Yes We Did

To call it "historic" is a cliche. But it's historic. I know that personally, I feel that for the first time in decades, I can say that I am proud to be an American. A friend of mine wrote to me the day before the election, and this is what he said:

A lot is made of the fact that Obama is black. But, if there was ever a man who is not defined by race, ethnicity, nationality or any other labels it is Obama. On the one hand, he is a man entirely unto himself. On the other hand, I can think of no man who more represents the entirety of Humanity. We should be thankful, not just because of the historical significance of a “black man” becoming president. We should be thankful to be witness to what will become of one of the great men of history calmly stepping up to the enormous challenges of his time. I truly believe that this is a man who, in the annals of history, will stand shoulder to shoulder with Lincoln, FDR and Winston Churchill. I don’t remember which cabinet member it was who stood at Lincoln’s deathbed and said, “Now, he belongs to the ages.” But, the same will be said about Obama. Around the world, the poor, the disenfranchised, the minorities deprived of full human rights, Africans, Asians, Europeans, Latinos, any people in any land who are denied hope are saying “Yes we can. Yes we can! ” He hasn’t even taken the oath of office, and already he is affecting the world. I read a news piece this morning that anonymous sources in the Israeli government told members of the press that they wanted to be out of Gaza before Obama’s inauguration. Yes, he belongs to the ages, and the age that claims him as its own, will be in large part defined by him.

I don’t know how I will feel about the US in the future, but I do feel that at least it now has possibilities. Time will tell if it has the ability to seize those possibilities and transform them into reality. But one thing is certain. The man who takes the oath of office for President of The United States tomorrow is not just the best of the candidates who ran for that office. He is the one man in the world that that office needs right now.

And that poem? I felt that it captured the feelings of the moment.Praise song for the day. by Elizabeth Alexander

Each day we go about our business, walking past each other,
catching each others' eyes or not,
about to speak or speaking.
All about us is noise.
All about us is noise and bramble, thorn and din,
each one of our ancestors on our tongues.
Someone is stitching up a hem,
darning a hole in a uniform, patching a tire,
repairing the things in need of repair.

Someone is trying to make music somewhere
with a pair of wooden spoons on an oil drum
with cello, boom box, harmonica, voice.

A woman and her son wait for the bus.

A farmer considers the changing sky;
A teacher says, "Take out your pencils. Begin."

We encounter each other in words,
words spiny or smooth, whispered or declaimed;
words to consider, reconsider.

We cross dirt roads and highways that mark the will of someone
and then others who said,
"I need to see what's on the other side;
I know there's something better down the road."

We need to find a place where we are safe;
We walk into that which we cannot yet see.

Say it plain, that many have died for this day.
Sing the names of the dead who brought us here,
who laid the train tracks, raised the bridges,
picked the cotton and the lettuce,
built brick by brick the glittering edifices they would then keep clean and work inside of.

Praise song for struggle;
praise song for the day.
Praise song for every hand-lettered sign;
The figuring it out at kitchen tables.

Some live by "Love thy neighbor as thy self."

Others by first do no harm, or take no more than you need.

What if the mightiest word is love,
love beyond marital, filial, national.
Love that casts a widening pool of light.
Love with no need to preempt grievance.

In today's sharp sparkle, this winter air, anything can be made, any sentence begun.

On the brink, on the brim, on the cusp -- praise song for walking forward in that light.

A Winter Soup, A winter poem

This has been a strange winter. I drove to New Mexico for the holidays, because unlike most southern Californians, when the calendar reads “December”, I want it to be cold.Perhaps because I grew up on the east coast, I have a thing about seasons.When I was a kid I used to love watching the maple tree in the front of the house turn red each fall.It was the first tree in the neighborhood to do so – usually in the very beginning of September, and its flaming color stood out against all the other trees, which were still wrapped in their summer green. Here in San Diego, trees don’t even begin to think of changing color until sometime in November.This year I think it was near the end of November.

Fortunately for me, gas prices had gone down, so the drive to and from New Mexico was pretty easy. It was well past the time when the aspen trees glitter with gold. It was snow time, when the world turns white and silent. And it is that silence which is central to the gift that winter brings. The silence which comes from the world being blanketed in snow, when the loudest sound you might possibly hear (or not) is that of a distant woodpecker working on a tree, is the perfect antidote to the cell phone-radio-car horn-jet plane-cement mixer crazy world we think of as real life.

Driving back from the higher altitudes and descending into the lower coastal regions, I knew the temperatures would be warmer, but the nights have been cool and the daytime temperatures have made it possible to wear a sweater or light jacket and feel comfortable. Now all of that is changing. They are predicting that the temperatures will go up to around 80 degrees inland.80 degrees???That’s obscene! This is January! This is National Soup Month – or so it should be. This is when we should be wearing layers of clothes, and burrowing in at night with a good book and a bold soup.

So I decided that I would ignore the temperatures and go by the calendar. After all, no matter what the temperature is, they day/night cycle still speaks of winter. We are past the solstice – past the shortest day of the year, but it isn’t palpable yet. So the nights are still long, and my books are a little thicker than the ones I generally read in summer. I have a longer time in bed to read at night, after all. I’m currently reading “A Suitable Boy” by Vikram Seth – a vast, engaging Indian saga, perfect for long winter nights.

And the perfect soup? I found it on a blog I recently discovered called What I Like. I liked the title of the blog – simple and open ended. And when I read the recipe for the soup, it made me feel warm like a pair of woolen socks. It’s way simple to make, and of course I couldn’t possibly follow the recipe exactly. I’ll give it to you as written, and then I’ll explain my variations on the theme.

Turkish Style Chicken And Leek Soup With Yogurt, Mint and Rice

Serves 4-6

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken thighs
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 medium onion
2 large leeks
3 stalks celery
1 tablespoons olive oil
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup long-grain rice
2 egg yolks, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups whole milk plain yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon dried mint
Pinch of cayenne pepper or hot paprika

1) Place chicken in a pot large enough just to contain it. Add water to cover by 1/2 inch. Add one teaspoon salt. Boil over high heat. Skim any foam from the surface, turn the heat to very low, cover and simmer for 3 minutes. Remove pot from heat and let stand, covered, for 30 minutes.

2) Meanwhile, quarter and slice the onion. Trim and discard the dark green tops, and discard the leathery outer layer from the leeks. Slice through each leek vertically and was them well, making sure you get all of the dirt out from between the leaves. Slice them crossways into thin half rounds. Wash and thinly slice celery.

3) Choose a heavy bottomed soup pot, preferably 4-6 quarts, and add the olive oil. Warm it over medium-low heat, and then add the vegetables. Stir to coat with oil, then cover the pan and cook, checking vegetables and stirring frequently, until meltingly tender, about 10 minutes.

4) Remove chicken from pot and let cool. Add cooking liquid and the rice (if using Asian rice, be sure to rinse first) to the vegetables along with the additional 4 cups of broth, and cook for about 30 minutes, tasting for salt and adding it, along with pepper, as needed. Meanwhile, shred the chicken. Add the chicken shreds to the pot once the rice is cooked.

5) In a medium-sized pot, mix together the cornstarch and 1/4 cup of cold water. Add the egg yolks and yogurt. Bring slowly to a simmer, stirring constantly in ONE direction. When the mixture is thickened, add it to the soup. The soup can now be served.

6) In a small frying pan, melt the butter. When the foam has subsided, add the dried mint and cayenne pepper. Fry for a few seconds, until fragrant. Garnish each serving with a drizzle of the mint butter (I personally just mix it with the rest of the soup...I don't even have a dining table so feel a bit ridiculous garnishing things).

Note: This soup is great reheated the next day, but don't boil it or the egg mixture may separate and curdle.
Kitchen Notes:

On a practical level, I only had one small container of yogurt, but I did have some buttermilk. I used a 50-50 mixture of the two, and I loved the tang it gave. Didn’t have cayenne, but I got pretty bold with my Hungarian paprika and that worked fine. Also, I didn't shred the chicken, I chunked it, as I prefer having something to sink my teeth into.

This soup, as written, is a soup of comfort. It's the kind of soup you'd want to have when it's January and you're coming down with "IT". But as I ate it, I realized that this was a variation of one of my favorite soups - Avgolemono - that Greek comfort soup with egg and lemon. So if you've actually got "IT", don't have yogurt or mint but have lemon instead, don't be shy. The acid of the buttermilk and yogurt can easily be replaced by the acid of the lemon. You can also substitute dill for the mint if that's what you've got. And this recipe definitely needs salt and pepper. I used a liberal sprinkling of kosher salt out of habit.

And here is a poem for winter:

Blizzard

by William Carlos Williams

Snow:

years of anger following

hours that float idly down —

the blizzard

drifts its weight

deeper and deeper for three days

or sixty years, eh? Then

the sun! a clutter of

yellow and blue flakes —

Hairy looking trees stand out

in long alleys

over a wild solitude.

The man turns and there —

his solitary track stretched out

upon the world.

New Mexico for the holidays

I'm back in New Mexico, and feel blessed to have had some snow for the holidays!
Not much snow, but enough to have made it a white Christmas. Enough to have put a damper on sound. Enough to make it appealing to build a fire in the kiva fireplace. Enough to turn the lines of trees into Japanese etchings...Or the lines of a chair into an abstract...
Every year I come here for solstice. My women friends gather for a pot luck and we usually do a gift exchange. You know the kind - where each person brings one gift and you get to pick the one you want? Well, this year it seems that everyone is fed up with "things." No one wanted another thing. So someone came up with the brilliant idea of doing a poetry exchange instead. The poems had to be positive, hopeful, possibly about renewal - whatever. They just couldn't be downers or political.

This year I drove. I decided to take the rest of the year off and spend it here, and with that much time it makes sense to drive - especially with gas prices being so low these days. When I drive in the winter it makes sense to go through Tucson. I have a friend who lives there so I usually stop there for the night. It's about 6 hours from San Diego to Tucson, and about another 6 from Tucson to Albuquerque. I was lucky that I didn't get any weather. There was snow on the ground in southern New Mexico, but none coming out of the sky - just one of the most sensational sunsets I've seen in my life. (Since I was driving - no photos!) It was 360 degrees of spectacular, with golds, oranges, pinks, mauves, blues and grays all transforming into each other.

So now solstice and Christmas are over, and the snows have passed, though we still have some on the ground. The sun is blazing in a brilliant blue sky and there's ice melting and dripping off the roof. My family is due to arrive this evening. We will celebrate New Year's Eve together. I have been able to cook a large pot pork and red chili and eat that for the majority of the time I've been here. In the morning I heat it up and put two eggs over it. In the evening I heat it up and mop up the juices with a soft flour tortilla.
There is no recipe for this dish. I simply took an onion, cut it up and put it in a pan with garlic. When it was soft (about 5 minutes), I added some cubed pork, some cut up potatoes and red chili. I bought this red chili at the local grocery store. If you want red chili, the best usually comes from Chimayo, New Mexico. (For green, it's Hatch, New Mexico.) It comes in a plastic tub, like the ones margerine comes in. I dumped probably 5 or 6 big tablespoons in the pot (I like mine hot!) and stirred, lowered the flame and covered. Oh yes, I put in some water. About 25 minutes later, I opened a can of corn (Yikes! Don't fire me for using canned corn - it's winter and I didn't have any frozen!), strained out the liquid and dumped it in. Stir, cover and let simmer another 5 minutes or so until the corn is warmed up.

And, as my niece Rachael would say over at Fresh Approach Cooking, taste the joy.
Oh, and if you're curious about what poems I brought to share, I brought the Ferlinghetti poem that I posted here back in May. I also brought everyone's favorite Mary Oliver poem -

Wild Geese

You do not have to be good.
You do not have to walk on your knees
for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.
You only have to let the soft animal of your body
love what it loves.
Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.
Meanwhile the world goes on.
Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain
are moving across the landscapes,
over the prairies and the deep trees,
the mountains and the rivers.
Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,
are heading home again.
Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,
the world offers itself to your imagination,
calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -
over and over announcing your place
in the family of things.

I wish every one of you a healthy, prosperous and joyful new year!

Christmas Cookies

I was invited to a cookie exchange party yesterday. Now, this might seem odd to you, because I know that most of you bake quite a bit, and so I'm sure you've gone to LOTS of cookie exchange parties. But This was my first one. Yep. Didn't know what to expect. But Kibria, who works for me, told me that she and her mom do this every year, and that there would be about 30 people coming. THIRTY PEOPLE???? Holy Smackrels! I had to bake a LOT of cookies!!!

Fortunately, the weather has turned here in San Diego. YEAHHHHH!!! Let's hear it for rain!! And people are talking about how cold it's been - it's been about 54 degrees in the middle of the day.

OK. I'll wait for you to stop laughing. (But here in San Diego, that's considered cold.)

Now.....back to the cookies. Because I'm not really a baker.............but I've always wanted to play one on TV -- I decided to go to a really good source for cookie recipes. That would be Susan, over at Food Blogga. Last year she did a Christmas cookie event, and I saw the most mouth watering cookies imaginable! So good, in fact, that I remembered it a year later when looking for cookie recipes. I honestly wish I could photograph them as beautifully as the original entries, but ever since my fast macro lens was stolen a few years ago, I've never replaced it. So I find myself shooting everything with a telephoto. It's not as good, but at the moment a fast macro is out of the question for me. So the telephoto will have to do.........

And the cooler weather, the gray skies and the rain make the idea of baking so very, very appealing. And then there's all that color just waiting to be a part of the cookies - cranberries and pistachio biscotti anyone???

I got the recipe from over at Nook & Pantry, and the moment I saw them I knew I had to try it. Because I am not a baker........I've never made biscotti before. But the recipe looked easy and it was. So easy, in fact, that I think I will have to bake these while I'm in New Mexico. I have the feeling that they will be my breakfast every day during the holidays. There's a great description of the various kinds of biscotti in this post, so I will let you read that on your own. The only caveat I have is that these are genuine dunking cookies. They aren't like the kind you get at Starbucks - the ones you could eat as is without dunking them. Oh no. Do not be fooled. These are most definitely the break-your-teeth-unless-you-dunk kind. But once they've been dunked - even for a short time - they will reward you with the most amazing combination of flavors you've ever had in one biscotti. Promise.

Orange Cranberry Pistachio Biscotti
Adapted from Cook's Illustrated

2 C AP flour
3/4 C sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 Tbsp grated orange zest
1/2 C dried cranberries
1/2 C pistachio halves

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, pistachio halves, and cranberries. In a separate bowl whisk together the eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, and orange zest. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until everything is evenly incorporated.

Divide the dough in half and form two logs that are about 10 to 12 inches long and 2 1/2 to 3 inches wide. Bake for 30 minutes, rotate the pan halfway into the baking time.

After baking, cool the loaves on a rack until they are cool enough to handle.

Then using a serrated knife cut the cookies about 1/2 inch to 3/4 inch thick at an angle. The length of your cookies will depend on the angle at which you cut the cookies.

Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees F.

Place the cut biscottis on a rack placed on a sheet tray and continue to bake for about 20 minutes, until the cookies have completely dried. If you don't have a rack for your pan, place the cookies directly on the pan and bake for 10 minutes, then flip them over and bake for another 10 minutes.

Let the cookies cool completely before storing them. Or dip them in some chocolate if you prefer.


Now.......Because there were going to be 30 people at this exchange, I decided that one tray full of biscotti would not be enough, even though I doubled the recipe. So what else was I going to bring? Well.......let's face it. Chocolate rules. Christmas, New Year's, Memorial Day, Fourth of July - it doesn't matter. One can never have too much chocolate as far as I'm concerned. So I turned to one of my favorite bakers/food bloggers - Patricia over at Technicolor Kitchen. Now, I have no idea what all of you do with your time, but mine is constantly overbooked. It's the reason why I've recently fallen way behind in my blogging. There have been other projects, and then the beginning of the Christmas parties, etc., etc., etc. So I've barely kept up with blogging.

And then I go over to Patricia's blog, and she's not only blogging, she's doing it in 2 languages - Portuguese and English! I have no idea how that's possible to do, but she's doing it. And furthermore, she does a sensational job - with her imaginative recipes and her drool-inducing photographs. How could I not use one of her recipes??? Even the simplest cookie - a chocolate star - in her hands made me know that I HAD to have it!
So here's the recipe for these yummy creations. A word of advice here......she says that the recipe makes a lot. That depends upon the size of your cutter. She used a 2" cutter, halved the recipe and got over 40 cookies. My cutter is larger, so even though I increased the recipe by 50%, I still wound up with only about 30 cookies. (Actually, there were a few more, but "quality control" got to them before they made it to the party!)

Brownie roll-out cookies

3 cups (420g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (226g/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened + pinch of salt
1 ½ cups (300g) sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (60g) unsweetened cocoa

Preheat oven at 180ºC/350ºF. Whisk flour, ½ teaspoon salt and baking powder in bowl and set aside. Mix butter, pinch of salt, sugar, eggs, vanilla and cocoa in mixer. Gradually add flour mixture, and mix until smooth. Wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour.

Roll out cookie dough on floured counter (I rolled it between lightly floured sheets of baking paper) until it is ¼ inch (about 0.60cm) thick. Cut into desired shapes, brushing extra deposits of flour off the top.
Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet for 11 minutes or until the edges are firm and the centers are slightly soft and puffed.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

I am going to enter these in Susan's Eat Christmas Cookies event this year. Check it out. It will become your go-to source for Christmas cookies from now on!Oh......And just so you know, there's a Roundup Page, where you can keep checking back to see the latest entries. You want to know how popular this event is? It started today, and there's already a gagillion cookie recipes there! Seriously, folks, it's time to check it out.

Yin/Yang Mashed Potatoes and a Happy Thanksgiving

OK, I know I'm into this yin/yang thing lately. But I just can't help it when it comes to mashed potatoes. It's a case of a good idea that just begged to be expanded. And since it's the day before Thanksgiving, I thought I'd add this little idea to the menu, as well as some ideas as to how to not gain weight over the holiday season. Do those two things go together - mashed potatoes and not gaining weight? I'll try to connect those dots.......

This basic recipe is so simple it's hard to call it a recipe. But that's what we need during the holiday season - something simple enough so as not to be stress-inducing. First of all, there's the question of what kind of potato to use. You can actually use russets, but I prefer Yukon Gold when it comes to mashed potatoes. There's something so utterly creamy about the texture of Yukon Gold potatoes, that it takes this comfort food to an even more comforting level, if that's possible.

I'm not going to be good with amounts here, and after all, it does depend on how many you'll be feeding or how much you want leftover. I started with about 2 pounds of peeled potatoes and put them in a large pot of water. I added about a tablespoon of minced garlic - out of the jar this time. (I told you this was going to be a de-stressor!) Brought it to a boil, turned the heat down and waited. When the potatoes were soft enough to be easily pierced by a knife, they were done. You don't want your potatoes mashing themselves in the pot, and you don't want mash-resistent lumps. I strained them through a fine seive rather than a colander in order to keep the garlic with the potatoes.

The only thing left was the mashing, which I've always always done by hand. If you prefer to use your food processor, great! I'm just old fashioned when it comes to mashing potatoes. The only thing we add to mashed potatoes is butter and milk - right? Well, these days I use Earth Balance, and just a dab of butter for that extra rich flavor. You won't notice that it's not all butter, and your arteries will thank you. For the milk, I used buttermilk.

Why buttermilk? It adds a tangy interesting flavor to these potatoes, and despite it's name, it happens to be low in fat. (Whoever named it should be examined!) No, I don't drink the stuff, and in fact have a hard time watching anyone else drink it. But when it comes to cooking, there are some dishes which just shine a little brighter with buttermilk in them.

But then you're left with a problem. What do you do with the extra buttermilk? Well, one possibility is that you make some mashed potatoes.

Huh? I thought I just did!

Ahhhh....but did you use blue potatoes?

I'm reminded of a George Carlin routine where he asked "Where's the blue food?" Other than blueberries, it's hard to come up with food that's blue in color. Except for those lovely, deep deep blue potatoes. I had roasted some of them to go with my roasted veggie medley, but I still had some leftover. I was standing at the counter mashing those Yukon Golds when I happened to notice that bag with a few blue potatoes left in it. Hmmmmmmmm..... I wonder what they'd taste like? So I repeated the above process with the blue potatoes.

Do you know that when you peel blue potatoes, you can get a mostly white looking potato? I had a moment of panic, thinking that all the blue was really in the skin, and that somehow it transfered to the potato during the cooking process. But no! When I cut them in half, there was that almost purple center. And you know what? They made an absolutely scrumptious batch of mashed potatoes! For those of you who are color obsessed, or just want to surprise someone with something different, give them a try. I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.And now, how do you keep from keeping those mashed potatoes with you into the New Year? Well, for one thing, you might try going for a long walk before you sit down to eat your Thanksgiving dinner. You'll find yourself a little less hungry that way. Start your meal with a glass of water - a good way to hydrate and an antidote to the wine. Then - and this is the hard part - you have to say to yourself that this isn't the Last Supper. You can actually get by with only one spoonful of anything, and if eaten slowly, you will find yourself full by the time you finish your plate. And remember - only one plateful per meal. You don't really need that second helping!

And speaking of your plate, did you know that the size of the dinner plate in America has gone from 9" to 12"? Back when your parents were your age, dinner plates were smaller. So when people filled their plates back then, they naturally ate less. They also walked more in those days, since not everyone owned a car, and many people lived in houses with stairs. So daily life included a lot more mobility than we have now. These days, we drive a heavy, expensive vehicle about 3 blocks to buy a loaf of bread. Maybe you cut down on your driving when gas prices were skyrocketing, but now that they've gone back down again, are you still walking? Don't give up the habit. It's one that will stand you in good stead for the rest of your life.

For more health news, visit Mission Valley Acupuncture.

Have a very happy, healthy and safe Thanksgiving!

Yin/Yang, Spring-Fall Meatloaf Rebellion

Global warming is getting to me. It's been hovering in the 80s here in San Diego. It's the middle of November already - what's it doing in the 80s, may I ask? Now, for some of you who are shivering with cold, that might seem like a terrific idea. But let me ask you this: What can you trust, if not the calendar? In the northern hemisphere, November is supposed to be cold. Or at least very crisp.

This weather has got to stop!!!!! I mean, here I am hanging Christmas lights in the pepper tree in my yard in weather which inspires people to think about hitting the beach. And next week is Thanksgiving! Whatever happened to "Over the river and through the woods, to grandmother's house we go! The horse knows the way, to carry the sleigh, through the white and drifting sno-ow"??? Hello? My patients have been coming in complaining of sinus problems due to the Santa Anas, and this heat has given force to the fires burning north of Los Angeles.

So you wouldn't think that this kind of weather would inspire anyone to turn on their oven. But that's exactly what I decided to do. This past weekend, I went to the local farmer's market and found THE most adorable baby squash! The weather said spring, the size of the squash said spring, but the calendar said November. I needed to roast something. Those squash had my name written all over them. Perhaps they brought out the teenage rebel in me, I don't know. But when I found the small white pumpkin in the next booth, I had no other choice. Here was an opportunity I don't get very often - a way to combine a fall pumpkin with spring squash.

So where does the meatloaf come in? Well, I was going to have dinner with some friends and their (almost) 3 year old son. I usually go to their house and bring something, and they usually do the cooking. Well, this time it was going to be baby Andrew and Dad only - and Dad thinks the kitchen is broken if the micro doesn't work. So I offered to bring the dinner. This is only part of the dinner.........the rest will be in the next post - promise!

Now, when I was growing up, my mom used 2 different words to describe meatloaf. If there was no tomato sauce on top, it was meatloaf. If there was, we called it skednick. Don't ask. It's a family thing. I guess it was a way of bring variety to our meals without having to cook something different. I love the word skednick, but I confess I've never made it. I guess I've outgrown the whole tomato thing on meatloaf. But that doesn't mean that you can't dump ketchup over this and call it skednick. Be my guest! For me, though, Lea and Perrins works better. Or making a mushroom sauce would work well, too, but I didn't have the time.

I bought a pound of ground beef, a pound of ground turkey, a pound of ground buffalo, and a half a pound of ground pork sausage. Dropped in an egg. I minced an onion and sauteed it in some canola oil. Meanwhile, I softened up about a cup of oatmeal in a cup of warm mushroom broth. When the onions were done, I dumped them into the meat with the oatmeal, ground some fresh pepper, sprinkled some kosher salt over it and began to play with my food. Mush and squish until it all came together. I had enough so that I could put part of it in a square glass baking dish, and the rest in my favorite little ceramic baking dish pictured above. Pop them both into a 350 degree oven for about an hour.

Now, if you're going to roast a pumpkin, it depends entirely on the size of your pumpkin as to how long you want to roast it. Keep an eye on it, and a sharp knife nearby. When you can pierce it, it's done. It should offer a little bit of resistance. That way you know you haven't created pumkin puree. The rest of the veggies (and yes, that included, in my case, tomatoes) go in closer to the end of the cooking cycle. Think in terms of 15 minutes or so. Some olive oil and a little kosher salt is all you need. When the veggies are this fresh, you don't want to overwhelm them with a sauce. Their freshness plays well against the meatlof which - with the use of oatmeal instead of breadcrumbs - has the consistency of a cloud. Seriously.
Maybe combining spring and fall isn't the worst thing. But I'm really looking forward to winter!

Veggie Paella after an exhausting week

Shhh....I stole this photo from Lydia over at Perfect Pantry.

Let's face it, last week was exhausting! I've made it a point not to get political in this blog, but this time I can't help it. No matter what your political persuasion, this election season has been a time of tension. Personally, I couldn't allow myself to trust the polls. I've seen the polls be wrong before, and I didn't dare allow myself to be lulled into a false sense of security.

But then last Tuesday night, a miracle happened. Americans, old and young, Republicans, Democrats and Independents from every corner of this country, cast their ballots and voted for change. I had patients who told me that they were registered Republicans who could not, in good conscience, vote for McCain and Palin. I have a dear friend who has always been a registered Republican, who told me that he liked Obama and had voted for him.

The collective sigh of relief was heard not only in this country, but could be heard around the world. And once again, the world looks upon our country as the miraculous place it is. Not just because we voted for an African-American, which was miracle enough for people, but also because of the way the transition is taking place. We've heard stories of people in other countries who are amazed at the incredibly gracious concession speech made by McCain on election night. I've heard audio clips of people suggesting that their countries could learn something from that.

And on and on it goes. Life does not seem to have returned to "normal" yet, but the tension is gone. I look around my house and realize that so much has been put on "hold". I spent a few hours today poring over paperwork, throwing out old envelopes with "soy milk, eggs, cereal, onions, pork chops" scribbled on the back. I emailed people I've been meaning to get back to and phoned the neighbor regarding tree trimming. I can't stop smiling.

So when I saw this post over at Lydia's Perfect Pantry, I decided it was time to treat myself to something festive. Oh, how I love paella! I had never seen a vegetarian version of it before, but it looked so good in that photo that I had to restrain myself from trying to stab the computer screen with a fork. And don't you just WANT that pan??? Puh-leeez! (Actually, you can post a comment on her blog to be entered to win it!)

Now here's the thing: She says you can use bomba, Valencia or Arborio rice. I couldn't find bomba or Valencia rice, but I had Arborio rice, so I opted for that. It's not that it was a mistake, exactly, but I can tell you that if you decide to use it, reduce the amount of liquid in the recipe. It tastes good, but it turned out a little too gluey for me. And as for the number of servings? HAH! is all I can say! Serves 6-8??? You could serve the Turkish army with this dish!! And I mean as a main course - not as a side dish! So far I've brought it to a pot luck with 9 people, all of whom loved it, and I brought some over to my neighbor's house this evening and three of us ate it for dinner. And she got the leftovers, and I have another pan of it in the fridge!

Oh, and the reason I stole Lydia's photo? Because none of mine turned out. I don't know why, but they didn't. I think I was still in a post-election fog of euphoria. So rather than post this recipe photo-less, I opted to grab a great photo and use it.

MUSHROOM AND ASPARAGUS PAELLA

Inspired by Paella! Spectacular Rice Dishes of Spain, this vegan recipe is a dramatic centerpiece to a meatless meal. Serves 6-8.

1/4 tsp crumbled saffron threads
Kosher or sea salt
4 Tbsp minced flat-leaf parsley
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of smoked sweet paprika (pimenton)
6 cups vegetable broth, store-bought or homemade (I used Swanson's Garden Vegetable Broth)
8 Tbsp olive oil
3/4 lb thin asparagus spears, chopped into 1-inch pieces
2 medium onions, quartered
4 artichoke hearts (canned or frozen), quartered
3/4 cup dry red or white wine
1-1/2 lb mushrooms (a mix of white, cremini, cepes, etc.), brushed clean, stems trimmed, very coarsely chopped (or, if small, left whole)
1 cup canned chopped tomato (I use Pomi)
3 cups bomba, Valencia or Arborio rice
12 strips piquillo or roasted red pepper, for garnish

In a mortar or miniprocessor, mash to a paste the saffron, 1/4 tsp salt, parsley, garlic and smoked paprika. Heat the broth in a large pot over the lowest heat.

Preheat oven to 400F for gas oven, 450F for electric.

Heat the oil in a 17-18 inch paella pan, or in a shallow casserole of similar size, over 2 burners if necessary. Saute the asparagus and onions over medium heat until softened, then add artichoke hearts and mushrooms, and cook 1-2 minutes more. Add the mushrooms and tomato, and cook 1-2 minutes. Pour in the wine, and boil away most of the liquid, then stir in the rice and coat well with the pan mixture. Pour in the hot broth and bring to a boil. Add the mashed saffron-parsley-garlic paste, taste for salt (it will likely need a bit), and continue to boil, stirring and rotating the pan occasionally, until the rice is no longer soupy and sufficient liquid remains to continue cooking the rice, about 5 minutes. Arrange red pepper strips like the spokes of a wheel, on top of the rice.

Transfer to the oven and cook, uncovered, until the rice is almost al dente, 10 minutes in a gas oven, 15 minutes in electric. Remove to a warm spot, cover with foil, and let sit 5-10 minutes, until the rice is cooked to taste.