Why have I never roasted broccoli before?

A few days ago I was in search of a vegetable side-dish recipe that I could make for Christmas with the in laws. Several people suggested roasted broccoli to me, and I ended up using this recipe from Ina Garten. And now I don't think I will ever prepare broccoli another way (aside from the occasional broccoli-cheese soup).

I don't know why I have never attempted to roast broccoli before; roasting is my favorite preparation for so many things. It added such a different depth of flavor to it, and like kale chips, I loved the slightly-crispy browned pieces along the edges. Even my brother-in-law, who claims to despise all things green, admitted to liking it. My sister said it was like "restaurant broccoli" and has since requested it again for our family Boxing Day dinner at my mom's this week (incidentally, my sister is married to The H's brother, which is why she will be at both dinners).

Here's how I made it:

Parmesan Roasted Broccoli

2 heads organic broccoli, washed and trimmed

2 large garlic cloves, peeled and minced

Olive oil

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Zest from one lemon

The juice of the zested lemon

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Cut the broccoli florets from the thick stalks, leaving an inch or two of stalk attached to the florets, discarding the rest of the stalks. Toss with garlic and olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Roast for 15-20 minutes or until the tips of some florets are beginning to brown. Remove from baking sheet and toss with a bit more olive oil, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Grate Parmesan over the top and let melt; serve hot.

Soup's on!

The other night I finally got to make the kale and sausage soup I've had my eye on for days. I used this recipe as my inspiration, which is a copycat recipe from the Olive Garden restaurant. It was a perfect soup for a snowy winter day. Leftovers turned out well; I liked that it thickened a bit when it was reheated. The original recipe is as follows, with my version below.

Toscana Soup

• 12 links spicy pork sausage, sliced
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3/4 cup diced onion
• 1 1/4 teaspoons minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons chicken soup base
• 4 cups water
• 2 potatoes, halved and sliced
• 2 cups sliced kale
• 1/3 cup heavy cream

• 
  
• Directions for original version:
• 1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
• 2. Place sausage links on a baking sheet and bake 25 minutes, or until cooked through. Slice into 1/2 inch slices.
• 3. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Saute onions until translucent; add garlic and cook 1 minute.
• 4. Stir in broth, water and potatoes; simmer 15 minutes.
• 5. Reduce heat to low and add sausage, kale and cream; simmer until heated through and serve.

My cleaned-up version:

• One package Jennie-O spicy Italian turkey sausage, removed from casings and browned/drained (minus 4oz once it was cooked, for another recipe)
• About 1 tablespoon olive oil
• One diced yellow onion (co-op)
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 2 packets low-sodium chicken broth packets from Trader Joe's
• 4 cups water
• 2 potatoes, halved and sliced (co-op)
• 2 cups sliced kale, cram-packed full!
• 3 small carrots, washed and sliced (co-op)
• Half package sliced baby portobello mushrooms
• 1 can white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• Splash of half-and-half (if I had more time or energy, I would've pureed some of the soup after adding the beans and before adding the kale and sausage with the hope that I could cut out the cream altogether. Maybe next time!)

1. Remove sausage from casings and brown in large skillet. Drain well and set aside.

2. In large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, saute onion in oil until translucent. Stir in garlic, cook about 1 minute.

3. Stir in broth, water, mushrooms, carrots, and potatoes; cover and cook until potatoes are nearly fork-tender, about 20 minutes.

4. Reduce heat to low and add sausage, kale, beans, and half-and-half. Simmer until heated through. Serve hot.

Another blah day

This cold is kicking my butt. Started the day with sprouted grain toast, natural peanut butter, and my beloved coffee. Lunch was sushi with coworkers. Snack was almonds and dried cherries. Had some caramel popcorn after a Christmas shopping marathon; The H bought it from the boss's kids' boyscout troop (pack? den?). Dinner was rather last-minute, as I still haven't gotten in gear enough to make that kale soup I mentioned yesterday, but I managed to pull together some decent gluten-free blueberry pancakes (Bob's Red Mill mixed with applesauce, pumpkin, cinnamon, and low-fat milk) and scrambled farm-eggs/eggwhites with lean ham and chives. Had juice to drink for a change; yesterday I bought some organic blueberry-pomegranate juice to mix with sparkling water. When my throat hurts, I like the feeling of fizzy drinks but can live without the HFCS and caffeine in soda. I couldn't even muster up enough oomph to go for a run on the treadmill tonight (it's super-slick and beyond cold outside), but whined to The H that I just wanted ice cream instead. So Ben, Jerry, and I spent the evening watching Scrubs and toodling around on the computer. Here's to a better tomorrow!

You know you're sick when...

you drink hot tea (which you normally claim to hate) all day long, blend up a green monster smoothie with extra ice for lunch, and think salty fast food fries sound good for dinner.

Sore throats and sniffly noses have hit these eating machines.

I hope to post a recipe for kale- and turkey-sausage soup later this week, if I ever find the motivation to stand in front of the stove and actually cook it.

Alas, tonight is not that night. Early bedtime beckons! Nighty night.

The Dark Days Challenge

A fellow food blogger (Hi, Wendy!) suggested I participate in the Dark Days of Winter Eat Local Challenge, and after reading about it online, I've decided I have no excuse *not* to try this. What's one meal a week, when we belong to the co-op? Granted, I am no canner-preserver-freezer extraordinaire. But I do have resources. It will give me pre-determined blog fare at least once a week, too. In light of this decision, I've altered my current co-op order a bit.

Rather than just regular (fair trade, organic) coffee, I'm also ordering 2lbs of decaffeinated (also FTO) beans. Since one of my goals prior to this challenge was to eat more locally anyway, it doesn't make much sense to keep sending Gevalia money every other month when Craig at Grand Rapids Coffee Roasters is roasting it fresh practically in my own backyard every day. I'm also ordering maple syrup for the first time, since there is no way I can justify Trader Joe's organic grade B maple syrup as "local" especially since I drive two hours to get it in the first place. LOL!

Since we have plenty of non-co-op meat in the freezer for now I won't order any more this cycle, but will plan on some in future months. Eating locally may help me get out of the stock-up-for-an-army-stranded-in-a-blizzard mentality, as good local meat is much pricier than the bulk bags from the grocery store, as Wendy wrote about here.

I know the point of this blog isn't locavorism, but please bear with me during this short experiment. I will still do my best to eat clean, of course; I'm simply adding the challenge of eating clean close to home on a more official platform than before.

So here are my personalized rules:

1. Make at least one locally-sourced meal weekly, using more local ingredients than non-local

2. Blog about the meal

3. Participate in the challenge for 5 weeks before re-evaluating

4. Prepare locally-sourced food(s) for any upcoming holiday potlucks or family meals

And in the words of my son's favorite TV show, "Let...the mission...BEGIN!"

Beef stew and apple crisp

Yesterday was a snowy, blowy day here on the west side of the mitten state, a perfect day for beef stew in the slow cooker. As I was putting this together, I realized that the majority of the ingredients came from our co-op. Perfect! I'm trying to transition our household to eating more local food vs. grocery store stuff, so this meal was ideal. And it was tasty, too. I think The H had three bowls at dinner, and took leftovers for lunch today.

Co-Op Beef Stew

1lb beef stew meat, cubed (co-op!)

Red wine, for deglazing pan

6 small carrots, scrubbed and sliced (co-op!)

2 onions, peeled and diced (co-op!)

4 potatoes, washed and cubed (co-op!)

Canned tomatoes

Zucchini, diced

4oz fresh sliced mushrooms

Worcestershire sauce, about 1 Tbsp

Black pepper and sea salt, to taste

Beef stock or broth, about 2 cups

Prepare potatoes, carrots, and and place into olive-oiled slow cooker crock. Add tomatoes. Brown cubes of beef with a few cloves of minced garlic, and add to crock. Deglaze pan with about 1/2 cup red wine; bring to a boil, get all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan, and add the wine to the slow cooker. Pour in beef stock. Season with salt, pepper, and Worcestershire (hot sauce, like Frank's, would probably be good in here, too). Cover the crock and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until potatoes are tender. Add the sliced mushrooms and zucchini for the last hour of cooking. Thicken with a cornstarch-water mixture if desired. We left it brothy per The H's request.

Dessert was an oatmeal apple crisp made with co-op Ida Red apples. It was delicious! I used this recipe from allrecipes.com with very few modifications. For example, I used turbinado sugar instead of white, added nutmeg to the apples, and walnuts to the crumble topping/crust. Instead of straight butter, I used Smart Balance 50/50 blend. It was a perfectly sweet, homemade end to our chilly winter day.

I give it 8 out of 10

Tonight's dinner was a combination of quick leftovers + something The H doesn't like. He's traveling for work, just for the night, so baby duty was all on me. Whew! I can't imagine how moms of multiples ever manage to eat; getting my son and the dog fed and played with left little time for me to prep my own meal, which is why I was sitting down to it at 8:30 tonight. Yikes!

The leftover portion was frozen turkey sloppy joe filling from Clean Eating Magazine (for which I don't think I've yet posted a recipe, though this is the second time in recent weeks that I've mentioned it...). I love that I made a huge batch and am still finding them in the freezer! I had it on an Arnold sandwich thin.

My "H won't eat this, let's do it" treat was a small delicata squash from the co-op, sliced and roasted and drizzled with maple syrup and toasted almonds during the last 10 minutes of cooking. The idea came from Clean Eating Magazine, the Nov/Dec 2009 issue.

Overall, it was filling and colorful, and certainly easy to prepare. I'm detracting a point from each component because the sloppy joe got too mushy and suddenly said "Don't eat another bite of me!" (ever have food do that to you?) and the squash could have had more flavor. Perhaps the way I prepared it (sliced, rather than scooped and mashed) had something to do with that. However, I would make both parts again. Thus, 8/10.