Ritual

Tradition simply means that we need to end what began well, and continue what is worth continuing. - Jose Bergamin

I took a bit of an unplanned pause from the blog this last week and just rested, ate, and walked a lot. Just what I wanted to do this week. On one of my walks I was thinking about the importance of ritual. I think when most people see this word they think candles and magic - I like this kind of ritual too, but there is so much ritual in our every day lives throughout the year that I think is so vital to true nourishment of our selves and our families.

Thanksgiving is the epitome of ritual in America. Many families celebrate this day with their own traditions every year; food, parades, football, beautiful tables lined with favorite dishes.

I think weaving rituals into our weeks and our months provide the same sense of knowing comfort, warmth and dependability that days like Thanksgiving provide once a year. I don't believe ritual has to be as elaborate as the word may sound, or as extravagant as Thanksgiving can be. But I have seen our small, sometimes unintentional rituals bring our family closer over time.

My husband and I have been watching Survivor since the show began. We started watching it in our small, one bedroom cottage we lived in before we got married. I always made the same meal  on the night it aired -"Survivor Casserole" a quick and easy casserole made up of things most homes have (thus the "survivor" aspect!). I've included the recipe below in this week's meal plan. Now that we have kids and all that comes with that, Anthony and I have a bit of nostalgia for when we have Survivor Casserole - a long ago simple ritual that brings back great memories.

These days our "Friday night movie night" serves up home made pizza, mine and Anthony's favorite beer (Chimay) and a movie. This is the one night we're not sitting around our table as we share a meal and it's a nice change of pace on a tired Friday night that everyone looks forward to.

There are so many little rituals - like the Parma Style Carrot Cake I make every year that no one in my family likes but me. It's one of my favorite cake's and I just get such a kick out of the fact that I'm the only one who eats it!

And then there's the "big" rituals. Like our gratitude practice - where each one of us says one thing we're grateful for from the day before the kids go to sleep. (To be fair, some days I'm just grateful that they're going to sleep!)

The other day after school Kai started to tell me a story from his day and then he stopped and said "I'll wait until we're all at dinner Mommy, then I can share it with everyone." That's when I knew that the most fulfilling and important ritual in our home is when we sit down for dinner as a family and enjoy the food (most of the time) and each other (most of the time) for one uninterrupted hour or so a day. It's here where we all know we can settle in and just be.

I know these may seem simple and maybe even silly, but I share them as a means of pointing out how even the silly and simple routines can build strength and nourishment. We don't need to wait for a holiday or a "day" to experience them. Just create your own ritual and end what began well, and continue what is worth continuing...

This week I'm picking up Russian kale, spinach, dill, spaghetti squash, butter lettuce, radishes, Fuji apples, satsuma tangerines, and me yer lemons from the CSA.

Sunday

Mom's Spinach Sausage Quiche (a little piece of heaven that reminds me of my mom and many rituals I've been at where it's been served- baby showers, brunches, Christmas morning...) This is really fun to make and great for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

1 (9-inch) frozen deep-dish pastry shell
8 oz. bulk pork sausage (any sausage works even veggie)
1/4 cup chopped green onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach. cooked, drained well (about 5/8 cup) (I have also used a bunch of fresh spinach and blanched it then chopped it up)
1/2 cup herb-seasoned stuffing mix
1-1/2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese (6 oz.)
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1-1/2 cups half-and-half
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Paprika

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Let frozen pastry shell stand at room temperature 10 minutes; do not prick the pastry shell. Bake 7 minutes. Remove from oven; set aside. Reduce oven temperature to 375 degrees. In a medium skillet, cook sausage, green onions and garlic over medium-high heat until sausage is done, stirring occasionally. Drain sausage mixture. Stir in spinach and stuffing mix. Sprinkle first cheese and then sausage mixture in pastry shell. In a medium bowl, combine eggs and half-and-half with a fork or whisk until mixed well but not frothy. pour egg mixture over sausage mixture in the pastry shell. Bake 30 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and paprika. Bake 15 minutes or until a knife inserted off-center comes out clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. makes 6 servings.

Uses: Spinach


Monday

Zucchini, tomato, and lamb lasagna
I used ground turkey but I bet the lamb adds a lot more flavor.
Since we use zucchini instead of lasagna noodles this is gluten free.
If you have a Mandolin - use it to cut the zucchini, if not just use a knife.

Tuesday
Wide egg noodles and dill
Boil egg noodles as package recommends. Add butter, chopped up dill and Parmesan to taste and toss.

TOASTED KALE & COCONUT SALAD WITH SESAME OIL
As printed in Super Natural Every day by Heidi Swanson
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 TSP toasted sesame oil
2 Tablespoons shoyu, tamari, or soy sauce
3 ½ lightly packed cups of chopped kale, stems trimmed, large ribs removed
1 ½ cups of unsweetened large-flake coconut
2 cups cooked farro or other whole grain (optional)
Preheat the oven to 350°F with two racks in the top third of the oven.
In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, sesame oil, and shoyu. Put the kale and the coconut in a large bowl and toss well with about two-thirds of the olive oil mixture.
Spread the kale evenly across two baking sheets. Bake for 12 to 18 minutes, until the coconut is deeply golden brown, tossing once or twice along the way. If the kale mixture on the top baking sheet begins to get too browned, move it to the lower rack.
Remove from the oven and transfer the kale mixture to a medium bowl. Taste. If you need a bit more dressing, add some and toss. Place the farro on a serving platter and top with the tossed kale.

Uses; Kale

Wednesday

Survivor Casserole
This is not my usual “healthier” fare. This can be made with low fat natural ingredients but it is one of those comfort food indulgences!

1 can cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup
1 can diced green chili's
1 onion diced
1 pint cream cheese
4 cups shredded, canned or diced chicken
Tsp pepper
6-10 large tortillas - whole wheat or flour
1 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Blend the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl
Layer the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan with torn pieces of tortilla (tear tortilla in 4-5 pieces). Then spread half the chicken mixture over the tortillas and top with half the cheese. Repeat the layers once and finish with tortillas covered in cheese. Bake until the cheese is crispy and golden, about 30 minutes. Serve up - best eaten while watching Survivor as they suffer eating their nasty rice!

Thursday
I'm going to try using the "noodles" in this squash and frying them up with some veggies like chow mein. We'll see how this goes...

Prick the spaghetti squash all over with a skewer so it will not burst while baking. Place whole squash in a shallow baking pan and bake in preheated 375 F oven for 1 hour.When cool enough to handle, cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise with a serrated knife. Scoop the seeds and fibrous strings from the center of the cooked spaghetti squash. Gently scrape the tines of a kitchen fork around the edge of the spaghetti squash to shred the pulp into strands. Set it to the side. and let the noodles drain in a colander and squeeze moisture out.

Uses; Spaghetti Squash

Friday
Homemade pizza's

Saturday
I didn't get enough turkey - believe it or not! I'm going to roast a fresh farm raised turkey (good value on these right now!) and have it again, make stock and then use the leftovers for more fun.

Playing in passion

I am so blessed to be playing within my passion these days more so than I ever dreamed. I wasn't even sure I had passions until the last year or so. I remember saying how much I admired people like my husband who have hobbies they adore and can't live without. I finally took a look at my own life and realized how much I love food - eating it, preparing it, photographing it, talking about it, reading about it, and now sharing with others how they can bring their families back to the dinner table around it. I had an opportunity this week to spend time with people who's passions are also in the realm of seasonal, organic, local food at a walk through of the future SOL Markets. It was so energizing to be in a space where I could share my ideas and enthusiasm with others. I think people under estimate how NOURISHING playing in your passion can be. What is life all about if not to be playing, passionate, and nourished? And what better place to share your passions than around your dinner table with family and community?

This week's Co-Op box: lettuce, swiss chard, red potatoes, rosemary, spinach, delacata winter squash,spaghetti squash, apples, tangerine, oranges,and melon.

I usually try to incorporate a slow cooker recipe into the week's mix to help relieve the prep and clean up that comes with a meal. I'm including more than one this week as we get revved up for Thanksgiving. We need all the low maintenance meals we can get!

Sunday
Open to play with the passion!
You can prep the veggies for tomorrow's chili to reduce your prep time on Monday.

Monday
Slow Cooker Vegetable Chili

Uses; add diced delecata squash to this recipe

Tuesday
Off or leftovers

Wednesday
Hawaiian Style Short Ribs and Rice

2 red onions, cut into 1 inch wedges, root ends left intact
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
4 pounds bone-in beef short ribs (about 6) in 3 1/2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup low-sodium soy sauce
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon Siracha or other chili sauce
3 cups 1 inch cubed pineapple (1 pound)

Place onions, garlic, and ginger in a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker. Top with short ribs in a tight layer. In a medium bowl, whisk together brown sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, and chili sauce. Cover and cook on high until ribs are almost tender, four hours. Add pineapple and cook until tender, 1 hour.
With a slotted spoon, transfer ribs, pineapple, onions, and ginger to a platter and tent with foil. Skim fat from cooking liquid. Serve ribs and pineapple mixture with rice: drizzle with some cooking liquid and sprinkle with scallions.

Thursday
Cottage Cheese and Spinach Gratin adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison
Gratin's are a really nice way to use up vegetables in a healthy, quick way. I added some cooked leftover zucchini to this. You can also use your swiss chard here.

1 pound spinach (about 2 bunches)
5 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dill seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups small-curd cottage cheese (nonfat or low-fat is fine) and/or greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
     
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously oil an 8-by-10-inch gratin dish or a 9-inch square baking pan. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the spinach with the water clinging to its leaves, tossing frequently, until the spinach is barely wilted. (Not all the spinach will fit into the skillet at first. Add some first, then as it cooks down, add the rest.) Press out the liquid from the wilted spinach and reserve it in a measuring cup. Finely chop the spinach. In a bowl, whisk the eggs, parsley, dill, coriander, cottage cheese, salt and a little pepper. Stir in the chopped spinach and 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking liquid and mix well. Pour into the prepared dish and bake until set, about 45 minutes. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes. To serve, cut into diamonds or squares.

Uses; Spinach

Friday
Sausage and Lentil Stew

2 tbsp. EVOO
1 lb. sweet Italian sausage, casings removed, crumbled (I use veggie sausage or chicken/turkey sausage)
1 onion, chopped (about 1 1/4 cups)
1 large carrot, chopped (about 1 cup)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
8 oz. brown lentils, rinsed
4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 bunch swiss chard coarsely chopped
1/2 cup Parmesan
Salt and pepper

In a large dutch oven, heat the EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook until browned; transfer to a bowl with a slotted spoon. Add the onion and carrot to the pot and cook until slightly softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the garlic and rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the lentils, broth and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender, 25 to 30 minutes. Stir in the escarole and sausage, cover the pot and cook until the escarole is wilted and the sausage is heated through, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Uses; Rosemary, Swiss Chard

Saturday
Spaghetti Squash Carbonara

Spaghetti Squash
salt and pepper
6 slices bacon or panchetta equivalent
4 leeks rinsed and thinly sliced
2 large eggs
1/2 ounce grated parmesan
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon

Prick the spaghetti squash all over with a skewer so it will not burst while baking. Place whole squash in a shallow baking pan and bake in preheated 375 F oven for 1 hour.When cool enough to handle, cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise with a serrated knife. Scoop the seeds and fibrous strings from the center of the cooked spaghetti squash. Gently scrape the tines of a kitchen fork around the edge of the spaghetti squash to shred the pulp into strands. Set it to the side.
Cook the bacon until crisp and transfer to paper towels. Use 2 tablespoons fat from skillet and add leeks, and season with salt and pepper and cook stirring often until leeks are golden brown about 10 minutes. Add the hot spaghetti squash, eggs, parmesan, and lemon zest. Add 1/4 cup of hot water or 1/2 and 1/2 if it looks like it needs moisture and mix.
Serve with salt, pepper and parmesan.

Uses: Spaghetti Squash

Stuffed Pumpkin and Spooky Halloween Dinner

The rainy day today was perfect cooking and baking weather. I wanted to share a recipe that one of the Garden of Eden Co-Op members submitted. We tried it tonight and it was delicious, fun, and the kids loved it. It was nice to try it out on the small crew tonight and I will definitely be making it for Thanksgiving since it was a success. It's pretty and tasty...perfect for the holidays. Pumpkin is one of my favorite foods. Dr. Steven Pratt is one of my hero's (he wrote SuperFoods RX and the books that followed) he named Pumpkin one of his 14 SuperFoods so I'll use any excuse to make it.

Pumpkin Stuffed With Everything GoodMakes
2 very generous servings

1 pumpkin, about 3 pounds

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/4 pound stale bread, thinly sliced and cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1/4 pound cheese, such as Gruyere, Emmenthal, cheddar, or a combination, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

2-4 garlic cloves (to taste), split, germ removed, and coarsely chopped

4 strips bacon, cooked until crisp, drained, and chopped (I used pancetta)

About 1/4 cup snipped fresh chives or sliced scallions

1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme

About 1/3 cup heavy cream (I used half and half)

Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat or parchment, or find a Dutch oven with a diameter that's just a tiny bit larger than your pumpkin. If you bake the pumpkin in a casserole, it will keep its shape, but it might stick to the casserole, so you'll have to serve it from the pot - which is an appealingly homey way to serve it. If you bake it on a baking sheet, you can present it freestanding, but maneuvering a heavy stuffed pumpkin with a softened shell isn't so easy. However, since I love the way the unencumbered pumpkin looks in the center of the table, I've always taken my chances with the baked-on-a-sheet method, and so far, I've been lucky.

Using a very sturdy knife - and caution - cut a cap out of the top of the pumpkin (think Halloween jack-o'-lantern). It's easiest to work your knife around the top of the pumpkin at a 45-degree angle. You want to cut off enough of the top to make it easy for you to work inside the pumpkin. Clear away the seeds and strings from the cap and from inside the pumpkin. Season the inside of the pumpkin generously with salt and pepper, and put it on the baking sheet or in the pot. Toss the bread, cheese, garlic, bacon, and herbs together in a bowl. Season with pepper - you probably have enough salt from the bacon and cheese, but taste to be sure - and pack the mix into the pumpkin. The pumpkin should be well filled - you might have a little too much filling, or you might need to add to it. Stir the cream with the nutmeg and some salt and pepper and pour it into the pumpkin. Again, you might have too much or too little - you don't want the ingredients to swim in cream, but you do want them nicely moistened. (But it's hard to go wrong here.)

Put the cap in place and bake the pumpkin for about 2 hours - check after 90 minutes - or until everything inside the pumpkin is bubbling and the flesh of the pumpkin is tender enough to be pierced easily with the tip of a knife. Because the pumpkin will have exuded liquid, I like to remove the cap during the last 20 minutes or so, so that the liquid can bake away and the top of the stuffing can brown a little.

When the pumpkin is ready, carefully, very carefully - it's heavy, hot, and wobbly - bring it to the table or transfer it to a platter that you'll bring to the table.

Serving

You have choices: you can cut wedges of the pumpkin and filling; you can spoon out portions of the filling, making sure to get a generous amount of pumpkin into the spoonful; or you can dig into the pumpkin with a big spoon, pull the pumpkin meat into the filling, and then mix everything up. I'm a fan of the pull-and-mix option. Served in hearty portions followed by a salad, the pumpkin is a perfect cold-weather main course; served in generous spoonfuls or wedges, it's just right alongside the Thanksgiving turkey.

I also made these Pumpkin Spiced Cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. They are delicious.
Recipe from Every Day Food Magazine.

¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 cup pumpkin puree

½ cup buttermilk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground clove

1 recipe Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly coat 2 12-cup muffin pans with cooking spray.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a separate, medium size mixing bowl, combine the pumpkin puree with the buttermilk and vanilla extract and mix well. In another medium size mixing bowl combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, and clove and mix well. In thirds, alternately add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture to the creamed butter, blending gently after each addition.
Using an ice cream scoop or a ¼ cup measure, divide the batter evenly among the 24 cupcake wells and bake until a toothpick inserted into the middle of each cupcake comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool the cakes on a wire rack in the pans for 15 minutes. Remove the cakes from the pans and continue to cool on the wire racks until completely cool.
Frost the cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting and serve.

Halloween's Spooky Dinner was a hit by the way, The menu was;
Mummy Meatloaf
Spiderweb Pizza
Severed Fingers
Blood Vein Soup
Blood berry Punch

Kai and I were having a howling good time preparing it and the dry ice in the punch was the best!!

Fun with Vegetables

I was reminded several times today why I love being part of a Co-Op (see previous post "Geeking Out on the Co-Op). There is the challenge that "new" and interesting produce provides, the conversation amongst friends that it can ignite, and more than anything the fun that seems to follow every box pick up...especially working with the amazing people at Garden of Eden. Today's pick up was especially fun when I was handed this little eggplant character...I'll leave the imagination up to you, but let's just say he's providing many laughs here with my two young boys and the bigger "boy" (daddy). I think I'll wait until later in the week to chop him up...it'll be a good stress reliever, especially living in a house full of men!

In addition to the eggplant in this week's Co-Op box I found spinach, Russian kale, butternut squash, mint, sorrel, pink lady apples, tangerines, dates and fuyu persimmons.

I am learning more and more about persimmons as fall progresses as it's not a fruit I'm used to playing with. I have generally taken the easy route and peeled it, chopped it and thrown it into salads. Fuyu's can be sliced and eaten raw. They can also be peeled and blanched (boiled in water a few minutes and then put into ice water) and eaten when ripe (they'll still be a little firm). Fuyu's can also be dried out and eaten like fruit snacks by peeling,slicing, and rising them with limes juice and setting them on a tray in an oven set on low with the door cracked open about 4 inches until they are leathery and no longer sticky. Around 3 hours.

I'm going to let them ripen this week and then try this Sweet Persimmon Bread later in the week.

• 1 apple or pear, pureed. About 1/2 cup
• 1 egg, white and yolk separated
• 2 egg whites
• 1 cup honey
• 1 1/2 cup mashed very ripe persimmons, skins removed
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons nutmeg
• pinch of salt

In a bowl mix together pureed apple/pear, egg yolk, sugar, mashed persimmons, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whip the egg whites with an electric mixer and set aside.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Alternate adding the flour and whipped egg whites to the persimmon mixture, stirring well before each addition.
Pour batter into lightly oiled bread pan and bake at 350F 40-50 minutes for cake/bread or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow to cool approximately 15 minutes before removing from pan and another 10- 15 before serving.
Tip: To cleanly remove the persimmon flesh from the skin, cut the fruit in half from top (the green stem) to bottom. Take a spoon and scoop out the fruit and toss out the stem and skin.

Uses: Persimmons and apples

This will be a week in which the key to success and nourishment will be in the planning. This s a busy week so some time dedicated to preparation on Sunday will make the week nights much easier.

Sunday (Prep day for this week)
Pulled Chicken

Vegetable Stock
Whenever I find myself with a lot of veggie odds and ends (herbs, onesies of potatoes or carrots, cabbage, etc.) I like to throw it all in a big pot of boiling water and make vegetable stock. Chop it all up and add any stems or skins. Add an onion or leek with trimmings, 2 bay leaves and some garlic or a more robust stock saute the veggies first then boil. The boil should take about 25-40 minutes then drain the broth into a storage container and store or freeze depending on when you're going to use it. This is a great way to to use up some veggies and herbs you don't know what to do with.

Date Bars
1 1/2 cups chopped dates
3/4 cup brown sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 stick of butter cubed
1 1/4 cups rolled oats
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking powder

Boil 1 cup water, dates. 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 tsp salt until jam like. Let cool. Mix remaining  ingredients. Press three-quarters oat mixture into the greased 8-inch baking dish. Top with date jam and remaining oat mix. Bake at 375 until golden, 30 minutes.

Uses: dates and leftover veggies

Monday
Leek and Potato Soup with Sorrel

Uses; Sorrel

Tuesday
Shredded Chicken with Kale and Lentils
Roasted butternut squash

Uses; Kale, squash

Wednesday
Off or leftovers

Thursday

This is a vegetarian recipe by Mollie Katzen. This is a filling, hearty main dish.
Use 2 large or 3 med. sized eggplants

• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 cups minced onion
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
• 2 teaspoons dried basil
• black pepper to taste
• 3 cups good bread crumbs (from good bread)
• 1/2 cup ground sesame seeds (use a blender, grind in quick spurts to flour-like consistency)
• 1 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• dash of cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• dash of paprika
• small amount of finely minced fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 375° F. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Using a teaspoon, scoop out the innards, leaving a shell approximately 1/4" thick. Set the eggplant shells aside.Finely chop the innards. Heat olive oil in a deep skillet. Saute the onions and garlic with the salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring intermittently. When onions are very soft and translucent (10-15 minutes), add the chopped eggplant. Cover and let cook another 8-10 minutes. Add tomato, basil and pepper. Cover and cook another 10 - 15 minutes over medium heat. In a large bowl, combine bread crumbs, ground sesame seeds, pine nuts and crumbled feta. Stir this mixture, along with the lemon juice, into the cooked vegetables. Mix well. Stuff the eggplant shells. Arrange them in a shallow baking pan and cover with foil. Bake for 30 minutes. Ladle some Bechamel sauce or melted cheese sauce over each individual portion. Garnish with cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika and parsley.

Friday
Off or leftovers

Saturday
Winter Minestrone