California Sunshine!

As soon as I saw the return label on the package that said, "Ray's Organic Grove," I opened the box as quickly as I could. Inside, under a protective layer of foam was 13 lbs of beautiful, sweet smelling Meyer lemons. Uncle Ray and Aunt Pat live in Modesto, California. They live in a modest, unassuming house on a quiet street just off the main road that cuts through the city of Modesto. From the front, the house looks similar to the others on the block. But in the backyard is a small but productive orchard that Uncle Ray has tended for years. Uncle Ray grows the lemons (and he grows them well) and I'm sure that it was Aunt Pat who carefully placed them in the box and sent them to us via FedEx. I love Meyer lemons. They have wonderful flavorful that I can only describe as intensely lemon-y. I rarely see them in grocery stores out here and when I do, they are too expensive for our budget. It's not the first time Uncle Ray and Aunt Pat have sent us this box of California sunshine. But I never take this special treat for granted and use as much of each lemon as I can. So, what am I going to do with 13 lbs of lemons? I will make cakes (of course) and other lemon-y baked goods. That will use up a couple of pounds. The rest? I'll freeze the rind and juice separately in small containers so that I will have them on hand the next time a recipe calls for a tablespoon of lemon juice or a teaspoon of lemon rind.

A Lesson on Family Meals

Since moving to Ann Arbor last October, family meals have become weekend affairs. Geoff commutes to Michigan State University for his job (a one-hour plus drive) so by the time he gets home at 7:00 pm or so, Caroline is in her pajamas and ready for bed. I eat dinner with Caroline on most nights but wait to eat with Geoff a couple of times a week. Tonight was an eat-dinner-with-Geoff night. I gave Caroline her dinner (zucchini and whole wheat penne pasta with pesto from our summer-time freezing stash) and sat with her while she ate. She took a few bites but then started goofing off. And the more I encouraged her to eat her dinner, the more she goofed off. Her fork kept "accidentally" falling on the floor. Oops, she bumped her head and needed an ice pack. "More milk please!" Finally, I became frustrated and said (rather firmly), "Caroline. Let's focus on your dinner." Her response? With an earnest look and wide eyes, she said, "Mama, why don't you eat with me?" Is that all? I served myself a small bowl of pasta and sat down with her. Not surprisingly, that is all it took. As soon as I started eating, Caroline stopped fussing and happily ate all of her meal.

Peanut Butter Dip and Apples

The only locally grown fruit that I can find these days is apples. Every week I buy half a peck of Alex Nemeth's (pictured here with his lovely wife) super sweet Fuji apples at the Ann Arbor Farmers' Market in Kerrytown. Even though they were picked months ago, they are still very crunchy. Caroline likes apples but she doesn't love them like I do...except with peanut butter dip. When we moved to Ann Arbor last October, I discovered the most amazing peanut butter. It is called Cream-Nut and it is made by Koeze Company in Grand Rapids. I first tried Cream-Nut at Zingerman's when it was being sampled. At $6.99 a jar (17 ounces), it was a bit too pricey for our budget. But a few weeks ago, I found it at Whole Foods Market where it was only $4.69. I bought it right then and there and I've been in peanut butter heaven ever since. This morning, Caroline and I used it to make peanut butter dip. Here's the recipe. Add a little bit (about a teaspoon) of boiling water to a tablespoon of peanut butter. Stir like mad until creamy. Add more water if needed. Use as a dip for apples and celery or eat straight out of the bowl.

Cooking with Caroline

Some of my favorite childhood memories are those that took place in the kitchen working side-by-side with my mom turning whatever was in-season, into a meal. These days, Caroline joins me more often than not when I am in the kitchen. I love watching her as she grows increasingly confident in her cooking skills and adventurous in tasting and smelling food. After making blueberry pancakes for breakfast this morning (our weekly tradition), Caroline and I made a batch of hummus. I put the ingredients and our cooking tools on the table and we went to work. When we cook together, we share tasks. I measured the tahini (6 tablespoons), water (1/4 cup), salt (1/2 teaspoon), and olive oil (2 tablespoons). Caroline poured and stirred. We took turns squeezing lemons for juice (3 tablespoons), pressing one clove of garlic through a press, and grinding the cumin (1/4 teaspoon). After all of the ingredients were prepped, we moved on to the Cuisinart, which hands-down, is Caroline's favorite small kitchen appliance. We start by processing the chickpeas (1 cup), garlic, salt, and cumin together for about 15 seconds. Then we add the liquids. Caroline loves to press the big, grey buttons (start and stop) while I push the mix of olive oil, lemon juice, water, and tahini through the top. We process the hummus until it is smooth and creamy and then turn it out into a bowl. Served with whole wheat pita bread and carrot sticks, it makes a great snack.

Eating Seasonally in Tuscany

When we booked our winter vacation to Tuscany, we knew we wouldn't be eating fresh vine-ripened tomatoes. What we didn't expect is that our hosts Laura and Luciano at Il Canto del Sole would eat seasonally to the point of consuming almost no fresh produce in the wintertime. With the exception of Clementine oranges and persimmons from Sicily, and storage vegetables like carrots, onions, garlic, and pumpkin, our diets for our 11-day vacation (Christmas day through January 4) consisted primarily of homemade pasta, eggs, meat, bacon, cheese, pizza, bread, and of course, gelato (which, according to my definition, is always in season). Not that I'm complaining. The food was fabulous and we all loved the simple Italian meals that Laura and Luciano prepared daily for us. The pumpkin lasagna we had one night was especially wonderful. It was made with homemade noodles and melted in my mouth. Meals eaten out also were made with seasonal ingredients so ordering insalta mista (which was always on the menu but never available) was simply out of the question. Instead, we ate thin-crust pizza, like the one pictured here, throughout our travels in Tuscany.

Cup O' Soup

Who doesn't love a meal made up of soup, salad, and crusty bread on a cold winter night? Caroline. It's not that she hates soup. She just doesn't care for it. Since she has been battling a cold all week (and has now passed it on to me and Geoff), I decided to serve chicken noodle soup for dinner tonight. Instead of serving it in bowls, I put the soup in mugs. It did the trick. Caroline drank her soup like a pro. "I do. I do. I do like the soup" she said mimicking the words in Dr. Seuss's Sam I Am.

Food Grouch

Geoff just called me a "food grouch." Since moving to Michigan in 2004, our friends have sung the praises of Ann Arbor. "Oh, you'll never like East Lansing, Betty. I know you. But you'll love Ann Arbor." "There's better food in Ann Arbor." "Ann Arbor has better bookstores." Ann Arbor this, Ann Arbor that. After my food shopping experiences today, I am feeling less than chipper and pining for familiar old favorites like the Meridian Township Farmers' Market, Schuler's Bookstore, and the East Lansing Food Co-op. But here's why I'm grouchy. Our first trip this morning was to the Ann Arbor Farmers' Market. What drives me crazy about this farmers' market is that none of the organic farmers list food prices. So every week, I load up my bag with goodies, tell the farmer (or whoever happens to be working the stand that day) what I've got and some number spills out of their mouth. Today, it was $29. Last week I bought about the same amount of produce and it was $14. What's the deal?! I could ask what each item costs but why do I have to? I've never been to a farmers' market where products weren't labeled with prices. I want to pay a fair price for food but really, was the price of the vegetables we bought today really $29? I guess we'll never know. Our next stop was Zingerman's for our usual cup of coffee and pastry. Since my good friend Allison was coming over for lunch, I also hit the deli for some meat, cheese, and olives. I settled on nicoise olives ($18.99 per pound) and French sausage for $12. It was a splurge but Allison is moving to Italy and today was our last visit together for awhile. And honestly, since I haven't bought nicoise olives in a long time, I couldn't remember what they typically go for. Plus, if it tasted as good as it looked (or if you get what you pay for), why not? But it didn't. The nicoise olives weren't anything special and the French sausage was horrible and left me feeling sick to my stomach. After my food experiences today, I am wondering what all of the Ann Arbor hype is about...well, maybe that isn't a fair statement. There are some good things about food in Ann Arbor. Like Alex Nemeth's Fuji apples. I feel better just thinking about the big bag of Fuji apples in my refrigerator. They are the perfect size, crunchy, and sweet. Now those are good apples. And they're affordable too.

Inspired!

Before leaving Portland, I bought myself a present: The Paley's Place Cookbook by Vitaly and Kimberly Paley. Paley's Place is a well-known restaurant in Portland's chic Northwest 23rd Avenue neighborhood. We've never eaten there but everyone I know that has just raves about it. I read the book on the plane back to Michigan while Caroline slept on my lap. With recipes like Chicken Roulade and Huckleberry Kuchen with Cassis-Huckleberry Sauce and Creme Fraiche, I doubt I'll be able to find the time to make most of the dishes in this book. But I didn't buy it for the recipes. I bought it for the stories. I laughed out loud when I read about Vitaly Paley's weekend with Fergus Henderson cooking pig trotteres and partridges. Reading the stories about the food and food producers of the Northwest reminded me of why I love to cook. Even though I spend a lot of time in the kitchen, much of it is spent preparing easy to prepare meals that I know Caroline will enjoy. The Paley's Place Cookbook inspired me to cook one of my favorite dishes tonight: chicken provencal. It is a recipe I found in an old Cook's Illustrated magazine from years ago and for some reason, I assumed that the flavors would overwhelm Caroline and she wouldn't like it. Instead of following my own advice (I can hear the annoying message now: Some foods may need to be introduced to children up to 20 times before they are willing to try it) I just avoided this dish altogether. I served the chicken with oyster mushrooms (Tantre Farms) sauteed with garlic and Israeli couscous. To my surprise, Caroline loved her meal. Thank goodness!

A Bouquet From Kaleng

Life has been busy these days. We spent 10 days in California at the end of October and just returned to Ann Arbor from a trip to Portland, Oregon. We were back in Michigan for only a few days in between, just enough time to get over jet lag...before heading to the west coast again. Portland is our home. Before moving to Michigan, Geoff and I lived in Portland. We were only there for four years but during that time, we made many close friends, including Kaleng Moua (pictured here). Kaleng is a farmer and vendor at the Portland Farmers' Market. He grows and sells fruits, vegetables, and flowers. We became friends with Kaleng and his family years ago. We first met at the farmers' market but we became friends while working together to try to improve farm direct marketing opportunities for immigrant farmers. I visited the Moua's farm years ago and was so impressed with the diversity of the products they grew, how hard they worked, and their care for their land. At that time, Kaleng mostly grew flowers, vegetables, and hazelnuts. Over the years, he has started growing specialty foods like figs and jerusalem artichokes. We visit Kaleng at the Portland Farmers' Market about once a year. The market is so busy that we never get a chance to talk for more than a few minutes. I always bring him one of my favorite Michigan foods and he always gives me something from his stand to eat during my stay. This time, he gave me a bag of perfect jerusalem artichokes, a bunch of bok choy, and a bouquet of dried flowers. "For your office" he said as he handed me the flowers. I turned away and pretended to look at his figs so that he wouldn't see the tears rolling down my cheeks. Kaleng. He is always so kind to me. I thought of Kaleng earlier this week as I cleared a spot on my desk for the flowers. They look beautiful and even though they are dried, they smell lovely. I thought of Kaleng again tonight as Caroline and I prepared the jerusalem artichokes for dinner. It was my first time cooking with jerusalem artichokes (also known as sunchokes because they are the tubers that form under sunflowers). Caroline helped me to scrub them clean and after I sliced them into 1/2 inch rounds, we tossed them with our hands in sunflower oil and dried rosemary and roasted them in the over. They were delicious.

Surviving On Processed Foods

Caroline and I have been in San Diego since last Friday. I am attending the American Public Health Association (APHA) conference (along with 13,000 other people). When I travel to conferences, Geoff usually stays home with Caroline. But this time, Geoff is also attending a conference...in Palo Alto. Since APHA provides on-site childcare (and several breastfeeding lounges....this is definitely the most progressive and family-friendly professional organization around) we decided that Caroline should come with me to San Diego. Camp APHA --the official name of the on-site childcare service -- is run by an organization called ACCENT on Children's Arrangements. For $15, parents can purchase a lunch for their child. Because I am the way I am, I decided to pack Caroline's lunches for her. Before the conference began, I hit a nearby food co-op called Ocean Beach People's Organic Food Market. The market had a great selection of fresh produce but since we are staying in a hotel and only have access to a very small bar fridge, we couldn't take advantage of most of the products. Instead, we had to stock up on processed foods and stick to foods that didn't need any preparation. What did we buy? Nancy's soy milk raspberry yogurt (which has nearly 10 grams of sugar less than fruit flavored yogurt made with cow's milk), whole wheat crackers, single serving applesauce, boxed soy milk, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots, Fuji apples, string cheese, sunflower butter, Village Mill Bread Company bread, and Bionaturae strawberry fruit spread. Today was Caroline's first day at Camp APHA. She loved it. And for the most part, she seemed to like what I packed for her lunch...especially the sunflower butter and strawberry fruit spread sandwich.