I know, it’s just so good. I will eat lentils all day, everyday, plan or with vinegar…Curried or with mustard.The same with squash, I am always going to the fridge to scoop a bit of acorn or pumpkin into my mouth. Whoa now,  Just last night I accidentally ate my lunch for today, an entire ball jar of lentils mixed with pumpkin puree… oops…..kinda.

What we have here are chopped up veggies mixed with lentils, a splash of vinegar, and stuffed into the holes of delicate squash. What, that’s not right… What we have here is AMAZING!!! We are talking the absolute perfect dish. These tight little packages are everything that I want in a food and can be eaten hot or cold, with a fork or with your fingers, on a plate with some rice or quinoa, or in my case, standing in front of the refrigerator.(At least I had the decency to close the door while I was standing there!)

These rounds are a quick and easy and just happen to be a perfect Thanksgiving dish. Not to  big, unlike the over used stuffed acorn squash where you have to really commit and eat the entire thing. No, people can take one nice little rounds and it doesn’t cover their entire plate Or take three cause they are that good. The colors are bright, the presentation is simple and flavor really bring out the happy in my Thanksgiving. You bring these to the table and people with think you are awesome. They will think you are beautiful. So smart and intelligent.. You really can’t go wrong here with this one. No..You really can’t.

To start, grab the dried lentils. If you have never cooked lentils, you are stupid. No, wait, you are not stupid, but if you don’t start cooking them after this, then you are stupid. Lentils are the most delicious, nutritious , not to mention cheap food. They are fuss free and fast…You now have no excuse. Now, rinse and check for the stray stone, In a heavier bottom pot, mix one part lentils  to about 2 parts water. Exact measuring is not needed, just don’t let you lentils dry out and burn. If you think you need more water, them add a bi more. Add a sprinkle of salt and bring to a boil for a minute. Turn heat to low and let simmer unit done to you preference, about 15 minute. I suggest a little on the al-dente side.

You have your lentils on the stove, now is the time to get those squash rounds in the oven.. All you need to do is cut the delicata into 1 inch rounds, scoop the seeds and roast in oven for 10 on each side..This is a really easy squash, easy to cut, minimal seeds and oh so pretty.

While the lentils are cooking and the squash is a-roastin finely chop a small red onion, a small red bell pepper, and 2 medium sized mushrooms. Throw them in a pan on medium heat with a tiny splash of oil just so the veggies don’t stick. Cook until fragrant and tender, but not mushy. Finely chop the kale and either finely chop or grate carrot. Put the carrot and kale into a big bowl. The addition of the hot lentils and veggies will wilt the kale down to just right and the carrots will be that nice little crunch crunch crunch in the mixture.

Add the cooked down veggies to the bowl of kale and carrots. Mix in about 2 cups of cooked lentils, a sprinkle of salt and pepper and a splash of red wine vinegar or balsamic. The squash should be done and ready to fill.

Now here is the tricky part.. Dont eat the entire bowl of the lentil mixture. I am not saying that I did, but I am not saying that I didn’t. All I know is that I might have had to make another batch…

Anyways.. Let the squash cool a bit on the pan or sheet, just enough so you don’t burn your hands when your handling it. You have squash with holes, you have lentil mixture…Stuff the lentils mixtures into the holes. Dont just scoop a little, really stuff and overflow those babies. Stick them back into the oven for another 6-8 minutes, just to let everything cook and marinate together.

Remove from oven and OOh and AAAH.. To finish, drizzle a tiny bit of vinegar on top of each round. Trust that you want it. Not a lot, just a drizzle

You have done it! Now serve and eat…Or, let cool completely on pan, cover with foil and stick in the fridge for the next day. All you need to do is pop them back in the oven for 15 minutes until hot all the way through.  Fast, easy, and can be made ahead… Its ok, you can stop applauding me, I know I am Awesome!

ENJOY!!!!!!!!!

RECIPE

This recipe makes 12-14 one inch rounds

• 2 Delicata Squash
• 2 cups prepared lentils
• 1 small red onion
• 1 small red pepper
• 2 mushrooms..(I used white button)
• 1 small carrot
• a few kale leaves
• salt and pepper
• Red wine Vinegar. (Balsamic Vinegar works too)

Directions.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Wash squash and cut into 1- 1/2 inch rounds. Remove the seed and guts..(Set aside for roasting). Place rounds on a very lightly oiled or parchment lined  baking sheet. Place in oven, letting round bake for about 20 minutes, flipping each round after about 10 minutes. Squash is done when just fork tender..

While squash is baking, finely dice the onion, pepper,and mushrooms. Place in a skillet with a splash of oil on medium low heat until veggies are soft and fragrant, Finely chop kale and carrots and place in a large bowl. Once veggie mixture is done, transfer to bowl with ale and carrots. Add 2 cups of lentils.. Mix with salt and pepper and a teaspoon of vinegar.

Once the delicata is cooked and cooled enough to handle, Scoop a generous amount of the lentil mixture into each round, slightly packing the mixture in. Place back in oven for another 6-8 minutes or, you can let them completely cool, wrap the baking sheet in foil and stick in fridge until you need them.When ready to serve, reheat for 10-15 minutes in oven at 400 degrees.  Remove from oven and serve with a drizzle of vinegar on each round,

I am channeling all my summer time feels here in hopes for warmer weather. As of yesterday there was still a pile of snow outside of my house and I am still leaving every morning in a hat, mittens, and a winter jacket.

I want t-shirts and shorts, I want sandals, and I want to set my winter jacket on fire (not really, but kinda).

This cold weather has crept back into my soul and I needed something to remind me that there will be warmer days to come and I will soon be bitching about how hot I am and blah blah blah.. you know how it goes.

So I make lemonade. This lemonade as inspired by my favorite tea as of late, raspberry zinger. It’s a nice and tangy tart and really tasty. I make great big jar of it at night and add a little squeeze or two of lemon to it for that little extra zing. I figured if it tastes good hot, it will taste great cold, which in fact, it does. It taste really freaking good. And it just occurred to me that there is probably a little subliminal inspiration from Beyonce in wanting lemonade, so thanks for the B.

Anyway, it’s suppose to me nice and seasonably warm this weekend. Maybe bust out your lemonade game and try a batch of this one.

The stuff. Lemons, a raspberry zinger tea bag, honey (or any sweetener you like to use) water and ice.

Bring some of that water to aalmost boil and pour it over the tea bag (make sure you stick the bag into a jar or pitcher)

While the tea is steeping, juice the lemons. And a personal preference, you can strain out the pulp or not. I use the strainer to catch the seeds but then stick the pulp back in cause I like pulp. All up to you.

While the tea is steeping and still hot, add in any sweetener that you want to use. ( I used a little honey) Stir until that sweetness is all dissolved.

And after the tea has had a good steep, dump the brewed tea into the pitcher with the lemon juice then add in the really cold water. Stir it all around.

Add acouple thin slices of lemon to make it all fancy anda few big chunks of ice to make it super cold

Refreshing, crispy, tangy with a touch of sweet….Perfect for all those warm summer days to come (hopefully)

Have a great weekend people.

-C

Makes 5 cups

• 1 raspberry zinger tea bag( I used Celestial Seasonings)
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice (3-5 lemons, depending on size)
• Anywhere between no to 1/2 cup of sweeter (can use sugar, honey or maple, I like a touch of honey)
• 4 cups water (2 hot, 2 cold)
• ice

Place tea bag in 2 cups of hot water (can be done directly in a pitcher) Add in the sweetener while its still hot and mix until completely dissolved. Let steep for about 10 minutes.

Remove tea bag and add in the lemon juice, 2 more cups of cold water and mix, Top with ice and garnish with a few more lemon slices if your feeling fanciful.

Serve in a glass full of ice with a wedge of lemon and a smile on you face.

It%u2019s a smoothie. And no, we have never really been smoothie people in this house, but what can I say, sometimes smoothies happen, especially when you have about 20 ripe bananas in the fruit bowl with no room in the freezer and no need for 7 loafs of banana bread.

So I smoothied. And I like it (a lot).

This is a smoothie of simplicity. Nothing fancy. Simplest of simple. Straight to the point. And all sorts of good.

You might think, does this simple smoothie you speak of taste very good? Yes, yes indeed it does. It is all sorts of fantastic. Basically if you like creamy, nutty, oaty, bananery things, you will like this. And it%u2019s a perfect breakfast, snack, dessert, or just wanting a little treat like thing that is not garbage food. A smoothie of all smoothies with the most basic ingredients. And takes about 15 seconds to whip up. Can%u2019t complain about that.

To the smoothie goodness!

The stuff. A ripe banana, some old fashion rolled oats, a pinch of salt, water, and a smidge of maple syrup if you want it.

Everything goes into blender.

And blended until smooth. Hence the word smoothie.

Pour it into a cup (or if you are feeling primal, drink it straight from the blender%u2026 it%u2019s totally cool)

And done.

A banana oat smoothie.

Let the good time roll!

-C

makes 1 smoothie

• 1 very ripe banana

• 1/3 cup raw old fashion oats

• 1 1/2 cups water

• pinch of salt

• a tablespoon or two of any sweetener you like (optional)

• a pinch of cinnamon (optional)

Place everything into a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a cup, sprinkle with cinnamon if you wish, and drink right away.

It’s Mother’s Day weekend which means that you and I and everyone out there should feel the slightest bit obligated to at least do a little something nice for your mom for the mere fact that you were borned. And really what better way to celebrate mom than with food… It really is the least that you can do. (I think mom’s also like flowers and cards and handmade pasta necklaces) My mom is defiantly about the food. (she has had her fair share or pasta necklaces)  A many years back on Mother’s day, this sweet little girl (me) made her mother a special  breakfast treat…blueberry scones. And ever since that day, for every freaking holiday, birthday, whatever day, my mother requests (demands) a batch of those scones. She is always saying that these are her favorite treat and that no one has ever made them as good as I do. (I guess that just reiterates that I am her number 1 child)

And for the last few months my mom has been up my butt, trying to get me to make her some. Not going to lie, I have been saying I’ll get her a batch, but for some reason, I haven’t gotten around to making them. So two birds here.. Make the scones and she gets off my back for a least a little while (a month.. maybe 2) and I give her a fantastic Mothers day gift that I know she will love.

So here they are , oh mother of mine. Blueberry scones!

The stuff. Flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. A bit of sugar, vanilla, buttermilk, and butter (use vegan butter and nut milk if you want to make them vegan) And of course we need the blueberries which can be fresh or frozen. I usually use fresh, but the store I stopped at only had really big containers of fresh that were like $1000 dollars a piece and the organic frozen happen to be on super sale. So you know, the cheap in me won that battle. So into the bowl goes all the dry stuff; flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and the sugar. Give it a good whisk.

Now for my special trick for a perfectly distributed cold butter in a pastry. Freeze your butter and grate it!

With a large wholed grater, grate the frozen butter directly into the bowl with the dry, stoping a few times to toss the butter chunks around so you don’t end up with a huge pile of grated butter. When it’s all grated, gently toss around so the butter is evenly distributed. Now dump the blueberries into the flour mixture. Toss them around to give them a coat of flour. Add in the buttermilk and vanilla and give a little mix until liquid is absorbed. We are trying to handle the dough as little as possible.Turn mixture onto counter. It’s very loose, but thats what it should look like. Very gently and with as little handling as possible, gather dough up, knead a few times till everything  just comes together. Press dough into a disk that is roughly an inch thick…. and it doesn’t need to be perfect. Cut the disk into even sized pieces. Do 6 big, 8 normal, maybe even 10 smaller. Whatever size you like. (I did 8) Place the scones onto a baking sheet, using a spatula to transfer, and sprinkle the tops with a little bit of sugar. Into a preheated oven for about 20 minutes.And when the scones look all nice and browned and a tester comes out clean. remove and either serve right away warm, preferably with huge cup of coffee or tea, or stick on a rack to cool before storing in  air tight container.

Perfect to serve as a breakfast pastry, at brunch, or even as a dessert. A nice little treat for a special lady. (dudes can eat them too) 

Happy Mothers Day Mom! Thanks for having me!

And Happy Weekend!!!

-C

Blueberry Scones 

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons  to sprinkle on top
• 1  teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted  butter frozen or really cold (use non dairy butter like Earth Balance for vegan)
• 1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
• 1 teaspoon  vanilla 
•  3/4 cup buttermilk (use non dairy milk for vegan)

Preheat oven t0 400 degrees

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, and salt. Take the frozen butter and grate directly into flour mixture, tossing around to evenly disrupted. Add in blueberries and toss around till coated with flour, then lastly, add vanilla to buttermilk and mix into mixture until just barely coming together. Turn mixture out onto counter and with your hands, knead mixture a few times until it forms a solid dough. Shape into a disk and smoosh down until about an inch thick. Cut into 6-10 triangles  and place on a non greases baking sheet and sprinkle tops with remaining sugar. Stick into oven and bake for 20 minutes or until tops start turning a golden brown and a tester in the middle of a scone comes out clean. 

Remove from baking sheet and serve warm or let cool on a rack.

Mom gets first dibs, and if she is willing to share, eat one yourself with your face. 

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.%u00a0 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)%u00a0 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.%u00a0 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.%u00a0 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.

What, you don’t have a large trough full of kittens?

Yup, that’s right, the mr and I are currently foster parents to 4 little itty bitty kitties and oh hell are they cute and stinky and all sorts of crazy. But lets back it up here. The beginning of the week started off like any other. Did some work, picked a shitload of berries and all the cucumbers, had the kiddos over for brinner (breakfast for dinner), you know, the usual.%u00a0 Then on Wednesday we went to Belvidere and spent some time with my family in the most magical place..We played in the waterfall, the mr went fishing, we found some cool rocks, just hung out with my people. Then it happened. Thursday, the mr and I were over at one of our apartment buildings where we have a barn that we keep all of scrap wood looking for well, wood. And there they were, a pile of freaking kittens, tiny as can be, living in the pile of wood in the barn. Long story short ,a few hours of super carefully moving wood, we managed to grab them all and get them in a box. And now they are living with us until they can find new homes. We have four crazy kitties that went from swatting and hissing to snuggles and love and now are the neediest little things ever.%u00a0 Only is mad at us and doesn’t want to come inside. I think he is jealous. We feel kinda bad so he got a can of tuna.

Barb came over Friday night to have a sleep over kitten party.%u00a0 I had planned an epic night of Wayne’s World watching (she hasn’t seen them..Asphinctersayswhat?) before the morning trip to Ikea, but the evening turned into kitten time. And honestly, it’s all turned into kitten time, but that’s ok, we will Wayne’s World party time, excellent soon.We did end up named them; Farro (the only boy) Quinoa, Tofu, and Jumper. Tofu because she is the runt and barb so tofu is the runt of the meat world. Jumper because she is constantly trying to jump out of the box, and Farro and Quinoa because we were talking dinner and that happened.

After finally settling down and getting a little sleep,%u00a0 we woke up. played with kitties, the headed north of the border to Ikea where barb and the mr eat handfuls of hot dogs, we got a new kitchen faucet and some clothes hangers, then drove back through the craziest rainstorm any of us have ever seen. We all thought we were going to die. But we didn’t because we needed to get back to the kittens..

Needless to say that today is probably going to a kitten heavy day. The mr made a little playpen for them to play in and I found that last night I ended up watching them for like an hour without even noticing.%u00a0 Plus they all pooped last night next to the litter and managed to walk all in it so now all the kitten are covered in poop and I have to wash them all. So cute, so nasty….this is my new life for a little while.

Email me if you want a kitten. (seriously)

Stuff I saw on the internet that isn’t about how to bath kittens.

–Gnawing Questions: Is Sugar From Fruit The Same As Sugar From Candy? Candy bar or bag of grapes…. Go with the grapes.

– How to Be Better at Stress. We could all be better.

-I have been on the seltzer wagon for a long time now. I drink Polar. Vanilla, grapefruit , and the new pineapple grapefruit are my favorites. Seltzer’s Popularity Bubbles Up In The U.S.

-100 Years in the Kitchen: A Century of Kitchen Color Trends. I am all about the70’s colored appliances. My fridge is harvest gold with wood accents and it’s the best. 100 Years in the Kitchen: A Century of Kitchen Color Trends

-I want one of these. I have a very real fear that me or the mr are going to lose some fingers. Despite Proven Technology, Attempts To Make Table Saws Safer Drag On

–A 100-YEAR-OLD, PERFECTLY PRESERVED FRUITCAKE WAS DISCOVERED IN ANTARCTICA. Eat up!

-My sister wore this shirt all throughout her tween and early teen years. This shirt and kissing Steven Tyler posters. She was scary.

–What Brands Are Actually Behind Trader Joe%u2019s Snacks? I knew it!!!

-So much neon light. Ultraviolet Break of Day: A Midnight Walk Through the Neon-Hued Streets of Asian Cities

–Traffic Accident Leaves Arkansas Highway Covered in Frozen Pizzas

We have been super busy the past few weeks and haven%u2019t seen any of the littles for a while and I am starting to miss them. So the other day, (when it was actually kinda cold. its been way to warm here!) when I was in the neighborhood, I stopped by my sisters house after the kids got out of school with pumpkin hot chocolate supplies and to hang out. Unfortunately, one of those littles (Miley Lu) was to cool for me and went to hang out with her friend, but whatever, that just left enough hot chocolate supplies to make the one that stayed the biggest cup he could handle, look through all his pictures, and sit around talking about his fart hole.%u00a0

Pretty great visit it I do say so myself.

This hot chocolate is just a little seasonal twist on regular old hot chocolate. I bet that some of you out there might end up with a bit of extra pumpkin puree come next week and this is a great way to use some of that up. The pumpkin make the hot chocolate a little thicker, a bit more hearty,%u00a0and adds a nice smooth creaminess to the drink. And some fiber, which is always good.

%u00a0Now all we need is some snow.

The stuff. Milk (any kind you drink) pumpkin puree, cocoa powder, crown sugar, and a pinch or so of cinnamon.%u00a0

Oh, and pick out your most favorite kick ass mug (it will just sate better that way).%u00a0I brought over the rainbow bug cause Judah loves him some rainbows.%u00a0

Dump all the stuff into a pot and stick it on stove on medium heat.

Whisk it all around, and continue to whack until the its as hot as you want it to be.

Pour it into a cup (preferably one with rainbows on it)%u00a0and %u00a0top it off with whatever you like on top of your drink %u00a0(I added a bit more milk froth and a spinkle more of cinnamon)

And serve up, to yourself, or to the monster little waiting for his chocolate fix.

Have a great day!

-C

Makes 1 cup%u00a0

• 1 1/4 %u00a0cup milk (cow, nut, soy.. whatever)
• 1 heaping tablespoon cocoa powder
• 3 %u00a0tablespoons pumpkin puree
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar(more if you like it sweetness)%u00a0
• a pinch or two of pumpkin spice blend (or just some cinnamon works)

Take all ingredients and place into a pot. %u00a0Whisk everything together until fully incorporated. Place pot on medium heat and keep whisking until the hot chocolate is heated to your preferred temperature.

Pour into a mug and feel free to top with whipped cream, sprinkles, marshmallows or whatever you heart desires.

House update.. Check it out! Our entire upstairs is wires, the plumbing is ran, (not hooked up to anything yet) and completely insulated. It’s freaking sea foam green crazy up there.%u00a0

%u00a0Now the next big step up hear is sheetrock! That’s going to be a bitch of a week, but for the mean timewe have left the upstairs alone because we are waiting to get a rough inspection from the city. And so we get to enjoy the green for just a bit longer.

For now we have ventured back down stairs. A few unseen things have been done likethe re- supportingof the floor with beams in the basement and running all the water lines and elecrrical from upstairs to the basement. We started tackling the clean up of the windows, there has beenlots of sheetrock patching and mudding and adding in light switched and outlets to all the boxes. And recently we have decided that we are going to either rip up the wide softwood downstairs and patch in oak or, if we cant find the right flooring to match, we are going to re-floor the entire downstairs, you know, just to make things a little harder on ourselves.

So yeah, this is where we are at. It’s all smooth sailing from here!

Farm share started last week (HOORAY!!!!) but always, at the beginning when things are still getting on growing, we are only getting a few things. Lot of greens which I will never get enough of, and lots of potatoes. Also, I made the mistake of buying a very large bag of potatoes last week right before farm share and now I am basically swimming in potatoes. And so the story goes%u2026.

So what do you do with a shit ton of potatoes? Yeah, I thought potato cannon to but then I realized that I would have to use my potatoes and sure I have a lot, but I am not wasting them on that. So gnocchi they became. Gnocchi. Basically a boiled french fry or a mashed potato meat ball. Or maybe more like a ravioli. Whatever they are, they are loved by potato loving people and are fun to make. I mean, when do you ever get to use the ricer? ( Don%u2019t worry, you can make gnocchi without a ricer.)

To the gnocchi.

The stuff. Potatoes, flour, an onion, some tomatoes, a few cloves of garlic, salt, pepper, and olive oil.

Note. Make sure to use russet potatoes because they make the lightest, fluffiest gnocchi. You could probably use Yukon gold, but any hard wax potato just won%u2019t do.

First step is to make baked potatoes. Place potatoes in oven, directly on rack, and bake for 30-45 minutes until nice and soft and tender. Just like you would when you eat it as a baked potato. Once cooked cut them in half and let them cool off for a few minutes.

Once potatoes are cool enough to handle, scoop all the flesh out of skins. Keep skins for soup or a snack for later.

And the fun part. Flour the counter then rice the potatoes. You can also do this with a food mill or even grate the potato with a box grater. Once all riced, cover with flour and start to fold and mix the potato into the flour gently until the dough starts to come together. If the dough seems really sticky and wet, add in a tablespoon or two of flour, to dry and crumbly, add in a tablespoon or two of water. The goal is a nice fluffy dough that hold it shape but is not overly dense.

Cut off a potion of the dough, roll it into a rope about an inch thick, then cut into inch long pieces.

To cook gnocchi. Bring a big pot of water to a boil and carefully drop in a handful of gnocchi into the water. They are gonna sink, but after a minute or two they start to float. Once floating, remove them from the pot with a slotted spoon and place them on a lightly oiled baking sheet. Repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked.

Cooked and ready%u2026 Ready for what? For anything you want but these are going into a tomato and onion situation.

Mince garlic and dice tomatoes and place into skillet with a good pinch of salt and a splash of olive oil. Place on stove and cook until slightly tender. Dice up tomatoes into small chunks and add to skillet along with a cup of water (if you have gnocchi water, use that) Turn heat up and cook until mixture start to bubble, then turn heat down to low and cook until the tomatoes are mushy.

And then drop in gnocchi. Keep on heat until the gnocchi are warmed completely all the way through.

Sprinkle of salt, lots of pepper, and something green if you want to be fancy.

And then you eat them.

-C

Makes 3-4 servings

• 2.5 pounds russet potatoes

• 2/3 cup of all purpose flour

• 1 large onion

• 3-4 tomatoes

• few cloves garlic

• salt and pepper

• olive oil

• water

Place potatoes directly into oven on one of the oven racks and bake on 450 degrees until soft and tender. Should take about 1/2 hour to 45 minutes, depending on size of potatoes.

Once cooked, remove from oven carefully, cut in half, carefully, and let cool for a about 10 minutes, just so you can handle the potatoes without burning yourself. In the mean time, get a large pot, fill it with water, and set it on the stove to boil.

When the potatoes are not to hot to touch, grab them and with a spoon, scoop out all the potato flesh from the skin (keep skin for a snack or for soup). Lightly flour the counter and start ricing the potatoes directly onto the counter. (You can also use a food mill or a box grater if you don%u2019t have ricer). Once all potato is rices, cover with floor and gently fold potato over into flour, over and over, even using a knife, to kind of cut the potato into the flour, until it all mostly comes together. Be careful to not overwork the dough or else it will become dense make the gnocchi chewy. If the dough seems is sticky, add in a few more tablespoons of flour, to dry and seems crumbly, add a few tablespoons warm water.

Once you have the dough, make sure the water on the stove is still there and has not evaporated and is at a gentle boil. Cut dough in thirds then roll out a portion into a rope about an inch thick. Cut the rope into inch long pieces. Repeat with the rest of dough.

When all the gnocchi are made, grab a rimed baking sheet, coat with oil, and place close by the boil water.

Now to cook them. Drop a handful of gnocchi into water carefully. They will sink. Watch and after about a minute or two, they will start to float. Once floating, take a slotted spoon and take them out of water. Place them on the greased baking sheet. Repeat until all the gnocchi are cooked. (when done cooking, save a cup of the cooking water)

After the gnocchi is cooked, you can do whatever you want with it, like eat it right away with salt and pepper or whatever, but to make the quick tomatoes onion situation, dice up the onion and mince the garlic. Place into a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil and a pinch of salt and place on stove and start to cook. Dice up the tomatoes and once the onion is tender, add in the dice tomatoes and about a cup of the gnocchi cooking water. Turn the heat up until the water is bubbling then reduce to low and cook until the tomatoes are mushy and tender. Once cooked, add in the gnocchi, toss them around, and cook until the gnocchi are fully warmed through.

And then eat it. Maybe a little more salt if needed, definitely lots of pepper, and whatever else you want.

 I spent a lot of time indoors this week, due to the fact that my eyelids would freeze shut when going out for more than a few minute..(for real, walking to the gym the other day, I had my head tightly wrapped and the condensation from my breath went up, into my eyes, and froze.)  I mean, I love winter, I love the cold, but I am not a huge fan of -30 with wind chill… I get cold bones.  After that morning, the mister insisted on diving me…Love. So we (me, Nick, and especially Washer) might have felt a little trapped this week, and when trapped inside, we get a little antsy, but we have been trying to make the most of it. Cooking, baking, cleaning, drawing, reading, knitting, drinking lots of coffee and tea, and overall trying to stay warm (and sane) Yup. trying to ward of the cabin fever, especially this year, living in a little tiny bit of a room with one window..has been a little difficult. And I know it’s going to be a bitch when it hits. But it’s all cool, We have plans in the making, places to look forward to, things to see. It always helps to have an adventure awaiting to keep the fever at bay.

Anyway, not a bad week, maybe a little stuffy, but nothing to complain to much about. Here are a few of highlights that made(make) me happy.

The kitchen, living room, dinning room, office…all over great room., covered in piles of clothes. Sometimes listening to music and folding laundry can be so, I don’t know, peaceful. I just felt happy at this moment. (might be the fact that I know have some clean clothes and dish cloths)

The trash dog and I went for a lovely little hike by ourselves…It was so nice to get out of the house. We both really really really needed it that day. And look how handsome he looks.. so red against the world. 

 Standing in line at the grocery store, saw this magazine and started to laugh. I love Oprah…but now…I really love Oprah. Best magazine cover ever!

Another picture of the pup. Letting his rino toy have the bed. A little pathetic…A lot cute

  I am doing little recipe testing and this situation in this pot is so freaking good! Just trying to work out a  few technical kinks. 

I love to look up… don’t forget to look up.

I made a large quantity of banana dream (what I call banana ice cream). This stuff is like crack.. Once I start eating it, I can’t stop. I might overdose on bananas but I am ok with that. 

I went to a granite and marble showroom this week. And like whoa, so freaking cool. Walking among huge pieces  of gorgeous slabs of stone is kind of magical… and a little cold.

A basket of roots….More like a basket of rainbows. 

I currently don’t have a pretty vase of zinnias on my table, (these beauts are from this past summer) but I really wish I did. Fresh flowers are one of my favorite  things. This picture has inspired me, I am on the hunt for some pretty fresh. 

That sums up the week…Stay warm!

-C