It's a start

I have been slowly incorporating more fish into my diet-- I feel healthier when I eat it regularly, so I'm going to go with that for now.

Tonight, tilapia was on sale, and I almost always want piccata sauce. (What can I say, I'm a sucker for pickled capers.) A bunch of kale was wilting in the fridge.... put these things together, and you get dinner.

I have to admit, this sauce needs some work. The flavors came together nicely, but the consistency was too thick, and led to an overall heavier dish than I'd intended. It's a start-- albeit one that needs improvement quickly. Any ideas how to fix this? I think I might try less flour next time....

Piccata Sauce with Tilapia and Kale

Ingredients
3 tbsp butter
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp all purpose flour
1 3/4 cup vegetable stock
juice of one lemon
2 tbsp capers with juice
1 cup white wine
Salt and white pepper
1 bunch kale, stems removed and leaves chopped
2 fillets tilapia

Method
1) Melt butter over medium heat-- add garlic and saute until translucent, about 3 minutes.
2) Add flour and olive oil to pan; whisk until incorporated.
3) Keep whisk moving; add vegetable stock and lemon juice to pan. Stir until thickened, 1-2 minutes.
4) Add capers and wine, stir well.
5) Taste sauce; season with salt and white pepper as needed.
6) Stir kale into sauce. When well incorporated, add tilapia fillets to dish. Turn fish to coat with sauce; cover and let simmer 5 minutes.
7) Enjoy!

Happy leftovers

"They should just declare SuperBowl Sunday a holiday. Everything you want is closed anyway." <-- This was the remark from the Whole Foods cashier when I lamented to her that every place in town that sells Asian noodles was closed.

No matter, though-- a quick stop at the grocery store, and I was ready to make them myself. I poached a recipe from one of my favorite blogs (you do know Orangette, don't you?) and got quickly to work. Ultimately giving into this craving resulted in my eating dinner at 10:00 PM, but I think it was worth the sacrifice in timeliness. I imagine I'll think so even more at lunchtime tomorrow, with the happy leftovers I have to take to work.

Asian Noodles (as inspired by Orangette's husband)
adapted from this recipe

Ingredients
Sauce:
1/2 cup chunky style natural peanut butter
1 1/2 tsp. tamari
1 pressed clove garlic
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 tsp. sriracha sauce
1/2 tsp. sambal oelek
2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. water
1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
salt to taste

Noodles:
1/2 lb. spaghetti noodles
3 radishes (preferably the mutli-colored variety, best if from your CSA box), very thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, very thinly sliced
1 cucumber, halved, peeled, seeded and sliced into 1/2 inch wide pieces
1 bunch baby bok choy, sliced around the hemisphere into 1/2 inch wide pieces
4 scallions, white and light green parts only, sliced thin

Method
1. Boil noodles according to package directions-- please remember to salt the water well. Cook just shy of al dente-- they should still have a bit of a toothsome bite. Drain well and rinse with cold water until cool.
2. While pasta boils, make the sauce: combine all ingredients in a large serving bowl. Whisk, whisk and whisk some more until the sauce comes together-- this will take some time, but if you keep whisking everything will combine into a smooth sauce. Taste and re-season to your liking.
3. Prepare your veggies; I used a mandolin to slice my radishes and carrots uniformly.
4. Add the pasta to the sauce-- toss with tongs until well-coated.
5. Toss the veggies with the pasta until everything is combined.
6. Devour, preferably with chopsticks.

Enjoy!

A way to celebrate

We're on our third snow day of the week here in Albuquerque. No one can remember the last time the city was this cold. nor the last time the University closed for three days in one week. Personally, I'm looking for a way to celebrate.

I moved to New Mexico from the East Coast as a way to prevent my obligatory before-40 heart attack. Living here is a way to help myself learn to slow down-- and it worked, for a little while. But somehow I got caught back up in the hustle and the bustle this fall: I work two 20 hour/week jobs, sit on the boards of two student organizations, and volunteer with two professional organizations in town. Last semester, I worked 7 days/week most weeks. When I wasn't working, it was due to traveling (seven separate trips back to the East Coast last year?!), or due to illness-- most likely illness brought on by my hectic, stress-filled lifestyle.

Given this awareness, I have now come to recognize that this is my tendency-- even if I carve out time in my life, I will fill it (and quickly!) if I am not constantly vigilant against the over-scheduling. One week ago tomorrow, I gave my notice at the more stressful of my part-time jobs. That's an additional 20 hours of time every week I have just reclaimed. UNM responded by giving me three days off this week-- and I am looking for a way to celebrate both my increase in free time, and the early reprieve given to me this week. :) An impromptu dinner with friends and a homemade chocolate cake sounds about right.

Chocolate Cherry Cake (adapted from The Witchy Kitchen)

Ingredients (Cake)
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
3/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. red wine vinegar
heaping 1/4 cup dried cherries

-- Ingredients (Glaze)
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp. cocoa powder
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
4 tbsp. vanilla almond milk

-- Method (Glaze)
1. Combine powdered sugar and cocoa in a small bowl; stir until well combined.
2. Add vegetable oil and milk; stir well with a fork until smooth and combined.

Method (Cake)
1. Preheat oven to 350*. Coat an 8"x8" glass dish with oil or cooking spray.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt and baking soda. Stir well.
3. Create a well in the center of dry ingredients. Add yogurt, vegetable oil, coconut milk, vanilla extract and red wine vinegar.
4. Stirring slowly, work from the center out to mix all ingredients together. Continue gently stirring until mixture is uniformly combined.
5. Toss cherries with a scant amount of flour, to coat. Incorporate into batter.
6. Pour into prepared baking dish.
7. Bake in center rack 28 -- 33 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
8. While cake cools, prepare glaze.
9. Invert cooled cake onto another dish; re-invert onto a serving dish, so that the top of cake is face up.
10. Pour glaze over cake; decorate with cherries if desired.

Enjoy-- preferably with a glass of sparkling wine and great friends.

A day for soup

It is colder outside than it is in Alaska, today. This makes me sad, and encourages my longing for warm, soothing foods. Today has been a day for frozen, bursting pipes, cold gusts of wind, and snuggling inside. It has been a day for soup.

Following a late lunch and an eventful afternoon, I took a long, hot shower. I had a lovely glass of Tempranillo (Trader Joe's, $5.99/bottle thank you very much), and a plate of incredible cheeses with pretzel thins. For dinner, homemade miso soup. I hope it warms you some.

Vegan Miso Soup

Ingredients
4 cups water
1 strip kombu
3 scallions, thinly sliced
1 block firm silken tofu (the kind in a box, not packed in water)
1/3 cup mellow/white miso

Method
1. Place water and kombu in a medium sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then reduced heat and simmer (covered) for 5 minutes.
2. While broth is boiling, cut tofu into small cubes.
3. Add tofu and scallions to broth; remove kombu piece carefully.
4. Slice kombu into thin strips, then cut the strips into small pieces. Add back to the soup.
5. Reduce heat to its lowest setting; add the miso, stirring slowly and well. It is important not to boil the miso, as that will negate all its healthful properties.
6. When miso is dissolved, remove from heat and serve.

Enjoy!

To combat burst pipes and frigid temps

While I'm grateful for a snow day today, I did not move to New Mexico to endure -20* windchills and ice-slicked roads. It seems that Mother Nature is less than concerned with my reasons for living here, though, as these are exactly what I awoke to this morning.

I couldn't decide whether to make miso soup or Greek Lemon and Rice soup, so I solicited some Facebook feedback. Overwhelmingly, my friends advised that I choose the Lemon and Rice. One friend wrote, "The sunniness will be such a wonderful contrast to the weather!" Kristin-- you are a genius, and could not have been more right. Plans in place, I started search recipes, intending to eat lunch at a reasonable hour.

Once again, the powers that be failed to notice my intentions. Even though we left our faucets dripping last night and all day today, one of the pipes in our ceiling burst. Thankfully, we rent this house-- so our landlord has been vacuuming up the water, and the plumber was able to get here this afternoon. After helping to control the damage a little bit, I threw some brussels sprouts and a sweet potato in the oven, then got started on this soup. I think it's the perfect thing to combat burst pipes and frigid temps. I hope it brings some sunlight to you, too!

Greek Lemon, Rice and Egg Soup

Ingredients
2 quarts vegetable stock (I used one quart of rich stock and one quart of a lighter, bullion-based broth because I wanted a lighter flavor)
8 tbsp. short-grain brown rice
2 eggs + 2 egg yolks
1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt and white pepper

Method

1. Reserve one cup of stock; set aside.
2. Bring the remaining liquid to a boil in a soup pot.
3. Add the rice, and stir well. Reduce heat to a light simmer-- cover and let rice cook for about 35-40 minutes (this is high altitude timing. You might reduce the cooking time at sea level.)
4. Juice the lemons (I used three and a half, but best to measure) over a strainer-- you don't want any seeds in this soup.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk eggs, egg yolks and lemon juice together until frothy. Season with salt and white pepper to taste.
6. Add the reserved broth to the egg and lemon mixture. Stir the mixture into the soup pot.
7. Remove from heat, and whisk the soup continually for a few minutes. You want the eggs to thicken, but not to scramble.
8. Serve immediately, drizzled with good olive oil and preferably with both sunlight streaming through the window and a slight self-delusion that it is actually warm outside. :)

Enjoy!

*As a slight aside-- I'm working on buying a camera to post better photos, but things are suddenly tighter around here financially. Anyone with tips for buying a good digital camera on the cheap is encouraged to comment.

Derailed?

Also-- what if I learn to take vacation without forgetting how to feed myself? Although I'm thrilled to have walked away from my Thanksgiving trip a few pounds lighter, I didn't feel healthy and that I was taking care of myself well.

Back on track today. Went to the grocery store last night and am all loaded up with the fixings for this week's meals. I'm experimenting a bit with the dairy question-- I have an instinct that I may eat better with it's inclusion (maybe because of the fat or protein question? I have no idea.) so I'll give it a try.

An update from yesterday:

Breakfast: coffee with coconut hazelnut creamer and stevia, oatmeal with peanut butter and maple syrup

Lunch: Whole Foods prepared foods-- sweet chili tofu, autumn couscous (includes squash, cranberries, sage, etc), salad with cranberries, candied walnuts, red onion and feta cheese; fresh carrots

Snack: kiwi; two chocolate truffles; orange

Dinner: roasted asparagus; rosemary-thyme fingerling potatoes with balsamic vinegar and parmesan; poached egg

Breakfast: coffee with coconut hazelnut creamer and stevia, oatmeal with peanut butter and maple syrup, apple, banana

Snack: low-fat vanilla yogurt, frozen fruit

I think this blog is a work in process, almost always. I keep hoping and waiting to discovery or define the perfect pattern of posting sot hat it fits with my life and still gets the *right* content here. I'm beginning to wonder what value that formula might add, though. Maybe I'll just keep throwing things up here. If folks want to read, great-- and if not, at least I'll have a good chronicle for myself.

What if.....

-- What if I focused intently on being very aware of what I put into my body?
-- What if I let go of restrictions and denials, but instead choose abundance and celebration in every meal?
-- What if I post that appreciation here, so that I can remind myself to be thankful and aware?
-- What if I start today?

Breakfast: a glorious cup of coffee with coconut milk based creamer in hazelnut and stevia; oatmeal with pumpkin, dried cranberries, raisins and spices.

Snack: a decaf soy caramel brulee latte from Sbux; half a red bell pepper; a carrot; half an english cucumber

Lunch: brown rice, caramelized onions and lentils; half an acorn squash, roasted; half an avocado, lightly salted; leftover Thai veggies in coconut milk sauce from Annapurna's; huge salad with Amy's Sesame Shitake dressing; an apple

Snack: a banana; one chocolate chunk cookie

Dinner: white bean cassoulet; roasted cauliflower; green salad; bread; two and a half glasses wine

Dessert: cherry cobbler with Dreyer's Slow Churned Vanilla ice cream