Food Is Very Good

Kale + polenta = green polenta

2010-03-02T09:37:00.000-08:00

Even though this blog is about green polenta, I have to get something off of my chest. I have some issues with the Food Network. For instance, I can't understand how some of their stars even have a show on the network, much less two shows. Case in point: Sandra Lee. What in the world is this woman doing with 2 shows on the Food Network? She belongs on some other network, such as DIY or House and Home-type networks or possibly even the Fox Network. Right up there with Glenn Beck. Get her off of the Food Network, please. Then there is the issue with the multitude of obese chefs. I think it's about time the Food Network started offering up some more programs with vegetarian meals and healthy-type menus, etc.
So imagine my surprise recently when I tuned into Guy's Big Bite, a program and personality that I for the most part abhor, to hear him proclaim that he was about to prepare green polenta. Green polenta, in case you haven't caught on, is polenta with pureed wilted kale added to it. I was intrigued and impressed. I watched his program, found the recipe, and prepared green polenta. Here's the recipe. In trying to keep to a certain limit regarding fat content, I decided not to use heavy cream or butter. I actually followed the recipe on the polenta package for making plain old polenta. I did, however, add a small touch of shredded Parmesan to the finished product. Topped with a nice helping of marinara sauce, this was absolute comfort food. Kudos to Guy - sometimes the ol' Guy can come up with something that even I approve of. Sorry that I don't have a picture - we ate it up too fast. After I made it, I realized that maybe having the heavy cream option makes your polenta more smooth and creamy with a consistency similar to oatmeal. Mine came out in the solid form, so that you have to slice it and pan fry it before you eat it. But it's so good that way! Try this recipe - it's easy and delicious.

Soup is good for the Soul

2010-02-10T15:30:00.000-08:00

I am over one month into my New Year's resolution to prepare and serve at least one meatless meal per week and so far, so good. For the most part, I have been serving up meals that I have already posted about in previous blogs. As a result, I didn't feel the need to re-post about these meals. Last week, I made Curried Red Lentil Soup. I got this recipe from the Eating Well website. This recipe was easy to prepare and the soup was delicious and really flavorful. Even the old man raved about it. Sorry I don't have a picture of it - by the time I remembered to take the picture, we were in the process of finishing it up. We actually consumed the whole soup this time - I didn't have to throw anything out due to lack of interest. Give it a try. It definitely helps to spoon a dollop of yogurt (non-dairy works too) on the top of the soup before serving.
I'm not too sure what this week's meatless meal will be, but I might do something with polenta again. I prepared polenta with black beans and tomatoes last week and my husband really liked it. So I need to come up with something new. Stay tuned!

A New Year and a new promise

2010-01-01T06:25:00.000-08:00

Happy 2010! Yikes, I can't believe it's been more than two months since anyone last posted anything on this blog! I have actually had some ideas, and some pictures, but life just moves too fast sometimes; and it seems like there is so little time to just sit down at the computer and compose anything that is not work-related. Bah! That is clearly not a good way to look at life.
So I hope to get back to blogging as I originally intended, that is to say, as a means of sharing ideas and recipes about vegetable-based, hopefully vegetarian, meals.
To start, sometime back in the Fall of 2009, I found a recipe for Pumpkin Turkey Chili. Now, of course, I know that Turkey Chili is not a vegetarian meal; however, the point of interest on this recipe is the addition of pumpkin puree to the chili. One could easily adapt this recipe to a veggie chili meal. I found this delicious recipe on the Whole Foods Market website, somehow, by accident I suppose. I highly recommend the recipe and the website.
Since this is a new year and the air is replete with New Year's resolutions and all that good (or bad?) stuff, I have decided that I want to incorporate meatless meals into my weekly dietary plan. I don't necessarily want to become a vegetarian, but I sure could use less meat in my diet. And my husband, too. For one thing, we could all stand to shave a little cholesterol out of our diets. We don't eat that much red meat, but it would just be nice to have a nice, filling, and healthful meatless meal at least once or twice a week. Last night, I started off by fixing myself a sweet potato filled with black beans and chopped tomato. This one I don't have a picture of, so you will just have to imagine a luscious baked sweet potato topped with black beans, tomatoes, and a dollop of Greek yogurt (which could easily be Tofutti sour cream if necessary). The beans and tomatoes were tossed with olive oil, cumin, coriander, and black pepper. This recipe came from the Eating Well website which is a website I check almost daily for recipes. The nice thing about Eating Well is that they include nutritional information with their recipes.
I have several new ideas that I intend to try beginning this week, so check back for more excitement! Haha. And Happy New Year again!

If only, if only I were creative, if only

2009-10-20T13:21:00.000-07:00

A long time ago now I posted about dairy- and soy-free. I think y'all know that's an ongoing deal; we actually tested Luke and he is very strongly allergic to both food types. I was assured that infants typically outgrow these allergies once they get to be about 1 year old, and really they're not supposed to have much dairy prior to that age anyway.

But yeah, it's not easy for me. Whine whine. ;) Here are some things I have learned:

- Even "Hershey's Special Dark" chocolate has dairy in it.
- Even true dark chocolate chips, sans dairy, have soy lecithin in them. So no chocolate chip cookies for me.
- Earth Balance soy-free margarine is actually very good and I have no complaints.
- You cannot buy store-bought cookies that have no soy in them. You can buy wheat-free, gluten-free, nut-free, dairy-free cookies but you can't buy any freakin' soy-free.
- You can easily make soy-free cookies but they might be kinda bland, particularly because you cannot have chocolate chips in them.
- Carob sucks. (I didn't just learn that. I've always hated carob.)
- You will resent the hell out of Halloween, and Thanksgiving as well, if you have to give up soy and dairy and aren't sure of other ingredients right before these holidays.
- After two weeks of your only grain/starch side dish being quinoa, a baked potato is a culinary work of art. And it remains that way for a month or more.

Additionally, although Luke is generally a happy kid, he still has reflux and still spits up a great deal. So far he doesn't have bleeding reactions to eggs, mushrooms, potatoes, and today I'm trying wheat bread; unfortunately I think these things make him gassy instead. Poor kid.

Well. Why is this post titled about my being creative? Because I feel like, with the foods I know I *can* eat, if I had more time and more imagination I could probably make some really intereting meals. I mean, I'm nearly at a point where I have the basics for everything. Instead I just usually take those basics and make basics out of them. Meats get broiled or pan-fried, grains get boiled, and vegetables get steamed. Everything I eat is one-ingredient, with the exception now of Whole Foods wheat bread. Oh, and the afore-mentioned non-soy margarine. I guess some of that is because I really don't have the time to cook, but not a lot; a few times now I've made dinner for Dan and Dorothy, rather involved dinners in fact: turkey meatloaf, pancakes (technically not dinner, but shut up), and breaded chicken fingers. But I can't improvise to save my life, so for myself, it's just smack it in a pan and heat it up, then eat it later.

I'm going to be bringing a large portion of my Thanksgiving dinner for myself, just to be sure I can eat it (and so as not to put everyone else out), which is also what I'll be doing with my office's annual Thanksgiving potluck - even more so, in fact, since I'll have to provide my own bread, dessert, and quite possibly appetizers. (The dessert table at this potluck is intensely amazing every year so I am considering calling out sick that day.) It's not just the soy/dairy, it's that I'm only eating new foods one at a time to be sure Luke doesn't have a reaction, so I can actually write down a list of hte foods I can eat on a piece of paper and only fill about two lines. Honestly, I think it's under 20 total.

I DO have a delicious recipe for brown-sugar glazed carrots that I'll be bringing. You will all love it, guaranteed. Beyond that, I don't want to limit anyone, so I guess I'll just eat turkey and salad and bring my own dessert. Maybe something with apples.

Dairy- and soy-free life for me

2009-09-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

Due to babies with sensitive tummies, I am completely off dairy for the next seven months or perhaps longer. And for the next week or so I'm told to avoid soy as well - then I can reintroduce it and see what happens. The end result here is that I'm at a loss as to what to eat most of the time! I mean , whole foods obviously - but that's such a lot of work that I'd love to find good snackie things that are soy and dairy free... and man, there is pretty much nothing. All-wheat crackers are about it... ohand Clif nectar bars which are all friut and nuts.

The big benefit of this is, WOW to healthy eating! Talk about being forced into eating your fruit and veggie requirements. ;) But I hope I get soy back. I don't even get many options for margerine. Anyone who knows of good soy-free options, pls let me know!

The downside is that if Luke's tummy troubles don't clear up soon, I may have to stop breastfeeding. :P But we're being optimistic!

Veggie Burgers From Scratch

2009-09-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Labor Day, everybody! A day late.

We didn't do anything special in the Phil-Charlotte household- Phil's been working everyday, so when he got from work we decided to just relax together. We did, of course, get some beer and movies and make a lot of food.

I bought Happy Herbivore's Backyard Vegan E-Cookbook a few months ago and still haven't made anything, so I thought Labor Day (what I always think of as the last weekend in summer) might be a good opportunity to try out some recipes. I made the mushroom burgers and the potato salad. We loved both!

Here's Phil's:
His has mustard, sprouts, avocado, tomato (that's the thick green thing-- they were heirlooms) and onion.

And mine:
Same as Phil's but with lettuce instead of sprouts and the addition of ketchup.

I baked ours, then panfried them (without oil-- still frying?). They turned out well for the most part, but next time I might reduce the amount of water in the recipe. I had to bake them for a really long time for them to firm up enough to not fall apart, and even then only the outside was firm. Biting into them was sort of like biting into a casing full of mush ... that tasted good. The whole thing was really satisfying, however, and we have leftovers shaped up in the freezer for another night.

I really liked the potato salad. It was incredibly simple, but great. I also made garlicky sauteed kale. Here's my whole plate:

We devoured our food while watching the first disc of season 3 of Dexter, our new favorite show. All in all, a good night.

BTW, the buns we used are made by Ultimate Grains, and are 100% whole grain and "all natural". For a product review, check out my blog!

Lightlife Foods Lemon Flavored Tempehtations

2009-09-07T10:11:00.000-07:00

I tried something new this past weekend. While shopping at Whole Foods recently, I noticed this little package of lemon flavored tempeh made by Lightlife Foods. I like tempeh but I wasn't exactly sure what to do with this stuff. So I let it sit for a few days until I got some inspiration. What I ended up doing was making the usual, a rice salad full of vegetables from my refrigerator and pantry that I thought would go well with the lemon-flavored tempeh. Since the tempeh was already flavored, I felt that there was not much need for me to add much in the way of seasonings. Basically, I started by making 2 servings of rice in the way I usually cook rice, that is, by sauteeing onion, adding the rice and then cooking the rice in vegetable broth for 15-20 minutes. While the rice was cooking, I chopped some garlic and sauteed that in a saucepan or skillet with enough spinach to serve 2 people. I added quartered artichoke hearts and some cherry tomatoes which I had heated in a pan with some olive oil until the tomatoes got a little bursted looking. I added everything to the spinach mixture, rice and all and then gave it a big tossing so that all was combined and then I ate half of it since it was essentially 2 servings. Personally, I have to say that the rice salad itself was delicious, but the tempeh with the lemon flavoring was so strong that I don't think I could have eaten it without the rice or artichokes or spinach. The tempeh was good in combination with those foods, but by itself I think it would almost have been unpleasant. But then I guess that's the way it is with tempeh. I ate the second half a couple of days later for lunch and it was a bit better. Very satisfying and very filling! Plus, I was surprised to find that it was not very high in sodium. That's always a good thing!

Try it, you'll like it - maybe

2009-08-31T16:11:00.000-07:00

Tonight for dinner it was just me so I decided to heat up this chicken-less cutlet that I had picked up at Trader Joe's. I had gotten them (there are 2 cutlets in a package) for one of my vegetarian daughters who had visited last week; she ate one and said it was pretty good, and I was looking forward to trying one of them myself even though I am not vegetarian. Anyway, to make a short story short, it was pretty good! Very tasty and nice, the only problem is that you feel like you could eat several of them. So just be sure to have them with some rice and a salad or vegetable. If I were rating them, I would definitely give them 4 stars - I can't give them 5 since they are a little on the light side and leave you wanting more!

Pantry Staples Revisited

2009-08-30T13:02:00.000-07:00

A short while ago, one of my daughters posted here about Pantry Staples. I would like to add my thoughts about pantry staples here because I think personally that these pantry staples should be everyone's pantry staples. The items I have listed here go a long way towards adding flavor, and should always be on hand.

Lemons - limes can be substituted for a slightly different twist.
Soy sauce - use low-sodium; soy sauce has so much flavor, and you really do not need the added sodium.
vegetable broth - again, low sodium works well. You don't need the sodium when you have the full flavor of the veggie broth which is so much better than just plain water.
vinegar - preferably apple cider vinegar, but you can try any variety. Go easy on balsamic, however. It has a lot of acidity.
capers - I don't know what these little buggers are but yum, they give a nice little kick when added with lemon juice. And just a small jar goes a long long way.
Roasted red peppers - chop them up and add them to rice, vegetables, or whatever and you've got a blast going on! They're great!

Well, that's all I can think of for now. But I think that's a good start to a well-stocked pantry of flavor.

how to prepare some pretty good rice

2009-08-11T08:50:00.000-07:00

We eat a lot of rice in our house. My daughters grew up with rice as a regular side, one that was more commonplace than potatoes or pasta. Very early on I learned a valuable cooking tool from my mother-in-law who is quite a good cook. She taught me how to make really good rice. And it's very easy. Here's how: Take a little bit of chopped onion and saute in your rice pan with some olive oil. After the chopped onion begins to sweat, add your measured rice and toast the rice with the onion. It doesn't matter really how long you toast your rice, as long as you don't over-toast it. I actually walked away from mine the other evening while it was toasting and I forgot about it for a couple of minutes. When I came back to the pot, the rice was golden-toasty and no worse for the wear. I was afraid I had burned it but luck was mine and the rice was fine. After you have toasted your rice in the olive oil with the onion, you can add your liquid. Here you can use your own imagination and add or substitute whatever liquid strikes your fancy. I frequently use vegetable broth, low-sodium, but water works well here too. When the liquid comes to the boil, cover your pot and cook as directed, which usually means on a low flame for approximately 15 minutes. When your cooking time is up, voila! You have pretty tasty rice!

The Best Breakfast (or anytime food) Ever

2009-08-07T06:22:00.000-07:00

One thing you may not know about me is that I read a few food blogs, in which the bloggers chronicle pretty much everything they eat over the course of a day. I kind of have a love/hate relationship with these blogs. On one hand, in most cases they are written by women who are around my age who have transformed their eating habits, lost weight, and are maintaining their new lifestyle, which I find inspirational. They also tend to have good ideas about recipes and new foods that I might not hear about otherwise. At the same time, reading these blogs makes me feel a little inadequate about my own eating habits. But that's not hard to do considering my somewhat wonky relationship with food and fitness. So I guess it's par for the course, really.

At any rate, one thing I read about close to 1,000 times on these blogs was something called the Green Monster. People rave about these things; apparently they are good for your energy levels, low in calories, pack a nutritional punch, and help promote healthy skin. That's a lot of good in one glass. I was intrigued by this from the first moment I read about it, especially considering that your basic Green Monster has a total of four ingredients, about 240 calories per serving, and potential for a lot of add-ins or substitutions. The only problem was that in my previous apartment, there was no blender, and once I realized I was going to be moving, I didn't feel like buying one. So I waited to try my hand at the Green Monster...until this morning! We now have a blender (my roommate and I, that is. It's her blender), so this past week I remembered to make sure I would have ingredients for a GM on hand. Basic ingredients are as follows (for one serving):

2 cups spinach (you could substitute any green here, though. I know other people use kale pretty frequently. Just keep in mind that you probably want something fairly robust [lettuce might not be the best choice!] but also on the mild side);
1 cup soy milk (as with the spinach, you could substitute here and use cow's milk, almond milk, rice milk, coconut milk, etc. I used the Silk Light variety);
1 tablespoon ground flax (once again, something you probably don't necessarily need if you don't have it on hand, but it does add fiber and healthy fats, especially Omega-3s);
1 banana (I froze mine but you could skip that step, I'm sure).

Put all these ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth. The result is a seriously delicious concoction that is almost like a smoothie in texture. Don't let the green color scare you--the taste is mostly banana and soy milk. I can't even say how good this was from the first sip. It's not overly sweet, and it doesn't taste disgustingly healthy. It's just really, really good. Plus, you're getting in two cups of greens without any effort at all, and that's not easy to do.

If you're looking for a quick way to get more greens into your diet, a pleasant way to refresh on a hot day, or just a fun and different snack or breakfast (I complemented my GM this morning with some yogurt and Kashi Honey Sunshine cereal, which is also really good), I think you should give a Green Monster a try!

Forgot to add: food relevance

2009-07-30T09:17:00.001-07:00

Haha, but just barely.

I read somewhere that pineapple is considered by some to be a food to eat to "stimulate contractions". I think that's a load of bunk, but it does make me want pineapple... just because that is one delicious fruit!

Due Day

2009-07-30T09:10:00.000-07:00

Well, here we are, July 30th. It's my due date, and no baby! I'm having plenty of the following:

- achy pelvis
- kicky baby down kinda low in pelvis
- crampy feeling, from kicking
- braxton hicks contractions of varying intensity
- neck/shoulder pain (possibly related, not sure)
- anxiety over not delivering before my scheduled c-section of evil.

The things I am *not* having are most of the signs they call actual preludes to labor. The increased intensity and frequency of the braxton hicks are the only textbook symptom I have. Otherwise all of it (I'll spare you guys the yucky details about what I am obsessively looking for) is just not happening!

What's very hard to remind myself is that anything and everything could just HAPPEN. What's even worse about knowing that is, every day when it DOESN'T happen, it's like I've wasted another day. You can tell I'm on an emotional roller coaster - I'm at once very anxious, very excited, and very disheartened, all at the same time. It's madness at my house I tell you!

And every so often I get a series of HUGE kicks in a row, making my stomach jump repeatedly, and it's the funniest thing you've ever seen. :) Well, I just thought anyone keeping up with this blog might want an update from me, since I am the world's worst at making phone calls!

Cannellini Bean Mash

2009-07-29T07:18:00.000-07:00

This picture doesn't do this dish justice, because it looks pretty bland but it actually is really delicious. It's cannellini beans mashed with garlic-infused olive oil with lemon zest added to the olive oil. And what a great alternative to rice, potatoes, or pasta this is. I actually got this recipe from Nigella Lawson on the Food Network. Go here for the recipe. And don't let the part about the flash fried steak deter you from reading or using this recipe, because I just used the part of the recipe that called for the bean mash. It's extremely easy to make, and I added a big squeeze of fresh lemon juice at the end. The result is a nice big dish of mashed comfort food - outstanding! You could probably add some fresh herbs or other seasonings if you have a mind to. But it's awesome without it. I didn't have to use any salt by the way - the lemon juice took care of that. Give it a try!

Power Outages Conspire Against Me

2009-07-22T12:25:00.001-07:00

I totally had made this gigantic post yesterday and was nearly ready to post it when our power just went out. Like THAT! Imagine me snapping my fingers. (It's fun and interactive.)

Anyway it wasn't really about all that much, just a kickass lasagna I made for dinner on Sunday night. Proof of its kickassness was that Dorothy ate it both Sunday and Monday night without needing to be prodded! Usually she loses interest in a lot of the foods we serve her, but even though she was hesitant with this one (the ricotta had a lot of spinach mixed into it), once we persuaded her to take a bite she was like "Gimme that fork! Omnomnom".

It's a recipe from Everyday Food magazine (naturally) and the nice part is that I made a second one which is sitting in the freezer, waiting to be needed. ^_^

I guess I'll just talk about the rest of the week's food plans...

Last night was a good bulgur salad. Supposed to have pine nuts in it, but Whole Foods was out of them in the bulk section (WHAT?!?! Charlotte I'm looking at you) so even though Dorothy wasn't going to have any I figured I'd just skip it. It was good but lemony! and a little sparse for my appetite. Tonight I'm making chicken and macaroni salad... we'll see how that goes.

I don't know how much cooking I'm going to do after tonight. I can probably manage something on the weekends but generally I'd just like to collapse and have someone provide me with food from here on out. By rights I should be allowed takeout every night, if you ask me. Well, no one did! :)

This Pecan Crust is a Must!

2009-07-19T17:05:00.000-07:00

I have a great recipe for Pecan Crusted Chicken that I got from eatingwell.com. If you are a vegetarian, please do not think that this post does not pertain to you! Please read on. For one thing, the eating well website is one of my favorites for getting ideas for dinner, etc. Their recipes are generally good and what I consider to be nutritious. They also give nutritional information for each recipe. This particular recipe is good because it's not too hard to make, and the end result is very tasty. And not only is the chicken delicious, the pecan mixture that is used for the crust topping is out of this world. I got the idea of mixing some of it in with my grilled asparagus last evening when I made it, and it was a great addition to the vegetable. It has a nice kick with the addition of ground chipotle pepper, plus a slight flavor of orange from the orange zest, and then of course the nutty flavor of the toasted pecans. Yum! I would like to try it with tofu as a replacement for the chicken - I think it would be quite good. I apologize for the lack of the picture but my computer is being difficult tonight and it won't let me upload a photo :( Oh well, try some pecan crust mixture on your tofu or vegetables, or even chicken if you want. Hope you like it!

Blueberry Pancakes on a Sunday Morn...

2009-07-19T10:59:00.001-07:00

... with fresh strawberries, maple syrup AND powdered sugar. Man, I really spoiled myself this morning.

For the record, the pancake wasn't really quite that big, as it was made in a mold my mom (SueWho) gave me. Actually this particular mold was the largest of three different sized rings and they all have the same sized hole in the middle so you can fill your pancake stack with goodies. My goody-of-choice was strawberries, obviously. I couldn't decide on syrup or powdered sugar, so I (wisely) did both. It was still huge and really filled me up. I can't believe anyone would need all three rings, but I did make mine pretty thick. It was also practically erupting with juicy blueberries! YUM!

The pancake recipe is the basic pancake recipe from Vegan With A Vengeance, with a lot of frozen blueberries folded in. I found it already posted on the web by someone else, so I am copying and pasting it on to here. But, you should buy the cookbook-- or one of her other ones.

1-1/4 c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 Tbsp canola oil
1/3 c water
1 to 1-1/4 c plain rice or soy milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Sift or stir together the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix the remaining ingredients in another bowl. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix just until combined, like muffins (you know, a couple of lumps are fine-overmixing results in tough pancakes and tough muffins).

Add oil to a large skillet and heat the skillet over medium-high heat for a couple of minutes. Add batter and cook until the pancake has some bubbles on top and is browned on the bottom. This takes about 4 minutes. Turn pancakes and finish (until bottoms are browned). Repeat until batter is used up. Oil skillet between pancakes or as needed.

She recommends folding in 1 c. of blueberries, but I just dumped in however much I wanted. I also had to use the whole 1 1/4 c. of rice milk (soy in my case) as well as a lot of water because it was so thick.

Top with syrup or whatever you want!

To Food or Not To Food

2009-07-15T13:57:00.001-07:00

I thought "I should post something on this here Team Blog."

Then it took me like five minutes to figure out how. This is so pathetic of me!

Ignoring that, tonight I am making a tomato ricotta tart. I will let everyone know just how it comes out. I've made it before and saved the recipe, so even though I have no memory of how it tastes I can only assume it must've been pretty good. I will say, I love ricotta cheese. Whole milk or skim milk, doesn't matter, there's just something in the texture that makes me want to sit down and eat it from the container. Preferably with honey or something on it. It's like eating a very-slightly-sweetened dessert. I almost never buy it, except for recipes, but perhaps I should start...

I would promise a picture or something of my tart, but funny thing about that. I stubbornly refuse to do anything that requires any off-site registrations, so I won't have a place to put any photos that I take... therefore it ain't gonna happen. Make up a picture in your head! (Mine is of a camel!)

Network News - the new National Enquirer?

2009-07-15T06:53:00.000-07:00

What has happened to network news programs these days? It seems lately, like maybe in the past year or two, they have started devoting sizable portions of their programming to news events involving celebrities that get stretched out way beyond their natural life. Right now it is the death and aftermath of Michael Jackson. And it's so sensationalist too! I'm not talking about the Fox network (which I expect to be sensationalist); I'm talking about NBC, CBS, etc. Every morning as I prepare to go to work, I watch the news. Up to now, I have always watched the Today show. But the show is too full of talk about MJ's death, MJ's estate, MJ's kids, MJ's cause of death, etc. Yes, I agree, to an extent, some of this is newsworthy, but much of it is not! It's full of speculation and to a large degree, gossip and chit chat. I have tired of it, and I will now only watch CNN in the morning before I go to work. I will probably find out that they, too, do the same with their programming! But there just happens to be an historic confirmation hearing going on right now involving a woman of Puerto Rican descent who has been picked to fill a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. It saddens me to think that the executives at NBC, CBS, etc., have decided that we are more interested in celebrity news than political news and thus have opted to show us only little snippets of information regarding the confirmation hearings. One definitely has to tune into cable news networks to get informative news it seems.
On a brighter note, I promise to have a food-related post next time!

Pantry Staples

2009-07-14T11:34:00.000-07:00

I am somewhat ashamed to admit that I'm not much of a cook. When I do cook, I think I do a good job, and I watch the Food Network all the time so I know a lot about cooking, but I am by no means whatsoever very creative in the kitchen. I really dislike grocery shopping, and meal planning tends to make me a bit anxious. I also only cook for myself, and I alternate between periods when I'm really busy, and times when I'm just really lazy. As a result, I often end up trying to come up with meals that can be made with just a few ingredients, a few minutes, and a minimal amount of effort. Of course, just to complicate matters, I like to keep my meals as healthy as possible.

Enter one of my favorite dishes recently. I think there are probably about 1,000 variations you could do on this one-dish meal, all of which would be delicious. Here's the combination I have been making lately (based largely on what I had on hand and what I had time and energy to deal with):
I know this isn't the greatest picture, but it does give you a pretty clear idea of the four ingredients that went into this bowl--white rice (normally I use brown, but I didn't feel like waiting for it to cook today), edamame, chick peas, and a bit of grated cheddar cheese. While the rice is cooking (I like to make a couple servings so I have some to put away for the next meal), I saute the edamame (which I buy frozen, shelled) and chick peas in a pan with a bit of cooking spray. Once the rice is done, I combine the ingredients and add the cheese. The result is super simple but also delicious and satisfying.

Like I said, you could really vary this dish according to your preferences and *especially* what you have on hand. I am trying to put more thought into what I consider my pantry staples so that I can always make a dish like this, no matter how recently I've been grocery shopping. By keeping a few key ingredients on hand, you can really simplify your life. Especially if the thought of going grocery shopping appeals to you as much as it does to me!!

What do you think of as your pantry staples?

It's a Team Thing!

2009-07-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

I've been thinking lately about making my blog a team blog. I have decided to invite my daughters to be my team, and I thought it would be fun if we could all post together on this blogspot about food, mostly, since this is a foodie blog. But in addition to food, we could post about anything that we feel that maybe we all have a common interest in, such as politics, movies, books, whatever. We don't all live close together anymore, so this would sort of be like we are living back together again, just like in the good ol' days. So here goes, I am giving it a try.
I don't have any food things to write about today yet but hopefully I will be back very soon!

Pretty pretty chard

2009-06-16T08:39:00.000-07:00

Hey Kids! Quick, get over to Trader Joe's. They have a bag of yummy chard, chopped already, called "Chard of Many Colors." I was drawn to the product because the name reminds me of a Dolly Parton song I first heard many years ago (I'll bet you can't guess the name of the song). On the back of the bag, they have a decent recipe for cooking this chopped chard of many colors which involves simply sauteeing garlic in some olive oil, then throwing in the chard until it's wilty, adding some broth, and seasoning with salt and pepper. I took it a little further because I added sliced onions to the garlic, increased the cooking time for the chard since it does tend to be more tough than spinach, using vegetable broth and adding a good splash of apple cider vinegar at the end so as to avoid seasoning with too much salt. A little splash of chili peppers is a nice touch too. Delicious!

Spinach again?

2009-06-07T13:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I put my spinach in a crappy bowl. But at least the counter was clean.
I made spinach again the other night, but I was kind of tired of the old spinach with pine nuts and dried cranberries routine. So I had a brainstorm - why not oven roast some cherry tomatoes in olive oil and toss them with the spinach?
The end result was something that even the hubby enjoyed, he of the tomato-hating sort. The real fact is, my 84-year-old mother is living with me again on her two-week stay and she has made it pretty clear that she has to have salt in her food "or else." The "or else" factor means that if I don't salt the food for her she will tell everyone and anyone that my cooking is bland. So instead of salting the food, I have been trying to find more creative and healthy ways of making foods interesting. Since she seems to have some problems with swelling in her feet (which I feel is probably related to too much salt), I really don't want to salt my cooking any more than I do. Instead of salting the spinach, I added a little garlic (which of course was sauteed in olive oil prior to adding the spinach) and a sprinkling of grated Parmesan at the end. Sorry vegans - but I know there is another alternative out there. The end result was delicioso! No salt or apple cider vinegar needed this time.

My First Radish!

2009-06-07T13:23:00.001-07:00

It's like my first born! My baby. My very first radish that I planted from seed! Today I saw it's little head crowning and I gave a little tug and out it came! New life!
So what if it's the only decent radish that I get all year? I feel like I have successfully planted and nourished a seed and it grew and became something I can put on my plate and devour! Don't know what I am going to do with it yet, especially since all the other radish plants are not as developed yet. I will keep you updated. It's in the refrigerator now.

My Man of Steel

2009-06-06T13:37:00.000-07:00

Here I am posting about my good 'ol Dad again, not writing about food. Well, what the hey!
I have been thinking a lot lately and reminiscing about my dad and how his death has affected me. It makes me sad every time I remember the words that my brother spoke as I was racing to the hospital to see him one last time before the inevitable end. My brother said, "Dad passed away, he's gone."
He passed away. My dad was my man of steel. He couldn't just die. That's something that puts him in the league with everyone else and that's just not right. But it happened.
When I was about 9 or 10 years old, I vividly remember being at home with my brother one evening (he was 11 or 12) while our parents were out at a PTA meeting. I was in bed waiting to fall asleep, feeling pretty nervous about being at home in the dark with no parents present in the house. Pretty scary stuff. My mother used to joke about the "kissing bandit" that lurked out there somewhere (maybe there was actually a kissing bandit, I never did find out). We lived in a semi-rural area where there were very dark foresty-type areas and in the spring, with the windows open at night, one could hear distant sounds of dogs (wild?) barking and bobcats squalling or whatever sounds bobcats make (horrible sound, really!). Yes, pretty scary stuff for innocents. Suddenly, I heard the front door to the house open and familiar sounding footsteps inside. My parents were home, most importantly my Dad was in the house. Nothing to worry about - the man of steel was here and no one could mess with him.
Kids, hug your dads. And that reminds me, Fathers Day is just around the corner. Tell your dad how important he is. I'm glad I got to tell my dad how much I loved him before he came to the end of his awesome life.

Rice + vegetables = rice salad

2009-06-01T18:00:00.000-07:00

It's a rice salad. it's not a very good picture but there's rice in there with cherry tomatoes (or actually grape tomatoes), artichoke hearts, corn and peas. Plus a lemon and olive oil dressing with a little bit of hot sauce added. The rice was sauteed in olive oil with some onions and then vegetable broth was added instead of water for cooking. It was a little gummy unfortunately. But not bad. Possibly I should rinse the rice after cooking (or before?). I think you could add any vegetables you have on hand; it makes a delicious side dish. Serve at room temperature.

Hooray for Spinach!

2009-05-27T12:00:00.000-07:00

I love spinach! I love it almost enough to eat it every night with my dinner. The only problem is that I don't know enough different ways to cook it, but I'm working on that. I did come up with a pretty quick and easy fix that I have been using quite a bit lately. it all begins with a little bit of chopped garlic (1-2 garlic cloves) quickly sauteed in approximately 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Add enough spinach to feed however many you want to feed. I usually plan on a 9-ounce bag feeding two people. When the spinach is wilted, add toasted pine nuts (1 teaspoon per serving) and approximately 1/4 cup of dried cranberries. The result is somewhat like a cold spinach salad, but it's even better because it's warm (and wilty)! I recently heard somewhere that studies have shown that cooked spinach actually is better for you than raw spinach. Yay! That suits me because like I said, I love it warm! I haven't found the need to add any seasonings other than the usual nutmeg and coarsely ground black pepper. I'm on a no-salt kick right now and I find with this method of cooking spinach, salt definitely is not an enhancer.
I apologize for the lack of picture defining my dish, but I haven't any batteries for my little camera at the moment. So you will just have to imagine how good and yummy it looks and tastes until you try it for yourself!
I promise to have pictures on my next post which will be very soon!

My Dad - Now there was a Man

2009-05-24T14:08:00.000-07:00

It's time to write about my dad again. My dad, who recently passed away, was a pretty awesome fellow. I think it was my husband that said, "when they made Bud they broke the mold." Too bad, world. There won't be any more Buds any time soon.
Back in the early 1960s, there was this sitcom on television called "The Donna Reed Show." It was cute, wholesome, you know - the usual 1960s sitcom fare. But it had Donna Reed and Shelly Fabares and they were so gorgeous to look at and even to listen to. Then there was Paul Petersen, the son/brother. He wasn't much, but he recorded a song that was played on pop radio stations over and over. It was "My Dad," and it was rather insipid as I recall. However, lately, since my dad's passing, I keep finding myself singing the refrain to that song, which was "My dad, now here is a man," except I change it to the past tense since my dad is gone now.
I'm glad I got to spend a lot of time with my dad before he passed on, but I still miss him every day. Today, I was at his house; I was sitting on the back porch looking into the back yard at the shed he built for all of his yard tools. That house and that shed are truly his places. I always feel like he's there, with me. It makes me sad that we have to sell that house, because when the house is gone, there won't be many sites left that I can go to and conjure him up like that. There are a few items of furniture in the house that I always go to when I am at the house. Like his dresser - I always open a couple of drawers in the dresser. His clothes are still in there. I look at them and I can feel his spirit or something. Today I stumbled onto his wheelchair and walker. I guess my brother had brought them back from the nursing center that he had been living at up until his death. I saw them and I whispered, "Dad." I also saw his telephone that had been brought from the nursing center and again I whispered, "Dad." I miss you, old man. RIP.

something new this way may come

2009-05-10T17:06:00.000-07:00

Tonight I decided to try and do something semi-original; that is, instead of using and following a recipe that someone else came up with, I decided to make my own special recipe. And this is what I made! I know, it's hard to tell what it is, but it's a spinach and mashed potato patty that I cooked on the stove top in a little bit of olive oil. There are also some green beans and at the bottom of the picture is some chicken (that's not potato oozing out of the patty). I had some mashed potatoes left over from the other night - they were the mushy, store-bought variety that come in a package and they are already mashed. I decided to saute a little bit of onions and garlic along with the spinach, and then I mixed that together with the mashed potatoes and a small amount of Parmesan cheese (sorry, not vegan, but you could probably do without the cheese - it might actually be better that way). I cooked three patties on the stove top in a little bit of olive oil until nice and crispy brown. This is where I think the store-bought potatoes are worse than using your own mashed potatoes - the patties got really gooey while cooking; they were almost liquidy inside. But the end result was pretty tasty and it was a good way to use up some leftover mashed potatoes. If I ever make this again, I might use kale and do without the cheese. I'll also probably mash my own potatoes because I like homemade mashed potatoes way better than the stuff I used.

Bud

2009-05-07T12:44:00.000-07:00

My dad passed away a little over a month ago. He passed away on April 2, 2009, to be exact. Even though he was 84 years old and deteriorating fairly rapidly in his last few weeks, I still miss him keenly. Even though he had a good, long, and rich life (rich in terms of people who loved him and considered him to be an awesome enough dude), I still wish he could have lived forever and would never have left. Of course, this has nothing to do with food, but no doubt I will get around to food later in this post.
Nevertheless, I find I spend my days reminiscing about my dad and remembering all the good times we had. Lots of long-buried memories have been flooding back to me. Today, for instance, I remembered how my dad used to always give blood. He was pretty religious about it, too. I guess once every 6 months or so his office arranged with the Red Cross for employees to give blood and he was always there, giving his own. I've never given blood once in my life, but I think that the next time I see an ad for a blood drive, I'm going to go register and do it. It's about time and I'm going to do it for Bud.
I could go on indefinitely about my dad, but I guess I should narrow my memorial tribute to him down to the point of this blogspot, which is food. My dad was from Philadelphia, and that might account for a lot of his taste in foods. The most striking thing that I remember was that he loved rhubarb. Not just rhubarb pie, but rhubarb anything. He had fond memories of his mother fixing stewed rhubarb for dinner. I never had that, so I don't know how that would taste. But yeah, rhubarb pie was a hit for him. He also loved cream soda. Remember cream soda? I don't even know if they make that flavor anymore - but it was pretty popular back in the day. I think every now and then I see a random can or bottle somewhere of cream soda. Then there was the pretzels and ice cream combo. I don't know if that's a Philadelphia thing or not, but my grandfather (my dad's dad) turned me on to that one, and I have to say, it's awesome! Pretzels are even better with vanilla Soy Delicious, which by the way apparently has changed it's name to "So Delicious"! And being from Pennsylvania and being the grandson of a Mennonite woman as well, it's only logical that shoo fly pie would be another of his favorites. I used to try and make shoo fly pie when I was an adolescent but I never really appreciated molasses all that much, and that pie contains a good amount of molasses. But that pie was another of my dad's favorites.
When I reread this, I see that I have only really touched on his favorite desserts, but I might begin searching for something interesting to do with rhubarb that is not a dessert. This will be my next challenge. And hopefully I will take some pictures of it too. Stay tuned for further developments in the world of rhubarb!

a secret that's not a secret about kale

2009-02-04T08:23:00.000-08:00

This is not really a secret, but kale is actually very very delicious. It just takes a little bit of time to find the right and perfect way to cook it. For instance, my daughter makes "kale chips," which are similar to roasted kale where the kale comes out crispy like actual chips and that's delicious. I tried to make roasted kale, but I failed and the result was dried-out and unexceptional tasting even though I tossed it with olive oil and a splash of cider vinegar. So I decided to try braised kale. I found this recipe from the Food Network, courtesy Emeril Lagasse. It was so good even my husband loved it! He ate all the leftovers (this recipe made a lot!). And my mother who always has to have cider vinegar with her greens was very happy because she didn't have to ask for the cider vinegar. This recipe was so flavorful and easy to prepare. The only change I made was to use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock, which makes this a vegan recipe. Back in the old days, my grandmother used to cook kale all day long with ham bones or fat back, etc. That gave it a great taste but now I have found a new and more healthy way to prepare it that is just as tasty. You will never miss or opine for the lack of pork in your greens ever again (in case you like them that way). And if you are a vegetarian/vegan and have never had the experience of having pork in your greens, just disregard my ramble here and try this recipe.

Forget Lettuce Soup, I Like Pumpkin Soup!

2008-10-22T09:36:00.000-07:00

I had a bunch of little pumpkins sitting around in my kitchen so I decided to roast them and make soup with them. I found a couple of recipes on the internet, and since my vegan daughter was visiting I merged the two recipes into one and came up with a very yummy vegan version. Basically, I took these two recipes: Vegan Pumpkin Coconut Soup from About.com and Spicy Pumpkin Soup from Simply Recipes and combined them based on their seasonings and vegan-ness. I felt the Spicy Pumpkin Soup had more to offer in the seasoning realm and I sought to incorporate the vegan recipe into the non-vegan one. The end result was delicious!! Even my meat-and-potatoes husband loved it. The final recipe involved substituting one 14-ounce can of coconut milk for all of the milk and heavy cream listed in the spicy pumpkin soup recipe and of course substituting vegan margarine for butter as listed but staying with the seasonings. I have to say, it was "to die for." Oh, and I did use 6 cups of roasted pumpkin as opposed to the 3 cans of pumpkin puree which is the alternative. I think fresh pumpkin is definitely the way to go taste-wise. And it's not that hard to do if you have a nice, sharp knife.

Spinach is beautiful

2008-10-15T07:13:00.000-07:00

Last night for dinner I made the eDiets version of beef stew, which means it had a few pieces of beef in it as well as a few chopped potatoes and a lot of carrots, mushrooms, onions, and vegetable broth. Not very tasty but it can be doctored. And doctor it I did. First, I decided to add a bag of spinach when it was ready to serve just long enough for the spinach to wilt. I also added a nice amount of freshly ground black pepper and some liberal dashes of Chipotle Tabasco sauce. It was excellent and not at all the high-fat and calorie-laden type of beef stew that we all love (we beef eaters, that is). The point of this is, spinach goes with everything and really added a lot to that otherwise lean version of beef stew. I think I will see what else I can add a bag of spinach to.

Hey, where'd I go?

2008-10-13T10:13:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like I am posting about once a month these days. But it does seem true that when my mother is staying at my brother's house, I don't spend much time concocting and preparing new recipes. Now she's back at my house, and I am working in the kitchen again!
I found a recipe for Parsnip Fries, done in the oven, that I was eager to try. I like parsnips, they have their own unique taste. They are cousins or something along those lines to the carrot. So now I can identify them as looking like "white carrots." I used to get parsnips and turnips mixed up, maybe because I was never served parsnips or turnips as a child. At any rate, I just happened across a recipe for parsnip fries which when I read it I realized wasn't really a recipe at all, just common sense. Basically, you slice your parsnips into sticks, toss them with some olive oil and seasoning, and bake in the oven. The recipe I followed suggested 3 T. of olive oil with 2 pounds of parsnips, and I objected to that much olive oil. I only used 1 or 1-1/2 T. which I think was a mistake. I should have used more. They just didn't get browned enough on the outside. Plus, the recipe said to bake them at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. I had to bake them for 40-45 minutes; I think the oven should have been at 400 or 425 degrees. The parsnips just weren't soft enough on the inside. So a hotter over might be needed. The recipe said to use salt, pepper, and chili powder. I think it should be doctored a bit more because I couldn't really taste the chili powder; plus, the parsnips are so sweet that you need more savory-type seasoning but that should not be all salt. So I will try again with these few changes and possibly I will season the parsnips with some Adobo seasoning. One good sign: my husband liked them but felt they should have been more soft inside (again, the lack of a good, hot oven). So there is hope that in the future we will be trying parsnip fries again soon!
Now that I have bored you with tales of parsnip fries, I am off to look for more vegetable recipes, preferably soups. Lettuce soup to be exact. This is the start of soup season for me! Later!

Missing in action

2008-09-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

I have been remiss of late, especially for much of the month of September. For some reason, having my mother at my house tends to make me lackadaisical these days about getting anything done when I am in the house with her. I feel like all feelings of productivity just fly right out the window when I come home from work, and the same is true on weekends. This is not a good thing since there is much to be done and much food to be prepared.
Preparing food is the one thing I cannot avoid since we have to eat our meals. I am still looking for creative ways of preparing vegetables since I feel that having a vegetable serving with dinner every night is extremely important. So, with that in mind, last night I tried a new way of preparing broccoli, which is one of my favorite veggies. Usually, I steam it and toss it with olive oil and lemon juice. That's an easy, no-fail method of preparing a lot of veggies. And it's pretty good, but after a while I feel like I need a change. So last night I decided to roast the broccoli. I looked at my little broccoli florets before I popped them in the oven, and they were crying out to me, "hey, we're lonely down here on this pan. Give us some action!" So I tossed in a few whole cherry tomatoes and combined all together with olive oil and sprinkled with the tiniest amount of coarse ground salt (which I mainly applied to the broccoli). It was a nice change, but next time I want to maybe drizzle the vegetables with a little balsamic vinegar when it comes out of the oven. Another idea to try is to substitute adobo seasoning for the salt. The upside of this new method is that my mother liked it too! And she didn't ask for more salt. Yay!
My husband very proudly informed me the other day that he has joined our local YMCA which means he is ready to start working out! I feel like this is a gigantic step in the right direction for him and I am so proud of him for doing this. The next step is for him to begin eating more carefully and making the right choices about his eating habits. I'm going to start working with him on that while my mother is off at my brother's house. She goes there today for a 2-week stay. Who knows, I may be able to get him to appreciate veggie bacon yet!

Sweet potatoes - yes!!

2008-09-20T16:08:00.000-07:00

I have a great recipe to share that involves sweet potatoes - big surprise, right? My 83-year-old mother is staying with me and we are starting our 3rd week together tomorrow. Ohmigosh!! Two weeks is okay, but 3 weeks? Help! Nevertheless, my husband went off to visit his dad, so I decided that we could have fish for dinner tonight since no hubby around (and he hates fish). As a side, I told my mother that we would have sweet potatoes. Sweet!! I love them and look for any opportunity to have some for dinner. So, I went online and looked up recipes. The recipe that I found, and that I wanted to try, was a Robert Irvine recipe from the Food Network . It's Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Wilted Spinach and it's totally comfort food! Try it, you will not just like it, you will love it - and you can veganize it if you want (which is how I had it - simply involves using margarine instead of butter). Very simple to make - I highly recommend it.
Tomorrow is Chickpea Salad - I will report on that after I have sampled it.
So, getting on with my running plans, I am now done with the Couch to 5k running plan and am in the middle of a 2-week self-imposed plan of just running for 30 minutes three times per week. I will do this and hopefully increase my speed and then start training for my first 5K! I also have to start running outdoors too. I would really like to find a running or workout journal that I can access on the internet. Somehow, using a notebook just doesn't appeal to me. Any suggestions?

Woo Hoo!! I made it through!

2008-09-11T11:31:00.000-07:00

Today I overslept and wasn't able to do my workout! Oh no!! Well, today I was scheduled for weights so it's no big deal if I miss that. Frankly, if I didn't have my mom staying at my house, I could just go over to the YMCA this evening and do my weights then. But I have to make dinner for her when I get home, then I have plans to go down to the Zoo Bar to hear my husband's band for a little while. It's my husband's birthday - 9/11! Yup, that's his birthday. Anyway, no time for the YMCA tonight. Can't do weights tomorrow because it's my running day - the last one of the last week on my running plan! Woo hoo! I made it through!
I saw a recipe posted on 101 Cookbooks' blogspot that I really want to try - it's Lemony Chickpea Stir-fry Recipe. I think I am going to give it a try on Sunday after I get back from New York, tofu and all (don't know how my mother will like that). I'm going to New York on Saturday to take some more furniture up to my daughter and while I'm at it, I'm going to give her a copy of this recipe. One of the things about it that interests me is that the chickpeas are stir-fried until golden and crusty. Yum, golden and crusty chickpeas sound good! I also have a recipe for a chickpea salad that uses toasted chickpeas. This seems to be a pretty cool trend in chickpeas. I'll let you know how it goes, unless you beat me to it and try it out before me!

mmmm, yeah!

2008-09-09T13:01:00.000-07:00

I finally have some resolution to one of my food quests. For a while, I was searching for a good dish that would include both whole wheat pasta and vegetables and still be yummy. Oh, and a protein to complement the whole grain pasta would be nice as well. Well, finally, I found it! Once again, it's a recipe from the Food Network, courtesy of Giada deLaurentiis. The recipe is fusilli with spinach and asiago cheese and it filled the bill. Of course, I only used about 1/2 as much olive oil as was called for, plus I reduced the amount of cheese by one-half as well. Extra cheese can be on-hand for individual taste, but mine was fine with the reduced amount. Tonight we will try this dish as a leftover - can't wait!
Another idea I am eager to try is polenta lasagna a la Michael Chiariello, again of the Food Network. However, since I haven't tried this recipe yet, I am also not ready to post it. That will just have to wait a little while.
In running news, I am now up to 30 minutes/2.5 miles. Nothing earthshaking - it's very pleasant how everything has gone up to now. Hopefully it will continue this way. After this week, which is my last week on this running plan, I will concentrate on increasing my speed slowly for a couple of weeks, then transition to some outdoors running (weather depending, of course). Then I will begin training for running a 5K. Then who knows what will happen? Senior Olympics?
Currently, however, I am working out 6 days a week. I run 3 days, do weight training 2 days, and I also incorporate a long, cardio walk 3 times a week. Sometimes those walks are in conjunction with my run days. I get one day off. This suits me well - I seem to be getting enough sleep at night and am not having any aches or pains yet (I guess I should knock on some wood somewhere!). I keep a pretty strict schedule, and if I miss a day I usually am able to make it up somewhere, somehow. For now, it's fun.
I still believe that weight training is an absolute necessity for women, so girls, don't forget to lift those weights!!

s'been a while

2008-09-03T11:47:00.000-07:00

Gee, I guess it's been a few weeks since I last published a post here. The fact is, I have been so busy with people moving in and moving out that I haven't had time to think about new ideas for food and have just been serving up the same ol' stuff. But I think that's coming to an end soon. I have been mulling and conjuring up some new ideas, and in a short while I will be ready to post them.
For now, however, I'll just have to stick with some tried-and-true recipes. For instance, one of my favorite ways to fix asparagus is to roast them. In fact, I love roasted asparagus so much that I usually fix this dish at least once a week. I think the turning point for me and roasted vegetables came when my daughter introduced me to roasted brussels sprouts a la Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa). Now I want to roast anything I can get my hands on. Only trouble is, roasting isn't the best way to prepare foods in the hot days of summer. But I do it anyway.
As I said, new ideas are coming, so stay tuned.
In the world of fitness, I am now up to running 28 minutes (or 2.32 miles) three times this week (I have already done this run twice this week, only 1 more day to go). Next week will be the last week of this running plan and it will culminate with my running 30 minutes three times over the course of the week. After this, I will start a training plan for running 5Ks. It seems like my only problem now is side stitches which I seem to get chronically but am able to control and get rid of if I concentrate fully on my breathing. That means, no music because the music is too distracting. So welcome boredom! It's not so bad - it's only 28-30 minutes. And I count every minute that goes by. I know it will get better when I start running outside, whenever that happens. My goal was originally to run in 5Ks and such with my daughters, but now I'm thinking about the Senior Olympics! haha, just joking of course.
Later!

"mothers are like that, yeh they are"

2008-08-22T06:08:00.000-07:00

Don't ask me how that title is relevant to anything; it is just one of those lines from a commercial from my childhood that never goes away. I think the commercial was for childrens' aspirin, like St.Josephs, which was my favorite childrens' aspirin because it had a very unsweet orange-like flavor. Soothing goodness. There was also Bayer for Children, but that was sweet, medicinal, and grainy; and it always made me gag. Ugh!! Nowadays, things taste pretty much like grape, cherry, bubblegum, good stuff like that - and not just for children. Adults can have it too!
Today, I ran for 25 minutes straight. That came out to 2 miles according to the treadmill I was running on. Nothing exceptional happened except that I did it! I wasn't too bored - I had my tunes going and that helped passed the time. But no pains or aches, no nausea. I ate 1/2 a banana about 45 minutes before running and had some water, also a cup of coffee which I am trying to scale back before running but I still think I need that caffeine boost. Maybe the sugar boost from the banana will be a good substitute - we will see.
By the way, thank you to my wonderful and lovely running daughters for all their words of love and support, especially my marathon daughter who has given me so many great tips and suggestions, all of which I have tried and have proven successful for me. =) You ladies are the greatest! I love you!
Last but not least, since this is supposed to be a food blog - I have a great version of a turkey burger that I have to share. Unfortunately, I have no vegetarian or vegan version. I have prepared this 2 times in the past couple of weeks because it is so yummy. Essentially, it is a stuffed turkey burger, with 4 oz. of ground turkey stuffed with approximately 2 tablespoons of shredded, low-fat mozzarella cheese and 2 tablespoons of chopped roasted red peppers (I used ones from a jar that were already roasted). A little bit of freshly ground pepper on the top (or both sides if you prefer), then broil or grill for 5-6 minutes per side. This recipe is from Ellie Krieger of the Food Network who I love because, besides cooking healthy, wholesome, and tasty food, she also prepares vegetarian and vegan meals. Hers is one of the only shows on the Food Network that does that! Grrr! They must think we all love meat. I love meat but I also love good vegetarian/vegan food. Another thing I like about Ellie Krieger's recipes is that they often display the nutritional info afterwards. That's a good thing to have when you are considering what to make for dinner, etc. I for one like to know how much fat, how much protein, calories, sodium, whatever I am looking at adding to my diet. Getting back to the turkey burger - try it, you will like it or love it (if you love meat, that is). And it is very easy to prepare! That's all. See you next time!

Yay for me! I could be a major idiot

2008-08-18T09:54:00.000-07:00

How embarrassed am I? I realized shortly after publishing my last post that I had already written about the rice and soybean pilaf a couple of weeks ago when I made it for my daughter. We had the same complaints then about it being bland but agreed it was better when reheated as a leftover. The only thing different this time is that I actually made it for myself; the first time I only tried a spoonful as a taste test. So I guess it could be a legitimate post and maybe I'm not going too wacky or anything like that.
Just wanted to let everyone know that! Keep the faith!

so much edamame, so very little time

2008-08-18T07:37:00.000-07:00

Last night I tried another ediets recipe, one for rice and green soybean pilaf. It sounded good enough, but the real finished product was pretty bland. When I thought about what I had assembled, I realized there were no seasonings called for. On my own, I had added freshly ground black pepper and a liberal dash of Tabasco, but that couldn't help it. After consideration, I decided that the next time I make this dish (which consists of rice, onions, garlic, celery, carrot, and mushrooms cooked in vegetable broth until broth is absorbed, then the cooked shelled edamame tossed in with rice mixture), I will saute the rice with the mirepoix first and maybe possibly add some saffron for color and a little mellow flavor.
This morning was another running morning for me. It was harder today even though I ran for only 5 minutes, then walked for 3, ran for 8, walked for 3, then ran for 5 again. Some days I guess it's just like that. No pain, I am happy to report. But I could really feel the effects of the humidity, even though I was inside on the treadmill. I felt like I could easily unravel and was happy to be running short runs. And the last several times that I have run I have felt nauseous afterward. Drinking small sips of water does nothing to help, only makes my stomach feel like it is filling up with acid which it probably is. Perhaps I should discontinue my early cup of coffee and save it for after my run. But if I do that, I probably won't be able to run or workout at all! What's a person to do?
My mother is back at my brother's house now so I am free to experiment with foods and recipes for the next 2 weeks. Everything I make for her apparently does not have enough salt. I do not like to use large amounts of salt in my food when I am preparing it. Salt is definitely something that everyone feels differently about, and I think it is best to let people salt to their own taste. Besides, we all know the hazards of too much salt. Salty chips and french fries, etc., are great once-in-a-while, but not exactly good for you on an everyday basis. But I don't know, when you are fixing and preparing meals for someone on a nightly basis, and that someone says it needs more salt, that can be considered a rude remark. People, my mother included, need to experience and savor the full natural flavors that are inherent in food. That's what it's all about.

My little big day

2008-08-16T13:19:00.000-07:00

Today was my big running day - I had to run 20 minutes this morning with no walking, except for warm-up and cool-down walks. Considering that the most I have run before without stopping is 8 minutes, I was a little nervous and anxious about it. But I did it, it was successful, I felt good - now it's on to the next week which will conclude with my running for 25 minutes. Truthfully, after 20 minutes, I felt like I could have kept going but I was glad to settle into my final 5-minute cool down walk. And another good piece of news - no pain! No foot pain, no knee pain -nothing! I felt and feel great!!
Now on to food, glorious food. Last night, I made a really yummy ediets dinner. Believe it or not, I still follow the ediets meal plan; some of their recipes are pretty good. I started ediets back in December of 2006 and by summer of 2007 I had lost all of the weight that I had set out to lose. So here it is one year later and I am still holding off the weight-gain monster. Okay, getting back to last night's meal. I made crispy baked fish or whatever-it's-called from ediets. I used tilapia, coated it with panko bread crumbs mixed with a small amount of parmesan and a teensy bit of paprika to give it a nice color. Then I baked it for 5-7 minutes at 450 degrees. So there really wasn't very much to it but tilapia is such a meaty, non-fishy fish - it was very scrumptious (can scrumptious be "very"?) and probably pretty good for you too. I made this for my mother who never really commented on its scrumptiousness but did ask for the salt! Grrrrrr! Oh, I forgot, she did say that her friend had told her that tilapia was her favorite seafood and now she could see why. But I don't really count that as a compliment to my dinner that I prepared for her. It's just a comment on how flavorful that particular fish is. Oh well, she is moving on to my bro's house tomorrow so now he and his wife can haggle over what food to serve her for a couple of weeks. Then, when she comes back, possibly I will have some new goodies for her.
Having my mother here with me has really made me see how important it is to take good care of yourself, especially if you are a woman. This morning, before my run, I saw a memo on the bulletin board at the YMCA regarding the importance of weight training for women over 30. The gist of the memo was that weight training can be more important than aerobic exercise. I'm really glad that I have incorporated weight training into my weekly workout routine and I encourage my daughters to do the same except they probably already are way ahead of me! In fact, I know they are because they are the ones who told me to resume weight training.
That's it for now. Remember - take care of your muscle mass because you will probably need it down the road!!

quick, think of something!

2008-08-13T13:05:00.000-07:00

I haven't published a post here in about a week, mainly because I have nothing new to write about. No new meals, etc. Last time I wrote about a side dish that I was interested in because it would contain whole wheat pasta and vegetables together. The one that I chose consisted of whole wheat pasta with broccoli rabe, mushrooms, vegetable broth, some parmesan cheese, garlic, and onions. It was tasty enough. Oh, I also included a small amount of red pepper flakes for some heat. Next time, however, I would like to add some veggie sausage and possibly some pine nuts. That would give it a little more substance and protein too which would really make it a meal in a pot.
On a more interesting note, I am into week 5 of my cool running plan. Yesterday, I ran for 8 minutes straight! Twice! Next run day (which will be Saturday), I will run for 20 minutes straight. I guess this will either make or break me, preferably the former. I was pretty anxious about doing 8 minutes and that wasn't so difficult. Hopefully, 20 minutes will be the same. But I think it will be long and boring. Fortunately, the foot pain I was having earlier has pretty much disappeared, even with the increase in my running times. During every run, though, I always experience some joint pain somewhere on my body (mostly foot- or knee-related) which only lasts for much of the duration of the run and is pretty mild and therefore I think normal. I will report back on how I do on my 20-minute run on Saturday. To a certain degree, I am fairly excited about running for 20 minutes, in spite of my anxiety.
So getting back to the pasta and vegetables. One of the reasons I chose to do this dish was because of my husband who is on a new, Adkins-like diet. It's actually a Suzanne Somers diet. When I told him that I had made this dish, something I thought he could eat, he told me "no way!" Since we were having some sort of meat product that he was cooking on the grill, he was apparently forbidden by his diet to eat any type of whole grain pasta or rice or the like and it would have to wait until the next day. So he did eat it for lunch the next day and said he liked it, although he so loaded it down with shredded Parmesan cheese that I think he lost all the other ingredients in there somewhere. Oh well, that's my so-called life and I'm lovin' it!
I hope to make the pasta and broccoli rabe recipe again this weekend, maybe with a few minor adjustments, and this time I will take a picture of it and post it here.
Happy trails, everyone! Wish me luck on my 20-minute run!

Trying something new tonight folks

2008-08-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

The old eating healthy and delicious every night has been difficult this week. It's been a stressful week, and sometimes you just want to come home from work and go out for a meal somewhere outside of your house where people bring things to you for you to eat and drink. Yeah, that's the life. But we didn't do that this week; we just ate leftovers or the usual old everyday/every week kind of stuff. Nothing new, in other words. Plus, my husband has started a new diet so that puts the kibotch on eating out.
My husband loves protein, such as hamburgers, steaks, hot dogs, sausage, all that bad stuff that isn't necessarily good for you. So his favorite diet to go on is something akin to the Atkins diet. Right now he is following the Suzanne Somers diet. Gosh, how in the world did Suzanne Somers become a nutritional expert? Anyway, it doesn't seem to matter to him that me and my daughter both have successfully lost a decent amount of weight by eating healthy and controlling portions. He doesn't want any part of that. So he is actually dieting for a brief period of time so that he can lose weight fairly quickly and then be able to start taking walks and being active again. It's a long story. The upshot of this is that tonight's dinner has to consist of food that he deems to be part of his diet and that I deem to be healthy and delicious. I have come up with a meal that includes a serving of protein (meat in this case) and a vegetable and carbohydrate side dish cooked together in one pot, whole wheat pasta with broccoli rabe and mushrooms. This looks and sounds pretty yummy. The idea is to serve a side that includes a whole grain and a vegetable. That seems like a no-brainer, like why have I not done this before? I guess I will give it a try. Later!

My inspiration

2008-08-06T06:25:00.000-07:00

Well, I am back from the big city where I went on Sunday to help my daughter move a few of her things before her big move-in later this month. Unfortunately, I have not conjured up any new ideas in cooking dinners for my mom. So far, we have had leftovers (the leftover Asparagus/Rice salad was better the second day!) or just stuff that is good but no new discoveries in my culinary world. I will get to that later this week. After all, it is only Wednesday.
I did, however, start my 4th week of my running plan. This is a big week because not only have I increased my running time and decreased my walking time but I have also increased my running speed slightly. That was at the suggestion of one of my daughters. I did quite well too. So, this week has me running for 3 minutes, then walking for 90 seconds, run for 5 minutes, walk for 2-1/2 minutes, run 3 minutes, walk 90 seconds, then run 5 minutes. The first day I did this, I thought I would collapse and die during the first half of the first 3-minute run segment. Then I crossed over that psychologic-physiological hurdle and cruised for the rest of the workout. One of the things that helped me get through that increased run time was having really good music to listen to. But the other thing that made me really feel good was thinking about all of the support that I have gotten from my daughters. All three of them. They all run and they constantly support me and tell me I can do it and that I am doing an awesome job. So this post is for them - they are my inspiration. I consider myself very lucky indeed to have three such wonderful daughters. All I have to do is think about them and I get a big smile on my face. =)
So, no new food ideas today; but check back tomorrow. I hope to have some more interesting ideas then.

She's baaack!!

2008-08-02T18:34:00.000-07:00

Well, my mom is back at my house for a 2-week stay. She takes turns staying with my brother and me, two weeks at his place and then 2 weeks at my house. I don't think she minds the moving around, I think it makes life interesting for her to get to see a new perspective every 2 weeks. And, of course, she gets different treatment from each of us. My brother and his wife take her out to eat at an actual restaurant every once in a while. I just wait on her hand and foot, fix her meals when I'm home, and try to make delicious and healthy home-cooked meals to boot.
Tonight my daughter and I fixed a recipe that I had been wanting to try which I saw on one of my favorite blogspots - 101cookbooks.com. The recipe is Ten Minute Tasty Asparagus and Brown Rice. My result did not look quite as good as the picture that she has on her post. Something about the chickpeas, they didn't get that crust to them and were actually a little mushy. Maybe I should have rinsed them when I drained them? However, it was delicious and very satisfying. It was very much like a meal in one pot. It had a tahini-based dressing with it that I was worried my mother wouldn't care for but she raved about it. She did, however, say it needed more salt. I told her she was wrong! If it needed anything more, it would have been extra tahini dressing. But the salad combines raw asparagus (which actually does get a little steaming action when everything is tossed together at the end) and toasted slivered almonds - loads of toasted slivered almonds. Absolutely delicious. You should give it a try.
I completed my 3rd week of my running plan. Week 4 has me running for 5-minute stretches. Who knew I would make it this far? If I don't injure myself, I just might make it to a 5K sometime in the near future.
Well, that all starts on Monday. Tomorrow I'm driving my daughter up to her new apartment in New York City, taking some of her stuff to get her started on her move. When I return, I'll be getting back to conjuring up more yummy food and concentrating on more working out.
Until then, have a happy weekend, what's left of it that is!

some very good food was had by all

2008-07-28T09:44:00.000-07:00

On Sunday, I broke the ice and made some really delicious food. It's been a long time and it was fun. First, I made Edamame Hummus which came from a recipe at Cooking Light on the internet. Delicious and fairly easy to make, it was consumed practically the moment I set it out on the table. After that was prepared, I made a really yummy couscous salad that I had seen prepared on the Food Network. This too was pretty easy to prepare, and since it uses toasted couscous it had an extra visual appeal to it. A couple of things of note - Giada de Laurentiis likes to use a lot of olive oil and although olive oil is great I really prefer to cut back a little . So I used about half as much. The recipe also calls for chicken stock, but I used vegetable stock instead. I hardly ever use meat-based stocks. Great recipes - and they can both be vegan too!
I am now into Week 3 on my running plan, still gelling with my new running shoes. Day 1 came and went with no new pains. I actually ran for two 3-minute stretches. I think that's the longest I have run for in over 25 years! How pathetic is that, I ask! Tomorrow is Day 2 - I will report back on how it goes.
I need some new inspiration for recipes, since my mother will be coming back to our house for her 2-week stay this weekend. So off I go to search for something new and interesting to cook for her and my family. See you next time!

It Is TOO Easy Being Green!!

2008-07-23T09:51:00.000-07:00

Well, Kermit was slightly wrong. I'm talking Green as in environment, carbon footprint, etc. But the fact is, green is where it is at. Whether it be green soybeans (Yay!) or green living or green frogs, Kermit needs to just get with the times. Too many people are whining about having to go green when they could just embrace the fact that it's something that has to be done. Then they would find out it's pretty damn easy after all! So folks, give up your SUVs and take the bus or train or ride your bike or walk! Or even just get into your smaller car and drive that for a change.
Getting back to edamame, I just found a recipe for Edamame Hummus . You can check out this recipe at Cooking Light on the internet. I haven't tried it myself yet, but I plan to do just that this weekend. I have leftover frozen green soybeans and I would like to somehow sneak them into my hubby's diet. He'll never know what hit him! Stay tuned for the results.
Now for the running plan update. Today was Day 3 of my 2d week. Earlier this week, notably Day 2 which was Tuesday, I developed some foot pain involving my left foot which I (with help from primary running daughter) concluded had to do with the fact that I was running whilst wearing walking shoes. Last night I bought my first pair ever of running shoes! Today's run (90 seconds followed by 120 seconds of walking for 20 minutes) was uneventful; in other words, I had mild achiness but I think it was residual from Tuesday's run. Those new shoes are so cushioned I feel like I really know what they mean when people say, "I'm gelling," because I was definitely gelling. I know, I'm a dork. So what else is new?
With the help of my daughter who is at home for the summer, I found a couple of very easy ediets recipes that she can throw together for a quick and easy lunch or dinner. One that I actually got to enjoy a little bit of is Baked Tofu with green beans. It simply consists of 4 oz. of Italian Herb baked tofu that is cut into cubes and sauteed in a little olive or canola oil and then tossed with 1-2 cups of steamed green beans. Add a few dried herbs such as oregano and parsley, plus a little balsamic vinegar, and toss all together to make a delicious and satisfying entree. It's so easy and can be whipped up in just a few minutes. Of course, you can substitute any vegetable and even use fresh herbs which always taste so much better anyway. I do love tofu when it is sauteed in a little olive oil, just enough to give it some flavor and a slight crust. Yum! And baked or marinated tofu is even better because it has a flavor that is absolutely delicious!
Tonight I am eating out with a friend, at my favorite Italian restaurant, so no planning or cooking meals until tomorrow. Have a good weekend!

Edamame Momma

2008-07-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

Last night, I cooked with green soybeans for the first time in my life. Which means that I am not Edamame Momma yet, really; but maybe someday I will be. I made Green soybean and rice pilaf for dinner which is yet another eDiets recipe and therefore pretty bland. I added black pepper and Tabasco sauce but to no avail. Still bland. In spite of the blandness, it was fairly good and substantive. In addition to edamame and rice, it contained carrots, mushrooms, celery, and onions which sounds like a good recipe for mirepoix minus the herbs. Coincidentally, yesterday or the day before I noticed a new post on 101cookbooks.com highlighting a recipe for Edamame soup . I briefly perused the recipe but didn't find any suggestions for other seasonings besides those which I had already used in my bland serving. On reflection, I think next time I make this soybean and rice pilaf I might use leeks instead of onions. Leeks have that little "edge" to them which might be what this dish needs. But then I would have to omit the celery possibly. I would also try adding another vegetable such as broccoli just to give it some extra substance and texture.
I am now finished with my 2d day of Week 2 in my running plan. Running for 90 seconds and walking for 120 seconds is not turning out to be too difficult except that I have immediately found that I need a good pair of running shoes. I already have a pre-injurious condition involving my left foot which I think is directly related to my shoes. Hopefully it will not prevent me from finishing this week. But if it does, what the heck? I've waited this long to take up running; so having to wait another few weeks certainly won't make any difference to me! I'm just astonished that I can actually run for 90 seconds without falling down dead and that I can do it repeatedly for 20 minutes. Who would have thought it possible?
Until next time.

A flash from the past

2008-07-17T12:45:00.000-07:00

Today I received a letter from my long-lost best friend from my childhood! What excitement for me! We haven't seen each other since we were both 16 years old and I went down to Knoxville, Tennessee, to visit her for a couple of weeks. She and her family had moved down there the year before after spending all of her childhood in the Washington, D.C., area, where she lived in very close proximity to me. Her letter means so much to me that I have read it and re-read it over and over again.
I'm in the middle of making vegetarian dinners from the eDiets menu for my daughter. Last night I made a vegetable bake that had mushrooms and potatoes in it with a sauce of ricotta, parmesan, and vanilla soymilk. I used vanilla soymilk because it was the only "milk" that I had in my house. As a result, the sauce had a certain sweetness to it; I think next time I should try to remember to get some plain soymilk. Even though it's called "vegetable bake," the only vegetables in this dish were mushrooms and potatoes, so I decided to saute some zucchini with onions and garlic to go alongside. Tonight I am making Asian stir fry with vegetables and tofu fried in a little olive oil. This dish has bok choy and snow peas in it. If we feel the need for another vegetable, I will probably cook up a pot of broccoli, which, after it is drained, gets tossed with a bit of lemon juice and a dash of olive oil to make a very tasty side. A small handful of toasted almonds will definitely enhance the broccoli. Almonds and pine nuts are always welcome in my kitchen.
Hopefully this weekend I will have the time to try some new ideas. I have been collecting recipes and ideas; now I just need to set aside some time to try some new vegetable dishes.
I did Day 2 of my running plan; feeling fine in the summertime. Day 3 is tomorrow then I start Week 2 which has me running for 90 seconds and walking for something (I forget which but I have it written down somewhere). Wish me luck!

Uh, what's next?

2008-07-15T06:10:00.000-07:00

Well, now that my mother has moved to my brother's house for the next 3 weeks, I feel like I'm in relax mode as far as meals go. But nothing could be farther from the truth! There is no time for relaxing because now I must concentrate on fixing nourishing and yummy food for the rest of my household which right now includes my daughter who is home for a few weeks and my husband. This will be a challenge since my daughter is a vegetarian and is very health- and fitness-conscious and my husband is neither. Tonight has to be a quick fix since we will be rushing out and up the road to Philadelphia to hear one of my other daughter's performance. Tomorrow night, however, I will begin in earnest to prepare food for both my daughter and my husband (as well as myself). I have 2 nights worth of meals already in the planning stage.
On another note, yesterday was the first day of my new running challenge. I went to the gym yesterday bright and early at 5:00 a.m. I started with a brisk 5-minute warmup walk, then followed that with 20 minutes of alternating between 60 seconds of running and 90 seconds of walking. It was a success! I thought I wouldn't be able to do it but I was able to complete the entire 20 minutes. That was followed by 30 minutes of brisk walking on the treadmill. I think my biggest obstacle was worrying about how I looked while I was running; I kept thinking to myself that maybe I have a bad stride or maybe I looked goofy to everyone else, but no one seemed to take much notice. So I am planning on going again for day 2 on Thursday. Day 3 will be on Saturday morning. In case you did not read my earlier post, this running plan that I am currently using is the Couch to 5K Running Plan from Cool Running. Today is the day after Day 1, and apart from slightly sore thigh muscles, there appears to be no damage done.

Coming down the home stretch

2008-07-11T06:43:00.000-07:00

Only 3 more days left with my mother staying at my house; then she moves on to my brother's house for 3 weeks. I have to say, I think I have done pretty well coming up with some tasty and wholesome vegetable servings for our dinners this week. And I also notice that she is regularly adding fruit to her breakfasts and lunches. Success!!
Last night I wasn't sure what to serve with our dinner of cheese omelets and whole wheat toasted bread. I had a couple of zucchinis in the refrigerator, so I decided to use them since they were still fresh and firm. I ended up chopping them into bite-sized chunks and sauteeing them with some sliced onions and dried (if only I had fresh!) rosemary in a little bit of olive oil. I also added freshly ground pepper and the tiniest amount of coarse salt. They were perfect. I have tried roasting zucchini but they had so much water in them that they ended up being a mushy mass. These last night were perfectly cooked, just the right amount of crisp-tender. So, all in all, dinner was delicious once again.
I'm trying something new this coming week - I'm going to start training for a 5K. Yup, I want to see if I can become a runner. I have my doubts, though. I will be using the Couch-to-5K Running Plan from Cool Running. It looks pretty good so we shall see how it goes. Three days a week for the first week I am to alternate 60 seconds of jogging with 90 seconds of walking for 20 minutes, and then it increases in increments over the consecutive weeks. This is going to be really hard even though I have been working out at the YMCA gym for years and I think I am in relatively good shape as a walker. Running is a whole different hill of beans. I tried it a few years ago, although without a running plan such as this, and I thought I would absolutely die. So we shall see how the running plan works. Maybe I am just too old at this point to start running.
Tonight I will be babysitting my gorgeous granddaughter so I have no dinners planned - for the sake of convenience, it will probably be Lean Cuisine. My mom gets Lean Cuisine too, even though she asked for a t-bone steak yesterday. That will just have to wait until her next stay here (in 3 weeks). Darling hubby is on his own for dinner tonight.

Soup as a vegetable serving?

2008-07-08T10:23:00.000-07:00

I'm really working hard on getting five-a-day going with my 83-year-old mother to the point that I have decided why not count soup as a vegetable serving? Thanks to one of my favorite websites, which happens to be 101cookbooks.com, I have a recipe for Spinach-Zucchini soup. This soup is so flavorful and rich and creamy it should qualify as comfort food. And it's easy to make! Also vegan, in case you care about dairy products in your food. There is absolutely no ingredient in it that is not good for you - no animal byproduct, no dairy. It's exquisite! It's not exactly something I can whip up when I get home from work, since I often want a quick-fix for dinner (quick and healthy). But it can be made the night before - it works well that way and lasts for a few good days.
I have had some recent success getting my mother to start incorporating more fruit into her diet. I sometimes feel like asking her, "now who's the mother?" because here I am telling her to "eat your fruits and vegetables!" But this is the best time of year to get those fruits in your meals - there is so much available, and they're all so juicy and sweet and yummy. A friend of mine suggested getting some watermelon and chopping it up into nice-sized chunks, then putting the chunks in the freezer for a nice frozen treat. I'll be giving that a try in the next few days.
You have to understand that this mission of 5-a-day is extremely important to me because I just came off of a diet where I lost 35 pounds about one year ago. The main thrust of this diet was to eat well-balanced meals. I have kept the weight off for about a year, maybe a little more. So when I found out my mother doesn't really care if she gets fruits and vegetables with her meals or not, I was kind of concerned. To her, breakfast is a cup of coffee and a piece of buttered toast. Lunch is sandwich and chips. Dinner is a piece of meat with some frozen vegetable stuff that she cooks on the stovetop. Then those 3 meals are interspersed with a lot of snacks e.g., chips, crackers, cookies, etc.- that kind of crap. Now that she is staying at my house, she doesn't get that stuff. At my house, she gets rice cakes, graham crackers, yogurt, fruit, and oh yes, the obligatory piece of dark chocolate that we cannot live without! I hope this will have a beneficial impact on her health, which at this point is good in spite of her age. She could stand to eat a little better, and I think I am steering her in the right direction.

Another day, another vegetable

2008-07-06T02:20:00.000-07:00

My 83-year-old mother has come to live at my house with me and my husband until she can get a new place to live. She's getting older and needs to be in assisted living, but until we can get her into a nice place she takes turns living with me and my brother. So, while she lives at my house, I am trying to make sure she is meeting the old 5-a-day requirement. That includes both fruit and vegetable. Her idea of a vegetable with dinner is a package of frozen broccoli with cheese sauce. We will have none of that here. Only fresh ingredients will do. However, one of my favorite vegetable dishes that is quick and easy to prepare uses frozen green beans which I steam and then toss with soy margarine and some toasted slivered almonds. Not overly long on flavor but still delicious and satisfying. The other night though I used fresh green beans and chopped some waxy potatoes, such as Yukon, and tossed them together with a small amount of olive oil, enough to coat. I try not to overdo it with the olive oil - I like to think that 1-2 teaspoons per serving is enough. So for 4 servings, I used approximately 1-1/2 tablespoon of olive oil. I also added sliced onion and garlic and tossed all together with a slight sprinkling of coarse salt and freshly ground pepper, then spread all out on a baking sheet, put into the oven at 425 degrees for about 15 minutes-20 minutes. My oven cooks/bakes slow so it always takes a little longer. Suffice it to say, roasted green beans make the grade! They were delicious and I will do it again only next time I might add some fresh herb such as rosemary. The beans were nutty and flavorful. And my mother gobbled hers right up which I guess was the point of all of this.
Still seeing radishes in my future - probably roasted. tonight might be good for that.

A Radish a Day ...?

2008-07-01T12:17:00.000-07:00

Today I ate a radish that's not in a salad. Apparently, the French eat radishes with unsalted butter. Ahh, butter. I love it, but unfortunately it's not a part of my dietary lifestyle anymore (except occasionally when I dine out or for special meals ). I stopped by the local farmer's market near my office and picked up a couple of bunches of some pink and white radishes (French breakfast radishes - so I guess that's when the French eat them with unsalted butter). My feeling was that they would go very nicely sliced on top of a flatbread or triscuit that has been slathered with a bit of veggie cream cheese (you could, of course, substitute tofutti if you prefer the non-dairy variety). It makes a fair canape or hors d'oeuvre as you would expect. In fact, they might even have a picture of this on the front of the Nabisco Triscuit box - probably topped with a sprig of dill. Later, however, I might try roasting some radishes. There are so many radishes out there, and I know that there has to be some delicious ways of serving them. My quest continues!

Getting Started

2008-06-29T14:09:00.000-07:00

I love food. But like a lot of people, if I keep eating it the way I want to eat it I gain lots and lots of weight, don't look good, don't feel good, etc. For the past year-and-a-half, however, I have been dutifully and conscientiously monitoring what and how much I eat, to the extent that I have completely changed my dietary lifestyle. I have also lost over 35 pounds and kept it off successfully for about a year. So this means healthy eating, no more junk food (well, that's not an absolute), working out on a regular basis (you know, the 3-day cardio, 2-day strength training, etc., routine), I guess for the rest of my life. I am trying to incorporate really yummy, delicious food into this healthy eating lifestyle. That's not just for me, it's also for my family. My family includes my husband of 32 years, three grown and beautiful daughters, one son-in-law, and one gorgeous, adorable granddaughter who will be 2-1/2 years old in August of this year. Stop by and see how it goes! I think my first venture is going to involve radishes. I hear they're pretty good for you.