Whole Wheat Biscuits with White Gravy

As I may have mentioned before, I grew up on a farm, in the middle of the woods, in the middle of nowhere, in a 600 square-foot house where the electricity worked - sometimes.

Going back to visit my parents occasionally, I'm still often surprised to find the electricity functioning flawlessly, the floors redone, or other upgrades slowly introduced as my parents build their beautiful, "forever" home out of the quirky little farmhouse I called home as a child.

Years later, regardless of the urban home where Zach and I now live, with a garage, I still occasionally catch myself noting an otherwise subconscious, pervasive awareness of my "farm girl" roots. Whenever I'm helping a post-op orthopedic patient out of their wheelchair when they return from the OR, and I catch a skeptical glance directed at my genetically small-boned frame from a big burly guy when I motion to him to lean on me, I always reply, without thinking or hesitation, "I'm a farm girl - I'm stronger than I look." My patients always, invariably, break into laughter, and then, reassured somehow, fling their weight unhesitatingly onto my shoulders. And, thankfully, we haven't fallen down yet.

I'm a farm girl. I'm stronger than I look.

I savor long hikes or or runs in the mornings, across pavement now, yes, but I still fix us biscuits and gravy for our weekend brunches - healthy, light biscuits and gravy, but Southern, down-home farm biscuits and gravy still!

Whole Wheat Biscuits with White Gravy

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 T sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup 1% milk or soymilk
1/4 cup butter or light vegan marg, melted

1 lb. lean turkey sausage, casings removed, OR 1 lb. "sausage style" soy crumbles, such as Morningstar Farms brand
2 T dried onion flakes (very useful for a good little burst of intense onion flavor)
1/3 cup whole wheat flour, rounded
4 cups 1% milk
1/4 tsp poultry seasoning, rounded
Dash of hot sauce
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

~ Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
~ For the biscuits, stir together the flours, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Pour in the milk, and stir until just combined. Stir in the melted butter or vegan marg, again until just combined. You will now have a very light dough - I usually give it a very gentle knead or two just to bring the dough together.
~ Scoop the dough by 1/4 cup-fulls onto the baking sheet. At this point, I set them aside until the gravy is nearly ready. When you're ready to bake the biscuits, transfer them to the oven and bake for 15 minutes - until golden brown.
~ For the gravy, coat a large skillet with cooking spray and brown the turkey sausage or soy crumbles over medium heat, using a wooden spoon to break up and crumble the sausage into small pieces.
~ When the sausage or soy crumbles are browned, reduce the heat to low and stir in the onion and flour, just until well combined.
~ Pour in the milk, poultry seasoning, hot sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, stirring well and using the wooden spoon to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet. (This is usually the time I slide the biscuits into the oven...)
~ Increase the heat to medium, and stir the gravy constantly until thickened.
~ Serve the biscuits topped with a generous helping of glorious gravy!

Dark Chocolate Pecan Blondies

With all the glorious bounty of fresh summer fruit, it's been delightfully easy to continue maintaining our "mostly fruit desserts" resolution. I can't deny, though, that I still often I feel compelled by the urge to bake, and I do always love the challenge of creating more healthful alternatives to traditional confections. This weekend, since we were driving to South Carolina on Saturday evening to join our friends Emily and Aaron in celebrating their 3rd wedding anniversary,

I had the perfect opportunity to play with flour, some dark chocolate and the oven!

Great minds think alike (or maybe Emily and I just know each other too well after having been roommates for 3 years back in college :-), because Emily also treated us to a batch of perfectly fudgey brownies (when it comes to the fudgey vs. cakey brownies debate, I am always decidedly on the side of fudgey brownies) with a flawless dark chocolate ganache...

My contribution was a bit on the blonder side...

Dark Chocolate Pecan Blondies

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup butter or light vegan marg
1/4 cup applesauce
1 3/4 cups (packed) brown sugar
4 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped pecans, divided
2/3 cup dark chocolate chips, divided

~ Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 8X8 baking pan with cooking spray, followed by a dusting of flour.
~ Stir together the flour, salt, and baking soda.
~ In a large, microwave safe bowl, melt the butter or light vegan marg.
~ Whisk the applesauce and brown sugar into the melted butter or marg.
~ Vigorously beat the egg whites and vanilla into the brown sugar mixture.
~ Stir in the flour mixture until just combined.
~ Fold in 1/4 cup pecans and 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips.
~ Pour the batter into the baking pan, and scatter the remaining pecans and dark chocolate chips on top.
~ Bake for 35 to 40 minutes - until the batter is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean.
~ Serve warm or cooled...

HAPPY WEEKEND! :-)

Cue the Music: Getting to Know Me...

Gina of The Candid RD, a gorgeous blog full of Gina's extensive and delicious nutrition knowledge, just posted a fun interview-style survey entitled "Getting to Know me," and I had such an enjoyable time reading her answers that I decided to take her up on the invitation to her readers to answer the questions on our own blogs! I also want to pause for an enthusiastic moment and highly recommend Gina's knowledgeable, colorful, energetic blog! She's written extensive posts on everything from fiber to farmed vs. wild salmon - a girl after my own heart!

(One of my favorite photos from the last time I was in Israel, Fall of 2006... It's been too long... We're saving up for the plane tickets, a little at a time!)

Getting to Know Me... (Does anyone else suddenly have the urge to start singing the soundtrack from The King and I? :-)

What is your current obsession?
Fresh strawberries. Pineapple. Cantaloupe. Avocados. More strawberries. I love summer!

What is your weirdest obsession?
Our cat, Fritz, is obsessed with shoes - specifically dragging our shoes up the stairs even though Zach's shoes are nearly as big as Fritz is. Now that's a weird obsession...

(Fritz sitting in his homemade cardboard box cat bed, looking very innocent)

Myself, I'm obsessed with cold breakfast cereals. If I'm home alone for lunch, I almost always have cereal, and I've mentioned before that when Zach is out of town I sometimes have cereal for supper... *sheepish expression* Zach worries that cereal is an inadequate lunch, but I think plain shredded wheat, skim milk, homemade peach yogurt, and a banana are both nutrient dense and tempting, no? :-) And I promise that most days I have salads for lunch... :-)

Starbucks or Peets?
Oh dear, I've never been to a Peets either! I would likely say Starbucks anyway - Earl Grey Tea Latte with skim milk, please... :-)

What's for Dinner?
Jalapeno chili, homemade whole wheat bread, and a salad with spring greens, almonds, raisins, and balsamic vinegar!

What would you eat for your last meal?
I'm the mushy type, so it's hard for me to write this without choking up, but definitely my Grandmother's black-eyed peas, stewed tomatoes, and cornbread.

What was the last thing you bought?
Oh dear, this isn't exciting at all... Shampoo. It was, um, raspberry shampoo... On sale... Hmmm, still not very exciting. Well, the most recent interesting item I purchased was a 1.5 pound wedge of Parmesan cheese at the bulk foods store...

What are you listening to right now?
Birdsong and the washing machine cheerfully washing clothes... The CD currently in my car is Arm's Way by Islands. Awesome!

What is your favorite ice cream flavor?
I absolutely cannot decide between Marble Slab's Cake Batter ice cream or Godiva Belgian Dark Chocolate... Trust me, I've been trying to pick a favorite between those two for years! A noble quest, I believe... :-)

What do you think of the person who tagged you?
Although I only know Gina through the blog-world, I am so glad I "met" her across the web - I truly admire her knowledge and joyful spirit!

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?
To Israel with Zach, to have supper in the old city of Jerusalem, up the stone steps and around the corner from the Western Wall, sitting at a cafe table beside my favorite falafel stand (the one where, uncertain about the role of French fries as a side dish, the stand owner tucks French fries into your falafel-filled pita...)

Which language do you want to learn?
In terms of learning a completely new language from scratch, it's always been one of my dreams to learn Russian, captivated as I am by the beauty of the language and it's literature. I'm still determined to do so, although my tentative attempts have proven to me that the task will likely take me a while! More immediately, I'm working on improving my Spanish, which is functional but far from eloquent!

What is your favorite color?
My answer is always black. However, this statement usually leads to a brief argument about optical physics, a topic which I am not qualified to debate quite so passionately. Depending on whether one is thinking in terms of refraction or absorption, black does not refract visible light (leading some to inform me that black is not a "color" per se), because, instead, black absorbs all frequencies of visible light (leading me to reply that black is therefore arguably all colors, one of the many reasons it remains my favorite color). I've given this entirely too much thought, as I'm sure you can tell... Regardless, when it comes to clothes, eyeshadow, cars, and general optical philosophy, black is always my favorite color. If I'm decorating a house or planting flowers, however, I default to my second favorite color, purple... (*high five, Gina!* :-)

What is your favorite piece of clothing in your own wardrobe?
Oh goodness, that's a hard question... I sympathize completely with Gina's words about being a student on a budget (or a recently graduated, soon to be once again student, in my case... :-) and therefore not being able to justify purchasing new clothes... I can't remember the last time I went clothes shopping for myself! (I do love picking up clothes for Zach every once in a while - it works out perfectly that he doesn't like clothes shopping, but gets all excited about new clothes, while I love clothes shopping for him... :-) I still have entirely too much fun mixing and matching funky outfits from my recycled, mostly second-hand shop clothes collection, though, and I think my hands-down all-time favorite single piece of clothing is a pair of perfectly fitting jeans that I found at a second hand shop for only two dollars... There's nothing quite like the nearly-elusive ideal pair of jeans...

What is your dream job?
I am so fortunate to be able to say, the job I have right now - working as a nurse in a hospital, spending whirlwind nights and days helping people recover, sometimes watching people die, crying and laughing with patients, deciphering Doctors' illegible orders, holding hands, saying "big stick, sorry" while starting lots of IVs, cleaning giant gaping wounds, trying to make pain go away, walking 2880 steps each day at work (thanks to a pedometer, I counted!), and loving every minute of my 13 hour shifts.

What is your worst habit?
I am so indecisive about small decisions... I know it drives Zach bonkers, although he's so patient with me. Sometimes he has to "bribe" me into making decisions, such as "If you pick the movie we're watching this weekend, I'll make the salads for dinner..." I'm trying to work on my small-decision making, really, but I find it quite challenging as I tend to be analytical about decisions, and, well, with small decisions there's nothing of major impact to analyze, leaving me and my mental algorithms at an impasse. Major decisions, though, such as "Should I change careers?" No problem!

If you had $100 right now, what would you spend it on?
I'd put it towards our next mortgage payment on the house, which is due again at the end of the month... I know, so boring and pedestrian of me.

Do you admire anyone's style?
Yes! You've heard me mention before how my friend Kathleen is so winsome and glamorous? She's my style inspiration - both in terms of grace and elegance in navigating life, and in terms of clothes and fashion!

What are you going to do after this?
I worked last night, but I haven't gone to sleep yet because because I'm off work today and I want to savor every glorious moment! I'll probably take a tiny nap, then clean the house, and then meet Zach for lunch at a Japanese restaurant near the hospital where he's currently rotating! Yay for surgery days when Zach gets a longer lunch break if the O.R. isn't too booked!

What are you favorite movies?
I Heart Huckabees, Miracle (yep, the Disney hockey movie :-), the first Pirates of the Caribbean movie, Medicine Man (an obscure early 90s Sean Connery movie), all of the Original Series cast Star Trek movies, and definitely, definitely, Pride and Prejudice, both the miniseries and the newer movie.

What is your favorite fruit?
Glorious, glorious fresh pineapple...

What is your favorite book?
If I had to pick just one, William Faulkner's Absalom, Absalom! However, I've had four favorites that have been close to my heart for years and years: Absalom, Absalom!, of course, and also Shakespeare's Othello, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and Dostoyevsky's Crime and Punishment. Of books that I've read for the first time very recently, I'm awed by John Dufresne's Louisiana Power and Light.

Do you collect something?
Zach and I collect books, in mammoth, out of control quantities... We have, I jest not, thousands of books stored on shelves, windowsils, and decorative piles all around the house... I actually think I have a book-collecting problem...

What is your favorite smell?
Fresh baked bread, and, before the bread is in the oven, the scent of proofing yeast! Thank you, Steph - I'm so glad I'm not alone! :-)

What are you most proud of?
The fact that I've always, once I knew a decision was right, followed my dreams and instincts even when family members and friends have levied upon me everything from doubtful looks to shouted criticism. If I had listened to skepticism and hadn't followed what I knew was true for my journey in life, I never would have found my dream job in the career where I belonged, Zach and I wouldn't have purchased the fixer-upper house with kicked-in doors and no working toilets that is now our gorgeous, peaceful home, and I might not have gone to hear the Red Stick Ramblers play on a Tuesday night in Baton Rouge when I was supposed to be lesson planning for the course I had to teach the next day and consequently I might not have met Zach... but I did, all of these things, and my life is infinitely fuller and filled with joy as a result.

How many times do you press the snooze button before you get up?
I confess I don't press the snooze button at all - I'm one of those people who, when required to get up at a certain time, will fling myself out of bed at the first tone of the alarm. Zach usually presses the snooze button 2 or 3 times if he reachs it first, though... :-)

Cats or dogs?
Both! :-) There's a kitty sitting in my lap right now as I write this...

What do you dislike about yourself?
Physically, there's a reason you'll rarely see a photo of me with my hair pulled up (even though I always wear my hair up in a French twist at work) - I don't like my ears! They're just a little too big, if you ask me...
Personality wise, see "indecisive about small decisions," above... Sigh...

What do you like best about yourself?
Physically, I like the fact that I'm really tall! Very useful for reaching glasses on the top shelf and climbing over fences...
Personality wise, I'm glad that the one thing for which I want to be remembered is compassion, even though some people tease me for being a softy. I'm soft-hearted. And I laugh a lot. I'm grateful for both of those traits.

Complete the following: Love is...
Love is knowing that whever my love is, now that I've found him, is home for me... and knowing that one thing, that simple, pure thing called love, is my everything. The rest is just tables and chairs.

Back in the kitchen, Zach and I are going bulk foods store this weekend, so I have a feeling all the mozarella, parmesan, and tinned tomatoes from my previous trip are about to make an appearance on the blog soon... Especially since the tomato plants in our garden are hinting that we should use up the tinned tomatoes before we're innundated with fresh ones!

Till next time... Cheers!

Zach's Garlic Lime Barbecue Sauce

At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, I shall say that yesterday truly ranked among The Great Weekends of All Time. Despite working on Saturday night, I had such a great night at work that I arrived home Sunday morning feeling energized rather than exhausted, so instead of scooting into bed to take a nap I changed into shorts and a tee-shirt, and Zach and I drove to a nearby park to play tennis! It had been 4 years since I last played, so I was more than a little rusty, but it felt sensational to run, leap, and volley in the morning sun.

Returning home, we showered, changed, and then had a grilling afternoon! One of our favorite weekend pastimes has rapidly become an elongated, unhurried, leisurely afternoon beside the grill, sharing crisp cold IPAs and chatting about everything. When Zach grills I become the sous-chef, which I love. I prepped trays and trays of veggies on the patio table while Zach worked his magic with a marinade and basting sauce he began concocting three days in advance...

Zach's Garlic Lime Barbecue Sauce

* Zach is a completely intuitive cook, somehow always having a nearly psychic sense of the amounts and flavors to combine, and thus his recipes - and sauces in particular - emerge without any ingredient quantities to note, despite my attempts to watch and approximate his measurements. Consequently, this recipe entirely employs the "to taste" method... :-)

** Onion juice and garlic juice are 2 of our favorite ingredients for powerfully flavored marinades and sauces... Zach highly recommends them!

1 T butter or light vegan marg
1 onion, minced
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
Brown Sugar
Honey
Mustard
Liquid Smoke

Lime Juice
Minced garlic
Garlic Juice
Onion Juice
Cajun Seasoning

~ To make you basic barbecue sauce, saute the onion in the butter or vegan marg in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until the onion is limp and translucent. Reduce the heat to low, and stir in the ketchup, cider vinegar, and brown sugar, honey, mustard, and liquid smoke to taste.
~ Remove the barbecue sauce from the heat, allow it to cool, then stir in generous splashes of lime juice, minced garlic, garlic juice, onion juice, Cajun seasoning, and salt and pepper to taste.
~ Your resulting sauce will be glorious for marinading pre-grilling and basting during grilling... We use it to coat chicken, tofu, tempeh, hamburgers, asparagus, mushrooms, and my personal favorite, thick slices of eggplant! It's also delicious for making baked dishes in the oven too, such as baked chicken, baked tofu, or baked eggplant...

(Our kitties want to wish a very Happy Father's day to Zach, their Human-Dad... :-)

Broccoli with Oregano Infused Olive Oil

Before I begin, I must digress and tell y'all about the incredibly cool present that Miss Brenda, Zach's mom, gave us for Christmas last year - a vintage Tupperware microwave steamer!

Not only does this clever tool appeal to my fondness for all things vintage kitchen-ware (some girls long for vintage Oscar de la Renta dresses, I long for vintage Pyrex), but it makes veggie steaming the absolute easiest process imaginable... and, during sticky summer days such as these (it's reached 98 degrees already this morning!), I don't even have to fire up the stove-top to steam something light and lovely and green...

(One of my favorite vintage Fire King dishes... :-)

We're especially fond of steamed broccoli, and while we often are in raptures over the simple flavor magic that occurs when steamed broccoli is sprinkled just with lemon juice, salt, and pepper, last night our herb garden called as I was transferring the broccoli into the steamer.

Our garden soil's natural condition is pure Georgia clay. Thick and red, Georgia clay is capable of rapidly alternating - depending on the weather - between a fiercely sticky paste that threatens to entrap the soles of your shoes permanently and a rock solid mass that can rival concrete in its durability. I've been slowly, one step at a time as the budget allows, attempting to improve the soil quality in our garden beds, and while we now have happy tomato plants for the first year one particular variety of plants has grown with unbridled enthusiasm from the very, clay-laden beginning: herbs. Our rosemary bush catapulted from 6 inches to 3 feet in height in one season, our chives are threatening to spill over into the rose garden, and the basil is nearly as tall as the tomato plants. As fast as we can dry, store, and give away herb bouquets as presents, our herbs keep multiplying! I love sitting by the herb garden in the evening, drawing inspiration from their ability to thrive - with great joy de vivre, it seems to me - even under less than ideal conditions.

Our latest addition to the herb collection is a jaunty little oregano bush, and since it too has doubled in size since I planted it a month ago, I figured it wouldn't mind if I trimmed a few stalks to enliven our broccoli...

Broccoli with Oregano Infused Olive Oil

1 1/2 lb broccoli florets
1/3 cup olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/8 cup coarsely chopped fresh parsley (or the same amount dried)
2 rounded T coarsely chopped fresh oregano (or 2 tsp dried)
1 tsp anchovy paste (optional - leave this out for the veg/vegan version)
1/8 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

~ Steam the broccoli according to your preferred technique, and transfer to a large serving dish.
~ Take 1 T olive oil from the 1/3 cup, place the 1 T in a small saucepan or skillet, and pour the rest of the olive oil into a food processor.
~ In the 1 T olive oil over medium high heat, saute the garlic until it's nicely golden brown.
~ Pour the browned garlic into the food processor, along with the parsley, oregano, anchovy paste if you like, salt, and pepper. Whir this glorious mixture together until well-blended.
~ Drizzle the herb oil over the steamed broccoli, and serve warm...

Humble Food: Asparagus and Potato Soup

This morning, I'm thinking about asparagus - the epitome of spring and summer, light, airy, pungent, green, earthy, a slender, mysterious seasonal gift.

Asparagus and I have long had a complex relationship. My favorite vegetable, and Zach's as well, is always asparagus, but asparagus masquerades as a bit of an elitist, just oh so slightly but noticeably less economical than, say, the hale and hearty green bean, which will happily, crisply, and satisfyingly follow one home from the farmer's market for a mere dollar or so a bag.

Still, I long to unite asparagus and green beans in our kitchen, celebrating all of the verdant produce so fortuitously at hand.

Consequently, my all-time favorite home-wisdom kitchen tip comes from the mother of one of my mother's dear friends, a stalwart woman who still runs her family's farm at the age of 87. Recall those thick, woody, tenacious asparagus stems one is instructed to snap neatly off and discard before grilling, roasting, or otherwise preparing one's asparagus? Save the stems for a healthful, creamy, intensely green asparagus soup, and one can have two whole meals, both economical and celebratory, from one, dare I say, appealingly humble bunch of ethereal asparagus...

Asparagus and Potato Soup

2 large potatoes
1 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
6 cups vegetable broth
Woody stem ends from 2 bunches asparagus (each initial bunch approx 1 lb.)
1/2 tsp tarragon
1 cup 1% milk or soymilk
Minced parsley and chives

~ Bake/cook the potatoes however you prefer (in the microwave is fastest). Cut them into 1" cubes, and set aside.
~ In a large soup pot, saute the onion in the olive oil over medium-high heat until the onion is limp and translucent.
~ Add the broth and asparagus, cover, bring to a boil, then boil gently for 45 minutes - until the woody asparagus stems are nice and soft.
~ Transfer the asparagus, a couple of ladles of broth, and the cubed cooked potatoes into a food processor, and puree until the mixture is creamy and smooth, taking care to leave an outlet for the steam. (This may need to be performed in 2 batches.)
~ Stir the pureed potatoes and asparagus back into the broth, along with the tarragon and milk or soymilk.
~ Gently reheat, then serve sprinkled with minced parsley and chives!

Baked Red Beans with Polenta

While I am filled with enthusiasm for both my job and Zach's new undertakings during his clinical rotations, which began this month, I am still working mostly 12-hour night shifts, and Zach is now working 10-hour day shifts every weekday, and thus during half the week we aren't able to see each other at all, simply passing on the metaphorical highway as I drive to work while Zach makes his way home. Thankfully, my 12-hour shifts mean I only work 3 or 4 days a week, but still, this morning as I walked Zach to his car, we looked at each other for a moment and then laughed ruefully - "See you in a few days?" said Zach? "See you on Wednesday," I sighed.

On the nights when I'm working, such as tonight, how I miss us cooking supper together, or Zach bringing his homework to the kitchen so he can keep me company as I bake and saute... I've always known our time together was precious, but oh how do I now miss the luxury of seeing each other every day. We have certainly been apart before (y'all might remember the enormous quantity of pinto beans I erroneously cooked while Zach was at Air Force training for 5 weeks), but it's always a despondent time. On the brighter side, though our challenging new schedules will surely make us appreciate the joy of each other's presence all the more.

Tonight the best I can do is leave Zach a fridge full of tantalizing supper dishes and a love note on the counter, but last night I hummed and seasoned in the kitchen, Zach sat at the table doing research on his laptop, red beans and tomatoes simmered on the stove, and all was right in my world.

Baked Red Beans with Polenta

1 1/2 cups quick-cooking grits or polenta (same thing, really :-)
6 cups water
1 T olive oil
1 lb. ground turkey OR 1 lb. tempeh, crumbled
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
4 oz reduced fat cheddar cheese, diced into small cubes
Minced parsley
Additional cheese, for garnishing

~ Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
~ In a saucepan, bring the 4 cups water, seasoned with salt and pepper, to a boil.
~ Stir the grits/polenta into the boiling water, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 7 minutes, raising the cover to stir frequently. Remove from the heat, stir one more time, and set aside.
~ In a large skillet, saute the ground turkey or tempeh and the onion in the olive oil over medium-high heat until the turkey or tempeh is browned and the onion is limp and translucent.
~ Stir in the bell pepper, kidney beans, and tomatoes with their juice, reduce the heat to medium, and simmer until thickened a bit and heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
~ Spread half the cooked grits/polenta in the bottom of an 8" round casserole dish.
~ Pour the kidney beans mixture on top.
~ Sprinkle the cheese over the kidney beans mixture.
~ Spoon dollops of the remaining grits/polenta atop the cheese, using a round biscuit cutter to shape the polenta dollops into pretty circles.
~ Sprinkle sea salt and fresh ground pepper on top of the final grits/polenta layer.
~ Bake for 25 minutes - until lightly golden brown.
~ Serve garnished with minced fresh parsley and a bit more cheddar cheese...

Spring Pasta with Mushroom Cream Sauce

I was supposed to be off work yesterday, but instead I was offered an equally tantalizing option - to work an extra day shift, in the ICU.

Now, I confess I was a bit nervous as I headed off to work yesterday morning - one does not normally work in the ICU a mere 3 months after graduating from nursing school, and one does not normally work in the ICU after one has only been working at their first nursing job for only 5 weeks, but the ICU at the hospital where I work was short-handed, and I suppose they were willing to take what they could get - and I was more than willing to sign on for the ride.

I was initially supposed to simply assist the regular ICU nurses with their workload, but after only the first two hours of my shift - a hazy stretch of time during which a patient coded, a patient passed away, and a patient had to be shocked with the defibrillator to restore a normal heart rhythm - the supervisor asked me, with a slightly suspicious sideways glance, if I would be willing to take a patient of my own (because of the need for minute-by-minute care, the normal full work load for an ICU nurse at our hospital is only 1 or 2 patients anyway). I soon realized the supervisor was wearing a sly expression because I was about to spend the next fourteen hours tending to a disoriented, combative patient who did her continual utmost to rip out anything she could reach - IVs, catheters, Oxygen tubing - with her teeth, all the while screaming obscenities at full volume.

How does one explain to someone, who is not in the frame of mind to comprehend your words, and who could not receive sedatives or even relaxants due to heart and kidney conditions, that the needles and strange tubes sticking out of her body were necessary, and supposed to be there? Over the course of the day, and into the night, I improvised - I talked to her, held her hand, repeated calming explanations again and again, knowing she wouldn't understand them, and sometimes resorted to leaning across her with one arm while using the other hand to type my required charting and documentation into the hospital computer I'd pulled into her room.

When I finally shuffled through the door at 9:30 last night, having left the house at 5:30 that morning, I found Zach and our friends Emily and Aaron awaiting me with a surprise dinner party! Never once complaining that they'd had to wait until such an inordinately late hour for me to arrive, Zach had fixed his famous, comforting rice and gravy, Emily and Aaron brought a glorious chocolate cake, and they all had some very welcome chilled hard cider ready in the fridge... :-) My contribution to the evening was a spring mushroom pasta dish I had whipped up the night before, inspired by a whole glorious 2 pounds of mushrooms I'd brought home from the grocery...

How fortunate am I, to have a job that inspires, exhilarates, and exhausts me - and how even more fortunate am I to have such a remarkable welcome awaiting me at the end of the day...

Whole Grain Spring Pasta with a Mushroom Cream Sauce

3 T butter or light vegan marg

1 onion, chopped

4 oz button mushrooms, sliced

4 oz portobello mushrooms, sliced

3 T whole wheat flour

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 tsp paprika

1 rounded T ketchup

1 tsp rosemary

1/3 cup 1% milk or soymilk

12 oz whole grain pasta, cooked according to package directions

Minced parsley

3 or 4 generous handfuls of mixed spring greens

~ In a saucepan over medium heat, saute the onion in the butter or vegan marg until the onion is limp and translucent.

~ Add the mushrooms, and continue to saute until the mushrooms are limp and the onions are brownish.

~ Reduce the heat to low, and quickly stir in the flour, just until the mushrooms and onions are well coated.

~ Stir in the broth, paprika, ketchup, and rosemary, increase the heat again, and bring the mixture to a boil.

~ Let the sauce simmer for around 5 minutes - until thickened a bit.

~ Lower the heat, stir in the milk or soymilk, and reheat gently.

~ Fold the sauce over the whole grain pasta, and season to taste with salt and pepper.

~ Garnish each serving with parsley and a liberal helping of spring greens, and serve and enjoy!

Whole Wheat Couscous Salad

First, I have to start out by bragging a bit, about my friend Jamie who recently started a food blog! I am so delighted that Jamie has joined the blogging world. Jamie and I met 8 years ago (wow!), and she is such a brilliant, wonderful, witty, warm, talented person, and a fabulous, exuberant chef and foodie... For her first post she made potage and homemade flatbread - need I say more? :-) Please do give her a wave and a welcome over at her gorgeous new veg blog, No Animals Lots of Carbs - the name of which says wonders about her fun and healthful kitchen!

Back in my kitchen, it dawned on me that I should probably devote an entire post to some notes and mutterings about za'atar, since I have found myself including it in more blogged recipes lately... As you may already know, za'atar is a Middle Eastern spice blend, loosely and typically composed of oregano and marjoram, sometimes thyme, and always sesame seeds and a bit of salt. Depending on the region from which your za'atar originates, the mixture may also contain cumin, sumac, coriander, fennel, or savory. There are a variety of za'atar recipes floating about the web, and I have linked to one or two of these in recent posts, for za'atar is still a bit elusive and unusual here in the states... For years I couldn't find za'atar anywhere stateside, and I took to filling an entire small suitcase with jars of za'atar whenever I was in Israel, that I might have enough za'atar to tide me over until the next voyage. Now, though, I've seen it arise in unsuspecting locations with increasing frequency, and I always have to stop myself from purchase a jar or two out of sheer joy. Penzeys Spices, for example, now offers za'atar, and while I haven't tried their blend yet and thus can't vouch for it personally, I can enthusiastically claim Penzeys as one of my favorite spice shops.

Nonetheless, despite the improved availability of za'atar and even though I realize that storing spices and herbs long-term is far from the ideal culinary situation, I still haven't outgrown my habit of storing massive quantities of Israeli za'atar in the pantry, toted home carefully on the plane. I confess I once left bottles of shampoo behind with a family friend in order to make room in my suitcase for more za'atar containers!

Perhaps it is simply nostalgia, or the fact that I have become used to the particular blend of za'atar found in large shaker jars in supermarkets in Tel Aviv, a degree of specificity I usually do not demand from my other ingredients - I tend not, for example, to insist that my pasta come only from a particular shop in southern Italy, although it might be gorgeous - albeit way too fanciful - to be able to do so...

I would argue, though, that za'atar is at least a reasonable ingredient about which to be fussy - after all, its flavor is explosive, tasting as though a batch of oregano met up with some toasted sesame and some unnamed magic along the way, and is now begging to be tossed with olive oil on a salad...

sprinkled with Parmesan across toast...

whisked into scrambled eggs...

shaken liberally into olive oil drizzled hummus...

pressed with feta cheese between folds of pita bread...

or, perhaps, used to enliven some whole wheat couscous and toasted almonds...

Whole Wheat Couscous Salad with Za'atar and Toasted Almonds

1/4 cup whole almonds
1 cup whole wheat couscous
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp salt
3 T butter or light vegan marg
2 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 T za'atar

~ Spread the almonds across a baking sheet, and toast them in a 350 degree oven just until they reach a deeper shade of brown.
~ Allow the almonds to cool, then pulse them in a food processor until just some of the almonds are coarsely chopped, leaving some of them still whole.
~ Bring the vegetable broth, olive oil, and salt to a boil in a medium saucepan.
~ Stir the couscous into the boiling broth, cover, remove from the heat, and allow the couscous to stand for 5 minutes.
~ Fluff the couscous with a fork, then fold in the butter or marg, Parmesan cheese, za'atar, and toasted almonds.
~ Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve warm or cold!

Peanut Butter Brownies

Ah, such a weekend... I could get used to these glorious weekends without homework! :-) I'm trying not to get too adjusted to the bliss of being able to relax without a textbook, because I shall have to return to full time school (plus continuing full time work!) soon enough, but for now it is lovely to purely, simply enjoy the satisfaction of a peaceful weekend after a diligent week's employment.

We've spent this weekend in continued celebration of Zach's completion of his board exams, driving to downtown Atlanta 2 days in succession to enjoy a bit of dining out and a pint or two of dark Belgian beer at our new favorite pub, The Brick Store, so today it was high time to celebrate at home again. Our friend Desmond drove down from South Carolina for a visit, and together Zach and Desmond grilled BBQ hamburgers and the most heavenly grilled asparagus and squash for an idyllic lunch in the sun on the backyard patio...

(Zach and Desmond trying to look as silly as possible... :-)

I'm so very proud of Zach and all he's accomplished while committing an inordinate amount of knowledge to memory in preparation for this exam... Hence, in Zach's honor, since it's celebration time... This weekend it was also Peanut Butter Brownies Time!

Peanut Butter Brownies

5 T butter or light vegan margarine
5 T applesauce
3/4 cup chunky peanut butter, divided
1 1/4 cups raw sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla
4 egg whites, beaten
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup white flour

~ Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line an 8X8 baking pan with parchment paper, and coat the paper with cooking spray.
~ In a small saucepan over low heat, stir together the butter or marg, applesauce, 1/4 cup chunky peanut butter, sugar, cocoa powder, and salt, stirring constantly until the mixture is smooth and melted. Set the mixture aside to cool until it's just warm, not piping hot.
~ Once the mixture has cooled sufficiently, stir in the vanilla.
~ Stir in the egg whites until well combined.
~ Stir in the flours until the mixture is smooth.
~ Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan. Use a spoon to dollop small bits of the remaining 1/2 cup peanut butter across the top of the brownies.
~ Bake for 20 to 25 minutes - until the center is just set.
~ Serve with whipped cream, of course...

Eggplant Stew with Potato-Mozzarella Crust

On Thursday, Zach took his board exams (in medical school, board examinations come in multiple stages, "Step One" of which Zach conquered this week), officially concluding his second year of medical school and ushering in his third year! Thus, this weekend has been one of celebration - I was able to arrange my work schedule such that I finished my work week on Wednesday, and yesterday we drove leisurely to tour the hospital where Zach begins his first round of clinical rotations on Monday! Tomorrow we plan on attending an Atlanta Braves game, and today we're about to tour a local brewery, but Thursday night we began the festivities with a celebratory supper - Eggplant Stew, at Zach's request. Eggplant Stew might sound like a rather humble dish for such a grand occasion, and a humble dish it is, but it is also deeply rich, flavorful, and so delicately smooth-textured that Zach declared the stew one of his "top 10 favorite dishes."

When Zach bestows words such as those on my cooking, I float for days, feet blissfully soaring above the ground, beaming with the sort of glow I would imagine most women normally reserve for complements on new dresses...

Me, I'm content with eggplant stew.

Eggplant Stew with Potato-Mozzarella Crust

2 1/2 lbs potatoes
2 T butter or light vegan marg
2 T olive oil
1/4 tsp granulated garlic
1 cup 1% milk
1 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 3/4 lb eggplant, cut into 1" cubes
3 large onions, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
2 lbs ground lamb OR 2 lbs tempeh, crumbled
1 cup red wine (I like using chianti)
1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes with their juice
1 cup beef broth OR vegetable broth
2 rounded T whole wheat flour
1 T za'atar

~ Bake the potatoes however you fancy - in the microwave, in a pressure cooker, or in the oven - then mash them coursly with the butter, olive oil, granulated garlic, and milk. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in the mozzarella cheese while the potatoes are still hot. Cover the whole mixture, and set it aside.
~ Place the eggplant cubes in a large bowl of very salty water, and allow them to soak for 15 minutes, then drain them well.
~ While the eggplants are soaking, brown the lamb or tempeh in 3 T olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat, while seasoning it well with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat once browning has been achieved, and set the lamb or tempeh aside.
~ In a large dutch oven, saute the onions and minced garlic in 2 T olive oil over medium heat until the onions are limp and translucent.
~ Add the eggplant, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until the eggplant is browned and tender.
~ Pour in the red wine, bring the mixture to a boil, and let it boil happily, stirring the bottom to scrape up any browned bits, until most of the wine has evaporated.
~ Stir in the tomatoes with their juice, and the broth, whole wheat flour, za'atar, and the lamb or tempeh from earlier. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and allow the mixture to simmer for around 45 minutes - until thickened a bit.
~ Remove the dutch oven from the heat, and dollop the potato mixture all across the top of the stew, until the top of the dish is completely covered by the potatoes.
~ Transfer the dish to the oven, and bake for 45 minutes - until the potato crust is deep golden.
~ Serve ladeled into deep bowls, and garnished with a bit more mozzarella cheese...

Avocado Fritters de Kerstin

I've been a bit under the weather lately, sneezing and sniffling and whatnot, which I believe has prompted me to create more cozy, hearty, simple comfort food dishes than I normally would prepare while poised between the height of spring and the start of summer salad season.

On Saturday, I did something else uncharacteristic - I finally went to the bulk foods store in our neighborhood. We've always bought rice in 50 pound sacks (I mentioned before that we consume quite a bit of brown rice, but let me assure you that a 50 pound sack does last us A Long Time... We're not likely to turn into walking grains of rice any time soon!), and I do pick up things like wheat bran and quinoa in bulk bags, but I've resisted purchasing other non-perishable items in mass quantity for no logical reason other than that I still long for the summer I spent living in Cambridge, England, where I cycled from my flat to one of several of my favorite corner groceries each and every afternoon, cycling back again with my selections for that night's supper tucked in my bicycle basket. I fell in love with the simplicity of obtaining one's groceries every day or two, preparing for the evening meal with unhurried contemplation.

While I still cycle at least 3 days a week, the roads between our house and the groceries and farmers markets are traffic-filled, lack a side lane or sidewalk, and are otherwise thoroughly unsafe for cycling. Furthermore, buying in bulk does save vast amounts of money and packaging, so... off to the bulk store we went... from where, against my better judgment, I came home with 8 pounds of tinned tomatoes and 6 pounds of part-skim mozzarella cheese. (Zach's personal selection of a giant bottle of multi-vitamins was perhaps a wee bit more sensible).

I foresee a fair bit of tomato and mozzarella in our culinary future... In the meantime, though, I have been returned to the fold of summer cuisine by Kerstin of Cake Batter and Bowl, whose gorgeous recipes and delightful posts always inspire me... Kerstin's recipes are incredibly creative, and, at her very impressive job performing cancer research, she understands working late nights too! As soon as I saw her recipe for Avocado Chicken Cakes, I immediately ceased all other plans I had for cooking supper tonight, and pulled the summery avocados from the fridge instead.

Dictated by pantry contents, my version came out with a few wee changes from Kerstin's, and I made up a batch of tofu-avocado cakes too, in honor of my veg friends (and I doubled the recipe, so we would have leftovers to enjoy on the nights I'm working this week :-), but I still remain in awe of Kerstin's initial recipe, which I highly recommend you read - because her version is flawless, because she deserves all of the credit for the glorious supper we savored tonight, and because her photos are far more beautiful than mine! :-)


Avocado Fritters

(As a southern girl, I feel duty-bound to call all round patties fritters, although these are in no way deep fried... These are inspired by Kerstin's Avocado Chicken Cakes!)

3 T olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
4 cups cooked shredded chicken OR 4 cups crumbled firm tofu
1 avocado, mashed
2/3 cup bread crumbs, plus a bit more for coating the fritters
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon za'atar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, beaten
2 T olive oil
Salsa for garnishing

~ In a skillet over medium high heat, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are limp and begin to brown.

~ Mix together the onion mixture, shredded chicken or tofu, avocado, bread crumbs, cumin, paprika, za'atar, salt, and eggs.

~ Using your hands, press the mixture into 1/2" thick cakes.

~ Coat each patty in some extra breadcrumbs.

~ Heat 2 T olive oil over medium heat in a nonstick skillet. Brown each fritter for around 5 minutes on each side - until dark golden brown.

~ Serve warm and crispy, topped with salsa...

Rice Cooker Paella

Back amidst the zenith of Spring I mentioned the garlic-themed Easter basket I prepared for Zach, but I haven't yet told y'all about the glorious Easter basket Zach gave me - an Easter basket in the shape of a rice cooker! Our rice cooker perished a couple of weeks before Easter, and, for the sake of economics, I had decided to simply solder on cooking rice in the usual, stove-top method. Certainly it's far from a hardship, living without a rice cooker, but as faithful Cajun cooks we do eat A Ton of brown rice, and I felt many a pang of longing for the speedy excellence of the rice cooker as I fussed over the rice simmering on our stove (as Cajun cooks, we're also rice perfectionists - only precisely cooked rice will do).

As one can purchase nearly anything from Amazon.com these days, the rice cooker arrived in a large Amazon box - which I mistakenly opened, thinking it was the garlic roaster I'd ordered for Zach. Wondering all the while why a garlic roaster had been packaged in such a mammoth box, I nevertheless blithely parted the tape - and stared in confusion at a beautiful new rice cooker. Of course, I was ecstatic, but quickly, realization also dawned... In attempt to conceal the fact that I'd spoiled a surprise, I hastily tried to tape up the box once more, but was only able to find scotch-tape, as I'd used the last of our heavy duty shipping tape to send my mother's birthday present the week before. Rather idealistically thinking that Zach might not noticed the flimsy scotch tape, I sealed the box and placed it innocently upon his desk. Of course, seconds after he arrived home from class he rushed back down stairs again, with a mock-stern expression: "You opened the box, didn't you?"

"Um, no, it just came taped funny like that... I wonder how it made it all this way with just a little bit of tape?"

Zach's skeptical expression quickly brought forth the truth... As I knew it would... We both had a good laugh over the Amazon.com rice cooker... and then had Paella for supper!

(I fixed our rice cooker paella for supper again last night, which reminded me of this story... A month and a half later, I still laugh every time I use the rice cooker!)

Rice Cooker Paella

1 1/2 cups brown rice
2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup milk
2 T tomato paste
1 green bell pepper, minced
2 carrots, chopped
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp olive oil
1 lb Italian chicken sausage, casings removed OR 1 lb tofu, cubed
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Parmesan cheese, for serving

~ Stir together the brown rice, broth, milk, tomato paste, green pepper, carrots, and black pepper in a rice cooker, and turn the rice cooker on. Alternately, place all of the above ingredients in a saucepan on the stove, bring to a boil, cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until the liquid has been absorbed and the rice is tender.
~ Meanwhile, in a large skillet over medium-high heat, brown the chicken sausage (breaking up the sausage with a wooden spoon) or the tofu cubes in the olive oil.
~ Once the browning has occurred, add the onion and garlic and continue to cook until the onion is limp and translucent.
~ By now, your rice mixture should be cooked. Simply stir the onion mixture into the rice mixture, and serve topped with Parmesan cheese!