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
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
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.
Yum! Thanks, Julie. I am inspired. I agree about not getting enough turkey. I learned that Brock likes turkey and wants to know why we only have it once a year... I will have to make them more of a regular meal at our house. They're not so hard other than taking a long time in the oven! Love the quiche, too. My dad always made it on those nights when he cooked so it reminds me of him.
ReplyDeletei love this post. :)
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