Moroccan Kale and Squash over Couscous

I often have kale and winter squash on hand this time of year. I make a really yummy pasta dish with roasted squash, kale, bacon, and parmesan. We were hungry for that tonight, but we are eating pretty much vegan right now, and I didn't think my usual dish would come together very well without a cured pork product and parmesan reggiano.


But I thought Moroccan spices* and the tartness from dried fruit would tie the flavors together nicely. And they did. This recipe is vegan and very nutritious. And our baby liked it.

 *I use a Moroccan spice blend called ras el hanut, which is available at my grocery store from Spicely Organic Spices. If you can't find it, you can make your own; there are plenty of recipes for it online.

Moroccan kale and roasted squash over couscous

1 butternut squash
1 onion, sliced into half-moons
2 cloves garlic
a large pinch saffron, soaked in 1/4 cup warm water
1 tablespoon ras al hanut
1 cinnamon stick
1 bunch kale, stems removed and chopped
1 15oz can chick peas, drained and rinsed
1 15oz can diced tomatoes
1 handful dried cranberries
1 cup couscous
a handful shelled pistaschios

Peel the butternut squash, chop into bite size pieces, toss in olive oil, salt, and pepper and roast in the oven at 425F for about half and hour, until soft and the flavor deepened.

Meanwhile, start the onion softening in olive oil in a saute pan. When it is quite soft and a little brown, add the garlic and ras al hanut. When fragrant, add the kale and give it a quick saute. Add the tomaotes, chick peas, cinnamon stick, saffron and the soaking liquid, and dried cranberries. Stir in the roasted squash. Bring to a simmer, cover and turn the heat to low.

Bring 1 1/4 cups water to a boil in a saucepan. Add 1 cup couscous and a bit of salt. Stir, cover, and remove from the heat. Let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

To serve, dish couscous and top with the kale mixture. Top with pistaschios, a drizzle of olive oil and extra cranberries, if desired.

10 things i love about you (10 months old)

1. You are so out-going. You had such a hard start, your first months in life, but you still believe the world is a benevolent place that loves you. Maybe it's because you had so many caregivers in the early months.
2. Your easy smile. You see humor in everything.
3. You wake up happy, most days. Maybe I can learn how to do this from you.
4. I love your sweet voice, and the way that you say, "Da, da." Gently, with a slight "t" sound. You say it to Daddy and to me. It seems to mean, "One that I Love."
5. Your favorite foods are sweet potatoes and prunes. You are my little sweet potato.
6. You don't sleep in the carrier any more, and I miss the baby closeness of you sleeping in my arms all those long hours. But you do sleep all night long, in your crib, in a little ball like a turtle, on your knees with your butt up in the air. I know because I check on you and gaze at you late at night when I get home from work.
7. I love walking into your room in the morning, and you are standing up in your crib smiling and laughing at me.
8. You and your daddy have such a special thing. I love watching you play. You love your daddy so much and he is so tender and protective with you. You are a very lucky boy. He is a very lucky daddy.
9. You are such a busy boy. You are so industrious and very serious about the baby work you have to do. You examine things closely, with your little brow furrowed. You taste it. You drop it. You practice standing, and bending over to pick things up. You are amazed at what your little body can do.
10. Sometimes, when you are tired, you are still and I get to hold you again. Last night you woke up and needed a bottle and a snuggle. You relaxed in my arms and held so still, nursed your bottle and stared at me. You are the best thing.

Mushroom Immunity Soup

Our baby is 10 months old. I stopped pumping for him; he just gets formula now. I'm surprised that I don't feel sad, only relieved. I always thought that we would nurse for as long as we both wanted to... but I thought it would be longer than 5 months! If there is another baby, maybe we will nurse til it's 3.

He also gets big boy food. I make most of it myself. He loves prunes, yogurt, avocado, and spinach. Today he had curried cauliflower and sweet potato for breakfast.

I think a lot about food as medicine and I've been reading about alternative nutrition. I'd like to get deeper into ayurveda and Chinese medicine. We're doing a plant-based diet for awhile for health reasons--and I'd like to lose 10 pounds-- it feels really good to eat beans, lentils, grains and greens every day. This kind of food gives deep nourishment.

Usually I get colds in the winter. Usually, by this time of year, I'd had at least a few. Not this year. I think it's my mushroom immunity soup. I try to put as many superfoods as possible into this pot, and I feel it. I feel more robust and vibrant than ever before.
 

Mushroom Immunity Soup

2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 onion
1 jalapeno
8 ounces shitakes and/or other medicinal mushrooms
1 generous tablespoon fresh ginger
several cloves garlic
sea vegetables, kale, or other hearty green
fresh miso (kept in the refrigerated section)
rice noodles
fresh-squeezed lemon juice
cilatro, basil, or other fresh herb of your choice

Finely chop the onion, jalapeno, garlic, and ginger and soften in coconut oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over meduim heat. Rinse the shitakes, chop off the woody stems and put the stems in a large measuring cup or bowl and cover with a few cups of hot water to steep. Chop the mushrooms and add to the pot to brown. When softened, after 10 minutes or so, strain the stems from the mushroom water and add the broth to the pot. Bring to a boil for another 10 minutes. Add the greens and cook til tender. Put another small pot of water on to boil.

When you're ready to eat, cook the rice noodles in the separate pot of water until al dente. Put a tablespoon of fresh miso paste in the bottom of your bowl, add soup and stir to combine. Add the rice noodles; they will finish cooking in the bowl. Top with a squeeze of lemon juice, fresh herbs, and hot sauce if desired.


I wish you and yours good health this season.


This post is linked to the Tuned-In Tuesday Blog Hop.

Quick n easy turkey n dumplings

I have a confession to make. A big, shameful secret. I will deny it like crazy in mixed company, or in San Francisco. Ready? Here it is. As much as I love whole foods and hippie food, and local organic food, and greens from the garden, and brown rice and brown bread,  I love processed food nearly as much. Oreos, Cheeze-its, hot dogs, mac n cheese from a box, McDonald's... it must be the msg that makes me go crazy sometimes. (I remember learning in 7th grade home ec. that MSG is a psychoactive white powder, just like cocaine, only you can buy MSG in the spice aisle. So don't blame me! The Twinkies made me do it!)

 This is the best thing you can make with food from packages, and it tastes especially good on a day when you're under the weather. The magic ingredients are: cream of chicken soup, a rotisserie chicken, frozen peas and carrots, and a roll of refrigerated biscuit dough. Dump it all in a pot, walk away and watch an episode of Gossip Girl, (affiliate link) and when you come back, voila! lots of delicious, creamy, doughy, salty, tender chicken and dumplings. Or, if it happens to be 3 days after Thanksgiving, turkey and dumplings.

After all the busyness and excitement of the last 2 weeks or so, my honey and I are both fighting off bugs. He sent me to the market for supplies and a powerful urge hit for some yummy, processed comfort food. This is a good way to use up some of that leftover turkey in the fridge, anyway, and this was an awesome meal for our budget since the soup was on sale for $.99, the veggies for $1.50, and the biscuits for $1.50. Makes 4 hearty servings.

Quick and Easy Turkey and Dumplings
1/2 onion, chopped fine
1 rib celery, chopped fine
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can whole milk
1 can water
1/2 bag frozen peas and carrots
2 cups cooked turkey meat, chopped
1/2 a roll refrigerated biscuit dough
salt and black pepper

If you have an onion and some leftover celery like I did, and are not too under the weather, go ahead and chop them up and soften in some butter in your favorite sauce pan or dutch oven. Or you may omit this step.

Pour in the can of cream of chicken soup, fill the can with milk and add to the pan, fill the can with water and add. Stir to combine and bring to a simmer. Add half the bag of frozen veggies and the turkey meat. Allow to heat through. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.

Drop dumpling-size pieces of biscuit dough on top of the soup, cover, reduce heat to low and let simmer until the dumplings are cooked through, 20-30 minutes. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper again. I think this dish needs quite a bit of fresh black pepper and a hot toddy to wash it down.

I hope you feel better soon.

Thanksgiving notes

We got really busy getting ready for Thanksgiving and I totally bombed Nablopowrimo! Oh well, there's always next year.

We had a whole big Thanksgiving to-do over here, and for the most part it went pretty darn well. We used several recipes from our new indispensable cookbook, The Science of Cooking, and our roast turkey was pretty awesome. I wish I had pictures, but the person I delegated photography to was probably busy playing with the baby.

Things got tense in the kitchen a few times. Here are some things I learned for next year:
Keeping the mashed potatoes warm in the crock pot will work, just be sure to get them in there hot!
Wash and set aside enough place settings beforehand
Start the dinner rolls and the turkey 2 days before the big day
Learn to carve the turkey

And the most important thing: Relax! As long as there's enough wine, good cheer, and good gravy, no one cares if the turkey is dry or the mashed potatoes are gluey.

The best chocolate chip cookie EVAR

I know chocolate chip cookies. I've made many times my share of chocolate chip cookies. In high school, my brother and I liked to make them in the middle of the night. Then when I went off to college, on visits home my brother and his friends begged for chocolate chip cookies. The recipe is in my head like a chant: sugar, brown sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla. The start of so many wonderful things.

The cookies we made last night were seriously the best cookies EVAR. I was teaching my honey how to make them, and he must've taken more care than I do anymore. These cookies are dense, chewy with a sugary, crispy edge, chocolaty, salty, delicious. 

This is exactly what we did.

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookie EVAR

1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3 cups white flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups chocolate chips
extra salt

In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. This takes a few minutes.
Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla and mix.
In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
Slowly add the flour to the butter mixture in 3 parts. Do not beat the dough too hard.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Drop cookies by teaspoonfuls on a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
Bake at 350F for 12 minutes, until golden.
Cool on the baking sheet for a few minutes before removing to wire racks.

learning to cook

People say "if you can read, you can cook," which is true if you just want to reproduce someone else's recipe. But where's the fun in that? Cooking is like writing, or anything else really. It takes a lot of practice and a lot of experience to develop your own style. I like to read about cooking and food. I like Saveur magazine because the writing tells a story about food, culture, family, travel. It's so much more than a recipe mag. I like Elizabeth David; she has such a sense of propriety and such humor! and a deep appreciation of local, seasonal, simple food done well.

But I have learned the most about basic techniques that work from Cook's Illustrated magazine. I heard an interview on NPR with some folks from the test kitchen about their new book, The Science of Cooking, and in an effort to get me to cook more, my honey immediately ordered a copy. This book is essential! I'm really looking forward to picking up new tips and tricks--which aren't even tricks, just Science! --and sharing them here.

Things I'd like to understand better: pastry, roast chicken, fish & shellfish, fussy sauces, characteristics of different wines, fat content of dairy and what it means for cooking.