My Favorite Recipes from Around the Web!

     Since I haven't been super dedicated to the blog, it's meant that I've neglected working on my own recipes for a few months.  The great thing about that is that I've looked around and found some fantastic recipes on the interwebs, some of which are becoming regulars at my house.  I thought I'd share them with you because, well, yum!

     This Superfood Kale Avocado Salad with Raw Olives from Pickles and Honey has graced my table many times since I first found it about a year ago.  I like it so much that, though I have made it many times, my husband has only gotten to try it once because I make it for lunch, then plow through it by dinner and there's none left!  So guuuud.

     By contrast, this recipe I found only recently.  I was reluctant to try Shakshuka because I usually don't find I like tomatoes with eggs.  Holy cats was I wrong.  I might not like raw tomatoes with eggs, but I love tomato sauce with eggs.  I have made Tori Avey's Shakshuka recipe nearly once a week since I found it last month and everyone in my family loves it!




     Recently, I tried (briefly) to eat better, during which time, I found Eating Well's Vegetarian low calorie eating plan.  It's ingenious, delicious, and free.  There were very few recipes we didn't like, but my favorite was Tofu Cutlets Marsala.  My friend Susan eats Chicken Marsala pretty regularly, but I never understood because I'd never eaten anything Marsala before.  Oh, I never understood...  Thank you Eating Well.  Thank you.

     This last one is all over Pinterest and rightly so.  It's dang good.  My boys didn't like it.  One doesn't like coconut and the other didn't like the texture.  My husband and I were just fine with eating their portions, calories be hanged.  This Fresh Mango Coconut Chia Seed Parfait from Vegetarian Gastronomy has us hooked!

The internet is a strange and beautiful place, everyone.  Thankfully, it's delicious, too!

Ice-Pops, Ideas, and a Give Away...

So these are Zipzicles.

     You want these.  My friend Cara from Fork and Beans found some at Cost Plus World Market and went on to make some lovely homemade Otter-type pops.  I fiddled around on the Internet a bit and found that WizCo is just a few miles from my house!  They graciously sent me a sample pack and I went a little bonkers, ya'll.  I just kept on thinking of things to use these little pouches for!

     First off, I did make pops.  'Cuz yeah, Summer.  These are each a different type of juice.  The clear one is a simple infused water concoction of nasturtium and mint.  Not sweet for the kiddles, but so nice for me on hot days!  Each pouch contains almost 1/2 a cup, so to make my grown-up Zipzicle:

Nasturtium and Mint Ice-Pop
1/2 C water per pop
2 nasturtium flowers per
1 two inch sprig fresh mint (about 5 leaves) per

Combine in a cup and let steep for 30 minutes.  You can muddle it a bit at the end if you like.  I chopped up a few blossoms to make it pretty, but you don't need to.  If you are using flowers, place a few chopped blossoms into the pouch, pour infused water in to the fill line, close bag, and tilt it back and forth gently to distribute the flowers evenly.  Lay flat for a few hours to freeze.

The other pops are juices I bought at Trader Joe's, one is the Very Green Smoothie, one is carrot, and one is Tart Cherry.  The cherry one is especially good.  We also enjoy orange, grape, and fruit puree pops regularly!

And now for the rest!

     Next up, can we just talk about how long I've been wanting to make yogurt tubes?  I don't like store bought ones that are full of sugar and chemicals, and the organic frilly ones are few and far between.  I have thought for years that there had to be a better way.  Some way to make yogurt tubes at home.  This is it, yo!  These are homemade yogurt sweetened with a bit of honey.  No cane, beet or corn sugar, no rBST, just milk, bacteria, and honey.  Yummers.

     Number 3 is applesauce pouches.  1/2 C is a good portion of sauce.  You can fill past the fill line if you're not going to freeze it.  I found that the best way to fill these pouches with thicker things like yogurt and applesauce is to use a pastry bag to fill them half way, tap it once or twice to get out the bubble, and then fill the rest of the way.  For thicker substances or tough bubbles, a poke or two with a chop-stick will go a long way.

     Fourth up, any small, amusingly shaped cracker will fit beautifully into these pouches.  It's slightly less than a serving size, but just right for a lunchbox or a quick snack after karate.

And speaking of snacks, let's talk dessert, shall we?  A few mini chocolate chips, some tiny marshmallows, and a graham cracker bear or two.  A large pastry tip makes a nice funnel for the chocolate chips.  I know this is the complete embodiment of opposite from what I said about the yogurt tubes, but you know, cute is cute sometimes and dessert is dessert and s'mores is s'mores.

     For a healthier alternative while camping or hiking, Good Old Raisins and Peanuts really hit the spot.  A serving of peanuts almost fills up to the fill line, mix in a few raisins and GORP's your uncle!

     For flying, camping, or car trips, hummus makes a great snack, and 1/2 a cup of hummus makes a pretty healthy portion!  The flexibility of the pouches makes it really easy to get all of it out.  I've got a straw brush that I used to clean the pouches out after the hummus.

    Again, with the food coloring, but you know what?  There's exactly enough room in these pouches for Jell-o.  I used the quick-set method so that the heat wouldn't melt the plastic.  Sets up faster that way, too!  I wonder if agar agar jello would work in these, but I think that by the time it was cool enough to pour, it would be set too far.  An experiment for another day, perhaps.

     Need a sweet little pouch for party favors?  Fill them up with candy, jewelry, or confetti!  (Maybe don't give out the confetti filled ones until the end of the party...)

     I think this is my favorite idea: A little tomato soup and a pouch of oyster crackers!  Again, I poured the soup in cold, and served it at room temp.  It's a nice, healthy change-of-pace snack for the kid who's tired of cheese sticks and fruit slices.

     And then there are the non-food options.  Let's talk art-on-the-go, shall we?  Four thin markers fit very well in here, four or five colored pencils would do nicely, as well.  Just right for trips!  You can fit a few pipe-cleaners in here, too I bet, though I haven't tried it.  I did try Rainbow Loom bands and they were near impossible to get back out. Think, long and thin, and things that shake out easily.

     Speaking of things that shake out easily, a few Lego bricks are just the thing for a quick creation on the go.  Nanoblocks fit well, Micro Machines, too.

Here's a few more ideas!   

I haven't tested them, but you can!

• Make your own "Pedialyte" pops.  Coconut water is an excellent (and more tasty) electrolyte replenisher!
• Try these for pureed baby foods or toddler snacks like Cheerios.
• Going camping? Fill one with ketchup, one with mayo, and one with mustard.
• Maybe a small First-Aid Kit, a couple of Band-aids and a tube of Neosporin.
• What about filling one with mouthwash for weekend trips?

And Now, A Give Away!!

Have some ideas for these lovely little bags?  Wanna get some for free?  Well, you, my friend are in the right place!  WizCo is allowing me to give three lucky people a free 12-pack of Zipzicle pouches!  Leave me a comment here or on my facebook page with your favorite ice-pop flavor or a new idea for the bags and you'll be entered to win!  Contest ends on Friday so chime in!

*Give Away Has Now Ended*

An E-book for the Vegan Gluten-Free Masses...

(Photo by Cara Reed)

     My regular readers know I have a friend named Cara Reed who runs a gluten-free vegan blog called Fork and Beans.  She graciously converts my recipes every Christmas during my 12 Days of Christmas Cookies for friends and family of my readership with special food requirements.  She is so incredibly creative and fun and Halloween brings it all together in a bubbling cauldron of witchy deliciousness with her vegan candies and super creative meal ideas for kids. (I actually bought a waffle iron to make my kids skull waffles and they still ask for them all the time!)  To celebrate this year, Cara is releasing her very first e-book and she is allowing me to share a recipe with you here!  Without further ado, I give you...

(Photo by Cara Reed)

Coats: 6 apples 

Ingredients:  
2/3 c. vegan butter 

2/3 c. light corn syrup 

1 1/3 c. sugar 

1/3 c. water  

2/3 c. peanut butter 

Additional Ingredients: 

6 apples 

Wooden sticks 

Chopped nuts for dipping 

Plastic fangs (I bought mine at the Dollar Tree—they came with candy blood) 

Directions: 

     Remove stems from each apple and place the candy apple sticks inside. Measure the size of the plastic fangs and cut out a section in the apple to fit inside. 

In a medium saucepan, dissolve the sugar in the water, butter, and corn syrup on medium heat. Bring to a boil.  

     At this point do not stir. Place a candy thermometer inside the saucepan and bring up heat in between soft and hard ball stage. 

     Reduce heat to lowest setting and add the peanut butter in. Mix thoroughly.  

     Dip each apple in the caramel and then the nuts. Before the caramel sets, place the plastic fangs inside the apples. Allow to cool 20 minutes. 

 There now!  Doesn't that look easy and delicious?!  Here's a list of recipes in her book:

(Excerpt from A Fork and Beans Halloween Special ebook)

There's some seriously cute stuff here for your little gluten-free ghouls and a couple for you ghastly grown-ups, too!  I bought the book yesterday and I'm monstrously geeked.  My boys are begging me for the Trick-or-Treat Cookies and I'm excited to make the Spaghetti and Eyeballs.  Her book is only $7!  You can Buy it Here and while you're at it, check out her blog!  Thanks, guys!  And here's wishing beastly amounts of success to you, Cara Reed!

Cider for your Celebration

     You guys know I believe in supporting local business almost to a stalkery, pretentious, extreme.  Most of my favorite local businesses are farms I visit at my farmer's market.  I also have a favorite local toy store, butcher, grocery store...  Here in the Seattle area we are fortunate that a lot of the big name national brands are local.  Hello, Amazon, Starbucks, Microsoft, and Costco?  But my very favorite businesses to support are small, family-run businesses who produce quality, artisanal, products.  I have huge respect for farmers, having killed nearly every plant I've ever planted, so any thing that comes from a farm be it an egg, an apple, or a bottle of hard cider are practically a miracle to me.

    Not all ciders are the same, though.  I have bought some that were good, but tasted more like champagne.  The Snowdrift Cider Cliffbreaks Blend, made in Wenatchee, WA, tastes like apples.  A little sweet, a whole lot wonderful.  We served this at our Halloween party along with red and white wines.  The cider was the only bottle that was completely consumed!  I heard many comments about how great was.  If you live in Washington State, I highly suggest you try out this cider.  If you don't, they sell online, too! 

     This is not a paid advertisement.  Snowdrift Cider doesn't have any idea who I am.  I just like their cider and I think you will, too.  If you decide not to buy Snowdrift, I hope you will take the opportunity to check your own grocery store for ciders made in your area!

Props

I am constantly bragging about my Farmer's Market and showing you produce I have bought from there, not to mention using it in recipes.  I thought you might like a peek at some of the people who make up my market.  I go to the Lake Forest Park Commons market on Sundays.  It's not the biggest market, but it is wholly dedicated to fresh, local produce without any "frills."  I was recently disappointed by another local market that was almost entirely made up of crafts vendors.  Nothing against craft vendors, my Dad made a living doing shows when I was growing up and I've even done a show myself.  But when I go to a market, I want kolaches, not tchotchkes, if you get my drift.  LFP market has one craft day a year.  It's awesome.  There are a lot of talented people in this area.  And this year, as part of the city's anniversary celebration they even had a carnival.  Including a "clean up after your dog" booth that involved throwing felt "poo" in a trash bin.  o.O  

None of that takes away from how awesome this market is.

 Let's start where I always start, Blue Cottage Jams.  Now, let me just say, these ladies have some fine jam.  Including tayberry, which I am going to hook my little self up with next week.  But the reason I hit them first every week is because they sell Biocento eggs.  Biocento treats their animals right.  I met them at a market in Bellevue a few years ago and when I found out LFP had a market I was so excited to find these guys carried their eggs.  They actually let their chickens eat grass and bugs!  Who'da thunk it?  Healthy chickens make healthy eggs.  And everybody knows it, you gotta get there pretty early to get your hands on a dozen of these babies!

Another one of the first places I hit is Garden Treasures.  Suji, here, puts up with a lot of my craziness.  20 pounds of cucumbers?  OK.  40 pounds of tomatoes?  Sure.  Baby corn?  I'll check.  Picture for the blog?  No problem!  *sigh...*  I like people who put up with my crazy...  These guys have everything.  On this visit, I bought turnips, a cucumber, tomatoes, a huge shallot and my beloved purslane.  They are one of the many stands that offer a CSA.  I am seriously considering this next year.

 Five Acre Farm is another of the produce stands I visit regularly.  I just love the heck out of this lady.  Isn't she the cutest thing?  They've got really great salad mixes that the boys love because there are flowers in it!  Super high quality, and it's not easy on hot days to keep lettuce from looking like it's been run over.  I got some rockin' cauliflower here last week.  I roasted it in the oven last night with some Brussels sprouts, onions, garlic, and some potatoes I actually managed to grow myself.  Talk about yum!

One of the boy's favorite new stands is Aldrich Farm.  Because they stand there and hand out samples like it's going out of style.  And you bet these boys can eat jam samples like it's going out of style, too!  We bought some great mustard from them a couple of weeks ago, and this time I bought Apple Pie flavored jam.  Thumbprint cookies, here we come...  Plus, look at this: 

You know I'm a sucker for sprinkles.  Isn't that gorgeous?!

Maharlika Farm is great.  They carry a lot of Asian specialties like bitter melon and my new obsession:

Chinese Okra.  Holy nom, Batman.  This kind lady taught me how to eat it.  Trim off the ribs, cube it, sauté it with onions and garlic and stir in an egg.  Sometimes I add some mushrooms, too.  Dude.  Flavor wise, it's a lot like zucchini, but it retains a crunch like peppers do.  It's not slimy at all.  Great, light start to the day.  Tonight we tried it on the grill.  The inside was wonderful, sweet and juicy.  The outside kinda tasted like dirt.  Next time, maybe we'll peel it and put it in some sort of veggie mix...  And I never would have known, if it weren't for this sweet lady from Wapato, WA!

I visit  Alvarez Farms because they have dried beans.  I love dried beans.  No greater way to get protein into a vegetarian.  And they always have a few interesting varieties.  They also sell peanuts.  You know this Southern girl loves her some peanuts!  This family has been at it a long time.  You can read more of their inspiring story here.

My eldest son loves the soup booth.  During the early parts of the season, Got Soup? offers warm, rich soups and during the dog days they serve up cold soup samples like Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho, and Potato Vichysoisse.  They even have dessert soup like White Peach and Apricot Gazpacho.  C'mon now!  You know you want to eat that!   And quite frankly, their Wild Mushroom Soup may be the best thing I've ever put in my mouth, and I told Jerry Baxter (the owner) that once in an e-mail.  He said he had one in the freezer if I wanted it.  That baby was all mine the next week.  Nobody got a bite.  Mine, I tell you!  My precious!  Sssssoooup!!

*ahem...*

Gradwhol's Farm. What can I say?  I'm a vegetarian.  And this is where I buy my beef.  They are very local, Covington, WA, they treat their animals properly, and my husband says you can tell.  I usually buy ground beef when it's time for a burger and all my boys love them!  Plus, look at these guys.  Don't they just look like the nicest people on the planet?  She's a blogger and I forgot to write down the name of her blog so I can't post it here (duh) but if she contacts me I will share it! *UPDATE!*  It's called The Little Road Said Go! and it's super cute.

Another ingredient that features heavily into my recipes here is hazelnuts.  Specifically, DuChilly hazelnuts.  Specifically, DuChilly hazelnuts from Holmquist Hazelnut Orchards.  We met the owner last year peddling his wares and he talked us into trying some of the raw nuts.  I have never looked back.  And I've never bought another store-bought hazelnut.  These things are fantastic.  They sell some coated in candy flavorings like "Lemon Honey" and "Orange Honey", some with salty flavors like "Ranch Dressing" and, well, "Salt" and while my kids are partial to the candy ones (of course) hubby and I far prefer the plain ol' "Natural" nuts.  I bought a bag of their gluten free hazelnut flour a few weeks ago, but haven't worked up the courage to use it yet.  But I do have a certain chocolate pie recipe ruminating... (Hi, Chinmayie!)

Another booth new to our market this year, is Lilli Pilli.   Rhiannon, the owner/baker/macaron maker extraordinaire is constantly trying out new flavors made with in-season, local ingredients.  I think my favorite one is the Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache, though she did have a lavender one a few weeks ago that was beyond the pale.  

 She says she's not photogenic.  Whatever, lady.  =)

 When the boys are not scarfing down Lilli Pilli cookies, they are begging me for Whidbey Island Ice Cream.  Can I just say hand-dipped and hand-made?  No dies, no artificial flavors, no rBST?  I'm all over that.  Youngest always gets "Vanilla from the inside, and chocolate from the outside," Oldest likes chocolate with chocolate, and Me?  I like Raspberry.  Hello.  They sell it by the pint, too, but I just can't do that to myself!  I'd have ice cream headache for a week!

Speed Racer super-loves Vanilla from the Inside, too.

Sidhu Farms has berries.  Lots, and lots of berries.  I don't buy here every week, but when I do, I am never disappointed.  These berries went into a no-sugar jam recipe this week.  I have made so much jam this summer and I don't care!  I had to have these babies!

There are so many other wonderful farms and products at my market.  But I thought these guys deserved a special introduction since their produce has formed many of the recipes on this blog.  And the desserts have helped to "form" me!  The only vendor I haven't mentioned here that I have in the past, is my forager Pacific Crest Foraging.  He hasn't been at the market for a couple of weeks, so he's either on vacation or having a slow period.  But he normally supplies us with a steady diet of morels, sea beans, tea and later on in the year, chanterelles.  Maybe one of these days, I'll get his photo up here, too.

I hope this post has encouraged you to scope out your local farmer's market if you haven't already.  And if you live near Lake Forest Park, you gotta check out this market!  Did I mention they have cheese?  Um... yeah... and fish, and dip, and pickles, and lavender, and plants, and once a month you can adopt a cat.  And they have barbecue sauce, and live musicians, and ooh!  Patty Pan Grill!  Changed the way I make quesadillas... And roses, and people bring their dogs, and you can use food stamps... and... and... and... just come already!  And if you simply can't bring yourself to schlep all the way to Lake Forest Park on Sundays, a lot of these guys are at the Bellevue Farmer's Market on Thursday and/or Saturday.  I used to go to this market before the traffic got to me and I had a meltdown...  My head went all 'splody.  It wasn't pretty.  Go to your markets, people.  Support your local farmers.  You'll get fed, they'll live to farm another day.  It's a win/win!

Try not to let your head get all 'splody, though.  People will look at you like you're crazy...