Thanksgiving

Boy, it doesn't entirely feel like it should be Thanksgiving in Pueblo yet! It's been in the 70s still. Last Wednesday, I participated in a photoshoot for Paul Alhadef, a stellar photographer. We were doing lifestyle shots. It was so nice out that we went to the City Park and took photos! Sheesh!
And now I'm listening to Christms music! It just seems odd. Well, at least it was cold this morning!
We celebrated Thanksgiving with my parents and the Prochazkas -- my mom's brother and family -- on Saturday. On Thursday, we'll be hanging out with Schaub's in Denver. And we're going to watch Quantum of Solace!

That's Natural! Turns a New Page

That's Natural - a Pueblo-based news-magazine that I've been working with for over a year - has gone to FULL COLOR! Tisha, my dear friend and the publisher, has bitten the bullet and printed the whole news-mag in color on beautiful glossy paper! And the paper looks fantastic! What an eye-popping edition! Click on the title of this blog to check out her website!

That's Natural can be found all over Southeastern Colorado - and get ready to see more of us! We just won a USDA Grant for the Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education to create a curriculum series for elementary students to learn about sustainable, seasonal, locally-produced products and the nutritional and social benefits of supporting local farmers and ranchers! We're so excited! And boy do we have a lot of work cut out for us!

White Chicken Chili

At my brother Chris' request, I'm posting a recipe that requires less effort than the other gluten free recipes. This recipe is from our Mom, Paulette. I'm lazy enough not to saute the onions with the cumin, green chili, garlic, and chicken in advance and just layer it in the slow cooker. I also added one 15-oz can chopped stewed tomatoes.

White Chicken Chili

3 16-oz cans Great Northern White Beans, not drained
1 T olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 4-oz cans chopped mild green chilis or 1-2 roasted Anaheim Green Chilis, skinned, seeded, chopped (these can make the chili spicy)
2 t gd cumin
1 1/2 t oregano
1/4 t cayenne pepper (optional)
2-4 c chopped cooked chicken
6 c chicken broth
salt/pepper
3 cups monterrey jack cheese

Saute onions, garlic, spices and chicken. Add beans and broth.
Simmer on medium heat for 20-40 mins. Add cheese just before serving.
Tastes better after a day to let the flavors mix together.

OR

Layer onions, garlic, chicken, chilis in your slow cooker. Top with 1 14-oz can stewed chopped tomatoes with green chilis (Muir Glen has a great version) and 2 15-oz cans chicken broth. Cook on low for four hours or until bubbling hot. Top with cheese and tortilla chips.

If it's too spicy, add some brown sugar and half-and-half. Makes it creamy and cuts down the spice a little bit.

Serves 8-10

Kitchen Layout Planning

Kitchens used to be the central room of any home because they were usually the locations of the only heat source in the home. They temporarily gave ground to the TV rooms, but they are quickly reclaiming the central space of modern homes. Your kitchen layout tells you lots of information about your cooking personality. Some kitchens express how busy the family is and are often used as storage of quick-fix frozen dinners or as the final resting place for hamburger wrappers and to-go bags. Other kitchens feel like the most worked-in rooms in your home, doubling as the office, the loading and unloading zone for the home's residents, and sometimes the gathering place for guests.

Whatever the use, a good kitchen needs to be convenient for you and your family's uses. Since it is your kitchen - and nobody else's - there are no rules for how it must be laid out. But here are some simple suggestions in setting up your kitchen for easy meal preparation. A good layout will encourage healthy meals to be prepared in your own kitchen.

Group your dishware and flatware closest to the dishwasher and sinks for easy unloading. Teach your children how to unload the safer items.

Gather your cooking tools according to the frequency of use and ease of storage. If you use a pastry blender less often than your can opener, then put the other tool in a lower drawer. Stack your pots and pans by size and by frequency of use. If you use larger pot almost daily, then consider reserving its own space so you don't have to dig it out every afternoon. Additionally, the pan that you use for turkey twice annually can be scooted to the back of the cupboard or be used to store smaller pots or lids.

Place your knives in a separate drawer or purchase a knife block -- stored away from little curious hands -- to keep sharp items away from unsuspecting fingers and inexperienced hands.

Arrange your food cupboards by the type of ingredients you use the most and by recipe. Place your indulgent foods like chips and chocolates further back, and make sure healthier snack items are easily accessed.

When you come home from the grocery store, lay out your fresh produce, washing and drying food before you put it in the refrigerator. Foods that you will use soon can be cut up and will be ready for easy cooking. Ingredients that won't be used until later in the week can be stored whole. Date the foods you buy so that you know how long it will keep. Only buy what you need - and perhaps one or two reserve meals for emergency - and buy when things are on sale if the items are not perishable.

Grocery stores deliberately place the 'yummy' indulgent foods on the end caps -- the aisle ends-- so shop with a list and go after you've had a light snack so you're not inclined to add something to the cart that simply looks good. Don't forget how much space you have in the refrigerator and cupboards before you buy the bulk food!

Now your kitchen fits your needs!

Fifteen Twentyone

We finally had our opportunity to eat at Fifteen Twentyone. I took advantage of the weekend and took Joshua out for dinner. When we arrived just before 7:00, the restaurant had about 8 tables seated (of probably 20 tables). During the course of the dinner, almost all of them filled up. Business has been pretty steady, according to Nancy.

We sampled the soup -- celery and smoked mussel and the bibb salad for starters. Then we ordered a seared salmon on risotto and the Colorado lamb.

After the starters, we waited for our dinner and started chatting about our next steps in our careers. I'm looking at different Dietetic Internships, and we talked about the options, pros, cons, and risks.

Nancy, co-owner of Fifteen Twentyone, brought us an appetizer plate of shrimp wrapped in prociutto balanced atop lemon vinaigrette spinach and fresh tomatoes. Delish! Even better, they were compliments of the chef -- probably because I admire their work so much and had written a dazzling review of the restaurant for That's Natural and The Pueblo PULP.

We were talking and talking... and didn't really realize that the dinner was taking a long time. The tables around us filled up, and their starters arrived. Then our server, laden with a large bowl, approached and placed the dish in front of us. It was teaming with mussels that had been steamed in a light white wine, roasted tomato and basil sauce. He explained that the lamb was taking longer than the chef intended and that the mussels were complimentary. Woohoo!

The lamb was medium rare, garnished with a light balsamic vinaigrette, tender and moist. The typically unpopular mutton taste was not even in the background. It was accompanied by a Gorgonzola mashed potato -- rustic and flavorful. Eating the two items together brought the sense of wild mountain fields to the lamb, which was sweet, and the Gorgonzola potatoes, which were just mashed enough to be called mashed potatoes but still possessing the heartiness of a perfectly-cooked potato. The beets that rested alongside the salmon were fresh and earthy -- but in the

Josh's salmon dish was brightly colored, crispy, and sweet. It was garnished with a squash puree which gave the plate a whimsical artsy appearance. The risotto was dense in flavor, sweet, and rich. The rice was firm to the bite but settled smoothly into the cream. I admit to stealing more than just a few bites.

Well, the rest was history, and it was absolutely splendid. We ended the perfect dinner with cups of dark coffee lightened by heavy cream.

I can't wait to go back!