Even Happy Foodies Have a Bad Day Now and Then

My job requires that I spend a lot of time in the car driving to appointments, therefore I have plenty of time to observe other drivers, and the good and bad behaviors displayed while in command of a vehicle. Last week, stopped on the highway in bumper to bumper traffic that should have been clear by that time of day, anticipating being late for my meeting and cursing myself for not leaving earlier, the day was not starting well. Adding to my stress was observing the "bad behavior of the month award" of the driver stopped ahead of me.

In case you aren't from Colorado, devastating forest fires have been burning in the Boulder area recently, destroying homes and thousands of acres of beautiful mountain landscape. It's a tragic occurrence that makes us more sensitive to those who carelessly throw a burning cigarette butt out of the car window, especially in an area with dry fields on both sides of the road. This was bad behavior #1 from the driver stopped ahead, but the award winning behavior comes from the fact that on the back of said vehicle was a pink breast cancer awareness license plate. Bad behavior #2...displaying a breast cancer awareness license plate while tossing a known carcinogen, and in my opinion the message intended with the license plate, out the window.

Back in the late '80s, in the early days of e-mail, before we learned to use little smiley faces :-) and frowns,
and prior to downloading dancing creatures in cute outfits to be placed strategically in text to identify emotions, when we began an e-mail that contained a rant, we started with the term "FLAME ON," and when the rant was over, "FLAME OFF." Since I have been taught never to reprimand or gesture to a stranger in another vehicle because "you just never know what they will do," this is the next best outlet.

Here, in breast cancer awareness pink...."FLAME ON"....
To the person with the breast cancer awareness license plate, who threw the cigarette butt out the window of your vehicle... Are you kidding me? First of all, there are fires burning in the area, keep your butt in your car! And, last week, the day before I saw you toss the butt, one of my oldest and dearest friends underwent surgery to treat breast cancer. My family has also had more than our share of breast cancer, and I know I shouldn't, but I took your actions personally. Tossing a carcinogen out onto a public roadway, while displaying something intended to help bring awareness to cancer, is a classic example of "do as I say, not as I do." 

Still flaming on...I can assume many things, that you are not the victim of cancer, and that you display the plate in order to support a woman you know. I'm sure that if you had faced that fear yourself, you wouldn't be smoking, because DUH, smoking causes cancer. Coming from someone who loves people who have fought breast and other types of cancer... thank you for going to the trouble and expense of displaying the pink ribbon plate, but please be respectful and not degrade its message.  Some of us are way too close to the subject not to care. And, I hope that you can love yourself enough to stop smoking because I am sure that whoever who loves you, wishes you would put your last butt out in the ashtray... please, and pick up some broccoli on the way home, not cigarettes.
FLAME OFF...

There. Better now.
The "less than aware" driver in front of me provides an opportunity to remind my mostly female readers, that if you are of age and haven't had a mammogram or are overdue, please make an appointment. If you suspect something is wrong, and a medical professional told you, it's nothing, get a second opinion, we all know our own bodies best. And if you have done all that, then I would like to remind you to have a wonderful day, and eat your vegetables.

There are foods that research suggests may help fight cancer and support breast health. Generally speaking, a low-fat, vegetable based diet, high in cruciferous vegetables and minimal amounts of animal fat, is the best anti-cancer diet. The name "cruciferous" comes from the pattern in which the plant grows, resembling a cross or crucifix. These powerful veggies contain Indole-3-carbinol, an antioxidant that fights free-radical cell division of cancer cells.

Watercress, one my favorite leafy greens is also a powerful cancer fighter. Compounds in the plant inhibit angiogenesis, the process by which tumors communicate with surrounding healthy tissue, to coax blood supply into the tumor thereby allowing it to grow. Studies suggest watercress is particularly helpful in fighting the spread of human breast cancer cells.

Today's dish is delicious and contains two cruciferous veggies, brussels sprouts and kohlrabi. I know, what the heck is kohlrabi? I've included a photo to help identify the root vegetable, similar in taste to broccoli, great both raw and cooked. Kohlrabi, radishes and rutabagas are root cruciferous vegetables, unlike brussels sprouts, broccoli and cabbage, which grow above ground. Research also suggests that folate helps the body to utilize the antioxidants found in the vegetables, and red peppers contain high levels of folate, so I added red pepper to today's dish.

The recipe for today is a technique rather than an exact recipe, because I'm anticipating lots of questions about kohlrabi. Take it from me, it's delicious...a sweeter broccoli taste. Feel free to replace brussels sprouts and kohlrabi with broccoli, cabbage, rutabaga, or cauliflower.

Steps for a Quick and Delish Stir Fry

Ingredients:
Fresh or frozen veggies of choice. If using kohlrabi, peel the green skin off, leaving the white flesh to cook.
Fresh ginger root or frozen ginger root (keep ginger in plastic in freezer to use when needed. Just peel the skin off 1/2 inch at a time and grate frozen ginger into dishes as needed. Adds amazing flavor!)
low-sodium chicken broth
low-sodium soy sauce
cracked red pepper
fresh garlic
onions - any kind

Wash and cut vegetables of choice to bite sized pieces. I used frozen brussels sprouts, fresh kohlrabi, onion, and red pepper.
Steam thawed brussels sprouts for about 2 minutes in a pot with a small amount of water, just to give them a head start cooking since they take the longest to cook. If frozen, steam a little longer. Remove from water.
Peel two or three cloves garlic. When cooking with whole garlic it adds flavor but can be removed easily from the dish if the taste is too strong.
Add 1 T. olive oil to large saute pan and add brussels sprouts, whole garlic and the rest of the veggies.
Grate about 1/2 tsp. of ginger onto the veggies and stir in.
Saute until the veggies over medium heat until they are crisp tender, stirring occasionally.
1 minute before serving add a splash of low-sodium chicken broth and a splash of soy sauce for flavor.
I don't thicken my stir fry because I don't feel it's necessary to add the calories.

Serve over white or brown rice or couscous. Quick, healthful and delicious!

You Say Tomato... I Say Tomato Jam!

My calendar says it's September! And before the best tomatoes are gone for the season it's time to recreate one of my favorites, grandma Ruth's tomato jam. Canning and making preserves was common when we were kids, especially in farm country.

Cardboard boxes filled with canning jars were found in most basements in the 1950s in the Midwest, ours included. And long after mom could physically do the hard labor of canning, and no longer had five kids at home to feed, she still had a gallon jar of "refrigerator pickles", she called them, on the top shelf at the back of the refrigerator. When the pickle level ran low, more sliced cucumbers, onions or vinegar was added to the jar and the pickles kept flowing. It was a way of keeping a little bit of summer in the fridge, long after the snow had started to fall.

Early in the morning on canning day, the big, blue speckled enamel canner was hauled out of the basement. It was large enough to cover two burners on the top of the gas range and the boiling liquid would heat the already hot summer kitchen to a vinegar smelling sauna. With fans running and windows open wide, mom would prepare an assembly line of glass Mason jars on the kitchen table, along with lids and rims, ready to fill and seal with hot food. Canning tomatoes, pickles, beans or peaches is a task that requires a lot of work and time to prepare, but when ready, it happened fast and wasn't a good idea for kids to get in the way. The sound of the lids sealing to the jars, "pop!" signalled that they were filled and soon it would be safe to return to the kitchen.

Grandma Ruth's tomato jam is something I have never made until now, but it's combination of flavors I've thought about periodically for many years during tomato season. A quick e-mail to my cousins in Minnesota brought the ingredients together. There was a flavor I couldn't put my finger on, and my aunt remembered that the mystery ingredient was oranges. After a trial run in my kitchen, sure-as-shootin', she was right. Ruth's jam had the flavor of orange and I remember biting into bits of cooked, sweet orange rind, adding a bit of chewiness. More good news, making this jam that can be stored in the refrigerator is far more simple than canning tomatoes!

To bring the recipe into 2010,  I replaced what I assume was a lot of white sugar in the original recipe, with a smaller amount of honey and brown sugar, and added a bit of food grade lavender for a not-too-sweet, sightly floral version of tomato orange jam. Back in the day we ate it, like any other jam, by itself on bread or toast. But tonight, this will accompany me to a Labor Day BBQ as part of an appetizer, combining the sweet jam with tangy goat and blue cheeses. It could also be served as a complement with grilled chicken thighs, spread on a grilled chicken sandwich, or just about anything you can imagine.

Grilled Bread With Cheeses and Tomato Lavender Jam

This makes enough for two to three creative dishes.
Remove skins from about 4 lbs. of tomatoes by blanching first and then peeling. Easy! Here's how:
On the bottom of each tomato, cut a small "X" in the skin. Bring a large pot of water to boil and drop the tomatoes in for 30-45 seconds. Careful not to splash boiling water on yourself. Cool slightly and the skins will come off easily. Remove the hard stem end and discard. Cut tomatoes into chunks and put in large heavy-bottom stainless steel pan. (No aluminum pans with tomatoes, the acid will interact with the pan.)

To the chopped tomatoes add:
2 heaping T. coarsely grated orange peel, mostly orange part, but a little white is OK too.
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T. honey
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. culinary grade lavender (if you don't have or don't want to buy it, it's good without it!)
dash of salt and ground black pepper

Mix all in large pan and mash with a metal potato masher to break down the tomatoes. Simmer over medium-low heat for at least 30 minutes, depending on how much juice was in your tomatoes, until it thickens and becomes spreadable. For this appetizer, grill ciabatta or baguette bread by brushing with olive oil and placing on hot grill or grill pan for a minute or two each side. (Crackers would work to save time). Depending on how many you are serving, the ratio should be 3/4 parts softened goat cheese with 1/4 part blue cheese crumbles and spread on bread. Top with cooled jam and garnish with either chopped nuts or finely chopped fresh basil. I have served this with just soft goat cheese and jam and it's delish too.