Salad days

"My salad days, When I was green in judgment" Cleopatra

One of my favorite quotes from the ol' Bard. This was on a sign in my favorite English teacher's, Mrs. Maddox, room in high school. She decorated her bust of Shakespeare for every holiday.

But, rest assured, I'm not about to reflect on my own salad days of the past- instead, we're focusing on the salad days of a hot summer.

I have given up the siren song of the salad bar as a quick go to lunch option. I realized that I was spending as much as I would if I went out to eat for lunch. Hmmm- so I need to plan ahead, do some simple prep & I've got a great lunch waiting for me in the fridge. (Note to self- if you are having salad for lunch don't forget the lettuce at home- all though Mischa was very happy to see me return home to get it)

Today, I had one of my favorite combos- a vegetarian salad nicoise. Sliced hard boiled egg, steamed potatoes, blanched yellow string beans, carrots, sliced onions on a bed of mixed greens. Traditionally, there's also tuna- but I can't stand even the smell of tuna. And if you need a little more protein for a busy day, add some rinsed, drained garbanzo beans or white beans. *Sniff* and I did forget the best part, olives! Feel free to add some croutons or sliced almonds for a little crunch.

Another one I love this time of the year is a quick Southwest salad. I grill a chicken breast with Southwest seasoning- chill and slice. I take some leftover roasted corn, black beans, cucumber, onions and peppers, a little cheese and some lettuce and add the chicken. Just top with low fat ranch or Paul Newman's Southwest dressing, a couple of crushed tortilla chips and you're good to go.

Some other yummies I love? A nice hunk of bread in the toaster, slathered with goat cheese and topped with fresh tomatoes. A quick cheese quesadilla for a hearty side. Dried cranberries, sliced apples, mandarin oranges, sugar snap peas, roasted asparagus, roasted beets, a nuked sweet potato can mix it up any which way. Croutons are great- just be sure to stick with the low fat baked ones. Also check out the other fun salad toppers- my favorite one right now is crispy onions, oh yeah!

For me, having a huge salad for lunch not only gets that major veggie eating requirement accomplished with a little panache but it's also a great way to use up all of the produce I buy every week at the Farmer's markets, not to mention to put a whole different spin on leftovers. And I can prep my ingredients in the morning, when the kitchen is a little cooler and do enough for three or so days. Just stay clear of those stupid co-workers who will eat anything that's not tied down. Or you could put everything in an opaque container and mark "stool sample" on it and it will not be touched. Just a thought.

Feeling a bit Green, in more than one way

Today I am feeling a bit icky. Nothing that's contagious (unless you're a girl ;-) ) but am looking to seek some relief from the heat and my upset tummy. Sparkling water is on tap and I will put in my air conditioning unit in my bedroom window after work.

One thing I am looking forward to is the psychological lift that George W. wants to give me by rescinding the Executive Order that outlaws off-shore oil drilling. You know those wacky liberals want to keep that oil out of our nation's supply. Hmm- who put it the ban into place, you ask? Ah yes, that bastion of liberalness, the first President Bush.

Yeah, that psychological lift is helping- I didn't feel nearly as pissed off as I could of been yesterday when I put $10 in my tank to get a measly 2.5 gallons of gas to tide me over till Thursday. Thanks GWB!!

Now everyone is feeling pissed off about gas and pinched everywhere else. Let's share some tips on how to save some money. And since Green is the new Black- (nice for y'all to come on board), some Green tips too:

• Go paperless on your bills. I just switched my cell account to paperless today. I'm tired of throwing those away and I never need them for anything.
• Reusable bags. Lug those sexy canvas bags to the store and you can save 5-10 cents per bag every time you use them.
• Pay bills online or auto-withdrawal. I figure I save about $50 a year on postage just doing this. Crazy not to!
• Change your cleaning products. Look to use those natural, plant based products like Mrs. Meyers, who I just love. Just about everything else comes in some way or another from petroleum. Plus Mrs. Meyers smells better, is not tested on animals and non-toxic. Every way to break the cycle of oil dependency should smell this good.
• Switch to generic drugs. Could I afford to buy Claritin for my allergies? Mmm, nope- but the generic- oh yeah. Same active ingredients- less hype. No commercials with fields of daisies and frolicking puppies.
• Use those coupons and store specials. With a little work, you can save a lot of money. I try to plan our weekly menu stuff around what's on sale at the store. The internet is a great resource for coupons too. I print off ones from the manufacturer's websites for products I like and use regularly, & SuperTarget always has great coupons.
• Gas specials. HyVee gas usually has specials every day- check them out if there's one near you. On Thursday, if I spend a certain amount, $30- my wine and weekly stock up- and pay in cash, I can save 14 cents a gallon.
• Skip the coffee shop. I said goodbye to the coffee stop before work when I realized how much it adds up. If you spend $3 every day for coffee, that adds up to over $1000 a year and 365 to-go containers in the trash. Yikes! That's a lot of beans!

Little changes make a huge difference put together. The key is to aim to live in balance in all areas of your life. If you enjoy something, keep doing it but look for a more sustainable way to do it. I love coffee- can't start my day without it. However, now I buy strictly organic or fair trade coffee. It's better for my health, better for the environment and much better for the farmers who grow and harvest my beloved beans.

Well take care. I was planning to do a huge glowing review of 1984 but am not feeling up to it today. I really enjoyed it so much- and to me it resonated a lot more now than it did the first time I read it back in the 80's. Right now, I'm reading The Lost Constitution by William Martin, which has got me hooked. The search is on for the original draft of the Constitution which , if found, would bring huge clarifications on what the original intent was and have an explosive impact on the hot political debate in question. The style of the novel has me intrigued- it's two parallel stories, one back in 1787 and the other in present day. I haven't read anything else by him, but am inclined to check them out now.

Cranky, no not me

I think that everyone around me is due for a refresher course in oh, just about anything. Let's recap some things that come right to mind:

• A plea for the immediate end to unnecessary drama. If anyone acts up around me without due cause, I am so shutting them down. People, there are real problems in life- I know. Feel free to come to me with them, however, I'm a little tired about hearing people whine about stuff like vegetables. Enough.
• Wet wool sweater + cycle in hot drier = shrunken clothes. Yesterday, I pulled out over ten shrunken sweaters that someone in our building dried. My first thought is this person is too stupid to be wearing clothing. I was almost tempted to stick around to see who did it. To paraphrase Morrissey, "I dried, and then I cried and then I just died. Lalalalalalala"
• Which leads to the next point- labels exist for a reason. You'd be surprised on how much one can learn from reading the label. Ingredients, proper care, directions for use of said product. Fascinating!
• And note to self- don't leave your allergy medication at work during the summer. Makes for one runny and sore nose in the morning.

All right, I feel a bit better. I just got an email from Henry Rollins- I have to quote him-

"Not another tour? Absolutely. I had to get one more lap in before the big guy goes out to pasture at the Crawford Ranch. Even though the ex-president will no doubt bail on his fake prop no-hope cowpoke habitat as soon as he gets the chance, I am sure he will at least stop in to pick up his crayons and watch the servants sift the puke out of the pool and roll up the carpets... "

Awww- I think he'll really miss him, I do. As much as I will.

He's coming to Ames in September, and I am very excited to see him again. Check out his website for the dates. His spoken work performances are just the best. This year, his tour is titled Provoked: An Evening of Quintessentially American Opinionated Editorializing and Storytelling. Which reminds me- I gotta get that Kafka book read.

I was a little busy this weekend and prepping for the State Fair did not make it on my agenda. But, I did make that stirfry, which was delish. And I tried a new recipe with beets, thanks to the New Vegetarian Grill. I had a bunch of baby yellow beets, which I peeled (yeah kids, you don't want to do that to red beets because you'll stain your hands) and wrapped in a foil packed with a nice drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper and balsamic vinegar. I roasted them at about 400 for an hour- and ate them all.

Happy Bastille Day!! Today marks the storming the prison, the Bastille, which was the start of the French Revolution. Feel free to hum La Marseillaise while sipping on a Perrier.

Hot, salty and sweet

Today really feels like summer. It's sunny, hot and humid- which makes me a little cranky. I am very thankful for allergy medications and air conditioning this week.

Since it's so hot, I do look for things to cool me off. I could very easily live the everything-cold-diet (except for my coffee, dark, hot with milk) during the summer. I think I am going to make a batch of hummus this weekend since I have some pita bread to use up in the fridge. Tonight, since I got the place to myself :-), I am leaning towards cooking tonight after yoga- spicy orange chicken stir fry and some brown rice. Chicken with a spicy orange sauce with ginger, garlic, red peppers, onions, & green beans. It's from Weight Watchers Take Out Tonight, which is a fabulous cookbook.

I have to admit, out of the oodles of cookbooks and magazines that I own, I cook mostly out of Cooking Light, and my lighter cookbooks. I love to eat and cook, but I know that I like myself the way I am now and more importantly, I feel better when I eat better. I hate feeling sluggish and uncomfortable after I eat something really heavy and fatty. Don't get me wrong, I still have my moments- one of which is for sure coming up, the Iowa State Fair!

Last night, I knew we had a lot of veggies in the fridge to use up before heading down to the farmer's market tomorrow. I was wandering around the store thinking about something to center everything around. I ended up buying a bag of frozen butternut squash ravioli from Rosetto (hey, and if you go to their website you can print off a $1 off coupon) and some low-fat alfredo sauce. I ate all my peas and sauteed up the bunch of swiss chard. Today I had the leftovers for lunch along with some sauteed patty pan squash.

And something else I found- wonders of wonders. Haagan Daz's new reserve flavor Fleur de Sel Caramel.

Now, I am not a huge ice cream fan, but oh my god this is a sweet and salty seduction that had me eating it out of the carton over the kitchen sink. I think the only way to improve it for me would do have a young Henry Rollins dish it out for me (he used to work at Haagan Daz- yep!) They have other Reserve flavors- but I didn't notice them because I was so excited about the Fleur de Sel.

Sweet and salty has become the ultimate flavor combo for me. I can easily bypass any candy bar (ok maybe not a Take 5) - in favor of a sweet and salty Cliff mojo bar, or little less healthier option, chocolate covered pretzels.

Mischa has had a busy week. I took him over to the spice shack to visit Papa Ted- which he was really good. He meowed continuously but was pretty willing to be petted. After he got home, he was so stressed, he panted for about ten minutes. He has also discovered that he likes to munch on not only beet greens, but swiss chard as well. So, if I ever start that garden, he'll be my biggest enemy I think.

I did finish the new Bond book last night, nice old school Bond! The twist at the end was very nice. Over the summer, I do try to read a couple of classics- we all have those books that we've bought and mean to read. You know the ones, the ones that make you look smart and worldly cause their on your bookshelf. Right now, I choose to re-read 1984 by George Orwell, which I last read in high school. I am excited to read it again, this time in the post 9/11 patriot act world.

Well, should get going here. I have a lot to do this afternoon. Have a great weekend!

Fourth of July fest; corn, potatoes and okra

After leaving the wild world of being a staffer on a political campaign, the Fourth of July has become one of my favorite holidays. As a staffer, the day was filled with marching in up to three parades (always hot and humid) and just a blur of red, white, blue, stickers, and flinging tootsie rolls. Now, I can relax and enjoy and reflect on how lucky we are.

We did do the West Des Moines parade. We rode in style in the classic car that KIOA is giving away- a custom 64 Buick Rivera- and can I ever stress enough how much cuter one looks in a really smokin' hot car?

On the Fourth, I smoked some bone-in chicken breasts that morning and fixed some potato salad. Alas, the Iowa sweet corn still wasn't ready due to all of the wet weather. We went to a movie (how indulgent!) and saw Get Smart which was by far one of the best comedies I have seen in years, and volunteered at the 80/35 musical festival for Planned Parenthood. After running a couple of errands- we grabbed dinner and watched the fireworks at West Glenn- very nice display and no traffic-woohoo!

Due to being so busy- it took me a couple of extra days to finish James Rollins latest- which was a little frustrating because it was a good read. I just started the new James Bond, Devil May Care by Sebastian Faulks. I've been a huge Bond fan since I was, hmmm 10, I think. Yeah, in Junior High when the other girls were curled up with Teen Beat, I was immersed in Ian Flemming's classic Bond books.

I did finally get my first batch of sweet corn yesterday. I roasted it in the oven, which is my favorite way to do corn since I don't have a handy grill outside. I shuck the corn (which how excited were the cats to help shuck? Very!) and wrap it in foil with a little olive oil (so it doesn't get stuck) and seasoning of your choice. Roast at 375-400 for about 45 minutes or until it gives a bit when you squeeze it.

One other thing I tried this week- after work, I ate at the salad bar at Jason's Deli Monday before headed to my night yoga class. Great choice for a quick veggie loaded meal- they have really great roasted red pepper hummus on the salad bar- yum! I tried pickled okra, as a nod to my Grandma who was obsessed with pickled okra, and it was okay. I'm probably not going to run out and buy a jar- but maybe I will to get Ben & Abby to try it.

I did check out from the library the book New Vegetarian Grill by Andrea Chessman which looks very scrumptious. Grilled angel food cake- I think I gotta try it!

Here's the recipe for the potato salad I made- courtesy of Penzeys Spices.

Very nice for a picnic or an indoor meal when it is still chilly outside. Dill Weed adds a bright and springy flavor to any dish.

2-3 lbs. small new potatoes
11/2 quarts boiling salted water
1/4 Cup strained cooking liquid
1/4 Cup chopped SHALLOTS or onions
1 TB. wine vinegar
1 tsp. DILL WEED
1 tsp. ENGLISH PRIME RIB RUB
1-2 TB. olive or vegetable oil

Bring water to a boil. Add 1 tsp. salt. Wash and scrub potatoes. Peel a stripe around the center of each potato. Place in boiling water, cook until fork tender (about 8-12 minutes). Drain, reserving 1/4 Cup strained cooking liquid. Return potatoes to pan, cover and let dry about 2 minutes. Combine the cooking liquid, SHALLOTS or onions, wine vinegar, ENGLISH PRIME RIB RUB and DILL WEED. Whisk. Place potatoes in a roomy bowl, cover with dressing and stir gently. Let stand 10 minutes, then add 1 or 2 TB. of vegetable oil. Toss and serve. The flavor is great warm or chilled.
Serves: 4-6. Prep. Time: 10 minutes. Cooking time: around 10 minutes

I halved the amount of potatoes and kept the dressing amount the same, cause I like it tangy. Also, cook the potatoes starting in cold water, then bring up to a boil- they'll cook more evenly. It's a great, fresh alternative to the heavy mayo laced gloppy mushy potato salad. Enjoy!

Beans, the magical fruit...

So, after having a momentary lapse into feeling like I wasn't up to snuff to compete in the state fair after the fiasco of the strawberry-rhubarb crisp, last night's dinner was a winner. And a cheap one at that!

Here's the recipe- another winner from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian

Baked Lima Beans Parmigiana From how to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman

You can also use fava, edamame, cooked cannnelini, gigante beans or chickpeas
1/4 c olive oil
1 recipe Fast Tomato Sauce
4 cups fresh, frozen or cooked dry lima beans
salt and fresh ground pepper
1 cup cubed mozzarella(preferably fresh)
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped parsley for garnish

Preheat oven to 400

Use a tbs or so of the oil to grease a 2 qt souffle or gratin dish or a 9x13 baking dish

Spread tomato sauce in the dish and spoon the beans on top. Spread the mozz cubes around evenly pressing them into the sauce and beans a bit. Sprinkle with the bread crumbs and parm and drizzle with olive oil.

Bake until cheese is melted, sauce is bubbling and crumbs are brown, about 20-30 minutes.Remove and sprinkle with parsley and additional black pepper if desired. Can be served over rice or pasta.

I halved this recipe to try it. I used two cups of thawed lima beans, about a bottle of marinara sauce, cubed mozzarella and fresh breadcrumbs, and sprinkled liberally with some Penzeys Italian herb mix.

Here's the cost breakdown.

0.30 bag of lima beans at Supertarget- they were on sale and I had a 50 cent coupon
1.99 bottle of Barilla sauce
2.00 hunk of cheese (which I have a lot left)
0.33 roll I used for breadcrumbs
and I had some parm in the fridge

I love being thrifty, especially when it tastes good.

Of course, this recipe is so versatile, you can use just about anything in your fridge or pantry. And quick- oh yeah. Great to have another easy dish to throw together- even after a long day at work. And of course, with food prices rising, it's great to find new veggie loaded recipes and are not only good for you, but light on the pocketbook.

Sides- I made some peas, steamed some broccoli, whole grain rolls and Angel had a salad.

Another great find at the store- Kashi has launched frozen pocket breads! I love Kashi products, and really can not recommend them enough for anyone who's looking for great healthy food. I had the southwest turkey- nicely seasoned, soft bread- yum! Check them out!

Short post today- I am itching to get out of here today and back into the new James Rollins book, The Last Oracle. I got an update from one of my favorite authors, Harlan Coben, today about the movie they made about his book Tell No One. If he's happy about it- I gotta see it.

http://www.tellnoonemovie.com/

It just got released in this country- another reason to love the French.

take care and enjoy your Fourth of July!

Starting off on the wrong foot

My morning started off just fine. Woke up a bit early, called the cats in for some cuddle time, made my coffee and decided to go ahead and make that strawberry-rhubarb crisp to take into work and then over to Penzeys to thank Ted for the cherries.

OK- I slice up the fruit, toss with the sugar and find out I'm out of brown sugar. No problem- since I make my own. One TB molasses to one cup sugar- stir until blended and voila, brown sugar that's not as hard as a rock. Now, I need oats. I go to my huge overstuffed pantry- no oats, no fraking oats, not even a fucking flake- why? and why do I feel the multitude of fiber one bars are laughing at me.

I so left out the oats from the topping- throw it together then put in oven. Smells great and take it out- yeah, I've made better. The recipe didn't call for any flour to be added to the fruit, which I really should of done since there is so much liquid in the dish.

I head to work,but first, have to stop and get a little gas since my tank was empty. I put in $10 and didn't even get a 1/4 of a tank. Grrr. And after I get to work, I grab my crisp and discover - it leaked all over the front seat of my car. This crisp is now just plain evil. Cleaning up the hot sticky mess, I am just pissed off.

Then the crappy little fridge here decided to test me further. The freezer compartment is causing the door not to shut, which makes the ice grow which causes the door not to shut and makes more ice- the vicious circle! So, I take a freebee coffee cup and bang the crap out of the ice to make the door go shut. Which, bonus, did get out some of my frustration.

So, my grocery list this week has started off with oats, sugar and resolve cleaner for my car. Super! Here's to hoping the afternoon is a little brighter and less sticky.