As I grew into a (rather round) teenager, I decided that cooking was 'uncool' and 'too domestic' for me. I would be a career woman. I wouldn't do that "girly" stuff. I would find my passion. But then I met two drastically different woman, mom's of two of my teenage friends. Both women loved to cook, and for them, it was an art. It was a joy to eat their food, a priveledge to get to watch or help, and a true education into what cooking could be for a family and for myself. As an adult, I've discovered that the only passion that I hold is for my family. I AM that "too domestic" of people, and I'm terribly proud of it. I cook with flavor, I work to cook healthy food for my family to ensure that their bodies grow strong and well. I include my sons in my cooking to show them that cooking isn't done by girls, it's done by people who love to create.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Jennifer P. Gives us a tear jerker!
My dad left when I was 11 years old. Up until then, we were just your average, tiny family. Mom worked part time, and we ate at home every single night. I remember a few meals as my favorites, raves about my mother's barbeque sauce, and occasional projects where mom would decide to can pickles or jelly ... but in general the meals were simple and forgettable. I never ate foods of different cultures - it was all meat and potatoes and the occasional bowl of spaghetti. After my dad left, my mom lost all interest in cooking. We ate out 5 or 6 days out of the week, knew the specials at the local restaurants by day, and there was discussion of mom turning the stove into a planter. My cousins and I joked that mom used the kitchen 2 days a year: Thanksgiving and Christmas, and honestly it wasn't a joke. But she did a bang-up job with a holiday meal, and though she's been gone for over 12 years, it isn't "right" unless I have "her" rolls, "her" stuffing, and "her" gravy.
As I grew into a (rather round) teenager, I decided that cooking was 'uncool' and 'too domestic' for me. I would be a career woman. I wouldn't do that "girly" stuff. I would find my passion. But then I met two drastically different woman, mom's of two of my teenage friends. Both women loved to cook, and for them, it was an art. It was a joy to eat their food, a priveledge to get to watch or help, and a true education into what cooking could be for a family and for myself. As an adult, I've discovered that the only passion that I hold is for my family. I AM that "too domestic" of people, and I'm terribly proud of it. I cook with flavor, I work to cook healthy food for my family to ensure that their bodies grow strong and well. I include my sons in my cooking to show them that cooking isn't done by girls, it's done by people who love to create.
As I grew into a (rather round) teenager, I decided that cooking was 'uncool' and 'too domestic' for me. I would be a career woman. I wouldn't do that "girly" stuff. I would find my passion. But then I met two drastically different woman, mom's of two of my teenage friends. Both women loved to cook, and for them, it was an art. It was a joy to eat their food, a priveledge to get to watch or help, and a true education into what cooking could be for a family and for myself. As an adult, I've discovered that the only passion that I hold is for my family. I AM that "too domestic" of people, and I'm terribly proud of it. I cook with flavor, I work to cook healthy food for my family to ensure that their bodies grow strong and well. I include my sons in my cooking to show them that cooking isn't done by girls, it's done by people who love to create.
Labels:
Food Stories,
Lucinda
Elevated Mac and Cheese from Roberta H.
Here is my food story. Roberta
We’re a family of campers and have enjoyed a lot of campfire cooking, but one outstanding meal looms large in our memories. We were enjoying (at times) a poorly equipped backpack trip in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Southern Colorado. As I recall, it was about 20 years ago, we had three of our kids with us, the youngest about 7.
Another family, who had introduced us to car camping in that area, had 1 teenager with them.
The trek of 4 miles up to Comanche Lake was mostly very trying. It involved ankle-twisting rocks, a soggy marsh, trails worn to narrow trenches by horse feet, endless switchbacks which began to seem like an evil trick getting us nowhere, a field of shed sized boulders, and, incidentally, an altitude gain of 2,000 feet.
And we thought this was worth doing, why? Probably you have to be there to understand the draw of high mountain lakes, sub-Alpine tundra, and 40-mile vistas. Those of us helping the younger members of our group with their little packs took over 6 hours to get to the lake. Our legs and feet were like dead stumps. Our shoulders were numb. We couldn’t breathe in enough air, but we were there!
And it started to rain. Which means tents go up fast to get sleeping bags under cover… not much time to scout out nice level tent sites with a minimum of rocks. Into the tents to snack on whatever meal supplies we ended up with in our packs. Rain turned to sleet and then to hail. It rained for two hours. Finally with a little light left in the sky we came out of our tents to heat up some food.
At that time our only traveling camp stove was one little burner. We needed a fire to warm us up and to cook for 8 people. Finding wood was not easy… getting it to burn at that altitude was very difficult.
Took about an hour to get some cooking heat. Then, boiling water for macaroni? At that altitude it boils but it isn’t really hot. Took almost another hour. Kraft Mac and Cheese. Two shades softer than crunchy we declared it cooked and dumped in two cans of Hormel canned ham.
We served it up and everyone declared it the best meal they had ever eaten. Probably more superlatives than were ever heard at a smoldering, fizzling campfire! Back in Missouri in the not too distant future, the kids asked for that wonderful meal again. Alas, it wasn’t at all what we remembered. Don’t know what had happened to it, but the quality was definitely off.
We’re a family of campers and have enjoyed a lot of campfire cooking, but one outstanding meal looms large in our memories. We were enjoying (at times) a poorly equipped backpack trip in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in Southern Colorado. As I recall, it was about 20 years ago, we had three of our kids with us, the youngest about 7.
Another family, who had introduced us to car camping in that area, had 1 teenager with them.
The trek of 4 miles up to Comanche Lake was mostly very trying. It involved ankle-twisting rocks, a soggy marsh, trails worn to narrow trenches by horse feet, endless switchbacks which began to seem like an evil trick getting us nowhere, a field of shed sized boulders, and, incidentally, an altitude gain of 2,000 feet.
And we thought this was worth doing, why? Probably you have to be there to understand the draw of high mountain lakes, sub-Alpine tundra, and 40-mile vistas. Those of us helping the younger members of our group with their little packs took over 6 hours to get to the lake. Our legs and feet were like dead stumps. Our shoulders were numb. We couldn’t breathe in enough air, but we were there!
And it started to rain. Which means tents go up fast to get sleeping bags under cover… not much time to scout out nice level tent sites with a minimum of rocks. Into the tents to snack on whatever meal supplies we ended up with in our packs. Rain turned to sleet and then to hail. It rained for two hours. Finally with a little light left in the sky we came out of our tents to heat up some food.
At that time our only traveling camp stove was one little burner. We needed a fire to warm us up and to cook for 8 people. Finding wood was not easy… getting it to burn at that altitude was very difficult.
Took about an hour to get some cooking heat. Then, boiling water for macaroni? At that altitude it boils but it isn’t really hot. Took almost another hour. Kraft Mac and Cheese. Two shades softer than crunchy we declared it cooked and dumped in two cans of Hormel canned ham.
We served it up and everyone declared it the best meal they had ever eaten. Probably more superlatives than were ever heard at a smoldering, fizzling campfire! Back in Missouri in the not too distant future, the kids asked for that wonderful meal again. Alas, it wasn’t at all what we remembered. Don’t know what had happened to it, but the quality was definitely off.
Labels:
Food Stories,
Lucinda
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
One potato, two potato, hot potato- from Janel W
This is a lovely recipe I discovered by accident several years ago. . . great way to use some of the potatos too!!! : )
That is, IF you ever get tired of sweet potato fries!!!! NOT!!!!!!!!J
Mashed Potato Layer Bake
4 large white potato - peeled & cooked
3 large sweet potato - peeled & cooked
1 - 8 oz tub chive & onion cream cheese - divided 1/2's
1 - 8 oz tub sour cream - divided 1/2's
1/4- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 - 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mash potatoes in separate bowls, adding in the cream cheese & sour cream - 4 oz in each bowl. Add the parmesan to the white taters and the cheddar to the orange taters. . . I tend to use more sour cream and cheeses . . . use less if you are a lesser cheeser.
Layer in a clear, 9x9 glass pan. . start with the white taters
Bake at 375, for about 15-20 min. . .sprinkle with a bit more of the cheeses and bake for 5 more minutes. . let sit a few minutes before feasting. . you'll burn your tongune!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't wait to hear if you love this as much as we do!!!
J & gang
That is, IF you ever get tired of sweet potato fries!!!! NOT!!!!!!!!J
Mashed Potato Layer Bake
4 large white potato - peeled & cooked
3 large sweet potato - peeled & cooked
1 - 8 oz tub chive & onion cream cheese - divided 1/2's
1 - 8 oz tub sour cream - divided 1/2's
1/4- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 - 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Mash potatoes in separate bowls, adding in the cream cheese & sour cream - 4 oz in each bowl. Add the parmesan to the white taters and the cheddar to the orange taters. . . I tend to use more sour cream and cheeses . . . use less if you are a lesser cheeser.
Layer in a clear, 9x9 glass pan. . start with the white taters
Bake at 375, for about 15-20 min. . .sprinkle with a bit more of the cheeses and bake for 5 more minutes. . let sit a few minutes before feasting. . you'll burn your tongune!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I can't wait to hear if you love this as much as we do!!!
J & gang
Labels:
Food Stories,
Lucinda
Jenn B. offers some Filipino family traditions
Aunt Lucy--just for you. Love,Jenn
Superfoods friend Lucinda asked the Organic and Local Food clients to send in a personal food story for Thanksgiving. We're in the midst of packing and prepping for travel, so my mind isn't working in full, narrative form, but I do have some really wonderful memories of family, food and all that makes gatherings wonderful and dear...
My family is Filipino, and never in all our years of celebrating the holidays with our culture's food did I wish for something other than what was available through family recipes. And what a community affair! There was a dining room table, but never enough room to seat everyone. The celebration of food took place upstairs, in the basement (near the early '88 karaoke machine), on the front porch, in the sunroom...the whole house filled with celeberatory energy.
Yes, the host/hostess of the gathering often supplied the dishes and main entree, but everyone always brought something--it was expected that Tita Tessie's Ginataang would make an appearance, as well as Tito Joey's special, no fat skimmed pancit. We had Lechón, Chicken Afritada, Atsara, Menudo, Cassava Cake, Biku, Ensaymada, Sinigang, Turrón, Bibingka...just to name a few. Someone, as a joke, would manage a can of cranberry sauce, which would sit on some unnoticed plate, quivering fearfully. In my mind, I would think, "Fear not, red, gelatinous goo, no one wants a taste of you!" Not when so much other Foodly Goodness could be had!While we keep our cultural food as a strong base to any gathering, the effects of diaspora are inevitable, and many other dishes did creep in and make their home on our community table. Bohemian Horns from my mom's friend, Adele (a nod to Granite City's large Eastern European population), Green Bean and Corn Casserole (one of the few foods made from canned vegetables that I would, dare I say, have seconds of?), that spinach salad with dried cranberries that initially attracted us That One Year We Dieted, all of Tita Debbie's different pasta experiments. (And somewhere in there, Black Forest Cake? Who made that? Why don't we see it anymore??)
Over the years, this community of Family began to include not only new food from other cultures, but new people bringing their own traditions, integrating into our lives, love--our very DNA (Nathan, Alina and Baby B!). For me, living on the other side of the state, the holiday celebrations vary from year to year. Different food, different locations, different people, a different order of animal (as I try to finish typing this with a kitty on my lap). I am so thankful for the foundation of food celebration instilled in me from childhood--I take it with me wherever I go, and have it with me with whomever we celebrate.
Superfoods friend Lucinda asked the Organic and Local Food clients to send in a personal food story for Thanksgiving. We're in the midst of packing and prepping for travel, so my mind isn't working in full, narrative form, but I do have some really wonderful memories of family, food and all that makes gatherings wonderful and dear...
My family is Filipino, and never in all our years of celebrating the holidays with our culture's food did I wish for something other than what was available through family recipes. And what a community affair! There was a dining room table, but never enough room to seat everyone. The celebration of food took place upstairs, in the basement (near the early '88 karaoke machine), on the front porch, in the sunroom...the whole house filled with celeberatory energy.
Yes, the host/hostess of the gathering often supplied the dishes and main entree, but everyone always brought something--it was expected that Tita Tessie's Ginataang would make an appearance, as well as Tito Joey's special, no fat skimmed pancit. We had Lechón, Chicken Afritada, Atsara, Menudo, Cassava Cake, Biku, Ensaymada, Sinigang, Turrón, Bibingka...just to name a few. Someone, as a joke, would manage a can of cranberry sauce, which would sit on some unnoticed plate, quivering fearfully. In my mind, I would think, "Fear not, red, gelatinous goo, no one wants a taste of you!" Not when so much other Foodly Goodness could be had!While we keep our cultural food as a strong base to any gathering, the effects of diaspora are inevitable, and many other dishes did creep in and make their home on our community table. Bohemian Horns from my mom's friend, Adele (a nod to Granite City's large Eastern European population), Green Bean and Corn Casserole (one of the few foods made from canned vegetables that I would, dare I say, have seconds of?), that spinach salad with dried cranberries that initially attracted us That One Year We Dieted, all of Tita Debbie's different pasta experiments. (And somewhere in there, Black Forest Cake? Who made that? Why don't we see it anymore??)
Over the years, this community of Family began to include not only new food from other cultures, but new people bringing their own traditions, integrating into our lives, love--our very DNA (Nathan, Alina and Baby B!). For me, living on the other side of the state, the holiday celebrations vary from year to year. Different food, different locations, different people, a different order of animal (as I try to finish typing this with a kitty on my lap). I am so thankful for the foundation of food celebration instilled in me from childhood--I take it with me wherever I go, and have it with me with whomever we celebrate.
Labels:
Food Stories,
Lucinda
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Casa Clark Thanksgiving Menu
As we come upon the Thanksgiving holidays I want to put a note about why this holiday is so special to me. First of all, who doesn’t love a holiday completely centered on giving thanks and coming together to eat? However, for me it is more than that. As many of you know, I spent many a years on the east coast away from my family. Being ever so consumed in my career and personal life I didn’t make it home for the holidays. Instead, I had friends over for a breakfast feast consisting of traditional Midwestern biscuits and gravy followed by a day of playing cards and an eventual evening meal. Now that I have discovered old roots are hard to pull, and found my way back to the Midwest- Thanksgiving is celebrated at my house. The torch has been passed to my generation from my lovely grandmother. My sister cooks the turkey, grandma still brings the noodles (I haven’t quite mastered the art of the noodles yet), and I cook the rest. Every year I look forward to hosting Thanksgiving, because it symbolizes my maturity into womanhood. There is something significant in the fact that my sister and I are now entrusted with the feast preparing. Although I will not pretend to be able to fill gran’s shoes, (it takes both my sister and I to prepare the meal) I am very grateful that I have been given the opportunity.
Here is what we are having this Thanksgiving- please email me for recipe information if interested!
Sugared walnuts
Cheese tray
Kitchen sink salad (salad with various fruits, nuts, and whatever else strikes me as good)
Turkey
Maple Glazed Ham with roasted chestnuts
Cranberry Sauce
Green Beans with bacon and onion
Trio of Roasted potatoes
candied sweet potatoes and apples
Steamed Carrots glazed with a tangerine sauce
Noodles
Wild rice, cranberry and sausage stuffing
Hot rolls made with a pear sourdough starter
Homemade blueberry wine (has been aging all summer)
Triple berry pie from Rayville
Custardy pumpkin pie
Lemon Pie
Black Walnut Pie
Freshly whipped cream
Here is what we are having this Thanksgiving- please email me for recipe information if interested!
Sugared walnuts
Cheese tray
Kitchen sink salad (salad with various fruits, nuts, and whatever else strikes me as good)
Turkey
Maple Glazed Ham with roasted chestnuts
Cranberry Sauce
Green Beans with bacon and onion
Trio of Roasted potatoes
candied sweet potatoes and apples
Steamed Carrots glazed with a tangerine sauce
Noodles
Wild rice, cranberry and sausage stuffing
Hot rolls made with a pear sourdough starter
Homemade blueberry wine (has been aging all summer)
Triple berry pie from Rayville
Custardy pumpkin pie
Lemon Pie
Black Walnut Pie
Freshly whipped cream
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