Cucumber Salad

I had some leftover cucumbers this week and it was snack time. I whipped this up for me and my 3 year old... We both loved it and it was super easy!

The Ingredients:

• 1-½ whole Cucumbers
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 teaspoon Fresh Ground Pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Fresh Basil, Chopped
• 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
• ¼ cups Feta Cheese, Crumbled
• ¼ cups Nuts, Finely Chopped (I Used Walnuts & Pecans)

The Directions:

Cut cucumbers in half, lengthwise, then cut each half again to quarter. Then slice all of these into quarter-inch pieces and put in a large bowl. Mix in remaining ingredients

I added tomatoes into my bowl.

Penne with Potatoes, Green Beans and Pesto

I have mentioned this before but I have a new love... Tinkyada Pasta! Seriously this Brown Rice Pasta is my favorite. I think that I could eat the entire bag in one sitting. Joshua, our 3 year old loves it too!!!! 

Penne with Potatoes, Green Beans and Pesto

This is a gluten-free version of a classic Italian dish.

8 small red potatoes, washed and quartered

10-12 oz. fresh green beans, trimmed and cut

14-16 oz. Tinkyada brown rice penne

14 - 16 oz white beans

1/2 cup pesto

12 sweet grape or cherry tomatoes, washed, halved or quartered

1/4 cup pine nuts or slivered almonds

Parmesan, shavings or curls

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Cook the potatoes and green beans for 2 minutes. Add the Gluten Free pasta to the pot, stir and cook until the pasta is al dente and the potatoes are tender.


Drain it all in a colander, and pour the mixture into a large warmed serving bowl. Gently toss with the pesto.

I added Olive Oil and sauted garlic until tender and then added White Beans. Cook until the beans are cooked.

Scatter the tomatoes, pine nuts and shavings of Parmesan on top and serve immediately.

Serves 4

Zucchini Blueberry Bread

Saturday my family and I went to the Farmer's Market. I was the only one who made it out of the car because once we got the Farmer's Market it started to rain.

It was a very fast trip but don't worry - we got a lot of yummy things!!!! Especially BLUEBERRIES!!!!

I love blueberries.

and I love baking... I had an extra zucchini from my garden.

So I mixed the 3 together!!!

Zucchini Blueberry Bread

The Ingredients:
1/2 c. applesauce
1 - 1 1/2 cup Organic Palm Sugar
1 large egg plus 1 egg white
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. shredded zucchini (I used the entire zucchini!)
1 1/2 c. sprouted whole grain flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 c. fresh blueberries

The Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare one regular loaf pan or 3 mini loaf pans

In large bowl, combine oil and/or applesauce, sugars, egg and vanilla. Stir to combine well. Stir in zucchini to combine. Add flour, salt, baking powder and soda, cinnamon and fold ingredients until just barely combined. Fold in blueberries.

Place into loaf pan(s) and top with organic palm sugar.

Place in center of oven to bake until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, about 60-75 minutes for loaf pan and 35-40 minutes for miniature loaf pans.

Let cool in pans for 15 minutes and remove to let cool completely before slicing and serving.

Guacamole

Avocados!!!!

This household loves AVOCADO's! :) We eat them plain. We eat them with other veggies. We eat them with crackers. We LOVE them with chips!!!! I love to make different versions of "Gauc" but this always seems to be my fall back recipe! It is simple and delicious!!!!

Try this with some lime & cilantro chips!

The Ingredients:

3 - 5 ripe avocados

1 tomato, chopped

1 red onion, chopped

Lime Juice

Tomatillo Salsa

fresh cilantro

Salt and Pepper

The directions:

Saute the red onions in Olive Oil. Until softened.

Add all the ingredients together!

Serve and enjoy!

Spaghetti Squash

My family loves vegetables. About a year ago we discovered Spaghetti Squash. We love spaghetti squash!

Averaging from 4 to 8 pounds, the cylinder shaped spaghetti squash is generally available year-round with a peak season from early fall through winter. While a true spaghetti squash is pale ivory to pale yellow in color, in the early 1990's, an orange spaghetti squash, known as "Orangetti" was developed and this is what is frequently found in today's supermarkets. Higher in beta carotene, the orange variety is also bit sweeter than its paler counterpart, although both have a mild flavor that is easily enhanced by the food served with or on it. A dieter's dream, a four-ounce serving of spaghetti squash has only 37 calories.

The Ingredients:

1 large Spaghetti Squash

1 zucchini cut into small pieces

1 pattipan squash, peeled and chopped into small pieces

1 small bunch of green onions, chopped small

Italian Seasoning

Nutmeg

Feta Cheese

Salt & Pepper

The Directions:

Preheat the over to 400 degrees.

Poke fork holes all over the spaghetti squash. In a glass dish add 1/2 inch of water and then place spaghetti squash in it.

Bake for 45 minutes or until squash is tender.

While the spaghetti squash is baking cut up all the other vegetables. You really can add more of a variety of vegetables than listed above. Carrots, tomatoes, onions, garlic and much more would be delicious in this!

Saute all the vegetables in Raw Butter or Olive Oil until vegetables are tender. Season with Salt & Pepper, a few shakes of nutmeg (my new go to seasoning!), garlic salt and Italian Seasoning. Set aside in dish until Spaghetti Squash is done.

Cut squash in half and begin to fork out the spaghetti squash.

Just run your fork along the grain and the squash will begin to break apart and look like

spaghetti squash.

Once you fork out all the spaghetti squash, saute in the same pan as the other vegetables for about 2 - 3 minutes.

* I noticed this softened the squash noodles a little bit more.

Add all the ingredients into the pan and heat together. Add more seasonings if needed.

I then mixed in an entire block of Feta Cheese....

This was amazing! My in-laws stopped by as I finished making this and everyone wanted to recipe. It is that good!

I even added a little homemade spaghetti sauce on my son's plate. It was good with or without the sauce!

ENJOY!!!!

Homemade Salsa

My Garden is BLOOMING!!!! I feel like I am picking vegetables daily!

This Monday I went out to the garden and I had 8 or so BIG RED TOMATOES ready for picking! (Even after giving 8 or so away on Saturday) I have tried to come up with ways to use them but they were too big. I already have made stewed tomatoes, marinara sauce, and even tomato sauce. This time I wanted something new - why not SALSA!!!!

This recipe made 2 large jars and 3 small jars and a little jar for the fridge!!! :)

The Ingredients:

10 tomatoes peeled and chopped
2 green bell peppers
2 red bell peppers
1 large chopped onions
5 cloves garlic
2 yellow banana pepper or 1 chopped jalapenos
1/4 cup sugar
1 cups vinegar
5 teaspoons pickling salt
2 teaspoons black pepper
2 large cans tomato paste

The Directions
Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Then let Simmer 1 1/2 hr, stirring often, at the end of cooking time add 1/2 bunch of cilantro if desired.

Jar and process, 35 minutes for pint jars and 45 minutes for quart jars.

Fresh Farm Eggs

Here is a story that is in the news TODAY about an egg recall....

228 million eggs after being linked to an outbreak of salmonella poisoning.

I am glad that my family and I eat Fresh Farm Eggs.

If you haven't yet WATCH Food, Inc. rent it and watch it... I am sure you will never want to eat store bought eggs, chickens, beef and pork.

CSA and Coop groups!!!!!

I am finally going to blog on CSA and Coop groups!!!!!

For those 9 of you, who follow my blog, you will know that we are apart of a food share (or a CSA group). You may not know that we are also part of a Coop group. The Coop group is where we pick up local RAW milk and RAW butter, along with other great organic and local produce and vegetables.

This is our family's first year being apart of a CSA or Coop... This will NOT be our last. We will be joining these groups FOREVER!!!!! We have really enjoyed weekly pick ups of delicious (LOCAL and Organic) fruits and vegetables!

I wanted to make sure that I posted these GREAT resources for you, my 9 followers! :) These websites will help direct you in the right direction for local produce. I know that the season is slowing down in some areas but at least you will have the information for next year.

Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Directory.

Coop Directory Group Directory.

Also - here is a great site to find out when and where Local Farmer's Markets meet in your area!

Please feel free to ask me any questions about CSA and Coop Groups! I am here to help!!!!

I will list these resources on the sidebar of the blog!!!! I really hope that this websites help you eat more LOCAL grown food!!!! :)

New Potato chips/fries

It is summer time!!!! I love summer!!!! As summer comes to a close we will be BBQ more, now that it is cooler. It has just been too hot to grill.

This past week we got a bag of new potatoes in our CSA.

We made some Cheeseburgers (with RAW cheese!) and needed another side. I have been craving fries or chips. I think that they both go well with a cheeseburger so I made some baked potatoes thinly sliced.

They were a mix between fries and chips. Some were really crispy and others more fry like... DELICIOUS!!!!

The Ingredients:

Potatoes sliced thinly

Raw butter, melted

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

Other seasonings

The Directions:

On a cookie sheet, lined with foil, lay down sliced potatoes. Top with Melted RAW butter and Olive Oil. Add seasonings you desire.

Bake at 400 degrees until potatoes are cooked.

Mine took about 20 minutes.

Gluten Free Macaroni and (RAW) Cheese

I am so excited on how well this transformation turned out!!!! I took a FAMILY favorite and made it Gluten Free and baked it with RAW cheese.

Yes - I know that this is still not great for you but on occasion it is nice to have a good COMFORT food!

The Ingredients:

1 bag Brown Rice Elbow Noodles (Gluten Free)

1 block of RAW cheddar cheese - cut into small cubes

about 2 cups of RAW milk

3 TBSP RAW butter

3 TBSP Quinoa Flour

Salt and Pepper

1 TBSP Panko Bread crumbs

The Directions:

Cook the Elbow Noodles according to package. Drain and run under cold water. Then set aside.

In a saucepan, melt RAW butter. Add Quinoa Flour and mix together. Add in RAW milk and watch the flour turn into a RUE. Stir continuous. You may need to add more flour and that is fine!!!

Once the RUE is a thick add in the RAW cheddar cheese and stir.

Pour noodles into a 9x13 pan. Pour cheese sauce over noodles. You can stir the noodles around to make sure cheese sauce is mixed evenly.

I topped my Mac & Cheese with some more raw cheese and some panko breadcrumbs.

Bake at 350 degrees until bubbly (about 30 - 45 minutes)

ENJOY!!!!

Gluten Free Macaroni and (RAW) Cheese

Tonight we are having a neighborhood block party and we are all to provide a side...

Tonight I am making GLUTEN FREE Macaroni and (RAW) cheese!!!!

Tonight my neighbors will be fooled....

Tomorrow I will post a picture and recipe!

Roasted Vegetables with Brown Rice Pasta

My garden is doing great!!!! I am getting 1 - 2 zucchini's a week, 1 - 2 yellow crock necked squash a week, and PEPPER galore!

I love that this meals vegetables came entirely from my garden!!!!


My family and I LOVE Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta! It is the best Brown Rice Pasta and the best Gluten Free Pasta!!! We love love love Tinkyada!

The Ingredients:

1 - 2 zucchini's

1 - 2 yellow squash

1 - 2 green bell pepper

Olive Oil

Salt and Pepper to taste

Italian Seasoning

Tinkyada Brown Rice Pasta (follow directions on the bag)

The Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Chop all the vegetables the same size. Drizzle Olive Oil over all the vegetables and season with salt and pepper, Italian seasoning, and whatever else you would like to use.

Roast vegetables until tender and just starting to crisp! You may need to add more Olive Oil half way through.

Add roasted vegetables to cooked Brown Rice Pasta. You can add pesto or tomato sauce or even leave it plain. You can add fresh Parmesan.

This meal is kind of a do it yourself... add what sounds good and mix! :) I am pretty sure you can't go wrong!!!! :)

Tomato and Basil Hummus

Last night while walking through Whole Foods I saw a pre made hummus with Tomatoes and Basil. I couldn't wait to try and come up with a delicious recipe. The mixture just sounds AMAZING! I love Tomatoes and Basil together!!!! :)

Tomatoes are going strong in our garden and I am picking more than I can eat and can.

So - why not make this Tomato and Basil Hummus!!!!

(These tomatoes came from my garden!!!!)

I ran into a small problem why making this delicious hummus....

My blender decided to shred and break. I am going to miss my blender because I have had it for 6 years and it works great but I am on to try new things. I think we will be getting a Vitamix soon! I can't wait to try it out...

I used my small (very small) food processor to finish the hummus.

Tomato and Basil Hummus

I used the basic hummus recipe I posted earlier and added some fresh tomatoes and Basil.

The INGREDIENTS

4 garlic cloves, minced and then mashed

2 15-oz cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed

2/3 cup of tahini (roasted, not raw)

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1 tomato, skinned and chopped

• 1/4 cup finely shredded fresh basil

Pine nuts (toasted) and parsley (chopped) for garnish

THE DIRECTIONS

In a food processor, combine the mashed garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add salt, starting at a half a teaspoon, to taste. Finally, add in chopped tomato and basil.

Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley.

Serve with crackers, raw dip vegetables such as carrots or celery, or with pita bread. You can cut the pita bread into thin triangles, brush with olive oil and toast for 10 minutes in a 400°F oven to make pita chips with which to serve the hummus.

Makes about 3 cups.

• 
  

I made a little too much so I bagged some up and put in the freezer.

Hummus Recipe

I love hummus! I eat hummus - pretty much EVERYday! Here is my basic hummus recipe. Using this basic hummus recipe I will add different ingredients. I have made roasted red pepper hummus, tomato and basil, spinach and eggplant.... Those recipes to come!

Hummus Recipe

THE INGREDIENTS

4 garlic cloves, minced and then mashed

2 15-oz cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed

2/3 cup of tahini (roasted, not raw)

1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon of salt

Pine nuts (toasted) and parsley (chopped) for garnish

The DIRECTIONS

In a food processor, combine the mashed garlic, garbanzo beans, tahini, lemon juice, 1/2 cup water, and olive oil. Process until smooth. Add salt, starting at a half a teaspoon, to taste.

Spoon into serving dish and sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and chopped parsley.

Serve with crackers, raw dip vegetables such as carrots or celery, or with pita bread. You can cut the pita bread into thin triangles, brush with olive oil and toast for 10 minutes in a 400°F oven to make pita chips with which to serve the hummus.

Makes about 3 cups.

Pea Soup

I guess I am looking forward to FALL and WINTER. I am in a serious SOUP kick!!!!

Here is another soup recipe!!!! But just not any soup recipe... the best pea soup I have EVER had!!!

THIS PEA SOUP was so delicious!!! My husband is not a fan of peas or pea soup and he loved this soup!!! :) It is now going to be in our soup rotation.

Ingredients.

2 cups dried split peas

4 cups water (or chicken broth)

1 cup celery rib, chopped

1 cup potato, choped

1 cup carrots, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1/4 tsp thyme

1 bay leaf

1/2 tsp salt

1 garlic clove, chopped

1/2 tsp dried basil

The Directions.

Add all ingredients to crockpot and cook on low for 8 - 12 hours.

Artichoke Hummus

Artichoke Hummus

The Ingredients:

1 15-ounce can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
6 ounces marinated artichoke hearts, drained and rinsed
1 clove garlic, peeled and chopped or pressed
2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)
juice of half a lemon (or more, to taste)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or to taste)

The Directions:

In a food processor, combine garbanzo beans, artichoke hearts, garlic, tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil. Process until smooth, adding water to thin if necessary. Add salt to taste. Extra lemon juice or tahini may also be added to taste.

Spoon hummus onto a plate, creating a bit of a well in the center. Drizzle with olive oil and garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Serve with your favorite flat bread, crackers, chips, or fresh vegetables.

Homemade Tomato Soup

YUM YUM YUM!!!!

Like I said before - and before that - and I am sure even before that... We are getting bags and bags of tomatoes right now in our food share. I have made sauces, stewed tomatoes and now SOUP!!!!

Why have canned tomato soup when this soup is so easy and SOOOOOO delicious!

The Ingredients:

12 ounces tomato sauce or diced tomatoes (I used fresh tomatoes - peeled each and every single one)
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 cup heavy cream (or half/half or whole milk)
sea salt & pepper

The Directions:

Combine all ingredients in saucepan. If using diced tomatoes, use stick blender to make the soup smooth. Heat on medium high about 5-10 minutes but do not boil.

Coucous with Dried Cranberries and Pine Nuts

Couscous with Dried Cranberries and Pine Nuts


Ingredients:
1 14/ c. water
2 tsp. canola or olive oil
juice of half a lemon
1 c. instant whole-wheat couscous
1/3 c. dried cranberries
1/4 c. chopped parsley
1/4 c. pine nuts, toasted
zest of half a lemon
1/4 c. feta cheese, crumbled
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
1. In a medium pot over medium heat, bring water, oil, and lemon juice to a boil. Stir in couscous, cover, and let sit, covered, for five minutes.

2. Remove lid and fluff with a fork. Add cranberries, parsley, pine nuts, and lemon zest. Using a rubber spatula, gently incorporate the ingredients.

3. Either put in a serving bowl or on individual plates or bowls. Top with feta and serve.