Leftovers...and a Memory

Lots of leftovers this weekend. Mostly vegetables, stuffing, and potatoes. Not too much turkey, surprisingly. We'll eat a meal or two, and then I'll make turkey soup. To a large stockpot, I'll add the turkey carcass, an onion, a few cloves of smashed garlic, some carrots and celery and cover with water. Simmer for a couple of hours, and then add a cup (or two) of white wine. Simmer a few more hours. The wine brightens the flavor of the soup; cooked poultry bones make a weak broth.

Turkey and trimmings will forever remind me of the hospital. DD17's protocol involved hospitalizations during chemo cycles, so she could be monitored for adverse side effects. Our hospital provided rooming-in for parents, so hospital food was part of my diet for a year. I never wanted to leave and find a restaurant. It just didn't seem that important, and I didn't want to wander around the city by myself. Mostly, I didn't like to leave her side. So if I didn't think to bring food, I'd have to eat hospital food. Parents were given vouchers to use for meals, and there weren't a lot of places to eat in the hospital. Usually, I just ordered off the patient menu.

Frequently, I ordered the turkey dinner. It was bland, and bland was comforting. It also gave off a less offensive odor to DD17...I had to be careful that what I ordered didn't contribute to her nausea. Or I had to eat it in the hall outside her room. Those were lonely, sad meals...the lights would be dimmed, the t.v. on low, and DD17 heavily medicated with antimetics while receiving chemotherapy intravenously. We were in a cocoon, waging a silent battle with the foe.

You'd think I'd really dislike turkey now. After eating it so often that year, you'd think I'd swear it off. Truthfully, I never liked it all that much to begin with. If I had to choose a poultry dish, I'd probably pick chicken. Now I guess turkey's resumed it's usual place, the once or twice-a-year meal. But I know, for me at least, it will always symbolize something more--comforting sustenance during a very difficult time.

Pre-Thanksgiving

We are staying home this year for Thanksgiving so I am cooking a turkey. I think I can pull it off, because I consider it a big bird and I roast whole chickens all the time. As everyone knows, it's all about the timing and the side dishes. Many years ago I hosted Thanksgiving and if I remember correctly, it went well.

My parents and my brother are coming, so that will be eight of us--definitely manageable. Besides the turkey, I will make cranberry stuffing, "smashed potatoes" (leave skin on, mash coarsely with butter and salt and pepper, then bake until browned on top), butternut squash, and sliced sweet potatoes with ginger and molasses. My mother will bring acorn squash, brussel sprouts, stuffed mushrooms (for my Dad), and asparagus (just to add more green). I'm not very confident in my gravy-making skills, but that's OK...it'll taste good enough, I'm sure.

Dessert will be apple and pumpkin pies. Some years we have a third pie, but that's only if there are more of us around the table. And some years we have even more items, like a soup, but I'm skipping that this year. I think this is enough, and I don't want leftovers for a week (although a few days without cooking is fine with me!).

It's funny, but most of these dishes are just gussied up versions of what we eat often, anyway. I think squashes are wonderful, easy side dishes all fall and winter, and so healthy if prepared simply. And poultry is a staple here.

But it's not about the food, really. We are all (relatively) healthy and that's reason enough to celebrate. Happy Thanksgiving!

Spinach and Brown Rice Casserole

My freezer is stuffed with bags of organic frozen spinach. I usually buy the Whole Foods house brand, but lots of supermarkets carry an organic version now. Regular spinach is pesticide-heavy, so I won't use it anymore. (Better late than never.) And the frozen, organic packages are so convenient.

You can toss spinach into soups or sauces, scrambled eggs, or just defrost and use as is. Bags are convenient because you can use just what you need, and put the rest back into the freezer. Frozen organic spinach has really become a staple in my kitchen and my go-to "convenience" vegetable when I'm running low on fresh items.

Here's a good recipe that uses spinach and rice together. I use it as a side dish, and consider it an easy way to sneak an "extra" vegetable into a meal. But it's certainly satisfying enough to be a vegetarian main dish. The original recipe comes from Cooking Down East which I mentioned here. Of course I had to modify it a bit, using brown rice instead of white rice, and grated Romano instead of (yuk) cheese whiz. I'm also loose with measurements...you really can't hurt a casserole.

Spinach and Brown Rice Casserole

1 16-oz package frozen spinach, thawed
2-3 cups cooked brown rice
1/4 cup finely chopped onion or shallot*
1/2 to 1 cup grated cheese*
2 tbsp. butter (optional)
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a 2-quart casserole dish. Bake uncovered at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until heated through.

If I have the time, I'll saute the onion or shallot in a little olive oil or butter. For the cheese, I'll use whatever I have on hand and that suits our taste. I've used Romano, Parmesan, and both regular and low-fat cheddar.

Leftovers are great for lunch the next day, too.

Saturday Random

It's been a quiet week here. Fall sports ended last week, so the older two are home right after school. It feels like we have a lot of free time suddenly. Of course, the upcoming holidays and various school events as well as winter sports will ramp up shortly. I don't stress *that* much about the holidays anymore. I really do try to take it as it comes, because I know control and planning are illusions. And, I really try not to think too far ahead. It's a useless exercise and just serves to make me anxious. (It was the only way I got through our medical dramas...a huge shift in how I function normally.)

The high school will be holding an H1N1 clinic the first week of December. I know the school nurse and volunteered to help with sign-in, etc. I'm aggravated, however, that the middle school does not have a flu clinic planned yet. This whole process has been flawed and disorganized from the beginning...starting at the national level.

The local paper had an article/commentary on Mom Guilt as it pertains to the H1N1 shot. On top of everything else mothers have to worry about, getting our kids the shot is becoming a competition. "Good" mothers have managed to get one, the rest of us are slackers. Funny, but I do understand the guilt thing. Maybe I should've parked myself and the kids outside the doctor's office at sunrise that day they offered the shot. Instead, I drove on by when I saw a couple of hundred people snaking out the door into the parking lot. What does that say about me?

And am I the only one annoyed at the incessant articles and early morning news show features describing low-calorie Thanksgiving menus? Um, it's once a year...if I want two servings of turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes with gravy, I'm going to have it. And, pass both the apple and pumpkin pies, please. One holiday is not going to make us overweight and unhealthy. Enjoy, and then move on.

Kale...and a Turkey Chili Recipe

Kale is one of those vegetables I never knew what to do with. I'd pass it by in the produce section of the grocery store in favor of spinach, swiss chard, broccoli rapini, and other familiar greens. Oh sure, it was pretty, but those sturdy leaves seemed more at home as a garnish than something you'd actually eat. (And ornamental kale is a popular fall plant around here, decorating late-season planters, along with colorful mums.)

In fact, kale is considered a form of cabbage, and is a good source of Vitamins C, A, and K, as well as calcium and omega-3 fatty acids. More importantly to me, however, the book Anticancer: A New Way of Life lists kale as one of the top vegetables that inhibit the growth of brain cancer cells. How could I not try to incorporate it into our meals?

So, in honor of kale and as a sort of pre-Thanksgiving preview, I'm making Turkey and Vegetable Chili Verde tonight. It's a much lighter, healthier version of chili and I think tastes really good. (My "regular" chili recipe uses chopped meat, sausage, and a bottle of beer. We won't go there.) This recipe uses 4 cups of chopped kale, but I add much more than that. You need a big pot, initially, to hold all the kale, but it cooks down very quickly--so you can get lots of this vegetable into the kids.

Dark turkey meat tastes better than white, but it's much fattier. Sometimes I'll use half of each. Also, I do saute the onions and garlic in some olive oil instead of the chicken broth. George Mateljan advocates against cooking with extra virgin olive oil, but I haven't investigated why yet. I don't think I want to know. How can all those Mediterranean countries be wrong?

Physicals...and H1N1 Again

Both boys had their yearly physicals in the past week. Both are "healthy," whatever that means. I confess to being cynical about yearly physicals for the kids. After the uber-specialists DD17 sees, it's hard to believe that listening to a heartbeat or looking in someone's ear is going to give you any information. Yeah, I know, there's more than meets the eye in a physical exam, but can they *really* tell if something is wrong? You have to present with a problem before the real probing begins, and then usually by a specialist.

We were told H1N1 vaccines were still not available, and they would not hold another flu clinic unless they have several hundred doses to distribute. I suspect, however, that they are maintaining a "high risk" list, and perhaps doling out the few vaccines that come in to those children. That's OK. Glad we're not on it, although the doctor did say that DS12 should not get the mist because of his intermittent asthma. So is he "medium risk?"

I asked one of the doctors what they consider high risk, and he said given the shortages, any child with chronic, severe asthma or with cystic fibrosis and on a ventilator.

After Hurricane Katrina, I maintained that we learned we could not depend on our government to take care of us during a major emergency. That's become obvious again with this H1N1 debacle. Stories of wealthy companies and sports teams receiving doses ahead of the general public (i.e., children) abound in the news. Town clinics have long lines of people, many from out of state. There certainly does not appear to be any organization in how these shots are distributed. Very frustrating, especially since we live near what I consider a "medical mecca."

Oh dear, this is becoming the H1N1 Whining Blog.

A Green Smoothie

I tried making green smoothies again. Success! I used the simplest recipe I've seen...two bananas, two cups of water, and a big handful or two of baby spinach leaves (enough to fill the blender). This made enough for about 3 or 4 glasses.

I was quite excited. I'm sure the kids think I'm a nut, but they indulged me by trying it. They agreed all you could taste was bananas, although they did make comments like "Looks like something Shrek would drink" and "I feel like I'm drinking pond scum."

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Hopefully green smoothies and the like will protect us against H1N1, because they're giving the virus away free at the local supermarket. Today, my cashier and the one behind me were trading stories about how they dragged themselves into work after three days home sick with aches, chills, and headaches. AARRGH. Now we know how pandemics happen.

Feeling Better

I had a good night's sleep after a two-day migraine, and feel like a million bucks. It's amazing what 7 hours of good rest does for my energy levels and my mental state. I try to encourage the older two to get to bed at a decent hour, but they have so much homework in addition to school activities and sports. (DS12 loves to sleep, so he's not an issue.) Since we've been unsuccessful trying to get the H1N1 shot so far, my approach has been more fruits and vegetables and more rest. It's all I can do to try to keep them healthy.

Yesterday I tried to make green smoothies for two of the kids. Green smoothies are all over the Internet and I confess to being intrigued by them...they are so green. Most recipes suggest fresh baby spinach leaves along with fruit, but I only had frozen spinach, frozen blueberries, and pears. The blueberries, unfortunately, turned the smoothie a muddy purple instead of the bright green I was hoping for. But the frozen spinach worked okay, after I let it thaw a bit. And you really couldn't taste the spinach, since it was masked by the sweetness of the fruit. I'll try making them again without blueberries, just because I think it's fun. (And while my kids will eat spinach now, they wouldn't when they were younger. I wonder if I could've gotten them to try a green smoothie back then. It would have been a great way to get healthy greens into them.)

Last night DS15's team won their game and will move on in the playoffs. I was not there, but husband reports that the fans--mostly parents--were a little out of control. I always find it interesting (and scary) how quickly parents can go over the top at a sporting event. I understand anger if your child gets hurt because of rough play and bad calls, but truly some parents set very bad examples. Uh, this is an upper middle-class community with educated people. You'd think they'd know better.

Feeding a Teenage Boy on the Go

We are a society on the go. Trying to eat healthy while away from home takes some thought and planning. Throw in picky appetites and other variables, and I don't think I'm always successful.

DS15 has an away-game tonight. They will be traveling about two hours each way (it's the playoffs) so he needed to pack food. The high school coach won't stop for fast food (thank goodness), but even if he did DS15 informed me he'd rather bring his own. So I sent him to school with a couple of soy-nut butter sandwiches and water bottles for the bus ride to the game...he won't have to worry about keeping them cold all day. And since my husband will go to the game, he's bringing a cooler with some roast beef subs and pumpkin muffins and will give them to DS15 after the game for the long ride home. I'd like to toss in some fruit too, but I didn't make it to the store in the last few days and we're running low on what DS15 likes.

I almost never buy deli anymore, because of the scary nitrates. However, when I'm desperate and need some sandwich fillings, I will get some high-quality deli roast beef. I figure roast beef has to have less preservatives than ham or turkey or bologna. Here in the Northeast, the brand Dietz and Watson claims to have less than 1% of ingredients I can't pronounce, at least in the roast beef (london broil). And considering I'll buy it maybe once every 3-4 months (if that), I figure it's OK.

I know Whole Foods carries nitrate-free deli, but it's not always convenient to get there and it's twice the price.

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I'm running low on fresh fruits and vegetables because I spent most of the last few days under a blanket on the couch. I had a killer migraine that I could not shake, despite prescription medicine. It really took me down and I was quite ineffective around here. Today it's 90% gone, but the aftereffects make me very tired and not on my game at all. I think the weather this weekend contributed, since the temperature spiked rapidly. For me, weather changes can cause a doozy of a migraine.

Really Good Really Easy Dinner Rolls

The other night I made dinner rolls. Homemade dinner rolls. (Pat self on back--I was so excited.) The recipe came from Taste of Home: Honey-Oat Pan Rolls.

I know my way around a kitchen and can and will try to cook anything, but my dinner rolls have always been a disaster. I can make a decent loaf of bread and a good pizza crust, but something about turning dough into rolls has eluded me for years. They're either too hard or too doughy or look unappetizing. They almost always taste okay, if you love bread-y foods, but they never come close to store-bought brown-'n-serve style rolls.

One of the curses of becoming a label reader is realizing all the extra, unhealthy ingredients (like high fructose corn syrup) in simple bread products. (I wrote about trying to buy a healthier loaf of bread here.) I understand some ingredients keep items shelf-stable, but I worry about what all those preservatives are doing to our bodies. Enter home-made bread and rolls, at least occasionally.

The rolls even looked good. I forgot to brush them with melted butter, but we didn't even miss it. Not too sweet and with the addition of whole-wheat flour, these are definitely healthier than store-bought. You could probably even tweak them a bit with healthy additions like flaxseed, or try other grains like rye flour. I used my Kitchen Aid mixer with the dough hook, because I was rushing and didn't have the time or space to knead, so they were really easy to make.

I will definitely make these again.

Thursday Musings

This week has been dragging along. Maybe it's the time change, but we're all so tired. DS12 went to bed at 8:15 last night, and still had to be awakened at 6:15 a.m. today. I'm still adjusting to the darkness at 4:45 every afternoon...it feels like a surprise every day when I look outside and notice it.

This H1N1 vaccine shortage has been so frustrating. The kids and teachers at both schools are dropping like flies, but the numbers haven't reached a critical point yet. It seems as if they ebb and flow so that people are sick at different times. DD17 is amazed she hasn't caught the flu yet, since everyone around her is coughing. One teacher ordered a coughing student out of her classroom and sent her to the nurse, despite the student's objections. Very frustrating for everyone.

Our town had a Halloween candy "give back" day, where the kids were encouraged to give up some Halloween candy that would then be sent to the troops overseas. We sorted out at least half of the candy and dropped it off, with no arguments. Even DS12 agreed it was best to cut back on the candy and up the healthy snacks, given all the germs around. I generally let the kids eat as much candy as they want, since the gluttony usually lasts about a week only, but this year they finally seem to "get it." DD17 really hasn't eaten much candy at all since she was diagnosed with her nut allergy (although we do treat her occasionally to an order from Vermont Nut Free chocolate). And DS15 gets the connection between athletic performance and what he puts in his body, and he's had success in the sports he plays so he figures he's doing something right, nutritionally.

And I do remember when growing up there were always some kids around who weren't ever allowed candy or soda or cookies. They seemed to be the ones who used their lunch money to buy junk instead of lunch at school. And while I know the junk is everywhere today, and the kids (at least in elementary school) have so many occasions in school for candy/parties/etc. (which used to drive me crazy), I think banning everything doesn't teach a child to make good decisions. They have to understand the connection between what they put in their mouths and the effect it may have on their body or even their moods. Because eventually, they will be exposed to situations where they have to make the choice of what to eat or not eat. Arming a child with the knowledge of what to choose and when is infinitely better, I think, than never having exposed them to that choice at all.

Spaghetti Squash

Spaghetti squash is a fun vegetable to serve my family. Full of nutrients and low-cal to boot, it's a great way to get more vegetables into the kids. Tossed with tomato sauce and grated cheese, it really does look like spaghetti.

To cook, split a washed squash in half lengthwise. Place halves skin side down in baking pan. Add an inch of water to pan and then cover tightly with tin foil. Bake in 350 degree oven for about an hour, or until strands separate easily with a fork.

Allow to cool until easy to handle. Remove seeds and then with a fork, scoop out the flesh. It will separate easily into spaghetti-like strands.

We like it served simply with a light tomato sauce, but I recently tried this recipe which we liked, too. You can also toss it with a heartier meat sauce, making it the centerpiece of the meal.