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

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. 

I don’t know if I have bitched enough about it, but I only have one window in my living space. And as much as I love love love our little tiny loft, I am a person who needs the sun. So when I am home I spend a lot of time siting in front of the window.  Over the past few weeks I have been doing a lot of watercolor painting in front of that window and somehow  between drawings of carrots and  vintage fans, I ended up making these marbled window stained glass hoops. And I am glade I did because these little watercolor gems really do make a big impact on my one source of sunlight. Even when the day is kind of gray and gloomy, having these in the window make the light seem brighter and happy. 

We can all use a bright happy window.

So this project is really easy and fast. I recommend that if you are going to go to the trouble (it’s really no trouble) of making one, you might as well make 2 or 5. I actually made a bunch (think Mothers day or Easter presents) and ended up only keeping a s couple. I am going to have to make a few more soon.

You will need-

• Watercolors 
• water
• paintbrush
• Sketch paper*
• A pan or tray with a bit of water 
• Embroidery Circles * (As many as you want to make)

*Notes

• -I tried to use a few different types of paper and found that the sketch works the best. Watercolor paper was a bit to thick and printer paper just kept ripping.
• -You can buy embroidery circles at any craft store and they usually have a good variety of sizes. Use the sizes that you like.

Take a piece(s) of paper a little bit bigger then the hoop you are working with and stick it into a pan or tray of water. Let it sit there for a few minutes until the paper is completely soaked.Take the wet paper and, oh so gently, crumple into a ball. This part can be a little tricky. You want to make as many creases as possible without ripping that paper. (I ripped a few pieces) I found that if I folded that paper a few time, then crumpled that it was less likely to rip.

Uncrumple the paper and lay it gently onto the inner part of the hoop. Now the fun part. Go to town with the watercolors. I used 2 colors per piece, but you could do 1 or 3, or more. When applying the color, use big gentle strokes and let the colors kind of meld together. Watch as all the crumple veins soak up the paint. Try using different dilutions of color. I applied some color on thinly and some on the thicker side. But really, you can’t go wrong, just keep applying paint until you are happy. I stopped a few times and held it up to the window just to see what it looked like. When it looked good, I was done.

When you are happy with the colors, let the paper dry for a while on the hoop  until it is not longer super wet. I would say about an hour or so, but if you stick it near the heater, it might dry faster. (Just don’t stick it in the oven while you are making bread like I did with one.. It just ended up setting on fire. Oops)

Once its pretty much dry, take the outer ring of the hoop and gently place around the inner hoop and tighten. Being super careful, trim the extra paper from the back of the hoop.

Place your pieces in a window and watch them glow.  Yow now have a happy window.

-C

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

-C

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

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

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

Refrigerate and use on anything and everytihng.

First day of Spring!! Well kind of I guess. I think it actually starts at like 6:20 tonight, when the temperature is going to dip back done to 10.(Spring my ass) I don’t know about you people out there but here in Vermont, we are really hanging on to winter. I have to keep telling myself…” It will be warmer soon and you’ll be looking forward to this weather in a few months.. so stop bitching!”  I give myself good pep talks.

Anyway, last week at the farm share pick up, there was a nice little surprise. We got a few pounds of some sweet locally grown and milled whole wheat flour. There was a little sign with the information about the wheat and where it came from, but in my haste of gathering all of my other veggies, I failed to take notes and forgot the name of the farm that it came from. But I do know that my farm traded some celeriac for the wheat.  I was really excited because I am really into the idea of using locally grown grains and I don’t know, it just made me really happy, especially because it was a trade.  Food framing and local sharing is stuff that makes me happy.

I wanted to make something to kind of showcase the hearty, nutty flavor of the wheat and I also wanted to make something that my mister would eat for breakfast. Well what better way to do that then with muffins! Banana coconut whole wheat (that just happen to be vegan) Hearty, fruity, and smells like the word lovely and the color yellow. A few to eat and a few to share. Hanging at home, running away or  getting ready for a day of spring cleaning….This is a great weekend to make muffins! 

The stuff… Light, nutty local whole wheat flour, ripe oh ripe bananas and coconut flakes are the stars in this muffin… But we need the other stuff too. Brown sugar, vanilla, coconut oil and a chia egg.  Baking powder, baking soda, and last but not least, salt.

 Yup, that sounds about right   The salt, baking soda, and baking powder are whisked together. The banana and all the rest of the stuff are mixed up… Then mix the wet mixture into the dry. Stir until combined and then add in the coconut flakes,Scoop mixture  into 12 lined muffin cups… A scoop like mine works very nicely. Don’t have one, well I recommend you get yourself one. Until then, use a spoon. Something I always do when baking any muffin is sprinkle the tops of each muffin with a bit of  sugar or brown sugar. It melts and caramelizes and adds a sweet little crunch to the tops. 

Now stick the muffins into the oven. Remove from oven when they look like this, nice and golden brown. Also good idea to check with a tester stuck into the middle. When it comes out clean, they are done.12 happy little muffins cooling on a rack, waiting to be eaten with you mouth. 

Doesn’t the sight of pretty food make you happy, like sing a song happy? Muffins, whoa yah!!  Friday yah yah!!  Spring…What, Yah!!  Yah…Yah Yah!!!

Terrible I know, but at least you were spared hearing my actual voice. 

Have a great weekend. Do lots of springy stuff!

-C

• 2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 4 Ripe bananas
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
• 3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
• 1/3 cup melted Coconut Oil
• 1 Tablespoon Chia Seeds + 3 Tablespoons warm water
• 1/2 Cup Unsweetened Coconut Flakes

Preheat oven to 350

In a small bowl, mix 3 tablespoons warm water to the chia seeds and let sit for at least 5 minutes (10 is better) In a large bowl, peel and mash the bananas until they turn into a kind of chunky soupy puree.  Add in brown sugar, chia seed mixture, vanilla extract, and the melted coconut oil (make sure it’s melted or it won’t incorporate into the mixture) Mix together. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Mix the wet mixture with the dry until combined then mix in the coconut flakes. 

Line a 12 cup muffin tin and fill each cup about 3/4 the way up with batter. Sprinkle each muffin with brown sugar and place in oven on center rack. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops 0f the muffins are golden brown and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. 

Remove muffins from tin and let cool.

Serve as is or maybe with a smudge of coconut butter, or anything you want really.

No need for fork, just use you mouth.

I am so happy its Friday, but like whoa, this week has flown by so fast. I think I need to make a pie to slow things down a bit.. What Kind of pie am I making? We will get to that, but first we must make a killer pie crust, one to hold of the goodness to come.  

Crusty Stuff. Flour, a stick of frozen butter (or a stick of frozen Earth  Balance, which I have used and it turns out much the same) a  bit of sugar, some salt, ice water, and apple cider vinegar*.  

Whats with the vinegar you ask? Well first  off, don’t worry about tasting it, you won’t. Secondly, I add it because it helps keep gluten from forming in the flour, which in turns makes the pie crust more flakey and less doughy. If the though of vinegar really bothers you, you can use lemon juice or even leave it out. 

The flour, salt, ans sugar are mixed together into a bowl. Then with a box grater or hand grater with big hole, grate the frozen butter directly into the flour, stopping every few tablespoons to toss around in the flour. (DO this or you will end up with a big pile of shredded butter that is starting to melt back together) Also, hold the butter with the wrapper to keep from warming the butter with your hand.

Once the whole stick is shredded, take a fork and just toss the chunks around a bit more just to evenly distribute. Now add in vinegar and water. Toss with fork until the mixture starts to come together. If you think that dough seems way to dry, add in one more tablespoon of ice water.Dump the dough onto a lightly flour surface and kind of squish, smoosh dough into a pile. The dough is all clumpy and weird looking, Well thats what it is support to look like, so your good. Once the dough is gathered into a ball, place onto a piece of wax paper and wrap. Now is the most satisfying part..Smoosh the wrapped dough into a disk but applying pressure. Aaahh, kind of looked like pie crust. Now Stick it in the fridge for a least a hour (Don’t skip this or your crust will be blah)

Out of the fridge and awaiting a roll and a filling. 

Weekend plans for a pie are set!

Have lots of good times!

-C

Notes… You can for sure make this  pie crust vegan by replacing the butter for  a stick of Earth Balance.  Also, this is the stuff for a single pie crust but I usually habra bit left over to make a few little cutouts for the top of the pie or pie scrap cookies.

To make this a double pie crust, just double everything up.  

• 1 1/4  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (or Earth Balace), cold or frozen
• 1/4 cup ice water
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar  

In a large bow, whisk together the flour, salt, and sugar. Place grater in bowl and with the biggest grate hole, grate the frozen or cold butter directly into the flour mixture, stopping ever few tablespoons to toss around in the flour so you don’t end up with a big pile of grated butter. With a fork, toss around a bit until  the butter is evenly disrupted in the flour being careful NOT to work the butter into the flour.  Add in the vinegar and water and mix as little as possible with a fork until the mixture starts to come together. The mixture will seem kind of dry and almost like it is falling apart, but thats what you want. If dough is really too dry, add in another tablespoon of ice water. Dump mixture onto a lightly floured surface and squish together to form a ball, handling as little as possible. Place on a piece of wax paper and wrap. Give it a good squish to flatten out a bit and place back into fridgerater for a least one hour, if not longer.

And then you have crust

Crust can be frozen.. just wrap in plastic wrap and place into a freezer bag. 

I swear I didn’t plan this, but today is officially Pi Day! Pi being the mathematical constant of the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its dimeter (did I say that right?) 3.1415…… And today’s date is 3.14.15.   Whoa…I guess that means that this pie was meant to be. 

But the real reason I made this pie was for a surprise treat for the mister. He left for a couple of days and me being the super assume lady love of his, thought it would be nice for him to come home to his favorite dessert.. plain old rhubarb pie.( I know, I be the best) And it didn’t hurt that when I went to the grocery store, there was a big old pile of fresh, gorgeous rhubarb staring me right in the face, and on sale to boot.

The funniest thing. Me and the mister have been together for a very long time (12+ years….we started dating in high school, so I am not that old!) and I have known that his favorite dessert is plain rhubarb pie for ever. Every time we have one of our food discussions about our favorite foods, (which happens more than it should and usually consists of me running my mouth and him grunting or nodding once in a while) rhubarb pie always comes up. He even talks about the old lady who used to make him rhubarb pie for mowing her lawn. And guess what…  I have never once made him a plain rhubarb pie. Why? Honestly, I have no idea. Maybe I secretly think I was going to screw up his one favorite dessert, or maybe I never quit had enough rhubarb for a pie, or maybe I am really just an awful lady. But for whatever reason, it doesn’t matter anymore because I finally made him a plain rhubarb pie. 

The stuff for the makings of pie… One single pie crust, flour, sugar and rhubarb. I mean, come on, this might be one of the simplest pies ever.  

Note…The first thing the mister said to me when he saw the pie was. “Where is the top crust? My response what “Screw you ass face” but then chuckled. This pie would be great with a top crust, but I was thinking how pretty it would be without it. And honestly, I only made a single crust. What I am saying is.. make a double crust if you want a top.

    The chilled pie crust gets rolled out, placed into a pie plate, trimmed and made all pretty. The bottom is sprinkled with a 1/4 cup of sugar and stuck back into the fridge while the oven preheats  to 350.  Now is a good time to dice the rhubarb into inchish chunks. Once the oven is preheated, remove crust from fridge and add in the diced rhubarb.

   The remaining sugar and flour get mixed together in a bowl  and dump on top of the rhubarb. Give it a tiny toss with you fingers just to get some of the mixture to sink down a little. (Don’t worry, the filling will be perfect when you do it like this) I also cut up the pie crust trimmings and placed on top… not necessary, but looks pretty and is a good use of the scraps.

Now cover the entire pie with tinfoil. Cut and x through the middle and fold foil back to expose the filling but keep the crust covered. (so much easier than trying to squish strips of foil together..you know what I am talking about) 

And then the pie is ready to be baked.

In the oven for 5o minutes with the foil, then 10 or so minutes without to finish.And then you take it from the oven and marvel at the beauty.

I am now truly the best super awesome lady love. I should get a freaking crown but would settle for a stand mixer or blender as a reward instead. 

Important…..Let the pie cool completely (or just about) before cutting.The filling needs a bit of time to set.

Happy Saturday, Happy Weekend, Happy PI Pie Day!!!

-C

• Single Pie Crust.. Recipe here
• 4-5 large Rhubarb Stocks (4 cups chopped)
• 1 1/4 cups white sugar
• a hefty 1/3 cup flour

Make you pie crust.. and make sure it’s chilled!

Roll our pie crust and place in pie plate. Trim and make edge all nice and pretty. Add 1/4 cup of sugar to the bottom  and stick back in the fridge to relax while you get the other stuff together.

Preheat oven to 350

Wash and dice rhubarb into inchish chunks. In a bowl, mix together 1 cup of sugar and the flour. Once the oven is preheated, remove crust from fridge and fill crust with the chopped up rhubarb. Now dump the sugar, flour mixture on top, slightly tossing it around with your fingers. Cover entire pie with tin foil and with a knife, cut an x through the middle of the foil. Fold foil back to expose the center of the pie, but keep the crust covered. Stick into oven. Bake for about an hour, removing the tin foil after about 50 minutes. Pie is done when the crust is golden brown and a fork or knife stuck into the middle of pie comes out with a thick jam like sauciness.

Let pie cool and set for a bit.

Slice. Serve on a plate with an eating utensil and maybe a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.  Lick plate clean.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Enjoy the day..Smile lots 

-C

Roasted Carrot Beet Salad and Avocado Lemon Dressing

Salad

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

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

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

Dressing

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

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

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

HOORAY FOR SPRING!!!!!!!

Yesterday The mister and I went for a walk, a long walk. I was wearing a sweater, a light jacket and I  left the mittens and hat at home. There was sunshine, huge puddles and mud. Birds were chirping. It was amazing.

After our nice long walk, we got home and I needed to start dinner. It was a little later than I usually so I wanted fast and easy  I usually always have pesto in my fridge (I had to make some, but it only takes 5 minutes) because when it’s in there, I can whip up a big awesome meal in the time it takes to boil some pasta or quinoa or smear on toast or toss with potatoes. It really can be used on everything and can be made out of just about anything. Kale and walnuts are just one of so many fantastic combos. And frozen ravioli is always in the freezer too. I  used just plain cheese, but use whatever kind you like.

Together, pesto and ravioli, well that’s a quick, easy, and tasty meal, perfect for a spring evening,  And yea, there will be left over pesto from this recipe… just stick it in the fridge or freezer….you will be glad you have it.

       Pesto stuff. Kale, walnuts, parmesan cheese(nutritional yeast to keep it vegan), garlic, lemon, olive oil, and salt and pepper.

A few little pre steps before the blending.. Toast the walnuts. Just toss onto a dry skillet and stick on medium heat for about 5 minutes or until they start to become née and fragrant. Remove from skillet and add in a bit of water. Add in chopped or ripped kale and cover to let the kale tenderize, but only for about 2 minutes. (you want the kale to still be crispy and fresh tasting)  Drain water and add kale, garlic, toasted walnuts, cheese  and the juice of the lemon into a food processor. Turn on and slowly add in olive oil until you get to a nice paste, adding more oil to get to your desired consistency. Oh and don’t forget to salt and pepper to taste!

 Straight up frozen ravioli goes onto an oiled baking sheet.(make sure that non are overlapping) Place into an oven at 400 degrees for about 15-18 minutes, flipping after 10. If you want to add mushroom and a few more walnuts, just toss them onto the ravioli when you are flipping over the ravioli. 

When the ravioli is nice and brown and crispy, remove from oven and dump the ravioli and the mushrooms into a bowl. Add a big old scoop of the freshly made pesto and toss around. 

Look at this… fresh, crunchy, light and happy. Kinda like a spring day.

I am the best lady, making the mister a pretty yummy dinner. 

Have a great Tuesday!

-C

Kale Pesto and Baked Ravioli

• 4-5 cups chopped Kale
• 1/2 cup Parmesan Cheese ( Nutritional Yeast  to make it vegan)
• 1/2 cup Walnuts
• 1/4-1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 4-5 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Lemon
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 bag of frozen ravioli(use vegan or gluten-free if you want)
• 3-4 mushrooms

Note..There will be plenty of left over pesto… Just fridge or freeze it

Place walnuts in a skillet and toast on medium heat for about 3-5 minutes or until the nuts become fragrant. In the same skillet, add enough water  to cover bottom and add in all the kale. Place a lid on it and let kale wilt on medium heat for about a minutes or 2, Take off heat. Add walnuts. garlic, cheese, salt and pepper, and juice of lemon to a food processor. Blend. Now add in the kale and blend, slowly adding olive oil until a thick paste forms. You can add as much oil as you want to make it as thick or thin as you like.

Preheat oven to 400

Place frozen ravioli on an oiled baking sheet, making sure none are overlapping. Place into oven for about 15-18 minutes, removing after 8 minutes to flip. When you take the ravioli out to flip, slice up the mushrooms and grab a few more walnuts and toss onto baking sheet with the ravioli.  When the ravioli’s are nicely browned and toasty, remove (mushrooms and walnuts too) and place into bowl. Add a big scoop of pesto and toss to mix.

Serve and eat.. fork is optional.

Note..Add a thin layer to the top of any left over pesto to keep it fresh and from turning black 

 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

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.

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

• 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.