Strata

Last night, as I was trying to decide what to do with a bag of frozen broccoli florets, I came across a strata recipe.  I had a half a loaf of Spatz bread that I needed to use up and some chicken sausage links.  I decided to adapt the recipe and make a Broccoli Sausage strata.  Of course, because of the size, much of it will travel with me to Troy tomorrow for my husband to enjoy.  But I get to enjoy some myself!

Broccoli Sausage Strata
Adapted from: http://culinarilycourtney.blogspot.com/2012/01/broccoli-and-bacon-strata.html

• 6 slices dry Spatz bread 
• 1 16-oz bag frozen broccoli florets
• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 cup colby jack cheese
• 3 links chicken sausage (I used Aidells Roasted garlic & Gruyere cheese smoked chicken sausage)
• 7 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups 1% milk
• salt, garlic powder, onion powder and fresh ground pepper, to taste

Grease a small roasting pan (or 9" x 13" x 2" pan).  Place broccoli florets in a steamer and steam in microwave for 6 minutes.  Drain broccoli and set aside.

Cut bread into 1-inch cubes and place in pan.  Sprinkle with half the cheeses.  Cut sausage links into 1/4-inch rounds; sprinkle sausage and broccoli florets over bread. 

Whip eggs with milk and seasonings.  Pour over fillings; sprinkle with remaining cheese.  Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours (or overnight).

Allow pan to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Bake at 350F for 50-55 minutes, until a knife inserted near center comes out clean.

First Chili of the Season

It has been somewhere between 13 and 25 degrees for the past couple days, so I got a taste for chili.  I had to sing this morning at church and then we had our last class for our India students, so I wasn't able to make it until after I got done with all of that.  On the way home from school, I stopped at Jack's and picked up a sweet onion and 2 lbs of ground round.  From that, I used what I had in my pantry and put together a 2-bean chili.  Since I roasted a spaghetti squash last night, I decided to serve it Cincinnati-style in the only way that I can eat it these days (pasta and I are not friends anymore).

2-Bean "Cincinnati" Chili

• 2 lbs ground round
• 1/2 large onion, diced
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cans Rotel tomatoes with chiles
• 1 (28-oz) can crushed tomatoes
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cups fresh sweet corn
• 1 Tbsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 tsp cayenne powder
• Roasted spaghetti squash
• cheddar cheese

 Heat EVOO in a heavy Dutch oven.  Add onions and saute until they start turning translucent; add ground round and cook until meat is no longer pink.  Add next 9 ingredients, bring to a boil.  cover and lower heat until simmering.  Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Heat squash, spoon chili over squash and sprinkle with cheese.

Kheer

For this final meeting before our study abroad to India, we are going to treat our students to dessert.  Kaustav started this trend at the first meeting by suggesting we bring different foods for our students to try before they are immersed in it in India.  It took us all week to make a plan because this was the last week of regular classes AND it's Christmas party time.  But we finally figured it out and I decided to give Kheer a try.  If you don't know what Kheer is, it is Indian rice pudding.  It is made with basmati rice and flavored with cardamom.  I thought it interesting that Rama said she doesn't really like cardamom.  I love it, especially in kheer and tea.  Here is the recipe that I used:

Kheer

• 1/2 cup Basmati rice
• 6 cups whole milk
• 1 Tbsp ghee
• 10 Tbsp sugar
• Pinch saffron
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1/2 cup slivered almonds + extra for garnish

Soak rice in water about 1 1/2 inches above rice for 30 minutes.  Drain rice thoroughly.  Heat ghee in large skillet.  Add rice and saute until translucent.  Add milk and simmer until milk is reduced by half (about 30 minutes on my stove), stirring frequently to prevent burning.  Add sugar and saffron; cook until sugar is dissolved.  Add cardamom and 1/2 cup almonds. Simmer for a few minutes.  Remove from heat and cool.  Pudding will thicken as it cools.  Garnish with additional slivered almonds.

Baby greens

I found a bag of baby spinach, kale and chard at Kroger and needed to use some of it up.  I cooked some bacon, cut up some artichoke hearts and used a mix of goat cheese and Italian cheese and, voila, quiche!  This one is not only pretty,  but tasty.

Baby Greens Quiche

• 1/2 bag baby greens (spinach, kale, chard)
• 4 slices thick-cut bacon
• 6 artichoke hearts, quartered
• 4 oz 6-cheese Italian blend
• 2 oz crumbled goat cheese
• 5 eggs
• 1-1/2 cups milk
• sea salt
• Italian seasoning

Wash greens and dry between paper towels.  Cook bacon in microwave oven (1 minute per slice); cool.  Quarter the artichoke hearts.  Place greens, crumbled bacon and artichokes in bottom of casserole.  Sprinkle with cheese.  In a medium bowl, beat eggs with milk.  Season to taste.  Pour carefully over the fillings.  Bake in a preheated 350F oven for 35 minutes or until knife inserted into the center comes out clean and top is browned.

Bean Soup

I finally managed to do some cooking today.  I actually remembered to soak beans last night. So today, I made 15 bean soup.  I had chicken leftover, so chose that as additional protein and used vegetables that I had as well. This is a rather Italian style soup (I used Italian seasoning), so I also decided to garnish with parmesan cheese.  Very nice combination!

Italian-style 15-bean Chicken Soup

• 1 lb 15-bean soup mix
• 2 cups leftover rotisserie chicken, shredded
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 cup mixed sweet peppers, diced
• 1 cup fresh corn
• 1 can roasted tomatoes
• 1 can Rotel tomatoes with chiles
• 32 oz chicken stock
• 1 bag mixed baby greens (spinach, kale, Swiss chard)
• 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning
• Sea salt to taste

Soak beans overnight in about 6 inches of water.  Drain and discard soaking water.  Combine all ingredients except greens in Crockpot.  Cook on High for 3-4 hours or until beans are cooked.  Service with parmesan, if desired.

Changes

I don't think I mentioned on my blog the "difficulty" I had this summer when I drove out to Boston to visit my best friend from grad school.  Because Boston is basically due east of MI, I always drive through Canada to shave time from the trip (it saves almost 3 hours time).  This trip, as I entered Canada, they didn't blink an eye.  However, when I got to the bridge back to the United States in Niagara, I was asked for extra identification.  At first, it didn't occur to me why they would be asking me for additional I.D., but as I turned to hand my drivers' license to the officer, it dawned on me: my passport photos is 6 years old!  Since I had surgery in March of 2012, that photo definitely wouldn't look like me.  The trouble is, my driver's license picture was at least 80lbs heavier as well!  So as I handed my DL to the officer, I said "Oh, yeah, I've lost a LOT of weight!"  His response was "Yes, you have.  Have a nice day."

On the return trip, the same thing occurred, but I was ready this time and had everything available.  It occurred to me that I should probably replace my passport despite the fact that it is still good for another 3 years since I am heading to India on the new year.  I went and picked up an application, but decided to check with the program coordinator before I spent the money and time.  She told me that we have to get a Visa, so it wasn't necessary to replace the passport.  And besides, by that time, I would have my new drivers' license.

Today, I went to get the photos to get my Visa for India and comparing the photo in my passport to the one taken today, it is clear why they felt the need for additional ID on that trip.  It is remarkable how different I look now.  And I never really felt like I put that much weight on my face.  Clearly, I was wrong!

This is how much difference 140 pounds makes!

Bariatric Blog

I know that I have been remiss in blogging anything in the bariatric side of this blog.  Mainly because my weight has been stable for so long now (since March).  With everything in my life that has changed, I feel blessed that I have managed to maintain my weight loss, but now that I am starting to plan for knee surgery next May, I feel like I need to reassess and regroup.  To that end, I would like to talk about things that I can do now that I SHOULDN'T take for granted. 

First, I can stand ever so much longer than I could before.  I still can't just go and stand for an hour or two, like most of my friends can, but that has more to do with my knees than my weight.  When you have no cartilage in your knees, they just start hurting after standing in one place for a long time.

I can, and just did, do my yardwork again.  This is something that was a really uphill battle for me before surgery.  I could work for 5-10 minutes, but then I had to sit down and then getting back up to work again was near impossible.  I just took a whole yard of leaves and pushed them into the road (for pickup this week) in about a half hour and didn't even get winded!  It's a nice feeling to be able to do these things for myself again!  See the before and after pictures below!

This picture was taken at night, but you get the idea!

All pushed into the road!

BTW, for those who are curious, I have lost 140 lbs since having the surgery on March 27, 2012.  I have been maintaining at 220 since March when I started traveling and then moving and starting a new career.  I need to lose about 50 more pounds to get to goal and would love to do so before they start replacing my knees.  I have started with personal training sessions which are helping me feel more comfortable and confident with my movement.  So now I need to figure out that magic formula with the food again so I can get this moving in the right direction again!

Late Brussels Sprouts

While at the farmers' market this past weekend, my mom noticed people walking around with Brussels Sprouts.  She knows that I adore them, so she kept an eye out for them and when she found them she pointed them out to me.  The sprouts were a little on the big size, as they often are this time of year, but I bought a bunch anyway.  This morning, I decided to make a quiche out of them.  I had a package of turkey bacon that I needed to start using up, so I added that and some cheddar jack cheese to the mix and here's what resulted:

Bacon Brussels Sprouts Quiche

• 1 lb Brussels sprouts*
• 4 slices turkey bacon
• 1 cup cheddar jack cheese, shredded
• 5 large eggs*
• 1 cup 1% milk
• seasonings (I used basil and sea salt)

 Preheat oven to 350F.  Trim ends of Brussels sprouts and remove the loose leaves.  Since this batch was big, cut in half or quarters and steam for 5 minutes in the microwave.  In the meantime, dice the bacon.  Mix the brussels sprouts and bacon and place in bottom of 8-inch round baking pan.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Thoroughly mix eggs, milk and seasonings until well-blended.  Pour evenly over the filling.  Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes or until eggs in center are set.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes before serving.

*farmers market ingredients 

Stewing

I stopped at the Middleton CSA table this weekend at the Midland Farmers' Market and purchased some stew beef.  I haven't made stew in a very long time, so I figured it was time to do so.  I picked up a couple small eggplants, some peppers and parsnips thinking they would be good for the stew.  I also have a six pack of Shock-Top Belgian White in my refrigerator and thought that would make a good addition for flavor.

Autumn Beef Stew

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 3 lbs stew beef
• 2 small onions*, diced
• 3 cloves garlic*, thinly sliced
• 1 medium yellow pepper*, diced
• 2 medium parsnips*, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 1 small eggplant*, diced
• 1 28-oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 12-oz bottle Shock-Top Belgian White
• 4 cups homemade vegetable stock
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp basil
• 1 1/2 tsp tumeric

 Heat olive oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add onions and cook, stirring, until just starting to turn translucent.  Add stew beef and cook until browned on each side.  Add garlic, stirring for about 1 minute or until fragrent.  Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer and cook, covered for 2 hours or until vegetables are cooked. 

*Farmers Market items

Pumpkin Seeds

Once a year, I get my hands dirty and separate the seeds from the pumpkin pulp.  I really hate doing that because it's a tedious, messy job.  But once a year, I feel like it's worth it.  There really is nothing like fresh roasted pumpkin seeds: so much better than the store bought salty ones we had as kids.  Roasting them is really simple and you can season them in any manner you prefer.  This is my favorite version.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

• Pumpkin seeds from one sugar pumpkin
• Cooking spray
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• Cayenne
• Sea salt

 Separate the seeds from the pumpkin pulp and place in a colander.  Rinse seeds to remove remaining pulp.  Dry on a paper towel or linen towel.  Preheat oven to 300F.  Spread seeds on a prepared cooking sheet.  Spray with cooking spray.  Sprinkle with seasonings, to taste.  Stir to coat evenly.  Roast seeds for 30 minutes; stirring every 10 minutes.  Cool and enjoy!

Quinoa Jambalaya

I know that I have posted recipes for jambalaya here before, but, honestly, this is a flexible recipe, just like my quiches.  I do, however, now always make my jambalaya with quinoa instead of rice.  There are several reasons for this.  First, quinoa doesn't seem to expand in your stomach the way that rice does.  Second, it has 4 grams of protein per half cup serving, so it makes the dish even healthier for me.  Third, quinoa is one of only 2 plant products that has complete protein: all amino acids needed in your diet are contained in this wonderful little grain!  It cooks up the same way that rice does, so it's a great substitute.

Quinoa Jambalaya with Asparagus

• 2 cups quinoa
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock
• 2 cans tomatoes with chiles
• 5 boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 pkg al fresco Chicken Andouille sausage
• 2 cups asparagus pieces
• 2 cups mixed bell peppers
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 cups corn

Combine all ingredients in crockpot.  Cook on LOW for 8 hours.  Remove chicken thighs and sausages; cool.  Shred the chicken and slice the sausages.  Return to the crockpot; stir to blend.

Pumpkin and Chicken

Okay, I am being terribly remiss in posting recipes again.  Today I needed to use a sugar pumpkin and some chicken that I had in my fridge.  While I looked for ideas, I roasted the pumpkin.

Roasted Sugar Pumpkin

• 1 medium sugar pumpkin

Preheat oven to 400F.  Cut stem end off pumpkin.  Cut pumpkin in half and remove seeds and strings.  Separate the seeds from the strings and rinse; set aside.  Place pumpkin halves, cut side down, on a cookie sheet.  Roast for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool.  Remove flesh from skins and process until smooth in blender.


I looked at several different recipes for pumpkin chicken soups and stews.  In the end, I decided to go with a Chicken Pumpkin Chili that looked similar to Chicken White Bean Chili.  I have always liked that type of chili, but have never actually made it.  And it seemed to be the type of thing you could prepare the ingredients and then cook in a slow cooker.  I have spent part of the summer preparing vegetables and freezing them so that I would have everything on hand and decided to adjust the recipe to include some of my other favorite vegetables.

Chicken Pumpkin Two Bean Chili
Adapted from: http://picky-palate.com/2012/11/26/white-bean-and-turkey-pumpkin-chili/

• 2 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 medium Vidalia onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 1 cup frozen fresh corn
• 1 cup frozen fresh mixed peppers
• 1 4oz can green chilis
• 3 cloves garlic
• 4 cups homemade chicken stock
• 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• Roasted pumpkin puree from 1 medium sugar pumpkin
• 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tbsp cumin

Prepare vegetables (onions, celery, carrots).  Heat oil over medium heat.  Add prepared vegetables, plus corn and mixed peppers.  Saute until vegetables are soft.  Add garlic and saute another minute or so until fragrant.  Mix pumpkin puree and chicken stock in crockpot until well blended.  Add vegetables and remaining ingredients.  Cover and cook at HIGH for 1 hour, then reduce heat to LOW and cook 6-8 hours.

Gumbo

There are certain foods that I absolutely love, but I hesitate to make them because of the work that is involved.  Gumbo is one of those foods.  In order to make a proper gumbo, you must make a roux; and not only a roux, but a nice toasty, dark roux.  Roux, toasty ones, at least, require standing and stirring while it gets nice and toasty brown.  This is tough for me because it's hard for me to stand still for long periods of time because of my knees.  Yesterday, however, I found some BEAUTIFUL okra at the farmers market, so I took the plunge this morning and made gumbo.  It is finishing cooking in my crockpot right now.

Chicken Andouille Gumbo
Adapted from: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-andouille-gumbo/ 

• 12 cups water
• 3 pounds chicken parts
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds okra
• 1/2 cupolive  oil
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 pound andouille sausage, sliced
• 5 medium tomatoes, peeled and finely diced, reserve liquid as possible
• 1 mixed bell peppers, chopped 
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• salt, to taste
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon file powder

1. Combine water and chicken in large pot. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer until chicken is tender, about 1 hour. Using tongs, transfer chicken to strainer and cool, saving cooking liquid. Remove meat from bones in pieces.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy skillet over medium heat. Add okra and cook until no longer sticky, stirring frequently, about 20 minutes; set aside.
3. Stir flour and remaining 1/2 cup oil in heavy large Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat until deep golden brown, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Add 4 cups reserved chicken cooking broth, okra, andouille sausage, tomatoes with their juices, bell peppers, celery, garlic, bay leaf, salt, thyme, basil, cayenne, and pepper. Transfer to slow cooker and cook, covered, on HIGH for 1 hour. 
4. Spoon off any fat from surface of gumbo. Add chicken and file powder to gumbo.  Cover and cook, covered, for 1 more hour on HIGH.  Serve over hot rice or quinoa.

Mulligatawny Stew

I have seen recipe after recipe for Mulligatawny stew.  I don't know why, but when I was much younger, I thought this stew came from Australia, but I now know that the origin is actually Anglo-Indian.  The name, Tamil in origin, literally translates to pepper water.  While there is no traditional form, the recipe I followed today gets it's color and flavor from curry powder.  I have added mushrooms because I needed to use them up.  And I chose to use leeks instead of onions.  But it smells lovely and looks quite yummy.  Oh yeah, the thing that has always intrigued me beyond the curry base is the fact that almost every recipe calls for a tart apple.  I love curry and apples!

Mulligatawny Stew
Adapted from: 1001 Low-carb Recipes by Dana Carpender, pg 190

• 2 quarts chicken stock (I used homemade)
• 2 cups shredded chicken (leftover rotissierie)
• 3 Tbsp olive oil (original recipe calls for butter or ghee)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3 leeks, sliced
• 1 small carrot, shredded
• 2 ribs celery, diced (include leaves)
• 1 1/2 heaping tbsp curry powder (adjust this to taste)
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 tart apple, chopped fine
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dehydrated lemon zest
• 1 cup evaporated skimmed milk

Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add the leeks and sweat until softened.  Add the mushrooms, carrot, celery and curry powder.  Cook until the vegetables are fork tender.

Add stock, chicken, cooked vegetables, bay leaf, apple and seasonings to the crock of a slow cooker.  Cook on HIGH for 2 hours.  Then reduce heat and cook overnight on low.  Just before serving, add the evaporated milk and remove the bay leaf.

Apricot Custard

I am trying something new that sounded really yummy, but I am having issues with it cooking.  Of course, the recipe was written for a slow cooker, so I should have assumed it would take just about as long to cook in the oven as in the slow cooker.  It's finally done, so here's the recipe.  I was looking through a cookbook that I got with my Christmas Barnes & Noble gift card: 1001 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpender, and looked at the custard recipes in the dessert section.  I was looking for a GF recipe since my uncle has a gluten allergy.  There was an Apricot Custard recipe that looked fabulous (and I actually had all the ingredients!), but it was to be made in the slow cooker.  Problem is, I don't have a proper baking dish that fits in my slow cooker, so I had to improvise.  I used a glass mixing bowl in the oven instead.  It's a good thing I have patience if I am busy doing other things because I had no idea how long it was going to take to bake the custard.  Here's how it all worked out.

Apricot Almond Custard
Adapted from: 1001 Low-Carb Recipes by Dana Carpenter, page 543.

• 1/2 cup Apricot All-Fruit
• 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 1/2 cups 1% milk
• 1/2 cup evaporated skim milk
• 4 eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp almond extract
• pinch salt

Whisk together the preserves, lemon juice and 2 tsp sugar.  Spread over the bottom of a 6 cup glass casserole dish you've prayed with nonstick cooking spray.  Set aside.

Whisk together the milk, evaporated milk, eggs, 2/3 cup sugar, almond extract and salt.  Pour into the prepared casserole dish gently so as not to mix in the apricot mixture.

Place the casserole dish in a roasting dish.  Pour hot water around casserole to within 1 inch of the rim.  Bake for 3 hours at 300F.  When time is up, remove casserole from oven and cool.  Once cooled enough, place in refrigerator until ready to serve.

P.S. I hope this tastes as good as it looks!

Tropical Fruit Salad

So today I had to use up a mango and a papaya before they went bad.  And I have the perfect excuse: I need a side dish that is gluten free and my aunt is bringing the potato salad.  So, I made a tropical s
salad instead.  My only regret is that I do not have fresh pineapple.  However, I did have canned slices, so it will have to do.

Tropical Salad

• 1 ripe mango, diced
• 1 ripe papaya, diced
• 1 can pineapple slices, cut in chunks
• 1 tbsp lime juice

Combine all fruit in a large bowl.  Sprinkle with lime juice and mix well.  Cool until ready to serve.

Labor Day Quiche

So, today I will start out with what I cooked for breakfast.  I will be posting other recipes, but I will do them one at a time to make it easier to look them up.  This morning, I had some roasted vegetables that my mom made this week.  She roasted eggplant, potatoes, onions, red, yellow and green peppers, brussels sprouts (yep, brussels sprouts!  Yum!!!) and zucchini.  So, I picked some up thinking I could make a quiche out of it.  So, that's what I did this morning.  If I haven't mentioned this yet, I am quickly falling in love with including bleu cheese in my quiches.  I guess it's time to try Gruyere.

Roasted Vegetable Quiche

• 1 cup roasted vegetables
• 2 oz bleu cheese
• 2 oz sharp cheddar
• 5 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups 1% milk
• cayenne
• Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350F.  Prepare round baking pan with cooking spray.  Spread roasted vegetables in bottom of pan.  Sprinkle with cheese.  Whip eggs with milk and seasonings.  Pour over fillings.  Bake at 350F for 35 minutes.  Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

Cauliflower

So, today I need to use up my vegetables.  I haven't been very good about cooking lately and I have been wracking my brain what to make with a beautiful head of cauliflower I've had a few days.  But to be perfectly honest, I really just love aloo gobi, so yesterday I picked up some potatoes so I could make a batch.  Of course, I am still having issues finding all the boxes with my spices, etc, so, I had to improvise a little.  I couldn't find my stash of garam masala, so I looked online and found a simple recipe for homemade garam masala.  It probably isn't as exciting as the stuff I get from the India stores, but it smells really good now that it's cooking.  Here is the recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-garam-masala/.  I will be adding garbanzo beans (which is an unusual ingredient) so that there is some protein in the dish.  I am cooking it on top of the stove in my beautiful Calphalon Dutch oven.  I do love that pot!

Aloo Gobi
Adapted from: http://vgourmet.ca/2012/05/19/aloo-gobi/#comment-1626http://vgourmet.ca/2012/05/19/aloo-gobi/#comment-1626

• 3 tbsps olive oil
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tsp whole cumin seed
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 4  garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsps turmeric
• 2 tsps garam masala (see link above)
• ¼ tsp cayenne
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 16 oz  stewed or crushed tomatoes
• 16 oz tomato sauce
• 1 large cauliflower, broken into small florets
• 3 large potatoes, diced
• 1 15 oz can gabanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 bunch cilantro, chopped (optional)
• sea salt and pepper

Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onions and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add whole cumin seeds and cook until they pop and sizzle.  Add minced garlic and ginger and cook for another minute or two. Stir in turmeric, garam masala, and cayenne. Cook until fragrant but be sure not to burn the spices; about 1 minute.

Stir in salt, stewed tomatoes, tomato sauce, cauliflower, and potatoes. Cook with the lid on until the potatoes and cauliflower are tender, about 15 minutes, stirring often. If it gets too dry, add a little bit of water. When the potatoes and cauliflower are tender, turn off heat and add beans. Put the lid back on and let the peas steam in the residual heat; about 1 minute. Adjust seasoning with sea salt and pepper. Add chopped cilantro and serve piping hot.

Note: I am allergic to cilantro, so I would serve the cilantro on the side for other people, but I cannot add it to the overall dish.

Ratatouille, At Last!!!!

It has been the strangest summer for me.  Usually, by this time, I would have made several batches of ratatouille, given that I would have had 2-3 weeks of eggplants from the CSA.  However, between moving and traveling, I have not had time to do any major cooking.  So, today, I decided it was time.  I made a roasted ratatouille today (my favorite type because roasting gives another layer of flavor).  To make it acceptable to my diet, I then took a bunch and made a quiche (the cheese, milk and eggs give me protein).  Here are both recipes:

Oven-Roasted Ratatouille

• 1 medium eggplant*
• 1 medium zucchini*
• 1 small yellow squash*
• 5 small local Amish tomatoes*
• 1 red pepper*
• 1 orange pepper*
• canola oil
• Italian seasoning
• Salt & Pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.  Wash all vegetables.  Trim ends of eggplant. Quarter the eggplant lengthwise and then slice into 1/4" slices.  Trim ends of zucchini and squash. Cut in half lengthwise and then slice into 1/8" slices.  Quarter tomatoes and the coarsely chop. Roughly chop the peppers.  Place all vegetables into a zip bag (2 if needed).  Drizzle oil over vegetables and then sprinkle with salt, pepper and Italian seasoning.  Shake bag(s) until the vegetables are evenly coated with oil and seasonings.  Pour into a prepared roasting pan and roast for 45-60 minutes, stirring the vegetables every 15 minutes to cook evenly.

 Ratatouille Quiche

• 1 1/2 cups Roasted Ratatouille (see above)
• 1 cup Italian Cheese blend
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cup 1% milk
• salt & pepper
• dried basil

Reduce heat of oven to 350F.  Drain 1 1/2 cups of roasted ratatouille on paper towels.  Press out as much moisture as possible as the vegetables will likely release more moisture during baking.   Place the vegetables into the bottom of a prepared round baking pan.  Beat eggs with milk and seasonings.  Sprinkle the cheese over the vegetables and then pour the egg mixture over the filling.  Bake for 35 minutes.  Remove from the oven and allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

*Farmers market ingredients

Moving Day Quiche

While I have been living with my parents, I have made a few quiches to share.  Last week, I was making a broccoli cheddar quiche and Dad said, "I bet this would be good with bleu cheese".  That got me thinking and I decided that I would try that for the people who were helping me move my stuff into my new house.  I thought about it for a while and decided that bleu cheese would be best with caramelized onions and bacon.  So, last night, as I was unpacking and watching the Lions game (they won!!!!), I caramelized onions and cooked up the bacon.  And then this morning, I threw that together with bleu cheese and my standard quiche egg mixture and what resulted is now my favorite quiche.  It's a bit more work than what I normally do, but oh, so worth the effort!

Bleu Cheese Bacon Quiche with Caramelized Onions

• 1/2 lb bacon
• 1 large sweet onion, sliced
• 3 Tbsp canola oil
• 4 oz bleu cheese
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups 1% milk
• 2 tsp dried basil

Preheat oven to 350F.

Caramelize onions:
Peel onion and then cut into quarters.  Thinly slice the onions and then cut slices into thirds.  Set aside.  Heat heavy skillet over medium heat.  Add oil and heat until shimmery.  Add onions and stir until evenly coated in oil.  Cook, stirring every 1-2 minutes until the onions begin to brown.  Continuing cooking, stirring every 30 seconds to 1 minute until the onions are desired color (brown but not burned).  Set aside to cool.

Add bacon to the same skillet and cook until crisp.  Remove onto paper towels to drain fat.  Cool and then dice.  Set aside.

Assemble Quiche:
Mix cooked onions and bacon and sprinkle in bottom of prepared baking pan.  Sprinkle bleu cheese over the onions and bacon. Whip eggs with milk and basil.  Pour over fillings and bake at 350F for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.

Canadian Bacon Quiche

An early morning storm followed by a call from my new CSA delaying this morning's pickup reminded me that I have been remiss in posting to this blog. I have been so busy; moving, starting a new career, ending the old one, traveling, I just haven't taken the time to post. For that, I apologize. Last night, Dad bought a Canadian bacon, so I figured I would camelize some onions, cut up some of the bacon and use the bleu cheese I bought last night to make a quiche. But alas, I left the bleu cheese at the house. So this morning I used Swiss and we shall have the bleu on Saturday for those helping me finish my move.

 Canadian Bacon Onion Quiche

• 1 need. sweet onion
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 6 oz Canadian bacon, diced
• 4 oz Swiss cheese
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups 1% milk

 Preheat oven to 350F. Dice onions; set aside. Heat heavy skillet over medium heat. Add oil and continue heating until oil shimmers. Add onions and toss to coat with oil. Cook, stirring every 1-2 minutes until, they soften. Reduce heat and cook, adding water as needed to keep moist until onions carmelize to desired brownness. Be careful not to burn. At the end, add the Canadian bacon to heat.

Prepare a round baking pan with cooking spray. Spread onions and bacon in bottom of pan. Sprinkle with shredded Swiss. Beat eggs with milk; season as desired (I used garlic, salt and freeze-dried basil). Pour eggs over filling. Bake for 35 minutes at 350F. Allow to set 5 minutes before serving.

Farmers' Market Finds

Mom and I went down to the Midland Farmers' Market this morning and I was surprised how the produce selection has expanded.  It took everything in me not to just buy all of the beautiful vegetables available this morning, but since I head out on Wednesday next week, I resisted.  But there was everything from beets to zucchini and yellow squash to eggplant to cucumbers to tomatoes and so on.  Yes, did you see that they had almost everything for ratatouille?  Oh, I so wanted to get everything and make a batch, but then I would have to leave it for Mom and Dad to eat and that wouldn't be fair.  I settled for beets with beautiful beet greens and blueberries.  Mom got tomatoes, pickle cukes, rhubarb and cherries.

When we got home, I quizzed them on whether they would like to try quiche with the beet greens.  Mom said she usually gave the greens to Lyn (she's actually never tried them before!).  They agreed to try it, so I cooked up the greens, cut up one of the riper tomatoes and then added ham and sharp cheddar.  They thoroughly enjoyed the quiche for lunch and we have leftovers for breakfasts.

Beet Green with Ham Quiche

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 1 small bunch beet greens with stems*
• 1 medium tomato*
• 6 oz Michigan picnic ham
• 3 oz extra sharp cheddar
• 5 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• salt, pepper, dried basil, garlic powder

Wash beet greens, dry and cut off stems.  Cut stems into thin slices; set aside.  Cut beet leaves into bite-sized pieces; set aside.  In a large skillet, heat oil.  Add stems and cook until they start to soften, about 5 minutes.  Add leaves and cook, stirring, until the leaves begin to wilt.  Cut tomato into thin wedges and arrange in bottom of prepared pan (I used a round cake pan this time).  Sprinkle greens evenly over the tomatoes.  Finely dice the ham and cheddar and sprinkle evenly over the vegetables.  In a medium bowl, whip eggs with milk and seasonings until smooth and slightly bubbly.  Pour over the fillings.  Bake in preheated 350F oven for approx 35 minutes, or until a knife, inserted into the center, comes out clean.  Allow to stand 5 minutes before serving.

*Farmers' Market ingredients

Settling In, Finishing Up

Today is actually the third full-time day at SVSU.  It's so quiet around here in the summer.  On average, there are about 5 people in their offices and I suspect that I am about the only one that is not actually teaching classes yet.  My office is huge and I am spread all over it as is par for the course when I am doing research.  I have 3 more projects to finish before the 10th and I can't seem to make myself concentrate on just one.  I did, however, manage to finish re-writing my career portfolio yesterday.  I hope it's closer to what they were looking for.  I had tried to be rather generic in case I wanted to use it someday (which I am hoping that I won't), but they wanted me to get specific, so I did. 

I have finally finished the homework assignment as well.  I know that John wanted to be done with that early, but I didn't get any homework done last week.  I was too busy trying to get all of my packing done.  And quite frankly, I have had a time getting the momentum back up and running.  Today I am concentrating on finishing my lit review.   I am still a little miffed about the way that some in the cohort completed their lit reviews, but what can I do.  As long as they have completed the assignment, nobody can say one way or another whether they did it for the program or if they used something that they had completed before.  There isn't the controls that are in place in grad school that prevent things such as this from occurring.

At any rate, I am really excited for the school year to start so I can get back to finishing up research projects.  Since most will be done as collaborations, it's kind of tough right now to get much done.  The people I need to work with are not coming into work and thus, I don't have enough communication time with them.  But I did find out that there are some great resources in this faculty and I want to take advantage of those resources before they dry up.

Here are some pictures of my office at school.  It's strange to have an office that I can actually close the door on (not that I will ever do that).  But even better than that, I apparently will have an MBA student to help me with literature reviews in the fall.  I am thinking the direct method research will be the best project for him.  We shall see.

New Beginning

New BeggingEV886Y

Last Friday was my last day at Case Western Reserve University and the last day of my science career. Since that time I have been sorting, throwing and packing my belongings. As I go through bags and boxes I haven't looked at since moving to this apartment, I have  been finding pictures and clothes that clearly remind me of where I was when I started this journey. Since I have been plateaued since I started traveling for the bridge program, these things are keeping my spirit up and my head in the game.

 This is a picture of the choir I was in in 2011. I am in the front, third from the left. I actually had already lost about 20 lbs toward surgery at that time, but you can see I still had a long way to go.

 This is me in one leg of a pair of size 34 pants I wore before I started this journey. These pants are important because they are linen and have no stretch. I now wear a regular size 16.

 It is so freeing to have this time to purge my former life. So many exciting changes!

Local Broccoli and Tomatoes

This week's quiche is one of my new favorite combinations! I'm not sure exactly when I fell in love with broccoli and eggs, but I know that right now I prefer that combination to any other. Having locally-grown broccoli just makes it all that much better! Add to that some delicious local tomatoes from the Midland Farmer's Market and I am in heaven!

 Broccoli Cheddar Quiche with Tomatoes

•  1 small head broccoli*, chopped
•  1 medium local tomato, sliced
•  1 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
•  5 farm-fresh eggs*
•  1 cup 1% milk
•  salt and pepper

 Preheat oven to 350F. Sprinkle broccoli into a prepared pie plate. Arrange tomato wedges over broccoli and then sprinkle cheddar on top. Mix eggs, milk and seasonings until smooth. Pour evenly over fillings. Bake for 35 minutes. Allow to stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Almond Butter Brownies

I have a sweet tooth, I admit it. But I also no longer have the patience for laborious baking. While looking through Pinterest, I ran across a recipe for peanut butter brownies which are gluten-free and super-duper easy! I had to make some substitutes, though. First, I only have almond butter. Since the base of the brownies are Greek yogurt and oats, I figured this would be okay. The second problem was that I don't have baking powder. When I looked up substituting, I found that if you mix 2 parts cream of tartar with 1 part baking soda, it makes a pretty good substitute. So here is what I came up with:

 Almond Butter Brownies
 Adapted from: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2012/06/10/skinny-peanut-butter-swirl-brownies/

• 3/4 cup creamy almond butter 
• 6 oz. low fat vanilla greek yogurt 
• 1/4 cup 1% organic milk 
• 1 large egg*
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp homemade baking powder
• 1 cup maple syrup*
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats* (gluten free)

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 7x10 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
2. Place all of the ingredients except for the almond butter into a blender or food processor. (Yes, a blender!) For easier blending, place the liquid ingredients into the blender first. Blend until mix is smooth and oats are ground up. You will have to stop the blender and scrape down the sides a few times.
3. Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Batter will be thin. Microwave peanut butter for about 30 seconds. Drop melted peanut butter by spoonfuls onto the batter, swirling gently with a knife to create a marbled effect. (Try not to overmix!)
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until brownies begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Brownies will be extra fudgy, so be sure to wait until COMPLETELY cooled - I stuck mine in the refrigerator for 2 hours, which allowed them to be cut very easily. Cut into 18 pieces and enjoy!

*CSA ingredients

Crunching the Numbers

Since I haven't really done it in a very long time, I decided to put some totals on my losses:

Weight lost: 145.3 lbs
Inches lost:
Neck: 2.5 inches
Chest: 8 inches
Under breast: 4 inches
Upper Arms: 5 inches
Lower Arms: 2 inches
Waist: 11 inches
Hips: 17 inches
Thigh: 10 inches
Calf: 4 inches
Ankle: 4 inches (this is only important to me because I have lymphodema and any consistent change here is good!)
Total inches lost: 67.5 inches!

The scale has been frustrating ever since I have had to start traveling to prepare for my new job (I am finished here on June 21 and move June 30, starting my new job July 1).  But I was given advice:  If I can maintain while traveling almost every weekend for 5 months, I am doing good.  Putting the losses together in terms of inches helps!

I am thinking about starting to get serious about training for figure competitions.  I know that the only way I could compete is to actually have skin removal surgery (which I don't know when I will be able to afford it), but the training and getting toned and fit is really my goal anyway.  I learned how to do jump squats today and they don't bother my knees, so I will be adding those to my workout routine and that should help not only by upping the calories burned, but by also helping me build the muscles in my legs that I need for cardio work.

Hummus

I had a can of pumpkin I needed to use up after substituting pumpkin for oil in brownies yesterday. As I was searching for things to use it in, I ran across a recipe for pumpkin hummus. My friend, Saada Eid, is from Jordan and always made the best hummus and Baba Ganoush, but when we asked for recipes, she always told us that it depended on taste. After making hummus today, I now understand. This recipe is only the basis for the hummus, you will want to adjust the garlic and lemon juice to your taste. Oh yeah, I always thought it was hard to mix natural peanut butter or almond butter when first opened. Well, tahini is even harder! But so worth the effort!

 Pumpkin Hummus
 Adapted from: http://veganyackattack.com/2011/11/14/pumpkin-hummus/

• 1 can Chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can Pumpkin Puree
• 2 Tbsp. Tahini
• 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
• 3-4 Cloves of Garlic
• 1/2 Tbsp. Lemon Juice
• 1/2 tsp. Paprika
• Optional: Water or more lemon juice to get a smoother, more fluid consistency

 Place all ingredients into a food processor and puree until smooth, or until the consistency is to your liking. If you choose to add water, add very little at a time so that it is not too liquidy. Note: Adjust flavors with lemon juice and garlic.

I Love Quiche

This morning, after doing Zumba, I knew I wanted eggs for breakfast. With a very large batch of Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash in the refrigerator, I thought I would break from my quiche habit and try a frittata. However, when I looked up recipes, I realized why I prefer quiche. I am a custard girl through-and-through! I love the creamy texture of custard and when I looked at the frittata recipes, I realized that they are closer to omelets than quiche. So, quiche it is! The other nice thing about quiche is that it is so very versatile, so you can use up things in your refrigerator and it is almost always good!

 Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Quiche

•  2 cups Mediterranean spaghetti Squash*
•  1 cup sharp cheddar cheese
•  5 large farm-fresh eggs*
•  1 cup 1% milk
•  salt and pepper

 Prepare a pie plate with cooking spray. Put spaghetti squash in bottom of pie plate. Sprinkle with cheese. Blend eggs, milk and seasonings until well blended. Pour over squash. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Rest 5 minutes before serving.

*CSA ingredients

Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash

As I've mentioned before, I really cannot eat pasta anymore. I do, however, like spaghetti squash. As I was going to look for an idea to make this weekend, my sister, Ann Moeller, pinned a recipe that not only looked very yummy, but I thought I had all the ingredients for. So, this morning, I set out to make it. To add needed protein, I added chicken, and I decided to use leeks and ramps (wild leeks) in place of the onions and garlic. Finally, the jar of olives I had were Spanish, not black, but the saltiness nicely balances the sweetness of the squash and leeks. I am guessing the original recipe is fantastic too, but my version was a tasty lunch!

 Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash with Chicken
 Adapted from: http://www.garnishwithlemon.com/2013/01/11/mediterranean-spaghetti-squash/

• 1 3-4 pound spaghetti squash, halved lengthwise and seeded
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 small leeks,cut lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1/2 bunch ramp leaves, shredded
• 2½ cups halved grape tomatoes
• 2 cups leftover chicken, shredded
• ¾ cup crumbled feta cheese
• ½ cup halved Spanish olives
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
• Salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a baking sheet.
2. Place spaghetti squash cut sides down on the baking sheet. Bake until you can poke a sharp knife into the squash with little resistance, about 35-45 minutes. Remove squash from oven and set aside to cool.
3. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Swear leeks in oil until tender. Add ramps, and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the tomatoes and chicken and cook briefly, about 1 minute. You only want to warm the tomatoes.
4. Use a large fork to shred the “spaghetti” from the squash and place the strands in a large bowl. Toss with the sauteed vegetables, feta cheese, olives, and basil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.

Blessing....And Curse

I am trying very hard to be excited about the fact that my salary is about to double when I take on my new position (which, btw, is my dream position), but it is really hard to stay excited when you suddenly you make TO MUCH money! This all started when I realized that I had money stuck in a 401a account in Chicago, IL.  I decided it was time to get that money out before Chicago pulled an Enron and "stole" the money from me (if you are not paying attention, go look at the political climate in Chicago for teachers).  I called TIAA-Cref to talk about setting up an IRA to transfer the money.  I have spent my entire adult life living from paycheck to paycheck.  I have never made enough to be able to afford to pay my bills AND open an IRA account.  So, I never did.  Well, here's the deal, the restrictions on income are making it hard for me to figure out what kind of IRA I should be opening up.  I was so excited because, finally, I would be able to open an IRA and get some tax benefits.  Oh no, that's not to be!  Once I am making my base salary, we already exceed the income limit for getting the tax break (that's not even taking into extra income from taking extra classes and/or teaching in summer!).  So, then I thought, well, since I can't get the tax benefits, I'll just open a Roth IRA.  Well, we are very, very close to the income limit for even being able to contribute to a Roth.  Don't you think that the government would WANT us to be saving for retirement?  I am so ticked off about all of this.

So, now, fast forward to my search for a place to live.  So far, I have been frustrated here too.  The only nice house that I have seen (single-family home) is this beautiful 2 story, 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath, finished basement home which is quite a bit larger than I need (since it's just going to be me).  I really, really liked it and the location is great, but I worry about the utilities.  So my search continues (btw, the house has been rented now, so I waited too long).  Today, I found a bunch of small houses that just look great.  Beautiful new, 2 bdrm, 1 1/2 bath houses on small lots that allow animals, etc.  Yeah, well, the catch here is that they are tax qualified and clearly, that won't work for me.  Ugh!  So, those of us that are making a living wage (comfortable living wage) are supposed to live in crappy old houses while those who cannot afford a house get to live in beautiful new houses? 

I know, you are thinking, why don't I buy a house?  Well, that would be because my ex husband screwed me when we divorced and I am still fighting to get my credit rating out of the gutter.  The plus here is that I will be able to finally achieve that given my new salary, but it will take time.  So, in the meantime, it's looking more and more like I am going to have to take what I can get for now and move again later.  Given that I have moved 11 times in 12 years, I really was hoping to avoid that!  Ah well, life goes on.

Guest Blog: Lettuce Wraps

Every Thusday, the Case Farm has a farmers' market in the atrium of the BRB from 11-2.  I am especially grateful for this for two reasons: 1) The CSA is on hiatus getting ready for summer (starts June 5 if you haven't already signed up, you should!) and 2) because I am moving at the end of June, I will not be participating this year (I am so very sad about this!  Fresh Fork, I will miss you beyond words!!!!!). 

Yesterday, they had these beautiful large leaf heads of lettuce (like Boston Bibb, but not).  As soon as I saw them, I said to the girls that I was going to come back for one because they would be perfect for lettuce wraps.  I then went off to get lunch.  When I came back to grab one, Corinne told me that I inspired her with that thought and started asking how I would make said lettuce wraps.  So, in the end, I sent her one of my pages that has my Thai sauces on it and then a webpage with several recipes for braising chicken.  She wrote me back this morning with what she did and said that the wraps were "probably one of the best meals I've ever made."  So, I asked her if I could post her recipe on my blog!  It's sounds wonderful and I cannot wait to give it a try myself!!!!  She is putting together a cookbook for the farm which will be released sometime this summer.  I will make sure that she lets me know the details so I can post them here so my readers can get a copy if they want!

Shredded Chicken and Vegetable Lettuce Wraps

Contributed by Corinne Burr, Farm Food Program Associate, CWRU Farm

Ingredients:

For the shredded chicken:

5 lbs pasture raised chicken (6 full legs, 3 breasts)

¾ c Apple Cider Vinegar

1 large onion

6-8 cloves garlic

Water

2-4 tbsp Tamari (wheat free soy sauce)

6-8 sage leaves, whole

A couple dashes of sea salt, pepper

For the vegetables:

2 zucchini

1 summer squash

2 carrots

1 head broccoli

2 yellow peppers

15 shiitake or 2-3 bunches oyster mushrooms

1 leek

6-8 cloves garlic

EVOO

sea salt

Tamari

Toasted Sesame Oil

For the fixings:

1-2 large heads big-leafed lettuce

2-3 avocados

1-2 limes

Directions:

In a heavy-duty large pot, put in all of the shredded chicken ingredients, adding enough water to just cover the chicken. Bring to a boil for about 15 minutes.

While the chicken is cooking, dice all of the vegetables. You want everything to be diced into small chunks, with the garlic being more finely diced than the rest. The broccoli florets can be slightly larger as they will pull apart as they cook.

In a large frying pan, sprinkle sea salt and place over low-medium heat. Pour in enough EVOO to cover the pan and let heat for 30 seconds, but not long enough that it begins to smoke. Toss in the leeks, garlic, and mushrooms and let cook for several minutes, stirring occasionally, until very soft. Then add in the squash and carrots. After those have cooked for several minutes, add in the rest of the vegetables and continue to cook, mixing occasionally. Pour on some tamari and a touch of sesame oil as needed. Continue to cook until everything becomes quite soft, and begins to resemble sort of a vegetable stuffing. This can probably continue cooking while you move onto the next step with the chicken.

The chicken should be ready by now. Remove the chicken from the pot onto a pan or plate, and let the stock continue to boil for another 15 minutes, uncovered so that it reduces. With two forks, removed the skin from the chicken and then pull the meat apart. As you shred the meat, place it in a bowl.

Once the stock has reduced and the chicken is all shredded, turn off the stove and add the chicken back into the pot, letting it mix back into the stock.

The final steps are the lettuce and the garnish. Gently tear off the full large leaves of the lettuce and rinse them, stacking them on a plate as you go. Cut the limes into eighths, and slice open the avocados.

When the vegetables are cooked, transfer to a bowl. Place the pot of chicken, the bowl of vegetables, the limes, the avocados, and the lettuce on the table and let everyone construct their own wraps, layering the vegetables, the chicken, and avocado slices on the lettuce, then drizzling with lime juice.

Easily serves 4-6

(shredded chicken recipe adapted from Rachael Ray’s)