Best Poppy Seed Dressing, Ever

Poppy Seed Dressing
adapted from Our Best Bites

1/3 c white (or white wine) vinegar
1 tsp kosher salt
fresh ground pepper (about 1/2 tsp)
1/2 c agave nectar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
2 green onions, roughly chopped
1/3 cup oil (vegetable if you must, but avocado oil would be healthier)
1 tsp poppy seeds

*I use my immersion blender for this recipe, but a regular blender would work also.

Stir together vinegar, salt, pepper, agave nectar, and mustard. Start blender. With blender running, add green onion, then stream in oil. Turn off blender, and transfer dressing to a jar or carafe. Stir in poppy seeds.

*Delicious on all salads, but especially with the following combination:
spinach
sliced strawberries
chopped green onion
peeled and chopped cucumber
toasted, sliced almonds

Roasted Vegetable Wrap

Um, sorry I'm a slacker? 

Ok, I really love summer. Vegetables everywhere! This was a great way to use up those farmer's market veggies that I keep piling onto my tiny kitchen counter.

Roasted Vegetable Wraps

2 Japanese eggplants

1 medium zucchini

1 medium crookneck squash

olive oil

salt and pepper

roasted red peppers (or make your own!)

fresh spinach

tomato

cheese (optional, great with or without)

large tortillas (I used spinach from Earth Fare)

Southwest Ranch Dressing (recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 400. Prep two cookie sheets with parchment paper - you can also put cooling racks on top of the cookies sheets to raise the vegetables, but it's not necessary. Thinly slice the eggplant, zucchini, and squash lengthwise (use a mandolin if you have one). Brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper and put the veggies on the cookie sheets. Roast for 10 minutes at a time, checking on the tenderness of the veggies each time. Roast until not crunchy at all (mine took about 20 minutes).

Southwest Ranch Dressing
adapted from Budget Bytes

3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt

1/4 cup mayo

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp chili powder

1/2 tsp cumin 

dash of hot sauce

To assemble:

Spread the dressing on the tortillas, then layer roasted veggies, spinach, peppers, tomatoes. Roll tightly and enjoy! 

Delicious and Simple Dessert

So I discovered a dessert on Pinterest and thought it was quite good. If you like cake batter (and who doesn't) then you'll love this.

All you need is:
1 box Funfetti cake mix
2 cups yogurt
1 cup cool whip

Mix it all together, and then use it as a dip with graham crackers or animal crackers! These proportions are approximate..and you can make much smaller batches if you like. It is about a 3-2-1 ratio with 3 parts cake mix, 2 parts yogurt, 1 part cool whip.

Enjoy!!

How to make your own garland, wreaths, etc.

You will need four items:

1. A pine garland strand, or wreath, that is plain
2. Craft wire
3. "Stems"
4. Wire Cutters, or a good pair of scissors

You take the plain garland strand, and buy a bunch of stems from Michaels. They always have them in the front of the store, it's a bunch of cute little Christmas-y type decorations and you always wonder to yourself what purpose they serve. Usually these little stems are about .50 cents to $1 apiece, really cheap.

Then, you take the stems and attach them to the garland using the craft wire, which is green and matches the garland so it is discreet. Wrap the craft wire around the center of the stem in a hidden place, wrapping it a few times around the center of the garland so it stays in place. Voila!! You have your very own garland, made very cheaply, and to your own personal style and house decorations.


Craft Wire:

Garland:

Stem:

Eat Local

In today's society, food frequently just starts at the grocery store. We do not know who grew it, where its from, and sometimes even what is in it. That can be scary when you hear another report in the news about recalled food. To combat the "food unknown", you can turn to local food sources.

If you would like to start eating locally, I have a roundup of resources to get you started. Sometimes all you need to get started is to know what your options are.

Farmer's Market/ Farm Stand
These are a great way to start. Depending on the size, you can go once a week or everyday to pick up tasty fresh produce. You can talk directly to the grower if you have any questions. I especially enjoy this option when I am branching out to try new vegetables. On farmer at out market gave me some great ideas for using chard when I had not tried it before. The USDA website has a list of farmer's markets if you are looking for one in your area.

You Pick
I love this option for fruit but it can also be available for vegetables. These farms have you pick the produce when it is ready. Cheaper for you, easier for them. The Pick Your Own website has a good, though not completely inclusive, list of you pick farms in different states. The website is a blast of color but does have good info.

CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)
Every farm has a little bit of a different CSA program, but the premise is the same. You pay in advance and they give you a basket of food each week for a set number of weeks. This helps the farmer out because they now have startup money for planting time. It helps you because you get fresh produce every week. We have done a CSA this summer and love it! Unfortunately, the availability of a CSA program really varies. You can ask around at your farmer's market or look up CSA information on the Local Harvest website.

Local Harvest
This is one of my favorite eat local websites! You can search for farms, CSA, farmer's markets, restaurants that serve local produce, and local meat. Just a really great resource.

Eat Wild
A site listing farms where you can find local meat, eggs, and dairy. I don't find this site as user friendly but it does have a good list.

Ask Around!
Word of mouth is usually the best advertisement. Some small farms may not make it to these websites so make sure to ask around for any you may have missed. Some people advertise things like you pick or eggs on Craigslist as well.

So now you are ready to get started! See what is in your area. Eating local is a great boost to area farmers and the local economy.

Herbs!

I've had several discussions with people lately about fresh herbs. I LOVE them. Love them, love them, love them. So when Amy dear told me today that she never knows what to do with herbs, I realized I needed to do a blog post about fresh herbs. (I also realized, Amy, that we never did have our herb discussion. So here you go.)

Fresh herbs are used differently than dried herbs in terms of cooking time, but they are used in the same types of dishes. Take spaghetti, for instance. I can whip up a pot of spaghetti sauce and, instead of throwing in a bunch of dried oregano and basil at the beginning of the simmer, I can add fresh oregano and basil towards the end of the cooking time. Herein lies the biggest difference between dried and fresh, and the biggest mistake that people make. Most fresh herbs do not hold up like dried herbs do to longer cook times. It's often a good idea to add dried herbs close to the beginning of cooking time because they need longer to cook so that their flavors will develop more. Some fresh herbs will fall apart and either A) the flavor will disappear or B) they'll turn bitter. Both bad. Very bad. Rosemary is often the exception to this rule.

Cilantro, for example, is a fresh herb that I never cook. Ever. If you talk to someone who says that they hated the taste of cilantro the only time they've ever tried it, 9 times out of 10 they ate fresh cilantro that had been cooked. When cooked, fresh cilantro starts to taste like soap. Yuck. There are, of course, people who don't like cilantro at all, cooked or not. It's a very strong herb and you either love it or hate it. Guess which one I am? YUM. Cilantro is excellent with Mexican or Thai inspired dishes.


Basil is another one that I rarely cook. I like to add basil at the very very end - tonight I made a pot of PW's Pasta with Eggplant. Delicious with eggplant from the farmer's market! I stirred in fresh basil at the very end, after removing the pot from heat. The flavor was delicious! Perfect. Basil is also good on top of a homemade pizza. Chiffonade the basil and sprinkle on top of a cooked and ready to eat pizza. Amazing.


I do like to add certain fresh herbs to roasting meats, like Our Best Bites Fauxtisserie Chicken. Fresh rosemary is excellent in this instance. It's also great folded into French bread or roll dough before baking for a nice herbed bread.


Fresh herbs also require more of the herb to get a good strong flavor than dried herbs. A half a teaspoon of dried oregano may equal 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano. Often, a jar of dried herbs will tell you what it is equivalent to in fresh. My jar of refrigerated minced garlic says that 1/2 tsp of it equals one clove of garlic. But garlic is another post...

Ok, so here are some recipes that utilize fresh herbs:
Basil:
Penne a la Betsy
Gnocchi with Goat Cheese
Grilled Chicken with Lemon Basil Pasta
Caprese Salad
Creamy Tortellini Bake - oh my gosh amazing. Add fresh basil when serving to each individual bowl.
Bruschetta
Pesto - possibly the best use for fresh basil. ever.

Cilantro:
Pico de Gallo and Guacamole
Asian Noodle Salad
Migas - a.maz.ing.
Mexican Rice
Beef with Peppers - totally making this on Monday
BBQ Chicken Pizza - cilantro MAKES bbq chicken pizza. i don't care if you use this recipe or not. oh man.
Thai Peanut Noodle Salad
Southwest Pasta Salad - I LOVE THIS!!!!
Creamy Lime-Cilantro Dressing - I LOVE THIS EVEN MORE!!!
Thai Peanut Noodles


Rosemary and others:
Mushroom Herb Mac and Cheese
Buttered Rosemary Rolls
Beef Stew with Mushrooms
Cheesy Garlic Herb Bread
Focaccia Bread with Rosemary
Sourdough Stuffing

And:
How to Store Fresh Herbs
All About Herbs (this is the site for the company that my fresh herbs came from, lots of info there)



I hope this helps! Remember, don't be scared of the fresh herbs. They make life fun and tasty. :)

Pancakes with Apple Nut Topping

Pancakes are a frequent meal at our house and I am always looking for different ways to top them. There has not been artificial maple syrup in our house for years. Some of our frequent toppings are:
-REAL maple syrup, in a separate container for dipping because it is pricey
-jam
-yogurt
-yogurt and jam
-apple nut topping

The apple nut is my new favorite and a very proud personal creation.

Apple Nut Topping
3-4 C. Granny smith apples, cored, peeled and sliced
1/2 C.raisins
1/2 C. slivered almonds or other favorite nut
3/4 tsp. nutmeg
3 Tbp. honey
3/4 tsp. cornstarch

Heat the apples in a medium saucepan until tender. Add the nuts, raisins, nutmeg, and honey and cook a few more minutes. In a small measuring cup, mix the cornstarch with enough water that it is dissolved and pourable. Slowly add it to the apple mixture.

Serve it over your favorite pancakes. I like to add it to the pancakes with yogurt on top. Yum! And for those who do not have a favorite pancake recipe, here is a really great basic one.

Pancakes
1 1/2 C. wheat flour
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder (bought fresh or DIY)
1 tsp. salt
1 Tbp. sugar
1 1/4 C milk (soy or almond can easily be substituted for lactose free)
1 egg
3 Tbp. oil

Mix the dry ingredients then add the wet ingredients. Drop the batter on a hot skillet 1/4 C at a time. When bubbles have risen to the top of the pacake you know it is time to flip them.

Go breakfast crazy! Everyone will love it.