my new obsession: roasted vegetables

it's true. I'm completely obsessed with roasted vegetables. I started down this road with this recipe for Orzo with Roasted Vegetables out of my Barefoot Contessa Parties! cookbook, also available at the Food Network's website (click on the recipe name to get there). Anyway you get there, though, it's seriously delicious. But then I ran out of orzo. And feta. And basil. And scallions. So I left those out, and mixed it with brown rice and it was still delicious. And then I didn't feel like making the dressing, so I just tossed the roasted vegetables with brown rice and ate it plain and guess what? still delicious. And also delicious with rice and a little sweet teriyaki sauce. Can you tell I've been eating this a lot lately?

And the more I eat it, the more I just adapt based on what I have in my fridge. My basic recipe for roasted vegetables follows the recipe above, but with more variety. so:

any variety of roasted vegetables, chopped into ~ 1 inch pieces. (I love to use eggplant, red/yellow/orange bell peppers, asparagus, mushrooms, zucchini, red onion...)

toss lightly with olive oil (basically just enough to coat the veg), and a little salt and pepper.

Roast in the oven at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. Could be longer depending on how big or small you cut your veg. I try to remember to toss them / flip them over about half way through the cooking time. I don't always remember. And I try to flip them over right when they come out of the oven again so they don't stick to the pan.

yummy.

I've also started cooking broccoli this way and I'm telling you, it's changed my life. I would eat broccoli before, but usually out of duty - like it seemed the right thing to do or something. folic acid and whatnot. but I wouldn't say I loved broccoli. those days are gone, though! I have become converted to broccoli now that I've started...yes, roasting them! sounds weird, I know. I heard about it a while ago, but took a while to try it. my loss. In addition to the olive oil and salt/pepper, I add a couple of cloves of chopped garlic, and I'm telling you, I can't wait to eat it. I just want to snack on it all the time. it's so good! my favorite is when they get a little crispified, so don't be afraid if that happens. just dig in.

Are you achin...for some bacon?

Well, this post has nothing to do with bacon. But it does have to do with a delicious salmon dish and some salmon bedding a la Rachael Ray. Here goes.

Lime-and-Honey Glazed Salmon with Warm Black Bean and Corn Salad

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
2 large garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 to 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (medium heat to extra spicy)
1 teaspoon ground cumin (1/3 palmful)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Juice of 2 limes
3 tablespoons honey (3 gobs)
1 teaspoon chili powder (1/3 palmful)
4 6-ounce salmon fillets
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and chopped
1 10-ounce box frozen corn kernels, defrosted
1/2 cup chicken stock or broth
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 to 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves (a handful), chopped
6 cups baby spinach

Preheat a medium skillet over medium heat with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil (twice around the pan). Add the onions, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, salt, and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

While the onions are cooking, preheat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. In a shallow dish, combine the juice of 1 lime, honey, chili powder, salt, and pepper. Add the salmon fillets to the lime-honey mixture and toss to coat thoroughly. Add the seasoned salmon to the hot skillet and cook until just cooked through, about 3 to 4 minutes on each side.

To the cooked onions, add the bell peppers and corn kernels and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock and continue to cook for another 2 minutes. Add the black beans and cook until the beans are just heated through. Remove the skillet from the heat and add the juice of the second lime, the cilantro, and spinach. Toss to wilt the spinach and then taste and adjust the seasoning. Serve the lime-and-honey-glazed salmon on top of the warm black bean and corn salad.

If you don't want to go all out with the salmon, or if you're just not feeling fishy, the black bean/corn bedding is delicious on its own as a side or a salsa with chips. YUM.

Butternut Squash Pear Soup

This is actually a recipe that originated with Jennie Jane, but Aunt Robyn emailed it out, and for any of you who didn't get it, or lost it or forgot about it, it's worth revisiting! I think it was maybe the most delicious butternut squash soup I've had. I loved the pear and the fresh rosemary in it. I doubled it because the squash I had was a 2 pounder, and I loved having leftovers for a few days. I added a tablespoon of fresh chopped ginger, because I had some, and I used rice milk and it tasted great.

enjoy!

Butternut Squash & Pear Soup

2 Tbsp ghee, butter, or olive oil
1 small onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 c. vegetable or chicken broth
1 pound butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 inch cubes (Fresh is best, but for a faster soup you can sometimes find it already peeled and cubed in the frozen section)
2 medium pears, peeled and sliced
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup soy milk (or fresh milk)
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans, for garnish
medium pear, sliced for garnish

Melt ghee/butter/oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion and stir occasionally until onions are tender. Stir in broth, two sliced pears, rosemary, ginger and remaining spices. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 10-15 minutes or until squash is fork tender. Puree soup in batches in food processor or blender (or use immersion blender). Return pureed soup to pot. Stir in milk. Reheat, stirring frequently, until hot. Do not boil. Garnish with pecan and sliced pear.

From Delicious Living e-news

Banana Bread

As you can see from Jim's post, we were on vacation, which explains why after not eating much meat for weeks and then having tuna for dinner, bacon and eggs for breakfast, a cheeseburger for lunch and then KFC for dinner, I was SICK. I was hunched over my stomach for hours and even felt a little sick the following morning. Enough said, I had a vegan dinner last night. I've always made fun of those crazy vegans, but I'm really coming around!
On to what this post is really about: banana bread. I had 4 brown bananas on my table when we came home from said vacation, so I decided to make banana bread and use the non-dairy subs just to see how it turned out. That's not my bread there, but they all look the same, right? It was really good, pretty much just as good as any banana bread you've all eaten a million times, nothing too different. I was just excited that my substitutions didn't change it one bit.

1 cube Earth Balance butter sub.
1 1/2 c flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
4 ripe bananas
3/4 c sugar
2 large eggs + one yolk (who knows why?)
1 t. vanilla
1/4 c Tofutti sour cream sub.

Bake: 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

I admit, I still don't love soy milk, or any other milk substitute, but I'm doing it. But as to the butter, I think this Earth's Balance stuff is yummy, I have both the spread and the cube version and it tastes great. I don't miss butter a bit. The Tofutti sour cream is pretty good, but you can tell it's not the real thing if you are paying attention. However, I need to say that Tofutti makes a killer cream cheese (among a string of other products). I dream of clam dip...I'll never feel guilty again for eating the whole bowl!

*One more thing, since it took coming back to this three or four times to finish, I had a tasty treat that I'll share as well. Pita bread (the thick soft kind that doesn't make pockets) heated in the oven on bake, rip it in half, then spread hummus on both pieces. Add some black beans, sliced tomato & mixed greens and you have your tasty little sandwich. Just arugula would have made it really good, or it could have been beefed up for a full meal.

I have questions....

um...I'm a boy. Am I allowed here? Does it make a difference if I have bad grammer and can't spell? sometimes ya'll can be intimidating but I'm jumping in anyway.

Marie and I have really tried to embrace this lifestyle over the last month and it has been great. I'm still trying to figure out how to get enough food to keep me going through the day (I accidentally just ate about a pound of snap peas that were supposed to last me a couple of days - I ate them in less than 30 minutes. Seriously.)

So questions for you smart people - What do you do when you are on the road? How do you plan for it - what types of places do you eat? Are there things you often take with you? Things you buy along the way that work for you? let us know.

Also - Sometimes you just need something fast for dinner. You know, the days you are late coming home from the park and you have a church meeting your are late for but if you don't help get your kids in bed your wife might be crying when you get home and the art project from this morning has dried to the table and you can't get it off and so you really want avoid that room and you haven't been to the store for awhile and there is nothing in the cupboard but Ramen but you ate so much of that in college that it gives you a stomach ache because your body rejects it immediately and if you don't eat soon you may start using inappropriate words around your children and you just really need food now. You know those days?
Any simple things you have all come across that you can throw together in a pinch?

PS - I can no longer live without our blender. We got the Blendtec (http://www.willitblend.com/) over the vita mix because it can not only make good smoothies it can blend up a lava lamp if you need it too. This morning's concoction was 2 oranges, 1 kiwi, 1 banana, 1 cup soy milk, a few pieces of pineapple, a big handful of parsley, and an inch of ginger. yummy.

Taking Care of Your Beans & Grains

Hi there, ladies--

Aunt Robyn talked in her class about how grains need to be properly treated before consuming them. I found this very helpful article on the subject that I REALLY liked. Maybe you will, too. I remember that Robyn taught, "Fresh is best, fermented is next." The article talks about how important it is to ferment your beans and grains. Below is a list of directions to do so. I have done them with the raw apple cider vinegar and found no noticable difference in the taste. Let me know what you think. I know this is a controversial topic--wether it is necessary to do so or not.

ARTICLE:
http://www.westonaprice.org/foodfeatures/be_kind.html

DIRECTIONS for FERMENTING BEANS/GRAINS:

FOR WHOLE GRAINS: For millet, brown rice, oatmeal, amaranth, etc. soakdesired amount of grain in an equal amount ofwater to which you've added 1 tbsp. raw vinegar, fresh lemon juice, or plainyogurt. ( use 2-3 tbsp. if your cooking a large amount of grain)Cover and let sit at room temperature for at least 7 hours, preferablylonger. When ready to cook, add remaining required amount of water or stockand cook. NOTE: To soak whole-grain flours or pancake mixes, follow thesame procedure as above, but make sure the flour is mixed well with thesoaking water.FOR

RAW BEANS AND LENTILS: Soak desired amount of beans in an equal amountof water to whichyou've added 1 tbsp raw vinegar, fresh lemon juice, or plain yogurt. ( Use2-3 tbsp if your cooking a large amount of beans or lentils) Cover and letsit at room temperature for at least 7 hours, preferably longer. When readyto cook, discard soaking water; add remaining required amount of water orstock and cook.

FOR RAW NUTS AND SEEDS: Place raw nuts or seeds in a bowl, add 1 tbsp seasalt and cover with water. Leave at room temperature for 6-8 hours. Drainthe water. Place the nuts on a cookie sheet, and dry on low heat in theoven. You can also air dry the nuts on a towel, but it takes much longer todry them this way.

SPROUTED ALMONDS: Sprouted almonds are much more digestible than untreatedones. Rinse 3 times per day. Ready in 3 days. Sprout is merely a tinywhite appendage, about 1/8 inch long.

BREAKFAST PORRIDGE:1 cup oats, steel cut, or rolled, or coarsely ground in your own grinder.1 cup of water plus 2 tbsp. fermented whey, yogurt, or buttermilk. ( I dont see why you could not use kefir)1/2 tsp. celtic sea salt1 cup water1 tbsp flaxseeds (optional)For highest benefits and best assimilation, porridge should be soakedovernight or even longer. (ancient recipes from Wales and Brittany calledfor a 24 hoursoaking ) Once soaked, oatmeal cooks up in less than 5 minutes-----truly afast food.Mix oats and salt with water mixture; cover and let stand at roomtemperature for at least 7 hours and as long as 24 hours. Bring additional1 cup of water to boil. Add soaked oats. Reduce heat, cover, and simmerseveral minutes.Meanwhile, grind flaxseeds in a mini grinder. Off heat, stir in flaxseedsand let stand for a few minutes. Serve with butter or cream thinned with alittle water( I use kefir here ) and a natural sweetener of your choice.

EASY BROWN RICE: 2 cups brown rice4 cups water of 2 cups of water mixed with 2 cups stock1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or yogurtSoak rice in 2 cups of water with the vinegar or yogurt for at least 7 hours Transfer to your pot or rice cooker. Add theremaining water or water/broth, and cook till tender. If your cooking therice on a stovetop, bring to a boil then lower heat to a simmer and cookcovered, stirring occasionally. Serves 6-8. This recipe can be used forany whole grain you wish to serve by itself.

All of these recipes for fermented grains, etc. are from The Makers Diet.

Jackie

(I took these instructions from this website:
http://archive.kefirtanesi.com/how-to-ferment-grains-whole-grains-beans-and-lentils--yazi51353.html)

BAD COMBO

Warning: Whatever you do, don't mix broccoli and grapefruit in a smoothie. GROSS.

We've been trying to make green smoothies a lot. Jim's been taking full creative license with this venture, and blending just about everything he can think of (but not quite everything that cath can think of - she's hoping to blend a few of my dad's clothes, but I don't think they'd taste very good.)

Anyway. We were running low on fruit and on greens, and didn't have a lot of variety on hand. We put in a couple of grapefruits, and all of our greens were gone, but we had broccoli and Jim, in typical fashion, thought, "why not?" Well now we know why not. Because it's disgusting.

Consider yourself warned.

as a side note, here's something I don't understand: Romney, who turns his nose up at most other delicious tasting smoothies mysteriously chose to drink his! completely! and Laine drank hers too, although she had the same response as I did, which was a shiver/gag response with each sip. How does that make sense?