For those of you all about pork, move right along to the recipe.

For those of you afraid of pork or worry that it’s fatty and "fat isn't healthy" kick, let me rock your world for a sec. Your body needs fat. In fact, your brain is 60% fat and needs to be fed fat to work properly. That's why we were all insane during the fat-free craze of the early nineties. However, as with everything else, not all fat is created equal. There is a big difference between fat from a commercially-raised animal and fat from an animal organic and pasture-raised.

Synthetic hormones, chemical byproducts and antibiotics store themselves in fat cells, so the fat on non-organic animals is literally loaded with toxins and therefore toxic to us. However, high-quality fat (both saturated and monounsaturated) coming from organically, humanely raised animals is the type of fat you want in your diet. Lastly pork, just like our beloved olive oil, walnuts and avocados, is high in monounsaturated fat, a fat that has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and create stabilized energy throughout the day. What the WHAT!! I know, crazy right? For a more in depth look at fats, read this.

Spring Turnip, Bok Choy Blossom and Pork Stew

This is a stew inspired by a dish I had at Ippuku in Berkeley. They prepare it with ground chicken which you can certainly use here. The turnips soak up the sweet, salty broth beautifully and the bok choy blossoms add a bit of much appreciated toothiness. If you can't find boy choy blossoms, kale, regular bok choy or cabbage work well.

Serves 2 with leftovers

Two 2-inch pieces fresh ginger, peeled

2 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced

1 cup water

1/4 cup mirin (Japanese cooking wine)

1 tablespoon tamari

Dash of fish sauce

4-5 medium sized turnips, peeled and quartered

1 pound ground pork (or chicken)

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

touch of sea salt

1/2 pound bok choy blossoms (about 2 handfuls)

Add the ginger, garlic, water, mirin, tamari, fish sauce and turnips to a medium sized pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, until the turnips are soft.

In a saute pan, add the pork, ground ginger and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the meat is cooked through. Add the meat and bok choy blossoms to the turnips, cover, and cook for another 5 minutes until the blossoms are bright green. You may need to add an extra bit of water here if the stew seems too thin. Adjust seasoning to taste and enjoy!