Mama's Day: How to Spell Flavor (L-O-V-E)

"The trick is to taste your food. Which isn't really a trick." - My Mom

Ok, that may be my interpretation of what I consider one of the greatest lessons my mother taught me growing up: to savor. 


If you know my mom, you have probably tasted her food. You have probably sat on our kitchen counters (or stood by, your preference), smelled the aroma of her culinary creations, picked at a dish before it made its way to the table, and understand why all of her children love to eat.


But Mom's added zest goes beyond food. It's her approach to life. As long as I have known her, Mom has never been one to back down from a challenge. She is unorthodox, curious, imaginative, and generous. Her hospitality at times extends "too far", and her desire to make others comfortable is apparent in every facet of her life. 


She is seasoned with passion, dignity, and love. 


My favorite childhood memories seem to involve food--I remember as a kid eating "ants on a log" (raisins on pb stuffed celery) outside on our patio underneath the Alabama sun, the magic of the Christmas holidays with Mom's cookies and gingerbread houses (including "stain-glass windows" made from melted hard candies!), and the myriad of meals spent at the table all together in the days between.  Looking back, I'm amazed at my Mom's grace in letting her kids descend upon her kitchen like a swarm of feral jackals and experiment. Using her stuff.


We had quite a few melted plastic measuring cups and spoons back in my day. 


Growing up, every year my two older bros (E and A) and the younger sis next to me (B) would make my mom breakfast in bed for mother's day. Somehow, she survived to see her grandchildren born. 


One of our favorite family memories is when the four oldest (bros E and A, sis B, and me) tried to make a sponge cake as a surprise for my mom--it was either her birthday or Mother's Day. I was about 10, making E 13, A 12, and B 7. We thought a nice lemon sponge cake would be delightful. I think we wanted to get strawberries, too. But those are hard to come by when you're 10.


E was leading the charge, and together we had all the ingredients safely assembled, mixed and ready to be...folded???


E: Hey, how do you fold something?
Me: I think you do it with a spatula. You lift the stuff from the side and then push it in through the puddle. 
E: Like this? *Folding*
Me: Yes, like that.


*Maybe 2 minutes go by*


Me: That's taking way too long. I don't think it looks right. Maybe we just need to mix it as fast as we can and mix it REALLY GOOD. 
E: Ok


My mom was treated to our version of a deconstructed lemon torte--a very dense, eggy, and firm...memory-foam sort of sponge cake. That or a brick. And I wish I had known back then I could just mess up and call something "deconstructed" to make it sound intentional. 


Mom thought it was pretty hilarious, and her encouragement to delight in the unexpected has inspired me both in the kitchen and outside.


So to Mom, Happy Mother's Day! Thank you for teaching me how to savor, how to cook, and more importantly, how to live. I love you!

Mom with youngest sisters, C (right) and T (left) when they were just wee tots!

**Hopefully some of you got the "spells like" joke in written form...

Microwave Fritatta

"L'art :
Green arsenic smeared on an egg-white cloth,
Crushed strawberries! Come, let us feast our eyes." -Ezra Pound

**Written last night...then I fell asleep before publishing.**


I just wrecked my diet. For the last few weeks I have been carefully tracking my caloric intake--revising my diet to include high amounts of lean proteins and reduce my intake of sugars, simple carbs, and processed foods.

This started when I hit a wall and realized I have choices regarding my life. Sure, I won't ever be a "skinny" girl; I will always have curves. I need a wide variety of flavor profiles. But I can determine how "not skinny" I am, and how healthy I want to be. Some people don't have that choice, so I should feel some sort of obligation in that regard. Inspired with the efforts of a few people, I stopped making excuses and started pushing through the fatigue, busy-ness, and other excuses I felt were keeping me from making choices that would give me the results I wanted.

Three weeks, 35 workouts, and the above diet later I lost four pounds! I was so excited.

Until tonight.

My Easter basket of sweetened temptations resurrected from the foot of my bed to the forefront of my mind and I caved. :( I ended up eating a Reese's snack egg thing, a dove chocolate, a few skittles, and a few sour patch kids. Now I have a tummy ache.


But tomorrow, I start fresh. So to celebrate my climbing back on the relentless wagon of the pursuit of good health in my life, I'm offering up a simple but effective egg dish. What I call a "work breakfast" because it is convenient for those of us who sometimes get up at 0530 to hit the road. There's really no excuse not to eat the most important meal of the day. But I've heard and used every excuse there is. So please enjoy, this one's for us :)

For breakfast, I've started making microwave fritattas because I got sick of boiled egg whites and I don't have time to make a real breakfast in the am. It's easy:

I separate 2-3 eggs, throwing away the yolks. I put the whites in a pyrex or microwaveable dish.

To the whites I add a few chopped pieces of any of the following: 

• kale 
• broccoli
• asparagus
• spinach
• green onion
• shallot
• fresh basil
• fresh cilantro

I add salt, pepper, a few herbs, and just a teeny bit of olive oil.  Other things to consider adding: zucchini, squash, mushrooms, peppers, olives, tomatoes (be careful if you're doing low-carb--they're fruits and therefore have sugar!)

If you want to make ahead of time, this is where you pause and then resume the following day in the microwave at work (or am I alone on that one?)

Put the dish in the microwave and heat for about 1.5 minutes. 

Patience and the Palate...

"How can a society that exists on instant mashed potatoes, packaged cake mixes, frozen dinners, and instant cameras teach patience to its young?"  ~Paul Sweeney

 As you can see, I am still trying to figure this whole blogging thing out.  What makes it easier for you to read, absorb, and enjoy? What do you find useful (if anything?) What do you find annoying or frustrating? 


I know I promised to share with you my broccoli and tofu "recipe" and I will. One thing I have learned through this experience (attempting to blog) is that, like cooking, there is no real formula. It's a constant process of tweaking, testing, reworking. And it takes a lot of patience to make something worthwhile. Especially considering how flooded the market is right now out there for both blogs and "foodies". As much as I hate the term "foodie", I LOVE that the mystery of the written art and the culinary arts have been redefined and both are more accessible to normal, regular people like me who can stumble through each or both and discover what happens later.


Sometimes that means there are mishaps. Other times, some really unexpected successes.


I'm thinking this because, inspired by a few people, I have been taking an aggressive approach to life recently. Namely, I'm trying to get back in shape, control my eating habits more, and stop making excuses for why I've gained 25 whopping lbs since my return from Iraq 6 mos ago...


That's right, 25 lbs. On me. That's like what, adding a 2nd grader to your torso?? ugh...


So...expect some really fun low cal, low fat, low carb, high protein, and high flavor foods coming out soon. And to hear some ridiculous stories...


But now for the broccoli and tofu recipe:

I had originally intended to make a coconut milk curry, but unfortunately discovered my coconut milk had been used. So, I decided to make a hoisin-inspired marinating sauce. 


I used: sesame oil, soy sauce, molasses, chopped garlic, lemongrass, cayenne pepper, and sesame seeds.


Combine these together to make a relatively thick sauce. All ingredients you are using have strong flavors, so mine was something like:

• 1/4 part sesame oil
• 1/3 part molasses
• 2/3 part soy sauce

Chopped garlic, cayenne pepper, and lemongrass to taste. 


Once this is made, cube a package of extra firm tofu:

As you can see, I may have done mine out of order and now you are learning how I wish I had done it, haha. (see broccoli floret traitors in the pic)

Add marinade:

Marinating tofu--see the lemongrass?

Then chop the broccoli:

I have no idea why the photo is with garlic and lemongrass. I think to remind me of something. Something I forgot.

While your tofu is marinating, you steam then blanch the broccoli. You will be adding this to the wok, so make sure your cooked broccoli is a bit undercooked to avoid gross mushy food at the end:

Broccoli got blanched

After the broccoli is sufficiently cooled, season your wok with a little sesame oil, put it on medium heat, and add the tofu. You want the pieces to get nice and brown on each side--a lil crispy. 

Once it is sufficiently crisped on the outsides, add the broccoli. The goal is just to get the flavors to meld and reheat the broccoli. Keep adding the marinade, as needed.


In this photo I think you can see what I mean about the tofu pretty well, so I hope that helps.


When you are finished, plate your meal in a warm bowl, and add a sprinkling of sesame seeds.


My dinner looked like this: 

What will yours look like?




***This post has been brought to you by ellipses...there for you when you awkwardly don't know how to finish a statement