Midwinter Vegetarian Adventures

We hope everyone will join us this Thursday, February 26, from 2 to 5 p.m. for another delicious Pathfinder Produce fresh fruits and vegetable market.  We’re glad to accept payments in the form of personal checks, SNAP, or Visa, MasterCard or Discover credit cards.  Close to home, convenient, and with our great prices, our friendly market can’t be beat! 

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This past week my son was off from school, and thus the Graces took to the open road.  Despite Visit Ithaca’s clever campaign advising us to go someplace warm, we decided to hit the Southern Tier city that is home to Cornell, Ithaca College, spectacular waterfalls and gorges, and some great local eateries.

After kicking about town for a while, we stopped for dinner at the famed Moosewood Restaurant in the DeWitt Mall, an old school that has been converted to some funky shops, boutiques, and restaurants.  For those who haven’t heard of The Moosewood, it was started in 1973 by a group of investors/foodies who were committed to sharing the possibilities of delicious vegetarian cooking.  Forty years later, it is a mainstay in the college town, 13 cookbooks have been published, and the restaurant has been credited as “one of the thirteen most influential restaurants of the 20th Century” by Bon Appétìt magazine.

The Moosewood is casual, and serves distinct menus daily for lunch and dinner; the entrees change depending on produce availability.  It is best to arrive early as they don’t take reservations and they do fill up fast.  We arrived at about five, got on the seating list, and then meandered around the mall’s book store and guitar shop for 20 minutes as the staff completed its dinner preparations.

The restaurant has a bar area and a cozy main dining area, which shows off an array of colorful artwork (very similar in feel to some of the art produced by Pathfinder’s artists), moose art, huge plants, and other novel objects.  Music plays softly in the background, and the whole atmosphere is conducive to conversation.

The menu is affordable, but in truth we overdid it as we wanted to sample everything, including some of the craft brews and wines.  We all enjoyed some fresh guacamole and chips, tempeh bacon, and salads for openers … the greens were crisp and colorful, the vegetable toppings added new flavors and textures, and the house-made dressings (lemon-tahini, creamy spinach-basil, honey-dijon) were light and delicious. 

That night’s dinner menu offered all types of vegetarian/vegan entrees, but the restaurant also regularly offers fish and dairy items to satisfy all tastes.  I ordered the Mushroom-Cheese Enchiladas … they came with a side of crunchy red cabbage slaw, and short grain brown rice, which had a slightly nutty flavor.  My carnivorous 14 year-old tried a satisfying Roasted Vegetable Ciabatta Sandwich (Portobellos, eggplant, caramelized onions with provolone); my husband and daughter tried the Salmon Cakes, topped with a lemon-herb aioli sauce, also with a side of cabbage slaw.  We sampled one another’s entrees and savored each bite. 

As we were splurging, we tried the desserts too … I had the ginger cake (dark, spicy, and yet not heavy), which was garnished with fresh pear slices and a slight dusting of powdered sugar.  Tom had the to-die-for banana cake, topped with cream cheese frosting.  Andy tried one of the restaurant’s signature fudge brownies.  True, this wasn’t a low-cal excursion, but it was heartening to see how delicious artfully prepared vegetarian cuisine can be.  I’m sure before the winter is out, I’ll be buying one of the cookbooks to try the recipes at home.

Until next time, try something new and be well!

Lori

Strategies for the Cold

We hope everyone will join us this Thursday, February 19, for our next Pathfinder Produce fresh fruits and vegetable market at the Village Commons, from 2 to 5 p.m.  We’ve got the freshest produce around, and our prices are oh so tempting!

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This week has recorded some extremely cold temperatures here in Central New York, with wind chills at times ranging in excess of -25-degrees F.  Although all of us have to go outside at times, it’s important to take precautions against the cold, especially if you are older, are ill, or have another condition, such as asthma or heart disease, which may be exacerbated by the cold.

The National Weather Service offers these general safety tips for extreme cold:

• Minimize travel.

• Stay indoors during the worst part of the extreme cold.

• Keep a winter survival kit in your vehicle if you must travel.

• Learn how to shut off water valves for potential pipe bursts.

• Check on the elderly.  (Make sure they have groceries, medications, their heat is working, and they have water and emergency provisions).

• Bring pets inside.

• Wear layers of loose-fitting, lightweight, warm clothing, and a hat.

• Mittens, snug at the wrist, are better than gloves.

• Cover your mouth to protect your lungs from extreme cold.

• Try to stay dry and out of the wind.

• Check your vehicle’s tire pressure, antifreeze levels, heater/defroster, etc.

There are other safety tips we should all follow as well to be prepared for the worst in cold weather.  Regarding vehicles, I would add that you should keep your gas tank full (mostly so you won’t get stranded) and to give your car door locks a squirt of WD-40 (in the key slot and the door closing mechanism itself) to keep your doors from freezing.  (I drive a vintage vehicle and the little blue-and-yellow spray can has helped with lots of issues through the years.  Despite the plethora of rumors about WD-40, its prime ingredient isn’t fish oil but petroleum distillates, so use with care).

During these really cold days, there’s nothing more satisfying and warming than homemade soup, and we offer many of the ingredients at Pathfinder Produce.  My co-worker provided this recipe for a lentil soup she had tried and really liked, despite the novel addition of rhubarb to the basic soup recipe.  The other links below sound tempting as well for winter meals:

• Apres Ski Soup

• Bean Soup with Kale

• Tuscan Tomato Soup from the website Ski Town Soups

• Contest Winning Vegetarian Chili

• Lumberjack Stew  (There are many variations of Lumberjack Stew out there … this one includes fresh and frozen veggies; you could probably use very lean beef or venison if you are mindful of fat content).

 Until next time, stay warm and well!

Lori

The Sunshine Vitamin

We hope everyone will join us for another delicious Pathfinder Produce market, this Thursday, February 12, from 2 to 5 p.m.  Our market cheerfully accepts cash, personal checks, SNAP cards, and Visa, Mastercard and Discover cards, and offers great prices on the freshest produce.

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Following two weeks with significant snowfalls and days without sunshine, I thought a look at the Sunshine Vitamin was in order.  Vitamin D is normally made in people’s skin on exposure to sunlight (ultraviolet-B light rays), and has a role in preventing rickets, other bone issues, as well as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, asthma, depression, and low immune function.

According to a 2012 paper in the Journal of Pharmacology & Pharmaco-therapeutics by Rathish Nair and Arun Maseeh, Vitamin D insufficiencies are pandemic:  About 50% of the world’s population does not have enough Vitamin D for optimum health, and an estimated 1 billion people have a Vitamin D deficiency (VDD). This is attributed to reduced time out in the sun (either by being indoors or clothing coverage), or environmental reasons (smog), which stop UV-B from reaching the skin.  Getting enough Vitamin D from natural food sources is difficult, and the authors suggest that consuming Vitamin D fortified foods or taking over-the-counter supplements of D₂ or D₃ capsules may be helpful.

Authors Nair and Maseeh note that Vitamin D deficiencies result in decreased absorption of calcium and phosphorus during digestion, which contributes to decreased bone mineral density, skeletal defects, and muscle weakness.  In older adults, Vitamin D deficiencies may result in unsteadiness while standing, which can lead to falls and serious fractures.  Groups at risk for VDD include breastfed infants, senior citizens, those with dark skin, people who are overweight or who have had gastric bypass surgery, and those of us with limited sun exposure (which means all of us living above the 37^th parallel in the Northern Hemisphere at this time of year).

According to the National Institutes of Health, the recommended daily allowance of Vitamin D by age group is:  Infants – 400 IU(mg); Children (1-13 years) 600 IU; Teens and Adults – 600 IU; Seniors (age 71+) 800 mg/day.  Pregnant and breastfeeding moms should also have 600 IU per day.  NIH indicates the upper limit for Vitamin D is 1,000 to 1,500 IU/day for infants, 2,500 to 3,000 IU/day for children 1-8 years, and 4,000 IU/day for children 9 years and older, adults, and pregnant/lactating teens and women.

To have Vitamin D do its job properly, it’s necessary for it to be consumed along with foods that are good sources of calcium.  Vitamin D fortified milk is a readily available option, as are fortified breakfast cereals. According to the World’s Healthiest Foods, any bony fish, including tuna, sardines or canned salmon, is rich in both vitamin D and calcium.  Pasture-raised eggs offer about 10% of the recommended daily value of Vitamin D (in the yolk), and some types of mushrooms offer about 5% per serving.  In as much as Vitamin D is fat soluble, it is recommended that you use a non-fat based method of cooking these foods to retain as much Vitamin D as possible.

If you think you might need some additional Vitamin D in your diet, check with your healthcare provider first, especially as some medications may have drug interactions with Vitamin D supplements -- corticosteroid medicines for inflammation, weight-loss and cholesterol lowering drugs, and some seizure control drugs.

Until next time, think sunny thoughts, and be well.

Lori

Bugs: Maladies and Local History

We hope everyone will join us this week for another delicious Pathfinder Produce market, this Thursday, February 5^th, from 2 to 5 p.m.  It’s a great way to beat the winter blahs!

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Many families in the region, including my own, are coping with a cold-stomach bug with all its unpleasantness.  At my house, we’re pumping vitamins, using the vaporizer, drinking hot herbal teas, trying to sleep more, and breaking out the lotion-enhanced tissues.  (How did we ever get along without those?  For a brief history of tissues, visit this New York Times link.)

Of course, a big pot of homemade soup is always a welcome remedy, and I love soups with lots of vegetables.  I will have to get busy this weekend and make some (that is if I can continue avoiding the bug).  Soup is a comfort food in more ways than one, and according to internet sources there is some truth to the old wives tale on chicken soup.  If I do happen to succumb, I’ll lose myself in a good history book … I know it isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but I really do believe that “what is past is prologue.”

Speaking of history, the other day, Carl from the Pathfinder Bakery Morning Coffee Klatch shared an article about an Edmeston resident from the November Reminisce Magazine.  (The magazine is published by Readers’ Digest and features memories and photos from when our parents and grandparents were young).  Edward A. Jones of Santa Fe, NM remembered his childhood, spent in Edmeston, and how his maternal grandfather, William Smith “Doc” Pine, served as an herbalist and healer in the first half of the 20^th century. Doc Pine learned his art from his own father and Native healers, and although he didn’t have a medical degree, he was considered knowledgeable in both assessing illnesses and providing herbal salves and tonics that provided relief.

Mr. Jones writes, “…he became somewhat of a legend throughout upstate New York, parts of New England and southern Ontario.  He practiced from his home, seeing as many as 50 patients a day and traveling by horse-drawn sleigh to nearby farmhouses, villages and logging camps during winter months….

“Our pantry was always overflowing with the multitude of ingredients and I was in awe of the power they seemed to possess ….. These days Doc Pine would likely be labeled a quack.  To his patients, though, he was anything but.  I have met people over the years whose families he helped ….”

More Dr. Pine stories are included in “Grandpa’s Book” by local author Raymond Fuller.

Until next time, avoid the bug and be well,

Lori