But one thing I have been doing is cooking. And today, when faced with a head of cauliflower that needed to be used OR ELSE (or else I’d have to throw it out, but throwing away anything from my beautiful organic box of goodies makes me sad), I decided to make soup! Because not only did I have the cauliflower, this week I also got leeks in my box, and had some potatoes hanging around that I didn’t use for St. Patrick day’s half-corned beef, so called because someone did not read the complete recipe until 4 days before St. Paddy’s only to discover the brisket was actually supposed to sit in the brine for 8 days, not 4. But anyway…

So, since everyone knows potatoes and leeks make an awesome soup, I thought, why not invite some cauliflower to the party?  So, if you’re in one of the parts of the country NOT experiencing unseasonably warm spring like weather, here’s recipe for a yummy, creamy soup that will warm you up on a cold rainy afternoon.

Ingredients:

2 large leeks

1 head of cauliflower, chopped

4 small-medium potatoes (about 2-3 inches in diameter) peeled cut into chunks.

1 qt chicken broth

1/2 cup heavy cream

Olive oil

salt and pepper

Preparation:

Discard all but the white parts of the leeks.  Slice the whites in half and rinse thoroughly as leeks can contain a lot of dirt. Chop leeks into thin pieces – it doesn’t have to be super fine since you’ll be pureeing the soup.  Coat a large pot with olive oil and heat over medium low heat. Add leeks and a pinch of salt and saute until leeks are tender but not browned, about 5-7 minutes.  Add cauliflower, potatoes, and broth to the pot. Cover and cook until the vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.  Turn off the heat.  Blend in batches until smooth and return to the pot (or you can use an immersion blender I love mine).  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in heavy cream, and enjoy!

Sesame Crusted Ahi Tuna with Sauteed Spinach

1 lb sushi grade ahi tuna

1 T soy sauce (plus more for dipping)

1 T Sesame oil

3 T toasted sesame seeds

1 T vegetable or olive oil

1 lb fresh baby spinach

2 cloves garlic, cut into thin slices

soy sauce

1 T olive oil

To prepare tuna:

Combine soy sauce and sesame oil, and coat tuna with the mixture.  Spread the sesame seeds on a plate and turn the tuna in them to create an even coating.  In a cast iron or grill pan, heat vegetable oil over high heat.  Cook tuna, 1-2 minutes per side, set aside on a plate to rest.

To prepare the spinach:

In a sautee pan, heat olive oil over medium-low heat.  Add garlic and cook until garlic is tender and just starting to brown, 3-5 minutes. It’s really important not to let the garlic burn!  Add spinach to pan and stir until it’s coated with the olive oil.  Cook until spinach is cooked down, about 5 minutes.  Season with soy sauce to taste.

To serve, pile the spinach on two plates and cut the tuna into thin slices. Be sure to cut against the grain of the fish, or the slices will be chewy. I like to serve mine with soy sauce and wasabi on the side to dip, just like sushi.

Grilled Flank Steak with Grilled Vegetable Salsa

Note – if you don’t want to mess with the grill, this can easily be done on the stovetop on a grill pan, or using your oven’s broiler

1 lb Flank steak

2 tsp each salt, pepper, and cumin

1 red onion, cut into eighths

4 firm fleshed tomatoes, (i.e. Romas) cut in half

1-2 jalepenos, depending on how much heat you like

3 cloves garlic, peeled

1 avocado, cut into chunks

olive oil

Juice of 1-2 limes

salt, pepper, and cumin to taste

1 hour before you grill,season steak liberally with salt, pepper, and cumin.  Let it rest at room temperature for an hour before cooking. Coat grill or pan with olive oil, heat to high, and grill steak to desired doneness.  Let the steak rest for 10 minutes before cutting.

To prepare the salsa:

toss vegetables will in olive oil to coat.  Using a vegetable grill pan, or under your broiler, grill or broil vegetables until they are just starting to char, about 10 minutes.  If desired, remove seeds from the jalapeños before chopping.  Chop all the vegetables roughly – you want this to be a big, chunky salsa, and add the avocado.  Season with lime juice, salt and cumin, and serve with the thinly sliced steak. Serve tortillas on the side, and voila, you’ve got steak tacos!

Ingredients

1 medium onion, diced

4 carrots, diced

4 ribs celery, diced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

2 tsp dried oregano, preferably Mexican

1 T chile powder

1 tsp cumin

2 cloves garlic, minced

4 medium size red or other waxy potatoes, cut into bite size chunks (you want roughly 2 cups of potatoes)

1 quart chicken broth

1 7 oz can roasted diced green chiles, or 4 roasted hatch chiles, peeled and diced

2 cups roasted chicken, shredded or chopped into bite size pieces

1 T Olive oil

sour cream, avocado,  lime wedges and shredded cheese to garnish

Directions:

In a dutch oven or large pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions, carrots, celery, and salt, cook until vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes.  Add pepper, oregano, chile powder, cumin, and garlic. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add potatoes, stir to coat with spices. Add chicken broth to pot. Bring to a broth to a boil then lower to a simmer and cover, cooking until potatoes are tender, 15-2o minutes.  Stir in green chiles and chicken, simmer until heated through and green chile flavor permeates soup, about 5 minutes.  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if necessary.  Garnish with sour cream, cheese, avocado and lime if desired.

Ciao!

As for my resolutions (eating more mindfully and lowering the volume on my inner critic), I would give myself a B- on both. While for the most part I’ve made a point to put everything I want to eat on a plate and actually sit down at the table to eat it, I still catch myself picking things off my boys’ plates and walking around the house with food in my hand. And yesterday there was a bit of a cheeto incident at the park…
My inner critic has taken a back seat, but I can’t decide if it’s because I’ve brought her back down to a manageable level, or because I’m just don’t care as much about certain things right now. Hmmm. things to ponder.

My other resolution was (is) to get a ball gag for my inner critic.  I haven’t managed to fully silence her, but the the volume has been turned down.  When I beat myself up about work or start thinking that my WIP is such a pile of crap that I should just throw it out and start all over, I remind myself that I have written over 10 published works, and no matter how frustrating the process is or how much trouble I have figuring out my plots and characters, I somehow manage to pull it together.   There’s no reason to believe I won’t this time as well.

And if I’m feeling a little bloated, a little wrinkly and noticing that my arms are starting to resemble a couple of easter hams, I remind myself that a)I don’t have  sports illustrated swimsuit issue cover shoot coming up b) my husband is still pretty psyched when he catches me in the shower c) my body is strong and healthy and capable of walking for miles and lifting 40 and 60 pound boys to give them bear hugs and fish kisses, and d) I’m fueling said body with delicious, healthy, mindfully consumed food that I really enjoy, and unless I cut back on that, I’m never going to have anything approaching a six pack.

Frankly, I’d rather have my camembert.

Hope you are all doing well with your own resolutions, and those of you who’ve fallen off the wagon, tell your inner critic to shut the f$%^ up and get back on the wagon!

And so far my inner critic has been mostly silent, but that’s because I’m sort of avoiding diving into my new WIP. Circling it like a shark, too chicken to actually dive right in yet.

Oops, I think IC just called me a chicken….

You have 3 more weeks to tweet or comment to win an ARC of RUN FROM FEAR and a copy of its accompanying playlist!

Have a great week!

That being said,  I did find myself sneaking a few olives while making dinner (beef picadillo, roast sweet potatoes and shallots, and spinach salad, in case anyone is wondering) and nibbling leftover broccoli during clean up. Yeah, yeah, it’s broccoli, not exactly a cardinal sin. But still, the whole point of this is to think about what I want to eat, focus on it, and actually enjoy it while I eat it.

How are you doing week one of #resolutions?  Comment or tweet me with hashtag #resolutions by January 31 for a chance to win an ARC of RUN FROM FEAR and the book’s “soundtrack” from iTunes!

So to start things off, I’ll share my own resolutions.

1. Try to keep my inner critic under control.  Wow, a writer with insecurities? Go figure! But seriously, the little voice in my head who likes to whisper I’m not that great of a writer/parent/wife and remind me that my body is nothing near what it used to be and even then it wasn’t that great has become way too intrusive lately.

2. Be more mindful of my eating.  I have a tendency, especially since having kids, to shove food into my mouth without thinking while I do five or so other things at the same time. Like this morning, when I found myself walking around the house, sandwich in one hand, shoving laundry in the washing machine with the other.  I eat like someone’s going to take my meal from me (or yell for a butt wipe, or ask for another helping of macaroni, or shove a grubby fist in my plate) even when I’m alone in my house.  Now that my kids are 4 and 6 and (slightly) more civilized, there’s really no need for me to shovel my food in like I’m on an episode of Man vs. Food.  So I’m going to try harder to fix myself proper meals (no more picking crusts and bits off kids plates) and actually taking the time to sit down and eat them.

Feel free to post multiple times – I’ll be checking in with my own progress throughout the month.  In the meantime, good luck and happy new year!