Keeping it simple and fresh – Orange County Register

“Eat food. Not too much. Especially plants. March is National Nutrition Month, and these seven words from journalist and author Michael Pollan from his book “In Defense of Food” are even more compelling today than they were when they were written in 2008.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “most Americans do not eat a healthy diet and consume too much sodium, saturated fat and sugar, which increases their risk of chronic diseases.” The average American consumes 130 pounds of sugar per year, or about 3 pounds per week per person, and one in four Americans eat fast food every day.

In Italy, in March 1986, the Slow Food movement began in protest against the opening of a fast-food restaurant near the Spanish Steps in Rome. The idea has spread and today more than 160 countries participate in their vision: “A world where everyone can eat foods that are good for them, good for those who grow them and good for the planet.”

The Slow Food diet, like the Mediterranean diet, emphasizes eating local, seasonal, high-quality nutritious foods – legumes, pasta, fruit, vegetables, and meat or fish.

What can we do to make slow food, rather than fast food, a daily habit? Michael Pollan’s three rules are a good start: “Avoid processed foods and ingredients you don’t recognize. Use meat for flavor, not the main dish. Pay more, eat less.

Here in north Orange County, we have easy access to the fresh, locally sourced foods we need to stay healthy at our many farmers markets: Placentia Tuesdays 3-7 p.m.; Fullerton on Wednesdays from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and from April, Thursdays from 4 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.; Buena Park Saturday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.; and Yorba Linda on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., starting March 9. See OrangeCounty.net for more information.

Amanda Cushman never planned to pursue a career in food. From helping a friend with her catering business, to becoming a recipe tester and developer, to opening her own catering business, she “had begun my journey into the global health and wellness sector food,” she writes in “Simple Real Food.” (Amanda Cushman, $14.99).

I met Amanda at Melissa’s Produce during a book promotion event. The chefs at Melissa’s prepared a delicious lunch using recipes from the book.

What struck me were their Thai summer rolls with lime dipping sauce. These summer rolls, unlike their fried spring roll cousins, are light and flavorful, she noted, a perfect model for her book’s subtitle: “Delicious, Clean Food Made Simply.”

Judy Bart Kancigor of Fullerton is the author of “Cooking Jewish” and “The Perfect Passover Cookbook.” His website is cookingjewish.com.

THAI SUMMER ROLLS WITH LIME DIP SAUCE

Excerpt from “Simple Real Food” by Amanda Cushman

Yield: 10 rolls

Ingredients:

• 3/4 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, cooked
• 8 leaves of red leaf lettuce
• 1 package small spring roll skins, 8-inch round (also called rice paper wrappers)
• 1/2 English cucumber, seeded, julienned
• 1 seeded red pepper, julienned
• 2 ripe avocados cut into thin slices
• 1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves, rinsed and dried
• 1/2 cup packed mint leaves, rinsed and dried
• 1/2 cup packed basil leaves, rinsed and dried

Lime Dip:

• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Juice of 3 limes
• 1/4 cup fish sauce
• 3 tablespoons of sugar
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

Method:

1. Cut the shrimp in half lengthwise. Put aside.

2. Remove the leaves from the lettuce and separate them into large pieces, removing the white inner core. Put aside.

3. Soak a few wrappers at a time in warm water until soft. Be sure to remove the wrappers when they are soft and pliable and place them on a baking sheet lined with paper towels.

4. Working with one wrapper at a time, place a piece of lettuce on the bottom edge of the wrapper, leaving enough room at the sides to fold it over. Place 2 halves of shrimp on the lettuce, cover with a piece of cucumber, red pepper, avocado and a few leaves of coriander, mint and basil. Roll the filling up to the middle, pulling the mixture firmly towards you to completely cover the filling. When you get to the center, fold in the sides and continue rolling until the end. The end will stick to the other side of the wrapper. Place seam side down on a baking sheet until done.

5. Combine the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan and simmer for 3 or 4 minutes to dissolve the sugar. Transfer to a serving bowl.

6. Cut the rolls diagonally and serve with dipping sauce.