going home.

something about the autumn makes us all introspective and long to retrieve memories upon which to reflect.

thomas wolfe said "you can't go home again", which is painfully true under so many circumstances.  but something about a one-night visit to my hometown over the weekend seemed to dim the bitter reality of this oft-repeated bit of wisdom.  i think that particular something was dinner with my family on saturday night.

my most vivid and cherished memories of the years that i spent growing up in the house i've lived in since birth took place around our dining room table.  my family was small (just mom, dad, and me), and we always sat down every night at our cherry oak dining room table with some music playing softly in the background.  even if we were only serving reheated leftovers, never did we eat in front of the television, in separate rooms, etc.

only recently did i discover that this was a strange and rare practice.  and only recently have i discovered how lucky i have been to have had shared so many meals with my family in an intimate space.  i intend to continue this practice years from now when i sit around a different table with a family that doesn't exist quite yet.

when i went home on saturday, i walked in the door and was greeted by one small barking dog, the voice of garrison keillor on the radio in the background, vases of flowers, and the delightful smell of bouillabaisse floating in the air.

this is a delicious french seafood stew.  it's surprisingly simple to concoct and always delicious... especially re-heated the next day. 

ingredients

1/4 c. olive oil

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1 leek, cleaned thoroughly and sliced thinly

1/2 tsp. thyme

1 bay leaf

2 c. crushed tomatoes

1 c. clam juice

1 c. dry white wine

1/4 c. chopped fennel

pinch saffron

salt and pepper to taste

12 mussels, well scrubbed and de-bearded

12 raw shrimp (i am allergic, but if you're lucky enough to not break out in hives, by all means, include them)

12 scallops

1 small lobster (optional... unless they're on sale...)

1 pound red snapper, cod, or other white fish, cut into chunks

method

in a large pot or dutch oven, heat olive oil.  add celery, onion, garlic, leeks, thyme and bay leaf.  sweat for about 5 minutes.

add tomatoes, clam juice, wine, fennel, saffron, parsely, salt and pepper.  simmer 15 minutes, adding more wine/tomato juice until broth reaches desired consistency.

add the seafood and cook fifteen minutes (usually, the mussels go in first and steam for a few minutes until the shells begin to crack open.  then add the scallops and fish).

serve hot, with warm bread.  

so perfect.

talking turkey.

so it is september 18 today, but i am getting SO EXCITED about thanksgiving already, and have been thinking about this most glorious of holidays for at least two weeks now.

...it's still another nine weeks and six days away.

sigh.

roasted veggie pesto flatbread

quick.  easy.  made possible by the help of your friendly neighborhood pizza joint.

ingredients

-one pound of fresh pizza dough (to be procured from your local pie dealer)

-one red pepper

-one red onion

-one head broccoli, chopped

-one quantity fresh pesto

-crumbled feta*

-olive oil

-salt and pepper

*i buy the kind that comes in a solid block in the cheese section of the grocery store; this way i can make custom sized chunks simply by shredding it with a fork.  it is a couple bucks cheaper than already-crumbled feta, too.

method

preheat the oven to 450 with a pizza stone inside.  dice vegetables (onion, pepper, broccoli-stems removed) and place in roasting pan.  toss with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast for about 15 minutes.

while veggies are roasting, make pesto.  set aside.

remove veggies from oven.  toss the pizza dough a few times to thin it out, then roll it out one a well-floured surface until it is about 1/2 inch thick.  using a serrated knife, gently slice the dough into long rectangles.  

brush the surface of the dough with olive oil, sprinkle generously with roasted veggies and feta, and return to oven to bake on the pizza stone for about 15 minutes, or until the crust turns golden brown.

remove from oven, spoon dollops of pesto over the flatbreads, and serve hot.

my soapbox moment.

lately, i have been doing a lot of thinking and changing my perspective and ideas about the kinds of food i elect to put into my body.

my borderline obsession with being healthy began in 2003, my senior year of high school, when i was struggling to turn my negative thoughts about food around into something more productive and positive.  as i began to realize that i could make my own decisions about which kinds of food i could nourish myself with, i began to feel more empowered.  that same year i eliminated red meat from my diet and swore off not only hamburgers, meatballs, and corned beef hash, but also became more vigilant about reading ingredient labels to make sure there was no lard or beef fat in any packaged foods i might eat.

three years later i slipped almost entirely into vegetarian-world, eliminating anything from my diet that once had a pulse.  (inspired by a scene from the film baraka, my vegetarian phase lasted about six months before a nasty bout of malnutrition forced my weakened body into deep, intense protein cravings in the form of chicken and fish).

since then, i feel like i know what my body needs, and i know that first and foremost, the most important thing that i can do for myself, or that any of us can do for ourselves, is to listen to your body.  when you think about it, it makes quite a lot of sense.  when you are a baby, you don't even realize it, but the basic things that you require have to do with the most simple of body functions/needs ("mom!  wah!  i'm hungry!", or, "dad!  i pooped!", or, "jesus christ I need a nap here, people.")  as we grow it seems that we sacrifice the innermost needs and instincts of our bodies for the sake of convenience.  and once you're old enough to not have to live off of cheerios sprinkled on your high chair and pureed peas out of a jar, i think it should be everyone's right to have healthy, wholesome, and, of recent importance, local foods available to them.

i'm not trying to indoctrinate people with my veggie-head philosophies; i am merely trying to explain my personal story behind the food-related decisions i make.  "so you eat chicken, sometimes, and sometimes pork, but not beef?  why?"  is a question i repeatedly field whenever i disclose my somewhat-quirky food choices.  it gets frustrating.  when it comes down to it, i don't look at other people quizzically as they hork down a large carton of french fries from burger king.  why should my personal diet choices have to come under scrutiny?  i am making healthy choices.  i am choosing to put food into my body that makes me feel good, and that i feel good about eating.  if i ate a box of french fries, i would feel sluggish and sick.  already knowing that helps me to limit myself from eating it, because no matter how delicious the fries might be while i am eating them, i know that the painful after-effects are not worth the momentary pleasure.  if i ate a steak, i would feel morally appalled (not to mention physically ill, after eliminating beef from my diet for six years).

using this fantastic and thought-provoking article as a basis for my inspiration, having one meal consisting of meat per week is my new goal.  i don't know at this point if i am going to phase out meat completely from my diet.  and god knows i need to eat a crab cake every now and again.  but eliminating meat-based meals is not only nutritionally healthy, it is environmentally friendly and morally satisfying (at least, for me).  now that i know more about nutrition and cooking, i know how to supplement to nutrients i am missing from meat into my more veggie-ful dishes.  and if i want a piece of chicken one night, then, dagnabbit, i am going to have it (i've learned that the worst thing you can do is deprive yourself).

the first step i've taken into the world of local eating is by joining my area's local csa farm, and i urge you to find out if there is a similar program in your area.  it is fun, it is rewarding, it is cost-effective, and it gives you the most delicious local, organic produce in return for a few hours of getting dirt under your fingernails.

the bottom line is that i believe food is a sacred entity.  i am becoming more and more excited about being a part of the process of having a hand in the production of the food that i eat.  if i can go out in my backyard and pick a tomato fresh off the vine, why would i ever choose to do otherwise?  having a hand in the cycle is spiritual and brings you closer to the entire process, i've found.

thanks for listening, and happy eating.

pesto pea salad

from ina garten's barefoot contessa at home comes my new favorite salad.  srsly.

ingredients

1 package baby spinach

1/2 package frozen peas, thawed and slightly cool

fresh pesto (recipe to follow)

parmesan cheese (for grating on top)

4 tsp. (or whatever) toasted pine nuts

method

rinse and dry spinach.  put in salad bowl.  (duh.)

to make pesto, place 2-3 handfuls fresh basil, 1 clove of garlic, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in the bowl of a food processor.  turn on machine; as it is blending, slowly add olive oil until it reaches a relatively pureed consistency.  turn off processor.  grate parmesan cheese into the bowl, and add about 5 tsp. toasted pine nuts.  continue to blend, and add ingredients as you see fit.

finally, add peas to spinach, spoon pesto on top, toss, and serve with extra grated parm. and toasted pine nuts on top.

so simple.  so delicious.  so summertime.  yum!

cha-ching chicken

extra, extra.  i have a very important news announcement.  this might come as a shock to some of you, but i have learned that IT IS NOT NECESSARY TO GO TO THE SUPERMARKET EVERY SINGLE DAY.  i know what you must be thinking (seriously...is this girl dumb or what?) but i admit that, once upon a time, i had a very time-consuming, annoying, and expensive habit of going to the grocery store every day.  my indecisive brain was unable to come up with a dinner idea until i was hungry for dinner a couple of hours before i'd start cooking it.

but last night, i was converted to a meal-planning, smart-shopping, money-saving gal.  sitting around the dining room table, feeling the familiar, faint pangs of hunger that signal that it's time to start cookin', my darling boyfriend gently suggested that rather than shopping for just that night's meal, we do something insane and plan ahead.  whoaaaaa crazy spring break keg stand ahhhhhhhhhhhh!!11!!!!!

now, initially i screwed up my nose at the idea.  sure, portobello mushroom lasagna sounds good now... but i might have a craving for something else by the time wednesday night rolls around!  but ultimately, i was swayed by my better, more practical half (and my incredible shrinking bank account) that planning ahead was indeed a wise idea.

indeed: wise, swift, efficient, and amazingly cost effective.  after a 30 minute trip to the supermarket, we emerged with 4 shopping bags (which we remembered to bring along!) filled to the brim with enough food for 4 breakfasts, lunches, and dinners, all for a grand total of....$84.13 (and we always split the bill).

that's 12 meals for about 40 bucks!  amazing, i say.  simply amazing.

so, what's on the menu for this week? 

last night- dr. praeger's veggie burgers (previously existing in freezer), bean salad, corn on the cob

today- roast chicken, pesto pea salad, and roasted veggie potato skins

tomorrow- ginger chicken salad (lunch), thai peanut noodles (dinner)

day after tomorrow- bean salad and bread with hummus (lunch), portobello parmesan (dinner)

 

right now, there's a delicious chicken roasting in the oven which will provide us with 3 meals (2 dinners and a lunch).  stay tuned for more recipes involving the amazing roasted stretch-a-chicken, perfect for penny pinchers everywhere.

now, if you'll excuse me, i have better things to do instead of queueing in the god-awful self checkout at acme.

secret weapon

last night, there was a surplus of fresh raspberries in the fridge that were going to mush if i didn't do something with them quickly.  solution?  ding!  enter the torte.

thank me for giving you this recipe.  it is my secret weapon, my go-to, never-fail delicious dessert that is so easy that you won't even believe it.

the best thing about the batter is that it is not only foolproof, but it is a great base for doing whatever you want with it.  when i first learned this recipe, it was for a plum torte, using small italian plum halves.  in the winter, i use the same batter but layer cranberries and apples on top, and load up the spices.  so, last night, with no plums, cranberries, or apples, but a surfeit of raspberries, i knew exactly what to do.

raspberryplumcranberryapple torte

ingredients

1 stick butter, softened

3/4 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. all purpose flour

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 c. raspberries, rinsed; OR 3 c. cranberries, rinsed, plus 3 apples, peeled and sliced; OR 12 italian plums, rinsed, pitted, and halved; OR whatever else you could possibly imagine

sprinkle cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg

method

in a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar.  add eggs, flour, baking powder, and vanilla and spices.

preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  butter and flour a springform pan*, then slowly spread the batter over the pan (it will be a thick, almost dough-like consistency).  carefully sprinkle your fruit of choice over the top of the cake.  sprinkle a thin layer of sugar over the top.

bake on a rack positioned 3/4 of the way down in the oven, for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

*i didn't have a springform pan last night, and the pans that i did have were all too big to hold the small amount of batter.  solution?  double batch.  problem solved... more torte for everyone!!