IT WON’T BE EASY

 

My cultural ties to pasta, olive oil, sausage, and all things Italian have been well documented in this blog.   The time I spend in our kitchen, cooking and eating, is a weakly veiled effort on my part to stay “in touch” with my parents and our common history.  I have been blessed with an understanding wife who has been gracious enough to allow me to cook pasta almost every single night for a year without a single complaint.  It was fun.  I enjoyed exploring new ways to serve pasta, learning that whatever I might come up with, someone else has done before.  And I especially enjoyed sharing my experience in this blog and on facebook.  But nothing lasts forever, and circumstances are directing a change in our eating habits.

Although we are both in reasonably good health, our cholesterol numbers are not good and our preference is to manage the problem with diet and not drugs.   (We have each tried statin drugs before and quit because of side effects.)  To accomplish this, I will attempt to begin the transition from the Mediterranean diet to a whole plant food diet.  I see this as a gradual process, and I hope to incorporate some of foods and flavors from our year of pasta into the new fare.  Undoubtedly there will be the need to reset my taste buds.

First night’s effort…Caramelized onions, carrots, and sweet potatoes on a bed of Broccoli rabe and white beans.