All Things in Moderation
This once was a food blog, but it sure has been a long time since I've blogged about food. The January diet halted the Ultimate Snackdown recipe contest and our renewed commitment to healthy eating, coupled with a busy schedule, has thrown a wrench into the weekly Wandering Gullet meals.
I'm currently trying to put in a full day of work on several projects while still carving out time for reading and cooking. I'm reading Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver, about her sustainable living project. I'm on the fringe of the organic/slow food/locavore movement, interested more by the health considerations than any environmental or political concerns. As I sliced a cantaloupe yesterday to mix with some blackberries, I considered how much out-of-season food I eat, grown thousands of miles away and shipped right to my shopping cart at the local grocery store. I don't really see anything wrong with that; it allows me to eat a varied diet every day.
Almost every month, I've been posting a list of what foods are in season (though I think I forgot to do it this month). I read over the list, get excited to see something new or sad to see a favorite go, but it doesn't really affect my shopping habits. Though I don't buy winter tomatoes, I'm still buying apples (fall produce), berries (late summer produce) and asparagus (spring produce). I can eat the entire year in a single meal.
Looking through my pantry, I have a lot of food I consider winter fare. Hearty, filling and dense, I have lots of dried beans, wild rice and polenta. All of these items were no-nos on the January diet. Though they are allowed now, I haven't been eating much of these starchy foods. This brings me to a conundrum. I like my new diet of mostly meat, vegetables, fruit and nuts and don't want to add a lot of starch back into the mix. On the other hand, I hate wasting food. All of the containers are open, so I can't donate them to the food bank, and some make up only a few portions. My solution, I think, will be to add some starch back, in small portions, for no more than three meals per week until the starch stores are gone, or until the weather warms up and we can't stomach such filling foods. Whichever comes first. We've already eaten some pasta and a really thick and hearty white bean soup this week, and tonight had red lentil soup. Next week we'll dip into the jars of wild rice and polenta. Hopefully we'll have empty cupboards and trim waists by the end of winter.
White Bean Soup with Greens and RosemarySuperFoods Rx
I used chicken stock instead of water or vegetable stock and used dried thyme in place of fresh. I also added 1 # turkey kielbasa, sliced and sautéed with the carrots and onions. Delicious.1 c. dried white beans
4 c. veggie stock or water
1 bay leaf
1 T. olive oil
2 med carrots, cubed
1 med onion, cubed
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 ½ t. low-sodium soy sauce
1 T. chopped fresh rosemary leaves
1 t. chopped fresh thyme
¼ t. freshly ground black pepper
Pinch of cayenne
1b bunch spinach, kale or chard (10-12 oz.), rinsed and stemmed
3 T. grated Parm, optionalTo prepare the beans, put them in a large bowl and add enough cold water to cover by 1-2”. Set aside to soak for 6 hours and up to 12 hours. Change water 2-3x during soaking. Drain the beans.
In a stockpot, combine the drained beans, stock and bay leaf; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 1 hour 30 minutes, or until beans are tender but not mushy.
Meanwhile, in a large sauté pan, heat the oil over med heat and sauté the carrot and onion for 1 minute. Add the garlic and cook 5 minutes, or until softened. Transfer to the pot with the beans.
Cook the soup for ~15 minutes. Add the soy sauce, rosemary, thyme, pepper and cayenne; cook 15 minutes longer, or until the flavors meld. Add the spinach and cook for ~5 minutes or just until wilted. If using kale, allow 10 minutes for it to wilt.
Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with cheese, if desired, before serving.
Serves 6.