Indulgence, Mother Nature Style!

Two weeks ago when I called my brother Wayne on his birthday, I announced that I had gone gluten-free, in addition to sugar-free. Perplexed, he asked, "what's there left to eat?!"

In fact, I eat extremely well. I've discovered that Mother Nature is an unbelievably good cook. I'm so sorry for all the years I've wasted eating garbage food, when there's so much to be had that is so tasty, straight from Mother Nature's kitchen. And EASY - all I have to do is rinse, and sometimes remove the natural, bio-degradable packaging Mother Nature ships her treats in, heat, and EAT! That's it!

But, this seems to be a well-kept secret. It wouldn't be fair to keep this indulgence all to myself, so here - I'll share what I've learned!

There is really no recipe needed - or planning, since Mom N does all that ahead of time, for you and me, with amazing variety. Every Saturday morning, I take my Genuine Sholley Trolley to the local farmers market, and see what she has on for the week. I'm very lucky to live a 15-minute walk away from the world-famous Borough Market of London; might as well take advantage of that! I think Borough Market must be Mom N's national headquarters.

Here's what yesterday's haul looked like before, and after I unpacked my trolley:



It used to be that I could put the cover over the trolley for the walk home, but my appetite for Mom N's cooking has increased so much that I don't hold back any more, and the lid has to stay up. Believe it or not, all that food will be gone by next week! It's actually food for one and a half people (I count the occasional guest), for breakfast and sometimes lunch, and snacks in the evening and weekends.

Isn't it beautiful?? It is such a joy to unpack the beautiful treats from Mom N every week.

Here are some meals I've had in the last couple of days:



Ham cooked with pineapple, onion, and mushroom. Fennel, broccoli, red pepper, seaweed, spinach, green beans, dabbed with butter and sprinkled with sea salt.



Desert: Plain fresh yogurt with kiwi, grapes, pineapple, plum, and toasted almonds (I toast the almonds myself to ensure the integrity of Mom Nature's presentation). Credit for the beautiful arrangement goes to Drew (my personal trainer) - I usually dump and eat, but he likes to make it pretty, too!



Swordfish cooked with fresh rosemary, onion, and big mushrooms. Okra, cherry tomatoes, miniature turnips, spinach, fresh garlic, and pine nuts; dabbed with butter and sprinkled with sea salt.



Dessert: Asian pear, stuffed with chunky natural peanut butter (no emulsifiers, no sugar) and organic raisins. The top of the pear had gone bad, so I had to cut the top off. It was still lovely.



Tuna steak cooked with shallots and fresh basil. Purple broccoli, courgette (zucchini) in two varieties, organic lemon, and some sort of pretty lettuce (yes, you can cook lettuce, too!)



Plain fresh yogurt with strawberries and blackberries, with toasted cashews sprinkled on top (I toast the raw cashews myself, too - no additives of any kind!)



Spinach salad with purple broccoli, courgette, fresh chives - tossed with olive oil and sprinkled with fresh lemon juice, and dabbed with fresh ricotta.

Everything is fresh and pure - exactly as Mom Nature intended. Watch this space for more!