Jamie Oliver

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Presidents Day fun

We like to play with our food. And we think Presidents Day should be no exception. So, our dinner tonight reflects the respect we have toward that most-powerful office... or at least the people who have held it.

Duck and Pork Sausage (Lame duck, get it? The pork part should be obvious.)
Grilled imPeaches (hee hee)
Waffles (har har)
Fresh-roasted Peanuts (tip o' the hat to Jimmy)

NO cherries! We adamantly refuse to have cherries. It's too cliche... I would have loved to have a sweet potato custard, straight from one of Jefferson's personal recipes, but no one else here would have eaten any.


The sausages were out-of-this world delicious, and the whole meal had a very French feel. Appropriately, since we wouldn't have won our independence without help from the French. We piled the grilled peaches on top of the waffles, tossed on some peanuts, drizzled with a dark sugar and rum sauce, and then sprinkled with a touch of salt (since the peanuts were unsalted.)
It was surprisingly savory, and really good.