Robinson eating on the wild side

TIT

EATING on the

WILD SIDET H E M I S S I N G L I N K

TO O P T I M U M H E A LT H

i

J O R O B I N S O N

Little, Brown and CompanyNew York Bo s t on London

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CONTENTS

Wild Nutrients—Lost and Found

PART ONE: VEGETABLES

chapter 1: From Wild Greens to Iceberg Lettuce 0

chapter 2: Alliums—All Things to All Good People 0

chapter 3: Corn on the Cob—How Supersweet It Is! 00

chapter 4: Potatoes—From Wild to Fries 00

chapter 5: The Other Root Crops—Carrots, Beets, and Sweet Potatoes 00

chapter 6: Tomatoes—Bringing Back Their Flavor and Nutrients 00

chapter 7: The Incredible Crucifers—Tame Their Bitterness and Reap the Rewards 000

chapter 8: Legumes—Beans, Peas, and Lentils 000

chapter 9: Artichokes, Asparagus, and Avocados —Indulge! 000

PART TWO: FRUITS

chapter 10: Apples—From Potent Medicine to Mild-Mannered Clones 000


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Introduction

WILD NUTRIENTS

Lost and Found

Where do our fruits and vegetables come from? Not from the supermarket, of course. That’s just where they are sold.

Nor do they come from large commercial farms, local farms, or even our backyard gardens. That’s where they are planted, tended, and harvested. The fruits and vegetables themselves came from wild plants that grow in widely separated areas around the globe. Most of our blueberries came from wild “swamp huckleberries” that are native to the Pine Barrens of New Jersey. The wild ancestor of our beefsteak tomato is a berry-sized fruit that grows on the flanks of the Andes Mountains. Our hefty orange carrots came from a wild plant with purple roots that grows in Afghanistan. When our long-ago ancestors invented farming 10,000 or so years ago, they began altering these and other wild plants to make them more productive, easier to grow and harvest, and more pleasing to their palates. To date, 400 generations of farmers have played a role in redesigning native plants. The combined changes are so monumental that our present-day fruits and vegetables seem like modern creations. Consider the banana, our most popular fruit. The wild ancestor of the banana grows in Malaysia and parts of Southeast Asia. The bananas come in a multitude of shapes, colors, and sizes. Most of them are chock full of large, hard seeds. Their skins are so firmly attached that you have to cut them off with a knife. Take a bite of the dry, astringent flesh and you’d wonder why you went to the trouble. Over several thousand years, we clever humans have


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TX etables available today, along with advice on how to identify them and where you can find them. I have gleaned this information from more than 1,000 research journals published in the U.S. and abroad. These discoveries are so new and come from such a multitude of scientific disciplines that few of the varietal names have become public knowl-edge until now.

You will find many highly nutritious varieties in a conventional supermarket. Still more are available in farmers markets, farm stands, natural food stores, and ethnic markets. When you buy your produce directly from a farmer, you get to enjoy fresh-picked flavor as well as added health benefits. The most uncommon varieties of produce must be grown from seed. This is no hardship if you are one of the nation’s 35 million home gardeners. Growing the most delectable and nutritious fruits and vegetables in your own backyard or nearby com-munity garden is the wave of the future.

Next you will learn new ways to store, prepare, and cook the fruits and vegetables to enhance their flavor and retain or increase their health benefits. Most of the new techniques are simple and easy to remember. Each chapter concludes with a summary to help you recall key points.

The information in this book is useful to anyone who eats fruits and vegetables. Whether you are an omnivore, vegetarian, or vegan, you will discover new ways to make your diet more flavorful and nu-tritious. If you’re on a specific regimen to lose weight, control al-lergies, or curb inflammation, choosing the varieties recommended in this book will further your goals. If you cook for young children, picky eaters, an older person with a flagging appetite, or people who swear by fast food or meat and potatoes, you will learn how to make “stealth” substitutions that will improve their chances of enjoying ro-bust good health.

Finally, if you or someone you know is struggling with a serious condition or disease, eating on the wild side will swell your medicine chest with new plant-based remedies. Hippocrates’ famous saying—”Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food”—will be more than inspirational words; they will become your daily reality.

PA R T I

VEGETABLES

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Chapter 1

FROM WILD GREENS TOICEBERG LETTUCE

Today, we can purchase fresh fruits and vegetables twelve months of the year. When they are out of season in one region of the

country, they are shipped in from another or imported from as far away as Chile or China. This seamless supply allows us to forget the seasonal cycle of plants and their brief harvest seasons. We can buy fresh greens in December, apples in April, and grapes all-year round.

The people who first inhabited this land did not have this luxury. During the winter months, hunter-gatherers had to make do with their caches of dried meat, fish, roots, fruit, and herbs. When spring finally arrived, they were hungry for fresh food. Even then, however, their choices were limited. The wild berry bushes and fruit trees had yet to blossom. The roots of the Camas lilies, wild carrots, onions, and ground nuts were too small to be harvested. The wild grasses and


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When you harvest cherries or bring them home from the store, refrigerate them right away. Place them in a sealed plastic bag that you have pricked with 20 pin holes to allow a slow exchange of gas. Store the fruit in the produce bin of your refrigerator and eat as soon as possible.

It Doesn’t Get Any Fresher Than This!

Lord Ludovica Sforza, the Duke of Milan from 1489-1508, is

best known for commissioning The Last Supper, Leonardo da

Vinci’s world-famous painting.

Although Sforza’s taste in art is renowned, few know

about his love of great food. The Duke ordered the creation of

extensive fruit and vegetable gardens in the area surrounding

his Milan castle. The gardens were so productive that they

supplied much of the fresh produce for the castle and nearby

households.

The fruit that was served to Sforza and his intimates,

however, came from a more rarified source. The Duke had a

private garden of fruit trees and bushes that was planted in

large wheeled carts. When the Duke wanted to eat some fruit,

his moveable feast was brought to his private chamber or the

dining table so he could reach out and pluck a perfect specimen

from a living plant.

Chronicle of America, A New History for a New World, Volume XII, by

Fernandez de Oviedo (1478-1557)

U.S. cherries have three times more pesticides than imported cherries, according to data from the FDA and the Environmental Pro-tection As many as sixteen different pesticides have been found on a single batch of U.S. fruit. In a recent year, only 2 percent of imported cherries had more than one pesticide. Buy organic cherries to reduce your exposure to these noxious chemicals.

PLUMS AND PRUNES

The wild Indian plum (Osmaronia cerasiformis) grows west of the Cas-cade Mountains from Northern California to British Columbia. The fruit is remarkably sweet but it is so small that it is more stone than fruit. Native Americans gathered the plums despite their small size because of their high sugar content. The Tolowa Tribe of Northern California gathered large quantities of the fruit, but they had one com-plaint. The trees bloomed in February, which raised their hopes of an early feast, but the plums don’t ripen until summer, long after other fruits had been harvested. The Tolowa considered this false advertis-ing. Their name for wild plum trees is “the tree that lies.”

The Indian plum and all other wild plums are highly nutritious. The Australian “Kakadu” plum has more vitamin C than any other food analyzed to date—3,000 milligrams per serving, which is fifty times more than the same amount of oranges. It has five times more antioxidants than blueberries.

Shopping for Plums in the Supermarket

Our modern varieties of plums cannot match the phytonutrient con-tent of wild plums, but some varieties are very nutritious. Red, pur-ple, blue, or black-skinned plums are your best choices. Some of these deeply pigmented fruits have even more antioxidant activity than red cabbage, spinach, onions, or leeks. Plums with yellow, rose, or green skins are less nutritious due to their lower anthocyanin content.

Plums, like all stone fruits, are vulnerable to chilling injury. You can avoid this problem by buying ripe plums. Press them between your palms and they will give a slight amount. If you wait until July to buy them, the plums are likely to be riper and more flavorful. For the best quality fruit, buy tree-ripened fruit from local orchards or farmers markets.

When shopping in farmers markets or buying a plum tree for your yard, look for the recommended varieties on page [000]. “Beltsville Elite,” “Cacek Best, “French Damson,” “Italian Prune,” and “Stanley” are among the most nutritious.


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5. Extra-virgin olive oil is one of the best oils to use in a salad dressing.

Fat-free dressings limit your absorption of the fat-soluble vitamins in salad greens. Extra-virgin olive oil is an excellent oil to use because it makes the nutrients in the greens more bioavailable. Unfiltered ex-tra-virgin olive oil is even better because it has more antioxidants and will stay fresh longer.

6. Tame the bold flavors of bitter greens.Many of the healthiest salad vegetables are high in beneficial but

bitter-tasting phytonutrients. If you are extra-sensitive to bitterness, mix small amounts of bitter greens with milder tasting lettuce. Add avocados or dried or fresh fruit. A honey-mustard salad dressing fur-ther masks the bitterness.

LEEKS

Leeks (Allium ampeloprasum var. porrum) are tall, mild-flavored alliums with one slender bulb. They look like scallions on growth hormones. Despite their mild flavor, they are rich in beneficial phytonutrients. The nutrients are most concentrated in the leaves and the green por-tions of the stalk, parts that most people discard. To use the greens in a stir fry or other sautéed dish, cut them into one-eighth-inch slices and sauté for a few minutes before adding the rest of the leek. Unlike onions and garlic, leeks lose most of their antioxidant benefits after spending just a few days in your refrigerator. Cook them as soon as you buy or harvest them.

Many people don’t know what to do with leeks once they get them home. Apart from one classic dish—leek and potato soup—they draw a blank. The following quick and easy recipe provides a tasty alterna-tive. You can serve the sautéed leeks as a side dish, add them to soups and pot roasts, or pile them on sandwiches or hamburgers. Use them in omelets, frittatas, poultry stuffing, or serve over fish, beef, pork, poultry, or lamb. I make a large quantity and freeze some in pint-size freezer bags to have them on hand.

Sautéed Leekswith Mustard and Cumin

prep time: 10 to 15 minutes cook time: 10 minutestotal time: 20 to 25 minutes Yield: 2 cups

2 medium-sized leeks¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil1 teaspoon cumin seeds2 tablespoons prepared mustard1 teaspoon honey

Chop off the roots of the leeks. Chop off the tops, leaving three inches of the dark green leaves. Cut the leeks into quarters lengthwise, then rinse well to remove any dirt. Beginning at the stem end, slice the leeks crosswise into ¼ -inch slices; slice the green leaves into narrower, 1/8th-inch slices.

Put the oil, cumin seeds, and the green portions of the leeks into a medium-sized frying pan. Sauté on medium to low heat for two minutes, then add the white portions and cook for another 8 minutes. Stir frequently. Add the mustard and honey and sauté on low for another two minutes. Serve hot or cold.

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FARMERS MARKETS, SPECIALTY MARKETS, AND SEED CATALOGS

WATERMELON

VARIETIESCOMMENTS IN THE GARDEN

“Dixie Lee”

Very large (up to 30 pounds), seeded, heirloom variety that has more lycopene than most old-fashioned melons.

90 days from transplanting to maturity. Zones 5-9. Watermelons require a long, hot-growing season to mature and to develop the best flavor. Look for seeds in catalogs featuring heirlooms varieties.

“Extazy”

Small, round, seedless watermelon with dark red flesh. 6-7 pounds. The skin has light stripes on a dark green background. Highest in lycopene in a recent review.

90 days from transplanting to maturity.

“Lycosweet”

A round, dark-red, seedless watermelon with dark green skin. 6-7 pounds. Developed to be high in lycopene.

98 days from transplanting.

“Millennium”

A seedless hybrid melon. 9-11 pounds. Dark-green skin without stripes and dark red flesh. Higher in lycopene than Dixie Lee.

85 days from transplanting. Zones 5-9. F1 hybrid. (See general comments above.) Needs a seeded pollinator. Seeds are available from large seed companies.

“Mohican”

A small, round, seedless watermelon about 7 inches in diameter. Indistinct stripes on a medium-green background. High in lycopene. Noted for its excellent flavor and tender flesh.

85 days. Needs a seeded pollinator.

FARMERS MARKETS, SPECIALTY MARKETS, AND SEED CATALOGS

WATERMELON


“Dixie Lee”

Very large (up to 30 pounds), seeded, heirloom variety that has more lycopene than most old-fashioned melons.

90 days from transplanting to maturity. Zones 5-9. Watermelons require a long, hot-growing season to mature and to develop the best flavor. Look for seeds in catalogs featuring heirlooms varieties..

“Extazy”

Small, round, seedless watermelon with dark red flesh. 6-7 pounds. The skin has light stripes on a dark green background. Highest in lycopene in a recent review.

90 days from transplanting to maturity.

“Lycosweet”

A round, dark-red, seedless watermelon with dark green skin. 6-7 pounds. Developed to be high in lycopene.

98 days from transplanting.

“Millennium”

A seedless hybrid melon. 9-11 pounds. Dark-green skin without stripes and dark red flesh. Higher in lycopene than Dixie Lee.

85 days from transplanting. Zones 5-9. F1 hybrid. (See general comments above.) Needs a seeded pollinator. Seeds are available from large seed companies.

“Mohican”

A small, round, seedless watermelon about 7 inches in diameter. Indistinct stripes on a medium-green background. High in lycopene. Noted for its excellent flavor and tender flesh.

85 days. Needs a seeded pollinator.

“Summer Flavor #710”

Large, great-flavored, dark-red melon with seeds. Can reach 30 pounds. Light-green skin with darker-green stripes. Second highest in lycopene of the recommended varieties.

80-90 days. Does not need a pollinator.

CANTALOUPE


“Charentais”

A sweet, small French heirloom with very dark orange flesh. Great flavor. Not available in most markets because of its fragility.

75-90 days. Can be direct sown in warm climates when soil temperatures reach 70 degrees.

“Durango” Firm, dark orange flesh. Extra-high in beta-carotene.

90 days. Does better in cooler conditions than some varieties.

“Orange Bleinham” An heirloom cantaloupe with deep orange flesh.

90-100 days. Zones 4-11. Does best in warm to hot growing conditions.

“Oro Rico”

Sweet, firm, and crisp flesh. High in beta-carotene, but not as high as Durango. A California standby.

90-95 days. Mid-season variety. F1 Hybrid.

VARIETIES OF

HONEYDEWCOMMENTS IN THE GARDEN

“Honey Gold” Hybrid honeydew with the dark orange flesh color.

F1 hybrid. A vigorous vine with good yield potential. Does well in humid, southern conditions and hot, dry conditions in the West.

“Orange Dew”

Sweet, distinct flavor. 6-pound melons. Darker flesh than Orange Delight and slightly higher in beta-carotene.

105 days.

“Orange Delight” Not as sweet as Orange Dew nor as high in beta-carotene.

100 days.

CANTALOUPE


“Charentais”

A sweet, small French heirloom with very dark orange flesh. Great flavor. Not available in most markets because of its fragility.

75-90 days. Can be direct sown in warm climates when soil temperatures reach 70 degrees.

“Durango” Firm, dark orange flesh. Extra-high in beta-carotene.

90 days. Does better in cooler conditions than some varieties.

“Orange Bleinham” An heirloom cantaloupe with deep orange flesh.

90-100 days. Zones 4-11. Does best in warm to hot growing conditions

“Oro Rico”

Sweet, firm, and crisp flesh. High in beta-carotene, but not as high as Durango. A California standby.

90-95 days. Mid-season variety. F1 Hybrid.

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