real food!

Will & I have somewhat changed our eating habits lately, partly due to Asher's arrival and also just because. I was motivated by the writings in two books, Real Food and Real Food for Mother and Baby (also includes important foods when trying to conceive). Both of these books are written by Nina Planck. Disclaimer: I know the idea of raw milk can be a little disconcerting to some, we haven't switched to that but I am still researching it. It's also illegal in some states, such as Illinois. :)

The basic idea is that we should be eating "real foods". What are real foods, you ask? The author defines real foods as 2 part. First, they are foods that are old, or that we've been eating for a long time - meat, fish, eggs, fermented soybean and butter (as opposed to margarine, hydrogenated vegetable oil, etc). The 2nd criteria of "real food" is that it is traditional. Traditional means "the way we used to eat them". For example, fruits and veggies are best when they're local and seasonal, (Plank is really big on farmer's markets) grains should be whole, fats and oils should be unrefined.

More....
Real beef is raised on GRASS (not soybeans) and aged properly
Real milk is grass fed, RAW, and unhomogenized with the cream on top
Real eggs come from hens that eat grass, grubs, and bugs (not vegetarian hens)
etc. etc.

The opposite of real foods is industrial foods (processed, from a box, and loaded with crap).

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So, that's just a very basic idea of the idea of Real Food. I highly recommend her books, especially if you are considering getting pregnant. Her book on food for mother and baby has been so helpful in giving me an understanding of what my baby needs in and out of the womb and how to best provide that to him.

You can check out Nina Planck's website at: http://www.ninaplanck.com/

Now, with that said, who ate donuts today for breakfast? MEEEE!!!!!!

Hob-to-table Moussaka

A wonderful, easy rendition of a more complicated Greek dish. Yummy and easy!

2 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 lb minced lamb

1 can chopped plumb tomatoes (14oz)

2 tbsp tomato puree

2 tbsp ground cinnamon

1 fresh egg plant (about 7oz)

pack of feta cheese (7oz)

3 tbsp fresh mint chopped

1. Brown the mince: heat oil in a large shallow pan. Add onion and garlic and fry until soft. Add mince and brown for 3-4 min.

2. Season and simmer: Add the egg plant to the pan to soften it up. Add the tomatoes and stir in the tomato puree and cinnamon, season with salt and pepper. Leave it to simmer for 20 minutes.

3. To serve: Sprinkle crumbled feta cheese over the top along with the fresh mint. Good to serve with salad and toasted pita.

To make sure the egg plant is the right consistency you can put it in the oven at about 250 for around 10 min.

courtesy of BBC Good Food

Neil's Croc Pot Roast

Made this last night, it's a household favorite here! I am kind of guessing on the measurments of the ingredients, so add or subtract as you feel!

1 Roast - I used a 2-lb grass-fed roast from our farmer (I am sure there is a similar farmer in the Nashville area!)

3 tablespoons horseradish

2-3 tablespoons of honey

3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

2 large potatoes, peeled and quartered

1/2 an onion, diced

A few large carrots cut in half or 3rds

All Seasoning
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Rub horseradish, honey and vinegar into roast. Put veggies in around roast. (You can add a little water at this point if you'd like, maybe 1/4 cup or so). Generously sprinke all seasoning over the roast. Let everything cook for 7-8 hours on a low or medium setting.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

I made these tonight, super easy and delish!

Ingredients:

1 medium egg.
1 ½ cups of flour.
¾ cup of milk.
¾ cup of chocolate chips.
½ cup of brown sugar.
½ cup of puréed banana.
¼ cup of vegetable oil.
3 teaspoons of baking powder.
½ teaspoon of salt.
½ teaspoon of cinnamon.
¼ teaspoon of nutmeg.

Mix all of the ingredients together.

Pour the mixture into greased muffin tins*, about two-thirds full.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.

*I used the liner cup things and the muffins stuck to them kind of bad, so if I were to do it again I would pour them directly into the tin.

Chili

This is a chili recipe i took from my mom and altered with the help of Joe.  Its probably about the easiest recipe there is, which is why it is one of my favorite meals.  It is also what I am making tonight since it is snowy and cold in East Nashville.

You can easily alter this to suit the number of people you want to feed and their style of eating (vegetarian and carnivores.)

Ingredients

1 green bell pepper

1 onion (I prefer sweet onions)
1 tbsp of butter

1 can of diced tomatoes

1can of chili beans

1 can of red kidney beans

1 can of black beans (drained)
2 jars of tomato juice (or as much as preferred)
1 package of McCormick Chili Seasoning

First, chop the bell pepper and onion.  Place these into a pot with 1 tbsp of butter and a pinch of salt.  Saute until you can see through the onion.

Add cans of chili beans and red kidney beans (undrained) and can of black beans (drained) along with can of diced tomatoes.  Please note that you can use any combination of beans- feel free to clean out your pantry and mix it up.  You can also use whatever ratio of tomatoes to beans you would prefer.  That is why I love this recipe.

Add tomato juice.  I am lucky enough to have a grandmother that gives me jars of tomato juice that she cans.  Before I got these though, I used regular cans of tomato juice that you can find in the juice aisle.  Use as much or as little as you like.  I prefer a more soupy chili but if you prefer a more hearty chili, just use less.

Add McCormick Chili Seasoning.

Stir and let simmer anywhere from 30 mins to 3 hours.  The longer it sits, the more "stew-y" it gets.  But in a good way.  However, I usually only have time to let it cook for 30 mins and it is lovely.

Garnish with your choice of sourcream and cheese.  I usually garnish my sourcream with chili, but do whatever you prefer.

** Note:  If you would like to add beef, simply cook the beef, drain and set to the side until you add the beans and tomatoes.

I hope you all enjoy this.  It is a wonderful, easy recipe and one of my favorites.

Whoopie Pies

This recipe is from one of my favorite blogs, Fly Through Our Window, which is by my sister-in-law's friend Darby (the last 3 pictures are hers). These things are deadly because they are ridiculously easy, and so good. Darby made them for Valentine's Day, hence the heart in the middle. I never mastered how to do that well (notice the not so pretty hearts in the first picture which is mine)

Here's the recipe (via Darby's blog):

- 1 box Devil’s Food Cake mixfollow instructions on back of box ** except ** add only 3/4 C of water and ADD 1 small pkg of instant chocolate pudding

- Drop by small spoonfuls onto parchment paper lined baking sheets.

- Bake at 350 for 8-10 mins… to over cook is better than to under cook. Trust me! Mine took closer to 1o mins and then I let them cool on the hot baking sheets. If you take them off too early they are gooey gobs of mess!

- Let cool completely on parchment paper.

- Load ‘em up with buttercream frosting and for fun you can sprinkle some powdered sugar on top!

What we are drinking: Champagne

Well, it's actually sparkling wine, but it's essentially the same, save for the region of the world from whence it came. This one hails from Columbia Valley.

Domaine Ste. Michelle, Brut. It's about $14 and an easy drink. Also, very good with Mimosas.

Ringin' in the new year right!

Beer Pizza Dough

For those of you who like homemade pizza dough, this is a general outline for the dough.

Starter:

1 envelope (or 2.5 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1 can warm beer (needs to be right at 110 degrees - very important and it needs to be a lager or a light ale) - if you don't want beer, use 1.5 C water at the same temp.

2 T extra-virgin olive oil

.5 C flour (unbleached, all-purpose)

1 T salt

3-4 C flour will be needed later

For those of you that have a big, stand up kitchenaide mixer, this is one of those glorious times where it's used to it's fullest. Pull that sucker out and grab the weird hook piece that looks like it's from Peter Pan.

Pour warm beer into the mixing bowl on the mixer, then pour in the yeast. Let the yeast activate for about 4 min, or until it starts to dissolve and fizz. Add the next 3 ingredients (olive oil, flour and salt) and mix until combined. Then add the rest of the flour (3-4 Cups) at .5 cups at a time, all the while keeping your mixer cruising at low setting (3 or 4 should do).

Form the dough into a ball and put into a lightly olive-oiled bowl and turn it to coat it with oil. Cover with a towel and let rise until it's doubled in size (about 1 hr). (Optional:Once it's risen, divide into smaller balls and place on a flat surface, cover in town again and let rise again for another 30 min. This will make it more fluffy.)

Now you're ready to make your pizza! Roll out dough flat on a lightly floured baking sheet. This dough make a better thin crust than fluffy. (For a crispy pizza, pre-bake dough for about 5 min on 450.) Assemble pizza with toppings of your choosing, and yes you can make it right on the uncooked dough if you'd rather. Bake at 450 until crunchy, or until cheese is starting to brown. Eat!

I recommend homemade sauce which I will post later, but various marinaras work great, as well as vodka pasta sauce. Also, instead of the standard mozzarella cheese, try an asiago-parmesan blend. Yum!

**This recipe is adapted from a William-Sonoma cookbook recipe. Just in case we are checked for copyright infringement.

beans and meat

"Beans and Meat" is what someone (megan) told my husband to be.  She told him that the way to make me happy was to cook me beans and meat because that is all she apparently thought I ate.  This hurts me since we were roomates and she saw me making other things like broccoli and cheddar rice-a-roni and kraft mac and cheese and many other very "healthy" processed things.  

I have since learned to make and love many other (MUCH more nutritous) dinners.  Thanks in part to the internet and also the lovely recipe cards I got at my token "Kitchen Shower" for gettin' hitched.  Of course, by this point I have made all the meatloaf, chicken casseroles and dips I can handle.  And while I love these meals dearly (and trust me, I will share these) ... I need some new ones. 

So please, post away... Use this as a place to show off your amazing talents and share your family's secret recipes.  Or post someone elses recipe you think was yummy... it will stay between us. 

Also, if the title of the blog needs to be changed, I will not be offended.  I only got tongue-tied trying to think of a clever name.  I am also in the process of making this a lovely home for our recipes but if you have any suggestions... send them my way!  Oh!  And PLEASE add yourself to the profile!