from scratch, more than ever

I have been enjoying the cooler temperatures we've had in MN these past few weeks!  I'm back in my kitchen, enjoying making things from scratch more than ever -- old favorites (bread, granola, marinara, piecrust, beans,) and new challenges (yogurt, butter, and sour cream) have all come out of my kitchen this week!

Here are a few finished products, incorporated into meals:

A simple casserole of eggplant, zucchini, summer squash, basil, and fresh mozzarella, smothered in homemade marinara:

Homemade triple-berry pie, with homemade vanilla ice cream:

French toast (made from homemade bread):

A (homemade refried) bean-and-cheese quesadilla, with salsa, guacamole, and homemade sour cream for dipping, with a side of roasted broccoli and bell peppers:

Delicious all around!  So far, this re-commitment to from-scratch cooking doesn't seem to be costing me too much extra time -- I have been spending one weekday evening doing kitchen prep and some baking, and that seems to serve me well through the week!

What are your favorite things to make from scratch?

on a Tuesday . . .

. . . I received an email from John, stating that he was going to be in my neighborhood working all day, and did I want to get together around 5? Of course!

But wait . . . what's for dinner? I had plenty of leftovers, but not enough of any one thing for the two of us. Popping over to Target during my break for a few items was really the only option, right? I was pleasantly surprised that Target carries organic, whole-wheat pasta!

Bow ties with homemade mushroom marinara, and a "clean out the crisper" salad on the side:


And mixed berry crumble with a drizzle of heavy cream for dessert:

That bag of frozen berries has been lurking in my freezer positively for-EVER. It was great to use them up in something so delicious! John had two helpings; and I quote, "it's healthy, right? There's fruit!"

Mardi Gras!

Helloooooo Fat Tuesday! Any of you folks out there that took French in high school probably feel the same as I . . . Mardi Gras = crepe day! I don't get so much into the whole party your brains out/wear colorful necklaces/eat red beans and rice part of Mardi Gras, but I can always get behind an excuse to make crepes!

Well . . . after making crepes with the kids for snack today, I still hadn't had enough crepe action for the day. Enter, dinner:

(There's some provolone and asparagus hiding in each . . .)

And dessert!

(Homemade raspberry jam and powdered sugar this time!)

Um, is there such a thing as a "butter coma?" I might be in one. The kitchen is a complete mess, but all I want to do right now is go to sleep! Hm. Conundrum.

produce NOW!

Even though I am still feeling under the weather, yesterday turned out to be an absolutely lovely day! Dan and I hit the Farmer's Market, co-op, and Asian grocery store in the morning, before coming home and enjoying leftovers from Friday night's dinner for lunch. We spent some time being bums at home before heading downtown for the afternoon -- we stopped at the bank, Target, and doodled around at the library for over an hour, before coming back home to relax some more.

I made a FABULOUS dinner last night -- tofu quiche, (which looks a mess, since it didn't completely set up for me, but it still tastes fabulous,) corn on the cob (the last of the season,) and a huge green salad, packed full of the end of the season's freshest. At the last minute, we invited Dan's brother over for dinner, so as I'm prone to do when we have people over, I completely forgot to snap a photo.

However, I re-created our dessert from last night for this morning's breakfast, so I have at least a little something to show you!



Two-berry shortcakes! Yum! Dan and I picked up some blackberries and raspberries at the FM in the morning, which I tossed with a drop of agave, gobbed over broken up scones from Vegan with a Vengeance, and smothered with heavy cream whipped with a squirt of agave and a little vanilla extract. SO fresh and sweet and healthy and delicious! Mmmmmmm. Not a bad breakfast, either. :)

During the course of our meal, we decided the meal's theme was "produce NOW!" The different components of the meal didn't make all that much sense together, but all used copius amounts of fresh, in-season, local produce. Why not? More of us should take a "produce NOW" approach to cooking, eh?

I have an equally lazy Sunday ahead of me, here . . . not much on the agenda besides a little cooking and a mountain of laundry. Enjoy your day!

apples, and raspberries, and pumpkins . . .

OH MY.

I met up with several friends early this morning to caravan out to Apple Jack Orchards in Delano, MN, with the intention of picking apples and raspberries! We spent most of our time in the raspberry fields, due to the frost in May that killed off a ton of apple blossoms. (We were still able to buy apples in their store, that were from fields that were not damaged, but their u-pick fields were pretty slim pickings.)

A few shots from the morning:



Look! It's Liz! In real life! It's so great when blog friends become real, in-person friends!




After everybody had their fill of raspberry-picking, (I had the largest haul, at 6.25 pounds -- and a lot of help!), we wandered through the orchards and found a few apples for Courtney. The rest of us picked out apples from the apple barn. I also grabbed a half-dozen apple spice donuts, a caramel apple, (which I think I'll take to work tomorrow and share with the kids,) and some gorgeous pumpkins!



After a pleasant drive home and a quick stop at the Wedge, Dan and I immediately set to work. Dan was on apple duty:

Using the peeler-corer-slicer, he filled our 5-quart crock pot with apples for apple butter, (it's still cooking away, otherwise I'd show you a picture,) and then peeled an additional 8 apples, tossed them in a ziploc with flour, sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt, to become apple pie filling in the future. Destined for the freezer for now.

While Dan focused on apples, I made raspberry magic . . .

First, a pie . . .

(Thankfully, I had a set of crusts in the freezer!)

Then, jam . . .


And last, some raspberry-ginger muffins . . .


I'm beat! But it was a very fun, very productive day. (And somewhere in there we managed to do four loads of laundry, too!) I still have one more job to do . . . I need to whip up a big pot of chili for dinner. So tired! It's going to be an early night tonight, I can tell already. :)

Hope you had a great weekend, too!

M, Tu, W, Th, F, Sa . . .

PANCAKE DAY!

I got up a little bit earlier than planned this morning to make sure I had time to make pancakes before church. I'm goofy like that. :) I subbed some chickpea flour for my usual whole-wheat pastry flour, in an attempt to amp up the protein content a little bit, and it worked well! Neither Dan nor I detected a scrap of "beany-ness" about these 'cakes.

The way I see it, if organic raspberries are on sale for $1.99 a carton, organic blackberries are on sale for $2.99 a carton, and strawberries are in season locally, you kind of HAVE to make pancakes, right?

chocolate pie!

Really, are there any words more exciting than "chocolate pie?"

(Well maybe, "boarding to Guatemala," but we're talking food, here!)

I'm getting together with some girlfriends tonight (we have a potluck and play board games once a month,) and I volunteered to bring dessert this time 'round. I can't wait to unveil this in a few hours!



This was the easiest thing in the world, and it's going to be awesome! I baked off a prepared, vegan, whole-wheat pie crust, and filled it with a basic tofu mousse (1 package silken tofu, 1/3 cup maple syrup, 1 tbsp vanilla, and 1 cup chocolate chips, melted,) before topping with fresh raspberries. Easy! Rich! Delicious! Chocolatey Fabulous!

What's your secret weapon dessert recipe?

like a kid in a candy store . . .

Since Dan and his brother are still out of town, I had the privilege of picking up his brother's CSA last night! Ryan told me I could have "whatever I wanted . . . " and I don't think he realized how much that would be like letting a little kid loose in a candy store! Tee-hee.

Here's what I had to choose from:

Carrots, "Purple Viking" potatoes, cucumbers, green beans, zucchini, summer squash, "Red Tropea" onions, tomatoes (larger varieties, as well as a carton of "Sun Golds,") a purple pepper, a couple of jalapenos, eggplant, basil, parsley, cilantro, and "Sun Jewel" melons. I'm a little sad I have to give most of this back! :(

I tried not to be too piggy. :) Since there were two eggplant, summer squash, and zucchini, and plenty of basil, I decided to make a simple veggie gratin with some leftover marinara and a little remaining cheese:

I threw some quinoa in a saucepan for a quick, healthy side dish.

I then indulged in one of the "Sun Jewel" melons for dessert:

A white-fleshed, crispy, sweet treat! Yum.

And then . . . I made a pie.

Dan comes home today (finally!) and I have a big, tasty dinner planned for the two of us. Dinner will conclude with a slice of four-berry pie! All of the berries are local, half are hand-picked by yours truly, and even though I didn't use enough cornstarch (I can tell it's going to be a little runny,) this should be QUITE the treat. :)

jam 'n' dinner

Here's the gorgeous, tart-sweet raspberry jam I made this afternoon:

Same ol' recipe I always use: 4 cups fruit, 1 cup sugar, cook until it's thick, stirring occasionally. Yum!

And, my friend Brynn was kind enough to join me for dinner tonight -- I made fajitas:

Farmer's Market whole wheat tortillas filled with marinated tempeh/peppers/onions, chopped tomatoes, lettuce, salsa, and homemade guacamole! We enjoyed amazingly delicious, local, organic yellow watermelon on the side, and finished off the banana ice cream for dessert.

I realize I've never posted my fajita marinade before, so here it is!

1 1/2 cups water
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
zest and juice of one lime
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic

Puree the lot until the garlic is well-chopped, and pour over a package of tempeh, tofu, or a batch of seitan, (sliced, obviously,) and plenty of sliced bell peppers and red onion. Stick in the fridge 2+ hours. I then always fry the protein first to get it nice and crispy and "GBD," then drain and toss in the veggies after removing the tempeh to paper towels to drain. It's a hit every time!

weekend recap, fun mail, and check one thing off the list

I have very few pictures from this weekend, partly because I was lazy, and partly because I loaned my camera to Courtney for the day on Saturday. (She's selling some stuff on Craigslist.) I promise we ate, though!

Saturday brunch was our usual poached eggs, kale and mushrooms, and crispy-delicious hashbrowns. Dan was quite the helper this weekend and tore up the kale, sauteed the kale and mushrooms, and made the hashbrowns! It's tricky squeezing two of us in my teensie kitchen, but we made it work. :)

Saturday dinner was delicious, and I think becoming one of my all-time most favorite meals -- Hot-Sauce Glazed Tempeh (from Veganomicon,) mashed potatoes with my own version of very speedy gravy, and steamed broccoli again. Dan took charge of the potatoes and gravy -- I've never had butterier mashed potatoes . . . and he wanted to add olive oil, too! I have to draw the line somewhere??? ;)

After we got home from church on Easter, I made a rather untraditional Easter Dinner:

Who says you can't have falafel sandwiches for Easter Dinner? Homemade pita, cucumber, onion, tomato, and romaine lettuce rounded out the deliciousness, all covered in a sauce made from plain soy yogurt, tahini, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, and some grated fresh garlic.

Sunday supper was a super-simple whole-wheat pasta with marinara and parmesan, green salad on the side, but I made a fantastic dessert:

I cleaned out my freezer and made a raspberry, rhubarb, and apple crumble, topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. Dan searched high and low for a store open on Easter selling ice cream, and came back successful . . . eventually! (It made it that much more worth it, right?)

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I got fun stuff in the mail today:

Since I completed the 31-Day Yoga Challenge, I rewarded myself with not two, but THREE new yoga DVDs! (Well, I guess techinically FIVE new DVDs, but three of them are a set, so . . . it counts as one, right?) I chose to skip a new pair of yoga pants in favor of some new challenges. I've been enjoying the sun salutes from Yoga Journal's "Step by Step Session 1," and will progress to Session 2 once I'm feeling stronger and more flexible -- maybe another month? "Yoga for Every Body" seemed very intriguing to me -- it's a highly-customizeable DVD, allowing you to choose your level (beginning, intermediate, advanced,) length of practice, and specific target areas, such as back or neck pain, improving balance, etc. "Stress Relief Yoga for Beginners" is an old favorite I had on VHS, that REALLY needed updating.

Between all of my new DVDs and the practices I downloaded at the end of last month, I'm going to feel challenged (at least in the yoga department) for a LONG time! Woo!

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Last, I'm pleased to report that I will officially mail away all of my paperwork to renew my teaching license TOMORROW! (I would mail it tonight, except that I don't have enough stamps -- that sucker is heavy!) Now that I've finished that project, I can move on to bigger and better (and more fun) things, like cleaning out my apartment to prepare for Dan moving in this summer. Woo!

Farmer's Market Extravaganza!

I made a deal with myself at the Farmer's Market yesterday -- I knew that I had a couple of things in mind that I wanted to pick up, but I took out plenty of cash and told myself I was allowed to buy whatever looked good, and I'd deal with the (positive) "consequences" later. :) I only ended up spending $23, but I don't think I could have carried more home if I had tried! Look at what I got:

Two big bunches of basil, "candy-stripe" beets, baby zucchini and summer squash, kale, bananas, lemons, broccoli, baby new potatoes, and two cartons of strawberries! Everything was local, except for the bananas and lemons, of course. :)

When I arrived back home from the farmer's market, I got busy.

Pesto:

I have big plans for this all week long!

Homemade pizza for lunch:

I made a crust from some unbleached all-purpose flour, some spelt flour, and a touch of gluten, topped it all with homemade marinara, smoked mozzarella, zucchini, red onion, kalamata olives, artichokes, mushrooms, and dabs of homemade pesto!! YUUUUUUUMMMMM. A very satisfying lunch yesterday, with watermelon on the side. (Dan and I laughed about how triangular our lunch was!)

Strawberry Galette:

I had planned on making a strawberry pie, but decided I didn't want to fuss around with pastry quite so much, so I made a free-form, rustic galette. Next time, I won't brush the top of the pastry with lemon juice and sprinkle it with sugar, since it browned WAY too much. But this was so damn tasty, I'll give you the recipe -- I based it loosely on the pastry and blueberry pie recipes from Betty Crocker.

PASTRY:
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
13 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery sticks, chilled and cut into small pieces
4 to 6 tablespoons cold water
Combine the flour and salt, and cut in the Earth Balance, leaving some larger pieces of the marg still in tact. Toss in the water with a fork until the dough comes together. Form the dough into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill.
FILLING:
6 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Toss the above together. Roll out the pastry into a large circle, and transfer the circle to a large baking sheet or pizza pan. Pile the filling into the middle of the circle, spreading evenly. Dot the top of the filling with an additional 1 tablespoon of margarine. Fold up the edges of the pastry, overlapping around the filling. Bake the galette at 425 degrees Farenheight for 30 to 40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden brown!

I also made a jar of strawberry jam with the strawberries that were left after making the galette:

(I only made a half-recipe, since I had just over two cups of strawberries left.) So easy, and so delicious! I've made this jam with raspberries and blackberries before, and I think it would work well with blueberries, also. I can't wait to experiment more! I see strawberry-rhubarb jam in my future, I think. :)

I didn't actually make this yesterday, but I did thaw and bake it!

I had made a double-batch of homemade bread a while ago, and had parked most of it in the freezer for later consumption. After taking almost all day to thaw and rise, this loaf baked beautifully, and make excellent toast for breakfast this morning. :)

Dinner last night:

Brown rice, cucumber, avocado, and sesame seed nori rolls with a side of steamed edamame. 1 1/2 rolls each seems to be just the right amount for both Dan and I!

And lastly, Dan had to work yesterday morning for only a couple of hours, and after the farm tour he gave, he decided to walk through the woods and gather a surprise for me:

Black raspberries! These were SO good, and a very fun treat. We ate them as is over the course of the afternoon yesterday.

Less cooking planned for today, but I still have a few recipes up my sleeve. Until then . . .