My fingers are almost always stained a bright pink. My cutting board and counter tops, pink. Look closely at at dish towels and you will find pink blotches all over them as with any of my light colored clothes. You would think after years of trying to remove beet stains form everything that I would have gotten a system down or at least had a designated cutting board for them, but no. That would be to easy and really,  I think I kinda don’t care.  So pink my things will be.

Beets. You either love them or you hate them. I love them (so much), the mr, well I am making him love them. He needs to love them because I end up putting beets in everything. If you are a hater, there is still turn into a lover. But maybe you have never even eaten a beet or haven’t in a long long time.  I am actually surprised at how many people I have talked to that have never tried beets before. If you are one of those people, stop being that person and eat one already. OR if you think you hate them, why don’t you give them a second try, I bet you will change your mind. Sweet but earthy and nice and crisp but kind of juicy..they really are super tasty. And not to mention all the great health benefits(you can look those up yourself) Yup, beets be the shit!

 And I love a good roasted beet, but really, I prefer my beets raw. Which brings us to this salad. A simple salad of grated up beets, orange juice and toasted hazelnuts. Fast, easy, and tummy satisfying.  As long as you don’t hate beets (how could you) then you will love it.

Now you get those beets!

The stuff. A big beet, (or two smaller ones) an orange,( I bought navel oranges and sliced into this one to find it was a blood orange… not complaining), hazelnuts (raw or toasted) apple cider vinegar, and salt and pepper. Optional but also very nice, some greens and or some type of grain. (I happen to have a some quinoa in the fridge)

Hazelnuts. If yours are already toasted, then no need to do it again, but if they are raw, toss them into the oven for a few minutes (hazelnuts taste so much better toasted)

And grab the beet and a shallow dish and grate it all up.

Add to the beet the juice of the orange, a small splash of vinegar to cut the sweetness, and salt and pepper to taste. Give it a good toss and let it sit for at least 5 minutes, if not longer.

And if the hazelnuts are in the oven, take them out when they are slight golden brown. If you want to remove the skins, just stick them in a clean towel and rub it off.

Everything all ready to go.. Any extras are added to bowls.

Beets into bowls, topped with toasted nuts and a cute little orange segment.(if you happen to have one lying around)

Isn’t that just something. Beets are so pretty,, but more importantly, so freaking tasty good.

Enjoy Today!

-C

makes enough for 2 people as a side

• 1 large beet or 2 smaller beets
• 1 orange (I used blood orange but any orange would be good)
• handful of hazelnuts (either already roasted or raw that need to be roasted)
• apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper
• Optional – quinoa (any grain would work) and or greens

If you hazelnuts are raw, toss them onto a baking sheet ans place them into the oven at 300 for about 6-8 minutes until slightly golden brown and smell so nice. When done remove and if you don’t like the skins, place nuts in a clean towel and rub the skins right off.

Wash beet(s) and grate into a swallow bowl. I don’t peel mine, but peel if you must. Add in the juice of the orange, a splash of vinegar and a dash of salt and pepper. Mix around and let sit for at least 5 minutes (the longer the better)

When you are ready for food, grab a bowl (add anything you want to add to the bottom, like quinoa or greens) and fill that bowl up with the beet salad and top with roasted hazelnuts.

Grab a fork and eat.

I eat a lot of hummus. Like a lot. Every day, all day long. (seriously, I am always snacking on veggies dipped in hummus) So I am sorry to all around me that my breath always smells.. (I blame all the garlic in the hummus.)

Recently, during a particularly browsey grocery shop, I ended up in the hummus case (I always end up there) and found a new hummus flavor.  Pineapple jalapeno, WHAT.  I grabbed it right then and there, convinced that hummus gods were rewarding me for all of my hummus eating and have made me my very own flavor.

Got home, tossed all the groceries into the fridge and busted open the new hummus, a bag of carrots, and went at it. Oh man, it was good.(to often the store bought hummus flavors are not so great) The flavors were all there, sweet and spicy, and creamy.  It was fantastic, I ate almost all of it and I knew I had to make my own.

And I did and you know what, it was even freaking better! (Fresh it the best!)

So If you are a hummus person of any kind, this is a fantastic exciting flavor that will make you all sorts of happy.

The stuff for the hummus:  chickpeas, tahini, olive oil, garlic, and salt and pepper. And for flavor add ins,  fresh pineapple and a jalapeno pepper.

Chickpeas (rinsed and drained) go into the food processor with some tahini, the juice of the lemon and salt and pepper.. The garlic I actually pulsed in the processor first (to avoid big raw hunks) and some olive oil are also going in on this.

Blended until a smooth, creamy perfection.

Now for the fun stuff. Dice up the pineapple and remove seeds (or not) from the jalapeno and dice that up too

Toss it all (minus a few little pieces of garnish if you want) into that creamy dreamy hummus.

Pulse pulse pulse until the chunks of stuff are all incorporated . Make it super chunky or super smooth, up to you. I like mine kinda chunky, but not too chunky, if you know what I mean.

Into a big bowl, topped with a few little diced up pieces of jalapeno and pineapple, you know, for prettiness. And lots of cracked pepper.. Lots.

Now eat. With whatever ( I like veggies or just give me a spoon, Ican eat hummus all by itself)

Hummus for life!

-C

Makes about 2 1/2cups

• 2 1/2 chickpeas
• 2-3 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3/4 cup fresh pineapple
• 1-2 jalapenos
• salt and pepper

Rinsed and drain chickpeas. Add garlic and a little olive oil to the food processor and pulse until the garlic is a little minced. Add in the drained chickpeas,  tahini, a sprinkle of salt ans pepper, the juice of the lemon and another tablespoon of olive oil and blend until smooth.

Dice up pineapple into smaller chunks and remove seeds (if you want) from the jalapeno and chop that into smaller pieces . Add to the hummus and pulse until combined. You can leave it chunky or blend until smooth. Just stop blending when you reach you desired consistency . Garnish with more chopped pineapple and jalapeno and lots of freshly ground pepper.

Serve with whatever you eat your hummus with.

Store left over (there probably won’t be any) in a container in the fridge.

Spring is happening, my plants are popping out of the ground, I found a gigantic rhubarb patch in the back yard of the new house…. Life is feeling fresh full of possibilities. And soon, so soon, ‘ll get some veggie plants in the ground and the farm share begins…. life will be filled with all the freshest yummy foods. I can’t wait.

But until then, I grocery shop. And this week has been a good week for shopping. Why, cause it CInco de Mayo this week ,which is one of my favorite holidays cause avocados, mangoes, and limes all go on crazy sale. I can buy 20 avocados for the price of what like 5 would normally cost. And I take full advantage of the sales (my fridge is currently housing a shit tone of avocados, mangoes, and limes) I will be eating like a queen for days!

And what does one make with all these good things? Well I made tostada! A tostada is pretty much a cross between a taco and a humngo, fully loaded nacho. Stuff all piled high onto a crispy (usually fried but I bake mine) corn tortilla. Its fantastic in all the ways and super simple to make. This particular tostada highlights all the good stuff on sale, Mango salsa , avocados cream with lots of lime, all onto a pile of the yummiest refried black beans. (my mouth is watering thinking about it),

And people, Cinco de Mayo is but once a year, but these tostada should be made all year round!

The stuff. Precooked (or canned) black beans, a sweet ripe mango, an avocado, some shredded red cabbage one red onion, one jalapeno, and a few limes. Also need a few cloves of garlic, at least 4 corn tortillas (mine are home made but you can get store bought) some coconut oil, slt ans pepper, and a bunch of fresh cilantro.

Start with making the mango salsa. Cut the mango into little chucks. ( I do this but halving mango, scoring each side into chunks then scooping the fruit out with a spoon..easy) Dice half of the red onion into little pieces as well as the seeded jalapeno. Toss it all into a bowl or jar, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper, mix in the juice of a lime, and add in as much fresh cilantro as you like (or none if oyu don’t like)

There is it, mango salsa.

To make the avocado cream just place the avocado (peel and pit removed) into a bowl or blender with a clove of garlic, the juice of a lime, a splash of water, and a sprinkle or two of salt. Blend until smooth, adding more water until the consistency is to you liking.

That’s it.

And now for the beans. Start by tiny dicing up the other half of the onion and a few cloves of garlic and place into a skillet with a teaspoon or two of coconut oil. (can use any oil you like). Add in a splash of water and a sprinkle of salt an place on stove on medium heat and cook.

After the onions have gotten nice and soft, dump in the bean (liquid and all) Keep onheat and cook until the beans are hot and the liquid starts to thicken.

Grab a fork. Fork to beans. Mash’em up to make them officially refried.

And lastly, a little oil rubbed onto the corn tortillas and then placed into a hot oven to get crispy.

All the stuff, ready to go…. And go there, go there NOW!!!

Beans, cabbage, mango salsa, and avocado cream, all piled onto a toasted, crispy tortilla. A few fresh sprigs of cilantro and a slice of lime… This is for real something all amazing.

Eat the greatness (and not just for Cinco de Mayo)

-C

Makes 4-6 tostadas

mango salsa stuff

• 1 ripe mango
• 1 jalapeno
• 1/2 a red onion
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper
• fresh cilantro*

for the refried black beans

• 2 cups (1 can) prepared black beans
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 red onion
• 1-2teaspoons coconut oil (can use any oil you like)

 the avocado cream

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper
• a tablespoon or two of water

and the following

• 4-6 corn tortillas
• small bowl of thinly shredded red cabbage
• a little extra oil for tortillas
• fresh cilantro *

Note. Omit cilantro if you don’t like it.

Start with making the salsa cause the longer it sits, the better it tastes. Cut mango away form pit and score each half into cubes with a knife. Garb a spoon and scoop the mango meat away from the skin. Stick into a bowl. Finely chop half a red onion and de-seed the jalapeno and dice that up too and toss all that into with the mango. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, add in the juice of a lime and add in as much or as little fresh cilantro as you like. Set aside. Also while your at it, toss the cabbage with a little salt and that that sit out as well.

Preheat oven to 400

Now on to the Avocado cream. Place avocado (sans peel and pit) into a blender (or a a bowl and use a hand blender) with the juice of a lime and a clove of garlic. Blend until smooth, adding about 2-3 tablespoons of water until nice ans creamy smooth. Add salt to taste and mix.

Next take the other half of the red onion and dice into very small little pieces. Mince up the garlic and toss both into a pan with a teaspoon or 2 of coconut oil and a few splashes of water. Cook on medium low until onion is nice and soft. Add in black beans (bean water and all) and mix together. Season with salt (if needed…canned beans are usually salty enough) and pepper. Continue to cook beans until hot and bubbly then take a fork or a potato masher and smash the beans until a the beans are all mushed and refried like. Feel free to make then smoother by sticking them in a blender if you want. Add more water to thin out as well.

And lastly, get those corn tortillas into the oven to crisp up. What I did is took a bit of coconut oil and coasted my hands with it then rubbed the tortillas on both side. Or you can brush on melted oil if you don’t want to do that. When lightly oiled, stick them into the oven and bake until crispy, flipping them after about 4 minutes and finishing after another 4-5. (you can gauge your liking on crispy)

Now compile the tostadas

Take a crispy tortilla, smother with refried beans, top with a little red cabbage then a big scoop (or two) or the mango salsa and a big spoonful of avocado cream. Add more fresh cilantro on top and serve with a slice of lime..

No utensils needed, just eat with your hands.

Every year I look forward to St Patrick’s day.. And not because I am Irish, (which I am) or because I want to drink on excess (which I do not) and no,  green eggs and ham are not something that I plan on making. No Ido not look forward to any of those things (although I actually do like to pinch the littles that wear no green and talk about pots of gold and rainbows) I love this time of year because cabbage is always on a freaking super sale everywhere you go.  Something that is usually 80-99 cents a pound goes down to like 20 cents a pound. And for someone that eats like 10 heads of cabbage a week, this is a hug savings. SO yeah, I buy so so much (I have already bought 12 heads, but I actually plan on buying a full case before the sale is over)

No, I am not crazy, I will eat it all….. and I am going to be making so much sauerkraut. Woo hoo!

But until then. A cabbage pot roast. Yes. I remember growing up my mom would make pot roasts once in a while. A big pot full of big chunks of veggies topped with a big slab of some kind of meat. I never liked the meat, but I always loved the big chunks of the veggies at the bottom of the pot. So I figured I would make a big pot roast, replace the meat with a head of cabbage (I have so much) and add beans because protein and because they are just so good. . And when it’s all cooked and said and done, you end up with a big pot of plump and so flavorful veggies and beans and the most tender wedged of roasted braised cabbage.  This is my kind of pot roast.

Now go quick.. the cabbage sales will be over soon.

The stuff. One good sized head of cabbage, a few carrots, a big onion, and a hunk of rutabaga. Also have some dried kidney beans, caraway and fennel seeds, dried ground mustard, a bay leaf, some garlic, and salt and pepper. And water… water is needed.

Note. You can use just caraway or just fennel and you can replace or even add a potato in place of the rutabaga.

Dried beans, fennel and caraway into a pot with water. Stick the pot on the stove ans bring to a boil, then to a simmer to give the beans a quick head start before going into the oven.

While the beans are simmering, dice up the garlic and chop up the veggies into big chunks… you don’t want small chunks or they will kind of turn to mush while cooking.

And turn over the cabbage head, take a knife, and slice a deep x into the core. DO THIS or else the inside of the cabbage will not cook through. Oh and preheat the oven to 375.

Beans looking a bit plumped..

Top those beans with all the chopped veggies,(don’t stir them in., you want to keep the bean under submerged in the water) sprinkle those with the mustard, salt and pepper and place that lovely cabbage head right on top…

Place a lid on the pot and slide it into the oven to cook away. It’s going to take a bit of time (about an hour) but it’s pretty much hands off. Just take a look after about 45 minutes, check the bean doneness, add in another cup or so of water and place lid bacck on and cook for another 12-20 minutes until the beans are done. When they are, take the lid off, crank the oven to 450 and cook for another 15 or so minutes until the cabbage gets all golden brown

Look at that… Tender roasted veggies, plump beans. Everything about this is right.

Grab a knife and cut the cabbage (its so tender) into big wedges.

A wedge into a bowl along with a big spoonful or two of the beans and veggies..

Finished with a dash of salt and pepper and (not shown here,) lots of mustard.. Oh cabbage… you are so good!

Eat away and Happy St Patrick’s Day.

-C

serves 3-4

• 1 cup dried kidney beans
• 3-4 cups water
• a medium sized head of cabbage
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 large onion
•  a potato or a a small rutabaga(or both)
• 1 heaping teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 heaping teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 heaping teaspoon ground mustard
• a bay leaf
• salt and pepper

Place the fennel, the caraway, and the bay leaf into a large dutch oven along with the dried beans and 3 cups of water. Place on the stove and being to a boil then, turn heat to low and simmer the beans for about 15 minutes.

While beans are simmering, chop up the carrot, onion and rutabaga into big chunks and dice up the garlic. Take head of cabbage and slice a deep x into the core.

Preheat oven to 375

Once the beans have simmered a bit, add in the chunks of veggies, the ground mustard and salt and pepper (Don’t stir, you want to keep the bean submerged in the water). Place the head of cabbage right on top of the veggies and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place a lid on the pot and stick the whole thing into the oven. After about 45 minutes, check the roast and the beans for doneness and adding in another cup of water id needed. Back into oven with the lid for another 15-20 minutes or until the beans are tender Onnce they are, remove the lid form the pot and crank the oven up to 425. Cook for another 15 minutes or so until the cabbage turns a nice golden brown.

Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes, cut the cabbage head into wedges and serve it up with big spoonfuls of beans and veggies.

Eat until your full.

.

My dad is in town. Hooray! Haven’t seen him in like 6 months cause a) he lives in Michigan, and b) he lives in Michigan. He comes back to Vt a few times a year to hang with the children he fathered then abandoned to the mid west. (haha just kidding, not kidding) So yeah, a family fun week. I am hopping for a good family hike, some father daughter house talking and of course any help he wants to hand out on the house… “Sure you can wire that!” But my real mission for the week is to a) feed him lots of good food (he looks to thin) and b) get him to move either back or very close to VT, or someplace like New Mexico (I would visit all the time) or even Florida (real estate is dirty cheap there)

 So mission one. Feed him lots of food, and food that is not bread and cheese. (he eats a lot of bread and cheese) So when the old many comes over this week fir dinner, I will bust out the good old falafel.

I used to make falafel all the time, it was my go to meal. Super fast and easy. The mr loves it, I love it, and yeah. But weirdly I haven’t made it in like over a year. So last week when my sister came over, I made it for us.  And it was like the good old time where I would come home form class, grabbing the caned chick pea and all the spicy things(feeling so cool that I cooked my own food). I would make the dinner, we would light some candles, set the table and maybe even bust open the cheap, 3 dollar bottle or red wine and we would eat all the falafel. Oh those were the days. When I made it last week, there was no wine, (we drank seltzer)  not candles (she needed light to do homework) and no smug feeling of being cool (I wasn’t going for cool) but there was a happy mr and sister ans some freaking tasty falafel.

So yeah, have to make it again for the old man, I know he will love it. And it’s cool if I make it again cause falafel is one of those things that should be eaten all the time, as long as it is not fried, which this is not, so eat it all the time.

The stuff. We have chickpeas (in their liquid) a bunch of parsley, a carrot and an onion. Spice wise we have garlic, turmeric, coriander, cumin, salt and pepper. Also have olive oil and a bit of oat flour. Then for the sauce we are going to need some sumac and tahini. A lemon and some garlic and some of that chick pea liquid. 

Start with chopping up the carrots and onion into smaller pieces and placing it all into the food processor along with the spices, the garlic and a little drizzle of olive oil. Pulse until mixture resembles a chunky crumb.

Now drain the chickpeas (reserve the liquid) and add them an the parsley in the processor. Also add in the oat flour. Continue to pulse.

Pretty, colored speckled goodness. Dump the mixture into a bowl and place in the fridge for at least an hour, but you could even go as far as making it a day ahead.  And try not to eat it all right now. (I could eat it all right now)

And the sauce. Sumac is so lovely nice , bright and tangy which pairs so well with the earthy creamy tahini,. Add both those, along with the minced up garlic, and the lemon juice. And add in a bit of the chick pea liquid. May seem weird, but it gives the sauce a creamier consistency.

After the hangout in the fridge, take mixture and scoop out balls of like sized and place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet. I also brush the tops with a a tiny bit of oil as well. Pop them into the oven for about 35-40 minutes, flipping after about 25.

Baked to a nice dark brown on both sides while the inside stays a right tender green. These falafels are ready to go.

Along with some pitas, some greens and a simple onion and tomato slaw… Piled with falafel balls, smothered in sauce.

Dinner is served!

Cant wait to make it again!

So GOOD!

-C

makes about 12 good sized balls (serves 3)

Falafel things

• 2cups cooked chickpeas (or one can)
• 1 bunch parsley(about1 cup.. can sub cilantro or any type of green really)
• 2 hefty teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• a yellow onion
• 1 medium carrot
• 2- 4 tablespoon oat flour (or chickpea or regular flour.. just some type of flour)
• salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon olive oil plus more for baking sheet

For the sauce

• 2 tablespoons sumac
• 3-5 teaspoons chickpea water
• 2 tablespoons tahini
• 1-2 cloves garlic (optional)
• juice of1/2 a lemon

Serving suggestions. Fresh pitas or flat breads are great. Lots of greens and chopped veggies topped with falafel is my favorite.  I like to chop up a tomato and some onion sprinkled with salt to servealong with it. Also, if you don’tt want to make sumac sauce, hummus, salsa, hot sauce and mustard are all great topping.

In a food processor, add in garlic, the onion and carrot after you chop into smaller pieces) the spices and a splash of olive il pulse until it kind of chunky crumb.. Now add in parsley, the flour,(start with lesser amount ans ass more if mixture seems to loose)  and the drained chickpeas.(RESERVE LIQUID) Pulse until combined and the mixture has all come together and is on it’s way to being smooth, but stop before it is. (don’t make hummus) Dump mixture into a bowl and place in fridge for at least an hour, if not longer.

While that in the fridge, make the sauce. Grab a cup or jar and all the stuff for the sauce. Mince up the garlic then add everything together in the jar and whisk with a fork, adding more chickpea liquid if you want to thin it out more. Set aside

Once the falafel had had time to chill, preheat oven to 375.

. Take the falafel and make 12-14 like sized balls and place onto a lightly oiled baking sheet. Press each ball down a bit and then very lightly brush (or spray)  a tiny bit more oil on the tops. Place into oven to bake. for about 40 minutes, pulling them outand flipping them after about 25 minutes. They are ready when booth sided are a nice crisp deep brown, without being burnt.

Remove from oven, place on pitas or greens or what have you and smother with sauce. No need for forks here.

This is what I am talking about. Winter has finally come with it’s snowy snow and super freezing cold temperatures. It just feels right, even if I freeze a little every time I leave the house to walk the dog. But that’s ok, it is suppose to happen.

And when it’s cold and snowy we are all suppose to eat lots of warm and hearty good things to warm us up in our insides. So we soup.. Soup all day, everyday, all winter long, especially in the case of feeling slightly ill (which I have been for the past week) Eating soup makes everything better.  Soup soup soup.

Soup, what a weird word. Anyway.

This soup is amazingly easy to make and even easier to eat. Full of veggies, spices and lots of beans. A perfect meal to satisfy your frozen self. And bonus, not full of shit. It’s super healthy, protein packed and just plan ol good. Warm. hearty, healthy.. What more can you ask for? (you could ask for some crackers and I would probably give them to you)

Soup time!

The stuff. Navy beans, a sweet potato, and some chopped up kale. A couple carrots, an onion, a few cloves of garlic, a little olive oil and water.* And lets not forget some spices…. I used a couple bay leaves, some dried rosemary and thyme. Oh and there should be a lemon here.(I think it rolled off the counter)

*Note. Some people get all up and up about not using a stock in soup. This soup creates it’s own stock with all the veggies and spices and time spent simmering but if you want, go ahead and use stock.

Start by chopping up the carrots, the onion, and the garlic and tossing it all into a really big pot along with a drizzle of olive oil, some salt and pepper and the spices. Stick on the stove on medium high heat for a few minutes until the veggies start to brown.. This gives the veggies and spices a chance to develop more flavor. 

Now chop up the sweet potato into 1 inch chunks and toss that into the pot too.

And the dried beans and water go into as well. Get it all in there, give it a mix and stick the pot on high heat and bring to a boil, then bring the heat to low.  Add a lid to the pot and let cook for a while,like an hour,  stirring every now and then.

Once the beans in the soup are cooked to your preferred done-ness (I like mine on al dente) remove pot from heat.

Dump in the chopped up kale…

And that lemon that rolled away. I found it. So slice up lemon. Ladle a large amount of the soup into a pretty bowl and finish it off with some cracked pepper and a squeeze of lemon.

Soup! Now grab a big spoon, a cozy sweater or blanket (or snuggy) , and maybe some crackers or bread if you feel so inclined and eat. You will be filled with warmth and happiness. 

Have a great day.

-C

• 1 cup dried white bean (I used navy, but you could use any white bean you like)
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 bunch of kale (about 5 cups chopped)
• 6-7 cups water (add 6 then another cup as its cooking if you think it needs it)
• 1onion
• 2 carrots
• 4-5 cloves of garlic
• 1 heaping tablespoon thyme or Italian seasoning
• 1 heaping tablespoon dried, chopped or ground rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• salt and pepper to taste
• a lemon (optional but you want it)

Chop carrots, onion and garlic and stick them all into a large pot with a drizzle of olive oil, all the spices, and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Stick on the stove and cook until the veggies start to brown. While veggies are cooking, cut sweet potato into 1 inch chunks and toss the potato into the pot along with the beans and the water. Bring to a boil then reduce the heat to low. Stick a lid on the pot and simmer fir about an hour or until the beans are cooked to you liking.

Once the beans are cooked through, dump in the chopped up kale, mix it around, then call it done.

Ladle into bowls, top with cracked pepper (and more salt if you want) and serve with a wedge of lemon.

Grab a spoon, eat the soup. Be happy.

Got some left over… Well yeah, soup for later! (will last in fridge for a few days, but freezes super well too)

My head is in hyper crazy mode lately,and I am sure I am not the only one. There are so many things going on all at once. I can get a little frazzled and fizzled and just plan beat ass tired. And then I think about what to make for dinner.

Boom. My mind melts and my stomach growls. Some nights all I want to do is come home, skip real dinner, and just eat carrots dipped in mustard and call it a night.  But the mr, he can’t live off of carrots.(I probably couldn’t either) So I make.dinner. (Where is my trophy for being the best?) But nothing to fancy and it needs to be fast ans easy.  I have been thinking more about things that I can make on the fly, things that are healthy and satisfying. Foods I can make that can be wrapped, packed and eaten on a milk crate in between tearing down a wall. And tasty…needs to be good.

Sandwiches. That is where it’s at. And this sandwich. Watch out!

Nothing to do with this sandwich but I am sitting here at 8pm on the couch, writing out this post, getting a face time call from a 5 year old little. He really needs to talk to me…. and about what? What does a 5 year old need to talk about this late at night? Well he needs to talk birthday cake, a duh. He needs to show me his cake diagram he made that consists of 9 full sized pieces of paper taped together. (he said the cake didn’t have to be that big). And he cannot possibly go to sleep until I am aware of his cake design. Well little dude, I got it. A chocolate/vanilla/red/green/and purple cake only 2 feet high, in the shape of mind craft and flavored like happiness. I am on it. Now go to bed.

So yeah, back to sandwich. This is probably one of the quickest, most satisfying sandwich that I have ever made in my entire life (seriously) Creamy and rich peanut ginger smothered chickpeas paired with crisp, slightly tangy veggies.. Ridiculously fast and easy to make. A sandwich that is worth having a famous person eat it, declare it #1, rename it the (insert cool famous person name) sandwich and forever be known in the sandwich world. But until then, or before then, you can get on this sandwich band wagon and say you ate it before it was famous. You will then be the coolest person ever. (maybe a slight exaggeration)

The stuff. Chick peas in bean juice, apple cider vinegar, a big scoop of creamy peanut butter, some soy sauce, a few cloves of garlic, fresh ginger and a little bit of honey, Also going to need some cabbage, a carrot and a half of ared onion.

Do this first… Slice the veggies as thinly as you can, stick them into a bowl and splash with apple cider vinegar. Give it a good toss and set aside.

Grab another bowl and stick in the peanut butter, soy, and honey. Grate or super finely mince the garlic and about a tablespoon of the fresh ginger and add that in, along with a splash or two of the apple cider vinegar. Grab a little whisk (a fork will do) and start mixing.

As your whisking, add in about 2-3 tablepoons of the bean juice. Whisk until the sauce is light and fluffy.

Strain the chickpeas from the remaining liquid,  toss them into the sauce and mix all around.

Sandwich time.. I think you get the idea. The veggies and the beans get stuck onto the bread.

And closed onto each other. A sandwich to make anyone, anytime, anywhere, all day long….HAPPY.

Bye!

-C

makes 2-3 sandwiches

• 2 cups chickpeas (and a few tablespoons of the bean juice)
• 1/4 cup creamy natural peanut butter (I am a fan of Trader Joe’s)
• 1 teaspoon honey or brown sugar if vegan
• 1 tablespoon soy (I actually used Braggs liquid aminos, but either will work)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar (plus another tablespoon for veggies)
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
• Abut 1 1/2 cups of shredded cabbage
• a small carrot shredded or thinly sliced
• 1/2 a small red onion sliced super thin
• bread/wrap/whatever you want to sandwich the salad in

Right away stick the carrot, cabbage, and the onion into a shallow bowl and drizzle on about 1tablespoon of vinegar. Give them a good toss and set aside. ( the longer they sit, the better they taste)

In a separate bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, honey, soy, and the other 1 tablespoon vinegar. Grate or mince the garlic and the fresh ginger and add that in as well. As you are whisking this together, add in about 2 tablespoons of the bean juice. Mix until light and fluffy. Strain the remaining juice from the chickpeas and add them into the sauce. Toss to coat.

Note… I did not show it, but i mashed the chick peas a little bit, so they were not all rolling around and completely falling off the bread.. so you might want to do it too.

Now compile the sandwich.. A handful of the crispy sour veggies and a scoop or two (or however much you want) of the chick peas goes in between two slices of bread (or in a wrap). Toast the bread if you wish.

And eat. Smile, lick your fingers, and be satisfied that you can forever make this amazing sandwich in like 3 minutes whenever you feel like it and that it is most likely going to have a cool famous person name.

Last night I had my sister and her kiddos come over for dinner. Nothing fancy, nothing to complicated,  just something  fast and something that I knew the littles would eat.  Spaghetti and meatballs, except replace meatballs were bean balls So they came, we played, did a little drawing and had a bit of first grad gossip. Then came  dinner time  when I was told by one little that she was not going to eat.. She had pasta for lunch. Well I made her sit anyway and she mainly just ate carrots (I was ok with that) Then the other little was all into his pasta and bean balls, 1 down, 3 more to go, when the mister let slip that the meatballs were not really meat. He ate around the remaining balls, said he didn’t want them anymore. And my sister, well she doesn’t eat anything that is not pizza.

Good thing a neighbor stopped by while we were eating. He had a few of the balls and told me that they were amazing. I needed someone to tell me that.  

So yeah, the littles were not overly enthused with the ball, but the Mister the Neighbor, and I thought that they were awesome and delicious. Maybe next time I will make sure that  pasta was not lunch and tell Nick to keep his mouth shut and stop talking about balls at the dinner table.

I feel like I don’t need to tell you how to boil pasta or heat up the sauce, so I left that portion of the recipe out. I have faith that you are capable in doing that part without my instruction.

The bean ball stuff. Chickpeas (soaked and cooked or canned), sweet potato, carrot, onion, and some chick pea flour. Dried garlic, basil and oregano. Salt and pepper and a little bit of olive oil. Small chop all the veggies and toss them and the dry spices into a skillet with a drizzle or two of olive oil. Stick on medium  heat and add about 1/4 cup of water to pan. Top with  slid and let veggies cook down until soft and fragrant.

Add the cooked veggies to a food processor or blender with  the rinsed and drained chickpeas. The mixture gets pulsed until combined,  keeping a little bit of chunkiness.  Now go warhead and taste  the mixture. Add another pinch or two of salt , pepper or any of the spices that you think it need.  Dump the mixture into a bowl and mix in the chickpea flour than stink the mixture into the fridge for a least a 1/2 hour. Cooling to off is really important to forming the balls. If you don’t, it’s much harder to keep mixture from falling apart and sticking to your hands.

After the mixture has had time to cool and set, start rolling the mixture into balls roughly the size of ping pong balls. In a shallow bowl, add a few tablespoons of the chickpea flour with a pinch of salt, pepper and garlic powder. Take each ball and roll in flour and place each ball on a well oiled baking sheet. When the balls are all rolled, stick into the oven and bake away for about 30-40 minutes, flipping balls after about 20.  After you flip the balls, get the pasta ready so its finished about the same time the balls are done.You pasta and sauce is cooked and the balls are all crispy and oh so nice.

Serve balls over pasta with sauce and eat with a fork.

Your day is now complete.. balls and all.

Happy Weekend!

-C

Spaghetti and Bean Balls

makes about 20 balls

• 4 Cups (or 2 cans) Cooked, Rinsed and Drained ChickPeas
• 1 Small Sweet Potato
• 1 Small Onion
• 1 Carrot
• 1/4 Cup Chickpea Flour plus extra to roll balls in
• 1 Heaping Teaspoon Basil
• 1 Heaping Teaspoon Oregano
• 1 Heaping Teaspoon Garlic Powder
• Olive or Vegetable Oil
• Salt and Pepper
• Your choice of Spaghetti (Use Vegan and or Gluten Free if needed)  Prepared as package recommends
• Marinara or Pasta Sauce of your choice

Preheat Oven to 425 degrees

Small dice the carrot, onion and sweet potato and toss into a skillet on medium high heat with a splash of oil. Add in the dry spices and add in about a quarter cup of water. stir and cover the skillet with a lid and let the veggies cook down until the water has evaporated and the veggies are tender. 

Add rinsed and drained chickpeas to a food processor with the cooked veggie mixture. Pulse together until the mixture is combined and slightly smooth, but still with a little bit of texture left.Place bean mixture in a bowl  and mix in the 1/4 cup of chickpea flour. and stick in the fridge for a least a 1/2 hour to cool. (Mixture can be made a day ahead if you want)

Once the mixture has time to cool and set up , remove from fridge and with a light head, roll mixture into ping-pong sized balls. In a separate shallow dish add a bit of chickpea flour with a pinch of salt and pepper. Roll each ball in the flour mixture and place balls on a well oiled baking sheet. Once balls ae made, stick into the oven and bake for about 30-40 minutes, flipping after about 20 minutes. The balls are done when the outsides are once and golden brown and crispy. After about 30 minutes, get to cooking your pasta and mariana sauce.

Once the pasta and sauce is done, plate it and toss on some of those awesome bean balls!

Bean balls also make fantastic bean ball sandwiches or bean balls on a toothpick. 

 Being that it was St. Patricks day this week and lots of folks buy up a good amount of cabbage, I figured that this is a good time to get people to try one of my most favorite of favorite meals…..Beet bean and cabbage steaks. I love to play around with food, how to pair textures and colors plus tastes while trying to make whatever I am making healthy and balanced. This is one of my fav creations. And sure,  this may seem like a somewhat weird combo, maybe a little like a extremely hippy dippy vegan fake meat thing, and you might be kind of right, but screw if it doesn’t taste like A-mazing. First off, notice how freaking dang pretty this thing is. The roasted beets bring a earthy hearty flavor but also pack a huge punch of color, especially when blended together with the ever so sweet white bean, which  brings a nice mellow taste and a great serving of protein. (Beets and beans are meant for each other). Spread that  brightly colored, tasty mixture onto of a huge slab of one of my favorites, roasted cabbage with all its crunch and cabbagy flavor and you got yourself a hearty healthy meal of deliciousness.  

So maybe this might seem a little out of your normal food routine, but why not try it? Trust me….you will love it and everyone you make it for will think you are a number 1 badass too.

Cabbage, white beans, and beets. There is a lemon involved, but it didn’t make it into the picture.

Notes…. I used white beans, but I have also done this with chick peas and lentils. All are fantastic. Also, I did not peel my beets because I never do.(I do not peel anything the skin is full of goodness and I love the taste) If you don’t want to eat the skin, then peel them. Cabbage is cut into inch thick slabs… I like to us the inter most part of a cabbage head cause I like the core. But use any cut that you want.  2 beets are chopped into chunkers and both the cabbage and the beets are placed on a lightly oiled baking sheets, seasoned with salt and pepper,  and stuck into the oven for 20-25 minutes at 400 degrees.

Once the beets are tender and the cabbage is cooked to a nice withered golden pretty, take out of the oven, but leave the oven on.  Leave the cabbage on the pan but throw the beets into a blender or a big bowl if using a hand blender  with the white beans

    Beans and beets get pureed together. Add the juice of 1/2 a lemon (or the whole lemon, depending on your taste) and a pinch of salt and pepper. With a big spoon or spatula, scoop equal amounts of the bean/beet mixture on top of the cabbage steaks and spread around. Sprinkle with cracked pepper and place back into oven for another 5-10 minutes. (You could totally skip the second bake, but I like my cabbage well done and crispy)

Oh ho boy… And with a good squirt of mustard to finish off… I could eat this all day, everyday 

And now I am #1

Happy Wednesday… Keep it good!

-C

Beet and Bean Cabbage Steaks 

Makes 2 Thick Cut Steaks

• 1/2 head of cabbage (green or red)
• 2 cups or 1 can of cooked white beans
• 2 medium beets
• 1 lemon
• salt and pepper
• Mustard (Optional)

Preheat Oven to 4oo degrees

Cut two 1 ish inch thick rounds of cabbage from the widest part of the head. Place on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Chop beets into chunks and toss on same baking sheet.(Peel if you want) Sprinkle everything with salt and pepper. Stick into oven for 20-25 minutes or until the beets and cabbage  are tender. Remove veggies from oven and place roasted beets into a  blender (or bowl if using a hand blender) but leave the cabbage on the baking sheet. Add the white beans, the juice of half a lemon, and salt and pepper to the beets and puree until smooth. Scoop equal amounts of the mixture to each cabbage steak, sprinkle with pepper and place back into oven for another 5-10 minutes to give the beans and beets a nice crunchy crust (You can skip this step if you don’t want to be crusty)

Remove from oven, stick on a plate and drizzle with mustard….Fork and knife are good ways to eat it, but eating it with you fingers makes less dirty dishes.

Every year I look forward to St Patrick’s day.. And not because I am Irish, (which I am) or because I want to drink on excess (which I do not) and no,  green eggs and ham are not something that I plan on making. No Ido not look forward to any of those things (although I actually do like to pinch the littles that wear no green and talk about pots of gold and rainbows) I love this time of year because cabbage is always on a freaking super sale everywhere you go.  Something that is usually 80-99 cents a pound goes down to like 20 cents a pound. And for someone that eats like 10 heads of cabbage a week, this is a hug savings. SO yeah, I buy so so much (I have already bought 12 heads, but I actually plan on buying a full case before the sale is over)

No, I am not crazy, I will eat it all….. and I am going to be making so much sauerkraut. Woo hoo!

But until then. A cabbage pot roast. Yes. I remember growing up my mom would make pot roasts once in a while. A big pot full of big chunks of veggies topped with a big slab of some kind of meat. I never liked the meat, but I always loved the big chunks of the veggies at the bottom of the pot. So I figured I would make a big pot roast, replace the meat with a head of cabbage (I have so much) and add beans because protein and because they are just so good. . And when it’s all cooked and said and done, you end up with a big pot of plump and so flavorful veggies and beans and the most tender wedged of roasted braised cabbage.  This is my kind of pot roast.

Now go quick.. the cabbage sales will be over soon.

The stuff. One good sized head of cabbage, a few carrots, a big onion, and a hunk of rutabaga. Also have some dried kidney beans, caraway and fennel seeds, dried ground mustard, a bay leaf, some garlic, and salt and pepper. And water… water is needed.

Note. You can use just caraway or just fennel and you can replace or even add a potato in place of the rutabaga.

Dried beans, fennel and caraway into a pot with water. Stick the pot on the stove ans bring to a boil, then to a simmer to give the beans a quick head start before going into the oven.

While the beans are simmering, dice up the garlic and chop up the veggies into big chunks… you don’t want small chunks or they will kind of turn to mush while cooking.

And turn over the cabbage head, take a knife, and slice a deep x into the core. DO THIS or else the inside of the cabbage will not cook through. Oh and preheat the oven to 375.

Beans looking a bit plumped..

Top those beans with all the chopped veggies,(don’t stir them in., you want to keep the bean under submerged in the water) sprinkle those with the mustard, salt and pepper and place that lovely cabbage head right on top…

Place a lid on the pot and slide it into the oven to cook away. It’s going to take a bit of time (about an hour) but it’s pretty much hands off. Just take a look after about 45 minutes, check the bean doneness, add in another cup or so of water and place lid bacck on and cook for another 12-20 minutes until the beans are done. When they are, take the lid off, crank the oven to 450 and cook for another 15 or so minutes until the cabbage gets all golden brown

Look at that… Tender roasted veggies, plump beans. Everything about this is right.

Grab a knife and cut the cabbage (its so tender) into big wedges.

A wedge into a bowl along with a big spoonful or two of the beans and veggies..

Finished with a dash of salt and pepper and (not shown here,) lots of mustard.. Oh cabbage… you are so good!

Eat away and Happy St Patrick’s Day.

-C

serves 3-4

• 1 cup dried kidney beans
• 3-4 cups water
• a medium sized head of cabbage
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 large onion
•  a potato or a a small rutabaga(or both)
• 1 heaping teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 heaping teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 heaping teaspoon ground mustard
• a bay leaf
• salt and pepper

Place the fennel, the caraway, and the bay leaf into a large dutch oven along with the dried beans and 3 cups of water. Place on the stove and being to a boil then, turn heat to low and simmer the beans for about 15 minutes.

While beans are simmering, chop up the carrot, onion and rutabaga into big chunks and dice up the garlic. Take head of cabbage and slice a deep x into the core.

Preheat oven to 375

Once the beans have simmered a bit, add in the chunks of veggies, the ground mustard and salt and pepper (Don’t stir, you want to keep the bean submerged in the water). Place the head of cabbage right on top of the veggies and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place a lid on the pot and stick the whole thing into the oven. After about 45 minutes, check the roast and the beans for doneness and adding in another cup of water id needed. Back into oven with the lid for another 15-20 minutes or until the beans are tender Onnce they are, remove the lid form the pot and crank the oven up to 425. Cook for another 15 minutes or so until the cabbage turns a nice golden brown.

Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes, cut the cabbage head into wedges and serve it up with big spoonfuls of beans and veggies.

Eat until your full.

.

Every year I look forward to St Patrick’s day.. And not because I am Irish, (which I am) or because I want to drink on excess (which I do not) and no,  green eggs and ham are not something that I plan on making. No Ido not look forward to any of those things (although I actually do like to pinch the littles that wear no green and talk about pots of gold and rainbows) I love this time of year because cabbage is always on a freaking super sale everywhere you go.  Something that is usually 80-99 cents a pound goes down to like 20 cents a pound. And for someone that eats like 10 heads of cabbage a week, this is a hug savings. SO yeah, I buy so so much (I have already bought 12 heads, but I actually plan on buying a full case before the sale is over)

No, I am not crazy, I will eat it all….. and I am going to be making so much sauerkraut. Woo hoo!

But until then. A cabbage pot roast. Yes. I remember growing up my mom would make pot roasts once in a while. A big pot full of big chunks of veggies topped with a big slab of some kind of meat. I never liked the meat, but I always loved the big chunks of the veggies at the bottom of the pot. So I figured I would make a big pot roast, replace the meat with a head of cabbage (I have so much) and add beans because protein and because they are just so good. . And when it’s all cooked and said and done, you end up with a big pot of plump and so flavorful veggies and beans and the most tender wedged of roasted braised cabbage.  This is my kind of pot roast.

Now go quick.. the cabbage sales will be over soon.

The stuff. One good sized head of cabbage, a few carrots, a big onion, and a hunk of rutabaga. Also have some dried kidney beans, caraway and fennel seeds, dried ground mustard, a bay leaf, some garlic, and salt and pepper. And water… water is needed.

Note. You can use just caraway or just fennel and you can replace or even add a potato in place of the rutabaga.

Dried beans, fennel and caraway into a pot with water. Stick the pot on the stove ans bring to a boil, then to a simmer to give the beans a quick head start before going into the oven.

While the beans are simmering, dice up the garlic and chop up the veggies into big chunks… you don’t want small chunks or they will kind of turn to mush while cooking.

And turn over the cabbage head, take a knife, and slice a deep x into the core. DO THIS or else the inside of the cabbage will not cook through. Oh and preheat the oven to 375.

Beans looking a bit plumped..

Top those beans with all the chopped veggies,(don’t stir them in., you want to keep the bean under submerged in the water) sprinkle those with the mustard, salt and pepper and place that lovely cabbage head right on top…

Place a lid on the pot and slide it into the oven to cook away. It’s going to take a bit of time (about an hour) but it’s pretty much hands off. Just take a look after about 45 minutes, check the bean doneness, add in another cup or so of water and place lid bacck on and cook for another 12-20 minutes until the beans are done. When they are, take the lid off, crank the oven to 450 and cook for another 15 or so minutes until the cabbage gets all golden brown

Look at that… Tender roasted veggies, plump beans. Everything about this is right.

Grab a knife and cut the cabbage (its so tender) into big wedges.

A wedge into a bowl along with a big spoonful or two of the beans and veggies..

Finished with a dash of salt and pepper and (not shown here,) lots of mustard.. Oh cabbage… you are so good!

Eat away and Happy St Patrick’s Day.

-C

serves 3-4

• 1 cup dried kidney beans
• 3-4 cups water
• a medium sized head of cabbage
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 large onion
•  a potato or a a small rutabaga(or both)
• 1 heaping teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1 heaping teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1 heaping teaspoon ground mustard
• a bay leaf
• salt and pepper

Place the fennel, the caraway, and the bay leaf into a large dutch oven along with the dried beans and 3 cups of water. Place on the stove and being to a boil then, turn heat to low and simmer the beans for about 15 minutes.

While beans are simmering, chop up the carrot, onion and rutabaga into big chunks and dice up the garlic. Take head of cabbage and slice a deep x into the core.

Preheat oven to 375

Once the beans have simmered a bit, add in the chunks of veggies, the ground mustard and salt and pepper (Don’t stir, you want to keep the bean submerged in the water). Place the head of cabbage right on top of the veggies and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Place a lid on the pot and stick the whole thing into the oven. After about 45 minutes, check the roast and the beans for doneness and adding in another cup of water id needed. Back into oven with the lid for another 15-20 minutes or until the beans are tender Onnce they are, remove the lid form the pot and crank the oven up to 425. Cook for another 15 minutes or so until the cabbage turns a nice golden brown.

Remove from oven, let cool for a few minutes, cut the cabbage head into wedges and serve it up with big spoonfuls of beans and veggies.

Eat until your full.

.

CHILI MONDAY!Well it is, but I am talking about making some super duper, yes I’ll have seconds, tummy filling, bone warming, pumpkin chili.. And heathy oh so healthy to boot. Reals, it’s the best.

This pumpkin chili recipe had evolved over the years. The first time I made pumpkin chili was for my very first dinner party that I  threw back in college.  Instead of cutting the pumpkin and adding it into the chili, I chopped the little pumpkins in half, roasted them, and used the halves as bowls..A good idea except no one at the pumpkin and I was left with a bunch of slobbered on roasted pumpkin halves. ( I probably should have said something, but being a few drinks in, I didn’t think to say anything about the edible bowls and I don’t think I noticed the abandoned pumpkins until the next morning). After that somewhat failed attempt, I started adding the pumpkin to the chili and left the drinking tip after the food is served. ( I learned so much in college)

But yeah, this recipe has traveled a few years with me and every time I make it, I always think, jeez, why don’t I make this every weekend.  Well maybe now I will.

Don’t let this spread scare you.. it’s just veggies from the fridge, a chopped up pie pumpkin and pre soaked beans. Oh and some canned tomato and spices. It took about 10 minutes of hands on time and one big pot. No big mess to clean up and you can get rid of those veggies in the fridge that are on the way out. WIN WIN WIN!

All the chopped veggies, the chopped pumpkin go into the pot with salt. pepper , and spices.( I added a fresh jalapeno and about 5 cloves of garlic to this mixture) Let the mixture sweat for about 5 minutes, giving it a  quick stir or two.

Now toss in the beans and the tomatoes… Add a cans worth of water as well. Bring to a boil, then turn to low heat and cover.

A last minute addition.. I added a few chopped up kale leaves. I wanted a little more bright color and adding kale to anything is a good idea.

I added a little sliced avocado to one of the bowls (I only had enough for one) and cut up some lime wedges to squeeze on top. (I did, Nick didn’t) 

Best chili I have made in a long time…and yes, there is a bunch of left over which is fantastic because now I have lunch for the next couple days… 

HOORAY FOR FOOD!!!

Have a good Monday!

-C

•  small sugar pie pumpkin
• 2 cups dried beans..I used a 1 1/2 cups black and 1/2 cup kidney or 2 cans of beans
• 28 oz can of crushed or diced tomatoes
• 1 small onion
• 1 small
• 1 carrot
• 1 /4 head of cabbage
• a small broccoli crown
• 1/4 head of cauliflower
• a few kale leaves
• 1 jalapeño 
• 5 cloves garlic
• 2 tablespoons chili powder
• 2 tablespoons cumin
• 1 tablespoon coriander
• salt and pepper

Either the night before or morning of, presoak dried beans..(beans in pot with about 4 cups water and a sprinkle of salt)

Take pumpkin and slice in half, de-seed and chop flesh into little chunks. (You can peel it if you want, but really, there is no reason to) Rough chop all the veggies (minus the kale) and stick into a large pot with the pumpkin. Pot on medium heat.. let the veggies sweat for about five minutes.  Now add the garlic and the spices and let cook for a few more minutes.

When the mixture starts to become fragrant… drain, rinse and add presoaked (or canned) beans. Then the tomatoes, and 1 1/2 cans worth of water. 

Bring chili to a boil then cover and reduce heat to low. Let cook for about an hour, giving it a stir every now and then………

Add in chopped kale a few minutes before serving

Serve in a bowl and top with sliced lime, avocado, a sprinkle of cheese….Whatever you want. 

 Happy Spring people! Aren’t you so excited? I know I am. The daffodils are starting to pop up, the birds are out like crazy with their churp churping and there is a hint of buds grazing all the tree. We are in for warmer weather, fresh green spring veggies, and lots of mud… I mean, what’s not to be happy about. (there are things but we don’t need to talk about them right now)

Yesterday the mr and I finished ripping up all the floor stuff (I managed not to hurt myself until the very last piece and stuck a nail into my hand) and then traveled the city looking at all the windows in all the stores. Window shopping is such a pain in the ass. If you never have to do it, don’t. But we have to and we need to make some decisions like now because this week a bunch of men are making their way over to the new house with their saws and hammers and a big dumpster and are going to cut the back roof off. I am so excited! The addition is going up and the best part is we decided it was just to much for the two of us to do so we hired out the hardest part. We don’t have to tear it down or frame it up anymore and oh does this make me happy. I was not to into the idea of me and the mr ripping of the roof ourselves. The mr, sure he knows what he is doing, but me, I would have probably taken the whole house down.

Anyway, going to be doing house stuff until we can’t which I am ok with because I am really starting to feel crazy and am ready to move.  I know it’s still a few months away but I have this weird feeling that I can’t really stop and chill until we are in the new house and I am relaxing there.. so we better get on it. 

And I can’t forget the cake. I need to make us a bunny with lots and lots of jelly beans.

Internet browsing from me to you.

-I think I might just spend my day making these. DIY GIANT ORIGAMI BUNNIES!

-My new house crush.

Pasta Hair packages are so cool. Creative Packaging Design Turns Pasta Into Hair

It works. Smart Tip: Peel an Entire Head of Garlic in 10 Seconds

-These 27 Solutions Could Help The U.S. Slash Food Waste

-Not Happy With the Candidates? Try Out a New Country. I know I have threatened to move if things go south around here.

-Of course this make all the sense. Greenery (or Even Photos of Trees) Can Make Us Happier

–LUSHNA VILLA: TINY SHELTERS FOR GLAMPING Yes! The mr and I will be making something like this for sure.

-My someday CARIBBEAN Home.

-I am really into (at the moment)  using light colored wood in fun ways at the house..Even thinking about plywood floors……we will see.

-More then just a great actor with an amazing voice. -Morgan Freeman Changed His 124 Acre Ranch Into A Bee Sanctuary To Help Save The Bees

And a few pics from the week.

Have a great weekend and again, Happy Spring!

-C

Funny story. Our basement floods a little every year in the spring. I think that a lot of people around here have slight problem with basement water, the houses being so old and all. So when earlier this week we had a massive thaw and a bunch of rain, the mr preemptively set up the sub pump to keep the water away. All day he was checking the pump and all day it poured butthe basement stayed dry. He turned it off that night after it had stopped raining. We woke up to the most beautiful bright blue sky, the temperature so warm that I didn’t need to wear a jacket and to 3 inches of water in the basement. STUPID!!!!! But that happened and yeah. The mr spent a good few hours moving all of our stuff, (we store a lot of stuff in the basement) shop vac-ing and pumping up the water .He did such a good job that it was almost like it never happened. The only really wet thing was a big laundry basket of stuff. I wanted to wash itasap so it wouldn’t mold so when I got home,  into the washer it went. (the washer is in the basement too)  Go to change the load to the dryer and guess what.. the mr took the washer machine house out of the main drain to use it for the shop vac, and no, we forgot to stick the hose back in. We re-flooded the mother F-ing basement!!!!!AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

But it’s kinda funny right?

Anyway the week has been heavy on the crazy. My Dad has been here so we have been spending a lot of time with the family doing family things all week. Over at the house we have pretty much gutted the kitchen (anyone want free kitchen cabinets?) and the mr is almost done muding the first floor. Once that happens we can move in (Just kidding… not even close) but we are well on our way. And the next project we tackle is going to be fun fun (rip the roof off!)

And the father of mine is leaving today, (which makes me a little sad)  I have no kiddos in my care, the water from the basement is pretty much gone and I don’t want to do a damn thing that involves work. It’s a down day for sure. No people, no fuss. I have a new book on hold at the library, although I am kinda torn.  Should I start a new book or binge watch Fuller House? (can I take more family drama?)  Have you watched it yet? Do me a favor if you have, let me know if it’s going to ruin the Tanner family for me.

Hoping your day, as well as mine, is gong to be a good one!

Interesting internet stuff from the week.

-Are you a open broiler or a closed broiler. I am neither.. my broiler is the bottom draw of the stove and doesn’t work unless pushed in. Can You Leave the Oven Door Closed While Broiling?

I was planning on making pita bread this week and just happen to stumble upon this article. The 7 Rules of Perfect Pita Bread

-Holding a bag of enough powdered caffeine to kill several people… whoa. Caffeine For Sale: The Hidden Trade Of The World’s Favorite Stimulant

-What is the word for finally getting words for all he emotions I felt but couldn’t explain?   40 Words For Emotions You’ve Felt, But Couldn’t Explain

-I know!!!!!. ARTISANAL WATER IS OUT OF CONTROL AND STUPID

-This article really hit home for me. To Anyone Who Thinks They’re Falling Behind In Life

-A tree inside.. yes, I would like one in every room please.

-I love cool (well done) street art.. Quirky New Chalk Characters on the Streets of Ann Arbor by David Zinn

-Maybe next knitting project Knit Fruits and Veggies by ‘MapleApple’

-I am not going to lie.. I love Chrissy Teigen and although I probably won”t cook any of the food in her book, I am still looking forward to giving it a read. Chrissy Teigen’s ‘Cravings’ and the Search for Cookbook Credibility

And some pictures.

 Whenever we bring the pup over to the new house, he immediately grabs his ball and runs to the back door. Usually I let him out for a minute but have to drag him back in and have him lay down while we work. But at the end of each day, I bring him out back again and throw the ball with him.  He is so happy and cute and goofy which makes me so happy. He really has taken to the house and having him there, being so comfortable and happy really makes the house feel like home. It’s a great feeling.

The past week.. what a week. So much, so much. Lots of family, lots of work, lots of trying to clean and organize. We finished up what we needed to get done at the new house before the contractors come on Monday (we hired some people to remove some not so good stuff from the attic) so wehave this coming up week to get our shit together, makes sure all the other houses and stuff of life here is taken care of when were are gone and maybe even book a few places to sleep. (we have yet to book a single one.) But hey, we are young and adventurous,  and we’llfigure it out. (I hope)

And I am still deciding weather or not I should unplug the fridge while we are gone or stock the freezer with food to eat when we get back. Oh man, decisions decisions.

But enough about me, how did the first week of the year go for you? I know, we didn’t win the power ball so that sucks, but are you feeling like the year started off good? Still keeping your resolutions and staying away from the cookies and making your bed everyday? Don’t worry if it didn’t stick and you, at this moment, are eating a box of cookies in a very messy bed. It’s totally cool to do. Cookies in a messy bed might just be what you need right now. So I say go for it. (just maybe don’t make a habit of it)

Stuff to look at while eating your cookies or doing whatever.

-I am a list maker of lists that include finding the list of the lists.that I lost -A Neuroscientist on the Calming Powers of the To-Do List

-I am for sure going to be making some of this Vegan Fish Sauce

-What Exactly is Malt? It’s not what I thought.

–This home looks like a lovely place to live

-Some Bathroom inspiration for the new house

-Whoa now. How Real Is Reality?

– I want to live here and here.. part time of course

-I don’t get excited for tv easily, but this show…. I laugh every time I see a commercial for it. I am excited!

-Some good information. Non-Dairy Milks: Which to Make, Which to Buy

-Would you buy a $100 donut? (your answer should be no)

–A butt a day. Genius.

And a few shoots from the week.

Have a fantastic weekend!

-C

Happy 2016! Happy Winter! Happy Snow!(a few weeks late, but super happy for it to come at last)

So did you have a great week off, or a slower then normal week? Lots of lounging, binge watching of the Netflix and eating all the left over cookies? Or was it back to work and back to reality? We go from holiday madness to all out crazy the week after Christmas.. There are birthday parties, littles out of school that need babysitting, and work. We keep on working cause that’s what we do. And remember last week how I told you I was losing my voice. Well it turned out that I lost it for the entire week. So I was a little sick and really quite which made for a weird and interesting one fore sure.. (especially babysitting without a voice. That got crazy)

And it happened again. New years. Did you party party and stay up til midnight to watch the (fill in the blank) drop? Not going to lie, the mr and I brought in the new year trying to watch tv together, but I just ended up reading. Then I actually fell asleep at 930. What can I say. I am an old lady. And no resolutions, just the average everyday, I need to do “this” or ‘that’ a little better/faster/cleaner or what not. Goals are what I have and there is not time line. But if you have resolutions, well good for you.

Today is actually the first day off we have taken since last Sunday.  As of now, there are a few little things we are going to work on over at the house but we are not getting into the nitty gritty of it all until we get back from our plane rides of fun in February. Last week we got the ceilings sheet rocked and the mr is now doing the tape/mud this week. (I don’t even try because 1. I suck ass at it. 2. he is so good and3. he really likes doing it) I’ve got a butt load of paper/ bills/ things people want, to go through so this will be a good week to do that and to start whittling away at my spoon. Plus we have a lot of things that need to be done before we depart, like watching scary you tube videos of people trying to drive around Ireland on the right side of the road, figure out whether or not I can bring dried lentils in my carry on, and gather enough reading material to last me plane rides and early mornings spent drinking tea by the sea side.

So much. But not today. Today is for reading, coffee and tea,  a warm cozy sweater and most likely some ice on the old back (sheet rocking ceilings kinda sucks)

I hope your day is spend well, doing good things and being happy.

Stuff I liked on the internet this week.

– I think this could work. The Taco Cleanse Is a Thing, So 2016 Will Be the Best Year Ever

–Keep Your New Year’s Resolutions to Yourself, Please.

-I’ll take this cabin , just stick it in the woods

To all you party peoples out there. Want To Avoid A Hangover? Science Has Got You Covered

-Winners & Honorable Mentions of the 2015 National Geographic Photography Competition

-The hottest food trends in 2016 according to Whole Foods and even better… Grandparents Predict the Food Trends of 2016

–These toys are the greatest!

-Keep Things Simple For A Healthy, Long Life

-If you stuck wheels on our living space now, it would kinda look like this.

And some pictures from the week.

 Hey there people. How’s your weekend going? Did you have yourself a very merry Christmas full of all things happy? Are you spending the weekend chilling out or have you already tossed the tree and are now in the process of vacuuming up needles that will linger for the next 3 months? (Our tree stays until new years)

Christmas was good over here (even if it was near tropical). Lots of fun family fun. Ice skating, dinner, secret santa swap (I got the best set of vintage pyres mixing bowls.. thanks Barb!). The mr and I did our traditional stockings ( I got him fly fishing stuff and fruit smelling markers. He got me a bunch of apples and a wood caving book with tools and wood to carve me me some spoons!!!) We did a little relaxing, i did a bunch of baking, and everyone was pretty happy. All 22 of us were together at the same time (minus my dad…. we missed my dad) and not a single fight or accidental kick to the face or crying over broken toys. It was pretty great.

But here is the question on everyone’s mind. Who got a hover board?

Then comes the aftermath. I spent yesterday kinda half cleaning form the Christmas mess and half napping while hacking my lungs out. We were suppose to go to my nephews b day party, but I felt like crap and completely lost my voice. Whenever I did try to talk nothing came out and my vocal cords felt like they were set on fire.  And I was not about to walk into a room of littles and people that want to talk. No on list of things I could handle. (Being able to cry fro help when kids are beating you up is key to survival) So no party and no talking from me. But the mr, he couldn’t stop talking and asking me questions.(which I responded through eye rolls and thumbs) I think he really enjoys me being quite. So yeah, I am stupid sick. I’m not sure if this is a crash and burn sicky or I just picked something up from one of the littles who bring home their nastys. Whatever it is, I need to kick it today cause tomorrow we are starting to sheet rock the ceiling at the new house. (sheet rocking ceilings totally sucks ass!)  And the holidays are not over and I am trying to ride the rest of the week on the holiday high, hopefully unsick. Got to get my party pants on for New Years (my party pants are my pj pants) We are gonna have a movie marathon and probably fall asleep on the couch by 10, Go us! 2016 what! Can’t even right now.

Some interesting internet stuff.

– This  ingredient weight chart from King Arthur Flour is very helpful in the kitchen

-I love seeing other people studios. This pottery studio is very pretty. And I could live in this one.

– This is fantastic. France will soon require supermarkets to donate all unsold food

-Still don’t believe that these paintings are in fact painting.

I want to make these paper jewels. (not as Christmas decorations)

-10 Food Science Lessons Worth Learning

-Am I a psychopath? Maybe. People Who Like Coffee Are More Likely To Be Psychopaths

– Pizza Farm with Nick Offerman- hahaha.

-Tree Counter Is Astonished By How Many Trees There Are. .and still wants to plant a trillion trees!

-Airbnb... Spending way yo much time looking at little Irish cottages to stay in.

And some pictures.

Have a fantastic day… Spend lots of time relaxing and doing you!

-C

Another week gone by and another week without snow, except for yesterday morning. I got to enjoy a brief ½ walk with the pup in the wee hours of the morning to see the tiny dusting that developed over night. But even that was gone by mid morning. I am bumming here. I Want SNOW!

And I know that it isn’t for another 11 day, but Thanksgiving. It’s it 11 DAYS!  That’s 10 more day to contemplate pies and sides and all the things that could be made into existence. (I spend way too much time thinking about different pie variations, it actually causes me headaches.)

So what about you? Are you feeling the slight buzz of the holiday crazy yet? Are you a planner or a procrastinator, or are you just a guest and hanging pretty with nothing to worry about? Me. I am a planner but usually deviate from said plan and do something completely on the fly. What can I say; I have an overactive mind and am a bit indecisive about things. But the little bit of buzz…. that’s part of the fun. Just as long as a little crazy doesn’t turn into a lot of crazy, then I am good.

And as for my Sunday plans, I think the mr, the pup, and I are going to pack up and head for higher ground to get us some snow, although I should be doing so many things around here. Hum.. Chores or snow, we shall see!

Hope you are where you are having a relaxing fun day!

Some internet stuff from the week if you are feeling it.

-Definitely gong to go seer his exhibit .  This Art Exhibit Makes You ‘Wonder’ — And That’s The Whole Point. 

–You cat doesn’t really want to kill you….. But I am pretty sure mine does.

-Before and after photos of an amazing farm to home renovation.

-10 Easy Pieces: Problem-Solving Electrical Outlets/Covers Some of these are pretty fantastic.

-Farmers Have Been Enjoying The Fruits Of Bee Labor For 9,000 Years

-Cool little prefab homes 

-I love looking at all the pretty colors ans patterns

-What to Simmer for a Fresh, Seasonal-Smelling Home.. Who doesn’t wasn’t a tasty smelling home? 

-The largest art festival in the world.. And it looks amazing! Another bucket list thing for me to do!

–I love these button lunch bags.. Thinking of making for gifts.

-So When I am being sarcastic.. I am just being smart. According to science, here’s how sarcastic people are different from everyone else 

nd some pictures from the  week (note the gigantic bear… Out of control!)

November 1.. this is some crazy shit. But at least today we get an extra hour, so that’s something. 

I am a slightly broken lady. Friday afternoon, after coming home from Washer’s birthday hike, I managed to fall backwards off  the middle of my staircase (it’s was a pretty high fall). Bam, right on my ass then into a pile on the floor.  Needless to say that it really freaking hurt and the past two days have been a little on the slow side. I have adapted a slight limp, my thumb on my hand got severely jammed so I can barely bend it, and I am sore all over. STUPID STAIRS!  I am not a graceful hurt person, more like a pissed off, want to break things, angry that I am hurt type. I also get kinda mean. I know it’s night a very becoming trait, but when I am sick or hurt, I want to be left alone to lick my wounds and anyone trying to be nice and do things for me makes me crazy. I know, I sound like an asshole, but when I am sick or hurt, I think I kinda am. 

But before the fall, my week was going pretty good. We had a pumpkin cookie decorating night which was pretty fun. A couple littles came over and we ate mac and cheese, decorated pumpkins blue (I could only find blue food coloring) and watched the Adams family. It was also Washers Birthday on Friday and we took him for a long birthday hike. The old man is 10, which just blows my mind. I can’t believe we have had him and been able to keep him alive for this long (just kidding). But for real, 10 years. And he still acts like a stupid puppy, except a slower moving, more distinguished  looking one. And he doesn’t chew the windows or floors anymore. He has some so far.

 What  else? There was some other stuff, but man, my brain is not working properly today so I’ll just leave it at that. 

So it’s Sunday and my plans include drinking a lot of coffee, making a tasteful playlist of all of my favorite christmas music, then listen to it while making washer dog cookies and more or less, kind of just bumming around all day. You know, to heal my ass. I’ll probably pick up a new book and make food as well, but no expectations.. I already told myself that if i didn’t move off the couch today, that that would be ok.

How about you? Got any exciting plans for the day? What are you planning on doing with your extra hour? 

If you are looking for something to do, here is some stuff to check out on the world wide web.

-I always think about this. Do We Waste A Lot Of Pumpkins We Could Be Eating? 

-A look inside the pottery studio if Brooke Winfrey.. Love her pieces!

-How to Keep (Most) of Your Herb Garden Going When It’s Cold 

-Going here is on my lifetime bucket list

-Where to Store Your Worn (But Not Dirty) Clothes This is something we struggle with.

-In Praise of the Humble Lentil… And praise I do, cause I eat like 4 lbs a week (no joke)

-Some great information of the science of cookie baking 

– I want these boots! 

–Oh so lovely Greenhouse Love

–I want a fireplace anywhere in my house, but a fireplace in the kitchen.. that would be fantastic. 

-Beautiful Pictures of a desert after a rain fall 

And pictures from the week

The past week has been a ok. Besides from the great SFCD (stupid fucking computer day) fiasco, nothing too crappy has happened. We had a family birthday get together for my (now 16 years old) sister where every single sibling, niece and nephew was in attendance at the same time. We got in some.dinners with family members, had a night at the park with some littles for a moonlight play date, even got in a bit or light hiking with the pup. An all around pleasant sort of week.

As for this weekend so far… Not going to lie, I am a bit of a cranky pants. It started out ok. Yesterday morning I woke up super early, read for a little, then me and the pup went for a nice long walk and watched the sun come. My only complainant there was that I was wearing sneakers tha did not keep my feet warm so I was freezing. After getting home and  unsuccessfully trying  to warm my feet up,  I  went about getting to what I had planned doing. I got my baking stuff together and turned on the oven, only to realize after 10 minutes that the oven was not hot. MOTHER F ing FREAK! 

Not again! Not a-freaking-gan. Luckly the mr was home and  jumped to the rescue, well kind of. We pulled the sucker out from the wall and basically took it apart. It turns out that I have blown the igniter… again. Yup, this is the second stove, third time, that I have blown the little mechanism inside the stove that lights the fire to make it hot  (And no,  this stove will not let me manual light it for there is a build in safety lock or some shit) The third  time! And this stove is only a year freaking old!

It’s official, I am a stove killer.

So not havving a stove just threw out my days plans, plus dinner plans, not to mention I was still really cold and was counting on the stave for heat. And to top it all off, I did something to my back and am walking around in a constant state of pain. But  the worst part is that  the mr had to order the part and it’s not coming in until monday. AAAAGGGHHH!

So today, tI don’t even know. Again, I have oven plans, but not anymore. But I am determined to make today good.. No I will not be able to bake lots of bread and cookie, and maybe I might have to wear 5 sweaters and my wool socks plus slippers while in the houses, but it’s cool. I won’t let that ruin my day. I’ll just boil some cinnamon sticks (at least the burners works) to make the house smell nice, make lots of coffee, grab my book (Mindy Karlings new book Why Not Me!) my knitting, and my big wool blanket and park it on the couch for the day.(When I think about it, it’s proabaly going to a grew day!)

Anyways hows your weekend going? Cold yet? Have you tuned on you heat or have  you been using your stove for warmth instead of tuning the heater on like me? Well, whatever your doing, I hope your enjoying it and that you are not freezing your butt off. 

Some internet links and stuff to check out. 

-I am so in love with this quilt

-The History Of Our Love-Hate-Love Relationship With Leftovers

–A cozy bright home I could live in… I think I need a strawberry wall too!

–Cool felted food

– I’ll live in this triangular villa

-30 Qualities of a Good Home Cook

-I am so EXCITED!! Gilmore Girls’ Revival in the Works at Netflix

-As Schools Buy More Local Food, Kids Throw Less Food In The Trash

-Good to know, What to Do When Your Chocolate Seizes

–I have been a follower of this ladies blog for a while and loved seeing this. A Look Inside the Smitten Kitchen

And a few pictures from this weeks happenings

Just about every night I make some type of side salad for the mr with dinner. Its usually just whatever veggies I am eating on a bed of kale with s splash of vinegar. I used to add chunks of fruit, but he kept saying that he really hated when I stuck fruit in his salad. HATED. So I stopped, kinda. I never really believed he hates fruit in the salads, I just think he was confused or something……

But being the sweet guy that he is, and always down to try anything, he was cool with it when I told him I was making a fancy (not fancy) salad with pears. He told me he would go with me on my fantastical salad journey.. and guess what. He ate the crap out of it.. said it was fantastic.I mean, how could anyone not get down with this combo. Sweet pears slightly soften with sweet maple and balanced out with a nice acidic vinegar. Walnuts for crunch and creaminess all on a bed of bitter greens…. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. And you know how the internet is all abuzz about eating salads for breakfast (if you didn’t you do know) this would be a great salad to start out your day.

So greens with fruit… Always a good idea.  As for the mr, I knew that he was bull shitting me about the fruit, or at least I hoped he was cause its go time and there is going to be all sorts of crazy salad stuff going on in here!

The stuff. A big bowl of a some bitter spicy arugula (you can use any greens you like, but the more bitter ones pair well with the sweetness of the pear) A nice firm pear, some walnuts, a little maple syrup,some balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper.

Cut the pear in half, remove seeds and stem and slice the pear into slices, not to thick, or to thin.

Place those slices into a preheated,  dry skillet with a handful of walnuts. to start toasting the walnuts and the pear slices get a little seared.

Note..If your pear is really ripe, skip the sear….i will get mushy and fall apart.

After a minutes or two of searing the pears on each side pour in the maple and vinegar and turn heat down to medium low. 

Continue to cook for just a few more minutes until the liquid starts to thicken a bit. Look at those beauts….ready for action.

Grab a bowl, fill it with greens and top (dump) with the pears, walnuts and all the liquid in the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and call it..Time to eat.

Such a good bowl of stuff.

Happy Thursday!

-C

Serves 2

• 1/4 lb (a few big handfuls ) of arugula ….Any green works, but the more bitter the better
• 1 large firm pear (I used an anjou but any type would work)
• 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3-4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• good handful of walnuts
• salt and pepper to taste

Stick a large fry skillet on the stove and preheat to medium heat.

Now grab yourself a nice firm pear, cut it in half, remove the seed and slice into thin pieces. Place the slices into the preheated dry skillet with the walnuts. The pear slices can touch, but make sure they do not overlap. Sear(they wont turn brown) each side of the pears for about 2 minutes, just to soften it a bit but not to soft or they will get mushy. Also, toss around those nuts a bit to give them a little toast. Once both sides are seared, turn heat to medium low and dump maple and the balsamic vinegar. Cook for another few minutes until the liquid starts to slightly thicken then remove from heat. Place the greens into a bowl and top with the pears, walnuts, and all the liquid left in the pan. Sprinkle with salt ans pepper.

Grab a fork cause a spoon wont work here and eat yourself full of goodness.

Spring is happening, my plants are popping out of the ground, I found a gigantic rhubarb patch in the back yard of the new house…. Life is feeling fresh full of possibilities. And soon, so soon, ‘ll get some veggie plants in the ground and the farm share begins…. life will be filled with all the freshest yummy foods. I can’t wait.

But until then, I grocery shop. And this week has been a good week for shopping. Why, cause it CInco de Mayo this week ,which is one of my favorite holidays cause avocados, mangoes, and limes all go on crazy sale. I can buy 20 avocados for the price of what like 5 would normally cost. And I take full advantage of the sales (my fridge is currently housing a shit tone of avocados, mangoes, and limes) I will be eating like a queen for days!

And what does one make with all these good things? Well I made tostada! A tostada is pretty much a cross between a taco and a humngo, fully loaded nacho. Stuff all piled high onto a crispy (usually fried but I bake mine) corn tortilla. Its fantastic in all the ways and super simple to make. This particular tostada highlights all the good stuff on sale, Mango salsa , avocados cream with lots of lime, all onto a pile of the yummiest refried black beans. (my mouth is watering thinking about it),

And people, Cinco de Mayo is but once a year, but these tostada should be made all year round!

The stuff. Precooked (or canned) black beans, a sweet ripe mango, an avocado, some shredded red cabbage one red onion, one jalapeno, and a few limes. Also need a few cloves of garlic, at least 4 corn tortillas (mine are home made but you can get store bought) some coconut oil, slt ans pepper, and a bunch of fresh cilantro.

Start with making the mango salsa. Cut the mango into little chucks. ( I do this but halving mango, scoring each side into chunks then scooping the fruit out with a spoon..easy) Dice half of the red onion into little pieces as well as the seeded jalapeno. Toss it all into a bowl or jar, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and pepper, mix in the juice of a lime, and add in as much fresh cilantro as you like (or none if oyu don’t like)

There is it, mango salsa.

To make the avocado cream just place the avocado (peel and pit removed) into a bowl or blender with a clove of garlic, the juice of a lime, a splash of water, and a sprinkle or two of salt. Blend until smooth, adding more water until the consistency is to you liking.

That’s it.

And now for the beans. Start by tiny dicing up the other half of the onion and a few cloves of garlic and place into a skillet with a teaspoon or two of coconut oil. (can use any oil you like). Add in a splash of water and a sprinkle of salt an place on stove on medium heat and cook.

After the onions have gotten nice and soft, dump in the bean (liquid and all) Keep onheat and cook until the beans are hot and the liquid starts to thicken.

Grab a fork. Fork to beans. Mash’em up to make them officially refried.

And lastly, a little oil rubbed onto the corn tortillas and then placed into a hot oven to get crispy.

All the stuff, ready to go…. And go there, go there NOW!!!

Beans, cabbage, mango salsa, and avocado cream, all piled onto a toasted, crispy tortilla. A few fresh sprigs of cilantro and a slice of lime… This is for real something all amazing.

Eat the greatness (and not just for Cinco de Mayo)

-C

Makes 4-6 tostadas

mango salsa stuff

• 1 ripe mango
• 1 jalapeno
• 1/2 a red onion
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper
• fresh cilantro*

for the refried black beans

• 2 cups (1 can) prepared black beans
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 red onion
• 1-2teaspoons coconut oil (can use any oil you like)

 the avocado cream

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 lime
• salt and pepper
• a tablespoon or two of water

and the following

• 4-6 corn tortillas
• small bowl of thinly shredded red cabbage
• a little extra oil for tortillas
• fresh cilantro *

Note. Omit cilantro if you don’t like it.

Start with making the salsa cause the longer it sits, the better it tastes. Cut mango away form pit and score each half into cubes with a knife. Garb a spoon and scoop the mango meat away from the skin. Stick into a bowl. Finely chop half a red onion and de-seed the jalapeno and dice that up too and toss all that into with the mango. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt, add in the juice of a lime and add in as much or as little fresh cilantro as you like. Set aside. Also while your at it, toss the cabbage with a little salt and that that sit out as well.

Preheat oven to 400

Now on to the Avocado cream. Place avocado (sans peel and pit) into a blender (or a a bowl and use a hand blender) with the juice of a lime and a clove of garlic. Blend until smooth, adding about 2-3 tablespoons of water until nice ans creamy smooth. Add salt to taste and mix.

Next take the other half of the red onion and dice into very small little pieces. Mince up the garlic and toss both into a pan with a teaspoon or 2 of coconut oil and a few splashes of water. Cook on medium low until onion is nice and soft. Add in black beans (bean water and all) and mix together. Season with salt (if needed…canned beans are usually salty enough) and pepper. Continue to cook beans until hot and bubbly then take a fork or a potato masher and smash the beans until a the beans are all mushed and refried like. Feel free to make then smoother by sticking them in a blender if you want. Add more water to thin out as well.

And lastly, get those corn tortillas into the oven to crisp up. What I did is took a bit of coconut oil and coasted my hands with it then rubbed the tortillas on both side. Or you can brush on melted oil if you don’t want to do that. When lightly oiled, stick them into the oven and bake until crispy, flipping them after about 4 minutes and finishing after another 4-5. (you can gauge your liking on crispy)

Now compile the tostadas

Take a crispy tortilla, smother with refried beans, top with a little red cabbage then a big scoop (or two) or the mango salsa and a big spoonful of avocado cream. Add more fresh cilantro on top and serve with a slice of lime..

No utensils needed, just eat with your hands.

Just about every night I make some type of side salad for the mr with dinner. Its usually just whatever veggies I am eating on a bed of kale with s splash of vinegar. I used to add chunks of fruit, but he kept saying that he really hated when I stuck fruit in his salad. HATED. So I stopped, kinda. I never really believed he hates fruit in the salads, I just think he was confused or something……

But being the sweet guy that he is, and always down to try anything, he was cool with it when I told him I was making a fancy (not fancy) salad with pears. He told me he would go with me on my fantastical salad journey.. and guess what. He ate the crap out of it.. said it was fantastic.I mean, how could anyone not get down with this combo. Sweet pears slightly soften with sweet maple and balanced out with a nice acidic vinegar. Walnuts for crunch and creaminess all on a bed of bitter greens…. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. And you know how the internet is all abuzz about eating salads for breakfast (if you didn’t you do know) this would be a great salad to start out your day.

So greens with fruit… Always a good idea.  As for the mr, I knew that he was bull shitting me about the fruit, or at least I hoped he was cause its go time and there is going to be all sorts of crazy salad stuff going on in here!

The stuff. A big bowl of a some bitter spicy arugula (you can use any greens you like, but the more bitter ones pair well with the sweetness of the pear) A nice firm pear, some walnuts, a little maple syrup,some balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper.

Cut the pear in half, remove seeds and stem and slice the pear into slices, not to thick, or to thin.

Place those slices into a preheated,  dry skillet with a handful of walnuts. to start toasting the walnuts and the pear slices get a little seared.

Note..If your pear is really ripe, skip the sear….i will get mushy and fall apart.

After a minutes or two of searing the pears on each side pour in the maple and vinegar and turn heat down to medium low. 

Continue to cook for just a few more minutes until the liquid starts to thicken a bit. Look at those beauts….ready for action.

Grab a bowl, fill it with greens and top (dump) with the pears, walnuts and all the liquid in the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and call it..Time to eat.

Such a good bowl of stuff.

Happy Thursday!

-C

Serves 2

• 1/4 lb (a few big handfuls ) of arugula ….Any green works, but the more bitter the better
• 1 large firm pear (I used an anjou but any type would work)
• 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3-4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• good handful of walnuts
• salt and pepper to taste

Stick a large fry skillet on the stove and preheat to medium heat.

Now grab yourself a nice firm pear, cut it in half, remove the seed and slice into thin pieces. Place the slices into the preheated dry skillet with the walnuts. The pear slices can touch, but make sure they do not overlap. Sear(they wont turn brown) each side of the pears for about 2 minutes, just to soften it a bit but not to soft or they will get mushy. Also, toss around those nuts a bit to give them a little toast. Once both sides are seared, turn heat to medium low and dump maple and the balsamic vinegar. Cook for another few minutes until the liquid starts to slightly thicken then remove from heat. Place the greens into a bowl and top with the pears, walnuts, and all the liquid left in the pan. Sprinkle with salt ans pepper.

Grab a fork cause a spoon wont work here and eat yourself full of goodness.

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

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

Impressed?  

Damn right!

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

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

I am so awesome!

Hump Day Pow!!!!!

-C

Fresh Veggies Spring Rolls 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As a kid, my favorite holiday was Easter. Every year my parents would fill up brightly colored plastic baskets with handfuls of neon colored plastic “grass” and top it with all sorts of candy, coloring books, bubble, and sidewalk chalk. They were beautiful and amazing.  It was like getting a basket of fun and a bunch of sugary candy to keep you going to have all that fun all day long. And the egg hunts. Plastic eggs full of candy hidden all over the house ans yard. We would all have our emptied out baskets running around full of excitement, ready to take out any sibling in our path just to be the one to get the next egg. We were ruthless and I am pretty sure every year someone would end up crying. Now, as an adult, I am not allowed to participate in the egg hunt. (but I still try to make my sibling cry)  Nope, now I get to hide the eggs and sit back and watch the new generation of littles tripping each other and stealing eggs from one another. The carnage!

And also at Easter there is cake. Is there a rule that says you have to make carrot cake for Easter? I think there must be because it is when everyone and their moms busts this cake out. And everyone’s carrot cake it the best because they made it the right way, like with raisins or pineapple or walnuts. There are so many things that can be added to this cake that it’s a little overwhelming. So I made a carrot cake that was mainly about the carrots. Nothing added, no nuts raisins or coconut (although you could add i if you wanted) and it’s made into a pretty bundt cake, which in turn makes mine the best.

This here cake was destined for tomorrows Easter table. I made it with no nut produces cause the nephew has the deadly nut allergy. But when I went and made the date sauce, I kinda let that slip and used almond milk. Oops. So now I have a whole big carrot cake sitting on the counter with it’s destiny shattered. So sad, but I think its will survive cause the mris really into it and has already eaten a few pieces. I figure that because it’s a carrot cake, he can eat a few more. It’s almost like eating a vegetable….almost. And now I need to make a new cake to bring over or I might just stop at the store and buy some oreos on my way over tomorrow. The littles will like that.

The stuff. A bowl containing flour, salt, baking powder ans baking soda.  Also need a few really big carrots, a bit of brown sugar, and ground up cinnamon and ginger. Coconut oil, soy milk, an orange (for it’s zest) and a little apple cider vinegar are going into this cake too.

Start by chopping up 2 of the biggest carrots and tossing the into a pot with about an inch of water. Stick the pot on the stove and cook until the carrots are nice and tender. Then blend those tender carrots up.

I had a hard time not eating all of the carrot puree, so maybe if you want, cook up a few extra carrots ans have yourself a pre-carrot cake carrot snack.

And while the carrot puree is still warm, add in the coconut oil and the sugar. Mix it until the oil is melted ans it’s one cohesive mixture.

And take that last carrot ans grate it up into the flour. Also add in the spices and the zest of the orange.

Note. I used a small holed grater so that the carrot shreds would be small and add texture to the cake but not make it too chunky. But use a normal grater..it’s all about your carrots chunk prefernce here.

Now dump the wet carrot mixture into the dry and start to mix

Adding in the soy and the vinegar to complete the batter.

And scooped that batter into a oiled bundt pan and get it into the (preheated) oven to bake.

After about an hour, the cake is ready, golden brown and smelling like any good carrot cake should. Remove from the oven and turn the cake out from the cake pan and stick on on a rack to cool. This cake is waiting for me to decide what, or if I want to frost, drizzle, or sauce it up….. I think it wants as little something.

Ok, I figured it out. Date sauce.

The stuff. Fresh medjool dates, almond milk and sea salt.

Date (pits removed) into the food processor along with the milk and a good pinch of sea salt.  Blend until it turns into a nice smooth, fluffy sauce.

Take that sauce and spread it all over the cake. As much or as little as you want (you might have left over date sauce but its ok, you can just eat. It will last for about a week in the fridge and goes great with just about anything) Once fully sauced, sprinkle the cake with flaked sea salt.

Sliced, plated, and ready. It’s carrot cake time.

Have a great weekend, eat all your candy at once!

-C

Makes a bundt cake (but could be made into a 9×13 sheet cake)

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/3 coconut cup oilany oil works)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 3 large carrots (makes about 2 cups carrot puree and 1/2 cup of raw grated carrot)
• 1 heaping tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ginger

Salted Date Caramel

• 1 cup medjool dates (pitted)
• 1 cup almond milk (or any milk you want to use)
• sea salt

Start by chopping up 2 of the biggest carrots and placing them into a pot with water about an inch of water. Stick on stove and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer until the carrots are fork tender. When done, puree them with any means nessasary (hand blender, regular blender, food processor) Add the coconut oil and sugar to the warm carrot puree and mix until oil is melted.

Preheat oven to 350

In a large separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and the spices. Grate the smallest carrot in with the dry.

Take the wet carrot mixture and dump into the dry and mix, adding in the soy milk and the vinegar as you mix. Once everything is completely incorporated, pour mixture into a well oiled bundt pan and stick the cake into the preheated oven

While the cake is baking, make the date sauce. Just take the dates, remove pits if they have any and place in a food processor with a good pinch of sea salt and the almond milk. Pulse a few times, scrap down the sides, and keep blended, stopping to scrap sides if needed, until a nice thick smooth sauce is formed. If you want a thinner sauce, just add more milk til you get your desired consistency.

Now check cake. Once it’s golden brown and a tester comes out clean (between 50 minutes to an hour) remove from oven. Let cool for a few minutes in pan the then turn it over onto a wire rack to finish cooling off. Once the cake is cool, dump the date sauce all over it then sprinkle with another good few pinches of the sea salt.

And now eat it. This is a cake that needs no fork, but you can go ahead and use one if you must.

I am the best sister.  .

Yesterday was my sisters 31 birthday. Yuck..If she is 31, what does that make me?( I am younger, but not by much) The ladies in my family have a really hard time with birthdays. We act like we don’t care, but we do. We say don’t do anything, it’s no big deal, but it is. Who cares that we are getting older……oh we care. We are all crazy.

So while the birthday lady who doesn’t care was out picking up her darling children, I showed up with ingredients for a cake from scratch..a bad ass bundt pan…and a bunch of beautiful sunflowers. I prepared the batter, popped it into the oven and me and my mr. proceeded to clean her house. Yup…#1 right here!

For real, I love my sister and I wanted to do something nice for her on her birthday. Pumpkin is nice. Pumpkin is not the conventional birthday cake. It’s a little different, a little spicy, much like my sister.

All the right stuff nicely measured out and the oven preheating.. I really like baking in her kitchen. She has the best light and a bunch of kitchen gadgets, lots of bowls, plus a dish washer. I miss having a dish washer.

                                         Creaming the sugars with butter and adding the eggs…It took me like 20 minutes to find the beater which was in my face the whole time. I was looking for a white beater. Hers is black.I am oblivious.Here comes the  pumpkin. I added the spices at this point.  (This picture is awesome)

Beat in the flour and milk….and now you have cake batter. I made the mr. lick the spatula just to make sure the spices and stuff were right. He always says everything is right.

Greased and flour dusted bundt pan. This pan is my new favorite, another one of my junk store scores! If you use a  shaped pan like this, really make sure you get every line greased or else… Dusting the greased pan with flour makes it easier to see if you missed a spot. Pour in batter and stick on middle rack in oven.

Pop it out of the oven when a tester come out clean and…TADA! What a beauty. I decided to forgo any frosting. The cake shape is too nice to cover. And bonus, since there is no frosting…didn’t have to wait for it to cool. Dug right into warm pumpkin goodness.

Look at those flowers. Trader Joes has it going on.  We looked all over her house for a vase and good thing I found this one. Nick had cut the top off of a 2 liter of mountain dew and stuck the flowers in that. I mean, it worked, but I think the vase was the better choice. And did I mention I am a genius? We couldn’t find any candles so I cut pieces of a striped straw and stuck matches in them. Best on the fly candle creation ever!

Left with crumbs… Notice the finger marks in the powdered sugar? I bribed one of her littles with that sugar. I told her if she emptied the dish washer she could lick the plate clean. I am a fantastic sister!!!

Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday Pumpkin Cake

INGREDIENTS

• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 l eggs
• 1 cup Pumpkin Puree
• 1/2 cup milk

DIRECTIONS

Pre heat oven 350 degrees.

Butter a bundt pan or a 9-inch round cake pan.

Whisk together flour, cinnamon,  allspice, salt, baking powder, and baking soda

In a large bowl, beat sugars and butter together until light and fluffy. Add eggs, pumpkin and milk and beat until combined. Mix in dry ingredients and beat until combined Pour batter into greased pan, and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted i the middle comes out clean.

Remove from oven and let cool for a few minutes in pan. Remove from pan and dust with powdered sugar.

And there you have it a cake fit for a birthday, a holiday, or a breakfast on a Tuesday morning.

Tuesday tater tot time!

Sometimes you just want a tater tot. So what are you to do about it? Well I fought off the feeling for far too long (why? I do not know) and finally gave in got my shit together, got some potatoes, and made the tots. And then I was happy.

What was taking me so long?  Tater tots are freaking good.

These are nothing like those tots that were served in the lunch room cafeteria that we all know and loved. No these are sooooo much better, and probably (definitely ) way way healthier too cause they are baked, not fried. And to make’em even better, after making the tater tot tower you’re ready to eat, you can eat them up with whatever dippy type thing you can think of. Sure you could go with straight up ketchup (me, not a fan) or you could go nuts and make a big bowl of guacamole, grab the mustard and the hot sauce, and do that. Tater tots go so well with all sorts of stuff. (I was even thinking peanut butter but stopped myself for the time being)

. Next time I make them, I am so going to make a tater tot castle!

Tots away!

The stuff. Potatoes (duh), an onion, garlic powder, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

First thing to do is boil the potatoes…just a bit. Cut each potato into 4 wedges and stick into a big pot full of cold water, salted water. Stick pot on the stove ans bring to a boil, then turn heat down a little and continue to cook the potatoes until they are just barely for tender. Strain from the water and set aside to cool.

Once the potatoes have cooled off enough where you can handle them, grab a grate and grate them all up, along with the onion. ME, trying to use the least amount of dishes possible, I just grated it all onto the baking sheet that I was using to bake the tots off…. Worked like a charm. And once your taters and onion are grated, sprinkle in the garlic powder, a good amount of salt ans pepper ans drizzle it all with a little bit of olive oil. Mix it all around (I used my hands but a fork would work) and if you are using the baking sheet , just push the mound to one side.

And start forming the taters into tots…. Just grab a handful and squeeze it together into a tot shape.

Note. Have a dish towel close by to wipe your hands when they get to starchy… the tots stick together better when made with dry hands.

Tots ready for the oven. Bakes for 30-35 minutes at 400.. Flip after about 20 minutes.

Golden brown, all crispy an tot like. Ready for your eating pleasure.

Plate them up, serve with your favorite condiments (try guacamole , mustard and hot sauce) and eat them. Eat them all.

-C

serves 3

• 2 big russet potatoes
• 1 sweet yellow onion
• 1 tablespoon or so garlic powder
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Slice the potatoes lengthwise into quarters and place into a pot of cold, salted water, making sure the potatoes are completely submerged.  Bring the potatoes to a boil then turn heat to medium and keep boiling until the potatoes are just barely fork tender., like 8-10 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let them cool.

Preheat oven to 400

Once cooled, grate the potato, along with the onion into a bowl or onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle with the garlic powder, add a good amount of salt ans pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Toss around until its evenly coated then start forming the mixture into tots. Place the tots on a baking sheet and once all the tots are formed ans ready to go, stick into the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes, remove, flip them over, then continue to bake for another 10-15 until they are all nice and golden brown.

Remove from oven, grab your favorite condiments and eat right away.

Happy St Patricks Day!!!! As a kid, St Patricks day always meant green milk, green eggs, and those nasty gold foil covered chocolate coins. (you know, from the pot of gold) Not to mention all the leprechaun hunting and  pinching.  In my family, if you were unlucky enough to forget to wear green, you ended up as a walking target. It all started out nice an innocent, a pinch here or there, but by the end of the day, someone would end up pinching a little to hard or maybe just one too many times and the game would go from pinches to punches.   

Ahh, memories. 

Now as an adult (kinda adult) St Patricks is celebrated a little differently. The little ones in the family still get their green milk (which they are told is leprechaun pee) and those nasty gold coins, but I think the pinching has stopped.( a great tradition lost)  I myself don’t have any littles at home so no little leprechaun games or gross dyed food for me.  Nope, in my house we celebrate with a few beers and a more traditional irish dish, Colcannon. Mashed up potatoes with cabbage and kale… I mean, can it get much better? It can when you use red potatoes and red cabbage. Not only is it so tasty tasty, but it is so pretty pretty. No need for green milk or nasty candy. 

But I still make sure to wear green and you might find me doling out a pinch or two. 

  The stuff…. Super pretty red potatoes, red cabbage, shallots, kale, salt and pepper, and olive oil.

Note. If you do not have or want to use red potatoes, russet or white will work, it just won’t be as pretty. 

   Dice up the pretty potatoes and stick them into a pot and fill up with water and add in a good tablespoon of salt.  Stick on high heat and bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to medium  and cook those taters until super fork tender. (bring them to the edge of falling apart)

While the potatoes are boiling, chop up the cabbage, shallots, and the kale and stick into a big skillet with a good drizzle of olive oil. Sauté on medium heat until soft and tender.

Once the potatoes are super tender, drain the water and dump them into the pan with the sautéed veggies. With a potato masher or a fork, mash up the potatoes and mix in the veggies, adding a drizzle or more of olive oil as you go. (Start with a drizzle and work your way up until it tastes good to you) Salt and pepper to  taste. 

The most pretty pan of smashed up potatoes that I have ever seen. Eat as a side dish or even a light main dish. Fork is a good utensil to use, but I found that my fingers worked just as well.

Have a great happy day full of green, potatoes, and pinches. Maybe even a leprechaun or two!

-C

Red Potato Colcannon

• 5-10 Red potatoes Red Potatoes depending on the size (about 3 1/2 – 4 chops chopped)
• 1 Cup Chopped Red or Green Cabbage
• 1 Cup Chopped Kale
• 1-2 Shallots
• Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper

Rinse and dice potatoes and place into big pot. Cover potatoes with water and add about a tablespoon of salt. Place on high high heat and bring to a boil. Turn heat to medium low and let potatoes cook until super fork tender. While potatoes are boiling, chop up cabbage, shallots and kale and sauté in a large cast iron skillet (or any skillet) with a good drizzle of olive oil.  Once the potatoes are done, drain water and add potatoes to the skillet with the sautéed veggies. With a potato masher or fork, mash the potatoes and mix with the veggies, adding a drizzle or two (depending on your taste) of olive oil as you go. Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve from skillet or dump into a fancy dish with a big spoon.

Eat as a main dish or as a side….Good hot, warm and cold.

 Happy Hanukkah!!! Today is the first day of the  festival of lights and I wanted to send a little love towards those who celebrate it.

I am not going to lie, I don’t know much about Hanukkah but I do know that its customary to eat fried foods during the holiday. The oil represents the miracle of the oil that burned for eight days ands.nights when it should have lasted for only one night. That’s a cool reason to celebrate.. So a lot of food eaten during the holiday is fried, therefore I must fry, and what better than potato latkes.

I don’t usually fry anything. But again, I don’t think I used as much oil with these as I could have..just enough to cook and not stick. Hey, it’s the holidays and this oil had meaning so it’s completely a ok to eat a little fried, just make sure to eat lots of good healthy stuff too!

I didn’t actually use all the potatoes in the picture, but I wish I did. There was the perfect amount for dinner for two people, but I wanted to make a few extra for left overs….there were none. Oh well. I did a matchstick dice for the apples.. I didn’t want the apples to be to chunky and I didn’t want them to turn into sauce so the match stick worked well. After I diced the apples, I squeezed a little lemon over the top to keep the apple from turning brown.

I start grating the potatoes and onion, and whoa!  Imagine my surprise when  one of the potatoes was purple… I got pretty excited.The color is so beautiful. and made the latkes look so nice…It was meant to be.Super squeeze the juices out of the grated potato and onion. If you don’t get most of the liquid out, the potato won’t crisp up and will fall apart and be and it will be gross. So SQUEEZE! Add in the egg, cornstarch, salt and pepper and mix it on up. Did I mention that I was making these for the mister and the GF sister..No flour, just cornstarch. I think they might have come out even better without the flour…so yeah, these babies are gluten-free.

Your mixture is going to start to get a little watery again. Its cool, just squeeze it out with your hands and smash into patties.Enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan on medium heat. Test the oil to make sure its hot enough before sticking the latke n the pan. To test, sprinkle water in pan, if it sizzles, its ready.Working in batches,  fry each latke on each side for around 5 minutes..you don’t want to cook to fast or the inside of the latkes will be raw. I always do a tester and feed it to nick. He’s my guinea pig….He said they were awesome.. With every batch made, stick on a wire rack and keep in the oven to stay warm. The rack keeps the bottom from getting soggy on the pan… so use it.    Roasted apples are the BOMB!!!  Its like eating apple sauce sticks or little bites of heaven(A bit dramatic, but these are so good) I roasted mine for 20 minutes, until they were nice and soft but not completely failing apart. If you are into it, add a touch of cinnamon…I did’t this time, but you bet  I am going to be making myself a big ol bowl of roasted apples this week, and yes, I will top with cinnamon. A  bowl of apple slaw, sour cream and lemon wedges….I put the latkes on a nice little pile of greens. A very good idea.  A dinner worth celebrating! I also served the latkes with roasted chickpeas and cailflower…for more of a meal…( Mini recipe… Cauilfower and chick peas drizzled in olive oil,  tossed in salt pepper and garlic, roasted 30 minutes and topped with lemon) A little added veggie and protein….I am looking out for you people.

There we have it…my variation on a traditional food. Enjoy your fried pancakes of potato and onion, they are a food worth a celebration.

HAPPY HANUKKAH!

Potato Latkes with Roasted Apple Slaw

Ingredients

• 3 medium potatoes
• half of a small onion
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons corn starch
• vegetable oil
• salt and pepper
• 2 medium apples
• sour cream(optional)

Wash and cut  apples into match sticks… Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and stick in oven. Let roast for 15-20 minutes or until the apple is nice and soft. Remove and set aside.

In a large bowl, grate the potatoes and the onion. Transfer the mixture into a clean towel and squeeze the crap out of it to remove as much liquid as possible. Return to bowl and add the two eggs, corn starch and salt and pepper. In a large skillet on medium heat, drizzle enough oil to completely cover the bottom..Work in batches and after each batch, add a bit more oil to cover the pan. Once the oil is hot place squashed latkes  into oil. Fry each side until crispy and brown, about 3-5 minutes. When fully cooked, place on a wire rack in the oven to stay warm and crisp.  When ready to serve, top with roasted apples and a dollop of sour cream.  You can serve the latkes on top a bed of greens..Its a good way to make the pancakes more meal like.

Enjoy

Just about every night I make some type of side salad for the mr with dinner. Its usually just whatever veggies I am eating on a bed of kale with s splash of vinegar. I used to add chunks of fruit, but he kept saying that he really hated when I stuck fruit in his salad. HATED. So I stopped, kinda. I never really believed he hates fruit in the salads, I just think he was confused or something……

But being the sweet guy that he is, and always down to try anything, he was cool with it when I told him I was making a fancy (not fancy) salad with pears. He told me he would go with me on my fantastical salad journey.. and guess what. He ate the crap out of it.. said it was fantastic.I mean, how could anyone not get down with this combo. Sweet pears slightly soften with sweet maple and balanced out with a nice acidic vinegar. Walnuts for crunch and creaminess all on a bed of bitter greens…. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. And you know how the internet is all abuzz about eating salads for breakfast (if you didn’t you do know) this would be a great salad to start out your day.

So greens with fruit… Always a good idea.  As for the mr, I knew that he was bull shitting me about the fruit, or at least I hoped he was cause its go time and there is going to be all sorts of crazy salad stuff going on in here!

The stuff. A big bowl of a some bitter spicy arugula (you can use any greens you like, but the more bitter ones pair well with the sweetness of the pear) A nice firm pear, some walnuts, a little maple syrup,some balsamic vinegar, and salt and pepper.

Cut the pear in half, remove seeds and stem and slice the pear into slices, not to thick, or to thin.

Place those slices into a preheated,  dry skillet with a handful of walnuts. to start toasting the walnuts and the pear slices get a little seared.

Note..If your pear is really ripe, skip the sear….i will get mushy and fall apart.

After a minutes or two of searing the pears on each side pour in the maple and vinegar and turn heat down to medium low. 

Continue to cook for just a few more minutes until the liquid starts to thicken a bit. Look at those beauts….ready for action.

Grab a bowl, fill it with greens and top (dump) with the pears, walnuts and all the liquid in the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and call it..Time to eat.

Such a good bowl of stuff.

Happy Thursday!

-C

Serves 2

• 1/4 lb (a few big handfuls ) of arugula ….Any green works, but the more bitter the better
• 1 large firm pear (I used an anjou but any type would work)
• 2-3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3-4 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• good handful of walnuts
• salt and pepper to taste

Stick a large fry skillet on the stove and preheat to medium heat.

Now grab yourself a nice firm pear, cut it in half, remove the seed and slice into thin pieces. Place the slices into the preheated dry skillet with the walnuts. The pear slices can touch, but make sure they do not overlap. Sear(they wont turn brown) each side of the pears for about 2 minutes, just to soften it a bit but not to soft or they will get mushy. Also, toss around those nuts a bit to give them a little toast. Once both sides are seared, turn heat to medium low and dump maple and the balsamic vinegar. Cook for another few minutes until the liquid starts to slightly thicken then remove from heat. Place the greens into a bowl and top with the pears, walnuts, and all the liquid left in the pan. Sprinkle with salt ans pepper.

Grab a fork cause a spoon wont work here and eat yourself full of goodness.

This treat is a long time coming, like almost a years time…Let me explain. 

One of the littles had requested a dessert of some type of almond pear situation for his birthday…..last year. Of course I said yes, no problem, for your birthday, you got it. But I never got it. I actually completely forgot. Then a few months later, I remebemered, felt like a big D-bag and told  myself I still had to make something for the guy… and I forgot again. Next time I remembered, I had just bought a bunch of pears and that was it. Make the kid something you bitch (is what I told myself) but heres the thing, I figured he forgot too and those pears were mighty tasty.(I know I am horrible) 

So just last week I was at the store, meandering through the produce, and noticed that local pears were on sale. This was it. I knew it had to be done. I bought a large quantity (enough to bake with and eat) and got to making that little his birthday treat request. I went with bars.. nothing to sweet, nothing to crazy, lot and lots of almond and pear flavors. Perfect for breakfast or an afternoon snack, and made even better by the fact that they were made for him, and it isn’t even his birthday.

So I made them, and brought them to his house, waited for him to get off the bus from school, and handed him his long awaited pear almond treat. He was so happy, it made me feel like shit.(I so should have made him something a year ago)  But oh well,  he got them right? And this way is much more a surprise then if I had actually made them when I said that I would. An unexpected, not your birthday, birthday treat!

Right here guys…Still the Best Aunt EVER!

The stuff. Alond flour, oat flour, baking soda ,salt, earth balance and a little honey. We also need some rolled oaths almond butter and almonds. And of course we need pears, with a little corn starch and a smidge of cinnamon.

Nice ripe pears get thinly sliced, seeds and stems removed.

Tossed into a bowl with the starch and cinnamon and set aside. 

The oat and almond flour gets mixed together with the salt and the baking soda, then mix together with the earth balance and honey until it turns into a dough.( I used my hands to mix it together…it worked better then a fork)

Break off about a 1/4 of the dough and stick back in bowl. Take the rest and evenly press into the bottom of a 9×9 baking pan.

Take the remaing dough and mix in the almonds, oats, and almond butter to form the crumble.

Dump the pears on the crust, making sure the are level and pretty evenly layered.

And crumble the crumble on top.

Give it a little press to compact the crumble and into the oven it goes!

When all browned and crispy and nice, remove from oven and let cool. Cut into squares and go for it.

Look at that, so much goodness.Go ME! 

Happy Wednesday people!

-C

For the crust and crumble

• 1 1/2 cup oat flour
• 1 1/2 cup almond  flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1/2 cup earth balance (can use butter)
• 1/4 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/4 cup almonds

For the pear filling

• 4-5 ripe pears
• 2 tablespoons corn or arrowroot starch
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350

In a large bowl, mix together the almond and oat flour, baking soda, and salt. Add in the earth balance and honey and mix together until a dough forms (I find using my hands to work swell). Roll dough into a blob and tear about 1/4 of the dough away and set back into bowl. Press the remaining dough into he bottom of a 9X9 inch baking pan. With the remaining dough, mix the rolled oats, the almond butter and the chopped almonds and set aside again.

Now slice up your pears  into 1/4 inch thick slices (remove seeds and stems) and toss into a bowl with the cinnamon and starch. Take pears and layer ontop of the crust, trying to keep the pears evenly distributed. And dump and distribute the crumble topping all over the pears. Gie the whole thing a few pats to compress the crumble a bit.

Stick into the oven and bake for about 45 minutes, or until the crumble topping is all nice and brown and crispy. 

Remove from the oven, let cool and cut into squares. 

Great as breakfast lunch snack or dinner. Eat with you hands and lick crumbs off plate.