compromises

Dear Kristin,

My hat is off to you and your hubs for trying to eat a more wholesome diet. I won't even pretend that the Whole30 diet sounds like something I would try. I would rather pull my eyelids over the top of my forehead while listening to Neil Diamond's greatest hits than give up cheese or sugar or bread!

To be honest, though, I believe that dad and I enjoy a diet that is somewhat more healthy than we did when we were younger. We certainly have cut down on the amount of processed foods we eat, and we do try to be mindful of the amounts of fat and empty calories we consume. We are part of a generation that was brought up on Chef Boyardee and Tang. Probably 90% of the fruits and vegetables we had as kids came out of a can. Salad? Iceberg lettuce, period. Romaine, Bibb Lettuce or Kale would probably have been viewed with a suspicious eye as some sort of evil cold war enemy plot designed to corrupt the all-American patriotic plates of fine upstanding citizens.

Today we do what we can to eat a more wholesome diet. Cheese is a good example. While we won't eliminate cheese from our diet (that's just crazy talk), we may opt for the reduced fat varieties, and may look for alternate preparations that allow us to keep the richness and depth that cheese can add to a meal while cutting down on the amount we use. This soup is one of the results of these compromises. I came up with this soup after reading a number of recipes for something called "Lasagna Soup". Hmmm.. that sounded intriguing. What I was hoping for was something that would taste like lasagna, but would be lighter than the lasagna I normally make which uses an insane amount of mozzarella and ricotta cheeses. What I eventually came up with turned out to be what I might call "Not lasagna soup", because it really doesn't remind me too much of lasagna except for the dollop of ricotta cheese and the sprinkling of mozzarella that is added at the end. What I love about this soup is the broth - just a hint heartier than a broth, but not anywhere near as heavy as a cream based soup. The flavor of the tomatoes and chicken stock, with just a hint of cream and Parmesan cheese is a winner. Add a green salad and a loaf of homemade bread and you have real comfort food for a cold winter night.

tomato and pasta soup with three cheeses

Soup:
8 oz. farfalle pasta*
1 Tblsp. olive oil
1 lb. Italian sausage, either bulk or removed from casings (hot or mild, according to taste)
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 Tblsp. tomato paste
1 28 oz. can diced or crushed tomatoes
4 cups chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup heavy cream

Topping:
Shredded Mozarella
Ricotta Cheese (either whole or part skim)
Fresh basil leaves

1. Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Remove from heat and drain well.
2. Heat olive oil in a large dutch oven. Add sausage and cook over medium heat until brown, about 4-5 minutes. Add Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, garlic and onion. Cook about 2-3 minutes longer or until onions are translucent. Drain any excess fat. Season with salt and pepper. Finally, stir in the tomato paste, stirring and cooking until combined, about 1 more minute.
3. Stir in tomatoes, chicken stock and bay leaf. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and let simmer until slightly reduced, about 30 minutes. Stir in pasta, Paremesan and cream. Continue to cook until heated through, about 2-3 minutes. Remove bay leaf.
4. Serve topped with a dollop of ricotta**, sprinkles of mozzarella and fresh basil leaves.

* Originally the recipes I looked for used lasagna noodles, but I personally love farfalle - the choice of pasta is yours.
** I actually prefer this soup without the ricotta - I like it topped simply with the mozarella and basil. I feel that you get a better sense of the tasty broth this way. Your dad really liked the addition of the ricotta - so each to his own taste!

complications

dear mom,

If there is one thing in my life I don't mind being complicated, its food.  Salty, sweet, spicy, fatty, mmmm, you name it, I want it all!  Of course food can be simple and delicious as well.  In general, I would say that I spend about 75% of my brain power thinking about food.  When is my next meal or snack?  What will I eat at said meal or snack?  What should I make for dinner?  What did I eat yesterday?  What's in the fridge?  What's that smell (food smell!)?

Food is very much a part of my life and an enjoyable one at that!  Which is why two weeks ago I thought I was going to have a complete meltdown.  The hubs and I were feeling our standard, annual, post-holiday fat-funk.  We were bloated and low-on-energy; our clothes had all mysteriously shrunk in the washer.  It was time to make a change, to start eating healthier and exercise more.  Well, every two weeks we say we are going to eat healthy, but then lasagna calls...  We needed to do something drastic.

My research-loving hubs started reading up on this diet/cleanse/detox called Whole30.  No gluten, grains, dairy, sugar, legumes, booze, joy, etc. for 30 full days.  Needless to say my reaction was less than positive.  Cheese, for one, is pretty much at the bottom of my food pyramid.  Cheese in my opinion, can easily be treated as a meal on its own, it is also a condiment; a food staple, integral to health and happiness, and my sole source of calcium, it cannot be eliminated!  Well, that was my initial reaction.  This Whole30 also made claims that I had to do things like make my own ketchup and mayonnaise, because there was sugar in the store-bought variety.  Vinaigrettes for my salad dressing could not include things I always put in them like honey, because it was an added sugar.  In fact no added sugars or sweeteners were allowed at all!  No stevia in my coffee, no brown sugar in my oatmeal, no maple syrup on my pancakes.  Arrrgh! No pancakes!  How the heck will I ever survive on this diet???

Well, I am happy to report I'm still alive and its been over two weeks!  I feel great and I've lost some lbs!  This "diet" is tolerable - if you like to cook, which is why I've been able to stick with it.  I'm actually enjoying coming up with new recipes based on the restrictions of the diet, its more challenging.  When you realized that while on this "diet" you are allowed to have things like steak, potatoes and bacon, you realize it doesn't feel like a diet at all!  I hate to say it, but its changed the way that I think about food.  Especially sugar and cheese.  I didn't realize how often I was eating sugar until I eliminated it, I also realized that fruit is super sweet and delicious on its own.  Instead of adding that sugar to my vinaigrette, I threw some strawberries on my salad and that added the sweetness that the vinaigrette was missing.

I also was surprised to learn that I can survive without adding cheese to most meals.  Which brings me to this recipe.  The old K would have topped this off with melted provolone, which you can still do and I'm sure it would be wonderful - but I like it just fine as is.  Salty olives and prosciutto with juicy chicken breast and tangy sauce on top, I don't even miss the cheese.  And yes, this does work with the diet!

chicken saltimbocca

for the chicken
2 chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4" thickness
8 fresh sage leaves
2 thin slices prosciutto
1 cup olive tapenade, see note
1 cup almond meal flour (Not doing Whole30? Use AP flour.)
1/2 tsp. granulated onion
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
salt and pepper
2 eggs, lightly beaten with 1 tbsp. of water
2 tbsp. ghee or veggie oil
8-10 wooden toothpicks
cooking spray

for the sauce
1-1/2 cup low sodium chicken stock
1 tbsp. ghee or butter
1 clove garlic, minced
2 small shallots, minced
juice from 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper
2 tsp. capers

Preheat oven to 350.  Lay both chicken breasts out on a cutting board.  Split the tapenade between the two breasts and spread in an even layer, it should be around 1/8" thick.  Top tapenade with sage leaves, 4 on each breast spaced evenly, and then the prosciutto.  Starting at the thin end of the breast, roll up the chicken with all the goodness inside.  Secure with toothpicks.

In a shallow bowl combine almond flour, granulated onion, garlic powder, paprika and salt and pepper to taste.  Heat a skillet over medium high heat, add ghee or veggie oil to coat the bottom of the pan.  Working with one at a time, dip chicken wraps in egg wash, roll around to coat completely in the egg, then transfer to almond flour mixture.  Coat completely in the almond flour mixture, shake off excess and put in the hot skillet.  Brown the coating on all sides, turning as necessary.  Transfer to a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray and bake in hot oven for 40-45 minutes (I tested mine with an instant read thermometer, when it hit 160 in the middle it was done).

While the chicken bakes prepare the sauce.  In a shallow pan (you can use the same as the one you used to brown the coating on the chicken, just wipe it out), over medium high heat, add the 1 tbsp. ghee, garlic and shallots.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent.  Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Continue cooking and stirring occasionally until reduced by half.  Stir in lemon juice, capers and season to taste.  Serve chicken topped with sauce.

note: The lovely hubs was allowed to go to Costco all by himself a week ago...  Big mistake, when he walked in the door I quickly remembered why he needed me as a chaperon.  The rest of the evening I had to try to jam a life-times supply of seltzer water, canned tomatoes, dog treats, eggs, olives and a bunch of other random items in our tiny apartment.  It worked out though, because I took one look at the gallon of olives he brought home and immediately thought, "Oooo! Olive tapenade!"  This particular blend had green olives, pearl onions, garlic and red bell peppers in it.  I drained a little over a cup of this mixture and threw it in the food processor with a little drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil and voila!  Olive tapenade!  You could also get store bought tapenade or make your own blend.  If you don't like olives, make a pesto instead!  Basil and sun dried tomatoes comes to mind - in this case omit the sage in the above recipe.