blue artichoke

I read somewhere that it's ok to exercise when you're sick, as long as the illness is confined to your head (congestion, headache, sinus pressure). Or perhaps it was if it is in your body (fever, aches, chest congestion)? I can't remember, but right now it seems important to know. I can never remember when it is OK to drink moonshine either... you're supposed to light it and if the flame burns blue (or is it orange?), it is safe to drink. And do you run from a black bear and flail your arms to look bigger while maintaining eye contact with a brown bear, or is it the other way around? These are all really important things to know, but only the first one has minimal consequences if you choose unwisely. I decided to start exercising yesterday, but slowly. Instead of a heart-thumping, sweaty workout on the beastly elliptical, I had a nice easy jaunt on the Gazelle while watching a movie. I toyed with the idea of lifting weights, but got distracted before I made a decision. Today I feel much better, so I'll get back to my usual workout, though I'll probably take it easy on the beast.

Hey, do you ever have trouble picking a restaurant for lunch? Too indecisive? Well, now there's the Wheel of Food to make the decision for you! If only it could order for me too...

Getting to Know All About You: What is your favorite lunch restaurant?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 11:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (4)

In honor of Mardi Gras last week, I decided to make a New Orleans favorite for dinner last night, jambalaya. I've been reading a lot about traditional New Orleans food in Cornbread Nation, vol. 1, a compilation of Southern food writing, and now have a better idea of the difference between Creole and Cajun. Creoles are descendants of Louisiana's original Spanish, French and African populations and formed the upper crust of Louisiana society; Creole culinary traditions include gumbos and jambalaya. Jambalaya is a West African adaptation of Spanish paella. Cajuns are French-speaking Acadians from Nova Scotia. Cajun cooking is peasant-style, found originally in the rural swamplands and bayous of south Louisiana, and simpler than Creole cooking, though heavier, spicier and more robust; étoufée is a Cajun specialty. I generally prefer rural, peasant-style cooking to fancy-pants, pretentious cooking, but jambalaya doesn't cop an attitude or look down at me for using a paper napkin and eating on a tv tray in front of the television. It is a perfect sick-day food too; easy to put together with not a whole lot of dirty dishes to clean, and it's spicy enough to decongest nasal passages, for a while at least.

Jambalaya

This Creole dish is a breeze to prepare and works well for busy nights after holiday shopping. It's great when you need a meal that can stand for a while once it's ready, and it reheats well. Serve with hot sauce.

I used 1 chicken thigh, 1 chicken breast half and half of a turkey Kielbasa (probably 8 oz.). I omitted the shrimp because I'm persnickety about the preparation of shrimp (don't like shrimp mixed with anything else). I didn't miss the shrimp, there was plenty of meat, but someone who enjoys shrimp that has touched rice or something other than a pan would probably like the recipe as is. I used brown rice because I'm a health nut and don't keep white rice around much, and the rice took ~20 minutes longer to cook. I also used homemade chicken stock, so I don't know exactly how much I used - it was a round Ziploc bowl full plus 5-6 ice-cube size frozen blocks. I had to add some more liquid (water), I think perhaps because the brown rice absorbs more liquid than white rice. Anyway, this was really good.

2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup chopped smoked turkey sausage (about 4 ounces)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 garlic clove, minced
1 1/2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
2 3/4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons paprika
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1/4 pound large shrimp, peeled, deveined, and chopped
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and black pepper. Add chicken to pan, and cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from pan; cover and keep warm.

Add sausage to pan; cook 5 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring occasionally. Add 1 cup onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic; cover, reduce heat to low, and cook 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Stir in rice; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth, paprika, thyme, and red pepper; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Add chicken and tomatoes; cook, uncovered, 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Stir in shrimp; cover and cook 5 minutes or until shrimp are done. Remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Sprinkle with green onions.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 1/3 cups)

CALORIES 322(14% from fat); FAT 5.1g (sat 1.1g,mono 1.5g,poly 1.9g); PROTEIN 20.4g; CHOLESTEROL 68mg; CALCIUM 72mg; SODIUM 640mg; FIBER 3.2g; IRON 3.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 46.8g
Cooking Light, DECEMBER 2004

Getting to Know All About You: What's your favorite sick-day food?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 01:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I usually make our Sunday muffins on Saturday afternoon, because we're too hungry when we wake up on Sunday morning to wait for muffins to bake. However, I felt like crap yesterday; making muffins was waaaayy beyond my capabilities. I woke up this morning feeling slightly better, but determined to go about the day as usual. So I made fresh muffins for breakfast. These muffins are pretty good, and quick to mix up and get in the oven.

Whole-Grain Blackberry Spice Muffins

Coarsely chop frozen blackberries, and place them back in the freezer until ready to stir into the batter. To freeze muffins, let cool completely, and place in zip-top plastic bags. Reheat in microwave 20 seconds.

I used light brown sugar, 'cause that's what I have and I don't think it makes a whole lot of difference anyway, and I used pumpkin-pie spice because I had it and I don't really know what apple-pie spices are. I sprinkled sugar on the tops of only half of the muffins. Just because I'm a health nut doesn't mean that GC has to suffer too.

2 cups all-purpose flour (about 9 ounces)
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon apple-pie spice
1 cup fat-free milk
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups frozen blackberries, coarsely chopped
Cooking spray
1/4 cup granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 400°.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 6 ingredients (through apple-pie spice) in a large bowl. Make a well in center of mixture. Combine milk, butter, vanilla, and egg in a small bowl; add to flour mixture, stirring until just moist. Gently stir in blackberries.

Spoon 1/4 cup batter into each of 17 paper-lined muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 16 minutes. Sprinkle muffins evenly with granulated sugar; bake 3 minutes or until muffins spring back when touched lightly in center. Cool in pans 10 minutes on wire racks.

Yield: 17 muffins (serving size: 1 muffin)

CALORIES 177(15% from fat); FAT 3g (sat 1.2g,mono 1.1g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 3.5g; CHOLESTEROL 18mg; CALCIUM 68mg; SODIUM 181mg; FIBER 1.8g; IRON 1.4mg; CARBOHYDRATE 34.3g
Cooking Light, JANUARY 2006

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 12:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After a week of regular exercise, I am hobbling around with sore muscles at exactly one pound lighter. Muscle weighs more than fat, but also burns more calories, so I'm hoping that muscle gain will accelerate weight loss in the next 3 weeks. To celebrate surviving my first week as a health nut, I got my hair cut (finally cutting out all of the remaining underlying green hue that took almost 2 years to grow out). And then I got sick. I started feeling not-so-hot last night, and woke up this morning feeling worse. So, instead of a light workout on the gazelle and some sit-ups, I've spent the day sitting on the couch wishing I felt well enough to do things like cook, get dressed or work out. GC is taking good care of me, maybe too good care. He went out to the store for drugs and Kleenex, and came home with a chocolate meringue pie. Oh, cruel treat, tempting me when my defenses are low. For a store-bought pie, it is surprisingly good. But, still, I feel the need to make my own, for comparison. Perhaps when I feel better, and am no longer a health nut.

Getting to Know All About You: What's your favorite kind of pie?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 05:54 PM | Permalink | Comments (6)

I was a remarkably attractive child. I say "remarkably" because grown-ups would often remark, "You're just as cute as a button!" or "Where did you get such beautiful hair?" Both of these remarks were very confusing to a little girl. How cute are buttons? And why the fascination with my hair? My brother had dark brown/black hair and I don't remember anyone going on about his hair color. My dad had dark hair and my mom had light brown hair; why would adults wonder where I got my brown hair? According to my grandmother, I was a blue-eyed blonde baby, and pictures confirm very light brown hair in my early years. So the question of where I got my brown hair was quite perplexing. What had I done? I retired to to the bottom of my wardrobe (also known as my Most Horrible Place), where I would go to sulk or cry over the injustices of being a little sister, or to figure out the complexities of the world. And there in my most horrible place, I realized how I had turned my blonde hair brown: pancake syrup. Oh, I loved the stuff! Not even maple syrup, but the much cheaper caramel-colored sugar syrup. I would sneak down to the pantry and squeeze it straight into my mouth, just a few gulps at a time. I didn't like syrup on my pancakes or waffles, nope, just straight from the source, and in secret. I don't know if my mother ever wondered why we went through so much pancake syrup; I don't remember having pancakes or waffles that often. I also doubted that other kids drank so much pancake syrup, so that must be what darkened my hair. I'm not sure how long after making this discovery I stopped drinking pancake syrup straight from the bottle. I still don't often take pancake syrup on my pancakes, or if I do, only the tiniest amount. If I weren't such a health nut, I'd reconsider my rejection of pancake syrup. No one calls me cute as a button or remarks on my beautiful brown hair anymore. Probably because my hair has green undertones as a result of henna gone bad, and lots of grey. Nothing a bit of pancake syrup can't fix.

Getting to Know All About You: What was your favorite food as a child?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 11:10 AM | Permalink | Comments (6)

The weather has been so nice these past few days that I decided to take my fitness downtown. I laced up my sneakers and plugged into my fauxpod and walked briskly through downtown to the library, where I returned a book and checked out two more. I stopped off at the post office on the way back home. Now, in the winter, I don't leave my house unless I have good reason to. When the weather is nice, I wander around all over the place, just to be out enjoying the day. Today I felt like people were looking at me weird. I wondered if it were because of my pasty-white skin slathered in sunscreen, or maybe they were impressed with my new health nut image, or maybe I was shouting obscenities or sticking my tongue out of my mouth without realizing it. Do you ever wonder if you're acting inappropriately and don't realize it? People with Tourette's know they have it, and know their yips, shouts, flaps and jerks are unusual. But do crazy people do these things without even realizing it? Am I crazy? I think because I wonder at my sanity, that proves I'm not crazy. Crazy people don't wonder if they're crazy; they think they're normal, and that's why they're crazy. Maybe I got strange looks just because I wore my bikini to the library, working up the nerve to wear it to the gas station...

Getting to Know All About You: What's the most embarrassing thing you've done in public?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 04:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

And a fat Tuesday it is indeed. Four days into the 29 Days of Being a Health Nut, I am back where I started, after losing (and gaining right back) 0.8 pounds. The toasted coconut pie might have had something to do with that, but I'm hoping that it's because I'm building muscle. I must be, because they're complaining loudly, especially the ones involved in sitting, standing and walking.

My Health Nut plan is to eat a healthy breakfast, lunch and snacks, with a reasonable dinner in a proper portion size, and exercise. We got some gym equipment from my dad and his wife for a wedding present: a weight bench that I never use because of our cramped and low-ceilinged basement, and an elliptical that I have just returned to using because the basement is a comfortable-chilly now instead of a frigid, burn-your-lungs-with-icy-air chilly. To begin the new year, I bought a Gazelle elliptical, which is a low-tech, low-impact machine that we keep upstairs in front of the tv. It doesn't give nearly as good of a workout as the basement elliptical, but we can use it while watching tv, which is better than just sitting on the couch. So, my exercise schedule is as follows: four days a week on the downstairs beastly elliptical followed by weight training (upper body two days a week, lower body two days a week); two days a week on the upstairs low-impact Gazelle followed by an abs/core workout; yoga on Sundays. I vary my weight training exercises weekly, to keep from getting bored and to keep challenging my muscles. This week, I'm doing a weight training program from Cooking Light.

To help keep me motivated, yesterday I bought a bikini. I haven't worn a bikini since 8th grade. And for those who know me and are worried about running into me prancing about town in a bikini, it's motivation. I kept all the tags and the receipt.

Getting to Know All About You: Prefer beach or pool?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 02:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (7)

Happy 4705, Year of the Pig! Yesterday was Chinese New Year, so GC and I celebrated by running Chinese fire drills and eating Chinese appetizers for dinner. We had two kinds of dumplings, pork and vegetable, fried tofu, and a year's worth of soy sauce in three dipping sauces. I started assembling the dumplings early in the day. I intended to halve each of the recipes, but got distracted rockin' out to Sam & Dave and only halved the amount of pork in the pork dumplings and left the rest of the ingredients at their original proportion. And they were awesome! I'd do the same thing again next time, with our without Sam & Dave to distract me. I forgot to halve anything in the vegetarian dumplings. I also made up the sauces earlier in the day, hoping I wouldn't be too rushed trying to get dinner ready before The Simpsons started.

When it came time to cook everything, I started by frying the tofu and putting on a pot of water to boil for the dumplings. With half the stove top in use and trays of dumplings on the counter, I ran out of space in my tiny kitchen with inadequate counter space. I had another tray with a cooling rack in it to drain the cooked dumplings (which I had to cook in batches) balancing on top of a dirty skillet on the unused half of the stove. While transferring the last batch of pork dumplings to the precariously balanced draining rack (see where this is going?), the rack slid off of the stove, dumping most of the dumplings onto the floor. Aargh! So much work, sitting there on the floor. I threw away the dumplings that broke or landed directly on the rug or the floor. I picked off the ones that landed on top of other dumplings and threw them back into the pot of boiling water, to rinse them off. I'm not squeamish about eating things off the floor. I don't make a habit of it, but if something drops and the floor seems clean, I'll eat it. I ain't scared; I have an awesome immune system.

So, anyway, I finished cooking the vegetable dumplings and we ate them with the salvaged pork dumplings and fried tofu. And that's how the Year of the Pig started for us.

Pork Dumplings

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2007

1 pound ground pork
1 scallion, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped chives
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger
Salt and pepper
50 wonton wrappers

1. In a large bowl, combine the pork, scallion, chives, soy sauce, vinegar and ginger. Season with salt and pepper.

2. Brush 1 wonton wrapper with water and place 1 heaping teaspoon filling in the center. Fold the wrapper into a triangle, squeeze out the air and press the edges together to seal, wetting the dough if necessary to make it stick. Pinch together the 2 corners of the folded edge. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.

3. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, add the dumplings and boil until cooked through, about 3 minutes after the water returns to a boil. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain. Serve with dipping sauces.

MAKES ABOUT FOUR DOZEN.

Vegetable Dumplings

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2007.
I forgot to halve this recipe, but it made only two dozen dumplings, not 40.

8 ounces firm tofu, cut into small cubes
1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and finely chopped
8 scallions, white and light green parts only, finely chopped
One-quarter of a head napa cabbage, shredded and finely chopped
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
50 wonton wrappers

1. In a large bowl, combine the tofu, mushrooms, scallions, cabbage, soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger.

2. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, add the vegetable mixture and cook until tender, about 5 minutes; transfer to a bowl and let cool.

3. Brush one wonton wrapper with water and place 1 heaping teaspoon filling in the center. Fold the wrapper into a triangle, squeeze out the air and press the edges together to seal, wetting the dough if necessary to make it stick. Pinch together the two corners of the folded edge. Repeat with the remaining wrappers.

4. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Working in batches, add the dumplings and boil until cooked through, about 3 minutes after the water returns to a boil. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain. Serve with dipping sauces.

MAKES ABOUT FOUR DOZEN.

Salt and Pepper Tofu

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2007

1 pound firm tofu, drained
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil, for frying

1. Cut the tofu into 1-inch cubes and season with salt and pepper.

2. In a medium skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add half the tofu (don't overcrowd the pan) and cook, turning once, until golden on both sides, about 4 minutes. Drain on a paper-towel-lined-plate. Repeat with more oil and the remaining tofu. Serve with dipping sauces.

MAKES THIRTY-TWO PIECES.

Chile-Soy Sauce

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2007
This sauce was OK, but the other two are better.

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon red chili sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce

Stir together.

Honey-Orange Sauce

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2007
This was GC's favorite dipping sauce.

1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup honey
2 tablespoons chopped orange peel

Stir together and serve.

Scallion-Ginger Sauce

From Every Day with Rachael Ray, February 2007
This was my favorite dipping sauce.

1/2 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 finely chopped scallion
1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh ginger

Stir together and serve.

Getting to Know All About You: Would you eat food that had fallen on the floor?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 02:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

The 29 Days of Being a Health Nut are in full force, and I've already cheated! Day 1 was Saturday, and GC took me out to dinner for my birthday. We went to a popular small restaurant in a neighboring town. I'd heard of it, but didn't really know anything about it. It was a tiny store-front restaurant that had good food with no pretension. The tables were covered with butcher paper; there was a cup of crayons next to the squat man/woman salt and pepper shakers. The menu was on a large board that the server stood next to our table while we decided. I don't know what they do if two or more tables are seated at once, maybe flip a coin to see who gets to see the menu board first?

I ordered a bowl of tomato/red pepper soup, which was pretty good (but not as good as the one I make). GC ordered the apple and chevre appetizer, which we both agree was the best part of the meal (goat cheese covered in toasted almond slivers served with Granny Smith apples drizzled with balsamic vinegar and sprinkled with dried cranberries. So simple, yet delicious). I ordered the pork porterhouse with orange glaze, which was a fat pork chop in a glorified orange marmalade, served with fried mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables. The pork was overcooked, but good otherwise. I liked the orange glaze and think I'll make pork chops with orange marmalade some time. GC ordered tuna with capers, which came with red new potatoes and grilled vegetables. I didn't try his, but the tuna was perfectly cooked rare. Before we got to the restaurant, I told GC that I wasn't going to have dessert, because I'm a health nut now. He knew better. The dessert menu was scribbled on the back of an order ticket. There were two that sounded good to me, toasted coconut pie and chocolate raspberry pie. The two that sounded good to GC were the toasted coconut pie and the chocolate toffee cake. We got one slice of the toasted coconut pie. I intended to have only a bite or two, but before I knew it, I had eaten half. So, in the face of my first temptation, I failed miserably (but happily). The cake was really good, but not even close to Purple Fried Okra's French Coconut Pie. That one's special.

Before the 29 Days began, I had intended to deviate from the Sunday Muffins and make Date-Pecan Rugelah. After my slip last night, I thought it best to stick to the healthy muffins. Maple Raisin Bran Muffins have whole-wheat flour, oat bran (I didn't have enough, so I supplemented with ground flaxseed), raisins, cinnamon and oats. Lots of good things. And a lot of sugar. I didn't realize how much until I was putting it together. The muffins tasted awesome, and I think would taste just as good if I replaced the butter with applesauce, halved the sugar in the batter and halved the topping mixture.

Maple Raisin Bran Muffins

I didn't have any sour cream, so I subbed plain nonfat yogurt; I also used skim milk with a splash of whipping cream instead of the 2% milk. These were great muffins; and with some minor adjustments could be great for you.

BATTER:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour (about 3 ounces)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (about 2 ounces)
1/2 cup oat bran
1/2 cup raisins
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup reduced-fat sour cream
1/2 cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

TOPPING:
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup quick-cooking oats
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°.

To prepare batter, lightly spoon the flours into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Place flours in a large bowl. Stir in oat bran and next 6 ingredients (through salt); make a well in center of dry ingredients. Combine sour cream and next 5 ingredients (through egg); stir well with a whisk. Add to dry ingredients; stir just until moist. Spoon mixture evenly into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray.

To prepare topping, combine 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and remaining ingredients in a small bowl; toss with a fork until moist. Sprinkle topping evenly over batter. Bake at 375° for 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack.

Yield: 1 dozen (serving size: 1 muffin)

CALORIES 249(29% from fat); FAT 7.8g (sat 3.8g,mono 1.9g,poly 1.2g); PROTEIN 4.6g; CHOLESTEROL 52mg; CALCIUM 65mg; SODIUM 274mg; FIBER 2.1g; IRON 1.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.1g
Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2005

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Did anyone watch 30 Days, the tv series by Morgan Spurlock, the guy from SuperSize Me? If you aren't familiar with the show, it's about people trying something new, or living a different lifestyle, for 30 days. I'm going to try my own version, called 29 Days of Being a Health Nut.

When Chandra Levy was in the news, the media kept reporting that she was a fitness nut. I made Blue Grilled Cheese promise that if I ever were to go missing, she was to say that I am a health nut. I don't care if that means I won't be found, I just don't want the media to report that my hobby is eating. Anyway, I'm going to make good on that claim, for the next 29 days at least, so as to not make BGC a liar. Not that I plan to go missing, no, I'm going to the beach for two weeks. In 29 days.

My plan includes healthy eating, portion control, no fried foods, only one can of diet soda per day, no desserts (which is difficult because we have boxes of Valentine's candy stashed around the house to taunt me), healthy Sunday muffins, and an hour of exercise every day (yoga counts as exercise, but only for one day a week). Starting tomorrow. Today I'm polishing off all the candy I can find.

And, in case you were wondering, yes, I tried on bathing suits today. No, I didn't buy one. Too soon.

Getting to Know All About Those with a TypeKey Account Who Can Post Comments: If you were to go missing, what would you want the media to say about you?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 04:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

When talking to a friend yesterday who called to wish me a happy 30th, she told me about another friend who had done 30 new things over the course of her 30th year. I think that sounds like a good idea, even if it wasn't mine, so I'm going to do that too. Starting with roasting a duck.

I made duck a' l'orange in cooking school, but we started with nice, trimmed duck breasts that we only had to cook and sauce. That was enough of a challenge itself at the time, but that's my only attempt at cooking duck. GC loves duck, so I thought I'd make duck for our Valentine dinner. I intended to get duck breasts and go from there, but apparently no one keeps duck breasts on hand. They have to be special ordered, and two days before Valentine's day is too late. So I got a whole duck and decided to wing it. Duck has a similar anatomy to a chicken, but smaller legs, longer and leaner wings and a much fatter breast (so it can float). And it comes with its long neck attached and tucked inside it's body cavity, which is kind of gross. I hacked off the neck and kept it and the giblets for a duck stock or broth or something later. I cut off the extra flaps of fat and threw them away, though in hindsight, I should have kept and rendered the fat for frying potatoes. Oh well. So, with the duck thus cleaned and prepared, I followed a recipe for Roast Duck with Lavender and Honey. I come across an A+ recipe rather infrequently, but this is definitely one. The skin browned and crisped, the fat absorbed the spice rub and was so flavorful and kept the breast meat moist even though I overcooked them a bit trying to get the legs fully cooked too. If you ever turn thirty and decide to roast a duck, this is the recipe to start with. It's super, and not difficult.

Roast Duck with Lavender and Honey

· 4 tsp. fresh, or 2 tsp. dried, lavender blossoms
· 1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves
· 1 1/2 tsp. coarse sea salt
· 1/4 tsp. black peppercorns
· 4 Tbsp. lavender honey or orange flower honey
· 5-to-6-pound duck

Preheat oven to 350°F. Finely grind 2 teaspoons fresh or 1 teaspoon dried lavender blossoms, thyme, sea salt and peppercorns in spice grinder or with mortar and pestle. Remove fat deposits and giblets from duck cavity. Trim excess skin and fat from neck area. Rinse inside and out; pat dry. Cutting through skin and fat (but not flesh) of duck breasts, score in crisscross pattern. Rub inside and outside of duck with herb mixture. Place duck, breast up, on rack in roasting pan. Roast 2 hours.

Remove from oven. Increase oven temperature to 375°F. Transfer duck to plate. Pour pan juices into 4-cup glass measuring cup; spoon off fat. Return juices and 1 tablespoon fat to pan. Return duck to pan. Brush with 2 tablespoons honey. Roast duck 20 minutes, basting once with pan juices.

Brush with 2 tablespoons honey; sprinkle with 1 teaspoon fresh or 1/2 teaspoon dried lavender. Roast duck until deep golden and thermometer inserted into innermost part of thigh registers 180°F., about 5 minutes longer.

My roasting pan seems to drink up all the juices, or I choose birds that don't give off a lot of juice; either way, I had barely enough to fill a 1-cup measuring glass after the first 2 hours. I just left it all in the pan, juice, fat and all.

While the duck was roasting, I made Wild Rice with Dried Cranberries and Hazelnuts. This was just OK. The recipe called for juice of half of an orange and zest from 1 orange, which I think was a bad call on the part of the recipe creator. The citrus was all wrong. It would have been much better with just the dried cranberries and hazelnuts. GC and I liked it enough to eat what was on our plates, but neither of us were looking forward to leftovers, so we threw the rest out. I'll not share the recipe with you, because you deserve better. I will, however, share a different recipe, one that I made a few weeks ago that was another A+ recipe. Had I served it with the duck, this would have been the perfect meal, but perhaps entirely too delicious.

Bay Leaf and Thyme-Scented Roasted Winter Squash and Garlic

Cooking Light, October 2004
I used one medium butternut squash and peeled the garlic. The squash had browned crisp outside and mushy, sweet inside. Great flavor and smell. Easy to make.

10 c. cubed (2”), peeled butternut squash (~3#)
1 T. olive oil
¾ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
12 garlic cloves, unpeeled
8 fresh thyme sprigs
6 bay leaves
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 450.

Combine all of the ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl; toss to coat. Arrange in a single layer on a greased jellyroll pan. Bake at 450 for 45 minutes or until tender, stirring after 20 minutes. Discard thyme and bay leaves before serving.

Serves 6.
131C, 2.5g fat, 28.6 carbs, 303mg sodium

Along with the wild rice side dish, I served Oven-Roasted Asparagus with Thyme. I used to say that deep-fried and grilled were my favorite food preparation methods, but I'm going to have to add roasted to that list. I love roasted asparagus. It's so easy to make, and tastes great. I threw in some extra garlic to roast along with the asparagus, too. Mmmm....

Oven-Roasted Asparagus With Thyme

1 1/2 pounds asparagus spears
1 large garlic clove, halved
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 400°.

Snap off tough ends of asparagus; remove scales with a knife or vegetable peeler, if desired. Set aside.
Rub cut sides of garlic over a 13 x 9-inch baking dish; place garlic in dish. Add asparagus; drizzle with oil. Sprinkle asparagus with salt, thyme, and pepper; toss gently. Bake at 400° for 20 minutes, stirring once.

Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 62(38% from fat); FAT 2.6g (sat 0.4g,mono 1.7g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 4g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 42mg; SODIUM 297mg; FIBER 3.7g; IRON 1.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8.3g
Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 1997

And, for dessert, of course there was dessert!, a flourless chestnut chocolate cake. GC came back from his recent skiing vacation raving about a flourless chocolate cake he had for dessert at one of the resort restaurants. I've made one or two flourless cakes before, and thought I'd give it a try again. I've had a can of chestnut puree that I picked up somewhere and have been waiting for the opportunity to use. Unfortunately, I don't remember where I got it, so I can't help you find a can of your own, which is too bad, because this cake is awesome.

No-Flour Chocolate Chestnut Torte

I made this a day in advance, because flourless cakes are generally better the next day. I used Baker's semisweet chocolate squares. I omitted the glaze because I thought it would be too rich, and I used up most of my whipping cream making something else and was too lazy to go out to the store for more. The cake was not nearly as dense and rich as I had expected; it was almost like a thicker baked mousse. I sprinkled powdered sugar on top, which I think was better than the glaze would have been, because it wasn't so rich that I couldn't go back for a second piece!

10 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled
1 (15 ounce) can chestnut puree or chestnut cream
4 ounces unsalted butter or unsalted margarine
6 egg yolks
6 egg whites
1 pinch salt
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Glaze
6 ounces semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped (optional)
1/2 cup whipping cream or brewed coffee (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a 9 or 10-inch springform pan with a circle of baking parchment.
3. Cake: Prepare melted chocolate.
4. Set aside and allow to cool to room temperature.
5. Using a whisk or in an electric mixer, blend chestnut cream or puree with butter or margarine.
6. Add vanilla, egg yolks and melted chocolate.
7. Blend well.
8. In another clean bowl, with clean dry beaters, whip the egg whites with the salt, just to break up and foam slightly.
9. Gradually, while increasing mixer speed, dust in sugar to form stiff glossy (but not dry) peaks.
10. Fold 1/3 of egg whites into chestnut mixture and work in well to loosen.
11. Gently fold in remaining 2/3 of egg whites in 2 installments, blending well but taking care not to deflate the mixture.
12. Spoon into prepared pan and bake until done, 35-45 minutes.
13. Cake rises somewhat and looks dry and slightly cracked on top when done.
14. Middle should be soft but firm.
15. Cool in pan for 20 minutes, then remove to a wire rack.
16. Glaze: Bring the whipping cream (or coffee) to a boil and add the chopped chocolate all at once.
17. Remove from heat and stir briskly, using a wire whisk, until all of the chocolate melts.
18. Invert cake on a wire cake rack placed on a cookie sheet.
19. Pour glaze over cake, using a metal spatula to spread.
20. Serve with a dollop of cinnamon-scented whipped cream, or pureed raspberries, or garnished with chocolate shavings, or dusted with sifted confectioners' sugar.

14 servings

http://www.recipezaar.com

So, there you have our Valentine's dinner menu. Except for the wild rice, which was just OK, this was a spectacular meal. And I roasted a duck for the very first time.

Getting to Know All About Those with a TypeKey Account Who Can Leave Comments: What's something that you've always wanted to do, but haven't had a chance to yet?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 06:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

Having a Valentine birthday has worked out well for me because I don’t like birthdays, and Valentine’s Day takes the focus off of my advancing age. When I was single, it was a diversion for my single friends and me. Who needs a love interest when there’s birthday cake? It was kind of an awkward holiday when I was dating; a Valentine and birthday puts a lot of pressure on a guy, but at least all the mandatory celebrations were taken care of in one day. And now that I’m married, GC and I split up the festivities. I cook a fancy dinner for him on Valentine’s Day, which means that I get to spend the day doing something I love, and get to avoid the long waits, rushed dinner, harried service and subpar food on the busiest day of the year for restaurants. (Note: If you couldn't make dinner reservations at your favorite fancy restaurant, try White Castle.) Then later in the week or month, he takes me out to a special dinner at a place of my choosing or we celebrate with friends. As I said, I don’t really like birthdays (well, mine in particular), so last year I tried to plan a surprise birthday party for myself – with the surprise being that only I knew it was a birthday party. We made plans to go bowling with friends, but GC spilled the beans and there were cupcakes and maybe a little bit of singing. This year, I’ve decided to publicly acknowledge my birthday. I’m thirty.

I started the festivities this morning on a sugar-high from three (one for each decade) Krispy Kreme doughnuts. GC was home sick from work this morning, so got to share breakfast with me. I have leftover pizza and breadsticks scheduled for lunch. It will be a gluttonous day. I shouldn't be alone in this; you should help me celebrate turning 30. Go to the nearest Food City and pick up a piece of birthday cake at the bakery counter. Order dessert. Eat something sinful and decadent.

Getting to Know All About Those with a TypeKey Account Who Can Post Comments: What did you do to celebrate my birthday?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Today is the last day of my twenties. While turning the big 3-0 isn’t a big deal to me, not knowing how to properly close my twenties is. Do I spend the day mulling over the accomplishments and shortcomings of my second decade? Do I do something wild and memorable? Or do I let it pass as another mundane day, another Tuesday?

So far, it's like any other day. Went to bed too late and didn't get enough sleep. Woke up to a big dirty dish in the kitchen sink. Oatmeal for breakfast. It did snow again last night, so that's pretty exciting, but puts a damper on any memorable outdoor activities, especially if it keeps snowing.

Getting to Know All About Those with A Typekey Account and are Approved to Leave Comments: What was your most memorable birthday, and why?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 10:12 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)

GC has quite an impressive nose for cooking smells. Last night while I was making dinner, he asked if I were making red beans and rice, or maybe black beans and rice. Indeed I was. Last night's dinner was the national dish of Brazil, feijoada (fay-ZHWAH-dah), which is pretty much a vinegary black beans and rice with sausage. It's easy to make and even easier to eat. I think the recipe I used is simplified and lightened up a bit, but it was still delicious, if not absolutely authentic. I fried up a plantain for dessert.

Feijoada

I cut the recipe to 1/4 because we are but two stomachs.

2 pounds dried black beans
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 cups chopped onion
3/4 pound turkey Polish kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 large garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
6 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 bay leaf
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Sort and wash beans; place in a large Dutch oven. Cover with water to 2 inches above beans, and bring to a boil; cook 2 minutes. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 1 hour. Drain beans; set aside. Wipe pan with a paper towel.

Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add onion, kielbasa, and garlic; sauté 10 minutes or until onion is tender. Add cumin, and sauté 1 minute. Return beans to pan. Add water and next 3 ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour and 10 minutes or until beans are tender; remove bay leaf. Stir in vinegar and hot sauce. Serve over rice.

Yield: 15 cups (serving size: 1 cup)

CALORIES 276 (11% from fat); FAT 3.5g (sat 0.9g,mono 1g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 16.9g; CHOLESTEROL 23mg; CALCIUM 94mg; SODIUM 324mg; FIBER 8.9g; IRON 5.7mg; CARBOHYDRATE 43.1g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 1995

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 08:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

Sundays are the only day of the week that I don't feel a need to accomplish something. Maybe it's the Protestant work ethic that makes me feel guilty for sitting around on any of the other six days of the week, but Sunday is a day of rest, and I do my best to uphold that tradition.

I usually make muffins on Saturday afternoon, so GC and I can sleep late on Sunday and have breakfast already prepared when we wake up hungry. This morning we had peanut butter chocolate chip muffins. What a treat! So sweet and decadent when warm and dripping with butter, it was like waking up to eat dessert. We don't always have such sweet treats for our Sunday muffins; last week we had some uber-healthy Orange Bran Flax Muffins packed with all sorts of healthy grains, but also delicious in a righteous, start-the-day-right sort of way.

These peanut butter chocolate chip muffins were really easy to make. I halved the recipe because I had only 1 c. of my homemade Bisquick left, and didn't feel like making more. My Bisquick was sort of old, I made it last September, and I was afraid it wouldn't have enough oomph to make the muffins rise because the mixed batter was really runny. I added some extra flour (maybe 1/4 cup) and a pinch of baking powder to thicken the batter and ensure proper leavening. I guess that was a good decision, because the muffins turned out just right. After the Chocolate Chip Cookie Snackdown, where tasters overwhelmingly preferred the dark chocolate chips, I've pretty much banished semisweet chocolate chips from the house. I always prefer dark chocolate to semisweet, so I substituted dark chocolate chips for the semisweet called for in the recipe. The batter was mixed all in one bowl, so there was little clean-up afterwards. The most difficult thing about making these muffins was waiting until this morning to try them. When I make them again, I think I'll add more peanut butter. I liked the crunch from the peanuts, but the peanut butter flavor was surprisingly subtle, and overwhelmed by the chocolate chips. That's not a bad thing, of course, but peanut butter and chocolate are such a great flavor combination; I want it to be a bit more balanced. The recipe title claims that these are good muffins for freezing; I can't see that I'd ever have any leftover to test that claim.

Freezer-Friendly Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Muffins

Prep: 10 min., Bake: 24 min.

2 cups all-purpose baking mix

1 cup milk

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

Stir together first four ingredients in a large mixing bowl, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in the peanut butter and vanilla just until blended; stir in chocolate morsels. Spoon batter into lightly greased paper-lined muffin pans, filling two-thirds full.

Bake at 350° for 24 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans; serve warm.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Bisquick Original All-Purpose Baking Mix.

Yield: Makes 16 to 18 muffins

Southern Living, APRIL 2006

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 01:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We had a warm snap this Tuesday past. After temperatures that barely made it into the teens, it was a nice surprise. I got off work early and drove home with the sunroof open and windows down, coat tossed into the back seat. I totally wanted to lay out. It was 45 degrees, and it lasted only until the sun went down. Now it’s cold again. I don’t know how cold, because I haven’t been leaving the house as often as I should, but cold enough that the people walking by my window in their scarves, gloves and heavy coats still look miserably cold. Most of the snow we’ve gotten recently melted away on Tuesday, but there’s more in the forecast for tomorrow.

(The title for this entry comes from a quote from The Wire, an HBO series that you should be watching. Seriously, rent it, Netflix it, download it, beg, borrow or steal it, just watch it! You’ll love it. And if you don’t, you shouldn’t be reading this blog, because you have questionable taste and this blog is about things that taste good. I didn’t post the quote directly because it contains language offensive to some, and I don’t use bad words on this blog.)

Dinner tonight: Leftover barley and mushroom soup with popovers.
Getting to Know All About Those With a TypeKey Account Who Are Approved to Leave Comments: 1) What are you having for dinner tonight?
2) Do you prefer extremely hot or extremely cold weather?

As requested by Red Momo, click here for the soup recipe:

Mushroom, Barley, and Beef Soup

Try to use hulled barley for this soup--it's a less refined form of the grain that provides more fiber and iron than pearled barley, which will also work nicely. Beef stew meat also contributes iron, plus selenium. The mushrooms supply vitamin D and are a prime source of ergothioneine, an antioxidant that may help prevent cell damage and reduce the risk of cancer.

1/2 cup dried porcini mushrooms (about 1/4 ounce)
1 cup boiling water
Cooking spray
3 1/2 cups sliced cremini mushrooms (about 8 ounces)
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot (about 1 medium)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped parsnip (about 1 small)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
12 ounces lean beef stew meat, cut into bite-sized pieces
6 cups less-sodium beef broth, divided
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 thyme sprigs
1 cup uncooked barley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Place the porcini mushrooms in a medium bowl; cover with boiling water. Cover and let stand 30 minutes or until tender. Drain mushrooms in a colander over a bowl, reserving liquid. Chop mushrooms; set aside.

Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add cremini mushrooms and chopped onion; sauté 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Spoon onion mixture into a medium bowl. Recoat pan with cooking spray. Add chopped carrot, celery, parsnip, and minced garlic; sauté 4 minutes or until lightly browned. Add carrot mixture to onion mixture in a bowl.

Heat oil in pan over medium-high heat. Add beef; cook 3 minutes, browning on all sides. Add 1 cup broth to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add remaining 5 cups broth, chopped porcini, porcini liquid, onion mixture, 2 cups water, salt, pepper, and thyme. Bring to a boil; cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 1 hour or until beef is just tender.

Discard thyme sprigs. Stir in barley; cover and cook 30 minutes or until barley is al dente. Uncover and cook an additional 15 minutes. Remove from heat; sprinkle with parsley.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 1/2 cups soup and 1 teaspoon parsley)

CALORIES 318(27% from fat); FAT 9.6g (sat 2.9g,mono 4.6g,poly 0.9g); PROTEIN 25.7g; CHOLESTEROL 58mg; CALCIUM 47mg; SODIUM 700mg; FIBER 7.4g; IRON 3.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 32.5g
Cooking Light, MARCH 2006

I had a mix of dried wild mushrooms, probably a bit more than ¼ oz, I think, that I used instead of the dried porcini. I also subbed baby bellas for the cremini mushrooms, because I couldn’t find the cremini. Omitted celery. To hurry it along a bit, I soaked the barley in hot water for a while, then used a carton of beef broth (4 c., I think) and omitted the 2 c. water, but added the soaking water with the barley. I accidentally used the ground beef I had thawing in the fridge for another recipe instead of the beef stew meat, and not as much as called for in the recipe. Other than being skimpy on the beef, this was a really good soup, and easy to make.

I made the popover recipe that's on the side of the box that the popover pan came in. It's super. I love popovers; they're the reason I make soup at all, so I can make popovers on the side.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 01:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (4)

I try to eat more good stuff than bad, and try to get my daily dose of vitamins through food rather than supplements. But have you ever really sat down and looked at food labels, trying to calculate what and how much to eat to get the necessary nutrients? It's difficult, especially because vegetables don't have food labels. You have to do research. And math. I love the research part, but I throw up my hands at the math and think in unquantifiable terms, such as "butt-load," "handful" (but keeping in mind that my "handful" is tiny), "bunch," "some," or "too much," and generally rely on my multivitamin to fill in the gaps of my faulty math. It's a good system, and I've been happy with it. I've never had scurvy or overdosed on iron. But then I read in the Lean Plate Club column in the Washington Post that there is little evidence that multivitamins are effective, and some concern that some ingredients may be harmful. But the evidence is tepid: According to the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, an expert panel convened by the National Institutes of Health notes that there's not enough evidence to recommend for or against these common dietary supplements." So, if you're already taking multivitamins, there isn't enough evidence of harm to recommend you stop, but if you don't take multivitamins, there isn't enough evidence of benefits to recommend starting. Huh. Well, I don't really mind so much wasting money on an ineffective multivitamin, but I am more troubled about these suspected harmful ingredients. Most of the concern is about a vitamin overdose. Certain vitamins, such as Vitamin A, can be toxic at high levels. Just enough Vitamin A boosts vision and the immune system; too much contributes to osteoporosis. If you already get 100% of the recommended daily allowance from your multivitamin, you'd better not be eating additional sources of Vitamin A, such as eggs, meat, milk, cheese, cream, liver, kidney, cod, and halibut fish oil. Plus, beta carotene is converted to Vitamin A in the body, so you'd better stay away from carrots, pumpkin, sweet potatoes, winter squashes, cantaloupe, pink grapefruit, apricots, broccoli, spinach and most dark green, leafy vegetables too, just to stay on the safe side. Beta carotene helps protect the lungs, but only if they're already healthy. If you're a smoker, beta carotene supplements actually increase your risk for lung cancer. Yikes! This adds even more calculations to my already jumbled nutrient-math.

My landlord has been talking up some supplements that he swears has cured all his ailments and makes him immune to everything. I think he takes several, but the top three he recommends, all from Garden of Life, were Primal Defense, a probiotic mix that supports intestinal health; Living Multi, a multivitamin that contains the optimal balance of vitamins in whole food form; and Perfect Food, a caplet equivalent to 5-10 servings of vegetables. These supplements aren't cheap. For these three, you'd shell out about $250 for a 90 day supply (and these prices are taken from a vitamin discount site), because the recommended daily dose of the Living Multi is 9 per day and 5 per day of the Perfect Food (just one per day for the Primal Defense)! Oy, that's just ridiculous. No wonder rent is so expensive; we're feeding the landlord's Garden of Life supplement habit! 15 pills a day? No thanks, I'll keep pressing my luck by trying to eat more good than bad, and I think I'll elect not to replenish my multivitamins when I run out. Without the safety net of a multivitamin, maybe I'll be forced to eat a healthy mix of veggies daily. I'll continue to take my fish oil supplement twice a day, though. There's no way I'm going to eat salmon.

Get to Know All About Those with a TypeKey Account Who are Approved to Leave Comments: Do you take vitamins, a multivitamin or other supplement?

You know, I seldom answer these questions I pose. I take a Women's One-a-Day multivitamin, Vitamin C, fish oil pills, and potassium whenever I've had an overzealous go at weight training (it's supposed to help muscle recovery and repair).

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 03:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

It seems that I effectively shut out all spammers, but in the process cut off most legitimate comments too. Right now, anyone with a TypeKey account will be recognized as an authentic person and allowed to leave comments. It's a free service that will allow you to comment on Blue Artichoke, and any other blog that requires commenter verification. If you choose not to sign up, your comment will be submitted to me for approval before being published on the site. That is, of course, once I figure out how to make that happen. Until then, you'll be denied.

In all the mess of digging out from under the crushing load of spam I received recently, I forgot that I can still post entries. There were several things I wanted to write about; I've already forgotten most. But, we did have an "ethnic" meal that I want to tell you about. For those of you raised in the South, the Yankees can seem like a different ethnic group. Even in these modern times, the yoke of the Civil War still exists, generations later. I remember being called out at a party in college for being a racist, slave-holding Southerner responsible for retarding the economic development of the country. Me, personally. Of course, the guy who started picking this fight with me was stupidly drunk at the time and rummaging through a stranger's freezer looking for purple icee pops, but it still rankled me. Though the South (but for a few individual holdouts who wave Confederate flags, point their cannons to the north and proclaim "the South Will Rise Again") has given up all thoughts of secession, there still exist regional culinary differences. The pot roast, much loved throughout the country, is traditional Yankee fare. And I made a Traditional Yankee Pot Roast for dinner:

Traditional Yankee Pot Roast

2 t. olive oil
1 (4#) boneless chuck roast, trimmed
1 T. kosher salt
1 T. cracked black pepper
2 c. coarsely chopped onion
2 c. low-salt beef broth
½ c. ketchup
2 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 c. chopped plum tomato
1 ¼ # small red potatoes
1 # carrots, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
2 T. fresh lemon juice
Chopped fresh parsley (optional)

Preheat oven to 300.

Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over med-high heat. Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper. Add roast to pan, browning on all sides (~8 minutes). Remove from pan. Add onion to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until browned. Return roast to pan. Combine broth, ketchup and Worcestershire; pour over roast. Add tomato; bring to simmer.

Cover and bake at 300 for 2-½ hours or until tender. Add potatoes and carrots; cover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until veggies are tender. Stir in lemon juice. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Serves 10.

290C, 8.4g fat, 20g carbs

I don't remember where this recipe came from, but it was pretty good, and would have been even better had the potatoes and carrots been a bit more done. They were fully cooked, but still crisp-tender, not the break-apart, mushy vegetables that can be gummed instead of chewed, which is how we like them here at Blue Artichoke. Half an hour just wasn't long enough. Next time, I'll add them sooner, or cut them smaller. I also had a smaller piece of meat, so I browned it well, then let it simmer in the oven for an hour and a half before adding the vegetables. I also forgot the lemon juice. It smelled so good that my mouth was salivating and my stomach grumbling; when the timer went off, I served it up and tucked right in. No garnish.

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 09:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In the past 48 hours, I've received about one thousand spam comments to this blog. Aargh! Spammers should be punched in the face!

I'm in the process of deleting the comments and bolstering my filter settings. I don't yet know what this will mean for you real people out there, but until I get this figured out, the blog will be on the down-low and you won't be able to leave comments.

Instead of watching the Super Bowl, I'll be reading the Guide to Combating Comment Spam. Go team!

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 06:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

People have relationships with food that go way beyond the "eat to live" vs. "live to eat" dichotomy. Food plays many roles. It is a social event, as when you meet your friends for dinner; a icebreaker, as a safe activity for a first date; a celebration, as the focus of receptions, parties and other special events; a consolation, as the pint of ice cream after a break-up; a bond, as the one time of day many families spend all together; a comfort after a long, hard, tiring and distressing day. Food is also a reward for good behavior or an extra-long run, an expression of love, an adventure, medicine, or a temptation. Yup, we have a very complex relationship with food.

Beyond all these abstract and emotional ties to food, we have a physical relationship to the food in front of us, evident in how we handle food. I've observed people who don't like different food types to touch and carefully create boundaries between items. I've seen others mix everything together, totally unconcerned with how the flavors meld with each other. Some prefer to pile everything up on a piece of toast for maximum efficiency. I've seen others start at the closest edge of the plate and eat their way to the other side. Some get a second helping, no matter how big or little their first serving. I tend to eat all of one item before moving on to the next, or until I grow tired of that flavor, starting with the item that will suffer the most from exposure (i.e., cold eggs aren't very good, so I always eat them first. Bacon or toast are fine lukewarm, so they're last).

Food aversions are another way we relate to food that goes beyond mere taste. I read an article last night that said that Mario Batali's kid won't eat anything with green flecks in it. Another celebrity chef (I forgot who) had a kid who eats food only in shades of brown. I don't like food wrapped up in tortillas. GC doesn't really like blended soups. I'm sure there's a whole field of food psychology waiting to be discovered.

Getting to Know All About You: What's your food quirk or aversion?

Posted by Blue Artichoke at 08:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)