Six Week Project: Days 34, 35 and 36

The weather in Southeast Ohio in the spring time is amazing to me. Yesterday, I made a snuggly, comfort food supper, and we tucked into the couch, under a blanket and listened to the cold rain hit the roof of my porch. Tonight, Wednesday, just one day later, I fired up the grill on a beautiful, warm, sunny spring day.

I got good news this morning, and while leftovers were on the agenda, I was inspired to cook. Therefore, grill was fired, and after discussions of the grilled bread I made several weeks ago had been dominating my conversations, I decided some thick slices of spiced, grilled bread were definitely on the menu. They'd be accompanied by two chicken breasts from King Family Farm that I salted and peppered, then slathered with a cilantro-garlic spear-green onion-grapefruit pesto. These packed a garlic punch, but were tasty. This was only to be married with a big salad tossed in a grapefruit vinaigrette. It was zingy, springy and satisfying. Cheers. Please, if you love me, buy local and eat well.



For Thursday and Friday, it was leftover pigeon peas and rice, salad, sauteed spinach and pita bread. See you Saturday!

Six Week Project: Day Thirty Three

Close your eyes and imagine a spring day, laced with a chill and drenched in a day's long rain. The kind of day where you can see your breath easily, and droplets of water drip from the tip of your nose, when your glasses are covered in bubbles of rain, and a little jacket doesn't quite cut it. Now, imagine the kinds of food you like to eat on those days: pot roast, chili, roast chicken, beef stew...how about a gooey grilled cheese and a steaming bowl of tomato soup? Bingo.

Tuesday night I made grilled cheese sandwiches on bread brushed with olive oil, then hugged around four different kinds of local cheese: Laurel Valley Havarti and Country Jack, Athens Own Cheddar and Kenny's Farmhouse Norwood. Ooey, gooey, hearty and the bearer of a fabulous bite from all that ripe, local cheese. While I imagined this fromage-tastic concoction would be the highlight of this dinner, as it turned out, it was shown up...by soup.

I bought spinach last Saturday from Green Edge Organics. I wanted to find a way to consume said spinach, along with its cooking water. See, spinach releases its nutrients when it's cooked. Ever had someone tell you to drink the cooking water? That's because it contains the good stuff. When it dawned on me that I could drop lovely chopped fresh spinach into a soup, and I'd get all the good stuff and also a hearty spoon full of other great flavors, I was sold. I made my own version of Tomato-Florentine Soup. Wow. I'd make it again right now if I could. It was a full, thick soup with big chunks of meaty tomato, but just enough creaminess, and flecked with nutritious, delicious spinach. If you're a soup fan, and even more so, a tomato fan, try this. Enjoy! And please, for me, buy local and eat well.



Queen Honeybea's
Tomato Florentine Soup
Serves 2 large portions, 3 smaller portions.

1 TBS. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup finely diced red onion
1 TBS. local honey
1 clove of garlic, minced
2 TBS. organic tomato paste
28 oz. can of organic, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, juice reserved
1 TBS. chopped, dry basil
2 tsp. chopped, dry oregano
3 cups of vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups finely chopped local fresh spinach
1 TBS. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 TBS. organic, low-fat Greek Yogurt

1. Heat the olive oil in a medium size sauce pot over medium heat. Saute the onions until sweating and translucent, about 3 or 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, honey, tomato paste and diced tomatoes. Cook until much of the liquid has evaporated, about 8 or 9 minutes.

2. Add the basil, oregano, reserved tomato juice, vegetable stock, spinach, vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir together and bring to a boil over high heat. Turn the heat to low and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until thickened and the flavors are correct. Remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt until well blended. (Do NOT let the soup return to a boil after the yogurt is added) Serve with hot toasted bread, grilled cheese or just all by itself.

Six Week Project: Day Thirty Two

Monday night. I can honestly say, I can't wait for Easter to roll around so that I can stop documenting every dinner I eat. Clearly, it is now Friday and I'm just now getting around to posting five blogs behind. These daily project things are just not my cup of tea. However...here we go. Monday night: Pigeon Peas.

On Saturday, I simmered dry pigeon peas that I had soaked overnight in a combination of chicken stock and coconut milk, with cilantro, peppers and onions. Then I added brown rice and simmered until the rice was cooked and the liquid had been absorbed. We ate these on Monday night with a big salad. Remember, buy local and eat well.

Six Week Project: Day Thirty One

“We’re going for a cruise.” These have been the words of the week. Whether it was to get away from a stressful work environment for a few minutes, or to pass the hours of a welcomed day off, that has been the theme of this week. It seems as though when everything gets to be too much, getting into my car and driving somewhere other than where I am is one way for me to bring life back into perspective. As I head away from the place that’s bogging me down, I feel freer in every mile. It’s liberating to be able to take off without a care in the world, and I am going to treasure that while I am still able to do it, before I enter the future phases of my life where other adult responsibilities might inhibit my pedal to the metal attitude.

Sunday was a day that began without a plan. There’s a line in one of my favorite movies, Songcatcher, where Tom (the laid back Appalachian mountain man) says to Lily (the high-strung city dwelling professor), “Do you ever have a day without a plan?” That’s me. I plan. However, this Sunday, I vowed to myself (and my girlfriend) that we’d not set the alarm clock, we’d not have an agenda, and the only thing that hung over the day like a lovely misty haze was our idea to go shopping. It didn’t settle anywhere in a time frame, it didn’t get allotted to an hour or minute of the day, the idea was just there. How nice it was to experience a day like Sunday.

We took off for Marietta, then Parkersburg. We hit up our favorites (we’ve discovered that we do, in fact, have common favorites), T.J. Maxx, Old Navy and Borders, dropped a few bags in the trunk, and with the windows down and the sun roof open, I looked to the passenger seat of my car and said, “We’re going for a cruise.” I was fairly certain of the route that I wanted to take, but being the natural planner that I am, I consulted my trusty road map (I have a functional brain, and therefore I don’t have a GPS), and we hit the pavement sailing South on State Route 68 in West Virginia. State Route 68 follows the Ohio River and is studded by large farms, vast expanses of green, grassy fields and spring blooming wildflowers. When we got to Ravenswood, we crossed back into our home state and continued to hug the river down Ohio State Route 124. We made a joke out of every road sign we saw, said the name of each tiny town we passed through out loud, and commented incessantly about how beautiful of a day it was and what a perfect activity we’d found to occupy it. We stopped in Middleport at a lovely little antique store I’d visited in the fall, then burnt up some more time before dinner with a little trip to Gallipolis (where I found the cheapest gas I’d seen all day, and therefore filled up). We came back up State Route 7, and stopped at a little country place called Millie’s (of which I’ve previously written) for dinner.

I think I blew my girlfriend’s socks off when she saw not only what Millie’s served, but also what I ordered. Every now and again I break my own food rules. Not often, but once in awhile and when I do, I want it to be worth it. Millie’s is worth it. I was served up a huge, steaming bowl of white, gummy noodles (the way they’re meant to be) in broth naturally thickened by the flour that clung to the noodle dough as it was thrown into the boiling stock. This was flecked with pieces of shredded chicken, and was absolutely heavenly. As I told my girlfriend, making chicken and noodles into something whole-grain and healthy just isn’t worth it. It will never taste the same. So instead, I just break my rules maybe 3 or 4 times a year, and get the good stuff. This was accompanied by a bowl of sweet, tangy Harvard beets and an equally pungent and zingy three-bean salad. It was country-fied awesome.

Then, I broke down and cheated. This was my girlfriend’s first trip to Millie’s, and she loves pie. There was no way we’d be dining at Millie’s and skipping the homemade pie. We split a slice of apple, and I had no guilt whatsoever. There’s something about Millie’s pie that makes me feel homey. It’s not the best I’ve ever eaten, mostly because I think the apple pie I make, or my mother makes is the best, but it is better than most and the perfect way to cap off a meal there.

Evidence that I cheated, but it was so worth it.

We drove home the long way, up Old 33 through Shade and past the Last Chance Corral. The sun was beginning to fade, the breeze beginning to cool, and the beauty of the day began to culminate and slowly burn down like an ember. We picked up some coffee at the Donkey in Athens, then made for Morgan County and the work week that lay ahead of us. If you have an opportunity to take a day and explore your area, as we did, taking in all things local, I highly recommend it. There’s nothing quite like a day without a plan to make the days with plans seem worthwhile. I’ll pass those days along until the next day like Sunday rolls around. Please, buy local and eat well.

Six Week Project: 28, 29 and 30

Days 28 and 29 were somewhat boring, as leftovers had made their way into my fridge and alas, onto my plate again. Thursday night was left over sauce and pasta and chicken from Sunday, and Friday night I concocted a "taco salad" out of left over vegan chili, greens, sprouts, salsa, cheese and tortilla chips. It was delish.

Day 30 was slightly more exciting. What counted as my dinner on that Saturday was my late afternoon lunch I got the privilege of sharing with two of my best friends, Aly and Lisa. We caught up, laughed and as usual they gave me life guidance and I tried to return it. We met at Casa Nueva in Athens, one of my favorite places. Casa Nueva is locavorian heaven. They use as much seasonal, fresh, local stuff as they can. Their menu changes seasonally and their soups, veggies of the day, salsas and dressings reflect what's in season at the moment. I had the pleasure of having a dish of their Berry Medium salsa, whipped up with strawberries from last year's Chesterhill produce auction. It was awesome. It accompanied my wrap stuffed with refried beans, monterey jack cheese, greens, and guacamole, and a side salad topped with sesame soy dressing. Casa Nueva is heaven for me. See the photo evidence below. Always remember to buy local and eat well.


My yummy wrap. Note the vibrant red salsa that is accompanying it. Salsa-licious.


My friend Lisa's lunch: Open faced pita sandwich and tofu fries. Yummo.

Six Week Project: Day Twenty Seven

An unseasonably warm night, a good round of playing catch on a baseball diamond, and fellowship with loved ones were the precursors to a perfectly paired meal for just such an occasion. Wednesday night was pizza night in my house.

Of course, pizza in my house is healthified and yummified. I made a whole-wheat and spelt crust, thick and doughy with crunchy edges. I topped that with some left-over homemade tomato sauce from the pot I made last Sunday (the worst thing about making a pot of sauce is using it up, but pizza is a great way to do it!), crumbled chicken sausage from King Family Farm, grilled red peppers (frozen from last summer) and red onion (from the Market), and a combination of Kenny's Farmhouse Norwood cheese and Laurel Valley Creamery's Country Jack Cheese. It was melty, bubbly, local and satisfying.

Always remember to buy local and eat well.

Six Week Project: Day Twenty Six

Dinner isn't always a big production in my house, and I think you're realizing this as my blog posts begin to include more and more days at one time. I think about food as much as men are purported to think about sex. Seriously, I do. I think about everything that goes into my mouth and what kinds of benefits my body will get from it. That's why, when I do cook, it's thoughtful and typically (I must say) pretty damn good. However, several nights a week I eat left-overs, or I don't eat what everyone else would consider "dinner"- sometimes a bowl of cereal, sometimes a peanut butter sandwich. Tonight I worked from 11:30 this morning until 9:30 tonight. Therefore dinner was a container of Thai Peanut Tofu Salad from the Farmacy in Athens, and a bag full of fresh snap peas from Duff Farms and a carrot from the Athens Farmer's Market, peeled with the greens still attached. I had to chuckle to myself when I packed this "dinner," because the people I work with always accuse me of eating rabbit food. If they could see me with this green topped carrot, they'd never let me hear the end of it.

However, since I managed to get the morning off given my extra-long day and evening shift, I took advantage of a chilly spring morning, and some random containers of "almost gone" peanut butter and made one of my new signatures: Queen Honeybea's PB+CC=Love Cookies. I decided to share this recipe with you, in lieu of a dinner post, because they're really, really delicious. Enjoy! And always remember to buy local and eat well.



Queen Honeybea's PB+CC=Love Cookies
Makes 1 Dozen Extra-Large Cookies, or 3 Dozen Average Size Cookies

1/2 cup All-Natural Soy Margarine, softened
1 1/2 cups peanut butter (I used some fresh ground organic, some organic unsweetened from Whole Foods and some Jiff Natural)
1/2 cup organic, unrefined sugar (evaporated cane juice)
1/4 cup local, pure maple syrup
1 local, free-range egg
2 tsps. pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups organic whole-wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup organic, semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped honey roasted peanuts
Extra organic, unrefined sugar for rolling

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease two baking sheets. Set aside.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the margarine and peanut butter and beat until combined and smooth. Add the sugar and maple syrup and beat again until combined and smooth. Add the egg and vanilla, beating until well incorporated and fluffy, about 2 or 3 minutes.

3. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the peanut butter mixture, beating on low speed until a soft dough is formed. Add the chocolate chips and the honey roasted peanuts and fold until they are evenly distributed in the dough.

4. With a large dipper (or the size equivalent of two heaping tablespoons), scoop out one dozen balls of dough. Roll each ball in organic, unrefined sugar and place evenly spaced on each baking sheet. Flatten lightly with the bottom of glass, until the cookies are about 3/4 in thick.



5. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until they're nicely browned but not over done. Remove to a wire rack and cool completely.

(If you make smaller cookies, with a smaller dipper, they'll probably need to bake less time, about 10 minutes.)