holiday....celebrate....holiday...celebrate

(name that song!)


we've been grabbing the reigns of more than one holiday for a few years, and i think we have it down now: we love the food and beauty of Chanukkah, the meaning and reverence of Winter Solstice, and the tradition and excitement of Christmas. it has made for a wonderful last few weeks, strengthening our family ties, given us room to create together, and maybe added a few pounds as well:) here is our 2009 holiday in pictures:

1st night of Hanukkah, b lights the first candles

using family recipes, we ate both potato and sweet potato latkes (with applesauce and sour cream of course), stuffed cabbage, and israeli-style orange chicken.

a little dreidel action

first time wearing a yarmulke..and he ate about 10 sweet potato latkes

loving the beauty of candle light

Solstice night came and after our sweet, private family ritual (you can read more about it here) we opened some gifts for mind and body, to get us through the rest of the cold winter days: clothing and books. here the kids pour over their new books sent by uncle payson and aunt kamla and other thrift store finds:

calendars from grand-p and cookie!

a family photo (george must be a cat b/c i could not fix his eyes on iPhoto!)

christmas eve baking: my cinnamon rolls rose!!

ooey-gooey goodness!

making snowflakes and stars to hang up

and while the girls and i craft.....

papa makes dinner!

our new christmas eve tradition: blake's ramen. soooooo good, and we used one of the chickens we slaughtered for the broth and meat--we felt very connected to this hot bowl of yumminess.

before bed, a little dancing and twirling

a fully-stuffed stocking, complete with cat butt stickers (i bet you can guess who that's for...)

i was afraid they'd fall, they were packed so tight!

a lovely sight heading up to bed that eve....

george discovers the joys of chocolate in your stocking

even papa got some treats in his stocking that he's had since he was a child (his mom handmade it)

drinking tea and handing out gifts

puzzles from grandma!

haha, we found this board book at powell's: Nietzsche 4 Babies.

more goodies from grandma...how did this girl not have a jean jacket already?

blocks rule

and firetrucks;)

a shoe made from pipecleaners...that is SO mayan!

time to eat: egg-and-bacon pie, cinnamon rolls, cranberry oatmeal muffins, lox-and-bagels with homemade cream cheese, chicken apple sausage, and mimosas.

isadore and athena snuggle up together and watch Wall-E

the wind was blowing but it was beautiful and sunny in the backyard...nothing like last year!

C ventures up to see the loft

Athena and Michael feed the chickens

christmas day barn fun!

its so nice to have this little family close to celebrate the holidays with!

dreamy looks from mama and papa nomad...looking over the past, looking toward the future?

don't leave me out, guys!

mayan scopes her viewmaster newly filled with shrek slides

i love my sister-in-law

Athena and a chicken

the egg collector

being silly in papa's glasses

what holiday is complete without a rousing game of scrabble? for the record chemynne, the newbie, kicked our butts.

finally, a delicious christmas dinner of duck legs in braised red cabbage with wine and prunes, and carrots with shallots and herbs. aahhhhhh.....

it was a great way to close out 2009....
what was your favorite part of this holiday season?

a warm smile

this morning, i was battling a case of the "a.m. grumpies", dispite having been woken up to my honey delivering me a hot cup of tea in bed. while huffing around the kitchen, i got upset with blake for leaving something at work that i needed for today. he offered to run to nomad and get it and bring it back, and before he left he reminded me that my breakfast was being kept warm in the oven. a few mintues after he'd gone, i looked in the oven and saw this:







needless to say, i felt like a perfectly ungrateful poophead. but it immediately turned my attitude around. nothing like a warm smile to cheer you up, right?

lumpias!

.....are freaking delicious. ever had one? they are like lighter, crispier egg rolls packed usually with tender meat and tasty vegetables. these irresistible delights made their way into our family history at some point, and i did some asking around to find out exactly how by talking to my mom and sister.

i've always known that the mere word "lumpia" caused a sparkle in the eye or a lick of the chops whenever it was muttered by a family member. apparently, in ketchikan, the small island in southeast alaska, where my parents were raising their four children (me being the youngest), had a fair-sized filipino population. my mom's comparison was that the lumpia to filipinos are like what a taco is to hispanics. she was introduced to them by her brother kerry's wife, teresa, who was half-filipino. what my sister and i remember was that finding the lumpia wrappers, the ultra-thin crepe-like piece that holds all the filling, was a special treat because the wrappers were not available that we knew of on the island. so if someone in the family, like my dad or aunt, were going to visit seattle, they would try and bring back the wrappers, and then a lumpia feast would ensue. my mom and i wondered if either we didn't know about the "local lumpia wrapper source" or if the local filipino families were just making them from scratch. hard to believe because they are so incredibly thin and delicate to handle. my mom told me that when her brother passed away, and teresa remarried she was kind enough to invite our family to the wedding. there teresa's filipino relatives cooked all the food for the wedding, including piles and piles of lumpias which they fried right there in front of the hungry guests.


this was all just a mere memory for me though since i was five when we left alaska and six when we settled in bend--and remained for over 20 year. by the time i was grown, i was aware of what had become really "the legend of the lumpia" but had never made them myself, i assume since no markets in bend carried that rarity of the wrapper. i recall once, on a road trip in my late teens, stopping at a cafe on the coast for brunch, and seeing, amidst the normal omelette and benedict fare, a special sheet announcing the available lumpias! i excitedly explained to my traveling companion about the elusive fried treat. i can't remember actually eating them there, so either i ordered them and they were unremarkable or i stuck to my french toast and tight budget.

fast forward to last year, here in portland, where i decided i wanted to start a chinese new years feast tradition and have all of my favorite chinese-american dishes, which i am unable to eat now due to The Allergy. (my basic approach to cooking foods that normally contain soy is substitute it with a fraction of salt.) this led to an exploration of the vast array of asian food markets along S.E. Powell Boulevard. i found this to be an awesome cultural experience, if not somewhat dizzying due to the huge selection of products with unreadable labels. blake and i realized that (if you don't care about whether your food is organic) a $20 bag of groceries gets you days of delicious meals, our favorite being our homemade seafood ramen that we've been prefecting over the last year.

back to my original plan, the best market we found is called An Dong Market on S.E. Powell and 55th, and it has everything from two aisles of noodles, a clean and exotic (to us) meat department, and fresh produce popular to chinese cooking. while shopping for my chinese new year feast, i meandered past the freezer section, and lo and behold, what do my eyes land upon but a box of lumpia wrappers! i was tickled and for only three dollars a box, i snatched one up. since my mom and dad were the guest of honors to our first attempt at this new tradition, i was excited to show my mom what i'd found. she helped me through the process of the delicate wrapping and gave me tips about stacking them so they don't stick together, and even fried them up. they were just as good as everyone had remembered--it was very hard to stop eating them!!

three nights ago, when we were preparing to satisfy another ramen fix, i decided to grab another box, and whip up some lumpias to go along. this time, feeling more free about what should go into them. i have both the recipe my mother has passed on from teresa, and the recipe from the back of the box (including the sweet and sour sauce which is so good for dipping!). the recipe i have settled on is somewhat between the two, but this is one of those things that really, once you are comfortable, is a flexible, whatever-is-on-hand type of food, and doesn't require specific measurements.

*****
first i give you the original recipe that came through our family, from teresa:

*chicken breasts
-boil the breasts until done, then cool, and finely dice. set aside.

*vegetable oil for sauteing
*bean sprouts
*green cabbage, finely chopped or shredded
*carrots, grated
*green onion, chopped

-saute the vegetable in the oil. also add:

*dash of garlic salt
*soy sauce, to taste

-when soft, remove from heat, drain, add chicken to mixture, and let cool.

when the filling is cool, take your thawed wrappers, and one by one gently separate, fill with large spoonful of mixture, and wrap, wetting the last bit to seal. keep lumpias in single layers, using wax paper to add more layers, until you use up all the filling. deep fry in oil or fat on low controlled heat until golden brown.

teresa's sweet and sour sauce;

1 cup tomato juice
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
ginger root, julienned
3 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 Tbsp soy sauce

--cook all ingredients in a pan until thick. serve warm with the lumpias!


********
and now my version, which is soy-free, and has the best part--a nice crunch inside provided by water chesnuts and also no pre-cooking required:

toss together in a large bowl the following:
*1 pound ground pork, sauted and drained
OR dark chicken meat, cooked and finely chopped
*1/2 cup carrots, grated
*1 cup mung bean sprouts AND/OR cabbage, shredded
*1/3 cup mushrooms, chopped
*1/3 cup yellow or white onion, finely chopped
*1/3 cup water chesnuts, chopped OR turnips, finely chopped
*3 cloves garlic, minced
*1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar

mix in a small bowl:
*2 large eggs
*3 tsp tapioca starch

add to meat-veggie mixture. season with:
*1/2 tsp pepper
*1 teaspoon salt

toss well! then begin rolling (my lumpia wrappers have a nice diagram on the back of the box to help you along) basically: fill, fold sides, and roll, wetting the last bit to seal it closed. place on a platter in layers, using wax paper bewteen each layer to prevent sticking. i fry them in canola oil, using about 1/2 inch of oil in the pan, so when submerged the lumpias are not quite covered and can be flipped, until both side are golden brown. set on paper towels briefly to absorb excess oil, and serve with sweet and sour sauce.

the sauce:

3 Tbsp vinegar (white wine or apple cider both work well)
1 tsp salt
6 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp tapioca starch
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 Tbsp oil

place in a small sauce pan and heat until thickened.


****

so tell me, readers, have you ever had a lumpia? got another recipe to share? also let me know if you try one of these and, of course, the result....

(Poppa Nomad speaks) DIY: That Shit Don’t Grow on Trees

Since moving to Portland over two years ago, escaping the imploding Death Star of Bend, and since the economy has gone to shit, our family has engaged in a profound paradigm shift: a (our) new model of urban sustainability. More specifically, our redefinition of essential life practices and values. In our disposable, instant-gratification McCulture, a culture of consumption without actual necessity, we’ve all but forgotten what it means to “Do It Yourself”. I refer primarily to the life sustaining act of eating. Sure we all have material wants (even the more Zen among us), and all consume and use up resources...but can we breeders rekindle the fires of the ancients AND sustain ourselves and our families? With three kids can we be in it, but not of it? (A question I have posed to various monks, sages and other Buddhist-oriented teachers). Our family is blessed with a small urban farm that is our model for future sustainability; a living, changing daily mantra that we and our three children “meditate over” on a daily basis. For us and our little tribe, knowing where our food comes from is an integral part of that mindfulness.

We are a race of modern humans who purchase our boxed and frozen cubes of processed, modified, manipulated, and irradiated food from big box stores. We are scarcely aware of the process of growing and cultivating; farming. Victims of progress, we are frighteningly disassociated from the seasonal cycles. Really, I have not been Mr. Righteous my whole life, but our belief that the kids are greatly enriched by participating in the process that puts food in front of their mouths is an edict I now stand firmly by. Let it be said that I have a profound appreciation for Leah who daily prepares multiple organic, gourmet meals for our family. Meals that take into account personal taste, nutrition, our respective allergies...her awareness of the seasonal and sustainable is profound. As the once-in-a-while Chef in our house, I would like to note the extreme satisfaction associated with preparing food to sustain the lives of one’s family. I can only imagine how it must be for Leah, as she has been doing exactly that for what will soon be a decade for our growing family. She is quite the gourmet chef now.

As husband and wife we are fairly traditional: I hunt and gather, and she tends family and hearth. More recently we both have poured our blood and sweat , literally, into our garden. Those of you who know me know I am an “All or Nothing” personality type. In that spirit, my most recent experience of killing and consuming the food we raised was that reconnection the the ancient I spoke of. As an omnivore, I am mindful of how our ability to hunt compels protein and master fire enabled humans to evolve; as a species, we would have perished long ago if it were not for meat (and agriculture). I’ll spare the readers with my diatribe on “Freegans and Hippiecrite” practices, as it does come down to personal choice, but most of us, if faced with starvation would put aside our PC affiliations and consume meat to avoid death. Few political choices are stronger than the will to live. Personally, I grew up in a “gourmet” home....I love food and meat (and get debilitating headaches without my complete proteins)...my mother was a good cook...she was friends with James Beard and Julia Child. James Beard, in fact single-handedly defined the modern American palate. Both made being a chef cool for millions; everybody could do it, we just had to enjoy food. In James and Julia’s day, the advent of technology for the nuclear family of the 50’s and 60’s made for an uphill battle: canned and freeze dried, instant and (later) microwavable. Teaching the modern housewife that fresh was better, would take some time to realize.

Hunting, gathering and farming are the quintessential archetypes for tribal survival. Consumption of complete proteins (not found in plants) play an essential role for the development of synaptic pathways of young human brains. That being said, my recent butchering class with my brother-in-law Michael tested my resolve in a new way: looking into the eyes of your dinner before killing it. (It should be noted that the birds we slaughtered came from our farm: we knew them; we raised them, we named them.) It was overcast and raining. Our class, filled with people of various levels of personal conviction was conducted by a mindful farmer who instructed us to "thank the chicken for giving it’s life”. Like any new practice, some were more adept than others. I found myself annoyed at the “timid butchers” among us; there is much to be said for doing it humanely; quickly and efficiently. “Don’t torture the poor beast”, I thought, “Just Do It”! We learned the finer points of bird preparation, after the deed was done....careful excision of the anal cavity, so as not to rupture intestines...gutting and removal of the internals (which were equipped with eggs in various stages of development, like that frog back in seventh-grade science class). A hot-dip and feather removal, cutting off of the head, and legs at the knees, and appropriate gland removal, so as not to leak bile or other toxins into the bird and spoil the meat were some of the procedural highlights. On the drive home, Michael and I were quiet with our two birds on ice. I was not in the mood for a chicken dinner that night, and for several days saw my beloved family members as piles of guts; an existentialist twist on a factual condition. Leah complimented me on my work as we cooked Obama, remarking how she looked just like as if we had gone to the store and bought a chicken for dinner. Its the in-between process that most of us are disassociated from. That was the big enlightener here.

20+ years ago, I lived on a sailboat (commuted to work as a sailing instructor on my rowboat) and fished daily for my meals for some two years. I slept on the sea and ate from it. Yet, fishing and slaughtering a higher life form (that you raised, fed and interacted with on a daily basis) seem quite “different animals” to me. Hunting or fishing to survive is something few of have ever had to do, yet it is the reason why all of us are here today. It is my belief that this skill is something all modern humans should again nurture. Few understand the difficulty and complexities of cultivating even simple rice and beans; making tofu. Fewer still could do it even if it was a matter or survival.

Urban Farming is the new cool thing to do (especially in PDX). Just listen to NPR and pay attention to media. For me, it’s more than a PC trend; I want to practice what I preach, as it were. I’d be a total “Hippiecrite” if I wasn’t willing to kill, then pull the still-pulsating guts from the abdominal cavity of a chicken (or any other farm animal I keep) in order to feed our family. Truly, being a butcher is a fine art, and I have renewed respect for those who prepare our meat. Presently our survival is not based on my hunting and slaughtering skills, but it may one day be. This felt very different from the catch of the day provided by the ocean so many years ago.

Last year, I cooked eggs from our chickens with potatoes that we grew on our wood burning stove with wood from our property that I cut and split myself...oh yeah, and the stove heated our house, too. This meal had a profoundly different feeling associated with it. DIY never felt so good. Caveman DNA runs deep. Thank you eternally to my wonderful wife for her hard work, constant growth and nurturing of our family. I never wanted children until I met Leah, and now fatherhood is the greatest gift three times over on top of our marriage. The daily practice and ritual of farming and gardening engenders discipline for children as well as adults; mindfulness of the cycles of life and death; growth and change. Self sufficiency: something that you can’t buy at the supermarket. That shit don’t grow on trees!

~Poppa Nomad

its Mac tonight!

i have not eaten fast food in at least 3 years, since i discovered my soy allergy. its probably a good thing because i have always loved it and if there wasn't a medical reason keeping me from indulging in value meals, i'd probably eat them more than i should. although eating real fast food is only a good experience while its happening....the flavors, the evil, addictive, and filling flavors, is what keeps people going back, even though after you've eaten the meal you feel like crap. its no wonder, your body is hard at work processing the junk--that the part i've always resented. so when blake and i were first married i set out to create the "homemade Big Mac"--all the flavor of the McDonalds favorite but with the quality bumped up several notches. i laughed as i walked through our local market, singing the grocery list in my head: "2 all beef patties, special sauce, lettece, cheese....."

since bread products have also been restricted for me, i have not made this lesser-of-two-evils dinner in ages, since i cannot find a sesame seed bun without soy lecithin. but yesterday the stars seemed to be aligned for another Big Mac night. first i spotted a sesame speckled bun from my new favorite local bread company (all Lou friendly)--Gabriel Bakery. My first thought was, "oh I should make Big Macs!!" then i searched for a pickle that was Mayan-friendly, and i found one--most have paprika added, a nightshade, but New Seasons carries a local company's organic pickle without any nightshades. then in the produce department they are suffering from a "lettece gap"--the summer heads of leafy green lettece are not available yet and usual sources are in transition, so all they had was organic heads of iceberg lettece, the official lettece of fast food burgers!

and let me tell you, these are way better than the McD's version--all the flavor without the gutrot. still an extravagance to be sure, but when you are having that craving, serve these with some fries and cokes and you'll never go back the that drive-thru again.

here is how i capture that flavor, in order according to the song:

*two all-beef patties (organic grass-fed beef; make the patties large in diameter but pretty flat so they cook quickly and that having two in each burger won't make it too gigantic)

*special sauce (mayo and ketchup mixed, about half and half)

*lettece (iceberg is the most fast-food-like, but a leafier green like red-leaf would bump up the nutrient factor)

*cheese (Horizon organic american cheese slices--these are also key in getting that authentic flavor and texture, cheddar isn't the same--melted on your burger patties)

*pickles (chopped up into little cubes, and added into the special sauce is a good touch)

*onions (white onion, or yellow, chopped up finely and sprinkled on the burger)

*sesame seed bun (find the best you can, i highly recommend Gabriel's if available; the original Mac has a third bun slice in between the two patties but this is just TOO much, in my opinion)

the end result:



this is my "awwwww, YE-ah, its Mac tonight" face:

vegetarians looketh away

I was packing up the leftover prime rib (for sandwiches, awww, yeah) and Isadore insisted she get to pick the meat off the bones. Her words exactly when I told her to have at it?

"It's MEAT TIME!"

PS I made my first cheesecake. I cannot eat store bought cheesecake and it's been exactly one since I've had it last. Cheesecake is my "last meal" food. Add cranberries and...well, I think the picture says it all.