The Menu

Friday morning was a breeze. It was just as busy as all the days before, but, at last, I knew what to do and what to expect. I only had to work until 11:45 a.m., and I also didn't stop working until 11:45 on the dot.

The most amazing thing happened. At 11:20 a.m., my brother, who just moved to Tucson called and said he had driven to a meeting in Phoenix, did I want to meet him for lunch? I told him I was taking a cab to the airport in 25 minutes. He punched my address into his GPS and said he was 25 minutes away, he would pick me up. At 11:45 a.m., he showed up in his 2011 Jeep Rubicon. Sweet ride.

I was so happy that he wanted to get together with me and also amazed at the timing. If he had been 1 hour earlier, I could not have gotten away from work. One hour later and I would have already been at the airport. Very serendipitous.

I was really impressed with CleanMed. The people were inspirational. The food was unforgettable.

CleanMed is a gathering of people in the medical field who are members of Practice Green Health and Health Care Without Harm and other organizations that want to "green" hospitals. They promote everything from solar panels and recycling to serving healthier food in the cafeterias to using steam sterilization instead of chemicals on OR equipment and 100 other things that make the world a better place. Lovely, lovely people.

And, since they are concerned about making the world a better place, it was really important to them that the food at the conference was local, organic, freerange, fresh, healthy, and otherwise delicious. I think one of the reasons I was so excited about the food is because it was just about all I had to look forward to (since I almost never left the hotel, haha!). But, just look at these menus:

Breakfast
Freshly squeezed juice
Homemade breakfast breads
Organic steel cut oatmeal
Fresh berries and sliced melon
raw walnuts, honey, almond butter, jams, dried fruits and cinnamon

Lunch
(the most amazing) Vegetarian lasagna
(the most delicious) Free-Range chicken
(to die for) Mousse shooters

Break
Smoothies made from whole, fresh fruits

Lunch
Quinoa, veggie and black bean salad
Grilled vegan wraps
Roasted veggies and homemade hummus
Coconut mango rice pudding with roasted cashews and quinoa brittle

Lunch
Grilled local vegetables and wild mushrooms (served in the most artistic and delectable way with an amazing sauce too)

Yogurt panna cotta with honey glazed fruit and pecan struessel
Tiramisu and truffles

Break
Freshly popped popcorn
Dark chocolate
Almonds, raw walnuts and dried fruits
Freshly squeezed lemonade

Dinner
Local baby spinach & arugula, heirloom tomatoes, locally grown pistachios, peppered goat cheese and pepito vinaigrette

Wild Mahi Mahi with Mexican papaya and blood orange salsa
Red rice and beans with jalapeno & lime
Beet confit
Goats milk cheesecake on chocolate shortbread with hand picked blueberry angelaise

Lunch
Local field greens with asparagus tips, pancetta nuggets, curly carrots, cippolini onions, radish chips and green goddess dressing

Chicken marsala medallions with wild oyster mushrooms, roasted garlic and herbs
Roasted baby carrots, asparagus and house cured tomatoes
Chocolate chiffon trifle with milk chocolate mousse and raspberries

All of the meals were complimented by giant green salads and lovely spreads of fresh fruits.

A foodie paradise.