Ratatouille Pizza

It is that time of the year for some healthy, low cal meals, but we love pizza. So, we found this great recipe with loads of taste and charm, and plenty of nutrition. Check it out!

Ratatouille Pizza

Servings:  12 appetizer portions

• 1 small eggplant (about 3/4 pound)
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or cooking oil
• 4 medium red tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (about 2-2/3 cups)
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh oregano or thyme or 1 teaspoon dried oregano or thyme, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon pepper
• 1 16-ounce package pizza dough (12-inch Italian bread shell)
• 2 medium red and/or yellow tomatoes, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
• 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced (2 cups)
• 1 small yellow summer squash, thinly sliced (2 cups)
• 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
• 2 tablespoons sliced pitted ripe olives
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (2 ounces)

Chop enough of the eggplant to make 1 cup. Halve remaining eggplant lengthwise and cut into thin slices; set aside.
In a medium skillet cook onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon of the oil until tender but not brown. Add chopped eggplant, chopped tomatoes, oregano or thyme, sugar, salt, and pepper. Cook, uncovered, over medium-low heat about 15 minutes or until liquid has evaporated and mixture is of spreading consistency, stirring occasionally.
Place the bread shell on a lightly greased baking sheet. Spread the warm tomato mixture over bread shell. Arrange the tomato slices and eggplant slices on the tomato mixture. Arrange zucchini slices and summer squash slices on top. Brush sliced vegetables with the remaining oil. Sprinkle with feta cheese and olives. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
Bake in a 400 degree F oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until cheese melts and vegetables are heated through. 

Source: Yahoo, Better Homes and Gardens

Teaching How to Sincerely Apologize

I read this article at Code Name: Mama, and thought it would be very useful to parents in general. We often struggle to teach our young ones how to meaningfully apologize. Here it is:

1. Connect with Your Child: Try Aldort’s S.A.L.V.E. technique: calm yourself down and let go of your first (often angry or embarrassed) reaction. Give your child some attention; listen to him. Validate his feelings and needs, and empower him to solve his own problems.
2. Show Concern: Model empathy, both for your child and for the injured child. When you are comforting the other child, do so in a way that your own little one does not feel guilty or ashamed.
3. Model Apologies for Your Child: Feel free to say “I’m sorry” to the other child. Your little one will pick up on the practice in time. Again, do not apologize in order to shame your own child, just offer your concern sincerely. (“It looks like you are upset because Molly does not want to share her tricycle. I am sorry that you cannot have a turn right now. Would you like to talk about it?” or “Would you like to ride the scooter instead?”)
4. Change Your Thinking: When you see conflict, take a moment to change the way you view things. Instead of getting upset or panicking, trust that you and your child (or the two children) can cooperate to solve the problem. Look at each problem as a chance to meet everyone’s needs, not as a battle that someone will win and someone will lose. The section in Respectful Parents, Respectful Kids called “Make Your Home a No-Fault Zone (Key 7)” is an excellent guide to help you change your thinking.
5. Help Her Find Words: Encourage your child to verbalize how she is feeling. Helping her learn how to express herself when she is upset will give her the tools she needs to avoid these types of conflicts in the future.
6. Label Feelings: Talk about how the other child might feel too – use visual cues – help your child learn to identify feelings in others. (“I wonder how Molly felt when you hit her, do you think she might be feeling sad? She is crying right now.”) Take conflict as an opportunity to help her learn new feelings words. There is a great chapter on identifying and expressing feelings in Rosenberg’s Nonviolent Communication, as well as a helpful list of feeling words you can stick on your refrigerator.
7. Apologize for Your Mistakes: Parents aren’t saints, we mess up. Daily. We yell when our fuse is too short, we use hurtful words, we talk negatively about our children in front of them. Acknowledge the times you have had poor judgment, the angry, hurtful moments you wish you could take back. Say you’re sorry – and MEAN it.

Source: Code Name: Mama

But What Do You Eat? Dining Out Edition

The question every vegetarian or vegan gets. As I wonder, how do people feel comfortable eating factory farmed meat, milk and eggs at every single meal?

During a recent snowstorm, on the news they were interviewing people outside a grocery store, and a woman was listing what she deemed necessities: milk, eggs, butter, and cold cuts. It struck me they were all animal products. I also thought, how necessary are cold cuts? Of course if you ask my family dog, that's another story.

Here's a sample of what I've been eating in the past month:

An Arnold Palmer (a mix of lemonade and iced tea), $2.25, and falafel, $5.25, at Maoz Vegetarian (this location recently opened on Eighth Ave. at 43rd and 44th Sts. in New York City) I was super excited another veg option is available, especially in a high-traffic tourist area, but you can find great falafel at many places.

To go at Maoz: vegan rice pudding, $3.50.

At Empire Hunan, a Chinese and Japanese restaurant in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, bean curd soup, $1.75.

After sharing steamed vegetable dumplings, $4.50, devouring sesame fried tofu with veggies and brown rice, $9.50. A feast, and made more frugal by splitting the dish. Don't waste food (and money) - if you have leftovers, take them home, and bring your own takeout container when you can to reduce takeout waste.

To end, fragrant lychee fruit, $3.95, also to share. After the season of over-indulging (which is thankfully over), fruit is a refreshing and welcome change to complete the meal.

At cozy Mario's Trattoria on Ninth Ave. at 37th and 38th Sts. in New York City, garlic knots, $6.

The Mediterranean chopped salad, $9: green and red peppers, red onions, artichoke, tomatoes, cucumbers with oil and vinegar.

Heck, I can even eat at a steakhouse! My dad choose Charlie Brown's Steakhouse for his birthday dinner. So full from the salad bar (included in the price of the entree), I barely had room for my pasta primavera, $11.95 with garlic bread. I took it home in reusable container, and paired with a salad I got two more portions.


A dining out tip if you're looking to eat veg: don't just look for vegetarian entrees. Look at the other sections and see you can leave off the meat. If you are ordering a meat entree sans meat, ask if they'll give you a price reduction. I've had $1 to several dollars taken off. For example, at P.J. Finnegan's in Westwood, New Jersey, they took a few dollars off the chicken stir fry when I asked since I was just having the veggies and rice. Call me cheap - I prefer frugal. But it's more principal. I don't expect to pay for an ingredient I'm not having. Never feel embarrassed about respecting your hard-earned money. I don't.

Know you can find great vegetarian and vegan food dining out even if you don't have access to all the veg dining options. I dine primarily at non-veg restaurants. If you feel adventurous, ask the waiter or waitress to have the chef surprise you. Don't feel suprised when you don't miss the meat.

Obesity can begin in 9-month-olds too!

If you believe that children are part of the obesity epidemic, then here's something you should know.

A latest study has revealed that obesity can begin in babies as young as nine months old.

"With the consistent evidence that the per cent of overweight children has steadily increased over the past decade, we weren't surprised by the prevalence rates we found in our research, but we were surprised the trend began at such a young age," said lead research author Brian Moss, at the social work school at Wayne State University in Detroit.

The researchers analysed the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort information collected on 16,400 American children born in 2001. Of these, 8,900 were nine-months-old and 7,500 were two-years-old.

This Week

This year we will try Weekly Schedules of our prized people. You know which ones, the ones that Kokua. Monday through Sunday, inclusive.

"Ambition is a dream with a V8 engine."

We can skip those who prefer to ignore us, no hu hu, we are just too busy with others. We will cover schedules in Dancing in the Dark for town. Moanalua Corridor for the middle section and The Platinum Horseshoe for the West side of Oahu, when the news becomes available. You want the news it will be here every Monday, if we get it. Ha!

Monday, 3rd:

Tuesday, 4th:
Al Franz, noon to 1 PM

Line Dancers at Ward Centerstage,
7 PM

Dance Moiliili at Moiliili Community Center. Patrick Watarai and
Lynn Miller teaching.

Dream To Dance Studio;
classes 7 to 9 PM.

Wednesday, 5th:

Thursday, 6th:
Yanna Samkova & Lucas Jaime
of Divino Ritmo Productions
Private and Group Lessons

Dream To Dance Studio; classes 7 to 9 PM.

Charlie Castro of
Salsa No Ka Oi
Bachata-- 8-9 pm

Friday, 7th:
Salsa at the Honolulu Club,
8 to midnight.

Saturday, 8th:
Zumba with Noelani Hernandez
@ 223-8600 6:15 pm
Free Class tonight

SALSA with DJ ROD el MORENO
9 pm-12 am - with beginner lesson at 8:30 pm - Snacks available - Lots of free parking - Large dance floor $8.

Dance Shoes by Julia McCormick
@ 927-1486

Sunday, 9th:
Charlie Castro of Salsa No Ka Oi Salsa--Lesson 6-8 pm, Dance Social 8-10 pm

Al Franz Studio,  classes 6 to 8 PM.

Most are at Dream to Dance Studio: Please protect and enjoy the dance floor.  Shoe wear must be floor friendly--ballroom shoes, non-marking soles, no sharp heels, check athletic shoe soles for rocks.  Please, no baby powder needed on floor.  Thank you!

Dream To Dance, Debby Borges Barboza

 

"A dream  you dream alone is just a dream.

A dream you dream together is reality."

Cranberry Bean, Lacinato Kale and Pasta Soup

I'm not the soup-maker my sister is, but every once in a while I like to make a big batch of soup and portion it out for freezing...what's left anyway, after enjoying it for a couple days. I'm thinking healthy is where I want to be right now after all the rich food since Thanksgiving and this soup fits the bill perfectly.

Luisa at The Wednesday Chef posted this a few years back and I copied it. I forgot all about it until I read something recently about cranberry beans. So I dug it out, ordered some cranberry beans from Rancho Gordo and made it for my daughter on a cold Florida day. First, I discovered cranberry beans taste marvelous all by themselves. (Testing them for doneness was a treat.) Then, knowing kale is one of Tracy's favorite veggies made it a perfect match and I had both leeks and orecchiette pasta in the house. 
Luisa suggests cooking a fresh portion of pasta each time you serve the soup but I didn't and I froze some portions as well. She's right of course, and it makes for a better soup, but it's rather time consuming when you're in a hurry.

You'll see after reading the recipe there is a divine spiced bean purée to dollop on top and then mix into the soup. Wow. The flavors! This puree MAKES the soup. The first photo shows the bean puree before mixing it in. I think it makes a nice presentation; then you can serve the Parmesan on the side. The last photo was taken after we mixed in the purée. 
You're going to love this one!

Cranberry Bean, Lacinato Kale and Pasta Soup
From The Wednesday Chef

Ingredients:

1/4 cup olive oil plus 2 1/2 tablespoons, divided
2 leeks, white part only, cleaned and sliced, about 2 cups
2 medium carrots, finely chopped, about 1 cup
1 onion, finely chopped, about 1 cup
3 cups dried cranberry beans or Good Mother Stallards, if you're lucky enough to have some hanging around the house
Kosher salt
2 bunches lacinato kale, cleaned, stemmed and coarsely chopped, about 10 cups
3 cups dried orecchiette pasta (about 9 ounces)
1 tablespoon fresh minced sage
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons Hungarian paprika
1/8 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Method:

In a 4-quart soup pot or cast iron casserole (with a lid that fits), heat 1/4 cup of olive oil and cook the leeks, carrots and onions over medium-low heat until just softened, 8 to 10 minutes.


Add the dried beans and 12 cups of water. Bring to a simmer over high heat, then reduce the heat to low and cover the pot with the lid, stirring occasionally. 

After about 45 minutes, add 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Continue to cook, covered, and again stirring occasionally, just until the beans are soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour or more (this may vary according to the beans you use).

With a slotted spoon, remove 1 cup of the beans and, separately, 2 tablespoons of bean liquor and set both aside. Add the kale to the soup, stirring in a few cups at a time as the greens wilt. Cover, and continue to cook for 8 to 10 minutes more until the greens are tender, then remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of salted water to a rolling boil and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and reserve.

In a food processor, combine the reserved beans and bean liquor, sage, parsley, paprikas and lemon juice, the remaining 2 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth, then check for seasoning, adding more salt if desired, or bean liquor to aid in blending.

Just before serving, stir the cooked pasta into the soup. 

Ladle the soup into bowls and top each with about 2 tablespoons of spiced bean purée. Grate Parmesan over the top of each bowl to taste and serve immediately. Serves 8-10.

HBDA New Year's Eve Ball

Easy day and I left just after seven and the bus came either early or late. Couldn't get the music going so I shut it all up. I got to Ala Moana Center before 8:30. A short ride to Walgreens and I got the batteries. Then a short ride and got the bike on the B bus for Waikiki.  Tested and it was the batteries.  But I got to the Reception desk of HBDA before nine PM.

 

Everybody was at the function inside, I guess there was no further need at the Reception table. It looked beautiful, seeing old friends and also many new faces. Everyone wishing everyone a Happy New Year and why not?

Got my first Rum & Coke of the evening, from Wes, naturally and that old familiar feeling started to permeate through me. Everyone looked happy. Doesn't anyone know how to frown? I guess not.

Since I couldn't get the Reception desk I had to get the first one from the nice people in the crowd. And first was the chance to get my long time friend Anna Kuo in. I wonder if Lynn is related to her.

Albert Lui, Steve and Grace Tong, Julia Chang, Lynn Kuo,

Anna Kuo, Cho On Chang, Monique and Jeffrey Chang.

Went around slowly, saying hello and Happy New Year to so many good friends, and cased the joint for the next photo. My good friends from the Moanalua Corridor were next and the lovely Eileen is always helpful.

Seated: Ron Matsuura, Emi Rebuldela, Steve Oshiro,

Michelle Tempo, and Nancy Tempo. Standing: Jan Matsuura,

Jaime Rebuldela, Eileen Nakano, Nobuku Oshiro and Sharon Kim.

Got another donated Rum & Coke and went around my merry way, dancing a few now and then and giving away some of my key chain light advertising. Then came across more people from the Moanalua Corridor.

 Seated: Franklin and Ann Lopez, Bill and Gloria Klein

and Justine Riley. Standing: Jos Ichiberi, Marcy, Perfecto

and Maybel Cortez and Yvonne Chance.

Got a chance to see some nice exhibitions and of course, I couldn't miss those outstandingly terrific demonstrations by Paul and Marie Laderta and later by Vince De Bina and Aurora Saulo. I am prejudiced? Probably. But then I came across Mark and Patty Dela Cruz (she teaches at Kapolei High School) more Westerners for photo.

 Seated: John Ramos, Mark and Patty Dela Cruz, Margaret

and Carl Berger. Standing: Joe and Janet Simpliciano,

Colleen Miller, Conrad Feltro and Diane Ramos.

Forgot to get some quotes from friends, but I will learn. Danced a few, and though HBDA had a good program it was just a little too structured for adults. Specially these people, who are dancers and they want to dance. Anyway I had my usual Mambo with Noreen and a got a photo at their table.

 

Left to right: Ben Ho, Jan Itsuno, Eugene Higa, Greg

and Danny Carrion, Noreen Ho and Mike Corbett

By that time I was on my third Rum & Coke and I was beginning to feel it. I had to plan on leaving. But I had to get a shot of the beautiful crowd of the line dancing. Probably the biggest line dancing group on this Island.

 

As per usual, HBDA has more men line dancers than even the

Line Dance Clubs themselves. And they will be getting more too.

I left a full hour earlier than originally planned.  Got the bike on the first bus going to town (#13.) Biked a short way to Ala Moana Center and got the bike on the #40 bus going to Nanakuli.  Nice music and sip, sip, sip. I got home before 1;00 AM and in no condition to walk, so I rode the bike home.

"Quality is not an act, it is a habit." ~ Aristotle