Lucy L Jones PhD LLC

Peasant Potato Soup

Like many “foodies,” I learned a lot of my cooking from my parents at home as a child. Because I came along at the end of the Great Depression, there was one staple that always found its way to the table in our home – Potato Soup. And I hated it!

Then, by the time I got to my 7th grade home economics class, I started learning how to cook the “right way,” or at least the way the teacher thought we should cook. What was one of the first things we had to learn to make? Potato Soup! And I still hated it! My folks had a good laugh over me having to learn how to make something I detested.

In the early 70s, I found Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappé (or Frankie, as she was known), and it changed the way I ate forever. After that, I found Recipes for a Small Planet by Ellen Buchman Ewald. In that was a recipe for – you guessed it – Potato Soup.

This recipe looked interesting, and with great fear and trepidation, on October 31, 1974 I tried it. (I know the date because I always date a recipe the first time I use it, and make comments on it.) To my total surprise, it was delicious! I continued to make it according to that recipe and since then I have altered or adjusted it a bit here and there. Here is the latest version that I made just this past week.

POTATO SOUP

In 1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, ssauté 1 large chopped onion, about 4 or 5 baby carrots (or 1 large carrot), and several potatoes cut into large chunks. I used one large Idaho potato and 2 medium-sized red potatoes. Because I like the color variation in the soup, I leave on the peel, which I love anyway, and which is quite nutritious.

Once the onions were transparent, I poured in a can of fat-free chicken broth.

I added freshly ground sea salt, ½ teaspoon chili powder (or you can use paprika), fresh marjoram, and about 1 teaspoon dill weed. I didn’t have any this time, but usually I like to add caraway seed, as well.

Let that simmer until potatoes are tender, but not falling apart. This takes about an hour.

Just before serving, I added about 4 cups of non-fat milk. I think I should have added a little less because the soup ended up too thin. Bring this to a simmer for about a minute, but don’t boil.

Ladle into bowls and eat with grilled cheese or freshly baked bread. Need I tell you that my attitude toward Potato Soup has changed dramatically? Try it, you’ll like it!

A hui hou!

Chicken, Cranberries, Yams, Etc

When my brother and I were growing up in a preacher’s home, many of our meals were made out of what was on hand and leftovers. Our parents had a knack for creating some interesting and tasty meals out of little bits of this and that.

A few weeks ago, my brother posted a delicious looking dish he created out of what he had on hand and it looked scrumptious. It looked so good that I wanted to make it myself, and promised him I’d let him know if it was as good as it looked.

So in honor of his birthday coming up this week, I give you my version of his dish.

I had a couple pieces of chicken breast I needed to cook up, and I always have cranberries on hand. I didn’t have barley and today, I didn’t have greens, either. What I did have was a yam and a package of wild rice mixed with Jasmine brown rice. I didn’t have his vegetable broth, but I did have fat-free chicken broth.

I sautéed the chicken in a little olive oil and added thinly sliced fresh ginger, the yam cut into pieces, cranberries, and about half a can of the chicken broth.

After it had been simmering a while, I cut up a cooking banana that I had on hand, too. As I sliced it up, I thought “Now, what in the world is this going to taste like?” One just never knows, does one?

When everything seemed “done” the way it should be, I dished it up. I thought about sprinkling a little fresh cilantro over the top for more color, but that would have made it more Mexican. As it was, the red cranberries and orange yam made for a lively color combination without the green.

I have to say, it wasn’t bad – not even half-bad! In fact, it was so good I went back for seconds! The fresh ginger gave it quite a kick, as well as the soy sauce and sriracha sauce I doused over it. The end result had something like a Caribbean flavor. Next time I happen to have these ingredients on hand, I might add a bit of coconut milk.

I’m not a trained chef; I’m just a mother who retired years ago from fixing three meals a day plus snacks for four children. I don’t like to see things go to waste and I’ve never been afraid to experiment. So try it yourself – just start putting things together in a pan and see what happens.

A hui hou!

Workings of a Local Food Farm

Most of us are interested in eating locally grown food these days, and some of us even try to grow as much of our own food as we can. Try as I may, I don’t seem to be able to keep enough growing to insure that I’m well fed. There are certain times of the year that I seem to have more time to do the nurturing (and work) that is involved, but at other times, I get too busy with my teaching career and something called “Life.”

Fortunately, there are some who make their career out of producing food for the rest of us. Such is the case with Chas Canon and his family. Our Garden Club made a trip to his acreage here in Ocean View in late October of this past year. If you’re like me (and if you read my blog regularly, I suspect you are), you enjoy seeing where your food comes from.

Rather than elaborate too much on what we saw there, I’m going to give you a quick look at what he grows and how he grows it. Please click on the slide show at the bottom to see all of these pictures, and more.

There is a deep gulch on the property where he grows a few things at the bottom – even along the edge of the gulch as shown here.

Path to the gulch

Growth in the gulch

Up above near the house, we were shown how he mulches, sets out the irrigation lines, and grows great produce.

I don’t even get tomatoes like this that I try to grow intentionally!

Volunteer tomatoes

Here is where it all starts.

He showed us the book that he follows religiously. I promptly ordered a copy for myself. It is put out by the New York State Agricultural Experiment Station. Cornell University strongly supports the organic food movement.

Look for his produce at our local farmer’s market on most Saturday mornings.

http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf

You’ll get much more out of this if you watch it in full size here.

French Toast – Another Comfort Food

When do you head for the “comfort foods?”

People go to their comfort food for a variety of reasons. Maybe they’ve been on a diet to get into that special dress for the holidays. Or maybe the weather has been colder than usual (like in Florida last week)! You might go because you’re depressed, or you’re sick, or you can’t think of anything exciting to fix.

Whatever the reason for you, French toast is one of my comfort foods. It’s basic, it’s simple, it’s tasty, and reminds me of my childhood. There are as many ways to prepare French toast as there are people who eat it, I suppose.

French bread cut into thick slices makes wonderful French toast. Here in Hawaii, we often make French toast out of that luscious Hawaiian/Portuguese Sweet Bread. This time, I had some leftover corn bread from my New Year’s black-eyed peas that I wanted to use up.

Making French toast is so simple that I’m almost hesitant to share this, but it might be something you haven’t thought of in a long time.

First step (after deciding which bread you want to use up) is to put an egg in a flat-ish bowl with a little milk. This egg was fresh gathered; see the way the yolk stands up nice and perky? Instead of milk, I used a splash of Almond Breeze (unsweetened vanilla), maybe less than ¼ cup.

Sprinkle a little cinnamon over it and whip it up quickly with a fork. I cut that piece of cornbread in half, then split it to make four pieces.

Let your bread soak up the egg/milk mixture for a couple minutes.

I start it over medium heat in a pan coated with spray, then for the last bit, I turn up the heat to high to get a nice color. When the egg is cooked and the bread is the right toasty brown for you, put it on a plate, add a little butter (I use the yogurt spread), douse with whatever kind of syrup you like to use (I used a Canadian Maple Syrup), and dig in!

I hope I’ve made your mouth water! Go find some of that stale bread you don’t want to throw away (but there’s not enough for a bread pudding), and make yourself a little breakfast or lunch – or even a light supper.

A hui hou!

My Vacation in Hawaii

A question visitors often ask those of us who live in Hawaii is “When you live in Hawaii, where do you go on vacation?” It’s hard for anyone to imagine wanting to leave our beautiful island state and go somewhere else to relax.

Believe it or not, there are times when a person needs to get away from the normal routines, no matter how wonderful it is where you live. When I’m home, it is too easy for me to see all the work that I “should” be doing around the house, or to get caught up in preparing for classes, or respond to the gardening that beckons.

So my answer to the question in the first paragraph is “I go to another island!” From time to time, I visit other islands, but my favorite destination is the Kula Lodge in upcountry Maui.

This sign above one of the doors is an excellent example of how I feel when I’m there. “Live well – Love much – Laugh often.” What a great philosophy! It’s also an example of the charm this lodge holds for me.

Even the closet has a special appeal, with its lace curtain and dried flower arrangement on the wall.

One attraction of this lodge is not having a telephone or television in the rooms. I take my computer, not with the intent of actually “working,” but for some reason I find it much easier to let my thoughts flow with ideas when I’m away. I’m not caught up in checking email, or paying bills, or any of the various activities that require internet connection. I focus on writing. I have myself set up quite nicely here, as you can see.

Each room is given fresh Anthurium, Bird of Paradise, Protea and other tropical flowers. All the little touches provide the setting its allure, like this dry spray above another door.

Did I mention that the beds are very comfortable and cozy?

There is enchantment everywhere you look. I love to sit out on the deck and have a snack of cheese and crackers with juice.

There are small cottages, where I usually stay, and there are larger chalets where I have stayed when the smaller ones were not available.

These have two levels for sleeping, ideal for families or several couples. I loved the electric fireplace on a cold wintry evening.

Children (and even adults) must have fun climbing up the ladder to get to their sleeping area.

There is a good restaurant at the Lodge that serves from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with a wall of glass, offering an unobstructed view over the valley. Because they like to support the local farmers, their salad greens and other veggies are freshly picked, and of course they use Maui onions! Their pizza is baked in these wood-burning ovens just below the dining area.

Close to the ovens is a trail leading down the hill, giving visitors an opportunity to walk along and admire the many tropical shrubs and flowers we have here.

Outside the lodging areas, a tall hibiscus hedge produces blooms larger than I’ve seen anywhere. It’s fun to sit on my little deck and listen to visitors “ooh” and “ah” over the enormous bushes that hide me from their view.

No, I didn’t get a free meal or free lodging in return for this post on a wonderful place to go, but I did get a world of relaxation and time away from my responsibilities on the Big Island for a few days. That’s worth more than money, isn’t it?

A hui hou and Hau’oli Makahiki Hou!
(See you later and Happy New Year!)