CNN published this story yesterday on Jack Cafferty’s blog: “Organic food is no healthier or more nutritious than regular food. But it is more expensive. That’s according to a study commissioned by the British government and published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.”

Humans all over the world have been fermenting food since ancient times. The earliest evidence of winemaking dates back to eight thousand years ago in the Caucasus area of Georgia.

It’s very recent that fermented foods have begun to disappear from our plate. Modern pickles and sauerkraut are made with vinegar instead of the traditional method of lacto-fermentation using salt. Bread and pasta are made with commercial yeast instead of being naturally leavened with wild yeast (sourdough). Wine, beer and cheeses are being pasteurized — killing off all the good bacteria we so desperately need to maintain health.

But there are many advantages to going back to the traditional ways of our ancestors, and eating more fermented foods.

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Good morning, readers! It’s time to announce another giveaway. This week Zukay Live Foods is giving away a case of their new raw, fermented salad dressings. If you win, you’ll get all 6 delicious new flavors: Carrot Ginger Tomato Provencal Cucumber Mint Sweet Onion Basil Red Pepper Cilantro Tomato Pepper Pesto These salad dressings all [...]

Why go to the trouble of making homemade granola? In Sally Fallon-Morell’s book, Nourishing Traditions, she explains that whole grains that are not soaked, sprouted or fermented are full of phytic acid, which impairs mineral absorption (not good for building strong teeth and bones). In addition, cereals are made with extruded grains which some say [...]

Last night we had our first date night in almost a year. We went to a French brasserie called Anisette in Santa Monica, just a few blocks from the beach. Despite the reviews on Yelp, I booked a reservation anyway — I had a good feeling about it. People on Yelp write that it is a “theme park version of a French brasserie” and “Disney does brasserie”.

About the Disney comments — whatever! I loved the atmosphere. Similar to Balthazar in New York City. Very authentic. We felt like we were in Paris. And isn’t that what you want on a date night? To feel like you are in Paris, sipping Ricard and nibbling on a cheese plate while waiters in black ties scurry about on tiled floors?

I didn’t make my first trip to Italy until I was 37. It was worth the wait.

I went on a once-in-a-lifetime dream vacation with my mother and sister. We started out in Tuscany, where we took cooking classes, went truffle hunting with a real truffle hunter and his dogs, and toured wineries. After that, we headed down to Rome, where we ate way too much pasta and gelato, drank Negroni cocktails on rooftops, drank bottle after bottle of vino, and sipped cappuccinos.

If you don’t have time to break away on your own Roman Holiday anytime soon, make this pasta. It’s like a mini trip to the Eternal City. Whip up a few Negronis and you are there.

Better late than never, right? Today has been one of those days so it took me a while to get this up. Welcome to Real Food Wednesday! I posted some inspiration for you: 100 Ways To Eat More Fat. In my opinion, most of us don’t eat anywhere near enough fat. What with all the [...]