Strength

Am I tough? Am I strong? Am I hard-core? Absolutely. Did I whimper with pathetic delight when I sank my teeth into my hot fried-chicken sandwich? You betcha. ~ James Patterson 

Greetings and welcome to Celeste's Magical Kitchen. The basic idea behind this blog is that food is power. You may have heard about people taking gingko biloba to improve memory--that's a kind of power. What about chicken soup for a cold? And how many of you have ever left something in the back of the fridge just a little too long? Do you dare open the container? That certainly could have powerful implications if you make the wrong choice! The mind/mouth connection is extremely strong. It often doesn't matter if foods do what labels say they do, as much as what we believe they do. Each week I'll take a look at personal attributes or powers and some of the foods connected to them. I'll share a list of foods, some science, history, or folklore about them and some great recipes using some of them.

Strength 

“I am going to pump you up!” Fans of Saturday Night Live in the 80s might remember Dan Carvey’s interpretation of Arnold Schwarzenegger and his “girly man” insults. But it might interest you to know that the strength of Arnold—or perhaps more accurately Popeye, are easier to obtain than you might think. According to a 2008 study from Rutgers University eating two pounds of spinach a day can raise the amount of protein in your body 120 percent providing major amounts of extra strength. I’m not sure who really wants eat two pounds of spinach a day, but even consuming small amounts can raise your antioxidant levels and help prevent cancer.

Foods of Interest 

Cranberry bog in Massachusetts. Photo by Erika Celeste.

The Romans believed broccoli gave the god Jupiter his strength, President Bush refused to eat his, and several studies have found a link between broccoli and cancer prevention. Cranberries are also known to be a good food to strengthen the body by fighting off infections. I wrote a story for Voice of America on cranberries a few years back, which contains a lot of great information about their health benefits http://www.voanews.com/content/a-13-2008-12-01-voa39-66623312/556645.html. Chicken soup has long been associated with healing the body, while many ancient cultures believed their eggs were impossible to poison. Therefore kings and queens often ate them. Not only did the nutrition strengthen their bodies but perhaps their peace of mind as well. While pork, salmon, and swordfish all contain healthy proteins to strengthen muscles. 

Recipes  

Mini cakes make a great sandwich. Photo by Erika Celeste.

I’ve created my own strength-inducing recipe to not only build strong minds and muscles but also tempt the tummy. Use it as a stand or as a power-building meal. With one of my favorite desserts that I’ve also included. Salmon/Swordfish Cakes As you might have guessed these are a lot like crab cakes only with fish instead. The key to keeping them light and delicious is to use crackers instead of breadcrumbs. I also like to use Plugra—a European style butter made in the US by Keller’s Creamery. It comes in either salted (gold wrapper) or unsalted (silver wrapper) and can be found in many grocery stores. I get mine at Meijer’s. It’s truly good stuff, which will noticeably enrich the flavor of anything it touches.
Now, I cook by taste, smell, and feel—not just my eyes—as any cook worth their salt should. So, I don’t often use precise measurements. I just do it and use my senses to tell me what’s off. So I apologize if you’re the type of person who follows recipes to the letter. Don’t be afraid to interact with these recipes and add seasoning to fit your taste. That’s part of the magic of cooking. 

Ingredients: 

3 T salted butter

1 medium sweet onion

5 green onions

4 or 5 cloves garlic (minced)

1 T  chopped fresh basil (use ½ T dried if fresh isn’t available)

1 T  chopped fresh parsley (use ½ T dried if fresh isn’t available)

2 t smoky paprika

2 t black pepper

smoked salt to taste

2 eggs

1 lb salmon

1 lb swordfish (or other firm white fish)

15 crackers (like Ritz or Keebler Townhouse)

1/4 C mayonnaise (make sure this is the real stuff not salad dressing)

vegetable oil

Directions:

Fry or bake the salmon and swordfish until done. Set aside to cool.

Chop the sweet onion into small pieces and mince the garlic. Place a large, heavy pan over a medium flame and heat the butter. Add the onions and garlic. Stir until translucent and tender.  Remove from heat.

In a bowl mix all the herbs and spices: basil, parsley, paprika, pepper, smoked salt. Stir in mayonnaise and beaten eggs. Then add crushed cracker crumbs.

Flake/shred the fish. Make sure to add it last. Putting it in the bowl first and dumping everything on top of it will cause it to lose its delicacy. So please wait, you’ll thank me when you taste them.

Shape the mixture into 12-15 medium cakes.

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet. Make sure it is hot and sizzling before adding the cakes or they will retain too much oil and fall apart easily. Fry the cakes until one side is golden brown. I know it’s so hard not to disturb them while they’re frying, but if you try to turn them too soon they will fall apart. You’ll know they’re really to turn when you can sort of see that the edges are becoming golden. Flip with a metal spatula. Repeat until the whole batch is finished.

Now traditionally fish cakes are served with some kind of dipping sauce. But since this is all about strength, why not top the cakes with fried eggs, paprika, and some chives?

A side of steamed broccoli with garlic would make a great meal.

For dessert or for those of you who draw your strength from sweets why not try this delicious toffee cranberry crisp?

I first found this recipe in Best of Country Cookies on page 94 and fell in love with it.For an extra boost of protein aka strength try adding 1/2 a cup slivered almonds.

Cranberry Crisps

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup dried cranberries

1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup milk chocolate English toffee bits

Directions:

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well. Stir in the cranberries, chocolate chips and toffee bits.

Shape into three 12-in. logs; wrap each in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Unwrap and cut into 1/2-in. slices. Place 2 in. apart on lightly greased baking sheets.

Bake at 350° for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to wire racks to cool. Yield: 5-1/2 dozen.