Camouflage Tye-Dye

So, my last day of Christmas break that I spent with Nic turned out to be a real eye-opener. We went to the theater and saw Gran Torino, which we gave 2 thumbs up. (My mom drove a gold one with a racing strip down the sides!) The movie ended and we had about 45 minutes to grab something to eat that fit my criteria: Healthy AND tasty.
The theater is across the parking lot from Whole Foods. This isn't a "real" Whole Foods, but it's getting there. It used to be Wild Oats, Squash Blossom, whatever...it's the hippie, granola, tree-hugger market. We wandered around the store and settled on some very yummy pizza, a couple of drinks and sweets. We grabbed a table and began people watching.

My sweet son really threw his heart on the table. First he said,
"You are so at home with these people here. They are all about natural food, recycling and the environment".

Yes, that is correct. I loved going to school in Boulder and love people who are comfy in their own skin, even if it's covered in tattoos. But don't get me wrong, a week at the Ritz Carlton works too.

Then, "You know these people here would say terrible things to me if I was in uniform?"

No Nic they wouldn't.

"Yes they would. They hate the military, think we are war mongers, baby killers, it sucks you know, when you can feel that kind of hate."

And I was speechless.

I always called myself a conservative liberal. I didn't vote for Obama only because of his non support of the wars, but I believe he will do a terrific job, especially now that he'll be in the super duper, confidential, top secret network. Maybe he didn't know everything and there is more to this war than we think. Regardless, he is the Commander in Chief, the top dog, the head of all US Military and I only hope that the troops who have stepped up to defend this country aren't shortchanged.

But in the meantime, I know Nic is wrong.

I know that uber-liberals don't hate kids like mine. He's the kid who opens the door for you when you're going in a store. He's the kid who says yes ma'am because he was raised in the South not because he thinks you're old or he's a racist. He is the kid who asked me to pack a lunch for a boy at school whose mom worked 2 jobs and he seemed to go hungry every day. I did it happily and he handed it to him on the way to the cafeteria even though he didn't ever sit with his group.

The military is so much more than war. For thousands of kids like mine it is an unbelievable education, comparable to Ivy League. It's training at the highest level in so many areas. For Nic, it'll be aircraft. Honestly, regardless of your political views, wouldn't you rather the pilot of your next flight have thousands of miles logged all over the world with the very best training? His commitment to the US Air Force is how he pays back the $400,000 education. It's his choice, his dream. Please don't fault a kid for taking orders. He would give his life for you and this country, and he'll tell you that. I want him to feel good about his choice whether he's at Whole Foods or Kroger.

I'm a little blue he's gone. Tomorrow the temperature plummets, so the ovens get fired up. Stay tuned. And God Bless America.

Bread and Soup (and Benedryl)

Does anything say dinner in the winter like bread and soup? The weather has been positively crummy here. Rainy and grey, I know I could never live in the Northwest. My solar battery was on empty, but today the sun shines, I soaked up my requirement of Vitamin D and went to work. Now this meal would have been perfect on one of those freezing, wet, nights, but I couldn't muster up the energy. Besides, tonight everyone is home.
I started yesterday with the famous Mark Bittman no-knead bread. This recipe has been scooting around the Internet for a long time. I used the Williams Sonoma version which is with rosemary and lemon. Mine wasn't picture worthy in the prep stages as I mis-measured the flour on the first batch, and let the second batch rise too close to the exhaust on the oven. Who knows what sort of disaster lies in my oven as we speak, but they are both baking and smell fabulous.
And they were fabulous!
I decided Minestrone was a great way to sneak in a (semi) vegetarian meal. I used the Winter Minestrone recipe from Giada as a starting point. Yes, it calls for pancetta, but that isn't meat, it's fat and flavor. It's also the single reason I couldn't be a vegetarian for life. Ah, that salty, smoky flavor, there is nothing like it out there. But I digress. I chose not to use beef broth, and used low sodium chicken broth instead. I also dumped in a small box of dried cheese tortellini to make it a little more satisfying. My last change was red chard, and am I glad I chose it. This is the reason my soup is so beautiful!
My reason for picking this minestrone from the hundreds out there was the chard. It is very high in iron, and I seem to be lacking in it. I found a website that lists the most iron rich foods, and was amazed to learn that based on a 200 calorie serving, dried parsley was the highest in iron! Imagine! So I did a little calculating and figured I'd need to eat about 2.2oz. of dried parsley to get 200 calories.
The very large jar in the photo (compared to a normal spice jar) is just 2 ounces, that's a lot of dried parsley! The number 2 high iron food was air dried whale meat. That just doesn't sound environmentally friendly. So chard it was.
Dessert was a little something called apple pita. Many people are familiar with spanikopita, the Serbs have their own version. We make both cheese and apple, and it was Nic's request we have apple pita.
Basically it is apples, cinnamon, sugar and graham cracker crumbs rolled in phyllo and brushed with butter and then baked until golden. Really pretty easy and basic. I just love that stacked phyllo, crispy and buttery, little shards of phyllo crumbling off with every bite. I have had great success freezing it, but I don't believe there is any better way to eat it than crispy from the oven.
And now a Post Script, (you know a P.S.), I had dinner, enjoyed every bite, washed it down with a little Pinot, and was going to snap my pictures when I served Scott his bowl as he was running a little late. However, I discovered shortly after I broke off a crusty piece of bread to nibble on, I am allergic to fresh rosemary. Not ingesting it, because it is in both the bread and soup, but a little piece on that crust poked my lip, and within an hour, I looked like a lopsided Who from Whoville. Scott rushed off to Walgreen's to get me Benedryl, which had me in a coma within half an hour. So now the soup isn't as pretty, come to think of it, neither am I, I look like I sparred with Rocky. Just a little swollen, not nearly as large as last night. But I am off to Williams Sonoma and think I'll save the Benedryl for when I'm close to a couch! This photo is a next day leftover picture. The tortellini were a little soggy, but the flavors were fabulous!


Giada's Family Dinners
Winter Minestrone with my own tweaks...

2 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
3 oz. pancetta, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound red chard, washed, trimmed of stems and coarsely chopped
1 russet potato
1 14 oz. can fire roasted chopped tomatoes
2 sprigs of fresh rosemary (careful, it can be dangerous!)
1 15 oz. can canellini beans, rinsed and drained
62 oz. low sodium chicken broth
1 oz. piece of parmesan cheese rind
1 small box dried tortellini
fresh parsley and fresh parmesan to garnish
salt and pepper to taste

Heat oil in large pot and add pancetta and garlic. Cook until slightly crispy. Add the onions, carrots, celery and cook until the onions soften. Add the chard and potato, stir and cook for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes with the juice and rosemary. Cook until the chard begins to wilt.
In a small bowl, take about 1/2 cup of broth and 3/4 of the can of beans and puree. I use an immersion blender, but you can use a blender if necessary. Add the puree, the reseved beans and all the stock. Add the rind if you are using it. Bring to a low boil and add the tortellini. Loer the heat and simmer for about 8 minutes or until the potato and tortellini are all cooked.
Ladle into bowls and top with fresh parsley, fresh parmesan and fresh ground black pepper.

The bread recipe is EVERYWHERE! I used the version found on Williams-Sonoma.com
Get In There And Cook!

Fresh Beginnings

So here we are, 2009. Part of my blogging resolution is to try new things. My Food Lover's Companion is in my car, and when I am going to the market to shop, my plan is to pick up something I have no experience with. And trust me, if I haven't tried it, not many people have. There are plenty of things that I have tried at a restaurant, but not at home. Time to branch out! So today's ingredient....Turnips!
I know that winter is root vegetable season, so what the heck. The book says they should be heavy for thier size, so I picked up a handful of small heavy bulbs. They really are pretty with their purple skins. I searched for a recipe that I thought my family would eat, and found it at Cooking Light.

Sweet and Spicy Turnips
Yield 4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)
Ingredients
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Dash of ground allspice
3 (6-ounce) turnips, peeled and each cut into 6 wedges
Cooking spray
Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine first 7 ingredients in a jelly roll pan or shallow roasting pan coated with cooking spray; toss to coat. Bake at 400° for 35 minutes or until tender, stirring every 10 minutes.
Nutritional Information
Calories:
65 (29% from fat)
Fat:
2.1g (sat 1.2g,mono 0.6g,poly 0.1g)
Protein:
1.2g
Carbohydrate:
11.5g
Fiber:
2.4g
Cholesterol:
5mg
Iron:
0.5mg
Sodium:
253mg

I was really "jonesing" for a burger, thanks to a picture on Foodgawker, so we grilled burgers, carmelized onions and peppers, made sweet potato fries and then the lowly turnips! To be perfectly honest, I enjoyed them. I don't think I would make them again, they seem rather devoid of nutrition. There is no color, and they have a taste that's a little bitter, almost like the radish family.
So where's the chocolate you ask? What's sweetie about turnips? Well I was really trying to not jump right back into the sugary stuff. I joined an online baking network called The Daring Bakers. It is a very cool concept, two food blogging women started chatting it up on the internet about what they wanted to bake. So they decided to bake the same recipe and blog it and they could compare their results. So now a few years later, over 1000 food bloggers are members. So the recipe is revealed at the beginning of the month, and then everyone bakes it and the blog reveal is at the end of the month. So what is the challange this month? I can't tell you! It's a big secret every month! I love this, secret baking! But this month's challange is totally new to me, and should be really fun. So stay tuned for the big reveal.
Finally, this is my last week with Nic at home. The routine has started to get back to normal, but we are trying to eat great (healthy) food before he leaves. I have a bag of apples in the fridge, so I am thinking they'll be on the menu. I am hoping to get to Whole Foods today as well, so I'll pick up another something to try out. In the mean time, get in there and cook!