They say that confession is good for the soul right? I mean, what good is doing a blog if you can't just get something off your chest every once in awhile? My family and I have been doing this "natural foods" (read: health food/real food/whatever-we're-calling-it-these-days food) thing for a long time. We started hardcore into it when my first son, Oscar was born; so I guess about 14
Chocolate Chip Mango Cream Shake w/ Lime (Dairy Free, No Added Sugar)
They say that confession is good for the soul right? I mean, what good is doing a blog if you can't just get something off your chest every once in awhile? My family and I have been doing this "natural foods" (read: health food/real food/whatever-we're-calling-it-these-days food) thing for a long time. We started hardcore into it when my first son, Oscar was born; so I guess about 14
Herbed Crispy Flat Bread W/ Chicken, Arugula & Mango-Strawberry Salsa (Grain Free)
Last Saturday, my family and I had the privilege of picking up our very first 'co-op style' produce share from Urban Acres and I must say....the experience was MARVELOUS. We decided beforehand to bring our camera and make a short video and we had such a blast!
Earlier in the week, I saw on their website that we were getting Texas figs in our share and I wasn't just a little giddy!
Banana Sour Cream Muffins
A basket of warm banana muffins.
When I have bananas that are over-ripe,
I peel them and pop the fruit in a Ziploc bag.
I can flatten the bags and store them the
freezer for when I want to make muffins.
Each bag has just enough banana for a batch.
I sprinkle some of the tops with cinnamon sugar.
These muffins freeze well too.
Banana Sour Cream Muffins
1 stick butter, room temp.
1 C sugar
2 eggs, (lightly beaten)
1 C sour cream
1 t vanilla
2 mashed bananas (1 C)
1-1/2 C flour
1 t baking soda
pinch salt
(1/2 C chopped pecans)
Beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Beat in the eggs, then sour cream and vanilla.Add the mashed bananas. Combine the flour, soda and salt in a sifter and sift in.
Stir just to combine. Add the nuts if desired. Divide among 12 sprayed muffin cups, sprinkle the tops with sugar or cinnamon sugar if desired. Bake @350 for 15 minutes.
makes 1 dozen.
Enjoy!
Perfect 'Grain Free' Chocolate Chip Cookies (also dairy/egg free)
Fair Warning: You are about to experience the most amazing chocolate chip cookie. EVER. (Grain free or not!) This little bit of cookie heaven was the result of one of those serendipitous accidents that you never could have planned, even if you wanted to. While baking a batch of my regular chocolate chip cookies (the recipe I almost posted last week!), I ran out of a critical ingredient
Fiesta Quiche
I was in the mood for a quiche for lunch.
Haven't made a quiche in ages and then I see
several quiches this week on blogs.
I had to make one. Luckily I had all the
ingredients in the house for my Fiesta Quiche.
It's quick and easy. Just mix everything
Use a large deep dish pie pan.
I still had one store crust.
Just unroll and into the pan it goes.
It's great leftover the next day too.
You can even cheat and make it without a crust
.....if you're in a hurry.
Fiesta Quiche
5 eggs
1-1/2 C whole milk
1/4 C salsa
1 can diced green chilies
1/2 C finely chopped onion
2 C monterey jack/cheddar cheese
9" unbaked deep pie shell
pinch of cumin, salt, chili powder, opt.
Whisk the eggs well. Whisk in the milk,
salsa, onion, green chilies, and
optional seasonings, Stir in the cheese.
Shape the pie shell into a deep dish pan.
Pour in the filling. Bake @350 45 minutes
until puffed and center is firm.
Let cool for 10 minutes before slicing.
Enjoy!
Summer Beer
This cocktail is perfect for the summer. You can keep all the ingredient on hand and make it in a snap. So easy too, just pour it all into a pitcher and serve over ice. I've tried this with other beers but Leinenkugel's Summer Shandy is the best.
1 (12 ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate
2 (12 fluid ounce) Leinenkugel's summer shandy bottle beer
12 fluid ounces vodka
crushed ice
In pitcher pour in the lemonade concentrate, beer and vodka. Blend until smooth. Pour over crushed ice.
Makes 4-6 servings
Lou Malnati's in my opinion is the BEST Chicago-style deep dish pizza in Chicago! The crust is so buttery and flaky. Our favorite is The "Lou", Fresh spinach, mushrooms and sliced tomatoes covered with a blend of mozzarella, romano and cheddar cheese. While we wait the 45 minutes it takes to cook the pizza we usually order the Malnati Salad, (Romaine lettuce, diced tomatoes, black olives, sliced mushrooms, crumbled salami and gorgonzola cheese and tossed with Lou's famous dressing with a touch of romano cheese. If you are in Chicago and hungry for pizza check out Lou Malnati's, it's so good! Find all their locations here - http://www.loumalnatis.com.
Steak, King Crab and Bearnaise sauce
Kale Chip Nachos W/'No Dairy' Parmesan (Paleo/Priaml/GAPS)
Once again, I am super thrilled to be sharing one of my recipes over at the amazing Mommypotamus! One of my favorite Real Foods/Family bloggers. Heather, is a seemingly unending source of information on important subjects such healthy eating, natural health and beauty, "Real Foods", breastfeeding, early baby foods, natural remedies, general parenting, and the list goes on and on! So head on
Visiting Pasar Badung, Denpasar + {recipe} Balinese Satay.
We had a short vacation in Bali about 1.5 weeks ago.
Actually that was my second trip to Bali after moved back to Indonesia, 3 years ago.
Back from the refreshing trip, we happily celebrated my mom's 70th birthday early July. Only last week, I had time to check the photos that I took during our trip in Bali. Oh,...it's a lot. And I remember the pictures that I took in Bali 1.5 years ago, that
reade more...
Actually that was my second trip to Bali after moved back to Indonesia, 3 years ago.
Back from the refreshing trip, we happily celebrated my mom's 70th birthday early July. Only last week, I had time to check the photos that I took during our trip in Bali. Oh,...it's a lot. And I remember the pictures that I took in Bali 1.5 years ago, that
Street Foods: Vietnamese Cauli-Fried Rice W/Nước Chấm (Grain Free)
If you've ever had the pleasure of walking through an open street market in some foreign city you know that there is nothing quite like the overwhelming tidal wave that it is to the senses. Brightly decorated little food stands with colorful signs describing their fare. The excited chatter of vendors striking deals and calling in new patrons. Steel scraping hot steel as charred woks barely
Garlic Tomato Bruschetta
This is a basic recipe for tomato bruschetta. This makes a small batch, but can be doubled and doubled again depending how much you'll need. Start here and add to taste. This is what summer taste like!
2 -3 Roma tomatoes (about 1 1/2 cups), diced (if using large tomatoes that are juicy, drain before adding to other ingredients)
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (has to be fresh)
1 garlic clove, minced or chopped fine
season with salt and pepper
1 tablespoon freshly shredded or grated Parmesan cheese (more cheese is even better!)
1 french baguette
In a bowl, combine tomatoes, olive oil, basil, garlic, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese. Refrigerate or serve at room temperature. Cut bread into thin slices; toast under broiler or bake at 450 until lightly toasted. (Watch closely because if you burn the toast you won't have bruschetta!) You want the bread to be toasted, not soft (or burned). To serve, put tomato mixture in a bowl and toast on a tray. Let everyone help themselves. If bruschetta is going to be served immediately spoon the tomato mixture onto each slice of toast and serve.
*This can be doubled and doubled again, as needed.