It Only Takes a Minute Girl To Fall in Love, Let's Fall in Love

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Another Veggetti and Clam Sauce success story.  This time with the additions of anchovies melted into the olive oil and onions and topped with crisped turkey bacon slices (optional).

Can't say enough about getting just the right firmness on the zucchini.  Just like with the pasta, you want them al dente and not one bit mushy.  Since they are so thin, it only takes a minute to cook.  Use canned clams and tomatoes for a super fast kick ass supper!

Zucchini with Clam Sauce

• 2 cans chopped clams 
• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 2 large zucchini
• 1/2 can diced tomatoes
• 1/2 Vidalia onion
• 5 cloves of garlic chopped
• bunch of fresh parsley
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• red pepper flakes
• parmesan
• 3 anchovies

Saute onion and garlic on low in a wok for a few minutes to become aromatic, add the anchovies and stir until dissolved.  bring up the heat, add the zucchini and stir about 3 minutes.  while nice and hot add the chicken stock and tomatoes. stir and heat through. turn off heat, top with red pepper flakes and shaved parmesan, salt and pepper and maybe an extra drizzle of olive oil. For a crunchy treat, top with sliced turkey bacon crisps.

She's Like a Rainbow

When I shop for groceries I look for new fun exciting stuff that's on sale and save it like a squirrel to use for later. Like I had been storing a little booty of Asian ingredients. Cans of baby corn, bamboo shoots, etc.

So I also got a giant stalk of bok choi on sale that needed to be made. And ground turkey. Now one doesn't think of Asian necessarily with the ground turkey but I do remember being super surprised one time when trying a ground beef Japenese soup with Udon noodles in San Francisco. I went back to that place every chance I GOT to eat that soup it was so good. The broth was red.

So anyway, Bok Choi is a big vegetable - it takes up lots of space. So I did it in the wok. There is something about bok choi that is deeply satisfying. It has a high amount of vitamin A but I'm not sure if your body craves that at times. I just know when I eat it, a hole gets filled that is more than my appetite. Similar to broccoli rabe.

I added dried tomatoes for color and a touch of sweetness.

This was not only pretty but one of those dishes you have a hard time eating just one serving.

And of course I made of a huge vat of it.

Stroke Me, Stroke Me!

Clamoring to find a new way to use ground turkey I searched easy stroganoff recipes on the innernets. Almost every easy recipe contained cream of mushroom soup. I was feeling like I wanted to take it just one step above Paula Deen, so I made my own sauce. I didn't use any heavy cream and just a half cup of sour cream. The nutmeg and lemon juice put the flavors right on track.

Hey, this was good eats! The ground turkey will absorb flavors while keeping its own and tends to work well in place of other meats I've found.

I added white onions, tender leeks, mushrooms and green onions to the saucy turkey and served it over lightly buttered egg noodles with lots of parsley on top. P kept calling it Stroke Me Off. At least I think he was referring to the dish.

Out of Kindness I Suppose

I spoke with my mom today, Little Sid. She has dementia so we have amazing conversations. I like hearing whatever is going on in her head. She sometimes tells stories of when she was little or what she imagines is going on outside. But she usually leaves me something to think about. I like to believe its clues to her true feelings inside. Because after all, she is still very much alive and thinking, its just that she has a condition.

Little Sid loved fresh flowers and pretty things decorating her house. She loved the windows open and the house all clean, which it seldom was. She loved vegetables, bright flavors in her cooking. P wanted a light dinner, so I whipped up a quick chicken stir fry with tri-colored bell peppers, yellow and green squash and mushrooms. Each color gave its own special flavor to the dish.

Sometimes I get sad because my mom doesn't get to enjoy all these things much anymore. But she doesn't seem to miss good food or anything actually. She is content in a peaceful kind way.

When I make dinners like this, I always think of Little Sid and how I used to like to watch her eat her plates of cool colorful foods at home after work, nothing like the heavy meals she prepared at the restaurant. She was happy and content at that moment. A rare sighting. Even though dementia is a hardship I feel she was given some of the peace and tranquility she worked so hard to achieve but never did. She became the beautiful bright presence in the room.

We Can Wok it Out

I got a $5 wok from IKEA and its become my weeknight buddy for super fast dinners. I figured it would last a couple meals and the handle would fall off or something but actually its very sturdy and I'd recommend it to anyone. I had done a lot of wok cooking while living in San Francisco. There we had abundant cheap, fresh shrimp and calamari, lots of fresh vegetables throughout the year. We lived amongst vegetarians, vegans and mostly wafer thin shoe-gazers as well as many small framed, Chinese and Japanese people. Oh and 7 foot tall drag queens with legs to their necks. It seemed everyone was twenty something and thin. Everything seemed effortless. It was easier to eat light also because California has amazing fresh produce that you didn't have to pay out your ass for. We were younger then of course and we could drink all night and only look bloated and haggard one afternoon and by next day we'd deflate and be fresh again. Except P's head, sometimes that took two days or so.

Now in New York, years later, its been a concentrated effort to try to eat better and stay fit. Things take days to recover, sometimes weeks. You have to work at it. But hey you can't be young forever and who wants to be? It's exhausting.

I sort of forgot about wok cooking until now. I didn't have room for a wok. And I still don't but you know what, I made room for it because its so dern useful. And its exciting! You have the high heat going, you're throwing things in and stirring fast and minutes later its all ready and steaming hot.



Wednesdays are usually the nights when I need to use up the perishables so tonight I made a quick stir fry with mushrooms, onions, beef kielbasa, garlic, cannellini beans and broccoli rabe. I added just a tablespoon of chili paste and some soy sauce.

Youth is overrated but being healthy and fit enough for your own body makes good sense. I'm not looking to turn back the clock. No, my motto is always forward, never back. I'm just looking to enjoy our future. And stay far away from doctors.