Greek Yogurt and Goat Cheese Tzaziki Roasted Red Pepper Zucchini Rolls with Pesto Dip A.K.A. Extremely Creative and Interesting Snacks for an Unbearably Boring Mom.

Let's talk about creative energy, or rather the lack there of. For instance, I'm pretty sure that I had something rather interesting to say 15 minutes ago but since then 1 million and 1 other extremely important things have happened. Such is the life of a mom of 4. Any mom actually, but I speak for myself (disclaimer numero uno).

Case and point. In the last 15 minutes I have:

Tried to console a very distraught 4 year old little girl about a broken crayon which her 8 year old very artistic brother absolutely had to have because it was  "Imperial Blue" and the exact shade he needed to finish his bird drawing and "NO!" another shade of blue from the enormous bucket of crayons wouldn't do and excuse me please but it in fact is not a crayon but a pastel! ..............................

Stopped 3 times to put on baby doll clothes. On the same baby doll.

Tried to reason with a dramatic 6 year old over why it's not the end of the world when someone touches him, looks at him, breathes on him.

Prepared myself for yet another night of over reactive drama and whining about how grosssssss dinner is before they even know what it is.

Tried to take a picture or two of for mentioned dinner when the house we moved into several months ago does not have ONE SINGLE north facing window, or any decent window for food photography for that matter.  (note to self, look for new house immediately. post note, be in complete denial that the housing market is yet again rising faster than my strategic abilities allow.)

Exaggerating? Who me? NO. Not this time my friends, not this time. Life as a mom, end of story. 

Again, I'm pretty sure I had something very creative or mildly interesting to say in regards to this post 15 minutes ago but alas, you will forgive me as my creativity has been sucked away over the years and replaced with the cutest of cute, adorable, little, needy monsters. 

What's the opposite of boring? These super cute snack containers from Planet Box. I. heart. their lunch boxes and so when they offered to send me one of their brand new sectioned snack boxes, 

"The Shuttle" with a perfect little dipping container I was waiting by the window for the UPS guy.  

This little snack container was much roomier than I imagined and perfect for my portioned, 5 a day small meals. As you can see it held my 'second' lunch quite nicely and I won't even mention the fact that my dear husband swiped it from me the  next morning. I did get a nice text message around lunch time about how fantastic my zucchini rolls were. Cudos.

I love Planet Boxes sleek and convenient  design and that the magnets were interchangeable. My boys loved this alien one and when mommy wants to take it to work I simply take the magnets off or I can switch them out for one of their other cute magnets. These cute space guys ended up on our fridge. 

Several different sizes to choose form with eco-conscience design and cute carriers. I love it!

Back to School Time Already! Time to get a sturdy lunch box that will last through the year! 

Planet Box sent me these items, all opinions are my own.

Greek Yogurt and Goat Cheese Tzaziki Roasted Red Pepper Zucchini Rolls with Pesto Dip A.K.A. Extremely Creative and Interesting Snacks for an Unbearably Boring Mom.

Posted by admin

Let's talk about creative energy, or rather the lack there of. For instance, I'm pretty sure that I had something rather interesting to say 15 minutes ago but since then 1 million and 1 other extremely important things have happened. Such is the life of a mom of 4. Any mom actually, but I speak for myself (disclaimer numero uno).

Case and point. In the last 15 minutes I have:

Tried to console a very distraught 4 year old little girl about a broken crayon which her 8 year old very artistic brother absolutely had to have because it was  "Imperial Blue" and the exact shade he needed to finish his bird drawing and "NO!" another shade of blue from the enormous bucket of crayons wouldn't do and excuse me please but it in fact is not a crayon but a pastel! ..............................

Stopped 3 times to put on baby doll clothes. On the same baby doll.

Tried to reason with a dramatic 6 year old over why it's not the end of the world when someone touches him, looks at him, breathes on him.

Prepared myself for yet another night of over reactive drama and whining about how grosssssss dinner is before they even know what it is.

Tried to take a picture or two of for mentioned dinner when the house we moved into several months ago does not have ONE SINGLE north facing window, or any decent window for food photography for that matter.  (note to self, look for new house immediately. post note, be in complete denial that the housing market is yet again rising faster than my strategic abilities allow.)

Exaggerating? Who me? NO. Not this time my friends, not this time. Life as a mom, end of story. 

Again, I'm pretty sure I had something very creative or mildly interesting to say in regards to this post 15 minutes ago but alas, you will forgive me as my creativity has been sucked away over the years and replaced with the cutest of cute, adorable, little, needy monsters. 

What's the opposite of boring? These super cute snack containers from Planet Box. I. heart. their lunch boxes and so when they offered to send me one of their brand new sectioned snack boxes, 

"The Shuttle" with a perfect little dipping container I was waiting by the window for the UPS guy.  

This little snack container was much roomier than I imagined and perfect for my portioned, 5 a day small meals. As you can see it held my 'second' lunch quite nicely and I won't even mention the fact that my dear husband swiped it from me the  next morning. I did get a nice text message around lunch time about how fantastic my zucchini rolls were. Cudos.

I love Planet Boxes sleek and convenient  design and that the magnets were interchangeable. My boys loved this alien one and when mommy wants to take it to work I simply take the magnets off or I can switch them out for one of their other cute magnets. These cute space guys ended up on our fridge. 

Several different sizes to choose form with eco-conscience design and cute carriers. I love it!

Back to School Time Already! Time to get a sturdy lunch box that will last through the year! 

Planet Box sent me these items, all opinions are my own.

Smokey Baba Ganoush {roasted eggplant dip}

Teenagers. sighhhh.  Why didn't anyone ever warn me about how exhausting, annoying and all around taxing teenagers are? I'm pretty sure that had someone warned me I would have planned better. Prepared myself in some way, maybe gone to  pre-conditioning therapy, meditated more or sent him to boarding school at age 13. That would have been smart, best for everyone. Had someone only warned me.








I'm trying really hard to look on the bright side of the situation, see the positive. There are a couple I think. He never did drugs, drank (that I know of anyway) is a well mannered and mostly happy go lucky kid. He is healthy (well until I get through with him after this latest shenanigan anyway) and has potential..... I hope.

Hope. Pray. Wait. That's really all a mother can do when your teenager goes off to college for his freshman year, all expenses paid for by dear old mom and dad and comes home with a big, FAT 1.0 GPA. Yup.

My son. The boy we raised and taught to be responsible, trustworthy and work hard in life. The boy who was in Honors, AP and IB courses throughout high school. The boy who may or may not be cut out of our WIll. Not that we have any money left after throwing it away on what turned out to basically be a one year, $12,000 all expenses paid vacation in Eastern Arizona, middle of nowhere USA.


Hope. Pray. Wait.


Time for the boy to take responsibility for his own actions. Self accountability. Figure out things for himself. Hopefully not crash and burn and when he inevitably does, I pray he will man up and make things right. Finish school and be a strong, smart independent young man who comes groveling back to his poor defeated mom and dad and begs for our forgiveness and tells us how incredibly smart we really were.

What? O.K. so maybe that last part is a bit of a stretch.



Which brings me to baba ganoush. Of course.

BRAIN FOOD, Cardiovascular Health and Free Radical Protection

In addition to featuring a host of vitamins and minerals like fiber, magnesium and potassium, eggplant also contains important phytonutrients, many which have antioxidant activity. 

Research on eggplant has focused on an anthocyanin phytonutrient found in eggplant skin called nasunin. Nasunin is a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage. 

photo source

For more information on how to choose and store eggplant visit World's Healthiest Foods

Smokey Baba Ganoush {Roasted Eggplant Dip}


recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma's Small Plates by Joanne Wier, published 1998


TIME    45 MINUTES      SERVES    4

Ingredients 

• 1 large eggplant

• 1/4 cup tahini, plus more as needed

• 3-5 garlic cloves, roasted

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin  

• salt, to taste

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 

Directions 

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill. 

Preheat an oven to 400°F. 

Prick the eggplant with a fork in several places and place on the grill 4 to 5 inches from the fire. 

Grill, turning frequently, until the skin blackens and blisters and the flesh just begins to feel soft, 10 to 15 minutes.  

Transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet and bake until very soft, 15 to 20 minutes. 

Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and peel off and discard the skin. 

Place the eggplant flesh in a bowl. 

Using a fork, mash the eggplant to a paste. 

Add the 1/4 cup tahini, roasted garlic,1/4 cup lemon juice, paprika and cumin and mix well. 

Season with salt, then taste and add more lemon juice, if needed. 

Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and spread with the back of a spoon to form a shallow well. 

Drizzle the olive oil over the top and sprinkle with the parsley. Place the olives around the sides.

Bon Apetite!

Smokey Baba Ganoush {roasted eggplant dip}

Posted by admin

Teenagers. sighhhh.  Why didn't anyone ever warn me about how exhausting, annoying and all around taxing teenagers are? I'm pretty sure that had someone warned me I would have planned better. Prepared myself in some way, maybe gone to  pre-conditioning therapy, meditated more or sent him to boarding school at age 13. That would have been smart, best for everyone. Had someone only warned me.








I'm trying really hard to look on the bright side of the situation, see the positive. There are a couple I think. He never did drugs, drank (that I know of anyway) is a well mannered and mostly happy go lucky kid. He is healthy (well until I get through with him after this latest shenanigan anyway) and has potential..... I hope.

Hope. Pray. Wait. That's really all a mother can do when your teenager goes off to college for his freshman year, all expenses paid for by dear old mom and dad and comes home with a big, FAT 1.0 GPA. Yup.

My son. The boy we raised and taught to be responsible, trustworthy and work hard in life. The boy who was in Honors, AP and IB courses throughout high school. The boy who may or may not be cut out of our WIll. Not that we have any money left after throwing it away on what turned out to basically be a one year, $12,000 all expenses paid vacation in Eastern Arizona, middle of nowhere USA.


Hope. Pray. Wait.


Time for the boy to take responsibility for his own actions. Self accountability. Figure out things for himself. Hopefully not crash and burn and when he inevitably does, I pray he will man up and make things right. Finish school and be a strong, smart independent young man who comes groveling back to his poor defeated mom and dad and begs for our forgiveness and tells us how incredibly smart we really were.

What? O.K. so maybe that last part is a bit of a stretch.



Which brings me to baba ganoush. Of course.

BRAIN FOOD, Cardiovascular Health and Free Radical Protection

In addition to featuring a host of vitamins and minerals like fiber, magnesium and potassium, eggplant also contains important phytonutrients, many which have antioxidant activity. 

Research on eggplant has focused on an anthocyanin phytonutrient found in eggplant skin called nasunin. Nasunin is a potent antioxidant and free radical scavenger that has been shown to protect cell membranes from damage. 

photo source

For more information on how to choose and store eggplant visit World's Healthiest Foods

Smokey Baba Ganoush {Roasted Eggplant Dip}


recipe adapted from Williams-Sonoma's Small Plates by Joanne Wier, published 1998


TIME    45 MINUTES      SERVES    4

Ingredients 

• 1 large eggplant

• 1/4 cup tahini, plus more as needed

• 3-5 garlic cloves, roasted

• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin  

• salt, to taste

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika 

Directions 

Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill. 

Preheat an oven to 400°F. 

Prick the eggplant with a fork in several places and place on the grill 4 to 5 inches from the fire. 

Grill, turning frequently, until the skin blackens and blisters and the flesh just begins to feel soft, 10 to 15 minutes.  

Transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet and bake until very soft, 15 to 20 minutes. 

Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and peel off and discard the skin. 

Place the eggplant flesh in a bowl. 

Using a fork, mash the eggplant to a paste. 

Add the 1/4 cup tahini, roasted garlic,1/4 cup lemon juice, paprika and cumin and mix well. 

Season with salt, then taste and add more lemon juice, if needed. 

Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and spread with the back of a spoon to form a shallow well. 

Drizzle the olive oil over the top and sprinkle with the parsley. Place the olives around the sides.

Bon Apetite!

Pineapple Carnitas Pizza

Happy Pizza Friday! 

One of my family's favorite foods is pizza and one of my favorites is home made pizza. You just can't beat a good home cooked pizza on a pizza stone. The fresh dough and fresh ingredients of your choosing. I like to get crazy with my pizza and put stuff like eggplant and goat cheese on it but the kids have a slightly less exotic palate. 

This pizza incorporated another of our family's favorite cuisines, Mexican food. The roast was slow cooked in pineapple juice making it sheer torture waiting for it to be done while whiffs of warm pineapple floated around the house. 

Serve with an ice cold tropical margarita if your feeling festive.

The meat is moist and will make your dough soggy if you don't pre-cook it, so pop the dough onto your hot pizza stone, brush with a bit of good olive oil and bake at 400F for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and then put your toppings on.

Topped simply with shredded Jack cheese and slices of sweet peppers this pizza was very satisfying.

I seem to have started quite a stir when I posted my shredded chicken tip  last year. I had several people asked me if it worked with beef and sure enough it does!  Again, just make sure you are using very warm or hot meat and trim as much fat from the roast as you can. If you use cold meat it can quite possibley harm your mixer, my Aunts Bosch mixer broke when we tried to shred a cold pork roast for tamales last year. 

Hot pineapple roast in......................................

shredded beef in seconds!

Serve with a side salad.

Rachel's Easy Pizza Dough Recipe(makes 2 pizzas or 1 pizza + bread sticks)

2 1/4 cup warm water
2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. sugar
4 1/2 Tbs. oil
2 tsp. dry yeast
5 2/3 cup flour
Mis salt, sugar, yeast and oil. Pour warm water over mix and stir. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing well each time, then kneed. No rising necessary. Bake 425 degrees 15-20 minutes.

Pineapple Carnitas Pizza Recipe
 PREP TIME      30 MINUTES       COOK TIME      45
Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons chili powder

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 3-4lbs. chuck roast

• 2 tablespoons canola oil

• 2 - 12oz. cans pineapple, papaya or mango juice    (I use leftover canned pineapple juice from our cottage cheese and pineapple snack) 

• 1 recipe for pizza dough

• olive oil, for brushing the dough

• 1 cup jarred tomatillo salsa, plus more for serving

• 12 ounces fresh jack cheese, shredded

• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced and sauteed until golden

• 1 cup of sliced sweet or bell pepper

• sour cream, for serving (optional)

• guacamole, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

1. Mix the chili powder, cumin and  salt in a small bowl.

1. Rub the spice mixture on both sides of the roast.

1. Heat the canola oil in a large pot over high heat, then sear both sides of the roast until nice and brown, about 2 minutes per side.

1. Pour the juice into the pot with the meat.

1. Cover and roast for about 4 hours, until falling apart.

1. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, put your pizza stone if you have one it the oven.

1. Put hot roast in your mixer with the cookie paddle attatched and blend on speed 4 till shredded. Or use 2 forks to shred the meat then return to the juices.

1. Add tomatillo salsa and onions to the shredded roast, mix to combine.

1. Turn up the heat in your oven to 400F

1. Roll out pizza dough into a circle

1. Fold dough in half and gently transfer to your hot pizza stone, brush with a bit of olive oil.

1. Cook dough for 8-10 minutes so it will not soak up all of the juices from the meat. 

1. Remove from oven and spread the shredded roast all over pizza

1. Top with shredded Jack cheese and  peppers.

1. Bake pizza for 12-15 minutes until crust is browned and cheese is melted.

Pineapple Carnitas Pizza

Posted by admin

Happy Pizza Friday! 

One of my family's favorite foods is pizza and one of my favorites is home made pizza. You just can't beat a good home cooked pizza on a pizza stone. The fresh dough and fresh ingredients of your choosing. I like to get crazy with my pizza and put stuff like eggplant and goat cheese on it but the kids have a slightly less exotic palate. 

This pizza incorporated another of our family's favorite cuisines, Mexican food. The roast was slow cooked in pineapple juice making it sheer torture waiting for it to be done while whiffs of warm pineapple floated around the house. 

Serve with an ice cold tropical margarita if your feeling festive.

The meat is moist and will make your dough soggy if you don't pre-cook it, so pop the dough onto your hot pizza stone, brush with a bit of good olive oil and bake at 400F for about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and then put your toppings on.

Topped simply with shredded Jack cheese and slices of sweet peppers this pizza was very satisfying.

I seem to have started quite a stir when I posted my shredded chicken tip  last year. I had several people asked me if it worked with beef and sure enough it does!  Again, just make sure you are using very warm or hot meat and trim as much fat from the roast as you can. If you use cold meat it can quite possibley harm your mixer, my Aunts Bosch mixer broke when we tried to shred a cold pork roast for tamales last year. 

Hot pineapple roast in......................................

shredded beef in seconds!

Serve with a side salad.

Rachel's Easy Pizza Dough Recipe(makes 2 pizzas or 1 pizza + bread sticks)

2 1/4 cup warm water
2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. sugar
4 1/2 Tbs. oil
2 tsp. dry yeast
5 2/3 cup flour
Mis salt, sugar, yeast and oil. Pour warm water over mix and stir. Add flour one cup at a time, mixing well each time, then kneed. No rising necessary. Bake 425 degrees 15-20 minutes.

Pineapple Carnitas Pizza Recipe
 PREP TIME      30 MINUTES       COOK TIME      45
Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons chili powder

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 3-4lbs. chuck roast

• 2 tablespoons canola oil

• 2 - 12oz. cans pineapple, papaya or mango juice    (I use leftover canned pineapple juice from our cottage cheese and pineapple snack) 

• 1 recipe for pizza dough

• olive oil, for brushing the dough

• 1 cup jarred tomatillo salsa, plus more for serving

• 12 ounces fresh jack cheese, shredded

• 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced and sauteed until golden

• 1 cup of sliced sweet or bell pepper

• sour cream, for serving (optional)

• guacamole, for serving (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

1. Mix the chili powder, cumin and  salt in a small bowl.

1. Rub the spice mixture on both sides of the roast.

1. Heat the canola oil in a large pot over high heat, then sear both sides of the roast until nice and brown, about 2 minutes per side.

1. Pour the juice into the pot with the meat.

1. Cover and roast for about 4 hours, until falling apart.

1. During the last 30 minutes of cooking, put your pizza stone if you have one it the oven.

1. Put hot roast in your mixer with the cookie paddle attatched and blend on speed 4 till shredded. Or use 2 forks to shred the meat then return to the juices.

1. Add tomatillo salsa and onions to the shredded roast, mix to combine.

1. Turn up the heat in your oven to 400F

1. Roll out pizza dough into a circle

1. Fold dough in half and gently transfer to your hot pizza stone, brush with a bit of olive oil.

1. Cook dough for 8-10 minutes so it will not soak up all of the juices from the meat. 

1. Remove from oven and spread the shredded roast all over pizza

1. Top with shredded Jack cheese and  peppers.

1. Bake pizza for 12-15 minutes until crust is browned and cheese is melted.

Guest Post for Lazaro Cooks: Tahini Soba Noodles with Caramelized Jumbo Sea Scallops

I've been a fan of Lazaro Cooks since I started blogging a few years ago. His cooking style is what mine used  to be 3 or 4 kids ago. His take it or leave it  personality mimics mine and I love to read his blog while sipping a glass of red wine and longing for the day when I can cook amazing, grown up food with actual spices in it without having to clean it off of the walls afterwards.






I  love ethnic foods. Especially when it involves exotic spices and seafood. I also have a serious addiction to veggies and seafood. Even as a child I adored giant sea scallops and requested them for my birthday every single year along with Kahlua cake. My mom used to put cayenne in EVERYTHING from spaghetti, mixing it into peanut butter and sprinkling it on top of cottage cheese, so I grew up being accustomed to spicy foods. I have to hold back a bit on the spices with my little ones but am trying to build up a tolerance as we speak.

The kids loved this Tahini soba noodle dish slightly sweetened with honey and which I served to them with cubed chicken and saved the spicy-sweet jumbo sea scallops for my husband and myself. Tahini is a wonderfully mild paste made from toasted sesame seeds and commonly used in hummus. I've never been a big fan of peanut butter but love tahini's unique taste. Feel free to use peanut or almond butter in this if you wish.

Please head over to Lazaro Cooks for the recipe, it's simple, delicious and you'll  love  Laz's collection of recipes, I promise.

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Guest Post for Lazaro Cooks: Tahini Soba Noodles with Caramelized Jumbo Sea Scallops

Posted by admin

I've been a fan of Lazaro Cooks since I started blogging a few years ago. His cooking style is what mine used  to be 3 or 4 kids ago. His take it or leave it  personality mimics mine and I love to read his blog while sipping a glass of red wine and longing for the day when I can cook amazing, grown up food with actual spices in it without having to clean it off of the walls afterwards.






I  love ethnic foods. Especially when it involves exotic spices and seafood. I also have a serious addiction to veggies and seafood. Even as a child I adored giant sea scallops and requested them for my birthday every single year along with Kahlua cake. My mom used to put cayenne in EVERYTHING from spaghetti, mixing it into peanut butter and sprinkling it on top of cottage cheese, so I grew up being accustomed to spicy foods. I have to hold back a bit on the spices with my little ones but am trying to build up a tolerance as we speak.

The kids loved this Tahini soba noodle dish slightly sweetened with honey and which I served to them with cubed chicken and saved the spicy-sweet jumbo sea scallops for my husband and myself. Tahini is a wonderfully mild paste made from toasted sesame seeds and commonly used in hummus. I've never been a big fan of peanut butter but love tahini's unique taste. Feel free to use peanut or almond butter in this if you wish.

Please head over to Lazaro Cooks for the recipe, it's simple, delicious and you'll  love  Laz's collection of recipes, I promise.

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• 
  

Sopa de Almejas {Clam Soup}

Traditionally, a good Mexican meal starts with a nice bowl of soup as a first course, just after the appetizers. It can be a simple broth, accompanied with lemon or lime to be squeezed into it, some radish, onion, chili peppers and cilantro leaves for flavour. Or a more elaborated recipe, using seafood, meat, pasta, legumes and vegetables.




I made this soup because I had a bunch of clams left over from my gigantic can of clams I bought from Costco to make this Clam Pasta with White Sauce.  I didn't want to make a heavy clam chowder but I was craving a nice, hot soup. So I looked around in my pantry to see what I could come up with and found some Pomi diced tomatoes, potatoes, onion, celery and cilantro. We love Mexican food around here so I thought, why not a Mexican Clam Soup? Who says clams are only in thick chowders or Italian style dishes like Paella or Clams in Tomato and Wine broth..... oh, now I'm wanting those too.

Thanks to the addition of the potatoes, this was filling enough to be a main course for a light meal. Serve with some crusty bread for soaking up the wonderful juices if you would like.



recipe slightly adapted from Camino Florido


TIME  30 MINUTES     SERVES  6

Ingredients:

2 lbs. canned clams save the liquid since it will add more flavor to your soup
3 cups of potatoes cut in small cubes
2 cups of chopped celery
¾ of cup of chopped onion
4 Anchovy fillets (for more flavor and Omega-3's)
6 cups of seafood broth  (I just used the juice from the clams and then about 2 cups of *home made chicken broth I had frozen)
1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tsp cayenne pepper or chili flakes
Salt and pepper at taste
1 lemon, juiced

Preparation:

Heat a large pot and add the olive oil, fry the onion and celery, when the onion is transparent, add the garlic and anchovies. Integrate the potatoes and fry for a couple of minutes stirring continuously. Pour in the broth and clam juice. Add the clams and let it simmer covered with the lid on for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are done yet still firm. Add cayenne, salt and pepper at taste, Add the parsley and the lemon juice. Serve immediately.

* home made chicken broth is not only tastier and healthier than the canned and boxed varieties, but it is a bit milder so it won't overwhelm your seafood dishes with chicken flavour.

Sopa de Almejas {Clam Soup}

Posted by admin

Traditionally, a good Mexican meal starts with a nice bowl of soup as a first course, just after the appetizers. It can be a simple broth, accompanied with lemon or lime to be squeezed into it, some radish, onion, chili peppers and cilantro leaves for flavour. Or a more elaborated recipe, using seafood, meat, pasta, legumes and vegetables.




I made this soup because I had a bunch of clams left over from my gigantic can of clams I bought from Costco to make this Clam Pasta with White Sauce.  I didn't want to make a heavy clam chowder but I was craving a nice, hot soup. So I looked around in my pantry to see what I could come up with and found some Pomi diced tomatoes, potatoes, onion, celery and cilantro. We love Mexican food around here so I thought, why not a Mexican Clam Soup? Who says clams are only in thick chowders or Italian style dishes like Paella or Clams in Tomato and Wine broth..... oh, now I'm wanting those too.

Thanks to the addition of the potatoes, this was filling enough to be a main course for a light meal. Serve with some crusty bread for soaking up the wonderful juices if you would like.



recipe slightly adapted from Camino Florido


TIME  30 MINUTES     SERVES  6

Ingredients:

2 lbs. canned clams save the liquid since it will add more flavor to your soup
3 cups of potatoes cut in small cubes
2 cups of chopped celery
¾ of cup of chopped onion
4 Anchovy fillets (for more flavor and Omega-3's)
6 cups of seafood broth  (I just used the juice from the clams and then about 2 cups of *home made chicken broth I had frozen)
1/2 cup of finely chopped parsley
1/2 cup cilantro, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic minced
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 tsp cayenne pepper or chili flakes
Salt and pepper at taste
1 lemon, juiced

Preparation:

Heat a large pot and add the olive oil, fry the onion and celery, when the onion is transparent, add the garlic and anchovies. Integrate the potatoes and fry for a couple of minutes stirring continuously. Pour in the broth and clam juice. Add the clams and let it simmer covered with the lid on for 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are done yet still firm. Add cayenne, salt and pepper at taste, Add the parsley and the lemon juice. Serve immediately.

* home made chicken broth is not only tastier and healthier than the canned and boxed varieties, but it is a bit milder so it won't overwhelm your seafood dishes with chicken flavour.

Pecan Crusted Sweet Potato-Salmon Cakes and a Give Away!

For those of you who were thinking that you were going to skip right on down to the give away part of this post,  I've got news for you....

You're just not allowed to. Furthermore, you'll be sorry if you do.

Why?  Because I said so. That's why.

 That was said in my sternest 'mommy' voice just so ya know. 

I'm really excited about this recipe and I truly hope you will try making this in your home. It's a keeper. We love salmon here and would eat it every single day if I could afford it. Salmon is so good for you especially if you choose wild and not the farmed a.k.a. "Fresh" or "Atlantic" varieties. When wild salmon isn't in season or if your budget is tight like mine is, canned salmon is a wonderful option. Again, just make sure your choosing wild salmon vs. farmed. How can you tell the difference? It should be labeled farmed somewhere on the packaging. A good rule of thumb is to choose salmon from Alaska or Canada.

You've probably already heard about Omega-3's and how essential they are to your health and well being. Alaskan salmon are a nutritional powerhouse, rich in protein, long chain Omega -3 fatty acids, Vitamin D, calcium, along with many other vitamins and minerals. You’d be hard-pressed to find a food more nutritious than Alaska salmon. Which may be why over 90% of Americans are deficient in Omega fatty acids.







Wild Alaska salmon are some of the richest sources of long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids.
The human body cannot manufacture it’s own omega-3’s, so it is from food that we must obtain them.
Omega-3’s are thought to provide substantial health benefits for people of all ages; providing a nutritional foundation for optimal heart, brain, mental, visual, immune system and pregnancy health.


O.K. onto the recipe because it is pretty awesome spectacular  a culinary piece of genius that should be honored for all of time and I know you're going to want to make it tonight for dinner.
Exaggerate? Who me? Not this time my friends, not this time.

I can't take all of the credit for this perfect dish. Pure Alaska Co. was nice enough to send me some cute recipe cards along with their salmon. One of the recipes was for this Wild Salmon Sweet Potato Cakes which I slightly altered and embellished a bit as I tend to do.  I can say with all honesty that this is the best tasting canned salmon by far that I have ever had, and mamma knows salmon.

Pure Alaska Salmon Co. practices sustainable fishing which is important on more levels than many of you you may be aware of.  I encourage you to visit their website which is informative and actually quite interesting. I really liked this quote found on their website.

"Most of us do not have time to be social activists, but in our food choices we have the ultimate and most powerful “vote”: our dollars — money talks."

O.K., o.k. here's the recipe. Geeesh! Now you can save the recipe and please, please do enter the give away!!! I love sharing the love.

A couple of tips:

1. Remember not to use Olive oil for frying. It's not meant for high heat and will taste bitter and change the chemical make up making it unhealthy.
2. I boil my sweet potatoes whole, with the skin ON for about 30 min. This helps retain the nutrients. I then cut the potato and throw it in my blender with the skin ON for added fiber.
3. Do not discard the skin and bones from the salmon. They are choke full of vitamins and nutrients such as calcium and I SWEAR you will not notice them.
4. Do not make cakes to big, they will fall apart. Do not cook on to high of heat, they will burn before they cook.

TIME 30 MINUTES        SERVES 6

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato, roasted or boiled and mashed

3 – 7.5 oz cans Redhead and/or Thinkpink, drained

2-3 tablespoons grape seed oil (good fat, high heat tolerant)

½ cup red pepper, finely diced

½ cup sweet onion, finely diced

¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped fine

2 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon Jamaican allspice (combination of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg if you don't have)
1 teaspoon Bragg's Organic Sea Kelp Delight seasoning

1 cup whole grain bread crumbs (about 2 pieces of bread)
1 1/2 cups pecans, ground

Garnishes:

Green onions

Parsley

Lemon

Tomatoes

Kale or Baby Spinach

In a large stock pot, boil whole sweet potato with skin on 30-40 minutes till fork tender.
Remove from water and pulse in blender till smooth.

In a food processor (or you're awesome, do all Ninja blender) pulse pecans till finely ground, remove. Pulse bread till ground. {I make my own bread crumbs in batches then freeze in a Mason jar, cheaper and tastier than the store bought stuff}

Heat a skillet on medium heat, then add oil. Saute peppers and onions until browned and softened, about 2 minutes.

Combine sauteed vegetables, drained salmon (including the highly nutritious skin & bone),  parsley, salt and spices. Mix well.

Put bread crumbs and pecans in a shallow dish, sprinkle with a bit of salt. Form cakes in desired size, about ½ inch thick.

Cook in skillet at medium heat 3 to 4 minutes each side, or until well browned.

Serve on top of Raw Kale and with and a squeeze of lemon or lime if desired.

For the Give Away:

Pure Alaskan Salmon Co. is giving away an entire case of their canned salmon to one lucky reader.

To Enter you should leave a comment and please be a subscriber of Simply Healthy Family
For extra entries:
Follow Simply Healthy Family on Twitter
Join Simply Healthy Family on Facebook
Tweet or Share this Give Away on either Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon or another sharing network
Please remember to leave a separate comment for each.
A winner will be chosen randomly on 15th and notified via email (leave a link or email address so I can notify you!)





This post is linked to

Fun with Food Friday's
Seasonal Saturday's
Tasty Tuesday's

Pecan Crusted Sweet Potato-Salmon Cakes and a Give Away!

Posted by admin

For those of you who were thinking that you were going to skip right on down to the give away part of this post,  I've got news for you....

You're just not allowed to. Furthermore, you'll be sorry if you do.

Why?  Because I said so. That's why.

 That was said in my sternest 'mommy' voice just so ya know. 

I'm really excited about this recipe and I truly hope you will try making this in your home. It's a keeper. We love salmon here and would eat it every single day if I could afford it. Salmon is so good for you especially if you choose wild and not the farmed a.k.a. "Fresh" or "Atlantic" varieties. When wild salmon isn't in season or if your budget is tight like mine is, canned salmon is a wonderful option. Again, just make sure your choosing wild salmon vs. farmed. How can you tell the difference? It should be labeled farmed somewhere on the packaging. A good rule of thumb is to choose salmon from Alaska or Canada.

You've probably already heard about Omega-3's and how essential they are to your health and well being. Alaskan salmon are a nutritional powerhouse, rich in protein, long chain Omega -3 fatty acids, Vitamin D, calcium, along with many other vitamins and minerals. You’d be hard-pressed to find a food more nutritious than Alaska salmon. Which may be why over 90% of Americans are deficient in Omega fatty acids.







Wild Alaska salmon are some of the richest sources of long-chain Omega-3 fatty acids.
The human body cannot manufacture it’s own omega-3’s, so it is from food that we must obtain them.
Omega-3’s are thought to provide substantial health benefits for people of all ages; providing a nutritional foundation for optimal heart, brain, mental, visual, immune system and pregnancy health.


O.K. onto the recipe because it is pretty awesome spectacular  a culinary piece of genius that should be honored for all of time and I know you're going to want to make it tonight for dinner.
Exaggerate? Who me? Not this time my friends, not this time.

I can't take all of the credit for this perfect dish. Pure Alaska Co. was nice enough to send me some cute recipe cards along with their salmon. One of the recipes was for this Wild Salmon Sweet Potato Cakes which I slightly altered and embellished a bit as I tend to do.  I can say with all honesty that this is the best tasting canned salmon by far that I have ever had, and mamma knows salmon.

Pure Alaska Salmon Co. practices sustainable fishing which is important on more levels than many of you you may be aware of.  I encourage you to visit their website which is informative and actually quite interesting. I really liked this quote found on their website.

"Most of us do not have time to be social activists, but in our food choices we have the ultimate and most powerful “vote”: our dollars — money talks."

O.K., o.k. here's the recipe. Geeesh! Now you can save the recipe and please, please do enter the give away!!! I love sharing the love.

A couple of tips:

1. Remember not to use Olive oil for frying. It's not meant for high heat and will taste bitter and change the chemical make up making it unhealthy.
2. I boil my sweet potatoes whole, with the skin ON for about 30 min. This helps retain the nutrients. I then cut the potato and throw it in my blender with the skin ON for added fiber.
3. Do not discard the skin and bones from the salmon. They are choke full of vitamins and nutrients such as calcium and I SWEAR you will not notice them.
4. Do not make cakes to big, they will fall apart. Do not cook on to high of heat, they will burn before they cook.

TIME 30 MINUTES        SERVES 6

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato, roasted or boiled and mashed

3 – 7.5 oz cans Redhead and/or Thinkpink, drained

2-3 tablespoons grape seed oil (good fat, high heat tolerant)

½ cup red pepper, finely diced

½ cup sweet onion, finely diced

¼ cup Italian parsley, chopped fine

2 tsp salt
1/4 teaspoon Jamaican allspice (combination of cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg if you don't have)
1 teaspoon Bragg's Organic Sea Kelp Delight seasoning

1 cup whole grain bread crumbs (about 2 pieces of bread)
1 1/2 cups pecans, ground

Garnishes:

Green onions

Parsley

Lemon

Tomatoes

Kale or Baby Spinach

In a large stock pot, boil whole sweet potato with skin on 30-40 minutes till fork tender.
Remove from water and pulse in blender till smooth.

In a food processor (or you're awesome, do all Ninja blender) pulse pecans till finely ground, remove. Pulse bread till ground. {I make my own bread crumbs in batches then freeze in a Mason jar, cheaper and tastier than the store bought stuff}

Heat a skillet on medium heat, then add oil. Saute peppers and onions until browned and softened, about 2 minutes.

Combine sauteed vegetables, drained salmon (including the highly nutritious skin & bone),  parsley, salt and spices. Mix well.

Put bread crumbs and pecans in a shallow dish, sprinkle with a bit of salt. Form cakes in desired size, about ½ inch thick.

Cook in skillet at medium heat 3 to 4 minutes each side, or until well browned.

Serve on top of Raw Kale and with and a squeeze of lemon or lime if desired.

For the Give Away:

Pure Alaskan Salmon Co. is giving away an entire case of their canned salmon to one lucky reader.

To Enter you should leave a comment and please be a subscriber of Simply Healthy Family
For extra entries:
Follow Simply Healthy Family on Twitter
Join Simply Healthy Family on Facebook
Tweet or Share this Give Away on either Facebook, Twitter, StumbleUpon or another sharing network
Please remember to leave a separate comment for each.
A winner will be chosen randomly on 15th and notified via email (leave a link or email address so I can notify you!)





This post is linked to

Fun with Food Friday's
Seasonal Saturday's
Tasty Tuesday's

Moroccon Cous Cous with Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar

 What to make for dinner when you don't feel like making dinner.

I decided that I wasn't going to talk about how amazingly delicious this cous cous was. I'm also not going to tell you how simple it is even though it looks all fancy and exotic and some what like an elaborate, artistic masterpiece. I'm also not going to even mention the fact that besides being sweet and tart and complex and lovely, it is light and healthy and nutritionally perfect. No meat necessary. Mum's the word.

Instead, I decided that I was going to talk about balloons. And motherhood. But mostly about balloons.

Every kid loves balloons right? Begs for them at the store. Plays with them at birthday parties and happily marches around the house with one tied to their wrist, squealing in delight.

Not. In. This. House. We have a balloon hater in this house. No, that does not even begin to describe the chaos, turmoil and complete madness that consumes our home when a balloon enters it.

Is there a certain word for severe balloon phobia? There must be, there's a phobia for everything. Does anyone know what the word for fear of balloons is?

My sweet little 4 year old, Nolan, is utterly and completely terrified of balloons for some reason. I thought he'd have gotten over it by now, hopefully he will someday I mean he's only 4... and 1/2. In the beginning I didn't think much of it, 'eh, he's just a little kid, he'll get over it. I mean how often do you run into balloons in every day life? Well let me tell you.

Birthday's, obviously. So a year has gone by since the last birthday party balloon fiasco I didn't think anything of getting some balloons for Jack's 6th birthday a few weeks ago. Bad idea. BAD. Good grief, you can not imagine the torture this poor 4 year old boy went through because of a couple of regular ol' balloons! I spent All morning trying to sympathize, coax, reassure and rationalize with an insanely out of control 4 year old that there was no reason to be afraid of a balloon.

Why is he afraid?

It starts at the store. He's afraid the string is going to come loose and it's going to blow away. You should see his poor little face, genuine fear I tell you. Then, in the car {good Lord, the car ride home!} he completely stiffens up and stresses and cries out in panic the entire time that they are going to blow out of the (closed) windows. Jack, his 6 year old brother who's birthday is causing all the ruckus, is of course perfectly intent on further torturing his little brother; what are brothers for? Jack holds onto his balloon string with one hand while tapping it with his other so that it bops Nolan in the back of the head (3rd row seating) just to aggravate the situation.

Then baby Mona happens to get her hands on Nolan's balloon and with her chubby baby hands begins squeezing the balloon which makes that squeaky balloon sound (which kind of irks me too) and that really sets off poor Nolie. I mean at this point I'm a little unnerved. I don't like seeing my baby this upset. I'm thinking o.k. we're in the drive way, things will get better. No. We get inside and the ceiling fan is on...............................

Have you ever seen a 4 year old have a nervous breakdown? Come completely unglued.  Not pretty. Of course I had to take away the balloons, right? There was no rationalizing with him at this point. This of course upset the birthday boy, Jack.  So,

Give Jack back his balloon.

Take away Jack's balloon after further torture treatment ensues in hallway.

Put both boys to bed to give it a rest (my sanity, not the boys).

Listen to Nolan cry for 20 minutes about how he needs his balloon.

Put the balloon back in Nolan's room and tell him to take a nap and the balloon will be just fine.

Listen to Nolan cry for another 45 minutes about how the balloon is going to pop.

Finally, I pop. I take the balloon out of the room and well, pop it. No more balloons in this house ever!

So today, we stop by Sonic for a treat and what does the car hop/waitress bring to our car window?

A stinking balloon!

Go back up to the beginning of this story and this is what I dealt with all stinking over again today.

I don't get it. He is scared to death of them but is equally upset if I let it fly away or pop it.

The morale of my story is:  Sometimes you just don't have the energy or give a crap to make dinner.

Unfortunately, I hate take-out and boxed meals even more than making dinner when I'm exhausted. So, I come up with a fuss-free, throw together dinner that is still healthy and delicios-O. Cuz that's how I roll. Makes mamma happy.

This is one of those meals. I promise.

So, super simple and you just won't believe how tasty.

Keep things like slivered or sliced almonds, currants or raisins, mixed dried fruit, kalmata or green olives, a variety of canned or dried beans, cous cous, quinoa and millet in your pantry and you will always, always have

the makings of a last minute, throw together dinner.



I would really appreciate it if you could take the time to vote for me to be

one of babble.com's Top 100 Mommy Bloggers of 2011

here

Adapt this recipe how you like it! Here's what I used this time.

Ingredients:

1 cup cous cous

1 cup chicken broth (or water, I like the vitamins in home-made chicken broth)

1/2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

1-14 oz. can chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced

1/2 cup slivered almonds, Raw

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/4 cup currants

1/4 cup flat parsley , chopped

1 tsp. cinnamon

*1/2 tsp. Mediterranean seasoning

sea salt to taste

Kalmata olives

I found this Orange Muscat Champage vinegar at Trader Joe's. No perservatives, all natural. You could also use: 1/4 cup O.J. 1/4 cup Muscat grape juice (white grape juice), 1 tbsp. champagne vinegar, 1 tsp. sugar

* use garlic powder, onion flakes, rosemary, thyme, red pepper flakes etc. I'm loving Braggs Organic 21 seasoning and Sea Kelp delight seasoning.  

Throwing it all Together:

Bring broth to a boil. Add olive oil and cous cous, stir, remove from heat and cover. Let sit for at least 5 minutes while you get everything else in order.

In a large bowl throw all other ingredients together and toss to combine.

Add cous cous. Toss.

That's it! Bam! Dinner in 10 minutes.

Serve with grilled fish if your really hungry. Serve with a glass of wine if you deserve one. I know I do!

This post is linked to:

La Bella Vita's  Seasonal Saturday's
E Kat's Kitchen  Friday Potluck
Fun with Food Friday

Moroccon Cous Cous with Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar

Posted by admin

 What to make for dinner when you don't feel like making dinner.

I decided that I wasn't going to talk about how amazingly delicious this cous cous was. I'm also not going to tell you how simple it is even though it looks all fancy and exotic and some what like an elaborate, artistic masterpiece. I'm also not going to even mention the fact that besides being sweet and tart and complex and lovely, it is light and healthy and nutritionally perfect. No meat necessary. Mum's the word.

Instead, I decided that I was going to talk about balloons. And motherhood. But mostly about balloons.

Every kid loves balloons right? Begs for them at the store. Plays with them at birthday parties and happily marches around the house with one tied to their wrist, squealing in delight.

Not. In. This. House. We have a balloon hater in this house. No, that does not even begin to describe the chaos, turmoil and complete madness that consumes our home when a balloon enters it.

Is there a certain word for severe balloon phobia? There must be, there's a phobia for everything. Does anyone know what the word for fear of balloons is?

My sweet little 4 year old, Nolan, is utterly and completely terrified of balloons for some reason. I thought he'd have gotten over it by now, hopefully he will someday I mean he's only 4... and 1/2. In the beginning I didn't think much of it, 'eh, he's just a little kid, he'll get over it. I mean how often do you run into balloons in every day life? Well let me tell you.

Birthday's, obviously. So a year has gone by since the last birthday party balloon fiasco I didn't think anything of getting some balloons for Jack's 6th birthday a few weeks ago. Bad idea. BAD. Good grief, you can not imagine the torture this poor 4 year old boy went through because of a couple of regular ol' balloons! I spent All morning trying to sympathize, coax, reassure and rationalize with an insanely out of control 4 year old that there was no reason to be afraid of a balloon.

Why is he afraid?

It starts at the store. He's afraid the string is going to come loose and it's going to blow away. You should see his poor little face, genuine fear I tell you. Then, in the car {good Lord, the car ride home!} he completely stiffens up and stresses and cries out in panic the entire time that they are going to blow out of the (closed) windows. Jack, his 6 year old brother who's birthday is causing all the ruckus, is of course perfectly intent on further torturing his little brother; what are brothers for? Jack holds onto his balloon string with one hand while tapping it with his other so that it bops Nolan in the back of the head (3rd row seating) just to aggravate the situation.

Then baby Mona happens to get her hands on Nolan's balloon and with her chubby baby hands begins squeezing the balloon which makes that squeaky balloon sound (which kind of irks me too) and that really sets off poor Nolie. I mean at this point I'm a little unnerved. I don't like seeing my baby this upset. I'm thinking o.k. we're in the drive way, things will get better. No. We get inside and the ceiling fan is on...............................

Have you ever seen a 4 year old have a nervous breakdown? Come completely unglued.  Not pretty. Of course I had to take away the balloons, right? There was no rationalizing with him at this point. This of course upset the birthday boy, Jack.  So,

Give Jack back his balloon.

Take away Jack's balloon after further torture treatment ensues in hallway.

Put both boys to bed to give it a rest (my sanity, not the boys).

Listen to Nolan cry for 20 minutes about how he needs his balloon.

Put the balloon back in Nolan's room and tell him to take a nap and the balloon will be just fine.

Listen to Nolan cry for another 45 minutes about how the balloon is going to pop.

Finally, I pop. I take the balloon out of the room and well, pop it. No more balloons in this house ever!

So today, we stop by Sonic for a treat and what does the car hop/waitress bring to our car window?

A stinking balloon!

Go back up to the beginning of this story and this is what I dealt with all stinking over again today.

I don't get it. He is scared to death of them but is equally upset if I let it fly away or pop it.

The morale of my story is:  Sometimes you just don't have the energy or give a crap to make dinner.

Unfortunately, I hate take-out and boxed meals even more than making dinner when I'm exhausted. So, I come up with a fuss-free, throw together dinner that is still healthy and delicios-O. Cuz that's how I roll. Makes mamma happy.

This is one of those meals. I promise.

So, super simple and you just won't believe how tasty.

Keep things like slivered or sliced almonds, currants or raisins, mixed dried fruit, kalmata or green olives, a variety of canned or dried beans, cous cous, quinoa and millet in your pantry and you will always, always have

the makings of a last minute, throw together dinner.



I would really appreciate it if you could take the time to vote for me to be

one of babble.com's Top 100 Mommy Bloggers of 2011

here

Adapt this recipe how you like it! Here's what I used this time.

Ingredients:

1 cup cous cous

1 cup chicken broth (or water, I like the vitamins in home-made chicken broth)

1/2 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

1-14 oz. can chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

1 cup grape tomatoes, sliced

1/2 cup slivered almonds, Raw

1 yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped

1/4 cup currants

1/4 cup flat parsley , chopped

1 tsp. cinnamon

*1/2 tsp. Mediterranean seasoning

sea salt to taste

Kalmata olives

I found this Orange Muscat Champage vinegar at Trader Joe's. No perservatives, all natural. You could also use: 1/4 cup O.J. 1/4 cup Muscat grape juice (white grape juice), 1 tbsp. champagne vinegar, 1 tsp. sugar

* use garlic powder, onion flakes, rosemary, thyme, red pepper flakes etc. I'm loving Braggs Organic 21 seasoning and Sea Kelp delight seasoning.  

Throwing it all Together:

Bring broth to a boil. Add olive oil and cous cous, stir, remove from heat and cover. Let sit for at least 5 minutes while you get everything else in order.

In a large bowl throw all other ingredients together and toss to combine.

Add cous cous. Toss.

That's it! Bam! Dinner in 10 minutes.

Serve with grilled fish if your really hungry. Serve with a glass of wine if you deserve one. I know I do!

This post is linked to:

La Bella Vita's  Seasonal Saturday's
E Kat's Kitchen  Friday Potluck
Fun with Food Friday

Bistro Sunday Brunch: Tarragon and Chive Roasted Potatoes and Garden Scrambled Eggs with Crema con Queso

Welcome Spring and all things light, lovely and green.

Good-bye mittens, blankets, soups and casseroles, thanks for keeping me warm and cozy. 

I'll see you next Winter it's been grand.

The End.

In all fairness and honesty, I should mention that I live in Glendale, Az. The valley of the Sun so we don't have a true Winter to speak of. I did have to use my 'tushy' warmer in my car a couple of times and it was cold enough to make soup once or twice. Hey we're talking in the 30's people! That's freezing to us native desert rat's! 

Really, I do sometimes wish for truer seasons. To experience big Autumn trees and snow on Christmas. But then I get over it and throw on my shorts and flip flops and head out to my backyard and pick some veggies in the warm, early March weather. What can I say? I love this place. Until June when it will be 120+ degrees  in the shade and life will suck big time and you can stop being jealous of us desert dwellers.

Right now however it is absolutely perfect outdoors and we are just soaking up every minute here in the valley. Windows open, cool breezes, baseball games, patio lunches and flip flops. My favorite thing about the coming of Spring is the lighter, fresher meals. More veggies, more salads, lemon aide and no-cook dinners.

Here is a wonderful Spring brunch to start of the season.

Add some lightly grilled asparagus and have this beautiful dish for Easter Day brunch.

Tarragon and Chive Roasted Potatoes and Garden Scrambled Eggs

with Crema con Queso

You know why. Just do it.



TIME  20 MINUTES      SERVES  4
Ingredients:

6-8 Free Range, Organic eggs
1 tablespoon half and half
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon French Grey Sea salt
2 medium russet potatoes, cubed
1 cup chopped broccoli florets
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dried Tarragon, divided
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
Queso Cojita {Mexican crumbly cheese}
Mexicana Crema (can also use creme fraiche)
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced

To Make:

Pre heat oven to 400F. Line a roasting pan with foil.

In a large bowl toss cubed potatoes with olive oil (just a teensie bit will do!) Spread Potatoes onto pan and sprinkle with salt and 1-2 teaspoons of the tarragon. Bake at 400F for 15-18 minutes till golden brown and fork tender.

In a medium saucepan over high heat bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add chopped broccoli. Cook just 2 minutes, no more. Drain, set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, add small bit of butter. In a large mixing bowl whisk eggs and half and half. The half and half makes them oh-so-fluffy. Add a pinch of salt, pour into skillet. Using a rubber spatula, fold eggs over and over again till just set, about 3 minutes. Add broccoli, toss to combine.

Immediately remove from heat and serve with potatoes while still piping hot. Sprinkle with a bit more tarragon, the fresh chives, French Grey Sea Salt and freshly cracked pepper. Drizzle 1 tablespoon per serving of Crema Mexican over top of eggs. Crumble Queso Cojita over top of eggs. Serve peppers on the side.

French Grey Sea Salt.

Besides the amazing taste that you'll notice,

it's loaded with super minerals.

I save this for sprinkling on at the end so the minerals aren't destroyed during baking and to retain the flavour.

Bistro Sunday Brunch: Tarragon and Chive Roasted Potatoes and Garden Scrambled Eggs with Crema con Queso

Posted by admin

Welcome Spring and all things light, lovely and green.

Good-bye mittens, blankets, soups and casseroles, thanks for keeping me warm and cozy. 

I'll see you next Winter it's been grand.

The End.

In all fairness and honesty, I should mention that I live in Glendale, Az. The valley of the Sun so we don't have a true Winter to speak of. I did have to use my 'tushy' warmer in my car a couple of times and it was cold enough to make soup once or twice. Hey we're talking in the 30's people! That's freezing to us native desert rat's! 

Really, I do sometimes wish for truer seasons. To experience big Autumn trees and snow on Christmas. But then I get over it and throw on my shorts and flip flops and head out to my backyard and pick some veggies in the warm, early March weather. What can I say? I love this place. Until June when it will be 120+ degrees  in the shade and life will suck big time and you can stop being jealous of us desert dwellers.

Right now however it is absolutely perfect outdoors and we are just soaking up every minute here in the valley. Windows open, cool breezes, baseball games, patio lunches and flip flops. My favorite thing about the coming of Spring is the lighter, fresher meals. More veggies, more salads, lemon aide and no-cook dinners.

Here is a wonderful Spring brunch to start of the season.

Add some lightly grilled asparagus and have this beautiful dish for Easter Day brunch.

Tarragon and Chive Roasted Potatoes and Garden Scrambled Eggs

with Crema con Queso

You know why. Just do it.



TIME  20 MINUTES      SERVES  4
Ingredients:

6-8 Free Range, Organic eggs
1 tablespoon half and half
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon French Grey Sea salt
2 medium russet potatoes, cubed
1 cup chopped broccoli florets
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon dried Tarragon, divided
1 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped
Queso Cojita {Mexican crumbly cheese}
Mexicana Crema (can also use creme fraiche)
1 orange or yellow bell pepper, sliced

To Make:

Pre heat oven to 400F. Line a roasting pan with foil.

In a large bowl toss cubed potatoes with olive oil (just a teensie bit will do!) Spread Potatoes onto pan and sprinkle with salt and 1-2 teaspoons of the tarragon. Bake at 400F for 15-18 minutes till golden brown and fork tender.

In a medium saucepan over high heat bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add chopped broccoli. Cook just 2 minutes, no more. Drain, set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat, add small bit of butter. In a large mixing bowl whisk eggs and half and half. The half and half makes them oh-so-fluffy. Add a pinch of salt, pour into skillet. Using a rubber spatula, fold eggs over and over again till just set, about 3 minutes. Add broccoli, toss to combine.

Immediately remove from heat and serve with potatoes while still piping hot. Sprinkle with a bit more tarragon, the fresh chives, French Grey Sea Salt and freshly cracked pepper. Drizzle 1 tablespoon per serving of Crema Mexican over top of eggs. Crumble Queso Cojita over top of eggs. Serve peppers on the side.

French Grey Sea Salt.

Besides the amazing taste that you'll notice,

it's loaded with super minerals.

I save this for sprinkling on at the end so the minerals aren't destroyed during baking and to retain the flavour.