How To Beat Your Winter Funk

For weeks I’ve been completely unmotivated. It happens to me every January. The weeks of sub-zero temperatures wear me down. Eventually I find myself on the couch every night, watching way too much of my favorite programs, like TrueBlood or Dexter or Californication or whatever I can get my hands on.

I haven’t even cooked an actual dinner in weeks. I don’t feel like eating…nothing sounds good…I have no motivation to prepare anything. It is the time of year when I fall into my most unhealthy habits, and I feel like everything I love doing so much, like having a garden, canning/preserving food, cooking, eating healthy, exercising, is all so far out of reach.

How can I break out of this funk?

We all know the common things that we should be doing….exercise, get eight hours of sleep, eat vegetables, meditate, whatever. I know what I should be doing, I just don’t do it. It’s dark all the time. It’s cold. I’m always tired. And cold. I go home and put my pajamas on.

One night this week I did manage to pick up the book I’m reading, The Year of Magical Thinking, by Joan Didion (which, by the way, I am enjoying quite a bit…her story is about grief and hope and strength and reminds me of my experience with my mother and her stroke) instead of turning on the TV. I guess that is one step in the right direction.

How do you get out of your funk?

I’m reminded of a post this week on my friend’s blog, Fat Girl Fed Up, about setting goals. Maybe that is what I need to do. A weekly goal for blog posts. A weekly goal for reading. A weekly goal for the draft of my novel……I am going to start small so I don’t get overwhelmed, and then keep setting goals. Notice I am mixing business and pleasure for motivational purposes……..

Starter Goals:

• Make healthy Pumpkin muffins for our “breakfast theme” Superbowl party
• See a movie (I am REALLY intrigued by the preview for Sanctum)
• Finish KSurf Fiction Writing workshop assignments by 2/14. THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. This weekend, catch up on lessons
• Finish my office…l’ll post some pictures in an upcoming post…finishing my own personal writing space is related to my writing goals!
• Finish “The Year of Magical Thinking” by the end of February and start a new book
• Paint my bedroom by the end of February

The Italian Gourmet

On October 23rd we had an Italian cooking class with Antonio Cecconi, owner of The Italian Gourmet and author of the Betty Crocker Italian cookbook.

Coordinating this event was a challenging and sometimes frustrating process…we needed to set a date, send out invites, recruit a minimum number of people, gather money, finalize the menu, secure a kitchen in the Minneapolis area, and finalize travel and lodging plans and more. With all the travel and lodging and the fact that we wanted it to be a gift to our friend C, who got married the following weekend, it got to be a bit expensive but IT WAS SO WORTH IT….


My heart sank when Antonio did not show up on time, but fear not, he was only momentarily trapped in the traffic jam surrounding the presidential motorcade that weekend in the Minneapolis area.

When Antonio arrived, we were immediately mesmerized by his warm and friendly personality. In between teaching us how to make our Italian meal (see menu below), he gave us a lesson about capers, showed us pictures from his recent trip to Italy, and graciously answered some rather personal questions from one of us (not me) who had a few too many glasses of wine! AND he signed my Betty Crocker Italian cookbook! He is a fabulous chef and teacher and was a pleasure to work with before and during the class.

As soon as we began making that pasta, mixing the semolina flour with water, kneading the dough into small round yellow balls, and flattening the dough into long thin yellow sheets using the hand-crank pasta machines, I literally felt all the challenges and tensions melt away and everyone was laughing and getting their hands dirty. I hope you can see in the pictures how everyone enjoyed the class.

Our menu:

• Basil Cheese Truffles & Spices

• Crusty Bread with Tomato Basil Topping

• Homemade Lasagna with Asparagus and Tomato Sauce

• Fresh Pasta with Creamy Four Cheese Sauce

• Pork Tenderloin with Lemon Prosciutto Sage Sauce

• Sautéed Field Fennel Salad with Fresh Herb Dressing

• Seasoned Homemade Buns

• Cream Puffs with Amaretto Chocolate Sauce

All of the recipes are in Antonio's cookbook.

Once again I was reminded how therapeutic cooking and good company can be. For those four hours, I was completely in the present moment, totally focused on the task at hand and on taking in every detail and savoring every wonderful taste. I feel so privileged to be able to do things that are so uplifting.

Portland Farmer's Market and a Delicious Dinner

Today, my last day in Portland, we visited the Portland farmer's market, got a gourmet sandwich from a food cart downtown called PBJ's, and then came home and made a wonderful dinner (see the following pictures) consisting of homemade bruschetta, pesto, pasta, and more. I was so lazy after all of this that I didn't even want to blog but S bribed with me a bowl of chocolate ice cream topped with a delicious mixture of Farmer's market berries, peaches, and mango. I know, I know. I've been gluttonous all week. But I love experiencing the unique flavors of new places. The last three days have been full of delicious surprises.

It was interesting to see how the Portland farmer's market differs from the ones I'm used to back in the Midwest. I've never been able to buy a fresh, locally grown artichoke, nor have I seen such abundant peaches, raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. Our peaches come from Michigan and Georgia!

Farmer's market fruit bento

Grilled artichokes

Grilled tomato bruschetta

Oregonian sandwich from PBJ's food cart downtown Portland:
Challah bread, Marion berry jam, Rogue Creamery blue cheese, Oregon hazelnut butter

More pictures are in the following album:

Portland 2010 Final Day

Thanks to S and L for a wonderful visit! I will see you both again soon. Thanks for always making me feel so welcome and allowing me to experience your world so completely. S is making a big decision about something and I will be thinking of her often. S, sometimes you can't reach decisions through facts or logic or what looks good on paper. Sometimes you just have to do what FEELS right and natural and normal and good. I'm there for you.

My hosts, S and L

Hobbes, the bengal (one of their three
beautiful kitties)

Harvest!

My harvest season has begun! I'm trying to get as much done as possible before I leave for vacation next week...

This weekend, I canned about seven pints of corn relish (on the left in the picture below) and about 19 half-pints of tomatillo salsa (on the right). For some reason, my tomatillo salsa is more brown than green this year. I wonder if it's because I used purple onions? These recipes are from the PDF SALSA RECIPES FOR CANNING by Val Hillers and Richard Dougherty. I used all locally grown produce that I got at our farmer's markets. The tomatillos came from my own garden...

I bought a meal kit from a farmer's market vendor that included the following purple heirloom tomatoes (sorry, I cannot remember the entire name), swiss chard (left), and several types of summer squash (not pictured). I sauteed these vegetables into a delicious sauce that we put on a pizza crust with other pizza fixings and then put it on the grill. It was delicious.

In the background you can see tomatoes, which came from my garden. I'm gearing up this week to can a tomato-peach relish. This tomato-peach relish is from the Preserving Peaches document located at the Clemson University Home & Garden Information Center.

Before the season is done, I hope to can more salsa (tomatillo and regular tomato), plus some seasoned tomato sauce.

We have had an extremely humid and wet summer...and I'm looking forward to fall...wearing sweatshirts and jeans, watching football, making delicious soups from my frozen/canned tomatoes, and enjoying my jellies and salsas.

Homemade Pizza, Wheatberry Salad, and Jam

One reason I love summer so much is the abundance of fresh, home-grown ingredients available for cooking. Here are a few recipes for things I've made recently.

Bread maker Pizza Crust

I got this recipe from my sister when we visited her in Rochester, and she got it from a co-worker. It's funny how good recipes make their way around...

¾ C warm water from faucet
1 T oil
1T sugar
1 T dried milk
½ t salt
2 ¼ C bread flour
1 t dried yeast

Use the dough cycle in your bread maker (mine took about an hour and 24 minutes).

I added fresh pesto, spinach, mozzarella, parmesan, cherry tomatoes, and sweet pepper.

Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes, or until crust is brown.

Wheat Berry-Black Bean-Edamame Salad

My mom found this recipe in a magazine and she thought it was delicious.

Serves 6 (3/4 cup servings)

4 C water
½ C dry wheat berries
½ of a 15-ounce can of black beans, rinsed and drained
1 C frozen, shelled edamame, thawed
1 C chopped tomato
½ C chopped red onion
3 T extra virgin olive oil
2 T red wine vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine water and wheat berries in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 55 minutes or until wheat berries are tender. Place in a fine mesh strainer, run under cold water to cool quickly, drain. Combine the wheat berries with the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 8 hours in advance.




Jam

The harvest season has begun! I used the following recipes to make about 20 jars of jam. These recipes are from Aunt Dee's Caldwell Family Cookbook, which was given to us when we visited Colorado for a family reunion.

Rhubarb Jam

4 cups finely cut rhubarb 4 cups sugar
1 package Strawberry-flavored Jello

Mix sugar with washed rhubarb in a bowl and let stand overnight. Put in a heavy kettle and cook until rhubarb is tender (about 10 minutes). At this point I like to add about 2 cups of fresh berries. I’ve even substituted raspberries for the strawberries and used Raspberry-flavored Jello in place of the Strawberry Jello. Add flavored Jello; stir until mixed and Jello is dissolved. Pour into hot sterilized jelly glasses or jars. Seal with covers or pour hot paraffin over top of hot jam.

AMISH RHUBARB JELLY
5 cups cut-up rhubarb 1 cup crushed pineapple (canned)
4 cups sugar 3 oz pkg Jello (Raspberry, Strawberry or Orange)
Stir together first three ingredients. Put on heat and stir till all juicy. Boil 15 minutes. Add Jello and mix in. Seal in jelly jars with paraffin. Refrigerate if desired.

Crepes Class

I enjoyed the mediterranean cooking class I talked about in a previous post so much that we attended another class that focused on dessert and dinner crepes. It was fabulous!

Favorite Summer Foods

With spring rapidly approaching, I am so eager for summer and it has me thinking of all the fun cooking I do in the summer with fresh, locally grown foods. Here is a slideshow of some of my favorites.

I am also going to include the recipes for tomatillo chili and tomatillo salsa that I got from my friend C. Last summer was the first time I grew tomatillos and they made fabulous chilis and salsas.



Green Tomatillo Chili
1 1/2 lbs.cubed beef or about 1 lb ground beef (can use pork or chicken also)
2 cups beef broth
2 1/2 lbs. tomatillos
1 med. onion
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp. ground cumin
1tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 chopped roasted green chili ( I use canned)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro (or parsley, I always use cilantro)
3 nopales (or 1 15oz. canned, drained)*
Slow boil broth and beef covered 45-60 min. Cook onion and garlic in oil If using gr. beef, brown it and add the onion and garlic.
Add tomatillos and cook until soft.
Add spices and mix with beef and broth. Cook 30 min at a slow boil Add nopolitos, chili peppers and cilantro

*Wash, strip, and scrape off spiny nodes, cut into chunks. Cook 10 minutes in salted water and drain.
*****One time I used canned nopales but didn't think it made it any tastier, so now I omit them.
Always adjust the "hotness" to your taste!

Tomatillo Salsa (makes about 2 cups)
1 lb. (about 10 medium) fresh tomatillos, husked, cut into quarters
¾ c. loosely packed fresh cilantro leaves, minced
¼ c. chopped onions
1 or 2 jalapeno chilies, minced
1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. olive oil
1T. sugar
½ tsp. salt

In food processor (or blender) pulse in tomatillos then add rest of ingredients and blend to desired consistency.

Greek Cooking Class

This was one of the funnest things I've ever done! I'm looking forward to attending another cooking class next week, this time about making crepes.

Canning Continued

My canning curiosity began with the Better Homes and Gardens Home Canning Cook Book. My sister got it for me at a thrift sale or a library book sale--I can't remember which--cast out among all the ancient, abandoned books that nobody wants anymore. Although I fancied it a treasure, I didn't look at it for years. But I kept it anyway. Sometimes you're given all the tools you need for something, before you even know you need them.

Yes, the sticker on the cover says $2.49! Copyright 1973. I envision this book being used by a quiet, passive, perfectionist, born-to-please housewive like Betty Draper from the early seasons of MadMen. But who cares if the book is older than I am?! After all, how much could have changed about canning in the last 36 years or so? In this age of quick, fast, and easy, I don't really see canning as an evolving discipline or a fashionable, high-in-demand hobby.

Or is it more popular than I thought? It sure does fit with our current interest in sustainability. BHG gave me some basic recipes and enough information to start (I began with the spaghetti sauce I pictured in a previous post), like acidity levels of foods, when to use a hot water bath versus a pressure cooker, how to sterilize jars, etc. Then I decided to try salsa. A quick Google search for "salsa canning recipes" returned numerous resources on canning, among them this guide to preserving various salsas.

But it was Barbara Kingsolver who especially inspired me. Ever since I read Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, I wanted to do the three sauces in one canning project:relish, sauce, and chutney, all in one day, by adding a series of different ingredients into a stock pot and canning and three different points in the process. (All the AVM recipes are online at http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/ )

Then I noticed that Kingsolver credited Janet Chadwick for the recipe, from Chadwick's book The Busy Person's Guide to Preserving Food. So I ordered Chadwick's book too! Chadwick's book includes recipes, tips, and how-to's, for various types of food preservation (not just canning). In addition, she provides detailed information about different kinds of kitchen gadgets that may be helpful in your food preservation adventures.

So for the last few days I have been planning for the three-in-one canning project. And trying to carve nonexistent time out of my day to do it. Yesterday I bought 30+ pounds of tomatoes from a local farm. I researched where I can buy fresh peaches (straight from Michigan, it turns out), and will purchase them tomorrow...even though I will have to sneak away from work to do it.

I've practiced blanching peaches and tomatoes, and removing their skins. Last night I prepped the fresh peaches I already had, purchased from a Sunday afternoon farmer's market in Central Wisconsin. Tonight I will make at least four quarts of tomato puree. Then I will be almost completely prepped to attack my canning project tomorrow night after work.

It has been a long time since I've been excited enough to plan how much I could get done after work. For the longest time, I got through the day by counting how many hours until I could go home and sleep on the couch (especially in Winter). I have found something that energizes me, excites me. Sort of like blogging. Every day I try to learn something new about blogging. For example, how to include pictures of book covers in this blog post (without having to physically locate the image on the web, save it and upload it to your blog). On that note, which book cover image format do you like better--the plain image or the image that includes the purchase info from Amazon? Obviously I'm not trying to sell anything, but I like to share where I found things.
I don't know if finding things I like to do has re-energized me, or if I was getting re-energized enough on my own to be open to finding these things, or maybe a combination of both, but I have found tremendous peace and healing in such simple things as canning foods.

Try Something New

Find the thing(s) that calm you, replenish you, allow you to focus completely, and do them. Find the thing that quiets that relentless voice in your head, also known as your thinking mind. Think about things you’ve always wanted to try and things that you look forward to doing. Things that make you feel peaceful and inspired and whatever adjectives you have to describe yourself feeling good (if you don’t know what makes you feel good, then you should practice being aware of how you’re feeling throughout each day and write it down!).

In the years following my mom’s stroke, I developed different ways of coping with my feelings (some good, some not so good). I began watching the Food Network cooking shows with my mom, and I began to try different recipes. I realized that I got a lot of satisfaction out of preparing different foods. I could come home from work and from being at the hospital during my mom’s rehabilitation, and be overwhelmed with the polarity of emotions I was feeling at the time—hope and despair, gratitude and grief, faith and fear—and ten minutes into chopping up peppers or sautéing zucchini all was quiet and peaceful inside.

I found the same healing power with plants. Somehow while rutting up the earth and sticking my fingers in the dirt to nurture life in perennial and vegetable gardens, I felt peaceful and alive.

And so it was that I recently rummaged through my parent’s basement to find my mom’s old canner and pressure cooker, stuck back in a corner of the cellar, covered in cob webs and dust. And I raided her collection of mason jars lining the shelves of the basement, darkened by dust, standing untouched for at least four years—back to the date my mom suffered a stroke—a day that we will never forget, the dividing line between our “old life” and our “new life.”

So as I canned (for the first time) tomato sauce and tomatillo salsa I realized that so many of mom’s things from her “old life” stand untouched now…her canning supplies, her sewing machine. For a long time we mourned our loss of our “old life.” But many things that were nonexistent in her “old life” are now a staple of her “new life”—reading more than 50 books a year, wintering on the Florida beaches...

At some point we have to quit hanging on to the old, and make room for the new. Life happens and things change. Adapt and move on. Find your thing and do it. And if the time comes when you can’t do it anymore, I hope that you can be as courageous as my mother has been. The universe may be stretching you to find something new.