Winter pleasures

Written by Robin Glowa
Wednesday, 01 February 2012 00:00

“It isn’t the great big pleasures that count the most, it’s making a great deal out of the little ones.”

— Anonymous

Winter can be a wonderful time to prepare a delicious life. In the kitchen, dishes cook more slowly now, sometimes for hours, until achieving rich, satisfying doneness. There is a calm in the winter kitchen that should be savored and enjoyed.

During the often frigid days of January, both body and soul crave the intensity of deeply warming foods. Roasted vegetables fill the bill nicely.

When you bathe cut-up pieces of root vegetables such as parsnips, potatoes, butternut squash, onions or carrots, along with a few bright green Brussel sprouts in olive oil, then sprinkle with coarse sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper, and then roast them in a good hot oven (400-425 degrees) until tender and caramelized.

The sweet appeal of kindness

Written by Robin Glowa
Wednesday, 18 January 2012 00:00

“Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight? Always try to be a little kinder than necessary.”

— J.M. Barrie

When it comes to feeding our bodies, we are often not very kind to ourselves. We overindulge with sweets or stuff ourselves with salty, crunchy chips and crackers, drink too much soda or alcohol, or sometimes don’t eat at all. The stresses of life intrude, and often we react by starving ourselves, or mindlessly eating foods that are not invigorating or nurturing.

Just as we would treat a complete stranger with kindness, we need to treat ourselves with loving kindness. Taking time to breathe deeply, enjoy fresh air and exercise, and eat powerfully restorative foods is essential for wellness.

Singing the praises of Christmas cookies

Written by Robin Glowa
Wednesday, 14 December 2011 00:00

“The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.”

— Buddy the Elf

I was actually contemplating not making Christmas cookies this year! Seriously, it just seemed like too much trouble. Another chore to fit into an already overloaded schedule.

As a health professional who is acutely aware of my own personal dietary downfalls, I have a weakness for far too many types of cookies. I thought if I avoided the issue all together, perhaps that annual Christmas cookie belly bulge could once and for all be avoided.

Chestnuts roasting in a warm oven

Written by Robin Glowa
Wednesday, 07 December 2011 00:00

One of the many joys of cooking and experimenting with healthy recipes is discovering new ingredients. Imagine my delight when a dear friend recently reintroduced me to roasted chestnuts. “You’ve never tried them?,” he asked in disbelief. “Well, maybe once years ago,” I responded. “I think I remember them being kind of mealy.”

“Try them again, they’re really delicious,” he insisted. Next thing I knew, we were cutting a small cross into each chestnut, placing them flat side down in a sturdy baking pan and sprinkling them with water.

Into the oven they went at 400 degrees, and 35 minutes later I was peeling back the shiny brown shells, revealing warm, golden brown nuggets that tasted not mealy, but creamy textured and completely unique.

Pass the gravy and the gratitude

Written by Robin Glowa
Wednesday, 23 November 2011 00:00

“I wish the bald eagle had not been chosen as the representative of our country ... the turkey is a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America.”

— Benjamin Franklin

An entire day devoted to giving thanks — what a spectacular concept. The Thanksgiving holiday could be regarded as a beacon of hope, reminding us that no matter what difficulties we face, there is always something to be grateful for, and there is always a reason to say “Thanks.”

Gratitude is an amazing thought process that constantly brings about more bounty. When we are truly grateful and recognize the rich layers of life, we activate a conscious cycle of contentment.

'The Conscious Cook' Robin Glowa demonstrates at library

Thursday, 10 November 2011 12:53

The Conscious Cook, Robin Glowa recently presented a ‘Healthy, Happy Thanksgiving’ class at the Fairchild-Nichols Library, focusing on healthy ingredients such as butternut squash, wild and brown rice, cranberries, apples and other favorite, traditional ingredients, with a healthy twist. Over 20 people enjoyed a menu of warm Colonial Mulled Cider, Pilgrim’s Rice Pilaf, Butternut Squash Gratin and Cranberry Apple Cobbler.

Robin, HHC, AADP, is a food and wellness enthusiast who earned her certification in holistic health counseling from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and Columbia University Teachers College. She specializes in teaching healthy cooking classes for children and adults, as well as cooking presentations and wellness workshops for many local organizations.

Visit theconsciouscook.net, call 203-393-1037, or http://confessionsofaconsciouscook.blogspot.com.

Weathering the unexpected

Written by Robin Glowa
Tuesday, 08 November 2011 23:00

“Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air, but only for one second without hope.”

— Unknown

There is a certain strange eloquence to catastrophe. The freakish Halloween storm that recently rendered towns like mine completely powerless, plunging 100% of the community into the dark, brought on a number of situations and a range of emotions.

Anger, that such a storm would come so soon on the heels of Hurricane Irene, frustration at not being able to have the day flow in it’s normal way, disappointment for the many Halloween revelers who had to sadly pack away their costumes until next October.

The ‘Great Pumpkin’

Written by Robin Glowa
Tuesday, 25 October 2011 23:00

“Each year the Great Pumpkin rises out of the patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He’s gotta pick this one. I don’t see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there’s not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see.”

— Linus Van Pelt “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.” 1966

There is perhaps no seasonal ingredient more versatile, useful or healthful than the Great Pumpkin. Indigenous to North America, pumpkins have been harvested for generations, and both their flesh and seeds used in many delicious and nutritious preparations.

The happiness of harvest days

Written by Robin Glowa
Tuesday, 11 October 2011 23:00

“Believe in yourself, your neighbors, your work, your ultimate attainment of more complete happiness.

It is only the farmer who faithfully plants seeds in the Spring, who reaps the harvest in Autumn.”

— B.C. Forbes

Without the hard work of farmers and gardeners, we would not know the great pleasures of delicious, fresh, natural foods.

Whether it be produce, fruit, dairy, poultry or meat, farm fresh products are one of our closest links with nature and one of the best ways to feed our bodies. Autumn is the time to enjoy crisp, crunchy apples, plump pears, round, rotund squashes, bright orange carrots, all piled high at your local farmers markets.

The apple of my eye

Written by Robin Glowa
Tuesday, 27 September 2011 23:00

“What a heavenly out-of-door appetite it takes to relish the apple of life, the apple of the world, then!”

— Henry David Thoreau

I have a big appetite for apples and eagerly anticipate those early fall days when I can stop at farm stands and orchards to purchase one of nature’s loveliest fruits.

Apples are so sweetly simple, combining the satisfaction of both sugar and crunch in one perfectly portable package.

How lucky we are that in the 1800s one adventuresome and forward-thinking John Chapman, otherwise known as Johnny Appleseed, would traverse barefoot across 100,000 square miles here in America, planting apple trees that would sustain scores of our ancestors.