Saturday Morning

Pumpkin Cranberry Pecan Spice Scone, Tea, and Cookbooks

Pesto Pasta

Michael made this beautiful pasta - hand rolled and cut.
It was light yet meaty delicious!

I made a different version of pesto than usual:
- roasted walnuts
- threw in a handful of basil (all I had left)
- supplemented with kale
- loads of garlic (I could have used more!)
- olive oil and salt...

I use a mini food processor to puree this together.
Mix pesto in pasta in pan of olive oil to integrate.

Buon appetito!

Gnocchi | Spinach Ricotta

I was inspired by a Food & Wine recipe, which I simplified. They tasted good, but lacked something... In the future, I would serve it with a more acidic sauce (tomato based or more citrus than just lemon zest).

Bloody Mary Friday

Fridge Pickles

Followed the Smitten Kitchen's easy recipe, and added a little garlic and onion!

How to Make Soft Herbed Fresh Cheese

 For a small amount of cheese, use 4 cups (1 qt) of fresh whole milk 
(raw if you can get it!) to 1/4 cup lemon juice / vinegar.

 (wait at least 20-30 minutes)

(you can keep draining at this point to make it a harder cheese, but I like this stage of super soft creamy texture!)

Thanks to The Goat Cheese Lady for the class at the Cheyenne Mountain Library!

New Favorite Pasta Dish

Add ricotta, walnuts, parsley, garlic and a little lemon zest to your favorite pasta for a delicious and easy dinner!

Stuffed Roasted Poblanos

Last week I made these easy, delicious Stuffed Roasted Poblanos. Roast peppers over gas stove flame until blackened skin, discard seeds inside. Saute onion, garlic and jalapeno in EVO, add to cream cheese and shredded cheddar/jack cheese (you could make healthier with tofu and sauteed veggies). Stuff peppers with cheese mixture. Puree roasted red peppers and fire roasted tomatoes (one jar of each) with a pinch of salt, pour into baking dish, snuggle the poblanos in, bake 350 for 45 minutes. I ate mine with cilantro, avocado and chips!

Retro Icebox Cake

I followed a great recipe from the new "No Bake Makery" but with my own twist of using fresh organic raspberries and blueberries, mixed with homemade organic whipped cream and locally made chocolate chocolate chip cookies. It was a hit!

Alternatives

After watching this video (link), I decided to try harder to kick my plastic habit,
with some helpful tips from this blog (link).

I already carry reusable shopping bags (or refuse bags and look ridiculous carrying arm loads of groceries to my car -- teaches me a lesson!), buy from bulk and either reuse those plastic bags over and over or my own cotton bulk bags, and I carry a reusable stainless steel water bottle and coffee to-go cup, etc...

However, I realized I really like vitamin water and energy bars when out on a hike or for a pick-me-up at work. I decided to challenge myself and find easy ways to replicate these items at home. I am SO excited about what I came up with that I had to share!

 Delicious homemade "vitamin" water: pour filtered water over a couple slices of lime, raspberries and mint. Refrigerate overnight and indulge in a refreshing glass the next day. It turns a pretty pink/red! (wait too long to drink it and the lime pith will make it sour)

Yummy and filling homemade "energy" bars: chop nuts (I used walnuts and almonds - use whatever you want) and dried fruit (I used apricots and tart cherries), mix with coconut, plain puffed rice cereal, and a pinch of salt. Heat a little butter, almond butter, and brown rice syrup. Bring to a simmer for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Pour over your nut/fruit mixture and combine. Press firmly into a buttered pan. Chill until firm, tip out, slice into individual servings. I like to use the little brown wax bags from Natural Value for these and sandwiches. Keep them in the refrigerator. I based my recipe on one I found in the Healthy in a Hurry cookbook.


Every little bit counts, especially if we all decide to ...
Ok, I'll get off my soapbox now.  I hope you got some fun and yummy ideas out of this post!

Shrimp Ceviche

garlic cooked shrimp, lime, cilantro, onion, tomato, cuke, avocado + chips + margarita = super yummy!

Recipe Tests

 Used butternut squash rather than carrots -- turned out to be a very moist and tasty cake!

Corey named it a "Tortizza" -- this one I created with artichokes, parmesan, ricotta, and olive oil baked on a tortilla.

Lunch in the Studio

organic turkey bacon, avocado, goat cheese on a bed of mesclun with balsamic vinegar drizzled over

Fast Food

tortilla pizza -- throw it together under the broiler for a quick meal

The Best Gluten Free Pizza!

A friend posted this recipe on facebook a while ago and I finally got around to making it. I enjoy regular pizza dough, but this was raved about so I had to give it a try. Its now a new favorite -- so easy, so delicious, so amazing!
The recipe can be found here.

in my food processor it only takes about 30 seconds, maybe a minute to rice the cauliflower, then pop it in the microwave for 7-8 minutes, add egg, cheese, oregano and S&P

press onto an OILED baking sheet and bake

make sure your toppings don't need to be cooked, because at this point you just throw it under the broiler to melt the cheese

Dinner

African Peanut Chicken Stew
(I love throwing things into the dutch oven or slow cooker, and coming back a few hours later to eat a warm dinner without a lot of hassle.)

one my favorite things to try and succeed: dinner made from "there's nothing in the fridge"
here I took the leftover organic chicken, sauteed it with the last of the veggies and tossed with pasta

p.s. olive oil and garlic makes any dish like this taste good!

Brown rice and Amy's jalapeno refried beans are always a good staple and I enjoy the ease of adding a handful of fresh organic mixed greens to as many meals as possible.

Lunch

 garlic organic chicken on salad with homemade parmesan biscuit

threw together some garlic, bok choy and an egg -- when cooked, added some organic free-range chicken broth -- when simmering I added the rice noodles I had just cooked, topped with some fresh scallions and a splash of soy sauce -- perfect fast homemade ramen noodles!

S's cranberry tuna salad on lettuce with balsamic vinaigrette and some thin pepper crackers for crunch

what do you make for your go-to healthy and fast homemade lunch?

Pad Thai How To

inspired by Kate's Pad Thai, I made a quick version and snapped a shot before assembling -- delicious!

(garlic and fish sauce are a must)

Campfire Cookery

What a delightful book! I assumed it would be a fun cookbook, but it is filled with many more clever insights like:
- elementary stargazing and orienteering
- tarot card and tea leaf reading
- ghost stories
- interesting information on the "true" marshmallow
- fishing lure & lore
- how to whittle away
- how to build a fire and more....

With whimsical writing like "Oh, sublime magnificence! Would one dare to eat such a peach?" or "To quiet one's cantankerous belly in the peckish hours before the evening meal, one can do no better than these nibbles; we also find that children flock, as if following the Pied Piper, to the tartine table." Who wouldn't want this book? I love it!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This was so easy and delicious! I just threw together a basic chicken soup in the slow cooker and when I got home for dinner, added avocado, cilantro, pepper, tomato, squeeze of lime juice and freshly toasted corn tortillas. Warm, soothing, yet still a touch of summer...