Today I got my wish–rain on the weekend when we had no place pressing to go. We did get up this morning and go out to the farm getting in about 3 hours before the rains began. On the way home we were talking about lunch and Proeun said that it was a good Pho day. For those who don’t know Pho is the national dish of Vietnam and variations of it are family favorites all over Southeast Asia. I had never eaten it before eating Proeun but now it is one of my favorites. I consists of a mildly sweet and intensely flavorful beef broth served over rice noodles with meat balls or other pieces of meat and lots of cilantro, thai basil and green onions on top.

We stopped at our local Asian store for beef neck bones, meat balls, thai basil, and cilantro then home to start the magic. As with so many dishes I have learned from my in-laws it is really hard to give specific measurements. But what we did was start the bones in salted water and slowly cook it for like 5 hours. Skim off the fat and add more water and seasoning as needed.

We also like to roast an onion by wrapping it in foil and placing it directly on the burner until the inside is nicely burned. Then chop up the roasted onion and add to the broth.

For seasoning we used anise and cinnamon, sugar, salt, black pepper and some fish sauce. That makes the broth, alot of time patience and working with your tastebuds. It doesn’t need to be overly seasoned because it is traditional to add a variety of condiments.

Deep fried red onions, hoisin sauce (Chinese barbeque) Sriracha (pepper paste), preserved cabbage, Pho paste, cilantro, green onion and thai basil. Lemon or lime is also really nice.

Everyone selects and puts on their own choices to taste.

To assemble the bowls, soften the dried rice noodles in boiling water. Strain and put in bowls. Select the meat you chose, tonight it was sliced beef and meatballs plus the beef neck bones and cook or warm in a strainer on top of the broth. Add to noodles and ladle the broth over it. The noodles really soak up the broth so you will probably need more then you think, then add the condiments of your choice.

It’s one of our families favorites.

If you have never made homemade mayo it is really easy and delicious. Also you may run out of mayonaise but will probably have eggs, oil and vinegar on hand. That is actually how I first got into it. One of those late night dinners and no mayonaise. I knew I had seen a recipe in my Natural Beauty at Home book. Even though that author uses it for a hair treatment it makes a great mayo.

Beautiful (Beauty) Mayo

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 egg
1/2 cups apple cider vinegar

A blender or food processor really helps in this recipe. In a blender, mix 1/4 cup oil, salt and egg. With the blender on, slowly pour another 1/4 cup of oil, in a very thin stream, into whirling mixture. Keep the blender mixing. Slowly pour into the whirling mixture half of the vinegar in a slow steady stream. Keep the blender mixing. Slowly pour into the mixture another 1/4 cup of oil followed by the rest of the vinegar. Continue blending.

Slowly add the rest of the oil. You should now have a thick, white, creamy mayonnaise (sets up more the frig).

The first time I made this I kept running back and forth between the recipe book and blender. But now it is much easier. I am really into having a few staples on hand that you can use to make a lot of different dishes. It keeps expenses down, and saves on storage and feels great knowing that you made something most people have to buy.

Even though the hot, humid Minnesota summer has arrived a bit early it is still  time to make bread. The past couple of days have seen all the shades drawn and children lounging around the house in diapers, shorts and tank tops. I hadn’t even replaced the winter clothes in their drawers yet! So now I am scrambling to find all those summer clothes i packed away nearly 8 months ago.

The warm weather finds me craving salads–with lots of dressing, but heh I need the calories right? Last night I boiled a bunch of eggs intending to make egg salad sandwiches but then discovered that my bread was all dry and crusty. Luckily it stormed last night so there is a bit of a break in the weather and I am trying to get the bread in the oven before the heat really comes on.

My grandmother always made homemade bread. For me it was a huge treat eating bread warm from the oven with melted butter. I never expected that I would be a bread making mama, but with the price of good quality bread at around $4.00 a loaf I decided I had to try it. Here is my favorite recipe. it is 100% whole wheat but nice and light. The trick is a long kneading period–15 minutes. I used to do this by hand. I actually set the timer on the stove and would knead away (15 minutes is a long time). I had great forearms, but not much enthusiasm for bread making days. Then Proeun bought me a Kitchen-aide and now bread making is a snap. Whether you are doing it by hand or with a mixer the taste is totally worth it.

Our Favorite Whole Wheat Bread

3 cups hot water
1/3 cup olive oil (I use soy or vegetable oil for price sake)
1/3 cup honey
8-10 cups fresh ground whole wheat flour
1 TBSP salt
3 TBSP gluten flour
2 TBSP yeast

Mix hot water, oil, and honey with about 3 cups of the flour. Stir well. Add the yeast, salt and gluten and continue stirring. Slowly add remaining flour, stirring until you have a small amount of resistance: it is important that you do not add too much flour at this point as it will make your bread heavy.

Sprinkle a small amount of flour out onto a dry surface. Pour dought onto flour and being to knead you bread, adding remaining flour as you find it neccessary to keep the dough from sticking to your hands. Knead dough for at least 15 minutes. The longer you knead your dough, the better the bread will be.

Place dough back in a large bowl. Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise in a warm oven for 20 minutes. Pour dough onto dry surface and once again knead for at least 3 minutes. Form into loaves and place in well oiled bread pans. This recipe will make 2-3 loaves. Allow loaves to rise for 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 35 minutes. Put on racks to cool.

It you have a mixer you can do all the steps up to placing in loaf pans with that.

From the Best of Veggies by Mary Bernt

When at the Living Green Expo I was drawn to the booths that had personal care products. I have always loved lotions, creams, conditioners, perfumes, anything to make you feel and look good. But lately I have been so busy I haven’t taken very good care of myself. I decided I needed to pay more attention. After all feeling good is a huge part of mental health.

The prices were way out of my league however. Then I remembered my handy book Natural Beauty at Home. I came home and reviewed it and came up with a list of projects. I need more Cold Cream and I want to try some lip gloss. Some time this week I will do a facial and today I did a hair mask.

My split ends had gotten really bad and I had taken to the exact same hair style all day every day. So yesterday I went to get a good trim and added some layers. The ends felt so smooth. I want to keep it that way and occasionally wear my hair down so in the interest of hair health I made

Perfect Hair Conditioner

1 tsp almond oil
1 tsp avocado oil
1 tsp olive oil
1 egg yolk
1 TBSP honey
1 TBSP lemon juice

Mix all ingredients together and stir thoroughly. Massage into hair and scalp and wrap hair in plastic wrap or use a shower cap and leave conditioner on for 15 minutes.

(not so attactive yet!)
 
Shampoo your hair and rinse well.

I didn’t have avocado oil so I left it out and I put a whole egg in by mistake but otherwise it went really well. It smelled so yummy. One word to the wise though since it has an egg in it do not use hot water to rinse your hair. I thought I had it cool enough not to cook the egg and still had a couple of pieces of egg to pick out when I was finished but not too bad. My hair felt super moisturized and other then the almond oil and avocado oil most of the ingredients are already in your kitchen. Way cheaper and more fun then some of those expensive treatments. Now I just have to keep it up. The book recommends a deep conditioner once a week and has several options.

About 4 years ago I was researching food allergies for a condition that Two had. Through the course of studying up for him I realized that I had a dairy allergy. I quit eating it cold turkey the next week. It took nearly 6 months to get it out of my system. After that the pain in my joints went away, the headaches went away and I went for a whole winter with out getting sick once. Previously it seemed like I had a perpetual cold all winter. This year I did try goat cheese but as it was in my mouth I could feel my body changing in a negative way. So once again I have sworn off cheese of all types.

Loving all things cheese this has been really difficult on me but literally every time I eat dairy products I wonder why I put myself through that again.

My mother has been very supportive and has noticed health benefits of limiting cheese (My father had been diagnosed as allergic to dairy products years ago). She shared the following recipe with me about a year ago and it has been one of my favorites. Last night I was craving it and whipped up a batch to eat on the Matzos someone had recommended to me for morning sickness. Proeun is also trying to eat better. When he got home he willing tried it, but only to support me. On the first bit he was hooked. Though most of the ingredients are not local to us we buy from a bulk company that buys from farmers. 

Ranch Dip or Dressing

3/4 cup raw cashews
3/4 cup raw macadamias (can  use all cashews or macademias)
1/2 cup water (more for dressing)
3 Tbsp lemon juice
1-2 cloves garlic
1-2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp dried dill (or 1 very small sprig fresh dill)
1/2 tsp dried basil (or 2 leaves fresh)
1 stalk celery

Mix all ingredients in blender of Vita-Mix of blender until smooth and creamy. Makes 2 cups. This is a nice spread for bread instead of butter. If making dressing, use an extra 1/2 to 1 cup of water. Keep for two weeks in the refrigerator.

Last week we were up late watching reruns of Oprah. Whenever she has food related guests we are always interested and today she had Jamie Oliver. We listened intently as he talked about his new project and reality TV program, “Food Revolution.” Ryan Seacrest of American Idol Fame is the producer. Later that week both Oliver and Searest were on Larry King Live. Seacrest shared that was a fat child and very shy.

The next logical step was to watch “Food Revolution” ourselves. It was really eye opening. Oliver is in Huntington, WV which has been labeled the unhealthiest place in America. He is on a mission to teach people about nutrition and healthy, farm fresh eating–starting in the school system.

Since we have been immersed in the local, organic, healthy food movement for a while now it is so easy to forget the arguments against it as well as the down right hostility. But Oliver, who comes off as a compassionate man and passionate advocate of both people and food, ploughs ahead. We have watched two episodes and are hooked.

I ordered some of his cookbooks from the library. Food Revolution, his most recent is out with many holds on it. But I did get Jamie at Home and I literally am astounded. Not only does it contain amazing seasonal recipes but Oliver grew most of the food himself in his own garden and so he offers growing tips and varieties (just be careful since he is in England so varieties may not be as successful here). Proeun suggested I work my way through the cookbook ala “Julie and Julia” I don’t think I am up to that, but some of the recipes will definitely grace our table and newsletter for CSA members. For more information on Oliver go to his website.

Today we are eating a recipe we saw featured on Oprah, here it is from Oprah’s website

Crunchy Garlic Chicken

This crumbing technique is so versatile—you can cook pork or even cod in exactly the same way. As there is butter in the crumb mixture, you can grill, fry, roast or bake the meat dry in the oven and it will go lovely and golden.

Servings: Serves 2

Ingredients:

Directions:

To prepare your chicken: Peel the garlic and zest the lemon. Put your crackers into a food processor with the butter, garlic, parsley sprigs, lemon zest and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whiz until the mixture is very fine, then pour these crumbs on to a plate. Sprinkle the flour on to a second plate. Crack the egg into a small bowl and beat with a fork. Lightly score the underside of the chicken breasts. Put a square of plastic wrap over each one and bash a few times with the bottom of a pan until the breasts flatten out a bit. Dip the chicken into the flour until both sides are completely coated, then dip into the egg and finally into the flavored crumbs. Push the crumbs on to the chicken breasts so they stick—you want the meat to be totally coated.

To cook your chicken: You can either bake or fry the chicken. If baking, preheat your oven to its highest temperature (475°), place your chicken on a sheet pan and cook for 15 minutes. If frying, put a frying pan on a medium heat, add a few good lugs of olive oil and cook the chicken breasts for 4 to 5 minutes on each side, until cooked through, golden and crisp.

To serve your chicken: Either serve the chicken breasts whole, or cut them into strips and pile them on a plate. Beautiful and simple served with a lemon wedge for squeezing over, and a tiny sprinkling of salt. Great with a lovely fresh salad or simply dressed veggies.

This recipe is taken from Jamie’s Food Revolution by Jamie Oliver (Hyperion). ?? Jamie Oliver, 2009

I have always loved beans. I loved the little squash as you bit through the thin skin and the flavor burst into your mouth. Oddly enough what I loved most about beans is exactly the thing my mother detested about beans. Consequently beans very rarely graced our family table–thank God for church potlucks!

As an adult I began experimenting with beans. Adding canned beans to dishes like chili and trying to make my own black bean soup. Then I discovered dried beans. My early attempts were not very good, pretty bland but adding them to dishes it was OK.

When I was pregnant with Two I craved black beans, tortillas and root beer. I continued to try and perfect my bean recipe.

Last year we farmed with a wonderful and inspiring woman named Paula. She started a farm as a 2nd career and decided to focus her farm on heirloom beans. Learn more about her farm at Encore Farm. I had never considered growing dried beans before but she encouraged me to give it a try. We did and grew Tiger Eye heirloom beans purchased from Seed Savers. For our first try it turned out pretty good.

This time around with my pregnancy I am craving bean buritoes ala Chipotle. However we could easily grow broke doing that so instead I make a big pot of beans and today we will have homemade buritoes. Here’s a picture of our beans getting ready for the pot.

I like to cook my beans in the crock pot. I had bad luck with burning my beans on the stove top–i always seemed to forget them during the 1 1/2 -3 hour cook time. So instead I put them in a crock pot, add a extra cup of water (or 2 from what the recipe calls for) and cook on high overnight. Do not add salt until the beans are finished cooking as this can make them hard.

I have also found a great recipe for beans from The Seven Secrets Cookbook available from Country Life. I have adjusted it somewhat to fit my taste.

Cuban Black Beans

2 1/2 cups dried beans
7 cups water
1/2 cup diced green or red peppers
1 cup chopped onions
2 Tbsp yeast flakes
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1 1/2 tsp Chicken-Like Seasoning
1 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp garlick powder
3/4 tsp sweet basil

3/4 tsp salt added after cooking

Put all ingredients except salt and cook on high overnight. When cooked add salt. Great in burritoes, taco salads, or over rice.

On the weekend we like to treat ourselves to special meals. This doesn’t mean extravagent but more something we don’t have time to cook during the week, a dish we want to make sure we have time to enjoy or a dish that Proeun especially likes to make.

Spring Rolls are a really popular treat at many Asian stores. They are also a really great and fun way to get your veggies and not very difficult to make. The trick is working with the wraps. For these wraps purchase rice paper wraps. The come dried and stiff as a board in a flat round container about 1/2 inch thick. To rehydrate these just put them one sheet at a time in a bowl of warm water. I discovered last night when all my other bowls were used that an 8 inch round cake pan works perfectly. When they feel soft and supple they are ready to roll.

For noodles we use soba noodles (Japanese buckwheat noodles) rather then traditional rice noodles. A restaurant down town Saint Paul introduced us to this and it adds a nice complex layer. Also chop lettuce, grate carrot and juliene cucumber (as we did this weekend) or add herbs, cilantro, green onion and mint are really nice. For meat sometimes deep fried tofu is added, steamed or barbequed chicken or pork and shrimp. You want all the ingredients to me room temperature or cold though–not hot. 

To wrap lay the softened rice paper out on a plate with a dish towel on it to soak up extra water. Take a very small handful of cooked noodles (try pinching between fingers and thumbs) and place a little lower then the center. Layer on the veggies, then fold over each side and begin rolling away from you. Sometimes they rip but you will develop the right touch.

Serve with Hoisin (Chinses barbeque sauce) and chopped peanuts. A lighter sauce of boiling together vinegar, sugar and garlic is also traditional.

I was surprised at how much Two liked these, he kept asking me to roll more and even asked for one with “just the veggies.”

With my other pregnancies when Proeun would ask me if I was craving anything I would jokingly say, “yes, something someone else cooked.” Now I see my role as nurturer spreads beyond breastfeeding, cuddling and warm feelings to the very physical act of feeding my children as healthy food as possible to nourish their minds and souls.

Though I see my job in a different light honestly it doesn’t make it easier to do when you are dead tired from being up all night with your newest toddler who happens to be teething or your 3 year old who has a fever again and kept the 5 year old up. Yeah it’s not easy getting up in the morning and cooking a meal you can feel good about feeding your children.

That’s where having simple, healthy, fast dishes if a great help. Here’s one of my favorites.

Tomato Soup

1 cup water
1 cup cashews
1 medium onion

I use the tomatoes I canned last summer. I didn’t make any tomato paste but if you did that would add another fabulous element to this dish. It takes like 5 minutes to whiz it up. Even a tired mom with morning sickness can handle that.

I know spring is on the way but recently I was at a friend’s house. Her 5 older children and my 2 older children were playing outside in the snow. When they came in everyone was in the mood for hot cocoa. My friend whipped out a gallon ice cream container full for hot cocoa mix, I was in awe. I asked where she got the recipe and she said Betty Crocker. We were out of cocoa mix at home so I decided to purchase the ingredients next time around.

Then I realized I could adjust them to my taste. Here’s the basic recipe

Hot Cocoa Mix

3 1/2 cups nonfat dry milk powder
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
1 cup powdered nondairy creamer
1/2 cup sifted unsweetened cocoa  powder

Once I went to a church women’s retreat with my mom, grandma and aunts. The resort had amazing hot cocoa–thick and rich. This mix reminds me of that. I won’t buy hot cocoa mix again and the price is hard to beat!