Wisdom for the New Year

A piece of advice is listed below from a patient of mine; she is a beautiful woman who speaks 5 languages fluently, survived the concentration camps, worked as an architect, musician, and mother. She is wise and lovely and I always learn something from my visits with her. This is a little excerpt from a recent visit I had with her.

• Her: Do you know what the two saddest words in any language are?
• Me: Nope...what?
• Her: "word 1 - word 2" (first in Romanian, then in German, then in French, then in Hebrew)
• Her: (finally in English) Too late.
• Me: Hmmm. That is both beautiful and sad. Thank you for sharing with me.

So, the moral seems to be, don't let your life pass you by.

Don't let something be "too late."

Live fully. Live beautifully. Live.

Happy New Year.

Split Pea Soup

I can't believe I am publishing a post on split pea soup. For years I have lumped this soup into the same category as brussel sprouts, stewed cabbage, liver & onions, anything with cauliflower - basically all my undesirable foods. But, lo-and-behold... I found a split pea soup recipe, did a slight bit of tinkering and voila - this might be one of my new all-time favorite soups!

It's hearty. It's tasty. It's vegan. It's easy to make. And in a time when we are all strapped for cash, it's pretty darn inexpensive!

Happy soup eating! Mmmmmm.

Split pea soup:

Ingredients

• 3 cups dry split peas
• 8 cups of water
• 3 bay leaves
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 cups yellow onion - chopped
  
• 6 cloves of garlic - finely chopped
  
• 3 stalks of celery - chopped
• 2 carrots - peeled and chopped
• 1 large (or 2 small) baking potatoes - thinly sliced
• fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. Put split peas, water, bay leaves and salt into a large kettle - bring to a boil - reduce heat and simmer for 20 min (partially covered)
2. Add the onion, garlic, celery, carrots and potato to the mix - let everything simmer for 40 more minutes
3. Add pepper to taste (and additional salt if needed) - serve and eat!

This recipe was adapted from The New Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen.

Another one bites the dust!

Setting the scene: Came home from work Friday afternoon, opened the door to find.... another dead houseplant!
(Duh-duh-duh-duuuuuuuh - think creepy sound effects)






Thought process:

• Damn-it I killed another one!
• When did I last water it?
• Have I fertilized recently?
  
• Maybe the dirt is bad?
• Is there such a thing as bad dirt?
• It looked so healthy....
  
• Why do these plants keep dying on me?
• I think I watered everything Sunday...
• Why is my mom so good with plants and I am sooo bad - this is obviously not a genetic issue.
  
• Damn-it I can't blame this on my parents,
  
• How am I ever going to take over the Martha Stewart empire if I keep killing houseplants?
• Should I get rid of it before Will gets home?
• What should I get to replace it?
  

Resolution:

• Hmmmm.... maybe I should stick to cooking... I haven't killed anyone or anything with that yet!

I love squash!

So, you probably guessed from the title that this post is going to be about squash! I love the stuff - acorn, spaghetti, butternut... I love stuffing it, baking it, topping it... and of course, eating it! My husband may not be enjoying my new love affair as much as I am, but he is tolerating it so far and we have not had to order in take-out due to any squash disasters. (Thanks Will!)

Anyways, I wanted to spread the love and share one of my favorite recipes with you all. I borrowed it from the New Moosewood Cookbook, and then made a few adaptations of my own. The ingredient list is long and the recipe may seem daunting, but it is really easy (I swear). While the squash are first baking you can prep the stuffing, the as soon as they are finished flip them over, stuff them and leave them to bake another 30 minutes. For dishes you're basically looking at a baking tray, pan, and large bowl, plus some chopping stuff - not too bad!

Acorn stuffed squash

Ingredients:

• 2 medium-sized acorn squash
• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 cups chopped yellow onion
• 1/2 lb. minced white mushrooms
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 celery stalks, chopped
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp sage
• 1/2 tsp thyme
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 2 Tbs lemon juice
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/4 cup raw sunflower seeds
• 1/8 cup raisins
• 1/8 cup dried cranberries
• 2 cups of bread crumbs or chopped, toasted bread pieces
• 6 chopped dried apricots
• 1 cup grated cheddar cheese (optional)

Directions:

1. Pre-bake the squash - cut in half, scoop out the insides, place face down on an oiled tray, bake at 350 deg for approx 30 min - check to make sure they are soft when finished
2. While the squash are cooking - heat the olive oil in a large pan - Add onion and garlic - saute until the onion is soft and slightly browned
3. Add the mushrooms, celery, and seasonings - saute for 10 to 15 min until everything is tender.
   
4. In another bowl mix the lemon juice, walnuts, sunflower seeds, raisins, cranberries, bread crumbs (or little bread pieces), apricots and cheese.
   
5. Add the onion/mushroom mix to the bowl - blend everything together well.
   
6. Once the squash are baked - turn them so that the opening is facing up - fill to overflowing with the stuffing mix
7. Bake the stuffed squash at 350 deg for 30 minutes - if they start to burn on top cover with a piece of foil

That's it! Now eat and enjoy!!

Oh yeah, if you leave out the cheese this is totally vegan - if you add the cheese it is still vegetarian - and if you use rice bread for the bread part it is gluten free. :)

P.S. sorry for the looooooong time between posts - I'm back now though!

C.A.L.W.....continued

The CALW continues (that would be Carrot And Lettuce Watch for those who weren't plugged in last week)!

Right now the count (if we were keeping count) would be 1 to 1. Meaning one pot is doing something (like growing delicious little veggies I will later consume with great gusto)... and one pot is doing nothing (like NOT growing anything at all to speak of).

I have attached pictures of both so that you may compare and contrast the party that is occurring in pot#1 to the party that is NOT occurring in pot #2. For those who are concerned about my level of commitment, I have most definitely not given up on pot #2, I'm just not as enamored with it right now, because frankly it's not doing anything to be enamored with!

Happy planting! Happy growing! I just got the new Sunset magazine and there's a great article about cool weather crops, so this may just continue year round! I know you're excited!!

C.A.L.W.

What is C.A.L.W. you might be asking? Well, it is the new abbreviation for Carrot And Lettuce Watch, catchy eh?

So how are the new batches of carrots and lettuce doing?!?!

Well, I currently have two beautiful pots full of very beautiful and healthy looking dirt!! I know it's exciting isn't it?!?!

C.A.L.W. will continue next week (or earlier if something really exciting happens, like little green shoots popping up through the dirt!)

Happy gardening!

These might replace M&Ms for me...

So this week I want to throw out a super simple, super tasty recipe for a snack that really might replace M&Ms for me! (Okay, probably not, but they are delicious.)

Candied Nuts

• 1 1/2 cups of chopped walnuts or pecans (or any other raw nut of your choice)
• 2 Tbs of pure maple syrup
• sea salt to taste (optional)

1. Use a small bowl to mix the nuts, syrup, and salt
   
2. Heat the oven to 300 deg F.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes - rotate every 10 min. or so to ensure even baking (I like to use parchment paper on the pan to prevent the nuts from sticking and it makes for really easy clean up)
4. After baking let the nuts cool - then enjoy!

I have tried these as a snack, on salads, with yogurt, on cereal... I also expect they would be tasty on ice cream and frozen yogurt.

I usually store these in a tupperware container in the refrigerator - they are quite tasty and refreshing when they are cold.

Happy eating!