Sunday, December 23, 2007

Wassail

 
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This recipe is a repeat from an earlier post. Courtney called and said Dave wanted my wassail recipe, so here goes:

When I first quit drinking, I kind of missed having something festive to sip during the holidays. Eggnog just doesn't cut it without the "nog," as we say, although a good nonalcoholic cup with plenty of nutmeg can be tasty. I started researching wassail recipes because it seemed like such a neat idea. After reviewing a ton of recipes here's my take on wassail. I'm going to give proportions, rather than strict measurements because that's how I make mine. I've also started to use lemonade because I don't add sugar. I will, however add honey if I think the wassail needs to be sweetened. This makes it taste wonderful, while soothing the throat so you can sing more choruses of "Grandma got run over by a reindeer," although in honor of me, it should be "Grandma got run over by a Dodge truck."

Mom's Wassail
Twice as much apple juice or cider as orange juice and twice as much orange juice as lemonade.
2 allspice berries, three cinnamon sticks, 3 whole cloves, 1 cardamon pod, about 5 slices of fresh ginger or use about a tablespoon of crystallized ginger. Wrap all of this in cheese cloth tied off.
About a quarter cup of honey or to taste
Put the liquid in a crock pot. Add the cheesecloth-wrapped spices and honey. As the wassail cooks, it will need to be diluted. Add water to taste -- in fact you can add water right away if it seems too strong.

Saturday, December 22, 2007

What it's like to get hit by a truck

I've been visiting doctors pretty consistently since my accident. I've never been a big fan of visiting the doctor's office because either there's nothing wrong with me and my symptoms, therefore, can't be treated. Or it's something chronic, like asthma or irritable bowel syndrome, which are just things you have to live with. Basically I'm a very healthy person. I have a lot of stupid chronic things wrong with me -- mitral valve prolapse, super bad hay fever, acid reflux, along with the aforementioned asthma, which really isn't very bad, and the IBS. But these things are under control and I can go ages between doctor's visits.

These days, however, I'm at some kind of appointment at least once a week, and it's getting on my nerves. This past week, I had to have the hemotoma on my hip drained. It didn't hurt at all, mainly because my knee was throbbing so much, I really didn't pay much attention to the hip draining. As I went in to get the procedure the nurses started asking about the accident. I'm starting to know all the nurses at my various doctor's offices and the subject of the details of the accident come up. People are curious. What is it like, besides the obvious pain, to get hit by a truck?

I was riding along the Ventura River bike path, which winds around the Oil Country building as it approaches the Stanley Street crossing. You ride parallel to the traffic as it comes off Hwy 33, so people can see you approaching the crossing. A blue car had spotted me as it was going east and started slowing as it approached the crossing. I always appreciate people who watch for bicyclists because so many people just ignore them and cut you off or fly through a marked flashing intersection just because they're jerks. I thought it was really cool that the car was slowing because it was later in the day -- 4:45 -- which is approaching rush hour when traffic gets crazy.

I slowed way down, although I was never going very fast. My bike is a big heavy cruiser, which is the only kind of bike I ride. It's really hard to get it going and most people smaller than I am won't ride it because it requires a lot of strength to make it move. This is why I like it because it's a really good workout for me since I can't do things that require too much panting because of the asthma. I also like to sit up when I ride. The racing bike position with my butt higher than my head makes me feel as though I'm falling. So I cut quite the non-cool figure, what with my plastic basket with plastic flowers, my gymc shorts and my t-shirts.

I saw that a big, white van had stopped in the westbound lane and that there was no traffic in the far left lane, and my duded in the dark blue car had stopped and was waving me through. Everyone was stopped for me and there was a lot of traffic, so I started through the intersection, passing through the pylons that activate the flashing lights. I was going pretty slowly and had passed the blue car and was in front of the white van, which I noticed had handicapped license places. I had been craning my neck to look around the white van and hadn't seen anyone approaching it. Rob and I have always referred to the old crossing sucker accident where one guy will allow traffic to pass in front of him only to have cars going the other way smash into the poor crosser. We always watch out for the empty lane and I had seen nothing.

But just as I was getting past the van I caught a glimpse of a red truck barrelling toward me in the far left lane. I was almost past the van, but I instinctively locked up my pedal brakes, hoping to stop in time, but bikes don't stop on a dime. I heard the truck's brakes lock up as I was rounding the van, but I knew then that a collision was unavoidable. There was the "Oh shit." moment. Then the quick, "Maybe this won't be so bad.' Followed by a retreat deep into my mind.

One of the things I learned as a child was that if something really horrible was going to happen -- something really painful that you couldn't avoid -- that you could go deep inside your mind and you can't get hurt. I've learned that this is a learned response to extreme abuse, but it can come in handy in an emergency. I've always held to the belief that if death is imminent, it is important to make the mind as still and as calm as possible as you face your end. I'm not sure why it's important, but it's important to me that my last moment of life isn't one of fear and panic.

One time when I broke my wrist and I was waiting in the emergency room an elderly woman was being treated near me. I could only hear her as she started to cry, "I'm so afraid. I don't want to die. I'm so afraid." The nurse reassured her, "It's OK. Don't be afraid. You're going to be alright. It's OK." But she wasn't. There was just the sound of people rustling as they worked and the machines beeping -- not all the talking and clamor you see in the TV shows. No one said much. Then finally, the nurse said, "Well, should I put her things together to give to the family?" And I realized that the woman had died and that she had been terrified and begging not to go.

I decided that I didn't want to be terrified. I wanted to face the other side, whatever it may be, with quiet dignity. I'm not sure why it would even matter, after all dead is dead. But to me it's important.

So I made my mind go still and my body went completely limp. I felt the impact of the truck hitting my right hip. It was SMASH. As hard as I've ever been hit. I was flying through the air. I could hear people's voices going, "Oooooooooo," all around me. I kept my eyes shut. My mind was miles away. I was on the ground. I opened my eyes. I was alive. I was hurt, but I knew immediately nothing was broken -- well maybe my hip, which really hurt. But I did a mental inventory and it all checked out OK.

A guy came up to me. He wasn't very tall. He was Hispanic and wearing a brown shirt, I think. He asked if I was OK and I said, "No." He said what can I do?" I said, "Call 911." Other people came up and asked if I was OK. Someone noticed there was blood on my head and asked if I was wearing a helmet. I said yes and someone held it up and it had a big chunk out of it and they said, "You were really lucky to be wearing this. Some guy farther away from me over on my right said, "You should get your head out of the road." I realized it was hanging upside down off the curb and my body was on the shoulder. So I scootched up. When I scootched, I had the opportunity to move and realized everything was working.

I told the people around me to just let me lie there until the paramedics came. I'd just taken a Red Cross course two months before and was all up-to-date on what to do. So there I was. I realized there were ants crawling all over me and they were biting me. I almost laughed. It was just one of those things. "I'm having a really bad day," I thought and smiled. I mean as bad days go, this one was really proving itself to be the Chuck Norris of bad days. I tired to get my cell phone out so I could call Rob, but I realized that the screen had been smashed -- it was in the pocket that was hit -- and without the screen, I had no idea who I was calling.

A paramedic approached me and asked if I was OK. I said my hip hurt and he said to just sit still. He said he was transporting a patient to Vista Del Mar, the local psychiatric facility, and according to California state law any paramedic on a non-emergency call must stop and give aid if he is first on the scene of an accident. So he pretty much stood there and told me not to move. The firefighters arrived next. The paramedic dude explained himself, so the firefighters took over. One of them said, "Did you know there are ants crawling all over you?" I said, "Yeah could you brush them off please. I feel like I'm in Hell right now." He smiled and brushed them off.

The other paramedics arrived and I got the same old questions, "How old? How tall? how much do you weigh? Did you lose consciousness? Does your back hurt? Can you move your legs?" They tried to sit me up, but as soon as they did I got really dizzy. I told them to put me down, that I was getting shocky. I could just tell. I was losing sensation in my extremities and starting to get really cold and shivery, all signs of shock. So they put me down and lifted me onto the board and strapped me in. They lifted me into the ambulance and I was strapped in there. They put in an IV because of the shocky-ness and gave me a blanket. It was kind of wobbly as we drove; I kept having to brace myself. The paramedic gave me her cell phone so I could call Rob.

She actually placed the call and asked for him. I told him I'd been hit by a truck and was heading to Community Memorial. He said he'd meet me there.

The rest of the night was waiting. Waiting for the doctors. Waiting for the x-ray people. Nothing was broken, so they let me off the board. I'd been on it for almost four of the most excruciating hours of my life. I've talked to other people who've been on the board and they say the same thing. It may well save lives, but damned, it's painfully uncomfortable.

The care was sporadic. A nurse would come in and maybe wipe off a small part of my road rash, then she'd take off. Rob finally got the wipes down and did it himself, thank God he did because I never got any infection. The doctor finally gave me a pain shot and they sent me home. It was hard to walk. I was pretty beat up. We stopped by the pharmacy and got Vicodin and some antibiotic ointment and headed home.

The next few weeks were a haze of pain, sleeping, limping. I saw my doctor and with nothing obviously wrong, we decided to wait and see what ended up shaking out. I mean at first everything hurt so much, it was hard to tell what was wrong where. He wasn't happy with my swollen ankle, so he gave me a referral for that and a referral for physical therapy. I also stopped by a lawyer's office.

As I've documented before, the swollen ankle turned out to be a ruptured tendon, which required surgery Sept. 14. My foot has healed as well as can be expected, maybe even better. But it's still swollen and tender and the doctor said I'll have to expect that. Tendon repair is very painful and takes a long time. I also have a titanium peg in my ankle to straighten it up.

My left knee, which was hurt when the bike slammed into it, has broken bone fragments, a torn meniscus and all kinds of other problems. The doctor took one look at the films and said knee replacement, but now he's thinking arthroscopic to start, which is fine with me because so far things have turned out better when they've gotten into them. My foot doctor was pretty grim about my foot, but said the tendon was actually cleanly torn and easy to repair. The doctor who drained the hemotoma on my hip -- I've had huge lump on my hip for over six months -- was pleased to see that the fluid hadn't jelled, requiring more extensive surgery -- although now I have a lovely fat lump on my hip -- sexy. I see the knee doctor after Christmas and we'll set surgery then.

This whole thing has proven so much harder than I would ever have imagined. The part that's the worst is the long, drawn-out process it all is. I'm just so over it all and ready to move on with my life.

So bascially to sum it up, if you want my opinion about getting hit by a truck, I'd have to say ... it's best to avoid it.

Palmiers and Christmas baking

 
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I decided this year, since I wasn't going to be as busy as I am when Courtney and family are here, that I wanted to make something a little more daring. I've always loved palmiers, which are basically just puffed pastry cooked with sugar and cinnamon as little cookies. They're a lot like elephant ears.

All of the cooking shows make a big deal out of puff pastry, so I've never ventured to make it because it looks so complicated. It also takes about 5 hours to prepare them what with the repeated rolling and chilling. But I found that using these instruction was really easy, especially the incorporating part. The dough rolled out really easily. I obviously didn't quite get how to fold the cookies, but I think I can do better next time.

Oh and I did make one discovery. The recipe says to the chill the logs on a cookie sheet, which I did. But then I needed to put one in the oven and the other stayed in the refrigerator until I was ready for it. So I just got another cookie sheet lined with a Silpat mat (which I highly recommend) to bake the first batch. But since it wasn't as cold when I put it in the oven that batch of cookies didn't puff as much. So always bake the cookies on a cold cookie sheet. I was afraid they'd burn ,but they showed no signs of scorching.

And the cookies. They melt in your mouth and are as light as air.

Cinnamon palmiers (Courtesy of Gourmet Magazine)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, frozen
5 to 6 tablespoons ice water
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Stir together flour and salt in a chilled large metal bowl. Coarsely grate frozen butter into flour, gently tossing to coat butter.

Drizzle 5 tablespoons ice water evenly over flour mixture and gently stir with a fork until incorporated. Test mixture by gently squeezing a small handful: When dough has the proper texture, it will hold together without crumbling apart. If necessary, add another tablespoon water, stirring until just incorporated, and test again. (Do not overwork dough or add too much water, or pastry will be tough; dough will be lumpy and streaky.)

Form dough into a 5-inch square, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Roll out dough on a floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 15- by 8-inch rectangle (with a short side nearest you). Brush off excess flour and fold dough into thirds like a letter. Rewrap dough and chill until firm, at least 30 minutes.

Arrange dough with a short side nearest you on a floured surface and repeat rolling out, folding, and chilling 2 more times. Brush off any excess flour, then halve dough crosswise with a sharp knife and chill, wrapped separately in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour.

Stir together sugar and cinnamon, then generously sprinkle a clean work surface with some of cinnamon sugar and place 1 piece of chilled dough on top. Quickly roll out into a 16- by 12-inch rectangle (1/8 to 1/16 inch thick; if dough becomes too soft, chill on a baking sheet until firm). Trim edges with a sharp knife. Sprinkle top of dough evenly with some cinnamon sugar to cover completely, brushing off any excess. Fold 2 opposite long sides of pastry so they meet in center. Fold in same sides of pastry in same manner, then fold one half over the other (like a book) and press gently with a rolling pin to flatten slightly, forming a long rectangular log. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon sugar if dough is sticky.

Chill on a baking sheet, uncovered, until firm, at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours. Meanwhile, repeat with remaining piece of dough and cinnamon sugar.

Preheat oven to 425°F with rack in middle. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

Cut 1 log of dough crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices with a sharp knife and arrange slices, cut sides down, 1 1/2 inches apart on baking sheet. Bake until puffed and golden around edges, 7 to 9 minutes. Remove from oven and turn palmiers over with a spatula. (If palmiers begin to unroll, gently press to reshape when cooled slightly.) Continue baking until golden all over and sugar is caramelized, 3 to 5 minutes more. Transfer as done (palmiers may not bake evenly) to a rack and cool. Make more cookies on cooled baking sheet lined with fresh parchment.

Cook's notes:
• Dough, without cinnamon sugar, can be chilled, wrapped well, up to 2 days or frozen up to 1 month (thaw in refrigerator).
• Cookies keep in an airtight container at room temperature 4 days. If desired, palmiers can be recrisped in a 300°F oven until heated through, about 5 minutes.

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Christmas bells are ringing

 
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Rob has been bugging me for a while to make him "cookies that taste like brownies." I've made all sorts of chocolate cookies, but none has been "brownie-like" enough. So this year, I decided to do an online search for brownie cookies and was getting all set to make them when the Rob-ster came home with a package of brownie mix.

"They were on sale," he said.

I was pretty much going to ignore him and the mix and embark on a brownie cookie, after all I'm no Sandra Lee (the Semi-homemade lady) when I found a brownie mix cookie recipe. I decided to take that as a base and make cookies that tasted like brownies, only better. I decided to add some good Dutch-process cocoa because the brownie mix cocoa isn't nearly as good and I love the flavor of good cocoa. I also added some vanilla and a touch of almond flavoring, which really adds a special dimension to the cookies.

Then, in a moment of inspiration, I got the idea of rolling the cookies in confectioner's sugar before baking them. They really came out quite good. They're amazingly easy to make and I was able to take a picture before Rob finished devouring them.

Brownie cookies

1 pkg. fudge brownie mix
1/4 cup Dutch process cocoa (Such as Droste)
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup melted butter
3 tablespoons water
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips (optional) (you could also add peppermint pieces or butterscotch pieces)
Confectioner's sugar

Combine all ingredients, mixing by hand. Chill in refrigerator for at least a half an hour. Using two tablespoons, spoon out a one-inch ball of batter (it doesn't have to be a perfect ball, just a blob of batter will do) and roll it in confectioners sugar until the ball is coated (the cookie will become more ball-like as you roll it quickly using just one or two fingers. Place on cookie sheet lined with a Silpat mat or parchment paper. Bake until just set at 350 degrees, about 12 to 14 minutes. Cool for a minute and place on cookie racks to finish cooling.

Friday, December 07, 2007

30 minutes? Who has the time?

 

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I've developed an odd fascination with Rachael Ray lately. I'm not sure if it's the oppressive perkiness -- no adult woman should ever giggle that much -- or if it's envy. How can someone with such limited culinary skills be such a huge success? I've heard her describe her path to the top and it sounds as though she was one of the lucky ones. One of those people who just happen to be in the right place at the right time, unlike me who tends to be in the right place just after the right time has passed.

One of the things I find fascinating about Ms. Ray is the whole 30 minutes deal. From what I've heard from other people and from what I've read, no one can complete her recipes in 30 minutes. I've watched her closely and it's pretty obvious she cheats. She puts food in the oven to "cook" but often is seen touching the rack with her bare hands, which means it's getting cooked off-camera separately. During her breaks she tends to accomplish about 20 minutes worth of work, including frying up whole batches of pepper-sauce-flavored pancake batter-coated chicken(ewwwwww), when she only had three coated and half fried before the break, for example.

That's all well and good I suppose, although it would be better if she were a little more honest and would show in real time how long it really takes for the water to boil or meats to cook. I find her recipes to be fairly competent when she sticks with Italian food -- she's spent a lot of time studying it and was even married in Italy. But others, such as the afore-mentioned "Buffalo chicken chunks," the pancake batter fried scallion cakes she served, the revolting chicken pot pie without the crust (Um that would be chicken stew ...) seem to come from someone who really doesn't stop and taste her creations with an objective eye. Often she sacrifices taste for haste and the results aren't pretty or palatable.

I've been working on some recipes that really, truly don't take a lot of time. And these are pretty nutritious and inexpensive to make. During the holiday season when you're trying to stretch the monetary and time budget as far as you can, fast, good and cheap is especially welcome.

The first recipe is for spaghetti. One of the things I've learned to do, and everyone else should be doing, is reading the labels of the prepared food I buy. Spaghetti sauce in a jar is one of those things that seems like a good idea, but when you look at the sugar, sodium and preservatives that are listed in these sauces, making your own -- which is super easy -- is an attractive option. And when you taste this dish, you'll be glad you skipped the jar because this tastes fresh and delicious. This recipe is a repeat from an earlier post, but it's worth it.

Spaghetti with tomato/sausage sauce

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 40-ounce cans Progresso crushed tomatoes with puree (Do not get the flavored varieties, just plain old tomatoes are what you want)
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon salt
3 bay leaves
1 cup red wine (a Merlot or Cabernet is good here)
1 1/2 pounds cooked spaghetti
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oil in medium-hot Dutch oven and add sausages with the casings removed. Break up with a wooden spoon or spatula. Add peppers and onions when the sausage is starting to brown. You may have to drain the grease if your sausages are fatty. If so, do it now. Cook until veggies are translucent. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds to a minute. Do not brown the garlic. Add tomatoes. Stir thoroughly. Add oregano, salt and bay leaves and stir. Add wine and stir. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for at least an hour. Cook about a pound and a half of spaghetti (or whatever pasta you desire), until it is al dente in a larger stockpot. Drain. Put the pasta back in the stock pot and add the sauce and cheese and stir it all up over low heat. Serve with garlic bread and salad.

I also use Dreamfields pasta, which only has 5 digestable carbs per serving. It tastes just like regular pasta, but the wheat carbs are rendered ineffective by some kind of process. It really seems to work and it's really good.

I make my garlic bread by buying one of the large French bread loaves available fresh at most supermarkets. I slice the loaves into 1 inch slices, almost through the bread. I butter each slice on both sides and sprinkle with a generous amount of garlic powder (not salt). I wrap the bread in aluminum foil and put in in a 350 oven for 30 minutes.

The follwing recipe is super, duper simple and is about as healthy as food gets. Stick with Trader Joe's for the stir fry veggies and the frozen, precooked rice for almost instant food.

Pork Stir Fry

3 tablespoons canola oil
1 to 1 1/2 pounds pork -- buy whatever cut is least expensive, such as the "country ribs," and cut it into 1/2 inch strips.
garlic powder
Trader Joe's fresh stir fry vegetables (there are usually two varieties available)
Stir fry sauce (Check out the Asian food section of your grocery and get the one you like best. Keep an eye out for labels and try to stick with the lowest sugar added)
Soy sauce
Frozen Jasmine rice, cooked in the microwave according to directions

Heat the oil in a wok. Add the pork and season with the garlic powder. Cook over high heat until the meat starts to brown, about five minutes. Add vegetables and add about 3 tablespoons of the stir fry sauce and about 2 to 3 tablespoons of the soy sauce. Stir fry for just a couple of minutes or until all the veggies are just barely cooked. Serve with the rice.

You can make this recipe with beef or chicken. If you don't want to go to Trader Joe's, get some bok choy or Napa cabbage and cut into 1/3 inch strips. Add sliced oyster or any other variety of mushrooms. You can add mung bean sprouts if you like or some edamame. Chop some broccoli or some carrots. Whatever you like.

The following recipe is another almost-instant. It almost beats the drive-thru window. Heck, I made it during the COMMERCIAL of Rachel Ray's 30-minute cooking show. And it's really quite yummy. Once again, this is a really healthy meal. I always make this the day after we have roast chicken because we have leftovers, but you could use a rotisserie chicken.

Chicken and vegetable tacos

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups cooked chicken shredded
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (not garlic salt)
1 teaspoon salt
Cayenne pepper to taste
1 small bag of frozen Southwestern style vegetables. These tend to have black beans peppers and corn
1/4 cup water
Taco shells
shredded cheddar cheese
shredded lettuce (you can chop the lettuce in a salad mix, if you like)
salsa
hot sauce, if desired
sour cream

If you're feeling really lazy, you can skip using the spices and use a taco seasoning mix, but I like the control over the salt and other ingredients, including preservatives. Heat the oil in a skillet and add the chicken and the seasonings and stir. Add the frozen vegetables and water. Heat until vegetables are cooked through, just a minute or two. Heat taco shells in a microwave for about 20 seconds. The box says to heat them longer, but they burn quickly. Have everyone assemble the tacos putting the chicken mixture in first and then adding toppings.