Holiday Cooking

I make a serious rum cake, and I know to stand well back when opening the oven door. But today, I forgot. I still have my eyebrows. But I'll pay a visit to Supercuts, to get all the singed hair trimmed away.

I sit at my desk and occasionally stop and say, "What is that charred smell?"

The Week - The Day

In two hours, the guests will arrive. The turkey is in the oven, having waited its turn after the pies (2 pecan, 2 pumpkin) and the rolls. I managed to resist tempation and did not eat a roll when they came out of the oven. They are now safely wrapped in foil, ready for reheating later, and thus invisible to me.

We hope. I do know they're there.

This bread recipe is screwy. The first time I made the rolls, I used the temp called for and set the timer for a few minutes less time, to check them.

They burned.

This time, I lowered the heat 50 degrees and set the timer ten minutes less. I had to rescue them a few minutes early, but they're perfect. Sheez!

The potatoes are peeled and cut, ready for boiling and mashing. The giblets are beginning to simmer. The table is set, with side tables set up for appetizers in the living room, and an extra card table in the dining room, for the overflow. I have discovered I no longer have enough wine glasses (I'm a danger to all around me), enough napkin rings, or napkins that go with our nice dishes. I will try to remedy these things before Christmas.

For now, we'll make do. All the people coming over here love each other - no one will be upset by such faux pas.

Here's how things look so far. And yes. I'm having fun!

Day 2's Dinner

Last night's dinner got lots of raves. I had lots of leftover antipasto veggies: marinated radishes, red potatoes, baby carrots, artichoke hearts, radicchio... but it wasn't enough for three people. But I had cooked a huge batch of wild rice for the Thanksgiving stuffed squashes, and I didn't use it all. So I threw in about a cup of cold wild rice, added the chopped up leftover roast beef, some mizithra cheese I found in the frig, and put it all over a bed of lettuce.

I served it with warm bread and butter.

Not bad. Not bad, at all.

Tonight's dinner? We're getting pizza. And it won't be Zachary's or Cheeseboard, since we don't live in Berkeley.

Darn.

The Week - Day 3

Well, the last minute Family Thing addition to my schedule fell OFF the schedule about 8 p.m., SO....

Today I think I just need to make the pies. Which I could conceivably do tomorrow morning. But let's see - tomorrow, I will have to peel, cook, and mash the potatoes, roast the turkey for a few hours, make gravy (but that can't be done until the turkey is finished).

The stuffed squashes will have to be baked, but they will go in the oven when the turkey comes out. They only need about half an hour, during which the turkey will be "resting," and then getting carved.

Is that it? Thanksgiving is a potluck, so guests are bringing appetizers and sides. Oh, I have to make the salad, which will mean cutting up a couple of apples, washing and tearing the lettuce, then combining everything. The dressing is already made, just need to toss it with the salad.
 
There shouldn't be a lot to do tomorrow. Will the pies be better if they're cooked the same day? One advantage to that is that I don't need to find room in the frig for the baked pies. That's a BIG push toward waiting to bake them.

Which means I don't have a darn thing I need to do today, except pick up the CSA box and buy the salad greens. Maybe I'll go shopping...

The Week - Day 2, con't

I added the stuffed squash to today's prep list. There are Family Things going on, and I'll be lucky to have even a few hours to cook, tomorrow. I think what I've left are the pies (4 of them) and prepping the turkey. I have a couple of last minute items to pick up at the store, and I'll get our CSA box at 4:00.

There's something else... but my list is downstairs. Anyway, I think I'll make it, now that the squashes are done.

They look properly pretty, too!

The Week - Day 2

I overslept. This is a minor miracle. Weird dream, too, but it was kind of cool.

Today: turkey delivery from Wind Dancer Ranch. I'm babysitting two of the turkeys until their owners can get here to pick them up. I wonder if I need ice to keep them cold?

Do I want to brine my turkey? I haven't decided, but I'm leaning toward doing that.

Food Prep:
Freeze the second batch of pumpkin ice cream
Make cornbread, break it up and toast it until dry and crunchy. Set aside for Friday.
Make the cranberry-zinfandel salad dressing. That's for Thursday.
Make cranberry sauce, for Thursday AND Friday.

Hmm. What's for dinner tonight?

The Week - Day 1, con't

A successful meal, lots of conversation, and good wine, was had by all. Behold the pasta:











and the lovely veggies:

I forgot to take a picture of the pumpkin ice cream, but that will put in more appearances during the week. Trust me - it was good!

The Week - Day 1

Today is lunch with out-of-town friends. The menu is

Sun-Dried Tomato Tapanade with Crackers
Antipasto Vegetable Platter
Roasted Pepper, Kalamata Olives Pasta
Pumpkin Ice Cream with Graham Cracker Bits and Whipped Cream

Wine? Dunno yet.

So far, I've steamed the veggies and they are splashing in the marinade.
The peppers have been roasted and are resting in a plastic bag.

I did the breakfast dishes, too.

The Holidays are Here...

I'm trying to be good, although I know I must face the reality of the holidays. This week alone, I've got three big meals to prepare. I will not deny myself a taste of everything - the real work will be to restrict myself to small amounts. And watch the drinking.

I consider it a good holiday if I don't GAIN anything, but these days, that's how I feel about every day. I love the holiday food, too. Pumpkin and other squashes are just about my best favorite - in any form. I'm serving stuffed acorn squash as a side to the turkey on Thursday, and my kid's favorite sweet potato casserole on Friday. There will be pumpkin pie of course, with whipped cream. And pumpkin ice cream will put in appearance at each of the big meals. I'll be making that today, because the first meal is tomorrow (lunch with some out-of-town friends).

This year, an exciting plan is to give my six-month old grandson his first bite of grown-up food during the festivities: baked sweet potato. The camera will be ready for that!

Last year was the first time in YEARS that I cooked a turkey. It didn't get done in the allotted time - we ended up having to toss some of the carved pieces into the microwave. This year, I'll allow more time, but honestly - I used the time/temperature charts from many sources, and it didn't work! I think it was a 16 pound bird, and I roasted it for 5 hours at 350. By all the charts, it should have been done.

I notice this with nearly all the meat I cook in my oven. Chicken, beef roasts, turkeys, whatever... they take a lot longer to cook. Yet the thermometer in the oven shows the right temperature. And other things, such as the rolls I baked the other day, get done far too soon!

Why can't it just be simple?

Anyway, this year our turkey is a fresh one from Wind Dancer Ranch. I can't wait to taste it - I'm really excited about it.

Using leftovers

I overcame my food lethargy enough to cook up most of the veggies from last week's CSA box. I baked the Delicata squash and served it with butter and brown sugar - true comfort food. The meal was rounded out with the last of our CSA hog: thick braised pork chops.

This is an example of never throwing away food, because I had some stuffing in my freezer from a meal I'd prepared months ago. I've never learned the art of truly stuffing something - I always have lots of the stuffing mixture left over. It was basically onion, pecans, breadcrumbs, butter, and a bit of bourbon. I had about a cup of it left.

So I sprinkled the chops with salt, pepper, and garam masala, browned them in oil, then removed them from the pan and added the stuffing to the pan. I used more bourbon to scrape the pan, put the chops back in, covered it with a lid and stuck it in the oven for about 45 minutes.

Those were really good pork chops.

I sauteed all the greens from the box: there was kale, the tops of the turnips, and leaves from the cauliflower. They were a little bitter - that's something else I need to work on. Anyone have pointers from removing the bitterness from greens?

Anyway, it was a lovely meal. I also steamed the cauliflower and the turnips to put away for another meal. We had the cauliflower last night, sprinkled with salt, pepper, and olive oil. It was quite good.

We added some of the leftover squash to our pancakes yesterday. I'll use the rest in my morning oatmeal.

I love winter vegetables.

Lament, continued

I just remembered another of my diet blockers: crackers and hot sauce.

See, instead of  chips, with their high calorie/fat content, I eat crackers with hot sauce. And sometimes, that craving for hot sauce overwhelms me. I like it HOT, and I like a lot of it.

The hot sauce itself is great - low calorie, full of veggies. It's the crackers that are the problem.

I remembered it because I just scarfed about five crackers - large crackers. At least that many. In this case, five crackers are 115 calories. If I had more than that...

I know. I should have counted. Well - I certainly didn't have more than seven crackers.

That may sound like a great snack to you. But see, my allowed calories are so tiny, that 150 extra calories in the day puts fat on my stomach. It really does.

If I exercise - strenuously - I might come out even. But I've got a metabolism that's on ambien or something - it's so slow, it sleeps. And it makes me want to cry.

And give up.

These are the kinds of things that wipe me out, diet-wise. It's not soft drinks or lattes or donuts. It's the usually-healthy-good-for-you food I've got in the house.

Sometimes, I wish I had a soda habit. I wish I drank an 800 calorie coffee drink every day, or bought a Jamba Juice smoothie for every breakfast. It would be easy to lose weight then. But if I'm already not doing any of that stuff - where do I go?



 

Lament

Yes. It's been ages since I posted.

Excuse #1: I just got back from vacation. That takes care of the last two weeks.

Before that?

Excuse #2 (and this is the kicker): I'm sort of depressed about food, these days.

I know - that's not good for a personal chef to confess. But still, it's true.

The problem is weight. As in, too much. And it's really getting to me. I've been "trying" for a year to lose weight. I literally wake up every day, determined to keep the calories DOWN today. And practically every day, I fail. I did manage to drop six pounds, with LOTS of discipline and practically no calories. But it's all come back. Maybe a pound or two more.

I cannot be satisfied with my weight. I can't be one of those "happy with my body" people. Besides, with arthritis, iffy knees, and slightly elevated cholesterol (and a family history rampant with heart disease), I NEED to weigh less.

I'm punishing my body to do otherwise.

I've signed up with websites - the community sites with daily food tracking, and exercise trackers, and forums where I can get support from other people. I've kept food dairies until I can tell you without looking how many calories I've consumed.  I've tried to exercise - lunges and stretches and dancing to old rock 'n roll. But I always drift away from all of it.

Through it all, I've stayed true to my Real Food desires. No processed food. I won't eat sugar-free anything, but then I don't eat or drink a lot of sweetened things, anyway.

Well, except... I have a super sweet tooth. So, while I don't drink sodas (or even juice), and I don't use jams, and I don't buy smoothies or lattes or boxed cereal or energy bars, or any of that STUFF - I do love sweets.

You know, real sweets. Like homemade cookies or brownies or cake. Chocolate-just-about-anything. And while I don't keep those things around the house, I still crave them, and when I lose it, I really lose it. I make cookies and eat half the dough. Or I'll buy a bag of chocolate chips and eat half a cup, everyday until they're gone. I don't do it often. But I do it often enough. Or I'll mix up a a couple tablespoons of cocoa and sugar, with hot water to make a paste, and I'll eat that. With nuts.

I love nuts. Nuts are really good for you and they're good for your heart. But they have a LOT of calories and fat. So the key is just a little. Say a tablespoon or so every day. Or less. But if I don't have anything else in the house and I'm craving SOMETHING - I'll eat a half a cup of nuts without even thinking about it. And I do keep nuts in the house. All kinds.

And bread. Oh yeah, I LOVE bread. It's something I've been fairly successful at limiting, but it's one of the things that depresses me. I'd love to make a loaf of delicious whole-grain bread and have a slice or two. But I don't dare.

Cheese. Sorry. I've given up butter for the most part (no, I'm not using margarine)- but I'm not giving up the cheese.

And I hate it. Food should not be enemy. But there it is. There is too much food available to me and I don't have the discipline to not indulge.

So this is why I don't post. I don't want to think about food. I whine when I think about food. Yet today for lunch, I made a tomato soup that is practically zero calories (maybe 75 in the 1 1/2 cups I had), and I let myself have a slice of bread with provolone cheese melted on it. Which was probably 250 to 300 calories.

But the meal was pretty and fresh, and it tasted great.

So there.

Is it Brandy Yet?

Yes. It's brandy.

Apricot brandy.

I started it about two months ago, maybe three. All those apricots that filled our CSA box had to be used somehow. So they went into jars with vodka and sugar, for several weeks of turning up and down.

Now it's brandy*.

And very good, if I do say so, myself.


What happened to the apricots? Those luscious little gems were simmered with a little butter and tucked away to use as a topping for cakes or ice cream. They are potent buggers!

*Well, more like a fruit liqueur, but why quibble?

Meet your greens, part 3: Taking the stand against the veggilantes

These articles over at Ethicurian show the nuts and bolts of food policy as the USDA holds hearings on vegetable marketing. Regulation is important; the problem is that policy is written from the assumption that Great Big Monoculture is the best way to grow food. This approach is a death knell to sustainable farming practices.

The thing is: if we don't learn to live "sustainably," we're heading for a meltdown of civilization, with an environment that's so degraded, the survivors of said meltdown simply might not pull through.

This is part 3 - it would be a good idea to link back to parts 1 and 2. And if you have time, read some of the links.

Meet your greens, part 3: Taking the stand against the veggilantes

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Here It Is:

The first pumpkin of the season.

I cooked it this morning. What shall I do with it? Pie? Soup? Ravioli?

We had another yummy dinner the other day. Sometimes the simplest things can be done. I had some cod, but didn't want to do the usual fry or bake, and anyway, I was low on veggies to go with it. Shocking, I know, but there it is.

I had some fresh noodles in the frig, so I put on some water to boil them, then sauteed the fish in a skillet until it was just done. I took out the fish and added olive oil and lots of garlic. Oh, and a generous sprinkle of red pepper flakes. Then I added some white wine and let it simmer for a while. After throwing in a splash of lime juice (no lemon), I broke the fish up into pieces and added it to the pan, then the noodles, and the small bit of leftover chard I had in the frig. That wasn't enough green for me, so I went hunting in the freezer and pulled out a bag of peas. A couple of handfuls of those added some good nutrients.

This was so good, served with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and a nice white wine. I'm having the leftovers for lunch!

Chicken and leftovers

Yummy chicken last night. We were able to get a couple of birds from Soul Food Farm and I cooked one of them for dinner. It's been HOT here, so I did not want to turn on the oven. So I "roasted" it on the stove by browning it in some olive oil and cooking it in a sauce for an hour.

I used some enchilada sauce that was in my freezer. I think my step-daughter-in-law made the sauce when they were here in May. It was great! I served it over polenta - I was going to make spoon bread, but remember about the oven?

Rounded the meal out with steamed chard and a margarita.

Lovely.

Fire at Soul Food Farm

I love to buy chickens and eggs from this farm, and this is heartbreaking news. I'll be helping them out, for sure!

http://www.ethicurean.com/2009/09/04/soul-food-fire/

Practicing What I Preach

Connection problems are driving me crazy. I wanted to post this several days ago, but I just now got back on...

I'm always harping on joining a CSA and eating whatever's in your box. A lot of people have a problem with that. They don't like to try new things.

Generally, I'm adventurous enough that I like to try new foods. But I do have a few things I can do without, EVER.

Like black-eyed peas.

They've never done it for me. I don't actively hate them, but I'll walk several blocks to avoid them.

Yep, you guessed it. Last week's box had fresh black-eyed peas.

I figured it wouldn't kill me to eat them. And the information sheet in the box had a nice little recipe, so...

I shelled the peas (that was fun, seeing how patient I am), then chopped up an onion, a bell pepper, a couple of garlic cloves, some tomatoes... that's all I remember.

I sauteed the veggies (except for the tomatoes) for a minute or two, then added the peas and tomatoes. I also threw in a bit of chicken broth to give it enough moisture. At the end, I added some fresh corn. Take a look:










Then I made cornbread:











You know what? This tasted GOOD! Rick thought a little pork would nice, and he's right. I may toss in some sausage when we have the leftovers.

Was it because the peas were fresh, that I liked this? I don't know. But if I'm going to eat black-eyed peas, I'm sticking with this simple recipe.

Bacon Success

It's bacon!

This stuff is so good, that once again, I'm flummoxed trying to understand why people of a certain bygone generation ever let themselves be seduced away from Real Food.

I truly do not understand it. This was not even very hard to do, although I realize I have a refrigerator and an oven and plastic bags... maybe it was a little harder for our ancestors.

After its day of rest in the frig, getting nice and dry, I put the bacon in the oven, 200 degrees for about 2 1/2 hours. I tested it with a thermometer and took it out when it got to 150 degrees.









Then I started slicing. This takes patience...









Of course, as the Chief Cook and Bottle Washer, I had to fry some up and make sure it passed the Taste Test:







Isn't that gorgeous?






Here's the pile of sliced bacon:








I wrapped these in packages of four slices, since two each is the most we can have at one serving (proving I do TRY to show constraint). It all went into the freezer to await Saturday morning pancakes.

The taste was deep and rich. Next time, I will probably use less mixture - less salt and less sugar. I may even leave the sugar out and keep it savory, trying out various herbs. I definitely want to do this again!

The Bacon

The curing is done (I think) and now the bacon is drying:



The next step would be smoking, but I'm not going to be smoking it. I'm not clear on whether I must roast it to 150 degrees, or if I can just slice it and cook it up, at this point.

Does anyone know?

Since all the instructions I've found have said to either smoke it or roast it, I guess I'll roast it, unless someone can tell me otherwise. That will happen tomorrow.

Bacon Day 3

Here's what the bacon looks like after curing for a few days.




I think it's behaving just right, since by now it's supposed to be letting out lots of juice. A few more days of this still to go...

Michigan food processors turn groundwater orange

Michigan food processors turn groundwater orange

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Making Bacon

Part of my share of the Berkshire hog was a side of bacon. Fresh meat that needs to be cured. I thought I'd chronicle my first attempt at making bacon.

Here's the slab of meat. Sorry, I don't know how much it weighs, but probably about 4 pounds:



Here's a mixture of kosher salt and brown sugar: I used about 1/3 cup of each.



Adding 1/4 cup maple syrup:



Here's the slab with the mixtuer rubbed all over it (showing meat side up):



The slab is placed in a plastic bag (I used a garbage bag since I didn't have anything else big enough). It goes in the frig for seven days, turing it over the first few days.




After that, I dry it and smoke it. Fun, no?

Julie & Julia

I just saw "Julie & Julia" yesterday. What an inspiration. As it happens, I don't have "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," but I do have "The Way to Cook." I've used it a lot over the years, but I have to admit it's been mostly sitting on the shelf lately.

Time to get it out and remember what's in it. No, I won't be tempted to make every recipe in it. In fact, I'd love to know how Julie Powell did it without gaining fifty pounds. Maybe she did gain that much. And what did she do with all that food? She and her husband couldn't possibly have eaten it all.

Maybe she gained a hundred pounds.

Anyway, I am inspired to try a few things. The first thing I looked up was pork chops, since I just - you know - brought home thirty pounds of various cuts from a Berkshire hog.

But Julia's pork chop section is pretty basic (after all, "The Way to Cook" is about the basics), and lo, I already know how to cook a pork chop, even accoriding to Julia.

So in honor of summer, I'm going to cook them with peaches or plums (probably plums since I already have 'em). Should be good.

By the way - I LOVED the movie. Funny and touching and definitely inspirational. A real keeper.

Food Chores

Today I made pesto, and roasted a bunch of sweet peppers. I'll use a few of the peppers tonight with potatoes, red onions, and the pesto. Sort of like a pizza without the crust (to save me the calories). I put the rest of the peppers in a jar and covered them with olive oil. Just have to make sure I use them up in a few weeks.

I also cleaned out my freezer since tomorrow we get the 1/7 of a hog I ordered back in April. I don't know why it took so long, but I can't wait to see what I get. And what I do with it all.

What did I take out of the freezer? Vegetables. I usually compost the leavings when I cut veggies for dinner, but a few times I stored everything in plastic bags, with the idea that I'd make broth one day. But we just don't use broth that often. I have a bunch already made up and frozen. Since I need the freezer space, I just gave up and composted everything.

So yay. I've done the weekly CSA box catch-up. Now I just need to go grocery shopping...

A Pretty Meal

Brunch with my girls before we went to see "Wicked":



That's Melon Soup with Sour Cream in the glass, and the plate holds a summer salad with Butter Lettuce, Raspberries, and Walnuts (I forgot the crumbled goat cheese). We also had Salmon en croute, which didn't make it into the picture, but was a delicious golden brown.

And: a Peach Dutch Baby. So good!

Summer Treats

I just finished a morning snack: Spicy Melon Soup. The recipe was in the newspaper, but it couldn't be simpler: just cut up the melon of your choice (cantaloupe, honeydew, or any of the myriad variations), and blend it up with a teaspoon of tobasco sauce.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

I'm going to eat all my melons this way, from NOW ON.

It's about 54 calories for a half cup, and that includes a teaspoon of sour cream.

Now I'm going to experiment with Paletas (fruit or veggie ice treats).

Food for the Environment

From the Onion:



Taco Bell's New Green Menu Takes No Ingredients From Nature

Summer Food

I've had a busy two weeks helping my daughter during the birth of her first child:

But now I'm home, and life returns to normal, including going back to losing weight. In that regard, I found the greatest recipe in the newspaper.

Peachy Tacos with Peach, Jicama, and Tomato Salsa

Oh yeah, these were good. Half a pound each of ground beef and ground pork, cooked with half a peach, a little jalapeno, red onion, jicama, and paprika. Served on a soft corn tortilla, each taco is only 180 calories. I thought the meat needed more flavor - next time, I'll add garlic and use more jalapeno, and maybe some oregano.

But the salsa... wow, what flavor.

Two peaches chopped up with 1/2 cup jicama, half a jalapeno, a little red onion, garlic, and paprika. Oh and the corn from one ear, and one small tomato. A little salt. So, so good.

45 calories for 1/4 cup. With the taco and a little lettuce, this was a complete meal.

Great Baked Beans

I'm wrestling with my weight, logging my food intake quite faithfully. So I know I'm keeping calories under 1400, most days, under 1200.

Haven't lost a pound. I exercising a bit too, mostly by dancing aroud the family room to Irish music.

You're forgiven if you don't want that image hanging around.

This has all led me to search diligently for interesting, low-cal recipes, that are - wait for it - made with Real Food. So I'm delighted to report on this great recipe for Baked Beans, from www.veggiemealplans.com. I tweaked it a bit, and cooked it in the slow cooker, but these are great - and only 232 calories for a whole cup!

Stove-Top Sweet and Spicy Beer "Baked" Beans

2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
1 sweet bell pepper, diced
2 garlic cloves
4 cups cooked navy beans, drained
1 bottle of your favorite beer
4 tbsp cider vinegar
4 tbsp light molasses
4 tbsp brown sugar
3 tbsp tomato paste
1 heaping tbsp mustard, any kind (I used Dijon)
1 chipotle pepper, diced
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp allspice

Heat oil in a pot and saute the onions, bell pepper, and garlic until softened. Add all remaining ingredients and simmer uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until thickened to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Makes about 5 cups

Borrowing from Others

After weeks of not making an entry, I should be ashamed to just give you a link to someone else's blog, but Rebekah Teal over at Rumor Has It, has a great idea for using scapes.

Don't know what scapes are? Neither did I. Go see.

http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/MJFBlog/default.asp?Display=215

Win Some... Lose Some

My poor husband. He's very good about eating whatever I fix, and generally liking most of it. But the other night he was reduced to complimenting just specific parts: "Great pizza dough..." "Good anchovies..."

His mother must have taught him to not say anything, if you can't find something nice to say. So he pointedly said nothing about the pizza topping (except for the anchovies).

What can I say? I had to use up my veggies, didn't I? And it really wasn't that bad - just different.

First, I sprinkled some grated Manchego cheese on the bread. Then I sauteed the following and spread it on top of the cheese:

2 spring onions
2 green garlic stalks
About 2 cups of sugar snap peas, chopped

I added a little salt, pepper, and thyme. I threw the anchovies on top, 'cause I know DH really likes 'em. I knew he'd need some encouragement.

I thought it tasted pretty good. But yeah. It was a little strange.

It's almost 7 minutes long, but this video on setting policy for school lunches is worth the time. You'll need to copy and paste:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVfAWbitBTs&feature=player_embedded

Keep it mind when the USDA issues standards later this year.

It's the Little Things

Guess what came in my weekly veggie box?

Peas.

Half of them never made it to the fridge. I declared a holiday and shelled one after another, gobbling down the sweet, crunchy peas as fast as I shelled them.


*Happy sigh*

Mexican Night

The other day, I was craving Mexican. We often go out for it, even though we haven't found a truly decent Mexican restuarant around here. But I have so many vegetables to cook, I can't justify going out. (The CSA has increased the quantity of veggies we get every week and frankly, we can't keep up. I've got loads of cooked veggies stored in the freezer, and more keep coming).

So I did a true frig and pantry clean-out to come up with the recipe below. If you keep canned chilies and jalapenos on hand, along with plenty of spices, you can make some good, spicy food.

Turkey Burritos

From my frig:
1 leek
1 bunch carrots
1 bunch spring onions
2 fennel bulbs
1 bunch spinach
A few sliced jalapeno peppers

From my freezer:
About 2 cups cooked turkey leftover from Thanksgiving (really! It was in a bit of gravy, but so what?)

From my pantry:
2 cans green chiles
1 can diced tomatoes
Cumin
Cinnamon
Oregano
Cilantro
Chili powder
Salt
Pepper

The method:
I diced up all the veggies (except the spinach) and sauteed them over medium heat until sweated. I added the spices, heavy on the cumin and chili powder, but generous with everything. I cooked this for about a minute, stirring constantly. I added the jalapenos, chilies, tomatoes (I drained them a bit, first), and the turkey. Then I washed and cut the spinach, mixing it in.

After stirring it well, I covered with a lid and let simmer for about 20 minutes, adjusting the seasoning to taste. It made a moist, meaty filling.

I served it wrapped in flour tortillas, with a sprinkle of mozzarella cheese, and a sliced avocado, and margaritas.

The mozzarella might sound strange. I would have used cheddar, but remember, I'm cleaning out my fridge. I used what I had, and it all tasted great!

You could do this with any mixture of items: don't be afraid to use whatever vegetables you have available. Any leftover meat will work - pork, chicken, beef. There are a variety of chili peppers out there, and they all lend a distinctive flavor to your meals.

Experiment!

Last night's dinner was a treat:









Potato and Green Garlic Tart with Goat Cheese and Mozzarella. I added the chard 'cause you know I have to serve green vegetables.

It was really, really good. Here's the recipe:

1 recipe pizza dough
1 1/2 lbs fingerling potatoes
2 stalks green garlic
3 oz goat cheese, crumbled
1/2 lb mozzarella cheese, grated
1 bunch chard or other leafy green
thyme, salt, and pepper

Slice the potatoes 1/8" thick and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast in 400 oven until tender, but not brown.

Sautee the sliced garlic and greens in 1 tbsp olive oil until soft. Add salt & pepper to taste.

Place a pizza stone in the oven and heat to 450 degrees. Sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza paddle.

Roll out the pizza dough and place on the paddle. Crimp the edges and brush with olive oil. Spread grated mozzarella over the dough, then layer the potatoes and greens over the cheese. Sprinkle the crumbled goat cheese over the everything, then sprinkle with thyme.

Bake for 15 - 20 minutes until crust is brown.

This will be a favorite!

The White House Garden

This just has me doing cartwheels:

Contact:
Roger Doiron
roger@kitchengardeners.org
phone: (207) 883-5341
cell: (207) 807-6364


100,000 Applaud Announcement of a New White House Food Garden
Environment, Nation’s Food System and People's Health Stand to Benefit

(Scarborough, Maine) –100,000 people signed a petition asking the Obamas to replant a Victory Garden at the White House, and recent news reports indicate that they are about to reap what they sowed.

For advocates of sustainable and healthy foods, this harvest of good news was as welcome as the summer’s first red-ripe tomato. “I’m thrilled for the Obama family and for all who will be inspired by their example to grow gardens of their own this year,” said Roger Doiron, founder of the nonprofit Kitchen Gardeners International and leader of the successful petition campaign, “Eat the View.”

Launched in February 2008, Eat the View proposed that the Obamas replant a White House Victory Garden while planting a few extra rows for the hungry. The campaign used viral videos and social networking technologies like Facebook to grow a large support base, attract international media attention and help inspire a larger grassroots effort. In January, 2009, Eat the View won the “On Day One” contest sponsored by the United Nations Foundation, beating out 4,000 other entries and resulting in thousands of messages being sent to the White House in support of its proposal.

Over the course of the past month, the Eat the View campaign has touted the economic benefits of home gardens as part of its pitch to White House staff members. As proof, Doiron and his wife spent nine months weighing and recording each vegetable they pulled from their 1,600-square-foot garden outside Portland, Maine. After counting the final winter leaves of salad, they found that they had saved about $2,150 by growing produce for their family of five instead of buying it. “If you consider that there are millions of American families who could be making similar, home-grown savings, those are no small potatoes,” Doiron said.

Although the White House garden campaign is now winding down, Doiron says the Eat the View campaign is just getting warmed up. “Now that the Obamas are on board, we’re going to be reaching out to other people and identifying other high-profile pieces of land that could be transformed into edible landscapes. Sprawling lawns around governors’ residences, schoolyards, vacant urban lots: those are all views that should be eaten.”

History of Harvest at the White House
While the Obamas’ garden and the online technologies that campaigned for it might be new, the idea of an edible landscape at the White House is not. Throughout its history, the White House has been home to food gardens of different shapes and sizes and even to a lawn-mowing herd of sheep in 1918. The appeal of the White House garden project, Doiron asserts, is that it serves as a bridge between the country’s past and its future. “The last time food was grown on the White House lawn was in 1943, when the country was at war, the economy was struggling and people were looking to the First Family for leadership. It made sense before and it makes sense again as we try to live within our own means and those of the planet.”


Additional info:

Eat the View campaign website:
http://www.eattheview.org/

History the White House as an edible landscape from 1800 to the present:
http://www.eattheview.org/page/history-1

Eat the View artwork:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42913695@N00/sets/72157608739986075/

Testimonials on behalf of the Eat the View campaign from noted national and international figures:
http://www.eattheview.org/page/testimonials-1

Eat the View campaign videos:
http://www.eattheview.org/videos

Bio and photos of Roger Doiron:
http://www.kitchengardeners.org/2005/10/about_roger_doiron.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/42913695@N00/sets/72157608739762927/

Writing When I'm Not Cooking

I'm listing it everywhere. My novel is a quarterfinalist in the Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Award Contest. See the details on my writer's blog: ABNA Quarterfinalist!

And if you are so inclined, PLEASE follow the link to Amazon and leave a review for my novel's excerpt. I need reviews to actually win the contest!

Ending Hunger

Here's a successful way to end hunger on a local scale:

http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=3330

We aren't doing anything close to this in the Bay Area, yet. We have lots of Farmers Markets, a few co-ops, and a couple of urban gardens that supply the poor. We have lots of farms around here. But the poor have inadequate access to transporation, so we need to bring the food to them.

We could do it.

Farm Break

This is too much fun: my CSA has a blog. This is the farm from which I get a box of vegetables every week.

Wait - they have two blogs, and here are the links:

http://riverdogfarm.blogspot.com

http://riverdoghog.blogspot.com

I realize it's probably not as exciting to you as it is to me, but I wanted to share anyway. Everybody needs a farm break once in a while.

Winter Smoothies

My CSA box has included a bunch of oranges or tangerines lately. I may have mentioned (once or twice) that I'm not real big on citrus. I like to cook with it - it lends a "mmm" flavor to so many dishes, or can add gorgeous color and flavor to a salad with walnuts sprinkled on. And I insist that my margaritas be made with real limes.

But peel and eat an orange? Dipped in chocolate, maybe.

So what am I going to do with all these oranges every week?

Make smoothies. Oh yeah, that works.

It also gives me something to keep me eating yogurt most days. I tend to alternate with the seasons - in spring and summer, I eat my yogurt with granola and fruit for breakfast. But when the weather turns cool, I long for hot, comforting oatmeal made with whole milk. The yogurt gets ignored.

But I like to eat yogurt as a defense against yeast infections. The idea of going all winter without having any just doesn't seem right. Plus, with the smoothie, I'm also eating some fruit every day, another thing that falls by wayside in winter.

My Winter Smoothie:
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 large orange or 1 tangerine
1/2 banana
1/4 cup crushed ice

Put all ingredients in a blender and mix.

This makes one glassful, maybe a little more. Calories? About 100, since I use whole milk yogurt.

Chinese Night

Last night's dinner used nearly all my vegetables. I made egg rolls and hot & sour soup.

The egg rolls were a hodge-podge of cabbage, carrots, smoked bacon, ginger, garlic, and scallions, all pulsed in the food processor until they were minced. This was all sauteed with a sauce of cornstarch, sesame oil, and soy sauce, then wrapped in egg roll wrappers. A quick spray of oil on the rolls, and then they were baked until golden brown.

We ate them with easy, at-hand sauces - mustard & horseradish, or rice vinegar & hot chili oil.

The soup - oh goddess, I love this soup. I've had the recipe for a few years, but lost it, somehow. I finally found it again, online here.

I used oyster mushrooms (all I could find except for crimini and button), and the rest of my CSA cabbage instead of bok choy. I also quadrupled the soy sauce, vinegar, and chili oil. I guess I like a lot of punch in my hot & sour soup.

Anyway, it was good. I love the addition of spinach to this soup. It just seems to add the perfect touch of color and nutrition. There's nothing better if you have a cold (which I don't, but the soup was perfect, anyway).

Leftovers? Plenty of both soup and egg rolls. That meal will feed us for a while.

Tonight's Dinner

It's a Leek-Gruyere Tart, based on a recipe from Fine Cooking Magazine. I added beet greens to mine, in the spirit of using up my CSA vegetables.

Using Those Veggies

So what did I do with my CSA veggies?

While rummaging through the freezer, I found a couple of bratwurst and I remembered a popular dish I made a few months ago. So I sliced the batch of carrots, chopped the leeks, minced some garlic, sauteed them with the bratwurst. Then I added the head of cabbage (chopped), a little water, and let it steam until the cabbage was tender. I served it with a dollop of mustard and horseradish on the side.

We have leftovers, but I can freeze those for later use.

This left me with a batch of Tokyo Turnips and the chard, which I used yesterday. I had a lot of lamb in the freezer. I'd roasted a leg of lamb back in November and frozen the leftover slices of meat. I got it all out and braised it in a ginger-garlic sauce with lots of Indian spices. I steamed the chard and added it to the stew, serving it with whole wheat naan and the steamed turnips on the side.

I've got leftovers of that, too. Back into the freezer for another easy meal when I don't have time to cook!

Just in time, too. I've got another CSA box coming today.

Cooking at Home

Today was a waffle day.

The batch in the freezer was getting low, and I had some baked butternut squash that really needed to be used. So into the waffle batter it went, along with walnuts and cinnamon and cloves. I had two squares for breakfast, with a bit of butter, powdered sugar, and half a Meyer's lemon squeezed over it all.

A very nice breakfast.

Yesterday, I made a batch of yogurt, which I'll probably mix with the applesauce I made a few days ago, or top with tangerine sections. That will be good over future waffles, or as a light lunch one day.

My crisper drawers are full of good CSA vegetables, and I must decide what to do with them before I get another box on Wednesday. I've got a cabbage, a bunch of carrots, two leeks, broccoli and chard. I already used the spinach, serving it sauteed with olive oil and salt, along with leftover turkey pot pie. And of course, the tangerines were in the box, too. And it's also where I got the lemon.

I'm tempted to serve simple vegetarian meals for a couple of nights, to use everything up. I need broth, too, so I'll probably use the leeks, cabbage, and some carrots to do that. My freezer is actually brothless, at the moment. I'll wander back downstairs to figure things out, eventually. I have writing to do, first.

An Idea I've Endorsed

Did you see the "Victory Gardens" logo off to the left? I think this is a great idea and I've given my official endorsement for it. We need an organic garden at the White House - one that is used by the First Family for their own meals and also for state dinners. Beyond that, we need these gardens in cities and towns all across America.

It doesn't get more American than that!

Here's the link to official idea. Or just click on the logo. Please go vote!

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/green_the_white_house

Food? What Food?

After weeks of holiday eating (and drinking),vacations, and an upcoming writing deadline, food has become a side thought around here. I know - I'm having a hard time dealing with that, myself. But I literally have not had the time or desire to think about food.

We're still eating, of course. You know all those extra meals I prepare and freeze? They sure have come in handy.

My meal planning has dropped down to figuring out what to take out of the freezer. Because of dental work, one of us is relegated to soft food for the week, so I'm pulling out things like soups (potato, turkey), rice and broth, baked butternut squash, etc.

I still have a full freezer, but I've managed to use up all my homemade broth - it's time to make more! Today, I pick up our CSA box for the first time in three weeks. I know I'll have to do something about all those veggies. So even in down times, the cooking doesn't go away completely.

Amazing Fact: I did not gain any weight this holiday season. Didn't lose any, mind you. But I didn't gain any either, and I'm happy about that! Last year, from November 07 to - say May 07 , I gained about 15 pounds. I still have to lose that. So I'm relieved to know I didn't add to the problem this year.