tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-26723866089005209442024-03-13T16:46:11.681-06:00food for scotShanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.comBlogger360125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-21864834232748474782017-12-30T21:56:00.001-07:002017-12-30T21:56:42.734-07:00Wheel Pasta with Parmesan Bechamel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Birk is at an age now where it is fun for him to look forward to meal. And I get a kick out of making him meals that he really loves. He has been brainwashed and trained to just eat whatever is served (and, obviously, bribed). This is a favorite pasta from the archives that I have made many times. But I have played around with the recipe enough that I thought I'd re-post it. Birk has never thought twice about it...until I made with pasta wheels. Now, he has been requesting it. Here is my original <a href="http://www.foodforscot.com/2010/11/pasta-with-smoked-salmon-and-balsamic.html" target="_blank">post</a> and look at this oldie:<br />
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This pasta has a creamy-Parmesan sauce. I am not a huge fan of dairy based sauces because they make me feel sad. This sauce has a healthy amount of butter for the roux, but the bulk of the sauce is made with a stock and almond milk. Since all the flavor comes from the Parmesan, the dairy base is not missed. Technically this is more of a gravy than a Bechamel, but we will all survive with this lie. <br />
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I think the smoked salmon is essential for me. It is basically equivalent to the flavor profile of mac and cheese with hot dogs. Unfortunately, it can't be made <b><i>as</i></b> easily with pantry staples or on a whim, unless smoked salmon is a pantry staple for you. If that is the case, good for you. But otherwise, the rest of the ingredients are easy to keep stocked. <br />
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Birk has so far opted out of the balsamic drizzle, but I personally love the tang it brings. <br />
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Lastly, I know my photography skills are making you very envious. That partially eaten bowl of pasta in low lighting...it is just beautiful. <br />
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<b>Wheel Pasta with Parmesan Bechamel </b><br />
<i>by foodforscot</i><br />
<br />
2 large carrots, peeled and diced (~1 cup)<br />
1 cup of frozen peas <br />
3 tablespoons of butter<br />
3 tablespoons of flour <br />
2 cups stock (chicken or veggie)<br />
1 or 2 garlic clove(s), smashed<br />
1 cup almond milk (or whatever you want)<br />
2/3 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for sprinkling on top<br />
2/3 lb of wheel pastas (or any short cut, shells would be good)<br />
4 oz. of smoked salmon<br />
(optional) drizzle of balsamic vinegar reduction <br />
<br />
Fill a large saucepan (or pasta pot) with enough water to cook the pasta and bring to boil. While water is coming to boil, continue on with the rest of recipe. Once it comes to a boil, add pasta and salt and cook it until it is done. Drain and set aside until the rest of the sauce is done. But likely the sauce will be done first, waiting for the pasta. <br />
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Place the peas and carrots in a microwave safe bowl and microwave covered for 4 minutes on high, or until carrots are soft. I use a regular soup bowl and cover with side plate. If you avoid microwave use to prolong your life, you may steam the veggies some other way (perhaps with your pasta). The frost on the frozen peas is what makes the microwave method work.<br />
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In another saucepan, add the butter and flour. Cook and stir to make a paste (called a roux, if I want to be a jerk about it). Cook for a few minutes, this will cook away the raw flour taste. Add the stock and garlic, bring to gentle boil. Whisk stock and roux somewhat continuously to avoid any burning on the bottom. After a few minutes of light boiling, the sauce should thicken. At this point, add the Parmesan and almond milk and cook for another 5 minutes until Parmesan is melted in and milk is incorporated. You can remove the garlic, or leave it in for a special surprise.<br />
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Once the pasta and veggies are cooked (and pasta is drained), add to the sauce. Mix to combine. To serve: place pasta in bowl, top with a portion of smoked salmon and sprinkle with Parmesan. You can also drizzle on some balsamic reduction, if you want to be fancy about it. <br />
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(Prep time: 0, Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Easy)<br />
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<u>Subs:</u><br />
-You can use 2 cups of frozen carrot/pea mixture instead of fresh carrots plus frozen peas. You might not need to microwave as long, but I trust you can figure it out.<br />
-You can replace all the stock with milk, if that is what you have. <br />
-You can replace the salmon with other smoked meat, like hot dogs. But don't tell anyone about it. <br />
-You can make your own balsamic reduction. Put about 1 cup of balsamic vinegar in a sauce pan. Bring to boil. Boil until it reaches a syrupy consistency. Or just buy it. They sell it right by the balsamic vinegar at places like Whole Foods. Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-11444945557139725792017-09-18T15:36:00.000-06:002017-09-18T15:37:22.093-06:00No-Bake Energy Balls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I was reading something recently that it is important that we let kids experience boredom. I also went to Paula Poundstone's show a month or so ago, and she also emphasized the importance of this. I think adults need to experience boredom more too. Some of us get into the habit of putting on our headphones and listening to a podcast or music while doing every task imaginable. I have been known to listen to podcasts while reading Birk the same book I have read to him 100 times. While its ok to do (not the book reading thing, that is ridiculous), I have my best ideas and thoughts when I just let myself think. There are plenty of times while commuting (even in the car), that I just let there be silence. That way, I can experience my thoughts.<br />
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For example, how much do you think about flip-flops? I think about them a lot because I really do not like to wear them. Some people work all day, waiting for that moment when they get home and they can put on their flops. Others go about their lives dreaming of the job that allows them to wear flip flops. Me...I find flip flops incredibly invasive but also too exposing. To be honest, I can barely handle opened toed shoes. As I am walking through the streets with my toes exposed, I feel as though all I am doing is putting my feet through an awful lot. They are getting dirtier, drier, older, sun burnt, calloused. It just seems as though shoes were designed so that we didn't have to expose our feet to such things. I can't imagine a situation where I need them and I can't just be barefooted instead? <br />
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However, the other thing that I have been thinking about regarding flip flops is that I truly believe there is a positive correlation between people who like flip flops and how much fun a person is. Story checks out for me. I am definitely the least fun person I know. And all my friends, who love flip flops, are way fun. No way those commas are placed correctly. See how fun I am! The question is: what is wrong with me? Why can't I be more fun?<br />
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You have heard of these energy balls, right? There are so many versions of these, so I thought I would post mine. You may think they are for Birk, and they are, but they are more for Scot. I have made these 4 times so far, and I think I have only ever consumed two balls. I rarely have an appetite or taste for foods this dense. Surely this is tied to my love for sitting. Big fan of sitting. But I am definitely in the minority, most people really love this kind of thing. <br />
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I have really liked having these around because they are so quick. Birk is endlessly hungry these days. Scot LOVES these. This snack is Scot in ball form. I strongly recommend mini chocolate chips, because the regular sized chips make it difficult to form a ball. If you look below, I made batch of these with full size m&m's and peanuts, and they were harder to keep together. I really like the "Enjoy Life" mini chocolate chip brand. I feel like these need peanut butter (for both flavor and texture), as opposed to a nut butter substitute but I have not experimented. I would recommend a fairly creamy version, for example, something like Justin's would be too dry. However, you could probably make it work by adding more honey. <br />
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You will find a lot of versions of these if you google "energy balls". Many include chia seeds and flax seeds, which would be a fine addition. Many include vanilla extract, which you CANNOT taste the difference in peanut butter recipes of this nature, so I don't use it anymore. <br />
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PS: I hardly ever share such deep posts about myself here. But if you have been reading these posts for a while, you now have to great gift ideas for me: flip flops and edible arrangements. <br />
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<b>No-Bake Energy balls</b><br />
<i>by everyone on the internet</i><br />
<br />
2 cups oats<br />
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut<br />
~3/4 cup creamy peanut butter<br />
~1/2 cup honey<br />
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips<br />
<br />
Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips in a bowl (I find that a rubber spatula works best). Don't measure "~" quantities (just eyeball it) because who wants to measure honey or peanut butter? Might need to adjust quantities, depending on humidity. Add more oats if too sticky, add more honey/peanut butter if too dry. <br />
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When mixture is at a consistency that allows you form a ball, add the chocolate chips and mix to combine. Roll into balls. This makes about 15 balls that are approximately 2-3 Tablespoons big. But it doesn't matter. Just make them however big you want. If you are having trouble rolling them, you can also refrigerate for a half hour and roll after. <br />
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Keep refrigerated (tastes better cold anyway). Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-50712581929660407862017-07-09T23:47:00.000-06:002017-07-09T23:49:59.025-06:00Baked Pinto Bean and Swiss Chard Burritos (ATK)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is one of our favorite dinners. foodforscot 2015 and prior contained food <b><i>for</i></b> scot. Meaning, I primarily cooked all the recipes. Because recipes made <b><i>by</i></b> scot never made the blog. I mean, I could show you how to make a bowl of cereal, but I just didn't. <br />
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Boy, has he come a long way. Mostly because children need to eat food frequently and regularly, so waiting until mom** comes home and eating at 9 pm is no longer a viable option. But these burritos are in Scot's repertoire. And even better, Birk loves them. I LOVE when Birk loves food that has more than 2 ingredients in combination. <br />
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These are filled primarily with rice, Swiss chard, and pinto beans. The Swiss chard is stewed in a tomato sauce, which makes it super tender and sweet. Out of all the greens, Swiss chard is not too bitter to begin with, but it is as mild as spinach in this preparation (<i>I know, I should rewrite this sentence...it is the <span style="color: purple;"><b>worst</b></span></i>). The filling is, most importantly, flavorful with specific and well tested measurements of spices and salt, which is Scot's favorite kind of recipe. <br />
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We also love that the burritos are "baked". Everything inside the burrito is fully cooked and ready to eat, but after assembling, you sprinkle with a little cheese (these have more than I prefer, but I am not picky if someone is cooking dinner for me). Then, you place under the broiler for only a few minutes to get the tortilla and cheese golden brown. And you never leave that broiler's side. In fact, keep the door open and just sit and watch. The window of when broiling transitions from perfect to burnt is nearly 0.5 seconds. </div>
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Lastly, we like to eat with some guacamole. My current recipe for guacamole these days is mashed very smooth and seasoned with salt, lime, and garlic powder. Recently I was preparing some avocado toast and was stuck with a pretty bad, green tasting avocado (although texture was fine). I added some plain yogurt and it actually sort of fixed it. Finally, I like to shake on some green Tabasco on every bite. </div>
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Oh actually more. Birk did not love these the first five-ish times he ate them. I just wanted to make that clear. After enough "experience" with this meal, he will even eat these at room temperature in his lunch box. And they are great reheated too. I <b><i>have</i></b> to stop writing about these burritos because my enthusiasm is starting to make me uncomfortable. They are burritos. You get it. </div>
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<b>Baked Pinto Bean and Swiss Chard Burritos</b></div>
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<i>recipe from "The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook", America's Test Kitchen*</i><br />
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2¼ cups vegetable broth, divided<br />
¾ cup brown rice, rinsed<br />
6 cloves garlic, minced, divided<br />
1 teaspoon kosher salt<br />
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro<br />
1 tablespoon vegetable oil<br />
1 onion, finely chopped<br />
3 tablespoons tomato paste<br />
1 teaspoon minced chipotle chile in adobo sauce<br />
1 tablespoon ground cumin<br />
1 teaspoon dried oregano<br />
1 lb. Swiss chard, stemmed and sliced into 1-inch wide strips<br />
1½ cups cooked pinto beans (1 15 oz. can), rinsed, divided<br />
1 tablespoon lime juice<br />
6-7 10-inch flour tortillas<br />
10 oz. Monterey jack cheese, shredded (about 2½ cups), divided<br />
<br />
In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, combine 1¼ cups of the broth, the
rice, half of the garlic, and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Bring to a boil. Cover,
reduce the heat to low and cook until the rice is tender and the broth has been
absorbed, about 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 10
minutes. Add the cilantro and fluff with a fork to incorporate. Cover to keep
warm.<br />
<br />
Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add
onion and cook until just beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Stir in the
tomato paste, chipotle, cumin, oregano, remaining garlic, and the
remaining ½ teaspoon of salt. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the
chard and ½ cup of the broth, cover and simmer until the chard is tender,
about 15 minutes.<br />
<br />
Using a potato masher or a fork, coarsely mash half of the beans with the
remaining ½ cup of broth in a bowl, then stir into the pot. Cook, stirring
constantly, until the liquid is nearly evaporated, about 3 minutes. Off the
heat, stir in the lime juice and remaining whole beans. Cover to keep warm.<br />
<br />
Adjust an oven rack to 6 inches underneath the broiler element and heat the
broiler. Wrap tortillas in a damp dish towel and microwave until warm and
pliable, about 1 minute. Lay warm tortillas on a work surface. Mound warm rice,
chard-bean mixture and 1½ cups of the cheese in the center of the tortillas,
close to the bottom edge. Working with 1 tortilla at a time, fold the sides of
the tortilla over the filling, then fold up the bottom of the tortilla, pulling
back on it firmly to tightly wrap around the filling and into a burrito.<br />
<br />
Place the burritos seam side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the
remaining 1 cup of cheese over the top. Broil until the cheese is melted and
starting to brown, 3-5 minutes. Serve warm with guacamole.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<o:p><i> *I copied the text of this recipe from (<a href="http://thehouseofnashrecipes.blogspot.com/2015/04/baked-pinto-bean-and-swiss-chard.html">http://thehouseofnashrecipes.blogspot.com/2015/04/baked-pinto-bean-and-swiss-chard.html</a>) because I didn't want to type it out myself but I just use the cookbook! It is definitely the best cookbook I have ever owned. </i></o:p></div>
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<o:p><i>**Just curious your thoughts on me referring to myself in the third person, as mom? It is a little uncomfortable but you like it, right?</i></o:p></div>
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
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<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Level 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-52298793246075705242017-06-16T23:45:00.000-06:002017-06-16T23:45:18.986-06:00Tuna Onigiri<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ieEpEX3EiXA/WUSxDaBkZTI/AAAAAAAAzR0/fcTqAJEndNURen71EZ7KvopCNzg1GQd5wCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_9936.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ieEpEX3EiXA/WUSxDaBkZTI/AAAAAAAAzR0/fcTqAJEndNURen71EZ7KvopCNzg1GQd5wCLcBGAs/s640/IMG_9936.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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I am a huge fan of Japanese cuisine. Sushi, obviously. But I find it to be such a comforting food culture. We got to take a trip to Kyoto two winters ago and it is BY FAR my favorite place I have traveled. NYC would be a close second. The people were so welcoming. The three of us idiots knew no Japanese and were very ill-prepared, but never felt like we were a nuisance or unwelcome. But the food. The food was everything I want. Kyoto is particularly known for tofu and vegetarian dishes, but you can find all the typical Japanese food that tourists are looking for like sushi, ramen, soba, tempura, etc.</div>
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What I found so fun is eating at convenience stores and grocery stores. Here is some stuff we got from a grocery store:</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_kG5AvrvQM0/WUS1soQ9ewI/AAAAAAAAzSE/-6w-QRXicOgwJQCy09hV-X2T8TUes_m6wCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_9056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_kG5AvrvQM0/WUS1soQ9ewI/AAAAAAAAzSE/-6w-QRXicOgwJQCy09hV-X2T8TUes_m6wCLcBGAs/s640/IMG_9056.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Those maki rolls have WAY too much rice (<i>as I write about a recipe that is literally a ball of rice</i>), but I will forgive them this time. The rest was super good and very affordable. That box of assorted sushi was less than $5. On the far left, that is Inari sushi. It is sushi rice wrapped in this thin piece of tofu that is coated in a sweet glaze. Birk's fave. </div>
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One of my favorite convenience store/grocery store snacks is the Onigiri. In the picture below, you can see the 3 Onigiri triangles in the top right corner. The only trouble we had was that there were so many different types of fillings and our phone translators didn't do a good job telling us what they were! Surprise every time. </div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e9hWvsrBx-E/WUS1gIRWagI/AAAAAAAAzSI/OmZzDyzTEcUq7fAuLJUHnwQ7_MF_5oxZQCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_9003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e9hWvsrBx-E/WUS1gIRWagI/AAAAAAAAzSI/OmZzDyzTEcUq7fAuLJUHnwQ7_MF_5oxZQCEwYBhgL/s640/IMG_9003.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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So what is Onigiri? It is a triangle ball of rice, filled with fish or veggies, and wrapped in nori. The rice is typically not seasoned like sushi rice, but could be. A very friendly filling is a tuna salad, so that is what the recipe below has in it. It seems so simple, but what does it for me is the crunchy nori. </div>
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You can make these two ways. The first way is above, using a fancy wrapper (which you can buy <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U321JMS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1" target="_blank">here</a>). The wrapper prevents the rice from touching the nori, which is what makes it crunchy. These Onigiri are available everywhere in Japan and I have also seen them in big cities like San Francisco and NYC. They are such a great snack. I loved them for breakfast. The second way is in the photo below, just wrapping a normal piece of nori around the rice ball. The nori will remain crunchy if you eat it right away or if you keep the nori separate from the rice ball until ready to eat. Or if you want the same texture as sushi (soft nori), you can wrap in advance.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VLG3XWG22To/WUSxBUvrI6I/AAAAAAAAzRs/l1Qvyz18F3Aol4cyiTfJeh1h17m8mhjDwCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_9938.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-VLG3XWG22To/WUSxBUvrI6I/AAAAAAAAzRs/l1Qvyz18F3Aol4cyiTfJeh1h17m8mhjDwCEwYBhgL/s640/IMG_9938.jpg" width="640" /> </a></div>
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The fun of Onigiri for me is unwrapping it. Genius packaging! Here is a video of me unwrapping and eating it. Trigger warning: 1. horrible video; 2. horrible audio; 3. sort of weird, right?</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jfYaRQ0mfIU/WUSxCp7TFhI/AAAAAAAAzRw/P2McGpsPsxc7oV5tnSR_UNg2Y1yauQa0QCEwYBhgL/s1600/IMG_9933.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a> </div>
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NWLR0PUam3w/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NWLR0PUam3w?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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I like to eat with a little soy sauce, as shown in the video. Other typical fillings include flaked, cooked salmon or a preserved plum. I honestly wish I didn't have to make these and could just buy for $1 anywhere, as is the case in Japan. But they are so satisfying that I will continue to make them until I move to Japan. </div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wD1lxx6xZKY/WUS_-jsxvRI/AAAAAAAAzSU/4SpcpSTHsiQyYUF_VArVjN9rYW6d3JD1QCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_8877.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="480" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wD1lxx6xZKY/WUS_-jsxvRI/AAAAAAAAzSU/4SpcpSTHsiQyYUF_VArVjN9rYW6d3JD1QCLcBGAs/s640/IMG_8877.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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PS: I know my photography skills are problematic! I will work on it. I swear I will not hold every thing I make up to our window and take a back lit photo. Did you hear the videos? </div>
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<b>Onigiri (filled with Tuna)</b><br />
<i>by foodforscot</i><br />
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3 cups of cooked sushi/short grain white rice (~1.5 uncooked)<br />
3 full sheets of nori roasted seaweed, cut into thirds (or ~7-9 seaweed wrappers, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U321JMS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1" target="_blank">here</a>)<br />
1 can of tuna, liquid drained<br />
2 tbsp of mayo<br />
2 tbsp of chopped pickles<br />
1/4 tsp of garlic powder<br />
salt and pepper to taste<br />
1 tbsp-1/4 cup of sesame seeds<br />
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Prep your rice: If you need directions on how to cook steamed rice without a rice cooker, see <a href="http://www.japanesecooking101.com/steamed-rice-recipe/" target="_blank">this</a> recipe. I would recommend that you use a rice cooker because it will always do it better than you. I have this <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cuisinart-CRC-400-Cooker-Stainless-Steel/dp/B0001XAG8W/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1497672589&sr=8-5&keywords=rice+cooker+4+cup" target="_blank">Cuisinart model</a> and it has horrible reviews because if you make more than 2 cups, it overflows and makes a pretty big mess. However, it STILL makes better rice than me so I have been using it for almost 10 years. How am I old enough to EVEN say that. This is how you write recipes, right?<br />
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Prep your filling: mix together tuna, mayo, pickles, and garlic powder. Use a fork to mash up tuna so there are not big chunks. Season with lots of pepper, and salt to taste.<br />
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Prep your nori: if you are using regular nori sheets, cut each sheet into three pieces. If you are using the wrappers to allow you store and eat later, get all the annoying stickers ready. <br />
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Assemble!<br />
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Use a mold (<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00U321JMS/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&th=1" target="_blank">here</a>): rub your surface with water and sprinkle with a little salt. Place mold on top. Place cooked rice to fill half the triangle mold and press to compress. Add a few spoonfuls of tuna mixture. Fill the rest of the mold with rice and press to compress. Sprinkle or roll is sesame seeds, and wrap in nori or wrapper.<br />
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Here is a video that shows what I just wrote (your choice if you want to be soothed by the audio):<br />
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<iframe width="320" height="266" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/dZs90v52IR0/0.jpg" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dZs90v52IR0?feature=player_embedded" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
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Without a mold: Rub your hands with a little water. Sprinkle salt on hands rub together. Grab about <1/4 cup of cooked rice. Using a cupping motion with both hands, form ball. Make a small indentation in the middle and fill with a spoonful of tuna mixture. Redip your hands in a bit of water and add another <1/4 cup of rice to cover the tuna mixture. The amount of rice doesn't need to be exact. 1/3-1/2 cups of rice per Onigiri seems reasonable. Those numbers seem off based on the video. Continue to mold using a cupping motion with your hands. Once ball is formed, you can form into a triangle. Just watch the video this is impossible to explain. Sprinkle or roll is sesame seeds, and wrap in nori or wrapper.<br />
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Here is a video that shows what I just wrote (one of the creepier things I have done, also audio is optional and probably should be avoided):<br />
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-50411484865301041992017-06-11T23:35:00.003-06:002017-06-11T23:36:39.606-06:00Healthy School Treats<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Yikes. A lot of life happened. Super cute that my last post was "How I fed my baby during his first year". Baby is now in preschool and I am still nearly as anxious that I am going to destroy him by feeding him the wrong food. Something I am well aware I am worrying too much about but we all need something to spend our time on.<br />
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I have wanted to make it back to writing and sharing recipes so many times. In fact, I have drafted many posts and later deleted them. So, I figured, let's start with baby steps. Healthy School Treats.<br />
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Birk just finished his third year of "preschool". And guess how many schools hes been at? Four. Oh, man. And, I have been so lucky to find schools with good, healthy food policies. Amazing teachers. I have loved his schools SO much. However, the thing I still can't get on board with is school treats. There are holidays, celebrations, and 75 birthdays each semester, and they so often bring with them a hugely celebratory treat. I am ok with Birk celebrating a relevant occasion with dessert, but I just don't think that needs to happen at school. It seems that there is one per week!<br />
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However, instead of being a party pooper, I thought that I could at least come up with some healthy school treats. I have sent these three different treats to school with great success. And these were tested on a group of 3-6 year olds who are used to getting real treats for other birthdays and holidays. The three are:<br />
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1. Berries - strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. The kids liked them so much, they requested the leftovers for their second snack. Seems simple, maybe a little expensive for some, but a huge hit.<br />
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2. Frozen yogurt covered banana - these were super popular. The teachers said the kids had so much fun eating these. See recipe below and photo above.<br />
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3. Raspberries with a dark chocolate chip inside. I got this idea from Annie's Eats, as she puts these as a treat in her kid's lunch boxes sometimes. I sent these for valentine's day in a tiny paper cup. A serving was 3, because raspberries are very expensive. But sometimes when a treat arrives in a small portion, it tastes so much better. The kids also loved these. See photo below!<br />
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Next time, I will return with adult human food. <br />
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<b>Frozen Yogurt Covered Bananas</b><br />
<i>makes 3 pops (math for more)</i> <br />
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1 banana (make sure they are ripe! not green but not mushy yet. )<br />
1 cup of whole milk yogurt<br />
1-2 tbsp of honey<br />
sprinkles (I like <a href="https://www.amazon.com/India-Tree-Natures-Carnival-Sprinkles/dp/B01GP3AZQY/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1497244637&sr=8-1&keywords=sprinkles+natural" target="_blank">these</a>)<br />
3 Popsicle sticks<br />
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Cut the banana into three equal pieces. Insert a popsicle stick into each piece and set on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Make sure the baking sheet can fit in your freezer!<br />
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Whisk together yogurt and honey in a bowl or a cup suitable for dipping. Taste and adjust sweetness to your liking (doesn't need to be very sweet, though, because bananas are so sweet). Dip each banana on a stick into the yogurt mixture and return to baking sheet. Once finished dipping, sprinkle with sprinkles.<br />
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Place in freezer uncovered overnight or until completely frozen. Once they are completely hardened, you can put them in a freezer safe bag until you are ready to deliver to school. They can all be placed in a gallon size bag together, they do not stick for me (as long as they aren't allowed to melt and refreeze!). <br />
<br />Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-61660856905837898682014-04-18T15:04:00.000-06:002014-04-18T15:04:02.580-06:00How I Fed my Baby during his First Year<div>
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I put a lot of thought into how I would feed Birk. However, this post is not intended to put pressure on you to feed your own offspring in any particular way. I am passionate about food and eating the real stuff and the right stuff. It is important to me. A few people have asked me to share recipes and ideas for what I did with Birk. Here it goes (of course, this is long, what do you expect!)<br />
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I do have to say, I had a couple of rules that I followed throughout the process:</div>
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1. Don't feed him anything that I can't eat myself.</div>
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2. Focus on vegetables.</div>
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3. Avoid fruit by itself.</div>
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4. Try to keep meal time fun and light. Don't get frustrated.<br />
5. Avoid dairy.<br />
6. Avoid bland food, white food, empty carbs (obviously).<br />
7. Obviously no sugar, white flour, or food with no nutrients. <br />
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<span style="text-align: center;"><b>0-6.5 months</b></span><br />
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Birk was on a milk only diet. He nursed approximately every five minutes. Kidding. He was not on a schedule but it was every 1-4 hours including through the night. Between 1-3 months, he slept pretty well at night so he would go 5 or 6 hour stretches without eating. But once he was around 4 months, he nursed at least every 3 hours through the night. Conclusion. Lots of milk. I will forever miss this because a milk only diet is so easy. You don't have to pack food, make food, worry about food. </div>
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<b>6.5-7 months</b></div>
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Day 1 - Avocado pieces</div>
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Birk tried non-milk food. This did not go so well. We wanted to start with avocado. And I had read a lot about baby led weaning. Where you let your baby feed themselves and skip the puree phase. I am oversimplifying the whole thing, but you can read about it elsewhere if you are interested. I put a few pieces of avocado on Birk's plate and let him put it in his own mouth. He didn't. Despite putting every other non-edible thing he touches in his mouth, he wasn't interested. I took a little piece and put it in his mouth (against all the rules of baby led weaning). He gagged, which then caused him to choke, which then caused him to puke what seemed like 5 gallons of milk out onto the tray. What a great start! It was so scary. The video above is after all of that happened...</div>
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Day 2 - Avocado Soup</div>
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Day 3 - Avocado Soup with Dad</div>
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Let't try pureeing! After a few days (or the next day), we tried again. I mashed up an avocado and mixed it heavily with breast milk. I call this, avocado soup. After trying this many times, he started hating it less. Avocado is nice and fatty, however, it is not sweet at all. And if you taste breast milk (at least the foodforscot variety), it is very sweet. You can see in the Day 2 and Day 3 videos that he ate maybe a tablespoon and was overall not super interested in the whole thing.<br />
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<b>Logistics:</b><br />
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-More or less mass chaos. <br />
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<b>How much and how frequent?</b><br />
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NON-MILK: 1 tsp. to 1 tbsp. each meal; 1 meal each day or every other day.<br />
MILK: every three hours.</div>
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<b>7-8 months</b></div>
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Second Taste Ever - Butternut Squash Puree</div>
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Third Taste Ever - Oats (mixed with Apples and Cinnamon)</div>
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During this month, I started to experiment with different types of purees, but all the purees were mild, easy flavors. You will notice in the Butternut Squash video, that he still had a hearty gag reflex. He kept that for many months. </div>
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For the first part of the month, I was only feeding him once per day. And it was at various times. Towards the end of the month, I would occasionally feed him twice in one day. However, he hardly ever ate much at both meals. Here is what I tried in order:</div>
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-Butternut squash, roasted, pureed. This was not hated, but not loved. </div>
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-Cooked whole oats, mixed with our summer apple* sauce and cinnamon, then pureed. This is still to this day his favorite thing to eat. This is the first thing he ate that he seemed to like.</div>
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-Pumpkin, roasted, mixed with cooked brown rice, pureed. This was a favorite.</div>
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-Potato & Carrot either roasted or boiled, then pureed with salt, pepper, and butter. This was a favorite.</div>
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-Cooked whole oats, mixed with banana*, pureed. This was rejected for the most part. </div>
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-Cooked whole oats, mixed with cooked peaches*, pureed. This was a favorite. <br />
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Carrot and Potatoes, a silky smooth puree</div>
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*Anything made with fruit was minimally sweet. In fact, I often made a big pot of oatmeal for all of us and then had to add brown sugar to mine to really enjoy it. The apple sauce we made is the full apple, we did not peel the apples. Obviously no sugar or added anything. <br />
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<b>Logistics</b>:<br />
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-At this point, we all ate oatmeal every day and just pureed some for Birk. <br />
-Purees were saved in the fridge, as I was still determining what he liked and would eat. <br />
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<b>How much and how frequent?</b><br />
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NON-MILK: 1-2 ounces each meal; 1-2 meals per day.<br />
MILK: every three hours.<br />
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<b>8-9 months</b><br />
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This is how he eats if it is something he has had many times before.</div>
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This is how he eats if it is something new. </div>
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During this phase, I started to introduce green vegetables now that he was capable of putting food in his mouth and swallowing. Something that apparently did not come naturally to him. At this point, he was consistently eating twice a day, always in the morning and then at lunch or dinner or some time in between. When feeding him purees, I preferred to feed him while I was cooking or before I ate. But I would occasionally feed him during the meal time too. We continued with purees, here were the new ones:</div>
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-Delicata Squash, roasted, mixed with cooked millet, seasoned with salt, pepper, thyme (optional), pureed. This was a favorite.</div>
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-Acorn Squash, roasted, mixed with brown rice, seasoned with salt, pepper, pureed. Liked it.</div>
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-Sautéed Kale mixed with roasted Sweet Potatoes, pureed. Anything mixed with sweet potatoes was a favorite hardcore. I also did this with spinach, which is a much smoother puree.</div>
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-Boiled potatoes mixed with sweet corn (frozen from the summer), seasoned with salt, pepper, and butter, pureed. Liked it fine.</div>
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-Roasted carrots and turnips, seasoned with salt and pepper, pureed. Liked it fine.<br />
-Mashed avocado.<br />
-Cooked whole oats, mixed with blueberries, pureed. Liked it.<br />
-Lots of other combos of: acorn squash, spinach, broccoli, millet, brown rice, pumpkin, other winter squashes, potatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes, etc. <br />
-Avocado pureed with boiled potatoes. <br />
-Butternut Squash and Oats, pureed. <br />
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Blueberry Oats on the face</div>
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The Oatmeal! Mom and Birk versions</div>
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Butternut Squash & Potato, Butternut Squash and Oats, Avocado & Potato</div>
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<b>Logistics</b>:<br />
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-Oatmeal was made every 3-4 days. I would make a big pot for all of us, the portion out 3-5 servings for Birk that were kept in the fridge. I put them in 4 ounce canning jars. <br />
-Purees were generally made "in bulk". I would save a few portions in the fridge in the 4 ounce canning jars. I put the rest in a silicon mold which froze 4 ounce portions. I kept the frozen portions in freezer bags. I usually had 4-6 options for him at any time in the freezer.<br />
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<b>How much and how frequent?</b><br />
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NON-MILK: 2-3 ounces each meal; 2 times a day.<br />
MILK: every three hours. <br />
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<b>9-10 months</b><br />
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Birk starts to really enjoy meal time, savors his bites. </div>
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Birk eating a very pureed food (amaranth, apricot, banana).</div>
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Birk eating non-pureed oats for the first. </div>
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Birk eating millet, spinach, and basil.</div>
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During this phase, I started to introduce more sophisticated flavors and textures. He got his first taste of beans and lentils. At this point, we were giving him a chance to eat three times a day. When we started three times a day, he consistently only ate well two of those times. The other time he would eat maybe a bite or two and then not be interested. This happened for about 3 months. At this point, he did not respond well to texture. This is when I first tried to not puree his oats or to feed him whole millet mixed with a puree. When these were introduced, I would give it to him 3, 4 times and he would not eat them or much. Sometimes I would go back to pureeing and try the non-pureed again. Sometimes I would continue to try. Either way, it took about a month for him to get used to the texture and start eating more than a few bites. <br />
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At this point, he was also being tested for his iron levels at his well visits. Although they were not low, they were not high. I did various this at this point to try to help with this including: adding apricot and prune purees into his oatmeal, adding greens, beans, cooking in a cast iron skillet, etc. I also love using millet. It is such a fast grain to cook (compared to rice) and has a totally neutral flavor. Here were some new dishes we tried:<br />
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-Millet, zucchini, basil, apple sauce, pureed or everything chopped super fine. <br />
-Boil dried apricots or prunes in water until very soft. Puree. Freeze in ice cube tray. Add to dishes as needed.<br />
-Cranberry beans and brown rice, pureed. All the beans I made for Birk from dry. It is important when giving babies beans to give then plenty of time to cook. Soak over night. Rinse. Boil for 2 hours. The soaking and long cooking helps with gas and keeps the texture very soft. Birk has always liked beans.<br />
-Steamed asparagus and cooked millet, pureed. Seasoned with salt, pepper. Not a favorite.<br />
-Spinach, basil, millet, pureed. <br />
-Cooked lentils, kabocha pumpkin, seasoned with oregano, salt, and pepper. This was a favorite. Scot claims that this tastes like Sugar Cookies, however, no one agrees with him. <br />
-Cooked amaranth, pear, and pumpkin, pureed. This was intended to give him some variety at breakfast. He liked it. <br />
-Cooked amaranth, banana, apricot, pureed. He ate it well at first, but seemed to get sick of it. <br />
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Left: Avocado face. Right: Thanksgiving dinner (mashed potatoes, butternut squash/kale puree, pumpkin puree-dessert)</div>
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Birk's first restaurant food - Carrot Ginger Soup from a vegan restaurant</div>
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<b>Logistics</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
-same as last month.<br />
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<b>How much and how frequent?</b><br />
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NON-MILK: 4 ounces per meal; 2-3 times per day. <br />
MILK: every 3-4 hours.<br />
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<b>10-11 months</b><br />
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Up until this point, he really didn't put food in his mouth. This is him self feeding.</div>
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Then, he FINALLY puts food in his own mouth. Avocado. </div>
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The start of self feeding for us! This was by far the most difficult stage of eating. At this point, Birk was just getting his first four teeth, not that they help much anyway. But I found it very difficult to find food that he could feed himself but that also followed my rules. Not to mention, he just didn't put food in his mouth. At this point, I was still mostly doing purees but giving him finger food at every meal. Here are the finger foods that I found worked best for his novice pincer grip (he didn't have one at all, see above video for the method he developed):<br />
<br />
-oat pancakes (<a href="http://www.babyledweaning.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=24999" target="_blank">this</a> recipe, but I used a Chia egg and apple sauce for the liquid). I made a full batch and froze them. They lasted about 3 months. I thought he would devour these, as they are all his favorite flavors. He didn't, however, they were tempting enough for him to practice feeding himself. They were very convenient to have in the freezer.<br />
-avocado. Perfectly soft. Difficult to grab, but ended up being the winner for Birk. After enough practice, he really perfected his technique of eating avocado. This has been his all time favorite, go to food. See above video. <br />
-pieces of bread dipped in a veggie sauce. He would have trouble if they were too soggy, so to encourage him to feed himself, I'd give him the plain bread. Then the next piece would have a little sauce on it. Repeat as necessary. The veggie sauce could be any pureed veggie, soup, etc. We eat lots of stuff like this so I just pureed whatever I had. <br />
-roasted root veggies - carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc. I tried turnips, beets, rutabagas, and other similar root veggies and found they do not get very soft when roused. I preferred to cut them into small pieces prior to roasting because the skin that formed when roasting helped him pick up the pieces. However, sometimes that skin made me nervous too so I would remove it before giving it to him. <br />
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Otherwise, purees were similar:<br />
<br />
-veggie purees mixed directly with millet.<br />
-always mixing green veggies like spinach, kale, and broccoli with either sweet potato or butternut squash. Cutting it with a grain also helped.<br />
-his oats were now whole! always! so much easier! We stopped pureeing grains, in general. <br />
-he liked anything pureed with lentils. Lentils puree up much better than beans. <br />
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Overall, Birk was very bad at feeding himself this entire time. This was a difficult transition for all of us!<br />
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One method was to let him eat directly off the plate. Worked this time!</div>
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<b>Logistics</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
-for oatmeal, we would just make 1 cup of oats for Birk and portion it out in the 4 ounce canning jars. We would do this every 4-5 days. <br />
-For any puree or pseudo puree, I was still freezing batches, as before. But often times I would just have enough for a few days in the fridge.<br />
-I would also freeze roasted veggies and the oat pancakes. An important tip with freezing these types of things, you need to lay them out and flash freeze them on a baking tray before transferring to a freezer bag or container. That way you can easily retrieve pieces.<br />
<br />
<b>How much and how frequent?</b><br />
<br />
NON-MILK: 4 ounces per meal; 2-3 times per day. (and maybe less, this was a rough patch)<br />
MILK: every 3-4 hours.<br />
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<b>11-12 months</b><br />
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Dipping roasted sweet potatoes into a pureed lima bean sauce.</div>
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This is very often how meal time goes. </div>
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Self feeding started to pick up here. We were traveling a lot during this period which changed our habits a bit. Although he allowed us to spoon feed him his oatmeal in the morning, it was around this time that he did not want to be spoon fed purees. He wanted to feed himself! I found a lot of great finger foods for him during this time:<br />
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-sticky brown rice (or while traveling, any rice)<br />
-tofu - he loves tofu. I would season it up with different spices: cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, etc. He ate it in different asian sauces that we were eating. <br />
-black beans, cranberry beans - cooked from dry. Overcooked so they split and so they were very soft. Tip: store beans in their liquid so they don't dry out. Even while feeding him, I kept the beans in a bowl of liquid. <br />
-roasted sweet potatoes continued to be a favorite. I started dipping them in veggie sauces so that he could get other veggies in. See video above. <br />
-avocado is our go to emergency food.<br />
-started give him little pasta shells with different veggie sauces: pestos, spinach/tomato, tomato, etc. I started with brown rice, gluten free pasta. It is very soft. He loves pasta. <br />
-hard boiled egg yolks. He was a big fan however, they are difficult to eat. I almost always was feeding him something else with the yolks, so often I would just coat the other food in the yolk pieces.<br />
-Started making veggie curries with boiled veggies (all the root veggies, since thats what we had from our CSA) and mixing with coconut curries. <br />
-banana - out of pure desperation when we were traveling, Birk started eating bananas. It is the one and only food that is finger food friendly and available EVERYWHERE. At first, he would eat about a quarter. One time he ate the whole thing. Usually he eats half. He doesn't actually seem to love bananas actually, but he will eat them.<br />
-fish - tried halibut and salmon. It is a good finger food and he did like it. <br />
-steamed broccoli with sauce (I would add it to pastas). A very good finger food. Not his favorite, but he is coming around.<br />
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Left: Birk eat avocado. Right: Birk eating/squishing beans. </div>
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<b>Logistics</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
-nothing to freeze anymore. <br />
-hardboiled eggs were cooked ahead of time and kept in the fridge.<br />
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<b>Traveling Tips</b><br />
<br />
-Always had a banana and avocado.<br />
-Bought packets of instant oats. Individual containers of unsweetened, organic apple sauce.<br />
-We went to Hawaii for a week, but were gone from home a total of 2 weeks. I bought some emergency squeezable pouches because there were plenty of moments when it was impossible to find something for him to eat. My research led to me <a href="http://www.sproutorganicfoods.com/" target="_blank">this</a> brand. Per my rule #1, yes I did eat every single one I gave him. Even though the flavors I bought weren't bad, he did not eat much. And I didn't give him any that were pure fruit. It helped us in a pinch. Some of them have nice mixes of greens and fruit, which were a favorite of me and Birk. He also liked pure sweet potato, which I bought with the intension of mixing into some rice at a restaurant.<br />
-Vegetarian restaurants almost always had lots of option for Birk.<br />
-Almost any ethnic restaurant (in other words, non-American food) usually has some stewed veggie dish with rice<br />
-Whenever I go out with Birk, when possible, I bring food with me. <br />
<br />
<b>How much and how frequent?</b><br />
<br />
NON-MILK: 4 ounces per meal; 3 times per day. <br />
MILK: every 4 hours; sometimes he sleeps 5-6 hours at night without nursing.<br />
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<b>1 year!</b><br />
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Orzo with Spinach pesto and roasted red peppers. </div>
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Birk eating Chana Masala (I made and brought to restaurant) on his first birthday.</div>
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Birk is just starting to try to use a spoon.</div>
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It is amazing to watch his journey in eating. Amazing and like really hard. My Rule #4 is a hard one. After making Birk food, I have to muster up all that is in me to NOT get frustrated when he throws it on the floor or feeds to Copper. Now a days, he eats quite well at the beginning of the meal. But resorts to throwing and feeding Copper once his initial hunger subsides. Right now, I tell him not to do it and motion that he should put the food in his mouth. He usually listens and puts the next bite in his mouth. Repeat a few times. Then eventually, he just sits and enjoys the rest the meal as an observer. This might change at some point, but that is how it is going now. <br />
<br />
-The Veggie Sauce - 1 jar of tomato sauce (20 + ounces), 1 jar of water, 1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, chopped into pieces, 1 head of broccoli, chopped into pieces. Put all in pot. Bring to a boil. Boil until tender. Puree with stick blender. Put on pasta, rice, veggies, or use as a dip. You can add apple sauce if necessary. Season with salt and pepper.<br />
-Cauliflower/Spinach sauce - Boil chopped up cauliflower in water or veggie stock (enough liquid to just cover). Once it is very tender, blend with immersion blender….add dijon, half of a cup of shredded cheese, several large handfuls of spinach. Blend again until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Put on pasta, rice, veggies, or use as a dip.<br />
-Scrambled eggs. He loves them, I plan to add spinach soon.<br />
-Roasted red peppers. He really liked them at first. <br />
-Chickpeas are one of his favorite beans. I cook from dry in big batches.<br />
-Hummus - I make my own for him with basically chickpeas, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, and garlic. He eats on little pieces of bread right now.<br />
-Indian food - oh my…it has to be his favorite thing. He loves Chana Masala. All the stewed veggies in the different Indian sauces. Paneer is an obvious favorite. Rice. He likes it all.<br />
-Polenta. Cook polenta, pour into a brownie pan. Refrigerator until solid. Slice and then sauté in butter. Serve with a sauce or hummus. </div>
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-Whole wheat pasta. Orzo is a great cut (see above video). Or shells are good because they can hold a lot of sauce. Above he is eating orzo with a spinach pesto and roasted red peppers. </div>
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<br />
<b>Logistics</b><br />
<b><br /></b>
-nothing to freeze anymore. <br />
-hardboiled eggs were cooked ahead of time and kept in the fridge.<br />
<br />
<b>How much and how frequent?</b><br />
<br />
NON-MILK: 6 ounces per meal; 3 times per day. <br />
MILK: every 4-5 hours; more frequently at night; more consistently sleeping 5-6 hours at night without nursing. <br />
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<b>Reflections</b>:<br />
<br />
As of now, I still stand by my limited dairy and limited fruit rule. However, over the past three months, he has only gained one pound! When he was an immobile, milk chugging infant, he packed on the pounds. Now he is crazy, active, and always busy. I am happy with the amount he eats, but am always considering added some easy calories. My theory is that once kids start eating fruit and cheese, they will struggle to eat the healthy stuff. He is not a particularly adventurous eater. For the most part, I have to give him something 5, 10, 15 times before he will start really consuming it. I will let him taste fruit or cheese or yogurt, but I don't give it to him as part of his meal. I could consider including plain yogurt in his diet for all those bacterias. At some point, I will add fruit as a snack, but just not sure when that will be. I think I am going to permanently leave fruit out of meal time. We don't eat fruit as part of our meals, so that is easy enough. As you know, I am not a big cheese person, so that is also not much of an issue. <br />
<br />
What about sugar? I am still not sure when that will be introduced either. Definitely not until he understands the concept. Once that happens, we shall see. <br />
<br />
I made just about every recipe from this cookbook:<br />
<br />
http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Baby-Wholesome-Homemade-Delicious/dp/1416599185/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397854507&sr=1-4&keywords=baby+food+cookbook<br />
<br />
<b>Water</b><br />
<br />
Once I introduced food, I started giving Birk water to drink from a cup. Our Dr. was the first one who recommended not using a sippy cup. You can see his progression. He is pretty good at drinking from a water bottle with like a 1 inch diameter opening. He can also use a straw, which our Dr. said is good for speech development. Even though he enjoys drinking water, he is still quite bad at it. At a year, we are just periodically giving him water throughout the day and at meals. <br />
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Birk's first try drinking water.</div>
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Birk still learning to drink water out of a cup.</div>
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Birk gets better at drinking water out of a cup.</div>
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-55322529484616741552013-09-13T20:52:00.000-06:002013-09-13T20:52:19.453-06:00Italian Burrito<div style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
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I know what you are thinking..."That is the worst name." Italian Burrito. It doesn't sound, exactly, fancy. I spent some time (about 3 minutes) pondering the best name for this. Then, I stopped spending time pondering the name and ended up with Italian Burrito. <br />
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The only reason that I am fretting is...this is one of my favorite things I have had in a while. And the name definitely belittles how amazing this is. <br />
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Let me paint you a picture (©mametown). This is a wrap filled with Israeli couscous (i.e. pasta), sautéed eggplant, garlicky kale, roasted bell peppers, topped with a little shredded mozzarella cheese, marinara sauce, and grated parmesan. It you want a meal that is healthy but also not really, this is the meal for you. <br />
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Warning. I made the marinara from tomatoes I grew and roasted the peppers from our CSA. I have been shoveling so many raw tomatoes in my face over the course of the summer that I am now forced to cook them. The eggplant and kale came in our CSA this week too. So did the garlic. <br />
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Scot has a saying that I don't think I have shared yet on foodforscot. If something is really good, he says it is a "knock out home run." He says that but not as a joke. He has said it long before he became a dad, but now all the pieces are starting to fit together. <br />
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Ok, well, he actually didn't call this dish a knock out, home run. But that is because I ruined it. I made this one night that Scot was working late. I made it and ate it after baby bed time. And THEN Scot came home and I made him one. I always try to let Scot form his own opinion on a meal before giving him my opinion because he is a people pleaser and heavily influenced by my superb taste buds. This time, though, I was scarfing it down when he walked in and I said something like, "OMG, this is the best thing ever." In other words, knock out home run. <br />
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<b>Italian Burrito</b><br />
<i>by foodforscot</i><br />
<br />
1 eggplant (I used Rosa Bianca)<br />
1 cup Israeli couscous<br />
1 bunch kale (I used Tuscano kale), washed, de-stemmed, and torn into pieces<br />
1 clove of garlic, minced<br />
1 bell pepper, roasted, peeled, seeded, and sliced<br />
1 cup marinara<br />
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese<br />
¼ cup grated parmesan<br />
olive oil<br />
salt<br />
pepper<br />
4 whole wheat burrito tortillas<br />
<br />
Prepare all the separate burrito fillings.<br />
<br />
First, slice the eggplant and lay out in a single layer on a kitchen towel. Sprinkle each slice with salt and let sit for 15 minutes or longer. Turn each slice over and salt the other side. Let sit for 15 minutes or longer, on the new side. Once the eggplant slices have released some water, use another kitchen towel to pat dry and wipe excess salt off. <br />
<br />
In the meantime, combine the couscous with 2 cups of water and a dash of salt in a small saucepan. Bring to boil, remove lid, and let simmer until all the water has evaporated and couscous is tender. Remove from heat and set aside. <br />
<br />
Dice eggplant into cubes and sauté in olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Cook for about 10 minutes, tossing occasionally. Remove from heat and set aside.<br />
<br />
In the same pan over medium high heat, add some olive oil and the kale. Sauté for a few minutes until the kale has slightly wilted. Add the garlic and cook, stirring often, until the kale reaches desired cooked down-ness. <br />
<br />
Assemble the burrito. Warm the tortilla over a gas burner, in the microwave, or in the oven so that is pliable. Top with couscous, kale, eggplant, and roasted peppers. Sprinkle some mozzarella cheese, spoon on some marinara, and sprinkle with parmesan. Wrap it up burrito style. <br />
<br />
(Servings: 4, Prep time: 45 hr., Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Easy) <br />
<br />
<a href="http://sites.google.com/ItalianBurrito.pdf" target="_blank">Printable Version</a><br />
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<b><span style="color: purple;">foodforscot Ratings:</span></b><br />
<br />
Shanon (taste): 10/10<br />
Scot (taste): 9/10<br />
Effort: 3/5<br />
Dishwashing Effort: 3/5</div>
Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-65751945289737744162013-08-24T14:20:00.000-06:002013-08-24T14:20:34.551-06:00Summer Veggie Tacos<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Our last two weeks of CSA (see below) have been beautiful. So bountiful that we buy almost nothing from the grocery store. Is this a problem? No. Is this amazing? Yes. Veggies all the time!!!<br />
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And a first....potatoes! Potatoes are like a vegetarians guilty pleasure. Potatoes warm my soul. I have said that before when I have made potato soup, but it is so true. I am sure that potatoes are one of the most like-able foods in the Universe. <br />
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But I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new potatoes from our share. Red potatoes or yukon gold. Picked young and small, they are such a treat! They have not been provided as part of our share since they are not easy to come by. But I have picked through the bulk potatoes for sale to get all the small ones on my own. New potatoes or fully developed, they are still so good.<br />
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I have fond memories of digging for potatoes in the summer on the farm. Gene would run some machinery through the potato plants to loosen up the dirt. Then we would sit on the warm, dry ground and dig to find all the potatoes. My knees would be stained with dirt. My fingers nails were so dirty that only a couple hours swimming in the lake would make them clean again. It was always fun to see how much each plant produced. Sometime you would hit the jackpot. And then there was always the chance that you would accidentally touch the soft, mushy, quartered seed potato. <br />
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When my potatoes arrived in my share, I was inspired to make some veggie tacos with potatoes! The earthy potato was a great substitute for a meat or bean filling. (Protein, Shmotein)<br />
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I have made a version of these veggie tacos twice with my Week 11 and 12 produce. The taco above is a filling roasted potato, golden beets, and zucchini topped with a slaw. </div>
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This version is a filling of potatoes, eggplants, and corn topped with a tomato pico and queso fresco. <br />
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I have included a recipe below that is general for any root veggie filling with a variety of options for toppings. You could also do many other toppings that I did not list like: sour cream, other cheeses, avocado, guacamole, other salsas, etc. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 11: Oat bread, herbs, eggs, assorted tomatoes, nectarines, plums, peaches (not part of CSA), sliced tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, sungold tomatoes, salad mix, golden beets, cabbage, new potatoes, cucumbers, hot peppers, green bell peppers, sweet yellow pepper, kale, collards, sweet corn</td></tr>
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ARE YOU KIDDING ME?</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 12: apples, plums, eggs, yogurt, 20 lbs of tomatoes, maple oat bread (not part of CSA), escarole, kale, eggplant, wax beans, two heirloom tomatoes, cucumbers, yellow cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, sweet corn, green peppers, yellow peppers, 5 slicing tomatoes, thai eggplant.</td></tr>
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WOW. </div>
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<b>Summer Veggie Tacos</b><br />
<i> by foodforscot</i><br />
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<i> For filling:</i><br />
2-3 cups diced summer root veggies (new potatoes, golden beets, carrots, turnips, etc.)<br />
1-2 summer veggies (zucchini, eggplant (salt, let sit, and pat dry), green peppers, yellow summer squash, etc.) or ears of corn<br />
1 tsp of paprika<br />
1 tsp of cumin<br />
½ tsp of chili powder <br />
butter/olive oil<br />
salt<br />
pepper<br />
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<i> For toppings</i> (choose as many or as few as you’d like):<br />
Tomato pico de gallo (recipe below)<br />
Cabbage slaw (recipe below)<br />
Queso fresco (or cotija)<br />
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<i> For tacos:</i><br />
12 corn tortillas<br />
lime wedges<br />
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<i> For filling:</i> There are a few ways you can prepare the filling, depending on whether or not you want to turn on the oven. One option is toss the root veggies, spices, olive oil, salt, and pepper and spread out on a baking sheet. Bake at 425° for about 20 minutes. Then, add diced summer veggies to the baking sheet. Bake another 15-25 minutes or until the root veggies are tender and everything is golden. This method is easier, but hotter. <br />
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Option two is to only use the stove top and grill. For this method, you will want to blanch the root veggies. To do that, place them in a medium pot or sauce pan. Cover with water. Bring the pot to a boil and simmer until root veggies are tender. Drain and set aside. Using a cast iron fry pan, add some oil and butter over medium-high heat. Add potatoes and spices and brown (5-10 minutes, stir occasionally). All the summer veggies can be sliced, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper. Grill summer veggies over medium-high heat until softened and blackened (3-5 minutes per side). Corn can be blackened directly on the grill and then cut the kernels off the cob. Once root veggies are browned, add summer veggies and cook together for a few minutes before serving. This method is more work, a little less hot, and a little tastier. <br />
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<i> For toppings:</i> prepare your choice of toppings. Crumble cheeses. <br />
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<i> For tacos:</i> On the grill or directly over a gas burner, cook the corn tortillas until soft, pliable, and slightly charred. Top with filling, your choice of toppings and serve with a lime wedge. <br />
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(Servings: 4, Prep time: 30 min., Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Easy) <br />
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<b> Tomato Pico de Gallo</b><br />
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1 pint of cherry tomatoes, quartered<br />
¼ of a red onion, finely chopped<br />
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped<br />
juice of 1 lime<br />
salt and pepper<br />
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Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning.<br />
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Cabbage Slaw</b><br />
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½ head of cabbage, finely shredded<br />
1 green pepper, seeded and finely sliced<br />
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped<br />
1 green hot pepper, seeded and finely minced<br />
juice of 1 lime<br />
1-2 tsp of white wine vinegar<br />
1-2 tsp of olive oil<br />
salt and pepper<br />
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Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Taste and adjust seasoning. This tastes better if it is made several hours in advance (or up to a few days).</div>
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/SummerVeggieTacos.pdf" target="_blank">Printable Version</a></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">foodforscot Ratings:</span></b></div>
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Shanon (taste) : 7/10</div>
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Scot (taste): 7/10</div>
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Effort: 2/5</div>
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Dishwashing Effort: 2/5<br />
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-56316213912739118612013-08-17T14:09:00.001-06:002013-08-17T14:09:17.345-06:00Summer Pasta Puttanesca<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Scot and I celebrated our 5 year anniv. yesterday. I got nostalgic today and started looking through old photos and at all our wedding photos. I thought I'd write a post in honor of Scot! I don't think I have done that yet. </div>
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Scot is pretty cool. If you know him, you already have your mind made up on "who Scot is". But, no one knows the Scot, who I know. Obvious, maybe. But some people grew up with Scot and they might think of him as this crazy, social, friends-with-everyone Scot. Maybe you went to college with him, and you think of him as a funny, friendly, go-with-the-flow, soccer-playing Scot. Maybe you are related to Scot and think of him as a Goofy-loving, car-liner-upper, Vikings fan Scot. Maybe you went to grad school with Scot and think of him as a mountain-loving, sports-playing, fluid dynamicist Scot. We all have so many versions of ourselves. No one necessarily knows "the real" anyone...I am not saying I know "the real" Scot. I just know my Scot. </div>
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My Scot changes. He is not the same Scot I met in the math tutoring center. Or the same Scot I went to graduate school with. Or the same Scot I married 5 years ago. Or the same Scot I learned to golf, ice skate, hike, climb, bike, ski, cross country ski from. Or even the same Scot who sat with me for over 3 days as our baby decided to slowly, but surely, make his way out of my body. I mean, not that he had something else to do. Still, a different Scot. </div>
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But really, how do we define and write about a person like Scot. He isn't just a guy who loves chocolate. He isn't just a guy who seriously reads and looks at maps for fun. He isn't just a guy who can solve any problem regardless of the subject. </div>
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So who is my Scot? He is the definition of passionate. He has no medium. He is on or off. Black or white. He can only live in the present. Rarely interested in the past or future. He has his own timescale. One where everything important to him gets the time it deserves. He is adaptable, but not instantly. His emotions are strong and encompassing. He has never not "given it his all". This means he loves deeply, hurts deeply, and lives fully. People love Scot. All types of people. Which may be most important of all. </div>
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He is a great partner for me. I think I can definitely do another 5 years. So that's good. </div>
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When we got married, we had a wedding. Wedding planning isn't really Scot's thing. It is more like the opposite of his thing. If we were to get married NOW, wowzers, would we have a different wedding than the one we had. But the one we had was the one we had. Not the one we WOULD have. So, it was perfect for that. AND IT WAS SO MUCH FUN. During our ceremony, we promised to do a flower exchange each year on our anniv. It is really just another thing for Scot to have to remember. He is supposed to give me a single flower and I am supposed to put it in a vase. Not exactly fair, but it is ok. Here is the first five years and two non-positive years of this tradition. </div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Year -1: Engagement. One week after we got Copper. (Engagements are weird.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Year 0 - At Snow Mountain Ranch, Wedding day. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Year 1 - In Boulder, eating the ice cream we had at our wedding. Celebrated in Denver.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Year 2 - In Boston. Celebrated in Little Italy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Year 3 - In Fairfield, CT. Celebrated in NYC.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Year 4 - In Boulder, CO. Celebrated at Flagstaff House, where we ate for our engagement.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Year 5 - In Fairfield, CT. Celebrated at home with Pasta Puttanesca and Peach Pie. </span></div>
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Each year, we have done something totally different. You'll notice we didn't even have <i>the</i> vase because we weren't home two of the annivs. This year, we ate up the day with various forms of productivity, put baby to bed, and then made dinner and dessert. Dinner was Summer Pasta Puttanesca. It is a tomato sauce made with 1.5 lbs of cherry or grape tomatoes. Since I hoard those, I had plenty. The sauce is a chunky tomato sauce with olives and capers. The recipe calls for a short cut pasta, but if I buy pasta, I really like the fresh pasta at Whole Foods. It only comes in linguine, so that is what I used. A delicious summer pasta. </div>
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For dessert, I made peach pie. I have been thinking about peach pie for about 3 weeks. I am pretty sure that is normal. Scot gets mad when I make large quantities of dessert because he doesn't like to waste food and also can't not eat leftover dessert. But I couldn't take it anymore, I needed to make peach pie. I often do not like pies. I don't like pie filling that is thick and jelly like. And I think for a long time, that is the only kind of pies I knew. Therefore, I needed to make peach pie to see if I liked peach pie. Everyone else does!</div>
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Turns out, I like peach pie. My compromise was that I found and purchased a 6 inch pie pan. And I made a mini pie. The pic below has a mini pie, a paring knife (mini), and a pint of ice cream (mini). Once a year, I do make a pie. In the late summer, early fall, I usually make an apple pie. Warm apple pie with ice cream is definitely in my top 3 favorite desserts. But I have always made my crust with all butter. I can't do shortening. I can't. Except I did here. I was curious. The universal opinion on pie crusts is that half butter/half shortening gives the best flakey texture with all the buttery flavor. I had to try it. It is true. The shortening contributes a much better texture than an all butter crust. <br />
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To make a six inch pie, you will need to halve the recipe for a regular 8 or 9 inch pie crust. For the filling, you will need 2/3 times a regular pie filling. For my pie, I used Cook's Illustrated pie crust (half of a recipe similar to <a href="http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=4862" target="_blank">this</a>, but the one they published in the most recent mag is a little different...). And Smitten Kitchen's peach pie filling (2/3rds <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/07/peach-pie/" target="_blank">this</a> recipe). Cook's Illustrated filling was too high maintenance and Smitten's crust was all butter. Also, a lattice crust seems to be the crust of choice for peach pies, but I assembled this in the 10 minutes I had after I finished dinner, while Scot served up and set the table. </div>
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<b> Summer Pasta Puttanesca</b><br />
<i> from <a href="http://www.cooksillustrated.com/recipes/detail.asp?docid=40523" target="_blank">Cook’s Illustrated</a></i><br />
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3
tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil<br />
4
garlic cloves, minced<br />
1
tablespoon anchovy paste<br />
1/4
teaspoon red pepper flakes<br />
1/4
teaspoon dried oregano<br />
1 1/2
pounds grape or cherry tomatoes<br />
1
pound campanelle<br />
Salt<br />
1/2
cup pitted kalamata olives, chopped coarse<br />
3
tablespoons capers, rinsed and minced<br />
1/2
cup minced fresh parsley<br />
<br />
Combine oil, garlic, anchovy paste, pepper flakes, and oregano in bowl. Process tomatoes in blender until finely chopped but not pureed, 15 to 45 seconds. Transfer to fine-mesh strainer set in large bowl and let drain for 5 minutes, occasionally pressing gently on solids with rubber spatula to extract liquid (this should yield about 3/4 cup). Reserve tomato liquid in bowl and tomato pulp in strainer.<br />
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Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large pot. Add campanelle and 1 tablespoon salt and cook, stirring often, until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water, then drain campanelle and return it to pot.<br />
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While campanelle is cooking, cook garlic-anchovy mixture in 12-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring frequently, until garlic is fragrant but not brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomato liquid and simmer until reduced to 1/3 cup, 2 to 3 minutes. Add tomato pulp, olives, and capers; cook until just heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in parsley.<br />
<br />
Pour sauce over campanelle and toss to combine, adding reserved cooking water as needed to adjust consistency. Season with salt to taste. Serve immediately.<br />
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(Servings: 4, Prep time: 20 min., Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Easy) </div>
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/SummerPastaPuttanesca.pdf" target="_blank">Printable Version</a></div>
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<b><span style="color: purple;">foodforscot Ratings:</span></b></div>
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Shanon (taste): 8/10</div>
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Scot (taste): 8/10</div>
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Effort: 3/5</div>
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Dishwashing Effort: 4/5<br />
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-60629100531466518662013-08-11T14:51:00.001-06:002013-08-11T14:51:10.526-06:00Camping Menu and Meal Ideas<div style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
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We went camping last week. We camped at Saranac Lake, NY. It was peaceful, quiet, and all around relaxing. Where we live is extremely loud but I never realize until we leave (which hasn't been often lately). The campsites are accessed by boat only, so we motor boated all of our stuff to our site. In the above photo, we are all taking a trip to see other parts of the lake. <br />
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I wanted to share our camping menu. I am always looking for good camping recipes. This trip, we had the luxury of a cooler and basically unlimited space since we didn't have to carry anything. So here are some ideas for car camping, dump camping, or even boat camping! <br />
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I apologize in advance, I did not do a good job photographing the meals. I don't have photos of everything, but I will provide a menu below with all the details. Also, the meals are all vegetarian and gluten free. Vegetarian camping meals are not easy to come by on the internet. Looking for vegetarian camping recipes? Look here! Keyword search. <br />
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One dinner was what I called "Camping Nachos", picture above. It was tortilla chips topped with a warm bean, corn, and red pepper mixture and melted cheese. Then we added on salsa, sour cream, cilantro, and an avocado at the table. Super good! A take on the "walking taco". <br />
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Our breakfasts included: breakfast tacos, blueberry and banana pancakes, and the last morning was going to be oatmeal but we had to leave early that morning to catch a flight, so we never made the oatmeals. The pancakes were vegan and gluten free, which was convenient for camping since we didn't have to worry about things spoiling. <br />
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The last night we had a succotash over quinoa and tomato, cucumber salad. Not that this horrible photo does much convincing, it was delicious. <br />
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One of the tasty lunch items we had was Texas Caviar with tortilla chips (Texas Caviar is pictures above in the plastic container). My friend made it in advance it was a perfect, easy camping snack, lunch item. <br />
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Everything else is listed below with links to recipes when appropriate. Also, most of the ingredients are in season right now, which made everything extra delicious!<br />
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<b>Menu:</b><br />
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<b>Day 1</b><br />
Dinner - Camping Nachos (recipe below)<br />
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<b>Day 2</b><br />
Breakfast - <a href="http://www.annies-eats.com/2011/10/17/breakfast-tacos/" target="_blank">Breakfast Tacos</a> - scrambled eggs wrapped in a tortilla topped with salsa, queso fresco, cilantro, and avocado. <br />
Lunch - herbed goat cheese and crackers, fruit, and nuts. <br />
Dinner - <a href="http://www.echoesoflaughter.ca/2012/06/camping-bbq-recipes-week-potato-boat.html" target="_blank">Potato Boats</a> - pre-baked potatoes, mixed with veggies and cheese, and cooked in a foil packet on the fire. <br />
- Corn on the cob with compound butter (salted butter, cilantro, lime, garlic, chipotles in adobo)<br />
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<b>Day 3</b><br />
Breakfast - <a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2012/03/08/vegan-gluten-free-vanilla-blueberry-buckwheat-pancakes/)" target="_blank">Blueberry and Banana Pancakes </a>(added 1/4 cup of veg. oil to <a href="http://ohsheglows.com/2012/03/08/vegan-gluten-free-vanilla-blueberry-buckwheat-pancakes/)" target="_blank">this</a> recipe)<br />
Lunch - <a href="http://www.foodforscot.com/2011/07/texas-caviar.html" target="_blank">Texas Caviar</a> (prepared in advance) and Chips, leftover<br />
Dinner - Succotash over Quinoa (recipe below) and Cucumber Tomato Salad<br />
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<b>Day 4</b><br />
Breakfast - oatmeal<br />
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For our full Camping Menu and instructions: <a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/CampingMenu.pdf" target="_blank">click here</a>. <br />
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<b>Camping Nachos</b><br />
by foodforscot<br />
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1 medium onion, chopped<br />
1 can of pinto beans<br />
2 cans of black beans<br />
2 T of pureed chipotles in adobo<br />
2 ears of corn, shucked<br />
2 red peppers<br />
1 lb of Monterey jack cheese, shredded<br />
1 bunch of cilantro<br />
1 container of salsa<br />
3 avocados<br />
1 small container of sour cream<br />
salt and pepper<br />
<br />
In a large pot or cast iron sauté pan over medium heat, sauté the onion in some olive oil. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the beans and chipotles in adobo. Cook until warmed through. Over the fire, using long tongs or some other device, char the corn and red peppers to get some smoky blackened flavor. Once charred, cut kernels off the cob and roughly chop the peppers. Add to the beans. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. (If you are lazy, skip the charring step.)<br />
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On a large cast iron skillet, lay out some chips. Top with bean mixture and sprinkle with cheese. Put on hot coals until cheese is melted. Repeat in batches until all bean mixture is used up. <br />
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Serve nachos on plates with fresh cilantro, salsa, half of an avocado, and sour cream. <br />
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(Servings: 6, Prep time: 30 min., Cook time: 1 hr., Difficulty: Easy) <br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/CampingNachos.pdf" target="_blank">Printable Version</a><br />
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<b><span style="color: purple;">foodforscot Ratings:</span></b><br />
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Shanon (taste): 7/10<br />
Scot (taste): 8/10<br />
Effort: 3/5<br />
Dishwashing Effort: 3/5<br />
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<b>Succotash Over Quinoa</b><br />
by foodforscot<br />
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1 T olive oil<br />
2 T butter<br />
1 medium onion, chopped<br />
1 medium zucchini, chopped<br />
1 small eggplant, chopped<br />
1 lb frozen lima beans<br />
4 ears of corn, shucked and de-kernelled<br />
thyme, minced<br />
salt<br />
pepper<br />
¼ cup sour cream<br />
parsley, minced<br />
1 cup quinoa, cooked<br />
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In a large pot, sauté onion in a combination of 2 T butter and 1 T olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes. Add zucchini and eggplant, cook until softened. Add frozen lima beans and corn and cook until warmed through. Season with salt, pepper, a chopped thyme. Cook for 5 minutes. Add sour cream and parsley, cook for 5 minutes. Serve over quinoa. <br />
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(Servings: 6, Prep time: 10 min., Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Easy) <br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/SuccotashOverQuinoa.pdf" target="_blank">Printable Version</a><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>foodforscot Ratings:</b></span><br />
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Shanon (taste): 9/10<br />
Scot (taste): 8/10<br />
Effort: 2/5<br />
Dishwashing Effort: 2/5<br />
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Found my Week 9 CSA photo:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fMiQeoXx2CA/UgfvCiUHluI/AAAAAAAAHQ4/BlJYCStO3ms/s1600/DSC_4796.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="371" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fMiQeoXx2CA/UgfvCiUHluI/AAAAAAAAHQ4/BlJYCStO3ms/s640/DSC_4796.JPG" width="560" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 9 : Golden plums, blueberries, blackberries, green beans (none are part of CSA), garlic, kale, escarole, tomatoes (!), salad greens, eggplant (Asian and Rosa Bianca), cucumber, sweet peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, hot peppers.</td></tr>
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-14037711043166998862013-08-10T16:38:00.000-06:002013-08-10T16:38:01.854-06:00Warm Grilled Eggplant Salad<div style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Week 10 - Herbs (basil, chives), peaches, white plums, assorted cherry tomatoes, yellow tomato, (none of that is part of our CSA), 4 tomatoes!, red potatoes, salad greens, Rosa Bianca eggplant, Asian eggplant, green peppers, hot peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, cucumbers, dandelion greens, corn, Swiss chard.</span></td></tr>
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I lost my week 9 photo. But it was good stuff. Similar to week 10. We are there. The peak of summer produce. The pinnacle of all that is good. We are FEASTING!!!</div>
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Can you believe this? Four of these babies came with our CSA. I bought the rest. I did an ok job controlling myself. We had another 5 or 6 from our garden that we ate this week. Plus several handfuls of cherry tomatoes to supplement. I thought I might save some of our tomatoes for winter in some form, but I am not at a point yet where I feel overwhelmed by tomatoes. I feel happy about tomatoes. I want more! </div>
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This salad was so delicious. It is very simple. Some grilled veggies, tossed with some salad greens and a lemon, herb vinaigrette. I wanted to pair it with something with a bright flavor, acidic flavor, but I also thought something cheesy would be good. I made some stuffed tomatoes. Mine where just stuffed with goat cheese, a little panko bread crumbs, parm, basil, and chives. I cut a very small hole in the top of each tomato (and then ate the hole), then stuffed the cheese filling in. I baked for about 20 minutes at 400 degrees. Might be better to just throw them on the grill to avoid the oven. It has been cold and rainy here so it wasn't a big deal for us. </div>
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We are equally obsessed with eggplant as we are with tomatoes. Our eggplants in our garden are doing well. We will probably have at least ten. We have been getting three or so in our CSA each week. So good. These Rosa Bianca globe shaped eggplants are amazing. Maybe I will make some Baba Ganoush to freeze for Birk once he is ready to explore non-milk calories. I very much appreciate the milk-only diet. Meal prep is pretty easy. Wish we could ride out that phase a little longer. </div>
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<b>Warm Grilled Eggplant Salad</b><br />
<i>by foodforscot</i><br />
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1 eggplant (I used Rosa Bianca)<br />
1 summer squash<br />
1 green pepper<br />
1 big bag of salad greens<br />
quarter of a medium red onion, thinly sliced<br />
1 handful of basil, rolled and thinly sliced<br />
10 chives, minced<br />
½ tsp of Dijon mustard<br />
1 lemon, juice<br />
1 tsp of red wine vinegar<br />
olive oil<br />
salt <br />
pepper<br />
<br />
Slice the eggplant to make 1/4th of an inch thick rounds. Place in a colander (or lay out on a kitchen towel) and sprinkle generously with salt. Mix (or turn) to evenly coat the eggplant with the salt. Let sit for at least 30 minute (up to an hour or so) to release the water out of the eggplant. <br />
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Prepare the dressing: In a medium bowl, combine basil, chives, Dijon mustard, lemon juice, red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. While whisking, slowly add in olive oil. Add more salt, pepper, and oil, to taste. Set aside. <br />
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Preheat grill to medium high. <br />
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Slice the summer squash and quarter (and core and seed) the green pepper. Season with salt and pepper. Once eggplant is done, pat dry with a kitchen towel. Season with pepper. Drizzle olive oil over everything. <br />
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Right before grilling, turn off the flame, brush the grill with olive oil. Turn the flame back on. Grill eggplant, squash, and green peppers until soft with nice grill marks. Remove from grill and chop into bite sized pieces. <br />
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In a large bowl, toss together salad greens, red onions, grilled veggies, and lemon/herb dressing. Salad is best served warm and immediately. <br />
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(Servings: 3, Prep time: 30 min., Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Easy) <br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/WarmEggplantSalad.pdf" target="_blank">Printable Version</a><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>foodforscot Ratings:</b></span><br />
<br />
Shanon (taste): 8/10<br />
Scot (taste): 8/10<br />
Effort: 2/5<br />
Dishwashing Effort: 2/5</div>
Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-39637401728866579462013-07-28T15:23:00.000-06:002013-07-28T15:23:20.953-06:00Eggplant and Tomato Grilled Pizza<div style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
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One of my favorite preparations of the most popular summer veggies (including: cucumbers, zucchini, and eggplant) is to remove some of the moisture by salting them. Salt seems to be a fear for many people. It is one of the many unfortunate consequences of our wacky food system. Salt is not only essential to give pretty much any ingredient flavor, but it is an amazing tool. <br />
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First, salt is fine. Since many people are used to processed foods, convenience foods, and fast foods...salt has become this evil thing to avoid. If you grew up eating packaged foods, you definitely didn't need to add salt to anything you were cooking. When I would microwave my Hungry Man, I never pulled out the salt shaker to perfect the seasoning. As a result, when cooking real food, I have talked to countless people who either skip the salt completely, or they feel very uncomfortable adding salt to their food. Or they cringe watching me or someone else season a dish with salt. The consequence of this fear of salt? People think they hate "fill in the blank" ingredient. Common culprits: mushrooms, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, kale, beans, beets, squash, eggplant, and probably most veggies. <br />
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Now, there are lots of reasons people might not like a certain ingredient. Most likely it is because the time they tried it, it was cooked poorly. And it is very likely it wasn't seasoned properly. Other options: it wasn't in season, wasn't ripe, was mass produced and had no flavor, etc. There is a small chance your palette isn't ready for that flavor yet. Like why we don't feed babies bitter dark greens as their very first solid food. It is hard to know exactly the reason why you might not like a particular ingredient, which is why you should always give ingredients a second chance (what I mean by that is..a 20th chance). <br />
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With the majority of veggies, whole grains, beans...you know all the healthy stuff...you need to season them. With some salt. If I were to answer the question, is salt good for me? My answer would be "yes!" Aside from all the fancy nutritional explanations of why we need salt...sodium blah blah, electrolytes ya ok. My reasoning is: it makes healthy food taste good. Take a bitter vegetable of your choice: kale, swiss chard, broccoli, brussels sprouts, whatever. Roast it with and without salt. Which one are you most likely going to go through the trouble of preparing and eating again? The salted one! More info on salt <a href="http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/food-guides/salt" target="_blank">here</a>. The CDC, FDA, WHO all have articles on SODIUM. Don't read those. They assume you eat Hohos and McDonalds everyday.<br />
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Sorry. I have watched two documentaries in the past two days on food. One made me cry. Like happy cry, but still. Ok, I will tell you what made me cry: "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead". Phil stole my heart. <br />
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Back to this pizza. What a perfect summer meal. I made <a href="http://www.foodforscot.com/2010/03/pws-eggplant-and-parmesan-pizza.html" target="_blank">Pioneer Women's Tomato and Eggplant Pizza</a> a few years ago. That was my first time putting eggplant on pizza. This recipe is very similar, but adapted for the middle of the summer. A few summers ago I also posted on<a href="http://www.foodforscot.com/2010/06/grilled-pizza.html" target="_blank"> how to grill pizza</a>.<br />
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I have made this twice in the past two weeks. It is my favorite thing right now. The toppings pair really well with the grilled, charred-ness of the pizza. <br />
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<b>Eggplant and Tomato Grilled Pizza</b><br />
<i>by foodforscot</i><br />
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1 Japanese eggplant<br />
1 bunch of kale, washed, stemmed and roughly chopped<br />
half a pint of cherry tomatoes, halved<br />
1 clove of garlic, minced<br />
1 whole wheat pizza dough (room temp, mine is from a Brooklyn pizza restaurant)<br />
fresh mozzarella (1 ball), thinly sliced<br />
parmesan cheese, grated<br />
olive oil<br />
salt<br />
pepper<br />
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Slice the eggplant to make 1/8th of an inch thick rounds. Place in a colander and sprinkle generously with salt. Mix to evenly coat the eggplant with the salt. Let sit for at least 30 minute (up to an hour or so) in the sink to release the water out of the eggplant. <br />
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In the meantime, prep the pizza toppings. In a skillet, sauté the kale in some olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. You can do all of this on the grill or inside on the stove. Next, lay the eggplant out on a kitchen towel. Pat dry (a lot of the salt should come off too). In a hot pan with olive oil or on the grill, sauté/grill each piece of eggplant until golden brown on each side. Do not season. Remove from pan and set aside. In the same skillet over medium high heat, add some olive oil and sauté the halved cherry tomatoes until soften and slightly charred. Remove from pan and set aside.<br />
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Preheat the grill to medium high heat. Divide the dough in half. You will want to make two small pizzas, instead of one large one. It is much easier to deal with small pizzas when grilling. I like to roll the dough out on parchment paper. Once the dough is rolled out, I pre cook it on the grill before topping it. Place the dough on the grill with the parchment paper still attached to the top. Then, peel the parchment paper off. Cook for a few minutes until dough is not raw. Flip and cook the other side a few minutes. Remove from the grill, place on a plate or cutting board. Turn heat down to medium low. <br />
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Top the pizzas (everything is divided evenly among the two pizzas). First, layer on the sliced mozzarella cheese. Sprinkle with minced garlic. Top with kale, eggplant, and tomatoes. Sprinkle with grated parmesan. Place back on the grill and cook for 5-10 more minutes until cheese is melty and crust is crispy. Watch the bottom of the crust, you don’t want to burn it!!!<br />
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(Servings: 3-4, Prep time: 1 hr., Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Intermediate) <br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/EggplantTomatoGrilledPizza.pdf" target="_blank">Printable Version</a><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>foodforscot Ratings:</b></span><br />
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Shanon (taste): 10/10<br />
Scot (taste): 9/10<br />
Effort: 3/5<br />
Dishwashing Effort: 2/5</div>
Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-49450666062885420102013-07-26T20:30:00.004-06:002013-07-26T20:32:55.577-06:00CSA Meals - Part 2<div style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 5 - chives, pickling cucumbers, greenhouse tomatoes (all not part of CSA), red lettuce, escarole, curly kale, swiss chard, cabbage, radishes, hukuri salad turps, garlic scapes, zucchini, cauliflower. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 6 - garlic, carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, pickling cucumbers (not part of CSA), red lettuce, stir fry mix, fennel, broccoli, broccoli rabe, kale, chives (not part of CSA)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Week 7 - pickling cucumbers (not part of CSA), stir fry mix, kale, japanese eggplant, italian flat beans, bok choy, scallions, zucchini, globe zucchini, cucumbers, yellow summer squash, collards, cabbage, cherries and tomatoes (neither part of CSA)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px;">Week 8 - 10 lbs of peaches, blueberries, apricots, field tomatoes, hot pepper (all not part of CSA), cucumbers, eggplant, zucchini, yellow summer squash, green beans, cabbage, red leaf lettuce, swiss chard, collards. </td></tr>
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Another edition of CSA meal ideas. We have been enjoying our veggies so so much. I thought I would share how we have been eating them up. We get GOOD stuff in our CSA and when I go to the market to pick it up, I always end up buying even more. They don't grow any tree/bush fruit at the farm. But they bring in fruits from nearby farms (starting now-ish). This is dangerous. So are the quarts of heavy cream from a local dairy farm. But especially lately, I have been adding more veggies that didn't make the CSA that week. </div>
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We are currently in what is known as...the best produce season ever. I have been refraining from talking about my one true love: the summer tomato. I planted 10 tomato plants in our tiny plot of land (in addition to carrots, kale, lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, herbs, cucumbers, red peppers, habanero peppers, eggplant, pickling cucumbers, zucchini, yellow squash, butternut squash, etc.) We have like 1 mm^2 of yard space. So, not everything is happy. Not to mention, Copper has been very busy killing THREE groundhogs, who have been nibbling where they shouldn't be nibbling. The first groundhog death was sad for me. But once I saw a bite out of a cuke...I let nature take it's course...</div>
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Anyway, although some of the garden hasn't survived our non-ideal growing conditions (and of course, we can definitely blame our novice gardening skillz), the cream of the crop is our tomatoes. I care for them nearly equivalently to how I care for Birk. I check them every day. I have been tying those babies up. I have been NOT watering them because it rains too much. I have been petting them. I cannnnnnnnot wait for the bumper crop (just learned that phrase). We are currently enjoying the cherry tomatoes, but in a matter of days, or maybe one week, we will be in the swing of it. </div>
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Alright, that is enough. Here are some of the ways we have been enjoying the local produce. Hope it gives you some inspiration for your meals. </div>
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Roasted Beets and Goat Cheese Salad - lettuce, beet greens, pecans, radishes, and roasted beets in a balsamic vinaigrette. <br />
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Bok Choy and Garlic Scape Pad Thai - your typical pad thai, but add the veggies. I added bok choy and another dark green. Instead of scallions, I used garlic scapes. Some tofu, as usual for pad thai. I used <a href="http://thefreshdish.com/2010/05/17/traditional-pad-thai-recipe-with-baby-bok-choy-the-classic-thai-standard/" target="_blank">this recipe</a>, roughly. <br />
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Kale, Black Bean, and Corn Taquitos with Guacamole - sautéed kale, black beans, and corn mixed with cilantro and goat cheese, wrapped up in a corn tortilla. Baked at 400 until crispy. Served with guac.<br />
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Buffalo Cauliflower with Blue Cheese Sauce - Roast some cauliflower and toss with wing sauce. For the dipping sauce, I mixed full fat greek yogurt with a crumbled blue cheese. My favorite variety of blue cheese is the soft, creamy kind. I try to find either a goat's milk blue cheese or a mild brie hybrid. Jk, I just wanted to sound like an a-hole. No, actually I am serious, that is the kind of blue cheese that I like. <br />
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Pesto and Summer Veggie Cheese Raviolis Salad - Based off of <a href="http://joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2012/05/recipe-pesto-pasta-salad-with-roasted-aparagus-string-beans-cherry-tomatoes-and-olives-eat-live-be.html" target="_blank">this recipe</a>. I tossed good quality (you know, not the bad quality kind) little mini cheese ravioli with grape tomatoes, cooked greens, sautéed zucchini, and pesto. Great hot or room temp. <br />
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A Simple Slaw - Cabbage is not the most exciting vegetable out there. But it is good. You have to have slaw at least once a summer. I don't like creamy slaws or creamy salads. This was just thinly sliced cabbage, salad turnips, cucumber, green onions tossed in some apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper. I added some raw escarole. Don't do that. <br />
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Cauliflower, Black Bean, and Avocado Waffle - We made some whole grain waffles. Scot's special, secret recipe (yeah, I just don't know what it is). Then we topped them with roasted cauliflower, black beans cooked in chipotles in adobo, shredded mont. jack, avocado and a fried egg. This only uses cauliflower so WHATEVER.<br />
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Apple, Chickpea, Almond Salad - yum. This was some lettuce, cucumbers, shredded carrots, chickpeas, diced apple, and chopped almonds tossed in a sweet honey and mustard vinaigrette. <br />
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Zucchini, Leek, Broccoli Rabe Fritters with a Cucumber Tzatziki Sauce - Take that! If you haven't made fritters yet...do it. Shred the veggies (or finally chop), add some flour, egg, salt and pepper until fritter like consistency. Fry up in some olive oil. These fritters had zucchini, leeks, and broccoli rabe (any dark green would be fine). Tzatziki is a cucumber yogurt suace. You dice up the cucumber, salt it (liberally) and let is release some of its liquid in a colander for 30 min. - a few hours. Dry the cucumbers in a kitchen towel (it removes some of the salt too). Toss with green yogurt and season with pepper. I added the fennel tops to the sauce too. I congratulated myself on this dish. </div>
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Tempeh and Veggie Stir-fry - If you don't know what to do with a veggie...stir fry ti up! This was broccoli, red onion, carrots, stiry fry greens (probably like bok choy type things), and tempeh over brown rice. The sauce was some weird thing I threw together: mango habanero jelly, fish sauce, sriracha, ... probably more things. It was good! Sweet and spicy. <br />
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Fried Zucchini Sandwiches with Cucumber, Tomato Salad - We got these beautiful globe zucchinis. I breaded and fried them for a sandwich. Also topped with lettuce, sliced tomato, thinly sliced red onion and a honey, mustard sauce (dijon, honey, sour cream). When I lived at home, I ate cucumber, tomato salads daily when my dad's garden was taking off. It is simply sliced cucumbers, diced tomatoes, thinly sliced red onion tossed in red wine vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. It is what summer is all about. <br />
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Kimchi - The best use of cabbage? Kimchi. If you aren't familiar it is a Korean condiment similar to sauerkraut...but Korean. It is spicy and sour and lasts forever in the fridge. You are supposed to eat fermented things if you want to be healthy. So think about that. My little sister helped me make a gigantic batch of kimchi. I used <a href="http://www.maangchi.com/recipe/easy-kimchi" target="_blank">this recipe</a>. I am going to make sauerkraut next using<a href="http://michaelpollan.com/books/cooked/sauerkraut-recipe/" target="_blank"> this recipe</a>. Don't think you like these types of condiments? Try making them. They are totally different than the store bought stuff. A friend back in Boulder gifted me some of her homemade sauerkraut, which I used up instantly (like for this <a href="http://www.foodforscot.com/2010/12/sauerkraut-and-kielbasa-pizza.html" target="_blank">pizza</a>). So good.<br />
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Salad with Grilled Halloumi Cheese - salad is diced cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, blanched green beans, lettuce, green onions, with a honey mustard vinaigrette. </div>
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-65448436253535916222013-07-07T13:23:00.002-06:002013-07-07T13:23:18.678-06:00Thai Millet Salad with Peanut-Ginger Dressing<div style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
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Happy Birthday to my sister, Jen!!! </div>
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Several years ago, Jen decided to be a vegetarian. Something about how humans aren't supposed to eat meat. She rode that out for many, many years. Recently, due to other allergies, she has started eating some meat again. It is funny because right around the time she stopped being a strict vegetarian, I started being more strictly vegetarian. </div>
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Luckily, our family eats lots of veggies, so catering to vegetarians is no problem. And because of Jen (and many of my other vegetarian friends), I have always enjoyed finding and eating delicious vegetarian dishes. </div>
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This is a very easy dish to throw together. These types of grain/pasta/seed salads are perfect summer dinners. They don't take a lot of effort. They are quick, healthy, and don't heat up the house. </div>
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This salad has millet as its grain. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Millet" target="_blank">Millet</a> is a popular grain in parts of Asia and Africa and grows well in dry, hot climates. It is not popular in the US, where is it predominately used as bird seed. You will see it on occasion in some whole grain bars. It is on our favorite bread baked at Whole Foods called <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTYGZzoHsY0" target="_blank">Seeduction</a>. By the way, we always have a loaf of Seeduction at home. </div>
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Cooked millet tastes pretty much like any other grain. It tastes like grain. It does have good texture. It could be used any time you are using quinoa or rice (or barley, or couscous...who uses couscous anymore, what happened to the poor couscous?). I like having a variety of whole grain options.</div>
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What else? The dressing here is delicious. It is a Thai-inspired peanut-ginger dressing. I used freshly ground peanuts, but any peanut butter is fine. If you use a non-natural peanut butter, just keep in mind it will be sweeter. </div>
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Other than that, the salad is filled with whatever veggies you want or have and then some beans. I used Savoy cabbage and broccoli, since both are in season. Then, I also used shredded carrots and pinto beans. For veggies, you could do bell peppers, cucumbers, zucchini (shredded), any cabbage, cauliflower (roasted would be good), any dark greens (cooked), etc. For beans, I would recommend a white bean or maybe edamame. Anything other than black or chickpeas, I think. </div>
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<b>Thai Millet Salad with Peanut-Ginger Dressing</b></div>
<i>adapted from <a href="http://www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2013/06/recipe-thai-millet-salad-with-peanut.html" target="_blank">Eats Well with Others</a></i><br />
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1 cup uncooked millet<br />
2 cups shredded Savoy cabbage<br />
1 head broccoli, chopped<br />
1 cup shredded carrots<br />
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped<br />
4-6 scallions, finely diced<br />
1/2 cup honey roasted peanuts<br />
1 can of Pinto beans, drained and rinsed<br />
1/4 cup peanuts, freshly ground into butter<br />
2 tsp freshly grated ginger<br />
3 tbsp soy sauce<br />
1 tbsp honey<br />
1 tbsp red wine vinegar<br />
1 tsp sesame oil<br />
1 tsp olive oil<br />
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Put the millet and 2 cups water in a medium saucepan. Add a pinch of salt and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until water is evaporated. Let sit, covered, for 5 minutes.<br />
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Toss the millet with the cabbage, broccoli, carrots, cilantro, scallions, peanuts, and beans.<br />
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To make the dressing, whisk together the peanut butter, ginger, soy sauce, honey, red wine vinegar, sesame oil and olive oil. Season to taste with salt. Add the dressing to the salad and toss to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.<br />
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(Servings: 4-6, Prep time: 30 min., Cook time: 15 min., Difficulty: Easy) <br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/ThaiMilletSalad.pdf" target="_blank">Printable Version</a><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>foodforscot Ratings:</b></span><br />
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Shanon (taste): 9/10<br />
Scot (taste): 9/10<br />
Effort: 1/5<br />
Dishwashing Effort: 1/5</div>
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-56237392239331051072013-06-26T21:06:00.000-06:002013-06-26T21:06:53.643-06:00Ideas for Local/Now Produce<div style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
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I am four weeks into my CSA. Above I have the first, third, and fourth weeks of produce. Right now I am enjoying the fourth week. From left to right in the bottom photo, I got beets, gigantic dandelion greens, collards, kale, two broccoli, escarole, two bok choy, two red leaf lettuce, radishes, salad turnips, garlic scapes, and some chives (chives didn't come with CSA).<br />
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I love greens. And I am not just saying that. The salad greens, so far, have changed my life. I look forward to the days immediately following my CSA pick up because that is when we consume all the lettuce. I have made many different salads, but haven't photographed them all. Here are a few ideas if you are needing some:<br />
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A BBQ Seitan salad. I made this twice actually. This is some romaine and green leaf lettuce (my favorite). Mixed with some thawed frozen corn, rinsed black beans, diced red pepper or roasted red pepper, finely diced red onion, and diced avocado (just put avocado on top, don't toss with the rest) tossed in a creamy yogurt with fresh herb dressing. For the Seitan, simply slice, pan fry in a skillet with olive oil and toss with BBQ sauce. We also ate with some cheese quesadillas (whole wheat tortillas grilled with cheese inside). <br />
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A Shaved Salad. A great way to eat delicious, delicate salad greens is to do a shaved salad. Using a mandolin or mad knife skills, thinly slice a tart apple, celery (do it even if you think you hate celery), and red onion. Scatter of lettuce and dress with an herb yogurt dressing and some crumbled goat cheese. It is SO refreshing. I could eat it every day. <br />
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Other salads we have been enjoying:<br />
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Greek ish - lettuce, chickpeas, fresh goat's milk feta, thinly sliced red onion, roasted red peppers, diced cucumber tossed with a red wine vinaigrette.<br />
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Cherry dressing - Lettuce, goat cheese, salad turnips, chopped broccoli, chives, almonds tossed with a cherry vinaigrette (cherry jam, dijon mustard, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper). <br />
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Green pizza. I cooked down an entire bunch of kale and an entire bunch of spinach from our week 2 CSA (just chopped them up and sauteed them in olive oil). I dried the greens a bit by pouring them onto a kitchen towel. Then, using a whole wheat pizza dough from Whole Foods, I topped it with cilantro pesto (bought from Whole Foods), fresh mozzarella, fresh goat's milk feta packed in liquid, ALL the greens, thinly sliced red onion. It was SO delicious. Two whole bunches of greens on one pizza. You could grill this since it will soon be way too hot for pizza in the oven. <br />
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Puree those greens. Saute the greens in olive oil and then add a rinsed and rained can of white beans (like Cannelloni, Navy, or even Pinto would be fine). Puree until smooth and season with salt and pepper. Here I used collards and Cannelloni beans and also flavored it up with some of the cilantro pesto. I topped it with some fatty white fish. <br />
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Stir fry! An obvious use for all the produce that grows right now is stir fry. Which seems boring, but by switching up the sauce, you can do a lot. Here I have cooked up all the bok choy with some onion and red peppers. I also did a shallow pan fry of some extra firm tofu that has been drenched in corn starch. The sauce here is a sweet and sour (mix 1/3 c. red wine vinegar, 1/3 cup orange juice, 1 tbsp honey, 3 tbsp ketchup, 1 tsp cornstarch, 1/2 tsp salt). <br />
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Another sauce option is a curry: 1 cup coconut milk, 1 tbsp fish sauce, 2 tsp Thai curry paste, 1 tsp packed brown sugar, and 1 tsp corn starch. I made this with some of the other greens and added smoked tofu (which tasted like hot dogs, so don't use that). Both of these are from (with some modification) Cook's Illustrated magazine. For either of these, whisk together in a bowl and add to the stir fried veggies at the end and just cook until warmed through. Make sure to stir fry your veggies in batches. If you keep adding more to the pan, they steam and aren't as flavorful. <br />
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A warm cabbage slaw. Here I sautee shredded savoy cabbage with some other dark greens (a type of kale, I believe). It also has some carrots, onions, and shredded green apple. I seasoned the slaw with soy sauce and rice vinegar. I topped it with a fried egg (runny yolk).<br />
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Green Chips. It is almost like cheating. You just tear the leaves up, toss with some olive oil, salt and pepper. Spread out on a sheet pan and bake in the oven until crispy. Lower over temp is better, like 350. But they work in any temp really. I made these kale chips with these <a href="http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/roasted-mustard-potatoes/" target="_blank">Roasted Mustard Potatoes</a>, which were amazing. I could easily eat like two bunches of kale like this in one sitting. Easily. <br />
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Roasted kale, potatoes, and tempeh tossed with parmesan and lemon. Here I roasted the kale, tempeh, and potatoes (all separately-ish, since they take different amounts of time). I think I roasted the potatoes and then added the kale at the end. I think I might have browned the tempeh in a skillet. Then, I just tossed them all with some lemon juice and parmesan. This is an old recipe I never posted. <br />
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Smoked Salmon, Kale Carbonara - Add your greens to some whole wheat pasta! I used Cara's <a href="http://www.carascravings.com/2011/11/smoked-salmon-carbonara.html" target="_blank">recipe</a> here (with some modification). Really delicious. I also have made Eats Well with Other's <a href="http://www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com/2013/04/recipe-pasta-with-white-beans-kale-and.html" target="_blank">recipe</a> for White Bean and Kale pasta. It was another great, fast pasta dish with kale. I made the smoked salmon carbonara when Birk was only a few weeks old and remember eating it almost 100% cold while feeding him in my arms. Why I took the time to take a blurry photo is beyond me!<br />
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I think you are getting the theme. With the salad greens, you pretty much have to make salad. Try to be creative. Add beans and nuts for protein. Cheese. With the dark greens, there are so many options but you must add some fat. If you want to be hard core, fine. Eat dark greens straight up in your face. But I am telling you, it isn't sustainable. You will eventually give up on eating greens and will only eat french fries the rest of your life (sounds threatening). You will see a theme with my greens...cheese, potatoes, fatty fish, coconut milk, tofu, an egg. It needs that balance in my opinion. Also adding acid really helps balance out the bitter. <br />
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For the rest of the meals we have had with our Local/Now produce, I hope to share a detailed recipe with you. We have tried some good recipes lately! Also, it has been bothering me that I am cooking with all these greens but then buying things like cucumbers and red peppers at the grocery store to make things a little more exciting. Am I a horrible person for relying on these out of season veggies? Will I be able to live with myself. Stay tuned to find out. <br />
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-29165747918320885902013-06-24T16:18:00.002-06:002013-06-24T16:18:23.881-06:00Kohlrabi, Three Ways<div style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
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Two week ago, I received my first batch of kohlrabi in the CSA. Kohlrabi is not new to me. When I sold veggies at the market for Gene, I would work the kohlrabi like no body else out there. Almost every single person asked me what they could do with kohlrabi. I said "you can cook it like a potato or eat it raw in a salad." What does it taste like? "Sort of a cross between a potato and an apple." Now, I would add that it does have some slight bitterness than neither apples, nor potatoes have. Kohlrabi is cheap. And probably easy to grow, not that I know anything about that. So eat it up!<br />
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My CSA is fancy so we got the purple kohlrabi, which you can see in the far left in the pic above and in the pic below. I thought it might be purple on the inside, but it was just regular on the inside. And there is the rest of our CSA from this past week (we got kohlrabi two weeks in a row!) Can you believe how much produce we got? We scarfed our salad greens (curly endive, red and green leaf lettuce, salad mix) in a matter of days. Then moved to the dark greens (collards and kale), ate those up in a few days. Also got some little broccoli heads, savoy cabbage, and <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/business/are-garlic-scapes-new-ramps-theyre-flying-shelves-6C10287975" target="_blank">garlic scapes</a>. <br />
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A lot of my CSA goes into salads, stir fry, pizzas, and other things I whip together off the top of my head. That is what I love about the CSA box. And I get giddy when Tuesday comes around and I get to go pick ours up. Like butterflies in my stomach. IT HAS BEEN SO DELICIOUS. <br />
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This dish is a perfect example of something I would never make if I didn't get a CSA box. It was good! The name of the dish is in honor of every dish on Chopped or Top Chef. The base of the dish is a puree of the kohlrabi greens and white beans. Our farm takes such good care of the produce we get. The greens are always impeccable. I find a lot of times beet greens or any of those other turnipy greens don't look so hot. But all the produce I have gotten so far has been basically perfect. Next is a fritter made from the bulb. On top of that is a little fresh kohlrabi lightly dressed with olive oil and vinegar and some fresh basil. <br />
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My next plan to show you what I have been doing with my CSA. Hopefully that will give you some ideas of how to use all the stuff that is currently growing (greens!) <br />
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<b>Kohlrabi, Three Ways</b><br />
<i>by foodforscot</i><br />
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2 kohlrabi bulbs and greens<br />
salt and pepper<br />
olive oil, for shallow frying<br />
<i>1st way:</i><br />
a small handful of basil, julienned fine<br />
1 tsp of white wine vinegar<br />
1 tsp of olive oil<br />
<i>2nd way:</i><br />
1 14.5 oz. can of Cannellini beans, drained and rinsed<br />
handful of grated parmesan cheese<br />
<i>3rd way: </i><br />
1 egg<br />
~¼ cup potato flour (or any flour)<br />
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Cut off the bulbs from the greens. Wash the bulbs and greens. Peel the bulbs with a sharp knife or a peeler. <br />
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<i>1st way:</i> Prepare the fresh salad. Julienne approximately ½ of one of the kohlrabi bulbs. Toss with salt, pepper, basil, olive oil, and white wine vinegar. <br />
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<i>2nd way: </i> Make pureed beans and greens. Remove tough stems from kohlrabi greens and roughly chop the leaves. In a medium saucepan over medium high heat, add kohlrabi greens, beans, and a small amount of water (enough that you can see it but do not cover beans and greens). Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and let cook until beans are tender and some of the water has evaporated off. Add more water as needed. Blend with an immersion blender until smooth (or put in food processor or blender). Mix in a handful of parmesan and season with salt and pepper, to taste. <br />
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<i>3rd way:</i> Make fritters. Shred the rest of the kohlrabi bulbs (1.5 bulbs) using the largest side of a box grater. Toss grated kohlrabi with salt, pepper, egg, and half the flour. Continue adding flour until mixture sticks together enough to maintain its shape when frying.<br />
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Preheat a skillet with a healthy amount of olive oil over medium high heat. Pan fry the shredded kohlrabi mixture until golden brown on each side. When done, let drain on a paper towel lined plate. Should make approximately six fritters. <br />
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<i>Assemble</i>: Place half of the bean/greens mixture in a wide bowl. Top with three fritters. Top fritters with fresh salad. <br />
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(Servings: 2, Prep time: 30 min, Cook time: 30 min., Difficulty: Intermediate)<br />
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<a href="http://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/KohlrabiThreeWays.pdf" target="_blank">Printable Version</a><br />
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<b><span style="color: purple;">foodforscot Ratings:</span></b><br />
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Shanon (taste): 9/10<br />
Scot (taste): 9/10<br />
Effort: 3/5<br />
Dishwashing Effort: 3/5</div>
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-75082663497242676272013-06-09T10:32:00.000-06:002013-06-09T10:56:16.042-06:00Dandelion Tart<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_zDk7lTHbj0/UbSfmK1x9cI/AAAAAAAAHDo/v2ohqaRhdN1Q/s1600/main_dandelion_th.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" height="316.75" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_zDk7lTHbj0/UbSfmK1x9cI/AAAAAAAAHDo/v2ohqaRhN1Q/s320/main_dandelion_th.jpg" title="http://www.mnn.com/food/recipes/stories/cream-of-dandelion-soup-a-weed-has-its-moment-in-the-sun" width="560" /></a></div>
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Two summers ago, I made a huge discovery. Something biologists, botanists, teachers, plant experts, grandmothers, and five year old children have known all along. The yellow dandelions are the same as the blowy dandelions. How do I go throughout life...aware, alert, engaged, and let's face it, basically a genius, without recognizing this? </div>
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But for the 20 (that is a stretch) of you that read my blog, I wanted to make sure that this doesn't happen to you. My friends have told me something along the lines of: "don't bother. everyone knows they are both dandelions and you will just embarrass yourself." I am telling you anyway! I also just realized anyway<b>s</b> isn't a word. Please erase all instances of it on this blog pre-right now. If I ever thought about it, I would know it was not a word. I blame my use of it on my little sister who, in her early teens, would respond to my questions with "anyways." Like that was the only word in the response. Such baditude! Example: "hey cindy, how's your boyfriend? can i meet him? what is his favorite color?" gets the response, "anyways..."</div>
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So when I got dandelion greens in my CSA this past week, I was haunted by these dandelion memories. I want to write more about my CSA later. Early summer (or "spring" as some people call it) brings lots of greens. I saw someone on FB post what they got in their CSA box and it incuded tomatoes, red peppers, fruit, a head of lettuce wrapped in plastic, and a lot more. Well. Ok. They must live in magic land. But whatever, if getting a box of surprise produce gets you cooking and eating veggies...I guess I don't really care where it comes from. Mine comes from about 15 minutes away and IT IS THE CUTEST FARM EVER.</div>
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I cooked up all the greens I got in various ways. I will try to post what I did with our huge box of greens. But if you have any dark greens to eat up, try making a tart (or even a frittata if you want something quicker). This tart is a whole wheat, olive oil, yeasted crust. Considering I don't make tarts often, I can't really provide any proof that this was delicious. I believe most tarts are made with butter, white flour, and no yeast. The dough was extremely easy to work with. I just mixed with a wooden spoon, kneaded a few times by hand, let it rise for an hour, and shoved it into a pie pan (I don't have a tart pan).</div>
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The inside of the tart is filled with a big bunch of blanched dandelion greens, mushrooms, Gruyere cheese, milk, and eggs. I like that the whole tart only has 3 eggs, rather than a frittata which might have 9 or so. There are a lot more veggies and then the crust is more substance. I love to serve things like this with a green salad (dressed with a mustardy vinaigrette). You can use up your salad greens too! Thanks to my local<a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sport-Hill-Farm-LLC/249044771794239?fref=ts" target="_blank"> Sporthill Farm</a> CSA for sharing this recipe with us!</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; text-align: left;"><b>Dandelion Tart</b></span></div>
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<i>by Martha Rose Shulman via <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/08/health/nutrition/08recipehealth.html?_r=1&" target="_blank">NYTimes</a></i><br />
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1 generous bunch dandelion greens, about 12 ounces<br />
salt to taste<br />
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil<br />
1 small onion, chopped<br />
6 mushrooms, sliced (about 1 cup sliced mushrooms)<br />
1 or 2 garlic cloves (to taste), green shoots removed, minced<br />
4 large or extra large eggs <i>(I used 3 large eggs for my pie pan)</i><br />
3/4 cup low-fat milk <i>(I used between 1/2 and 3/4 of almond milk)</i><br />
Freshly ground pepper<br />
3/4 cup Gruyère cheese, grated (3 ounces)<br />
1 yeasted olive oil crust (<i>I used a pie pan)</i><br />
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Cut the tough stems from the dandelion greens, about 1 inch from the bottom, and wash in two changes of water. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, salt generously and add the dandelion greens. Blanch four minutes and transfer to the ice water. Drain, squeeze out excess water and chop.<br />
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the onion. Cook, stirring, until tender, about five minutes, and add a pinch of salt and the mushrooms. Cook, stirring, for four to five minutes, until the mushrooms have softened and the onions are golden. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, then stir in the dandelion greens. Stir together for a minute, and remove from the heat. Season to taste with salt and pepper.<br />
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Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Brush the bottom of the pastry shell, and place in the preheated oven for five minutes. Remove from the oven. Whisk the milk into the eggs, add 1/2 teaspoon salt, freshly ground pepper to taste and stir in the cooked vegetables and cheese. Turn into the crust. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, until set and the top is lightly browned. Remove from the heat and allow to sit for 15 minutes before serving. Serve hot or warm.<br />
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(Servings: 6, Prep time: 2 hrs, Cook time: 1 hr, Difficulty: Easy)<br />
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<b>Whole Wheat Yeasted Olive Oil Pastry</b><br />
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Yeasted crusts are more rustic than French-style short crusts. They’re also easier to manipulate — they don’t crack and tear. Remember to roll this out thinly so that it doesn’t become too bready.<br />
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2 teaspoons active dry yeast<br />
1/2 cup lukewarm water<br />
1/4 teaspoon sugar<br />
1 large egg, at room temperature, beaten<br />
1/4 cup olive oil<br />
1 cup whole wheat flour<i> (I used whole wheat pastry flour and I have no idea what the difference is)</i><br />
1 cup unbleached flour (more as needed)<br />
3/4 teaspoon salt<br />
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Dissolve the yeast in the water, add the sugar, and allow to sit until the mixture is creamy, about five minutes. Beat in the egg and the olive oil. Combine the flours and salt, and stir into the yeast mixture. You can use a bowl and wooden spoon for this, or a mixer — combine the ingredients using the paddle. Work the dough until it comes together in a coherent mass, adding flour as necessary. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead gently for a few minutes, adding flour as necessary, just until the dough is smooth — do not overwork it. Shape into a ball. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover the dough tightly with plastic wrap, and allow to rise in a draft-free spot until doubled in size, about one hour.<br />
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Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, gently knead a couple of times, and cut into two equal pieces (or as directed in each of this week’s recipes). Shape each piece into a ball without kneading it. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap, and let rest for five minutes. Then roll out into thin rounds, as directed in each recipe, and line pans. If not using right away, freeze the dough to prevent it from rising and becoming too bready. The dough can be transferred directly from the freezer to the oven.<br />
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<a href="http://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/DandelionTart.pdf" target="_blank">Printable Version</a><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>foodforscot Ratings: </b></span><br />
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Shanon (taste): 9/10<br />
Scot (taste): 7/10<br />
Effort: 4/5<br />
Dishwashing Effort: 4/5</div>
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-33750609115624613432013-06-05T19:51:00.001-06:002013-06-05T19:51:17.281-06:00Vermont Grilled Sandwich<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We spent last weekend in Grafton, VT. It is a cozy town in the Green Mountains. It is quiet, peaceful, and simple. You don't have to use Yelp to find a restaurant because there are only a few options. And they are all good. Everyone was friendly but not in an annoying, touristy way. They just seemed so content and happy doing what they do. It was a gentle kindness. We felt so relaxed and comfortable all weekend. </div>
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We did some hiking, hiked to a waterfall, visited a dairy farm (to eat ice cream and see cows, which are fairly disgusting animals), had a bonfire, survived 90+ degrees, stayed in the cutest cabin, bought VT cheddar cheese, dined easy. </div>
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I brought home way too many local VT goods. Maple Smoked Cheddar Cheese. Mango Habanero jelly. (Also a million gallons of maple syrup.) I always I hate when I find a recipe that calls for weird, impossible to find ingredients. That is exactly what this recipe is. Are you going to drive to Grafton, VT to buy the ingredients to make this sandwich? No. Don't do that. </div>
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Let me tell you the important parts of this sandwich. First, tempeh on sandwiches is delicious. It gives vegetarian sandwiches some substance. Second, smoked cheese tastes like ham. Third, spicy jelly on sandwiches is real good. Maybe I should call this jam. Jam is a much more pleasant word. Anyways, this mango habanero jam has all the flavor from the habanero without it being overly spicy. I don't know how they do it, but it is currently my new favorite thing. </div>
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I crave sandwiches all the time. I love sandwiches. We often associate sandwiches with a sandwich place because they are actually not super easy to make at home. You need freshly baked bread, a sauce, some good cheese, and the prepared fixings. That is what you need if you want a sandwich equivalent to one you would find at a shop. They are not always easy to throw together. Once you prepare each individual component, it can take a while and be expensive if you aren't willing to continue eating the same sandwich several times later to use up all the leftovers. But, I have realized that good vegetarian sandwiches are hard to find a local sandwich shop. I will even say...they suck. Typically you can choose from:</div>
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1. Caprese sandwich (good, but not really a true sandwich)</div>
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2. Egg salad sandwich (also just a different kind of sandwich)</div>
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3. Grilled cheese (get out of here)</div>
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4. Grilled, soggy veggies on bread (let's be honest, no one likes you)</div>
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So I have pretty much given up on finding a good vegetarian sandwich anywhere but in my own kitchen. Most restaurants know they need a vegetarian option but don't give it any respect. Somewhere "vegetarian" got translated to "I hate my life, don't worry about it."</div>
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Also, I am planning to become more a "jam person". I don't like non-homemade jams. Never have. Will I make jam? Probably not. But I will eat it. </div>
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To all my Vermont peeps, much love. </div>
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<b>Vermont Grilled Sandwich</b></div>
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<i>by foodforscot</i></div>
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3 slices of tempeh, smokey maple bacon flavor</div>
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2 slices of Seeduction bread (a whole grain, nutty bread made at WFM)</div>
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1 tbsp of salted butter</div>
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1-2 tbsp of mango habanero jelly</div>
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2 slices of maple smoked Vermont cheddar</div>
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handful of spinach</div>
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½ of a roasted red pepper</div>
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Prepare all your sandwich fixings. First, slice the bread. Butter one side of each slice. Slice the cheese and remove rind. Cut the roasted red pepper. </div>
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Heat a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Add a little olive oil and brown the tempeh a few minutes on each side. Remove from heat and set aside.</div>
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Pick up one of the buttered pieces of bread and slather the jelly on the non-buttered side. Place the slice of bread, butter side down, in the same pan you used to sauté the tempeh. Put a single layer of the cheese on top of the jelly. Then layer on the tempeh, spinach, and roasted red pepper, in that order. Finally, add another single layer of cheese and place the other piece of bread, butter side up, on top. Grill until first side is golden brown. Flip and grill the other side until golden brown. </div>
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Once bread is toasty and cheese is melty, remove sandwich and place on a cutting board. Let set for a few minutes. Cut in half. Serve with a pickle. </div>
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(Servings: 1, Prep time: 10 min., Cook time: 15 min., Difficulty: Easy) </div>
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<a href="http://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/VermontGrilledSandwich.pdf">Printable Version</a></div>
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>foodforscot Ratings:</b></span></div>
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Shanon (taste): 8/10</div>
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Scot (taste): 8/10</div>
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Effort: 1/5</div>
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Dishwashing Effort: 1/5</div>
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-46446725679945972002013-06-03T17:55:00.000-06:002013-06-03T18:59:38.267-06:00Chocolate Cake with Avocado Peanut Butter Frosting<div style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 12px; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Things have happened. I have thought about my blog come back on and off for the past year. Where have I been? Nowhere in particular that forced me to stop blogging. I just fell of the wagon and never got back on. Now a lot has happened and I don't know where to start.<br />
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I was impregnated. Grew a baby. Now, we have little Birk Oliver! <br />
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He can't eat food yet, but it sure will be fun when he can. I am quite enjoying him being the adorable baby that he is, so I am in no rush. </span></div>
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So, that was one big thing that happened. The other...Scot and I have crossed over to the vegetarian world. We have always been so close. But now we are closer. We <i>basically</i> don't eat meat anymore. For all practical purposes, we are vegetarians. For the unpractical purposes, I talk Scot into eating bacon with me zero, once, or twice a month. </div>
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The thing is...Scot is a much better vegetarian than me. He would probably never eat meat again if it weren't for me. Something I would have never predicted when I met 21 year old Scot. Little Birk will now grow up vegetarian. </div>
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What is worse, we feel guilty eating any animal protein (kidding about the worse thing). Not that it stops us. We have done little things like replacing our milk with almond milk. Thinking more about whether dairy is necessary for different dishes. We have experimented with vegan favorites like chia seeds instead of eggs, coconut oil, non-dairy milks, etc.</div>
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What I am trying to say is...please don't be scared away! I am still a true foodie. Cooking vegetarian is easy. Cooking vegan is actually fascinating. I am still mostly human. </div>
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This year for Scot's birthday, he tasked me with the impossible. Make him a cake that is healthy so that when he eats a piece everyday for the week following...he doesn't feel AS guilty. What does healthy mean? Vegan. And no white sugar or flour. So gross, basically. </div>
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I told him I couldn't do the refined flour/sugar thing. It is your birthday not national diabetes awareness day. But I <i>almost</i> achieved the goal.</div>
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I ended up making a chocolate cake. It is sweetened with maple syrup. The fat comes from an avocado. Flour is of the whole wheat variety. It was a solid chocolate cake. I underbaked it on purpose and it was anything but dry. </div>
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For frosting, I made an avocado frosting. This has been on my radar for about 5 years. Replace the butter in frosting with an avocado. I was most excited to have a beautiful green frosting. This limited the additional flavor additions. I ended up going with peanut butter and avocado frosting since it would leave the green. I would imagine a chocolate avocado frosting would be delicious too, but not green. Since I used freshly ground peanuts, my frosting was not as smooth as the original.</div>
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The frosting recipe is a recommendation at best. And it has the one nasty, illegal ingredient: powdered sugar! Hopefully we survive. </div>
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In true foodforscot fashion, I made this late at night. So enjoy the horrible photos! But seriously, Scot did very much enjoy his birthday cake. He ate the entire thing, except the one piece I had on his birthday. It is really everything Scot is about in cake form. </div>
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PS: Scot is the father.</div>
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<b>Chocolate Cake with Avocado Peanut Butter Frosting</b></div>
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<i>adapted from The Diva Dish</i></div>
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<i>For cake:</i></div>
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1.5 cups whole wheat pastry flour</div>
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1/3 cup cocoa powder</div>
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1 tsp. baking soda</div>
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½ tsp. salt</div>
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1 avocado, mashed</div>
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1 cup almond milk</div>
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¾ cup maple syrup</div>
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2 tsp. vanilla</div>
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1 tsp. apple cider vinegar</div>
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handful of chocolate chips (optional)</div>
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<i>For Frosting:</i></div>
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1 avocado, mashed</div>
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1-2 cups powdered sugar</div>
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1-2 tbsp almond milk</div>
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½ cup peanut butter (I used freshly ground)</div>
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<i>For Cake:</i><span style="font-style: normal;"> Mix dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients until combined. Make sure avocado isn’t lumpy (it will probably be a little lumpy, just saying). </span></div>
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Add wet to dry and mix until incorporated.</div>
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Pour into a greased 8-inch cake pan and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 20 minutes (check every few minutes after 20 until done).</div>
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Once cake is done, remove from oven and let cool completely.</div>
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<i>For Frosting: </i><span style="font-style: normal;"> Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until creamy.</span></div>
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Spread frosting on cake and sprinkle with some chocolate jimmies!</div>
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(Servings: 6-8, Prep time: 30 min., Bake time: 30 min., Frost time: 20 min., Difficulty: Easy) </div>
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/ChocolateCakewithAvocadoPeanutButterFrosting.pdf">Printable Version</a><br />
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<span style="color: purple;"><b>foodforscot Ratings:</b></span><br />
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Shanon (taste): 6/10<br />
Scot (taste): 8/10<br />
Effort: 1/5<br />
Dishwashing Effort: 2/5<br />
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<!--EndFragment-->Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-69738543374331349652012-09-17T07:10:00.001-06:002012-09-17T07:10:45.528-06:00Scot's Granola<div style="font: 12.0px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span>Are you a cereal person? Scot is. Before we met, cereal might have been 50% of his diet. His favorite is Cinnamon Toast Crunch. And after we met, I started eating cereal for breakfast too. It is easy. And Cinnamon Toast Crunch is unfortunately really delicious. <br />
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We weren't allowed to eat that growing up. My dad only bought Raisin Bran, Off brand Cherrios (not honey nut), Corn Flakes, or even Grape Nuts. We would beg my dad to let us get things with marshmallows in it and he always claimed that it was just sugar. Now, I think: "Go Dad!" Then, I was just jealous of all the kids on TV who looked so happy eating Cocoa Krispies. Or do you remember that one cereal which was basically a box of mini chocolate chip cookies? <br />
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Anyways, Cinnamon Toast Crunch is delicious. And even after transitioning to shopping at Whole Foods only, they have their own "Organic, All Natural, Secretly exactly the same as CTC" version. And it is just as good. And I was not convincing myself that it was somehow better for me, they just sold it (they don't sell any regular grocery store cereals at WF)...so of course, I bought it. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia;">About a year ago, Scot and I decided to remove all processed foods from our diet. I am not crazy. I am not going to refuse processed foods as a guest in someone's house or make my own yogurt. But we did want to make sure to cut out foods that we regularly eat. For us, the only thing left to cut out was cereal. </span><br />
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I remember a while back, I wrote about how I was trying to eat savory breakfasts, instead of sweet. And I still prefer that. However, I never jumped on the breakfast soup train. I still haven't been able to eat leftover dinner food for breakfast. The only savory option that has stuck with me is eggs and toast. And I probably eat that over 50% of the time. Other than that, I either eat oatmeal or granola. <br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span>Scot is more like 95% of the time, he eats granola. And he goes all out. He starts with the granola, adds milk, then drinks all the milk right away. He tops it with greek yogurt, a banana and usually some berries (often blueberry). I usually just do milk and yogurt. <br />
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And this recipe is the granola I make him, approximately every two weeks. Except for the times I am too lazy and we have to buy granola in bulk from WF (which is honestly about 20% as good as this). It is "his" because it is all the things he really likes: maple syrup, pecans, and coconut. And lots of fiber (oats and flax). We haven't been adding the dried fruit lately because we always put fresh fruit in it. But it is good both ways. <br />
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Lastly, I have to admit that this is the <b>best</b> way to make granola. But this isn't the only way I make granola. I do get lazy and skip steps. Sometimes, I just don't feel like pre toasting everything, so I skip that step (and leave out the amaranth completely). Sometimes I completely leave out the oil, to make it a little healthier (still tastes great). Sometimes I throw it in with whatever else is in the oven at the time (I have baked this at 400° and it turned out just fine). But I love this version the best. Don't let it overwhelm you though, you can just throw everything into a mixing bowl, roughly measure, pour on a baking sheet and bake until toasty. Still real good.<br />
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PS: If you are curious about "my" version. I like only honey, only almonds, and no coconut. I also really like to add dried currants to mine. But in general, you can swap out any nuts, sweetener, and/or dried fruits. And add any extras like coconut and spices. <br />
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</span></b> <b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Scot’s Granola<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 tbsp amaranth<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 cups pecans (whole)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 cup almonds (whole)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 cup shredded unsweetened coconut<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">½ cup light cooking oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">6 cups oats (not instant or 1 minute)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">¼ cup flax seeds<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">½ tsp salt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 tsp cinnamon<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">½ cup maple syrup<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">¼ cup agave nectar<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1-2 cups of dried fruit (optional)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Preheat the oven to 325°.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Preheat a dry, stainless steel skillet (with lid) to medium/medium-high heat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add 1 tbsp of amaranth, cover with lid and give it a shimmy shake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Continue until most of the amaranth has popped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, throw that popped amaranth away because you probably burnt it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Repeat twice until you successfully pop and do not burn 2 tbsp of amaranth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Transfer popped amaranth to a large mixing bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Toast nuts in the same skillet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once toasted, finely chop and add to mixing bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Toast coconut in same skillet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once toasted, add to mixing bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In same skillet, add the oats and the oil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cook until fragrant and lightly toasted, then transfer to the large mixing bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Add flax seeds, salt and cinnamon to the mixing bowl and mix to combine all the dry ingredients.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Using the same half-cup measuring cup that you used to measure the oil (because then the syrup won’t stick), measure out the maple syrup and agave nectar (just eye ball it) and add to the mixing bowl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mix to combine and then transfer the mixture onto a large baking sheet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes or until desired crunchiness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Once the granola has cooled, mix in dried fruit (if desired) and place in sealed container to store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">(Servings:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>10, Prep time:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>45 min., Cook time:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>45 min., Difficulty:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Easy)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/ScotsGranola.pdf">Printable Version</a></span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="color: purple; mso-spacerun: yes;"><b>foodforscot Ratings:</b></span></span><br />
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</span></span> <span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Shanon (taste): 9/10</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Scot (taste): 10/10</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Effort: 3/5</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Dishwashing Effort: 3/5</span></span><br />
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Always protecting us from danger.</div>
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Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-27819456272262789242012-07-12T02:05:00.000-06:002012-07-12T02:07:05.063-06:00Roasted Cauliflower<div style="font: 12.0px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
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Cauliflower sometimes doesn't get any respect. And even though it has never been my favorite thing on the crudite platter, I still eat it. I guess I have skipped it. But I don't have hatred towards cauliflower. I just love the cucumber more.<br />
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BUT, lately, we have been eating it a lot. Two reasons. Mark Bittman uses a lot of cauliflower and I have made all the recipes in his book (not true). Also it is in a lot of Indian dishes that I have made. And I really love it with Indian flavors.<br />
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First, in case for some strange reason you have not heard of or tried roasted cauliflower, I am here to tell you...do it. It tastes like chicken nuggets. <br />
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Second, in case you missed Copper, here he is. I am not exaggerating to say that I think about how he is the greatest dog in the whole world at least twice a day. It is not bragging. It is just true. I also tell him as often as possible because I read somewhere that it is important for our relationship. <br />
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Third, I just wanted to give you some inspiration to use roasted cauliflower. You can just eat it as a side. In the photo above I made a spinach/coconut milk soup to dip the cauliflower in. I put quite a bit of grainy mustard in the soup.<br />
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Below, I made a warm salad with roasted cauliflower, chickpeas, zucchini and spinach. It is seasoned with a very grainy mustard vinaigrette and some Indian spices. It was really good too. But I think roasted cauliflower would make a good addition to any salad. <br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Roasted Cauliflower<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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1 head of cauliflower, cut into florets<o:p></o:p></div>
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olive oil<o:p></o:p></div>
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salt and pepper<o:p></o:p></div>
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Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Toss cauliflower florets in some olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Roast in the oven until golden brown.<o:p></o:p></div>
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(Servings: 2, Prep time: 5 min., Cook time: 25 min., Difficulty: Easy)<o:p></o:p></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;">Roasted Cauliflower, Chickpeas, Spinach and Zucchini Salad<o:p></o:p></b></div>
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roasted cauliflower, see recipe above<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 onion, diced<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 zucchini, diced<o:p></o:p></div>
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2 14.5 oz. cans of chickpeas, drains and rinsed<o:p></o:p></div>
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½ tsp of cumin<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 tsp of coriander<o:p></o:p></div>
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¼ tsp of turmeric<o:p></o:p></div>
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1.5 tsp of whole grain mustard (with seeds)<o:p></o:p></div>
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1-2 tbsp of white wine vinegar<o:p></o:p></div>
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salt and pepper<o:p></o:p></div>
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olive oil<o:p></o:p></div>
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1 box of baby spinach (5-6 oz)<o:p></o:p></div>
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In a large skillet over medium high heat, sauté onions until translucent (about 5 min.). Add zucchini and cook until soft (3-5 min.). Add chickpeas, cumin, coriander, turmeric, salt and pepper and cook until chickpeas are warmed through (3-5 min.).<o:p></o:p></div>
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Make vinaigrette for spinach: In a large bowl, add mustard, white wine vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine and slowly add olive oil until desired balance of vinegar and oil is achieved. Add to spinach and toss to coat.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Combine everything. Eat warm or room temp!<o:p></o:p></div>
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(ServingsL 4-6, Prep time: 15 min., Cook time: 25 min., Difficulty: Easy) <o:p></o:p><br />
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<a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/RoastedCauliflower.pdf">Printable Version</a><br />
<br />
<span style="color: purple;"><b>foodforscot Ratings:</b></span><br />
<br />
Shanon (taste): 8/10<br />
Scot (taste): 8/10<br />
Effort: 2/5<br />
Dishwashing Effort: 2/5</div>
</div>Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-90702270605687442142012-06-29T14:42:00.000-06:002012-06-29T14:42:33.572-06:00Greek Veggie Wrap<div style="font: 12.0px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
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<br />
I am going to tell you a story about my journey with food. <br />
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Let's start with my parents. Growing up, especially when I was young, my mom did a lot of cooking. She made all the 80s and early 90s favorites like beef stroganoff, tuna casserole, swiss steak, tuna salad, cream chipped beef, meatloaf, roasts, goulash, etc. But my mom is also 50% Italian, so she also made family recipes like huge vats of homemade marinara with ribs, meatballs, and sausage, stuffed artichokes, salads, sausage and peppers, stuffed peppers, stuffed squash, etc. Like most families at that time, mine was influenced by popular food culture and marketing. I think we were all brainwashed into thinking that buying fresh produce was somewhat of a luxury. Therefore, we ate plenty of canned veggies. Did the cream of mushroom soup thing. Plenty of velveeta. Margarine happened (it is healthier, duh!) <br />
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But my mom's core food knowledge was real food. My family definitely followed the pre-made, packaged, canned food trend, but didn't stray too far and for too long from the real stuff. <br />
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My dad also did a lot of cooking. I remember him making things like drip beef sandwiches, chicken and dumplings, stir fry, etc. Also, I think for a good 5 years of my life, my dad ate a large, fully loaded salad for dinner. Every night. And I share many of my dad's taste buds. We both like spicy food and now that I am an adult, I realize I share my dad's lack of a sweet tooth. <br />
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As a result of mostly positive food influences, I was never in too bad of shape with my general food knowledge. Especially since my extended family and friends have taught me a lot too. <br />
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However...I, too, fell for much of the crap (aka "food") out there at your typical large supermarket. When I went off to college and started 100% feeding myself, I started with what I knew. Diet drinks and Sweet N' Low were a part of my regular diet. Thought it was healthy. Once I came to my senses and stopped (it was easy), I started noticing it was in EVERYTHING. Anything labelled "light", which at the time, I thought meant "light on the sugar". For example, light yogurt, I thought just had less sugar...but no, it just had fake sugar. I was so mad. Furious. <br />
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And probably my saddest realization was "coffee creamer". I bought it thinking it was just cream. Like what comes from a cow. At one point I was looking at my Coffeemate bottle and noticed it said non-dairy. WHAT!?!? Non-dairy?!?! That is when I decided to start seriously looking at labels and not be tricked again. This was about 10 years ago. <br />
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As I have been continuing to grow my food knowledge and trying more and more types of foods and recipes, I (like so many others) have come a long way. I never thought I would eat homemade granola for breakfast (and not be able to buy it from the store...) I never thought I would prefer whole grain wraps to white wraps. I never thought I would eat a pound of beans each week and only eat meat on occasion. I never thought I love kale and other dark greens. I never thought I would be such a...hippie.<br />
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Ok, that is a lie. I always hoped I would.<br />
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The point is...I started out with a good relationship to food. With reasonable knowledge. With a decent diet. But it wasn't easy to sort through all the crap that is thrown at us at the grocery store. You almost have to have a PhD in Food to understand what food trends to follow and what marketing is actually true. <br />
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This is the reason that you should never let any package tell you what is good for you. If food needs to convince you to eat it, they are probably lying. Have you ever picked up a head of broccoli and pondered whether or not it will do your body any good? No. Broccoli has dignity. <br />
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Everyone has a journey with food. I just thought I'd share mine. Maybe you are at a different stage in your journey. And I hope you are enjoying it! :) My journey is partly being recorded on this blog...so the archives hold my deepest and darkest secrets. Don't get too excited though. <br />
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Now, here is another "burrito" for you. This time, I went with a Greek-ish filling. We have baby spinach, a warm chickpea mixture, a greek salsa and some feta cheese all wrapped up in a whole wheat tortilla. It is summer in your hand. I will remind you one last time (ha...), buy the feta that comes packed in a liquid. It is about 7 times better. <br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Greek Veggie Wrap<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 14.5 oz. cans of chickpeas, drained and rinsed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">½ tsp of coriander (heaping)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">a pinch (or more) of cayenne<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">½ of an English cucumber, diced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 large tomato, seeded and diced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">¼ of a medium red onion, finely minced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">handful of kalamata olives, chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2-3 tbsp of finely chopped flat leaf parsley<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1-2 tbsp of white/red wine vinegar (or lemon juice)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1-2 tbsp of olive oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 burrito-sized whole wheat tortillas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">feta cheese, crumbled<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">several big handfuls of baby spinach<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">salt and pepper<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Prepare the bean mixture: put the chickpeas, coriander, cayenne, salt and pepper, and a good splash of water in a skillet. Cook over medium high heat until water evaporates. Taste, adjust seasonings and repeat process (add more water, cook until evaporated, taste), until desired texture is reached. I usually do the process twice.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Prepare the Greek salsa: combine cucumber, tomatoes, red onion, olives, parsley, vinegar, and olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Prepare wraps: warm a tortilla over an open flame, the microwave or in the oven. Put a healthy layer of baby spinach down. Top with bean mixture, feta cheese and salsa. Wrap, burrito-style. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">(Servings: 2, Prep time: 20 min., Cook time: 20 min., Difficulty: Easy) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/GreekVeggieWrap.pdf">Printable Version</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: purple;"><b>foodforscot Ratings: </b></span> </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Shanon (taste): 8/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Scot (taste): 7/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Effort: 2/5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Dishwashing Effort: 1/5</span></div>
</div>Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-76937548254755913772012-06-19T20:47:00.003-06:002012-06-19T20:47:39.151-06:00Arepas with Black Beans and Guasacaca<div style="font: 12.0px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
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In case you were wondering, I am not an edible arrangement kind of person. If you did gift me one, I wouldn't be mad. I would probably think you read this and were playing a joke on me. But then there is a chance that you were being serious, in which case, I probably would just pretend I liked it. But honestly, I think that is the most ridiculous successful business out there. I don't like my food to be shaped into objects. Plus, those arrangements are weird. <br />
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Speaking of gifts, this was Scot's birthday dinner this year. After returning from a trip to Puerto Rico, we were inspired to have a latin-ish meal. Yes, I know arepas and tamales are not Puerto Rican. But the whole time we were in Puerto Rico, Scot kept expressing his desire for corn based goodies. <br />
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I don't recommend this particular menu unless you want to be in the kitchen for 10 hours and eat dinner at 11 pm. But it was delicious. In addition, I made some cupcakes:<br />
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They were ridiculously good. I used <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/02/homemade-devil-dog-ding-dong-or-hostess-cake/">this recipe</a> from smitten kitchen. I did 1/3 of the cake recipe, and halved the marshmallow filling and chocolate ganache. It was the perfect amount for 12 cupcakes. These photos were taken right after I filled and frosted them. But they taste best if they are refrigerated and the ganache hardens. I should say: they taste AMAZING after that happens. The best way to fill is to cut out a little piece out of the top and put in some of the marshmallow filling (or even better, use a piping bag). Then spoon over some ganache, chill and serve. I also tried filling with ganache and topping with the marshmallow frosting, but I prefer the opposite way. The last change I made was I used all bittersweet chocolate. This was for Scot after all. <br />
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Yes, these are basically hostess cupcakes that take two hours to make. <br />
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Back to the arepas. Scot did say, "this is my favorite thing I have ever eaten". I am pretty sure that isn't the first time he has said that. If you have never gotten the opportunity to try arepas at a Venezuelan/Colombian restaurant or in SA, you must make these at home. They really aren't hard to make. The arepa itself is incredibly straight forward and simple. With the sauce and the filling, it is a lot of different things going on, but each component individually is very easy. Also, the guasacaca sauce can be made ahead of time. And arepas can be filled with whatever you want: meat (shredded, cubed), any cheese, seafood, beans, a chicken salad type thing, chiles, sweet potatoes, plantains, etc.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Arepas with Black Beans and Guasacaca<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">adapted from <a href="http://userealbutter.com/2010/10/27/arepas-with-guasacaca-recipe/">use real butter</a><o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 cups harina PAN<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 1/2 cups warm water
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 tsp salt
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2-3 tbsp vegetable or canola oil <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">more oil for cooking<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">avocado, sliced
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">14.5 oz. can of black beans, drained and rinsed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 tsp of pureed chipotles in adobo<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">salt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">guasacaca (see below)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Place the harina in a large bowl and add the warm water, salt, and vegetable oil (we used 3 tablespoons). Gently fold the mixture together until the moisture is roughly evenly distributed. Set the dough aside for at least ten minutes. The longer, the better. Meanwhile you can make the guasacaca (see below). When the dough has sat long enough, mix it together with your hands and moosh out any lumps between your fingers. Make sure it is uniformly mixed. Begin to form patties approximately 1/2-inch thick and 4-5 inches in diameter. You want them to have a uniform surface (avoid cracks) and to be relatively even in thickness. Using a paper towel or brush, apply a thin layer of vegetable oil on a flat pan like a cast iron skillet or something flat (NOT a non-stick pan). Set over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, place a few patties (like 3 or however many will fit without crowding) on the surface. Let sit for 5 to 10 minutes (depending on your heat and pan) until the bottoms begin to crackle and pop. Check the bottoms for doneness – when they are lightly golden, flip them over. After another 5 to 10 minutes, check the bottoms for doneness. They should be lightly golden and when you tap the arepa, it should be slightly springy. Remove from heat. If you are making a lot, you can keep the cooked arepas in a baking dish in a low oven (like 250°F) until you are ready to serve. This recipe makes 6 five-inch arepas. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">In the mean time, place the black beans, pureed chipotles in adobo, salt, pepper and some water in a wide skillet over medium high heat. Cook until all the water evaporates and until beans reach desired texture. Add water and repeat as need. Taste and adjust seasonings. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Slice the top half of an arepa open along the seam with a butter knife. Carefully scrape out some of the moist filling from the entire interior (you can save it to eat later with butter). When the arepa is hollowed out, fill it with avocado, black beans, cheese, and guasacaca.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">(Servings: 6, Prep time: 45 min., Cook time: 45 min., Difficulty: Easy)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Guasacaca (guacamole salsa)
<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 onion, peeled, topped, and cut into eighths
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 avocado, peeled and pitted
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2-3 tablespoons of white or rice wine vinegar (more if necessary)
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 cloves of garlic<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and cored
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 cups fresh parsley
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 cups fresh cilantro
salt to taste
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">3 tbsp vegetable oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Place the onion, avocado, vinegar, garlic, and jalapeño in a blender (or food processor) and purée until smooth. Add the parsley and cilantro and purée until smooth. If it is too dry and won’t blend, add more vinegar and push it toward the blade with a spoon or a spatula between pulses. Add salt to taste and then add the oil last.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/ArepaswithBlackBeansandGuasacaca.pdf">Printable Version</a></span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;"><b>foodforscot Ratings:</b></span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Shanon (taste): 9/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Scot (taste): 10/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Effort: 5/5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Dishwashing Effort: 5/5</span></div>
</div>Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-74635144647643723322012-06-05T21:54:00.000-06:002012-06-29T09:17:55.266-06:00Black Bean and Guacamole Burritos<div style="font: 12.0px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
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Burritos in the daylight. </div>
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I make guacamole a lot. Especially lately. And every single time I make it, I profess my love for it. It might be my current answer for, "What is your favorite food?" And when we eat it with chips, we have been buying these <a href="http://www.google.com/products/catalog?q=black+bean+chips&hl=en&client=safari&rls=en&prmd=imvnse&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_qf.,cf.osb&biw=1246&bih=609&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=shop&cid=14992599677930672491&sa=X&ei=nsfOT5nXCqqz6QGztKWqDA&ved=0CFoQ8wIwADgK#ps-sellers">black bean tortilla</a> chips. I don't get them because they are healthy, I just love those chips. And they come in a reasonable sized bag. </div>
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Also, we have been cooking up a batch of beans and eating them throughout the week in various ways. It is a nice thing to have around. And it is a really easy ingredient to make various dinners from. Still haven't perfected the bean making process, but you can't really mess it up. </div>
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This burrito is a combination of black beans, brown rice, queso fresco, lightly dressed greens and guacamole. I rated it a 10/10 of because it is everything it needs to be. And we have had it three times in the past week. </div>
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Try brown jasmine rice...it is very good.</div>
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Try <a href="http://www.foodservicedirect.com/product.cfm/p/170756/Maria-and-Ricardos-Organic-Whole-Wheat-Flour-Tortilla-8-inch.htm">this brand</a> of whole wheat tortillas. Not all whole wheat tortillas are created equally. Whole Foods Boulder makes some amazing burrito sized whole wheat tortillas (in house). But don't get the 365 brand or the generic whole foods brand...not good. </div>
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Also, queso fresco is amazing and I love it in these. But with the guac, you could easily leave the cheese out.</div>
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Someday I should consider shooting in such a away that avoids AC units and cords in general. It's art guys. </div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Black Bean and Guacamole Burritos<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 tbsp pureed chipotles in adobe sauce<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 cups of cooked brown rice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2-3 ounces of queso fresco <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 avocado, seed and skin removed<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 lime<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 small tomato, squeezed lightly to remove some juice and diced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">¼ of a small red onion, minced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">handful of cilantro, chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 tsp of light oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">4 large handfuls of spring mix or baby spinach<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 burrito sized whole wheat tortillas<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">salt and pepper<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Prepare guacamole by mashing the avocado together with some salt and the juice of half the lime. Add the diced tomatoes, minced red onion and cilantro and mix to combine. Taste, adjust seasonings and set aside.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">In a skillet over medium high heat, add black beans, pureed chipotles in adobo, and enough water to allow the beans enough liquid to simmer in. Season with salt and pepper. Bring to boil and simmer until all the water has evaporated. Taste, adjust seasonings, and repeat process of adding water and simmering off until you reach the desired texture. Add brown rice, mix and set aside over low heat until ready to assemble burritos.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Combine the juice of the other half of the lime, salt, pepper and 1 tsp of light oil. Add in the spring mix or spinach and toss to coat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Assemble the burrito: Start by warming one tortilla to make it more pliable (either over an open flame or in the microwave wrapped in a damp towel). Mound up half the spring mix or spinach, top with half the rice and bean mixture, crumble on half the queso fresco and top with half the guacamole. Wrap it up burrito style. Repeat with remaining ingredients to make a second burrito. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">(Servings: 2, Prep time: 25 min., Cook time: 20 min., Difficulty: Easy)<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/BlackBeanandGuacamoleBurritos.pdf">Printable Version</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;"><b>foodforscot Ratings:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Shanon (taste): 10/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Scot (taste): 9/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Effort: 3/5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Dishwashing Effort: 2/5</span></div>
</div>Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2672386608900520944.post-77237376386110396012012-05-31T20:23:00.000-06:002012-05-31T20:23:38.303-06:00Lemony Chicken with Cilantro and Kale<div style="font: 12.0px Georgia; margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;">
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And welcome back to foodforscot's Indian kitchen. <br />
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This is a delicious chicken dish. Packed full of lemon, ginger and cilantro. I added a bunch of kale and it was wonderful. <br />
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Also, have you ever tried brown Basmati rice? Do. It is my favorite. I even prefer it to white rice. I get mine in the bulk section at Whole Foods, so I don't have a brand to recommend. <br />
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NOTE: With these saucy chicken dishes, bone-in skinless chicken will be most delicious, however, you can really use whatever chicken cut you want. This time I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs (cut into smallish pieces) and it was still real good.<br />
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Lemony Chicken with Cilantro and Kale<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">by Madhur Jaffrey, “Indian Cooking” with modifications by foodforscot<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and coarsely chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 cup water<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">6 tbsp vegetable oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 ½ lbs of chicken pieces, skinned (bone in or not)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">5 cloves garlic, peeled and very finely chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 bunch of cilantro, very finely chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">½-1 fresh, hot green chili, very finely chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1/4 tsp cayenne pepper <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 tsp ground cumin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 tsp ground coriander<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">½ tsp ground turmeric<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 tsp kosher salt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 tbsp lemon juice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 bunch of kale, roughly chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Put the ginger and 4 tbsp water in the container of an electric blender. Blend until you have a paste<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Put the oil in a wide, heavy, preferably nonstick pan over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, put in as many chicken pieces as pan will hold in a single layer, and brown on both sides. Remove the chicken pieces with a slotted spoon and put them in a bowl. Brown all the chicken pieces this way.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Add the garlic to the hot oil. As soon as the pieces turn a medium-brown color, turn heat to medium and pour in the ginger paste. Stir-fry it for a minute. Now add the fresh coriander, jalapeno, cayenne, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and salt. Stir and cook for a minute.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Put in all the chicken pieces as well as any liquid that might have accumulated in the chicken bowl. Add 2/3 c. water and the lemon juice. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover tightly, turn heat to low, and cook for 15 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Turn the chicken pieces over and add the kale. Cover again and cook another 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender and kale has wilted. If the sauce is too thin, uncover the pan and boil some of it away over a slightly higher heat. Serve with Spiced Brown Basmati Rice (recipe below).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">(Servings: 6, Prep time; 20 min., Cook time: 40 min., Difficulty: Easy) <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">Spiced Brown Basmati Rice<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="font-family: Georgia;">by Madhur Jaffrey, “Indian Cooking” with modifications by foodforscot<o:p></o:p></span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 cups brown basmati rice<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">5 cups water<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">3 tbsp vegetable oil<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 small onion, finely chopped<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1/2 fresh, hot green chili, minced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1/2 tsp garlic, minced<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1/2 tsp garam masala<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">1 tsp salt<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">2 2/3 cups chicken stock<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Put the rice in a bowl. Wash it in several changes of water. Drain. Pour 5 cups of water over the rice and let it soak for 30 minutes. Let it drain in a strainer for 20 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Put the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot and set over medium heat. When hot, add the onion and fry, stirring often, until the onion has browned lightly. Add the rice, chili, garlic, garam masala and salt. Stir gently for about 4 minutes. If the rice begins to stick to the bottom of the pan, turn down the heat slightly. Pour in the stock and bring to a boil. Cover with a tight-fitting lid, turn the heat to very low and cook for 25 minutes.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><a href="https://sites.google.com/site/foodforscot/home/recipes/LemonyChickenwithCilantroandKale.pdf">Printable Version</a></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="color: purple; font-family: Georgia;"><b>foodforscot Ratings:</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Shanon (taste): 9/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Scot (taste): 8/10</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Effort: 3/5</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia;">Dishwashing Effort: 3/5</span></div>
</div>Shanonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07627931877607751380noreply@blogger.com0