What's For Dinner?

When we first moved in together, I burned through my arsenal of recipes,including a dish my mom used to make: Chicken and Rice.

When Tanya and I first started living together, we were both excited to show off how well we could cook.  One night she made the most amazing meatloaf I’ve ever had in my life.  Other nights she’d introduce me to her Sloppy Joes, Beef Stroganoff, chicken pot pie, lasagna, and the list goes on.  For her I made some of my specialties like grilled pork chops, potato salad, grilled cheese, risotto, polenta, Caesar salad, and the list goes on.  I think most people have a repertoire of things they make and they run through that when the question, “What’s for dinner?” comes  

up.

When we first became CSA (community supported agriculture) subscribers to a local farm, Whistling Train Farm, we encountered a problem.  We couldn’t just eat tacos on Tuesday or whip up a bowl of mashed potatoes when our mood demanded them.  We had all this produce we needed to use each week and sometimes there were things in our weekly basket we had no idea how to use.  Sometimes we just got plain sick of eating what we were given and had to find creative, new ways to use it.  The first winter we were subscribers, we had beets every single week for 12 weeks straight.  And Tanya HATED beets.  She hated beets though because she remembered the pickled old-people beets of her youth that came out of a can and ended up on some social gathering next to pickled herring and bread and butter pickles.  They taste a little different when they are orange heirloom beets, tossed in a little olive oil and roasted with some grey salt and cracked black pepper.  The point is, if we were going to do this, we had to be committed and we had to get creative.

We started to examine how to use preexisting recipes and techniques, tweaking them to use what we had on hand. One example is the often beloved, technically misunderstood, and not very intimidating once understood, Sushi Roll. We deconstructed the roll ingredient by ingredient and substituted what we could to meet our needs. The only thing that we couldn’t get away from buying in the store was the Japanese sticky rice (one because it is so farkin delicious and two because I love rice).  We did find an organic source, however.  I think it’s also important to remember you don’t have to go all in to make small changes. Replace one ingredient for something easy.  In this instance, we couldn’t get organic nori, the seaweed paper used to make sushi rolls, so we substituted it with blanched swiss chard.  

Here's a short instructional video about how to roll sushi in general.  Keep in mind, we've replaced the nori with blanched chard.

First I steamed the rice in a rice cooker.  For me, this means 1 cup of organic Japanese sticky rice to every 1 1/4 cup of water.  I added a little rice wine vinegar once it was done.  I realize sushi chefs train for years just to learn making rice before they ever even look at a fish, but it is what it is--let's get dinner on the table.

Next I got all the vegetables julienned and roasted off some pork the night before and shredded it.  You can use whatever combination of vegetables, fish, or other ingredients you choose.  It isn't the ingredients that matter, but the concept that sushi can be adapted to whatever you have and will be a nutritious and filling meal.  Unless of course you eat sushi in Mississippi where it's deep friend and sauced with mayonnaise.

Once the fillings were prepped, I got the chard ready by bringing a shallow, wide pot filled halfway with boiling water.  Next to it, I had a bowl of ice water to blanch the leaves to stop the cooking process once they came out of the boiling water.  You only want to soften the leaves and turn them bright green--cooking too long will compromise the leaf's integrity, making rolling the sushi difficult.

Once they are blanched, cut the tough rib out of the center.

I set all the ingredients aside and got plates ready.  I wrapped my sushi mat with plastic wrap to keep the rice from sticking and layered the chard leaves on top of that.  Then I added a thin layer of rice, not coming all the way to the edges.  To that I added vegetables and the shredded pork in the center.  I rolled the sushi and cut it into six pieces with a very sharp knife, being careful not to push on it and saw, but rather slice the roll gently so as not to crush it.

When we set out on this adventure, we didn't always know what to expect.  Cooking isn't like baking--it's very forgiving.  And even if everything fell apart, we could have just eaten this dinner as a bowl of rice and it still would have been delicious.  Don't be afraid to step outside of the box.   You never know what is waiting there for you.  While we still make Sloppy Joes, cheddar polenta, chicken pot pie and Caesar salad, we make new things too.  It turns out, we have some favorites we didn't even know about.

Five Minute Bread

Going organic isn’t just about finding labels marked “USDA certified organic.”  It’s a lifestyle change.  It’s about making sure our food is something we actually want to feed our families.  And without getting too political, it’s about making sure our food is coming from a local, sustainable source.  For us, that means setting a goal to grow and make as much as we can at home, with no additives, no preservatives, and no health inspector standing over our food to reassure us it was handled with care.  If we’ve grown it, made it, canned it, preserved it, raised it, there is no doubt it was. 

Recently, a friend of mine sent a book called “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking” by Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois.  I was kind of skeptical at first since I’ve baked bread before and it just isn’t that simple.  The bread machine made baking accessible for me so when I want fresh bread, that’s how I make it.  The problem with bread machines is they take up a lot of space and they leave a weird hole in the bottom of the bread, making sandwiches crumble.  When we went organic, I found organic bread often cost $5 or more per loaf.  In addition, it was difficult to find specialty breads such as hamburger or hot dog buns, English muffins, bagels, pitas, and other sweet breads.  I could go to Pike Place Market, but wow is that a trek for a loaf of French bread.  Even then, it was impossible to find a good organic bagel.

These books, however, revolutionized the way we make bread and we haven’t bought a loaf since we got the books.  My actual time spent in the kitchen is about five to ten minutes, including clean up.  I can have a hot loaf of fresh bread on the dinner table every night with little effort.  All I have to do is pull out some dough when I first get home, and 40 minutes later, shove it in the oven.  Honestly, there is no reason to buy bread when you see how easy it is using this method.  I’m not trying to sound like a commercial, just encourage you to let you know that learning how to cut expenses out of your budget and to switch to organic foods isn’t that hard if you slowly change your habits one at a time.  This is a good one to begin with since it’s easy, cheap, and nothing is more satisfying than a crusty, hot loaf of bread you baked yourself. 

I’ll give you the recipes for the basic dough and an example of what you can make with that basic dough to get your started, but I highly recommend you buy the books.  I’ve adapted the recipes slightly for our use, and you may do the same as you get more comfortable with how the recipes work in your kitchen and to your family’s liking.  Good luck!

Master Recipe

makes 4 1-pound loaves which can be doubled or halved

3 cups lukewarm water

1 1/2 tbsp granulated yeast (2 packets)

1 ½ tbsp. kosher salt

6 ½ cups unsifted, unbleached, all-purpose white flour, measured with the scoop-and-sweep method

cornmeal

Gently stir the yeast into the water

Mixing and storing the dough

Warm the water slightly: it should feel just a little warmer than body temperature—about 100 degrees F.  Add yeast and salt to water in a resealable, lidded 5-quart (not airtight) plastic bucket.  Don’t worry about getting it to dissolve.

Scoop the flour from the container and use the flat end of a knife to level off the cup

Mix in the flour to incorporate it, but do not knead.  Add all of the flour at once, measuring it in with dry-ingredient cups by gently scooping up the flour into the cup and then sweeping the top of the cup with the flat end of a butter knife to level it off.  Do not press the flour down into the cup.  Mixing with a wooden spoon right into the bucket is easiest, but you can use a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook or a high capacity food processor with the dough attachment.  You will have more dishes to clean, however if you use the stand mixer or food processor and they aren’t necessary.  When everything is uniformly moist without dry patches, you are done.  Use your hands if necessary, but do not knead.  The dough should be wet enough to conform to the shape of the container.

Just leave the dough to do its thing for a few hours, then put it in the fridge for up to two weeks.  It's really that easy.

Allow the dough to rise.  Cover with the lid and allow to rise at room temperature until it begins to collapse, about 2 hours.  Letting it rise longer will not harm the results.  After this period, you can use the dough at any time, though fully refrigerated dough is less sticky and easier to work with.  For best results, refrigerate overnight before trying to shape a loaf.

On baking day: do not knead the dough, just shape it into a loaf.  Prepare a pizza peel or you could use a large, flat cutting board with a piece of parchment paper on top of it sprinkled with cornmeal to slide the loaf onto a pizza stone in the oven.  We use a large, domed clay oven, which eliminates the need for a pizza peel and a steam bath, which I will talk about later.  Sprinkle the surface of the dough with flour and pinch off a piece the size of a grapefruit.  Add just enough flour to your hands to keep it from sticking.  Gently shape it into a ball by turning the dough a quarter turn in your hand as you fold the dough under to form a ball.  The bottom of the dough might look ugly, but it will flatten as it bakes.  This process should take less than a minute.  
  
Rest the loaf and let rise uncovered on the pizza peel, the parchment paper, or on the clay oven bottom for 40 minutes.  It may not look like it has risen much after 40 minutes—don’t worry.

Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 450 degrees F with a baking stone in the oven to preheat as well.  Place an empty broiler tray or a metal pan on the lowest shelf.  You can omit this step if you are using a dome-covered clay oven as it will trap the steam from the bread as it bakes.

Dust the bread liberally with flour and slash a ¼ inch deep cross over the top of the bread with a serrated knife.

After 20 minutes, slide the loaf off the pizza peel or parchment, or put the lid on the clay oven and put it into the preheated oven.   Add a cup of hot tap water to the broiler tray or the metal pan.  Omit this step if using the clay oven or your clay oven will crack.  Bake for 30 minutes, or until the crust is nicely browned and firm to the touch.  Allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing.

Store remaining dough in the refrigerator in a lidded container (it doesn’t have to be the 5-quart bucket) for up to two weeks.  Just cut off dough, shape and bake as you need it.  The dough can also be frozen in 1-pound portions in an airtight container and defrosted overnight in the refrigerator prior to baking day.  You can also bake off the bread and freeze the loaf for croutons, bruschetta, bread crumbs, or bread pudding later.

Variation 1: mix in 2 tsp of dried thyme and ½ tsp chopped rosemary into the water mixture for an herbed bread.

Variation 2: for sourdough, don’t wash the bucket once you’ve used all the dough; immediately mix a new batch of dough in the dirty bucket and scrape down the dough left sticking to the sides.  It will ferment and incorporate into the new dough.  

These are the dishes I had to clean after making one of the more complicated recipes: Pumpkin Oatmeal Bread

Cinnamon rolls

Makes 6-8 cinnamon rolls

For cinnamon rolls, about two hours before you want to eat them, begin this recipe provided you already have some dough in the refrigerator:

Choose a topping for the cinnamon rolls:

Caramel Topping/Sticky Buns:

6 tbsp salted butter, softened

½ cup brown sugar

1 cup pecan pieces or halves

Cream together the butter and sugar and spread in the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan.  Scatter the pecans on top of the butter and sugar mixture.  Set aside.

Cream Cheese Icing:

8 oz cream cheese, 2 tbsp corn syrup

2 tbsp heavy cream (you can use half and half or milk)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or use a hand mixer.  Beat on low speed until combined about a minute, and increase speed to high.  Beat until free of lumps.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Powdered Sugar Glaze:

1 ¼ cup powdered sugar

2 tbsp milk

½ tsp vanilla extract

Mix ingredients until it’s free of lumps.  Set aside.

For the cinnamon roll filling:

4 tbsp salted butter, softened

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¼ tsp freshly grated nutmeg

½ cup chopped and toasted pecans (optional)

Cream all ingredients except nuts together and set aside.

For the cinnamon rolls:

Dust the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a grapefruit sized portion.  Carefully stretch the dough by tugging slightly while rotating the dough in your hands a quarter turn.  On a large surface lightly dusted with flour, roll the dough out into a long 1/8 inch thick rectangle.  You could lay down wax or parchment paper or cover the surface with plastic wrap for easy clean up and to aid in rolling up the dough if you don’t have a bench scraper.  

Spread the filling evenly over the top of the dough and sprinkle with nuts if using.  Starting with the long side, roll the dough into a log.  With unflavored dental floss or a very sharp knife, slice the log into eight pieces, or if you want smaller or larger ones, how many pieces suit your needs.  

If you are not using the caramel sticky bun recipe, then butter the pan liberally.  Place the rolls into the prepared pan of choice, either swirled edge facing up.  Cover loosely with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap and allow to rise for an hour, or 40 minutes if you are using fresh, unrefrigerated dough.

Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  If you aren’t using a pizza stone to keep the temperature beneath the pan, 5 minutes is adequate.  Bake for 40 minutes, rotating once halfway through, or until they are brown and firm in the center.  While they are still hot, run a knife around the edge to loosen them and invert onto a large serving tray.  Ice them while warm if necessary.

The D-Word

Debt is the only four-letter word no one talks about unless we are griping about the current state of political affairs.  But we all feel the sinking in our hearts, that punch in the gut, the hopelessness when we hear that word.  Debt.  The calculator starts running in my head subconsciously when I hear the word debt, when I swipe my ATM card at the gas station or the store.  I am human living in a consumerist society.  Everywhere I go, I am not encouraged to save and pay off debt but to spend and consume more.  I am enticed by sales, promotions, BOGOs, Groupons, and in some weird way, I feel like by spending more on these items, I am actually saving.

It all began when we moved to Seattle and Duane's only income for four months was unemployment.  I make a modest living, but my paycheck covers the bills and that is it: water, gas, rent, food, mortgage, electricity, student loans, retirement fund (I will address this in a separate blog and why it goes in this category, but think about it for now), and daycare.  It doesn't even begin to pay the health or car insurance, Pocky's annual vet visit, medical bills, haircuts, dog food and medicine, clothing and diapers for August, cell phone payments, and it certainly doesn't put a dent in the credit card bills or any kind of entertainment fees.  Duane and I were sitting in the apartment hot tub a few weeks ago adding up our bills.  We try to talk about our situation as much as we can; we talk about our struggles, successes, ideas, and we give each other positive and negative feedback about what worked and what didn't.  As I talked about in my blog last night, this was the first step for us, to remove the taboo and the nature of talking about debt as if it's a dirty word.  You aren't going to make it go away if you don't even acknowledge it.

I check the Craigslist "free" column regularly and saw a free photo shoot if only August would model very expensive christening dresses.  Not only did we not have to buy the dress, but we didn't pay for a professional photo shoot as well.

The first thing we had to do to start paying down debt, was identify our priorities as I mentioned in the "Are You Ready" blog.  Once we could identify what was a necessity--and this is an important distinction to make since we once thought TV was a necessity--we could begin removing payments from our monthly outflow.  TV used to be a big part of our life but when we moved here, if it didn't directly contribute to our ability to eat, sleep, or get to work, it wasn't a necessity.  The problem with moderation when you've been living in excess for so long is that if you don't scale back a lot, it will be easy to return to the previous spending volumes once you are debt free.  It doesn't work like that, just like a lot of people who lose a bunch of weight by dieting regain the weight because they don't make a lifestyle change.  That's what this is about.  This is your new reality.

What did this mean for us?  What did we cut out?

I began making baby food for August because the jars were expensive and they weren't organic.  It only took me a few hours and I made enough for all three months she was eating purees.

Are You Ready?

Duane gives me a $50 ring we got at a pawn shop hours earlier.  The only thing he promised me that day is he would never leave me.  I have no idea where that ring is, but I know where my husband is at any give moment!

Duane and I don't pretend to know everything about marriage.  In fact we have both been divorced, this alone tells you we have both failed once at the great institution.  And I am sure there are days we both would appreciate a divorce from the other, but it's temporary.  It doesn't feel like it in the moment; learning from my parents who will celebrate 40 years of marriage June 2 has taught me love conquers all, which is a pretty tough order to fill.  They have also taught us that if love conquers all, money is very helpful in paying for it, but it isn't necessary.  When you are young and in love, it seems like love conquers all--my parents were teenagers when they married.   The money thing came later for them.  In my world, the ring is a monetary symbol of the future, which is usually a much bigger promise they can live up to.  And so it begins.

Since we eloped and didn't have rings, I married him with his grandfather's ring.  The important thing about this is we didn't promise ourselves for money.  The rings were a symbol.  Sometimes in marriage we feel like we need to have things.  But those things can't replace what is in our hearts.  I was in my uniform this day.  Neither of us wears the ring we gave the other that day.  But one thing remains: the promise we made to each other when we vowed forever to each other.  No one in that moment we made our promise said it would be easy.

There are so many things a couple can argue about that relationship doom seems inevitable from the beginning.  No one tells you this at the place where you go to get your rings!  In our buy-now, pay-later society, how is anyone to survive at all?  Why don't they just tell you before you start out life on the wrong foot by financing your diamond and gold rings this is a bad idea?  And our litigious, fault-finding society doesn't help matters either.  The Number One Thing married couples fight about is....take a guess.  Not sex, though that is up there (I will address this in a future blog).  Not communication, though I'm pretty sure we all suck at it (and I'm a professional communicator).  Not children, though lord knows, it's a daily struggle.  It isn't in-laws, or vacations, or putting the toilet seat down.  I'm sure by now you've guessed, it's money.

I took a painting class because I recognize I have a need to do something fun.  My understanding husband doesn't request the same treatment; he always praises my amateur paintings and even though we might be broke, he never mentions it when he talks about how beautiful the painting is.

I won't lie.  When Duane and I talk about money, I feel physically ill.  I want to throw up.  I feel defensive and under attack.  This isn't because he makes me feel this way.  It's just my reaction.  Every time we count down the dollars and look at why we aren't where we need to be, I take on my shoulders what I've spent.  I don't try to defend every time I stopped at Starbucks or took a painting class.  I just feel guilty for not having done more.  And I suspect that's how a lot of us feel and so the conversation ends before it begins.

Duane and I taking our marriage oath April 20, 2009 in front of the Justice of the Peace in Biloxi, MS.  We weren't kidding.

Duane and I have had our share of money arguments and issues dealing with finances.  We are after all homeowners.  That in and of itself can make people want to lose their minds.  We aren't poor, but when we look at our finances at the end of the month we are amazed at how expensive everything is (diapers, food, rent, electricity, water, gas, cars, incidentals, insurance, medical bills, phones, internet, supplies, it goes on and on).  Our number one goal in doing what we are doing and living like we are is to move our financial situation from a reactive one where we are paying bills that come in because we owe money to a proactive one where we know there are things we have to pay and the rest is optional.  Once we made that paradigm shift in our minds, it made all the difference.

We had to decide, as painful as it was, that our expenses were red: we have zero choice in paying them; yellow, we have little choice in moving the date they are paid but they have to be paid; and green for those things we would only pay if we could such as TV, phone, internet, eating out, and impulse purchases or things we wanted but didn't need.  Color coding everything into green, yellow and red was easy; the hard part has been enforcing it.  That is to say, after we made the commitment to even talk about it.  We all have something to gain by leaving things the way they are and I will address this later.  Change is hard.