Citrus Bliss

Well hey there, December! You always sneak up on me and this year I'm ready for the most wonderful time of the year. It's easy to get overwhelmed by the lists, the parties, the so many things to do. Let's take this month one day at a time and enjoy the festivities! I'll be sharing simple recipes to feed the soul. I was born in the kitchen and I hope you'll come along for the fun! Fresh citrus is my favorite fuel. It's perfection in this nutritious sipper. 

Citrus Bliss 

You hardly need a recipe for this! Fresh citrus makes it sing:)

• 1 tangerine or orange, peeled and segments separated, seeds removed
• 1 banana, sliced 
• 3/4 cup lemon yogurt
• 3/4 cup fresh tangerine or orange juice
• 3/4 cup ice cubes

If time permits, freeze the tangerine segments and banana slices (ideally, individually freeze them, then pack in freezer bags for easy access and smoothie bliss). Combine the tangerine, banana, yogurt, and juice in the container of a blender. Mix on low to blend, then increase the speed and drop in the ice. Blend until creamy, dreamy. Pour into 2 glasses and sip away!

Hungering to Share

With a shaky hand, I wrote my first blog post three years ago. We were celebrating a friend’s birthday with an impromptu dinner party. I supplied the idea and the venue, and the celebrant’s friends came from near and far, bearing most of the ingredients of a great time. We were less focused on the menu and more excited about the memories. At the time, I didn’t dream the dialog would endure. I am grateful for this platform.

My pen is shaky three years later as I struggle to feel festive in this time of extreme hardship across southern Louisiana, yet a gathering of friends, old and new, can be restorative for all. As some of our communities go without water or electricity, as precious time is spent digging out and wiping up from this nightmare, as we reach out to our own who have lost everything, those of us who escaped unscathed can offer the table for gathering. We hunger to share. Food is our foundation, it connects us, especially in crisis when we need it most. 

If the no-holds-barred barbecue is no longer part of your weekend plan, you can still fire up something delicious and feed the hungry masses. Dishes that can be easily multiplied to feed a crowd, meals that don’t require hours over a hot stove or grill, or that don’t rely on precise refrigeration are perfect in this situation. 

I turn to pantry staples for simplicity, comfort, and sustenance. A hearty pasta dish with beans for protein and loads of colorful vegetables, farm-fresh or from the pantry, makes a delicious centerpiece of a communal table. A double recipe will feed a dozen or more, and leftovers make a tasty baked pasta. I’ll add a salad if fresh greens are available, or delegate this to a friend whose garden is flourishing. For a sweet ending, I’ll get the kids to make cookies. One of our favorites are Three Cookies in One, and they say I Love You in every bite. In times like these, the classic Beatles tune is a great reminder. “Oh I get by with a little help from my friends.” I wish you all a safe holiday!

Whole Wheat Penne with Black Beans and Vegetables

Adapted from the forthcoming collaborative cookbook from the American Heart Association and the West Virginia Farmer’s Market Association West Virginia Foods and Flavors, this recipe can be cooked on a campstove. It doubles or triples easily to feed a crowd, and is flexible -- substitute vegetables you have on hand or use canned if that’s what's handy. Leftovers, tossed with grated mozzarella and baked in a casserole, become a delicious vegetarian ‘baked ziti.’

Makes 6 servings

• 12 ounces 100% whole grain penne rigate
• 2 large tomatoes, chopped
• 1 small green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 small yellow onion, chopped
• 2 medium ears corn, cut off cob
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon pepper
• ½ teaspoon hot sauce
• 1 (15-ounce) can black beans,  rinsed and drained well

Prepare pasta according to package directions, cooking just until ‘al dente.’ Drain well and return to the pasta pot. While the pasta is cooking, combine the tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, corn, salt, pepper, and hot sauce in a medium saucepan.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Bring to a boil and cook until the bell peppers, onions, and corn are cooked, but still firm. Remove from the heat. Add the cooked penne and the black beans. Serve immediately.

Three Cookies in One

From Counter Intelligence The Best of April’s Kitchen, these cookies are 1-- peanut butter 2 -- oatmeal 3 -- chocolate chip and always a hit. Deliver a plate of cookies to a friend for an instant pick-me-up.

Makes about 4 dozen

• 1 stick butter (1/2 cup), slightly softened
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
• 3/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup PB powder*
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup raisins or dried cherries
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or peanuts

Heat the oven to 350. Cream the butter and peanut butter together and mix in the sugars and salt.   Mix well and add the eggs, vanilla, PB powder, cinnamon and baking soda, mixing to incorporate. Add the oats, chocolate chips, raisins, and walnuts and stir to blend.

Drop teaspoonfuls of the dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes until golden (for a chewier cookie) or 12 minutes for crunchy cookies. Cool on the sheets for a few minutes before transferring to cooling racks to cool. Store in airtight containers.

Sweet Potato Sunset and Handmade Pita

Cooking is contagious. The joy spreads with each swipe of the rolling pin, the aromatherapy of a burst of lemon, the chime of the oven timer. Imagine the joy spreading to children, the sum of their ages equaling less than half of mine. I’m in heaven.

“Keep the menu simple with plenty of hands-on to keep the energetic group focused,” I reminded myself as I planned the class. Pita bread and some colorful roasted vegetables seemed like the right fit. During the growing season, these petite chefs are gardeners with the SCRATCH project, an after school “grow to eat, eat to live” program in Huntington. Their sweet potato harvest sold out at The Wild Ramp and they would be planting summer squash next. 

The dough doubled on the drive from Charleston to Huntington, a quick hour west on the interstate. Veronica unlocked the door. “Welcome to Huntington’s Kitchen!” This teaching kitchen, originally installed by Jamie Oliver in 2009 is a cooking instructor's fantasy: A full wall of ovens plus four prep areas and one for the instructor, each equipped with a cooktop and kitchen tools. I am in my element and I'm committed to the commute. I had a half hour to unpack and preheat the ovens before the tempo increased. The pizza stone and cast iron griddle needed to be blazing hot for the pita, and the second oven was readied for roasting the vegetables.

Huntington's Kitchen is now a collaborative teaching kitchen which partners Cabell-Huntington Hospital and Marshall University Department of Dietetics to enhance, promote, and improve healthy eating.

Suddenly it’s showtime and when you are surrounded by hungry kids in the kitchen, you can’t miss a beat. I show them why you have to poke holes in the whole vegetables before roasting them, then slide the sheetpan loaded with sweet potatoes and zucchini into the oven, out of sight.

Now for the dough. They saw a puffy globe flop onto the prep table. We got to discuss what it looked like before the drive. It was a softball, way down inside the bowl, now its crown reached the plastic wrap. We use a butter knife to cut it in half, then each half into two again. And again. It’s math without a worksheet. 

Each of our eight bits of dough land in a set of tiny hands and are shaped into large golfballs, pressed flat in a sprinkle of flour, and rolled out into a thin pancake. Then you take away one, more math, and you have seven -- the five second rule does not apply, but laughter prevails. In a perfect world, there would be a set of identical rolling pins, but we make do, sharing our mis-matched collection. 

Two at a time and for just three long minutes our flatbreads bake on our hot stone and griddle, puffing into a mylar balloon or blistering like a tortilla, depending. Then we wait. With wide eyes, the pint-sized bakers can witness the steam escaping from their rounds of handmade bread and it’s time to make something delicious for dipping.

We smash, then peel, whole cloves of garlic, and pass around lemon wedges for squeezing. We have to fish out the seeds, enough for the SCRATCH kids to plant an entire citrus grove. Next time we will use a strainer.

The roasted vegetables are now just cool enough to handle and we pass around the knives, butter knives, with a quick tutorial. Like a color by number, we toss them into the food processors, first green with its lemon and garlic notes, then the sweet potato with a hot pepper accent.

We spoon our concoctions into ramekins and break our bread. I watch in awe as they tear their pita and rake it through their palettes of vegetable dips. “I can’t believe we made bread and got to use a knife!” Junior, the lone 5-year old announced at the table. 

I think he caught the bug.

Pita Bread

Adapted from David Tanis First Time's the Charm with Fresh Pita

Makes 8

• 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached flour, plus extra for rolling
• 2 teaspoons 'instant' yeast
• 1 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus extra for the bowl

Combine the whole wheat flour, unbleached flour, yeast, salt, and sugar in the work bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times to blend. Add the water and olive oil through the feed tube and blend until a smooth ball of dough forms.

Let the dough rest in the work bowl for 10 minutes and check the consistency. Dough should be soft but not sticky. If it is sticky, add a bit of flour, 1 tablespoon at a time and pulse to blend. If the dough is too firm, add a bit of water, 1 teaspoon at a time. Blend the dough for 30 seconds and turn out into a large-ish bowl that has been lightly oiled with olive oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside to rise in a warm-ish place until doubled in size, about one hour.

Place a baking stone or large cast iron griddle into the oven and heat the oven to 475.

Lightly flour a work surface and turn the pillow of dough out onto the flour. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces, roll them into rough golfball shapes, then press each into a disk (all this handling is the kid-equivalent of kneading). Roll each disk into a 6-inch circle and feel free to discuss the merits of geometry.

Carefully place one dough circle at a time onto the heated stone (or griddle) and bake for two minutes. Turn over with tongs and bake for one minute on the second side. Remove each pita to a basket or plate while you continue baking the whole batch.

Sweet Potato Sunset Dip

a blend of roasted sweet potato and a little spice

Makes about 3 cups

• 3 medium sweet potatoes, scrubbed and pricked with a fork
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespooons tahini
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
• 1/4 cup water as needed to 'thin' the dip

Heat the oven to 400. Place the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for about one hour, until soft (gently squeeze with a pot holder to check). Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Peel the sweet potatoes and roughly chop them, then place into the work bowl of a food processor. Add the olive oil, tahini, garlic, jalapeno, and salt. Blend until smooth, adding water as needed to achieve the desired consistency.

Transfer to a bowl and serve with pita for dipping.

Zucchini-Greeny Dip

adapted from LifeLab 'Garden Sprouts Camp Recipes'

Makes about 3 cups

• 5 medium zucchini, scrubbed and pricked with a fork
•  3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for garnish
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 clove garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon salt (or more to taste)

Heat the oven to 400. Place the zucchini on a baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes, until soft (gently squeeze with tongs to check). Remove from the oven and let cool for a few minutes. Trim off the stem end and roughly chop them (use a large cutting board to contain all the juice). Scoop the zucchini into the work bowl of a food processor. Add the olive oil, tahini, garlic, lemon juice, and salt. Blend until smooth with a few bits of the green skin freckling the dip.

Transfer to a bowl and drizzle with a bit of olive oil for garnish. Serve with pita for dipping.

Tremendous thanks to

• West Virginia State University Extension and SCRATCH Project Production Coordinator Valerie Bandell
•  Huntington's Kitchen  
• Tori Lavender, for quietly capturing the scene with her photos
• Elizabeth Wirts, my assistant for this class and a volunteer with George Washington High School Healthy Living Club

Spicy Rice

When the invitation came to test-drive a cooking kit that makes preparing authentic Indian dishes at home “easier than ever,” I said Yes Please! I have dabbled in some simple Indian recipes at home, but Channa Masala is about the only one I have mastered. 

The kit arrived and I ripped the box open. It felt like my birthday! A collection of aromatic spices and a new cookbook, that’s worthy of celebration. A cooking party was definitely in order, so we packed up the car and the kid and headed to the country to visit my in-laws.

We gathered around the kitchen island and enjoyed a three generation chop and chat. The only difficult part of our feast was choosing which recipes to make. It feels like Neena, the kit’s creator, is right there in the kitchen guiding you through her recipes.

Crack open the book and you’ll want to assemble an entire buffet. The first one, Spicy Rice, had me sold in an instant. Spiced rice, tempered with sweet raisins and crunchy cashews and a fresh sprinkle of cilantro will be in regular rotation at our house.

Spicy Rice

Feel free to substitute curry powder and ground cumin for the seeds if you don't have them. It may not be quite as authentic, but will still be a fabulous one pot meatless meal! Here's a great reason to make a double batch of rice -- save the extra for a quick and delicious meal.

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup cashew nuts
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup corn kernels (frozen or off the cob)
• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 4 cups cooked Basmati rice (hot or cold)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 handful fresh chopped cilantro

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or saute pan over medium heat. Add the mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and garlic. Stir, then cover for 30 seconds. Reduce the heat to low and add the onions, cashews, raisins, and corn. Stir and saute for 5 minutes. Add the turmeric, chili powder, cooked rice, salt, water, and half of the cilantro, stirring to combine. Cover and cook for 5 minutes to heat through.

Serve with remaining fresh cilantro.

What's for Dinner?

Half the battle of home-cooking is the question of WHAT? Take turns choosing your weekly menus and the whole family gets engaged. WHEN in the world will you have time to cook given a busy schedule filled with late meetings and kids' activities? Choose some simple recipes and prep a little in advance, then you can put your meals together 'a-la-minute.' If you've drawn a blank, start the week with a Sunday kitchen session, whipping up a batch of 'ground beef starter' that can translate into countless meals throughout the week.

I had a fun time in the kitchen recently with our Secretary of Health, Karen Bowling, making taco salads, a healthy twist to the traditional Taco Salad Tuesday. Jump into the kitchen with us!