Happy 2012

Well, a new year is upon us all, like it or ready or not. I'm anxiously looking forward to 2012 being the "Year of Shedding." Shedding excess weight and love of foods that weigh me down (literally and figuratively), shedding excess "stuff" and the love of material things that don't bring value or joy into my life, the shedding of bad thoughts about my fellow man and the shedding of anything that doesn't bring me ultimately closer to God.

I look forward to new opportunities to regain my physical and emotional health. I look forward to spending my volunteer time with my precious children, instead of volunteering to help with groups that they belong to...one on one time beats being PTO President ANY day! I look forward to expanding my spiritual life and discovering the child of God that I was made to be. And lastly, I look forward to spending my time in ways that enhance my family, physical or spiritual life so that I may finally have no regrets about precious time wasted, precious health wasted or precious prayers left unsaid.

Happy New Year!

The Dynamic Duo

For the longest time we referred to our 3 middle boys, born consecutively, as the Three Musketeers. They punched, they fought, they argued, they laid on each other while sleeping. Now that we have our two youngest boys, born consecutively and 5 and 7 years younger than our other children, they are the Dynamic Duo...they punch, they fight, they argue and they lay on top of David and me while sleeping. Maybe one day I'll miss not getting to stretch out in my own bed or snuggle up next to my own husband because the Dynamic Duo will be old enough to finally sleep alone. Maybe.

This soup is fun and makes a great presentation with little effort. I used black bean soup and beer cheese soup, but the possibilities and combinations are as endless as your culinary imagination. I'm thinking veggie chili & corn chowder, cream of asparagus soup and butternut squash soup, tomato bisque and cream of broccoli, just to name a few. The two soups just need to be roughly the same viscosity and pretty much creamy...you wouldn't want to use, say, chicken noodle or vegetable because they are broth- based.

These two recipes are uber easy and pantry friendly.

Spicy Black Bean Soup

(3) 15 oz. cans black beans, drained

(1) 14.5 oz can Rotel brand Tomatoes and Green Chiles

1 c. veg or no chicken broth (I use Imagine brand No Chicken broth)

1 T. cumin

1T chili Powder

1 t. garlic powder

salt & pepper to taste.

Heat all ingredients except for 1 can of the black beans in a saucepan over med. heat until heated through. Puree the soup until fairly creamy using an immersion blender or by transferring in batches to a blender. Put back into pot and add the remaining beans and stir. Easy!

Beer Cheese Soup

1/2 c. chopped onion

1 T. Earth Balance or other vegan "butter"

1 clove garlic, minced

12 oz. beer (I used Michelob Ultra, but a stringer beer might give more flavor)

1 T. vegan Worchestershire sauce

2 c. unsweetened soy milk (I used Westsoy brand)

2 c. No Chicken broth ( I used Imagine brand)

1 T cornstarch + 1/4 c. cold water, mixed into a slurry

2 c. vegan cheese (I used Daiya cheddar flavor, but I bet Ste. Martaen brand Colby would be great, too)

Salt & pepper to taste

Saute onion and garlic in Earth Balance. Add in worchestershire and beer and stir well. Bring to a boil (to evaporate the alcohol) and cook for 3 minutes. Add broth, return to the boil then stir in the cornstarch/water mixture, whisking well. Turn heat down to medium, add the milk and cheese and whisk well to melt the cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To make the duo soup:

Take a ladleful of each soup and at the same time, pour side by side into the soup bowl. I garnished these soups with a tablespoon of salsa and chopped scallion tops. Have fun with the possibilities!

Tarragon Talk

Tarragon is such a complex herb...licorice-y and earthy...I used to love it as the "secret" ingredient in my chicken cheese ball. Since I haven't been making chicken cheese balls much lately, I've sort of forgotten about tarragon. This past weekend, Oscar was invited to a birthday party at the park and as has been common for a good many parties for his friends, a set of twins whom he absolutely adores were among the guests. I think that birthday parties where these girls are invited must always fall on their dad's "weekend," as he often accompanies them. Their dad is very personable and easy to talk to and we often end up talking as, even though he is younger than me, we are still the only forty-ish parents there among the twenty somethings that make up all the other parents of preschooler party set. This past weekend, we talked of a restaurant here in our town that was always a special "date night" place to dine and consequently, he used to wait tables there. It was the only fine dining spot in our small town back then and one of the special places where my husband took me while we were dating. The Greenhouse, as it was named, had many specialites de maison, and one of those was the chef's delicious tarragon-based sauce that covered the escargot. Her house dressing also had tarragon as a key ingredient and all this "tarragon talk" had me wanting to experiment with a creamy tarragon salad dressing. I served it tonight to David atop baby Italian greens with dried cranberries, sliced baby portabellos and toasted pecans...I think it's a keeper. Here's to Ursula and Jerry for the inspiration...

Creamy Tarragon Dressing

2 T. mayo (I used Reduced fat Veganaise)

3 T. agave nectar

2 T. champagne vinegar

1/4 t. salt

freshly ground pepper to taste

1 T. dried tarragon

1-2 T. water, to thin as needed

1 T. sweet white miso (I like MisoMaster)

Mix all ingredients except water well, whisking to emulsify. Add in water as needed to thin to desired consistency. Serve on dark leafy salad greens such as mesclun or baby Italian lettuces.

Sweet & Spicy Tofu Teriyaki

Sweet & Spicy Tofu Teriyaki

For the Tofu:

1 block of water packed extra firm tofu, drained & pressed

1/4 c. tamari

1/4 c. pineapple juice

2T agave nectar

2 T. seasoned rice vinegar

Slice tofu in half, then each half into fourths. Preheat a well-seasoned cast iron pan or non-stick pan (preferably hard anondized, not teflon-coated) to med-high (I used our cast iron griddle pan). Pan fry the tofu slices in the dry pan (do not add oil or even spray the pan with PAM spray...you want the process to drain all the moisture out of the tofu to later accept the marinade well). Mix the marinade ingredients and pour over pan fried tofu for at least 30 minutes, up to 8 hrs. When ready, broil the tofu slices until browned, flip over and do the same on the other side. When browned, turn off oven, brush glaze over tofu, flip and brush other side. Leave in the warm oven until ready to serve. Serve over brown rice with something green and good for you. I used rainbow chard sauteed in sesame oil and garlic (Thanks to my friend, Leslie, for the beautiful greens from her lush garden!)

For the Sweet & Spicy Teriyaki Glaze:

1/4 c. tamari

1 c. water

1 t. ginger

1 clove minced garlic

1 T. sweet chili sauce (found in Asian section of most grocery stores)

1/2 - 1 t. hot chili oil (depending on your liking)

1/4 c. brown sugar, packed

1 t. agave nectar

1 t. cornstarch mixed in approx. 1/8 c. cold water

toasted sesame seeds, black or tan or a mixture for topping

1 scallion, green parts sliced thinly on the diagonal, for topping

Mix all ingredients into a saucepan except the cornstarch + water mixture and toppings. Bring to a boil, add the cornstarch/water mixture and whisk until well blended. Turn heat down to low and simmer approx. 3 minutes until thickened and glossy. Drizzle over tofu and rice and top with sesame seeds and scallions. This sauce is also good over egg rolls or spring rolls.

Oscar wanted popcorn this morning for breakfast...popcorn and chocolate (coconut) milk. Why not? It's a lot more nutritious than a poptart. By the time the little boys are finished with a bowl of popcorn, at least half is on the floor waiting to be eaten by Pup... multitasking at its best. I like it.

I wanted to share a few of the ways that we like our popcorn...hot out of the popcorn popper, microwave or movie theater bin topped with peanut M & M's. Melts the chocolate inside the candy shell just a bit...yum! Back in my college days, we all ate popcorn sprinkled with McCormick Season-All and Parmesan cheese...gotta taste it to believe how delicious.

Here are a few that I concocted this morning:

Praline Popcorn

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. ground cloves

1/2 t. nutmeg

2T white sugar

2T. brown sugar

toasted pecans in the amount to your liking

melted Earth Balance or butter, optional, but delicious

*Mix together all ingredients except butter and pecans. Pour melted butter, if using, over popcorn in the amount that you would like (sensitive issue here for buttered popcorn lovers...I'm not one of them except that it IS delicious in this particular recipe) and then sprinkle spice mixture over and toss to coat. Thank me later.

Parmesan Ranch Popcorn

(My personal favorite)

1 t. dill weed

1 t. onion powder

1 t. garlic powder

1 t. salt

1/2 t. pepper

3T. grated Parmesan cheese (the powdery kind)

Mix all together and sprinkle on hot popcorn, buttered or not. Toss to coat.

S'Mores Popcorn

2t. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 t. salt

2T. powdered sugar

2T. white sugar

2 t. graham cracker crumbs

Mix all ingredients together and sprinkle over butter (best here) or regular popcorn. Toss to coat and enjoy!

Asian Crunch Slaw

Most of our children don't really appreciate different cuisines other than pizza, quesadillas or lo mein if the vegetables are picked out. With our last two "late in life" blessings, Henry and Oscar, I decided to start them off right and teach them to love the tastes that the world has to offer. Boy, was that a mistake. Before I had no competition for ethnic food, but now I have to share my lo mein, wontons, ravioli and even my sacred guacamole! It is nice, though, to have them go with us to a Mexican restaurant and not order the token American meal of chicken and fries and it'll be nice one day for them to know how to order correctly when they sneak my Chinese take out into the old folks home.

This slaw is so good and lasts a day or so in the fridge. It's based on a recipe from a cookbook that David's dear grandmother, "Strickie," gave me one Christmas. Without the nuts, it's really good to wrap in de-stemmed collard leaves or as lettuce wraps. I like to eat it like a salad. It's cool, crunchy, spicy and healthy all in one dish. And really easy to throw together when you're hungry. Best of all, my "little blessings" don't like it (read: more for me).

Asian Crunch Slaw

1/2 head each of green and purple cabbage

3 large carrots, grated or julienne cut

or

2 bags of pre-made slaw from the produce section, if you're really in a rush

1/2 bunch (or to suit your taste) of fresh cilantro

4 green onions, green part only sliced thinly on the diagonal

1/2 c. (or to suit your taste) of roasted cashews or peanuts

Mix all together except nuts. Dress the slaw and add nuts before serving.

For the Dressing:

1/8 c. canola or peanut oil or oil substitute (recipe follows)

1/4 c. seasoned rice vinegar

1 t. freshly ground black pepper

pinch of salt

1/4 c. agave nectar

1 t celery seed

1-2 t. sesame chili oil (depending upon your taste for heat)

1/2 - 1 t. hot pepper flakes (again, depending on how hot you like it)

Mix all ingredients together except oil (if using fat substitute, mix everything in at once) in blender. Slowly pour in oil with blender running to immulsify. Pour half over slaw mix, mixing well and let sit for at least 15 minutes. Add more dressing, if needed.

Fat Substitute

This works well in most dressing with lots of acid

(vinegar, lemon juice, etc...)

1 c. veg broth or vegetarian "no chicken" broth

1 c. water

1 1/2 T. cornstarch

Mic cornstarch in 1/4 c. of the water (use cold water). Heat the remaining water and broth until boiling. Slowly add in cornstarch mixture, whisking well and then remove from heat. Allow to cool and use as oil in salad dressings.

Portabella & Porcini Pot Pie

I had a busy day out of town with Henry today visiting his pediatric opthamologist. On the 2 hour drive home, I'm wondering how I can talk myself out of yet another date with my secret boyfriend, Papa John. I remembered the baby carrots that I bought earlier in the week, thinking that they looked really cute and autumn-y, not knowing yet how I might prepare them. Oh, and then there's the puff pastry that I thawed days ago, but haven't had time to use. What to make? Feeling in a 'shroom mood, I decided upon a pot pie of sorts with a beefy gravy and sauteed mushrooms. Top it off with the baby carrots, roasted until caramelized and some steamed broccolini on the side...yum!

Portabella & Porcini Pot Pie

1 oz. dried porcini mushrooms

2 med-lg. portobella mushroom caps, roughly chopped

1 t. olive oil

1 t. + 1 T. Earth Balance (non-dairy butter sub that's the best!)

1T. all purpose flour

1 t. dried thyme

1 c. veg beef flavored broth made from concentrate (I like Better Than Bouillion "wet" brand or Frontier dried brand)

2t. Marsala or Sherry

1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed (I use Pepperidge Farm)

Soak dried porcinis in hot water to cover well. Let stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, heat saute pan with 1 t. olive oil and 1 t. Earth Balance. Cook portabellas until slightly browned, adding some of the soaking liquid from the porcinis, if needed to keep the pan from cooking dry. Add porcinis and their soaking liquid and cook a few minutes longer. Add wine and cook until liquid is reduced by half. Set aside. Cut the thawed puff pastry sheet into halves or forths, depending on the size of your serving dish (s). Bake them at 400 until puffed and browned on top. Set aside. Heat remaining 1 T. of Earth Balance in a saucepan. Add flour and whisk constantly until smooth. Add "beef" broth and stir constantly until smooth. Allow to cook a few minutes more until thickened and bubbly. Stir in thyme. Add broth mixture to mushroom mixture and pour into serving dishes. Top with puff pastry and serve. Don't add salt until tasting first, as the broth is often plenty salty on its own. Serves 2.

For the baby carrots:

The ones that I bought were cleaned and microwave ready, so I just laid them, not overlapping, on a cookie sheet, drizzled with 1 t. olive oil and 1 t. herbes de provence and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Roast in a 425 oven for 10 minutes or until softened and starting to caramelize.