Shannon Phillips

On Inauguration Day I was going to the store when I noticed that somebody had gotten clever with stickers on the street signs, creating a new Obama St. It took me a minute to remember what that street was usually called, and I laughed out loud when I realized I was on Bush Street.

I didn’t have my camera with me and when I went back yesterday the street signs were restored to their normal state, but the Chronicle has lots of pictures here.

Thanks to everyone who expressed sympathy over Robin’s illness. I’m only sorry that it had to coincide with our visit to Reno. I think Robin managed to give his Nonna the plague too; I hope she’s feeling better!

Our veggie box arrived today: chard, leeks, collard greens, kale, bok choy, carrots, radicchio, potatoes, broccoflower, oranges.

Tonight I think I’m going to take a chance and adapt a recipe that Sam and I both really like—whole wheat penne with Italian sausage, sun-dried tomatoes, and spinach—to use the collard greens instead of spinach. We’ll see how the experiment turns out.

Tomorrow Robin and I will have bok choy for lunch, braised with garlic and served over brown rice, and for dinner I think a veggie extravaganza of kale (cooked simply with garlic and balsamic vinegar), potatoes (boiled and tossed with butter and dill), and broccoflower (roasted).

Friday lunch: fish sticks. And dinner: baked polenta with chard. I just really love that recipe. It’s my favorite way to have chard. I like to use leeks instead of the onion.

Saturday lunch will be scrounged from the fridge/freezer: dinner will be Fancy Sandwiches (assembled from store-bought olive bread, prosciutto, goat cheese, shredded radicchio, and balsamic vinaigrette).

Sunday we eat brunch out; for dinner I’m thinking chili mac, as an antidote to all the fanciness of the previous night.

Monday lunch: leftover chili mac! Dinner: steaks and roasted carrots.

Tuesday lunch: PB&J. Dinner: chicken, broccoli, and ziti casserole.

Our visit to Reno last weekend was marred by illness: Robin caught the stomach bug I mentioned in my last post. We’d given him a couple bananas in the car, and we first became aware that he was sick when he vomited banana all over himself and his carseat. We pulled over and cleaned him up.

About ten miles later, the second banana came up.

We were in the middle of a mountain pass and we decided the best thing we could do for him was continue on to his grandparents’ house. So I sat in the backseat as he continued to vomit every ten minutes, doing my best to comfort him and to contain the mess. By the time we arrived he was only bringing up stomach acid, but he continued to be shaken by retching spells.

At his Pappy and Nonna’s house Robin actually seemed pretty happy: there were doggies to pat, Christmas presents to discover, and of course his grandparents and his auntie to play with. We followed him around with a towel and the vomiting seemed to ease up a bit, going from every ten minutes to maybe every twenty. In the meantime he was perfectly happy to explore and to play, but it became obvious that he was pretty worn out. The grandparents wanted to take us out to dinner and to do some more visiting, but I was worried about him and insisted on taking him back to our hotel room so he could rest. When I set him down on the bed, he dropped over like a felled tree and went immediately to sleep.

Unfortunately, he woke up twenty minutes later to puke. He went straight back to sleep afterwards, but the pattern continued throughout the night. Sam is slow to wake so I was the one who tended to him during these episodes, and it was awful. I was so worried about him and I felt so helpless; and of course I was exhausted too since I’d just recovered from the same sickness. The brief periods of sleep and the many episodes of waking to hold a towel under his chin blurred together into one nightmarish moment that seemed like it would never end. I remember glancing over the at the clock woozily at one point and seeing that it was only 12:30; it felt like ten hours had already passed, and I distinctly thought to myself, “This is exactly what Hell would be like.”

The very worst part of the night came at 3 AM when Robin started getting dehydrated and asking for water (not with words; he just points in the direction of things he wants and adopts an insistive tone with his usual syllables: “buh! guh!”). We gave him water, he drank it thirstily, but it came right back up. Here is another thing that everybody already knows: it is incredibly hard to watch your child suffering when there is nothing you can do to help.

I was resolved to take Robin to the hospital as soon as the sun came up, but around 5 AM something remarkable happened: Robin woke up, vomited, had a drink, went back to sleep…and then didn’t wake up again for an hour and a half. And even then he didn’t throw up, he just wanted to nurse.

And as morning finally came I was filled with an immense gratitude: I turned blissfully to Sam and I said, “The sun’s up, my baby’s not vomiting, and Obama’s going to be president.”

Robin’s stomach was still a little touchy for the rest of the weekend; he wouldn’t eat much solid food, but we kept him hydrated and he was at least willing to nurse. He’s been resting more than usual, and his appetite seems to be recovering. Last night we got him to eat some french fries, and this morning he took in a little bit of oatmeal. Right now he’s pulling a bunch of Saltines out from their box, taking a single bite from each, and placing them each on the seat of Sam’s chair. I feel pretty okay about this. At least the sun’s up, my baby’s not vomiting, and Obama is president.

I’ve figured out when Sesame Street comes on, and I let Robin watch it every day, because he loves it and I can’t quite believe that Sesame Street could be bad for him. They always have an “Elmo’s World” segment, and whenever it comes on Robin has to run and find his Elmo doll. Then he stands there in front of the TV, hugging Elmo, enraptured. It’s a little weird, but also cute.

Today I’m sick with some kind of stomach bug. I’ve been taking my temperature periodically; well, Robin got a hold of the thermometer (don’t worry, it’s the digital kind, not glass) and what did he do with it? He took Elmo’s temperature.

Well, you can probably guess what was in our veggie box this week. Collard greens, kale, chard (but gold chard! that’s a nice change of pace!), leeks, bok choy, broccoflower, radicchio, carrots, oranges, potatoes. Yep, local and seasonal eating means sacrificing some variety in our foodstuffs. But unlike our forefathers, I have the privilege of supplementing with things from the grocery store!

I cooked the radicchio last night in that fettucine recipe: Sam liked it better than I did. He’s very enthusiastic about pasta in all forms. Oh, and I should say, the North African Bean and Squash Stew came out really well. I was able to find what I think is muhammas (“giant pearl” or “Israeli”) couscous at the grocery store, so I used that instead of the vermicelli, and I substituted leeks for the onion. Also I left out the cayenne pepper because Robin and I are spice wimps. But I love cilantro and it really adds a nice bright flavor to the stew. Here’s a picture:

Coinkydinkally, the recipes tucked into the box this week included one that called for couscous (Orange Kale Couscous), so I made that for lunch and I’m eating it RIGHT NOW AS I TYPE. I was more excited that the recipe included a link to a blog, csadelivery.blogspot.com, where Katie DeGraff details what she does with her veggie box. I can’t really explain why I’m so fascinated by what other people are eating, but I am. Maybe it’s because I’m an ethnobotanist’s daughter.

On our vegetables, this week, I’m going to punt. I’m going to use most of them—the broccoflower, the collard greens, the leeks, the carrots—making stocks. It seems kind of wasteful but we’re going down to Reno this weekend to see Pappy and Nonna, so we’re not going to be here for a few days to eat all these veggies, and I don’t want them to go bad. Plus I’m out of home-made stock; I’ve been buying it from the grocery store and I can really taste the difference in my recipes.

Here’s the plan:

Tonight I’ll buy a chicken and roast it with the potatoes. I’ll also buy a couple of steaks and put them in the fridge so that I don’t have to go to the store tomorrow.

Tomorrow I’ll use the chicken bones to make a chicken stock, and the veggies to make a vegetable stock. For dinner I’ll make the steaks (quick, easy) along with creamed chard.

Saturday we’re going to Reno and we won’t be back until Monday. I’m going to assume that we’ll get dinner on the road, although if we’re back in time I’ll make a hot and sour soup with bok choy using the ingredients I’ll have in the fridge. Otherwise I’ll make the soup on Tuesday.

Sorry for the crummy video quality; we’d been playing with Robin for a while and he seemed distracted when I got out the camera, so I was afraid he’d stop the game if I took the time to, you know, focus. I almost wasn’t going to post this because it’s so fuzzy, but Sam told me I was crazy and that y’all would love to see it. So here you go.

We just received a lovely red amaryllis plant via Fed Ex, in a silver pot, and it’s very beautiful in every way except that I don’t know where to send a thank-you note! I scoured the packaging and I can’t find any indication of who sent the gift! It seems to be sent from within California but I can’t find a note or name attached.

I’m worried now because we actually sent similar gifts to a couple of our loved ones. Is this a “return address” sort of thing? Is there somebody out there who didn’t get their amaryllis? Or is this our amaryllis to be watered and cherished and placed in indirect sunlight? Please do say!

Veggies: collard greens, kale, bok choy, radicchio, a bunch of leeks, a bunch of carrots, a small fennel, a bag of spinach, a butternut squash, a broccoflower, four oranges.

Tonight I’m actually making the chicken pot pie that I talked about making (but didn’t) a few weeks ago. Tomorrow I think I’ll try using the squash in this recipe for North African Bean and Squash Soup from the New York Times. I still have some black eyed peas left over so I’ll make those with the kale, bacon, and onion, for lunch. The bok choy will be another lunch. Friday night I’m thinking pork chops smothered in spicy collard greens, with roasted carrots and fennel. Saturday I have plans with friends, so dinner will be leftovers or delivery; Sunday I’m thinking this stirfry with the broccoflower, maybe with a spinach salad on the side.

That leaves the radicchio and the leeks. There’s a recipe in the San Francisco Ferry Plaza Farmer’s Market Cookbook for fettuccine with radicchio that I’m a bit skeptical of, but I think I’ll give it a try on Monday. The leeks, I don’t specifically know right now; but I actually really love leeks so I’m sure I’ll find a use for them.

I thought this vegetarian soup was pretty “meh” when I made it last night, but the leftovers today were delicious. The recipe came tucked in our veggie box, with attribution to Cheryl Quantz of San Mateo. I thought I’d post it here for my own future reference, and for anybody who might be interested in a healthy, hearty, and frugal soup (kale is generally $1.99 a bunch at Whole Foods, probably cheaper elsewhere). Cheryl notes, “If possible let the soup sit for an hour or so before serving to allow the flavors to further develop,” but I think it needs longer than that. Overnight is best.

This picture is misleading; we were down to the last dregs of soup by the time I thought to snap a photo, and Robin and I had already slurped out all the kale. So imagine this thickened by lots more greens.

Cheryl’s recipe also says, “The ingredients of this soup supply plenty of flavor, so use water to prepare a simple stock by simmering the stems of the kale.” That’s exactly what I did: I cut up an onion and simmered it along with the kale stems for an hour. I have no doubt that real home-made chicken stock would improve the soup—it improves everything—but that would detract some from the frugality (as well as rendering the soup non-vegetarian, for those of you who swing that way). Anyway, the improvised stock does work.

I think next time I might cut up a little bit of kielbasa and toss it in.

Kale and Potato Soup with Red Chili

1 bunch kale
3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1 bunch leeks, washed and chopped (the original recipe calls for “1 medium red or yellow onion” but I used a bunch of leeks instead, and I recommend it: potato-leek soup is a classic combo for a reason)
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced (I was down to the ends of a head of garlic, so I only had four cloves, and I don’t recommend it. Use all six.)
1 small dried red chili, seeded and chopped, or 1/2 tsp chili flakes (I used the chili; I was worried that it would add too much heat but actually there was no appreciable heat. But chilis, of course, vary.)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp salt
1 lb potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into bite-size pieces (I used Yukon Gold because that’s what I had, but red potatoes would be nice too)
2 tsp nutritional yeast (the recipe notes that this is optional; I actually did buy and add the nutritional yeast, which is apparently different from regular yeast, but I’m not sure it did much for the soup. Oh, wait, I have Google—I can go see what nutritional yeast is supposed to do. Hmm. It’s supposed to add vitamins and a flavor similar to parmesan cheese.)
Interestingly, I also threw in a couple of parmesan cheese rinds, because I’ve been saving them and they’re supposed to be good in soups. I think if you’re not using “real” stock, and you don’t need your soup to be vegan, this is a good idea.
7 cups stock
Pepper
Crème fraîche or sour cream (optional, and I didn’t use it. It didn’t seem like the kind of soup that would be particularly good with sour cream.)

Tear the kale leaves off the stems and, if you want, make a simple stock with the stems. Tear the greens into bite-sized pieces, wash them, and set them aside.

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot over medium-high heat; add the leeks, garlic, chili, bay leaf, and salt, and saute until the leeks are softened but not soggy, 3 or 4 minutes. Add the potatoes and the yeast (if using), plus a cup of the stock. Stir together, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the kale, stir, cover, and steam until it is wilted (stirring occasionally). Pour in the rest of the stock and add a generous grinding of pepper, plus the parmesan rind if you’re using that. (This is where I’d throw in the kielbasa, too.) Put the heat on high and bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium-low or low as necessary to keep it at a simmer. Cook until potatoes are soft.

Use the back of a wooden spoon to break up the potatoes by pressing them against the sides of the pot. This will make a unifying background for the other flavors. Taste and adjust for salt and pepper.

Let the soup sit at least an hour and preferably overnight. Serve hot, with a spoonful of crème fraîche or sour cream if you are a braver woman than I.

We’re back from my grandfather’s funeral in Texas (it was wonderful to see all my aunts and cousins, even though our visit was too brief to really do much catching up: and I was reminded yet again that flying with a one-year-old is a really grueling experience). And waiting for us at home was a box full of kale, collard greens, radicchio, leeks, lettuce, carrots, bok choy, oranges, potatoes, and a butternut squash.

Last night we had pasta with radicchio, squash and browned butter, but honestly it’s not a meal I plan to repeat: the recipe sounded better than the reality proved to be. I also braised the bok choy with garlic and Robin ate it happily for lunch.

Tonight I’m going to make a vegetable soup out of the kale, potatoes, and leeks, and I have black eyed peas soaking to cook with the collard greens. Sam’s not a big fan of the greens-and-peas meal but Robin and I both like it, so it’ll probably make lunch for a couple days for us. A little salad of the lettuce and carrots can be another lunch. And Robin’s already devoured most of the oranges, so that pretty much takes care of the veggies!