Risotto is one of those things I don’t usually make because I always worry about the carbs. But, I just made it on Halloween night and it was creamy, delicious heaven. Not only did I not gain an ounce, I actually lost a pound, so go figure! Maybe it was because this had so many veggies in it — spinach, zucchini, mushrooms and leeks — and it was perfect!

And for all my vegetarian friends – it’s vegetarian! You could even make it vegan by eliminating the pat of butter, the cheese and the shrimp and it would still be good.

Did I measure anything when I made it? Of course not, so I had to make it again, and measure for you guys. And it was just as good the second time as it was the first!

Leeks being de-gritted

You just have to watch out for those sneaky leeks. If you don’t cut them lengthwise and let them soak, then separate the layers and check each one, you may be unpleasantly surprised by some grit, and I hate grit. It can ruin an entire dish for me.  But leeks are delicious and worth the trouble.

I used good sized shrimp 16 to 20 count per pound. Finding shrimp from a sustainable source is not easy, in fact, it was impossible at Vons where I shop. I found a great article in the Huffington Post that tells you what to look for. I’m including a link to the entire article. It’s called, How to Buy the Right Shrimp, by Matthew Thompson, the Associate Food Editor of Eating Well Magazine. 

Basically he says to look for shrimp certified by an independent agency like Wild American Shrimp (sounds like a teen movie) or the Marine Stewardship Council. The Council apparently certifies that wild fisheries are well-managed and sustainable.  He also says to look for the Best Aquaculture Practices label and that’s for farmed shrimp raised without antibiotics and in conditions that exceed local environmental regulations.

I looked every where in Vons and in Trader Joes and did not find either of those labels on any of their shrimp. Most of it was from Indonesia, India or Thailand. But after reading that article, I’m going back this week to ask if they can start carrying shrimp that does. He says lots more in the article, so you should check it out, but if you can’t find a certification, he says you should buy wild caught shrimp from North America because it’s more likely sustainably caught.

If we each don’t do something to make a difference, I’m afraid we’ll run out of really great seafood and that would be a disaster.  If your grocery store doesn’t carry sustainably farmed seafood, ask for it.  Grocery stores do listen to their customers.

Andy on his last bite. You can see I devoured mine already!

I made this risotto for my son on Halloween night. It was the first Halloween in more than 20 years that I didn’t make my old standby, Slow Roasted Chuck Roast in Wine Smothered in Onions. Every so often you gotta shake things up, but I’m including a link to that recipe because it is utterly delicious and a perfect warm your bones, fall and winter recipe. The post was called, Halloween in the ’60s, We Worked Hard for Our Candy.

I hope you’re enjoying the fall. Here in California, it’s been in the 80’s. Hardly fall weather, but it does cool off at night, so I keep my window open, let the cool air in, and snuggle, pretending I’m back home in Pennsylvania. Besides my family, I think fall is what I miss most.

So, do me a favor, go out for a walk on a nice brisk day and shuffle through the leaves for me while eating a crisp apple. Then stop and get yourself a hot tea, hot chocolate or a Pumpkin spice latte, channel me, and enjoy it. Then go inside and make this dish. You will love it!

You can see how full of veggies it was.

Risotto with Shrimp, Leeks, Mushrooms, Spinach and Zucchini

I sauteed all my veggies first, it’s easier that way. Don’t freak out over how many veggies you use, they cook down to half as much.

6 Tbsp. olive oil (use 1 1/2 at a time –     1 1/2 for the leeks,  same for the spinach, mushrooms and zucchini)

1 large leek or 5 cups — thoroughly rinsed and halved lengthwise and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces (It ends up being about 2 cups)

1 cup cooked spinach (about 5 -6 cups fresh)

4 cups sliced mushrooms (ends up being about 2 cups)

2 medium 6 inch Italian zucchini halved and in 1/2 inch slices (about 3 cups) I used gray squash but it all cooks the same

1 1/4 cups Risotto

1 32 oz box vegetable broth.

1/3 cup Parmesan or Romano Cheese plus more for sprinkling

1-2 tsp. fresh thyme

1 oz. Chardonnay (Just a splash is all you need)

1 Tbsp. olive oil

8-12 medium to large shrimp

1 Tbsp. chopped parsley for garnish

Salt and Pepper to taste

First saute your leeks in the olive oil until they are tender. Set them aside.

Next saute the mushrooms until they are tender, set them aside

Saute the zucchini- lightly browing it, and set it aside.

Saute the spinach  and set it aside.

Place 1 Tbsp. of butter and 1 Tbsp. of olive oil in a large saute pan.  (I used my wok because this makes a lot.). Heat until the butter melts then add the risotto. Stir it until it’s coated. Then add the vegetable broth, one cup at a time and stir until it’s incorporated. Keep adding and stirring one cup at a time. By the time you are on cup three, place the shrimp in a separate saute pan with 1 Tbsp olive oil and cook them lightly on both sides. Once they’re not transparent anymore, remove them from the heat  so they don’t overcook.

Keep stirring the risotto adding the last cup of broth. It should look creamy and should be no longer tough to bite, (don’t cook it so long it’s mushy – it should have a little firmness) then add the 1/3 cup of cheese and stir. Next add the leeks, mushrooms, zucchini, spinach and the shrimp. Taste it and add salt and pepper to taste.  Stir to combine and heat through.

Sprinkle with parsley and cheese and serve. My son loved it with crushed red pepper flakes too.

Formerly cool, now “cute” Fran.

This is the second in my series of blog posts about not aging gracefully.

I remember the day I became invisible. I was in New York City. I was 55-years-old, walking down Broadway, and couldn’t get a soul to look at me. Not one person.

My first thought was, Wow, I could rob banks now and it would be months before I’d be captured because I don’t register on anyone’s radar anymore. It could have been liberating, if it hadn’t been so ego deflating. My daughter sometimes complains about men making comments about her and I always tell her, “The only thing worse is when men stop noticing you completely.”

I was almost over being invisible, when I started going from cool to cute. Cool happens when someone younger has spoken to you and decides you’re OK. They then proclaim you cool. As in, “Wow, Milena, your mom is so cool.”

I loved the cool days.

However, I’m noticing lately that I’m going from cool to cute and often it’s younger people who make this proclamation. I know it’s a compliment.  They could just ignore me or say nothing, but they do seem to like me, and so now they say, “You are so cute!”

But it’s a dangerous transition because I’ve just gone from someone who appears fairly young and vital, to someone so grievously old that the younger person cannot believe you’re able to feed yourself, let alone function in society.

And since you’re clearly in control of your faculties, you’re proclaimed cute.  She’s so adorable. Look, she can still speak in full sentences and carry a train of thought, even in her doddering old way, isn’t she cute? You’re reduced to the likes of a clumsy, puppy.

It’s worse for men.  Once a man is proclaimed cute by women, he’s pretty much a eunuch. She would never have sex with him, but he’s sweet and kind of grandfatherly, so he’s cute.

Some people navigate it well. Look at Betty White, she’s both cool and cute, and she’s 96. Maybe by the time I’m 96, I’ll handle being called cute a little better. Until then, I pray I can go back to cool.

A friend of mine sent me a link to a website where a woman talks about growing older gracefully now that she’s in her 60’s. God bless her, God bless anyone who can be graceful about growing older…I just don’t happen to be one of them.

I look in the mirror and pull my cheeks up a little and think, Yeah, that’s how I should look. But  you can’t walk around looking like Macaulay Culkin in Home Alone all the time, so I just dealt with it.

But it does a number on you. I just didn’t feel cute anymore, and when you don’t feel cute, you’re less outgoing because you feel like no one will respond. This was quietly reinforced by the fact that I seem to have turned invisible sometime in my 50’s.

I remember quite vividly when I noticed my new invisibility. I’d walked blocks and blocks down Broadway in New York City and not one person noticed me. Not one! I could have robbed a bank and totally gotten away with it. That was really sobering for me. It was the first time I realized I was getting older.

I wish I was more like those women who can just let their hair turn gray and be cool with it. I’m not. Or the ones who smile and say, “I’ve earned every one of these wrinkles.”

No, I’m the woman, who when she accidentally sees her own face in the camera of her phone, screams, “Aaaaaah!” as if a monster has been sighted.

I’ve earned my wrinkles too,  but I’m very happy to let go of some of them, which is why I decided to go ahead and have the Liftique procedure. Liftique is a non-surgical, procedure that can help you look a little younger by stimulating the collagen under your skin, so your skin looks lifted and a little tighter.

I found out about it because Liftique advertises on the radio stations owned by the company I work for. I write their commercials and, apparently I’m so good,  I convinced myself. The more I wrote about it, the more I thought…hmmmmm, wonder if I should do this?

I finally decided it was a good idea, so I took the plunge and had it done over President’s Day weekend. I did it on a Thursday afternoon and was back at work the following Tuesday. Aside from a tiny bit of bruising that I hid with make-up, no one even knew.

I told a few people, but the lid got blown off when Liftique asked me to do a testimonial for them, which turned into a commercial, which apparently runs incessantly here in Los Angeles because all my friends have called me about it. So, I figured it was time to just tell everybody and post a link to it. Why not?

Am I glad I did it? Yeah, I am. It left me feeling better about my neck, which was starting to look too much like the scarecrow’s in the Wizard of Oz. And when you feel better, you’re a little friendlier, a little more outgoing and a little more fun. And when you’re single and in your 60’s, you need all the help you can get.

When I was in my 20’s,  I never thought I’d do something like have surgery or any kind of procedure, but that changed after I worked in a plastic surgeon’s office. I saw people come in the door, self conscious — and leave a totally different person. The surgery changed them slightly on the outside, but the  biggest difference was clearly on the inside.

And I think anything that can give a person back her or his confidence, is ultimately a good thing.

I admit it, I am a judging judger.

I try not to judge people, but there are people who you instantly click with and people you don’t.  Some people I instantly make decisions about, based on what they wear, how they speak, how many nose rings, tattoos or piercings they have, or what their political party is.  It’s not good. Continue reading →

What pushes a mostly sane woman to wade into a flesh-tearing patch of blackberry brambles? The promise of hot, crisp blackberry pie with peanut butter crust and crumble. Add vanilla ice cream and you have a holy experience.

And I must say thank you to Brian and Pam Ellis, my former next door neighbors, who always let me know when the berries in their yard are ripe for picking. Good neighbors, are a treasure.

Fresh blackberries, (or Marionberries – I think) so worth it!

I’ve written about pie before. This was one of the pies included in my Pies and Virginity blog. But, in retrospect, I think  blackberry pie with peanut butter crust and crumble really deserves its own blog post because it’s a delicious pie, that’s destroyed many a diet. It was pioneered by my mother, and proudly carried on by me.

I may not remember the name of the actress in the movie I saw 20 minutes ago, but I never forget a life-altering food moment. One of them was the time my mom decided to put peanut butter in a crust she was making for a blueberry pie. I tasted it and knew my mom was a food genius, it was that good.

Then, I decided that if a peanut butter, double crust pie was that good, how great would a peanut butter crumble be, especially one with crunchy peanut butter? And if blueberries were good, wouldn’t blackberries be great? That question got answered a few years ago when I made it for a family get together.  Both my brothers, who don’t throw food compliments around liberally, said, “I think this might be the best pie you’ve ever made.”

You can also just make this a crisp, by eliminating the pie crust bottom. It’s also killer good, faster, and a lot less work.

As I’ve said many times, we are all ho’s for blackberry pie and the peanut butter puts a blackberry pie in a whole new category of yum. To make the crust, I just take my regular pie crust before it’s rolled out, put a tablespoon or two of peanut butter in the middle,  fold it over, roll it, and fold it again a few times, then roll it out. It leaves the crust looking swirled with peanut butter.

*Also, make the crust first, then the crumble so it’s easier to assemble quickly. You don’t want to put the berries in the crust too long before you bake it, or it will get soggy.  And bake it closer to the bottom of the oven so the bottom crust gets crisp.

Mary Tunno’s Pie Crust with Peanut Butter Swirl 

2 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup Butter Flavor Crisco

1/2 cup butter

1 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. sugar

1/2 to 1 cup very cold whole milk (you can put an ice cube in it to make it colder but remove it before you add the milk)

Mix flour, salt and sugar together then cut in Crisco and butter.  Mix well, it forms small crumbs.  Add enough milk so that dough can be molded into soft balls.  Better that the dough is too soft and sticky than too hard. Once you add the milk and have made about four or five balls, wrap each one in flour coated plastic wrap, flatten it into a disc, and cool it in the refrigerator or freezer.

Then take one of the flattened, cooled pie crusts, roll it slightly, and add one to two tablespoons of creamy peanut butter to it.  Fold it over, roll it out a little,  then fold it over three or four more times. The peanut butter should look like swirls in the crust. Roll it out on a floured board and place it in bottom of a pie pan.  Flute the edges then fill it with berries.

Peanut Butter Crumble

1 cup flour

2 cups whole, uncooked Old Fashioned Quaker Oats

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 stick melted butter (not unsalted)

1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (I use Laura Scudder’s)

Blackberry Pie with Peanut Butter Crumble

6 to 7 cups blackberries or blueberries

1 cup sugar

2 1/2 Tbsp. flour

Mix together the berries, flour and sugar thoroughly, then place them in the bottom peanut butter swirl crust. Sprinkle a light covering of the peanut butter crumble top of the pie. You don’t want too much because the crumble absorbs a lot of the liquid, so you’ll have all crumble and not enough fruit.  (You may need to lay a piece of aluminum foil lightly on top of the pie or crisp, so the crumble doesn’t burn.) Bake at 350 for an hour or more or until you see the pie really bubbling and crust is brown.  Use a pie crust shield to protect crust from burning. And make sure you put a cookie sheet underneath or some aluminum foil to catch the drips!