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Archive for the ‘Casseroles’ Category

Travels with Tootsie, sweet potato and peanut stew

All communication from E. Africa so gratefully and excitedly received!

Any day that begins with a video conversation with Dora the Explorer and one of her older sisters calling to say they’re coming for Christmas is a fab one.

Saturday morning the Tanzania group was in the middle of 3.5  internet-free weeks on their schedule. So everyone went into a Stonetown internet cafe to upload pictures and talk to their parents. I’m sure all the parental units were as excited as we.

Sunday they again left all social media for 10 days. I will admit grudgingly that I’m proud of her for being so bold. And it is exciting and gratifying to see images from across the world — not just glassy-eyed snaps from the latest frat party. Evidently, though, wherever in the world college women are photographed, they stand with their hands on their hips and their torsos slightly turned.

It’s now “only” 12 weeks until the end of this semester abroad so I’m starting to think about African food. That and why I’ve larded on 13 pounds in the six weeks since my August high school reunion. Anxiety, depression and a stinking cold are, I believe, the deadly triumverate, deadly to taking care of oneself anyway. Today was my first walk with the puppy in a week and a half, and I already feel better and less likely to skid into the slough of despond.

The African-inspired slow-cooker sweet potato-peanut stew we enjoyed is healthy, easy and cheap to fix. And until we piled it on noodles moistened with a wee drap o’ cream cheese, fairly non-fat. The 1/2 cup minced fresh parsley is as necessary to the distinct, sharp taste of this stew as it is to tabbouleh.

This seems like something Dora the Explorer, who shops now in open-air markets full of seashells, cardamom pods and “logs” of cinnemon, will enjoy in December. I was a little leery of  the amount of allspice but, honestly, the individual tastes combine into a unique and hearty whole. Even Stoic the Vast, who can usually identify any spices he’s not crazy about, could not name or disparage the allspice. 

Peanut-sweet potato stew (from Time, Inc.’s All You website)

6 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch slices (about 2 pounds)

3 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced (I used a smaller amount of chopped green onions because that was what I had)

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, not drained

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Salt and pepper

2 cups water

1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter

Stir together potatoes, onions, tomatoes, cumin, allspice, salt, pepper and water in a slow cooker until thoroughly combined. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 hours on high. Just before serving, stir in parsley and peanut butter. Makes 4 318-calorie servings.

Category:

African food, Casseroles, Emo eating, Exercise, Fall, Tomatoes, vegetables

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Neuroses, chocolate bunnies and tuna casserole

I will never be able to eat everything I want to eat. I will never be able to eat enough to make me “happy” (read: numb). I will never be able to eat enough to make me feel loved, appreciated, beautiful, fill in the blank (and this I mean literally — the hollow that is within me is like that of a chocolate bunny).

OK, having realized that, can I now move on with my life? Please? Millions of privileged, normal-weight people do that daily, hourly even. Look at a cupcake, the rest of the tortilla chips, whatever, and hear an internal voice that says, simply, “No, I can’t.” And that’s the end of it. There’s no tussle back and forth between the lean conscience and the chubby devils on the shoulders. Just: I can’t.

No problem for me with alcohol, drugs and cigarettes. Just the peanuts in the pantry, the ice cream in the freezer.

Years ago as a struggling single mother of two, I remember rushing home from work to a beer or two while I fixed supper. Then the moment that I realized how much I was looking forward to that beer or two and that I couldn’t drink alone and lonely. That was the end of it. Now, I’d like my Easter miracle, please, to be that this is my end of over-eating to make myself “feel better.” I do believe in fairies, I do, I do, or anything else that will help me take this huge step.

Except that nothing can help me. Only I can take it. Again and again. And again. The bunny never feels full, only complete or devoured. I’m aiming at my version of complete, which is the best I can be. Happy Palm Sunday.

And in a lurching segue (oxymoron alert!), this is the best tuna casserole I’ve ever tasted. The recipe says it makes 4 servings, but they are huge. Can easily be 6 or 8 with a huge serving of spring greens beside. And a blood orange is the perfect capper to make you forget you might “need” a cookie or two.  Use reduced-fat sour cream, mayonnaise and milk, and it still has a decadent mouth feel.

Tuna noodle supreme from Ellen Proctor of Great Barrington, MA, on allrecipes.com several years ago:

1-1/2 cups sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1/2 cup milk

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

4 cups cooked small pasta shells (I hate it when a recipe doesn’t give you the amount of UN-cooked pasta — I used 3 cups uncooked, and it made a little more than 4 cups of cooked small shells.)

2 cups broccoli florets

1 12-ounce can tuna, drained and flaked

1/2 cup chopped sweet red pepper

1/2 cup sliced green onions

Heat oven to 350º. In large bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, milk, cheese, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir in cooked pasta, broccoli, tuna, red pepper and onions. Transfer to oil-sprayed 2-quart baking dish. Cover and bake for 40 to 45 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like a little crunch around the edges of your pasta, finish with 5 minutes of uncovered baking time. Note: For either fresh or frozen broccoli florets, throw into pasta cooking water for last minute or two of pasta cooking time. Drain pasta and broccoli together and continue with recipe.

 

Category:

Casseroles, Chocolate, Fish, Food addiction, good food, healthy cooking, Self control, Stress eating, Weight loss, Why overweight?, Willpower

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