What Would Bekki Eat?

Can a mama get a beer?

2011-08-06T19:24:00.004-05:00

It still surprises me how many of the people I suggest go gluten-free come back with the question "does that mean I can't drink beer?" It's probably second only to "but what will eat instead of BREAD?"
Luckily, it's a good time to be gluten-free. It is, after all, what all the cool kids are doing, so more and more replacement foods are being made available. And more and more breweries are doing their damnedest to make gluten-free beer.
Today we celebrated a Day of Debauchery and Gluttony, in response to our governor's ill-advised mixing of politics with religion, aka The Response, a day of fasting and prayer. We had a lovely, extravagant dinner, and then I indulged in a tasting of THREE gluten-free beers. Tee hee. I hope to get this all typed before I get too silly.

I realize now that perhaps a few photos would have really jazzed this up. Darn.

Anyway, thanks to my husband, it was a blind tasting (he wrote down which beer glass was on which coaster) so I could feel all scientific and such. My tasting terms leave a lot to be desired, but... I am who I am. And who I am is a laid-back beer lover who uses fancy words like "yum" and "tastes like beer." The latter is high praise for a gluten-free offering.

The line-up: New Grist, New Planet Tread Lightly Ale, and Bard's.

New Grist is growing in popularity, but not yet available here in Texas. I have to have family and friends bootleg it to me from Kansas whenever they pass through. It was the palest of the three, a lovely straw yellow, but had surprising caramel notes on the first few tastes. Very fizzy, after it warmed up just a bit I noticed a slight tartness, and then a very noticeable wine-like flavor. Not really high praise for a beer, but drinkable, and so much better than the widely-available Redbridge swill, that it was my 2nd favorite of the evening.

New Planet's Tread Lightly Ale was next, a shade darker than the New Grist. Let me just mention that New Planet has several gluten-free offerings, one of which has given me a new reason to live- Off Grid Pale Ale. But, that was not in the tasting tonight because, despite it's name, it is not "pale." I wanted to taste beers that were somewhat similar. The Tread Lightly had slight citrus, was sweet, and grew even sweeter with successive tastes. It had a lingering aftertaste that I can't say I really enjoyed. I wrote down that it tasted a touch like beery sweet tea. It got my lowest ranking. If I could have given it something lower than 3rd place, I probably would have. Still better than Redbridge. Then again, water is better than Redbridge.

I saved the darkest beer for last, assuming it might have a stronger flavor. And it kind of did. The Bard's had a slight flavor of char, which is a good thing in my book. I love grilled food, love the smell of woodsmoke and food grilling, and would burn cigars as incense if the stupid things would stay lit. Char goes a long way with me. It seemed to have a bit less complex flavor than the New Grist, but I still chose it as my favorite. The slightly darker taste makes it suit a wider variety of occasions. Since my favorite regular beer of all time is Guinness Extra Stout, and I particularly crave such in the depths of winter, I like a beer that might be able to stand in it's place. Bard's is nowhere near Guinness, but... of the three I tasted tonight, it's the closest.
Lucky for me, it's also the only one of the three that I can actually get my paws on here in Texas. Knowing that- that I blindly picked the one I can actually get- is priceless. Oh, and my gluten-vore husband declared the Bard's to be "the beeriest" of the three. High praise, indeed.

I love beer. I miss real beer. Every now and then I go crazy and have one and pay for it with aching joints for the next three days. I'm learning to love my gluten-free options and yearning for the day when I have the free time to tinker with some recipes on my own.

I see stupid people.

2011-01-30T10:21:00.005-06:00

I hope to blog more in 2011. I'll begin with a rant. (Please don't hurt yourselves as you climb back into your chairs after falling over in shock. You can't sue me for any damages caused by spitting coffee on your laptop, either.)

I hate ads.

Y'all might have noticed this.

Well, I don't hate all ads. I just... hate being manipulated. I hate being told what to feel and when to feel it. I hate the entire sheeple/herd mentality thang. Each month of the year seems to have it's own official, Buy-N-Large-sanctioned attitudes and goals. In case we don't catch on from TV ads, the coupon section of the paper lets us know what we ought to be eating, washing ourselves with, and longing for.

And I hate that. I'm a rebel at heart. I live with my low-level irritation toward advertising, only occasionally bursting forth with growls and epithets when I'm unable to ignore a TV commercial or coupon ad. The Sunday paper coupons are an especially-rich fodder for my rants. So, here goes....

See what's new from Kibbles 'n Bits. "The Bits make it better." This is just so stupid. First of all, the dog is just hungry. And possibly colorblind (I may need to check on that....) The dog would happily eat cat poop. I don't think the dog cares if his kibble has bits! I especially don't think the dog cares if his bits are colorful. And why on earth would the dog want them to be vegetable flavored?! Are we really so crazed with this our-dogs-are-our-babies psychosis that we think they need vegetables? Do wild dingoes feast on peas and carrots? I don't think so. It's just stupid.

"Catch a taste of the big game" says Cheez-It. Hmmm... assuming a game actually has a flavor, I think it would possibly be leather, dirt, grass, even blood. But not cheez. That's just stupid.

"Got a cold? Confused what to get" Robitussin actually paid people to develop a phone app to help people figure out which bottle of medicine to buy. Because, apparently, even after they paid the art department to develop helpful box graphics which clearly state in large, bright letters the symptoms treated by each particular bottle... it wasn't enough. People are slowly loosing their ability to read static print material. If it doesn't come in an app, it's too hard. And, yes, I realize the ad is telling about the app in static print. But fear not, there's a little picture widget thingy that you can take a picture of with your phone, which apparently will magically direct you to the app or website. What the hell? That's just stupid!

And finally... I've saved what I think is the most-idiotic, most-pandering, most-intelligence-insulting piece of marketing drivel for last. "His winning lineup (because it's almost the Super Bowl, so all advertising must be done in game language... how clever and original....) Strength for him, value for you."
Pardon my Valley Girl, but... gag me with a spoon.
I am insulted on so many levels. My feminist side is sputtering. My intelligent side is speechless. My hope-for-humanity side is in the corner, crying.
I took a Women's Studies class way back in college. My term paper was a comparison of the advertising in three different decades of Ladies Home Journal. I recall being jaw-droppingly aghast at the glaring "buy this so you can get married" theme behind all the stuff from the 40s. It got a little better in the 60s. Better still by the 80s. And now we seem to be headed right back in time. I *know* that the average coupon-peruser will skim right past all the sexism and stupidity in this ad line. But somewhere in their subconscious, it will lurk. And the constant barrage of similarly stupid, sexist ads really does add up. It becomes accepted. It becomes the norm. It shapes opinions, just like they want it to. They work really, really hard to direct our behavior, so I would prefer they at least be politically-correct with the brainwashing.

What's so bad about it? First of all, just the absurd notion that a man's choice in shaving razor does ANYthing beyond determining the amount of hair left on his face. Razors cut hair. That's it. They do not give you a better job. They do not give you skinny, busty women who caress your face. They certainly do NOT give you strength. That's just stupid. Secondly, I resent the assumption that only women are looking at the coupons. I hate the entire June Cleaver universe it implies. My life does not revolve around my man or his facial hair or his strength.

Ah, well. I do at least glean a little pleasure from knowing they do NOT have me pegged. That whole rebel thang. I am not skimming through the coupons, in search of value. No. I am looking for something to piss me off, so I can share it with you.

Coupon RANT!

2010-10-17T09:05:00.004-05:00

Blshvrddtygrrrddle.

I know it's not a word, but at least it's not profanity.

I actually got goosebumps and dizziness from my outrage this morning. That's a first for me. Wish I had gotten a picture of my arms, to prove it.
Anyway, there I was, on the last page of the last coupon insert from the Sunday paper. I had slogged through, as usual, no longer expecting more than irritation from the usual crappy coupons for phood.

And there it was.

I have never been a fan of Easy Bake Ovens. I was a big ol' meany and didn't let my son have one during his excitement for all things cooking. Their mixes were crap and I didn't want him to think that adding water = cooking. But, now I see, at least it was an oven.

2010 is here, baby, and that means advancements, progress, moving forward. How shall we teach our younglings? Easy Bake Microwave & Style Kit. Because, microwaves are where it's at, and the focus really should be on the brightly-colored sugar on top, not the spongy cake-like transport.

Ugh.

Microwaves suck. They damage the proteins of food so much that the body can barely recognize them as sustenance. I don't use ours. My husband does, occasionally. Microwaves are fast, I'll grant them that, but I don't think we need to be that ADD about our food. PLAN AHEAD. Know that you will likely be hungry 5 times a day, at predictable times. Have stuff on hand. Start cooking BEFORE you're dizzy and weak.

If you want a brightly-colored pancreas-bomb, bake one. It really, swear-to-god, doesn't take that long. Especially if you make tiny ones. There are plenty of silicone bake sets for teeny little cakes. Mixing, from scratch, takes 15 minutes, tops. The oven can preheat while you're at it. Baking bite-size cakelets would take about 15-20 more minutes. Clean up the kitchen and make frosting (it's seriously just butter + sugar... it's a no-brainer.)

They won't be health food, but they will fall into the category of food with an "f." Which is a vast improvement these days. Unfortunately.

I. Can't. Eat. Butter.

2010-10-12T18:44:00.002-05:00

My long-time readers may need to sit down for this. You all situated? Comfy? Ok...

I have been butter-free for two weeks.

Jack (9 months old) is feeling better.

I no longer feel that familiar brain-fog/exhaustion after breakfast. (Seems *I* only react to breakfast butter... other-times-of-day butter don't make me feel like someone slipped me cheese.) But Baby Jack seems gets Green Acid Poo Of Doom from any-time-of-day butter.

In Food Allergy World, these items of note combine to create a diagnosis of You Can't Eat Butter Anymore.

I have very strong feelings about this. I worship at the altar of Mother Butter and Father Bacon. Now my goddess is dead (blasphemy!) I worry because now I'm using more coconut oil than I was before... still have to get my fats, you know... and I'm allergic to coconut protein. Perchance the coconut oil is more pure than the butter? Still no idea whether ghee is ok... haven't acquired a taste for it, so I haven't used it enough to know. I'll get on that eventually.

Eggs were back on my menu and then gone again. I find myself needing to google "vegan" recipes. I swear to add meat to every single one of them!

In other news, I swear I'll be revamping this poor redheaded step-child of a blog. Soon. My version of "soon" means, well, hopefully before the end of 2010, but don't put money on it. I see that I have a whopping 9 faithful followers, so I'm excited to make this thing pretty and easier to use. I envision a fancy bloggiful launch, complete with merchandise.

I miss you, Butter. But I know you shall not remain dead to me forever. I still swear undying loyalty, and my lips shall touch not the cursed margarine! (Because, really, what could they possibly make it out of that I'm not allergic to?!)

First (Annual?) Superbowl Wing-Off!

2010-02-07T14:45:00.008-06:00

I realize that it's cliche to eat Buffalo wings for the Superbowl, but... well... we can't always be original. Besides, the Fairy Child recently discovered that chicken is edible when smothered in spicy sauce. She hadn't eaten chicken for 10 years until that lucky discovery, so Buffalo wings have been on the menu every few weeks this football season. Getting protein into the Fairy Child is important.In a moment of sheer... er... genius (yeah, we'll call it that) I decided to challenge the Fairy Child to a wing-off. I'm not generally prone to such measures, but it struck me as a fun idea, and before I had the chance to ponder the implications of a pile of spicy wings on breastmilk for a newborn... the plan was made. So, here we go.

What: 1st ever family wing-eating challenge, a.k.a. "wing-off."
Who: Fairy Child, "The Bottomless Pit" vs. "Butter My Bacon" Bekki
Where: our kitchen table, South Texas
Why: I tend to run off at the mouth sometimes...

Now, to make the wings... I no longer have a deep fryer. I received one, from my mother-in-law, about 6 or 7 years ago. It moved with us, to three states, in many Army moves, never yet used. I had planned to use it a few times, and was always daunted by the idea of all that hot oil and the responsibility therein. So it was left untouched. And apparently, insulted. When I finally tried to use it a year or so ago, it was mysteriously dead with no signs of foul play.

So... baked wings it is. 375 degrees, for about 50-60 minutes. I like to season my wings with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and paprika. Paprika makes pretty much everything taste better. I tried shaking the wings with seasoned cornstarch once, hoping it'd make a crispier skin. It did not. So now I'm quite lazy about it, and simply season them on the cooking pan. When done, I toss them with wing sauce. Since I love to cook, do I make my own special top-secret-recipe wing sauce? No. No, I do not. I tried that twice and they were awful. I love Buffalo Wild Wings' sauces- the Spicy Garlic and the Medium are both quite tasty. Neither can be called healthy foods, but I'm not eating them all that often. I also don't seem to react allergically to the yucky soybean oil in them, which is nice.

So, all coated up in spicy soy... the wing-off begins. 6 wings apiece, the rest stay in a low oven to stay warm. Bang a gong, it is ON! Oh... in case anyone wants to know who my challenger is...

... a hungry, growing 11-year-old girl. Could there be anything more frightening?

The first batch of wings were tossed with Spicy Garlic... and went down very quickly. Although we set it up not as a sprint, but as a marathon. It was to be decided wing-for-wing, not timed. We still ate quickly. They were tasty, and we were excited.

Round 2 was tossed with Medium, which is supposed to be less-spicy than the Spicy Garlic. My competitor and I vehemently disagree. The blisters on my tongue stand as proof.

By the third round our mouths were on fire. I tossed the wings with as little sauce as I could get by with, but it was still too much. Here I show my margin of victory:

Two half-wings. Final count was 18 to 17. I credit my victory simply to the fact that I've had a lot of painful things happen in my life, so I have experience. LOL

Ah, the carnage. So many wings went down in so little time. Now we just have to relax, watch the game, and try to digest. Well... and try not to think about what that spicy sauce will do to us on it's way out....

Putting kids in a box

2010-01-17T16:28:00.003-06:00

Today's rant isn't about food. Sorry. I flipped casually through the coupons this morning and didn't manage to get mad about anything. Perhaps I was distracted. Perhaps the coupons were more boring than normal. I do have a couple of weeks of backlogged rantiness hanging around here, cluttering up the table, but I honestly might never get to it.

Today's rant is about Toys R Us, and their rampant sexism. I had to go shopping today... my first non-doctor-related outing since the baby was born. My older son's birthday is coming up, and I didn't feel like clicking around Amazon. I wanted to see things in person. So there I was, with my list of ideas I'd come up with, plus ideas he'd come up with. And I noticed for the first time that they (the store) had made official something I'd jokingly referred to for years... the "pink aisle" was now truly pink. I had reserved that term for the Barbie aisles, usually, but it could be used to describe any of the very typically-girly zones of the toy department. I have a daughter, but she was rarely interested in the items in the pink aisle. I suppose she played outside the box. When she was three her favorite take-wherever-we're-going items were plastic snakes, Buzz Lightyear, and fuzzy stuffed snakes. No dolls. She eventually went nuts for Polly Pocket and then My Little Ponies, but that was the extent of it.

I said I was shopping today for my son, though. So why was I in a pink aisle? Why did I notice that the end caps of the aisles literally spell it out in painful sexist detail now? ("boys" and "girls" as if the blue and pink weren't enough.)

Because my son wanted a toy coffeemaker for his restaurant. Last year I bought him the un-pinkest play kitchen I could find, because he loves to cook. He prefers real cooking, and would almost certainly prefer a real coffeemaker, but sometimes a mom has to insist on harder-to-break plastic. So I had to shop a pink aisle for him, and hope he doesn't mind a glittery purple coffeemaker. He probably won't. He luckily has no idea whatsoever that he's supposed to like certain things and not others. He has all the "right" boy toys- sturdy metal Tonka truck, balls, Indiana Jones play set, Star Wars blasters, football helmet, and Duplos. But he also has a little shopping bag, play food, his own apron (another thing that was hard to find in not-pink), and this Christmas he asked for and got a Littlest Pet Shop adoption center. It's pink. With frilly bits and flowers. He loves it, no matter what Toys R Us thinks.

How dare they compartmentalize our children? There's already enough societal bias and strong messages about what's "right" to play with, without them being so damn blatant about it. Ads with girls playing with dolls and boys playing with trucks make it very clear what Everyone thinks about things. We don't need to smack our kids in the face with it. My son can read already, and if I took him to Toys R Us, I'm not sure what he'd think about those labels. On the one hand, he's a strongly-opinionated boy, secure in his rightness... so he may just think they're wrong and move on. On the other hand, he very much likes to learn how the world works, what the rules are... so I can easily see him boxing away his own interests just to match what some stupid corporation thinks he should or shouldn't enjoy.

I find it very ironic that cooking is a pink aisle thing, anyway, considering the rampant sexism that still exists in the male-dominated world of professional chefs. Gah!

I'm not sure what to DO about this. If I were a more organized woman, I might try to organize a boycott or some such thing. But I honestly have no idea how long they've had those infuriating labels up. Possibly years. I don't go to Toys R Us much.

I just know that they really pissed me off. How dare they tell my children what to play with? How to correctly have fun? My kids get to be whoever the hell they want to be.

Oh, my daughter was with me today, and nicely asked for a little play set with a horse, some accessories, and a little girl. I was surprised with her choice and tried to talk her out of it... she never picks toys with people in them. She agreed that she usually doesn't, and said her room currently has a "shortage of humans." I laughed at the funny way she'd said it... and then really laughed when my darling daughter further explained why she wanted the little girl in the play set. Food. For the wild creatures the inhabit my daughter's playtime. A feeder human!! So, my girl has finally found a use for little dolls... ha ha ha!

Pot Roast

2010-01-04T18:06:00.002-06:00

I know I didn't post a coupon rant yesterday... believe me, there's a good one in the works, whenever I get the chance to sit, type, and think all at the same time. See... I had a baby on Wednesday, so I'm a bit busy. :-)

I did, however, stubbornly cook dinner tonight. Just couldn't help myself. It wasn't exactly strenuous. I made pot roast, and it smells divine. Stuck some potatoes alongside for a nice slow bake and I'll probably end up delegating the grilling of a couple of cheese sandwiches for the kids, since they tend to think pot roast is TOO tender and therefore poisonous.

And sorry, no pic... the camera is full of baby pictures.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

2009-12-27T13:11:00.002-06:00

That's military-speak for WTF, which I'm sure you all are familiar with.

I think it should be the new name for my "coupon rant." Because it is more inclusive. And while I'm ranting off and throwing tantrums about stupid things, I definitely want to be inclusive.

I was already in a mood this morning, for reasons I won't get into here. Add to that my favorite NFL team deciding to not attend the game today (apparently), and I was primed for my rather-late glance through the paper.

I found a couple of things to rant about in the one, lonely coupon insert, but they were fairly ho-hum. I was spared from mediocrity, however, by the TV.

Have you seen the new Hershey's commercials? Where people pop out of a glob of waxy brown goo (oh, I'm sorry, it's called chocolate) and grab each other's hands in a soul-warming round-the-choco-globe display of We Are The World-style peace and joy? Yeah. And the voiceover says idiotic things, basically claiming that eating a Hershey bar will give you friends, happiness, togetherness, and possibly world peace.

Folks, I've yelled it before and I'll yell it again... in the broadest interpretation of the word, Hershey's is food. It is not a magic life-fixing elixir. It is not a foil-wrapped solution to any of your problems. It is not a logo-imprinted bar of good emotions. It is candy. (Not even good candy, at that!) Eating a Hershey's bar will not make you happy, even if you share it with your best friend. Any emotions you experience while doing so are a result of your own good will... the act of sharing, not the magic of the thing being shared. Eating a Hershey's bar will not give you a happy family, will not fill their hearts with happy memories of time spent together, and will not bring about world peace. Especially since most mass-market chocolate relies on slavery and bloodshed.

Food is very important, and nourishing food can certainly improve your overall moods, simply because you'll feel better physically. It's really hard to be chipper and helpful when you're nauseous and exhausted... which is exactly how I'd feel if I were to eat a damn Hershey's bar. But if you turn to food for emotional/mental support for the things that are wrong in your life... you won't find happiness. Been there, done that. Discovering multiple food allergies was the best thing that ever happened to me, in that regard... because it was no longer convenient (or even possible in some cases) to use food as a balm for every wound or the center of every celebration.

The longer I spend away from much TV, the easier it is to see just how blatantly it tries to brainwash people... grrrrr....

Shoulda Woulda

2009-12-25T16:24:00.005-06:00

I should have checked my own blog to see what I did to the duck last year... if I had, I would have enjoyed said duck a lot more. Live and learn, I guess. And a wrongly-cooked duck is still a duck, and ducks are delicious. I did at least recall that last year one duck was devoured by two happy carnivores, so since my mother (The Queen) is here this year, I bought two ducks. Double ducky goodness, and double duck fat. I have no idea yet what I will be doing with all that lovely duck fat, but I'm looking forward to whatever it is.

This year I scrounged the internet for a recipe, completely ignoring all the lovely cookbooks I have on my shelves. *sigh* Found, and crazily decided to use, a very vague recipe on a message board. What can I say? Momentary insanity? The fault might not lie in the recipe, but the ducks themselves. They were half the price of last year's glorious bird... since I had to buy two, I went with the cheaper option. And boy could I tell. Tasty, but definitely not inspiring a choir of angels to sing. They sho' looked purty, though!

Our Christmas Menu:

Orange Roasted Duck
Roasted Sweet Potatoes (I didn't use the cinnamon, or the nasty cooking spray)
Garlicky green beans
Noah's Bread rolls (a great all-purpose gluten-free recipe)
Salad
Pumpkin pie with fresh whipped cream

Our Christmas Eve Tradition

2009-12-24T21:26:00.005-06:00

We really are ridiculously stubborn.

But... when you take a girl raised in Kansas and a boy raised in Kentucky and stick 'em in balmy South Carolina... they get Ideas. Like "wow it's shorts weather on Christmas Eve, let's GRILL!" And then they decide that was an awesome Idea the next year, too. And the year after that. And then they get moved back to arctic Kansas... and they rethink things (neither of us can remember what on earth we had for Christmas Eve Dinner that first, frozen year. We were in shock.) We may have grilled the year after that, as the house we were in had windbreaks on three sides of the grilling area...

Anyway. Point is... we've been in South Texas for three Christmas Eves now. December is often when we get really smug about living in South Texas. Because of days like yesterday, when it was sunny and 72. So, naturally, grilled steaks were back on the menu, we were back to our Christmas Eve Tradition (we've done it enough times now, it counts as a Tradition.)

But today was not sunny, nor was it 72.

Today was 40-something, with howling winds that threatened to teach our gazebo how to fly.

Not good grilling weather.

As I said... we're stubborn. The Little Guy shrieked into the wind and ran around the yard, playing football, while the Grill Geek... er... grilled. (That's why I call him that.) I was warm and cozy inside.

So the pic is the Grill Geek's plate... as my steak had already been commandeered by the now-very-hungry Little Guy, and wasn't photo-worthy.

A festivus for the rest of us

2009-12-23T19:19:00.003-06:00

We like to celebrate Festivus. Partly because we have, in years past, tried to celebrate every single holiday occurring in December, and partly because my husband feels some sort of affinity for the day. We don't yet have our own Festivus Pole, but we're hoping to get one soon. Beyond the official rites of Festivus, there is also a meal to be shared. No one is real sure what the traditional Festivus Feast includes... we can only guess by what was shown on the table in the Seinfeld episode. Many have concluded that it doesn't really matter specifically what is eaten, but that "comfort food" prevails. So, tonight we had comfort food... things the Grill Geek prefers, because it's his holiday.

Our Festivus Menu:

Good Eats Meatloaf (basically... I never actually follow recipes)
Annie's Gluten-free Mac & Cheese (two boxes for the three piggy cheese-lovers)
Mashed potatoes
Braised beet greens

We would have had dessert, as we normally do for special occasions, but... since it was the Grill Geek's holiday, and his sweet tooth only pops up for cheesecake (which I can't have and therefore won't make)... we went without. Probably best, since there were two diabetics present.

After dinner we aired our grievances, but in a funny way, and decided it was probably best to skip the Feats of Strength this year.

2009-12-22T10:05:00.004-06:00

I know this blog is about what I would eat, but I felt inspired this morning to list the things my kids won't eat. Mainly, I want to commiserate with the mothers (and fathers) of other, erm... selective children. And let me state that I know that being a bit choosy about food is actually an extension of a natural, biological, evolutionarily-protective instinct. And I've had the joy of watching my daughter "grow out of it" a bit. So I have faith that my son will as well. But it can still be grating when a foodie like me wants to make a feast and has to think up something for the kids to eat.

Things My Son Thinks Are Poison:

Salad
Meat with sauce (recently had some awesome brisket, but it was slow cooked in sauce...) this includes chili, but somehow does not include taco meat
Citrus of any kind
Mashed potatoes
Chicken nuggets
Hot cereal
Muffins
Fish
Soup
Food with "dots" (I kid you not... if yogurt has the fruit's abominable seeds in it, no go)
Pretty much all candy except tootsie rolls, Snickers, and gum

Things My Son Will Eat His Own Body Weight In:

Meat: sausage, beef, chicken, pork
Green beans off my plate
Rice pasta, especially leftover, cold, from the fridge
Mac & cheese (from a box, ugh!)
Rice
Bananas
Cheese
Chocolate milk
Raw beef
Bologna
Carrots and celery dipped in mayonnaise
Nut crackers
Toast with almond butter
Whipped cream
Chips with guacamole
Pistachios

Things My Daughter Won't Touch:

Cold meat
Mashed potatoes
Chicken nuggets
Hot cereal
Fish
Any chicken except Buffalo wings
Pork
Soda
Most French fries
Soup

Things My Daughter Will Eat Her Own Body Weight In:

Double cheeseburgers the size of her head
Pasta
Rice
Salad
Berries
Mac & cheese
Grilled cheese sandwiches
Buffalo wings
Sliced & fried polska kielbasa
Very well-done steak (shudder, it's cruel to do that to a steak!)
Biscuits/rolls/breadsticks
Yogurt
Dill pickles
Shredded cheese (why? what makes shredded taste better?)
Cold cereal (ugh)
Whipped cream
Candy
Pistachios

No coupons?

2009-12-20T09:22:00.003-06:00

I get all ready to make my bloggy comeback, and there are no coupons? What is wrong with this world? C'mon... kill ten thousand trees to print up toxicly-inked incitements that convince me I am an inferior mother because I don't gas my kids with Lysol when they come in from playing in dirt. (Dirt... ew... it's so... dirty.) Is this a Christmas reprieve for my ego? Will they recommence the assault on my sanity on the 27th? Or wait until the new year? Let us not forget that we will need to be bombarded with reminders that it's time to make our New Year's Resolutions. If we somehow weren't reminded, we might not only forget that it was a new year, but also forget that it's time for our annual self-loathing to begin and self-punishment to ensue. So, I certainly hope they don't leave us hanging for long. If the coupons don't return on the 27th, we'll be 3 whole days into the new year before we have our bright, colorful, low-fat instructions.

I do think they need to figure out just exactly what they want us to do. They seem to give mixed messages. On the one hand, we've all learned from commercials and coupons and print ads that fresh baked cookies = love. If I don't have a plateful of sugar for my children on a regular basis, they will grow up believing their mother didn't love them. They make it perfectly clear. And holidays will be remembered with tears in therapy if I don't include lots of rolls from a tubular can. But then they also want us to all lose weight. You can't have it both ways! I can either love my family or have them be thin. And I absolutely cannot love them at all unless I've been pampering myself properly. That requires layers of body products that mostly smell like all the food I'm not allowed to eat. Vanilla volumizing shampoo, chocolate mint intensive conditioner, berries-and-cream anti-wrinkle moisturizer, probably some sort of grape-extract eye-lifter or whatever other goop a dutifully-young-looking mother ought to use.

But if I did all that, there's always the risk that my poor starved children would eat me.

I'd better start baking some cookies.

Commercial Rant

2009-12-13T17:08:00.005-06:00

It's like my good ol' Coupon Rant, but... minus the coupons. Just a different marketing angle. Let me start by pointing out the obvious... if your "food" requires marketing, it's probably not really food. If you have to be talked into eating something, because your natural instincts would not lead you to recognize it as sustenance... it's probably not real food. And if marketing gurus are buying their third Lexus from the money they earned to convince you (and thousands of others) to eat said... thing... I can guaran-damn-tee it isn't food.

Ok, so what got my knickers in a twist today? Dominos Pizza. What a shock. I hold a big grudge against pizza in general, but only because I can't have any. It is not inherently evil... but even if I made my own gluten-free crust, I'd have to sub the cheese with something, and well... after you've made so many changes to something, you can't really call it "pizza" anymore. It'd be bruschetta with sausage, perhaps, but not pizza. Anyway, the commercial I saw today, while sitting on my butt, being a proper American couch potato watching football, had my mouth literally hanging open. Once I resumed breathing, the rant began.

The commercial in question showed a busy Dominos location, phones ringing constantly, with a manager-type explaining that with the price so low for such a delicious lunch, the only bad thing they had to say was... they were imposing a limit of 256 per household per day. Then they showed the customers hauling away stacked boxes of pizza in every way imaginable, including an irate mom who had brought a semi and was mad about the daily limit.

Yeah.

And not one of them was fat.

While I hate to go along with media hype in any way... (even so much as to keep my mouth shut about my bout with H1N1 because I don't like feeding the hysteria), we are in the midst of a huge problem with our huge butts. Worst of all, our kids are getting fat. And no, I am not prejudiced against fatness. I *am* however concerned about the illnesses that go with it, or more likely cause it, and all of it stems from eating absolute CRAP like Dominos pizza. The government even recommends that we all make sure to get plenty of grains and carbohydrates every day, despite the fact that it has been PROVEN that more than 150 grams of carbs per day cause illness. And there are a lot of carbs in pizza, especially in the ridiculous quantity most people serve themselves.

Oh, I know, Dominos still needs to make their profit... I wouldn't want the poor dears to have a bad fiscal year and then fire all those poor delivery boys. We *need* people to gorge on pizza, for the sake of the economy. Or some shit like that. Just think how many jobs we can create when we get sick!! Diabetes employs so many... lab techs to take your blood, machinists in the factories that make glucometers, pharmacists, doctors, nurses, eventually surgeons... and then of course all the marketing gurus to design and sell you sugar-free, fat-free phood.

Maybe Dominos will come out with a fat-free pizza. Wonder what that would be made out of?

I bow to The Big Easy

2009-02-24T19:59:00.008-06:00

A good friend of mine tried her best to talk me into driving to New Orleans for Mardi Gras revelry this last weekend. I nobly resisted. I always cook my own Fat Tuesday feast, thank you very much... while listening to a mish mash of Zydeco and Cajun-inspired music. Sure, it's not as festive, and some year I hope to cross "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" off my Life List. But for now, I'll enjoy the fresh air and lack of half-naked crowds at home.

Well tonight's recipe was a flop. A failure. An epic fail. I recently stumbled across a new recipe website, I think on the recommendation of the magazine that sponsors it being one that encourages real food, not necessarily fast or easy food. I fell in love the moment I learned that a recent edition focused on either butter or bacon (I forget which). I've been visiting daily and printing off reams of delicious-sounding recipes. One of those recipes was for Grillades and Cremini Grits. I originally did not plan to serve this recipe for Mardi Gras. While not generally a creature of habit, I have spent the last 5 or 6 Mardi Gras making jambalaya or gumbo, either way involving a lot of sausage, shrimp, and/or chicken. Not grillades. And I know that grillades are generally a breakfast/brunch dish. Not dinner. As life happened, though, I didn't get to make them on their appointed night, so thought "well, hey, it'll work just fine for Mardi Gras."

No.

Do not listen to those sorts of voices. Do not break from tradition. The gods of Mardi Gras were not pleased.

My first clue (other than trying to plan something not based on shrimp) should have been how different this recipe is from every other stinking recipe for grillades.

No one else uses an entire bottle of wine.

And now I know why. That's a lot of wine. And I like wine. But when it concentrates down that much... if it is not a very fine bottle, if you somehow follow the rule to only cook with wines you would drink, but apparently aren't selective enough about drinking wines... you end up with a final dish that tastes like tart wine. With onions. No beef flavor to speak of. Just bite after bite of wine. Blech.

The grits part didn't work out, either. Apparently the milk in the recipe serves a higher function than liquid and flavor. Maybe it's a custard-type thing. I subbed half chicken broth and half fancy-shmancy mushroom broth ("oooh, ahhh...") and ended up with runny grits. Harrumph. I'm hoping the leftovers will be good.

One good thing did come out of the grillades recipe.

I used half sorghum and half generic-gluten-free-white-flour-blend to coat the round steak, and it worked really well. It browned nicely and thickened the sauce very well.

So next year you can bet your sweet bippy I will be making jambalaya or gumbo. With sausage, shrimp, and/or chicken. Branching out isn't worth the risk. And next time I make grillades (yeah, there might be a next time, I'll try anything twice) I will stick to a recipe from Nawlins itself. Fancy-shmancy gourmet magazines don't know what they're talking about!

I heart raw fish!

2009-02-22T17:44:00.005-06:00

Tonight's dinner seems like an episode of Connections. We start with my weekly delivery of fresh, locally-grown produce (and meat, dairy, gluten-free bread products) from Greenling. Oh, how I love the adventure of cooking whatever Mother Nature has seen fit to provide! This week included yet another massive bunch of cilantro. I know cilantro can be a very hot topic. But I am in the "love it" camp for this particular herb, so I like getting these big bunches. What I don't like is the guilt I feel when most of a bunch goes wilty (or worse yet, gooey) due to me not getting around to using it. I hate it when that happens with any of the lovely produce the farmers worked so hard to grow. Cilantro is very moody and can be hard to keep fresh for more than a few days. So, I resolved to make salsa. I googled around, but wasn't inspired, so I reached for my trusty Mexican Everyday cookbook, by Rick Bayless (if you're going to cook Mexican, get a Rick Bayless book!) I love this cookbook... for it's simplicity, ease of use, friendly voice, and especially for the amazingly sound advice for life in general that he gives in the introduction. Truly awesome. So, I was going to use his Chunky Fresh Salsa recipe, but I failed to pay attention and make a good list before going to the grocery store. I had no green onions. Would a regular onion work? And would it be too spicy for me? The older I get, the more of a gringa I become. That's when I remembered my Gringo's Guide cookbook... with handy flame ratings for each recipe. So, I flipped through and none of the recipes were quite right. I liked the sound of one that included cucumber, which I just happened to have (I know, I know, not seasonal at all!) But the book said it was best with seafood... and I was planning Grillades and Grits for dinner. Although my foot has been hurting from a freak soccer-with-4-year-old accident, so I really wasn't in the mood for an involved dinner. Last night I made a double batch of very-involved ragu, which fed us and the freezer quite nicely, but... left me rather TIRED. And casting evil glances at my kitchen in general. I've had enough chopping, stirring, and endless cleaning-up for a few days. And I love cooking, so that's saying something.

Ok. What can I thaw quickly (not using the microwave) that would maybe somehow go well with the salsa that I felt forced into making?

Fish. Specifically, halibut pieces from Vital Choice. Tasty for fish tacos, but my kids don't like fish... and I have a LOT of citrus on hand right now, thanks to Greenling... how about ceviche? I can make rice (with chicken broth to boost the nutrition) and we can either put our fishy goodness (plus some extra salsa) over rice, or maybe scoop it up with nacho chips (it's not as crazy as it might sound... the very popular Elise recommends it here.) And we can munch on chips and my fresh, homemade salsa while the ceviche... ceviches.

So, yeah... tonight's lovely and delicious dinner was brought to me by the letter C, for cilantro, and the number... bunch. Oh, come on, bunch is a number! And we'll be having those grillades and grits for Mardi Gras... hope to post about it!

Brats!

2009-02-04T20:05:00.005-06:00

No, I'm not talking about the children, I would never call them that.* I'm talking about dinner! Delicious, humongous bratwursts from U.S. Wellness Meats, to be exact.
I was really tired tonight, after a long afternoon at our weekly homeschool park day, so I made the Grill Geek ply his trade for dinner. I chopped up some veggies for Sidedish (this time it was red potatoes, a small sweet potato, a lot of mushrooms, and half a red onion) and he did all the rest. A large scoop of real sauerkraut (with all it's lovely probiotics intact) and a dollop of coarse mustard were all that was needed to complete the meal.

Now, those brats probably look pretty big to you... and you're probably sitting there thinking "how on earth could she eat TWO of those things? She must be a pig!" Well, first of all, Smarty Pants, pigs don't eat pig, and these were pork brats. So. There you go. And secondly... I was really darn hungry after a light pre-park lunch and no snacks. And third... well... see for yourself.

I didn't eat all of it. Almost. But not quite.

* I prefer to refer to them as pirates, or perhaps "scallywags" on a bad day.

Superfood

2009-02-01T21:50:00.008-06:00

Since everyone does it, I did too.
Way too much food, all of which can be eaten with one's fingers, lots of grease, and plenty of spice.

Superbowl food.

First Half:
Steak Bites (I deglazed my pan with a glug of beer)
Guacamole and chips
Bacon-wrapped grilled leeks
Garlic-bacon potato skins

Second Half:
Italian Drumettes (I used the Ro-Tel tomatoes with chiles, to add a kick)
Veggies and dip

It was a little bit tricky timing it all so that I could actually watch the game (strange, football-loving woman that I am,) but it worked out pretty well. And with food for both halves, we were able to munch without stuffing ourselves.

Salty talk

2009-01-29T08:29:00.006-06:00

I'm so glad that New York is the center of the universe and that its mayor has become the benevolent dictator of us all.

Having solved all the other problems, from homelessness to cancer, Mayor Bloomberg is now waging a war on salt.

WTF?!

Yes, my knickers are in a twist over this one. I realize that high levels of sodium can sometimes raise blood pressure in susceptible individuals. But it is NOT the demon it has been made out to be. (Imagine that, me disagreeing with a commonly-held belief about nutrition!) Real salt, whole salt, with all the myriad trace minerals in it, is a wonderfully healthy addition to the diet. But I doubt Mayor "God" Bloomberg knows that. I doubt his edict takes that into account.

To take it even further, salt can be much more than just a health-neutral flavor-enhancer. It is an important medicine for me. That's right, I said medicine (great, now the FDA will be breaking down my door to confiscate my salt shaker.) A year ago I was diagnosed with adrenal fatigue. Too much stress, too much coffee and sugar, too many allergies... yeah, I was really sick. This post isn't about adrenal issues, so I won't go into detail on that, but there is a lot of information that suggests that salt is vitally important for the adrenal glands. Yes, it's a much-needed nutrient. Common advice for people with adrenal glad problems is to start their morning with 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of good, natural, mineral-rich sea salt in a glass of water. I didn't want to taste that, so instead I put a little bit in every glass of water I drink throughout the day. The results were astounding. I instantly had more energy, more clarity of thought, and better moods. From salt. I realize this is simply anecdotal, not science... a sample size of one doesn't prove anything. But there are many more "ones" out there if you google around.

And since when has it been the government's job to protect us from salt? Protect us from brazenly unsafe food... rotten meat being chemically treated and put into sausage... milk being watered down and fortified with nasty additives... produce being sprayed with toxic chemicals to keep it "fresh" (oh, wait, the government is in favor of that one... hmmm...) but that is the limit. I am a grown woman. I decide what goes in my mouth. I do not want a babysitter and I will not tolerate someone forcing their inaccurate opinions about health down my throat!

Bloomberg also took on public smoking and trans fats... and I have mixed feelings about that. Both are unhealthy... true. But who's job is it to decide?

And the part that really scares me is at the end of the article... maybe I'm reading too much into it, but maybe I'm not.

"Thomas Frieden, the city's health commissioner, said he wants manufacturers and restaurants to join the war on salt voluntarily. If they don't, the city could pass legislation making it the law."

Let me get this straight... if I'm a restaurant my choices are to voluntarily reduce the salt in my menu offerings or... be forced to reduce the salt in my menu offerings. Hmmm... that's not really a choice. Why even use the word "voluntarily?" What a threat! "Do what we want or we'll make you do what we want." Has the government of New York City always used knee-capping tactics and I just haven't noticed?

I wonder what's next on Emperor Bloomberg's list of personal causes? It had better not be butter, or else he really will find himself at war.

Kung Hei Fat Choi

2009-01-26T19:34:00.007-06:00

What could this possibly portend? (Other than the fact that I'm probably PMS-ing...)

Chinese New Year. We like to celebrate it because it's another chance at a new start. Plus, it's an excuse to make something deliciously Asian other than stir-fry. A reason to stretch past our usual culinary comfort zones.

And this year we had the benefit of a guest, my mother. It's amazing what one more dinner plate can do for a menu. Normally I have to cut out many things I'd love to make, because there aren't enough people to eat all that food.

So, to summarize, I was extra excited about this holiday. And all that extra enthusiasm translated into extra disaster. Especially with the aforementioned PMS. (I didn't know I was under it's cloud until the kitchen catastrophes started piling up and I overreacted like a hormonal teenage Scorpio.*)

My biggest mistake was probably not taking the time to write out an Order of Events. I'm a listmaker. I dig lists. I like planning and had plenty of time to do it before dinnertime. My comfort zone generally is to have just one Major Headache recipe involved in a meal. By that I mean something fussy and/or unfamiliar. This time I had two, and it ended up breaking me.

I've thought about including recipes... but I really followed the ones I googled. So, I'll simply include links.

Lion's Head Meatballs
Vietnamese Spring Rolls (with instructions on how to roll here)
Noodles (mainly for the sake of our rather finicky daughter, but they ended up working well)

Everything was humming along very nicely. I actually consciously thought to myself several times how wonderfully it was all going. I got started prepping things early. I noticed... actually noticed that I was in a really good mood. Not feeling stressed like I usually do before special "feasts." Yeah. That should have scared me. Next time I'll know.

Countdown of Catastrophes:

1) My new timer just didn't work. I set it for 16 minutes, for the rice spaghetti. Who-knows-how-many minutes later, I glanced at it to check how much time I had left. It was off. That's really what started everything falling apart.
2) The pan I'd gotten out to soak my spring roll wrappers in was too small. But I tried to stick with it anyway.
3) Rolling spring rolls is really, really hard. Especially if you have no idea what you're doing. They are sticky. And hard to roll tightly. And I had no idea what to try different. My brain actually snapped while rolling the fourth one. I felt it snap. I lost all grip. It was rather scary.
4) I checked my lion meatballs and it looked distinctly like my greens were not cooking fast enough. Oh, goody! I love it when the main course is late!
5) I suddenly realized I had made an entire package of noodles, instead of just what my daughter would want to eat, and had no idea what to DO with them to make them... Asiany.
6) I suddenly realized I was almost out of time and hadn't bothered to make any sort of dipping sauce for the spring rolls.
7) I suddenly realized I wanted to throw the spring rolls against a wall, to see if they'd stick.
8) The timer (that I'd reset for a guessed amount of time) went off for the pasta. Oh, goody, nothing else was done yet... the noodles will get cold and everyone hates cold noodles!
9) Crap, I hadn't stirred the noodles enough and some had clumped together. Everyone hates clumpy noodles!
10) In my rush to get the spring rolls ready, I used my Silpat as a cutting board... because my cutting board was full... and completely f-ing killed it.

Wow. I need another piece of chocolate, just from recounting all of that. Whew. And they say that whatever happens on New Year's Day (regular or Chinese) is auspicious for the year to come. Yikes!

So, in the end... it was all pretty tasty and not deserving of all the drama. I served the Lion's Head Meatballs on the noodles, instead of on the greens. I'd made 8 meatballs instead of 4, since 8 is a luckier number for the new year. So, instead of looking like lion's heads, it looked like eyeballs. I wonder if that's considered lucky?

*Apology to any Scorpios... but really... you've gotta remember what you were like. I've got a 10-year-old Scorp just beginning her journey into painful irrationality... I think I know of what I speak.

Iron Chef Duet!

2009-01-14T19:49:00.013-06:00

It has been ages, felt like eons, indeed so much time has passed that it almost faded into legend... but Iron Chef Mom and Iron Chef Grill have returned! (Huzzah! The villagers rejoice!)

Now that my mom is living nearby, we have an additional source for Secret Ingredient inspiration. So tonight, for the first time, the two Iron Chefs teamed up for a historical battle against... well... no one, really. Perhaps it was against the Secret Ingredient itself. For tonight's was truly unique. Not a usual part of the American diet, although it certainly should be. Tonight's ingredient was... chicken livers. Nutrient-dense and incredibly inexpensive, liver of all sorts should be restored to it's once-a-week spot on the menu.

We decided to go with a vaguely Cuban theme for the meal.

The menu:

Grilled skewers with veggies and bacon-wrapped chicken livers
Grilled green beans
Fried chicken livers with onions on herbed, buttered white rice and braised greens
Grilled Orange Bananas Dean (an Iron Chef Grill original)
The wine: MiBal Tinto 2006 Ribera del Duero, 100% Tempranillo

The skewers
Cherry tomatoes
Chopped green peppers
Marinated halved button mushrooms (marinated in Worcestershire sauce),
Bacon-wrapped chicken livers

The chicken livers were marinated in this:

1/2 cup soy sauce (tamari in this case)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp ground ginger
a few dashes salt and pepper

The green beans were tossed with olive oil and salt, then grilled.

The fried chicken livers followed, somewhat, the Julia Child recipe from The Way to Cook. I breaded with half cornmeal, after seeing that in a few online recipes, and hoping it would help them be more crisp. It didn't work. But, here's what I did:

About 1 pound of chicken livers, trimmed and cut into bite-sized pieces
Salt and freshly-ground pepper
1/4 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup white rice flour
several shakes each: chili powder, regular paprika, sweet paprika
3 tablespoons duck fat (leftover from our Christmas duck)
1/2 cup gently browned onions (recipe to follow)
1/4 cup dry vermouth
1/3 cup chicken stock

Season the chicken livers with salt and pepper, then dredge in mixture of flour, cornmeal, and seasonings. Fry in duck fat over medium-high heat, a couple minutes per side. Top the liver with the browned onions, pour in the stock and vermouth, raise the heat, and boil rapidly, basting the liver with the sauce. Scoop liver over herbed rice (recipe to follow) and garnish with parsley, if desired.

Browned Onions

Slowly saute 3 cups sliced onions in 2-3 tablespoons of butter, in a covered pan, stirring frequently, until the onions are very tender- 15 minutes or so. Uncover the pan, salt lightly, raise the heat to moderately high, and let the onions brown nicely, stirring frequently- 5 minutes or so. Can be made ahead of time.

Herbed Rice

Stir herbed butter (or butter and fresh oregano, parsley, and/or sage) into prepared rice, about 1 tablespoon butter per cup of rice. For this dish, make a ring of rice on a platter, place braised greens in the middle, and top with the fried chicken livers and onions, including the pan sauce. Garnish with parsley.

Grilled Orange Bananas Dean
(as opposed to Bananas Foster, where all the booze is cooked off...)

The booze is NOT cooked off here, and is quite tasty. The original recipe can be found here, but this time he used Amaretto for half the liquor, and I really like the change.

The Judge, my mama, really liked it all. She preferred the fried chicken livers... as did the Grill Geek. I was really surprised to like both (I'd never had chicken liver before.) The flavor of the bacon-wrapped was awesome, but the texture of the fried was better. I'm hoping to have them again soon, but in a marinara sauce. We didn't get done in an hour (it's amazing how fast that first 30 minutes goes!) but we all declared it a "win" anyway.

More raw fish!

2008-12-29T20:07:00.009-06:00

Not sure why, but I seem to enjoy repeating themes.

The sushi the other night was faboo... so I immediately put ceviche on the menu. I buy our fish from Vital Choice whenever I can, so it is all good quality and worthy of eating raw. Ceviche gives it a cooked texture, but really it is still raw, and therefore still full of all it's goodies... enzymes, delicate vitamins, probably flavanoids and such. Good stuff.

Plus it's easy.

I realize it's not quite ceviche weather where most of y'all are... but today was sunny and fairly warm, so I wanted something summery.

This time I used a recipe from Rick Bayless' Mexican Everyday. I absolutely LOVE this book, by the way (please notice I did not call it a cookbook, because although it clearly is such, it's the other stuff in it that I love with a passion. Someday I hope to meet Rick in person and thank him for being so cool.) This recipe was Ceviche Salad with Avocado, Cilantro, and Green Chile. Please notice that I said "was." Because, I am who I am, and I am psychopathically incapable of following a recipe. :-)

First of all, I used an unapproved fish. Halibut. Vital Choice has a pretty good deal on random bits of halibut, which if you sift through and cut up the bigger bits, work really well for stir fries or ceviche. Next, I used more garlic than he calls for, and honestly didn't even notice it in the final product. I also didn't have a ripe avocado available... 2 hours in a paper bag with a banana just wasn't enough for the softest rock the grocery had available. I really missed the avocado. And finally, I had the Grill Geek do up some bacon-greased sliced onions and bell pepper, as well as add a bit of char to a stack of corn tortillas. We ate our ceviche like fish tacos.

Bekki's Nummalicious Easy Ceviche

1 cup fresh lime juice (oops, another change... I used lemon, orange, and lime)
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 loose cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1 fresh jalapeno, stemmed and roughly chopped
2 generous pinches of salt
About 1 pound high-quality, sushi-grade fish: salmon, tuna, snapper (or halibut!)

Suggested:
1 ripe avocado, cubed
1 large head Boston, Bibb, or Romaine lettuce, chopped
1 sliced onion, grilled
1 sliced red bell pepper, grilled
1 or 2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
Grilled corn tortillas

Use a blender or food processor to whiz up the juice, garlic, cilantro, jalapeno, and salt until smooth. Pour over the fish (in bite-size pieces), in a non-metal bowl, and refrigerate for 1-4 hours.
Pour off the marinade, and save for ceviching something else!
Toss the lettuce with a bit of rice vinegar and olive oil, and salt to taste.

Stuff corn tortillas with all the goodies and make lots of happy noises while eating.

Sushi

2008-12-26T22:04:00.008-06:00

Again.

I guess we like it. :-)

Tonight's sushi was for our seventh wedding anniversary. Seven years. Wow.

Our first anniversary was celebrated at a Joe's Crab Shack in Lexington, Kentucky. Our second, third, and fourth (I think) were at a restaurant called Thai Lotus, which also offered sushi. We honestly can't recall how we spent our fifth or sixth... there was a lot going on those years. But this year we ate fabulous food and spent the evening chatting out in our gazebo in the warm, humid air.

The food was all fabulous, too. Even the salad... which was our nod to the old Iron Chef, for it's apparent oddness. It really was quite tasty.

Sea Garden Squid Appetizer Salad A small serving of mixed seaweed and Squid prepared with sesame oil

Salmon Musubi Sushi rice mixed with Grilled Smoked Salmon, shaped like a triangle,lightly baked with a touch of Sesame Oil.

Nigiri-Zushi Yellowtail (Hamachi)

Sashimi Tuna (Maguro)

Sashimi Salmon (Shake)

Maki-Zushi House Specials:

Summer Roll Tuna, Salmon, Yellow Tail and Avocado. Rolled with Nori on the outside and topped with Ikura Salmon Caviar

Crunchy Salmon Skin Roll Crunchy salmon skin, pickled burdock, cucumber, and kaiware sprouts, rolled urimaki-style

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T19:31:00.005-06:00

Ah, the holidays... that time of year when I cook feast after Feaste... and frankly, finally, get really tired of cooking. Almost unbelievable. Because I love to cook. Partly because I love to eat, and partly because... I actually enjoy the chopping, stirring, making-changes-on-the-fly... the whole thing.
And for personal reasons it has been a bit of a bah-humbug kind of season.

But this meal, this feast, was my redemption. Have you ever had a meal that felt... like a turning point? I swear I almost saw the clouds part and the sunbeam shine down in all it's blinding glory. I almost heard the choir of angels singing "Aaaaaaahhhhh!" This meal was a great big sigh of relief. A reset button.

A feast.

I am sorry I didn't take more pictures. I didn't expect to finally be inspired to blog again.

Duck. For a Midwestern girl like me, duck was completely foreign. I remember cooking my first duck just a few years ago. It still feels unfamiliar to me, but after tonight's duck, I have a hunger to get on first-name terms with this lovely creature. It's all dark meat. Did you know that? Even after eating two other ducks in my life, I did not. Somehow I missed that. Maybe because my other ducks were from the commissary... and less than half the price of tonight's duck. I wonder now if they were even the same species.

Anyway, the luscious duck was prepared using a very simple recipe from Cook With Jamie, (by cutie-pie Jamie Oliver) one of my favorite and horribly under-used cookbooks. Rub duck with salt (possibly crushed with fresh sage, but I can't find my mortar and pestle), stick a quartered orange up it's backside, and roast at 350 for about 2 hours. Flip it a couple of times, and make sure to drain off (and SAVE) the luscious fat. I did mine on top of a bed of aromatics- celery, onion, garlic, and carrots. Deep-duck-fat-fried garlic cloves are heaven.

As a somewhat unnecessary, but delicious side, I made mashed potatoes and parsnips. Perhaps it's because I can no longer mash my potatoes with cream, but I must say... I really like mixing my potatoes halfsies with parsnips. Very tasty when mashed with copious amounts of butter. And the leftovers will go atop Shepherd's Pie.

Also on the side were Mystery Greens. I used every tool at my disposal to identify them, but I have no idea what I just ate. I got them in my weekly Greenling produce delivery... so I knew they were food. Beyond that... I think they were a member of the mustard family. Quite a bite to them, so I did a quick braise in bacon fat and the turkey stock that I happened to have simmering on the back of the stove. With a bit of vinegar, a few dashes of garlic Tobasco, and some salt... they were very tasty.

There was also a salad, which was forgotten until the end (and was surprisingly refreshing at that point) with fresh local greens and sprouts. But really, the duck stole the show. The Grill Geek and I each ate half the duck. It was a bit of work... it hadn't quite reached the tender stage, but we did not let that hold us back. We both abandoned our cutlery in carnivorous desperation. Every possible morsel was hunted down and consumed. A new craving was born in my soul at the same time that all the stresses of the holidays were greased over with lovely dark meat and duck fat.

I now need duck. Tonight's duck was not what I'd consider regularly affordable... so perhaps it's time to take up hunting? Buy a house with a pond? Learn to use a blowgun and hunt them at the city parks? I'm not sure, but I am sure that I am now deeply in duck love.

Secret Ingredient: Chicken Thighs

2008-12-04T18:12:00.009-06:00

Tonight was almost an Iron Chef night. It was nights like this that inspired me to do Iron Chef Mom... last-minute dinner ideas based on what's on hand and needs to be eaten.

We got back from our Thanksgiving trip late Sunday... and it was a doozy of a trip. Monday was spent doing mountains of laundry after spending half the day at the doctor, confirming a miscarriage. Tuesday was more laundry, and lots of cat hair removal. Apparently they molt when the humans are away. Yesterday the Grill Geek flew out to be the grand marshal of his hometown parade. To summarize, I haven't been at the top of my menu-planning game.

I grabbed several things out of the deep freeze, to keep us fed, and left it at that.

Tonight the chicken thighs were due for a turn... but I thought I wasn't in the mood to get creative. I googled recipes, and came across this one. But what to feed the child who hates chicken? Hmmm... perhaps pasta. Perhaps pasta tossed in the extra saucy bits from the chicken! Only 4 chicken thighs, but do the full recipe of sauce, so there's extra.

And maybe add half a sliced onion... red...

And maybe a few sliced mushrooms...

Cooked up in a little of that melted garlic butter.

Mmmmmm...

The picture to the right is the Fairy Child's debut into blog photography. My hands were all chickeny before I realized I wanted a picture of the veggies. So she took this shot for me!

And here it all is, before it went in the oven. I poured the saucey stuff on top... baked it at 400 degrees for 35 minutes. Probably should have done 45. Hope I don't die.

Next time I would cut the butter by half (yikes, am I really saying that?)

I cooked up some rice pasta and tossed a salad while the chicken baked. Once it was done, I poured some of the saucey stuff with some of the noodles. Next time I would toss them with about a tablespoon of soy sauce (tamari) first, so they could suck up that flavor before being coated in greasy goodness. And goodness, there was a lot of grease. That's why I recommend reducing the amount of butter. But it really needed a LOT more garlic, especially to earn the right to have "garlic" in the recipe name. Some green onions at the end would have been nice, too.

And, yeah... that was a rather epic mound of pasta. And really teeny chicken thighs.

The Meat Tree

2008-11-23T20:11:00.004-06:00

I love meat.

I generally chomp my way through life, with nary a care, eating the food that makes me feel healthy and good. Every now and then my carnivorous ways do make me feel guilty. I don't like the fact that something has to die. I will never willingly be a vegetarian, however. I need meat.

I tend to feel especially guilty when eating cute food. Cows I can generally handle... they're kinda cute, but not overwhelmingly so. Pigs ain't cute at all, once grown, but I'm told they're really smart. Rabbits... ack. I just don't enjoy rabbit. Can't forget how fuzzy-wuzzy they are. Goat is absolutely delicious, but they have such personality! And lamb... yikes. Lambs are really, really cute.

So, I've decided to believe in the Meat Tree. Acres and acres of orchards, some growing beef, some growing pork. Cute little lamb trees that flower in the spring. Yes. Meat trees make me feel much better about things.

My daughter thinks I'm ridiculous. Oh, well.

So, with that in mind, tonight's dinner (the last homemade meal for a week) was lamb burgers, fries, and some crazy thing I did with green beans and a half-ripe tomato. I think I've made lamb burgers before... but this time it worked.

A generous splash of Worcestershire, maybe about 1/4 teaspoon each of onion powder and garlic powder, perhaps a tablespoon of minced fresh oregano, a bit of salt and fresh pepper, and a pound of fresh-picked ground lamb, of course... magic.

See y'all in about a week, I'm off for a holiday road trip.

Geography

2008-11-23T08:22:00.001-06:00

Yesterday my hunk of leftover cornbread looked like South Carolina.

And that crusty bit in the middle is Columbia, where I used to live.

That is all.

Fried Green Tomatoes

2008-11-20T19:25:00.005-06:00

Not being born in the South, I had never had fried green tomatoes before. I saw the movie, but didn't really understand what the fuss was about. Unripe tomatoes? Blech. I'll pass.

But today's Greenling basket included 4 big green tomatoes. I had no idea what else to do with them. So, two of them got fried. They were one part of an absolutely over-the-top fabulous dinner, that was inspired by our need to eat up all our fresh veggies before we leave for a trip next week. Work, work, work, hee hee!

Our locavore feast included pork chops, grilled portabello mushrooms, braised greens with red onions, sweet potatoes, and the luscious fried green tomatoes. All from 'somewhere round here.'

Here's the recipe I used for the tomatoes:

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized green tomatoes sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons GF baking mix
several grinds black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup lard (even the lard was local!)
1 egg, beaten

Directions:

Sprinkle tomato slices with salt and drain on paper towels (on a wire rack) for at least half an hour, but not more than a full hour. Combine cornmeal, baking mix, and seasonings in a bowl or on a plate. Dip each tomato slice in the beaten egg, then in the cornmeal mixture. In a medium skillet, heat oil on medium high. Fry tomato slices about two minutes per side or until golden brown. Drain on a wire rack topped with fresh paper towels. Serve while hot.

They are such a delightful combination of sour, salty, crunchy, and molten tomatoey center. Quite possibly the perfect pregnancy food.

Ener-G Bread Tasting, Part 2

2008-11-20T08:40:00.006-06:00

Today's tasting was an exercise in blandness. White Rice, Light White Rice, Brown Rice, and Light Brown Rice. Meh. I arranged to try these four together, to see if any stood out against their beige cousins. The results? Kinda.

Once again, I tried to be somewhat scientific about it all. I noticed right away that the "light" breads were indeed lighter. They weighed less. Weird. I guess that's one way to save calories- make airy bread. The "light" versions had about half the calories of the regular. We'll see whether the savings is worth it...

Straight out of the package, the Light White was very dry. It required the extra chewing typical of gluten-free breads, in order to make the bite wet enough to avoid choking. But it wasn't as bad as some. The regular White was slightly sweeter, noticeably denser, but still not sammich material. (That seems to be the never-ending quest of gluten-avoiders, to find a "bread" that is usable for a real sandwich- two slices- not toasted. Something you could take to a picnic.)
The Light Brown had an odd, spongy texture, but I would consider it Sandwich Grade! In a pinch. It's still not real bread, mind you. The regular Brown had a weird taste. Sorry to be so vague... I chanced a second bite, just to try to describe it better. I couldn't. There was just something unpleasant... sweet but oily. I don't mind grease, as any reader of my blog would know. But this was... just wrong. Blech.

So, the next step was toasting. Oddly, the Light Brown got overtoasted, despite sitting right next to the other three breads in the toaster oven, all of them toasting for the same amount of time... same heat.... Weird. Anyhow, after buttering each piece (I was impatient and hungry, I know I once again messed up the controls) I began tasting again. The Light White was quite gritty after toasting. Bland... I was initially hopeful that I'd found an all-purpose toast, but in the end (of the chewing, that is) it just fell flat. Too sawdusty. Even peach butter couldn't mask the grit. The regular White was very nice toasted. Chewy and bread-like. After being gluten-free for over a year now, my somewhat forgetful tastebuds could be fooled to think this was real bread. The Light Brown (that was now a dark brown due to overtoasting) was very crisp. Perhaps too crisp. Probably due to being overdone. But it had a much better texture than the Light White. No grit. If one is in the market for a reduced-calorie gluten-free "bread", I recommend Ener-G Light Brown. I'm not looking for lower calorie, so I prefer the regular Brown. It had a lovely texture once toasted, no weird flavors, and was perhaps a touch sweeter than the regular White. Chewy, a hint of whole-grain goodness at the beginning of the bite, fading to blank-canvass-blandness at the end.

Overall, I think the regular White was the winner here, since it didn't have funky flavors pre-toasting. One never knows when the electricity might go out, so it's important to have "bread" on hand that doesn't absolutely require toasting. If you feel secure in the presence of a functioning toaster, I recommend the Corn Loaf from the first bread tasting.

Speechless

2008-11-16T16:33:00.002-06:00

Literally. How can they be serious?

Anonymous can kiss my ass

2008-11-15T11:29:00.003-06:00

I love the fact that I have comments set to "moderation" for this blog. Nothing gets posted without my approval. I am lord of my domain, a ha ha ha ha ha! Ok, I suppose I'm "lady" of my domain. Anyway, moving on...

Today I got notified that "Anonymous" had commented on an older post of mine, titled "Fat-free Vegan?" Anonymous wanted me to know that the name of the blog was inaccurate... simply chosen for being "catchy" and that I should have actually visited the blog before ranting about it.

No thanks.

First of all, if the author is that desperate for page views, I'm not interested in what they have to say. Name your blog correctly. It's a big deal.

Secondly, the rant was aimed at fat phobes in general, with just a few jabs at the blog author.

And thirdly, I just really don't care. I'll live my life my way... they can live their shortened, stunted life their way.

The anonymous commenter signed their comment "Non-furred Arteries." Cute. Snarky. And by it's implication that my animal-eating arteries are "furred", it is quite inaccurate. What is it with vegans and accuracy? I suppose truth-telling must be activated by retinol.
The last time I had the health of my bacon-veins tested, my cholesterol profile was perfect. So stick that in your salad-hole and chew it.

I don't want to be too... rude, I suppose that's the word... so I will simply end this post with my favorite quote.

Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, champagne in one hand, chocolate in the other, body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO - What a Ride!"

"Vietnamese seduction"

2008-11-14T18:41:00.006-06:00

That's what my recipe book, Basic Asian, calls it. And, I'll give 'em credit... I've definitely been wooed into wanting to try more Vietnamese cuisine!

It all started at the commissary this afternoon... with discount pork. Normally, that would dissuade a person. "Discount" and "pork" should not be used together in the same sentence. Bad things can happen. But I trust my commissary, so when I see "fajita strips" for less than 2 bucks a pound, I pounce.

But I also know I should cook them up right away.

I quickly decided against fajitas. I'm fresh out of corn tortillas, not in the mood to make some myself, and... it just wasn't that vibe tonight.

So... stir-fry. I consulted my go-to Asian cookbook. Rice Noodles with Spicy Pork. I followed the recipe as best I could, but... didn't have all the stuff needed, and can't follow a recipe anyway.

So, here's what I made and it was really, really tasty.

About 1 pound dark and light meat pork strips
1/8 cup sugar (I used turbinado)
2 tablespoons fish sauce
1/4 cup sake
3/4 cup fresh mint sprigs
3/4 cup fresh cilantro sprigs
(3/4 cup fresh basil sprigs were in the recipe, too, but I didn't have any)
1 incredibly huge cucumber
rice vinegar
salt & pepper
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1/2 yellow onion, sliced thin
1/2 green bell pepper, sliced thin
Sauce:
1 Mystery Hot Pepper (do jalapenos ever get red?)
4 cloves garlic, pressed
3 T tamari
2 T fish sauce (we agreed this was a bit much)
3 T fresh key lime juice
Noodles of your choosing, I used Tinkyada, of course

Mix pork with sugar and fish sauce. Add sake and stir to coat. Stick in the fridge while you do everything else.
Pick leaves off herbs, cut up if you want (I sliced the mint because it was so big). Set aside.

Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise, scoop out seeds with a spoon, and slice into thin sticks. Put in a largish bowl. Sprinkle with rice vinegar, and add salt and pepper to taste. Eat all of them while cooking, making loud munching noises. Revel in crunchy sour saltiness. *

For the dip/sauce: chop the Mystery Pepper finely, being careful to remove the scary seeds and membranes. Embrace your Yankee Gringo spice-fearing glory. Mix together the chile pepper, garlic, tamari, fish sauce, and key lime juice. Distribute in 4 small bowls.
Heat oil in a large pan or wok, over pretty darn high heat (I think I used "7"), and cook onion and bell pepper until beginning to soften. Drain as much of the sake off the pork as you can. Add half the pork (so you don't crowd the pan), and cook a few minutes, until done. Remove all that from the pan, add the rest of the pork and cook it. Toss it all back in to reheat a minute, add a splash of tamari if you just can't resist.
Serve everything kind of on it's own on the plate, so people can mix together at their whim. After we tasted every possible combination, we decided to mix it all together in a big pile. It was nummy.

* Apparently, the plain, un-vinegared cucumber sticks were supposed to be served alongside the noodles and pork. Hmph. There were also supposed to be bean sprouts, green onions, and salty peanuts. Oh, well.

Shepherd's Pie

2008-11-13T18:22:00.004-06:00

Tonight I made true Shepherd's Pie for the first time. As it turns out, us Yankees tend to call any meat-veggie blend topped with potatoes "Shepherd's Pie," when in fact it is Cottage Pie. Shepherd's Pie has lamb, specifically. Makes sense, huh? A Welsh friend pointed that out to me... thanks Shelly!

I wanted to finally use some of the ground lamb I have in the freezer. I know it's good for me... but I just never reach for it. I grew up in Kansas... my meats were beef, chicken, and fish sticks. Thanksgiving brought turkey, to jazz things up, but we didn't really even venture out into ham. So, lamb is rather new territory for me.

I almost made this Jamaican recipe, but didn't feel like I had the time to let the filling cool before assembling. (I planned to use Chebe bread for the pastry.)

So, despite the fact that it was 80 degrees today, which is not quite what I'd call Shepherd's Pie weather, that was the only other idea I liked. Happily, I stumbled upon a Simply Recipes recipe while googling. I love her stuff.
Oddly, her recipe calls for ground beef. Oh, well. Accuracy isn't for everyone. I made it, with lamb, and it tasted really good. Naturally, I tweaked it. I am, after all, pathologically incapable of following a recipe.
I used a lot less veggies- just two carrots- couldn't find the peas in my overstuffed freezer, added a parsnip in with the potatoes, and used chicken broth instead of beef broth. Yeah... just a few changes. LOL

Something Fishy

2008-11-13T12:10:00.004-06:00

Mmmmm... this is what I had for Elevensies. Chopped tomato and avocado, topped with smoked salmon salad, with a sprinkling of cheapass caviar. (I would have put a bit more on, but that's all I had left. This afternoon I shall, of course, set forth on an adventure to procure more.)

Delish.

Now I wonder what I should make for lunch?

(Mostly kidding.)

(Ok, only partially kidding. I'm hungry.)

This blog is about to get really weird

2008-11-11T11:02:00.002-06:00

I just ate a sliced avocado, dressed with lemon juice and salt, topped with cheapass caviar.

And I loved it.

Aaaahhh, pregnancy...

Ener-G Bread Tasting, Part 1

2008-11-08T08:50:00.007-06:00

Mmmm... they can call that "bread" if they want to, but I know better. It's sponge cake. Almost angelfood, and they sell it by the loaf. I want to buy an entire loaf and eat it for breakfast every day, and feel all good about myself for having "bread." LOL

I should back up a bit.

A couple of months ago it dawned on me to see if Ener-G foods sold their products direct from their website. I'd discovered some awesome pretzels while visiting my mom... pretzels I *know* aren't available in San Antonio. Lucky me, their website is happily set up for direct sales, and they offer things I'd never seen before. Like a clever sampler pack of their breads, in 2-slices-of-each packets. Like all their breads, they are shelf-stable, vacuum-packed with dessicant thingies... so I put them on a shelf while I tried to figure out how to taste-test 11 different breads. I wanted to use some sort of quasi-scientific method. I also wanted a wide range of testers, including some gluten-eaters, but that didn't work out. I think my family is scared of my gluten-free frankenbreads.

Today was finally time to start in. I had three breads to try, ones that seemed perhaps to be more "breakfast" breads. A raisin bread, one labelled just "sweet bread", and a corn loaf.
What is with the funky shape of that corn loaf?

The criteria I set up for judging the breads:
-does it need toasted (most GF bread most certainly does)?
-is it sticky/gummy?
-is it suck-the-spit-from-your-mouth dry?
-are there any funky/chemically flavors?
-and then just a notation of whether it'd be best for savory or sweet toppings

The raisin and sweet breads were nice and moist, fresh out of their bags. The corn was... not. It felt and tasted stale. I guess sometimes the dessicant bag thingies don't work right. The sweet bread was a bit sticky/gummy, but I'm guessing that's due to sheer sugar content. It was very appropriately named. The raisin bread was incredibly dry- literally could not swallow it until I had hunted down my glass of water, for fear of choking. The corn loaf had some funky flavors going on that were hard to name. Chemical. Blech.

After toasting, I threw all scientific control methods aside and buttered all three pieces. Habit.

The raisin bread had a nice, typical sweet-tart raisiny taste. It never did get very crisp, despite overtoasting. It was nice, and if you've missed raisin toast since going gluten-free, it'd probably fill in. The corn bread (not cornbread, that's an entirely different thing) improved incredibly with toasting. As a matter of fact, I only got two tiny nibbles before my son snatched it and gobbled it down. If I remember right, it tasted like Real (overtoasted) Bread. Like your ordinary cheap grocery store bread, toasted within an inch of it's life. Pretty darn good, in a bland way*. Hence my 3-yo absconding with it.

And the sweet bread, ohhhhh the sweet bread.... Not bread at all. I know it's secret. The overtoasting turned it's sticky sweetness into caramel. Especially with a smear of butter on top.... oh, baby. That's not bread, that's cake.

* Not bland in a tapioca-rice "bread" kind of way, if that's what you've been subsisting on. It really tasted... wheaty. But like it would easily host any kind of topping or spread you wished. Just like Real Bread.

Play Along At Home!

2008-10-27T22:31:00.004-05:00

It's time for some interactive internet... I need someone to tell me what I ate for dinner. I haven't died yet... ate some of the same thing a few days ago, too... and it came from my beloved local farm delivery service, so I trust it. It is some sort of technically-green bean. But definitely not your ordinary grocery store variety. What is it? How is it best-prepared? I don't know. Do you?

The first night we ate the Mystery Bean, I simply steamed it with a little lemon. It was good. Beany. Tonight I stir-fried it with mushrooms, onion, red pepper, and carrot. And completely forgot to take more pictures. With a bit of a tamari-garlic-lemon sauce, it was very good alongside grilled pork chops.

In case anyone has a weird monitor... the splotchies on the Mystery Beans are pinkish-red, not brown or anything diseasey.

This has nothing to do with food

2008-10-22T06:59:00.002-05:00

So all ye with your growling guts, and head teeming with visions of sugar plums (or bacon), turn away... this is not the post for you. Or maybe it is. Maybe you can stuff your faces with whatever's nearby, and be able to think non-food thoughts. (Yes, I know... strange new territory for me, as well.)

Shockingly, this close to an election, this post is about politics. I didn't expect to go there. But, here I am. And after all this preamble, I'm actually going to let someone else do most of the talking. So, please... go here. Read why no one with a brain should vote for McCain.

After being initiated into the Grieving Parents Club over 5 years ago, I have been on an email list called SPALS (Subsequent Pregnancy After Loss Support). I am constantly astounded at the number of women who's bodies flip out on them. The complications that everyone has heard about but no one really thinks about- eclampsia, intrauterine growth retardation, incompetent cervix- happen hundreds of times a day. Right now, as you're reading this, there is a mother-to-be right here in America who is suddenly losing her baby.

What no one thinks about is... if the mama is less than 26 weeks along and suffering from eclampsia, staying pregnant could kill her. And the baby is hardly ready for life outside the womb. And if the situation gets dire enough, the docs induce her or she gets a c-section. With everyone knowing the baby will die. That is, essentially, an abortion. The right to save the mother's life in that instance would be taken away by John McCain. And it's not a rare event, unfortunately. If the laws tie the hands of the doctors, there will be such confusion and chaos... and so much more loss of life. Because, if mama dies with baby in-utero, baby dies, too. And then a heartbreaking situation gets even worse.

I don't like abortion, and hate applying the word to the above example, but McCain and Palin wouldn't shy away from it.

This mama is voting for Obama.

Tilapia, fruit of the sea?

2008-10-19T19:54:00.012-05:00

I have had a craving stuck in my head for a few months now. It is very specific. I can see it, almost perfectly in my mind. It is a nice fat fish, head and all, stuffed full of, well... stuff... and wonderfully crispy from the grill.

I just can't remember where I saw it.

I have been rather unsuccessfully searching for the recipe and the right fish for quite a while. I keep not getting it right. But that's ok... because the "failures" all taste pretty darn good anyway. Today's fish was black tilapia, because that's what the store had in the category of "dinner is looking at you." And it was. But anyway... it wasn't quite what I'd expected, so I needed to google around for some ideas. I was inspired by this marinade and the basic gist here.

I cooked up half a bell pepper, half a giant red onion, half a mystery pepper (of the spicy kind), and a few mushrooms, all chopped up of course. And cooked in bacon fat, of course. I stuffed some of that into the fish. The rest was simmered in the leftover marinade.

The fish was a lot smaller than I'd expected, at under 1 pound, including all the bits we weren't going to eat. So I told the Grill Geek to toss a couple of boudin on the grill, as well.

The promise of good things to come...

He grilled the fish about 5 minutes per side. It worked. Not undercooked, not overcooked.

The anticipation:

Despite the oil in the marinade, the skin stuck to the grill basket. Oh, well, I wasn't planning to eat it anyway.

The veggies that didn't fit inside the fish went on top of rice. Just a squeeze of Meyer lemon to dress the fish- it was so tender, rather silky even. I had no idea the humble tilapia could be so good.

By the way, the Grill Geek insists that tilapia is not the "fruit of the sea," as Bubba from Forest Gump would say. Because a fruit can be eaten raw, and you wouldn't want to do that with tilapia. He says instead it is the "vegetable of the sea."
I just really wanted a cleverish title for this entry. So, I'm sticking to it. But I've included his comments because... well... he's right.

Sunday Coupon Rant

2008-10-19T09:55:00.004-05:00

First, let me apologize for the lack of recipes and actual food, recently. I have been cooking... doubt not. And I have even been taking pictures of my food. I have not been using recipes much lately, as I tend to know how things go together at this point. And I've just not been finding the time to upload the pictures. There has been a rarely-ending chorus of "You wanna play blocks with me? Let's play trains! Look, I made you a cookie, eat it! I wanna watch a movie, you wanna make popcorn? Let's play Hungry Hippos!" And, unfortunately, a common refrain of "my tummy hurts." I'm trying to figure out the cause of that last one.

My rants are, oddly, few this week. Despite already being cranky while looking through the coupons, due to drinking "herbal coffee," I didn't see much fresh material. And I hate to simply repeat myself. However, a couple of things did get my hackles up.

Bob Evans homestyle side dish thingies. "The perfect dinner companions. Everyone could use a little homestyle." Featured in the ad are mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, and macaroni and cheese. Available in your grocer's refrigerated section. Because microwaved mac&cheese singles are too hard? If you're going to eat crap food, where's the line between tacky/premade and yummy/homestyle? The green bean casserole I can understand. Making that from "scratch" is dangerously close to actual cooking. It involves opening at least three cans... can't recall exactly, since I never made it. Mashed potatoes... already prepared from flakes for your convenience. Mmmm... wonder if they use "real" margarine? (Yes, I know that's an oxymoron.) But the macaroni is what made me yell out "that's retarded!" so it wins the place of (dis)honor here. How lazy have people become that they can't even bother to boil water? A true "homestyle" macaroni and cheese is a wonderful thing... the pasta has a bit of bite to it still, resisting the teeth just a touch in true "al dente" style, the cheese sauce is a blend of cheeses with sharp Cheddar as well as softer cheeses, to add creaminess. There are buttery, crunchy crumbs on top, to delight the senses with a variation of textures- chewy, creamy, crunchy. Real macaroni and cheese is a work of art. (And let me just say that I hate all of you who can still eat it.) But this Bob Evans product... this "homestyle" macaroni and cheese... there are no crumbs. The "cheese" probably ends in a "z." And I venture to guess the pasta has no texture whatsover. Don't stir it overmuch, our you'll simply have orange goo.

Second place this week goes to Tyson. I generally leave Tyson alone. Sure they raise franken-chickens in horrendous factory conditions and have forever changed the perception of what chicken tastes like by making it bland and fluid-injected. However, they often have gluten-free options that others don't. So I kinda don't hate them as much as I should. Today I take exception to the big, bold headline on their add for chicken nuggets. (The one disgusting junk food my children don't like!) "Clean plates start here."

WTF?!?!

Last I heard, and I hear it a LOT from every form of news media, American children are fatter than ever. They are developing Type II diabetes in record numbers. They are sicker and more unhappy than ever. It has been accepted theory for years now that "cleaning your plate" has disastrous effects on attitude toward food. It completely numbs the senses toward being able to tell when you're full.
From the rest of the ad, it's clear that they are talking about picky eaters... and believe me, I sympathize with that cause. My children are very selective about what they'll eat. But I decided a long time ago not to make it a battleground. They are in control of their bodies, not me. I also know from experience that food allergies can make people dislike the foods that make them ill. (Ironically, allergies can also cause cravings for the damaging foods, but that's another topic.)

The goal with eating should be nourishment. Hopefully, there is good conversation and a feeling of well-being around the table while eating as well. But the goal is most-definitely NOT a clean plate. That's the dishwasher's job, not the child's.

And finally, as a bonus... I just really had a laugh about this one. The Jerry Springer crowd will be relieved to know that they can now bop over to their neighborhood drugstore for a "Fast. Accurate. Confidential." test to discover just who is the Baby Daddy. Identigene now markets an over-the-counter mail-in test, with results in just 3-5 days.
It gets even better... on the box it says in large letters "DNA Paternity Test." Below that, in itty bitty print: "For Alleged Father, Mother, and Child."
"Alleged"
I love it!!!

Watch out, though... just buying it from the Walgreens, for whatever the shelf price is, isn't enough. Microscopic mouse print lets you know "Additional $119.00 Laboratory Fee Required." Better go donate some plasma to cover that.

Fat-Free Vegan?

2008-10-11T07:51:00.006-05:00

Bonus rant! (Warning, very offensive to people who like to get offended.)

So, I was innocently surfing through my Morning Coffee tabs this morning, when one of my favored food blogs showed a link to Fat-Free Vegan, a blog. And I snapped. I didn't even click on it, but I snapped. I'm sorry... I know how much vegetarians and vegans hate it when carnivores care what they do or don't eat. Normally I don't care. Normally I just eat what I eat and everyone else can do the same and I rant in my personal space and that's it.

But... I snapped.

Fat-free vegan? WTF? What do they eat? They don't eat nuts, obviously, because those have fat. They don't eat yummy avocados, because those have fat. They must eat carrot sticks and celery and... lettuce. Bunny food. They are at the bottom of the food chain. They are negating millions of years of evolution- so much hard work by countless generations of ancestors. All for what? Some uppity feeling of purity? What did they do that was so wrong, in this life or the last, that requires such a cruel penitence? Who were they? Are today's vegans all recycled S.S. soldiers? Were they gassing Jews for Hitler and have to cleanse their souls in this life?

I just don't understand.

So, naturally, I'm making bacon right now. A great big pan full of drippy bacon, happily roasting away in my fat-spattered oven, juices popping, formerly-alive cells bursting and caramelizing with tantalizing animal flavor.

Take that and stick it in your carrot-hole.

Anyway, back to evolutionary freakatude. (OMG, did you know freakatude is actually a word? I didn't.) 4 million years ago great-great-Grandpa Ape dropped down from his tree and wandered around a bit, looking for something to eat. He found the ocean. He caught a fish. He ate it, the delicious, healthy, nourishing fats went straight to his brain and it instantly got half a size bigger. He got a great idea to make a net and catch more fish. His family gorged themselves on delicious ocean animals and got so smart they became the kings and queens of apes. The cranky vegan apes climbed back up and lived in sterile little religious nut colonies, not having any babies, and soon died out.

How is it they've come back?

Fat-free vegan. What in the name of all that is yummy would provoke a person to do that to themselves? Do they think it will keep them healthy and strong? Because it won't. It will not. Unless they have some sort of freakish metabolic disorder whereby they cannot process fats... but even then, the body REQUIRES fat. It is not optional. The body will start stripping itself down for scrap, if it has to. That poor freak's brain will likely be the first to go- which is ok, since they aren't using it.

I just flipped my bacon. It's coming along quite nicely. Mmmmm... bacon...

I just really don't understand fat-phobe people. Seriously. They seem to all have a connection with religious-based self-mortification. The idea that we are inherently sinful and disgusting, and must be saved from ourselves. This seems to lead people to believe that any and all natural impulses can't be trusted. Humans LOVE fat. We crave creamy, buttery, juicy foods. So, these people rationalize those foods must be bad. Unhealthy. Sinful. And since when did unhealthy = sinful, anyway? So many people feel actual sin-type remorse if they eat the "wrong" thing or don't exercise that day. I just don't understand. Guilt serves no purpose.

God made bacon. How can people reject the gift?

Fat-free vegan. Not low-fat vegan... no, that's sooooo yesterday. Every self-loathing, unhappy emo kid does that. Fat-free. That's just... impossible. Even vegetables have waxy coatings to their cells. Every freaking living thing on the planet has some sort of fat in it. There's a reason for that. It's necessary for life. Especially in humans.

BTW... I can explain those feelings of self-loathing and depression... they stem from a lack of fat. Seriously. I became clinically depressed for several months following a bout of giardiasis (food poisoning, basically) that left me unable to digest much fat. It took me a year to recover. That's how important fat is.

I'm going to go eat my bacon now.

Hard times, drastic measures?

2008-10-05T12:11:00.002-05:00

I realize there's an economic-hard-times going on (it's not a depression yet, but what IS it?), and this week's coupons clearly show a concerted effort from the Phood Makers to try to save us all money. Try to convince us we don't have to give up our packaged, pre-made, convenient phoods- here's a handy coupon to make it magically affordable. A real focus on savings and cheapness.

And I can appreciate the idea behind it. People need to eat.

What I don't appreciate is slick advertising that borders on the verge of lying.

Campbells had their very own coupon insert... several pages extolling the virtues of soup. So economical, so "healthy." Canned soup seems closer to real food, sometimes. A choice you can be proud of. One page in the packet simply said "The Original Dollar Menu" in large letters. Underneath, a spread of soup cans bordered by bona fide real vegetables. And in front of it, a bowl of soup. It goes on to explain that "at less than $1 per serving... you are looking for ways to save money; but saving does not mean skimping." Wow, a dollar for a bowl of soup... "farm-grown vegetables" (is there another way? I'm sure Monsanto is working on one.)
A chart of sorts to the side once again reminds us, less than $1.00, 4 minutes to prepare, and the kicker... 100 calories or less.

100 calories.

That's not much lunch. That's not even much of a contribution toward lunch. That means you're probably getting about 1/2 ounce of "tender meats", so you're going to need more protein. You got twice as much refined salt as anyone needs, and those veggies have less life left in them than the paper wrapper around the can.

100 calories. Just off the top of my head, I can think of a way to spend $1 for 100 calories and actually get some nutrients. How about a baby spinach salad with a homemade oil-and-vinegar dressing, with a chopped hard-boiled egg? I won't bother saying someone could make their own soup, because that requires cooking.

The next thing that caught my eye was the hotpink spread for Bake for the Cure... cuz it's all about breast cancer this month. (I won't go there. I won't. I know I have unconventional views, and this is a FOOD blog, not a cancer blog... ) So, the hotpink spread... buy these products, save women's lives, that's the idea, right? Ok... what've we got? Yeast packets, corn starch, and corn syrup.

Wait a minute...

Sugar? No, not even sugar, that would be a slightly better choice. Corn syrup! It hurts the liver! Cancer in general and breast cancer specifically are generally due to liver problems! At least it can be said that the liver being HEALTHY can be a good part of the fight against cancer. And cancer loooooooves sugar. It loves starchy carby crap, too. So "bake for the cure" Cherry Almond Roll and Triple Berry Crisp and Chocolate Caramel Bars are all featured. It's all cancer-food. AAAACCCCKKK!!!

Oh, but don't worry. The ad apparently isn't aimed at women who HAVE cancer. It's for all the non-cancer-havers that want to help the poor, unfortunate, not-mes who do have cancer. It doesn't apply to Nancy Soccermom. She can eat all the sugar she wants. It doesn't apply to all the young girls who gobble up the gooey Chocolate Caramel Bars from the bake sale. Oh, maybe that one girl who's aunt had breast cancer... oh, but she's so young. Give her a second helping. By the time she gets cancer, there'll be a cure. Let's bake, bake, bake!

Grrrrrrr... naturally our health has nothing to do with what we eat....

And now, to lighten the mood, I present my first ever anti-rant. I'm actually going to say something nice about something I saw in the coupon ads.

(Everyone recovered now?)

Arm & Hammer Essentials, some sort of multi-surface cleaner, offers a reusable spray bottle. But that's not all. You can buy refills of the cleaning product, which are little bitty, as they figure you're capable of adding water. It's... kinda cool. Kinda eco-friendly. No idea what chemicals are involved, or whether the little refill bottles are recyclable. And maybe there's some other issue I'm missing here entirely. But... on the surface (har har, sort of a pun, sorry), it seems good. Let's bask in that.

I'll end with a WTF? There's a noise and a tilting of the head that goes with this, that I'm not sure how to describe. But, I'm a bit puzzled. I wish you could all see this ad.

Amish Naturals. Is it sausage? Bread? Yummy cinnamon rolls with 3 times too much icing? No. Nor is it butter or homemade cornbread.

Pasta. Yeah. Um... from Ohio, no less. With "twice filtered well water." WTF? I'm just so confused.

Monday rant

2008-09-29T15:04:00.004-05:00

I'm a day late, I know. I was out of town and have been catching up on housework. Part of that included seeing if there were any relevant coupons in yesterday's paper (there usually aren't, but since we get the paper, I always check.)

Those who have read my previous rants will likely recall that I hate it when food manufacturers can't do math. Or else when they assume I can't do math. Maybe it has nothing to do with math and they conclude business meetings by rolling dice to randomly assign value to their upcoming coupons. Because... someone somewhere is actually getting paid to think this stuff up. ("stuff" was not my original choice of words, but I am trying to behave myself.)

Let us begin with Ragu. Ah, Ragu, it's in there. Wait, that's someone else's ad. Sorry. Anyhow, they're offering a $1 off. That generally catches my attention. 15 cents isn't worth my time. $1... well... that's almost real money. What do I have to buy to save a buck? 2 pasta sauces and 1 dry pasta.
I'll repeat. 2 sauces, 1 pasta.

I'll admit that in my attempts at lowering my carbs, I've put pasta sauce on things other than pasta. But... most folks aren't that creative. The folks that buy jarred pasta sauce because they have no idea that a little onion and garlic cooked until soft and a can of diced tomatoes makes something that tastes even better. So... the people they are marketing to are really going to need more pasta. Why have the pasta even involved? Ragu doesn't, to my knowledge, make pasta.

Along the lines of Things People Ought To Make For Themselves... pancakes. There's a Bisquick ad for pancakes. I happen to know of a full-grown adult who had no idea it was possible to make pancakes without a mix. Well, fine readers, I can assure you that pancakes are beginner-easy. It's not rocket science. Flour (doesn't even have to be wheat! *gasp*), baking powder, liquid, eggs, maybe some fruit... it's just really hard to mess up pancakes. If they're too thick, add liquid. Too thin? Call 'em crepes.
"Bisquick, let's make pancakes!" it says at the bottom of the ad. On top is "Magical Pancake Mornings." Ugh. Look, Mikey, Mommy cooked! Sort of. Mommy added water to powder and got it hot.

I seem to be on a roll here for Stuff That's Way Easier Than People Think, so I'll continue with popcorn. I've got an ad here for Orville Redenbacher's, "Enjoy the Gourmet Flavors of Natural Popcorn!" What gourmet flavors are they featuring? Buttery Salt & Cracked Pepper, Buttery Garlic, Simply Salted, and Butter.

I need a stare-y face right here. One that looks like it's saying "Really? That's what you've got? Wow. That's stupid."

Would you like to enjoy some natural popcorn? I know you know what's coming... but I don't mind being predictable. Get a pan. Preferrably a metal one with no weird coatings, but enameled cast iron would be fine, enamel doesn't count as weird. I use a stainless steel saucepan-type thing. Make sure yours has a lid.
Cover the bottom with oil. Vegetable oil sucks really, as it's generally soy oil these days. I use a mix of coconut and palm oils. I know most folks don't have those on hand, so... use what you've got. I'll never know if you're desecrating your body temple with soy. (I can tell you that both butter and bacon grease burn like crazy when making popcorn, so don't use those.) Now, add a layer of popcorn kernels, so the bottom of the pan is covered. No measuring needed.
Put the lid on, turn the heat to medium, and shake it around, just to coat the kernels with oil a bit.
Now leave it alone. You don't have to babysit it. You don't have to shake it constantly. It'll take 5-10 minutes, probably, depending on how fast your stove heats up. When you hear the first pop, go back to the stove and start half-heartedly jiggling. It isn't really necessary at all, as the popped corn goes up and the kernels stay down, so shaking it really just keeps you entertained. You do want to take it off the burner as soon as it stops popping, though. Burned popcorn sucks.
Now, put your popcorn in a big bowl. Let the pan cool a bit (stove should be OFF), and then plop in a bunch of butter. Room temp butter burns less than cold butter. When the butter is melted, pour it over the popcorn, add salt, and shake it around.

There you go. Sure, it dirtied a pan and took longer than a bag in the microwave, but everyone agrees it tastes better. And there's no risk of lung cancer from artificial butter flavoring. If you want to get gourmet with it, add pepper. Or garlic powder. Or cinnamon-sugar. Or nutritional yeast (I'm told it tastes like Parmesan.) Chocolate syrup or maple syrup or melted nut butter-and-honey... I'm sure you can get way more creative with it than Mr. Redenbacher.

I ended up giving you a recipe, of sorts. In return I'd like to know if anyone knows why the gal in the Benefiber ad looks like she's wearing half a Cookie Monster costume. And why she has no arms. What do hairy blue-green blobs have to do with constipation?

Everything Awesome

2008-09-25T19:17:00.004-05:00

... roasted together in one pan. That's what I had for dinner tonight. What'd you have? Frozen pizza? Mac-and-cheez? I'm sorry for your loss. Oh, did I mention that the active time it took to prepare dinner was less than 15 minutes? I'm just rubbing grease in your wounds now, aren't I?

I apologize for the snarkiness above. It would seem I have a taunting reaction to meals loaded with yumminess.

I will have to wait to upload the photo evidence of tonight's ambrosia, as I am away from home and without my camera cable. (I actually thought to myself, while packing, "no, there's no reason I'd need that.") Little did I know that I would soon be seized once again with the urge to blog.

Without further nonsense... tonight's dinner. As usual, I don't know what to call it. It's based on a Nigella Lawson recipe (love her!) simply named One Pan Sage and Onion Chicken and Sausage. That's a heck of a name. Accurate. But long.
And I need to make it even longer, because I tweaked it. I added to it. I am pathologically incapable of following directions, it would seem. But I can't name it One Pan Garlic and Onion Chicken and Sausage with Potatoes and Tomatoes. That'd just be wrong.

So, in lieu of that, I'm considering Everything Awesome. Because that's what's in it. Take a look... I think you'll agree. Leave a comment and let me know.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, cut into 8 wedges
6-10 (or more) peeled garlic cloves, whole but smashed a bit
3-4 tablespoons bacon fat (was out of olive oil, this was definitely a yummy substitution)
1tablespoon mustard- Nigella calls for English, of course, I used spicy brown, because that's what was available
1 tablespoon dried sage or herby blend
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins is gluten-free)
Freshly-ground black pepper
4-6 chicken thighs, bone-in, skin-on
About 1 pound sausage, cut into 3-inch lengths, if necessary
Some small red potatoes, cut into fourths (wedges)
A couple handfuls of fresh-picked homegrown cherry tomatoes (yeah, now I'm just bragging)

Mix all the seasonings and grease and onions and garlic in a ziploc, squishing it around. Add the chicken, squish some more, and refrigerate overnight, or at least a little while if this is a last-minute thing.
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Plop the ziploc ingredients into a big baking dish (I think I used a 9x13 Pyrex), nestle the sausage pieces in, and add the potato wedges. Try to coat the potatoes with a bit of the saucy goodness, or at least stick them next to sausages, to share the fatty love. Bake/roast for 1 hour and 15 minutes, turning the sausages over halfway through. If the potato wedges look woefully dry, add some juice from the pan, or drizzle a bit of bacon grease over them. (Tip: if you keep your bacon fat near the back of the stove it'll be liquid after 45 minutes of the oven being on. Easy to drizzle that way.)
Add the tomatoes, whole, near the end, with 15-20 minutes left.

Dig in. Serve with a salad, if you feel guilty.

Sunday coupon rant is BACK!

2008-07-27T09:05:00.003-05:00

Oh. My. God.

What is the world coming to? Just how ridiculous are we going to get? Where is the bottom of the rabbit hole?

Here I was, innocently flipping through the ads in the Sunday paper... not even looking for rant-fodder, when I came across the Petco ad. Normally I would have tossed it directly on the recycle pile, unseen. But, I wondered where a Petco might be 'round here, so it caught my eye.

The next thing that caught my eye was the special announcement in the upper right corner... "Introducing The Dog Whisperer Pet Products." I kid you not. But before I could even summon a half-hearted "OMG, like the dogs tell him what stuff they want?!?" I saw one of the new products.

My jaw dropped. My rant spewed forth.

Fortified bottled water for dogs.

Allow me to repeat myself in case you don't like going back to re-read... it's specially-made bottled water, fortified (with what?) for dogs. Dogs. You know... the same slobbery, fuzzy, butt-sniffing creatures that drink out of toilets. That's some fortified water, if you forgot to flush or haven't cleaned recently.
The same halfwits that joyfully dig for buried snackies in the litterbox.

Fortified bottled water... for dogs. "Specially developed with Cesar Milan and veterinarians to give essential hydration a healthful boost."

Is your doggie lacking in trace minerals? Needs more amino acids? Perhaps he's not getting enough Omega-3s? Fear not, the Dog Whisperer is eager to take your money.

Bottled water. For dogs. Unbelievable.

I forgot to take a picture!

2008-07-21T20:22:00.005-05:00

I can't believe I forgot.

Ok, I believe it. I just... I was at the mercy of a late dinner (that smelled REALLY good while cooking) and a second glass of wine (on an empty stomach)... and I flat forgot.

I don't even know what to call this, but it was plate-licking delicious. And I am not kidding. I licked it. I offered my plate to the Grill Geek, but he had already moved on to contentedly digesting.

Bekki's Whatchamacallit

2 large pork sausages, the spicy kind with removable casings. Since they can be removed... remove them. Ew, don't they look weird?
1/2 a large onion, sliced
Some fat... olive oil, bacon or duck fat, whatever

Soften the onions in the fat, then add the crumbled sausage. When the sausage is browned, add:

1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 to 1 1/2 cups sprouted beans and lentils (I didn't measure)
About 2 cups chicken stock (once again, didn't measure... just make sure there's plenty of liquid)

Simmer about 45 minutes. I thought sprouted beans would cook quicker. They didn't seem to. Oh, the torture! But, they finally did cook, and I served the whatchamacallit over rice, with a side of sliced summer squash sauteed in butter.

Food Porn

2008-07-18T19:55:00.005-05:00

This is heaven. The pinnacle. Nirvana. The best of foods. And yet... due to the illicit saturated fat content... somehow dirty and forbidden. I love being a nutrition rebel. A food pirate.

Baked chicken, simply basted in it's own fat, sprinkled with sea salt, cracked pepper, and paprika. Not just any chicken, though... a truly pastured chicken. A chicken that actually ran around outside. Not just "free-range" which means essentially nothing. Nope, I saw this chicken's pecking grounds. Collected a fresh egg from one of it's cousins. This was a wonderfully-healthy, bug-eating, sunshine-soaking, clucking-at-the-nearby-cows chicken. And it was delicious.

Then there are the mashed potatoes... locally-grown red taters, with the skin on, mashed with grass-fed cow butter and a bit of chicken stock. The collards are cooked, as all collards should be, with onions that were softened in bacon fat, then simmered in chicken stock until tender. Top with a bit of garlic Tabasco and vinegar... unbelievably delicious, nutrient-dense, good-for-you real food.

Life is good.

Ratatouille

2008-07-15T17:29:00.006-05:00

I got eggplant in my local box this week.

I don't like eggplant, I thought.

Fortunately, my Little Guy loves the movie "Ratatouille" and I thought it'd be a hoot to try my hand at the title dish. I'm not sure why I picked this recipe, but... it caught my eye. Perhaps it was the unconventional chart at the bottom.

I wish now that I'd chosen the movie version, as that would have been super cool.

But the first recipe is quite tasty. Very winter stew-ish, despite being all summer veggies. I served mine atop cornbread, since I don't have the option of a crusty baguette. The cornbread was a bit crisp from the super-hot oven, and really worked well. We also had some slow-cooked grassfed chuck roast. Delish!

Black-Eyed Peas

2008-07-14T21:20:00.003-05:00

This week, fresh black-eyed peas were in my local box of produce. As silly as it may sound, I had never realized that peas and beans could be eaten... well... fresh. I'd only ever seen them dried. Obviously they don't grow that way, but... well... I'd just never thought it through.

I nibbled one of the fresh peas, and it was delicious! But, I know that phytates are a serious issue with all legumes and grains, so... some cooking was necessary. I should have soaked them first, but didn't think of it in time. Instead, I simmered them in some chicken broth for what seemed like ages, added a dash of garlic Tabasco, and once they were finally soft, tossed them in a pan of collards. We also had some beyond-fabulous local pork sausage, that the Grill Geek graciously grilled (say that five times fast!)

Tequila + Shrimp = Love

2008-07-14T13:14:00.004-05:00

I'm back. Did you miss me? I did. I have no excuses for my blog-absence, I hope you all ate well while I was gone. I hope to have plenty of yummy ideas to get your taste buds drooling. Food is always worth the effort!

Tequila Shrimp with Rice

Prep time: 20 minutes (includes cleaning shrimp)
Cook time: 1 hour
Serves 4

scant ¼ cup fat- bacon, coconut oil, olive, whatever
½ large onion, chopped
½ large red bell pepper, chopped
3-4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
½ pound chorizo, thinly sliced (or pepperoni)
1½ cups canned chopped tomatoes
½ can black beans, drained
¾ cup tequila
1 cup shrimp stock
¾ cup long-grain white rice
½ tsp kosher salt
generous shakes of Hungarian paprika
1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
In a very large, shallow paella pan or skillet, heat fat over medium heat. Add onion, and bell pepper and cook for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and chorizo and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes and beans and stir well.
Increase heat to high and add the tequila, shrimp stock, rice, salt, and paprika and stir well again.
Add shrimp, mix well, and bake uncovered for 30-40 minutes, or until the shrimp is cooked and the rice has absorbed the liquid. Serve, with a sprinkle of cilantro, if desired.

Iron Chef Mom Returns!

2008-05-15T20:25:00.005-05:00

It's been a while, but, I finally got to do another "episode" of Iron Chef Mom. This time the Secret Ingredient was boneless pork sirloin roast. Once again it seemed impossible to do anything good with it in just an hour. Then I got the idea of chopping it up for kebabs!

Dinner was kebabs with red bell pepper and spring onions atop cabbage slaw, calabacitas salad, and plain rice. I would have loved to make Mexican rice, but there just wasn't time for anything else, and I ended up appreciating the plainness, actually... it was a bit soothing with all the spicy stuff!

I was amazed to get done with 1 minute left on the clock. The key is figuring out the "order of events" ahead of time.

First thing- start the rice cooker. I know a lot of people think rice cookers are silly, but I love mine. I just toss stuff in and forget it. If it's done before the rest of dinner... no worries... it stays warm. The rest went like this:
Slice cabbage thinly, salt, and leave in a colander to drain.
Make marinade
Cube pork, marinate in fridge (reserve some marinade to brush on while grilling)
Chop veggies, slice squash for grilling
Grill squash
Cook bacon
Wring out cabbage and toss with dressing
Chop grilled squash and assemble salad
Assemble kebabs
Grill stuff

Marinade for pork

1/2 cup salsa verde
1/4 red onion, sliced and quickly browned in bacon fat
3 cloves garlic (toss in with the onion at the end, to brown a bit)
1/4 cup spiced rum
1 very small chipotle pepper

Whizz it all together in a blender.
I didn't try it, but after tasting it, I really think I should have... pineapple would have been awesome here. About 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup fresh pineapple, with about 1/2 teaspoon salt added. Would have been fabulous.
I only had time to marinate for about 30 minutes. Longer would have been nice, but 30 really was enough. It was a fairly tender cut of meat, and brushing the reserved marinade/sauce on while grilling added plenty of flavor.

Cabbage Slaw

¼ head, each, red and green cabbage, very-thinly sliced
1 tsp salt
Juice from one lime
1 T. ACV
1 T olive oil

Place cabbage in a large bowl, tossing it with salt. Press it down firmly with hands, to help it break down a bit. Place in a colander in the sink, allowing 20 minutes to drain.

Wring it out with paper towels and put back in a bowl. Toss with juice, vinegar, and oil.

Let sit at room temp 15 minutes before serving.

Calabacitas Salad

2-4 zucchini and yellow squash, sliced in half lengthwise
2 slices bacon, chopped and browned
2 tablespoons orange juice
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
½ tsp dried cilantro (fresh would be much better- 1 tablespoon, perhaps?)
about ¼ cup fresh goat cheese

Brush the squash with olive oil on the cut side and sprinkle with salt. Grill.

Chop into small pieces, toss with juice and oil, sprinkle with cilantro, and top with bacon and cheese.

Recent Eats

2008-05-11T12:29:00.006-05:00

I hate it when I don't post punctually... but... life happens. So, once again, a montage of recent meals.

Saturday night I made this riff on a traditional German dish of sausage and cabbage. The original recipe calls for apples, but I wanted a more-summery version.

Grilled pork chop, grilled asparagus, and Rainbow Sidedish. Which was grilled. I love grilling, because all I have to do is prep. Then the Grill Geek takes over. I loved this version of Sidedish. Normally it contains potatoes, garlic, and onions, with olive oil or butter, and salt. (Wrapped up in heavy duty foil and cooked while the grill heats up for the main course, about 30 minutes.) This time it was red onions, orange bell pepper, yellow squash, and zucchini, with herb butter. Fabulousity.

Sort-of-Chili, on a grilled, bacon-wrapped potato, with salad. The chili (made with leftover grilled pork and leftover veggie-heavy marinara) didn't thicken. So, it was soup on a potato. Weird, but tasty.

Bacon Weaving

2008-05-11T10:55:00.011-05:00

Y'all probably never thought you'd see a subject line like that, did you?

No, I haven't lost my mind. I saw a picture online a few days ago, of someone else's woven bacon, and I was inspired.
Mother's Day isn't a day off for me, so... since I'm going to be cooking anyway, I might as well make it fun. And weaving bacon is fun! At first I tried to justify it, postulating that perhaps it would cook more-evenly, or be easier to flip during cooking. The truth of the matter is, I like to play with my food. And not even Martha Stewart would weave her bacon. A chance to one-up The Woman is always appreciated.

To begin, lay out strips of bacon... these are actually too far apart, as I was picturing the whole thing wrong in my head. You want them right next to each other. This was just plain ol' Oscar Meyer bacon... "America's Favorite" or whatever. I prefer a snooty applewood-smoked bacon, but, this is pretty tasty.

There really isn't a need to weave efficiently... it's not that big of a project where time-saving tips matter. However, after the first couple of cross-pieces are placed, you can flip up the ones that need to go on top, lay down the new piece of bacon, and then flip them back down. It's easier than doing over-under, over-under with limp meat.
Before you even know it, you're done!

Here it is, ready to go into the oven, I inverted the cooling rack over the bacon, and flipped the whole thing, including the cutting board. It worked well, to keep things from getting rearranged.

Now that I think about it, I guess I could have easily done the weave directly on the rack. Oh, well.

375-ish, 10 minutes per side, two flips, for a total of about 30 minutes. My oven is possessed by an obnoxious demon, however, and doesn't keep an accurate temperature, so... your mileage will certainly vary.

A work of art

I used kitchen shears to cut it into serving sizes, because it wasn't crisp enough to break. I would have liked it much crisper in the middle... next time I'll try broiling at the end. Maybe a chunk of time at a lower heat would bake some of the extra grease

Woven bacon, real champagne... life is good.

Cauliflower and Meatballs

2008-05-06T20:04:00.002-05:00

Roasted cauliflower, topped with a veggie-heavy marinara, with meatballs and pea-shoot salad. I'd been wanting to try roasting cauliflower for quite a while, so when a head of it showed up in my weekly local produce delivery, I was excited. I washed it, cut it in chunks, tossed them with olive oil and salt, and roasted at about 375. I had just baked the meatballs, so I just used the same oven temp.
I was also very excited to get more pea tendrils/shoots, so I could make another fabulous salad. This time I kept it simpler, with basically just the vinaigrette, lettuce, and pea shoots.

When the cauliflower was done roasting it smelled like roasted Brussels sprouts. Which makes sense, I suppose, since they're cousins. I love roasted Brussels sprouts... more than the cauliflower. It was good, and an interesting lower-carb option to pasta or polenta. But... I kinda doubt I'll do it again.

Cinco de Yummo

2008-05-05T18:58:00.006-05:00

Cheesy, I know... sometimes I run out of ideas for the titles of my blog posts.

Cinco de Mayo in South Texas... I really ought to be having more of a feast. Oh, well, we are a small family, and didn't invite anyone over because I'm still getting over a cold. I'm 90% there, but... want to make sure I don't share my germs.

Saucy bits

On the menu tonight:
Rice, pork, chips and guacamole, saucy bits, watermelon. And, of course, margaritas. But not the blender kind.

I sautéed the rice in olive oil before tossing it in the rice cooker this time... a step in the direction of more-authentically Mexican. I didn't add in the onion and garlic and such that are common south of the border, because I wanted the kids to eat it. And I wanted to be able to tell what, if anything, the extra step adds to the final flavor. I was rather disappointed. Maybe I should have toasted it a bit longer... but it didn't seem worth the effort. Luckily, I could reuse the pan for the saucy bits.

Saucy Bits
Sauté half an onion, sliced thinly, in about a tablespoon of bacon fat. Add three crushed garlic cloves, stirring quickly to prevent burning, and then pour in about a cup of chopped tomatoes. Add more tomatoes, if needed, to make a pretty thick sauce. Plop in a small dried pepper (I think mine are chipotle, but they weren't labeled at the store.) Cook for a while, adding more tomato or a splash of wine. Add salt to taste.

Pork loin strips, a flambé

The Grill Geek made a quick rub for the loin strips (I've never seen this cut of pork before... very fatty, hence the leaping flames) consisting of equal parts cumin and salt. Then he grilled 'em and chopped them into bite-size pieces. We piled the pieces on top of rice with sauce, added a little marinated lettuce for crunch, and served it up with toasted (toaster ovens are a godsend) and guacamole.

Beltane and Betting

2008-05-03T08:16:00.009-05:00

Today is the Kentucky Derby, and I married a Kentucky boy, so it's bigger than most holidays. For the first time ever (for me), we've got actual money on a few of the horses. I used my hubby's traditional method for selecting the winner... "which name would look best on a Derby glass?" He used statistics, records, and winning percentages. Ha! We'll see who does best. Anyway, back to food... the Grill Geek feasted on toast with fried eggs, bacon, and hollandaise sauce for breakfast. I had toast with almond butter topped with dried cranberries. (It was a busy morning for me and I have a chest cold...)

After such an insufficient start to the day for a hobbit, I was naturally half-dead by noon. Our official Derby Day lunch is Kentucky Hot Browns. My allergies prevent me from following the original recipe. Oh, well, I'm getting used to getting creative. I tried one slice of Ener-G Foods tapioca bread and one slice Food For Life white rice bread, to see which was best. I vote for the tapioca bread... better texture... neither contributes flavor here. Deli turkey, fresh tomato, and bacon were straight-forward. (I hope... I realize now that the Grill Geek probably doesn't realize that deli turkey has ingredients.) And then... the sauce. Heh. I was going to go ahead and find out whether cooked goat milk is ok for me. Because sometimes, for some people, that actually makes a difference. I found a simplified recipe that I planned to follow.

But I forgot to scale back the butter portion for just two servings. I thought that wouldn't cause a problem. Because I have almost no experience with white sauces, so I'm a complete idiot.
I started very slowly adding the milk, as instructed, and the whole thing seized up. "Curdled" isn't quite the right word, but... funkified, separated, and glop don't net many google results. I looked for ways to save the sauce, finally decided it couldn't be done, and used some leftover hollandaise instead.

It was much too tart... but I still ate every morsel.

Dinner was a sad affair, due to what happened right after the Derby... we were cheering for Eight Belles and our hearts (especially the Fairy Child's) were broken. It was delicious, though.

Grassfed rib steak, Sidedish (with local yellow squash), corn on the cob, and a chopped tomato.

Last night was our Beltane feast. Food is still the main way we celebrate anything, so despite not feeling well, I was determined to make some sort of seasonal/symbolic meal.
Grilled rum-buttered shrimp (grilled for the fire element, can't have a real bonfire with kids around), asparagus (cuz... well... it's shape), fresh spring greens (because it's spring), and fresh, local zucchini (because we had it). The kids also had strawberries because berries are a spring thing and red is the color for Beltane. I had to abstain, as I seem to be sensitive to all but the local strawberries, and I didn't get any in our Greenling box this week.

This was Thursday night's dinner... local pork sausage, Italian style. Yum. I recently had some fancy French sausage made with duck and pork, almost twice as expensive, and it tasted almost exactly like this. I think I'll just buy local from now on. :-)

Herb Butter

2008-05-01T16:04:00.003-05:00

I have no knack with plants. I can (and have) killed ivy. Southern states ought to pay me to cultivate kudzu... it would rid them of the pesty plant for good.

This extends to cut herbs. I can't keep them fresh. I follow directions I've found online, but with the exception of some thyme I bought a few months ago (that actually started growing roots under my careful negligence), they all start to shrivel quickly.

Today's Greenling box included some oregano (I think?!) and instead of trying to work it into every recipe, I decided to make herb butter. Then I can be all fancy-shmancy and add dollops of finishing butter to things. Best of all, I can stick the butter in the freezer and just use bits over time. Less pressure that way. I felt very in tune with the season while doing it, too. For most of the United States, herbs are just now starting to flourish, local butter is just now available again. We've been genuinely hot down here for a while now, but I grew up 600 miles north, so it's nice to feel in tune with the seasons everyone else has.

Fish-n-Fennel

2008-04-30T15:34:00.004-05:00

I've never cooked with fennel before... but it showed up in my local box, soooo... here we go. It's like Iron Chef, which is one of the reasons I haven't formally played Iron Chef Mom recently. Don't get me wrong... I really enjoy the challenge (generally only a 2 on a scale of 1-10) of framing meals around what's in season. But sometimes items in my box grate against what I think I like/don't like. Notice the word "think" in there? Yeah... I grew up in the Midwest, a fairly finicky kid, lived off mac & cheese in my college years, and rarely ate a veggie beyond iceberg salad and green beans.

And look at me now! I was leery after smelling the fennel... so foreign, so unfamiliar. How on earth would this work with fish? Fabulously, that's how.

Braised Halibut Provençal

INGREDIENTS:

1 T extra virgin olive oil + 1 T butter
3 cloves garlic, pressed
¼ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
4 leeks, washed well and sliced
1 fennel bulb, chopped
1 cup or so pureed tomatoes*
¼ cup vermouth or dry white wine
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 tablespoon or so fresh herbs (I used basil and thyme)
1 lb halibut, cut into smallish pieces
salt and black pepper, to taste

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat the olive oil in a deep oven-proof skillet over medium heat, and sauté the garlic and red pepper flakes for 1 minute. Add the leeks and fennel; cook for 5 minutes.

Add the wine and then the pureed tomatoes, letting the wine sizzle off a bit first. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes until fennel is tender and liquid is slightly reduced. Remove from heat and stir in the olives and herbs.

Season the halibut with salt and pepper, and then arrange over hot tomato mixture in skillet. Bake in preheated oven for 17-20 minutes, until fish is cooked through. Serve over rice or couscous.

I had the Grill Geek do up some zucchini as well, simply because it needed to get eaten. Turns out to have been a wonderful, delicious match. The char on the zukes just really enhanced and danced along with the party of flavors in the fish dish.

* I confess to not measuring at all. I had a jar of leftover tomatoes and I simply used "the rest" of the vermouth (my favorite white wine to cook with). If you measure and it looks like you need more liquid, add more.

Havana Goulash?

2008-04-29T19:13:00.006-05:00

Sounds strange, no?

Well... the whole thing got started with mint. I still get a weekly box of local vegetation from Greenling, and one of the things this last week was mint. The first thing I did was make minted simple syrup, in preparation for this weekend's Kentucky Derby. I need to be able to make easy Mint Juleps. But that only used half the mint. So... I decided to finally try the super-popular mojito. But the weather and menu were against me. Rain and clouds and pot roast (which was INCREDIBLE, sorry, I didn't even bother to take a picture) just don't go with mojitos.

Tonight was finally right. The sun was shining, the mojito was tasty, and I devised a way to throw a Cuban twist on dinner. I used some leftover roast (that I stuck in the fridge in all the leftover brothy goodness, which gelled... om nom nom) and basically made a quickie Ropa Vieja. Since we had rice last night, I decided to have pasta tonight (kids don't like food in their food, so goulash is right out, they'll stick with plain pasta, thanks.) I know it has a decidedly Rachel Ray flair... not very authentic... but it was plate-licking good.

And, no, I'm not kidding. I licked.

What created this fabulousity?

1/2 onion, sliced
1 jalapeno, sliced
1 tablespoon lard/bacon fat/whatever
However much leftover roast beast for two
about a cup of leftover roast juicy goodness
about a cup of pureed tomato
1 dried, smoky chipotle pepper
1/2 tsp oregano
salt, to taste
1/2 cup fresh peas

Cook onion and jalepeno in fat until soft, add meat, juicy goodness, and tomato puree. Stir. Plop the pepper in a brothy part of the pan, sprinkle on oregano and salt, and simmer until the pasta is done. When there's just a few minutes left, stir in the peas, slap a lid on it, and turn off the heat. Remove the chipotle (unless it's somehow soft enough to mash up and stir in, although taste first... it adds a LOT of flavor!) Put on pasta.

Don't forget to lick your plate!

Grilled Pork Chops

2008-04-26T08:21:00.006-05:00

Heavenly... grilled pork chops, braised chard with onions, and crispy-fabulous bacon-wrapped leeks. The one on the right was out-of-this-world good.

We've finally hammered out the best way to do the leeks. Cut any huge ones in half lengthwise (have to anyway, to get 'em clean), wrap with one strip of bacon apiece, and wrap individually in heavy duty foil, like little tootsie rolls.
Grill about ten minutes over high heat, flip over, grill about 10 more minutes. Kinda depends on individual grills, I suppose, and the size of your leeks.

Oven Carolina Chicken

2008-04-24T08:27:00.007-05:00

We really ought to name this chicken dish after our friend Heidi, as it was accidentally-created because she was coming over for dinner. I was planning to "do something with" a recipe called Crockpot Thai Chicken, or something like that. But... having a needy baby all over me... had failed to figure out exactly what. And then it was too-late for the crockpot and Heidi was coming over. The Grill Geek offered to step in, and this is what he created. We named it Oven Carolina Chicken because... well... it was cooked in the oven and we lived in South Carolina.

INGREDIENTS:

6 skinless chicken thighs*
½ cup regular salsa
¼ cup salsa verde
1 T soy sauce
2 tsp crushed garlic
2 T lime juice
¼ tsp ground ginger
4 tsp cilantro
1 tsp parsley
some white wine

COOKING INSTRUCTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Put chicken in a casserole dish and mix remaining ingredients in a small bowl. Pour over chicken. Cover with foil and poke some holes with a fork. Bake for about an hour, if bone-in.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS: Serve with steamed broccoli and rice- pour saucy stuff over rice.

* Recipe note... I almost-never advocate skinless chicken, but in this case... if you are a "texture person" you'll really not like the steamed/boiled skin, and removing it afterward would remove some of the sauce, so... just take it off before baking.

We had roasted beets with it, instead of rice, and I really missed the extra saucy stuff.

Last night we had grilled half-ceviche salmon...

The slab of salmon I had to work with on ceviche night was more than we could possibly eat. And I wasn't sure how long ceviche stays fresh in the fridge or if it's maybe not so great leftover. So... I pulled half of it out of the cevichey-juice after just an hour and set it aside for another night. Had the Grill Geek slap it on the grill, skin-side-only (I put it flesh-side down in the ceviche). More bacon-wrapped leeks were attempted (there's a learning-curve here), and we had some asparagus, so that got grilled, too. I swear I can't eat asparagus cooked indoors anymore. It just... pales in comparison. Maybe if it were broiled...

And recently we had this: grilled flank steak and stir-fried veggies. But I forgot to blog about it. It was really, really tasty, and I didn't want it's feelings to get hurt. So, here it is.

I simply marinated the steak in a bit of olive oil, lime juice, tamari, ginger, and garlic. Then the Grill Geek slapped it on the grill, saving (and boiling) the marinade. I stir-fried some veggies, made rice, and poured the marinade-now-sauce over everything.

Lamb Stuffed Peppers

2008-04-22T18:23:00.007-05:00

I wanted something to do with ground lamb... not burgers, not meatloaf... something that felt more like warm-weather food. I think we hit 90 today, so meatloaf just isn't... it isn't right.

That said, the stuffed peppers take a whole hour in the oven, so really not that different from meatloaf. But, the recipe I found called them "tropical" and, well... I admit to being easily swayed. Stick an umbrella in something and I instantly must have it. I know me.

I love it when a meal comes together... when the things in the fridge magically match the mood and the recipes that I accidentally trip over online. Because that's what it is... accident. Well, perhaps serendipity. I am not a skilled googler, and especially when trawling through the thousands and thousands of possibilities netted from "ground lamb recipe." Very vague. Tonight it worked. I had a couple of red bell peppers languishing in the crisper (snatched up several at 79-cents per pound, and I never bother with green peppers... they aren't ripe and are nutritionally-devoid.) I had the lamb. I happened to have a pint of leftover crushed tomatoes. I saw the word "tropical." It was perfect.

Ingredients:
1 pound ground lamb
2 red bell peppers (mine were huge, you'll want more if they're small)
3 tablespoons butter/bacon fat
1/2 onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut off the tops of the peppers and scoop out the seeds. (I cut mine lengthwise because they were really long and skinny.)
Heat the butter/bacon fat and brown the onion the onion lightly. Add the lamb, garlic, and all the rest. Simmer 5-8 minutes, until the lamb is pretty-much cooked.
Fill the peppers with the lamb mixture and put in a baking dish. You want a bit of space around them, for the sauce. Pour the sauce in, and if you have a bit extra like I did, put some on top of the peppers. Why not? Looks pretty.
Bake for about an hour, until the peppers are soft. Check on them every now and then, to make sure they aren't drying out.

The sauce: (I totally made this up, so it's vague)
about 1/4 onion, finely chopped and browned in ghee (or butter, oil, whatever)
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 knob (inch or so) ginger, grated (works fab to use frozen, peeled ginger on a microplane grater)
About 2 cups crushed/diced tomatoes
Salt and paprika, to taste

Combine. Simmer a bit to meld flavors.

It ended up being a lot less spicy than I expected, but I used yellow curry powder instead of red. I highly suggest kicking it up a notch or two, with garlic Tabasco or whatever spicy goodness you prefer.

Allergic to sorghum?!

2008-04-21T21:43:00.004-05:00

SORGHUM allergy? Are you kidding me?!?!

I should have known... because I bought it in bulk. Anything I buy in large quantity, whether or not I use a whole lot of it, I become allergic to. Just to piss me off.

I could have written most of this post.

This really isn't fun anymore. I do NOT want to rotate foods. I do NOT want to think about this allergy shit anymore. I just want to EAT!!!!

I made really yummy molasses cookies this afternoon, and the resulting clogged ears, exhaustion, and brain fog helped me figure out that I am, indeed, allergic to sorghum. Or maybe it's the fucking baking soda. I don't know anymore.

I love food. But it doesn't love me.

Quickie Supper

2008-04-19T18:17:00.005-05:00

We went to the Farmer's Market today... and despite living in a large city, this was an errand on the level of "expedition." First of all, it was in another city, an hour away. Secondly, I had completely forgotten that Earth Day was coming up, and that it might be celebrated more-conveniently by some today... right next to the Farmer's Market. Thirdly, we have kids. 'Nuff said.

I had pulled a flank steak out of the deep freeze yesterday, to "do something with" for dinner today. Yeah... never good to leave it so vague. By the time we got home, got things put away, and caught our breath, it was too late to start the necessary marinating for a chewable flank steak. Oops.
And with all my food allergies, just ordering pizza isn't an option.
The kids both had a light lunch and really needed something that would stick to their ribs... some protein. What on earth do I do?

I thawed some sausages (in hot water in the sink), made some rice, and threw together a salad.

Turned out to be one of the best dinners I've had in a while. And we eat good 'round here.

The sausages were duck, pork, and fig... French-style if not actually French. We love these... they are fabulous beyond reason. I first got some at Exotic Meats (which is local for us), but bought some on sale through a website . The Grill Geek grilled them... took about twenty minutes, during which time I tossed together a salad. I've mentioned before that we get local produce delivered every week, thanks to Greenling. Well, one of the lovely surprises this week was pea tendrils. I think they are simply the young shoots of the pea plant (cut off in it's prime, poor thing). They taste like... well... peas. Quite possibly the best salad I've ever had, which really isn't saying much, because I'm generally a very lazy salad-maker.

Pea Tendril & Spinach Salad with shiitakes and bacon

1/4-lb bacon
3 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 lb fresh shiitake mushrooms, stems discarded and caps quartered
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon coarse-grain mustard
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 oz fresh pea shoots
4 oz baby spinach leaves
1 bunch fresh chives, cut into 1-inch lengths
6 radishes, cut into matchsticks

Cut bacon into 3/4-inch-thick matchsticks and cook in a heavy skillet over moderately low heat, stirring, until crisp but still chewy, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

Pour off fat from skillet and add 1 1/2 tablespoons oil, mushrooms, and ½ teaspoon salt. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are golden, about 8 minutes, then cool.

Whisk together lemon juice, vinegar, mustard, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, pepper, and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large salad bowl until blended.

Add pea shoots and spinach to dressing and toss to coat. Add bacon, mushrooms, chives, and radishes and toss again.

I used a kohlrabi instead of the radishes, and didn't have any mushrooms... so just skipped that part. I also used some red leaf lettuce instead of all spinach. I'm not a big fan of spinach. It was so, so good!

More Ceviche

2008-04-18T07:09:00.006-05:00

With a side of blue corn chips... yum!

Salmon Ceviche

INGREDIENTS

1/4 teaspoon agave (a generous squirt)
1 1/2 tablespoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon chili paste or sauce
3/4 cup fresh juices- lime, lemon, orange, grapefruit
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1/4 cup minced red onion (I omitted)
1 ripe tomato, finely diced (I used salsa... on the side)
2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro (or 1 T dried)
1 pound very fresh salmon fillets (sushi-grade), thinly sliced
1 avocado, sliced

DIRECTIONS

In a large non-metal bowl, dissolve the agave, salt, and chili paste in the lime juice. Season with pepper and cumin. Stir in the olive oil, garlic, onion, tomato, and cilantro. Gently mix in the salmon, then cover, and refrigerate for 4 hours.
To serve, drain the excess liquid from the salmon, then gently stir in the avocado slices, and allow to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Masterful

2008-04-14T10:41:00.008-05:00

Last night's dinner... which the Grill Geek graciously prepared, despite it being the last hours of the Masters golf tournament.

Grilled strip steak... Sidedish (with red bell peppers for a delicious twist), and Bacon-Wrapped Leek. One leek. It was ginormous. I had to bend it around double to fit half of it on my plate. I love the char on that potato on top of my Sidedish. Mmm, mmm, good. And, in case you were wondering, that is not iced tea in the glass. That is bourbon. It was delicious, much-needed, and the reason I didn't get around to posting this last night.

A close-up of the bacon-wrapped leek. The Grill Geek wrapped it in foil, to prevent burning and huge bacon-fat-fueled flare ups. It took longer than we expected to get "done." But... I am left speechless by the delicious divinity of this dish. I made noises while eating. Again.

Simple Chicken

2008-04-13T10:24:00.004-05:00

Lunch today was baked chicken, and I think I'm not going to bother with roasting whole chickens anymore. This was fabulous and much faster. I didn't bother with the gravy, partly because I'm just not a gravy girl (strange, I know, since I love slathering fat on everything) and partly because it was a conventional chicken... so... most of the icky stuff (hormones, whatever) are in the fat.

Along with the chicken was a quick green salad with lemon vinaigrette, leftover roast beets, and fresh Noah's bread rolls.

Yet Another Montage

2008-04-11T19:43:00.006-05:00

I'm having a hard time keeping up lately... and it's not because I'm eating PB&J sandwiches (or ramen... whatever is your definition of Not Cooking.) I'm here... I'm cooking... I'm being constantly called to "play ah-side, Mama, c'mon, play ah-side! Let's go!" "Ah-side" translates to "outside" for anyone that didn't catch it.
We play, we eat, we play, we eat, at no point in there do I get to sit down for more than 5 minutes.

So, here you go... the meals I've missed posting about (that were worthy of mention):

Smoked pork.
There are few things in life easier or more delicious than smoked pork. It's the Grill Geek's domain, so I know little of how it's done. But in three hours he turned a rather inexpensive chunk of meat into crusty, salty, marvelous deliciousness. Our Little Guy ate more than either of us... that's how good it was. We served it with roasted beets and biscuits. We were supposed to also serve beet greens, but... I forgot. The Little Guy woke up from a nap and... well... things got crazy.

Hamburgers, pan-fried due to a schedule-conflict with the Grill Geek. The greens I was supposed to cook the night before (kale and the greens from the beets). Oven fries and mayonnaise. No, I'm not Canadian. I just really hate ketchup.

Grilled rockfish, atop lettuce and red cabbage (dressed with vinegar and olive oil), with rice and grilled zucchini. Quite yummy.

Fajita/Taco Things. I over-crisped the tortillas, forgot we were out of lettuce, and didn't have time to make guacamole. So... I topped them with some microgreens we had from Greenling. They were good. Chewy, but good.

Lamb Sausage Ragout

2008-04-11T18:26:00.005-05:00

Wow... that sure sounds fancy. It's surprisingly-simple, though. Start with the Fabulous Foursome (garlic, onion, celery, and carrot) and... you're more than half done.

I based it off this Emeril recipe, but (since I'm pathologically incapable of following a recipe, even my own) I made a few changes. First of all, I don't get all futzy and measure things. I used two smallish carrots, two celery stalks, and a bunch of lovely, local green onions. I had regular onions, but... wanted to use the green onions before they went bad. They were so big, too, that I figured they had plenty of oniony goodness. I only used one pound of lamb sausage, because I'm not cooking for a crowd... cooked that up in a dab of lard (hee hee... I love using lard because it's SOOO "wrong"), took it out of the pan (because I was short on space) and tossed in the veggies. When they were ready, I added 2 cups of tomato puree, about 1/4 cup of wine, 3 shakes of red pepper flakes (which was too much!) and 1/2 teaspoon thyme.

I didn't have the mushrooms, so I just put it on pasta and had the Grill Geek grill up some asparagus.

Beans and Greens, Ole!

2008-04-06T20:25:00.004-05:00

I never make meat-less meals, and yet... tonight... I did. Weird. It wasn't vegetarian, because I used lard and chicken broth. But, there was no meat. My headache is telling me not to do this again. But... it was pretty tasty.

I had some pinto beans that needed to get cooked (I'd soaked them and put them in the freezer, then thawed them thinking I was going to do something else... they languished..) I also had a ton of greens that needed to get cooked. I love cannelini and kale, which is Italian in flavor. Would pintos and kale be good? Yes! Once the beans were soft (cooked in chicken broth), I tossed in some cumin, coriander, black pepper, and ancho chile powder. I put those brothy beans on the bottom of my bowl and topped with braised kale (cooked with onions and garlic, with a chopped tomato thrown in near the end) and sprinkled a bit of fresh cilantro over it.

Pretty darn good. I don't have a second opinion, as the kids don't that sort of mixed-together food and the Grill Geek was asleep early.

Get Yer Goat!

2008-04-05T18:41:00.008-05:00

I am now converted... I love goat.

The Grill Geek had some sort of goat years ago, at a Jamaican restaurant. He loved it. I was a bit more leery, but... as we've been eating all sorts of weird things lately, decided we'd get some as soon as we could. On a recent trip to the farmer's market in Austin, the opportunity arose. They were out of ground meat, so we opted for steaks. They were called something else, but looked like itty bitty t-bones. I handed them over to the Grill Geek as a totally-not-surprising Iron Chef Grill ingredient.
He worked wonders.

Pandering to the judge is always welcome, so he wrapped things in bacon. The bottom left of the photo shows unidentifiable blobs that I will tell you are bacon-wrapped tomatoes . He thickly-sliced some fresh, local (greenhouse) tomatoes, wrapped them in bacon, and grilled away. They looked like a bit of a pain in the arse, but they tasted FABULOUS. Anyway, back to the rest... hot dogs at top left, "for the kids", smallish pieces of goat in the middle, fat green onions, then bigger pieces of goat.
He also grilled some asparagus (simply toss with oil and salt and it becomes pure joy.)

The joke was on us. Both children devoured every scrap of goat we were willing to toss their way. No one got enough. The hot dogs were utterly ignored. The tomatoes were melty-juicy-tart inside crisp-salty... wow. Goat tastes like buttery bambi-beef. So juicy. So meaty. So good.

Iron Chef Mom goes Hawaiian

2008-04-03T16:44:00.012-05:00

This has to be my favorite failure ever.
I went way over on my time, thanks to not remembering to thaw my shrimp ahead of time, not delegating effectively to my sous chef, and getting too much "help" from the Little Guy. Excuses, excuses... I failed.

And that's ok. Because dinner was absolutely fabulously delicious beyond all reason. The secret ingredient was pineapple! Too fun!

The Menu:

Bacon-wrapped, rum-soaked pineapple slices

Spicy grilled shrimp

Thai stir-fried rice

Roasted pineapple and avocado salad

Tortuga Twister

Bacon Wrapped Rum-Soaked Pineapple

(does it get any better than this?)

¼ cup dark rum
1/2 pound (or so) thin cut bacon
Slices/chunks of fresh pineapple

Soak pineapple in rum, 15 minutes or so. Wrap pineapple slices with bacon and secure with a toothpick (or not... I didn't bother, probably should have). Broil in oven until bacon is browned and cooked (8 minutes each side worked for me.) It's like bacon candy. Seriously. Wow.

Spicy Grilled Shrimp

1 pound large raw shrimp, peeled

about 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
several hard shakes garlic Tabasco
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon dried thyme

Marinate shrimp about 15 minutes... grill. Out of this world incredible!

Thai Stir Fried Rice and Pineapple

3/4 cup pineapple, in small chunks
1 teaspoon grated ginger
2 jalapeño peppers, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
¼ cup chopped onion
¼ cup red bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
1 tablespoon tamari (soy sauce)
½ teaspoon sugar
1 cup of cold, steamed Thai jasmine rice
coriander leaves as garnish

Put the pineapple in a bowl and add the jalapeño, ginger, and cilantro, mix and set aside. Add a pinch of salt to bring out the juice. In a wok, heat about a tablespoon of oil stir and fry the bell

pepper and onion about 3 minutes. Add the garlic and stir quickly, until it barely begins to brown. Add the rice and stir thoroughly. Add the fish sauce and sugar and continue stirring. When the rice is heated through, add the pineapple mixture and stir until thoroughly heated through.

I didn't expect to like the sweetness of pineapple in fried rice, but it was fabulous. The two peppers were just the right amount of heat for me... which means not all that much. I'm a weenie these days.

Roasted Pineapple and Avocado Salad

The creamy avocado really works magic in this salad. Once again, I was surprised by how much I liked the sweet pineapple in a dish I traditionally enjoy savory. I think the next time I make this (and, oh yes, there will be a next time) I will add crumbled bacon. I think that roasty, salty flavor
would make it perfect.

About 1 cup fresh pineapple, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1/2 teaspoon light brown sugar
salt
1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 Hass avocado, cut into 3/4-inch chunks
1 head red leaf lettuce
Freshly ground pepper
Lime wedges, for serving

Preheat the oven to 400°. In a medium bowl, toss the pineapple with the brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Spread the pineapple on a baking sheet and roast in the upper third of the oven for about 10 minutes, or until softened and just beginning to brown.
In a medium bowl, whisk the olive oil with the vinegar. Add the lettuce, season with salt and pepper, and toss. Sprinkle the avocado chunks with lime juice, to prevent browning. Transfer the salad to plates, top with the pineapple and avocado, and serve.

Tortuga Twister

1 oz white rum
1 oz Sailor Jerry (spiced rum)
1/2 oz Amaretto
1/2 oz Orange Curacao/Triple Sec
4 oz grapefruit juice, fresh-squeezed
splash of grenadine

Shake rums and amaretto with ice. Pour into a hurricane glass half filled with ice. Top with and grenadine. Garnish with a pineapple stick* and an umbrella or pirate sword. Arrrrr! (Tortuga!)

* a pineapple "stick" is merely a piece of the hard core, cut into a stick-ish shape, for garnishing goodness.

Bonus Rant

2008-04-03T15:33:00.004-05:00

Microwave-ready steamable rice? Really? Seriously? Did I just see this in my grocery store ad?

AAAAAAACCKK!!!

Was Uncle Ben's Minute Rice kicking people's asses? Was boiling a pot of water too much like "actual cooking?" Did it take too long? Dirty too many actual dishes? Was it not disposable enough? Was it not something the kids could do for themselves while rocking out on iPods and texting their friends?

W. T. F.

Microwavable steam-packs of white rice.

I admit to loving my rice cooker... it simplifies the task for me, but actually takes a lot longer to cook it. I don't care. I plan ahead. If I didn't have a rice cooker I'd probably just not eat rice as often. If I was really in a pinch, I'd use minute rice. It's fast. Not really healthy, but... it comes in a biodegradable cardboard box and is really easy to make.

But that wasn't good enough for all the lazy-ass "I don't cook", call-for-pizza Americans out there, was it? Nooo....

And then, the clincher... my store (and yes, there's only one where we live, because our city hosts the company headquarters and no other chain can even get a toe in) has these "meal deals" every week. Buy one or two things, get certain other things free. This week you can "save more than $6.88" if you buy Oscar Mayer lunchmeat and Velveeta singles. (Mmm, yummy, plastic!) What wonderful things do you get for free? Crystal Light On the Go (brain tumors never tasted so good), Kraft Easy Mac Cups (I JUST CAN'T even start that rant, OMG), Jell-O Singles Instant Pudding Mix, and Miracle Whip.
Yeah.

Save $7, lose 7 years of your life.

I think I'll pass.

Soup, Salad, and Bread

2008-04-02T20:12:00.008-05:00

The fridge was full of leftovers, my energy meter was low (thanks to accidental ingestion of coconut oil during lunch... in case any one is wondering, yes I am still pouting about that allergy.)
So, dinner needed to be easy. What was on the menu? "Iron Chef Mom." Nope, wasn't going to happen. Nuh-uh, save it for a better night.

Instead, leftover Leftover Leg of Lamb Stew, salad with balsamic vinaigrette, and some fresh soda bread. Not a typo, it was double-leftover stew. I saved the bone and chopped all the meat that was leftover (from Irish Heritage Day) into bite-size pieces, and stuck it in the freezer. Earlier this week, it became dinner with some onions, red potatoes, carrots, peas, and tomatoes. It seems to be a neverending soup, as we've still got some left. That leg of lamb was expensive, but... wow... it just keeps going.

I still love the soda bread. It's marvelous. This time I used traditional currants instead of raisins. Delish.

And... folks... if any of you are still buying bottled salad dressing, made with toxic canola and soy oils... I have to ask WHY?? Seriously, please leave a comment and tell me why on earth you do that to yourselves. Homemade dressing is so easy! You don't need to whisk things, you don't have to get all snooty French about it... buy some of those itty bitty Gladware containers. The ones with the blue lid that hold less than half a cup. (For what it's worth, the screw-top Ziploc containers that are a bit bigger suck. They are NOT liquid-tight!) Then you can just shake up your dressing, pour what you need on your salad, and stick the leftovers in the fridge for another day.
Here's how to make super-easy balsamic dressing:

Squirt a generous dab of Dijon mustard into your container. 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon, start with less and see how you like it.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar
Add a splash of apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar, to tone it down a bit, if you think that'd be good.
Add about twice as much olive oil... eyeball it... it's not rocket science.
Slap the lid on and shake it up.
Taste it. Too tart? More oil. Not tart enough? More vinegar.
Add salt and pepper, some fresh thyme or parsley if you've got it. A pinch of dried herb- any herb pretty much- is nice too.

Oh, and if you're feeling adventurous, use an egg yolk instead of mustard... but don't plan on keeping it in the fridge more than a few days.

Sort-of Ceviche

2008-04-01T18:37:00.003-05:00

Today I decided to make ceviche for dinner. Unfortunately, it was an impulse decision, so I didn't have a chance to go shopping for all the proper ingredients. And then I lost my nerve and half-cooked it anyway. Next time I will know to make sure the fish pieces are all the same thickness. I had some bigger chunks that didn't really get... ceviched... all the way through. Since I lacked the chiles and olives and... well, pretty much all the ingredients for a traditional ceviche, I used red pepper flakes for heat and... called it good. I cooked my onions, thinly-sliced, because I can't handle raw onion, even if it's had a long citrus bath.

Ingredients: 1 pound halibut, carefully cut into equal inch-ish pieces; 1/4 cup grapefruit juice; 1/4 cup lime juice (1 really juicy lime); generous splash of vermouth; 1 inch-long knob of ginger, peeled and grated; 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced; 1 pinch red pepper flakes; 1 small onion, thinly-sliced, almost-caramelized in bacon fat; 2 tablespoons or so fresh parsley, minced; 1/8 teaspoon dried oregano

Combine the juices, vermouth, ginger, garlic, and pepper flakes in a non-metal bowl. (Yes, it is important that it not be metal.) Toss in the fish, stir, and stick in the fridge for 3 hours. Check on it every now and then, to stir again. Bits of fish that stick snugly to other bits of fish won't get enough citrus magic to "cook" them.
Since I had many raw-looking bits still, I cooked mine real quick in some olive oil and butter, and served it with the onions over rice. Oh... and drain the fish before serving... plenty of flavor sticks to the fish without the need for all that tart juice.
It was scrumptious.

Delayed coupon rant

2008-03-30T17:24:00.003-05:00

Last week there were no coupons in the Sunday paper.

Somehow, the world spun on. Not sure how.

This week there were coupons, but we went to the zoo and it took me a while to recover from that enough to care about the paper. I never know how many things in the coupon section will piss me off, so I have to be well-rested and calm in case it's an epic week. Don't want to die from a ranty coronary.

This week's rant has little to do with food. It has to do with cleaning up after making food. Something that I guess gets a bit drudgerous. Drudgersome? Hmmm... I guess neither of those is a real word. Moving on...
Cooking real food can make a real mess. But, generally nothing permanent. Nothing in need of "microbeads" that magically target "stuck-on food." What the hell is up with that? Are these more of the amazing nanites at work? I don't think so. But Palmolive claims it's new Scrub Buster with MicroBeads will do just that. That horrible, terrible stuck-on food will be a thing of the past.

Why was it even a problem? All it takes to "bust thru stuck-on food" is patience. Fill the pan with soapy water and wait.

Really.

That's all it takes. If you start off with really hot water, and wait until it's cool enough to touch, a mild effort with a sponge will get your dish clean.

If you have a rare case of truly stuck-on burnt greasy stuff, dust it with baking soda, add a sprinkle of water, and wait. There's that pesky patience thing again. Do it during a commercial break and by the next one you'll have a wipe-off clean pan.

It's not rocket science and it doesn't require any stupid micro beads.

Shrimp Stir-fry

2008-03-27T18:55:00.009-05:00

I have stir-fried shrimp before, but I think this is the first time I've used a recipe.

And naturally... I didn't really follow the recipe. I seem to be cellularly incapable of such things. Which is just as well, since the recipe came from a cookbook and is probably copyrighted. So... I'll post what I actually did, since (so far) that is not. Copyrighted. Hope y'all are following me here, but sometimes I'm not sure, so I wanted to be clear. Ok... less conversation, more action, here's the recipe.

Make some rice. I like jasmine, in a rice cooker, with about half the liquid being chicken stock and the rest water. Well, I really like the rest being coconut milk, but that's not an option right now. And I'm still pouting about it.

So... get your rice going, however you like to do that. About 20 minutes before it's ready (my rice cooker takes a looooong time, but it's worth it, because then it keeps it warm and ready for however long I need. Plus, it has fuzzy logic and I don't have any logic at all, so I can't make rice worth a damn.)

Now... start chopping:

1/2 onion, sliced fairly thin
1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into bite-size pieces
2-3 cloves garlic, sliced
2-3 green onions (if they're big honkin' ones like I got this week, if teeny, maybe 5 or 6)- slice the relevant parts into thin circles
1 tomato (I used the approximate equivalent in canned, boxed really, since I try to not use cans anymore.)

You'll also need:
3 tablespoons oil (I used 1 each of bacon fat, palm oil, and ghee... I'm weird.)
1 heaping teaspoon (not the actual measury kind, I used a regular small spoon) green curry paste. The recipe called for red, but I didn't have any. So I used green. And I added another spoonful of red chile paste that I happened to have on hand. It's rather mild. Curry tastes faboo, so just chile paste won't replace it. I'll shut up and move on now...
about 1/4 cup sake or vermouth or white wine or chicken stock. I'm flexible.
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice (who really measures that sort of thing??)
1 tablespoon cilantro leaves (or parsley if that's all you've got, not really the same, but it'll do.)
1/2 pound smallish raw shrimp, peeled, deveined, all that jazz
couple handfuls raw baby spinach
Tamari or regular soy sauce, to taste

Heat oil in a LARGE pan and saute onion and bell pepper a few minutes, until beginning to soften. Add garlic and cook another minute, stirring often. Stir in curry paste and chile paste and craft paste (just seeing if you're paying attention) and cook another minute. Add sake and wait until about half of it boils off. Sort of scrape the veggies to one side, or the outside, of the pan and toss in the shrimp. Cook a couple of minutes, depends on the size of your shrimp. Add tomatoes and green onions. Stir (duh!) Add the spinach and really flip things over so the spinach gets on the bottom... so it can wilt. Season with fish sauce, lime juice, parsley, and tamari. Once the spinach is wilty, serve over rice. Or over easy. I don't care. It goes nicely with Gruet Blanc de Noirs (sham-pagne) which goes much-too-well with pomegranate juice. (Forget the fussy seeds or any recipes that bother with orange curacao. Juice + bubbly = joy.)

Fajita Salad, Again

2008-03-25T18:46:00.006-05:00

I know... we eat a LOT of fajita-type stuff around here. What can I say? I live in South Texas... I am inspired. When the sun is shining, the tunes are playing, I'm feeling fried (literally, not "stressed") from playing in the backyard so much, and the soft, thick air is settling down after a day of blowing... I see on my menu that I planned to do "something" with a big slab of cheap steak, and I think "fajitas." And it's a winner, every time.

Tonight it was fajita salad. Fresh, local (Bibb, I think??) lettuce, dressed with lemon juice, olive oil, and salt, topped with shredded green (local, once again) cabbage that was dressed with white vinegar, agave, and salt, then some sliced avocado with lime juice, the grilled steak, and then grilled onions, red bell pepper, and some sort of hot green pepper. Those were tossed with bacon fat after slicing and prior to grilling.

It was, of COURSE, delicious. Oh... and that's a grilled zucchini at the bottom there. It was good, too.

Last night I forgot to post... we had stir-fry... it was yummy, but not all that special.

It was leftover grilled steak, from Naughty Friday, with onions, a mix of lemongrass (one stalk, finely-minced), ginger (small bit grated with a micro-plane) and 2 cloves minced garlic, tamari, fish sauce, and chicken stock. I tossed in some spinach at the very end, to wilt. And we served it over rice.
If anyone wants an actual recipe... just ask. I think I'll remember what I loosely based it upon.

Easter Dinner

2008-03-23T14:14:00.012-05:00

I love the idea of "dinner" being in the middle of the day. That way it's not hanging over my head all day, nor do I have a giant bunch of food to digest while I'm sleeping. Which I guess is good.

I've spent too long already getting distracted from posting this. So, without further attempt at wit... some before and after pics, with necessary description.

To the right, a sort of Sidedish, but with leeks, to be fancy. And because we got them in our weekly Greenling delivery.

Menu:
Appetizers: Spicy Pecans, olives, cute little gummy berries
Bacon Wrapped Asparagus
That potato-and-leek thing
Grilled lamb chops
And, because they were so itty bitty, grilled pork chops as well.
Dessert was Even More Candy

Yeah... I'll eat that.

The potatoes and leeks got charry-caramelized, the pork chops were juicy, the lamb was silky, and the bacon-wrapped asparagus is now on my menu for Last Meal Ever. And I barely did any work at all, because I made the Grill-Geek cook it outside. Fabulous.

Naughty Friday

2008-03-21T10:05:00.003-05:00

Oops. I forgot to take a picture. This is what was left from our Naughty Friday decadence.

In case you haven't figured it out by now, we are not a religious family. So we... well... tend to taunt on holy days. What can I say? We're pirates. On Good Friday, which I understand is commonly a day of fasting and flagellation, we feasted on gigantic steaks, bacon-wrapped grilled potatoes, and dressed cucumbers, with full glasses of wine. That's the kind of people we are.

I did manage to flagellate myself a little bit, while walking through part of the neighbor's yard... they have stickers (prickers, whatever you call them) and I got an entire foot-full. Whee. I'll have more wine and forget about it.

Grilled Salmon

2008-03-20T17:21:00.005-05:00

Today is Ostara, the official start of Spring, a day that should be filled with treats left by Eostre's bunny, and the milk should be overflowething. Except... my Fairy Child positively insists on celebrating on Easter (despite being quite happily pagan) and we can't have milk. Luckily there are other seasonal and traditional goodies we can have.

I started the day with chocolate pancakes. I won't share the recipe. They were terrible. Any time you can make a chocolate pancake... chocolate... and neither kid will eat more than one, you know it's time to throw out your aprons and flours and condemn yourself to storebought waffles.

Lunch was just munchies... ham, nuts, and oodles of berries. None of them local or organic... so sue me. I was trying for a teachable moment with the Fairy Child, where I could tell her about the Way Things Were before electricity and refrigeration and getting everything we want from Chile during our winter. Instead she grabbed her berries and ate lunch in front of her computer.

So, dinner was grilled salmon, rice (and I'm still bitter about it not being coconut rice... it just tastes so flat when it's plain), and a big salad of fresh local greens.

On the grill... sort of the "before" shot.

And after... ready to eat... luckily, there are leftovers!

Chicken Concoction

2008-03-19T19:11:00.004-05:00

Tonight was another night featuring mainly leftovers. We had a lot of leftover chicken, thanks to roasting a "roaster" instead of a skinny "fryer." I thought I knew what I'd be doing with it... a recipe from a menu-mailer that I used years ago, called Low Carb King Ranch Chicken. I'm not sure what real King Ranch Chicken is, but always liked this handy recipe that uses leftover chook.
So, it was dinner time, I whipped out my cookbook binder, flipped to the recipe, and... uh, oh... I don't have half those ingredients.

Hmmm.

Time to get creative.

It worked out well, and was even quite pretty to look at. Many a famous chef has implored the masses to remember that "we eat first with our eyes" so I'm glad it was pretty. I spend at least 10 seconds actually giving a crap about what dinner looks like (before sibling squabbling, growling guts, and setting the table take precedence)... so those were 10 happy seconds tonight.

Vaguely Mexican Chicken Skillet

Ingredients:

1-2 tablespoons bacon fat
1/2 onion, sliced thin
2 strips already-cooked bacon, chopped
about 1/2 cup canned roasted red bell pepper, chopped
1 tsp minced garlic
about 1/2 cup salsa
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon spicy smoked paprika (or regular, but smoky is goooood)
1/2 cup or so chicken broth
1 - 2 cups cooked chicken, chopped or shredded
about half a jar marinated artichoke hearts
1/3 cup frozen corn kernels
2 handfuls baby spinach

If you want to serve it atop pasta (I'm thinking shells or rotini... to help grab the sauce), start the water boiling.
Cook the onion and bacon in bacon fat until the onion is very soft. Toss in the garlic, peppers, salsa, spices... stir. Add some chicken broth until it looks a bit saucy. Toss in the chicken and artichoke hearts. Put a lid on and reduce the heat a bit.
When the pasta is almost done, throw in the corn and stir. Add the spinach and DON'T stir... it'll steam on top of the other stuff, if you put the lid on. So... um... put the lid on. Dinner will be ready in just 2 or 3 minutes.

Oh, and in case you clicked on the menu mailer link above and thought "hey, that's a great idea, I want to get that"... don't. Well, it's your life, do whatever you want. But I highly recommend getting this one instead. It has much healthier food. And, no, I don't mean low-fat, low-flavor. I mean healthy.

Irish Heritage Day

2008-03-17T19:34:00.008-05:00

I refuse to give the murderer of so many innocents his own special day, so instead I will honor the spirit of the day. I have no problem whatsoever in celebrating Irish culture!

We did not dye our beer green, but we did eat green food for lunch.

Green salad with shamrock-looking kohlrabi sprouts, celery, greenish dip for said celery (put parsley in it) and green olives. We aren't rabbits, though, so we needed something more, and it wasn't really green. It was, however, Irish-ish.

Salmon patties. With dill and fresh parsley... for green.

Then dinner was more classic...

Roast leg of lamb (not the entire leg... we're a small family), potatoes, onions, and garlic roasted in the lamb drippings, braised cabbage and leeks with butter and lemon, and gluten-free soda bread. The lamb looks pretty much raw in this shot, and it wasn't. I took it's temperature and everything, it was supposedly medium-rare. It was definitely delicious. I think the soda bread stole the show, though, it was beyond fabulous. The sorghum flour I ordered wasn't here yet, so I used amaranth instead. And, thanks to experience and knowledge about what I don't like, I used a very scant one TEAspoon of caraway, instead of a tablespoon. Oh, and she cooks at high altitude. My bread was done more than 5 minutes early.

Coconut allergy

2008-03-17T09:11:00.002-05:00

Proof that the gods are cruel: I am now allergic to all forms of coconut. Even the oil. Allergies are generally to proteins, so oils are generally exempt. Not so for me. I just love being the exception to the rule. Again.
"Contact dermatitis to coconut is more common than food allergy." So sayeth half a zillion websites. I have no skin reaction... just all my usual food allergy reactions.

I will post some more recent recipes and such later. I'm too pissed off right now.

Chili

2008-03-16T11:55:00.005-05:00

Since today is Selection Sunday for March Madness, and my husband's blood runs blue for UK, and since he was raised on basketball (and football... and hockey... and baseball...) I wanted an easy dinner that we could eat while watching all the drawn-out drama on TV. Because it can't ever be so simple as just posting a big chart showing which teams get seeded where in the tourney. Noooo...

Today is also a rather chilly day, so I thought chili would be nice. Even though this is my own recipe, I never manage to follow it. This time I added an Anaheim chile, didn't use all those tomatoes (just one big can of diced and a smallish box of crushed), and I left out the cinnamon stick. Because I don't have any. I'll include an "after" photo once it's actually served.

Crock Pot Chili

Sauté:

2 lbs ground chuck
1-2 onions, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
large handful sliced fresh mushrooms

Pour into crock pot:

2 cans Ro-Tel tomatoes (mild or regular)
1 can petite-diced tomatoes
1 can plain tomato sauce (full size)
1 can frijoles negro
Sautéed ingredients

Add spices:

2 T chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp cilantro
4 dashes cayenne (or 1/4 tsp spicy smoked paprika, if you have it)
1 T cocoa powder
1 cinnamon stick

Start in the morning, ready by dinner. Start after lunch, might need to put it on "high." It's flexible.

There it is. Chili. With tortilla chips, to make it pretty. The Little Guy's hand is in the background, adding chips to the guacamole. He then inhaled the guacamole and demanded more. Like his mama, he's Mexican at heart.

Iron Chef- Mystery Meat

2008-03-16T08:53:00.011-05:00

The mysteries keep coming. We bought a quarter of a cow last fall, and are using up the last little bits now. One package was apparently folded before it got frozen, and the part of the label telling what was inside was tucked into the fold. Mystery meat. Looked like it could be a roast or a really thick steak... nope. Short ribs. And time was short as well. Not the best situation for short ribs. Whoops.

The Grill Geek volunteered for an impromptu Iron Chef Grill.

Basting with an Asian-inspired sauce. He has no idea how to recreate the deliciousness... he didn't write down how much he used of anything. Worcestershire, tamari... vermouth instead of sake... probably some other stuff.

Gratuitous gazebo shot. No point here. Just showing off. This is the good life... sunny day, light breeze, a margarita on the outdoor bar, big chunks of beefiness on the grill... yeah.

The result: short ribs on rice, a salad with lemon vinaigrette, and grilled Brussels sprouts (with onions and garlic, done in a foil pack). The Grill Geek wasn't very pleased with the result- too tough and chewy. It was a lot of work to eat, but it was delicious. Even our finicky Fairy Child gobbled some up. I think we'll stick to low and slow for short ribs in the future, though.

Mystery Greens

2008-03-15T11:07:00.006-05:00

One of the unexpected parts of getting a weekly box of local produce is... sometimes I have no idea what things are. We get to play Guess That Vegetable. Sometimes it's a question of whether some little red thing is a baby beet or a radish... or perhaps a baby turnip or a radish. After all, many of the veggies aren't grocery-store varieties. They are, perhaps, heirloom versions, or simply varieties chosen for their ability to grow well in South Texas.
The most-perplexing for me is the Guess That Green Thing. Sometimes I can't even tell whether something should be served as a salad or braised like collards. So... I nibble it. If it's bitter, braise it. If it's bitter and tough, braise it a long time. Bitter and tender? Braise it quick.

So, here I had salad-looking greens that were INCREDIBLY sour/bitter. I had no idea what they were, but... thanks to kids being kids... no time to try to figure it out. I braised. They were still bitter, but strangely were improved by some lemon juice. You'd think MORE bitter/sour wouldn't help. Well, that's what I thought anyway. But I was wrong!

Yesterday I was confronted with more mysterious greens... they looked like a combination between bok choy and collards. Strange... decided to cook them like collards, after consulting this handy site and deciding they were probably just a variation of collard greens. From that same site I deduced that last night's mystery was sorrel. That explains the sourness. After these been cooking a while I gave 'em a taste.

Spinach.

The mysterious greens... that finally prompted me to search online for a Guide to Greens were plain ol' boring spinach.

And I don't like spinach. I confirmed that last night. The rest of dinner made up for it- roasted turnips and crispy-salty-skinned chicken. The chicken caused a lot of frustration by not cooking fast enough, so I completely forgot to take pictures. Sorry.

Roast turnips are very easy, by the way... cut up somewhat small and toss with oil and salt. Then, depending on what else you've got in the oven, roast at 375 to 450 degrees for 15-30 minutes. It's hard to mess 'em up.

Iron Chef Grill 3!

2008-03-13T20:02:00.007-05:00

This was an impromptu Iron Chef... we happened to be at a store that happened to have the exact ingredient I had been looking for since the first Iron Chef Grill "episode." So... guess what, honey? It's time for you to shine!

Kyo no tema... tai!

Whole red snapper. Way back when I was looking up inspiration for my own Iron Chef Shark night, I happened across many recipes involving whole fish, stuffed with something, and grilled. I salivated. I hungered. I longed. So, naturally, I decided then and there that the Grill Geek's first ingredient ought to be a whole fish. And promptly couldn't find any.

We also managed to hammer out another rule of Iron Chef Grill with this installment. Unlike Iron Chef Mom, where nothing but the already-present contents of fridge, freezer, and pantry may be used (no trips to the store for ingredients), grilling is all about last minute jaunts for _____ and beer. So, the Grill Geek ran out for crab, shrimp, and beer. I think it's a fitting rule.
We still have a lot of rule-making to do for the Grill version.

3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1/4 cup celery, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
4 ounces cooked shrimp
4 ounces cooked crabmeat
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper

To Make Stuffing: Melt 2 tablespoons butter or margarine in a skillet. Add the bread crumbs. Saute and stir the mixture over medium-high heat till the bread crumbs are browned. Remove the bread crumbs to a mixing bowl.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter or margarine in the skillet and sauté the onions, celery and garlic until tender; add to bread crumbs in mixing bowl, then stir in shrimp, crab, parsley, salt and pepper and toss gently.

Cram this stuff inside le' poisson. Grill 20-25 minutes, or until flaky.

I wish I'd remembered to take a "before shot."

It was delicious!

Another montage of scrumptiousness

2008-03-13T18:38:00.011-05:00

I haven't felt like talking much lately, but I have felt like eating. So... this is what I haven't been talking about.Smoked sausage and potatoes... fried... with Old Bay. This is how I recommend dealing with any leftovers from a Low Country Boil.

Salmon salad on... well... salad. Not glamorous, but it is tasty.

Grilled steak, collards (with turnip and beet tops), and roasted turnips and beets. INCREDIBLY good. For whatever wordy reason, I have always associated beets and turnips with old people, because my grandparents ate them. Guess what... they're actually really yummy!

Hard to see, but... grilled round steak, fajita-style, grilled red peppers, poblano, and onions, with a bit of salsa verde on warmed corn tortillas. To the left are some "dressed cucumbers" (MIL's recipe) and to the right are some rewarmed borracho beans.

Dressed Cucumbers

Thinly-sliced onion, bell pepper (if you want), and cucumber
1/2 cup vinegar (white, but I like to add a generous splash of raw apple cider vinegar)
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar (MIL says 2, that's too sweet for me)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Put the veggies in a quart canning jar, pour liquid over, screw on the lid and shake. Keeps in the fridge for a few days (cukes get soggy after a bit), and you can re-use the juicy bit by just tossing in more veggies.

Because the whole foodie blogosphere seems to be talking about polenta these days, I wanted to join with the cool kids and do it, too. This is polenta... prepared, cooled, sliced, and broiled, then topped with marinara, meatballs, and kalamata olives. Pretty tasty. I have tried toasting/broiling polenta three times now, attempting to get it crispy and such like I've read can happen. It hasn't happened for me yet. I still have hope. It's a nice alternative to brown rice pasta.

Smoked pork (Grill Geek thinks it was a shoulder, bone-in), collards, dressed cukes, and raw carrot & celery sticks. Not pictured: quickie dip for raw veggies, consisting of mayo and balsamic vinegar, with a bit of salt and pepper. Om nom nom!

Lame-ass Rant

2008-03-09T09:31:00.003-05:00

I'm behind. I haven't been blogging. I know. Sue me.

I'm suffering from a terrible case of pity-party, with a hefty dose of "meh."

I also suffer from a decent understanding of the rules governing the English language, American flavor. And today's coupons finally broke me out of my meh-rut enough to bitch to the faceless masses about it.

Cheerios Snack Mix... "Good Source of WHOLE GRAIN."

Just one?

Are they seriously advertising the presence of ONE whole grain in the product?

Or are they simply using the newest buzzword, incorrectly?

I personally think grains are NOT an important part of anyone's diet, except as a way to avoid outright starvation. That's the role they've played in most of human history... famine foods. But then the idea caught on and here we are today, eating worse than most of our pets (meaning, not species-appropriate) and getting sicker and sicker. But if we are going to go along with the idea that whole grains are at least better than refined grains, at least use proper grammar when advertising it!!

Whole grainS. Please. Really. Unless, of course, it's true that there's just one in the box.

Speaking of getting sicker and sicker... I'd like proper grammar applied to new epidemics as well. I have seen this so many times, I can't recall where. But trusted, intelligent, college-educated sources have been guilty. Maybe I'm wrong and this is actually correct... please let me know if that's the case. But it sounds stupid, which is generally my clue that something is wrong. "Obesity and overweight among our country's youth is a growing and troubling problem." Shouldn't it be overweightness or, better yet, being overweight? It just sounds wrong. Jane doesn't suffer from asthma and overweight. Jane suffers from asthma and being overweight. Doesn't that sound better? Overweight isn't a noun.

Before I go, I have to also comment on the ad for Promised Land brand "milk." (Sorry... I can't leave off the quotes, because the reconstituted, homogenized, pasteurized pus-filled crap doesn't deserve to share a name with nourishing, life-giving real milk.) They say they have no artificial hormones, and that their products are "The Way Milk Used to Taste."
Because, um... added hormones have a flavor?
And, the ad shows that it comes in three varieties: reduced fat, strawberry, and chocolate. Oh, yeah, that's the way milk has tasted for centuries....

I wish I had an emoticon here, rolling it's little eyes.

Ouch

2008-03-04T19:15:00.003-06:00

Tonight I tried to make this.

Ratatouille on polenta, with baby greens. I've been wanting to try ratatouille. And I've been wanting to get more creative with polenta. I had baby spinach. It was perfect.

Except... I don't like eggplant, so I left it out, I do like zucchini, so I chopped some up, and I felt lazy, so I left out the olives. Oh, and I'm having issues with canned tomatoes- concerns about the BPA in the lining- so I used jarred pasta sauce instead. And I added meatballs, because I'm an unapologetic carnivore. (Don't bother, I know the correct term is omnivore, I simply like baiting vegetarians. I like the impact of saying carnivore.)

So, basically, I completely changed the recipe.

And more-importantly, I burned the ever-livin-crap out of my hand.

You see... I've never put a skillet in the oven before. Just haven't needed to.
Tonight's recipe could just as easily been put into a different pan first, but... the recipe said to put the skillet in the oven. Despite my misgivings, I did. I knew I would forget and grab the handle. And, shockingly, I did.

Ouch.

I'm also having computer issues, so... I'll post a pic later. Nothing turned out the way I thought it would and I doubt I'll make this again. The greens didn't wilt from the heat of the food. The polenta didn't achieve the solidness I had been led to expect. The ratatouille was much too sweet, I guess due to the storebought sauce.

Low Country Boil

2008-03-03T19:32:00.004-06:00

I found the "recipe" for this when I was living in South Carolina, where it is called Frogmore Stew. Not because it contains frog legs, it doesn't, but because it was supposedly invented in Frogmore, SC. Don't bother looking it up, it no longer exits. One of those coastal towns that has faded into oblivion. Except this one had a dish named after it.
You might notice that this is incredibly similar to a great many dishes designed by coastal people. Oh, well. There's a reason for the popularity- it's fabulous and easy.

The "recipe" for Low Country Boil:

Bring a big ol' pot of water (with 1/4 cup Old Bay added) to a roiling boil.
Plop in (ok, don't plop, boiling water hurts) about 2 pounds small red potatoes.
10 minutes later, add halved ears of corn (however many y'all want to eat) and about 2 pounds of sausage (smoked, kielbasa, summer, whatever), chopped into 1 1/2-inch lengths.
10 minutes later, or when the potatoes are tender, add about a pound of big, fresh shrimp, shells on. Cook a few minutes, until they curl up.
Drain.
Serve on a big ol' platter, or to be more-authentic, on butcher paper or paper grocery bags. Forks and plates need not apply. Make sure you've got plenty of napkins, and some butter, salt, Old Bay, and cocktail sauce.

Oh, and quantities can easily vary. We pretty much ignore the potatoes, but our picky kid turns carnivore for sausage, so we put in extra.

Iron Chef Grill 2!

2008-03-02T19:45:00.011-06:00

Good things happen when he grills... that's why I (as Family Budget Officer) authorized the purchase of a new grill out of our tax return. He got this shiny pretty one at Big Lots, of all places. Hey... it works! We had been ogling various really fancy grills at Lowe's. This one cost about $800 less than those. And the whole point is... they make fire. This cheap one makes fire just fine.

Anyway, enough about grills and more about gills. I chose marlin steaks as his secret ingredient. The man behind the counter said they were well-suited for grilling, and I'd never had them before. That makes for a perfect Iron Chef Grill ingredient!

The menu, as he wrote it:

Wine: Frei Brothers Chardonnay, 2005
Entrée: Grilled Naigiri steak with lime butter
Side 1: Lemon Salsa
Side 2: Sautéed Mushrooms and Onion
Side 3: Jasmine Rice
Dessert: Grilled Grapefruit

Sautéed Mushrooms and Onions

2 tbsp. butter
½ lg. onion, sliced
4 oz. fresh mushrooms, clean and thickly sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4 c. red wine

Mix first four ingredients, cook over medium-low heat. Stir once. After 5 minutes, pour wine in and stir. Cook for another 5-7 minutes, or until onions are turning translucent, stirring once or twice more.

Grilled Naigiri with Lime Rum Butter

2 Nairagi (marling) steaks (about ½ lb. each), skin removed
2 slices bacon
1/3 cup butter
1 medium-size clove garlic, minced or pressed
Juice of 1 lime
1 shot Sailor Jerry's Spiced Navy Rum

Skin fish, wrap bacon along edge, securing with toothpick. Melt butter, mix in lime juice, rum and garlic.

Grill fish for 5 min per side, basting with lime butter.

Lemon Salsa

1 lemon, diced
½ tsp. capers, rinsed
3 green onions, chopped
4 shakes dried parsley
1 tsp sea salt
cracked black pepper to taste
¼ cup red wine

Mix all, squeeze lemon peel over mixture, stir.

Grilled Grapefruit

1 grapefruits
2 tbsp. agave nectar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix nectar and cinnamon, cut grapefruit into ¾ inch rounds, 2 minutes and flip until lightly caramelized.

Grill Maestro in action. I love how the smoke shows up in this shot. I can almost smell it!

There it is, in all it's delicious glory. Bacon-wrapped (total pandering to the judge!) marlin, topped with delicious lemon salsa, coconut rice smothered in wine-soaked mushrooms and onions, and the fabulous, out-of-this-world incredible grilled grapefruit. Everything was so good... once again, I was making noises while eating. I can't help it.

Meal Montage

2008-03-02T08:42:00.008-06:00

I'm behind. I know it. I've experienced a confluence of computer woes, child demands, and personal apathy.

And sunshine. We've had some gorgeous weather and I had to be out in it... and it's hard to see the laptop screen out there, so... the laptop sat indoors. Ignored. Poor thing. Maybe that's why it was cranky.

Anyway... to catch up...

Everything-Free hot dogs, slaw, cucumbers, and mustard

Coconut custards with blueberries

Meatloaf, steamed green beans, slow-baked potato

Breakfast taco with salsa verde and micro greens

Jamie Oliver

2008-02-26T22:11:00.004-06:00

Tonight I finally tried a recipe from my new cookbook, Cook with Jamie. (I know that should be underlined, but can't figure out how to do that here.) I love this cookbook. I love Jamie Oliver's passion for good food, his wit and charm, and his recipes. Granted, this is the first one I've actually made, but... they all sound so good! This particular recipe is called "Grilled fillet steak with creamiest white beans and leeks." I won't post the recipe, as I'm fairly sure it's illegal. Mine didn't look like his, but it was very yummy. I'd still like to know exactly what a fillet steak is. I know the filet mignon kind... but that's not what it looks like he used. So... we did our best.

Easy

2008-02-25T19:27:00.003-06:00

Tonight's dinner was easy. I had reason to think I wouldn't be feeling well, so I planned ahead and had dinner be completely grilled.

I love foil-packets. I just ignore the whole aluminum thing... I know it's not good, but I am fairly sure my overall aluminum risk is low, so I can handle a few foil packets every now and then.

This was a bit of white potato, a sweet potato, not-quite a quarter head of cabbage, about 1/4 thinly-sliced onion, and then 1 1/2 cheap smoked sausages. Per packet. Well... hubby's packet was a lot more white potato and no sweet potato, cuz he doesn't dig on the orange tuber.

I added about a tablespoon of olive oil, same amount apple cider vinegar, and some salt and pepper. Then the Grill Geek worked his magic.

Delicious!

Coupon Rant

2008-02-24T07:34:00.007-06:00

I didn't even have to look through the coupon packets for this morning's rant. It was served up for me in a bowl with a gleaming stainless steel spoon. Aaah, the American breakfast, thanks to Kellogg's.

The educational part of my rant can all be found here. It really is worth the read. (Oh, and not to endorse it, as it's made from wheat and thereby not really good for anyone, but Grape Nuts is the one big-brand non-extruded cereal on the market.) So, if you want to know the main reason why there is no boxed (or bagged) cold cereal in my house, click the link.

I'd like to throw out a token reminder that cereal, even with protein-added (and, ewwww, where'd that come from? Spray protein! Gross!) is still a very carbohydrate-drenched way to start the day. The majority of us don't need that. Your taste buds can and will change with time... I promise!

So, all that aside, it's time to get on to my big rant. Because abusing kids will always get me ranting. I'm sure if there were a poll asking what we thought most American kids eat for breakfast, the top three responses would be: cold cereal, Pop Tarts, and freezer pancakes/waffles. Blech. And what maladies do an increasing-number of American kids suffer from? ADHD and obesity.

I see the connection, and I'll bet you do, too.

So... the ad is for Kellogg's Frosted Mini Wheats. One of my favorite cereals from childhood. My own hyperactive, impulse-driven, inattentive childhood was driven by and literally revolved around sugar fixes. Anyway, personal-experience aside, let's see what the ad says...
"keeps 'em full. keeps 'em focused." (Keeps 'em from learning proper capitalization, apparently.)
"Frosted Mini Wheats cereal for breakfast improves your child's attentiveness nearly 20%*"

Oooh, let's just jump right ahead to that asterisked small print, shall we?

It says that number is based on a study comparing kids that ate the Mini Wheats with kids that ate no breakfast at all.

I repeat... no breakfast at all.

Yeah, I'll bet a fucking candy bar would keep kids more focused than no breakfast at all! That doesn't make it health food! Kids are growing rapidly, their bodies demand nutrients, if my half-wild kids are any example (and being unscheduled, I'll bet they are grand examples of natural impulses) they need food often. Even when that food is nutrient-dense and full of healthy fats to stick to their ribs. But especially when the food is the plasti-crap microwaved at the last minute because everyone's in a fucking hurry. So, yes, breakfast is important. How many kids are really going to school hungry?!? Why?!? Excluding the ones on ADHD medication, which suppresses the appetite to the danger point, aren't the other ones hungry? And if so, why isn't anyone feeding them? I'm not sure what I'd pick, if my choices were hunger or Mini Wheats, but most people don't know better... so bring on the Mini Wheats.

However, I do have to mention that estimates are currently at 1 out of 50 people of European descent being gluten-intolerant. Now, as mild as that sounds "intolerant", it's not just a case of a little gassiness, like lactose-intolerance. (Which can and does cause bigger damage as well.) Gluten-intolerance is serious business, and one of the many things it does is cause brain fog, inattentiveness, lethargy (or hyperactivity, strangely), impulsive behavior, schizophrenia and other mood disorders, anxiety, forgetfulness... and that's just the list of mental effects. For some it causes wracking stomach aches, migraines, bloody diarrhea, and more. Pour on a nice bit of homogenized, pasteurized factory-farm milk... and ooh, yummy, that's quite a breakfast.

So... maybe we should skip the Frosted Mini-Glutens, so we can skip the ADHD medication and have healthy kids.

What are we having for breakfast? The borracho beans that didn't cook in time for dinner, so instead slow-cooked all night. The Little Guy has had a hot dog and an apple. No idea when Fairy Child will get up. Oh, and if you are surprised that I let my kids eat "unhealthy" hot dogs... I'm not too-concerned about nitrates. You know what else is high in nitrates? Leafy greens. And everyone knows those are good for you.

Enchiladas, almost

2008-02-23T20:41:00.005-06:00

I had decided to finally make real enchiladas, thanks to the fresh corn tortillas I've been getting. No shortcuts. Homemade sauce. I'd do it right.

Naturally, life got in the way of that. The recipe I stubbornly stuck with didn't name a chile to use. So, we got the best we could find. So, the way our luck goes, that meant Hot Dried Molten Lava in Innocent Little Pods.

According to the recipe, real enchilada sauce doesn't include tomatoes. (Yeah, I was surprised, too!) But, thanks to the level of heat, I added a can of tomato sauce and then a big can of diced tomatoes (that I blendered up first). That was all the tomato products left in the house. It was still pretty spicy, but I just didn't use much. Now I have a ton of sauce in my freezer.

After all that, and realizing I'd have to make something else for the kids, and my borracho beans not being cooked despite an entire day in the slow-cooker... yeah, I wasn't going to roll individual enchiladas. So, a casserole was born. Along with a tangy salad and some guacamole, it was very good.

75% Local

2008-02-22T19:18:00.006-06:00

How local can you get?

Ok, I realize most of you can't reasonably answer that until spring hits. Spring is here, already, and I'm not sure autumn ever left. That's one really big reason why I love South Texas. I am not a Four Seasons kind of girl. Although I wouldn't mind one nice big snow, complete with sledding. 6-8 inches, with three or four days afterward where the temp hovers around 30, with clear skies.

Anyway, I'm certainly not going to get that here. But what I can get here is lots of great local produce and meat. Tonight's dinner could have been 100% local, excluding the salt, balsamic vinegar, and olive oil. But I haven't yet opted for the local potatoes and mushrooms.

And, um... I have to confess to once again not taking pictures. Um... I was hungry. Didn't even think of it. We had lovely grilled pork chops, from pastured, local pigs. Our Sidedish was a little different, with a very large green onion standing in for a regular yellow one. We tossed some chopped mushrooms in there, as well. And then we had more balsamic-roasted Brussels sprouts. We love them. Even the Little Guy loves them. They are crazy delicious. Has anyone on the face of the planet ever described Brussels sprouts as "crazy delicious???"

As usual, I only got about half my pork chop. We grill hot dogs for the kids (instead of steak or pork chops or smoked whatever), basing our habits on our exceptionally-selective Fairy Child. We tend to forget that our Little Guy is more adventurous. And carnivorous.

Very carnivorous.

Duck and Winter Vegetables

2008-02-19T18:23:00.007-06:00

I swear I fed the family today.

Twice, before dinner, plus snacks. Constant snacks, in the case of the Little Guy.

And, yet... we set upon that duck like a pack of dogs on a three-legged cat.

There were also roasted turnips and carrots, and braised turnip and mustard greens. Nothing managed to get photographed. I blame the duck.

We couldn't carve it! We both tried. (This is why I really want an electric knife!) We aren't weaklings, but I guess this duck still had a little quack in it. After 5 minutes of smelling it's roasty, crinkly-skinned goodness and whacking away on it, while it slid on the platter now-greased with delicious duck fat... we gave up and agreed to just rip the flesh off it's bones with our forks.
And that's what we did.

Therefore, there was no plating. So, I completely forgot to take pictures.

It truly was gorgeous. So brown and crispy. My second attempt at mustard greens was successful... thanks to the addition of a bit of honey, to counteract the bitterness. But none survived the gorging. Our Little Guy didn't waste any time on his greens, which is unusual for him. No... he demanded duck. And more duck. And "more duck, Mom?" Yeah. He digs duck. I can see why. I now have it in my stock pot, with a couple of bay leaves and a few peppercorns. I want every last bit of goodness!

And even the roasted turnips were good. I have horrible memories of turnips from my childhood. As probably all kids my age were... I was forced (by my grandparents, not my mom) to clean my plate. That plate often included "icky" things like boiled turnips, microwaved squash, or onions. Now, of course, I like all those things... but prepared my way!

And I still don't like okra.