Articles by Emily

KOHLRABI SLAW (SERVES 2-3 AS A SIDE DISH)

Kohlrabi tastes a lot like broccoli stems.  It can be enjoyed raw, or cooked.  There are so many 

things to do with this crazy looking veggie!  Apparently Hamburg Township, MI is the self

proclaimed "Kohlrabi Capital of the World".  Can you imagine what the Kohlrabi king and

queen would look like?  

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Kohlrabi - julienne
• 1 Large carrot - julienne into bite size pieces
• ¼ C Red onion - chopped
• 1/8 C Organic olive oil
• ½ Tsp white vinegar
• 2 Tsp honey
• ½ Tsp celery seed
• Salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS

Mix vinegar and honey.  Add oil.  Add kohlrabi, carrot, and red onion to dressing.  Salt and Pepper to taste.  Toss well.  Let stand 20 minutes.  Re-toss, serve, and enjoy.   

Recently, I read an article where I learned of Mark Kastel.  Earlier in his life Mark had been exposed at work to agricultural chemicals.  This weakened his immune system resulting in allergies, symptoms included debilitating migraines.   The doctor prescribed organic foods, and eventually he was back to work again.  However, he chose a different cause, organic farmers.  After 20 years in the industry he co found The Cornucopia Institute with Will Fantle. 

After reading the article I hopped online and checked out their website where I found tons of valuable information regarding the organic industry.  The institute serves as kind of a watch dog group for family farms, and of course so us consumers can find valuable information.  I don't think we can expect the marketers to tell us what to buy. The Cornucopia Institute conducted a survey to find out which products have family farms behind them, and which ones don't.  Lets just say...I won't be buying Horizon® anymore.  I encourage you to take a look at this report and start buying dairy products from companies you can get behind.  We have a right to know where our money is going.  Thanks, to The Cornucopia Institute now we know.  Please check out www.cornucopia.org to get more information on the survey, and the findings.

When it comes to shopping at your local store it seems increasingly confusing to know what veggies are actually at there peak locally and which are flown in from Argentina and look really tempting.

When possible, I try to buy vegetables that are in season for a couple of reasons.  First, perhaps most importantly, they taste better.  These are the veggies that can be grown and harvested locally.  The longer they can stay on the farm, the longer they have to ripen, the better they will taste.  Not to mention the more nutrients they will contain.  OK, so I recently bought avocados from Mexico.   What can I say?  I am a sucker for them, regardless of the season.  That doesn't mean I am proud of myself.

Secondly, if the veggies are grown locally we know that they haven't been using tons of fuel to fly across the country, or internationally.  In addition, we will be supporting our local communities and promoting sustainability.   

There is a site with great information and lists of produce in season called Fruits & Veggies More Matters.

CHILLED OATMEAL (SERVES 2)

This is an interesting variation of the classic.  Packed with all the same cholesterol busting benefits of the original. 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 C Water
• 1 C Organic old fashioned rolled oats
• ½ C Yogurt (I love Stonyfield Farm® Plain Whole Milk)
• ½ Tsp Cinnamon
• ½ C berries (mashed a bit) 
• 2 Tbs Sugar (I like turbinado-raw)

DIRECTIONS

Bring water to a boil.  Add oats.  Turn down to medium-low heat and let cook until done, about 15-20 minutes.  Stir in sugar, and cinnamon while oats are still warm.  Let cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes.  Stir in yogurt, and gently fold in berries, let chill in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. 

NOTES

If you use frozen fruit, there will be more juice which will turn the oatmeal pink.  The berries I used for this were blackberry and raspberry.  Want some more fun?  Add almonds, banana, whatever you like!  Oatmeal is like a pizza crust.  It can handle whatever you throw at it. 

Heirloom tomatoes are one of my favorite late summer treats.  I have often wondered what makes them 'heirloom'?

So here is a simple explanation.  Heirloom plants grow from seeds developed pre-1951 and pollinated by things occurring in nature, insects, birds, winds, etc.  1951 was the first year that people began hybridization, which explains the date.  Hybridization occurs when the pollen from one plant is used to pollinate an entirely different species or variety.  If seeds are harvested from these resulting plants they typically will not grow.  Where as with heirloom seeds the seeds harvested will result in plants just like the parents.

Personally, I would love to see more heirloom varieties on the market.  The tomatoes are incredible if you haven't yet tried them.  Grow your own, or cough up the $5 or so a pound price they fetch.  Who cares about the price...they are awesome!  They are so meaty and delicious you can save your money on the bacon and just have a L&T sandwich!

When we moved to the Chicago area in July 2008 we had to find a local bread that we liked.  Tried a few and they were dry and WAY too dense.  So I decided to look again at commercially made bread. 

The list of ingredients ran on and on with unpronounceable, unknown, words.  I understood a few things like enriched flour.  But, I don’t want my flour enriched either.  Enriching flour means that nutrients are added back in because they were stripped when the flour was processed into white flour.  But, after enriched flour, the list grew weirder, and weirder.  Then we get to high fructose corn syrup.  This is a sugar substitute.  OK, fine I get that.  But, why is there any type of sweetener in my bread?  Bread is only supposed to contain: flour, water, salt, and yeast right? 

Adding unnecessary sweeteners to everyday products is enough for me to have a disdain for HFCS.  Then the method through which HFCS is made sounds awfully unnatural.  The corn syrup (in part from genetically modified corn) undergoes enzymatic processing (where genetically modified enzymes are added) to speed up the chemical reactions.  It goes on from there. 

Another argument I have heard is that fructose is also found in fruit.  So it is naturally occurring.  Yeah it is but, honestly, let me get my daily shot of fructose from an apple, where I am getting other nutrients in a beautifully packaged bit of loveliness.  The problem, it seems, is that we are just sucking down WAY too much of the stuff.  Everything in moderation goes right out the door.  It seems best to try and watch how much sugar you intake.  We all know it is a treat.

If it isn’t found in nature, I don’t want it.  However, I wouldn’t say that you are going to grow an extra digit if you have it occasionally just yet…

Never having an organic beer before I wondered how they would compare to regular beers.  Kyle and I were pleasantly surprised.  I would buy some of these beers again just because I like them, and then they just happen to be organic.  Now to be fair, I am sure there are a lot of brewers that buy from farms that don't use pesticides.  But, for this test we only wanted to try 'organic' beers.  So this is what we were judging: color, aroma, and taste.  For this test (this was so fun I think we will do more) we were judging 5 pale ales.  However, upon closer inspection it doesn't appear that they are all "pale ales" oh well close enough.  Oh, and one of them isn't domestic, which wasn't part of the deal either.  I am hardly going to dump that research down the drain so you will find info on them here as well.

So here they are, in no particular order (other than this was the tasting order) and our findings.

Wolaver's^TM Pale Ale: The color was a clear, dark amber, with moderate carbonation.  The aroma was grainy, and hoppy.  We gave it an average of 5.5 on the hoppiness scale, and a 3 for maltiness (sweetness).  We both thought the finish was smooth, light, and refreshing.  This was Kyle's favorite pick.  He typically will pick up a 6er of Sierra Nevada® or Stone® Pale Ale, if you would like to compare tastes. 

Butte Creek Brewing Company Organic Ale: The light amber/ golden color was as accompanied by moderate carbonation.  Butte Creek definitely had more carbonation than the Wolaver's^TM.  Out of all of them, this one had the strongest aroma.  Very earthy, you could pick out the barley in it.  We gave it an average of 2 on the hoppiness scale, and a 6.5 for maltiness.  Finished nice and easy, very balanced.  Kyle's enjoyed this one more than the Wolaver's^TM on the first time through (we had a little refresher at the end).

Goose Island Beer Company, Lamar Street Organic Pale Ale: The color was a dark red amber, and wasn't clear.  The carbonation was very light.  The aroma was fruity and sweet for me, balanced for Kyle.  We gave it an average of 3 on the hoppiness scale, and a 5 for maltiness.  The finish was full bodied, and clean.  It was too flat for Kyle, but this was my favorite!  I typically like everything.

Stone Mill Organic Pale Ale (Michelob Brewing Co. ®): The color was light honey, with the highest amount of carbonation.  We couldn't believe how fruity it smelled, like banana almost.  We gave it an average of 2 on the hoppiness scale, and a 7 for maltiness.  The finish was fruity with a bite.  Kyle could taste the banana and that was a little weird for him.  However, this kind of tasted like a white beer for me (which I love).  I liked this one.

Wychwood Scarecrow Golden Pale Ale: The color was a light gold, with very light carbonation.  The aroma was nutty.  We gave it an average of 4 on the hoppiness scale, and a 3.5 for maltiness.  The finish was balanced.  We both thought it tasted very European...it's brewed in England. 

If you are interested in trying any of these I recommend checking out the brewers websites for a list of distributors.  We had a lot of fun doing this and think it would be a GREAT idea for a party.

Let me know if there are any product categories that you are particularly interested in and I would be happy to test them out for you!

I found a great site for just that thing!  Eatwild is a great resource to figure out where to find grass-fed/pastured products in your area, and to learn about all the benefits.  I choose to eat grass-fed only products because I believe a natural diet for the animals can only result in healthier food for us.  Not to mention that we are putting back into the earth what we take out when animals are pastured.  Oh yeah, and it tastes better.  Pastured animals don't need antibiotics because they are eating a natural diet.  Which means we don't get pumped full of unnatural crap either.  Buying meat in bulk can be kind of tricky, but I have found that the farms are incredibly helpful.  There are also buying clubs where you can link up with other people in your area to create a pick up location for us urbanites that may find it harder to get to the farm locations for pick ups.  Check out the site, it's great!

MINI MEATLOAF (SERVES 6 - ASSUMING A SERVING IS 2 MINIS)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 LB Bison, or grass-fed beef
• ½ C Red onion - chopped
• 1 C Spinach - washed, dried, and chopped
• 1-1/3 C Whole wheat bread crumbs
• ½ Tsp Minced garlic
• 1 Egg

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375°. Combine all ingredients in medium size bowl. Mix thoroughly. Shape mini-loaves into small footballs. About the size of your palm. Place mini-loaves on a broiler pan (I suggest rubbing a little olive oil on it to prevent sticking), and place on middle rack of preheated oven. Cook about 20 minutes. 

NOTES

An easy variation would be to toss in carrots, or red peppers. The small loaves make for a fast, delicious dinner, and also help with portion control.  The loaves are shown served with beets, and red skin mashed potatoes. 

Is it enough to buy organic?  The more I learn, the more I believe it is about being local, and sustainable.  When possible, I hope to stimulate the local economy, buy from small farms, and in turn know where my food is coming from.  As a consumer it is important to know, and see what your dollars are being spent on. 

It pains me to think that the money I spend on my beloved Kashi® cereal makes it back to Kellog's®.  Or, that my purchase of Muir Glen® tomatoes eventually gets back to General Mills.  It seems that all of the organic brands I have been buying over the years have now been bought up themselves.  Please visit The Cornucopia Institutes post on the subject to see which corporations have swallowed up the companies we thought we are supporting. 

In order to compete with national brands the smaller companies must adopt certain industrialized methods.  But, what price does the environment pay when organic farming is industrialized?  An interesting read can be found in this month's issue of Gourmet.  The article entitled, "Greens of Wrath" explores what happened to farmers post the E. coli in spinach outbreak of 2006.  Some small farmers that sell to Earthbound Farm (I'm sure others as well) have taken extreme measures to ensure that wildlife, and vegetation be stripped from the landscape surrounding their fields, in hopes of ensuring the outbreak doesn't happen again.  The idea of stripping the land of all living things to make a barrier sounds absurd and bizarre.

This is so contrary to what my mind conjures up when I imagine organic crops.  Not to mention that these bags salads, and a big part of organic veggies are all flown from CA.  That is a long way to my local Whole Foods® here in Chicagoland.  Can you imagine all the oil we use to ship "organic" produce across the country?  After cars, the food industry uses the most fossil fuels, and contributes the most to green house gas emissions, according to "Farmer in Chief", by Michael Pollan.  We can attempt to combat this by staying local.  This is an idealistic approach.  I get that.  But, we once operated this way and I think if we can support local commerce when possible we could have a big impact on where our food comes from in the future. 

I know it seems a little lofty to think this could happen.  But it did.  Let me explain...

We joined a CSA (community supported agriculture) program in June of 2007.  Each week for $26 we picked up our large box of veggies from Be Wise Ranch in San Diego.  The box was packed full of fresh, organic produce grown just a few miles away from our house.  We always had some staples, but the fun part was trying veggies we hadn't had before, or probably wouldn't pick out for ourselves just because we didn't know what to do with them. 

We loved forcing ourselves to find recipes for fennel, turnips, collard greens (I stuff them like cabbage rolls-YUM), kale, rainbow chard, etc.  When I compare what we received in the box, I am not sure what we were eating before, and I can't compare it to anything I have had since we moved in July 2008   Oranges, that would drip down your hands, bags full of gorgeous heirloom tomatoes, green beans that would snap, fresh raisins, the list goes on and on.  The experience awakened me to question what I had been eating in the past.  All the bargain shopping had robbed me of such an incredible rich experience.  We no longer felt the need for large portions of meat to feel satisfied. 

To this day there isn't a veggie that will go bad in our house.  I will use every last scrap in some kind of soup, or pasta concoction.  There's no going back now.  My voracious appetite for fresh produce has taken over, and put my senses in overdrive.

The CSA program was not only supporting everything I believe in, but had awakened my senses to fresh produce.  Not flown, trucked, or commercially farmed.  That particular CSA is sold out now.  But, there are others to check out.  We originally found our CSA through Local Harvest^TM.  I encourage you to take a look to see what is available in your area. 

And this, my friends, is how a simple box of veggies changed everything...

Ok guys...we're girls.  We don't want burgers and brats on the first date (maybe the second, or third).  Let me give you a little advice on what we would really love.  You can use it as your own idea.  Actually, I took the idea from some friends so feel free!

This meal happens to be one of my husband's favorite meals, and takes about 15 minutes to get it from the kitchen to the table.  No stove.  No cooking.  You can do this.  I can help.  Let's review the reason we date.  We date to get to know each other, converse, share likes and dislikes.  This meal forces conversation, creativity and sharing.  I know you are thinking this sounds really touchy feely. You think this is bad?  Wait until I give you the recipe for unicorn cupcakes (joking).    

This is what you need to get at the store:

FOR SALAD - combine all ingredients in small mixing bowl

• 1 Tbls Organic olive oil
• ¼ Tsp Balsamic vinegar
• Greens (I recommend arugula-has a peppery taste)
• 1 Tomato
• 1 Lemon - only use a squeeze for the salad

SERVE THE FOLLOWING ON A CUTTING BOARD:

• Crusty rustic bread
• Nice cheeses, you can purchase an assortment, or just one nice wedge will do
• 1 Avocado (smashed slightly in a small dish)
• Hummus - feel free to pick up some cucumber, carrots, or celery for dipping

If you feel like you might die without some kind of meat at dinner, go ahead and buy prosciutto, or something similar.  I assure that you won't die, but do what you must.

Add a little Sinatra, a nice wine, and you have an impressive little evening planned! Just mix, match those scrumptious little bites, and have fun!  Think of all the benefits of not going out to dinner.  You won't feel rushed, have to wait for a table, know exactly what you are eating, and you can save some cash to splurge on a nicer bottle of wine!

STUFFED SPUDS (SERVES 2)

This is a satisfying vegetarian (if you eat dairy) meal.  Hearty enough for a chilly fall day. 

INGREDIENTS

• 1 Tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 C Carrot - diced (about 3 carrots)
• 1 C White onion - chopped
• 2 C Button mushrooms - sliced
• 1-1/2 C Frozen peas 
• 1 Tbsp. Salt-free seasoning blend
• 6 Potatoes - about 3" in length, clean, remove eyes, and poke several small holes
• 14.5 oz. Can cream of mushroom soup - I only used about ¾ of a can.  You will need to make that determination based on how soupy you want the consistency. 
• Sharp cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS

Heat olive oil in fry pan on medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, about 4 minutes, add carrots and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.  Add onion, mushrooms, peas, and seasoning blend and continue to cook for about 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.  While the veggies are cooking begin to cook the potatoes.  Place on a plate and microwave on high for 5 minutes.  Turn them and cook for about 7 more minutes.  Continue to cook if they are not fork tender.  Once the onions are translucent, and veggies are tender, add the soup and continue to cook until heated through.  Then, split each potato down the middle, and place the halves in the bottom of individual bowls.  Top with veggie mixture and garnish with sharp cheddar cheese. 

NOTES

We used 3 Yukon, and 3 Red Skin potatoes just to be crazy.  For a salt-free seasoning blend I am in love with Trader Joe's® 21 Season Salute.  There is just enough kick to it, if you're into a little spicy.  If the soup is too thick for your liking, thin it with a little milk.

For this meal idea I wanted to create something that would bring some of the best offerings of the fall season.  This meal is as pretty to look at as it is delicious to taste.  I would recommend pairing this meal with a glass, or two, of pinot noir. 

• Pork Tenderloin
• Berry Sweet Potato Bake
• A is for Applesauce

You will notice that the Berry Sweet Potato Bake serves 4-6 where the other dishes serve about 2.  That is because the Berry Sweet Potato Bake is a welcome addition to tomorrow's lunch.  Believe me, you will wish there was more of it!  Let the countdown to Thanksgiving begin!

I decided to make a submission for the Next Food Network Star.  It was so much fun, and it certainly helped to have such a supportive cameraman/editor/food prep/cat restrainer/technical guru.    

To see the official video click here. 

Not sick of me yet?  Click here to see the outtakes!! 

Thanksgiving is quickly approaching and I thought this would be an incredibly appropriate time to make gourd figures.  I mean, when else would pilgrim gourds be more timely?!  Food can be fun, delicious, and historically accurate.

In honor of the first Thanksgiving please visit history.com to discover what might have been on the menu, and what wasn't.  Personally, I was SHOCKED that there wasn't green been casserole.  Who knew?

So, next week I will begin a series counting down to Thanksgiving preparing what the settlers would have eaten.  Starting with...sautéed eel. 

NO JOE I KNOW! (SERVES 4)

I love these bad boys anyway I can get them.  This meal whips together in about 20-30 minutes.  Perfect for the instant gratification folks like myself.  Yes, I realize good things are worth waiting for.  But, not when I am starving!

INGREDIENTS

• 1.5 Lb. Ground bison - or turkey, beef, whatever you want, doesn't have to be meat
• ¼ C Red onions - reserve a little for garnishing
• ¼ C Yellow pepper
• 1 Tsp. Garlic - minced
• ¼ Tsp. Hot sauce - optional
• ½ C Ketchup
• ½ C BBQ Sauce
• 2 C Arugula - divided among servings to garnish
• 4 Slices bread

DIRECTIONS

Add meat, red onion, yellow pepper, and garlic to a medium size fry pan, and cook on medium heat until meat is cooked through.  About 20-25 minutes.  Add ketchup, bbq sauce, hot sauce, stir to combine.  Not saucy enough?  Add some more ketchup and bbq! 

Then toast bread, top with joe, serve open faced, garnish with reserved red onion, and arugula.  If you are feeling crazy add pickles, slaw, etc.  Have fun with your joes.

CHORIZO CHARGED BREAKFAST (SERVES 4)

This is a filling dish that keeps you that way until lunch...at least.  You could sub in less spicy sausage if you like, but you won't find that at my house!

• 4 ounces chorizo - I used a smoked chicken chorizo
• ¼ cup green onion - chopped
• 1 small tomato - seeded, and chopped
• 6 pastured eggs
• 1 teaspoon water
• ½ cup cheddar cheese - divided in two
• ¼ teaspoon cumin

Preheat oven to 350°.  Place chorizo, green onion, and tomato in the bottom of a 9" pie pan.  In a small mixing bowl whisk eggs, and water together.  Add ¼ C of the cheese, and cumin to the eggs, and pour over pie pan.  Add the remaining cheese to the top and place in 350° for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through.

Never having had pumpkin for anything other than pie, this was a fun experiment.  I was pleasantly surprised at how delicate the pumpkin tasted.  Why have we just been carving them all this time?!  I will never look at them the same again.

The first recipe made from the pumpkin-riffic filling is Pumpkin Ravioli (or, Tortellini).  I should mention that if you choose to make tortellini and, are as slow as I am, you may want to start forming them several hours before your guests arrive!  Oh, and no wine until they are done.  They require concentration. 

The second recipe, Pumpkin Lasagna was an attempt to use up the left over pumpkin filling.  It turned into an awesome taste sensation.  I hope it sweeps the nation! 

Let me know how you enjoy pumpkin prepared.  I am curious to know what other treats I have been missing out on!

INDIVIDUAL SHEPHERD'S PIE (SERVES 4)

This simple meal should certainly fill you up after a day of sledding, snowmobiling or a day in the cube farm.

• 1 pound ground grass-fed beef
• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 cup button mushrooms - coarsely chopped
• ½ cup yellow onion - chopped
• 1 cup frozen peas
• 1-14 ounce can cream of mushroom soup

FOR POTATO CRUST

• 8 small yukon potatoes - cleaned, cut in half, several holes poked in skin
• 4 tablespoons whole milk yogurt
• 2 tablespoons butter - don't you dare use margarine
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic

Preheat oven to 350°.  Cook potatoes on high heat in microwave for 6 minutes.  Flip and cook for 6 more.  While the potatoes are cooking brown grass-fed beef over medium heat in a large skillet.  Once cooked through, remove and set aside.  In that same pan heat 1 Tsp. olive oil, add mushrooms, and onion.  Continue to cook until onions become glossy.  Add peas, cooked beef to the mushrooms and onions.  Stir until heated through, then add mushroom soup and stir to combine.  Add equal portions of meat mixture to 4-16oz. ramekins, and set aside.  For potatoes mash cooked potatoes in medium size mixing bowl.  Once they have reached your desired consistency stir in yogurt, butter, and garlic.  If it is too thick, add a little milk, or chicken stock.  Divide mashed potatoes among the ramekins already filled with the meat mixture.  Place ramekins on a cookie sheet incase they overflow in the oven.  Place on the middle rack for about 25 minutes.  To get potatoes to be golden brown, broil them for about 2 minutes on the top rack in oven.

BEANS & BROWN RICE (SERVES 2 GENEROUSLY)

Ok all you urban cowboys that think that you don't have time to cook a great dinner during the week.  I beg to differ.  This meal is easy, quick, full of protein and delicious.  This could easily be another meal to cook for your lady to get some "you're so handy in the kitchen" points.  Let's face it...you need all the points you can get! 

• 1 teaspoon exra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup white onion - chopped
• 1 tomato - diced
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 4 ounces chorizo - diced, I used chicken chorizo and it was awesome
• 1-15 ounce can no salt added Black Beans - mostly drained
• 1-15 ounce can no salt added Pinto Beans - mostly drained
• dash of hot sauce - to taste
• brown rice - cook according to pkg. directions

Add oil to a large sauce pan and turn to medium heat.  Toss in onion and stir occasionally for about 5 minutes.  Add tomato and garlic and cook for 5 more minutes.  Add cumin, chorizo, hot sauce and beans.  I recommend smashing some of the black beans with the back of your fork to give them a nice, been cooking all day, kind of feel.  Cook for about 10 minutes to make sure everything is heated through.  Serve over brown rice and garnish with cheese, green onion, more hot sauce if you want, and/or plain yogurt. 

FRESH GREEN BEAN SALAD (SERVES 4)

I can't think of an easier side salad than this.  The light vinaigrette brings out the flavor of the fresh veggies.  The white balsamic is less acidic than the darker balsamic which gives it less of a kick.  This is a refreshing respite from the heavy dishes this season tends to bring. 

• 1 pound fresh green beans
• 1 tomato - seeded, diced
• 2 tablespoons red or sweet onions
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• S&P to taste

Bring about 4 cups of water to a boil in a large sauce pan.  Trim the ends of the green beans off and halve any beans that are not about bite size (cutting at an angle makes them look nicer), and wash thoroughly.  Once the water is boiling add the green beans for about 4 minutes, just long enough to take the edge off.  Then put them immediately into an ice bath to stop the cooking process, and preserve the bright green color.  Once the beans have been chilled add the drained beans to a medium size mixing bowl with the rest of the ingredients.  Serve over micro greens if you wish or alone as a side dish. 

Hip-hip-hooray!  Looks like organic milk may soon be under new regulations.  It is comforting to know that watch dog groups like Cornucopia Institute can not only bring to light disconcerting issues, but can get something done about them.  Looks like someone took notice of their efforts according to "Turf wars: New rules for organic dairies' cows", by Steve Karnowki.  Now let's just hope that the regulations are not made so stringently that the very farmers we are trying to protect are put out of business.

If, you haven't read my article Is all Organic Milk Created Equal I encourage you to do that, and follow the link to Cornucopia Institute's findings.  Fascinating stuff.  My buying habits will never be the same.  Make sure you know what is going on your cereal, and where those hard earned pennies are going.  It is up to us, the consumers, to voice our opinions not only by the words we say, but by the products we buy. 

Let me start by saying that I am not vegan.  However, I do have friends that are and I was challenged to develop some vegan recipes.  Instead of devloping them I decided to create a meal borrowing from others to create what I would like to have if I were vegan.  Now, I haven't tried a single one of these recipes but they all sounded divine and who cares if they are vegan...they just sound and look awesome!

Happy Thanksgiving however you choose to celebrate!

For starters:

• Spicy Lentil & Roasted Butternut Squash Soup from Mousoou Spice

Main course:

• Gourmet Magazine's Mushroom and Farro Pie . There are a few modifications needed to complete the vegan transformation.  Sub olive oil for butter, soy ricotta for whole-milk ricotta.  Instead of brushing the crust with egg, just use water to seal.  Then brush olive oil on the top instead. of egg wash.

Side dishes:

• Artichoke-Potato Gratin from Vegalicious.org
• World's Best Green Bean Casserole from A Veggie Venture
• A Different Kind of Salad from Dana Treat
• Cranberry Walnut Bread from Elana's Pantry.  Yes, there are eggs in this recipe.  I couldn't help it.  It looked too good.  OK, this one isn't vegan. 

Dessert:

• Gingered Cranberry and Kumquat Relish from Bon Appetit
• Pecan Pumpkin Crumble from Kitchen Klique. For this one you will need to substitute the evaporated milk.

Cocktail:

• Pumpkin Divine from Cocktail Times

CREAMY CHICKEN & GREEN BEAN PASTA (SERVES 4+)

YUM.  I am thrilled about being able to make my own cream sauce.  It was super easy and now I know how to adapt this for soups etc.  No more canned mushroom soup for this girl!  Of course, I sought out the least amount of ingredients when I bought them, but this is one less thing to buy!  Woo hoo!

Oh how I love thee let me count the ways: meringue, omelets, quiche, sunny side up, the list goes on and on!  Is there anything you can't do?  Perfect little capsules containing glorious nutrients and sunny little faces smiling back at you.  As if to say, good choice, there isn't anything but love in here! But wait...I can't eat the yolk, there's cholesterol in there.  Can this be true?  Could a food that has been eating since the dawn of time be adding to our current health crisis?  Is the yolk on us?  Hmmm...

I've been wondering about the white vs. yolk subject for quite some time now.  Should we just eat the white?  Should we eat both?  There certainly is cholesterol in eggs according to the Mayo Clinic.  If someone has high cholesterol issues this might be something to consider cutting out.  What about the rest of us without high cholesterol?  My instinct tells me that we can eat them just the way they are.  Apparently there are some fabulous nutrients that we need that are only found in the yolk not the white.  I bet there are benefits we don't even know about when the white and yolk are consumed together. 

So, for me and my family we aren't going to labor this any further.  We are a yolk loving family and intend on staying that way.  Now I'm not saying that we should all start scarfing down a 6 egg omelet every morning.  I am merely saying that when eaten in moderation I don't see the harm.  Long live the glorious (pastured) egg!

BANANA BREAD OATMEAL (SERVES 2)

This is a great creamy treat that is sure to get even the deepest sleepers out of bed.  Steel cut oats have a different texture than rolled oats because they use the whole oat kernel.  They may take a little longer to make, but they are well worth the time. 

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup milk
• 1 cup organic steel cut oats ½ Tsp. Cinnamon
• pinch cloves
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 banana - cut in ¼ lengthwise, then cubed

Bring water and milk to a boil, add oats and reduce to low heat, simmer for approximately 25-30 minutes, stir occasionally.  Add the rest of the ingredients, stir, and serve!  Mmmm....

HONEY MUSTARD SLAW WITH BEETS AND PANCETTA (SERVES 4)

Since Thanksgiving is still sitting on my thighs I have been craving fresh, light salads.  This did the trick and the beets looked beautiful against the green of the napa cabbage.  Very refreshing indeed!

• ¼ cup slivered almonds
• 1 napa cabbage - shredded
• 1 beet - peeled, cleaned, julienne
• ¼ pound pancetta - thinly sliced

DRESSING

• 3 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• ¼ teaspoon celery seed

In a dry skillet toast almonds over medium heat until they become fragrant and golden, about 5 minutes.  Set toasted almonds aside.  In the same skillet cook pancetta until browned, about 10 minutes.  Transfer pancetta to paper towel to soak up excess grease from frying. 

In a small mixing bowl add all dressing ingredients and combine throughly.  In a separate mixing bowl combine cabbage and dressing.  Refrigerate cabbage, and dressing for an hour or two.  Remove from refrigerator and stir in almonds.  Divide salad among 4 plates and garnish with beet and pancetta. 

NOTES

I tried to make my own mayonnaise and it was a disaster.  Sorry, this I did have to buy prepared.  Please do let me know if anyone has any suggestions for homemade mayonnaise.  Mine didn't thicken and tasted worse than it looked.

CAULIFLOWER AND PANCETTA PIZZA (SERVES 2)

Pizza is something that we enjoy weekly.  Seriously.  So, why not share our creations with the world!  Over the next year I hope to provide fresh new ideas on what a pizza is, and how they can be enjoyed in unexpected and surprising ways.  Every week I will introduce our newest pizza experiment.  If you are interested in following the 52 weeks of Pizza look for a new recipe every Friday!   

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza)

SAUCE

Alfredo sauce

TOPPINGS

• ¼ pound pancetta - thinly sliced
• 1 head cauliflower
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon salt-free multi-purpose seasoning blend
• 1 cup freshly grated mozzarella
• ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 400°.  Brown pancetta over medium heat in a large skillet.  Once pancetta is browned, place in a paper towel to remove excess grease, break into smaller pieces, and set aside.  Clean cauliflower, and break into florets.  Add florets EVOO, red pepper flakes, seasoning blend to a medium size mixing bowl and stir to combine.  Put EVOO coated cauliflower in a roasting pan.  Roast at 400° for about 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once during the cooking process.

While the cauliflower is roasting shape your dough into the desired shape, adding as little flour as possible.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Once you have removed the cauliflower from the oven, increase heat to 500°.  Brush crust with a bit of EVOO, and cook without toppings for about 5 minutes.  Add alfredo sauce and spread evenly.  Then add roasted cauliflower, pancetta, mozzarella, and parmesan.  Cook for 10 or so minutes more, or until golden brown. 

How do you like your pizza?  Are you a traditionalist, or an adventurer?  Deep dish, or thin crust? 

It has been brought to my attention that some of my guy friends would be interested in some quick, simple recipes.  Who am I kidding?  We all want quick, simple recipes.  Therefore, I am introducing recipes for the "one pan man", or OPM for short.  Whenever you see this in the title you know it is especially easy and requires minimal effort, still resulting in fabulous results.

If you would like to be notified of the OPM recipes only please shoot me an email at: Emily@justeatfood.com with "opm" in the subject line.  I would be happy to let you know when there is a new recipe to check out.  Don't worry, my husband (not me) is the one that is ensuring that these are indeed one pan man easy. 

OPM: BLACKBERRY FRENCH TOAST (ENOUGH FOR 6 SLICES) 

French toast is one of the quickest breakfasts, and always looks so great.  This is a sure fire way to impress your girl.  So gentlemen...fire up that skillet!  You don't have any excuses now!

Ok, so this is a 2 pan recipe.  Close enough.  It is still pretty simple. 

• ¾ cup maple syrup
• 6-8 frozen blackberries - any berries would work fine, or skip them all together
• 3 pastured eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 3 teaspoons butter
• cinnamon
• 6 slices whole-wheat bread

In a small saucepan over low heat add syrup and berries.  These should be hot by the time the toast is all done. 

In a 9-in. pie pan (or just use a bowl) whisk the eggs and milk together.  Sprinkle a light layer of cinnamon across the egg mixture.  Do NOT go too heavy on the cinnamon.  Set the egg mixture aside until the skillet is hot.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Once it is hot add ½ tsp. butter to each spot that a slice of bread will fit.  While the butter is melting, take a slice of bread, lay it down in the egg mixture, then flip to coat the other side.  Then place in the hot skillet and repeat until the skillet is full.  Once the toast is golden brown on one side flip it to cook the other side.  Repeat this process until all toast is cooked.

Serve toast with syrup, and powder sugar if you have it.  Then sit back, relax, and wait for the praise. 

OPM- One pan man.  Think of an OPM as an everyday guy.  This is a guy that doesn't have a lot of experience, or time to experiment in the kitchen but has a lady he is trying to impress, or just simply wants to beef up his skills, one step at a time.  These are simple, quick recipes.  This one...requires a lot of chopping.  Think of it as good practice.

The weather here in IL was less than cooperative for a photo shoot.  It was actually sleeting while I took these photos on our porch.  Despite the weather, this salad was refreshing and filling. 

Quinoa (KEEN-wah) has only been eaten for 6000 years so if you don't trust history, don't bother!   Apparently the Incas called it the "mother of all grains", and I can see why.  These delicious little, protein packed, grains became a part of my diet this past summer.  It seemed that recipes popped up all over the place once I had the pleasure of being introduced!  Quinoa this, that and the other!  I am in love with this fast cooking rice substitute.  Stand by for more recipes with quinoa in a supporting/starring role...

This could be made vegan very easily by making your own vegan feta. 

OPM: QUINOA & FETA SALAD (4-1 C. SERVINGS)

• ½ cup quinoa - rinsed
• 1 cup water
• ¼ cup slivered almonds - toasted
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ cup parsley leaves, divided
• ¼ cup red onion - chopped
• ¼ cup radish - finely chopped
• ¼ cup feta cheese - cubed
• salt and pepper to taste

In a medium sauce pan bring water and quinoa to a boil.  Once boiling, reduce to a simmer, cover, and let cook for about 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed and the round germ is exposed. 

While the quinoa cooks bring a medium size skillet up to medium heat.  Add almonds to the dry skillet and stir occasionally until fragrant and browned.  Remove from heat and set aside until ready to serve.

To make dressing add ¼ C. parsley leaves, garlic, EVOO, and lemon juice to a small food processor and purée (blend until all ingredients become liquefied).  Once puréed place in a small airtight container and refrigerate until ready to use. 

Once the quinoa is cooked allow to cool in a medium mixing bowl until it reaches room temperature.  Combine quinoa, ¼ C. parsley, red onion, radish and feta cheese.  Place in an airtight container until ready to serve.  I recommend chilling at least 1 hour before serving. 

When time to serve combine dressing, toasted almonds with salad and garnish with a lemon wedge if you choose. 

VARIATIONS

This salad would be great with garbanzo beans tossed in there, tomatoes when in season.

LAMB STACKS (SERVES 2-3)

This week has been Greek week for us.  Not Greek week in the sense of rushing a sorority, but craving some yummy Greek food.  Since neither one of us are Greek (to our knowledge) these may be loose interpretations, please do not take offense.  Perhaps this is more Mediterranean week than anything.

Pair the Lamb Stacks with Quinoa & Feta Salad, and glass of wine for a satisfying and relatively light meal.

• 2 quarts water (enough to cover vegetables)
• ½ pound grass-fed ground beef
• ½ pound pastured ground lamb
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
• ¼ teaspoon dried basil
• 2 tablespoons onion - finely chopped
• 1 pastured egg
• 1 medium red skin potato - scrub and trim out imperfections
• 2 small golden beets - rinse and trim off ends
• extra-virgin olive oil
• pepper

Preheat oven to 350°.  Bring water to boil in large sauce pan.  While water is heating up mix the following in a large mixing bowl: beef, lamb, oregano, thyme, basil, onion, and egg.  Stir until combined. 

If water is boiling now add unpeeled, whole potato and beets.  Allow them to boil uncovered until tender, about 30 minutes.

In a muffin pan (my muffin cups were about 3" in diameter) brush muffin rounds with a bit of olive oil.  Then begin to spoon in meat mixture until about half way up the cups.  Cook in 350° oven for about 20 minutes. 

Once vegetables are tender slice red skin potato into thin slices, peel the beets with a pairing knife and slice thinly.

Once the meat mixture has been removed from the oven, cover the meat with a layer of thinly sliced beets and then potato.  Brush potato with olive oil and a little pepper if you wish.  Place back in the 350° oven for an additional 30 minutes or until potato begins to brown.  Remove from muffin rounds with a fork. 

Recently, I had the good fortune of stumbling upon a local market that is mere miles away, they have microgreens and veggies all year round (thanks to hoophouses), fresh honey collected on the premises, a collection of pastured dairy, eggs, and meat products collected from area farmers.

I was thrilled to visit Heritage Prairie Market http://www.hpmfarm.com/  I encourage you to visit their site and be jealous of me because I get to frequent them.  The people that work there are tremendously friendly and I felt like we had been shopping there for years.  I love them!

Yesterday I listened to a PBS webcast that I found very interesting titled "Food Miles" I highly recommend the e² series.  If you have 30 minutes to spare please view the webcast by going to the "teachers" pull down - select e² transport - then Food Miles.  You won't be disappointed in their discussion on local food and its role in our past and its increasing (hopefully) role in our future.   

I can't begin to explain how good it feels to support our local economy, to connect to the people that grow our food.   Despite the warm fuzzies we get to enjoy tremendously delicious, fresh food.  Our milk, eggs, and meat stores are almost gone already.  Looks like we will have to make a trip back there soon!  I encourage you to seek out wonderful local outlets in your area, Local Harvest is a great place to start your search.

Enjoy the photos of the gorgeous Black Spanish, and Watermelon radishes we enjoyed this past week...

GREEK PIZZA (SERVES 2)

Here is entry #2 for the 52 weeks of Pizza.  Which means it's Friday!  See you next Friday for another entry!

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza)

SAUCE

Tzatziki Sauce

• 1/3 cup whole milk plain yogurt
• ¼ cup cucumber - skinned, seeded and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 1-2 cloves garlic - minced 

TOPPINGS

For meatballs

• ½ pound pastured ground lamb
• 1 pastured egg
• ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons Panko crumbs, divided
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon dried oregano

• ½ cup feta - crumbled
• ¼ cup red onion - finely chopped
• ¼ cup kalamata olives - halved

Preheat oven to 400°.  Make Tzatziki sauce by combining yogurt, cucumber, lemon juice, and garlic in a small mixing bowl, cover, and refrigerate until ready to use (this will allow the flavors to incorporate). 

For the meatballs combine lamb, egg, 2 Tbsp. panko crumbs, red pepper, and oregano in a medium size mixing bowl.  Stir until well combined.   Put remaining ¼ panko crumbs into a shallow bowl. Form meatballs in 2" diameter (makes about 10) and roll in panko crumbs.  Place meatballs in an oiled mini-meatball pan.  Cook in 400° oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. 

While the meatballs are cooking prepare the feta, red onion, and kalamata olives, and stretch pizza crust brush with olive oil. 

When meatballs are done increase temperature to 500° slice meatballs, and add with other toppings on top of the pizza.  Place in 500° oven and back until the crust is golden brown.  About 10-15 minutes.  Drizzle with Tzatziki sauce just before serving. 

NOTES

Because this crust cooks without a sauce on it, it tends to be very cracker like.  It is important not to stretch too thin especially with this particular pizza.  I don't recommend pre-cooking the crust without toppings. 

SPICY WHITE BEANS WITH QUINOA (SERVES 2)

This turned out to be a fabulous pre-workout meal with just enough carbohydrates and protein.  Plus it wasn't too heavy!  I had this puppy whipped up in about 20 minutes therefore qualifying this dish for the OPM (one pan man) series.

• ½ cup quinoa - rinsed
• 1-1/2  cup chicken broth - divided
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• ¼ teaspoon chili garlic sauce - more or less to taste
• ¼ cup onion - coarsely chopped
• 1 large tomato - diced (or, use ½ 15 oz. can diced tomato)
• 2 cups spinach leaves - coarsely chopped (or, substitute with frozen)
• 1 15 ounce can great northern beans - reserve 3 tbsp. liquid, drain the rest
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes - more or less to taste
• 1 teaspoon salt-free, multi-purpose seasoning

Bring 1 cup chicken broth and quinoa to a boil over medium heat in a small sauce pan.  Once boiling, reduce to low heat and cover, cook for about 15 minutes, or until water is absorbed.

While quinoa is cooking, heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Once hot add EVOO, garlic, and chili garlic sauce.  Once garlic is fragrant (about 2 minutes) stir in onion and tomato, cooking until onion is softened, about 5 minutes.  Add spinach leaves and cook until wilted.  Then add the remaining chicken broth (1/2 c.), beans and 3 tbsp. of their liquid, and seasonings.  Stir until well combined and reduce to simmer until ready to serve.

Spoon white beans over the quinoa to serve. 

NOTES

For a vegan modification, substitute veggie broth for chicken. 

CALL TO ACTION

Cornucopia.org has posted a call to action involving a recently proposed USDA rule.  If the rules go into effect, as written, many ethically acting farmers will be put out of business.  Please read the article in full, and send in your public comments.  We only have until December 23^rd for the commenting period.

BLACK BEAN CHILI (SERVES 4)

This is so easy that I was almost embarrassed to make it a post!  You only equipment needed is one skillet about 2" deep for this one.  That is IT! This is my attempt to empty your pantry of canned produce.  So enjoy Chili on this chilly winter day.  So funny aren't I?  Seriously, I need to get out a bit more. 

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 3 cloves garlic - minced
• ½ green pepper - chopped and seeded
• ¼ cup onion - chopped
• 1/3 pound grass-fed ground beef
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 can (15 ounces) organic low-sodium pinto beans - drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) organic low-sodium black beans - drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) organic stewed tomatoes
• 1 can (8 ounces) organic tomato sauce
• hot stuff to taste - I added chopped jalapeños and cholula

GARNISH

• red onion - chopped
• plain whole milk yogurt
• sharp cheddar

Over medium heat add EVOO to a medium skillet.  Once EVOO is hot add garlic, green pepper, onion, and ground beef and continue to cook until meat is browned through.  Then add cumin, pinto beans, black beans, stewed tomatoes (break up with spatula), tomato sauce, and all the hot stuff you can handle.  Allow to cook until heated through and flavors combine, about 20 minutes.  Garnish and dig in.  Serve with grilled cheese for an especially great taste sensation.

VARIATIONS

To modify for a vegan dish, skip the beef and cheddar garnish, and serve over quinoa for extra protein.

VEGETARIAN FIESTADO PIZZA (SERVES 2)

For week 3 of the 52 weeks of pizza I am taking a giant leap away from what we typically consider pizza and offering you a culinary diversion the Friday before Christmas.  But, what could I offer to represent Christmas?  Something red, white and green perhaps?  How about something a bit more festive for my Christmas tidings?  Enjoy these individual fiestas!  I want to wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart!

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• ¼ cup green pepper - chopped
• ¼ cup onion - chopped
• 2 whole wheat tortillas
• 1 -15 ounce can organic, low-sodium pinto beans - drained well
• salsa
• ½ cup sharp cheddar - shredded

Garnish

• jalapeños - to taste
• lettuce - shredded
• tomato - diced
• 2 tablespoons whole milk plain yogurt - mix with a little taco seasoning if you have it
• red onion - chopped

Preheat oven to 450°.  In a medium sized sauce pan heat over medium heat.  Once hot add EVOO, garlic, green pepper, and onion.  Stir occasionally until onions become translucent. 

In the mean time heat a skillet over medium heat.  Once hot add one tortilla to the dry skillet and cook until browned about 2-3 minutes.  Flip the tortilla and brown the other side.  Repeat for tortilla for second serving then set both aside. 

Once the green pepper, and onions are cooked, transfer to a small bowl and set aside.  Now add the drained pinto beans to the same sauce pan and continue to cook over medium heat.  With the back of a wooden spoon smash some of the beans against the side of the pan.  This will give the beans a paste-like consistency.  Once they are heated through you can begin to assemble the "pizzas". 

On a baking sheet place your two tortillas, layer the ingredients dividing toppings between the two servings in this order: beans, thin layer of salsa to cover the beans, green pepper and onions, and finally the cheese.  Bake at 450° for 8-10 minutes, or until cheese melts.  Once the pizzas are done feel free to garnish at will!  You can see some suggestions listed above. 

VARIATIONS

The only thing keeping this dish from being vegan is the cheese, substitute with a cheese alternative. 

EGG NOG OATMEAL - SANS RUM (SERVES 2)

Considering that the official temperature outside right now is -5° (-30° if you factor in the wind chill) I could think of nothing more festive, or comforting than egg nog oatmeal.  This was an experiment but I guessed that the creamy, rich flavor of egg nog would be a perfect accompaniment for oatmeal.  I was right!  Yum!  I made the egg nog last night and stored it in an air tight container until I was ready to use it this morning.  If you don't want to make it ahead you could just start cooking the oatmeal once the nog was completed.  If you are heading out the door to do some last minute shopping, this should warm you up! 

• 2 pastured egg yolks
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 cup organic whole milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla extract (use the beans if you have them)
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 cup organic steel cut oats

For egg nog, in a small bowl add yolks and beat with a fork or electric mixer if you have one.  Once beaten thoroughly mix in sugar and blend until sugar dissolves. 

Add egg mixture and milk to a medium sauce pan and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until temperature reaches 160°, or coats the back of a spoon.  Now stir in vanilla, cinnamon, and cloves.  Either place in egg nog in an airtight container for use the next morning or proceed to the next step if you are ready to prepare the oatmeal. 

Bring egg nog to a boil, add oats and continue to cook until they begin to thicken, about 5 minutes.  Reduce to low heat, simmer for approximately 25-30 minutes, and stir occasionally. 

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES - THICK AND CHEWY (MAKES 18)

This recipe was taken from "The New Best Recipe" cookbook, and can be found on page 777.  I don't bake.  It is too cumbersome for me, and I typically don't have a sweet tooth.  So, this was an especially nice treat for Christmas. 

These cookies turned out great, even for a non-baker.  Let's just say...Santa isn't going to skip our house this year!

• 2 cup plus 2 tablespoon (10 5/8 oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 12 tablespoon (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled until just warm
• 1 cup packed (7 oz.) light or dark brown sugar (I used dark)
• ½ cup (3 ½ oz.) granulated sugar
• 1 large pastured egg, plus 1 egg yolk
• 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1-1 ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used chunks)

Adjust the oven racks to the upper- and lower - middle positions and heat the oven to 325°.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper or spray them with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.

Either by hand or with an electric mixer, mix the butter and sugars until thoroughly blended.  

Beat in the egg, yolk, and vanilla until combined.  Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined.  Stir in the chips to taste.

Roll a scant ¼ c. of the dough into a ball.  Hold the dough ball with the fingertips of both hands and pull into 2 equal halves.  Rotate the halves 90 degrees and, with jagged surfaces facing up, join the halves together at the base, and again forming a single ball, being careful not to smooth the dough's uneven surface.  Place the formed dough balls on the prepared baking sheets, jagged surface up, spacing them 2 ½" apart.

Bake until the cookies are light golden brown, the outer edges start to harden, and the centers are still soft and puffy, 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets front to back and top to bottom halfway through the baking time.  Cool the cookies on the sheets.  Remove the cooled cookies from the baking sheets with a wide metal spatula. 

ROASTED POTATO AND ARUGULA PESTO PIZZA (SERVES 2)

Hope that everyone had a fabulous Christmas! I know you never thought you would eat again but here you are. Hungry again. How is that possible? Doesn't matter, it's inevitable. So without completely losing the festive feeling of the holidays I wanted to make something that would hang on to Christmas one more day...a pizza shaped as Santa's face! Just kidding. However, the green pesto and red skin potatoes do look lovely and Christmas-y. I could have at least made it into a wreath shape! Shoot I messed up. My redemption for not making it into a wreath came when we tasted it. Thanks goodness!

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza) 

SAUCE

Arugula Pesto

TOPPINGS

• 3 medium red skin potatoes - cleaned, and cut into 1" cubes
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 quart water
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• ½ teaspoon salt-free seasoning blend of your choice
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese - shredded

Preheat oven to 400°. In a stock pot, or large sauce pan, bring ½ tsp. salt and water to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, add the potatoes and cook until fork tender, about 10 minutes. While potatoes are boiling mix the following in a small mixing bowl: EVOO, salt-free seasoning, red pepper flakes, ¼ tsp. salt. Once the potatoes are removed from the stove and strained, add them to the seasoning mix. Toss to coat. Place coated potatoes in a roasting pan and roast at 400° for about 30 minutes or until golden brown, stirring once during the cooking process.

While the potatoes are roasting, shape your dough into the desired shape, adding as little flour as possible. Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling. Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking. Once you have removed the potatoes from the oven, increase heat to 500°. Brush crust with a bit of EVOO, and cook without toppings for about 5 minutes. Add pesto and spread evenly. Then add roasted potatoes, and mozzarella. Cook for 10 or so minutes more, or until golden brown.

SALMON PATTIES (10 PATTIES)

I heard that eating fish on New Year's Eve- Eve brings good luck for the upcoming year.  No, not really, I just wanted to make them, and felt the need to justify it.  These tasty little bites are incredibly versatile and easy to make.  They are shown here on a bed of mixed greens with tomato, carrots, a wedge of lemon, and a drizzle of balsamic and olive oil for a light dressing.  However, the patties would be wonderful with pasta, in a pita, or alone with a side of veggies.

• 2-4 ounces salmon fillets
• 1 slice whole wheat bread - made into bread crumbs
• ¼ cub red onion - finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 3 tablespoons parmesan cheese - freshly grated
• 1 pastured egg
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)

Preheat oven to 350°.  In a small pie pan place salmon fillets, sprinkle with pepper on both sides.  Cook at 350° until salmon flakes with a fork, about 13 minutes. 

While salmon is cooking prepare bread crumbs and place in a medium mixing bowl with red onion, Italian seasoning, and parmesan cheese.  When salmon is cooked through, remove any skin and discard.  Place fillets in bowl with crumb mixture.  With two forks flake the salmon.  Once flaked, add egg and stir to combine. 

In a medium skillet add EVOO and heat over medium.  Once oil is hot form patties into ¼ C. rounded balls and flatten them slightly.  Use all the mixture this way and add the medallions to the hot pan.  Brown patties on both sides, this will take about 3 minutes on each side.  Serve immediately. 

CRANBERRY ORANGE SORBET (4-1 CUP SERVINGS)

So...I got an ice cream attachment for Christmas!  I knew you would be jealous!  Thanks Mom H!  This was my first attempt to make something with it and it turned out wonderfully.  It was the perfect balance of tart and sweet.  Next time I will put some orange zest in just before I prepare the batter.  Please follow your ice cream maker's instructions to make modifications as necessary.

• 4 cups cranberries - washed, and picked over
• 1 orange - juiced - yielded about a ½ cup

SIMPLE SYRUP

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar

The night before the big freeze, I put the freezer bowl in the freezer, and the airtight dish that was going to house this glorious stuff when all was said and done.

In a food processor add whole cranberries and orange juice.  Combine until pureed and smooth.  Now comes the tedious part.  Strain the cranberry orange sauce into a small bowl with a lip, discard the pulp.  Continue this process until all juice is extracted.  This process yielded just over 1 cup for me, and my husband/ sous chef.  Place juice in airtight container and store at least 8 hours in refrigerator to chill completely.

For the simple syrup add the water and sugar to a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Stir occasionally, and cook until sugar is completely dissolved, about 10 minutes.  Remove from heat and place in an ice bath until chilled.  Place in an air tight container, and put in refrigerator for the next day. 

Day 2 - set up ice cream maker according to manufacturer directions.  Add cranberry juice and 1 ¼ cup simple syrup to freezer bowl.  Mix for about 11 minutes or until desired consistency has been reached.  Place immediately in chilled storage bowl, and freeze (you put this in the freezer last night).  Wait at least 2 hours for flavors to combine before serving.  Use any leftover simple syrup for mixed drinks.  Well?...you have to use it up right?  Waste not, want not?  OK, do whatever you want with the stuff. 

LENTIL SALAD (SERVES 4 AS MAIN DISH - 6 AS SIDE)

Many cultures welcome the New Year with some sort of legumes and greens.  Perhaps because the legumes resemble coins, or the fact that when you add water to them they swell, so you get more than what you started with.  In the South they often have black eyed peas and greens.  The greens may symbolize good luck.   In Hungary it's lentils, which is the tradition I will be enjoying this year.  However, I did not enjoy my lentils at midnight which promises lots of money in the New Year according to my friend Eszter.  This hot salad will be a welcome dish in my home year round, and pretty enough to serve to deserving company.  The combination of lentils, vegetables, and sausage makes this a wonderful stick-to-your-ribs winter day treat.  However you choose to bring in the New Year, I wish you all a wonderful, and prosperous 2009, and a heaping helping of lentil salad!  Cheers!

• 1 cup dried lentils - picked over and rinsed
• 3 cups organic, low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup water
• 1 15 ounce can diced tomatoes
• 1 large carrot - diced
• 2 celery stalks - diced
• ½ cup onion - diced
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 3 garlic cloves - minced
• 4 ounces sausage - I used 2 links of leftover chicken and Gouda sausages
• Feta cheese - crumbled for garnish

SAUTEED SPINACH

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• ¼ teaspoon garlic chili sauce - optional
• 2 bunches spinach - washed thoroughly and coarsely chopped

In a large stock pot add lentils, chicken broth, water, tomatoes, carrot, celery, onion, Italian seasoning, garlic, and sausage.  Bring all to a boil over medium-high heat, covering pot but leave a gap for steam to escape.  Once boiling, reduce to medium-low and continue to cook until lentils are tender, about 1 hour 50 minutes. 

With about 10 minutes left on your timer for the lentils, begin to sauté the spinach.  In a medium sized skillet, heat EVOO over medium heat.  Once hot, add chili sauce and spinach and sauté until wilted.  Transfer equal portions of spinach to plates and top with lentils and a bit of feta.

SPINACH & FRIED EGG BREAKFAST PIZZA (SERVES 2)

Believe it or not this is week 5 in the 52 week pizza challenge, and the first of 2009.  To usher in the New Year this week's selection should be easy to digest.  Just in case some one out there still has a...ahem..."sensitive stomach" left over from all the celebrating.  This would be a welcome addition to any brunch.  Happy New Year!

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza)

SAUCE

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 garlic clove - minced
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 ½- 2 bunches fresh spinach - washed and coarsely chopped
• ½ of a 15 ounce can diced tomatoes - including juice
• ¼ cup red onion - chopped

TOPPINGS

• 4 strips bacon
• 1 cup cheddar cheese
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 pastured eggs

Preheat oven to 500°.  Shape your dough into the desired shape, adding as little flour as possible.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking, set aside until oven is preheated.  Fry bacon over medium heat in a large skillet, cooking until desired crispness.  In a separate medium sized skillet add EVOO, once hot add garlic.  Stir until fragrant, add spinach, and pepper flakes.  Sauté spinach until it is wilted.  The oven should be preheated now, brush crust with olive oil, and cook for 5 minutes. 

Once spinach is wilted, remove from heat and strain off any excess water.  To spinach pan, add spinach back, tomatoes and red onion.  Stir to combine; this will be the "sauce". 

Once pizza has cooked for first 5 minutes add the spinach sauce mixture layer first, followed by cheddar and mozzarella cheese.  Place pizza back in oven for 10 minutes more, or until edges are browned. 

At this point the bacon should be cooked.  Remove bacon from heat and roll up in a paper towel to remove excess grease, set aside.  Now fry the eggs.  Heat medium sized skillet over medium-low heat.  Once hot, add butter, when butter is melted crack 3 eggs, one at a time over saucer, removing any shells, and slide eggs from saucer into buttered skillet. Cook on one side, covered, about 5 minutes. 

Remove pizza from oven and top with bacon and fried eggs.  If you are not spelling something, it would be appetizing to crumble bacon on top and serve eggs on the side. 

If you would like to view the other weeks in this series click here.

VEGGIE HASH (SERVES 2)

This satisfying dish was incredibly easy - about 30 minutes start to finish - and offered great flavor, and a variety of colors.  This is a great way to get your vegetable servings in!  Your mother would be so proud.  

• 2 medium sized Yukon gold potatoes - cleaned, eyes removed, and diced in ½" pieces
• 1 carrot - peeled, diced into ½" pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO) + extra to fry eggs
• 1 tablespoon pastured butter
• ¼ cup onion - sliced lengthwise
• 1 celery stalk - sliced in ½" increments
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• ¼ teaspoon oregano
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes - optional
• 1 roma tomato - diced
• 1 clove garlic - diced
• 2 pastured eggs
• Cilantro - garnish

Add potatoes, carrot, and salt to large skillet, at least 2" deep and not Teflon coated.  Teflon should not be heated over medium heat.  Cover vegetables with enough water to cover them and heat over high heat until water is boiling.  Boil them for 4 minutes, then strain them and set aside. 

In the same pan, reduce heat to medium and add EVOO, and butter.  Allow butter to melt.  Then add potatoes, carrots, onions, celery and spices.  Stir to combine and then stir occasionally while you cook and brown the potatoes for about 12 minutes.

Once the potatoes are browned, add the tomato and garlic.  Stir to combine and cook for about 2 minutes.  Move back the veggies to make a 3" diameter well in which to house the eggs.  Drizzle a small amount of olive oil and allow to get hot, about 1 minute.  Crack the eggs, one at a time, into a small ramekin, remove any shell, and pour each egg into wells.  Cover pan and cook for 4 minutes for slightly runny eggs, or longer if desired.  Divide into two portions, and garnish with cilantro.

MAHI MAHI TACOS (SERVES 2)

Living in San Diego for some time, I have a great deal of affection for fish tacos.  I was missing a little taste of the place we love so much.  Being so far away from any ocean, we had to use frozen fish but do use fresh if you can.  This would be great with halibut, salmon, or tilapia, just to name a few.  So here you have them, fish tacos, served on homemade Cilantro Whole-Wheat tortillas.  For the tortillas I used half of this recipe , substituting the all-purpose flour with whole wheat and adding a small handful of chopped cilantro to the milk and oil before combining with the flour. 

• 1 lemon - halved, reserve half for the garnish
• 2 tablespoons cilantro leaves - chopped
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes - optional
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon oregano
• ¼ teaspoon cumin
• 1 garlic clove - minced
• 2 mahi mahi fillets - thawed if frozen
• 4 whole-wheat tortillas

GARNISH

• red onion - chopped
• plain whole milk yogurt and a bit of salsa mixed together
• cabbage - sliced
• tomatoes - diced
• cilantro leaves
• hot stuff to taste
• lemon wedges

Preheat oven to 400°.  In mortar and pestle combine zest from half a lemon, juice from same half lemon, cilantro leaves, red pepper flakes, salt, oregano, cumin, and garlic.  Mash ingredients together until evenly distributed.  Place mahi fillets in baking dish and cover each with half of lemon juice, and herb mixture.  Cook mahi in preheated oven until it is cooked through and flaky, about 15 minutes.  Once removed from oven, flake with forks.  Serve mahi in tortillas and load up on garnishes.  I would like to suggest beans and rice for sides.  Would a margarita count as a side dish?  If so, I would like to suggest that too.    

WHOLE WHEAT OATMEAL RAISIN MUFFINS (MAKES 12)

On a recent trip to the local library I found a quaint recipe book from 1975.  I just knew the pages would be filled with simple dishes made with love.  I was right!  There are no colored photos here, no fancy, un-pronounceable ingredients, not a single celebrity chef.  JUST what I was looking for.  These muffins are a variation of Lorraine Boyce's submission for "Gram's Oatmeal Muffins".  I took the liberty of modifying the recipe a bit.  Hopefully Lorraine won't mind.  These turned out so moist and not too sweet.  If you are a nut fan I suggest throwing in a handful.  There are already variations of these developing in my head.

• 1 ½ cup water
• 1 ½ cup old fashioned rolled oats
• ¼ pound pastured butter
•  2 pastured eggs, well beaten
• ½ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325°.  Boil water.  Turn off heat and add oats.  Stir in and melt butter and let cool.  Add remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Bake in greased muffin tin for 20 minutes at 325°.  Easy enough?!

FISH STICKS (SERVES 2)

We are constantly looking for a snack or light lunch that doesn't contain bread, crackers, etc.  Don't get me wrong we love that stuff, but it seems we eat bread at just about every meal.  These were a perfect fit and so easy to prepare.  Plus they offer a great way to rid yourself of leftover fish.  You can easily substitute water packed canned tuna for the fresh fish if you wish.

• 1 small mild fish fillet about 2 ounces - cooked and chilled, leftovers are best
• 12 kalamata olives - finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon red onion - finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 tablespoon kalamata olive juice
• 1 teaspoon white balsamic vinegar
• pepper to taste
• 4 celery stalks - cleaned, ends trimmed

Combine all ingredients except celery in a small mixing bowl, flaking fish with a fork.  Once combined refrigerate in an air tight container for at least 30 minutes to combine flavors.  Add fish filling to celery and cut into 3" length, cutting at a diagonal.  Serve immediately.

THAI CHICKEN PIZZA (SERVES 2)

I especially love the visual interest in this week's selection.  The colors were wonderful.  Like a Technicolor dream pizza!  Kohlrabi would be a great substitute for the broccoli stems if you prefer, or have a bunch just lying around.  I love broccoli stems, and hate the thought of the florets getting all the action.  Use those stems!  For you vegetarians out there substitute tofu for a wonderful variation.

CRUST

Use one third of the pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza) - I subbed 1 cup bread flour for whole wheat.

SAUCE

Peanut Sauce - I halved this recipe and still had leftovers for dipping. 

TOPPINGS

• 1 pastured chicken breast
• 2 carrots - peeled, julienne
• 2 broccoli stems only - peeled, julienne
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) + more to brush crust
• 1 cup sprouts - washed
• 1 green onion - sliced thin
• lime wedges for garnish
• hot sauce - optional

Preheat oven to 350°.  Cook chicken in preheated oven for about 35 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 170°.  While the chicken is cooking prepare vegetables, and sauté carrots and broccoli stems in 1 tablespoon EVOO over medium heat.  Stir frequently, and cook for about 4 minutes.  Remove from heat and set aside. 

While the chicken finishes up, shape your dough into the desired shape, adding as little flour as possible.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Once you have removed the chicken from the oven, increase heat to 500°.  Brush crust with a bit of EVOO, and cook without toppings for about 5 minutes.  Chop chicken into bite size pieces and set aside.  Add peanut sauce to crust and spread evenly.  Then add chicken, carrots, broccoli stems, sprouts, and onion.  Cook for 10 or so minutes more, or until golden brown.  

Serve with lime wedges, and hot sauce. 

Want to see more pizza ideas?  Click here!  Or, if you have an idea or suggestion for a pizza do let me know!  I would love to hear from you!

Refreshing, all natural, and not bad on the eyes.  If you're into the fizz but not the HFCS, colorings, aspartame, phosphoric acid, potassium benzoate, etc, etc, etc...give this a go! 

GRAPEFRUIT SODA (SERVES 4)

• 1 grapefruit - juiced, strained
• 1 orange - juiced, strained
• sparkling mineral water

Combine grapefruit and orange juice.  Chill for about an hour.  Serve equal parts juice to mineral water, or to taste. 

These petite black bean patties are incredibly satisfying and hearty, especially when accompanied by yogurt biscuits containing corn and green onion.  You may even get the meat eaters in your family to forget about the lack of meat!

I tried this yogurt biscuit recipe from La Fuji Mama about a month ago, and they turned out wonderfully.  I was hardly experimenting when I choose them for my sliders. You will have about 6 extra biscuits that I am sure you will figure out something to do with them i.e. egg sandwiches, hint, hint... 

BLACK BEAN SLIDERS (3 SERVINGS - 2 SLIDERS EACH)

yogurt biscuits - added ½ cup frozen corn, and ¼ cup sliced green onions to the batter before baking. 

yogurt sauce

• ¼ cup whole milk yogurt
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce of choice
• 1 ½ teaspoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons cilantro - finely chopped

black bean patties

• 1-15 ounce can organic, low-sodium black beans - drained well
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• ¼ cup green onion - sliced, reserve a few for garnish
• jalapenos - diced, optional
• 1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• lime wedges - garnish

Follow biscuit directions and ingredient list according to La Fuji Mama don't forget to add the corn and green onion to the batter.  Preheat oven, and place biscuits on baking sheets ready to go in the oven.  Don't put them in quite yet. 

For yogurt sauce combine yogurt, hot sauce, lime juice, and cilantro in a small container.  Refrigerate in air tight container until time to serve.

In a medium sized mixing bowl add black beans.  With the back of a fork smash about ¾ of the beans into a paste.  Add to the bowl cumin, garlic, green onion, and jalapenos.  Form beans into 6 patties, the same diameter of your biscuits.  Set aside.  Pop biscuits in the oven now.  In a medium sized skillet heat EVOO over medium heat.  Once hot, add bean patties and cook until browned about 5 minutes, flip and brown the other side.  Serve immediately on hot biscuits, garnish with yogurt sauce, green onion and a lime wedge. 

Sometimes simple is best.  Use any sausage, or make your own following the recipe below. 

SAUSAGE PIZZA (SERVES 2)

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza) 

SAUCE - Tomato Sauce

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 1 large tomato - quartered, peeled, seeded
• 1 garlic clove - minced
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

TOPPINGS

• ½ pound grass-fed beef
• 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
• 2 garlic cloves - minced
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 baby Portobello mushrooms - coarsely chopped
• ½ cup white onion - thickly sliced
• 2 cups freshly grated mozzarella

For tomato sauce: heat 1 tablespoon EVOO over medium heat in a small sauce pan, when hot; add tomato, garlic and Italian seasoning.  Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally until tomato breaks down into sauce consistency.

To form sausages; combine beef, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, and garlic in a small mixing bowl.  Form into sausage links about 1" in diameter with your hands.  In a medium skillet heat 1 tablespoon EVOO over medium heat.  Once hot, add sausage links, mushrooms, and onions.  Stir occasionally to allow the sausages to brown on each side.  

While the sausages, mushrooms, and onions are browning, shape your dough into the desired shape, adding as little flour as possible.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Once the sausages have browned, break them into bite size pieces and increase heat to 500°.  Brush crust with a bit of EVOO, and cook without toppings for about 5 minutes.  Add tomato sauce and spread evenly.  Then add cheese, sausage, mushroom, and onions.  Cook for 10 or so minutes more, or until golden brown. 

The simplicity of muesli lends itself to all sorts of customization, and experimentation.  Note that there isn't any dried fruit in this recipe.  You could certainly add dried fruit after the mix has cooled.  Or, add fresh fruit to the top as shown here, or both!  Spoon Nut n' Honey Muesli over yogurt, or add milk to serve.  An extra drizzle of honey never hurt anyone either.

Nut n' Honey Muesli (MAKES 6 CUPS)

• ½ cup honey
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 cups organic old-fashioned rolled oats
• ½ cup pumpkin seeds
• ½ cup almonds - sliced
• ¼ cup flax seeds
• ¼ cup wheat bran

Preheat oven to 275°.  In a small sauce pan heat honey and vanilla extract over low heat.  In a large mixing bowl combine; rolled oats, pumpkin seeds, almonds, flax seeds, and wheat bran.  When honey has heated through add to oats.  Mix thoroughly.    

Poor mixture evenly into a lipped baking sheet.  Bake at 275° for 50-55 minutes, stirring about every 15 minutes. 

Allow to cool, then transfer to airtight container. 

This salad has everything I love in one delicious dish; salty, sweet, tangy, colorful, and crunchy.  The colors are only the beginning of the sensory overload.  The crunchy, raw red cabbage lends a perfect back drop to the strong flavors of the dressing, and toppings.  Great as a main dish or, serve a smaller portion for a wonderful side salad. 

RED, WHITE AND BLUE SALAD (SERVES 2 AS MAIN DISH)

BLUE CHEESE- CURRANT VINAIGRETTE

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoons dried currants
• 2 tablespoons blue cheese - crumbled

SALAD

• ½ small head red cabbage - cut into wedges
• 1 green onion - sliced
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds - toasted
• 2 strips pastured bacon - cooked, crumbled
• salt and pepper to taste

Begin by preparing the vinaigrette.  Combine EVOO, white balsamic, currants, and blue cheese in a small air tight container.  Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, while prepping the other ingredients.

On two plates divide cabbage, green onion, pumpkin seeds, and bacon evenly.  Once dressing has chilled, spoon over both plates adding salt and pepper to taste.  Serve immediately.  Your company should help you with the 'serve immediately' part.

Have a leftover piece of steak and not sure how to do it justice? I recommend this glorious pairing.  Or, might I suggest using this recipe, sans steak as a side dish, or appetizer.  If you are a big blue cheese lover you may want to increase the amount a bit.

Roasted vegetables made for a delicious pot pie variation.  This recipe makes 4 individual pot pies or one large.  I would suggest adding some toasted pine nuts as well. 

Over Christmas my mother-in-law shared with me her family cookbook.  Page after page was filled with interesting family recipes.  Have you wondered how to fix alligator with honey mustard sauce?  If so, have I got the cookbook for you!  I thoroughly enjoyed flipping through the pages imagining the countless family gatherings these dishes must have been shared at.  For my first family recipe I choose a pie crust.  The recipe follows below. 

ROASTED VEGETABLE POT PIE

FILLING

• 3 cups coarsely chopped red cabbage
• 2 large carrots - cut into ¾" long strips
• 36 small brussel sprouts - halved, stems trimmed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• dash of salt and pepper
• 2 green onions - sliced
• ¼ cup feta cheese - crumbled
• 4 strips bacon - cooked, and crumbled

SAUCE

• 1 tablespoon pastured butter
• 1 tablespoon whole wheat flour
• 1 cup milk
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• ¼ cup parmesan cheese

CRUST

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ½ cup pastured butter
• ¼ cup water
• dash of salt
• 1 pastured egg - slightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350°.  Add red cabbage, carrots, and brussel sprouts to a large glass baking pan.  Drizzle EVOO over the vegetables as well as a little salt and pepper.  Stir to coat vegetables.  Roast at 350° for about 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. 

In a small sauce pan melt butter over medium heat.  Stir in whole wheat flour, and then whisk in milk.  Allow to cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it begins to thicken.  Stir in garlic, and parmesan.  Remove from heat and set aside.

To prepare crust; cut butter into flour until pea size.  Add water and mix just so it holds together.  Flour board and roll out.  Line 4-16 ounce ramekins with pie crust, or one 9" pie pan in preparation of the filling.

Once the vegetables are removed from the oven, add green onions, feta, crumbled bacon, and sauce.  Stir to combine.  Spoon into prepared pie pans.  Cover with remaining crust, brush crust with an egg wash, place in oven for about 45 minutes for individual pies, or 1 hour 15 minutes, for 1 large pie, or until golden brown. 

January marks my first month participating in a "Daring Bakers Challenge".  I had a great time, and hope you enjoy what I came up with!

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

Following is a recipe taken from a book called "The Chocolate Book", written by female Dutch Master chef Angélique Schmeinck.

TUILES

Yields: 12 leaves/ 4 stems (leaves are just an example)
Preparation time batter 10 minutes, waiting time 30 minutes, baking time: 5-10 minutes per batch

65 grams / ¼ cup / 2.3 ounces softened butter (not melted but soft)
60 grams / ½ cup / 2.1 ounces sifted confectioner's sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar (7 grams or substitute with a dash of vanilla extract)
2 large egg whites (slightly whisked with a fork)
65 grams / 1/2 cup / 2.3 ounces sifted all purpose flour
1 table spoon cocoa powder/or food coloring of choice
Butter/spray to grease baking sheet

Oven: 180C / 350F

Using a hand whisk or a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (low speed) and cream butter, sugar and vanilla to a paste. Keep stirring while you gradually add the egg whites. Continue to add the flour in small batches and stir to achieve a homogeneous and smooth batter/paste. Be careful to not overmix.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes to firm up. (This batter will keep in the fridge for up to a week, take it out 30 minutes before you plan to use it).

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or grease with either butter/spray and chill in the fridge for at least 15 minutes. This will help spread the batter more easily if using a stencil/cardboard template such as the leaves. Press the stencil on the bakingsheet and use an off sided spatula to spread batter. Leave some room in between your shapes. Mix a small part of the batter with the cocoa and a few drops of warm water until evenly colored. Use this colored batter in a paper piping bag and proceed to pipe decorations on the wings and body of the butterfly.

Bake leaves in a preheated oven (180C/350F) for about 5-10 minutes or until the edges turn golden brown. Immediately release from bakingsheet and proceed to shape/bend the cookies in the desired shape. These cookies have to be shaped when still warm, you might want to bake a small amount at a time or maybe put them in the oven to warm them up again. (Haven't tried that). Or: place a bakingsheet toward the front of the warm oven, leaving the door half open. The warmth will keep the cookies malleable.

If you don't want to do stencil shapes, you might want to transfer the batter into a piping bag fitted with a small plain tip. Pipe the desired shapes and bake. Shape immediately after baking using for instance a rolling pin, a broom handle, cups, cones....

GRAPEFRUIT SORBET (4-1 CUP SERVINGS)

The color was of pale muskmelon, and tasted like an orange Julius.  Absolute heaven, but frozen. 

• 2 grapefruits - juiced - yielded about 1-1/2 cup
• 1 orange - juiced - yielded about a ½ cup

SIMPLE SYRUP

• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar

The night before the big freeze I put the freezer bowl in the freezer, and the airtight dish that was going to contain the sorbet. 

Place juice in airtight container and store at least 8 hours in refrigerator to chill completely.

I can think of nothing more wonderful that combining two of my favorite things; BLTs and pizza.  This was absolute divinity.  The green onions gave it an extra bite, and it came out beautifully, if I might be so bold. 

BLT PIZZA (SERVES 2)

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza)

SAUCE

Alfredo Sauce

TOPPINGS

• 5 pastured bacon strips - cooked, crumbled
• 2 cups spinach leaves - coarsely chopped
• 1 tomato - thinly sliced
• 3 green onions - thinly sliced
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese - grated
• ½ cup parmesan cheese - grated

Preheat oven to 500°.  While the oven is heating shape your dough into the desired shape, adding as little flour as possible.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Brush crust with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil, and cook without toppings for about 5 minutes.  Add cream sauce and spread evenly.  Then add spinach, tomatoes, green onion, mozzarella, and parmesan.  Cook for 10 or so minutes more, or until golden brown.  Sprinkle bacon over cooked pizza.

Want to see some more delicious pizza recipes?!  Click here. 

Based on my recent posts it seems as though I may be a member of the National Pork Producers Council or something.  I am not.  Admittedly, I love the stuff.  Any way I can get it.  Salads, pizza, breakfast, lunch and dinner.  So, when I saw Dine and Dish's recipe for Bacon & Egg Cups it went on my short list.  To see the original recipe click here.

My mind is already filled with mini frittatas all piled up at an upcoming brunch.  I think I might have a brunch just to serve these little cups!  Gorgeous, and incredibly easy. 

EGG CUPS (SERVES 2)

• 4 pastured eggs
• 4 strips pastured bacon

Preheat oven to 350°.  Line muffin tin holes with one strip of bacon, securing it to the sides.  Do not line the bottom.  Break egg over hole and add one egg to each bacon ring.

Bake for about 25+ minutes depending on how well done you like your bacon.

Today marks the anniversary of our beloved friend, the groundhog, making his appearance.  Even more important is the issue of whether or not his shadow will make an appearance to said groundhog. 

We celebrated this most highly regarded occasion in Woodstock, IL.  Woodstock was the location for the filming of the movie Groundhog Day.  I rose at 4:20 am from my slumber to get a glimpse of the little weather predictor.  It was well worth the effort I must admit.

With heavy heart I must report that Woodstock Willie did see his shadow.  I know, I know, but it isn't his fault.  We must not blame Willie.  We can only hope that next years prediction will not share the same fate.

After the pomp and circumstance we joined our fellow Groundhog Day celebrators with a community breakfast.  I pictured pancakes shaped like a groundhog.  Not so.  You can see from the photo that this was not the case.  I tried to not be disturbed that sausages were served.  Did any one ask what these were made of?  Could it be...no of course not...they wouldn't...I mean the groundhog Willie's of the past just retire to a village or something right?  Right?!!!  He can't help it if we get 6 more weeks of winter!  He is just a wee creature fulfilling a duty!

Happy Groundhog Day to you and yours!!

The Incas called Quinoa the "mother of all grains", I like to think of it as the "guardian of my lunch" providing me with a balanced diet to stave off cravings in the afternoon.  Serve in lettuce cups, or over spinach leaves with whole wheat pita wedges. 

QUINOA TABBOULEH (4 - ½ CUP SERVINGS)

• ½ cup quinoa - rinsed
• 1 cup water
• ¾ cup parsley leaves, packed - washed, finely chopped
• 1 small tomato - finely chopped
• 3 green onions - thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white balsamic
• 2 garlic cloves - minced
• pinch of salt

In small sauce pan combine quinoa and water, and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Once boiling reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until liquid is absorbed.  Allow quinoa to cool down to room temperature.  In a small mixing bowl combine cooked quinoa, parsley, tomato, onions, lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, balsamic, garlic, and salt.  Once combined refrigerate in an air tight container for at least 30 minutes to combine flavors. 

Cobb salads are notoriously loaded.  What could be more natural than loading up a pizza with those same delicious ingredients?  Sounds natural to me!

COBB SALAD PIZZA (SERVES 2)

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza)

TOPPINGS

• 3 cups spinach leaves - washed, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese - shredded
• ½ cup blue cheese - crumbled
• 2 egg - hardboiled, chopped
• 6 green onions - thinly sliced
• 1 tomato - chopped
• 1 pastured chicken breast - cubed
• 6 strips pastured bacon - cooked, crumbled 

Preheat oven to 500°.  While the oven is heating shape your dough into the desired shape, adding as little flour as possible.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Brush crust with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil, and cook without toppings for about 5 minutes.  Add spinach, then half of the blue cheese and mozzarella.  Follow by adding the following in any fashion you desire: egg, green onion, tomato, and chicken.   Cook for 10 minutes, or until crust is golden brown.  Remove from oven and sprinkle cooked bacon over desired area. 

Want to see some more delicious pizza recipes?!  Click here. 

In case you don't have reservations for your favorite restaurant this Valentine's Day I invite you stay in with this sweet 'date' substitute.  This is one date you won't regret spending the evening with!  Just don't expect them to pick up a bottle of wine, or the check.

This recipe was found in "Our Favorite Recipes", a collection of wonderful old fashioned recipes from West Bend, Wisconsin.  I picked it up on a recent trip and I am in love with the simple, wonderful recipes. This particular recipe was submitted by Agnes Schultz.  Enjoy!!

DATE BARS (16 BARS)

FILLING

• 1-1/2 cup chopped pitted dates
• 2/3 cup water
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice

CRUST

• 1-1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1-1/4 cup quick oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup pastured butter
• 1 pastured egg well beaten

Preheat oven to 350°.  In a small saucepan cook dates, water, sugar, and lemon juice until thick, about 8 minutes, cool.

Combine flour, brown sugar, oats, and salt.  Mix well, cutting in butter to coarse crumb stage.  Spread ½ crumb mixture in 9x9 pan.  Cover with filling.  Spread with remaining crumbs.  Brush with beaten egg.  Cook 20-25 minutes in preheated oven.  Cool and cut in bars.

Oh yes, you read that correctly.  Never could I have imagined my beloved fajitas colliding with my sacred pizza.  But...then it happened, and what a glorious thing it was.  Am I sure I'm still talking about pizza?  Yes, I am!!

Try this with steak, just veggies, or a layer of beans and skip the meat.  Any way you shake it, it's a good thing.

CHICKEN FAJITA PIZZA (SERVES 2)

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza)

TOPPINGS

• 1 cup sharp cheddar cheese - shredded
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese - shredded
• 1 pastured chicken breast - cooked, sliced
• ½ cup onion - chopped
• ½ cup peppers - make them green, red, yellow, whatever you can get your hands on
• cilantro for garnish

Preheat oven to 500°.  While the oven is heating shape your dough into the desired shape, adding as little flour as possible.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Brush crust with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil, and cook without toppings for about 5 minutes.  Add cheese, chicken, onion, peppers, and cilantro.  Cook pizza for about 10 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.

You might want to serve with some jalapeno slices if you're into that kind of thing.  If not...more jalapenos for the rest of us!

Want to see some more delicious pizza recipes?!  Click here. 

MEDITERRANEAN PIZZA (SERVES 4)

This week finds me looking forward to spring and all things not frost covered, or dishes heavy with root vegetables.  Nothing is lighter or tastes like spring like fresh parsley, tomatoes, and hummus.  This meal is very light, tasty, and incredibly satisfying, the perfect to brown bag lunch. 

You will need:

• 4 whole wheat pitas
• quinoa tabbouleh
• hummus - recipe below

Spread hummus to taste on pita, cover with tabbouleh, and cut into wedges if desired.  This wouldn't be half bad with a sprinkle of feta either.  All of this can be yours in less than an hour.  Hope that there are leftovers. 

Hummus - from The New Best Recipe cookbook: 

• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• Pinch cayenne pepper
• 3 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon
• ¼ cup tahini
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup water

Process all of the ingredients in a food processor until smooth, about 40 seconds.  Transfer the hummus to a serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill until the flavors meld, at least 30 minutes; serve cold.  (The hummus can be refrigerated for up to 2 days - but it will never last that long.

Want to see some more delicious pizza recipes?!  Click here. 

We cooked a 4 pound pork loin in the crock pot yesterday with ¼ cup of water and slathered the pork with crushed garlic and mixed herb seasoning.  When the pork was falling apart and tender, about 6 hours, we served it to our guests as wonderful pork carnitas tacos with all the trimmings.  Needless to say there was a significant amount of leftovers.  Breakfast burritos seemed like a wonderful use for the glorious slow cooked pork.  Accompany the burritos with a side of black beans if you can handle them for breakfast.  This could be a fabulous dinner too.  Don't underestimate the power of eggs for dinner! 

CARNITAS BREAKFAST BURRITO (SERVES 2)

• 4 eggs - lightly beaten
• carnitas (shredded pork) - leftover, cooked
• 1 small can green chilies
• 4 corn tortillas

Garnishes (optional)

• green onion - sliced
• cilantro leaves

Over medium heat, in a large skillet add eggs.  Stir almost constantly, when they begin to firm up, add carnitas and green chilies.  Continue to cook until desired consistency is reached.  Warm corn tortillas, flipping once, in another skillet. 

Divide egg mixture between the 4 corn tortillas, garnish at will!

Last week I returned from a road trip originating in Morro Bay, CA and ended up back home in Chicagoland, IL.  The trip took my mother and I several days and we loved every food drenched moment of it.  We ate our way through:

• Tucson, AZ
• Las Cruces, NM
• Santa Fe, NM
• Wichita, KS

Of course we ate more than 4 times but those were the most note worthy culinary experiences.  I am an absolute nut for New Mexican food.  The absolutely intoxicating scenery may add to the general splendor but why pick apart a good thing.  Everything is bigger and better in New Mexico.  Take for instance the giant pistachio shown below.

We high tailed it for home after two days in New Mexico.  The 'high tailing' it part caught up to me (or, so I thought) somewhere in OK.  All of a sudden lights were flashing behind me and sirens were blaring.  Oh crap, I got caught doing 78 in a 70 mile per hour zone.  Nope.  I was pulled over for not using my turn signal for a lane change.  The cop politely asked me go back to his car where he had me sit in the front seat for what felt like a full on interrogation.  Where have you been?  Why was the car at your grandma's in Ca?  You left it there for 6 months?  What did he think my mother and I were up to anyway?! 

This strange event on the last day of our road trip was making us incredibly hungry and craving some local fare (must have been the stressful interrogation).  Luckily we were approaching BBQ country.  We happened upon a great place for BBQ right off the freeway near Wichita.  After devouring my sandwich I was only left wanting more.  Does anyone know how you get hungry riding in a car all day?!!

That brings me to this week's pizza selection: Pulled Pork BBQ Pizza.  You might be surprised how good this really is!  Cutting the BBQ sauce with stewed tomatoes really was a great way to get the sugar content down to a reasonable level.  You're going to love it!

PULLED PORK PIZZA (SERVES 2 - HUNGRY, ROAD WEARY FOLKS)

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza)

TOPPINGS

• 1 cup left over pulled pork - cooked, fat trimmed, and ready to go
• ¼ cup homemade BBQ sauce or whatever you prefer - to taste
• ½ can stewed tomatoes - chopped
• ¼ cup pine nuts - toasted
• 2 green onions - thinly sliced
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese - grated

Preheat oven to 500°.  While the oven is heating shape your dough into the desired shape, adding as little flour as possible.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Brush crust with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil, and cook without toppings for about 5 minutes.  Mix pulled pork, BBQ sauce, and tomatoes together and stir to combine, this will act as your sauce so make sure you have enough to cover the crust.  After removing the pizza crust from the oven layer the BBQ mixture, then pine nuts, cheese, and green onions.  Cook for 10 or so minutes more, or until golden brown. 

Want to see some more delicious pizza recipes?!  Click here. 

I've often perused Gourmet Magazine recipes, looked at the gorgeous photos, but rarely do I see one that is actually approachable for me.  This one leapt from the pages of Gourmet and into my heart!  I will be serving this over raw cabbage in the VERY near future.

OASIS CAROT SALAD ADAPTED FROM GOURMET MAGAZINE (SERVES 4)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound carrots - sliced crosswise ¼ inch thick
• 2 tablespoons copped onion, rinsed and drained
• 1 garlic clove - chopped
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

DIRECTIONS

Cook carrots in a medium saucepan of boiling water until tender, about 8 minutes.  Drain, then rinse under cold water until cool.  Drain well. 

Meanwhile, pulse onion and garlic with oil, vinegar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in a food processor until very finely chopped.  Toss with carrots and chill at least 3 hours.

Just before serving, toss salad with cilantro, parsley, and salt to taste.

NOTE: Salad can be chilled up to 24 hours.  Add herbs just before serving.

Inspired by Grandma Tank this was an incredibly simple side.  The aromas are intoxicating and transport you instantly to some place far more exotic.  Transforming the humble cabbage into something fit for company.  Serve along side any protein for a wonderful complete meal. 

CURRIED CABBAGE (SERVES 4 AS A SIDE)

• ½ teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ pound green cabbage - coarsely chopped
• 1 green onion - sliced
• ½ teaspoon curry powder - to taste
• 1 teaspoon pastured butter
• S&P to taste

Add EVOO to a large skillet over medium heat.  Once hot, add cabbage and stir occasionally until wilted, and tender.  Stir in green onion curry powder and butter until well combined.  Serve immediately.

Do you know the song from Chicago that starts "Oh yes, oh yes, oh yes, they both reached for, the gun, the gun...."?  Until the 'gun' part of the song it really sums up my feelings about this one!  Oh yes!  The tender pork, sweet apple, savory red wine, and salty parmesan, all on flatbread to soak up the braising liquid crescendo in your mouth!  Ok, this may be a bit much but it drives my point home. 

Try dividing the dough again for 8 appetizer sized flatbreads.  This recipe would work equally well with chicken or beef.

WINE BRAISED PORK FLATBREAD (SERVES 4)

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza)

BRAISED PORK

• 1 pound pastured pork loin - cut into 4 portions
• S&P
• 2 celery stalks - sliced ¼" thick
• ½ white onion - chopped
• 1 apple - diced
• 1 cup red table wine

GARNISH

• freshly grated parmesan
• parsley

Preheat oven to 350°.  In glass baking pan spread out pork loin in a single layer, salt and pepper on both sides.  Cover pork with celery, onion, and apple.  Pour red wine over all.  Cook uncovered for 35 minutes or until internal temperature reaches 160°.  Tent loosely with foil until ready to use. 

Increase oven temperature to 500°.  While the oven is heating divide the dough into four portions, shape your dough into the desired shape, adding as little flour as possible.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Brush crust with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil, and cook without toppings for about 7 minutes.  Slice pork into ¼" thick pieces and arrange over partial cooked flatbread.  Cook flatbread for about 7 minutes, or until the crust is golden brown.  Spoon vegetable mixture and braising liquid over flatbreads.  Garnish with freshly grated parmesan and parsley. 

Want to see some more delicious pizza recipes?!  Click here. 

I'm not claiming to shave any time but I may be onto a homemade alternative to protein, and energy bars.   Don't worry these taste great even if you aren't training for an event.

You won't even miss the butter and eggs making our vegan friends happy, and the rest of us happy too.  Train well my friends!

VEGAN IRON MAN COOKIES (MAKES 3 DOZEN)

• ¾ cup peanut butter
• 1 banana - smashed
•  1 cup brown sugar
• 2/3 cup soy milk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 2 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds
• ¼ cup slivered almonds - toasted
• ½ cup dried tart cherries

Preheat oven to 350°.  In large mixing bowl combine peanut butter, banana, brown sugar, soy milk, and vanilla extract.   In a separate bowl mix together cinnamon, baking soda, flour, salt, and oats.  Add the dry mixture to the wet and flax seeds, almonds, and cherries.  When well combined, spoon heaping tablespoons of cookie dough onto baking sheets leaving some space in between.  Bake about 12 minutes.

Early spring nights find me still craving hot, hearty, one dish casseroles, which will hopefully be switching to lighter fare soon - weather permitting.   Even after a long day at the office, this could easily be thrown together.  Thankfully a great friend of mine submitted this recipe to me to try out (thanks Jen!).  This dish serves as kind of a deconstructed cabbage roll.  No longer will I have to stand over the kitchen island slaving away on rolls!  Add some more veggies if you have them and mix things up.  I've been told this is even pre-teen approved.  

CABBAGE AND BEEF HOTDISH (SERVES 6-8)

• 1.5 pounds grass-fed ground beef
• salt and pepper
• 2 medium chopped onions
• 1 cup water
• 1 garlic clove - minced
• 1 (14ounce) can organic tomato sauce
• 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 2 carrots - diced
• 1/2 cup uncooked brown rice - use 15 minute brown rice
• 1 small cabbage - shredded, or chopped

GARNISH

• parsley
• freshly grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 350°.  Brown beef in large sauce pan, drain grease.  Add salt and pepper, onion, water, garlic, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, and carrots.  Mix well.  Add rice.  Mix well.  Cover and simmer 20 minutes, or until rice is cooked.  Place half of shredded cabbage in 12x9 greased baking dish.  Cover with half rice mixture, but do not stir it all together.  Repeat layer.  Cover dish and bake 1 hour at 350°.

NOTES

You can either cook the rice as described above, or cook rice separately, according to package directions, and add it back to the beef.  This is an especially good idea if you only have traditional brown rice that can take about 45 minutes to make. 

One of my favorite treats around St. Patrick's Day is a gorgeous corned beef.   Corned beef may not be consumed in Ireland but the Irish Americans sure love it and me of course (I'm only Irish one day of the year).

The easiest St. Patrick's Day feast includes corned beef, cabbage, carrots, and potatoes, all layered and cooked in the crock-pot for about 6 hours.  That's what was served last night and below is what we have done with some of the leftovers.  If you do crock-pot your cabbage put it in about 2 hours until the end time, otherwise you will end up with a soggy mess.

Please pair this pizza with an icy Guinness, or two, or three.

CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE PIZZA (SERVES 2)

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza) + a pinch of caraway seeds, and sub 1-½ cups whole-wheat flour for the bread flour

TOPPINGS

• cabbage - sautéed and finely chopped
• corned beef - cooked, shredded
• gouda cheese - gruyere, or swiss, or any glorious combination 

RUSSIAN DRESSING (MAKES ¾ CUPS)

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 teaspoon ketchup
• 2 sweet pickles - finely chopped
• 1 green onion - sliced
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 500°.  While the oven is heating shape your dough into the desired shape, adding as little flour as possible.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Brush crust with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil, and cook without toppings for about 5 minutes.  Layer cabbage, corned beef, and top with cheese.  Cook for 7-9 minutes more.  While cooking mix all ingredients for Russian dressing together in a small dish.  Garnish pizza with Russian dressing and enjoy every bite.    

Want to see some more delicious pizza recipes?!  Click here. 

Surely, there is a bit of corned beef and perhaps a few potatoes that survived your St. Patrick's dinner.  If so, may I suggest making an easy hash with every delicious morsel that was left behind (if no leftovers go make another!). 

I'm not sure what the canned hash is made of but I assure you there isn't anything like the real thing baby. 

CORNED BEEF HASH (SERVES 2)

• corned beef - cooked, chopped finely
• 2 potatoes - cooked, diced
• 1 carrot - cooked, sliced (optional)
• ½ bunch spinach
• 1 green onion - sliced
• 4 pastured eggs
• parsley

In a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.  Once hot, add corned beef, potatoes, and carrots.  Allow the potatoes to brown a bit then stir in spinach.  When the spinach is mostly wilted stir in green onion.  Create four wells in the vegetables, add a bit of extra-virgin olive oil to the well, and pour an egg into each well.  Cover pan and allow eggs to cook to desired doneness. 

PEAR AND BLUE CHEESE PIZZA (SERVES 4 AS APPETIZER)

Peas and carrots, peanut butter and jelly, salsa and chips, and of course pear and blue cheese round out my top pick combos.  I may have forgotten a few so please add to the combo convo.  The blue cheese used here was 'Cashel Blue'.  If you are a blue fan you must check this one out, it has been a favorite and summer picnics for years.  If you don't plan to use Cashel Blue, be sure to use a high quality blue cheese. 

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza)

TOPPINGS

• 4 tablespoons pastured butter
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 bartlett pears - ripe but still firm
• blue cheese crumbles

Preheat oven to 500°.  While the oven is heating shape your dough into 4 small rounds.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  While the oven continues to warm up melt butter in a large sauce pan.  Brush crusts with melted butter, and cook without toppings for about 5 minutes.  Add brown sugar to the butter and stir until dissolved.  Add the pear slices to the butter and fry about 2-3 minutes on each side.  Transfer pears to dough in desired pattern.  Cook for 10 or so minutes more, or until golden brown.  Sprinkle with blue cheese crumbles and drizzle with left over butter.

This is my interpretation of the nicoise salad and it just happens to be vegan.  The vinaigrette was so light and flavorful making this an incredibly tasty lunch or satisfying dinner.  The inspiration came from some gorgeous nicoise olives that recently found their way into my refrigerator.  Lucky me!!  If you have capers in the house I highly recommend garnishing with a few, or a bunch if you are so inclined.  Bon Appétit!

VEGAN NICOISE PIZZA (SERVES 2)

CRUST

Use one third of pizza dough (enough for one medium pizza)

SALAD DRESSING

• 1 green onion - sliced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

TOPPINGS

• 2 red potatoes - cleaned, halved
• ¼ pound green beans - ends trimmed
• spinach
• 1 tomato - diced
• nicoise olives

First, make the dressing by combining green onion, lemon juice, evoo, vinegar, and s&p to a small mixing bowl.  Combine thoroughly, cover, and place in refrigerator until time to use. 

In a medium size sauce pan, over high heat bring some water to a boil - enough to cover potatoes.  Once boiling add potatoes and cook until fork tender.  Remove potatoes from water, but do not drain.  Add green beans to boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes.  Drain beans and rinse with cold water immediately to stop the browning, and continued cooking of the beans.  Cube potatoes and spoon a bit of salad dressing over the top.  Dress the beans as well, and set aside. 

Preheat oven temperature to 500°.  While the oven is heating divide the dough into two portions, shape your dough into the desired shape, adding as little flour as possible.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Brush crust with a bit of extra-virgin olive oil, and cook for about 7 minutes.  While dough is cooking chop spinach and tomatoes and dress with the balance of the dressing.  Once the dough is cooked, layer spinach, potatoes, green beans, tomatoes, and olives in desired arrangement. 

Creamy potato salads are delicious but after trying the dressing on my Vegan Nicoise Pizza I knew I had to throw the same dressing on some red skins.  Try serving this over a bed of spinach, there will be enough dressing to go around. 

A far less vegan option but still delicious, would be to add some blue cheese crumbles, or dare I suggest bacon?  Just a thought ok!

RED SKIN POTATO SALAD (SERVES 2)

• 2 small red skin potatoes - cubed
• 1 green onion - sliced
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste

Boil enough water to cover the potatoes.  Once boiling add the potatoes and a pinch of salt.  Boil until potatoes are fork tender 18-20 minutes. 

While the potatoes are cooking make the dressing by combining green onion, lemon juice, evoo, vinegar, and s&p to a small mixing bowl.  Combine thoroughly, cover, and place in refrigerator until time to use. 

When the potatoes are cooked allow them to cool and then toss with dressing.  Refrigerate at least one hour prior to serving if you can keep your fork out of it long enough. 

I was cruising around the blogosphere the other day and stumbled on to Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry posted by Kevin over at Closet Cooking an incredibly prolific and wonderful food blogger.  Fantastic photography too.  Now if I could just get my smell o' vision to work properly.  It has been suggested that I prepare an Indian style pizza and so I guess Kevin was my muse.  Don't be concerned Kevin, I am totally harmless.  For the most part.  I halved the Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry, the original recipe is here.  It was light, and delicate.  A wonderful compliment to the naan I picked up.

It looks as though I have been having a vegan food obsession.  Perhaps I am.  I am not vegan, maybe part-time vegetarian, but certainly not vegan.  I don't think... is denial the first step to acceptance? 

CLOSET VEGAN 'PIZZA' (SERVES 2+)

Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ onion - chopped
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon garlic - chopped
• 1 teaspoon ginger - chopped
• 1 small can diced tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon chili sauce - optional
• ½ head cauliflower - cut into florets
• 1 small can chickpeas - rinsed and drained
• ½ cup water
• ½ pound green beans - trimmed and sliced into 1" slices
• salt to taste
• cilantro - chopped - whatever you do don't skip this.  Delicious!!!

Heat oil in large pan.  Add the onion and curry powder and cook until the onion is tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Add the garlic and ginger and cook until fragrant, about a minute. 

Add the tomatoes, chili sauce, cauliflower, chickpeas and water and bring to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the cauliflower is tender, about 10-15 minutes. 

Add the green beans and cook until they are just tender and still crisp, about 3-5 minutes.  Serve over naan and garnish with cilantro. 

Until I get a mini-farm and raise Araucana Chickens (Easter Egg Chickens)I am dependant on dying my own Easter Eggs.  This year I wanted to dye them with found things from my kitchen.  I refused to be dependant on what was offered me from the mega-chains.

Here are my top five reasons to dye them yourself - sans boxed kits

1. INCREDIBLY EASY - You might be surprised just how easy it is.  You simply boil your desired food stuffs in water; in my case I created three color sensations.  Here is how I achieved my colors:

• Brown - Coffee, very strong coffee
• Yellow - 3 tablespoons curry powder, carrot peels
• Blue - red cabbage

2. REPURPOSING SCRAPS - The carrot peels, and cabbage were first used for dye before heading to a worm feast.  Cutting down on waste.

3. EXPERIMENTATION - Your kids are sure to have a blast thinking of combos to dye their eggs with.

4. APPEARANCE - The eggs turned out great!  They were not psychedelic, tie dyed, or glittery, but were practically perfect in every way. 

5. CONVENIENCE - You know you are bound to forget the egg dye kit at the store, and instead of making another trip, you should just give in and make them at home. 

The instructions and pointers I used were from What's Cooking America.  I did not try the rubber band trick, but I'm sure they would have been adorable too.

Please note that the 'grass' the eggs are resting on is colorful magazine adds, shredded.  The 'grass' doesn't cost a thing and after use can be recycled.  

Happy Easter!

English muffins are one of my favorite things.  I hunted around tastespotting.com and foodgawker.com to find fellow bloggers that have already tried out some recipes.  I settled on this post from Julie at My Cooking Adventure.  They turned out well, and used things I had on hand.  These were the simplest English muffins I could find to make, and I would make them again.  However, they weren't filled with the nooks and crannies that I soooo love. 

I would make the English muffins up the night before you want to serve them.  Otherwise you are getting up at o'dark hundred to get them around if you want to have breakfast before mid afternoon.  Then you can have a late night snack as a reward for your hard work.  What?  You HAVE to test your stuff before you serve it!   

BREAKFAST PIZZA SLIDERS

There are no specifics because this is as much or as little as you want kind of a recipe.  For each serving you want, use one egg.  So if you want 4 sliders, use 4 eggs.  Then throw in some spinach, about a handful for every 4 servings, and a little onion.  Don't limit yourself.  If you have mushroom, peppers, throw them in!  The more the merrier.

egg muffins

• eggs
• spinach - chopped
• onion - finely chopped
• sharp cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350° degrees.  In mixing bowl add eggs, and a small amount of water (makes eggs moist), whisk for a minute or so.  Then stir in onion and spinach.  Pour mixture into greased muffin tins, until about ¾ full.  Cook in preheated oven for about 30 minutes.  Use a fork to loosen egg muffins.

Toast the English muffins, serve with sharp cheddar and top with egg muffins. 

NOTE: I did have a bit of trouble keeping the muffins from sticking to the sides and bottom of the muffin tin.  I would recommend greasing generously before baking.  You might want to wrap a piece of bacon around the outside of ungreased muffin cups, and fill with egg mixture (kind of like this Egg Cup recipe).  Just a thought.  Yum.... 

There are certain dishes that I love more the second, or third day rather than the first.  This is certainly true when it comes to turkey.  I can't wait to get my hands on it to make enchiladas.  Why must we reserve this glorious bird for one day a year?  Consider ordering two additional halves when you order your Thanksgiving bird for other occasions throughout the year. 

I made my own tortillas for this recipe.  You could certainly buy some to cut down on time, but you will be sacrificing some serious deliciousness. 

TURKEY ENCHILADAS (SERVES 4) 

filling

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 red pepper - cut into strips
• ½ white onion - coarsely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• 2 cups turkey - cooked, cut into bite size pieces
• 2 cups spinach - coarsely chopped
• ½ cup veggie broth
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon corn starch 

sauce

• 2 small cans green chilies
• 1 clove garlic - minced
• Dash hot sauce
• 1 tablespoon white onion - finely chopped
• cilantro to taste 

Preheat oven to 350°.  Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large skillet.  Once hot, add red pepper, onion, and garlic, stirring occasionally.  Once the onions are transparent add turkey, spinach, broth, cumin, and corn starch.  Stir to combine and continue stirring until spinach is wilted, and sauce has thickened.  

For sauce combine the following in a small electric mixer: green chilies, garlic, hot sauce, onion, and cilantro.  Pulse until well combined, and then transfer half to a pie pan. 

Prepare the assembly line starting with 8 tortillas, then pie pan with sauce, then filling and finally a baking pan to place the finished tortillas.  Before you begin spoon in some sauce to the bottom of the pan so the enchiladas won't stick.  Now take an enchilada, dip it in the sauce, so there is some on both sides, then fill with 1/8^th of the turkey mixture, roll and place in pan.  Repeat that for all 8 enchiladas.  Spoon a bit more sauce over the enchiladas, reserving some for serving.  Cover dish with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes.  Garnish with cilantro leaves, and additional sauce. 

Out of all of the pizza recipes so far I think this may be in the top two (2).  These were incredible and would be so perfect for entertaining.  Even the kiddos would be pleased with these cheesy, delicious bites.  As you know I love perfectly portioned meals.  Are they still considered portions if you eat 12 in on sitting?  Questionable at best. 

Make the dough ahead of time for a super fast appetizer. 

PEPPERONI PIZZA ROLLS (24-30) 

CRUST

I used one half of the recipe of Cheri's Favorite Pizza Dough.  It turned out remarkably well.  

TOPPINGS

• ½ cup of your favorite marinara
• ½ cup mozzarella cheese - grated
• ½ pound pastured pepperoni - diced
• 2 tablespoons white onion - finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400°.  While the oven is heating shape your dough by rolling into a long snake about 2" in diameter.  Then roll it about ¼" thin with a rolling pin.  Leave edges bare, and spoon a thin layer of marinara over dough, then layer with cheese, pepperoni, and onion.  Using your hands begin to roll dough into a coil.  Cut coil into ¾" pieces using a pizza cutter.  Place pizza rolls into olive oil greased baking dish.  Place rolls so they are lightly touching.  Bake in preheated oven for 20-22 minutes.  Serve with warmed marinara for dipping.  Yum, yum, yum-yum.

I have been making variations of this recipe for several years.  This is an adaptation of the May Clinic's Cookbook, Three-Grain Raspberry Muffins.  They are sooo wonderful.  It is a fabulous cookbook that I enjoy and turn to often. 

Just tell your family this recipe only made 8 muffins.  I won't tell them otherwise.  If you really want a sinful treat, slather them with honey butter when they are still warm.

A few months back I posted a recipe for Whole Wheat Oatmeal Raisin Muffins if you would like to see another related recipe. 

THREE GRAIN MIXED BERRY MUFFINS (12 MUFFINS)

• ½ cup rolled oats
• 1 cup 1% low-fat milk or plain soy milk
• ¾ cup all-purpose flour
• ½ cup cornmeal, preferably stone-ground
• ¼ cup wheat bran
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup dark honey
• 3 ½ tablespoons canola oil
• 2 teaspoons grated lime zest
• 1 pastured egg, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup raspberries - I used ½ frozen raspberries, ½ frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners (foil removes easier).

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine the oats and milk. Microwave on high until the oats are creamy and tender, about 3 minutes.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, bran, baking powder, and salt.  Whisk to blend.  Add the honey, canola oil, lime zest, oats mixture, and egg.  Beat just until moistened but still slightly lumpy.  Gently fold in the raspberries.

Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, filling each cup about two-thirds full.  Bake until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 16-18 minutes.  Transfer the muffins to a wire rack and let cool completely. 

There are probably a million (or, at least 10 that I can think of off the top of my head) variations of the Patty Melt, and now, all hail the Patty Melt Pizza.  So simple, so obvious, and yes so good. 

PATTY MELT PIZZA (SERVES 2)

CRUST

I used one half of the recipe of Cheri's Favorite Pizza Dough.  It turned out great, and has become my favorite pizza dough recipe to date.  The other half was used for the incredible Pepperoni Pizza Rolls. 

TOPPINGS

• ½ pound pastured ground beef, or bison
• 2 cloves garlic - chopped
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ white or yellow onion - sliced in rings
• ¼ red onion - sliced in rings
• 1-1/2 cup sharp cheddar cheese - grated

Preheat oven to 500°.  While the oven is heating shape your dough into desired shape.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Brush pizza dough with extra-virgin olive oil.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Cook pizza dough without toppings for 5 minutes once the oven is preheated.  Cook beef or bison over medium heat in a skillet, add garlic, and break it into small pieces with a spatula.  When cooked through, drain any grease, set aside.  In the same pan add extra-virgin olive oil, once hot add onion rings and cook for three minutes.  Layer toppings on partially cooked pizza dough: ground beef, or bison, cheese, then onions arranged how you like them.  Cook pizza with toppings for 10 minutes more, or until golden brown and cheese has melted.

Don't have your fill of pizza ideas?  Get all 21 weeks worth here. 

The Farmer's Markets will be starting soon and the abundance that spring and summer have to offer will be in my grasp.  Believe me I will be one of the firsts to welcome it in.  In celebration of the good times to come, I bring you the Tomato Tart.  These would be so wonderful at a bridal shower, a ladies luncheon, or as an appetizer for a cocktail party.  Served with a small salad these are a perfect size for lunch. 

Wishing you all beautiful, warm spring days!

TOMATO TARTS (4 TARTS)

CRUST

I used one half of the recipe of Cheri's Favorite Pizza Dough. 

TOPPINGS

• 3 ounces cream cheese
• ½ cup sharp cheddar cheese - shredded
• 2 green onions - sliced
• Cherry tomatoes - sliced

Preheat oven to 500°.  While the oven is heating shape your dough into desired shape, I made 4" rounds.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Brush pizza dough with extra-virgin olive oil.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Cook pizza dough for 7 minutes or until crust is golden. 

In a small mixing bowl combine first (3) ingredients.  Spread cream cheese mixture over pizza dough after they have slightly cooled, and layer tomatoes over the top.  

Don't have your fill of pizza ideas?  Get all 22 weeks worth here. 

The cooking instructions for this recipe rely heavily on you knowing the temperament of your grill.  How is my grill you ask?  Oh, I would be happy if it made hot dogs hot.  Yeah, it is time to upgrade.  That being said, this pizza was incredible!  The flavors were fantastic and melded beautifully into a summertime version of Eggplant Parmesan. 

RUSTIC EGGPLANT GRILLED PIZZA (2 SMALL PIZZAS)

CRUST

I used one half of the recipe of Cheri’s Favorite Pizza Dough, but substituted ½ of the flour for whole wheat.  It gave it a nice earthy flavor and required an extra hour in rise time. 

TOPPINGS

• 1 eggplant – ¼” thick slices
• extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• Italian seasonings
• Parmesan – freshly grated – or use a combination of cheeses
• 1 large tomato – sliced thinly

Heat grill to a temp that will leave grill marks on your veggies.  Brush eggplant slices with EVOO and cook on grill flipping once the other side has grill marks.  Length of time varies for each grill so please keep a watchful eye.  This whole process shouldn’t take very long, unless of course you are using my grill.  Once the eggplant is cooked, remove from grill and set aside. 

Shape your dough so that it is thin and will fit on your grill.  Brush the grill with a little EVOO to prevent sticking and lay dough right on the grilling service.  Flip once grill marks appear and brush dough with EVOO, garlic, and sprinkle with Italian seasoning.  Then layer eggplant, tomatoes, and cheese.  Cover the pizzas and cook until cheese has melted. 

Need some more ideas for pizza night?  Get all 23 weeks worth here. 

The creamy tofu dressing was a perfect complement to the earthy, albeit slightly charred, grilled vegetables.  Certainly use any vegetables you want for this salad and have a great time experimenting.  I happen to like the raw carrots and tomatoes in contrast to the grilled zucchini, and eggplant, but you could grill it all and serve over grilled radicchio as another serving suggestion.  I hope you find this salad as versatile as I do.  If I keep eating this well I might just get a goddess like figure myself!  Yum!

GRILLED VEGGIE SALAD WITH TOFU GREEN GODDESS DRESSING

TOFU GREEN GODDESS DRESSING (YIELDS 2 CUPS)

• 7 ounces firm tofu – drained well, cubed
• ¼ cup green onion – sliced
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves
• ¼ cup white vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves – minced
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey

SALAD

• various mixed vegetables for grilling (i.e. eggplant, yellow and green zucchini)
• leafy greens
• carrot – julienne
• tomatoes - cubed

Begin by preparing the dressing.  Combine all ingredients for the dressing in a food processor and combine until smooth and homogenized.  Place in refrigerator until ready to use, let it rest at least 30 minutes before serving.

Prepare grill for vegetables and cook on each side until grill marks appear.  Serve over raw vegetables with a side of dressing for dipping. 

Tuna melts have always been a big hit for me.  Their filling, easy, everyone loves them, and most of all their melty.  Yes, melty is a word.  Somewhere. 

I used whole wheat pitas that were prepared locally and happen to be incredibly soft and delicious.  You can always make your own if you are so inclined check out this search for some tasty options. 

For the tuna salad I used 2 fresh tuna fillets that I cooked, flaked, then I mixed in a bit of mayo, dill and lemon juice.  But, make it however you like it.

TUNA MELT PIZZA (MAKES 2 PIZZAS)

• 2 whole wheat pitas
• 1 cup tuna salad
• 1 cup spinach – finely chopped
• 4 thin slices of tomato
• ¼ cup cheese – I used a mixture of sharp cheddar, Munster, and Swiss
• green onion for garnish 

Preheat oven to 375° (use a toaster oven if you have one to save electricity).  On baking sheet place both pitas and divide all ingredients evenly between the two, except for the green onion.  Cook until cheese has melted, about 7 minutes.  Remove and garnish with green onion.  

Don’t have your fill of pizza ideas?  Get all 24 weeks worth here. 

There are few things in life more enjoyable than a simple cucumber sandwich.  They’re light, delicate, and just begging for a glass of fresh squeezed lemonade.  This week’s pizza takes on a more summer like appearance. 

CUCUMBER CRISPS (8 CRISPS)

CRUST

I used one half of the recipe of Cheri’s Favorite Pizza Dough, but substituted half of the flour for whole wheat . 

TOPPINGS

• 3 ounces cream cheese
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons carrots, divided – finely chopped
• 2 green onions – sliced
• 24 cucumber slices

Preheat oven to 500°.  While the oven is heating shape your dough into desired shape, I made 8 oblongs about 2” in width, 4” in length.  Poke several small holes in the crust with a fork to prevent bubbling.  Brush pizza dough with extra-virgin olive oil.  Transfer pizza dough to whatever, pan, stone, etc you will be using for cooking.  Cook pizza dough for 7 minutes or until crust is golden. 

In a small mixing bowl combine first (4) ingredients, reserving a few carrots for garnishing.  Spread cream cheese mixture over pizza dough after they have slightly cooled, and lay cucumbers over the top, garnish with additional carrot.  Serve immediately

Don’t have your fill of pizza ideas?  Get all 25 weeks worth here. 

It is hard to believe that June is here, but it is!  I’m eagerly looking forward to what this summer has in store.  On that note I thought it would be fitting to whip up some delicious veggie dip to use up all those glorious vegetables from the farmers markets.  So tell that white stuff they call veggie dip to stay on the shelf where it belongs.  This dip is incredibly easy, tastes better, and you know exactly what’s in it.  No high fructose anything insight.  Looking for another veggie dip idea?  You might want to try Tofu Green Goddess Dressing as an interesting alternative.

DILL AND YOGURT VEGETABLE DIP (YIELDS 3/4 CUP)

INGREDIENTS

• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup plain yogurt
• 1 tablespoon dry dill – or use fresh if you have it!
• 1 green onion – sliced
• 1 teaspoon white onion – finely minced
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Combine all ingredients in a air tight dish.  Allow to chill at least one hour before serving.  Then dip at will!

I fell in love with Heirloom Tomatoes from my CSA in Del Mar, CA.  Their ‘meaty’ flavor was incredible and at times, reminiscent of bacon (I’m not kidding).  If a tomato could bring world peace it would definitely be the Heirloom.  Their flavor is so incredible that nothing much needs to be done to bring out the flavor. 

So, here is a delicate little salad that can be dressed up or down to accommodate few or many.  The amounts of ingredients are vague but the flavor is incredible.  Simple is truly better. 

Looking for more salad ideas?  You might enjoy:

• Fresh Green Bean Salad
• Honey Mustard Slaw with Beets and Pancetta
• Oasis Carrot Salad
• Red, White, and Blue Red Cabbage Salad

HEIRLOOM TOMATO SALAD (SERVES 2 OR AN ARMY DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH YOU MAKE OF COURSE!)

• Heirloom tomatoes – a variety of colors is best, cut into bite size pieces
• onion – white, red, or green would be fabulous, chop finely
• extra-virgin olive oil – drizzle over all tomatoes
• white balsamic – use about ½ as much as you did EVOO
• fresh oregano, and basil – chop finely
• salt & pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving.  If you wish serve over micro greens and sprinkle sparingly with blue cheese. 

Summer could not possibly pass by without a heaping helping of potato salad.  Creamy, mayonnaise-y goodness.  However, this version uses plain whole milk yogurt as the base for the dressing and is packed with home spun flavor.  Enjoy with some ice tea and say hello to short shorts, and goodbye pants!!

CURRIED POTATO SALAD (SERVES 4 AS A SIDE)

• 1 pound marble potatoes (or any small potatoes) – cooked, chilled, cut into bite sized pieces, skins intact
• 1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• 2 green onions – sliced
• 1-1/2 teaspoons curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix all ingredients and chill for at least 30 minutes before serving. 

Sweet corn is one of my ultimate favorite summer treats.  This recipe takes corn from day to night in a hurry!!!  This has to be one of the quickest, easiest ways to get a summer dinner on the table.  I thought it would be tasty, but it was actually pretty awesome (and good looking too).  Load it up as much or as little as you want.  As far as I’m concerned hot sauce is required, but you could leave it off if you want, just don’t tell me about it. 

Please let me know if you have any more suggestions for this loaded corncoction.

CONFETTI CORN

• sweet corn – cooked
• Greek yogurt
• lemon or lime wedge
• red onion - diced
• hot sauce – I’m a Cholula girl, always have been, always will be
• s&p

In a shallow dish, or plate, add a little yogurt.  Roll hot corn in yogurt then add any toppings you wish.  Mmmm....

In Illinois our fresh produce season is long awaited.  When the time finally arrives for fresh fruit I find myself gorging on the stuff.  Like a wild beast plucking fish from a river, I too have been a little indulgent in my consumption.

That being said we have had the most wonderful nectarines recently.  Like little pieces of pie wrapped around a pit….mmm….  Enjoy the best of the season any way you like but I prefer to have it 3+ times a day.  Starting with a bit helping of oatmeal, yes please!

Breakfast person eh?!  You might also like to check out:

Banana Bread Oatmeal

Chorizo Charged Breakfast

Chilled Oatmeal

For a link to all my recipes click here.

NECTARINE AND BLUEBERRY SMOOTHIE OATMEAL (SERVES 2)

• 2 ripe nectarines – coarsely chopped, reserve a few for garnish
• ¼ cup blueberries – reserve a few for garnish
• ¼ cup whole milk plain yogurt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar – to taste, optional
• 1/2 cup organic steel cut oats

DIRECTIONS

Cook oats according to package directions.  They typically take about 30 minutes so you will have plenty of time to make your smoothie.

For the smoothie portion blend nectarines, blueberries, yogurt, cinnamon, and brown sugar in a small food processor.  Be sure not to over mix, chunks are fine. 

When the oatmeal has about 2 minutes left to cook add smoothie mixture, and serve once heated through.  Add your lovely little garnishes and serve immediately. 

I’ve been trying to fit as many beautiful summer vegetables into each dish as possible (this one hits the mark)  This makes for a light, delicious, vegan summer dinner.  Cook the potatoes ahead of time when the cool morning air allows it, warm before serving.

SUMMER STUFFED VEGAN SPUDS (SERVES 4)

• 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 carrots – diced
• 2 cloves garlic - minced
• 1/2 cup onion (white or red) – chopped
• 1 cup button mushrooms – sliced
• 2 large tomatoes – cubed
• 1 small green zucchini – cubed
• 1 small yellow zucchini – cubed
• 1 large handful green or wax beans – chopped into bite size pieces
• 4 cooked potatoes

Heat olive oil in frying pan over medium heat.  Once the oil is hot, about 4 minutes, add carrots and stir occasionally for 5 minutes.  Add garlic, onion, mushrooms, tomato, zucchini, and beans.  Continue to cook for about 10 minutes.  Split potato down the middle, and top with veggies.  Garnish with red pepper flakes and fresh ground pepper (optional). 

There’s nothing like easy, delicious, quick meals especially in the summer when the kitchen can overheat in a nano second.  Quinoa is not only a quick cooking grain but has a rather high protein content making this simple salad a balanced meal.  The radishes and arugula make for a pretty intense salad that should tide your taste buds over until dinner time. 

Looking for some more salad ideas to use up that bounty of farmers market produce?  Look no further:

• Fresh Green Bean Salad
• Grilled Veggie Salad
• Heirloom Tomato Salad
• Honey Mustard Slaw with Beets and Pancetta
• Oasis Carrot Salad

YELLOW ZUCCHINI AND QUINOA SALAD (4 SERVINGS)

• 1-1/2 cup water
• ¾ cup quinoa – rinsed
• 1 yellow zucchini – finely chopped
• 5 radishes – finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic – minced
• 1-1/2 cup arugula leaves
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 lemon – juiced
• pepper – to taste

In a small sauce pan combine water and quinoa over medium heat.  Cook until water has been absorbed, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes.  Allow quinoa to cool to room temperature.  In the mean time combine the remaining 7 ingredients in an airtight container.  When quinoa has cooled stir into ingredients in airtight container.  Allow to chill for at least 30 minutes prior to serving.

We can always use a moist, delicious, and oooohhhh so easy banana bread recipe, and here it is!  If you don’t have the blueberries you could easily substitute blackberries, raspberries, or just skip the berries altogether.  This would make an especially lovely French toast too.  Just sayin’. 

These are Kyle’s final days before Ironman Louisville next weekend and I’m happy to make some treats to keep him going.  Good luck #540 we’ll be cheering you on!! 

This recipe is an adaptation of my friend (and fellow TriWidow) Jorien’s post from triwidows.com.  Her recipe certainly didn’t need any messing with, but I couldn’t resist the urge to throw in some blueberries.  It turned out beautifully thanks to Jorien who originally used dates and walnuts which sounds fantastic, but alas I had neither of those items on hand.  Perhaps she’s a future food blogger in the making? 

Triwidows.com is a social networking site for triathlete supporters that I started recently.  I’d love if you stopped by to check it out! 

BANANA BLUEBERRY BREAD

• 3 large ripe bananas
• 2 pastured eggs - beaten
• 1/3 cup honey - go local keep the bee population employed!
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ cup blueberries

Preheat oven to 325°.  Mash the bananas and mix them with the beaten eggs. Stir in the honey, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, then delicately fold in the blueberries. Put the mixture in a buttered baking tin (ideally a glass one).

Put the baking tin in the oven for about 35 minutes in a 325° preheated oven, or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the bread rest for 5 minutes before removing it to cool further.  Enjoy with copious amounts of local honey (to ward off allergies of course). 

Looking for a sweet treat for my sweetheart can be a little tricky if you don’t want cookies, pastries, etc. around the house.  Instead of desserts sitting around the house they typically find themselves sitting on my thighs! 

Let me offer this wonderful dessert that can be served in 10 minutes or less.  That makes this not only a healthy option, but a wonderful alternative to a laborious pie.  The grilling makes the sugar in the fruit begin to caramelize and tastes like an individual serving of summer. 

This Labor Day weekend we took advantage of all that DuPage County, IL has to offer.  We are blessed with a tremendous amount of things to do around here that are absolutely free.  For instance, we visited Kline Creek Farm which is a farm that has been restored to reflect the 1890s.  They have animals, a tour of the farm house, and harvest their own honey.  I of course had to take a jar of the honey home for my own immediate consumption.  As you probably already aware, honey is a natural antiseptic and can be used as a natural remedy to allergies.  Keep your local honeybees employed!  Buy local!

Here are a few shots of our Labor Day weekend: 

Now on to the most wonderful treat that only summer can offer:

GRILLED NECTARINES

• nectarines – halved, and pitted
• honey – local and oh so wonderful

Place nectarine halves onto preheated grill.  Flip once when grill marks appear.  Grill on the opposite side, and remove from heat once grill marks appear.  Drizzle with honey and relax…dessert is done! 

Oh how I love the ruby colored gem of late summer.  So beautiful and good for you too.  There is no better way to savor them than pickling.  Having no canning experience I opted for an incredibly simple method.  They are sweet, flavorful and active prep is only about one hour.

If you love beets you’re going to be hooked on these beauties! 

EASY PICKLED BEETS (1 Quart)

• 2 bunches small beets – ends trimmed and scrubbed
• 4 small onions – sliced and separate rings
• ½ cup liquid from boiled beets
• ½ cup white vinegar
• ½ cup honey – go local!
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon cloves

Bring beets and enough water to cover to a boil over high heat.  Reduce to medium and continue to boil for 45 minutes.  With 5 minutes remaining on beets add onion slices.  Drain beets and onions, reserving ½ cup of the liquid, set aside.

While the beets and onions cool add beet liquid, vinegar, honey, salt, cinnamon, and cloves to medium sauce pan and bring to a boil.

Peel beets (this should be easy once they are cooled), and slice.  Add sliced beets and onions to a Mason jar, or air tight container of your choosing.  Cover beets with boiled liquid, cover, and refrigerate at least 24 hours before eating.  I prefer them after about 72 hours.  

Summer is almost officially over.  But, before we say goodbye let’s remember the few fresh tomatoes hanging on for dear life...

There really is no need to buy canned pasta sauce.  The flavors here are fresh, delicious and on the table in about 20 minutes.  The options are endless and the flavors divine.  As far as I’m concerned tomatoes are the perfect vessels in which to harvest the fading summer sun.  Do you get my point?  I love tomatoes, and can’t bear the thought of letting them go.   Until next summer my sweet loves…

Would you like a few more ideas to use up the last of your tomato bounty?

• Heirloom Tomato Salad
• Veggie Hash
• Vegan Summer Stuffed Spuds

QUICK AND GARLICKY TOMATO SAUCE (yields 2 cups)

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup white onion – finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves – finely chopped
• 3 large tomatoes – coarsely chopped
• 8 basil leaves – coarsely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

In medium sauce pan over medium heat add extra-virgin olive oil, white onion, and garlic cloves.  Cook for 7 minutes then, add 1/3 of the tomatoes, and continue to cook.

In the meantime in a small food processor combine remaining tomatoes, and basil leaves.  Pulse until well combined.

Add tomato and basil puree to sauce pan and cook until heated through.  Serve over pasta, or protein of your choice.  Garnish with freshly grated parmesan and ground pepper. 

Hard to believe we are flying through October and Halloween is almost here.  As the nights get shorter and the fires burn hotter it only makes me want to hang on to the fall harvest that much more.  The fall brings such wonderful colors and textures and I can’t wait to try each and every one.  For this edition I bring you the super sweet, super gorgeous Concord grape.  The little seeds inside don’t bother me at all.  These little fall gems are magnificent at satisfying a sweet tooth, and make a slightly spooky non-alcoholic cocktail. 

October has been a crazy month of traveling and things are just getting back to normal. Please don’t take my absence as anything personal.  It certainly is nothing more than a much needed break.  First, we were at Crystal Lake MI where we made these incredibly cute pumpkins.  This is a super easy craft and used left over wire and some little pumpkins.  That’s it!  The project was enjoyed by all, and we were amazed what you can do with some pumpkins, wire, wasabi peas, and a LOT of creativity.  I would like to remind you to Just Eat Food, but make sure to play with it first.  Wishing  you all a safe and Happy Halloween!

This was an experiment but turned out to be pretty tasty.  Want some fizzies without fake sweeteners?  This is the treat for you.  My aspartame loving husband even liked it (doesn’t mean much because he likes everything I make don’t you sweetest?).  So, try it for yourself.  Last winter I made Grapefruit Soda, which was great too.  This is the perfect way to cut the sweetness of juice and get some fuzzy little bubbles too.  If you don’t want to mess with juicing the grapes you could use an all natural grape juice which would be lovely too. 

GRAPE SODA 

• concord grapes – juice only*
• sparkling water

For each serving use (2) parts grape juice to (1) part sparkling water. 

*If you have a juicer use that to extract the juice from the grapes.  I had to use a food processor and then strain the seeds and skins from the juice.  Kind of laborious but the results were worth it.      

We were lucky enough to have taken a trip to Colorado a few weeks back.  Just so you get a sense of how nice people are there (general sweeping statement I realize) when we were checking out of the car rental place the gentleman at the window asked where we were headed.  When we told him “Aspen” he recommended what he thought was the best taco shop ever.  Right here in CO?  We thought that was a little weird but we were completely entranced with the CO hospitality so we had no chance but to trust him.  On the drive out of Aspen as we were returning to the Denver area we found the little taco shop Taqueria El Nopal in Glenwood Springs, CO.  Of course it was tucked into a strip mall (the only thing we look for when seeking out culinary treats – no really, we do!).  The place was packed.  We ordered a ton of tacos to try, carnitas, carne asada, and vegetable.  While we were waiting I helped myself to the salsa bar where there were at least 6 homemade salsas.  I could have done shots of the salsa alone!  The tacos arrived, and we especially fell in love with the vegetable tacos. 

I’ve made vegetable tacos before but my vegetables were always much larger than the ones at Taqueria El Nopal and cooked for much less time, I could just tell.  So, this recipe is an experiment and a tribute to the best little taco shop in the states.  Not that we entirely believe that, but we were in a euphoric mood so we’ll just go with that.  I think you will find the crisp slaw is a nice contrast to the slightly sweet and very soft vegetables.  The trick is to keep the vegetables all diced about the same size, very tiny.  

Want some more vegan love?  Your search ends here.

VEGAN VEGGIE TACOS WITH RED CABBAGE SLAW (SERVES 4)

Slaw

• 2 cups red cabbage – shredded
• ½ tomato – cut into 2 large pieces
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves – packed
• ½ teaspoon jalapeño juice
• 1 teaspoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon white onion – diced
• salt to taste

Tacos

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 yellow squash – diced in ½” pieces
• 2 small green zucchini - diced in ½” pieces
• 1 tomato - diced in ½” pieces
• 2 carrots - diced in ½” pieces
• 2 garlic cloves – minced
• ¼ cup water
• hot sauce to taste
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves – packed
• 8 tortillas

Prepare the slaw first so it has time to marinate.  Combine the tomato, cilantro, jalapeño juice, vinegar, onion, and salt in a small food processor.  Blend until almost smooth.  Pour over red cabbage (in an air tight container), stir, and place in refrigerator until it’s time to eat.

In a large pan (something with a lid), over medium heat, add olive oil.  Once hot, add squash, zucchini, tomato, carrots, and garlic.  Sautee for a 3 minutes, add water, reduce to medium-low heat and cover.  Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes.  In last 5 minutes of cooking add hot sauce, and cilantro leaves.  Spoon veggie mixture into tortillas, and top with desired amount of slaw. 

Do you like pickles?  Like Cole Slaw?  Yep, you are in the right place.  This is a wonderfully tangy, sweet, tastes as good as it looks salad.  The veggies are crisp and the perfect carriers for the interesting flavors that the mustard and cumin provide.

This isn’t for the faint of heart.  You only need a little bit to pack a punch to your lunch.  Serve as a side salad to any protein main dish.  There’s nothing reminiscent of a traditional holiday dish here.  Or, is it a new tradition?

SWEET AND SOUR SLAW IN TECHNICOLOR (YIELDS 2 CUPS) *The colors in this image have not been modified in any way.  Do not attempt to adjust your monitor*

• 1 cup apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 carrot – peeled, julienne
• 1 small onion – julienne
• 1 green zucchini – julienne
• 1 golden beet – peeled, julienne

In a small sauce pan heat vinegar, sugar, mustard, and cumin over medium heat.  Bring to a boil and continue to cook for 2 additional minutes.  Remove liquid from heat and allow to cool completely about 30 minutes.

In a 1 quart air tight container add carrot, onion, zucchini, and beet.  Please note that the vegetables are raw.  Allowing the liquid to cool completely will allow the vegetables to maintain their crunch. 

Pour liquid over vegetables and refrigerate.  Stir once after about 24 hours and then enjoy after 48 hours.   

It’s hard to believe it is almost time to celebrate Thanksgiving again.  Spring came and went, summer breezed by, the leaves began to fall, and here we are.  This year we have so much to be thankful for.  We live in a country where we have so many opportunities. We can grow up to be what we want, and make our own choices when it comes to food.  The opportunities to choose food are endless.  We can choose to support big or small business, make our own food, or buy it prepared.  In this day and age where there are so many choices remember what Thanksgiving is all about.  Thanksgiving is our humble reminder of how the earth can produce exactly what we need, more perfectly than any chemist can produce in a lab.  The shorter the distance from the farm to your table the better it will taste, the better you will feel. 

This month I celebrated my one year anniversary as a food blogger and am happy to say that it has been incredibly rewarding.  I’ve met genuinely wonderful people that give freely of themselves for the new girl. 

Reflecting on this year and the changes that have occurred, one thing that is consistent in my life is my friends (this means family too).  They continue to give me love and support and in this case share some family recipes. 

Last year on Just Eat Food I made my wonderful friend Marci’s Berry Sweet Potato Bake and it is a hit whenever I make it. PS she broils marshmallows on top of hers.  mmmm....

This year Marci has graciously shared her recipe for Cranberry Velvet Salad.

Her table is sure to be filled with love, great food, and new family memories.  I wish you all a happy and warm Thanksgiving.

I’ve never attempted to make pita bread.  No, not once.  Those little pockets are pretty intimidating!  Especially for a girl that is a little afraid of bread since it is so temperamental.  Learning the new steps, and asking “how many times does this have to rise?” only made the experience more fun and rewarding.  These were a stretch for me but I enjoyed them immensely as piping hot pita dipped in homemade Tzatziki sauce. 

These are a bit time consuming so whip them up on the weekend to take to work during the week. 

WHOLE WHEAT PITAS – original recipe taken from Confections of a Foodie Bride and copied here.  

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 1/4 cups warm water (105–115°F)
• 1 1/2 cups bread flour or high-gluten flour, plus additional for kneading
• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp salt
• cornmeal for sprinkling baking sheets

Stir together yeast, honey, and 1/2 cup warm water in a large bowl, then let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, discard and start over with new yeast.)

While yeast mixture stands, stir together flours in another bowl. Whisk 1/2 cup flour mixture into yeast mixture until smooth, then cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk and bubbly, about 45 minutes. Stir in oil, salt, remaining 3/4 cup warm water, and remaining 2 1/2 cups flour mixture until a dough forms.

Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, working in just enough additional flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Form dough into a ball and put in an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let dough rise in draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

Set oven rack in middle of the oven. Preheat oven to 500°F.

Punch down dough and cut into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Flatten 1 ball, then roll out into a 6 1/2- to 7-inch round on floured surface with a floured rolling pin. Transfer round a baking sheet lightly sprinkled with cornmeal. Make 7 more rounds in same manner, arranging them on baking sheets. Loosely cover pitas with a clean kitchen towel and let stand at room temperature 30 minutes.

Transfer 4 pitas, 1 at a time, directly onto oven rack. Bake until just puffed and pale golden, about 2 minutes. Turn over with tongs and bake 1 minute more. Cool pitas on a cooling rack 2 minutes, then stack and wrap loosely in a kitchen towel to keep pitas warm. Bake remaining pitas in same manner. Serve warm.

They are as delicious as they are pretty!

As you can see Meyer Lemons are the featured fruit for this miraculous marmalade.  Don’t like marmalade you say?  Well, you probably won’t care for this. It still has all that wonderful bitterness of any good marmalade except made from divine Meyer Lemons.

Perhaps you are wondering how a girl in IL could get her hands on lovely Meyer Lemons?  I’ll tell you how this came to be.  See I have an aunt that made sure she hauled some lemons that she picked in my grandma’s (Raisin) back yard when she came home for Thanksgiving.  I labored over how to preserve the lemons in a way fitting to their wonderfulness.  I realize there are some people in the world that would just assume that Meyer Lemons are just like the waxy, fluorescent, picked to early lemons that are trucked in from FL.  Well you see this just isn’t the case.  They are a thin skinned, super juicy, slightly sweeter version, with a hint of orange, little lemon.

I’m wishing everyone a bright, festive, and glittery Christmas.  Cheers to 2010!  It’s going to be a good one! 

MAGNIFICENT MEYER MARMALADE (MAKES 6-8 ½ PINTS)

Recipe for Meyer Lemon Marmalade reproduced from Simply Recipes.  Complete with step by step photos that are really fantastic.  GREAT step by step for a canning newbie like myself.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 lbs of Meyer lemons (about 9 lemons)
• 6 cups water
• 6 cups granulated sugar

Note that the proportion of lemon segments to water to sugar is 1:1:1. So if you don't have a kitchen scale and don't weigh your lemons to begin with, as you proceed through this recipe keep in mind these proportions. Your 2 1/2 lbs of lemons should yield 6 cups of chopped lemon. 6 cups of chopped lemon will be cooked first with 6 cups of water, and then later 6 cups of sugar are added. You can also do this recipe with 4 cups of chopped lemons, 4 cups of water, and 4 cups of sugar. Do not double the recipe. Do not reduce the sugar (if you want a reduced sugar recipe, use a different recipe); the sugar is needed for the jelly to set.

Equipment needed

• 1 wide 6 or 8-quart pan (Stainless steel or copper with stainless steel lining, not aluminum which will leach)
• A sharp chef's knife
• A candy thermometer
• 6 half-pint (8-oz) canning jars
• Cheesecloth, enough to double over and form a bag to hold the seeds for making pectin, or a Muslin jelly bag

Method

Preparing the fruit

1 Scrub the lemons clean. Discard any that are moldy or damaged.

2 Prepare the lemons. Cut 1/4 inch off from the ends of the lemons. Working one at a time, stand a lemon on end. Cut the lemon in half lengthwise. Cut each lemon half into several segments, lengthwise.

As you cut the lemons into segments, if you can, pull off any exposed membranes. Just get the ones that are easy to get to, ignore the rest. When you've cut down to the final segment, cut away the pithy core. Remove all seeds from the segments. Reserve the seeds and any removed membrane or pith. You will need them to make pectin.

Cut each lemon segment crosswise into even pieces to make little triangles of lemon peel and pulp.

3 Put all of the seeds, membranes and pith you removed from the lemons into a bag fashioned out of two layers of cheesecloth or a muslin jelly bag.

First stage of cooking

4 Place the lemon segments and water into a large, wide pot.

5 Place the pectin bag in the pot with the fruit pulp and secure to the pot handle.

6 Bring mixture to a medium boil on medium high heat. Let boil, uncovered, for about 25-35 minutes, until the peels are soft and cooked through. Test one of the lemon peel pieces by eating it. It should be soft. If it is still chewy, keep cooking until soft.

Remove from heat.

7 Remove the pectin bag, place the pectin bag in a bowl and let cool until it is comfortable to touch.

Add the pectin and sugar

8 Once your pectin bag has cooled to the point you can handle it, if you want, squeeze it like play-doh to extract any extra pectin. This is not necessary but will help ensure a good set. (I like to wear latex-type gloves for this part.) You should be able to get a tablespoon or two more from the bag. It has the consistency of sour cream. Return this pectin to the pan with the lemon mixture.

9 Measure out your sugar and add it to the pan with the lemon mixture.

Second stage of cooking

10 Heat the jelly mixture on medium high and bring it to a rapid boil. Secure a candy thermometer to the side of the pan. The marmalade may take anywhere from 20 to 35 minutes or so to be ready to pour out. After about 15 minutes, start checking it frequently.

11 There are two ways to test that the marmalade is ready to pour out into jars - the mixture reaching a temperature of 220-222°F (8-10°F above the boiling point at your altitude) and a bit of it put on a chilled plate "wrinkling up" when you push it with your finger tip. I do both.

For the wrinkle test, put several small plates into the freezer. As the jelly temperature reaches 218°F, start testing it by placing a small amount of the hot jelly on a chilled plate. If the jelly spreads out and thins immediately, it isn't ready. If it holds its shape a bit, like an egg yolk, that's a good sign. Push up against it with your finger tip. If the jelly sample wrinkles at all, it is time to take the jelly off the heat and pour it out into jars.

When you use a candy thermometer to test the temperature of your mixture, make sure the probe is NOT touching the bottom of the pan. Make sure that the indentation on the probe (with modern candy thermometers this is about an inch and a half from the bottom of the probe) is actually surrounded by the mixture. This may mean that you have to tilt the pan to one side, to cover the probe sufficiently to get a good reading.

Canning

12 While the marmalade is in its second cooking stage, rinse out your canning jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven. They should be in the oven at least 10 minutes before using them.

13 As the time approaches for the marmalade to be done, boil some water in a tea pot. Put the jar lids in a glass or ceramic bowl and pour the boiling water over them to sterilize.

14 Once the jelly has reached 220°F or its "wrinkly" stage, remove the jelly pot from the heat. Carefully ladle the jelly into the jars, one at a time, leaving 1/4 inch head space at the top of the jars for a vacuum seal. Wipe the rim clean with a clean, wet paper towel. Place the lid on the jar, securing with a jar ring. Work quickly.

15 Allow