Bikes and Balloons

It's starting to get pretty cold here, but we're trying to get out to get what tiny bit of sunshine and fresh air we can before we can't go outside anymore.

I was thinking of emailing Trader Joe's to see if they needed a mascot--Hannah would make a pretty cute one, don't you think?

Christmas Dresses

I love having two little girls to dress alike and who love each other so much! I'm sure little boys are nice, too, but I love my little girls! =0)

Brown Rice Pilaf with Mushrooms & Apricots

We just ate this last night and loved it! Would make a great stuffing for a baked acorn squash. (Taken from a Whole Foods Market flier.)

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 lb. sliced button mushrooms

2 portobello mushrooms, chopped

1/2 small onion, chopped

1 cup long-grain brown rice

2 cups water or broth

Salt & ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped non-sulfite dried apricots

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts

1/3 cup total chopped fresh parsley and thyme

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

In a medium saucepot, saute mushrooms and onion in warmed oil over medium-high heat, stirring often, 6-8 minutes. Stir in rice, water or broth, salt and pepper to taste, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until liquid is completely absorbed, about 45 minutes. Remove covered pot from heat and let sit 10 minutes; uncover and fluff with fork. Transfer to large bowl, add apricots, walnuts, herbs and vinegar and toss to combine.

Serve with a big green salad for a complete meal.

Veggie Quesadillas

One of our favorite recipes from the Lake City Farmer's Market in Seattle. We love to eat them smothered with the Blender Tomato Hot Sauce below.

1 Squash , zucchini or summer 1/2 Onion sliced and cut into short lengths 1 Bell pepper 5 Mushrooms 1 bunch Swiss chard Cumin Oregano Chili powder Oil for cooking Large tortillas (sundried tomato are my favorite) Pepper Jack cheese
Instructions Heat a skillet or wok on high heat. Add the oil and add the onion when hot. After about a minute, add the peppers, mushrooms, and squash. Cook until almost done, but still tender. Add the spices to taste, stir once or twice, then add the chopped chard. Cook until chard it wilted and remove from heat. Make quesadillas using large tortillas (wraps work well), making a layer of cheese, then a layer of vegetables, then another layer of cheese. For flipping simplicity, use one tortilla folded in half rather than two tortillas stacked. Serve with sour cream and salsa. These are very filling, so be careful!
Blender Tomato Hot Sauce (from the Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers) 1 T. vegetable oil or olive oil 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped 1 small or 1/2 large bell pepper, chopped 1 t. ground cumin 1 t. ground coriander 1/4 t. cayenne or 1/2 t. red pepper flakes 1 15-oz. can of tomatoes 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional) In a heavy saucepan or skillet, heat the oil until it is almost smoking. Stir in the onion and bell peppers and sprinkle with salt. Cook on high heat, stirring often, until the peppers are blistered and beginning to brown., about 4 minutes. Stir in the cumin, coriander, and cayenne or red pepper flakes and remove from the heat. In a blender, puree the cooked onions and peppers with the tomatoes. Return the sauce to the pan, add the cilantro, and salt to taste. Simmer uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. (If the simmering sauce splatters, partially cover the pan.) This sauce will keep in the refrigerator for at least 2 weeks. This is great over burritos, enchiladas, tostadas, casseroles, and stuffed vegetables.

Can I Have That? Salad

I saw this recipe and can't wait to try it out for the holidays when I'm cooking for a crowd. It seems too big to make for just ourselves, but I had to post it because I love the title. I got it from a website of a local farmer, Tantre Farms, tantrerecipes.blogspot.com

4 medium carrots
1 large apple
1 large pear
1 small jicama
1 medium cucumber
1 pineapple
1 bunch baby spinach
1 1/2 c golden raisins
1 c nuts and/or seeds, toasted
1/2 small red onion, finely minced
10-12 leaves fresh basil, shredded
2 limes
4 tbsp. walnut, peanut, or sesame oil
2 tbsp. honey
2 tsp. cracked white pepper
1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
A little minced basil
A little fresh grated ginger

Use a mandoline to slice the carrots, apples and pears into thin slabs. Be sure to dunk the apple slices in a little lemon juice as you go. Cut the pineapple to match. Peel and seed the cucumber, if desired, and cut to match. Throw all this together with spinach, rasins, nuts/seeds, onion, and shredded basil. In small saucepan, toast your oil. Add lime juice, zest, and honey; heat until honey melts (but don't boil). Add the pepper, cardamom, basil and ginger. Heat for a little longer, then remove. Cool for just a few minutes, then pour over salad and toss. Possibilities: experiment with vinegar, oils, flavored honeys, veggies (celery, kale, peppers), fruits (melon, berries), fresh herbs (cilantro, mint), spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, mace), or preparation (grill the pineapple). Serves one army.

Mango Smoothies

A couple of years ago, we decided to try to cut out a lot of sugar from our diet by eating desserts only on holidays, birthdays, or if someone else had us over for dinner. In order to get over our sugar cravings, we ate these smoothies almost every night for a month. It is still our favorite smoothie recipe. If you're lucky enough to live near a Trader Joe's, their frozen mango chunks are inexpensive and perfect for this smoothie. To make it extra thick, use frozen bananas, but you'll need a powerful blender. I've burnt out two blenders making these with all frozen ingredients.

Ingredients:

• 2 mangoes, peeled, pitted and cut into 1-inch dice
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 banana, coarsely chopped
• 2 Tbs. lemon juice
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Place the mangoes in a plastic bag and freeze until firm, at least 1 hour.
Just before serving, in a blender, combine the frozen mangoes, yogurt, milk, banana, lemon juice and vanilla. Blend until very smooth. Pour into chilled glasses and serve immediately.

Serves 2.

I Love Kale! Kale Recipes

Kale is one of my favorite foods, probably because I feel like it's one of the most nutritious foods you can eat. Watching my three-year-old eat kale makes me feel like I'm doing something right as a mom. So, those are good enough reasons for me to eat it. But I also like the taste, and these three recipes are so yummy!! I like to use lacinato kale (aka dino kale, or black kale) because it's the sweetest of all the kinds of kale.

Pasta with Lentils and Kale

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pasta-with-Lentils-and-Kale-238092

Wilted Kale and Roasted Potato Winter Salad

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Wilted-Kale-and-Roasted-Potato-Winter-Salad-350884

Sauteed Kale

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sauteed-Kale-108742

A few more pics

The girl who took these pictures is in our ward, Shauri Quinn. Her website is www.awsnapphoto.com. She is awesome and we love our pictures!

Apricot Thumbprint Cookies

As healthy as a cookie can get (I think), and fun to make, and tasty!

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup almonds (ground into 1 1/2 cups meal)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/3 cup cold-pressed vegetable oil or melted, unsalted butter

1/3 cup apricot juice (or apple)

1/3 cup maple syrup or concentrated fruit sweetener

1 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Apricot preserves

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, almonds, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, mix oil, juice, syrup, and extracts together. Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well, kneading a little. Form dough into balls and flatten to make circles. Place on lightly oiled cookie sheet. Indent each cookie with your thumb or your child's thumb and put 1/2 teaspoon in the imprint. Bake 15 minutes, until edges turn golden.

Prep time: 30 minutes

Makes 24 cookies

Orange Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies: Replace almonds with hazelnuts. Replace apricot juice with orange juice. Add 1/2 teaspoon orange zest to dry ingredients.

Oatmeal Waffles

I think this is my most-used recipe of all time. We literally eat these waffles every single day (well, maybe 6 days a week.) I have altered the original recipe a little bit to make them super-duper healthy and full of fiber. We double the recipe and keep it in the fridge, and it tastes better and better every day. I also recommend cooking them until there is almost no steam coming out of the waffle iron--they get quite crispy and crunchy, but are more tasty that way. We then cover them with applesauce, or yogurt and bananas and nuts, or whatever you want. (To keep them healthy, don't smother them in butter.)

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (I use white whole-wheat flour, or whole-wheat pastry flour)
1/2 cup oat bran
3/4 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
2 T. sugar
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup water or milk
2 large eggs
3 T. unsalted butter, melted (Canola oil can be substituted)
Nonstick spray
Butter for the waffle iron

My additions:
1/4 cup flax seed meal (ground flax seeds)

Substitute 1/2 cup wheat germ for 1/2 cup of the flour to make them EXTRA healthy

1. Preheat the waffle iron
2. Combine the dry ingredients in a medium-sized bowl.
3. Measure the buttermilk and then the water into a 4-cup liquid measure. Add the eggs and beat gently with a fork until smooth. Pour this mixture, along with the melted butter, into the dry ingredients. (This is also where I add the cooked oat groats and flax seed meal.) Stir until thoroughly blended, scraping from the bottom and sides of the bowl, but don't overmix. A few lumps are OK.
4. Lightly spray the hot waffle iron on both top and bottom surfaces with non-stick spray, and rub on a little butter. Add just enough batter to cover the cooking surface--approximately 1/2 cup for a standard waffle (1 cup for a Belgian waffle).
5. Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, depending on your waffle iron. Don't overbake--you want it crisp and brown but not too dark.
6. Serve hot with your chosen toppings.

This batter keeps well in the fridge, so you can make a double batch and have waffle batter all week long! If it gets too thick, you can thin it with some plain milk. (I actually think they taste better after the batter has sat in the fridge overnight, so I make them the night before.)

More Family Pics

Bachelor Tofu Sandwiches

This is from another cookbook by Deborah Madison (my favorite) called "This Can't Be Tofu!" Now before you laugh or run away, I made this for Brad, and he said it was "awesome" and one of his new favorite meals. It is so good, you have to try it at least once. (And it's super easy and fast.)

1 carton firm tofu

2 t. olive oil

2 to 3 T. Worcestershire sauce or A-1 Sauce

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 large red or yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch slices

4 big mushrooms (I use 8), sliced as thick as the onions

8 slices bread (use good, hearty, whole grain bread if you have it)

Mustard and horseradish (I use mayo since I don't have any horseradish)

1. Slice the tofu crosswise into 8 pieces, slightly less than 1/2 inch thinck. Set them on paper towels and blot. Don't worry about the tofu getting really dry. It will dry as it cooks.

2. Heat a large cast-iron skillet. Brush with 2 teaspoons of the oil and add the tofu. Cook over medium-high heat until golden, about 6 minutes on each side. Douse with the Worcestershire sauce and turn the tofu once. Continue frying until the sauce is absorbed and the tofu is laced with a fine glaze. Turn off the heat and season well with salt and plenty of pepper.

3. While the tofu is cooking, place a 10-inch skillet over high heat and add 1 T. oil. Add the onion and mushrooms. Saute until seared and nicely browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Toast the bread or not, as you wish. (I like to butter one side of the bread, brown it in the tofu pan after the tofu is finished. Then, put the grilled side of the bread on the inside of the sandwich.) Cover with mustard and horseradish (fresh tomatoes and mayonnaise would be good here as well), add the tofu slices, top with the onions and mushrooms, close, press and dig in.

Arugula and Green Bean Salad

Here's another new favorite we just tried. I got it from the website of a local farmer at tantrerecipes.blogspot.com. There are lots of other great recipes for all your veggies on their website.

1 large shallot, chopped
1/4 cup walnut oil or olive oil
1 tablespoon Champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar
1 pound slender green beans, trimmed
4 ounces arugula (about 8 cups)
3 hard-boiled eggs, peeled, coarsely chopped

Whisk first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Season dressing with salt and pepper. Cook green beans in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Drain. Refresh under cold running water. Drain well. Transfer to large bowl. Add arugula and half of eggs. Drizzle with dressing; toss to coat. Top with remaining eggs. (We added toasted walnuts to the salad--delicious!)

(from Bon Appetit, August 2001)

Lentil Minestrone

Here is one of my favorite soup recipes--we make it at least every other week. Great way to get your greens. (And Livvy loves it, too!) It's from Deborah Madison's book Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

Lentil Minestrone

2 T. olive oil, plus extra virgin to finish

2 cups finely chopped onion

2 T. tomato paste

1/4 cup chopped parsley

4 garlic cloves, chopped

3 carrots, diced

1 cup diced celery or celery root

Salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup French green lentils, sorted and rinsed

Aromatics: 2 bay leaves, 8 parsley branches, 6 thyme sprigs

9 cups water or Vegetable Stock

Mushroom soy sauce to taste

1 bunch greens--mustard, broccoli rabe, chard, spinach, kale, etc.

2 cups cooked small pasta--shells, orecchiette, or other favorite shape

Thin shavings of Parmesan

Heat the oil in a wide soup pot with the onion. Saute over high heat, stirring frequently, until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the tomato paste, parsley, garlic, vegetables, and 2 teaspoons salt and cook 3 minutes more. Add the lentils, aromatics, and water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, partially covered, for 30 minutes. Taste for salt and season with pepper. If it needs more depth, add mushroom soy sauce to taste, starting with 1 tablespoon. (The soup may seem bland at this point, but the flavors will come together when the soup is finished.) Remove the aromatics.

Boil the greens in salted water until they're tender and bright green, then chop them coarsely. Just before serving, add the greens and the pasta to the soup and heat through. Serve with extra virgin olive oil drizzled into each bowl, a generous grind of pepper, and the Parmesan.

My sweet girls

Family Pictures