Bread is probably, no, definitely one of my upmost favorite things to bake. There is just something so gratifying about the whole process of mixing ingredients, kneading, watching it rise, shaping, then baking. It calms me and make me a better person. Seriously.
And this might sound sad, but this week when my Dad told me that my grandmother died, well I went home and made bread because that is what felt right to do. It gave my mind and hands a good something to do far a little while. Plus I ended up with a loaf of bread to feed people with. I also like to feed people when I am feeling sad.
I chose to use cinnamon and cardamom because of the smells. They are just delightful and happy smells. And swirls are happy so a happy swirl of happy smells in a loaf of bread that I was making to share that was (and did) make people happy. (See, bread baking is making me so nice because I am sharing it) It was just the right thing to do.
So if you are in need of a little happy pick me up, may I suggest making some bread? It might make you feel a little better, or at least get your mind off of things for a bit. And you will have bread so there is that too. It%u2019s a win win.
Now to the bread, which you can also make when you are happy. Or bored, or hungry, although it takes some time so if you are starting off hungry, you will be starving by the time it is done. Maybe eat a snack will you are making it%u2026..
The stuff. White and whole wheat flour, salt, sweet potato puree, soy milk, yeast, brown sugar, oil, cinnamon, cardamom, some flax seeds, and an orange.
In a big bow, mix together the yeast, warm milk, sweet potato puree, a little sugar, and oil. Let it sit for a minute to active yeast.
Flours and salt get a good mix to be mixed.
Then dry gets dumped into the yeast mixture along with the zest of the orange.
Mix it until a dough forms then dump it out onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead dough for about 6-8 minutes or until supple, uniform, and smooth.
Place dough into a well oiled bowl and cover. Let rise for about and hour or so or until it doubles in size (could take a little longer then a hour)
Place risen dough back out onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll it out about 2 feet long and as wide as a bread pan.
Don%u2019t forget mix up your brown sugar with the cinnamon and cardamom.
Brush rolled out dough with the flax mixture. This will help the cinnamon cardamon sugar stick.
And evenly distribute the mixture all over the dough.
Roll it up nice and tight and once it%u2019s all rolled, pinch then end to the rest of the dough.
Gently place the rolled dough, pinched side down, into a well greased bread pan. Cover in a plastic bag for about another hour or until the dough has risen a good amount and is doming over the rim of the pan. Now preheat the oven.
Once the bread is sufficiently risen, place into hot oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.
Now the hard part. Get it out of the bread pan and get it cooling off. You cannot cut into it until it cools or you will smoosh the swirl and make it gummy. Just wait, at least a half hour. For real. Wait. You can do it!
And when the bread cools and the wait it over, slice and be amazed. A thing of beauty that smells of greatness.
Bread is so great. Great great great! Especially a swirl bread. I mean. Look at that.
Happy day to you.
-C
Makes 1 loaf
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sweet potato puree
1 cup soy milk
2 teaspoons (or one packet) yeast
3 tablespoons neutral oil like canola
2 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 orange
For the cinnamon cardamom filling
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoon cinnamon (I used Vietnamese Cinnamon which is a little spicier and sweeter)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons ground flax mixed with 4 teaspoons warm water
Start by grabbing a big bowl. Mix together the yeast, the 2 tablespoons brown sugar, warm milk, sweet potato puree, and oil. Let sit for a minute to active yeast. In a separate bowl mix together the flours and salt. Dump the dry mixture into the wet. Zest the zest of an orange into bowl and mix it all together until it forms a dough. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-8 minutes or until the dough gets supple and shinny and uniform. Place dough into a well oiled bowl and cover for about an hour or until doubled in size.
Once dough has doubled, dump out onto a well floured surface and roll out to as wide as a bread pan and roughly 24 inched long. After you have rolled it out brush the flax and water mixture all over surface . Combine the brown sugar with the cinnamon and cardamom and evenly distribute the mixture all over flaxed dough. And for the fun part. Careful roll the dough into a log. Roll it tightly so the bread doesn’tt end up with big gaps after it bakes. Once rolled, pinch the rolled end and place the log rolled side down into a well greased bread pan. Place dough into a a plastic bag with plenty of space for dough to rise. Let sit for about another hour or until the dough has risen a little bit above the rim of baking pan.
Preheat oven to 375
When dough has risen, place on middle rack in hot oven and bake for 40-45ish minutes or until bread is a deep golden brown and when you give it a tap, it sounds slightly hollow. Also check it with a intsant read thermometer. Get it to 190.
When it done baking, pull from oven and remove from pan. Place on a wire rack and let completely cool. Seriously, you got to let it cool for at least 1/2 and hour, but longer is better!
When it%u2019s cooled, cut into slices. Eat as you wish.
Uneaten bread stores well for a day or two in a airtight plastic bag but if you don%u2019t eat it that fast, cut into slices and freeze. That way you can just pop a piece out and stick it into toaster. Smart.
I am now starting to rethink my current state of feeling like crap. This can’t possibly all be allergies, I have been nearly hacking my lungs out all week and its just not right. I need it to stop, like today so that s that plan. make it STOP. That and we are borrowing my brother in laws truck today and going for a drive to the northern parts of Vermont to pick up, what is hopefully going to be, our new cast iron radiators!!! I am really excited because for one, I found them on craigslist and I love finding awesome stuff on there, and two, cause it’s suppose to be kinda crappy today so a nice drive that is also productive while I am making it (sickness) stop… Win win win!%u00a0 And I cannot forget to get my butt to the library and return the massive stack that has been accumulating next to the door. I have been reading a lot, but instead of returning books when I am done, I just keep taking more out.. I might be maxing out my allotted amount of books I can take out at once.%u00a0 And I am pretty sure there are a few overdue ones in that stack…..
How about you? Planning any super fantastic spring style fun stuff today,? Maybe getting out into the garden and doing a little planting or maybe busting out the summer clothes and spending the afternoon trying on all your old favorites that you forgot you had? Whatever you do, enjoy it, even if it involves doing absolutely nothing while eating your weight in popcorn. That is totally legit.
Internet from the internet.
-So I am kinda obsessed with finding a sweet ass retro/vintage stove like one of these right now,,,,lets see if this is a passing thing.
-A dating site to hook up Trump hating Americans with Canadians, you know, just in case we need to flee the country come November. (so smart)
-IF YOU’RE REFRIGERATING THESE FOODS, STOP
-These are some crazy shinny cakes.
–What Is ‘Natural’ Food? A Riddle Wrapped In Notions Of Good And Evil
-I have a thing for anatomically correct hearts, and these crochet wired hearts are super cool
–Colored Front doors are the best. I am thinking bright ass pink or orange for the new house.
– Sometimes being an adult sucks. 20 One-Sentence Reminders Every Reluctant %u2018Adult%u2019 Needs To Hear Right Now
– I love this. 30-Foot-Tall Dayglow Totems Places in the Desert
-Thinking about cross country trip and staying in a few tree houses, Glamping Style, on west coast (we are totally doing it1)
Are we all ready for it? Mid November and all. The holidays are creeping up fast and furious and I am starting to feel that bit of excitement and anxiety and over all buzz that one gets this time of year. I think seeing the neighbor putting their Christmas tree up in the window the other day (Which in my opinion is way to early. You need to wait until after Thanksgiving for the tree) really hit it home for me. So I located my boxes of decorations and pulled the box of glue and glitter for holiday arts and crafts. I restocked all my flours, sugars, and chocolate chips, and I already have a few of those cake orders in. It’s go time. Now all we need is a snow storm. Or all I need anyways.
The week has been slow. Daylight savings has did a little number on me. I have been waking up at like 415 but my ass is in bed by 830. I could probably get myself to adopt a later bedtime and maybe wake up a little later, but you know what? It works for me. I am nothing, if not an old lady.
Other then a little bit of work, nothing to exciting happened. The mr and walked in the rain to vote. We went for a nice mid week hike , then stopped at the new Harbor Freight store to play with axes. I spent some time throwing, loaded kilns at the studio, grocery shopped, and scraped ice off my car for the first time this season. The littles were over for food and play. Judah and I stating making turkey hand prints that we are going to finish this week. Coco just got snot everywhere and Miley just wanted to get our nightly walk over so I would giver her candy. Then Barb came over for baked beans (amazing baked beans), and Megan stopped by one day to hang with me for a while. It’s nice getting a little human interaction once in a while. HA.
The mr and I finally trapped Only in the house, gave him a bath and even tried to brush his ratty ass out. He is pretty much 100% an outdoor cat in the summer months, but I don’t like him out during the winter so he gots to stay inside. And he hates it. Meows all night long, try to sneak in between legs out the door. But I think it’s better for him and he will get used to sitting around all day on the heated floors again. The guy is to old to be hanging out there like a young cat.
And the leaves. So many leaves. The mr has been doing battle with the trees in the driveway. He spent a day raking and mowing, all pretty much in vain because the next day the driveway was just as bad, if not worse, covered in leaves. My suggestion was just to wait a few more days, let all the leaves fall, but he is a determined man. Plus he noted that the dents in leaves actually help the over all mission.
That was the week.
Today the mr and I are heading to the mountains. We (well I) want to see some snow and really, we just want to get out of town for a few hours. I am feeling a little crazy.
Hope today finds you happy and cozy. Doing you.
Interenting from the week.
-Antarctica scientist allegedly stabs colleague for spoiling the endings of books. I do not condone violence in any way but, I mean, I kind of get it.
–The best way to deal with fall leaves. The mr needs to read this.
-Take it from someone that burns herself on a daily bases. Be prepared in the kitchen. I keep burn cream (propolis calendula salve) right next to the knives. I use it all the time. How to Soothe a Kitchen Burn, STAT
–10 Things to Clean Now Before the Holiday Season Gets Going. Add to list…A good place to hide and a good alibi if needed.
-Interesting idea. A Meat Tax Sounds Nice to Me
-Knowing your flours is important. What’s the Difference Between Cake Flour, Pastry Flour, All-Purpose Flour, and Bread Flour
-I play sudoko when I am feeling worried or anxious. Can’t Stop Worrying? Try Tetris To Ease Your Mind
–Meet the Plantfluencers. I could totally be one, I have like 70 plants and counting. And if people are liking and then getting house plants, well heck yeah. Plants are the best.
-I don’t neeeeed , but I really, really want these sheets. They are amazing.
–Does stress eating actually make you less stressed? Whats your stress eating food? Mine is cabbage. I think there is something about peeling back cabbage leaves that I find soothing, and I a weirdo.
I don’t know guys%u2026 today already kind of feels like a blah day. It’s way to warm out (I want crispy cool, not upper 70’s),%u00a0I have a butt load of paperwork to do, laundry up the butt, and a huge mess in the basement. And I just don’t feel like doing anything, except maybe think about, make, and eat food.%u00a0
Food.%u00a0My ultimate form of procrastination Whenever I don’t want to do something, I find myself cooking or baking instead. Oh me%u2026 what to do.%u00a0
Anyway.%u00a0This was dinner a few nights ago, and an awesome dinner it was. I mean, anything za’atar or tahaini is, and together on roasted veggies%u2026 mouth watering!%u00a0%u00a0So good in fact that I was thinking (already thinking)%u00a0of making it again tonight. Maybe while I am sitting with the bills and the dirty laundry. Don’t worry,%u00a0it’s cool, I am a fantatic multi-tasker. Doing laundry, the bills and %u00a0making food..%u00a0No problem. I thing it’s really just %u00a0the damn warm weather that’s getting to me, and there is nothing I can do about that except bitch a little. So consider me bitched. %u00a0
And dinner. Maybe if I make this again, today won’t feel so blah.%u00a0
The stuff%u2026 Eggplant,%u00a0red peppers,%u00a0onion, and some chick peas (in liquid). %u00a0Tahini, a lemon, garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper. And of course we need some pitas, some greens and lots and lots of za’atar.
Dice up the eggplants, the red pepper and the onion into chunks that will fit in your mouth.
Toss that all together into a slightly oiled roasting skillet with the chickpeas (liquid drained but saved), salt and pepper, and a big ass dowse of za’atar.%u00a0
Stick into the oven to roast.
While the veggies are roasting, mince the garlic and add to the tahini. Mix in the juice of the lemon,%u00a0a little salt and pepper, a drip or tow of oil, and the liquid from the chick peas. And no, it’s not gross, its fantastic and makes the sauce all nice and creamy. But if you happen to have no chick pea liquid, just add in enough water to thin out the sauce.
After a good bout in the oven, the veggies and chickpeas are all nice and roasted .%u00a0
And all together now. Roasted veggies on greens, smothered in tahini sauce, and tossed with another good pinch or two of za’atar.
Food is so good. I am glad we have to war every day!
Happy Tuesday!
-C
Make about 4 pitas%u00a0
2 small or 1 large eggplant
2 %u00a0red peppers
1 medium onion
1 1/2 cups (give or take) cooked chickpeas %u00a0drained but save the liquid (about 1/4 cup of liquid)
2 heaping tablespoons Za’atar* for roasting plus as much more as you like to garnish (I like a lot..like tablespoons worth)
1/3 %u00a0cup tahini
3-4 cloves of garlic
1 lemon
olive oil
salt and pepper
%u00a0pitas ( %u00a04 of any kind you like)
a few handfuls of greens (any kind)
Note. Za’atar is a fantastic, tangy and nutty spice blend made up of primarily sumac, toasted sesame seeds, and thyme. I make my own by combining equal amounts of the the three, usually adding fresh oregano if I have it,%u00a0%u00a0and crush together. You can make your own too, or buy it pre blended.%u00a0
Turn oven to 425
Small chop the eggplant, red peppers, and onion and toss into a large oiled oven safe skillet or roasting pan. Add in %u00a0the drained chickpeas and toss with the za’atar,%u00a0salt and pepper. Place in oven to roast.
For the sauce, mince garlic and mix into the tahini with the juice of the lemon, and the bean water, a little drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper to taste. Whisk together with a fork.%u00a0
After about 35 minutes or so, the veggies should be all nice and roasted%u2026 so take them out of the oven.
Ready you pitas. (warm them up if you like) A hand full of greens, a big helping of roasted veggies, a good scoop of two of tahini sauce, and a another pinch or two of za’atar
Now all you have to do is eat. No utensils required!
Walking around the neighborhood yesterday morning in a big heavy sweater, I noticed that there is color touching a lot of trees and that there is even brightly colored leaves falling to the ground. This is the weekend to really enjoy the last bit of summer cause fall about to burst. I know its technically summer for a few more weeks, but I gauge the season by food cravings and extra curricular activities.%u00a0 I bought my first winter squash (a butternut) this week, roasted it whole and then ate the whole thing, and then stared to knit a new hat for the mr.%u00a0 It was all fantastic and all fall like and I am now happy to trade in tomatoes for all the root veggies, I am ready. Are you?
Progress on the house. I spent a few days meticulously cleaning up and sanding exposed wooden beams in one of the bedrooms (they look so good) This while I battled a ear infection that I treated by stuffing large amounts of garlic infused coconut oil into my ear and walked around smelling like dinner and oozing oil from my head. All the fun stuff happens to me no? But I am feeling much much better now so I can stop complaining so much. And no more shoving ear phones into these ears. Pretty sure that is why I got the infection in the first place.
The mr has been doing everything and testing out all the electrical.%u00a0 And guess what, ever freaking thing works! We now have lights in each room, even a light in the windowless bathroom we use ( the unfinished bathroom that is actually just a toilet on a sub floor with a door) And instead of having to run extension cords for every freaking thing, we can now use outlets! It’s been a fine fine week. Little sister Barb and I even spent all of yesterday painting the upstairs. Unfortunately after so many days of pouring over color samples and finally thinking I found the color, buying the paint and getting most of the painting done, I have realized that I don’t like the color. (it’s a off white, but just too yellow) BALLS! The mr is being super sweet about it and telling me it’s not big thing and that the walls needed a base coat anyway (no they didn’t, we already primed that walls)%u00a0 and that we will just repaint together and it will take no time and be great. So back to square one with the paint samples (looking for more of a greyish white). AM I crazy? Yes I am, but I would rather repaint now and be really happy with the color then waiting until we move, hate it then, and repaint around furniture and nice clean floors. That would suck even more.
Today the mr and I are going to pick out the new color, get the paint, and clean clean clean!%u00a0 Empty mud bucket piles, pieces of scrap sheetrock and tools everywhere.%u00a0The house is a pig pen and it’s getting a little much for my liking But after a good clean, if I have some time, I will plant my butt outside on the porch with a enormous cup of coffee and read the rest of the day away. Sunday goals.
If you are interneting (is this a word? If not, I think it should be), here are a few links from the bit of interneting I did this week (didn’t do to much)
-Thinking ahead. Peak Fall Foliage Dates
-A in for science and for all of us. A Lifesaving Transplant for Coral Reefs
– This will be my life someday (hopefully sooner then later) STUDIO TOUR: A QUESTION OF EAGLES.
-I grew up watching Bob Ross, such a big influence. The Real Bob Ross: Meet The Meticulous Artist Behind Those Happy Trees–
-If you know me, you know I have a thing for chairs (I have way way to many and I love the all) This book is for me. Better Sit Down For This One: An Exciting Book About The History Of Chairs
-I avoid antibacterial shit like the plague (I like me some germs) so this makes me happy. Within a year, antibacterial soaps as you know them will disappear from the market
My little sister came over last night for a homework and dinner night. I love these nights because when she comes over she spends a good amount of time poking and harassing the mr while I get left alone to cook dinner.%u00a0 But then always at some point during the evening,usually after feeding them dinner,%u00a0 they both turn on me and start to poke at me. They are brats like that. But what I also like is I can sometimes help her a bit with the homework. (like last night,… girl did a bit of procrastination.Good thing I am awesome and maybe a little bit of a hard ass. She got it done with a bit of help and it all ended happily ever after) Maybe cause I am an old lady now, but I like the feeling of using my brain for things that I no longer think about. I makes me feel smart again (kinda) SO we get together and eat and do homework and make fun of each other… Good times. I love hanging out with my sister.
Ok, so this pudding, its one of my favorites.. I could probably live off of sweet potatoes in all shapes and forms.. A long while back I started making this pudding and got the sister hooked on it as well. So whenever she comes over for dinner I make it for us. And we eat it and exclaim how, “OMG this is so freaking good” and eat, then lick our bowls clean. And it’s so easy and simple to make. Basically just sweet potato. So amazing.%u00a0 The mr, he likes it, but doesn’t share the same enthusiasm as we do….But he is not a teenage girl and her sister so yeah. who really knows.But Anyone out there with a spare sweet potato.. make this pudding. It will change your life in all the right ways!
Your welcome very much.
The stuff. A sweet potato, a couple of dates, ans some cinnamon. That’s all you need!
Simple as can be. Bake the sweet potato until soft.%u00a0 Remove the skin (I then eat the skin, but if you don’t like it, the dog also loves potato skins) and stick it onto a food processor with the dates (make sure to remove the pits) and blend together. I usually add in a few a few splashes of water while I am blending just to think it out a tiny bit. But that is a preference I will leave up to you.
Add in the cinnamon and blend some more until so nice and silky smooth.
%u00a0 And a note here. You can omit the cinnamon if you like, the pudding is amazing without it but you could even use more spices like ginger and allspice or added a little splash of vanilla. OR.. Add a scoop of some nut butter… so good.
Once the you have spiced your pudding, scoop it out into jars, bowls, whatever and how much ever you want (1 large sweet potato is good for 2-3 servings)
Oh whats this.. Coconut cream!!!! And yes, hand beaten like a boss!
You have the pudding, a the whipped coconut cream. Big spoonful of that right on top.
Sprinkled with another pinch of cinnamon and some chopped up walnuts…
Pudding so good and so easy it will knock%u00a0 your socks off!
Have a great weekend!
-C
Serves 1- 3
1 large sweet potato
1-2 pitted dates (If I am making the pudding for myself I sometimes skip the dates)
1 tablespoon Vietnamese cinnamon
Optional. A pinch of ground ginger or allspice. Pumpkin pie spice or a splash of vanilla. A scoop of nut butter or even a handful of nuts. Chocolate chips or creamy nutella. Berries. And whipped coconut cream or some yogurt to top with. So many possibilities.
Bake sweet potato until tender. This can be done a ahead of time or you can use up left over sweet potatoes from dinner….
Remove the skin from the potato and place into a food processor or blender with the dates and the cinnamon or whatever spices you want to use. Blend until smooth. Can add in a few splashes of water to thing out a bit.
Once smooth, scoop out into serving sizes or just into one big jar to eat all to yourself. Top with coconut cream and chopped nuts or nothing.
Eat with spoon, like bowl clean.. And can be eaten without shame for breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack.
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.
Besides the usual hubbub of life around here, a few things really stick out to me from last week. First off, at the beginning of the week we FINALLY BOUGHT A VAN!!! It was amazing. A big white astro van. Original big boat like seats. The three door trunk that was everything. Ashrtays in the back seat (yes they did) . Its was perfect. Perfect for work, for travel, perfect for life. But notice I say %u201cit was%u201d. Well guess what? We also RETURNED A VAN!!!! Yup. We bought it, brought it home, and as soon as we got home, the brakes went out. Oh, ok we thought. Let%u2019s bring it to our mechanic and see what he says. Turns out the mechanic that we bought it from was a little shady and sold us a lemon. Not only were the bakes rotten, but there was a bunch of other hidden issues. So yeah. no more van. We were, and still are a bit crushed, but it could have been worse right? We could have been flying down the interstate when the brakes gave out and that would have been much much worse.
Enough about the van. A good thing this week is Erin and I went and got bikes for the littles. It was awesome. They were so excited and cute and it was just so good. We walked into the bike shop, picked out bikes, test rode bikes, and bought bikes, all within an hour. Yeah I might have told them they suck because they were able to just go get a bike and I have been bike shopping for over a month and have spent hours at the bike shop, but whatever. And so we brought the bike back to my house, I made dinner, and they biked around the neighborhood. At first Judah was having really hard time because he had never ridden a grip brake, shifting bike, but after a little lesson from the mr, the kid was off. Only stopped to tell us that his nuts hurt. (Good to know kid).
And last but but not least, maybe the worst part of life at the moment. The MOTHERFUCKING MOSQUITOS. Those fuckers be feasting on me like what. It%u2019s nasty disgusting, and all sorts of terrible. All of a sudden there are millions and billions and you can barely even walk out of the house before they start to swarm. I have received no less then one thousand bites this week, and that is me trying not to get bitten. (Yes I am exaggerating, but seriously.) I don%u2019t even know what to do anymore. It is so bad that when you walk from the house to the car you are probably going to get bitten in the face at least once if not a bunch of times. It is all sorts of wrong and I just can%u2019t even. I lay awake at night trying not to itch off all my skin because of all the bites. And they are not normal mosquitos bites, these bits itch and almost hurt for days. Gardening.. please. I am out there in all my socks, pants, jackets, and hoods. Still they attack my face and hands. Hopefully this is the worst of it and any day now all the bats will come and eat them aaaaaalllllll!!!!!I(I might start importing bats to my house) That or I am going to turn myself into an electric bug zapper. How? Not sure yet. I%u2019ll let you know if I figure it out.
Anyway. That is mostly the gist of the week. Some downs, some ups, but all and all not horrible. The weather alone folks. Let talk about that for a minute. How freaking fantastic has it been? I am loving it. Little sun here and there, Some rain showers, a few thunderstorms. Not cold, not hot. Pretty much perfect in my eyes. And the world. So much pretty! The trees. I mean, can you not say spring foliage might be even better then fall? The trees are just so vibrant in greens, whites and purples. It is good. We are good.
Now for today. I am leaving the house much too early to go read and drink coffee in the car, waiting for the gym to open. Why you may ask would I do that. Well if I want to go to the gym, I need to get inside the perimeter of the Vermont City Marathon. The course starts right around there so the roads will be blocked off with thousands of people running for a few hours this morning. Sure I could skip gym and run around here, but I would rather not have to run in full body armor. (DAMN the MOSQUITOES AAAGHHHH!!!!) And really, I don%u2019t mind. I can even sit on the steps at the gym that overlook the lake. It actually will be kind of nice. After that, I%u2019ll come home, grab the mr, and we will head up to Belvidere for some family time. Cousins are in the state so we, and the other sisters, are going up for lunch. Let%u2019s just hope the mosquitoes are not as bad up there. I can%u2019t take it.
Interent for the taking.
-I have always considered the use by date a suggestion. I think the simple wording change will make a big difference. To Reduce Food Waste, FDA Urges ‘Best If Used By’ Date Labels. And really, who says the best isn%u2019t yet to come? HA
-Erin has the right idea, to buy THESE in bulk. I am seriously considering getting at least one set. I can%u2019t take the MOTHERF$%#ERS anymore!
-This feels heavy. Finding purpose is a somewhat fluid concept, don%u2019t you think? Either way, this makes a lot of sense. What’s Your Purpose? Finding A Sense Of Meaning In Life Is Linked To Health
-My dad sent me this link. It%u2019s a little video of his life goal, to be a extreme mountain bike nanny. (my dad is a weirdo.)
–GLAMOUR CAMPER SPF 50+ ALL NATURAL SUNSCREEN WITH ALL NATURAL BUG DETERRENT & GLITTER. And Glitter. Need I say more?
-I love old charts and pictures from textbooks. These are particularly fantastic. Cross-Sections of Geological Formations and Views of the Cosmos Bring the World to Life in 19th Century Educational Charts
–What Is A Moonbow?%u00a0 And now on my life bucket list of things I need to see.
–This Study Shows That Having Flowers and Plants Can Ease Pain and Anxiety. Truth. Flowers and plants are everything.
-Firefly magic. How these mysterious fireflies synchronize their dazzling light shows
Pictures from the week
Sometime you look back at a week and think, blah, or whatever, or that sucked. This week I look back and smile. It was a good week. Nothing to special, just springy and warm. I got to hang out with my peoples, see the world turn green and lush, and I didn’t stress too much about anything because what is the point? Plus I bought a single pink carnation at the grocery store at the beginning of the week for the mr. and every time I see it, I smile a little. Sometimes just a little something something is all we need.
So yeah, the week was good. There was the normal stuff of work and what not but also a fair amount of not work stuff. I saw my moms for Mothers day and brought her food. The mr and I went for some long walks that did not involve any outdoor clothing (just normal indoor clothing) We hung out with the littles for a good afternoon of tree house chilling, baby running, three wheeling, and all sorts of other fun. Miley was super pumped to show off her new shoes that are partially gold. She was obsessed and needed to wash them off at the end of the day. Those were the days,when you cared about your shoes? (I am assuming you don%u2019t now , like me, but maybe you do.) Also Barb finally come back to me (school is over so she has time again) me and I feed her soup. Megan also came over for a soup lunch and a walk because that is what we do. (We are a family of eaters and walkers.) I worked on some clay rainbows, planted some more plants, and cleaned under my fingernails. The one big thing that I tried to accomplish and haven%u2019t yet managed is the bike thing. I have been shopping for a new bike and it is so so so HARD! I am not good at buying anything in general, especially when it is for me, and not food, and costs more than 5 bucks. But not just that, it%u2019s that there are so so so many bikes to choose form. I am all like , YIKES! And so I did myself a favor and just gave myself another week to ponder and look and decide. The right bike will present itself when it is suppose to, or when I finally break down and just buy this one.
Yesterday was a good solid day of getting shit done. I got the winter tires changed to summer (thanks Justin!) and hung with Alex while it was happening. We talked music and cassette tapes and how music is everything. Then I went home to the yard and all the massive piles of leaves, dead tree(so sad) and over all lawn degree and the mr and I got it all into the truck to send off to compost land. After hitting the transfer station to offload we made a really quickly stop over to see Anthony getting ready for his prom%u2026.Oh my shit. The kid is like not a kid anymore and was wearing a tux and looking all old and what not. The shinny ass shoes alone were too much for me. (more shoes that need cleaning). How is it possible that I have a sister that is old enough to have a kid that is old enough to be going prom? OH, because I am getting old. That is how. Ha.
And after that, it was back home to finish cleaning and eat dinner and water the garden and feel exhausted but accomplished. I don%u2019t mind being super tired, just as long as I have something to show for it (The yard looks A+ so I am happy)
I think today mainly going to be a work day. The mr has a project that he is in the middle of so he is going to be doing that all day and I have a few things I need to get done and then a ton of other things that need doing as well. Don%u2019t worry, I will be spending some of that time outside with the green things in the dirt, making sure I have sun screen on, listening to some good tunes and drinking coffee like it is going out of style.
The ways of the internet this week.
– The news of abortions and women reproductives rights has been front and center this week. The lengths women have to go to to do what is right for themselves is shameful at best, but basically pretty fucking grotesque. These are the people that are trying to help. The Secret Baby Catchers of Alabama.
–Report: U.S. Navy Cracks Case Of Majestic Sky Dick. Phew. Now we know who to hire for our own sky dick.
-Can%u2019t wait for that new pool to be build around the corner%u2026NOT. And really, didn’t we all know this already? Your Neighborhood Pool Is Full of Unshowered Pee-ers
-A lot of breakfast food in America is basically junk food if you really think about it. Muffins (really cupcakes), pancakes (really cake covered in maple sugar), Pop tarts (pie) yogurt (almost ice cream)%u2026 Its all just desert with a different name. I Broke Breakfast. Americans eat a narrower variety of foods for breakfast than anyone else.%u00a0
-Imagine the magic.. I get feels just thinking about this place. A Fleeting Dandelion Wish Processing Facility Appears For Two Days Outside of Los Angeles
–ECLECTIC DINING STYLE.. I want all the tables and chairs. Just where to put them%u2026%u2026????
-After reading the list, I feel pretty dang awesome cause I clean all that shit! Cleaning Supplies Might be Spreading Dirt Around Here%u2019s How to Clean Them This Weekend
–How Did Chickpea Flour, A Staple Of Indian Cuisine, Become A Health Food Sensation? Because it is amazing. See recipe for Socca.
–Have you tried plogging, the Instagram trend that might be the sustainable sport of the future?. Even if it%u2019s trendy and a way to be cool, well it is pretty cool and great and I am all for it.
–Can %u201cIndie%u201d Social Media Save Us? Something needs too.
Pictures from the week.
Let%u2019s talk about how soup is the perfect food. It can be light and fresh, hearty and deep, chunky or smooth. You can eat it with a spoon, or somtime a fork if warranted, or just drink it from a mug. It%u2019s usually a one pot meal, a small pot for one, a big pot for many. Make a pot of soup and eat some now and save some for later. It freezes amazingly well. Got a few extra sad carrots and wilted greens? Toss them into a pot with whatever you have on hand, maybe those veggies scraps and you got yourself a meal. Want something more filling, just add in some grains. Feeling sick, warm soup will make it all better. Feeling fresh and springy, well soup is there for you too. Seriously soup, you can do anything. If I could, I would marry you. %u2665%ufe0f
This soup is one of this velvety smooth, light but rich, delicious beyond delicious soups. A fresh spring time soup. Not to hearty or heavily spiced. Super rich and creamy and flavorful. Bright ass green which makes it amazing in itself, but then with a nice tangy sumac tahini swirl on top, well it is just about the most perfect soup. I made to share, which I did, (and everyone licked their bowls clean) but then hoarded the little bit left over and ate it cold for a late afternoon snack. That is another thing about soup, you can eat is cold and it is still amazing.
Tasty and delicious, and nutritious. This soup does it all.
To the soup!
The stuff. Peas, chopped broccoli, and chopped cauliflower which are all frozen and slightly thawed. You can totally use fresh here too, but I just so happen to have it frozen so you might as well save the fresh stuff for fresh eating. Also have a big yellow onion, a few cloves garlic, some tahini, a lemon, sumac, and salt and pepper. You need water which I did not picture here.
A pot, some water and a roughly chopped onion and the garlic start off this soup. Bring the pot to a boil, then turn to medium and let the onion and garlic cook until very tender. I have been making a lot of soups starting with this step lately. Boiling the onion and garlic until tender and fragrant really make for a super flavorful and clean soup base. Or soup in itself.
Now add in the broccoli and cauliflower to the pot and cook until tender.
Mid soup cooking time is a good time to make the sumac tahini sauce for the swirl. Basics here, just mix the tahini, the sumac, a pinch of salt and pepper, the juice of the lemon and a tablespoon of warm water together until smooth.
Last but not least, the peas. Add them in and they just need a few minutes to cook through.
And then it all gets blended to become this green creamy goodness.
Ladle into bowls, grab the sumac tahini sauce and swirl it on in. A tablespoon or so is good. And don%u2019t forget a little more pepper and another pinch of sumac for good measure.
Just appreciate for a moment. That is one good looking bowl of soup. And it taste even better then it looks.
-C
Makes about 4 serving
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen peas
1 1/2 cup chopped fresh or frozen cauliflower
1 1/2 cup chopped fresh or frozen broccoli
1 large onion
3-4 cloves garlic
4-5 cups water
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon sumac
2 tablespoons tahini
2-4 tablespoons warm water
Start by removing the papery skin from the onion and chop into a few big chunks. Remove the skin from garlic too. Place into pot with 4 cups water. Turn heat on high and bring to a boil then turn heat to medium and let onion are garlic cook until tender which should take about 15-20 minutes
Once the onion is cooked, add in the broccoli and cauliflower. Turn heat back to high and bring to a boil again then turn back down to medium heat. Keep cooking until tender (another 15 minutes or so) then add in the peas. Keep on heat until peas are cooked through then remove the pot from heat and either transfer to a blender or use a immusrian blender to blend the soup until smooth. Add a little more water if needed to get to the right consistency to blend right. Or if you want a thinner soup.
For the tahini sumac swirl just mix the tahini and sumac together along with the juice of the lemon, two tablespoon warm water and a pinch of salt. Mix together until smooth. If the mixture is to thick, add another tablespoon of water.
To serve. Ladle or pour soup into bowls and drizzle and swirl the tahini sumac on top. Sprinkle with pepper and a pinch more sumac and you are good to go.
And all of a sudden the world is green and it is mazing and magical. The best time of the year, when all the cool and wet weather pays off with sunshine and flowers and the greenest greens. No longer freezing and it is yet to be too freaking hot. Spring spring SPRING. It is not lost on me. I take it, I suck it up, I appreciate it all. Even the cray cray rain storms. What a time, what a time.
Last week we started off Sunday going to see some jumping fish. We packed our lunches, grabbed the camera, drove the 2 hours to the river and sat around watching and waiting. Sadly we saw no jumping fish. And that was that in case you were wondering. One of these years we will see it.
The rest of the week has been a little crazy. In between work and chores and life stuff, just about every day we have had anywhere between 2-4 littles. What for their parents needed a sitter or a ride here and there cause their car broke down. Or just some aunt and uncle hang time because who doesn%u2019t want to hang with us? So beside the mr finish off the trophies for the Lund Family Fund Raiser, me working the pug mill at the studio, or us trying to trade off the car in hopes that we both can get where we need to go in time for getting there. (Oh man the car thing, that is a whole other beast.) Yeah, it%u2019s been busy and hectic. On the bright side we have spent a lot of the time running around outside, drawing, and eating. A few little highlights. One of the nights So was feeling a little sick and Coco was feeling mean and wouldn’t let her nap on the couch so she ended up dragging a bunch of pillows into the pantry and falling asleep. It just made sense. Then there was Judah with his mad drawing skills drawing me pictures of vegetables (amazing) then farting with his armpits. And Miley, with her tude and phone. Getting her to hang out and just be sweet was nice. And Coco. That freaking little. Always happy, always eating, always causing trouble. Loves to run into the garden and jump all over the couch covered in peanut butter. (that is the baby, not me. ha) We found him a three wheeler. His legs might be too short but we will figure it out. It is gonna be a fun summer!
After the week long little marathon that ended with sticky littles eating pancakes (and being dangerously low on maple syrup), thrift store shopping (I scored the best new photo piece), and stopping in on my maybe future new bike(???), I came home and cleaned the crap out of everything. It never fails to amaze me how gross kids can be. The toilet alone, well, lets not go there.
Today, as it is Mothers Day and all, I am going to be a dutiful daughter and go see my Mama. Right now (at the wee early hour of 5 am, I%u2019m about to pop some bread and then a cake into the oven as offerings. We are going over around lunch so I%u2019m going make focaccia grilled cheeses (with the fresh bread) and hand over the blueberry cake that she loves. Then hopefully just spend a couple hours drinking lots of coffee and chilling on the porch.
Look at me, I am such a good daughter.
Links of interest on the internet.
–Yes, I’m In School for Nutrition. No, I Don’t Want to Hear About Your Diet. I feel this. Sometimes people feel like they need to tell me everything they eat, for approval or something. And I actually don%u2019t mind talking about what people eat. I’ll even make suggestions about foods that I like to eat or ways to prepare certain things but I stay away from telling people what not to eat%u2026 (people always assume I am going to tell them to not eat meat. I say, I do me. You do you.)
-I don%u2019t know how may times I have seen Bill and Teds Excellent Adventure. This should be good. PlusI totally have a thing for Keanu Reeves. Bill & Ted are embarking on a third excellent adventure next year
–How Weeds Help Fight Climate Change. Weeds are not the problem friends. The chemicals that people use to get rid of them are!
-If you are interested in VT State Parks, here its the list of all the parks opening days. Can%u2019t wait for CAMPING!!!
-Did you go through an Arizona iced tea phase? I had a very brief stint with the green tea%u2026 I can%u2019t even imagine drinking one now. The Dream of the %u201990s Is Alive in AriZona Iced Tea
–An Interview With A Man Who Eats Leftover Food From Strangers’ Plates In Restaurants. I think this is awesome and have much respect.
-A question the I didn%u2019t know I wanted answered until I read this article. Why do cats%u2014and so many other animals%u2014look like they%u2019re wearing socks?
-I get all sorts of feels when I see pandas. MY favorite favorite animal growing up. I carried a pink polka dotted panda around with me for years. SO many panda things. So this is fantastic and I hope to visit one day and hug me a panda (with pink polka dots) China%u2019s new panda park will be three times bigger than Yellowstone
–I have heard and seen some crazy fights in the past in places we have lived. A good few actually. It is never a comfortable thing but sadly, we got used to it. Listening to My Neighbors Fight
-Mothers Have Been Complaining About Mother%u2019s Day Breakfast in Bed for More than Half a Century. Why Does It Go On?. I am a strict, NO FOOD! in bed person. It just have zero desire to eat in bed so breakfast in bed sounds terrible to me. Plus I am awake at 430 every morning and I don%u2019t eat for a few hours after I wake up. It just wouldn%u2019t work.
And pictures from the week.
Hey hey hey! Happy Sunday. Hope you are finding yourself happy and relaxed and enjoying all the good things the world is giving us. Like coffee and green things. All the coffee, all the green things for sure.
Another week that came and left and now it%u2019s May. MAY! Can you even? The time, where does it all go? (an existential question for you) Our week (and time) started off with a chilly wet jaunt to a river. We were going to go out to the kingdom to watch the salmon jump out of the river but it was just to dang cold and rainy so we decided to hold off on it. But we did make our way to a river near by so the mr could officially toss in a fly line into some water. I guess fishing season started a week or two back but we have had so much rain that it has not been great for fishing, or being outside much for that matter. Anyway, he got a few casts in so he is happy.
Wet and raw weather wise was the way of the weather this week. We did have a few breaks of sun which lead to an impromptu afternoon hike just because the sun came out. It was fantastic, or started off that way. Up and down and around the woods to the very flooded lake. Half the way through the hike we ended up at a boardwalk that had a little water coverage, which was fine because someone placed nice big rocks to pass over. Or so I thought. A few steps in and the bridge gave away and into the lake I went. Just my feet and up my legs a bit, but yeah. I just stood there in shock for what seemed like minutes but eventually made my way to the other side of the bridge, drenched boots and all. The rest of the hike was soggy, but hey, I was outside and there was sun and I wasn%u2019t freezing cold so yeah. Could have been worse. It could have been the mr who went in and I really really would not want to have had to deal with him hiking back with drenched feet. Now if my hiking boats would dry out. That would be great.
Other then our little outdoor adventures, the week went the way the weeks does with work and all. The mr running around frantic, having doors, making room for giant ass wood slabs in the barn, wheeling and dealing.
Friday was all day studio work. Lots and lots of pugging clay. While I was at work the mr picked up littles (Miley, So, and Judah) and they all came to the studio to pick me up. It is always a great way to get people to listen and leave the studio when they are suppose to when a bunch of kids rush in and start demanding food. People, at least the clay people, are scared of hungry little kids. Ha. Off we all went, me covered head to tow in clay. Found out in the car that Judah was sick (so sad) so he went home and it turned into a girls night sleep over. Pizza, soup, and peanut butter sandwiches for dinner. We went walking/piggyback riding, the mr and Miley played with the new wood brander which included fire and hot metal. The mr took them to the store to pick out ice cream while I tried to clean myself up, they came back ,ate lots of ice cream, then showered and brushed hair without arguments. They picked out movies without fighting (movies about ballerinas and singing animals) and happily curled up together on the floor. Me being me with no attention span or energy left skipped the movies and went to bed. When I went to wake them up the next morning, I found out that they had woke up (or never went to sleep) in the middle of the night to draw and do yoga? Yeah, I don%u2019t exactly know what went on. What I do know is my yoga mat was upstairs and I remember waking up in the middle of the night to sounds of the wall being kicked a bunch, and there were drawings of crazy things and colored pencils everywhere that were not there when I left them the night before. Hey, if that is what they want to do in the middle of the night, more power to them.
After pancakes and cartoons, the ladies and the mr spent the morning going through a million awesome shells. I guess someone had massive shell collection and gave it over to the mr. Neither of us are really shell people, I mean a few cool ones, but this collection was INSANE. SO we gave them all to the littles. And gave the littles a boxes to bring home to their siblings. They can have all the shells, we are good here.
We dropped girls off, ran around doing errands, then came home and I putz in the yard before going about cleaning the house. Lots of dirt and mud and sticky shit on everything. I just don%u2019t know where it comes from. Well I do actually. And it%u2019s mostly not me so yeah.
Today the mr and I actually are heading out to the kingdom. We need to see some fish jump. A few hours back and forth will give me time for some open window car rid air and reading if it doesn%u2019t make me puke. Picnic lunch by the river and afternoon road coffee. Hopefully we get home in time for me to spend at least a good few hours in the garden to ooh and awe at the stuff that is starting to pop out of the ground and maybe figure out if it%u2019s a perennial I planted or just a weed. Good thing I like weeds too or else I would be terribly disappointed a lot of the time.
Have a few extra minutes? Take a look at some interesting internet from the week.
–The Obamas Are Making a Kids%u2019 Food Show on Netflix. Oh HELL YEAH! And I am not a kid but I am gonna watch it.
-What a great business/environmentally awesome/ logical/ just plain right idea. Toronto Restaurant Fights Waste By Chopping Menu Prices Till Food Is Gone
-Some serious boldness. Bold Line Drawings Layered on Top of Deconstructed Images of Fruit, Flowers, and Animals in Tattoos by Mattia Mambo.
–Rise of the Lady Backpack. Purse. Please. Back packs are the best, but to be honest, I mostly stick to nothing, just my wallet and keys in a pocket. Back pack for biking and hiking and a tote bag for the groceries, the library, or the occasional kitting project. Simple.
-I struggle hard with my OCD cleaning. I sometime wish I had the ability to let things be mess, but then again%u2026. The Unbridled Joy of (Occasionally) Letting Your Room Get Really, Really Messy
–What Comes After a Rut? Take the good with the bad and all the craziness that is the ebb and flow of life.
– Why the Kentucky Derby is a 145-year-old celebration of hats. Now imagine if people went around wearing those hats all the time. The world would be a better place.
-Maine, you so smart. Maine just banned Styrofoam food containers
–How to be assertive without being called a bitch. Why are women always considered bitches? Well I am anyway%u2026.
-I love this and only wish I was ablate %u201cGramp%u201d when my grandparents were alive. ‘Gramping’ Is the Latest Travel Trend Grandparents Need to Know About
And some pictures from the week.
Spring is here for reals, I think. No, it is here, it has just been a bit raw and maybe a bit more rainy then it really needs to be, but whatever, it is spring and it is good. Things are greener by the day, the temperatures although not exactly warm are still inhabitable and without cause for winter jackets (although I have still been rocking the mittens) and spring veggies are popping up all over. Things are looking good.
So last week I made a pie crust with the intention to make a veggie pot pie and stuck it into the freezer. When the time came to make said pot pie, I forgot to take it out of the freezer so the crust was not meant to be for pot pie (it will probably end up as a rhubarb pie%u2026we shall see). Without pie crust, I wasn%u2019t exactly feeling like I should make a pot pie, but a tart, well yeah, sure. A crispy and chewy crackery crusted thing with almond ricotta a spring veggies because that is where the mind went and what the mr agreed sounded good. (When I make up recipes I just start taking about ingredient and preparations and wait til the mr says %u201cYea, that loud good. I%u2019ll eat that %u201c He usually will say it right away and for anything. Very easy to please or he just doesn%u2019t care%u2026hum? )
And so the tart was made and the tart was eaten in all entirety for dinner by the mr alone. Usually when he eats all of something it means it was one of the really good things. Or he is really really hungry. But he said it was a really good thing. I trust him because I agreed. I got in a few spoonfuls of the almond ricotta mixture and it is really freaking good if I do say so myself (I could eat bowls of almond ricotta all day long).
Anyway, heres to spring and all things that are green and good.
To the tart.
The stuff. Flours (white and white whole wheat), baking powder, and a little salt in the bowl. Water and olive oil, blanched almonds, a lemon, a clove of garlic, asparagus, peas, frozen and thawed spinach, a small red onion, and salt and pepper.
Start with making the crust. Mix the dry together then add in the oil and water to form a dough. Knead dough a minutes until the dough is uniform and place back in bowl and cover. Dough needs a few alone minutes to rest. I can relate to that.
While dough is resting, make the almond ricotta. Almonds, garlic, the juice of the lemon, and a bit of water go into blender. Add in a pinch of salt and pepper too.
Blend until creamy and smooth.
Dump in the spinach and blend, just until combined.
Scoop ricotta into a bowl and mix in the peas. And sure give it another taste but try not to eat it all.
Grab the onion and slice it all nice and thin.
And after the resting time, grab dough and roll it out. Try for a rectangular shape or as rectangular as you can get it, but nice and thin. Thiner is better.
Place rolled out dough onto a baking sheet and poke the bottom with lots of little hole. Take ricotta mixture and spread evenly all over crust, leaving a 1 1/2 border all the way around.
Then top with the asparagus and more onions.
Fold over the edges of the crust, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper, and into the oven it goes to bake.
And then it is baked. And ready to eat (after a few minutes of cooling).
Nothing left but to cut it up and eat it.
Spring. Green. Food.
Things are good.
-C
Makes a 8×12(ish) tart
For the Crust
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup white whole wheat (can sub for all purpose)
3 tablespoon oil
1/3 cup room temp water
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Almond Ricotta and Veggies
1/2 cup blanched almonds
1/4- 1/3 cup warm water
1 lemon
1 clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper or more to taste
1/4 cup frozen and thawed spinach squeezed of liquid
9-10 spears of Asparagus
1/4 cup peas (fresh or frozen and thawed)
1 /2 red onion
First make the crust. Whisk together the flours, salt, and baking soda. Add in the oil and water and mix until a dough forms. Form dough into a ball and knead for minute or two on counter then place dough back into the bowl and cover. The dough needs to rest for 10-15 minutes.
While dough is resting, make the almond ricotta. Place almonds, garlic, and juice of lemon into a blender. Start blending and add in the lesser amount of water, adding a little more until the stuff all starts to blend. Blend on high for a minute or two until the mixture is nice and creamy. Season with salt and pepper, blend a second to mix then add in the squeezed out spinach. Blend until mix together then dump or scoop the mixture into a bowl and mix in the peas. Then thinly slice up the onion.
Preheat the oven to 450
After doughs little rest, lightly flour a counter and roll it out, thin as you can, in a rectangular shape. Try for at least 12in x 16in. The rectangle doesn%u2019t need to be perfect. Rough is good.
Place the rolled out crust onto a baking. Take a fork and dock the surface (poke holes into it to prevent air bubbles). Take the ricotta and pea mixture and spread evenly on crust, leaving about a 1 1/2 inch border all the way around. Add a layer of sliced red onion and then take asparagus (trim off woody ends) and either lay on whole or break in half and lay on. Add more onions on top. Fold the border of the crust over the top. Sprinkle the whole thing with pepper and place into the hot oven.
Bake for 22-25 minutes or until the crust becomes a nice golden brown. Remove and let cool a few minutes
And then cut up and eat. Right away or at room temperature. Or some now and some later. All up you you.
Store left over in fridge in air tight container for up to a few days. the crust will not be crispy but more chewy. Can stick it back in oven for a few minutes to crisp it up.
I found another bag of frozen rhubarb in the chest freezer which is never a bad thing, but my rhubarb patch outside is growing strong and I will have all the fresh rhubarb I could possible eat within the next few weeks. So found rhubarb just means I need to eat it right fast before the fresh stuff comes in. (I haven%u2019t had a problem with that. it%u2019s almost gone already). Plus the other day while I was digging up and transplanting raspberry bushes to the back yard, my neighbor came over and gave me a gallon of frozen raspberries, harvested from said bushes that I was currently planting in my yard. Score for me! Free bushes and berries%u2026I have such nice neighbors.
So the logical thing to do with my new found and giving bounty was of course to hurry up and bake something. Cobbler. Why cobbler? Well, why not? I figured the mr would really like it and eat it and I also didn%u2019t want to make anything to fussy because I was just to dang busy spending all of my extra time outside doing outside things. And cobbler, it%u2019s not fussy because it is basically biscuits and jam baked up all together. Not a lot to think about and comes out looking all homey and sweet and smelling all nice and cozy. Doesn%u2019t that sound nice? And not a pain in the ass?
And best part. A made cobbler works as dessert or breakfasts or just a snack. Just asked the mr. He ate it for all the reasons. With a dollop of yogurt or cream of course because he is fancy like that.
And yeah the fruit I used was frozen, but fresh works just the same here too.
Now, lets get to that cobbler.
The stuff. Raspberries (frozen), rhubarb (frozen), sugar, flour, salt, baking power, cinnamon ,almond milk, apple cider vinegar, cornstarch, and oil.
Raspberries, rhubarb, sugar, cinnamon, cornstarch. Its all there in the bowl. Just needs to be mixed. So mix it.
Dump fruit mixture into well greased 8 inch pan and pop it into a hot oven to get a head start on baking.
While the fruits in the oven, make the biscuit dough. Mix the dry together then mix in the wet until just incorporated and a sticky dough forms.
Pulled from the oven, the fruit is starting to cook down and whoa, it just smells so good!
Drop on the biscuits dough on top of the fruit (careful of the hot pan). Evenly if possible, but don%u2019t work to hard to make it look perfect. Imperfection makes it look perfect, you know?
Once biscuits are on, lightly brush the tops with a little milk and sprinkle with more sugar then pop it back into the oven for another 25-30 minutes or until the biscuits are baked.
Pulled from the oven with a bubbly filling and a golden brown biscuity top. Things are looking good here.
And now it%u2019s time.
Dig on in my friend. Sever with something creamy like whipped coconut cream or some type of yogurt or ice cream situation of your choice. And again, this can be your breakfast.
Happy spring people!
-C
make a a 8 inch round which serves 5-6
For the Filling
2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
2 cups rhubarb chopped into 1/2 inch to inch long pieces (fresh or frozen)
1 1/2 tablespoons corn starch
3/4 -1 cup sugar (lesser amount if you like a little more tartness. I used lesser amount)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the dough
1 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons neutral flavored oil
1/2 cup plant based milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl mix together the rhubarb and raspberries with the corn starch, sugar, and cinnamon. Grease a 8 inch round pan the is at least 2 inches deep (can use a slightly large pan or a square) and dump in fruit mixture. Place into oven to bake for about 15 minutes or the fruit starts to break down.
While fruit is baking, mix up biscuit dough. Flour, salt, 2 tablespoons sugar, and baking powder go in a large bowl and mixed until combined. Add in the oil, the milk, and the vinegar. Mix until just incorporated and a dough has formed.
Remove the fruit cooking from the oven. Turn heat up to 375.
Carefully drop spoonfuls of biscuit batter on top of fruit. Brush the top of the biscuits with a little milk and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Place the pan back into the oven and bake for another 25-30 minutes or until the biscuits are all nice and golden brown on top.
Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes before serving. Serve warm with a scoop or dollop of soothing creamy (coconut cream, yogurt, ice cream%u2026..whatever floats your boat.)
Left overs can be stored in pan, just cover it with something and place in fridge. Can be eaten cold to or reheated in microwave or oven.
No it is not weird or gross or anything. I wouldn’t do that to you. These popsicles are down right deeee-lightful. Rich and creamy and sweet. Both the creamy coconut and the toasted coconut pair perfectly with the sweet corn flavor. They truly are delicious and I think that if you give them a try, you will think so too. And really, now that it is like almost summer, who doesn’t have a little extra corn laying around. So you might as well just make a batch.
And then you will thank me for introducing you to the goodness that is a toasted coconut and corn popsicle. Heck, the mr even ate one and he (still, after I have proven him wrong on a many occasions) says he hates corn. So if a corn hater likes these, imagine what a corn lover will think. HAHA. Corn lover.
To the popsicles!
The stuff. Corn, full fat coconut milk, shredded coconut, and maple syrup.
First, remove corn from cob and place on a baking sheet. Bake in oven for 10-ish minutes until corn is cooked and all nice and sweet.
And don%u2019t forget to toast the coconut. A few minutes in the oven is all it needs.
Now to blend. Corn and coconut milk go in first to blend until nice and smooth. Then add in the maple and coconut and blend until just combined. That will leave a little coconut texture. If you want it smooth, well just blend until completely smooth. Do what feels right to you.
Thick, rich and creamy popsicle mixture.
Now pour it into the molds and stick into the freezer. You could probably stick the sticks in now or wait a little while for the mixture to set a bit, but just don%u2019t forget to get sticks in those popsicles before they completely freeze. That would suck.
Pop those lovelies out of the molds and there you go.
The anticipation is over. Eat a popsicle
-C
makes 4 average sized popsicles
2 ears corn (about a cup of corn kernels)
1 cup full fat coconut milk (the canned stuff)
1/4 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
2- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
Note. If you have left over cooked corn, just use that. You don%u2019t need to recook it so skip the cooking corn step.
Preheat oven to 400
Remove corn kernels from cob and place on a baking sheet pretty evenly. Pop into the oven for 10 minutes of so or until the corn is cooked through and nice and sweet.
Remove corn and dump it into blender and set aside to cool for a few minutes. Place the coconut onto the baking sheet and pop into the oven for 3-4 minutes to just lightly toast. When the coconut is toasted, remove from oven.
Grab the blender with the corn and pot in the coconut milk. Blend until smooth. Add in the maple (start with 2 tablespoons and work your way up to the sweetness you like) and the toasted coconut. Blend quickly just to combine for a slightly more textures popsicle or blend completely smooth if you would rather a smoother popsicle.
Pour mixture into popsicles molds and place into freezer. After the mixture sets up (about an hour) pop sticks into molds. Continue to freeze until completely frozen. Usually 4-6 hours.
And then when it is popsicle time, remove popsicles from molds and eat them.
First official week of summer plus #popsicleweek means we all have to make popsicles. It is not a option, it’s a must. The question is what kind of popsicles to make.
Well here you go, I got one for you right here. Pineapple, cucumber, spinach popsicles.%u00a0I highly, highly recommend them because they are amazing and you and everyone will love them.%u00a0No joke. I had two littles tell me that they are the best popsicles they have ever eaten. Then Koko damn near ate my hand off when I was trying to slow the baby down while he was eating his so he didn’t get brain freeze. After he finished off his popsicle, he turned around and went after his brothers popsicle. It was crazy. Screaming, green faced, baby charging after a popsicle. It was like an animal planet episode.%u00a0
%u00a0And so there you have it, all the littles we into them, the mr was into his, and me, I might eaten one or two and maybe I was licking all of them in between taking pictures. Ha. And big plus, unlike a lot of popsicles,%u00a0there is no extra shit in these, like no added sugar. And there is veggies in them.%u00a0They are basically an all around, eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snack, or dessert popsicle.%u00a0%u00a0How can you even go wrong with that.%u00a0
You can’t.
Now it’s popsicle time!
The stuff. Fresh pineapple, fresh spinach, a cucumber, and a lime. That’s it, nothing else.%u00a0
Pineapple and juice from lime into the blender. Blend until smooth.
Add in the cucumber, blend until smooth%u00a0
Last but not least, add in spinach, blend until smooth.
Bright green goodness. And that’s pretty much it. And really, you could just stick it all into blender at once, I just blended the ingredients one by one for the sake of the pictures.
Pour that goodness into popsicles mold and either stick th sticks in now if they don’t sink or wait about an half hour after they have been in the freezer, just don’t forget the sticks (I almost did).
Mid freeze stick sticking.
Once they are frozen and when it’s feeding time,%u00a0%u00a0you pop them out of the mold and feed the people. Watch your fingers.%u00a0
Happy summer, Happy #popsicleweek
-C
Make 8 3.5 onze popsicles%u00a0
2 1/2 cups fresh pineapple*
1 Lebanese %u00a0cucumber (or half of an English cucumber)
3 large handfuls of spinach%u00a0
Juice of a lime
*Note. You can use frozen pineapple, just thaw it out so it starts to release some of it’s juices. That way you don’t need to add water to the blender to blend everything up.%u00a0
Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour puree into popsicle molds and stick into freezer. After about 1/2 hour, remove from freezer and stick the popsicle sticks into the molds. Place popsicles back into freezer until completely frozen (about 4-6 hours)%u00a0
Enjoy anytime.
Holy shit is it hot out. My brain is all fizzy, my hair is all frizzy, and my over all being is just blah. I am not a fan of super hot weather (as some of you may know) and am getting more pissy as the days go %u00a0by and I continue to be a sweaty mess. I don’t want to feel like a big wet slob, I want to feel fresh and clean and wear clothes that are not drenched in sweat. I know, bitch, bitch, bitch, but seriously. Even the world around me is wilting, and in the nice, colorful fall foliage kind of way. It’s all crispy and brown.%u00a0%u00a0The garden is barely holding on, the flowers are shriveling in the ground, and a few plants are just plan dead.%u00a0It’s just too hot.
I think that only plus side of this past week of hot crap weather are these popsicles that I made. They were actually suppose to be a treat for the littles, but guess what, me and the mr ate them and didn’t share, and no, I feel zero bad about it. They were so good, so refreshing,%u00a0so cold(if only for a minute) and just so needed. %u00a0A few minute reprieve from being miserably hot. And bonus, a great use of all the watermelon and tomatoes that I have taking over the countertops (I have so much watermelon and tomatoes)%u00a0
And really, these probably (better freaking be) the last batch of popsicles for the summer so I think I am going to make another batch today, eat them, savor the flavors of summer, and move on from there.
.%u00a0Maybe I’ll even share them this time.%u00a0
The stuff. Some watermelon*, a tomato, a handful of basil, and a lime.%u00a0
*My watermelon had seeds,%u00a0but you can use seedless. I also removed the green skin, but kept on as much rind as I could, although this particulate melon had very little white rind.
Dump the melon, tomato (cut in a few pieces, the juice of the lime and the basil into a blender. If your melon has seed, don’t worry about removing them.
The stuff all blended up.
. This step is more necessary %u00a0if you melon is seeded, straining the mixture pretty much caught most of the seed chunks. You can skip this if your melon is seedless.
Now pour the juice into your molds and stick into freezer to freeze.%u00a0
After about 2 ish hours, remove and stick the sticks into the semi harder pops.
And a few more hours later%u2026…Frozen goodness.
And pop one of those suckers out of the mold and savor every frozen delicious bite.%u00a0
Happy Tuesday…%u00a0DON’T MELT!
-C
Make six 3.5 oz popsicles
1 ish cup watermelon (green skin removed.. rind is good)
1 large ripe tomato (about a cups worth)
a few sprigs of basil
Juice of 1 lime
Place all ingredients into blender and blend until smooth. Strain mixture through a fine strainer into a bowl or jar and pour into popsicle molds.%u00a0
Place in freezer for a few hours. About 2-3 hours in the freezer, take them out and stick in sticks (or fallow you popsicle molds instructions) Place back into freezer
Once completely frozen, remove from molds and eat with your mouth.
It’s official, all of the littles started school yesterday%u2026%u2026HOORAY! (I say hooray cause school is cool and the start of school means it’s going to be fall so soon!. Also I like hanging out with the littles more when they are in school. There is more to talk about and any time away from school is cool time so they like to do more stuff and not just be summer bums)
One of the littles had his very first ever day of school.%u00a0So me, being the bestest most awesomest aunt ever, made that little a celebration, hooray for school, banana ice cream cake.
This little %u00a0has been bugging me for a while now to make him an ice cream cake. It all started a few months ago when I gave him a bowl of banana ice cream and told him that when he sleeps over he can have ice cream for breakfast %u00a0That blew his little mind.%u00a0We then proceeded to have a converastawtion about healthy food and what was ok to eat for breakfast. (He is very interested in being healthy)%u00a0I then told him that whenever he sleeps over I would make a banana ice cream cake for breakfast cause bananas are healthy. But every time he is over,%u00a0I never seems to have enough bananas.
Well I had the bananas and there is no better excuse then the first day of kindergarten to make a cake.. A very delicious peanut butter banana ice cream cake! %u00a0And no, it wasn’t for breakfast, but the left overs can be! (there were no left overs here)
The stuff%u2026 Crispy rice cereal, peanut butter (I have some chiunky stuff %u00a0at the moment, but any nut butter is good) and 4 frozen %u00a0chopped up bananas.
Rice ceareal goes into a food processor with the peanut butter. Pulse until everything is all combined and starts to come togerter.
And ump the mixture into a spring for pan. If you do not have a spring form pan, a pie plate will work just as well.
Such a nice looking crust if I do say so myself. Now stick it in the freezer while you make your ice cream.
Frozen bananas go into the processor, get blended for a few mounters, and come out as ice cream%u2026. freaking magic!
Now dump the magic ice cream into the crust.
And smooth it all nice like..and into the freezer it goes until its frozen.
After a few hours, you take it out of the freezer, remove from the pan (or leave it in the pan)
And gather your toppings. A handful of the rice cereal, some melted peanut butter, and a little melted nutella. (use whatever you want.. fruit would be great, some nuts, graham crackers, sprinkles. You get the idea)
%u00a0Now,%u00a0Wait for it%u2026.
Go crazy! Toppings all over!
And serve up, and watch out.. I almost got my hand eaten for kids going for seconds..
Have a fantastic day and happy back to school. to littles and parents alike!
-C
Makes a 6 inch cake%u00a0
For the cake
4-5 frozen bananas
2 1/2 cups crispy rice cereal
4 tablespoon peanut butter%u00a0
To garnish (use any, all or none of what you would like%u2026 and maybe not the super sugary ones if a breakfast cake)
melted peanut butter
melted chocolate
Nutella
handful of rice cereal
fresh fruit
jam
coconut flakes
sprinkles
anything else you would like!
Place cereal and peanut butter into a food processor and pulse until crumbly and combined and starts to come away from bowl.
Dump mixture into a 6 in spring form pan (or if you not have one, a pie plate works too) and press it down evenly on the bottom. Stick into freezer
Take bananas out of freezer and place into food processor.%u00a0Blend until smooth. If needed, you can drizzle a tiny amount of water into it if you think it needs a little help to blend.%u00a0
Once smooth, take crust from freezer and dump the nanaer ice cream on top and carefully smooth it out. Stick back into freezer (a pier of plastic over to prevent ice crystals )for at least 2 hours, or until the ice cream has completely frozen.
When it’s time to serve, remove cake from spring form (or leave it in the pie plate).and drizzle the top with melted peanut butter, melted,%u00a0chocolate and another handful of crispy cereal. Or leave it bare. Or add sprinkles%u2026 the toppings are all unto you!
Eat like a camp, for breakfast or dessert.. Or eat some for dessert and then some for breakfast.
This time of year, there are so many reasons for popsicles, but I think that main reason is that%u00a0I don’t want to willingly turn on the oven for any amount of time. It’s just to f-ing hot.
Lately, it’s been hot. And humid. And gross. Just way%u00a0too hot to make anything in the oven.%u00a0So when I grabbed the rhubarb out of the fridge, knowing that if I didn’t use it soon it would go bad, I immediately thought to make pie. Then I was like,” hell no, not going to happen. I need to freeze this shit”. And freeze it I did..into the greatest, slightly sweet, slightly tart, bright pink popsicles of happiness. They are really the perfect little frozen treat. Not overly sweet and sticky, have a lot a fresh clean flavor, and takes the edge off of the super summer heat and humidity, even if only for a few minutes.%u00a0
I love popsicles.%u00a0
But sadly this is probably the last rhubarb for the season (Or maybe the second to last..I think I saw some for sale at the coop a few days ago)
So get it while you can and make these%u00a0popsicles!%u00a0
The stuff. Rhubarb, a lime and a little bit of honey (or any sweetener you like). Plus you are going to need some water, but I bet you have some of that on hand.
Chop the rhubarb into inch chunks and toss into a big pot with the water. Stick on the stove and bring to a boil then turn heat to low and let simmer.%u00a0
Once the rhubarb is so soft that it falls apart, remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
With a fine mesh stainer, strain juice into a large jar or bowl.%u00a0
Now you have the juice for the popsicles and the left over rhubarb stuff%u00a0is the%u00a0rhubarb butter.
Place the%u00a0rhubarb butter into a jar, adding a little honey(or whatever)%u00a0if you want and eat with anything and everything%u00a0%u00a0(%u00a0I’ve been adding%u00a0%u00a0it to the mr’s%u00a0yogurt and just%u00a0eating it with a spoon)
And now add the juice of the%u00a0lime%u00a0to the rhubarb juice and add a little honey or whatever%u00a0sweetness to taste.
And add the rhubarb juice to your popsicle molds and stick in the freezer with sticks tops or wait two hours and add wooden sticks.
When frozen, run the mold under a little hot water and pop those suckers out.
A two for one deal here. And timed perfectly. You%u00a0%u00a0have the rhubarb butter%u00a0to eat while%u00a0you wait%u00a0for the popsicles to freeze.%u00a0So smart
Happy Tuesday.. Keep it cool!
-C
makes 6%u00a04oz popsicles and about a cup of jam
3 cups chopped rhubarb
2 1/2 cups water
1 lime
Anywhere from 4%u00a0tablespoons honey (2 for popsicles and 2 for jam)
Chop the rhubarb into inch ish chunks and stick into a big pot with water. Turn on high heat and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat to low and simmer until the rhubarb is so soft its falling apart. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Take a big jug or bowl with a fine mesh strainer,strain the liquid from the solids. You can use a wooden spoon to stir around to help get the juice flowing. Place remaining solids into a jar and add as little or as much or as little honey (any sweetener you like) and give it a stir. Thats your jam
Now for the popsicles. Add the juice of the lime and a tablespoon or two of honey (or whatever sweeteners you like) and mix around. Pour into popsicle molds and stick into freezer.Know your mold.. if you need to insert a stick, do so after about 2 hours.%u00a0
When pops are frozen, remove from mold and eat your heart out.
Because%u00a0sometimes you just need to think of yourself and what will make you happy.%u00a0%u00a0Eating this makes me happy.%u00a0
This flavor%u00a0%u00a0situation just made so much sense. All three flavors on their own are fantastic, but combined into one super%u00a0amazing frozen sorbet treat.. I mean, like WHOA! I%u00a0was inspired by the 4%u00a0really ripe and juicy mangos I had waiting on the%u00a0%u00a0counter. I had also just made a batch of jalape%u00f1o jam and was thinking about how nicely jalape%u00f1os and mangos go together. And I happened %u00a0to have a can of coconut cream on hand. My first idea%u00a0%u00a0was to do a%u00a0savory dinner type thing, but after a day of heat and humity, all I wanted was something cold and easy. Ding ding%u2026 Lets freeze this shit and turn it into a sorbet.
Such a good idea.
The Stuff. Simple as can be. 2 mangos, peeled, diced and frozen. A can of coconut cream, and some jalepno jam.%u00a0
Frozen mango is really easy to blend. Just stick into a blending device and add a little bit of water. Mix until a nice creamy puree is formed. And try not to eat it all right now.
Whip up the coconut cream. You don’t need to go to crazy and make it all fluffy, just whisk it for a minute or two just to loosen it up.
Time to scoop. First a few big dollops of the frozen mango puree. Try to work fast to prevent the mango from completely thawing out.
Next, scoop some of the coconut cream and drop a few scoops of jalape%u00f1o jam right on in there to. Add more mango, more coconut%u00a0, and more jam until you container is full.
Note.. My sister had the idea of mixing he jalape%u00f1o jam into the mango puree. I think I might try%u00a0that next time.
Take a knife and cut through the sorbet, first width wise, then%u00a0length, then width. or whatever. You’re%u00a0%u00a0just trying to kind of marble and swirl the flavors together.
Once your done playing and swirling,%u00a0into the freezer it goes%u2026.
Remove from freezer when completely frozen%u00a0and do what you need to do. I flipped the pan and sliced into slabs on a cooking sheet, and me, the sister and the mr.%u00a0took turns with the fork and ate it off the pan. We be so classy.%u00a0%u00a0But go ahead and use o plate or%u00a0scoop it or maybe even eat directly from the container with a fork. No judgement here.
Eat so good!
-C
%u00a02 1/2 cups %u00a0fresh mango (2 large mangos), peeled, diced and frozen. (Or just buy frozen mango)
1/2 cup water
1/2 %u00a0can of cold%u00a0coconut cream (I used Ttrader Joes.. It’s the best)
around 1/3 cup %u00a0Jalape%u00f1o Jam.. more if you like%u00a0(Here is the recipe for that%u00a0)
Place frozen mango into a blending device, add about 1/3- 1/2 cup water and blend until a smooth puree. %u00a0Open coconut cream, drain the liquid, and place half the cream into a bowl. Whisk until loose and slightly fluffy%u00a0.%u00a0
In a freezer safe container. scoop a few dollops of the mango puree,%u00a0%u00a0add in a few dollops if coconut cream and then a few dollops of the jalape%u00f1o jam. Keep adding dollops of the stuff%u00a0until you use up all of the ingredients.%u00a0Take a knife and run through thet sorbet length and width wise a few times to swirl %u00a0the flavors. Place in freezer for at least 3 hours or until fully frozen
Remove and either scoop,%u00a0slice,%u00a0or eat directly from container.
It’s Mother’s Day weekend which means that you and I and everyone out there should feel the slightest bit obligated to at least do a little something nice for your mom for the mere fact that you were borned. And really what better way to celebrate mom than with food%u2026 It really is the least that you can do. (I think mom’s also like flowers and cards and handmade pasta necklaces) My mom is defiantly about the food. (she has had her fair share or pasta necklaces) %u00a0A many years back on Mother’s day, this sweet little girl (me) made her mother a special %u00a0breakfast treat%u2026blueberry scones. And ever since that day, for every freaking holiday, birthday, whatever day, my mother requests (demands) a batch of those scones. She is always saying that these are her favorite treat and that no one has ever made them as good as I do. (I guess that just reiterates that I am her number 1 child)
And for the last few months my mom has been up my butt, trying to get me to make her some. Not going to lie, I have been saying I’ll get her a batch, but for some reason, I haven’t gotten around to making them. So two birds here.. Make the scones and she gets off my back for a least a little while (a month.. maybe 2) and I give her a fantastic Mothers day gift that I know she will love.
So here they are , oh mother of mine. Blueberry scones!
The stuff. Flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. A bit of sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, and butter (use vegan butter and nut milk if you want to make them vegan) And of course we need the blueberries which can be fresh or frozen. I usually use fresh, but the store I stopped at only had really big containers of fresh that were like $1000 dollars a piece and the organic frozen happen to be on super sale. So you know, the cheap in me won that battle.%u00a0So into the bowl goes all the dry stuff; flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and the sugar. Give it a good whisk.
Now for my special trick for a perfectly distributed cold butter in a pastry. Freeze your butter and grate it!
With a large wholed grater, grate the frozen butter directly into the bowl with the dry, stoping a few times to toss the butter chunks around so you don’t end up with a huge pile of grated butter. When it’s all grated, gently toss around so the butter is evenly distributed.%u00a0Now dump the blueberries into the flour mixture. Toss them around to give them a coat of flour. Add in the buttermilk and vanilla and give a little mix until liquid is absorbed. We are trying to handle the dough as little as possible.Turn mixture onto counter. It’s very loose, but thats what it should look like. Very gently and with as little handling as possible, gather dough up, knead a few times till everything %u00a0just comes together. Press dough into a disk that is roughly an inch thick%u2026. and it doesn’t need to be perfect.%u00a0Cut the disk into even sized pieces. Do 6 big, 8 normal, maybe even 10 smaller. Whatever size you like. (I did 8) Place the scones onto a baking sheet, using a spatula to transfer, and sprinkle the tops with a little bit of sugar. Into a preheated oven for about 20 minutes.And when the scones look all nice and browned and a tester comes out clean. remove and either serve right away warm, preferably with huge cup of coffee or tea, or stick on a rack to cool before storing in %u00a0air tight container.
Perfect to serve as a breakfast pastry, at brunch, or even as a dessert. A nice little treat for a special lady. (dudes can eat them too)%u00a0
Happy Mothers Day Mom! Thanks for having me!
And Happy Weekend!!!
-C
Blueberry Scones%u00a0
2 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar plus%u00a02 tablespoons %u00a0to sprinkle on top
1 %u00a0teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted %u00a0butter frozen or really cold (use non dairy butter like Earth Balance for vegan)
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1 teaspoon %u00a0vanilla%u00a0
%u00a03/4 cup buttermilk (use non dairy milk for vegan)
Preheat oven t0 400 degrees
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Take the frozen butter and grate directly into flour mixture, tossing around to evenly disrupted. Add in blueberries and toss around till coated with flour, then lastly, add vanilla to buttermilk and mix into mixture until just barely coming together. Turn mixture out onto counter and with your hands, knead mixture a few times until it forms a solid dough. Shape into a disk and smoosh down until about an inch thick. Cut into 6-10 triangles %u00a0and place on a non greases baking sheet and sprinkle tops with remaining sugar. Stick into oven and bake for 20 minutes or until tops start turning a golden brown and a tester in the middle of a scone comes out clean.%u00a0
Remove from baking sheet and serve warm or let cool on a rack.
Mom gets first dibs, and if she is willing to share, eat one yourself with%u00a0your face.%u00a0
%u00a0%u00a0 %u00a0%u00a0%u00a0I figured now is a good time to get this recipe out there before we get to far into spring and summer recipes because there is going to be a lot of banana ice cream filled recipe coming and I figured its a good idea to have the basic banana ice cream recipe ready for people to refer too.%u00a0 And because I made so much fantastic naner ice cream, I also made a cookies and cream naner ice cream for my sisters and the mister.
Comments that I got from my sisters and the mister when I made them this ice cream
-Sister one.”I give this my sister seal of approval.. It’s so good. %u00a0The first dessert you have made that I liked! (not including all the other desserts that you have made that I liked)”
-Sister two- “Wow.. it looks like ice cream and feels like ice cream and tastes like ice cream.. You should make me this ice cream!” (I was confused too because I was pretty sure I just made her some)
-The mister- “I am so excited for my new fly fishing pole!”
Ok, so the naner ice cream isn’t new to the mister and he IS very much excited for his new fly fish pole. So excited that he forgot to tell me how amazing that I am and to thank me for making him a big bowl of yumminess. (It’s ok, I forgive him)
And yes, this is probably one of the easiest, most delicious, healthy and amazing frozen dessert that you will ever eat. You will probably find yourself buying mass amounts of bananas and stocking the freezer until things just start falling out. (which is also ok because it’s only bananas and you can’t have too many frozen bananas)
%u00a0 %u00a0The stuff you need for this ice cream%u2026. Nice and ripe bananas, peeled and then frozen* That’s it.
To make it, place frozen bananas into food processor and hit the on button. Process the crap out of the namers until nice and silky smooth.%u00a0
*Note, the smaller the frozen chunks are , the faster and maybe a little easier for the blender to blend the naners into ice cream. So if you think of it, chop bananas into pieces before freezing or even after.
After all blended and smooth, either eat right away or scoop ice cream into a freezer safe container and stick in freezer. That’s the banana ice cream%u2026 %u00a0And it is amazing and so so so so so addictive. I make a batch, think I am only going to eat a scoop, then find myself eating half of what I have made, but it’s ok cause it’s only bananas.%u00a0
Now for the cookies and cream banana ice cream..One%u00a0batch of banana ice cream, either freshly made, still in food processor or made ahead and placed in a food processor and given a good pulse to smooth it up.
Add cookies in, crushing a bit beforehand and pulse till combined.%u00a0Now you have cookies and cream naner ice cream%u2026. and everybody is happy.
Scoop into a cup, a bowl, a freezer safe container, or directly into your mouth.%u00a0Be careful%u2026. You can still get brain freeze from eating naner ice cream too fast!
Keep it real hump day drum bum!
-C
Basic Banana Ice Cream
Makes one batch. Good for 3-4 servings
4-5 %u00a0ripe bananas peeled and frozen
Peel %u00a0bananas and stick in a freezer bag or container and freeze. When bananas are completely frozen, break into pieces and stick into a food processor or blender and puree until silky smooth.%u00a0
Eat right away or scoop into a freezer safe container for later.
Cookies and Cream Banana Ice Cream
1 batch banana ice cream
5-10 (depending on your cookie need) cream filled cookies like oreos or Trader Joe’s Joe Joe’s (These are gluten free)
In a food processor, blend banana ice cream with cookies.
Eat right away, with a utensil of choice in a container of choice.
Every year I play this game with myself.. Is it allergies or am I sick. The past few days I have been feeling kinda crappy, waking up with itchy, gunky eyes. My throat hurts, my head is like a balloon, and I am just feeling beat..%u00a0
I think it’s that I am sick (because I don’t want to have allergies) but whatever it is, it sucks, but usually goes away after a week (like every year because its really allergies). Blah.
But enough about my balloon head, lets talk these maple banana walnut oat squares. These yummy gems of the oat square world are just what you need in your life. Healthy, protein packed, nutty, and a touch sweet. No junk, just good stuff all made with little to no effort. If you like banana bread, you will be all into them. I was inspired to make these by the extremely ripe bananas that need to be eaten asap and the mr’s lack of eating a healthy breakfast (I want him to eat, and I want it be oatmeal). I know him well enough that if I make a snack like thing and leave it out to eat, that he will eat it. For breakfast.
So weather or not you are looking for a good way to get in some good stuff into your tummy or just want some good tasting stuff in your mouth, this is the breakfast/dessert for you.
The stuff. A couple of ripe bananas, a bunch of rolled oats, some yummy walnuts, real maple syrup, cinnamon, baking soda and a wee bit of water.
Start with the walnuts in a food processor. Turn it on and process until….
You got this walnut butter. Do not eat it, it’s for the squares (it is so good).
Add in the oats, cinnamon and baking soda and turn the processor back on until you get a nice unified crumbly mixture.
Now in goes the bananas and the maple syrup. And you guessed it, blend some more. While you are blending, if the mixture seems to dry, add in a splash of water, to wet, just toss in another handful of oat. The mixture should be like a muffin batter consistency.
And that’s it. If you want some nut chunks, add in a handful more of walnuts (do it) and pulse just to get them mixed into batter.
Then pourthe mixture into a well greased 9×9 baking pan and spread out evenly. Toss those suckers into the oven to bake.
Oh so good bananas give off the best smell when baking. After about a 1/2hour, these bars are nice and golden brown and a fork stuck in the center comes out clean, which means, they are done.
Cut into square , eat one or two, and save the rest. Eat for breakfast, as a snack, or for dessert. And a smear of peanut butter on top is aces too!
Later dudes.
-C
3 cups old fashion rolled oats (gluten free ones to keep in GF)
1 cup plus a a small handful walnuts
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 rip bananas
1 /2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
Place 1 cup of walnuts into a food processor and blend until it turns into walnut butter.. about 3 minutes. Add in the oats and blend together until it becomes a crumbly mixture. Add in the maple, baking soda, cinnamon and the bananas (break into chunks) and blend until incorporated. If the mixture seems lie its too dry, add in a splash of water, and if to wet, add in another handful of oats. The batter should resemble a muffin batter.%u00a0 Once blended, mix in the remaining walnuts and pulse just to mix them in.
Pour mixture into a well greased 9×9 baking pan and stick into the fridge for 10ish minutes and preheat oven 350
And after the time in the fridge, remove the pan and slide them into the oven. Bake until golden brown and a tester stuck into te middle comes out clean. (about 30 minutes)
Remove and let cool. Pop out of pan, cut into square, and eat to you face.
Squares will last 3-4 days in a airtight container or freeze them and they will last until you eat them.
Have I told you how amazing my farmshare is? I am sure I have, but if I haven%u2019t lately, well let me just tell you, it is. All summer long we (the members) get to pick a bunch of fresh herbs every week. Basil, scallions, dill, parsely, and cilantro. Planted every few weeks to keep us in the herbs all summer long. And every few weeks there is a herb free for all. Pick unlimited amounts of whatever herb is plentiful. Last week it was unlimited parsley. Yeah there was unlimited basil and that was nice too, but the parsley, the underrated, overlooked herb. That was what I wanted and I picked the shit out of it.
Parsley. No I is not just a green sprig that garnishes your plate at a restaurant. It is a great spicy, fresh, clean tasting herb that plays so well with everything. I really think parsley can, and should, make it%u2019s way into almost any dish. It adds a touch more brightness to any spice blend. And there is just something about munching on some fresh parsley, it just works for me. Parsley is good friends. No. Parsley is great.
So now we match said parsley with another bright herb, mint, and blend it up into a pesto. Magic on the tongue. And a no brainer for pesto is pasta, although this pesto would make a great spread or smothered on grilled veggies or scooped into soup.
A summery pesto pasta salad dish situation. Perfect for all the times that you are hungry and need food.
To the pesto pasta salad!
The stuff. Parsley. mint, a few scallions, toasted almonds, garlic, a lemon, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper, and olive oil. Also pasta, a cucumber, and a big handful of cherry tomatoes.
First for pesto. Start by pulsing the almonds in a food processor until they become a nice crumb. Remove about 1/4 cup and set aside.
Grab the herbs and scallions and remove any really wooden stems (keep the more tender ones) and rip the herbs into smaller pieces.
All the parsley, mint, and scallions now go into food processor with almonds, along with the garlic, nutritional yeast, the juice of the lemon, and a pinch of salt and some crack pepper. Pulse the food processor and stream in the olive oil until everything comes together. You might need to stop and scrape the sides a few times.
Now you need pasta. Cook it to the directions on the package you got it from. Cook it all the way through then when you strain it, rinse it with a little cool water.
Chop up the cucumber into small chunks and half or quarter the cherry tomatoes.
And to put it all together. Pasta goes in a bowl. Add in the pesto. If the pesto seems a little on the thick side and not easily mixes, add in a little warm water to thin it out a bit.
Add the cucumber and tomatoes.
Mix some more, sprinkle on lots of the crumbled almonds you set aside, maybe a few more springs of parsley and a few more leaves of mint for good measure and call it done.
Be ready to eat cause this salad is ready to be eaten.
-C
Makes a pound of pasta
2 cups packed parsley (Curly or flat. I used curly)
1 cup packed mint
a few scallions if you have them
3/4 cup roasted almonds
3 cloves garlic
a lemon
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2- 3/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper
1 pound bow tie pasta
Big handful cherry tomatoes
a tender skinned cucumber
Note. This recipe makes a big batch of pesto and big pasta salad. You can totally make the all the pesto and only use half and only boil half of the pasta. Just stored left over pesto in a jar in the fridge for about week or so or stick it in the freezer for a few months. And you can use it for all sorts of great things like sandwiches, salads, as a dip%u2026 whatever you want.
To make the pesto. Place almonds in food processor and pulse until crumbly then remove about a 1/4 cup and set aside. Add in the garlic and pulse a few times. Then grab the parsley, mint, and scallions. Remove any tough stems and rip the herbs into smaller pieces. Add them to food processor along with the nutritional yeast, the juice of the lemon, and a good pinch or two of salt and lots of pepper. Pulse while slowly adding in the olive oil. Stop, scrap sides, then pulse until smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed.
Half or quarter cherry tomatoes and cut cucumber into small chunks
Cook the pasta. Big pot of boil water with a pinch pf salt. Cook until fully cooked, then drain. Give it a quick rinse of cool water. Dump the pasta into a big bowl.
To make the pasta salad. Scoop pesto into bowl with the pasta and mix it until all the pasta is evenly coated. If pesto is really thick, just add a little warm water to thin it out. Add in the cut up tomatoes and cucumber, mix, then top with the reserves ground up almonds and a handful more of chopped fresh mint and parsley.
Eat.
Left overs should be stored in fridge for a a few days. Left over pesto a week or so and or in the freezer for a few months.
Farm share started last week (HOORAY!!!!) but always, at the beginning when things are still getting on growing, we are only getting a few things. Lot of greens which I will never get enough of, and lots of potatoes. Also, I made the mistake of buying a very large bag of potatoes last week right before farm share and now I am basically swimming in potatoes. And so the story goes%u2026.
So what do you do with a shit ton of potatoes? Yeah, I thought potato cannon to but then I realized that I would have to use my potatoes and sure I have a lot, but I am not wasting them on that. So gnocchi they became. Gnocchi. Basically a boiled french fry or a mashed potato meat ball. Or maybe more like a ravioli. Whatever they are, they are loved by potato loving people and are fun to make. I mean, when do you ever get to use the ricer? ( Don%u2019t worry, you can make gnocchi without a ricer.)
To the gnocchi.
The stuff. Potatoes, flour, an onion, some tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Note. Make sure to use russet potatoes because they make the lightest, fluffiest gnocchi. You could probably use Yukon gold, but any hard wax potato just won%u2019t do.
First step is to make baked potatoes. Place potatoes in oven, directly on rack, and bake for 30-45 minutes until nice and soft and tender. Just like you would when you eat it as a baked potato. Once cooked cut them in half and let them cool off for a few minutes.
Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop all the flesh out of skins. Keep skins for soup or a snack for later.
And the fun part. Flour the counter then rice the potatoes. You can also do this with a food mill or even grate the potato with a box grater. Once all riced, cover with flour and start to fold and mix the potato into the flour gently until the dough starts to come together. If the dough seems really sticky and wet, add in a tablespoon or two of flour, to dry and crumbly, add in a tablespoon or two of water. The goal is a nice fluffy dough that hold it shape but is not overly dense.
Cut off a potion of the dough, roll it into a rope about an inch thick, then cut into inch long pieces.
To cook gnocchi. Bring a big pot of water to a boil and carefully drop in a handful of gnocchi into the water. They are gonna sink, but after a minute or two they start to float. Once floating, remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked.
Cooked and ready%u2026 Ready for what? For anything you want but these are going into a tomato and onion situation.
Mince garlic and dice tomatoes and place into skillet with a good pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil. Place on stove and cook until slightly tender. Dice up tomatoes into small chunks and add to skillet along with a cup of water (if you have gnocchi water, use that) Turn heat up and cook until mixture start to bubble, then turn heat down to low and cook until the tomatoes are mushy.
And then drop in gnocchi. Keep on heat until the gnocchi are warmed completely all the way through.
Sprinkle of salt, lots of pepper, and something green if you want to be fancy.
And then you eat them.
-C
Makes 3-4 servings
2.5 pounds russet potatoes
2/3 cup of all purpose flour
1 large onion
3-4 tomatoes
few cloves garlic
salt and pepper
olive oil
water
Place potatoes directly into oven on one of the oven racks and bake on 450 degrees until soft and tender. Should take about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, depending on size of potatoes.
Once cooked, remove from oven carefully, cut in half, carefully, and let cool for a about 10 minutes, just so you can handle the potatoes without burning yourself. In the mean time, get a large pot, fill it with water, and set it on the stove to boil.
When the potatoes are not to hot to touch, grab them and with a spoon, scoop out all the potato flesh from the skin (keep skin for a snack or for soup). Lightly flour the counter and start ricing the potatoes directly onto the counter. (You can also use a food mill or a box grater if you don%u2019t have ricer). Once all potato is rices, cover with floor and gently fold potato over into flour, over and over, even using a knife, to kind of cut the potato into the flour, until it all mostly comes together. Be careful to not overwork the dough or else it will become dense make the gnocchi chewy. If the dough seems is sticky, add in a few more tablespoons of flour, to dry and seems crumbly, add a few tablespoons warm water.
Once you have the dough, make sure the water on the stove is still there and has not evaporated and is at a gentle boil. Cut dough in thirds then roll out a portion into a rope about an inch thick. Cut the rope into inch long pieces. Repeat with the rest of dough.
When all the gnocchi are made, grab a rimed baking sheet, coat with oil, and place close by the boil water.
Now to cook them. Drop a handful of gnocchi into water carefully. They will sink. Watch and after about a minute or two, they will start to float. Once floating, take a slotted spoon and take them out of water. Place them on the greased baking sheet. Repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked. (when done cooking, save a cup of the cooking water)
After the gnocchi is cooked, you can do whatever you want with it, like eat it right away with salt and pepper or whatever, but to make the quick tomatoes onion situation, dice up the onion and mince the garlic. Place into a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and place on stove and start to cook. Dice up the tomatoes and once the onion is tender, add in the dice tomatoes and about a cup of the gnocchi cooking water. Turn the heat up until the water is bubbling then reduce to low and cook until the tomatoes are mushy and tender. Once cooked, add in the gnocchi, toss them around, and cook until the gnocchi are fully warmed through.
And then eat it. Maybe a little more salt if needed, definitely lots of pepper, and whatever else you want.
It is getting oh so much nicer out yeah? Springing and such, well kind of. Still a wee bit chillier then it should be around here but still, it is spring and I am taking it.
And with the spring, I feel the itch, the itch to spend all of my free time outside. Out doing things that are not inside because I spent the last 7 long months inside way too much. I needed to be outside as much as possible and as it gets even nicer and warmer and garden temperature-able, I am basically going to be living outside.
Bring in sesame noodles. Super fast, super easy, super duper in every way. Make a big old batch and eat now, eat later, eat hot or eat cold. Everyone loves them, they love you, etc. etc%u2026 A perfect meal to have in rotation when you know that you are not going to have or want to spend much time cooking in the kitchen because you will be outside playing in the dirt and soaking up the sun. And think about all the picnics and BBQ%u2019s to come. These suckers are fantastic to have at any outdoor eating event. They are even peanut free so you can safely bring them to potlucks and such and don%u2019t have to worry about accidentally kill a peanut allergy person. And you can make them gluten free as well if you sub in your favorite gluten free pasta. These noodles, I am telling you. They are a winner in every way.
So with out further ado, the noodles!
The stuff. Spaghetti noodles, tahini, a few cloves of garlic, some toasted sesame oil, soy sauce, red wine vinegar, honey (used whatever sweetener you like), red pepper flakes, tasted sesame seeds some cabbage, half a red onion and a carrot.
Get pasta cooking. Boil water, drop noodles in, you know the drill. Cook as long as the the noodles need cooking, just make sure to not over cook them cause soggy noodles are nasty.
Chop, shred and julienne the cabage, onion and carrot. Nice and thin.
Mince the heck out of the garlic. Or use a garlic press if you want.
Now make the sauce. Add the minced garlic, along with the soy, sesame oil, vinegar, sweetener, and chili flakes to the bowl with the tahini. Mix, mix, mix until it is all incorporated and not lumpy. And that is that.
Noodles should be done by now so strain them out.
Add the prepared veggies to a big bowl.
Add in the cooked noodles
Cover with sauce and toss all around until all the noodles are coated and delicious. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and a pinch or so more of pepper flakes.
And then it is time. Eating time.
Happy spring!
-C
serves 3-6
3/4 lb (3/4 of a package) of your favorite spaghetti noodles (or linguine or similar noodle)
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1/4 cup soy (low sodium if you have it and gluten free tamari if needed)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons tahini
2-4 teaspoons red chili flakes
1-2 teaspoons sweetener of choice (maple, honey, or brown sugar)
4-5 cloves garlic
1-2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
about a 1/4 head of cabbage
a carrot
small red onion
Bring a pot of water to a boiling cook the noodles as directed on package. You want them al dente, cooked all the way, but barely. No soggy noodles. (unless you like them soggy)
In the mean time, shred the cabbage, julienne the carrot (or shred it) and slice the onion so very thinly. Place into a large bowl. Now mince garlic and place into a bowl along with the soy, sweetener, vinegar, tahini, sesame oil and a teaspoon or two (more for spicier) of chili flakes and whisk until completely incorporated. Taste and adjust if needed. Add more tahini for more body, more sweetener if needed or more hot pepper flakes for more spice.
Once noodles are cooked, drain and place into large bowl along with the shredded and julienned veggies. Pour in the sauce and toss it all around until all the noodles are covered. Sprinkle in the toasted sesame seeds and a small pinch more of the red pepper flakes.
Eat. Eat warm, room temp, or cold. They are delicious any way.
Any left overs just stick in fridge. Can be reheated or not. Also, you can make the sauce and the noodles a few day ahead of time of when you want to have the dish Just mix the sauce with the noodles when you are about to serve them%u2026 So simple!
Barb has been bugging me for a few months to make her pierogi and I keep telling her I will. But for some reason I just kept forgetting and ever time she came over for dinner I would just end up making her lentils . I make lentils for people when I care about them because lentils are perfect and I always figure she could use the nutrients. But finally, FINALLY, I remembered and figured it was about time. Time for Barb to get her pierogi. I got the ingredients, made up a plan, and went about making them thinking she was coming over for dinner. But guess what. She didn’t come over. After all that, she decided it was better for her to go to her classes and then go to her shift at work, that it was not a good idea to skip out on all that just because I decided to finally make her pierogi. Well whatever I guess.
And full disclouse, I don%u2019t think I made actual plans with her for the particular day that I made these pieorgi. I might have just assumed she was coming over%u2026. So maybe my bad. Good thing these things can be made ahead and cooked whenever. So I saved her half for whenever she does come over (today I think). I did make them for her after all.
Anyway. Pierogi. Pretty much a stuffed ravioli I filled these with the potato, chickpea, and onion mixture, tossed a little dill in for the hell of it, and there they were. The mr got the first half, covered in cashew cream. But I bet these would be equally fantastic with marinara sauce. Or ketchup? I could see that if you are into that sort of thing. Ha.
Also have to note. I keep wanting to write pierogies but I think that is wrong. Pierogi is the plural for pierog.. I think.
To the pierogi.
The stuff. Flour, oil, salt and pepper. Cooked chickpeas, a couple russet potatoes, a big onion, some dried dill (optional), warm water, soaked cashews, and a little red wine vinegar.
First make the dough. Flout, salt, water, and oil get mixed together until la shaggy dough is formed. Dump onto a floured surface ans give ut a good knead for a minute until lit comes together into a nice ball. Place dough back into the bowl (clean it out), cover it with a towel, and set aside to let the dough have little rest.
Meanwhile get the potatoes boiling. You are more then welcome to peel your potatoes but I don%u2019t. Chop the potatoes into small pieces, dump into a pot of cold water and cook them (boil until fork tender)
And cook the onions too. Chop the onion into small little bits and place in a skillet with a couple slashes of olive oil. Medium heat and a good stir until they are nice and golden brown.
Cooked onions and cooked ans drained potatoes.
Now to make the filling. Add the potatoes, onions, chickpeas, and ill to a bowl. Sprinkle in salt ans pepper
Mash it all together, small chunks are ok, but not big.
Taste and season with more salt and or pepper if needed. And stop eating all the filling, you need it.
Wen the filling is made, grab the dough, rolling pin, and a large biscuit cutter or a cup.
Roll out dough, then cut out circles.
And to make a pierogi, grab a dough disk, add a mound of filling, then fold in half and pinch closed. Simple. IF the dough doesn%u2019t want to seal, run a wet finger around the edge of the dough. That will do the trick.
All made, and not perfect by any means but perfect to me. Once you have made them, they need a little rest before cooking. Just a half hour or so. Enough time to clean up the mess that you just made and ge ta pot of water boiling on the stove. This is also a good time to prepare some to save for freezing. Any that you do not plan on eating in the next few days, place on a lightly floured baking sheet and stick in freezer. Once frozen, remove from sheet and place in an airtight container or freezer bag and stash away for another day. They can also go I the fridge for 3-4 days without being frozen, just make sure that you give each one a good dusting of flour so they don%u2019t stick to each other.
Oh, and before you finish cooking the pierogi, make a the cashew cream. Place soaked cashews into blender with the vinegar and a splash of hot water. Blend into creamy and smooth. Season with salt and pepper and that is that.
Now to cook those pierogies. Bring a pot of water to a rolling boil. Once boiling, drop (gently) the pierogies one by one into water. A few at a time as to not over crowed, boil until they start to float to the top, which should take 4-5 minutes. Once cooked, scoop them out and place them on a plate or pan while you boil more (if you are indeed cooking more)
After the pieogies had a boil, they then need a little crispness (you can skip this step if you don%u2019t want them crispy). Use the frying pan you cooked the onions in and add a splash more oil. Heat on medium and when pan is hot, add in the boiled (not sopping wet) pierogies. Cook each side for 3-5 minutes or until nice and and browned then flip and cook the other side.
And then all is left is eating. layered on a bed of cabbage carrot slaw and dolloped with a good dollop of the cashew cream. Done and done and ready to for the face.
I don%u2019t know. Maybe Barb should have skipped school and work for dinner.. Just saying
-C
makes about 25
For the dough
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour plus more for dusting
1 cup warm water
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons olive oil
For the Filling
1 large sweet or vidilla onion
2 medium sized russet potatoes
1 cup cooked chick peas
2-3 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon dill (optional)
salt and pepper
For the Cashew Cream (Optional for serving)
1/2 cup soaked cashews (soaked for at least 1/2 hour)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons hot water
salt and pepper
First off, make the dough. Mix the flour with salt then add in oil and water. Mix together until a shaggy dough forms then dump out onto a lightly flour surface and knead a few times to form a uniform ball. Place dough back into (cleaned) bowl and cover. Set aside to rest.
Once dough is made, chop onion into small little pieces and place in a large skillet with 2-3 teaspoons of oil. Stick on medium heat and cook until tender and browned. Also cook the potatoes. Chop the potatoes into small pieces (peel if you want but you don%u2019t need to) and place into a pot of cold water. Bring potatoes to a boil and cook until they are fork tender, almost falling apart.
Once potatoes are cooked, strain from water and place in a big bowl. Add in the cooked onion and the chickpeas. Sprinkle in dill if you are using and season with salt and pepper. Grab a potato masher or a fork and mash the mixture together. It can be a little chunky, but you don%u2019t want really big chunks. Taste and season if it needs it.
Filling is done so now grab the rested dough. Place dough on a lightly floured surface, cut in half, place one half back in bowl and roll the other out about 1/8 inch thin. Take a large biscuit cutter or a large cup and cut out circles. Gather remaining dough and re roll out. Do this until you can%u2019t. Repeat with second half of dough.
Once the circles are cut out, place about a tablespoon of filling into the center of each. Fold the dough in half and pinch closed. If the dough has dried out to much, brush a little water on the edge of circle to help it seal. Place the pierogi on a floured surface (so they don%u2019t stick) And don%u2019t worry if you have a little extra filling.. Just eat it.
When all the pierogi are made, let them rest for about 1/2 an hour. There are a good amount of pierogi here so if you want, stick some in a container and in the fridge to have in the next few days. Just make sure to flour them so they don%u2019t stick together. Or if you prefer, place however many you to want to save on a lightly floured baking sheet and stick in the freezer until frozen. Once frozen, place into a freezer safe bag or container. They will keep for a few months.
Also, before you finish cooking, make the cashew cream (if you want it) Just add soaked cashews to a blender with vinegar and the water. Blend until smooth and creamy then season with salt and pepper to taste. If the mixture seems to thick, just add a splash more water until it is a desired thickness.
To cook the pierogi, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Place pierogi, one at a time, into pot. 5-7 at a time as to not crowd them, and cook until they start to float. Remove the cooked ones with a slotted spoon and stick on a plate. Boil as many as you are going to eat. Grab a skillet and add a few teaspoons of olive oil. Heat to a medium heat and place the pirogies into pan. Cook each side for 4-5 minutes or until browned and crispy. Flip and cook the other side.
Remove form pan, place on a plate, dollop with cashew cream (if desired) and eat.
Dinner for when you have maybe too many (although I never think I have too many… just sometime I end up with a lot at once and that it can get a little chaotic)%u00a0 squash and tomatoes,%u00a0which may be bound to happen this time of year.
Nothing fancy, and is quick and easy,%u00a0filling, and full of all those summertime things that need to be eaten before they are gone and we are back to eating beets and potatoes for months at a time.%u00a0
Savor all of the good stuff the summer is giving us.%u00a0
The stuff. A couple of squashed ( I used a crookneck and a patty pan), cherry tomatoes, an onion, some spaghetti, salt and pepper, and olive oil.%u00a0
Preheat the oven and chop up your squash and onion. Not tiny pieces, but not really bug chinches either.
Toss all that chopped stuff into a skillet along with the cherry tomatoes. Drizzle it all with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then stick it into the hot oven.%u00a0
While the stuff is roasting, cook up the pasta, but cook it a little al dente, it will cook a bit more once mixed with the veggies.
Roasted and ready for noodles.
Add the cooked spaghetti to the skillet, along along with about 1/2 of cup of the pasta water (it helps bind the flavors all together). Toss it all around and %u00a0then let it chill in the hot skillet for a minute or two then taste it. So good right? And if you need to, season with more salt and pepper, and drizzle with more oil if needed.%u00a0
That is all you need to do, besides you know, sticking it into a bowl, getting all the good big chunks, and eating it.
-C
2 small summer squash (I used a crook neck and a patty pan… but whatever kind you have on hand works)
1 mild onion (vidalia or walla walls)
1 pint cherry %u00a0tomatoes
2-3 %u00a0tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper%u00a0
1/2 pound spaghetti and water to boil it in
Preheat the oven to 425.
Chop up squashes into inch-ish sized chunks then chop the onion into medium sized slices and toss into a large oven safe skillet. Add in the tomatoes and drizzle the whole lot with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss around to make sure everything is evenly coasted. Place in oven and roast for 30-40 minutes or until the squash and tomatoes are nice and soft and ready to eat.%u00a0
While the stuff is roasting, boil the pasta per the instructions on the box, but cook it a little al dente (still with a bite to it). Drain the pasta when done, reserving a cup full of the starchy pasta water.
When the pasta is done and the veggies are roasted, dump the pasta into the skillet along with 1/2 a cup of the starchy pasta water. Mix around and let sit for a minute or two. Sprinkle with more salt and pepper and drizzle a tiny more olive oil on top (optional).%u00a0
Serve and eat.%u00a0
Basil goes extremely well with this dish, if you just so happen to have some.
It’s Mother’s Day weekend which means that you and I and everyone out there should feel the slightest bit obligated to at least do a little something nice for your mom for the mere fact that you were borned. And really what better way to celebrate mom than with food%u2026 It really is the least that you can do. (I think mom’s also like flowers and cards and handmade pasta necklaces) My mom is defiantly about the food. (she has had her fair share or pasta necklaces) %u00a0A many years back on Mother’s day, this sweet little girl (me) made her mother a special %u00a0breakfast treat%u2026blueberry scones. And ever since that day, for every freaking holiday, birthday, whatever day, my mother requests (demands) a batch of those scones. She is always saying that these are her favorite treat and that no one has ever made them as good as I do. (I guess that just reiterates that I am her number 1 child)
The stuff. Flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. A bit of sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, and butter (use vegan butter and nut milk if you want to make them vegan) And of course we need the blueberries which can be fresh or frozen. I usually use fresh, but the store I stopped at only had really big containers of fresh that were like $1000 dollars a piece and the organic frozen happen to be on super sale. So you know, the cheap in me won that battle.%u00a0
So into the bowl goes all the dry stuff; flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and the sugar. Give it a good whisk.
Now dump the blueberries into the flour mixture. Toss them around to give them a coat of flour. Add in the buttermilk and vanilla and give a little mix until liquid is absorbed. We are trying to handle the dough as little as possible.
Turn mixture onto counter. It’s very loose, but thats what it should look like. 
Very gently and with as little handling as possible, gather dough up, knead a few times till everything %u00a0just comes together. Press dough into a disk that is roughly an inch thick%u2026. and it doesn’t need to be perfect.%u00a0
Cut the disk into even sized pieces. Do 6 big, 8 normal, maybe even 10 smaller. Whatever size you like. (I did 8) Place the scones onto a baking sheet, using a spatula to transfer, and sprinkle the tops with a little bit of sugar. Into a preheated oven for about 20 minutes.
And when the scones look all nice and browned and a tester comes out clean. remove and either serve right away warm, preferably with huge cup of coffee or tea, or stick on a rack to cool before storing in %u00a0air tight container.
%u00a0 %u00a0%u00a0
%u00a0I figured now is a good time to get this recipe out there before we get to far into spring and summer recipes because there is going to be a lot of banana ice cream filled recipe coming and I figured its a good idea to have the basic banana ice cream recipe ready for people to refer too.%u00a0 And because I made so much fantastic naner ice cream, I also made a cookies and cream naner ice cream for my sisters and the mister.
%u00a0 %u00a0
The stuff you need for this ice cream%u2026. Nice and ripe bananas, peeled and then frozen* That’s it.
After all blended and smooth, either eat right away or scoop ice cream into a freezer safe container and stick in freezer. That’s the banana ice cream%u2026 %u00a0And it is amazing and so so so so so addictive. I make a batch, think I am only going to eat a scoop, then find myself eating half of what I have made, but it’s ok cause it’s only bananas.%u00a0
One%u00a0batch of banana ice cream, either freshly made, still in food processor or made ahead and placed in a food processor and given a good pulse to smooth it up.
Now you have cookies and cream naner ice cream%u2026. and everybody is happy.
Cinnamon Cardamom Swirl- Orange and Sweet Potato Bread — The Lovely Crazy
August 19, 2019 by maximios • Blog
Bread is probably, no, definitely one of my upmost favorite things to bake. There is just something so gratifying about the whole process of mixing ingredients, kneading, watching it rise, shaping, then baking. It calms me and make me a better person. Seriously.
And this might sound sad, but this week when my Dad told me that my grandmother died, well I went home and made bread because that is what felt right to do. It gave my mind and hands a good something to do far a little while. Plus I ended up with a loaf of bread to feed people with. I also like to feed people when I am feeling sad.
I chose to use cinnamon and cardamom because of the smells. They are just delightful and happy smells. And swirls are happy so a happy swirl of happy smells in a loaf of bread that I was making to share that was (and did) make people happy. (See, bread baking is making me so nice because I am sharing it) It was just the right thing to do.
So if you are in need of a little happy pick me up, may I suggest making some bread? It might make you feel a little better, or at least get your mind off of things for a bit. And you will have bread so there is that too. It%u2019s a win win.
Now to the bread, which you can also make when you are happy. Or bored, or hungry, although it takes some time so if you are starting off hungry, you will be starving by the time it is done. Maybe eat a snack will you are making it%u2026..
The stuff. White and whole wheat flour, salt, sweet potato puree, soy milk, yeast, brown sugar, oil, cinnamon, cardamom, some flax seeds, and an orange.
In a big bow, mix together the yeast, warm milk, sweet potato puree, a little sugar, and oil. Let it sit for a minute to active yeast.
Flours and salt get a good mix to be mixed.
Then dry gets dumped into the yeast mixture along with the zest of the orange.
Mix it until a dough forms then dump it out onto a lightly floured surface.
Knead dough for about 6-8 minutes or until supple, uniform, and smooth.
Place dough into a well oiled bowl and cover. Let rise for about and hour or so or until it doubles in size (could take a little longer then a hour)
Place risen dough back out onto a lightly floured surface.
Roll it out about 2 feet long and as wide as a bread pan.
Don%u2019t forget mix up your brown sugar with the cinnamon and cardamom.
Brush rolled out dough with the flax mixture. This will help the cinnamon cardamon sugar stick.
And evenly distribute the mixture all over the dough.
Roll it up nice and tight and once it%u2019s all rolled, pinch then end to the rest of the dough.
Gently place the rolled dough, pinched side down, into a well greased bread pan. Cover in a plastic bag for about another hour or until the dough has risen a good amount and is doming over the rim of the pan. Now preheat the oven.
Once the bread is sufficiently risen, place into hot oven and bake for 40-45 minutes.
Now the hard part. Get it out of the bread pan and get it cooling off. You cannot cut into it until it cools or you will smoosh the swirl and make it gummy. Just wait, at least a half hour. For real. Wait. You can do it!
And when the bread cools and the wait it over, slice and be amazed. A thing of beauty that smells of greatness.
Bread is so great. Great great great! Especially a swirl bread. I mean. Look at that.
Happy day to you.
-C
Makes 1 loaf
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/3 cup sweet potato puree
1 cup soy milk
2 teaspoons (or one packet) yeast
3 tablespoons neutral oil like canola
2 tablespoon light brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Zest of 1 orange
For the cinnamon cardamom filling
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoon cinnamon (I used Vietnamese Cinnamon which is a little spicier and sweeter)
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 teaspoons ground flax mixed with 4 teaspoons warm water
Start by grabbing a big bowl. Mix together the yeast, the 2 tablespoons brown sugar, warm milk, sweet potato puree, and oil. Let sit for a minute to active yeast. In a separate bowl mix together the flours and salt. Dump the dry mixture into the wet. Zest the zest of an orange into bowl and mix it all together until it forms a dough. Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 5-8 minutes or until the dough gets supple and shinny and uniform. Place dough into a well oiled bowl and cover for about an hour or until doubled in size.
Once dough has doubled, dump out onto a well floured surface and roll out to as wide as a bread pan and roughly 24 inched long. After you have rolled it out brush the flax and water mixture all over surface . Combine the brown sugar with the cinnamon and cardamom and evenly distribute the mixture all over flaxed dough. And for the fun part. Careful roll the dough into a log. Roll it tightly so the bread doesn’tt end up with big gaps after it bakes. Once rolled, pinch the rolled end and place the log rolled side down into a well greased bread pan. Place dough into a a plastic bag with plenty of space for dough to rise. Let sit for about another hour or until the dough has risen a little bit above the rim of baking pan.
Preheat oven to 375
When dough has risen, place on middle rack in hot oven and bake for 40-45ish minutes or until bread is a deep golden brown and when you give it a tap, it sounds slightly hollow. Also check it with a intsant read thermometer. Get it to 190.
When it done baking, pull from oven and remove from pan. Place on a wire rack and let completely cool. Seriously, you got to let it cool for at least 1/2 and hour, but longer is better!
When it%u2019s cooled, cut into slices. Eat as you wish.
Uneaten bread stores well for a day or two in a airtight plastic bag but if you don%u2019t eat it that fast, cut into slices and freeze. That way you can just pop a piece out and stick it into toaster. Smart.