The Sparkle and the Real

I know it's the season of "fa la la la" but I've been craving real food. Real food is pasta with maybe a meat and some vegetables. It goes into one pot. I'm sated. It's easy. Spicy Italian chicken sausages for heat, greens for reality and pasta for pleasure.

I managed a little bit of sparkle with my first batch of cookies (and so far my only batch of cookies - and yes, they're gone). They're Citrus Italian Knot cookies - just a tad sweet. Puffy and melting in your mouth. Cookies don't always need to go crunch. A touch of sparkle and a lot of pliable - and easy.

My sister and I (mostly my sister) sold a home, emptied a house and my last drive home from the townhome was filled with glimpses of 26 years of baptisms, birthdays, holidays and I was able to give Thanksgiving. For all those years.

Because we did not have enough to do, we brought this into our home.

He was found in the woods - Mom and Dad were feral and he is not. I think. I hope. Say hello to Luce. Which is what we call him when he is adorable and sweet. When he wakes up from a nap his whiskers are askew and his fur sticks up and we call him Einstein.

When he is pouncing on my head and jumping into the soup (gives a new meaning to "Beautiful Soup"), he is called Binky-Boy.

Pippin is not thrilled. (In case you were wondering, not every pampered house cat wants a new friend.) Four days after his arrival, Paul and I left for Iowa for a production of By Candlelight at Bettendorf High School. I got to be a visiting playwright for four days and Kirsten got to stay home and referee Pippin and Luce. After four days, Kirsten declared she couldn't possibly be a "crazy cat lady" (as was previously feared) because it was too exhausting.

I came home grateful for having time with teens and theatre (it's coming home for me).

During the candlelight vigil, "I Think it's Going to Rain Today" was played in the background. And after the final scene, the names of all those "lost" in 9/11 were scrolled on screens as Leonard Cohen sang "Hallelujah." The cast walked on. Nobody applauded. You could hear a pin drop. And the cast learned that sometimes silence is better than applause. It was "the Real."

Back home with very mad Pippin and the little Tazmanian Devil, Feliway became my best friend. It says it calms cats.

And on alternate Sundays it does. And when it doesn't - there's always pasta. It's not really a recipe if you're Italian - you throw these things together all the time - but it is always real. Stable. Substantial.

PASTA AND ACCESSORIES: Chicken Sausage, Bow-Ties and Spinach - serves 4-6 (in my home - 4)
little bit of olive oil
little bit of garlic and shallots or onions or all
1 pound spicy chicken sausage - cut into 1/2"-1" rounds
1/4-1/2 cup dry white wine or chicken broth
8 cups spinach or Kale or Swiss Chard
1 pound bow-ties or favorite pasta (rotini would hug the accessories)
Save some pasta water
Herbs - your choice

Cook pasta according to directions. (Boom! Done!)
Heat olive oil and quickly saute your aromatics (garlic, shallots, onion) until soft. Add chicken sausage and and brown on both sides. Add broth or wine and stir to remove brown bits. Add spinach and stir till wilted.
Drain pasta saving a little pasta water. Add pasta to large skillet. Throw in fresh herbs at the end of cooking (parsley, basil, thyme) or dried Italian herbs at the beginning with the sausage. If dry, moisten with pasta water. Serve.

I've never been a fan of chicken sausage. Gold 'n Plump sent me a huge package in the spring - all natural, locally grown, family farms and I agreed to try them. I've always loved turkey sausage (although as I write this, I hear a specific Italian blogger largely singing "nooooo" in the distance) but chicken sausages have eluded me. They have improved in the last ten years (the last time I tried one). I will be writing more about this - which will be my last "gifted" blog. I was surprised and enamored by the chicken sausage - not greasy - but not pasty and tough and bland as the previous ones I had. Do you know you're not eating pork? Absolutely. Do you care? No. (I still hear a certain someone crying "noooo" in the wilderness.)

And because 'tis the season, I did want a touch of sparkle. I love these because they are not sweet (hence the sugar-sparkle). And the touch of citrus is welcome in winter. Find them here. Because there are times you want sparkle. Without being blinded by it.

First snow. It's December. It's Minnesota. It's real.

Twinkle lights because everyone needs a little sparkle. It helps with what's real.

Weight? Wait! Don't tell me!

Eat. Live Be. for a better 2011.





On November 11, the day before my daughter's birthday and two weeks before the start of the "Eating.... make that Holiday Season," I stepped on the scale and decided enough was enough.
`
I have been "up" 8 pounds every year for five years. We don't have to say the number. Everyone knows their multiplication tables.
`
"Why are you going to Weight Watchers, now? Just before the Eating.... make that the Holiday Season begins? Why not wait for January?" I was asked.
`
Because if I can eat mindfully during November and December, I know I can continue the rest of the year. And it's not a New Year's resolution to fall by the wayside by January 10.
`
So, when I was contacted by locally-owned (Minnesota and Wisconsin) Gold n Plump to see if I had any interest in their new "Recipe Ready Ground Chicken" products, it was a sign - that Claudia and leaner-living might just work out. (I confess - I am huge hunter of "signs" when I make decisions.)

Gold n Plump was generous - eight pounds of ground chicken came to my doorstep. I posted the fact on Facebook and Pat from Mille Fiori Favoriti commented, "I see Italian Wedding Soup in your future." And so it came to pass that I made Italian Wedding Soup with ground chicken instead of beef. I played with my meatball recipe. No more bread soaked in milk. Bread crumbs were added instead to give the meatballs more heft.

`

Italian Wedding Soup is native to many regions in Italy - my gradmother was from poverty-stricken Basilicata and made hers with pork. But the important thing is the marriage of the meat and the vegetables in the broth. I've made it many times with ground turkey and knew the ground chicken would work.

`

It did.

Italian Wedding Soup is usually made with itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny meatballs. My chicken mixture was too sticky (I could have added more bread crumbs - but I really wanted them light and meaty and not rock solid) so I (in all my wisdom and lack of patience) made giant honkers of meatballs that may make Italians shudder but were nonetheless delicious - and yes, light.
`
I roasted fennel, onions, garlic, grape tomatoes and some mushrooms in the oven at 350 degrees F for about 20 minutes. I then threw the roasted vegetables in a stock pot, added about 4 cups of water and simmered all for an hour. I later added chcken broth but in my new "mindful eating" stage I wanted to make sure this soup was laden with vegetables.

`

While the soup simmered, I combined one pound of chicken with 1/3 cup of bread crumbs, 1 small minced onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 egg, a few tablespoons of freshly shredded Parmesan cheese, a hefty dose of dried Italian seasoning, a little salt and pepper and formed mishapen, ugly-but good meatballs. I baked them for 30 minutes in the same 350 degree F oven (why I baked them and didn't just throw them in the soup - I'll never know - habit, I guess.)

Then, I did throw the edgy-looking meatballs into the soup, simmered for 30 minutes, stirred in a bag of spinach and was done. And happy. And was sated without being full.

`

I continued to use the ground chicken. You'll see - I'm getting there. (Remember my semi-resolution to try to be more succinct? Well, it's January 10th and I am here to tell you - it's not going to happen.)
`

To mix up the meals and not eat the same meat for a week, I made a meatless meal. Proud Italian Cook's stuffed peppers with vegetables and barley. Only, I ate it as a salad. And it satisfied. I do 1-2 meatless meals a week and have for years. (So, how'd I gain all that weight - no, not potato chips and ice cream - it was copious amounts of pasta, rice and bread that did me in! And I enjoyed every mouthful and intend to continue my love affair with pasta.)
`
And then I turned to fish. Kevin at Closet Cooking had a Halibut with a Garam Masala Halibut with Curry Tomato Sauce (I love cooking from blogs) that looked warming and comforting. When I discovered halibut was $24.99 pound, I picked up tilapia!

And it was indeed warming and comforting. Key ingredients to cooking during the Minnesota winter.
`

The ground chicken became a taco salad. I quickly discovered that ground chicken is a chameleon and soaks up seasonings well. If you want your ground beef to impart its own flavor - then ground chicken is not your best bet. But if you are doing a dish that has strong seasonings, ground chicken works just as well.

And then the family announced I hadn't made Sloppy Joe's in years. 'tis true. I haven't. So I did.

`

With the Gold n Plumps ground chicken. I like using something that gives me 33% less fat than beef. After all, I am trying to get rid of about 33% of my body. I exaggerate a bit. So now you know, I am not succinct and exaggerate.
`

After browning the ground chicken, the family wasn't sure about the lack of "brown" in the browning process.

And then I added the other ingredients. (Recipe was from Pioneer Woman.)
`

And through the magic of cooking - the ground chicken turned into a Sloppy Joe!

Gold n Plump has many recipe varieties. Fresh or frozen and ranging in price from $2.99-$3.99 per pound. The chicken is all-natural and raised on family farms. I do like that. For the past three years, I have gotten 75% of my meat from a local, organic farmer. I will continue to do that. But I do supplement - particularly in the winter.

`

After using ground turkey instead of ground beef for ten years, it's been tasty to discover ground chicken as an alternative in many dishes. And when I do supplement from the grocery store, I look to continue to support local farmers and products. I can do that with Gold n Plump. Find additional recipes for their ground chicken here.

`

Disclosure: I was indeed the grateful recipient of ground chicken products from Gold n Plump but my opinions are always, most decidedly, definitely my own. I do receive many offers and tend to accept those where I have a gut feeling - I will like it!
`

I have thrown in my hat joining many bloggers is Eat. Live Be. for a better 2011. I've already lost a stone. I'm down 1-1/2 sizes. (Which means I can wear clothes that are too tight or jeans that fall down when I walk - both scary alternatives.) I am committed to Weight Watchers until the summer, so why join something else when I'm not really a joiner? For support, community and the knowledge that I will hit a brick wall. I had lasagna and buche de noel for Christmas (and gained the requisite pound). I intend to celebrate Carnevale with bugies. And will have Pizza du Grane for Easter.

`

My goal is simple: It's not a number or a size. It's to not diet, to not stuff weight loss products in my mouth but to practice "mindful eating." Choices and portion control and pasta, chocolate and champagne await me in 2011! As does Italy! (And you know I'm going to eat there!)

`

I need all the help I can get!