Fusion-Style Creamy Noodle Stew

I have a tremendous fondness for bowls of brown mush. You know, the sort of comforting foods made of veggies, warm broth, rice, tofu, and pasta, which all mix together to form, well, brown mush. Nourishing, comforting, elemental brown mush.

A few weeks ago I was diagnosed with asthma. Coughing, wheezing, and unable to breathe lying down, I wandered sheepishly into the doctors office after two previous weeks of what I had thought were cold symptoms eventually turned into me gasping like a fish at inopportune and inexplicable moments. With an oxygen saturation of 89% (not so good), and apparently lungs that didn't sound too fantastic either (along with some other droll and uninteresting medical history), I was informed that I have adult onset asthma, with acute exacerbation upon exertion.

Actually, my diagnosis is a blessing. My symptoms are manageable, and over the past few weeks I've happily learned - as a patient, rather than a nurse, which is a remarkably different position to occupy - how to deal with this new adventure for the rest of my life, thankful that at least we now know the issue and the plan!

Still, after a few weeks of wheezing embarrassingly in front of friends and strangers alike, I've felt in need of some culinary comfort - flavorful, healthful, delicious "brown mush..."

Fusion-Style Creamy Noodle Stew

1 lb lean ground beef OR 1lb seasoned TVP (such as Morningstar Farms or Quorn brands)
1 sweet vidalia onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
Vegetable broth
1 tsp lemon zest
1/2 tsp chili oil
2 T reduced sodium soy sauce
1 lb frozen mixed vegetables (I used Trader Joe's Harvest Hodgepodge, an 8 vegetable blend we adore)
A big handful of slender noodles, such as rice noodles or sweet potato starch noodles (which is what I used, since I had them handy)

~ In a large soup pot over medium heat, brown the lean ground beef or the Morningstar Farms TVP crumbles. If you're using the ground beef, just coat the soup pot with cooking spray. If you're using the TVP, add 1 T olive oil. Season the ground beef/TVP with salt and pepper while it's browning.
~ Once browning has been achieved, add the onion, garlic, and ginger, and saute until the onion is limp and translucent. The aroma will begin to approach heavenly heights at this point...
~ Pour in a good amount of broth, with the precise quantity depending on just how much broth you like in your soups.
~ Stir in the lemon zest, chili oil, and soy sauce.
~ Stir in the mixed veggies.
~ Cover the pot, bring the soup to a simmer, then decrease the heat to maintain a simmer for as short or as long as you like. Personally, I don't simmer this soup for very long - just long enough to cook the veggies.
~ Stir in the noodles, adding more broth as needed to have enough liquid to cook the noodles nicely. Increase the heat as needed to maintain a nice low boil to cook the noodles. For my sweet potato starch noodles I maintained a low boil for 10 minutes, but naturally feel free to adjust this accordingly to your own particular noodles. This is a very soothing, fuss-free, personalized soup...
~ Here comes the interesting part - once the noodles are cooked and you feel like you have the right amount of broth in your soup... Puree the soup, noodles included, using an immersion blender or a food processor. The noodles will give your soup a gorgeous, creamy texture... and I guarantee a comforted sigh will follow the first spoonful... and the second...

Rosemary Garlic Whole Wheat Bran Bread

As I'm sure you can imagine, I had much wintry inspiration for baking during our snow week... Desserts, quick breads, and ah, the glorious delights of having entire days to knead yeast breads as well! I'm still sorting through the photos of all the cooking and baking we enjoyed during our cozy week at home, watching the snow from our kitchen windows (followed by sharing treats with our friends and co-workers the following week!)

Speaking of yeast breads...

Rosemary Garlic Whole Wheat Bran Bread

1 1/2 cup warm water (just lightly warm to touch, not uncomfortably warm. I know I'm supposed to have a thermometer to measure the temperature of this stuff, but I'm not that kind of bread baker... and I've never had a bit of trouble with any of my yeast breads. ;-)
1 T olive oil
3 T honey or agave nectar
1 to 2 T fresh rosemary (depending on how strong a rosemary flavor you fancy)
1/2 to 1 tsp granulated garlic (likewise, depending on how strong a garlic flavor you like)
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp yeast
1/2 cup wheat bran
3 cups whole wheat flour

~ In a large bowl, gently stir together the warm water, olive oil, honey, rosemary, garlic, and salt.
~ Even more gently, stir the yeast into the water mixture.
~ Watch the yeast for a few moments to make sure it foams. When it does, stir in the bran and whole wheat flour until you have a sticky dough. Knead by hand or with a dough hook until you have a smooth dough. Turn your dough into an oiled bowl, cover the bowl, and let the dough sit for 2 hours or so, until doubled in size.
~ If you have time, punch the dough down, then let it rise once more until doubled in size again, 1 to 2 hours this time. If you want to hurry it along a bit, you can too - proceed to the next step!
~ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Turn the dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray, shape it into a loaf with your hands, and bake for approx 40 to 50 min - until a nice, golden crust has formed.
~ Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing... If you can resist... ;-)

Quorn Stir-Fry with Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushrooms

Last week while driving home from work I paused briefly at Whole Foods for a little browsing - I tend to visit Whole Foods museum style, enjoying the vast source of inspiration, and being very judicious about actual purchases, for economic reasons - and while perusing the frozen section I decided to look for our beloved MorningStar Farms TVP crumbles, simply in the interest of price-comparing and satisfying my curiosity. Several paces of the appropriate isle failed to reveal either the regular or the sausage-style crumbles, and in due course a kindly employee noted my puzzled expression and inquired after that for which I searched. To my surprise, he informed me they didn't carry a full line of MorningStar Farms products, just their breakfast patties! Before I could register dismay, however, the helpful fellow directed my gaze to Quorn crumbles, which immediately captured my attention - I enthusiastically informed him that I had read many enthusiastic reviews of Quorn, but had yet to try the brand. As I contemplated bringing a package home, the lovely Whole Foods staff member offered me a full-sized package as a free sample! As one who constantly seeks to focus upon, write about, and find inspiration in the little moments of respite amongst the hectic bustle of modern life, I was deeply touched by his kindness and willingness to use his position in the store to absolutely fill my evening with delight and glee over this unexpected surprise!

I'm equally delighted to be able to write that we loved the Quorn! We fixed a jaunty, flavorful stir-fry with some bok choy and shitake mushrooms I'd picked up at a local Asian produce market, and Zach gushed about the Quorn's depth of flavor and wonderful texture, it kept beautifuly during the cooking process, becoming neither mushy nor overly chewy, but instead staying bold, and, dare I say, even meaty? I definitely also detected a subtle mushroom flavor from the Quorn's main ingredient, which made me, an ardent mushroom fan, immensely happy...

And each time I purchase a package of Quorn, which I know we'll certainly continue to do, I shall fondly remember the random and unexpected kindness of a stranger, in the middle of the frozen foods isle...

Quorn Stir-Fry with Bok Choy and Shiitake Mushrooms

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup oyster sauce (omit for a vegetarian dish)
2 T toasted sesame oil
1 T olive oil
12 oz Quorn "Beef Style Grounds"
1 T canola oil
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
8 oz shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 T canola oil
2 lb Bok Choy, coarsely chopped
Cooked brown rice (or black rice, if you can find it)

~ Whisk together the soy sauce, optional oyster sauce if you like, and toasted sesame oil. Set aside.
~ Set two large skillets over medium-high heat. In one skillet, brown the Quorn in 1 T olive oil until the Quorn starts to crisp a bit, then turn off the heat and set aside.
~ Add 1 T canola oil to the second skillet, and stir the onions and garlic until the onions become limp and translucent. Add the shitake mushrooms, and continue to swirl the pan around until the mushrooms begin to release moisture. Transfer the mushroom and onion mixture to the skillet with the quorn.
~ Add 1 more T canola oil to the now empty skillet, and quickly stir fry the bok choy until it's reached its desired degree of tenderness, depending on whether you like the white parts of the bok choy very tender, or still a bit crispy.
~ Reduce the heat to low, and stir in the Quorn, onions, and mushrooms that have been residing in your other skillet.
~ Stir in the soy sauce mixture from the first step, and cook just until heated through. Serve over brown or black rice!

Cranberry Oatmeal Beer Bread

Beer for breakfast? Hopefully not, except maybe during Mardi Gras...

(Just kidding! No alcohol breakfasts for me, at least!)

But beer bread for breakfast, paired with wholesome oats and cranberries? Why not? ;-)

Cranberry Oatmeal Beer Bread

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1 tsp salt
1 T baking powder
1 cup dried cranberries
12 oz beer (I used Trader Joe's Simpler Times Lager)
2 oz water

~ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 9X5" loaf pan with cooking spray.
~ Gently stir together the flours, oatmeal, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
~ Fold in the dried cranberries, distributing them well throughout the flour mixture.
~ Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the beer and water into the well. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry until just combined.
~ Scoop the dough into the loaf pan, and bake for 40 to 45 min - until the top of the bread is just lightly golden. Serve warm, with jam, butter, SmartBalance Light, etc, of course! :-)

Peppermint Mocha Brownie Cupcakes

Snow in Georgia of any sort is remarkable, but the kind of snow I mentioned in my previous post is truly legendary for us here in the deep South. Even more extraordinary, the wintry weather remained, keeping us snowed in for an entire week!

(Zach on one of our morning hikes through the snowy neighborhood...)

(Our snowed-in mailbox - we didn't receive mail service for days! True evidence of the extent to which the unexpected snow brought life to a halt here!)

(Our snowy home!)

So, cozy and warm with her true love and cat menagerie by her side, and surrounded by snow as plentiful and scenic as any Currier and Ives printmaker could wish, what's a girl to do?

How about declare a snow day celebration, and fill the kitchen with the scents of baking - especially peppermint mocha brownie cupcakes? ;-)

Peppermint Mocha Brownie Cupcakes

1/2 cup SmartBalance Light nonhydrogenated margarine
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 1/4 cup turbinado sugar
2 T instant coffee granules
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3 T cocoa powder
1 divided cup mint dark chocolate chips, such as Nestle's brand

~ Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line approx 12 muffin cups with paper liners.
~ In the microwave, heat the SmartBalance Light and the bittersweet chocolate at 30 second intervals, stirring between each interval, until the chocolate is melted. Set aside.
~ Whisk together the turbinado sugar, coffee granules, eggs, vanilla, and salt.
~ Stir the reserved chocolate mixture into the sugar mixture.
~ Add the whole wheat flour and cocoa and stir until just combined.
~ Fold 3/4 cup mint chocolate chips into the batter.
~ Scoop the batter into the muffin cups, filling them 3/4 full.
~ Bake for 20 to 25 minutes - until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs still attached.
~ As soon as the cupcakes are removed from the oven, top each one with a few of the remaining 1/4 cup mint chocolate chips. Let the cupcakes cool, then serve to make any wintry occasion festive!

Zach's Snow Day Vegetable Rice Soup

Something magical happened on Sunday night... It snowed again! After a truly remarkable white Christmas, here in Georgia where if snow occurs once in a winter everyone is thrilled and surprised, a second, even bigger snow arrived, bringing us 7 1/2 inches of fluffy white flakes!!!

I still arose for work at 5AM on Monday morning as I always do, but instead of leaping into the shower I bundled up into my warmest jacket and paced nervously in the driveway, weighing the odds of my jaunty little car, designed for efficient gas mileage rather than inclement weather, vs the mounds of snow and the rapidly freezing crusts of ice on our neighborhood roads. I needn't have fretted, however, for soon the news came that both Zach and I had a snow day, practically unheard of in the medical field!

Oh, how we rejoiced! We love our jobs, certainly... but there is something so wonderful about an unexpected vacation in your own home, suddenly transformed into a magical winter chalet.

(Zach and Lilly the snow-white kitty dancing in the kitchen as we cooked a celebratory snow-day dinner later that evening... :-)

And, in the spirit of a magical snow chalet, Zach created a tantalizingly spicy, warming, cozy, luscious vegetable rice soup, perfect for a casual supper to keep you warm on a stormy night...

Zach's Snow Day Vegetable Rice Soup

2 T olive oil
2 carrots, sliced 1/4" thick
1 large onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeno chile pepper, seeded and minced
1 Anaheim chile pepper, seeded and minced
1 poblano chile pepper, seeded and minced
1 stalk celery, minced
2 tsp fresh rosemary
6 cups vegetable broth
4 cups shredded cooked turkey breast OR 4 cups cubed firm tofu
2 cups brown rice or black rice, cooked according to package directions

~ Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium-high heat, and saute the carrots, onion, garlic, three kinds of chile pepper, and celery until the onion is limp and translucent and the carrots are beginning to soften (about 5 to 7 minutes).
~ Stir in the rosemary and continue to saute until the rosemary is fragrant - about 30 seconds.
~ Stir in the broth, and bring the broth to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, and cook until the vegetables are tender.
~ Stir in the cooked rice and the turkey or tofu and simmer until heated through. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve warm, in nice big bowls!

Garlicky Squash Casserole

I think Zach has always known, on a very deep level, that garlic is good for you. Certainly we're both aware of garlic's contribution to the immune system and of its beneficial antioxidants. Without a doubt, we both always reach for garlic's heady flavor in every possible savory dish (dessert garlic, however, we have yet to attempt). But Zach has an intense fondness for garlic. If we're cooking together and I suggest three cloves of garlic, Zach adds ten. If there's a way to add still more garlic in the form of garlic juice, garlic powder, granulated garlic, or the jar of garlic salt I tucked in Zach's Christmas stocking this year, Zach will make sure it finds its way into the soup pot or saute pan. And always, if I start to look alarmed, he has the same unassailable response - "you've never complained of anything tasting like too much garlic, have you?" It's true, too - when Zach increased the roasted garlic from 40 to 60 cloves in the Thanksgiving mashed potatoes this year, the meltingly sweet, caramelized garlic just made the mashed potatoes taste even better. Certainly most dishes we fix fall far short of such mammoth garlic totals, but while I'm sure there's a maximum threshold for garlic, we haven't discovered it yet.

And just now, new research emerges, of especially acute interest to me, with a family history of osteoporosis and already my own recent hip problems - garlic can help protect against bone density loss in the hip. A new study published in the BMC Musculoskeletal Disorders journal suggests that compounds found in garlic have the potential to both prevent against and help treat osteoporosis in the hip! Of the three fractures that most commonly result from osteoporosis (lumbar vertebrae, hip, and wrist), hip fractures are by far the most debilitating and have the most significant negative impact on mobility and quality of life. Yet, the researchers at King's College London and the University of East Anglia who conducted the above mentioned study found that individuals who consumed diets high in fruits and vegetables, and especially those with diets high in garlic, had less evidence of osteoporosis in the hip. Further investigation by these lovely researchers revealed that specifically a compound found in garlic known as diallyl disulphide interferes with cartilage damaging enzymes that can contribute to bone loss.

So, let's do some cooking with garlic, shall we?

Garlicky Squash Casserole

1 T olive oil

1 large sweet Vidalia onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, minced

3 T SmartBalance Light or Butter

2 lb yellow squash, thinly sliced

2 T Cajun seasoning

1 cup shredded low-fat cheddar cheese

~ In a large skillet set on medium-high, heat the olive oil and saute the onion and garlic until the onion is limp and translucent.

~ Reduce the heat to medium, stir in the SmartBalance Light, allow it to melt, then stir in the sliced squash. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the squash is tender.

~ Stir in the Cajun seasoning.

~ Top the squash with the cheddar cheese, cover the skillet again, and continue to simmer just until the cheese has melted. Serve warm!

Four Layer Vanilla and Spice Cake

Our New Years this year was so magical I actually hesitated to type about it for a few days because the experience of warmth and closeness with true friends seemed somehow challenging to properly articulate... This year, we didn't go "out," we didn't go to a party large or small, we didn't go downtown or uptown or any other of the myriad of possibilities from previous or hypothetical New Years celebrations. Instead, we were blessed to be able to spend the evening at home with our friends Emily and Aaron, who came to spend the weekend with us... and the laughter, hilarity, vibrant conversations, and feelings of warmth, camaraderie, and contentment that filled the weekend are sure to portend a beautiful 2011 indeed.

Somewhere prior to midnight I decided to bake a cake... and grand, 4 layer cake, worthy of an event as elegant as a New Years Eve celebration... and somewhere between midnight and dawn Emily and I glazed and assembled the cake... as a piece of asymmetrical, tired modern art!

The cake itself is remarkable, I'm proud to say, with alternating layers of smooth vanilla cake and richly flavorful spice cake, gilded with a gossamer vanilla glaze...

and it also makes a rather grand art project...

and is even grander to share with friends...

Four Layer Vanilla and Spice Cake

(Adapted from Southern Living, December 2010)

1 cup chopped pecans

1 cup SmartBalance Light (or butter)

2 cups Turbinado sugar

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups 2% milk

1 1/2 T lemon juice

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp cloves

Vanilla Glaze

Shredded, unsweetened coconut (optional)

~ Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

~ Grease and flour four 9" round or 8X8" baking pans.

~ Toast the pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet for 5 to 7 minutes, until lightly toasted and fragrant, stirring once half-way through.

~ Cream together the SmartBalance Light and turbinado sugar until light and fluffy.

~ Add the eggs one at a time, beating until just combined after each addition.

~ Stir together the milk and lemon juice, and set aside.

~ Stir together the flours, baking soda, and salt.

~ To the egg mixture, alternately add small amounts of the flour mixture and the milk and lemon juice mixture, starting and ending with flour and beating on low speed (or stirring) until just blended after each addition.

~ Stir in the vanilla.

~ Pour half the batter into two of the prepared baking dishes.

~ Stir the cinnamon, allspice, and cloves into the remaining batter, then fold in the pecans.

~ Divide the pecan batter between the two remaining baking dishes.

~ Bake for 20 minutes - until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool for 10 minutes in the pans, then turn them onto wire racks to cool the rest of the way.

~ When the cakes have cooled, prepare the vanilla glaze and assemble by stacking alternating layers of vanilla and spice cake, spreading glaze between each layer. Drizzle layer over the top of the cake as well. If you fancy, sprinkle the top of the cake with some unsweetened grated coconut, and stir some additional unsweetened grated coconut into a little reserved glaze to make a fluffy paste, then serve slices of cake with dollops of the coconut paste!

The 2011 Winter Mocha

With the cooler temperatures and the holiday season comes Starbucks' alluring holiday coffee flavors, which, to an ardent coffee lover such as myself, brings endless temptation to spend entirely more than the budget allows on coffee confections that probably contain more sugar than I want to contemplate anyway. So, each year, Zach and I set about creating a coffeehouse favorite, usually an improvement upon our beloved mocha. This year, I do believe we've created a blend both scrumptious and reasonably healthful, of which we are oh so proud. For starters, we've recently discovered So Delicious coconut milk coffee creamer, thanks to my wonderful mama who brought us not one, but three of these jaunty little cartons on her most recent visit...

Now, I should digress for a moment and admit that I know I should drink my coffee black. Creamer only adds empty calories and sugar (translation = more empty calories), completely unnecessary to the actual health benefits of the real coffee in my mug, beneath the creamer (if anyone's interested in the recent research on the health benefits of drinking coffee, please let me know, I'd be happy to ramble enthusiastically about it in a future post). I should drink my coffee black, the way my father does, or I should merely sweeten it with stevia, or a little soy milk, or skim milk, or any of the other myriad of dainty, innocuous possible partners for coffee. And so I did, most days, dressing my coffee with stevia and a dash of almond milk, feeling healthful and relatively content but all the while mourning the coffee I savored in Europe so many years ago - black, black, impossibly dark coffee, laced with real cream and sugar. Dark, thick, creamy, and just slightly sweet... The memory will haunt me forever. Apparently, my coffee taste buds had been spoiled for good...

Then Zach and I discovered the unlikely coconut milk contender. Only 20 calories per tablespoon, and, most importantly, completely fat free, even more importantly devoid of the saturated fat plaguing most coffee creamers. We were skeptical at first, but a splash or two of the coconut creamer resulted in magic - just the right amount of creaminess without being too rich, only barely sweet, and with a wonderful, exotic hint of coconut on the back of the palate. Our coffee dilemmas were solved, and we could move on to other issues such as the 2011 winter mocha... Which we henceforth reveal:

The 2011 Winter Mocha

~ Fill a tall glass 1/3 full with 1% milk or light vanilla soymilk. If you're me, warm the milk or soymilk beforehand in the microwave so your final product will be nice and hot. If you're Zach, go ahead and use the milk or soymilk cold, since you usually spend 20 minutes blowing on hot coffee anyway. :-)
~ Pour 2 T vanilla So Delicious coconut milk coffee creamer into the glass.
~ Fill the glass the rest of the way with freshly brewed hot coffee.
~ Sir in 1 to 2 T hot chocolate mix (depending on how much chocolate flavor you like relative to your coffee), and stir until well blended. (Side Note: Godiva's hot chocolate mix is luscious and decadent, but rather rich and sugary... Trader Joe's Sipping Chocolate mix is more reasonable, with less calories and far less sugar.) Another side note - for the vegan version of this mocha, make sure to use a vegan hot chocolate mix. I'm really psyched to try these recipes for vegan hot chocolate mix!
~ Serve immediately, and enjoy!