The celebration of (the end of) summer

We had a busy summer – from sending kiddos to overnight camp, to 50^th Wedding Anniversary Celebrations (not ours), to the Parade of Family Visits through our house and a last minute trip to New Orleans.

It’s been about a week since Labor Day – representing the last gasp of summer freedom – and we spent the weekend at my in-laws lake house where we spend many of our summer weekends. Labor Day is usually our last weekend at the lake before we truly settle into the school year routine (and that school year routine is worth celebrating after a busy summer).

There’s a certain rhythm of being at the lake. The mornings start slow but every day crescendos with cocktails/wine on the deck followed by slightly tipsy people cooking an over-abundance of all things meat on the grill.

I always struggle with what sides to make on hot summer days (and at the lake) that please varied taste buds, dietary restrictions, are healthy, easy and tasty. As a side note, I had a family dinner party this summer and my vegan sister-in-law was there with my nephew who eats “kosher style,” my aunt who can’t eat cheese and my uncle who is offended by any meal that doesn’t include a slab of meat with some form of starch. When I say varied I really mean TOTALLY OPPOSITE.

So … below are a few recipes I used a lot this summer as side dishes and sometimes a main meal. They can be modified without losing flavor, are delicious and healthy. Chances are, I’ll be eating all of these things into the Fall and the flavors, colors and smell will remind me of the Celebration of (and the end of) Summer.

Spicy Grilled Mango with Chiles and Crema (Taken from Cooking Light, March 2014)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided

1 thinly sliced green jalapeno pepper

1 thinkly sliced red jalapeo pepper

2 ripe peeled mangoes, cut into 1/3 inch thick slices

Cooking spray

¼ teaspoons kosher salt

¼ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

3 tablespoons Mexican crema (I think you could replace this with coconut milk to make it vegan friendly)

¼ c cilantro leaves

What to do with the ingredients:

1. Combine 2 tablespoons juice and jalapenos in small bowl.
2. Coat mango slices with cooking spray; sprinkle with salt, black pepper, and ground red pepper. Heat grill pan over high heat until smoking hot. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add mango to pan. Cook without moving, 4 minutes or until well marked. Turn and cook 2 minutes; place on platter.
3. Combine remaining 1 tablespoon juice and crema in a small bowl, stirring with whisk until smooth. Spoon jalapenos over mango. Drizzle with crema mixture; sprinkle with cilantro leaves.

Green Mango Salad – adaptedfrom Bon Appetit, March 2014

I know there are a lot of ingredients here but pulling it together is super easy AND totally worth it! If you can’t find green mango or green papaya, do what I did. I used cucumber, julienned carrots and red pepper and added Boston leaf lettuce. I don’t have a mandolin so I do everything by hand.  Also, I make extra salad dressing and use it for a similar salad for my lunch the next day. I know this sounds like a lot of work but it’s super easy – don’t let the ingredient list intimidate you!

Ingredients:

2 Thai green or red chiles, with seeds chopped

1 garlic clove, chopped

½ cup (or more) fresh lime juice

¼ cup fish sauce

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 tsp. palm or light brown sugar

4 green mangoes or 1 green papaya julienned on a mandolin.

2 medium shallots, thinly sliced

½ cup unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped

½ cup fresh cilantro leaves

¼ cup fresh mint leaves

2 Tbsp. toasted dried shrimp (this is TOTALLY optional. I’ve never used it and didn’t miss it. Although some nice grilled shrimp would round out this salad as a full meal).

2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds

What to do with the ingredients:

1. Puree chiles, garlic, lime juice, fish sauce, oil, and palm sugar in a blender until smooth.
2. Toss mangoes (or other veggies), shallots, peanuts, cilantro, mint, dried shrimp, if using, sesame seeds, and dressing in a large bowl. Season with salt if needed. 

Wow, it's been a while since I last posted. Not that I ever posted that often! But, after some discussions with  Richard, I've realized that he's right. Take note - I've now said that multiple times this year and the year is still young. He insists that I should just post quick notes, thoughts, recipes, new organizations and not worry so much about bundling it all together in a creative writing package that my college professors would use as an example of great writing (not that this ever happened).

So ... here it goes.  After 9 years of having kiddos, I've realized that a well choreographed evening routine  - from after-school to bedtime - is key to a happy family. The first steps in that dance actually start on Sunday when I create our shopping list and Richard does the grocery shopping. I often lose sight of this (or honestly, get lazy and think we'll figure it out) and half way through the week, can't figure out why every thing feels off kilter, why we've spent so much money going out to dinner and why we're getting the kiddos to bed later than necessary. Oh, and why I eat like crap for most of my meals. It all comes down to skipping the Sunday step.

When I have the time - especially helpful when the kiddos have a play-date - I also try and prepare a few things on Sunday that will make meals easier throughout the week. I might make a tomato sauce that does double duty for pasta (pasta is for the kiddos - I use spaghetti squash as a delicious alternative) and a "make your own pizza" night. Or, I'll roast a bunch of veggies for nibbling, tossing in salads or sandwiches. If I'm feeling really ambitious, I'll make salad dressing (I hate the bottled, pre-packaged stuff), too which usually lasts more than a week.

This week, I'm going to follow a Bon Appetit recipe for chicken cutlets that I've re-posted below. Tuesday evenings are particularly frenetic for us because of the time the kiddos get home from after-school activities. I'll get everything prepped tonight on this recipe leaving the final cooking step for Tuesday evening. I'll serve this with some of the roasted veggies for Richard and me and for the kiddos, I'll serve pasta with tomato sauce (see how all the prep pays off - just have to keep reminding myself). Just as quick as going through the drive through at P. Terry's and hopefully, a little healthier.

Enjoy and here's to your evening dance!

Parmesan Chicken Cutlets (Bon Appetit, March 2013)
3/4 cup all purpose flour (note: I'm going to use a whole wheat flour)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 c panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan (note: I'll use a Parmesan/Reggiano blend)
1 Tbsp. mustard powder
salt and pepper (Ok, people, one of my BIG food pet peeves are people who just pour salt on their food before they even taste it. Use salt sparingly - the salt shaker is not a Maraca).
4 small skinless, boneless chicken cutlets (about 1 1/2 lb. total), pounded to 1/4" thickness
8 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 lemon, halved

Place flour in a shallow bowl. Beat eggs in a second shallow bowl. Combine panko, Parmesan and mustard powder in a third shallow bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then dredge in flour, shaking off any excess. Transfer to bowl with beaten egg and turn to coat. Lift from bowl, allowing excess to drip back into bowl. Coat with panko mixture, pressing to adhere. DO AHEAD: Chicken can be breaded 3 month in advance. Place between pieces of freezer paper or waxed paper and freeze in resealable freezer bags. Thaw before continuing.

Heat 6 Tbsp. oil in a large heavy skillet or a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, cook cutlets, adding remaining 2 Tbsp. oil to pan between batches, until golden brown and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer cutlets to a paper towel-lined plate and season with salt. Serve with lemon.

* So, here are a few of my variations. In the past when I've made similar dishes, I've also used turkey cutlets. I think there might be too much salt in this recipe so I probably will exclude it from the panko mixture. Finally, I've done this type of recipe in a non-stick pan using cooking spray or olive oil in the stainless steel sprayers (we have a Misto which works great).

The celebration of Saturday Mornings

Most Saturday mornings, my kids do a little celebratory dance.

There are all the reasons you would expect from any 6 and 8 year old - no school! Cartoons all morning! Sit around in our pj's till noon (or in the case of my children, their underwear)! Mom and dad not nagging us to hurry up and put on your shoes,brush teeth and get your backpack ready or you'll be late for school routine.

But in our house, the main reason for the dance is gastronomic - challah French toast.

At about 7:00 am rather than hearing the week-day alarm clock, I hear whining for French toast. My first evasive maneuver – keep eyes closed and roll over – buys me about 5 minutes of peace. For another 30 minutes my kids and I are locked in a game of role-reversal with them pushing me to get out of bed while I pretend they don’t exist. They always win because let’s face it, high-pitched whining in your ear after a long week at work is about as pleasant as enduring the voices of the Chipmunks and Smurfs ... in the same cartoon at full volume ... with a hangover.

I think French toast is rooted as a Saturday morning tradition in our family because it’s a carry-over from our Sabbath meal the night before. Since dinner is kicked off with a braided loaf of buttery, golden brown and slightly sweet challah, it seems only fitting that our Saturday start in the same way. It’s like having that last morsel of velvety rich chocolate cake that lingers in the memory of your taste buds for hours.

After several years of using my kids’ reaction to the most recent experimental recipe, I think I have developed the perfect one. Or, at least the one that leaves them asking for seconds. And, although I’m usually only feeding 2 kiddos, I buy an extra loaf of challah to make for French toast putting any leftovers in the fridge. Throughout the week, we heat up 2 or 3 pieces in the microwave, cut them into strips and put the strips in a little plastic cup. We then have the perfect home-made fast food breakfast that the kids eat on their way to school (without syrup).

Challah French Toast

4 eggs

½ c. 2% milk

½ c heavy whip cream (or half and half)

¼ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 tbsp sugar

1 whole Challah loaf

13x9 pyrex dish (or large rectangular dish that you can lay out the sliced challah for soaking)

Non-stick griddle pan

Butter or cooking spray

1.       Mix the 4 eggs through sugar together in a large bowl. I like to blend it with a hand blender to whip air into the mixture and get it frothy. If you don’t have a hand blender, you can use a whisk or even put the ingredients in a blender.

2.       Slice the challah into inch thick pieces

3.       Place the slices of challah into the pyrex dish and pour the mixture over the pieces being sure to soak each piece.

4.       Let the challah soak for a few seconds, flip each piece then warm the griddle.

5.       Spray the pan or put one small slice of butter over medium heat

6.       Place soaked challah slices on the griddle and let cook until golden brown.

7.       Turn over until cooks golden on the other side.

8.       Serve warm with syrup, fruit or a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

  

The Organization/s

It seems only fitting that since this recipe is centered on kids, that the organization be the same. Although growing up I wasn’t constantly reminded of the starving kids in some far away country, I was made aware that healthy food, for some families, was a scarcity.

Last year, while working for a client, I learned that 1 in 5 children in the U.S. struggle with hunger. This means that there are 1.7 million Texas children who are at risk of hunger. In fact, Texas has the 9th highest child food insecurity rate in the country (Texas Hunger Initiative). And of the 3 million children in Texas who participate in free and reduced lunch programs go without a meal on the weekends or don’t know where their next meal is coming from during the summers. For many kids, Friday lunch is their last certain meal until Monday’s school breakfast. Maybe there is a fast-food burger or other highly processed, nutritionally lacking meals sprinkled throughout the weekend – all of which fill the tummy but don’t necessarily fuel the body.

There are a lot of organizations locally and nationally that help families struggling with hunger. The food banks in your area (in Austin it’s the Capital Area Food Bank)  are often the gateway organizations from which families find other resources to help lift them from their current circumstances. From farmers markets to school gardens and cooking classes, the Sustainable Food Center here in Austin educates kids and families about food and making the healthiest decisions possible. On a national level, ShareOur Strength and the No Kid Hungry campaign aims to combat hunger where children live, learn and play. They have brought national attention to the issue of child-hood hunger through their partnerships with the Food Network and other corporations. But, more importantly, they work towards long-term, systemic solutions to combat hunger by ensuring families have access to the governmental resources already available in their area. 

* Full disclosure – I first wrote this waaaay back in February and didn’t post it because I wanted to edit it further. Share Our Strength was a RYLO client in 2011and since writing this, is a client again.

Recipes for Change

A neighbor passed away last month after an on-and-off again war with cancer.  We weren’t that close to him but from what I understand, he was coherent, conscious and articulate until the end.  I think he knew he was going to die the day that he died. And that’s what got me thinking.

To wake up one morning and say to yourself, today is the day – what would that feel like?  Do you wish that you could relive your life in the hours that you have left? Everyone talks about the regrets, but do you sweep those aside and focus on the positive? Do you see the memories in pictures or video? Like so many parents of young children, my memory storage is occupied by the logistics of daily life: tomorrow is pizza and ice cream day in the school lunch line, PJ day is next Friday and we owe the PTA $100. Don’t ask me what my kids first words were.

But while details of life’s bigger moments fade, I do remember the feelings surrounding them. Is that what one is enveloped by in those final hours? Not the moment in time but the feelings associated with that moment?

For me, many of those feelings are inseparably combined with tastes and smells. The mix-master of my mind combines the individual ingredients of what I saw, smelled, ate, and touched into one gooey dough that is no longer recognizable by its individual parts. My first memories of playing outside? A steaming hot baguette slathered in butter topped with coco powder and milk heated on the stove that was freshly collected from the cow. My brother’s bar mitzvah? Honey drizzled fried dough balls, babaganoush, Chakchouka, kababs and other North African dishes created by a motley crew of French family members, Muslim Algerian friends and my mother orchestrating in the kosher synagogue kitchen.  Our wedding? The smell of liquor, beer intertwined with musty sweat from a mosh pit of horah dancing. The birth of my children? The stale, institutional antiseptic smell of hospital food followed by the fresh heat of salsa, grilled and seasoned fajitas and fresh tortillas sneaked into my room. Our first home? Newly picked, jewel red tomatoes delivered in a brown paper bag by our welcoming neighbor. Since then, she’s delivered bubbling blueberry pie and home-made eggnog (yes, I know you hate eggnog but you haven’t had this – trust me) but that’s the subject of another blog post.

These are the memories of celebration. And although I remember the more difficult moments in much the same way – the smell of clumped dirt hitting my fathers grave, or the smell of rain and how I always thought that brought new life to the world. That was the day we buried by step-father. The same Pine-Sol, antiseptic smell from my daughters birth now mixed with my breast milk following her surgery. Ultimately, it’s the tastes, smells and feelings surrounding celebration that are the easiest to recall.

Through this blog I hope to capture and recreate women’s recipes of celebration and joy from around the globe. Recipes for Change was inspired by Half the Sky, the best-selling book by Nicholas Kristoff and Sheryl WuDunn that celebrates the courage of women and girls, especially in third world countries, and the economic potential we can achieve when we remove gender bias and honor the value, thoughts and potential of half our population.  As I continue to read, I’m marveling at the strength of these seemingly ordinary women who turned the tragedy they endured – often accepted as the norm within their villages, families, peers, etc – as a never ending well of strength in the fight towards justice for future generations. I hope Recipes for Change acts as a small thread that starts stitching our global family together through understanding, empathy and knowledge with a pit-stop through the stomach. After all, where there are celebrations, there is always food that defines cultures, connects generations, binds families together, nourishes the body, fills the soul and peaks the senses.

At first the recipes will be from family and various cookbooks but always linked to an organization that’s working in the recipes country of origin. A link to the organization will be included where you can learn more, spread the word and maybe even make a contribution.  My goal is that this blog evolves to include profiles of women who are helped by these organizations and possibly, their personal recipes of celebration.
The first link is to the Half the Sky website, in honor of countless women who prove that you don’t need to have graduated from an Ivy league school - let alone received a formal education, or have access to the latest technology, or even need the approval of elders to know that something is fundamentally wrong and become a force for change. On this site you’ll find so many worthy organizations working in specific areas fighting for women’s health, economic empowerment, education and gender equality. A few minutes of research and reading will provide so much inspiration, hope and once again, a reminder of the thread that stitches us together with our sisters around the globe.

Click here to visit Half the Sky Movement's Website

Chakchouka

Chakchouka (Chou-chou kha) is a roasted pepper and tomato salad that is one of the core foods of childhood celebrations.  This is a typical North African dish and in my family, it’s served as part of a larger mezze course. It’s so simple in preparation but complex and savory in flavor. This is one of my standard appetizers when we have company and a girlfriend makes it and puts it on eggs, toast and generally uses it like salsa. You’ll find recipes online that include sunny side up eggs cooked into the dish. Personally, I can eat Chakchouka as a stand-alone dish with a good French bread.

6 red bell peppers
6 green bell peppers
10 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
3 (28 oz) cans whole tomatoes, torn and juice reserved (be sure that the tomatoes don’t have basil or additional herbs).
3 tbsp. olive oil
Salt to taste
Preserved lemon slices to garnish (or fresh lemon if preserved isn’t available)
Chopped curley leaf parsley to garnish 

Cut peppers in half and remove stems and seeds. Place peppers on foil lined cookie sheet and spray with Pam. Roast peppers under broiler until charred. Place peppers in a paper bag to cool. Once cooled, remove peppers from bag and peel. The peels should be easy to remove and it’s easier to do so under running water. 

Place peeled peppers in a colander to drain. After drained, tear peppers into stripes being sure to remove any remaining seeds. Saute the pepper strips and garlic in olive oil for a few minutes – until garlic is fragrant but not burned. (I like to use a non-stick pan) Add tomato strips along with juice and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until reduced. Add salt to season and chill. Garnish with lemon slices and chopped parsley before serving.