Clementines & a Cool Cat

Well, it's been a long time! Hello there blog world.  Happy New Year! I've been enjoying a wonderful break from work and life, relaxing after all our holiday family visits and festivities.

Is anyone else as exhausted as I am?  I've been sleeping more than I can ever remember and yes coming up with creative ways to play with my food. 

Hello clementine Santa..you handsome devil.

Also during this vacation week...putting my feet up, and being ok with not sending Christmas cards out this year. Friends... consider this your holiday greeting, my stinky toes, love you all!

So much has been going on lately so...let's back up a bit, this past week has been filled with baking, shopping and preparing for Santa's arrival. 

Cranberry oatmeal bars for my gym ladies, all wrapped and ready to go.

Fried ravioli's for Christmas Eve appetizers, always a crowd favorite!

Kid's table all set and filled with fun toys and activities. 

Adult table perfect with a clementine for a pop o' color.  Easy & edible!

Wine and water on the table with a special blessing to me...

It was a a wonderful weekend of celebrating and eating.  Now Joe and I have been having peaceful week off with lots of movie watching, playing with root vegetables

making yummy whole wheat oat carrot cake muffins

to have with our coffee

and climbing over tables in our storage unit.

as we managed to already pack up our Christmas stuff yeah!

 

This cool cat is done with cooking & entertaining and ready for a day in the city in her new coat from Santa! 

I'm outta here!

Three Wise Cakes

Happy Holidays everyone! I've been very busy in the kitchen this past week, and here's some of the homemade goodness I've been working on.  These deep dish cookie pies are a fun holiday dessert that will keep you in your skinny jeans and out of those stretchy pajama jeans.   Believe it or not, this is a vegan delight.  It is taken from the healthy dessert blog, Chocolate Covered Katie , and guess what's in it?!!!

Yes, that's right....oat, chickpeas, applesauce, chocolate chips and a few other ingredients, (minus the candy canes).  Eat this vegan dessert through the holidays, and your pants will thank you later.  This chocolaty, googy cookie pie is the answer to all your dessert prayers.  It's amazing, a must try! Thanks Katie!!

This week has been so busy, with lots of running around, parties, and gifts to wrap.  So I needed to prepare some easy meals, fast snacks and keep fresh vegetables on hand so I limited my reach for the cookie tins. 

I've been mixing up my green smoothies lately, with a handful of spinach, banana, ice, almond milk and ground flax.  Creamy and delicious, a perfect drink for a busy gal! Ahh!

Also on hand....colorful, crunchy veggies and berry bowl.  Ready in minutes, looks pretty and full of vitamins and fiber. 

I couldn't resist a photo opp in Whole Foods, yes I do 'heart' veggies!!

Fresh fruit platter for the girls at Zumba class. This was devoured in minutes!

And finally a fridge full of lots of wonderful veggies to roast. 

I'm glad my meal planning is done for the week, because my Christmas cards are not!! Getting to those now.  Wishing you all a very happy, healthy holiday season! 

Enjoy the celebrations with friends and family. 

As I look back on this year, I'm so thankful for this blog, and all the wonderful blessings it has brought into my life.  What a gift it is to share recipes, thoughts and ideas with so many wonderful people. 

Thank you all for following and reading.  Can't wait to see what 2012 brings...stay tuned! 

Christmas Baking with the Pro's

A few week ago I was honored to be part of a charity New York City Blogger event called 'Cookies for Kids' Cancer'.  It was such a delight to be with some really creative bakers, cookbook authors and other talented foodie bloggers. 

It was great to watch a room full of proud bakers carefully and creatively plate their cookie works of art, and share it with others in their community.  We all had to make a batch of cookies and make a place card with our cookie name, our names and our bakery and/or blog we represent.  They had so many wonderful cookies, sweet and savory, and provided us with a killer bar-b-que lunch.  Amazing!

And wait there are more cookies.....

So fast forward to this past weekend, and I hosted my own cookie swap.  It was so much fun.  Lots of food, friends and yes more cookies!!

hey there....Rudolph!

 

So how do you balance out all that sugar? eat more sugar Why a healthy salad of course, for the party I made my wheat berry and sweet potato salad, that went over really well.  It was very satisfying, a perfect combination of sweet potato and crunchy toasted walnuts. 

It got me thinking about other combinations of salads using wheat berries.  So here's today's recipe....

Winter Wheat Berry Edamame Salad

makes: 6-8    prep time: 20 minutes    cook time: 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

3 cups of water or vegetable stock
1/2 cup dry wheat berries
1/2 or 1 can of black bean, rinsed and drained
1 cup of frozen edamame, shelled and thawed
1 cup of tomatoes, diced ( I used cherry tomatoes)
1/2 cup of red onion, finely chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1 cup of assorted colored peppers, diced, (whatever colors you have on hand)
2 tablespoons of cilantro, chopped
3 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
salt & pepper to taste

1.  In a medium size saucepan, combine water/stock with the wheat berries.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low simmer, cover and cook for about 20-25 minutes.  (*most recipes call to cook them much longer, I prefer mine on the chewier side, but feel free to cook to your liking)

2.  After cooking, drain in a fine mesh strainer, and run under cold water to cool quickly. 

3.  Combine wheat berries with all other ingredients, and salt and pepper to taste. 

I know since it's winter, I should be posting more warm, comfort foods, but these are the types of salads and lunches I need to grab during this busy holiday season.  If you have it prepared in the fridge, lunch/dinner can be served in minutes, and the colorful plate and zesty flavors make it a delicious meal.  Happy Holidays everyone.  Enjoy!

Seasonal Eating: Winter Grain Salad

Need a quick, already prepared lunch or dinner after a shopping outing?  This is a go-to grain salad, that will keep you full and ready to tackle all your holiday projects.  It will be your friend in the fridge, or a perfect packable lunch for work. 

Hearty Winter Grain Salad


prep time: 5-10 minutes  cook time: 55 minutes serves: 6-8


1 cup of kamut or wheatberries (or 1/2 cup of each)
3 cups of vegetable broth or chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 small yellow onion, diced
2 cloves of minced garlic
1 large sweet potato, boiled and diced into small cubes
1/4 cup of chopped toasted walnuts
1/2 bunch of kale, chopped or chopped fresh spinach*
2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar or apple cider vinegar
3 tablespoons of olive oil
salt & pepper to taste

1.  Wash grains. Bring stock to a boil.
2.  Add grains and salt.
3.  Reduce heat to low and simmer covered for 45 minutes, or until grains are tender, cooked and water is absorbed. 
4.  Fluff with a fork, and let sit covered for 10 minutes.
5.  While the grains are cooking, prep the other ingredients. 
6.  Dice the onion and saute with olive oil, until soft, about 7 minutes.  Add minced garlic until fragrant. 
7.  Dice up the sweet potato into small bite size chunks. 
8.  Toast the nuts on a dry, small cookie sheet at 350 degrees, until toasted, about 5-8 minutes. 
9.  Blanch the kale in a small pot of boiling water, and blanch for a few minutes (3-5)*
10.  Transfer the grains to a large bowl, add all the other ingredients and mix gently. 
11.  Add vinegar and oil, salt & pepper to your taste and enjoy! 

*if using fresh spinach, you can chop it up and add it in to the mixing bowl with the sauted onions and garlic. It doesn't need to be cooked separately like the kale.   

I know this recipe has a number of steps, but it's so worth it! Your taste buds and body will thank you for all your hard work and effort.  Go plants!!


Seasonal Eating: Winter Foods


Load up your shopping basket with these seasonal foods:


chestnuts, grapefruit, kale, leeks, lemons, oranges, tangerines,
radicchio, radishes, rutabaga, and turnips


Be well and enjoy this holiday season!


'You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces-just good food from fresh ingredients.'
                                                                          -Julia Child

What's in my purse? Healthy Snacks for Santa's Elves

Well, here we are in December, how did that happen? 

Tomorrow is an important day, my Cousin Susan and I go on our annual Christmas shopping adventure.  We head out early and shop 'til we drop..we try to get most of our list checked off and enjoy a fun lunch out.  Oh yes, and we usually find a few things for ourselves too...thanks Santa!

As I'm preparing for the holiday season, I know there's a lot of go, go, go!! So I wanted to offer some tips to help you stay away from the food court line at the mall-scary, or the giant cookie/cupcake staring you in the face as you pass the corner bakery. 

Here's what's in my purse for a shopping day out.  I go packing....

Water, Burt's Bees lip balm, fruit, veggie sticks, Lara Bar, Kind Bar,

shopping list,

shades, wallet, and hand sanitizer

I  don't eat all my snacks, but it's nice to know I'm prepared to tackle my shopping mission.  And if it's been awhile since my last meal...I have lots of healthy choices. 

And my fun cousin, Susan!!

This year I decided to make some homemade snack bars, oatmeal cranberry banana, to keep on hand as I'm running all over town. 

These are really great bars, the recipe came from Angela's blog Oh She Glows.  She a wonderful vegan blogger, that has lots of beautiful recipes, ideas, photos and stories.  She is such an inspiration.  And if you have two ripe bananas hanging around, this is the recipe to use 'um.  You can easily change the mix around to make whatever bar you like.  I'm working on one that has almond butter...coming soon. 

Good luck with your holiday shopping, make sure you go 'packing' and prepared for a successful trip.  Happy Weekend!