Rainbow Chard with Sausage and Portabella Mushrooms

Ingredients:

2 links of sausage, cooked and sliced (I used DB family's)
1 bunch of rainbow chard, ribs removed and torn into pieces
1 cup portabella mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon seasoning (I use Kirkland Signature Organic Salt-Free Seasoning)

Saute mushrooms on medium high for about 10 minutes. Add sliced sausage and continue sauteing for another 5 minutes. Add garlic, chopped chard ribs, and seasoning. Once the ribs begin to soften, add in chard leaves and cover with a lid. after a minute or two, mix leaves with the other ingredients and replace the lid. Turn off the heat, but leave the covered pan on the burner for 10 minutes.

Sausage and mushrooms cooking away

A buttery slice of a portabella.

Beets with Feta Cheese

Ingredients:

1 cup Beets
1 oz feta cheese (I had a herb and garlic kind on hand)
Balsamic Vinegar to taste


Dice roasted and peeled beets into bite sized pieces. Crumble feta cheese on top and mix well. Add a drizzle of balsamic vinegar if you want.



This was so easy, I can hardly call it a recipe.

Grapefruit Marmalade

Ingredients:

One grapefruit
1 tablespoon applesauce
1 cup water
2 cups sugar

Use a vegetable peeler to peel the grapefruit. Once you get all of the peel off (try to avoid getting any of the white pith), slice the peel into thin slices and then slice the bunch in half.

Desegment the rest of the grapefruit. Make sure to do this over a bowl so that you catch all of the juice. Pick out any seeds that fall into the bowl.

In a small saucepan, combine applesauce, peel, fruit pieces, and water and bring to a boil for 10 minutes. Reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for about 30 minutes. In the meantime stick a small dish in the freezer. Stir in all of the sugar and continue stirring for 15 minutes.

Take the dish out of the freezer and place about a teaspoon of the marmalade onto the dish. After about a minute check the consistency of the blob. If the mixture wrinkles when you touch it, it's ready. Remove from heat and pour into a container.

Let cool and store in the fridge.

I'm not a huge marmalade fan, but I had a bunch of CSA grapefruits I hadn't yet touched so I decided to be creative. I've also never made jam before. The end result was pretty good. A little more bitter than orange marmalade, but I made it myself so it tasted better.

I suggest using only about 1 1/2 cups of sugar, instead of the 2 cups because this was a tad too sweet for my tastebuds.

The Beagle, paitently awaitng for the marmalade to finish.

Shamrock Run

Day Light Savings ended (or started, I'm never sure) the morning of the Shamrock Run this past Sunday. This meant that we had to wake up an hour earlier. This also meant that it was extra cold that morning. The Shamrock run is made up of various distances: 5K, 8K, 15K and a few different walk distanced as well. It draws over 22,000 participants and as my wonderful friend stated, "The size of Roseburg". DB, my Wonderful Friend, and The Married Folk joined me in the 8K run. I also met up with CG, a friend of mine from law school. The run started out slow since it was so jam-packed with people. I took it easy the first mile but then realized that I needed to pick up the pace and continued to get my groove on the rest of the way. I finished and thankfully, not a slowly as I had expected. To be honest, you could have told me that it was a 5K and I wouldn't have noticed a difference in distance. By pace however, was a minute slower than my 5K pace. I should have pushed myself a little more.

We were rewarded with salmon chowder and beers after the race. I didn't partake in the beer, and probably shouldn't have partaken in the chowder, but it was SO good, and warm and delicious.

My wonderful friend had to go to work so DB and The Married Folk and I went to check out the Portland Saturday/Sunday Market. I must say that the Saturday Market was a lot cooler back in high school, or even college. There is still a wide range of neat stuff including some delicious GF seasoned nuts, but I think a little part of me became too old for the trendy hipster trinkets they sell there. *sigh*

Speaking of old. I found out that The Married Folk are expecting! Is it weird that I'm so excited for them? I honestly couldn't think of better people to become parents and well better people who could handle it.

In other news, I received my new blender in the mail today. I've already made 2 smoothies. One for breakfast and one just now for course 1 of my dinner. Seeing that I have a lot of leafy greens from the CSA, I added them to my smoothies and they are DELICIOUS! Spinach leaves? Yes please! Beet greens, Yes please! Basically each smoothie has half a banana, some mix of frozen fruit, whatever leafy green I had on hand, a scoop of flax meal, some soy milk, some plain yogurt, and a sprinkle of stevia powder. Even better is that they have been very filling. I had a smoothing around 10:30 or 11 this morning and it curbed my mid afternoon "hunger pains." How fantastic is THAT?! Recipes will be posted in the future.

Happy about how early it is... I'm sure.

The boys and their stretching. pssst

Us girls trying to keep warm.

I need more productive days like this

What a wonderful productive day in law school land. I med my friend AG at the gym at 7am this morning to lift weights. I than proceeded to go for a short run when I got home. I would have loved to go on a 4-5 miler, but due to the recent issues my knees I did a short 5K. This morning was cold but by the time I got out for the run, the sun came out and it felt like one of those cool crisp mornings where I could go forever.

I didn't split by CSA share with DB this week because I didn't see him at all. I however I have been a big girl and I am determined to finish everything on my own. I seemed to have backlogged a lot of this consumption today. It's apparently prime greens season on the farm, and I have been getting about 2 or 3 varies of greens plus a bunch of various lettuces. Well, let's just say I had mustard greens for breakfast this morning. They were good though and good for me. Full of Vitamins K, A, and C, the greens also have a wide range of other nutrients such as foliate, calcium, manganese, and other good stuff. I sauteed the entire bunch in garlic and olive oil. YUMMY.

When you really put it together, the mustard greens were a wonderful post workout fuel. After my shower I decided to try out a plain version of the English muffins I made yesterday. I included buckwheat into the mix. They were good and before I went to class at 1pm I had accomplished a full workout, a wonderful breakfast, English muffins and even a nap.

On my return from class I remembered the turnip and carrots I had left to eat. When I think of root vegetables I either think of drenching them in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and roasting them or curry. I have never made curry from scratch, but it was cold today and I craved something wholesome. I also am in love with my slow cooker. Combine root vegetables and my slow cooker and you get slow cooker root vegetable curry, recipe below.

After my final class (taxity tax tax), I came home and finished my reading for tomorrow and outlined the weeks' tax classes. I'm on a roll. An now it's barely 7pm and I got more done that I usually do in 2 days and have nothing left to do but relax, watch the telly, and get to bed early to be refreshed for my glorious swim workout with SB tomorrow morning. I hope to also get another run in tomorrow before I head to Corvallis. I am anxious for the 8K this weekend, but I just hope my knees hold up.

Root Vegetable Curry with Chickpeas.

Ingredients

1 medium turnip
5 medium carrots
2 cloves garlic
1/3 cup diced onion
1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
1 can of chickpeas, rinsed and drained (15 oz)
1 tablespoon of minced fresh ginger root
2 tablespoons of curry powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 teaspoon of ground ginger
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon allspice
1/2 cup soy milk (you could use coconut milk for more delicious flavor.)

Peel and chop turnip and carrot into bite-sized pieces. Mince garlic. Add all ingredients into a slow-cooker and stir to distribute spices. Cook on high for 6 hours or until turnips and carrots are tender. Serve over rice.

Easy peasy

Next time I plan on trying to toss in some raisins for a bit of sweetness to the curry. You can also use quinoa instead of rice for a complete protein meal.



So far my plans to wake up the same time every day has increased my productivity and healthful food choices. I hope the weather cooperates with my new found motivation.

Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins- GF, SF

Bad news bears. My knees are killing me. After my run the other day they are throbbing with sharp pain. What the heck?! I'm taking it slow and we'll see how I feel after the Shamrock 8K this weekend.

So, The Beagle and I were sitting at home, watching Wheel of Fortune when I got a knock on the door. The Beagle did his guard dog duties by howling and barking and running to the door. I still think this is funny because he only does this at night when it's dark, never in the day. Such a good protector. Anyways, It was a nicely dressed man was at the door explaining something about this program that he was in and handed me a resume to read over. He went on to explain his program (i wasn't paying attention) and then asked about me. I told him the law school run down and he proceeded to ask me to purchase a magazine subscription. I said, "No." because I didn't have enough time to read (due to law school). Everyone knows this is a joke. Then he said that I could purchase a subscription and donate it to a Boys and Girls Club. I said that I was on a budget. I'm going to Hell. After I convinced him that I was not interested he asked me if I had a boyfriend. Um.. yes kind sir, I do. He then said that there was "something about me" that he had to just ask. Thanks, creeper, goodbye now.

One of the biggest things I miss eating are a certain egg and sausage breakfast sandwich from a certain fast food chain. Oh, how I miss those, but unfortunately, they come with a gluten filled English muffin. I tried out a new recipe and made delicious cinnamon raisin english muffins. They don't look pretty, but oooooooh so good, quick, and easy! Next time I'm making them plain and than making myself a delicious breakfast sandwich.


Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins, Gluten Free and Sugar Free

Ingredients:
1 and 1/2 cups Flour blend (I make my own with rice flour and various starches)
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon agave nectar
1 packet regular yeast
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon of warm water
1 teaspoon oil
1 and 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup raisins
Corn meal for coating

Mix all ingredients except from cinnamon, raisins, and cornmeal.
Once blended, stir in cinnamon and raisins.
Divide the dough into 6 balls (or globs, in my case) and roll in corn meal.
Place on a greased cookie sheet and flatten them out to about 4inch rounds.
Place in a warm place to rise for 20 minutes.
After the dough has increased in height, bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 15 minutes.

Cool on a rack and than use a fork to split. Toast until crunchy and enjoy!

You can omit the cinnamon and raisins for plain English muffins.

Kind of looks like a big cookie, right?

Sooooooooo good! One of my favorite GF recipes yet.

Ethics, smecthics

Hello World,

I'm back. Over the past few days, I've been studying away for the MPRE. I took it this morning and all there is to do is to wait 5 weeks for the results. Let's hope for that score of 85 so I can actually practice in Oregon.

The weather has been fabulous the past couple of days. Yesterday, I was bogged down with doing practice exams when my mommy called me just to see how I was doing. She asked if I went on a run with The Beagle yet and I had not. Well, she guilted me into it. The Beagle and I set out and because I was getting tired of my usual routes, I decided to combine two of them. It was a good route, but unfortunately, my knees really hurts now. :( There should be a link to the route at the end of this post... I hope.

Okay so on to why anyone reads this thing.

I have had a few mishaps in the kitchen this week. SF Brownies made with cocoa powder: mishap. But never fear, I made something delicious and healthy.

Rainbow Chard with Caramelized Onions

Ingredients

1/2 of a large white onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, diced
1 bunch of rainbow chard

Heat a splash of olive oil in a saute pan and turn on medium high. Dump in onions and stir for about a minute. Turn the heat down to medium and continue cooking with the occasional stir. While the onions are caramelizing, wash and dry chard. Remove the stems but do not toss them. Tear the chard leaves into medium pieces (about 4 pieces per leaf). Dice the stems separately. After about 8-10 minutes, the onions will have caramelized and hopefully, not burned. If the onions are starting to look crispy, turn the heat down. Once the onions are looking good, toss in the chard stems and cook for another 2 minutes. Add in garlic and chard leaves and cook until they have shrunk in size and are tender. Season with a dash of salt and pepper, but that's all they need.

I also squirted a bit of lemon juice on the finished product because I had a CSA lemon going bad.








Aw.... and now for you meateaters:

Mushroom and Onion Burgers

Ingredients

2lbs ground hamburger
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
1 can mushrooms
1 egg
3 tablespoons soy sauce (I used GF)


Chop up mushrooms, onion, and garlic in a food processor until minced. In a bowl combine hamburger, minced mushrooms, onion, garlic, and egg. Once thoroughly combined and your hands are thoroughly frozen, mix in soy sauce. Divide the mix into 8 balls and than flatten each ball into a patty. Cook or grill as you would any other burger.







Sorry, I wrapped and froze all the patties before I could get any pictures. But believe me, these are delicious and probably healthier than your average homemade burger.