CityMama™

Turkey Chili With Green Chiles and Orange

I'm not lying, this is the tastiest, most flavorful turkey ANYTHING you will ever eat. And for those on Weight Watchers (like I am), I calculate this at 7PP per one cup serving (without toppings).

STEFANIA'S WHITE TURKEY CHILI WITH GREEN CHILES AND ORANGE

This is a riff on my friend Abi's white chicken chili which she adapted from Epicurious.

 

• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1/4-1/2 tsp chipotle powder (I love it in all my chilis, but if you don't like the smoky flavor you can omit)
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (it's what I had on hand)
• 1 package ground turkey, crumbled (extra lean or regular)
• 1 15 ounce can of hominy, drained
• 1 15 ounce can of pinto beans, drained
• 1 15 ounce can of cannellini beans, NOT drained
• 1 heaping tablespoon of chicken base
• enough water to just cover all the meat/beans when added (about 2 cups)
• 1 4-ounce can of mild fire-roasted chilis (Ortega)
• 1 4-ounce can of hot fire-roasted jalapeños (also Ortega)    
• half an orange
• 1/2 cup whipping cream (or omit, but I use it)

 

Toppings (set these out in bowls and top as you wish!)

• lite Mexican shredded cheese (TJs)
• chopped onion
• chopped cilantro (leaves only)
• diced avocado
• fresh or pickled jalapeños
• fresh lime
• baked (or not) tortilla chips on the side

 

In a Dutch oven, saute turkey, onion, garlic, and spices together in a little olive oil until turkey is well-browned. Add in the remaining ingredients EXCEPT for the cream. Bring to a simmer and then reduce to low and cook for at least an hour. Check liquid level and add a little more water if needed. If you can let this sit overnight—it's even more delicious the next day.

Just before serving, remove the orange half and reheat the chili and stir in the cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Serve with toppings.

Party fare: Greek-Style 9-Layer Dip

One of my favorite things to do is to take classic recipes and add my own variation. I made this delicious layered dip for a Golden Globes party last night—it's my twist on a Mexican 7-layered dip. Not that 7-layered dip needs any improvement... It's perfect for awards season or football season. Don't you love this time of year?

The dip reminds me of Greek moussaka. It has all those rich and warm flavors without being a total gut-bomb. It's easiest to serve by setting the pan out with a spoon and let people serve portions onto their plates that they can then scoop up with pita chips.

The only thing you need to cook is the lamb mixture (see below). I made the tzatziki as well (you'll need about 3 cups-worth, my recipe is here), but you could purchase that as well—I know Trader Joe's carries it. I used 93% lean ground beef non-fat yogurt in the tzatziki and I also used non-fat feta to keep the dip a little lighter.

GREEK-STYLE 9-LAYER DIP

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of seasoned, cooked ground lamb/beef (recipe below), warmed
• 2 containers of plain hummus
• about 3 cups of tzaziki (cucumbers, yogurt, garlic)
• a sprinkling of chopped tomatoes (I used a prepared pico de gallo mixture)
• 1 cup of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• a good handful of pitted kalamata olives, sliced in half
• half a small red onion, finely minced
• 1-1 1/2 cups of crumbled feta
• a handful of fresh mint chiffonade (sliced) for garnish
• a drizzle of fruity olive oil (optional)

Pita chips for serving

Layer in this order (using a 9 x 13 inch pan). The lamb is the first ingredient in the pan, topped in the following order, ending with a drizzle of olive oil if desired:

lamb

hummus (spread carefully, it doesn't have to reach the edges of pan)

tzaziki

chopped tomatoes

garbanzo beans (sprinkled over evenly)

olives (scatter over)

onion

feta (sprinkled over evenly)

mint to garnish

olive oil if desired (use best quality and use a light touch)

 

SEASONED LAMB MIXTURE

• one pound each ground lamb and ground beef (you could use all lamb, too)
• a touch of olive oil
• 2 tsps ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp clove
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• salt and pepper to taste

Saute the ground meats and all seasonings over medium-high heat in a drizzle of olive oil until browned and cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Keep warm until ready to assemble dip (or reheat before assembling).

 

 

 

Cook Your CSA: Crustless Spinach Quiche

This is what we made for dear lunch guests visiting us from Italy today. It used up two week's-worth of CSA spinach. I served it with a black-eyed pea salad on the side, but a green salad would have been fine, too.

CRUSTLESS SPINACH QUICHE

Ingredients:

• 2 bunches of fresh spinach, triple-washed and drained
• 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
• one small onion, chopped
• olive oil
• a splash of white wine (if you like, and I do!)
• 5 eggs, beaten
• 1/4 cup of half and half
• a dash of nutmeg
• 2 cups of shredded light 3-cheese mixture (Trader Joe's)
• sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a 9 x 9 (or similar-sized) baking pan.

Drizzle some olive oil in a pan and sauté garlic and onion over medium heat until onions are soft and start to turn golden brown. Add spinach and when it's wilted in the pan, splash in a glug or two of white wine. Cook for about a minute, season with salt and pepper, and remove from heat to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, combine beaten eggs, half and half, nutmeg, cheese, salt and pepper. Add in cooled spinach mixture.

Pour into greased pan and bake for 30-40 minutes until quiche is puffy and eggs are set.

 

Starting a new workout routine in 2012?

Here's some inspiration (not just workout, but, I dare say, fashion as well), Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta-style. My eyes. They don't know where to look.

Happy Holidays 2011

Each night a child is born is a holy night
A time for singing
A time for wondering
A time for worshipping

No angels herald their beginnings
No prophets predict their future courses
No wise men see a star to show where to find
The babe that will save humankind

Yet each night a child is born is a holy night
Fathers and mothers—sitting beside their children's cribs
Feel glory in the sight of new life beginning...

—Sofia Lyon Fahs

Wishing you a bright holiday, and health, happiness, and laughter in in the new year.

Dashiell's Naming Ceremony, December 18, 2011

(Unitarians don't have many rituals, but this is one of my favorites. And today it's Dashiell's turn, just like his sisters before him.)

And now we have the great joy of welcoming a new child to the world and to our religious community. We welcome this child with joy and wonder at the miracle of life, and embrace him as a member of the community of humankind by formally giving him his name.

We humbly thank the Spirit of Life which brought him forth and bestowed him upon his family and the world for a blessing.

And we pledge our support to his parents and families, recognizing that we all have the power and responsibility to shape his world.

(adapted from words by Kenneth Patton) Humanity is our responsibility; human beings are that part of the total universe that we can do something about. To our children we can give our love, our care, our respect. It is a sacred trust and a transformative power.

Could the parents of Dashiell please come forward?

(Parents/guardians bring child to front of church, accompanied by godparents.)

Naming

Minister: [taking the child in her arms] What is the name of this child?

Parents give full name of child.

Minister: Dashiell, we welcome you and we give you this name as yours forever.

And from now and into the future, the names will become what you make of them.  May your life make them a blessing to the world.

You are unique. There is no one else like you in the entire world. Your parents and your family and all of us welcome you in all your uniqueness. We give you this rose, different from every other rose in the world, as a symbol of your uniqueness and beauty.

We welcome you to this community. Water is the stuff of life; water connects all living things, all of humanity; this particular water comes from the Water Communion services of many years. The rose is dipped in water to symbolize your essential connection with all of us in this community.

Minister touches the rose to the child's forehead, hearts, hands, and feet, and gives the rose to the child.

May your life blossom as beautifully as this rose.

(Minister gives the baby back to the parents to hold.)

Litany of dedication: Charge to parents

Minister: Dashiell is not only your son but also the child of life itself, with its infinite possibilities and myriad forms of beauty. To you is entrusted the sacred joy and privilege of guiding him in life in all its possibilities and teaching him to recognize his own path, hoping that he will find his own truth and live his life according to his spiritual ideals.

Do you, then, promise to the best of your ability, by your example, your teaching and your affection, to raise Dashiell in the ways of truth, beauty and love? 

Parents:  We do.

 Charge to congregation

Minister:  Members and friends, adults, youth, and children of the (our church), chosen community of this family, will you please rise as you are able?

No child grows up outside the influence of his community, and no parent raises a child alone.  If our hopes for Dashiell are to blossom, we must water them with love and commitment, creating the community for him that we wish to see flourish in his time.

Do you promise to freely and wisely love and respect this child, to offer him your steady presence and best selves, to nurture and sustain him and his family as they learn and grow and change together? 

Congregation:  We do.

Prayer

Let us join our hearts together in the spirit of prayer and meditation.

We give thanks for this new life that has come among us. Each new child brings us new hope for a new beginning. We see the great potential that lies in every human life, and we know this child will bring his unique gifts to humanity, if we help him to do so. May we recognize and nurture the unique gifts of this child. And through all the challenges and joys to come, may this child’s life be blessed with hope and courage and love. And all blessings, always, on this family.

Let's Meal Plan Together—Meal Planning for Week of 12/12!

Yesterday I made the girls a quick spaghetti cacio e pepe before we headed out to see a local performance of the Nutcracker. Bunny noted that I rarely make pasta anymore and it's true. As I've mentioned 100 times before, J. tries to avoid carbs, we're trying to avoid wheat, and I'm trying to lose weight. (SIGH.) But as I was blending the grated cheese with the pasta water, a little butter, and fresh ground pepper to make a luscious, creamy sauce, I realized (perhaps with a little help from Anthony Bourdain): pasta is GOOD. And easy. And I acknowledge that my girls miss it. So, I'm going to try and work more (GF) pasta into our meals because they really do love it.

As we get closer to Christmas, I'm trying to keep things relatively light in anticipation of the crazy eating we will be doing.

Monday: Green curry coconut chicken laksa (a twist on Malaysian noodle soup garnished with chilis, cilantro, and squeezes of lime)

Tuesday: Taco salad (sans chips): ground beef, beans, and veggies

Wednesday (CSA delivery day): White chicken chili or maybe chicken stir-fry and rice

Thursday: Spaghetti all' Amatriciana (pancetta, onions, tomato), a big salad

Friday Family Movie Night: Take out and a movie (and a cocktail!)

Saturday: Not sure yet.

Sunday: Baby Dash's naming ceremony and my niece's first birthday party. It's going to be a busy day.

What do you have on deck this week?

Let's Meal Plan Together—Meal Planning for Week of 12/5!

Baby Dash is finally weaned and you know what that means. It's back to Weight Watchers, which means that my weekly menus will take a PointsPlus-friendly turn. I haven't done Weight Watchers (for real) in about a year and a half—long enough to cook, birth, and nurse a baby (for nine months). My how things have changed! It's going to take me a month to refamiliarize myself with the points values and figure out the points for all my favorite snackies.

As I continue my weight-loss adventure, I very much welcome your favorite low-points/high-satisfaction recipes. Please share! Since this is not a diet blog, I won't be sharing points, but if you are familiar with Weight Watchers, you should be able to figure out the points for everything I'm cooking. In general, we try to limit carbs so you won't find pasta, rice, or potatoes as the centerpiece of our meals, but, rather, as an enhancement.

Here's what we have planned this week:

• Monday—Turkey breast, cranberry sauce, sauteed greens (kale, collards, chard) with potatoes and chilies
• Tuesday—This amazing-looking spaghetti and meatballs soup (though I may take a short cut with some frozen turkey meatballs), green salad
• Wednesday (CSA delivery day)—Barbacoa beef, celery salad
• Thursday—Pesto chicken breasts, green salad, something else from the CSA box
• Friday Family Movie Night (and WW weigh-in day aka "splurge day")—take out and a movie
• Saturday—Dinner with friends
• Sunday—Thai green curry chicken, rice

What's on deck for you this week?

Thanksgiving 2011—Menu and Side Dish-stravaganza Recipe Round Up!

Our weekly produce delivery, delivered today. (Not shown grapes, apples, and baby bok choy.)

This year, Thanksgiving is so nutty (in a good way), that I actually (nerd alert!) shared a google doc with the family to help with menu planning. This is an extra-special Thanksgiving here in the San Francisco Bay Area because our beloved 49ers will be playing Thanksgiving eve, about the time we usually have our dinner. Turkey and 49er football—according to many members of my family, it just doesn't get any better.

This year, for the first time in probably 20 years, I won't be making the turkey (my mom will be roasting an almost-24 lb. organic bird), but that's okay. More room in the oven for the side dishes, what Thanksgiving is all about for me! Also this year, there is no dungeness crab available due to a pricing dispute. We're having to improvise with canned crab for some recipes and won't be having our usual pre-Thanksgiving crab dinner. BOO!

Here is what we'll have on our table and who is making it:

Thanksgiving Menu 2011

Appetizers

• Crab-Artichoke Dip (my sister)
• Tuna Mousse  (my sister)
• Cheeses from Artisanal (Tata) with fruit from my CSA delivery—I had a sneak taste of the cheese and OMGYUM.
• Champagne or vodka martinis (duh!)

Dinner

• Roast turkey (Tata)
• Traditional Stuffing (Tata)
• Sausage-Oyster Dressing (me)
• Mashed Potatoes (my sister)
• Sweet Potatoes (my sister)
• Gravy (me)
• Roasted brussels sprouts with pancetta and red grapes (me, adapted from this recipe)
• Chestnut, leek, pearl onion, and fennel confit (me, adapted from the recipe included here-scroll down a bit)
• Baked butternut squash "stuffed" with rainbow chard (going to wing this with produce from the CSA)
• Fresh cranberry sauce (me)
• Canned cranberry sauce (because the kids love it, and let's face it, so does everyone else)
• Avocado Mold (Tata)
• Pinor Noir, Rosé (maybe bubbly? Okay!)

Dessert

• Pumpkin Pie with fresh whipped cream (Tata and my niece)
• Port and, okay, maybe a little more champagne

Recipes

If you are still hunting around for the perfect veggie side dish to complement your Thanksgiving or holiday meal, look no further than the recipes included here. These are two CItyMama posts from years' past that I still refer to every fall and winter.

The Great Thanksgiving Round-up

Thanksgiving Week Recipe Round-up!

 

A very Happy Thanksgiving to my (American) readers and their families, and continued gratitude and thank to all my readers no matter where you are!

 

Gobble gobble!

Stefania

 

 

Six Tips For Getting Kids to Eat Their Veggies

I'm delighted to be a new Hidden Valley "Love Your Veggies" Parent Panel Member! I grew up eating Hidden Valley Ranch (and especially Green Goddess) salad dressing that my mom made by adding milk and mayonnaise to the spice packet and shaking it all up in a Mason jar. As a result, I've always held a special place in my culinary heart for Hidden Valley (and only Hidden Valley) Ranch dressing.

As part of my "official duties" I'll be posting throughout the year about specific veggie-related initiatives. Hopefully you'll find them informative. In the interest of transparency and full-disclosure, these posts will always be clearly labeled.

My 9- and 7-year-old daughters will proudly tell anyone who will listen how much they love Brussels sprouts, spinach, lima beans, broccoli, and salad—all manner of vegetables that conventional wisdom would have us believe all kids hate.

I often wonder if kids are inadvertently taught to hate vegetables because we’ve all been conditioned to believe that that’s supposed to the case. With my own family, my children have the benefit of two parents who love all manner of veggies, and I know it’s at least partly because my husband and I were raised by parents who love veggies as well.

With a mother who has also dabbled in vegetarianism, and a father who loves one hot vegetable and a salad (he's a "meat and two veg guy") with dinner, my kids don’t have a choice but to love their veggies. It’s not that I’m doing anything consciously, I’m just raising my kids the way I was raised—to be exposed to a wide-variety of foods and cuisines, to have an appreciation of where food comes from (we visit u-pick farms and participate in a weekly CSA produce delivery), to help prep and cook our meals, and to have to try everything at least once.

Here are my tips for getting kids to eat their veggies

Be upfront—I’m not an advocate of hiding veggies in food. I love them, and want my children to appreciate them for that they are.  Start cooking vegetables as “stand alone” items from the time your kids can eat table food. Once you start disguising vegetables, or dousing them in cheesy sauces, it’s harder to go back.

Raw Deal—I have found that my own children love veggies raw—so when they ask for a taste as you are chopping that pepper, radish, fennel bulb, or bunch of broccoli, let them have one. Take advantage of their interest, and if they like it, allow them to sneak another taste—and then remind them often of how much they liked that vegetable.

It’s Hip to Dip!—A great way to let veggies stand on their own and eat them raw (or lightly cooked) is to let kids dip them into their favorite sauce or dressing. With my own children, dipping was a developmental phase. For a time it seemed like everything had to be dipped into something else. If this gets your little ones to eat their vegetables, let them have it. Our favorite dips are: a dish of fragrant, fruity extra virgin olive oil sprinkled with a little sea salt; Hidden Valley Ranch dressing made fresh from the packet—like (as I mention above) my own mom did—with our own milk and mayo; apple or pear sauce; Thai peanut sauce; sun-dried tomato pesto; rosemary-white bean hummus; and tzatziki.