Butternut Squash on a cold winter day

I'm baking a butternut squash today. Usually I peel it, but that's hard on the hands. "Winter squash are packed with lots of nutrients. Adding them to your meal rotation is a great way to get fiber, along with vitamins A and C, potassium and antioxidants. Consider that 1 cup of baked butternut squash, one of the most popular varieties of winter squash, provides 160% of your daily recommended value of vitamin A, along with 7 grams of fiber." (https://www.mccormick.com/articles/adam-dolge/can-you-eat-squash-skin?)

One cup (205 grams) of cooked butternut squash provides (1Trusted Source):
Calories: 82
Carbs: 22 grams
Protein: 2 grams
Fiber: 7 grams
Vitamin A: 457% of the Reference Daily Intake (RDI)
Vitamin C: 52% of the RDI
Vitamin E: 13% of the RDI
Thiamine (B1): 10% of the RDI
Niacin (B3): 10% of the RDI
Pyridoxine (B6): 13% of the RDI
Folate (B9): 10% of the RDI
Magnesium: 15% of the RDI
Potassium: 17% of the RDI
Manganese: 18% of the RDI
Aside from the vitamins and minerals listed above, it’s also a good source of calcium, iron, phosphorus, and copper. (https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/butternut-squash)

Update: Since I had about 3 cups of squash, 2 cups of mashed potatoes (made with lots of butter and cream) and a quart of chicken broth, I did make squash soup this morning because my friend Nancy planted the seed in my brain. Tossed in some cloves, cinnamon etc. tasted it--mighty fine--so I had a bowl for breakfast. Delicious. With a cinnamon bagel and cream cheese.

Cauliflower Soup, my recipe

In an effort to add more vegetables to our diet (above 5-6), yesterday I made this delicious soup and there's not a drop left! Amounts are guesses the way our grandmothers did it.

Half a quart of chicken broth/vegetable broth (I had both on hand so mixed them)
Half a head of cauliflower (could be more or less, but it's what I had)
About 1/4 cup of chopped onion (could be more)
One large white potato cut into pieces (this is for thickening the soup, so don't use red unless you want runny soup), but it also serves, in my mind, as a vegetable.

Tender cook this and run through a blender. Add some Half n half. Again, I eye-balled this.

Because cauliflower is rather bland, I added just a smidgen of hot mustard, and I think that's what did it. Not enough to taste it, but it did give it some zip.

It was a cool, spring day, so it was just perfect. My side dish was sliced cucumbers and big giant strawberries, so that was 5 fruits/veggies for one meal.

Most of the recipes I scanned add cheese, but that's just more calories and this was very hardy and delicious without it.

Chocolate mashed potato cookies

Lately I've been hungry for cookies made with mashed potatoes. I have no idea why--not sure I've ever had any. But I made them yesterday, and have pronounced them good--after eating 2. Here's what I did:

• 1 box of Devil's Food cake mix for all the dry stuff you usually put in cookie dough.
• 1 stick of melted butter, to which I added 2 squares of dark baking chocolate and 2 eggs. Mix thoroughly.
• 1 1/2 cups of mashed potatoes, without any seasoning or butter, but with some milk/cream to make it fluffy.

Mix it all thoroughly, drop in balls, or teaspoons to ungreased cookie sheet, and bake 11 minutes at 350.

I rolled the balls in sugar and pressed with a fork. The last batch I flattened and then frosted when they cooled. Makes about 45 medium size, soft, not terribly sweet cookies. Potatoes probably add a lot of nutrition without many calories. Most recipes I found  for something similar used dry flake or processed instant, but I was making soup for lunch and wanted the potato water, so just make them myself.

The soup was really good, too.  I cooked some frozen mixed vegetables in the potato water with some onions and cauliflower. To make a cream sauce, I added about 2 Tbsp of flour and 2 Tbsp of sour cream together to make the white sauce with the potato water.

Roasted beet soup

While shopping this morning I bought a bunch of beets with very nice leaves.  I’ve already cooked and eaten the beet leaves (with butter and salt for breakfast), so now I am roasting the beets hoping to make beet soup.  I didn’t have a recipe so I googled my desire, and found this.

There’s so much good stuff in beets why wouldn’t you make this all the time? Beets, chard, spinach and quinoa are part of the chenopod family—I didn’t know beets and swiss chard were related, although a look at the leaves should have given me a hint.

So I’m cooking some chicken thighs to make the broth, that way I don’t have the expensive and salt of the purchase kind.  I like to cook them with the skin and bones on because it has a much richer flavor.

Ingredients:

• 3 large red or yellow beets, trimmed, leaving 1 inch of stem
• 1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. unsalted butter
• 1/4 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cups chicken, beef or vegetable broth
• Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 Tbs. coarsely chopped fresh dill

Directions:

Roast the beets
Preheat an oven to 350°F.
Put the beets in a baking dish and drizzle with the olive oil, turning them to coat well. Roast until the beets are easily pierced with a fork, about 1 hour. Remove from the oven. When the beets are cool enough to handle, peel and coarsely chop them.

Note: I roasted mine wrapped in aluminum foil.  Less messy that way. Roasted beets are really delicious—very sweet.

Cook the soup
In a large saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter. Add the onion and sauté until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the beets and broth and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low and cook for about 10 minutes to blend the flavors.

Puree the soup
Using a food processor or blender, process the soup to a smooth puree. Serve warm or, for a chilled soup, let cool to room temperature, transfer to an airtight container, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 24 hours.
Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper. Ladle the soup into bowls, garnish with the cheese and dill and serve. Serves 4.

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma Food Made Fast Series, Soup, by Georgeanne Brennan (Oxmoor House, 2006).

Calories at fast food restaurants

I love the You Pick 2 at Panera's, and if counting calories, it could be the better choice. The You Pick Two Broccoli Cheddar Soup and Chicken Caesar Salad add up to only 420 calories. A single Sierra Turkey Sandwich has a jaw-dropping 920 calories. (from a quiz on fast food calories at Dr. Oz) On politics I score 94%; on fast food calories, only 33%. I guess I need to eat out more.

The food pantry

We were talking about the "Souper Bowl" where we collect cans of soup for the food pantry to coincide with the Super Bowl. She said she buys the cheapest off brands because she can get more and so it goes further. But does it? Look at the first and second ingredients. Look at the fillers and thickeners. Not all "unbrands" or house brands are poor quality, but many are. Try them first. If you wouldn't feed it to your family, perhaps other families don't need it either. Someone in poor health or looking for work or mentally ill needs the best nutrition, not the poorest.

Why I don’t buy 48 cans of soup for $5.00 for Souper Bowl Sunday

Beginning in 2011, I’ve consciously bumped our tithe to 11%, by adding in 1% for food for the Lutheran Food Pantry, although I’d been donating groceries to the LSS box from time to time. This amounts to about $9.50/week, and if you’ve been to the store lately, you know that doesn’t buy much. That’s 4 cans of Progresso Soup, and 2 boxes of Ralston cereal, medium size at Marc’s, a no-frills supermarket.

So why not contribute $5.00 for 48 cans of soup to the Food Pantry which will buy them at the Mid-Ohio Food Bank in Columbus?

Here’s why. 1) I’ve already paid for that food through the USDA’s programs buying food to be processed by companies it contracts with. The acronym is TEFAP, The Emergency Food Assistance Program. The USDA buys the food, including processing and packaging, and ships it to the States which work out details of administration and distribution. The States select local organizations that either directly distribute to households, or serve meals, or distribute to other local organizations like LSS that perform these functions. Our Food Bank is also supported by foundations, non-profits, and donations which receive tax breaks. The quality is nutritious and meets government standards, but it’s not competitive with the brands you would buy at your local supermarket. They are below “house brand” quality. Subconsciously, you know that food processed in this way is actually more expensive in the long run. In 2010 the government food distribution program was $692,900,000. And they were asking government employees to beat the bushes because a lot of the food goes unclaimed.

2) When I pay $1.25 per can for Hearty Tomato Progresso Soup and donate it I’m more in touch with the family who will consume it, and I think that's closer to Jesus’ Matthew 25 idea of how to meet him in person. We meet him physically in the Eucharist and in service. What a wonderful opportunity.

3) And finally, when I purchase something at a local supermarket I’m circulating my tithe. I am indirectly paying the investor, the owner, the staff (many low income part-timers like students, disabled and elderly), my local community’s taxes, the trucking company that transported it, the local utilities, the processor, the box company, the graphic designers, printers and marketers who advertise the product, etc. Although the local, state and federal governments do purchase some of these items in TEFAP, the money has to run through so many fingers from my hand to DC and back again to Columbus to get to the poor, it becomes very inefficient and is the reason that the War on Poverty was already lost before the first shot was fired in the 1960s.

So, that’s why I buy 4 cans for $5.00 instead of 48. It’s actually cheaper and more spiritually fulfilling.

Clean the kitchen week

No, you won't find it on any calendar, but I'm declaring this as "Clean the kitchen week." Pretend your mother is visiting; or that you are moving to a new place and you don't want to take anything you won't use.

Monday: Refrigerator; toss the frosty frozen stuff; make vegetable soup from the tired left overs. The photo above is chicken broth, tomatoes left from summer (peeled), a quarter of a green pepper, some celery tops, chopped onion, and some left over brown rice. Consolidate or pitch. Wipe down the shelves. Clean the cabinet above (if you have one) and the floor below. Don't forget to vacuum the dust.

Tuesday: Gunky, sticky stuff--Stove top, oven and microwave.

Wednesday: Hard to reach stuff--get out a step stool. Shelves in cabinets, both wall and base; pantry if you have one; bookshelves if you have one in the kithen. Look at past due dates on staples; resort your can goods so you know what you have; toss discolored or old food items.

Thursday: Hidden away stuff--Drawers, including that junk drawer where you toss everything you don't know what to do with.

Friday: Shiny stuff--Counter tops, sink, faucets, pictures and mirrors (if you have them) floor.

Saturday: If you're employed, I guess you have to do Monday-Friday all in one day. Otherwise, take the day off.

Norma's Mushroom Soup

After my husband brought home some wonderful cream of mushroom soup from Malabar Farms Restaurant on Sunday, I decided I wanted to try making it. I googled, and I asked on FB, but didn't find or hear anything that resembled what I tasted. So I made it up, using what I do with all vegetable soups. Broth, potatoes, onions, a blender, plus half and half or milk or canned milk and whatever is the vegetabe of the day--broccoli or sweet potato or carrot. Here's how it worked out.

1 can (8 oz.) beef broth
2 medium size potatoes, peeled, cut in small chunks
1 medium onion

Cook together until soft, then removed the solids and run through the blender. Return to the broth.

Add 8 oz. half and half, or whatever you have. If you want fewer calories, use milk.

Meanwhile saute 8 oz or so of sliced or chopped fresh mushrooms (mine were organic from Canada) in a little olive oil. While cooking (shrinks), sprinkle with a little flour, pepper and thyme. Stir frequently. When the mushrooms have browned, add to the broth/potato mixture.

I checked some on-line recipes that used a little sherry, but I didn't have any so I sprinkled in a little Merlot, maybe a TBsp. Tastes great.

I decided to use beef broth instead of chicken, which I usually use. It just sounded better with mushrooms. The potatoes, in any vegetable soup, provides the thickening. Plus, I think it makes the soup much more hearty than making a white sauce.

If you have a better one or a favorite--let me know. I'd invite you over for lunch but you probably live in Florida, Georgia or California.

This in the blog so I don't lose it.

Eating from the pantry

That's the title of today's food blog at the Columbus Dispatch. Occasionally I have to do that, because I don't plan menus, and increasingly have become careless about planning my shopping (I was quite good about planning ahead when I was working). But if there's one diet and budget trick I've learned over the years, it's DO NOT buy in quantity. You need those fresh fruits and vegetables, and you can't expect them to last. Also, every overweight person I know keeps huge stores of food in the house, and always accumulates leftovers, which they use as an excuse to "clean up" (eat). I doubt that it saves much money if you really keep track of prices. The super jumbo size is not always the best buy per ounce or pound. Also, every grocery store has weekly "loss leaders," and even if you avoid coupons the way I do, you can always pick up a good deal with those.

However, on my grocery shopping day, which is usually Monday or Tuesday, I do tend to clean out the tired and poor that have taken up residence in the frig yearning to be free. Monday this week I made sweet potato soup--and I did make it a few weeks ago, but this one was better because I didn't toss in the slightly sharp fresh pineapple that wasn't very fresh anymore. Cooking tip: pineapple is too stringy to go through an old blender that's about 35 years old. So here's the recipe:

1 can (14 oz) of chicken broth
1 medium onion, cut in pieces
1 medium white potato, peeled and cut in pieces
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut in pieces
1 small carrot, peeled and cut in pieces (this is just for color in case your sweet potatoes are pale)
Bring to boil, reduce heat. After the veggies are tender scoop them out and run through the blender.
Add about 1 cup of half and half, or can of evaporated milk, or regular milk.

Return to sauce pan and the remaining broth. Just a smidgen of cinnamon really brings out the flavor.

The white potato is for thickening, just as in broccoli soup, but I suppose you could use flour or corn starch.

This soup was very hearty and thick. My husband scraped every bit out of his bowl; served with a bowl of fresh fruit and sugar free brownie for dessert.

And that's another item. Pillsbury reduced-sugar brownie mix didn't sit long in the pantry. In fact, I made it on Monday. I would give it a B+. It's very hard to make low or sugar free favorites taste right (uses Splenda), but this was very close, and served with a little sugar-free vanilla ice cream, "it wasn't half bad," as my grandpa use to say.

Friday Fridge Soup

Nothing like a wind chill of minus 25 to make you open the refrigerator door and look for soup fixins.

a pint more or less of chicken broth made last week
two wilted carrots of indeterminant age
one medium size onion, chopped
two tired potatoes, sprouting
a half jar of salsa, medium hot, left from a Sunday football game
one small can of vegetable juice
one lonesome turkey bratwurst, sliced, cooked lightly in microwave, drained
all the celery hearts (forgotten about when I bought a fresh bunch) chopped
salt and pepper to taste
And nothing like the flash of a camera to let you see all the spots on the wallpaper. Unfortunately, I haven't found anything I liked as well as this. Goes with the cabinets and counters. But I then did try a little of that magic eraser, and found it removed a lot.

Summer's bounty

My son brought over a huge kettle of tomatoes and peppers today. I know what to do with some of them, but how many salads can I eat? He makes and cans salsa, but says the batch wasn't large enough to bother with. Then I remembered that my mother used to stew them, so I got out my 1966 Woman's Day Encyclopedia v. 11, and looked it up. I just made fresh cream of tomato soup, and I must say, it is fabulous. I didn't use these proportions, and I didn't have a bay leaf, but it's close

2 cups chopped ripe tomatoes
1 medium onion, sliced
1/2 bay leaf
1/2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
2 T. butter
2 T. all-purpose flour
2 cups milk

Simmer tomatoes (I peeled them first) with onion, bay leaf, salt, and pepper for about 10 minutes (do not use water). Strain. (I also ran the leftovers through the blender.) Melt butter and stir in flour. (I skipped this and just added the butter and flour to the milk and warmed in the microwave and added to the stewed, liquified tomatoes). 2 cups of milk. (I was low on milk so I only used one cup.)

Thanks baby boy!