Thanksgiving 2014

The cranberry orange relish, pumpkin custard, and gingerbread molasses scones were made yesterday.

The roast is in the crockpot.

The potatoes (sweet and russet) and parsnips (au gratin) are poised to go into the oven.

We’ll light the logs in the fireplace and eat a small salad as football blares.

It’s our tradition.

In the short silences of the day -

Maybe on a neighborhood walk after the big meal, during halftime of the football game -

We’ll talk of the wonder of our lives:

That our long careers were satisfying…

That our family is well…

That the future is full of potential…

That we live the way we wish to live…

And we are full of thanks.

Eggs in a Nest

My favorite concoction in recent weeks has been ‘eggs in a nest.’ It is a veggie stir fry with eggs added at the last minute into a well in the center. On my stove, I turn the burner off and put a lid on the skillet until the eggs are cooked. I’ve made it three times this month

The first time I stir fried the stems of the chard (yellow and red) a little before adding the leaves, arugula, mushrooms, and a scallion. I used a little table blend Mrs. Dash and some orange peel. When it was cooked I added sesame ginger sauce and stirred it in. I made a well in the center of the mass and poured in two eggs. Then I turned off the burner and put a lid on the skillet. After I put the whole on a plate, I put crumbled kale chips on top (the ones that had a little too much garlic salt). The egg yokes were a little soft in the center but the whites were thoroughly cooked. It was a little like an inside out omelet - more veggies because they did not have to be contained in the egg!

The nest for the second ‘eggs in a nest’ was made with eggplant, onions, mushrooms, arugula, and kale chips with spicy spaghetti sauce added at the last minute. The sauce gave it a very different flavor - I’ve always like tomatoes with eggs.

I was really hungry when I started the ‘eggs in a nest’ for a third meal. I stir fried kohlrabi (bulb, stems and leaves!), mushrooms, onion, and garlic. The sauce was the sesame ginger sauce. It was my big meal of the day!

What a yummy way to include eggs as the main protein at lunch or dinner!

Fruit Beety

Fruit Beety has become one of my favorite summertime recipes….which is quite surprising since I didn’t think I liked beets at all before I started getting them in my CSA share and looked around for something to do with them. The first recipe I decided to try was derived from my old Laurel’s Kitchen cookbook. I modified it a bit so that it comes out the consistency of homemade applesauce rather than matchsticking the beets…..and used ingredients I had on hand.

I’ve mentioned it several times in previous posts but am providing the more complete recipe today:

Use 3-4 medium sized beets. Cut off stems and leaves leaving the beet root intact. Scrub to clean off dirt. Cook in boiling salted water. I only cook for 10 minutes because I don’t have to have the skins slough off (the beets I’ve gotten so far have been so fresh that the skin is fine once it goes through the food processor. After cooking - pour off water (it will be a pretty color and could be saved to water plants)  - cool beats with cold water and cut off the very top and the root tip. Cut into chunks.

While the beets are cooking - prepare the other ingredients in the food processor.

• 3 organic oranges
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon raspberry vinegar
• Pinch salt

Oranges: The reason I specify 'organic' for this recipe is that the peeling is going into the Beety. Cut the peeling ends off the oranges; cut just enough to get the thicker peel, stem, and pith at the two ends. Cut into slices and removed seeds. Cut into chunks. Place fruit (pulp and peeling attached to it) into the food processor.

The unsweetened coconut is to soak up liquid. If you don’t have any - a tablespoon of chia seeds would work well.

I don’t measure the honey or vinegar - I just add it in.

After adding the beets to the food processor - let it run until the mixture is the consistency of homemade applesauce.

Fruit Beety is excellent alone, with coconut sprinkled on top (as shown above) with yogurt (or ice cream), or as a smoothie ingredient. Just think how beautiful a parfait of Fruit Beety and vanilla (or plain) yogurt would be! 

Easy Quinoa Salad

Quinoa is probably my favorite grain - both for taste, texture and nutritional profile. I have almost completely replaced rice in my meals because I like the nuttier flavor of quinoa. It cooks faster than unrefined rice too. It’s an added bonus that it is one of the few grains that is a good source of protein - containing all the essential amino acids. On really cold days, I enjoy quinoa in soups or freshly cooked under stir fry. Now that we have some warmer days, I’ll start making quinoa salad more frequently. Here is my simple process (I don’t call it a recipe because I make it a little different each time!):

• Cook quinoa. I usually add onion flakes to the liquid. Often I used tea (herbal or black) instead of water. Allow to cool.
• Chop colorful vegetables into small pieces. My favorites are bell peppers and carrots although just about any firm vegetable from the crisper will do.
• Combine ingredients in large container with salad dressing. My favorite is balsamic vinaigrette although raspberry vinaigrette is good too.

The salad is best when it has a few hours in the refrigerator for the flavors to mingle. It is excellent leftover too either as a salad or heated and used under a stir fry.

Really Cooking

Having a home cooked meal is faster than going out for fast food - as long as the kitchen is ‘cook ready.’ I’ve been getting better at that recently with my favorite winter time meals - something warm and a complete meal in one dish.

The first type is a stir fry. I don’t generally have rice or noodles - preferring to fill up on the generally lower calorie veggies. Here’s my basic strategy to prepare a complete meal in 30 minutes or less.

Cut up veggies that need to cook the longest. Carrots, celery and bell pepper are examples. Add frozen veggies (I generally buy cauliflower and broccoli frozen since I can use it at the rate I want instead of being overwhelmed with the need to use up the amount I bought in the produce section). Begin the stir fry in a large skillet with a little olive oil. Season (I like orange zest and McCormick’s Pinch Perfect Citrus Fiesa).

While it cooks, cut up veggies that cook more quickly (like onions and mushrooms) and measure out protein (like dry roasted soybeans). Cut up broccoli and cauliflower if the pieces are too large with kitchen scissors once it has thawed. Add rest of veggies to the stir fry.

Once the onions and mushrooms have softened, add sauce (if desired). I like to use roasted garlic hummus with a quarter cup of water to coat the stir fry. It merely needs to be stirred in and heated.

And then it’s ready to eat!

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The second type of meal I like in the winter is soup. I always make a bean soup for lunch on the day I cook a pot of beans (soaked overnight and then cooked the following morning). This week I cooked a package of dried black beans.

About 20 minutes before I wanted lunch, I took out a couple of cups if bean liquidfrom the pot to start my soup in a smaller pan. I added 1/4 cup multi-grain rice (that cooks in about 15 minutes), dried onion flakes, orange peel and a bouillon cube.

While that bubbled, I cut up mushrooms, yellow pepper and carrots. The veggies went into the pot along with a cup of the cooked black beans after the rice has been cooking for about 10 minutes. Cook until the rice and veggies are cooked….and it’s a warming and filling meal!

The rest of the beans are parcelled out to containers of about 1 cup each and frozen to be the start for soups in the coming weeks!