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ADDICTIONS | OUR FEATURED TOPIC> What's
Cookin'?
We'll Hide 'em in the
Bushes, Ma'am...or Taste Changes
by Zoe
LaGrece
"What are your dessert specials tonight?" the caller asked, her voice
full of expectation.
"We have a fabulous dairy-free, Mocha Cream-filled Walnut Torte, Deep Dish Peach
Custard Pie and a lovely Lemon Glazed Carrot Cake sweetened with maple syrup,"
I replied, using enough inflection to illicit one of Julia Child's world famous "OoooH"
responses.
"What time do you close?"
"Well, you know, we stop serving at 9 but we're around 'til at least 10:30,
maybe even eleven."
Her voice faltered, "Oh, oh well, I don't think I can get there by then...I
guess I'll survive without any desserts." Her tone dropped faster than the barometric
pressure in Missouri.
My friend seriously needed some "refined sugar intervention." Even though
I had taunted her by describing the desserts in salivary terms, I knew of the commitment
my friend recently made to quit eating refined sugar. She not only had a regal sweet
tooth working in that instant, she needed some way to satisfy the urge without breaking
the promise she had made to herself.
Sugar produces a very strong craving in one who has to free herself from it.
One can satisfy the urge for the temporary relief, and the discharge will be momentarily
halted. To rid ourselves of old destructive habits, we must gain a good understanding
of what cravings signify. Our marvelous bodies have survival skills that let us know
when the last of some vitamin, mineral or other food is being utilized. This is the
point where we can override the pressing desire to continue the harmful eating habits
that keep us exactly where we are. One brief indulgence can cancel weeks or years
of progress.
Naboru Muramoto, author of Healing Ourselves, writes, "Toxins reside in different
levels of the body and are released accordingly in their own time. When these toxins
begin to be released, there will be a craving for a specific type of food.... One
always craves that which is being discharged. One must intercede in times of healing
and intentional change, deciding if our bodies are expressing themselves or the memories
of our brain are screaming 'sugar poisoning'."
This may sound discouraging at first, but please be assured that your taste does
change. I like to think of the taste buds as spoiled children who have always had
their way. If the going gets tough, they can pitch a little fit. When the parent
gives into their demands, it perpetuates the bad behavior.
These unruly little taste buds are coated with sugar and salt and fatty foods without
having had the experience of knowing more subtle flavors and energies. As our own
best parenting instinct emerges, we can comfort these little darlings, let them have
their outbursts and lovingly and wisely guide them to a higher level of being knowing --
all the while taste changes!
The process of change is an ongoing one. With each life-affirming choice we make,
our will grows stronger.
A very wise sage (my daughter) recently told me, "If you always do what you
always did, then you'll always get what you always got."
When we return to an essential and healthy way of eating, we further open ourselves
to new experience. Our temptation is to separate the kind of food we eat from the
activities that go into our bodies. In appreciating the heart and soul of life, we
recognize that everything we do in it matters. Return to the primitive diet and a
reverence for the act of eating places our intention for survival and well-being
where it intrinsically belongs -- within our hearts, that quiet/powerful attraction
that defies definition.
Back to the sugar intervention.... We decided that if we hid not one but three (this
woman was serious!) special desserts in the bushes by the restaurant's front door,
her husband could pick them up for her on his way home. When one creates an addictive
substance, one must be willing to support those to whom the addiction holds power.
Okay, so this addictive substance (or substances as in this delicious case) is simply
a wonderfully textured, naturally sweetened dessert. She could indulge herself in
the sensation of sweets without stepping back into old destructive patterns. Vive
la decadence without destruction! It just doesn't get much sweeter than that.
Here's another of my favorite recipes as seen on Episode 6 of "Zoe's Cookin'."
This dessert is extraordinary topped with your favorite vanilla ice cream or non-dairy
version.
Lavender Pear
Tart
Crust: 1/2 C. whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 C. unbleached white flour
1/4 C. cold pressed sunflower oil or butter
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/3 -1/2 C. ice water
Combine flours, oil and salt, mixing with hands or a pastry cutter until mixture
resembles a fine meal and flour is uniformly coated with oil. Stir in just enough
ice water to hold together. Press into a ball and roll out between sheets of waxed
paper or on a lightly floured surface to fill a 9-inch spring form or tart pan. Crimp
edges of crust with fingers to a 1/2-inch depth.
Topping: 2-3 pears-cored & thinly sliced
1/4 C. all fruit orange marmalade
1 tsp. orange zest (finely grated orange peel)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 TBS. Brandy (opt.)
1 TBS. dried lavender blossoms
(by all means use fresh if you have them in the garden)
water to consistency
optional garnishes; frozen grape clusters, fresh mint, pomegranate seeds
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small sauce pan, combine marmalade, lavender, vanilla
and brandy if desired. Mix thoroughly. Stir in water as needed to a thick syrup consistency.
Arrange pear slices on crust. Pour syrup evenly over pear slices and bake @ 350 degrees
for 30 to 40 minutes or until crust is lightly brown and filling bubbles. Garnish
with frozen grapes, orange zest and fresh mint. Now sprinkle on some pomegranate
seeds and your fabulous fruit sweetened tart is fit for your finest.
Zoe LaGrece
resides in Kansas City where Zoe's Cafe was located for 10 years. She is currently
the producer/host of an internet show -- Zoe's Cookin' -- on www.wabn.net. She may
be contacted via email. Copyright © 2001
Zoe LaGrece
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