Update.

I gave up thinking for a good title for this post. I am still exhausted from the very long, though fun and incredibly interesting, weekend.

Pictures should be up by Wednesday afternoon, along with a full blog of the food and the experience of Growing Power at at Lynchburg Grows. There will also hopefully be an exciting announcement.

For now, there’s just tired. While I recoup, take a minute to check out my friend Gaylin, who wears a Chef’s Jacket at least as much as  I do (and usually looks better in it!). Here she blames myself and a few of our friends for her latest foodie invention (what can I say, smoked sea salt will make you do bad things). Enjoy!

Healthy Alternatives

We all love comfort food, especially when it’s cold outside. Mashed potatoes, fried chicken, hearty soups…they’re good for the soul, so to speak. They’re not so good for the waistline, cholesterol count, or antioxidants, though. The answer isn’t to give up your favorites, it’s to change how they fit into your life.

Fried chicken is time-consuming and fatty. This version, made with Panko bread crumbs, is much healthier and a snap to make. Marinade boneless, skinless thighs or breasts in your favorite marinade overnight in a covered bowl or bag. A fun one is a southern sweet-tea brine, but you can do Italian dressing, honey mustard…whatever. Dry chicken, then coat with flour (seasoned if you like, and I use whole wheat), an egg wash (whites or egg beaters will do just fine), and press into panko crumbs to coat. Bake at 400 until done (it’ll depend on the cut of chicke, but about 25-35 minutes). Voila!

Chili, the ultimate winter soup. Anyone from MI knows that deer season, and winter in general, means lots of the spicy stuff.  The good news is that there’s already a lot to love about chili. It’s often got beans for fiber, and protein and tomatoes for lycopene. But, all that meat can put a strain on the fat meter if you’re using 80/20 ground beef. Since it’s deer season, replace it with venison. If you don’t have a hunter in the family, look up a local farm and get some grass-fed ground beef. It’s got about half the calories of store-bought. Or, turn it into a chicken chili, as I did above. This is my “Black and White Chicken Chili,” so named for the black and canellini beans I use.  A homemade veggie stock gives a warm, rich base for the zesty peppers (I use green, red, and chilis in adobo sauce!), spicy onions, creamy beans, and tender chicken.

Meatloaf is a childhood memory. For some of us, it’s even a good one. It reminds me of home and big family meals. It also is often just plain unhealthy. Fortunately, it’s an easy leap from unhealthy to tasty and good for the body. The big step is to make sure you use lean meat, like grassfed beef, 90/10 from the store, or venison. Use egg whites instead of whole eggs as a binder, toss in oats and TVP for the bulking agents, then add tomatoes, zucchini, and other fun veggies. You want the tomatoes and zucchini to keep it moist. I usually toss in black beans, spinach, and some other goodies! Cover with fresh or canned crushed tomatoes and bake, then serve with smashed golden or sweet potatoes and it’s a good-for-the-hips meal that is better than the old stand-by.

Swai Did You Say?

While shopping for whitefish for a client’s menu this week, I noticed a new fish on ice at the local fish market. It was called “Swai,” and the little sign they stuck into it said it was sustainable and eco-friendly, and tasted a lot like catfish. And, it was only $3.99/lb. Since I had to buy a LOT of it for this large family, the price was a bonus, but I was worried about the “sustainable,” thing. That means different things to different people (read: Monsanto considers GMO, Round-Up-Ready to be sustainable. I don’t).

So, I checked out a site I trust, the Monteray Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch site. If you’ve never been there, it’s a great resource, and they have a little pocket guide you can print out to help you select fish that are eco-friendly. I was pleasantly surprised that they list Swai as a “Good Alternative” fish.

I got a filet for myself to try, too, and it’s delicious! We’re having it tonight, and I suspect once a week from now on until Thadd gets tired of it.

What’s a Service Look Like, Anyway?

I keep meaning to get some pictures of the meals I make for clients posted here, so you can see what it might look like if I was cooking for you! Each client’s meals are made especially for them, so each week I may be cooking up to 20 totally unique meals, not including what we eat at home.

One of the reasons I haven’t gotten many photos of services is that I move pretty fast. Food safety means keeping things at specific temperatures, and I’m also usually doing 3-5 meals at once. Getting distracted could mean ruining an entire dinner. Also, though, it’s because I am just not comfortable taking my awesome-but-huge camera into my client’s homes sometimes. To remedy this, I am going to start carrying the little one we have. I’m still learning to work it, and the pics aren’t likely to be as good as those I’d get with my uber-camera; but, at least I’ll get them! I’ll save the Big Fella for the cooking I do for special occasions, or at home.

Above:  These meals feed two ladies for dinner, and I package leftovers for them (out-of-frame to right) as lunches. From front to back are tandoori-spiced whitefish with curried chickpea & vegetable salad, barbeque tempeh and vegetables over seasoned brown rice, and goat cheese & charred tomato burritos with black beans & rice. Below: Black & White chicken chili, which gets its name from the mixture of black and canellini beans used to make it. It will be served with moist, sweet cornbread full of golden corn kernels.

I had a bunch more photos, but it seems the camera just lost them. I have no idea why. Another mystery for me to figure out.

Seeking to Overhaul the School Lunch Program

School lunches are, for the most part, abhorrent. In the vast majority of school systems, the lunches provided offer little in the way of nutrition, and a lot in the way of empty calories, additives, chemicals, fats, and sugars. Research has shown, again and again, that the diet most schools serve is a direct pathway to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, disorders such as ADD/ADHD and depression, and a slew of other things.

There’s a new program being pushed out of the White House that hopes to change this. It’s not perfect, but it would be a huge step in the right direction. Farm-to-school programs have been hugely successful in the areas in which they’ve been implemented, and children who eat better are not only phsically healthier, but are more likely to succeed academically, too.

Let’s hope this can withstand the pressure by the all-powerful vendors like Aramark and Monsanto. If you’re worried about you child’s nutrition, and the growing rates of childhood obesity, diabetes, and other illnesses, call your local government officials and let them know you support programs like these.

Recipe Review: Chicken Tagine

I’ve really been enjoying preparing some uncommon (at least in the US) ethnic dishes. Moroccan has become a particular favorite of late, and I’m also experimenting with Loation more.  Tagines are essentially very aromatic, hearty stews. Like the curries of India, there are as many tagine styles and recipe as there are people cooking them.  This one filled the house with a mouth-watering aroma, and the flavors were rich but bright.

• 2lbs. Of chopped chicken meat – We prefer brown meat.
• 2 Medium onions chopped.
• 1lb. Carrots chopped into bite size peices.
• 6 Cloves of garlic – chopped.
• 4ozs. Sultanas.
• 8ozs dried apricots.
• 1 Tablespoon of cumin seeds.
• 2 x 2″ pieces of cinamon stick.
• 3 Bay Leaves.
• 1/2 Pint of chicken stock.
• 1/2 Pint of fresh tomato sauce.
• 3 – 6 Dried chillis (depending on how hot you like it).
• 2 Tablespoons of honey
• 1 Lemon – juice of.
• 1 Bunch of coriander leaves – chopped.
• Salt and ground black pepper to taste

1. Now this is the Really Easy Bit.
2. Mix all the ingredients together (no browning) in the Tagine or Casserole.
3. Put the lid on the Tagine (or seal the casserole with a lid or some aluminum foil.
4. Place in a hot oven 400º for 30 Minutes.
5. Then reduce the heat to 300º and cook for a further 2 Hours.

This recipe calls for service over couscous, but I did this over bulgar and enjoyed it.  It’s as easy as it claims to be, very healthy, and really flavorful. I’ll be making this more often, and hopefully next time I’ll get some pictures!

What I Need to Do

What I need to do is start keeping my camera close by again. I am forgetting to take pictures before we completely ruin the table.  I also need to make more of the black bean and banana empanadas we made last night–which I, of course, did not get pictures of.  They were simply amazing. Oh, and more of the clay pot miso glazed chicken. I did’t get pictures of the chicken (though I am going to try to get some tonight when we reheat the leftovers), but I did get the broth:

There’s no real way to make this broth look as yummy as it tasted, but at least I remembered the camera; so, I had to share. To make up for the general browness (hey, it was miso and mushrooms, what else would it be but brown?), I took a minute to snap one of my current favorite lunch items:]

No-fat Greek yogurt, homemade granola, blueberries, strawberries, flax meal, and roasted almonds make a perfect lunch. Lots of fiber and protein, not to mention all the antioxidants and omegas! The almonds keep you full. Mostly, though, I eat it because it’s incredibly tasty.

Crazy Schedules and Crazy Meals

My schedule is a bit crazy right now, as I juggle clients, writing, volunteering, and a home life. My fiance’s schedule has also picked up, and now we’re officially in the “We have to find a hood for your car, NOW!” phase. (For those of you who didn’t know, a deer ran into my car a while ago. Since it’s an older model, finding a hood in good condition less than several hours away has been a challenge; but, it’s looking like we might make the trip to grab one at this point). The car’s not drivable as it is, because the deer broke the hood latch and did some other other damage that means it cannot be safely closed.  With the way things are settling out, it’s gone from inconvenient to undoable; so, this week is focused on finding and replacing the hood.

This is all leading into the crazy food. We meal plan pretty rigorously, and it’s gotten even more important as things get more and more hectic. We need to stay healthy, we don’t like eating out, we want to keep our grocery budget under control. This can get difficult, but we realize that it’s times like these when you have to plan more time to cook, not less. You just have to plan it differently! To that end, here’s our meal plan for the next while:

This week

Groceries for 7 days: $50.00

Tonight: Chickpea saag. Made with local greens, saag is a wonderful Indian dish eaten over rice. The chickpeas (which were cooked up from dried) cominbed with brown rice and yogurt provide excellent protein, while the spinach and rice provide lots of fiber. This was made yesterday, because it’s always better when it has time to sit in the refrigerator overnight!

Friday: Beer-roasted chicken, with EVOO glazed potatoes and vegetable. This whole chicken will provide meals for us one night, and lunches/sandwiches for a few days. We’ve got lots of yummy local potatoes in our bin, and we’ll pull out some frozen veggies. To round things off, we’ll have a big green salad with balsamic vinegar and oil.

Saturday: Banana & Black Bean Empanadas. This is a dry-run test for the crust recipe I’ll be using for one of my clients later this week. Healthy, full of protein, fiber, and potassium (which we both need more of with our current levels of activity), these will be served with a spicy yogurt sauce and green salad. A few will go in the freezer for lunches later.

Sunday: Clay pot miso chicken, served with vegetables. I’ve wanted to try this recipe for a while, and becaues it’s largely hands-off, this is a great time. It’s got over a pound of mushrooms in it! I even have a clay pot! This will give us some more leftovers for the coming week.

Monday: Indian Chicken. Yes, it’s a lot of chicken in the menu, but it’s the easiest thing we’ve got right now. Healthy options we can deal with are outweight variety in meats at the moment. And, we love this dish’s spice and freshness. Lots of green peppers and onions!

Tuesday: Sweet potato and black bean burritos. This is a revamp of a favorite from a great restaurant in Ann Arbor called Seva. They do a squash and black bean version; but, since we have more sweet potatoes than we have any idea what to do with, we’re using those.

Wednesday: Leftovers. Neither of us is really home this day at the same time, so we’ve planned things to give us leftovers for lunches and dinners.

Thursday: Shape-It-Up Meatloaf, served with whipped sweet potatoes and veggie. This is a super-healthy meatloaf, with spinach, black beans, oats, and TVP.  We love whipped sweet potaotes, and we’ll see what’s fresh at the market for a vegetable

Friday: chili. I’m going to be cooking all day, and need something that can just be tossed into a crock pot.

The reality of this meal plan remains to be seen. There are several things going on that could easily change some or all of it, but we’ve hopefully arranged it so that we’ll have enough leftovers in the ‘fridge of freezer that it won’t end in us eating out.

Another All Local Feast

I didn’t get photos of the venison (gifted to us by my nephews Josh and Willie), and the photographs of the rest aren’t spectacular due to technical difficulties (meaning I’d screwed up the settings on my camera and couldn’t figure out how to reset them); but, the food was amazing.

The menu was a fresh baby greens salad, wilted orange-glazed kale, olive-oil roasted sunchokes, and broiled venison with a coffee dry rub.

Tonight will be venison with cauliflower-potato puree and veggies. All local. Yum!

GMO Foods Linked to Serious Organ Damage

Organic News today is reporting on some of the first re-analysis of Monsanto’s GMO food study data. Monsanto didn’t want this data out, saying “proprietary information” could be stolen. The European food safety authorities made this data public anyway, against Monsanto’s wishes, in 2005. It’s taken this long to get a comprehensive new look at the data, and the results are not good.

I highly recommend this read to everyone. It’s too important to ignore.