Toasted pita with pestos

I think pesto is my new favorite food. You can make so many different kinds of pesto, and they keep in the fridge a long time (and freezer too!). Freeze your pesto in ice cube trays, then pop out and put in a ziplock bag for individual portions. Pesto is great when you are busy and don't have time to make a big weeknight dinner. I posted a recipe in fall of '08 for my mother-in-law's basil pesto. But this year I have been making artichoke pesto!!
You can find a gazillion different artichoke pesto recipes on the web, and now here is number gazillion-and-one.
Artichoke Lemon Pesto
1 can artichoke hearts (8 oz), drained
5 T olive oil
5 T grated pecorino cheese (or you can use parm.)
1/3 c. fresh basil leaves
4 T. fresh lemon juice
1 cup nuts (I use pine nuts, but you can also use walnuts. toast them for a different flavor if you like)
2 cloves garlic
salt to taste

Throw the artichoke hearts, nuts, and cheese in the food processor and pulse a few times. Then add all other ingredients and whiz it up. You can add more oil or water to loosen the pesto if it is too thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning with salt.

Now that you've got your pesto, you can get to work putting together your fast dinner. Spread the pesto on a whole wheat pita, and top with a big fat slice of roasted red pepper (recipe posted earlier this year). Slap it in the toaster oven for 5 minutes, watching to make sure the pita doesn't get too crispy. Serve with a salad or soup.

Pesto can be made from: basil, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, hearts of palm, olives, roasted red peppers, and even figs!
Try pesto in these other fun ways:
on baked potatoes, over chicken or fish prior to baking, with a baguette and brie, on apple slices, tossed with boiled chilled shrimp for a fancy shrimp salad, swirled into your tomato soup, as salad dressing.

Spaghetti Squash & Pork Stir Fry (Eating Well Mag)

Last sunday was the final day of the Skippack Farmer's Market for the season. Man am I bummed. Kim K and I drove out there and loaded up on fresh fruits and veggies from Stauffer Family Farms. 5 generations of growing in Pennsylvania and going strong. For $18 I got a 1/2 gallon of fresh cider, 8 pears, 8 apples, 1/2 pint raspberries, 4 cukes, 8 big potatoes, 6 heirloom tomatoes, and a big fat spaghetti squash. Josefina ate all the raspberries and is working on the pears too.
I was googling spaghetti squash recipes (I have never cooked one) and stumbled across one from the good folks at Eating Well magazine. Now, those of you who know me know that I LOVE Eating Well magazine. Get yourself a subscription, it is worth the $20. They focus on seasonal food, and do alot of "recipe makeovers" to make stuff better for you. They also have several great cookbooks out, including one called "Eating Well Serves Two." But I digress...Anyway, this one looks perfect, especially because I have a freezer full of pork (see earlier posts). And I get excited about sitting down to dinner and realizing that 90% of what's on the table was grown/raised within 100 miles of my house.
Here's the link:
http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/spaghetti_squash_pork_stir_fry.html

Make it and let me know how it was! I am making it tonight.
UPDATE:
I made it. It was fantastic!

Lauren's yummy Peking Style Fried Tofu

I love tofu. I know that most people don't, but since my first bite of tofu in college in Austin, I was hooked. There are so many things you can do with it, including making Whole Food's famous vegan chocolate mousse (I will not give away the recipe--sorry!). For those of you that are scared of tofu, here's a great starter recipe.
My friend Lauren gave me this recipe recently, and it is delicious! She gives it to her kids (3 and 1) and they eat it up. It is so simple to make, and is great served with some steamed greens and brown rice.
Recipe:
1 pkg firm tofu (not silken)
1/2 c. flour (I used King Arthur's white whole wheat and it worked great)
1 egg beaten (you may need 2)
1 T. green onion, sliced thin
1 T. ginger root, minced
1 t. cooking wine or sherry
1 t. salt ( use about 1/4 t.)
1 t. sesame oil
1/2 c. stock (veg or chicken)

* Cut tofu in 1/2" slices (Lauren drew me this awesome picture of how she slices the tofu using one of Noah's crayons.) and coat in flour.
* Heat pan and add 2 T. oil over medium heat
* Dip tofu in egg and add to pan, arranging slices evenly.
* Fry over medium heat until golden brown, turn over and brown other side.
* Sprinkle with green onion and ginger.
* Combine wine/sherry, salt, sesame oil, and stock, and pour over tofu.
* Poke tofu with fork to allow liquid to seep in.
* Turn heat to low and cook until liquid is absorbed (10-15 min)
That's it!!

Maple Candy & Enchiladas (not together!)

Here are 2 great recipes I found online.
The 1st is for Maple Candy. This is a perfect treat to make in the fall. Also, maple syrup is processed more easily than table sugar, so it satisfies your sweet tooth without all the sugar. It is local to folks in the North East, and can easily be found within 100 miles of NYC. Look for maple syrup at farmer's markets to get the best price.
Here's the link: http://www.care2.com/greenliving/homemade-maple-magic-candy-recipe.html#

The 2nd is for enchiladas. Yesterday I was missing home (Texas), and when I miss home I deal with it by eating tex-mex food. Enchiladas are one of my favorite foods to make, because you can put anything in them. This is a great use for my leftover late summer tomatoes that are starting to get soft. You can also use leftover beans too.
Here's the link: http://www.recipezaar.com/Cheesy-Bean-Enchiladas-133377
I reduced the amout of cumin to 1 t. 3 t just seemed like ALOT. I also added some peppers from our garden. I used jack cheese for Aaron, and vegan cheese for me. No, it's not as good as the real thing, but I'm trying to watch the fat!

Salads

I read Joel Fuhrman's Eat To Live book. He makes some great points about the American Diet, disease, weight, etc. The book is really detailed, but the bottom line of it is he recommends people eat 90% of their diet from unrefined plants. This includes veggies, fruit, and beans. Only 1 serving of complex carbs daily. 10% of your diet (calories) can be from animal protein. And most importantly, you should eat 1 pound of raw leafy greens a day. ONE POUND!!! And work up to also eating 1 pound of cooked green veg a day. Wow.

Well, I've been doing it for 3 weeks now. And you know what? I feel better than I have felt in a long time. I never thought that 1 pound of lettuce/spinach/kale would keep me so full. I know, all of this sounds crazy, but just read the book if you want to understand the madness.

The point of all of this is that I am coming up with some creative (but simple) salads these days. Ol' Dr Furhman is against oil--even olive oil--for 6 weeks, so this is requiring some thought. I've had some good salad, and some really bad salad. As I eat a delicious salad I will post the components, mostly so I can remember them for later.

Kale/Carrot/Raisin:
Blanch 1 bunch of kale. I use the red kind for color. Disgard tough stems, and chop the leaves into 1/2 inch strips. Grate 1-2 carrots, and throw 1 box of raisins on the kale. Squeeze the juice of 1/2 to 1 lemon on the whole thing and toss. It's better if you keep it in the fridge overnight before eating. I think the lemon juice breaks down the kale, and the sugars from the raisins sweetens everything. Drizzle with tahini before serving. And yep, I eat the whole thing in a day. BTW--I HATED kale before discovering this recipe, which is an adaptation from a recipe a girl at work gave me.

Romaine/Pea/Tofu:
Chop 1 head/heart romaine (I use the heart only, because I can buy a 6 pack for $4 at the store), and toss in 1/2 lb. of frozen (thawed) green peas. Pour 1 T. apple cider vinegar over, and toss. Quickly sautee 1/3 lb firm tofu, cubed. I press the tofu while it's cooking to get some of the water out of it. Nope, no oil, just straight tofu in a frying pan. After about 4 minutes, splash some Bragg's Liquid Amino's on the tofu, stir 1 minute, then turn off heat. The Bragg's taste just like soy sauce, but without the sodium. Throw the tofu on top of the lettuce/peas. Drizzle with tahini (yes, I do alot of tahini drizzling) and serve. Fantastic.

Red Lentils:
I love red lentils, especially when they are mixed with a tomato broth. The 2 were just made for each other! Red lentils are great because they cook much faster than most beans, and do not require a pre-soak. So here we go:
Take 1 cup dried red lentils and put into a pot. Add 2 cups low sodium veggie broth, 1 cup Imagine creamy (vegan) tomato soup, and 1 cup water. Turn on high heat till boil. When it boils, turn down the heat to a low simmer, and cover. Cook for 45 minutes, then turn off heat and let sit for 15 minutes. If you want this more "soupy" increase liquid by 1 cup. This is great served next to steamed brocolli drizzled with (you guessed it) tahini and hot sauce.

The Whole Hog.

We bought a whole butchered hog. Yep. He's in the freezer. But don't worry, he's not stuffed in there like a dead body or anything. I highly recommend this to anyone who is a meat eater and is trying to save some money. It's enough meat to last the entire year.
First, go to http://www.eatwild.com/ to locate a farm near you. They've got an awesome clickable map (I love clickable maps!) that's easy to use. The great thing about EatWild is that it is a directory of farms that sell grass-fed/pastured meat, dairy, and eggs.
Why grass-fed? Well, just go to their website and read why. I learned alot about this when I read Michael Pollan's In Defense of Food. That book totally changed the way I look at food. I know that grass-fed stuff is expensive, but if you buy directly from the farms it is not at all. And its worth it to drive out to a farm every other week to get milk, eggs, cheese, etc. Noah totally looks forward to it now as a treat.

Next, get yourself a chest freezer. You can easily find one on Craig's List. Make sure you get a chest-style one, not an upright (they use alot more energy). I just slapped a post up on Craig's List that said, "Looking for a chest freezer. Will pay $50 and come get it." I got alot of responses, and there were many sizes to choose from. Go to Sears ahead of time and check out the different sized freezers to eye-ball the one you want. They are measured in cubic feet.

I chose Meadow Run Farm in PA because I know we do business with them at WFM. Don't hesitate to ask to visit the farm before you commit to purchasing anything. A clean, well-run farm will let you come out anytime and let you wander around as you will. This is important because you want to buy from a place that is totally transparent in it's business practices. A place that has nothing to hide has no prob with you looking around. Believe me, I've taught enough food safety classes to know that this is essential. Meadow Run let me walk all over the place and invited me to bring my kids back whenever I wanted.

They offered 3 cutting options for the hog, and it arrives frozen and vacuum packed in small portions. Some farms might let you choose the cutting options, and some will let you purchase a 1/2 or 1/4 of the animal (known as a "share"). The cost came to $3/lb hanging weight. That is a great price, especially for pastured, all natural, no hormone, no antibiotic, vegetarian fed meat. And it is an unbelieveable amount of meat! There's about 30 lbs ground, 25 lbs bacon, 15 lbs pork chops, 2 hams, 2 tenderloins, 2 full racks of ribs, all the bones (for soup stock), and some other stuff that I'm forgetting now. We chose pork because we eat it alot more than beef or chicken, and it's cheaper than beef too. We used some of our tax-return money to buy it, and probably will again next year.

This is one of the smartest things my family has done to date, and I definately recommend it to everyone.

Summer 2009

I don't have time to do all the recipes for this summer yet, so I will just make some notes and try to come back later. Favorites this summer include: cucumber yogurt soup, pickled cabbage, frozen strawberry pops, cucumber avacado soup, and pork fried brown rice.

I have also been having 2 teaspoons of Bragg's Cider Vinegar + 1 teaspoon agave nectar (or honey or maple syrup) in a glass of water 3 times a day. This is basically an all natural gatorade. It takes a minute to get use to it, but you will find that your body craves it soon! Also aids in digestion and is a bit of an appetite supressant. Have one first thing when you wake up, mid morning, and mid afternoon. Yum.

Fried Rice
The pork fried brown rice is simple. I usually make a big pot of brown rice at the beginning of the week and store it in the fridge. It helps to sprinkle a bit of water to the rice daily so it doesn't dry out. As we go through the week creating little scraps of leftover veggies: the end of an onion, a few baby carrots left in a bag, a small handful of baby spinach from a leftover salad...I just dice them up finely and put them in zip lock bags. You can use your leftover meat scraps (or tofu) as well: the bit of a leftover chicken breast, a few slices of bacon, the end of a pork roast, etc. Basically what you do is sautee the diced veggies in a bit of olive oil (or the bacon fat if you aren't counting calories!) and add the cooked meat. Stir for a minute, then add some rice (I use one cup per serving). Again, you will probably need to add a tablespoon of water here for the rice. Let it get all heated up then start seasoning it. I use Bragg's Amino Acids as a replacement to soy sauce (doesn't have all the sodium, but has the same flavor), a dash of toasted sesame oil, and a bit of seasoned rice vinegar. That's it! If you prefer a different flavor, you could season by shredding some jack cheese over it instead of the asian seasonings.

Frozen Strawberry Pops
I started off by making these as baby food for Josie (just reheat and add to rice cereal), but they ended up being a frozen treat for Noah. Noah is the pickiest eater on earth, and this is the only way I can get fruit in him.
Take as much of your favorite fruit as will fit in your blender. Obviously wash & cut off any green tops, pits, etc first. Throw them in the blender and puree. Add water if it gets too thick. Then push it through a fine mesh seive. It's a bit time consuming, but it's important if you are making baby food (or have a picky eater). Freeze in ice cube trays or those plastic popsicle makers. Turn out of ice cube trays after a day and transfer to a zip lock bag (in the freezer). Will keep for 6 months in the freezer.