food – Page 7

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Since Dave started his wonderful new job in the world of PR (and, more recently, after having a health scare with Hadley), his perspective has changed…which means that our family perspective, too, has shifted. While I wish my schedule was more conducive to accommodating his new ideas, I’m generally ecstatic to see the changes.

His mind is far freer to explore the parts of life he had grown out-of-touch with. He’s able to put his time and energy into his writing, but also researching healthy living ideas (sometimes even happening upon articles or websites that I had showed him a year or two ago that he didn’t have the time or mental astuteness to look into), decor for his awesome new office, family activities, and more.

I’ve always loved my husband (obviously…well, maybe not obviously, but I’m saying it here — I’ve always loved my husband!), but I hate, hate, hated what his previous job did to him. I didn’t necessarily hate the job itself, but the fact that he was always beat, always on-call to fix problems or post to the web (or getting called in), always experiencing weird chest pains, always full of stress and anger and anxiety, rarely able to help out around the house (I tried my best to juggle cooking, cleaning, baby-bathing…his one joy of the day that I was glad for him to do was reading the baby his bedtime stories), rarely able to enjoy life…that, I hated.

But, with his new job, even if he tries to stay late, his co-workers will call him out and say that it’s time to go home. *clouds part, angels sing* There’s practically no way for him to over-work. It’s beyond lovely.

So, with this newly-freed mind, here are a few ideas that he has happened upon…

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These are all part of one topic in our conversation. The Chipotle commercial to which we’re referring is this “Scarecrow” vid (which even has its own game app…yes, I downloaded it, although I simply lack the coordination to play games with a phone. It’s a fact.) which evokes almost every emotion a person can have. Don’t believe me? Check out this article. The guilt, anger and sadness is horrible…the ending, a little uplifting and inspiring that we can, possibly, make a difference in what we eat.

If only we had a Chipotle restaurant in our area. From there, we discussed other things that we can do since any chain restaurants (and a vast majority of the locally-owned ones) have deplorable ingredient sourcing practices. We also recently made the realization that the only places that are 24-hour around our joint are Wal-Mart (we don’t go there) and McDonald’s. When we needed a last-minute prescription for the baby, Dave had to drive 45 minutes away to finally get the stuff (all the local pharmacies closed EARLY…E-A-R-L-Y)!

The local eating website he shared was okay, but I still prefer localharvest.org (it’s easier to search, has more information, and is just cleaner-looking). That’s just how I feel. 🙂

So, what’s the take-away here? We’re going to work on eating better…TOGETHER. It’s not as much of an “I’ll go grocery shopping and try to figure this thing out on my own because my husband’s got more on his mind than bananas” situation (although there are crazy times of the week that I will head there on my own for a few of the essentials). Instead, he’s going to help…and even *gasp* cook from time to time. *clouds part, angels sing*

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Yaaaay, score! We didn’t have much vacation-age going on over the summer since Dave was (all together now) leaving his job (and needed to give them numerous weeks, no vacation time to be used, to help out…worth it in the end, but the summer kinda sucked because of it for him). We usually take one Friday off to go visit Old Forge. They have an awesome farmers’ market, then we hang out by the lake and walk around town doing touristy things, then finally eat at “The Old Mill” (or some other place like that).

So, while we’ve officially missed that train for the year, knowing that we can head up north to take in the autumn scenery (the Adirondacks ROCK for that) and have a casual time of it (read: if the baby melts down, it won’t be in the middle of a nice restaurant or something) sounds like heaven to me.

(I’m also hoping that may be a gateway to finding some family-friendly hiking up north. *fingers crossed* Man, I hope the hubby’s reading.)

Needless to say, I’m very much enjoying this new job situation. 🙂

Sweet Potato Chili

Okay, okay. I know what you’re thinking. Meg, it’s boiling outside and you’re making chili? Well, sure. Some people enjoy spicy stuff when it’s hot! I’m not usually one of those people, but when I tasted this recipe, I didn’t give a nugget what the temp outside was, if ya know what I’m sayin’.

We’re still doing pretty well with our M-F no-meat challenge, and while I made a veggie chili awhile back which used bulgur wheat, I wasn’t a fan. I guess I don’t NEED the meat texture, be it from real meat or something that’s trying hard to resemble meat. This, however, is worth sharing. It’s got some heat but has definite sweetness. And throw in whatever you want – I suggest a handful of frozen corn, which occurred to me after the fact.

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Sweet Potato Chili

(Serves about 6-8; I doubled the couple of recipes I worked from)
Olive oil

2 sweet potatoes, diced (with or without skin, just scrub them)

1 lg. onion, diced

2-3 carrots, peeled and diced

2 ribs of celery, diced

1 red pepper, diced

3-4 cloves of garlic, minced

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 28 oz. can black beans

1 15 oz. can kidney beans

Salt ‘n pepper

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 – 1 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tbsp. cumin

2 tbsp. chili powder

1-2 tsp. cayenne pepper

3+/- cups vegetable stock

Chop it all up! In a large pot, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil over medium and add first 6 ingredients, cooking for 8 minutes or until onion is soft (stir occasionally). Add spices and stock and cook for 20-30 minutes. Add the canned items and allow to cook for 10 more minutes, give or take.

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Serve with avocado, cheese, plain yogurt and lime (or whatever you have on hand – be creative!). As with most recipes, taste – if you need more spice, add more; just don’t add too much since you can’t take it out once it’s in there! Enjoy!! We sure did. (And still are!)

(BTDubs, my iPhone pics are only worth their salt if I don’t upsize them…so, this is whatchya get today. Sorry…but have a great weekend! ;-))

Egg Salad, Storms and BumGeniuses

Day 2 of summer vacation (excluding weekends) and we’re hangin’ in there. We’ve had storms (and pretty insane ones) since Sunday, to the point where there were mudslides not far from my school and they’re still in a state of emergency. So, yeah, I’ve got no complaints. Except lunch. #firstworldproblems #imlucky

You might not think so, but there are some challenges figuring out what to do for lunch when you’re not working all summer. Sure, it’s tough to figure out lunches for work, but it’s so easy to fall into a dangerously unhealthy habit. During the year, you get into the swing of things and figure out what works for you — namely, planning. Either taking leftovers or always having a couple of go-to lunches in the event that leftovers are lacking.

I’m used to eating small snacks throughout the day (with one main “meal-like” item like leftover pasta or a sandwich). In the summer, especially chasing a very active 11 1/2 month-old around, it’s easy to forget to, well, eat. So, while I don’t quite get in the same snacks as before, I’m trying to maintain a semblance of normalcy (not just with lunches, but more on that in a moment). I’m buying some of the same stuff that I usually gobble up whilst working — organic cheese sticks, yogurt, peanut butter, fruit (the first two (and maybe fruit) are sharable with the munchkin, woohoo!), but I realized a food item that went something like this —

clouds part

rays of sunshine stream into the house

voices of unseen angels begin to sing

I am suddenly struck with the oh-so-simple idea…
Egg salad.

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Ha. Yeah, I just did that. Don’t question, just come along for the ride.

For some very, very strange reason, the ladies in my family (namely my mama and deceased grandmother…possibly my sis) have this thing for egg salad sandwiches. I’ve had quite possibly a thousand in my lifetime. Yeah, Grandma made them A LOT…and we spent time at her house A LOT. So, thanks to my ever-present idolization of the past, there’s a certain way I must eat an egg salad.

1. Toasted bread. But not too toasted. That painful crunch of a too-brown piece of bread? Ain’t nobody got time for that.

2. No frills. Mayo + hard boiled egg (this is the part I have a hard time with, particularly cooking it enough so that it’s not “soft boiled” and the damn shell not taking half the whites with it) + salt ‘n peppa (not the singing group). No cayenne. No olives. None of that crap. Again…nobody got time….

3. Sides. Now, if I want to admit it, I’m not being a complete purist. Sometimes I use wheat bread and, in the case these days, generally a peasant bread (from our local bakery, Heidelberg). Back in the day, it was squishy soft bread (again, often toasted…what the?! Occasionally the squishy soft worked well with the egg salad, but it was nuts not to toast it at any. Possible. Opportunity.). Also, to be honest, we had a stack o’ Pringles (ugh…if those aren’t modified, genetically and otherwise, I don’t know what is) and a hunk of Velveeta (again, modified to the hilt!). So, yeah. Those I don’t do. Sometimes, we’d have a pickle, so I hooked myself up with one today, but I DID partake in one “must-have.” I had me a nice mug o’ chocolate milk.

Side note: The Hadman is a fan of pickles. He literally crawled all over me to get a bite of the thing. Dave says that if this trend sticks, he takes after me. (We’re already discovering that, personality-wise lately. Poor thing. Poor us!)

So, all of the above will be happening this summer…lots. I may (vegetarian M-F be damned) even have a tuna sandwich from time to time, but egg salad will be my main go-to. Oh, and in case folks weren’t aware, we’re more focused on “real” food, sustainable/environmentally conscious decisions (the chickens that gave us these eggs, as often as we can get them, are pasture-raised and humanely treated)…and yumminess. Cholesterol? Fat content? We don’t believe calorie-counting is healthy. Being aware of your food and its sources is healthy.

Oh, and our weather lately has been ca-ray-zee! It’s uber hot and humid, which is fine, but throw in some thunderstorm and flash flooding and…whew, let’s just say we’re very lucky to not be effected like others in the area. Bananas!

A second “oh, and” is that yesterday was our first day doing cloth dipes!! We’re dealing with a period of adjustment, so I’m apprehensive to say “it’s a complete success, I’m an idiot for waiting!” because I don’t quite feel that way yet. I’ve gotta get into the habit of changing him more (sucka leaks…and it’s not from the dipes, they’re doing great, he just produces piss like nobody’s business) and I feel like a monster ate half of my BumGeniuses. Need. More! Where’d they go?? Wiiiiinstoooonnn…you may THINK you’re the baby, but you’re not. Not literally, anyway.

But his butt is SOOO cute in them, especially after I’ve changed him and he doesn’t have anything else on. A 3/4 naked baby body + adorable diaper colors = cuteness overload. I’ll be back with an update after we’ve been at it for a week or so.

BTW, sorry for the loopiness and…wait, let me check. Yes. Yes, there was mild swearing. Sorry for that! Next’ll be better, promise!

Rhubarb, Rhubarb, Rhubarb

For those non-actor types reading, “rhubarb” is one of those (I’m sure there’s a technical term for it, but I’m unaware) filler words that you silently mumble to a nearby actor when you’re upstage and non-important to the scene. Y’know, so you don’t look like you blend in with the scenery. Hence the title. And excessive description of said title.

ANYHOO, rhubarb is HUGE with our family. There’s a very important strawberry rhubarb pie recipe that comes with a set of rules (passed down from the almighty patriarch of the family, “Grandpa Heidi”).

1) Say three “Hail Mary”s before eating the pie.
2) You must be completely silent while eating said pie.
3) You must close your eyes while eating said pie. (#3 is up for debate, depending on which family member you ask)

I’m pretty sure that by the time we were teens, we realized that the rules were set in place to silence the five kids in my mom’s family, but I still think it’s pretty cool that Grandpa respected Grandpa’s pie (don’t be dirty) enough to make them up.

So, when I saw rhubarb at yesterday’s Herkimer Farmers’ Market (we’ve got two of them in Herkimer — woohoo! And this one runs ’til 7pm, so it’s super easy to get to after work), I had to purchase it. Seriously, no choice in the matter. I would’ve given my last dime to do so. And, luckily, they gave me an awesome recipe that I made once I got home. Since I didn’t have strawberries on hand, and it was a simple crisp recipe, I was in luck.

Oh, and I also have to mention, among the other incredible things I grabbed (free-range and humanely-treated chicken eggs (seriously, the kind lady referred to the chickens as her “girls” — love that!), raw cheese, green onions, delicious raw butter) were a couple of “Cat’s Creations.” I don’t recall what else was in the bread, but she had me at figs. I ate several pieces before unloading the rest of my goodies. Yes, it was that good.

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(cue teensy weensy Instagram pic)

Oops, anyhoo, here’s the crisp I made. Oh, and the humidity broke over the weekend, so it wasn’t a big deal to turn on the oven. Don’t do this when it’s hot out. Seriously, just grill some pound cake or make a sundae with organic peanut butter with natural vanilla ice cream and call it a day.

Rhubarb (I can’t believe there’s no strawberries in it) Crisp
4 c. rhubarb, cut into 3/4″ pieces (I only had enough for 3 cups — I adjusted the following accordingly and it came out fine)
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. flour (I used unbleached whole wheat white, but just use whatchya got)
1/4 tsp. cinnamon (give or take)
a few sprinkles of nutmeg (that was my addition — I can’t really bake without it. It’s got my name in it, people!!!)
For crumble topping
1/2 lb. butter, melted (yeah, baby)
1 c. rolled oats
1 c. flour
1 c. brown sugar

Mix together the first 5 ingredients and put into 8×8 glass baking dish. (I buttered mine…because, y’know, you can’t have enough butter.)

Mix together the rest of the ingredients and top the rhubarb mixture. Bake at 375 for 35 minutes (give or take, depending on your oven — I always under-bake, then check it).

This would be insanely good warm with vanilla (or strawberry!!) ice cream, but it was just as delish with a fork. And a plate. Seriously, make this.

Birthday Bash Brainstorming

Mmm, alliteration. Truly a girl’s best friend. And after re-reading this post, parentheses.

So, the monkey’s big birthday (you know, the BIG birthday…the FIRST birthday) is coming up July 13th. Sure, it’s still May, but I live in this little place called reality, where once a child is born, time starts playing horrific tricks on us. He’s practically shaving.

Okay, not shaving, but he’s insanely mobile (mere moments from walking, I swear) and even says a few words. Wait, “oof oof” is totally a word, right? It is when it’s associated with dogs (and, for the time being, cats…they’re the same thing, all the cool kids say). And the time seriously feels like it passed in the blink of an eye. The blink of an exhaustedly blood-shot, tear-filled eye.

To stave off any further waterworks, I’m focusing my emotional energies into creating an awesomesauce birthday party. I’m using Pinterest, oh evil mistress of perfection-flaunting in the face of mere mortals, to glean some ideas that might be fun to try. But, you know, since I live in reality (and am the mother of an active 10 1/2 month old who demands attention; would he prefer to have free reign and complete independence? Sure thing. Do I want to have a child with numerous concussions and cats with mental scars for life? Hellz no.), I’m fully aware that most of these aren’t attainable.

We can dream, can’t we? If I hit 40%, that’ll be doing something.

Oh, and I also live within a reality which involves people who would think me a tad overboard for implementing all this stuff. So, I have to reign it in, too, simply as not to have any heads exploding come July 13th. Not a pretty way to celebrate a fun day. Horrible replacement to fireworks.

As with most things we do, I’d like to keep it green. Recently, I stumbled upon a website that is essentially nothing but a depressing sob-fest (for softies such as myself) displaying hundreds of pictures of animals who have been injured or killed by balloons after being allowed to float away or even just after being thrown away properly. Damn, Hadman loves balloons. That’s okay, social responsibility comes first — and he won’t even know what he missed. Tissue pom-poms or Chinese lanterns, it is, son!

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What’s a birthday party without hats? A regular ol’ barbecue, that’s what. So, for those who want to wear one (sign me up, please!), we have a couple of options…

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(These are wooden, but you get the idea. I guess they make birthday crowns from newspaper in England. Not only eco-friendly, but classic! Hadley’s not a hat guy, so this is only an “if Mommy wants to get all Martha Stewart and sleep very little” option.)

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I’ve already purchased some hats (to reuse over time), but dude. Just dude.
That whole site is chock full o’ birthday sweetness.

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Like these!!!!! I’m on the hunt for some sans serif cookie cutters. Baking in inevitably 90° weather with an almost-toddler? I’m an idiot. But, if I find an “H” I can use it every year! Y’know. In the sweltering heat. *smacks forehead* Oh, and of COURSE I’m searching for natural (ie fruits and veggies) alternatives to food coloring. Blueberry’s a must, simply because Hads loves ’em.

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Or I could always make (or buy?) cake pops. I’ve never had them but I hear they’re the rage. Or, at least that’s what the kiddies are shouting into my Miracle Ear. Could also buy cupcakes (maybe the ones we used for our wedding!!!) and make a smash cake myself for the monkey. Ha. More baking.

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Speaking of smash cakes, here’s a lower sugar, all-natural option I’m considering.
Plus, bananas and blueberries = very happy almost-toddler. I did not just type that word. *sigh*

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STILL from the aforementioned party (man, that Beckham’s got swagger), I love just the simple container for napkins, utensils, etc (I was searching Target today for eco-friendly of all of the above; think I’ll have to hit up Peter’s Cornucopia; love that place) and a chalkboard for the menu. Of course, this is the one area that I’ll be considered crazy if I just say “Let’s just do a cheese/cracker (I guess we don’t do “bread”) and veggie tray, some cookies and cupcakes, and maybe some cute sandwiches on baguettes.” Inevitably, there will be mounds of salads — green (specifically for my husband, who eats nothing with mayonnaise), potato, pasta — possibly several types of grilled meats, perhaps a pizza will show up…food’s one thing we do, and do to excess. No point, really.

See, in my mind, which is always grasping for the aesthetically-pleasing, slightly quirky and quasi-hip method, I’d want the money (hell, if no one else wants to pitch in, I’ll do it!) on organic soda (it exists! And in purdy bottles, too!) and a craft beer chilling in a galvanized tub with some homemade lemonade in mason jars, and a display that looks something like this (sans tomato soup and pie)…

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Darn you, Beckham.

I am also considering, food-wise, something along the lines of this…

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Not that font or description, but the thought behind it. Our kid’s got a pretty refined pallet (read: will eat anything, particularly off floor). Avocados. Extra-sharp cheese. Pasta. A plethora of fruit-and-veg blends including kale or beets. Oh, and pizza…and generally anything that adults eat that we literally need to fight him off to consume. It turns into a scene from Oliver!, I kid you not. “Please, sir…!!!” So, I’m thinking pizza, homemade guac with chips for dippin’ (maybe salsa, too), fruit salad (bananas, kiwi, blueberries, cantaloupe), veggie sticks (the ones in the organic chip aisle; he can’t handle the raw stuff quite yet), and cheese ‘n crackers (or a cheese dip of some sort).

By the way, we’re not doing a theme this year. We considered it for one mad minute, but then realized “Um, he’s one. That’s a theme right there.” (If we wanted to get all dramatic, we could do the “Not yet a man, no longer an infant…” theme. Mustaches abound! Or giraffes. God, the giraffes.) We’re just going with the colors of his nursery, for the most part — y’know, turquoise, orange, green. Good times.

(Maybe one day we’ll do the Mo Willems theme…or the Fred Astaire theme…or whatever the heck else he’s interested in. But, we’ll strive to keep them home-grown events without the rigmarole of inviting an entire freaking grade of kids. We’re not here to show off, just have fun. And Mommy totally has fun with aesthetically-arranged sodas, mkay?)

Speaking of which, one thing that our parties tend to lack is organized fun. It’s a tad tough to do this (same goes for favors) since we don’t really have a plethora of kids coming. There’s Hadley, his cousin Lizzie (who will be 2 months shy of 2 years old *more sobbing*), and MAAAAAYBE one more friend of the family who’s not school-aged yet. Tada. The rest are teenagers *yet more sobbing, I changed their dipes* and a buttload of grown-ups. So, rather than force people to violently whack something whilst wearing a blindfold (never got that), I’m thinkin’ we’ll do a variation of this…

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Halleluia, it wasn’t at Beckham’s party! (No hard feelings, kid. You seem pretty darn cool. Future play date! My child is far less crazy than am I.) Anyhoo, I was thinking more of a card that folks could fill out — one would write something loose like this while the other might have fill-in blanks (what he wants to be, what color his hair will be, what his favorite animal/instrument/food/hobbies/sport, etc.) and folks can do either one. I also considered a photo booth type thingie (just hanging a backdrop and leaving directions and props for photos), but I’m not sure anyone will do it. Party poopers.

Oh, and as far as entertainment goes, it sounds like the hubs hopes to make a video of the kid’s first year. Talk about emotions, gah!

Another “oh, and” — this whole thing is kindly taking place at my mother’s house since she has a perfectly-sized backyard for stretching out, playing, and so forth. I mentioned inviting non-family members (it reaches about 16 or 17 just with close family) and I think I heard smoke come out of her ears through the phone. She nervously mentioned not knowing what to do with folks if it rains, but I brushed it off. (Sure, neither of our houses is big enough to handle that many people. I get the concern, I do.) But, it ain’t no thang. We’ll make it work. I know folks with “pop-ups” and we could always run and grab an extra tarpy tenty thingie or two. I’m on it, Mom!! If you read this. In which case, HI!!!

One last thing (check me out on Pinterest if you really want to subject yourself to more) is probably what I should’ve showed you first: a possible invite.

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Okay, forget the “possible” part. I already “borrowed” this idea, downloaded some fonts, and stayed up until almost midnight last night hashing out a similar design (orange rather than red, close-but-no-cigar on the fonts, and a cool black and white tree trunk background). Sorry, Magnus, your time’s up — HADMAN’s in town, and he’s a-takin’ over.

So…think I’m nuts to put so much thought and effort into a one-year-old’s party, or do you get where I’m coming from? Aside from my aesthetic-loving self, it’s about celebrating the life-altering first year of the specialest little guy ever. That’s all. 😉

Mini Revolutions

I was fully intending to celebrate Food Revolution Day last Friday in a small way — dragging the baby to a local farmers’ market, since Dave was out of town for an awesome workshop. The illnesses floating around school put a stop to that.

So, while I did do a quick grocery shopping visit (one of my Aldi/Hannaford runs), I felt like the day was a dud. I ate locally for a meeting I attended in Utica, but the food was far from healthy. At Hannaford, most of my purchases were organic, though, so I told myself that would have to be good enough, as I tried to get my nose to stop running. (Side note: I bought fiddleheads (I was ECSTATIC to find them at the store…and I think people thought I was nuts) and kale for the first time!!! Can’t wait to try it.)

However, Saturday afternoon as the baby napped in my arms, I decided to hit up our Wii for some Netflix streaming. I can’t even guess the last time I did this. My hope was that “Gilmore Girls” would finally be available (what else can a girl wish for with her husband out of town??), but since it wasn’t, I typed “food” in the search area in hopes of finding a cooking show. Instead, I found my re-education and a way to celebrate Food Revolution Day, delayed though it may be.

A French documentary named “Food Beward: The French Organic Revolution”, yes in 95% sub-titles, showed me that the organic craze isn’t just a fad, and isn’t just an American trend. The rise of cancers, particularly among French children, were the origins of major concerns of the state of food production in France. To take a progressive, proactive approach, a rural mayor decided to change the school menu to organic and mostly local foods.

Here’s the IMDB movie description: “Food Beware begins with a visit to a small village in France, where the town’s mayor has decided to make the school lunch menu organic and locally grown. It then talks to a wide variety of people with differing perspectives to find common ground – children, parents, teachers, health care workers, farmers, elected officials, scientists, researchers and the victims of illnesses themselves. Revealed in these moving and often surprising conversations are the abuses of the food industry, the competing interests of agribusiness and public health, the challenges and rewards of safe food production, and the practical, sustainable solutions that we can all take part in. Food Beware is food for thought – and a blueprint for a growing revolution.”

We get to sit in on school lunches (“Organic bread tastes better.” And, Philippe! Eat your damn carrots!! Sheesh.) and follow students to a garden, which their teacher uses as a learning tool, from teaching science and the enjoyment of nature to math (“use your rulers to measure the lettuces’ growth” “that’s impossible!”) and cooperation (“Hugo gave me his parsley. Here, you can have some.” Awww.), as well as the evolution of adult thinking on organic.

At one point, the mayor meets with local farmers, calling it something of an occurrence (rather than something more aggressive…a fight?) and a chance for organic farmers and more traditional farmers to discuss methods and reasons for doing what they’re doing. I found this to be an interesting example of the fact that adults are able to debate an issue in a respectful manner, in addition to the fact that the information they were sharing can be directly linked to similar views in the U.S.

Overall, I was dismayed, informed, entertained, and finally uplifted by this flick. Often, the American-made docs tend to be downers (or so aggressive that it does nothing but inform and upset…and enrage…and then come the tears….), so this was an awesome reminder of our renewed reason to work on eating organically and locally — Hadley.

Next year, I’d like to have a bigger Food Revolution Day, with the hubby in town and the baby old enough to eat, like, EVERYTHING (he’s already a little foodie, I can’t get him to stop trying to devour my food; don’t get me wrong, I love that he loves food and I don’t mind that he wants to eat off of mine (after all, I’m a mom!), but his diet is still relatively restricted at this age). So, whether it’s a foodie get-together with friends or just a family visit to a farmers’ market followed by a special meal, I’m looking forward to it!

No matter what it is, it’s all about the mini revolutions, isn’t it? The small attempts at better things on a boring ol’ normal day?

Soup-A-Dee-Doop

I’ve found that the easiest way to navigate around this whole weekly vegetarian thing is to make the occasional pot o’ soup. For guidance, I search the internet and pull out our Moosewood Restaurant cookbook, and occasionally a few other cookbooks, but as with most recipes I end up using them for a bit of knowledge (how long to soak beans) and then wing it for the final product. At its worse, this can make for a bland recipe. (Which always gets me so down. Why should it? At least we get won’t go hungry.) At its best, you get this simple, tasty soup. And, as always, play with the ingredients! Wouldn’t sweet potatoes be good in this??

Black Bean Soup
– 1/2 lb. dried black beans (this is half the bag; soak overnight)
– 1 small onion, diced
– 2-3 stalks of celery, diced
– 2-3 carrots, diced
– 1/4 to 1/2 green pepper, diced (use any pepper in any amount; I’m not a huge green pepper person, but this is what we had on-hand)
– one quart low-sodium vegetable stock (or homemade)
– 1-2 tbsp. each of cumin, chili powder
– 1/4 – 1/2 tsp. each salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if you have jalapenos lying around, use one! Can’t wait for summer…)
– 1 lime, zest and juice
– for garnish (optional, but greatly improves the effect): avocado slices, plain yogurt, feta cheese, additional sprinkling of salt/pepper/red pepper/lime

Combine the first seven ingredients in a pot and start a-boilin’. When it has reached a boil, turn the heat down to allow the soup to simmer for around 30-45 minutes (until the beans have softened). Once they have softened, add the salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, and zest and juice of lime (if you add the salt earlier, it interferes with the cooking of the beans) and allow the flavors to come together, cooking for another 10-15 minutes (or longer, if you wish). You can eat it as-is, or use an immersion blender to make a smooth soup (we ate as-is).

This also happened to be the night that we discovered that our 10-month-old is a huge fan of avocado. I hope his adventuresome spirit continues well into the future (and not just with cuisine)!

Quick Quiche

It was one of those nights. You know what I mean. Low (and I mean low) on groceries and in the middle of a hell of a week with more of it to come. Yeah, one of those.

The hubs was asking what he could do to help, so instead of saying “nothing” and running around like a bitter idiot trying not to stress him out, I asked him to head to the grocery store. By the time he got back, I hoped, I’d have dinner ready and the baby fed and bathed. And, dude, it totally happened like that. Score!

My directions for this recipe aren’t very specific because, well, I was ALMOST out of milk (I would’ve used 1/4 – 1/2 cup more if I’d had it) and was winging it 100%. Oh, and we were so starved by the time we sat down to eat (after the baby was down, well into the new Office episode), I didn’t take pictures. Let’s pretend it looked something like this picture on the left, shall we?

Actually, it kinda sorta did (sans the pretty little parsley). I cooked mine for around 35 minutes (when the directions I was using as a guide suggested 45+), and it came out a tad darker than I’d have liked. I like my quiche softer, but it was still tasty enough to write about on the ol’ blog! So, okay, here’s the vague recipe:

(Relatively) Quick Quiche

Thaw your frozen pie crust for 10 minutes and turn the oven on to 400° (this was demanded by my pie crust’s instructions; do what yours tells you and all will be fine). While this is pre-heating, mix together 4 (or 5) eggs with about 1 cup of milk (or half-and-half, or cream, it ain’t no thang). To this mixture, sprinkle in a couple of dashes of paprika, nutmeg, and a grinding of pepper. Also grate yourself about one cup (more if you like) of sharp cheddar cheese; again, use whatever cheese you like, this is just what we had lying around. Prick the crust and bake it on a baking sheet (you’ll see why) for 10 minutes.

Decide what else you’d like in your quiche. In my case, to make it faster, I had already thawed out some asparagus I froze back in the day (you can use broccoli, too…or get creative! Way faster and easier if it’s already cooked, to an extent). If you want the taste of onion, you’ll want to saute some, but I just chopped up a few scallions, instead.

When the crust is ready, layer in half of the cheese, then your green veggies and onion, then the rest of your cheese and pour your wet mixture on top. This was a vegetarian option, so if you want meat, feel free to use your fingers to pull apart a few slices of deli ham, or go nuts and cook off some bacon. Seriously, we didn’t even notice the lack of meat, ’twas that yummy.

Bake the quiche (it’s officially a quiche, yay!) on the baking sheet (it catches overspill in case the thing decides to vomit in your oven…and it may) for 35-45 minutes or until it reaches the consistency you prefer (no longer jiggly). Take it out of the oven and allow it to rest/set up for 30 minutes (ours appeared ready to eat once we took it out of the oven, though, so this IS actually kind of a quick meal…if you don’t follow directions…wink, wink).

Eat as is or pair with a simple side salad. (And wine. I can’t have wine, still. So, yeah. Drink wine…for me.) We had a couple humongous pieces, plus enough to gobble a quick bite down before heading to the theater for a show the next night — two dinners in one? Score!

A Tailor-made Meal, Cooked Perfectly

See what I did there? “Tailor…” “…Cook(ed)”? Yeah, you know this is gonna be good.

This year for my “birthday dinner” (observed the Saturday after my birthday), I opted for something a little different. Usually, our go-to meal would involve Beardslee Castle, a venue that acted as the sight of our wedding reception (delicious food — can’t wait to get back there and offer up a review!). Actually, Dave even said, “Want me to make reservations at Beardslee?” I had to stop him with a different suggestion.

The Tailor and the Cook is a Utica restaurant that’s been open shy of one year. It’s a unique place in more ways than one; not only does it feel like an eating experience straight out of a larger (more modern) city, but many of the ingredients used by the talented chefs are locally sourced. We’ve heard nothing but good about the place, so I’ve been itching to get there. It’s one of those “demands reservations” joints, so Dave hooked us up, and our mouths were watering and minds were wandering in anticipation.

Upon entering, one can tell that the experience would be special. Located in a newly up-and-coming area of the city, the bare brick walls are accentuated by local art and reclaimed wood trim. Edison-style bulbs dangle precariously above tables with mixed long, shared booth-style seating (which creates an intimate, yet still open and private atmosphere). Three large barrels (wine or whisky? Does it matter which?) have been repurposed into light fixtures for the front bar, which double as conversation pieces. The mix of modern and earthy is well-executed from front door to back bathrooms (which, before I even get to the food, I must say were incredible. The ladies’ room held an antique Singer sewing machine with vintage cookbooks, stark black-and-white industrial photography on the walls, a plethora of lotions and a sink that could double as an art installation. Yes, it was THAT worth mentioning).

After being politely seated and informed of jaw-dropping specials, we were offered sparkling spring water or tap water. We shot the moon (don’t usually drink sparkling), but I was equally as impressed that they reuse (cleaned) wine bottles filled with chilled tap water which stay at the table. It sounds simple, but the efforts to reuse items and the simple air of class that the stylish bottles gave to each table struck a sweet chord with us.

It took some doing, but we finally decided upon our meals (I considered going vegetarian, but this was a special occasion and it was a Saturday, so…I went for it): mine, a glass of Newman’s Own organic Chardonnay and the pork chop meal; Dave, a glass of Ommegang’s Three Philosophers brew and the hanger steak (which his curiosity taught us that this is the cut that butchers used to bring home to their own families without offering them to customers). We opted to share a cheese platter, and our entrees came with salads.

Okay. Let me stop right here. Saying “Dave got steak, I got pork” sounds mundane, boring, average. This was anything but. The meals were served as courses; not dumped in our laps while our waiter juggled a dinerful of other patrons. We were brought each item in a royal fashion, each plate constructed lovingly as if by a doting father. It was far from your average experience. Even our bread was brought to us by a guy carrying a basketful of the stuff (from Old Forge), doling it out one at a time on our plates with a delicious honey butter.

The cheese platter was one of the specials (which usually means you’re paying more for it), but it was reminiscent of a cheese platter that we shared during our Vermont honeymoon and anniversary trips. Only better. There were five cheeses, each from local farms — a bleu cheese, a smoked gouda, a goat’s milk chevre, a cheddar, and I totally forgot the last. (Sorry!) Alongside these were a couple of dried fruits, apple slivers, honeycomb (yes, on the comb…how do you even EAT that? Who cares, we had fun with it), grainy spicy mustard, cornichons (baby gherkins!) and rustic crackers. They were all impeccable and we had a blast sharing combination of flavors and choosing our favorites. Rather, I chose my favorite (that gouda was da bomb); Dave couldn’t choose. Oh, and we clearly didn’t get a picture.

Even our salads were impressive. Everyone had the same molasses vinaigrette (it wasn’t that sweet or heavy-tasting, really) and local hydroponic greens topped with sunflower seeds and beans. It was the first time that we realized how salt (and pepper) can heighten the flavors of a dish SO MUCH. I’m pretty sure it was a fancy schmancy type of salt, but a sprinkling brought out a taste that we couldn’t devour fast enough.

Here’s where things get embarrassing. Have you ever eaten something so good that you make noises you wouldn’t normally make in public, no apologies? Yeah. It happened. I should also say that we were the only folks in the place losing our cool enough to do this. Still not apologizing. We don’t go to a restaurant like this for the “scene”, or to BE “SEEN”. It’s for sharing in a special experience and, in this case, the best meal we’ve ever had in the Mohawk Valley. Onlookers be damned.

So, Dave’s meal was actually the pan roasted hanger steak with fingerling fries, fresh arugula, Gorgonzola butter and a red wine demi glace. Yeah. It was insane. (C’mon, steak with bleu cheese AND fingerlings? Shut the front door. One good thing about humans is that they’ve come up with seemingly CRAZY food combinations that can change a person’s thinking.)

I got the pan roasted pork rib chop (medium) with braised local ramps and celery, hazelnut and barley risotto, and rainier cherry gastrique.

***I had gastrique and I liiiiiked iiiiiit…the taste of that cherry saaau-aaauce…”

Even after trying a bite of Dave’s meal, I had to declare mine the winner. (Not sure he agreed.) Man, do these folks know the meaning of “complementary flavors.” The impeccably cooked chop, the excitement of the first ramps of the season (and the surprise of the evening: braised celery as a side vegetable? Delish!), creamy nutty risotto with a sweet-but-slightly-bitter cherry sauce to pull it all together? Doubly insane. Seriously, all I could tell the waiter when he checked on us was “Insane. Just insane.”

Since we were shooting the moon, we grabbed dessert — Dave enjoyed the Jones Family Farm cheesecake (we LOVE their cheeses, and I just happen to have their daughters in school; it’s awesome to know that it wasn’t a 100% selfish act in eating here; we were also supporting local farms who deserve the heck out of it!) and a Utica Roasting Company’s Drip coffee (they just happen to be TTATC’s neighbor; talk about local!) while I got buttermilk panna cotta with a blueberry sauce and DELICIOUS graham-style cookie, plus a decaf cappuccino (also courtesy Utica Roasting Company).

Ultimately, one of my favorite parts about this meal (aside from the flavors, the execution, the incredible service, the local sourcing) was the conversation it brought up. Since this meal was obviously costlier than most (like, a once a year sort of meal), we discussed what we were actually paying for. Simply put, it’s costlier to ensure that your ingredients (all the way down to the herbs) are quality and responsibly sourced. The lives of the animals that we eat have value beyond that of a dollar value menu. The food deserves to be respected as it’s grown, as it’s prepared, and as it’s eaten.

That being said, we’d give this joint a 5 out of 5 possible spoons. It was THAT GOOD. (Maybe we could take off half a spoon for price, but we think it was worth the splurge.) We even told the hostess (whom Dave knows from work) and our knowledgeable waiter that it was the best meal we’ve ever had in the valley. Makes some of the usual local fare seem like heavy loads o’ crap. (Yes. Yes, I said that.)

If you’re interested in visiting “The Tailor and the Cook”, find out more at their website. You can see their menus (and cost) as well as their sourcing practices. Oh, and as for one of those challenges that folks face more than we’d like to admit: Dave wore jeans with a button-down shirt (he brought a blazer along but didn’t wear it) and I wore a nylon skirt, top and 3/4 sleeve sweater, although we saw a complete range in clothing — from shorts to preppy orange/coral/pink slacks (on a gentleman) to dressy. So, I guess anything goes, but keep it classy, folks. Not that I have to tell you that. 😉

Grocery A GoGo

Grocery shopping has become streamlined in the ol’ Deli-cheese household. (And, no. We do not eat deli cheese. A student called me “Mrs. Delicheese” as a mispronunciation and I’ve loved it ever since.) Mind you, this doesn’t always mean cheaper, but compared to our old days, the food we’re stuffing our faces with are, on average, a heck of a lot healthier.

So, I thought I’d put together a few of the tips that I use that have made grocery shopping easier in this world of gluten-free/non-GMO/free range/non-dairy blah-dee-blah.

– Tip #1: Look for this awesome little logo on products if you’re looking for a non-GMO certification.

Reset Button - image 72b6c-nongmo on https://megactsout.com

It means that not only does this company not use GMOs, but they funded the project to fight GMO legislation. It’s also neat to see the companies that have pumped thousands and millions of their own funds INTO the legislation. See, even when something says “organic”, it doesn’t always mean that the product is free of GMOs — especially if it contains corn (one of the most highly modified products out there!). So, when I look at the cereal aisle in the “Organic & Natural” area of Hannaford, it reduces the selection by 75%. Makes it a heck of a lot easier. By the way, our favorites are Nature’s Path Organic Heritage Flakes (kinda like Wheaties) and Corn Flakes (non-GMO corn AND under 5 ingredients!), as well as their granola bars. Sure, I could make these, but I just don’t have time these days. (By the way, although Kashi is now working to get GMOs out of some of their products, I’m wary until I see a 100% change.)

– Tip #2: Bring a list of the dirty dozen/clean fifteen (or an app on your phone) along with you. It’s handy to know which fruits ‘n veggies you can buy on sale or cheaper as non-organic and which to skip over for the expensive stuff.

See, I’d stock up on nothing but fruits ‘n veggies if my budget allowed, but we also need quick meals (like pasta with sauce…which we have at least once a week…and you can’t have sauce without parmesan). So, I always grab organic apples and bananas (and sometimes pears) to put in our lunches, and organic lettuces, carrots, celery — I know they’re some of the dirtier items, so I buy them organic.

Others that we use ALL THE TIME, like sweet potatoes and onions, aren’t as pesticide-laden, so we buy those in bulk on the cheap (and sometimes at Aldi where most things are cheaper). When asparagus is on sale, we grab that (non-organic) since it’s on the Clean Fifteen and you can do SO MUCH with it.

Otherwise, when farmers’ market season rolls around, we have found that a lot of farmers use organic practices but don’t pay the MAJOR CHUNK OF CHANGE to become certified, so we reap the benefit of asking. Although, it’s hard to avoid sweet corn from a farm stand even if you’re not sure about its GMO or pesticide upbringing.

– Tip #3: Marketing is a tricky thing. Take, for instance, the story of an egg…

http://youtube.googleapis.com/v/v2vyU-hilrY&source=uds

So, whenever possible, we purchase pastured eggs. How long this term will be unsullied remains to be seen. But, for now, I feel good about our egg choice. And we’ve been using a lot of eggs since becoming part-time vegetarians.

We’ve also been raised to think that because something is lower-fat, it’s better for us. Not always true. So, with our attempts at getting a more “real” diet (one closer to our ancestors who lived a hundred years ago), we’re trying to ease into drinking more whole milk. It’s a transition, and I’m still purchasing 1% from time to time, but we’re gettin’ there. We’ve also made a switch (90% of the time) to Stonyfield’s organic whole milk vanilla yogurt. No more Greek, (okay, I sneak the OCCASIONAL Chobani) since it’s always made to be 0 or 2% fat.

It makes us think a heck of a lot more about what we buy before we buy it. Not everything in our house is organic. For example, our Paul Newman pizzas aren’t, but there’s a trade-off that we agree with their fundraising practices. (I’d like to make more homemade pizzas, though.) Regardless, we’ve had a tough time finding veggie burgers that a) don’t taste like grass and b) don’t have GMOs. Just because something’s labeled “all natural” or touted as a “health food”, use your own judgment and choose what’s right for you and yours.

– Tip #4: Budget for the long haul. For us, this works. I plan on spending a certain amount every two weeks rather than going for a handful of items every week (or several times a week). Because if we do the latter, we inevitably end up getting way more than we planned to get. You know, you just have four things…four simple items on your list. Then, you end up leaving with a full cart and wonder, as you stand in line staring at it, how. The. Hell. That. Happened?!

SIDE NOTE: The look on my mom’s face when she saw us buying one of our “hauls” lately…priceless. Yeah, we’re usually pretty closeted about our organic purchases, mostly because of that inescapable argument that it’s SOOO much more expensive. (It really costs us the same exact amount as it did back in the day when I used to go to Walmart; I used to shamelessly grab impulse items. New sweatpants with my Lean Cuisine (I seriously used to eat that crap!)? Don’t mind if I do.)

So, yeah. Buy two breads, put one in freezer. Buy organic milk — it lasts longer. (And, of course, for the obvious reason. Duh.) Double- and triple-check expiration dates. Plan on lots of salads for a week, week and a half…then make the husband deal with cooked veggies and the like. (Since he’s the one who’s more apt to cry over a lack of lettuce than am I. I’m a tough broad, after all.) If you notice produce starting to spoil, freeze it — ie clean and chop your asparagus or broccoli, steam or par-boil it briefly, cool it down and throw it in a baggie for the freezer. Done and done.

What about you guys? Got any awesome grocery tips? Do you prefer a once-a-week trip or do you push it as long as you can? Do tell!