I forgot to get a final photo before it was gobbled up - but here is one in process

I was the co-hostess of a beautiful women’s event on Saturday, and since it’s January I wanted to make a hearty stew to warm our bellies. A lot of my friends are vegetarian or vegan, and our guest of honor is allergic to gluten, so I decided that I better invent something to fit all that criteria. That’s when I came up with this amazing (if I do say so myself) chili recipe!

I actually used about double the amount of chili powder than I list in the recipe, but it was too spicy for my taste. A couple of folks who really like heat raved about the spiciness, but I suggest you start with the amounts I have below and adjust according to your preference.

Anyway, here’s my new creation! If you cook it, please let me know what you think:
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Vegetarian Pumpkin Chili with “Meaty” Sweet Potato Chunks
Makes about 3 quarts of chili

INGREDIENTS
Sweet Potato Chunks:
1 sweet potato, cubed (about the size of dice)
1 tbsp olive oil
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
¼ tsp chili powder

Chili Pot:
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp cumin
½ tsp chili powder
½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
salt to taste
1 green or sweet red pepper, diced
1 large sweet onion, diced
4 oz mushrooms, sliced (I like mini bellas) and sautéed in 1 tsp olive oil
15 oz can tomato sauce
15 oz can diced tomato
15 oz can red kidney beans or black beans, drained and rinsed
15 oz canned plain pumpkin
7.5 oz  can chipotle peppers adobo sauce (using less than full can)
2 cups frozen corn
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DIRECTIONS

Baked Sweet Potato Chunks:
Mix sweet potato, oil and seasoning in a large bowl
Spread on parchment paper
Bake at 400° for 20 minutes
Use a spatula to mix / flip potato cubes
Bake for additional 10 minutes
Pull out of oven and allow potatoes to cool and firm up before adding to chili

Chili Pot:
In a large pot (at least 4 quarts) warm 1 tbsp olive oil
Add diced pepper, onion, and sprinkle of salt
Saute until peppers are softened and onion pieces become translucent (not browned)

Add sautéed mushrooms with juice
Add canned tomato, beans, and pumpkin
Chop up 2 large chipotle peppers and add to pot along with 1 tsp adobo sauce
Mix in seasoning and add salt to taste

Let simmer on low for 1 hour, stirring occasionally
Taste and adjust seasoning / spice according to your preference
Mix in frozen corn and baked sweet potato chunks

Let simmer for another 30-60 minutes

Serve warm. I like to garnish with a dollop of sour cream, especially if I made it extra spicy.
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• This recipe turns out pretty thick, which I like… but if you prefer your chili soupier, add some tomato juice.
• Make sure you get canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce that do not have wheat flour added if gluten is an issue. I used San Marcos brand.
• As always, try to use organic items. I love Meijer Organics products and used them for my beans, tomatoes, and corn.
• I also suggest that you purchase all of your spices at Harvest Health. They are much more potent, and much cheaper than what you will find at a grocery store (about $1 per ounce).

These are NOT sugar cookies. Let me repeat: If you are in the same room with Nana Routsong, you are NOT to refer to these cookies as sugar cookies (you’ll get a tongue lashing). They’re butter cookies – savory enough for all that frosting to make sense… in fact, it’s a perfect balance of salty and sweet. You may know this type of cookie as shortbread. It’s a simple recipe, but pretty time-consuming from start-to-finish. It’s a labor of love.

These cookies are a big, big deal in my family. My mom and her brother and sister grew up (for the most part) in Traverse City, Michigan. Winters are cold and harsh in northern Michigan, but it makes Christmastime beautiful. The heavy snow outside makes indoors feel extra cozy, and baking just comes naturally. Nana had made these Christmas cookies every year since her kids were little, then, when I was a kid I would help her make them. The smell of these cookies, all frosted and sprinkled, brings all of us right back to those warm, cozy, childhood Christmases.

In my teen years, when none of us were helping her bake any longer, Nana was making them on her own, and shipping them out to her kids and grandkids in 3 different states. It just got to be too much for her to handle. These cookies are kind of a lot of work, even in my 20s, so I don’t blame Nana for throwing in the towel in her 70s. That’s when I decided to step in. Going without butter cookies on Christmas is not an option.

I make them almost exactly the same way Nana did, except I use real butter instead of margarine. Nobody in my family can actually really taste the difference, but I like the fact that butter is more natural.

The Recipe:

Nana’s Butter Cookies

• 3 Cups sifted flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 egg unbeaten
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup margarine (I use butter)

   Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together.
   Cream margarine and sugar together thoroughly. Add egg and vanilla. Beat until fluffy.
   Gradually stir in sifted dry ingredients until well blended (will be the consistency of Play-Doh).
   Roll small amount of dough 1/8″ thick on a lightly floured board. Shape with cookie cutters as desired.
   Place on ungreased baking sheet (I use parchment paper) at 350° until delicately browned (about 8-11 minutes).

As I am pulling them out of the oven, I lay them out on my kitchen table which I first cover with wax paper. You have to let them cool flat, and they must be completely cooled prior to decorating or the heat will melt the frosting. When it comes to frosting, the basics work best, and nothing “fancy” tastes the same as the ones Nana used to make.

I use Pillsbury plain white (or plain vanilla) frosting as my base. Whipped frosting does not harden properly, and your decorations will smear everywhere when you stack them (we learned from experience). Similarly, you can’t use decorating gel, or the frosting in the aerosol cans. They are easier to use, but the colors tend to bleed, and also smear. Just use the standard icing, in any colors you choose – and lots of different kinds of sprinkles!

Get creative – Each cookie is like an art project, so have fun!

Look at those gorgeous lavender flowers!

I went to Kingma’s today for the first time ever. If you have not been there, you need to go immediately. I had no idea what I had been missing out on. Kingma’s is a little grocery store on Plainfield in Grand Rapids that sells lots of local, fresh food. I noticed that they even carry organic cheese from a farm in Coopersville! They also have a massive selection of beer, wine, produce, AND delicious bulk snacks like dried fruit, nuts, and candies. I picked up some cinnamon yogurt covered pretzels (which taste like a more intense and creamy version of cinnamon toast crunch) and candied ginger slices.

The meat counter, however, is where they really shine (and why they’re a local favorite). This huge counter is full of freshly cut meats as well as tons of different types of sausages, most of which are made right there. I walked up to the counter and asked the butcher to suggest a nice cut of meat, about 2 lbs, for my pot roast. He suggested an English Cut Chuck Roast, which is gorgeous, and only cost a whopping $7! I asked him where their meats come from as he was wrapping up my beef – he told me that it all comes from a farm in Holland where there are no growth hormones used, and that all of it is farm fresh (never frozen) and all cut and/or ground freshly in the store.

So, I am just waiting for my roast to be done cooking. My mom taught me how to cook pot roast this way, but I never make it exactly the same. The ingredients are always based on what sounds good to me that day, and what is available to me organically, as I never use pesticide-sprayed produce …yuck.

Here’s what I have done so far:

1. Sprinkle roast with salt and coarsely ground black pepper. Coat all edges with Herbs de Province from G.B. Russo. (hint: it’s the abundance of lavender that makes this mix so fantastic with beef!)
2. Warm about 3 tbsp butter in the bottom of a large dutch oven, add 3 cloves sliced garlic, and turn up to high.
3. Once it’s good and hot, but not yet browned, sear the meat  in the butter on both sides, for about 3-4 minutes per side.
4. Deglaze (with the meat in the pot) with about 1/4 cup of rich red wine like cabernet or merlot.
5. Remove pot from heat.
6. Slice up about 8 carrots, 2 onions, 6 potatoes… leave the skin on the carrots and potatoes for a hearty, rustic meal.
7. Lift the meat to put some sliced veggies underneath, and then put the other veggies around and on top of the meat. You want to fill the pot up about 2/3 full so use however many veggies you need to accomplish this.
8. Pour in 2 boxes of organic beef broth. You want the liquid to *just* cover the top of the veggies, so if you come up short go ahead and add some water, it won’t hurt a thing.
9. Cover and put in the oven at 325 degrees for an hour.
10. After an hour, mix in veggies that don’t take as long to cook (sliced portobello mushrooms and frozen organic corn in my case).
11. Put back in the oven for an hour and a half, after-which you will want to check the tenderness of the meat. You will want to keep cooking until the meat falls apart with a fork.

I ended up cooking it for an additional hour past that last hour and a half to achieve fall-apart-tenderness with the beef. It turned out great – and my husband and two of our friends agreed!

Peaches by Presidents of The United States of America, 1996: This is a song that I thought was just great when I was in 6th grade, but basically can’t stand now. I don’t totally understand why he says he is going to move to the country to eat canned peaches produced in the city. It’s probably metaphorical anyway, huh? I’m pretty sure “peaches” is an innuendo here as well.

Wrapped in Plastic by Marilyn Manson, 1994: I remember listening to this (my favorite song at the time) on my disk man during the bus ride to school when I was 14, circa 1997. Yeah, nobody liked me. Anyway, This is a Nirvana-esque song is all metaphors about religion, family, child abuse ….and steak. It has pretty dark lyrics… but what else would you expect? There’s a lot of talk that this song is all about Twin Peaks. The screams in the beginning of the song are sampled from a super creepy scene in the final episode of Twin Peaks.

She Don’t Use Jelly by The Family Lips, 1993: Oh, Flaming Lips… thank God you’ve gotten cooler over the years. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I loved this song at roller skating parties… but it’s pretty lame now. There is some random food talk in this video, and I’m pretty sure it’s all silly and meaningless.

Midnight Vultures album by Beck, 1999: The whole album is about sex, and as usual all of his lyrics are really creative, strange, and hard to interpret. These two food songs are obviously about sex, and obviously awesome songs, but that’s about as far as my interpretation goes.

Milk & Honey:

Peaches & Cream:

Die Eier von Satan (Eggs of Satan) by Tool, 1996: This might be the best food song of the 90s. God bless rock and it’s sense of humor. This song sounds like Hitler getting a crowd all riled up, but it’s really just a  recipe (for hash cookies) being recited in German. This video below is really stupid, but I wanted to show you the translated lyrics.

Recipe for Love by Harry Connick, Jr., 1990: Speaking of recipe songs, here is a completely different kind of recipe…

That’s all for right now

The sweet and sour sauce was from a jar, but warmed on the stove with freshly sliced grapes, black cherries, kiwi, pineapple, blueberries, mangoes, sweet gherkins, and red and yellow peppers. The shrimp that he battered and fried was from Key West.

Dad used the same shrimp, chopped, in the filling for the egg rolls. He taught my mom and me how to roll egg rolls, but he handled the deep-fryer. He has been using the same egg roll recipe for years and years from the classic book, The Pleasures of Chinese Cooking. He ordered me a used copy online so now I have my own as well.

The meal was a fantastic success. I am not a huge fan of sweet and sour because it is just too sweet for me, but I liked it with the fresh fruit. It would be nice if Chinese restaurants prepared it that way. The egg rolls were amazing and have been a favorite of mine since I was a kid. Check out the vibrant colors in these pictures!

When I want to make something healthy that also makes great leftovers, I like to make a big pot o’ food, like pot roast, chili, or stew. I didn’t have enough cash to buy a big chunk of beef from Harvest Health or Heffron Farms, and I have searched Meijer high and low, and have only found ONE organic meat item there. So, I wanted to figure out how to make something with with that one item; Coleman Organic sun-dried tomato & basil chicken sausage. Meijer’s meat selection might suck, but they sure do have an excellent assortment of Meijer Organics products for a fraction of the price of other organic options.

• Meijer Organics canned crushed tomatoes $1.65
• Meijer Organics whole wheat penne rigate $1.99
• Meijer Organics pasta sauce $2.35
• Baby-bella mushrooms $2.99
• 2 Packs organic sausage @ $5.49 each

I wanted to include zucchini and peppers, but Meijer did not have them organically grown.

When I got home I realized that the mushrooms were not organic, which bummed me out. It looked like all of their mushrooms were organic, so I grabbed the baby-bellas without thinking. Next time I will get the mini-bellas which are organic and the same price per oz.  I also realized that I was probably a little low on pasta, so I added about 6 additional ounces of shells that I had in my cupboard.

• Start the water boiling to cook the pasta, and put the pasta in the pot once it is boiling. You can easily prepare the rest of your items while making the pasta.
• Slice up and brown all of the sausage. You need to use a little olive oil since chicken sausage is not fatty like pork sausage.
• Once browned, add the can of organic crushed tomatoes and let simmer on low while preparing the rest of the items.
• Slice up the mushrooms and sauté on low with butter and a little salt and pepper. The sweetness of butter complements the velvety texture of sautéed portobello mushrooms.
• Once your pasta is cooked and drained, return it back to the large pasta pot.
• Mix in the sausage, tomato sauce, and mushrooms. I put the mushroom juice from the pan in as well. Pour the whole can of spaghetti sauce in and mix it all up.
• It should be warm enough to serve.
• Top with shredded cheese if you would like.

My husband and I both loved it. After one bite, he told me to remember to make this meal often. I can’t wait to try it again when I can add more veggies from the farmers market. This big pot o’ food would serve at least 8 people, and has all of the goodness of organic chicken and tomatoes. If you can’t eat it all, you can put some into freezer bags and store it the freezer for later. If you have kids, though, I bet you won’t have any trouble getting through a whole pot. It’s a great family meal that is cheap, healthy, and easy.

Making sushi rolls is actually really easy. The rice-on-the-outside kind is more difficult so we usually don’t bother with those. I learned pretty much everything I needed to know from this book, and have tutored lots of our friends at various at-home sushi parties. EVERYONE gets the hang of it after one roll. You should give it a try, too!

In celebration of a birthday, a group of 9 girls (including myself) took a road trip down to Berrien County to sample wine at three wineries: The Round Barn, Free Run Cellars, and Tabor Hill. I really enjoyed being in Berrien County. I had no idea how gorgeous this part of the state is. Being very early spring there was not much foliage, but we could clearly see the rows and rows of gnarled grape vines lining all of the country roads. They were beautiful and made me feel like I went back in time. The fields of vines were surrounding old farm houses, churches, and cemeteries. I am a real sucker for history, so I was absolutely loving that. I cannot wait to go back in the summer when everything is in full bloom.

First Stop, The Round Barn: This place was really cool. The winery is literally in a round barn, which was built by the Amish in Indiana over a hundred years ago. It was transferred up to Michigan for the purpose of becoming this winery. The interior has an awesome modern, but rustic feel. I paid $7.50 for a small wine glass (that I got to keep) and was able to try 6 wines, their vodka, and a beer. Next time I come back with my wine glass my samples are free. The women pouring wine were very nice and knowledgable about wine, but not so knowledgeable about vodka.

• My Favorite Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon LMS: “Hints of chocolate, elderberry, and black currant. Twenty months in oak gives a nice balance of tannins on the palate and will allow this wine to age exceptionally well.” It smelled meaty and tasted like I was drinking it straight from an antique oak barrel, and that sort of thing really gets me excited.
• Fantastic Beer, Cocoa Stout: They tapped it with nitrogen so it was extra cold and extra smooth. It was similar to Guinness Draught but somehow more refreshing, lightly chocolatey (made with milk chocolate and contains lactose), with a hint of coffee flavor. I am still craving it. I wish I had gotten a 6-pack… but then again, I wonder if it would be nearly as good as having it on tap. I need a local bar to start serving this beer asap.
• The Vodka: They make their own vodka, called Divine Vodka. It is distilled with grapes rather than potatoes or grains. I was extremely excited to try it since my favorite vodka, Ciroc, is a grape vodka as well. I had the choice of trying the vodka in martini form or plain. I asked for martini – and realized that she was about to pour me some reddish-purple, pre-mixed, something-or-another. I asked her to stop and tell me what it was. She seemed sort of unsure and told me it was a fruity martini. I told her that I was under the impression that the martini option would be chilled vodka with a little vermouth and maybe an olive. She had no idea what I was talking about. I asked her if I could please just try the plain vodka instead, which seemed to irritate and confuse her. It was awfully strong to drink straight, and at room temperature, but still smooth. Not as smooth as Ciroc in my opinion, but it’s local… and that is obviously a plus. I would have preferred it chilled, with a green olive.

Second Stop, Free Run Cellars: The building and decor were nothing special. We were greeted by a sweet little Yorkie, which thrilled me, and irritated some of my less animal-friendly girlfriends. The wine glass that I bought at Round Barn was good for a free wine-tasting here. We got to choose 5 different wines. The woman pouring was less-friendly than the gals we met at Round Barn, but still knowledgeable.

My Favorite was Cabernet Franc: “Aged 20 months; elderberry resonates on the nose while hints of chocolate & almonds abound.” What struck me about this wine was that it smelled like it was going to be quite sweet – but did not taste that way. It had a full, rich flavor that reminded me of cherries, without the sweetness. Excellent.

Final Stop; Tabor Hill: Obviously a well established winery, in a beautiful building, with a restaurant attached. The gentleman who was pouring our wine was the most knowledgeable wine pro we had met all day. The wine samples are free here, but you don’t get a glass to bring home. We got to choose 6 wines, and all of them were so fantastic that I can’t choose a favorite to list below. I even enjoyed the sweeter whites because they were so clean and fresh tasting, not sugary like at the earlier wineries.  The reds were impeccable.

I came home with Cream Sherry: “This gold medal winning sherry is sure to delight the senses! It has a nutty aroma and flavors of sweet almond and raisin.” I had to bring a bottle of this home. Our wine pourer described it as “fireplace wine,” and he couldn’t have been more dead-on. This syrupy, rich, liquor warms all the way down when you swallow it. The raisins and brandy remind me of delicious autumn aromas, and the almond adds a rich and nutty element, like Frangelico. I had to bring a bottle of this home because it was so unique compared to everything I had tasted that day. How appropriate that it was also the last.

There were several other wineries that we saw, but just didn’t have enough time for. I also saw signs for antique stores, which is another magnet for me. I need to spend a couple days exploring all of these places and really take it all in. I think it would make for a very relaxing and romantic weekend. I also need to go back to Tabor Hill and have a meal at their restaurant. I just took a look at the menu and the Grilled Quail is squawking my name.

Driving Route

The movie follows him into different spiritual retreats that he is leading, using cooking as a means of self-exploration. He and his students cook and meditate together. While they are cooking he gives bits of wisdom. He has beautiful stories and metaphors about food and cookware relating to life, most of it was passed down to him from his Zen Master.

“When you are cooking, you are not just cooking. You are not just working on food. You are also working on yourself. You are working on other people.”

Most of the focus was on bread making, which I enjoyed, since my dad has been making bread from scratch since I was a kid. I felt like I could smell the yeasty dough as he was tutoring his students on kneading and braiding.

The concepts that he shared in his classes really spoke to me. Something that I already practice and was pleased to hear him talk about is the importance of making food with love in your heart and in your hands so that peace, as well as nutrition, can be passed along to those who eat what you prepare. He also teaches the concept of working with the ingredients to create food, not using ingredients to create food. The subtle difference is a beautiful way of thinking. The chef is not superior to the food, and cannot force it to do something that it will not do naturally. The chef must have a conversation between his hands, knives, and ingredients, to create something wonderful together for people to eat.

The objective of the film was confusing as it went off on a few tangents that puzzled me. For example, when Brown was discussing wasted food and the importance of utilizing every bit of what you have, the viewer is suddenly taken away from his class and watching interviews with people on the streets of San Francisco. A poor man who has a hard time getting enough food, and an old hippie woman who gets all of her food from dumpster diving and has not had to purchase food in a grocery store for years. I really enjoyed these parts of the movie, and I obviously understand how that relates to food waste in America, but I was confused as to why we never saw these people again or heard any more about their stories or ways of life.

It took me a little while, but I did notice that Edward Espe Brown is sort of crazy. You would think a Zen Master would be a little bit more “zen” about things. It was uncomfortable to watch him get overwhelmed and short with his students, a couple of times breaking down into tears. I admire the fact that he admits in the film that he has a temper and that he is trying to work on his control issues, but it is still surprising to see him lose his cool in unexpected situations. I found myself occasionally feeling nervous and embarrassed for his students. But, hey, that’s what makes a good documentary, right?

Not only had I gained a lot of weight, but I was also waking up in the middle of the night every night with chest pains, and feeling like I was going to die, due to nothing more than unprovoked fear and stress. Needless to say, I was feeling terrible about myself, and this counselor opened my eyes to some fantastic natural supplements that I could take to help my brain function better.

She told me to buy this book, The Mood Cure, and make it my bible. There are several questionnaires in the book that can help you decide what chemicals your brain may be deficient in. Then the book explains what natural supplements and food decisions can help replace those deficiencies, in turn, training your brain to behave correctly on its own, without the need for pharmaceuticals. Low and behold, I found that I was deficient in serotonin. And, that something called 5-HTP, derived from the plant Griffonia simplicifolia, could help me.

“The manufacturer of Prozac, Eli Lilly, recently conducted a study combining 5-HTP with Prozac. Serotonin activity was increased 150% on Prozac alone. It increased 615% after 5-HTP was added.” -The Mood Cure by Julia Ross, M.A.

It wasn’t just 5-HTP that I started taking thanks to that book. Here’s a list of what supplements I put into my body each day to keep my brain chemistry balanced and to keep me thinking clearly. Please remember that these doses are adjusted perfectly for my body, according to conversations I have had with my counselor and my primary care physician.

• one woman’s multi-vitamin
• 2000iu of Vitamin D
• 1200mg of Fish Oil (432mg of EPA & 288mg of DHA – the most important components)
• At night I usually take 1mg-5mg of melatonin to help me rest peacefully.

And, finally, I take 100mg of 5-HTP as needed when I am feeling nervous or anxious. When I need it, 5-HTP works beautifully for me, similarly to the way Xanax works, to eliminate the unnecessary stress and help me think more clearly.

So, back to carbs.

5-HTP is sometimes advertised as a weight-loss supplement because it is a natural appetite suppressant. And, that makes sense. I just saw on the show The Doctors that people crave carbs because they actually trigger your brain to increase serotonin production, which makes you feel nice, like everything is going to be okay. If you crave certain high calorie foods (carbs, sugar) because your brain wants those serotonin boosts, it makes sense that you won’t crave them when your brain has the amount of serotonin it needs to feel good. So, my hypothesis is; Take some 5-HTP! For your health!

Oh, and, I am happy to report that I really don’t feel like snacking like I used to. And when I do want a snack, it’s usually fruit that I crave. This is a happy, unexpected side effect since I was only looking to get my panic attacks under control. I have been slowly losing weight since I’ve been on this regimen.  Um, but I’m pretty sure exercising would help.