Daily Diner

Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2010-11-21T06:03:00.000-08:00

These are simple, easy and oh.so.good.

Skip the mush this Thanksgiving and make these impressive sweet potatoes. Top with crumbled goat cheese for an extra bite of goodness.

Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Serves 2-3

Ingredients

1 large sweet potato, cubed in 1 inch pieces
1 1/2 tsp melted butter
1 Tbsp honey
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions

preheat oven to 375 degrees

In a bowl, combine potatoes, honey, butter and salt. Gently toss together and place in single layer on a prepared baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 minutes. (tip: the longer you cook, the crispier they will be.)

Sprinkle cayenne pepper and serve.

These are great for breakfast too.

Root Veg-Chard Fantastically De-lish Dish

2010-09-22T08:12:00.000-07:00

I saw this recipe just the other day over at Find Your Balance and I knew I had to make it! There's nothing I love more than taking a lesser used root veg and making it so DE-LISH that everyone will love it! Right?

I played with the original recipe to fit the dietary needs of my family.

I just finished the leftovers for breakfast. It's so good that I cant wait to make it again.

Swiss Chard and Root Veggie Gratin

2 lbs. turnips, rutabagas, or potato or any combination of the three
1 onion, chopped
3 lbs. Swiss chard (or other dark, leafy green)
2 cups + 3T veggie broth
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tbl. whole wheat flour
3 Tbl. minced fresh thyme
1 1/4 cups (about 5 oz) coarsely grated aged cheddar
S+P
Preheat oven to 400F. Prepare 9×13 baking dish.

(Peel the rutabaga if desired) Use a mandolin (or a very sharp knife and keen slicing ability) to create 1/8″ thick slices. Chop swiss chard, including stems (except for about 1″at the end).

Cook onion over medium heat in 3T veggie broth in a pot big enough to hold all the greens. Add swiss chard, and salt and pepper to taste and cook until tender but not super mushy – about 5 minutes. Transfer greens to a colander. Drain well and press with your fingers to get out as much liquid as possible.

For sauce: Combine broth and garlic in small pot. Bring to simmer, then lower heat. Slowly whisk in the flour and stir steadily. Cook and whisk for one minute. Season with salt and pepper.

Assemble: Spread half of turnips/rutabaga sliced in the dish. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, a quarter of the thyme and 1/4 cup of cheese. Add half of the greens evenly over the cheese, then sprinkle salt, pepper, a quarter of the thyme and 1/4 cup of the cheese over it. Pour half of the sauce over the first two layers. Repeat with another layer of veggies, seasoning, 1/4 cheese, greens, 1/4 cup cheese and more seasoning. Pour remaining sauce over the top of the gratin and press the vegetables down with your fingers. Sprinkle with the last 1/4 cup of cheese. Bake for about 1 hour until golden on top with all of the liquid absorbed. Let stand 10 minutes. Slice and serve.

Quick Dip- Cannellini Beans and Cashews

2010-09-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

Are you looking for a quick, tasty and healthy appetizer? This fits all three.

I created this recipe out of shear laziness and boy is it good. We're heading to a casual dinner party this evening and I had no desire to go to the market, so I needed to create an appetizer out of ingredients on hand.

This is sort of like humus, minus chickpeas and tahini. :)

Cannellini Beans and Cashew Dip

1 15oz cannellini beans*, drained and rinsed
1 garlic clove
2 t lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup whole cashews
1 t Greek seasoning spice

Place all ingredients in the blender and puree until desire consistency. Serve with chopped veggies and/or crackers.

*Cannellini beans are mild white beans related to the kidney bean. I typically have a can on hand as they are extremely versatile.

Creamy Pasta...Hold the Dairy!

2010-09-17T09:36:00.000-07:00

WHAT? No Dairy? You would never know that there's no dairy in the recipe. The cashews give this recipe a rich creamy texture and flavor.

I love dishes like this for my family because we can all have variations of the same meal without any extra work. While the Hubster and I prefer this dish as photoed above, the kids wanted theirs "deconstructed"--a side of pasta, a side of peas, a side of squash, etc.

Pasta with Cashew Bechamel, Roasted Butternut Squash and Peas

Serves 4

Ingredients
1/2 medium butternut squash
2- 3 cups peas
2 slices of prosciutto, chopped
pasta of choice
Cashew Bechamel Sauce (see below)

Directions
1. Cut, cube and roast the squash. See how to do that by clicking here.
2. Heat the peas in a sauce pan
3. Cook the pasta per directions on box/bag
4. Make the bechamel.
5. put it all together and top with a little prosciutto.

Cashew Bechamel Sauce

3/4 Cup Cashews, whole
2 T Whole Wheat Flour
1 Cup water or veggie stock
1/4 t salt
pinch of cayenne
pinch of nutmeg

Place cashews, flour, water/stock, salt and cayenne in a blender and blend until rich and creamy.

Pour the mixture into a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring occasionally.

Banana-Oat-Goat Bread

2010-08-22T15:13:00.000-07:00

Yes, that's right! There's a little goat in this recipe.

Kid #2 suffers from a sensitive gut--nothing serious. Through practicing an elimination diet, and taking copious notes on what he ate, time, and how he felt 20, 40, 90, 120 minutes later (additionally we would check him 4-6 hours after eating), we narrowed his "trigger" foods. Immediately, we focused on dairy and gluten, two common irritants.

While gluten is fine for our little guy, dairy in large amounts causes pain and bloating (and all of the other nasty things that go along with a sensitivity to lactose--I will spare you the details!).

Although we don't typically drink milk in this home, we do eat cheese and yogurt; additionally, we occasionally bake with milk so finding a substitute for cow dairy was essential.

Thankfully there's goat dairy. Goat dairy does have lactose, however, it's easier to digest which often allows otherwise sensitive people to be able to freely consume goat milk products. Goat's milk, unlike the cheese, is sweet similar to cow milk making it an easy substitute in baking.

After determining that our little guy is sensitive to cow dairy, we immediately switched him over to goat dairy and he has been doing great!

Additionally, he has become a little "foodie" in the making; currently, his pizza of choice is goat cheese and mushroom...very sophisticated!

Now the recipe...

Hearty Banana Oat-Goat Bread

Ingredients

1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 T whole flax seed
1/2 cup sucanat or brown sugar
1 T baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
2 t cinnamon
4 eggs
1 cup smashed bananas
1/2 cup goats milk (although cow dairy, or unsweetened rice milk can be used too)
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 t vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly coat a 9x5 loaf pan with oil or butter and dust with flour.

In a large bowl mix together all dry ingredients.

In another bowl beat the eggs until bubbly--about 2 minutes. Then pour in bananas, vanilla, milk and applesauce and stir.

Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until completely blended. Pour into prepared loaf pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Kale-Carrot-Chicken Wraps

2010-08-19T14:48:00.000-07:00

These sweet and spicy wraps are great for lunch or a light dinner. I know kale is not for everyone, my kids would rather eat mud. Really. Nevertheless, it's important to role model healthy eating, and so we incorporate leafy greens on a daily basis.

I have been a bit obsessed with making different versions of this kale salad lately. This recipe was built around a jar of pepper jelly.

It all began with an encounter with a jam maker at the local Farmers Market. I had noticed this particularly unfriendly lady before, and like most of the other customers, I passed her by. For some reason, a couple of weeks ago, I was inclined to stop and strike up a conversation. EXCEPT she ignored me. I asked her questions in my usual friendly way and got no response. No love for me. It was so weird. She looked right passed me and didn't make a sound...not a peep...or a nod...just a blank stare.

I know what you're thinking, maybe she was blind and/or deaf? BUT NOOO she talked to familiar customer just fine. SO I made it my mission to befriend the grumpy jam maker. Step 1: I bought her jam.

I picked up some pepper jelly. (Don't ask me about step 2...I don't know)

I love having a jar of sweet and spicy pepper jelly on hand. It's great to add to goat cheese for an appetizer or as a flavor to build a meal around. Which is how I came to thinking up a recipe using kale and pepper jelly.

There are two tips for eating kale, #1 De-rib. Always remove the tough inner rib, leaving just the leaves; and #2 Chop of the leaves into little bite sized pieces.

To make these wraps just add about 1/4 of a chicken breast to helping of the Kale-Carrot Salad and wrap in your favorite tortilla or flat bread.

Kale Carrot Salad
1/2 bunch kale, de-ribbed, and chopped into small pieces
2 carrots, shredded or sliced
1/4 C raisins (optional)
2 limes, juiced
1-3 t of pepper jelly*
1 T water
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
salt to taste

Place the kale, carrots and raisins into a large salad bowl. In a small bowl mix the limes, pepper jelly, water, garlic and salt together. Add to the kale and toss.

*You can substitute pepper jelly for a combination of honey and red pepper flakes. Adjust the heat to your personal preference.

(Crockpot) Black Bean Soup with Wakame

2010-08-09T10:53:00.000-07:00

Black bean soup is a great way to get your daily servings of legumes. I decided to make some soup this week even though it's hot in the Mid-Atlantic region. We have an air conditioner, right?!

As I was looking through the standard black bean recipes, I remembered that I had some dried Wakame in the cupboard and thought it would be a good addition to this flavorful soup.

Wakame is a sea plant (doesn't sea plant sound better than seaweed?!) often added to soups or salads and used mostly in Asian cooking. It is commonly found in its dry form at either Whole Foods Market or an Asian grocers.

Sea plants are extremely beneficial in the diet. Nutrient rich, sea plants contain up to 10x the amount of calcium as whole milk. Naturally high in other minerals such as iodine, magnesium, and sodium, sea plants often retain their salty flavor from the ocean. If you have ever had Miso soup then you are already familiar with Wakame.

Because this soup has so many strong flavors, the Wakame is barely detectable.

Black Bean Soup w/ Wakame

4 slices of bacon, chopped

1 large onion, diced

1 8oz package of mushrooms, sliced

5 garlic cloves, minced

1/4 C chili powder

2 T ground cumin

2 T dried oregano

2 t mustard seeds

10 cups chicken broth

1-1/2 lbs dried black beans rinsed and picked over

1 15 oz can diced tomatoes

1 15 oz can plain tomato sauce

1/4 C dried Wakame

1 15 oz can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 T olive oil

Directions

1. Put beans into a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cooking for an additional 15 minutes. Drain and put into crockpot.

2. In a skillet, add olive oil, onions, bacon, mushrooms and mustard seeds. Saute for 5-7 minutes on medium heat. Add mixture to crockpot.

3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the crockpot, stir and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

Steps 1 and 2 can be done the night before.

Getting Organized and Weekly Menu, albeit a little late

2010-07-22T06:09:00.000-07:00

If you haven't been able to tell, I am still "off" on my timing and blogging. I assure you that it's eating as usual here, but nonetheless, the blogging has taken a backseat to life.

With that said, we've had a great meal plan this week, which I will share with you in a sec; but first take a look at this, Sandwich in a Can:

Never mind the nasty-factor, this is a sad commentary on the state of food and our obsession with fast and easy meals. Making nutritious, home cooked meals doesn't have to be time consuming and out of reach for busy people, it just takes planning. Meal planning, specifically, and prepping for the week in advance alleviates the stress of "what's for dinner?"

Preferably, for the busy person, all shopping for the week takes place in one outing. This requires organization and a detailed grocery list.

Here are some ways to get organized, get that meal plan together, and get the shopping done so the food is in your home ready to eat!

Getting Organized:

Take inventory of ingredients already in stock in your pantry and refrigerator.
Look at your calendar. Are there some days that are busier than others? On those days will you need "fast food?" If so, consider the crock pot or making a one dish meal, such as a lasagna, in advance so that reheating is all that's necessary.
Make a meal plan for the week. Start with 4-6 dinners. Consider doubling the recipes that can easily be made into a lunch or frozen for future consumption.
Create a shopping list from your meal plan. Don't forget to check your list twice for all ingredients and make sure you write them all down.
Schedule your shopping day, don't forget your list, and stick to it! Veering away from your list will wreak havoc on your budget.

In my experience, two areas in particular dictate a persons eating habits: time and money. Creating a meal planing-shopping system will help with both and lend itself to healthy eating habits.

Weekly Meal Plan

Sunday- Pulled BBQ Chicken Sando's and Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Monday- Shrimp Taste-Off (meaning two differently seasoned shrimp to get the kids excited about something they don't normally care for. It was a big hit. We had garlic and buttered shrimp, and Old Bay spiced shrimp.) Green salad, and a small side dish of pasta tossed with lemon, Parmesan cheese, Bouquet Garni spice, salt and pepper. Dee-lish and like most of my meals, only took 15 minutes to put together.

Tuesday- Taco Night

Wednesday- Cobb Salad

Thursday- Chicken and Veggies served over Brown Rice

We're Alive and Quinoa & Roasted Corn Salad

2010-07-15T18:31:00.000-07:00

(kid #1 on a tractor somewhere in middle America)

Yes! We are alive and well!

4 weeks ago today, my family rolled into Northern Virginia after 4 long days driving across the country. We left our home, family and friends in California for an adventure, a new chapter, and a shared professional goal to work in Washington DC. It's not disappointing. We are having a blast.

We absolutely love our itty-bitty apartment in urban Arlington, VA. It's quite a different environment from our very suburban home along the American River in California, but great nonetheless. Our apartment is so small that it only takes 10 minutes to clean. Love it! and our little "one-butt" kitchen.

On another note, I have to share with you the most disturbing part of the trip. Brace yourselves. While in some Podunk town in middle America we stopped for breakfast at a regional diner and there it was...the most appalling and disgusting thing I have ever seen on a menu. Are you sitting down? Really sit. The featured combo breakfast on the children's menu was pancakes with rainbow sprinkles, blue soda, and a cookie. No joke. I can almost tolerate or at least expect the pancakes, but who in the world had the idea to pair pancakes with a cookie? AND DON'T GET ME STARTED ON THE BLUE SODA. Ridiculous.

Parents, please don't feed your kids blue soda, sprinkled pancakes and a cookie for breakfast. or ever.

Okay tantrum done.

On to good food...

This salad was so good. and easy. Perfect for a summer side dish, meal, and/or potluck item. It looks a little blah, but it packs a punch of flavor.

Quinoa and Roasted Corn Salad

1 1/2 Cup Cooked Quinoa

1 1/2 Cup Cooked or canned beans, rinsed and drained

Corn from 3-4 ears of corn, cut off the cobb

3/4 cup peppers (I used a combo of italian sweet and anaheim--tailor to your desired spicy)

3/4 cup chopped cilantro

Dressing

1 T red wine or balsamic vinegar

5 T lime juice

1/4 t cumin

1/3 c olive oil

Directions: Set oven for 425. Place corn (already removed from the cob) and chopped peppers in baking dish (NOTE: you can oil your dish, but do not add oil to your veggies while roasting). Roast for 10 minutes, then cool. Toss the salad ingredients together, add the corn/peppers once they've cooled. In a separate bowl, mix the dressing ingredients and toss with the salad.

Note: you might want to make extra dressing to add to the salad on the second day.

Enjoy!

Spelt and Broccoli Salad w/ Avocado-Orange Dressing and Weekly Dinners

2010-04-25T18:52:00.000-07:00

I really love spelt. Really. Love. Spelt.

I only wish it had a better name. Doesn't "spelt" sound like some sort or bird seed or an ingredient in a horse pellet?

I'm not sure what I would call it, but I would include something about it's nutty flavor. Or it's golden color. How about "Honey Nut Grain," doesn't that sound better than spelt?

This salad is perfect for spring. Light and tasty.

Spelt and Broccoli Salad

4 cups cooked spelt
1-2 heads of broccoli crowns, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 bunch of green onions, trimmed and chopped
1 cup of grape tomatoes (optional)

Dressing
1/2 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/2 cup Orange Juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2-3 T balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper to taste

put dressing ingredients in blender and mix until creamy. Toss together.

Weekly Dinners
Sunday-Green Salad with Chicken
Monday- Pizza w/ Chard
Tuesday- Bean Soup
Wednesday- Macaroni and Cheese and Green Salad
Thursday- Chicken Enchiladas

Asparagus Pie

2010-03-19T10:45:00.000-07:00

Oh my, this is good. Breakfast, lunch, dinner or just a snack, this tasty seasonal recipe is yum, yum, yum!

Ingredients
1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and chopped into 1/2 inch pieces, approx 1-1/2 cups.
1 cup chopped greens (spinach, chard kale), finely chopped
2 T butter
6 oz Feta
4 eggs
1/2 cup whole milk
1 pie crust (I used a pre-made spelt crust from Whole Foods)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Heat butter in a skillet, add asparagus and greens and cook for 5-7 minutes, stirring regularly. Salt and pepper to taste.

While your veggies are cooking, evenly place feta into the bottom of the pie crust. Poor veggies on top of the feta.

In a separate bowl mix eggs and milk. Carefully poor egg mixture over the top. Bake for 35-40 minutes on 375 degrees.

Breakfast O' Champions

2010-03-15T06:37:00.000-07:00

Pears and Kefir Cheese with an Egg, Whole Grains, and Kale.

Why do we eat boxed cereal for breakfast? Because it's fast? Nonsense.

The meal above took less than five minutes to make.

1. Get out a medium skillet and the leftover "Not My Grandmothers Brown Rice".

2. Put a teaspoon of butter in the skillet and warm, add rice and stir for about 30 seconds.

3. Push rice over to one side of the skillet. Crack egg in the other half.

4. While egg is cooking, slice a pear and scoop out about 1/4 cup of Kefir Cheese.

5. Plate.

Viola. Filling, tasty, and health promoting meal first thing in the morning.

Not-My-Grandma's-Brown-Rice

2010-03-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

Where in the world have I been?

I have been somewhere between the West and East Coasts. You see, we're moving. Again. But not like we did last year.

Last year's move two doors down was the first step towards our BIGGER move. In a little over two months the family will be heading from the Golden State of California to Washington DC.

We have never lived on the east coast so this will be a big change. I have been super preoccupied with finding housing and schools, while wrapping up clients and classes, all the time being a wife and mom. It's a busy time for sure.

My posts, for now, will be less frequent than in the past. I hope you all hang with me though, because my food journey in Washington DC is bound to be interesting.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this version of Not-My- Grandma's-Brown Rice.

My Grandmother Dorothy made "brown rice." Although, technically it was white rice cooked in broth which made it brown. She would saute the onions in butter, add the rice, poor in the broth and let it cook for 20 minutes. I used to request this dish from my mother at least once a week.

My version, just as tasty, is much hardier and better for you. Serve as a side dish, or a light meal on it's own. This combination is perfect to add to an egg for a well balanced breakfast.

Ingredients

1 T Butter

1 medium onion, diced

2-3 cloves of garlic, minced

2-3 cups of chopped greens (try collards, broccoli greens, kale or chard)

1 Cup Whole Grain (try Brown Rice, Spelt, or Barley)

3 Cups Broth

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Heat skillet, add butter, onions, and garlic. Saute until soft. add grain and greens and stir mixing well. Add broth, reduce heat and cover. Cook for 40-45 minutes. Check broth occasionally adding a little if needed.

NOTE: In the photo above, I used radish seeds along with brown rice as my grain, and kale as my green.

Weekly Menu

2010-02-01T13:24:00.000-08:00

Yes I'm alive! It's been two weeks since my last post but that doesn't mean we haven't been eating....just nothing exciting!

I spent the first week eating our way through the pantry, freezer and refrigerator.

I hate it when things start to pile up. We had weird combinations like pancakes-chicken-salad. I made several soups and salads with all sorts of things...a little steak here, and little chicken there...one sausage, a handful of dried beans...not to worry it got put into something. We ate through it all in one week.

Last week I was just plain lazy. I made two large salads, 1 whole bird, 1 slab of beef, and we ate wraps....all week. The kids mostly had grilled cheese sandwiches.

I lost 4 pounds during the two weeks so maybe it wasn't all bad, just not anything to write about. The wraps were really good though.

Back to usual now.

Weekly Menu

Monday- Chicken Enchiladas
Tuesday- Sweet Potato and Kale Soup (tastes better than it sounds)
Wednesday- Taco Salad
Thursday- Gnocchi with spinach and cream

Graze like a Rabbit and Weekly Dinners

2010-01-12T14:13:00.001-08:00

If we can learn anything from a rabbit, it's that you can never eat enough ruffage. It's true. So when I'm asked, "what's a good late night snack?" I respond: salad.

I know it's not always fast to whip up a salad, after all there's a lot of chopping involved, and we want our snacks quick and easy. So what I like to do is always keep a ready made salad on hand. I keep it stored directly in the salad spinner and placed in the refrigerator.

The spinner, by design, keeps the moisture away from the produce allowing it to stay fresh for up to 9 days. (Hopefully you will have eaten it all by then!)

Enjoy!

Weekly Dinners

Sunday- Tri Tip, Roasted Root Veggies, and above salad

Monday- Burritos w/ Sauteed veggies and topped with the above salad

Tuesday- Grilled Chicken Wraps (also using the above salad as a topper)

Wednesday- Chili and maybe a side salad

Thursday- Homemade Mac and Cheese with a side salad

Do you get the picture? When you have a salad ready to go, you have an instant meal, side dish or snack.

Remember: Salad dressings are a downfall for many a salad. Make sure to make your own or simply use oil and vinegar. Penzey's Spice House also offers many great dry dressing bases that are free of mystery ingredients.

Happy New Year! Poblano Pepper Beef Recipe and Weekly Dinners

2010-01-04T10:46:00.000-08:00

Poblano Beef over Cheesy Polenta (recipe Below)

The holidays are done and now is the time for resolutions.

I like to make resolutions that are fun and easy to keep. Past resolutions have been to be more fun, read more fiction, and make Beef Wellington.

This year I resolve to continue to run. Along with some friends, I will be running the Shriners 8k in June. Some cooking goals for 2010 are to actually make the Beef Wellington, a souffle, and buy a pasta machine.

Weekly Dinners

Sunday- Poblano Beef over Polenta

Monday- Handmade Gnocci w/ roasted delicata squash, bacon, peas, and browned butter

Tuesday- Out to dinner for my 35th birthday

Wednesday- Sloppy Joes

Thursday- Sausage Soup (a new favorite, recipe will be posted for sure)

Friday- Halibut w/ a wild Mushroom Cream sauce, brown rice and roasted Brussels Sprouts

Poblano Beef over Cheesy Polenta

Ingredients
2 Poblano peppers, seeded and sliced
1 large onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, smashed or minced
1 T chili powder
Salt to taste
1 1/2 lb top sirloin, cut into 1 inch cubes
4 large tomatoes, chopped (or 28oz can of diced tomatoes)

Polenta
4 cups broth or water
1 cup dry polenta
1 cup grated jack cheese

Start the polenta first. While polenta is cooking make the beef.

Polenta: Boil water, add polenta and stir constantly for 1 minutes. Reduce heat to low and cook for 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Beef: In a 12" pan, Saute onions and peppers until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add garlic, chili pepper, salt, and beef. Continue to cook until beef is almost done about 5 to 7 minutes. Add tomatoes and simmer another 5 minutes. Serve over polenta.

Pears and Kefir Cheese

2009-12-23T07:58:00.000-08:00

If you are looking for something really quick and tasty to add to your table, this is it.

Sliced pears tossed in fresh lemon juice to prevent browning with a side of Kefir Cheese.

What's Kefir cheese?

Sometimes called yogurt cheese, its thick and smooth and has a tangy flavor, similar to yogurt with a little added salt. In my opinion it's like a combination of yogurt (flavor) and cream cheese (texture).

It was so quick to put together, I will definitely be serving this as a part of our Christmas day breakfast.

Brought by my most awesome friend Jami, this addition to our brunch table was a huge hit. I polished off the last three pear slices after everyone left.

Mediterranean Quiche

2009-12-22T13:56:00.000-08:00

This recipe came from my good friend Kristi. It was DEE-LISH. Serve along side the creamy-cheesy scalloped potatoes for that perfect brunch combination.

Mediterranean quiche:

Ingredients

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup sliced yellow onions
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1/4 pound mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
4 ounces oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups half-and-half
1/2 cup grated Gruyere
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
Savory pie crust, recipe follows
3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large skillet melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and zucchini and cook, stirring, for 6 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring, until the liquid is rendered and the vegetables are wilted, about 10 minutes.

Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the tomatoes, basil, and thyme and season lightly with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and let cool.

In a bowl, beat the eggs and half-and-half together. Add the salt, pepper, grated Gruyere, and crushed red pepper.

Spoon the vegetable mixture into the prepared piecrust, pour in the egg mixture, and crumble the goat cheese on top. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until set. Remove from the oven and let cool for 30 minutes before serving.

Persimmon-Apple Cookies

2009-12-21T07:39:00.000-08:00

Looking for a way to use up those persimmons? These cookies are perfect for Santa (or yourself!)

I'm not a huge fan of persimmons, but I really like these cookies. Adapted from a recipe that I found online, these cookies have the perfect amount of spice.

With the addition of apples, the flavor is reminiscent of apple pie.

Ingredients

2 ripe persimmons, pureed
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup chopped apples

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C).

Dissolve baking soda in persimmon pulp and set aside.
Sift flour, spices and salt together, set aside.

Cream together butter or margarine and sugar until fluffy, beat in egg and persimmon. Stir in dry ingredients. Stir in apples.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes.

Creamy-Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes

2009-12-20T07:09:00.000-08:00

Oh these are so good. Perfect for brunch or a side dish at dinner. These can prepared a day or two before and cooked the day of your party, making these perfect for a holiday party side dish.

Ingredients

6 Medium Yukon Gold or Red Potatoes

2 Cups Cheddar Cheese

3 (approx) cups Bechamel Sauce (recipe below)

Directions

1. Boil potatoes until almost fully cooked. Should be soft enough to easily poke a fork into but not enough to where they fall apart. Drain and refrigerate until completely cool. Peeling is optional. I never peel my potatoes.

2. Once cooled, thinly slice potatoes.

3. Layer potatoes and cheese in a 9 inch square or round baking dish.

4. Pour bechamel sauce over the top

5. Bake on 350 for 1 to 1.5 hours (depending on how cooked your potatoes were before...the longer you boil the less you have to bake).

Bechamel Sauce

Ingredients

4 T Butter

4 T Flour

3 Cups of Milk

Salt and pepper to taste

Dash of Nutmeg

Directions

Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour stirring constantly until it makes a smooth paste. Add milk and continue to stir, slowly bringing to a boil. Once there, reduce temp and bring to a low simmer. Cook for 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauce will become thick and creamy. Add salt, pepper and nutmeg to taste.

This post is part of the Make it From Scratch blog carnival.

Weekly Dinners

2009-12-14T17:12:00.001-08:00

I can't do it anymore. No more. I'm done. I quit and I'm going back.....back to shopping on Fridays.

I tried the Tuesday Farmers Market and Whole Foods combo trip for 4 weeks. It makes sense to hit both places in one outing instead of breaking it up into two (Friday Whole Foods and Saturday Farmers Market). But alas, old habits are hard to quit.

I realized that I really like having a full fridge and pantry to play around with on the weekend. I also learned that while I like my weeknights meal planned, I like my weekends to be spontaneous. I also really miss my Saturday farmers. Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of great farmers at the Tuesday Market in Roseville, but I don't know them and they don't know me and there's something sad about that.

So, I am going back.

Meal planning on Thursday night or Friday morning.

Whole Foods on Friday morning.

Farmers Market on Saturday.

(On busy weeks or weeks where my meat supply is full, I will skip Whole Foods and hit Trader Joe's)

A set meal plan for the weeknights and the freedom to play around in the kitchen on the weekends.

This weeks menu:

Sunday- Sun dried Tomato and Roasted Garlic Pizza with Cream of Broccoli Soup.
Monday- Crab Cakes and Green Salad
Tuesday- Pot Roast, Green Beans and Potatoes
Wednesday- Enchiladas
Thursday- Chicken Pot Pie

John's Grass Fed Beef

2009-12-14T13:47:00.000-08:00

Rarely do I endorse a product, but this is more than a just a mere product....this is a way of life.

Eating locally raised, pastured fed beef is reminiscent of a simpler time. A time where our food system was almost entirely comprised of local food sources. A time where "lifestyle diseases" were rare or unheard of.

As a holistic nutritionist, I encourage everyone to eat traditionally, and tailor your foods to your unique nutritional requirements (ie. many people are sensitive to gluten, dairy, soy. While these foods might be good for some, they aren't good for everyone...know your body and it's individual needs).

Also, consuming nutrient dense traditional and basic foods such as meat, poultry, dairy, whole grains, fruits, veggies, seafood, nuts, seeds and legumes, are better for you, period.

Grass fed beef is seasonal, and it's time to start thinking about making your reservation.

If you live in the Sacramento, CA area, and have a freezer big enough, please consider John's Grass Fed Beef.

From Mary @ John's Great Grass Fed Beef:

We are now taking reservations for our 2010 crop of delicious grass fed beef! We are going to be able to hold the price this year to the same as last year—or $3.92 per pound hanging weight. This includes all processing and the Cut & Wrap fee (many producers of locker beef quote their prices without including Cut & Wrap and make the buyer pay it themselves). The final price cut and wrapped in the freezer will probably work out to something in the ball park of $6.25 per pound, depending on the individual animal and how you want it cut. This of course averages the expensive steaks that you'd pay over $10 per pound for in the stores as well as the cheaper meat like hamburger.

To reserve beef you need to send a deposit of $100, and let us know if you want a whole, half or quarter beef. Deposits can be made by check or we can send you a PayPal invoice so you can use your credit card if you prefer.

As the time for processing the beef (May or June) gets close, everyone on our reservation list will have the chance to give their custom Cut and Wrap directions to the processor. The decisions to be made for the directions include things like whether you want some stew meat or all that type of meat ground for hamburger? How much fat content in the hamburger? Sirloin Steaks or Sirloin Roast? How thick to cut the steaks? How many steaks per package? The processor will gladly walk you through the decisions over the phone, but if it all seems like too much to decide you can simply ask for their Standard Cut and Wrap. The Standard seems to please most folks.

A half of a 1,000 lb steer will usually yield roughly 275 lb hanging beef, which in turn yields approximately 190 lb cut and wrapped beef in the freezer. A quarter will yield approximately 95 lb cut and wrapped. A whole beef will cost roughly $2,000, a half will cost roughly $1,000 and a quarter roughly $500. Of course 1,000 lb is an estimated average weight. The loss to hanging weight and then to cut and wrapped weight varies with each animal and how you have it cut.

Our beef is fed no antibiotics, hormones or other chemicals. Pretty much all the cattle eat is grass and clover pasture. They get a little hay in the winter and as bribes when we move them from pasture to pasture so that we don’t have to chase them.

Advantages of our grass fed beef:

Our beef is not given any hormones or other growth stimulants

Because our beef is fed only grass and perhaps a small amount of hay, we know for a fact that they do not eat any animal products, candy or other unsavory things

Research has shown that the ratio of Omega 6 fats to Omega 3 fats in grass fed beef is in the healthy range, while in grain fed beef it is not

Grass fed beef is a great source of CLA (conjugated linoleic acid), a fat that reduces the risk of cancer, obesity, diabetes, and a number of immune disorders

Grass fed beef has far more Vitamin E and Beta-Carotene than grain fed

Grass fed beef is better for the human eating it, better for the animal,better for the environment and encourages family farming. It is awin-win-win situation.

Most beef sold in stores, even health food stores, is not natural “real beef”. Even though it may be organic, the cattle are fed grains, and grains are not what cattle are designed to eat—grass is!

Beef, in its natural grass-fed state, is quite different from grain fed beef and is actually a healthy food

Our cattle live contentedly in natural grassy pastures rather than in crowded and unsanitary feed yards

Our beef is USDA Inspected

Our beef is healthier for you to eat. Even feeding grain for a short "finishing" period of 30 to 60 days drastically reduces the benefits of raising them on grass, so we do not do it

Our beef is DELICIOUS, TENDER and JUICY!

Easy Party Pinwheels

2009-12-10T13:49:00.000-08:00

'Tis the season for parties. Seems like attending parties is all we're doing this week.

LOVE parties. LOVE appetizers and finger foods.

This simple and festive bite-size appetizer was easy and tasty.

Ingredients:

4-8oz jar pepper jelly

4-8 oz of goat cheese

2 12x12 (roughly 17 oz) sheets of puffed pastry

(This homemade pepper jelly came to me courtesy of my good friend Gina. It was made by her friend Jenny's mom!--thank you Gina and Jenny's mom for this delicious pepper jelly.)

Directions: (preheat oven to 400 degrees)

1. Roll out the puff pastry

2. Spread on goat cheese and pepper jelly (to taste).

3. Roll up

4. Slice in 1/2 inch sections

5. Place cut side down on baking sheet bake for 20 minutes.

YUM!

Cleansing After the Feast-Weekly Dinners

2009-12-01T10:09:00.000-08:00

Boy was Thanksgiving good. My plate was full of turkey, mashed potatoes, (shredded) Brussels sprouts, sweet potatoes, and a cornmeal muffin. I won't mention all of the desserts.

My son's birthday falls a few days after Turkey Day, which means more overeating (at least it did for me!).

Now, I am ready to cleanse.

"Cleansing" Daily Diner style does NOT mean starving. Even in the most bloated of moments, I still love food and will continue to eat. What it means is to lighten up the meals by having more calories from unrefined, complex carbs (veggies, fruits, beans, whole grains) than fat and protein combined. These unrefined carbs are naturally cleansing.

The key word is more (not only). When I cleanse, I don't give up the animal fats, oils or protein rich foods, just limit them.

Since both myself and Hubby currently feel glutinous, I have created our weekly meal plan around these lighter, cleansing foods.

The good news is that these cooler months are the best time for local leafy greens, root veggies, winter squash, and cruciferous vegetables, so lightening the load will still be delicious.

Weekly Meal Plan:

This week will deviate from the usual way we meal plan.

Instead of having specific meals for each night, we will be eating "buffet style" from the refrigerator. In the fridge, there are three soups: lentil with root veggies, cabbage with onions and potatoes, and black bean-mushroom chili. To accompany these soups, there is really large salad made of butter leaf, red leaf, arugula, and cilantro as the base.

Each night, I will roast some red onions and veggies such as, Brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips and turnips with balsamic and a little salt. These are intended for the salad.

I know it's sometimes hard to eat a salad in the winter....seems to cold too eat cool-crisp lettuce. To "winterize" a salad, let your greens sit out and become room temperature. Then add the roasted veggies while they're still warm. You can even warm the dressing. A nice warm oil and vinegar combo goes great and is super easy.

There will be meat involved too. I don't believe in avoiding (real, whole, unprocessed) foods. We'll just be tailoring them a little more by keeping the higher protein/fat meals to breakfast (the most important meal of the day).

Our lunches and dinners will consist of the soups and salads.

Eat Well!

Thanksgiving Week Meal Plans

2009-11-24T16:20:00.000-08:00

I love Christmas, but Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. I love food, family, and friends and simply giving thanks (without gifts).

As usual, we are hosting Thanksgiving. Each year we have between 40 and 50 family members come and bring their favorite dish to share. Hubby will be making two turkeys, one on the smoker and one in the oven. Most all of the dishes are tradition turkey day grub: mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, sweet potatoes, green beans, Brussels sprouts, etc., and several desserts. I can't wait for the all day feast that begins at 1pm and will go into the late night hours.

This week (Monday-Wed) we're eating through everything in the pantry, freezer and refrigerator making plenty room for Thanksgiving day leftovers.

Weekly Meal Plan
Monday- Barley Beef Soup
Tuesday- Baked Chicken, Creamed Kale, Butter Beans and Hoecakes (That's Southern for "Lima beans and cornmeal cakes")
Wednesday- Winter Squash Medley Soup and leftovers.
Thursday is the big day and we'll be eating leftovers the rest of the week. YUM.

Winter Squash Drop Biscuits and Weekly Dinners

2009-11-17T13:30:00.000-08:00

These seasonal drop biscuits are so good that I ate...well...too many.

Winter Squash Drop Biscuits

Ingredients

2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1/4 t salt

2 T Sucanat, Rapadura or regular brown sugar

2 t Baking Powder

6 T Cold Butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 Cup smashed or pureed winter squash (recipe below)

3/4 Cup half & half or heavy cream

In a bowl, stir together flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Add squash and butter and mix with your hands until the butter is the size of small peas. Pour in half & half and lightly mix in with a fork. Using your hands, gently knead the dough a few times (do not over work). Drop the biscuits onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 17 minutes on 400 degrees. Makes 8 biscuits.

Smashed Roasted Winter Squash
Almost any sweet winter squash will do: delicata, pumpkin, kabocha, acorn, or butternut, all work great.

Simply cut the squash in half, scrape out the seeds, butter the flesh, place face down on a cookie sheet or baking dish and roast on 375 for 45-60 minutes or until flesh is really soft. Cool. Once cooled, pull the peal off. Hand smash with a fork.

Weekly Dinners

Tuesday- Steak Fajitas

Wednesday- Potato Leak Soup

Thursday- Orange Chicken Stir Fry over Brown Rice

Friday- Grilled Chicken with White Bean Puree and Spinach

Saturday- Pot Roast with Veg

Sunday- Roasted Winter Squash, Parsnips and Onions and

Rock Shrimp and White Bean Skillet with Bacon and Spinach

2009-11-16T05:36:00.000-08:00

The original recipe came from a Cuisine at Home back in October in 2006. I had forgotten about it until last week when flipping through, looking for inspiration, it came to me.

I followed the recipe as it was written, but then remembered that I don't care for the bread crumbs on top. They add an extra step and don't add enough flavor (in my opinion).

Here it is (and believe it or not, but this is the simplified version!)....

Combine, Puree and Set Aside:

1 15 oz. can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

1/4 C chicken broth

2 T Parmesan, grated

1/4 t paprika

1/4 t cayenne

In a large pot, Saute for 2 to 3 minutes:

2 strips of bacon, diced

1 C onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

3 cloves garlic, mined

1/4 t red pepper flakes

Then add and cook down:

6 C fresh spinach, chopped

Pureed bean mixture

Salt and Pepper to taste

Stir in and cook:

1 lb of rock shrimp

2 T butter

1/4 c sherry or sweet vermouth

(you can then add panko bread crumbs and then put in under the broiler, but again, not worth it in my opinion).

Serves 3 to 4.

Soft Homemade Pretzels

2009-11-12T18:58:00.000-08:00

These soft and salty pretzels were so fun and easy to make that we all wondered why we hadn't made them before.

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups warm (110 to 115 degrees F) water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons real salt
2 t instant or Rapid Rise yeast
4 1/2 Cups whole wheat flour
4 T butter, melted
Olive oil, for pan

10 cups water
1/2 cup baking soda
1 large egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Pretzel salt or any course salt (for topping)

Directions
Combine the water, sugar, yeast and salt in the bowl. Add the flour and butter and, using your hands knead the dough until well combined. Dough should be smooth and pull away from the side of the bowl. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with olive oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50 to 55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with the olive oil. Set aside.

Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8-quart saucepan or roasting pan.

In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 9 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press onto the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of a pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.

Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the beaten egg yolk and water mixture and sprinkle with the pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 10 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Here are the kids rolling out the dough.

Kid #1 was very pleased that he was able to shape it without help.

Boil, brush, then bake. easy peasy.

This post is a part of the Fight Back Fridays by Food Renegade and Make it From Scratch Carnival.

Weekly Dinners

2009-11-11T06:08:00.001-08:00

(Yummy Winter Squash: Butternut, Kabocha, Delicata, Acorn, Lumina, and Carnival)

3 weeks ago, I decided to switch our meal planning-shopping day from Friday and/or Saturday to Tuesday.

For 6 years, I have been enjoying the weekly Friday trips to Whole Foods Market and the Saturday morning stroll through the local Farmers Market.

But it's time for change.

Last year, a new Whole Foods Market opened about the same distance from my home in the opposite direction. Then, more recently, the Foothills Farmers Market Association introduced a year round farmers market in the new Whole Foods Markets parking lot. With one swoop, I can hit both places. Done.

I really like the idea of shopping on a Tuesday. After all, having my Saturday mornings free to spend with family or to teach a class, is nice. Plus, Saturdays are often occupied with sports. Tuesday afternoons are completely free--making Tuesdays, in theory, ideal.

But old habits are hard to break and meal planning on a Monday night is a little weird.

When changing a habit or getting used to something new, it's important to give it time. 6 months to a year is what "experts" have said. And so 3 weeks down and many weeks to go.

The good news is that I am really excited about this weeks menu.

Weekly Dinners

Tuesday- Penne with Italian Sausage, Portabella Mushrooms, Kale, and two sauces: Tomato and Bechemel.

Wednesday - Rock Shrimp Skillet with White Bean Puree, Spinach and Bacon

Thursday- Steak, Potatoes, and Green Beans

Friday- Potluck with friends with an Indian theme. We're bringing a vegetable salad with chickpea's and pomegranate seeds. The dressing is a cilantro-cumin-yogurt combo.

Saturday- Yukon and Sweet Potato Cakes with Butternut Squash Soup

Sunday- Chicken Hash with Delicata Squash and Kale

Monday- Hungarian (Turkey) Meatballs w/ Creamy Paprikash over Brown Rice

Shepards Pie

2009-11-05T19:16:00.000-08:00

Shepard’s Pie

1 lb sustainably raised ground beef
mashed potatoes (recipe below)
1 large yellow onion, diced
Olive Oil
1 portabella mushroom
1 cups shredded carrots
1 cup peas
1 15 oz can of plain tomato sauce
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T thyme
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mashed potatoes
4 Russet potatoes or 8 medium red potatoes
Milk (pour in enough to get desired consistency)
¼ Cup Cream Cheese
1 T horseradish sauce (optional)
3 t Butter
Salt
Pepper

In large sauté pan brown onions and ground beef with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Add mushrooms, carrots, garlic and thyme, cook for approx 5 minutes or until carrots soften. Add in peas and tomato sauce and cook for a few minutes. Add more salt and pepper if desired.

Pour into 9x9 pan.

Prepare mashed potatoes and spread on top of mixture.

Cover and cook for 20 minutes* @ 400. Remove cover and bake an additional 5-10 minutes or until top is slightly browned.

*If you plan on preparing your meal ahead of time and placing in the refrigerator until later add 20 minutes to cooking time. In other words, cook covered for 40 minutes and then uncovered for 5 – 10 minutes.

This recipe is part of Fight Back Friday and Make it From Scratch.

Weekly Dinners, Halloween Recap, and Apple Hill Harvest Run

2009-11-04T04:49:00.000-08:00

Where has the week gone?! It's just flying by.....it's Wednesday already!

How was your Halloween? Ours was good.

We got home from Tick or Treating around 8:45. I let the kids sort through their candy and then gorge themselves on as much as they could for about 10 minutes. They doubled over in pain shortly after that, which then prompted the question,

"Do you want to keep your candy or exchange for a visit by the Great Pumpkin?"

Both quickly replied with overwhelming enthusiasm for the Great Pumpkin.

I let them choose another 20 pieces, which they gobbled up the next day and were sick, again.
Needless to say, they were not sad when the candy was gone.

Is it mean to define a Halloween as "good" by the fact that it made my kids sick?!

The very next morning we were up at the crack of dawn, dressed and in the car heading up the hill to participate in the Apple Hill Harvest Run. The kids did a .5 mile fun run.

Here thy are with their medals.

My mom, "Mimi", and I ran along side the boys.

Here's Charlie, Kid #2, puffing along with his candy hangover. He wanted to run with his brother in the older division (You know, those older 6 to 10 year olds...he's 5). He was so cute. By the end he was basically in last place and the crowd was going wild with encouraging shout-outs. He kept looking around and behind him, confused. I leaned down (I was running next to him) and said "they are cheering for you"....he was so excited.

This is Kid #1 (in the middle). He was absolutely decided on NOT running in the race, hence the jeans and Vans. That was until he saw his baseball coach (right side of pic) and friend (on the left).

Running a half mile probably did not negate all of the candy consumed, but it does help to send an important message:

There is a time and place for everything, even candy. It's important to have a strong foundation of healthy habits which include eating well and being physically active. We don't need to strive for perfection...just balance.

Weekly Dinners

Sunday- Had a lovely dinner out with my Mother-In-Law (thank you!)

Monday- Halibut, Brown Rice and Spaghetti Squash

Tuesday- Fish Tacos with Spanish Rice (made entirely from leftovers, really good)

Wednesday- Spicy Thai Beef Salad

Thursday- Shepard's Pie

Friday- Orange Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry

Saturday- Chicken-Cheddar Chowder and Homemade Bread

*Note on the Weekly Meal Plan- I am trying out a new system by shopping on Tuesday's and hitting both Whole Foods and the NEW year round Farmers Market in the same trip. For years, I have done my shopping on Friday and/or Saturday, so we'll see if I can adjust.

Weekly Dinners, Kids and Running, and NEW Year Round Farmers Market

2009-10-27T05:46:00.000-07:00

Getting the Kids Excited about Running--Who woulda thought?

Several months ago our friends, Kim and Grant, organized a motley crew of neighborhood kids and introduced them to fun and competitive running. They coined the group, the Gold River Runners.

Gold River Runners

We reluctantly joined.

My kids don't like to run, or so I thought. (This is why we should never underestimate our kids or transfer our interests onto them!)

Turns out, Kid #2 loves to run.

And while kid #1 didn't like the practices, he loved running in a race.

Each week the kids practiced by running a mile on our local trails. Their training culminated this past weekend as the group ran the Scary Scampers 1 mile fun-run, associated with the 4 Bridges 1/2 Marathon.

Like their momma, the kids have caught the running bug. Apparently it only takes one race, regardless of age.

Kid # 1 as he heads to the finish line.

Kid #2 as he crosses the finish line.

___________________________________________________________

Weekly Dinners

Sunday- Mild Italian Sausages, Ancho and Bell peppers (maybe the last of the season), onions, and tomatoes, over brown rice

Monday-Salmon, Broccoli, and Roasted Potatoes

Tuesday- Loaded Chicken Burritos-Chicken, Rice, Beans, and Veg

Wednesday- Butternut Squash Soup and BLT's

Thursday- Mushroom Stroganoff over Egg noodles

Friday- Leafy Green Salad with Warm Vegetables and Blue Cheese

___________________________________________________________

For Locals Only: NEW Year Round Farmers Market

We are so blessed to live where we do, and to have access to several year-round farmers markets.

Now there is one more. I am very happy that the Foothill Farmers Market Association has decided to make the Tuesday morning farmers market year round.

TUESDAYS
Roseville: Fountains Shopping Center (in front of Whole Foods Market)
Galleria Blvd. & E. Roseville Pkwy.
Tuesdays, 8:30 am – 1 pm, year round

Now we can hit Whole Foods Market and the Farmers Market in the same outing w/o extra driving. very exciting.

Halloween Tips and Tricks

2009-10-26T12:54:00.000-07:00

Halloween '07

Candy season is among us.

My least favorite holiday is almost here, Halloween. I don't know why I dislike Halloween as much as I do...frankly, I am a bit of a Scrooge when it comes to this sweet day. I don't like costumes, or candy, or cheap and scary decorations, or creepy movies.

I do love the pumpkin patch, the only silver lining.

Of course, the kids love Halloween. They love everything about Halloween. The costumes, candy, the ghoulish decorations....the scarier the better....bring on the blood and guts for my boys.

But what's a health conscious parent to do with all that candy?

The Great Pumpkin.

The "Great Pumpkin" is mythical creature, like Santa Clause or the Tooth Fairy, except the kids know it's me.

On Halloween night, the kids go through their sugary loot and pick out their favorite 5-10-20 pieces (depending on their age). After choosing their treasures, they leave the rest on the front porch for the Great Pumpkin.

The mysterious Great Pumpkin descends upon the home in the wee hours of the night, swipes the candy and replaces it with a much wanted toy.

The kids get so excited about the new toy they hardly miss the candy.

Weekly Dinners

2009-10-20T13:01:00.000-07:00

Wow! The time is flying by. I barely have time to think and sitting down is not really an option, or at least it seems.

Last week, Hubby had double knee surgery. He is recovering nicely but still relatively immobile. Having an out of commission husband is difficult, not only do I not get his much appreciated help, but he is completely dependent on me for his basic needs....much like another child. Of course, I am glad to be able to serve and care for him as he graciously did for me after two c-sections.

I left the house this morning before he was awake and did not get home until after lunch, the poor guy was starving!

With Hubby down, the kids have stepped up. Here they are helping make applesauce.

Weekly Dinners

Sunday- Butternut Squash Soup and Spicy Italian Sausages

Monday- Steak Fajitas w/ Peppers, onions and arugula

Tuesday- Beef Stew w/ potatoes, tomatoes, carrots, onions and peas

Wednesday- Chicken Pot Pie

Thursday- Portabella Mushroom Burgers

Chocolate Pudding--updated 10/15/09

2009-10-15T19:10:00.000-07:00

Chocolate pudding is a little bit of creamy heaven in a bowl. This is a PERFECT dessert for non-bakers like myself. So easy and oh. so. good.

This is kid #2 after he snuck off outside with not 1, not 2, but 3 bowls of hot pudding. I caught him on the last one.

After making this, I'm not sure why anyone would opt for the boxed chemical instant pudding. Pudding is fun for kids...call it custard, serve it in a nice dish and it's appropriate for the finest of dinner parties.

Chocolate Pudding
Recipe adapted from Tyler Florence

2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup natural cocoa powder
4 teaspoons arrowroot starch

3 large egg yolks
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fine salt
3/4 cup whipping cream (optional)

Put 1 1/2 cups of the milk, the sugar, and the cocoa in a nonreactive saucepan. Bring to a simmer, over medium-high heat. Remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, whisk the remaining 1/2 cup of the milk, arrowroot, salt, egg yolks, and vanilla in a bowl. Gradually whisk the hot milk into the egg mixture. Return to the saucepan and cook over medium-high heat whisking constantly, until the pudding comes to a full boil. Reduce the heat to maintain a simmer, and continue whisking until thick, about 2 or 3 minutes more.
Pour the pudding into 6 small cups. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or ideally overnight until set.

Just before serving pour the cream into a chilled bowl. Whip the cream with a whisk or a hand held mixer, and continue beating until soft peaks form. Take care not to over-beat the cream or it will be grainy. Serve each pudding with a dollop of whipped cream on top.

This post is a part of Fight Back Fridays.

Weekly Dinners

2009-10-12T18:42:00.000-07:00

This is one busy week. Tomorrow my husband goes in to have double knee surgery. He is going to be immobile for weeks if not months. This is going to be a test of patience for me, for sure. But I am happy to care for him, because he would do it for me without the reminder to have patience!

Tomorrow is going to be a hectic day. Hubby needs to be at the hospital at sunrise and we wont be home until sunset. That requires some juggling of the Kiddo schedule: school drop off, 2 different pick up times, practice, and dinner.

Thankfully I have a lot of local family to help. I have called on four family members to juggle the "demanding" schedules of my 5 and 7 year old children! (a special thank you to my mother-in-law who also offered, thank you Susie.)

I have been busy preparing and cooking the meals for everyone, including the help, for the next couple of days.

Weekly Dinners

Sunday- Steak Fajitas with a Chimichurri Sauce (I wish I could remember the blog that inspired this recipe, but alas, my brain is a little fried)

Monday- Arugula-fontina-prosciutto pizza

Tuesday (surgery day)- Southwestern Soup (I made this in advance and boy is it good!)

Wednesday- Cheese Tortellini with brown butter, bacon, and butternut squash

Thursday- Wild Caught Halibut (Dad caught it in Alaska), mashed potatoes, and spaghetti squash.

Pumpkin Muffins w/ Freshly Milled Barley and Almond Meal

2009-10-05T14:29:00.000-07:00

I have a house to clean...and a car. Both are embarrassing. The floors need mopping, carpets need vacuuming, and at least 6 loads of clean laundry (and counting) need to be folded.

So what do I do? Do I get out the vacuum? no. Mop? no. Fold? no. Take my car to be cleaned by someone else? Nope, too lazy for that as well.

What do I do when the house needs cleaning? Of course, I tinker with recipes in the kitchen. duh.

On the docket:

Pumpkin Muffins

1 Cup freshly milled Barley Flour (although any flour would work)

1 Cup almond meal

2 t baking powder

1/4 t baking soda

2 t pumpkin pie spice

2 T flax meal

1/2 t salt

1 stick unsalted butter, melted and cooled

3/4 Sucanat or Rapadura (brown sugar will do)

1 15 oz canned pure organic pumpkin

2 large eggs

1/4 C whole milk

1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Mix wet and dry ingredients in two separate bowls, then add together. Bake for 22-25 minutes.

Makes 1 dozen.

(too bad my kids don't like pumpkin, I guess I will have to eat them all)

UPDATE: While kid #1 still doesn't like pumpkin, Kid #2's "taste bugs" have changed, and now he loves pumpkin and these muffins. Guess I can share.

These muffins are really good.

This post is part of Fight Back Fridays and Eating Simple Pumpkin Recipes and the Make it from scratch blog carnival hosted this week at Got A Little Space to Fill and Real Food Wednesdays.

Running, Running, Running and Weekly Dinners

2009-10-04T15:30:00.000-07:00

10 weeks ago I was not a runner. At all. There are many long standing jokes in my family and most have to do with me being a prized "eater," not a runner. The only thing that I have ever run after is a good piece of pie. Not a joke.

Me and my friend Emily, feeling sporty.

Had someone told me that I would complete a 5k in less than 10 weeks (yes running the whole time) I would have chuckled. More than chuckled, I would have bet them a pie they were plain crazy.

That was before 2 things happened:

1. Began tipping the scales into the "holy crap" zone.

2. Had a casual discussion with a neighbor who "became a runner" this year. This was a shocking revelation...I didn't know you could "become a runner." I thought you had to be born a runner.

Again, I was born an "eater" not a runner.

Today, I ran and completed my first 5k and boy do I have the running bug now. You might remember that my husband was supposed to run this with me, but that didn't happen. 3 weeks into the training and POP! Now he needs two new knees. It's tough being old.

The family came to cheer me on and that was fantastic.

The family, before the race.

The Cowtown herd.

Emily and her baby Reese. Her husband ran pushing their two young daughters in the jogging stroller.

For more about my journey into running and how you can do it too, click here.

Weekly Dinners

Sunday- Grilled Chicken, baked potatoes and Brussels sprouts

Monday- Beef Stroganoff with Portabella mushrooms

Tuesday- Cream of Broccoli Soup and green salad

Wednesday- Pulled BBQ Beef Sandwiches w/ kale slaw

Thursday- Black Bean Chili w/ homemade tortillas

Cheesy Polenta-Veggie Bake and Weekly Dinners

2009-09-29T19:01:00.000-07:00

This recipe is as easy as it is versatile. The photo and recipe below are adapted from the Best Casserole Cookbook Ever. The original recipe is in the "breakfast" section and has sausage. I made this vegetarian, but really you can add anything.

Cheesy Polenta-Veggie Bake

6 Cups of Water

1 lb Aged Cheddar

3 Eggs, beaten

3 t Seasoning Salt (I like 4S from Penzeys)

1 1/2 Cups Polenta

1 Large Red Pepper, cut into small pieces

2 Cups Shitake Mushrooms, chopped

1 t Paprika

Preheat over to 350 degrees

Bring water to a boil. Add polenta, stirring constantly until thickens. Turn heat down and add remaining ingredients. Stir until well blended.

Pour into 13 x 9 pan and bake uncovered for 45 minutes to an hour. Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Weekly Dinners

Sunday- Burgers

Monday- Eggplant Sandos and Split Pea Soup

Tuesday- Baked Polenta and Green Salad

Wednesday- Lamb, Brown Rice with Cilantro, Brussels Sprouts

Thursday- Leftovers. :)

This Post is part of Real Food Wednesday. And WFMW. And Fight Back Fridays.

Almond Butter Cookies and Weekly Dinners

2009-09-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

Of course these simple almond cookies are delicious, (a) they're made with white flour and white sugar, and (b) the recipe is adapted from Alice Waters' cookbook The Art of Simple Cooking. Need I say more?

Ingredients

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

2/3 C sugar

1 t vanilla

1/2 t salt

1 egg, at room temperature

2 t milk

1 1/2 C unbleached all purpose flour

3/4 C almond meal

powdered sugar (for dusting)

Cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in vanilla, salt, egg, milk. Gradually add the flour and almond meal. Refrigerate until dough is manageable, approx 2 hours. Preheat oven to 350. Drop dough onto cookie sheet---can roll out and cut into shapes. Bake 10-12 minutes until slightly browned. Dust or roll in powdered sugar

Weekly Dinners

Sunday- Tri Tip, Wild Rice and Brussels Sprouts (first of the season!)

Monday- Steak Fajitas w/ peppers and onions

Tuesday- Mini Bison Burgers

Wednesday- Lamb, Cucumber-tomato-wild rice-yogurt-spinach-salad

Thursday- Split-Pea soup (even though it's STILL triple digits here.)

It's a red meat week!

This post is a part of Fight Back Fridays. And Make it From Scratch Blog Carnival hosted by Kitchen Stewardship

Inspiration Sando-Roasted Eggplant, Pepper, Mushrooms with Tomatoes and Basil

2009-09-19T03:28:00.000-07:00

This past week's meal plan was partly inspired by the "Inspiration Sandwich" on the Blog Burp! Where Food Happens.

I immediately started craving this delectable sando, and adapted the recipe to the seasonal veg in my garden.

This could be called either Inspiration Sandwich or Divine Sandwich sent from Heaven above created in the image of all things delicious. A little dramatic, I know.

This simple vegetarian summer vegetable sandwich is oh.so.good.

Recipe

Eggplant, sliced very thin
banana peppers, seeded and butterflied
shitake mushrooms, rinsed
1 clove of garlic per sando, minced or pressed
basil
tomatoes, sliced
butter
olive oil
salt
Dutch Crunch Roll

heat oven to 425 degrees. Drizzle oil, salt and pepper over eggplant, peppers, and mushrooms, roast for approx 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, schmere butter and garlic onto bread and toast.

Stack everything together and Viola!

Roasted Eggplant-Pepper-Mushroom-Tomato-Basil-Garlic Sandwich.

What is YOUR inspiration sandwich? Leave it under comments please.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday. And Pennywise Platter.

USDA Launches 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food'

2009-09-16T16:30:00.000-07:00

Although I am skeptical about Big Government Bureaucracy doing anything efficiently, this is certainly a step in the right direction....I just hope the momentum continues and real reform in the way people approach food manifests.

USDA Launches 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food'

Initiative to Connect Consumers with Local Producers to Create New Economic Opportunities for Communities

WASHINGTON, September 15, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Deputy Secretary Kathleen Merrigan today announced a new initiative - 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' - to begin a national conversation to help develop local and regional food systems and spur economic opportunity. To launch the initiative, Secretary Vilsack recorded a video to invite Americans to join the discussion and share their ideas for ways to support local agriculture. The video, one of many means by which USDA will engage in this conversation, can be viewed at USDA's YouTube channel, www.youtube.com/usda . Producers and consumers can comment on the 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' YouTube playlist, as well as submit videos or provide comments on this initiative by e-mailing KnowYourFarmer@usda.gov.

"An American people that is more engaged with their food supply will create new income opportunities for American agriculture," said Vilsack. "Reconnecting consumers and institutions with local producers will stimulate economies in rural communities, improve access to healthy, nutritious food for our families, and decrease the amount of resources to transport our food."
The 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative, chaired by Deputy Secretary Merrigan, is the focus of a task force with representatives from agencies across USDA who will help better align the Department's efforts to build stronger local and regional food systems. This week alone, USDA will announce approximately $65 million in funding for 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiatives.

"Americans are more interested in food and agriculture than at any other time since most families left the farm," said Merrigan. "'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' seeks to focus that conversation on supporting local and regional food systems to strengthen American agriculture by promoting sustainable agricultural practices and spurring economic opportunity in rural communities."

In the months to come, cross-cutting efforts at USDA will seek to use existing USDA programs to break down structural barriers that have inhibited local food systems from thriving. Today, USDA announced a small initial group of moves that seek to connect local production and consumption and promote local-scale sustainable operations:

USDA's Risk Management Agency announced $3.4 million in funding for collaborative outreach and assistance programs to socially disadvantaged and underserved farmers. These programs will support 'Know You Farmer' goals by helping producers adopt new and direct marketing practices. For example, nearly $10,000 in funding for the University of Minnesota will bring together experts on food safety and regulations for a discussion of marketing to institutions like K-12 schools, colleges, universities, hospitals and other health care facilities.

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service proposed regulations to implement a new voluntary cooperative program under which select state-inspected establishments will be eligible to ship meat and poultry products in interstate commerce. The new program was created in the 2008 Farm Bill and will provide new economic opportunities for small meat and poultry establishments, whose markets are currently limited.

USDA's Rural Development announced $4.4 million in grants to help 23 local business cooperatives in 19 states. The member-driven and member-owned cooperative business model has been successful for rural enterprises, and bring rural communities closer to the process of moving from production-to-consumption as they work to improve their products and expand their appeal in the marketplace.

USDA's Rural Development will also announce a Rural Business Opportunity Grant in the amount of $150,000 to the Northwest Food Processors Association. The grant will strengthen the relationship between local food processors and customers in parts of Idaho, Oregon and Washington, and will also help the group reduce energy consumption, a major cost for food processors.

As the 'Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food' initiative evolves, USDA will continue to build on the momentum and ideas from the 2008 Farm Bill and target its existing programs and develop new ones to pursue sustainable agriculture and support for local and regional food systems.
#

USDA is an equal opportunity provider, employer and lender. To file a complaint of discrimination, write: USDA, Director, Office of Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Ave., S.W., Washington, D.C. 20250-9410 or call (800) 795-3272 (voice), or (202) 720-6382 (TDD).

Soup-Salad-Sandwiches & Weekly Dinners

2009-09-14T05:17:00.001-07:00

Inspired by three things this week, planning our dinners was easy.

However, it didn't start that way.

Friday is the day I normally plan our meals, but this past Friday was HOT which left me uninspired to cook or even plan to cook. I mean HOT...and sticky....and hot. hot. hot.

...until three things came to me:

1. Cold weather and rain. Who woulda thought that cool weather and rain would tail a horrible hot sticky day? But it did, Saturday and Sunday were cold(ish), and it made me think of soup.

2. An amazing sandwich called Inspiration Sandwich posted on the Where Food Happens blog. It looks fantastic and the post is just as fantastic. This sando truly is an inspiration.

3. Ducking into Whole Foods Market yesterday completed the trifecta that I needed to get my rear in gear and get to planning. I saw this amazing looking bread from the Truckee Sourdough Co. and it called to me. I bought sliced sourdough and sourdough rolls.

Yep, perfecta trifecta.

All my stars had aligned and I quickly jotted down our meals for the week right there in the bread isle.

Weekly Dinners

Sunday- Cream of Broccoli Soup and 1/2 a Tomato-Havarti-Basil grilled sando

Monday- Inspiration Sando on the sourdough roll and probably more of the above soup

Tuesday- Big leafy green salad with all the summer veg, and a baked potato

Wednesday- Split Pea Soup with ham and probably some of the left over salad

Thursday- Mushroom Sando with basil aioli, and either leftover soup or salad.

Soup-Salad-Sandwiches are the perfecta trifecta. I can't wait to eat this combo every.single. day. Capiche?

Happy Labor Day and Weekly Menu

2009-09-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

This Labor Day Weekend, the boys and I took a quick trip to San Fransisco, with my mom and visiting sister.

We took the Ferry across the bay, because the Bay Bridge is being worked on...the kids loved the hour ride. We landed at Pier 41 where we hoofed it about 10 blocks then took a bus to the Palace of the Fine Arts and the Exporitorium.

me and Aunti Heather (not sure why the pic is fuzzy)

Kid #1 and Kid #2 were as cute as could be. These two are as thick as thieves...I just hope they don't grow up to actually be thieves.

A little bit of ice cream in the Haight Ashbury District. With his messy face and tie-dye shirt, Kid #2 fit right in.

Grandma Mimi

It was a lot of walking around and public transportation.

Back on the Ferry...

Almost home....It was a long, but fun, 14 hour day in SF.

Weekly Menu:

Sunday- Lots of good food in SF

Monday- Salad (detoxing from the great food yesterday) w/ Steak and tomatoes

Tuesday- BLT's and green salad

Wednesday- Veggie Chili

Thursday- Chicken with Spaghetti Squash and roasted potatoes

Sweet Potato Chips and Weekly Dinners

2009-09-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

Sweet Potato Chips

I'm not a chip person. I like to use chips...especially corn chips... as a vessel to eat wonderful things like Cowboy Caviar, or pita chips for some Afghan inspired Cilantro Chutney, or maybe even a cracker for some Green Humus. But chips are not my vice.

My vice is and will always be pie and ice cream. Long time Daily Diner readers might remember my debacle with the ice cream maker last summer. That was a train wreck.

I began making homemade baked french fries when my kids were very young. That lead to sweet potato fries which then lead to sweet potato chips. Super yum.

There are many different varieties of sweet potatoes, some common are Jewel, Red Garnet, Japanese Sweet, and White Sweet. All are good and health promoting.

For this recipe, I prefer using the White Sweet or Japanese Sweet for chip making because of the long and slender shape, but any variety will do. Simply slice into thin strips or rounds, toss with olive or coconut oil, sprinkle with real salt and bake. A little Cayenne is also tasty for the spicy lover.

Bake at 425 degrees and check after 20 minutes. Continue to check every 2 minutes until desired crispiness. Try not to burn.

Weekly Dinners
Sunday- Sloppy Joe's (I went my entire adult life without a Sloppy Joe and now we can seem to get enough--this recipe is that good)

Monday- Karen's Yogurt Marinated Chicken, Wild Rice and Green Beans w/ Onions

Tuesday- Cheese tortellini with fresh summer tomato sauce

Wednesday- Bean Soup and BLT's

Thursday- Lamb Stew w/ Barley and Greek inspired salad (I did not care for the lamb stew we made last week. I will try a new recipe and get back to you. Lamb Stew meat is on sale for $1.99/lb at our local Whole Foods Market)

BLT and Weekly Dinners

2009-08-24T14:05:00.000-07:00

I love a good Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato and Avocado Sandwich. So quick and easy, these make a great QUICK lunch or dinner when in a hurry. Make the bacon ahead of time and leave in your refrigerator for later use.

Weekly Dinners

Sunday- Moroccan Lamb Stew*

Monday- Polenta, Gruyere, and Sausage one-dish bake (aka casserole)*

Tuesday- Baked Halibut with cilantro sauce and green salad w/ yogurt based dressing

Wednesday- Cheesy Eggplant and Tomato Bake*
Thursday- Stuffed Chicken Breasts and Lentil-Veg Salad

Friday- Greek Beef Stew*

* Recipes adapted from one of my favorite cookbooks, "The Best Casserole Cookbook Ever" by Beatrice Ojakangas.

Back to School Nutrition - 5 Tips for Health Conscious Parents | Mambo Sprouts Articles

2009-08-18T14:13:00.001-07:00

Back to School Nutrition - 5 Tips for Health Conscious Parents Mambo Sprouts Articles

Written by Amanda Louden
Blog: http://www.mydailydiner.com/
Website: http://www.eatyourroots.org/

Back to School Nutrition

It’s that time of year again. Get out the backpacks and lunch box for the first day of school.

Nourishing our children properly before, during, and after school can be a stressful undertaking, especially since this monotonous responsibility happens day after day.

Below are 5 tips to help health conscience parents feed kids during the school year and beyond.

1. Make Breakfast Count

Breakfast is still the most important meal of the day and can impact a child’s ability to concentrate at school. More importantly, recent studies have shown that kids who skip breakfast altogether are more likely to be overweight. Unfortunately, the standard American breakfast is a waffle-toaster-strudel-tart, which neither promotes health nor satiates a growing child’s appetite.

Think dinner for breakfast. That’s right dinner. Some easy healthy meals for breakfast are leftover dinners or items that are typically thought of as evening foods. Some of our favorite dinner-for-breakfast foods are chicken and cheese quesadillas, bean and cheese burritos, easy pizza on sourdough, leftover meat and veggies, and don’t forget good old fashioned protein rich eggs.

2. Be Creative with Lunch

Help kids enjoy their lunch by being creative and thinking outside the box. Parents often get stuck with the idea that a child’s lunch has to be the standard sandwich, piece of fruit, crackers and a drink. Not so, give your kids a variety of choices in small portion sizes. A bento style lunch box is a great way to organize your mid-day meal. The same goal can be achieved without buying a new lunchbox by simply using a variety of any small containers. Giving kids a variety of items in small portions helps them understand what a proper serving size looks like and makes lunchtime interesting.

Some fun ideas for lunch include packing mini pizzas, apple wedges and cashew butter, leftover meat and veggies, or simply a variety of finger foods such as fresh fruit, sliced cheese, raw veggie sticks, nuts and seeds, edamame, olives, or no-nitrate added salami. Make it colorful, make it fun.

3. Don’t Stress Over The School Lunch Program

If your school is like the school our children attend, you too have a horrible government provided school lunch program. It is a disgrace that our government provides the lowest quality of foods to our schools. Some of my least favorite school lunches are “French Toast” or “Corn Chips and (questionable) Cheese” or the green-hued “Beef Nuggets”.

But what is a health conscience parent to do when your child demands buying school lunch? Let them have it. As unhealthy as school lunch can be, the last thing you want to do is make it the appealing forbidden fruit. Instead of outlawing the school lunch program, set up a system that works for your family. Allow your child to buy school lunch as much as once or twice a week or only as little as once a month if you prefer. Pull out the menu and go over the selections with your child and discuss food quality, ingredients, and what makes food healthy or unhealthy.

In addition to discussing food quality, help them make the food-mood connection. Are they more tired, less focused, or irritable in the afternoon on the days they buy lunch? If so, teach them how to pick appropriate foods that build energy for instance.

In first grade, our son became interested in school lunch. So much so that he began throwing away or trading his home-packed lunch and buying school lunch. I was shocked when I got the bill from the school. Fearing that we would make school lunch more appealing by outlawing it altogether, we let him buy school lunch everyday. Finally, after three months, he decided that he would no longer buy everyday, but rather go through the menu and choose the few things he liked. I was doing cartwheels in my head, but calmly asked why this change of heart all of a sudden? His response was twofold: first, he simply did not like a lot of the food, and secondly he noticed that he came home starving and grumpy on the days that he ate the school lunch. Victory!

4. Have a Healthy Snack Ready for After School

Growing kids need to eat. Have a healthy snack ready for them after school. Snack means a smaller meal, so forget about the typical chips and go straight for something substantial. A good choice for an easy snack is always fruits and vegetables. Nuts and seeds are also good on the go. But don’t forget that the lunchtime foods mentioned above also make great snacks too. To streamline your day, pack your child’s afternoon snack at the same time you are packing their lunch.

5. Take Kid Favorites and Make Them Healthy

Remember, food is not good or bad it is the quality of ingredients that makes something healthy or unhealthy. A burger is not good or bad, it is the ingredients that make it nutritious. We know fast food burgers do not promote health, but a well made burger using grass-fed beef, loads of veggies stacked high, and served on a sprouted grain bun produce a great meal.

Anything can be made well or poorly, so take your kids favorite dishes, snack, or meals and make them healthy. Here is a list of kid favorites and what you can do to health them up:

Yogurt
Plain, Fresh Fruit, Honey and Cinnamon—Fruit on the bottom yogurt is packed with a lot of added sugar. 4 grams of sugar equals approximately 1 teaspoon. Next time you buy yogurt pick up the plain and add your own goodies. My favorite yogurt is Greek style Fage, but there are many good brands out there. High quality yogurt should only contain milk and/or cream, and live active cultures.

Fruit and Veggies
Seasonal—they taste better if they are ripened and picked seasonally. When food tastes like it should (good), your kids are more likely to ask for more. Visit your local farmers market for seasonal produce. If you don’t have a farmers market available to you, buy produce that is grown in your region.

Pancakes
Freshly Milled Grains, Eggs, Milk, Spices—Pancakes are one of those items that we think are too hard to make from scratch. In reality, they are very easy and only have a few ingredients. Milling your grains at home provides fresh flour that is vitamin and mineral rich.

Pizza
On Homemade Dough or Sourdough, Tomato Sauce and Cheese—I like to make quick pizza’s on sourdough or an English muffin. It’s a perfect quick meal or snack and also great for breakfast. Make sure to look for tomato sauce without extra ingredients like sugar and salt.

Peanut butter, Honey and Jelly
Nut Butters, Local Honey, Preserves—Use a variety of nut butters in addition to the standard peanut butter, try cashew, almond, or pistachio butters. These can be often be found in the health food section of your local store, farmers market or at national chains like Trader Joe’s or Whole Foods Markets.

Quesadillas or Burritos
Tortilla, cheese, chicken and/or beans—Make sure to read the ingredients on the tortilla package and avoid anything that doesn’t sound like food. Chicken should be free-range and without added sodium. Look for beans without added sugar and salt which are common additives in beans.

Cheese Sandwiches
Hormone-antibiotic free cheese on Sprouted Grain or Sourdough Bread—Kids love grilled cheese, it’s great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Ideally, serve this kid favorite on sprouted grain, but sourdough is also a good alternative. Both types of bread lack the phytates that strip our bodies of essential minerals and are easier to digest than a standard whole wheat bread.

Salami, Pepperoni and Hotdogs
No Nitrates/Nitrites Added and no HFCS—these meats once considered artisan meats have become taboo in a health conscience world. I give you permission to eat these foods, in moderation of course. Look for brands that do not add nitrates/nitrites or ingredients like High Fructose Corn Syrup, or caramel color.

Hamburgers
Grass-fed—Remember any food can be made well or poorly, so skip the drive thru and make your burgers at home using grass-fed beef.

French Fries
Hand cut, Yukon Gold or Sweet Potatoes, Olive Oil and Salt—Bake your French fries at home using your favorite potatoes, a little oil and some real sea salt. Try sweet potato fries as a fun addition to any meal.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday, Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday and FitBuff.com's carnival.
It was also published on Mambo Sprouts website.

Blueberry Cobbler w/ Cream-Butter Crust and Weekly Dinners

2009-08-17T13:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we celebrated my father's 63rd Birthday with very, very good food.

Hubby smoked 4 racks of amazing pork back ribs, in addition to a green salad, pasta salad, and corn salad, stuffed mushrooms and cowboy caviar. We washed it all down with two desserts: cookie cake and blueberry cobbler.

The post WWII American Favorite Cookie-Cream (or icebox ) Cake was made popular by Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers.

It's not exactly made from whole foods or Daily Diner approved because of the amount of preservatives and additives in the cookies, but it's a family tradition (the whip cream is 100% real). Pops has had a piece of cookie cake every single birthday---63 years. I found this Washington Post article about the classic icebox cake--interesting quick read.

(uber simple cookie cake recipe is found on the box of Nabisco's Famous Chocolate Wafers)

Blueberry Cobbler--my favorite dessert...any kind of cobbler or pie, specifically.

I loved the crust of my mom's Blueberry Cobbler, made with cream and butter, it tasted like a flaky version of a butter cookie. Too good.

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup quick cooking tapioca

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

pinch of ground cardamon

1 tbsp grand marnier liqueur (optional)

1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2.5 lbs blueberries

1/2 tbsp milk

Pastry Crust

Makes one crust, serves 8-10 people

2 cups flour

3/4 cup cold butter, cut into 1 inch pieces

1 tsp each sugar and fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp heavy whipping cream

You can use one 9 inch pie plate or make small individual cobblers.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, combine sugar, tapioca, cinnamon, cardamon,lemon juice and berries, liqueur,let stand for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Spread berries in ramekins or cobbler dishes.

Pie Crust: Put all ingredients in a food processor and whirl until dough comes together and is evenly moistened. Gather into a ball, then shape into a flat disk. On a flour board roll out dough to a 14 inch round.

Cut into pieces to fit cobbler dish, Flute edges with a finger and thumb to seal. Cut two vents into top crust. Brush milk on top of crust and sprinkle a little sugar on each cobbler crust. Bake until golden brown, 50 minutes for pie and about 1/2 hour for cobblers.

Put a pan in the bottom of oven because it may spill over when baking.

Note: my mom didn't use a food processor. She cut the butter into the flour with two knives until the dough resembled coarse corn meal.

She added all the other ingredients next and rolled into a ball and placed in frig for 15 minutes. Then kneaded it gently a few times and rolled out on a lightly floured board. Too much flour makes it dry. Enjoy!!

Weekly Dinners

Sunday- BBQ! (Happy Birthday Aunt Sheri and Pop's)

Monday- Indian Lentil Soup using spices adapted from Peef and Lo's Recipe

Tuesday-Halibut, Green Beans and baked Sweet Potatoes

Wednesday-Meatballs and veggie soup (I was so happy to find locally grown rainbow chard this time of year, I had to make a meal around this typically out of season find)

Thursday- Greek Salad w/ Chicken

Spices Right--updated 8/12

2009-08-12T07:40:00.000-07:00

Sometimes the difference between being a Slave to the kitchen or a Master in the kitchen comes down to simple management. Part of managing a kitchen is establishing a basic, user friendly spice cabinet that promotes easy, healthy cooking.

Having fresh spices already blended makes cooking a breeze. I admit that I am a sucker for a fresh spice and have a bigger spice cabinet than food pantry. Penzeys Spices were introduced to me years ago by my friend Jen. It was love at first bite.

Generally, spices and dried herbs are at their peak freshness for six months. However, most are only harvested once a year, so it is safe to buy a years worth at a time. And it's a good idea to toss all those old ones you got as a wedding gift 10 years ago.

According to Penzeys, the rule of thumb for storing spices and dried herbs: One year for herbs or ground spices and two years for whole spices.

Below are some of my favorites spices. Both single and blended.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday.

Running a 5k and Weekly Dinners

2009-08-10T08:29:00.000-07:00

(Mild Italian Peppers perfect for stuffing and putting on the grill)

I am at a crossroads. Do I take the Road Less Traveled or just buy bigger pants? You see, as I approach 35 years of age my metabolism is really starting to slow and now my fat pants are a little tight. It's a frightening sight.

I have been down this road before...the fat road. I gained 70 lbs with back-to-back pregnancies. Can we say super scary. Thankfully, I was able to lose the weight quickly after birthing like a mama-cow by simply continuing to eat well and moderate exercise. I was in my 20's at the time and apparently that makes all the difference.

Now at almost 35, I need to shave off an extra 10lbs of fat to be at my normal weight. In order to get there, and with the support of my awesome Hubster, we have decided to step up our exercise regime and start running. Neither one of us are runners and I really don't like to run. Nevertheless, we're running.

We have set a goal in order to make this little adventure fun, and that has been super motivating. We are running the Cowtown 5k in October. I know it's only 3 miles but did I mention that I hate running. I love walking....can easily walk 5-6 miles a day, but can't run a mile without wanting to die or getting bored.

In order to accomplish our goal, we are following the "Couch to 5k Running Plan" by Josh Clark. This plan is so easy that I forget my disdain for running. That's right, for the first time in my life I am enjoying pounding the pavement at a faster than a snail pace. Will see how my pants fit in October.

Is there anyone out there who wants to run but doesn't think they can? Join me in running a 5k this fall and tell me about your adventures. Share your stories of running. What inspired you? What keeps you motivated? What do you like about running? What do you hate?

Weekly Dinners
Sunday- Wild Caught Alaskan Halibut, Corn on the cob and creamed spinach
Monday- Chicken Sausages, Tomato Salad, and a potato-pepper-onion-mushroom-garlic saute
Tuesday- Stuffed Italian Peppers (Brown Rice, pepper jack and onions) and a green salad
Wednesday- Portabella Sandwiches and Corn and Black Bean Salad
Thursday- BLT's

What's on your menu this week?

Beer Bread--Oh So Good and Simple

2009-08-06T18:04:00.000-07:00

I have been a *wee bit* obsessed with beer bread for quite some time....it's so good I can easily eat an entire loaf. But what you might not know is how EASY it is to make and how impressed people are with you when you make it. One can imagine the ooohhhs and awwwws you hear when it slips out that you have just thrown together a homemade loaf of bread. Picture yourself as a busy mom juggling the carpool, errands, and soccer practice. To then say, "I've got to run, got a loaf of bread in the oven...yes, of course it's from scratch". At that moment, you are a rock star.

What you don't need to tell people is that beer bread is a "quick bread". Quick breads use baking powder or soda to rise instead of yeast. Other quick breads include Irish Soda Bread, Corn Bread, Banana Bread and Biscuits...you get the idea.

The other day I came upon a recipe for dill-cheddar-beer bread on the Blog Dine and Dish. It reignited my spark for this tasty meal...I mean slice of heaven bread. So I immediately went to work in the kitchen coming up with the Daily Diner version. After a few attempts, we came up with one that is easy, quick, healthy, and most importantly, tasty. Note: There is no need to add any herbs or other spices when using the freshly milled whole grain flour. We found, in our little test kitchen, that the flavor of the freshly milled whole grain and the beer overpowered anything else.

(yes, that is Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer!)

In Daily Diner style, this recipe calls for freshly milled grains. Milling grains at home gives us a truly whole grain flour that packs a powerful nutritional punch unlike that of store bought flours. There are three parts to a grain: 1. bran, 2. germ, and 3. endosperm. In a grain, the germ (for instance, wheat germ) is the vitamin, mineral and oil rich part of the kernel. The germ in wheat berries contain your B and E vitamins, Folic Acid, calcium, protein, magnesium, iron and much more. The germ is often removed in commercial processing because it contains oil that will go rancid if not stored properly. Only 100% whole grain flour contains all three parts. Commercially processed white and wheat flours have the germ removed.

Nutrition aside, flour from freshly milled grains has the most wonderful flavor and makes spectacular beer bread.

Beer Bread

3 Cups Whole Grain Wheat Flour (freshly milled if possible)

3 T butter or ghee, melted

1 T Sucanat/rapadura/honey

1 T Baking Powder (aluminum free)

1 t salt

1, 12oz can LIGHT beer (I'm not talking calories, I'm talking color, darker beers are over powering)

Directions:

preheat oven to 375.

Gently mix flour, sugar, salt and baking powder in a large bowl. Add butter and beer slowly to prevent bubbling over. Batter will be thick. Pour into a prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean.

Don't forget to serve it with a healthy spread of butter...oh yum.

This recipe is part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday.

Budget, Weekly Dinners and Sloppy Joe's

2009-08-02T17:17:00.000-07:00

Very Tasty Sloppy Joe's (recipe below)

We (actually meaning the kids that, apparently, rule the house) have had a BIG budget for fun this summer. We have been on two great vacations, seen many movies, slid down water slides, attended numerous summer camps, improved our swimming skills, and next week will begin water polo (kid #1) and ice hockey (kid #2). Whew. With all that fun (read: spending) we have been watching our food budget, because at the moment, it's the most flexible.

To lesson our food costs, while not compromising on quality, we have been eating more vegetarian meals. All of out breakfasts have been vegetarian and the majority of our lunches and dinners have been either vegetarian or have only had a small portion of meat.

Limiting the expensive sustainably raised meats, and incorporating as much as I can from the garden, has had a BIG impact on our overall food budget.

Last week I fed our family of 4 sustainably on $132. This week was a little higher at $145, but still extremely reasonable considering that I am feeding 2 growing boys, a hungry husband and myself--and I love to eat.

This weeks meal plan will again have most meals as vegetarian or having small amounts of meat. What do you do to save on your budget? Do you meal plan? What is your plan for the week? Please share in the comments section.

Sunday- Kid Favorite Sloppy Joe's (each person had a half), tomato salad, and all fruit smoothies

Monday- Baked Potato and Salad with summer veg and blue cheese dressing

Tuesday- Veggie Chili w/ Beans

Wednesday- Baked Chicken, Polenta w/ Summer Squash

Thursday- Eggplant Parmesan

Friday- Black Bean, Jade Rice, and Summer Salsa Burritos

Recipe for Sloppy Joe's

1 pound ground grass fed beef

1/2 onion, finely chopped (about 3/4 cup)
2 Banana Peppers or 1 Bell pepper, finely chopped (about 1/2 cup)

1 6-ounce can tomato paste
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

2 TBSP Blackstrap Molasses

1 tablespoon mild chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Real salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Favorite buns

Cheese optional

Directions
In a large skillet over medium-high heat, sauté the ground beef until browned, about 7 minutes. Add the onion and peppers and sauté 2 minutes.

Stir in the tomato paste and 1 1/2 cups water, stirring until the paste has dissolved. Add the garlic, chili powder, paprika, and oregano, molasses, vinegar and season with the salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until the mixture has thickened, 8 to 10 minutes.

Serve on toasted buns.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday.

Sucanat and Rapadura--UPDATED 7/29/09

2009-07-29T08:45:00.000-07:00

I recently walked down the sweetener isle of Whole Foods to pick up some real sugar and something very interesting caught my eye. Rapadura, an unrefined sugar made by Rapunzel, had changed it's name and lowered their price. Very interesting.

Once known as Rapadura, now this delicious molasses rich sugar is called (drum roll....) "Organic Whole Cane Sugar".

Why would a product change their name?? My guess is that someone in marketing said to get a name that's understandable to the general public.

Here it is, the face of the new Rapadura...err...I mean Organic Whole Cane Sugar.

The picture below could be either Sucanat or Rapadura, they look the same. Both are very basic forms of sugar, molasses still intact. There is some debate over which is better or most pure. Rapadura fans claim that Rapadura is the one and only, and Sucanat fans claim they are the same. I don't see a huge difference in taste and either are better choice than artificial sweeteners. Remember that real sugar, like Rapadura and Sucanat, only contains 15 calories per teaspoon. That's not very much at all, so scrap the Splenda and head for the real stuff!

Sally Fallon writes in Nourishing Traditions that Rapadura is a dehydrated cane juice that has been used by the people in India for thousands of years. She prefers Rapadura (or Organic Whole Cane Sugar) over the use of Sucanat.

I encourage you to replace any refined sugar, or articifial sweeteners, that sit in your cupboard with either of these very natural forms. They can be used 1:1 in recipes that call for sugar.

Actually, I would encourage you to not eat any added sugar....but we all know that is impossible.

Fair Trade Certified Organic Sucanat

Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Organic Sucanat® (which stands for Sugar Cane Natural), is a whole cane sugar. It's made by simply crushing freshly cut sugar cane, extracting the juice and heating it in a large vat. Once the juice is reduced to a rich, dark syrup, it is hand-paddled. Hand paddling cools and dries the syrup, creating the dry porous granules we call Sucanat. Nothing is added and nothing is taken out!

Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Organic Sucanat is made from 100% certified organic sugar cane grown in Costa Rica. Because Sucanat still contains all of the cane's natural molasses, it's a deep brown color and has a distinct natural molasses flavor that enhances many foods. It can be substituted for sugar in any recipe and it is especially good in chocolate-based recipes, for baking and for BBQ sauces and marinades. It is an excellent source of iron, calcium, vitamin B6, potassium and chromium, which helps balance blood sugar.

The Fair Trade Certified logo is Wholesome's guarantee that our farmers' cooperatives are paid directly for the cane grown and milled. This means that the farmers can compete with factory farms, cultivate the quality of their crops, send their kids to school and build thriving communities.

Rapadura

Rapadura captures the sweet essence of sugar cane-organically. Harvested in Brazil and through the Hand in Hand™ fair trade program, Rapadura is an unrefined sugar prized for its unique caramel flavor and fine grain texture. This deliciously pure sugar retains a beautiful golden color and offers unmatched nutritional value because-unlike other sugars-it is not separated from the molasses stream during squeeze-dried processing. You can truly taste the difference of Rapadura whole organic sugar.

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday. And Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday.

A Family's Guide to Buying Milk | Mambo Sprouts Articles

2009-07-28T08:08:00.001-07:00

Here is some basic information on a variety of available milks. I wrote it for the Mambo Sprouts website.

We know the commercial tag line “Milk Does a Body Good” but with more than an estimated 70% of adults world wide experiencing some degree of lactose intolerance, milk from dairy cows is not necessarily the best option for most people. While water is the only macronutrient that we actually need to drink, there are many other “milk” options awaiting our taste buds in the grocery store isles. It is important to have a wide variety of high quality foods in our diets. This is not an endorsement of any product, rather a buyer’s guide to some milk products.

Milk (Miriam Webster Dictionary):1 a: a fluid secreted by the mammary glands of females for the nourishment of their young ; especially : cow’s milk used as a food by humans b: LACTATION 2: a liquid resembling milk in appearance: as a: the latex of a plant b: the juice of a coconut composed of liquid endosperm c: the contents of an unripe kernel of grain

Raw Milk straight from source, unprocessed (except filtration), cooled and bottled. In dairy, it’s milk straight from the cows or goat. According to the Raw Milk Association, CReMA, people with lactose intolerance can often consume milk in its raw form because it contains the enzymes necessary to break down the lactose in the digestive tract. These beneficial enzymes are killed in the pasteurization process.

To read the full article click below:
A Family's Guide to Buying Milk Mambo Sprouts Articles

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Weekly Dinners

2009-07-27T09:21:00.000-07:00

(view from our campsite. South Fork of the Yuba River in Downieville, CA)

I am totally UNINSPIRED to cook this week after a fun filled weekend camping. Not sure if it's the amount of preparation it takes to camp with a family of four (and a dog), the amount of filth one said family acquires, or the amount of laundry that I have to wash, fold, and put away that has left me lazy, but whatever it is I am uninspired to cook.

Since starving your family might be viewed as abuse, I will have to whip up something. This week we are eating easy....really easy.

Sunday- Massa Organics Brown Rice and chicken bowls w/ fresh corn, cilantro and peppers

Monday- Tomato Salad w/ grilled lamb

Tuesday- Fish Tacos w/ nectarine Salsa

Wed- Grilled Eggplant Sandwiches

Thursday- Taco Salad

Kingston the Wonder Dog enjoying a little treadmill action as he tries to swim up-current.

Easy Cupcakes from Scratch

2009-07-24T10:34:00.000-07:00

I am a simple girl at heart. I love yellow cake and chocolate frosting. And I really don't need my food to look super fancy, just tasty.

This week was Kid #1's 7th Birthday. I was very happy when he requested yellow cake with chocolate frosting and in the form of cupcakes. Easy enough. We made the batter together and then poured into large muffin tins, baked, frosted and then let the kids decorate with junky candy that I would not normally buy.

Ingredients for cupcakes:

Muffin Tins (I used large which I bought at a specialty shop)
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 (8-ounce) carton sour cream
1 1/2 cups sugar (like Sucanat or rapadura)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup buttermilk (or kefir)

Frosting:
1 cup (8 ounces) block-style cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 to 2 tablespoons evaporated milk
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups powdered sugar, divided

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cupcakes, line the cupcake tray with the tins and set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup butter and sour cream in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add granulated sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Beat with a mixer at medium speed 3 minutes or until well blended. Add egg; beat 2 minutes or until well blended.

Lightly spoon 2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine 2 cups flour, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture and buttermilk alternately to sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition.

Pour batter into tins. Bake at 350° for 15-18 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pan. cool completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, place the cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Add cocoa, milk, and 1/8 teaspoon salt; beat at low speed until well blended. Gradually add 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar; beat at low speed until creamy. Gradually add remaining 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar. Place cake on a serving platter. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Store cake loosely covered in the refrigerator.

Yields 2 dozen regular sized cupcakes

My friend Arlene introduced me to this cake, and it has become a birthday cake staple.

This post is part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday.

Easy Summer Pasta

2009-07-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

This dish is simple and easy to put together. I served it at room temperature with many of the ingredients uncooked or unheated (tomatoes, basil and cheese), which is perfect for really hot summer days.

In the weekly meal plan this was going to be vegetarian, but after reading a Face Book post for a similar recipe by my friend Karen, I decided to throw in some turkey bacon. You could omit the bacon for a vegetarian version.

Ingredients:
Turkey Bacon (No Nitrites/Nitrates added), chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
1/4 C dry white wine
1/4 C chicken broth
a handful of basil leaves, about 3/4 of a cup, chopped
2 cups yellow pear tomatoes (or any cherry toms), halved
8oz of fresh, high moisture mozzarella**, cup into bite sized pieces

1/2 lb of dry orzo pasta
salt and course black pepper (or red pepper flakes) to taste
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Directions:

Cook pasta, drain, toss lightly with olive oil and set aside in a medium to large bowl. Chop bacon and saute with garlic until both are fully cooked adding broth and wine to prevent mixture from sticking to pan. let bacon mixture slightly cool before adding it to the rest of the ingredients. Add tomatoes, basil, and cheese to the pasta. Add slightly cooled (room temperature or slightly warmer than room temp) bacon to the pasta and toss lightly with the olive oil. Use just enough EVOO to coat everything nicely. Add pepper and maybe a little salt.

**High moisture mozzarella comes packed in water.

Weekly Dinners-

2009-07-20T13:46:00.000-07:00

Chicken Sandwiches:

Roasted Chicken Breasts, sliced

pesto mayo

topped with tomatoes, onions, lettuce, avocado.

Too good.

Sunday- Chicken Sandwiches

Monday- Ginormous salad w/ seasonal produce and blue cheese, olive oil and white balsamic

Tuesday- Portabella Sando's (again--they were so good last week!)

Wednesday- Pasta w/ Fresh mozzarella, yellow pear tomatoes, and basil, tossed with garlic, white wine, and a little butter.

Thursday- HAPPY BIRTHDAY KID#1 (We're out to his choice, Burgers and Brew)

Gold River Discovery Students and Parents Go Green for Summer | News10.net | Sacramento, California | News

2009-07-17T06:55:00.001-07:00

Gold River Discovery Students and Parents Go Green for Summer News10.net Sacramento, California News

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GOLD RIVER, CA - Students at Gold River Discovery Center have been working hard on their latest "green" project: A community center garden.
The quarter of an acre garden is 100-percent organic and completely run by the kids and families of Gold River Discovery.

The volunteer project was started in May of this year by the first through fourth grade classes at Gold River.

Program director, Amanda Louden says although the project started as a fun craft for the students, it has now turned into a way for kids to take pride in what they eat.

"It has been an amazing experience, the kids are really connecting with what they are growing," she said.

Fourth grader Isobel Ruiz and her family help cultivate and care for the community garden. Ruiz says knowing she planted the vegetables she eats helps her enjoy them even more.

"When I pick them myself it helps me think, we helped grow this it's gonna be really good," said Ruiz.

Louden says with the remaining space in the garden the school hopes to start a small orchard and native plant section.
tish@news10.net

Buttermilk-Kefir Chicken

2009-07-16T18:43:00.001-07:00

This is so good and so, so, so easy.

A variation of Karen's Yogurt Chicken, this one is made with Kefir and pre-mixed Penzey's Buttermilk Ranch Spice.

Simply coat the chicken with a generous amount of the kefir and spices, marinate for an hour or not, and bake. 375 for 1 hour. Optional: broil for a few minutes to brown.

This post is part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday.

Portabella Sando's

2009-07-14T18:04:00.001-07:00

Boy this was good, very good.

Portabella Sando's for Two

2 Portabella Mushrooms, stems removed

1 large onion

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, chopped

2 rolls or buns

olive oil

Pesto aioli

Brush mushrooms with olive oil. Grill or broil mushrooms until tender (approx 5-7 minutes per side). Slice or leave whole. In a pan, over medium heat saute onions until soft. Add tomatoes and continue to cook until they are warm, about a minute. Brush warmed rolls with aioli and stack high with mushrooms, onions and tomatoes.

Pesto Aioli

1/2 cup olive oil

1 egg yolk

5 large basil leaves

1 clove garlic, pressed

Put all ingredients into blender or food processor until well blended-about one minute. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Weekly Menu, July 13th

2009-07-13T09:42:00.000-07:00

Lunch this week. Tubetinni pasta, with summer veg from the garden (chives, dill, purple basil, pear and cherry tomatoes, peter-pan squash, and lemon cucumbers), fresh Mozzarella, and grilled chicken, tossed with olive oil, white balsamic and pressed garlic.

Feeling the need to lighten up (our waistlines) after our vacation, we are opting for a "cleansing" meal plan this week. By cleansing, I am referring to a more plant based diet, slightly less in the protein and fat, and heavy on the unrefined carbs such as veggies, whole grains, and beans.

Dinner Plan:

Monday-Portabella mushroom sando's with pesto aioli

Tuesday- Corn, Bean and Brown Rice Salad

Wednesday- Spicy Vegetarian Gourmet Burgers from the Worlds Greatest Hamburgers blog

Thursday- Roasted Buttermilk (or Kefir) Chicken, Baked Potatoes, tomato-basil salad

Breakfasts--I am currently in love with breakfast burritos...something about the deliciousness of eggs and salsa wrapped into a convenient package...Yum!

Lunches-- I made two large salads, (1) pasta-veggie-chicken salad and (2) green salad with cilantro, banana peppers, and soaked garbanzo beans.

Cinnamon Supper Cake

2009-07-05T15:51:00.000-07:00

This recipe comes from a Penzeys catalog. It was so good, my son asked if I would make this for his birthday cake.

Cinnamon Supper Cake by Lucinda Reiss

Preheat oven to 375

1 cup sugar

6 T butter

4 egg whites

2 t vanilla extract

1 cup milk

2 cups sifted flour

3 t baking powder

1/4 t salt

Topping

2 T soft butter

6 T powdered sugar

2 t cinnamon

Grease and dust with flour a 9 x 13 inch pan. Cream together butter and sugar. add the egg whites and beat well. Add the vanilla and the milk. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt; gradually add to the creamed mixture and beat until smooth. pour into prepared pan and bake 20-22 minutes (or until center is fully cooked). remove from the oven and and spread the top of the cake with the butter while still hot. Then sift the powdered sugar and Cinnamon on top and serve warm.

I served this with a dollop of my homemade apricot preserves. De-lish!

Adventures in Canning

2009-07-05T15:09:00.000-07:00

I canned this weekend. For the first time. I was nervous. Don't want to give anyone botulism.

Last week I took yet another canning class, it wasn't my first class nor my second. Let's just say I have taken a few. But this was the first time the instructor made it look easy. Just like she encouraged us to do, I went right home and made my own batch. I think it is pretty good for the first time. I got the flavor that I wanted (not too sweet) and I accomplished the most frightening of tasks: sealing the lids correctly. The texture is more of a syrup than a jam but good enough for my first attempt.

I could not find a commercially prepared Pectin that didn't come with junky ingredients like dextrose, so I tried the old fashioned way of using apple cores. I would love advice on the pectin issue if anyone has it to offer.

I followed the Apricot Jam recipe (which does not call for pectin) in the Art of Simple Cooking by Alice Waters. A must have cookbook.

Potato Salad--Happy 4th of July!

2009-07-04T11:16:00.000-07:00

It wouldn't 4th of July without a classic American Potato Salad. This recipe came from long time friend Krista and her mom Rae. The great thing about this recipe is that there is NO recipe, just get the ingredients and add them to taste. Easy enough.

Like anything we cook, it's important to use high quality ingredients. The eggs are free range, potatoes are organic, onion is locally grown, mayo is real, the olives, whiled canned, don't contain ingredients other than water and salt, and the pickle relish is pickles, water, salt and spices (no vinegar, sugar, or preservatives--and it is GOOD...for pickle relish).

I was most amazed at how hard it was to find a truly natural pickle relish. Every single brand in the regular grocery store contained yellow die #4. Seriously gross. I got this Bubbies (an awesome brand) at Whole Foods Market.

Potato Salad--Picnic Size (serves 12-15)

5 lbs red potatoes, sliced in half cooked and cooled (I don't peel)

1 16.9 oz jar of Bubbies pickle relish

6 oz of olives, chopped

1/2 cup to 1 cup of mayo

4 eggs, hard boiled and chopped

1 large red onion, chopped

white or black pepper to taste

I just throw everything into a large bowl and using a potato masher, gently mash and mix everything together, leaving chunks of potatoes. refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Mac and Cheese everyone will love

2009-07-03T13:40:00.000-07:00

This was simple enough for our kids and grown-up enough for us.

Mac and Cheese
Ingredients
1 C half & half (although milk works too)
2 C cheddar, shredded or cubed into 1/2 inch peices
8 oz cream cheese, cubed for easy melting

Pour over 4 to 5 cups COOKED pasta

In a sauce pan, Add cheddar, cream cheese and milk. Stir constantly until mixed. Pour over pasta. Some people then bake their mac and cheese, but I don't know why....I say heat, pour, and eat.

What to do with leftovers? I had enough leftovers for three small containers, perfect kid sized portions. Instead of heading for the boxed mac and cheese, next time reach into your freezer...you've got it right there.

Summer Squash Pizza Crust

2009-07-01T10:41:00.000-07:00

This recipe came from my friend and neighbor, Gay Marie. It is a fantastic recipe. My kids loved it and was a great use of an extremely overgrown zucchini. Everyone wins.

Here is the "dough" before being cooked.

Then you free form it into pizza shapes! I made two smaller ones. Next time I am going to make 4 personal sized pizzas. It will be easier to handle.

After it has been baked, but before the toppings.

Add your favorite toppings and cook a little longer.

I made mine with pesto and the kids with a traditional pizza sauce. Too good. Thank you Gay Marie for this awesome recipe.

INGREDIENTS
4 cups finely shredded zucchini or yellow summer squash
3/4 cup all-purpose flour (gluten-free is good)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
salt to taste

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Once zucchini or summer squash has been shredded (I recommend a food processor) lightly salt the squash and transfer it to a strainer. Let stand 15 to 30 minutes and press all remaining liquid out of squash—very important to get out as much water as possible.

3. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine squash, flour, Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, pepper and salt. Mix well.

4. Spread the mixture into a greased and floured jelly roll pan and sprinkle with oregano. Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven.

5. Remove the crust from the oven and change the oven's temperature to broil. Brush the top of the crust with oil, and then broil the crust for 3 to 5 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

6. Allow the crust to cool slightly and slide spatula underneath all edges and under the middle. Place a large baking sheet over the top of the crust and gently flip the crust over so that the bottom of the crust is now facing upwards. Because it can be difficult to flip the crust smoothly, it may be necessary to cut the crust in half to facilitate the flipping of the crust. If you want to omit the flipping stage, that is okay, but the crust won't be as crunchy.

7. Brush the top of the crust with oil and broil for another 3 to 5 minutes until the top is browned. Cover with toppings as desired.

FOOTNOTES

This will be a non-traditional crust, as it will be somewhat soft. Depending on your toppings, you may need to bake it at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for a few more minutes to heat toppings and further reduce sogginess.

Smother this crust with your favorite pizza toppings: tomato sauce or pesto, goat cheese, pine nuts or vegetables galore! Enjoy and be creative! Try sprinkling feta cheese or adding artichoke hearts for a Mediterranean flair.

This post part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday,

and the Make it From Scratch Blog Carnival hosted by blog: It's Frugal Being Green.

Club Wraps and Corn Salad

2009-06-30T18:30:00.001-07:00

Chicken Club Wrap (I strayed a little from the meal plan)

Ingredients

Chicken

Bacon

Cheese

Lettuce

Cucumbers

(a little) Blue Cheese dressing

large flour tortilla

Simple Corn Salad

Corn cut from the cob

lemon cucumbers, peeled and cut into bit sized pieces

cilantro

Dressing

1 large ripe mango, pureed

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, or to taste

Cucumber Salad With Yogurt and Cilantro

2009-06-29T13:35:00.000-07:00

Cucumber Salad with Yogurt and Cilantro

Ingredients

2 cucumbers
pinch of salt
1/4 C plain yogurt
3 T olive Oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
juice from 1/2 lemon
3-4 T Cilantro leaves, chopped. (can substitute basil or mint)
Sumac (optional)

Peel, seed and slice cucumber. add Salt. In separate bowl combine all other ingredients (except sumac). add yogurt dressing to the salted cucumbers. Sprinkle Sumac on top. Enjoy!

Weekly Dinners-June 28th

2009-06-29T09:20:00.000-07:00

Sunday- Burritos with black beans and cilantro-pepper-brown rice
Monday- Moussaka w/ Zucchini from the Kalfagas Greek Food Blog
Tuesday- Chicken and Veggie Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing
Wednesday- Burgers with a corn salad
Thursday- Southwestern Chicken Wraps

Lemon Curd

2009-06-24T15:45:00.000-07:00

My friend Karen recently emailed me about her favorite way to eat plain yogurt....with a little lemon curd and fresh berries. Because I am a little obsessive, I couldn't get this combination out of my head.

Now let me back up. I am not a fan of most things lemon. I find "lemon" flavor is often over sweetened or artificial tasting. The good news is that lemon curd is really easy to make and is neither over sweetened or artificial.

Simple ingredients.

Lemon curd. Notice my lemon curd is a little darker than most. It's because of the Sucanat (or natural sugar).

Here it is....plain Greek style yogurt, mixed with lemon curd and topped with fresh strawberries. Now that is good.

Lemon Curd
From the Art of Simple Cooking by Alice Waters.

4 lemons

2 eggs

3 egg yolks

2 T Milk

1/3 C Sugar (I used Sucanat)

1/4 t salt (omit if using salted butter)

6 T butter, chopped into small pieces

Wash and dry lemons. Grate the zest of one lemon. Juice the lemons; there should be about 1/2 cup of juice. Set aside. Beat together eggs, milk, sugar and salt until just mixed. add lemon and zest. add butter and pour into a non-reactive saucepan. Cook on medium to low heat until thick enough to coat a spoon. DON'T BOIL. Pour into class bowl/jar cover and refrigerate until cool.

Can eat on its own, mix with yogurt or ice cream, add to a tart or cookie.

SO GOOD! Thanks Karen!

This post has been a part of Food Renegade’s Fight Back Friday and Real Food Wednesdays.

Weekly Menu- June 21

2009-06-22T09:19:00.000-07:00

We are still in boxes after moving a couple of weeks ago. I'm not at all motivated to unpack let alone clean, organize, and work. Yet, we still have to eat and so I must meal plan regardless.

Sunday- Happy Fathers Day! BBQ Party with family
Monday- Vegetarian lasagna
Tuesday- Roasted Buttermilk Chicken, Green Beans (first of the season) and Potatoes
Wednesday- Chicken wraps
Thursday- Veggie Pizza

Fight Back Fridays

2009-06-19T07:08:00.000-07:00

Food Renegade is a great blog that shares the idea of eating (go figure) real, sustainable food.

She hosts a blogging event every Friday called "Fight Back Friday" where bloggers dedicated to real, whole foods share a post from their own blogs.

I added my post from a few weeks ago about the Green Humus. Although fresh garbanzo beans are now gone from the farmers market, humus can still be made using dried (or canned) beans. When using dried chickpeas, soak them for 12 to 24 hours for best results.

Yogurt

2009-06-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

yo·gurt also yo·ghurt or yo·ghourt

NOUN:
A custard like food with a tart flavor, prepared from milk curdled by bacteria, especially Lactobacillus bulgaricus and Streptococcus thermophilus, and often sweetened or flavored with fruit.

Humans have consumed yogurt for over 4,000 years....that's a long time. Yogurt is great for digestive health and is a good source of calcium. Because the lactose in yogurt is partially digested by the beneficial bacterias, it can often be tolerated by people who are otherwise lactose intolerant.

WARNING: Yogurt is often a source of added sugar. Read the label, 4 grams equals approximately 1 teaspoon of sugar. With the average "fruit" sweetened yogurt topping off around 22 grams of sugar. That's a lot of sugar in one little container!

Instead of buying the pre-sweetened yogurt, I recommend getting the plain. Sweeten it yourself, if you must. I like a little honey, raw nuts, and fresh seasonal fruit in mine.

Here are some of my favorite brands. All are good and really depend on personal preference. I like whole fat, strained or "Greek style" yogurts. They are thick like custard. Super yum.

This one was very thin...almost drinkable. This one is good for smoothies.

Weekly Menu-June 14th

2009-06-14T07:52:00.000-07:00

We are back online after a long week of no phone, TV or internet. It would have been great if I hadnt need to get onto my computer to write a couple of articles. If it weren't for the deadlines I would not have missed it at all.

We are now moved and loving the new home. We are now just trying to get organized. I have no idea where my camera....gotta find that soon.

Weekly menu-

Sunday- Tri-Tip, grilled summer squash and a cabbage salad.
Monday- Been soup
Tuesday- Steak and bean tacos with guacamole
Wednesday- Zucchini Cakes w/ Diavolo Sauce
Thursday- grilled (meatless) mushroom burgers

Weekly Menu, June 1st

2009-06-01T20:30:00.000-07:00

We are moving this week which can make meal planning and cooking somewhat hard. When Hubby and I were drawing up the weekly meals we were thinking "quick and easy, quick and easy!"

Sunday- Grilled Tri-tip and asparagus, portabellas, and onions (this combo is a seasonal favorite currently)

Monday- Bean Soup (in the crock pot), green salad, with leftover.....planover grilled asparagus, mushrooms and onions w/ a blue cheese dressing.

Tuesday- Salmon Cakes over mixed greens

Wednesday- Roasted Chicken and early summer squash

Thursday- Chicken Tacos

**Note: we will be eating soup, steak sandwiches and an additional grain salad for lunches. All are already prepped and conveniently in the refrigerator. No drive thru's even in the busiest of times.

Green Humus

2009-05-26T11:47:00.000-07:00

The main ingredient in Humus is garbanzo beans. When made with fresh garbanzos, humus is green.

These are fresh garbanzo beans still in the pod.

Hire some help to pop open the beans...

Very serious work. Although I am pretty sure that shirtless cooks are against the California Health Codes. So is child labor, whatever.

Here they are, fresh, green garbanzo beans. The turn white/yellow when they are dried--like the canned garbanzos.

Put the ingredients in the food processor for a minute and viola!

Scoop!

Ingredients

1 Cup of Garbanzo Beans

3 t Tahini

Juice from one large lemon

2 whole garlic cloves

1/4 C Olive oil

salt to taste

Put in food processor (or blender) and blend until creamy.

Breakfast of Champions

2009-05-24T08:07:00.000-07:00

Breakfast is the most important meal of the day. I always take a minute or 5 to make breakfast. This beautiful and wonderful breakfast really did take under 5 minutes to put together. Using two buttered skillets, I cracked two eggs into one and a tortilla into the other and cooked until each was done. While those were cooking, I got out Hubby's homemade salsa, and an avocado. Put it all together and that's what I call FAST FOOD.

Weekly Menu- May 24

2009-05-24T06:34:00.001-07:00

Sunday- Burgers with all the fixings and squash on the BBQ
Monday- Happy Memorial Day! Grilled tri-tip Kale coleslaw*, and potato salad
Tuesday- Spaghetti and sauce made with local hydroponic tomatoes
Wednesday- Brats, w/sour kraut and a green salad
Thursday- Turkey Bacon BLT's

We never did get around to making the pot pie last week and its sitting in my freezer. I will probably bake in on a Tuesday and have it on hand for lunches (or breakfast) for the week.

*yes, that recipe is from last week. Hubster wanted it again it is so good. No cauliflower this week.

Organic Valley Coupons

2009-05-20T16:45:00.001-07:00

Hello Readers, Organic Valley has some printable coupons for their products.....

http://www.organicvalley.coop/coupons/

Weekly Menu

2009-05-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

The below ingredients made some awesome "slaw." Hubster doesn't care for the traditional coleslaw so I have created my version which is a hit at our home. The veggies are always a little different as I like use whatever veggies are in season. This week I made this dish out of some baby kale, cilantro, cheddar cauliflower, carrots, and a red onion. Put them through the food processor and viola!

The main ingredients are always some sort of leafy green, the onion and the cilantro.

This was our fantastic meal: grilled chicken, kale slaw, and good ol' fashioned potato salad.

It's over 100 degree's here today so cooking in kitchen was not appealing nor was eating anything too warm. We were in the mood for a family picnic but in the comforts of our air conditioned home. Hubster put up with the heat long enough to grill up a whole chicken. He seasoned it with the Penzeys Bicentennial Rub, which is so, so good. I put together the slaw and the potato salad and we inhaled the food together.

Dressing for the slaw:

3 limes, juiced
2 small cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t minced and seeded jalapeno (or red pepper flakes)
3 T Water
3 T Mayo
1 T Honey
1 t salt

Weekly Menu

Sunday--above!
Monday- Halibut breaded lightly in garbanzo bean flower, roasted potatoes and fava beans
Tuesday- Kale and Shitake Lasagna with fresh pasta and bechemel sauce
Wednesday- Chicken Pot Pie
Thursday- Shredded beef taco's
Friday- BBQ Beef Sandwiches with green salad and blue cheese dressing

Weekly Menu May 10

2009-05-10T21:42:00.000-07:00

Monday- Asparagus and goat cheese torte
Tuesday- Zucchini Cakes and Diavolo Sauce
Wednesday- Cod, Corn on the cob, and green leafy salad.
Thursday- Gnocchi and Veggies

Hubster wont be around for dinner much this week so we are eating less meat. Not that I don't love meat, I do. But there are days that I can easily go without and I try to time them when the mister's away or working long hours.

Happy Mothers Day

2009-05-10T18:41:00.000-07:00

This is going around on the Internet and I thought it would be fun for Mothers Day.

An Interview with my boys. Oldest Kid is 6 years old, and Youngest kid is 5 years old.

What is something your mom always says to you?
Oldest- No
Youngest- No

What makes your mom happy?
Oldest- Presents
Youngest- Running away from me.

What makes your mom sad?
Oldest- getting hurt
Youngest- When I spill my food

How does your mom make you laugh?
Oldest- you do not make me laugh
Youngest- Nufing, you never make me laugh
(apparently I am only funny in my own head)

What did your mom like to do when she was a child?
Oldest- horseback riding
Youngest- ride on merry-go-rounds

How old is your mom?
Oldest- 34
Youngest- 17

How tall is your mom?
Oldest- 14 inches
Youngest- 40 feet big

What is her favorite thing to do?
Oldest- work on the computer
Youngest- cook

What does your mom do when you're not around?
Oldest- How am I supposed to know that?
Youngest- She comes where I am

If your mom becomes famous, what will it be for?
Oldest- drinking wine
Youngest- food

What is your mom really good at?
Oldest- cooking
Youngest- cooking

What is your mom not very good at?
Oldest- playing video games
Youngest- Running away from me

What does your mom do for her job?
Oldest- work in the school garden
Youngest- teach people how to make food

What is your mom's favorite food?
Oldest- Zucchini
Youngest- broccoli

What makes you proud of your Mom?
Oldest- for working at my school
Youngest- for cooking

If your mom were a cartoon character, who would she be?
Oldest- Gwen from Ben 10 Alien Force (when she gets hurt she gets furious)
Youngest- Dora the Explorer

What do you and your mom do together?
Oldest- my homework
Youngest- we play

How are you and your mom the same?
Oldest- We both like the computer
Youngest- We both like to eat healthy food

How are you and your mom different?
Oldest- You dont like to watch TV and I do
Youngest- because you are a girl and I am a boy

How do you know your mom loves you?
Oldest- You feed me
Youngest- because you cook healthy food

What does your mom like most about your dad?
Oldest- His paycheck
Youngest- kissing him

Where is your mom's favorite place to go?
Oldest- The School garden
Youngest- To Whole Foods Market

Mambolicious Cooking Contest

2009-05-07T16:13:00.000-07:00

Mambo Sprouts is sposoring a cooking contest. Here are the details if you are interested!

So you think you can cook? Prove it!

It's Mambolicious Recipe Contest time! So get out your apron and your best original recipes and enter to win big prizes! We're kicking it up a notch this year with better prizes--think cash prizes--all new categories and awesome judges!

Enter anytime between May 4 - June 15, 2009

All you have to do is incorporate one or more of our sponsors' products into your healthy original recipe and enter it into one of our fun, new categories. Finalists will be posted online around June 29th so come back then to find out who made it to the finals and to start voting for your favorite recipes! The recipes with highest votes will make it to the final round to compete for the grand prize! Click here for details on how to enter.

Your recipe could be randomly chosen to appear in our all new Mambo Test Kitchen video series where we will be cooking up great things submitted by you! So be sure to check back and see if your recipe has become a star. Want to submit your own cooking video? Submit it via our YouTube page along with your written submission and your video may be chosen to be featured on our site!

Tough Love on Cooking

2009-05-06T09:28:00.000-07:00

Cooking Your Way to Health: 5 Must have Gadgets

It’s time for some tough love. Almost daily I hear someone saying “I don’t have time to cook”, and frankly, I don’t buy it. We all have our priorities and cooking, just like anything else, is or isn’t. Hear me clearly: you have to cook meals from scratch, in your own kitchen, a majority of the time, in order to truly eat well. In case you didn’t understand, what I am saying is you have to cook.

Cooking can fit into busy lives. I know it can be done regardless of how busy we are as long as you create a plan, organize, and build a kitchen that will work for you. I don’t except excuses because I watched as my parents, who both worked outside the home, plus took care of a small farm, plus raised three girls, cooked nearly every meal from scratch. I know it can be done because even while I was in college taking a full load of classes each semester, and working two jobs, cooked nearly all of my meals from scratch. I know cooking can be worked into our schedules because for thousands of years, people had no other choice. No excuses. Got it?

Click here for the full story posted on Mambo Sprouts.com

Weekly Menu, May 3rd

2009-05-04T06:54:00.000-07:00

Sunday- Grilled Tri Tip, Asparagus, Portabella's and Onions, Baked Potatoes
Monday- "Plan-Over" Tri Tip and Arugula Salads with Goat Cheese and seasonal veg
Tuesday- Chicken Pot Pie
Wednesday- Halibut, Corn on the Cob, Green Salad
Thursday- Black bean and kale soup

GRDC School Garden

2009-04-30T14:21:00.000-07:00

This is the Gold River Discovery Center's School Garden.

It has become my home away from home.

There are 10 4' x 36' beds and two large grassy/weedy areas (they will be dealt with next school year).

I recently took over the school garden program. There are two of us on the Garden Committee (myself and Julia Tanner) and several wonderful parent volunteers, 1st - 4th grades.

The students have been busy planting over 30 varieties of fruits and veg (and corn which is technically a grain).

Here's the first baby of the season. A special heirloom tomato donated by Bill and Venus Bird. The Bird's write a local Gardening Blog.

So far so good.

If you are looking for me, I will be getting dirty in the garden.

Bean Soup

2009-04-28T12:54:00.001-07:00

If I were normal, Saturday would have been the ideal day to take my kids through a drive thru for lunch (thank God, I'm not normal). We had a baseball game, party, another baseball game and then another party. It was a fun filled Saturday. It was a busy Saturday which took some planning. Just like planning the carpools, games, work, and daily errands, I always plan my meals in advance. It's part of making nutrition a core value.

Friday night I soaked some white beans.

Saturday morning I brought them to a boil in some broth and added chopped kale, a bag of frozen organic corn, a can of diced tomatoes (the only thing we ever eat from a can), diced potatoes, a couple of chopped onions, and some uncooked turkey bacon. I cooked this together for about 15 minutes and transferred to the crock pot, which I set on high. hubby and I had small, quick nourishing bowls as we were running to and from, like typical busy parents.

Here it is the pot on the stove...isn't it pretty?! I love those colors.

And here it is sitting in the crock pot waiting to be devoured for the next several days.

It's now Tuesday and I am enjoying this soup as I type (take a bite, type, another bite, type some more).

Too good.

btw, because I am a somewhat normal mom, I let the kids get nasty hot dogs at their respective baseball games along with their friends. Part of parenting is being a good role model without being neurotic.

Feeding Kids: Quick Pizza For Breakfast

2009-04-27T10:46:00.000-07:00

I really, really don't like the idea of Toaster-Waffle-Strudel-Pops for breakfast. In fact, I don't like most common breakfast foods, including boxed cereals. I find that most of the contemporary breakfast foods resemble dessert more than a hardy nutritious meal...a meal that is the most important of the day.

How do you wean your kids off of Lucky Charms? Give them something else that they love, PIZZA!

Start with a high quality sourdough. Why sourdough? Sourdough is a kid (and mom) favorite. Having been fermented, it is easy to digest and the phytic acid has been released--which is important. A whole-grain sour dough is better, but proper nutrition is about having a strong foundation and NOT about perfection.

Add some tomato sauce...

And then some cheese....

then bake in the oven (I use a toaster over) for 10 minutes on 425.

Breakfast is served

Weekly Menu, April 26th

2009-04-27T10:33:00.001-07:00

This was some mighty fine roasted goat that we had this weekend at our friend Hank Shaw's home. Hank writes Hunter Angler Gardener Cook and is also an accomplished political journalist.

Sunday- Steak Fajitas with homemade tortillas. (Hubby did a great job making the tortillas)

Monday- Baked Moraccan Chicken (recipe below), smashed yukon gold potatoes, and dilled carrots

Tuesday - "Plan-over" chicken and asparagus with first of the season corn on the cob (its a little puny, but who cares)

Wednesday- Sausages and Green Salad

Thursday- Vegetarian Pizza

Friday- Halibut with all the left over veg from the week

This recipe came from my good friend Jami, and I hear its amazing. Thank you!

> Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Lemon
> Bon Appétit May 2009>
> by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen>
Yield: Makes 4 servings>
Active Time: 25 minutes>
Total Time: 55 minutes>

> 2 Meyer lemons or regular lemons>
1 tablespoon olive oil>
1 large onion, halved, thinly sliced>
2 garlic cloves, pressed>
1 tablespoon paprika>
2 teaspoons ground cumin>
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon>
1 teaspoon ground ginger>
2 cups low-salt chicken broth>
1 4 1/2-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, skin removed>
1/2 cup green olives>

> Cut 1 lemon into 8 wedges. Squeeze enough juice from second lemon to measure> 2 tablespoons; set wedges and juice aside. Heat oil in large skillet over> medium-high heat. Add onion and sprinkle with salt and pepper; sauté until> golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add next 5 ingredients; stir 1 minute. Add> broth; bring to boil. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; add to skillet.> Add lemon wedges. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken> is cooked through, turning occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer chicken> to platter. Add olives and 2 tablespoons lemon juice to skillet. Increase> heat to high; boil uncovered to thicken slightly, about 5 minutes. Season> with salt and pepper. Pour over chicken.

MSG Beware

2009-04-22T20:28:00.000-07:00

Are you sensative to MSG? I am. I get really tired.

Most of us know to look out for monosodium glutamate or MSG, but do you know that it can lurk in your food under different names?

Here is a list of ingredients that ALWAYS contain MSG from the Price Pottenger Foundation:

Autolyzed Yeast
Calcium Caseinate
Gelatin
Glutamate
Glutamic Acid
Hydrolyzed Protein
Monopotassium Glutamate
Monosodium Glutamate
Sodium Caseinate
Textured Protein
Yeast Extract
Yeast Food
Yeast Nutrient

NOTE: Any of the above ingredients can be listed as "natural flavorings" on a label....be aware, those food manufacturers are tricky!

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday.

Weekly Menu, April 19th

2009-04-19T18:01:00.000-07:00

Quinoa Salad on a bed of Butter Leaf and Arugula

Weekly Menu

Sunday- Beer Boiled Brats served with sauerkraut on a homemade rye roll and the above photoed salad.

Monday- Spaghetti

Tuesday- Grilled Chicken, Asparagus, and mushrooms

Wednesday- Turkey BLT's with Avocado

Thursday- Halibut, Artichokes and baked potatoes.

The Farmers Wife is Now Open for the Season

2009-04-17T14:26:00.000-07:00

The Farmer's Wife is Open!

The Farmers Wife is a local produce stand located on the corner of Hackberry and Winding Way in Carmichael, CA. It's open 7 days a week until Oct 30th.

5 Budget Saving Tips to Sustainable Eating

2009-04-14T05:52:00.000-07:00

If you already subscribe to my Eat Your Roots Newsletter, then you got this article in the February edition. This little article is picking up steam, being re-posted or printed in a variety of blogs and publications....and I very happy about that. Eating well doesn't have to break the bank and here's how:

5 Budget Saving Tips to Sustainable Eating
By Amanda Louden 2009

Times are tough, and everyone (at least everyone I know) is counting pennies. Food is often one of the biggest expenses, especially for families. It is evident by the rise in fast food dollar menus that people are turning to inexpensive, low quality food in order to eat on a budget. I believe that eating well (real food that’s sustainable) doesn’t have to break the bank. In fact, eating high quality traditional foods such as beans, grains, fruits, and vegetables are very inexpensive and allow enough room in a budget for higher priced sustainably raised meat, eggs, and dairy. (Click here for the rest of the story posted on Mambo Sprouts).

Weekly Menu April 12th

2009-04-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

Easter Sunday--we're not eating anything....we are stuffed pigs and can't image forking in any more food!

Monday-Veg Soup

Tuesday- Grilled Chicken, Green Salad and Baked Potatoes

Wednesday- Shredded Beef Fajitas with homemade tortillas ans roasted peppers

Thursday- BBQ Shredded Beef with Kale Slaw

I imagine that our breakfasts and lunch are going to be very light. I downed a chocolate bunny in just a few minutes. Not good.

Bread Crumbs

2009-04-11T12:29:00.000-07:00

What do you do with the leftover heels of bread? I don't waste a thing. I freeze them until there are enough to make a decent batch of bread crumbs.

Simply put the bread into the food processor with your desired herbs.

Today I used some garlic powder and thyme.

In no time you have.....

Awesome bread crumbs.

How to Shop on a Budget while eating Sustainably--UPDATED 4/6/09

2009-04-06T07:40:00.000-07:00

Eating can be expensive. How do I keep my budget between $120-$200/per week, while feeding a family of four only Sustainable Foods?

It took practice.

At least twice a month and typically on Fridays, I hit Whole Foods and buy a week or two (depending on the next time I will get out there) worth of meat. I buy whatever is on sale. I spend $20 to $30/weekly on meat. Note: Rocky Whole Chickens are ALWAYS $1.99/lb and the butchers will chop them up into 8 pieces.

I also buy my dairy at Whole Foods. I buy Strauss or the store brand, 365. (365 is supplied by Clover at my local store) I buy 1/2 gallon of milk, butter, and plain Greek style yogurt. I spend $15-$20 on dairy. Note: We do not drink Milk in our home. If we did, it would be raw milk, but since I only use it in cooking and baking I buy pasteurized to keep costs down.

I also raid the bins for nuts, seeds, rice and beans. I only buy what is on sale. $20 Remember to refrigerate these when you get home!

That night I sit and plan our meals for the week using the items that I bought at Whole Foods. This makes all the difference. (DON'T GO TO WHOLE FOODS WITHOUT A PLAN. Always, buy what you need and eat what you buy.)

Saturday, I wake up and hit the Farmers Market (or the Farmers Wife depending on the time of year). I take $40 cash with me. I walk around once taking note of price and quality. I also take time to talk to the farmers. I find that many of our local farmers use organic practices (or beyond) but aren't certified. (note: sometimes I take $60, if I am planning on buying items like nuts, honey, preserves, eggs, bee pollen, etc).

I walk out of there fully loaded.

On the weeks I dont hit Whole Foods I stop buy Trader Joe's on the way home from the Farmers Market and pick up bread (organic sprouted 8 grain $2.99) and anything else I might need.

Items I don’t count for in this budget are: Fish. I am lucky to have a father and/or husband that goes fishing in Alaska and out the SF bay many, many times a year. I get the bounty of the fish.

Sound Like a lot of driving around? I get it all done in a matter of a couple of hours, once a week. Calculate how much time you spend in one week going in and out of the store, drive thru or other restaurants.

We don’t waste anything. I make most everything from scratch. We snack on foods that we would normally eat for meals just in smaller proportions. We don't typically eat out at restaurants.

My husband takes leftover dinners for his lunches.

Our breaksfasts are typically the same Eggs/grains/veg or yogurt/nuts/berries or panckaes made with freshly milled flours or leftover dinners made into breaksfast.

If I spend more than my budget allows in one week, I make up for it the following week. My monthly budget is between $480 and $800 (which is 120 to 200/week).

This post is part of Food Renegade's Fight Back Friday.

Weekly Menu, April 6th

2009-04-06T07:22:00.000-07:00

It's Spring Break!

Monday- Bean and Veg Soup and Mini Turkey Burgers
Tuesday- Chicken Pot Pie
Wednesday- Beef and Wild Rice Stew
Thursday- Chicken Sausages, Asparagus over Quinoa

Health Magazine--April's Edition

2009-04-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

If you missed the April 2009 edition of Health Magazine click here, I am quoted a few times in the feature article, "43 Ways to Live Healthy on Way Less Money", by Marcia Layton Turner.

Super Cool!

Weekly Menu March 30th

2009-03-30T08:39:00.000-07:00

This is the goat cheddar that won our family taste-off. The taste off is fun way to get the kids to try new things...like cheddar cheese made from goat.

Weekly Menu

Sunday- Chili

Monday- Spaghetti

Tuesday- Bean Soup

Wednesday- Halibut with Asparagus and Quinoa

Thursday- Baked Chicken Mashed potatoes, and creamed Spinach

Happy Birthday Aunt Robin!