Hopper and More

I saw the Hopper Show last week at the Art Institute. I have always loved Hopper’s lonely little landscapes. The classic, Nighthawks, is there. That poor painting has been through more in our pop culture than Munch’s The Scream. Even if it is his biggest hit, I still love it. Yeah, I know it’s always cooler to love the B-sides, anyway, the rest of Hopper’s work is great too. I like his figure work more than I do the landscapes or housescapes as I like to call them.

I just wrapped up reading Sandor Ellix Katz’s book, The Revolution Will Not Be Microwaved, his latest cutting edge “real food” book. Katz also wrote Wild Fermentation, which is pretty dampened from use in my kitchen. He discusses some fairly conversational topics such as eating raw meats and drinking raw milk, foraging in forests for herbs, marijuana, the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, eating road kill, veganism vs. omnivorism and more. I appreciate that he does it all with a non-judgemental tone. He echoes my own motto, you do what works whether it be raw, macrobiotic, pharmaceutical, etc. It’s so ironic that the sustenance that is actually the most health providing is often illegal or unattainable. It’s a book that supports community and the ritual of making and eating food. I’m learning to value eating as an important ritual. At my worst I would eat over the sink. Now I sit down pray and thank the animals and plants for their sacrifices. I still eat in front of the TV at times but I eat slower and remind myself to stop and actually savor what is in front of me.

Speaking of slower eating, I’m enjoying more slow cooked foods lately. I finally broke out the ole crockpot this winter. I figure I might as well use it during these last few weeks of Winter. I suppose I could still use it in warmer weather for beverages and jams. Slow cooking tastes soooo good. I really do feel like it restores some of the nutrients lost in regular cooking. I used to aspire to be a serious raw foodist but I feel just as healthy if not more so adding some crockpot dishes. I made this a few weeks ago and it was delicious, I got it from the Fat Free Vegan site which is a goldmine for great healthy recipes:

Vegetable Paella (Crockpot)

Adapted From The Best Slow Cooker Cookbook Ever
Serves 6 to 8

10 ounces packaged frozen chopped spinach, thawed but not drained

2 cups converted white rice (I used basmati, which I soaked in water for about 8 hours prior)

4 cups homemade vegetable stock

3/4 cup chopped roasted red peppers1 large onion -- chopped

1 green bell pepper -- chopped

2 garlic cloves -- minced

1/2 teaspoon saffron threads (or turmeric)

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

13 3/4 ounces canned quartered artichoke hearts, rinsed and well drained

16 ounces packaged frozen mixed vegetables -- thawed

1. In a 31/2- or 4-quart electric slow cooker, combine the undrained spinach, rice, stock, bell pepper, roasted peppers, onion, garlic, saffron, cumin, cayenne, salt, and pepper.

2. Cover and cook on the low heat setting about 4 hours, or until the rice is just tender but the grains are still separate and not mushy; watch closely near the end of the cooking time.

3. Stir in the artichokes and thawed vegetables. Increase the heat to the high setting and cook, uncovered, 10 minutes longer. Serve immediately.

I'm usually not a fan of frozen veggies or canned food but Whole Foods or Trader Joe's has some good varieties.