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!

Fork & Beans Give Away!!

 

     My friend, Cara Reed, at Fork & Beans is well known to my regular readers as the genius who converts my Christmas cookies every year for those who can't have gluten.  I am so happy to announce that her first cookbook Decadent Gluten-Free Vegan Baking is out and rocking!  Besides all her fantastic recipes, this book contains lots of tips for egg substitutions, two gluten-free flour recipes, lots of sauce and toppings, too!  Oh.  And gluten-free and vegan Girl Scout Cookie replicas.  You heard me.  Lucky, lucky you!  She has allowed me to share one of the recipes from her book and give one of you a free copy!  Since we're getting into soup season around here, I thought I'd share a cornbread perfect for pairing with soup, chili, or just a tall glass of (dairy free) milk.  Gluten-free Thanksgiving stuffing, anyone?  Cara also suggests adding jalapeños, canned chilies, or vegan cheese to mix it up a bit.

Stone-Ground Cornbread

Makes 8 slices

DRY

1 c/165 g Cara’sAll-Purpose Blend (page 166)

1¼ c/153 g stone-ground yellow cornmeal

½ c/100 g granulated sugar

3 tsp/11 g baking powder

½ tsp salt

WET

3 tsp/9.5 g Ener-G Egg Replacer plus 6 Tbsp/90 ml water, whisk until frothy (I used Cara's chia seed substitution on p. 172)

1 c/120 ml nondairy milk

4 Tbsp/56 g vegan butter (I used Earth Balance Coconut Spread that I melted in the microwave.)

Preheat oven to 400°F/ 200°C and grease an 8–inch/20-cm round pan.

Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Make a well in the center and pour the wet ingredients into the well. Mix until just combined. Pour batter into the greased pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes until the top is lightly browned.

Drown in nondairy butter.

Review:

My whole family liked this!  Even my youngest who doesn't like cornbread.  It's sweeter than what we normally make, being Southern and all, but the flavor and texture are nice and my husband said, "It doesn't taste gluten-free at all!"  My eldest said, "It's sweeter and butterier than normal."   Considering there's no butter in it, I'd say that was a pretty good endorsement!

Who wants to win this?!  I know it's you.  Whether you're making the switch to gluten-free, cooking for gluten-free friends or relatives, or maybe you want to give this as a Christmas gift.  Now's your chance to win!  Just leave me a comment below or on facebook and you will be entered.  Last day for entries is November 20th by 5pm PST and the winner will be announced November 21.

Simple Summer Party...

      So early this Summer I asked one of my favorite vendors at the Lake Forest Park Farmer's Market to do me a favor.  My gal, Tracy, at Social Ice Cream makes the best ice cream in the entire world.  Problem is, a solid portion of my friends can't eat sugar, dairy, soy, gluten, food colorings, flavorings, like basically anything.  But I knew Tracy could handle it. What did I need two gallons of sugar-dairy-soy-gluten-everything-free ice cream for?  You already know, don't you, you smart thing you!

My oldest's Cub Scout manual lists plan a party and make an obstacle course for your friends as two things you can get badges for and we're all about the badges around here.  We need all the stinkin' badges.  Fittingly, he chose blue and yellow as the colors.

He helped with all the set up, too!

 

 These little marigolds were just the right color and had a light citronella scent that, I think, helped keep the bugs a way.  So did the little fans you see in the background.

I found a thing on Pinterest about making little flags to mark drinks.  Good ol' party store came through with these puppies.

My oldest also had a say in the menu so we planned hamburgers and hot dogs and left the rest up to the generosity of our guests! 

My neighbor supplied us with this gorgeous caprese salad appetizer. 

My garden has been generously pumping out cherry tomatoes like nobody's business this year.

My honey making friend also dabbles in flavored vodka.  Holy man.

And she brings homemade bread.  Yeah she does!

These homemade hot mix pickles were my offering this year.

Hot Pickle Mix

From the Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving

4 C sliced trimmed pickling cucumbers (1/4 inch slices)

2 C cauliflower florets

1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips

1 C sliced, peeled carrots

1 C peeled pearl or pickling onions

2/3 C pickling or canning salt

8 1/2 C water, divided

3 C sliced seeded hot yellow banana peppers (1 1/2- inch slices)

1 clove garlic

8 1/2 C white vinegar

3/4 C granulated sugar

2 Tbs horseradish

3-9 jalapeno peppers, halved and seeded

In a large glass or stainless steel bowl, combine cucumbers, cauliflower, green and red peppers, carrots, and onions.  In another large glass or stainless steel bowl, dissolve pickling salt in 7 C of the water.  Pour over vegetables.  Cover and let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.  Meanwhile, prepare canner, jars, and lids.  In a colander placed over a sink, drain vegetables.  Rinse with cool running water and drain thoroughly.  Add hot yellow peppers and mix well.  In a large stainless steel saucepan, combine garlic, remaining 1 1/2 C water, vinegar, sugar, and horseradish.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Reduce heat and boil gently for 15 minutes, until liquid is infused with garlic flavor.  Discard garlic clove.  Pack vegetables and 1 to 3 jalapeno pepper halves into hot jars to within a generous 1/2 inch of top of jar.  Ladle hot pickling liquid into jar to cover vegetables, leaving 1/2 inch headspace.  Remove air bubbles and and adjust headspace if necessary, by adding hot pickling liquid.  Wipe rim.  Center lid on jar.  Screw band down until resistance is met, then increase to fingertip-tight.  Place jars in canner, ensuring they are completely covered with water.  Bring to a boil and process for 10 minutes.  Remove canner lid.  Wait 5 minutes, then remove jars, cool and store.

 

 We bought our burgers from Martiny Livestock at our farmer's market.  People said they were some of the best burgers they ever had!

Little bit of local cheese to top it off...

A little bit of socializing and then it was finally, finally time for...

Ice cream and sorbet!  We had Coconut Vanilla Bean, Peach Raspberry sorbet, and Raspberry Lemon Verbena. All made without soy, without dairy, without white sugar, but made with coconut milk, honey, and fresh local produce.  Because Tracy is a flippin' wizard.

Then it was obstacle course time!  First down the slide, then a search through bubbles for a statuette, and a quick hula hoop for 5 seconds before a dash across the finish line!  Fastest time wins!  It was a quick, fun game and they loved it!

 

Even this dude and he doesn't like anything...

Throwing a Little Something Together...

     I've got friends who have an obsessive desire to follow recipes exactly.  I used to be this person.  It's what you do when you're first learning how to cook.  But I think it makes you afraid a little.  Afraid you might mess something up.  You know what?  You almost never do and a lot of times what you come up with is better than what the Internet says, especially one of those recipes from TV, blerg.  AND most of the time the recipe has got one or twelve things you don't have sitting in your fridge at the moment.  So let's talk about what is in your fridge.  At any moment I have every ingredient necessary for a good soup, Italian anything, stir-fry, and hummus.  Always have the ingredients for hummus.  All you need for hummus is any bean variety, oil, garlic, and salt.  All you need for soup is a can or two of tomatoes and a variety of vegetables, and sometimes you can pull it off without the tomatoes!  Italian needs tomatoes, basil and garlic.  Mushrooms are good, other herbs, or onions, but really all you need are tomatoes, basil, and garlic.  Let's get to that stir-fry now.

I started on this because I had some peanut sauce from the Farmer's Market calling my name all week.  I also had purple cauliflower, red cabbage, carrots, a squash from my garden, oyster mushrooms, a white bell pepper, half an onion, and some garlic.  Sounds like stir-fry to me.  Does it matter what color your vegetables are?  Nope.  Do you need all those vegetables to make a stir-fry?  Nope, though it does help to feed a larger group to have a variety if you only have small quantities of each like I had.  Do you have to have fancy soba noodles like I did?  Not even.  I wasn't even thinking of noodles when I realized I had the makings for stir-fry.  I was going to do rice first, but realized I hadn't left enough time to pull it off, so noodles it was!  What I'm trying to say here is relax.  Take a deep breath.  It's just one dinner.  You can do it.  If all else fails, there's always peanut butter or grilled cheese, or whatever sandwich combination your family is allowed to eat in this day of allergens and intolerances.

The biggest thing to remember when doing a stir-fry for a family is not to cook everything in the same pan unless you have a huge pan.  I like my stir-fry veggies warmed and nearly raw, cooking everything in the same pan tends to steam everything and take forever so you're left with a long cook time and mushy veg.

Refrigerator Clean-Out Stir Fry
Serves 4

3 large carrots, sliced
1/2 large onion, sliced
2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1/2 medium cabbage, sliced
1 large or 2 small yellow squash, sliced
1/2 lb oyster mushrooms, chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1 bell pepper, sliced
2 green onions, sliced
1 Tbs sesame seeds
1 bunch of soba noodles, boiled and drained
1 tsp high heat oil
1 Tbs peanut sauce, soy sauce, or tamari sauce

On medium/high heat, cook onions first in a small amount of oil until they have softened slightly, then set them aside, then carrots cooked until slightly soft and set aside, continue cooking vegetables one at a time until all are cooked, excluding the green onions and sesame seeds, mushrooms and garlic can go in together.  Mix all the veggies together.  Plate noodles and top with cooked veggies, finish with the sauce of your choice.

Now, go to your fridge and start experimenting!!  Here's a few more ideas to get you started:
Chicken, pork, or tofu, eggplant, peas, bok choi, broccoli, any color of bell pepper, zucchini, green beans, water chestnuts, baby corn, bamboo shoots.

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*

Flowers for Breakfast...

Flowers are an unusual and underused way to brighten and beautify your plate.  Seeing the sad, wilting, expensive box of organic flowers in my grocery store every week never inspired me to try edible flowers.  Last year, I grew some nasturtiums as a pest control measure in my garden and was surprised at how delicious they were!  One of my favorite early Summer drinks is lavender lemonade, so much so that I bought the lavender we have just so I can make it once a year.  This year, I bought some new veggies because I'm always trying new things and found I love borage and since my pak choi came up and went directly to seed, we have been eating the blossoms.  Last night, while inspecting my squash for potential blossoms, it occurred to me how many edibles I had blooming right now.  So here I am sharing them with you!  This is by no means an exhaustive list of all edible plants.  It's more like a snapshot of my garden in the middle of June.  If you are equally uninspired by your grocery store, may I suggest planting a flower garden?

	Marigolds have a bitter taste at first that mellows out into a floral aftertaste. Uses: Salads, garnishes, jelly
	Thyme: First taste is like a slightly sweet thyme, which is followed by a little herbal burn (similar to fresh oregano), finishes as a straight thyme flavor. Uses: Salads, smoothies, soups, garnish for chicken
	Salsify: Slightly sweet petals, the stem starts out with a green flavor, becomes peppery and ultimately tastes very similar to thyme. Facebook users may recognize this as my quiz plant from a few weeks ago. Nobody got it right! Uses: Salads, salad dressings
	Himalayan Blackberry petals are slightly bitter, the stamen are powdery and lacking flavor, but the blossoms are undeniably beautiful. Uses: Salads, garnish
	Pak Choi taste very much like how daffodils smell: floral, earthy, and fresh.  They have a slight kale or broccoli flavor, being in the same family. Uses: Salads, smoothies
	Garden Peas: The white flower is off a bush pea called Little Marvel and the purple one is off a climber called a Blue Podded Pea.  They taste like green peas, fresh out of the garden, pod and all.  The finish is very similar to alfalfa sprouts.  *I was going to give a warning about Sweet Peas, the ornamental flower, since I had heard they were poisonous.  Mr. Internet says this is a bit of a misconception.  The only thing that isn't safe to eat in large quantities is the hardened seed of the Sweet Pea.  Still, if you want to be cautious, don't eat them.  More flowers for bees! Uses: Salads, garnish
	Spanish lavender has a strong, herbal, well basically, lavendery flavor.  Uses: Lemonade, baking
	Thimbleberry petals have a very slight floral citrus taste. Uses: Salads, salad dressing, garnish
	Borage: Once you get past the fur, you are rewarded with a strong cucumber flavor. Uses: Salads, sandwiches, salad dressing
	Nasturtium: Spicy, think horseradish without the burn, peppery, finishing with a slightly sweet taste. Uses: Salad, garnish, salad dressing, pizza
	Dandelion: The petals are really fabulously sweet, but the greens taste like earwax, so pluck these before adding them to anything. Uses: Salads, wine, jelly, tea

Tips:
If you want to use flowers in your salad, I suggest picking them before you are ready to serve.  Many of these flowers wilt soon after picking.  Nasturtiums, marigolds, lavender, and borage will last the longest, but any Mom who's been given a dandelion bouquet knows how quickly those go south!

My spinach, pak choi, cilantro, and lettuce are bolting right now.  I've been using the flowers in smoothies every morning to try to extend the season a bit.  I'll be doing the same thing as soon as the purslane, and basil go.