Things that I love

In lieu of having something yummy for y’all to try cooking, I have collected a number the things that have changed my outlook on life in the past few months. During a conversation with a family member this afternoon, we discussed how important it is for people to share the things that they find helpful and inspiring. While I am hesitant to limit this to just women, I think that we, in particular, need to help each other by passing along little lessons, truths, inspiring moments, laughs and educational tidbits. Before you get too excited . . . this is not going to be like Oprah’s Favorite things (though I unabashedly LOVE her and frequently sob while watching her help people on her show). I will not be handing out obscenely expensive sweaters or random electronics. The following is just a quick plug for a few books, and items that I think are worth a moment to consider!

I hope that one strikes your fancy and piques your interest.

To Read:

About two months ago, I absentmindedly picked up Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle . . . and for the next day could do nothing but read it. It chronicles Barbara and her family’s one year pledge to eat only things that they can grow or raise themselves, or can purchase from local organic farms. This book changed my life. Told through absolutely exquisite language and charming anecdotes, this book presents an un-condescending argument for sustainable eating that it is impossible to ignore. I understand that living in California I have the luxury of fresh produce all year round from farms that are no more than a hour away, but the point that Kingsolver manages to make is that one change in food purchasing, no matter how small, can help make a difference.

I will not begin to describe, in detail, her arguments for eating close to home, but suffice to say that fossil fuel conservation, support of local agriculture and preservation of species are a few. I have long since made the switch to organic produce (and whatever else I can find), but this book has added another level of consciousness and appreciation for the food that I put into my body. I LOVED it!

Note about Sustainability: This is going to sound like a shameless Whole Foods plug, but they do the best job of any supermarket of making sure that information about their food is available and easy to understand. From the life quality rating on their meats, to the Local and Organic signage on the produce, whole foods WANTS you to know where everything comes from . . . far more than I can say for any other supermarket. While all of us can't have gardens in our backyards, we can at least buy and eat things that come from the yards and farms of others.

Use it in the kitchen:

Two Words . . . Silicone eggcups. These are friggin genius! For those of you out there who love a good, runny yolked, poached egg, these are going to be your new obsession. They are little silicon cups (that my roommate likes to point out could double in a pinch as some sort of boob cover), that keep the white of from dispersing into the boiling water. You know that nasty, milky ribbons effect that happens when you drop the egg in and it goes EVERYWHERE. Well, never again. These make perfectly poached eggs every time, and poaching is hands down the healthiest way to cook an egg (no frying or oil required).

If you are an egg addict . . . get some.

Subscription:

Clean Eating Magazine . . . is amazing. This is another one of those life/diet/food-changing reads. It has the best recipes for seasonal food, as well as really pretty pictures (which, lets face it, is REALLY what inspires us to try to cook something). They have info

bites about the different ingredients, articles from top chefs, and even a product review section. Somehow they take all that nutrition information from dry and dull to palatable and fun.

Check out their website, and the next time you are in Whole Foods or Borders, take a flip through one of them. If the shiny photos and colorful produce cant inspire you to eat as healthy as possible, I don’t know what can.

http://www.cleaneatingmag.com

So thats all for this 'edition' of things that I like . . . but if you have suggestions that are different, let me know! Sharing knowledge is as, if not more, important than acquiring it.

-Cat

Ton O' Veggies Lasagna

So I

passed this weekend with far too much cheese and wine . . . and beer . . . and margaritas . . . okay lets just say that I was irresponsible in the way that I treated my body. But of course, as these things tend to go, I had a BLAST. Danced and drank at a Cantina in Del mar, and had hands down the best veggies fajitas of my life on Friday night. Here’s what I learned, the smaller you cut

the veggies, the more you can fit in a small space, say a corn tortilla! After drunkenly consuming roughly 2 lbs of onions, pepper and zucchini, I arrived home the next day resolved to employ the same ‘small means more’ philosophy with vegetable lasagna.

I like to balance weekends full of excess, by trying to cook something as healthy and veggie filled as possible, and last night my roommate and I tackled Veggie lasagna, with as many different vegetables as we could find. This makes enough for a family, and freezes well if you are on your own.

The Recipe and few tips are below!

Ingredients:

1 Medium Zucchini

1 Large Carrot

1 Red onion

1 Red bell pepper

1 Green pepper

3 cloves of garlic

11 button or baby Bella mushrooms

½ bunch fresh spinach

Whole Wheat no boil Lasagna noodles ( or boil noodles if you have them, cook per directions on package)

2 jars tomato sauce (store bought or homemade)

12 oz of part skim Ricotta Cheese

2 eggs

Dried or fresh Italian spices, oregano, parsley, basil, thyme

1 package part skim Mozzarella cheese, shredded

Parmesan cheese

Directions:

I find it helpful chop and clean all my veggies first, so that I can add them to things quickly when the time comes.

Preheat oven to 350

Chop and wash the fresh spinach and set aside.

Julienne (finely slice) the zucchini, carrot, onion, and peppers. Press three cloves of garlic or finely chop. Thinly slice the mushrooms.

Add all the Julienne veggies, and garlic to a pan

and sauté with a tablespoon of olive oil (go easy as we discussed in the last post). Salt and pepper to taste. When the vegetables are just tender, put in a bowl and set aside. To the same pan add the mushrooms and sauté until tender. Take off the heat.

Add the Ricotta, eggs and spices in a mixing bowl, and mix until egg is incorporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

In a 9 x13 Pyrex baking dish spread a thin layer of sauce over the bottom, add three no-bake lasagna noodles side to side to cover the bottom. Spread another thin layer of sauce over the top, and then add the sautéed onion, pepper and zucchini mixture until it evenly covers the noodles and sauce. Spread a Layer of the ricotta mixture over the veggies, followed by a layer of sauce, some shredded Mozz, and some parmesan (keep in mind most of the cheese is for the top so don’t over do it!). Cover with three more lasagna noodles. Repeat the layers again, but use the fresh spinach and sautéed mushrooms. Cover with three more noodles, a generous layer of sauce (this will ‘cook’ those top noodles, do don’t be shy), and cover with as much or little cheese as you like.

Bake for 30 mins, or until the top is bubbly and golden.

I like to let mine rest for about 10 mins before I cut into it, but it tastes just delicious, and is FULL of nutrients. You can also swap any of the veggies out for things you like better, and use whatever fat content cheese you prefer. Get creative; every lasagna comes out unique and YUMMY.

Let me know what you think!

Roasted Rosemary Root Veggies

I always run into the problem of not being able to cook and eat my veggies before they go bad in my fridge. I am incapable of NOT feeling bad about wasting food when there are people that have none, so I have a few failsafe recipes that work for most produce.

This one is really easy, and you can use whatever root veggies and fresh herbs you have around your kitchen.

This recipe serves 2, but can be increased by however much you need

Ingredients:

1 Large Parsnip in 1 ½ inch cubes

1 Large Carrot in 1 ½ inch cubes

1 Sweet Potato in 1 ½ inch cubes

Note: It is important that the veggies are roughly the same size so that they roast evenly

1 Tbl fresh Rosemary, chopped or just pulled off the stalk

3 cloves of garlic (less if you prefer) finely diced

1 tsp Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp salt

1 Tbl of Extra Virgin Olive oil

Note: Please keep in mind that olive oil, while better for you than butter and other trans fat, is still an oil, so go easy. Use as little as you can while still coating the veggies so that they don’t stick to the pan.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350

Add chopped veggies, garlic rosemary, oil and S&P to a large mixing bowl and toss. You want the root vegetables to be coated evenly, and the rosemary and garlic evenly distributed.

Pour the mixture onto a baking sheet, and bake for 20-35 mins. Ovens heat differently, so check and stir the mixture after about 15 minutes or so. The veggies are done when they are pierced easily with a fork.

This can work as a side dish or as a main dish when served over brown rice. It also makes your house smell WONDERFUL!

Let me know what you think, and enjoy

Green Green Green!

Four months ago, in need of a drastic change of pace, I

packed up my life and moved 3,200 miles away to Southern California. Since arriving I have been inundated with green! Live green, eat green, green plants, green trees . . . green everything!

While I will expand later on the benefits of eating sustainable local produce, an effort to eat more veggies is high on my better life to do list. So this Creamy PestoPasta salad can include and disguise as many of your favorites as you can handle . . . AND it’s dairy and Gluten free!

Enjoy and let me know what you think!

Ingredients:

½ Package Silken Tofu

As much fresh Basil as you like (to taste)

1 Tbl Fresh Thyme

8 oz of Quinoa pasta, cooked as directed on the package

1 bunch Fresh raw spinach

¼ cup dry toasted pine nuts

2 cloves of raw garlic

Salt to taste

Frozen Peas, thawed

1 Carrot Chopped

1 shallot finely minced

Note: You can add whatever veggies you like, these just happen to be what I had on hand this afternoon

Directions:

Put the Silken Tofu, Basil, Thyme, Pine Nuts, Raw Spinach and Garlic into a food processor and blend until bright green and smooth. You can add whatever herbs you prefer to this mixture, and any other veggies.

Cook Pasta per the Directions on the back of the package, make sure to salt the water liberally.

Clean and Chop Carrot and Shallot as well as any other veggies you are adding. Thaw peas . . . I use frozen because they are easy to have on hand!

Add the cooked pasta, chopped veggies and creamy pesto sauce to a large bowl and toss until all the ingredients are coated well.

Tastes great alone or over a salad . . . and the picture in no way does it justice.

A self-indulgent step in a new direction

Let me first be clear that while this blog coincides with the New Year, it was hatched a few days before, and thus I am choosing NOT to consider it a resolution. On December 28^th, over dinner with a close friend and her mother, I had the most recent in a string of thought provoking conversations. The three of us toasted to a new years resolution early, to say YES to the things that make us feel good, and NO to the things that do not. On the heels of a year filled with soul searching and decision-making, this seemed like a terribly simple answer to the question of how does one live a life in which they are happy?

I am not a life coach, a therapist, a doctor, a chef or a nutritionist, but I have personally experienced the way in which body image and happiness are linked. So I have been spurred into action by some Brie induced stretch marks (honesty first), and an outpouring of food related information about what we should and should not be eating. For me, I have decided that I am going to say YES to finding a way to improve my body while simultaneously channeling my LOVE for cooking.

Taking a page from the books of Elizabeth Berg, Francis Mayes and even Ms. Julie Powel, I am going to document this challenge, as much in hopes that others will benefit as to keep myself on track . . . and somehow I will find my way back to a healthy body, a healthy mind and a healthier outlook on life.

As blogs tend to do (or so my blog proficient friends tell me) I am sure that this one will find it’s own voice, but for now it is cooking, things that I have found or will find helpful, and the self-indulgent ramblings of a transplanted New Englander.

Enjoy!