Aron E. Carroll

Eat with other people, especially people you care about, as often as possible. This has benefits even outside those of nutrition. It will make you more likely to cook. It will most likely make you eat more slowly. It will also make you happy.
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Grilled Lamb

My husband grilled a lamb roast outdoors and it was indescribably delicious.

Granola Bars

The health club gave out granola bars over the holiday. It was adorable. Now I want to make my own.

A Vat of Comforting Vegetable Soup

I walked in the house craving vegetables and decided to make a vat of vegetable soup. I dug out the biggest soup pot I own and threw in three heads of rinsed and chopped kale, a quart of tomato juice, a pound of cooked kidney beans, a few quarts of water, frozen corn, Adobo and Cajun spice, olive oil and salt. It is delicious.

Pretty Color Code Measurements

If a Montessori school was teaching baking they'd want these. Cute posters too.

Sinking into Savory

I had such fun making spinach pies last night I even dreamed I was spinach for the spinach pie (the covers were the dough). Today I am thinking of future possibilities using kale and pumpkin or potato. As long as the olive oil garlic and kosher salt are flowing you can't go wrong. I could also use sauerkraut, red onions, pickles, beans (garbanzo or black or kidney or white beans) or bits of sausage or cheese. How about an eggplant and tomato sauce calzone (caponata) with chic peas! Calzone, knish, dumpling, pocket bread, pie, whatever you call them they are all variations on a theme. There are infinite options. Just remember Fleishmann's instant yeast and bread flour are the best for making a happy no-fail dough. Letting the dough rest is a real thing! Just like people the dough stretches easily when it has had a short nap.

Spinach Pie

Spinach pie is one of my favorite foods. I'd love to be able to make them as good as Jeanette's Bakery on Branch Ave in Providence. I am working on it! Here's a recipe I am using as a guide.

My version came out great! I used whole wheat and white bread flour and cornmeal combined and I used Fleishmann's instant yeast. The mounds of spinach were HUGE and the dough was thin just like the spinach pies from Jeanette's bakery.

Broccoli Peanut Ginger Garlic Stir Fry

One of my all time favorite foods is broccoli. I love all green vegetables. Last night I sauteed a bunch of fresh broccoli finely sliced, in olive oil fresh garlic and ginger. I used hot sauce and soy sauce for seasoning. I added peanuts too. It was excellent.

Healthy Snacks

Healthy Snacks Article

Fresh Bananas and Apples

Yogurt and Cereal

Popcorn

Half of a Turkey Sandwich

Red Peppers and Hummus

Almonds and Walnuts

Portion Control

I met a lady at the pool today "I'm terrified of the water. I just float around in the shallow end for my joints. My problem is I eat out every night of the week I hate to cook and I hate vegetables," she said. "Really?" I couldn't imagine it. "What foods do you like?" I asked. "Fried chicken and mashed potatoes with gravy, and roast beef. And I love sweets especially chocolate. My daughter got me hooked on coming here. I used to wake up at 11 and take a bubble bath and then watch Days of Our Lives and decide on where to go eat. Now I get up and come swim. I live 6 minutes away, so there's no excuse. I can't swim early tomorrow because it's weigh-in day and exercise makes you weigh more," she said. I felt bad for her although she was happy as a clam floating around on her red noodle talking about portion control.

Hot Slaw

Last night I chopped up a cabbage, carrots, garlic, and ginger root and sauteed them in olive oil in my biggest skillet. While they were cooking I added frozen peas and black beans and seasoned everything with soy sauce and Rooster brand hot sauce and leftover red wine. I would have added corn for color (in place of the peas) but I didn't have any. It was delicious! I called it hot slaw.

Relationship of Mind to Body

Kristal says it's not clear just how yoga might help people keep off the pounds, at least from a scientific standpoint. His own opinion is that the effects are subtle, and related to yoga's mind-body aspects.

"The buzzword here is mindfulness -- the ability to observe what is happening internally in a non-reactive fashion," he says. "That is what helps change the relationship of mind to body, and eventually to food and eating."

Adds Edison: "Yoga makes you more susceptible to influence for change – so if you are thinking you want to change your lifestyle, you want to change the way you think about food, you want to get over destructive eating patterns, yoga will help give you the spiritual connection to your body that can help you make those changes."

Another idea is that yoga forges a strong mind-body connection that ultimately helps make you more aware of what you eat and how it feels to be full.

"Essentially, in yoga you learn your body is not your enemy, and the conscious awareness of the body that you gain translates into better appetite control," Edison says.

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Prep Chef Meditations

I used to be a prep chef in a restaurant and I loved it. I also learned how to cook. Today while the loaves were baking I prepped a bunch of cabbage and carrots garlic and ginger and got out my wok so I'll be ready to make supper like a chef.

Morning Baking

This morning I mixed up two trays of granola and while they were slowly baking I set up the sourdough to rise in three greased loaf pans. Then I hid them away from the cat. There's something satisfying about morning baking rather than end of the day baking. As the sun is rising the kitchen is filling with delicious aromas. After the granola was done I ran off to swim and when I came back the bread dough had risen and was ready to bake.

Popcorn

I consider popcorn a mood altering substance, a happiness inducing food.
(Made the old fashioned way in a pot with corn oil.)
(sample a bowl with Cajun spice!)

Jacques Pépin’s Food Memories

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Turkey Soup at Last

Tonight I took the gallon of turkey stock with the fat removed and added it to my biggest soup pot and then I added a gallon of water to dilute it. Then I added frozen corn, frozen peas, freshly chopped celery, freshly chopped carrots, olive oil, Adobo, kosher salt, black pepper and a whole bulb of garlic. It came out great. For variation on a theme I might add pureed tomatoes, egg noodles or rice.

Cajun Spice Roasted Potatoes

I bought some Cajun spice last night for roasting a bunch of potatoes. First I rinsed the potatoes. I cut out the eyes and problem spots. I sliced each potato into six wedges and put them in a bucket of cold water and placed it in the fridge. A few hours later I drained them and then dried them with a kitchen towel. Then I put them in a big bowl with olive oil and tossed them to coat each slice. Then I sprinkled the Cajun spice and stirred everything some more. I distributed the slices over two trays trying not to have the slices touch because you want them to dry out. I put them in a 450 degree oven and I placed them on the low oven shelves close to the heating element (otherwise you are baking not roasting). I stirred them every 15 minutes until done. It took about an hour. Smoke alarms went off. They were delicious!

Luciano Pavarotti

One of the very best things about life is the way we must regularly stop whatever it is we are doing and devote our attention to eating.
― Luciano Pavarotti

Simmering Soup

I had my last smoked turkey and red onion sandwich today and while my bread was toasting I was scavenging the last bits of turkey off the carcass. I felt like a crazy woman poking at all of the hidden crevices finding precious morsels. Now the turkey bones are simmering for soup and the whole house smells like smoked turkey. I love turkey.