One Year Later…

I give myself Saturdays to do nothing, or more precisely, I don’t do anything that I don’t want to do. Mostly, this means I wake up without the screaming of an alarm at 5am, walk the dog, and do the weekly menu planning until Whole Foods opens at 8am, and then do the grocery shopping before it gets crowded. On this very Saturday one year ago, Miracle joined our family. Our hearts were still aching after losing Turbo, but sadist that I am, I had to dive right back in so that I would not come home to an empty house. Unlocking the door to a dog who is always happy to see you is a magical thing that says more than anything – “welcome home.”

Those first few months with Miracle were not pretty. She loved us immediately, but was desperately sad while we were away and restless at night. Mark and I struggled in a fog of exhaustion for months. We had a taste of what life is like for parents of newborns, who catch sleep when they can, or not at all, because Miracle needed a lot of soothing. But a year is a good stretch of time – enough for a hound to gain confidence that we’ll always come home to her, and for us to get to know this clownish beast we share our home with.

Also, on the second hound, we’ve turned into complete softies. Miracle helped herself to snoozing on the furniture not long after she came home. The moment you make a few moves in preparation to leave the house and – BOOM – Miracle is on the sofa, in your seat and glaring at you…daring you to kick her off, as if to say, “If you think you’re leaving me – fine, but I’ll be right here in your spot on the couch, all day long.” I can’t argue with that. We’re gone 12+ hours per day during the week, and if she wants to chill on the furniture, I am not going to stop her. Softies.

The hound can also be persuaded to join us for a run. In the early days, running was one way we could manage her separation anxiety. Now, we use her more as an excuse to stop for a few seconds and dither around before continuing on our way. It works for all of us.

One year later, we’re so glad that Miracle joined our family. She’s a lovey little hound, always scheming for a belly rub or snuggle on the couch. Her bursts of play, endless squeaking of toys and high speed laps around the house keep us laughing. Welcome to the family, dear hound.

I’ll have a new recipe or two for you in the next couple of weeks…I hope!  In the meantime, here are a few old favorites that have been gracing our table in the last couple of months:

• Fennel, Apple and Orange Salad – Fennel, granny smith apples and oranges are a few fresh ingredients that can be relied upon to brighten up any meal in the dead of winter. I could eat this salad daily and not get tired of it.
• Tomato Sauce with Butter - A simple, classic sauce that makes enough for several meals, freezes well, and is a savior for getting a quick mid-week meal on the table.
• DIY Kind Bars (grain-free granola bars) – These little tasty treats have been a near constant companion, since discovering that I am sensitive even to gluten-free oats. A little bit sweet and a good source of protein, these bars are getting me through weeks when I need to travel for work.
• Indian Spiced Red Lentil Soup – This pot of soup is dead simple, and takes few ingredients, but it makes for a hearty bowl of soup that warms the belly on the coldest of winter days.

Thank you to everyone who has commented, written, posted and tweeted me, asking when I’d get the next blog post up. I’ve missed our conversation here – and I hope to be back more often in 2012!

Coconut Curry Turkey and Wild Rice Soup

We’ve had a very peaceful Thanksgiving weekend in Chicago – 4 days at home was just the balm I needed to catch up on sleep, de-stress, cook and relax. We celebrated the holiday with my aunt, uncle, cousins in the suburbs…and then the rest of the weekend was pretty low key. Sleeping late (which for me, is anything after 6am), naps, an afternoon cocktail, and lots of time puttering in the kitchen.

After every Thanksgiving feast, there are the leftovers. By the third day after the turkey is carved, I become weary of sliced turkey, gravy and all the trimmings that linger in the fridge. But the bits of turkey remain, begging to be used and not wasted. So this morning, I pulled the turkey carcass from the bird I roasted for my team at work last week out of the freezer and set about making a big pot of turkey stock. Once made, strained, chilled and de-fatted – it was time for the main attraction – soup.

I love the comfort in a bowl of turkey and wild rice soup. Today I decided to leave the traditional flavors of the holiday behind, and spice it up with an Indian flare…and I am glad I did. The soup has some heft to it, as a good turkey and wild rice soup should, and just enough curry for the spice to linger on the tongue, cooled by a splash of coconut milk. Like most of my soups, this is a great way to clean out odds and ends of vegetables lingering in the crisper, so use whatever you have on hand.

Coconut Curry Turkey and Wild Rice Soup
Serves 6-8

2 T olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled & diced
3 stalks celery, diced
1 bunch rainbow chard, washed, leaves sliced into bite sized pieces. Stems reserved and diced.
3 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 small red potatoes, cut into ½” cubes, totaling 1 ½ cups of potatoes
1 tsp brown mustard seed
1 tsp hot curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 ½ T madras (mild) curry powder
⅔ cup wild rice
6 cups turkey  or chicken stock
½ can coconut milk
2 cups diced roast turkey (or chicken)
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp white wine vinegar

1. Heat a large soup pot over medium heat. Add olive oil and brown mustard seeds. Stir the seeds around in the oil for about 1 minute, until the seeds release their fragrance.
2. Scoop onion, carrots, celery and diced chard stems into pot. Add a pinch of salt and stir to coat the veggies in oil. Saute for 7-10 minutes, until onions are softened, stirring every couple of minutes.
3. Add the garam masala, curry powders, and garlic to the pot. Stir for 1 minute.
4. Add the wild rice, turkey (or chicken) stock, stir and cover. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat to low and add the potatoes. Simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, over medium-low heat, stirring every few minutes.
5. After 25 minutes, pour in the half can of coconut milk. Stir and cook for another 20-30 minutes, until the wild rice is tender. Then add the turkey and chard leaves, and gently stir the leaves into the pot. Cook for 2-3 more minutes until the chard has wilted. Season with salt & pepper to taste, and stir in 1 tsp white wine vinegar to brighten the flavors a bit. Serve.

What’s your favorite way to re-invent the holiday leftovers? Share in the comments…

 

Grain Free Granola Bars (DIY Kind bars)

It’s no shock to any of my friends that I ve been pretty low energy and run down the last several months. Stress has been slowly eating at me, and the lack of a real vacation since last Christmas has me feeling a little dry and crispy at the edges. I am yearning for this week s Thanksgiving holiday, and can t wait for 4 days of laziness, cooking and relaxing at home.

I adore the foods, traditions and feeding the people I love on Turkey Day, but this year abdicating all responsibility to my aunt, uncle & cousins in the  burbs sounds like bliss. I’ll whip up a little gluten-free something to bring along, but this year, I’m kicking back and relaxing. Ahhhh.

Last month, Shauna wrote a post where she shared how she d been feeling tired, and slightly  off. She learned that she needed to give up eggs and almonds, and true to her generous spirit, she welcomed the challenge and headed to the kitchen to create. I love when the words of my blogging friends tickle the brain, spin around, and settle in…Shauna’s experience resonated with me…I know I’ve had problems with eggs in the past, and looking to get more of my energy back, I made an appointment with my amazing chiropractor/healer to do some nutritional testing to get to the bottom of things.

A snip of hair for analysis, and simple muscle testing to determine the foods, chemicals and metals that give me trouble, and we had the answers…eggs, corn, oats and soy were added to my  off-limits list for now…maybe not forever, because my reaction isn’t super severe, but for now, they’re outta here. Another run through muscle testing determined the supplements and dosage I would need to help heal my body, and I was on my way with a bag of herbs and a new regime. Such is life.

Of course I’m bummed about losing eggs and corn…two mainstays of many a grab ’n go meal of spicy egg & veggie tacos, chilaquiles, and omlettes, but after nearly 10 years in this food allergy rodeo, it’s no big deal. I’ve been stuck in a rut in the kitchen lately, and this new challenge gets my fingers tingling with anticipation to get cooking, and to learn a few new techniques. With the long holiday weekend ahead, this is the perfect time to take a deep breath, stock the pantry and reboot my kitchen, and my life.

Be KIND to your Guts Bars

I traveling frequently for work, which can leave those of us with food allergies high and dry, depending on where your flight lands. Larabars used to be my go-to road food, but I ate too many of them this summer, so I switched to the higher-end goodness of the Kind bars. At upwards of $2 a pop, they re not something I can afford to eat for breakfast every day. I was thrilled to see that Camilla, from Enlightened Cooking, had already paved the way for me in recreating the bars at home. A few twists of my own, and these bars came together in a snap, and now I m set with tasty bars to last me for a couple weeks, for the cost of about 3 Kind bars. This is my kind of cooking.

Grain Free Granola Bars
Adapted from Camilla’s Enlightened Cooking
Serves: 15, 3×4 bars

2 cups raw nuts, roughly chopped (I used 1 c hazelnuts, 1 c cashews)
1 cup raw seeds (I used pepitas and sunflower seeds)
1/3 cup unsweetened large coconut flakes
1/3 cup minced dried apricots
1/4 tsp fine sea salt
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Scoop the chopped raw nuts and seeds onto a 1/4 sheet pan (9×13), and toast for 15 minutes, stirring at the 7 minute mark, to ensure the nuts don t burn. Add the coconut flakes when you stir.
3. When the nuts are toasted, scoop them into a medium mixing bowl. Add the minced dried fruit and stir together.
4. Pour the brown rice syrup, honey, salt, pinch of cinnamon and black pepper in a small bowl. Warm in the microwave on the lowest setting for 15-30 seconds to gently heat the syrup to make it easier to stir into the nuts and fruit.
5. Pour the warmed syrup mixture over the nuts, using a spatula to ensure that you get every last drop. Stir the nuts and syrup together. Put a little elbow grease into it to ensure that all the fruit and nuts get an even glossy coating of syrup.
6. Line the sheet pan with parchment paper, and spray with oil.
7. Scoop the nut & fruit mixture onto the lined cookie sheet, and spread with a spatula. Next, spray a second sheet of parchment to cover the bars as you press the mixture firmly into the pan. Peel the top layer of parchment off when done pressing the bars together.
8. Place the bars back in the oven for 15 minutes.
9. Remove the bars from the oven and let cool for 15 minutes, then proceed to cut them while they re still slightly warm. If they fully cool before cutting, they will not slice into neat squares – they will break unevenly into shards.
10. Gently lift the bars out of the pan by the parchment liner, and use a chef knife to slice the bars into squares while still on the parchment – otherwise they will stick.
11. Once cut, use a butter knife to separate the bars from the paper, and store in a container with sheets of parchment between layers to prevent sticking. Store in the fridge for 2-3 weeks.

Cocoa Curry Coconut Granola Bars

Every woman needs a few close friends to stand in her corner. A sisterhood, a tribe – a handful of confidants that will always have your back, ask tough questions, and tell you when you’re full of it.

I found groups of girls difficult to navigate in my younger years…the rules were complex and politics were always changing. But in college, a fact as simple as a random room assignment in South Case Hall at Michigan State gave me the first sense that I had found a smart, fierce group of women to call sisters. Most of them are still close friends, though the miles and time between visits stretch farther as the years go by. But husbands, children and careers have made them no less dear to my heart.

At the end of my college years, I found a new tribe…a small feminist discussion forum on the web. We shared intimate details of our lives, joys and the frustrations that come with defining yourself as an adult, a woman, feminist, friend and lover. Behind screen names, we shared our innermost thoughts and struggles with honesty in a way that we rarely do in real life. The women (and some men) residing in these threads of conversation online burrowed deep into my heart and life, as real as the friends I hung out with on weekends. When I moved to Chicago in 2000, I learned that several of them lived in my new hometown. We met for brunch one summer morning – shy, and barely in our 20s…and our sisterhood evolved, transferring to the “real world.”

My beautiful feminist sisterhood. Chicago, October 2011. 

Thirteen years after meeting these women online, members of the forum flew in from all over the country to rent a house in Chicago for the weekend, to just hang out. The weekend started with a party on Friday night, and knowing that we all love to cook and eat good food, we made it a potluck affair. These dear women gave me the kick in the behind to start this blog in the first place – we had long rambling conversations online about food, and I always shared what was simmering on my stove. Bringing something to this potluck required some thought…I had a reputation to maintain, after all.

Needing something I could prep ahead, I settled on my signature granola bars as the symbol of my first gluten free experiments. These women witnessed my health transformation, and my frustration in learning to cook in a completely new way. When I first figured out how to make safe, delicious granola bars, it was a eureka moment I shared online first. But I wanted to dress things up a bit – try out a new savory, spicy combo, and so I dreamed up these coconut cocoa curry bars, inspired by Jeni’s Ice Creams recipe using the same flavors. These bars are a winner. Tweak the spices to your tastes – you might like more or less curry and heat than I do, but do try them. You won’t be sorry.

Then, share these bars with the women in your life who make your heart sing.

Granola bars
Makes about 30-35 bars (approx 3×3″)

5 cups gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cup chopped raw nuts
 (I used a mixture of chopped pecans, cashews and pepita seeds – use whatever nuts you like best)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut (shredded)
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened peanut butter or almond butter
1/3 c honey
1/3 c brown rice syrup (available at Whole Foods or use all honey)
4 Tbsp butter
2.5 tsp madras (sweet) curry powder
1/4 tsp cayenne (optional)
1/3 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder
1 T vanilla extract
1 tsp Kosher salt
1/3 c finely chopped crystallized ginger, optional
Parchment paper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the nuts and oats on a full sheet pan. Toast the nuts and oats in the oven for 13 minutes, then stir, and sprinkle the 1/2 cup of coconut on top of the oats and bake for another 7 minutes. Remove from oven and pour the oat mixture into a large mixing bowl along with the chopped crystallized ginger, if you’re using it. Leave the oven on at 350 – you’ll need it later.
3. Meanwhile, during the last 7-10 minutes of oat baking, combine the brown sugar, honey, brown rice syrup, peanut or almond butter, curry powder, cayenne, cocoa powder, butter, and salt into a small nonstick sauce pan over medium-low heat, stirring with a spatula until it all melts and is well incorporated with no lumps. Add the vanilla, stir and remove from the burner.
4. Cut two pieces of parchment paper. The first piece of parchment should be large enough to cover the whole sheet pan, including folding up the sides of the pan. Cut a second smaller piece, just large enough for you to use to cover 1/4 of the bars to aid in pressing the bars together.
5. When the 20 minutes of toasting the oats are complete, remove from the oven, and pour into your largest mixing bowl, along with the chopped crystallized ginger – stir it all up.
6. Drizzle half of the hot “glue” (the sugar/butter mixture) over the oats and nuts in your mixing bowl and use a spatula to stir it all together, coating the oats evenly in the sweet goo. Pour the remaining glue over the mixture and continue to stir until everything is nicely coated.
7. Place the large sheet of parchment paper over the sheet pan covering the entire bottom with overlap for the sides, then scoop the sticky oat mixture onto the pan. Use your spatula to smooth it out into a more-or-less even layer covering the whole pan. Next, take the second, smaller sheet of parchment and use it to cover part of the pan as you use your hands to firmly press the bars together into a tightly packed, even layer.
8. Put the granola bars back in the oven for 4 minutes, then remove and set on a cooling rack until completely cooled before cutting.
9. Cutting the bars: Pick up the whole pan of bars by the ends of the parchment, and turn upside down on a large cutting board. Peel the parchment away, and reserve, cutting the sheet into smaller pieces to lay between layers of bars in a large storage container or ziploc bag, to keep them from sticking.
10. Use a large chef’s knife and firmly press down with the knife with a gentle rocking motion (do not saw at the bars), and cut your granola into whatever size bars you’d like. I usually get 5 rows of bars across the pan lengthwise, 7-8 bars per row. I also like to cut one row of the bars into two-bite super mini bars for smaller snacking size.
11. Layer the bars in a large storage container, and slip pieces of the parchment between layers. Store in the fridge for up to 2-3 weeks, though I doubt they’ll last that long.

Girl Scouts Founder Juliette Gordon Lowe was kind enough to take a moment to snap a pic with me. 

…I have to thank the Girl Scouts of the USA for the inspiration to ponder what sisterhood has meant to me. I just returned from the 100th Anniversary Girl Scouts Convention in Houston, attended by 15,000 troop leaders, staff, and girl leaders. I was  there on behalf of a client, and totally drawn in by this huge group of women who laughed, smiled, and truly welcomed every single person as a member of their tribe. Girl Scouts definitely know the power of sisterhood, and I am grateful and humbled by the week spent with their leaders. 

What has sisterhood meant in your life? And what foods do you love to share with your closest friends?  Please share in the comments below. 

Smoky Bean Tacos with Chard

Fall is here, and with it come cold, damp, windy days tailor made for spending a morning puttering around in the kitchen. For the moment, I’m still excited by the cooler weather and bringing out my favorite cozy sweaters for the the first time…Come January, I  may be less excited, but for today – bring on the fall foods and Halloween spooks.

I’ve also had nearly 2 weeks now without traveling for work, and am beginning to feel my energy rebound. The house is a bit cleaner and I have more energy and time to get back to my kitchen. Mark and I also both took Friday off work and spent the whole day together. We saw close friends and remembered the joy of having a whole day together with nothing on the agenda. Bliss.

Friday evening, we spontaneously decided to check out the production of Count of Monte Cristo at Lifeline Theatre, just a few blocks from our house…and I am so glad we did. It was a stunning production that brought your forward in your seat as you were drawn into the Count’s intrigues, and once again, the sets and costumes at this small venue would not be out of place downtown in the theater district with the care and attention they put into every detail. If you live in Chicago, I’d highly recommend checking out the production which is playing through November 13.

A couple of weeks ago, Shauna wrote a beautiful post about her weekly pot of beans and using them to make breakfast tacos. Two weeks later, that post was still bumping around in my head, so I rummaged through the basket of beans in my pantry and came up with a small jar of my favorite Rancho Gordo Old Mother Stollard beans, which are perfect for tacos. The beans are nicely plump and can simmer a long time without exploding, while remaining creamy inside. In place of Stollards, I might recommend pintos – they will fall apart, but I like their creamy texture almost as much as the firmness of Stollards.

Bean Tacos with Chard
Serves 6

1 1/2 cups dried Rancho Gordo Old Mother Stollard Beans (or pintos)
1 carrot, snapped into a few pieces
2 stalks celery, cut in half
1 onion, peeled and minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bunch chard, washed, leaves separated from stalks and reserved; mince stalks
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 T bacon fat or olive oil
1 T olive oil for sauteeing the chard leaves
1 ham hock (about 12oz – if you’re vegetarian, triple the smoked paprika to add a nice smoky flavor)
1 T chile con carne blend, or another chile powder you like
1 T ancho chile powder
3 T chipotle puree
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
salt & pepper to taste
Feta cheese & cilantro for garnish
fresh corn tortillas for serving

1. The night before you plan to cook the beans, pour them into a large bowl and cover with 4-5 inches of water. Stollards will absorb a LOT of water.
2. The next morning, heat a large dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Add the bacon fat or olive oil and heat until shimmering. Add the minced onion, chard stalks and red bell pepper and saute for 5-8 minutes until the veggies begin to soften. Add the garlic and stir for one more minute.
3. Drain the beans and pour into the pot. Add enough water to just cover the beans, then add another inch of water on top. Add the ham hock, carrot and celery. Cover, and bring to a boil. Once the beans boil for 5 minutes, turn the heat down to low, so that the beans are a low simmer, throwing up the occasional lazy bubble. Simmer uncovered for an hour and a half, at which point the beans will be mostly done.
4. Remove the ham hock and set aside to cool. Add the spices to the pot: cumin, smoked paprika, chipotle puree, chile con carne and ancho chile powder, and a 1/2 tsp of salt. Stir the spices into the beans. The pot will still be pretty soupy at this point.
5. Let the beans simmer on the stove for another 1-2 hours, until the broth is reduced to a spicy gravy, clinging to every bean. Stir the beans whenever you walk by, but they don’t need a whole lot of attention of fussing. When the beans are done, and most of the liquid has evaporated, shred the meat from the ham hock, removing any fat, and add back to the pot of beans.
6. Sauteeing the chard: Tear the chard leaves into bite sized pieces. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large saute pan, and add the chard along with a pinch of salt. Toss and coat the greens in oil, and cook for 1-2 minutes, just until the greens wilt. Scoop the greens out of the pan and spread on top of the pot of beans, and move the pot to the table, so that everyone can scoop their own beans for tacos and garnish how they like.

It’s been awhile since I shared a Miracle photo. She would like you to know that she now OWNS the blue club chair in the living room. And you probably wouldn’t want to sit in it anyway, now that it’s covered in blonde fur. 

Peach Sour Cherry Popsicles

It’s SEPTEMBER. It’s also Labor Day – the unofficial end of Summer and last hurrah before the supposed serious stuff of Fall to come. I cannot get a grip on this. In my mind, summer is just starting…sadly, the dark mornings and early sunsets are telling a very different story. And then there’s the fact that it was 55 degrees at the Lakefront today. The sunny, summer months have slipped by me in the hurry and scurry of blogger conference season. BlogHer Food, evo, BlogHer and Healthy Living Summit…while only 4 weekends out of the summer season, I feel like I’ve been in the air and on the move too much, and so this three day weekend at home has been just the deep breath I needed.

The weekend tally of cooking is even larger than usual, because I had time to putter and create with little else on the agenda. Roast chicken, grilled steak, Southwestern black bean and millet salad, vegetable soup, granola bars, popsicles, and three batches of ice cream from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams cookbook. If you love frozen confections as much as I do – you need this book. The flavors are brilliant, and get this – Jeni’s recipes do not require a custard base, making the cooking much more forgiving than traditional ice creams. So do yourself a favor – buy her book, and whip up some fancy ice cream…my favorite of the trio I’ve made so far is her basil ice cream with pine nut pralines. Yeah. You need this cookbook.

And before Summer gets too far away from us, I have to share one more summer treat with you. Local peaches are in their prime in the Midwest right now, and they are on the table and in our lunch bags every day. You can’t go wrong with grilled peaches, drizzled with balsamic and sprinkled with wisps of fresh basil or a simple peach crisp, hot and bubbling from the oven. But this year’s peach revelation is a simple popsicle.

Peaches make wonderful sorbets and popsicles – the fruit has a high amount of natural sugar, and the flesh once frozen maintains an almost creamy texture, rather than icy. I like to add a bit of a twist to popsicles, so a dribble of white peach balsamic brightens the pops with an extra bump of acidity…but add a handful of tart sour cherries, and you have a truly sophisticated pop.

Peach Sour Cherry Popsicles
Makes 6 popsicles
2 cups of peeled, chopped peaches (in season)
1 cup sour cherries (fresh or frozen)
2 T honey
1 T white peach balsamic (Old Town Oils is my favorite source)
is my favorite source)

1. Combine all ingredients in the blender and puree until completely smooth. Pour into the popsicle molds, then insert the stick/caps and freeze for at least 5 hours for a solid freeze.
2. To unmold the popsicles, heat a pint glass of water in the microwave for a minute, then dunk the frozen pops for a minute, remove from the water and gently unmold the popsicles. Enjoy.

What’s your favorite popsicle flavor – store-bought or homemade? Share in the comments below.

Lamb Chops with Sour Cherry & Mustard Sauce

Hello, friends! It’s been awhile since I’ve stopped by…I’ve written a lot of blog posts in my head in the last 2 wild months, but none of them have leaked out of my head and into the keyboard, and honestly, I’m not going to feel bad about neglecting you – though I have missed you all, and the food conversations we have here. I’ve tweeted out some of my favorite recipes, and shared others on Facebook, just to create the illusion that there’s cooking going on in The Whole Kitchen.

And there is some cooking happening…but definitely not the more elaborate meals I made in the past. Now, if it can’t be made in 15-20 minutes – it’s not happening on a weeknight. Weekend prep is more critical than ever to ensure that we get healthy meals on the table. Mostly, I’ve become the scrambled egg gourmand. Chilaquiles, Huevos Rancheros, egg scrambles where I toss the contest of our CSA box into the saute pan, crack in a few eggs in and then serve with warm tortillas – that’s the kind of thing that I’m digging right now. Simple, healthy, fast, and high-protein.

I’ve spent the summer trying to figure this new life out. Working at Edelman Digital is a wildly different world than the non-profit sector, and I’ve been putting in a lot of hours getting up to speed with the team. Most days, I’m pretty exhausted by the time I get home, but spending my days in a fast paced, challenging environment surrounded by other super-smart digital nerds – it’s pretty awesome. A few months from now, I expect I’ll wake up and know exactly what makes my job tick, how to succeed – AND get myself home in time for dinner (sometimes)…it’s a learning process and I’m trying to be patient with myself.

In the meantime, if you have 15 minutes, a husband off on vacation while you punch the clock, and a couple of lonely lamb chops in the freezer…this recipe is for you. A dinner for one of the highest caliber, inspired by the chef I used to work with way back in my server days. Chef Randy introduced me to the magic of this sour cherry, mustard, sherry sauce paired with lamb, and it’s a secret I haven’t forgotten. If you can still find sour cherries in the farmer’s market where you are (or in the freezer section), give this one a try.

How have you spent your summer? Share your favorite summer memory – dancing in the sunshine, hitting the beach, luscious summer reading – whatever you’ve done to make the most of this season…OR, tell me what you love to cook with all the fresh produce of summer.

Lamb Chops with Sour Cherry Mustard Sauce
Serves 1 

2 Lamb Chops, about an inch thick
1 T whole grain mustard
1 T butter
2 T grapeseed oil
½ cup fresh sour cherries, pitted, with ¼ cup of the cherry juice
3 T sherry
salt & pepper

1. Wash and pat the chops dry with paper towel. Sprinkle with salt & pepper & set aside.
2. Heat a heavy stainless steel pan over medium high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil and when the oil is shimmering, gently lay the chops in the pan, and sear for 1 ½ minutes, then turn over, and cook for another 1 ½ – 2 minutes for medium chops.
3. Remove the chops from the pan and set aside on a plate. Add the sour cherries, juice, sherry and mustard to the pan, and stir for a minute, letting everything reduce just a bit. Add the butter to the pan and stir, cook for 1-2 more minutes, until the sauce thickens slightly.
4. Pour the pan sauce over the chops, and enjoy. A feast for 1!

*Apologies for the blurry photo…the husband went on vacay with the fancy camera, and all I had was a cell phone. 10x more delicious than this blurry image – I promise! 

Ginger Syrup & Crystallized Ginger

Six weeks ago, when I joined Edelman Digital, I had grand thoughts that my new fast-paced career life would not derail my life in the kitchen and on this blog. How wrong I was. As I sprint to learn as much as I can on the new job, it’s been pretty quiet in the kitchen.

I now have a much deeper appreciation for the challenges of balancing a demanding job, household, personal life and finding time to eat well. When one sphere of life gets out of whack, something takes a back seat. So, instead of creating new things for the blog, I’ve been reaching back into the nearly 3 years of archives to cook old favorites. There is great comfort in cooking dishes you can make from memory and know that they will be good, improvising along the way to use whatever you have on hand. Here are a few of the staples I’ve come to rely on that make for good leftovers and quick dinners:

Mojo de Ajo – one big batch of this garlic gold can make any quickly prepared dish seem special – omelets, pasta with parmesan & asparagus, pizza…all are improved with a little mojo.

Quinoa – We’ve been hitting the quinoa habit pretty hard – I love cooking up a fluffy batch of quinoa in the rice cooker, and combining it with whatever veggies are in the fridge from our CSA or the Farmer’s Market for easy lunches.

Steel Cut Oats - You will always find our fridge shelves lined with stacks of single serve containers of oats for a quick, hearty breakfast. We were gifted with an abundance of rhubarb from a friend’s garden, so I’ve been making my oats with chopped rhubarb and strawberries…it’s nearly as good as a piece of strawberry-rhubarb pie, and a whole lot healthier.

Eggs – Omelets and egg scrambles have been a blessing for nights when I get home late. I’ll typically grab some asparagus, spinach or chard and saute it up before adding a few beaten eggs, chives and a bit of cheese. Nothing fancy, but a satisfying dinner in under 10 minutes.

Lamb & Chard Tacos - We’ve been enjoying near weekly batches of these tacos, using whatever ground meat we have in the freezer – lamb, chicken, pork – anything will do. Likewise, any hearty green is welcome here – chard, kale, lacinato kale, spinach, beet greens – wash, chop and toss it into the pot at the last minute. I’ve been going for the convenience of Goya canned beans to keep things easy – black beans or chick peas are my staples.

My brilliant Edelman colleagues at the BlogHer Food closing party: (me), Ashley, Mandy, Diana and Adelaide.

I’ve also been doing a fair amount of traveling for the new gig. In May, I worked the BlogHer Food conference for a client, and dinner out with my fabulous foodie colleagues renewed my interest in interesting cocktail combinations and set my mind spinning. I returned home and made up a batch of this ginger syrup for some summery cocktails, inspired by the divine drinks we sipped on the patio at Bocado.

If you love ginger ale, and feel disappointment in the lack of ginger zing in typical ginger beers, then this syrup is for you. Combine 1oz of ginger syrup with 8oz of soda water and stir for a ginger ale with real zing – add a squeeze of lime if you’re feeling fancy. Sparkling ginger lemonade is also becoming a favorite – 1.5oz of ginger syrup, plus the juice of half a lemon and soda water will make a couple tumblers of very fine lemonade on a hot afternoon.

For a spicy adult beverage, throw some ice in a cocktail shaker and add 1.5oz of ginger syrup, the juice of half a lemon, 2oz of bourbon and shake vigorously. Pour into two tumblers with a few ice cubes, and top off with a little soda water and enjoy on a hot summer day, preferably outdoors.

Ginger Syrup & Crystallized Ginger
From Food.com
Makes about 3 cups of syrup & 1 cup of crystallized ginger 

1.5 cups fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
3 cups water
3 cups sugar

1. Peel ginger and slice into rounds about 1/8 inch thick rounds.
2. Mix sugar and water in a large sauce pan and bring to boil. When sugar is dissolved, add ginger and boil uncovered for 45 minutes.
3. After 45 minutes, the ginger should be sweet and tender. Pour the ginger syrup through a sieve into a clean 1 quart glass jar, seal and stash in the fridge for future use. Reserve the ginger slices.
4. Place the ginger slices on a baking rack to dry for 30 minutes, then place the ginger in a small bowl and add 2-3 T of sugar and toss with to coat.
5. Return the ginger to the baking rack to dry for another 30 minutes, then store in an air-tight container in the fridge.

Finally, I have to insert a new pic of our hound, Miracle. She’s struggling a bit to adapt to my longer work day, and her separation anxiety has been creeping back. To help her out, Mark and I have been taking turns running with her in the mornings, to expend some of that energy to give our young girlie a better start to the day. Tired hounds cause no trouble. Most mornings, when we start collecting our things move toward the door, Miracle slinks up onto the sofa, and gives us a good glare, to let us know that if we’re going to leave, then the queen shall reside on the couch. And we’ve decided that it’s just fine by us – she’s too beautiful to argue with.

What’s your favorite way to get that ginger zing? Please share your tips & tricks for cooking with ginger in the comments below…

Oat Innovations: Smoked Paprika Granola Bars

Hey everyone, sorry for the long absence from the blog…the new gig (which I LOVE) has been all-consuming. I’ve got a few half-written posts sitting in the hopper, but I have to jump the queue to bring you this latest iteration of my granola bars. It seems appropriate to cover some new ground in my ongoing love affair with the humble oat. We eat a lot of them in our house between baked oatmeal, my classic steel cut oats and the daily granola bar snack. If you’re a daring sort and like your sweets and treats a little on the wild side, you’ll have to give these a try.

I’m spending much of my new professional life thinking about oats with Quaker as one of my clients. As a self-proclaimed oat-obsessed nutrition nerd, I’m thrilled to be working on such a well-respected brand – who doesn’t trust the Quaker Oats man?! For my first foray into the wide world of oats, I’ll be attending BlogHer Food conference next weekend! If you’ll be there, stop on by the booth to say hello, enter the fabulous giveaway, and tell me all about your oat inspirations. It feels like a dream come true to spend a weekend talking with food bloggers about oats!

As I was mixing up a batch of my typical granola bars this morning, my eyes wandered to the jar of pecans. My mind drifted to memories of those delicious smoked paprika-laced candied pecans that I gifted to the whole family over the holidays…as I stood there, I wondered if that same flavor combination would work in a granola bar. I couldn’t help myself, so even though I already had a pan of cocoa and ginger granola bars cooling, I whipped up a batch of these bars. I love them – and I hope you will too.

The bars have the sweetness of a typical granola bar and a touch of cinnamon – nothing unusual there…but the kiss of smoked paprika and hint of heat from cayenne and black pepper make these bars pretty addicting. The way I figure it – eating a granola bar or two is still going to be healthier than demolishing a couple handfuls of candied pecans.

And in other non-oat news, Mark and I ran the Indy half-marathon last weekend, and had a blast! We had a big group from Chicago caravan out for the race, and met up with some of my favorite American Cancer Society runners back at the tent after the race…I love the camaraderie of race day and comparing notes on the race. I had my BEST RACE EVER, clocking in a smoking 18 minute PR (personal record) with a 2:03 finish (9:22/mi avg pace)! I felt great the entire race, and if anything, I probably could have pushed it a bit more. And Mark ran his first half-marathon and is already itching to try another…my husband is a runner now – and I could not be happier!

What’s your favorite way to mix it up with oats? Share your oat inspirations in the comment section below…

Smoked Paprika Sweet & Spicy Granola Bars
Makes 30-35, 3×3″ bars 

5 cups gluten-free old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cup chopped raw pecans
½ cup blanched slivered almonds
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup creamy, unsweetened almond butter
1/3 c honey
1/3 c brown rice syrup (available at Whole Foods – or use maple syrup or all honey)
4 T butter
½ T smoked paprika
½ T cinnamon
¼ tsp fresh ground black pepper
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
1 T vanilla extract
1 tsp Kosher salt
Parchment paper

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Mix the nuts and oats on a full sheet pan. Toast the nuts and oats in the oven for 10 minutes, stir, then bake for another 10 minutes and remove from oven and pour the oat mixture into a large mixing bowl. Leave the oven on at 350 – you’ll need it later.
3. During the last 10 minutes of oat baking, combine the brown sugar, honey, brown rice syrup, almond butter, smoked paprika, cayenne, black pepper, butter, and salt into a small nonstick sauce pan over medium-low heat, stirring with a spatula until it all melts and is well incorporated with no almond butter lumps. Add the vanilla, stir and turn off the heat.
4. Cut two pieces of parchment paper. The first piece of parchment should be large enough to cover the whole sheet pan, including folding up the sides of the pan. Cut a second smaller piece, just large enough for you to use to cover 1/4 of the bars as you press them firmly into the pan, so you don’t burn your hands, or stick to the oats.
5. Pour half of the hot “glue” over the toasted oats and nuts in your mixing bowl and use a spatula to stir it all together, coating the oats evenly in the sweet goo. Pour the remaining glue over the mixture and continue to stir until everything is nicely coated.
6. Place the large sheet of parchment paper over the sheet pan covering the entire bottom with overlap for the sides, then scoop the sticky oat mixture onto the pan. Use your spatula to smooth it out into a more-or-less even layer covering the whole pan. Next, take the second, smaller sheet of parchment and use it to cover part of the pan as you use your hands to firmly press the bars together into a tightly packed, even layer.
7. Put the granola bars back in the oven for 4 minutes, then remove and set on a cooling rack until completely cooled before cutting.
8. Cutting the bars: Pick up the whole pan of bars by the ends of the parchment, and turn upside down on a large cutting board. Peel the parchment away, and reserve, cutting the sheet into smaller pieces to lay between layers of bars in a large storage container or ziploc bag, to keep them from sticking.
9. Use a large chef’s knife and firmly press down with the knife with a gentle rocking motion (do not saw at the bars), and cut your granola into whatever size bars you’d like. I usually get 5 rows of bars across the pan lengthwise, 7-8 bars per row. I also like to cut one row of the bars into two-bite super mini bars for smaller snacking size.
10. Layer the bars in a large storage container, and slip pieces of the parchment between layers. Store on your countertop or in the fridge for up to 2-3 weeks, though I doubt they’ll last that long. I keep ours in the fridge, just to keep my hand out of the container every time I walk into the kitchen!

148 cal per bar, 50 cal from fat, 7g fat, 55mg sodium, 15mg potassium, 17g carbs, 2g fiber, 5g sugars, 4g proteins

Shaved Fennel Salad with Apples, Oranges & Lemon Vinaigrette

4 days until I visit my parents. 1 week until I start my new job. 2 weeks until Shauna (aka Gluten-Free Girl) comes to visit. 3 weeks until the Indy Half Marathon. It’s been a wild ride these last two weeks, so thank you all for your comments, thoughts and prayers for my momma.

Mom is home from the hospital and recovering well. Her next step to fully re-gaining her health is to change her eating habits a bit to keep those arteries clear. I’ll be heading to Michigan this weekend to teach Mom a few things from my repetoire. I’ve sent my parents a couple of nutrition books to help them get started and my favorite kitchen tool – a fancy rice cooker.

The new “smart” rice cooker is my ultimate time hack to get through the week. On Sundays, I make a batch of steel cut oats for breakfasts and a batch of some other grain to use with a couple of dinners during the week. I’ll even cook dried beans in it, because I can walk away and not worry as it bubbles away. If you don’t have one of these wonderous machines – invest. You won’t be sorry.

Special thanks to everyone who shared their healthy eating challenges on the last post. We’re all battling the same foes of finding the time to cook – along with meal planning, motivation, picky eaters and managing expenses. I’m noodling ideas for the “Back to Basics” series, and hope to get the first post to you next week, to share my strategies for making the time to cook without going crazy. If you have more healthy eating challenges you’d like me to tackle, drop me a comment below.

In the meantime, I’m making this fennel salad my mom’s first dietary assignment. At the end of winter, when I’m tired of every single root veggie out there, fennel is a bright, crisp counterpoint that gets me excited for the local growing season ahead. I love the crunch of thinly shaved fennel, with its slight sweetness and licorice-like flavor. Fennel is perfect for salads, has fiber for clearing out arteries, a hefty dose of the B vitamin, folate, that helps to maintain blood vessel walls, and potassium for lowering blood pressure to help prevent strokes. Sounds perfect for mom, right?!

But better than all the amazing nutritional qualities, fennel is delicious. This bright, crunchy, sweet salad is the kind of thing I could happily eat every day while I wait for the farmer’s markets to re-open.

What’s your favorite way to eat fennel? Share your fennel-filled ideas in the comments below, OR share your healthy eating challenges.

Fennel, Apple & Orange Salad
Serves 8 as a side dish

2 bulbs fennel
1 granny smith apple
2 navel oranges
3 T white balsamic
1 T lemon juice
1-2 T Dijon Mustard (Mustard Girl is my favorite)
5-6 T olive oil
pinch of salt & pepper
1 tsp poppy seeds
3 T toasted slivered almonds

1. Take the first orange and slice the stem and bottom ends of the orange off – about ½” on each side. Set the orange on the cutting board and use a sharp paring knife to silde your knife down between the white pith and the orange flesh to remove thin slices of the rind, while removing as little of the precious flesh as possible. Rotate the orange as you go to remove the pith, then once you’ve got most of the pith removed, pick up the orange and slice off any lingering pieces of the white rind.
2. Hold the orange in a cupped hand, and gently slide your paring knife into the orange alongside one of the section membranes, slicing top to bottom to the center of the orange. Repeat the slicing motion on the other side of the orange section, and when you’re done a slender wedge of orange should pop right out. Repeat with the remaining sections of the orange, and place the orange slices in a bowl & set aside. Repeat the process with the other orange.
3. Make the dressing: Combine the white balsamic, lemon juice, mustard, salt, pepper and poppy seeds in a small bowl. Whisk for a minute. Slowly drizzle the olive oil in while whisking, adding a total of 4 T oil. Taste the dressing, and if it is still too tart, drizzle more oil in until the dressing is balanced to your taste. Set the dressing aside.
4. Slice the fennel: Slice the green, woody stalks off the top of the fennel bulbs, leaving the white bulb. Reserve the stems. Use a mandoline with the thinnest slicing blade and place the cut end of the fennel bulb against the blade and shave the bulb into thin ribbons. Repeat with the second bulb and scoop the shaved fennel into a big mixing bowl.
5. Take the granny smith apple and using the same blade on the mandoline, slice the apple into thin circles, stopping when you hear the blade hit the core. Rotate the apple to the other uncut side and slice again until you hit the core. Rotate two more times to slice the last two sides of the apple. Next, take your chef knife and slice the apples into matchstick sized pieces, then scoop into the bowl with the fennel.
6. Give the dressing another quick whisk, then pour half of the dressing over the fennel and apples. Use tongs to gently toss the fennel and apples to lightly coat the whole salad. Add the rest of the dressing, and toss again. Finally, add the orange slices and toasted almonds and gently toss together before serving.

Note: The salad will keep pretty well overnight for leftovers, though there will be a fair amount of liquid in the container the next day. Re-toss and add another squeeze of lemon if the salad needs a little extra oomph.

How to section an orange:

Slice the ends off, then guide the paring knife between the flesh and the pith to skin the orange. 

Gently slide the knife in along the edge of the section webbing.

Slide the knife along the section membrane on the other side.

Free the happy little orange section from the orange, and repeat until you get all the sections off the orange.