Sweet Mama Jane's Morning Brew

This one is for you, Trent!

Before I began my sordid love affair with the espresso machine, there was the good old grind-and-brew coffeemaker.  I have been a devoted coffee drinker since the tender age of 15.  There have been stints in my life where I have tried in vain to convince myself that green tea or the like was somehow an acceptable substitute, but I always end up coming back to the dark bean.  I am not a person who drinks cup after cup of coffee all day long.  I like one incredibly strong mug to start my day, and that's that, so said cup needs to be delicious and totally worthwhile.  Over the years, I've honed my brewing strategy to perfection, and enough of our overnight guests have commented on my brew, that I promised to share the recipe here.  It all started at my high school job, at a little hippie shop called Traprock Suite. The owner, Susanne, was legendary; an eccentric and no-bull woman who taught me more than a few life lessons, one of which was the secret to perfect coffee.  Here it is: sprinkle just a tad of cinnamon and nutmeg over the beans before you grind them.  When I say sprinkle, I literally mean shake your wrist for the count of one over the the beans, that is it.  Even people who hate any sort of flavored coffee seem to love coffee this way.  I am asked again and again what that special flavor is when I serve this cofee to our guests.  My other secrets?  The best organic beans, cold filtered water, and brewing my pots double-strong (a heaping tablespoon of beans per cup).  A great coffee maker helps as well, but you could just as easily use the cinnamon/nutmeg trick in a French press.  For this chronically sleep-deprived mama, there is no better way to start the day (other than a latte, of course).

Super-strong coffee helps me keep up with this guy! He's getting speedy!

Guilty Pleasures

Who am I kidding?  I love health and wellness and treating my body right, but it is, after all, "the most wonderful time of the year" and I love an indulgence as much as the next girl.  By the end of Wellness Week, I was making myself a little queasy with my own virtuousness, so I decided to even the balance with a week of decadent posts this week.  Good food, great cocktails, entertainment and, of course, products: if it is frothy, fun and sinful, it is up for discussion this week.  To kick things off, I have a couple deliciously naughty entertaining tips, the first of which is an idea I pinched from one of the husband and my all-time favorite brunch spots, the East Coast Grill in Cambridge, MA: the Bloody Mary bar.

If you are hosting overnight guests or a party during the brunch hour this holiday season, this is sure to be a crowd pleaser.  We've set these up for several parties we've had (including one at a campsite during a whitewater rafting trip), and they are always a hit.  You need:
- good quality vodka (I love Grey Goose and Ketel One)
- tomato or V8 and Clamato juices
- lemon and lime wedges
- fresh horseradish
- Worcestershire and Tabasco sauces
- celery salt for the glass rims (put in a shallow dish next to another one of water so people can dampen their clean glass and then press the rim into the salt) and for the top
- a pepper grinder
- scallions and celery sticks for stirrers, and you could also spear pineapple chunks on skewers (as above), for those who love the sweet/spicy combo
- a vast variety of jarred, pickled yummies, including but not limited to: cornichon pickles, caperberries, olives (including stuffed olives with pimentos, blue cheese, garlic or anything else you can find), and pickled asparagus and/or dilly beans
- if you really want to go for broke, add a plate of boiled shrimp as well
Set up this colorful buffet on an accessible table with the widest, deepest glasses you have, and let your guests go to town.  This is guaranteed to make for a festive, beautiful and talked-about brunch party. And while you have the heartburn medication on hand, here is a delicious Southern appetizer to try, of limited nutritional value (calcium-rich? can't think of any other redeeming qualities...) but endless deliciousness.  As a yankee, I hadn't heard of pimento cheese until recently when I saw it made on a Paula Deen show.  Tragic!  This is an appetizer with a cult following for a good reason.  It is cheap and easy to prepare, and wickedly delicious.
Ingredients
1 jar roasted red peppers
1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 cups hand-grated sharp cheddar cheese
Salt, pepper and Sriracha to taste 
Directions
1) Drain peppers, and place in a food processor.  Pulse until smooth, but not liquid-y.
2) Add mayo and cream cheese and pulse until well combined.  Scrape into a bowl.
3) Stir in cheese by hand, and add seasonings to taste.
Serve with tortilla chips or crackers, or use as a spread for crostini.  Or eat with a spoon!

Lentil Love

I thought I'd cap off Wellness Week with this nutritional powerhouse of a soup. Leeks are an excellent source of vitamin A, beta carotene, lutein and folate, and are a mild diuretic, which we could all use this time of year.  Lentils are protein-rich, and packed with dietary fiber, B-vitamins, folate and minerals.  Sweet potatoes and carrots are rich in vitamins A and C, as well as beta-carotene.  This Sunday Soup is easy to make, filling, and so delicious, you won't even realize it is health food.

Ingredients
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large leek, halved lengthwise and sliced
1 large sweet potato, peeled and finely diced
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped
2 teaspoons sugar
2 cups red lentils
6 cups veggie or chicken broth
1 bay leaf
salt, pepper, oregano and paprika to taste
Directions
1. In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat the olive oil until it shimmers.  Add the leeks and saute gently over low heat for about 10 minutes, until they wilt and begin to caramelize.
2.  Add the sweet potatoes and carrots, stir to combine, and season generously with salt and pepper.  Add the sugar and continue stirring.
3.  Add the lentils and stir all ingredients to combine.

4.  Add all of the broth, the bay leaf, and some oregano and paprika (start with about a heaping teaspoon of each, and you can adjust the seasonings at the end).  Stir well.
5. Cover the pot, turn the heat to low, and allow the soup to simmer until the lentils and veggies are cooked and the broth is well-absorbed, about 45 minutes.
6.  Adjust seasonings to taste.

I should say that all of my soup recipes tend to serve about 8: a bowl each for 2 for lunch or dinner on Sunday when you cook it, and then enough for 2 people to take for lunch for most of the next week (at least that's how it shakes out around here).  I love having easy, healthy, grab-and-go lunches ready for the week on a Sunday night; just one less thing to think about once the crazy work week begins.  For today, football is on, the little guy is asleep, there is snow on the ground, and a fire in the stove.  I took a long trail run with the dog yesterday, and feel I've earned a little couch potato time.  Bring it! Life is good. 

Happy, healthy Sunday!

Friday Night Lite

To cap off Wellness Week, may I suggest I lovely night in?  Sure, it is Friday and restaurants, bars and parties may be calling your name, but what about taking a night for yourself and just getting pampered, replenished and rested in the comfort of your own wonderful home?  Here are my essentials for a perfect restorative evening in:

1) Yummy bath or shower.  Kick off the evening by getting clean and cozy. I am not a bath type myself (I get bored. Don't ask.), but I love a good steamy shower with delicious products.  I love Lunaroma's Lavender Chamomile Salt Glow, which is aroma-therapeutically relaxing and can be scooped into a bath or scrubbed on in the shower. If you are into the bath thing, epsom salts cost about $2 at the pharmacy and make for an incredible healing soak.  I also am loving Burt's Bees Peach and Willowbark Deep Pore Scrub for the face.  For a real cheap treat, toss your towels in the dryer for a few before you hop in the shower, and dry off in warm fluffiness.  Ahhhh....

2) Comfy pants.  A must.  I'm talking softest cotton, elastic waist, next best thing to nothing kind of pants.  These are my current faves, made even more fave by the fact that I got them for $9 at the J.Crew outlet in Maine, which just makes me feel smug.  Plus, the husband says they are "cute."  Sweatpants that a man finds attractive?  Yes, please... I'll take 10.   They are on sale on J.Crew's website as well (just not for $9), and would make a fabulous holiday gift.  But I digress.... 


3) Facial mask.  Dry air, alcohol, stress, and greasy party foods ravage our skin this time of year.  After you are all warm, cozy and comfied-out in your awesome sweatpants, smooth on a great at-home facial, and trick your face into thinking it is June again and all dewy and lovely outside.  One of my all time favorite masks is Aveda's Tourmaline Charged Radiance Masque.  Says Aveda, "finely powdered tourmaline—one of nature's most energizing minerals—boosts skin's energy, while natural exfoliants help skin gently shed dull, lackluster surface cells—revealing new radiance."  I concur. 

4) Take out.  Cooking is a no-no on personal health night, as are dishes.  In the city, my absolute favorite indulgence was sushi take out, but that is not so much an option in this part of Vermont.  Tom Kha Gai soup from the Thai place is an exotic, yet comforting option.  In a pinch, even a fantastic frozen pizza will do; the point is that your kitchen and dish brush aren't seeing any action this evening.  You are just grubbing on something that makes you feel good inside and out and doesn't involve more than pushing a button or two.

5) A great movie.   Need a great, cleansing sob?  May I suggest Stepmom or The Notebook?  Need a cackling laugh and to gawk at some nice pecs?  Point Break is one of my favorite films of all time (don't judge).  Want to feel better about the human spirit?  Beyond Rangoon is amazing.  Or, to get in the holiday spirit, I highly recommend Elf, because what says holiday like Will Ferrell pounding back maple syrup while wearing green tights? 

There you have it; all the ingredients for a great night in.  Mine will include snuggling with the little guy until he goes down to bed, and then kicking off all of this with a nice glass of red.  Just thinking about it makes me feel ready to tackle the day, and puts a smile on my face in anticipation of the evening.  Happy Friday!

What is your favorite way to relax and rejuvenate at home?

Food for the Mind

I thought I'd take a detour away from food this Wellness Week and focus on the mind a bit.  As I mentioned earlier, I love to read in bed; it's such a wonderful way to relax and escape from your own mind before drifting off to sleep at night.  However, when you're truly exhausted and worn out, it is so much easier to get stuck on the couch lazily watching reality tv than to get in bed and read.  Once you're ensconced among the pillows with a juicy read, though, it is so worthwhile.  Some of my favorite books:
Banana Rose by Natalie Goldberg

Probably one of my all time favorite works of fiction, this book is about a hippie, Banana Rose, who falls in love, gets married, and moves away from her commune in Taos, having to grow up in countless ways along her path.  It is beautifully written by Natalie Goldberg, whose books on writing are some of my favorites, and I just love the tale she weaves in this book.  Anyone who has had to grow up and move on from a part of their life (and who hasn't?) will relate, and this is just a delicious read.  I've read it at least 10 times; it's one of those.

Operating Instructions: A Journal of my Son's First Year by Anne Lamott

Given to me by one of my best friends after the birth of Baby J, this book is required reading for any new mama.  I literally could not put this book down, as I felt Lamott was speaking directly to me.  She perfectly captures the dizzying mix of exhaustion, love, hormones, and mild insanity that characterize the first year of motherhood.  The diary style of writing is perfect for those with little to no attention span due to an infant as well.  If there is a new mama on your holiday shopping list, give her this.  Done and done.

Cooking for Mr. Latte by Amanda Hesser

Amanda Hesser is a consummate foodie and long time food writer for the New York Times.  This book is her recounting of her courtship and eventual engagement and marriage to her now husband, and it includes fabulous recipes.  Hesser is one of those writers you either love or hate, as she can get awfully uppity about her foodie knowledge and standards, but I happen to love her.  I loved this book and it is another one a read multiple times over.  Think Sex and the City meets Top Chef; if you're into that kind of thing and don't mind a little good old-fashioned NYC restaurant snobbery, you'll love this book.


Too Perfect: When Being in Control Gets Out of Control by Jeannette Dewyze and Allan Mallinger

Had to add a self-help title,  as I am a lover of this genre through and through.  This book is life-changing if you or anyone you know has A-type, obsessive tendencies.  Since this pretty much describes me and my whole family, every single page of this book was like a lightbulb going off for me.  This book is all about recognizing and acknowledging that behavior and then LETTING. IT. GO.  I am hard pressed to think of a woman in my life who wouldn't benefit from reading this, and I frankly want to buy a box of these books and just hand them out to almost everyone I know, as well as strangers on the street who look stressed out.  If you have any obsessiveness in you at all, click the link above and purchase this book immediately.  You can thank me later.

I'm between books right now and eager to dive into a new one.  Snow will be falling soon and there is just nothing better than curling up on a cold night with a good book.  I would love recommendations for what my next reading venture ought to be!

What is your favorite book to unwind reading? 

What life-changing book would you recommend this holiday season?

Lastly, one little business note:  I've created a Facebook page for Sweet Mama Jane.  There isn't much there yet, but I hope to build it out into a fun little extension of this blog.  If you are on Facebook, please become a fan!  Thank you!

The most important meal of the day

In keeping with this week's theme of December wellness, this post is dedicated to that most important meal of the day: breakfast.  Studies have shown that eating breakfast is a critical component of maintaining a healthy weight.  I also feel like it sets the tone for your day nutritionally.  If you start your day with a coffee (and nothing else), your blood sugar will plummet later, leaving you ravenous and dangerous.  Beginning a day with a whole foods breakfast will keep your energy consistent, and probably lead you on the path to a healthy and balanced lunch and dinner ('cause why mess up that strong, healthy feeling with a dinner of cosmos and cheese -- not that that isn't a fabulous dinner sometimes -- but we're talking day-to-day here).  The key is not to get stuck in a breakfast rut, and to mix it up a bit each day to keep things interesting.  I've already discussed my love of steel-cut oats and oat bran, but there is a whole wide world of breakfast out there for the taking. For inspiration, I love a gorgeous website called Simply Breakfast by an amazing Brooklyn photographer, Jennifer Causey.  Everyday, she photographs her brekkie, and I think the result is simple, sweet and lovely.  Some of my faves:

So love the cameos by Sriracha and Nutella at the breakfast table!  I just love this artistic celebration of sitting down and starting your day off properly.  Other than my love affair with various elements of oatmeal, some of my other breakfast faves are:

Whole grain toast with almond butter, smooshed bananas, and honey

Scrambled eggs with Morningstar Farms Veggie Breakfast Sausage (seriously a household fave)

Breakfast burrito (one egg, cheddar and salsa, wrapped in a multi-grain tortilla)

Greek yogurt with pomegranate seeds and honey

Nutty Steph's Vermont Granola with soy milk and fresh berries

Banana and almond butter smoothies

*All served with organic double soy lattes, made in house with lots of love (how lucky am I?)

What is your favorite healthy way to start the day?

Don't Panic, Buy Organic

Jumping off from yesterday's post, I thought I'd dedicate this whole first week of December to posts about wellness and making healthy changes.  On that note, I recently had a conversation with my beloved sister-in-law about buying organic.  She's just out of college and, like almost all of us, needs to keep her grocery budget in check.  She's eager to buy organic, but needs to pick and choose which items to splurge on.  She asked if she was only to buy a limited number of organic products, which would be the most important.  I think this is a great question for everyone, and wanted to share the answer based on my research and personal opinion.  It is widely agreed upon among environmental experts that the following produce items, most of which have little or no protective skin on them like, say, an orange, are the "Dirty Dozen":

1. Peaches

2. Apples

3. Sweet Bell Peppers

4. Celery

5. Nectarines

6. Strawberries

7. Cherries

8. Pears

9. Grapes

10. Spinach

11. Lettuce

12. Potatoes

If you are only going to buy certain things organic, these items should top your list, as the conventionally grown varieties of these are known to have the highest level of harmful pesticides.  I'd also add:

1. Meat:  If your diet is going to include meat, the socially and environmentally responsible thing to do is buy it from small, organic farmers.  Factory farming is an abomination of any belief system.  Organic meat tastes better, and spares your body from pesticides and hormones that are in conventional meat.  The Meatrix is both a hilarious and disturbing look at factory farming.

2. Dairy:  Bovine growth hormone and antibiotics perhaps do not do a body good. 

3. Coffee: Non-organic coffee is incredibly pesticide-laden, and the equivalent of starting your day with a mug of chemicals.  Make like my handsome barista, and brew yourself an organic espresso instead.

More interesting information on organics:
The Eat Well Guide
Top 10 Reasons to Go Organic

The Environmental Working Group: Our Food

And another shout out to my very favorite natural foods cooking website, 101 Cookbooks.  Heidi Swanson is brilliant, and all of her recipes make you feel like you are dining at an amazing spa.  I'm hoping to feature a Heidi-inspired meal or 2 in my December detox.

Photo: Heidi Swanson, 101 Cookbooks

How do you want to improve your health now and in 2010?