Resolve to Get Cookin'

My Christmas Present...Love it.

It is almost the New Year and I am struggling with a topic to write about.  I have not ventured out too much after Christmas because we are pretty happy at home enjoying the holiday vacation.  However, I am really thankful that I can practice my culinary skills in more familiar territory some good ole healthy cooking.  After Christmas, I made a lentil vegetable soup, cioppino, an awesome roasted chicken some grainy goodness gluten free breads, and tonight it is brown rice stuffed peppers with grass fed beef.  Don’t get me wrong, I have really enjoyed all of the confections of the holiday season and I still indulge occasionally, but I feel best when I eat my healthier goodies.  

Ok. It is time to do the cliché thing and confess my resolutions for 2012.  I know it is cliché, but I really like the symbolism of change that accompanies the New Year.  I actually stuck to my resolutions last year, which was to get more organized and minimize my tendency to stress out.  Doing this helped me focus on some really enjoyable and productive things.  I also got some little surprises along the way that I didn’t even resolve to do.  

Of course, there are some things that I did want to do that I just could not get accomplished because of fear of failure.  So I think a good resolution, would be to overcome the fear of failure and punch it in the face.  I also want to improve my relationships with friends and family.  There isn’t anything really wrong, but I need to visit with them more.  Lastly, my husband and I need a date night every month. No questions asked.  

What are your resolutions?  Don’t do too many so you can welcome life’s little surprises.

Hmmm. A recipe

I got a an awesome cookbook for Christmas featuring my fave TV chef, Nadia G from Bitchin’ Kitchen. Get the book.  This chicken cooked quickly and it was delicious!

One whole 5 lb chicken (organic preferably)

Wash and dry bird and rub butter under the skin

Add one cut up lemon, onion, garlic and some fresh herb sprigs like Thyme, rosemary

Add salt, pepper, and smoked paprika on the top and massage it with olive oil.

Bake at 400 for 45 minutes. Don’t forget to use that meat thermometer for 180 degrees.  Juices should be clear. 

Serve with some tasty pan fried potatoes and  a whole mess of hot and buttered string beans…Thanks to this guy

Tamales and Wine

Every year, my mother, aunt, two sisters and I get together to make tamales before Christmas.  This is such a popular event with Hispano families throughout the entire world around Christmas.  We have made tamales for many years and in our region, the most familiar tamale is red chile corn masa stuffed with simmered and shredded pork shoulder marinated in more red chile (or for some, chile colorado) all wrapped together in a corn husk.  We made these and got creative with a few others.  One of which, I will be sharing its recipe.  At first, I thought I would not share it because some things should be kept within the family.  However, tamales are such a worldly food, it is really the basic elements that we keep and their ingredients continuously change.  In fact, tamales have popped up in the Mississippi Delta, so really here in NM, we are not reinventing the wheel, but I am not claiming this to discredit any cultural context of Latin American countries but instead I want to impress how strong this cultural event has influenced the entire world to embark on tamale making.

Early tamales were traced back as early as 8000 BC in Mesoamerica. The Aztecs and Mayans are believed to have used them as a food for necessity for travelers.  It was a portable, starchy, and had some kind of protein element.  Later around 1200 BC, tamales were used as a food commemorating important feasts and status—including and excluding certain members of society (LeCount 2001).  This might be why I don’t want to share the recipe. You know, keeping it within the family.  Well thousands of years later, the tamale is still a food commemorating a feast although in Mexico City, tamales are a comfort food staple for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. They are made with a variety of ingredients.

Our little group makes tamales by the dozens and has a great time doing it.  We have never referred to it as a tamalada, but in essence that is exactly what it is.  After we prepare them, we steam a few for us to eat and this year we had quite the selection. Of course we made the traditional and regional pork marinated in chile Colorado.  My mom also made a green chile chicken style.  My aunt made a few stuffed with calabacitas and cheese.  I made two sweet varieties:  Dark chocolate, with a coconut, almond, mocha filling and a white chocolate anise with dried fruit and walnut filling.  One of our biggest surprises is that they paired up with a red wine really well.  We had a great time sipping wine and eating tamales, kids playing peacefully, and laughing about how my stepfather has an uncanny resemblance to Foghorn Leghorn.  Until next year. Merry Christmas!!

Don't hate me because I drink box wine

References:

LeCount, Lisa J. 2001. “Like Water for Chocolate: Feasting and Political Ritual among the Late Classic Maya at Xunantunich, Belize.” American Anthropologist 103 (4) (December 1): 935-953. doi:10.1525/aa.2001.103.4.935.

and Wikipedia.

Elements for white chocolate anise tamales with dried fruit filling (I have only made this once and did not use measuring cups so all of this is approximately done by purely eyeballing it. Good Luck) As I make this, my measurements might change. Please let me know if you run into problems.

For the masa

4 cups of Maseca

1 tbls of baking powder

1 tsp of salt

2 tsp of anise seeds

1 cup of sugar

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)

2 cups of milk

1 cup of half and half (you could use cream, but this was all I had)

2 cones of panocha sugar (find in Mexican food stores, ½ cup brown sugar if you can’t find it)

5 star anise

3 oz of white chocolate chopped

1 tlbs vanilla extract

For the filling

1 12oz bag of dried apricots (chopped)

2 cups of toasted walnuts

6 oz of dried cranberries

1 tbls cinnamon

1 jar of apricot preserves

2 shots of whiskey (optional)

1 cup of brown sugar

1-2 bags of dried corn husks

Method

Fill sink with hot water and place husks in to soften.  Warm milk, cream, panocha sugar, and star anise over low heat. Do not boil.  When panocha is dissolved and milk is hot to touch, pour over white chocolate and mix until melted. Add vanilla and discard star anise.  Let mixture cool. Meanwhile, blend dry ingredients together.  Add butter and mix with mixer or hand.  I smoosh it around with my hand.  Add chocolate mixture and mix until it becomes pasty.  Set aside.

Combine all the ingredients for the filling until it becomes a sticky mess.

Once corn husks are softened, wipe off excess water. Spread about 1 heaping tablespoon of masa onto lower half portion corn husk. This takes practice, I use my hand, my sister has more skills and uses a spoon.  Fill it with another heaping tablespoon of filling.  Fold up husk around it.  If you cannot fold the husk, then you have put in too much filling or spread the masa too thick.  Improvise. 

Steam tamales for about 45 minutes or until firm.  

Roots of Culture without Convenience

I struggle with food during the holiday season.  Eating, food, and celebration are intertwined.  I really don’t want to be the humbug on the flavorful merriment, but along with the extra sugar I have been consuming (while helping my kids make a crispy treat house), I did buy the weirdest and ugliest vegetable to dress up and eat to physically feel good.  I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed it!  Don’t get me wrong, those little white chocolate Hershey’s peppermint kisses are delicious, but not satisfying.  

This makes me think more about our connection with food.  For some of us, food=culture.  I know many who prepare foods that associate with different holidays.  All these foods have a cultural context that makes our celebrations complete.  They not only enhance our traditions, they play a significant part of our culture while celebrating holidays. Think about it, we drink when we toast.  We have cake to celebrate important events. My son even told me that he wasn’t looking forward to Christmas presents as much as he was anticipating Christmas foods.  

Our associations with food are powerful.  Throughout history, we have adapted foods, food ways, and food taboos to conform to religious beliefs, form alliances with others, bond with friends and family, celebrate, and build an identity.  It is only recently (if you call the 1950s recent) that convenience foods and chain restaurants have been a part of our food scheme.  Immediately following, a movement opposing convenience foods armed with reasons such as environmental issues, poor working conditions (you remember Cesar Chavez), and nutrition.  Despite this opposition, we have been duped.  Restaurants, food manufacturers, and agribusiness have tapped into our cultural connections with food and formulated a convenient way for us to enjoy our cultural foods by producing them in masses so that we have time to do the really important things like shopping and of course family.  In this way, they have actually robbed us of a historical and important cultural context and replaced it with a new more convenient cultural context with added fat, salt, and sugar.  

I like some convenience foods when I am pressed for time or so that I get an evening off, but I don’t depend on it.  Sometimes convenient for me = leftovers. Sometimes, I just like the way something tastes from a certain place.  (I think this is the case with the Chipotle joint that just opened in Albuquerque. I think they put heroin in their burritos. That line is still out the door in the freezing cold).  However, I don’t see us ordering a case of Chipotle burritos for our next Christmas gathering.  It is going to look more like tamales.  For lunch today will be a lean ham wrap with celery root slaw.

Recipe for Celery Root Slaw

So I bought this ugly winter vegetable.  Even the grocery store workers scoffed at it. I felt sorry for the root, but found a diamond in the rough.   It has a very nutty celery flavor, which you can temper down with a good dressing and other ingredients. I haven’t eaten enough to find meaning or symbolism in it, but I will definitely make again.

½ celery root shredded

3-4 carrots shredded

1 apple (I used honeycrisp)

1 half very small head of purple cabbage

¼ of large onion diced

¼ cup of apple cider vinegar

2 tbls of canola oil (I think a nut oil would work better though)

A couple of drops of truffle oil (not necessary, but added the winter to this winter salad)

2-3 tsp sugar (if you don’t have honeycrisp apples, use honey)
2 tsp of mustard seeds
1/2 tsp each coriander and dill weed

Combine all ingredients and serve or place in fridge until later use. 

 

Want delicious meal ideas with a holiday twist for those in between times of candy eatin’. Try these…

Breakfast: Sweet Potato Oatmeal

Lunch: Top a bbq sandwich with colorful celery root slaw instead of opting for those huge platters of French fries

Dinner: Drag out that slow cooker and make some creamy corn chowder (just add more nonfat milk into this recipe) some bread and a salad.  Eat after a long day of work followed by Christmas shopping

Snack or dessert: Salted Caramel hot chocolate

The Accidental Sweet Life with Extra Salt

Well it has been quite some time since I wrote on this blog. Graduate school took almost all my writing priority this semester. As did the fact that my toddler no longer naps. I felt guilty indulging in a little free writing time when I have a family and other responsibilities that needed my already stretched thin attention span. Well it is December which means this semester is over and time to move on. In the meantime, I have cooked a ton, but I guess I will just start at where I am right now.

I learned a lot this semester. Something shifted inside me and I attribute it to increased knowledge and a realization in how important it is to care for others, not just to say it. I am grateful for the colleagues in my classes who shed light on issues that really touched my spirit and compelled me to integrate what I have learned into my life no matter how subtle. Here is a recap, it’s choppy, but I hope you can understand it.

This semester, I learned that bullying is wrong on a physical, emotional and spiritual level and I hope that God blesses those who are poor in spirit. Thanks Lindsey

I learned that there is a huge problem with our toxic environment…what we eat, what we use to clean our homes, and what we see and hear that deters us away from that reality. Thanks Liana

I learned that although we as health scholars are up against some pretty tough health issues, we can stay positive and find solutions with a fun factor. Thanks Micki

I learned that we all work together and teach each other. Thanks Chidi 

I learned that it’s ok to talk to a classmate for 2 hours instead of typing up a lit review just because I needed a break. Thanks Sara

I learned that we really have it good because our health does provide agency to aspire to do what we want to do. Thanks Daniel and Karen G. 

I learned that it is courageous to point out the obvious. Thanks Margarita 

I learned that I am not the only one who believes in the “thrifty gene theory” and anthropological history to the obesity epidemic. Thanks Andrea

I learned to look at health issues through different lenses and how to approach them systematically, but I am still learning…Thanks Dr. Avila and Dr. Perry and OLA middle schoolers 

Most importantly, I learned that I have a supportive family who respect that I truly believe in making a better place through my language of love…food. Thanks Fil, Devin, and Sam 

During my last week of school, I skipped some meals (not on purpose, well kind of. I chose to do homework instead) and lost some sleep. On the night before my last class, while scrambling to finish my literature review about the what researchers, popular culture and biotechnology do to impair solutions to the overconsumption epidemic causing our population to gain weight, I craved the sweetest most chocolatey thing I could get my hands on. Oh the irony! I made hot chocolate…Not hot cocoa. 

Yes, there is a difference. Hot chocolate? So what? This was a big deal because it was through an accident that I made the best hot chocolate that I ever had. Maybe it was because I hadn’t had something sweet in a while, but it put Starbucks to shame. Here is how it goes. I scrambled to my kitchen desperately looking for the cocoa powder because I knew we ran out of those premade packets of Nestle. I remembered that I left all my baking stuff at my sister in law’s house. Dammit! Frantic, I shoved stuff around the cabinet when I saw…Bingo! A few Trader Joes bittersweet chocolate disks. It was only an ounce, so I hoped it would work. 

I warmed up a little skim milk and poured it over the disks and mixed it around. I was supposed to add just a pinch of salt, but too lazy, I poured it from the box and it was more like half a teaspoon. SHIT!!! My chocolate was ruined. I tasted it and made the ick face. I added some sugar and got an idea…I told myself, screw the low fat skim milk and poured about 4 fluid ounces of half and half in a cup and warmed it up. I also found a little bit of caramel sauce in the fridge. You guessed it, chocolate + salt + caramel and cream = salted caramel hot chocolate. I combined the cream and caramel with the chocolate milk mixture, whisked it and topped it with a lot of whipped cream. Typing up my lit review was a whole lot sweeter. 

Recipe 

6 or ¾ cup fluid oz of a mixture of milk and cream 

1-2 oz about ¼ cup of bittersweet chocolate (I am going to try bitter and milk chocolate next time) 1-2 tsp sugar 1-2 tablespoons of caramel sauce

½ tsp-1 tsp salt. You can even get fancy here and use fleur de sel

A few drops of vanilla 

See above for method…Add the vanilla last. Instead of a photo of the hot chocolate, I have a collage of my accidental sweet family. I drank the chocolate of course! I will post photo soon.

Beautiful Inside and Out

What does it mean to be beautiful inside and out...Stephanie Marcelli.   Please vote and share with others.  

Quality of Life Chocolate Muffins

What a crazy couple of weeks.  I am so behind on my blog and I have had so many topics to write about that I did not write down so I forgot.  I have something today and if life slows down a bit, I may be able to jot down another topic this weekend.  My kiddos have strep so hopefully they sleep in.  I semi-caught up on my reading (I really never catch up) so I think I can manage a quick writing session because after all, this is an enjoyable activity for me and that is what I would like to write about—Quality of life.  

What is the definition of the quality of life?  I am sure we all have a unique definition, but I think that it encompasses that our body, mind, and spirit are in a balance that enables us to seek our aspirations and, well, just be happy.  Is this a right?  Are we entitled to have a great quality of life?  I think so. However, it is a group process, not just an individual and I guarantee that others will not ensure that your quality of life is up to par.  With that said, I also believe that the playing grounds are not fairly distributed and that although we should make the best of what we have available, we should also strive to achieve a more level playing ground.  It is not a hand-out as some people would like to believe.  

There is not a fair distribution of services, economic opportunities, air quality, exercise options, food security…The list goes on and on.  Is there someone to blame? Maybe, but why waste time investigating the perpetrator, when instead determining the reason or cause is much more productive, because that is what you can change.  When it comes to diseases related to lifestyle, I know that there are determinants that keep us from feeling better.  There are also responsible groups that contribute to these diseases.  But as hopeless as it may sound, you along with others can combat these determinants.  You can’t do it alone and others cannot do it for you.  

I don’t know about you, but I really think we are here to heal each other.  Who doesn’t enjoy friendship and intimacy?  I truly believe that breaking bread together is a way to accomplish many of our goals and enhancing our quality of life.  As a collective, we can do so much together.  If we made our lives more of a collaborative event, loneliness would not last as long, physical illnesses would not affect us so negatively, and lifestyles would be healthier.  Today, I think I am going to eat our last chocolate muffins with my kids and not feel one bit guilty about it.  (Well maybe the fact that I put zucchini in them does help).

Challenge:  Make something together or something that tastes good and enjoy it with a friend. Try this recipe for size.  If you feel like there is some aspiration that you cannot achieve, take a bite, talk it over and seize the day.

Zucchini Chocolate Muffins

1 cup of brown rice flour

½ cup tapioca starch

½ cup sorghum flour

1 cup of cocoa powder

1 cup of sugar

¼ cup of flax meal

1-2 cups of chocolate chips

1 cup of vanilla yogurt

2/3 cup of canola oil

4 eggs

1 tbls baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups of zucchini

2 tsp xanthan or guar gum

½ - 1 cup of buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a muffin pan with cooking spray. Mix dry ingredients in a large bowl except chocolate chips.  Mix wet ingredients except buttermilk and vanilla in a separate bowl or large measuring cup.  Combine both wet and dry ingredients together.  Add buttermilk to make a batter consistency.  Add vanilla and chocolate chips.  Spoon batter into muffin pan cups.  Bake in oven for 25-35 minutes. As soon as you smell that rich chocolaty scent, take out of oven and cool on rack for 5 minutes.  Remove muffins from pan and cool or eat with milk.  Mmm. Warm muffins and cold milk. This recipe makes enough for 2 dozen muffins and you can half it easily. 

Thinkin About Labor Day

As much as  dreaded starting another semester of grad school, not because of the work involved mind you, but the time management and strict schedule that I have to cede to so that I can get everything done in one day.   It is burdensome sometimes and I get burned out pretty darn fast.  I actually skipped running this evening to cook, blog, and play with my baby, while listening to the birds.  I can’t help but say that I am pretty excited to get my research started up again.  I do things like that on Friday nights. I sometimes have that glass of wine or a nice cold beer too.   Although simple, I am blessed that I am able to do them.  I have a body that lets me accomplish the tasks and enjoyable activities because I have health.  Health is definitely one of those elements that we take for granted and don’t even blink an eye at it until it’s gone or missing temporarily due to the stupid hangover or whatever little bug is floating around.  There might be someday when we do not have the physical capacity to just blow these minor discomforts off. 

And this week, I learned that although we have systems in place to treat any maladies we may have, but not necessarily because of care, but as my instructor says…”It’s a business.”  Unfortunately, prevention strategies are not part of this business although this strategy does not save money and so many policy makers and business people invested in medical treatment and technology are much more interested in making money.  We each walk around with dollar signs on our foreheads. After reading some of the articles I read this week, I really believe that there is money to be made on poor health, which in turn makes the rest of us financially poor. It really is sick and the only cure is to prevent it from happening. No matter how small, anything will work.  According to Stephen Woolf, prevention spending provides much more value with possible net savings, meaning  that prevention strategies give you more health per dollar spent as opposed to just testing and treatment.  A balance of these health strategies would provide us a value that we can swallow.  More  more health insurance companies are jumping on board to give their customers this option, but it can be better and I will remember this the next time I am shopping for health insurance.

So I hope this labor day,  you relaxed ate some salads with all those steaks and thought about how hard you work and how your good health helps you pay more and more to a system that sees you as a dollar sign or two.

Reference:  Woolf, Stephen.  2010. A Closer Look at the Economic Argument for Disease Prevention.  Journal of the American Medical Association. 301 (5). http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/301/5/536.

Your challenge this week….Take a seasonal veggie like cucumbers, tomatoes, green beans, or eggplants or peppers and make it into a salad.  It can be your disease prevention salad.

Recipe

Pod Bean Salad

2 pounds of pod beans like green beans

1 can cannellini, kidney, or garbanzo beans (rinsed)

¼ - ½ cup of good olive oil

½ chopped red onion

Juice from 1 or 2 lemons

Zest from half a lemon

1 tsp minced garlic

1 tsp dill weed

1 tbl chopped mint or fresh oregano

Salt and pepper to taste

1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes

1 handful of crumbled feta cheese

Method:

Blanch beans in boiling water for about 1-2 minutes.  They should be bright and still slightly crisp.  Place beans in an ice water bath to stop the cooking process.  Mix dressing everything except beans, tomatoes, and feta in a bowl.  Add beans, tomatoes and feta and mix gently. Place in fridge until ready to serve. 

A Recipe for Flappy Mama Arms

I am going to talk about something many of us ladies hate to bring up.  Men might even cringe or possibly reflect on the fond memories of the ladies in their lives.  Yes, I am going to talk about our arms, not the whole arm, but the little flappy thing in the back of our arm that happens as we get older despite all the babies we lift and the work we do.  All of us frown at the thought of flappy arms and swear to firm them up after our kids get older, next summer, or for the New Year.  I don’t lift weights like I should, but I do exercise and to my horror, I noticed that I am developing the flap on the backs of my arms.

Instead of crying over it and making promises that I know I can’t keep.  I decided to take another try on gluten-free flour tortillas, a challenge that I intend to conquer.  Why tortillas, you ask?  Well that flappy arm is the benchmark of an auntie, a grandma, or a mom that takes me back to when the women in my family made tortillas.  So I plugged in some music, (I could have turned on the TV to a novella too, but not my style), tied on an apron and got to work.  As I was working, I thought about why we get this flap when we women work our arms so much.  We lift babies, prepare meals, clean, and work out when we find the time.  Heck, rolling out tortillas takes some effort, but I distinctly remember that flap on my aunt’s arm going flappety flap as she would roll the rolling pin and flip the tortillas in effort to make them perfectly round.   My own mother used to joke about her arms and flex her bicep claiming that she isn’t going to get that flap and I dare not mention if she has or hasn’t. 

I have come to the conclusion that it should be a marking of pride and it sure is nice to get hugs from ladies with flappy arms.  Well it’s nice to get hugs from any arms.   Now I am not saying quit exercising. We need to protect our bones from deteriorating and our hearts need some physical exercise, but our hearts also need a hugging kind of workout not the ShakeWeight kind. (That thing is goofy.)  I know we read all these magazines that have strappy tops and dresses and tell ourselves how much we wish we could wear those things, but hate our arms.   What I am saying is flex that bicep and let the arm hang low with pride, you deserve it and it really is a thing of beauty and great memories.  It is one of the reasons I love to cook.  

This week’s challenge…Bake something new and seasonal.  You will know what goes in it and feel good about eating and sharing it.  I had all these apples from my apple tree and made apple butter.  I worked out my arm flap cranking the food mill.  I also tried another recipe for Gluten Free flour tortillas and had the most success so far.  Other ideas include zuchinni bread, peach cobbler, pecan cobbler, corn and zuchinni fritters. Or try tortillas.

GF Flour Tortilla Recipe (It still needs some tweaking)

1 ½ cups of brown rice flour

1 cup of potato starch

2/3 cup of a fat (I used butter which was tasty, but lard, or oil may work well here) I would guess you could use shortening or margarine, but I don’t endorse manufactured trans fats

2-4 tbls of warm milk or water

2 tsp xantham gum

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

Combine dry ingredients then cut in fat with hands.  Add the milk one tablespoon at a time to help dough to stick together and add more if needed.  Knead into a lump and it will feel like play doh.  Grab a small ball and place on rice floured surface.  Get a small rolling pin dusted with rice flour and roll it out as round as you can to 1/8 inch thickness.  This is the hard part.  Use a spatula to scoop the tortilla and place it carefully on a heated skillet.  I use a cast iron.  Let the surface get a little bubbly and flip it like a pancake.  Leave it on for about 30 seconds, remove and place on clean towel.  Eat them immediately because they didn’t keep well.  I will work on that and repost.

P.S.  Rolling GF dough prevents the flappety flap of the arm because it is a slower process and there is no gluten to fight with. 

Tummy Tonic

I am so glad to be home.  We went to Wichita, Kansas for my son’s national track meet and I was expecting green grass, cooler temperatures, and some rain, but these poor folks are experiencing a terrible drought with record temperatures.   We didn’t see a day under 110 degrees the entire time we were there.  Not good weather to have a huge track meet!  Kids were collapsing on the track after their run brown grass everywhere, and the Arkansas River, which is usually filled bank to bank, was a trickle of water. 

I was really hoping that I would have some unique and different foods to report back on this blog, but nothing really impressed me all that much. I was really disappointed in their Gluten-free choices.  Upon doing some gluten-free restaurant research, we found that gluten free friendly really meant that my husband could have only about two salads on the menu.  I did find a gluten-free blog, but it was towards the last day. We did find a pretty decent pizza place that deserves some kudos—The Wichita Pizza Company. We also ate at a great barbecue joint across the street from a grain elevator.  Both restaurants were locally owned and in probably the not so popular sections of town.  This really got me thinking…

There are so many corporate restaurants in the nicer neighborhoods, but I do believe that there are a lot of people who search out the local holes in the wall only to be disappointed.  I would expect that various municipal chambers of commerce would assist more local small business owners become more viable in the more desired neighborhoods too. 

 I see this in Albuquerque as well, but I do have to say I am biased because I know my town and I don’t see this as often, but I have to say some of my favorite restaurants are in what is termed,  the war zone.  Although, I have to report that there are many people in the “war zone, who are aiming to make this a sought after part of town and I hope the city of Albuquerque is helping them.  I can definitely say that some of my least favorite parts of town are flooded with corporate restaurants and I stay away because they really hurt my tummy with all their processed salty fare that they make us ingest.  When I think this could be a whole other topic on its own and I might go on about it another time.  

I felt icky when I got home and I had to eat some beans and rice and a tonic salad to calm the icky. 

Refreshing Summer Salad (Sorry no picture)

1 half a large cucumber

1 small tomato

A handful of shredded lettuce

A half a lemon

2 tablespoons of plain yogurt

A few basil leaves, parsley, fresh mint or dill

Salt and pepper to taste

Dice veggies and place in bowl.  Place yogurt in bowl add lemon juice and seasoning and combine with veggies. 

A weekly challenge for you…

Yogurt is known for its entire tummy calming and gut cleansing properties because of the live bacteria cultures inside of it.  It is known for treating many intestinal ailments including diarrhea.   It is rich in protein, calcium, and B vitamins. It is also delicious both savory and sweet.  According to the International Journal of Obesity, consuming yogurt each day does help you lose weight.   It is a great alternative to milk for those who are lactose intolerant.

Try using yogurt in breakfast, snack, lunch and dinner. Tell me what you made.

I have lunch up above and another hint is that you can use it in place of mayo in a lot of dressings.

Peasant Pie with a Flaky Crust

I want to do a little bit of recount of last week’s topic and shed some light for my readers and myself.  This blog is forcing me to study during the summer.  I am interested in the concept of “peasant” food and agrarian movements and the relationship to much of the “green” awareness and urban/agricultural growth in the U.S., particularly the region I live in, the desert southwest.  I believe that “peasants” are commoditized.  Nowadays, we would call peasants, low-income (and often minority) population. Their culture tends to influence pop culture and I especially see this with food ways and traditions. 

I have noticed quite the following of going back to scratch cooking for one thing.  Heck, I am totally interested in making more people aware of this concept that seemed to disappear during the 1980s popular culture.  I really believe that a lot of people in my age group are more accustomed to fast paced processed food ways than previous generations and it is a trend that has grown since the 1950s.  The food industry has also caught on even if it means changing food labels to “all-natural.” 

Low-income and working-class populations from the past have managed to prepare foods in such a way that is economically efficient, energy dense and for the most part flavorful and this is a popular trend now.  Magazines, cooking shows, and newspaper articles are showing today’s folks how to cook on a limited budget because sadly, many of us don’t know how.  I really appreciate these ideas.  So we look to those who have survived on self-sufficiency which is a good thing, but we still have our mass producers who claim to be following the same principles, when they are not.  It is expensive to eat healthy.  I want to explore more about some of these movements so I will be reading about La Via Campesina, an agricultural movement developed in many Central American countries to curtail the devastation caused by agribusiness to the poor inhabitants in these countries.

I would really like to present a challenge for the week.  Choose a meal each day to make something from scratch.  I don’t mean go gather your own eggs or anything, but do make something that comes from a can or the freezer already prepared with more than one or two ingredients unless you added them.  Jam, prepared salad dressings and flavored yogurts are a culprit. 

My example

Breakfast- Peach French Toast Casserole (Kinda need to get up early)

Lunch-Caprese Sandwich  (Easy)

Dinner-GF Gnocci  w/chunky tomato sauce and salad dressed with olive oil and balsamic vinegar (awesome kids cook meal because making the gnocci is like playing with play-doh. (Easier than I thought)

Snack 1- Grape Slushies (Easy)

Snack 2- GF Caramel Apple Pie

Recipe

Gluten Free Pie Crust

I have never been a pie maker because the crust is so daunting and then when we converted to a gluten-free diet, this became such a challenge that I actually threw in the towel.  The crust falls apart, sticks to the counter or wax paper.  It has a sandy texture or is just plain awful. 

But I have two apple trees and they are ready for some baking and I really like the salty crust contrast with sweet tart apples.  I can say that I definitely got it.  Hurray for me.

2/3 cup of chilled butter or shortening of choice (you can probably mix the two)

1 cup of superfine white rice flour (

1 cup of tapioca or potato starch

2 tbls sugar

1 tsp of baking powder

1 tbl cold milk or ice water

1 tsp xantham gum

1/2 tsp salt

Combine dry ingredients and cut in butter or shortening. (If you have a food processor, I mixed dry ingredients with blade then grated butter with grater attachment.)  Add cold milk and it should make a soft dough.  Shape dough into a disk and wrap dough in plastic wrap and place in fridge for a couple of hours.  Remove disk and roll out on rice floured surface like parchment paper.  Place in pie plate.  I turned mine upside down grabbed the parchment and flipped it over.  A little messy, but some practice will improve this method. Fill with favorite pie filling.

Food Stratification

My husband told me a story about being at a friend’s for a dinner party.  He was standing in a line waiting to serve himself some food and another guest said that the food being served was “peasant food.”  The food being served was traditional food here in New Mexico.  He was really offended.  I don’t blame him.  What is so terrible about peasant food aside from the word peasant which does entail some derogatory meaning?   The food on the other hand is probably some of the smartest food this person was going to eat.  When I was a kid, “peasant” food was pretty much all we ate and for the most part it was pretty darn healthy.  It was mostly vegetarian and low in saturated fat, high in complex carbohydrates and micronutrients.   Not all our food was this healthy.  I drank loads of Kool-Aid, ate salami and bologna regularly and cookies with whole milk were often the snack of choice.  However, at dinnertime, my mom would definitely conjure up something creative and healthy and really tasty.   On the occasion we did go out, it was a treat.  Convenience foods that were easy to make and overly processed were too expensive and I think my mother knew better.   I know that some of these foods would have made my mom’s life a bit easier. 

The weirdest part about convenience foods while I was growing up was that they were more expensive.  Only the more affluent people could afford them and they were extremely unhealthy.   I can remember schoolmates teasing me about what I ate.  I ate wheat bread instead of white bread.  I ate the crusts.  I didn’t eat the school pizza.  I ate vegetables.  It seems that this trend is still around because my son gets some flack from the kids at school, but the opposite is true.  The convenience foods are less expensive and more available and it is the more affluent that can eat healthier.  I am really interested in this shift and I think that I am going to have to research it more to find out why the change and why do so many people still choose to eat the convenience foods despite their income level?  I know a lot has to do with taste preference, and there is a way to change it, but it is an investment that so many of us are unwilling to commit to and I can understand the reasons why.  That is why I am committed to posting whole food recipes on this blog, most of which are gluten-free and whole grain.  I am going try something new and I need your help. I am going to post a daily menu for the meals I make that are whole and healthy.  You can try the recipes or give me your ideas of what you make and I can adapt them for my family to eat.  Here it goes, your suggestions are appreciated.  Meanwhile, I am going to research the shift in class eating habits.

	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday	Sunday
Breakfast	Hazelnut Mocha Oatmeal	Grape Nuts w/skim milk, raisins and almonds	Blue cornmeal blueberry pancakes w/pinon, butter, and maple syrup, skim milk	Choco Cherry oatmeal w/almonds and skim milk	Tropical Oatmeal w/lite coconut milk, pineapple and orange juice	Grape Nuts w/skim milk, blackberries and almonds	Egg Scramble w/corn tortillas, salsa and cheddar
Lunch	Ice Cream (bad)	Peanut butter and Jelly w/Milk	Leftover Rice and Ice Tea	Asparagus, tomato and Swiss pizza on puff pastry, green salad and ice tea	Some kind of veggie sandwich from Which Wich and Ice Tea	Leftover red pepper pasta, salad and ice tea	Birthday party so who knows
Dinner	Fried Bologna sandwich, hot peppers, Watermelon and Fritos	Pinto Beans w/ Cheesy Spanish Rice, including bell peppers, lean grass-fed beef and tomatoes	Grilled Chicken sub w/spicy mustard, lettuce and tomato Apple, celery waldorf salad w/walnuts	Roasted Red Pepper Pesto w/GF pasta. Whole plant salad Wine and water	Fresh caught stuffed trout W/garlic bread crumbs and veggies, parsley lemon pesto, salad and skim milk	Going out	Chicken bratwurst w/sauerkraut and mustard, sweet potato fries, corn on cob, milk
Snacks	Homemade gf Chex mix	Banana smoothie Bing cherries	Cherries and Larabar Homemade PB rice krispie treat	Peach Bowl of Choco Pebbles	Cottage Cheese and Pineapple Grape and melon slushie	Grape slushie yogurt	PBJ on wheat bread w/skim milk Snow cone

Notes: 

It is a big week for us due to my son’s regional track practice and events so finding time to cook will be challenging.

On Monday, we had just returned from Colorado so this day was a bust.  No more cheat days for the month.

Grocery bill this week was about $150 which is $25 over what I try to spend

Exercise included pulling weeds every day and watering, running for 30 minutes 3 times this week

What are your goals this week?

Recipe of the Week

Blue Pancakes w/Pinons

1 ½ cups of blue cornmeal

½ cup brown rice flour

1 ½ cups of blueberries

½ cup pinon nuts

¼ cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

½ tsp xantham gum

2 eggs

1 ½ cups of milk or a mixture of buttermilk and regular milk or any milk of choice

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbl melted butter or oil

2 tbl softened butter reserved w/2 tbls of pinon nuts

Roast pinon nuts and combine dry ingredients.  Add wet ingredients and adding more milk for your desired consistency. Add melted butter, blueberries and pinon nuts.  Heat griddle to 350 degrees and start cooking.  Meanwhile, smash pinon nuts and softened butter together, serve w/maple syrup.