With love- Lentils. xoxo.

It's snowing today!

What a perfect opportunity to share an inspiration for a yummy lentil soup. Lentils are a scrumptious, high-protein, easy, and versatile legume that you simply must try. I was so in love with this concoction, I even ate it for breakfast the next morning before work at the high school cafeteria. At 5:30 am. And you know what, it kept me full much longer than a bowl of cereal does!

I used brown lentils, which tend to hold their shape more than red or orange lentils. First, I sauteed diced onion, celery, and carrot (if you want to be snooty, you can call that 'mirepoix,' pronounced "meer-pwah") along with garlic on medium heat for a few minutes. I added in about a cup or more of chopped mushrooms. Next, one of the crucial ingredients... 1/4 cup red wine. Let that simmer uncovered for 3-5 minutes... you will be glad you did! Then, I added in my next crucial ingredient... 1 tablespoon maple syrup! That bit of New Hampshire's maple goodness brought through just a teeny bit of sweetness that changed the flavor composition of the whole pot. I added about 3 cups of vegetable stock, and about 1 cup of lentils (rinse those first). Simmer and simmer for about 1 hour. The good thing about brown lentils is they cook in basically 20 minutes, so you don't have to let the soup simmer for an hour if you don't have the time. Before you dig in... stir in handfuls of torn fresh spinach leaves. (Or cooked collard greens, if so inspired!) Oooo my is this one tasty and amazingly healthy soup!

So steamy!

Last week was a special week, 1) because I made this soup and ate it for breakfast; and 2) it was my friend and fellow intern Fionna's birthday; and 3) it was Pumpkin Fest here in Keene! Any special week (and any week at all, really) calls for one of my all-time favorite snacky snacks, Sugared Walnuts. I got this recipe from my mom, but she makes it with pecans. (Pecans are not my favorite nut. And I also don't like that they can be pronounced 2 very different ways. But feel free to use them if you so desire!) Some of the interns had a birthday party for Fionna and pumpkin carving party last week, so I made a batch. They vanished. Here's the recipe:

Sugared Walnuts
Beat 2 egg whites until frothy. Add 1 tablespoon water, beat in. In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp salt. Toss 1 lb walnuts in the egg white mixture and toss to coat. Then, toss egg-y walnuts in the sugar mixture, stir to coat. Spread nuts on a greased baking pan, and bake at 275 degrees F for 45-60 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes.

YUMYUMYUMYUMYUM

I hope you enjoy these tasty fall treats. Both have helped feed my body and brain through the first 9 weeks of my internship! Tomorrow is my last day of my food service rotation. This week I have been waking up at 4:00 am to get to work at a preschool nutrition site in Manchester! (Note- human beings were NOT meant to wake up at 4 am for anything, especially work, which is perhaps why I accidentally missed my alarm by 2.5 hrs and was significantly late today. Oops.)


Next week, I move into many months of my community rotation, until I start clinical in April. More adventures to come! Now go cook something delicious!

What's so great about spinach, anyway?

I tried cooking a new vegetable! Collard greens! 


(I realize I just lost half of the people who visited my blog. But hang with me.  At least look at the pictures.)


Spinach is my go-to green. It's quick to cook, light in flavor, and many brands come triple-washed in bags. Sounds like a health-conscious cook's BFF... but what about all of the other greens? After all, I haven't given many of them a fair chance: mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, arugula, Swiss chard, kale, escarole. Enter, collard greens. I found a bag of triple-washed and pre-chopped collard greens at Hannaford (my grocery store in NH) for a tad cheaper per pound than spinach. So I gave it a shot... and you know what? I liked it!


Now, this was a trial-by-error cooking experience for me, a collard greens newbie. The typical preparation involves tons of butter, something called a ham hock, and half a day. Going for something simple, I tossed in a few handfuls of greens to some already-cooked brown rice, black beans and onion, wishing for it to nicely wilt like my trusty ol' spinach. Well... it just doesn't cook like that. These greens are tougher, and require more time on the heat than spinach. My first attempt was pretty crunchy.


On day 2, I decided to give my greens a little more TLC. I heated about 1 tsp of garlic basting oil (from Wegmans) on medium-heat, and sauteed chopped onion and more garlic for about 5 minutes, until brown. I added 2 big handfuls of greens, seasoned with salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper. I covered the greens (as recommended on the bag... I'm not above following instructions) and let them cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes. The result was quite lovely; texture- al dente, taste- mellow.

They don't look too scary, right?

Now, I'm not about to call myself the collard greens cooking expert. In fact, I'll even point you toward Paula Deen's recipe if you want to see a more traditional preparation. But because I'm not sure when I might have "neck bone" on hand, my lighter saute was just what I needed on a cool fall day. I ate them in peace, along with a bowl of spaghetti squash marinara!

Pasta Imposta. (Say it like you're from New England.)

Looks like pasta, doesn't it? Well it isn't! It's squash! I put the entire squash in the oven (got the idea from The Pioneer Woman) @ 375 for about 50 minutes, scraped out the flesh with a few forks, and topped with my favorite jarred chunky basil marinara sauce. Woulda been better with cheese... didn't have any in the fridge this time. You can use some freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano when you make this yourself.


I hope my first attempt at collard greens will inspire you to try something new... especially if it's dark, leafy, and green!


Until next time!

Six weeks in!

Hello and hello, welcome to my blog!

Well folks, believe it or not, I have been living in Keene, New Hampshire for six weeks now. My home for the next year. Why Keene? I am completing a dietetic internship through Keene State College. It's a post-grad nutrition program that will lead me to get my Registered Dietitian license. I'll complete a series of rotations within the specialties of food service, community, and clinical nutrition... gaining all kinds of experience along the way.

Right now, I am in the middle of my food service rotation. I'm working at a local high school, learning  about what goes in to feeding kids in the public school system each day. It is giving me a lot to think (and dream) about how I want to use my knowledge and experiences to influence this powerful food system. After all... that's why I'm here!

And just like that, I am six weeks into my program. Over the next year, I will not only be super-busy with my rotations, classes, homework, and internship projects, but also taking advantage of this amazing part of New England! And the best way to enjoy a new place is, of course, to eat your way through it.

I hope this blog becomes a showcase of wonderful things tasted, cooked, baked, seasoned and enjoyed. Thanks for joining me in this new adventure!

Speaking of adventures... some of my fellow interns and I hiked Mt. Monadnock today. It was beautiful! Here's a view from the top. (Kelly W, Emily, me, Jo-Ann, Heather, and Kelly B)