Happy Thanksgiving!

I am up already (was up at 445am) because I couldn't sleep. I decided to get up and work out to burn off some of my energy, so I feel good. Won't feel so guilty eating dinner I guess!

Then the kids and I are headed off shortly to cheer on Rob, and our friends Mike and Liz in the Turkey Day 5K. Then it's home for brunch (Storebought Quiche - I only have so much time!, salad, fruit and bagels, and it sounds like Liz is making Mimosas). Then I'll start the serious cooking.

Right now I've got to get the turkey in the brine (it needs to be in there 6-8 hours). Then I'll probably dice the potatoes. When we get back from the 5K and have eaten brunch, I'll get the Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes done and in the crockpot, I'll get the turkey in the oven by 2, and then work on the stuffing and Mushroom Strudel. Liz is making Shallot and Toasted Hazelnut Green Beans, and Maple Glazed Carrots (curtesy of Williams-Sonoma recipes). We pick up Jessy and John from the airport shuttle drop off at 4pm, and then we'll aim to eat dinner at 5:30pm.

I've got appetizers too! At about 3 I figure I'll set them out. I have smoked salmon spread and crackers, olives, and Italian Cashews. We have Syrah and Riesling for the wines.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I wish you a day filled with those you love, and a healthy, hearty meal. Let's take time today to thank God for all the things he has provided for us, and to pray for those who have less than we do today. There are so many people, here and especially in India today who are grieving instead of celebrating, and I am praying that God will wrap His arms around them, and that above all else they will know His love.

God's blessings on you today and always.

Getting ready for the big day

Today Rob has off work, and the boys have off of school, and we're going to be getting ready mostly for tomorrow. I am still helping with the Food Outreach that I help with on Wednesdays this AM, and I have a haircut this afternoon. We're also going to go to the Thanksgiving service at church tonight.

Today I'm getting groceries and picking up the Turkey. I'm going to dice potatoes for the mashed potatoes, make the pumpkin and pecan pies, make the filling for the strudel, and make the bread mixture, and the sausage mixture for the stuffing. Or I should say, I'm going to try! I figure whatever I get done will be helpful tomorrow. Tomorrow our friends and Rob are going to run the Turkey Day 5K, and then come home for brunch and to help with food. Rob and the kiddos will go pick up our other friends that are flying here in the afternoon.

On Friday the guys are going to go out mountain biking or something in the morning, and then come home between 2-3pm and let all the ladies get out. I was thinking of taking them to Boulder (never been) and then to the Indulge Wine Bar here in Highlands Ranch at night.

Saturday we are taking all our guests (and the kiddos of course!) to Breckenridge as they have never been there before. Then we have babysitting at night and we're going to go up to Denver for dinner.

I am so thankful for good friends, a healthy beautiful family, and this beautiful state that we live in. Happy Thanksgiving! and may you find many things to be thankful for in your life as well.

Cranberry Chutney

Today began the process of getting that Thanksgiving meal onto the table Thursday night.
There wasn't too much I can do today. Not only because I am babysitting two other kiddos in addition to my own, but just because that's about all I can do. Today I made the Double Cranberry Chutney from the recent Vegetarian Times magazine. I've never been a Cranberry Sauce fan, but I've never had it made from scratch either, so I thought I'd give it a try. It certainly smelled wonderful, and looks good too. I'm even contemplating leftover Cranberry Chutney over Ice Cream already......

Also the other thing I am doing today is making my grocery list for tomorrow. I wasn't able to get groceries today or yesterday as I've been babysitting, but that's okay. I can't pick up my turkey until tomorrow anyway. I ordered my turkey from The Vitamin Cottage. It's a Free Range Organic Turkey making it's way here from CA. Not frozen, so it should be yummy!
(Also of note: Vitamin Cottage now also has Healthy Eating on a Budget - Family of 4 under $20 for healthy meals)

pictures to come! We got a new camera! I just need to have Rob show me how to upload the pics.

Double Cranberry Chutney
Vegetarian Times November/December 2008
Serves 16
Vegan

"The simple flavors of this sauce will satisfy the traditionalists at the table, while the chunky, chewy consistency will win over any foodies in the group"

My notes: This was easy to make with my new handheld juicer from Pampered Chef. It was however way more expensive to make for the little bit of chutney that came out of it. It says it serves 16, which maybe because you just use a little, but I maybe have 2 1/2 cups of chutney, and it cost $18 in ingredients. I wasn't budgeting out that much for chutney let me say! I think it's because I had to buy a whole bottle of Port ($5.99 for the cheapest) and it called for 4 cups of cranberries, and those Ocean Spray bags have about 3 1/2 cups, so I had to buy two). It better be as good as it looks! I used organic oranges, lemons, and sugar.

2 Tbs. fresh orange juice
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. cornstarch
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
4 cups fresh or frozen cranberries ( 2 - 12 oz packages)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup ruby port
1/2 cup dried cranberries
3 Tbs finely diced crystallized ginger
2 Tbs. grated orange zest
1 Tbs. grated lemon zest
1/8 tsp. ground cloves

1. Whisk together orange juice, lemon juice, cornstarch and mustard in a small bowl. Set aside.

2. Combine cranberries, sugar, port, dried cranberries, ginger, orange zest, lemon zest, cloves and a pinch of salt in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve sugar.

3. Stir cornstarch mixture into saucepan. Reduce heat to meduim-low, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, or until sauce is thick and berries have burst. Cool, and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Note: This recipe can be done a few days ahead; the extra chilling time with help the flavors marry.

Per 1/4 cup serving:
90 calories
0 g protein
0 g fat
23 g carbs
0 mg chol
11 mg soduim
2 g fiber
19 g sugars

Just a look at my fride at this point. Can you spy how many DRINKS we have in here. Seriously I am a heavy drinker. :) Almond Milk, Cow's Milk, Synergy Kombucha Tea, Mike's Hard Lemonade, Iced Tea, a leftover bottle of wine, and Port for the Cranberry Sauce. And you know I start the day with either a smoothie, or Green Lemonade. It just made me chuckle. :)

Thanksgiving

We are so blessed to have good friends coming to stay with us for Thanksgiving this year. Two couples from CA are coming, and I am about to burst I am so excited to see them! I have been busy planning food for while they are here, and I think I have a menu finalized for the big day.

We don't usually eat much meat and dairy, but hey, it's Thanksgiving! We're going all out :)

Honey and Rosemary Brined Turkey with Herb Riesling Gravy
(click on the link below the picture that says "play now" to see the video. I'm all about the video. I don't think I've made a turkey before on my own. The video makes it seem do-able!)

For the vegetarian main dish:
Mushroom, Cheese and Vegetable Strudel
It's from my Vegetarian Times mag, but they don't have the recipe on their website. HOWEVER, I found this awesome blog post where someone has the recipe, and step by step pictures on how to make it
http://www.tofuandcupcakes.com/?p=239
Also, this has less than 300 calories per serving!

Artichoke, Sausage, and Parmesan Cheese Stuffing
A recipe from my beloved Epicurious.com. :) (read the reviews for extra tips) I might break the recipe in half, and use imitation italian sausage in half of it to keep it vegetarian.

Let me know if anyone wants any of these recipes.....
My Mom's Garlic Parmesan Mashed Potatoes

Double Cranberry Chutney
(from the newest issue of Vegetarian Times)

Pecan Pie with Whole Wheat Pastry Crust
Pumpkin Pie with Whole Wheat Pastry Crust
I'm going to TRY, if I have time, to make some homemade Vanilla Ice Cream in

my ice cream maker.

I was going to make a healthy Green Bean side dish, but it got vetoed in favor of that
Green Bean Casserole that everyone has had at least once in their life. Rob's plan is to ask our friend Mike (who is famous for making it) to make it while they are here, and he wants to record a video of Mike calling to ask his mom for the recipe. It's a guy thing. ;)

I'm also going to do something fresh and crisp to go along with all of this, like a salad, or some nice crisp Asparagus.

You'll notice that I went for a really traditional menu this year! I think as my kids get's older, I am starting to appreciate tradition more. And all of these things are things we love, and really we look forward to that pie each year, and those mashed potatoes, and we are sad when they are not there. So it's once a year, but if will build fond memories, and make my kid's want to come home for Thanksgiving when they get older, then hey - who am I to argue with tradition? :)

Plus I get to use our Christmas party to do all the interesting appetizers etc that I want to do this season. So now on to plan the menu for that.....yum!! Bring on the holidays!!

Culinary School visit

I've had a busy week! Isaac has had a bad cough that he can't seem to shake. Analise woke up with a mild one this AM. I've had to pray for extra patience with two cranky sick kiddos. I'm also sooo ready to get out of the house. I was really sad to miss my beloved MOPS group this morning.

I did however still get to go observe the Culinary School of the Rockies Chef Track class on Tuesday night! (Thank you hubby) Wow, that was an adventure! It was fun, interesting, busy, intense, and eye-opening. I really felt like I was in a Chef's kitchen for the night. There were two Chef's teaching the class, and I didn't count, but I think about 16 students. The class is 15 weeks long and meets Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesdays from 5-10pm (really more like 11pm). There was maybe 45-60 minutes of teaching in the classroom and in the kitchen. Then they are broken up into two teams, given the menu for the night and a time to have it done by. It felt a little bit like Iron Chef America (is that the right show? I saw it in on a hotel TV once....two teams competing to get a menu done at a certain time) At first it was awkward because I wanted to ask questions, or ask them about the process, but everyone was racing and juggling so many things, I also didn't want to get in their way. Eventually people starting to grab me to help with things, and I had a blast. I was able to talk with people about why they chose the class, and what they hoped to do with their knowledge when they get out. I opened about 10 West Coast Oysters (I think my hand still hurts:) chopped, peeled, helped with presentation. Then about 10pm we sat down and ate!

I had NO idea Lobster bisque was so labor intensive. My guess is you'd want about 5 hours to do this right. We had about 3 1/2. Neither teams bisque was perfect, but nobody was complaining much when we ate it either :). Here is the menu for the evening.....

Menu

Lobster Bisque

Pan Seared Striped Bass with Lemon Beurre Blanc

Sauteed Spinich

Rice Pilaf

Chocolate Mousse

Poach and pears and make Pate Sucree for next nights class

Baguette

Make Fish Stock for next nights class

I am so glad I went. I think it's hard on paper to really know what something is going to be like. I think if I did decide to enroll in the Chef Track program I would go into it with my eyes open, knowing what to both expect within the class, and how tired I would be outside of the class, and how that will affect me as a mom. It did make me realize that though I am passionate about food in general, I'm not just only passionate about getting a meal on the table. I am very interested in where the food came from, how it was grown, and how healthy it is for the people I am serving it to. That makes me think it's worth me at least checking out the Colorado Farm to Table school next Fall when it starts up again, to see if that might be a better fit. When I start thinking about Farm to Table stuff, I get crazy passionate about the food, the farmers, and people I am serving it to. So maybe my heart lies there....we shall see. :)

Spaghetti Squash...and a busy week ahead

I still haven't replaced my camera :(. We've been taking our time since it has been a few years, so hopefully I'll be able to post more original pictures soon. This week Rob has a busy week at work, I get to go to the Culinary School of the Rockies one night for the class I mentioned earlier, and we have company flying in this weekend. Two couples that are dear friends from CA are coming for Thanksgiving week, and I can hardly wait! I have my table piled with Vegetarian Times, and Bon Appetit magazines, and recipes boomarked on Epicurious and Whole Foods websites, and I'm having fun narrowing down meals and menus for the coming weeks.

This week will be a lot of quick dinners because I'll be gone one night, and I'm not sure how many nights Rob has to work late, but I do have a Spaghetti Squash I need to use this week. Though I usually go for something maybe considered more interesting, my favorite recipe for Spaghetti Squash is actually out of Betty Crocker's New Cookbook. It yummy in the way that a good spaghetti and marinara is comforting and filling. I just think it's wonderful. Kid approved also. I'd like to try to make it sometime with fresh herbs.

Spaghetti Squash with Tomatoes

from Betty Crocker's New Cookbook
picture from http://superspark.wordpress.com/

PREP: 15 minutes
BAKE: 1 hour
COOK: 10 minutes
Makes 6 servings, about 2/3 cup each

"Spaghetti squash can be served in the spaghetti shell. If you cut it crosswise, you'll get the longest squash strandsm but cutting the squash lengthwise is the easiest way to serve from the shell. The choice is yours."

1 spaghetti squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 small green pepper, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 large clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 medium tomatoes, chopped (about 4 cups)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1/4 teaspoon dried basil leaves
1/4 teaspoon fennel seed
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons margarine or butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1. Prepare and cook squash. (Cut lengthwise and remove seeds and fibers. Place squash in a 13x9x9 2 pan cut sides down in 1/4 inch water, making sure to check that water doesn't evaporate while cooking. Bake 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes.)

2. Cook onion, green pepper and garlic in oil in 3 quart saucepan over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, salt, oregano, basil, fennel and pepper. Simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes.

3. Remove squash strands with two forks; toss with butter and cheese. Spoon tomato mixture over squash.

1 serving:
145 calories
10 g fat
2 mg cholesterol
290 mg sodium
15 g carbohydrate
3 g protein

Quick Vegetarian Chili with Avocado Salsa

The whole reason I came across the previous post's recipe is that I was digging out this oldie but a goodie. When looking for some comforting (it's getting COLD out!) and quick weeknight recipes I thought of this awesome Vegetarian (and so easily made Vegan) chili recipe. It's hearty and flavourful, the kids love it, and it's quick. What more can a gal ask for? Oh, and it's lite! Bring on the chili.....

(credit to CookingLight.com for the recipe and picture.)

Quick Vegetarian Chili with Avocado Salsa

My notes: To make this vegan, simply leave out the sour cream. It's still delicious without.
The jalapeno in the salsa is the only thing you need to leave out if cooking for toddlers. I recommend making two batches, one with the jalapeno and one without.
I also added a little more veggie broth as it was cooking, as it seemed to get too thick to me.

Yield
6 servings (serving size: 1 cup chili, 1 tablespoon sour cream, 1 lime wedge, 3 chips, and and about 2 1/2 tablespoons avocado salsa)

Ingredients
2 teaspoons canola oil
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped red bell pepper
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles
2/3 cup uncooked quick-cooking barley
1/4 cup water
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
1 (14.5-ounce) can no-salt-added diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can vegetable broth
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
6 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
6 lime wedges
18 baked tortilla chips
Avocado Salsa (see below)

Preparation
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 3 minutes. Add chili powder and next 4 ingredients (chili powder through green chiles); cook 1 minute. Stir in barley and next 4 ingredients (barley through broth); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes or until barley is tender. Stir in cilantro. Serve with sour cream, lime wedges, chips, and Avocado Salsa.

Note: Store chili in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.

(Totals include Avocado Salsa)
Nutritional Information
Calories: 313 (29% from fat)
Fat: 10.1g (sat 2.2g,mono 4.8g,poly 1.6g)
Protein: 9.6g
Carbohydrate: 50.4g
Fiber: 9.5g
Cholesterol: 6mg
Iron: 3.4mg
Sodium: 814mg
Calcium: 100mg
Patsy Jamieson, Cooking Light, MARCH 2002

Avocado Salsa
Yield
1 cup (serving size: about 2 1/2 tablespoons)

Ingredients
1/2 cup finely chopped peeled avocado
1/3 cup chopped seeded tomato
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon finely chopped seeded jalapeño pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/8 teaspoon salt

Preparation
Combine all ingredients; toss mixture gently. Serve salsa immediately.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 59 (79% from fat)
Fat: 5.2g (sat 0.8g,mono 3.2g,poly 0.7g)
Protein: 0.8g
Carbohydrate: 3.7g
Fiber: 1.9g
Cholesterol: 0.0mg
Iron: 0.5mg
Sodium: 54mg
Calcium: 6mg
Patsy Jamieson, Cooking Light, MARCH 2002