Planning a Happy Thanksgiving — 1 Week and Counting

This post was originally published on November 17, 2011.

Wow, the last three weeks have gone by so quickly!  Not only am I very excited to celebrate Thanksgiving — we have a super fun crew joining us this year — but I am looking forward to some one-on-one time with the kids.  They are all going to help me this year.  They just don’t know it yet.  I used to get all of them in the kitchen Thanksgiving morning to help me with pies or trimming green beans or whatnot, but two of my beauties have taken to sleeping until noon on days off.  However I had a stroke of genius, which is to tack my Thanksgiving to-do list on the refrigerator and have everyone sign up for three tasks.  I’m asking my husband to help too, to set a good example, of course.

I have a crazy work schedule until Sunday, so I’ll start getting busy then.  Here’s what my schedule will look like from Sunday until we eat on Thursday at 4:00 pm (-ish):

Sunday

Go grocery shopping for most perishable items, bread for stuffing and food for remaining dinners this week.

Make cranberry sauce (I used to make applesauce on Sunday, too, but my friend Caitlin is bringing it this year.)

Arrange tables and chairs

Write out placecards for table (a good job for one of the kids)

Dinner:  orange and rosemary-glazed chicken, brown rice and broccoli

Monday

Make salad vinaigrette

Pick up turkeys and dry brine

Make bread cubes for stuffing

Make ice cream

Dinner:  tacos, black beans and salad

Tuesday

Shop for last perishable items from farmer’s market

Buy flowers and put together table arrangements

Set table (I’ll set one place setting and have one of the kids do the rest.)

Wash and dry greens (salad)

Chop walnuts (salad)

Seed pomegranates (salad)

Shred gruyere (tart)

Defrost chicken/turkey stocks

Dinner:  Spice-rubbed salmon, sauteed spinach, baked sweet potato “fries”

Wednesday

Chop onions for soup, stuffing and roasted vegetables

Prep beets (salad)

Blanche green beans (salad)

Slice zucchini (tart)

Make soup

Steam, bread cauliflower

Blind bake crust (tart)

Herb oil (tart)

Make stuffing

Prep vegetables for Maple-Mustard Roasted Veggies

Trim and halve Brussels sprouts

Make sweet potato gratin

Set up for coffee and tea service

Check powder room

Dinner:  pantry pasta with chickpeas

Before bed:  make sure garage refrigerator door is closed!

Thursday

6:00 am wake and shower

Make cornbread (small oven)

Make pumpkin pies (large oven)

Bake coffee cake (small oven)

Make gingerbread (large oven)

9:15 Take turkeys out of refrigerator

All desserts must be out of large oven by 10:30 am

Make apple pie (small oven)

10:45 turkeys go in large oven breast side down at 425 degrees

11:25 turn oven down to 325 degrees and flip turkey breast side up

12:00 reheat soup and serve with cornbread

tidy up kitchen

get dressed and dry hair (a girl’s gotta look good!)

Put mixing bowl and beaters in freezer for whipped cream

Chop fennel (salad)

1:30 Peel potatoes and make mashed potatoes; keep in bowl, covered, over pot of simmering water

2:15 zucchini tart in small oven

2:30 fry cauliflower and heat tomato sauce; serve hot

3:00 serve hors d’oeuvres; start testing turkey temperature

3:00 – 3:30 take turkey out of oven

Put vegetables in large oven at 400 degrees

Make gravy

Reheat stuffing in small oven

Bake sweet potatoes in large oven

Make Brussels sprouts with turkey bacon and dates

Chop apples for salad, dress salad

Light candles, pour water in glasses

3:50-4:00 Carve turkeys

4:00 Dinner is served

After dinner:  whip cream (do not overbeat!), coffee and tea, sparkling water

Make notes on what to remember for next year.  Next year??!!

Planning a Happy Thanksgiving — 2 Weeks and Counting

This post was originally published on November 10, 2011.

Thanksgiving is 2 weeks away!  Is the exclamation point there to emphasize panic or joy?  I’m excited!  I’ve been teaching quite a few Thanksgiving-themed classes as of late and I’m feeling spirited.  One of my students said to me today that my Thanksgiving planning blogs are stressing her out.  Yikes!  Of course that was not my intention.  The whole point is to show you what you can do in advance, not what you must do in advance.  All these tips and strategies are most relevant to the hosts and hostesses who are preparing most or all of the meal themselves and who have a busy schedule leading up to the holiday.  If I didn’t get a lot of these tasks completed early, I don’t see how I could pull off this meal without tons of stress.

Here’s what you can get done this week:

  • Get your knives sharpened Especially your carving knife.  A razor-sharp knife is the most important tool in your kitchen.  In my area, you can get your knives sharpened at Sur La Table, the farmer’s market and at the local cutlery store at the mall.  I think Sur La Table charges $1/inch.
  • Make your grocery lists  I make three lists:
  1. Non-perishables (e.g., flour, spices, wine, nuts, dried fruit)  I buy these now.
  2. Perishables to buy one-week ahead (e.g., winter squashes, butter, hard cheeses, potatoes)
  3. Perishables to buy two days before (e.g., turkey, dairy, bread for stuffing, all other fruits and vegetables)
  • Buy to-go containers  I always make too much food and I like sending care packages home with my guests to enjoy the day after, especially our single friends.  This year I am definitely packing up all the extra desserts so that they aren’t tempting me the next afternoon when I’m shopping for holiday gifts online.  I love the idea of having people bring their own reusable containers, but for me it’s easier to get these disposables from my local Smart & Final.

  • Clean out the refrigerator  I’ll get to this over the weekend.  Now is a great time to get rid of food past its prime or to get creative with the last spoonful of nut butter or those four olives just to make more space in the fridge.  I have a second, inexpensive refrigerator in the garage which really comes in handy for big dinners.  If you don’t have the extra space, see if one of your neighbors is going away for the holiday and can store your chutney and jam collections for a few days.

  • Check your instant read thermometer   This tool the only way you’ll be able to tell if your turkey is cooked properly, so it’s important that it’s accurate.  If you’re unsure, stick the tip of the thermometer into boiling water.  If the temperature reads 212 degrees Farenheit, you’re good to go.

How To Make Pie Crust

I am a total sucker for seasonal fruit desserts, and pies are no exception, especially in the summer and fall.  But we know each other well enough by now to know that I’m not a big dessert pusher.  I think overdoing sugar and refined foods like white flour can really compromise your health.  But,  during the holidays when the apples, pears and pumpkins are at their peak, I rationalize it all by adding a hefty dose of love to my pies!

What is nice about seasonal fruit desserts is that the fruit should be naturally sweet enough that we don’t need to add too many sweeteners to make them taste fabulous.  Typically, I use 4-6 Tablespoons of sweetener in a whole pie which can serve 8-10 people, and I don’t think that’s over the top.  Many cakes call for 2 cups of sugar just to provide you with a reference point.

Looking on the bright side, I love how “homemade” pies are.  The fruit is peeled and cut by hand, and if you make your own crust, that too is rolled and shaped by your loving hands.  In fact, I think pies look better and more special when they have that imperfect crimping and uneven glaze – a telltale sign that this came out of my kitchen.

Many people have told me that making pie crust looks intimidating.  But if you’ve ever made and rolled out cookie dough, it’s actually easier than that!  Even though I have a pie recipe posted on the site, I thought it would be helpful to include a step-by-step post for how to make pie crust.  Here are a few tips to help:

  • Necessary tools  You don’t need much, but a food processor or a pastry blender are very helpful.  If you have neither, I have used 2 knives with success.  On the other hand, besides an empty win bottle in a pinch, I haven’t found a good substitute for a rolling pin, which you’ll need to roll out the dough.
  • Cold Keeping everything cold is half the battle in making excellent dough.  If the butter warms up, it can make your dough too soft and it can melt on you.  Butter can be cut ahead and put back in the fridge.  Even your flour can be refrigerated.  And it is essential that the water you add is ice cold.  Some people like to make their pies in the morning, before the kitchen heats up.  And keeping this tip in mind, if you have to take a break from making your crust, or if your pie is ready to go in the oven but it seems a little soft and sticky, place everything into the refrigerator to firm it all up.
  • Butter  I know there are many people who can argue that a combination of butter and shortening or butter and lard make the tenderest, flakiest pie crusts, but you couldn’t pay me to eat Crisco or hydrogenated oils and I don’t have access to organic lard from grass-fed cows, so that’s not an option.  Organic butter is a natural, whole food and I’m ok with it in moderation.
  • Flour  Here’s the problem.  I hardly ever use white flour.  It’s refined and processed and basically a dead food with no nutrition.   I love using whole wheat pastry flour or white whole wheat flours whenever I can in place of white flour, but not in pastry dough.  Whole grain flours tend to result in a much drier, more crumbly dough which isn’t very easy to roll out.  It also tastes more “whole wheat-y” which my family doesn’t care for when they’re eating an apple pie.  If you must include some whole grain in your dessert, you can make the dough with half white and half whole wheat pastry flour.  I used to make half my pies like this for Thanksgiving and my sister-in-law and I were the only ones who would eat the wheat ones.  What’s the point of that?  Another option is to use white spelt flour, which is more water soluble than wheat flour, is a little more digestible and has a sweeter flavor.  White spelt flour makes very nice pastry.  If you just can’t go there, fruit crisp is always an option!
  • Water  Pie crust recipes should give you a range for how much water to use because it’s impossible for every cook to be working under the same conditions.  Moisture is something that will vary in the air, flour and butter that we use.  Always start with the lower range of water listed and increase as needed.
  • Don’t over mix  Pie crust is not like cake batter.  You actually do NOT want to completely blend the butter into the flour.  In fact, it is ideal if you have little pea-sized pieces of butter in your dough.   When the crust bakes in the oven, the heat will cause the moisture in the butter to steam up, creating the wonderful flakiness you want.
  • Give it a rest  This is a step you don’t want to skip since it accomplishes two important things.  Allowing your dough to chill out in the refrigerator helps the gluten in the dough relax so you don’t have tough pastry and it also firms up that butter again (see second tip above.)  30-60 minutes is enough time to do this, however you can absolutely refrigerate the dough for a couple of days or freeze it for a few months, if necessary.
  • Rolling it out  If your dough has been in the refrigerator for more than an hour, you may need to let it sit on the countertop for 15 or 20 minutes so that it will be easy for you to roll out.  If the dough starts cracking, it’s likely because it’s too cold.  Lightly flour your countertop and your rolling pin and start rolling from the center out, regularly checking to make sure your dough can always move around on your countertop without sticking.  If you really have a hard time rolling out the dough, you can stick it between two pieces of plastic wrap and roll it out that way.  To know if you’ve rolled it out enough, invert the pie plate over the rolled out dough.  If you have a good two inches beyond the rim of the plate, you’re good to go.
  • Moving the dough to a pie plate It sounds trickier than it is.  I usually gently fold the dough in half and transfer it to a pie plate that way, but you can also roll the dough around the rolling pin and then unroll it onto the pie plate.  Fit it into the plate.
  • Blind baking Sometimes a recipe will tell you to prebake the pie crust before filling it.  This is common with liquidy fillings such as custard or pumpkin, or if you cook the filling separately and you won’t be putting the pie in the oven.  With the crust inside a pie plate, prick the crust all over the place with a fork.  Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the crust and fill the parchment with pie weights or dried beans (the beans won’t be edible after you bake them, though.  Just keep them for the next pie.  I’ve been using the same dried beans since college –swear!)  This prevents the crust from puffing up.
  • Finshing  It doesn’t have to be perfect.  Do your best and have fun.  I seal the top and bottom crusts together and use my thumbs and pointer fingers from both hands to pinch the dough.  Or an easier method is use the tines of a fork and press the crust all along the rim of the plate.  Lastly I cut a couple slits in the center of the top crust so steam can escape and you won’t have a watery pie.  Glazing with an egg wash makes the pie look beautiful, but if egg is out of the question, you can use a little cream.

Although I have made many pies in my day, I still love learning how to do things better.  Please share your favorite tips and tricks for making pie crusts and pies.  I’d also love to hear what desserts you are all making for Thanksgiving!!!!

 

Pie Crust

Pamela
5 from 1 vote
Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour or white spelt flour
  • 1 teaspoon cane sugar
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 sticks unsalted butter cut into pieces
  • 5-8 Tablespoons ice water

Instructions
 

  • Place the flour, sugar and salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade and pulse a couple times until blended.
  • Add the butter to the flour and pulse until the mixture resembles small peas.
  • Pour 5 Tablespoons of ice water on top of the flour mixture and pulse about 10 times. Avoiding the blade, carefully grab a small handful of dough and squeeze together. If the dough holds together without crumbling, it’s ready to be formed into a disc. If it’s too dry, pulse in another few teaspoons of ice water until dough holds together.
  • Transfer dough to a piece of parchment and bring dough together to form a ball. Divide in half and shape into two disks. Wrap each disk in parchment and refrigerate at least 30 minutes at which point it will be ready to roll out. Or you can keep the dough refrigerated for 2-3 days, or in the freezer, well wrapped for 2-3 months.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Planning a Happy Thanksgiving — 3 Weeks and Counting

Wishing all of you affected by Hurricane Sandy a speedy recovery!  

This post was originally published on Thursday, November 3, 2011.

If you followed the advice in my post last Thursday, perhaps you now have a general idea of how many guests you will be hosting on Thanksgiving.  If not, it’s time to get on the phone and do some inviting!  Do you have a good balanced menu and have you taken guests up on their offers to bring something?   This week we have a few more tasks that we can check off the list.

3 weeks before thanksgiving

  • Order the Turkey  If you eat turkey on Thanksgiving, it’s a good idea to order it now.  I have always ordered a fresh, free-range, organic turkey, because in my opinion they have a tasty turkey flavor and are better for you than most other alternatives.  The only thing that may be better is a heritage turkey, which has a much stronger turkey flavor and supposed to be more moist.  It will have less breast meat though and will be more expensive.  Avoid “self-basting” turkeys which are injected with anything from chicken fat to salt to chemicals.  True, they are easier to cook, but I think they taste more like salt than turkey and they are just full of stuff you don’t want to feed your family.

Here are some questions that will help you decide size:

How many ovens do you have?  If you have one large oven that can accommodate two turkeys side by side and an extra oven to spare (you’re so lucky!), then you have the option of cooking two smaller birds versus one large one.  But with two small ovens, you may not want them both being monopolized by turkeys.

Are your guests dark meat-eaters or white meat-eaters?  You will get more white meat by weight from one large bird than from two smaller.  Likewise, you will get more dark meat from two smaller birds than from one large one.

How big a turkey should you buy?  The rule of thumb is one pound of turkey per person.  So if you are expecting 16 guests, you should order a 16 pound turkey.  That doesn’t mean that you will have 1 pound of meat per person, though.  I think this is a good rule if you don’t want leftovers or if your guests are not big eaters.   So last year I cooked 2 17-pound turkeys for 20 adults and 5 kids and I had just enough leftovers for the five of us for dinner the next day.

Do you have a bad back?  What does this have to do with anything?  A very large turkey is mighty challenging to keep pulling out of the oven to baste.  I find two smaller turkeys much more manageable, if you have the oven space.

  • Planning Your Table Decor  I don’t do anything fancy for my table decorations, but it’s nice to make the table look special.  Now’s the time to check your linens for stains and make sure you have enough napkins, plates and glassware.  I generally like to do something simple with fresh flowers in autumnal colors and add in a few of the kids’ Thanksgiving art projects from years past.   I just adore Jenni Kayne’s table setting at the top of the post.  Check out all her lovely holiday photos and ideas on her ripplustan.com blog — beautiful!  But you can put out bowls of apples and pears or gourds and nuts, add in a few votive candles and it will look beautiful.  This year I’m doing something craftsy with the help of my kids and my friend Marcie, who started a very cool line of paper table decor called Mixt Studio.  I’m not sure if her stuff will be ready for Thanksgiving, but if it isn’t, I’m going to copy this cute paper flower and use it as a place card attached with an inspiring quote.  Love that idea!  I have another talented friend, Lee who owns a local flower shop called Growing Wild along with her equally talented (they’re twins!) sister Lisa.  I couldn’t help but admire their lovely arrangements, one of which I pictured below to give you some inspiration.  If tablescape isn’t your thing, you can always order from your local florist or full service market.  Just get on it this week.

  • Make your pie crusts and freeze them  You can freeze them in disc form or roll them out, fit them into pie plates and freeze them, well wrapped.
  • Make your homemade stock and freeze it  I use over a gallon of chicken stock on Thanksgiving for soup, stuffing and gravy.

  • Make your dry mixes for pie fillings, cornbread and other baked goods.  Not only are there never enough ovens on Thanksgiving day, but there are never enough measuring cups and spoons either.  I measure out the dry ingredients, store them in a glass jar and label each jar, e.g. “Dry Mix for 2 Pumpkin Pies.”  I didn’t label them the first year I did this and let me tell you — pumpkin pie spices smell A LOT like apple pie spices.
  • Check your inventory of helpful tools and appliances  Here’s my list of Thanksgiving essentials:
  1. — the only way to know if your turkey is ready.
  2. Roasting pan(s) and racks(s)
  3. Fat separator
  4. Twine for trussing
  5. Baster
  6. Potato ricer— for making the best mashed potatoes
More recipes to come, but these would be perfect for Thanksgiving:
Muhammara (roasted red pepper dip)
Butternut Squash, Beet and Apple Skewers (if you only have to make one thing or if the kids can skewer for you)
Sweet Potato-Coconut Soup (it doesn’t taste like coconut!)

Planning a Happy Thanksgiving — 4 Weeks and Counting

This post was originally published on October 27, 2011.  I adore Thanksgiving.  I love the traditions, the food, the Macy’s parade on television while I am making my pies, the football games.   I love moving the family room furniture after the last football game is over to extend the dining room table.   I love hearing everyone share why they’re grateful.  I have cooked every Thanksgiving for the last 16 years, as well as dozens of Thanksgiving-themed cooking classes.   I have made lots of mistakes and in the process learned a thing or two about how to execute and enjoy  a very happy Thanksgiving.  Every Thursday from today until the big day, I will share my best tips, strategies and a few good recipes to set you up for a successful holiday.  Let’s get started!

4 Weeks Before Thanksgiving

  • Guest list  Now is a good time to invite family and friends for the holiday, even if they are regulars.  I send an email out to all our guests with the schedule for the day, especially when we will sit down for dinner.  We live on the West Coast, which means the last football game is over at 4:00.  Anyone that wants to come for the earlier game is welcome to do so.  There’s coffeecake, fruit and coffee in the morning.  A mugful of soup and cornbread around noon; hors d’oeuvres at 3:00 pm and dinner is at 4:00 or whenever the game is over.  You know that I pray for no overtime!
  • Plan your menu Planning the Thanksgiving menu requires a bit of strategy and balance.   Make sure you have a balance of cooked and raw food (One thing I have learned is no matter how big your kitchen or how many ovens you have, it’s never enough on Thanksgiving!); protein, starches and vegetables (I find most Thanksgiving menus to be too starchy;) and ingredients (make sure not every recipe has dried fruit and nuts in it.)  Know what dishes need an oven and when because if you’re making turkey and you have one oven, you won’t be baking too much in the hours before dinner.
Also, know your audience.  I love trying new recipes, but my family looks forward to the same traditional standbys every year.  There was almost a revolution when I took Breaded Cauliflower off the menu in 2007 ( I now serve it as an hors d’oeuvre.)  So I compromise by making the classics (traditional roast turkey with gravy and cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, stuffing, and pumpkin pie), but I also try out a new salad or vegetable side dish every year.
But just because you’re cooking overtime for Thanksgiving dinner, doesn’t mean your household won’t be needing dinner the night before and breakfast the morning of.  Instead of ordering takeout pizza on Wednesday night, make and freeze a casserole in the weeks ahead or plan for your easiest 20-minute meal.  The same goes for Thanksgiving day, especially if you have young children in the house.  You can save your appetite and get by on a piece of fruit for the day, but your four-year-old cannot.  I always make a pot of butternut squash soup the day before and a pan of cornbread to be served around noon to tide anyone over until the big meal.
  • Outsource    Do as I say here.  Don’t do as I do.  You don’t have to make everything yourself.  In fact, most people would be delighted to contribute something to the holiday which will alleviate the pressure on you.  But you must be specific otherwise you’ll end up with 4 pumpkin pies and no green vegetables and we all know what I think about that.  “Thank you, Caitlin for your offer to bring something.  I think I’ll take you up on it.  We have neither stuffing nor apple pie yet.  Would you like to tackle one of those?”
  • Write out a schedule Take the time to plan everything that you need to do over the next four weeks and put it on the computer so you have it for future holidays.  By taking a little time now, you will save yourself stress, anxiety and HOURS later.  Trust me on this.  You can see my detailed schedule as an example.
  • Photocopy your recipes from books and magazines I remember my first Thanksgiving with a stack of cookbooks and magazines taking up valuable counter space and my wasting so much time looking up each recipe multiple times.  Ugh!  Put your photocopied recipes in sheet protectors and create a dedicated Thanksgiving or holiday binder organized by category.  This just might be the most useful tip I give you.
Here’s what I am probably making this year:
Breakfast:
Coffeecake, fruit, coffee and tea
Lunch:
Butternut Squash or Sweet Potato-Coconut Soup and Cornbread
Hors D’oeuvres:
Breaded Cauliflower with Tomato Dipping Sauce
Dinner:
Applesauce
Mashed Yukon Gold Potatoes
Sweet Potato Casserole
Whole Grain Stuffing with Mushrooms, Leeks and Herbs
Roasted Green Beans with Lemon, Shallots and Thyme
Harvest Chopped Salad or Butternut Squash Salad
Dessert:
Apple Pie
Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
Freshly Whipped Cream
Fresh Seasonal Fruit

How to cook beans from scratch

This is the time of year when I start to make more bean-based soups and chilis.  And as soon as it stops being 80 degrees around here, I’ll get right on that.  Actually, regardless of the season, we are a bunch of bean eaters in this house.  Besides chili, I use beans in Mexican dishes, salads, pastas, veggie burgers, with braised greens or in dips.  There are many varieties of beans that we eat — from garbanzos to black to pinto to Cannellini and more.

Beans are incredibly versatile and they happen to be a great low-fat source of fiber and protein.  Beans are one of those low-glycemic foods that gives you long-lasting energy without spiking your blood sugar.  Hooray!  No insulin surge!  And what’s more is that several types of beans including kidney, pinto and black are off the charts in antioxidants, as in a whole heck of a lot.

Beans are quite affordable, especially if you make them from scratch.  A pound of dried beans can cost anywhere from $1 to $1.50 and that will yield the equivalent of 3-4 15-ounces cans.  If you buy high-quality organic beans from a company like Eden Organic, which doesn’t line their cans with BPA, one can costs approximately $2.30.  You can do the math here and realize that you would save a lot of money buy cooking your beans from scratch.  Not only that, most cans are lined with BPA, which is a carcinogen that is not easily detoxified.  And wouldn’t you feel better about not throwing all those cans into a landfill?  Yes indeed.  

I am teaching a black bean and pumpkin soup recipe this month in my classes and I have noticed my students furiously scribbling my instructions for how to cook dried beans.  I realized this would be a good thing to post, so here are a few of my tips for preparing beans from scratch.

  1. Buy beans from a store with a high turnover to ensure you don’t get very old beans which take longer to cook.
  2. Plan ahead since you need to soak beans for at least 6 hours and then cook them for an hour or more.
  3. Pick through the beans before soaking and look for any small stones or debris.
  4. Place beans in a large bowl or pot and cover with a generous (4-6 inches) of cold water.  If you have a piece of kombu (kelp), add that to the beans for additional digestibility and alkalinity.  Leave the bowl on the countertop or in the refrigerator for at least 6 hours or overnight.  Check to make sure all the beans stay below sea level!   I usually start soaking in the morning when I’m making breakfast.
  5. Drain the beans in a colander and transfer (with kombu, if using) to a large pot.  Sometimes I add some onion and celery if I know I’m going to use the beans for a salad, but I usually don’t add vegetables.  Fill with fresh cold water to cover by at least 4 inches and bring to a boil over high heat.
  6. Lower heat to a simmer and skim off any foam from the top.  Maintain a gentle, active simmer.  Boiling the beans rapidly can make them lose their shape.
  7. Start to test the beans for tenderness after 50 minutes.  Continue to taste them until desired tenderness is achieved.  This can take an hour or more depending on the age of the beans.
  8. Turn the heat off and if you have time, add some kosher salt to the beans and allow the beans to cool in their cooking liquid.
  9. Drain and now they’re ready to eat!  Or store them in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Update 4.30.13:  I have had great success cooking dried beans in a slow cooker.  Whereas the beans are more digestible if you presoak them, they will still cook to perfect tenderness without soaking.  I put 2 pounds of dried beans in my slow cooker and filled it up with water (an inch or so under the lid.)  Set it on LOW for 7 hours and they will be perfect.  So exciting!

How to Eat Your Way Through France Without Gaining an Ounce

Something bizarre happened during my recent trip to France.  After indulging in what seemed like copious amounts of incredible food for a week and feeling like I would likely need to watch my diet upon coming home, I cautiously stepped on the scale and saw that I hadn’t gained an ounce.  How was that possible?  I felt as though I had eaten more than usual and I even gave in to foods I don’t normally eat at all like bread, wine and chocolate.  Well, I wasn’t the only one.  The day after I returned home, the emails from other students were flying –  “I didn’t gain any weight!  I can’t believe it!”

Well I’ve been thinking about my experience which relates to the so-called “French Paradox,”  the idea that the French people are able to enjoy food high in saturated fat yet don’t suffer from coronary heart disease.  Of course, my experience and observations are rather personal and unscientific and I haven’t taken any blood tests, but I have come to some conclusions about the French and the benefits of their way of eating, at least where I visited in the countryside.  Here’s what I observed about their approach to food:

  • Eating is a leisurely act.    The French take their time when they eat.  No one is in a rush to finish or to serve you if you are in a restaurant.  Lingering over over a meal, especially lunch, is very relaxing and pleasurable.  I noticed I was able to enjoy my food more and really pay attention and savor what I was eating.  I can’t tell you how much more satisfied I felt eating this way.  This is a lot different from how many of us eat, on the run, inhaling who-knows-what, only to be hungry an hour later.
  • Lunchtime is sacred.  Although I understand the French are starting to work more hours in a day, they’re aren’t messing with the 2-hour lunch.  Everyone except restaurants takes lunch from 12:00 to 2:00.  If you are headed to France, with the exception of large cities like Paris, do not expect to shop or run errands during this time.  Imagine my surprise when I was asked to leave the Toulouse-Lautrec Museum at 11:50 am.  They were closing for lunch, of course.  I’m thinking if you wanted to commit a crime in France, you’d have a great chance of not getting caught since I saw many a police officer packing it up at 11:55 am.  The point is that taking a nice long break from our hectic day is a very healthful way to restore our energy and enjoy your meal.
  • Lunch is the biggest meal of the day.  This relates to the observation above.  I found it so interesting that when I ate a very large lunch over 2-3 hours, I wasn’t hungry at all the rest of the day.  When dinnertime rolled around, I really only needed a small salad or cup of soup, if that.  Coincidentally, Ayurveda, the Indian science of life, teaches us to consume 75% of our calories before 2:00 pm.  Our digestive fire is at its peak when the sun is at its highest point in the sky, between 12:00 and 2:00.  I see many busy moms skipping lunch or eating a small salad because they have no time to sit and relax, but then the snacking starts as their energy begins to dip around 2:00 pm.  Then they’re eating cookies with the kids after school, needing a latte at 4:00 to keep their energy up, and then snacking while making dinner.  I definitely consumed fewer calories and slept better on the days I ate a larger than normal lunch.  The only tradition I won’t be able to continue at home is wine with lunch!
  • Whole, full-fat foods are more satisfying.  There’s no low-fat or non-fat goat cheese in France.  That’s not to say that if you go into a supermarket you won’t find (American) processed foods that are low-calorie, low-fat, sugar-free, etc.  But in general, the French go for the real deal and enjoy it.  Omelettes are made with whole eggs, not just the whites.  Cheese and dairy products are whole and unrefined, as well.  High quality fats fill you up and, in my opinion, taste better and are more satisfying.  You will surely be less likely to graze later.
  • Just because the French are surrounded by seriously amazing food on a daily basis doesn’t mean they eat all of it….in one sitting.  Yes, there are crazy delicious croissants on every corner, as well as chocolate, pastries, and rich desserts.  I noticed that French people will indulge, but in much smaller portions than we do and not necessarily every day.  I was thinking one day about desserts in particular and the gigantic portions we get at restaurants in the states.   Some of these offerings can total more than 1,000 calories.  That’s completely insane.  When we did indulge in dessert in France, it was a very small, but satisfying portion.
  • No eating in between meals.  The French do not snack.  This goes against what many of us have been taught about eating many small meals a day to prevent ravenous hunger and stabilize blood sugar levels.  Everyone is different and small mini-meals may work for some people, but I know it doesn’t work well for me.  I tend to consume much more food in a day if I am constantly even just a little hungry.  200 calories here, 200 hundred calories there start to add up.  You won’t need snacks if you eat enough satisfying food at breakfast and lunch.
  • Fresh is best.  You already know this, but higher quality, fresh, unprocessed food is better for you.  Period.  It is more digestible and more recognizable by our bodies.  Fresh food contains more nutrients which signal to our bodies that we have been nourished.  No need for the body to send us signals that it needs more.  Think about how obsessed Americans are with dieting and losing weight, how afraid we are of fat and carbs.  While we consume more artificial, sugar-free, fat-free, processed and refined food, we just keep getting fatter and sicker.

I am really interested to hear if you have had similar or dissimilar experiences traveling to other countries and adopting their way of eating.  Or perhaps you have noticed some strategies that have helped you maintain a healthy weight.  Please share!

How to Seed a Pomegranate

Eating seasonally means that when Mother Nature closes one door, she opens another.  I came home from the farmers’ market the other day with good news and bad news for the kids.  This would be the last of the peaches and nectarines.  “What????  OMG!  That’s so sad.”  But guess what I found?  Pomegranates!  “They’re back?  OMG!  Can we have some right now?  Did you buy a lot?”  What peaches?

During the fall, my family goes through about 7 pomegranates a week and sometimes more if the kids’ friends come over.  There’s something so addictive about these juicy and crunchy little seeds.  I very often find empty pomegranate bowls on the girls’ desks in the morning because they snack on the seeds while doing their homework.  I know, pinch me.  They aren’t the only ones who love pomegranates.  Mr. Picky eats them while he watches football and baseball games on tv.  I toss them into my morning yogurt, muesli or for a fun crunch in salads.  So good!

I will gladly support any addiction to something so super healthful.  Perhaps I’m preaching to the choir here, but let me remind you how rich in antioxidants pomegranates are.  The juice in the seeds contain ellagic acid and punic alagin which scavenge free radicals in the body and help preserve the collagen in your skin (pssst, that means they help you stay looking young!)   Pomegranate seeds also contain vitamin C, magnesium, calcium, and plenty of fiber.  All good news!  The only bummer about pomegranates is that you have to take the time to seed them, which is a little more effort than washing a piece of fruit and taking a bite, but it’s worth it!  Sure, you can buy containers of the seeds from the supermarket, but I find them to be a tad soggy.  Just do what I do and teach your kids how to seed them!

There are several strategies for releasing pomegranate seeds from the shell.  For example, I’ve seen recommendations to cut a pomegranate in half and whack it over a bowl to release the seeds.  Don’t do that.  Pomegranates stain like heck and you’ll inevitably spray red juice on your favorite shirt as well as the kitchen walls.  Here’s what I consider to be the best way to seed a pomegranate for maximum ease and minimum seed burstage (is that a word?):

  1. Put on a dark colored apron.  (Read above.)
  2. Fill a large bowl with cool or room temperature water and set aside.
  3. Place the pomegranate on a cutting board and carefully make a slice from the top to the bottom.  Separate the pomegranate into two halves.
  4. Submerge one half in reserved bowl of water and gently push the seeds off the membrane.  Break apart the pomegranate further to access more seeds, but do it under water.  Repeat with other half.
  5. The seeds will sink to the bottom of the bowl and pieces of the white membrane will float to the top.  Just skim those off and discard.  Drain the seeds and pat dry a little before storing in a container in the refrigerator.

Even though it’s the beginning of the season, I have gotten some beautiful pomegranates thus far.  In selecting a good one, in my experience, the heavier the fruit, the juicier it is.  Also, the ones that seem to be cracked (see above) tend to have the reddest and most flavorful seeds.  Check out some delicious salads which use these ruby jewels — Fennel and Green Apple Salad and Butternut Squash Salad with Pomegranates and Pecans.  Please share how you like to eat pomegranates!