Occupational hazard

It seems that every March, without fail, I wake up in front of a mirror and wonder “Who IS that?”

Okay, so one could argue that with business booming and our little company bursting at the much repaired seams of our home kitchen, I don’t spend nearly enough time in front of a mirror.  And this is not false modesty.  I LIKE to look nice.  But I’ll admit: it’s like a freakin’ vacation if I manage to run a brush through my hair on any given day.

But then March comes around, and with Easter a safe 31 days away, I suddenly have time to brew beer with friends, go to supper on the Sunbeam (the islands’ floating ministry) and take a shower on a regular basis.  The latter inevitably leads to contemplating my appearance in a mirror, and each year it seems I am delivered with a new shock.  This year there are a couple–the most noticeable being a brilliant silver lock of hair cascading from my right temple.

Oh, I’ve been going grey for years; I’d like to think, way before my time.  This public aging process is somewhat tempered by the accidental discovery that while purchasing wine, if my hair is tucked under a cap, I, almost without fail, get carded.  (Once, I found myself in this situation–sans ID–while ordering a meal and a beer at a brew pub in New Hampshire.  After thanking the waitress profusely for carding me, I tugged off my cap and provided proof of age.  She was very embarrassed, but we all had to agree, it was a cool parlor trick.)

A little less noticeable, but no less shocking are the “winter” pounds that tend to gather quietly around me while I spend months not paying attention.

Months?  More like years.  Three years to be exact–and if I count backwards and do a little math, I can trace the extra padding on my hips to the exact date Steve and I drew up papers and incorporated a little company called Black Dinah Chocolatiers.

Gaining a little weight while spending a lifetime in the kitchen is, in my opinion, not only forgivable, but somewhat inevitable.  I consider it an occupational hazard of sorts–the same as scars from slip-ups with sharp knives and hot pans; we don’t try for them, but they give us character and speak to our profession.  And frankly, in this line of work, you could do a lot worse than packing on a few pounds.  Those of you who have ever worked in a professional kitchen know what I mean.

That being said, my appreciable sense of vanity rails against continuing the steady climb in body mass, currently at the rate of 6-1/2 pounds a year.  Particularly when the years go by faster than ever before–20 pounds in three years seems like someone rolled me up into a padded Kate Suit just last night.  Hence, the recent shock in my mirror.

Oh, I know, it’s not so bad.  People still ask me how I stay so slim while making chocolate for a living.  And while I do think there is way too much public emphasis on the appearance and weight of female chefs (that’s another subject, entirely), as I look down the barrel of my middle years (and while the possibility of affordable health care in this country fades quietly away as our political representatives give up more ground each passing day–again, another subject), maintaining excellent health is even more of a priority than ever.  Soooooooo, my belabored point being, I’ve decided to nip the impending pudge of my middle years in the bud.

Oh, don’t worry, this isn’t about to become a weight-loss blog, and if we’re all lucky, this is the last you’ll hear from me about it.  I just offer this post as a little intro to the recipes I’m going to be sharing in the next few weeks–fabulous meals, packed with nutrition, and low in calories and fat.   The first being

Country Captain Tofu

Serves 6, 237 calories per serving

(You can also find a link to this recipe, without all my jabber, here.)

When I first saw the recipe for Country Captain Chicken in this month’s Bon Appetit (the replacement magazine for the now defunct Gourmet), I was whisked back to my Keeper’s House days, where we would make this dish on the onset of every autumn.  BA‘s version suggested toasting and grinding whole spices for the curry, which changes the dish dramatically, and for the better.  I use a mortar and pestle, and like the different sizes of resulting grains, but an electric spice grinder will give you consistently fine results.  The following recipe is my further adapted version of the magazine’s recipe.

Ingredients:

3/4	tsp coriander seeds
1/2	tsp fennel seeds
1/2	tsp cumin seeds
1/4	tsp black peppercorns
1/8	tsp cloves
1/8	tsp cardamom seeds
1/4	stick cinnamon
1/4	tsp turmeric, ground
1/4	tsp cayenne, ground
4	tbsp safflower oil
1	sweet potato, diced
1	lb firm tofu, diced
3	green onions, finely chopped
1	tbsp fresh ginger, grated
2	cloves garlic, minced
1/2	cup white wine
1/2	cup water
1 28 oz.	can whole tomatoes, crushed
1/3	cup golden raisins, chopped
1	tbsp natural peanut butter
1	cup frozen peas
1/3	cup dried unsweetened coconut, toasted

Method:

1. Toast and grind whole spices, then mix with turmeric and cayenne.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of oil in a wide non-stick skillet and fry tofu until browned and slightly crispy on outside. Set aside.
3. Heat remaining 2 tbsp oil in deep dutch oven, add sweet potatoes, white parts of green onions, ginger and garlic and saute briefly. Add wine and water and about half of the spice mixture (save the other half for the next time you make this dish), cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until sweet potatoes are just tender.
4. Add tomatoes (with juice) and peanut butter, and cook until sweet potatoes are very tender.
5. Add tofu and peas and cook until heated through. Serve in bowls, topped with green onions and toasted coconut.