Because sometimes you just need to think of yourself and what will make you happy. Eating this makes me happy.
This flavor situation just made so much sense. All three flavors on their own are fantastic, but combined into one super amazing frozen sorbet treat.. I mean, like WHOA! I was inspired by the 4 really ripe and juicy mangos I had waiting on the counter. I had also just made a batch of jalapeño jam and was thinking about how nicely jalapeños and mangos go together. And I happened to have a can of coconut cream on hand. My first idea was to do a savory dinner type thing, but after a day of heat and humity, all I wanted was something cold and easy. Ding ding… Lets freeze this shit and turn it into a sorbet.
Such a good idea.
The Stuff. Simple as can be. 2 mangos, peeled, diced and frozen. A can of coconut cream, and some jalepno jam.
Frozen mango is really easy to blend. Just stick into a blending device and add a little bit of water. Mix until a nice creamy puree is formed. And try not to eat it all right now.
Whip up the coconut cream. You don’t need to go to crazy and make it all fluffy, just whisk it for a minute or two just to loosen it up.
Time to scoop. First a few big dollops of the frozen mango puree. Try to work fast to prevent the mango from completely thawing out.
Next, scoop some of the coconut cream and drop a few scoops of jalapeño jam right on in there to. Add more mango, more coconut , and more jam until you container is full.
Note.. My sister had the idea of mixing he jalapeño jam into the mango puree. I think I might try that next time.
Take a knife and cut through the sorbet, first width wise, then length, then width. or whatever. You’re just trying to kind of marble and swirl the flavors together.
Once your done playing and swirling, into the freezer it goes….
Remove from freezer when completely frozen and do what you need to do. I flipped the pan and sliced into slabs on a cooking sheet, and me, the sister and the mr. took turns with the fork and ate it off the pan. We be so classy. But go ahead and use o plate or scoop it or maybe even eat directly from the container with a fork. No judgement here.
Eat so good!
-C
2 1/2 cups fresh mango (2 large mangos), peeled, diced and frozen. (Or just buy frozen mango)
1/2 cup water
1/2 can of cold coconut cream (I used Ttrader Joes.. It’s the best)
around 1/3 cup Jalapeño Jam.. more if you like (Here is the recipe for that )
Place frozen mango into a blending device, add about 1/3- 1/2 cup water and blend until a smooth puree. Open coconut cream, drain the liquid, and place half the cream into a bowl. Whisk until loose and slightly fluffy .
In a freezer safe container. scoop a few dollops of the mango puree, add in a few dollops if coconut cream and then a few dollops of the jalapeño jam. Keep adding dollops of the stuff until you use up all of the ingredients. Take a knife and run through thet sorbet length and width wise a few times to swirl the flavors. Place in freezer for at least 3 hours or until fully frozen
Remove and either scoop, slice, or eat directly from container.
Last week I bought this nice hunk of locally made tofu to bring to my sisters for dinner. I was planning on making T.A.L.T.’s, but when I told her what I planned on making, she turned it down. She asked, ” is there bacon with that? If not, I don’t really feel like tofu”. And I was like, “No there is not F**king bacon….. when did I mention bacon?”
We still went over for dinner, Just me,her,and the Mr. I brought myself a big salad. The other two ended up eating a frozen pizza and blue cheese dressing (I think they might have eaten dressing with a little bit of pizza…barf) But whatever, her lose, cause I made the T.A.L.T.’s a few days later. They were amazing (the tofu was soo good!) and I am pretty sure she would have loved them. Oh well, now she will just have to make them for herself if she ever decided to she wants one.
So here.. To everyone and to Shannon….. How to make a T.A.L.T. .. There is NO BACON!
The stuff… Some nice firm tofu, half a ripe avocado,lettuce (I used baby greens), and some sliced up fresh and tasty tomato. To spice up the tofu, we use galic powder, salt pepper, and a nice smokey paprika. Oh.. and a big hunk of a soft and crusty baguette to stick it all in.
To get this TALT going, thinly slice up as about a 1/3 of a block of tofu. (for one sandwich) Or slice up the whole thing to make more sandwiches.
On a plate or in a bowl, mix together the garlic powder, paprika and a little salt and pepper. Gently dredge both sides of each piece in the mixute.
Paprika is so bright and pretty.
Place the tofu in a lightly oiled and preheated skillet on medium heat. Cook each side until crispy and golden brown.
Slice you bread open and toast if you want. Scoop avocado onto the bread( a little on both sides). Add the tomato and the seasoned tofu and last but not least, pile on the greens.
TA DA! A Sandwich… a damn good one at that .
-C
Makes on 6-8 inch sandwich
1/3 block of extra firm tofu*
1/2 of a ripe avocado
1 small tomato thinly slices
a handful of baby greens or a few lettuce leaves
A 6-8inch hunk of a soft and crusty baguette (use a gluten free bread of choice if needed)
1 tablespoon SMOKEY paprika*
1 tablespoon garlic powder*
salt and pepper.*
*Note.. This is enough for one sandwich. If making more then one, use the whole block, or even if you not, you might as well cook the whole thing for and have some extra for later use. If you do cook it all, just add another tablespoon or so of the paprika and the garlic powder.
Remove tofu from package and stick between a clean dish towel. Press as much liquid out as you can without smooshing it. Cut tofu into 1/4 inch thick slabs. Mix the spices with a pinch of salt and pepper in a shall bowl or plate and dredge both side of the tofu in the mixture. Lightly oil and preheat a skillet to medium heat. When the tofu is seasoned, stick onto skillet and cook each side until crispy and brown. Remove from heat and let cool for a minute. (If you like you tofu a little more on the crunchy and dried out side you can stick the tofu in the oven for a few minutes)
To assemble. Slice bread, toast if you want. Place equal amounts of avocado on each side of bread. Layer on the sliced tomatoes, the cooked tofu and add on the greens. Close up sandwich and place on a plate.
Bite, chew, swallow.
Smile
This little guy asked me to make him some popsicles, and of course I said yes because, well look at him.
So we made a date. A popsicle and playground date to be exact.
For these particular pops, I decided to use watermelon, mainly because I had just broken into one and once I open a melon, I have a race with myself as to how fast I can consume the in entire thing. ( It’s a sick form of watermelon gluttony) But also because the little was really really excited to hear that I could in fact make watermelon popsicles. And the other stuff I added because I had it and it all tastes really good together.
I made the popsicles the day before so they would be ready for our date. He came over, we ate lunch,(peanut butter sandwich and carrot sticks) wondered around the neighborhood with the pup, and made a quick stop at the playground. (we only managed a couple runs on the slide before it was too hot and our sweat had us sticking to the slide and it was more of a painful scoot then a glide) We then made our way home and rewarded ourselves for a walk well done with these amazing, super refreshing, and healthy frozen treats that I made just for us. While we were eating the popsicles, our conversation turned to food. We talked about all the different varieties of popsicle that we could make, and how we could eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner because they are made of only good things and are really healthy (he is really trying to eat healthy) It was the perfect ending to a fantastic afternoon with a five year old, or any human for that matter…
I would have a popsicle date with this kid every day
The Stuff. Fresh seedless watermelon (make sure to have lots on hand cause you are going to be eating it as you make these), a fresh lime, a handful of blueberries and a sprig of fresh mint. And don’t forget a mold of some kind that form the liquid into a popsicle (if you don’t have a mold, little paper cups work too)
Remove watermelon from rind and cut into small chunks. Juice the lime and add that, the watermelon chunks, the mint and the blueberries to a blender or vessel if using a hand blender) and blend everything until smooth.
Look at how pretty that is. And so tasty…. I am not going to lie and say that I didn’t make a little extra to drink, cause I did.
Now pour the puree into your molds to the fill line (follow the instructions that your molds give you) and place into the freezer.
And yes Shannon, these are in fact, your popsicle molds. Don’t worry, I’ll bring them back soon. (I am thinking some type of booze infused situation)
Once the freezer has done its job freezing… pop those suckers out.. (I let the mold sit on the counter for a few minutes so the popsicle pops out clean)
And heres to the best popsicle date ever!
Happy Summer! Happy Tuesday!
-C
A big chunk of seedless Watermelon (aboutt 11/2 cups)
1/2 ish cup of blueberries (fresh or frozen)
Juice of 1 lime
a few fresh mint leaves
note. The popsicle mold that I used only needed 2 cups of popsicle juice. If you have a larger mold, just use more of everything to get the amount you need
Remove rind from watermelon and add to a blender with the lime juice, mint and blueberries. Blend until eveytthing is pureed and mixed all together. Pour liquid into popsicle molds and stick in freezer for at least 4 hours.
When ready to eat…, pop those suckers out of there molds and EAT!
You ever make dish, completely on the fly, just to use something up (I have a lot of ripe tomatoes) with no real expectation, just because… Then have it be one of the best freaking things that you have ever made? This salad is one of those things.. maybe not the best thing I have ever made, but definitely the best salad I have ever made…. this week.
A salad compiled of all things amazing, taking just a few minutes to make and is the perfect balance of uber fresh with baby spinach, raw kale, and crunchy quick pickled onions. Then adding a touch of warmth with the sweet and juicy seared tomatoes and big chunks of creamy avocado.
I mean, for reals. ……Best Salad Ever !!!! (this week)
Now let’s do this.
The Stuff. A big bowl of baby spinach and chopped up kale, a few sliced up roma tomatoes, some super thinly sliced red onion, half an avocado, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Before you do anything, place the sliced onions into bowl, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and add a few glugs of the red wine vinegar. You want the onions to sit in the vinegar for at least 5 minutes on the counter cause the longer they sit the more crispy pickly they get. (after eating onions like this, you will never want to eat them any other way) Lightly oil a skillet and preheat to a medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, sprinkle the tomato slices with salt and pepper and place tomatoes right on in, snugly, but not overlapping. Let cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until the bottoms start to brown. Flip and cook other side for another few minutes.Once the tomatoes are seared on both sides, remove them gently from skillet and toss them on top of the bowl of greens.
Take the pickled onions and toss those right on top, with any of the residual vinegar, add dice and scoop the half of avocado and toss that on in as well.And now eat the best salad ever (this week).
Make the day good!
-C
Skillet Seared Tomato and Quick Pickled Onion Salad
Serves 2 as a side, 1 for a hungry eater
2 large or 3 smaller roma tomatoes
1/2 of a red onion
2-3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cups baby spinach
1 1/2 cups chopped kale
salt pepper
1/2 a ripe avocado
olive oil (to grease pan)
Thinly slice red onion and place in a bowl. Add vinegar into a and sprinkle with salt. Let sit on counter for at least 5 minutes, if not longer,
Slice tomatoes into 1/2 inch thick rounds and sprinkle with a pitch or salt and pepper. Lightly oil a skillet and preheat it on medium heat. Once the skillet is preheated, stick the tomatoes on it (watch out for splattering tomato juice) Cook first side for about 3 minutes or until the bottom has browned, then flip and do the same for other side.
One tomatoes are seared, place directly onto the greens. Now dump the pickled onions and residual vinegar on top. And dice up avocado and add that on top too.
Now eat your salad, fork or fingers…
And I know, ba-daaaamn. So good.
Hey there party people…It’s Sunday! Hopefully you all have some good plans for the day. Me, well I have a peanut butter and jelly lunch date at the park with some littles, a butt load of plants to stick into the ground, and hopefully drinking much to much coffee while basking in the glow of the very lovely world. (which has been on point all week with warm weather, sunny days, splashed with the perfect moments of rain) Everything is so green and lush and freshy, it’s hard to not to be full of happy and the feeling that anything is possible. It’s fantastical! Oh, and I got to give a shout out to my big sister for graduating from nursing school this week…Whoa HOO!!!!! (Does she realize she is from a family of hypochondriacs? Texting nurse Shannon……she is screwed.)
Summer here we come…It’s GO TIME!
Internet links from the week……
-Going to be making myself one of these this weekRail Road Totes.
-I could see doing somethinglike thiswith my family… If I didn’t kill them first.
-Interesting….What If Americans Ate Like South Africans And Vice Versa?
-I have felt like popping a few balls in my time.The Good Listener: Can I Deflate The Beach Balls At Concerts?
-My next project/living arrangement? (Hey, if we can live in a tiny room now, we can live in a tiny room on wheels)… The Vintage Nugget
-I can’ t believe this show was canceled, but thank the tv gods for Hulu….Hulu Saves The Mindy Project
-I am into all of these interiors atFrenchyfancy…..I wish I knew how to read french and wish I was that fancy.
A few pictures from the week….
The prettiest tree. LILACS!!!!!My yard these days..A wheel barrel full of strawberry plants. Pretty in purple
The mister and I harvested a frame of honey…So pretty
Have a great today!
-C
It’s Mother’s Day weekend which means that you and I and everyone out there should feel the slightest bit obligated to at least do a little something nice for your mom for the mere fact that you were borned. And really what better way to celebrate mom than with food… It really is the least that you can do. (I think mom’s also like flowers and cards and handmade pasta necklaces) My mom is defiantly about the food. (she has had her fair share or pasta necklaces) A many years back on Mother’s day, this sweet little girl (me) made her mother a special breakfast treat…blueberry scones. And ever since that day, for every freaking holiday, birthday, whatever day, my mother requests (demands) a batch of those scones. She is always saying that these are her favorite treat and that no one has ever made them as good as I do. (I guess that just reiterates that I am her number 1 child)
And for the last few months my mom has been up my butt, trying to get me to make her some. Not going to lie, I have been saying I’ll get her a batch, but for some reason, I haven’t gotten around to making them. So two birds here.. Make the scones and she gets off my back for a least a little while (a month.. maybe 2) and I give her a fantastic Mothers day gift that I know she will love.
So here they are , oh mother of mine. Blueberry scones!
The stuff. Flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. A bit of sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, and butter (use vegan butter and nut milk if you want to make them vegan) And of course we need the blueberries which can be fresh or frozen. I usually use fresh, but the store I stopped at only had really big containers of fresh that were like $1000 dollars a piece and the organic frozen happen to be on super sale. So you know, the cheap in me won that battle. So into the bowl goes all the dry stuff; flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and the sugar. Give it a good whisk.
Now for my special trick for a perfectly distributed cold butter in a pastry. Freeze your butter and grate it!
With a large wholed grater, grate the frozen butter directly into the bowl with the dry, stoping a few times to toss the butter chunks around so you don’t end up with a huge pile of grated butter. When it’s all grated, gently toss around so the butter is evenly distributed. Now dump the blueberries into the flour mixture. Toss them around to give them a coat of flour. Add in the buttermilk and vanilla and give a little mix until liquid is absorbed. We are trying to handle the dough as little as possible.Turn mixture onto counter. It’s very loose, but thats what it should look like. Very gently and with as little handling as possible, gather dough up, knead a few times till everything just comes together. Press dough into a disk that is roughly an inch thick…. and it doesn’t need to be perfect. Cut the disk into even sized pieces. Do 6 big, 8 normal, maybe even 10 smaller. Whatever size you like. (I did 8) Place the scones onto a baking sheet, using a spatula to transfer, and sprinkle the tops with a little bit of sugar. Into a preheated oven for about 20 minutes.And when the scones look all nice and browned and a tester comes out clean. remove and either serve right away warm, preferably with huge cup of coffee or tea, or stick on a rack to cool before storing in air tight container.
Perfect to serve as a breakfast pastry, at brunch, or even as a dessert. A nice little treat for a special lady. (dudes can eat them too)
Happy Mothers Day Mom! Thanks for having me!
And Happy Weekend!!!
-C
Blueberry Scones
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons to sprinkle on top
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter frozen or really cold (use non dairy butter like Earth Balance for vegan)
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup buttermilk (use non dairy milk for vegan)
Preheat oven t0 400 degrees
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Take the frozen butter and grate directly into flour mixture, tossing around to evenly disrupted. Add in blueberries and toss around till coated with flour, then lastly, add vanilla to buttermilk and mix into mixture until just barely coming together. Turn mixture out onto counter and with your hands, knead mixture a few times until it forms a solid dough. Shape into a disk and smoosh down until about an inch thick. Cut into 6-10 triangles and place on a non greases baking sheet and sprinkle tops with remaining sugar. Stick into oven and bake for 20 minutes or until tops start turning a golden brown and a tester in the middle of a scone comes out clean.
Remove from baking sheet and serve warm or let cool on a rack.
Mom gets first dibs, and if she is willing to share, eat one yourself with your face.
Yesterday I spent the entire day (ok maybe not the entire day), but a the better part of the afternoon defrosting my freezer. Sure, I do the occasional chip chop here and there, just enough from around the freezer door so it will close, but ever few months I notice that everything in the fridge is not staying cold and that the freezer is not freezing stuff. Thats when I know its for real time to defrost. So a few days ago when I noticed my bananas were turing to liquid in the freezer, I knew it what I had to do….Completely empty the fridge and melt/hack away the 2-4 inches of ice build up that accumulated. It is such a freaking pain in the ass.So on this defrosting day, I took all the stuff from the freezer, stuck it in a cooler, and the rest of the stuff, which is basically all veggies, I just tossed on the table. As I am hacking away with a metal spatual, a wooden spoon, and a constant rotation of pots of boiling water, I was thinking about dinner. I figured I might as well just eat up as much of the veggies as I could, you know, so I didn’t have to put them back in the fridge. And also, I was getting pretty annoyed because this particular defrosting session was taking way longer the anticipated, which made making dinner seem like another pain in the ass. I figured I might as well just eat everything that is already out on the table, which pretty much narrowed down the “whats for dinner” conversations because it was already all over the place. And so dinner was a humongo salad for me, and for the mister, I made him a monster of a veggie sandwich. (my salad was exactly the same stuff as the sandwich, minus the bagel) Easy, fast, super duper yummy, pretty and piled so high with tons of veggies that the fridge is pretty much empty now.
Look at the is beast. I don’t call it a monster sandwich for nothing.
The stuff included in this monster veggie sandwich..
Romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado for there is not real sandwich without them. Thinly sliced radishes, cucumber,a and onion for nice crispy crunch. Shredded beets, carrots, and purple cabbage to give more crunch and a bit of sweetness. Then of course there needs to be something pickled, so I used banana peppers cause they are the SHIT!! And lastly some hummus for a nice creamy finish (plus a bit of protein) and yellow mustard because mustard on everything is just right. Heres to a mountain if goodness that is no longer in the fridge! Served with a another mountain of roasted parsnips and carrots (more stuff from the fridge) and a tall glass of iced tea.
Lucky that today is farm share pick up cause the fridge is pretty much on empty.
Yea it’s Thursday!!!!
-C
A Monster Veggie Sandwich
Note. This is just a guide.. Feel free to use whatever veggies you fancy.
Either a bagel, 2 slices of bread, or a big chunk of baguette (use a gluten free bread if you want or need too)
Hummus- Homemade or store bought
Mustard
Something pickled like pickles, banana peppers , jalapeños or all three
Lettuce, spinach or some kind of leafy green
Tomato
Avocado
Onion
Radishes
Cucumber
Shredded Carrots
Shredded Beets
Shredded Cabbage
To assemble. Ready your bread.. Toast if you want, and stick it on a plate
On either side, smear the hummus and the mustard.
Pick a side, start to stack by evenly disrupting veggies on top of veggies. Place the second piece of bread on top and giving a little smooth to keep it together.
And go at it. Cut in half or don’t. Have a napkin or a long sleeve ready to wipe your face.
My flowers are coming up, I have packed away my winter jacket, and I haven’t worn anything but sandals for the past week. Plus yesterday I made the first batch of sun tea and saw my first hot air balloon of the season (which lead to a heated discussion with the mister about how hot air balloons take flight. We were both kinda right, but me more than him)So yeah, it’s for real… Winter is gone and spring has sprung, or more like spring sprung then bounced cause now it’s basically summer weather. Not complaining, but I hope we get a least a few more weeks of pleasant, not hot and humid weather.
Anyway. Sun tea, one of my favorite summer time drinks. Made by infusing regular old teas with water by using the almighty power of sun.
Why do we want to make iced tea this way instead of just using boiling water? Well you can still do that, but sun tea makes a more mellow, lovely, and I find, more sweeter tea. It brings out more complex flavors that you don’t get with the boiling water method. And it’s nice to know that it took zero effort on my part to make the drink (not that boiling water takes that much effort, but still)
It can be made with any variety of teas, infused with other fresh herbs, dried spices, or even chunks of fruit. You can also make the teas and add flavors after the infusing is over. Have fun and play with flavor combos.
A few of my favorite sun tea combinations
Any mellow black tea like orange pekoe or english breakfast with a few springs of mint
Chamomile and mint
Green with a fruity tea, like blueberry or pomegranate
Lemon Zinger with a few springs of Rosemary
These are just a few of the endless possible flavors. And you don’t have to get fancy with it either, you can totally use plain old lipton tea bags (I still do that too)
Now harness the sunshine and feel awesome and fancy by making some tea!
Woo Hoo Wednesday!
-C
SUN TEA
What you’ll need
Tea- Either bags or loose leaf
Water- Preferably Filtered
A glass jar with a lid
Sunshine
I use a ratio of 1 tea bag or 1 tablespoon loose leaf tea per 2 cups of water. And I usually make my teas in half gallon ball jars so I use 4-5 teabags or tablespoons of tea. (makes just enough tea for 4-6 tall glasses, depending on you glass size) If it’s a mint tea, I usually use a little less because I find that mint teas can become to strong and bitter so I use 3 teas bags or tablespoons of loose.
Directions
Place tea loose or bags into jar. Fill with water, leaving about an inch for tea expansion, place lid on tight, and stick in the sun for anywhere between 3-5 hours (depending on how strong you like your tea). When tea is infused to your liking, remove teabags or strain the loose tea and stick into the fridge to chill. Serve as is in a drinking vessel with a few ice cubes and add sweetener if that’s what you do.
Drink within a day or two, then rinse jar and make a new batch!
THE LOVELY CRAZY
September 19, 2015 by maximios • Blog
Because sometimes you just need to think of yourself and what will make you happy. Eating this makes me happy.
This flavor situation just made so much sense. All three flavors on their own are fantastic, but combined into one super amazing frozen sorbet treat.. I mean, like WHOA! I was inspired by the 4 really ripe and juicy mangos I had waiting on the counter. I had also just made a batch of jalapeño jam and was thinking about how nicely jalapeños and mangos go together. And I happened to have a can of coconut cream on hand. My first idea was to do a savory dinner type thing, but after a day of heat and humity, all I wanted was something cold and easy. Ding ding… Lets freeze this shit and turn it into a sorbet.
Such a good idea.
The Stuff. Simple as can be. 2 mangos, peeled, diced and frozen. A can of coconut cream, and some jalepno jam.
Frozen mango is really easy to blend. Just stick into a blending device and add a little bit of water. Mix until a nice creamy puree is formed. And try not to eat it all right now.
Whip up the coconut cream. You don’t need to go to crazy and make it all fluffy, just whisk it for a minute or two just to loosen it up.
Time to scoop. First a few big dollops of the frozen mango puree. Try to work fast to prevent the mango from completely thawing out.
Next, scoop some of the coconut cream and drop a few scoops of jalapeño jam right on in there to. Add more mango, more coconut , and more jam until you container is full.
Note.. My sister had the idea of mixing he jalapeño jam into the mango puree. I think I might try that next time.
Take a knife and cut through the sorbet, first width wise, then length, then width. or whatever. You’re just trying to kind of marble and swirl the flavors together.
Once your done playing and swirling, into the freezer it goes….
Remove from freezer when completely frozen and do what you need to do. I flipped the pan and sliced into slabs on a cooking sheet, and me, the sister and the mr. took turns with the fork and ate it off the pan. We be so classy. But go ahead and use o plate or scoop it or maybe even eat directly from the container with a fork. No judgement here.
Eat so good!
-C
Place frozen mango into a blending device, add about 1/3- 1/2 cup water and blend until a smooth puree. Open coconut cream, drain the liquid, and place half the cream into a bowl. Whisk until loose and slightly fluffy .
In a freezer safe container. scoop a few dollops of the mango puree, add in a few dollops if coconut cream and then a few dollops of the jalapeño jam. Keep adding dollops of the stuff until you use up all of the ingredients. Take a knife and run through thet sorbet length and width wise a few times to swirl the flavors. Place in freezer for at least 3 hours or until fully frozen
Remove and either scoop, slice, or eat directly from container.
Last week I bought this nice hunk of locally made tofu to bring to my sisters for dinner. I was planning on making T.A.L.T.’s, but when I told her what I planned on making, she turned it down. She asked, ” is there bacon with that? If not, I don’t really feel like tofu”. And I was like, “No there is not F**king bacon….. when did I mention bacon?”
We still went over for dinner, Just me,her,and the Mr. I brought myself a big salad. The other two ended up eating a frozen pizza and blue cheese dressing (I think they might have eaten dressing with a little bit of pizza…barf) But whatever, her lose, cause I made the T.A.L.T.’s a few days later. They were amazing (the tofu was soo good!) and I am pretty sure she would have loved them. Oh well, now she will just have to make them for herself if she ever decided to she wants one.
So here.. To everyone and to Shannon….. How to make a T.A.L.T. .. There is NO BACON!
The stuff… Some nice firm tofu, half a ripe avocado,lettuce (I used baby greens), and some sliced up fresh and tasty tomato. To spice up the tofu, we use galic powder, salt pepper, and a nice smokey paprika. Oh.. and a big hunk of a soft and crusty baguette to stick it all in.
To get this TALT going, thinly slice up as about a 1/3 of a block of tofu. (for one sandwich) Or slice up the whole thing to make more sandwiches.
On a plate or in a bowl, mix together the garlic powder, paprika and a little salt and pepper. Gently dredge both sides of each piece in the mixute.
Paprika is so bright and pretty.
Place the tofu in a lightly oiled and preheated skillet on medium heat. Cook each side until crispy and golden brown.
Slice you bread open and toast if you want. Scoop avocado onto the bread( a little on both sides). Add the tomato and the seasoned tofu and last but not least, pile on the greens.
TA DA! A Sandwich… a damn good one at that .
-C
Makes on 6-8 inch sandwich
*Note.. This is enough for one sandwich. If making more then one, use the whole block, or even if you not, you might as well cook the whole thing for and have some extra for later use. If you do cook it all, just add another tablespoon or so of the paprika and the garlic powder.
Remove tofu from package and stick between a clean dish towel. Press as much liquid out as you can without smooshing it. Cut tofu into 1/4 inch thick slabs. Mix the spices with a pinch of salt and pepper in a shall bowl or plate and dredge both side of the tofu in the mixture. Lightly oil and preheat a skillet to medium heat. When the tofu is seasoned, stick onto skillet and cook each side until crispy and brown. Remove from heat and let cool for a minute. (If you like you tofu a little more on the crunchy and dried out side you can stick the tofu in the oven for a few minutes)
To assemble. Slice bread, toast if you want. Place equal amounts of avocado on each side of bread. Layer on the sliced tomatoes, the cooked tofu and add on the greens. Close up sandwich and place on a plate.
Bite, chew, swallow.
Smile
This little guy asked me to make him some popsicles, and of course I said yes because, well look at him.
So we made a date. A popsicle and playground date to be exact.
For these particular pops, I decided to use watermelon, mainly because I had just broken into one and once I open a melon, I have a race with myself as to how fast I can consume the in entire thing. ( It’s a sick form of watermelon gluttony) But also because the little was really really excited to hear that I could in fact make watermelon popsicles. And the other stuff I added because I had it and it all tastes really good together.
I made the popsicles the day before so they would be ready for our date. He came over, we ate lunch,(peanut butter sandwich and carrot sticks) wondered around the neighborhood with the pup, and made a quick stop at the playground. (we only managed a couple runs on the slide before it was too hot and our sweat had us sticking to the slide and it was more of a painful scoot then a glide) We then made our way home and rewarded ourselves for a walk well done with these amazing, super refreshing, and healthy frozen treats that I made just for us. While we were eating the popsicles, our conversation turned to food. We talked about all the different varieties of popsicle that we could make, and how we could eat them for breakfast, lunch or dinner because they are made of only good things and are really healthy (he is really trying to eat healthy) It was the perfect ending to a fantastic afternoon with a five year old, or any human for that matter…
I would have a popsicle date with this kid every day
The Stuff. Fresh seedless watermelon (make sure to have lots on hand cause you are going to be eating it as you make these), a fresh lime, a handful of blueberries and a sprig of fresh mint. And don’t forget a mold of some kind that form the liquid into a popsicle (if you don’t have a mold, little paper cups work too)
Remove watermelon from rind and cut into small chunks. Juice the lime and add that, the watermelon chunks, the mint and the blueberries to a blender or vessel if using a hand blender) and blend everything until smooth.
Look at how pretty that is. And so tasty…. I am not going to lie and say that I didn’t make a little extra to drink, cause I did.
Now pour the puree into your molds to the fill line (follow the instructions that your molds give you) and place into the freezer.
And yes Shannon, these are in fact, your popsicle molds. Don’t worry, I’ll bring them back soon. (I am thinking some type of booze infused situation)
Once the freezer has done its job freezing… pop those suckers out.. (I let the mold sit on the counter for a few minutes so the popsicle pops out clean)
And heres to the best popsicle date ever!
Happy Summer! Happy Tuesday!
-C
note. The popsicle mold that I used only needed 2 cups of popsicle juice. If you have a larger mold, just use more of everything to get the amount you need
Remove rind from watermelon and add to a blender with the lime juice, mint and blueberries. Blend until eveytthing is pureed and mixed all together. Pour liquid into popsicle molds and stick in freezer for at least 4 hours.
When ready to eat…, pop those suckers out of there molds and EAT!
You ever make dish, completely on the fly, just to use something up (I have a lot of ripe tomatoes) with no real expectation, just because… Then have it be one of the best freaking things that you have ever made? This salad is one of those things.. maybe not the best thing I have ever made, but definitely the best salad I have ever made…. this week.
A salad compiled of all things amazing, taking just a few minutes to make and is the perfect balance of uber fresh with baby spinach, raw kale, and crunchy quick pickled onions. Then adding a touch of warmth with the sweet and juicy seared tomatoes and big chunks of creamy avocado.
I mean, for reals. ……Best Salad Ever !!!! (this week)
Now let’s do this.
The Stuff. A big bowl of baby spinach and chopped up kale, a few sliced up roma tomatoes, some super thinly sliced red onion, half an avocado, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper. Before you do anything, place the sliced onions into bowl, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and add a few glugs of the red wine vinegar. You want the onions to sit in the vinegar for at least 5 minutes on the counter cause the longer they sit the more crispy pickly they get. (after eating onions like this, you will never want to eat them any other way) Lightly oil a skillet and preheat to a medium heat. Once the skillet is hot, sprinkle the tomato slices with salt and pepper and place tomatoes right on in, snugly, but not overlapping. Let cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until the bottoms start to brown. Flip and cook other side for another few minutes.Once the tomatoes are seared on both sides, remove them gently from skillet and toss them on top of the bowl of greens.
Take the pickled onions and toss those right on top, with any of the residual vinegar, add dice and scoop the half of avocado and toss that on in as well.And now eat the best salad ever (this week).
Make the day good!
-C
Skillet Seared Tomato and Quick Pickled Onion Salad
Serves 2 as a side, 1 for a hungry eater
Thinly slice red onion and place in a bowl. Add vinegar into a and sprinkle with salt. Let sit on counter for at least 5 minutes, if not longer,
Slice tomatoes into 1/2 inch thick rounds and sprinkle with a pitch or salt and pepper. Lightly oil a skillet and preheat it on medium heat. Once the skillet is preheated, stick the tomatoes on it (watch out for splattering tomato juice) Cook first side for about 3 minutes or until the bottom has browned, then flip and do the same for other side.
One tomatoes are seared, place directly onto the greens. Now dump the pickled onions and residual vinegar on top. And dice up avocado and add that on top too.
Now eat your salad, fork or fingers…
And I know, ba-daaaamn. So good.
Hey there party people…It’s Sunday! Hopefully you all have some good plans for the day. Me, well I have a peanut butter and jelly lunch date at the park with some littles, a butt load of plants to stick into the ground, and hopefully drinking much to much coffee while basking in the glow of the very lovely world. (which has been on point all week with warm weather, sunny days, splashed with the perfect moments of rain) Everything is so green and lush and freshy, it’s hard to not to be full of happy and the feeling that anything is possible. It’s fantastical! Oh, and I got to give a shout out to my big sister for graduating from nursing school this week…Whoa HOO!!!!! (Does she realize she is from a family of hypochondriacs? Texting nurse Shannon……she is screwed.)
Summer here we come…It’s GO TIME!
Internet links from the week……
-Going to be making myself one of these this weekRail Road Totes.
-I could see doing somethinglike thiswith my family… If I didn’t kill them first.
-Interesting….What If Americans Ate Like South Africans And Vice Versa?
-I have felt like popping a few balls in my time.The Good Listener: Can I Deflate The Beach Balls At Concerts?
-My next project/living arrangement? (Hey, if we can live in a tiny room now, we can live in a tiny room on wheels)… The Vintage Nugget
-I can’ t believe this show was canceled, but thank the tv gods for Hulu….Hulu Saves The Mindy Project
-I am into all of these interiors atFrenchyfancy…..I wish I knew how to read french and wish I was that fancy.
A few pictures from the week….
The prettiest tree. LILACS!!!!!My yard these days..A wheel barrel full of strawberry plants. Pretty in purple
The mister and I harvested a frame of honey…So pretty
Have a great today!
-C
And for the last few months my mom has been up my butt, trying to get me to make her some. Not going to lie, I have been saying I’ll get her a batch, but for some reason, I haven’t gotten around to making them. So two birds here.. Make the scones and she gets off my back for a least a little while (a month.. maybe 2) and I give her a fantastic Mothers day gift that I know she will love.
So here they are , oh mother of mine. Blueberry scones!
Now for my special trick for a perfectly distributed cold butter in a pastry. Freeze your butter and grate it!
With a large wholed grater, grate the frozen butter directly into the bowl with the dry, stoping a few times to toss the butter chunks around so you don’t end up with a huge pile of grated butter. When it’s all grated, gently toss around so the butter is evenly distributed.
Now dump the blueberries into the flour mixture. Toss them around to give them a coat of flour. Add in the buttermilk and vanilla and give a little mix until liquid is absorbed. We are trying to handle the dough as little as possible.
Turn mixture onto counter. It’s very loose, but thats what it should look like. 
Very gently and with as little handling as possible, gather dough up, knead a few times till everything just comes together. Press dough into a disk that is roughly an inch thick…. and it doesn’t need to be perfect. 
Cut the disk into even sized pieces. Do 6 big, 8 normal, maybe even 10 smaller. Whatever size you like. (I did 8) Place the scones onto a baking sheet, using a spatula to transfer, and sprinkle the tops with a little bit of sugar. Into a preheated oven for about 20 minutes.
And when the scones look all nice and browned and a tester comes out clean. remove and either serve right away warm, preferably with huge cup of coffee or tea, or stick on a rack to cool before storing in air tight container.
Perfect to serve as a breakfast pastry, at brunch, or even as a dessert. A nice little treat for a special lady. (dudes can eat them too)
Happy Mothers Day Mom! Thanks for having me!
And Happy Weekend!!!
-C
Blueberry Scones
Preheat oven t0 400 degrees
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Take the frozen butter and grate directly into flour mixture, tossing around to evenly disrupted. Add in blueberries and toss around till coated with flour, then lastly, add vanilla to buttermilk and mix into mixture until just barely coming together. Turn mixture out onto counter and with your hands, knead mixture a few times until it forms a solid dough. Shape into a disk and smoosh down until about an inch thick. Cut into 6-10 triangles and place on a non greases baking sheet and sprinkle tops with remaining sugar. Stick into oven and bake for 20 minutes or until tops start turning a golden brown and a tester in the middle of a scone comes out clean.
Remove from baking sheet and serve warm or let cool on a rack.
Mom gets first dibs, and if she is willing to share, eat one yourself with your face.
Yesterday I spent the entire day (ok maybe not the entire day), but a the better part of the afternoon defrosting my freezer. Sure, I do the occasional chip chop here and there, just enough from around the freezer door so it will close, but ever few months I notice that everything in the fridge is not staying cold and that the freezer is not freezing stuff. Thats when I know its for real time to defrost. So a few days ago when I noticed my bananas were turing to liquid in the freezer, I knew it what I had to do….Completely empty the fridge and melt/hack away the 2-4 inches of ice build up that accumulated. It is such a freaking pain in the ass.So on this defrosting day, I took all the stuff from the freezer, stuck it in a cooler, and the rest of the stuff, which is basically all veggies, I just tossed on the table. As I am hacking away with a metal spatual, a wooden spoon, and a constant rotation of pots of boiling water, I was thinking about dinner. I figured I might as well just eat up as much of the veggies as I could, you know, so I didn’t have to put them back in the fridge. And also, I was getting pretty annoyed because this particular defrosting session was taking way longer the anticipated, which made making dinner seem like another pain in the ass. I figured I might as well just eat everything that is already out on the table, which pretty much narrowed down the “whats for dinner” conversations because it was already all over the place. And so dinner was a humongo salad for me, and for the mister, I made him a monster of a veggie sandwich. (my salad was exactly the same stuff as the sandwich, minus the bagel) Easy, fast, super duper yummy, pretty and piled so high with tons of veggies that the fridge is pretty much empty now.
Look at the is beast. I don’t call it a monster sandwich for nothing.
The stuff included in this monster veggie sandwich..
Romaine lettuce, tomato, avocado for there is not real sandwich without them. Thinly sliced radishes, cucumber,a and onion for nice crispy crunch. Shredded beets, carrots, and purple cabbage to give more crunch and a bit of sweetness. Then of course there needs to be something pickled, so I used banana peppers cause they are the SHIT!! And lastly some hummus for a nice creamy finish (plus a bit of protein) and yellow mustard because mustard on everything is just right. Heres to a mountain if goodness that is no longer in the fridge! Served with a another mountain of roasted parsnips and carrots (more stuff from the fridge) and a tall glass of iced tea.
Lucky that today is farm share pick up cause the fridge is pretty much on empty.
Yea it’s Thursday!!!!
-C
A Monster Veggie Sandwich
Note. This is just a guide.. Feel free to use whatever veggies you fancy.
To assemble. Ready your bread.. Toast if you want, and stick it on a plate
On either side, smear the hummus and the mustard.
Pick a side, start to stack by evenly disrupting veggies on top of veggies. Place the second piece of bread on top and giving a little smooth to keep it together.
And go at it. Cut in half or don’t. Have a napkin or a long sleeve ready to wipe your face.
My flowers are coming up, I have packed away my winter jacket, and I haven’t worn anything but sandals for the past week. Plus yesterday I made the first batch of sun tea and saw my first hot air balloon of the season (which lead to a heated discussion with the mister about how hot air balloons take flight. We were both kinda right, but me more than him)So yeah, it’s for real… Winter is gone and spring has sprung, or more like spring sprung then bounced cause now it’s basically summer weather. Not complaining, but I hope we get a least a few more weeks of pleasant, not hot and humid weather.
Anyway. Sun tea, one of my favorite summer time drinks. Made by infusing regular old teas with water by using the almighty power of sun.
Why do we want to make iced tea this way instead of just using boiling water? Well you can still do that, but sun tea makes a more mellow, lovely, and I find, more sweeter tea. It brings out more complex flavors that you don’t get with the boiling water method. And it’s nice to know that it took zero effort on my part to make the drink (not that boiling water takes that much effort, but still)
It can be made with any variety of teas, infused with other fresh herbs, dried spices, or even chunks of fruit. You can also make the teas and add flavors after the infusing is over. Have fun and play with flavor combos.
A few of my favorite sun tea combinations
These are just a few of the endless possible flavors. And you don’t have to get fancy with it either, you can totally use plain old lipton tea bags (I still do that too)
Now harness the sunshine and feel awesome and fancy by making some tea!
Woo Hoo Wednesday!
-C
SUN TEA
What you’ll need
I use a ratio of 1 tea bag or 1 tablespoon loose leaf tea per 2 cups of water. And I usually make my teas in half gallon ball jars so I use 4-5 teabags or tablespoons of tea. (makes just enough tea for 4-6 tall glasses, depending on you glass size) If it’s a mint tea, I usually use a little less because I find that mint teas can become to strong and bitter so I use 3 teas bags or tablespoons of loose.
Directions
Place tea loose or bags into jar. Fill with water, leaving about an inch for tea expansion, place lid on tight, and stick in the sun for anywhere between 3-5 hours (depending on how strong you like your tea). When tea is infused to your liking, remove teabags or strain the loose tea and stick into the fridge to chill. Serve as is in a drinking vessel with a few ice cubes and add sweetener if that’s what you do.
Drink within a day or two, then rinse jar and make a new batch!