Pandemic Chili and Grits

One of the things I do to love people is also one of the things I do to work through stress.  I cook.  This is good news for my family.  This morning I woke up, prayed through the morning hours and flipped on the news.  I felt something creeping in on me I've not felt so far during this social distancing. Fear.

This event is virgin territory for all of us.  Its similar to our  9/11 experiences with everyone in the country focused on a common enemy; limited travel; runs on supplies; constant monitoring of the news.  But this time the enemy doesn't have a first and last name, a religious affiliation, and it certainly is not only happening in the United States of American.  This is a global pandemic with the enemy's only name being virus.

I am by nature an introvert with some extrovert tendencies.  I like to be home. I don't mind being by myself, as an only child its my most comfortable space. But there is something different about being told to stay at home and even if I'm not here alone, John is with me, I'm separated from my other family and my friends.  Thankfully we have mobile phones and social media that can keep us in communication with one another. But for those of us who are huggers, the lack of physical connection is painful.  My youngest son came to check on us this morning and it was painful to see him without being able to hug him.

According to the news there are many more days ahead of us in this bizarre pandemic journey than are behind us.  We are going to have to figure ways to make it through to the other side of the virus without losing our minds, getting depressed, or worse even, losing our faith.  

So here is my plan... at least for the near future.
1.  I'm going to continue, increase, and hopefully deepen my prayer journey.  Faith in God Almighty is the cornerstone of my life. I won't let this virus challenge my faith by letting fear take hold.
2.  I'm going to keep communication open with all of my family and friends in whatever way is useful and healthy.
3.  I'm going to work and use these hours, days, and maybe even weeks to let the words flow.
4.  I'm going to finish some projects around the house.
5.  I'm going to get outside when I can and take walks or just sit on the patio and feel the sun whenever I can.
6. I'm going to keep cooking to release stress and to love John with some yummy dishes.

Today I cooked some
vegetarian chili with garlic cheese grits

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 chopped onion and bell pepper
5 minced garlic cloves
5 tablespoons chili powder
1 16 oz. bag of red lentils
28 oz. of canned diced tomatoes
32 oz. of vegetable stock
Salt and Pepper to taste
Sour cream
Fresh cilantro

In a stock pot heat oil and saute veggies until translucent and slightly browned.  Add garlic and chili powder.  Add lentils, tomatoes and stock.  Bring to a boil then lower the heat to medium and simmer for about 30 minutes.

While the chili is simmering cook the grits.
Bring 3 cups of water, 1/4 stick of butter, a tablespoon of garlic powder and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to a boil.  Add 1 cup of yellow grits and bring to a boil again.  Reduce heat to low and allow to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and stir in a couple handfuls of grated cheese.

Take a subversive blender and put into the stock pot of chili. Give it a few pulses to cream a small amount of the chili mixture.  Stir the chili to blend.

To serve fill a bowl with chili, top with a healthy serving of grits and a dollop of sour cream.

Happy Quarantine Birthday To Me!

If you had told me last year on my 53rd birthday that I would be spending my 54th birthday in my pajamas all day, I would have believed you.  If you told me that I'd be spending the day with John, I would have believed you as well.  If you told me that I'd be typing away on my birthday, I'd have believed that too.  BUT had you told me that the entire county would be under siege of a novel Coronavirus, and I'd be self-quarantined with restaurants and pubs closed to all but curb-side pickup, schools closed for the year with no graduation ceremonies, and that the country would be running out of surgical masks and toilet paper, I would have called you mad.

But alas, that is where we are. We are just over a week into this unbelievable event and I fear it is only the beginning of a long, long spring.  I'm concerned, not really worried because I know that none of this surprised our Father in heaven. I'm however concerned with the impact this will have in the health of so many.  Visitors are banned from all hospitals and nursing homes and I know that is hard for the patients and their loved ones.  All elective surgeries and dental procedures have been canceled, so I know there are people in pain waiting on their turn to get what they need. People have gone to the groceries locally and not found what they need.  Folks have been unexpectedly laid off from work because it is no longer safe to work together. Our nation and world's economy may be in for a bumpy ride.

With limited options I picked a very local, very yummy, incredibly unhealthy take-away birthday lunch.  Dub's Burgers is a local burger joint that specializes in greasy burgers with all the fixin's.   I craved these burgers in 1994-1995 while I was pregnant with our second child.  Strangely enough, he is now a big fan of Dub's.

This quarantine birthday is so bizarre.  But I'm so thankful for all the lovely messages, emails, texts, and calls.  We can stay connected even as we socially distant ourselves for virus purposes.

Now back to healthy eating.

A Made-Up Greek Chicken Salad

Here we are smack dab in this crazy Covid19 mess. No one I know has seen anything like this before.  It's scary stuff mainly because we just don't know much about it.  John is at home working

instead of going into the office. We were supposed to leave today for a work trip for John in San Diego.  Since I can work from anywhere and we have no children or dogs to care for, I've been trying to go with him as much as I can.  Enter stage right... Coronoavirus.  It has turned everyone on earth in a tail spin as we try to navigate these unchartered waters.  I picked up a few things at the grocery late last week, not knowing it would be a critical shopping trip and nothing would be available for a while.Sometimes we have to throw together something to eat without being able to run to the store to pick ingredients.  Off subject- how in the world is it only Tuesday?  Surely it's next Friday by now. Back on topic of using the ingredients you have to come up with something healthy and tasty.- I found a can of chicken breast and decided to put together a chicken salad.  I poked around in the frig and in the pantry and came up with the following recipe.

1 can of chicken breast, drained
several colorful bell peppers, diced small
1/2 of a red onion, diced small
1 handful of pinenuts
8-10 olives, chopped
3 jarred artichokes (no marinade)
1 bottle of pre-made Greek dressing
chucks of feta cheese
salt and pepper to taste

Now the key to this type of cooking is using whatever you have in the pantry and substitute as necessary.  I could have used tomatoes if I had them.  Almonds if you wanted.  Maybe celery? You get the picture

Pumping It Up

So we are still on the Mediterranean diet, but I've had to modify it a bit for cost purposes.  I was blowing the grocery budget to smithereens with all that freshness.  Fresh all the time equals dollars! I'm still following the rules with our cooking but using lots more frozen and dried items to stretch those food dollars.  And that is what this post is all about.

We really like Mexican/South-western dishes.  While shopping at Sprouts one day I found a pre-seasoned rice package of rice and quinoa- still has great wholesome, organic ingredients, just in a different form.  The package says it serves 4.

To spread my grocery dollars I sauteed some frozen peppers, onions, and corn, along with a can of petite diced tomatoes, a whole bunch of red beans (you could use whatever bean you like) from a huge batch of dried beans I soaked and cooked a few days ago.  I also added some shredded chicken that I seasoned with a homemade south-western dressing. How does this spread out the dollars?  I'm so glad you asked!

After all these additions, I stretched this 4 serving dish to 8 servings.  I KNOW!  Now we can have dinner for ourselves, a few lunches, and even take a serving to my Mother-in-law for her supper!  Super cool, huh?!

Most everyone I know needs to save money, or at the very least doesn't want spend too much on groceries.  So join me as I keep trying to eat healthy and save some bucks too.

Mediterranean Popcorn

I'll be 54 next month.  I thought it was 53, but I did the math and lo' and behold, I will be 54.  In those  53+ years, I have learned that I like to crunch on something savory and salty.  Don't misunderstand, I still love a sweet now and again (can you say Cadbury chocolate eggs), but if given a choice between sweet and savory, I'll likely pick the savory.

As we've ventured back to the Mediterranean diet I needed to find something to snack on while I'm working and at night while watching BBC crime shows with John.  I settled on popcorn because it is a whole grain therefore Mediterranean friendly. Most bags of pre-popped popcorn have a bunch of stuff on it I don't need and the ready to pop microwave popcorn can get expensive if you eat much of it.

I found the above pictured microwave popper at Walmart in the snack section over where they also sell boxes of microwave popcorn bags.  You can also purchase it here.  It frees me to buy big containers of corn kernels, which is much cheaper, and pop as much as I need without standing over the stove shaking a pot.  I can also season it just as I want so I know exactly whats in it.  My current favorite seasoning is a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil (allowed on the Mediterranean way on eating) and a sprinkle of sea salt.

I am currently eating some freshly popped corn that has not been seasoned at all, which I enjoy as well and is less messy.  AND most importantly its grand-dog approved.  Tori is enjoying Grandmommy's popcorn as a late afternoon snack.

Also I have good news to share.  I wore a jacket yesterday that has been too tight across the shoulders.  Victory!

Soupers

Soupers:  families who eat a variety of soups and often.

Yeah, I know.... I made that all up, but still.  My family is a bunch of soupers.  

My Momma makes the world's best chicken stew.  Truly.  I'm not exaggerating.  Ask anyone who has eaten her chicken stew and they will agree, especially my children.  My Grandmother Nettie used to make a beef stew that we have affectionately named, "Nettie Stew." Its that good.  So yes, I come from a family of soupers.  

The legend around this soup is even people who do not like turnip greens, will like Turnip Green Soup.  I can testify to that fact because it is only in the past few years that I've developed a taste for true southern cooked turnip greens, BUT I've enjoyed Turnip Green Soup for a long time.  

My husband and I are following a Mediterranean way of eating.  I decided that I should make this lovely, interesting soup Mediterranean friendly.  Although the original version is not expensive, my recipe uses dry beans which make it even more inexpensive.

So what makes this Mediterranean worthy?
Lean Protein
Tomatoes
Dry Beans
Greens
Whole Grains

I hope you'll give this soup a chance, especially if your family falls into the souper category. 

Kelley's Mediterranean Turnip Green Soup 

Splash of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 links of chicken andouille sausage, casings removed

1 sweet onion
1 chopped garlic clove

8 cups of chicken broth

1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes

1/2 cup of dried Northern Beans

1/2 cup of dried Red Beans

1/2 cup of dried Red Kidney Beans

1/2 cup of dried Navy Beans

Salt and Pepper to taste

Handful of brown rice

Handful of barley

Red Pepper Flakes

2 cups of frozen turnip greens

Put the olive oil in a stock pot.  Brown the sausage, the onion and garlic with salt and pepper.  When the sausage is browned and the onion translucent, add the stock and bring to a boil.  Add in all the dry beans.  Bring to a boil once again, then turn heat to low.  Cover and allow to soup to simmer until the beans are cooked through.  Add water as needed to keep the mixture from burning.  

After the beans are cooked to tender, add the brown rice and barley.  When the rice and barley are cooked to tender, add the turnip greens and stir.  Add salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle in the red pepper flakes.  

The Humble Chickpea

Chickpeas are not something I grew up eating here in the Alabama  We seemed to eat every other kind of pea and bean, but I don't even know if I had even heard of a chickpea until I was a young adult.  It is also referred to as a garbanzo bean, but I hadn't heard that term either until I was adult

It is said chickpeas also come in colors other than the tawny beige pictured here.  I hear there are black, green, and red ones, but I've not seen them in our local grocery stores.  I did find some black ones on Amazon and they are PRICEY!

Here are just a few of the benefits of the humble chickpea:

1. Because they are high in plant protein, many folks have turned to chickpeas to help them reduce their meat intake.  In fact, a cup of chickpeas gives us a 1/3 of our recommended protein for the day.
2. They are high in fiber.  A high fiber diet has been linked to a healthy digestive system and beneficial in reducing blood glucose levels.
3. There is enough iron, calcium and other nutrients in chickpeas to help with healthy bones.
4. They are also high in potassium, which is good for your brain, heart, and blood pressure without adding in tons of salt.

The list continues.  So the bottom line is chickpeas are good for you.

So how can they be incorporated into a healthy, Mediterranean diet?

1.  The easiest way to use them is in hummus.  This yummy dip is made up of chickpeas, tahini (sesame butter), garlic, lemon, and olive oil.  Other ingredients can be used to add lots of different flavors to hummus.  One of my favorite flavors of hummus is roasted red pepper.

Hummus is readily available in grocery stores, but is so crazy simple to make that there is really no reason to spend lots of money on a small container of the creamy goodness.  For the amount of money a small pre-made container costs, many, MANY containers can be made.  Hummus is also freezer friendly for a couple of months.  Just be sure to freeze in individual serving sizes so that you don't have to wait a long time for thawing.

A hummus recipe I'm eager to try is  Chocolate Hummus.  I will let you know when I make it.  I know, I know, chocolate and hummus seem unlikely friends, but so are Velvetta cheese and chocolate.  The best fudge recipe I have includes Velvetta cheese.  So don't knock it till you've tried it.

Here is a a link to a basic hummus recipe.  

2. Chickpeas can also be used as a textural addition to a large variety of salad dishes like the one pictured here.  And here is the simple recipe to try.

3. Roasted chickpeas are good for snacking.  Again, you can buy them ready to eat in fancy bags, or you can make them yourself.  Start with a basic recipe like this one and season to your hearts content for lots of variety.

I fell of the Mediterranean wagon this past weekend at a Ladies Retreat.  I mean FELL ALL THE WAY OFF THE WAGON.  So this week is for getting back in the Mediterranean saddle again.  I find that I like to nibble while writing and drink lots and lots of tea.  I'm deep into my second novel and so I need to be ready with snacks.  Air popcorn is a favorite, but I'm giving chickpeas a real try this week.

*I was out of tahini when I made the last batch of hummus and substituted cashew butter.  It tastes just as good.