Frosted Cakes and Frosted Pumpkins

   There was a coating of frost on everything in sight at seven o’clock this morning, but oh, the golden afternoon.  As my little canine companion trotted along beside me, crispy windblown leaves chasing her in her exuberant zigzagging trot to the park, I started to line up the cast for tonight’s dinner.   In deference to my husband’s low-carbohydrate needs, a recipe adapted from the very helpful book The Diabetes Diet, by Dr. Richard K. Bernstein, Chicken Breasts in Celery Wine Sauce, took center stage.

Co-starring, a quickie vegetable dish of Eggplant Sauté, Three-Cheese Pita Melts, a little pasta side dish (pun semi-intentional) of Orzo with Peas, Baked Sweet and Sour Plums for a fruity counterpart to the poultry, and for dessert, a hearty, semi-healthful Oatmeal Banana Cake.  To up the “healthful quotient,” eliminate the chocolate frosting on the cake – just as the glorious midday sun eliminated the frosting on the neighbors’ leftover Halloween pumpkins.  (Yes, I do enjoy a good stretch now and then…) 

Edu-Smarts

   Work hard in school and get a good education.  Good students are not nerds or geeks!  They are the future; you want to be part of that.  (1) 

I believe in telling your children from early on that advanced education is necessary to succeed in life.  It isn’t necessarily college.  It can be a trade school or classes that will help you advance in the field you are interested in.  Those “pieces of paper” do count.  (2)

Be curious and ask a lot of questions.  Learn about things that may not be within your usual areas of interest.  This is the definitive example of thinking outside the box.  If someone says “no” to a reasonable question, ask them why.  (2)

Read to your children at a very early age and encourage much reading, as most of your education stems from reading.  (44)

 

Fall Fiesta

   When a mostly cloudy week starts to dribble over into the weekend, then gets blasted aside by a burst of midday sunshine beaming down onto vibrant late-turning leaves, it’s time for a celebration.  We invite our Hispanic friends over for dinner, set up a centerpiece of gathered cattails, and put some Corona Extras on ice.  While I am not about to compete with the marvelous cooking skills of our El Salvadoran and Mexican acquaintances, a touch of spiciness does seem in order for this spread.  

Thus, a menu of Baked Chicken, Chorizo Stuffed Acorn Squash, our old standby Roasted Potato Wedges (see 8/28/09), crispy golden Corn Sticks, Tossed Vegetable Salad, and a colorful, glistening bowl of Cubed Fruit.  For a sweet finish, I pull out a decades-old recipe for hearty Coconut Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies and offer Scoops of Vanilla or Coffee Ice Cream with a Drizzle of Crème de Cacao.  No clouds over this fiesta night. 

The Wounded Healer

  It is 1962.  The Cuban missile crisis has thousands sitting on the edges of their seats, anti-apartheidist Nelson Mandela is jailed in South Africa, and a baby named Suzanne is born in a Midwestern U.S. capital.  The nation’s children are not yet being exposed to an amoral, uncensored media blitzkrieg, but American society is on the threshold of an aggressive assault on traditional beliefs.

Meanwhile, Suzanne’s family is being led in a different direction.  Her older brother becomes a believer and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in high school, and Suzanne, at age nine, finds herself moved by Billy Graham television specials.  Their changing hearts reflect a process that, “went beyond religion.  God was pursuing our family.  Looking back on the family’s history, you can clearly see it,” she explains. 

Suzanne’s 1980 graduation from high school is accompanied by a growing passion to do mission work, and a sense of urgency inspires her to finish her education quickly, without amassing an ocean of debt.  A three-year program in biblical studies that allows her to attend classes at night and work during the day fits the bill.  And things do hasten along, with graduation followed closely by marriage, the birth of her first child, and a call to India.

Ah, The Smell of Cinnamon in the Air

  Okay.  So I’ve moaned about getting our first snow a month before usual.  I’ve also griped about missing out on the beautiful spectrum of autumn colors that usually precedes that first snow fall.  And the morning of this writing, I look out my study window to see a low, heavy blanket of gray clouds which seems to be threatening me personally,  “You’d better quit whining or we’ll really let loose with something for you to complain about.”  

So, I’m turning over that proverbial new leaf – as in flipping pages in a book, not as in making a bad pun about those poor, tired green bits of foliage still hanging limply from every tree limb in sight:  I decide to stop whining and instead search my larder for ways to bring a little snap and color to the dinner table.  With a rather ordinary main dish such as Glazed Baked Ham, I opt for a lively mix of  Stir Fried Pea Pods with Yellow Peppers and Jicama, some Roasted Russets and Sweet Potatoes, a  pan of warm Cheddar Spoon Bread, and a serendipitous version of Over-Stuffed Baked Apples for dessert.  Fall colors may be fickle, but fall flavors have never been more reliable.

Fall Falls Short

   

Well, perhaps this is a bit of an exaggeration...

I lied.  But another brief whine is surely to be excused when an October 10th sunrise brings snow cover and the thumping of still-green leaves to the pavement in frosty clumps.  Ah; and just last week I noted here a hint of color, still hopeful that it would blossom into a the full-blown palette of golds and oranges and burgundies that we gratefully accept as our annual compensation for what lies ahead. 

The experts explain that erratic temperatures and not enough rain perplexes indigenous foliage – and indigenous folks as well, I would add.  But we bounce back by diving into the glories of cold weather cooking.  Tonight, let’s start with Squash Soup followed by a small Roasted Turkey, Roasted Potatoes and Root Vegetables, a little sunshine in the form of  Mango Avocado Salsa, a little color in the form of Raw Broccoli Flowerets, and a big loaf of Pumpkin Seed Bread with Spiced Orange Butter. 

For those indulging in dessert, I recommend a visit to www.taste.com.au for their lovely Banana and Date Custard recipe.  Otherwise, a cup of guilt-free Choco-Coffee of my own devising makes for a tummy-warming treat when there’s a winter bite to the air.  

Attitude and Perspective – III

   Maintain enthusiasm for life by holding high moral values, being true to your religious faith, and focusing on all the advantages you have enjoyed:  be thankful to God that you were born in America, and for the many friendships you enjoy.  (13) 

Respect the right of others to have differing viewpoints.  Teamwork is an integral part of many aspects of life, and compromise and give and take are one way we learn from others.  (23) 

Approach life as an educational pilgrimage, and don’t waste time on things that aren’t edifying or enhancing.  (53)

Worry about pleasing God, not man.  The bonus will be that the worthy among your peers will respond well to your efforts, which will help you sift out those you don’t want to hang around with!  (53) 

Always keep your sense of humor.  As it turns out, laughter is the best remedy for many of the trying circumstances you’ll encounter; a habit of  looking at the lighter side of life will help get you through those tough times.    (23)

Whole Wheat Pasta: It’s Come a Long Way, Baby

      I’ll indulge just briefly in a short whine about once again leap-frogging from summer into winter, with only a four-day stretch of fall between “85 and humid” and “blustery wintry winds.”  That done, I am grateful that – sandwiched between ultra-chilly mornings and frigid nights – we did enjoy a few glorious chunks of glistening autumn at its colorful and sun-drenched best.

Perhaps it’s that same unfortunate tendency to dramatize the negative that brings to mind images of gummy blobs, almost unrecognizable as comestibles, when I think back to my first encounters with whole wheat pasta years ago.   (Which further reminds me of Felix Unger describing his first day as Oscar Madison’s roommate in The Odd Couple television series:  “When I got here, you were huddled in the corner eating gray spaghetti with a pair of tweezers.”  But I digress.) 

However tainted my recollections of the early days of whole grain pasta may be, the significant point is that the current crop of products in that line are so vastly improved that I now prefer them over the semolina varieties in most cases.  And with the chill in the air leading to robust appetites, we have the perfect context for simmering stews, satisfying soups, crumb-crusted casseroles, and piles of pasta.  My appetite led me toward a simple concoction with a complicated name, and a re-purposing of a few old classics, Jambalaya and Paella, as Shrimp and Ham Jambalaella Pasta.  Trust me; it works. 

Add a basic Tossed Salad, a few slabs of Crusty Whole Grain Ciabatta Bread if you’re so inclined, and a plate of Stuffed Grilled Peaches.  Follow the instructions below, and I can virtually promise you a positive spin to your day. 

Creative Cooking as a Metaphor for Life?

    As I dig my wooly sweater out of storage and begin to contemplate the symbolism of season-change, I tend to wax a bit philosophic:  Putting a pot of Italian Wedding Soup on to heat while I head downstairs to work out, I forget to reduce the heat to low, scorching two-dozen tediously formed miniature meatballs to the pan bottom over the next 40 minutes, but anger turns to insight when I accept this minor event as a lesson in humility; for tonight’s menu, I assess the obstacles to turning Chicken Cordon Bleu into Chicken Cordon New – something I can feel good about serving my family – when the thought occurs to approach it with a mind open to the possibilities; I ditch the flawed package instructions for my favorite Basmati Rice in frustration and draw on my own senses for guidance, thinking, rely on your own experience:  the experts aren’t always right; and finally, I search frantically for a clipped recipe for Squash and Black Beans, and begin to comprehend that I can trust God to provide the essentials, and I can challenge myself to put those gifts and resources to good use.

The Pineapple Bran Muffins are just a tweaker’s  happy accident, a kind of Frankenmuffin amalgamation of three different recipes I pulled from my humongous collection – because not everything has to be profoundly meaningful, right?  A Big Bowl of Dried Fruits (Apricots, Plums, Pears, and Berries?) might be a nice finish with after-dinner coffee or tea.

T.G.I.Monday – and for the Blessing of Gainful Employment

   No task is too small to deserve your best effort.  Whatever job it is that you accept payment for doing, give it your absolute all.  If it’s an entry-level position, you won’t be there forever.  And both your character and the people around you will benefit if you act on the principle that even the humblest work is noble in God’s eyes.  Seek to please Him and you can find gratification in the most mundane of undertakings.  (53)

It’s never too early to have plans and objectives in place.  Set a good example for others as you pursue them.  Get into a field of work that you love, and build your career on a reputation of honesty and trustworthiness.  (49)

If you learn early on not to waste energy on things you cannot change, it’s easier to focus on living a full, productive life.  What will follow is the understanding that family, friends, and health are more important than accumulating wealth and the stress of climbing the professional ladder.  (36)