Tag Archives: NaBloPoMo

It’s not easy, making greens

NaBloPoMo 2010When our Thanksgiving hostess originally sent out my cooking assignment, she didn’t notice that one of the recipes had a box of stuffing in it. They’re a mostly gluten-free household, so I set about trying to find a replacement dish. (With prior approval, of course. I’m not about to unilaterally change the Thanksgiving menu.) I was watching the Thanksgiving episode of “Throwdown” while I was doing said thinking about side dishes, and Bobby Flay’s Brussels sprouts with pomegranates caught my eye. I’ve never actually eaten a Brussels sprout, but the dish looked so festive and sounded kind of tasty. So I emailed a link to Chloe and said, “How about this?” She got back to me pretty quickly to say the kids wouldn’t eat them but to make them anyway. Almost immediately afterward, her husband sent another reply saying, pretty simply, No Brussels Sprouts.

So I broke out the Mark Bittman and found a recipe for Rich Spinach Pie, which I turned into a rich spinach casserole. It looks pretty much like creamed spinach, but it doesn’t have any cream cheese in it. Which may or may not be a prerequisite for creamed spinach. I don’t know. I do know that it’s not much fun to pick through and de-stem 2 pounds of spinach. Which is why I encourage the use of child labor.

Spinach Kids

Rich Spinach Casserole
Adapted from “How to Cook Everything.”
2 pounds spinach, trimmed of thick stems and washed well
1 medium onion, chopped
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup cream
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
black pepper
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs (I’m using a gluten-free bread)
2 tablespoons butter

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Add the spinach and onion and cook for about a minute, until the spinach wilts. Drain thoroughly and cook a bit, then squeeze out as much of the water you can and chop it.

Put the spinach and onion in a bowl with the garlic, cream, eggs and about half the Parmesan. Mix well, then add salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the spinach into a greased casserole dish, then top with more Parmesan and breadcrumbs. Dot with butter. Bake until the mixture is hot and set and the top is brown, about 20 minutes. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

The green beans were much less work to process, so I didn’t enlist the children on this one. I parboiled the beans and then shocked them in some ice water, let them dry off and put them in a freezer bag. The bacon is in a separate bag within that bag, and the shallot-cider sauce is in a half-pint jar. I’ll warm it all up and toss it together just before eatin’ time tomorrow.

Green Beans with Shallots, Apple Cider and Bacon
from “Southern Living,” I think
2 quarts water
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 1/4 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
2 slices applewood-smoked bacon
1/2 cup chopped shallots (about 4 medium)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup unfiltered apple cider
1/2 cup unsalted chicken stock
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoons ground black pepper

In a Dutch oven, combine 2 quarts water and 1 tsp salt; bring to a boil. Add beans; cook 8 minutes or until tender. Drain.

In a large skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon from pan and drain on paper towels. Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon drippings in skillet. Add shallots and garlic; cook 2 minutes or until tender. Slowly add apple cider and chicken stock. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook 2 minutes or until mixture has reduced to 2/3 cup. Add beans; cook 3 minutes or until thoroughly heated.

Crumble bacon; sprinkle bacon, remaining 1/2 tsp salt, parsley and black pepper over beans.

How writing keeps me sane

NaBloPoMo 2010I wasn’t the most meticulous note-taker in college – that was Rockford – but I did make an effort to take notes. Before a test, I would transcribe all of my handwritten notes. Not so I could more easily refer to them again, but to help the ideas stick in my head. I don’t find myself needing to take notes on lectures very often anymore (although maybe I should take notes on the nightly news to help me stay abreast on current events. Or maybe I could just start watching the nightly news), but I do still write a lot.

Works-for-Me WednesdayCommitting words to paper (or the internet) helps me to remember things more easily, whether they’re Funny Things the Kids Have Said or Things I’d Like to Own or Laundry: How to Do It.

OK, so I don’t really have a How to Do Laundry cheat sheet. I do, however, keep lists of:

Books I’ve Read.
I have a very nice reading journal just for this purpose. If I don’t keep a record of what I’ve read, I am 98 percent sure to forget. And I have been known to reread a book without realizing it until halfway through. Which isn’t a tragedy, of course, but it’s annoying.

Chores
Not just for kids! I have a list of things that need to be done in every room of the house. I try to tackle one room every day, and when I actually accomplish that I flip to the next day. I will readily admit that cleaning toilets aren’t the first thing on my mind every day. Having a list helps me stay on top of things that I know wouldn’t get done if I didn’t have it written down.

Meals We Like
What I said about having a remarkably bad memory? I usually make our meal plan and grocery list on Friday night or Saturday morning — it’s a wild, wild life – and there have been many, many times when I’ve been unable to think of any meal I’ve ever made. Sad but true. This is why I started doing Menu Plan Monday – so I’d have an ongoing record of things we’ve had.

What I’ve Eaten
I haven’t actually done this in awhile, but I need to start again. I first started a food journal when I did Weight Watchers several years ago. I’m certain it would help again in my ongoing (and, for the last few years, fruitless) effort to lose weight. The primary reason I need to start again, though, is so I can figure out what’s causing me to feel so rotten a good bit of the time.

So clearly that stuff isn’t writing in the Hemingway sense of the word. (And neither, if we’re being honest, is any of the other stuff I write.) But beyond making lists and keeping records, writing keeps me connected. I spend the majority of my time with the under-6 set. They have their charms, but it’s nice to have an adult conversation sometimes. And right now, the best place for me to do that on a daily basis is here and through various social media outlets. There are so many people with whom I would not be in contact were it not for the internet and, of course, writing therein. (Three cheers for you, internet!)

Writing helps keep my mind, my house and my body* in order. It doesn’t just work for me; I don’t think I could function without it.

*Well, it helps my body when I make an effort. Let’s go with that.

Now we’re cooking with hummus

NaBloPoMo 2010Last night we had a few people over for a hummus party sponsored by Sabra. It was the second event I’ve done with HouseParty, and it was fun. We didn’t really party like it was 1999 — no confetti or paranoia about Y2K — but we did have hummus-stuffed chicken. I’d never made any sort of stuffed chicken, and I’d never cooked with hummus before. It was surprisingly good.

Monday: Leftover hummus-stuffed chicken

I made a lot of chicken yesterday, and I’m pleased to have enough left for dinner tonight. I am not often pleased to have leftovers, because I don’t always like to eat them. And then they sit in the fridge making me feel guilty for days, until I ignore them long enough for them to turn into a science experiment and then Rockford throws them away. But this was a really tasty dish, and I’m looking forward to having it again tonight. Here’s the recipe:

Menu Plan MondayHummus-Stuffed Chicken
Recipe from Sabra
1/2 cup Sabra hummus — I used the “Luscious Lemon” variety, and it gave the chicken a great lemony flavor
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 5-6 ounces each, tenderloins removed
1 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
4 large eggs, egg whites only
1 tablespoon water
1 1/2 cups Panko bread crumbs
Salt and pepper to taste
1/3 cup olive oil

Place trimmed chicken breast in a large zippered plastic bag. Pound with a meat pounder or a rolling pin until 1/4-inch thick. Repeat with all chicken breasts; each breast should be about 8 inches long and 6 inches wide.
Lay the chicken breasts smooth-side down on work surface and season with salt and pepper. Spread evenly about 2 tablespoons hummus on the chicken breasts leaving about 1/2-inch border all around. Roll each chicken breast and wrap each rolled breast in a sheet of aluminum foil or plastic wrap. Twist the ends like a candy wrapper and chill in the refrigerator about 45 minutes.

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Using 3 pie plates or shallow dishes, pour the flour in one, lightly whisk the egg whites and water in the other and place the breadcrumbs in the other. Unwrap the chicken breasts roll in the flour (shake off excess), then submerge in the egg whites (let the excess drip off) and then place in the breadcrumbs, use your fingers to press the breadcrumbs so that they stick.

Heat 1/4-cup olive oil in a large non-stick skillet until shimmering, about 4 minutes. Place the rolled chicken breasts in the oil, seam side down. Cook until golden, about 2 minutes on all sides. Put the chicken breasts (seam side down) in a baking dish and cook about 25 minutes or until thermometer registers 175 degrees. Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes. Using a sharp knife, slice on a bias into 4 or 5 pieces.

Tuesday: Chicken sausages and scalloped potatoes

I like the bangers & mash combo, but I didn’t want to make mashed potatoes this week. So Betty Crocker will be coming by to make some scallopeds for us.

Wednesday: Baked chicken & sweet potatoes

I haven’t had a baked sweet potato in a long time. Poppy ate them like crazy when she was a baby, but she rejected them the last time I served them. We’ll see what happens. (I’ll bet I can guess.)

Thursday: Grilled cheese sandwiches

I’d like to say I’m making some fancy gourmet grilled cheese sandwiches, but that would be lying. It’ll be American cheese all the way.

Friday: Pizza

I’m thinking I’ll try a fajita-inspired pizza this week, maybe with grilled chicken, beans, onions and peppers. And of course we’ll have a plain cheese one, for the picky among us.