Hubby's daily lunch

I'm so thankful to have a husband who loves peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  It's an easy, quick lunch to pack in the morning.  Since changing our diets to a more whole food diet, he's said goodbye to the everyday Cool Ranch Doritoes and has said hello to fruit salad.  Here's his typical lunch....  and he'll take iced green tea to drink.

Brownberry 10 grain bread, peanut butter and homemade strawberry jam

Kiwi, honeydew, cantalope, blueberry

My new juicer

I love kitchen gadgets.  All kinds.. so when I received my new juicer from my husband, for my birthday, I was ecstatic.  I'm excited to add juicing to my diet..  I've read books, watched movies and heard from friends about the great benefits juicing has on your health.  I've made several juices since I've had it but forgot to take pictures of them... but this is yesterdays breakfast.

 It is the cleaning out the refrigerator fruit medley juice

1 kiwi, 1 pear, watermelon, honeydew and 1 carrot 

  I haven't made one juice that I haven't like yet...  and I know that putting it a pretty glass helps a lot!

Wild rice with sauteed vegetables

One of my favorite meals.. I make this a lot for my family.

1 cup wild rice blend (follow instructions on package)

2 large carrots

2 celery stalks

1/2 onion

1 portabella cap

4 regular mushrooms

4 garlic cloves minced

splash of olive oil

Opt.  Salmon fillet

My go to wild rice favorite

 Dice carrots, celery, mushrooms, garlic and onions. Saute in a pan with a splash of olive oil and cook until tender.

Place your rice and sauteed veggies in a large bowl and mix well.

Optional..  I grilled a salmon fillet on my grill after marinating it in soy sauce and garlic for about an hour.  Placed it on a plate and cut it up in chunks and placed some on all our plates.. it was delicious.

Frozen bananas

A friend of mine gave me this tip when I was making smoothies all the time (which I started doing again).. when your bananas are getting too ripe... 

Cut them up in chunks, place on wax paper on a plate big enough to fit into your freezer and when they freeze completely put them into a Ziplock freezer bag.  They won't stick together and you can just pull a couple out at a time and throw them into your blender when making your smoothies..

BUT.... I bet you could use them for so many other great things...   like dipping them in chocolate :) 

Baked kale

I have discovered my new favorite "great for you" snack..  I've been hearing from a dear friend how wonderful baked kale chips were and have never even seen them at the grocery store.  I was a super lucky and loved recipient of a huge bag of kale from my aunts garden.  (can you say favorite niece?:)  now, said dear friend is a bit jealous of my bounty...  but still my biggest fan...

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and simply tear the kale into bite side pieces, discarding the hard middle stem, and place on a light colored baking sheet.  (The first time I tried this I put them on my dark "seasoned" cookie sheet and drizzled olive olive oil on top and burnt it... you may better luck.)  Sprinkle with salt.

Some of the kale stalks were the size of my arm

Place in the oven for 5 minutes and take it out and make sure they're not sticking to the bottom and move them around a bit.  Put back in the oven for 5 minutes..  they should be very green and very crispy and dry.. I took off what was done and put the others back in for a minute or two. 

As you can see the taste testing of the kale chips leaves huge gaps on the cookie sheet :)

Place them on a plate and season them with whatever you like... we had them so far with nutritional yeast and with just plain salt.  Delicious!  They are melt in your mouth, crispy, and wonderful.. they even remind me of roasted pumpkin seeds.  If you've never had kale chips.. it is worth trying and a really quick and nutritious snack to whip up. 

Basic yeasted bread

My very first attempt at making my own bread and I'm so pleasantly surprised at how easy it was.  In the process of making this loaf, I was chatting with a friend and forgot to add the oil and salt... so being encouraged by my friend to go ahead and add it at the end, I did.. and it still came out fabulous.  I'm now convinced it's the "can't mess up bread".   I guess the true test will be in the making of my next loaf.  

 1 t. active dry yeast

1 1/3 cups lukewarm (95 -105 degrees) non-chlorinated water

1 t. sugar, barley malt syrup or honey (I used sugar)

2 T. olive oil

2 T. fine sea salt

3/4 cup whole wheat flour or whole rye flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)

3 cups unbleached white bread flour

1. In a bowl, combine the yeast, water, and sugar.  Stir to blend and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.  Stir in oil and salt.

2.  Add all of the whole wheat flour and enough of the white flour to form a ragged mass of dough.  Scoop the dough out onto a clean, lightly floured surface.  Wash out the bowl and thoroughly clean and dry your hands.


3.  Knead the dough for 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.


4.  Lightly coat the inside of the bowl with oil.  Turn the dough over several times in the bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap.  (I used aluminum foil with a large rubber band around it to keep it closed)

After kneading for 10 minutes

 5.  Refrigerate the dough for at least 12, or up to 48, hours

This is the dough after 2 days of resting in the refrigerator

6. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature, about two hours

7.  To shape the dough for a loaf,  gently press it into a 1-inch-thick circle.  Fold the top third of the dough over and press to form a seam in the middle of the circle.  Frol the bottom third to meet the seam and press firmly with your fingers to seal.  Flip the dough over and tuck in the edges.  Place the dough, seam side down, in a lightly greased loaf pan.

Cover the dough with a damp towel and set aside for about 1 hour, or until the dough rises an inch above the pan.  Uncover the dough and gently brush the top with oil or melted butter.  Bake for 45 minutes at 400 degrees until it sounds hollow when tapped underneath or the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees.  

 8.  Turn the bread out onto a rack to cool for at least 45 minutes before slicing.

So pretty and made the house smell wonderful.

 Recipe from:  The modern vegetarian kitchen by Peter Berley  ...  I received this great cookbook many years ago from Terry and Chery Parker :)  I still love it!  Thanks so much.

Zucchini sweet relish

My Aunt Cathy gave me these beautiful zucchinis and it was a great opportunity to fill the cupboard with my favorite sweet relish. 

4 large zucchini

4 cups onions (about 5)

2 green peppers

4 T. salt

 Cut zucchini in half and take out seeds.  Don't peel.  Using your food processor, grind up 10 cups of zucchini.  (or you can use the small side of  a shredder)

 Grind your onions, green pepper and add to a large bowl.

 Add your salt and stir well. Cover and let stand in the refrigerator overnight.

 Rinse in cold water gently, squeeze out excess water and place in a large pan.  (I use my black canning kettle) 

 Add..

2 1/2 cups white vinegar

5 cups sugar

1 t. dry mustard

2 T. cornstarch

2 t. celery seed

1/4 t. pepper

1 t. tumeric

Mix well and cook at a low boil for 30 minutes.  Pack into jars.  One batch makes about 8 pints.  I pressure cook my jars 5 lbs. for 5 minutes.. just long enough to get them to seal. We use this for tarter sauce, on top of Boca burgers and veggie hotdogs.  

Spinach salad with sweet potato

Who puts a salad on a blog, right? Well, me.. While making this I was on the phone with my biggest fan. I was telling her how pretty everything was and how wonderful the sweet potato smelled, so I wanted to share it with her and maybe inspire some beautiful salads everywhere.

spinach
tomato
bell pepper
black olives
carrot
Dressing: 1 T. olive oil, sprinkled in some red wine vinegar, salt and vinegar into a little plastic bowl with lid and blended. Then drizzled onto the salad.

Baked sweet potato: poke holes in potato and place on baking sheet for 1 hour in a 400 degree oven. I put a little pat of butter and drizzled a little bit of local honey on top.

Everything was fantastic.. so that's why I had to post a salad :)

Cheese raviolis with garden tomatoes

This was a staple meal in our house all summer when the tomatoes in the garden were so plentiful... Our tomatoes are now done but here's a tribute to a great quick dinner...

4 average sized tomatoes
6 garlic cloves (use as many as you like, we LOVE garlic)
fresh basil (again, use as much as you like)

Chop up tomatoes, garlic and basil and place in a bowl and let sit for 5 minutes.. this lets all the flavors combine. After 5 minutes, place tomato mixture on a baking sheet and heat in a preheated oven (400 degrees) for 5 minutes.. just long enough to warm up.

Meanwhile cook cheese raviolis according to package directions and place on your plate (I salt and pepper the raviolis right before I spoon the tomatoes on top)

So quick so delicious!

Smoothies

Mmmmm... I can't say enough about smoothies. I love smoothies. Such an easy way to get in so many great fruits and vegetables without having to chew :) Our recipes change and you can be so creative.. I have yet to make one I haven't liked.

The one pictured consists of:

1/2 apple
1/2 banana
1 cup frozen blueberries
a healthy handful of spinach
1 cup of almond milk
not pictured but in there... 1/2 cup oatmeal

And blend..

Pour into a glass and enjoy.. I know that since we've started drinking these in the morning Jim and I have felt so much better.. although it could be that we actually started exercising too.. who knows but feeling better and having more energy is what it's all about.

Blueberry Bounty Buns

Lately we've been drinking smoothies in the morning.. all kinds. So when Jim needed to go out of town and needed some road trip snacks this is what I packed him. I made these in my small muffin pan so they could be eaten in one or two bites, but they can be spooned out onto a baking sheet with great results. So moist and so delicious!

1 cup ground oats (put quick oats in the blender until it's flour consistency)
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour)
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. sea salt
3/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used Original Silk Almond milk)
1 T. flax meal (I used Chia seeds)
2 T. pure maple syrup
1 t. pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil (I used olive oil, it's all I use anymore)
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, combine the ground oats and flour, and sift in the baking powder and baking soda. Stir in the remaining dry ingredients and mix to combine well. In another bowl, combine the non-dairy milk and flax meal, stir and let sit for 1 minute. Add the maple syrup, vanilla, and canola oil, and stir through. Add the blueberries. Immediately add the wet mixture to the dry mixture, and stir through until just well combined. Scoop large spoonfuls of the mixture (roughly 1/2 cup each) onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20-23 minutes, until the buns are lightly golden and are set in the center (gently touch to check). Remove from the oven and let cool on pan for 1 minute, then transfer to a cooling rack.

Makes 6-7 buns or 24 small muffins :)

Recipe from Vive Le Vegan! by Dreena Burton (one of my favorites! An awesome gift from Pam Massey so many years ago)

Eggplant, Roma tomato & Basil

2 small eggplants
Olive oil
4 roma tomatoes
basil leaves
salt, pepper & garlic powder
spinach & garlic cloves (opt.)

I peeled and sliced my roma tomatoes lengthwise and set aside.

I sliced my eggplant lengthwise in 1/4 inch slices.. sprinkled with salt and sat aside for 20 mins. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels and place on your baking sheet.

I sprayed olive oil on each side of my eggplant slice.. sprinkled garlic powder, salt and pepper. Place under broiler for 6 or so minutes and then flip over and repeat on the other side until you get your desired doneness. I like mine a bit charred :)

Once done, place tomato and basil leaf...

and roll.. Place baking sheet back in the oven just long enough to heat the tomato and basil...

Meanwhile.. I chopped my fresh garlic and sauteed in a bit of olive oil until fragrant..

threw a couple handfuls of spinach and cooked on low until wilted

Put spinach on plate and place your eggplant rolls on top and ENJOY!

Although it was super delicious, my only wish would be that eggplants were seedless. I spent a lot of time separating the seeds from my bite. Would I have this again? Definitely! It was very quick to prepare. This recipe was adapted from The Practical Encyclopedia of Whole Foods by Nicola Graimes.