Recipes, searches

I am always doing google searches for new recipe ideas, so much so that I really don't know what I did before the internet. Cookbooks? I do recall checking out a lot of cookbooks from the library. I still do - just usually one at a time. One fun thing about doing a blog is looking at the stats and finding out how people found my blog. It tells you what they typed into a search engine to find you. Like diabetic trail mix cookies.  So nice to see that other people are looking for the same things I am! And that other diabetics want good, wholesome snacks that aren't processed and don't contain a bunch of crazy ingredients. I think the more that people can make their own foods and not rely on the processed junk, the better off we will all be - body, mind, environment. But it takes some time, I think that is the biggest obstacle to eating a whole foods diet.

Speaking of food and recipes, our CSA is going strong so I've been freezing, baking, trying to use 3 pounds of potatoes in a healthy way and figure out to do with a pound of bean spouts. That is what I love about a CSA though - it is a challenge! We have had kale almost every week, and let me tell you - I love me some kale!!! Kale chips, kale smoothies, steamed kale in burritos, or just with a little apple cider vinegar. But, my friend Erin sent me a recipe the other week which has turned into my new favorite way to eat kale. Quinoa, kale, feta or goat cheese, lemon, walnuts (I susbtituted them for the pine nuts)....Amazing! Here's the link:  http://www.food52.com/recipes/2434_one_pot_kale_and_quinoa_pilaf

And if you haven't tried this recipe on Peas and Thank you for MMMMM Sauce, you need to. I could dip anything in it and it would taste good.....anything! Plus it is pretty low in carbs, has lots of protein from the almonds and chickpeas...and did I mention it tastes great? 

http://peasandthankyou.com/recipage/?recipe_id=6000743

Two new favorite recipes in our house. It is a beautiful day... we'll see if I can convince Mr W to fire up the grill tonight :-) Enjoy!

Adding Some Spice to Life!

I used to think I hated spicy foods. Maybe I did. Or maybe I had not tried anything that was a flavorful spicy (vs. just spicy). Or maybe I just grew up a little and so did my taste buds. Regardless of why I didn't like the spice, I have grown to really enjoy eating spicy foods. So when I saw this recipe in - of all places - Esquire magazine I knew I had to try it!

I changed it up a bit to make it vegetarian. And since my Mimi thinks ketchup is spicy, I just pulled out a few of the ingredients she likes and made her a special version.

It may seem like a lot of work/steps, but it is worth it AND makes enough to feed your family and freeze some too.

Posole

3 T canola oil
1 large onion, chopped (3 cups)
1 poblano chile (I left this out... couldn't find a poblano)
1 large sweet pepper, deseeded and chopped
2 c chopped kale
1 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
8 cloves garlic,chopped
10 cremini mushrooms, quartered

Spice Mix

1 T ground cumin
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1 t ground coriander
1 t dried oregano
1/4 t ground black pepper
1 T salt
1 T orange zest

1 chipotle chili chopped (from can of chipotle in adobo sauce)
1 T adobo sauce

2 14.5 oz cans white hominy rinsed
1 14.5 oz can chopped tomatoes with juice (I used chopped hydroponic tomatoes and added 
a little Bionature strained tomatoes)

5 c veggie stock

1/2 c chopped cilantro
6 chopped scallions
1/3 c fresh lime juice

Garnish
6 oz goat cheese, crumbled (I used a goat and sheep feta)
2 avocados, sliced
radishes, quartered (I left these off)
12 warmed flour tortillas


In a stock pot, heat canola. Add vegetables and cook 15 minutes until soft. Add 
spice mix, chipotle, and adobo sauce. Stir one minute. 

Add hominy, tomatoes, and stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to 
simmer - 30 minutes. 

I cooked some chicken separate and added ti Mr W's bowl. For Mimi's, I just had a little sauce pan that I put a small portion of the ingredients into (minus the peppers and mushrooms, adobo sauce, etc) and then cooked it so that it was ready when ours was. No more work and just 1 extra pan. 
Stir in cilantro, scallion and lime juice. Ladle in bowls, top with goat cheese, 
avocado and radishes. Serve with warm tortillas.

This soup would be perfect for a rainy day. Tailor it to your liking. I could not find organic hominy, so used conventional. But if that is not okay for your family, you could certainly use organic corn instead. Or for a totally different take, try garbanzo beans. Starchy and similar in size to the hominy. Or another bean would work too... just would be more like a chili.

I was a little worried about my blood sugar - I don't usually do well with corn, but it was great after eating this! Enjoy!

Traditions and Sunday Dinner...and a great recipe too!

As parent, I think we all want what is best for our children. The unfortunate side effect of that can be over scheduled, over stimulated, over stressed, unhappy children. I think that kids today live in such a different world... immediate gratification, more opportunities and choices than ever, more activities offered than ever, and more pressures than ever. It is such a fine line between wanting to take advantage of all of the positive things offered, and overdoing it to the point that you have soccer moms on crack and burnt out kids.

I have been reading a book called Simplicity Parenting by Kim John Payne. This is a phenomenal book. It is about why the need for simplification in our children's lives, and how things like making our home a sanctuary for our kids - a refuge from the pressures of the day can make a big difference. It makes me feel like I am doing the right thing by trying to not over-schedule, trying to keep things as simple as possible. Of course, the book goes way more in depth about things you can do to achieve this - and help your kids to flourish and to BE KIDS! It talks about streamlining your home - toys, books, sensory overload, establishing rhythms and routines, scheduling in time for calmness - for free play, and managing their stimulation in the form of screen time and media.

It has really made me think about the way I run our house and the need to streamline things and create more of a routine. I feel like sometimes I'm all over the place and I need to create more of a schedule for myself and my family so everyone knows what to expect.

On Sundays, we usually go to church and then out to eat. So I talked it over with Mimi and we decided to start a family tradition of Sunday dinners. I'm talking tablecloth, candles, the works. So we had a good time planning the menu and how we would set our "fancy" table. Then I got her involved cutting apples for the apple crisp (a butter knife works fine for little ones), and measuring and stirring the ingredients for the topping. She also helped make homemade egg noodles for the chicken stroganoff. I handled steamed broccoli with lemon zest and sauteed spinach. Then we lit the candles and had a fun family dinner. It was such a nice way to end the weekend and get ready for the coming week. And the funny thing is that I remember doing the same thing with my family growing up - I usually handled the afternoon tea (I loved breaking out my mom's tea set), then my sister and I liked to do candles for the table. And as I got older, I became more involved with the cooking too. I hope it is just one of the many new traditions we will start as a family. Clean up was easy, so we had time to all relax together after dinner too. Can't think of anything better!

And now the recipe!

This picture is of the leftovers...it really doesn't do it justice!

Chicken Stroganoff
see notes after recipe for low carb and vegetarian versions

I based my recipe on this version http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Chicken-Stroganoff

olive oil
2 chicken breast cut into strips or bite sized pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1 and 1/2 c vegetable broth (or chicken broth)
2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 t paprika
2 T flour
3/4 c sour cream
1/4 cup milk or cream
egg noodles (we made ours homemade using this recipe http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/egg-noodles/Detail.aspx)

Heat 1-2 T olive oil in pan. Add chicken, onion and mushroom and saute until chicken is just cooked through. Add broth, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and cook 10 - 15 minutes. Whisk flour, sour cream and milk together. Add to pan. Cook 2-5 minutes more until thickened. Serve over egg noodles.

For a vegetarian version, leave out the chicken. For a lower carb version, serve over mashed cauliflower instead of the egg noodles. We gobbled this up! I just had the noodles with the veggies, but I did taste a spoonful without the chicken and it was great.

The sweet potato biscuit recipe is coming soon!

House projects and recipe links

Lately I have been trying to finish up a few projects I started. I seem to have these great ideas, get all the stuff together, start the project and then never finish it! Totally the story of my life! So I had two projects I was working on that I finally decided to complete this week.

The first has to do with an antique spoon collection we inherited. Like many grandmothers, my husband's had an antique spoon collection. She was well into her nineties when she passed away almost 10 years ago. She was a wonderful cook, and her home was always so cozy and warm when we visited. She seemed to me like someone who didn't really need to travel and see the world, but then she had this spoon collection that had spoons from all over the US. I'm sure she has at least one from all 50 states. So it makes me think that she had a little spirit of adventure in her, that I think my husband got from her too.

So back to the collection. It has honestly been sitting in a box for the past 9 or so years, moved from one house to another. The problem is that all of the "antique spoon holders" I've come across are very much in the country style. Which isn't really my style of decorating. So I've been trying to figure out a good way to display them.

Enter.... the shadow box. I had this idea to use a shadow box - the kind with a cork board backing to pin the spoons to it. Problem was, the one I ended up buying had this boring gray fabric over the cork board.  I went on etsy.com, bought some fun red geometric fabric, got out my hot glue gun....... and voila! A modern way to display an antique collection.

Now I did run out of pins, so once again, I didn't quite finish one of the shadow boxes, but... I'm going to Joann's today to get more. I still have more spoons, so I saved a large piece of the fabric for one more box. 

I'm really happy with the way it turned out and am so glad they are finally on display!

So the second project has to do with my hubbie's cork collection. Mr W has saved ever cork from every bottle wine he/we ever drank. I kid you not. You can imagine how that adds up over the years, so we were at a point where we were overflowing with corks! I have them in bowls, bags, hurricanes, etc etc etc. So I finally got him to let me use some of them to make a cork board with them. I plan to hang it up and artfully display photos, etc on it. So many hours, glue sticks, aloe vera for the glue gun burns on my hands later, the finished product:

I randomly put a few of the colored corks in there too, just to add a little interest. I ended up having to cut some of the corks on the final two edges - in hindsight I should have spaced them so that wouldn't happen, but.. live and learn! I still really like how it turned out! So just trying to find a good place to hang it, and some cool push pins and I will have completed two projects off my to-do list!

In the cooking department, I'll have a yummy sweet potato biscuit recipe to share in the near future, but wanted to share a few links to some recipes I tried recently:

This was a great recipe for a Vegetable Korma using cauliflower, potatoes and tofu. I forgot to get almonds, so I left them out, and I used cumin seeds instead of ground, but it turned out great!

http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/winter-vegetable-tofu-korma-recipe.html

This was a recipe I was dying to try after seeing it on Diners Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network:

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/beet-sliders-recipe/index.html

I made a smaller batch, left out the chilies and used soy sauce instead of the Maggi Seasoning. I ended up just putting some Goddess Dressing over it instead of doing the whole green goddess and burger thing. But I liked it - another was to eat beets. And if you don't care for the earthy flavor of beets, then this would be a good recipe to try.

Happy Friday to you!

CSA is back... AND tofu banana breakfast scramble

Wow - it has been a while since I last posted anything! I feel like I've been spinning my wheels a lot recently... without a whole lot getting accomplished!

One piece of news is that our CSA has started up again. The CSA we belong to is the type that contracts with other local farms, in addition to the things they grow to assure consistency in the amount of food you get, and variety in their offering. The last one we belonged to was just that farm, and the couple that ran it did manage to grow a large variety of foods, but depending on weather, conditions, etc., you might have a very full basket one week, and a sparse basket the next. But I still liked it - and I loved the couple that ran it. They were awesome.

So right now we are getting citrus from farms they contracted with down south, things like apples, winter squash, root vegetables from cold storage, and a few cold weather crops like kale and spinach. The citrus alone is phenomenal, and I've been really happy with the other offerings too. Definitely happy to have all of that fresh produce again!

On a different note, one fruit that will never be local is the banana. But oh how I love them. I figure if I try to do at least 60-70% local produce, I'm allowed to get bananas sometimes. One thing I love is the banana-peanut butter combo. But once I realized that peanut butter has 200 calories for 2 tablespoons AND I was eating way more than 2 tablespoons a day AND that my little spare tire/pooch was probably made up of peanut butter, I decided I need to cut back. So one was was to come up with something for breakfast that had enough protein to hold me over until lunch, but was a lower fat/calorie source of protein than peanut butter. I'm not an egg eater, so that was out. I was literally trying to fall asleep one night when this popped into my brain:

So here is my....

Tofu Banana Breakfast Scramble

1 piece (about 1/4-1/3 cup) extra firm tofu, cut off the block and crumbled by hand
1/2 banana cut into small chunks
1/4 c old fashioned oats
1/8-1/4 c almond milk (or regular milk)
1 egg white (optional)
1 T chocolate chips (optional)
1 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
dash of salt

Combine and mash all ingredients together.

Melt a little butter or oil in a skillet. "Scramble" mixture until heated through - about 2 minutes. Serve warm.

I know it doesn't look like much... brown scrambled eggs maybe? But I think it tastes great. I love the way bananas taste when you cook them. My blood glucose has been great every morning when I eat this. I even had to use less insulin, because it was going a little too low. Tofu (organic) is a great, natural source of protein, the oats provide the carbs as does the banana, and the milk/butter provides just a little fat. So a great breakfast that will keep you full until lunch! 

It poured down rain yesterday, so I stayed inside and did a yoga video from Exercise TV. It was a Bethany Frankel (one of the Real Housewives - don't feel bad, I didn't know that either until she said it) 

Yoga video. I have to say it was pretty amazing. I'm definitely feeling it today! Plus we did lots of strength training the other night before our run, so I'm a little sore today! Might be a good day to take it easy. 

TGIF! 

Homemade Pasta

The other day when I was perusing my local organic market, I happened to notice that there was a Goodwill right around the corner! How did I never notice that???? I can't drive by a Goodwill without stopping in. So... I made a quick detour and took a look! I love Goodwill for housewares - funky colored glasses, serving plates, old vintage juice glasses for kids drinking cups - they are the perfect size! And the old workhorse appliances are great too - Kitchen Aid blender = $10, Singer sewing machine = $20.

So I made a quick detour and browsed the housewares. I immediately found an awesome Le Cruset tea kettle in blue for $5! Snag. After looking a bit more, i also found a metal pasta machine, hand crank - very similar to the one that I lost when we moved. $5. Snag.

So of course, ever since then I have been dying to make homemade pasta! (Yes, I cleaned the machine thoroughly.) I did a quick internet search and found a bunch of recipes. I decided to use 1/2 semolina flour and 1/2 whole wheat flour and just go with a basic recipe to start with.

So here's what I ended up going with:

1 and 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 and 1/2 c semolina flour
1/2 t salt
4 eggs
1/4 water
1/4 oil (I used olive and canola)

Mix flours and salt. Make a well in center. In a separate bowl, beat eggs, oil and water. Pour into well. Mix to combine. Knead dough a few minutes. You may need to add a bit more flour. Let rest for 20 minutes.

Set your pasta maker on the widest setting - 1. Cut off a piece of the dough

Feed dough through pasta machine.

Change setting to 2, flour dough and repeat until you reach 5. 

My pasta machine has 2 different noodles. A thin type - angel hair. And a fettucine type. Feed sheet through noodle setting. 

I found that you have to catch the noodles with your hand or they end up in a big clump on the counter. If you are using them right away, drop them into water. If not, use a cookie sheet, drying rack, something to lay them out on to dry. 

Once they are somewhat dry, put them in a plastic bag and pop them in the fridge until you're ready to use. 

We ate ours last night with a Muir Glen sauce that I embellished with herbs, veggies, and some ground turkey for Mr W and Mimi's. I sauteed a little tofu and some spinach to add to mine. I have to say, there is no comparison to homemade noodles! I think I'll be making these often and with lots of variations. You could use different flours, add herbs, lemon zest, pureed spinach or other veggies instead of the water, lots of possibilities.

Oh, and with very fresh pasta, cooking time is super short - just a minute or 2, especially if you do a thin noodle. And the shorter the cooking time, the lower the glycemic index - better for diabetics.

If you plan on making these, just make sure you allow plenty of time to clean up afterwards. It is a messy job! I think every surface of my kitchen was covered in flour!

Off to run on the dreadmill!

Granola Bars

I (obviously) love any type of trail mix/granola bar, cookie, etc. Something about the combo of grains, dried fruit, nuts and maybe just a little chocolate appeals to me.

I have been loving White Grass's granola bars forever, so I finally had to ask for the recipe last time we were there. It come from the Recipes from the Old Mill cookbook. (White Grass has an amazing cookbook too... probably one of the ones I use the most).

I changes just a few things in the original recipe... used maple syrup rather than brown sugar, added a little applesauce, used cranberries instead of raisins, etc. So you should feel free to make this recipe to your liking...add some nuts, wheat bran or germ, different dried fruits, pumpkin or another winter squash in place of the applesauce, etc etc etc.

My favorite thing about these bars is that they actually stick together! The person who runs the kitchen said the key is to pack the mixture down in the pan. She even recommended putting another pan on top and standing on it! I just used my hands and packed it super firmly.

The Best Granola Bars

(I used all organic ingredients, and juice sweetened dried cranberries)

1/4 c maple syrup
2/3 c natural peanut butter
1/2 c honey(for vegan bars, use more maple syrup, agave nectar, juice concentrate or sweetner of your choice)
1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
2 t vanilla
2 and 1/2 old fashioned rolled oats
1 c whole wheat flour
1/3 c sunflower seeds (unsalted)
1 c chocolate chips
1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c coconut
1/8 c chia seeds (for extra fiber and omega 3s)

Check this flour out. It is real stone ground whole wheat... as in it is ground using big stone rollers! And it is  local! 

Mix maple syrup, peanut butter, honey, applesauce and vanilla in a large bowl. Mix well. Add whole wheat flour and mix. Add remaining ingredients, mixing well. Mixture will be crumbly.

Line a 9x12 pan with parchment paper (or grease with oil). Press mixture very firmly into pan.

Bake 15-20 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

I plugged the recipe into the nutrition calculator over at Sparks People....

http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=1503334

Not bad! You could always cut them smaller if you want to reduce the carbs (or omit the chocolate chips, but ho wants to do that?)... they are very filling! I think for blood sugar, it is a great combo of protein, carbs and fat - with a good amount of fiber too!

Hope you enjoy!

Oh, and running update... I did 3.2 the other night! The farthest I have ever run.... 5k! I was really excited! Now if this weather would ever clear up, I can do it again! :-)