Norwitz Notions

I’ve made a variety of dessert/snack bars based on the simple ingredients of dates and nuts.  Sometimes I substitute prunes for half the dates to bring the carb count down.  Sometimes I add banana or other fruit.  And I use a bunch of different flavorings.

You can make these raw (with a dehydrator) or cooked.  I find that lower temperatures lead to a wetter bar and higher ones to a cakier one.  But the proportion of ingredients changes that up too.  If you do a very thorough blending job you end up with something like a Lara Bar, or you can leave the mix more chunky, which gives it more character.

I started using sunflower seed butter (aka sunbutter) a few months ago and discovered that they give the bars a chocolate-like look, mouth-feel, and even some taste.  Since chocolate is the worst of Miriam’s food intolerances, that’s a really cool find.

Here’s the version of this recipe I used for a submission to the baked goods, bar cookies, competition at the Sonoma County Fair last week.

Recipe:

Sunflower seed butter (sunflower seeds, cane sugar, salt), 16 oz
Raw cashews, 2 cups
Dates, 14 oz
Ginger root, fresh, 2 TB
Cinnamon, 2 tsp
Cardamon, 1 tsp
Vanilla extract (vanilla, organic alcohol), 1 TB
Sea Salt to taste
Water as needed

Don’t worry about the amounts of the main ingredients.  I used full containers so that’s what it came out as.  My sunbutter is from Trader Joe’s.  The dates are pitted deglet noor dates in a pre-packed container from Whole Foods.  You can use any kind as long as they’re fresh (don’t use dried date pieces, the ones that look like elongated pellets).  For the cashews, I just poured them into the empty sunbutter container to measure (and to scoop out residual butter).

As for the flavorings, those amounts are guesses.  I did a lot of add and taste, add and taste again.  I will note though that the batter was spiced beautifully but the bars came out very mild; the spices were in the background.  When I do it again, I’ll double (or triple) the amounts.  If they come out nice and strong I’ll call them gingerbread bars, but I was careful with the naming for the contest because I didn’t want them to be judged that way when they were so mild.

Chop the ginger root and put it in the food processor first.  You want to make sure it’s well processed.  Now add your other ingredients and blend until smooth.  If you want a chunkier bar, take some of the cashews and process them before anything else and turn out to a bowl when they’re at the right consistency.  Do this in as many batches as it takes for the size of your food processor.

Date notes: take the time to feel each one with your fingers before putting it in the processor.  I usually find one pit for every 2 containers or so.  And there are often the little end caps left on.  Just one of these things will spoil your entire batch if left in.

Ingredients in the food processor

Why add water if your goal is to bake or dehydrate out the liquid?  Because food processor motors can only handle so much and it helps the mix come together.  Don’t add too much water or baking will take forever and the bars will be overcooked and thin.  I used perhaps a cup total for this batch, which is more than I usually need but my ingredients may have been dryer than normal.  Just add a small amount at a time, as needed.  Don’t measure because the amount you need will vary based on a lot of factors.

When it’s ready, mix in a bowl if needed, and turn out into a baking pan.  You want the mix to be about 3/4 or 2/3 inches deep.  My pan was enamelled so I did nothing to it but you may want to lightly oil a less smooth pan.

Bar mix ready to go into the oven

I baked at 250*F for about an hour.  I prefer lower temps (150*F) for longer periods of time but of course I waited until evening of the night before the Fair contest to start these.  Check often for burning (if you bake at a higher temp, they are easy to overcook).  At lower temps you may need to flip them part way through to dry out the bottoms.

They came out perfect.  When I use less cashew and bake at a lower temperature I get more a fudge-like bar.  These surprised me by coming out cakey.  In fact, Michael just assumed I used flour.  They tasted like they had flour to me too.  They were still great, even if they weren’t what I expected.

I chose the six best bars for the contest.  The recipe made about 3 times this amount.  Those were good sized bars too.

Finished bars ready for Fair delivery

So…did I win anything?  Nope.  I wasn’t really expecting to.  Aside from a touch of sugar in the sunbutter, the only sweetener was the dates.  These weren’t really dessert bars, they were snack bars.  And if you were a judge tasting cookie after cookie and suddenly came upon a low-sugar one, it would taste flat to you.  I think they were delicious (and so did Miriam and Michael) but they weren’t really right for this contest.

I don’t know where I fell but there were 12 entries in the “bar cookie: other” category and I didn’t get one of the 5 prizes.

County Fair display case

These bars were great for just eating but even better heated up in the toaster oven and served under vanilla ice cream (vegan of course).

A few months ago, a new cafe opened in downtown Petaluma near Walnut Park.  Foodies in the know thrill because the owners are family of the owners of a now-defunct Turkish restaurant in Santa Rosa, Real Gryo, which I never had the pleasure of trying.  Real Doner is a small place with a deli feel.  There are a few indoor tables and a few outdoor tables, but your best bet is to take your food a block away to the park and eat there under the trees.

Real Doner (Gyro)
307 F St, Petaluma, CA 94952
(707) 765-9555
Open daily: 7 am – 7 pm

Real Doner Counter

I figured I would have hummus and other standard Middle Eastern fare, while my family and the friend who joined us would have meat dishes (the ones reviewers were raving about).  To my dismay though, the owner informed me that they added mayonnaise to the hummus and baba ganoush.  Even a touch of mayo is a no-no because Miriam reacts to the tiniest bit of eggs, including when I eat it.

As we spoke further, I discovered food allergies also ran in her family and she turned out to be very knowledgeable about how to put together substitutes.  I ordered the eggplant salad and falafel but she made me an amazing meal that didn’t feel like second best at all.

Falafel with salad

I got five large beautiful falafels, perfectly cooked in oil that does not see egg or wheat batter, pickled red cabbage, cucumbers, and a lettuce and tomato salad.  My only regret was not getting several containers of the delicious vegan tahini dressing.

Eggplant salad

The menu claims the eggplant salad is pureed, but this one was certainly not.  Perhaps the best eggplant salad I’ve ever had.  Cooked just so with a hint of heat.

Michael ordered the chicken shish kebab and Miriam ate from both our plates.

Chicken shish kebab

Our friend got the Cigarette Borek and some lovely looking bread.

Cigarette Borek

Bread

I didn’t taste the meat or bread dishes but the others liked them very much.

My only complaint about the place is that service is extremely slow.  I think it took about half an hour to get our food after ordering, even though the only other people in there were served a couple minutes after we arrived.  Everything is made to order and is extremely fresh, but I hope they find a way to speed things up without cutting corners.  The long wait is part of why I haven’t been back yet, though the food is calling to me.

Menu, outer page

Menu, inner page

Reviews:

Chowhound Places
Chowhound: Real Doner (Gyro) is destination worthy … amazing great
Chowhound: Real Gyro Re-Opens

Here I am at 19 weeks, 4 1/2 months and well into my 2nd trimester.  I keep asking Michael “do I look pregnant in this? (as opposed to just fat) and, well, judge for yourself.

Cyndi at 19 weeks (with Melanie in the background)

Things are going pretty well.  At 17 weeks I saw my wonderful family doctor for the last time (she’s switching to another practice, far away and doesn’t take my insurance).  I told her I was taking her up on her ultrasound offer.  I couldn’t stand it anymore, tell me how many babies are inside me!

Hooray! the answer is one.  One baby and one humongous placenta (which she said could very well account for why my uterus measures 3-4 weeks bigger than it should.  This was a low-level ultrasound with a dinky little screen so forget about finding out gender or anything else, aside from seeing that the heart was beating and the placenta was not over the cervix (very good).  We also saw little arms and legs kicking away.  We’ll have the full hospital clinic ultrasound next month.

I had mixed feelings about the idea of twins.  This is almost certainly my last pregnancy and so it’s my only chance to have 3 children.  But, really, all I felt was relief when I found out there was just one.  Much easier pregnancy and birth and not as difficult to take care of one baby as it is two.  Michael was freaking at the very idea of twins, so to say he’s relieved is an understatement.  Miriam says she would have loved twins (like some close friends of hers) but she wanted a boy and a girl.

I still get tired a lot but don’t have many full-out fatigue episodes.  I’m not able to exercise regularly again yet but I can do some.  I’ve been getting some edema (water retention) in my lower legs but my blood pressure is totally normal.  I had a lot of edema (and normal BP) with Miriam too. I’ve gained 5 lbs so far.

Below is Miriam’s favorite position, especially in the morning.  She comes and finds me on the computer, nurses in my lap, then insists on being carried to the couch.  Though between my growing belly and her growing body, I can’t really carry her much anymore.  And nursing is hurting more and more, especially after I shower, so I don’t do much beyond her morning snuggle time.  She says I still have milk though (that will likely change).

Miriam's favorite position

Once a month, our synagogue, Ner Shalom in Cotati, California, holds a family Shabbat dinner.  Sometimes it’s a potluck, other times they order platters from a local restaurant.  A few months ago, I volunteered to do the cooking.  I had two motives here: 1) I love to cook for large groups of people.  Seriously, I do.  As long as I’m not the one cleaning up.  2) I wanted the opportunity to have a meal there that was 100% safe for my daughter, with no chance of cross-contamination.

I got my chance May 8, 2009.  I announced the meal as vegan and gluten-free (the other meals there are vegetarian or vegetarian plus some fish), planned a menu, and set to work.  I quickly realized that, while my cooking skills are pretty good, my catering skills are quite lacking.  It didn’t help that we were never sure exactly how many people would show up (RSVPs are due two days before, but they’re flexible).

I planned for 20, got 18 (equivalent of 15 since several were small children), and cooked enough for 30.  Whoops.

A few folks lingering over dinner

After many years of cooking Passover Seders for upwards of 20 people, I have learned the trick of saving complex or new recipes for smaller venues.  Everything I made was simple to moderate and something I’d cooked many times before.

The Menu:

Chili-Cornbread Casserole
Roasted vegetables (red beets, golden beets, rutabaga, & leek with rosemary)
Green salad (romaine, cherry tomato, daikon radish, carrot, orange cauliflower, & mustard balsamic dressing)
Fresh strawberries with cashew cream
Challah (from masa) with sesame seed & oatmeal

Chili Cornbread Casserole

The good news is the food all came out fabulous.  No mishaps at all.  I can’t tell you how relieved I was about that.  The bad news is we had some disasters with the timing.  One of the disadvantages to cooking a large meal outside of your home is that you tend to forget things.  Well, Michael and I left a box of miscellaneous items behind.  Unfortunately, they were essential items for both of the dishes I had to finish up and bake in the synagogue kitchen.

Michael running home to get it set us back about 45 minutes, and we were already running 15 minutes late.  So everything was pushed back an hour (which means at least my time estimates were dead on).  The challah also took longer than expected, even though I had deliberately made them thinner than usual so they’d cook faster.

Salad and strawberries

All in all, I’d call it a success.  The next time I get the chance to cook for a crowd, I’ll have a clearer idea of amounts.  And hopefully the timing will work out better.

Roasted root vegetables

For anyone interested in the amounts of ingredients I used and what it all cost, check out my blog entry Catering Lessons: The Cost of Cooking for 30.

I recently had the chance to cook a Shabbat dinner (Friday night ritual) for my synagogue.  You can find all the details at Shabbat Dinner for 20.  Because I’m being reimbursed for ingredients, I kept careful track of my expenses.

You may wonder about the two titles.  Did I cook for 20 or 30?  Well, that’s part of learning to cater meals, judging amounts.  I goofed big time.  Because of late RSVP’s and walk in’s, I wasn’t too sure exactly how many would come, so I planned for 20 (knowing I’d have enough for 25 if need be).  We got 10 adults, one teenager, 5 children age 5 and under, and 2 more adults who weren’t present for the dinner but were given care packages of food.  I’m counting this as the equivalent of 15 adults.

With most of the food, I made twice as much as necessary.  Had I made half as much total, we would have run out of most things, but people would have been able to eat large amounts and been satisfied.  As it was, we all ate very well and took home enormous amounts of leftovers.

Below, I give costs for everything I used.  Some are exact, some are estimated.  Pretty much everything is organic and good quality.  I didn’t skimp.  The savings comes from making things from scratch.  I did one huge Whole Foods run two days before the dinner.  A few items were in my pantry so those say “est” after them.  Soy flour we had to get from a local store.  The strawberries are from the amazing Carstensen Farms here in Petaluma (organic and picked the morning of the dinner).  The masa is organic and made from whole corn in Sonoma by Primavera.  The olive oil for cooking is Star from Costco and the olive oil in the salad dressing is an organic brand I get in 55 gallon drums for my soap business.

Chili Cornbread Casserole

On my blog entry for this recipe, I have a single and a double recipe.  I made a quadruple one here.  We finished the larger of the two pans.  Now, this does save well and is almost as good cold as it is hot.

The big splurge here was the dried tomatoes, which I got to reduce any trace ingredients that might cause problems for people.  They came from the Whole Foods olive bar, but Costco jarred tomatoes are much cheaper and you can also buy plain dried tomatoes in some stores’ bulk sections or from Trader Joe’s.

Note that this recipe fed 30 people with several sides.  If you’re serving it to your family as is, or with a small side salad, count on needing two servings per person.

Dried beans (1/2 black, 1/2 adzuki) 6 cups (2 2/3 lbs) $4.30
Olive oil 4 TB or so $0.25 (est)
Vegetable mix total 8 cups $4.32
– Yellow onion 2 (1.9 lb) ($2.83)
– Carrot 3/8 lb ($0.73 .37)
– Celery .45 lb ($0.76)
Cumin 2 2/3 TB $0.94
Oregano, fresh 4 tsp (from my garden, free)
Chilies, dried 4 large $0.50 (est)
Sun-dried tomatoes pint deli container $8.81
Tofu 24 oz $2.84
Rice wine/vinegar 4 TB $0.25 (est)
Lemon juice 4 TB $0.25 (est)
Soy flour 2 cups $1.80
Brown rice flour 2 cups (.66 lb) $1.18
Xanthan gum 2 tsp $0.10 (est)
Cornmeal 4 cups $2.35
Baking soda 2 tsp $0.10 (est)
Baking powder 2 TB $0.10 (est)
Apple cider vinegar 1 cup $0.85 (est)
Soy milk 2 cups $0.87
Sunflower oil 12 oz $3.80

Grand total: $33.25
Per serving (feeds 30): $1.11

Roasted Vegetables

This is a 14 lb batch.  We ate about half.  Leftovers last a couple of days.

Keep costs down by buying at farmer’s markets or on sale.  You can roast a wide variety of vegetables.  Beets and rutabagas run $2/lb at my local Whole Foods and leeks run $3 with some sales down to $2.  When choosing based on cost, keep in mind waste in preparation (almost none for the root vegetables, quite a bit for the leeks) as well as shrinkage during cooking (moderate for root vegetables or cauliflower, a fair amount for leeks and cabbage).

Red and golden beet 6.83 lbs $13.59
Rutabaga 6.71 lbs $13.35
Leeks 6 large (2.47 lb ($7.39) at WF plus some leftovers from a local farm) $10 (est)
Olive oil & celtic salt $1 (est)
Rosemary free (from my garden, would be $2 in store)

Grand total: $37.94
Per serving (feeds 30): $1.26

Green Salad

The base is 4 heads of romaine lettuce.  This made 2 large bowls.  I only put dressing on one of the bowls since dressing will make salad go limp and gross pretty quickly when leftover.  We ate about half.

Watch the cost of lettuce.  It can vary a lot.  It’s usually sold per head and the size of the head varies even more than the per head cost does.  I was lucky and these were large heads on sale.  You can use any type of lettuce you want, or other greens.

Romaine lettuce 4 heads $6
Cherry tomatoes clamshell container $2.99
Daikon radish .76 lb $0.75
Orange cauliflower 1 head (1.63 lb) $4.87
Carrot 3/8 lb $0.36
Dressing (with salt) 3 cups $6.66
– Olive oil 2 cups ($3.25)
– Balsamic vinegar 3/4 cup (est) ($1.91)
– Amy’s Mustard 3-4 oz (est) ($1.50)

Grand total: $21.63
Per serving (feeds 30): $0.72

Strawberries with Cashew Cream

I got a full flat of strawberries (12 baskets).  The cost is slightly higher if you buy less.  We used 6 baskets.  The cashew cream was a big miscalculation.  We only ate 1/4 of it at best.  The problem with the cashew cream is it’s hard to judge if you’re going to get a thick or a thin batch.  This was thin.  It tasted great but no one wanted to take very much.

Strawberries 1 flat (12 baskets) $28
Cashew (raw) 6 cups (1.97 lb) $15.74
Lemon 2 $1
Vanilla 2 TB $0.50 (est)
Stevia & salt $0.50 (est)

Grand total: $45.74
Per serving (feeds 30): $1.52

Challah

I bought 10 lbs of masa and used 5 (on purpose so I’d have some for myself later).  I made two trays of challahs and we ate 1/3 to 1/2 of them.  They weren’t ready until well into the meal.  I suspect we would have eaten far more had they been ready on time (before the meal, just after the blessing for the wine).  Note that the reason for the oatmeal is so they contain one of the 5 grains (the rest have gluten) so we can say the blessing over bread.

Masa 5 lbs $7.50
Oatmeal, sesame, salt 2 cups $3 (est)

Grand total: $10.50
Per serving (feeds 30): $0.35

Total costs for entire meal: $149.06
Per person (30): $4.97

Hours spent on meal, about 10.
8 hours prep work (not counting shopping)
1 hour work on site
1 hour cleanup (which I didn’t do, but my husband did a fair amount)

If I were to charge for my time, I’d tack on $200 to the total.
That would make the total $349.06.
And the per person cost a mere $11.64.
Not bad for an organic gourmet meal (meat doesn’t usually cost more, though organic meat would).
Fortunately, my time is a donation.

The synagogue charges $10 per adult, $5 for ages 5-12, and free for under 5.

Well, I hit my 2nd trimester a little over a week ago.  I’m now 14 1/2 weeks along.  The pregnancy sickness is still with me but the worst of it is *knock wood* over.  I still get stomach pain as my primary gut issue.  I’ve also been eating like crazy, lots and lots of very fresh healthy food.  So far I’ve gained 2 lbs from my pre-pregnancy weight.

I carry big and have looked seriously pregnant for a long time.  I look about 5 months now, not barely 3 months.  But I’m far enough along that I love it.  Aside from the obvious, that was my favorite thing about being pregnant last time: I actually look thinner.  I’m an “apple” so I have a ton of excess weight in my gut but, when I’m pregnant, it blends with the baby bump and all looks like part of the same thing.  I don’t look skinny or anything but I do look like I’ve dropped a couple of dress sizes.

Cyndi at 14 weeks

I chose a midwife and have seen her twice now as we plan for a home birth.  The only negative is she isn’t very scent-free, though she’s been trying.  I can’t be in her house at all because of new carpet and fragrances.  Fortunately, she lives in the same town as me and is willing to do the visits at my house, which I greatly appreciate.

She was here at 11 weeks and used the Doppler to try to hear the baby’s heartbeat and no luck.  But she heard “placental circulation” which was good enough for me.  Plus a couple days before that I saw my MD who did a quickie internal exam and said my uterus was big like it should be.

When the midwife was here last week (normally early visits are a month apart but we started late and she wanted to give me a chance early on to hear the heart) we did the Doppler again and got a heartbeat, which was really cool, though not a surprise 🙂  I got Michael on speaker phone and he was able to hear it too.

My uterus is measuring big (as it did a couple weeks ago).  About a centimeter higher than it “should” be.  With my last pregnancy I was carrying so big I was sure I must have twins but my uterus measurements were always dead on.  This time I’m even bigger (despite weighing slightly less) and my uterus is actually “too big.”  Coupled with the higher than average HCG doubling blood tests, the midwife confirmed my suspicion that this means an increased chance for twins.  I really had to push her though because she didn’t want to quantify it.  Finally I said, okay is my chance of having twins 25%, 50%, or 75%?  She said 25%.

This is my last pregnancy almost certainly so having twins would be great because it means I can have 3 kids.  But overall, neither Michael or I really want twins.  We have friends with them and, while they’re both amazing kids and they play with each other and all, we’ve seen first hand just how much work it is.  And they have 2 parents who work at home and no other child.  The very idea of twins freaks Michael out.  I would be okay either way I think but I’m still hoping for just one.  At least if it is twins I don’t have to worry about the birth.  My midwife will still do a home birth with twins, as long as they’re at least 36 weeks.  [As a side note, no you can’t really tell from the heartbeat how many there are, not at this gestational age anyway.]

So far everything looks good.  I have a lot of sudden-onset bouts of tiredness, as well as milder longer ones, and haven’t been able to exercise for a while, but overall I’m decent (you know, the usual stuff).  My lower back and hips have been hating me for a while now and I have to be careful how I sleep.  I can’t be on my stomach anymore (I don’t sleep like that; I mean for anything) and being on my back is starting to get unpleasant (not from cutting off circulation, just uncomfortable).  Wish I could get weekly bodywork.

Miriam has just been thrilled and talks to the baby (“does it have ears yet?”) and kisses my belly regularly.  At 11 weeks, the midwife gave her a plastic doll that is the size and proportions of a 12 week fetus.  She played with it, pretending to carry it in her tummy.  I told her a bit what birth was like (contractions then pushing the baby out) and she loves to emulate the experience. I explained that the pushing was kind of like a difficult poop.  Michael chimed in with “but the poop is THIS BIG” and oh did Miriam’s eyes get wide.

She’s now decided she wants to be a midwife and she is going to deliver the baby herself (“me and you mommy”).  Though she agrees the actual midwife can be there too.  Michael said, you know, when the baby comes out it’s covered in blood and goo and stuff.  Miriam answered “that’s okay, I’ll wear short sleeves.”  She’s also requested birth videos.  The ones the midwife lent us either didn’t show the birth (personal DVD) or were scratched.  So we’ll be looking around (can’t do online video well on this computer).

It’s going to be an interesting ride…

I was at Whole Foods the other day with crimini mushrooms on my shopping list.  These are the brown mushrooms that look very much like the common white button mushroom.  They tend to cost a bit than white mushrooms but they’re actually cheaper.  How’s that?  The white ones are mostly water, so they cook down to almost nothing.  The criminis cook down too but hold their volume a lot better (though watch out for the big farm criminis (like you get at Costco) which have more water than the good ones).

Another little known fact is that criminis are nothing more than portabellas picked early.  They don’t have the same rich flavor a portabella has but they still taste like something (unlike the bland white ones).  Portabellas run about $2 more per pound than criminis.  Except the other day when they were on sale for the same price.  So I snagged a bagful.

I often use criminis to make pesto stuffed mushrooms but I wanted to use these portabellas for a main dish.

So, I washed them, carefully pulled off the stems (rock them back and forth), cut the ends off the stems (only necessary if they aren’t trimmed before arriving at the store…the difference is easy to tell: untrimmed ones have dirt on them) and threw the stems into the food processor.

I put the mushrooms cap down on a dry baking tray and popped them in the oven at a medium temperature (300*F or so).  Then I turned back to the food processor.  I put in some leftover pan-fried tofu (I would have used fresh tofu but we had a big container of the cooked), a couple stalks of celery, and a large portion of sun-dried tomatoes in oil.  I had to add a fair bit of water to get the consistency right.  Then I salted to taste (do this after adding water).

At this point, 10-15 minutes had gone by so I took the mushrooms out of the oven and picked them up one at a time to fill (this is why I said a dry tray).  After you fill them, put some oil on the tray and place them back, cap up, for baking.

Stuffed portabella mushrooms ready for baking

Pop them in the oven (about 300*F) and cook until the top is slightly brown and the mushrooms are soft.  The time will vary by the size of the mushrooms and the filling but these took around half an hour.

Now, if you’re thinking…but I don’t like sun-dried tomatoes, but I’m allergic to soy.  Don’t worry.  This is a very flexible recipe.  If you can call it a recipe.  Use whatever you like.  Meat, cheese, nuts/seeds, or something that doesn’t have protein if it’s a side dish.  Olives would be nice, or fresh herbs, or vegetables. The filling should have good strong flavor to complement the mellowness of the mushrooms.

Just make sure it’s thick enough to hold its shape with baking and serving but thin enough to spread.  And the filling should be fully cooked.  It only goes in the oven long enough to heat through and to set (or for cheese to melt).

While these were in the oven, I made a quick salad with chopped romaine lettuce, cucumber, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

They were delicious.  Great cold the next day too.

Portabellas with salad

Hello all!  It’s been a while since I’ve posted here regularly.  I blame it entirely on technical problems.  Has nothing to do with me whatsoever.  *ducking*  My camera went bad and I replaced it, then had horrible problems with the disc, replaced that, had the same problem with the new disc (different brand), realized the new camera makes discs useless when doing a low-level format, reformatted the regular way, seem to have fixed the problem. *cross fingers*

But then I was out of the habit of making regular posts.  It’s not for lack of material; I’ve got info for a good dozen posts, at least.  Just my own rhythms.

To get things going again, here’s an update.  This is what I look like now:

Cyndi at 11 weeks, with Miriam

What do I look…4? 5? months pregnant in that photo?  Actually, that’s all belly.  There is a baby but it’s neatly tucked away out of sight.  I’m an “apple” to begin with and then you add first trimester stomach discomfort so wearing tight clothes (like jeans with a belt) or even holding in my stomach is intensely unpleasant.  Upshot: I carry big.  With Miriam it was like a mountain, and she came out less than 6 lbs.

I am currently 11 weeks along (that’s nearly 3 months for you week-phobic folks) and due shortly before Halloween.  And, yes, I just had a birthday and turned 45.  No, that’s not a typo.

Miriam couldn’t be happier.  When we first told her she got all giddy, hugged me tight, and kissed me on the lips.  She insists it’s going to be a little sister, but of course we haven’t any idea at this point.

Stay tuned for updates as we have them.

I’m always on the lookout for high-protein, lowcarb, vegan, and gluten-free recipes that don’t have soy.  None of us react to soy but it makes up a lot of our protein foods and I want more variety.  So I was thrilled when a friend told me about a recipe for nut burgers she found and made for her family.

The original comes from Victoria’s Health and uses eggs.  I’ve made the recipe twice now with flax goo (for 2 eggs: 2 tablespoons ground flax and 1/2 cup water in a large glass cup, nuke for 1-2 minutes, let cool) instead of eggs and it comes out great.

Nut Burgers

1 cup of walnuts or pecans (I used walnuts)
1 cup of sunflower seeds
½ cup sesame seeds or hemp seeds (I used hemp)
½ cup flax seeds (whole or ground, I used whole)
½ cup oats
One bunch fresh parsley
1 tablespoon soy sauce (tamari)
2 eggs or egg equivalents
2 cups cooked beans (I used 1 1/4 cans of various types including black, kidney, and garbanzo)
2 tablespoons tahini or nut butter (I used cashew butter the first time and left it out the second)

The recipe also calls for 3 cloves of garlic, which I leave out, and suggests optional additions of cooked vegetables or rice, which I haven’t tried.

I add a pinch of salt and a teaspoon or so of chipotle powder for flavor.

Recipe makes about 14 burgers, which is perfect for 2 big dinners for 2 adults and a small child.

The actual making of the burgers is quite simple (assembling the ingredients is the hardest part): dump into a food processor and push the on button.  Form into patties.  Cook that day or freeze on a cookie sheet for later use.

Nut Burgers formed and waiting to be cooked or frozen

There are a few bumps though.

I have a pretty rocking food processor but it’s just a bit too small for the entire recipe.  The first time I made it, the parsley didn’t get processed very well and I had to pull out strands of it and some of the beans stayed whole (you can see this in the picture above).

The mix from the top half of the processor formed easily but the bottom half was insanely sticky.  I tested them carefully though and found no difference in how they cooked or tasted or in the final texture.

The second time I made them I added a bit more liquid and pulled out processed parts into a bowl to make room for more ingredients and mix later.  The bowl was great but the liquid was a mistake.  The burgers were even stickier than before and didn’t form nicely into patties, though they were still okay.  The taste wasn’t as intense but they were still good.

I like to cook them with plenty of oil on medium high heat, so the outside browns a little.  I was afraid the inside would be gooey but it was really good and the whole thing was quite similar in texture to the Amy’s Bistro burgers we often have.  When Michael cooks them, he prefers less oil on low heat.  The insides come out the same as mine but the outsides are like the insides and not browned.

Frozen burgers came out just as well as fresh ones, so this is a good recipe to make ahead.

Variations:

This is a pretty adaptable recipe.  You can make all sorts of changes and still have it come out good.  The original author recommends dried parsley if you don’t have fresh, or you could use another herb.  If you can’t eat nuts, try pine nuts instead of walnuts/pecans.  If you want it 100% soy-free, use any salty sauce in lieu of the soy sauce, or try water and salt.  To lower carbs, you can use edamame instead of beans, or use a cooked vegetable to round out the texture.  I don’t know what would happen if you left out the oats but I suspect the answer is not much.

Serve:

I like my burgers on a plate with mayonnaise, mustard, avocado if available, and plenty of pickled and/or cooked vegetables.  Michael skips the mayo and uses plenty of spicy mustard.  Miriam sometimes likes hers with catsup and prefers her burger cut and and her condiments on the side so she can dip.  Then of course there’s the usual burger in a bun.

I’m very happy with this recipe and it will be one of our staples for a while I’m sure.

Burgers dressed & on a plate

It’s Christmas Day and time for our annual tradition of Jews eat Asian food on Christian holidays (why? you ask…because we get the day off and nothing else is usually open, though that’s changed in recent years).  Normally we go down to Todai, a chain of buffets with huge amounts of decent sushi and other Japanese and Chinese food.  But the closest one is an hour away and recently changed ownership (less sushi & seafood, more meat, more money).

So this year we decided to go to Gourmet Garden, a non-chain Japanese/Chinese/American buffet with a smaller selection at half the price.  The real plus? it’s 3 miles from our house.

Gourmet Garden Buffet
100 S. McDowell Blvd., Petaluma, CA 94954
(707) 778-3899
http://www.gourmetgardenbuffet.com/
Open: 7 days, Lunch 11am-4pm, Dinner 4pm-9pm
Party room, party trays, and takeout available
Lunch $8.29 (kids 6-10 $5.79, kids 2-5 $3.79)
Dinner (M-Th) $11.99 (kids 6-10 $7.79, kids 2-5 $4.79)
Dinner (F 4-9pm, Sat, Sun, Holiday all day) $12.49 (kids 6-10 $7.79, kids 2-5 $4.79)
Kids under 2 free, Seniors over 65 10% off

We went once before and I came away disappointed, so was reluctant to go again.  On this trip, I realized I had misremembered.  The food is actually pretty good.  Everything is made fresh and tastes like something you’d get in a home kitchen.  The disappointment was simply that most of the food has meat or egg or both and that doesn’t leave much I can eat.  There are several safe dishes to be sure, but not the full variety you expect from a buffet.

Let’s start with the sushi.  At Gourmet Garden, the sushi station is the heart and soul of the place.

Raymond the sushi chef

A young smiling man (his picture doesn’t do him justice) named Raymond creates both standard and masterful sushi and sashimi dishes with the few ingredients he has in front of him. Unfortunately, each and every one of the sushi pieces has wasabi mayonnaise, which means Miriam poison (eggs).

Raymond though is more than happy to make sushi to order.  He offered Miriam a vegetable maki roll but she said nope, she wanted one with raw fish, and chose the salmon.  He also made me a maki roll with eel and pickled turnip and some salmon nigiri (there’s a sushi FAQ with pictures so you can sound as educated as I do).

Salmon nigiri sushi and shrimp dumplings

Sushi is my favorite part of these buffets and it’s hard not to just be able to choose what I want and put it on my plate (some of the creations were just gorgeous too).  So I limited myself to 3 special orders (16 small pieces, which Miriam ate several of) and enjoyed the rest of the food offerings.

My usual way of working a buffet is to grab an employee (not a server, as they rarely know anything about the food) and get a rundown of what is and isn’t safe for me to eat.  Unfortunately, not a single one of the buffet workers I asked spoke English.  Several of them spoke Spanish (which I also speak) but were only guessing about the food ingredients.

Raymond to the rescue again.  He knew how every dish was made.  He was so knowledgeable, in fact, that I asked if he owned the restaurant.  No, he’s just the sushi chef, but he goes through the kitchen to see how all the food is made and then retains it all somehow.  After I got permission to take his picture for my review, he asked me to tell my readers that he’s looking to find a young American girlfriend.  A sweet man who knows how to cook, not a bad catch.

Plate of sushi and hot foods

I ended up with several plates of good food.  Above we have (from top and clockwise): salt & pepper shrimp (very good but messy), green beans (moderately spiced), seaweed salad (one of my favorites), family style tofu (I had a craving for braised cabbage as we drove to the restaurant and this dish satisfied it, the tofu was cooked perfectly too), eel maki, and shrimp with vegetables.

On the plate below we have: steamed cod (the only miss of the night…it was cooked adequately but was too bland, it would have be good with a spicy sauce or mixed into another dish), broiled oysters (delicious if you get them fresh and choose the bigger juicier ones), and more family style tofu.

Plate of oysters, fish, and tofu

Miriam asked for, surprise surprise, chicken and I found two she could eat: teriyaki and 5 spice. She also had noodles, sushi, fruit, and several pieces of marinated sashimi, before deciding it was too spicy.

Miriam polishing off several plates of food

I didn’t ask about dairy but I suspect most of the dishes were dairy-free.  There was cheese in the salad bar and butter in some of the American dishes. I didn’t bother to ask about gluten either.  Though, except for the noodles and dumplings, I would guess that the only gluten we ate was soy sauce (which was in almost every hot dish).  A few choices were breaded but they all had egg in them so we didn’t eat them anyway.

Because it’s a buffet and you can ignore rice and other starches, you can eat here lowcarb.  Sashimi, seaweed, vegetables, tofu, a salad bar, meat, and soups.  Some of the sauces might be a bit on the carby side for those who need to keep their carb counts way down. Vegetarians have good choices too with a lot of the lowcarb items plus rice, noodles, vegetable sushi, and bread.

All of the desserts appeared to have dairy and eggs and wheat.  They had some (out of season) fresh fruit and several canned fruits including lychees.

Fruit bowls

The restaurant is all on one level with easy wheelchair access to tables an the buffet area.  The buffet stations themselves are a bit hard to reach from a sitting position, but no worse than any salad bar.  Nothing was burning inside and there was no noticeable propane or other smells, aside from the yummy food.  We did not check out the bathrooms.

With some careful navigation, Gourmet Garden can accommodate a variety of dietary restrictions.  For those with none, you’ll find a decent variety of hot and cold dishes, all fresh and inviting.

(Note: Prices & website updated as of 9/18/09.)

Miriam has always been more of a director than an actor.  Since she was old enough to hold a camera, she would grab one at any opportunity.  A child’s digital camera is a promised present (anyone know of one that is kid proof, has a display screen, and is under $30?) but, until then, she has been borrowing mine.  My old Nikon camera wasn’t very kid friendly since you had to turn it this way and that, and keep it in the case in-between shots. But my new one (a $100 Canon A590IS) is much easier.  Miriam already knows how to turn it on and off (no twisting and the lens cap opens and closes automatically) as well as how to flip the switch between picture taking and viewing.  She even uses the wrist strap.

Some of her pictures are quite good and a few are pretty amazing.  Though for every good one, there are 50 shots of her toes, the floor, or somebody’s butt (one of her photographic obsessions…the other one being taking awkwardly posed pictures of herself that I delete directly from the camera, lest we get arrested).

None of the photos below are edited in any way.  I often crop, adjust lighting, remove red eye, and so forth for blog pictures, but not here.  Miriam is 3 years and 9 months old.  She’ll turn 4 at the end of February.

Being smaller is sometimes an advantage.  The unusual angle makes the picture. Compare this picture of Michael cutting pumpkins to the cropped and lightened version I used in the blog entry for pumpkin puree.

Michael cutting pumpkins

Miriam colored the book with chalk then composed a picture documenting it.

Miriam's aunt Connie holding a Clifford the Big Red Dog coloring

This isn’t the prettiest shot but Miriam loves her computer pictures.  And it’s one of the few photos of me that isn’t awful.

Cyndi at the computer

The cats are some of Miriam’s favorite subjects.

Hope waiting for the door to open

Miriam and her cousin Jaiden took about 100 shots with my camera the day after Thanksgiving.  This is Miriam’s best.

Cousin Jaiden

Household objects are a common theme.  My parents brought this ceramic lion home after a trip to Europe in the 1960’s.

Lion face

This styrofoam box has been colored, pitted, used as a hat, and, of course, filled with rocks.

Rocks and rubber band in a styrofoam box

One in a long series of Melanie photos (she being the most patient of the kitties).

Melanie on the couch

This is my favorite of all of Miriam’s photos.

Closeup of Melanie

Turning the camera in on herself.

Miriam self portrait

My brother, his girlfriend, and my 10 year old niece came to visit us and shop at the local outlet mall.  Last time I saw them all (at the Marin County Fair the 4th of July) I brought a huge picnic lunch for everyone but this visit I decided not to cook.  I’d been wanting to try a new local Napalese/Indian place since it opened last year.  They have a lunch buffet, but the timing didn’t work out, so we had dinner instead.

Namaste Cafe
1390 No McDowell Blvd., Ste, A
Petaluma CA 94954
(707) 664-9245

Open Monday through Saturday – Lunch 11:30 am – 2:30 pm, Dinner 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm. Lunch buffet is $8.95 ($5 for kids) and dinner entrees run around $9-14.  Lunch buffet $8.95 ($5 for children).

My brother and his girlfriend got two chicken dishes, tandoori and tikka masala ($14), both of which they liked very much.  Miriam had some too and kept asking for more of the masala sauce spooned over rice.

Chicken Tandoori

Tikka masala is a protein of choice buried in a fragrant fenugreek sauce.  Tandoori has no sauce at all and the protein is baked in a clay oven then served on a sizzling hot platter with some vegetables.  Michael and I got the mahi mahi tandoori and the fish was ever so slightly underdone, but still flaky and flavorful.  That iron platter stayed hot for the entire meal and the vegetables left behind burned.  At that point it occurred to me is what we should have done is to have let it cook for a couple more minutes then quickly transferred it all to our plates.

Mahi Mahi Tandoori

I asked the staff about egg in their food and, fortunately for us, they don’t use very much.  Only in the naan (bread).  They told me most of their dishes have cream added and all of their breads are wheat-based.  Because Miriam and I can both get away with occasional dairy and gluten, I didn’t worry about it.  But another reviewer mentioned getting dishes made without cream, so it seems dairy-free is possible.

We started off with complementary crackers and a tamarind dipping sauce.  They were light and crispy but had little flavor, despite being studded with spices.

Cousins eating crackers

We got ourselves some roti, which is a plain wheat grilled bread (we ordered it without butter, which is how it usually comes) but that turned out to be a mistake.  It was rather plain but hardened up just enough so you couldn’t soak up sauces with it.  The basmati rice with peas ($1.50) was delicious.  My brother’s family ordered aloo paratha ($3) which was a baked flatbread with potatoes and spices and raved about it all night.

Michael’s and my other dish was channa amchaur, a beautifully spiced chickpea dish with enough sauce to justify eating the perfect (but carby) rice.  I could have easily finished the bowl of it myself.

Chickpeas, rice, and bread

Michael had an Indian beer and my brother some chai tea.  We all skipped dessert.

The inside of the restaurant is warm and inviting with no scents except for the lovely ones coming from the kitchen.  Because the place is small, there is a single door to the outside and no way to sit away from the drafts.  It was cold outside and we had to wear our jackets during the meal to stay warm.  In summer it wouldn’t matter, and it has been unseasonably cold here (30’s and 40’s at night).  I didn’t check out the restroom.  The dining area is wheelchair accessible.

I do look forward to coming again but next time I want to try the lunch buffet.  Hopefully it will have more of those chickpeas.

Namaste Dinner

Other Reviews:

Chowhound Places
Chowhound Review Dec 2007
Chowhound Review May 2008

We spent Thanksgiving 2008 much like Thanksgiving 2007, at a potluck gathering at Ecology House in San Rafael, California.  Ecology House is the only HUD (US Government) low-income housing for people disabled with chemical sensitivities.  It has 11 apartments and a community room where residents host events, meetings, and parties.  The Environmental Health Network holds its monthly meetings there and they sponsor Thanksgiving, buying the turkey and other basics.

I’m afraid I was boring this year and brought exactly the same things I brought last year.  But, hey, why mess with success? Every dish was popular.  I picked some lovely greenery from my garden to put in vases and brought the following dishes:

Lemon cranberry sauce	Organic cranberry sauce made with lemon instead of orange.
Edamane salad with roasted red cabbage	Organic cold salad made with edamame and roasted red cabbage.
Pumpkin Pie	Organic vegan gluten-free pumpkin pie.
Cashew cream	Organic raw vegan cream made from cashews, lemon, stevia, and seasonings.

Okay, so this isn’t a classic Thanksgiving dish, but it’s mine.  To people eating turkey or other meat, it is a nice side dish. For a vegetarian, though, it’s a good way to get significant amounts of protein without filling up on starch.

This recipe disappears fast and gets raves (even from the meat-eaters).

I originally made it with red bell pepper and I love it that way, but I can’t justify buying bell peppers when they’re not in season. They’re very expensive, imported from far away, usually not organic, and rarely any good. So I use red cabbage as a substitute. It works well and provides a nice color contrast.

Recipe:

2 bags frozen shelled edamame (32 oz)
3 red bell peppers or 1/2 large red cabbage
2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar (estimate)
3 Tablespoons very good extra virgin olive oil (estimate)
Handful of fresh herbs, minced
Salt and pepper

To spread out the workload, you can make the vegetables the day before and leave them in a cold oven until you’re ready for them.

Peppers: Roast washed peppers whole in a 350*F oven for about an hour, turning several times. When peppers are cool enough to handle, remove seeds and stem and cut into strips, about 1″ long.

Cabbage: Cut cabbage in half, remove core, and slice in to long thin strips, then cut the strips in half so they are 1-3″ long. Roast dry (or with a touch of olive oil) in a 350*F oven until very dehydrated but not brown.  Stir often.

Slicing raw cabbage

Boil the edamame according to directions, drain.

While still hot, toss the soybeans in a bowl with olive oil, then vinegar, salt and pepper.  Add the vegetables at any point.

Cool edamame on counter then add finely chopped herbs, I used parsley, sage, lemon thyme, and oregano.

Put in fridge, serve chilled.

Nutritional Information:

The edamame alone is:
120 grams protein
96 grams total carbs
60 grams fiber
36 grams usable carbs

The rest of the ingredients will add basically no protein and a small number of carbs (maybe 10g at most). This recipe makes enough to serve a dozen people at a potluck. If we take that to mean there are 12 servings total, each serving has 10 grams of protein and 3-4 grams of usable carbs.

Edamame salad with roasted cabbage

An earlier version of this recipe with red peppers was posted to my lowcarb website December 1, 2003. A version of the recipe with red cabbage was posted January 24, 2004.

Note: Recipe rewritten with new pictures 12/08.

I’m not going to pretend that making your own pumpkin puree is just as easy as opening a can and everyone should do it, but it is more satisfying, it tastes better, and does double duty using up your Halloween pumpkins.  And it’s not particularly hard.

Start with the right pumpkins.  Your fabulous jack-o-lantern is not a good candidate, not even a fresh, uncarved one.  Jack-o-lantern pumpkins are bred for looks.  The inside is watery and does not taste very good, though it’s technically edible.  Your compost pile or worm bin will love it though.

Our pumpkins came from the pumpkin farm across the street from us, the Peterson Farm.  They grow several varieties, including the jack-o-lantern type.  We got my favorite, the Cinderella Pumpkin (which Michael is cutting up below).  It gets its name from the deep color and carriage shape.  Plus a couple others, including the pumpkin pie pumpkin, which looks like a smaller version of a jack-o-lantern.

Instead of carving, we displayed them outside in our Sukkah and for Halloween.  They lasted just fine for a few weeks outside in the cold (not freezing) and rain.

Michael cuts a cinderella pumpkin in half

Wash the pumpkin and cut it into manageable chunks, then remove the seeds with a fork.  Roast the seeds later.  You can leave the gooey insides part (remove for jack-o-lanterns but don’t bother with other pumpkins). Cut the pumpkin sections further to good baking chunks (not too small or they’ll be a pain to peel).

Cutting the pumpkin into pieces (picture by Miriam Norwitz)

We had three pumpkins and made three big trays of pumpkin chunks.

Chunks of pumpkin ready for baking

Roast them until they are soft all the way through, but not burnt.  Pretty much any temperature will do.  Go ahead and put them in while cooking something else.  At 350*F, expect it to take about an hour.  But don’t go by timing: poke your pumpkin with a fork often.

Pumpkin fresh from the oven

The only hard parts are cutting up the really big pumpkins and taking the skin off (okay, removing the skin isn’t hard, but it’s tedious).  Do this after the pumpkins are cooked and when they are cool enough to handle (I left these out overnight).  Pull off any burnt parts and peel or slice away the skin.  Don’t worry about bits of skin that are left with the flesh.  A small amount is fine.

Important note: The juicier pumpkins will have liquid in the tray and drip more as you peel them.  Lightly wring out the flesh before using.  But don’t toss that liquid.  I save it (in the fridge or freezer) and use it as an easy soup stock.

Peeling cooked pumpkins

Take the pumpkin flesh and put it in the food processor.  In batches if you need to.  Process until smooth.  I put the various batches into one big bowl since there were different pumpkin varieties and I wanted to mix them.  This is the result.

Pumpkin Puree

Anything you don’t use right away, freeze.  It freezes very well with little to no loss in taste or texture.  I like to measure it into 2 cup containers (zipper bags work but I prefer Pyrex storage containers (that’s glass with a tight plastic lid) if I have enough of them).  That way I only have to defrost exactly what I need for a recipe.

Now what do you do with it?  Pumpkin pie is the obvious first choice.  I’ve also used it to thicken vegetable stews. When I could eat dairy and eggs, the puree was fabulous in pumpkin cheesecake.  Although most of us think dessert when we think pumpkin, the truth is its a wonderful savory food too, and it’s lowcarb, the lowest of all the winter squashes.

As for more things to do with pumpkin puree, I’m stuck.  If you have a good recipe, please link to it in the comments.  I still have 10 cups worth to use up.