food411 blog

Each month our Chef Silvia releases ” A Note from the Chef”. We love reading her insights into our relationship with food.

By now most of us are aware that everything has a vibration – even rocks. Naturally food does too, and the higher the frequency, the better it is for us. The highest vibration is emitted from ripe fruit, picked from its source and consumed immediately. No wonder Paradise is depicted as a garden – two innocent beings, strolling through lush bushes laden with berries, munching on their breakfast as they walk…and later a picnic amongst the fruit trees, branches beckoning them to sample a harvest of golden apples, succulent pears, red cherries and pink peaches. My, how far we’ve wandered.

In 1992, Bruce Taino of Taino Technology, an independent division of Eastern State University in Cherry, Washington, built the first frequency monitor in the world. He determined that the healthy human body vibrates between 60-80 Hz; ripe, fresh fruit, 80; raw green vegetables between 60 and 72; wild fish, 50-55; chicken and beef, 40-45; and cooked inorganic vegetables, 13-21. The further food travels from its source to our table and the more manipulated by technology it is, the lower on the frequency scale it falls, until we reach the lowest category – processed food. It has a frequency of zero. No wonder we think of it as empty food. Technically, even calling it food is misleading. Maybe this is why the more convenience-oriented we’ve become, the unhealthier we are. Considering the pace and habits of modern life, I’m surprised that everyone isn’t sick. Maybe we are and it just takes some time for it to show up. Most people assume disease is a natural part of the aging process. Personally, I don’t think there’s anything natural about it.

Given that so many of us strive to be healthier, look younger and live longer, it’s interesting that we still choose our food based on how it tastes. Considering what we now know about energy, shouldn’t we select what we choose to eat according to its vibration? If we did, would every meal taste the same, consisting of nothing but fruit and raw vegetables? If so I wouldn’t get too excited about trying new restaurants, they’d all have the same menu. There’d be no need for chefs or the Food Network, cookbooks, big grocery stores, fishermen or sushi. I might get bored.

Yet we can’t dismiss the impact of frequency and vibration. It’s an expression of energy – it’s everywhere and in everything. We’ve all experienced the let-down we feel around people with bad energy, so why would we willingly ingest (and pay for) food loaded with negativity? It’s no wonder our bodies rebel. Perhaps our minds should follow their lead.

Surely somewhere in this backward approach to doing what we all must do every day, must be a way to eat food that tastes great and arrives on our dinner table laden with good vibrations that truly nourishes us. We’ve heard it said, over and over again (and I’m one of these voices) that the intention (vibration) with which we prepare food has an effect on how it tastes. Now we know why. And the effects of energy don’t stop there because it’s never static. It moves and merges with everything in its path. Food created with friction and ingested in anger cannot possibly emit the same frequency as food lovingly prepared and consumed slowly, in a beautiful environment, shared with people we adore.

Most of us know from experience that eating when we’re upset leads to indigestion. In Italian slang, we have a great word for it…agita. Ironically it refers to both an upset stomach and people or situations that aggravate us.

Intuitively we know that food is far more than a way to satisfy hunger. Our relationship with food is a complicated one. What we eat, where it comes from, how we cook and share it speaks volumes about who we are as a culture and as humanity. It’s an interrelated process – an energy dance between all parties, a symphony of flavors and factors and colors. Each ingredient, each step in the process of farm-to-table, each handler along the way emits an energy contribution to the whole…One more example of the fact that nothing is really separate.

In celebration of this symphony of energy comes this month’s recipe, which practically waltzes on the plate… Crusted Wild Salmon Over a Salsa of Fruits and Vegetables.

This recipe is especially versatile and can be altered to fit any body. The fish can be any firm filet (or a grilled vegetable such as eggplant); the crust can be made from virtually any grain or nut. I’ve chosen to make the crust gluten-free by substituting bread crumbs with rice chips (Lundberg makes a bag that has a hint of lime that goes especially well with fish). It’s crunchy and flavorful. The salsa of course is always a changing melody of seasonal fruits and vegetables. Create your own version. You’ll never tire of this one.

Serves 4
4 filets of wild salmon
4 cups of salsa
1 cup of topping for crust
Salt and pepper to taste
• Place fish on a baking pan (sprayed with a cooking spray)
• Season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of olive oil
• Cover the top completely with the topping
Bake, covered, in a 350 degree oven for approximately 15 minutes (depending on the thickness of the fish) or until the fish turns opaque with a pink (uncooked) line in the middle. This will assure that the fish is not overcooked. Remember, everything continues to cook even when it’s removed from the heat.
Serve on individual plates over the salsa.

Crust
½ bag of Lundberg rice chips (or 1 cup of bread crumbs, corn flakes, pine nuts, etc. or combination of nuts and grains)
1 sprig fresh flat leaf parsley (stems removed) – optional
A drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (enough to just moisten the crust)
Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse to a course grind
Salsa
1 cup of grape tomatoes (sliced vertically in half)
1 mango
1 orange
2 kiwi
1 red onion
1 green pepper
1 cup seedless grapes (sliced in half, vertically)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley or cilantro

Except where otherwise noted, cut all the fruits and vegetables into a small dice. Place into a mixing bowl, season, add parsley and oil, toss and add to a platter or individual plates. Top with the fish and serve.