Hope in a Glass

Remember when I declared I was making some changes to reduce my personal oil consumption and one of them was not using my car's air conditioning all summer? (see Featured Recipes, "environmental impact") Well, I wanted to let you know how that is going. It has been hot, hot, hot here, often over 100+ heat index and so far, I am doing all my errands without the car's a/c. More than several prickly heat attacks later, my track record is still 100% and I am using less gas and more thought before jumping in the car (did I mention it also has a black interior?). So, it's good. Yay!

Now, here's what happened a couple of nights ago that really heated things up and had me hoping for "coolth", as my mom calls it. The air conditioning went out at home. (Before I go any further, although I don't like air conditioning in general, I know I am very lucky to have it, both in my car and home, and these complaints are minor).

Our house is stucco which means that all day long, it absorbs heat and then spews it out all night long. Like a big radiator or convection oven if the overhead fan is also on. Even Stubug, desert breed Chihuahua that he is, pants and gasps through many nights. But Wednesday night with no a/c and very little circulating air (which was also about 90+ degrees), he was miserable. Goes without saying, I was, too. I remember friends in Houston reminiscing that they used to sleep in wet sheets and about 2 a.m., I considered that.  Sleepless, I had visions of hope dancing through my head, which in my part of the world means one thing: watermelon.

Hope, Arkansas is the watermelon capitol of the world and home to these famous fellas. For more on Hope and the actual dates and scoop on its world famous Watermelon festival, visit this link http://www.hopechamberofcommerce.com/

As luck would have it, when I decided to do Thursdays with "Thirsty Thursday" theme, little did I know that I would find beverages perfect for this post. Take your pick and chill out with a cool one...

 Watermelon Daiquiri

2 cups watermelon chunks, seeds removed
1/2 lime
6 ounces tequila
3 ounces Cointreau
1-2 tablespoons agave nectar or honey (depending how sweet the melon is and how sweet you like your cocktails)

Put everything in a blender, whip it up and serve in a chilled glass, with a drink umbrella! Serves 3-4.

or this non-alcoholic slushy, courtesy of our paper:

Watermelon Berry Slush

4 cups seeded watermelon

1 10-ounce package frozen, organic raspberries

1 12-ounce bottle sparkling mineral water 

Place watermelon in a single layer in a shallow pan and freeze until firm. Remove from freezer and let stand 5 minutes. Place in blender or food processor and blend for a pulse or two and then add frozen berries, alternately with mineral water. Process until smooth and serve in a tall chilled glass with a sprig of mint. Serves 5-6. The paper also noted that for willing adults, you could add 8 ounces of vodka. This recipe is from http://www.watermelon.org/, the website of the National Watermelon Promotion Board.

I may have to keep a stash of these in the 'fridge.

Plastic Surgery by the Numbers, Part 1

One of the topics of conversation at the potluck last week was which store had the most delicious "cold case"...portion of the deli that has ready-to-go salads, cooked entrees, etc. And while, we gals may be used to turning over dinner dishes and bowls to see what the pattern is or who the artist is, we (at least I) don't look often enough on the flip side of those plastic deli containers and other plastic food bottles and jars. I need a refresher course. Below is a handy by the numbers guide to plastic containers...and I was shocked in a store recently by some of the 3's and 6's I found, even on children's food containers!!

I am going to do two things with "by the numbers"...

1. Pay closer attention to the numbers on the bottom of containers.

2. Pay closer attention to the number of plastic containers I use and use less.*

When I am with Mom, one of the truly great things is that each household has to sort and schlep its own garbage and take it to the island dump. There is no garbage pick-up service, ever. Sounds gross and it can be, but it really makes you see and feel your "load" of waste.  And so, when I have to do the dump run, and the car is full mid-week, I know to cut back and rearrange some of Mom's shopping (I'll talk about that later). At home, our garbage is in the alley...a little bit out of sight, out of mind, and picked up every Tuesday like clockwork. I am not nearly as aware of the trash I create as I should be. But, I am on it and getting better.

                                      

Here is the cheat sheet, current as of the latest info:

#1: Safe to drink out of once. Do not reuse. Recyclable. (Water bottles)

#2: Safe. Do not reuse. Recyclable. (Milk jugs, juice bottles, butter tubs)

#3: Avoid. It is vinyl or PVC!! Not recyclable.  (Be careful here...think phthalates: some peanut butter jars, baby bottle nipples, shrink wrap, coffee containers)

#4: Safe. Recyclable. (frozen food bags, sandwich bags, squeeze bottles)

#5: Safe. Recyclable. (yogurt, syrup, catsup, straws)

#6: Avoid. Some can be recycled. (This is the Styrofoam, classic take-out, clam shell group.)

#7:Other=questionable. Bisphenol A included here labeled as PC, and is not recyclable. I would label as a must avoid. Plastics made from sugarcane, corn and potato starch (PLA) are also in this category, safe but not recyclable. They are compostable and used in smart delis! But, this #7 is a landmine because it is labeled "other"; it can be a mixture of good and bad!

* The Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation estimates that more than 1,000,000 birds and over 100,000 marine mammals and sea turtles die from eating plastic cast-offs and an untold number get tangled up and are severely injured...like an omnipresent oil spill.

Now, if all this has you bug-eyed with bags under your eyes, relax and chill out with this soothing eye mask. Then, have a look at your "numbers".

Cucumber and Chamomile Eye Soother

2 slices cucumber (use big ones here and munch on a mini...delicious!)
2 chamomile tea bags


Make 2 cups of tea the way you like it, remove tea bags and chill them down in 'fridge. Sip on relaxing tea while bags are chilling, then place chilled tea bags on eyes for 10 luxurious minutes.


Now, take 2 slices of chilled cucumbers and place them over closed eyes for another 10 minutes. Twenty minutes of heaven!

The Red, White and Food

Conventional rice farmers use up to 40 different synthetic pesticides, many of which leach their hazardous contaminants into the ground and water supply. Organic rice farmers represent a minuscule number of farms and percentage of overall acreage. They are victory gardeners/farmers for sure and what they are doing counts more than ever. 

I live in the largest rice producing state in the country and wanted to do The Red, White and Food shout out to one of the only organic rice producers, Hogue Farms and their product, Southern Brown Rice. I spoke to the company this morning and although their rice is not carried in retail stores, you can order a 25 pound bag of long grain, organic brown rice for $22.50 plus shipping. Check them out at this website, www.hoguefarms.com and cheer them on.

The company that sets the standard for organic rice farming is California's Lundberg Family Farms and their products are readily available in stores and on their website, www.lundberg.com

They have wonderful rice; my favorite is the Wehani pictured above. It is absolutely delicious and the whole house smells fabulous whenever I am cooking it. As you will see from their website, they have done "the right thing" since 1937 and have a vast array of organic rice products. The brown rice pastas and rice cakes are terrific, too. 

Lundberg Farms is also part of the non-GMO project (as is Stauss Family Creamery, the milk supplier used by The Cowgirl Creamery featured in the first The Red White and Food entry) and published this handy link...print it out and take it with your when you shop. You heard about the "newest thing" in salmon, right??? Good grief. I'll write about that later.

http://www.nongmoshoppingguide.com/documentFiles/144.pdf

For me, organic rice is on my list of "must buy organic" and a big The Red, White and Food thank you to Hogue and Lundberg Farms! For all you young moms out there, rice is often your child's first solid food. Make sure it is organic!

Three Day Weekend

Not wanting to leave the excitement of the World's Cup or my seashore reverie behind just because it is Monday, I am making this soup for dinner. And, I could serve it with a slice of Spanish Manchego cheese, but I am stilI mourning the WC loss for The Netherlands. For the soup go-with's, you are on your own! I just may have a piece of Gouda.

I love beans of all kinds. They are so easy to fix and easy to live with (if you know what I mean). They just take some getting used to and a little planning.

The first thing to get used to is cooking beans, dried preferred. The texture of dried beans trumps canned beans any day. Most dried beans require a good soak the night before. Soaking improves the digestibility of beans and helps them cook faster. (Also, adding in a little piece of kombu, a sea vegetable, does too.) The actual cook time for beans varies. The smaller ones like adzuki and split pea are ready in less than an hour. The larger ones like pintos and kidney beans take about 2 hours. Cook time is not a high attention time and you can be doing all sorts of other things while the beans cook.

But, living in the real world, sometimes I forget to plan and use canned beans. The only brand I use is Eden Organic. Their cans are bisphenol A safe.

The fiber from the beans can cause some upset, but it is a true "listen to your body" moment. You are probably not eating enough fiber to begin with and the "upset" is a red flag to get more varied fiber in your diet. Fiber is key to so many healthy body functions and no one to my knowledge gets enough from the "beans and legumes" family. They are protein-packed, fiber-full life savers, truly one of your body's BF's. Show the love.

And so, to show how delicious the love can taste, here is a recipe that is a great summer black bean soup. Feel free to add in a little more heat....jalapenos, any kind of pepper or dash of hot sauce.

Tropical Black Bean Soup

3T. extra-virgin olive oil or extra virgin coconut oil
2 small or 1 large Vidalia onions, chopped
3 shallots, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 t. sea salt
4 cups black beans, cooked and drained or 2 cans, rinsed and drained
1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes or equivalent in juicy fresh tomatoes
2 cups fresh orange juice and grated rind from oranges
3/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/4 c. dark or light rum (optional, but lovely)


To a large pot over medium heat, add the extra-virgin olive oil or extra virgin coconut oil, onions, shallots, garlic, and sea salt. Saute for 5 minutes, or until the onions start to soften. Add the black beans, crushed tomatoes, orange juice, rind and cayenne pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum. Season to taste.

Serve with a dollop of a nice fruity salsa. My favorite here is a pineapple/pepper/mint one pictured above. Also good is Tropical Sals-up, my basic go-to sauce. And, if you have any Sticky Coconut Rice leftover, add that in as well!

Surf's Up!

When I talk to my daughter most summer weekends, our conversation goes like this..."Hi Sweetie...whatcha doing?" Answer, "Heading to the beach!" My daughter loves the beach...all my kids do....and she has found some wonderful ones within driving distance of her home.

For me, the beach is one of the most magical places on earth and when I hear her plans, I am filled with delight for her and yes, envy. When I am not on Shelter Island with Mom, I live far inland, away from the water. Most days, my "beach" comes to life only when I close my eyes or when I take a deep breath of...coconuts.

No fragrance transports me faster to the shore than the smell of coconuts. Maybe that has something to do with why I love to cook with them....they help transform me and whatever I am cooking into a whole new world. I use flakes in Natural State Granola, love coconut milk based Purely Decadent ice "cream", and when not feeling totally swell, drink coconut water...a little tip I got when traveling in India.

One of my favorite cooking oils is extra virgin coconut oil...sooooo delicious and good for you. I love it just straight from the jar, too, spread on warm toast. Hmmm. (I know what some of you may be thinking..."I don't like coconuts." Well, if I hadn't tasted the real deal and had just left my taste buds rebelling over with the sicky-sweet canned stuff and the overly rancid movie theater stuff, I would agree with you!)The brand I love is Nutiva and I swear, when I open the lid and breathe in, I am dancing in the surf, blue polished toenails and all.

As I have said before, I am working on my grains and especially, showing rice some love. While Reshma and Christian were home, Reshma made sticky rice and added in a dollop or two of Nutiva's coconut oil. The result? Heaven in grain form. Here is another method I use to get the coconut and the love all in one bite.

Coconut Rice

1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk

1 1/4 cups water

1 teaspoon sea salt
2 cups basmati rice (I use brown)


In a 2-quart saucepan with a tight fitting lid, bring coconut milk, water and salt to a boil. Add rice. Return to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook 45 minutes, if using brown rice. For white rice, which is the more traditional choice for sticky rice, cook for about 15 minutes. To make it "sticky", add in more water as the rice cooks until you get the desired consistency.

Turn off heat and let rice stand and continue to steam for 5 minutes. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

This rice has a lovely, soothing aroma while cooking...great way to take the edge off the World Cup tension!! While delicious on its own, it is a launching point for all kinds of other flavors. Over the Fourth, we had Tropical Sals-up and homemade chimichurri sauce to pass and ladle over the rice, making it even more decadent. Ahhh...I can just hear the surf!