It has been one year and six weeks since my husband Stephen had his heart attack and died four times before coming back to life. He is now down forty pounds, looking and feeling fantastic, and enjoying plenty of delicious, heart healthy fare.

While compiling menus for our Christmas gathering, I came across this tasty recipe created by Cooking Light Associate Food Editor, Timothy  Cebula. This colorful salad celebrates the produce of the season and would make a knock out addition to any holiday table.

Ingredients

4 medium beets (red and golden)

Cooking spray  

3/4 cup fresh orange juice (about 4 oranges)  

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1 tablespoon minced shallots

2 tablespoons white wine vinegar

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 cups torn Boston

2 cups trimmed watercress

2 cups torn radicchio

1/2 cup (2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°.

2. Leave root and 1-inch stem on beets; scrub with a brush. Place beets on a foil-lined jelly-roll pan coated with cooking spray. Lightly coat beets with cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until tender. Cool beets slightly. Trim off beet roots and stems; rub off skins. Cut beets into 1/2-inch-thick wedges.

3. Bring juice and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan; cook 10 minutes or until reduced to 2 tablespoons. Pour into a medium bowl; cool slightly. Add shallots, vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, stirring with a whisk. Gradually add oil, stirring constantly with a whisk.

4. Combine lettuce, watercress, and radicchio. Sprinkle lettuce mixture with remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper; toss gently to combine. Arrange about 1 cup lettuce mixture on each of 8 salad plates. Divide beets evenly among salads. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon dressing

*December 2009 Cooking Light magazine (Photo by Randy Mayor)

Delicious served with seafood or even a filet on the grill.

Note: I was going to serve Oregon Dungeness Crabs along side our salad for Christmas Eve but the season is opening late this year and not until months end. Please let me know if you have any fabulous ideas! Perhaps Bacala (or fresh cod) With Wine Broth & Crusty Bread? XO

Bon Appetit & Namaste! 

“In Sicily a good tomato sauce is considered an absolute basic in the kitchen.”

 Ingredients

1/4 cup olive oil

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped

9 cups cored, chopped very fresh tomatoes

4 28-oz cans whole tomatoes, crushed with juice

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup homemade chicken stock

1 tsp dried marjoram

1 tsp dried rosemary

6 tablespoons butter

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (about 10 dashes each)

Directions

Heat an 8 to 10-quart heavy bottom pot and add the oil, garlic, and onion. Saute until the onion is clear. Add the remaining ingredients except butter and salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer and gently cook, uncovered 4 hours, stirring often. Stir in the butter and salt and pepper to taste.

This delicious sauce freezes well. I used almost all of it with two shredded pot roasts for our Bolognese dinner with our firemen and their wives.

Fire House Bolognese

P.S. There is one handsome (aren’t they all?), single fireman available. Ladies feel free to contact me. You must live locally (Portland, Oregon), have a huge, genuine heart, be intelligent, beautiful inside and out, and have a great smile.

My old, laminated recipe…. Not sure who to give credit to?

 Bon Appetit & Namaste! 

“Life is a combination of magic and pasta.” – Federico Fellini

 I have always loved cooking for those I love. I think there is nothing more generous than cooking for and breaking bread with those that make your heart zing. Sitting around a long table with loved ones and good conversation, while enjoying nourishing food, not only feeds our bodies but it feeds our souls and our life force as well.

I have always had a vision of Stephen’s 70^th birthday in Tuscany. We rent a villa for a month and friends and family  come and go. I have always seen a long wooden table covered with Italian linens underneath an olive tree where every evening we gather and enjoy something local and fresh from the farmers market, and of course a little local wine.

Sure there will be jaunts to Rome and Lake Como, but mainly we will stay put and live life as a local.

Thanks to “MY” firemen, that trip will indeed happen.

(Yes, now they are “mine.” Just like Mount Hood is “my” mountain. Well, on second thought, I did meet and thoroughly enjoy their wives, so I digress.)

For dinner, I attempted to make a delicious two-day Bolognese as heart healthy as possible, which actually made it a three-day Bolognese to skim off all the fat. Which was lovely and relaxing actually.

For dessert, I wanted to make pies since my grandmother taught me how to make crust and because anything with her energy signals love to me. *Stephen skipped the pie and ate smaller portions of this meal.

Everyone seemed content and not focused on the food but on one another, as it should be.

Ah, the importance of gathering around, coming together, and Conscious Cooking…..

I was very aware when I was cooking that I was making a meal for loved ones. I was in such gratitude that I could be cooking for such a joyous night to celebrate my best friend being alive and the men who saved him.

I took my time and I savored the process, which made for a very simple, enjoyable gathering. When our guests arrived, I asked for help and made everyone a part of the process.

We gathered around ..….

Firehouse Pot Roast Bolognese

Butter Lettuce with Pear Gorgonzola & Walnuts

Fat Free Sour Cream Dinner rolls

Apple pie, Marionberry Pie With Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

And……… lots of Italian Barbella red wine

It was a beautiful night for my family, one we will never forget. We plan to make this an annual evening with new friends who have become family.

My fifteen-year-old son carter was so inspired by Lieutenant Paramedic Mike Thorne, Engineer Paramedic Shawn Suing, Firefighter Paramedic Dan Hastie, and Firefighter Paramedic Michael Doty, that he declared the very next morning,“ I want to do in the world what these men did for our family,”…. And indeed he wants to become a firefighter/paramedic.

Way Cool.

Bon Appetite and Namaste!

Conscious Gratitude: A Supper With Heart, Part 1 

Grandmas Best Ever Pie Crust

 Makes 2 pie crusts (enough dough for 1 double-crust pie)

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1/2 cup chilled lard or frozen nonhydrogenated solid vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

5 tablespoons (or more) ice water

Preparation

Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor. Add butter and lard; using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer mixture to medium bowl. Add 5 tablespoons ice water and mix with fork until dough begins to clump together, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough together. Divide dough in half; flatten each half into disk. Wrap each disk in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 3 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. If necessary, soften slightly at room temperature before rolling out.

GRANDMA’S FRESH MARIONBERRY PIE

 5 c. marionberries (hybrid blackberries)

1 c. sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

3 tbsp. flour

2 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. butter

1 double pie shell *See above

Mix all but butter. Pour into unbaked pie shell. Dot with butter. Cover with More Pie Crust and pinch. Brush with egg white or butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees, then 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

GRANDMA’S FRESH APPLE PIE

2 1/4 pounds Granny Smith  apples

2 1/4 pounds Braeburn apples

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons apple jelly

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon ground  cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/3 cup  sugar

 Wax paper

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon butter, cut into pieces

1 teaspoon sugar

 Preparation

Preheat oven to 450°. Peel and core apples; cut into 1/2-inch-thick wedges. Place apples in a large bowl. Stir in next 7 ingredients. Let stand 30 minutes, gently stirring occasionally.

Stir apple mixture; reserve 1 Tbsp. juices. Spoon apples into crust, packing tightly and mounding in center. Pour remaining juices in bowl over apples. Sprinkle apples with 3 Tbsp. sugar; Pour into unbaked pie shell. Dot with butter. Cover with More Pie Crust and pinch. Brush with egg white or butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake 10 minutes at 450 degrees, then 30 minutes at 350 degrees.

Cover loosely with aluminum foil to prevent excessive browning, and bake 30 more minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly, crust is golden brown, and apples are tender when pierced with a long wooden pick through slits in crust. Remove to a wire rack. Cool 1 1/2 to 2 hours before serving.

Serve warm with vanilla bean ice cream

Bon Appetit and Namaste!

“This is that very rich beef sauce that will turn a plate of pasta into a bit of glory!” 

I first had this delicious dinner at a villa on a vineyard. The matriarch of the family cooked tirelessly and did this entire dish in one day. She would jump on her four-wheeler and head out to the gardens to pick tomatoes and herbs, charging back with wild abandon.

I would offer to help and she would wipe the sweat from her brow and shoo me and everyone else out of her kitchen to the wine station.

The Italian patriarch was not as kind and forgiving, chastising her in front of a long table of family and friends for things taking so long.

For years I made this recipe out of memory, although I always had a copied (laminated) version of the Fresh Tomato Sauce Sicilian on hand that the recipe uses. Problem was the chef and cookbook wasn’t copied so I couldn’t remember whom to credit or research.

It has been so long since I had this recipe on hand, but I remember the recipe mentioning “this is that very rich beef sauce that will turn a plate of pasta into a bit of glory!” and that is exactly what I wanted for our firemen and their spouses.

Fire House Pot Roast Bolognese (My way)

*I doubled this recipe to make a large batch

 2 to 3 pound boneless beef chuck. 

3-tablespoon olive oil.

Salt and pepper to taste (I did not use salt but some salt free spices my friend LeAnn Macmillan gifted us with from Penzeys….. I placed plenty of salt on the table)

Season the meat with salt (or salt free product such Mrs. Dash) and pepper to taste. Brown well in a suitable size pot (Dutch oven) in olive oil after browning add the following

1 cup dry red wine (because I doubled I used a bottle that’s just how my math works, apologies to Shawn)

4 to 6 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup water or beef broth *if needed

Simmer gently, covered, for 2 hours. Turn off heat and let sit for at least two hours. Make sure there is enough liquid to keep the pan from drying out and then keep covered without peeking. Allow the meat to cool in the liquid until its cool enough to handle. Shred the meat and place in a Dutch oven along with its cooking juices.

Note: I like to make the tomato sauce one day, the roast the next and refrigerate it so the next morning I can scoop off all of that fat and shred the roast and let it soak in pan juices which I add to the tomato sauce. Ideally this is a 3 day sauce. Tomato sauce first day, Roast day 2 and marry them both day three… or marry the second day and eat or reheat on the 3rd.

Add to 6 to 8 cups of the Fresh Tomato Sauce Sicilian * I doubled and used almost the entire recipe…remember I had 2 roasts

Chicken stock to taste or thin

Simmer the shredded beef in the tomato sauce and broth for 45 minutes, stirring often. Then add

2/3 cup grated Parmesan

1-cup cream (for heart healthy you can use non fat half and half or 1 percent skim milk.)

Simmer 15 minutes more. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve over pasta. I love Papardelle or Tagliatelle but sometimes it is hard to find but Fettuccine works too.

Grab those you love and serve with hard rolls or fresh bread to lap up the sauce, a nice Salad, and of course a few bottle of Italian wine.

Bon Appetit and Namaste!

For the vinaigrette:

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 tablespoon Dijon-style prepared mustard

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Coarse salt

Freshly ground pepper

Assembly

Put prepared lettuces in a large salad bowl. Add pear slices, Gorgonzola and toasted walnuts.

*I toasted the walnuts on the stove and added honey to caramelize

*Thinly sliced red onion that has been soaked in vinegar and sugar is also a delicious addition

Bon Appetit and Namaste!

“There is so much to live for and so many ways to expand.” ~Jeanette Goodrum

 It was my 92 years young friend Jeanette Goodrum who first taught me about Chi–a vital energy that is not only present in plants and animals but flows through the universe as a whole. In China, it is known as Chi. In India, the life force is called Prana. The Jewish notion of the Shekinah is a closely related idea. (Proud of me honey?)

The presence or absence of the life force is closely identified with the state of our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual health. I noticed my husband Stephen’s Chi leaving his body on Halloween. Three evenings later, he suffered a heart attack and flat lined four times before being revived.

How did I know?

He was gray, no color in his cheeks, or anywhere for that matter. And, I just knew. A spouse knows. A loved one knows. We sense it approaching.

Well, let me tell you: Stephen’s Chi is back and then some!

Thanks to those whom I refer to now as “our” firemen. I was saying “my” and Stephen corrected me.  I guess they do belong to all of our beloved family and friends’ hearts as well, because all have expressed their gratitude continually.

We desired to connect with these trained heroes since Stephen awoke from his successful surgery. We wanted to have them and their spouses over for dinner and guess what? It happened!

Turns out, any invitation or act of gratitude is rare. Let alone an invitation to dinner in someone’s home. We wouldn’t have had it any other way. We were beyond honored and thrilled that they accepted.

They of course  had to have a meeting and decide if it was indeed an ethical and right thing to do. But their hearts wanted to. Not many heart attack sufferers who flat line once (let alone four times) survive and these men and women work so hard to see that they do.

We were told that when they got word of Stephen surviving, it lifted and inspired them. I don’t think I have ever been as personally moved or inspired by humans doing what they do in the world.

Stephen, Carter and I were beyond excited as the evening approached. All of our girls (Tabitha, Cari, Heather, and Brenna) had rushed home when Stephen was in the hospital… and some of them again a few weeks later for Thanksgiving, so they would be at the table with our firefighters in spirit only, as would many of our friends.

The evening turned out more magical than ever……….

Bon Appetit and Namaste!

*Jeanette Goodrum is pictured above driving with me as her co-pilot, We are taking off for the weekend, heading towards an AT6 flyer in the photograph by Loma Smith. Jeanette is a huge inspiration not only to her family, to Loma and myself, but to the world as well. She is a former WASP pilot, ski instructor, race-car driver, wind surfer (a picture of her in her 80’s in a bright red swim suit in the gorge will nock your socks off), Doctor of Theology, and perpetual student of life.

Conscious Gratitude: A Supper With Heart, Part 2

My dear husband recently had a heart attack. It was a huge wake up call for not only him, but many of our friends as well. Husbands are whining that their wives are “on them” and I say have at ‘em!

While making meals heart healthy is simple, sitting down with your mate to have the talk of concern about their expanding middle isn’t always easy.

Remember, it isn’t about what is going on outside the body. It is about what is going on inside the body.

I have a feeling that if we all could be unzipped and look inside at how hard our body works for us and at the effects of what we do to it, we would all make some healthy changes that would become habits in a short amount of time.

 Good for your heart translates as low cholesterol, low fat, and low sodium.

It also means no late night indulging and healthy snacking with fruits, vegetables, and yogurt. It means no chemicals, no fake sugar, butter or fake butter, but healthy fats and natural sweets.

Stephen has already lost 20 pounds in just over three weeks by taking his diet seriously with some pretty minor changes.

 What’s good for my heart is that his keeps beating.  

Immediately after Stephen’s heart attack dear friends took care of us all by delivering dinner for ten nights, fruit and goodie baskets, and a few bottles of heart healthy red wine.

Since then, I have been taking care of myself by making many heart healthy meals with ease utilizing the slow cooker. This recipe was inspired by my taste buds and the smell of Hayley Frisch’s White Bean Chili as we reheated it one rainy evening on the stove.

 Many slow cooker recipes are convenient, tasty, and can be adjusted to be heart-healthy. Just add appropriate heart friendly ingredients and let your slow cooker do the work.

 Good For Your Heart & Soul White Chicken Chili

 Bon Appetit & Namaste!

Here is to your precious heart. Take care of it. Someone is counting on it that you do.

Many slow cooker recipes are convenient, tasty, and can be adjusted to be heart-healthy. Just add appropriate heart friendly ingredients and let your slow cooker do the work.

Immediately after Stephen’s heart attack dear friends took care of us all by delivering dinner for ten nights, fruit and goodie baskets, and a few bottles of heart healthy red wine.

This recipe was inspired by my taste buds and the smell of Hayley Frisch’s White Bean Chili as we reheated it one rainy evening on the stove.

With all ingredients on hand minus Hayley’s recipe, this is what I came up with.

 Good For Your Heart & Soul White Chicken Chili

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 large sweet onions, finely chopped

4 cloves minced garlic

3 (7 ounce) can chopped Ortega green chiles

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I used barley flour) *for thicker chili

4 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons coriander

Oregano to taste

Chili powder to taste

4 (16 ounce) cans BUSH’S® White Beans

2 cans Cannellini Beans (larger white kidney beans)

*For heart healthy recipe cook 1 to 2 bags of your favored white beans from scratch as canned beans contain a great amount of sodium

2 bottles light Corona beer  *Stephen’s cardiologist recommends he has two alcoholic drinks per day

4 to 6 cups finely shredded chicken breast

Serve with:

Chopped tomato (optional)

Shredded Monterey Jack cheese or Mozzarella or Parmesan             (optional)

Light or non-fat Sour cream (optional)

Salsa homemade or Pica De Gallo (optional)

Chopped Cilantro (optional)

Avocado is also delicious and a great heart healthy fat!

Directions

Bake chicken breasts in a little white wine sprinkled with Italian seasoning (no salt) at 350 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until easy to shred with two forks. Delicious and easy low fat way to make for any recipe calling for cooked chicken!

In large skillet, cook onions in oil for 4 minutes or until transparent. Add minced garlic, chilies, flour, cumin and desired spices; cook and stir for 2 minutes. Add beans and beer to the slow cooker; Add chicken with wine juices (most should be absorbed); top with onion chili mixture cook slowly until hot. Can be made on the stovetop as well.

Add low sodium chicken broth if chili is to thick for your taste.

Garnish with cilantro, cheese, sour cream, avocado, tomatoes and salsa, if desired.

This amount of ingredients makes a large batch, freeze remaining for delicious heart healthy meals in a snap.

Bon Appetit & Namaste!

Here is to your precious heart. Take care of it. Someone is counting on it that you do.

This feels surreal to say, but last week my husband suffered  a heart attack during which he flat-lined four times. Which means I watched him die.

This was my greatest nightmare realized, one that I had been warning him about and attempting to help him avoid for years. But even my deepest fears didn’t prepare me for the heart attack itself, which was more violent and more horrific than anything I had even imagined.

Today I am so grateful that he is alive and getting healthier everyday and I know that he will probably live a much longer and more present life because of it.

I, however, am struggling.

Heart attack survivors often struggle with anxiety and depression, but I am coming to realize that their spouses may bear an even larger emotional burden.

One reason is that health-care support often focuses almost exclusively on survivors.  The situation is compounded by the fact that spouses often are forced to assume the roles the patient had, at least for a while.

Duties are multiplied even more by the tragedy itself, such as keeping family and friends in the loop with phone calls, emails and texts, time spent reassuring family members, readying the house for the return of the patient, combined with a lack of sleep and exercise, all while the patient is getting excellent care.

The emotional turmoil that pulls at the spouse is a tornado of guilt, gratitude, sadness, anger, relief, and even resentment.

The patient is feeling loved and cared for and is appreciating the miracle of being alive. The spouse is still getting caught up on laundry, attempting to sleep, cleaning up the aftermath of the tragedy, doing heart-healthy grocery shopping, and trying to cope with the constant flashback images of watching our partners die.

Don’t get me wrong. As a spouse, we too are surrounded with love from family and friends and many others who offer to help. I personally had ten dinner meals delivered for a week and half from dear friends. The cards and phone calls often moved me to tears and filled me with wonder and gratitude.

I am also deeply grateful that my best friend is alive and didn’t leave this family. He is dearly loved, valued and needed. One minute, I comfort myself to sleep by putting my hand over his gently beating heart and then in the next minute I want to jump up and slap him for not taking my concerns seriously.

We now have a new normal. The snoring that once kept me awake now lulls me to sleep because I know my husband is breathing.

It is now up to me, the spouse of a heart attack survivor, who must now (as my husband begins taking back part of his daily routine) begin refilling my own reservoir.

Yes, being surrounded with all of this love helps. So does really easy, quick, heart-healthy recipes such as…

Lentils With Roasted Red Peppers, Dill, Mint and Feta

Bon Appetit and Namaste!

*Shadow photo above of my son Carter and I holding hands. Carter is my hero. At one point when Stephen’s heart stopped for the second time and the firemen were yelling his name for him to come back… Carter grabbed my face and looked into my eyes and said “You hold me, hold me tight. Don’t you let go.”

Here is to your precious heart. Take care of it. Someone is counting on it that you do.