Colcannons

I'm a little late getting my Irish on the screen, but here it is. We did get into the spirit of St. Patrick's Day. For a jaunt to a local Irish pub with friends, I enlisted the styling services of my teenage daughter since I was at a loss for something festive to go with my surgical boot. She suggested I wear her black watch plaid jumper with a pair of leggings. It did the trick. Incidentally, the plaid was pretty close to the McKenzie plaid of my mother's people, so I felt I was honoring her as well.

The delicious plateful above was created later and was actually an accidental colcannon -- it was just a couple of side dishes I'd made to go with my husband's grilled beast of the day, but once I got them on my plate I realized how Irish the combo was. Actually, that kale may either be a little Italian or Mexican too -- I don't remember if that's an olive or a bean down there under those greens. While the kale prep has slipped my mind, I remember the potatoes. Simply prepared, I boiled large chunks of new potatoes for about 15 minutes, then drained and slightly mashed them with earth balance, a little veganaise and a tablespoon of Dijon mustard. They were amazing and got compliments from the carnivore too.

Missing the accidental colcannon as soon as the leftovers had run out, I endeavored to create a more purposeful one. I prepared the potatoes the same way, but then incorporated them into a panful of shredded cabbage I had sauteed in olive oil with large chunks of baby Vidalia onions with the greens still attached. Mmmmm.

Erin go bragh!

Happy Birthday Mama

Remembering my mom this second Christmas season without her, red cardinals have gotten my attention. I've been reaping the benefits of yoga these last few months, where one little red cardinal has been a frequent visitor, pecking on the windows of the studio almost every day. Eventually, I began to notice that a memory of Mom often preceded the bird's visit. He would come and go, and some days I'd forget all about him until Mom's pretty face popped into my mind and then I would hear the "tap .... tap, tap" again. The cardinal has been an appropriate messenger from Mom, always drawing to mind her red lipstick -- the only makeup she ever wore. One of Santa's elves put this token in my stocking this year:

Here she is, Jeanine McKenzie Allen, in a photo taken not so long ago. Can you see why the red bird resonates? I'm the luckiest girl in the world to have had this angel for a mother -- so many blessings.

Mom would have been 74 today. Happy Birthday Mama -- I love you.

Happy New Year!

Thank goodness collard greens and garlic are always happy waiting for me in the 'fridge for a week or so. We returned from a whirlwind trip to the Boston area only a couple of hours ago, and my good luck New Year's Day Black Eyed Peas were easy to whip up in a jiffy from what I already had on hand. After a fun-filled-toe-freezing "First Night" walk all around Boston last night, we were finally nestled all snug in our hotel beds (albeit still bone-chilled) at around 2:30 a.m. Somebody snores sometimes, so by the time the wake up call sounded at 6:30 a.m., most of us had slept for only an hour or two. Hustling to our early morning flight thus impaired was no joke, and we all are in a bit of a fog this New Year's Day 2014. Needless to say, I was not up to a grocery run, so was very happy I could make this dish so easily without getting out of the pajamas I had quickly donned upon our arrival home. The canned black eyed peas were rinsed and quickly fried in olive oil along with three smashed garlic cloves and half a bunch of collards. I added a little salt, quickly stirred it around and voila -- good luck in a bowl.

We visited three wonderful families while in the Boston area -- folks who knew us decades ago before we were hitched. Among many other attributes, Boston has amazing pubs, and we had wicked good pub food -- lots of it! Aside from cold salads, however, greens did not figure into the pub food, and even the kids missed them. This bowlful fit the bill today. This is how we do it in the South!

We had a wonderful trip, and are so grateful for dear friends, but there is no place like home!

A Bountiful Bowlful

One of my favorite things about cooking during the holidays is the leftovers! I'm a simple vegan+, really, usually subsisting on greens mixed with whatever is on hand, but a holiday dinner is special, featuring a few different dishes to go along with the old standbys. For Christmas dinner this year, to please my own culinarily motley crew along with a guest -- Wynne's friend, Yuval, here was the menu:

• Sweet curried collards with mushrooms, carrots, onions and chick peas (inspired by a recipe from one of my favorite former blogs "{Plate+Simple}" --you may still be able to find the archives)
• Roasted potatoes with onions, salt and pepper -- raw chopped potatoes, 450 degrees for half an hour.
• Roasted Brussels sprouts with shallots, salt and pepper (I've seen some lovely maple- or agave-glazed roasted sprouts recipes, but I am not crazy about sweet sprouts, and since I am the boss of veggies around here, we had 'em simple -- quickly steamed sprouts (1 minute, then rinsed in cold water), then 425 degrees for 15 minutes. I have roasted them exactly like the potatoes before, but the outsides turned out burnt and the insides, still almost raw. The short steam at the beginning, with a slightly lower temp, and a shorter roast time is my preference.
• Sesame ginger soba noodles -- These seem to come out a little different each time I make them since I don't measure, but the important ingredients are grated ginger (about a Tbsp.) oil, a little rice vinegar, a little shoyu, a couple shakes of red pepper flakes, a pinch of salt, scallions sliced on the diagonal -- lots of 'em, cooked soba noodles, a few drops of sesame oil at the end and a small handful of sesame seeds thrown in after it's all done. I like the black ones.
• An organic chicken I roasted myself -- this was rough, I'm not gonna lie, since it did involve touching and manipulating a dead body. The worst part was that I assumed the inside of the carcass would be similar to turkeys I have roasted in the past (neat little packets of unmentionables), but it wasn't. I spent a few minutes trying to pull the neck from the cavity before realizing (!!!!!) it was still attached. Ugh. Horrible. They don't chop the necks off the organic ones (shudder). I said a prayer for the little birdy, choked back some bile and adjusted my martyr cloak. Then I poured a little Christmas martini and felt better. I had considered buying a pre-roasted rotisserie chicken, but I thought I would do something nice and take the hormones and antibiotics out of the family's poultry experience. I won't do it again.

Chicken necks aside, it was a lovely meal, and today's leftovers were amazing. The bowlful in the photo features poultry-free leftovers only! Stay tuned for the next reinvention of these delectable morsels.

A Reminder For Merry Elves

You know who you are . . .

It seems silly since we all know how to take good care of ourselves, but especially for you moms out there this time of year -- remember to breathe! When I was reminded at yoga the other day, I was surprised I had forgotten. I'd been keeping my shoulders up around my ears (I must have looked lovely that way), and had been breathing only from the chin up, quick and shallow. That's barely living. Deep breaths everyone -- slowly. Only a few will make a world of difference.

Sustenence + Odds-n-Ends

Just a couple of weeks out now, when fueling body, mind and spirit, it behooves us to choose wisely. This Italian preparation of one of my all time faves -- broccoli rabe -- fit the bill perfectly this morning. This was lovely with a tiny drizzle of balsamic vinegar (a little goes a LONG way!) but it would also be great with nutritional yeast on top. Here's my simple recipe:

Italian Broccoli Rabe

1 large bunch of broccoli rabe, washed and trimmed roughly
1/2 yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium tomato, diced
1 can of chick peas, rinsed (you may choose white beans instead)
3 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. earth balance "butter"
a pinch of salt

On medium high heat, quickly saute onions and garlic in the oil, stirring frequently for about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add chick peas and salt, stirring frequently for a couple more minutes. Turn the heat back up to medium high and add the tomato and the broccoli rabe, stirring constantly as the greens wilt. You may need to add the greens in batches since they take up a lot of room when raw. Don't worry, no need to remove the original batch before adding the next. The size will quickly dramatically reduce, and the next batch can be stirred right in. I use two wooden spoons to more easily keep it all in the pan. Once all the greens have begun to wilt, add the earth balance to temper the bitter greens and silken the texture. Stir for a couple more minutes and remove the pan from heat, covering so it can continue to steam  until you plate it. This would be perfect with polenta, pasta, brown rice, quinoa or amaranth.

Incidentally, my sweet Mom made that pretty plate! I have mugs to match. I don't use her homemade pottery often because I would hate to break it, but I do feel closer to her when I use it.

For the odds-n-ends portion of the post, here are a couple of photos from the last few days --

The other night we attended a "white elephant" party where you bring an anonymous gift, pick a number and either choose a gift from the pile or steal one from someone else who has already opened it. The party goer whose gift is stolen then gets the same choice, and so on. When it was my turn, I stole this blooming tea system from a very sweet lady who is married to one of Andres' coworkers. Luckily, since I was the 11th chooser, I had already witnessed the sometimes ruthless nature of the game, so I didn't feel too bad about engaging in the shenanigans, myself. I love this! Isn't it cool? You boil water, put a little dried tea pellet into the teapot and then add the water and watch the tea bloom into a lovely flower. There are about 8 other pellets of different flavors and colors, so if I bloom any more pretty ones, I will share photos. I'm not competitive by nature, but I do enjoy this game.

My brother and his family sent us this beautiful  holiday arrangement all the way from Kazakhstan! Thanks, guys! Enjoy the season.

Fa La La La La, La La La La

Okay kids, how are we doing?

I've noticed a frenetic panic setting in during this shortened holiday season (Thanksgiving and Christmas are closer than usual this year, and Hanukkah started on Thanksgiving). Everyone is cheerful enough on the surface, but distracted and hurried. The default facial expression -- brow furrowed, focus downward -- only yields, with bewilderment, from direct eye contact and a smile. Normally this would be the perfect time for our favorite social experiment game. Wynne and I like to find the grouchiest soul in a room and change everything with a genuine, positive greeting or just a smile. It can be very entertaining -- the dramatic change in mood is usually preceded by several seconds of confusion. The payoff is akin to the karmic blast one gets from paying a stranger's toll or restaurant check.

This year, however, I've noticed that I am the one with the furrowed brow. It's my own fault, really. I've become obsessed recently with creative, crafty pursuits I had given up long ago because of their time-consuming nature. Once enmeshed, I was thrilled with the soul-soothing process, until I realized again just how time-consuming creativity is. Continually craving a quick payoff, I have started project after project, only to find that there is no quick payoff. It's time to focus on Christmas. I am watching myself procrastinate, but I just . . . can't . . . stop.

It all started on October 1 with Wynne's request that I create Arwen's cloak for her to wear on Halloween. My youngest child wanting something from me that I can actually do? -- Involving something from Lord of the Rings???? Um, yeah! Ten days, 3-7 hours per day later: the cloak was born! I'd show you a photo, but she is 16 and doesn't approve mass consumption images of herself, unless they are selfies, of course. I did a great job on the cloak, so I thought I was a master seamstress again. Wynne then wanted Haylie Williams' plaid pinafore/jumper thingy, so we went looking for the fabric and pattern. We found something I thought I could work with. I found myself something too. I am not done with either project and am not thrilled with early results. To soothe my jangled nerves from seam ripping the mistakes over and over again, I started some homemade Christmas gifts for friends and neighbors. I'm still in the early stages with these.

Still searching for the elusive sense of accomplishment, I bought piles of yarn so I can remember how to knit, and maybe teach myself to crochet -- haven't touched 'em. I'm about halfway done with Christmas decor -- tree up, no ornaments, cardboard box containing creche figures on the side table. Jesus, Mary and Joseph are still in their bubble wrap.

Still, sometimes the spirit moves me. The other night, fixing dinner in the kitchen, I spouted forth: "God rest ye' merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay!"

Andres, watching something on tv in the other room, responded "shush!" Wynne and I made eye contact and had a fit of giggles.

But I can give any grinch a run for his money. Having a snack after school the other day, Wynne got a kick out of watching me go through the mail while loading the dishwasher and prepping dinner. Glasses on, brow furrowed as per usual, I read each Christmas card, bill, junk mail/coupon aloud to help it make sense to my scattered brain.

"Add some sparkle to your holiday, (a credit card solicitation) -- NO!" (ripping it in half).

The phone rang: "Why, why, why is my phone always ringing?! -- oh, hi honey,"

Thank goodness my child is there to show me myself from the outside so the two of us can laugh at me. Yes, I understand I'm avoiding getting into the thick of the season with mindless grinchery and distraction, so as of this moment I will just say no to ripping out another seam on a homemade dress that I don't need and which is not working out. After the new year and a long winter's nap, I'm sure projects will flow more smoothly.  I'm going to sit down now with this lovely soy nog (cut with unsweetened vanilla almond milk) and work on those homemade gifts. Oh, and Jesus, Mary and Joseph, let's get you out of those bubbles!