Pasta With Spinach and Blue Cheese

I have been a big fan of Mark Bittman, aka The Minimalist, for a long time. This recipe dates back to 2003 and every time I make it I thank him. Everyone likes it and it seems like a treat because of the full-fat blue cheese. Here's my version with a link to his original on the New York Times site. Basically, I omit the butter, use half the amount of pasta and only use whole wheat pasta. Trader Joes has a really good assortment of very good blue cheeses - Roquefort, gorgonzola, and the one I used in this version, Blue Stilton from England made from no rBST cow's milk!

Preparation Time:30 minutes
Serves 4 as a light supper and 6-8 as an appetizer

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound Trader Joe's Organic whole wheat spaghetti
• 2 6 oz. bags Trader Joe's Organic baby spinach
• 4 oz. Trader Joe's blue cheese, crumbled - Roquefort, gorgonzola, or other good blue
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

1. Boil water in a pot large enough to hold pasta, add salt and pasta and cook according to package directions minus one minute.
2. Meanwhile, open bags of spinach and crumble cheese. Place a colander in the sink.
3. Add spinach to cooking pasta when timer goes off, stir and cook until bright green and wilted, about 30 seconds.
4. Drain pasta and spinach well in colander and return to pot. Immediately add cheese and stir to melt and combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.
   

Sometime I Hate Being Right

Many years ago I decided that ground beef would never again touch my lips nor those of my kids. The only ground beef we eat is what I buy and grind myself. Today's news about the largest ground beef recall in US history is what I always feared. Now I look sane to all those who thought I was fringe. I wish I had been wrong.

First, I'd like to thank the Humane Society for bringing the reckless behavior of Westland/Hallmark Meat Company to light. Please take a minute to view their videos showing abuses at this and other slaughterhouses so you can understand how inhumane and dangerous they are. Warning, they are not for the faint of heart and you may never eat ground beef again.

Who suffers when meat unfit for human consumption enters the food supply? Not me and mine because of our house rules discussed above. And because I pack my son's lunch every day, he is not exposed to the cafeteria food that I would not eat myself. Guess what? After I read him the article in today's NYT, I asked him if he understood NOW, FINALLY why I don't let him eat school lunch. He gave me a resounding YES accompanied by a vigorous, affirmative shaking of the head. I 'll take that as a thank you and promise not to ask me for the umpteenth time when I'll let him eat school lunch.

Okay, who does suffer? Consumers who think ground beef is a nutritious, tasty and inexpensive source of protein, kids who eat school lunch, including those on free and reduced lunch, and anyone who eats in institutions which participate in federal nutrition programs (read the poor and elderly). That's a whole lot of people, including our precious children! I sit here now hoping that none of them gets mad cow disease from eating those downer cows. Every parent should be outraged and should be asking their food service directors what they are doing to ensure the safety of the foods to make up school lunch.

What's gone wrong? Not enough inspectors? Lax enforcement of Federal regulations within companies that process meat? Companies putting profits before the health of consumers? All of the above and much more.

How can this be fixed? I have a few ideas. Send me yours.

1. Get the government to recognize publicly that their system for ensuring the safety of our food supply is broken.
2. Arrange a panel of experts, without ties to meat packing companies, to come up with a better system, including one that gives the USDA the right to recall products it oversees.
   
3. Get the National School Lunch Program to raise the bar on quality and understand why whole foods are the way to go and why the commodities program is problematic.
   
4. End factory farming. Support sustainable agriculture and local food systems.

I'm disgusted and hope you are too. If you want to know whether or not the recalled beef made it to your kid's cafeteria, good luck. The USDA isn't telling because of their arcane rules. Give them a ring and a piece of your mind: 202-720-4623.

The Fracas Over Menu Labeling

I'm just appalled at the behavior of Dr. David B. Allison, the incoming president of the Obesity Society, a leading organization of obesity doctors and scientists. In a NYT article about New York City's new rules requiring chain restaurants to post calorie counts alongside menu items, he was quoted as saying that they could backfire and cause obese customers to actually eat more. What? Why would a doctor and figurehead for such a prominent organization make such a claim? Isn't he supposed to be part of the solution, not part of the problem? Um, money. Unfortunately, he is also a consultant to the New York Restaurant Association and was paid by them to write a 33-page affidavit detailing studies showing how, under certain circumstances, diners with information about the high calorie content of their food might actually eat more. The New York Restaurant Association is suing NYC to block the new rules.

Who supports calorie labeling on menus? The Obesity Society. What? Yes, the very organization that will soon have Dr. Allison as its president stated that "more information on the caloric content of restaurant servings, not less, is in the interest of consumers." I wonder if the board is rethinking his new position? Other supporters include the usual cast of characters that weigh in on topics like this: Public Citizen, the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the American Medical Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Diabetes Association, and the American Heart Association.

And what about the rest of the population that is simply calorie conscious? Don't we represent an important component if not the great preponderance of diners? Given the choice between a 700 calorie dinner menu item and a 1,300 calorie item, we can intelligently make a choice that suits our needs. We can also ask if something can be substituted or left out of the higher calorie item to lower the calorie count. I think the FDA calls that being an "informed consumer". We used that argument when we asked the head of food service to add calorie counts to the school lunch menu. No dice. I might have to move back to New York. On second thought, I'll just keep making my kid's lunch.

Shame on anyone who tries to inhibit the free flow of information necessary for consumers to make informed decisions about the food they eat!

Heart Shaped Fruit & Dark Chocolate Strawberries for Junior Valentines

Happy Valentine's Day everyone! I made these gorgeous and delicious strawberries dipped in chocolate for my third grader's class party today. Needless to say, they sold out! The kids even came back for seconds for the heart shaped cantaloupe and pineapple I made with cookie cutters.

For the strawberries, wash and dry them thoroughly. Do not use any that have soft spots. Break up a bitter or bittersweet bar of dark chocolate into a glass bowl and microwave for 20 seconds. Remove from microwave and stir. Keep microwaving and stirring until the chocolate is completely melted. The strawberries must be completely dry. Introducing a liquid into the chocolate can make it seize up and that is a really ugly thing and a waste of good chocolate. I like to user Trader Joe's South American unique origin chocolate for this. The Scharffenberger is great too but it's less viscous and therefore goes on a bit too thick.

Holding the strawberry by the hull, roll it three quarters of the way up in the chocolate. Allow excess to run off and then place on a parchment paper lined plate. Repeat with remaining strawberries, reheating the chocolate by microwaving for 5-7 seconds when it starts to cool and thicken too much to coat the strawberry properly. Let dry, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.

These have been a big hit a kids' birthday parties where the parents stay. It's nice to spoil parents too.

Real Mac 'n Cheese

A few weeks ago, I blogged about certain kids' cookbook authors who endorse hiding vegetables in food. Not a bad idea, but don't commit culinary atrocities. I think putting pureed chic peas in mac 'n cheese ruins it, sorry Missy! One of the loveliest things about mac 'n cheese is the silky texture of the cheese sauce. This recipe makes a luxurious one. Don't skimp on the hot sauce either, it really adds another dimension. Don't be afraid; this is not complicated. Get a good whisk ready! I like serving this with steamed broccoli florets; no more than 6 minutes please!

Get your kids to help you make this. Mine had fun weighing the cheese and grating the nutmeg. Of course, licking the pot is the most fun.

Real Mac 'n Cheese
(adapted from an ancient NYT recipe that I can't find online)
Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 12, feel free to halve the recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups diced onion
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/4 cup unbleached flour
• 1 quart low-fat milk
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 24 ounces grated low-fat aged Cheddar cheese, or a mix of cheeses (I added local farmer's market cheese and it was excellent)
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon hot-pepper sauce
• 16 ounces whole wheat elbow macaroni, cavatelli, penne or rigatoni
• 4 tablespoons grated Parmigiano-Reggiano or Grana Padano

Preparation:

1. In a deep saucepan, cook onion in butter over low heat until onion is soft but not browned. Stir in flour. Remove pan from heat, slowly add milk while whisking. When thoroughly blended, return to medium heat and cook, stirring, until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat, and whisk in mustard and 20 ounces Cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, nutmeg and hot-pepper sauce. It will be lumpy at first, but have faith, it will come together.
   
2. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to "al dente" directions. Do not overcook! Drain, return to pot, add cheese sauce and stir until blended. Taste and adjust seasonings.
3. Spoon mixture into two 9-by-13-inch baking dishes. Top with remaining Cheddar cheese and the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Refrigerate until needed. To serve, allow dishes to return to room temperature, heat oven to 400 degrees, and bake about 20 minutes, until mixture is hot, bubbling and golden.
   

Soup for Lunar New Year

Dumpling soup is traditionally served on Lunar New Year in many Asian countries. It’s such an easy soup to make that I make it whenever it’s cold and I want a quick and yummy soup. Trader Joe’s Thai dumplings are particularly flavorful so I do not recommend substituting another type of dumpling unless you are ready to add much more seasoning to the soup.

Serves 4-6 people a dinner-sized portion

Ingredients:

• 2 containers Trader Joe’s Free Range Chicken Broth
• 2 bags Trader Joe’s Thai shrimp or vegetable dumplings (I like using one of each)
• 1 bag Trader Joe’s organic spinach
• 4 scallions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, crushed (optional)
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced (optional)
• Trader Joe’s low-sodium soy sauce
• Trader Joe’s toasted Asian sesame oil

Preparation:

1. Empty broth into 4 quart pot, cover and bring to a boil.
2. Add dumplings all at once, cover and return to a boil. Remove lid and lower heat to medium to gently boil dumplings. Do not vigorously boil or they will fall apart. Cook 7-8 minutes only.
3. When dumplings are cooked, add bag of spinach, stir and cook about 1 minute just until spinach is wilted.
4. Ladle dumpling soup into bowls and top with a heaping teaspoon of scallion or combine the scallion, sesame seeds and garlic in a small bowl and pass around as a topping. Pass around small bowls of soy sauce and toasted sesame oil for each person to season their bowls as desired.

Hot Stuff

Let's play stump the chump. What the hottest chili pepper in the world? No, it's not the Habanero or Scotch Bonnet, it's called bhut jolokia and "has been eaten in northeast India for centuries" according to the The Wall Street Journal article last weekend entitled The World's Hottest Chili. It is basically unknown in the rest of the world, at least until now. In laboratory tests conducted by the Chile Pepper Institute of New Mexico State University, it measured in at over 1 million Scoville Heat Units. That's hot stuff!

Can we actually eat this and will it be coming to America? Yes, but not many people would be able to handle this kind of heat. It's already available online in powdered form at www.burnmegood.com. I know I'm going to have to try some just out of curiosity. A word of warning if you want to try it, wear rubber gloves and a mask and don't touch your eyes or nose.

Drinking Diet Soda Is A BAD IDEA

Anyone who drinks diet soda, even one can a day, should kick the habit pronto. The New York Times today reported the findings of a study conducted by professors of epidemiology at the University of Minnesota and guess what, they "found a correlation between drinking diet soda and metabolic syndrome. Surprisingly, the risk of developing metabolic syndrome was 34 percent higher among those who drank one can of diet soda a day compared with those who drank none."

This is shocking! There should be lots of fallout from this. If you don't know what metabolic syndrome is, here's a definition from wiki: Metabolic syndrome is a combination of medical disorders that increase the risk of developing cardiovascular disease and diabetes. It affects a large number of people, and prevalence increases with age.

Anyone who has kids in school knows we've just got to keep the soda out of our schools.

10 Minute Broccoli & Cheddar Soup

This simple and yummy vegetable soup can be made in 10 minutes. No kidding! Cook the broccoli in the store bought broth, puree it, add some yogurt and spices and top with good cheddar cheese. I urge you to get a hand-held immersion blender if you don't already have one because pureeing soup in the blender is absolutely dangerous, messy and now unnecessary thanks to these kitchen gadgets. I love my Braun. Amazon's got them on sale for about $30 so don't be cheap; be safe and quick. Oh yes, the kids absolutely love to use it. I let them stand on a chair next to the stove and puree while I keep one hand on them and the other on the blender with them. They actually squabble over who gets to use it!

This is not the super creamy, fat laden broccoli cheddar soup you get at most restaurants. It’s a much lighter and quicker version that uses bread as a thickener instead of roux (butter and flour). It uses low fat dairy instead of cream so your family’s hearts will thank you. If it seems strange to add yogurt to soup, take comfort knowing that the Turks have been eating yogurt-based soups for thousands of years. Indians use yogurt extensively in their cuisine and this combination of broccoli with garlic and cumin is common in western India.

My kids joke about this soup because I called it Emerald Soup for months to hide the fact that it had broccoli in it. Kids who won’t eat a vegetable off a plate somehow find vegetable soups palatable and even yummy!

Yield: 4 large servings or 8 appetizer-sized servings

Ingredients:

• 4 cups Trader Joe’s organic low sodium vegetable or chicken stock (1 container)
• 1-12 oz. bag Trader Joe’s organic broccoli florets or about 8 cups broccoli florets. You can also use cauliflower florets.
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin seed
• 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
• 1 slice Trader Joe’s whole wheat bread, ripped into 4 pieces
• 2 cups Trader Joe’s low-fat or fat-free organic yogurt
• a few drops of hot pepper sauce, like Sriracha (optional)
• fresh ground pepper to taste
• ¼ cup Trader Joe’s shredded aged cheddar cheese (optional)

Preparation:

1. Heat stock in a medium saucepan until boiling. Add broccoli, garlic, cumin and salt, cover and lower to a simmer. Cook 6 minutes or until just tender. Don’t overcook or it won’t be a beautiful green color!
2. Add bread and puree in the saucepan using an immersion blender (preferred). Or remove from heat and transfer in batches to a blender to puree.
3. Return to saucepan (if using blender), add yogurt and puree or whisk to combine. Reheat and serve. (Yogurt curdles when boiled unless there’s some flour in the mixture!) Add salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste and serve hot.
4. Top with some shredded aged cheddar cheese and serve with bread.
   

Curried Chicken Salad

This is a rich and hearty yet low-fat and healthy chicken salad recipe that is delicious served not only in pita pockets, but also rolled up in a tortilla or between two slices of good bread. You can also skip the bread and simply serve it on a bed of Boston or Bibb lettuce (both are varieties of butterhead lettuce), watercress or mache. If you’re not up to poaching the chicken, buy Trader’s Joe’s prepared chicken strips, cut into cubes and continue with step #4 below.

Makes 4 Servings

Ingredients:

• 1 package Trader Joe’s Organic Free Range Chicken Breasts (2 breasts)
• 1 small onion, peeled and quartered
• 4 whole black peppercorns
• 4 cups water
• 1 teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt
• 1 bay leaf (or curry leaf)

For the Dressing:

• ¼ cup mayonnaise, low-fat yogurt or Nayonnaise (tofu-based mayo)
• 3 tablespoons Trader Joe’s Apple Cranberry Chutney (in the spring and summer use mango chutney)
• 2 teaspoons cider vinegar
• ½ teaspoon hot curry powder or 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
• ½ teaspoon coarse (kosher) salt
• ½ cup Trader Joe’s Unsalted Dry Toasted Sliced Almonds (optional)

For the Sandwiches:

• 1 package Trader Joe’s whole wheat pitas
• 1 package Trader Joe’s Bibb or Boston lettuce, cleaned and dried

Preparation:

1. In a 4 quart saucepan, bring water, onion, peppercorns, bay leaf and salt to a boil.
2. Trim any fat from chicken and add to pot, returning it to a boil and then lowering it to a simmer. Cook partially covered for 15-20 minutes or until cooked through.
3. Turn off heat. Remove chicken from cooking liquid and place on cutting board to cool. Cool cooking liquid.
4. Make dressing by mixing mayonnaise or yogurt with chutney, vinegar, curry powder and salt.
5. Once chicken has cooled, using a sharp knife, cut into ¼ inch cubes. Toss chicken with dressing, taste, and adjust seasoning, adding more salt, curry powder or chutney to suit your taste. Refrigerate until ready to use.
6. Strain stock and save for making soup. Freeze after it’s cooled in the fridge if not using in the next day or two.
7. To prepare sandwiches, cut a small sliver off the end of the pita pocket to make an opening. Lay a few leaves of lettuce inside, scoop in some chicken salad, and then pat on some toasted almond slices. Voila! If using traditional sliced bread, you may want to save a small amount of dressing and spread it on the sides of the bread, then dip each side (halve or quarter the sandwich) in the sliced almonds. This makes a beautiful presentation.

Both kids and adults enjoy the classic combination of hot and sweet.