Ten Days of Little Celebrations - July 2014

Noticing something worth celebration each day is an easy thing for me to do. The habit of writing it down reminds me to be grateful for these and a myriad of other things in my life. This month has been full of ‘little celebrations;’ here are my top 10 for July 2014. I’ve categorized them into 4 groups: CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), Howard County Conservancy, travel and outdoors.

CSA

Kohlrabi is a new food for me this summer. It has been included in my CSA share twice and I’ve enjoyed it nutty flavor in stir fries. I may even buy it from the grocery store produce section after the CSA ends in the fall.

Fruit beety has become one of my favorite treats this summer - it is a healthy splurge to celebrate summer…..and a beautiful color to savor too.

Turnips are foods that I liked as snacks growing up but had eaten very infrequently for 30 years. I’m celebrating the re-discovery of how good a crunchy turnip can be.

Howard County Conservancy

Fairy Houses - The Howard Country Conservancy had an event for families to build fairy houses in the woods. I volunteered to help out with the crowd….and it was a lot of fun. The children were very creative with the natural materials of available!

Views in the Forest Shade - I celebrated the natural jewels in the shade on a summer day.

Bugs - Insects and spiders - oh my!

Travel

Travel purse - I found the perfect purse for travel at a thrift store: a pocket on the outside for my Kindle and boarding pass, good closure so nothing can fall out accidently. I am celebrating the bargain!

TSA Pre - I celebrate every time I get a boarding pass with TSA Pre; it is so much easier to go through security with shoes on and the laptop in the backpack.

Outdoors

Heron on the Lotus Pond - The second trip we may to the Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Garden in Washington DC - there was a Great Blue Heron that was so intent on fishing that there was plenty of time for pictures. The scene of bird and lotus were the celebration of the day.

Blooming sweet potato - Previous sweet potato plants have grown lots of foliage and potatoes….but this year the plant has blooms too!

Fruit Beety

Fruit Beety has become one of my favorite summertime recipes….which is quite surprising since I didn’t think I liked beets at all before I started getting them in my CSA share and looked around for something to do with them. The first recipe I decided to try was derived from my old Laurel’s Kitchen cookbook. I modified it a bit so that it comes out the consistency of homemade applesauce rather than matchsticking the beets…..and used ingredients I had on hand.

I’ve mentioned it several times in previous posts but am providing the more complete recipe today:

Use 3-4 medium sized beets. Cut off stems and leaves leaving the beet root intact. Scrub to clean off dirt. Cook in boiling salted water. I only cook for 10 minutes because I don’t have to have the skins slough off (the beets I’ve gotten so far have been so fresh that the skin is fine once it goes through the food processor. After cooking - pour off water (it will be a pretty color and could be saved to water plants)  - cool beats with cold water and cut off the very top and the root tip. Cut into chunks.

While the beets are cooking - prepare the other ingredients in the food processor.

• 3 organic oranges
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut
• 1 teaspoon honey
• 1 teaspoon raspberry vinegar
• Pinch salt

Oranges: The reason I specify 'organic' for this recipe is that the peeling is going into the Beety. Cut the peeling ends off the oranges; cut just enough to get the thicker peel, stem, and pith at the two ends. Cut into slices and removed seeds. Cut into chunks. Place fruit (pulp and peeling attached to it) into the food processor.

The unsweetened coconut is to soak up liquid. If you don’t have any - a tablespoon of chia seeds would work well.

I don’t measure the honey or vinegar - I just add it in.

After adding the beets to the food processor - let it run until the mixture is the consistency of homemade applesauce.

Fruit Beety is excellent alone, with coconut sprinkled on top (as shown above) with yogurt (or ice cream), or as a smoothie ingredient. Just think how beautiful a parfait of Fruit Beety and vanilla (or plain) yogurt would be! 

On Cooking

I’ve been cooking for over 4 decades…and today I started thinking about how things have changed in that time period.

Microwave ovens are the biggest technology change although the majority of times I use it these days is for popcorn (the Nordic Ware Microwave Popper has allowed me to go back to the same kind of popcorn I bought 40 years ago rather than the popcorn packaged with lots of additives).

Less meat. I eat a lot less meat these days because there are so many other sources of protein: yogurt, soy nuts, and peanuts are my favorites.

More vegetables. The CSA has increased by veggie consumption this summer but even before that I eat more vegetables now than I did 40 years ago…..and more of them are fresh rather than canned.

Less bread. I eat grains in different form than breads. Commercial bread was easy to give up. Sometimes I make muffins or scones but I am more enthusiastic about grains that I didn’t consume at all in the beginning of my cooking life: quinoa and chia.

Food processors make it easier to grate and puree in large quantities. I had a blender than I used 40 years ago but it was primarily used for milk shakes. I have several concoctions that are produced by putting everything in the food processor and just running it for several minutes (Fruit Beety is the most recent).  I also have a smoothie maker (a specialized blender) that I use with frozen fruit or veggies.

The menu has changed a little too over the years. Most of our meals take 30 minutes or less and even for the longer prep times there is a ‘get it started’ (like putting potatoes and meatloaf in the oven) and then going off to other things until it is done. Stir fry meals didn’t start until the last 10 years or so; I have a technique where I cut up the longer cooking items, start them cooking while I cut up the other items, then add the quick cook items (like leafy greens); it forces me to work fast!

Overall - I think the way I cook now produces tasty - and healthier - meals and is often easier than it was 40 years ago but not due to technology improvement.  It’s the learning through experience and focus on nutrition that has made the difference.

CSA Week 3

I did a reasonable job of using up the veggies from week 2 of the Gorman Farms CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) ….although not quite as good as the week 1 share. I ended week 2 with some broccoli and spinach left to eat….and some beet leaves in the freezer. I discovered that the dandelion greens were excellent in salads, kale chips are wonderful snacks, and beets are yummy in Fruit Beety. Here’s the recipe for Fruit Beety:

Combine in a food processor: 3 cooked beets, 3 oranges, 2 tablespoons coconut (unsweetened), 1 teaspoon honey, juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 teaspoon grated lemon or orange peel, pinch salt, scant teaspoon of raspberry vinegar. Process for a minute or two. Mine was the consistency of a thick applesauce. Adjust honey or vinegar to taste. Chill to blend the flavors. This recipe results in 3 large snack servings (6 servings if with a meal). It is good by itself or with a dollop of plain yogurt!

Lessons learned from week 2: 1) have a salad or stir fry twice a day that uses a significant amount of produce, 2) make kale chips with the whole bunch right away next time they are included in the share (they keep well enough for a few days), and 3) remind my husband to eat at least one salad a day and sneak a leaf or two of something green into his strawberry smoothie.

Now for week 3:

I already have ideas for everything in this share….a lot of excellent meals ahead this next week!