Advent

Waiting

QUINOA WITH BLACK BEANS AND APRICOTS

QUINOA WITH BLACK BEANS AND APRICOTS

1 teaspoon canola oil
1 small onion chopped
1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
1 cup red or white quinoa, rinsed
¼ cup dried apricots, chopped
1 3 inch cinnamon stick
1 cup rinsed and drained canned black beans
1 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

(1) Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 5 minutes. Add broth and bring to boil. Stir in quinoa, apricots, and cinnamon stick, return to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until quinoa is tender. 12 minutes.

(2) Stir in black beans. Remove from heat; let stand 5 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick. Stir in parsley.

Per serving (3/4 cup): 197 g, 248 Cal., 4 g Total Fat, 0 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 0 mg Chol, 240 mg Sod, 43 g Total Carb, 6 g Total Sugar, 7 g Fib, 10 g Prot, 56 mg Calc.

6 PointsPlus per serving

Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook



....just a note....

I just made this from the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook, which just came out in the last couple weeks - along with Weight Watchers revamp of their weight management system. New PointsPlus are different from the points system they had been using for the last decade or so.

ALSO - I doubled the recipe (if I am going to go to the trouble of cooking - I want some for the week)

While this is listed as a side-dish, I'll eat this as an entrée. It is a bit different from what I gravitate to flavor-wise. This is warm/sweet/savory. I tend to go for spicy-zesty - but this is good. I look forward to trying other recipes.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Advent / Quietness

To keep silence, in thought, word and deed is a manifestation of humility in the presence of God and his existence within his Creation. Our presence, as testimony to God's love, should always be subdued, in deference to his goodness and mercy towards us. We accept quietness, not merely as a reflection of our humility, but in acknowledgment of the fact that we really know very little at all. It is an expression of our awe at the Presence of he who is far greater than ourselves, and a deference in the face of the Love that surpasses our capacity to reason.

Br. Karekin Madteos Yarian, BSG
The Skillfulness of Shepherds

Apple Pie

I was reticent to have a blog entry called Apple Pie. To me, there seems to be a lot of cultural baggage around the words “Apple Pie” at least for Americans. I am reticent since the current political climate is contentious to say the least, whereby, how “American” one is or isn’t seems constantly called into question. Personally, I find such confrontations annoying; keeping people from focusing on deeper or more important issues such as working for economic justice, or just plain feeding the poor. “Apple Pie” is often found in sentences that also contain the adjective American. American or not, I’ll carry on.

As a sometime cook, and sometime baker (I am better than some things than others), one thing I happen to be better at is baking pies. I have not been making as much pie as I used to as of late for a number of unrelated reasons. I live alone; pie tends not to aid my weight management; my work is stressful, especially the last few weeks (months?) and time off is often just used resting doing as little as possible including NOT making pies.

Given that perfect storm of NOT making pies – I missed two of my favorite pie ‘seasons’ earlier this year, so because of that, I was bound and determined NOT to miss the current pie season that I enjoy. I missed rhubarb season in the spring – I even have my own patch of rhubarb right here in The City of Chicago. I missed tart Michigan cherry season in July. I did NOT make a blueberry pie this year, even though, really blueberry pies are secretly the easiest to make; and, through advancements in hybrids and transportation, blueberry season seems now to last all summer long.

The thing that is available now that is not available other times of year is locally grown heirloom apples. Sure, apples are available in our brightly lit, highly packaged supermarkets all year round. I can have an apple any time of year – whether from New Zealand, or somewhere in the U.S. All this feeds our need for instant gratification – our “instant” culture.

When I was young I remember when fruits had very particular and short seasons. I remember my parents or my grandmother buying a crate of Colorado peaches when they were shipped to the store. You couldn’t buy one peach.

So, basically today, I have been all about Apple Pie, particularly Heirloom Apple Pie.

The apples I get – I discovered a number of years ago at The Chicago Farmer’s Market in the loop. I use the vendor Nichols Farm & Orchard who bring their produce into Chicago from Marengo, IL.

The varieties of apples I purchase are:

Cox Orange Pippin – English Variety identified in 1830

Cox Orange Pippen

Golden Russet – American Variety (New York) identified in 1845

Golden Russet

Just to LOOK at these apples, unwaxed, not uniform, heterogeneous, and mottled; they are most gorgeous things. To use them in cooking is even more glorious.

A number of you who know me personally, know that I use the Apple Pie recipe from the 1975 Copyright of The Joy of Cooking.





My piecrust recipe – while simple and elegant is more than just the recipe – there is an art to it that can’t be explained in just words. When I have time, I can show you how to do it. If you plan on making a pie – use whatever piecrust makes you the least stressed-out; and if that means buying a pre-packaged one, so be it.


I mix these heirloom apple varieties together – the result with the sugar and the spice is a warm appley – winey flavor. I have made plenty of apple pies from supermarket apples (and if I have to make an apple pie from supermarket apples, I use Granny Smith). I sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on the outside of my crusts.


Since I went to the trouble to get the apples, and I was going to fire up the oven and all – I thought what I would do is not make one apple pie, but two. One for myself, and one to give away. Even though it takes more time to prepare, and twice the amount of ingredient - it takes about the same amount of preparation dishes and the same amount of cooking energy whether you are baking one or two pies. So really, it is more economical to bake more than one.

As a middle aged person living alone in the City – my friends tend to be middle aged persons living alone in the City. Generally no one cooks for me, except me. I try to foster an attitude of cooking more and giving away, because, when you least expect it food seems to come back to you. A brother in my religious community – The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory gave me two muffins he saved for me that he baked just that morning. So, I gave one of my pies away to a neighbor, in a pie plate I purchased just for that purpose. It doesn’t matter if I don’t get the pie plate back. (actually it was kind of a GIANT pie plate). The pie I kept was baked in a vintage FIRE-KING pie plate I found a number of years ago.


Go out there and cook for someone else and don’t expect anything back.


SOLI DEO GLORIA

The Rich The Few

TODAY

Joseph Basil (myself), Mark Andrew, Emmanuel

Seven years ago today, August 23, I took my first vows (fundamentally Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience) with The Brotherhood of Saint Gregory. It seems like a short time ago. It seems like a long time ago. This is a photo from that day.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Jalapeño Hummus

Jalapeño Hummus



My sister sent this recipe which is easy to whip up in moments.

(you can find her blog HERE; I recommend it!)

She made it for my niece who doesn't even like Hummus - and my niece LOVES IT! I am not going to even type it out.....

You can find the recipe HERE

First picture is my batch

Second picture was my sister's batch - I lifted that pic from her Facebook page

I couldn't find a 1/3 cup can of jalapeños at my terrible large grocery store full of things I DO NOT WANT! So I purchased the ONLY sliced jalapeños they had and measured out 1/3 cup. Everything turned out fine.

I find it very tasty myself - an interesting intersection of Middle Eastern and Mexican/American flavors and textures.





SOLI DEO GLORIA

African Sweet Potato Stew

African Sweet Potato Stew

My sister and my mother raved about this. I happened to be at my mother's up in the Twin Cities over Memorial Day. My mother sent some of this recipe home with me. I gave some to a friend home in Chicago before trying it. My friend called me and asked for the recipe. I tried it. It is good. ALSO Easy to make. I like the taste and the texture! I really don't know how "African" it is, it might be African like how French - French Toast is.

My sister found this recipe on line HERE

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
2 cups chopped cabbage (to save time, use packaged slaw mix)
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced
1 18-ounce can sweet potatoes, drained and chopped
1 14 1/2-ounce can tomato wedges or diced tomatoes, undrained
1 1/2 cups tomato juice
3/4 cup apple juice1 to 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 cups frozen cut green beans
1/3 cup natural peanutbutter



1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. 2. Add onion; Cook, stirring, until tender, about 5 minutes.
3. Mix in cabbage and garlic; Cook, stirring, until cabbage is tender-crisp, about 5 minutes.
4. Stir in sweet potatoes, tomatoes, tomato juice, apple juice, ginger, and red pepper flakes.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low; Cover.
6. Simmer until hot and bubbling, about 6 minutes.
7. Stir in green beans and simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes. 8. Stir in peanut butter until well blended and hot, about 1 minute. 9. Serve stew with crusty bread and a salad, or spoon it over rice or mashed potatoes.


Comments
6 Servings
Per Serving:
261 Calories; 8g Protein; 9g Fat; 40g Carbohydrates; 0 Cholesterol; 425mg Sodium; 8g Fiber.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

RADISH

I haven't gone away. Just working and recovering from work. Today just a picture. I received as a gift today these radishes which were picked today, grown just steps from where I live. I am whipping up a batch of CURRIED QUINOA WITH CHICKPEAS AND ALMONDS. The radishes will be my crudite or garnish.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

INTERNATIONAL NURSE'S DAY & FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE

I’ve had fun this week posting Romance Novel bookcovers depicting nurses on my Facebook page. Young ladies in starched white uniforms with cinched waists emphasizing other endowments. All this because in the United States it is National Nurse’s Week, which culminates on May 12. May 12 happens to be International Nurses Day. May 12 was chosen as the day for International Nurse’s Day because it is also the birthday of Florence Nightingale. Florence Nightingale is considered the pioneer of what we think of as contemporary nursing emphasizing hygiene and sanitation. Florence Nightingale’s work established nursing as a distinct discipline requiring education. Florence Nightingale was born 190 years ago today, May 12, 1820 in the City of Florence within modern day Italy (hence her name Florence). Florence Nightingale used what we refer to today as “evidence-based-practice” in her work in hospitals in what we now know as Istanbul during the Crimean War; greatly reducing death-rates.


This year - 2010 marks the centennial anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s death in August 1910. The Episcopal Church notes here life near her death date of August 13. Words about Florence Nightingale on the Episcopal Calendar can be found here.

An 1856 lithograph of the Selimiye barracks as a hospital during the Crimean War.

I say all this as a contrast to the images that are part of the collective cultural unconscious within the United States of what nursing is and who nurses are. I know this first-hand. I am a nurse. First and foremost, I am a male in a female dominated profession. Sexism in our country – nurses continue to be seen by some as helpers, handmaids. Some patients equate us with waitresses. Some believe women go into nursing to find physician spouses. I’ve dealt with a few male physicians who swoon when they are able to converse with young female nurses (who happen also to be very adept clinicians); but the same physicians bristle in having to deal with me, a male nurse.

I am here to tell you first-hand that nurses are some of the strongest, toughest, most courageous people I know. I work the PM shift. After all the visitors are gone and we are dealing with abusive patients, patients withdrawing from alcohol and drugs, patients who are just plain grumpy from being chronically sick and nurses are there to receive that information. We are there dealing with the scores of elderly with dementia – I have chased more than one of your loved-ones late in the evening who have taken off their gown, removed their own heart monitor and IV access and are walking naked down the hall to who knows where.

Since being becoming a Registered Nurse, I once greeted a patient family, introducing myself to the patient and patient family in the room. A quizzical child noting my gender asked his mother, “why is that guy a nurse?” Right in front of me the mother’s answer was, “because he couldn’t get into medical school.” as if I weren’t even there. While I corrected them telling them I never wanted to be a physician (actually I wanted to be a physician for a couple weeks in the fifth grade – what I really wanted to be when I grew up was a pharmacist). – the family wasn’t buying it. I was their waitress for the evening.

I am here to remind one and all that nurses historically have been and very much are educated professionals as the compassionate caring persons they are. Nurses are able scientists using data and observation to analyze injury and disease. Nurses are the social workers when the LCSWs have gone home. We counsel the crazed and truly afraid.

I also maintain that hospital administrators believe we are caring for the smiling active alert and oriented seniors on the brochures and annual reports about the hospital. They don’t want to know about patients who throw bedpans at workers.

Being a bedside hospital nurse is incredibly difficult work (I was warned by more than one before embarking on this journey). Being a bedside hospital nurse is emotionally taxing. At the same time being a bedside hospital nurse is incredibly rewarding and is a far cry from being a bean-counting-mugwump in a beige cubicle. I love the people who work with me shoulder-to-shoulder caring for patients and solving problem. A favorite nursing professor of mine suggested to us that going into the nursing profession will cause great and sometimes uncomfortable spiritual growth. She was right.


So here’s to International Nurse’s Day and our Lady of the Lamp.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

SMALL SIMPLE THINGS

Cripps Pink Apple

I received this apple (Cripps Pink breed) as a gift from a brother in my community today. Small simple things and actions bring me such joy.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

LILIES OF THE VALLEY

There are scents at certain times of year that are like no other. This time of year it is Lilac and harder to find Lilies of the Valley. Somehow they’ve taken hold on the boulevard in front of my building in Chicago.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

GLORIOUS EATING FOR WEIGHT WATCHERS

One wonderful cookbook I happened upon in a thrift store was one called, “GLORIOUS EATING FOR WEIGHT WATCHERS”

You can see the cover here.


For those that know me, know I am a proponent of the Weight Watchers program. Those who know me well know that I used to be an employee of the Weight Watchers Corporation.

I obtained this gem when I was working as a Weight Watchers leader for the Weight Watchers Corporation.

What is wonderful / shocking / funny is the back cover.


A VERITABLE ORGY OF WESSON OIL.

This cookbook is really a cookbook to encourage you to get MORE WESSON OIL into your diet.

This soft-cover cookbook was published in 1961, the year I was born.

The cookbook is (like me) nearly a half a century old.

To put things into focus/perspective – this book was published in 1961, but it wouldn’t be until 1963 when Jean Nidetch would start her “Weight Watchers” meetings which would be the beginnings of the Weight Watchers corporation.

When I got this cookbook, there was a coupon from some periodical inside – which was used as a bookmark.

The coupon expired on July 31, 1964.

All in all, the art direction in the cookbook is good. The recipes are well written and interesting. After I test a couple I may share them here. They are; however, not really weight-management friendly, knowing what we know today. There are however, weight management menus and suggestions that really would still hold up today.

To me the me the best part of the cookbook is that it includes that genre of mid-century
graphics. Minimal. Modern.


I love the exuberance captured here.


SOLI DEO GLORIA

VARIATION ON A THEME

Just because I haven’t posted recently doesn’t mean I am less interested in blogging. Like anyone, I have competing priorities in my life.

I’ve mentioned before that expressing what I am eating (through this blog) just makes me more mindful of what I am eating. Expressing what I am eating has sparked conversations within my own circle of friends, family, and coworkers of the food choices we all make.

Before I blogged, for vegetarian choices I basically switched between the BOILED BEANS recipe the RICE & HERBED LENTILS recipe. Not much variation. A couple weeks ago I tried substituting the rice in the RICE & HERBED LENTILS for Wild Rice (as suggested by my mother), and I found that I really liked it, especially if it was topped with sliced toasted almonds.
Well butter-my-butt-&-call-me-a-Parker-House-Roll….I actually ventured myself and thought Quinoa could be substituted for the brown rice. Today I made (based on RICE & HERBED LENTILS) QUINOA & HERBED LENTILS!

I used Red Lentils and Red Quinoa.


Each of the three have had slightly different tastes, textures, and appearances, but none drastically different that would have me never make any one of them again. I would make all of them again.

Since we add ½ cup of brown rice –or– wild rice –or– quinoa to the recipe I decided to compare nutrition information.


For overall taste and texture I still like the brown rice variation the best; however, I would easily venture over to wild rice or quinoa for slightly better nutrition value.

QUINOA & HERBED LENTILS

SOLI DEO GLORIA

SPRING

There are frost warnings for tonight in my area. The last vestiges of winter remain.

The seeds I wanted to start early indoors – were started terribly late this year once again, but everything was just fine last year, even starting late. Listen to advice, but also learn from your own experience.

Spring flowers and flowering trees push forth, they show off. For who or what specifically, I don’t always know, but human beings enjoy the show. The jonquils are already finished mostly in my neighborhood. It is interesting that some spring flowers disappear completely, foliage and all even before summer is in its full buzzing humidity, when other plants come into fruition.

Now we have delicate flowers, blue skies and singing birds.

Flowering Bradford Pear Trees on the street where I live in Chicago

The days are getting shorter in Australia and New Zealand. When one lives near the equator it is virtually impossible to perceive changes in the seasons by sunlight, rather it is perceived by changes in wind and precipitation.

TULIPS by my front door

Six months from now the Halloween decorations will be up and we will be pulling out the soup recipes and sweaters.

Nothing happens forever, but sometimes for a season

SOLI DEO GLORIA

THANKS MOM!

I haven’t been posting in awhile. Lent is over, Eastertide/Spring is in full swing. My silence here has basically been the weight of my day job. I will be off of work both Saturday and Sunday this weekend.

People have asked me, are you going to continue to post? I am, when I have those magic ingredients of time and energy. I haven’t run out of things to say.

People have asked me if I’ve gone back to eating meat. Lent on the whole for me was about being mindful – and on the whole I was flexitarian in my approach. While I am eating a little more meat, I am sticking to preparing vegetarian dishes and making vegetarian choices when I can. I promised myself I would have a peppercorn encrusted filet mignon (medium-well-thankyouverymuch) when Lent was over. I still haven’t had it, but still plan on doing so.


This is a photo of what I ate on Easter Day. HAM! (not very Kosher, but there you go)

Which brings me to the post title – Thanks Mom!

One of the earlier posts on this blog is where I share my Rice & Herbed Lentils Recipe. I noted that my mother immediately asked if she could make it with wild rice instead of brown rice. My mother immediately thinks of ingredients she can substitute in about any recipe you give her. She indeed made it with wild rice and said it was ok. Now me, on the other hand, tends to make dishes exactly as the author/chef intended. In order to challenge myself – I made Rice & Herbed Lentils – with wild rice. I made it for a couple of reasons – to try something new, but also to use up some wild rice I’ve had for awhile.

When I first made the dish – I thought it felt short of my expectations. To me, the color was a little on the ‘grey’ side and there seemed to be a bit of leftover liquid in the bottom of the casserole. I took out a portion for work – but as luck would have it – one day I got cancelled half way through the shift and left it for the next day. The next day the catering manager had an extra dish of salad and offered it to me. It wasn’t until the next day after that I tried it. Since my mother told me it was chewy and nutty, I just happened to garnish with leftover sliced toasted almonds from a previous dish. Moreover I garnished with little bits of curly parsley. I think curly parsley is often overlooked in contemporary cuisine. I finally was able to eat the dish at work. The leftover liquid seemed to have soaked in and the flavors and especially the textures were wonderful. So, a new dish – different from the Rice & Herbed Lentil is discovered (Wild Rice & Herbed Lentils). Again, I seldom venture very far past the written recipe – though this got me thinking – that I am going to try the same recipe substituting quinoa for the brown rice. I will keep you posted.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

EASTER

I know have different audiences, some come here for the food. Some come for the spirituality. Some come for both. AND I know some come for neither, they just like to be here. Some are churchman, some are not. Be that as it may I just want to say a linear temporal sense, for Christians it is still Easter. I know Walgreens has discounted and sold all the Jelly Beans and Peeps and are now trying to sell you barbeques and lawn chairs. Walgreens usually has the Easter candy on the shelf before Ash Wednesday. Some of my more churchy friends trade candy eggs and say, “Here are your ASH WEDNESDAY EGGS!” That being said, EASTER, will continue for the great fifty days until Pentecost.

PENTECOST:
The Festival Sunday that comes fifty days after Easter in which we commemorate the coming of the Holy Spirit on the twelve Disciples after Christ's Resurrection (Acts 2). Pentecost is traditionally seen as the birthday of the church, and is also the beginning of the longest season in the church - the season after Pentecost. The season after Pentecost runs from the day of Pentecost to the first Sunday in Advent. (In the Episcopal Church) Prior to the 1979 prayer book, the day of Pentecost was known as Whitsunday.

Easter & Pentecost are “moveable” feasts. Sometimes it is early – sometimes it is late.

Per the prayer book:

Easter Day is always the Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox on March 21, a date which is fixed in accordance with an ancient ecclesiastical computation, and which does not always correspond to the astronomical equinox. This full moon may happen on any date between March 21 and April 18 inclusive. If the full moon falls on a Sunday, Easter Day is the Sunday following. But Easter Day cannot be earlier than March 22 or later than April 25.

Next year Easter will be on April 24th, probably the latest in our lifetimes. In 2011 we will have the most weeks after Epiphany in our lifetimes. What will Walgreens do?


SOLI DEO GLORIA

PHOTOGRAPHING FOOD

Over the last couple days I read this article

First Camera, Then Fork

In the New York Times.

I realized to a certain degree, I participate in this phenomenon by photographing some (but not all) of what I prepare for food. One aspect of the article that I agree with is that by being public about what I am eating has challenged me to try new things to prepare and eat. I have discovered new things I like and I am thrilled with the broadened horizons.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

Easter Vigil

HOLY SATURDAY

I was just up at church for a rehearsal for tonight's Vigil liturgy. I spied this view and took a snap.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

CURRIED QUINOA WITH CHICKPEAS AND ALMONDS

I made this dish once before years ago when the Dining for Two cookbook came out with Weight Watchers in 2004. The first time I tried using quinoa was with this recipe. I haven’t made it much since then, mostly because I was so overly busy in nursing school, and then being a new grad nurse.

I made this Thursday – so I could have it available for my lunches over the next several days. I also set aside a portion for a friend of mine (who follows this blog). When I made it I doubled the recipe so I could share (we all need to share more of what we prepare) and also so I could have it available for meals at work. I avoid our cafeteria. The food is mediocre, the prices are outrageously expensive, and the employees are just plain mean to customers.

I’ve listed the recipe as written below. What I ended up with isn’t exactly as written below. How often is life NOT exactly what we expected. Lesson: be flexible with your expectations. One way my dish is different is that I purposely omitted the toasted almonds because the person I share with can’t tolerate nuts. I will sprinkle toasted almonds on top when I eat a bit when I am at work tonight. Another way my dish is different is that I MADE A MISTAKE and read the garbanzo beans as one can instead of ½ can, so the dish pictured has lots of extra garbanzo beans. No problem. I’ve learned that I like ‘red’ quinoa when I can find it. I am out of red quinoa, I was thinking of buying more, but really I had a lot of plain quinoa so this was an opportunity to use up some of that.

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CURRIED QUINOA WITH CHICKPEAS AND ALMONDS

½ cup quinoa, rinsed
½ cup orange juice
½ cup water
1 ½ teaspoons curry powder
¾ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 small onion chopped
1 garlic clove minced
½ cup frozen peas and carrots, thawed
½ 10 oz. can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
2 Tablespoon sliced almonds toasted
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¼ cup golden raisins
2 scallions chopped
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 teaspoon grated orange zest


Combine quinoa, orange juice, water, curry powder, ½ teaspoon of the salt, the cumin, and allspice in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until liquid is absorbed 12-15 minutes.

Heat the oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, and peas and carrots; cook stirring frequently, until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Sir in the chickpeas and almonds; cook stirring about 2 minutes longer. Remove the skillet from the heat, then stir in the remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and pepper.

Transfer the quinoa mixture to a large bowl. Stir in the raisins, scallions, cilantro, and orange zest; toss well. Stir in the chickpea mixture and serve at once or let the mixture cool to room temperature before serving.
Per serving (1 ½ cups); 422 calories, 10 g fat, 1 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg chol, 110 mg sodium, 75 g carb, 10 g fiber, 14 g protein, 126 mg calcium. POINTS: 8


SOLI DEO GLORIA

MAUNDY THURSDAY

Maundy Thursday
Altar of Repose
The Episcopal Church of the Atonement, Chicago, IL

Kashi™ Friendly Fiber Muffins

In the 1960’s and 1970’s there were entire cookbooks devoted to cooking things using already prepared/processed foods and particular brand names from the grocery store. In this current age of the Food Network and “foodies” one doesn’t always admit to shortcuts or that former way of cooking. Often I avoid prepared/processed foods in order to avoid things like high-fructose corn syrup and sodium. Not only do I like to cook, but I also like to just read cookbooks, even if I am not going to make anything. Cookbooks I like to read are often the older ones. I especially like old church cookbooks with the flexible plastic binding.

This recipe, I do make an exception to using a processed food, mostly because it is indeed good for you. I make these periodically for breakfast. I like them because I like the taste and texture and they are good with coffee. I like them because I store them in a relatively airtight container and they keep for a couple of days. They are portable and I can grab one or two of them on the go. I also re-heat them gently sometimes in the microwave.

The recipe is found HERE on the Kashi company website.

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Kashi™ Friendly Fiber Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp. baking powder (aluminum free)
1 tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. salt
1¾ cups Kashi® Good Friends® Original cereal
1 cup organic skim milk, rice or soy milk
2 free-range egg whites
¼ cup honey
½ cup organic unsweetened applesauce
1 medium organic ripe banana, mashed
Nonstick cooking spray


1. Preheat oven to 400° degrees.
2. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder cinnamon, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a large mixing bowl, combine Kashi® Good Friends® Original cereal and milk and let stand for 2-3 minutes. Add the egg whites and beat well. Stir in honey, applesauce and banana. Add flour mixture and mix only until dry ingredients are moistened (over-mixing will produce rubbery muffins).
4. Fill sprayed muffin tins. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Nutrition Facts: Serving Size 1 muffin, Calories 100, Calories from Fat 0, Total Fat 0g, Saturated Fat 0g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 240mg, Total Carbohydrate 22g, Dietary Fiber 3g, Sugars 11g, Protein 3g



SOLI DEO GLORIA

KENNETH'S HUMMUS

I tried ANOTHER new recipe today. I made hummus myself for the first time. Recipe told to me verbally by chef Kenneth from “Taste of Thyme: Good & Good for You Food”

I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer, we were talking about LIGHT recipes – I can’t remember if I am to add some olive oil or not – but if you add any, add very sparingly, otherwise the calories begin to add up. The batch I made was without olive oil and was fine by me.

I am thrilled at the economics of making my own hummus. $.89 for a can of Trader Joe’s Garbanzo Beans and $.39 for a fresh lemon from Trader Joe’s as well. It was a bit of an outlay for the tahini, but will only use that 1 Tablespoon at a time. Tahini pays for itself after creating only two batches of hummus. I used ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper & ½ teaspoon ground cumin for spices and it is very flavorful and delicious. I am looking forward to an opportunity where I can make this for others.

My round-up of ingredients shows the blender, but I transferred the concoction to the food processor and I found my old 1980’s food processor worked better than a blender.

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Kenneth’s Hummus

1 15 oz can of Garbanzo Beans
1 lemon
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground cumin
1 Tablespoon tahini
1 clove garlic

Open can of Garbanzo Beans, drain, but reserve liquid. Squeeze or ream and save juice of one lemon. In food processor – mix beans, lemon juice, spices, tahini, garlic clove. Add reserved garbanzo bean liquid until desired consistency. Garnish with lemon zest. Makes 12 oz by weight.

This is zesty, tasty, light and less calories without olive oil.

SOLI DEO GLORIA

HOLY WEEK

Today is Palm Sunday, which marks the beginning of Holy Week - and will culminate at Easter at the Vigil.

A different look and feel of RUMINATION throughout this week until Easter.

Wishing you all a good Holy Week.

RED LENTIL AND SPINACH STEW

Thanks to everyone who has contacted me looking for RUMINATION postings. I’ve had a bit of silence on here. I have been OK. I had to work at the “day job” four days in a row – Monday through Thursday. Most of you know that I am a registered nurse, but for those of you who don’t know, four days in a row of caring for acutely ill patients can be exhausting.

There is a link on my blog for “Geranium Farm” which is the very popular home to priest, author, Barbara Crafton who I had the opportunity to meet earlier this month. I was agog. Barbara Crafton has noted in her writings that sometimes you get so tired emotionally, physically, spiritually, that you really just want to sit and look at the wall. That’s how I have been this past week. Doing my work. Doing whatever else had to be done, and resting the best I could.

I’ve continued with my generally meatless Lent. I’ve realized we are nigh on Holy Week and facing another ‘door’ as it were, or another milestone. Before I started on this particular Lenten journey, I thought I would start preparing vegetarian things I knew and move to doing something new. I realized I had been surviving just fine on what I knew and I was NOT plowing any new ground. Playing it safe. So to keep my word to myself that I would try something new, I tried preparing a new vegetarian dish today.

Often, in order to grow spiritually, we need to do something new. It’s ok that it’s not good or perfect. Just new. Drive down a new street. Shop at a new store. Talk to someone you’ve never talked to before. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. Things won’t be different unless you DO something different. Once you’ve done it, there’s no going back. Even if things don’t go the way you expect them to, even if your experience is horrible, it’s still experience in which to glean wisdom.


I serendipitously found this recipe in the Weight Watchers “DINING FOR TWO” cookbook published in 2004. It has been long out of print. I had never made this recipe before today.

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RED LENTIL AND SPINACH STEW

1 teaspoon vegetable oil (I used olive)
1 small onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves minced
1 Tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ to ½ crushed red pepper
½ cup red lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 (14-ounce) can vegetable broth
1 ¼ cups water
1 cup frozen leaf spinach, thawed
¼ teaspoon salt
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, 3-5 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, curry, cumin, and crushed red pepper; cook, stirring until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the lentils, broth, and water; bring to a simmer. Cook until the lentils are tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in spinach and salt and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.



Per serving (scant 2 cups): 230 Cal, 3 grams fat, 20 gram saturated fat, 0 grams trans Fad, 0 mg Cholesterol, 1188 mg sodium, 39 grams carb, 13 grams fiber, 15 grams protein, 131 grams calcium. POINTS: 4


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I doubled the recipe. Even though it is from a “Dining For Two” cookbook – AND – I live alone – I have a cook once, eat all week philosophy. I am always in search of recipes that are good enough to each every day and do well as leftovers. I omitted the salt, there is already sodium in the vegetable broth.


What did I learn from this foray to a new dish?


I learned that there must be a difference between chopped spinach and leaf spinach; I will aim for the leaf spinach next time and see how that is, though the chopped seems to be fine. I did not realize this when I was purchasing frozen spinach at the store.


I learned one of the beauties of red-lentil dishes is that they can be prepared relatively quickly – even from dried lentils.


I made with Hot Curry (obtained from Penzeys)– which I really like but could be made with sweet or mild curry. To me, my experience is that it is very flavorful with the Hot Curry, though very light at the same time.

This could be easily garnished with a dollop of greek yogurt.


I would definitely make this again. I am glad I made it, I’ve now expanded my repertoire of vegetarian dishes. I do know that sometimes you try a new dish and there are a number of things that could be that you don’t make it again. Difficulty in preparation; peculiar hard to find ingredients; cooking time; taste; texture, etc. This one measures up. Moreover I think I would enjoy it in both summer and winter.


I got some experience. I got some wisdom.


SOLI DEO GLORIA