February 22, 2008, Our paths of passion, By Lila Shaw Lash, Comfort wines for cold winter nights, By Patric Ellsworth, What is a healthy diet?, By Kate Short

The Dinner Goddess
By Lila Shaw Lash February 22, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Our paths of passion

Once news broke that Sabor magazine would be hosting the first annual Festival Sabor San Miguel with a jaw-dropping collection of Mexican and international chefs and winemakers, the foodies in town were set afire.

Now that the dates are fast-approaching, the energy has only intensified. Participants include Diana Kennedy, Patricia Quintana, Roberto Santibañez, Hans Backhoff from Monte Xanic and a collection of the hottest chefs from across Mexico—it’s the ticket, so make sure and get yours before they sell out. The Dinner Goddess will cover various events, chat with some of the visiting chefs and assist with demonstrations, so I hope to see all of my readers out enjoying this delicious festival.

As a chef, I fell in love with traditional Mexican cuisine over copies of Cuisines of Mexico by Diana Kennedy and Mexican Kitchen by Rick Bayless. What Kennedy began in the fifties, Bayless and a handful of others amplified to unimaginable levels, a cuisine others saw as comprised solely of enchiladas and chiles en nogada.

Frontera Grill, one of Rick Bayless’s restaurants in Chicago, was named Outstanding Restaurant in 2007 by the James Beard Foundation, one of the most prestigious awards given in the industry. Sister restaurant, Topolobampo, was praised in The New York Times as being “The most elegant and serious Mexican restaurant in the country.” In addition to these two restaurants on North Clark Street in Chicago (they share a kitchen), Bayless and his partners also operate Frontera Fresco, a quick-service casual option inside of Macy’s department store in downtown Chicago. Bayless is keynoting the festival lecture series on Saturday, March 8 with, “Why Mexico? A Path of Passion.”

Bayless was recently in San Miguel with Culinary Adventurers for a series of private classes held at Sazón and I assisted him in the kitchen. Working with someone I’ve admired for many years can be a bit intimidating, but once we started cooking, the nervousness faded into focused production and complete joy. We dove into an ambitious menu, peppered with interesting discussions about local sourcing, the quality of ingredients available, the politics behind the organic movement and his passionate journey to bring this cuisine to a broader audience.

Having lived and studied in Mexico for many years, Bayless continues to takes his entire restaurant staff on a culinary tour of different regions each summer. His breadth of knowledge and passion for the cuisine and culture is impressive, fed in part by his academic background in Spanish language literature and Latin American studies. These academic interests led him to study Mexican cuisine, where he spent long hours poring over a first edition of Cuisines of Mexico. “(Kennedy) let me stand on her shoulders, in the sense that she had already laid that groundwork. Hopefully, I’ve done the same thing for the next generation, allowing them to stand on my shoulders,” Bayless commented. “Our approaches are very different. Diana is very interested in individual recipes that come from individual people and I’m interested in composite recipes that reflect the whole community.”

Bayless has also long been a proponent of locally sourced foods and bio-dynamic gardening—he and his wife, Deann, produce over US$30,000 of market-value organic produce each year in their small downtown Chicago garden space. His efforts to support other producers led him to start the Frontera Farmer Foundation, a nonprofit committed to promoting small, sustainable producers in the greater Chicago area.

As a chef, sourcing and locating quality ingredients is one of the largest obstacles to producing great food. Talking to Bayless about nurturing the small farmer and identifying regional jewels was inspiring. Past The Dinner Goddess columns focused on similar ideas. While prepping in the kitchen, he shared his concern for the demise of the small Mexican specialty producer, the inevitable consequence of large-scale operations gaining ground in an increasingly competitive market.

Rick Bayless and many others will be attending this year’s festival, so stay tuned for future The Dinner Goddess columns in Atención highlighting other participants.

Lila Shaw Lash is The Dinner Goddess, a personal chef and catering service for clients in San Miguel.

Words on Wine
By Patric Ellsworth

Comfort wines for cold winter nights

In San Miguel, we are blessed with mild weather most of the year. In fact, it sometimes seems the outside world assumes it’s always warm here. Well, the temperatures over the past couple of months have certainly dispelled that myth. This is truly the season to enjoy blazing fires (or, for most of us, gas logs), hearty fare such as beef stew, savory soups and, of course, wine. And by wine, I mean red wine. There’s nothing quite like a deeply colored, full-bodied, richly flavored red in your glass to liven your palate and warm your insides.

Luckily, there are many bottles available which meet these qualifications. Robust Rhones, like Chateauneuf-du-Pape (unfortunately, quiet expensive), malbecs from Argentina and Cahors, syrahs (or shiraz) from Australia, Chile and several other countries, as well as a good number of red blends can be found locally. I’ve mentioned a couple of malbecs in my previous columns and have discovered another one (described later) worthy of your consideration. Argentine producers popularized this varietal after it had languished in relative obscurity as a minor blending grape in Bordeaux. Most Argentine malbec is grown in and around the Mendoza area, where the vines have been planted for more than 100 years. Here, there are still thousands of acres of old-vine malbec in production, and it has become the country’s signature varietal. Most of the vineyards are located on the plain east of the Andes and in the Andean foothills. The views of the dramatic, snow-capped Andes can be spectacular. For many decades, primitive production methods resulted in many dull, tanky and mostly forgettable wines, which mainly were sold domestically. In recent years, modern vinification techniques brought in from France, the US and elsewhere have greatly improved the overall quality of Argentine malbec, to the point where many examples can be considered “world class.” Few acres of malbec remain in Bordeaux, and Cahors, in the southwest, is now the grape’s principal French home. Blended with other red varieties like tannat, it produces some rich, powerful and often tooth-staining wines. Cahors is not widely available, but is worth seeking out.

There’s one more wine type I’d like to throw into the mix: port. True port comes from the Douro Valley of Portugal, but there are port-style wines made in California, Australia and elsewhere. The selection available in our local stores is pretty limited, but you can find some satisfying examples. Vintage port is considered by most to be the elite of the class and can provide a wonderful drinking experience. However, it is very pricey and requires patience, as it is best enjoyed when 10–20 years old. The humbler ruby and tawny ports, paired with bleu cheese and walnuts, can also offer a tasty capper on a cool evening. Ruby port is fruitier and more youthful, while tawny is aged longer in wood, acquiring a brownish hue and a nutty flavor. Both have 5 or 6 percent residual sugar and up to 20 percent alcohol, so one glass is enough. When stored at room temperature, these wines will keep well for a week or more, allowing you to extend your pleasure over several evenings.

Following are a few suggestions to get you started. As always, I welcome your comments and invite you to share your own wine discoveries. Salud!

Three to try

Kaiken “Ultra” Malbec 2006, Mendoza (Argentina) 198 pesos at La Europea. This wine exhibits everything I love in a malbec: intense purple-black color, aromas of fruit and spice, rich berry flavors, full body and soft tannins. Well done! I plan to put a few bottles in the cellar, where it should get even better over the next two to four years. Kaiken is made by the estimable Chilean producer Montes, whose wines I’ve praised before.

Vina MontGras “Quatro” 2006 (Chile) 340 pesos at Bella Italia. Made from a blend of cabernet sauvignon, syrah, carmenere and malbec, Quatro delivers layers of rich, complex flavors of blueberries, raspberries and cassis in a well-rounded and softly tannic package. It is a wonderful accompaniment to red meat and full-flavored cheeses. We ordered this wine with dinner and liked it so much we had a second bottle!

Sandeman Tawny Port (Portugal) 169 pesos at La Europea. Classic reddish-brown color, aromas of plums and raisins, nutty with a hint of black cherry, sweet without being cloying, with a warm aftertaste. Try it with nuts, strong cheese or melon.

A different way to buy wine

Dick Avery, a recently arrived sanmiguelense, is passionate about Mexican wine and enjoys sharing his enthusiasm for it with others. Avery has started a business called VinoClubSMA, which represents several quality Mexican producers and sells directly to consumers. He will bring to your home, free of charge, sample bottles (plus wine glasses) and conduct a tasting for you and your guests. If you’re interested in purchasing, you can place your order with him and he’ll deliver the wines to you. For further information, contact nim at vinoclubsma@gmail.com or check out his website www.vinoclub.sma.com.

Save the dates

The Sabor San Miguel Viking 2008 international food and wine festival is coming March 7–9. The festival features celebrity chefs Rick Bayless, Diana Kennedy, Patricia Quintana and Roberto Santibañez; wines from more than 30 wineries; dinners, lectures and cooking classes. For more information, go to www.festivalsabor.com.

Patric Ellsworth is a former wine broker and home winemaker who now lives full-time in San Miguel. He may be reached at patworth@hotmail.com.

People always come to me wanting me to prescribe for them a special, rigid diet. As a health counselor, I am not a dietician; therefore, I do not give “diets.” (I will, however, use the word “diet,” for lack of a better word, to describe one’s daily intake of food.)

Most of the writing in the wide field of nutrition talks about restrictions: “Don’t eat this and definitely don’t drink that!” I think it is important to follow what can be called “the cramming-out effect,” whereby you eat more of the healthier options (whole grains, green vegetables, etc.), which naturally leaves less room to partake of the less healthy foods. Eventually you will begin to not want “junk” because of how well you feel not eating it anymore.

It is also necessary to eat what you enjoy, for enjoyment is a huge part of health. Food is here to be savored, flavored, and appreciated. However, that being said, when your body is in a healthy state of being, you will naturally want to eat food that nourishes your body, mind and spirit, so that what you want to eat will be good for you. Imagine that! In order to limit the confusion—or at least diminish it to a manageable level—here are a few general guidelines for a healthy “diet”. Keep in mind that my #1 rule for eating is to listen to your body, notice how it feels after a meal, and follow its cues. There are good reasons why you crave salt or chocolate. But that is a whole different article. So on with today’s topic:

Health-Supportive Food Guidelines
(adapted from Anne-Marie Colbin’s Food & Healing)

1. The Complex-Carbohydrate Group:

a. Whole-grain cereals (2-3 servings daily (1 cup cooked grain)): brown rice, amaranth, quinoa, corn, rye, popcorn, whole wheat, millet, whole-grain bread

b. Starchy tubers (2-3 servings daily (1 med. size tuber)): yams, camote (Mexican wild yam), sweet potatoes, etc.

2. The Protein Group:

a. Dry beans & peas (1-2 servings daily (1 cup cooked beans)): split peas, garbanzos, lentils, kidney beans, etc.

b. Animal protein (1-5 servings/week (1 fist-size piece)): fish, fowl, eggs, meat

3. The Vitamin/Mineral Group:

a. Leafy green vegetables (1-2 servings daily (1/2 cup cooked)): kale, collards, chard, spinach, mustard greens, dandelion, etc. (all cooked); lettuce, parsley, dill, cilantro, watercress (all raw)

b. The roots & squashes (1-2 servings daily (1/2 cup)): turnips, parsnips, carrots, rutabagas, radishes, zucchini, etc.

c. The general vegetables (2-5 servings daily (1/2 cup)): celery, broccoli, onions, leeks, green beans, etc.

d. The sea vegetables (2-5 servings daily (1/4 cup)): nori (the kind in sushi), wakame (usually in miso soup), hijiki, dulse (comes in flake form), kombu, kelp, etc.

e. The nightshades (3-5 servings/week (1/2 cup)) only if diet includes dairy): potatoes, tomatoes, eggplant, peppers

f. Fresh or cooked fruits (1-2 servings daily (1 cup) according to season)

· between meals for raw fruit, as they can upset digestion if eaten with other foods.

4. The Lactobacillus Group (3-5 servings/week (1/2 cup)): fermented foods, including: pickles, kombucha (beverage), miso, tempeh, sauerkraut; fermented-milk products (yogurt, etc.) are optional

5. The Fun-Foods Group (weekends, parties, special occasions): milk, cheese, chocolate, sugar, paté, fried foods, “rich foods,” etc.

Something very important to note is that whole grains and carbohydrates require more thorough chewing. The enzymes that break down the carbohydrates are centrally and conveniently located in the mouth, so when you gulp down your brown rice, the burden of digestion then goes on to the lower organs, which can cause abdominal bloating, gas, and what was perceived as a “healthy” diet can become a bit of a digestive nightmare.

Eat well. Chew well. Be well.

Stay tuned for next month’s article, in which I will discuss the growing controversies of Milk: Friend or Foe?

Kate Short, a graduate of the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York, is a certified holistic health counselor. She also teaches cooking classes based on the wisdom of eating seasonally and locally. She can be reached at flowtome@yahoo.com.