Some things can be Capriciously delicious and good for you too!

 

(–Please enjoy this selection from my favorite music today! It’s Cold Play’s “Scientist”. My 16 year old grandson is so amazed that his 40 somethings “Nana” loves Cold Play as much as he does!)  Click here–> coldplay-the-scientist

Forrest Gump says something to the jist of “My Mama says life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get.”  I would like to challenge Forrest’s mom because I say that life is like a bunch of broccoli!  You get what you get and you make out of it what you will.  My kids were never crazy about eating what they called “little trees”. Yes, broccoli looks somewhat like “little trees”.  It was up to me to take what we had, “little trees”, and make something yummy and delicious from it. This is what life is like… we get what we get and it’s up to us to make something out of it… which brings me to the New Year ahead.

I wish that I could tell you today that I have made my list of New Year’s resolutions already. Truthfully speaking, I have not. I’ve not really even thought about 2009 except for the many appointments and items that already fill my calendar and my to-do lists.  Sometime in 2008 I had to start my 2009 appointment book/calendar. I always feel like I’m going to the bank with a check written on someone else’s account when I do that… when I write an appointment on the calendar for a year that hasn’t yet even “become”.  It’s difficult to describe, but it seems like I’m tapping into something that is not yet mine.  But, we have to do that, we have to bank on tomorrow while living out today.  We have to plan for the future, even when it is not yet ours.  Yet, I like looking at all of those blank pages of the future, thinking that somehow they hold mysteries and adventures that will look much different than the ones of the past.

What I would really like to fill those pages with are days like:

January 10th:  Sail to Morocco, ride horseback across the desert–sleep in a Bedouin tent (of course, air conditioned–velvets and furs (imitation of course–save the Tigers!) skip the goat’s hair and scorpions!)

January 30th: Sail the seven seas with my swashbuckling husband–speak only to natives that don’t speak my language and who don’t have cell phones! 

February 1st:  Feed wild Giraffes in Africa from my open hand, ride an elephant in India –through Hyderabad or Mumbai, –

March: Sail the intercoastal waterways from Virginia to Florida and watch the dolphins all day. Enjoy the brisk but sunny winds–eat fresh, succulent prawns–roasted and buttered-while sunning on the deck of the yacht listening to my Cold Play collection.

Ok.. You get the point! I always hope for the adventurous and romantic of the day–while folding laundry and paying bills. I have to confess that I have been so blessed to travel many times to various countries on the continent of Africa and across the south of India, Canada, Germany, Holland and Israel–and from the east coast to the west coast, from the north to the southern most tip of the USA!  This world we live in, the places, people and cultures are so wonderful– the skies over head which encompass the heavenlies filled with things of wonder and awe- inspiring grandeur–all are waiting to be contemplated, admired, and explored.  It’s all Capriciously delicious and it’s good for you, too!

Here is something else that is delicious and good for you. This yummy broccoli bread has been a long-time favorite in our family. I made this for my children when they were very young–so that they could eat their little green trees without tears!  They loved it and now I make it for their children–my grandkids!  Top it with grated cheddar cheese or a nice dollop of sour cream, sprinkle it with some paprika for color…mmmm!  It’s yummy deliciousness is comfort and healthy all wrapped up in warmth! It’s simple, can be made with one bowl and one 8×8 baking pan! 

Broccoli Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8 x 8 cake pan with cooking spray. My hubby gave me an early Christmas present of silicone baking pans. I wasn’t too sure about them to start with, but I have quickly come to love this flex pans!

In a medium bowl (1 quart size):

1 box of Jiffy brand corn muffin mix

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon sugar or Splenda

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup cottage cheese ( I use the fat free or 2%)

1/2 cup milk ( I used half n’ half today, but you can use skim, whole, 2 % or 4%)

1/4 tsp salt, optional

1 cup chopped broccoli (I use fresh broccoli when available, or frozen florets. I steam it until tender, drain any liquid away, press with paper towels to dry, then chop well. You can also use one small box of frozen chopped broccoli, microwave til tender and drained as above. I’ve just started using the Glad brand of microwave steaming bags and just LOVE them! I rinse them out and use them more than once–I don’t know if they recommend this, but I do it and have had great results with them–and you don’t add any water to steam your veggies so you get almost all of the vitamins.)

1/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese (here again you can use the lower fat varieties) (you can also use the mixed shredded cheeses (fiesta mix, cheddar mixes, pizza mix))

Pour Jiffy corn muffin mix into bowl, add the slightly beaten egg and mix.  Add 1 tsp sugar (or Splenda), 1 tblspof veg. oil and 1/2 cup of milk and the optional 1/4 tsp salt. Mix.  Add 1/2 cup cottage cheese and mix. Now gently stir in the 1/2 cup steamed chopped broccoli. Mix well. Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle top with shredded cheddar cheese or cheese mix. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35 minutes or until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan and a pick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean and top springs back when touched lightly.  This can be served hot from the pan, or cool on a rack. Cut into squares and serve.  Can also be topped with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkled with paprika. Makes a nice appetizer when cut into very small squares and served with sour cream as above.

Now here’s a little added Deliciousness!

I had 1 cup of steamed broccoli left over from my above bread. I chopped this 1 cup of steamed broccoli florets lightly. I placed the broccoli in a small saucepan, added 2 cups of half-half, 1 tbls of fresh butter, abot1/4 teaspoon fresh ground sea salt  and about four twists from my pepper grinder, and brought to the point just before a boil. Do not let boil.  I ladled half of my broccoli soup into a rugged looking cobalt blue pottery bowl.  I topped it off withsome of the left over grated cheese from the broccoli bread recipe, cranked a few more twists from my pepper corn grinder and stuck it underneath the broil in the still hot oven. I quickly browned the grated cheese and now I’m going to have a square of this delightful bread with a bowl of soup for lunch. I have to say, I love hand-thrown pottery. I like to think that someone made this bowl with their own hands, literally!  What capricious thoughts did they think while the feel of the clay spun beneath their hands that day?

Hmmm!!! Now where was I,  oh, there is a tent made of fine white silken gauze, layers upon layers–platters of exotic fruits and cheeses, and the sounds of bedouin music drifting upon desert breezes…and there, upon the bed of handwoven carpets and soft fabric, is my love–my husband–waiting for me…