FoodLove

We are not always traditional at Thanksgiving. Last year, we ate in a wonderful restaurant in Honolulu (Top of Waikiki). Several years ago, I declared a boycott of Thanksgiving - mainly because of feeling so homesick for my southern family. (My sweet husband surprised me by cooking an entire Thanksgiving meal for us, anyway!)

Still, most of the time, we gravitate to the familiar. In preparation for our tiny Thanksgiving this year, for three people, I pulled out the recipes. It hits me harder every year. The food created by these recipes are physical manifestations of the love I've received from the women who gave them to me.

Bettye Cannon's Sweet Potato Casserole comes from her church cookbook, published in about 1989. She gave the cookbook to my daughter - her granddaughter - when Adrienne was 8. It has always lived in my house, but I think the time has come to pass it on to the original recipient :) One of the best things about this cookbook is that Adrienne taped a memo pad page to the inside front cover with these comments:

" I got this when I was eight years old.

X means maybe good but I haven't tried it.

V (check mark) means looks good but I haven't tried it.

* (star) mean's I know it's gona be good!"

So when I make this casserole, the taste of it is full of love and memories. I make it once a year and give thanks for the lovely woman my daughter has become, as well as her grandmother - the kind, sweet woman who still loves us both.

Sweet Potato Casserole

3 c sweet potatoes, boiled and mashed

1 c. sugar

1/2 stick margarine ( I like butter)

2 eggs, well beaten

1/4 c. milk

1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. margarine

chopped pecans, optional

Mix ingredients well and pour into large baking dish. Mix topping ingredients well and sprinkle on top. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until topping is golden brown.

From Keenager's Kookery, Trinity Baptist Church, Pearl, MS. Printed about 1989

Ma Po Tofu - Sort of...

Tonight's invent-a-meal was a surprisingly tasty, no-meat version of that Chinese classic, ma po tofu. I used Morningstar Farms griller crumbles in place of the pork. And, well, I substituted most of the other ingredients on the internet recipes I checked. Here's the basic formula:

• 2/3 bag Morningstar Farms griller recipe crumbles
• 12 oz firm tofu, diced (next time, I'll use more tofu)
• soy sauce, about 1/8 cup
  
• 2T cornstarch
• 2T black bean sauce
• 1/4 c sweet chili sauce
• 1/2 to 3/4 c water
• chopped green onion
• chili garlic sauce (optional)
• oil for stir-fry
• cooked brown rice
  

Mix cornstarch and soy sauce. Add frozen crumbles to the mix, stir, and defrost in microwave for about 2 minutes. Let the crumbles absorb most of the liquid - takes a few more minutes.

Heat oil. Add veggie crumble mix and stir until it's heated. Add black bean sauce and mix well. Add tofu and gently mix as it heats. Add water to thin out sauce, then add sweet chili sauce. If you like it spicy, add in a bit of chili garlic sauce. I just added mine afterwards, since my husband didn't want the extra heat. Once everything's hot and bubbling, serve over brown rice.

To make everything as quickly as possible, put the rice cooker on before you start with the ma po tofu. Rice takes about 45 minutes, main dish only took about 20.

Chow Fun

We mostly enjoy the quest for good food that doesn't contain chicken, pork, beef, turkey, lamb, eggs, or dairy.

Last night's meal - a noodle stir-fry - was a tasty treat only available in Hawaii. I used fresh chow fun noodles, fresh poke (cubed ahi with green onions and to-die-for seasonings), chop suey mix (bean sprouts, cabbage, shredded carrots), and a little onion. It seemed like something was missing, and I realize now I should have drizzled a little sesame oil and sprinkled sesame seeds on top. The soy sauce and red pepper flakes weren't enough.

The secret is the order in which everything's cooked. First, the onion (3 minutes), followed by chop suey (another 3 minutes). Then, I added the poke for a minute or two, followed by the chow fun noodles. Once they get heated up, it's time to drizzle oil and sprinkle sesame seeds. Yummy!

I have to admit, it seems like a waste to cook fresh poke (pronounced "poak-eh") when it's so good raw - but it's the only way Tom can eat it.

Next time I'll take a picture of the dish and add it to my post.

Egg-less Wonder

When the doctor said to eliminate egg products from my diet for 3 months, I thought it would be no problem. Do you have any idea how many foods have eggs in them? Foods I LOVE, I might add. But, in the spirit of conquering inflammation on my journey to better health, I soldier on.

After a couple of weeks of cutting out morning egg-white omelets, I find myself in need of a.m. protein. I've resorted to eating last night's leftover chicken several times, but it doesn't quite hit the spot as a culinary treat.

Reading ingredient lists has yielded "hidden" eggs in things I like. Mayonnaise and almost all baked goods are in the forbidden zone. My usual fall-back for mayo is plain, strained yogurt, but this is another food I need to avoid. Thank goodness for vegennaise - Tom keeps calling it vaginnaise.

Now I'm on a quest. I hate to feel deprived. Today I made apple craisin muffins, which made me feel better. Tomorrow I'll try Irish soda bread, and there's a cocoa-banana muffin recipe calling my name once the apple bananas ripen. All I need is time :)

A-political

After re-reading the last couple of posts, I don't like the trend my blog is taking. I'm not all that into politics, and just venting about things that annoy me is counter-productive. So - I'll re-think how best to make use of this forum.

Health Care

A very smart man said to me, "Look, I can afford health care. But, I want to make sure that the guy who fixes my salad at the Olive Garden can afford to get his hepatitis treated so I don't get it!"

I never cease to be amazed at my friends and family who send out emails generating fear and hatred over making medical care available to all. To the Christians I want to say, "Hey, look down at your WWJD bracelet! He HEALED the sick, and he urged people to build spiritual, not material, wealth. So shut up and act more like Him."

I still love my friends and family - but I wish they could see the world through a different lens.

Oh, and I must confess that the smart man referenced is my husband.

Journey from Conservatism

I'm not sure when it happened. I voted for Reagan, and then again for Bush 41. I didn't vote for Clinton either time, although I remember not liking the Republican choices very much.

At some point, Republican views became the politics of fear and hate - for me, at least. I read news from both sides, and I get emails spewing things to be afraid of (mainly Obama) from many of my friends.

They seem to be afraid of:

• Diversity - this is evident from the racial tone of emails sent around about the Obamas personally. I won't dignify them by listing them, but you know which ones I'm talking about.
• A woman's right to choose whether or not to carry an unwanted pregnancy. Of course, the only alternative anyone ever offers is adoption, but for most married women, this isn't a viable alternative because of social pressure. Education and readily available birth control are the best ways to reduce the need for termination of pregnancy.
  
• Offering health care to those who cannot afford it. The argument that it's too expensive is ridiculous. It's a hell of a lot cheaper to fund preventive care and doctor's visits up front than it is to provide health care through emergency rooms. And, when the top group opposing universal health care is insurance companies - well - HELLO - need I say more?

What really pushed me over the edge, away from conservatism, was the campaign of Bush 43. When he butchered John McCain in South Carolina, with the help of fringe groups, I knew this was not a candidate I could ever support. He wanted to take the country back to 1950's-era times socially. I considered him dangerously inept, next to Al Gore. So, I jumped, and I've never looked back.

It makes me sad to see so many people I love still mired in fear and anger, but I can't do or say anything about it without triggering the anger response. They seem to prefer being there. So, I keep my politics (mostly) to myself, unless asked. Enlightenment isn't for everyone.

One of the things I deliberately appreciate is a beautiful commute. After growing up in an area dominated by fields of something (and always wishing I was somewhere else), every day I see the water breaking over the reef is a special blessing. On the way to work, I notice flowering trees and shoreline. On the way home, I notice how the clouds paint themselves around sharp volcanic ridges and ancient peaks.

As the sun lowers, the clouds change into beautiful pinks, lavenders, and eventually dusky purple and blue. Add in afternoon water vapor, and rainbows abound. It's all the colors I wore on my eyes in the 70's. Geez, I miss loud eye shadow!

Living in Colorado, I used to thank God every day for the front range view that took my breath away on the drive home. I could see from Pike's Peak to Long's Peak. I also learned that looking at mountains was romantically moving, but getting up amongst them wasn't the nirvana I always believed it would be. Once you're IN the mountains, you can't SEE anything much! Well, you can when you get up towards the top, but the top of a fourteener sucks the breath out of your body and gives you a bad headache.

Knowing this didn't lessen my appreciation for mountains. It made me enjoy the view from my commute even more.

And now, because visiting my roots is a rare pleasure and privilege, I find myself watching the fields of whatever as I drive, feeling happiness all the way to my core.

3/8 Workout

I can walk down the steps in front of the building without wobbling and holding on to the rail - yippee! My left knee doesn't feel like it's going to collapse anymore. Feels good to feel good.

Abs and glutes - abs and glutes - pay attention. Heck, I don't even know if it's spelled correctly. Glutes = butt muscles.

Who'd have thought the most innocent-looking workout would make me feel better in two months than 6 months of physical therapy? Just goes to show, a holistic approach is best!

Grandmama's stories

My first grandparent died when I was 28 - my beloved Granddaddy. It was way too soon. I still can't write or talk about him without choking up.

Next to go - about 18 years later - Grandpa Sam. He lived quite a colorful and interesting life, and when cancer struck him at about age 90, he was still hauling his little fishing boat in and out of the lake on a regular basis. His decline was rapid, and the end was quick - just as he hoped it would be.

In October of 2009, I visited my Grandma who had been moved into a nursing home only weeks before. Grandma didn't want to go. She was a retired secretary/bookkeeper who became a prolific artist and writer. After I moved away from the family base, she was the one who kept me up-to-date with regular letters. I became closer to Grandma after I left - funny, isn't it!? Her love of sports was bestowed on me.

A few weeks after my visit, Grandma developed a condition that was extremely painful, and a permanent resolution was not available. By the time we made it back for the holidays, she had been admitted to the hospital. On December 23, Grandma left us. Her legacy was her loving family, a large body of artistic work, and an unpublished autobiography. I was only able to read a couple of chapters of the book before I left, but the clarity of her memories was striking. We're very fortunate to have so much information on her family history and her life.

So now, my brother, my sister, and I only have one grandparent remaining. Grandmama is 88, still drives in a limited fashion to the places she's comfortable going, and lives with her older husband, whose health continues to decline.

She isn't an artist or writer, although she's always been very creative in her own way. She's a knitter from way back, and I can tell she's delighted that her great-granddaughter (my daughter) inherited this passion. Over the years, the family has heard many of her stories, told with love and laughter at family gatherings. Most of them revolved around us. She remembers all the funny and brilliant things her children,grandchildren, and great-grandchildren said or did. Once in awhile, she throws in a reference to her own past, or to that of her parents.

It struck me that her story isn't documented anywhere. Requests for her to write it down over the years have been met with a "should" response. Yes, I should, I know I should, etc.

On the long plane ride home from Christmas, I realized that Grandmama won't write her story down because her preferred way of communicating is story-telling, not writing. What if we could get her to record her stories? After thinking about the best way to get information without making her feel weird about it, I approached her with an idea of a series of phone conversations which I would record. She seemed pleased at the idea, and after a few technical problems, we launched the Pauline Project.

More to come...

Sedentary Life

After spending the last 30 years working mostly behind a desk, and developing interests that are sedentary, I am not a great candidate for outdoor sports. Still, at 48, I know I either need to find work that is active, or develop hobbies requiring physical movement. The deterioration in my hamstrings, knees, hips, and gluts is a testament to too many years of neglect!

How does a fairly accomplished, extremely busy manager make a lifestyle change to a level of physical activity that increases health and well-being?