Dirty Rice Stuffed Zucchini

Summer squash comes early here in Florida since our growing season ends in June and doesn't start back up until September.  These round zucchini (dubbed Eight Ball Zucchini) are available at my local farmer's market and are great for stuffing. I like to stuff them with dirty rice and ground hamburger.  The zucchini is a nice compliment to the spicy dirty rice. It also makes for a complete meal that is fun to eat.  I will admit that I cheat and use Zatarain's Dirty Rice, but I do plan on researching some from-scratch dirty rice recipes soon.

Dirty Rice Stuffed Zucchini

4 round zucchini

1 box Zatarain's Dirty Rice Mix

1 lb ground beef

Vegetable oil

Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven 375 degrees.  Season ground beef with salt and pepper.  Brown in a large skillet until no pink remains.  Drain.  Prepare dirty rice (adding ground beef) according to package directions.

Cut off the tops of the zucchini and scoop out seeds.  Place in baking dish prior to filling.

Stuff the insides of the zucchini with the dirty rice mixture.  Depending on the size of your zucchini, you may have some rice left over.  Brush outsides and tops of zucchini with vegetable oil.  Place tops back on zucchini.  Sprinkle with salt to taste.

Bake 30-40 minutes or until zucchini is tender.  Serve warm.  Enjoy!

Friday Night Links

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Grilled Salmon with Fresh Herb Pesto

I recently won a three month subscription to The Six O'Clock Scramble.  I could go on and on about how much I'm enjoying this service, but I'll save that for another blog post.  Right now, I'm going to tell you about this simple and delicious grilled salmon and fresh herb pesto recipe I got from it.  Salmon was on sale this week, plus my basil is growing faster than I can use it, so this recipe was perfect.  The salmon is very simply grilled with a little oil, salt and pepper.  Then this delicious pesto is served on top.  Henry decided the pesto made an excellent dip for the sourdough bread I served with dinner.  He was right.  The extra pesto can also be frozen and saved for later.

Grilled Salmon with Fresh Herb Pesto

1 - 1 1/2 lb salmon fillet
1 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt or to taste
1/8 tsp ground black pepper or to taste

Fresh Herb Pesto

1/4 c fresh herbs, including any combination of basil, cilantro, parsley, and chives, coarsely chopped

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 Tbsp water

1/2 lemon, juice only, about 2 Tbsp

Zest from 1/2 a lemon

1 1/2 Tbsp pine nuts

1 tsp honey

Preheat the grill to medium-high heat.  Brush the top and sides of the salmon with 1 tsp olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  

In a blender or food processor, puree herbs, 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, water, lemon juice, lemon zest, pine nuts and honey.  Transfer the mixture to a small serving bowl.

Grill the fish on top of aluminum foil or a grilling tray for about 10 minutes without flipping it until it flakes easily and is no longer dark pink in the middle.  (Alternatively, bake the fish in the oven at 400 degree for 12-15 minutes until it is cooked through.)  

When the fish is done, slide a thin spatula between the fish and skin, allowing the skin to stick to the foil or tray.  Transfer the fish to a serving plate.  Serve topped with herb pesto.

To freeze the leftover pesto, I spooned it into one of my Fresh Baby freezer trays, put the lid on, and popped it in the freezer overnight.  By morning, I was able to pop the cubes of pesto out of the freezer tray and into a labeled freezer bag.  To thaw, you can either toss a cube or two with hot pasta or allow to thaw in the refrigerator; however, NEVER heat or microwave pesto.  It's a great way to enjoy fresh herbs all summer and winter.

The Breastfeeding in Uniform Controversy

Once again, a picture is circulating the web that is stirring up a lot of controversy about breastfeeding.  This picture is of two female Airmen breastfeeding their children, uncovered and in public.  I will admit, I cringed the first time I saw this picture a couple weeks ago.  I don't mind the breastfeeding in public, obviously.  I don't even mind women breastfeeding uncovered, although I personally don't feel comfortable doing it.  The issue centers around their uniforms.

Edited to add: I have removed the photo out of respect for photographer Brynja Sigurdardottir's wishes.  You can view her photos on her facebook page.

Breastfeeding in Uniform

Don't get me wrong.  I fully support women breastfeeding in uniform.  It is a much better option than pumping and bottle feeding.  Being a military mom, I've had to do both.  My military schedule left very little time for pumping and pumping negatively affected my supply.  Unfortunately, my military unit is five hours from my home, so I had very little choice.  I consider it to be a major contributing factor to why I had supply issues.  My male supervisors certainly didn't help the situation by not giving me time or space to pump.  I was only able to pump in my car before work, during lunch and after work.  For those of you who have had to pump and bottle feed, you know that you need to pump more frequently (about every 2 hours) than you would normally nurse your baby.  The schedule I had to keep wasn't cutting it.  I really like this article by Breastfeeding in Combat Boots on 10 Things I Wish I'd Known About Breastfeeding in the Military.  She summed up much of what I went through perfectly.

Trademark Infringement

Yes, I support breastfeeding in uniform; however, it becomes an issue when you take a picture of it and use it as a form of advertising without Air Force approval.  Regardless of what anyone else says or the picture liberal media tries to paint, the issue that the Air Force has with this is that this was a picture taken of female airmen out of uniform and being used as a form of advertising without approval.  The US military has an image that they want to convey to the public (branding for you business types).  There are regulations for exactly how the uniform is to be worn.  Images of military members must go through an approval process before being used in television, film and advertising.  Like I said, the military has a brand image that they want to protect.  This picture is essentially trademark infringement.

The Sacred Uniform

Now, maybe I look at this a little more harshly because I was a Marine before I was an Airman.  The Marines have a kind of reverence for their uniforms that I have never seen in any other branch of service.  No one can wear the Eagle, Globe and Anchor unless they have first completed Marine Corp boot camp.  The Marines have regulations for exactly when and where they can wear each of their uniforms.  You will not see a Marine in his Battle Dress Uniform (BDU) at an off base grocery store (or at least you shouldn't).  It is to be worn on-base and to and from base.  The only exception is perhaps the gas station enroute.

Public Displays of Affection

Many people have addressed the military rules against public displays of affection as the reason for breastfeeding in uniform not being permitted. Here are the current regulations on public displays of affection in an Air Force uniform:

2.13.6. When in uniform or civilian clothes (in an official capacity), Airmen must not engage in public displays of affection including, but not limited to, holding hands (except when holding a young child’s hand), walking arm-in-arm, embracing, caressing, and kissing. Public displays of affection are inappropriate as they violate a long-standing custom of the service and may be service discrediting since indiscriminate displays of affection detract from the professional image the Air Force intends to project to the public.
2.13.6.1. Brief displays of affection, such as a modest kiss or embrace, may be permitted in situations where physical contact is commonly accepted etiquette such as weddings, graduation, promotion, or retirement ceremonies; and upon departure for or return from deployments. (AFI 36-2903 18 JULY 2011)

This subject is certainly open to interpretation since the regulations do not address breastfeeding specifically; however, breastfeeding is generally regarded as the ultimate display of affection. I never breastfed my son in a public setting while in uniform. Mainly due to my background as a Marine, I felt uncomfortable and out of uniform even when pumping in my car.  Granted, there were few times when the opportunity arose to breastfeed my son in uniform because he was rarely with me on my military days.  For an active duty mom who wears her uniform and is with her children every day, I don't think it is fair to expect her to not breastfeed her children in uniform.  If the military wants to put restrictions on women breastfeeding in uniform, then they need to be more specific in their regulations and provide time and a space to breastfeed privately.  For my reasons specified above, telling women to pump and bottle feed while in uniform is not in the best interest of us or our children and not very realistic.  

We Need More Support

I understand what these ladies and their organization are trying to convey.  We, as breastfeeding women in the military, need more support.  We work in a male dominated organization with regulations written and enforced by men.  We have a difficult time getting them to understand why we need to be on light duty while pregnant, much less why we need to breastfeed our babies after they are born.  More often than not, our pregnancies and babies are treated as an inconvenience that should come secondary to our careers.  However, I can see this picture resulting in more strict rules against breastfeeding instead of in support of it.  We need to create an open dialog within our commands and branches of service without being offensive and enraging.  (No, I do not find this picture offensive or enraging, but obviously there are those within the military who do.)  I do think that we can compromise and agree to rules that work for both sides, but I do not think this is the way to do it.

Edited to add: The Air Force Times has published a story regarding the Air Force's official position against the photographs.  Quote from the article:

“The uniform was misused. That’s against regulations,” Kosik said. “I want to be very, very clear about this. Our issue is not, nor has it ever been, about breastfeeding. It has to do with honoring the uniform and making sure it’s not misused. I can’t wear my uniform to a political rally, to try to sell you something or push an ideology. That was our point of contention.”

Winner: Fresh Baby Portion Plate and So Easy Toddler Cookbook

First, I would like to thank everyone who entered to with the Fresh Baby Portion Plate and So Easy Toddler Cookbook.  I would like to congratulate Amy K for winning this prize pack.  Amy, please check your email, including spam folder.  If anyone would like to purchase something from the Fresh Baby website, feel free to use coupon code BVHML for 25% off your entire purchase.

Basil Chicken in Coconut-Curry Sauce

This was a very nice mid-week meal served over coconut rice.  I'm not a big fan of ginger, so I was glad to see that the flavor was subtle.  It also helped me use up some fresh basil, which was probably the biggest reason I chose to make this recipe.  The original recipe called for jalapeno peppers, which I omitted because I didn't have any.  If you like a little heat, feel free to add them back in, but I didn't think the dish needed it.

Basil Chicken in Coconut-Curry Sauce
1 lb chicken breast
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp chili powder
salt t.t.
ground black pepper t.t.
1 lg onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
14 oz unsweetened coconut milk
2 tsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp fresh basil, julienne cut
1 Tbsp ginger root, skinned & diced


Coconut Rice
1/2 c basmati rice
1/2 c water
1/2 c unsweetened coconut milk

To make rice, combine water and unsweetened coconut milk together in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Stir in rice, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Simmer for 20 minutes.

Rinse chicken, pat dry and cut into 1" cubes.  Place in a medium bowl.  In a small bowl, stir together the dry spices.  Sprinkle over the chicken, tossing until coated.  Cover and let stand at room temperature for about 30 minutes or 1-2 hours in the refrigerator.  In a large nonstick skilled, heat the oil, then cook and stir the onion and garlic over medium-high heat for 2 minutes or until the onion is tender.  Remove the onion from the skillet. Add half of the chicken to the skillet.  Cook and stir until no pink remains.  Remove the chicken from the skillet and cook the remaining chicken.  Stir together the coconut milk and cornstarch.  Slowly add the liquid to the skillet while stirring.  Cook and stir until bubbly and thickened.  Return the chicken and onion mixture to the skillet.  Stir in basil and ginger.  Cook 2 minutes until heated through.  Serve over rice.

Memorial Day 2012

As a veteran and member of the military and the granddaughter of two brave men served in major wars, it is important to me to remember our fallen soldiers and honor their memories by observing Memorial Day.  Like many of our national holidays, I think that we tend to forget why the day was set aside.  It has become more important to me to observe Memorial Day now that Henry has gotten old enough to start to understand some things.  I want to make a tradition of attending Memorial Day ceremonies and showing respect for our veterans so he will have an appreciation for the past and those who sacrificed so much so we could have the lifestyle we enjoy now.  I want to raise him to be an honorable man.

We live near the Florida National Cemetery, so it only seemed fitting to go there to attend their Memorial Day ceremony.  The grounds are beautiful and it is much larger than I had imagined.  It is actually the second largest national cemetery next to Arlington National Cemetery.  We got there just as the ceremony was starting.  There was a very large turnout, despite the on and off rain, so we ended up toward the back of the crowd.  Henry wasn't very amused with being strapped in his stroller and looking at everyone's backs, so I spend most of the time walking around with him while listening to the keynote speaker, Major Gen. Jeffrey E. Phillips.  He is an Army General who talked about the history of Memorial Day and how poor morale was  prior to the Civil War.  Many of us have at least heard about the hardships the men endured in the field with limited food rations and unsanitary conditions. What I didn't realize was that these men also went without pay and were rarely honored for their sacrifices.  No wonder there was so much strife.  Who would want to endure all of that and get nothing to show for it?  It made my complaints about today's military pale in comparison.

One story from the General that gave me pause was that of a soldier who was Missing In Action during the Korean War.  His remains were found about 10 years ago in a mass grave in North Korea.  One of my grandfathers served in the 1st Cavalry during the Korean War.  I imagined what that the families of those soldiers went through for the last 50 odd years, wondering what had happened to their sons, brothers, husbands, and grandfathers.  The sting of the loss would have been numbed somewhat over all of those years, but finding the remains would have opened old wounds for some.  Then to have those remains verified through DNA (oh the wonders of modern technology) and tell you that yes, beyond a shadow of a doubt, your loved one is dead. There would have been some relief to finally bring his body home and lay him to rest, but there would be anger too.

The story is repeated over the thousands of plain limestone headstalls in cemeteries all across the country, only not all of them are remembered.  How many MIA/POW bodies have come back to the states just to have no one left alive to remember them?  What about the old veterans who made it home alive just to keep all of the stories to themselves to spare their families from the horrors they had seen?  By the time they received their burial honors, there would be few left who remembered their heroic acts. He'd just be the distant grandpa who didn't talk much.  How many of those graves went unnoticed this Memorial Day?

This year's Memorial Day may be a thing of the past, but don't let these veterans fade from your thoughts and memories.  Thank those who are still with us.  Visit the grave of veteran this weekend and leave a flower or say a prayer.  Let all veterans know that their sacrifices have not gone unnoticed.