Split Pea Soup

Nothing says Happy Birthday like split pea soup. My mother-in-law invited the family over for dinner for my birthday and she asked me what I wanted her to make. When she cooks, she goes all out, and it is always delicious. But she also just about kills herself doing it. I didn't want to take advantage of her generosity so I told her I love her salads. (She never just makes a simple salad. They are awesome.) So she made salad. It had chicken, spinach, nuts, blueberries, raspberries, all with a homemade dressing. And she made salmon. Smothered in some kind of spinach and mushroom saute. And rice pilaf, french bread, fruit salad, a squash casserole, and split pea soup. I was in heaven. And she sent us home with all the leftovers.

The split pea soup had a turnip in it which gave it a little kick. I love soup, especially when it has something unique to give it a special flavor.

3 medium shallots or 1 small onion, diced
1 small carrot, diced
3/4 medium parsnip or turnip, diced
1 t butter
1 c dry split peas, yellow or green
2 t rosemary, chopped
4 c chicken broth
1/8 t salt
1/8 t pepper

In a saucepan, stir together shallots, carrots, turnip and butter. Cook over medium low heat, stirring often, until vegetables begin to color. Stir in split peas, rosemary, and broth. Bring to a simmer and cook until peas are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Season to taste.

(You can tell this recipe is from someone else, when I make it those measurements will get muddied! 3/4 turnip? What will you do with the leftover 1/4?)

Lemon Shrimp and Spinach

This is so fast to make. Turn on the rice cooker quick because this will be done before the rice is.

1 lb shrimp

1 lb spinach leaves, chopped

2 T olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tomato, chopped

1/2 c lemon juice

1 t lemon zest

salt and pepper

Heat oil in a skillet. Add garlic cloves and saute for 2 minutes. Add chopped tomato and shrimp and cook for 5 minutes, just until shrimp are pink (if using raw shrimp). Pour in lemon juice and lemon zest, add spinach leaves. Season with salt and pepper and cook, uncovered, over medium heat until spinach leaves are wilted. Serve over rice.

Opinions: Fruits and Vegetables

Everyone knows that you SHOULD eat your veggies. Every mom has had this argument with her kids. I personally enjoy eating vegetables, but like 'em or not, vegetables are maybe the most important food group in your diet. I can't very intelligently explain all the health benefits that come from vegetables, so I won't. But you know I'm right.

Pop quiz: How many servings of vegetables should you have per day? You'll hear 4-5 as a common suggestion. (I've already mentioned my opinion about the government's food guide pyramid. A good starting place, but watered down.) You really should aim for more like 9. That might seem like a lot but just try it. Add a serving here and there. You can do it. A serving is about 1/2 to 1 cup depending on what kind, so if you have half a plateful of vegetables (like you should) that is probably 3 or 4 servings. Do that at a couple meals and grab some for snacks and you've got your 9.

So how are you doing? As I'm writing this I'm realizing I'm not doing as well as I used to. I need to take some of my own advice here to increase my veggie intake:

• Ok, so I haven't mentioned fruit yet except in the title. Two reasons, 1) you should eat more vegetables than fruit and 2) my kids inhale fruit. I always try to have plenty around, and when I do they voluntarily choose it when they get the munchies, so I don't have any trouble with that one.
• Make a giant salad to keep in your fridge. Eat some with every lunch and dinner. When you run out, make another one. If it is already made, you are more likely to eat it.
• Add vegetables to sauces, casseroles, anything you can. Grated carrots or zucchini, or spinach can easily be slipped into sauces, soups, lasagnas or rice without significantly changing the flavor. Not to hide them, no need to be ashamed of vegetables. Just a way to get an extra serving or two. Or to improve flavor, add onions, garlic, or peppers. (Do you want to know something crazy? I add spinach to my smoothies. A handful or two. If you don't add too much, you can't even taste it. Although you can definitely see the difference.)
• At mealtimes, eat your vegetables first. Then you don't fill up before you get to them.
• Try dipping your vegetables in healthy dips like salsa, hummus, or fat free cottage cheese or sour cream mixed with a little of your favorite salad dressing.
• Two words: FARMERS MARKET. For many reasons. The fresher the produce, not only does it retain more nutrients but it really does taste better and you're more likely to eat it. And if it is fresh, a simple steaming or blanching is all the preparation it needs. You can also find something new or unusual, and my kids are often intrigued enough by purple cauliflower or romanesco that looks like a castle to give it a try. Buy something new even if you don't know what you're going to do with it, you'll figure it out. If you are a regular and are nice to them, they will start to recognize you and give you good deals. Usually if I ask them about how to prepare something or how it tastes, they hand me some for free. If you go towards closing time they will sometimes knock down their prices, too, although there may not be as much selection.
• And just fyi--"veggie" crackers, chips, or pasta do not have more than just a sprinkling of vegetable powder for color. They are NOT a source of vegetables. And while I'm at it, same goes for fruit snacks and juice (even 100% juice). (Ok, I guess you can have one serving of fruit per day from 100% juice. I just think it is easier to not have juice around than to try and convince my kids to limit it.) These so-called fruit and vegetable products are really just vehicles for extra fat, salt, and sugar.

In my ideal life I would also have a bullet point that says "Plant a garden and/or fruit trees." If you are like me and have a nice shady postage stamp for a yard, then make friends with people who have gardens and trees. They sometimes need help harvesting and isn't that what friends are for?

Spaghetti and Meatballs

5yo is definitely the pickiest eater. (Closely followed by her father.) So when we read Bread and Jam for Frances by Russell Hoban I think she could relate. When I got it at the library, I just grabbed it because I remembered reading Frances books when I was little, but I didn't know it was about a picky eater. Frances is a girl (raccoon or something) who ate only bread and jam until she was so sick of it she begged for spaghetti and meatballs. My favorite part is when Frances, who is always making up songs, sings, "I know how a jam jar feels, FULL....OF......JAM!"

So after reading this book, I asked 5yo if she would like to have spaghetti and meatballs for dinner sometime. She said she would. And today as I was making the meatballs, I asked her if she'd like to help. She said she would. And while she was rolling meatballs with me, I asked her if she was going to try them. She said she would.

She didn't.

But saying she would is progress. Really it is. And by the time she actually tries them, maybe I'll have perfected the recipe.

1 lb. lean ground beef
1 egg
1 clove garlic, minced
1 t oregano
1 t thyme
1 t sage
pepper
1/2 c parmesan cheese

Mix all the ingredients, form into meatballs. I like them small so it made 25 meatballs. Bake in a 375 oven for 25 minutes. Or broil for ten minutes, turn, and broil ten minutes on the other side.

They were a little tough in texture, so I think I'm going to experiment. But not by using less lean beef, which is probably the easiest solution. A few recipes I looked at called for bread crumbs and water, which might help the texture, and next time I will definitely broil instead of bake so they aren't sitting in the gummy, yucky runoff while they bake.

My favorite part of these (which considering I don't like ground beef I was surprised how much I liked them) was the sage. I was the lucky winner of a potted herb garden several months ago at a church activity, and I love having tasty fresh herbs on hand. Amazingly, my little pot is (mostly) still alive, and the fresh herbs were great in the meatballs.

Kung Pao Chicken

Nine years ago my husband had a summer internship in Beijing. (I had voted for the other internship offer just down the road.) It was an amazing experience even thought it was challenging in many ways. One of the challenges was not surprisingly the language barrier. We were with a group of other American interns, some of whom spoke Chinese. When we were with them, we easily got to where we were going and got what we needed. Most of the time, however, we were not with them. A friend made me a little "cheat sheet" of phrases that even though I couldn't read or pronounce them, I could point to them. But then of course I couldn't understand the response.

We figured out the basics and were able to get around. Our apartment didn't have a very well-equipped kitchen, and it is extremely cheap there, so we ate out almost every meal. Since we were limited in our vocabulary, we were also limited in our menu. We ate lots of great stuff, and lots of unusual stuff. I learned how to say one of my favorite dishes, gong bao ji ding. (It makes it a little easier to remember because it rhymes with kung pao.) So we ate it frequently. A little too frequently. I haven't eaten it since.

I came across a recipe for kung pao chicken, and I remembered how much I enjoyed it long ago. I gave it a try. It didn't taste like kung pao chicken at all. Just chicken with a little soy sauce flavor and some peanuts. It didn't taste bad, it was just a disappointment. But now I've got it in my head that I want some good kung pao. I need a good recipe. Anybody got one?

Dollar Store (?!?) fish

This is a little gross maybe. But I was intrigued when I stumbled across frozen tilapia at the dollar store. It was a small portion (one serving), but when can you get a fish dinner for $1? I got the orange and ginger flavor, and then tonight when my husband was out of town I popped it into the toaster oven for 10 minutes. (The kids ate pancakes.) I thought it was quite tasty, with the sweet and spicy sauce. It would have been great in a stir-fry with rice or noodles. I should have eaten it with a salad or something. but since the only good thing about husband being gone is that I don't have to put any effort into dinner I didn't want to work too hard. I thought it was pretty good as long as I don't think too much about what corners had to be cut to make it cost a dollar.

Fettuccine Alfredo

I have two variations for this. Neither one is "real" alfredo, both are much healthier than "real" alfredo. The first one is lower fat, but the second one is closer to the creamy texture of real alfredo. (The fat in #2 is from cashews, which is unsaturated better for you fats, while real alfredo uses butter and cream, which are saturated fats, not so good for you.)

I usually serve this with chicken, and often I'll stir in broccoli or spinach.

#1. Fettuccine Alfredo Lite

12 oz. fettuccine

1 1/2 T margarine

3 cloves garlic

1/8 t nutmeg

pepper to taste

1/4 c grated parmesan cheese

1 1/2 t basil

1 can evaporated skim milk

1/4 c parsley, chopped

Cook fettuccine and drain. Return to pan, stir in margarine and garlic, mixing gently to coat pasta. Add milk, cheese, basil, and nutmeg. Cook, stirring constantly, over medium heat until just thickened, about 5-7 minutes. Sprinkle with pepper and parsley.

#2. Cashew Alfredo

My dietician friend has a vegetarian recipe blog that she and some friends do together. You can see this recipe here and be sure to check out the other recipes. I've found several great recipes there.

You'll notice he says it needs salt, and it does. In fact, I think it needs CHEESE. (He didn't because he was making it vegan.) I added grated parmesan instead of adding salt.

No surprise that 5-yo doesn't eat it, but I just make sure to leave some plain pasta for her. The other kids like it, as long as I go easy on the pepper.