Family Feud

Well, not really a feud!! Every time my brother and I have a chance to get together, which is not very often, we cook and have fun turning dinner into a "cook-off". While our inclinations are different...he is usually all about meat and as you know, I am the Veggie Queen, we both love to have at it with the 'barbe. While we were in New York, however, it was so rainy that the thought of firing up the barbecue in the rain was less than appealing. We made excuses until the very last night he was there and then, let it rip. Rick braved the elements, mixed up his "magic marinade" and I brushed it over tuna steaks and sweet Shinnecock bay scallops. We served these delectable morsels with fat, al dente asparagus topped with herbed summer squash and wild mushrooms. Divine, if we say so ourselves... and not a feuding word uttered!

Rick's Magic Marinade

Grated peel of 2 lemons

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper

2 cloves garlic, minced

2/3 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon paprika

Combine all in a glass jar, give a good shake and refrigerate until ready to use. Makes one cup.

There is something fish-y here

My dad was born in China and as a young girl, that was soooo confusing. Remember those reports we (or at least I) had to write in elementary school about our families? For me, it was a nightmare that made no sense. You see my dad's mom was born in Mexico and so by the time I got through explaining my dad's and grandmother's origins, I was totally confused and felt isolated as no one else in the class had such a far-traveled family tale! To make matters even more confusing, they lived in Canada most of their lives until dad went to college. Phew!

As an adult, I wanted dad to go back to China and see where he had lived, but by the time he applied for a passport, he was beyond the adventuring stage. And, it took some time for the government to figure things out, too! We tried to locate Grandma Jean's birthplace while we lived in Mexico but so much had changed. Maybe that is what discouraged dad from revisiting his birthplace. Anyway, we still have his beautiful silk baby booties!

Here is a delicious Asian sauce recipe that is perfect on rice or soba noodles and welcomes the addition of some shrimp if you'd like it even "fishier" or tofu. It is spicy and so you may want to tone it down or fire it up!

Lime Chili Sauce

1/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons fish sauce
2 teaspoons sugar
¼ cup finely shredded carrots
½ teaspoon chili paste
1 tablespoon each chopped fresh mint and cilantro

Whisk all together. Makes ¾ cup

Breakfast anytime...hopefully not before noon

Had they ever met, Stuart Little and my dad would not have been on the same page. Or, at least not until late afternoon when they both “take a dive” and enjoy a good nap. I could see a chance for possible camaraderie there. Otherwise, Stuart, the perennial early riser and my dad, “morning is over-rated”, would have been incompatible bedfellows. However, there is one thing they would have agreed on, other than the nap, and that was a good egg for breakfast. My dad loved eggs…not fancied with sauces and fluff, but a good scrambled, over-easy or poached egg. Stuart Little agrees. Basic, simply cooked eggs belong right up there with the best of the best. Dad had designated “egg days” and woe be to anyone who violated them with thoughts of cereal, pancakes and yes, even my magic protein shake (If Our Green Table Could Talk entry). Egg Days were sacred and not to be passed over or violated with substitutions. Period. My parents have an extra fridge in their basement and that is where dad’s treasure trove of eggs “lived”. Religiously, every Tuesday night and Friday night, he would take inventory in the upstairs fridge and replenish the stock so that Egg Days on Wednesday and Saturday could “fall into place rather nicely.”

Simply cooked eggs need two simple components to be at their best: freshness and gentle treatment. Use old eggs and the whites are watery and the yolks, flat. Tough it up cooking an egg and you are one step away from rubber. Springtime has lovely eggs and you can find them easily now directly from farmers or from a market that knows local egg farmers! Make sure they raise their hens as nature intended: eating grass, grubs and bugs and enjoying plenty of fresh air, sunshine and clean water. (As a side note, when our children were little and we were living in Mexico, we had two Rhode Island Red hens, "Georgie" and "Road Runner", and later when we moved back to the U.S., we got two more hens and two ducks to boot. What a hoot they were and the eggs, oh my…I can still taste them! I heartily recommend having your own chicks if you can!!)

FUN!!! Right as I am writing this, our neighbors are coming over for a glass of wine and guess what they brought…6 beautiful home-grown eggs, 5 brown and 1 gorgeous green! They keep four hens in their backyard and feed them with their yard’s bounty of grass-y, worm-y things and add in some extra kale and yogurt for zip. The eggs are amazing...plump, deep orange-yellow yolks that sit up at least a mile high (well, slight exaggeration!), but they do tower over the firm, thick whites. They smell so great, too...almost "fragrant" and the taste is like spring itself...fresh, fresh, fresh.

Here is a recipe for simple, perfect-every-time scrambled eggs. All you need for extras are thick slices of toast with sweet butter and a little local honey and then another spring treat...fresh local strawberries.

Simply Scrambled Eggs (This recipe is adapted from Julia Child...really hard to top! I understand that baseball legend Ted Williams always made his famous scrambled eggs this way too...slow and easy does it!)

4 fresh eggs
sea salt and fresh black pepper
1 tablespoon sweet butter
1 tablespoon heavy cream (optional)

Break eggs into a bowl and beat just to blend whites and yolks. Season with sea salt and black pepper (The only change I make to this recipe is that I add salt and pepper at the end.) Heat a skillet over low heat and add butter. Heat until melted and then add all but 2 tablespoons of the beaten eggs. Slowly and gently scrape the egg mixture from the outside and bottom of the pan towards the center. Use a wooden spoon or spatula. It will take a minute or two until the eggs start to set. DON'T RUSH things by turning up the heat. After about 3 minutes more, the eggs will be like lumpy custard. Cook a little longer if you like a "drier" scrambled egg. Fold in last 2 tablespoons of raw egg, cook a minute or two until set and then season to taste with sea salt and black pepper. If you want, you can fold in additional sweet butter, the tablespoon of heavy cream or some herbs. Dill and chives are nice and still basic and shouldn't cause a veto! Serves 2-3.

Next entry, I will share the new goat cheese and crackers I found that we ate over talk of chickens, eggs and backyard gardens. Oh, and I have to tell you next about the dinner at Sam and Ed's (names changed to protect the employed)! Beyond fun!

If our green table could talk...

If our green table could talk, I might have to clean up my mornings a bit. I consider myself "sort of" a morning person, but that does depend on the morning and on Stuart Little. He is our little chihuahua, actually, our medium chihuahua (Stuart Medium is a more fitting name for him...all 11 plus pounds!). We found him as a 6 month old stray. He was stranded, terrified and huddled under a holly bush eating a bag of cheese crackers when we saw him out of the corner of our eyes. Lucky for all of us. His holly bush refuge was about 10 feet from a dangerous interstate exit ramp and we were in danger of staying broken-hearted over the loss of our precious Corgi mix, Teddy...the last of the wonderful menagerie of pups that grew up with our children. Anyway, once we rescued each other, Stuart Little nestled into our lives quickly and now sleeps cuddled up on our bed every night. Most nights, all is well and everyone is happy. Some nights, not. He can be restless, toss, flip and burrow as chihuahuas love to do and he can be an early riser. That's where our green table comes in. Like I said in the very first entry, Setting the Table, that green table knows all our stories!!!



Usually the first sight our green table sees every morning is Stuart under one of our arms on his way outside. When I am the carrier, the next sight is me trying to gain some way to cope with the early hour. Up until a couple of years ago, I "brewed" my coping skills in a coffee pot and siphoned off the first cup as the rest of the pot brewed away. Heaven help anyone who got to that first cup before I did!!! Grrr is right! Having lived in Mexico and Colombia, I grew up on coffee, good coffee, strong coffee and could down java with the best of them. That first cup ( I swear it is stronger than the others) was the jolt I depended on. About two years ago, I started doing something new and I think our green table would agree. My morning person polls are up.


Now, stumbling or not, the first thing I do is have a glass of cold, I mean cold, water dressed up with a splash of 1/4 of a lemon or lime. That really wakes me up and resets my metabolism. Lemons and limes are very healing. Next, I blend up my magic protein shake. So magic in fact that Stuart Little has gotten in on the last drops in the blender. They are his or else!


Here is what I see has happened to my health. I have a handle on caffeine. Now I share the first of the morning brew better (ha!) and only drink about 2 cups of coffee total. I have boosted my immune system so much so that in the past two years despite huge stress and sorrow from sick and dying parents, umpteen plane trips (two that lasted 18 hours!), living out of a suitcase for weeks and even months, traveling to India where I ate every delicious morsel I could, and juggling lots of other demands, I have held off colds and the flu and strep throat. Amazing. I usually spend most winters fighting off respiratory bugs and cough my way to late spring.






And so, now I encourage everyone to shake up their day, if not mornings, with a kefir/whey combo. In additon to being delicious, this protein shake makes perfect nutritional sense. Your immune system needs good bacteria to flourish so that the good bacteria can fight off the bad. Kefir and whey work together to stimulate the growth of good bacteria and strengthen the immune system against infections and viruses. They are a great match. Your digestive tract will love it. Even if you do not tolerate milk well, give it a try. Here is the recipe I use. If you want a terrific source for clean, safe whey, let me know...I have it delivered wherever I am!




Magic Protein Shake

2-3 ice cubes
7 ounces total liquid (I mix kefir and water, sometimes adding in pomegranate juice)
1-2 scoops organic vanilla whey protein
1 scoop "greens" powder or a handful of greens, destemmed
2 tablespoons frozen blueberries and 1/2 frozen banana if I have it
Dash of cinnamom or slice of raw ginger


Blend the ice and frozen fruits and "greens" powder until slushy, adding in a little water or juice. Add kefir and whey powder and spices and blend for only about 10 seconds or until just blended in. Make sure ingredients are well mixed but do not overblend. I like mine thick but you may want more liquid. Makes 1 serving.

As a sweet note, my dad, the ultimate Non-Morning person but consummate Green Thumb, sent me home with a suitcase full of lily of the valley plants a couple of summers ago. I dutifully gloved my black thumb and planted them. They looked really pitiful for years. This year, they are blooming profusely... and I have 6 gorgeous, fragrant blooms! Go Dad!!! I still reach for the phone to call him with news.


Coming next, more breakfast!