Cooking By The Brooke

Blogging So As Not to Explode (Or, Applying for the Disney Mom's Panel)

2010-09-13T14:43:00.000-07:00

"Give me a blog topic or I shall run mad."

Okay. So I'm not Colonel Brandon. And my dearest love isn't laying dying. But I am a little crazy right about now. And unfortunately, my madness has little to do with cooking or God...so I find that a blog adjustment may be coming so as not to confuse my legions of followers.

I'll give the seven of you a moment to finish chuckling.

Actually, this might prove to be a God thing. So maybe I should post there.

A few weeks ago, my mom called, and casually mentioned that the Disney Mom's Panel would be looking for new blood soon. I reacted with far more excitement than I think she anticipated...mostly owing to the fact that she had never heard of the Disney Mom's Panel. But I had. And while I never had really formulated aspirations of being a part of it, suddenly, faced with the opportunity to apply, I found that I had never wanted anything more.

Without sounding too smug (and exactly like a bajillion other people that I've read about), I'm super-duper qualified: I've loved all things Disney since I was a child; I began vacationing at WDW in 1978, and visited every park during its opening year after that time; I loved the place so much that I became a Cast Member in a woefully underpaid position just to work there; since returning to Florida six years ago, I've been a passholder for the last three (the closest I could get to being a Cast Member again.) Friends and family from all over ask me about my Disney knowledge (although I find a large number of my friends know quite a bit about the place, too.)

But above and beyond all that, I find a passion for Disney that reaches back to my Cast Member days and beyond. When I first went to work for Disney as a Culinary Assistant, I tried to reconcile my life's aspiration of Doing Important And Meaningful Work with working at, well, a resort. And I found that one day, during my Cast Member training (Traditions...is it still called that, by the way?) it suddenly became clear: working for Disney is a calling. People come to visit from all over the world. They are so tired, and so stressed with the day to day worries and troubles. But...if we can help them to relax and make some beautiful memories, and send them back to their day to day lives refueled and recharged, then we've done some important work.

And so with that in mind, I applied on Monday, with a fussy baby, well, fussing, and a head cold and raging hormones. Will I be successful? Will my answers to three short essay questions (100 words or less! I can't tell you my name or answer "How's the Weather?" in a hundred words or less!) wow anyone? I don't know. But I choose to look on even applying for the Mom's Panel as an opportunity. And that, I think, will make all the difference.

I should, or should not, hear something by the beginning of October. I shall keep you in the loop.

Chef-ing for the Littlest Member of the Family 3: Cereal Isn’t Just for Breakfast

2010-08-30T10:04:00.000-07:00

When I began to consider making my own baby food, preparing cereals from scratch for Jake intrigued me even more than all the fresh and pretty fruit and veggie purees that I could dream up. I think it was mostly because baby cereal is just one of those things you buy; you don’t make it. It cannot be made. Like coconut milk. Or hot fudge. Or barbecue sauce. Hey, wait a minute…I do make those things. Ergo….I can make baby cereal! Yes, I can!

So I was off to find recipes. Actually, it was the search for baby cereal “how tos” that led me to the website that I told you about in my first Chef-ing for Baby post (Here it is again, in case you don’t want to be bothered with cross referencing: http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/index.html .) I was a little concerned; after all, I wouldn’t be fortifying my cereal with all kinds of fancy vitamins. Would Jake suffer? Not likely. He is a formula-fed baby, and gets his daily fill of nutrients from his milk. I wasn’t worried about breaking up a Baby Flintstones chewable into his breakfast bowl.

Although there are many kinds of cereal available for baby, it is widely recommended that you begin with rice cereal, because rice is gentle on the digestive system and does not contain gluten, a protein which can cause intolerance or allergic reaction in some individuals. Having said that, rice can cause problems, too; primarily, it can lead to constipation, especially when you feed baby a refined product. As you prepare to make your own food, you may want to consider using brown rice, rather than refined white rice. I have had success using brown rice, and Jake loves it.

Rice Cereal and Oatmeal from Scratch

The recipes that I use to prepare Jake’s cereal are directly from Christine Albury’s website that I reference above. As I said before, I’d be lost without it. I highly recommend checking it out if you plan to prepare any of your baby’s food yourself.

To prepare rice cereal, I grind the rice in small batches, usually about one quarter cup at a time, in a coffee grinder. I also use organic brown rice, since small traces of arsenic have been found in conventional brown rice. To make the rice cereal, bring eight ounces of water to the boil. Whisk in two ounces of the rice powder, stirring constantly (if you are familiar with preparing grits, the method is the same.) Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes, adding more water as necessary. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. I always make enough to freeze extras in ice cube trays.

I have found lots of ways to serve the rice. Since I introduced oatmeal to Jake’s diet (more about that in a minute), I often mix an ounce of rice into his lunch or dinner selections. When thawed, the cubes of rice cereal do tend to be a bit spongy and sticky. Normally, I plan Jake’s meals for the next day the night before. I combine the rice and fruit or veggie that I’m pairing with it in a bowl together, and allow them to thaw overnight. Just before serving, I break up the rice cereal with the tines of a fork, add a little formula (breast milk would obviously work, too), and give it a quick stir with my stick blender. This really smoothes out the mix and gives it a consistent texture. As Jake grows, I’ll probably leave the texture chunkier.

So, what do I combine it with? We’ve had excellent results pairing the brown rice cereal with peas and sweet potatoes, neither of which Jake likes alone. I also combine it with an apple-pear-blueberry sauce for a treat that tastes a lot like blueberry cobbler. In the next month or so, as we begin to introduce meats, I plan to combine the rice with chicken and pork as well.

After two weeks or so, I decided to give oatmeal a try. I use a similar method for oats that I use for brown rice, although I don’t use organic oats. I simply grind up old fashioned oats, the same cereal that I make for myself every morning. To prepare the oats, combine one ounce of oat powder with eight ounces of boiling water, and cook over low heat for ten minutes. I freeze the oatmeal in two ounce portions, using silicone muffin cups. The consistency is a little smoother than the rice cereal. Normally, I combine the frozen oatmeal with a cube of frozen banana puree and allow the cereal and fruit to thaw overnight. In the morning, I add a little milk from Jakes bottle, break up the cereal with a fork, heat for 10 seconds in the microwave, and finish combining the fruit and cereal with the stick blender. It’s that simple and it’s delicious! Trust me: I’ve sampled it.

Give making your own cereal a try. It was a revelation to me to make my own cereal. The rice cereal can be used as a natural thickener for your family’s dishes as well, and if you have older children who snub their noses at traditional oatmeal, give the “cream of oatmeal” a try. Who knows? You might just keep on making baby food long after Baby is a baby no more.

Chef-ing for the Littlest Member of the Family 2: The Whys, the Whats, the Hows

2010-08-27T09:54:00.000-07:00

Making your own baby food sounds incredibly easy, somewhat daunting, and totally unnecessary all at the same time, doesn’t it? A lot of you might wonder why in the world someone would even bother; after all, there are gazillions of products on the market prepared just for baby, under nice, sanitary conditions. So I thought I’d take some time today to run down reasons for doing it yourself when it’s not strictly necessary, to discuss the equipment that I use to make Jake’s food, and a little bit about how I actually do it in general.

THE WHYS:

I make food for Jake because I don’t feed the rest of my family out of jars and boxes. Jeremiah and I try, whenever possible, to prepare our meals from whole foods, and to use processed foods as little as possible. But when it came time to feed Elle, I happily reached for jars of fruits and veggies, pastas and puddings. It occurred to me, though, that the consistency of the food was very runny, and it tasted sour. Pears didn’t taste like pears, and I wasn’t even going to brave the green beans. Why would I accept processed food for these little guys? What was the manufacturer leaving out to get that nice, smooth consistency…or worse…what were they adding? Which leads me to the next point…

My food tastes better. Try this: peel a Gala apple, chop it up, then steam it until tender, puree it, then taste it. Now compare this with baby food. Yours is much better than theirs, isn’t it? Sweeter. Apple-ier. And now Jake knows what an apple tastes like. It took me about 4 years to get Elle to try an apple; once I did, she ate it. But I’d prefer not to go through that again, thank you very much. I also control what goes into my food. There’s a reason why baby food peas are so beautifully devoid of all the pea skins that mine stubbornly have: they’re strained out. And with them goes nutrients that will make my Sweetpea grow, and fiber that will help his little belly work right. In a few months, I plan to stop peeling apples and potatoes, which will make his food even more nutritious. I doubt Beechnut Stage 4 Applesauce does the same.

Money, Honey. To be fair, I haven’t done a cost analysis of my baby food. But I know that I can buy bananas for about sixty cents a pound, and five or six bananas will give me well over a week’s worth of bananas for Baby Boy’s cereal. Last time I checked, the Gerber food that I preferred was 10 two-packs for ten dollars. It would seem that I’m coming out ahead.

But, what about variety, you say? I know, that has concerned me a time or two as well. After all, I don’t have a deep freezer dedicated to making meals ahead of time. But then, I thought, Jake spent the first five months of his life drinking only milk, day in and day out, around the clock. It’s not like variety is a big issue for him. So, if he’s getting two or three different veggies in a week, and the same with fruits, in addition to some grains, then he should be perfectly happy…and indeed, he seems to be.

THE WHATS:

So, there’s your rationale for spending extra time preparing baby food. But it has to be difficult to do, right? Well, I haven’t found it to be. Sure, I spend a little extra time in the kitchen, but that’s not really so shocking, seeing as I have, you know, another child now.

As I mentioned yesterday, there are some wonderful products out there that will do everything for you except actually peel and chop the carrots (or sweet potatoes, or plums.) If that makes your life simpler, please have at it. For me, these are the basic tools that I find indispensable to baby food making and storage:

Steamer basket and a big enough saucepan to put it in
Stick (immersion) blender
Ice cube trays and silicone muffin cups
Freezer bags
Little glass bowls with lids

And…that’s pretty much it. I mean, of course you need a vegetable peeler, a knife, a cutting board, a bowl or two…this corer gizmo that I have from Pampered Chef comes in handy, and I love PC’s glass Prep Bowl set for storage once I thaw out the food. But I didn’t spend $200 outfitting my kitchen to manufacture baby food.

THE HOWS:

Primarily, I make food and store it in the freezer. Once I produce a batch of apples, for instance, I spoon them into ice cube trays, which I freeze on a sheet pan. I use the sheet pan for a couple of reasons. First, anything that is placed in my little freezer has to balance on top of something else; hot apple puree balances best on a flat surface. Second, when it comes time to pop the applesauce cubes out of their trays, better to twist and poke and prod onto a clean surface, like, say, the sheet pan. Jake’s food does take up a little space, but I think he’s worth it. I did find that, when I ran out of room in my ice cube trays, silicone muffin cups are great! I like them better than the trays, actually, because it’s very easy to get the food out of them.

Tomorrow, we’ll start talking about all the things you can make for Baby when you make your own food. Hopefully, I’ll give you some ideas that maybe you hadn’t considered before. Because you’ve got to feed the little punkins. It might as well be interesting.

Chef-ing for the Littlest Member of the Family

2010-08-26T10:27:00.000-07:00

I don't know what's going on where you live, but where I am, there's a baby explosion underway! I shouldn't say "where I live"...because, more accurately, I have friends having babies from down the street to West Virginia and beyond. But with all of these babies being born, I thought it was high time to turn my attention, and yours, to some babyfood-making conversation.

When Elle, my five year old, was born, I returned to work full time after twelve weeks. I had my hands full, navigating the brave new world of being a working mom, and I was too exhausted even to contemplate making food for her. When it came time to introduce solids, I was happy to leave the cooking to Gerber. As a result, I can't help but wonder if some of the resistance that she had to eating (see "Attack of the Picky Two Year Old" for more detail) was due to the fact that her food just didn't really taste all that good. Ah, a mother's guilt. It's truly one of the most creative forces in the universe. This time around, I find myself with far more time and a little less money than before. I am also more concerned these days with the food that my family is eating, and little by little, I'm trying to increase our use of organic and local foods whenever I can. To that end, Jeremiah and I decided to give making our own babyfood a try. That was two months ago and...so far, so good!

Making your own babyfood is an idea that's pretty hot right now. Williams-Sonoma features the Beaba Babycook, and a whole slew of absolutely adorable accessories to go with it. It's a great little product from the reviews that I've read. My friend Amanda, whose Peanut is a few months younger than Jake, actually lent me hers for a test run...but I was too intimidated by it to use it! But, by all means, for ease of use, it's a terrific product, and if it will get you into the kitchen and cooking for your baby, then it's certainly a worthy investment.

For us, however, a Babycook wasn't in the budget, but that didn't mean I couldn't still make my own food. I turned to my friend, Kelly, who is, by trade, a registered dietician, and who had made most of her son's food, for advice and tips. So, armed with an old-fashioned steamer basket and ice cube trays, I went to work.

Let's be clear right off the bat: I may know my way around the kitchen, but I'm no expert when it comes to what is best to feed baby. It may not sound like a big deal, but there are lots of hazards to navigate when feeding a tiny person whose digestive system is immature. I considered buying a book of baby food recipes, but I thought I would try to find some less expensive resources on my own first, and my very first search led me to a terrific website. I've relied heavily on it for nutritional information, methods, dos and don'ts, and advice about when to start Jake on particular foods. The website, http://www.homemade-baby-food-recipes.com/index.html, is the work of Christine Albury, mother of five and lover of food. She began making her own baby food with her first child in 1994. Her website is so wonderfully thorough that the most novice cook can follow her advice and recipes, and produce healthy and nutritious dishes for baby. In fact, some of her recipes have even inspired me in other ways, but more on that later.

Over the next few days, I'll share what I've done and what I've learned so far. We're only two months into this experience, but I fancy I've already come up with some things that might be valuable to some of my mommy (and daddy!) friends out there.

Canoe...Never, Ever Gets Old

2010-05-27T10:11:00.000-07:00

I originally published this blog on 3 December 2008, but in thinking about my upcoming trip to Atlanta, and in tweeting about Canoe, I thought you might be interested in reading about one of my favorite Atlanta places. Its heyday was during the ramp-up to Atlanta hosting the Summer Olympics during the 90s, but I tell ya, I've never had anything but wonderful food and service there. It may not be the hottest of the hot, but I don't care. A great, quality restaurant will never be out of style in my opinion, as long as they don't replace the innovation and quality that got them the reputation for trading on it. Since we were there last, the restaurant (and other homes and businesses in the Atlanta area) suffered a destructive flood, which closed Canoe for renovations. As I look forward to our visit on Sunday, I can't wait to see what's different.

Happy reading!

I spent my 38th birthday in Atlanta, owing to the fact that it fell on the Sunday following Thanksgiving. I'm a bit of a homebody, so I asked Jeremiah that, if we had to be away from home for my birthday, could we please have a special evening, just the two of us, for dinner? He happily agreed, and booked a table at Canoe, my favorite restaurant anywhere, ever.
Canoe sits on the bank of the Chattahoochee River, and is located on Paces Ferry Road, one of the most beautiful avenues in Atlanta. (It's just a stone's throw from the governor's mansion, which is far from being the loveliest home on the storied route.) The building has been around for a long time; if memory serves, during the early to mid part of the last century, it featured a dance hall and dining. Now, the space is rustic and cozy, with lots of wood and forged iron surrounding the overstuffed booths and comfortable, oversized chairs. The beautiful gardens add to any occasion, and offer a nice place to stroll before or after your meal. Jeremiah began his culinary career (more or less) there; I've celebrated three birthdays there, and Jeremiah proposed in Canoe's garden. You could say that it holds a special place for us.

When we were seated, the gracious staff immediately wished me a Happy Birthday (a nice touch, for it's always nice to be wished a Happy Birthday on your birthday.) Once we were shown to our table, our server brought us two glasses of sparkling wine to commemorate our special occasion. While enjoying our aperitif, we got down to the serious business of ordering.
For appetizers, Jeremiah chose the she-crab soup, and I chose the house-made smoked salmon. Jeremiah's generous bowl of soup (one never, ever leaves Canoe hungry) was served with a tiny carafe with sherry to top the soup. Its texture was velvety, and the lump crab garnish, fresh. It was fabulous...and owing to the fact that it was my birthday, I got at least three bites.
While J foolishly chose a dish that I love for an appetizer, and was therefore forced to share, I was much, much wiser, and chose salmon. My husband is not a fan normally. Of course, house-made smoked salmon is a fish of a different color, and he loved it. Canoe serves the salmon on a crispy, Yukon Gold potato pancake, generously smeared with goat cheese. The whole thing was garnished with crème fraiche and an herb-infused oil. It was a battle not to make yummy noises, and with the generous portion, I could have called it quits right there, and would have had a satisfying meal. (It was a delightful coincidence that the sparkling wine paired well with both of our choices.)

For entrees, we followed our normal protocol and ordered items that we wouldn't normally make at home. I ordered a maple-glazed duck breast, served on a grilled romaine crepe that was stuffed with duck sausage and carrots. Jeremiah ordered pheasant, which was roasted with sage and served with pheasant croquettes and brown-butter sweet potatoes. J stuck with water; I ordered a glass of St. Cosme Cote du Rhone – one of my favorites. And as a bonus, I finally learned how to pronounce St. Cosme! (It sounds like "comb" if you're interested.)
We skipped dessert. I'm sure you can see why.

If you are ever in Atlanta, I highly, highly recommend Canoe. I can't say enough good things about it…from the attentive service, to the beautiful surroundings, to the delicious food, to the value for your dollar – before tip, we were under $100. They also serve, hands down, the BEST Sunday brunch anywhere in Atlanta – anywhere, period, as far as I'm concerned. So actually, forget my first sentence…make a trip to Atlanta, just for Canoe. You'll be glad you did.

Newcastle Pot Roast

2010-05-25T09:46:00.000-07:00

I love, love, love, chuck roast - when it's good. When it's leathery, under-seasoned, or tastes as though it's been boiled - no thanks. I love to braise this inexpensive cut to bring out the flavor, and I probably have a dozen recipes, all requiring, oh, at least thirty to sixty minutes of prep time. So when I saw this gem of a recipe on my friend Karrie's Facebook a few months back, I thought it sounded so incredible that I literally dropped everything, ran to the store, and bought the ingredients. Granted, I was pregnant at the time, and was a complete slave to my temptations and cravings, which frequently included protein. But in finding the recipe, and making it, I've added something so simple to our repertoire that I am eternally grateful to Karrie for posting.
Sure, you could caramelize the onions. And of course you could dredge the roast in seasoned flour, brown on all sides, and deglaze the pan to get all the wonderful fond for the sauce (I actually had someone suggest that "this is how I would prepare it, because I like a little more flavor." As if....! K, well maybe she wasn't that snooty, but it felt like it.) But you know what? I didn't wanna. I wanted to throw everything in a pot, set the timer, walk off, and come back six hours later to dinner. And that's pretty much what this recipe does for you.
A quick internet search for the recipe turns up that it more than likely appeared in Cooking Light in its original form. Funny, CL's recipes always seem to involve dozens of ingredients; this one is either some strange anomaly, or else it's not really a CL recipe. But just to be on the safe side (having read a David Lebovitz article about the subject of recipe plagiarism just last week) here is the recipe, courtesy of Cooking Light (probably), via Karrie H. Enjoy. It's so, so SOO, good. And easy enough for a Monday nite when you've been on the go all day.

2 T butter
2 large onions, sliced
a 2-3 lb beef roast (I use a boneless chuck roast, but use what you like)
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1/2 t dried thyme
1 c. beef broth
12-oz bottle of Newcastle Ale
2 T cornstarch

Set slow cooker to low.
Add the butter and sliced onion and stir together.
Place your roast on top of the onions and season with the salt, pepper and thyme.
Pour in the broth and beer.
Cover and let cook for 6-8 hrs or until the meat falls apart.
Spoon out about 2 cups of the liquid and place in a saucepan.
Bring to a simmer and add the cornstarch, stirring constantly with a whisk.
Let cook one minute more and remove from heat.
Serve roast alongside potatoes and pour the gravy over both, if you like.

You can also prepare the roast in the oven. If you do, first brown the roast in a skillet on all sides and then cook in a 300 degree oven for 1 1/2 -2 hrs.

No effort, no thought. And I promise that your family will LOVE you for this.

Independence Day, Southern Hemisphere Style (7 July 2007)

2009-09-22T12:23:00.000-07:00

Another oldie but goodie. This post chronicles a memorable Fourth Feast that we had a couple of years ago, and highlights how really great a simple, seasonal, no-frills meal can be. As we celebrate the first day of Autumn with 88 degree temps here in Central Florida, it's nice to know that, if we wanted to, we could make this meal today and it would be just as delicious - and appropriate - as it was in July.

One note: I make a reference or two to Pampered Chef. At the time, I was a consultant with Pampered Chef; I'm not anymore. Great company with some great products (although I can now admit that some of them are just, you know, silly.) I didn't want to alter the posts in anyway, so I'm leaving the references. Any quality garlic press will get the job done, but I can attest that we use our PC one practically daily, and wash it in the dishwasher, and it continues to be a great products after 3 years.

This week's entry - July 4th! We wanted simple, simple, simple. If you know us, then you know that we are all about simplifying - especially during the hot - REALLY hot - days of Florida summers. We often lose our way while planning meals, though, and end up wearing ourselves out. But this time, we really managed to reign ourselves in.

The best way to eat well and to eat cheaply (it's surprising how often these two goals can converge) is to eat what is in season. This time of year, that certainly means raiding the garden! (Or, if like me, you don't have a single green digit, it means raiding the grocery store or market.)
We decided on a very simple menu - caipirinhas, grilled ribeyes with chimmichurri, potato salad, white bean salad. For dessert, peach buttermilk sherbet.

Jeremiah had a taste for steak on the grill, and because of the holiday, we found all kinds of options on sale. We chose boneless ribeyes, which are flavorful because of good marbleing, versatile, and won't break the bank. Another bonus - there were 4 of us, but since we are not linebackers, we decided to eat smaller portions, and split 3 steaks among the 4 of us - another $$$ saver (I mean, who needs a side of beef in these hot temps anyway?!) With the steaks, Jeremiah opted for a chimmichurri sauce, a piquant vinaigrette that includes lots of vinegar, parsley, and garlic, and a little red pepper just to give it a pop. If you are a die hard A-1 fan, PLEASE branch out and try this - holler if you'd like the recipe.

To round out the meal, we wanted, for the most part, to leave the oven off - turning it on this time of year makes it that much harder to keep the house comfortable. My mom made a very delicious, very traditional potato salad - I swear, this woman makes the best potato salad in the world...you can't imagine that it could be so much better, but somehow, it is. I made a white bean salad that we've had a few times, and we love it. So simple - canned cannellini beans, fresh basil, fresh tomatoes, s&p. Heat 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil over a medium flame, add 3 pressed garlic cloves (yes, I used the Pampered Chef garlic press, and yes, you need one if you like garlic), and gently let the garlic steep for 2-3 minutes, being careful NOT to let it brown (that would be icky.) Pour over the salad and toss. Can be left at room temperature for up to 4 hours. Jeremiah likes it cold; I like it room temp or slightly warm. DIVINE - and healthy! (By the way, we got the recipe from Martha Stewart Living, but we're kicking ourselves for not thinking of it first.) I love this recipe so much, that I'm making it for my PC shows in July and August.

You can't imagine how well everything went together - especially the potato salad and the steaks with the chimmichurri. The creaminess of the salad was the perfect foil to the vinegary-peppery sauce, which cut through the richness nicely.

Normally we would have a nice red wine with grilled steak, but this time of year, I find red wine hard to drink - it seems so heavy in the heat. So instead, we decided to try a cocktail that we had heard of - the Brazilian caipirinha. Caipirinhas are traditionally made with a cane liquor called cachaca, but in the spirit of the theme - keep it SIMPLE - we used what we had, which was rum. (We plan to find cachaca one of these days, because I am all about the authenticity of recipes.) The drinks were awesome - raw sugar muddled with limes, topped with rum and ice. Add some mint and some club soda and POOF! You'd have a mojito. But that's another entry. The caipirinhas definitely get a thumbs up in our household. We have a variation that we want to try with tangerine and ginger - I'll keep you posted.

Dessert - again, simple. I wanted to make cookies, or a sauce, or something! - but we stuck with a peach buttermilk sherbet recipe, again from Martha Stewart. We were concerned that we wouldn't find good peaches, having heard that this year's crop was all but decimated by bad weather conditions, but we found some great Georgia peaches, and offered our sincere thanks to God (I swear, peaches and white corn will be in Heaven - no doubt.) I lightened the recipe by using lowfat milk in place of whole milk with great results.

So there you have it! No amuse bouche, no fussing with cornsilk, no red white and blue cakes...but a memorable meal that made us thankful for our independence and summertime. And that's really what it's all about, right?

My Life in Food

2009-09-22T12:18:00.000-07:00

I cut my teeth on blogging on My Space. Before I launched a "real" blog, I wanted to try my hand at it, see if I could be interesting and consistent. I had pretty good results, with lots of posts, a modest following, and some good comments.

As I'm still trying to feel my way here on Cooking By The Brooke, I thought I would migrate some of those older posts over here and share them.

Here's one originally published 7 July 2007, my kickoff date. It gives a little background on Jeremiah and me, as well as what I thought I would like to focus on. As the blog grew, it encompassed more than just cooking, but we'll stick to food here.

Enjoy - Brooke

So, here is my first attempt at blogging. I couldn't fathom sharing with the world my thoughts, feelings, blah, blah, blah...but I COULD fathom sharing about all the amazing foods that we make and eat. Jeremiah and I are total foodies...we actually met at Disney, where we were both working for the Mouse as culinary assistants. He made me laugh! We had a particularly long and stressful day one day, preparing for a a HUGE event, and we organized a nite out after at Orlando Ale House for anyone who wanted to join us. Turned out that no one wanted to join us! But that's okay - it was the beginning of our relationship. We found out that nite that we both wanted lots of the same things, but in particular, we were both passionate about good food - about crafting it, about seeking out great ingredients, and about showing those we love how much we love them by putting TLC into our dishes. We also both dreamed of having our own food-based business - maybe an artisan bakery (him) or creating wedding cakes and small scale catering (me.)

SO - here we are - 8 years later! I joke that our wedding cake was the center of our wedding - it cost more than twice as much as my dress...now, I ask you - is that sanity?!

I've decided to dedicate this space to our quest for great meals, both at home and in restaurants that we discover. Being a stay at home mom with a fledgling business, we have the extra challenge of eating well on a tight budget. I would like to post on the subject at least once weekly, and highlight something we've done during the week.

Happy Reading!

A Chopper Update

2009-09-14T14:07:00.001-07:00

Today, my chopper met with a tragic end...the clear plastic collar cracked completely in two when the whole thing rolled off the counter and crashed to my tile floor. Amusingly, this happened while I was trying to pick up all the nuts strewn across my countertop, which occurred when the lid (or bottom, depending on your perspective) fell off, and pecans went everywhere. I could probably get a replacement part, but really, after writing a scathing critique of the chopper, I think not.

Sub-conscious tool maiming, or judgement from the gadget gods? You decide.

Why Knife Skills Are Important

2009-09-11T07:43:00.000-07:00

I was making dinner the other nite, and I was oh so tired (growing a human has the tendency to zap my energy inexplicably on some days, and dinnertime seems to be the lowpoint.) I was making a beef chili recipe, and I needed onions for both the chili and the guacamole-ish garnish. At this point, so tired, and meal prep staring at me relentlessly, I used what brain power I had to dream up shortcuts, rather than just doing the prep work and moving on. How could I make this go faster so I could just sit down and go to sleep?

Ah, the chopper.

I know lots of people that use - and swear by - hand choppers. These are the handy little gizmos that have a blade and either a plunging action or a crank action that allows you to chop various types of food without using, you know, a knife. Think of them as manual food processors. The thought of eliminating or simplifying even one step drove me to my overflow tool drawer, the place where I keep gadgets that I use occasionally, but that don't have a permanent place in my kitchen. I assembled the pieces to the chopper, got out the cutting board used a knife to hunk off a piece of onion, and went to town.

Whoa.

What greeted me from my countertop looked less like minced onion and more like carnage. It was as though my recipe called for "one half an onion, mutilated."

So what? you say. So it's not pretty. It's not like Hubert Keller is coming to dinner, right? So who cares? I went on with my meal prep and tried to ignore the big and little ugly pieces of onion in my soup pot, the torn layers in my reserve bowl for garnish, and the extra dose of stinging I felt in my eyes.

Later, with dinner made, served, and digesting, I thought about my chopper, and my hasty decision to forego my perfectly adequate knife skills for a shortcut...and I decided that the shortcut, in terms of what I sacrificed in aesthetics, cooking quality, and flavor, had not been worth it. Allow me to explain, by suggesting three reasons NOT to reach for the food chopper, and instead, to focus a little practice on building knife skills and maintaining sharp knives in your kitchen.

Number one: Size matters. The very best chopper that you can buy (and mine is among the best of this type of tool) chops your food indiscriminately. Pieces of food will not be uniformly chopped, unless you chop them so fine that it ceases to matter. The chopper will inevitably not penetrate some of the onion skin, while liquefying other portions. Two reasons that this just won't do: in a raw dish, the last thing that most people want to do is bite down on a long, stringy piece of onion; in a cooked dish, pieces of food that are chopped in different sizes cook at different rates. You may very well cook all of the pieces of onion, save five or six, which will remain crunchy and sharp, and detract from the finished dish.

Number two: It's ugly. We're all learning more and more about food everyday. We're learning that, both from an aesthetic point of view, as well as a "healthy eating" point of view, we "eat" with our eyes as well as our mouths. Food should look pleasing. Pleasing equals uniform, square little pieces of onion, not hunks and shards that look like so much soft, crunchy broken pottery floating in your soup.

Number three: It doesn't taste...quite...right. Remember the comment about my eyes burning? The eye-burning gas that onions emit comes from sulfoxides, which are most potent when layers of the onion come in contact with one another during the chopping process. The best way to combat the discomfort is to use a sharp knife for your chopping. Alas, my chopper's whirlyblade wasn't equal to the task; the membranes mingled, and I was miserable until I made it to the sink to rinse my eyes. But what I didn't expect - and I admit - this might have just been the particular onion - was the bitter flavor that the onion had, especially in the avocado garnish. Whether it was the release of the onion juices, or the large-ish pieces, or the fact that I'm pregnant - I'm not sure, but the flavor of the onion was unpleasant. I suppose I should try and duplicate the experience to see if it was a one-time thing, or if the chopping method does indeed impact flavor. But I'm just not willing to sacrifice dinner for the sake of food science.

Please, invest some money in a good knife - santokus and chef's knives are my favorite go-to tools in the kitchen - and spend some time learning how to chop things. There are some great tips and videos on Food Network's website; likewise, just watch the pros, pay attention, and pick up some tips. Almost all of them (except maybe Rachael Ray) display good knife skills on their shows. Finally, if all else fails, give me a call, and we'll make dinner together. I'll teach you everything I know.

So save that chopper for the Christmas cookie nuts...or better yet, learn to cut up your food with a knife, the ultimate kitchen multitasker. You'll save money, time, frustration, and you'll have a great sense of accomplishment by learning to do it like a pro.

Raglan Road

2009-06-01T07:06:00.000-07:00

If you're coming to Walt Disney World anytime soon, and you like to eat, you MUST try Raglan Road.

If you haven't been here for a while, you may be sad (or happy) to know that Pleasure Island, the nightclub hotspot at Downtown Disney, is undergoing changes. The nightclubs have been closed to make way for more restaurants and shopping...presumably because that's what market research shows that guests prefer. But the restaurants that previously existed at PI seem to have survived. Raglan Road, Disney's take on an authentic Irish pub, is one of them.

Now...before you get on your cultural and epicurean high horse, let's remember something: I'm a foodie. I am not sending you to a place that has Lucky Chicken Fingers or Blarney Stone Spinach Dip. So...a little background is in order to make a believer of you.

In addition to having amazing food (which we'll discuss in a moment), Raglan Road is just beautiful. Step into the restaurant, and you're transported from Orlando tourist hubbub to Ireland. One-of-a-kind fixtures are dark wood and leaded glass, and were designed and built in Ireland by Irish craftspeople. The space oozes charm and coziness...mere feet from where we sat during our last visit, there was a table with two comfy wingback chairs, positioned in front of a fireplace. From the front podium to the cupola that crowns the center of the room, to the beautiful bars, you will be amazed at the authenticity of your surroundings.

But the food...ah, the food. Under the direction of celebrity Irish chef Kevin Dundon, you'll enjoy modern twists on classics. There's plenty of cabbage and potato on the menu, but you won't feel a bit deprived for having consumed them. And the sausages. Mmmm....if you're up to it, YOU MUST try the Dalkey sausages with Dalkey mustard sauce. Enough to share with the entire table, these mild little bites are deep fried. Yes, the mind reels.

Other points of interest that you might enjoy: they make a beautifully modern Shepherd's Pie; Fish and Chips are delish, with large, light-as-air fries; Sod...the Stew is a lovely beef stew spiked with, of course, Guiness...and the kids mac and cheese is the BEST MAC AND CHEESE EVER...and I don't say that lightly, because I make some good mac and cheese. The Dublin cheese in the sauce makes all the difference here, though. I've told Jeremiah that we WILL be buying it.

You will be too full for dessert, so I'm not even going to discuss it.

Oh - and entertainment! At regular intervals, a girl will come out and perform Irish dancing on a small, elevated stage, accompanied by live musicians. When she's not dancing, the band is playing traditional Irish music. But don't expect to enjoy the entertainment on Sundays when they take the nite off.

If you can't make it for a meal, sidle up the bar and have a pint. Or if they're booked, there's a handy counter service around the corner.

We have now enjoyed three special occasions at RR, and we've never been disappointed with service or food. So, if you're visiting from out of town and you're looking for an alternative to the endless burgers and turkey legs, give it a try. And if you're local, then consider checking it out for a special occasion...say, next Thursday nite.

Yum: Who says Yummy Food Can't Be Good Food? Part 2

2009-05-14T09:43:00.000-07:00

Waaaayyy back on 17 April, I provided you with one of my favorite healthy breakfast recipes and teased you with a promise of a salad to come. And then I promptly fell off the face of the earth. Judging from the zero outcry that I received, I gather you weren't awaiting the salad with bated breath. But I'm gonna give it to you anyway.

This is my favorite lunch du jour. If you don't like bleu cheese or if you are expecting, you can substitute any kind of cheese you fancy. Happy munching!

2 cups baby arugula (substitute romaine if you're on a budget)
2 oz roasted deli turkey breast (try and stay away from smoked or honey roasted; they're good, but have more salt/sugar/additives than you need)
1 oz bleu cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons dried cranberries or raisins
1/4 avocado, sliced (optional)
2 tablespoons vinaigrette (recipe follows)
salt and pepper to taste (DON'T forget to season your salad. You can't believe what a difference it makes.)

Combine and savor.

Vinaigrette

Normally you make a vinaigrette with 1 part vinegar to 3 parts oil. This is delicious, but in my opinion, less flavorful and more fattening than it needs to be. I typically use a 1:1 ratio, and add a touch of honey or sugar to balance the flavor. If you like more oil, however, by all means, use it.

1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil (or a neutral flavored oil, like canola, if you don't like the taste of olive oil)
1/2 teaspooon dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon finely minced shallot*
a squeeze of lemon and a teaspoon of honey or sugar, according to taste
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

*You can also add herbs that you like, such as parsley, chives, or basil, or you can use a dried herb or herb mix. I would use a tablespoon of fresh or a teaspoon of dried.

I'll borrow from Julia and Martha here, and suggest that you combine all ingredients in a screw-top jar. Shake. Measure 2-3 tablespoons over your salad, and refrigerate the rest. Much better than just about anything you can buy. And I promised...you may be surprised, but that WILL be enough dressing.

Enjoy and happy eating.

Yum: Who says healthy food can’t be yummy food? Part 1

2009-04-17T05:10:00.000-07:00

Variety is the spice of life. But planning and routine are your best friends when it comes to maintaining a healthy diet.

I love variety in cooking, and I am passionate about enjoying a wide range of healthy foods. After all, the more interesting, colorful, and tasty you can make your meals, the more satisfied you will be with an adequate portion, and you’ll avoid overeating.

Still, for me, I’ve found that the best approach to healthy eating is to save variety for dinner, and to stick to one or two standard meals for breakfast and lunch. This takes the thinking out of meal preparation, and oftentimes during our busy days, that’s a nice feature. I’ll eat one or two things until I grow tired of them, and then I’ll come up with a new idea. (This also saves a ton of money at the store, because you can buy in bulk, rather than getting lots of different ingredients for 5 or 6 different meals.)

I’ve been eating two of my favorites for a while, and I thought I’d share with you. These are my takes on oatmeal and a salad packed with all kinds of protein.

Snore.

Oh, you don’t think oatmeal and salad can be interesting AND healthy? Well, you’d be wrong. Well…maybe you aren’t completely wrong. Because there are LOTS of examples of these meals out there that don’t inspire rhapsody…I had a salad at a restaurant a couple of weeks ago that almost made me cry with boredom: romaine, some julienned peppers, orange wedges, some seared tuna (not terribly flavorful and the texture seemed like it may have been frozen) and a bland vinaigrette. There was nothing fabulous about it…no attention to flavor…no unifying ingredient that made all of these random foods mesh into one terrific eating experience. Okay…so maybe my standards are a little too high…but this mess tempted me to overeat about 5 minutes after I had finished. And I was full! But I was bored.

The key to making healthy food interesting is – you guessed it! – interesting ingredients! Do you love blueberries? Then put them in your plain yogurt, along with a little granola and a teensy bit of honey. Can’t get enough avocados? Try it on your hamburger, and you will NOT miss the mayo.

Here’s my take on oatmeal. I’ll post my salad in a day or two. Enjoy them just like I do, or use them as inspiration to try something new. Who says oatmeal has to come from a packet, and good salads can only be found at Panera?

Brooke’s Really Good and Deceptively Healthy Oatmeal.
My brother, Lee, thought this was just about the best oatmeal he’d ever tasted. Oatmeal is a terrific source of soluble fiber, which can aide in lowering cholesterol. Walnuts are a terrific source of protein and heart-healthy fats. Cinnamon regulates blood sugar. The Smart Balance spread lends some luxury to the dish, and adds a bit more healthy fat, which balances the dish and, along with the whole grain of the oatmeal, slows the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream. Cherries and sugar are just yummy, and adding the crunchy sugar on top is way more satisfying than adding lots of white or brown sugar and stirring it in. If you’re keeping track, the dish comes in at right about 350-400 calories.

1 cup water
½ cup old fashioned oats (substitute pin oats if you’d like and adjust the cooking time)
2 tablespoons dried cherries, roughly chopped (they’re pretty big, and this spreads them throughout the cereal without using too many)
2 tablespoons walnuts, chopped
½ cinnamon
2 teaspoons turbinado sugar (Look for Sugar in the Raw)
1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon Smart Balance spread
Skim milk to taste (I use between ¼ and ½ cup)

Combine water and cherries in a small saucepan over high heat; bring to a boil. Add oats; reduce heat to medium low and cook for five minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 2-5 minutes. Place in bowl and top with the remaining ingredients, nestling the spread in the middle to melt it. Serves one happy person.

Look for the salad next time.

Wellness: The Great H2O Challenge

2009-04-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

Don't believe Martha Stewart or Dr. Agatston when they say you don't need 8 glasses of water a day. Because you do. It aides in digestion and helps to rid your body of waste. It keeps your skin from drying out. Also, did you know that thirst often mimics the feeling of hunger? So when you're reaching for that snack, a bottle of water may be what your body really needs.

If you are anything like me, then you struggle to get it all in. Either you're drinking something else (party day on the boat, and rum punch seems like a good idea), your day gets away from you (crazy morning, you look at your watch, you've had nothing to drink since your coffee at 7:30am), or you're out and about, and the prospect of going to the bathroom 4 times an hour to get rid of all that water just doesn't appeal. I know and I totally get it. But for me, getting all that water is an absolute necessity.

Just over a year ago, while getting ready for a busy day, I had some of the most debilitating pain I've ever experienced. I had a kidney stone. And you know that old story about them being like childbirth? Totally true. (Except in this case, no cute anesthitest was standing by with a smile, offering to shoot pain medication into my spine.) I had several more attacks, spanning about six months, before I passed the wretched thing (I assume I passed it; it hasn't bothered me for sometime.)

If you have one of these, you will never, I repeat, NEVER neglect water consumption again.

Did you know that kidney stones are on the rise in children? And I'm not talking about that horrible instance of the melamine-in-the-baby-formula-in-China mess; I'm talking about right here, right now, in America. Pediatricians link the sharp rise of kidney stones in children to - you guessed - lack of water consumption, and way too much processed and fast food, which are both notoriously high in salt.

So why am I lecturing you on something that, if you have any sense, you already know? To make my blog longer, of course.

But seriously, I struggle with getting enough water, and I struggle with keeping track to make sure I get enough water. I had been trying to figure out how to remedy this, and I had decided to go buy 4 16 oz cute water bottles, fill them every morning, and when they were gone, I was done. Kind of like Deal a Meal. But then I saw a GREAT suggestion on Fine Living last nite (I sooo wish I could take credit.) Wear bangles, either 4 for 16 ounce servings, or 8 for 8 ounce servings. For every serving of water, move a bangle from one wrist to the other.

Not a bangle-wearer? Me neither. Doesn't really go with my Mommy Chic look I'm sporting most days. I use brown hair elastics. I don't know if they still exist, but those jelly bracelets that we use to wear would work, too (yes, I know they have "meaning" for teenagers. But I don't figure there's a lot of teenage readership in my audience...and if there is, hey, time to change the meaning.) Or, those "cause" bracelets would work...think Livestrong yellow. I'm sure you can find them in other colors.

So give it a try. And try to get that water in...and don't fool yourself if your drink of choice has caffeine, sugar, or alcohol. All of these substances are diuretics and DON'T COUNT.

Happy Drinking!

More About How This is Going to Work

2009-03-30T10:53:00.000-07:00

This probably isn't necessary, but it's how I do things, so bear with me.

I tend to write about five main topics: food, God, wellness (fitness and balance), travel, and adventures in parenting. At first, I thought I'd divide these topics into separate blogs, but that seems like it would make things more complex than they need to be. So I've decided to post everything here, and to preface each post, so you know what you're getting into ahead of time.

Secondly, I have a lot of posts from my time on Myspace that I'd like to migrate to this blog, but I realize that some of you have already read that stuff, and I don't want you to get bored. To that end, I'll try and follow a format where I'll post new stuff twice a week and old stuff once a week. Look for the posts to be (mostly) on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. But I TOTALLY reserve the right to publish more :-). This week, for instance, I'll probably have more as I move my recent Key West series out here. (And this little post doesn't count.)

Hey - it's my world. I make the rules.

Happy Reading!

Brooke

Attack of the Picky Two-Year Old

2009-03-27T07:25:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, two foodies met and fell in love. They celebrated milestones in fabulous restaurants and cooked together. They planned their modest wedding around a sumptuous reception and towering wedding cake. They journeyed to Paris for their honeymoon and ate their way around the City of Lights (they also walked a lot, too.) And through it all, they dreamed of the future, a future full of little foodie children that would grow up loving food like they did. These children would never eat canned vegetables or cowboy stew (don't ask.) They would love their veggies and foods prepared in all the ways of the world, because their fabulous parents would expose them to wonderful things. And of course, after all of this amazing (and balanced) eating, the Foodie family would go out and be active and fit and trim and fabulous, and they would be happy and have clear skin.

And then, Elliette Savannah was born.

Elliette is our beautiful, enchanting girl, now 2 1/2 years old. And guess what? She's not a foodie.

We know she's ours. Jeremiah saw them pull her out, and she has my dad's eyes and her dad's chin. She can be grumpy and stubborn, too - further evidence that she's ours. But where food is concerned, we have serious doubts.

It all began when she was a baby. Commensurate with the rosy picture that I had of motherhood and foodie parenthood, I planned to breastfeed. It was a bonafide disaster. Since I'm a buxom girl, Elle had a heck of a time latching on, and my milk production never increased. At her 2 week check up when she hadn't gained back to her birth weight, her pediatrician said we needed to supplement with formula. I didn't see the point in banging my head (or what have you) against a wall when I was formula-feeding anyway, so I discontinued breastfeeding. The problem was, Elle wasn't crazy about the formula, and never really took all that she needed. It wasn't until I introduced whole milk that she really started drinking milk well.

So, jump forward to table food. Again, we had fantasies that she would "eat just what we ate." Perhaps mashed up or blended, perhaps a little less seasoned - but table food. No dice. We ended up buying all of the premade baby food that I swore I would never buy.

We introduced her to our favorites. First on the list - peaches! She hated them.

Jump forward to present. Elle is a finicky two year old. I can count the vegetables that she'll eat on one hand: broccoli (surprisingly), corn, pureed cauliflower (think fake mashed potatoes), sweet potato fries (baked or fried), tomato sauce. For fruits, there are bananas, strawberries, blueberries, grapes. She'll lick an apple, but she won't eat it. I'm serious. But there are also unpredictabilities about her favorites...for instance, she won't often eat a favorite two days in a row. Surprisingly, she loves things you wouldn't expect - last nite, she ate marinated flank steak. She also loves sausage of ANY kind. I ask you, what picky kid do you know eats bratwurst?

We've had to lower our expectations. We've had to expand our patience. This little person is teaching us some good - and hard - life lessons.

On the up side, Elle is not a big fan of chicken fingers or nuggets, and french fries don't get a lot of attention, either. She does like pepperoni pizza, and I'm okay with that. Our rule of thumb: keep exposing her to different things, and don't freak out when she doesn't like something.
So, the next time you are tempted to judge a family who brings their two-year old's meal with them, remember what you've read here.

I'm off to make cheesy eggs and toast for a hungry little person.

POSTSCRIPT - I originally published this blog in July 2007. but it remains one of my favorites. Elle is a happy, healthy, picky, opinionated four-year old now. I don't know where she gets it.

Welcome to By The Brooke!

2009-03-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

So...after thinking, and procrastinating and thinking and procrastinating some more...I've finally done it...I've finally started a real blog! If you read my material regularly, you'll likely find lots of interesting stuff about one of my favorite pastimes, cooking. BUT, you'll get a regular dose of information about travelling, fitness, and spriritual stuff, with a hearty helping of plain old opinion on...whatever. I'm starting with blogs that I've previously published on MySpace, the forum I used to cut my teeth on blogging, to see if I could really sustain an interest in it. Here we go. Wheeeeeee! Happy reading!