of chopped peppers, cashews, garlic and tomato. Serve over leftover rice or roasted potatoes

DINNER

Roast salmon (make a whole fillet if you can, then save some for breakfast/lunch tomorrow)

rice
steamed spinach or a hearty dinner salad

Did you box up your Christmas cookies and green-foiled Hershey's Kisses yet? Tell me some stories!