Swiss chard, red and green kale, all doing wonderfully right now!

Austin weather…what can we say? One day it’s 75 degrees and sunny, the next it’s snowing. The plants are so confused, and gardeners start getting spring fevered a bit too early. Last weekend at the Natural Gardener I saw people buying tomato seedlings! Me, I am patient. My tomatoes never go in the ground until at least St. Patrick’s Day. But Valentine’s Day is another story: it’s the day when I plant potatoes.

After my failed container experiment of last year, I saved a large section of garden to plant four varieties I found at Natural Gardener that weekend. I have previously grown Red Pontiac with success, so I planted that again. But I also wanted some new things, so I got Desiree, labeled as a popular gourmet potato in Europe.  This from Seed Savers Exchange: red-skinned mid-season variety introduced from Holland in 1962. Deep golden flesh with moist creamy texture, delicate flavor. Good disease resistance, very reliable and easy to grow. An excellent choice for a general cooking potato. 95-100 days.

I also planted All Blue and Austrian Crescent, both of which failed in the containers last year. This time I am doing it right and I hope I’ll have a good harvest of various potatoes. Really, homegrown potatoes are as satisfying as tomatoes.

This weekend I will also reseed my beds. I am not sure if they got washed away with the rain, or if the dogs had something to do with it, but my seeds for carrots, beets, radishes, arugula, spinach, and kohlrabi have not sprouted after 2 weeks. I am disappointed, now I am almost three weeks behind on these and with the weather around here it may be too late for some of them, like the kohlrabi. But the fennel I grew in a large pot did very well, and last night I harvested a beautiful large bulb:

Beautiful, big fennel from the garden!

I bought some radishes and beets at the Sunset Valley Farmer’s Market from my friend Gary Rowland from Hairston Creek Farm, so last night I made this winter salad which was a great hit. The colors are beautiful and, dare I say, very Valentine’s.

Beautiful and delicious winter salad of Chioggia beets, black radish, garden fennel and parsley, and Rio grapefruit

Winter salad of beet, radish, fennel, and grapefruit
2 servings

1 large Chioggia (aka candy stripe) beet
1/2 large fennel bulb
1 medium or half a large black radish
1/2 Rio grapefruit
Juice of half a lemon
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and pepper to taste

Wash veggies well with a veggie scrubber if necessary. Slice very thinly with a mandolin and combine in large bowl. Peel the grapefruit with a sharp knife, removing all white pith. Over the bowl, cut out segments from the membrane (aka supremes) and add them to bowl, letting any extra juice drip onto the veggies. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper, and toss. Let it sit for a few minutes. Just before serving add olive oil and toss. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley.

2012 is the Year of the Dragon, my sign, considered the most powerful and auspicious of all zodiac animals. I am taking this opportunity to make a fresh start for myself, with a true sense of purpose and a new set of goals and wishes for this coming year, my year. I found the description of “Dragon people” on this website to be a spot-on match to my personality, which I found incredibly amusing.

I wanted to make different dishes from the previous years while still using some of the “lucky” food items (see last year’s post for more on these lucky foods) so here is the menu and recipes. Remember that traditionally, in China, the New Year is celebrated for the first 15 days, so you still have time to enjoy some of these lucky – and tasty- dishes.

~Fresh-squeezed tangerine mimosas (tangerines symbolize abundant happiness and good luck because the word “tangerine”, in Chinese, sounds like “luck”.) These are always Will’s job, and he does it magnificently.

~Pan-fried pork dumplings (These symbolize wealth because they look like ancient Chinese money. The first Chinese bank note was called the Jiaozi – which is the Chinese name for dumplings.) No, I had no time to make them myself, so we bought those little pre-packaged ones from the H.E.B’s Sushi Ya kiosk. Will loves them

~ Yu Sheng aka “prosperity fish salad” I have wanted to make this dish before but it didn’t suit the weather on previous years, but with yesterday’s relatively warm weather, it seemed perfect. I found dozens of recipes online, and as always, I ended up making my own version based on everything I read. I found this post from Vancouver’s Straight.com, to be particularly informative and fun.

Yu Sheng, "prosperity fish salad", is a new-year tradition among the Chinese diaspora in Singapore and Malaysia.

From Staright.com’s post: Decked out prettily on a platter, the salad is then ready for the significant action from which it derives its other popular name, lo yu sang. The word lo means to toss and mix. In this context, it represents the active wheeling and dealing of successful movers and shakers to create, generate, and increase wealth. Lo hay in Cantonese means striking it big. To activate this, on the signal, all the attending diners are to dip their chopsticks into the salad and toss and mix the salad while chanting “Lo hay! Lo hay!” together, hence wishing each other success and advancement in the year to come.

For some reason, I thought about my pal Hilah Johnson from Hilah Cooking while reading this. She would have a blast doing it. Do try this at home, Hilah!  Will and I got busy with the tossing, screaming “Lo Hay” and laughing hysterically before diving in. The salad was fresh and delicious, and has been requested to join the regular repertoire come summer.

Yu Sheng

3 carrots
1/2 English cucumber
4 red radishes or 1/2 small daikon
1 medium grapefruit or pomelo (another “lucky” foodstuff)
2 large green onions (from the garden!), chopped
1/4 lb. fresh, fresh salmon or another sashimi-quality white fish
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 Tbs. light soy sauce
3 Tbs. rice vinegar
Pinch of sugar, to taste
1 tsp. sesame oil
1 tsp. chile oil or Sriracha sauce (or both, ha!)
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
Sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds

Using a mandolin, shred the carrots, radish, and cucumber to fine threads. Peel grapefruit and cut into segments (supremes.) Place all of them side by side on a serving platter. Sprinkle green onions and cilantro on top. Thinly slice fish and placeslices in the middle, on top of the veggies. Mix soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, sesame oil, and chile oil or sauce and toss well. Sprinkle sesame seeds on salad. When ready to serve, drizzle dressing over salad, and proceed with ceremonial tossing.

~ Spicy ground turkey in lettuce wraps (the Cantonese word for lettuce is a homophone of “rising fortune”)

1 Tbs. peanut oil or vegetable oil
½  medium white onion, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbs. fresh ginger, grated or finely minced
1 lbs. ground turkey (I used thighs)
2 T soy sauce
1 Tbs. chile garlic sauce
1 Tbs. fish sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 Tbs. chopped fresh mint
Juice of 1/2 lime
1/3 cup chopped peanuts
1 head Boston or butter lettuce, or substitute 1 head iceberg lettuce

Heat oil and fry garlic, onion and ginger until fragrant. Add meat and stir occasionally to break big clumps. When almost done, add sauces and cook through. Add cilantro, mint, and lime juice. Wash the lettuce leaving the leaves whole and dry thoroughly. To eat, let each person make their own wrap placing the meat mixture inside the lettuce “cup” and garnishing with chopped peanuts. Enjoy!

Our festive table, aka the coffee table since the kitchen one is full of "my office." See if you can spot Benji underneath!

Today, my main man Bryce, manager at JuiceLand at Barton Springs who also started a fast the same day I did, set me up with a pineappley Ninja Bachelor Party to start the day, a rich and creamy Tri-Pinnacle, a refreshing TigerLilly, and my very own Vampiro blend, which I have been drinking through the day.

Ingredients for one glass of Tri-Pinnacle: water and flesh from one coconut, a bunch of kale and spinach, and frozen avocado cubes.

One thing I know for sure is that this experience has been life-changing. I feel healthy, I have energy; my allergies have not quite disappeared but have cleared noticeably. I have not weighed myself – first of all because I don’t own a scale, and secondly because that was not the purpose of this cleansing- but I can already tell my pants’ waistlines are a little looser. At yesterday’s event at Uchiko, many people commented on this fact. I also heard things like “you look radiant!” Indeed, my skin feels different, especially my face. I started noticing that after about the fifth day: softer, cleaner, and clearer. My friend Julie had commented that perhaps I “shouldn’t stray too far away from the bathroom,” but that was really never the case.  Because of the sheer quantities of liquid I have been consuming daily, I get to pee a lot. But hey, I also pee a lot when I am drinking wine or beer, so no biggie there.

Here's what goes in the TigerLilly: celery, kale, parsley, spinach, cucumber and wheatgrass.

When I was first talking to Matt about doing this, he recommended I watch the documentary Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead for inspiration. A few weeks later Troy Polamalu, one of my favorite athletes of all time, did the same on his Facebook page. So finally Will and I watched it last night, and I think it should be required viewing for every single American. In the movie, director Joe Cross calls the process a “reboot” of your system. I could not have put it better myself. If you have any serious health problems you should consult with a doctor or professional nutritionist first, but man, if you have the need to lose weight and get healthy in a way that makes perfect sense scientifically and physically, you should seriously consider a juice fast. It is really not that hard. It’s all in your head. It’s definitely not gonna kill you, and it will definitely make you stronger in mind and body. Bring it on, Year of the Dragon! (more on this coming soon…)

So my next resolution is to do one of these 10-day juice “reboots” every three months to help my body heal from all the abuse I put it through. I don’t really eat junk food, candy, sodas, or other crap like that, but now and then I indulge in things like BBQ, ice cream, and lots of wine. Body deserves a break. All in moderation.

My dinner last night and tonight: 1/3 green juice with 2/3 Vampiro.

Today I was full of energy, getting lots of work done and meeting two tight deadlines. Whew. Then I headed to Uchiko for the announcement to the media and official launch of the new Austin Food and Wine Festival.  Having spent eight years involved with the Texas Hill Country Wine & Food Festival, I felt that attending this launching party was not just important as a journalist but on a personal level, as the closing of one chapter of my life. More renewal for 2012.

By the way, the former festival and its board members are starting a new chapter as the Austin Food & Wine Alliance, a non-profit organization that will be the direct beneficiary of the aforementioned festival. More on that and my involvement in the future.

So here I am, at Uchiko, with a bunch of my colleagues and chef friends, all sipping delicious wines and Prosecco, and eating tiny bites of perfection from the Uchiko kitchen, while I held a juice in my hand. A large Tree of Life lasted me the hour and a half event, to the amazement of everyone who knows me. If you want proof, here you go:

My friend Pat Sharpe, food editor of Texas Monthly, holds a tiny plate of hamachi tataki with maitake mushrooms, lemon oil, and clam jus, while I sip on my Tree of Life.

I heard nothing but words of encouragement from all my colleagues and friends, many saying “there’s no way I could do this,” and me replying “yes there is!” Just a few days ago I didn’t think I was going to make it. So there. I passed the Uchiko test. Pony up, Matt Shook!

This stuff is so good it almost makes me forget I am not eating!

We came home in time to watch the Saints game, which was a painful, painful letdown. It was right about that time that the allergies kicked in, and I spent the rest of the afternoon sneezing. Of  course I also had to watch Will eat dinner and drink beer, which was frustrating to the point of tears. I took one of my Mexican anti-histamines and marched myself to bed by 8:00 pm just so that I could sleep it off.

Sunday, Day 7 of the juice fast, got off to a nasty start right off the bat. I was not only feeling miserable, but also sorry for myself, hungry, and frustrated. I cried most of the morning until I started watching football again, and then the stupid Texans lost. Will and I decided to get out of the house for a while, so after picking up my juice we headed to the Continental Club for the Bless Your Heart benefit for Houston Press music writer and former Chronicle colleague (and UT classmate) Chris Gray who, at 37 years old, suffered a massive heart attack, was technically dead and resuscitated by Houston Metro workers, then spent time in a medically-induced coma and months recuperating in the hospital. Hey, who can say no to rocking to our faves The Gourds, my pal James McMurtry, and the always entertaining Allen Oldies Band with my superawesome friend David Bebee for a good cause? And yes, I saw a lot of friends and rocked out like the best of them, all the while drinking nothing but green juice. I passed the frekking Continental Club test, learned to do CPR, and was happy to greet Chris, who looked great and smiled the whole time. I wish I had some photos but the Continental is so dark nothing came out.

Today is Day 8 of the juice fast, and I am happy that it is almost over. I am so ready to eat food it’s ridiculous. While it’s true that I was tweaking for a shot of Whiskey during James’ set, not drinking alcohol hasn’t really bothered me as much as not eating food. One of the things Matt wanted me to accomplish with this fast was “to learn to appreciate food so much more.”  Boy, he was not kidding. Tonight, I will “cook” alongside Willy. I have the last of the fall tomatoes sitting on a plate on the kitchen island, and I’ll be darned if I am not going to turn them into juice for dinner. Will has already been warned that he is taking me out to dinner on Thursday.

JuiceLand's Tree of Life has been sustaining me for the last five days. Delicious, yes!

Just so you get an idea of what I am consuming, the above drink, Tree of Life, contains 2 lbs carrots, 1 finger fresh turmeic root, 1 finger ginger, one full coconut, 1/2 lime and 1/8 tsp cayenne. That’s what I’m having for dinner tonight.

Just as I was picking up my juice this afternoon, I got a call from Matt just to check how I was doing. I said fine, still hungry, but chugging along and feeling healthy.

“How far do you plan on taking it?’, he asks, and without even thinking, I replied “Well, I’m already halfway through this thing, so I’m going the whole 10 days.”  The sound of excitement on the other side of the line was encouraging. “That’s EXACTLY what I wanted to hear. That’s what I thought too when I did it first: I’ve come this far, I may as well just do it!” Yeah, that’s kinda what I’m thinking. I told him I have a media event to attend on the 17th, which would be Day 9. The event is important, and will be held at Uchiko so amazing food and wine are to be expected. I told him I had to go to the event, but I was going to try to pass the “free food at Uchiko test” as the last one of my challenge.  He promised we’ll have dinner at Uchiko later if I can pass that test.  You’re on, Matt Shook!

Today has been stressful for me, with too much work and being pulled in 10 different directions all day, so I am exhausted. I’ll write a better post tomorrow.

This whole tub of green veggies, blended with coconut water, goes into the Love Cleanse. That's a salad and a half, people.

Nights are the hardest. I have been quite used to not eating much until around noon, usually drinking coffee, Emergen-C, water, or Zico first thing in the morning. I get by OK at lunchtime, since the juices are really flavorful and filling, and they are enough to satisfy me at the time. But after 5pm, when I am used to food, it becomes almost painful. Last night, I was almost angry at Will for being able to eat, and I went to bed at 8:30 rather than watching him cook and eat that pasta Bolognese. As an unexpected side effect, I went to bed with a metallic taste in my mouth and “sweaters” on my teeth that no amount of brushing could get rid of. Then the cold front blew in, mighty and loud, stirring every particle of cedar pollen available in the Austin area. Incredibly, I woke up without symptoms. With allergy forecast out the roof, I have been outside to take foster puppy to get shots and to get my juice for today, yet I have not had any allergy problems, except for occasionally blowing my nose.

Really?

Today I brought a different flavor, the Tri-Pinnacle, made with coconut, avocado, spinach and kale. This is now my new favorite, as it has creaminess from the avocado and tiny chunks of coconut flesh that give it a texture almost like…food!  It is delicious, mild and refreshing, and I think perfect for breakfast since it’s not as savory as the others, which I prefer later in the day when I really feel like I need food. I had a cup of hot mate for breakfast and have been sipping juice and working away. I feel…dare I say it? … great.

Picking up today's food.

I am feeling much better today. My innards still grumble and rumble but not as much as yesterday. I am finding myself thinking less about being hungry, and when I do, I DRINK THE JUICE. I feel a bit wiggy and out-of-sorts, spacey and goofy. But I am able to concentrate and have been working non-stop today. I told all this to Matt, who happened to be at JuiceLand when I went to pick up today’s “food,” and he said that is because the toxins are coming out of my body.

“Let me ask you a question: would you rather feel like you do right now or horribly hungover?”  I don’t hesitate when I answer “I’ll take this!” and he laughs. Now, Matt is not a  teetotaler or anything of the sort, having experienced a few horrible hangovers, he speaks from experience. After all we met in 2008 when he had a brief run at serving fresh-pressed juice cocktails at The Belmont (see my review of that event in the Austin Chronicle)

Today’s menu is pretty much the same as it has been the last couple of days. But with the impending cold front moving in, I wanted to have something hot to drink. I needed hand and dish soap as well so I made myself go to Central Market. “This is a true test of your will and strength!” says Matt grinning.  Alright then, I can do this. As soon as I pulled in the parking lot, the smell of grilled onions and beef about knocked me out. Juice in hand, I moved swiftly and picked up a box of Yerba Mate for breakfast and my favorite blend from Zhi Tea, Sweet Desert Delight, for nighttime. I grabbed the kitchen supplies and headed out the door toward home. I passed the going to Central Market hungry challenge!

Today: more and more green juice.

Last night was just tough. I was soooo hungry, and all I could think about was that I couldn’t eat. Even the nasty crunchy beef burrito from the Taco Hell commercial looked slightly appealing. I had hunger pangs and felt a bit dizzy, my stomach growled until I fell asleep. Thankfully I had the BCS Championship to help me achieve that.

Throughout the day, I took turns sipping from all three juices and the cleanse so my palate would not be bored. The cleanse is very light, with the refreshing and electrolyte-loaded coconut water as the base, and the greens as the superfood. The taste is mainly of celery and kale. I added a tiny bit of sea salt to make it more like “food.”

Warning: there is a reason they call it the Xtra Holla Pain Yo! Originally the blend didn’t have habanero, just jalapeño (hence the clever name) but now that it does, boy is it hot. It burned in the back of my throat so I took tiny sips at a time. It was so good I just had to keep sipping, but my stomach was starting to hurt a bit. So thinking like a culinary professional, I blended it with the cleanse to make it like a full-on liquid salad. It turned out great. So even when not cooking, I was creating a meal. It was tough guiding Willy to cook his own dinner of fish in lemon-parsley brown butter with rice on the side, and even tougher watching him eat it. But I kept my “it’s all in your mind” manta going, sipping away at the green stuff in my cup.

While talking to Matt yesterday he made a very good point: when you see the amount of veggies that go into making a 24 oz of juice, it really is equivalent to eating a salad. You are missing a lot of the fiber and definitely the texture, but your mouth and taste buds are somewhat satisfied.

Today, I am trying the Cold Shower, which was a summer favorite, containing cucumber, mint,  parsley, watermelon, lime and salt, along with The Fountain (carrrot, ginger, beet, kale, spinach, parsley, celery and wheatgrass) and a repeat of the favorite Ninja. I only drank half of the cleanse so I been sipping on that since breakfast. I have felt better today and although slightly spacey, I don’t feel dizzy or tired and I haven’t even needed the mate.  Looking at the last few fall garden tomatoes ripening on a platter on the kitchen island, I’m suddenly craving tomato. I wonder if Matt would let me drink fresh pressed tomato juice…

But let’s start at the beginning. In preparation to welcome the Year of the Dragon (my Chinese sign) on 1/23, I kick-started Resolution #1 today by challenging myself to a 10 day juice fast. I had been talking about this since last fall with Matt Shook, owner of  Juice Land (formerly two locations of Daily Juice. For more info see this article I wrote for CultureMap Austin) and it seemed that this would be the right time to do it.

My "food" for the next 10 days. Photo courtesy of Juice Land.

So this morning I drove in the rain to the Barton Springs location to pick up my “food” for today.  Matt offered to be my guide and mentor on this endeavor, since we are friends and he really wanted me to try this with the mindset of a food enthusiast. So for me, he picked the Love Cleanse, an emerald green elixir of coconut water,  cucumber, celery, parsley, spinach and  kale.

Green juice: good and good for you! Photo courtesy of Juice Land.

I am to drink half a gallon on the stuff every day, and supplement it with three large servings from my choice of juices from the “Next Level” fresh fruit and vegetable juices. For today, I picked the Ninja bachelor party (pineapple, jalapeno, celery, kale, spinach, parsley and salt) for breakfast, the Xtra Holla Pain YO! (habanero, jalapeno, garlic, carrot, orange, cilantro, lime and salt) for lunch, and the Tree of Life (carrot, turmeric, coconut, ginger, lime, cayenne and beet) for dinner, sorta. In between I drink the cleanse. The only other things I am allowed to consume is water and some tea. He suggests I drink mate as an energy booster when I am feeling my energy waning.  Did I mention NO ALCOHOL at all?

Since he has done these cleanses/fasts before, he warns me of the mental challenges they pose “the third, fourth, and fifth day are the toughest. But take it one day at a time. If you start thinking about blowing it off or giving up, JUST DRINK THE JUICE. Be strong of mind and your body will thank you.”

This is just the sort of challenge I need right now, and I am excited to do it. I will post updates daily on my progress.