Last night Kyle and I got to attend an amazing food event in Portland called COCHON555. Read all about it here!

I love watching the Oscars. It's such a fun time to curl up in your pj's with friends and eat good food, and celebrate great films. This year we watched most of the nominated films so it was even more fun. I just had to make Gwynnie a special onesie to wear (you can see my tutorial here)...


She really is a good sport... also, her hair was just like that when she woke up. That girl can make bed head look fabulous. We cleaned up the house and watched last year's best picture, The King's Speech.

When Heidi and Ben arrived we got down to the business of voting for the films and actors we wanted to win...


...and we started eating. Ben and Heidi brought fresh oysters. I downed my first raw oyster.... which was very oceany and intense.


We baked the rest (I think I prefer the baked version).


Kyle made fresh bread...


...and I made Butternut Squash Soup, and Key Lime Pie for dessert.


It was a fun, cozy night. We love Heidi and Ben.


To read about everything we ate (it was a significant amount) head over to Gorge in the Gorge.

Swedish Style Baked Potatoes

Since we are, it seems permanently, on a tight grocery budget we've been cooking lots of potatoes. I have been experimenting with making Swedish Style Baked Potatoes. They are so easy, and so good. They can be served as the main dish or as a side. I've also been experimenting with sweet potatoes cooking in this fashion and I'll share that recipe as soon as I've perfected it.



Ingredients:
large russet potatoes
garlic, minced
chilled butter, cut into thin slices
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Wash the potatoes thoroughly. Slice a small piece off the bottom or each of the potatoes. This will keep it from rolling around when you cut the slits into it. Using a sharp knife carefully slice the potato almost all the way through. Insert your butter slices and a bit of minced garlic into the slits. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Bake at 425 for about 40 minutes or until you can easily pierce the center of the potato with your knife. Serve immediately.

These potatoes are great on their own, topped like a typical baked potato, or served with soup or chili on the side.

The one on the left (you cant' even see the potato!) is served with strained Vegetarian 13 Bean Soup. The dish on the right is smaller potatoes (which didn't come out quite as good as the larger ones) served with the same soup.


Mmmmmmmmmmmm.

Printable Recipe:
Swedish Style Baked Potatoes

Last week we got together with many of our food loving friends to watch the Superbowl. Only problem was that Kyle was really the only one who likes football. It was fun to have everyone over for the great game food...

Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing (recipe from My Father's Daughter) and Kyel's fresh bread.


Cilanto and Lime Chicken Wings (recipe from Tyler's Ultimate)


Mini-Wedges with Blue Cheese dressing.


Our friends, Kristin and Colin, enjoying the wonderful food.

And, there was the game too...

Kyle caring. Gwynnie pondering why her parents dress her up in ridiculous outfits every chance they get.


Gwyneth and Waylon playing. Gwyneth is clearly ready for some football.



Now we are off to enjoy our weekend. Gwyn has been really sick the last couple of days so we may end up taking it easy. I'm hoping we can manage a little wine tasting and a dinner out for my birthday but, if we end up staying home, that'll be okay too. (If you want to see more food photos from the weekend they're here.)

Oh, and finally... This is for whoever found my blog last month by Googling: "baby crying wearing a Seahawks outfit"

Thai Hot Toddy

After posting my Thai Coconut Soup recipe last week, I'm still on a bit of a Thai kick. I'm, as you know by now, obsessed with Hot Toddy's. I've experimented in the past with trying to add Thai flavors to my Toddy but now I've taken it to a whole new level. I was aiming for all the flavors (sweet, sour, spicy) to blend together with the whiskey. In the first batch I added in 1/8 teaspoon of Thai Red Chili paste. I loved the result but Kyle found it a little too earthy, so adding that is totally optional. If you are making the Thai Coconut soup you'll have most of these ingredients on hand. You should definitely make this cocktail... is it Friday yet?

Ingredients:
Juice from 1/2 a lemon
1/8 teaspoon Thai Red Chili Paste (optional)
1 tsp brown sugar
2" slice lemongrass stalk
thin slice Thai red chili, seeds and veins removed
thin slice of lime
thin slice of fresh ginger
whiskey to taste

Directions:
Put water on to boil. Rim your cocktail glass with lime. Put the ginger and lemongrass in the cup and cover with boiling water. Allow to steep for a few minutes before adding the lemon juice, Thai red chili, Chili Paste, brown sugar, and the slice of lime. Add water until the cup is half to three-quarters full. Fill the rest of the way with whiskey. Stir to combine. Sip happily away and pretend you don't have anything on your list of things to do.

Printable Recipe:
Thai Hot Toddy

Gwyneth and I love nothing more than slipping out of the house in the middle of the day to meet Kyle for lunch. We do it just about every week. Usually we just meet him at the brewery to grab a pint and a pizza. It's so fun for Gwynnie to get a chance to see her "da da da DAAAAA" in the middle of his busy day. Lunches with Daddy are one of our favorite things.

Happy Monday! I hope you are all having a great start to the new week. I felt very stressed last week so I'm taking today to get organized for this busy week.

Thai Coconut Soup with Udon Noodles and Tofu

I love making Thai dishes at home.  The combination of heat and coconut milk in Thai food is my favorite thing. This soup is pretty easy to make and it was absolutely delicious. Whenever I'm cooking something a little complicated, like Thai food, I always try to get everything prepped so that when it comes to the actually cooking, it's easy and fast. This soup is so satisfying and flavorful. I will definitely be making it again, and again, and again.

Inspired by this recipe from Sprouted Kitchen.

Ingredients:
Tofu:
1 14oz package of Extra Firm Tofu (this needs to be drained so make sure to note the extra time in the directions)
1 Tablespoon agave
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
Vegetable oil

Sofrito:
2 stalks of lemongrass, peel off the outside layer and quickly chop the tender centers of the stalks
2 thai red chilies, seeded and deveined (2 chilies = medium heat)
2-3 inches of fresh ginger, peeled and quickly chopped
4 garlic cloves
1 large shallot, quickly chopped
1/4 cup water
2 Tablespoons fish sauce

Soup:
1 1/2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
2 14.5oz cans coconut milk (whole or light, I used one of each but either would work)
2 Tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1/3 cup lime juice (about 1 1/2 limes)

10oz Udon noodles (I found them in the bulk section at the store)

Garnish:
1 large shallot, thinly sliced
Cilantro, trimmed
Sesame oil

Directions:
To drain the tofu, wrap it in paper towels, and set it on a plate. Place another plate on top to help press out the water. Let the tofu drain for about an hour. Mix together your agave, soy sauce, and sesame oil to make a marinade for the tofu. After draining for one hour, cut the tofu into 1" cubes, place in a bowl or dish and pour in the marinade.  Gently toss and allow it to sit while you prep all your other ingredients for the soup.

Put all the ingredients for your sofrito in a food processor (lemongrass, chilies, ginger, garlic, water, fish sauce, and shallot) and puree it. Set aside.

In a bowl, gently mix together all of your soup base ingredients except for the oil (coconut milk, peanut butter, chicken broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, and lime juice). Set aside.

Now you are ready to cook! Heat your vegetable oil in a large pot over medium heat. Put in your sofrito and cook it, stirring constantly for a few minutes. Once it smells really fragrant and sweet add in your coconut milk/broth mixture. Let your soup simmer for 15-20 minutes.

In the meantime, bring another large pot of water to a boil.  While you're waiting for it to come to a boil, heat a large non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Add a bit of vegetable oil to the pan and allow it to heat up. Carefully add your tofu cubes to the pan using a pair of tongs. Saute the tofu until it's nice and golden brown. Transfer it to a plate and set aside.

By now your water should be boiling, toss your Udon noodles in and cook them until they are al dente (about 8-11 minutes), then drain them.

Ladle your flavorful broth into large bowls, add in some noodles, top with tofu, cilantro, and the thinly sliced shallot. Drizzle with a tiny bit of sesame oil and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Printable Recipe:
Thai Coconut Soup with Udon Noodles and Tofu

I can't believe it's already halfway through January.  I try and get these menu posts up early in the month but January is flying by!  Last month we spent $263 on our groceries... a little over budget goal of $50 a week, but not too bad.  This month I've already gone grocery shopping twice so I've included more photos and more menu options.  From now on I'm not going to list everything.  I'll only list the things that aren't obvious, or include if I have a special note about it.

A lot of the stuff I bought this month was for making Gwyneth some super healthy baby food.  The carrots, broccoli, green beans, kale, sweet potatoes, apples, and beets were all for her.


This photo is of my shopping from this morning.  I got lots of veggies, some healthy lunch options, eggs for making pasta, and some snacks for Gwyn.


Buying stuff in the bulk section is saving us a lot of money.  It's a great way to get lots of Organic grains, pasta, and spices without spending a ton.


Gwyneth's drinking Organic milk now which is definitely an expensive (but important) purchase. 

One easy way to make your herbs last longer is to trim and rinse them right away.  Then, while they are still wet, wrap them gently in a paper towel and seal them in a small storage container.  They will stay fresh a lot longer.

On our menu this month: 
-Chicken Enchiladas
-Baked Sweet Potatoes with Chili Beans
-Turkey Burgers and oven baked fries
-Thai Soba Noodle Bowl (I didn't love the way this turned out so I bought more ingredients for it this week and will post an adapted recipe as soon as I can)
-Red Beans and Rice Kyle made a vegetarian version for me because I'm not eating red meat for the next few months (I go through a vegetarian phase every year)
-Tacos
-Roasted Chicken and Potatoes (already had the chicken in the freezer)
-Grilled Kale Caesar Salad and Roasted Sweet Potatoes
-Ravioli from scratch (I was going to make my Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Ravioli but the store was out of Butternut squash so I'm going to try a version with sweet potato)
-Spicy Vegetarian Chili (this chili is delicious but HOT. Do not add more chipotle then it says... you may even want to do less)
-White Bean Soup

Happy cooking!

Celery Root Soup with Green Apple and Browned Butter

Since I've been grocery shopping and menu making a bit off the cuff these past couple of months I ended up purchasing celery root.  I've never used celery root before but it as local and Organic so I grabbed it.  Then, I set about making soup with it.  I really had no clue what I was doing but it turned out really yummy!  This soup is hearty, Vegetarian, light, flavorful, and easy.  It was fun using a new ingredient.

Ingredients:
1 large celery root, cut the outside off with a sharp paring knife, cut into small cubes (be sure to get all the peel off, even out of the little corners and cracks)
2 large shallots, sliced
1 large leek, trimmed, washed well, diced (use only the white part)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 quart low sodium veggie broth
1/2 cup half and half or heavy cream
1/2 green apple, julienned
1 celery rib, thinly sliced on the bias
1 sprig rosemary, finely minced (optional)
celery heart leaves from the inside of the stalk, lightly chopped
1/2 stick unsalted butter, sliced into thin pieces
extra virgin olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
In a large pot heat a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil over medium heat.  Saute the leeks and shallots until they are softened, about 5-7 minutes.  Toss in the cubed celery root and the garlic and saute for an additional 2 minutes.  Add the broth and bring to a simmer.  Simmer on low heat until the celery root is cooked through and can be pierced easily with a sharp knife, about 30-40 minutes. 

While the celery root is cooking, prepare your toppings.

Once the celery root is cooked through. Turn off the heat and gently stir in the milk.  Carefully transfer the soup, in batches if necessary, to a blender.  Place the top on the blender but leave the clear plastic plug open.  Cover the opening with a thick, folded dishcloth.  You do this to let the steam escape, and so you don't burn yourself.  Lightly hold down the thick towel.  Blend the soup until smooth and creamy.  Transfer the soup back to the pot but keep the heat really low while you prepare your browned butter. 

In a small saute pan, melt your butter over medium heat.  Gently whisk the butter as it melts.  It will foam up, then the foam will disappear.  Keep whisking and watch carefully.  When you start to see small golden brown flecks form, and the butter starts to smell a little nutty, remove from heat.  It will continue to brown if left in a hot pan so be sure to transfer it to a small glass bowl once it's really golden and fragrant.

Now you're ready to serve your soup.  Ladle the soup into bowls, and top with a bit of each: apple, celery rib, celery leaves and a tiny pinch of rosemary.  Then, spoon a bit of browned butter over the whole dish.  Serve immediately.

Printable Recipe:
Celery Root Soup with Green Apple and Browned Butter

Since I'm not nannying Poppy anymore, I try to make plans for us to do fun things together.  I love Poppy.  I love cookies.  An afternoon of baking up Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies sounded... well, perfect!

The ingredients.


The kid.


The "sisters".


Mixing.


Watching and waiting.


Done!  Perfect!

Here's the recipe for my Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies:

Dry Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups flour (I use half whole wheat and half all-purpose)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tiny pinch of freshly shaved nutmeg (or ground if you don't have fresh), optional
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chocolate chip cookies

Wet Ingredients:
2 large eggs (at room temperature)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter (softened to room temperature.  If you need to do it in the microwave be sure not to melt the butter)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven 350 degrees.

Sift the flour, salt, and baking soda together in a small bowl.  In a separate bowl, cream together the sugars and the butter, then add in the vanilla.  Whisk the eggs in another small bowl before adding them to the creamed sugar mixture.  Once this is all mixed together, slowly sprinkle in the flour and mix until it's incorporated.  Mix in the chocolate chips.

Using a spoon, scoop up some dough and roll it into a ball in the palm of your hand.  Place it on a baking sheet.  Continue making your dough balls until you have them spaced out (about 2-3 inches apart) on your cookie sheet.

Bake for 9-11 minutes, until golden brown on the outside and light brown in the middle.  If the cookies are frozen* they will need to be baked 12-14 minutes.  Enjoy!

*I usually bake up one sheet and cover a separate cookie sheet with cookie dough balls and slide in in the freezer for fresh baked cookies whenever I want.  Once they are frozen and won't stick together I put them all into the resealable bag.

Downloadable Recipe:
Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mushroom Risotto Cakes with Poached Eggs

Last week I shared my recipe for Mushroom Risotto with you.  Over the weekend I discovered an amazing way to use the leftover Risotto!  I simply made a risotto cake, poached an egg and it was delicious!  Crispy, creamy, flavorful, and healthy!  This makes a great breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

Ingredients:
Mushroom Risotto
Eggs
Butter
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Scoop about 1/2 cup of the risotto in to you hands and roll it into a ball before pressing it lightly into a 1/2 inch think patty, set aside.  Continue making the patties until you have enough for the people you are serving.  One our two were good for me, Kyle ate three.  Once the patties are made, heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat.  Melt a tablespoon of butter in the pan before gently laying the patties into the pan.  Cover the pan with a lid to make sure they get heated all the way through.  Once they are golden brown on the bottom, gently flip them over and brown the other side.  They may fall apart a bit but just use the spatula to press them back together.  While the cakes are finishing up, bring lightly salted water to a simmer in another pan.  When the cakes are done it's easiest to plate them right away.

For each egg: Prepare some paper towels by folding them into quarters and stacking them.  Crack the egg into a small glass bowl.  Gently slide the egg into the simmering water, submerging the bowl a little if you need to.  As the egg is cooking, use a spoon to gently pour water over the top of the egg and to gently push away the white floaty looking stuff.  You want a clean egg.  Just let all the loose ends float around the water.  When the top of the egg is opaque and the egg is starting to get a little firm it's done!  Gently remove it from the simmering water with a slotted spoon.  Gently lay the egg (bottom side down) on the prepared paper towel and allow it to drain before gently rolling it over (top side down) in the paper towel.  This gets it really dry.  Then flip it (bottom side down) onto the risotto cake!  It sounds complicated but it's really simple!  You can do more than one egg int the pan at a time.  Just give each one a chance to set a bit before adding the next and try to keep them from touching.  The trick is to be gentle and take your time.

Season each egg with salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Serve immediately.  I really hope you give both of these recipes a try!

Printable Recipes:
Mushroom Risotto
Mushroom Risotto Cakes with Poached Eggs

Mushroom Risotto

I used to make a mushroom risotto from my Everyday Italian cookbook a lot.  But over the years it's morphed into it's own thing.  My version is extra mushroomy with a medley of dried mushrooms and lots of Crimini mushrooms added in.  It's really easy, satisfying and delicious.  It's also gluten free and could easily be made vegan/dairy free.  This is one of my favorite, healthy, comfort foods.  It goes great with roasted chicken or can just be eaten on it's own.   If you're making it for a dinner party you could easily prep all the food the day before, cover and store it in the fridge and then throw it together the day of. 

Mushroom Risotto served with Roasted Chicken (recipe for the chicken is included below).

Ingredients:
6 cups Crimini mushrooms, cleaned, stems discarded, roughly chopped
1/2 cup (about .8oz) dried mushrooms*, diced
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (risotto, or pealla rice)
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup red wine
6 cups veggie broth (I prefer Trader Joe's Orgainc Low Sodium broth)
4 tablespoons butter (1/2 stick)
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded (if you wanted to make this recipe diary free/vegan you could omit the cheese)
salt
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
In a medium saucepan, heat the broth to a low simmer.  Turn the burner to low, toss in the dried mushrooms so they rehydrate and cover the pot.  Meanwhile, heat a really large nonstick pan over medium high heat.  Melt the butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil before throwing in chopped Crimini mushrooms.  Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.  It is really important to season each layer of this dish.

Saute the mushrooms until they are starting to brown (about 5 minutes).  Push them into one side of the pan.  In the open space of the pan drizzle the other tablespoon of olive oil before adding the onion.  Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Saute the onion until it starts to brown (about 5 minutes).  While the onion is cooking use a slotted spoon to scoop the dried mushrooms out of the broth and toss them onto the Crimini mushrooms in the pan (if you can't get them all don't worry). 

Once the onion is starting to brown stir everything together, add the garlic and saute for about 3 minutes.  Add in the rice and give it a good stir to make sure the rice gets nice and coated with the oil and butter and juices in the pan.  Add in the wine and continue stirring until the rice has absorbed the wine. 

Now, 3/4 a cup at a time, add in the vegetable broth.  Every time you add in the 3/4 cup of broth, slowly stir the risotto until the broth has been absorbed into the rice.  Wait until the broth is gone before adding the next round of broth.  The trick is to keep stirring.  Stirring allows the rice to release it's starches, absorb the broth and create a delicious, creamy dish.  Continue on adding broth, stirring, waiting until the broth has all been transferred over into the risotto.  Let it cook for a few extra minutes to make sure all the moisture from the broth is thoroughly absorbed.  Then, toss in the parmesan cheese and stir it in until melted.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve immediately.

* Trader Joe's sells a Mushroom Medley that is perfect.  If you don't have easy access to Trader Joe's you can grab some dried Porcini mushrooms at your grocery store or buy a few different kinds and make your own mix.

For this dinner I also roasted up some chicken thighs.  I threw them in a ziploc bag with the juice of one lemon, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup balsalmic vinegar, 2 minced garlic cloves, a big spoonful of dijon mustard, salt and pepper.  Sealed up the bag and let them marinate in that for a few hours.  Then I put them in a casserole dish, and roasted them in a 450 degree oven until they were done (about 30-40 minutes).

Printable Recipe:
Mushroom Risotto

I got so much feedback last month about my grocery shopping post so I thought, at least for the time-being, I would stick with this style of menu.  Last month, we spent a total of $279 on groceries (not including Thanksgiving) which also included $35 Organic baby formula for Gwyneth.  Which is pretty great!  My goal is $50 a week but, honestly, I'm pretty happy with $70 a week.  I did two big grocery shopping trips with dinners in mind and we picked up little things inbetween.  

We are really struggling to make ends meet... actually, I think it's safe to say we are not making ends meet.  As challenging as that is, I am finding that grocery shopping on an extreme budget is helping me feel somewhat in control of our financial situation.  It feels great to spend so little and still be able to cook so many wonderful, healthy and delicious dinners for my family.  I did have to buy mostly non-Organic produce this month but at least all of Gwyneth's food is Organic!

Here's a look at this months first trip to the store.  This should last us a couple of weeks.  I spent $86 on...

Onions: I bought eleven onions for the month.  I use onions in lots of soups and scrambles.  They are an easy way to add a lot of flavor.

Eggs: Our farm egg connection is hit and miss these days so I bought one dozen eggs (they weren't on sale). 

Chicken Thighs: I bought two packages of chicken thighs because they were on sale.  (Last month I bought bone in skin on breasts so I still have lots of breasts in the freezer).  I plan on using some to make paella and I will freeze the rest.  I spent $13 on 26 thighs.

Yogurt: Lowfat plain yogurt for me and whole maple yogurt for Gwyneth.  Both on sale.

Mozzarella cheese: for Vegetarian French Onion Soup.  I'm not using it until next week but it was on sale this week so I bought it.  You can buy cheese pretty far in advance and leave don't open it until you need it.

Cream cheese and heavy cream: for making cheesecake when we had guests.

Lemons: I always buy tons of lemons.  I use them when roasting chicken, making hot toddy's and cozy evening drinks.

Feta, cheddar and parmesan cheese: for topping lots of dishes.  The Parmesan and cheddar were on sale.

Beets, parsnips, turnip, carrots, shallots: for roasting.

Crimini mushrooms: I love making risotto.  Mushroom risotto is really easy and inexpensive and the leftovers are great.

Eggplant and zucchini: For roasting, serving with pasta.

Green Apples: I love green apples.  Ever since I was pregnant I make toast with peanut butter and have green apple.  They don't have them Organic.  Lord knows what's on them if they don't even grow them Organic.  But, I love them.

Potatoes: a big bag of Organic potatoes.  Great for baking, mashing, adding to soups, making baked fries, etc.

13 Bean Soup Mix:  I bought this in the bulk section for making soup.

Pasta: it was on sale so I stocked up.

Milk

With all these things I bought I will be able to make the following:  Hot Toddy's, Vegetarian 13 Bean Soup, Chicken Noodle Soup,  Tuna Noodle Casserole, Vegetarian French Onion Soup, Mushroom Risotto with Peas, Roasted Root Vegetables with Goat Cheese and Honey (I adapted this recipe from Tyler Florence's cookbook Tyler's Ultimate), roasted eggplant and zucchini over pasta with red sauce, Baked Spaghetti with Mushrooms, Salted Caramel Cheesecake, egg scrambles. 

Again, I'd love your thoughts!  I also have to apologize for not posting ANY recipes last month.  To be honest, things have been a bit overwhelming around here.  Gwyneth's nap schedule is changing, she's been waking up around 5a.m., she may or may not be getting a cold and/or teething, and I've been struggling to get everything done.  I love this blog and it provides me with a creative outlet so I'm doing my best to find time to blog but, if I'm a bit MIA over the next couple of weeks, forgive me!

To see tips from last month, click here.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

For the past four years we have spent Thanksgiving at my Dad and Stepmom's house.  Our friends, Kurt and Scott, who just happen to be fantastic chef's at the Chateau Ste. Michele in Woodinville, WA come down and cook up the most fantastic Thanksgiving meals you can imagine!  Our good friend Bill always brings wonderful cheeses and wines and champagne!  This year there were sixteen of us, including my awesome brother and his roommate, Kevin.

These two wines were amazing!  The Columbia Crest Reserve 2008 was so delicious, well balanced and flavorful.  I'm a huge fan of Chateauneuf-du-Pape.  This particular bottle was from 2000 and was really peppery and rich.  It's such a treat to get to share these incredible wines with people who know about wine!  Educational and delicious!


My Stepmom, Nance, is the most amazing hostess.  She always sets the table with uniquely made name tags and personalized gifts for each person who attends.  My Dad likes to put in his "teeth" whenever people are coming over.  Gwyneth was not quite sure about Pops.  Later in the evening she took me aside and asked me if she was related to him.

Ham and blue cheese.

Triple Cream Brie.


My Dad.  All dressed up for Thanksgiving dinner.

Lots of beer brought by Kyle from Double Mountain Brewery.  My special place setting made by Nance.


Kurt and Scott wearing their place settings.  Nance's bug collection.

Stuffing made by me and Kyle.  It's so good.  It has fresh herbs, pine nuts and craisins.


Butter and silky mashed potatoes.  Technically they are riced potatoes since Bill used a ricer when preparing them.


Our heritage Turkey.  Kurt gets this bird from his friends that have a farm.  It was killed on Monday, picked up on Tuesday, brined on Wednesday and enjoyed on Thursday.  Doesn't get much fresher or more organic than this!


The chefs.


Scott's amazing caramelized carrots and the expertly carved turkey.


I made this Salted Caramel Cheesecake for dessert.  These are Nance's beautiful teacups for after dinner coffee. 

Once we were finished eating we played games.  Charades was... interesting.  There was a very explicit acting out of the book/film The Firm as well as some other odd interpretations of things.  We were in stitches throughout the game playing.  Most people headed home around 10:30 but we were persuaded into gambling with Kurt, Nance, Scott, Ryan and Kevin.  I've never gambled before and let me tell ya... I had way too much fun (even when I was losing).  We finally threw in the dice and headed for home.  We didn't get to bed until 1 in the morning! 

We spent the rest of the weekend digging up the yard for raised beds (Kyle) and sewing (me) and sleeping (Gwynnie).

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving and a wonderful weekend!

We had such a nice weekend!  On Saturday we got up early and spent the day cleaning and cooking and getting ready for our friends to come over for a potluck-style early Thanksgiving!  We were in charge of cooking the turkey and we also made green beans with garlic.  Everyone brought amazing food including, home baked bread, mashed potatoes and Chanterelle gravy, delicious stuffing, cranberry sauce, salad and pumpkin pies made from scratch!

We shared good wine and beer and had a lovely evening.  I feel so grateful to have such wonderful friends.  For so long it was just me and Kyle.  We moved around so much that we have never really had a core group of friends.  It was such a blessing to have them all over together enjoying great food and our new kitchen!

On Sunday we went for a nice walk, got eggnog lattes and picked up the house.  I headed to Portland for a fun dinner/movie date with my friend Lauren.  I picked her up and we went to Park Kitchen for dinner, which was really yummy, then we hopped across the street to the Portland Art Museum for the NW Film Fest screening of Bucksville. 

I got home pretty late last night and I'm a bit tired today but this weekend was so fun!  I'm spending the day picking up ingredients for real Thanksgiving (we are making stuffing and cheesecake), doing laundry and cuddling with Gwyn.  Hope you all have a great Monday!

I thought I would try something a little different this month.  We were able to keep our food budget really low last month and I wanted to do it again this month (aiming to spend about $50 each week or $200 for the whole month).  Most of the responses I've gotten to my Monthly Menus has been, "How do you only spend $50 a week?".  I love putting together menus from my cookbooks but, especially lately, it's just not affordable to do all of my recipes out of my favorite cookbooks or from my favorite foodie blogs.  On the other hand, I got pretty bored last month only eating potatoes and beans!  Today I decided to go to the store with no list.  I decided just to buy veggies that are fresh and organic and in season (and local when possible) and only buy protein that was on sale.  I tried to let the food inspire the meals.  I took my time and walked around slowly thinking over what I could use each ingredient for.  I'm sure I will use some of my cookbooks for a special dinner here or there but this is for basic, healthy meals.  I hope this is somewhat instructive or inspiring...

Bread: I usually buy Dave's Killer Sprouted Grain Bread but at $5 a loaf it's too much for us right now.  These whole grain loaves were on sale.  I froze one.

Eggs: Our farm egg connection is hit and miss these days so I bought two dozen Organic, Free-Range eggs on sale. 

Split Chicken Breasts: Buying your chicken breasts with bone in and skin on is a great way to save money.  They are way less expensive and I actually prefer them too the boneless skinless kind.  You can roast them, peel the skin off and cut them from the bone and they are moist and great for shredding for salads or pureeing into baby food, making chicken salad, enchiladas etc.  These packages of four large breasts were about $6 each.  They were on sale for $1.29/lb so I bought two and froze one. 

Tofu: Organic tofu for Gwynnie.  Not on sale.

Local, Grass Fed Ribeye Steak:  I bought one for us to share.  It was on sale.

Vanilla Yogurt: Kyle uses this with granola that I make. Not on sale.

Ben and Jerry's:  Okay, so I splurged a little.  I've been waiting for weeks for this to go on sale so I could but the Red Velvet flavor and they were finally on sale.  Really, I saved money by not buying them before!

Organic, Local Beets: Not sure what I'm going to do with them yet.  Maybe something like this, or maybe just roasted up with honey?

Organic, Local Kale:  I'll use this in egg scrambles, make Kale Chips and indoor Kale Ceasar Salad.

Organic Yellow and Red Onions:  For scrambles, soups and everything else

Organic Zucchini: For Gwyneth and for egg scrambles

Organic Broccoli: For Gwyneth and for egg scrambles and snacking

Organic, Local Mushrooms: For Portobello Sandwiches

Organic, Local Celery Root: I'm going to make soup from this.  Never done it before!

Organic, Local Leek: For making soup with the celery root.

Organic Sweet Potatoes:  I'm going to bake these up for us and Gwyneth.

Organic Bell Peppers: For Portobello Sandwiches

Frozen Organic Corn and Edamame: For Gwyneth

Organic Lettuce, Organic Potatoes, Organic Garlic

With all these things I bought I will be able to make the following:  Baked Potatoes (my recipe coming soon), sauteed veggie egg scrambles, Celery Root and Leek Soup, Enchiladas, Portobello Sandwiches (my recipe coming soon),  Grilled Kale Ceasar Salad (with chicken), black bean quesadillas, steak and salad, roasted beets or a Fall version of this, Kale Chips, Potatoes Au Gratin (my recipe coming soon), Veggie Pasta, Baked Sweet Potates, Chicken Salad Sandwiches (my recipe coming soon), and hopefully more!  We obvisouly have some things already at the house, pasta, beans, tortillas, broths and other pantry items that will supplement this weeks shopping.  All the veggies I bought should last us through the next couple of weeks, and the protein should last for a few.  I only spent $105! $33 was spent on protein and $61 was spent on Organic veggies and $11 on other stuff (bread and icecream).  I'll obviously have to add a few things throughout the month to get us through, milk, fresh veggies, fruit, etc. but this solid grocery trip is a great start to a month of healthy eating.

I'd love your thoughts on this style of menu making!!  Is it helpful to see what I bought and how I plan to use it?  I know that for a lot of people the idea of going to the grocery store with no list is not doable.  I'm hoping that with my menu ideas above you may be able to make a list while also seeing how I do it on such a tight budget.  What are your favorite meals to prepare when you're on a budget?  I'd really love feedback about this! Happy cooking!

Vegetarian 13 Bean Soup

'Tis the season for stews and soups.  We are trying to keep our food budget really low and this soup is a great way to get lots of healthy protein without spending too much.  You can buy the Bob's Red Mill 13 Bean Soup beans in most stores.  Our local grocery store had it in the bulk section!  The key to this soup is the seasoning, feel free to adjust the amounts of the herbs as desired.   The great thing about this soup is that you can serve it lots of different ways.  We ate it with Kacie's Garlic Bread and we also served it over potatoes (like chili).  Kyle thought it would be good if you added sausage to it too (I told him the whole point was that it's vegetarian) but, yes, you could add sausage to it too.  You can sprinkle cheese on top, or a spoonful of sour cream...  In other words, this is a great soup to make a huge pot of because it's very easy to change it up throughout the week so you don't get bored!  This recipe makes 8-10 servings.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill 13 Bean Soup (dried beans)
2 medium yellow onions, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
2 quarts low-sodium vegetable broth (I prefer Trader Joe's Organic version)
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
1/2 tablespoon thyme
1 large sprig fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon herbs de provence
1 teaspoon paprika
extra virgin olive oil

Directions:
START THE NIGHT BEFORE BY SOAKING THE BEANS IN A LARGE BOWL OF WATER!!! (I always forget to do this and we are usually stuck throwing together breakfast for dinner and making soup the next night!  Follow the direction on the package for soaking the beans.

Heat a large pot over medium, add your olive oil, then your onion.  Saute for about seven minutes just until the onion starts to brown.  Add the garlic and stir for one minute until the garlic is fragrant.  Add in the carrots, tomatoes, and the seasonings.  Give it a good stir before adding the broth and the beans.  Stir again and bring to a simmer.  Allow it to simmer for about an hour or until the largest beans are tender.  This soup is intended to end up with the consistency of a chili but if you feel like you're losing too much broth simply add a little more and cover the soup while it finished cooking.  Discard the rosemary sprig and the bay leaf. Season to taste, transfer to bowls and sprinkle with fresh parsley before serving.

Printable Recipe:
Vegetarian 13 Bean Soup

Before...

During...

Dave tearing out the cabinets...

...and the walls.

Painting the living room, dining room and hallway.


Drywalling in the new wall into the hallway.  We spent the majority of the month of September with the kitchen like this!

Then Kyle's folks arrived for the rebuild!

Moving the lighting and starting to put the cabinets in!

Celebrating Kyle's birthday in our "living room"!

Gwyneth helping to install the flooring.

More cabinets.

My Daddy helping with the flooring.  Gwyneth loved hanging in her Ergo while we put the flooring down.


Even more cabinets!

And even more flooring.

Gwynnie spent a lot of time in her Pack 'n' Play!


Erika nearly finished with the flooring!!!

Appliances going in!


And a sink!

So close....

After Kyle's parents left we spent the last few weeks finishing up the kitchen.  We hung shelves, put the hardware on, unpacked, hung the chandelier, put in the toe kicks and now we are done!  The only thing we have left to do is to put in the tile backsplash which, after the job we just did, will be a fun weekend project!

So after lots of hard work and lots of pasta dinners... here is the after!!!

We just love it!  It turned out perfectly.  We couldn't have done without Dave and Erika!  We can't wait to cook up lots of wonderful family meals in this kitchen.  It is the heart of our home and we can't believe how beautifully it turned out!

October Menus

Roasted Eggplant with Za'Atar Pizza

We are so excited to get back to cooking this month in the new kitchen.  We are nearly done and I promise to share it with you as soon as possible!  There are a couple of considerations headed into this months menus... now that I don't have my weekly income, we will be eating on a very tight budget.  We are going to be aiming to spend no more than $50 on groceries.  We've done it before and it feels great to find ways to save money at the store.  The other consideration is that our cookbooks are still packed up in a box in the garage with the majority of our kitchen stuff so this menu consists of recipes already on the blog/online!  Since I'm posting these a little late there's only three weeks of menus but we will be back in full cooking mode by the end of the month and I promise to post fantastic November menus!

October 10th-15th
Mon: Healthy 13 Bean Soup with Kacie's Garlic Bread
Tues: Leftovers
Wed: Vietnamese Salad with Tofu
Thurs: Leftovers
Fri: Baked Potatoes
Sat: Leftovers

October 16th-22nd
Sun: Kacie's Vegetarian French Onion Soup
Mon: Leftovers
Tues: Tacos
Wed: Leftovers
Thurs: Linguini with Pea Pesto
Fri: Portobello Sandwiches
Sat: Leftovers

October 23rd-29th
Sun: Roasted Eggplant with Za'Atar Pizza
Mon: Leftovers
Tues: Tuna Noodle Casserole
Wed: Leftovers
Thurs: Fettucini Alfredo with Kacie's Garlic Bread
Fri: Leftovers
Sat: Kacie's Quiche

Octbober 30th-31st
Sun: Hunter's Minestrone
Mon: HALLOWEEN!  Candy for dinner... we'll probably go out for pizza.

This month I'll post my recipes for Healthy 13 Bean Soup and my family's favorite Lemon Ginger Drink that is perfect for this time of year!  Happy, cozy cooking!

After weeks of work, we are nearly done with our remodel.  Kyle's parent and Kyle and I worked our butts off all week long to get the new flooring and new kitchen in.  They left yesterday morning and I hit a point of ridiculous exhaustion.  My brain was barely working all day yesterday and my body was sore.  I just needed to relax so I decided to have a very hot night.

Hot Toddy.

Hot bath.

Hot pink nail polish.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.

I'm definitely feeling a bit restored today.  I can't wait to share the remodel photos with you but I really want to have it ALL done!  So, it may be another week or two before the full reveal.  I'll post some photos from the project later this week!  Thanks again to my awesome guest bloggers, Ana, Lauren and Katie for helping me out last week!

The construction is going really well!  We've hit a few little issues here and there but things are cruising along and we are pretty hopeful that we'll have it all done in a few days!  Stay tuned for the big reveal.

It is Kyle's 30th birthday today!  I'm so very lucky to be married to him.  He is such a loving, caring father and husband.  He works hard to support us in every way imaginable.  He is the best.  How do you wish the best husband and father on earth a happy 30th birthday?  You buy the man a grill!  Kyle's parents went in on it with me and Poppy and I had a blast setting up a little "hunt" for him.  We wove yarn all throughout the house and yard leading into the garage where his present was waiting for him!

Coming home!

Poppy could barely contian her excitement.

Poor Calypso thought the yarn was for her.

Kyle got stuck carrying this hanger around since all the yarn was knotted up through it.
Happy Birthday Boy!
Happy Birthday my love.

It's officially feeling like fall around here.  It's crisp and cool and the evenings are perfect for making a pot of soup, curling up on the couch and watching a movie with the ones you love.  Last night I made my first batch of Chicken Noodle Soup for the year.  This recipe is ridiculously easy and the measurements are all in 1's.  One onion, one teaspoon... I could call it #1 Chicken Soup but that would be L.A.M.E.  The trick, in my opinion, is adding the celery, carrots and pasta at the right times so you don't end up with soggy soup.  I also like to add the seasoning really early on so it has a chance to blend with the veggies. So, without further ado, here is my recipe for Chicken Noodle Soup.

Chicken Noodle Soup

Ingredients:
leftovers from 1 whole roasted chicken (or one whole roasted chicken breast*), cooled and shredded (skin and bones discarded)
1 quart low sodium chicken broth
1 quart low sodium veggie broth
1 large yellow onion
1 cup carrots, sliced
1 cup celery, sliced
1 tablespoon garlic, minced (about 2 cloves)
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon of the following dried herbs: oregano, parsley, thyme, onion powder and garlic powder
1 pinch of the following dried herbs: nutmeg, paprika, red chili flakes
1 bag of your favorite pasta
1 teaspoon salt
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
In a large dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium high heat, add the onion and all of the herbs.  Saute for about 7 minutes until the onion begins to turn translucent.  Add in the garlic, carrots and celery.  Saute for another few minutes before adding the broth and chicken.  I love Trader Joe's Organic Low Sodium Broths.  They are much richer than any of the other organic (or non-organic) brands.  If you use a different kind you may end up needing to adjust the seasoning a bit.  Bring the soup up to a nice simmer.  If you are serving a lot of people, or want to make it really easy simply add about half the bag of pasta to the soup.  I like to add it a bit at a time and decide how much pasta I want in my soup.  When it's just for Kyle and I, I cook the pasta separately and add it to our bowls.  About one handful per person is perfect.  I hate when the pasta gets soggy in the soup but if you don't care you can just add it in while it's cooking.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve it up and enjoy.  When you reheat the soup for leftovers you may need to add a bit more broth because the pasta absorbs a lot of it.

*If you are roasting your chicken breast for the soup.  Buy a bone in, skin on breast. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Rub the chicken down with olive oil, salt and pepper and place it on a cookie sheet.  Roast it for about 30 minutes or until the temperature in the center of the breast reaches 165 degrees.  Allow is to cool before discarding the skin and bones and shredding it.

Downloadable Recipe: Chicken Noodle Soup

Lauren is a blogger, food lover, preschool teacher and stylish mama to be.  She lives in Portland and I totally love her blog.  After a few months of following her blog it was obvious that we had way too much in common not to meet up for a little date.  It took a while to coordinate but yesterday we finally made it happen and I'm so glad we did.  Lauren is completely lovely and I highly recommend that you check out her blog The Little Things We Do and her posts over on Babble on her pregnancy experience.  I promise you'll find her charming, warm and super sweet.  We definitely hit it off and I am happy to have her as a new friend.  Here's some photos from our little date (that lasted longer than some celebrity marriages).

Grabbing coffee at Heart.  Amazingly delicious coffee and I loved the style of the coffee house (I snapped the photo below to add to my kitchen inspiration folder)!

I went back on my way to the car and impulse purchased a couple of these mugs to decorate the new kitchen.

We took our coffee and headed down the block to Alder Pastry.  We both got ham and gruyere croissants and shared an amazing caramel and sea salt pastry... and some macaroons.  We also sampled their gelato.  They have odd but amazing flavors like sesame, muscavado (raw sugar) and cardamon.  Both of these spots were Lauren's recommendation and they were awesome!

Lauren holding G (above) and me and her (below).  Lauren's baby girl is due just after Gwyneth's first birthday!

Olympic Provisions is an amazing restaurant, charcuterie and wine bar in Portland, OR.  As a charcuterie they cure their own meats and, let me tell you, there meats are amazing!  The serve up delicate european style lunch and dinner plates.  It's definitely a bit of a splurge to eat here but it's so worth it!  Their plates are always unique and delicious and their menu has been a bit different every time I've been.  Apart from having amazing food, Olympic Provisions is also a big part of my kitchen inspiration.  We are doing an Ikea kitchen but I want to dress it up with old, industrial, Euro style accents and that's where Olympic Provisions comes in.

We won't have a flashing "MEAT" sign but I love the idea of putting some lettering in the kitchen.

I love these "Edison" lights.

I also love the white, simple subway tile.  We are looking for some with bit of gloss (as opposed to the matte version).

I like the warm wood, open space, lighting and simplicity.  I also think I need a wine wall!

I just have to convice Kyle the that kitchen "accessories" are just as important as the rest of it!

I have known the Pepper family since I was really little.  I went to elementary school with Vangie and Daniel's daughter Micah.  We bumped into each other here in town a few years back and we've been enjoying good food and conversation with them ever since.  Last night Gwyneth and I headed over to their house to do a little tomato tasting with delicious tomatoes from their insanely gorgeous garden.  It was so much fun to try all these different varieties, along with fresh bread from the bakery, mozzerella and basil (also from their garden) and loads of olive oil.  Simplest meals are often the best ones... especially after a long, hot summer day!  Thanks for having us over (and sorry Gwyneth broke that glass)!

Hey everyone!  Thanks (again) so much for supporting me this week with the launch of my new site.  I'm so grateful for your nice comments.  I love writing this blog and putting my creativity, recipes, thoughts and passions out there into the world wide web.

Fresh-Squeezed Margaritas

Here is my Fresh-Squeezed Margarita recipe!  I posted one last summer but it was only for one drink (I was pregnant at the time) but this summer it occurred to me that I should have a recipe for a pitcher of mix!  I mean, who's going to go through the process of making ONE Fresh-Squeezed Margarita?!  This recipe really couldn't be any easier, it just takes a little effort to do the juicing but it's sooo worth it. 

Ingredients:
7-10 lemons
12-15 limes
1 cup sugar (plus more to rim the glasses)
2 cups hot water
tequila
lemon and lime zest

Directions:
In a large pitcher, mix 2 cups of hot tap water and 1 cup of sugar and stir until it's completely dissolved.  Now it's time to start juicing.  This is a great time to bust out the juicer that's in your cupboard but it can be done by hand too.  Juice enough lemons to yield 1 cup of lemon juice and enough limes to yield 1 cup of lime juice. By this time your simple syrup mixture should be room temp.  Pour the juice into the large pitcher along with the simple syrup.  Put the pitcher in the fridge to chill for a bit.  While it's chillin' sprinkle 1/4 cup of sugar onto a small plate and top with a bit of lemon and lime zest.  Get out your glasses, run a lime wedge around the rim of the glass before dipping it in the sugar/zest mixture.  Toss some ice cubes into the glass.  Pour in your favorite tequila (I usually pour in enough that the glass is just under half full of tequila) and top it off with your fresh-squeezed mix.  Garnish your drink with a thin slice of lemon and lime and your done!  Be sure to pour your leftover mix into ice cube trays and freeze it so you can make Margarita Conjeladas!!!

On Monday night I went out in the evening and harvested a lot of our basil.  After all my blogging, photo shooting/editing and time on the phone it was so lovely to stand in the warm grass without shoes on and methodically trim the fragrant basil.  I washed it and set it aside to make pesto with Poppy.  For those of you who are new to the blog, Poppy is the little girl I have nannied for for the past four and a half years.  She is extremely chumpy and sweet and she is my sous chef!  I love our cooking projects together.  In just one week she is starting kindergarten and I won't have my sous chef on hand as much... uh oh, I'm tearing up...  What I love best about cooking with Poppy is watching her pride as she uses a "grown up knife" or gently places something in a hot pan or eats something she's made and with a big smile on her face.  I got these ingredients out but Poppy basically made the pesto on her own.  I'm one proud nanny.  So, here's my quick little pesto recipe made with lots of love by Miss P.

Basil Pesto

Ingredients:
5 cups basil leaves, packed
3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2-3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (you probably won't use all of this)
1 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:
Put the basil, pine nuts, garlic, salt and pepper in a food processor and pulse until it's finely chopped. Scrape down the sides.  Turn the blender back on and slowly stream in the olive oil until the mixture is smooth, creamy and thick.  Transfer the pesto to a bowl and stir in the parmesan cheese*.  Add more salt and pepper to taste.

*leave the cheese out if you are planning to freeze the pesto.  If freezing, spoon the pesto into ice cube trays, cover with plastic wrap and freeze overnight before transferring the cubes into a large ziploc bag.

Have fun and enjoy!!!

Grilled Veggie Salad

We make this salad all summer long.  It's inexpensive (especially if you have a garden), easy, healthy and satisfying.  Grilled veggies, goat cheese, garlic... what's not to love? 

Ingredients: 

You can grill up as much as you want, the leftovers are great to use for another salad or a grilled veggie sandwich. I've listed enough for four servings.

2 red, orange or yellow bell peppers, seeded and cut into large slices

1 very large yellow, sweet or red onion, cut into large discs

15 crimini mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed

2 zucchini or summer squash, cut into discs 

1 bunch of green onion 

2 heads of lettuce, washed and torn into pieces

craisins

pine nuts, toasted

goat cheese

3 cloves garlic, minced

large handful of fresh herbs, minced (any combo of basil, thyme, parsley, oregano, chives)

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Heat up your grill nice and hot.  If you are using a charcoal grill, make sure to use enough charcoal to keep your grill really hot for about 30 minutes.  

In the bottom of a large casserole dish, drizzle a bit of olive oil. Start slicing up your veggies into large pieces.  You WILL lose some veggies in the grill, it's sad but true.  As you slice them, layer them in the casserole dish drizzling each layer with olive oil and sprinkling with salt and pepper. 

Cook all of the veggies (except for the green onions) on the grill to your desired done-ness, flipping them over halfway.  It will probably take two batches on a charcoal grill.  I like my veggies crispy and charred but you can cook them however you like.  

While they are cooking, make up your dressing by mixing together the minced garlic and herbs in a bowl.  Drown the mixture in olive oil (about 1/2 a cup) and season with a bit of salt and pepper. 

When the veggies are done, return them to the casserole dish with the green onions and pour the dressing over them while they are still nice and hot.  If you are working in batches, pour the dressing of the first batch and mix it in again when you add the second batch of veggies.  It's important that your veggies are hot when they are dressed. 

Let the veggies marinade and cool.  Put your lettuce on plates.  Once the veggies are cool put a bunch of them on top of the lettuce.  Top with crumbled goat cheese, pine nuts and craisins.  Finally, drizzle the salads with a bit of fresh olive oil.  Enjoy!  

Printable Recipe: 

Grilled Veggie Salad

August Menus

Skirt Steak with Bloody Mary Tomato Salsa from July Menus

Hope you guy enjoyed last months menu.  I loved using My Father's Daughter by Gwyneth Paltrow all month.  Have any of you had a chance to check it out?  There are so many great recipes in it.  This month I'll be using it again, along with Tyler's Ultimate (Tyler Florence) and my favorite online foodie sites and some of my own recipes.  Here you go!

August 3rd-6th
Thurs: Grilled veggie salad with pine nuts, craisins and goat cheese
Fri: Linguini with Pea Pesto
Sat: Roasted Eggplant with Za'Atar Pizza (might do a grilled version if it's warm out!)

August 7th-13th
Sun: late lunch/early dinner at Fire on the Mountain
Mon: Chicken Thighs with Wide Butter Noodles, Fennel, and Grapes (Tyler's Ult p.142)
Tues: Tuna Noodle Casserole (with leftovers for Kyle)
Weds: Kacie and G out of town
Thurs:-
Fri: Kacie and G home late
Sat: 2nd Wedding Anniversary and Marion & Co. in town.  Somethin' special!

August 14th-20th
Sun: Lemon Fish and Grilled Corn Polenta
Mon: Dinner out
Tues: Sicilian-Style Spaghetti (Tyler's Ult p.168) and Kacie' Garlic Bread
Weds: Gazpacho (Father's D p.62 ) and Garlic Croutons
Thurs: Grilled Tuna Rolls
Fri: Leftovers
Sat: Grilled Fish and Grilled Eggplant with Lemon, Yogurt, Pomegranate and Mint (Tyler's Ult p.210)

August 21st-27th
Sun: Chicken and Dumplings (Father's D p.159)
Mon: Leftovers
Tues: The Ultimate Ratatoille (Tyler's Ult p.210) with Kacie' Garlic Bread
Weds: Sunny Eggs and Mustard Creamed Chard
Thurs: Leftovers (make Weds dinner fresh again)
Fri: Cold Nicoise Salad (Father's D p.83)
Sat: Leftovers

August 28-31st
Sun: Cheesy Stuffed Burgers (Father's D p.99)
Mon: Leftovers
Tues: Fried Sole Sandwiches with Spicy Mayo and Pickles (Father's D p. 113)
Weds: Leftovers
This month I'll share my recipes with you for my Grilled Veggie Salad and Garlic Croutons and I'll have an update on my Margarita Recipe... before it was for one drink and I now have perfected the recipe to make a whole pitcher of mix.

Happy cooking.

I posted about the first half of our long, fabulous weekend yesterday.  Here's a look at the second half...

Saturday...

After ruiniting with G, Kyle and I went to go pick up our ribs from Bill the Butcher which happens to be right next door to Victor's Celtic Coffee Company!

Man, we missed her!!!

Best coffee on the Eastside.

We spent the rest of the day on Saturday relaxing with the family, sipping beer and playing in the pool.  I had my camera on me most of the afternoon and took lots of photos...

Lounging with Grandpa!

Croquet was played.  Alligators were ridden.

It was a lovely afternoon.

After visiting with Grandpa it was off to meet up with Uncle Ryan for brunch at Pete's Eggnest on Greenwood.

G took a special liking to Uncle Ryan's shades.

We headed home to get the ribs started and to snap some family portraits of Dayne, Amber and the kids.

And, of course, more sipping of beer.

We had a wonderful dinner thanks to Kyle's rib smokin' skillz.  Then we headed over for s'mores at Ryan's house. 

It was a late night for the babe but it was so fun to hand out with Ryan and his friends and eat s'mores with Reese's pieces, sit around a little bonfire and catch up.  We had such a fun, wonderful weekend.  Hope you did too.

The End!

We took off for a long weekend and headed to Seattle late Wednesday night and we just got home a few hours ago!  It was so much fun to spend a longer-than-usual amount of time with our families.  Kyle brother, Dayne, his wife Amber and their two kids, Bailey and Chloe were visiting so we stayed extra long. (Note: I am pretty sure I didn't punctuate that sentence correctly... I never know how, many, commas, to, use).  Here is a look at our wonderful weekend... well the first half of it!

We got a blueberry tart, gruyere and caramelized onion magical croissant thing and a caramel and sea salt cake (I also got a salted caramel macaroon but ate it immediately).

Meghan, G and Rob.

Macaroooooons!

I have the best big sister in the whole world!

After pastries, it was time for...

Bill the Butcher is in Redmond, WA.  We've been wanting to check it out for ages.  All their meat is local, sustainably farmed and organic.  We placed an order for some spare ribs to grill later in the weekend.

We returned to Kyle's parent's house, cooked up Lemony Roasted Chicken and played scrabble.  Then we all went to bed...

Friday...

We got up bright and early to play with the kids.

Some of us weren't quite awake yet.  Then we packed up the whole gang and headed to the Woodland Park Zoo! 

Erika and Chloe ready to explore!

Our little monkey in the monkey house.

Gwyneth was taking notes so she could show us her foot in mouth skills...

Nice!

Bailey checking out the penguins.

Silly Dad.

Poppy and her family members.

After the zoo we headed to Red Mill Burgers for lunch.  I've always heard great things about their classic, all-american burgers.  We weren't disappointed!

Amber, Dayne, Bailey and Chloe.  Those kiddos were pretty exhausted from the long day at the zoo!

We spent the remainder of the afternoon relaxing and playing outside.

Then... Kyle's parents sent us parents out for the night!  They booked as a room at The Heathman in downtown Kirkland and bought us dinner at Trellis!  We are so lucky!  It was such a special gift.  I was, of course, quite nervous about being away from Gwynnie but everyone kept telling me, "it'll be good for you", and it was.  

Our room.

Amber and Dayne.

Me and Kyle.

Double date night!

Steak with pomme frites and bone marrow butter.

Lamb with a pomegranate glaze and kale.

Duck with watercress.

Thanks Dave and Erika for such a lovely, thoughtful gift.

I'll post Part 2 tomorrow!

Last week my sous chef and I decided it was time to whip up some homemade ginger beer!  I LOVE ginger but I hardly ever drink store bought soda 'cause it's all loaded up with corn syrup and what not.  I have to admit I was a little skeptical.  I usually leave the beer making (of any kind) up to my brewer husband.  But, I have to say, this was so easy to make I can't wait to do it again!  It was fun and really simple.  Here's a few photos, and our recipe from our little experiment! 

Ingredients:
2 1/2 Tablespoons freshly grated ginger
juice from 1/2 or 1 lemon (depending on how lemony/tart you want it)

1 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon baker's yeast

cold water
clean 2 liter bottle

Directions:
In a small saucepan, heat up 1 cup of water, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 Tablespoon of the freshly grated ginger.  Stir until the sugar is dissolved.  Keep it simmering until you have a nice gingery syrup.  Cover it and let is steep until it reaches room temperature (about an hour). 

Pour the syrup through a strainer and discard the ginger.  Use a funnel to pour the cooled ginger syrup into the clean 2 liter bottle.  Add the rest of the ginger, the yeast and the lemon juice to the bottle and fill with cold water.  Be sure to leave about 1 inch of space in the top of the bottle.  Put the cap on and shake the bottle gently until the yeast has dissolved.

Leave the bottle at room temp for about 48 hours.  At this point you can open it to see if it's carbonated enough.  If it's not carbonated enough, cap it, give it a little shake and let it sit for another 24 hours.  When it reaches the desired carbonation pop it in the fridge.  This will stop the fermentation.  Enjoy! 

If you want you can strain out the rest of the ginger bits when you serve it, but I think they are yummy.

Step 1...

We got all the ingredients together... freshly grated ginger, lemon , 1 cup sugar, baker's yeast (and water).  I made a ginger simple syrup in addition to adding fresh ginger to the bottle.

We stopped to eat some M&M's.  Experimenting is hard work!

Then we gave our mixture a good shake and set it on the counter in the kitchen!

Step 2...

After 48 hours we gave it a try.

It was super sweet and not carbonated enough so we put the cap back on, gave it a pop pep talk and left it for another 24 hours.

Step 3...

24 hours later and it was perfect!  We strained it, poured it into glasses and sipped away!  It was the perfect combo of sweet and hot.  For someone that can eat Ginger Chews by the bagful, homemade ginger beer is a wonderful revelation!

(She doesn't have carbonated beverages very often).

I think next time around I'll be making a few adjustments to the recipe so as soon as I've perfected my own take on it I'll be sure to share it with you.  

Have any of you ever made Ginger Beer?  

I'm a week late posting the menus!  Sorry.  Man, these summer weeks just fly by.  In the summer I love to keep things really simple, cook with what's available, in season, local and fresh so some of the menu items may seem a bit vague because they will be "in the moment" kind of cooking days.  Also... to keep things simple I'm using my recipes, some recipes from online foodie blogs and only one cookbook.  This month I'm using Gywneth Paltrow's cookbook, My Father's Daughter. 

 I'm totally obsessed with it.  The recipes are easy, light, adaptable, fun and healthy.  The cookbook is very in sync with my style of laid back cooking and everything we've made from it so far has been really delicious!  I got it on Amazon for under $20.  All of the recipes from this cookbook are in red.

July 10-16th

Sunday: Skirt Steak with Bloody Mary Tomato Salad

Monday: Aglio, Olio e Pepperoncino (spaghetti w/chopped: garlic, parsley and tomatoes, olive oil and crushed red pepper)

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Tuna and Ginger Burgers

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Date night!  Harry Potter Finale!  Popcorn and M&M's for dinner! ;-)

Saturday: BBQ'd chicken and Italian Chopped Salad

July 17th-23rd

Sunday: Chicken Milanese and Slow-Roasted Cherry Tomatoes and Arugula

Monday: Leftovers

Tuesday: Linguini with Pea Pesto

Wednesday: Leftovers

Thursday: Mini-vacation!

Friday: -

Saturday: -

Sunday: Home from mini-vacation!

July 24th-31st

Sunday: Strawberry and Leek Quesadillas 

Monday: BBQ'd something and grilled summer veggies

Tuesday: Leftover BBQ'd something and Simple Summer Beat Salad

Wednesday: Bruce Paltrow's World-Famous Pancakes (recipe below) and eggs

Thursday: Chicken Salad Sandwiches and  

Friday:  Grilled fish and Panzanella with Roasted Peppers, Tomatoes and Basil

Saturday: Steak and Kacie's Fennel Coleslaw

Copied from www.goop.com...

Bruce Paltrow’s World Famous Pancakes

• 3 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons fine salt
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled, plus more butter for cooking
• 6 organic large eggs
• Up to 1 cup milk, as needed to thin batter
• Real Vermont maple syrup, warmed

After a long, cold winter... and spring for that matter.  Our herb garden was looking extremely shabby!  It was so neglected and I had been putting it off/trying to find the time to bring it back to life.  Summer finally showed up around here and it is due time to get fresh herbs back on the menu.  I picked up all the supplies and Poppy and I made it an afternoon project.  Here are the photos from our project.

Very sad plants.

Fresh herbs lining the side porch!

Can't wait to get cooking!

My Aunt Sue is really wonderful.  She and I have always been very close.  Her two kids, Leah and Luke are also wonderful.  I've been looking forward to their visit for MONTHS!  I know they weren't really here to see me (Gwyneth has officially become the bigger attraction) but I didn't care what the reason!  It was so great having them here!

Luke, Leah, Gwyneth and Aunt Sue.

We had a relaxing morning...

Then we headed into town. We wandered through the shops...

 Had lunch with Kyle at the brewery...

Got ice cream!

Coconut and French Crunch (French Roast ice cream with ground up chocolate covered espresso beans!)

We gave/got some free advice...

We checked out the kiteboarders down at the waterfront...

It was a truly great day!  

We spent the evening in, eating tacos and playing Apples to Apples.

Saturday...

Gwyneth continued to get spoiled with love and attention by Leah and Luke.

Aunt Sue and I made a run to the gardening store so I could pick up herbs for my little porch herb garden!

Then we went to IKEA!

After IKEA we had a great late lunch at ¿Por Qué No?

Gwyneth had her photo taken so many times this weekend...

And she was kissed so many times...

After lunch, Sue, Leah and Luke had to head out to go visit other family.  We were so sad to see them go but we had a truly wonderful time with them.  

Sunday...

With our visitors gone on their way, Kyle and I spent all day Sunday playing with Gwyneth and cleaning up this disaster zone...

That's what happens when you are given a UHaul full of things!  It actually was kind of fun to get it back in shape!

Kyle made this great BBQ chicken and Grilled Kale Caesar Salad for dinner while I read Vogue and took a bath!

Best.  Husband.  Ever.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!

The other day we were walking home from a friends house and I decided I needed to make coleslaw (at 8:30pm).  I have never made coleslaw before, I don't even like it normally!  I have no idea what made me want it (eek, maybe I need to take a pregnancy test...just kidding Mom, I'm not pregnant) but I sent Kyle to the store to get the some things and I was thrilled with the results!  I made it twice this week!  It's easy and you can make it in just a few minutes.  It's a great side dish to bring to a BBQ or to make at home.  Enjoy.

Ingredients:

1/4 green cabbage, roughly chopped (about 3 cups)

1 fennel bulb, sliced thinly (about 1 cup)

1 tart green apple, cubed

1/2 cup mayonaise or substitute

1/2 cup toasted walnuts, chopped

1/2 cup craisins 

2 teaspoons maple syrup

2 teaspoons champagne vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Throw all the ingredients together in a bowl.  Mix.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Yup.  It's that easy.

p.s. This is totally unrelated but I have to tell someone... I have had Friends in Low Places stuck in my head for two weeks!  What!?  Help me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "Oh, I'm not big on social graces, think I'll slip on down to the Oh-asis..." Damnit!!

Printable Recipe:

Kacie's Fennel Coleslaw

Whew, okay, so I'm posting this a week late but I'm really excited about it!  We both have finals this week and everything is a bit crazy. But, as soon as this week is over, I will be done with classes for the year and Kyle will get to take a few weeks off from studying!  Now, back to the cooking... Spring and summer are my favorite cooking seasons.  I love grilling veggies and simple meats, making fresh salads and light dinners.  Most of the recipes this month are from my own kitchen and I promise recipes for the rest of the dishes (Baked BBQ Chicken, Turkey Tacos, Pizza, Grilled Shrimp and Veggie Salad, Butternut Squash Pasta Salad, Quinoa burritos and Chicken Salad Sandwiches) over the next couple of months. Happy eating...

Kacie's Coleslaw

6/8-6/11

This month I'll post my recipes for Coleslaw and BLT's!  I'm also going to experiment making Ginger Ale so I'll let you know how that goes!

Margarita Congelada

(pronounced cone-hey-la-da)

Today Gwyneth and I are having a lovely, cozy movie day.  I'm sipping tea, watching movies based on Jane Austen novels, working on the blog and cuddling with my babe.  Last week I promised to have perfected my accidental cocktail.  So here is the recipe!  This Margarita on Rocks 2.0 was a very happy accident.  Without warning, the sun decided to come out and some little voice deep in the back of my mind whispered to me, "It's margarita time".  Yes!!!  But, we only had a couple lemons and one lime and I didn't want to spend any time making my yummy Fresh Squeezed Margarita and I don't ever use store bought mix cause it gives me a sugar headache.  What to do???  This near tragedy was avoided when I remembered that, the last time I had made a big pitcher of my margarita mix, I had frozen what we didn't use in ice cube trays!  Woohoo!  Rather than waiting for the cubes to melt before making up a regular ol' margarita, I simply made one over the frozen cubes of mix!  It is super fresh, sweet and sour and definitely hits the spot! 

Ingredients:

margarita mix (don't add the tequila though!!!), frozen into cubes*

sugar

1-2 limes, zest one, slice one into wedges

ice

Directions:

Mix together a pinch of sugar and some lime zest on a plate.  Wet the rim of your cocktail glass with a lime wedge before dipping it into the sugar and lime zest mixture.  Fill the glass with the frozen mix ice cubes and a couple regular ice cubes.  Pour in a couple ounces of good tequila.  Top with a sprinkling of the sugar and lime zest mixture and a lime wedge.  That's it!  

This drink is great if you love tequila.  It's like having whisky on the rocks but for tequila lovers!  The sugar added to the drink and on the glass is needed because otherwise it's too tart and the regular ice cubes help to water down the mix as you sip.  By the time you get to the end of your drink (unless you're a really fast drinker) it will taste just like my regular margarita!  Come to think of it, if you are a really fast drinker, skip the regular ice cubes and just use the frozen mix. 

*the cubes can be a bit tricky to get out of the tray.  I had to fill the sink with hot water, quickly and dunk the bottom of the tray before they slid out easily!

I was having a really hard time spelling today.  Here's a few gems that I typed out.  My brain is on a slow roll out today.  Guess that's what happens when your daughter wakes up at 4:30!  Thank goodness for spell check and editing.  

storebot - store bought 

picher - pitcher

accidente - accident (too much Spanish homework)

shugar- sugar

vary - very

repluar - regular

Finally, if you're looking for a slightly more WT (white trash) version of the margarita head over to my friend Jen's blog.

As you all know, I was feeling a bit overwhelmed this week.  I had lots of errands to run and things to do.  But instead of doing them we decided to just have a BBQ instead!  I went for a long walk with Gwyneth, filled the house with lilacs, invented a accidental cocktail (I'll have the recipe perfected for you all next week) and invited some friends over to relax and enjoy the gorgeous spring weather.

Tracey holding G and sipping a glass of Little G.  Perfect!

Kyle playing with Ella.

Collin sipping on a margarita.  

Kristen and Gwyn.

We finally get to use our deck!

boys + grill / charcoal x meat = happy boys.

Making Grilled Kale Caesar Salad.

Ella, Greg, Kyle, Kristen, Collin, David and Tracey all ready to eat.

It was such a fun, relaxing evening.  After our lovely BBQ (on Wednesday) I was feeling totally reengergized.  I got up on Thursday and ran the rest of my errands and even got the car serviced, I skipped class and sat outside with Kyle and my friend Danelle having a beer.  Now I'm ready for the weekend.  Time for more grilling and relaxing.  

Do you all have fun plans for the weekend?

It's early on a Wednesday morning and I'm trying to psych myself up for a day of running errands.  Some days I seem able to juggle "it" all and other days it all seems pretty overwhelming.  What is "it"?  "It" could be any number of things like: keeping the house picked up, doing the laundry (what is it about having a baby that literally triples your laundry?  I don't get it!), making menus and grocery shopping, remembering to buy dental floss, exercising, auditions, reading up on What the *&^% is My Baby Doing Now and What Should I Do About It?, working, doing homework and cramming for exams, reading back issues of Vanity Fair that I never got to (I'm currently perusing Nov. 2010), squeezing in a shower, prepping dinner, remembering to buy wine (very important), shooting/editing photos (also love this)...  All the while I am also caring for my little one.  Getting her on a schedule, changing her, playing with her, changing her again.  Plus, I have to kiss her at least 100 times each day and that takes time!  I'm trying to keep up with her demand for milk which isn't going very well and I think I may have to add "buy formula" to my list today.  I don't think we will have to give it to her right away but we need to have it on hand.  For about a month now I haven't been making quite enough milk for her so we have been tapping into the supply of milk in the freezer.  Last night, while I had class, we used the last bag of back up milk.  Not a good feeling.  There's some prescription drug I can take to boost my milk supply but I'm not sure if I want to go there.  Phew, that's a lot to be juggling on a Wednesday morning!  Don't get me wrong, I love my role as a working mom/housewife and I get great joy from it but there are days when I wish someone else would come clean the bathrooms and run to the store for me!  Ah, well, it's sunny out and I am going to sit here and sip my tea and pump my milk and then I'm going to head out and try to get it all done.  Working Moms of the world, my hat's off to you.  How do you do it all?

On another note...  last week Kyle and I splurged and joined our friends and their adorable daughter for a sushi dinner.  It was totally out of our budget but I begged Kyle to take me and played the "I haven't had sushi for a year!" card.  Here's a few photos from our fun double triple date.

Greg, Sondi and Ella.

Sondi and the kiddies.  Although G appears to be super bald she actually is growing quite a bit of fuzz and has a lil' tuft of hair too (or a hair curtain as Poppy calls it).  It's just under Sondi's hand so you can't see it.

Yum!

Gwyn lounging with Greg while I use both hands to stuff my face with sushi.

Raw fish and saki induced smiles.

Ella knows where it's at!

It's been a while since I've done a what I wore add on, mostly because my clothes don't fit but I managed to pull it together a bit for our date night! (Note to self: this camera angle makes you look like you have a pea head.  Next time have Kyle stand above you.) 

Vest: LA Made

T: Tissue T from Target

Jeans: Gap boyfriend jeans

Shoes: Frye Ava Pumps

Finally.... don't forget to check out my Favorite Baby Things Post and enter the SwaddleKeeper giveaway!  I'll be drawing a winner on Friday morning! 

G loves her cozy SwaddleKeeper!

It's been a month and a half since Kyle and I set out on our Spring Detox/Budget Crackdown.  In a nutshell, we made the commitment to be really active and eat healthy everyday and to reduce our grocery budget in half for the month of April!   Major goals!  So how did we do?  Pretty great actually!  

EXERCISE:  

THE GOAL: Our goals for exercising are... to do something active (workout, go for a walk, shoot some hoops) five days out of the week.  Rain or shine.  No matter what.  

THE RESULT:

Okay, so we weren't active every single day, but I went for lots of walks, did some dance cardio and spent less time sitting on my bum.  Kyle works so hard during the day at the brewery that he is active without having to try!  It helps that the weather is starting to improve and we've been getting outside more.  I've been walking with Poppy to ballet and to pick her up from school and this weekend I went for a four hour walk!  Yeah, seriously.  It was soooo nice out and the lilacs were in bloom and Gwynnie was wearing her finest Parisian ensemble and all I wanted to do was to be outside so I just... kept... walking!  I was hoping to keep my back pain at bay by increasing my activity.  Unfortunately, despite my efforts, my back pain is returning with a vengeance.  It's incredibly frustrating and disappointing.  The fact that I have seriously considered getting pregnant again (which includes the whole giving birth thing) in order to alleviate it is an indication of how bad it is.  I'm back to slapping on icy-hot patches and popping ibuprofen every night and squirming all over the place because I can't sit still.  Not sure what to do now... I have no real desire to become like that weird mom with the 20 kids so I'll have to find some other remedy that doesn't involve pregnancy!

A great bonus to the healthy eating is that I dropped the last of my pregnancy weight!  From 131 to 125 which is exactly what I weighed when I got pregnant.  I also lost one more inch on my waistline (from 37-28-37 to 37-27-37).  I have to admit it feels pretty great to be back to "my old self".  Growing up as a gymnast, dancer and diver I have always felt the best when I felt healthy and fit.  Here's a little snapshot of me now...

Ok, since the Grilled Kale Caesar Salad recipe from last week got such a great response, I am posting my Kale Chip recipe today!  These are so easy!  They only take minutes to make and are a great snack.  Make them up for a midday boost, to replace popcorn while you watch a movie, or for a snack pack for a trip to the zoo or a picnic.  I can eat an entire bunch of Kale Chips on my own.  They are delicious and so good for you!  Enjoy!  

Kale Chips

Ingredients:

Kale

Olive Oil

Salt

Optional: Lemon zest

Directions: 

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash and dry the kale. Strip it from the stalk into large pieces.  Spread into a single layer on a baking sheet (or two).  Drizzle with olive oil and bake for about 12-15 minutes until kale has crisped up and the edges are a bit brown.  Remove from oven and season to taste with salt.*  Top with a fresh sprinkling of lemon zest.  

*I recommend seasoning after baking because the kale shrinks up so much it's hard to gauge how much salt to use!

Downloadable Recipe:

Kale Chips

I promised this recipe last month.  I'm a few days late but when you make this you'll forgive me.  This is one of my favorite things to eat.  It's fun and different, takes no time at all and you feel good about what you're eating with each bite!  Seriously, if you've never tried kale, now is the time and this is the way to do it!  My mom and her friend had a salad like this while on a weekend getaway.  The chef was kind enough to tell them his key ingredients for the Caesar Salad Dressing.  We always have it whipped up in the fridge.  Once you make it you'll never buy salad dressing again.   This dressing is great on all types of salad and it seems like you can't use too much!  It's so good and fresh!  It's the perfect compliment to the smokiness of the grilled kale.  You should make this tonight!

Grilled Kale Caesar Salad

Caesar Salad Dressing

Ingredients:

equal parts fresh squeezed lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil

1/2 tsp anchovy paste, about 1" squeezed from the tube

spoonful of dijon mustard

1 large garlic clove, minced by hand or by press

a pinch of salt 

Directions:

Simply combine all ingredients by shaking well in a sealed container.  Store extra in the fridge!  Note: I usually double this recipe so we have some on hand.  

freshly ground black pepper

Grilled Kale

Ingredients:

A large bunch of kale (one large bunch feeds two people as an entree)

olive oil

parmesan cheese

Directions:

Heat up your grill* while you wash and dry the kale.  Strip the leafy green part from the stalk and tear it into large pieces.  In a large bowl, toss the pieces in olive oil until they are lightly coated.  When your grill is ready toss the leaves directly onto the grill (you will lose a few), let them crackle a bit before gently tossing them around with a pair of tongs.  When they have begun to shrink and wilt and the edges are crispy and brown return them to the bowl.  Toss with the salad dressing and parmesan cheese.  Add in shredded chicken and croutons if you wish!

*In a pinch (or in the winter) you can fake this recipe on the stovetop by cooking the kale in a hot cast iron skillet.  You lose a bit of the smoky flavor but a well seasoned skillet is a great substitute!

Downloadable Recipe:

Grilled Kale Caesar Salad

I'm so glad it's Friday!  Phew.  I had an exam yesterday and was having such a hard time motivating after completing my Spring Cleaning.  I'm busting out of town today with the baby and heading up to visit my best friend (and G's Godmama) Marion for the weekend.  Kyle's got some major studying to do so we'll leave him to write his papers about whisky (yeah, that's what you write about when you're getting a Masters in brewing and distilling).  I'll have a Wonderful Weekend post for you when I get back!  

In the meantime... here is one of my favorite recipes. This recipe is incredibly easy, healthy and delicious.  So far all of the recipes on the blog have been my own, but I learned this one watching Spain... On the Road Again.  I use a bit more currants and pine nuts then their recipe calls for.  I make it as a side to accompany fish most of the time.  But every once in a while when I'm feeling I need a little iron boost, I'll make a big plate of it for lunch.  

Poppy and I spend all day together every Monday and we almost always do a cooking project together.  She loves being my sous chef.  I recently made Tyler Florence's Blueberry Blintzes.  They are so easy and yummy.  When Poppy came over the next morning we used the leftover crepe batter to make fun, sweet crepes together.  It was so much fun to get all the fixin's ready, make them up and devour them.  We both had sugar comas afterward but it was worth it!  Next time, we're going to make savory crepes with healthier filling options.

Blueberry Blintzes

Melted butter, lemon zest, strawberries...

cinnamon sugar, regular sugar, whipped cream and powdered sugar.

Poppy had her face painted specially "for ballet".

Pops opted for the works (of course) while I chose butter, sugar, lemon zest and strawberries.

Fold them up and top with a little dusting of powdered sugar.

Tyler Florence's Crepe recipe is online here!  Keep in mind the mixture has to rest for at least an hour so it's a good brunch or lunch project!  Good savory fillings could be spinach, prociutto, mozzarella cheese, sauteed shallot, mushrooms, shredded chicken... really anything!  That's what's so great about crepes!  

I was really pleased and surprised when, on Monday night, my brother Ryan called and asked if he could come for a visit!  He and his lovely ladybird Kaylee arrived yesterday afternoon and stayed through last night and this morning!  It was so nice to have them here for a short stay.  We had my Lemony Roasted Chicken and Potatoes for dinner, my favorite Lemon Pound Cake (Test Kitchen) for dessert and Hot Toddy's for fun.  It was such a fun, relaxing visit.

G loves Uncle Ryan.

And a little morning playtime.

 i

I can't believe it's already the last days of March.  I sat down this morning to plan out our April Menus.  The goal for this month is to eat as healthy as possible and to get a jump start on exercising.  Kind of a April Boot Camp to get a kick start on a super healthy and active summer.  If we don't do something we're gonna look like this... 

This morning Kyle pointed out to me that we are incredibly broke.  Like, really, really broke.  Like, can barely pay our bills broke.  We already live paycheck to paycheck but having a few thousand dollars in doc bills and taking a week off of work to go to Mexico (which was wonderful!) and having to pay for school and the new health insurance and... well, you get the point.  March expenses really put us in pinch, financially speaking, for spring.  After discussing the grocery budget with a few friends, it turns out that most of us spend between $400-$700 each month on our groceries.  The last three months we've spent about $475.  That's taking into account that we eat all organic, free range, etc. and we don't eat out often.  I love to cook and we love to eat at home together so our grocery budget kind of doubles as our entertainment budget.  Anyway, long story short, not only have I attempted to make super healthy April Menus, but I'm also hoping to only spend $50 per week!  Luckily, we recently stocked up at Costco so that should help us get by.  We won't be able to buy coffee and at $8 a pop, it looks like I might have to cut out wine.  Maybe.  Okay, probably not.

Our goals for eating are... for the entire month of April we are cutting out as much as possible of the following: fried foods, refined foods, processed foods, bad saturated fats and desserts/sugar.  

Our goals for exercising are... to do something active (workout, go for a walk, shoot some hoops) five days out of the week.  Rain or shine.  No matter what.  

Here's our April Menus!

This month I'll add recipes for Spanish Spinach and Grilled Kale Caesar Salad!

Here's to a healthy and inexpensive April!  I'll let you know how we do!

So, I actually think Valentine's Day is pretty silly and very Hallmark-y.  But I'll use any excuse for extra cuddle time and a good bottle of wine.  Poppy and I had all day together and we decided to make silly Valentine art and brownies!  We used the Test Kitchen Classic Brownie recipe and popped them in the oven.  While they baked we made our cards.

First Poppy painted her thumb...

and used it to make a circle stamps.

After a quick blast with the hair dryer...

she transformed them into her "famous" circle people.

Then I helped her to write her messages of LOVE!

Then she helped me make one for Kyle.

By the time we were done crafting, our brownies were out of the oven and cooled.  We cut out heart shapes from a piece of paper and laid them over our brownies before dusting them with powdered sugar!

Yum!

After Pops headed home to devour her brownies with her folks, Kyle played with G while I whipped up my Baked BBQ Chicken (recipe coming soon) and Test Kitchen Macaroni and Cheese which, for the record, actually isn't as bad for you as I thought it was going to be!

We opened a nice bottle of wine...

To end the evening we all curled up on the couch to watch Casablanca!

Hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day!

Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Ravioli

 I love making ravioli.  It's fun and really easy and very rewarding because you end up with lots of ravioli in the freezer.  My favorite is my Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Ravioli that I make every fall/winter.  Here's two of my recipes!

Spinach and Mushroom Ravioli

Ingredients:

Filling:

15 crimini mushrooms, chopped

10 oz. chopped frozen spinach, thawed and throughly drained

1 large shallot, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 Tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

3/4 cup parmesan cheese

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1 egg

olive oil

salt 

freshly ground black pepper

Makes about 30 ravioli.

Directions:

Set up a clean work station. Combine the two eggs and the water in a small bowl and set aside with the pastry brush, the edge cutter and the wonton wrappers.

Heat a bit of olive oil in a large pan and sauté the mushrooms until they are golden brown, transfer to a large bowl.  Sauté the shallot and garlic in the same pan just for 1-2 minutes, until they are fragrant, transfer to the bowl with the mushrooms.  Add the spinach, parmesan and ricotta and mix until well combined.  Season to taste with salt and pepper before mixing the egg in.

From there the assembly and cooking directions are the same as above!  You could skip the fresh sage for the brown butter in this one if you don't have any on hand.

Poppy loves to help make these but she can be a bit heavy handed with the egg wash which causes the ravioli to crack when frozen.  So you've gotta keep an eye on the kiddo's "painting" if you are having them help.  For this recipe I actually let her choose (with some persuasion) the ingredients so that she would enjoy eating them.  She insisted she wanted only cheese but when we picked everything out she got excited and ate five and has the rest stashed in the freezer for easy, healthy dinners for all of us.

Printable Recipe:
Butternut Squash and Roasted Garlic Ravioli

I was hoping the hot sauce would make me go into labor.  It didn't.

Chicken Saltimbocca and Sautéed Kale with Lemon and Olive Oil

I got such a enthusiastic response after my Menu Planning (in advance) post that I have made an entire list of my menus for the month of January.  This time, in an effort to make sure you could actually use the plans for your own lives, I focused on my "Food Network" cookbooks (since most of their recipes are available online), my own recipes (that are posted on the blog) and other recipes that are available online.  You should be able to copy a lot of the menus exactly or you can substitute wherever needed/wanted!  I've put little *'s next to the recipes that I just "make" (I'll get a move on posting these recipes so you'll have them in the future).  I tried to use just a few cookbooks this month so that it would be inexpensive to purchase them and use them!  I've just done my grocery shopping for the month and bought everything possible in advance so that all we have to do is zip to the store for the fresh ingredients.  I hope this makes your January a bit easier in the grocery shopping/menu planning/enjoyable dinner department. 

This weekend was wonderful!  We should have been packing, we should have been organizing and we should have been doing things to prepare for our move/baby.  But, instead, we spent the entire weekend reading and relaxing and watching movies and making pumpkin cupcakes!   We spent most day on Saturday in our pajamas, on the couch reading books and magazines, although we did get out of the house for lunch with friends and a short stroll around town.  I found the perfect birthday present for Poppy! Then we came home, put our pajamas back on and made chili and watched Project Runway. On Sunday, we went grocery shopping for the week and then came back home, watched football and Kyle helped me bake up these delicious Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting (recipes below)!  We took a few to our lovely neighbors and brought the rest to dinner at a friend's house.  They were really, really yummy and sweet. All in all, it was a fantastically simple and relaxing little weekend.  It was just what we needed after the last few weeks.  

Into the oven!

The frosting station.

My cute family watching the Seahawks win for a change... although I don't think Calypso was too invested in the game.

Yum!

and yum!

Lemony Roasted Chicken with Crispy Potatoes

This recipe leaves you with great leftovers that we either eat "as is" or use for Chicken Noodle Soup, Chicken Caesar Salad, Healthy Chicken Soup, Chicken Pot Pie, pasta dishes etc.  Enjoy!

Downloadable Recipe:

Lemony Roasted Chicken with Crispy Potatoes

Tuna Noodle Casserole

* I cook with garlic all the time and go through a head of garlic (at least) each week.  To save the time and keep my hands from always smelling like garlic, I mince up batches (one head of garlic at a time) in our mini Cuisinart, transfer it to a small sealable container and add a nice coating of olive oil.  I keep the pre-minced garlic in the fridge for the week and it stays nice and fresh and is easy to use.

Downloadable PDF:

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Healthy Chicken Soup

After a whirlwind trip in Seattle, I returned home to grey, dreary Sunday.  It was a perfect day for pajamas and healthy chicken soup!  I wanted nothing more than to get cozied up with my husband, read a book and eat something that was easy to make and would warm us up.  My sister recently gave me a recipe called Comfort Chicken Soup with her adaptations.  Now, I've made my adaptations to it.  It's perfect for a Fall day and can easily be doubled for leftovers (and clearly adapted)!  The soup is really easy to make and it's loaded with protein and iron which is perfect for me as I enter the third trimester of pregnancy.  It was great served with toasted rosemary bread.  I hope you enjoy this cozy recipe.

Ingredients:

2-4 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into large pieces (you can also use leftover chicken for this recipe, just shred it up and throw it in towards the end of the cooking process)

1 medium onion, chopped

10 Crimini mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup Arborio rice

5 cups chicken or veggie broth

1/2 bunch of spinach (can be substituted for kale or other dense greens)

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon dried parsley

1 bay leaf

1/4 cup white wine (optional)

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

In a large pot, bring the broth to a boil with the bay leaf. Meanwhile, heat up the olive oil in a large non-stick pan.  Sear the chicken breasts chunks in the pan for a few minutes on each side before transferring them into the pot with the broth to finish cooking.  Remove the cooked chicken to a plate and allow to cool before shredding with a fork.

While the chicken is cooking, add another bit of oil to the pan and cook the onion, garlic and mushrooms over medium heat until soft (about 7 minutes), season with all the spices.  Pour in the rice and the wine and stir it together for a few minutes before adding the whole mixture to the simmering broth along with the chicken.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered, for about 20 minutes (or until the rice is cooked).  Turn off the heat, add the spinach and stir.  Discard the bay leaf. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. 

Cozy time with my belly and my kitty.

Downloadable Recipe:

Healthy Chicken Soup

Although the growing season wasn't great for us, perhaps you still have some cherry tomatoes left on your tomato plants... if not, go buy some!  This recipe is easy, fresh and a great way to add a bit of variety to your dinner table.  Normally, I make this all the time throughout the Summer, but since we only got about a few handfuls of cherry tomatoes from our plant this year, I only made it a couple of times.  I wish I'd thought to just go out and buy some cherry tomatoes earlier!  This is a great dish to take to a friend's house as a side dish or to bring to a potluck, etc.  I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Yum!

Ingredients:

1 pint of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1 bag of frozen corn

1 handful of basil, roughly chopped or torn

balsamic vinegar

extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 container of small, fresh mozzarella balls (optional)

Directions:

Heat a non-stick pan over medium high heat with a splash of olive oil.  Throw in the frozen corn and cook until it's heated through and the moisture has evaporated completely.  Throw in the cherry tomatoes and a splash of balsamic vinegar and cook just until heated through and the tomatoes are beginning to break down.  Season the whole dish with salt and pepper to taste and then pop it in the fridge until it's cooled down completely.  Toss in the basil and mozzarella (if you're using it) and gently toss the whole salad together.  Add more olive oil and vinegar to taste.  

Enjoy!

Downloadable Recipe:

Corn Salad with Basil and Cherry Tomatoes

Happy Birthday Kyle!

Today is Kyle's birthday and as we are both swamped with work and school we celebrated over the weekend with dinner...

Kyle wanted gourmet burgers and Caesar salad.

And dessert!

I made a Devil's Food Cake with buttercream frosting from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook since Kyle love's chocolate!  I served it with Java Chip ice cream which was the perfect compliment.  Between the caffeine in the chocolate and ice cream, I did't sleep at all that night but it was all so good!

In the morning I got up and made coffee cake and we read HP (Harry Potter) in bed and had fresh cake and coffee! 

A typical view from my side of the bed. I love it!

We're headed out of town again early tomorrow morning for a friend's wedding, so I am posting this today!  What a crazy last couple of weeks it's been.  I feel like every few days we're packing up the car and hitting the road...maybe because that's exactly what we've been doing!  Once we return from this weekends adventures, we're going to be packing up to go "on the road again" for a fabulous road trip to San Francisco.  With that in mind, I thought there was no time like the present to introduce you to one of my favorite things. 

Do you love traveling?  Do you love eating?  Do you love the Food Network?  Do you love PBS?  Then you will love, love, love Spain...On the Road Again.  This thirteen episode series chronicles Mario Batali, Gwyneth Paltrow, Mark Bittman and Claudia Bassols on their culinary road trip all over Spain.  They drive all over the country eating everywhere they go and checking out the sites...in short, this is my dream trip!  They interview cheesemakers, winemakers, chefs and architect Frank Ghery.  It feels like you are on the road with them except you're left with your mouth watering while they are downing amazing looking food!  

I was looking forward to this show's premiere for months and when it finally came on I would rush home from work every Sunday, mug ask Kyle for the remote control and switch from Sunday night football to this show.  But, our antenna didn't always pick it up or fully cooperate so for my birthday Kyle bought me the DVD set as well as the cookbook that accompanies the series.  I immediately watched it through from beginning to end and occasionally revisit the episodes.  I also shared the DVD's with my mom before she headed to Spain this Summer.  We've cooked a few recipes from the cookbook and so far they've all been fantastic!  This is a great purchase and also makes a great gift for foodie/travel friends.  I've added it to my favorite things list on the right where you can purchase it through Amazon although you can also rent the whole series on Netflix.  Happy "traveling". 

The DVD set and the cookbook.

Mark and Claudia buying jamón.

Clams (Can you eat clams while your pregnant??? Those look so good!)

Mario, Gwyneth, Claudia and Mark with one of the many chefs they meet on their trip.

Pisto Manchego.  This is one of the recipes we've made and it was delicious!

All of these images are from their website.  The site has travel tips, recipes and lots of gorgeous photos. Check it out:

http://www.spainontheroadagain.com/

Normally, nothing says "Summer" like a tart, sweet Margarita.  Although this summer, nothing says "Summer" like ginger tea and toast...ahh, the joys of pregnancy!  Back to the Margarita...I am not a fan of pre-made Margarita mix, it's way too sweet and loaded with dyes and preservatives.  My recipe is simple, delicious, tart and, most importantly, it's fresh!  (Don't worry Mom, I didn't drink it, I made it for Kyle).

Ingredients (for one cocktail):

1/3 cup room temperature water

1-1 1/2 Tablespoons sugar, plus more for the rim of the cup (depending on how sweet you'd like it, I prefer it with just 1 Tablespoon)

1/3 cup lemon and lime juice (equal parts of each)

1/3 cup of your favorite tequila

Directions (for one cocktail):

In a measuring cup, make a simple syrup by mixing together the sugar and the water until the sugar is completely dissolved.  Add in the lemon/lime juice and tequila and mix together.  This is a great time to do a taste test and you can add more sugar, juice or tequila depending on your preference, but remember that the drink gets watered down a bit when you add it to the ice!  Sprinkle a bit of sugar onto a small plate.* Use a lime or lemon wedge to wet the rim of your cocktail glass and dip it into sugar.  Fill your glass up with ice and pour in your drink!  Garnish with the lime or lemon wedge you used to wet the glass.  Sit, sip and enjoy!

To make a pitcher, a juicer is recommended but not necessary...it just makes it a lot less work!  Just convert the recipe above to make enough drinks to fill your pitcher, it's easy since it's all equal parts of the main ingredients. About 2 cups of each juice, water and tequila should do the trick with about 6 Tablespoons of sugar.

On a side note, if this recipe is too tart for you, just add in a bit of orange juice and that will sweeten it up a bit!

*You can substitute salt if you prefer, but because this recipe is pretty tart I've found that the sugar is a nice touch and the salt can make it a bit bitter/sour.

Downloadable PDF:

Fresh Squeezed Margarita

The chef works with lighting speed, it's very entertaining while you wait for your food.

Fresh veggie spring rolls.