Thai Peanut Bowl

Well, unfortunately you cant tell by the picture, but there is Brown Rice and Fresh Spinach in there. I had something similar to this at Choco Canyon Organic Cafe last summer, and loved it. There is a scoop of Brown Rice, fresh chopped Spinach(from my garden!!), Sauteed Veggies, and a lovely, Sweet and Spicy Peanut Sauce. Topped with Toasted Sesame Seeds and chopped Scallions, I even outdid myself with this one! Alex was telling me This is called a Swimming Rama in the Thai restaurants.(I'm sure mine is better ;)

Brown Rice
3 Cups Veggie Stock
2 tsp. each Onion & Garlic Granules
Salt&Pepper
1&1/2 Cups Brown Rice

Combine Stock and Spices and bring to a boil. Add rice and bring back to a boil. Turn down, cover with a lid and let cook till all the water is absorbed, about 30-35 minutes.

Sauteed Veggies
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
1/2 Yellow Crook Neck Squash
A Few Broccoli Florettes
2 Large Carrots
 Honestly, you could really use whatever veggies you had laying around that needed to go. Or whatever veggies your family likes to eat. Chop all in med size chunks and saute lightly in a little cooking oil. Salt & Pepper

Chopped Spinach

So when Alex got home from work I was telling him my plan for dinner. About how I had had this dish last summer and was really excited to have recreated it with things we already had in the fridge. I was however, bummed that we did not have the fresh spinach layer. He looked at me like I was crazy and said, Uh, what about the fresh spinach from the garden? Good lord, I had forgotten about that! I am obviously still stuck in winter mode, and forgot we have some food growing in the front yard! I planted said spinach last fall, and really, kinda forgot it was out there. It had started to sprout when Alex put the hoops over the garden, But has gone crazy the last few weeks! The leaves I cut and used for dinner last night were all the size on my entire hand! It was really "thick" for spinach and tasted great! The amazing taste and extra nutrients from home grown veggies never ceases to amaze me. For this dish I left the pieces a little large, they will wilt slightly from the heat on the other cooked ingredients.

Thai Peanut Sauce
1 Cup water
1/4 Cup Adams Crunchy Peanut Butter
1-2 Tbs Braggs Liquid Amino Acids, or Soy Sauce
2 tsp. Toasted Sesame Oil
1 Tbs. Rice Wine Vinegar
2 tsp. each Onion and Garlic Granules(You could also use these fresh, lightly sauteed )
1/2 to 1 Tbs. Honey
1-2 tsp. Sriracha Chili Garlic Sauce or other Chili Sauce

Combine water and Peanut Butter in a small sauce pan. Heat on medium heat till combined, stirring constantly (I may have learned that one the hard way!) Once combined add remaining ingredients. Reduce on low heat until it reached the consistency you want for your sauce. You can always add more water if it gets too thick. Salt and Pepper!

So to serve, I used a large Ice Cream scoop to dish the rice. Then sprinkled with chopped spinach. Layer on the veggies, the heat will slightly wilt the spinach. Drizzle on the sauce, and sprinkle with seeds and scallions. If you had Peanuts on hand..a few chopped would be great on here also. As soon as I have more hand sized spinach leaves, I will for sure be making this one again!

BBQ Marinated Tofu samich with slaw and radish sprouts

I have been feeling a bit uninspired on the food front, I just hate it when that happens. We have been eating out a bit more lately than we did the previous couple months. I feel like I'm getting my groove back though. This one was a real winner, although, if I had it to do over again, I would give the marinade more time to soak up. We were super hungry and in a hurry to get dinner on the table so it was only in the marinate for maybe 2 hours. I would say 4-5 is minimum. I was craving BBQ and this hit the spot.

Tofu BBQ Marinate
1 Cup Braggs Cider Vinegar
1/4 Cup Canola Oil
2 Tbs. Honey
Squirt of Sriracha Sauce
Chili Powder, Cumin, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Salt & Pepper

Wrap Tofu in Paper towels and squeeze and press the water out. Cut tofu into 1/2 inch slices laying them on paper towels and cover with paper towels to blot off remaining water. Pour Marinate into shallow baking dish and lay sliced tofu on top. After 1-2 hours in marinate flip tofu pieces.  After 4-5 hours to overnight in the marinate fry in hot oil till dark brown on both sides.

Slaw
2 Cups shredded Cabbage
2 Shredded Carrots
Handful of diced Snap Peas
2 Sliced and chopped Scallions
Toss with about 1/2 cup of the marinate from tofu

I served this on Daves Awesome Bread, but it would have been lovely on some homemade Whole Wheat buns as well. The Radish Sprouts really gave it a nice spicy crunch and acted in place of lettuce. I also sliced up a couple potatoes and dusted them with flour and spices. Then baked them in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes. This was my take on a BBQ Samich with fries. It was a good healthy alternative that I will be making again for sure!

Fruit Leather and Seed Sprouting

One of those things is easier than the other! I have made several attempts at fruit leather and have only gotten one of them right. In the above picture is my first successful batch of Strawberry fruit leather. They are super yummy and the texture is right on. This same day I also made a Mango leather, which was just about done when I put it back in the oven because it was still a little bit tacky to the touch. One thing you want when making fruit leather is for it to be totally not sticky on top. So, I put it back in the oven, but I think I forgot to turn the oven down as low as it would go, leaving it at 350. The plastic wrap fused to the bottom side of the fruit leather and I could not get it off. I can see why this method of storing fruit is so good for folks with excess fruit, but not so good when your paying full price for it. I think I will wait to try more when I have tons of cherries from moms tree to work with. I would also love to perfect some Apple leather, shouldn't be a problem finding extra apples this fall in my hometown of Selah,Wa!

Strawberry Fruit Leather
2 Lbs. Strawberries stemmed and cored
1/2 Cup Honey

                                        Mango(before I killed it ) & Strawberry fruit leather

Cut Strawberries in half and put them in a large pot with honey and cook till just soft. About 30 Minutes.  Put in the blender and blend till smooth. I leave the seeds in, I kinda like the crunch and that's where all the fiber lives. If you wanted you could put this through a jelly bag to remove seeds. Line a baking sheet with plastic wrap or silicone mat and spread mixture as evenly as possible. You want it about 1/4 inch thick. The optimum temp is somewhere between 130-150 degrees for drying fruit leather. My oven only goes down to 170 so its a little too hot. I have a warming drawer, it holds at about 130, so its about perfect. It will take about 6-8 hours and you want to keep the drawer/oven door open a cracker to allow moisture to escape. After about 5 hours start checking, its done when it is no longer sticky to the touch. Let cool and rip or cut into the sizes you want. I stored mine in wax paper tied with my old bulk food ties! REDUCE, REUSE, RECYCLE!

SPROUTS!

                                                              (Mung Bean Sprouts)

This combines two of my favorite things, Good healthy food and Vintage canning jars. I have been into sprouting seeds for a long time. It comes and goes from my life, like a lot of things. It is a super easy, inexpensive way to get nutrients that are yummy added to a variety of dishes. I put them in salads, on Sandwiches, in my Spring Rolls, In my Pasta dishes and they are also good on scrambled eggs. We have all seen the plastic boxes full of sprouts in the grocery store. If this is what you think of when you hear "sprouts", think again. Those are alfalfa sprouts and they are just the tip of the iceberg in the sprouting world(if there was such a thing). LOL. Who wants to eat Alfalfa? not me. But who wants to eat radishes, broccoli, and Sunflower seeds? Heck yes I do! Turns out you can sprout all of these seeds and they have a hint of the veggie flavor you would expect from the full grown veggie. Radish sprouts are spicy and sunflower sprouts are very nutty. And unlike the white Mung Bean spouts we are all used to, I let mine get a nice set of green leaves. You Can pick up plastic sprouting lids at a variety of places. I have seen them for sale in a 3 pack at PCC in Seattle recently. You can use any jar that the lid will fit onto without leaking everywhere. You can also get the little trays, I have tried 2 different ones and found them to be a super big pain in the ass really. Im all for the jars. You can also use the rings that come with canning jars and cut a piece of fiber type screen to fit inside your ring. I know some folks also sprout in a wet paper towel on a plate. Get creative! Sprouting seeds are pretty readily available also. I have seen them at PCC, Whole Foods and in gardening centers in the same section with the garden seeds. Simply put some in the jar and soak overnight. Then drain off water and keep them damp till they are ready to eat. I rinse mine daily to keep any old water rinsed off.

Worm Bin

If somebody would have told me 5 years ago that I would be keeping bees and worms, I would have told them they were crazy. As it turns out, by most standards, I'm the crazy one. I have a box of worms, garbage and food scraps outside my back door. And I think they are the coolest things around(next to my box of bees in the back yard of course!) It all started with the above book, WORMS eat my garbage. I read it on the bus in the mornings on my way to work, and Alex read most of it over my shoulder. This book outlines the benefits of composting with worms, and also includes step by step instructions on building your own bin. We decided it was an easy enough way to recycle old food, while building awesome black gold for our garden.  Basically you give these guys a wormy habitat to live in, feed them your food scraps and they poop out gardening gold! The optimum wormy habitat means, yard debris, shredded news paper, Leaves, basically anything you would find in piles in your back yard. Make a nice bed for them layering debris and shredded paper, this layer keeps it nice and dry in your worm bin. We made the mistake of letting our bin get too wet and got an infestation of maggots, ewwwww. If it gets too dry the worms will literally dry up and die. When adding food scraps, you find a spot, dig a hole in the bedding and dump in your scraps. Cover all food scraps well, We also found out the hard way, that uncovered food scraps will attract local vermin.

 This is the worm bin we have that Alex built last summer. We started with a large Rubbermaid bin in the garage which worked well, but what you really want is 2 sides available. One side with active worms and plenty of bedding that you feed food scraps, and the other side mostly empty. When you decide the side with the worms is ready to harvest, you start adding bedding and fresh food scraps to the empty side. The worms will naturally be drawn to the fresh food, leaving the "ready to go" side to be used. You then sift out the big chunks with a screen and use the smaller stuff that falls through. The square thing sitting there is a wooden framed screen, for sifting out the big chunks from the usable worm compost. You can see the one side is mostly empty, Alex sifted it all out last weekend and Now I have this lovely wheel barrow of ready to use compost! The benefits of worm compost are numerous. You can also make what is called "worm tea", by taking a cloth bag full of fresh worm compost and Submerging it in water for a few days. You want to add an air stone to bubble the water while it steeps to keep the water from getting stagnant and funky. This can then be diluted and added to the water you water your plants with.

Not into worms? That's cool, you can still compost. The same basic thing can be done with out using worms, you just have to be a little more selective what you are putting in. Worm bins can handle dairy, meat scraps and bones, and cooking oil, where as you would not want to put these things in a wormless compost pile. If you are a gardener, and especially if you are an Organic gardener, Composting is a free or cheap way to reuse your scraps to make something awesome for your growing plants!

Farmers Market Goodness

The University District Farmers Market is Saturday morning from 9-2. We don't make it down there every week, but when we do, I am a happy girl. We got there Yesterday around 11, the sun was shinning and the market was packed. Last summer we often jumped on a 73 bus, which runs right in front of our house and drops us at the front gate of the Market. We had some other shopping to do yesterday, so we drove. Parking is pretty good, we usually find something within a few blocks. A regular purchase for us is farm fresh eggs. I remember having chickens when I was younger and being totally grossed out by the weird bright orange yolks. And when my mom told me that was from eating bugs and weeds in the garden, I longed for the "normal", pale yellow grocery store eggs. Boy how things have changed. I have been called a snob of many things in my life. Coffee snob, Yeah, I will fess up to that one. Food snob, yep, that one too. How could I have guessed I would one day be an egg snob? Well, folks, I am. And you should be too! The moms started raising chickens again a few years ago. Being the Local, Organic Food kinda gal that I am, I had to give those weird orange yolked things a try again. Oh man! The flavor is out of this world and don't even get me started on the increased nutritional value in free range eggs. So moms eggs have now set the bar...High! Those are the most gorgeous egg yolks around. And I have seen these ladies eat, they are treated well. Not only with a large yard to roam for bugs and grass, but mom feeds them leftovers and my brother the produce guy sends them boxes of fruit and veggie scraps! So, needless to say we are ecstatic when we get some of moms eggs, but unfortunately she lives on the other side of the state. So, when I cant have hers, I go for Goat eggs at the market. Goat eggs? you say? There is a super cool gal at the University District Farmers Market that sells Free Range Eggs along side Goat meat that she raises. Her Farm is Called Toboton Creek Ranch, and her eggs yolks measure up! The first time we purchased from her a few years ago, when approaching her stand I made a joke about the signs reading "goat eggs" and now she always remembers us when I mention wanting to buy some Goat eggs. Yesterday we also picked up some carrots and in the little box there are dry dragons tongue beans! I'm super excited to try them. The bag in the back holds Sunflower sprouts, also new for us. Alex got some dried peppers there and made chili last night that was so hot it about ran me out of the house! The two plastic wrapped packages with the little paper tags are fruit leather. My goal this year is to figure out how to make good thick fruit leather snacks. I have tried a few times and come close, but not exact. Alex just picked up a seal a meal, which i think will be handy for storing them once I perfect making them.

If Fresh eggs and veggies don't lure me there, the promise of fresh made Naan bread with a shmear of Cilantro garlic chutney will. Oh man, do I love this bread. You can see the guy in the top picture making them in his big portable Tandoor oven there. This folks, is why I would never make it on the Atkins diet. On the Menu is also; Chicken Masala, Veggie Masala, Dal, and a combo plate. We have never ventured past the Naan, but I imagine it is all good. 

I know some of you live in areas that only have Farmers Markets in the summer, but I hope you are taking full advantage of them when you can. The more people that shop there during the on season, the more reason they have to expand into the spring and fall months. It is a great way to see where your food is coming from and also to meet the people that are growing it. Often you will find fruits and veggies that you have never tried and some that are not available anywhere else. It is also a good way to get inspired to try a new hobby like canning or soap making. Get out there folks, Meet your farmers, and EAT MORE VEGGIES!

The Bechamel Trials

What the hell is a Bechamel (besh-a-mel). Hah, that rhymes! Wow, i think the new brand of coffee I switched to may have a higher caffeine content than my last..whoo! Anyway, Bechamel is just a fancy name for white sauce. I decided I wasn't too sure about using Almond milk in some of my recipes. The last few times I used it I noticed a sweet "off" flavor. I decided to try a few of the other milk alternatives out there and see how they stand up taste wise.

Soy, Rice, and Hemp made it into the running for "best milk alternative". Soy is 90 Calories per cup with 40 of those coming from fat. It is low in carbs, a mere 5 per cup serving. The flavor in the sauce was fairly neutral but I found it harder to get a smooth sauce out of it. The Rice Milk is 120 Calories with only 20 of those coming from fat. 23 Carbs per serving and this particular brand is enriched with Vitamins A, D, B and Calcium. I would prefer to get those things naturally and not added. With the low fat content its no surprised that this made a fairly translucent sauce. There was a slight sweet flavor that I was trying to avoid. The Hemp Milk was the winner in my book. It is Highest in calories and fat, big surprise. 140 Calories with 45 of those from fat. It is naturally high in Omega 3 & 6. The sauce this made was pretty damn good. Super smooth with a really nice Nutty flavor. At the end of my super Scientific Sauce Experiment this is the one I added a few things to and added to some Whole Wheat elbow pasta and made Hella Vegan Mac & Cheese.

This simple white sauce is one of the first things I remember learning how to make. My mom used this to thicken soups and sauces all the time. Using oil in place of butter is new to me, but with some spices in there, the butter is not missed. I started with 3 pans all with 2 TBS. of Canola Oil. Heated them up and added 2 Tbs. flour to each pan. Stirred them together and at this point we have an oil Rue. Let this "toast" till it turns a slight golden brown. Add 2 Cups warmed "milk" to each pan. Add salt and pepper to each and stir till thickened. Like I said, the Hemp won on flavor and texture.

Vegan Mac & Cheese

Take the above recipe for Hemp White Sauce and add the following.
3 Tbs Nutritional Yeast
1/2 Tbs. Granulated Garlic
Salt and pepper to taste.

Some Whole Wheat Elbow Mac in there and BAM Lunch! You could also add all kindsa extras in this. Steamed Broccoli, Fresh chopped Tomato and Basil, Some Vegan Chili for Chili Mac! Woo Hoo. I think I will go for Hemp milk for most of my soups and sauces from now on. For Baking of sweet things I might use Rice, with the slight sweetness and low fat content I think it would work well. The soy, I don't know, I'm not a huge fan. I will keep an Almond milk in the pantry, I like the Almondy flavor in some places. So there it is, One girls Opinion. I'm off to the Farmers Market for some Goat Eggs! ;) Happy Saturday all.

Happiness is: Growing Things

If you are like me, a grower of things, then you know what this time of year means. When we see the first of the Hyacinth and Tulips poke their little heads through the ground, we are renewed with a sense that we may make it through another winter with some sanity intact. It is the first time in months we have seen signs of New growth, proof that there is a gardeners life after Winter. That was a small fib, considering I started seeds under a light weeks ago. And the excitement was similar when I saw the first little green shoots threatening to burst forth from the soil. There is just nothing else like watching things grow, when you have a passion for it. People have been doing it for thousands of years before me, but I swear when I have a bulb come back or an herb make it through the winter, I feel like the first person to have ever made such a thing happen. I want to climb on the roof top and yell, MY HIBISCUS IS BLOOMING EVERYONE! I'm here to admit it, I'm a huge gardening nerd! 

A peek under the covers! Alex was a dear and put hoop houses over my raised beds a couple weeks ago. Here is a look at some pretty happy Broccoli I put in shortly after the hoops went up. I am trying to start all of my own plants this year, in an attempt to make gardening make more sense financially. Some seeds can be thrown right in the dirt and sprouted and grown right in the same spot. Others need a good head start indoors. Right now I have 3 types of Tomatoes, And 4 Types of Peppers still growing under a light. I put Peas, Peppers, Radish and Romaine seeds right in the ground. Along with these Happy Broccoli starts I also put in Some not so happy Cauliflower, I'm thinking they may have been too small, oops! If there is one thing a gardener has to learn, it is this, every mistake is a chance to learn. And boy, I have made my fare share of mistakes. I figure some time in my 80's I may have this "hobby" figured out.

While out poking around in the Garden today, I noticed my Mason bees had hatched and taken off. You can see in the picture the tubes down there at the bottom have the little dirt plugs pushed out. How exciting! These guys are new to me, Lets hope they find their way back and lay more babies in the remaining tubes for next year. 

Perennials are a gardeners old stand by. For every Tomato that we have babied and coddled, there is a Hop plant guaranteed to come back every year. They die back in the fall and wait patiently under the snow for the first signs of spring. They are the first to poke their heads through the dirt, grow like crazy despite lack of water and attention(cause I'm over coddling some damn Tomato!) and then stick around until they finally give in and turn brown like the rest of the fall foliage.Alex is a home brewer and so these Hops get put to good use. Not only are they good for making beer, but hops also make a great soothing tea.

If I could only grow one thing, No doubt, it would be Herbs. This time of year is heavy with herbs. My chives are back looking full and tasting lovely. I also have Bay, Rosemary, Oregano, Parsley, and Thyme that either lived through the winter or are coming back with a vengeance. Fresh herbs are pretty expensive to buy in the store and super easy to grow yourself. Some may say they are a gateway to growing edibles. Fresh Herbs taste great and add a little something to most everything that you can cook up.

My garden is my sanctuary, and Gardening my drug of choice. I remember a time when folks used to walk by our house in Ballard and stop and comment on this or that in the garden. Alex would say, "oh, gardening is Lauras thing". Well, it took me a few years but I think I have him hook line and sinker. He is a huge gardening nerd too. I don't know how many times I found him in the garden staring at one plant or another. I'm sure he was waiting and watching the garden grow. I don't buy clothes or shoes, I buy plants. There is rarely jewelry in my shopping cart, but there is always a pack of seeds or two. If you have ever considered gardening, buy one herb this year and put it in the kitchen window. Just give it a try, if it dies or your not into it, well, you tried.  And if you are a big old gardening nerd like me, wear it with pride. The home gardener is the future of good food production, Some day, the rest of the world will catch on.

mediterranean Inspiration

I borrowed this recipe from a friends blog, http://veggielowcarb.wordpress.com/2012/03/29/cauliflower-falafel-goodness/. She makes some lovely low carb vegetarian food, thanks Kristin Stout! These are Cauliflower Falafels, and man are they awesome! They are super easy to make and can be served on a salad or in pita. I ate them with a shmear of hummus and some romaine lettuce in a Whole Wheat Pita Pocket. I was out of cucumbers but I usually would have some of those in my Pocket also!

Cauliflower Falafel
1 Cup Raw Cauliflower Florets, pulsed in the food processor 5-6 times. You want gravel size chunks here.
2 Tbs. Tahini
1/2 Cup raw almonds(I also threw in some pine nuts I needed to use up) Also pulsed in the food processor. Maybe a little smaller than gravel size for the nuts.
1 Tbs. Each Ground Cumin and Coriander
1 Clove Garlic
2 Tbs. Fresh chopped Parsley(I also had some oregano coming up in the garden so I chopped some of that up and tossed it in too!)
Salt and Pepper
2 Eggs
3 Tbs. Flour

Toss processed cauliflower and nuts in a bowl. Add spices and toss to coat. Add Tahini and eggs and mix thoroughly. Add in Flour and Fresh Herbs and mix well. Heat up a frying pan with enough oil to cover the bottom of the pan(around 350 degrees). Drop in Tbs. size balls into the hot oil. fry on each side 3-4 minutes.

Hummus
1-1/2 Cup Soaked Chickpeas
1 Large Clove of Garlic
3 Tbs. Tahini
The juice of 3 med. size Lemons
1/4 Cup Olive oil
1/4 Cup water
Salt and Pepper

I cook my chickpeas and garlic together. I love the taste of fresh garlic, but it kills my stomach. I have found that it doesn't hurt me if I cook it, and it deposits HUGE flavor into the beans when cooked together. So cook beans and garlic until the beans are nice and soft. Drain and add to the food processor. Add Tahini, Lemon Juice and oil and pulse a few times. Add water a little at a time until you get the consistency you want. Add Salt and Pepper to taste. This is such versatile stuff! Use as a veggie dip and in place of mayo on sandwiches. Enjoy!