Some Great Online Finds

Here are some great links that I've happened upon recently that you might want to check out:

Positively Vegan

A great looking site that puts plants at the forefront - and many recipes are also gluten-free and oil-free. I'm looking forward to trying the Cauliflower Pizza Crust! 

http://positivelyvegan.blogspot.com

Edible Education 103 with Michael Pollan

UC Berkley lecture series featuring numerous experts in their fields, discussing all aspects of food: farming, sustainability, politics, marketing and more. 15 videos totaling over 21 hours.

http://www.youtube.com/course?list=EC28B5EDF74E734607

The Savory

A fun, visually-based food website with cheeky diagrams alongside useful info. Check out Pantry Staples for Grilling Improv, How to Make Your Own Extracts, or have some fun with Culinary Tattoos, or Choose Your Own Gin Adventure - I landed on a Gin Elderflower Cocktail.

http://www.thesavory.com/

Summer Lunch

It need not be complicated to eat well - load up on this first flush of cherry tomatoes & spicy basil. Add some nice herbed goat cheese. Scoop up with GF crackers, endive spears or cucumber wedges. Sit back & enjoy the summer.

Summer lunches have a bit of a theme around here....
check out this one from last year in beautiful Hood Canal, WA.

A Quick Salad is Easy With a Few Staples

Even amid a reno that has stretched into its third month, the gorgeous Pacific Northwest weather has
inspired me to indulge in the freshness and crunch of raw fruits and vegetables - of which one of the best  presentations is a cool, crisp salad. And if you have mayo and salsa in the fridge - and part of an avocado laying around - try this easy dressing!

There really are no rules for salad assembly, so use up what you have on hand and you might surprise yourself with a new winning flavor combination! I seriously wanted to add a small apple sliced over the greens, but saw that the tomato needed to be used up , so I'll save that idea for next time.

Now that there seems to be potential for actually getting a ripe avocado, and not merely green weapons, I was also inspired to use some for a chunky avocado dressing. I stretched the creamy factor with a bit of veganaise (but regular or homemade mayo would work too), along with some flavor and zip from salsa verde. You could also substitute some good flax or extra virgin olive oil for the mayo for a vegan and/or soy-free version (depending on the kind of mayo you're substituting).

Quick Salad with Chunky Avocado Dressing

Serves 1

Combine in a bowl 2-3 cups of whatever vegetables and fruit you have on hand. Today the crisper afforded me the following:

• 1 small center of a romaine heart, chopped fine
• 1 small handful shredded carrot
• 1 handful baby kale
• 1 roma tomato, sliced (or one small apple, sliced)

Season with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper, toss to combine. Add more seasoning if desired - some fresh herbs wold be nice here too.

Chunky Avocado Dressing

Combine in a small bowl or ramekin:

• One-quarter of an avocado, peeled & chopped into chunks
• 1 T salsa verde (I used Frontera Grill Tomatillo - one of my favs!)
• 2 t mayo-like product of your choice, or good cold-pressed oil (I used Veganaise)

Stir with a fork, leaving some large chunks. Add more heat if desired. Spoon onto salad and toss lightly to combine.

Make it a Meal

Add some protein of your choice to finish it off, some great options are:

• Nuts such as almonds or hazelnuts
• Seeds such as sunflower, hemp or pumpkin
• A hard boiled egg, sliced
• Any left over baked or sauteed tofu
• A pan-seared veggie patty (GF of course)

Enjoy your quick, clean salad and soak up some sun!

Are You Independent?

Robert Rodale brings up a good point about the lack of independence and self-sufficiency in the population - almost 30 years ago.

Read about how this meshes with a similar but opposite point by Wendell Berry about how we are missing out on the interdependence of our whole food economy.

What is your take?  Read up and take up your hoe! Gardening in the Round

Very Simple Fava Beans

The favas are flushing, and here is an incredibly easy (even during a reno) way to deal with them. 

 

• Strip them from the soft, cushy pods.
• Blanch in some boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes
• If small, proceed to seasoning and eating. If larger add the additional step:
• Pierce one end with a finger nail or a knife tip and then slip out the green bean from the white outer skin. 
• Season with salt, pepper, fresh squeezed lemon and good extra virgin olive oil
• Dig In!

For all the reasons that you should grow your own favas, check out this post.

Breakfast of Champion [Renovators]

So my fridge is on my back porch (plugged in thankfully), the stove is also on the back porch (not plugged in), and my pantry staples are beneath a piles of other displaced main floor  items in the basement.

So what's girl to do for breakfast?

After a month of living in reno chaos, I have sampled all the take-out breakfast that I can handle.  I don't really want to look at another egg for a while. Yesterday I actually had a salad for breakfast at the local tavern simply for want of something different.

So today after a particularly warm morning dog walk, what I could really go for was a cold bowl of cereal.  Having nothing you would traditionally call cereal in the house, I got creative with some of the smoothie staples in my fridge.

I got all the crunch and creamy satisfaction of cereal, but with nary a grain in sight.  Instead, I used nuts, seed, fresh & dried fruit, and two different nut milks to make a delicious, nutritious, bowl that puts the 'fast' in breakfast. So this might be a good option for anyone trying to reduce their carbs or even those on a paleo-diet(?) I'm not as well versed with that one but I know its gaining some popularity.

Grain-Free Cold Cereal

Start with a base of whatever fresh fruit you have on hand; berries or stone fruits could be nice additions later in the year and apples are always a satisfying bet. Top with nuts and/or seeds of your choice, good ones are sliced almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, hemp hearts, chia, flaxseed, or dried unsweetened coconut flakes. Add a sprinkling of dried fruit for some sweetness, flavor and texture contrast such as raisins, currants, blueberries, cranberries, chopped fig, prunes, or dried gogi berries. Top with some ice cold milk of your choice - my favorites are almond, soy, hemp or coconut (all unsweetened).  Other additions are little fresh ground cinnamon or nutmeg, and a drizzle of agave nectar or maple syrup if you have to have it sweeter but try it first and you might find you don't need to. The combinations are endless, so experiment to find your own bowl of goodness.

Serves 1

What I had on hand today:

• 1 large apple, cored and sliced into bite-sized chunks
• 1 (modest) handful of sliced roasted unsalted almonds
• 2 T of hemp hearts (a.k.a. shelled hemp seeds)
• 1 t dried gogi berries
• 1/2 cup of unsweetened almond milk
• 2 T lite coconut milk (from a can) drizzled on top

Enjoy your crunchy breakfast cereal!

Reno Interlude

You might have guessed it folks - yes indeed, there has been another renovation interlude! New posts coming as soon as I have a working kitchen again... Until then, check out our progress as we continue the Never-Ending-Renovation Project with our 1904 home. Until then, maybe check out what I was up to last May, including a fast butter bean salad, creamy bowl of buckwheat or perk up your spirits with a Violet Crème Soda. Cheers!



We'll be cooking soon - standing on new floors!