We're all sleeping through the night...and I'm cooking again!

Hello everyone!!!

Yes, it's been forever since I've posted. My son is 12 weeks old today and I'm finally starting to feel like I can juggle more than one thing. Wow, it's been an incredible three months. We're blessed with the calmest, sweetest baby who has "trained" me very well as a first time mom. He is all smiles now and is started to sleep more now that his tummy can take in more formula.

Here's a picture of our little cookie monster....

My hubby and I have been reeling from the effects of sleep deprivation, lack of consistent excercise and a steady stream of good, wholesome food. The best I could do for dinner most nights was frozen skillet-ready dinners...full of veggies. It wasn't awful, but it certainly wasn't good. Boy, did our taste buds miss the real thing. Hubby promised to spend all of Sunday being Ryan's primary caregiver if I could start cooking for the week again. This week was our first try at this arrangement, and it worked out beautifully.

I had forgotten what a fun experience it was to look through all of my cookbooks - especially Mark Bittman's books - then casually stroll through the Whole Foods contemplating meals. As hard as it is to walk away from Ryan for thirty minutes , I managed to leave him in the care of his capable daddy and just do it already :-)

Fall is my absolute favorite time to cook, because I'm a squash girl. Love it. Any gourd is a friend of mine. Because I was craving it, I had to make the Barefoot Contessa's Butternut Squash Risotto with Saffron. But I also experiemented on my own a bit. I started out making a roasted root vegetable soup and wound up with a cross between a hearty stew and a casserole. Here's what I did:

1 lb of sliced baby potatoes

1/2 lb sliced parsnips

5 cloves of whole garlic

2 T extra virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground pepper

large bunch of kale, trimmed of stems

6 cups of vegetable broth

1 cup of orzo

1 can of White Northern beans, drained

Parmesan, monterey jack and cheddar cheese (as desired)

I started out by placing all the root vegetables (potatoes, parsnips and garlic) in a casserole dish and mixed in the olive oil and my preferred amount of salt and pepper. I also added a generous amount of a spice blend called "Tuscan Seasoning" by Victoria Taylor's Seasoning. I highly recommend that you add your favorite spice blend - I love Penzey's, too - to customize this stew to your liking.

I roasted the veggies at 400F for 40 minutes. Check on it three times and move the contents around a bit. They are finished when you can poke a fork in the potato and it's nice and soft.

Meanwhile I boiled about 2 cups of salted water and put in the strips of kale I had sliced off the stem. I boiled it quickly - about five minutes- to take away the bitterness. I drained the pot, left the kale in, and added the beans and broth. I brought it all to a quick boil, added in the root veggies, and put the temp to low and simmered it for about 45 minutes. I also added in another generous dash of Tuscan seasonings. Then I added in a cup or so of orzo.

Now came the insane part. It literally took me three hours to make this soup from start to finish. Wait! Don't get freaked. This had nothing to do with the complexity of the recipe - which you can see is not at all complex. Did I mention that I tried to make this starting at 4pm on a Tuesday afternoon. Big no-no in this house, as that's the beginning of the "unhappy hour." I had to keep stopping and starting again to feed, change and love (oh so hard, right) a very fussy Ryan.

One thing that went out the window on this meal, was any kind of measurement. I guessed at everything. No time to measure..so that's where my soup turned into a stew/casserole. The orzo took over the whole thing and the broth basically disappeared. Oh well. Still turned out really yummy. Oh, and the cheese? Just add in any of the three, or all of them, when you serve it hot.

What's that I hear? Ryan's waking up from his nap for another bottle. I've got to run. But here's another picture of the future heartbreaker:

Worth the Wait

My hubby and I are overjoyed to announce the arrival of our son, Ryan Eli on July 24th at 2:32pm. We were fortunate to be there in the delivery to welcome him into the world. I hope you all understand that I disappeared for a while for a good reason...we were frantically getting ready for our son after learning we were going to be his parents just a few weeks ago!

I promise I'll get back to cooking and posting again, but for now, I'm going to be busy being a new mommy.

Well, that's random!

I'm excited to see that my blog is highlighted today as "Today's Ten Random Blogs" on the Foodie Blogroll. A very warm welcome to my new visitors! Thanks for stopping by. I needed that kick in the butt to write a new post, so I'm going to make this a good one.

Oh boy, you're going to love this.

Chocolate Beet Cake! Let's get ready to rumble!!

This week, I received three beautiful red beets in my CSA box. If you've been to my blog before, you know how much I adore beets, but have only used the golden variety. Honestly, I feel like Lady Macbeth after chopping up a vegetable that oozes red juice everywhere.

However, red beets were present and accounted for and I had to carry on. Carefully.

Recently, I've read that the natural sugar in beets can enhance the flavor of chocolate. Yes, you read that right. So, I found a recipe for chocolate beet cake and decided to give it a go.

You're shaking your head in disbelief, right? You've shoved your chair away from the computer desk in disgust. Hands thrown in the air in utter contempt. You may even be sticking your fingers in your ears and singing "I'm not listening!" But if you trust me at all. Even the tiniest bit. Please, please make this cake.

Chocolate Beet Cake, posted by Paula Borchardt, Tucson CSA

approximately 1 cup cooked, chopped beets
1/4 cup water
approximately 1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 whole wheat flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup cocoa
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup chocolate chips

Puree the beets and water in a blender or food processor. Pour into a large measuring container and add enough applesauce to make two cups total. Mix in the vanilla extract and apple cider vinegar.

In a separate bowl, mix all the other ingredients together; fold in the beet mixture and mix all thoroughly. Bake in a pre-greased 9×13″ pan at 325° for 35 minutes.

• I boiled one large beet in a saucepan with just enough water to cover it. After I drained the water and pureed it, it was only 3/4 cup. I probably should have thrown in another half a beet to make it 1 cup. Oh well.
• Quality ingredients make for a quality end product. I splurged and bought Ghirardelli cocoa and chocolate chips. No regrets here.
• The original recipe called for 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour. I decided to take a chance and split that between 1 cup of whole wheat and 1/2 cup of white flour. Don't get me wrong, I love baked goods with whole wheat flour, but it tends to create a denser product. I wanted this cake to be light and moist. It was all that and more.
• Notice there's no oil, eggs or milk in this recipe. If you used vegan chocolate chips, you would have a vegan dessert. Remind me to tell you sometime about my trip to San Francisco over a decade ago and my first visit to a vegan bakery (yes, JB, you were with me!) Aah, what a mere child I was then. So much to learn.

Notice there's no picture of the chocolate beet cake in this post.

That's because it's gone. Gone, baby, gone.

Now go make it!

Stress

I've done a massive amount of cooking (and baking!) over the last few days and have neglected to share it here. I promise that I'll put up the recipes today or tomorrow and share the pictures of this week's CSA box, too. But before I do that, I wanted to share my thoughts with you about a health issue that we all struggle with from time to time: stress.

Stress can be acute for many of us, while for others something that results slowly over the years. I've struggled with how much personal information I've wanted to share here and sometimes when I go silent for a few days it's because I'm not sure if it's even relevant to the blog. But the truth is, no matter how dedicated we are to living a healthy lifestyle, the unexpected can happen and we wind up sidelined.

I've been dealing with some acute stress brought on by the complexity and uncertainty of the adoption process and unfortunately it's manifested into some physical symptoms. Mainly, loss of appetite and energy. Hubby and I have had a very tough few weeks on our road to parenthood. But I'm pleased to say that we've managed far better than I ever expected. Mentally and emotionally, we've tapped our individual and joint strength. I'm so proud of the marriage we've created and our ability to deal with the emotional roller coaster we're on.

With all that said, I've been pretty surprised at my own body's reaction. In fact, I was pretty darn frustrated that my head felt fine, but my body refused to get back in the game. My workouts have been for crap and I've had no desire to eat the wonderful, healing foods I've been making. I thought I could just "will" myself to feel better. But the truth is, stress can be a shock to one's body and no amount of pushing or yelling or encouragement will make healing go any faster. It just takes time and patience and the knowledge that it's just a temporary situation.

Recently, someone offered me a great metaphor for how stress affects our bodies. Imagine a swimming pool full of clear, blue, calm waters. Then, someone spills a bottle of ink in it. You can't just get a ladle and scoop the ink out. It's everywhere and the filters just need time to clean in out.

I'm learning to treat myself more gently and let my body's filters do their job. I'll eat better when my body is ready. I'll have more energy for the treadmill soon. But pushing myself-or judging myself harshly- is like adding another bottle of ink to the pool. It will only make things worse.

So, if you're dealing with stress now, please think about what I said. Whether your stress is the result of work, a sick loved one, buying or selling your house...please be gentle and kind to yourself. Putting high expectations on yourself might only aggravate your health further.

Packing lunch, among other things...

In my preparation for motherhood, I've been thinking a lot about how kids eat today. If you're a parent or not, you can't ignore the convenience products in bright & fun packaging on grocery store shelves and promoted rather effectively on television. Yogurt in tubes, purple colored ketchup, and cookies in "fun" shapes. Everything possible to entice kids to eat. Except it's so hopped up on preservatives, salt and sugar, that kids today never really know how tasty real food in it's pure form can be. I have some pretty strong feelings about this, so I'm trying to be careful and not go on a rant. I can only tell you that over the last 1.5 years that hubby and I have transitioned from processed foods to whole foods, I've discovered that my palate has suddenly come alive. There's so many flavors that I didn't even know existed. It's enhanced our lives in numerous ways and I doubt we'll ever go back to our old ways.

During the adoption process, hubby and I have been asked to reflect and write down our parenting philosophies. This is such an abstract question and it's really hard to know where to begin. One of the hopes I have when we are parents is that we'll be able to share our joy of nutritious healthful food with our kids. I've been thinking a lot about how to bring up "thoughtful eaters." And I've come to a few conclusions.

1) Plant a vegetable garden. It's incredibly empowering to order seeds, plant them, nurture their life, and eventually harvest them and add them to your meals. I think it instills a sense of wonder to watch it happen before you eyes.

2) Visit an organic farm. Talk about seasonal eating with your kids and let them discover for themselves the difference between a strawberry in January and one picked in the summer.

3) From a very early age, have your child eat exactly what you eat. I've been inspired by some of my friends who are parents who placed steamed broccoli and fresh pineapple on their 2 year old's plates. And when talking about food with your kids, nothing should fall in the "good" or "bad" categories. Just practice moderation. And don't use food as a reward or a punishment. Developing healthy relationships with food at a young age will be the best gift we can give.

4) Even though your young child can't run heavy machinery in the kitchen yet, there's no reason they can't be your sous chef by tearing pieces of chicken apart or separating orange slices for a salad. Involving your child in meal planning and cooking may encourage them try new food you introduce.

5) Pack lunch for your child - even if you do it the night before. It doesn't have to be elaborate, but it will definitely be healthier than those shrink wrapped plastic trays of "food" sold for your convenience.

Now, I know I'm taking a big risk by sharing my theories of parenting a child with you. I don't have a child yet and I'm kind of afraid you'll think I'm making unrealistic suggestions. But I do know that there's nothing more important than our health and well being. I really believe this is a life long gift we can give our kids.

So, I'm getting my practice in now and I've started to pack lunch for my hubby. He's been working very long hours recently and has been eating late. I decide to purchase a modern day "bento box" from Laptop Lunches. You can find their products at www.laptoplunches.com.

Today's lunch consisted of aromatic lime-peanut whole wheat linguine with sugar snap peas, sliced fuji apple, spring mix (from the CSA!) with goat cheese & cranberries and a mix of pistachios, walnuts, pecans and cashews. The little blue box off to the side contains some homemade dressing. Each laptop lunch comes with a case with a place to insert an ice pack inside.

I'm curious to hear what you're doing to encourage your kids to eat well and have a positive relationship with food. Please share in the comments section!

Quick Recap for Week 2

I'm sorry I've been absent the last few days. I believe I caught a mild bug of some kind. The worst of the symptoms is that I've totally lost my appetite! I've actually still been cooking, just not eating as much. But I don't want these veggies to go to waste, so let me recap you on how I've been using the contents of the CSA box this week.

Even though I didn't get green onions in my box this week, I heard that some others received it, so here's a great way to enjoy a lean chicken burger with that addition.

Chicken Burgers with Peanut Sauce from Cooking Light

Sauce:

2 tablespoons peanut butter
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons dark sesame oil
1 teaspoon water
1 teaspoon rice vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced

Burgers:

1/2 cup finely chopped green onions
1 tablespoon chile paste with garlic
2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, chopped
Cooking spray
4 (2-ounce) sandwich rolls with sesame seeds
1 cup onion sprouts or alfalfa sprouts

To prepare sauce, combine first 6 ingredients, stirring with a whisk until smooth. Prepare grill. To prepare burgers, place onions and next 5 ingredients (onions through chicken) in a food processor; process until coarsely ground. Divide mixture into 4 equal portions, shaping each into a 1/2-inch-thick patty.Place patties on a grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 4 minutes on each side or until done. Place rolls, cut sides down, on grill rack; grill 1 minute or until toasted. Place 1 patty on bottom half of each roll; top each serving with 1/4 cup sprouts, about 1 tablespoon sauce, and top half of roll.

Yield 4 servings.

• I cheated and used the broiler. I have a confession. I've never learned to start a charcoal grill. I'd really like to invest in a gas grill (hubby is a purist and will be hard to convert) just so I can use the grill with ease during the summer. The broiler worked out fine, but I'm sure it would be fantastic on the grill.
• Did you notice that lovely romaine leaf added to the burger in the picture? I've noticed recently that it's a lost cause asking for lettuce on sandwiches or burgers when ordering out. You never get a beautiful leaf like the one we received from the CSA this week. Instead, you get shredded iceberg lettuce that basically tastes like water in solid form. Makes for a very sad looking sandwich. Sniff.
• To make my life easier, I passed on the food processor and went straight for ground chicken from Whole Foods. It actually was excellent. This dish literally took 5 minutes to put together.
• When will I ever learn? I bought chili paste with garlic for this recipe and took a quick whiff and taste before adding it to the burger. I am a wimp. I could not handle the heat and totally skipped it. My throat was literally on fire from a mere pinch of it. Later, while peeking in the fridge, I noticed another opened jar of chili paste with garlic! It was basically full and it dawned on me that I probably just did the same thing twice. Bought it for a recipe, tasted it and never used it again. Classic Karen.
• The sauce was decent, but I would add a little more water next time. It was very thick and not very appetizing to look at. But tasty, nonetheless.

Also on the menu this week was Roasted Lemon, Asparagus & Green Garlic - inspired by two bloggers. Lori at The Recipe Girl (http://www.therecipegirl.blogspot.com/) and Laura at The Spiced Life (http://www.thespicedlife.blogspot.com/) both inspired me to try roasting a lemon for the added depth in flavor. I just sliced the lemon and placed it on top of asparagus & green garlic on a baking pan. Before I put the lemon on, I added 2 T of extra virgin olive oil and kosher salt and pepper on the veggies. Then I laid everything flat on a baking sheet and roasted it at 400F for 25 minutes. I paired it with turbot cooked briefly (6 minutes on each side) in a skillet with white wine. I added freshly grated parmesan on everything and enjoyed it immensely! The smell of the veggies and lemon roasting was truly out of this world. By the way, as Laura suggested, don't try eating the lemon. Just squeeze the juice onto the veggies and discard the rest.

One other quick dish I made was a Spinach & Strawberry Salad. We didn't recieve that much spinach this week, but it is so mild and sweet that I prefer eating it raw. I chopped up some spinach, sliced about 4 large strawberries, added 2T of crumbled goat cheese, 1T of sliced almonds and drizzled my favorite balsamic vinegar on everything.

On tap today is soup. We have some amazing collard greens this week. I thought I would create a white bean and greens soup and use the rest of the green garlic, too. I'm totally winging it!

CSA - Week 2! Can you handle this?

Okay, first off, I'm in love with fresh herbs. Who knew that chives were so darn beautiful?

That picture alone would woo any baked potato with sour cream, in my book.

Okay, here's what's on tap for this week. Clockwise starting at the chives in the upper right hand corner: Spring mix, romaine (but I'm not positive, since the leaves are unusual), radishes, asparagus, rhubarb, spinach, green garlic and in the center, there are collard greens.

You may be wondering how I did getting through the mother load that was CSA Week 1. I'm pretty happy with how it went, considering my hubby ate out for a few dinners and we were gone all day yesterday. I did work pretty hard to get through everything, though. The only recipe that I didn't report on was a spinach-feta turnover that was just "okay"in my book, but my best buddy who dog sat for us yesterday ate one and loved it.

I do have some mint left - which I've been enjoying in iced tea all week. Also, there's a huge head of romaine that I never in touched. So, I'll be serving that with dinner tonight. Oh, and a cup of sliced rhubarb that I'll make into a savory chutney tonight to serve with fish or chicken later this week. My blogger pal Mo at Paws & Pours (http://www.pawsandpours.blogspot.com/) made that great suggestion.