HELLO CHESTNUTS & Homemade Chicken Broth
Every winter it seems my family finds a new soup recipe to enjoy for the season. And this past week my sister found an amazing one in Chesnut Soup, right out of the Fine Cooking magazine. OH MY GOD, was this delicious and worth the hours or soaking, scoring, roasting, peeling and crushing the chestnuts! It was like we were living in the olden days (which is actually the way it should be when it comes to food)! We all believe that the soup was so delicious because my mom made a homemade chicken broth for the soup base, a recipe straight from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook. We in the Huwer household are not strangers to homemade broth, but Ina Garten's recipe tops them all. We took her recipe, "organified" it, and it was the most amazing, richest broth that we all have ever tasted.
In my family, we always try to use homemade organic chicken broth to avoid the MSG, preservatives and the salt that you get with canned broth. It is hard to find a brand that actually makes MSG-free broth besides Swanson, but we still love to make our own because the homemade flavor is BA-zillion times better.
Check out the recipe for chicken broth that we made here. Note, the recipe calls for 3, 5-pound chickens. We used one 5-pound chicken and left all of the other ingredients as is.
I suggest you also check out the recipe for Chestnut Soup. YUM! It is such a hearty and sophisticated soup for a cold winter day. Actually it will be perfect for the Nor'easter that is heading our way for New Year's!!
Chestnut Soup
And thanks to Chestnuts On Line I discovered that chestnuts have a high water content which makes them unlike any other nut. They are considered very "unnutty" because they are low in calories and fat. Chestnuts On Line dubs them the nut for the "nutrition-conscious person." They are also low in cholesterol, high in Vitamin C and the mineral Magenese. Can I say YES?!
Chestnuts!
Health Store Heaven & Some Favorite Finds
Yummmm...a dinner in the life of a bachelorette girl. I am enjoying a Trader Joe's Vegetable Burrito dinner here. I don't know what I would do without healthy pre-made meals. Don't get me wrong, I love to cook, but as I recently mentioned in my Oatmeal post, convenience and budget often come into play. Anywho, speaking of health food, let me segway into my love of health food stores. Do you mind listening to yet another spiel? (As I wipe some bean curd off of my keyboard.)
I could spend hours wandering the aisles of a health food store. When I spot a new store, my eyes light up like a child stumbling upon a carnival and I long to be inside walking amongst other health foodies and foodettes. It is almost like I am on a quest to discover that ultimately healthy food that still tastes amazing. One day I wish I could say that I have visited every health food store in NYC, much like that crazy man who has made it his life goal to visit every Starbucks in the world (true story). Alas, I have not even been to Westerly Market, the king of NYC health food stores. I have only experienced it vicariously through my sister's stories. I will get there though... one day. Laura's Wholesome Junk Food (an amazing treat my sister, Jenny, discovered in Westerly's aisles), has not turned up in any of the health stores I have encountered. Sadness!Let me diverge...
Here are some of my favorite health store finds!
1) GNU Bars - fiber packed deliciousness!
2) Spirulina Balls
3) MarryMe Tofutti Vanilla Ice Cream Bars (truth be told you can buy these in Stop & Shop)
4) Babbo's Garlic Hummus -- couldn't find a link, but I buy it in Grand Central Market5) Liz Lovely Vegan Cookies
6) Laura's Wholesome Junk Food
7) Vegan Turkey Salad -- and I am not vegan
8) Kollar Cookies
9) Smart Treats
10) Good Earth Green Tea
11) Gnosis Raw Chocolate
12) Boston Cookies
13) Jala Bars
This is a running list by the way... What are your favorite health store finds!?
My lunch today, fyi, was the yummy vegan turkey salad :)
Delish!
Can You Resist the Holiday Binge?
Today's Holiday Breakfast at the Office
(I resisted, stuck to my Nature's Path Optimum organic cereal)
Happy Friday Blogsters. I am enjoying my salad-of-a-lunch on this cold and blistery afternoon. You would think I would go for some soup, but after a week-long flirtation with the holiday goodies my body is craving some serious greens. I write this and wonder how are all of you faring this season? Are you being good or are you being bad?Some ravaged See's Chocolates up above (yes, I did have some).
December is the danger month and if you can make it through this time of year you can make it anytime of the year! Unfortunately, it is normal to gain some extra poundage around the holidays. If you can keep it under 5 lbs (or no lbs), it will be a lot easier to shake off come January.
Some Candied Pecans sitting around in our office
(AMAZING)
So here are five quick (no brainer) tips to help you avoid the holiday binge (because sometimes it's hard for me to end a post without a tip or two)!
1) Make sure you eat a balanced breakfast (as well as other meals) to avoid excess hunger throughout the day.
2) Give into your sweet tooth. One or two goodies will not kill you. If you do not satisfy intense cravings, they can easily escalate and cause big time repercussions later i.e. when your boss brings in her annual batch of mint chocolate brownies.
3) Hit the gym a little more frequently than you normally would. I know! You are soo busy this time of year. I am just saying...this will give you a little leeway.
4) Drink lots of water.
5) Hold your liquor. Alcohol contains 7 calories per gram. If you go overboard it is going to be stored as fat.
Share your binge-control secrets here! Also, what's the one holiday goodie that gets you? For me it is my mom's black and white cookies that come filled with raspberry jam!
Someone just dropped this off at my desk!!
A halved avocado!
Who do these people think I am?
Last Week's Oatmeal
1) Cook your oats, 5 minutes in the pot (I use Quaker Oats)
2) Transfer to bowl, splash w/ some almond milk
3) Sprinkle desired amount of cinnamon, tiny dash of vanilla (abt a teaspoon or less), and pour on some agave nectar (abt a tablespoon or a bit more)
**(Agave nectar has a low glycemic index so it won't spike your blood sugar and cinnamon helps to slow the absorption of sugar into the bloodstream).
4) Sprinkle with dried fruit medley of your choice! I love Trader's Joe's Mixed Berries w/ strawberries, blueberries and cherries. Also, get a little omega-3 by tossing in some chopped walnuts.
Badda-Bing-Badda-Boom!
What is your favorite way to prepare oatmeal?
Holiday Dinner: Return Trip to Blue Hill at Stone Barns 12/12/09
Dan Barber signed our menu and circled
the ingredients that made up our meal :)
Okay folks, Jimmy and I had our third dinner at Blue Hill at Stone Barns this past Saturday and it was even more amazing than our last visit in September. If you caught my briefing on Blue Hill last week, I explained that this restaurant aims to serve farm-to-plate local, seasonal and organic food. However, I did not mention that the chef, Dan Barber, was named the best chef in the country for 2009 by the James Beard Foundation. We caught a peek of him in the back of the restaurant with his chef outfit on, which made us excited! Even more exciting, upon finishing our meal, our waiter brought us into the kitchen for a tour! Dan Barber signed our menu and circled the foods that we ate throughout the evening.
The menu at Stone Barns is unlike any menu I have ever encountered. Instead of listing dishes by name, there is a long and varied assortment of fresh ingredients printed on a page. After perusing it the waiter asks if there is anything on the list that you prefer not eat. He also makes sure to ask if you have any dietary restrictions or food allergies. Jimmy and I do not, and we decided to pass only on the venison and organ meats. Everything else on the menu we fervently agreed to taste. After the waiter walks away the food that follows is a complete surprise! I was there with a pen and notebook (as well as camera) to document it all :)
Jimmy and I did not shy away from choosing the 8 course Farmer's Feast meal. It lasted a little over three hours and, yes, we were stuffed. But stuffed in the best possible way!
What we ate.....
Appetizers
Veggies from the Field
Smoked Kale, Adirondack Sage & Beet Chips
Beet Burger
Tuscan Salami & Bologa (from Berkshire pigs on the farm)
Hudson Valley Veal Marrow w/ American Caviar
Main Course
Grilled Wahoo w/ Parsnips & Brussel Sprouts (from the field)
Roasted Carrot (from the field) w/ Spiced Bread Crumbs & Carrot Puree
Braised Hake w/ Crispy Squid & Pig's Ear
This Morning's Farm Egg w/ Dehydrated Vegetables & Lettuce Broth
Squab w/ Rutabaga, Cranberries & Leafy Greens
Berkshire Pork w/ Stuffed Squash (and something) & Spinach (from the field)
Dessert
Peanut Butter Yogurt Parfait
Chocolate & Graham Souffle w/ Prunes (and something else)
After Dinner Bites
Vinegar Chocolate
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Marshmellow
Pictures
Fresh Vegetables from the Field
Pictures
Braised Hake w/ Crispy Squid & Pig's Ear
Peanut Butter Yogurt Parfait
I highly recommend that anyone within driving distance of Blue Hill at Stone Barns make a trip out to Pocantico Hills and enjoy the gardens, the animals and the food!! It is a once-in-a-life-time, food-altering experience.
The Skinny on Health & Happiness
Whoever said that you have to be skinny to be healthy was telling a big fat farce. Everyone is designed differently and we are supposed to come in various shapes and sizes. What would life be like if we only had skinny-minis walking around? Pretty damn boring if you ask me! If we could start to focus a little more on our health rather than our weight (which would ultimately lead to a gradual loss of extra lbs) we would be more than a wee bit better off.
The road to optimal health begins with accepting yourself. Once there, the next step would involve setting achievable goals as they relate to your physical and emotional well being. Physical and emotional health work hand-in-hand and if one is out of whack it can mess things up, big time, which can lead to over-eating, depression and general unhappiness.
Here are ten quick tips in no particular order that will get the ball rolling towards a more balanced, happy and healthy you!
1) Surround yourself with good people; friends and family you love and trust.
2) Drink more water. It cleanses your body, clears your mind, and helps to ward off cravings.
3) Get physical. If hitting the gym is uninspiring, find creative ways to be active i.e. trapeze school, dance lessons, kayaking, wall-climbing etc.
4) Eat less meat. May I suggest a flexitarian diet? By this I mean incorporating more plant-based foods and less animal protein. You will likely find you have more energy and feel less "weighed down."
5) Love your job! If not, take steps to find a new one. 6) Go organic with dairy products. Non-organic milk is loaded with hormones, primarily estrogen, which certainly does not do a body good.
7) Find "you" time. It is important to relax/decompress at least once a day. It may be as simple as reading, cooking or playing with your pet.
Pet Therapy (Pardon the outfit!) -->
8) Eliminate chemicals/preservatives and highly processed foods from your diet i.e. high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and artificial sweeteners. Studies show HFCS interrupts the hormone signals that tell us to stop eating even when we are full!
9) Soak up some sun and get your vitamin D. The U.S population is deficient in vitamin D and just 15 minutes in the sun can give you 15,000 IUS!
10) Allow yourself to be bad. Indulge in a decadent dessert or treat yourself to an expensive gift. It is in moments like this that we appreciate our "good" behavior.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Blog Roll
-
-
-
Happy Birthday Mom- from Baby Pantry11 months ago
-
-
-
-
Food Porn: Lincoln15 years ago
-
Drain Cleaning Techniques10 years ago
-
-
-
-
Tuesday Things.10 hours ago
-
LIL RUNNER IS MOVING!14 years ago
-
-
I hurt myself laughing13 years ago
-
Hello world!1 month ago
-
All Good Things13 years ago
-
-
-
-
Visitors
Subscribe To
Posts
All Comments
