Baby Frisee

About seven years ago, the Hubs and I decided that it was time we start eating better. Having a toddler inspired us to examine the food that we were ingesting. Little did we know what an adventure it would be or how much we would have to learn. We knew that if we did a total overhaul of our eating habits, the changes would not stick. So we chose to do things slowly, one small difference at a time.

We started with grains. We slowly switched to whole grain bread (we ate many sandwiches with one slice of white bread and one slice of whole wheat bread) and attempted to add other grains to our diet including rice and barley. Then we moved on to fruit. For a handful of months, we brought more and more fruit into our home until it became standard fare. In the last couple of years, we've been trying to bring in a greater variety of grains and more vegetables. These last two categories have been a challenge.

I admit I'm not much of a chef and that makes cooking vegetables (and strange grains) difficult. Artichokes intimidate me. Eggplants freak me out. Squash is disheartening. Not to mention, I don't really like to eat vegetables (likely because of my lack of exposure). Under these conditions, I'm sure my family is missing out of some essential antioxidants and synergistic benefits. Alas, I plod forward.

Which brings me to my proud purchase of baby frisee. I feel like a real sensation when I purchase out-of-the-ordinary produce items at the store. For a while, I settled for the pre-packaged salad blends with unusual titles like "Mediterranean Blend," or "Spring Mix," or "Baby Leaf Lettuces" (as opposed to Iceburg or Romaine). Then I noticed that the funky leaves inside these bags could be purchased, unpackaged, just down the aisle.

I have purchased such items before: spinach for lasagne and endive for soup. I have always found them to be cumbersome to wash and store and so I preferred the bagged salad mixes. Now I have resolved to behave in a more budget-savvy and ecologically sustainable way by purchasing my greens a-la-carte, washing them and mixing them at home. The greens are cheaper, of course, and they most often are packaged with a simple twist-tie or rubberband.

Here's my frisee. It's lovely and yummy, though often awkward to stuff in the mouth.

This is my spinach (also lovely).

Voila. Two spinach/frisee salads, with alfalfa sprouts.

To conclude this short history of our family's eating patterns, I will mention that white bread and pasta often make me gag and that kiwi and carrots are everyday snacks at our house. I've managed to do away with almost every kind of packaged food (cans of broth and sleeves of Ritz Crackers are decidedly stubborn about leaving our pantry). This is great progress, but there's always something more to learn and try. My awakening to real food can be tracked (like most everything in my life) through a series of books. Two I recommend are In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan and On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee. Very enlightening.