Banana Ice Cream

Ingredients:

I large banana

Slice the banana into small pieces. Place the slices in the freezer for about 2 hours.

Once the slices are frozen stick in the food processor and blend away until smooth and creamy.

One banana fits perfectly in a mini-food processor and makes the perfect single size portion. I sometimes sprinkle the top with cocoa powder but today I used chocolate syrup. YUM! A friend of mine blended cherries with hers. I have been tempted to also blend other fruits and almond butter. This recipe is easy and can be vamped up in more ways than one.

First Day and a Guest Post from my Carribean Friend

Aw... first day was an adult. Not bad since it was all orientation. AK and I felt rather important in our lawyery suits and all. The day flew by and though we didn't do any actual "work", All this briefing made me more excited for the following weeks. In 6 days we will be likely doing our own trials. (!!!!). I have a good friend who is currently attending Vet School down in the Caribbean. What a smart choice! I chose the not so fabulous route of studying for law school in dreary, rainy Oregon. She is tan, in shape, and loving it! Since I have been super busy this past few days, I asled her to make a guest post about her Curried Butternut Squash Soup that she raved about. I will make it some day. (Hum...Perhaps I will have a cooking marathon this Saturday) Laura does not have a food blog and does not cook specifically with any allergens in mind, she has been able to use ingredients available on her tiny island of Saint Kitts to made mouthwatering meals, which I think sounds even more challenging at times then GF/SF cooking. She of course does this all while studying up a storm learning about animals and their parts.

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Curried Butternut Squash
Guest Post by Miss Laura K.

Ok, so the best part of this recipe, is that you can make what you want of it. I took a plain recipe I found online and added my own twist, but basically this is how it is done:

2 medium-ish butternut squash, peeled, de-seeded, and chopped into 1in chunks or so
2 large carrots, peeled, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 small-med potato, peeled, cubed (helps thicken the soup a bit, I used a red potato)

6 cups chicken or vegetable both
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tbs. curry powder (or less to taste, this is pretty strong)
1 tbs. honey (optional, if you have it around, it adds a nice sweetness to the spicy curry)
salt and pepper
olive oil

There are 2 ways to start this, but it all ends up the same, so it is just your preference.

1. Roast the veggies before boiling in the broth. I heard this helps bring out their flavor, not sure if it is true, but I did. Put all veggies on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, add salt and pepper. Bake at 350 for 20 min or so. Then continue to #2, skipping the saute part.

2. In a large pot, saute the onion in some olive oil. Add veggies, broth, spices (everything EXCEPT honey), bring to a boil. Simmer for 15-20 min or until veggies are all soft. Take off heat.

3. Stir in honey. Now, puree it all in a blender until you reach your desired texture. I like really smooth soup, I know some like it chunkier. Depending on your blender size/strength, you may need to blend it in batches.

and, you're done!

Really, it is quite simple. And delicious, and healthy! Have fun making it your own, there are a lot of things you could do to change it up a bit. Enjoy! :)

Pumpkin Cookies

Finals are underway and that means: COOKIES. I swear everyone is eating, baking, giving out cookies.

I want in. :(


Pumpkin Cookies


Ingredients
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup agave nectar
1 can (15 oz) canned pumpkin
1/2 cup cooked millet (or any other cooked grain of your choice)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons grated ginger
2 teaspoons allspice
1 cup millet flout
1 cup rice flour
1 cup tapioca starch
1/2 cup buckwheat flour
Almond meal for sprinkling

Combine all ingredients except flours. Once thoroughly combined, stir in flour until well blended.
Drop by the tablespoonful onto a greased cookie sheet. Sprinkle cookies with almond meal. Press each cookie with a fork to flatten. Bake at 375 for 14 minutes.


Results:
So... these came out more cake-like than anything else. I should have called these Pumpkin Cake-bites. They are also a little "gummy". Either way. They are delicious, sugar-free, diary-free, egg free, vegan (I'm 99% sure), and gluten free. YUM.

Sauteed Spinach over Zucchini "Spaghetti"

Here it is:

Sauteed Spinach over Zucchini "Spaghetti" Ingredients

1 Zucchini sliced with a julienne peeler
2 big handfuls of baby spinach
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 shallot "clove", minced
1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes packed in olive oil, roughly chopped
Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese (or another soft cheese)
Salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, heat up sun dried tomatoes and the oil that comes with it. Add minced garlic and shallots and cook for about 2 minutes. Add spinach and cook until it wilts. Place zucchini noodles in a bowl with dollops of the cheese. Spoon the cooked spinach over the noodle and cheese and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stir to combine and eat once the cheese is all melty.

You have to admit it, even looks like noodles

One of my favorite things in the world

Delicious!

This has been linked to Amy's Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays

Vegetable Stock

So this is less of a recipe and more of a money saving idea. What do you do with your vegetable scraps? The kind you get when you de-stem kale, or cut the tops off of carrots? Most likely you toss them in the trash, or if you're clever, you might have a compost bucket you throw them in.

I like stock.

I am known to go to people's houses and come back with a chicken carcass so I can make chicken broth. Also, because gluten-free broth can be hard to come by and/or expensive, I rather make my own. Plus, I know what goes into it. I looked at some stock" concentrate stuff I had in my fridge from when I had the flu, and it had "corn syrup solids" and sugar in it. Why did my chicken broth base have "corn syrup solids" in it?! EWWWWWWW

About a month or so ago, I asked myself why I was throwing away all my vegetable scraps when I could be saving them to make broth later? Because I am moving out of my "glorious" apartment in about 2 months (YAY) I did an inventory of my freezer this morning. Along with forgotten chicken breasts and baked goods, I came across my veggie scrap stash. Every time I trimmed the bottoms off asparagus or other things, I'd throw them into a bag in the freezer for safe keeping. I decided today was the day that I needed to make use.

The contents of the bag went into my trusty stock pot along with part of a frozen ginger root I found in the back of the freezer and some sad looking celery from my fridge. I filled the rest of the pot with water and it's now simmering away on the stove top. You could use a slow cooker, but today, I am impatient and I don't have all day.

I will repost when I have the stock completed. Some things in my stock: parsnips, kale, turnip greens, carrots, ginger, celery, shallots, onions, asparagus, and a ton of other things I couldn't recognize anymore. Another benefit is that I can tell you my apartment smells AMAZING right now. yuuuummm I can't wait.

Somethings to keep in mind: Make sure there is no dirt on your scraps. No one wants gritty stock. Once you are done simmering the stock for a few hours, just strain into containers. Stick some in the freezer and some in the fridge. It'll probably last for about a week in the fridge... though mine never lasts that long. It's delicious.

There you have it. Stop throwing away your scraps and make some stock!

Carrot Date Cake

So this is really more of a muffin but I don't have muffin pans, so I made a cake.

GF, SF Carrot Date Cake*
Adapted from Amy's Carrot Date Spice Muffins

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups Flour blend
2/3 cups buckwheat flour
2 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated ginger
1/4 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons flax meal
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup soy milk, heated for about 30 seconds in the microwave
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1/4 unsweetened applesauce
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup grated carrot
3/4 cup chopped dates

Lightly grease small glass cake pan.
Combine soy milk and vinegar and set aside. This will turn into "buttermilk". Thoroughly mix other ingredents except dates and carrots until combined. Stir in "buttermilk" until mixed through and then stir in carrots and dates. Pour/scoop into cake pan and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes, or until the center is done.

This freezes and reheats well. A make again recipe.

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.

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.

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.