Eating and living locally . . . mindfully . . . simply.
Ever have one of those days when everything goes wrong? This morning I woke up to discover that I had a flat tire. Why not just put the spare on? Well, because the spare was in use because a different tire went flat over the weekend. And for some reason my car has odd tires and it takes a couple of days for the new ones to come in. So I took a vacation day while DH went to get {Read More}
No, you don’t have deja vu. This is a repost of the Potato Soup recipe that was eaten by the interweb. Hope you enjoy it! “While seasonality will drive your choice of ingredients, the weather will drive your decision as to how to prepare and serve them. On the coldest days, you’ll want t0 warm your home as well as your body with slow-braised dishes, soups, and stews.” — Karen Page and Andrew Dornenburg, The Flavor Bible With the temperature {Read More}
WARNING: This recipe not for the faint of heart or weak of colon. I decided to combine two challenges today. My blogger friend FJ, whose blog is www.flawlessfitnessbook.com, asked me to create a meaty dish with some sort of high-water content vegetable, preferably spicy. His audience is a bunch of hard-core bodybuilders (although, I love his style of writing and find his advice just as helpful for a regular old person trying to lose weight and get more fit). I {Read More}
Here’s another quick, inexpensive recipe from Simply in Season. “Easy to double or triple to serve a crowd; cornbread is a natural accompaniment.” It’s times like this I wish I had a Le Creuset (hint hint – Christmas list). But I don’t, so I browned a pound of ground venison and a chopped medium onion in a regular ol’ stock pan. Then I added 3 cups of tomato juice and two cans of diced tomatoes. The recipe actually calls for {Read More}
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bdjsb7/ / CC BY 2.0 The other day on one of the forums I frequent, someone asked about roasting meats in crock pots. She mentioned that she thought it would need more water than is called for in most of the recipes. I said no, that meat usually has a lot of liquid in it already. But that I had noticed a curious phenomenon: Whenever I buy whole chickens from the store and cook it in my crock pot, there {Read More}
Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/darwinbell/ / CC BY 2.0 I picked up my first winter CSA last night. Unfortunately, I think they forgot I was a late addition because when I arrived all that was left was carrots, potatoes, onions, and turnips. I was also supposed to get leeks, collards, kale, and rutabagas. Anyhoo, there are only two recipes in Simply in Season that use turnips, one of which I’ve already used. So please post your favorite turnip recipes in the comments. {Read More}
Because the Winter section of Simply in Season has a scant 9 main dish recipes, I decided it’s time to break into the All Seasons section. What a delight! There are so many gems that feature beans and other pantry staples; it reminds me of the recipes from More with Less. The first one that caught my eye was the black Bean and Rice Skillet. I had all the ingredients on hand–bonus! For this recipe, begin by sautéing 1 medium {Read More}
Sometimes, I get so wrapped up in my project and searching out local ingredients, and just trying to eat as natural as possible, that I forget not everyone is like that. In fact, some people think I’m downright crazy and have too much time on my hands. I dug out my old Pampered Chef cookbook the other day, and was shocked to discover how many of the recipes included a box, tube, or other form of prepackaged food. This was {Read More}
I’ve wanted to make granola for a long time now. It’s one of those things that everyone says is so easy to make, so healthy, and delicious. Today I decided to take the plunge. I chose a recipe that seemed pretty easy, and it was. Simply mix together in a large bowl: 3 C rolled oats 1 C whole wheat flour ¼ C brown sugar 1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon, ½ tsp salt, 1/4 tsp ground ginger 1 ½ C {Read More}
Reposting because the server ate my original post . . . “A breakfast treat that’s also a good snack when baked in a mini-muffin tin,” says Simply in Season. I say, wow! Chock full of goodness! It feels like they threw everything but the kitchen sink in these muffins: In a LARGE bowl, combine: 1/2 C flour 1/2 C whole wheat flour 1 C oat bran 3/4 C brown sugar 1 T cinnamon 2 tsp baking soda 1 tsp baking {Read More}
