Lenten Diet?

Has Lent has become a type of diet? You give up something that’s bad for you for 40 days and then switch from famine to feast on Easter Sunday (and the Sundays in between if you cheat). You might even lose a few pounds or become a little less addicted to caffeine or Facebook in the process.
 
One year I gave up what seemed a great sacrifice, chocolate. Even being the chocoholic I am, self-discipline and yogurt-covered pretzels carried me through with little need to look beyond myself. I even thought I was becoming a better, less food-obsessed person because I began to crave the wondrous cocoa less. Retrospectively, I realize I missed the whole point of a fast.

I now see I have to be careful to monitor my intentions. Am I doing this just to see if I can make it through or to wean myself off a bad habit? Or is this a God-honoring sacrifice?

One thing I did have on target in my chocolate fast was that the most significant thing for me to sacrifice is food. TV, facebook, caffeine, music, whatever I can live without just fine (and it’s hard to give up the internet or reading when you have a job), but lunch, dinner, snack time, dessert, baking, cooking, food shopping, it’s all what I most look forward to everyday. And so when I go 24 hours (as long as I’ve ventured thus far) without eating, as I did once a week last Lent, every hunger pain reminds me that I am incessantly dependant on something, someone, beyond myself. It’s not comfortable, there are no yogurt-covered pretzels to substitute, and I certainly can’t do it on my own.

Another good Lenten discipline can be to take something on instead of giving it up. This year I’m thinking about setting aside extra time for prayer or daily writing notes to encourage people in my life. The Church Health Center in Memphis suggests taking on healthy eating and is blogging different healthy recipes.

Ash Wednesday, the official start of the Lenten season, is in two days. What are you considering taking on or giving up?

UPDATE: I just found a campaign called Wine to Water that encourages people to donate to water projects in Zimbabwe the money they would have spent on whatever they give up for Lent. Another great idea! This give site is in the UK, but you could easily easily calcuate the amount you are not spending and give it to whatever nonprofits you like to support. 

Chocolate Oreo Cake: A Romance

Note: You have my official permission to make fun of my quirky, extremely girly analogy in this post.

The only thing that speaks to my heart a decadent layer cake like this chocolate Oreo beauty is a good story in the form of a Jane Austen-esque romance. Both are so worthy of being devoured.

I could whip up a box cake mix in a 13x9-inch pan and top it with some canned icing. Or, I could devote hours to the creation of a homemade layer cake. I could watch a rom-com of the variety where two people fall in love over a 10 minute montage. Or, I could devote hours to absorbing a story wrought with romantic tension not resolved until the ending. Quick gratification or an utter high on life from devotion to something superior—I choose the latter.

It is in the long process of mixing flour and sugar, waiting for layers to bake, mixing and spreading icing that true quality cake comes into being. And it is in the pages and pages of prose or the hours of a BBC miniseries that a relationship between two people, often filled with frustration and misunderstanding, can really form a bond where they really love one another for who they are (ahh, true love).


Along the way, you can gain a taste of what is to come from cake batter, cake crumbs, and icing, as you can from all the tension in a relationship as attraction develops.

In the end, what more could a girl want than romance and chocolate? But such delights are not an ultimate fulfillment, for both treats must be devoured on occasion and in moderation. I know we must be wary of fat and calories, just as I, for one, must be careful not to let period piece fairy tales (e.g. Mr. Darcy, whose bust is quite real) shape my view of reality.

To be truthful, this cake was first inspired by Oreos and then by my small group coming over for dinner. But the day I was planning the Oreo cream filling and chocolate icing, I happened to have a particularly delightful conversation about mutual fascination with Jane Austen novels, Elizabeth Gaskell’s North and South, and the Little Dorrit miniseries. Before long, the romance of the two became tied in my head.

Another truth revealed: I used Country Choice, wannabe Oreos from Whole Foods, for the chocolate sandwich cookies.

Quinoa & More Super Foods

So many magazine stories I flip through and think, "That's cool," and then move on with life. Yes, part of reading a mag is for pleasure and escape, but I decided I wanted to really act on the service nuggets that stick out to me. Step one is tearing out the ones that speak to me, and step two is doing it.

For February I did something! I tore out Real Simple's cover story on 30 superfoods to eat, made a list, and cooked quinoa ("Keen-wah"), the only grain that is a complete protein. I found its grainy grains, somewhere in between the size of couscous and rice, a light texture perfect for a side dish or salad.

I threw it together veggies in my fridge (red onion, bell pepper, broccoli, and parsley) and some red wine vinegar and olive oil for a fresh and hearty lunch salad. Along with a bit of chicken salad, it kept my taste buds and stomach content til dinner.

Here's the rest of Real Simple's list. I broke my superfood report card down by the foods I already eat, with some notes about how I like to eat them, and the ones on my to-try list. I started to write about how they are all good in salads, but it got redundant.

• almonds- sugared as a snack, nutty crunch for salads and rice
• avocados- guacamole! guacamole! sandwich topper.
• black beans- best-ever Black Bean Hummus
• blueberries- with granola & yogurt for breakfast
• broccoli- roasted as a side dish, in pasta (or quinoa) salads
• chicken breasts- the base of dinner more often than not
• edamame- salted as snack, Roasted Garlic-Edamame Spread
• eggs- a superfood we can put in baked goods, horray!
• extra-virgin olive oil- salad dressings, cooking meat & veggies, everywhere
• kidney beans- chili!
• kiwi- snacking
• lentils- Lemony Lentil Stew
• mushrooms- sauteed to top chicken or steak or anything really
• oatmeal- nuked, baked with berries
• oranges- sliced for breakfast
• peanut and almond butters- toast topper
• pumpkin- smoothies, dips, pancakes, bread, French toast, you name it
• skim milk- drink of choice
• spinach- salad base, Garlicky Spinach Dip, Spinach Brownies
• sweet potatoes- oven-fried, baked as side dish
• walnuts- pesto, muffins
• whole-grain pasta- under spaghetti sauce
• wild salmon-mmm grilled, with mango salsa in summertime
• yogurt- smoothie base, mayo substitute, snack

NEEDS IMPROVEMENT

• barley- as a rice replacement
• bulgur- another rice replacment
• chard- sauteed with some garlic and vinegar
• kale- the cool way to eat this leafy green seems to be as chips
• sardines- I've been meaning to try Jamie Oliver's yogurt-based Caesar dressing 

How do you like to eat these superfoods? Any your are thinking about trying?

Real Oatmeal: Two Ways

Today's subject is oats, as in real oats, as the kind that are oval-shape and have texture, as in not the ground-up mush that comes in packets or in the quick-cooking box. But the instant oats are just so conveniently instant, you say. Or maybe you say that all oatmeal is that nasty porridge that you, like poor Baby Bear, were forced to eat by Mama Bear.

I am here to argue that (1) oats do not require laboring over the stove in the time you don't have and (2) their whole-food, nutty texture is soul-warmingly delicious with a heartiness that sticks with you until lunch.

1. The Super Easy Way: Nuked Oats

News flash: you can microwave real oats. You simply put water and oats in a microwave-safe bowl; nuke it for 3 1/2 minutes; and then stir some combination of brown sugar, nuts (I like walnuts!), milk, and/or berries. See oats box for instructions for different servings.

Word of Warning: Real oats puff while in cooking this super-fast way, so unless you want an oatmeal explosion in your microwave, cook it in a bowl (or casserole dish or, my favorite make-do container, a glass bread pan) three to four times the volume of the oats.

2. The Hands-Off Way: Baked Oats

Baking oats with a few extra ingredients makes for a taste and consistency that is a cross between an oatmeal cookie and traditional oatmeal.  This recipe won me over with its fresh strawberries and garnish of warmed strawberry jam. Beat that, Strawberries and Cream Instant Oatmeal.

It takes 40 minutes to bake, but because you only stir it once,  all the magic happen while you do everything else that needs to be done in the a.m.

Mad Update 3/1/12: My new favorite way to make baked oats is with strawberries and bananas!
1. Layer banana and strawberry slices in a baking dish.
2. Mix oat mixture prescribed in recipe (sometimes I skip honey and use more brown sugar) and spread on top of fruit.
3. Bake 20 minutes uncovered then 20 minutes covered, no stirring required.
4. Serve with plain Greek yogurt and fresh strawberry slices.
*I also like to make extra and reheat it for multiple days in the microwave.

How do you eat your oats?

Skillet Chocolate Chip Cookie

It's chocolate chips. It's cookie. It's giant. And it comes hot and crispy from the skillet. Need I say more?

The marriage of basic wonders chocolate chip cookie and cast iron skillet is so obviously perfect but didn't cross my mind until I stumbled upon good ole Martha's example. Each thick, pie-like slice is chewy in the middle and crispy, with a hint of seasoned skillet taste, on the outside. Serve it hot out of the oven a la mode for a full-fledged dessert presentation, and then stash leftovers in plastic bag for an afternoon chocolate pick-me-up at work.

Chicken Tetrazzini

As I often do when it's cold and dreary, I was craving creamy pasta comfort food. I'd always thought of Tetrazzini as typical Betty Crocker casserole fare, but mine would be a step up, I decided. The dish was allegedly named for Italian opera singer Luisa Tetrazzini, so shouldn't it be a tad classy? Oodles of noodles and chicken with a mushroom here and there would not do.

Each bite ended up packed with distinct flavor of prosciutto and artichokes and onion plus, of course, lots of my beloved mushrooms and some bites of chicken.

It was all wrapped up in wine cream sauce, not very heavy but cheesy enough to be creamy and comforting as it should be. Canned cream of mushroom soup, which is in many a common tetrazzini recipes, isn't pure evil, but this lighter scratch-made sauce is definitely pure good. I topped it off with a crisp layer of Parmesan and green onions.

This dish is good for a larger group or for two meals in one week. You can also double it and freeze one or give it to a friend.

Pumpkin Pie French Toast Casserole

I could go on and on about the warm pumpkin pie flavor of this subtly sweet French toast and how it so impressed me that I made it twice in one week, once for friends and once for family.  But I have to get the best part without letting my verbose self get carried away:

It's seriously the easiest breakfast for a crowd I've made. You pour a mixture of eggs, milk, pumpkin, and spices over bread slices arranged in a baking dish. But even that you do the night before, so when you wake up all that's necessary is placing a dish in the oven and pulling out the syrup.