About West PA Chefs
West PA Chefs is a group of Independently owned and operated Personal Chef Services providing Customized Meal Solutions to a variety of clients in Western PA and bordering counties in Eastern OH and the Northern Panhandle of WV.
The group meets at least 6 times per year to provide support, networking and continuing education opportunities to its member chefs and is open to all personal chefs in the region regardless of national association affiliation.
If you are interested in becoming a personal chef and would like more information on Personal Chef Training options, please visit the Culinary Business Academy website at CulinaryBusiness.com.
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Garlic Love!
Catherine's Personal Chef Service
Do you know what vegetable family garlic is a member of?
Garlic is a member of the Allium vegetable family. The Alliums, which include other veggies like onions, shallots, onion grass, chives, ramps, and leeks, contain compounds called organosulfides. Organosulfides have been found to help the body remove toxic compounds such as carcinogens and to enhance immune function. (Block 113) Allicin, is an organosulfide which is found in garlic and gives it its strong smell and cancer fighting qualities. (Katz 35) You can increase the activity of Allicin, by crushing some fresh garlic and letting it sit on your cutting board for 10 minutes before cooking with it. The Allicin in garlic gives it its strong anti-bacterial and anti-viral qualities as well.
So eat your garlic! Add a clove to soups and sautés. It also adds flavor, and it doesn’t have to overwhelm a dish. Remember to crush it, and let it sit for about 1o minutes before cooking.
Here’s a simple side dish I make for clients:
Spinach with Fresh Garlic 4 servings
pan steaming the spinach is going to help preserve the nutrients
20 oz fresh organic baby spinach, stemmed and rinsed
1 tablespoon organic olive oil
1-2 cloves organic garlic, minced (let sit 10 minutes before using)
Fresh lemon (optional)
Freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
Heat sauté pan on medium-low, add olive oil and garlic, keep stirring. Add spinach and toss with garlic and olive oil in pan. Let the water from the rinsed spinach steam the steam till wilted. Serve warm spinach with spritz of fresh lemon or sprinkle of freshly grated parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper according to your tastes! Enjoy!
Works Cited:
Block, Keith M.D. Life Over Cancer. New York: Bantam, 2009
Katz, Rebecca. The Cancer Fighting Kitchen. New York: Crown, 2009
Chef Catherine, Certified Personal Chef®
Catherine’s Personal Chef Service
Special diets, custom meal preparations, dinner parties and more!
www.personalchefcatherine.com
412.513.6603
Healing Foods
Catherine's Personal Chef Service
My work with clients who have special diets as well as various health issues has lead me to do more research and coursework in Healing Foods. Recently one of my cancer patient clients was having much difficulty with nausea before eating (a common issue for cancer and chemo patients). In addition to her meals for the week, I prepared a pitcher of Cinnamon and Fresh Ginger Tea. Fresh ginger root is a fantastic natural remedy for nausea and cinnamon is an appetite stimulant. This tea really calmed the nausea and stimulated her desire to eat a bit. If your stomach is having an off day, sipping this tea may be a calming remedy for you. If you haven’t tried fresh ginger definitely give it a try. It is not the same as dried ground ginger. Fresh ginger root can usually be found in the refrigerated produce section of your market.
Cinnamon and Fresh Ginger Tea
Makes 2 cups
2 cups of water
1 slice of ginger root about 1 inch long, ¼ inch thick
½ cinnamon stick
Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and bring to boil then turn down to a simmer. Simmer for about 8-10 minutes. Take off of heat and remove ginger and cinnamon. Add a bit of your natural sweetener of choice if desired; honey, agave, stevia.
Enjoy the warm tea and feel better!
Chef Catherine, Certified Personal Chef®
Catherine’s Personal Chef Service
Special diets, custom meal preparations, dinner parties and more!
www.personalchefcatherine.com
412.513.6603
April News from Catherine’s Personal Chef Service
Has Spring Finally Arrived?
I know I could use a bit of sunshine! How about a healthy, light, and sweet salad dressing to jump start your taste buds?
Try the following salad dressing recipe with a mix of organic baby field greens, some toasted walnuts and finely sliced red onion or when those sweet strawberries are ripe – some fresh baby spinach, sliced strawberries and toasted almonds. The fresh lemon and orange zest will perk up any salad greens.
Citrus Honey Dressing for Salad Greens
1/2 cup cider vinegar 1/4 cup fresh orange juice (about 1 large orange) 2 tablespoons honey 2 teaspoons lemon zest 2 teaspoons orange zest 1 cup extra virgin olive oil sea salt and freshly ground pepper to tasteCombine vinegar, orange juice, honey, lemon and orange zests in small bowl. Gradually whisk in oil.
Dressing can be prepared up to 8 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewhisk dressing before using.
Makes about 1 1/2 cups.
Speaking of Spring, we start to think of all the wonderful fruits and vegetables that will be here in the coming months. Do you buy organic fruits and vegetables? Sometimes they are hard to find and they can be more expensive especially in the winter months. When shopping for my personal chefs clients, I encourage purchasing specific organic vegetables and fruits, at least.
(Those fruits and vegetables that typically have high pesticide use, we purchase organic ones.)
In an effort to try to keep it simple, I found a helpful guide on this subject from The Environmental Working Group website, The Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides. Download the handy guide at: http://www.foodnews.org/ It’s small enough to fit in your wallet.
This guide will give you The Dirty Dozen (Did you know peaches are the worst in terms of pesticide use?) and The Clean 15 (Onions are the lowest in terms of pesticide use).
This will give you a starting point to try to incorporate organic fruits and vegetables into your shopping. Check out the link to read more about this subject in a quick and easy to read format.
As the farmers markets start in a couple of months here in the Pittsburgh area, notice the growing number of local farms with organic produce. You can talk to these farmers at the markets about their farming methods, and do some research on your own. Its always a good idea to talk with them about their organic farming methods, the history of their soil and what methods neighboring farms are using.
Check-out Chef Catherine’s updated website at: www.personalchefcatherine.com and her current Chef’s Special Offer.
Next month: Chef Catherine will give you some interesting information from the fascinating subject of Food As Medicine.
Catherine’s Personal Chef Service
special diets, custom meal preparations, dinner parties and more!
www.personalchefcatherine.com
412.513.6603