Salads - they're not just for veggies any more

I have always been a sucker for a salad. Even as a child, I loved raw vegetables - in a salad, with a dip, by themselves. As I got older, one of my best friends and her fiance added a simple salad to almost all of our meals together. I was hooked! When my husband and I were dating he used to love my salads, mostly because of my obsessive nature combined with my mother's warning that nothing in a salad should ever be too large to put comfortably and completely inside your mouth which resulted in anally portioned bites.

Over time, however, I drifted into a green salad rut - lettuce, carrots, cucumber, peppers....you get the picture. This summer has been one of revival in my salad world. It all started with a desire to get more nuts into our diet. We all know that nuts are an important source of trace elements, potassium and good fats, but you can only eat so many strait. Nuts led to fruit, which lead to cheese, which lead to herbs - and I'm a new woman. A couple of my recent combos below are below. I hope they inspire you to create your own.

More fruit salad than salad salad
Baby greens
Diced granny smith apple
Fresh blueberries
Diced Swiss cheese (goat cheese would also be fantastic)
Chopped walnuts
Chopped basil
Chopped Italian marinaded & grilled chicken tenders

Feeling a little Mediterranean
Bibb and Romain lettuces
Carrots
Yellow bell pepper
Halved cherry tomatoes
Chopped basil
Slivered almonds
Sunflower seeds
Parmesan curls
Steamed garlic and herb shrimp (steamed and seasoned at the grocery store)

I love my salads with a homemade vinaigrette. My current favorite is made with Penzies spices French Country seasoning mix, red wine vinegar and olive oil.

Happy eating!

Jack Hanna's Midnight Snack

Last weekend, we went to visit the in-laws for Labor Day. While we were there, I noticed a pile of old Paula Dean magazines. Being a sucker for magazines, especially one with recipes, I dug right in. While I like Paula Dean, I don't exactly associate her with healthy eating, but I found a gem of a cookie recipe.

The recipe actually came from an article about Jack Hanna of wildlife fame. Apparently, Jack has a bit of a sweet tooth and likes to eat cookies after dinner every night (well, who doesn't?). Someone, who must love Jack a lot, developed this surprisingly healthy and tasty recipe.

Start by grabbing a cold beer and make sure there are a couple stashed nearby in the fridge. Okay, this has nothing to do with Jack's cookies, but cookies take a while and I was watching SEC football while I cooked. Now, seriously...on to the cookies.

Jungle Jack's Cookies
Adapted only slightly from the March/ April 2008 issue of Paula Dean's magazine

Ingredients:

1 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup (I used the pancake syrup I had in the pantry)
2 large eggs
1 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups organic all-purpose flour
1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups oats (I used quick cooking, but regular will work)
1/2 cup 7-grain cereal (I used Kashi puffed)
1/2 cup flax seed
1/4 cup oat bran
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup chopped almonds (I used slivered)
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate morsels

In a large bowl, beat butter, sugar and maple syrup at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, beating until combined.

In medium bowl, combine flours, baking soda and salt; sift once. Add flour mixture, alternately with oil, 1 cup at a time, beginning and ending with four mixture; beat at low speed until smooth after each addition. Fold in cereals, flax seed, oat bran, chopped nuts and chocolate chips.

Drop dough, by rounded tablespoons onto prepared baking sheet. Don't get them too large, they spread. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool for 2 minutes on baking sheet before moving to wire racks to cool completely.

Makes about 4 dozen crispy, crunchy chocolaty cookies, after you eat all you need to and then some. Enjoy!

What to do with left over vanilla

When I made the vanilla spiced peaches a few weeks ago, I was left with a lone vanilla pod. Now, vanilla isn't cheap, so I wanted make sure to use it before it began to loose it's flavor. I decided to stick with a classic - vanilla ice cream. It was wonderful. It's a custard based recipe, so be prepared for thick and rich that just doesn't come out of a Byers container. It also take a little time, so don't plan to whip it together after work.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream
From: Ice Cream Recipes.com

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
1/2 pint (250 ml) milk
1/2 pint (250 ml) heavy cream
4 oz (approximately 1/2 cup) sugar
1 vanilla pod sliced long-way down the middle

Pour milk into saucepan and bring the pan slowly to the boiling point. Place vanilla pod into the milk and turn the heat off. Leave it to infuse for 20 minutes.

In a bowl, beat together egg yolks and sugar until thick. Carefully remove the vanilla pod from the milk and scrape the seeds out with the back of your knife and add back into milk. Be careful not to use too much force or you will also get part of the woody hull, which you will then have to try and fish out of your mixture.

Pour the milk mixture into the eggs and sugar while stirring. Pour the mixture back into the pan and heat gently, stirring while the custard thickens. DO NOT BRING TO A BOIL or it will probably curdle. Do stir constantly (don't worry that the vanilla looks clumpy). When you can see a film on the back of your spoon remove the saucepan from the heat.

Leave it to cool. Once mine came near room temperature, I covered it and put it in the fridge until I was ready to finish the ice cream. When you are ready to make the ice cream, take the custard out of the fridge and stir in the cream. Put the mixture in your ice cream maker and process.

Totally worth the work (and the wait) :)! Happy Labor Day!

Roasted Okra

Do you remember that show on Nickelodeon when we were growing up where you had to do silly stunts and if you failed you got slimed? I think it was called Double Dare. Something about okra and the way people think of it has always reminded me of that show.

Now, I love a good gumbo. I, personally enjoy stewed okra and tomatoes, but I know many people, including my wonderful spouse, who really don't care for okra because of the slime factor. As with many prolific Alabama veggies, I've been (and continue to be) on the look out for family friendly okra recipes. Good news - I found one!

It's super simple. Heat your oven to 500 degrees. In a large bowl mix a tablespoon of olive oil, a tablespoon of water and your favorite spices into a paste. Toss with rinsed, dried okra, spread on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes. The first version of this recipe I tried was from blog I follow - Cooking Books. It was really tasty, but a little spicy. I've also tried it with creole seasoning, which isn't bad. I'm still looking for the perfect spice mix. Let me know what you think and if you find something you like.

Egg-traordinary

I've been buying eggs from the local CSA and farmers markets for a while now. It took a little getting used to all the sizes and colors of fresh eggs, but that's not all. Periodically, when I crack one open I notice that the yolk is a deep orangey, yellow instead of the pale shade we've all grown accustomed to from the grocery store. Typically, I just throw it out. Eggs can carry bacteria and I'm not one to risk it.

Last weekend when I picked up my meat from Boutwell Farms, I added a dozen eggs to my order. On the top of the carton there was a sticker which explained that the more orange in the yolk the more grass the chicken has eaten, which translates into higher levels of beta carotene. Who knew? All those strange looking eggs I've been tossing out were actually better for me than the ones I left in the bowl.

Money Matters

When I started this blog, I was clear that this project not only involved locally grown and organic (free range) goals, but budgetary ones as well. In the spirit of sharing, I think I should take a minute and let everyone know where I am.

We all know that organic can be pricey. As I've mentioned in earlier entries, staying away from Whole Foods is good advice for your budget. Staying as close as possible to the farmer is also good advice. In fairness, I'm not tracking my personal gas consumption as part of this process.

My shopping habits have changed, significantly. I go to a farmers market almost every weekend and buy fruits, veggies, eggs, flour (grits, other grains), honey, etc. I also buy most of my meat from Boutwell Farms (at the Valleydale Farmers market) and/or Bates House of Turkey, etc. These are a bit more expensive, but I've also canned and frozen a lot, so it's hard to measure what that means at the end of the year.

Where I've cut my expenses - noticeably - is at the grocery store. I've always heard, and now believe, that most of your grocery budget is not actually spent on food - at least not real food, junk food is a different story. My strategy is simple. I clip coupons. I read sale papers (these are also online by store). I use coupons to buy sale items in quantity and I stock them. I regularly save 35% - 60% at the grocery store.

So far, I'm staying close the the mark. I have made a few splurges on canning jars, recipe books, etc. However, I am quickly coming to believe the best way to save money would be to grow your own produce (I don't have the stomach or space for livestock). The question is how to work a garden into my landscape and my schedule.

Just Peachy

My latest canning extravaganza is peaches! I actually canned two different types. The first was a fairly complicated (and expensive) recipe for pickled peaches with vanilla. It sounds a little weird...and it may be, but once I looked at the ingredients list I had to try it. The peaches are actually canned in champagne vinegar with whole vanilla beans, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves and whole allspice. I made two big quarts, which I plan to save for the holidays (ham anyone?). I shoved the extra bits into a half quart, so I can preview in the next 6 weeks or so, after they've had time to pickle.

I also canned plain peaches and they were super easy. Instead of syrup, I used white grape juice. They don't require a pressure canner, just a water bath. I can't wait to eat them with a slice of angel food cake (or even right out of the jar) in a few months when there isn't a decent peach to be found.

I bought my peaches at the farmers market from a Clanton farm who brought their produce in baskets on an open air truck (not in commercial boxes). However, I still noticed something odd. To help in getting the skin off, it's recommended to put the peaches in boiling water for 3 minutes. Once this was done, I emptied the used water....and it stunk! It was a strong chemical smell which reminded me of the last time I applied flea dip to a dog - yuck.

I'm comforting myself with the knowledge that my peaches have been boiled and skinned, so I shouldn't be ingesting all those chemicals, but it makes you stop and think about how many chemicals are used, even at our local farms and how many chemicals we eat and don't even know it - my peaches didn't stink until they were boiled....uugghhh.