New Year's Resolutions with Mumford & Sons

Today I feel as though I'm writing to an old friend. A friend whom I've not talked to in over five months. Hello, my beloved blog! It's me, Julia! Thoughts flood my head and rush down to my fingertips on the keyboard. I'm anxious to familiarize myself again with the blogging world and remiss in the fact that I've neglected to write about two of my favorite pastimes: cooking and eating.

Don't misinterpret that comment. From Thanksgiving to Christmas and into the New Year, I've certainly not neglected to eat and/or cook. In fact, I dare admit there's been too much eating. And I'm pretty sure the word gluttony comes to mind. I've merely neglected to write about it. So where do I begin? There's so much to share!

Let's start with the new year. I always have the best of intentions when it comes to new year's resolutions, and somehow I'm waiting until February to begin mine. But amidst the procrastination, I want to be ambitious this year. And there's nothing like putting your goals in writing for everyone to see as self motivation.

So here it is. Resolutions to improve mind, body and spirit in 2011.

• Blog at least 3 times a week. 
• Read one new book every 4-6 weeks.
• Exercise at least 4 times a week. 
• Say at least one prayer a day
• Brush up on my French language skills
• Read the news daily. Yes, I'm terrible at staying abreast of the latest world affairs on a daily basis. Don't judge.

And thanks to bathing suit season already in high gear, for those fortunate enough to still have a spring break, I'll begin my exercise regiment first thing tomorrow. For today's eats, I'm highlighting a great vegetable soup I found from Ellie Krieger on Food Network. It's her Tuscan Vegetable Soup. I omit the spinach, due to personal preference. And I use oregano or Italian seasoning in place of sage, since I never have any in the house. I've paired this dish with Mumford and Sons' Little Lion Man. I recently added their album "Sigh No More" to my iTunes library, and it was $8 well spent. Alongside a bowl of this vegetable soup, I want to drink a pint of Guinness in a London pub.  Here's to a new year, new adventures, and new eats and beats.  

Cheers!
Julia

Ingredients:

• 1 (15-ounce) can low-sodium canellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 large onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, diced, (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 32 ounces low-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can no salt added diced tomatoes
• 2 cups chopped baby spinach leaves
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Directions:

In a small bowl mash half of the beans with a masher or the back of a spoon, and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper, and cook stirring occasionally until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the broth and tomatoes with the juice and bring to a boil. Add the mashed and whole beans and the spinach leaves and cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes more.

Serve topped with Parmesan, if desired.

, if desired.

Pancakes for Dinner All By Myself

Tonight, I pay tribute to one of my favorite movie/book characters of all time, Bridget Jones. Yes, ma'am. This evening, I could have reenacted the opening credits to Bridget Jones' Diary: bottle of wine, lounging on the couch watching sitcom reruns and no missed phone calls or messages . If you have not seen either Bridget Jones' movie, do yourself a favor and rent them asap. If you need something more convincing aside from Hugh Grant and Collin Firth, click here. Ladies, don't tell me you haven't had one of these moments before.

Stewart is out of town on business, and right around the 48-hour mark, I get antsy. I'm a social person, so there's only so many conversations I want to have with myself after work ; ) Fortunately, I have family and friends to keep me occupied; but this evening was exceptionally quiet.

Here are the top five signs that I know I'm bored:

1 - I made breakfast food for dinner. I love having breakfast for dinner, although it's a rare occasion. In general, I'm not a routine breakfast eater in the mornings, but just say the words "brunch" and "mimosas" and I'm there. So, I made blueberry buckwheat pancakes, topped with strawberries, granola and maple syrup. De-lish! I used a pre-packaged buckwheat pancake mix and simply added the fruit and granola as items I already had around the kitchen.

2 - I watched the Teen Choice Awards. All two hours of it. Including the Justin Bieber performance (I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.) WHY?! I'm not sure I can even justify this one.

3 - I did two loads of laundry. This may not seem like a big deal. But when it comes to routine chores around the house, Stewart is the champion of our washer and dryer. I love a man who does the laundry. I'll clean toilets all day if it means I don't have to wash clothes.

4 - I am ready for bed by 10 pm. This is probably a good thing.

5 - Celine Dion is today's beat. If you clicked on the link above, you will see where my inspiration came from for the song "All By Myself". A few words on Celine Dion. I've seen this woman in concert two times during the height of her career, and she is absolutely amazing. Watching her perform is like listening to her album. She hits every note, and it's pitch perfect.

So next time you're having a night all by yourself, try breakfast for dinner.
Julia

Fried Green Tomatoes and Union Station

Last night I finally made fried green tomatoes! I've horded this box of Whistle Stop batter mix for three weeks (at least), watched three batches of green tomatoes ripen to red, and am just now writing about it.

Fried green tomatoes are one of those iconic Southern foods. How could they not be? Thanks to Fannie Flagg, there is a book and a movie named after them! Fannie Flag is a brilliant Southern author, actress and comedienne. I can remember being thirteen years old and reading Daisy Fay and the Miracle Man on a family road trip to South Carolina. I read the entire book in 12 hours - very uncommon for my reading pace. Ms. Flagg is a brilliant storyteller and perhaps best known for "Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe". The book became the screenplay for Fried Green Tomatoes, starring Kathy Bates and Mary-Louise Parker.  This movie is a close second behind Steel Magnolias for all-time favorite movies. Add them both to your Netflix list if you haven't already. 

A majority of Fried Green Tomatoes takes place around Whistle Stop Cafe. So you can imagine how elated I was to spot Whistle Stop batter mix on display in the produce section of my local grocery store. You might as well have put a sign on my forehead that said "SUCKER!" Food marketers must love people like me. Put an ounce of nostalgia around a box of cornmeal, and I'm sold! 

Not only was this my first time to fry a green tomato, but it was also the first time I've eaten friend green tomatoes. The taste is quite intriguing. So much so that I ate four of them. It's tart and salty with a little bit of sweetness from the batter. I feel like a better Southerner having tried them.

For the beat to my eats, Allison Kraus and Union Station are a great fit. Blue grass music captures the essence of small southern towns and good home cookin'.


Ya'll come back now ya hear!
Julia

Pasta Primavera and OK Go

With my head hung low, I confess that I did not go to Zumba last night :( Instead I cooked and ate to my heart’s content. Some days I get bit by the hungry bug and can’t fight it. Having had leftovers the past two days, I was itching for something new. In the battle between food versus exercise, food wins!

And even better, Stewart made burgers on the grill! I contributed roasted potatoes and spinach salad as the two side dishes. It’s always nice when you have a friend/spouse/roommate to cook meals with. And it’s even better if they clean the kitchen afterwards ; ) To me that’s the worst part about cooking. You spend all this time preparing a meal, dirtying up dishes and counter tops, only to turn around and clean it all. This explains why every now and again, there are dirty dishes sitting in my sink from the night before.

Last week I made Giada De Laurentiis’ recipe for pasta primavera. YUM. I love pasta salads, so this recipe was right up my alley. Pasta primavera has all these wonderful baked vegetables which create the seasoning for the pasta – plus a little salt and pepper. All the bright colors from the carrots, zucchini, squash, and bell peppers make a great presentation and taste delicious. I’ll definitely make this dish again.

Today’s beat is brought to you by OK Go! I like this video, and the splashes of paint color mirror the different colored veggies in the pasta primavera. Apart from the blue; there’s no blue in this pasta. Stay with me people…




Friday is less than 24 hours away! What are your plans for the weekend? With rave reviews surrounding the movie Inception, it’s on my to do list. Back in the day Leonardo DiCaprio (or as I liked to call him, Leo) was my teenage crush. Some may call it an obsession, but I prefer the term crush. Dinner for Shmucks also comes out tomorrow, and I want to see that. Which movie should I see first? I need some help making a decision.

Giada’s Pasta Primavera:


Ingredients


• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips


• 2 medium zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips


• 2 yellow squash, cut into thin strips


• 1 onion, thinly sliced


• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips


• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips


• 1/4 cup olive oil


• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper


• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence


• 1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)


• 15 cherry tomatoes, halved


• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan


Directions


Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.


On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.


Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.


Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.

Turkey Enchilada Casserole and Johnny Cash

There's a thunderstorm occurring outside of my living room window tonight, and I find it most soothing. Something about the roll of thunder and rain drops against the window pane that make me want to curl up in bed with a cup of hot tea and a good book. Or in this case, writing a new post for My Eats and Beats!

After work today, I went to a zumba class recommended by a co-worker of mine. And it was AWESOME! I love Latin music and dance. And I usually don't work up a sweat during workouts, but I was reaching for my water bottle and towel after every song. Edgar is our zumba leader. He is this ball of little Latino energy. Seriously, he can't be more than 5'4'', but he keeps you energized and moving the entire 60 minutes. I'll definitely take this class again. Edgar alternates locations of his zumba class a few days out of the week, depending on gym availability. At $5 a class, I suggest you get your hips moving and come join me! I'll be there again on Wednesday.

We had a late dinner this evening as I did not get home until 8 p.m., after stopping by the grocery store on the way home. In the Latin spirit, I decided to go with turkey enchilada casserole. This particular recipe is low in calories and relatively low in cholesterol...which is a double bonus for me. The casserole also has great authentic Mexican flavor. And there is plenty of leftovers to last you a few days.

The Man in Black, Mr. Johnny Cash, and "Ring of Fire" is the beat of the day. It's a fun song pair with this dish.



Have a good week!
Julia

Turkey Enchilada Casserole:
Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds ground turkey breast
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 cans (10 oz.) red enchilada sauce: 1 hot and 2 mild
Salt
12 corn tortillas (6 in. wide)
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend (8 oz.)

Preparation
In a 5- to 6-quart pan over high heat, stir turkey, onion, garlic, oregano, and cumin in oil until turkey is crumbly and no longer pink, about 4 minutes. Stir in 1 cup enchilada sauce. Add salt to taste.

Meanwhile, cut tortillas in half. Arrange a fourth of the halves evenly over the bottom of a shallow 3-quart casserole, overlapping to fit. Sprinkle a fourth of the cheese evenly over the tortillas, then top with a third of the turkey mixture and a fourth of the remaining enchilada sauce, spreading each level. Repeat to make two more layers of tortillas, cheese, turkey mixture, and sauce; top with another layer of tortillas and sauce, then cheese.

Bake in a 425° regular or convection oven until cheese is melted and casserole is hot in the center, 18 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.