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The Steps To 'Simple Food'

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 10, 2007

In her book, 'The Art of Simple Food,' Alice Waters encourages readers to follow nine tenets regarding their food:

Eat locally and sustainably. Learn where your food comes from and how it is produced. Seek out a diverse variety of vegetables and fruits from small, local producers who take care of the land. Buy eggs, meat and fish from producers whose practices are organic, humane and environmentally sound.

Eat seasonally. Choose food in season. Even where the growing season is short, organic gardening and farming can extend it; greens can be grown in cold frames and greenhouses, and there are always local foods that can be stored, dried and canned for winter months. Eating seasonally inspires your menus, gives you a sense of time and place and rewards you with the most flavorful food.

Shop at farmers markets. Farmers markets create communities that value diversity, honesty, seasonality, locality, sustainability and beauty. Get to know the people who grow your food. Think of yourself as a partner with the farmers, learning from them and working with them.

Plant a garden. It is deeply satisfying to eat food you have grown yourself, in your back yard or in a community garden. Even a pot of herbs on your windowsill can transform your cooking and connect you to the changing seasons, as can foraging for wild foods and harvesting fruit from farms that allow you to pick your own. Learn what the edible landscape has to offer.

Conserve, compost and recycle. Take your own basket to the market. Reuse whatever packaging you can. Keep a compost bucket nearby when you cook to recycle scraps. The more you conserve, the less you waste, the better you feel.

Cook simply, engaging all your senses. Plan uncomplicated meals. Let things taste of what they are. Enjoy cooking as a sensory pleasure; touch, listen, watch, smell and, above all, taste. Taste as you go. Keep tasting and keep practicing and discovering.

Cook together. Include your family and friends, and especially children. When children grow, cook and serve food, they want to eat it. The hands-on experience of gardening and cooking teaches children the value and pleasure of good food almost effortlessly.

Eat together. No matter how modest the meal, create a special place to sit down together and set the table with care and respect. Savor the ritual of the table. Mealtime is a time for empathy and generosity, a time to nourish and communicate.

Remember food is precious. Good food can only come from good ingredients. Its proper price includes the cost of preserving the environment and paying fairly for the labor of the people who produce it. Food should never be taken for granted.

Jeff Houck

Other greens will work well in this salad. Try spinach, escarole, dandelion greens or tender radicchio. The warm salad can be served without the poached eggs.

POACHED EGG WITH CURLY ENDIVE SALAD

2 large heads of curly endive (frisee)

2 bacon slices

2 teaspoons olive oil

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Salt

Fresh-ground black pepper

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons bacon fat

1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

4 eggs, cracked from their shells

Remove the dark green outer leaves from endive. Separate into individual leaves, and wash and dry well.

Cut bacon into 1/3 -inch pieces. Warm 2 teaspoons olive oil in a small heavy pan over medium heat. Add the bacon pieces and cook until brown and rendered, but not crisp. Remove from the pan. Pour the fat from the pan and reserve. To make the dressing, mix together 1 tablespoon of vinegar, mustard, salt, black pepper and garlic clove. Whisk in 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and bacon fat. Taste for salt and acid, and adjust as needed.

Fill a heavy saucepan with 4 cups of water and add 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar. Heat to just below a simmer, and slide in the eggs. Poach for 3 1/2 to 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove them from the water, and keep warm. Put the vinaigrette into a large bowl (remove the crushed garlic clove), add the bacon and put the bowl over the pan of hot water to warm. Add the greens and toss well. Divide the greens among four warm plates. Gently blot the eggs dry, and put one on top of each salad. Grind a little black pepper over the top, and serve immediately.

Note: If you omit the bacon, increase the amount of olive oil in the dressing to make up for the loss of bacon fat.

Make some rustic croutons and toss them while still hot with fine-chopped garlic. Dress the croutons with a little vinaigrette and toss with the greens.

Source: 'The Art of Simple Food'

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