menus, November 27,2012

This gray spirit, yearning in desire

to follow knowledge like a sinking star

beyond the utmost bound of human thought.

That's Tennyson, from his poem Ulysses, an epic that began working on me...oh...32 years ago. And it's not done with me yet I suppose-  not until I've done with letting curiosity chart the day's course. So, while you take Sir Alfred's glorious words and plan your next journey, or degree, or bungy jump, I'm going to take them to dinner.

I've been noticing a sad and unhealthy lack of vegetable shaped nutrition in our diet, in the last month or so, and I've figured out why- I'm summer saladed out, and I know relatively little about winter veggies. So. Today I Learned.

A thing that intrigues me:
how many of these winter veggies grow underground.
As if they're hibernating. I rather like hibernating in winter too. 

Today I learned (thanks Dr Kermani for so patiently answering my food questions)(heh heh. my doctor is patient with me.) that although most summer vegetables pale in color are pale in nutrients, winter veggies are different. Sure, kale, carrots, yams and all those intensely colored things put some really powerful good stuff inside you, but even the palest of them all- cauliflower- is broccoli's equal nutritionally! So interesting! This means that the veggies that are in season when we're all most likely to be fighting off illness are the very veggies that fight illness best. This is so cool!

sigh. my brain's exploded again.
one moment while I tape it back together.

 So, to satisfy curiosity, I turned the kitchen (once again) into a learning lab. I wanted to learn about greens- those leafy things that every one else in the south seems to have grown up knowing all about, while I don't know kale from collard. I bought mustard greens, turnip greens, collard greens and kale and decided to cook them all exactly the same way- sliced thin, dunked in boiling water and then sauteed with onions and salt. Here they are:

left to right: mustard greens, kale (identified by kaylee for any fans of the late, great show
Firefly) turnip greens, and collard greens

 here they are being chiffonaded
(gosh I love that word)

 and cooked.

 the results? Strongest flavor, mustard greens. Mildest flavor? Turnip greens. Strongest texture? Collards. And kale was just really nice.
So, that's the learning- let's put it to use, shall we?

Wednesday: Chicken with mustard greens,lemon and olives
I've been combing the internet for Christmas season compliant recipes- sustaining, inexpensive and ready in 30 minutes. This is the first of them. I'll be cooking some extra chicken for tomorrow night's chili and Saturday's soup.

Thursday: Buffalo Chicken Chili
I'm curious lately about chili... but more on that next week. I've been a fan of this website's approach to cooking for a long time- if you've got time, read around it a little. I'm pretty sure you'll like it too, and I'm pretty sure this recipe will be a winner.

Friday: Polenta with artichokes and sundried tomatoes
Alot of ingredients, I know, but I think it'll come together quickly. I'll be using frozen, not canned, artichoke hearts, and the sundried tomatoes in oil that are currently in the fridge.  This'll be a meatless meal for us, but if you're cooking for hardcore carnivores, I think a simple pan-fried pork chop with this would be amazing.

Saturday: Chicken parmigiano soup
Another faster-than-fish-sticks recipe, made even faster if you've got leftover cooked chicken in the fridge.

Sunday: Lentil and Squash soup
I'm still recovering from a Thanksgiving gluten hangover, so it'll be just soup for me, or maybe I'll try these sweet potato oven fries. It's quite possible though that the home audience will be getting a nice grilled cheese with this.


You'll be careful, won't you, with the Tennyson poem? I recited the wanderlusty thing over all my children when they were small and now not one of them lives closer than 4 hours drive away.
I painted it on my  daughter's bedroom furniture, and it turned out to be a part of home that she'll carry with her forever.

and I get to be the one who gets to be the mum
of all three of their wandering, knowledge-seeking selves.
I'm pretty sure I couldn't be more grateful about that.

Besides hoping that you're very careful indeed about how you handle dangerous poetry.....
 I hope that this week, if you're spirit is light and happy, and especially if your spirit is very gray, you'll lift your head, and see some small bright star of knowledge worth following.
I hope that you chase it, that bright bit of knowledge about the world you inhabit. I hope you catch it before it slips below the horizon and that you hold it close. I hope that (even if it burns a bit) you  hold it close enough and long enough to realize that you- you yourself, are becoming luminous.