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  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.

As the weather gets warmer and the days get longer, my food brain turns to fresh colorful simple spring food. (which is totally a thing). Spring food is a combination of the last of the winters hardy root veggies combined with the springs bounty of fresh greens and early growers. Spring food is the best!

This lovely. oh so gorgeous salad has been on repeat in my meal repertoire. It’s so yummy and so simple. Beets and carrots roasted and sliced, tossed onto a bed of tender spinach and topped with a creamy, lemony avocado dressing. Fresh, fast, light, and filling. Everything a perfect  spring salad needs. Not to mention it takes no time at all to make because with all this nice weather , we want to spend as much time basking in the warmth and glow of the sun. I might even take my spring salad outside today. Maybe.

Dressing stuff. A nice and ripe avocado, the juice of a juicy lemon, a bit of garlic powder (raw garlic is nice too, but grate it super fine) and salt. Simple simple and sometimes simple can be the best.All stuff get mashed super mashed until smooth and scooped into a jar with a lid. Add about 1/4- 1/2 cup water (depending on how thick you like it) and shake that jar all around.

That’s it. You now have super creamy avocado lemon dressing. Drizzle on anything and everything… especially this roasted carrot and beet salad..

A roasted beet and carrot, all sliced upTossed onto a bed of tender baby spinachAnd topped with creamy avocado dressing. Fantastic, so pretty, and makes the day super springy!

A salad suggestion….  Add some roasted chickpeas toasted nuts, or sunflower seeds to this or any salad. Adds a little proteins and the crispy crunch is a nice addition. 

Enjoy the day..Smile lots 

-C

Roasted Carrot Beet Salad and Avocado Lemon Dressing

Salad

• 2-3 cups Baby Spinach
• 1 large carrot
• 1 medium beet
• Toasted nuts, beans, or seeds (Optional)

You can roast the veggies a few ways.. Slice the carrot and beet, place on a baking sheet and  stick into the oven at 425 degrees until tender. Or you can just toss a the carrot and beet onto a baking sheet whole and roast.( What I usually do)

Once the veggies are roasted and cooled, thinly slice and toss onto the bed of baby spinach. Top with Avocado Lemon Dressing (recipe below) and some toasted crunchy thing.

Dressing

• 1 Ripe Avocado
• 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4- 1/2  cup water

Scoop avocado fruit into a bowl and mash with a fork until a paste is formed. Scoop mashed avocado into a jar and add remaining ingredients. Stick lid on jar and shake tip combined. Use on anything. 

Dressing lasts a few days in the fridge. Should stay green, but add a layer of lemon juice to top to keep from browning.

Pomeamole!!  That’s what I want to call it, so that’s what it is. Guacamole with the addition of tiny little pearls of sweet and tangy juice.. I mean, come one, it can’t get much better. This is what happens when avocados are on super sale, I buy a lot…and then eat a lot….and then eat some more.  I start to get a little crafty and, wa la.. add pomegranate seeds. I also inflict anyone eating around me with avocado, even if they believe that they don’t like it because that’s not possible. I know this because there was a time where I believed that I didn’t like avocados… and that’s just crazy. I remember the very moment I realized I was wrong. It was the first food Nick ever made for me. I was working at a pottery studio and wasn’t able to leave because of a raku firing  and I was starving. My love saved me with a sandwich, and it was the best I had ever eaten.  A sandwich that contained hummus, greens, sun-dried tomatoes, and yup, big slices of avocado. That sandwich change my life. I knew from that moment on….  I loved avocados……oh and that I loved Nick too. I know, we are so cute that you want to barf. Well go ahead, just do it before you eat the pomeamole.

It’s all pretty simple…One very tasty ripe avocado, about 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds,  a little chopped onion, a bit of chopped tomato,  a lemon, a few cloves of garlic and a pinch of salt.  It’s what dreams are made of.

Mash it all together minus the pomegranate seeds… As smooth or as chunky as you like it….

Fold in 1/2 the seeds

And top with the rest! And another squeeze of lemon… just like that. You can eat this magic with anything you want;  chippers, rice cakes, tacos, toast, or even top a kale salad with a big scoop. …..we at it with carrots and broccoli. SO GOOD!

Pomeamole! (Pomegranate Guacamole)

Ingredients

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1/2 a small red or sweet onion
• 1/2 a small tomato
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• salt
•  a lemon or lime

Pit and scoop avocado into a medium bowl and smash until desired consistency. Finely chop onion, garlic and tomato and mix together with avocado and half the juice of the lemon. Fold in most the pomegranate seed. Top with the rest and the squeeze the other half of lemon on top.

Serve with food, or just eat with a spoon.

Hooray for on-sale avocados!! 

-C

Salad season is here. Green salads, fruit salads, potato salads, and grain salads. All the salads and we are not mad about it.

This is a good grain salad using millet, which I am sightly surprised to hear that a lot of people have never had. Millet is kind of like quinoa, but not. I cooks fluffy and looks kind of the same, and is gluten free like quinoa. I think the biggest difference is that millet is slightly softer and tastes a bit more nutty. It also is really good at absorbing liquid flavors.

But who are we to compare. The main thing is that it is nutritious and delicious so we will eat it.

Back to the salad. This is one of those grain salads that is good cooked and served warm but only gets better with a little age (like an hour or a day) in the fridge. Served hot or cold or room tempature, and is hearty enough to be meal like but is also a fantastic addition as a side to any of you meal plans. Like maybe a BBQ? Whatever the occasion, or non occasion, this is just a really good grain salad situation and I think you will be pleased, smiling all smiles while eating it.

To the millet salad.

The stuff. Millet, a couple handful of greens, a few mushrooms, an onion, dijon mustard, a little maple syrup, red wine vinegar, a lemon, a couple cloves or garlic, some toasted sunflower seeds, and salt and pepper.

Start by giving the millet a little toast, just enough to really up the nutty flavor and make it that much more yummy. It only takes a few minutes in a skillet on medium heat. Not an entirely necessary step, but you should do it.

Toasted millet goes into pot with water. Bring pot to a boil and then turn to the lowest simmer and cover.

While millet is cooking, get to the mushrooms and onions. Chop the onion thin and small and the mushrooms thin and small as well. Place them into the skillet with a drizzle of oil and place on medium heat. Mix around every now and then and cook until the mushrooms and onions are soft and a nice golden brown.

And make the vinaigrette. Minced garlic, mustard, vinegar, the juice of the lemon, and maple syrup get put into one place.

Mixed and now all is one.

Millet. Cooked and fluffed and ready to go.

Cooked mushrooms and onions go into the pot, along with the greens, the sunflower seed, and the vinaigrette. This step can be right away or you can wait a little while for things to cool as to not wilt the greens. Up tp you.

Mixed with love and hunger.

Even if you are making it ahead of time, just do yourself a favor. Grab a bowl, grab a fork, and get down on it.

-C

Seves 4-6

• 3/4 cup uncooked millet

• 2 cups water

• 1 sweet onion

• 3-4 big button mushrooms

• Large handful or two of bitter greens like arugula, spinach or a mixture.

• 2 tablespoon brown or dijon mustard

• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar

• 1 teaspoon maple syrup

• 2 cloves garlic

• salt and pepper

• handful toasted sunflower seeds

To start, toast millet. Dump the uncooked millet into a pan and place on a medium heat tt for about 5 minutes or until you start hearing the millet crackle.This gives the millet a slightly more nutty flavor but you can skip this step if you don%u2019t care.

Dump millet and water into medium pot. Place on high heat until water starts to boil then tun heat down to simmer and over. After about 15 or 20 minutes, when most of the water is gone, turn pot completely off. Let sit, covered for another 10ish minutes then take a fork and fluff it.

While the millet is cooking, cook the veggies. Grab the onion and slice it up into thin pieces. Clean off the mushrooms and chop them into small thin pieces too. Place the chopped stuff into the skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and place on a medium heat. Stir occasionally and cook for about 15 minutes or until the onion and mushroom are a nice dark, golden brown.

And make the mustard vinaigrette. Mince garlic and place into a jar or bowl with the vinegar, the mustard, the maple, and the juice of the lemon. Mix and set aside.

Once the millet is cooked, the mushrooms and onions are cooked, and the vinaigrette is made, all you have left to do is mix everything together. You can do this while things are slightly warm which will wilt the greens a bit, o let them cool so the greens stay fresh. Up to you. (I like the greens fresh)

Finally, dump cooked mushrooms and onions into pot with cooked millet. Add in the greens and sunflower seeds and drizzle the vinegertte all over. Toss around until fully mixed. Sprinkle with lots of fresh cracked pepper.

Then eat. Or place in a container to bring to the BBQ.

I have been meaning to share the magic of crispy waffle iron tofu for a while, but somehow kind of forgot. Yesterday when talking to my (not quite) mother in law she mentioned the bean waffles I made a while ago and suddenly I had a very real need to go home and bust out the waffle iron and make some tofu. And some of you may be thinking that this sounds weird, but its not. Waffle irons are not just for waffles, you can cook just about anything in them. I compare then to a George Foreman grill (remember those) or even a griddler. . Works the same way, just makes everything waffles shaped.

As for the rest of this open face toast situation, it just makes so much sense.%u00a0 Crispy cumin lime tofu, avocado, mashed up squash…. A heap of things that are so freaking good.%u00a0 I actually made the sandwich for the mr and was a little bit worried he was not going to like it, but worry I need not. He got down with it too. You could even ditch the bread and eat waffled tofu slathered in the squash and tofu alone, or maybe swap out bread for greens (that’s what I did) Whatever you do, it will be good and your tofu will be so nice and crispy (without having to deep fry) that you may never cook tofu anther way again.

The stuff. Tofu, some roasted squash (any squash or sweet potato works), and half an avocado. Going to need a lime, some cumin and a pinch of chili powder, salt and pepper and little olive oil. And some type of bread that is good for toasting.

The cumin and chili powder go into a bowl with lime juice, a little oil ans a pinch of salt ans pepper. Give it a good whisk and set aside.

And now tend to the tofu. You want to get as much water removed from the tofu as you can.%u00a0 I do this by pressing the sliced pieces between a clean tea towel a bunch of times until the tofu is as dry I can get it without falling apart.

While you are doing this, preheat your waffle iron.

Once the tofu is a dried as you can get it, dredge each piece of tofu, front and back, through the cumin lime mixture.

And place it on your preheated, lightly oiled waffle iron.

Close iron and let the tofu iron itself cripsy.

And in about 7-10 minutes, you got yourself some super fantastic crispy, oh so tasty tofu.

Now to put it all together.%u00a0 Bread is toasted and topped with mashed up squash.

Next goes the tofu then top that with the avocado. Finish with a squeeze of lime and a pinch of salt.

And sriracha if you like it..

Not deep fried, but super crispy tofu! And squash! and avocado! and toast!

It’s amazing.

-C

Make 2 pieces of toast

For the tofu

• 1/2 a block of extra firm tofu cut about an inch thick slices
• Juice of half a lime
• 1 heaping teaspoon cumin
• pinch of chili powder
• salt and pepper
• 3 teaspoons oil plus more to brush onto iron

And for the rest of the sandwich

• a piece 4-5 inch piece of baguette or 2 slices of thick bread (use gluten free bread if you want)
• About a 1/3 cup of cooked or roasted squash or sweet potato
• sriracha (if you are into it)
• 1/2 an avocado
• the other half of lime

In a shallow bowl, mix together the juice of 1/2 the lime,the cumin and chill powder, a pinch of salt and pepper and 3 teaspoons of oil. Set aside

Preheat waffle iron to either the on setting or if it has variable setting, high.

Take your tofu and remove as much of the liquid as you can by pressing it between two clean kitchen towels. When you get as much of the liquid out as you can, take the tofu and place into the cumin mixture and coat both sides.%u00a0 Ready the iron by brushing each side with a little more oil just to make sure it doesn’t stick and place the tofu on the iron, close it up, and let it do it’s thing for about 8-10 minutes. (check after 6-7 to see whats what and if is as crispy crunchy as you like, remove. If you think it could use another minute or two, well close it back up and keep ironing it.

And when the tofu is done, it’s time tot make compile it all together.

Toast you bread you are going to use. Once toasted mash a good amount of squash onto toast. Place tofu on top of that and thinly sliced avocado on top of that. Finish with a sprinkle of salt, a squeeze of lime juice and if you are feeling a bit more spicy, a few drizzle drops of sriracha.

Eat right away. Do not share…they can make their own.

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.

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%u2026.Completely empty the fridge %u00a0and 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.%u00a0As 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. %u00a0I 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.%u00a0

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 %u00a0more 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. %u00a0Heres 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.%u00a0

Yea it’s Thursday!!!!

-C

A Monster Veggie Sandwich

Note. This is just a guide.. Feel free to use whatever veggies you fancy.%u00a0

• 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 , jalape%u00f1os or all three%u00a0
• 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. %u00a0

Pick a side, start to stack by evenly disrupting veggies on top of veggies. Place the second piece of bread on top and %u00a0giving 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.

A well placed porta-potty. Enough said. HAHAHA

Summer is really just coming along nicely. I have heard many a people complaining that it is not warm enough yet, but I would like to completely disagree. It is plenty warm and I am loving this not to hot start of summer. Even the rain. The only downside I see to it is the late start planting for farmers. But talking to a few farmers made me feel better about my rain loving self. The are alright and getting things in the ground. They will good. So I can go back to be happy about it again.

Besides the wonderful weather, the week had been pretty good. The mr got to go fishing a couple of different time, I have been biking all over the world (within the surrounding 20 mile radius). We had dinner with Barb which always makes me happy. Miley also came over for her own dinner night. We talked about dealing with mean girls (so hard to not go track each one down and flip the F out on them) and her summer bucket list. Then she ate a gallon of ice cream because why not. I worked the studio, the mr worked the work, and being fully functional adults we did all the doings that needed to be done. We are good like that.

Then there is this thing that I have noticed this week with my brain that is driving me crazy. I think that I might have summer brain fog. I%u2019ll be thinking about something and all of a sudden I forget what I am thinking about. I don%u2019t know if it because I have so much I want to think, and so many little things I want to do, but it keeps happening and is driving me nuts. There is a rabbit hole of reasons for why this is happening that I am trying not to go down. I am not a hypochondriac per say, but I am definitely staying off any web based medical sites that will tell me I have all and any brain diseases possible. I don%u2019t need help visualizing my demise, thank you-very-much.

Today is a day for home stuff. After I bike into town to go to the gym and drop off a hundred library books, I am coming home, throwing on my overalls and spending a good amount of time weeding the garden, mowing the lawn, and lets be honest, sitting around drinking coffee and reading. The mr, I think he is going to finish making a picnic table for me to sit at. I am excited for that picnic table.

Oh, and call my dad cause it%u2019s Fathers Day. #1 Daughter here!

The stuff on the internet that I looked at and am now sharing with you.

-Labels can be tricky and misleading.Good to know what they all mean. Why Food Reformers Have Mixed Feelings About Eco-Labels

-I have been in Love with Keanu Reeves ever since I saw him jump off that bus. And knowing he is not an asshole, only makes me love him more. Keanu Reeves Is Too Good for This World

–The Invention of the %u201cBeach Read%u201d. Sometime a good, easy read is what we (I) need.

-I love the idea of the Prefab Treehouse, but it seems a little sketchy.. Who checks if the trees are safe? But still cool.

–Meet the Coolest Inflatable Pool Ever from Mylle. My kind of kiddie pool. I want one.

–What your grip says about your odds of surviving a health crisis. Now whenever I shake someones hand I am going to crush it. HA

-It is true. Behold, the Age of %u2018Salad Frosting%u2019 Is Upon%u00a0Us. And I kind of think it is brilliant and also wrong.

-I used to hate arches but now, well I am kind of obsessed with them. THE ART OF THE ARCH.

-In love with these Found Leaves with Delicate Crochet Embellishments by Susanna Bauer

–Scientists Are Figuring Out How To Change Blood Types. The things that science and smart people can do is crazy and mazing and scary.

Pictures from the week.

My winter farm share is coming to an end this week. One more pick and then a three week stretch until the summer share starts… WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!!! Stock up as much as I can is what.

I have been strategic about the roots and veggies that I have chosen to bring home the past few weeks.(My farm lets you pick what you want)  I know what I can buy at the store, things like carrots and potatoes, so I have been passing those up, but the roots like beets and celeriac… I have been bringing home baskets of those and hoarding them in the fridge and basement in preparation for the laps in farm fresh food and knowing that if I want to by these at the store it s going to coast me a million dollars  a pound. (a for real million dollars)

Yup, lots of roots around here, especially celeriac root which is fantastic. I am kind of obsessed with celeriac, with its fibrous, knobby exterior, soft but almost meaty texture inside, and a flavor that  is close to celery but so much better.  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to do a posting featuring this amazing root vegetable  (I eat it almost every day)

So here, an amazingly tasty, hearty but not heavy, celeriac recipe.  Perfect for spring and the change into summer…. Mustard roasted celeriac with an fanatic split peas gravy that will have you licking you bowl clean.

 The stuff….For the split pea gravy we have a carrot, a parsnip and a large onion chopped into small chunks.  Salt, thyme, a bay leaf and of course the split peas. Then there is the celeriac root* sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds and some plain old yellow mustard .

*Note. I don’t peel my celeriac root. I really enjoy the fibrous exterior but realize that some don’t(The mister does not like it) so peel it if you want. 

Toss the chopped parsnip, carrot, onion and the spices into a pot on medium heat and let veggies sweat a few minutes until tender.  Add in the split peas and enough water to cover everything.  Turn pot on high and bring to a boil, then cover and turn to low. Make sure to give the pot a good stir ever few minutes and add more water if needed 

While the gravy is cooking,  take the celeriac rounds and brush each side with yellow mustard, sprinkle with pepper, and place on a baking sheet. Stick into the oven to roast for about 25 minutes, flipping the rounds after about 10 minutes.

Once the peas have soften, remove the bay leaf and puree until smooth and oh so creamy. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. If you find that the gravy seems to thick, just add in more water until it’s the consistency that you want. The gravy is made, the celeriac is roasted… now we are ready to eat!! Stick the celeriac on a plate and dump good amount of that gravy right on top. Feel free to add a bed of spinach, or a grain or anything you want, because why not, and also some chopped tomatoes for a little acid and prettiness.

Serve with the fanciest knife and fork you can find. Extra yellow mustard and sriracha sauce are great condiments to have close by.

Happy Tuesday!

-C

Mustard Roasted Celeriac with Split Pea Gravy

• 2 medium celeriac roots
• 6 tablespoons mustard
• 1 large carrot
• 1 medium parsnip
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2/3 cup split peas
• 2-3 cups water 
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons thyme or italian spice mix
• salt and pepper
• spinach (optional)
• diced tomatoes(optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Small dice the carrot, parsnip and onion and throw into a large pot. Spinkle with salt and pepper, add in the thyme and bay leaf and add a splash of water. Stick on stove on medium heat and stir. Let cook until the veggies become soft and fragrant. Now add in the split peas and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil then cover and turn heat down to medium low. Let cook until the split peas become tender (about 25 minutes) string on occasion and adding more water if the peas are not completely summered while cooking.

Once the peas are tender, let cool for a few minutes, remove bay leaf, and either dump into a blender or blend with an immersion blender until nice and creamy. If gravy seems to thick, add in more water. 

Scrub or peel celeriac roots and slice them into 1/2 inch think rounds. Place on a baking sheet and brush mustard on both sides and spindle with pepper. Stick into oven for about 10 minutes, flip, then back into the oven for another 15 or so minutes, or unit the celeriac is tender.

When the celeriac is done remove from oven and  stick a few rounds on a bed of spinach (or not, or any kind of grain or green you like) Top with a hearty helping of the gravy and toss on some chopped up tomatoes.

Eat with at knife and fork like a fancy person.

Is it really for real April? Where has all the time gone and where the hell is the warm weather? It’s not funny anymore. I am officially OVER winter!  Ok, so now that I got that off my chest…..

Last night the misters Dad came over for a long awaited dinner accompanied by talk of life goals and what her referred to as “narratives” or the story of our lives. Some deep shit to be talking about at dinner, especially with zero alcohol to be had.

Me, being so super awesome, was all up in taking charge in making the food. Except that  last night I didn’t have a bunch of time and honestly, much energy to be doing anything.  And sure, I could have just made a pot of spaghetti, but that just felt like cheeping out. So Polenta it was. And because I just made a hug pot of navy bean, those were going into the polenta too.

Beany polenta baked in the oven with a tomato sauce cooked on the stove. About 5 minutes of hands on time and an hour to cook it all. It’s the perfect meal to make when you have guests coming over. Fast prep, into the oven and on the stove, and then you have an hour to clean and make yourself presentable. See, I am a thinker. (I ended up skipping the making myself presentable part… I stayed in my gym clothes.. no need to impress family right?) Then after about and hour you end up with a hearty healthy pretty meal, all from scratch, that seems like you spent the afternoon cooking. When in fact you spent the past hour vacuuming and watching Gilmore Girls. 

The Stuff. Cornmeal, water, navy beans and parmesan for the polenta. Crushed tomatoes, garlic, dried basil, onion, carrot, zucchini, and summer squash for the sauce. Salt, pepper, and olive oil all around.

Cornmeal and water go into a cast iron skillet (or any oven safe dish) with a pinch of salt and pepper. Give it a little mix and stick it into the oven at 400 degrees .

Once the polenta is in the oven, make the sauce. Chop up all the veggies and stick into a dutch oven or sauce pot with a pinch of salt, the basil and a good drizzle of olive oil. Stick on medium heat and let veggies cook down a bit.  When the veggies are tender, add in minced garlic, crushed tomatoes and another drizzle or oil.  Turn burner to lowest setting and simmer (giving it a stir every now and then) for about 45 minutes or until the polenta is done. After about 30 minutes when the water had pretty much all cooked down, take the polenta out of the oven and stir in the beans, the parmesan, a tablespoon or two of olive oil and salt and pepper. Smooth top out and sprinkle with more pepper, parmesan and drizzle with a bit more oil. Stick back into oven for another 1/2 or until polenta  has formed a crust and no longer giggles when you wiggle the pan.

Pull polntna from the oven and let sit for at least 1o minutes.

Two big spoons and a pile of plates. Have the people serve themselves!

Have a Happy Day! 

-C

Baked Navy Bean Polenta with Chunky Tomato Sauce

Serves 4 hungry people

For the Polenta

• 1 1/2 Cups Course Ground Corn Meal
• 4 Cups Water
• 3 Cups Prepared Navy Beans (Or just use to cans)
• 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese or Vegan Parmesan (Optional)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

For the Sauce

• One 28oz Can of Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 large Carrot
• 1 Small Onion
• 4 (or more ) Cloves Garlic
• 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
• 1 Small Zucchini
• 1 Small Summer Squash
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400

In a large skillet, mix together the cornmeal and the water and add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Place into oven for about 30 minutes or until the polenta starts to congeal at the edge of the skillet nd most of the waster has cooked down.

Remove skillet from oven and with a whisk or wooden spoon, mix in the beans, the parmesan (if using) and 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Smooth out mixture, sprinkle with salt, pepper, parmesan and drizzle with olive oil. Stick back into oven for another 30 minutes or so.  Polenta is done when it no longer wiggles when you giggle the skillet.

For the sauce

Small dice the carrot and the onion and stick into a medium dutch oven oor sauce pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Place on medium heat and cook until the veggies are tender. Add in tomato, minced up garlic and basil. stir and let simmer on stove top for about 45 minutes. When you place the polenta back into the oven for the second bake, dice up zucchini and squash and add to sauce. Stir and keep on simmer until ready to serve.

Once the polenta has completely cooked, remove from oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes…10 is better to solidify.

Spoon big piles of polenta on a plate or in a bowl, top with a big heap of tomato sauce. Sprinkle with a little more parm  and maybe another dash of pepper .

Eat…..Spoon or fork is recommeded.

Happy Food!

Because it is cold outside. Because I had an hour to kill before I needed to leave the house and because I wanted to make a sweet treat for the mister (who had been dealing with frozen pipes all day) and for the little littles that I was going to hang out with.  My original idea was to just make regular old snickerdoodles, but as  I was riffling around my tea drawer for a mid day tea (it’s usually coffee, but I am trying to cut back on drinking one thousand cups a day) I got hit with a little inspiration. Chai tea spiced snickerdoodles. Yes! a nice black chai, full of flavors or cinnamon, ginger, cardamon, allspice, and pepper. So many good time tastes.  And while I am at it, why not add some chocolate to that mix, because, well just because.

Chai, chocolate, and sugar equals….Bada da da….. awesome Cookies! And who doesn’t want awesome cookies?

The stuff…Flour, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and allspice. Cocoa powder, brown and white sugar. Veggie Oil  (you can use butter, or vegan butter instead for a chewier cookie) vanilla, a little vinegar and a nice cup of  chai tea…  Also a little bowl of cinnamon and sugar to doodle the cookies.

    The sugars, oil, tea, vinegar, and vanilla go into a big bowl. Beat for a minute on medium, then add the rest of the stuff and beat some more until fully incorporated…. Simple simple. 

Preheat the oven to 375 and get the cookies all dressed up in a cinnamon sugar suit by taking globs of dough and kind of rolling it into ball (perfection is not necessary) Drop dough balls into the cinnamon sugar and toss around to fully coat. Place on cookie sheet and give a good smoosh to flatten the cookie balls out to about 1/2 inch thick. Now into the oven for about 9-11 minutes to bake. 

Aahhhh…….pulled from the oven and placed on a rack to cool. Fluffy, chewy, pillowy soft and spicy cookies. Oh the smell of so good!Made extra large to make extra little littles happy. The best part? I made each little sing me a song for a second cookie… I am the greatest!

Heres to a Happy Hump Day!

-C

Chocolate Chai Snickerdoodles 

The stuff-

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon allspice
• Chai teabag steeped in 1 1/4 cups boiling water
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 3/4 cups vegetable oil (can substitute butter or vegan butter for a more chewy cookie)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar 
• 2 tablespoons each of cinnamon and white sugar to coat cookie balls in

Preheat oven to 375

In a cup, steep tea bag in 1 1/4 cups boiling water. Let tea steep for 10 minutes.

In  Large bowl, add sugars, oil, vanilla, vinegar and steeped tea and beat on medium speed for about 2 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients (besides cinnamon and sugar for coating) and beat on low until everything is fully incorporated. 

 Add the cinnamon and sugar to a small bowl and mix together. Take globs of dough and roughly formed  ball then drop into cinnamon sugar and toss to coat. Place coated balls on cooke sheet and smoosh down so cookies are about 1/2 inch thick. Place in oven for about 9-11 minutes or until cookies are just barely cooked through. Remove and let cool on a wire rack.

My suggestion for sharing….If they want one, make them sing and dance for it!

One of the best things about winter is that I can have something in the oven at any time and not worry about how hot the house is going to get.  I get to spend my free time (or my in between free minutes) baking up all the thing that I would not dare bake in the summer. (lots of bread and cakes) Yeah, I might complain a little about how cold it is outside (to my defense, -20 is kind of a bitch) but then I think of the super hot humid days that come during the summer and cringe.  At least when its cold out I am able to get warm, (que oven)  but when its super hot and humid, I just turn into something that border lines a wet towel and the rabbit animal… Not so pleasant.   I much prefer cooler weather. So no big surprise….I made bread.. or focaccia to be exact. And now you should too because first off, you want to eat it, and secondly, you can probably whip this up faster then it would take to get all of you winter warmies on and leave the house. Don’t leave, just turn the oven on.  The stuff, which isn’t a whole lot… Flour and salt.  A mixture of honey, water, and yeast. And olive oil. Its pretty much my pizza dough recipe, tweaked with the addition of oil, less flour and no kneading.  Mix together the wet and dry…I used my nifty dough whisk, but a wooden spoon or even your hand works. Mix mix mix. The dough should  be really slack and sticky.  And guess what.. no need to knead! Just make sure the dough is uniformly incorporated…hehe.. uniformly incorporated… sounds weird.         Drizzle the dough (don’t worry about making it into a ball, a blob is good) with a little oil and place in a nice warm place topped with a towel to rise for about an hour or until dough has doubled in size. Once is has fully risen, drizzle 2 tablespoons oil in two 9 inch cake pans.  Divide dough in half, and kind of smoosh dough into pans. Cover and let rise for another 20 minutes or so. When dough has finished its second rise, drizzle each  with another tablespoon of oil and with your fingers, fill out the pan and indent the dough, kind of like playing a piano or tickling a puppy(?)….Then layer your toppings (if you want any)  Start with any herbs, then the veggies. Then last, any cheese you got. I used thyme, cracked black pepper, tomato, onion, topped with parmesan cheese. And the other one is just plain old salt.  Pulled from the oven when nice and golden brown..set on a wire rack to cool for a few minute and removed from the pans. The mister was practically salivating waiting for a slice… and he was so not disappointed. Crispy outside with soft airy insides… Everything a perfect focaccia should be. The one with the toppings was the favorite for the first night, but for a peanut butter and cheese panini for lunch the next day…plain is the way to go.. My suggestion, do what I did, jazz one up and leave one plain. And then make more if you need too because the forecast call for another week of below zero!!! Oh the things that I’ll get to make! (me being positive) Stay warm! -C

Focaccia with out without stuff

• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1 tablespoon salt plus 2 teaspoons for topping (can use more or less if you want)
• 2 teaspoons active yeast (or one package)
• 1 1/2 cups warm water
• 1 tablespoon honey (or sugar if vegan)
• 6 tablespoons olive oil

Optional toppings

• Fresh cracked pepper
• Thyme or any other spices
• Thinly sliced tomato
• Thinly sliced onion 
• Parmesan Cheese 
• Anything you want!

In a bowl or jar, mix honey (or sugar), yeast and warm water together and let sit for about 5 minutes or until yeast is activated and starts to foam In a large bowl, whisk together flour and 1 tablespoon of salt. With either a wooden spoon, dough whisk, or if you have one, a stand mixer with a dough hook, mix the yeast mixture with the flour. The dough is going to be really sticky so mixing might get a little gloppy, but keep at it until everything is full incorporated.. for about 3-5 minutes and don’t be afraid to use your hand… you can wash it off.  Once mixed drizzle with oil and cover with a towel. Let rise for about an hour or until dough has dubbed in size. When dough has double, coat two 8 or 9 inch cake pans each with 2 tablespoons olive oil. Dump dough onto floured surface and cut in half. Take each half a place in pan. cover and let rise again for another 20ish minutes. preheat over to 400 degrees After second rise, lightly take your fingers and push down dough, making little indents all over the surface. Drizzle each with another tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle each with a teaspoon of salt. If using spices or any other toppings, nows the time to layer them on. And do any cheese last! Place in oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. When done, place on a wire rack and let cool a bit before removing  from pans. Done!!  To store, place in a paper bag.. best eaten within a few days!

Guess what guys ….I got myself a sick vintage waffle/ griddle iron. I couldn’t be more thrilled!!! I found this thing at the local recycled goods store the other day, along with a very beautiful old white pyrex mixing bowl. It was one of my best thrift store scores! (Checking out the inventory and the condition of all the old things that day, I would say an old lady had just died and all her perfectly keep, mint condition kitchen stuff had just been donated.  But it’s cool, cause I get the feeling that she was at least 90, with a big loving family, and was happy until the day she died. And I am sure she would be pleased that I have taken over the waffle maker. Thanks old lady!)

 And now I am pretty sure that  everything I make for the next week will be cooked on said waffle/griddle. I am serious, I already have a list of things to try and cook on it; cookies, biscuits, granola bars, potatoes, fruit, some type of pasta situations…. the list of possibilities is endless and I bet that at least 1/2 of these things will be totally awesome and amazing.

But first thing first. I need to make dinner.

So waffles for dinner!! 

Note. These waffles are completely 100% fantastic for any meal you want to make them for. They consist of nothing more then beans, a shit ton of veggies, and just a bit of cornmeal. But don’t let that fool you because they are super packed full of so much flavor, have a really soft tender inside, with a nice crispy outside and are so super pretty. They are wonderful! The stuff. First, we got a big old pile of shredded up veggies which include; carrot, beet, sweet potato, onion, parsnip, celeriac, and a little bit of kale.  A we got a bowl of rinsed and strained white beans, a little bit of cornmeal and salt, pepper, and garlic powder. 

The makings of something amazing!Before you do anything. get your waffle iron out and preheat it. 

While thats going on, take you beans,  add 3/4 cup water and puree until smooth with whatever blending device want to like to use. (I used my hand blender…less to clean)Now collect all the shredded veggies and dump into a big bowl with the bean puree, the spices and the cornmeal. Mix until combined. The batter should be thick, but not dry. If its seems to wet, add more corn meal, or too dry, add a little more water.

Note how my batter turned a magical pink… I love beets, they make everything pretty! And check out that bowl!When your waffle iron is preheated, oil it if needed (if your not sure, add a little oil just to really make sure your waffles don’t stick) and take appropriate size spoonfuls of the batter and stick on iron. Close it and wait…..My iron has a little light that turns on when the waffles are done cooking, so I waited patiently (ok iI did open it a few time) until light tuned on and removed the perfectly cooked waffles.

Did I mention how awesome my new/old vintage iron is?

SO AWESOME!!

I made a little gaucamole and gave the mister and little bowl of plain Greek yogurt with lemon juice, but feel free to top, drizzle, or dump whatever you want onto these beauties… 

Happy waffle Wednesday!!!

-C

Veggie Bean Wonder Waffles

Makes 8-10 waffles (in my iron) feeds 2-3 peeps

• 1 small carrot shredded
• 1 small parsnip shredded
• 1/2 a small celeriac root
• 1 small beet shredded
• 2 kale leaves chopped into tiny bits
• 1/2 an onion, shredded
• 1/2 a small sweet potato shredded
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 cups(or 1 can) cooked, rinsed and strained white beans
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• teaspoon each salt and pepper
• oil for iron(if needed)

Note on veggies… I used what I had in the fridge and shredded, it came to about 3 cups. If you don’t have these specific veggies or only want to use a few.. go for it. Just make sure to have 3 cups of whatever veggies you use.

Take you beans and blend them up with whatever device you would like to use. Once creamy, add to a bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Stir until combined.

Once the waffle iron is preheated, oil it( if needed) and place the recommended amount of batter right on it there. Close and cook until golden brown and waffly.

Serve on a plate with topping of your choice, A few suggestions.. Guacamole, salsa, hummus, mustard, greek yogurt… anything that tastes good to you.

Eat as breakfast, lunch or dinner…

Fork into face

My contribution to last nights dinner at my sisters…. Freshy fresh veggies spring rolls.I had about 30 minutes between work and getting over to my sisters house to throw something together so it needed to be something fast, easy, and something I could make without going to the store. She was making the main course (some teriyaki situation and rice) so I was doing up the veggies.

I had just bought a package of spring roll wrappers…. Bingo! The perfect and logical choice. I grab the wrappers, a variety of veggies and after spending 12 of my 30 minutes trying to scrub the oil based paint off of my face and hands, I still managed to completely prepare, construct, and take pictures of these lovely tasty spring rolls. and get over to my sisters in time for dinner.

Impressed?  

Damn right!

The stuff. Carrot, beet, asparagus, red cabbage, and kohlrabi, which all (except asparagus, which I just cut into thirds) got cut into matchstick sized pieces with my mandoiln. Then there are the rice spring roll wrappers that we need to make the veggies into rolls. Also a bit of red wine vinegar to drizzle onto the veggies for a little extra zing. And lastly, soy, fresh ginger, and a couple cloves of garlic for a spicy salty dipping sauce.Start by having everything set out and ready to assemble. Fill a large shallow dish or baking sheet with really warm water. Working with one at a time,place a rice wrapper into water and let sit for about 10 seconds or until the paper starts to soften. Remove from water and place on a damp surface (just splash a little water on the counter) Take a little bit of everything and and place on the lower middle part of the paper. Fold in the sides first, then tuck and roll the wrapper as tightly as you can without ripping the wrapper.

Repeat until you have used up all you veggies.For the dipping sauce. Finely grate ginger and garlic and add to soy sauce. Stir… and it’s done.Freshy, pretty and fantastically delicious. And for real, took about 8 minutes to make. (I even had enough time to wash the dishes before we left!)

I am so awesome!

Hump Day Pow!!!!!

-C

Fresh Veggies Spring Rolls 

Makes 8-10 but can easily be increased or decreased to desired amount 

• 8-1o rice spring roll papers
• Splash of Red wine or rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup soy or tamari sauce
• 2 cloves of garlic
• teaspoon  freshly grated ginger
• 1 medium carrot
• 1 medium beet
• 1/4 head of purple cabbage
• 10 thin fresh asparagus
• 1 small kohlrabi

Note… I used the veggies that I had in the fridge at the moment. If you have a bunch of veggies but not these particular ones, use what you have. Pretty much all veggies taste good inside a spring roll!

Gather your veggies and prep by either using a mandolin, a grater, or some sick knife skills, and julienne, shred, or slice you veggies into thin match sticks. Once all the veggies are prepared, sprinkle a little vinegar over the top.

For the rolls…Grab a large shallow vessel  (a rimmed baking sheet works great) and add in warm water. Working  one at a time, place the wrapper into the water for about 10 seconds or until the wrapper starts to soften. Remove and spread onto a clean, damp work surface. Gather a bit of each veggie that you are adding and place towards the bottom  middle of the wrapper. Now fold the sides in over the pile of veggies. Then with the side closest to you, tuck and roll wrapper away from you, trying to keep it tight, but not to tight that it rips.. (Hopefully that makes since.) Place finished rolls onto a damp surface to keep from sticking and if not serving right away, drape with  a damp towel or paper towel to keep from drying out.

For the soy ginger dipping sauce. Add grated ginger,  minced garlic, and soy into a bowl and mix together.  Serve with spring rolls. 

Eat one, two, or a plateful. It’s nice to share but not a necessity.

My winter farm share is coming to an end this week. One more pick and then a three week stretch until the summer share starts… WHAT AM I GOING TO DO!!! Stock up as much as I can is what.

I have been strategic about the roots and veggies that I have chosen to bring home the past few weeks.(My farm lets you pick what you want)  I know what I can buy at the store, things like carrots and potatoes, so I have been passing those up, but the roots like beets and celeriac… I have been bringing home baskets of those and hoarding them in the fridge and basement in preparation for the laps in farm fresh food and knowing that if I want to by these at the store it s going to coast me a million dollars  a pound. (a for real million dollars)

Yup, lots of roots around here, especially celeriac root which is fantastic. I am kind of obsessed with celeriac, with its fibrous, knobby exterior, soft but almost meaty texture inside, and a flavor that  is close to celery but so much better.  I don’t know why it has taken me so long to do a posting featuring this amazing root vegetable  (I eat it almost every day)

So here, an amazingly tasty, hearty but not heavy, celeriac recipe.  Perfect for spring and the change into summer…. Mustard roasted celeriac with an fanatic split peas gravy that will have you licking you bowl clean.

 The stuff….For the split pea gravy we have a carrot, a parsnip and a large onion chopped into small chunks.  Salt, thyme, a bay leaf and of course the split peas. Then there is the celeriac root* sliced into 1/2 inch thick rounds and some plain old yellow mustard .

*Note. I don’t peel my celeriac root. I really enjoy the fibrous exterior but realize that some don’t(The mister does not like it) so peel it if you want. 

Toss the chopped parsnip, carrot, onion and the spices into a pot on medium heat and let veggies sweat a few minutes until tender.  Add in the split peas and enough water to cover everything.  Turn pot on high and bring to a boil, then cover and turn to low. Make sure to give the pot a good stir ever few minutes and add more water if needed 

While the gravy is cooking,  take the celeriac rounds and brush each side with yellow mustard, sprinkle with pepper, and place on a baking sheet. Stick into the oven to roast for about 25 minutes, flipping the rounds after about 10 minutes.

Once the peas have soften, remove the bay leaf and puree until smooth and oh so creamy. Taste and add more salt and pepper if needed. If you find that the gravy seems to thick, just add in more water until it’s the consistency that you want. The gravy is made, the celeriac is roasted… now we are ready to eat!! Stick the celeriac on a plate and dump good amount of that gravy right on top. Feel free to add a bed of spinach, or a grain or anything you want, because why not, and also some chopped tomatoes for a little acid and prettiness.

Serve with the fanciest knife and fork you can find. Extra yellow mustard and sriracha sauce are great condiments to have close by.

Happy Tuesday!

-C

Mustard Roasted Celeriac with Split Pea Gravy

• 2 medium celeriac roots
• 6 tablespoons mustard
• 1 large carrot
• 1 medium parsnip
• 1 large yellow onion
• 2/3 cup split peas
• 2-3 cups water 
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 teaspoons thyme or italian spice mix
• salt and pepper
• spinach (optional)
• diced tomatoes(optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Small dice the carrot, parsnip and onion and throw into a large pot. Spinkle with salt and pepper, add in the thyme and bay leaf and add a splash of water. Stick on stove on medium heat and stir. Let cook until the veggies become soft and fragrant. Now add in the split peas and 2 cups of water. Bring to a boil then cover and turn heat down to medium low. Let cook until the split peas become tender (about 25 minutes) string on occasion and adding more water if the peas are not completely summered while cooking.

Once the peas are tender, let cool for a few minutes, remove bay leaf, and either dump into a blender or blend with an immersion blender until nice and creamy. If gravy seems to thick, add in more water. 

Scrub or peel celeriac roots and slice them into 1/2 inch think rounds. Place on a baking sheet and brush mustard on both sides and spindle with pepper. Stick into oven for about 10 minutes, flip, then back into the oven for another 15 or so minutes, or unit the celeriac is tender.

When the celeriac is done remove from oven and  stick a few rounds on a bed of spinach (or not, or any kind of grain or green you like) Top with a hearty helping of the gravy and toss on some chopped up tomatoes.

Eat with at knife and fork like a fancy person.

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.

Before we left for the weekend, I was was trying my hardest to empty the fridge out of all food with the intention of leaning it empty so I could leave it open to defrost while were were gone. Unfortunately I was not able to make it happen. What I did make happen was emptying it almost completely so that when we got home, we had pretty much no food in the house, except for a few things that probably should be eaten.  Plus one of the last things that I want to do after sitting in a car for 6 hours is go to the grocery store, or anywhere for that matter, so I was determined to make with what wet had in the fridge:

• Carrots
• half of a gigantic kohlrabi
• soy milk
• iced tea
• bananas that needed to be frozen
• strawberries

Perfect!  A few carrots and half of a gigantic kohlrabi.. plus at the hotel we were staying at, there were fruit bowls in he lobby full apples. Every time I went past the apples (which was a lot) I grab one or two, so I have a few apples (I actually have a lot of apples now). All the things I need for a super awesome salad slaw. Apples with their  nice sweet crispiness and kohlrabi with its cabbagey, crunchy earthiness, tossed together with some vinegar, some toasted walnuts and some carrots, I mean, so freaking good. And to make it a bit more of a meal, I made some lentils to go with it. But the best part was there was no need to leave the house!!

     The stuff… A huge hunk of a bigger then my head kohlrabi (or 2 normal bulbs). A carrot, an apple, toasted walnuts, red wine vinegar, and some salt.

Pretty simple stuff going on here. Just peel and julienne the kohlrabi, carrot and apple. (no need to peel the carrot or apple unless you want too) and stick it all into a bowl.  I used my mandolin, which is one of my favorite kitchen tools ever, but if you don’t have one, a box grater works too.Sprinkle with salt and a good glug glug of red wine vinegar. Chop up the walnuts (some big chunks and some very small pieces makes for good eating), toss it all together and, well that’s it. But wait…. let it sit for a few minutes before serving to really let the flavors draw out.And there we have it. Super fast, full of flavors and crunchy texture. A salad slaw after my own heart.

Serve it as it or add to a bed of greens, rice, or lentils… and make sure to save at least as little… cause its an awesome little pre-bed snack.

Happy Week!!

-C

Kohlrabi Apple Walnut Slaw

• 2 medium sized Kohlrabis 
• 1 medium apple   
• 1 small carrot
• 1/2 cup toasted walnuts
• red wine vinegar
• salt

In a large bowl, julienne kohlrabi (after peeled) apple and carrot. Sprinkle with salt, add in vinegar. Rough chop walnuts and toss the whole bit together. Let sit for at least 10 minutes, if not longer before serving. (A great salad to make ahead of time)

Eat as is, or toss onto a bed of greens, plate of rice or a bowl of lentils.

Any left overs only end up tasting better the next day.

 I’ll let you know now, I am a make and eat soup all year long person. I can think of few things better then sitting outside, basking in the sun, hopefully with a light wind, a book in hand, enjoying a nice big cup of some good homemade soup. (Doesn’t that sound so freaking lovely?) This soup right here is perfect for just that. Parsnips are the best, kind of like a big white sweet, yet starchy carrots. And cooked together with a little bit of light and lemony thyme, rich earthy turmeric and a couple more chopped veggie….. you got yourself a nice thick and fragrant bowl of happiness that fills you up without weighing you down. It’s food you can eat that fills you up, leaves you feeling cozy, yet still wanting to hop on a bike or lace up the running shoes.  Hearty without the feeling of all the heaviness.

A perfect soup for spring! (or summer, winter, or fall)

The stuff. Parsnips, carrots, onion and garlic. Thyme and turmeric, salt and pepper. the tinniest bit of oil and water (water not shown)Chop all the veggies and the garlic, drizzle a dutch oven or a pot with oil, toss in the veggies. Add the turmeric, the thyme, and 1/2 cup of water. Sweet sweating the veggies. Turn pot on medium and cook until the water completely cooks out. When the veggies start to brown and stick to the pot, deglaze with water. Give a good stir and keep cooking. Repeat the deglazing process until the veggies are super soft and ready to blend. (I did this 4 times.. it only took 10 minutes)Add enough water to cover the cooked veggies. And now blend the heck out of it.. Go as smooth or chunky as you want. I blended as smooth as I could get with this crappy immersion blender. (Blender on loan until I finally decide on, and buy a new one)And there you have it. Scoop into bowls, add lots of cracked black pepper, and go to town. I made enough to save a bowl for later…  it didn’t last for later. 

Soup so good. 

-C

Parsnip Thyme and Turmeric Soup 

• 4 large parsnips
• 2 carrots
• 1 whole onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• 2 teaspoons turmeric 
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• water

Dice up the parsnips, carrots, garlic and onion and place into a large dutch oven or pot. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil,  sprinkle on the spices, salt and pepper and add about 1/2 cup of water. Turn heat on medium and start cooking down the veggies. Once the water evaporates and the veggies start to caramelize, deglaze pot with about a 1/2 cup of water. Give pot a stir, and continue to cook until water evaporates.  Repeat this 2-3 more times until the veggies are super soft and fragrant. 

When the  veggies are ready, add enough water to the pot to submerge the veggies. Bust out the immersion blender or dump into a blending device and blend until smooth (or the consistency that you want) Have a cup of water ready to thin out if needed. When blended, taste for salt and pepper, add more if you want, and cook on low heat until you are ready to serve.

Garnish with a lot of good cracked pepper

Eat from a vessel, use a spoon

Is it really for real April? Where has all the time gone and where the hell is the warm weather? It’s not funny anymore. I am officially OVER winter!  Ok, so now that I got that off my chest…..

Last night the misters Dad came over for a long awaited dinner accompanied by talk of life goals and what her referred to as “narratives” or the story of our lives. Some deep shit to be talking about at dinner, especially with zero alcohol to be had.

Me, being so super awesome, was all up in taking charge in making the food. Except that  last night I didn’t have a bunch of time and honestly, much energy to be doing anything.  And sure, I could have just made a pot of spaghetti, but that just felt like cheeping out. So Polenta it was. And because I just made a hug pot of navy bean, those were going into the polenta too.

Beany polenta baked in the oven with a tomato sauce cooked on the stove. About 5 minutes of hands on time and an hour to cook it all. It’s the perfect meal to make when you have guests coming over. Fast prep, into the oven and on the stove, and then you have an hour to clean and make yourself presentable. See, I am a thinker. (I ended up skipping the making myself presentable part… I stayed in my gym clothes.. no need to impress family right?) Then after about and hour you end up with a hearty healthy pretty meal, all from scratch, that seems like you spent the afternoon cooking. When in fact you spent the past hour vacuuming and watching Gilmore Girls. 

The Stuff. Cornmeal, water, navy beans and parmesan for the polenta. Crushed tomatoes, garlic, dried basil, onion, carrot, zucchini, and summer squash for the sauce. Salt, pepper, and olive oil all around.

Cornmeal and water go into a cast iron skillet (or any oven safe dish) with a pinch of salt and pepper. Give it a little mix and stick it into the oven at 400 degrees .

Once the polenta is in the oven, make the sauce. Chop up all the veggies and stick into a dutch oven or sauce pot with a pinch of salt, the basil and a good drizzle of olive oil. Stick on medium heat and let veggies cook down a bit.  When the veggies are tender, add in minced garlic, crushed tomatoes and another drizzle or oil.  Turn burner to lowest setting and simmer (giving it a stir every now and then) for about 45 minutes or until the polenta is done. After about 30 minutes when the water had pretty much all cooked down, take the polenta out of the oven and stir in the beans, the parmesan, a tablespoon or two of olive oil and salt and pepper. Smooth top out and sprinkle with more pepper, parmesan and drizzle with a bit more oil. Stick back into oven for another 1/2 or until polenta  has formed a crust and no longer giggles when you wiggle the pan.

Pull polntna from the oven and let sit for at least 1o minutes.

Two big spoons and a pile of plates. Have the people serve themselves!

Have a Happy Day! 

-C

Baked Navy Bean Polenta with Chunky Tomato Sauce

Serves 4 hungry people

For the Polenta

• 1 1/2 Cups Course Ground Corn Meal
• 4 Cups Water
• 3 Cups Prepared Navy Beans (Or just use to cans)
• 1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese or Vegan Parmesan (Optional)
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

For the Sauce

• One 28oz Can of Crushed Tomatoes
• 1 large Carrot
• 1 Small Onion
• 4 (or more ) Cloves Garlic
• 1 teaspoon Dried Basil
• 1 Small Zucchini
• 1 Small Summer Squash
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 400

In a large skillet, mix together the cornmeal and the water and add a good pinch of salt and pepper. Place into oven for about 30 minutes or until the polenta starts to congeal at the edge of the skillet nd most of the waster has cooked down.

Remove skillet from oven and with a whisk or wooden spoon, mix in the beans, the parmesan (if using) and 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil. Smooth out mixture, sprinkle with salt, pepper, parmesan and drizzle with olive oil. Stick back into oven for another 30 minutes or so.  Polenta is done when it no longer wiggles when you giggle the skillet.

For the sauce

Small dice the carrot and the onion and stick into a medium dutch oven oor sauce pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Place on medium heat and cook until the veggies are tender. Add in tomato, minced up garlic and basil. stir and let simmer on stove top for about 45 minutes. When you place the polenta back into the oven for the second bake, dice up zucchini and squash and add to sauce. Stir and keep on simmer until ready to serve.

Once the polenta has completely cooked, remove from oven and let sit for at least 5 minutes…10 is better to solidify.

Spoon big piles of polenta on a plate or in a bowl, top with a big heap of tomato sauce. Sprinkle with a little more parm  and maybe another dash of pepper .

Eat…..Spoon or fork is recommeded.

Happy Food!

     I love mustard, and when I say love, I mean LOVE. I eat it on anything and everything. And not just small quaintites, I buy jumbo sized containers of the stuff because I go through it so fast.  Over the past few years I even  started taking down others with my mustard eating obsession. Sisters, brothers, even some of the littles are now mustard eating feens.  One of my little nieces is now just as bad as me. I don’t think I have seen her eat a single meal without a side of mustard. Her favorite snack, clementines and mustard,  although sometimes she skips the clementines and just goes in with her fingers. Oh so good. I think that child could possible be mine.  And yes, it’s mostly the yellow grocery store variety of mustard being consumed, but yellow mustard is just the tip of the ice berg. There is a whole world of flavors, textures and colors when it comes to the humble mustard seed. Whole grain mustard, to me, is one of the best and easiest to adapt to any persons specific taste. You can make it plan or add in just about any spice, vinegar, even a little sweetness that you might like. One of my favorite variations of this mustard is to skip the vinegar and use picked jalapeño juice. Aah, my mouth is watering just thinking about it.

So if you are anything of a mustard connoisseur, you really must, at least once, make your own batch.(It’s so easy!) And you will love it and share it with all your friends and they will think you are a bad ass for making your own mustard and your life will just be so great. All because you are now a mustard maker.  Yes. 

Yellow mustard seeds, brown mustard seeds, apple cider vinegar and salt. The most basic ingredients.

Note- If you want, add in a pinch of any spice that you want.. Chili flakes, granulated garlic, turmeric…. And you can use the vinegar of your choice. I like apple cider because its mellow with a slight sweetness but white or sherry or any vinegar would be great. Even left over picked juice is fantastic too.

    In a large jar, combine the mustard seed , twice as much vinegar and a pinch of salt. Cover and let sit for on the counter overnight until the seeds have soften and look almost like caviar. 

Now blend those seeds. You might want to add another splash or two of vinegar to help  blend and to thin out a bit. Chose how creamy or seeded you like you mustard. I like to make it creamy but seedy so I blend it half way to creamy.

Taste and add another pinch of salt if its needed and……..

You have got mustard! Make sure you have a good snack ready to eat with it.. My go to is carrots. I could eat this all day long.  

Enjoy and have a great Tuesday full of mustard and stuff!

-C

Whole Grain Mustard

• 1/4 Cup Brown Mustard Seeds
• 1/4 Cup Brown Mustard Seeds
• 1 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
• 1 Teaspoon Salt
• Optional..A pinch of  Garlic Graduals, Red Pepper Flakes, Curry Powder (Anything you want) 

Combine all ingredients into a large jar that has at least a few extras inches for the seed to expand.  Leave on counter for 8-12 hours.

Once seeds are nice and soft and have expanded, either eat as is (Mustard seed caviar) or blend the seeds to desired consistency (I like it half smooth, half seedy) Add a pinch more or salt and another splash or two of vinegar to help blend.

Refrigerate and use on anything and everytihng.

What are you going to be doing this weekend? Are you dressing up all crazy, taking a little or two door to door for bite sized pieces of candy, or are you maybe giving out candy? Are you going to some spectacular Halloween party, or are you thinking more tricks then treats and are planning on TP-ing the neighbors or creating some mischief around town.%u00a0

Whatever you are doing, it’s sounds like it’s going to be a blast. Just note,%u00a0if you are being mischievous %u00a0don’t be an asshole about it. Stealing candy from kids is wrong,(steal your candy from adults) and TP is cool but spray paint and things that are permanent are not. And stay away from my houses!%u00a0

Anyway, the Halloween situation %u00a0is always the same with me and the mr. We say that we need to do something fun and different every year. Maybe a party, or even just some human intreat ion. But just like every year, we give in to our inner hermits. Our Halloween night will be as followed: Lock ourselves in the house, drawing the shades,(note that we would totally give out candy, but our door is down a very narrow and dark driveway, behind a fence, and pretty much inaccessible to people) watch a movie %u00a0(thinking Donnie Darko or maybe even old reruns of Halloween Rosanne.)%u00a0eat popcorn,and go to sleep at a very reasonable hour. %u00a0And now that I say it out loud, our evening sounds like the most perfect way to spend the night. Especially because of the popcorn.

Let’s just stop and think about this popcorn a minute%u2026%u2026…

Ok, so do you get it now?. This is an epic popcorn combo.%u00a0Mustard is for everything. A slightly sweet honey mustard all drizzled on %u00a0popcorn, well that’s just craziness. And if you are like the mr., the pretzel crumble just takes it over the top. If we had made plans, I would probably have to cancel just so I can stay in an eat this popcorn.

And I have a hunch that this flavor combination will pair very well with a handful or two of some halloween candies.%u00a0

POPCORN TIME!!!!!

The stuff. A big ass bowl of air popped popcorn. %u00a0Spicy brown mustard (can use any mustard) honey (can use maple) a little olive oil and a few pretzel sticks. (can use any pretzel shape you like)

Bag the pretzels, grap something heavy (rolling pin works great) and smash the pretzels into tiny little bits.

In a little pot ) mix mustard, oil and honey together. Place on medium %u00a0heat and mix continuously until the mixture is hot and a nice liquid pourable consistency.%u00a0

Now you can do this any way you want, but my way is probably the best. Dividie popcorn in two bowls and drizzle each bowl with equal amounts of mustard sauce.

Flip one of the bowls ontop of the other and shake the crap oiut of it.(or until the popcorn is evenly coated)

And the popcorn is all nice and evenly coasted.%u00a0Now dump in the crushed pretzel and repeat the double bowl shake.

Check it out%u2026 Some fantastical popcorn

Now don’t you want to turn the lights off and snuggle on the couch with this bowl?

Share if you want, but hey, it’s just popcorn so you can taotally eat it all yourself.%u00a0

Happy Friday.. And Happy Halloween

-C

makes 10 cups (enough to share between 2 people)

• 10 ish cups of air popped popcorn
• 3 tablespoon spicy brown mustard
• 2 tablespoons honey (sub maple or agave if vegan)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 3-4 pretzel rods (or whatever shape) which makes about 1/2 a cup smashed (use gluten free if needed)

Take pretzels and place them in a bag of some sort and using something heavy (like a rolling pin)%u00a0smash the pretzels until they are a smallish crumb (some big shanks are good too)

In a small sauce pot, combine the mustard, honey, oil, and mix to combine. Stick pot on stove and heat on medium until sauce is hot and liquidy. (can get the same result by using a microwave safe bowl and sticking it in a microwave at 20 second intervals until %u00a0hot)

Evenly distribute popcorn into two big bowls. Take the warmed up sauce and drizzle all over popcorn in %u00a0each bowl the, for the fun part,%u00a0flip one bowl onto the other and shake the popcorn all around to evenly coat. Remove a bowl, toss in the pretzel crumbs and pieces and place the bowl back on. Shake again.

Popcorn is ready,%u00a0now eating it!

Feels like we are nearing the end of summer, no? I am all on board, feeling that feeling one gets when the season starts to change over. It’s that deep down in my bones feeling, the feeling my body gets because it knows whats coming and is getting ready. The shift is coming on fast. Grasp those last summer days as much as you can.

Another intense week. After a super duper good camp at Ricker State Park, it was full steam ahead. The mr has been super crazed, all out, sanding and assembling bowling alleys into gigantic countertops for a local restaurant. Most days he is gone as I get home, home when I am in bed. But not quite as bad as last week. We have managed a few meals together and an adventure or two, like when we went to a church in the islands,, had ourselves a picnic and picked their apples. The apples were not good yet. But the church was lovely.

Other then being busy busy, there was other stuff. Barb and her man child came over for dinner and brought along Coco. We ate, he cried. I gave him a cookie, he laughed and ran around like a lunatic. (Coco, not barbs boyfriend) The older littles have been away at summer camp all week so we saw none of them.(We miss them!) We had dinner at my moms with the boys and Barb and I was lucky enough to see the world greatest tan lines ever. I also worked the last day of art camp (YAY!), picked blackberries, gave the mr a haircut, and scrubbed the shit out of the bathtub. All the fun stuff. Not fun stuff was when the car battery died when I Was trying to leave the house, the underglaze I was bringing home to use dumped all over me and the inside of the car (I was so pissed!) or when I was at the grocery store, lost my credit card, freaked out and ran around the store, then drove home, and back to the store looking for it, only to find it underneath one of my canvas bags in the shopping cart. The whole freaking time. At least I found it though cause I was about to cancel it. Look at me seeing the bright side.

Then I picked up farm share and all the tomatoes. Coming off of last weeks tomato hall, and all the tomatoes that are starting to come in in my garden, I am up to my ears in so many tomatoes. I have been cooking down pots and pots, freezing and jarring and of course eating. Eating so many tomatoes that my belly is on fire. And of course I have no help from the mr. He says he is officially tomatoed out. I wonder how is that possible? I think he is just being a butt is all. But whatever, no more tomatoes for him. (that he will know of. HAHA) And I’l just have to keep on keeping on and eat them. The season only lasts so long.

Yesterday the mr and I took a few hours to get away. We packed lunch and went in search of land. Picked a few properties to look at (but only made it to one) and hiked around the property. It was really nice, had a lot of what we are after but probably not THE property. But close so we are getting there and hopefully we will get there sooner then later. Ready to build our cabin life. And then we went home, I started cleaning and the mr went back to work and didn’t get home until like 3 am this morning.

Not gonna lie, I am bumming. We are not going camping today because well, the mr is still working like a madman and installing those bowling alleys today and tomorrow and we just can’t make it happen. So today, well I am going to make good use of it. Probably going to weed out some dead shit from the garden, maybe do a little replanting. Grocery shopping, clean the car, do a few loads of laundry, return books to the library, process food like a boss. (More tomatoes, hot sauce, freeze chard and pickles!) That and probably do some porch reading. And coffee all day. All. Day. It’s no camping but it will do. Next weekend we are back at it.

Internet read by me, shared with you.

-Are you a camper? If you are, here is some things to consider to optimize a good time. 10 rules for picking the perfect campsite

-Eat all the plants. Gorgeous Portraits of America’s Wild (and Surprisingly Delicious) Edible Plants

–You Should Pour Vinegar into Your Washing Machine—Here’s Why. What can’t vinegar do?

-Always a good idea when you pack lunches or any food. HOW TO MAKE REUSABLE SANDWICH BAGS AND SNACK BAGS

-I don’t consider myself a cat person or a person who wants a book of cats, but this book looks, well, it freaking awesome. A New Book Compiling Hundreds of Timeless Feline Photos by Walter Chandoha is the Cat’s Meow

–Oatly and the quest for the perfect alt-milk. Have you had Oatly? I haven’t but I do really like me some oat milk.

–Is crying truly cathartic? I think it can be. Can also be annoying and exhausting.

-Why does anyone ever listen to anything that guys says, ever? Greenland is not for sale. Seriously, why?

–Don’t Burn Trees to Fight Climate Change—Let Them Grow. I just thought that was common sense but what do I know.

-I don’t know about you, but I start baking a lot more around this time of year. So this is good to know. The Best Substitute for Cake Flour and Self-Rising Flour in Baking

Pictures from the week

Feels like we are nearing the end of summer, no? I am all on board, feeling that feeling one gets when the season starts to change over. It’s that deep down in my bones feeling, the feeling my body gets because it knows whats coming and is getting ready. The shift is coming on fast. Grasp those last summer days as much as you can.

Another intense week. After a super duper good camp at Ricker State Park, it was full steam ahead. The mr has been super crazed, all out, sanding and assembling bowling alleys into gigantic countertops for a local restaurant. Most days he is gone as I get home, home when I am in bed. But not quite as bad as last week. We have managed a few meals together and an adventure or two, like when we went to a church in the islands,, had ourselves a picnic and picked their apples. The apples were not good yet. But the church was lovely.

Other then being busy busy, there was other stuff. Barb and her man child came over for dinner and brought along Coco. We ate, he cried. I gave him a cookie, he laughed and ran around like a lunatic. (Coco, not barbs boyfriend) The older littles have been away at summer camp all week so we saw none of them.(We miss them!) We had dinner at my moms with the boys and Barb and I was lucky enough to see the world greatest tan lines ever. I also worked the last day of art camp (YAY!), picked blackberries, gave the mr a haircut, and scrubbed the shit out of the bathtub. All the fun stuff. Not fun stuff was when the car battery died when I Was trying to leave the house, the underglaze I was bringing home to use dumped all over me and the inside of the car (I was so pissed!) or when I was at the grocery store, lost my credit card, freaked out and ran around the store, then drove home, and back to the store looking for it, only to find it underneath one of my canvas bags in the shopping cart. The whole freaking time. At least I found it though cause I was about to cancel it. Look at me seeing the bright side.

Then I picked up farm share and all the tomatoes. Coming off of last weeks tomato hall, and all the tomatoes that are starting to come in in my garden, I am up to my ears in so many tomatoes. I have been cooking down pots and pots, freezing and jarring and of course eating. Eating so many tomatoes that my belly is on fire. And of course I have no help from the mr. He says he is officially tomatoed out. I wonder how is that possible? I think he is just being a butt is all. But whatever, no more tomatoes for him. (that he will know of. HAHA) And I’l just have to keep on keeping on and eat them. The season only lasts so long.

Yesterday the mr and I took a few hours to get away. We packed lunch and went in search of land. Picked a few properties to look at (but only made it to one) and hiked around the property. It was really nice, had a lot of what we are after but probably not THE property. But close so we are getting there and hopefully we will get there sooner then later. Ready to build our cabin life. And then we went home, I started cleaning and the mr went back to work and didn’t get home until like 3 am this morning.

Not gonna lie, I am bumming. We are not going camping today because well, the mr is still working like a madman and installing those bowling alleys today and tomorrow and we just can’t make it happen. So today, well I am going to make good use of it. Probably going to weed out some dead shit from the garden, maybe do a little replanting. Grocery shopping, clean the car, do a few loads of laundry, return books to the library, process food like a boss. (More tomatoes, hot sauce, freeze chard and pickles!) That and probably do some porch reading. And coffee all day. All. Day. It’s no camping but it will do. Next weekend we are back at it.

Internet read by me, shared with you.

-Are you a camper? If you are, here is some things to consider to optimize a good time. 10 rules for picking the perfect campsite

-Eat all the plants. Gorgeous Portraits of America’s Wild (and Surprisingly Delicious) Edible Plants

–You Should Pour Vinegar into Your Washing Machine—Here’s Why. What can’t vinegar do?

-Always a good idea when you pack lunches or any food. HOW TO MAKE REUSABLE SANDWICH BAGS AND SNACK BAGS

-I don’t consider myself a cat person or a person who wants a book of cats, but this book looks, well, it freaking awesome. A New Book Compiling Hundreds of Timeless Feline Photos by Walter Chandoha is the Cat’s Meow

–Oatly and the quest for the perfect alt-milk. Have you had Oatly? I haven’t but I do really like me some oat milk.

–Is crying truly cathartic? I think it can be. Can also be annoying and exhausting.

-Why does anyone ever listen to anything that guys says, ever? Greenland is not for sale. Seriously, why?

–Don’t Burn Trees to Fight Climate Change—Let Them Grow. I just thought that was common sense but what do I know.

-I don’t know about you, but I start baking a lot more around this time of year. So this is good to know. The Best Substitute for Cake Flour and Self-Rising Flour in Baking

Pictures from the week

For a quite a while now (like at least a year)%u00a0%u00a0the mr and I have had a standing Tuesday night dinner date with my sister Shannon. It’s been great. We don’t get to see each other as much as we would like so having a day where we can catch up and hang out is really nice. Plus, I get to make her dinner and I love to make her food cause she really likes the stuff I make.

%u00a0Well over the course of the past month we have not had our Tuesday dinners (always her fault%u2026 sick kids or some shit)

But last week, I was determined. I miss my sister and was real pumped to make her some food. So I sent her a text a few days before, saying dinner for sure no excuses! Then texted her again that Tuesday morning%u2026 just to make absolutely sure%u2026. And she said yes Hooray! Sister time, I was excited.

But then sometime around lunch she sent me this %u00a0″I know I am really lame, but going to have to cancel tonight.”.

Thoughts that ran through my head.. “That BITCH!.. and What the FU*K!.. and can she be anymore of a butt hole?”

But it ok, I get it. She is constantly working and taking care of monsters (the kids) and things happen.%u00a0%u00a0I am really not mad, I just really miss my sister, So whatever, she canceled, but I still wanted to make what I planned on making and that’s %u00a0what I did. These enchiladas, so freaking good, ! And it’s really to bad that she ditched us cause I know that she would have been all up in these.

So it’s Tueday again. I talked to her last night. She says we are on for dinner tonight%u2026 My hopes are high, but I think I am going to have a back up dinner plan. And if she cancels tonight, I am going to spray paint boobs on her front door.

I’ll let you know how it goes.

Now to the enchiladas!

The stuff. Pumpkin of course!.plus the seeds in that pumpkin. We also need black beans, red onion, garlic and kale. Paprika, cumin, chili powder, salt pepper and olive oil %u00a0Thats for the filling. Now for the sauce we need tomatillos, another onion, jalaepnos, lemon, parsley (I wanted to use cilantro, but couldn’t find any so you can use either) We are going to use salt, pepper and oil in this too. And some tortillas to wrap it all in!

First off, turn the oven on to 400.

Now grab the tomatillos and remove the outer skins. Chop up the white onion and the jalape%u00f1os and toss everything into a lightly oiled skillet. Sprinkle l with a bit of salt and stick it into the oven to roast.

Now we need the seeds from the pumpkin so slice the pumpkin in half and remove all the seed and guts.%u00a0

Gather the seeds, rinse and dry them and toss them into a lightly oiled skillet (or baking sheet) and stick those into the oven too.

While the stuff is in the oven roasting, grab a chunk of pumpkin (with skin on, or if you want you can peel it, but it really is pointless) and shred.. and shred until you have about 2 1/2- 3 cups worth or pumpkin. Also , small dice the red onion and mince up the garlic while you are at it.

Place the onion and garlic in lightly oiled skillet and cook for a few minutes, then toss in the pumpkin with a few splashed %u00a0of water. Cook a bit longer until the pumpkin is starting to become tender. Now toss in the spices and the beans and mix it all around.

And lastely, chop up the kale and mix that into the skillet as well.%u00a0

After the filling is made, the stuff in the oven is most likely done. When the tomatillos and onions are all soft and roasted and the seed are golden brown and crunchy remove them from the oven.

Pour the roasted tomatillos noon and peppers, the juice of the lemon, a handful of roasted seeds, and the fresh herbs into a blender with a drizzle of olive oil and blend until smooth.

Now all the stuff is ready to go.

A big scoop of pumpkin bean mixute in a tortilla. Wrap it up and stick into pan seam down (I used the same skillet that I roast the tomatillos in)%u00a0.%u00a0Repeat until stuff is gone (make sure the enchiladas are all nice and snug)%u00a0then pour sauce all over.(you can use all the sauce or save a little for to serve with)

And into the oven goes!

After about 20 minute, the sauce is thick, the edges of the wraps are a little crispy, and it is all ready for eating

Garnish with more roasted seeds and some chopped up green stuff!

%u00a0And eat you heart out!

And this is why you don not want to cancel dinner plans with me!

Happy Tuesday People!

-C

• 1 small sugar pie pumpkin (only going to use about 3 cups shredded so you are going to have some left over,Maybe Pie?)
• 2 cups cooked black beans
• 1 small red onion
• 3-4 cloves garlic
• few kale leaves
• 1-2 teaspoons Paprika*
• 1-2 teaspoons chili powder*
• 1-2 teaspoons cumin*
• salt and pepper to taste
• 5-6 medium sized flour torilttas (or any kind you like)

For the Tomatillo Sauce

• 1 pint tomatillos %u00a0
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1-2 jalape%u00f1os %u00a0(or none if you don’t want them)
• 1 lemon
• handful of toasted pumpkin seeds%u00a0
• A bunch of fresh cilantro or parsley%u00a0
• salt and pepper to taste
• olive oil%u00a0

*Use a teaspoon of each, taste, then add more if you want%u2026 I like a lot of spice so I used a lot.%u00a0

Preheat oven to 400

Chop your pumpkin in half and coop out the seeds. Rinse them, dry them and toss them onto a lightly oiled skillet or baking pan and stick into the oven to roast until golden brown and crispy, giving them a little stir after about 15 minutes %u00a0%u00a0Should take about 20-30 minutes.%u00a0

For the sauce …

Grab the tomatillos, the yellow onion, and the jalape%u00f1os. Remove papery skins from the tomatillos and toss into a lightly oiled skillet. Cut the jalape%u00f1os in half (remove seeds and ribs) and chop up the onion into a few chunks. Toss that into the skillet too. Sprinkle with salt and stick that into the oven . Cook until tomatillos are soft, (stab them with a fork, if they kind of pop, they are done)%u00a0and the onion iand pepper is tender.. about 25-30 minutes. %u00a0 When done, remove form oven, let cool for a few minutes, then transfer to a blender. Add in a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds, the juice of the lemon,, and the pare sly or cilantro. Blend until smooth.%u00a0

For the filling… (I do this while the stuff is in the oven)

%u00a0Grab the red onion dice it small, and grab the garlic and mince it and toss into a skillet.%u00a0%u00a0Drizzle with a tiny oil. and a pinch of salt and place on the stove on medium low heat to soften a bit.%u00a0%u00a0Take a chunk of pumpkin and shred it until you get about 2 1/2- 3 cups of pumpkin. Toss the shredded pumpkin into the skillet with the cooking onion and mix in the spices and a splash or two on water. Let cook on stove for about 8-10 minutes, or until pumpkin is slightly tender. Now mix in the beans and chop up the kale leaves into little pieces and toss that in too. Mix it all around and remove from heat.%u00a0.

To assemble.%u00a0

Take a big scoop of the filling and place in a flour tortilla. Roll up and place,seem down,%u00a0into a skillet or roasting pan (I used the skillet I roasted the tomatillos in) Repeat until you have used up all the filling. The enchiladas should be snug.

Now pour the sauce all over eht op, spreading it over the sides. You can use all the sauce you made, or save little for serving)

Place into oven and bake for about 20 minutes or until the sauce is starting to become a lithe golden brown. Remove, let cool for a few minutes, and finsih with a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds and some pretty green stuff.

And eat. A fork an knife are handy.