Christmas, Holidays in General and Death

I read with interest my Sister-in-Laws Blog entry this morning. And it created an avalanche of thoughts through my mind. Where did this family (mine) go so wrong in celebration? Why do all holidays have to be so commercial? What in God's name happened in our sons bathroom!!

But I digress...

Ten day ago a co-worker killed himself. It has been tragic in so many ways. He was a deeply troubled individual (as we all can be), but in the scope of things I would have never believed he would kill himself. But anger, sadness and drink can create a monster that no one can predict. The pall that his death created in the immediate group that worked together was just awful. For several days we just staggered through our routines, like punch-drunk fighters, trying to be peppy and cheerful to customers but in reality, really just wanting to sit in a corner and cry or maybe punch something.

They brought in a counselor and I was the one person of over 300 employees that stopped in to see him. Since the death of my father and brother in the last few years, I seem to be less emotional than I was. There was a time when a Tele-florist ad would bring me to tears! Of course I am traveling through the well-worn path of emotions that death brings; denial, anger, bargaining,depression, acceptance, and finding that I seem to be lingering briefly at each. I only knew him for three years, but as a mother, people tend to open up to me. I just know that I will miss him...he had a wry sense of humor, a totally different way of looking at events that I will try and remember as a travel through my own life.

As a family we have had so many tragedies at the holidays. Probably no more than the average family, but you know how those things are subjective. And over the years our children have managed to make me dread the holidays. I suspect that is an excuse, but one does try to avoid things that really piss them off.

I am back at finishing this well after the New Year. We managed to have a really enjoyable dinner and day and no one was the worse for no tree and no presents. Of course, I am pretty sure that daughter-dearest is busy telling her therapist what kind of space-case I am and there is some truth to that. But in reality, there are so many people who are really hurting...they are loosing their homes, their jobs and so much more.

So, we shall see what next year brings. I am hoping for happiness and prosperity but I will settle for just happiness. Maybe some pure glee too. And some downright hysterically funny days. How about you?

Friday the 13th

One might think that a posting written on Friday the 13th would be all dark and gloomy, but that is not the case. I had a reasonable day and that is about all I can expect some days :)

Cold and flu season is officially here, and our son has been hacking and sniffling for several days. Of course, I suggested some time ago that proper amounts of sleep, water, nourishment and supplements might help him be well all winter, to no avail. So by the time I left work last night, I was feeling none too well. Throat sore, elevated temperature and general lack of energy. I came home, dosed myself with all the goodies like Echinacea and Goldenseal and Elderberry and went to bed. I pretty much tossed and turned and sweated all night, slept late and felt a bit better today. Thus the reasonable day, ok, but no bells and whistles.

I have not cooked in days. I did make a oil-free banana nut bread the other day, which several people liked and asked for the recipe. I thought it is just ok, but I used homemade chunky apple sauce and some coconut turned out to be a nice touch. I guess I will have to make it again and write it down, as I had the overripe bananas and went from there. It did turn out nice and moist though.

I do not know about you, but I am somewhat dreading the Thanksgiving holiday this year. My house is messier than ever, the yard is a disaster (and we actually had enough hail today that it stayed on the ground looking a lot like snow). I do not even know where to start to get the house cleaned up. When daughter left for CA she left her room in a "state" and it is that way still. I am quite sure I will have to work, some strange schedule and thus will have to prepare a lot in advance. I guess I am just whining...not a pretty thing. Sorry.

We have gotten so far from tradition that our tradition is to try a bunch a new recipes. I do know that we will brine the bird again this year, just a question of the type of brine. It just makes the bird so darned moist, impossible to ruin by over or under cooking. And I suspect the apple-sweet potato bake that is just divine. Beyond that I am clueless. Do take a look at Diane Morgan's Thanksgiving Table Cookbook. It is absolutely wonderful. www.dianemorgancooks.com

Well, I had a few days there when I was just sick. Not sure how I managed to get such an awful cold, but I did. Or maybe it was the flu, though I really did not have flu-like symptoms. But my two days off were spent in bed, trying to sleep. And when I went back to work I was no-where near one hundred percent. Finally, today, Sunday, I am feeling more human.

So, the G-man and I have been debating the bird to cook this year for the festivities. He of course wanted a Diestel Turkey, raised on a ranch in Sonora, CA. I opted for a Shelton Free Range Turkey, also from CA. I can only stretch the food-dollar so far. I think it will be a winner and we will see what next year brings.

So now as to the rest of the menu. My Mother always had bowls of nuts, canapes, olives and carrots and celery on ice. Grandma had enough food to feed 3 or 4 times the number of guests. I just like to get down to the business of dinner. Actually I would love to "entertain" but as the title of this blog is messy kitchen, along with a messy kitchen I have a small oven with only one rack, no counter space to speak of (ok, to be fair, that is because there is too much stuff on my counters), multiple cats that think that any flat surface, like table tops and chairs are theirs and thus anything set upon them is naturally for them. I have discovered that guests do NOT appreciate a cat leaping into their lap and demanding whatever they are having! So until we reduce the flock (unlikely) or move into a bigger house (doubtful) entertaining is out of the question.

See how I digress. The menu, and make it snappy.

No soup or salad. Why waste precious stomach space with such drivel. Thanksgiving dinner is hardly the time to worry about a truly healthy meal. The G-man wishes to make his Fresh Green Bean Saute with Frizzled Leeks. Daughter likes Diane Morgan's Apple and Sweet Potato Casserole. Fresh from the oven Cloverleaf Rolls. Garlic Mashed Gold and White's (Yams and Russets). The Bird. And for dessert, Pumpkin Pie with Brandy and Pecan Pie with fresh whipped cream.

Bell Peppers and Freezers

All day long I had those three beautiful bell peppers on my mind. That is between moving 5000 pounds of bulk and directing the same people I directed yesterday to the same products....funny how that works.

But about those peppers. I bought them several days ago because they were just so pretty. And they are a strange mixed comfort food for me because in my memory we ate them ALL the time, or at least too much. And I did not like them all that much. Mom made them with ground beef and used many different fillers; cracker crumbs, rice, grated veggies, I don't know what else. They were always good, filling and cooked in a pot with lots of tomato products. I think as a kid I did not like the spicy tartness of green bell peppers. That has certainly changed.

I knew that I would not be using any meat because today is Meatless Monday and I do try and keep at least dinner meatless. I also knew that I had to pick up our son at 8:00pm, and I would not want these stuffed peppers to be too heavy. So out to the deep-freeze to see what looked interesting.

My goal right now is to get the level of food down in the freezer because I like to buy several turkeys when they are on sale (or free) for smoking later. Having several cut in half and freezer wrapped makes it easy to roast for a great meal and sandwiches later. But the freezer is way too full.

Rummaging around I find three veggie patties. The box is long gone but they are individually wrapped and look good. I think I can use these in the filling. Some spinach, maybe some cracked wheat cereal. This is sounding really good.

My foraging took me to the fridge where I found a half jar of tomatoes, some left-over cooked rice, a baggie of black olives and some cilantro. Let's put a Mexican twist on these peppers.

'CORN' MEXICAN STUFFED PEPPERS

I had never heard of "CORN" for dinner until my children clued me in on it! Clean Out The Refrigerator night, duh! Sometimes I amaze myself. But that's what these hearty, flavorful peppers did at our house, and can do at yours too.

3 large bell peppers, cut off top, remove seeds, save top for filling
3 - 3.5 oz veggie patties, broken into small pieces
1/4 cup cracked wheat cereal, in microwaveable bowl, rinsed and covered with 1 cup water. Cook on high for three minutes until softened. Try not to let it boil over like I did!
2/3 cup cooked rice
2/3 cup frozen spinach
2/3 cup canned tomatoes
2/3 cup juice from tomatoes
1/2 cup fresh cilantro with stems
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp spicy chicken seasoning
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1/2 granulated garlic

1/4 cup grated cheese, optional
Black olives (3-4 per pepper, cut in half) optional

In food processor, combine veggie patties, partially cooked cracked wheat. Pulse. Add rice, spinach and tomatoes. Pulse. Add juice if you think you need it. You may and then again you may not. Pulse.

Add spices, pulse to just blend.

Place peppers in ovenproof glass or ceramic baking dish that has been lightly sprayed with cooking spray. Divide filling in three and heap into peppers. You can add the olives by poking them into the filling. Cover baking dish with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until toasty hot.

Remove foil, sprinkle with cheese, return to oven for 3-4 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve with crusty artisan bread and a salad and enjoy comfort food that's good for you.

Serves three.

Another word on Wordstock.

I, of course, attended several talks by either cookbook writers or nutritionists or both. Michael went off and saw other authors. When we met up I told him about some of the questions that the audience had for the speakers. Is it just me, or do some people just embarrass themselves and the rest of the audience with their questions? Several times and with different speakers, the same question came up. "How do you have TIME to cook?" WTF! Why would you attend a talk given by someone who had produced a book full of RECIPES if you cannot visualize yourself taking the time to cook! Turn off the TV, grab your kids, spouse, Mother-in-Law...whatever, and get in the kitchen. Prepare a meal made with love, real ingredients, not some darned box, sit at the table and have a conversation then round up everyone again and do the dishes together. You might be amazed what you learn about your family and yourself!

Sorry. I cook nearly every night. I work full time. Sometimes these meals are fancy, sometimes they are simple. But they are always made with wholesome ingredients, balanced for nutrition and served with a healthy dose of love. Try it. Way better than "Lost" or "Dancing with Stars". Really.

Nutty for Coconut

It just showed up one day in our freight. A 25 pound box of Coconut. Janice and I looked at each other and asked in the same breath, "did you order this?" I trotted over to the bakery, no, it wasn't theirs. No one wanted this Coconut.

So I bought it! I was sure that I could find lots to do with it, Captain Daddee uses it in his Oatmeal Cookies, and his Tropical Delight Cookies, so it would have a good home.

So when I needed to bring a dessert to a meeting last Wednesday, I thought that something with Coconut as the star would be great.

Well, that was not as easily said than done. I Google'd many different request for Coconut recipes and nearly all called for Coconut creme, Coconut extract and various other forms of Coconut. Not just the fluffy, white flakes I had tons of!

So as I was pondering what to make, I wondered if maybe there would be something in one of the several bread machine books I have. Eureka, I found one that just called for Coconut! Woo hoo!

The crazy thing was the entire recipe was made either in a mixer or in a bowl, you know, by hand. Then dumped into a bread machine pan with the kneading blade removed and then baked. What's up with that? I do have an oven and my bread machine does not have a removable kneading blade, so I got the kitchenaid out and went to town. I made a loaf cake for work and a bunch of cupcakes with the second batch. Very good either way. And the surprise was no one turned the cake down. Even people who are not crazy about Coconut.

COCONUT CAKE

1/2 cup butter, or margarine, softened
scant 1 cup sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups, dry shredded coconut
1 cup self rising flour (1 cup flour with 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt)
3/8 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

loaf pan, sprayed with cooking spray and lightly dusted with flour

Cream the butter or margarine and sugar together until fluffy and pale, then add the eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition.

Add the dry shredded coconut, flour, sour cream and lemon zest. Mix.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spoon batter into prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes. Check with toothpick starting at 50 minutes.

Let stand 2-3 minutes, turn out onto wire rack to cool before slicing.

As I said, I also made a batch and baked them in silicone cupcake cups. They took about 25 minutes to cook, possibly more. They were delicious! I also think this changed from lemon to almond extract would be delightful. I certainly have enough coconut to play around with this!

Wordstock and Writers

Today was the opening day of Wordstock at the Convention Center in Portland Oregon.

If you have never attended or even heard of Wordstock, please take the time to go to their website and check it out. www.wordstockfestival.com I actually lifted their mission statement:


Wordstock is Portland's Book & Literary Festival

"Wordstock is an annual festival of books, writers, and storytelling in Portland, Oregon. To date it has hosted over 550 writers, who have read and performed for nearly 55,000 people at past festivals. Wordstock features ten author stages, a book fair with over 150 exhibitors, a special children’s area and children’s literature stage, a series of workshops for writers and for K-12 teachers, a special broadcast of Live Wire!, the popular public radio variety show, featuring writers from the festival, and more. Although it only began in 2005, Wordstock is already the largest celebration of literature and literacy in the Pacific Northwest, and is one of the largest festivals of its kind in the nation.

Wordstock is also a nonprofit that works to promote writing in the classroom. Wordstock for Teachers is a professional development program for K-12 teachers that seeks to improve student writing performance by training and supporting teachers of writing. In other words, it helps kids become better writers by making writers of their teachers. The board, staff, and volunteers who stage Wordstock are honored to help such an important and effective program make a difference in the education of thousands of children."

It is quite possibly the best thing happening with regards to books, writers, publishers and the people who love them all! Set up with wonderful stages, numerous small booths where authors can talk to us crazy reader types, loads of workshops and books galore. And surprise of surprises, I saw my friend Linda Dalal Sawaya, author of "Alice's Kitchen", Traditional Lebanese Cooking. I bought this book several years ago at Wordstock and then Linda and I attended a cookbook writers class last year and reacquainted ourselves.(www.dianemorgancooks.com) Linda is not only a gifted writer, but an amazing artist. What originally caught my eye was the copy of "Aramco News" that she had on her table. My husbands Father worked for Aramco many years ago in Saudia Arabia and for years we had read the magazine. Linda did such an amazing job illustrating the lengthy article. Check out her site too: www.lindasawaya.com

And I apologize for calling you "Alice", Linda. You are so connected to your Mother that I slipped up; actually I probably was having a senior moment!

But the reason I am posting today is because whenever I get around creative people, I get inspiration. Funny how that works. I come home excited and ready to write, with all sorts of thoughts careening around my head. And I have been chewing on several ideas, actually far more than several.

When I wrote about Congee I received the nicest message forwarded from my SIL, Gwen. The gist of the nessage is that people do not know how to cook, and certainly are not willing to improvise in the kitchen. Several of the speakers that I was delighted to hear today also said the same thing. And my darling husband always questions me when I say,"I really followed the recipe on this one!", because he knows the next word out of my mouth will be "except".

I have always cooked like that. If a recipe calls for pork and I have chicken, so be it. If the herbs are mint and oregano and I have dill and lemons, I will choose to make something rather than do nothing. Some have been real hits, some not so great. And sometimes when I have followed the recipe completely, it has been a disaster. I always think of the spinach dish that I made for my parents that had walnuts in it. My Dad, who would eat cardboard spread with library paste and find something nice to say, looked me in the eye and said, "This is awful!" I loved him for that, and we all laughed like crazy. If I remember right, even the dog would not eat that mess.

So here is my point. We know that GMO foods are killing us. All we have to do is look around. We have lived with cheap food for far too long and we have the medical bills to prove what a disaster that experiment has been. The cards are all on the table and they all look like a losing hand. So lets roll up our sleeves, turn off the TV and get busy creating great food for our families.

In 1999 I turned off our TV. I caught a lot of crap for that, believe me. Even though we did not watch as much as the average family, we could easily get sucked into dumb shows and it wasted too much precious time. When we moved to Oregon our kids again tried to get cable and I resisted. The most we do is rent the occasional movie. Network TV just doesn't live here.

I started back to work part-time in May of 2007. It did not take long before that changed into full-time and with my commute I am gone for the better part of the day. I also work the closing shift three of those days and so I do not get home until after 10pm. But I still cook, I just have learned to do it differently.

On these late shift days, I may start soup or stew in the crockpot. I do not use any mixes, almost never. I think because I do not feel that is cooking and I am ALWAYS disappointed. It is not rocket science to add some meat, some broth, some veggies and some spices to a pot and let it simmer. Then I may start of loaf of hearty bread in the bread-machine and bingo...dinner is well on its way. Or marinate a piece of meat and put it on the smoker, nice low heat, hubby checks the fire every few hours and pulls it off when it is done. Some baked potatoes or rice or couscous, a salad and several meals are done. Dinner today and lunch tomorrow!

On those early mornings, (I get up at 4:30am), I am stoked because I will be home early enough to be able to prepare a meal that requires more work. Honestly it is infrequent that I find this a drag, I really relax in the kitchen.

So tonight, as I am writing this, a nice pot of applesauce is simmering on the stove. Molly brought over three buckets of apples, and I love warm applesauce as dessert. Tomorrow I will make more and can it for the winter.

Cinnamon Applesauce

3 pounds apples, cut off the core in random sizes, skin on
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon cinnamon
honey to taste

Put water into a heavy pot with a good lid. Add apples. Simmer until apples are cooked to your desired taste. I like the way some of the apples will cook completely to mush and some will still have a bit to them. I think that is because I keep adding apples as they are simmering. Some people strain the sauce, I think that is an awful waste of fiber. Don't do that.

When Captain Daddee and I first married he did a bit of cooking. By bit, I mean he made spaghetti sauce and chili. And sometimes it was hard to tell the two apart. He was not real adventuresome at using spices. We laugh about that a lot. He has developed into a fantastic cook, a great bread maker and is the cookie king. And when I do dumb things like leave a recipe for him to complete (I took that chicken out of the freezer two days ago, ran out of time and something has to be done with it....here) as I dash out the door, he improvises when I don't exactly have half of the ingredients and made a fantastic Chicken Tikka Masala. He made Basmasti Rice and we had a lovely late meal. What a guy!

There is such comfort in cooking, baking, preparing food for those you love. When you offer it up you are saying I care for you. Please enjoy. And when all the flavors develop and that first taste is heaven on your tongue, it is magic.

Congee anyone

In 1998 we closed the books on the death of my Mother in Law and had a little cash. We could either build a second bathroom or do some memorable. We chose to take nearly 6 weeks and travel to Southeast Asia.

To us (the travel agent and the pilot) it seemed so logical. Show our young (9 and 11) children the world, especially Laos where Michael spent 1969-72. Oddly enough people thought we were crazy and perhaps even derelict in our parental duties...keeping our children safe. "What about the water?", they asked. "And the food?" "And all those diseases?" "Something could go wrong!"

Well, it didn't and we are here to prove it. In fact, it possibly was the most defining part of their lives. Hardly a day goes by without some reference to those weeks, and the experiences they had. I would highly recommend a major trip to anyone with children.

But of course, I digress. My back-story is just to emphasize that you will never know what you bring home from a journey. And we brought home Congee, or at least our version of it!

Congee (or jook) is a a breakfast staple all over Asia. It is different in each country, yet has that level of comfort food that is so important. I believe that each and every time we make it it is different. And mine is different from Michael's and definitely not a bit like Gregory's.

Congee can be made with leftover rice, brown rice, sticky rice, a combination of grains, with chicken broth, vegetable broth, plain water, or even Pho base. It can be thin with few grains of rice or thick like porrage or oatmeal. And sometimes, when in my gusto to get left-overs out of the fridge, it can be so thick that it no longer is soup, at all!

So I will do my best to give you a recipe. Then you are on your own. Because to me the best part of Congee is that it is always different, but always delicious.

Basic Congee

In large heavy pot combine

6 cups water
1 cup rice, rinsed (I use what I have; brown, Basmati, short grain, long grain, what ever combination you like)
2-3 Tbsp. chicken broth (Better-Than-Bouillon)

Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer until rice is really cooked, usually about 40 minutes. The type of rice used will make a difference here. You may also use left-over cooked rice, which will speed up the process considerably. 3-4 cups cooked rice for the 1 cup raw.

And here is where you may get creative. I add various seasonings to the broth-porrage. Sometimes, some Trader Joe's 21 Salute. Sometimes some chopped Cilantro. Diced green onions or yellow onion, or both. A Tablespoon or two. I may throw in some shelled Edemame. Or a handful of oats. Perhaps some Fish Sauce. Play around with what you have available and have fun.

Garnishes:

A scrambled egg, cooked into an omelet then sliced and put on top on the bowl of soup. Some dried garlic, seaweed, Pork Fu, More Cilantro, green onion, Chicken Sauce, various chili powders. When we have leftover chicken or beef I will shred or dice it and add the the top. Since this is breakfast, the most important meal of the day, and frequently has to get me through to 3 in the afternoon, I really love to add a lot of toppings.

It is clear that I will need to get the photographer to take some shots when I prepare this again. And some photos of the various Asian goodies in our pantry.

I believe that there are as many variations on Congee as there are Asians in Southeast Asia. So play with the flavors and make what you enjoy.

Coupons for Crap

You know just by the headline that I am opinionated about food. I supposed if I looked I could find Blogs about the joys of blue-box macaroni and cheese and instant mashed potatoes, but obviously that is not why I am here, and if you are reading this, I suspect that is not what you are looking for here either.

What has triggered this outrage is an article in Fridays paper. "Electronic coupons hook the tech-savvy". This you woman went from spending $500 a month to $300 a month on groceries for TWO people! Are you kidding me! The pictures shows a peek into her shopping bag....it is full of Blue box mac and cheese!

Processed foods are killing people. There, I said it. Too much salt, sugar, chemicals. Too little actual nourishment. Too much packaging. Too much, too much, too much!

It is expensive in so many ways.

We mouth the words that people (read Americans) need to change their diets. That we need to eat more veggies and fruits, more whole grains, less meat and less sugar and salt. Yet when you open the Sunday paper and all those advertising supplements spill out, what are those coupons for? Slim-Fast, Froot-Loops, Welch's Fruit Snacks, Taco Seasoning Packets, Pringles. Oh, and Prilosec, because heartburn is an American way of life.

What we need are coupons for carrots, lettuce, broccoli, green beans, peaches, watermelon and grapes. Coupons for the bulk bins in most supermarkets. Have those marketers that demo foods actually demo something that IS food. Cook some brown rice, saute fresh veggies and serve over whole wheat pasta. Combine some spices (organic of course) to season a chicken breast.

How on earth could someone spend 500 bucks for two people to eat in a month? Because she is relying upon processed foods. Shredded cheese is a luxury in this house. After all I got the Cuisinart for my class, I need to us it. And if I shread cheese for a recipe, I shread extra, zip it into a bag or a recycled plastic container and put it in the cheese drawer. Ready for the next use. I wash all the veggies are once and use what I need, placing the rest in paper toweling in a bag in the crisper, ready to use the next day. When I make pizza dough, I double or even triple the recipe. The extra goes in to the freezer for use later.

I work full time, yet I cook from scratch completely. It just takes desire (for good, wholesome, healthy food) and a bit of preparation to accomplish. And the outcome is a healthier family and a huge cost saving.

I said yesterday that I had those beautiful tomatoes to do something with. I believe now that I will just can them whole, available for soups, stews and pasta sauces all winter. If I come upon some more this week, I will also get some onions and peppers and make some salsa. Always a hit here.

Looking out our bedroom window this morning I realized that the plum trees actually have plums this year! Sounds crazy, but this particular variety of prune-plum seems to skip a year (or more) to actually producing a decent crop. They are not my favorite variety, because they are dry not juicy like a good Satsuma or Red plum, but they came with the house. And they will make nice jam, and I will try again to dry some as prunes. My last attempt was not all that successful. Try, try again, is my motto.

So, if you take nothing else away from this, please turn that box on its side and look at the ingredients list...check the sodium, the sugar, the preservatives. Then put it back on the shelf and go buy the ingredients to make it from scratch. Turn off the TV and spend some time in the kitchen, share the space with your spouse or kids and make dinner. It's fun, it's creative and it's relaxing. And you will actually enjoy the final product because it was made with love.