Food for thought

I readily admit that sometimes I can be an absolute freak when it comes to food. Meat especially. Sometimes I can eat chicken. Sometimes I can't. It all depends on my 'mood.' I have red meat exactly once a year: in pastistio at the Greek festival. I can't remember the last time I had pork. Maybe a rib at a family event?
This is all to say I'm not vegetarian. But whenever I turn down a burger or pass on chicken that day, people usually say, "What are you, vegetarian?" Like it's an accusation.
No, I'm not vegetarian, but I do have some issues with meat. The main issues being the way in which it's produced. For example, is that chicken I'm going to eat stuck in a dirty cage with hundreds of others chickens rolling around in poop and vomit? Is it being shot full of hormones or feed that is making it sick? Because if it is, that can't be good for me either, right? I have to believe that the health of the chicken, or the waters in which the fish swim, or the foods that the animals are eating is going to have a direct result on my health, as well.
But when does it cross the line from being informed to being too informed? I guess you can never be too informed, right? Free range, cage free, organic, farm-raised, hormone free. It can all get to be a bit too much sometimes. If I'm standing in the dairy case for half an hour trying to figure out which eggs to buy, am I crazy? Sometimes, I think so.
This is a very long-winded and ramble-y way to say that I picked up this book in an airport on my way to Las Vegas. Usually at the airport, I buy all the girlie magazines I can possibly read in the amount of time I'll be on a plane: Marie Claire, Glamour, InStyle, US Weekly. It's mindless entertainment and helps me pass the time. But this time I wanted to read about something other than panty-less Britney or whether Angelina is anorexic or not.
So I picked this up. It's very very good. Basically, it's about the state of food in this country and what we eat, how we eat it and how it's prepared. From organic fruits and veggies, to farm-raised meats to factory-raised meats, it covers a lot of information. Whether you agree with the author or not, or see his points or not, it is an informative book. That's what I like most about it; he's not advocating one way of eating over another (for the most part), he's just saying be informed about what you're eating, which is just good advice for everyone.
I can't say the author has changed my mind about anything I eat, but he has made me think more. I've visited farmer markets more in the past couple of weeks buying more local produce than I did before. I bought chicken from a local farmer last week. Does it make a difference? I don't know. Will I keep doing it? Absolutely. Will I still go to the supermarket down the street, too? Yep.

Ginger Chewies

I haven't made the pumpkin biscuits yet. I keep forgetting to buy pecans. So I made these instead. They're very chewy, very good and very addictive. They're definitely going into my permanent cookie-recipe collection.

I did do two things differently, though:
1. I rolled 1/8 cup of dough into balls. I didn't want ginormous cookies. I ended up getting about 20-22 cookies instead of the 9-12 in the original recipe.
2. I chopped up some candied ginger (about 1 teaspoon, I guess) and added it to the sugar for rolling.

I usually bake, eat some of it and then bring it to work because I don't want 100 cookies or an entire cake or whatever at home. These? These are all mine.

Super Sized Ginger Chewies
From Elinor Klivans's 'Big Fat Cookies'

2 ¼ cups unbleached all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp cloves
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter at room temp.
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
¼ cup molasses
about ¼ cup granulated sugar

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and brown sugar until smoothly blended, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the egg and molasses and mix until blended and an even light brown color, about 1 minute. On low speed, add the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate.

Spread the granulated sugar on a large piece of wax or parchment paper. Roll 1/8 cup of dough between the palms of your hands into a 2 inch ball, roll the ball in the sugar and place on one of the prepared baking sheets. Continue making cookies, spacing them 2 inches apart.

Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm, but they are still soft in the center and there are several large cracks on top*, about 10 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

*Don't overbake these. The best part about them is the chewiness

Pecan Pumpkin Biscuits

These sound delicious and I will be baking a batch of them this week. If anyone beats me to it, let me know how they turn out.
Stay tuned ...

Sweet potato-carrot soup

I know ... it's been awhile. I've been traveling and not cooking (and I had some good food), but now I'm home and it's time to start cooking again. More than that, it's fall and time to start cooking again. I love fall: pumpkins and squash, apples, pears, Brussels sprout (seriously) and more. You can't convince me it's not the best time of the year for food.

So here's my first soup of the season: Sweet Potato-Carrot Soup from "12 Best Foods Cookbook." You can make it anytime, but it just feels and tastes and looks better in fall. It's really easy: just roast and puree. It's also really creamy without any added fat. Another reason to try it. Trust me on this one, you'll enjoy. I am. Yum!

Sweet Potato-Carrot Soup

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 1/4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces

1 large carrot, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

1 large apple, peeled, cored and cut into pieces

1 tablespoon butter or canola oil

1 shallot (or half an onion), chopped

3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth

salt and pepper

1. Preheat oven to 400. Rub potatoes, carrot and apple with 1 tablespoon of oil. Spread onto a baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes.

2. Heat butter in a large pan. Add shallot/onion and saute until soft (about 5 minutes). Add the roasted veggies and apple and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

3. Puree the soup in a blender. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Garnish with dried cranberries or, you know, whatever you want.