finger-lime soda water…
a friend of mine gave me a sample of these delicious and interesting FINGER LIMES! yes, that is their name. and one can see why, eh?! they look like little nubby fingers…
perfect for halloween, i say!
after cutting one open, i remembered that i had tried them before! here’s part of the description i read :
“The globular juice vesicles inside these citrus fruits have been likened to a “lime caviar”, which can be used as a garnish or added to various recipes. The fresh vesicles have the effect of a burst of effervescent tangy flavour as they are chewed. The fruit juice is acidic and similar to that of a lime.”
those little vesicles are so fun to eat! they “pop” in your mouth and they flavour is intense!
the fruit itself is so interesting-looking! some of them are pink inside!
i made a little bubbly water with my sodastream and squeezed in some of the finger limes and their juices, along with these halloween-themed ice cubes.
it was super yummy!
of course, the adults could add in a little vodka or libation of choice… 😉
when i was a kid and i would be lucky enough to have a glass of soda as a treat, i used to sit there with my mom and be like, “check it out ma, the bubbles are taking the elevator to the top!” and she would giggle… and to this day i remember that and thought of it when these little vesicles floated to the top of this glass. 😉
ohhhh, that childhood imagination.
wishing you all a safe and happy halloween!
are you dressing up? and if so, as what?!
happy wednesday, gang!
it seems like italian food, festivals, wine, and celebrations are everywhere i look this time of year… did i miss a memo!? anyway, i’m all for it. i love me some good pasta, and i used to be so intimated by cooking it… but not anymore!
i just wanted to share this pretty pasta dish i made recently… as the temps cool down, i will transition into more hearty foods like squash, soups, potatoes, root veggies, and the like… but for now, i am still holding on to lighter fare with dishes like this – a simple pasta salad with italian sausage.
cook and drain pasta of choice… these little orechiette {which means “little ear”} are so fun, so i chose them!
then simply chop up all your ingredients, and drizzle in your favourite vinaigrette like italian or french dressing… something with a little punch. toss all the ingredients together, sprinkle with tons of freshly-grated parmigiano reggiano… and admire the rainbow of food you’re about to eat!
this keeps well in the fridge and is a great option for batch-cooking for lunches, etc.
nom nom!
ownin’ my german roots! 😉
i love love looooove making my own food. i especially love making things that are expensive to buy, but cheap to make. case and point : sauerkraut.
sauerkraut is one of my favourite things ever. it’s so good for you, and it’s been around for centuries… it’s one of those ancestral foods like homemade bone broth that has proven to be a staple for health in many ancient cultures for ages.
sauerkraut is FULL of healthy probiotics, which are essential for maintaining a healthy gut.
and it’s so super easy to make.
start by chopping up your cabbage, as thin as you want/can get it… i find it helps to quarter the cabbage first, then cut into strips. you want about 1.5 pounds per 1 tablespoon of salt. once that is complete, add it to a large bowl and begin “squishing” the cabbage and salt together using your hands.
this is another reason i love making sauerkraut – you get to play with your food! 😉 Continue reading
i’m kind of obsessed with lettuce-wraps, as of late…
they are so easy to make and they are fulfilling without the guilt – gluten-free {if you want them to be}, quick and simple to prepare, and full of colour!
i also like to eat lettuce wraps during my “transition” months… like september, when the weather begins to change and my body begins to prepare for the heartier foods, but i’m not quite ready to let go of lighter fare. lettuce wraps meld the changing seasons together nicely.
i also LOVE grass-fed beef… for the nutrition, the health of the animal, the health of the planet… and the sense of pride i take when purchasing sustainable, farm-fresh food.
furthermore, i love to eat locally and support a “100-mile diet” as often as i can in my life. the 100-mile diet simply means you only eat food that is raised or grown within 100 miles of where you currently live. for me, choosing this lifestyle is the best way i can “vote with my dollars” in supporting a food-system that is sustainable, healthy, and good for our planet earth. i pair that choice with seasonal and organic eating, and it has proven to be the best lifestyle for me.
almost everything in these lettuce wraps was locally grown/made :
once you brown your meat {try really hard not to overcook grass-fed beef!} and add in any spices you wish, simply pile it all up on a clean lettuce leaf and wrap it up and eat it!
i created my wrap in this order : lettuce leaf, beef, cheese, tomatoes, onions, olives, salsa, guacamole, tortilla chips..
and then…
nom nom… nomcrunch.. NOM NOM!!!
i love finger food. therefore, i love lettuce wraps.
i’m all about lettuce wraps these days. i feel like it’s my favourite new way to eat things – especially in the summertime! i find that during the warmer months, i tend to want to eat “lighter” foods, and lettuce wraps fit the bill perfectly!
also, sometimes i just don’t care for the heaviness of bread or sandwiches. i mean, don’t get me wrong… i’m an east-coast girl at heart and i love my sub sandwiches from the local deli! however, as i said – when it’s hot like it’s been here {in the upper 90’s}, i feel like my body simply wants lighter fare… and so i willingly oblige.
PLUS – the waistline seems to appreciate it when i skip the bread 😉
i made these “burger wraps” the other day when i was craving a burger but didn’t have time, energy, or the grill to make a burger with. so, i improvised. what i love about lettuce wraps is they can be utilized for just about anything. the lettuce leaves themselves are the perfect vehicle to transport yumminess from plate to mouth to tummy.
in this recipe, i started with red lettuce leaves. i chose red because {especially} when it comes to food, in my book – the more colour, the better.
my method is simple : chop up some fresh tomatoes, red onion, dill pickles, and any other toppings you may want on a burger. then, simply brown some grass-fed ground beef on medium-to-high heat and add in a little S&P. finally, pile your toppings one-by-one onto your yummy lettuce wrap and then finish with some mustard and/or ketchup. i personally love both on my burgers. Continue reading
this {vegan} dish is totally protein-packed and nutrient-rich. i just love quinoa, don’t you?!
and did you know that quinoa is considered a complete protein… which means it contains all 9 essential amino acids. this makes it a wonderful protein-source for vegans. the black beans in this recipe add in healthy fiber, which is a great combination with the quinoa!
i can eat these grape tomatoes like candy!
and believe it or not, colorado boasts growing some of the best sweet corn in the US!
summer is for corn!!!! Continue reading
i made these yummy cookies in 2012 for the holiday, and it’s become a tradition ever since.
it’s no secret to those who know me well, that i am not a good baker. i can whip up things in the kitchen over a skillet pretty amazingly, but one can’t “wing it” when baking… it is a legit science! and i respect that… i just can’t seem to nail it.
but i did with these cookies! Continue reading
with havarti cheese, fresh tomato slices, romaine lettuce leaves, crunchy pea sprouts, and deli mustard… neatly wedged between two artisan whole wheat slices…
ring ring…
nom nom…
i love to make this dish… and quite often, too! it’s simple, healthy, colourful, and great as a make-ahead meal to have on-hand for lunches. furthermore, it is an easy to dish to batch-cook… a great choice to take to potlucks or BBQs. it has a lot of fun “crunch” and texture, which we all know i love and enjoy, and as always, you can control the ingredients. i simply buy a roasted chicken from the market whenever they are on sale… then i eat some, shred the rest, and save it for a dish like this or to throw on salads.
i always try to eat something raw with every meal i have – whether it’s a large salad with some warm soup and bread, a ripe banana in my oatmeal, or fresh avocado slices on top of my scrambled eggs – i always try to incorporate raw ingredients. i believe it’s important to balance out a dish with raw components that only fresh vegetables or fruits can offer. what i also love about this dish, is that it can be served hot or cold – it’s great both ways! i love it when my food is versatile 😉
and you can add in whatever veggies you want, really. mix it up with cooked and raw veggies… i would like to try this dish with some fresh spring peas, roasted garlic, and blanched asparagus – to celebrate the season!
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fusilli with roasted chicken and fresh veggies:
– 16 oz cooked fusilli pasta, drained and set aside {reserve 1/4 cup starchy water}
– shredded roasted chicken {about 1 cup}
– veggies {about a quarter cup for each} :
~black olives
~cucumbers
~red onion
~mushrooms
~tomatoes
~corn
~purple cabbage
———
combine all ingredients and mix together. drizzle in reserved starchy water {this will help “marry” the pasta to the veggies}. add in dressing of choice {i opted for a french vinaigrette} and some S&P to taste. sprinkle in some dried herbs, if you wish…
and… “eat the rainbow” 🙂
make a big ol’ batch and take some to work for lunch!
nom nom…
it seems like this is the time of year when everyone promises to “eat healthier!” and so with that in mind, i’m going to write about a little something that helped me change my diet by creating better eating habits and healthier decisions.
i’m referring to BATCH COOKING.
working in the food industry all these years has really helped me learn how to be a better at-home cook. i wasn’t even much of a cook until recently… i’d say within the last 5 years i really discovered my love for cooking. it actually is relaxing to me… chopping, stirring, mixing, tasting… all of it makes me feel good.
anyway – between wacky work scheduling, random one-day sales on groceries, and not having a vehicle -something I’ve kind of had to learn to do well is batch-cook. i find it’s much easier for me to spend an afternoon preparing a bunch of food for the week than trying to figure out how i’m going to get three daily meals in during my regular work week. i was first introduced to the idea of “batch-cooking” when i was working at whole foods market. i had never really thought about preparing food ahead of time… it just wasn’t something i had considered. but the more i thought about it, the more sense it made… especially at the time, when i was working the night shift. i simply didn’t have enough time in my day to cook at home as much.
that has all changed, though. now it’s become a regular thing for me to batch-cook at least 2-3 things each week. i don’t plan my meals before shopping, i let the food guide me. when i shop, i simply look for what’s fresh – as well as local and organic. sometimes i’m inspired right on the spot and sometimes i wait until i get home and look at what i got and create dishes based on that and what i have in my pantry.
every week is different. i don’t {and due to where i used to live, couldn’t} rely on being able to get anything i want at any time i want… which is a much different mentality then my days living in manhattan. but it keeps my diet much healthier because i know what i am buying didn’t have to travel very far and therefore is much fresher, and it keeps me eating in tune with nature and the seasons.
here are a few pics of some dishes i batch-cooked recently :
slow-cooked smoked ham hocks w/ green beans and leeks…
herb-stuffed roasted chicken and veggies…
savory mushroom soup {with homemade beef broth}…
dehydrated {rainbow} bell peppers…
bacon and brussels…
my mom’s recipe : hearty beef vegetable stew… ❤
candied carrots, sautéed cabbage and bacon, garlic and onion kaniwa, and red kuri risotto…
i also have been LOVING these purple sweet potatoes! i like to bake 3-4 at a time and just bust them out when i’m ready for one. they freeze really well, too!
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do you batch-cook? what are some of your favourite make-ahead meals? i love to hear from you, so comment below and let me know what you think!
i get super excited when i see a rainbow on my plate. it just makes me happy to eat COLOUR! and these wonderful bright purple sweet potatoes please both the palate and the eye.
i love how they grow in weird shapes, too.
have you ever had a purple sweet potato? i was first introduced to them many years ago at whole foods, as they tend to get the “cool” produce a lot. since then i have been seeing them in mainstream supermarkets and grocery stores, as well. unlike purple potatoes, these do not lose colour when you cook them. in fact, they get BRIGHTER! it’s the coolest thing. Continue reading
it’s comfort-food season!
i will preface this post by saying that this dish, albeit exquisite, took a little time to make. typically i prefer my meals to be a little more “easy breezy” to prepare… however, this one is oh-so-worth the time and effort!
and let me reiterate – this dish is absolutely DIVINE! i totally love risotto any way i can get it, really… it’s one of my staple dishes, for sure. when i discovered this new squash, i was inspired to fuse it with some risotto and eventually make it into risotto balls.
risotto is hearty and filling while still being gluten-free, which i kind of love. the red kuri squash is in its prime season right now and it is just beautiful! full of vitamin a {that lovely colour!} and potassium [like most squash}, it added so much flavour to this amazing dish!
red kuri squash is delicious on its own, too. the flavour is reminiscent of chestnuts, and the flesh has a rich and creamy consistency when cooked.
risotto itself is very simple, it’s just a little time consuming to make. the ratio for making risotto is about 1:4 – one cup rice to 4 cups liquid. you can use a blend of water and broth or just water or just broth. i tend to mix it up a little, but typically i use broth. the key {and magical} ingredient in making risotto is white wine. you can use any ol’ wine – cooking wine, cheap stuff at the liquor store, whatever. but it must be dry and it must be included! the wine gives the risotto TONS of flavour and really rounds out the dish. Continue reading
when i say, “gherkins” – what is the first thing that comes to your mind?
for me, it’s the movie dirty dancing. weird, right?! there’s the scene where neil is asking baby if she is hungry, and he’s looking in the fridge… “leftover cabbage roll, fruit salad…? sweet gherkins?!” 😛
anyway… i don’t really like sweet pickles. but i do love dill pickles. and when i found these *adorable* baby gherkins, i literally squealed in excitement! apparently, they are also known as “cucamelons.” {teehehee}
they are slightly sour, and very juicy! which, i admit, was a little surprising. i also read that they are very easy to grow… which makes me totally want to try to include some in the garden next year!
they look like little watermelons!! eep! so cute. Continue reading
i looooooove mushrooms, did you know this?! it was amazing to discover that some mushrooms grow WILD up here in the high country. morels, boletus, and chanterelles, to name a few. and they are all something special. when we received some wild chanterelles at the store, i eagerly nabbed some up so i could try them for the first time. they are only available for a short time, and many of the “professional” foragers are extremely secretive about their “finding spots” – and who can blame them!!?? – they sell for upwards of $20.00 a pound! we had a very rainy august here in the valley, and that made for some ideal mushroom hunting-and-gathering!
the peak season for chanterelles is in the fall… we have had a little frost in the mornings lately, so i’m kind of assuming they’re done for the year… but i could be wrong. i’m also just a little late in posting this blog 😛
i most likely have had chanterelle mushrooms at some point in my life and not realized it. i’m sure at some fancy dinner in NYC, i had a couple in a dish once… but i wanted to truly truly taste the mushroom – being a purist and all – so i simply sauteed them in some awesome local pasture butter.
i sauteed the golden fungi for about 15 minutes, until they were nice and aromatic… then poured the whole mixture over a yummy baked russet potato…
it was a taste of heaven…
do you like mushrooms? have you had chanterelles? what is your favourite mushroom??
i’ve been wanting to try to make my own sauerkraut for a while now… as i’ve mentioned in the past, i’ll get on these kicks where i’m all like, “i can make that!” and i think that i can make TIME multiply and have more of it so i can actually MAKE all the stuff i say i can make… silly me.
anyway, luckily this whole sauerkraut making process is super easy and not nearly as time consuming as one may think. well, the actual “making” of it takes a little while, but preparing it does not. it’s quite fun, too. you get your hands involved and you get to “play” with your food, which i always enjoy. 😉 plus, it’s oktoberfest!! and i’m part german, so it’s high time i learn how to make this amazing stuff so every october i can eat it. just kidding, that’s not my only motive. sauerkraut is one of the oldest fermented foods out there. and it’s one of those things that is actually pretty inexpensive to make on your own, but for whatever reason, can be kind of expensive to buy. this small batch didn’t cost me much. i had the salt at home, and this head of organic cabbage was $2. it’s loaded with probiotics and because it’s cabbage, it naturally contains a prebiotic as well. it’s just really awesome stuff. we should all eat more sauerkraut… in my humble opinion.
i digress.
as i said, the process is very simple. and so are the ingredients :
– one medium head of cabbage {organic, if possible}
– 1 1/2 tbsp salt {i chose himalayan pink salt}
– large glass container or fermenting crock {as clean as you can get it}
begin by quartering cabbage and then chopping into “ribbons.” add salt and begin to work in the salt using your hands. this is the fun part. you can literally {with clean hands, of course} squish and squeeze the cabbage all around. this will eventually cause the cabbage to wilt from working the salt in.
it’s quite amazing how it works, and it’s just oh-so-fun. Continue reading
i recently had a random and brief discussion with a stranger about leeks. he mentioned that leeks are prominent in french cooking, which i found intriguing. he also said something like, “they have a lot of some magic property that is super good for you…” which made me giggle… and which i later discovered was polyphenol – the super antioxidant we all love so much.
i’ve always been attracted to leeks, though i never really cook with them much. i want to start using leeks more often in the food and foto kitchen.
i plan to add them in a frittata… yum! which actually, i do believe i’ve done before…
happy october! are you loving the fall colours where you live?! this is my favourite time of year – i just love autumn! it’s also when i was born, so i feel most alive during this season. i’ve also been feeling very lethargic and sleepy… but i suppose that just comes with the change in season and light. i kind of wish i could just hibernate all winter… snuggle with callee more and eat tons of comfort food.
i’ve been wanting to make fried green tomatoes for a while now… what, being born in the south and all, it only seemed fitting. i can’t believe i had never tried to make them before! have you?! when i spotted these perfect tomatoes, i was inspired and excited. so – i practiced the KISS method :
oh.so.simple.
and beautiful.
AND delicious!!!!
i fried my green tomatoes in real sweet cream butter after slicing them about 1/3 inch thick, then dipping them in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs with a little S&P. i finished the ‘maters off with a topping of freshly-grated parmigiano reggiano. super simple, super easy, and super yummy!
food & foto 