Iceberg to Arugula

Last week was a rough one. Major projects due, sick child, avalanches of e-mails, presentations to prepare, assorted conference calls, laundry begging to be done and to cap it all off, the unexpected and untimely passing of a colleague of mine. I stumble into the weekend deeply weary, saddened and suffering from my second migraine of the week.

It’s time to run away.

I generally post about food and the experience of eating, but not today. Today is about self preservation and the importance of taking badly needed mental heath days. 

When I’m overwhelmed, I retreat to the ocean. Generally I favor the Marin Headlands in the Golden Gate Recreation Area, a hilly, lush green swath of land just north of San Francisco. I’ve been escaping here for years in times I needed to recapture my sanity when it threatened to float away from me like a helium balloon.

About two hours from my home, even the drive is therapeutic. The hot Sacramento valley temperatures fade as I drive toward the cooler marine climate. I cross the southern portion of the Napa and Sonoma wine country admiring the beauty of the espaliered grapevines already showing signs of the harvest to come. Taking the last exit off Southbound US 101 before crossing the Golden Gate bridge into San Francisco, I find myself on a quiet deserted road that loops around and leads to a tunnel. Deep below the highway, the tunnel connects the outside world to the beautifully undeveloped Headlands.   

The tunnel itself is long and utilitarian, lined with black stained concrete. Dark, dank and hushed, it’s vaguely sanitarium like, though I find it oddly comforting. On the other side, I pass families of quail quietly grazing along the side of the road and catch a fleeting glimpse of a dodgy fox. Mist washes briskly over the verdant hills and casts a cool gauzy haze over the sun. I feel my jaw beginning to relax and my shoulders drop. I open my windows to let the eucalyptus infused sea air wash over my weary psyche and allow my mind to luxuriate in nothingness.

I spend 1-2 days on these journeys, I only get to do it once, maybe twice per year. Fortunately I have a wonderful husband who perhaps doesn’t completely understand my need to run away but respects that I need to do so and is willing to hold down the fort while I recharge. 

Do you need to get away too?

Some things to consider:

1. Figure out where makes you happy. I can’t answer that one for you. Might be the mountains, might be your own backyard, spend some time thinking about it

2. If possible, go alone. I‘ve found much personal renewal happens as soon as I remove the external interference. This includes other people. I speak as little as possible on these retreats, frequently going entire days without having uttered a word. (I’m sure people who know me well will find that hard to believe, but it’s true). It helps me think about where I am in my life, where I’m going as well as what I can do better. Virtually every time, I return home with a deep gratitude for what I have.  

3. Pick the right time. Frequently I end up on Stinson Beach which is a little farther North than the headlands. It’s a great three and a half mile walking beach, but it’s horrifyingly clogged with beachgoers on Summer and holiday weekends. I go on weekdays, early in the morning before the marine layer clears. Save for a few fishermen, I’m alone; coddled intimately between the earth and sea in a thick blanket of mist that all but blots out the sun. It sets the mood for my wandering meditation.

4. Make no plans, do what feels right. On the beach, I search for seaglass. Periodically, I stop, sit and think. I also write, because that’s what makes me happiest. I write about what I’m feeling and what I’m seeing. This post was mostly written on the beach, on a pad of paper which brings me to the next rule….

5. No electronics. I switch off my cell and leave it in the car. My beloved red mini laptop is stowed in my office at home. I am happily oblivious to the news the whole time I’m gone.

6. Music is deeply transformative for me, I choose carefully what I listen to because it sets the mood. I avoid the radio or anywhere I must listen to ads or news. For this trip, I listened to serene Spanish classical guitar music.

7. Eat well. Seek out good food or bring your own. It’s hard to recharge when your gut is groaning from a load of greasy, heavy fried or fast food.  At Stinson Beach, I like the Parkside Cafe. It was the site of one of my “wow” meals several years ago. A simple unfussy plate of sautéed English peas, early tomatoes, herbs and linguine that was deliciously well beyond the sum of it’s parts.

8. Guilt. It wasn’t really an issue for me to escape when I was single. But now as a wife and mother, I have two housemates to consider and for a while I felt guilty about it. After talking it over with my husband, I realized that a temporarily absent mommy is better than a stressed out screaming one.

I arrived home today. Healed, transformed, recharged and ready to face my life again….tomorrow.

This post is dedicated to Anita Michalovskis 1/7/60-6/19/10. Rest in peace friend.

I dig potatoes.

Literally….dug up a whole bunch the other day. Growing potatoes is rather easy and the foliage makes surprisingly attractive, albeit temporary, shrubbery studded with cute white and yellow flowers. Last year I began volunteering to help keep up the vegetable garden at my local elementary school during the Summer months and I’ll be doing the same this year. The perk is that in exchange for tending  the plots, you get to harvest whatever happens to be available the day you show up. This week, it’s potatoes: big hearty Russets.

I have to admit that pulling up the first clump of potato plants was something of a revelation. Examining the tangled mass in my hand, I realized I only had part of the haul which spurred me to excitedly fish through the soil like an overexcited child searching for eggs on Easter morning. It’s fair to say that I don’t normally get THAT excited about potatoes. But this is a similar point to the one I made in my sunflower post last year: If you shop for your produce mostly at the grocery store, it’s easy to develop a disconnect between the item itself and the fact that it did indeed come from a plant. Especially something as prosaic as the dirty brown, rough, lumpy Russet potato.

Doing your own vegetable gardening helps reestablish that connection. In the American food landscape of ubiquitous quick, processed foods, there is something inherently cool about seeing a food in it’s “just harvested” stage…..or maybe I’m just a major food dork. In any case, the harvest is a reminder of how precious and special unprocessed food really is.

If you want to grow your own potatoes, be sure to locate a source that sells organic seed potatoes. In warmer climates the time to plant has past, but there is always next year to think about….

Here are a few online sources:

Wood Prairie Farm

Maine Potato Lady

Peaceful Valley

Farm Fresh Living

In general there are two types of potatoes, waxy and starchy. Russets are the latter, which makes them ideal for mashing, whipping and thickening soups or stews. If you’re looking for a potato that will hold it’s shape in a potato salad recipe you want a “waxy” type potato such as a red new potato. Russets will simply fall apart and give a mushy texture. If you’re lucky enough to have some freshly dug Russets from garden or Farmers Market, here is a favorite Irish style mashed potato recipe.

Champ

2 large Russet potatoes

1 c. 1% milk

1/4 c. light sour cream

4 tbsp butter

1 bunch green onions, washed, trimmed and thinly sliced (white and light green part only)

½ tsp each salt and pepper (or more to taste)

1. Add 2 quarts water and 1 tsp salt to a large pot over high heat.

2. Peel and quarter potatoes and add to pot, leave pot uncovered.

3. While potatoes are cooking, add milk to small saucepan and place over low heat.

4. When water comes to boiling, reduce to medium high heat and simmer potatoes until tender. Insert a knife into one of the potatoes, when there is no resistance the potatoes are done.

5. Drain potatoes in a colander or sieve. Place foil over the top to keep warm.

6. Add butter and onions to the same pot over medium heat, stir until onions are tender. If using a sieve to drain the potatoes, take a rubber spatula and push the potatoes thru the sieve into the pot with the butter and onions. Alternately you may use a food mill, potato ricer to process the potatoes or an old fashioned potato masher after adding the drained potatoes to the pot.

7. Once the potatoes are sufficiently processed. Add the salt, pepper, sour cream and half the warmed milk to the pot and stir. If the potatoes are too dry, add the remainder of the milk and stir.

8. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. Garnish if desired with fresh snipped chives and serve at once.

Makes about 4 servings.

                                                                                    I know I’m not alone. Millions of women are out there just like me, juggling career, children and sanity on a daily basis. Yet, no matter how frenzied the day is, one thing is always true….there MUST be dinner.

In and amongst all the cooking I do, I have a few standby “go-to” recipes for busy evenings. To qualify as “go to”, recipes need to be tasty and pull together very quickly. Here’s one of my favorites: my own version of the Indian inspired Mulligatawny Soup. Simple, quick, slightly exotic and along with some warm bread (try Naan) and fresh fruit, deeply satisfying.

Mulligatawny Soup

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts.

1 tbsp olive oil

4 large carrots, peeled and sliced

1 large yellow onion, sliced

32 oz low sodium chicken stock

12 oz light coconut milk

1/2 cup long grain fragrant white rice (try Basmati)

1 1/4 cup water

1 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 tbsp curry powder

1/2 tbsp ground cumin

1/2 tbsp ground coriander

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 F

2. Place chicken in a lightly oiled oven proof dish, sprinkle on salt, pepper and cayenne. Place dish in oven for 30 minutes or until cooked through.

3. In a small pot, or rice cooker, add rice and water and cook until done and tender. Cover and hold until needed.

3. While the chicken and rice are cooking, add oil to a 3-5 quart pot, over medium high heat. Add onion and carrots, reduce heat to medium, cover and allow vegetables to soften slightly.

4. Add curry, coriander and cumin to vegetables and stir until coated.

5. Add chicken stock and coconut milk to vegetables. Increase heat back to medium high.

6. Cut cooked chicken into cubes and add to soup as well as the cooked rice.

7. Add cilantro and stir well. If soup is too thick, extra stock or coconut milk may be added.

8. Adjust flavors to taste with salt, pepper or more of the spices if desired.

Anyone have any “go to” recipes to share?