I've put a Maine spin on this traditional country Italian dish. Moose is startlingly similar in flavor and texture to beef or bison, but is almost completely free of intramuscular fat due to its natural, grazing diet. Despite that, it makes for a rich and hearty addition to this stew. Indeed, this dish could be made with any number of different game meats in Bologna, the region from which it originated.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
The Kloud-Kolored Metallic Mamamobile*
Remember that Whitesnake song “Here I Go Again”? Most of you guys that were teens in the glory days of MTV surely have an image burned into your corneas - a lively video of one Tawny Kitaen, all eighties hair and collagen injections, sprawled atop the hood of David Coverdale’s Jaguar. Well folks, in celebration of yesterday, I have recreated old Tawny’s famous pose for your viewing pleasure. Really. But you can’t see until a little later. So no peeking! I have bravely assumed this compromising position to celebrate a new addition to my family – a car! For me!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Cooking For A Cure in the News
Check out the Capital Weekly article about our project at
http://capital.villagesoup.com/news/story/cooking-for-a-cure/201538
Thanks for spreading the word, Sam!
http://capital.villagesoup.com/news/story/cooking-for-a-cure/201538
Thanks for spreading the word, Sam!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Recipe of the Week - Root Vegetable Hash with Mustard Glazed Beet Greens
It's getting cold and brisk here in Maine! This hash recipe was just the thing to warm us up after an afternoon outdoors. I incorporated other root vegetables to boost the vitamin content and add layers of flavor, and found some beautiful beet greens to round out the healthfulness and color of this dish. My method of finishing the hash in the oven might be unconventional, but it serves two purposes: it frees up space on the stovetop for cooking the eggs and greens, and using the same pan for hash and greens boosts the taste of the earthy beet greens with the "fond" (stuck-on bits of hash) leftover in the bottom of the pan.
Psychological Yoga and the Theory of Carpe Diem
Originally Posted Aug 22, 2009 9:05pm
Carpe Diem (Noun): The act of living for the moment and enjoying the present.
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks at the Betit homestead, weeks which staple to my forehead the greatest lesson of all – that when cancer is in your midst, you must live one moment at a time. Though “carpe diem” has become a bit cliché since Robert Sean Leonard shouted it from the summit of his desk in “Dead Poets Society” (a movie and an actor I do confess my love for), I have vowed to keep Horace’s notion at the forefront to anchor my mind in our new reality. Though I am fighting my own nature to adhere to this edict – I bear an intense and innate dislike of surprises of any sort – I have realized that to preserve order in our cosmos, I must be prepared for any and all surprises, and of greatest import, enjoy every possible calm moment, as it is likely to change in an instant.
Carpe Diem (Noun): The act of living for the moment and enjoying the present.
It’s been an interesting couple of weeks at the Betit homestead, weeks which staple to my forehead the greatest lesson of all – that when cancer is in your midst, you must live one moment at a time. Though “carpe diem” has become a bit cliché since Robert Sean Leonard shouted it from the summit of his desk in “Dead Poets Society” (a movie and an actor I do confess my love for), I have vowed to keep Horace’s notion at the forefront to anchor my mind in our new reality. Though I am fighting my own nature to adhere to this edict – I bear an intense and innate dislike of surprises of any sort – I have realized that to preserve order in our cosmos, I must be prepared for any and all surprises, and of greatest import, enjoy every possible calm moment, as it is likely to change in an instant.
News From the Poolside
Originally Posted Jul 28, 2009 6:20pm
Though my vegetable garden suffers, its potential for verdant victuals masticated into a wasteland of sad, naked stalks, I raise my head in triumph – the glorious sun has returned to us! I may not have the opportunity to crowd my plate with ratatouille, stuffed squash blossoms, and sun-warmed tomatoes with olive oil and the intoxicating terroir of my own herbs, but I can rejoice in the fact that the little slug-inators have shriveled up and dried into husks of their destructive, slimy selves under the golden Soma rays of mi amigo del sol. Quoth Nelson, “Ha Ha”!
Though my vegetable garden suffers, its potential for verdant victuals masticated into a wasteland of sad, naked stalks, I raise my head in triumph – the glorious sun has returned to us! I may not have the opportunity to crowd my plate with ratatouille, stuffed squash blossoms, and sun-warmed tomatoes with olive oil and the intoxicating terroir of my own herbs, but I can rejoice in the fact that the little slug-inators have shriveled up and dried into husks of their destructive, slimy selves under the golden Soma rays of mi amigo del sol. Quoth Nelson, “Ha Ha”!
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Recipe of the Week - Whole Wheat Pizza
Tuesday, October 6, 2009
Rain, Rain, Go Away…Amelia Is Finally Ready to Play!
Originally Posted Jul 17, 2009 6:33am
It seems that the other Portland on the 44th parallel has carbon-copied its climate and stapled a rain-soaked missive onto my evergreen state. Our plague of slugs now count mosquitoes, and – gasp – a second-coming of black flies, in their slimy, buzzing ranks, thus causing me to throw up my hands and leave my garden to their will. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll be treated to an heirloom tomato from my own patch of earth this year, but folks, I’m not holding my breath. Oh well, there’s always the Farmer’s Market.
It seems that the other Portland on the 44th parallel has carbon-copied its climate and stapled a rain-soaked missive onto my evergreen state. Our plague of slugs now count mosquitoes, and – gasp – a second-coming of black flies, in their slimy, buzzing ranks, thus causing me to throw up my hands and leave my garden to their will. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll be treated to an heirloom tomato from my own patch of earth this year, but folks, I’m not holding my breath. Oh well, there’s always the Farmer’s Market.
Mission One Accomplished
Originally Posted Jul 10, 2009 12:51pm
I am thrilled to report that after 29 days of intense chemotherapy, Amelia is now in remission. Her bone marrow aspirate last Thursday showed no leukemia cells, and she is now considered to be an “early rapid responder”, which drops her into the “standard risk low” category. This is, of course, the ideal when faced with leukemia, and gives her the best possible odds of cure (which we’ve never doubted anyway).
I am thrilled to report that after 29 days of intense chemotherapy, Amelia is now in remission. Her bone marrow aspirate last Thursday showed no leukemia cells, and she is now considered to be an “early rapid responder”, which drops her into the “standard risk low” category. This is, of course, the ideal when faced with leukemia, and gives her the best possible odds of cure (which we’ve never doubted anyway).
Day 29 - Buh Bye Steroids!
Originally Posted Jul 4, 2009 6:31am
Induction is officially complete! Along with a heaping bowl of Raisin Bran and an egg that rolled out of a Flintstone’s-caliber chicken, Amelia swallowed the last of her steroids this morning – and punctuated her meal with a whiny “I’m still hungryyyyyyyyyyy”. It’s incredible to think that one small person has the capability to triple the entire family grocery bill!
According to Amelia’s oncologist (whom we met with on Thursday – more on that later), we should start seeing Amelia’s mood, sleep, and appetite return to a more normal state after the steroids clear her system in the next few days. I look forward not only to having my girl smile again, but to banishing the convenience food that has bred like bunnies (expensive organic bunnies, that is) in my freezer and pantry. It will be a wonderful day when I can again cook a meal with yummy foods from our Farmer’s Markets.
Induction is officially complete! Along with a heaping bowl of Raisin Bran and an egg that rolled out of a Flintstone’s-caliber chicken, Amelia swallowed the last of her steroids this morning – and punctuated her meal with a whiny “I’m still hungryyyyyyyyyyy”. It’s incredible to think that one small person has the capability to triple the entire family grocery bill!
According to Amelia’s oncologist (whom we met with on Thursday – more on that later), we should start seeing Amelia’s mood, sleep, and appetite return to a more normal state after the steroids clear her system in the next few days. I look forward not only to having my girl smile again, but to banishing the convenience food that has bred like bunnies (expensive organic bunnies, that is) in my freezer and pantry. It will be a wonderful day when I can again cook a meal with yummy foods from our Farmer’s Markets.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Recipe of the Week - Apple Crisp
Amelia, her friend, and I made this crisp for dessert this evening as a special fall treat. Again, the increased whole grains and fiber in this dish are helpful to wee bellies that struggle with the effects of chemotherapy, and the addition of a full-fat icecream provides much needed calories to prevent excessive weight loss - plus it's just good!
Saturday, October 3, 2009
An Open Letter to the Kind Folks of the World
On one of the last sunny days before this rainy Maine summer, our 5 year-old daughter Amelia was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia – ALL for short. She had been fatigued, cranky, and her lovely complexion grew more sallow with every passing day in the weeks leading up to our frantic tour through three hospitals. We attributed it to end-of-school year burnout, a growth spurt, a lurking virus, even – we hoped – undiscovered diabetes.
The day before ALL became part of our lexicon, Amelia fell in a parking lot. She was holding hands with her little sister, who began to run, as free-spirited toddlers will. Amelia couldn’t keep up. She stumbled to the asphalt and scraped her knee, which began to bleed profusely. It struck me how very thin her blood was, watery and almost completely without color. So when, at one A.M. on Friday, June 5th, a pediatric hematologist/oncologist pulled us out of Amelia’s glass room in the Intensive Care Unit at Maine Medical Center, I knew his opinion before he spoke the words. I had a glimpse of the road before us, paved with spinal taps, a compromised immune system, caustic drugs, frequent hospital stays, surgeries, and hair loss. My little girl had cancer.
The day before ALL became part of our lexicon, Amelia fell in a parking lot. She was holding hands with her little sister, who began to run, as free-spirited toddlers will. Amelia couldn’t keep up. She stumbled to the asphalt and scraped her knee, which began to bleed profusely. It struck me how very thin her blood was, watery and almost completely without color. So when, at one A.M. on Friday, June 5th, a pediatric hematologist/oncologist pulled us out of Amelia’s glass room in the Intensive Care Unit at Maine Medical Center, I knew his opinion before he spoke the words. I had a glimpse of the road before us, paved with spinal taps, a compromised immune system, caustic drugs, frequent hospital stays, surgeries, and hair loss. My little girl had cancer.
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