Winter's Unlikely Superhero

Look up in the sky, it's a bird, it's a plane...no, it's a grossly enlarged girl, suffering the pangs of post holiday carb consumption. Able to consume copious quantities of Christmas cookies, pasta carbonara
and oh yes, one more glass of Chardonnay, the Carbed Crusader spent the entire holiday season from Thanksgiving to New Year's Eve, demonstrating the stupendous eating abilities of a true superhero.
Ever the social butterfly, the Carbed Crusader politely accepted whatever was proferred at all the parties, all the potlucks. A truckload of Triscuits and hot artichoke dip, seductive salt and black pepper potato chips, an oozing pastry wrapped brie partnered with a tart cherry compote, all delicious, all delightful, fueling our gargantuan girl wonder with all the glories of the season.
Seemingly there is no end in sight to the catastrophic caloric clogging. Now deep in the dregs of January, with yet another massive snow storm on the way, the Carbed Crusader is contemplating constructing a succulent Chicken Pot Pie crowned with a flaky, cheese laced crust. Then she will fill a
sturdy dutch oven full of elegant, richly flavored Beef Daube, accompanied by a large loaf of crusty olive bread. Once that's done, the Carbed Crusader will commence to concoct a volatile vat of chili.
After all, Super Bowl Sunday is just around the corner and provisions must be made! Plus, that steaming bowl of spiciness is just the vehicle for beefing up the body of this one woman eating machine.
While the chili is cheerily bubbling away, there exists the perfect excuse for whipping up a batch of tender cornbread laced with sharp cheddar and bracing bits of jalapeno. A bright yellow crumble of cornbread, slathered with creamy butter and drizzled with wildflower honey brings a definite touch of sunshine to dark winter days. Never mind the crunchy, salty tortilla chips, luscious chunks of avocado and giant plop of sour cream that make that bowl of chili just about the most heroic of winter meals.
Of course, the Carbed Crusader does realize that all wild indulgences must eventually be curtailed. One cannot retain superior crime crushing skills, glowing skin and bright eyes when one keeps feeding the insatiable demons of desire. C.C. knows that moderation in all things is the superior way to be ready for all of life's adventures. Slumping, slack flesh and that tight, uncomfortable pinching, along with an ever plummeting energy level will at some point become an unbearable encumbrance.
But before the Carbed Crusader can return to a rigorous routine of responsible eating and regular exercise, there is one last moment of gustatory glory to be savored. An indulgement so divine and delicious it will carry this carb craver to a place of complete contentment. The need to exceed will be quietly quelled by a magnificent pan full of mighty macaroni and cheese.
The Carbed Crusader considers macaroni and cheese a sacred dish, one to be created with reverance and really good ingredients. Seldom using less than 5 selections of cheeses in her macaroni and cheese, the Carbed Crusader favors a flavorful blend of sharp cheddar, smooth, unassuming Swiss, a bit of mozzarella, a bit of bleu or gorgonzola to add a bright, salty bite and a heavy handful of Parmesan.
Meze rigatoni is the only macaroni she will use, the stubby tubes a perfect vehicle for harboring perfect mouthfuls of ooey gooey cheesiness.
The sauce is a classic roux, blended with warm skim milk and some half and half, whisked until perfectly silky. Nearly all the cheese is stirred in, then the rigatoni. Poured into a buttered baking dish, the remainder of the cheeses are scattered atop the pasta and the whole creation is capped off with hand torn shards of french bread tossed with salted butter. Into a 375 degree oven, and thirty minutes later sheer heaven will emerge. It is advisable to check the oven halfway through for burning breadcrumbs. If they are overbronzing, protect with a layer of aluminum foil.
A super feast for any eating hero, the crisp, golden crumbs mingling with melted cheese is worth every calorie. Besides there is 2 feet of snow out there for the Carbed Crusader to shovel her way through. Super carbs for super strength!! Up, up and away!

 

 
Doughnuts..The Hole Story

I've been contemplating doughnuts lately. Which is really odd, because I don't eat doughnuts, period. Never. Seriously, I never touch them. When I was a child, my grandparents would bring Dunkin' Donuts whenever they came to visit us for the weekend. The adults were really into it, everyone had their particular favorite. My mother was a cruller fan, my grandmother always chose Buttercrunch. Buttercrunch was a great name for this doughnut. Big, round and glistening with a glaze full of crunchy little nibs, I couldn't wait to get my hands on one. The first time I bit it into one of those sugary orbs, I tasted sweet, tender, doughy delightfulness. But not five minutes, later I was gripped by a hideous bout of heartburn. Sugary treats were not a common occurrence in our house and to give up such a rare pleasure was heartbreaking, nonetheless I quickly gave up on doughnuts.
So I grew up in a mostly doughnutless world, or donut less world..I do not do the donut. With one glaring exception. I would eat Mrs. Wing's doughnut holes. Mrs. Wing, who lived down the road from my family's house, made apple cider doughnut holes every year for Halloween. Maybe it was the cuteness of their petite size, or the tangy taste of the cider mingling with cinnamon sugar, the crumbly yet somehow compact cakiness. This was a most marvelous trick or treat for little mischief makers.
However she made them, there was no pang of pain deep in my chest cavity. Just the wonderful flavor of cake and apple and frangrant spices. I don't know if I would actually prepare them, but I wish I had her recipe. I'm sure she would have written it down on one of those wonderful old fashioned recipe cards, with the blue lines in the center and the script type at the top that would say “Recipe from the kitchen of__________”. I wonder if she would have written Mrs. Wing or if she would have written her first name too, in that spidery cursive type so typical of little old ladies.
I hadn't thought much about doughnuts for years, until I recently interviewed John Plasko, Sr. who owns Plasko's Farm in Trumbull. CT. For 93 years the Plasko family has been farming, and they continue to be the oldest working farm in Trumbull.
John is a charmer who really knows how to work a crowd. And in October, their busiest month,there is always a crowd. Moms, dads, and teachers chaperone busloads of kids who flock to the farm to go through the corn maze,buy pumpkins, race around on the lawn and prop themselves up on the fence to make friends with the four miniature Sicilian donkeys.
It just so happens that Plasko's Farm has a general store filled with all kinds of goodies you'd expect to find in an old fashioned general store, including their famous apple cider doughnuts. John thinks they are the best he's ever had, and Ct Magazine has voted them among the 5 best in the state.
John treated me to 2 boxes of his famous doughnuts. Wouldn't you know that when I ripped open the first box and tried a bite, memories of Mrs. Wing and many, many Halloweens ago came flooding back.
That intoxicating rich scent of cinnamon mixed with sugar, the fabulous texture, it was all there.
So now it seems that doughnuts are everywhere I am. The New Haven Advocate featured an article on the best local doughnuts in their recent “Autumntimes Issue”. I was merely looking for restaurant and live music info. At work my boss brought in a bulging box of doughnuts from Neils in Wallingford, CT. It's almost disturbing the way I can't get doughnuts off my mind. Something I never eat. Ever. Period. Seriously.
But there they are in the supermarket, neatly packaged, a display of eight perfectly lovely doughnuts glowing with glaze. I'm not only noticing, I'm craving.......god forbid..DOUGHNUTS!!
I know doughnuts are a pretty serious treat. They average a couple of hundred calories each, depending on flavor. According to livestrong.com, one cider doughnut has 201 calories, 6 grams of fat, 2 of those being saturated, 31 milligrams of cholesterol, 200 milligrams of sodium....etc.etc., you get the picture. Or rather, I'm getting the picture. I never had to think this way about doughnuts before, because I was never tempted. Now I want to sample every type, yeast, raised, cake style, cream filled, jelly stuffed.
A food professional must be constantly doing research, yes? Please say yes.
I am a huge advocate of enjoying life and occasional treats make us happy, contentented, and fulfilled. If we didn't indulge from time to time, I think we could quite possibly go mad with desire and subject ourselves to the public humiliation of being caught red handed in the candy or chip aisle, ripping open plastic with our teeth and cramming an entire bag of cheez doodles in our mouths. Moderation is the key to mindfulfulness.
I started researching doughnuts and reading about their history. Some say the Dutch are responsible for bringing them to America. I discovered that fried dough is eaten everywhere in the world and foreign doughnuts have exotic, lovely names such as Beignets in France, Bismark in Germany, Churro in Spain and Mexico, Poori in India, Baursaki in Kazakhstan, and Zeppole in Italy. That's just to name a very few.
I wondered if there were any slightly more healthful ways of preparing doughnuts and found a recipe in the October 2010 issue of Health magazine for Baked Buttermilk Doughnuts. It requires buying a special pan, a Wilton Doughnut Pan, to be exact. Prep time is 8 minutes, bake time is 8 minutes. A simple cake like batter looks easy enough and several appealing variations are shown including lemon glazed, chocolate hazelnut and, best of all, cinnamon sugar. The recipe offers decent reductions in calories, fat and sodium, insignificant cholesterol differences.
I may decide to give it a try....then again, I think a once a year Halloween visit to any famous apple cider donut maker is a worthwhile and delicious tradition, and will quell the wild cravings of any conscious cook.

 

Salad Daze

 
I confess...I really do love salad. It's not just a component of being a healthy food advocate. Or a constant attempt at weight control. Or a way of cleansing my body of indulgences like rich foods and clever cocktails.
I really love fresh, delectable greens, with all their different textures and marvelous array of flavors. I adore the fact that there are so many varieties of greens available at both farmer's markets and supermarkets, providing endless opportunities to create exciting new salads.
Greens are much more than bland, limp, pale green leaves of nothingness. Whether it be peppery arugula, soft butter lettuce, crisp, firm leaves of romaine, or robust raddichio, its creamy white leaves streaked a bright shade of cranberry red, I love greens, and I love that eating something so delicious can also be so incredibly healthy.
When I prepare a beautiful salad using a variety of greens, I am preparing a lively, colorful dish that is low in fat, and high in nutrients. Greens supply the body with calcium and iron, folic acid and fiber, as well as vitamins A, C and E. Everything that I read about the health benefits of greens tells me that they are a powerhouse source of antioxidants, which can have a positive effect on our immune systems. Keeping the immune system in top notch condition helps our bodies ward off nasty diseases.
When good health and good flavor mingle, it creates the most harmonious of relationships. As a
devout foodie and advocate of healthy living, I am always seeking out new and exciting food items and products. I am interested in “going organic” as often as possible, not for any particular political reasons, but because I have found that the taste of organic foods truly is superior. When I discover a new product that is organic, delicious and socially conscious, then I feel I have hit the jackpot.
That's why I was particularly excited when I received an e-mail from the good people at Olivia's Organics, asking if I would like to sample their products. Olivia's Organics is based in Chelsea, Massachusetts and has a long history of selling fresh produce.
According to their website, Olivia's great grandfather, Giovanni, started the tradition by selling fresh celery hearts out of a produce stall in Faneuil Hall, over seventy years ago. Today the company focuses primarily on selling packaged organic salad mixes. Not only does Olivia's sell terrific tasting salad mixes, a portion of the proceeds goes to supporting community based children's organizations through Olivia's Organics Charitable Foundation.
Groups such as the Make A Wish Foundation, the Boys and Girl's Club, Toys for Tots, Produce for Kids, Children's Hospital Boston, and The Food Project have all been supported by Olivia's Organics commitment to eating healthy, having fun and giving back.
I am a huge proponent of teaching children about healthy food. I have taught healthy cooking classes for kids using healthy ingredients and have found it to be the greatest experience. They have
a blast and are amazingly open to trying new foods, when they themselves are preparing it.
I like Olivia's philosophy and I like their products....a lot. The packaging is 100% recyclable and is produced using wind and hydroelectric power. They focus on organic authenticity by adhering to strict regulations set forth by the National Organic Program. You can go their website and read all the ways they have committed to being a responsible and caring company.
I want to tell you that the salad mixes were excellent. The flavors were clean, light and utterly luscious. I'm a big fan of adding fresh herbs to my salad and Olivia's Herb Salad hit just the right note.
Containing a marvelous mixture of Tango, Lolla Rosa, Red and Green Romaine, Chard and Oak, Spinach, Mizuna, Raddichio, Frisee, Beet Greens, Arugula, Tat Soi, Red Mustard lettuces,as well as dill and parsley, this mixture is like a big salad party in a box. You scarcely need anything more than a simple, classic vinaigrette and a fork to savor this mixture.
The Asian Salad was a less involved mixture, containing Spinach, Red Chard, Mizuna, Frisee, Tango and Arugula. I tossed this about with some plump, grilled sea scallops and a warm ginger dressing. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Olivia's Spring Mix was much the same as the Herb Salad minus the herbs. I do prefer the added piquancy of the fresh herbs, but the Spring Mix proved a worthy bed for a shower of julienned red and yellow peppers, sweet cherry tomatoes from the garden and a creamy avocado dressing. A little bit of crumbled bacon would have been a fabulous addition.
Thank you Olivia's Organics for sharing some of your deliciousness and joy for life with me.


Olivia's Organics
www.oliviasorganics.org


Robin Glowa, “The Conscious Cook”, is a healthy cooking teacher who specializes in teaching both
children and adults the joy of eating well with local, natural or organic ingredients. For more
details or to schedule a cooking class, please go to www.theconsciouscook.net.

Salad Daze

 


I confess...I really do love salad. It's not just a component of being a healthy food advocate. Or a constant attempt at weight control. Or a way of cleansing my body of indulgences like rich foods and clever cocktails.
I really love fresh, delectable greens, with all their different textures and marvelous array of flavors. I adore the fact that there are so many varieties of greens available at both farmer's markets and supermarkets, providing endless opportunities to create exciting new salads.
Greens are much more than bland, limp, pale green leaves of nothingness. Whether it be peppery arugula, soft butter lettuce, crisp, firm leaves of romaine, or robust raddichio, its creamy white leaves streaked a bright shade of cranberry red, I love greens, and I love that eating something so delicious can also be so incredibly healthy.
When I prepare a beautiful salad using a variety of greens, I am preparing a lively, colorful dish that is low in fat, and high in nutrients. Greens supply the body with calcium and iron, folic acid and fiber, as well as vitamins A, C and E. Everything that I read about the health benefits of greens tells me that they are a powerhouse source of antioxidants, which can have a positive effect on our immune systems. Keeping the immune system in top notch condition helps our bodies ward off nasty diseases.
When good health and good flavor mingle, it creates the most harmonious of relationships. As a
devout foodie and advocate of healthy living, I am always seeking out new and exciting food items and products. I am interested in “going organic” as often as possible, not for any particular political reasons, but because I have found that the taste of organic foods truly is superior. When I discover a new product that is organic, delicious and socially conscious, then I feel I have hit the jackpot.
That's why I was particularly excited when I received an e-mail from the good people at Olivia's Organics, asking if I would like to sample their products. Olivia's Organics is based in Chelsea, Massachusetts and has a long history of selling fresh produce.
According to their website, Olivia's great grandfather, Giovanni, started the tradition by selling fresh celery hearts out of a produce stall in Faneuil Hall, over seventy years ago. Today the company focuses primarily on selling packaged organic salad mixes. Not only does Olivia's sell terrific tasting salad mixes, a portion of the proceeds goes to supporting community based children's organizations through Olivia's Organics Charitable Foundation.
Groups such as the Make A Wish Foundation, the Boys and Girl's Club, Toys for Tots, Produce for Kids, Children's Hospital Boston, and The Food Project have all been supported by Olivia's Organics commitment to eating healthy, having fun and giving back.
I am a huge proponent of teaching children about healthy food. I have taught healthy cooking classes for kids using healthy ingredients and have found it to be the greatest experience. They have
a blast and are amazingly open to trying new foods, when they themselves are preparing it.
I like Olivia's philosophy and I like their products....a lot. The packaging is 100% recyclable and is produced using wind and hydroelectric power. They focus on organic authenticity by adhering to strict regulations set forth by the National Organic Program. You can go their website and read all the ways they have committed to being a responsible and caring company.
I want to tell you that the salad mixes were excellent. The flavors were clean, light and utterly luscious. I'm a big fan of adding fresh herbs to my salad and Olivia's Herb Salad hit just the right note.
Containing a marvelous mixture of Tango, Lolla Rosa, Red and Green Romaine, Chard and Oak, Spinach, Mizuna, Raddichio, Frisee, Beet Greens, Arugula, Tat Soi, Red Mustard lettuces,as well as dill and parsley, this mixture is like a big salad party in a box. You scarcely need anything more than a simple, classic vinaigrette and a fork to savor this mixture.
The Asian Salad was a less involved mixture, containing Spinach, Red Chard, Mizuna, Frisee, Tango and Arugula. I tossed this about with some plump, grilled sea scallops and a warm ginger dressing. Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Olivia's Spring Mix was much the same as the Herb Salad minus the herbs. I do prefer the added piquancy of the fresh herbs, but the Spring Mix proved a worthy bed for a shower of julienned red and yellow peppers, sweet cherry tomatoes from the garden and a creamy avocado dressing. A little bit of crumbled bacon would have been a fabulous addition.
Thank you Olivia's Organics for sharing some of your deliciousness and joy for life with me.


Olivia's Organics
www.oliviasorganics.org


Robin Glowa, "The Conscious Cook", is a healthy cooking teacher who specializes in teaching both
children and adults the joy of eating well with local, natural or organic ingredients. For more
details or to schedule a cooking class, please go to www.theconsciouscook.net.