Comfort Food

A week ago today, I was cooped up in the cabin riding out Hurricane Sandy with some good friends who were vising from sunny California.  Now, a week later, I sit in the cabin watching the first snow fall of the season.  Wow, what change a week can bring!  We were very lucky that Sandy was so tame in our region and my heart goes out to the folks in New York and New Jersey that weren't so lucky.  Without knowing how lucky we would be, we decided to prepare for the worst.  When the power goes out, we also lose running water since the pump to our well won't work so we filled jugs with water for drinking, bathing, and cleaning.  No power also means no oven, but we can still manually light the burners to our stove top range, so I made a giant pot of chicken and black bean stew that could be reheated no matter what our power situation was.

Next, my mind shifted to all the frozen vegetables and soups in which I have invested so much time and energy from the time I planted the seeds to the time they were bagged, labeled, and placed in the freezer.  In an effort to give them their best chance of surviving a power outage of unknown duration,  we cranked the cold setting on the freezer from a three to a five and filled every empty space in the freezer with a jug of water.  These then create giant ice cubes to further insulate the precious stores of food they surround.  With our food and water secured, our candles out and ready, my friend Sara on the mandolin, and the Scrabble board dusted off, we settled in to enjoy some good company, good food, good music and a not-so-scary storm.  The rain fell and the wind howled, but we never lost power, and in the end I was thankful that the storm was kind to us.  I also was thankful to be able to take such comfort in knowing that we were prepared, had it been worse.

Now, as I sit in the warmth of the cabin and watch the snow fall out of the frost-covered windows, I find myself craving some serious comfort food.  The only vegetables left in the garden are Brussels sprouts so I will prepare them along with some chicken stuffed with herbed goat cheese and some purple sticky rice.  I turned on the new Mumford & Sons album that I have been enjoying so much, poured myself a glass of wine, and went to work on this comforting meal.
I know that Brussels sprouts get a bad rap and I agree that when they aren't well prepared, they can be less than appetizing.  But, for those of you who haven't tried them simply based on their bad reputation, I invite you to give them a try and decide for yourself.  I also think it is important to harvest them when they are still small or purchase the smaller ones from the market as they seem sweeter and more tender than the larger ones.  Brussels sprouts as we know them were first grown in Belgium in the 13th century and they are full of Vitamin C, Vitamin K, and cancer preventing phytochemicals.  I like them either halved and sauteed with bacon or oven-roasted with garlic, oil, and balsamic vinegar.   Today I will go for the latter option.  Here is what I will need:


Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts:

2 cups of Brussels sprouts, washed, halved and peeled of their outermost layer
2 Tbsp of good high-heat oil (I choose sunflower oil)
2 Tbsp of good aged Balsamic vinegar ( I choose Alessi Balsamic Vinegar, which is aged in wood)
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt & pepper


Toss the sprouts in the oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper.  Allow to sit, tossing occasionally, for 20-30 minutes.  You can use this time to prepare your chicken.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  When everything is ready to go into the oven,  spread the sprouts onto a roasting pan or dish.  Make sure they are in a single layer, cut side down, and not too crowded so that they can roast evenly.  Roast for 30 minutes, then remove the sprouts from the oven, flip them over, and roast 10 more minutes or until the Balsamic vinegar is beginning to caramelize on the outside of the sprouts.  They will be a beautiful golden-brown color. 

While my Brussels sprouts are marinating, I set about preparing the chicken.  Rather than go for the super expensive cut of boneless, skinless breast I always buy a whole chicken and do that work myself.  Its much more cost-effective, plus I can use the organs, spine, and skins to make a delicious chicken broth to be frozen and used later and I'm still left with two legs and thighs to use for another meal.  It takes a little extra work, but it beats the heck out of paying top-dollar for a really expensive cut of meat.  I find the best way to cut up the chicken is with a sharp pair of kitchen shears.  I start by removing the bag with the organs from inside the chicken and then I make a cut up each side of the chickens spine.  Then I make a cut that splits the two breasts, and then cut the leg and thigh portion away from each breast.  Next, remove the skins from the breasts and cut them away from the bones underneath.  I place the legs and thighs into a sealed container in the fridge; place the skinless, boneless breasts on pieces of cling wrap; and place the skin, bones, spine, and organ meat in a pot of boiling, salted water to make my broth.   Now I am ready to start preparing the chicken stuffed with herbed goat cheese.  Here is what I will need:

Chicken Stuffed with Herbed Goat Cheese:

2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (I chose a local chicken from Misty Knoll farm)
8 oz. of plain goat cheese/chevre ( I chose a local favorite from Vermont Butter & Cheese Co.)
1 tsp dried basil
1tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary (In season I would instead use all fresh herbs)
salt & pepper
6 toasted & chopped pecans (I'm using some my mother-in-law sent us from Alabama that we store in the freezer. This comforting dish just wouldn't be as effective without a taste of home)
2 large leaves of spinach (or kale, or mustard greens, but these must be blanched first)
1/2 cup bread crumbs (I heavily toast a few pieces of wheat bread, then give them a whir in my food processor or crush them with my mortar and pestle)
1/4 cup grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
1 egg, beaten 
1/4 cup of flour
3 bamboo kebab skewers each cut into three pieces

Place the boneless, skinless breasts between sheets of cling wrap and gently flatten them with a rolling pin or meat mallet until they are 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick.  Set aside.  Place your pecans on a cookie sheet and toast them in the 350 degree oven that is preheating.  Allow them to cool, then chop them, whir them in the food processor, or crush them in the mortar and pestle.  In a small bowl, mix the goat cheese with the basil, thyme, rosemary, toasted pecans, salt and pepper.  In another small bowl, beat your egg.  Use a fine grater to grate the cheese into the bread crumbs.  On another separate small plate or bowl, prepare the flour.  Take the top layer of cling wrap off of each chicken breast, sprinkle them with salt & pepper,  and lay a spinach leaf on each one.  Then spread the herbed goat cheese onto each leaf.  Next, roll the chicken breasts up and, one by one, roll them in the flour, then the egg, then the bread crumb-cheese mixture.  Secure each roll with three pieces of skewer and place them on a baking sheet.  Bake in the oven, along side the Brussels sprouts for 40 minutes.

While my chicken and Brussels sprouts are cooking, I prepare the purple sticky rice.  I've never tried this kind of rice, but I love experimenting with different types grains I have never tried before.  I can buy them from the bulk bins at my local co-op, which is often much cheaper than buying them boxed and pre-seasoned.  Aside from being more expensive, those rice mixes with the seasoning packets often contain way too much salt and ingredients I can't pronounce like preservatives, artificial colors, and flavor additives that I don't want to eat.

Rice has recently received lots of attention in the media for its arsenic content.  I read up on the topic and according to a Consumer Reports investigation, the rices found to contain the most arsenic were grown in states where more pesticides are used such as Arkansas, Missouri, Texas and Louisiana.  I also discovered that rices that are eco-farmed like the Lundburg Family rices from California and international rices grown by Lotus Foods contain less arsenic so I'm sticking to those brands for now and following the recommendation to keep my rice consumption to once a week.   The farming methods used by Lundburg and Lotus also use much less water, require fewer chemical inputs, and are creating higher yields, so I like to support their efforts.  If you can't find Purple Sticky rice, try Bhutanese Red, Madagascar Pink, Volcano, Forbidden, Mekong Flower, or any variety you haven't tried before.  The point is, there are a lot more varieties of rice than just brown or white and these heirloom rice varieties are full of iron, minerals, antioxidants, and amino acids.  Forbidden rice and Purple Sticky rice have as many antioxidants per serving as a serving of fresh blueberries!



I prepare the purple sticky rice by measuring out 2 cups, rinsing it well, and cooking it in my pressure cooker on the rice setting with 3 cups of water, a teaspoon of salt, and a tablespoon of olive oil.  If you don't have a pressure cooker or rice cooker, you can cook it on the stove by simmering 2 cups of the rice in 4 cups of water, covered.  It comes out sweet and nutty and its rich color is a gorgeous addition to my plate alongside the sliced chicken pinwheels and the Brussels sprouts.  Now, time to eat and be comforted!