If you were to ask me what my favorite winter squash would be, I would have to say that I couldn%u2019t choose, I love them all. But when I really, really think about it, when I look deep into my food soul, I could, and I think it would be pumpkin. Yup, pumpkin is my favorite.
Pumpkin is amazing and delicious, Not just as a pie or bread, but eaten in any way that any other winter squashed can be eaten. Fantastic in a soup or roasted or saut%u00e9ed. And yes, blended up into all sorts of baked goods. It tastes somewhat like butternut squash but less sweet and has a nice nutty, earthiness to it and pairs well with al sorts of great spices, not just pumpkin spice. If you haven%u2019t had it outside of a baked good, well then, make this. You are in for a really treat!
But don%u2019t carve a jack o lantern pumpkin then eat that. Those big pumpkins are not very tasty. Get a small pie pumpkin, those are ones to eat.
Now to the tomato stewed pumpkin!
The stuff. A sugar(pie) pumpkin, a couple nice big ripe tomatoes, a large onion, a clove or two or garlic, cumin and chili powder, vinegar, shredded cabbage, and salt and pepper.
Start with the onion. Cut in half and thinly shred about 1/3 or it. Small dice the rest Also mince up the garlic too.
Add the thinly shredded onion to the shredded cabbage and toss around with vinegar a little salt and pepper then set aside.
Place the diced onions, minced garlic, tomatoes, and cumin ans chili powder into a big pot with a splash of water and stick on medium heat on stove to start to stew the tomatoes.
While the tomatoes are going, cut up pumpkin. Just cut in half, remove seeds (save for roasting) and cut into small cubes. And sure, if you are not a fan of the skin (my favorite part) just peel the pumpkin with a potato peeler before cutting it up small. But really the skin, it is sooo GOOD!
Once the tomatoes are soft and mushy, add in the pumpkin. Keep on heat and place a lid mostly over pot. Let cook.
Soft and stewed and all sorts of everything good.
And then you scoop it into bowls, top with the cabbage slaw, sprinkle with pepper and fresh cilantro if you just so happen to have some, and eat it.
Yeah, pumpkin is my favorite.
-C
makes 2 bigger or 4 smaller serving
1 small sugar pumpkin (around 3 or a little more cups cubed)
2 large tomatoes
2 heaping teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
A few tablespoons water
1-2 cloves garlic
1 large onion
2 cups shredded red or green cabbage
2 tablespoons white vinegar
salt and pepper
Start with the onion. Cut in half and thinly slice a little more then half of the half. Toss with the cabbage, the vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Set aside
Dice the rest of the onion and place into a big pot. Grab tomatoes and dice them up as well and place them into the pot with the onions. Sprinkle with a pinch pf salt and pepper and add in the cumin and chili powder. Add 2 tablespoons of water and place on stove on medium heat to start to cook down.
While the tomatoes are stewing away, cut up the pumpkin. Just cut in half, remove seeds (and reserve for roasting) and dice it into small chunks. If you are not one to enjoy the greatness of pumpkin skin (it is really good) then before dicing it, just peel it with a potato peeler.
Once tomatoes have cooked down a bit, place the diced pumpkin into the pot. Add another tablespoon or so of water, mix around, partially place a lid on the pot, and let cook for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pumpkin starts to fall apart. If at any time it seems like it needs more liquid, just add in another tablespoon or so of water.
Once it is all stewed up, remove from heat, scoop into a bowl or bowls, and top with the cabbage slaw that was made early.
Eat.
To know me is to know that I eat a shit load of lentils. And not just one kind, I eat them all, in all the ways, all day, everyday. Vegetables and lentils. That is my truth.
Lentil flour. One more way to consume the mighty legume. Blended while dry into a fine powder, it takes the lentil to a whole other level. You can use the flour in all sorts of things like bread, soup, even in baked goods. it really is a great flour to have on hand, especially if you are hungry and want to toss something quick and easy, heathy, and delicious together like these here pancakes.
These pancakes. All they are made of is lentil flour and pureed up zucchini and onion. Now that might sound a little on the dull side, but trust me here, they are far from dull. They are freaking delicious. And better for it that they take like 10 minutes from start to finish to make. And no oven which is necessary these days with all the stupid hot weather.
Anyway. lentil zucchini pancakes. Give them a try. They will probably become your favorite.
To the lentil flour and zucchini pancakes!
The stuff. Dry green lentils, a zucchini, and onion, salt and pepper, and a splash of oil.
Te make lentil flour. Place dried lentils into a high speed blender and blend until it turns into a fine flour.
Once you have the flour made, cut up the zucchini and onion into chunks.
Drop into the blender and blend until pretty smooth.
Dump puree into bowl and top with some lentil flour.
Mix until completely combined. The batter should be kind of thic but still spoonable. Also, season with salt was pepper here.
Heat up a skillet with a splash of oil. Once hot, scoop spoonfuls of batter into pan and spread it evenly about 1/4 inch thick. Cook first side fr 4-6 minutes or until nice and brown then flip and cook the other side until done. Repeat until batter is gone.
Now eat your amazing delicious lentil zucchini pancakes. I served with fresh salsa, and I have also made tahini dip and used hummus to smear on them which was also freaking amazing, but you can serve with whatever floats your boat.
-C
1 pound dry green lentils
1 large zucchini
1 onion
salt and pepper
splash of oil
Start with the by making the lentil flour. Place lentils into a high speed blender and blend until it has turned into a fine flour. You might need to stop the blender ever once in a while to move things around with a spoon (when it is turned off!). It should only take about a minute or so in a Vitamix, but maybe a few extra minutes if using a less powerful blender.
Once flour is achieved, dump into a jar with a lid. You probably won%u2019t be using it all right now.
Now grab the zucchini and onion and cut into chunks. Place the chunks into the blender and blend until smooth.
Dump puree into a bowl. Add about 1 cup of lentil flour and stir. IF the batter is really loss, add in another 1/4 cup or more to get the batter to a thick but spreadable consistency (kind of like hummus). Season with salt and pepper.
Grab a skillet and place on medium heat with a splash of oil. Once skillet is heated place spoonfuls of the batter in and spread around until between 1/2-1/4 inch thick. Cook fist side for 4-6 minutes or until a nice golden brown then flip and cook the other for a few minutes until browed. Repeat until batter is gone.
Place cooked pancakes on a plate, grab a fork and some savory type condiment (hummus, salsa, tahini, cashew cream) and eat.
I have been on a severe citrus kick lately. Oranges, limes, lemons, kumquats. I want it all and have been eating it all. A lot of it all. Espeically the oranges which are just so good right now. We have been going through bags of them faster then ever and I am not mad about it.
Which then brings us to chili. Chili is one of the things that I make on a very regular bases. It%u2019s beans, veggies, tomatoes, and a ton of spices. Easy as can be, most people like it, and I never get sick of it. I mean, how could you get sick of it, it is so good! Anyway. Chili, its great but have you ever added orange to it? Oh man is it amazing. Bright and acidic and sweet. The whole pot of chili just radiates more goodness, more intensity, more, moreness. (I know that doesn%u2019t make sense but you get it.) It%u2019s a whole new level of chili and I don%u2019t if there will ever be a time when I don%u2019t add orange to my chili again. Well at least during citrus season.
But enough about all that, what you really want is to just start making this orange black bean chili so you can eat it. I hear you, so I%u2019ll let you at it.
To the chili!
The stuff. Oranges, black beans, crushed tomatoes, an onion, a couple carrots, a pepper, and jalape%u00f1os. Also lots of cumin, chili powder, ground ginger, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.
Small dice up the pepper, onion, carrots, and jalape%u00f1os. Don%u2019t want it super spicy, don%u2019t add the jalape%u00f1os.
All that stuff gets tossed into a big pot along with all the spices, some salt and pepper, and a little water too. Place on stove to start cooking down the veggies.
Slightly tender and smells amazing.
Now add in the beans, the tomatoes, and the zest and juice of an orange. Mix it all up, set it back on stove and keep on cooking,
Now eat your chili, with extra orange slices to squeeze all over it of course. And maybe you want to serve it with some corn bread? That is entirely up to you, but who would be made about it?
-C
Serves 4-6 people
1 pound cooked black beans drained (about 5 cups or 3 cans)
5 cups crushed tomatoes (or 2 28oz cans)
2 oranges (navel or cara cara work)
2 carrots
1 large onion
1 bell pepper
2 jalapenos (optional)
2 heaping tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
salt and pepper
Start by chopping up the veggies. Small dice the carrot, the onion and the pepper. If using jalape%u00f1o, dice that into small little bits too. And remove seeds for less heat or leave them if you like it. Once that is all cut up, dump it all into a large heavy bottom pot along with the cumin, chili powder, garlic and ginger powder, and about a teaspoon or so each of salt and pepper. Add about 1/2 cup water, mix it all up, and place the pot on stove on medium heat and start to cook the veggies and spices until they begin to smell fragrant and are ever so slightly tender, which should take 5-10 minutes.
Now add in the beans, the tomatoes, and the zest and juice of one orange. Mix together and keep cooking on medium heat, partially lidded, for about 45 minutes to an hour, stirring once in a while, until the chili has thicken and tastes good to you.
Once done, season to taste with more salt and pepper and either stir the juice of the second orange into the whole pot or serve with slices of orange to squeeze on top.
Eat. Store any left overs in fridge. Tastes delicious cold too.
Every now and then I make something for me. All for me. This is one of those dishes that was not destined to be shared with anyone. That I had no one else in mind to eat besides me. No worring about what anyone else with think. Just a simple little dish that I was craving and wanting.
So I made it and man, was it so freaking satisfying. Cooking for oneself is very much a gratifying experience.
Celeriac, or also know as celery root. Have you ever had it? If not, well duder, you need to. It is in my top 3 favorite vegetables and that is saying a lot. So anyway, celeriac, has a slight celery taste, but also kind of earthy and nutty. It pairs well with anything that a potato might, but also is amazing on it%u2019s own. Roasted, steamed, raw. Just really fantastic. And it is in season so get on it and go find yourself some.
And lentils. In my top 3 favorite foods. Made them crispy because pureed celeriac and crispy lentils just sounded right and I love me crispy things. Again, I was making this dish fo me so crispy was happening.
Together, the creamy, delicious pureed celeriac covered with a bunch of spiced, crispy lentil%u2026.Amazing. Eating it, I couldn%u2019t have been happier. I did myself one good with this one.
I might even have to make it to share someday.
Now to the celeriac and lentils!
The stuff. A bulb of celeriac, some cooked lentils, salt and pepper, chili powder, garlic powder. mustard powder, and oil. (oil is optional)
The celeriac. Ok, so most people peel it. I actually get weird looks from people when I tell them I don’t , but let me do me, you know. So anyway. Peel it if you want, or not, just cut it up into chunks.
Place cut up celeriac into a pot and cover with water. Place on stove on medium heat and cook until fork tender.
Lentils meet spices and get mix all together. Add a pinch of salt and lots of cracked pepper too.
Spread now spiced lentils onto a baking sheet, pop into oven, and bake until crispy. Easy peasy.
And to puree the celeriac. Strain any extra water into a cup. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and grab the hand blender (or regular blender) and blend it, adding back in some of the strained water as needed, to get to a consistency that you like. Me, I liked it pretty smooth, but also with a little chunk. Heck, you could leave it really chunky or go all out completely smooth. Up to you. Also if you want a creamier texture, add in a teaspoon or so of the olive oil. That is a taste preference. I didn’t add oil this time, but I have before. It%u2019s good both ways.
And there you have it. Add the celeriac puree to a bowl, top with crispy lentils, and garnish with something green if you want.
Then eat it.
Not going to lie. After this picture was taken, I busted out the spicy mustard and covered everything with it. And it was amazing.
-C
serves 1 as a meal, or a few as a side dish
1 1/2 cups cooked green lentils
1 large celeriac bulb (soft ball sized)
1 teaspoon chili power
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper
olive oil (optional)
Grab celeriac and peel if you want, or just give it a really good wash. Cut into chunks and place into pot. Add enough water to just cover the celeriac and place on medium heat on the stove. Cook until fork tender.
In the mean time, mix all the spices and a good pinch of salt and lots of pepper together with the lentils. Dump them and spread them out onto a lightly oiled baking sheet. Place in oven and turn to 400 degrees (you can start cooking the lentils while the oven is preheating). Bake for about 20 minutes or until lentils are crispy.
Once the celeriac is tender, strain water into a cup and either with a hand blender or a regular blender, blend until smooth, adding in some of the poured off water as needed. You can puree as smoothly as you like or leave a few chunks.. Also, you might want to add in a teaspoon or so of olive oil for a slightly richer and creamier taste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Ehen the lentils are done, take them from oven. Place large amount (or all) of the celeriac puree to a bowl, cover with some (or all) of the crispy lentils and that is that. Eat away.
Serving suggestion%u2026. Mustard. Any kind. So good.
When your sister drops off 50 lbs of beets, on top of the 50 lbs that you have to harvest that are growing in your garden, what do you do?
Well chips of course.
Yeah, chips. That%u2019s right. When I got home from camping on Monday and there was a humongous pile of beets sitting next to my front door, I am not going to lie, I was a little shocked. I mean there wasn’t just a few little ones. These beets were freaking huge, like the size of my arm, and so many. But pretty much right after my initial shock I knew what needed to be done. First, eat a few roasted, second, roast extra to freeze for later, and lastly, make a few bunches of chips.
Have you ever had beet chip? They are amazing. Crispy, crunchy, tasty as all heck. If you like beets, even in the slightest, you will love these. If you hate beets, well maybe don%u2019t? Either way, beet chips are the best chip. Wha’t%u2019s not to love? Pink, and chippy. Sweet, and salty. And then you add the fact that making beets into chips is a good way to get your veggies in and that you can eat a whole bowl full and feel zero guilt because you are just eating beets. Plus making beets into chips is a good way to use up any extra beets you might have laying around or that have been dropped off at your front door.
These chips, once they are made, will not last long. So when you do make them, know you will probably be making them again soon there after. Me, I have still have to harvest all my garden beets so beet chips are happening again soon. Real soon (like this afternoon!)
To the beets!
The stuff. Beets (these are Formanova beets but any variety works) salt and pepper ,and oil.
Ok so you need to cut these bad boys reallllllly thin. Like 1/15th a inch. So, what I am saying is, use a mandolin. If you don%u2019t have one, a knife will do, but you are going to have a hard time getting them as thin as you need to and all of them consistent so baking is going to be a little more tricky so maybe you should just go borrow or invest in a mandolin.
Grab baking sheets, oil, and salt and pepper. You can either dump the oil directly onto the pile of sliced beets and really toss to make sure each one has been coasted or do what I did which was I drizzled oil into my hands and rubbed each sliced beet between my oiled hands before placing on the sheet.
After you get them on there, single layered with no overlapping, sprinkle tops with a pinch of salt and pepper.
On the way into the oven.
After the oven. Baked for about 18 minutes. You really have to watch after the first 13 or so minutes to make sure you catch them at the perfect time. Crispy, but not burnt.
A side by side shot. Crazy shrinking will happen!
Oh man, so delicious. And so pretty!.
Let the chips cool before eating, you know, so you don%u2019t burn your tongue. Plus they crisp up a wee bit more.
Once cooled, pile them into bowl, and then eat them. And eat them all. They are only beets after all. And you won%u2019t be able to stop yourself anyway. Ha
-C
Makes enough for an evening of chip eating for 1-2 people
2 Large beets (think softball sized)
a tablespoon or two of oil (I used grape seed but really any would work)
salt and pepper
Note. Making these without cutting with a mandolin will be a pain in the ass. It can be done, but if you have a mandolin, use it.
Preheat oven to 350
With a mandolin, slice the beets about 1/15 inch thick. (No need to peel the beets unless you want to.) Once beets are all sliced, either drizzle them all with a tablespoon or so of oil and toss until all are coated. OR what I did and found worked really well was drizzled oil into my hands and rubbed each beet between my oiled hands as I was placing them on the baking sheets. Either way.
Now place oiled beets, single layered, without overlapping, on baking sheets. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and place into oven. Bake for about 13 minutes without worrying then start to check every minute or so until the beets are a deep golden brown and crispy ,which will be between 15-20 minutes. Also, even though you cut them all the exact same thickness, some might crisp up faster so you should remove done chips as they happen. Once they are done, place on a rack to cool. And then do another batch. And not, they do crisp up a tiny bit more as they cool.
Once chips are cool and crisp, eat.
Store uneaten (how did you not eat them all?) chips in an air tight container. If you notice that they turned a bit chew, just place them back into oven while preheating oven to 300 then turn oven off and let sit in there for a few minutes.
Do you ever wake up first thing in the morning with a craving, a maybe somewhat strange food craving? Lately I have been waking up and within an hour of being up, I start to think about olives. My mouth starts to water and it%u2019s like I can almost taste the salty, briny, fattiness in my mouth, which in itself is kind of weird, but for me is really really weird because up until very recently I completely hated olives. Now, well now I just want to eat them all. And first thing in the morning.
I don%u2019t pretend to understand such things. My brain is going to do what it%u2019s going do. Tell me I like olives, well all right then.
Another thing I am desperately craving is freshy fresh greens which makes complete since because I always crave greens. I am still pretty deep in root veggies and cooked things because winter and Vermont and all, but all I really really really want to eat are buckets of greens. Any kind will do, but the sweet tender baby ones%u2026. So good.
And so I combined my two cravings, greens and olives and hit those craving like POW! BAM! POOF? A salad so simple yet so amazing and mouth watering. I outdid myself here.
To the bestest, most amazingly perfect salad yet!
The stuff. A big ol%u2019 bowl of greens. Black pitted olives, half an avocado, a lemon, toasted almonds, a chunk of red onion, a couple cloves garlic, and pepper.
Almond crumbs. Exactly what it sounds like. Place almonds into a clean food prosessor and pulse until they are crumbs.
Dump the almonds into a bowl. Don%u2019t bother cleaning it out, you are about to use it again. Olives, avocado, garlic, and all the juice of the lemon now get a go in the food processor. Pulsed together into a creamy, kinda of chunky but mostly smooth, mixture of amazing. Add a few tablespoons of cold water if the mixture seems really thick, but other then that, you be done.
Very thinly slice up red onion and slice up a few extra olives.
All here, all ready to go. Just got to toss it together now.
Greens, some slices olives and onion tossed all together in a good amount of the olive avocado goodness then topped with a hardy helping of almond crumbs. Fresh pepper to finish it off.
I was barely able to stop myself from eating it all before snapping a few pictures.
All of my cravings come true%u2026
It%u2019s salad time!
-C
Makes enough dressing and crumbs to feed 2-4 people
1/2 of a ripe avocado
1 cup pitted black olives
1 lemon
2-3 tablespoons cold water
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup toasted almonds
2-4 large handfuls of fresh greens (I used a mixture of baby spinach, baby chard, and baby kale. Spring mix or even chopped leaf lettuce would be grand as well)
about 1/2 a small red onion
pepper to taste
Place almonds in food processor and pulse until they are crumbly. Not to fine, a few big chunks are good.. Remove and set aside
Roughly chop the garlic and place in the food processor (no need to clean it out after the almonds). Add in the avocado and most of the olives (leave few behind to slice up). Add in the juice of the lemon. Pulse until mixture is combined but with little specks of olive left.or completely smooth if you wanted too. Scoop out into a container. You want it to be slightly loos so it will mix well with the greens. If the mixture seems really thick, add in a a few tablespoons of cold water to thin out.
Grab the onion and remaining olives and thinly slice.
Now to assemble salad. Place a handful of clean greens into a bowl. Toss a some onions and extra sliced olives into greens. Add as little or as much olive avocado dressing as desired then sprinkle as much or as little of the almond crumbs all over that. Top with freshly find pepper
Then eat it.
Easy quick dinners are no joke because sometimes life happens and then you are hungry, then hangry, %u00a0then maybe yelling and or tears start and nothing is ever going to be good again. And then you eat and everything is A OK, but that time between tears and food can be long, especially when you just can’t think so one should have a least a good 2 or 3 good dinners up there sleeve (besides pasta) that can be made quick and easily to avoid the fallout of food deprivation.%u00a0This bowl of goodness here is one of those. And sure some people might not always have a sweet potato,%u00a0tahini, or chickpeas is the house %u00a0(I ALWAYS have a sweet potato or some type of winter squash and tahini and chickpeas…%u00a0they are staples here)%u00a0but with a tiny it of foresight, you can make these things happen too. And then you will make it and realize that you must have these ingredients on hand at all times because yeah, a good go to meal that will prevent the tears.
Admittedly I have made this for the mr but he is not that into it. Says he is not a huge fan of sweet potatoes. (what the fuck is wrong with him?) But me, I eat is and I eat it all.. The sweet potato/chickpea/tahini combination is classic fantastic. This hash is sweet potato sweet, a little chickpea crunchy, salty, savory,%u00a0and creamy citrusy. %u00a0It’s all sorts of goodness. I tossed this hash on a big bed of kale (any sturdy green would be good) and only good things happen in my mouth. So the mr.%u00a0might not like it but I am starting to realize (after 15 years) that my taste is far superior to his. Haha. (but really) %u00a0Quick and easy (and healthy) and good. %u00a0Make it once and it will turn into on of your go to dinners, unless you don’t like sweet potatoes. In that case there is pasta.%u00a0
The stuff. Chick peas (I had just made a batch but if you don’t have any made already, grab a can) a sweet potato, an onion, a lemon, some tahini, and garlic Also some cumin and chili powder, olive oil, and salt and pepper.%u00a0
Preheat your oven and chop up the onion and sweet potato into mouth sized pieces.%u00a0
Toss the chopped stuff onto a baking sheet with the chickpeas.
Drizzle the whole shebang with olive oil and toss with cumin, chili powder, and salt and pepper. %u00a0
Into the oven it goes.
Half hour later it is all roasted and ready.
Oh quick, make this before the stuff is out of the oven. Tahini, minced garlic, a dash of salt, a bit of the liquid from the chickpeas and the juice of a lemon. Just stick it all in a cup or bowl and mix it around. Then it’s done.
Scoop the hash into a bowl (I like a large pile of greens underneath) and cover with the tahini sauce.%u00a0
Eat is all to your face.
-C
dinner for one, a side for two.%u00a0Very easily doubled or tripled.%u00a0
1 sweet potato
2 cups or 1 can cooked chickpeas drained but liquid reserved%u00a0
1 medium yellow onion
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
salt and pepper
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoon tahini
1 lemon
1/4- 1/2 cup of aquafaba (chickpea liquid)
2-3 cloves garlic
Preheat oven to 425
Chop sweet potato and onion into mouth sized cubes and place on a baking sheet. Add the drained chickpeas and drizzle with olive oil and toss around. Sprinkle on the cumin, chili powder,%u00a0salt and pepper, and toss that around again. When the oven is preheated, slide the baking sheet on in.%u00a0
While the stuff is baking, mince the garlic and place it in a bowl with the tahini, the juice of a lemon, and a pinch or two of salt to taste. Add in 1/4 cup of aquafaba and mix it all around.%u00a0If to thick for your liking, add a little more of the aqaufaba until its a good consistency.%u00a0
Check the stuff in the oven after 20 minutes and give it a toss.%u00a0%u00a0Keep baking for another 5-10 minutes or until the sweet potato is cooked and starting to brown. Remove from oven and dump into a bowl (maybe on a bed of greens or rice) and drizzle all over with the tahini sauce.
Eat
%u00a0 I use to suck the juice out of the seeds (they are actually called arils)%u00a0of the pomegranate and spit out the actual seeds…%u00a0I thought that the seeds were poisonous. (I blame my sister for this .She is the one that told me that). %u00a0And it turns out that it is an actual thing. That other people think that the seeds are not edible, so I guess don%u2019t feel so duped.%u00a0But I leaned. The seeds, they are very much edible, and very much tasty. I love biting into a pomegranate seed, letting the juice flood my mouth, followed by a nice little crunch from the seed inside, just like little crunchy red jewels.%u00a0And the method of removing the seeds just makes them that much better. When you have to whack a fruit for it’s edible parts, it got to be good. And to make this clear%u2026.%u00a0to all the people out there that thick the seeds are poison%u2026 the seeds are NOT POISION. In fact, they are quite good for you.
Now that that has been established, we can get to eating these little pearls the right way.%u00a0 And being all holiday and jolly lala, I was thinking of some classic side dishes that are typical around this time.%u00a0 Creamed spinach came to mind, but that just seemed a little boring. That%u2019s where the pomegranate comes in. %u00a0You add pomegranate to anything and it%u2019s not boring anymore. Also I switched out the creamed part and replaced it with cashew cream, and spinach with kale%u2026 cause that%u2019s what I do. And the results are fantastic! Sweet, creamy, crunchy, earthy… All the best flavors. And even though I ate most of it hot, it%u2019s definitely a side that moves from hot to cold and still taste super great. Would even make a nice sandwich or maybe add a little bed of grains and you got yourself a nice little lunch.
But the again, you probably wont have any left overs
The stuff. A bunch of kale, some cashews that have been soaking for a little while,%u00a0 and a pomegrante %u00a0(I only used half of one). We also need us some more fresh water, a lemon, a few cloves of garlic and salt and pepper.
Remove the arils (thats what the juicy seeds ae called) by placing half the pomegranate into a bowl and whacking %u00a0it with a big wooden spoon. (martha stewart taught me this)
Strain the soaking cashews and dump them into a blender with the juice of the lemon, the garlic, some fresh water and some salt and pepper.
Turn blender on and blend until a nice smooth consistency
Chop up the kale and place into a really big skillet with a few splashes of water.
Once the kale has wilted, pour the cashew cream all over it.%u00a0
Add in the pomegranate %u00a0seeds
And get yourself a fork (bowl is optional( and eat.%u00a0
Creamed food never tasted this good!
-C
makes 3-4 servings%u00a0
1 bunch (abut a pound) Kale
1/2 cup cashews that have been soaking in water for a little while
3/4 cup water
1 lemon
2-3 loves garlic
1/2 cup pomegranate seeds (about 1/2 a pomegranate)
salt and pepper to taste%u00a0
Take your pomegranate , slice in half, and place half seed sside down into a bowl. Take a big wooden spoon or something like it, and whack the outside of the fruit. The seeds will all fall out.. but check for any stuck seeds
Strain cashews from soaking waterand dump into a blender with the juice of the lemon, the garlic, %u00be cups of water, and a pinch or two of salt. Blend until a smooth a creamy cream. If you think the cream is to thick, add in another splash of water
After washing kale, chop it up into smallish pieces. (remove stems if you want.. I don’t,%u00a0I like the stems) Stick the kale into a large skillet with a few splashes of water and a sprinkle of salt and place on the oven on medium high heat. Stir around until kale is wilted and the water has evapotated. Pour on the cashew cream, mix around and top with the pomegranate seeds.
and eat..hot or cold. Its all good.
Sometime the best things in life are the simplest things. For example; a walk through the woods, a really pretty smooth rock, a perfectly timed 80’s ballad song for the last push during a workout, or falling asleep on the couch and managing to not drool all over the newly washed pillows.(You know what I am talking about). I mean, can one really ask for much more?
Same goes with food. The simplest foods can really the best. Take this cashews cheese for example. All it is is soaked and blended up cashews with a bit of seasoning to cheese it up. Nothing fancy, nothing labor intensive, just straight up and straight out. You can up the greatness by adding thick cuts of fresh, sun kissed, bright and happy tomato, and a chunk of fresh bread%u2026Not much better then that. So simple and yet so good.
%u00a0And bonus. No need to turn on any heating units in order to make this cause that would suck, given that we are again having another fucking heat wave.%u00a0
Agh stupid hot weather. STUPID!!!! But enough about that..
Cheese time.
The stuff. Cashews that be soakin for a while in some water, nutritional yeast (to give it that cheesy flavor), lemon, garlic, and salt and pepper. That’s for the cheese, but you are, and should, want to eat it with a large, so fresh and juicy, tomato and some kind of fresh bread situation. So you need that too!
Simple as can be. Strain cashews from soaking water and dump into a food processor with the garlic, nutritional yeast, juice of the lemon,%u00a0a pinch of salt and pepper, and a little water.%u00a0%u00a0Turn on processor.
And it’s done when its all smooth and creamy .Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Tranfer %u00a0the goodness to a lovely jar%u00a0
And that’s that.. some cheese of the cashew.
But wait, you need to eat it.. Smear all over the bread situation, cut up the tomato, place big fat slabs directly onto cashew butter and spinkle with a salt and pepper.
SImply the best%u2026 Better then all the rest!
Happy today! Stay cool my friends%u2026stay cool.
-C
makes about 1 1/2 cups of creamy, cheesy goodness
1 cup of raw unsalted cashew soaked in water for about an hour%u00a0
1/2 cup fresh water
2-4 tablespoons nutrional yeast%u00a0
juice of a lemon
2-3 cloves garlic (optional )
salt and pepper
And not that you have to, but having some freshy tomatoes and some nice bread to eat the cheese on is pretty fantastical.%u00a0
After you cashews have been soaking for about an hour, strain water and add them and all of the other ingredients to a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Scoop into a jar.
Eat some right away on a hunk of fresh bread with lots of thick cuts of fresh tomato and place the rest in the fridge.
The cheese will get a bit thicker after being refrigerated for a while.
Use on anything , in anything, or all on it’s own. Licking jar clean is encouraged.
It’s official, all of the littles started school yesterday%u2026%u2026HOORAY! (I say hooray cause school is cool and the start of school means it’s going to be fall so soon!. Also I like hanging out with the littles more when they are in school. There is more to talk about and any time away from school is cool time so they like to do more stuff and not just be summer bums)
One of the littles had his very first ever day of school.%u00a0So me, being the bestest most awesomest aunt ever, made that little a celebration, hooray for school, banana ice cream cake.
This little %u00a0has been bugging me for a while now to make him an ice cream cake. It all started a few months ago when I gave him a bowl of banana ice cream and told him that when he sleeps over he can have ice cream for breakfast %u00a0That blew his little mind.%u00a0We then proceeded to have a converastawtion about healthy food and what was ok to eat for breakfast. (He is very interested in being healthy)%u00a0I then told him that whenever he sleeps over I would make a banana ice cream cake for breakfast cause bananas are healthy. But every time he is over,%u00a0I never seems to have enough bananas.
Well I had the bananas and there is no better excuse then the first day of kindergarten to make a cake.. A very delicious peanut butter banana ice cream cake! %u00a0And no, it wasn’t for breakfast, but the left overs can be! (there were no left overs here)
The stuff%u2026 Crispy rice cereal, peanut butter (I have some chiunky stuff %u00a0at the moment, but any nut butter is good) and 4 frozen %u00a0chopped up bananas.
Rice ceareal goes into a food processor with the peanut butter. Pulse until everything is all combined and starts to come togerter.
And ump the mixture into a spring for pan. If you do not have a spring form pan, a pie plate will work just as well.
Such a nice looking crust if I do say so myself. Now stick it in the freezer while you make your ice cream.
Frozen bananas go into the processor, get blended for a few mounters, and come out as ice cream%u2026. freaking magic!
Now dump the magic ice cream into the crust.
And smooth it all nice like..and into the freezer it goes until its frozen.
After a few hours, you take it out of the freezer, remove from the pan (or leave it in the pan)
And gather your toppings. A handful of the rice cereal, some melted peanut butter, and a little melted nutella. (use whatever you want.. fruit would be great, some nuts, graham crackers, sprinkles. You get the idea)
%u00a0Now,%u00a0Wait for it%u2026.
Go crazy! Toppings all over!
And serve up, and watch out.. I almost got my hand eaten for kids going for seconds..
Have a fantastic day and happy back to school. to littles and parents alike!
-C
Makes a 6 inch cake%u00a0
For the cake
4-5 frozen bananas
2 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
4 tablespoon peanut butter%u00a0
To garnish (use any, all or none of what you would like%u2026 and maybe not the super sugary ones if a breakfast cake)
melted peanut butter
melted chocolate
Nutella
handful of rice cereal
fresh fruit
jam
coconut flakes
sprinkles
anything else you would like!
Place cereal and peanut butter into a food processor and pulse until crumbly and combined and starts to come away from bowl.
Dump mixture into a 6 in spring form pan (or if you not have one, a pie plate works too) and press it down evenly on the bottom. Stick into freezer
Take bananas out of freezer and place into food processor.%u00a0Blend until smooth. If needed, you can drizzle a tiny amount of water into it if you think it needs a little help to blend.%u00a0
Once smooth, take crust from freezer and dump the nanaer ice cream on top and carefully smooth it out. Stick back into freezer (a pier of plastic over to prevent ice crystals )for at least 2 hours, or until the ice cream has completely frozen.
When it’s time to serve, remove cake from spring form (or leave it in the pie plate).and drizzle the top with melted peanut butter, melted,%u00a0chocolate and another handful of crispy cereal. Or leave it bare. Or add sprinkles%u2026 the toppings are all unto you!
Eat like a camp, for breakfast or dessert.. Or eat some for dessert and then some for breakfast.
THE LOVELY CRAZY
November 7, 2020 by maximios • Blog
If you were to ask me what my favorite winter squash would be, I would have to say that I couldn%u2019t choose, I love them all. But when I really, really think about it, when I look deep into my food soul, I could, and I think it would be pumpkin. Yup, pumpkin is my favorite.
Pumpkin is amazing and delicious, Not just as a pie or bread, but eaten in any way that any other winter squashed can be eaten. Fantastic in a soup or roasted or saut%u00e9ed. And yes, blended up into all sorts of baked goods. It tastes somewhat like butternut squash but less sweet and has a nice nutty, earthiness to it and pairs well with al sorts of great spices, not just pumpkin spice. If you haven%u2019t had it outside of a baked good, well then, make this. You are in for a really treat!
But don%u2019t carve a jack o lantern pumpkin then eat that. Those big pumpkins are not very tasty. Get a small pie pumpkin, those are ones to eat.
Now to the tomato stewed pumpkin!
The stuff. A sugar(pie) pumpkin, a couple nice big ripe tomatoes, a large onion, a clove or two or garlic, cumin and chili powder, vinegar, shredded cabbage, and salt and pepper.
Start with the onion. Cut in half and thinly shred about 1/3 or it. Small dice the rest Also mince up the garlic too.
Add the thinly shredded onion to the shredded cabbage and toss around with vinegar a little salt and pepper then set aside.
Place the diced onions, minced garlic, tomatoes, and cumin ans chili powder into a big pot with a splash of water and stick on medium heat on stove to start to stew the tomatoes.
While the tomatoes are going, cut up pumpkin. Just cut in half, remove seeds (save for roasting) and cut into small cubes. And sure, if you are not a fan of the skin (my favorite part) just peel the pumpkin with a potato peeler before cutting it up small. But really the skin, it is sooo GOOD!
Once the tomatoes are soft and mushy, add in the pumpkin. Keep on heat and place a lid mostly over pot. Let cook.
Soft and stewed and all sorts of everything good.
And then you scoop it into bowls, top with the cabbage slaw, sprinkle with pepper and fresh cilantro if you just so happen to have some, and eat it.
Yeah, pumpkin is my favorite.
-C
makes 2 bigger or 4 smaller serving
1 small sugar pumpkin (around 3 or a little more cups cubed)
2 large tomatoes
2 heaping teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
A few tablespoons water
1-2 cloves garlic
1 large onion
2 cups shredded red or green cabbage
2 tablespoons white vinegar
salt and pepper
Start with the onion. Cut in half and thinly slice a little more then half of the half. Toss with the cabbage, the vinegar, and a pinch of salt. Set aside
Dice the rest of the onion and place into a big pot. Grab tomatoes and dice them up as well and place them into the pot with the onions. Sprinkle with a pinch pf salt and pepper and add in the cumin and chili powder. Add 2 tablespoons of water and place on stove on medium heat to start to cook down.
While the tomatoes are stewing away, cut up the pumpkin. Just cut in half, remove seeds (and reserve for roasting) and dice it into small chunks. If you are not one to enjoy the greatness of pumpkin skin (it is really good) then before dicing it, just peel it with a potato peeler.
Once tomatoes have cooked down a bit, place the diced pumpkin into the pot. Add another tablespoon or so of water, mix around, partially place a lid on the pot, and let cook for about 20-25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the pumpkin starts to fall apart. If at any time it seems like it needs more liquid, just add in another tablespoon or so of water.
Once it is all stewed up, remove from heat, scoop into a bowl or bowls, and top with the cabbage slaw that was made early.
Eat.
To know me is to know that I eat a shit load of lentils. And not just one kind, I eat them all, in all the ways, all day, everyday. Vegetables and lentils. That is my truth.
Lentil flour. One more way to consume the mighty legume. Blended while dry into a fine powder, it takes the lentil to a whole other level. You can use the flour in all sorts of things like bread, soup, even in baked goods. it really is a great flour to have on hand, especially if you are hungry and want to toss something quick and easy, heathy, and delicious together like these here pancakes.
These pancakes. All they are made of is lentil flour and pureed up zucchini and onion. Now that might sound a little on the dull side, but trust me here, they are far from dull. They are freaking delicious. And better for it that they take like 10 minutes from start to finish to make. And no oven which is necessary these days with all the stupid hot weather.
Anyway. lentil zucchini pancakes. Give them a try. They will probably become your favorite.
To the lentil flour and zucchini pancakes!
The stuff. Dry green lentils, a zucchini, and onion, salt and pepper, and a splash of oil.
Te make lentil flour. Place dried lentils into a high speed blender and blend until it turns into a fine flour.
Once you have the flour made, cut up the zucchini and onion into chunks.
Drop into the blender and blend until pretty smooth.
Dump puree into bowl and top with some lentil flour.
Mix until completely combined. The batter should be kind of thic but still spoonable. Also, season with salt was pepper here.
Heat up a skillet with a splash of oil. Once hot, scoop spoonfuls of batter into pan and spread it evenly about 1/4 inch thick. Cook first side fr 4-6 minutes or until nice and brown then flip and cook the other side until done. Repeat until batter is gone.
Now eat your amazing delicious lentil zucchini pancakes. I served with fresh salsa, and I have also made tahini dip and used hummus to smear on them which was also freaking amazing, but you can serve with whatever floats your boat.
-C
1 pound dry green lentils
1 large zucchini
1 onion
salt and pepper
splash of oil
Start with the by making the lentil flour. Place lentils into a high speed blender and blend until it has turned into a fine flour. You might need to stop the blender ever once in a while to move things around with a spoon (when it is turned off!). It should only take about a minute or so in a Vitamix, but maybe a few extra minutes if using a less powerful blender.
Once flour is achieved, dump into a jar with a lid. You probably won%u2019t be using it all right now.
Now grab the zucchini and onion and cut into chunks. Place the chunks into the blender and blend until smooth.
Dump puree into a bowl. Add about 1 cup of lentil flour and stir. IF the batter is really loss, add in another 1/4 cup or more to get the batter to a thick but spreadable consistency (kind of like hummus). Season with salt and pepper.
Grab a skillet and place on medium heat with a splash of oil. Once skillet is heated place spoonfuls of the batter in and spread around until between 1/2-1/4 inch thick. Cook fist side for 4-6 minutes or until a nice golden brown then flip and cook the other for a few minutes until browed. Repeat until batter is gone.
Place cooked pancakes on a plate, grab a fork and some savory type condiment (hummus, salsa, tahini, cashew cream) and eat.
I have been on a severe citrus kick lately. Oranges, limes, lemons, kumquats. I want it all and have been eating it all. A lot of it all. Espeically the oranges which are just so good right now. We have been going through bags of them faster then ever and I am not mad about it.
Which then brings us to chili. Chili is one of the things that I make on a very regular bases. It%u2019s beans, veggies, tomatoes, and a ton of spices. Easy as can be, most people like it, and I never get sick of it. I mean, how could you get sick of it, it is so good! Anyway. Chili, its great but have you ever added orange to it? Oh man is it amazing. Bright and acidic and sweet. The whole pot of chili just radiates more goodness, more intensity, more, moreness. (I know that doesn%u2019t make sense but you get it.) It%u2019s a whole new level of chili and I don%u2019t if there will ever be a time when I don%u2019t add orange to my chili again. Well at least during citrus season.
But enough about all that, what you really want is to just start making this orange black bean chili so you can eat it. I hear you, so I%u2019ll let you at it.
To the chili!
The stuff. Oranges, black beans, crushed tomatoes, an onion, a couple carrots, a pepper, and jalape%u00f1os. Also lots of cumin, chili powder, ground ginger, garlic powder, and salt and pepper.
Small dice up the pepper, onion, carrots, and jalape%u00f1os. Don%u2019t want it super spicy, don%u2019t add the jalape%u00f1os.
All that stuff gets tossed into a big pot along with all the spices, some salt and pepper, and a little water too. Place on stove to start cooking down the veggies.
Slightly tender and smells amazing.
Now add in the beans, the tomatoes, and the zest and juice of an orange. Mix it all up, set it back on stove and keep on cooking,
Now eat your chili, with extra orange slices to squeeze all over it of course. And maybe you want to serve it with some corn bread? That is entirely up to you, but who would be made about it?
-C
Serves 4-6 people
1 pound cooked black beans drained (about 5 cups or 3 cans)
5 cups crushed tomatoes (or 2 28oz cans)
2 oranges (navel or cara cara work)
2 carrots
1 large onion
1 bell pepper
2 jalapenos (optional)
2 heaping tablespoons cumin
2 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
salt and pepper
Start by chopping up the veggies. Small dice the carrot, the onion and the pepper. If using jalape%u00f1o, dice that into small little bits too. And remove seeds for less heat or leave them if you like it. Once that is all cut up, dump it all into a large heavy bottom pot along with the cumin, chili powder, garlic and ginger powder, and about a teaspoon or so each of salt and pepper. Add about 1/2 cup water, mix it all up, and place the pot on stove on medium heat and start to cook the veggies and spices until they begin to smell fragrant and are ever so slightly tender, which should take 5-10 minutes.
Now add in the beans, the tomatoes, and the zest and juice of one orange. Mix together and keep cooking on medium heat, partially lidded, for about 45 minutes to an hour, stirring once in a while, until the chili has thicken and tastes good to you.
Once done, season to taste with more salt and pepper and either stir the juice of the second orange into the whole pot or serve with slices of orange to squeeze on top.
Eat. Store any left overs in fridge. Tastes delicious cold too.
Every now and then I make something for me. All for me. This is one of those dishes that was not destined to be shared with anyone. That I had no one else in mind to eat besides me. No worring about what anyone else with think. Just a simple little dish that I was craving and wanting.
So I made it and man, was it so freaking satisfying. Cooking for oneself is very much a gratifying experience.
Celeriac, or also know as celery root. Have you ever had it? If not, well duder, you need to. It is in my top 3 favorite vegetables and that is saying a lot. So anyway, celeriac, has a slight celery taste, but also kind of earthy and nutty. It pairs well with anything that a potato might, but also is amazing on it%u2019s own. Roasted, steamed, raw. Just really fantastic. And it is in season so get on it and go find yourself some.
And lentils. In my top 3 favorite foods. Made them crispy because pureed celeriac and crispy lentils just sounded right and I love me crispy things. Again, I was making this dish fo me so crispy was happening.
Together, the creamy, delicious pureed celeriac covered with a bunch of spiced, crispy lentil%u2026.Amazing. Eating it, I couldn%u2019t have been happier. I did myself one good with this one.
I might even have to make it to share someday.
Now to the celeriac and lentils!
The stuff. A bulb of celeriac, some cooked lentils, salt and pepper, chili powder, garlic powder. mustard powder, and oil. (oil is optional)
The celeriac. Ok, so most people peel it. I actually get weird looks from people when I tell them I don’t , but let me do me, you know. So anyway. Peel it if you want, or not, just cut it up into chunks.
Place cut up celeriac into a pot and cover with water. Place on stove on medium heat and cook until fork tender.
Lentils meet spices and get mix all together. Add a pinch of salt and lots of cracked pepper too.
Spread now spiced lentils onto a baking sheet, pop into oven, and bake until crispy. Easy peasy.
And to puree the celeriac. Strain any extra water into a cup. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper and grab the hand blender (or regular blender) and blend it, adding back in some of the strained water as needed, to get to a consistency that you like. Me, I liked it pretty smooth, but also with a little chunk. Heck, you could leave it really chunky or go all out completely smooth. Up to you. Also if you want a creamier texture, add in a teaspoon or so of the olive oil. That is a taste preference. I didn’t add oil this time, but I have before. It%u2019s good both ways.
And there you have it. Add the celeriac puree to a bowl, top with crispy lentils, and garnish with something green if you want.
Then eat it.
Not going to lie. After this picture was taken, I busted out the spicy mustard and covered everything with it. And it was amazing.
-C
serves 1 as a meal, or a few as a side dish
1 1/2 cups cooked green lentils
1 large celeriac bulb (soft ball sized)
1 teaspoon chili power
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper
olive oil (optional)
Grab celeriac and peel if you want, or just give it a really good wash. Cut into chunks and place into pot. Add enough water to just cover the celeriac and place on medium heat on the stove. Cook until fork tender.
In the mean time, mix all the spices and a good pinch of salt and lots of pepper together with the lentils. Dump them and spread them out onto a lightly oiled baking sheet. Place in oven and turn to 400 degrees (you can start cooking the lentils while the oven is preheating). Bake for about 20 minutes or until lentils are crispy.
Once the celeriac is tender, strain water into a cup and either with a hand blender or a regular blender, blend until smooth, adding in some of the poured off water as needed. You can puree as smoothly as you like or leave a few chunks.. Also, you might want to add in a teaspoon or so of olive oil for a slightly richer and creamier taste. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Ehen the lentils are done, take them from oven. Place large amount (or all) of the celeriac puree to a bowl, cover with some (or all) of the crispy lentils and that is that. Eat away.
Serving suggestion%u2026. Mustard. Any kind. So good.
When your sister drops off 50 lbs of beets, on top of the 50 lbs that you have to harvest that are growing in your garden, what do you do?
Well chips of course.
Yeah, chips. That%u2019s right. When I got home from camping on Monday and there was a humongous pile of beets sitting next to my front door, I am not going to lie, I was a little shocked. I mean there wasn’t just a few little ones. These beets were freaking huge, like the size of my arm, and so many. But pretty much right after my initial shock I knew what needed to be done. First, eat a few roasted, second, roast extra to freeze for later, and lastly, make a few bunches of chips.
Have you ever had beet chip? They are amazing. Crispy, crunchy, tasty as all heck. If you like beets, even in the slightest, you will love these. If you hate beets, well maybe don%u2019t? Either way, beet chips are the best chip. Wha’t%u2019s not to love? Pink, and chippy. Sweet, and salty. And then you add the fact that making beets into chips is a good way to get your veggies in and that you can eat a whole bowl full and feel zero guilt because you are just eating beets. Plus making beets into chips is a good way to use up any extra beets you might have laying around or that have been dropped off at your front door.
These chips, once they are made, will not last long. So when you do make them, know you will probably be making them again soon there after. Me, I have still have to harvest all my garden beets so beet chips are happening again soon. Real soon (like this afternoon!)
To the beets!
The stuff. Beets (these are Formanova beets but any variety works) salt and pepper ,and oil.
Grab baking sheets, oil, and salt and pepper. You can either dump the oil directly onto the pile of sliced beets and really toss to make sure each one has been coasted or do what I did which was I drizzled oil into my hands and rubbed each sliced beet between my oiled hands before placing on the sheet.
After you get them on there, single layered with no overlapping, sprinkle tops with a pinch of salt and pepper.
On the way into the oven.
After the oven. Baked for about 18 minutes. You really have to watch after the first 13 or so minutes to make sure you catch them at the perfect time. Crispy, but not burnt.
A side by side shot. Crazy shrinking will happen!
Oh man, so delicious. And so pretty!.
Let the chips cool before eating, you know, so you don%u2019t burn your tongue. Plus they crisp up a wee bit more.
Once cooled, pile them into bowl, and then eat them. And eat them all. They are only beets after all. And you won%u2019t be able to stop yourself anyway. Ha
-C
Makes enough for an evening of chip eating for 1-2 people
2 Large beets (think softball sized)
a tablespoon or two of oil (I used grape seed but really any would work)
salt and pepper
Note. Making these without cutting with a mandolin will be a pain in the ass. It can be done, but if you have a mandolin, use it.
Preheat oven to 350
With a mandolin, slice the beets about 1/15 inch thick. (No need to peel the beets unless you want to.) Once beets are all sliced, either drizzle them all with a tablespoon or so of oil and toss until all are coated. OR what I did and found worked really well was drizzled oil into my hands and rubbed each beet between my oiled hands as I was placing them on the baking sheets. Either way.
Now place oiled beets, single layered, without overlapping, on baking sheets. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper and place into oven. Bake for about 13 minutes without worrying then start to check every minute or so until the beets are a deep golden brown and crispy ,which will be between 15-20 minutes. Also, even though you cut them all the exact same thickness, some might crisp up faster so you should remove done chips as they happen. Once they are done, place on a rack to cool. And then do another batch. And not, they do crisp up a tiny bit more as they cool.
Once chips are cool and crisp, eat.
Store uneaten (how did you not eat them all?) chips in an air tight container. If you notice that they turned a bit chew, just place them back into oven while preheating oven to 300 then turn oven off and let sit in there for a few minutes.
Do you ever wake up first thing in the morning with a craving, a maybe somewhat strange food craving? Lately I have been waking up and within an hour of being up, I start to think about olives. My mouth starts to water and it%u2019s like I can almost taste the salty, briny, fattiness in my mouth, which in itself is kind of weird, but for me is really really weird because up until very recently I completely hated olives. Now, well now I just want to eat them all. And first thing in the morning.
I don%u2019t pretend to understand such things. My brain is going to do what it%u2019s going do. Tell me I like olives, well all right then.
Another thing I am desperately craving is freshy fresh greens which makes complete since because I always crave greens. I am still pretty deep in root veggies and cooked things because winter and Vermont and all, but all I really really really want to eat are buckets of greens. Any kind will do, but the sweet tender baby ones%u2026. So good.
And so I combined my two cravings, greens and olives and hit those craving like POW! BAM! POOF? A salad so simple yet so amazing and mouth watering. I outdid myself here.
To the bestest, most amazingly perfect salad yet!
The stuff. A big ol%u2019 bowl of greens. Black pitted olives, half an avocado, a lemon, toasted almonds, a chunk of red onion, a couple cloves garlic, and pepper.
Almond crumbs. Exactly what it sounds like. Place almonds into a clean food prosessor and pulse until they are crumbs.
Dump the almonds into a bowl. Don%u2019t bother cleaning it out, you are about to use it again. Olives, avocado, garlic, and all the juice of the lemon now get a go in the food processor. Pulsed together into a creamy, kinda of chunky but mostly smooth, mixture of amazing. Add a few tablespoons of cold water if the mixture seems really thick, but other then that, you be done.
Very thinly slice up red onion and slice up a few extra olives.
All here, all ready to go. Just got to toss it together now.
Greens, some slices olives and onion tossed all together in a good amount of the olive avocado goodness then topped with a hardy helping of almond crumbs. Fresh pepper to finish it off.
I was barely able to stop myself from eating it all before snapping a few pictures.
All of my cravings come true%u2026
It%u2019s salad time!
-C
Makes enough dressing and crumbs to feed 2-4 people
1/2 of a ripe avocado
1 cup pitted black olives
1 lemon
2-3 tablespoons cold water
1-2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup toasted almonds
2-4 large handfuls of fresh greens (I used a mixture of baby spinach, baby chard, and baby kale. Spring mix or even chopped leaf lettuce would be grand as well)
about 1/2 a small red onion
pepper to taste
Place almonds in food processor and pulse until they are crumbly. Not to fine, a few big chunks are good.. Remove and set aside
Roughly chop the garlic and place in the food processor (no need to clean it out after the almonds). Add in the avocado and most of the olives (leave few behind to slice up). Add in the juice of the lemon. Pulse until mixture is combined but with little specks of olive left.or completely smooth if you wanted too. Scoop out into a container. You want it to be slightly loos so it will mix well with the greens. If the mixture seems really thick, add in a a few tablespoons of cold water to thin out.
Grab the onion and remaining olives and thinly slice.
Now to assemble salad. Place a handful of clean greens into a bowl. Toss a some onions and extra sliced olives into greens. Add as little or as much olive avocado dressing as desired then sprinkle as much or as little of the almond crumbs all over that. Top with freshly find pepper
Then eat it.
Easy quick dinners are no joke because sometimes life happens and then you are hungry, then hangry, %u00a0then maybe yelling and or tears start and nothing is ever going to be good again. And then you eat and everything is A OK, but that time between tears and food can be long, especially when you just can’t think so one should have a least a good 2 or 3 good dinners up there sleeve (besides pasta) that can be made quick and easily to avoid the fallout of food deprivation.%u00a0This bowl of goodness here is one of those. And sure some people might not always have a sweet potato,%u00a0tahini, or chickpeas is the house %u00a0(I ALWAYS have a sweet potato or some type of winter squash and tahini and chickpeas…%u00a0they are staples here)%u00a0but with a tiny it of foresight, you can make these things happen too. And then you will make it and realize that you must have these ingredients on hand at all times because yeah, a good go to meal that will prevent the tears.
Admittedly I have made this for the mr but he is not that into it. Says he is not a huge fan of sweet potatoes. (what the fuck is wrong with him?) But me, I eat is and I eat it all.. The sweet potato/chickpea/tahini combination is classic fantastic. This hash is sweet potato sweet, a little chickpea crunchy, salty, savory,%u00a0and creamy citrusy. %u00a0It’s all sorts of goodness. I tossed this hash on a big bed of kale (any sturdy green would be good) and only good things happen in my mouth. So the mr.%u00a0might not like it but I am starting to realize (after 15 years) that my taste is far superior to his. Haha. (but really) %u00a0Quick and easy (and healthy) and good. %u00a0Make it once and it will turn into on of your go to dinners, unless you don’t like sweet potatoes. In that case there is pasta.%u00a0
The stuff. Chick peas (I had just made a batch but if you don’t have any made already, grab a can) a sweet potato, an onion, a lemon, some tahini, and garlic Also some cumin and chili powder, olive oil, and salt and pepper.%u00a0
Preheat your oven and chop up the onion and sweet potato into mouth sized pieces.%u00a0
Toss the chopped stuff onto a baking sheet with the chickpeas.
Drizzle the whole shebang with olive oil and toss with cumin, chili powder, and salt and pepper. %u00a0
Into the oven it goes.
Half hour later it is all roasted and ready.
Oh quick, make this before the stuff is out of the oven. Tahini, minced garlic, a dash of salt, a bit of the liquid from the chickpeas and the juice of a lemon. Just stick it all in a cup or bowl and mix it around. Then it’s done.
Scoop the hash into a bowl (I like a large pile of greens underneath) and cover with the tahini sauce.%u00a0
Eat is all to your face.
-C
dinner for one, a side for two.%u00a0Very easily doubled or tripled.%u00a0
Preheat oven to 425
Chop sweet potato and onion into mouth sized cubes and place on a baking sheet. Add the drained chickpeas and drizzle with olive oil and toss around. Sprinkle on the cumin, chili powder,%u00a0salt and pepper, and toss that around again. When the oven is preheated, slide the baking sheet on in.%u00a0
While the stuff is baking, mince the garlic and place it in a bowl with the tahini, the juice of a lemon, and a pinch or two of salt to taste. Add in 1/4 cup of aquafaba and mix it all around.%u00a0If to thick for your liking, add a little more of the aqaufaba until its a good consistency.%u00a0
Check the stuff in the oven after 20 minutes and give it a toss.%u00a0%u00a0Keep baking for another 5-10 minutes or until the sweet potato is cooked and starting to brown. Remove from oven and dump into a bowl (maybe on a bed of greens or rice) and drizzle all over with the tahini sauce.
Eat
%u00a0 I use to suck the juice out of the seeds (they are actually called arils)%u00a0of the pomegranate and spit out the actual seeds…%u00a0I thought that the seeds were poisonous. (I blame my sister for this .She is the one that told me that). %u00a0And it turns out that it is an actual thing. That other people think that the seeds are not edible, so I guess don%u2019t feel so duped.%u00a0But I leaned. The seeds, they are very much edible, and very much tasty. I love biting into a pomegranate seed, letting the juice flood my mouth, followed by a nice little crunch from the seed inside, just like little crunchy red jewels.%u00a0And the method of removing the seeds just makes them that much better. When you have to whack a fruit for it’s edible parts, it got to be good. And to make this clear%u2026.%u00a0to all the people out there that thick the seeds are poison%u2026 the seeds are NOT POISION. In fact, they are quite good for you.
Now that that has been established, we can get to eating these little pearls the right way.%u00a0 And being all holiday and jolly lala, I was thinking of some classic side dishes that are typical around this time.%u00a0 Creamed spinach came to mind, but that just seemed a little boring. That%u2019s where the pomegranate comes in. %u00a0You add pomegranate to anything and it%u2019s not boring anymore. Also I switched out the creamed part and replaced it with cashew cream, and spinach with kale%u2026 cause that%u2019s what I do. And the results are fantastic! Sweet, creamy, crunchy, earthy… All the best flavors. And even though I ate most of it hot, it%u2019s definitely a side that moves from hot to cold and still taste super great. Would even make a nice sandwich or maybe add a little bed of grains and you got yourself a nice little lunch.
But the again, you probably wont have any left overs
The stuff. A bunch of kale, some cashews that have been soaking for a little while,%u00a0 and a pomegrante %u00a0(I only used half of one). We also need us some more fresh water, a lemon, a few cloves of garlic and salt and pepper.
Remove the arils (thats what the juicy seeds ae called) by placing half the pomegranate into a bowl and whacking %u00a0it with a big wooden spoon. (martha stewart taught me this)
Strain the soaking cashews and dump them into a blender with the juice of the lemon, the garlic, some fresh water and some salt and pepper.
Turn blender on and blend until a nice smooth consistency
Chop up the kale and place into a really big skillet with a few splashes of water.
Once the kale has wilted, pour the cashew cream all over it.%u00a0
Add in the pomegranate %u00a0seeds
And get yourself a fork (bowl is optional( and eat.%u00a0
Creamed food never tasted this good!
-C
makes 3-4 servings%u00a0
Take your pomegranate , slice in half, and place half seed sside down into a bowl. Take a big wooden spoon or something like it, and whack the outside of the fruit. The seeds will all fall out.. but check for any stuck seeds
Strain cashews from soaking waterand dump into a blender with the juice of the lemon, the garlic, %u00be cups of water, and a pinch or two of salt. Blend until a smooth a creamy cream. If you think the cream is to thick, add in another splash of water
After washing kale, chop it up into smallish pieces. (remove stems if you want.. I don’t,%u00a0I like the stems) Stick the kale into a large skillet with a few splashes of water and a sprinkle of salt and place on the oven on medium high heat. Stir around until kale is wilted and the water has evapotated. Pour on the cashew cream, mix around and top with the pomegranate seeds.
and eat..hot or cold. Its all good.
Sometime the best things in life are the simplest things. For example; a walk through the woods, a really pretty smooth rock, a perfectly timed 80’s ballad song for the last push during a workout, or falling asleep on the couch and managing to not drool all over the newly washed pillows.(You know what I am talking about). I mean, can one really ask for much more?
Same goes with food. The simplest foods can really the best. Take this cashews cheese for example. All it is is soaked and blended up cashews with a bit of seasoning to cheese it up. Nothing fancy, nothing labor intensive, just straight up and straight out. You can up the greatness by adding thick cuts of fresh, sun kissed, bright and happy tomato, and a chunk of fresh bread%u2026Not much better then that. So simple and yet so good.
%u00a0And bonus. No need to turn on any heating units in order to make this cause that would suck, given that we are again having another fucking heat wave.%u00a0
Agh stupid hot weather. STUPID!!!! But enough about that..
Cheese time.
The stuff. Cashews that be soakin for a while in some water, nutritional yeast (to give it that cheesy flavor), lemon, garlic, and salt and pepper. That’s for the cheese, but you are, and should, want to eat it with a large, so fresh and juicy, tomato and some kind of fresh bread situation. So you need that too!
Simple as can be. Strain cashews from soaking water and dump into a food processor with the garlic, nutritional yeast, juice of the lemon,%u00a0a pinch of salt and pepper, and a little water.%u00a0%u00a0Turn on processor.
And it’s done when its all smooth and creamy .Adjust salt and pepper to taste.
Tranfer %u00a0the goodness to a lovely jar%u00a0
And that’s that.. some cheese of the cashew.
But wait, you need to eat it.. Smear all over the bread situation, cut up the tomato, place big fat slabs directly onto cashew butter and spinkle with a salt and pepper.
SImply the best%u2026 Better then all the rest!
Happy today! Stay cool my friends%u2026stay cool.
-C
makes about 1 1/2 cups of creamy, cheesy goodness
And not that you have to, but having some freshy tomatoes and some nice bread to eat the cheese on is pretty fantastical.%u00a0
After you cashews have been soaking for about an hour, strain water and add them and all of the other ingredients to a food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy. Scoop into a jar.
Eat some right away on a hunk of fresh bread with lots of thick cuts of fresh tomato and place the rest in the fridge.
The cheese will get a bit thicker after being refrigerated for a while.
Use on anything , in anything, or all on it’s own. Licking jar clean is encouraged.
It’s official, all of the littles started school yesterday%u2026%u2026HOORAY! (I say hooray cause school is cool and the start of school means it’s going to be fall so soon!. Also I like hanging out with the littles more when they are in school. There is more to talk about and any time away from school is cool time so they like to do more stuff and not just be summer bums)
One of the littles had his very first ever day of school.%u00a0So me, being the bestest most awesomest aunt ever, made that little a celebration, hooray for school, banana ice cream cake.
This little %u00a0has been bugging me for a while now to make him an ice cream cake. It all started a few months ago when I gave him a bowl of banana ice cream and told him that when he sleeps over he can have ice cream for breakfast %u00a0That blew his little mind.%u00a0We then proceeded to have a converastawtion about healthy food and what was ok to eat for breakfast. (He is very interested in being healthy)%u00a0I then told him that whenever he sleeps over I would make a banana ice cream cake for breakfast cause bananas are healthy. But every time he is over,%u00a0I never seems to have enough bananas.
Well I had the bananas and there is no better excuse then the first day of kindergarten to make a cake.. A very delicious peanut butter banana ice cream cake! %u00a0And no, it wasn’t for breakfast, but the left overs can be! (there were no left overs here)
The stuff%u2026 Crispy rice cereal, peanut butter (I have some chiunky stuff %u00a0at the moment, but any nut butter is good) and 4 frozen %u00a0chopped up bananas.
Rice ceareal goes into a food processor with the peanut butter. Pulse until everything is all combined and starts to come togerter.
And ump the mixture into a spring for pan. If you do not have a spring form pan, a pie plate will work just as well.
Such a nice looking crust if I do say so myself. Now stick it in the freezer while you make your ice cream.
Frozen bananas go into the processor, get blended for a few mounters, and come out as ice cream%u2026. freaking magic!
Now dump the magic ice cream into the crust.
And smooth it all nice like..and into the freezer it goes until its frozen.
After a few hours, you take it out of the freezer, remove from the pan (or leave it in the pan)
And gather your toppings. A handful of the rice cereal, some melted peanut butter, and a little melted nutella. (use whatever you want.. fruit would be great, some nuts, graham crackers, sprinkles. You get the idea)
%u00a0Now,%u00a0Wait for it%u2026.
Go crazy! Toppings all over!
And serve up, and watch out.. I almost got my hand eaten for kids going for seconds..
Have a fantastic day and happy back to school. to littles and parents alike!
-C
Makes a 6 inch cake%u00a0
For the cake
To garnish (use any, all or none of what you would like%u2026 and maybe not the super sugary ones if a breakfast cake)
Place cereal and peanut butter into a food processor and pulse until crumbly and combined and starts to come away from bowl.
Dump mixture into a 6 in spring form pan (or if you not have one, a pie plate works too) and press it down evenly on the bottom. Stick into freezer
Take bananas out of freezer and place into food processor.%u00a0Blend until smooth. If needed, you can drizzle a tiny amount of water into it if you think it needs a little help to blend.%u00a0
Once smooth, take crust from freezer and dump the nanaer ice cream on top and carefully smooth it out. Stick back into freezer (a pier of plastic over to prevent ice crystals )for at least 2 hours, or until the ice cream has completely frozen.
When it’s time to serve, remove cake from spring form (or leave it in the pie plate).and drizzle the top with melted peanut butter, melted,%u00a0chocolate and another handful of crispy cereal. Or leave it bare. Or add sprinkles%u2026 the toppings are all unto you!
Eat like a camp, for breakfast or dessert.. Or eat some for dessert and then some for breakfast.