I’m in awe of the crunch the leaves emit beneath the weight of my feet and how they blanket my lawn as if preparing it for a cold winter to come. I cannot bring myself to rake. I feel as if the earth needs this protective layer. Come springtime, I promise, they will be gone. But, for now, I must be grateful for their beauty and warmth. Don’t get me wrong, I think it is commendable how many people diligently rid their lawn of leaves once the trees are bare. It is just a difference of opinion and another perspective of aesthetics. Neither is right or wrong. Both are beautiful.
beef bourguignon
I eagerly anticipate the inevitable colder days to come, much colder days. Yes, even the negative twenty days in winter are thrilling. The wind chill factor and how jeans don’t protect you from it. The pain in your face from a subtle breeze in the air and how you have to wrap a scarf around everything except your eyes sometimes just to walk into the grocery store. I think growing up in Southern California made me appreciate these extreme changes in weather. But wait, I am getting ahead of myself, its fall and this season needs the attention it deserves. We can’t think of it as merely a prelude to freezing days to come.
Living most of my life in a climate where the weather remains at clear skies and seventy plus degrees gets old. I like variety. Minnesota has the most perfect seasons: each one exactly as it should be. We are very lucky indeed. As if overnight, everything went from green to red and yellow to brown. Bald eagles soar over highway 13, deer peer out from behind garages in New Ulm, and ripples of waves caress Lake Hanska from the increasing strength of the breeze.
I enjoy the misty mornings on my way to take the kids to the bus and the crackle of walking on the frosty grass. It’s great to pull out your boots and sweaters, hats and scarves, and get chances to wear them. With each new season comes inspiration for meals that suit the climate. We, Minnesotans, are lucky to have so much encouragement from Mother Nature to make a variety of delectable dishes. For fall, I think we are in need of some hearty comfort food. We should make food that will warm and nourish us from the inside out. Beef bourguignon does the trick. How could beef, garlic, spices and tons of red wine not taste delectable? It has to be fantastic. To make it even better, after you work on the initial preparation for about twenty minutes, you just leave it to work its magic for hours as you do what you want to do. Also, once you have a bit for dinner that first evening and put the rest in the fridge…it’s even tastier the next day, once all of the herbs and spices have had a good chance to truly get acquainted.
Apparently, the French used to make this dish as a way to make cheap and tough cuts of meat palatable by simmering it in wine for hours. However, beef bourguignon has become a staple in haute cuisine. This is because, although it is simple and inexpensive to make (this recipe cost me about ten dollars in ingredients), it is so delicious. You can make it in a Dutch oven or stock pot and allow it to simmer for hours while your home becomes bathed in the scents of a French cafe. You can make it in a crock pot and allow it to cook longer than two hours if you will be away from home. When you return to the smells of your kitchen, you will think you hired a French chef. Either way, your home will smell amazing while this stew cooks. You and whomever you are feeding will not believe your taste buds. Bon Appetite.
Beef bourguignon:
Time: 2 ½ hours
Serves: 6
2 ½ lbs. beef roast
¼ C. olive oil
1 1/2 C. flour
½ tsp. salt
½ tsp pepper
3 large potatoes, peeled and sliced thick
3 large carrots, sliced thick
6 cloves of garlic, sliced thick
2 C. button mushrooms, slice and sauté in 1 tsp. butter
4 bay leaves
2 Tbsp mustard seed
1 Tbsp dry thyme
1 Tbsp dry rosemary
1 bottle burgundy wine
2 ½ C beef broth
¼ C. sugar
Salt and pepper to taste
Cut beef into 1 ½ inch cubes. Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Mix flour with salt and pepper. Roll the cubes of beef into the flour. Pour olive oil into a pot and place on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, but not smoking, place the cubes of beef into the oil. You want to brown each side of the cube. Do not let the meat touch each other. You may have to brown it in stages. Once the cubes are browned on all sides, place on a paper napkin. Pour the rosemary, garlic, mustard seed, and thyme into the oil. Add the onion and carrots. Let these sauté for about five minutes. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pot. Add the broth and the sautéed mushrooms. Sprinkle the remaining flour (bout ½ C.) over the potatoes. Add the beef cubes and potatoes to the pot. Make sure everything is covered in liquid. If not, add more wine and broth to cover stew. Bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer with lid on for two hours. Take the lid off and skim off the oil which has accumulated on the top. Add sugar. Simmer uncovered for thirty minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Tags: Beef, Beef Bourguignon, comfort food, Fall, stews
Dan Buettner, author of the New York Times best selling book, The Blue Zone, travelled the world in search of Blue Zones. Blue Zones are places where the highest percentage of the population in relation to the rest of the world live the longest. They have more people living beyond 100 years than anywhere else on the planet.
Dan was curious to find out why or at least to find common elements in each place to help determine a key to longevity. The first place he discovered was Sardinia. Sardinia is an Italian island located 120 miles west of mainland Italy. It has a population of 1.6 million people. In all of the blue zones discovered by Buettner, there were common characteristics among the longest living populations. In addition to Sardinia, the other blue zones are: Okinawa, a U.S. city in Southern California (in particular the Seventh Day Adventists within this city) called Loma Linda, and Costa Rica. In all of the blue zones, Dan Buettner tried to determine key factors in the longevity of the lives of the inhabitants. The factors were very similar among each blue zone.
The Sardinian lessons were:
1. They ate a lean plant based diet:
This includes whole grain bread, veggies, beans, fruit, pecorino cheese made from grass fed sheep (high in omega 3 fatty acids). They only ate meat on special occasions. Therefore, their diet was “accented with meat”.
2. The Sardinians put family first:
Everyone in the family was cared for by each other. This included the elderly and the babies. Family helped family. This decreases the rate of depression and levels of stress.
3. They drink goat’s milk:
This may protect against inflammatory disease such as heart diseases.
4. They celebrate their elders:
Grandparents provide child care, financial help, wisdom and motivation for thier younger relatives. They promote traditions which, in turn, produces healthier children (emotionally and physically).
5. Sardinian’s (shepherds) walk at least five miles each day:
This provides great cardiovascular health as well as muscle and bone metabolism. It does not provide the joint pounding you get from running.
6. Sardinian’s drink 1 – 2 glasses of red wine per day.
This provides artery scrubbing flavonoids and may reduce stress.
7. They laugh with their friends regularly.
Sardonic sense of humor (have you heard of this?) comes from these people. They gather each afternoon to talk and joke. This lowers risks of cardiovascular damage and decreases health.
Dan’s book is so well written. It takes you into the heart and soul of each of the blue zones. You feel like you know the families he interviews personally. It really makes you want to visit each one of these places yourself. Furthermore, the book encourages the reader to do more to improve your own life and live a longer and healthier one. All of the advice given throughout the book is easy to follow and makes you feel so much better each day. I highly recommend it. Here is the link to buy the book: http://www.thebluezonesstore.com/
Tags: Blue Zones, Dan Buettner, Sardinian Diet, The Blue Zone, thebluezonestore.com
When I think back on my childhood, I remember a lot of food related traditions. Our family always ate dinner together at the dining room table. Every night we had a fresh salad…always. My mom made her own salad dressing that to this day is still my favorite. My mom always cooked the Thanksgiving dinner, for as many as fifty people. My mom threw the best Christmas parties every year. She studied her leather bound collection of Gourmet magazines to prepare the menu and cooked for days until the arrival of the guests. Sometimes, our entire backyard was tented for the event. Always, we danced into the next morning. Looking back, I realize she was (is) not only a great mom, but an amazing cook. It was a part of my life: I expected this food. Now, as a mother myself, I realize there was a lot of effort involved. So, I want to make sure my children grow up with fond traditional memories of their own.
Sometimes I get overly enthusiastic about an event. This usually happens during simple pleasures where the whole family seems to be getting along harmoniously. Like when we all go hiking on a beautiful day and the kids don’t complain. Another time, I felt it when we all played a board game together one evening and had so much fun. Again it happened during a cheerful Sunday morning while making delicious crepes for the family. This was several years ago. Sometimes these incidents are going along so blissfully, I half expect a blue animated bird to come and land on my shoulder. During such episodes, I usually announce, “Let’s make this our evening after dinner walk,” or “we should have a weekly game night” or “Sunday is now officially Crepe Day!”
Well, Crepe Day is one that stuck and we have been making homemade crepes every Sunday morning and filling them with creamy hazelnut chocolate spread, just like they do in Paris. We use Nutella. The kids love it! Their friends love it! Some friends even plan to sleep over only on Saturdays so that they can wake up to Crepe Day. The problem is that Crepe Day sometimes feels like a hassle. That’s the effort part, I referred to earlier.
Daphne and Megan with Nutella
Every Sunday morning at about 7 a.m. one of our children tip toe into our room, usually over to my side of the bed and whisper, “It’s Crepe Day”. I crack an eye open and say, “okay, wait until we wake up.” Another child will repeat this process of coming into our room every fifteen minutes or so until we do it, “are you ready to make crepes yet?” Claud and I will intermittently roll over to each other and say, “It’s your turn.” The other will respond, “No. I did it last week.” Eventually, we get up together, throw on our robes and slippers and make our way to the kitchen. After the coffee is brewed, we begin to make the crepes. I whip up the batter which is surprisingly easy for something so delicious. As soon as those crepes are forming in the skillet something amazing happens.
Daphne making a crepe
Eventually, the whole family is gathered in the kitchen together. Everyone is waiting his or her turn to eat a crepe. Crepes aren’t rushed. They have to be made one at a time. The anticipation helps to keep the magic. The whole family and sometimes friends are now sitting together, or standing over the stove watching crepes cook, and everyone is talking about what to do that day. Conversations begin to flow, people are laughing (chocolate in the morning always brings on laughter and glee), and tummy’s are filling.
Daphne, Megan, me, and Jack (with a mouth full of crepe)
So, yes, although it may seem like a bit of a hassle at 7 a.m., Crepe Day is well worth it. It has gone on for a few years and I don’t see any sign of it ending. Now, our kids can make them on their own too. But, we always end up in the kitchen together…the whole family. I hope that our family and all of their friends who have shared in this tradition will remember this as adults. It is my wish that they will even have nostalgia when thinking about waking up on a Sunday morning at the Monro’s. Here’s to remembering the traditions from your childhood and maybe revitalizing some of them or inventing new traditions for your children today. The rewards are well worth the effort.
Please watch a film of Daphne, Jack, and Megan making crepes:
Crepes
Time: 20 minutes
Serves a family of four
2 eggs
¾ C Milk
½ C Water
1 C Flour
3 Tbsp. Melted Butter
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
Whisk together the eggs, milk, water and butter. Add the flour and mix together. Heat a skillet over medium heat for about five minutes. Add the vegetable oil and spread it around the skillet with a paper towel. I wipe the skillet and spread the oil in between each crepe. Pour a ladle full of batter into the warm skillet. Cook until golden brown. Flip the crepe and cook until golden brown on the other side. Place it on a plate and spoon on the Nutella. Roll it up and enjoy.
Tags: breakfast, crepes, Nutella, recipes, traditions
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