Racing to the Table
September and October should be officially renamed as the Marathon Months. Why? Because with some of this country's most popular marathons taking place in October and November, runners across the nation are in the midst of the most intense part of the training process. If you are training for a marathon, allow me, on behalf of all of us, to apologize to family members and friends as we cancel dinner plans in favor of working out (yes, I have become "that girl"). And our rush home from our runs at night brings new meaning to the expression "racing to put dinner on the table."
So as I run from work to the gym, gym to the shower, shower to the kitchen, I often am not sitting down to eat until after nine several nights a week. Suddenly time has become of the essence in every aspect of my life. In addition to needing to cook quickly, I need to make sure I am eating the right foods in order to repair and reenergize from the workout I completed and to give me fuel for the runs to come.
When planning my nightly meals these days, I look for balance. Not just the usual balance of flavors, textures, and colors, but a balance of the nutrients my body needs for my increasingly active life. Not everyone is a runner, but these ideas apply to all.
• Carbohydrates: With Atkins in his grave, rest in peace, it is possible we will finally see a comeback to this essential energy source in our daily diet. However, as outlined by the recently revised USDA food pyramid, it is important that a significant number of those carbs come from whole grains, half of your daily intake to be exact. Whole grains include whole wheat pasta, brown rice, and oatmeal.
• Protein: For any active individual, it is protein that repairs and builds muscles, preventing soreness and possible injury. This can come from meat, poultry, fish, beans, nuts, and eggs.
• Vitamins and minerals: With so much strain on the body's resources, it is crucial to keep the immune system healthy at this time. Vitamin C from oranges, strawberries, red peppers, and Zinc from meats, nuts and beans, should keep your body strong against illness. Potassium, which we lose through sweating, prevents muscles from spasms and can easily be replaced with bananas and broccoli.
In a world where people generally fall into the categories of those who "eat to live" and those who "live to eat," I would say that the entirety of my adult life has been spent in the latter category. However, this whole training thing has brought a new dimension to my eating habits, and thus my cooking, that has forced me to take a little closer look at what my body needs to eat in order to live, and live well.
Even if you are not training for a marathon, a better understanding of how our body uses food for fuel couldn't hurt. With a little understanding of the science behind the cuisine, perhaps we can find a happy balance between those two worlds. And with a little planning, perhaps the only racing we will have to do is on the road rather than in the kitchen.
Made with water, spaghetti pasta, olive oil, oil, onion, button mushrooms, ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, salt and pepper
Serves/Makes: 8
- 1 ounce dehydrated wild mushrooms
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 pound whole wheat spaghetti pasta
- olive oil
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
- 5 large button mushrooms, stems removed and caps finely chopped
- 1 pound ground turkey
- 1/3 cup bread crumbs
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- salt and pepper
- 1 cup Madeira wine
- 1 plum tomato, diced
- 2 tablespoons cream
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- grated Parmesan cheese, optional
Combine the dried mushrooms and boiling water in a bowl. Cover the bowl and set aside for the mushrooms to rehydrate.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook as directed until al dente. Drain well and drizzle with olive oil. Set aside and keep warm.
Heat the cooking oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add the button mushrooms to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Combine the ground turkey, bread crumbs, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Mix until just combined (do not over work the meat). Add the mushroom mixture to the turkey and mix well.
Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the Madeira wine and bring to a simmer.
Form the turkey mixture into 1-inch meatballs and place in the simmering wine. Cover the pan and let the meatballs simmer for 5 minutes.
Remove the lid from the skillet and continue to cook until the wine has reduced by half.
Drain the liquid from the rehydrated mushrooms and add the liquid to the skillet. Coarsely chop the mushrooms and add to the skillet. Add the diced plum tomato and mix gently. Let the sauce simmer, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Stir the chopped parsley into the drained pasta. Reduce the skillet heat to low and add the cream to the sauce. Let heat for 1 minute (do not let the sauce boil once the cream is added).
Place the spaghetti on individual serving plates. Top with the meatballs and sauce. Garnish with additional parsley and grated Parmesan, if desired.
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