Leader-Telegram from Eau Claire, Wisconsin • 13

A rvTvn TT 6T1 Ml Id This Utah chef says healthful eating starts in the grocery store. By Maureen tz'JM Los Angeles Times Syndicate an you imagine announcing to your family that you nave seen the light spa food light, that is and are going to cook all low-fat dishes INSPECTIONS: Scores from Eau Claire City-County Health Department restaurant inspections are on a scale up to 100 for such things as. food protection and garbage disposal Any restaurant with a score of 75 or below is reinspected. Inspection scores are listed first, with follow-up scores in parentheses. Charlie K's, 809 W.

Clairemont 68 (94, 99); Joshua's, 2159 Brackett 84 (95); Arby's Roast Beef, 2870 London Square Mall, 91 (98) Fortune Cookie Chinese Restaurant, 1702 Harding 77 (99) Frase's Meats, 136 S. Stone St, Augusta, 98; Country Dave, 129 W. Lincoln St, Augusta, 85; Westgate Sportsman's Club, 4909 Sportsman Drive, 93; St. Olaf's Catholic Church, 2407 North Lane, 93; The Welcome Matt, W3530 Highway 37, 92; Smith's Country Inn, S5786 Highway 37, 91; Chick-a-dee's Family Restaurant, 1928 Third 93. NEW OFFICERS: Area restaurateurs have elected four of their colleagues to lead the West Wisconsin chapter of the Wisconsin Restaurant Association.

Jerry Bechard of the Noiske Nook in Osseo has been elected president Other officers include Keith Nergaard of The Brothers Three, Eau Claire, vice president; Tom Cooper of the Water's Edge Supper Club, Chippewa Falls, secretary; and Larry Williams of Sweetwaters Restaurant, Eau Claire, treasurer. This chapter includes Chippewa, Clark and Eau Claire counties and the northern half of Buffalo, Trempealeau and Jackson counties. The WRA is dedicated to promoting and improving the food service and hospitality industry. It is the largest state restaurant association in the United States and the second largest nonprofit organization in Wisconsin. 7 About two-thirds of the associa-.

tion's members operate small businesses grossing less than $500,000 annually. Yeah, right Spa food often consists of large, healthful quantities of uncooked vegetables and other generally unappealing ingredients. You can survive on it for a week, but once you go home from your trip to the spa, it's back to the old eating patterns, especially if you have children. But one spa takes a different approach by serving recipes meant to be taken home to cook for the family. Call it spa" style comfort food that pairs the '90s trends of low-fat cooking and feel-good food.

The Green Valley Spa Tennis Resort in St George, Utah, features just such hearty foods, which look and often taste v. Ik like the creamy, tatty originals, from mufSns to twice-baked potatoes to -burritos. There's no weighing-in here, nor 1 any food that resem- bles cardboard. "Restarted off years co with Spartan food fopveight sciiAlan Coombs, a Utah native who owns the spa with his wife, Carol. "In those times it didn't have to taste good; guests were here to lose weight and suffer." That reasoning didn't last long.

Coombs brought in a consulting chef to -improve recuses, promoted Utah-native Janice Coon tram chef's assistant to head chef and threw out the concept of deprivation. He now believes the key to weight loss is to never feel hunger. The resort serves dinner by candlelight to the sweat-suited guests. The food is high in fiber, texture and color. It includes lean meats and fish to fuel everyone through tennis classes and hik- ing through the red-rock canyons of southwestern Utah.

i This spa draws a higher percentage of men than most 25 percent and the menu takes a heartier turn for that reason. A day's menu has 1,200 to 1,400 calories, more if you ask for seconds, which many men Coon is no stranger to cooking for the demanding. When she was named Green Valley head chef, she simultaneously was feeding her two teen-agers at home. Her response to the question of who is CUCCLE-CUTTS: Here's a quote from famed chef Julia Child: "I think parents should be teaching their children self-discipline. Don't take big pieces of cake.

Take pride in the way you look. Exercise. It is really horrible to look at these great big bubble-butts. I think how are you going to get rid of that now?" SPANISH RICE, OLE: This recipe was prepared by CeCe Sullivan, home economist for the Seattle Times. Spanish Rice Casserola 4 tsp.

olive oil, divided -About lb. pork tenderloin, cut Into -Inch dice lb. turkey kleioasa sausasv sliced -Inch thick 1 cup chopped onion 1 medium stalk celery, finely chopped 1 medium clove garlic, peeled and Janice Coon, head chef at the Green Tennis Resort in St George, Utah, makes hesShM eating appealing even to children. 1 1m1 iitiii' .3,1: pictaer, the children or the spa gueoa, will not surprise mothers: It the cfcil- dren. Spa guests paying more than $2,000 a week come to change their eating and exercise habits for the better, ana they generally eat what is set in front of them, she said.

But her children would only eat healthful foods if they tocied like the old-fashioned variety, i They liked her muffins, lean turkey burgers, Chicken Pita Sandwiches and whole-wheat vegetarian pizzas made c'r cTv-r i fathom. I jrdKJLct tnczzy. "trJf srjoc-rclthirnborevorylCOccixci lJj. more, OR. 1 1 lbs.

cherry tomatoes, coarsely chopped 6-oz. package Spanish rice mbt 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth 0 pimento-stutTed green olives, coarsely chopped In medium pan, heat 2 teaspoons oil over medium heat Add pork and saute 5 minutes. Add sausage; saute 5 minutes or until meat is cooked through. Remove from pan. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in same paa Add onion, celery and garlic; saute 5 minutes.

Add tomatoes and rice wh the seasoning packet; stir 2 minutes. Stir In meats and broth. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook 20 minutes. Stir in olives. Makes 4 servings.

From staff reports, news aervlcea 9 fin Bom fovMm Q) 'CyCvCnnett Los Angeles Times Syndicate 1 was hot. She asked if he would like an I iced tea. He sure would, if it's all right. And over iced tea withlemon, hold tne sugar oegan wnai may uc uic best-loved romance since "Gone With the Wind." It's more creative, showing his worldliness. They spend time in the kitchen together" Hemminger added.

One of the challenges came from adjust- ing for the actors' '90s tastes while making 'j60s "We were told from the start that the cast preferred to eat poultry. Where we could, we made substitutions. For example, we used turkey kiclbasa (which didn't exist 30 years ago) for the family's sausage meal. The -meat loaf had a ground turkey base," Hemminger said. i "We had to dye some gravy brown so it looked like it came from meat, not poultry," Work said.

Other than that, the food is uruJ-tered. The women jokingly refer to their expert-' ence as their 15 minutes of fame. They drew stares as they loaded supermarket carts wilh turkey kielbasa. Work cooked in Des Moines, a 15-minute drive, and rushed hot food to the set three times a week or more. The women had to cook enough food to last for several takes of a scene, and they did: 30 pounds of mashed potatoes, trays of Apple Brown Betty.

The crew scrambled for the leftovers. The movie contains more food scenes than the book eight in all to further contrast Francesca's life and what it could be with her lover, Robert "We wanted to emphasize food in relationships. When Franceses cooked for Richard and her family, it was heavier foods," Work said. A family scene shows everyone rushing through sausages, scalloped corn, American fries, bread and apple pie. "When she is with Robert, the meals are lighter, more colorful," Work said.

"When Robert cooks for Francesca, it's romantic food. Chicken caocjatoteeggplant Charming Work, the movie's production assistant, was in charge of finding the food talent He turned to his sister Courtney, an artist and former caterer living in Des Moines. She asked Jane Hemminger, her catering partner who is now a food consultant, to join her. They audiSwied with Apple Brown Betty. The aroma of the baked apple-and-brown sugar dessert put the cast in character.

It was a homey, comforting dish that Streep enjoyed. "Apple Brown Betty got us the job," said Hemminger, who with Work wrote The Recipes of Madison County" (Oxmoor House), a cookbook that contains recipes for each scene and contemporary menus for family and guests. The movie was filmed in Dimming, Iowa, in an abandoned farmhouse without ninning watef or electricity. Hemminger and aKsrscre ccmsicc'rrsnO vssn rvrr rrJ, Crown romance, Waller's story is also about food. It shows how people define themselves by -what they eat and how they use food to nurture and seduce their toyed ones.

A plodding man eats meat; a sensitive one prefers vegetable. A thoughtless husband wouldn't linger over a brandy; an intuitive lover would. Two Iowa caterers discovered just how interwoven the food and story line were when they did the food styling for last year's movie starring Meryl Streep and Clint Eastwood. When filming began during fall 1994, the producers wanted local cooks familiar with Iowa farm food of 30 years ago to prepare dishes fey several scenes in the. movie.

Robert Kincaid, the freelance photographer, and Franceses Johnson, an Iowa farm wife, are caught in the conflict of passion and responsibility during i UIG UU9UIIWWII James Waller's book, The Bridges of Madison County." But for those sensitive to the nuances.