Tuna (or Walleye) Noodle Casserole

Out on the porch on an unseasonably warm spring evening, eating casserole.  It doesn't get more Midwestern than this.

We spent the weekend building new garden beds. A trip to Menards for lumber and peat moss, a trip to my parents' house to borrow the trailer, a trip to the landfill for a massive amount of black dirt for $5 - the definition of dirt cheap, it appears - and finally planting on Sunday. The peas, carrots, cabbage, beets, butternut squash, spinach, chard, kale, lettuce, turnips, and kohlrabi are all nestled in their garden beds.  The cucumbers, tomatoes, basil, rosemary, sage, sugar pumpkins, jack-o-lantern pumpkins, corn, and sunflowers will be planted soon. I still need to transplant our raspberries and rhubarb. 

Oh, and our CSA share will be starting soon too.

It's a lot of fruit and veg for our small family. But I can't help myself - spring is a time of optimism and hope. I want sunflowers towering in a sunny greeting to me and my neighbors every morning, and fresh lettuce in the salad bowl every evening. I want a freezer stocked with pesto and a cupboard full of pickles. I have visions of a pantry lined with jars of homemade salsa and sauerkraut, carrots and squash stored away for winter, pumpkin seeds toasting in the oven, rosemary scenting the sauce of autumn's first pheasant. 

Entrusting that the miracles of the earth will provide once again this year, those tiny seeds harnessing the sun, water and soil to fulfill their vegetable destiny, the bounty of summer will be upon us soon.  However, for the moment, with the brown dirt of our garden beds quiet and bare for the moment, I dig in the pantry and freezer and make casserole with what we have on hand, knowing that an abundance of garden freshness is just around the corner. 

Tuna (or Walleye) Noodle Casserole

Adapted from January 2013 Food & Wine Magazine. I love casserole, the classic throw-everything-in-and-bake-it-until-bubbly dish, and this is a quality recipe, with a béchamel base and toasty buttery breadcrumbs on top. Instead of tuna, I subbed in our canned walleye, but as I've never met anyone outside my family tree with canned walleye, you can go ahead and use tuna. If you need to impress your friends with your tuna noodle casserole, just call it cassoulet - but then again, if you need to impress your friends, I kindly suggest you find new friends. 

12 ounces rotini pasta

4 Tbls. butter

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 Tbls. all-purpose flour

3 cups whole milk or half-and-half

1 and 1/2 cups frozen peas

3/4 cup piquillo peppers, sliced (look for them near the roasted red peppers in the pickle aisle)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

One 6-ounce can solid white tuna in oil, drained and flaked

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 450°. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain.

Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven or other oven-safe pot, melt 3 tablespoons of the butter. Add the onion and cook over high heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the milk and bring to a boil. Cook the sauce over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened, about 3 minutes.

Add the pasta, peas, sliced piquillo peppers, Parmesan cheese and tuna and season with salt and pepper; mix together.

In a small skillet, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the breadcrumbs and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until golden, about 1 minute. Sprinkle the crumbs over the casserole and bake for 10 minutes or until bubbling. Serve right away.

No Hungry Kids - a Fundraiser Follow-Up

I have a fear of asking people for money. I didn't realize it until I started this fundraiser for Great Plains Food Bank. When it came to fundraising, my usual m.o. was to write out a check and call it done. Or buy food. I'm a sucker for Girl Scout cookies, Boy Scout popcorn, and the Pizza Corner frozen pizzas that NoDak students sell for fundraisers.

However, I asked you to donate to a worthy cause, and I didn't even have any cookies to sell you. I just made my case for one of my favorite charities the only way I knew how - by blogging. I was nervous about it. I'd never asked you to do anything other than maybe try a divine rhubarb crisp recipe, and I was unsure of what would happen, if I'd even make my simple goal to raise $300 in donations.

To my astonishment, many of you opened your hearts (and your pockets) and gave whatever you could. $5 here, $20 there, but every dollar you donated along with the fundraising efforts of my friend Petra added up to big dollars. $1,677 to be exact, demolishing my small $300 goal.

Petra and I present a check for $1,677 to Renee and Mike of Great Plains Food Bank

I was astounded. I was excited. And yeah, maybe I cried.

I understand that $1,677 isn't a cure-all, but it's part of the solution to fine-tune our food distribution system to ensure there is not one child waking up this morning wondering where they will find food today, perhaps sitting distractedly in a classroom waiting for their only meal at school lunch. If nothing else, this experience reminded me of a simple truth: we are stronger together than apart. Like the fibers of a rope, bees in a hive or musicians in a symphony, our influence and power to do good, affect change and become the best we can be grows exponentially when we connect with others, participate in our communities, actively support one another and cheer each other on to pursue our passions.

It's all part of living a meaningful life, and I sincerely thank you for reminding me of that.

PS - for more information on hunger in America, check out the documentary A Place At The Table. Screenings are happening all across the US now.

Three Days, $300 to Stop Hunger in North Dakota

After five years of blogging in this little space, I'm still constantly amazed by our bounty. The overflowing gardens that are a mainstay in our communities. The streams and fields burgeoning with fish and game. The endless multi-colored fields of flax, wheat and corn. The cattle grazing behind barbed wire fences along every rural highway and byway. The fully stocked supermarket shelves with variety that astounds.

Yet, people go hungry. 

Last year I had the opportunity to listen to the director of the Great Plains Food Bank talk about hunger in North Dakota. It was an eye-opener.

- 1 in 11 North Dakotans don't get enough to eat. 40% of those people are children.

- Food pantries originally designed for emergency food supplies are now supplementing the diets of our low-income population on an ongoing basis.

- An aging population brings an increased risk of food insecurity for the elderly. 

It's time to help, and here's my idea. If you donate to Great Plains Food Bank over the next three days through May 1, I'll match it. Thanks to the Center of Technology and Business Women's Leadership Program and my own personal funds, I'll match your donation, up to $300 accumulative total, and my goal is to use every dollar of that to match yours. Together, we'd raise $600.

$1 = 4 meals.

$600 = 2,400 meals. 

To donate, click here and in the donation form in the company match line, enter "Rhubarb" to get the match. That's it. Every dollar helps!

The Great Plains Food Bank is pretty awesome. Based in Fargo, they have developed a logistical system in cooperation with local supermarkets that collects food that would've otherwise been wasted and redistributes it across the state. This includes perishables like fruits and vegetables. Last year, they distributed 11 MILLION pounds of food around the state, stocking pantries in both cities and rural areas. 

I've think of a teacher friend right here in Bismarck, who tells me of children in her class who only get meals at school (in shoes and pants that are too small for them, asking to take off their shoes because their feet hurt), and the internal crisis she felt when their school's weekend Backpacks for Kids food supply program was discontinued. 

I think of my grandpa, who was grateful for Meals on Wheels and would only eat half of the modest meal for lunch, saving the other half for dinner, and wonder how many other elderly depend on food services for their daily bread. 

I think of the food pantry across the street from an office I used to work at, watching the Great Plains Food Bank truck pull up and bring not only canned goods, but fresh produce - lettuce, apples, carrots - week after week.  Occasionally I would notice the people walking in. I'll admit I thought people with food insecurity would be visibly hungry, skinny and weak. But I've learned that our hunger issues are more subtle, quiet, hidden, but always just underneath the surface. Single mothers may have enough food to get them through the first three weeks of the month, but run out of cash that last week with their rent due soon. Children may have food resources on the weekdays, but not the weekends. Elderly can get a meal at their community center, but may have empty cupboards at home.

We can help. 30 people donating $10 and we're there! 

To donate, click here and in the donation form in the company match line, enter "Rhubarb" to get the match through May 1. 

And thank you, thank you, thank you.

Easy Eggs Benedict

This is the moment you want to be in North Dakota.

We've been cooped up for six months, bundled under thermals, sweaters, coats, scarves, hats, gloves, and often big bulky snow boots, just our pink noses poking out, scurrying from our pre-warmed-with-car-starter vehicles to the nearest heated office building before going home to our heated garage and sitting by our gas fireplaces, complaining that, OMG, it is so freaking cold out. And let's not talk about all the mornings that started with an involuntary shoveling workout, mm-k?



But now, right now, is our moment of exhilaration, our moment of glory as the wonders of a North Dakota spring/summer begin. The thermometer says 72 degrees. The snow banks have been reduced to small slushy piles on the curbs. The birds - oh the birds! - they shatter winter's icy silence with their pretty little chirps, startling you with their song that you didn't realize you missed so much until now.

Of course, everyone is outside. People cancel their gym memberships and Netflix subscriptions because, well, who goes to the gym or stays in and watches movies in the summer? However, we don't just sit outside or stroll. We find projects. We build garden boxes. We wash windows. We walk the dog. I came home yesterday and found my husband in the driveway, building some contraption that might have been a goose blind or his attempt at a homemade camp cot, I'm not sure which, but it was his way of being outside on a perfect spring evening.

With spring comes rhubarb, strawberries, chives, fresh eggs, and of course, asparagus. This morning, while the birds chirped through my open kitchen window - yes, finally, throw open the windows! - I made these easy eggs Benedict with pile of asparagus, took a luscious bite, and officially welcomed spring and all its wonder.

Easy Eggs Benedict
This serves two (well, two plus a toddler of us), so size up accordingly for your family. Adapted from Family Circle magazine.

2 English muffins, toasted and buttered
4 eggs, plus 1 yolk
8 oz. asparagus, trimmed
Fresh lemon juice
Kosher salt or sea salt
Small pinch cayenne pepper
2 Tbls. butter
Chopped parsley

Fill a large flat-bottomed pot or pan with about 2" of water. Bring to a boil. Add asparagus and cook up to 2 mins, until crisp tender (don't overcook!). Remove asparagus with a slotted spoon, toss with 1 tsp. lemon juice, sprinkle lightly with salt, and set aside.

In the same pot with the same water, reduce heat to a simmer. Crack the four eggs and gently let them slip into the water one by one. Poach eggs 3-4 mins or until whites are set (yolks will still be somewhat runny). Remove with slotted spoon to a paper towel-lined plate.

While eggs are cooking, place egg yolk, 1 tsp. lemon juice, and a sprinkle of salt and cayenne in a blender; process until combined. Melt butter in a cup; let cool slightly, then slowly stream melted butter into blender while running; the hollandaise sauce should thicken immediately.

To serve, place two toasted and buttered English muffin halves on a plate, top each muffin half with a poached egg, sprinkle a little salt on each egg, drizzle with hollandaise sauce, sprinkle with parsley and serve with asparagus on the side.

Better Mac and Cheese

For the record, I have made homemade macaroni and cheese. I've done the cream sauce, melted in the cheese, poured the saucy noodles into a 13x9, sprinkled it all with bread crumbs, baked it until it has that magical crust on top and pulled it out of the oven with the distinct thought that nothing in the world compares to homemade mac and cheese.

This post is not about homemade mac and cheese.

I've been fascinated by a campaign started by two bloggers to get Kraft to remove artificial food dyes from their macaroni and cheese products. Check this out:


They do it in Europe, replacing Yellow #5 and #6 with annatto and other natural alternatives; why can't they do it here? It looks the same, tastes the same, and the prices seems comparable. Plus, some have linked artificial food dyes to problems in children like hyperactivity, allergies and migraines.

Up to this point, with a petition including 270,000 signatures and a lot of people yelling on their Facebook page, still Kraft has said, "Sorry. No dice." They point to some of the varieties like their organic line (not available in my supermarket, btw) that don't include artificial colors. However, every single one of their blue boxes marketed to children have artificial colors and they plan to keep it that way.

Unless, of course, people stop buying it. So hey, let's stop buying it.

Of course, there are lots of quick meal alternatives to this classic pasta meal, but as the parent of a toddler, even I keep a couple boxes on quick mac and cheese on the shelf. I just buy it differently and make it differently.

Ready for better mac and cheese? Here are some ideas:

1. Buy Annie's or another organic natural option. I know, it costs a few pennies more, but I got Annie's on sale for $1/box this week. Vote with your dollar - even if it's just one dollar.

2. In the last minute or so of boiling, throw in some frozen peas. Or maybe you have some leftover cooked broccoli? Just throw it in the bottom of the colander before you drain; the hot water and residual heat of the pasta will warm it up.

3. When mixing in the cheese stuff, try adding a little plain (not non-fat) yogurt with the milk and butter. I don't like too much, just a hearty spoonful for a little added flavor and creaminess.

4. Dig in your fridge. Any leftover protein like ham or turkey? Chop it up and throw it in.

5. Fresh black pepper over macaroni and cheese. Always.

Migas in Mexico

For one week, we turned off our cell phones.

For one week, we unplugged from Facebook, Twitter, the news, and TV (with the necessary exception of Friends reruns with Spanish subtitles).

For one week, I got to flex my rusty Spanish-speaking muscle and order "una cerveza, por favor" with that unique accent that only comes from a midwestern gringa, the mystical lingual sphere where lutefisk meets ceviche.

For one week, with Ben getting more spoiled by the minute in the paradise of grandma and grandpa's house, my love and I made a getaway to Cabo San Lucas and spoiled ourselves with the luxury of leisure. No lists. No chores. No deadlines. No agendas. No schedules. No make-up. No alarm clock.

No problem.

I adore Mexico. I've been to the east coast, west coast, and inland, and every time I get lucky enough to visit la tierra bonita, I fall in love all over again with the people, the language, the landscape, the sky, the art, and of course the FOOD. When I see the red, white and green of the Mexican bandera, I can't help but think the colors have to represent the perfect trifecta of tomato, queso fresco, and cilantro.

We stayed at a lovely small resort called Sirena Del Mar and our room had a well-equipped kitchen. I didn't do a lot of cooking; for breakfast we usually had café con leche and some sweet rolls we picked up for 3 pesos (30 cents) a piece at the panadería, lunch was always fish tacos at a taco shack, and then we'd get more adventurous going out for dinner. But a couple mornings, after waking up for an early swim in the ocean bay by our hotel, I had more of an appetite and whipped up my messy version of huevos rancheros, more commonly known by the Tex-Mex crowd as migas.

I make migas a lot at home, but of course they tasted better to me in my little Mexican kitchen. Maybe it was the real Mexican chorizo I used, or perhaps the ample supply of queso fresco in Cabo (hard to find in Bismarck). Maybe it was the fresh corn tortillas instead of the plastic-bagged ones available back home. Or maybe it was the fact that I was enjoying my migas with my legs kicked up on our balcony, waves crashing on the shore, my eyes scanning the horizon for the occasional whale sighting, my love at my side, and us grinning at each other at our stupid luck of being there, together, having that perfect moment, with a whole day of perfect moments ahead of us.

Migas
At home, I sometimes use the good unsalted Xochitl tortilla chips instead of frying corn tortillas. If you do this, just put the chips in the eggs a little earlier so they get a chance to soften up. Although flour tortillas are more popular in the Midwest, corn tortillas are the way to go here. This recipe serves two generously. 

Vegetable oil
6 corn tortillas, torn into forkable bite-size pieces
Chorizo
6 eggs
Chopped tomato
Queso fresco, crumbled (in Bismarck, I find this at Target)
Chopped cilantro
Hot sauce (I like Cholula or Valentin)
Lime slices

First, fry the tortillas: heat 1-2 Tbls. vegetable oil in a skillet, then add the tortillas. Cook until lightly browned in spots, stirring occasionally, about 5 mins. Remove tortilla pieces from pan and set aside on a plate.

Next, cook the chorizo: add a little oil to the pan if needed and fry the chorizo, breaking it up with a spatula and cooking until cooked through, about 5 mins. Remove chorizo from pan and set aside on a plate.

Next, cook the eggs: add a little oil to the pan if needed and cook the eggs, scrambling, until starting to hold their shape but still somewhat soggy, not yet firm. Add the tortilla pieces and continue cooking and stirring until the eggs are cooked to your liking.

To serve, heap the egg/tortilla mixture onto serving plates. Top eggs with cooked chorizo, tomato, queso fresco and cilantro and serve with hot sauce and limes on the side.