Our goal at Los Gatos Doc is to support you in living your healthiest life. Presently, many of you are taking charge of your personal health by getting vaccinated. As of Thursday, 12/16, 80.3% of all Santa Clara County residents are completely vaccinated. If you already received your COVID vaccine(s) along with your booster, you’re doing your part to protect yourself and members in your community from this persistent virus. We at Los Gatos Doc appreciate your efforts to help in curbing the spread of COVID in our communities.
With the holidays around the corner and the ongoing pandemic, it’s important to stay safe even if you’re vaccinated. Are you planning to gather with family and friends this season? Please review the CDC guidelines to reduce your health risks. This month’s newsletter includes updates from our office, winter recipes, hand-washing tips, and more. As always, we hope you enjoy this newsletter and if you do, we’d love it if you’d share it with friends and family.
Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!
From the Los Gatos Family family to yours, we hope you have a restful and rejuvenating holiday. We look forward to starting 2022 with all of you. Stay safe and be well!
Office Updates
Please note that our office will be closed for the holidays on December 23th, December 24th, December 31st, and January 3rd. If you have an emergency, please call 911. For urgent care, we suggest visiting the emergency room at El Camino Hospital in Los Gatos or Good Samaritan Hospital. Otherwise, please leave us a message and we will get back to you as soon as we return to the office.
Thank you for choosing Los Gatos Doc!
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Monthly Health Observance: National Influenza Vaccination Week
Winter Recipes
This December we bring you three healthy salad recipes featuring roasted beets, grapefruit, and farro. Try these recipes out and let us know how they taste!!
Active: 30 mins
Total: 2 hours
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pounds baby beets
- ½ cup plus 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 2 ¼ teaspoons fine sea salt, divided
- 2 lemons
- 2 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons honey
- 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 head puntarelle or curly endive (about 1 ¼ pounds)
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint
- 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh tarragon
- 2 cups mixed citrus segments (from 2 blood oranges, 2 Cara Cara oranges, and 1 grapefruit)
- 2 ounces ricotta salata cheese, shaved (about ½ cup)
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Drizzle beets with 2 tablespoons of oil on a large rimmed baking sheet; toss to coat, and arrange beets in an even layer. Roast in a preheated oven until the beets are fork-tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes. Rub beets between paper towels to remove skins; discard skins. Cut beets into halves or quarters; transfer to a medium bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon oil and 1/4 teaspoon salt; set aside.
- While beets roast, cut 1 lemon in half crosswise; remove and discard seeds. Finely chop lemon. Place chopped lemon in a small bowl; stir in remaining 2 teaspoons of salt. Let stand for 15 minutes. Stir in garlic, honey, mustard, pepper, and remaining 1/2 cup oil. Juice remaining lemon to equal 1/4 cup; discard squeezed lemon. Stir 2 tablespoons lemon juice into chopped lemon mixture; reserve remaining 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Set aside.
- Remove and discard outer leaves of puntarelle, reserving a few smaller leaves for serving. Separate the puntarelle head into individual stalks by slicing off each individual stalk from the inner core. Slice each puntarelle stalk in half lengthwise. Thinly slice each puntarelle half crosswise into 2- to 3-inch strips. Place puntarelle strips in a bowl filled with ice water; stir in reserved 2 tablespoons lemon juice. Let soak for 1 hour. Drain and pat dry. Transfer to a dry large bowl.
- Add parsley, dill, mint, tarragon, reserved outer puntarelle leaves, and 2 tablespoons chopped lemon dressing to the puntarelle in a bowl; toss to combine.
- To serve, divide citrus segments and roasted beets evenly among 4 plates. Top evenly with mounds of puntarelle mixture. Drizzle desired amount of remaining chopped lemon dressing over exposed outer edges of citrus and beets. Sprinkle with ricotta salata.
Tip: Puntarelle can be soaked and drained 1 day ahead; refrigerate in an airtight container.
Source: Puntarelle-Citrus Salad with Roasted Beets | Food & Wine
Active: 25 mins
Total: 25 mins
Servings: 4 to 6
Ingredients:
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon date syrup or honey
- 2 teaspoons baharat
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 medium fennel bulbs, halved lengthwise, cored, and thinly sliced (about 5 cups)
- 3 scallions, very thinly sliced (about 1/2 cup)
- 1/4 cup roughly torn fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
- 1/2 cup Marcona almonds, coarsely chopped, plus more for garnish
- 2 Ruby Red grapefruits, peeled and segmented (about 2 cups)
Directions:
- In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, date syrup, baharat, salt, and pepper.
- Place fennel, scallions, mint, and almonds in a large bowl. Drizzle vinaigrette over fennel mixture, and toss to coat. Add grapefruit; gently toss to combine. Transfer to a large serving platter, and sprinkle with additional mint and almonds. Serve immediately.
Source: Fennel and Grapefruit Salad with Baharat Recipe – Leah Koenig | Food & Wine
Active: 20 mins
Total: 55 mins
Servings: 6 to 8
Ingredients:
- 3 cups water
- 4 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided, plus more to taste
- 1 1/2 cups uncooked pearled farro (about 9 1/4 ounces)
- 3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
- 3 medium parsnips, peeled, cores removed and discarded, and cut into
3/4-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups) - 1 small yellow onion, cut into 3/4-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
- 1 1/2 cups chopped peeled celery root (about 3/4-inch piece)
- 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus parsley leaves, for garnish
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar, plus more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, plus more to taste
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 450°F. Bring 3 cups water and 2 teaspoons salt to a boil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Stir in farro. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook until farro is tender and water is mostly absorbed, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat, and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes.
- While farro cooks, toss together carrots, parsnips, onion, celery root, 1/4 cup oil, and 2 teaspoons salt on a rimmed baking sheet; spread in an even layer. Roast in preheated oven until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 25 to 30 minutes.
- Drain any excess water from farro. Stir together farro, chopped parsley, vinegar, pepper, roasted vegetables and any residual oil from the roasting pan, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Let stand at room temperature for at least 15 minutes or up to 3 hours, or cover and refrigerate up to 3 days. If chilled, let stand at room temperature 30 minutes before serving.
- Just before serving, stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil. Season to taste with salt, pepper, and vinegar. Garnish with parsley leaves.
Tip: Farro and vegetables may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Source: Farro Salad with Roasted Root Vegetables Recipe – Maria Sinskey | Food & Wine
In Case You Missed It / Reading Corner:
This Month’s Blog Posts
As many people juggle commitments at work, at home, and with their relationships, it’s common to feel tired. But if you’re constantly feeling tired and anxious, it could not only affect your quality of life but also indicate underlying medical problems. Read Dr. V’s latest blog on Lifehack to learn more.
To eliminate traces of infectious germs on your hands, a quick scrub and a rinse won’t make the cut. Read our article on effective handwashing for better health.
Renewed Hope and Resolve
“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” — Oprah Winfrey
With the holidays ahead and 2022 around the corner, you may feel the need to check in with yourself and your loved ones. Consider taking some time to reflect on your lifestyle and stressors before the hustle and bustle of the holidays. Is there a self care routine that you’ve been putting off? Or, perhaps there is a health goal that you’ve been pondering. It’s time to seize the moment and make some positive changes. We hope to hear about your efforts on your next visit to our office.
Our team wishes you a wonderful holiday season and continued health throughout the new year!
Warmly,
Dr. V, Adriana, & Jessica
P.S. Please contact your primary care team by phone at 408.502.6040 with any comments, questions, or concerns. Note that any replies to this newsletter will not be forwarded to your primary care team in an effort to protect patient privacy.