Soup Sundays...

Recently I wrote about making soup each weekend for our friend Bob who is in his last days on this earth.  It is hard to really put words to the humble honor I feel each Saturday as I plan and prepare soup to share with him the next day.  It has become a bit of a rhythm, an anchor to my weekends and will forever remain in my heart as an act of remembrance for him each spring.  I have found inspiration in Janet Reich Elsbach's book Extra Helping and thought it might be nice to share with you all the various recipes I have made for him thus far.  Each week I add a topping or two for the soups like shredded parmesan cheese or some roasted veg for the side along with some homemade biscuits or bread.  I try to tuck in a jar of something as well like canned peaches from last summer or some jam to top the biscuits with.  Here is my currant favorite biscuit recipe.  The opportunity each week to think about what I would like to share with Bob, to check in on him and see how he is faring between our meetings at mass and the act of making something of sustainable for someone has been central for me throughout this spring and lenten season.  Each week in mass, I catch myself watching Bob as he sits in the front pew seemingly fully captivated by the incredible music of the gospel choir. Many of those songs had already held special meaning for me but are taking on a whole new life as I see him singing along.

March 3, 2019 ~ Sausage and Veg Soup
     This was definitely a wing it, kitchen sink type soup.  I started with sautéing onions and adding veggies like carrots, celery, and yam.  I let this all soften a bit and added some turkey sausage and chicken broth.  I think I even tossed in some white beans just to add a bit of heft for this man that is getting leaner by the day and needs every ounce of added calorie for strength.  This is a typical soup  we eat all winter long around here.  After learning that the "chunky" nature of this soup might be a bit difficult for Bob to get down (throat cancer you are a bitch) you will see I have moved onto softer and puree style soups for him henceforth.

March 10, 2019 ~ New England Bob's Barnacle Bisque
    See the last post for full details on this soup, but suffice it to say you can see I need to enlist Bob to create names for all of my made up soups.  I love the flair he named this one with.

March 17, 2019 ~ Irish Carrot and Potato Puree 
     Today was St Patrick's Day so I went with the theme and shared with Bob how when my girls were very young we were treated with a trip to Ireland with my family.  As I was on one of my very first ever international trips AND I was traveling with a 6 year old and 1 1/2 year old, I remember very little of the vacation other than how in love I was with the incredible vegetable puree soups I feasted on most days.  I was a strict vegetarian back in those days so no Guinness Stew for me.  Sharing a bit of the back story on what I included or why with Bob has become part of my routine.

March 24, 2019 ~ Chicken Congee
   I landed on this choice for two reasons; Bob has started passing items on to me when I deliver the soup on to him each Sunday, notably the book The Art of Eating my MFK Fisher, some beautiful prayer cards, a few pieces of his china dishes and some pantry items like olive oil, rice, couscous and honey.  I had also recently landed on the book Extra Helping and when I spotted the Congee recipe I knew I would use the rice he passed on to make chicken and mushroom congee for him.

March 31, 2019 ~ Red Lentil and Veg
   This soup is another standard in our rotation at home, which though simple, felt so right to share.  I like the idea of sharing a meal with him that we eat on a very regular basis, I am not a fancy cook.  This soup is very similar to the sausage and veg soup but using red lentils rather than meat and adding a jar of canned tomatoes.

April 7, 2019 ~ Butternut Squash Soup
   Bob has commented online recently how he is really battling nausea lately and so I am hoping a smooth soft butternut squash puree will fit the bill this week.  This recipe is another standard of ours that comes from the Seattle Junior League cookbook, Simply Classic.  This soup, I swear will turn even the biggest squash hater around into a lover.

Sadly, today when delivering a fresh batch of soup, applesauce, fresh eggs and bread to Bob he informed me this would be the last week for our little exchange.  He is barely able to take in food at this point due to extreme pain and keeping anything down with the strong nausea is increasingly rare.  He has lost so much weight, he's trying to hold onto his currant 130 pounds to make it to his Celebration of Life gathering next month.  If you are the prayerful kind, send one his way please... for peace of heart and comfort of body.  Thank you.

New England Bob's Barnacle Bisque

What do you do when someone you know is dying?
There really will be a kitchen story here, stick with me please...

Some 25 years ago when my husband and I began going to the church I had grown up in, we met Bob, Uncle Bob as many referred to him.  Bob is one of those people that just draws the world to him.  He is impossibly tall, pastoral is ways that I continue to stand in awe of (we Catholics are still figuring out that lay people can be incredible ministers without the trappings of titles), and always ready with a smile and a wry observation to share.  Bob, was a leader in our church in spite of himself and in ways that one could not likely find in any other Catholic setting.  Early on, he played a very key role in one of the most devastating times a young couple could ever encounter.  Bob offered himself to us in profound ways that I am still unpacking and will forever look back on with deep gratitude and appreciation.  Skip ahead a few years and Bob was no longer a regular presence in our community, I don't even really know how or why.  It could have been a slow departure, a rift with leadership, or something in his own life pulling in a new direction.  Well, slide to present day and Bob is back... for a while at least.  Some time ago a cancer diagnosis came; illness, treatments, symptoms, and the rollercoaster of feeling better and worse.  In this time Bob resurfaced at our church and brought with him some familiar faces of days past, he always did travel with an entourage.  Now, months in, Bob has made the choice to forgo treatments and live out his remaining days on his own terms.

So what do you do when someone you know is dying? I mean this is really happening, there are no positive thoughts, prayers or well-wishes that are going to chance this reality.  Bob is about to die.  I have not been in this place, of sitting in the presence of someone that is facing the imminent return to their maker since that time many years ago when Bob sat with us.  Full circle moment here.  So I reached out and told him how much he has meant to my husband and myself and offered the only thing I could think of... Can I bring you a soup supper each week?  Cooking for people is my go to way of sharing a bit of kindness and love with them.  So now we are a few weeks in, we have a lovely weekly dance of trading the empty half gallon jar for one filled with a freshly made soup and some biscuits or corn bread for dipping.  Bob refers to this as my lenten journey.

In trying to think about soups that will go down easy for one dealing with throat cancer, as well as something sustaining to help keep a bit of meat on his increasingly lean body, I went with a chowder with corn and smoked salmon this last week.  I consulted a few recipes for some framework but as usual I kinda winged it and crossed my fingers.  Each week as I am making soup for Bob, I feel such a sense of humble honor to be able to do something, anything that might be of help or support to him.  I am thankful for the opportunity to reconnect with this man who has been a pillar of our community, who even in these final days is finding ways to minister to and lift up those around him.  Bob sent me a message last night after sampling the week's soup supper offering and told me that I had not made a chowder but in fact a New England Bisque (I honestly have no idea what the difference is, but will dig into that research eventually), and Bob named my creation -- New England Bob's Barnacle Bisque.  Typically I am really a throw it together and call it good kinda cook, but this time I am going to create a real recipe for this dish and add it to our annual lenten rotation.  As a reminder of the man who gave it a name, the man who will forever dwell in our hearts as a welcomer, a challenger, and a giver.

New England Bob's Barnacle Bisque

Ingredients

2 tbsp butter
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 large carrots, diced
3 yellow potatoes, cubed
2 cups sweet corn kernels (fresh or frozen)
1 1/2 cups smoked salmon, shredded
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 - 2 tsp salt (to taste)
1 tsp fresh ground back pepper
2 cloves garlic chopped fine
1/4 cup flour
6 cups water
1 cup half and half

Process

Sauté onion in butter until just beginning to go translucent then add the carrots.  Continue to sauté these until carrots begin to soften then add the potatoes.  Once potatoes begin to cook through add the garlic, corn, thyme, paprika, salt and pepper.  Once this all gets going add the flour, and mix.  If it feels too dry add a small pat of more butter.  You want to cook the flour and spices with the veggies for a few minutes then add the water.  Turn your burner to a med low now and cook until the potatoes and carrots are soft, about 15 - 20 minutes.  Now you should have a very chowder looking situation going on, add the smoked salmon and the half and half and stir through and let the heat permeate the bisque.  I made this the day before gifting a half gallon and we were left with enough for 3 for dinner.  Serve with corn bread or buttermilk biscuits.  Enjoy and think of Bob!

Let's Talk Feast Foods...

Do you have must make recipes for holidays?  Foods that if they weren't part of your gathering it just would not be the same?  Foods you just have to make, whether anyone else eats them or not?  Do you potluck your holiday feasts or does one person do the majority of the food prep?  I adore hearing all about other folks holiday traditions when it comes to food.  Just yesterday I learned of two different families traditions that include Friday Pie-Day and a communal scavenger hunt.  I love these ideas and am gleefully working on figuring out how to work these in to our traditions in the future.  I mean Friday Pie-Day???  Seriously, this needs to become a phenomenon!  The woman I heard about this from told me she makes six pies of all sorts for Thanksgiving with the explicit intention of enough leftovers for many days of pie-for-breakfast for her and her kiddos to enjoy as well as a few extra pies for Friday Pie-Day.  They use the turkey leftovers to make turkey pot pie and have friends over for game night with loads of pie, sign me up.

For me I love to make fresh cranberry sauce, this year I found a game changing recipe that I do believe will become the keeper from here on out, it is like a cranberry sauce meets marmalade meets cocktail.  The red wine gives such a depth of flavor and cuts the tart of the berry just right.  We held some back from what we took over to my in-laws house just to be sure we had enough for home leftovers.  I also am often put on veg side dish duty for our family gatherings as I love coming up with tasty ways of sharing vegetables with others.  This year there were specific requests for waldorf salad and layered pea salad.  Leading up to Thanksgiving my youngest and I made candied yams to take to a friends-giving event at her school.  I discovered that when one reheats candied yams the marshmallows pretty much melt away, so we turned the leftover sweet yams into a new favorite meal by adding them to some big delicious sautéed brussel sprouts and chopped bacon for an amazing day-before-thankgsiving-eat-lots-of-veggies dinner here at home. My husband and I even enjoyed this for breakfast the day after with some leftover wild rice and a friend egg on top while our girls where off taking in all the Black Friday fun.  I am still thinking of that delish combo and hoping to recreate it soon and often.  This year I also experimented on a whim with a wild rice and sun choke dish that I really loved.  This started with sautéed leeks and sun chokes then added wild rice, pine nuts and dried cherries.  No recipe to share, but I do hope you will try combining these ingredients on your own,  the nutty flavor of the chokes and the rice made me very happy next to the turkey.  We even used leftover rice in soup the following day, repurposing leftovers makes me ridiculously happy.

I would love to hear about your favorite holiday foods to make and share as well as your family traditions, so please share them in the comments below, let's have a virtual feast together.

I Can't Stop Canning...

So let me start my saying this is totally unpaid and unsolicited praises for the book that got me hooked on food preservation.  Upon discovering this website and book I have become a total food preservation addict, I'm always looking for new and interesting ways to pickle, can and preserve what's in season at any given time.  Here are a few of the things I have been busy making of late...

All this lovely winter citrus has me loving things like honey and lemon curd as well as marmalade made with Cara Cara oranges and ginger.  Though I have made enough curd over that last few years to feel pretty confident on that front, marmalade is a new one for me so there has been a bit of a learning curve.  My first batch was so very tasty but I fear I cooked it too long and it was rather stiff, I almost recalled the few jars I had given away out of sheer mortification but was quickly assured that the taste was much more memorable than the difficult spreading.  So I tried again, decreasing my cooking time and it is just on the side of too soft.  So, here's to hoping the third time is the charm!  I used a recipe from the Food In Jars (my most loved and used cookbook), it pretty much mirrors this online version with the addition of 1 cup of ginger juice and substitution of Cara Cara oranges for the citrus.  Though it took a bit of work to make the ginger juice, the addition of it in this preserve is totally worth every bit of effort!  Make the time to peal, chop and strain all that ginger for this recipe.
I have also been dabbling in pickling, ANYTHING I CAN GET MY HANDS ON...  My most recent experiment has been pickling red onions, and oh gosh I am hooked.  So far I have loved them straight from the jar, topping hearty green salads, and over eggs, but I imagine slathering these over a fancy grilled cheese sammie for a little punch of something extra would be quite fabulous.

On a side note, my thoughts and prayers are with all those impacted by the explosion in North Seattle early this morning.  That this happened in the middle of the night is something many are thankful for, this is a very busy area and I don't even want to think about what the scene would have been just a few hours earlier or later in the day.  These businesses are neighborhood staples and will be dearly missed, I am sure I am not alone in the hope that rebuilding is swift and we will be popping back in for coffee and gyros very very soon!

Breakfast For Dinner Taken To A Whole New Level

It all started when I spotted this post on the Smitten Kitchen Blog for a dreamy looking yam dish with chickpeas and a limey yogurt drizzle.  We love yams in this family but i've never really fancied them up, its always straight baked yams either on their own or added to another dish like black bean and yam tacos.  Last night I was feeling so uninspired for dinner, throughout the day the thought would flash "what am I going to make for dinner tonight?", and I came up blank every time.  Then I remembered a Smitten Kitchen post recently for what promised to be a tasty twist to our standard baked yam.  And, to boot I had all ingredients on hand, it was meant to be!  Though I think we would all have been happy to just totally gorge on the yams alone, the mom in me knew I needed to round it out a bit so I scrambled up some fresh eggs with the ricotta I had just made with the weekend's goat milk and tossed together a big green salad.  This was declared by all "A KEEPER".  In fact my oldest shared that this is the meal she wants to come home to from college.  So if you are looking for inspiration, give this one a go, it is fairly quick to throw together, requires pretty basic fridge and pantry ingredients, and well worth every bit of effort.  This is a breakfast-for-dinner game changer in my mind.  Enjoy!

Summer Favorites... (so far)

One week into the official start of summer, (aka everyone is out of school), and here are some observations thus far...

*  I was crazy to think my family could or would give up on all electronics cold turkey.  But there have been some pretty extreme (by typical American standards) limits put into place with very little push back and I am beyond happy and delighted with that!  The two biggies being no electronics in bedrooms (at all, period or yes I will just shut off the wifi...) and no screens until your "list" is complete for the day.  Lists are a combo of chores and boredom buster activities, see below...

*  Cooking early in the morning as to avoid the afternoon heat is totally where it is at.  This has us eating many cold style meals but no one is complaining.  Some of our favorites so far have been; this Quinoa Salad, homemade Tzatziki Dip with pita and veggies, our favorite Bok Choy Slaw, curried chicken salad sided with green salad and sourdough bread, and a basic antipasto style meal with cheese, cold cuts, fresh veggies and corn on the cob.

*  If I add 30 minutes each of reading, physical activity, creative pursuits and sunshine to the daily chore list I will be amazed what my girls come up with (reading both Steven King and Shakespeare, sewing, pompom making, baking, tons of biking, volleyball and basketball, and loads of general happiness).

*  We may well eat our weight in popsicles (for breakfast, why not???), corn on the cob and watermelon by summer's end.  More on our favorite popsicle recipes soon.

*  Visits to the library has renewed interest around these parts, (free books, cd's and movies -- what's not to love).

*  I will happily make exceptions to my "no cooking in a hot kitchen" rule for corn on the cob and canning.

I hope everyone out there is finding their own fun this summer, I'd love to hear what all you have going on as well.  Take care and enjoy this lovely sunshine we are basking in these days.

A Pantry Meal...

When friends are coming over I always have the best of intensions to cook up a storm for their pleasure.  Well lets face it... the cooking part really is my pleasure as well.  Feeding those around me  is my way of showing care and concern for them as well as some hospitality.  It is also my creative outlet, I love to try new things.  I am that person that will attempt something new and unfamiliar for the first time when guests are coming over, so far I've been pretty lucky with this.  I am also increasingly more flexible and willing to go with the flow as I get older.  So recently we had a group of friends coming for dinner and it was the end of a busy week as well as a particularly grey and rainy day.  I had planned to head to the grocery to shop for a lovely meal to share with our friends, but as the day wore on I lost steam and could not steal myself to head out into the cold.  So I raided the pantry and freezer to come up with a fitting meal.  The following is what I came up with... roasted red pepper and tomato bisque with basil (made the hours of roasting and freezing summer's tomato crop so worth it), open-faced tuna melts (because I had to stretch the bread supply), and a simple salad.  I did whip up a flourless chocolate cake, because now that I wasn't schlepping to the grocery store I had more time to bake.  I loved that I was able to make this all happen with what I had on hand, and more over that it was likely just as pleasing to my friends as my more "formal" planned meal.  Because really, no matter what I cook, the enjoyment of any gathering is really about the company more than what is served.

**over the summer I had cases of tomatoes that I processed in a variety of different ways, the soup came from a batch that I had simply cut in half and roasted with red peppers coated in extra virgin olive oil then pureed and froze.  I simply reheated the puree adding some cashew cream, salt, pepper and fresh basil leaves.

The Scramble...

I have a friend who regularly posts on Facebook pictures of the most amazing looking scrambles she makes herself for a late breakfast once the kiddos are off to school.  Seriously, every picture gets my mouth watering and sends me into a Pavlovian state of hunger.  She has totally inspired me to amp up my breakfast and lunch game when I am at home.

We have these lovely ladies who lay for us nearly every day, and I often have bits and pieces of leftovers that will not stretch to feed a family of four a second time around.  Put them together and it is usually pretty wonderful.  Today, my oldest had brought home some leftovers from a meal out with her fabulous aunties, a roasted veggie mix of squash and brussel sprouts, lentils and chickpeas.  I tossed the lot of it in a pan to heat up, scrambled a couple eggs and topped it all off with a bit of siracha, that is my kind of meal!  This has come to be my favorite go-to, not just as meal for one (sauté leftover cooked veggies and/or meat and serve topped with an egg cooked your favorite way) but its also a great way to stretch a quick family meal as well.

We started raising chickens a few years ago (something I encourage everyone interested to try, I mean there is nothing like eggs from your own back yard -- really) and have loved watching these ladies grow from day old chicks to the more mature bunch that they now are.  In the years we've had chickens we have counted ourselves very lucky to not have lost a single one... until now.  We lost our sweet little Daisy a couple weeks ago, and even just today I was telling my oldest how strange it is to arrive home and not see her big waddling white and black self running to great me.  She was the smallest chick when we started, we really didn't expect her to survive as she always seemed to be in utter distress, but she grew to be on of the biggest of our flock and a true personality.  We miss you Daisy...

Keeping It Simple and Ritual...

Last year for Lent our family chose to follow suit with this idea, and ate only beans and rice for dinner on weeknights.  We took weekends off, because we are only human after all.  Though it was a bit of an adjustment at first, I came to absolutely love the simplicity of this little ritual: beyond the fact that it streamlined grocery shopping and meal planning, there was something so striking about sitting down together night after night to a meal of just beans, rice and a simple salad.  And day after day as I prepared those beans and rice I thought and marveled at how much for granted I had come to take the absolute abundance we live in today.  I can walk down the isles of my local market and find such a vast variety of options, even just within the beans and rice selections.  So many options are really just at my finger tips every day, I am finding it to be a real distraction for the way I want to live my life and the way I would like to see my family living.  I really am a simple girl at heart, give me those I love and some space outside  (well ok and a nice cup of coffee too) and I could be very happy.  I could ramble on and on about this all, and if you'd like to join me for a coffee sometime soon we could commiserate together.

Fast forward to the current Lenten season, though we are not doing beans and rice this year (I found my systems just cannot take all that grain), we have settled in to some mealtime rituals.  This year we are gathering with a few folks on Friday evenings for some thoughtful reflection and sharing over a soup supper.  Soup is a staple around here, we all love it and never tire of many of our tried and true favorites.  And there is something so lovely about gathering with friends around that steaming pot, watching ladleful after ladleful being served to all those gathered young and old alike.  As is our tradition we abstain from meat on Fridays in Lent so all of these are either vegetarian or contain fish.  Here is a rundown of our soup suppers so far this season...

Week One we had Brazilian Coconut Soup with tofu
Week Two we had Black Bean and Quinoa Chili
Week Three we had Smoked Salmon Chowder

The other ritual I have come to really appreciate, though honestly it began long before Lent and will (I hope) continue on for years to come, is the big Sunday morning breakfast.  As is likely in many households with teenagers, my husband and I are generally the first to wake on weekends.  We have sort of settled into this big breakfast slowly over time, I am usually out the door pretty early for my milking rotation with the neighborhood goats and he us up caring for our own animals.  By the time I return, eggs and bacon on well on their way and I start the pancakes or waffles and get all the various toppings and sides out (we do love our toppings in this house).  I always try to pick up a Sunday newspaper on my way home from the goats as well as a round of coffee and or juice for the family.  About this time the kiddos start to wander downstairs, sip their morning drink of choice and peruse their favorite section of the paper; comics are a must, Suduko and horoscopes are always fun, and checking out the travel section while fantasizing of future trips makes everyone happy.  I love that we are all gathered in the same space, comfy and cozy, sharing stories from the week or interesting bits from the newspaper, and enjoying a meal made by shared hands and love.

These two rituals make my weekend feel complete, week after week.  I'd love to hear about your rituals, what makes your week?

Thank Goodness For Birthdays...

So it seems that Birthdays are my mojo in the kitchen of late.  I took the time to get busy making a special treat as a belated gift for a friend the other day, I am so hoping she supports my "better late than never" theory.  We were about out of our last jar of curd (a favorite of my youngest to top pancakes with) and I know my friend loves curd as much as we do here.  Up until last year, lemon was the only flavor of curd I had ever tried, it honestly never even occurred to me that there were even other kinds.  Last year I happened upon a orange vanilla curd recipe from my trusty advisor to all things jarred and it is now my absolute favorite.  It has a bit of a softer flavor than lemon and the addition of vanilla beans takes it to a whole new level of delicious!   It is well worth the time to make a batch or two for yourself,  we love it on pancakes but I also like to mix it into yogurt with nuts or granola and fruit.  I imagine smeared on a  nice thick slice of your favorite toasted bread it would be heavenly.  Though my recipe sites a fairly quick cooking time, it has never worked that way for me, generally I need to give a solid hour of time standing and string at the stove, but really please don't let that stop you from trying this out.  I promise you it will be well worth your time.

More Cake...

This winter has found me feeling a bit blah in the cooking department for some reason.  But I'm trying to shake it off and today I found myself itching to bake a cake.  It helped that there was a special someone celebrating a birthday today, and I really wanted to make something homemade for this celebration.  After a quick look through the pantry, a little help from Google and knowing that chocolate would be a choice ingredient for this Birthday Celebrant I landed on this gluten free chocolate cake made with almond flour.  I also had a bit of marshmallow fluff on hand from holiday fudge baking so I did some searching for a marshmallow frosting.   And well, I think I have hit on a new birthday favorite!  If you really wanted to get fancy you could top the cake with some graham cracker crumbs and call it a s'more cake.  The cake was a crowd pleaser and came together fairly simply and with ingredients (minus the marshmallow fluff) that we always have on hand.  I love it when things come together so simply and deliciously.  I'd love to hear what other folks do to get out of the winter slump when it comes to cooking, do you just let your self roll with it -- sure that it will pass or do you try to jumpstart things in some way to get back on track?  I feel I've been "rolling with it" a bit too long and am hopeful that this cake will serve as a bit of a jump start.  I don't know what tomorrow has in store but I am hoping to find myself back in the kitchen letting some creative juices flow.

Another Cake...

One of my most favorite ways to spend time is cooking along side a friend, especially in fancy-dancy kitchens.  Yesterday I got such a chance and pounced (maybe even inviting myself over), to bake with a friend who is an amazing baker.  Not only does she consistently wow us all with her delicious confections, she is fearless about tackling new and seemingly complicated recipes.  A while back I had posted this torte recipe from Smitten Kitchen but have been totally intimidated to try the whole meringue thing, but not this friend.  She jumped on it and has made the torte several times all the while raving about it and extolling its amazingness.  Earlier in the week she mentioned that she was planning on making said dessert for an upcoming school event and I jumped right in and invited myself over to watch and learn from this master baker.  She upped the anti on me, informing me that I would not simply watch and learn but I'd bake right along side her and make one for myself.  So I packed up my eggs, cream, chocolate, vanilla, sugar and hazelnuts and headed for her lovely kitchen.  We baked, she instructed, we chatted and had a generally great time.  It was a great way to spend a particularly cold Northwest afternoon, thank you very much.  What I most love about this dessert is; that it is naturally gluten free so no experimenting with flour mixtures, it combines two of my most favorite flavors (chocolate and hazelnut), and it is a show stopper.  If you are looking for a dessert to wow a crowd yet is really fairly quick and simple to pull off, this will be your new BFF.  I hope you will not be like me and let intimidation get in the way, do yourself a favor and head to the kitchen this weekend to make this delicious treat.

Summer Salad Roundup...

Who wants to spend time at the stove when it's hot outside and there are so many fun things to get busy with?  Come summer,  I happily take a bit of a step back from the typical dinner fare we know and love throughout the rest of the year and cook more "picnic" style around here.  Healthy and filling salads become a go-to for me, as I'd much rather eek out more time at the beach with the girls, go on a picnic to any of the array of summer movies and outdoor concerts in the area, have fun out on our bikes, or let myself get totally engrossed in a great book.  I especially love it when a salad is hearty enough to stand up over night in the refridgerator - we are not afraid of leftovers around here.  Here's a sneak peak at my summer salad line up; variations on a Cobb Salad, must try this Mango and Red Pepper Salad, this Bok Choy Slaw, any sort of cold Rice Noodle Salad with a ginger dressing and slivered veggies, this Fennel Salad is calling me to try out, as is this simple Green Salad With Cherries, this Quinoa Salad is a favorite, a simple green salad loaded with nuts, beans or chicken, and all those little bits of veg needing to get used up, salsa (can we call salsa a salad?), and this Corn Salad looks like it would be a perfect picnic salad along side some sliced meats and cheese.  Last night we feasted on a cold rotisserie chicken, spinach topped with this Garbanzo Salad, and some left over chips and salsa (my oldest is our in-house salsa maker and we happily reap the benefits of such).

Yesterday my youngest came up with a new creation for lunch that I am sure will make a repeat visit as she happily exclaimed she'd take it to school for lunch any time.  She sautéed up a sliced zucchini in olive oil then added some chopped up roasted red pepper, a few cherry tomatoes from the garden and bits of leftover chicken, then she topped it with a few shavings of parmesan cheese.  Even my mostly vegetarian daughter enjoyed it.  We ate it warm as is, but I think it could be great cold with your favorite pasta as a salad or atop some fresh summer greens.  What I really loved about it was that she took a recipe of interest and shifted it to suit what we had on hand and our own personal tastes.  As a parent, one of my personal goals has always been to build a sense of competency in my girls around preparing good food for themselves.  I want them to have the ability to walk into the kitchen, scope the scene and make something tasty and relatively healthful for themselves.  I think we are on our way as the oldest has become my go-to condiment maker (salsa, pesto, guacamole etc...) and has really started developing an interest in baking and now the younger one is building confidence and skills too, she did not shy away from the huge knife I handed her to chop veggies and meat with yesterday.  Though I can't lie, I'd be tickled pink if they found the joy and sense of creative outlet in the kitchen that I do, mostly I want them to be able to feed themselves and those around them well without a box of this or that or a phone to call for delivery.

Well, back to those summer salads, do you change up your typical dinner routines this time of year too?  If so what are your favorite summer salads?  I'd love to hear what you all are living off this summer, I am sure there are so many possibilities that I haven't even thought of yet.

Freezing Fruit...

Oh my, doesn't all that fruit make your mouth water.  I love the bounties of summer, especially the complete abundance of freshly picked fruit.  With what we've got growing in our own garden like rhubarb, blueberries and strawberries, the fact that I can't pass up a local roadside fruit stand to save my soul and that we love to go berry picking each summer there is always an overwhelming amount of fruit in our kitchen throughout the summer.  Berry picking has become a summer tradition for us, what a fun day out and the eat-as-you-go policy that our favorite raspberry farm has is just what the kids need to keep them interested and motivated to fill those boxes.  We went out with friends recently and between the girls and I we picked over twenty pounds of raspberries.  It was unusually hot in our neck of the woods that day, topping 90 degrees, so we had to call it after just an hour or so.  Once we got home we gorged ourselves on berries for days, but knowing that it was not likely we could actually consume our weight in berries before they turned into sad mushy boxes of goo I got right to work, baking some into muffins and baked oatmeal, cooking some into jam, and freezing what I could to tide us through winter.  I love freezing fruit!  It is as low maintenance as it comes in the preserving world and the results don't disappoint.  The method I have settled on with greatest success is to line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and lay the fruit in a single layer on it.  For things like raspberries, small strawberries, blackberries and blueberries I keep the fruit whole and for stone fruits and larger strawberries I cut them in half or wedges.  After the fruit is arranged I pop the tray in the freezer for a few hours or more likely overnight.  Once everything is frozen solid I fill gallon ziplock bags with the frozen fruit and label with date and name of fruit.  So simple and yet it yields such pleasure throughout winter.  Then when you have an inkling for a raspberry/rhubarb crisp or some strawberries over yogurt it is as simple as a quick defrost and you are good to go.  So when you see that fruit stand don't hesitate to stop and pick up a flat or two of fruit, if you aren't into canning or making jam at the very least you can freeze a few gallons for later.

Are We There Yet?

This is a constant thought running through my head over the last few days. Last week I was feeling so strong in my rice and beans resolve, but I must admit that as this week goes on I am seriously waining. I bet you all could use a break from all these pictures of beans too, right? I am on the count down, how many more rice and bean meals am I cooking this week, runs through my head each day as I plan for that evening's dinner. I am glad we stuck with it, to be so mindful of what and how we eat is always a good practice. I do hope it will become a tradition we take on each year throughout Lent and in preparation for Easter celebration. Our lives have become so fast paced and somewhat semiconscious, I love changing something so routine as dinner in order to refocus our presence with each other and the food we put into our bodies. There is something about the idea of commonality or solidarity with what most folks subsist on in the rest of the world that is very thought provoking and a very striking reminder of how lucky we are for the immense amount of choice we are afforded in our lives. All that said, I have started daydreaming and scheming of what to cook once the week ends... This dish may well be the very first non rice and bean dinner we have. And this... Oh and these spring veggies look so delicious don't they. And of course there is a sweet treat on my list. One of many temptations has been all the talk and posts online about folks' Passover plans for Seder Dinner, I was particularly struck by this one. What a beautiful and profound tradition, I would very much love to experience this someday.

Lunch Made A Bit Easier

My kids pack their own lunches for school every day, and they have been doing so for the last 5 years. Initially it started from my own frustration over how crazy I was feeling in the mornings trying to send them off with a good breakfast in their bellies, get lunches made and everyone out the door on time with all the necessary books/homework/sports gear etc... needed for the day. So I threw my hands up and surrendered. I will be honest here and tell you all how very hard it was for me at first to let go of the micro-managing and directing as to what the girls should be packing and get past my own hang ups regarding packaged and prepared foods. I knew simplicity would be the key to success with my two, so yes I started buying baby carrots, individual yogurts, juice boxes, and Amy's frozen burritos (one per kid per week). My standing request is that they make sure to pack a good protein source and two fresh foods (one of which needs to be of the veggie sort). How that looks to each of them is very different. My oldest is really about no frills and convenience so she packs an apple every day along with either baby carrots or sliced cucumbers (snap peas if we have any), and leftovers which have been packed up the night before during dinner cleanup. My youngest needs more protein so she prefers to have cubed up smoked salmon or rolls of sliced turkey (she will on occasion also take leftovers), a double serving of any of the following - cut up red peppers, cucumbers, carrots, snap peas or tomatoes and some sort of nut and dried fruit combo. On occasion one or both of the girls will make a sandwich but it is definetly not a go-to for either of them. I chalk that up to the nature of my gluten free cooking, bread has all but fallen off their radar. Last year, seeing that packaged leftovers were trending high I started making some planned leftovers for their lunches like curried chicken salad, fried rice heavy on the meat and veg, and once in a while pesto pasta salad with peas and mozzarella cheese. Recently my oldest came home from an overnight with a friend and was raving about this new food she'd had there - tabouli. That sounded like the perfect opportunity to sneak some variety into the lunch rotation to me. So, true to my nature I took the idea and put my own twist on this traditional dish, starting with making it gluten free. I cooked up a bit of quinoa (a food I have yet to be successful getting my family to embrace) and tossed it with ribbons of kale, sliced kalamata olives, chopped tomatoes, slivered almonds, feta cubes and dressed it with lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. I am sure a bit of red onion would be great in this too but with the plan being to send it for lunches I figured I'd do all involved a favor and leave those out. This is a quick dish to whip up that will keep anyone happily in grab-and-go lunches for the week. So if you have the heart to step out of the beautiful sunshine today offers, I strongly suggest making up a big bowl for this, I promise you will be so glad you did come tomorrow. My next hope is to get the girls thinking this way and to work on making up a big batch of this themselves for the week. Baby steps...

Coconut Milk Saves The Day

We've got about a week and a half on this rice and beans kick left to go and I am really feeling like the creative juices are starting to flow. Most of my concoctions to date have had a decidedly south-of-the-border flavor to them, so last night I wanted to take it in a totally different direction. I went with a Moroccan/Curry-esque theme. The idea of caramelized onions and chickpeas swimming in a pool of coconut milk over some steamy rice was really calling out to me. But it needed more, a vegetable of some sort, hmm... ah, yes cauliflower (yet another item that doesn't grace our plates often enough). It's amazing to me how many of the least favorite veggies I can get the girls to eat when put in a curry type dish, and I am always on the lookout for ways to get more veg in my family's diet. So I began by caramelizing a couple of chopped up onions and once these were close to done I added a head of cauliflower broken up into bite sized florets letting them soften up in the pan with the onions. Next came a couple minced cloves of garlic and one cup of chicken stock, to which I tossed in a half teaspoon each of cumin seed and garam marsala as well as a teaspoon of turmeric, salt and pepper. I let this hang out for a bit on low, allowing the flavors to get to know each other and become good friends, then I added a can and a half of coconut milk. I let it all simmer in the open pan to reduce the liquid a bit. Oh my, at this point the smells were wafting out of the kitchen and making us all hungry. This stayed simmering on the stovetop while we not-so-very patiently waited until the rice, that I inadvertently forgot to turn on, was ready to go. Last night's version of beans and rice was a much needed change of pace in the flavor department and was welcomed by all at the table, even our 11 year old guest. Anything with coconut milk is absolute comfort food in our home, why didn't I think of this sooner?

What I Am Eating...

It has been all about the beans and rice for our family this Lenten season. After reading this post I was inspired to follow suit, I checked in with the family and they all seemed on board to give it a go. So here we are, about 2/3 of the way through Lent, and I am happy to report everyone is still on board with continued enthusiasm. I did discover quickly how far a pot of beans and rice can stretch throughout the week, luckily my family is totally down with leftovers. I also discovered that variety is vital. Though they are fine with beans and rice most nights, I need to break up the presentation a bit (they are not quite ready for the exact same dish night after night). So I have had a rotation going of our Costa Rican Black Beans and Rice, Homemade Refried Beans over Rice, Roasted Garbanzos, and tonight I'm experimenting. I caramelized some fennel, chopped up a couple small yams adding them to the pan along with some kale ribbons, black beans, a chili pepper and some salsa. This will be served over a bed of brown rice with avocado and goat cheese to top it off with. I'll report back if this is a success. In the mean time I continue to try and use up leftovers by adding a fried or scrambled egg and some fresh herbs and enjoying the new presentation for breakfast.

The Soup That Kept Me Up All Night

I spend a crazy amount of time thinking about food; what I should cook for my family, what I want to cook for my family, what ingredients do I need to try to get into more of our meals, what have we been eating lately... it goes on and on but you get the idea. So to have something linger in my mind is nothing new, but TO KEEP ME UP ALL NIGHT?!?! Well, that was new for me. So let me back up a bit here, it all started with a sweet potato. I had one left over from this curried sweet potato salad I made last week, and I bought another to make these yummy looking sweet potato/pretzel balls. But time and life got away from me, I never got around to making the sweet potato/pretzel balls and now had two sweet potatoes sitting on the counter staring at me. I was thinking about the curried salad but it's been so cold around here lately I couldn't stomach the thought of a cold meal, I needed something warm and soothing and then it hit me - a steamy bowl of creamy curried sweet potato soup just sounded so good. I couldn't get the thought out of my head, I laid awake thinking how the flavors of curry, sweet potato and coconut milk just sounded like they were made for each other. I dreamt about creating this soup, crazy right? So 1 am, 3 am, 4 am the clock is ticking by all I can do is think about the amazing flavor of caramelized onions pureed with the sweet potato and finished off with coconut milk. So first thing that morning I got up and hit the WWW for a little guidance, really validation. I mean, to me it sounded like a little slice of heaven but would the flavors come together as gracefully as I had hoped? First off I found a recipe that suggested roasting the potatoes first, great idea. But nothing that I found in my quick search mentioned caramelizing onions, and most recipes called for all sorts of other additions like celery or apples. None that I found really hit the spot of what I was looking for, other than simply validating that I was on the right track with the curry and potatoes. So, I winged it. Roasted the potatoes in the morning, then chopped a big onion and caramelized it. Once that was done I threw in some garam marsala and curry powder to let the flavors really sink into those onions and toast themselves a bit. Next I added three roasted sweet potatoes and about a quart of homemade chicken stock. Once this came to a boil I pureed it all with my immersion blender and added a can of coconut milk and salt and pepper to taste. At the table we topped our bowls with some toasted pumpkin seeds and goat cheese. Home run I tell you. The smell told me I was on the right track, but when I finally had a chance to sit down to dinner and eat, it was exactly what I had hoped for. I was especially grateful for the suggestion to roast the potatoes and for the addition of the garam marsala. On a cold night, this was so warming from the inside out. It will definitely make a regular appearance on on our fall and winter table from here on out.

A Work In Progress...

I saw this Rustic Apple Cake from Eat Good 4 Life recently and knew it would soon become a regular visitor around here. It's been cold and wet the last several days and the thought of a hot steamy apple treat sounded just about right last night. The original recipe called for whole wheat flour so I knew there was going to be some conversion and experimenting needed to make it right for my family. Lately I've been drawn to grinding raw buckwheat groats into a whole grain flour replacement, so I knew right off that I'd be substituting buckwheat flour for the whole wheat flour. I also knew that I wanted to do this in a cast iron skillet rather than a spring form pan, rustic just screams for a skillet in my mind. So groats and apples in hand I got right to work. Luckily our backyard chickens have slowly started laying again so I was able to use our own fresh eggs in this recipe too. Don't you just love it when you have a calling to make something and you actually have everything on hand? This is a pretty quick and low key dessert to pull together, and rustic is the best describer as there is just enough batter to coat the apples and hold the whole cake together. I am still always a bit unsure when faced with converting a traditional recipe into a gluten free one, so I held my breath a bit as I pulled the cake from the oven and waited what I thought was a very patient 10 minutes before cutting into it for the first sample. I loved the nutty flavor of the buckwheat with the apples and absolute simplicity of taste, it really is all about the apple with the buckwheat just giving a small shout-out in the background. There are a few small improvements I plan to make next time around, but for now I am taking the fact that the last couple slices promptly disappeared on breakfast plates this morning as a good sign. This cake is going to become a regular around our house, though next time I might increase the batter by half and cut the apples a bit thiner, mostly to improve appearances and make cutting and serving a little easier. I think teff flour would also be another fantastic substitute for the whole wheat flour, teff has such a great nutty quality to it as well. I could also see making this as part of a morning brunch for guests, with a dusting of cinnamon and sugar I think it would make for a lovely coffee cake replacement. Ok, now all I can think about is my favorite Stumptown coffee along side a wedge of this cake and some eggs, potatoes and a couple really great slices of bacon...