Flageolet Bean Soup for a Winter's Day

The weather forecast here is rain for the next 10 days. I am thrilled! Rain, cold and winter are still here for the next four months. With that, this time of year can be slim pickins in the produce area at your local food store. I find myself thinking about the vine ripe tomatoes, cherries and peaches I miss when the cold weather is here. But the winter vegetables are hearty, satisfying and easy to prepare, so again and again I rethink soup recipes. With my husband preferring a vegetarian diet, we are meatless mondays now. Making a pot of soup on monday sets us up for having food for the first few days of the week when things are hectic. This morning I packed soup leftovers in a thermos for my lunch after yoga class. Easy is good.
So here is a very lovely, easy soup recipe made with flageolet beans. I asked our local fine food store to carry them (along with our coop and neighborhood market!) and what a happy surprise they did. I know I have spoke of flageolets before, but in case you forgot, they are heavily used in french cooking. They are delicate, immature kidney beans, and I find they have a wonderful buttery taste and texture. Very high in fiber and and protein. I use my pressure cooker to soak and cook the beans. Flageolets only take about 10 minutes to cook in a pressure cooker. I do however cook my flageolet bean soup for about 45 minutes. I "soak" them by cooking them for one minute in the pressure cooker and then rinsing them. Of course you can soak them overnight, or boil them for 10 minutes to prepare them for cooking. Their fast cooking times make them a great choice for family dinners.
I have switched over almost completely to dried beans. They are cheaper and I am actively trying to phase out all canned products in our household due to BPA in the linings of canned food. BPA is in the plastic liner that are in most cans of food. Consumer reports even found some BPA in cans not lined with BPA plastic. There is a link to the consumer reports study measuring BPA in common canned food.
Bob's Red Mill carries flageolet beans. And, I will tell you that I have noticed these beans to be a less "gassy" bean. That may be a personal issue however since some of my closest friens tolerate black beans well in their bellies, and I just cannot eat them without some major discomfort!
Well, here is a wonderful tasty, easy recipe. I try to substitute leeks for onions whenever I can. The richness from leeks carries this soup a long way. Along with a crusty piece of toasted sourdough with butter, I am deeply satisfied. If you make it, tell me what you think!


Flageolet bean soup

1 1/2 cups flageolet beans
3 large carrots diced
4 stalks celery diced
3-4 leeks trimmed and cleaned then thinly sliced
1 bay leaf
6 cups veggie stock
7 branches thyme
zest of 1 meyer lemon
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 bunch dino kale washed, dried and chopped fine
3 tbls olive oil

soak beans, then sautee leeks, beans, carrots, celery with olive oil for 10 minutes. Add thyme stalks, bay leaf, and veggie stock. Stir and then add lemon zest, kale and lemon juice. Cook for 1 hour in a normal pot, or 45 minutes in a pressure cooker.  Remove thyme stalks and bay leaf before serving. I love to top with a little pecorino romano or parmesean.
This soup gets better the next day!

Pizza

Our neighborhood bday pizza party was a success. Here are some photos that captured the night well....

Back to Bikram!?

Even with my great new camera, I have no good light at night to take photos of any food I have been making.  But, slowly it is staying lighter longer at night and I am thinking more about food. I sent a check to a local farm this week. I am subscribing to their experimental winter share. It starts in a matter of weeks, and I know that having a box of vegetables to prepare will motivate me to create new dishes more than any trip to the grocery store.

I finally saw Food Inc. this past weekend, and of course it was amazing. Have you seen it?

This whole week has been a wash. Little M has had croup since saturday night. She has not gone to school this week, and I have been coughed and sneezed on for the last five days. Yesterday it seemed she was taking a turn for the worse. Her ears hurt, red eyes, snot, fever and a cough that really hurt. She was requesting crushed ice, so I knew Bryonia was the remedy to turn to. Sure enough after starting her on it, she coughed very little last night, and woke up today in a much better place. All I have to say about croup is thank goodness for homeopathy. When you hit the right remedy, the results are almost instant!

I pulled a muscle (my tricep?) after jumping oh so enthusiatically back into bikram yoga last friday. Since sunday it has hurt to move my arm. The first thing I thought to myself was "oh, right, you are 38 now, not 25." Not that I could go back to class while my sick child is in my care, but still I am excited to. The last time I was there was when I was 9 months pregnant.
I had joined the local gym for a free trial week last week, and really disliked it. A victim of our small town, the locker room was just not up to my standards, and I was spending way too much time thinking about how unclean I thought things were and feeling really out of place with the tv's and machinery.
My bikram studio on the other hand, is spotless, cheery, calming and just what I need. I have my own spot on the floor, touching nothing but my own towel! Very essential for a person like me.
But this muscle in my arm which may very well be something related to something else happening in my arm is taking its own sweet time repairing itself despite by best efforts using arnica gel and regularly massaging trigger points that may or may not be related to the soreness.
Tomorrow is my husband's pizza birthday party. I will try my best to take photos and post something entertaining!

Office Space!

Things are busy around here. One of the things I seem to be doing less of lately is cooking. I did cook some appetizers at my friend's 30th birthday party a couple of weeks back and that was lots of fun.
What I have been doing is getting ready to work out of my new office space!! Located downtown in an uber-cute location. (a 40 min drive for me however!) My neighbor and friend found prime space to rent and open her business! The space does not have a name yet, but it is a sweet little second story place that is perfect for me to see nutrition clients and work. Along with my friends esthetician's practice, there will be a doula, massage therapist and others occupying the beautiful space. So, here is a little look inside...along with a certain five year old's saturday outfit.

January's Puff Pastry

Cool, windy january day before a rain storm. Had some puff pastry in my fridge and decided to sprinkle with parmesan, thyme and oregano and let M have a special after school snack.
She would have ate the whole thing if I had let her. I drizzled it with some olive oil and truffle salt for good measure. 10 minutes in the oven and it was finished.

This is M's bedside table. She is a knick nack kind of kid. If I put those winged horses inside her nightstand, she them gets back out. I have given up trying to de-clutter it. The reason I am posting the picture however is to show you the latest addition to our family; The Seamonkeys. Remember those? Oh how they capture little ones imagination! Santa gave those to her, and she is doing well taking care of them.

A closer look......that little green turtle was actually mine when I was a child. She loves finding old things of mine and claiming them for herself!

Out of Balance

Guess what? Remember how I told you I was getting some "tests" done? They are back. My appointment is not until next week, but I requested to pick up copies of my labs early.

I had my steroid hormones, neurotransmitters and thyroid tested along with a chem screen. And, it was almost completely covered by my health insurance.
First I will tell you that my PMS is crazy. I worry a lot. I have very big germ fears. Headaches, fatigue, exhaustion. I feel anxious a lot. It is all there. And I am a nutritionist, so go figure. I help people with these exact problems. But, as I live in the world, I am coming to find out that this is normal. The very doctors who spend 15 minutes with you at your annual gyno exam feel just as crappy. They do not have the answers you are looking for. You get shuffled out with a prescription and you are on your way! We just all live in a perpetual state of "just barely hanging on" and mostly find nothing beyond that. Do you agree? Perhaps not. But, I have noticed that our culture uses caffeine, drugs (both food and chemical) and addictions to survive.
Today the sky opened up and I got to the bottom of the question I have had for 10 years now. Why do I feel so awful, so much?
I learned the exact levels of my neurotransmitters. I know now, that feeling anxious, depressed and stressed have a REAL basis. I know my vitamin D level is very low. I know that my adrenal glands need some help. I know that feeling calm  and happy is a very short distance away.
I know it is not all in my head.
Hear that one more time (and shout it to your doctor.....)
IT IS NOT ALL IN YOUR HEAD
My biochemistry is off, and will soon be back on track.

The Mood Cure by Julia Ross is worth it's weight in gold.

Ok, back to normal

I made it through today getting up early and taking M to carpool. A part of me is so relieved that we are back on schedule, a part of me depressed it is January.
Last night however I went out with some girlfriends and had some extra special fun. We saw Its Complicated and then went out to dinner. And no matter what happens in the world or my life, having girlfriends is the most essential element for me.  I am blessed beyond measure.

Here are some photos of my birthday celebration with family. My brother-in-law made me a cake which was extra special. My birthday being so close to christmas has meant a lifetime of getting lost in the holiday shuffle and having very few cakes ever made for my special day. It was devils food cake with cinnamon buttercream!

This was little M's birthday apples she made my sister and I. Topped with sugar and mints. She created it all on her own

My birthday card from my daughter. Made me cry.