I have a recipe that is a fall back. I got if from my mother-in-law years ago. And I make it often. But not so often that I have actually committed it to my memory. It's a shadowy-in-my-mind kind of recipe.
And here's the deal. It counts as Americana in my book because the dang hand-written, blurred recipe is at least twenty years old. And it probably came from a newspaper which was equivalent to Pinterest back in the day. Kinda.
Anyhoo. I couldn't find the recipe to adapt and use as a centerpiece for edamame. Nope. The picture may give you a clue. I have this HUGE binder recipe book. When I am organized the book is as well. However, when I'm not, which is more likely, the recipes end up in four or five other places like one of the many other cookbooks on my shelf. You can see the classic red and white gal, and beneath her an entire shelf of cookbooks, and out of sight is another shelf. Ugh. So after looking for 30 minutes I decided to rely on the shadow memory and throw together what I think is the recipes. Tastes like it, and pretty dang good which is why I've held onto the original for twenty years (until recently parted, of course).
1/2 to 1 cup edamame (I used frozen raw)
1 head of broccoli florets (or I'm thinking a package of broccoli slaw would be great, too)
grape, cherry or chunks of tomato (I used about a cup and 1/2)
1/2 to 1 cup Kalamata olives (or any olive will do, or use onions, or cauliflower or mushrooms etc.
Dressing:
3 TBSP red wine vinegar
2 TBSP olive (or your favorite) oil
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tsp sugar
1 tsp Italian seasoning blend
This is a totally adaptable recipe. I usually use the veggies I have on hand. A summer squash or zucchini cubed would be excellent. As would cucumbers. Mushrooms are amazing in it. You can use any type of bean, too. White/Navy or garbanzos would be especially yummy. Toss in nuts if you want the extra protein or mouth feel. Speaking of protein. Not only is there 29 grams from the edamame in this salad...but broccoli has approx 4 grams a cup, too. Tossing brown rice into the mix would give you 8 additional grams for the salad. Tomatoes are worth about 2. So if four people nosh on it your looking at 8-10 grams a person. And don't forget that Edamame is a complete protein source, too.
I thought I might post a recipe tonight.
But then I pulled a shift at the organic CSA and bagged about 25 pounds of heirloom tomato seconds. So. I sliced and diced and chopped up tomatoes and some fresh basil and garlic and am crockpotting this delicious mixture overnight into a delicious multipurpose sauce that I'll can tomorrow. Whew.
Now. Of note, this sauce is VEGAN. Yay. So I could chat about it and justify my Vegan Mofo status, but, since I said I'd share some protein stats with you, I'll just go ahead and do that here, too.
Most adults need 40 - 65 grams of protein per day. Even non-Vegan focused websites suggest that meat in not the only source of protein, nor the best. Soy, beans, legumes and nuts are suggested as good and often better protein sources.
How does plant protein add up?
Soy: Edamame
Tofu is lighter on the protein scale than organic edamame. I say organic because soy gets it's somewhat soiled reputation because most soy is genetically modified, cheap, super processed and in nearly every convenience food on the market. Soy, standard American style, is not our friend. However, organic or GMO free soy in it's natural packaging is delicious, nutritious and not of huge concern to the average bear (there is a little flutter over plant based estrogen).
Edamame (either in pods and roasted and lightly salted, or naked and tossed in a salad weighs in at 29 grams of protein per cup). Also. We are talking a complete protein as well. Win. Win.
Hmmm. Should I do something with edamame for dinner tomorrow night? Let me sleep on it. You have to come back if you want to know.
Vegan mofo has dawned. Oh my. Twenty days of consistent vegan related posts every day for the month of September.
Am I prepared? Not so much. I have three recipes ready to go and that's very good. And I have a theme idea. Also very good.
Last year I was so prepared. I had a list of all twenty posts and ideas on how to double up on some parts of some recipes so I didn't have to reinvent the wheel every time I posted.
This year feels oh so unprepared. I am going to do a dual focused approach. I'll share protein rich Vegan options, factoids about Vegan proteins, and Americana style recipes. If it's in the red and white cookbook, social media, at county fairs, potlucks, mom and pop style restaurants, I'm game to take it on and Veganize it.
Seat of the pants style. Yee haw!!!
Planned: Vegan "Peanut Butter Cup" haystacks ala Facebook/Pinterest. Amazing burgers...really amazing actually. Walking Tacos, Tater Skins and a twist on the ol' potato salad.
So I had some produce that needed a little tender loving care.
The grapes above, after cooking down and being squeezed through a cheesecloth and then cooked down more provided one jar of grape jam. Even though I had gotten optimistic and prepped two. It tastes good, a little tart because I was very chintzy with the sugar, but good.
Which brings me to the next project. A huge vat of dill pickle relish that filled seven pint-sized jars.
Oh my. And there was a series of pickles when attempting to make the relish. Two grocery stores were out of dill seed and mustard seed. Apparently EVERYONE in my city made dill pickles yesterday. And I almost forgot the garlic. And I had to buy lids. And improvise. And I WAS NOT about to go to a third grocery store.
The recipe called for seeds, I used powdered mustard and dill weed. The recipe called for white vinegar, I used apple cider. The recipe called for a whole lot of sugar. WAY too much. So I used 1/4 the amount called for.
I'm hoping I don't regret seven jars.
Tiger Eye Focus. How does that look with the violin?
Clearly, I'm not going to be running stairs and punching sides of beef.
For violin it will involve wanting.
Do I want to be able to play? If so, am I willing to play well and by the book? After investing what I have so far, and with the goal of actually being able to play it, I'd be an idiot to say no. So by the book it is.
I think one of my issues might be that I tend to be more creative than mathematical in thinking. I'm used to looking at an imperfect situation like a recipe fail or decorating issue and coming up with a way to fix or make it work. Relationships are fluid as well. Black and white math is not a strong area for me.
Music is spot on math. There is a formula and exacting timing and detail. So. I need to stretch and work on this. It reminds me of when I had to take my algebra section of training for radiography and I had to borrow my then 8th grader's book to try to wrap my mind around it. So. I've done it before and I'll be doing it again. Math for the challenged.
Also. There is a huge element of risk in this journey. I'm not going to get the soup and cookies knocked out of me like poor Rocky. But, I have to put myself out there. My insecurities, my heart, a little bit of my soul, every week when I go to my lesson and every day when I practice. I have to reword the inner monologue and avoid beating myself up. When I'm ready to play in front of people, it's going to be even riskier.
And. There is the cost of time and focus and attention. This violin thing costs money for lessons and broken strings and new books and gas to get there. But the time element is pretty huge and it comes out of the time that is precious to me. I have to give time to the have to things, non-negotiable, but what is not carved out of my life by others is me time. As one who leans towards being introverted, there is an extra amount of anxiety with this violin thing. When I'm practicing and going to lessons those are hours and minutes I don't get back. Am I willing to keep investing those hours and minutes and absorbing the cost? And if I do, why wouldn't I make the most of my valuable time and do it right?
This is something that just came to me. I always thought of myself as a little flaky, a little bit of a quitter. I'm not saying that I haven't quit a few things in my day. But, overall I have this impression of myself that I flit from thing to thing and give up far too easily. I'm wondering why I have that impression. I am looking back at my track record and I see where I have whole-heartedly devoted myself to people and relationships and jobs and extras. And I see where some have gone through seasons, others have not been a good fit, others were not worth pursuing. But. The things I've dug into and given myself to are alive and flourishing. And I'm not a quitter. Far from it.
Quitting is not an option. So therefore, I will give violin the time, energy and focus I need to in order to conquer the current set of problems I have with it. I can do this.
My violin "lesson" of the week focused on developing a tiger's eye. I'm at the point when I need to make a level of commitment higher than what I've already made. It's not about paying the money for the lessons. It's not about practicing and learning. After my Thursday playing-through-the-song performance my teacher gave me three ways to look at what was missing from my musical repertoire.
Lesson One) teeny, tiny details make a huge difference. If I am putting my fingers down just to put my fingers down, then I'm not making music. If I can't put my fingers exactly where I need to put them the exact time they need to go there with the exact called for bow stroke, then I'm making noise, not music.
My teacher was kind. And explained that he has to look for both growth, which he sees, and the errors that need to be nipped in the bud and removed so they don't flower into something stinky. And speaking of stinky...
Two) is the second illustration, the dirty diaper. He said babies don't understand the implication of a dirty diaper. And adults really don't change dirty diapers because it's fun, they do it for the best interest of the baby. Which takes us to the third illustration which is totally related but unrelated.
Three) Developing the eye of the tiger... Rocky-style. Rocky spent hours and hours running up and down steps to get in shape. He spent hours conditioning himself by beating on slabs of beef in a meat locker. He prepared mentally and let's not forget the musical score.
I need to develop the same drive and focus with my violin, committing to learning how to play this instrument like I wish I could play it, and how I should play it. So it's music, not mish-mash sloppy. So. To the Tiger-Eyed focus I go. But what does that look like? Definitely not running up stairs with my violin held up high over my head. I hope.
