Fuji Apple and Gorgonzola Salad

 

A few weeks ago, I had a lovely lunch with the even lovelier book club ladies, at the Iron Monkey, a cool bar/restaurant in Jersey City.  Since I wanted to keep the meal nice and light, I ordered the Fuji Apple and Endive Salad.  This salad is so simple, yet oh so tasty – the crisp sweetness of the apple was complemented nicely by the sweet and salty candied pecans and the creamy tang of the gorgonzola.  I enjoyed this salad so much I knew I had to try to recreate at home.  I made a few variations with what I had on hand at home – I may be biased, I actually think my version is better.

Fuji  Apple and Gorgonzola Salad

Ingredients:

For the salad:

• 2-3 cups Mixed salad greens
• 1 Fuji apple, sliced
• 1/2 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese
• 1/4 mixed nuts chopped

For for the apple cider vinaigrette:

• 1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1/8 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp honey
• pinch of salt and pepper

Layer salad ingredients into a bowl.  In a separate bowl whisk together dressing ingredients.  Drizzle dressing lightly over salad. Serves 2.

First JC Food Co-op Book Club

[Image source]

Yesterday, I attended the first meeting of the JC Food Co-op Book Club at Tachair Bookshoppe.  This month's book was Mark Bittman's Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious Eating.  I had downloaded the book on to my kindle a few months ago, so it was a happy coincidence when I found out that it was the first book for discussion.

I have to admit that I was a bit nervous about meeting and talking about a topic as sensitive as personal eating habits with strangers (though I do recognize the irony in that statement since I blog about my eating habits all the time!). But it actually turned out to be worthwhile experience.  It was refreshing to meet and speak with people who are as interested in food as I am.  I also learned more about the Jersey City food community and the food co-op, who organized the event.  And all while sipping Good Earth "Sweet and Spicy" tea, which they serve at the book shop, and has now become my new favorite tea!

As for the book itself, Bittman advocates "sane eating," that is a diet of that focuses on mostly plants, but with some meats as an accent or flavor, and minimizing processed foods.  This is similar to the diet I have already been following since I began to lose weight last year, so it hasn't changed the way I eat.  But one thing I did learn from the book was how political the way we are taught to eat is.  For example, take the "4 Basic Food Groups" that many of us learned as children, which later evolved to the "Food Pyramid" and now to "Choose My Plate." Perhaps it was my own naivete, but I was somehow under the impression that some learned health professionals or dietitians were developing these models as the way we are supposed to eat.  But rather, as Bittman highlights, these models were largely driven by the agricultural industries.  Learning about this aspect of food education has made me question what we know about food and nutrition and how many common misconceptions there are about food.

Question: 

Have you read Food Matters?  Is there something from the book that changed how you thought about food?

Special thanks to the Jersey City Food Co-op and Tachair Bookshoppe for making the book club meeting possible! I highly recommend anyone in the Jersey City area to check them out!

Note:  I have not been compensated to make this review of any of the products or businesses discussed here. I just really like them.

Book Club Quiche (Summer Squash, Bacon, and Mozzarella Quiche)

Earlier this year, my friend Rosann started a book club with a few friends. At the last few meetings we met at restaurants, but this month I volunteered to host.  I was excited about this opportunity because I finally have an apartment that is big enough for hosting and somewhat centrally located.  So I made this quiche to serve my lovely guests as we sipped mimosas and discussed The Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker, (which, by the way, is a very good read, I highly recommend it).  I chose this recipe from Cooking Light, mostly because it boasted to be "healthy."  But instead of making my own crust as the recipe calls for, I used store-bought crust.  I also substituted fresh thyme with fresh savory.  Nonetheless, it was a popular dish at the book club!