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rowing up on an organic, small family farm in ru- ral Kauai, Hawaii during the 80s/90s; eating fresh, clean, and locally/ seasonally grown was
just a part of everyday life. Eating things like “fruit loops”, “hot pockets”, and fast food were not a part of our diet. We had ama- ranth-o-s, a type of “cheerio-like” breakfast cereal made with amaranth (a superfood grain). Also, on an island food is an expen- sive resource, so we grew as much as we could, thus we always ate fresh produce and had a lot of nutritionally dense food as we had to make everything we ate count. Fast forward to my career as a world
traveled executive chef, food consultant, husband, and father of two boys. My cooking style organically includes the use of all of those great things I was blessed to be around growing up, and incorporates “superfoods” (nutritional density) into as many dishes as I can. For many reasons, I feel like we need to challenge our modern food systems, percep- tions, and general choices regarding how we eat. For example, chocolate chip cookies are a cherished classic for sure, made with flour, butter, brown sugar, eggs, and often heavily processed chocolate chips. However, does a really delicious and satisfying chocolate chip cookie have to be made exclusively with these ingredients? Just because that’s how it’s been done for so many years, must this be our only option? Do the traditional comfort foods we know and love have to be made with ingredients that lack freshness and nutrition? This brings me to the spring of 2020 and
the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of this past spring many grocery store shelves were nearly empty. People stocked up on canned and frozen foods. Traditional restaurants are suffering, but fast food drive through and processed franchised food delivery joints are thriving. Where’s the freshness? Well, believe it or not, it is still here! The early autumn months are great
growing and harvesting times for local farms. As an executive chef, I have been blessed to work with an abundance of fresh
and healthy produce from our many local and sustainable growers. This time of year we have many things in their peak, ranging from assorted pumpkins, gourds, squash, and a variety of heirloom carrots. Being able to combine classic warm comforting flavors like autumn spices, chocolate, and pumpkins is great, but even better when many superfoods can so easily be added to the party. Let’s face it, these are stressful times
and who doesn’t want to eat their problems away? (Joking, not joking) Maybe that’s not the healthiest choice, but we all want a bit of comfort in these tough times. A bit of comfort food here and there (in balance with all things) seems appropriate. In my humble opinion, chocolate chip cookies are always a good option for this food category. In my home, cookies and sweets are not every day items, so baking these gems of deliciousness is a special occasion. With the holidays just around the corner, the kids, mom, and dad all want fresh baked good- ies. How do we incorporate nutrient dense ingredients and use fresh produce from our local organic garden? The answer, of course, is Autumn Spiced Chocolate “Bunnies”. Autumn Spiced Chocolate “Bunnies”
are a carrot cake inspired chocolate chip cookie. What is in the cookies that grows locally? A whole lot of freshly picked car- rots, nearly 2 ounces of concentrated car- rot per cookie. Also, raw honey that I have personally had the chance to harvest from local Bonita Springs hives. For the pur- poses of flavor, texture, and nutrition, we add ingredients such as: buckwheat, oats, pepitas (loaded with protein and fiber), virgin coconut oil (healthy fats), honey and palm sugar (low glycemic index), oranges (vitamin c), ginger (good for everything), and plenty of single origin fair trade dark chocolate (packed with mood elevating/ anti-depressant properties, heart healthy flavanols, and antioxidants). I hope you enjoy these “Bunnies” at home
with your loved ones and that they inspire you to rethink how we eat so that we can make better food choices for ourselves and our communities.
25
ESSENTIAL Naples
FALL 2020
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