Five Ingredients or Less (Not Counting S&P)

1. Oats and Eggs (rolled oats, runny egg, avocado, shredded parmesan, pepper)

This recipe is for a single serving, so you can always make more. I am a person who loves oats, but does not like oatmeal. I keep rolled oats on hand for granola, granola bars, pancakes, breads, muffins and cookies. But, the exception is a savory egg-y oatmeal that I really, really love.

It's simple - cook 1/4 cup of oats in about 1 cup of water (I don't feel my cup all the way because I like mine really thick). Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes (or less) until oatmeal is done.

When you're oatmeal is almost done, heat a pan with cooking spray and drop one egg in it. When the white starts to get cooked, flip over and cook for a little longer (only a 1-2 minutes more because this is best with a runny egg).

Put the oatmeal in a bowl, top with the egg and some shredded parmesan, fresh cracked pepper and diced avocado (1/2 of an avocado is all I use). It is so good!!

2. Banana Nut Muffins (bananas, sesame seeds, sugar, flour, butter - NO EGGS!! So, this could be vegan if you used margarine instead of butter and is a great muffin recipe for people with egg allergies).

I had 2 very ripe bananas and no eggs, so I cruised the web, read some recipes and then made these muffins. This recipe makes 4-6 muffins, depending on size.

Preheat oven to 350.

Mash two ripe bananas and combine in a bowl with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup flour, 1/2 tsp baking soda and 1-2 tbs melted butter. Mix well and add sunflower seeds, per your discretion.

Put in muffin tins and bake for 12-15 minutes (or until toothpick comes out clean).

3. Brown Rice Mushroom Pilaf (brown rice, baby bella mushrooms, parmesan, chicken or veggie stock, grill spice)

This rice turned out really well on Christmas and complimented the steaks we made. I always cook my rice (1 cup) in a rice cooker - so much easier. To have the rice really stand up to the steak, I cooked it in chicken stock instead of water. (You could always use veggie stock, if you prefer or are vegetarian).

When your rice is almost done, begin to sautee the already sliced mushrooms (1 package) in your oil of choice. I added the same grill spice that we're using on the steaks. It's really nice to add the spices you are using for your main dish to the mushrooms to tie it together.

I think baby bella are the best mushroom for this recipe. When they are almost done, break them up into smaller pieces (I just do this right in the pan with the wooden spatula I'm cooking with), then add the rice. Toss together really well and add the shredded parmesan.

4. Herbed Mashed Potatoes

Chop 4 idaho potatoes (peel or no peel is up to you. I like skins in mine, so I rarely peel them). Cover with water and bring to boil (you can use vegetable or chicken broth in place of water).

While you're potatoes are boiling, prep your herbs. I wanted to do a Southwest style mashed potatoes, so I was using cilantro and used about half of the bundle from the store. I pulled the leaves off of the stems and then threw the cilantro in the food processor to save me the chopping hassle.

Once the potatoes are soft (typically 20-25 minutes), reserve about 1/2-3/4 cup of the starchy water (especially if used broth) and drain the rest. Mash the potatoes (in the pot you cooked in, now that the water is drained off) and add the chopped up herbs and the reserved water. I also recommended adding the cheese of your choice. I added about 1/2 a bag of a shredded colby/pepper jack cheese blend because I thought it would go nicely with the cilantro. I also added about 1/2 cup of plain yogurt (since I didn't have any sour cream) to make the potatoes more creamy and couple of pats of margarine. Mix it all up and enjoy. (I prefer to mash my potatoes by hand with a potato masher, but I know a lot of people use a mixer, which is great too. (Heavy cream or milk could be used to make the potatoes creamy as well, just add in small amounts because you don't want soupy potatoes - yikes).

You can mix up your herb and cheese combinations based on what you have. I had cilantro left from a different recipe, so I went in the direction of Mexican/Southwestern for these potatoes, but basil with parmesan cheese would be great too -- that is actually the herbs and cheese the Ina Garten recipe that inspired these potatoes called for.

5. Pita Pizza (Pita, Cheese, Radicchio-or whatever other veggie you choose, Mushroom, Oil)

When I have pita leftover, I often use it to make easy pizzas. A really, great and simple option is to use the pita for pizzas when you have veggies to use up. I always love mushrooms on pizza, so that tends to be always in the mix. This time, I added radicchio - the two veggies balanced well, but I also recommend spinach or wilted arugula (a good idea when you have either of those greens that are about to go bad).

How I assembled my radicchio-mushroom pita pizza. I tossed the radicchio in olive oil and salt and pepper and broiled it for about 7 minutes.

While that was broiling, I sauteed the mushroom (in olive oil - you can add balsamic vinegar as well, if you want). I don't like to have the mushrooms cook only on the pizza, but like to sautee them ahead. If you are doing spinach or arugula, you just add them in with the mushrooms (after the mushrooms have been going for a few minutes).

Once the radicchio was done, I put my pitas in the oven. I spray my pitas with whatever oil spray I have, then put the shredded mozzarella on it. Put it in the oven (I just used the end of the broil cycle on my oven) and watch them -- only put them in long enough to melt the cheese.

Remove from oven, top with warm veggies and enjoy. Simple, but good. (You can always load on more veggies if you want).

Festive Culinary Plans for the Last of 2011

I find myself enjoying my culinary adventures more and more and am excited to go out with a bang as the final days of 2011 play out.

For Christmas Eve, I'm making an Indian feast, so the recipes are all things I've never tried before. The tandoori chicken is marinating right now. To go with it, I'm making spiced potatoes and onions, cauliflower in masala sauce, garlic naan (okay, the naan is store bought) and cucumber raita.

For Christmas Day, we're doing surf and turf (Steak and Scallops) along with a baby bella rice pilaf, garlic bread and Jamie Oliver's carrot ribbon salad with carrot cake (my husband's favorite) for dessert. It will be my first time making carrot cake, so I hope it turns out well.

What I'm most excited about is the festive popcorn I'm making for a friend's movie night on the day after Christmas. I've decided to make standard popcorn (I love making popcorn on the stovetop), but also want to make a white chocolate popcorn with pistachios and dried cranberries (think a fancy, Christmas version of cracker jack). We'll see how it turns out. I was inspired by Chef Faulkner's popcorn she made on an Iron Chef America battle that I recently watched.

Finally, I'm doing an Asian meal with a friend to close out 2011. Details on my first ever attempt to make tempura and panko prawns will be provided.

Don't worry. I'll report back and post recipes and photos.

Got Turnips? Ethiopian Stew

The Ethiopian Stew smells AMAZING!! I also love the vibrant coloring the spices give it. Oh - and it tastes good. Instead of doing the puree step at the end, you could also simmer off some of the liquid a bit more and then serve it over brown rice.

Here's the original recipe that I adapted.

I did not have leeks, several of the seasonings listed in the berbere mix, soymilk or vegetable stock (which I usually do I have - I make my own using this technique-love it!), so I adjusted accordingly.




My berbere mix included:

3/4 TBS of cinnamon
1 TBS paprika
a few dashes of cayenne
1 heaping TBS of turmeric
3/4 TBS of curry (all I had left)
several dashes of black pepper a few dashes of cumin

I had planned to include rutabaga, but the 3 turnips I chopped looked like enough. So, here's what I did (with ingredients in bold).

Sauteed 1/2 onion (diced) in peanut oil (in a large pot)
Added the berbere mix. I added all of the berbere mix that I made and didn't think it was too much.
Added 3 chopped turnips and 2 diced carrots.
Covered with free range, organic chicken stock. (Probably 4-5 cups)
Added 1 can of garbanzo beans (drained well).
Simmered for about 20 minutes.
Then I took about 1 1/2 cups of the soup out to puree in a blender (I added a little bit of chicken stock to what I was pureeing as the stock and boiled down a lot).
Poured the puree back in with the soup and added 1/3 cup plain yogurt (I used a Greek yogurt. This was my soymilk substitute). (When grabbing the yogurt, I also saw some Trader Joe's Masala Simmering Sauce that had been hiding in the fridge, so I added 1 TBS of that just for kicks).

Feel free to add a dollop of yogurt or sour cream on top just before you eat.














Special note: DON'T BE AFRAID OF TURNIPS!! I used to be, but got over it and now enjoy all the root vegetables that winter brings.

What I'm Eating Now

Even if you aren't a member of a CSA, the meal plans and written or linked recipes that will be the focus of my reinvigorated blog can still be of interest because the vegetables referenced will be seasonal and should be readily available at good prices at most grocery stores (though seasonal fruits and veggies do vary in accordance with geography).

Key items in this week's box (for those of you that don't also receive a box from Abundant Harvest Organics) are: broccoli, cauliflower, arugula, spinach, carrots, potatoes (Idaho and Sweet). There were other goodies, too, but I'm just listing the stars that I'm focusing on this week.

Here's a list of the recipes on the menu for the next week or so. Subsequent blogs will provide more details (and maybe even photos) of recipes, particularly those without links.

Cauliflower & Sausage Casserole (a blog on Cauliflower is definitely coming soon. It's a great ingredient - and a wonderful carb substitute.)

Sweet Potato and Kale Pizza - the recipe references kale, but given our box I'm going to do some with arugula and some with Spinach. I'm also making mine mini pizzas, instead of a big pizza, because I have pita that needs to get used.

Potato Salad with Arugula and Herbs - I always have plain yogurt on hand, so this recipe was naturally attractive. I'm not using dill, but might use mint or just not include an herb. Sandwiches have been a common lunch meal in our house, so this potato salad will be a perfect side dish.

Penne with Spinach Sauce - I was going to try Jaime Oliver's Creamed Spinach recipe, but then realized I had absentmindedly boiled some penne. Oops. So, I'm going to do this pasta dish instead, adjusting the sauce a lot based on the ingredients I have on hand.

White Bean and Radicchio Gratin (I still have radicchio leftover from a previous box) - details coming soon.

Ethiopian Stew - I still have turnips from a previous box and plan on adding my rutabaga in with this. I'll be making major spice adjustments to fit what I have on hand and won't be including the leeks, so I'll let you know how it turns out.

I hope these recipes are helpful. I'm sure I'll also make stir fry one night as it is one my favorite ways to use broccoli. I'll also report back on which items the 2 year-old will actually eat. I know his favorite items from the box will be the pears and oranges. He LOVES fruit. I'll take it!

I'm in Heaven!!

The main reason I can't ever seem to keep my blogs up as much as I would like these days is that I am a proud mother of two little, little boys!!

I have a 2 year-old and a 4 month-old.

And, since my husband and I run our own business, though I am technically at home with the little ones, there is still quite a bit to be done by me for work. Yet, I wouldn't have it any other way. I love that I get to spend so much time with them, and I LOVE not having to commute -- I live in Greater LA and used to commute - yuck!!

For the New Year, I'm hoping to blog more frequently. I love cooking and am committed to not doing take out and frozen dinners regularly, despite the hectic life we live. I am also committed, despite a tight budget, to being a part of the local food movement, so I'm part of a CSA, Abundant Harvest Organics. I love it and would recommend it to anyone who lives within their service area in Central and Southern Cali - or see if there is a CSA near you!

So, my plan for the New Year is to post meal plans, recipe links and actual recipes (and maybe even some photos) about this cooking journey.

Today's post is called I'm in Heaven because, for a very brief moment, both boys were sleeping (I hear the baby waking right now) and I had prepped a simple and amazing salad and was indulging in quiet, deliciousness.

It was a tomato cucumber salad with avocad0 (and the avocado was the most perfect and buttery avocado). It was so simple, but so magical. (Single serving size described below)

1/2 cucumber - chopped
less than 1/4 of a red onion - diced
a handful cherry tomatoes - halved or quartered
1 avocado - diced

I layered it in a bowl and drizzled with a little balsamic and olive oil and sprinkled some black pepper on.

Heaven!





(The photo was taken with my photobooth on my computer, so it doesn't do the salad justice).





Here's to hoping the baby puts himself back to sleep. It's sounding as if he might. If so, the question becomes: to cook or nap!!

A Better (Healthier) Burger

I love burgers -- in fact burgers were the thing I missed the most when I was a vegetarian for 10 years. However, as I try to get back in shape after the 2nd baby (with little time to exercise because of the 1st and 2nd baby), burgers are not a great menu item. So, I've been making some healthy alternatives and last night's mushroom swiss turkey burgers were a great alternate.

This is the recipe I found online -
http://gastronomist.wordpress.com/2011/02/20/the-430-calorie-burger/

I used our George Foreman grill to make the burgers, which is great for having the turkey burgers be as lean as possible, but the mushrooms are the key. The mushrooms add back in some moisture that the burger lacked. When you put the swiss on top of the warm burger and then pile the hot mushrooms on top of that, the cheese melts perfectly.

I put mine on a whole grain roll with spicy mustard, red leaf lettuce, red onion and tomatoes. My husband prefers his no bun (so even less calories), so he ate just the patty topped with the swiss and the mushrooms. As for my toddler - he took a piece, licked it and gave it back (I did not eat it), so if you really wanted to cut calories and time, you could eat what he had for dinner: orange slices, raisins and whole grain goldfish.

I really recommend making some mushroom swiss turkey burgers. It was so popular at our house, that my husband wants them again tonight.

And while I'm on a mushroom kick, here's a preview of the recipe I'm going to try out tomorrow or Saturday. It was inspired by the sage that came in my farm share produce box and my love of mushrooms.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/chicken_breasts_with_mushroom_sage_sauce/ - or Friday night's dinner.

Healthy Cooking - Mac N'Cheese

Here's a healthier and lighter take on homemade mac n'cheese (and much better than boxed mac n'cheese that is so processed). It was inspired by a recipe in Jamie Oliver's Meals in Minutes. I also like this recipe because it is much easier than traditional homemade mac n'cheese, which I always find so labor intensive. Easier and healthier. Win. Win.

A testament to how good this healthy mac n'cheese is that my husband even ate it (and had more than one serving, which means he liked it and wasn't just being polite). This is a big deal because he doesn't really like pasta and he never eats vegetables. With this, he ate both (and happily)!

I used tri-colored rotini pasta, which is one of my favorite types of pasta. I usually make pasta salad with it, but it worked very nicely for this recipe.

Ingredients:

1 box (12 oz-16 oz) of pasta (rotinia, penne, elbow macaroni or something similar would work best)
1 head of cauliflower (cauliflower has been really cheap lately, so I'm using it a lot and love it!!)
1 bag (9 oz) of shredded cheese (I used sharp)
1/2 cup (about) of sour cream, cream fraiche or plain yogurt (I used sour cream because that's what I already had on hand)
4 slices of whole wheat italian bread (day old is fine)


Here's what you do:

1. Quarter the cauliflower and put it in a large pot with your pasta
2. Cover with water and boil (for about 8 minutes - until pasta is cooked) - add some salt and olive oil to the water
3. Put the sliced bread (torn into pieces) in the food processor with the shredded cheese and some olive oil and pulse until you get a good breadcrumb consistency (you could also add herbs into the food process. Jaime recommends Rosemary, but I didn't have any fresh herbs, so I just made it without).
4. Drain the pasta and cauliflower with a bowl underneath your colander so that you can catch some of the pasta water.
5. In your roasting pan (mine was 9 x 9 because we have a small oven), put the pasta and cauliflower, mashing the soft cauliflower up a bit. Add about 1-1 1/2 cups of the pasta water and your sour cream/cream fraiche or yogurt. Taste and correct seasoning (you could add shredded cheese into this mixture as well if you want, but to keep it lighter, I didn't). You don't want it to be soupy, so keep that in mind when judging how much pasta water to add.
6. Top with breadcrumb/cheese mixture and cook at 425 degrees for about 8 minutes (until golden and bubbly).

Some tips - if you have a tea kettle, put the kettle on while you're prepping your cauliflower (quartering and talking the stalks and tough base off) and then pour the boiled/hot tea kettle water over your cauliflower/pasta. This way your boil time is shorter. I use this Jaime tip when making potatoes as well (or anything that calls for bringing water to a boil). It's easy and speeds things up a bit, which is nice when you are trying to cook quickly because you have a baby and a 2 year-old vying for your attention.

Also, I had a little bit of pancetta that needed to be used, so I put it in my 9X9 and threw it in the oven (top shelf) to cook up and then added it in the food processor with the bread and cheese, so you could add pancetta or bacon if you want (though, then it is less healthy). I only had one slice, so it didn't really add much bad. (Jaime recommends 8 slices of pancetta).

You could also just use pre-made breadcrumbs if you don't have a food processor and don't want to hassle, but it definitely tastes better when you make them yourself.

Learning to Cook Chicken

I never really was into chicken - eating it and certainly not cooking it. I was a vegetarian for ten years, from age 12 to 22, so when I really started cooking myself, I wasn't cooking meat. Even after I started eating meat , I still didn't cook it very often, and I almost never cooked chicken.

However, I've been on a major cooking kick lately and have been cooking more and more for my family. My husband LOVES chicken. He eats it almost nightly, so I've been learning to cook chicken and have been glad to be able to feed us free range, organic chicken, rather than having him pick up take out chicken for himself on a nightly basis.

So, I'm going to dedicate a few posts to chicken - the meat I used to fear (and not like very much) that I have discovered I do like - when I cook it.

To start, I'm going to share an easy, oven-based chicken preparation inspired by the preparation used in Jamie Oliver's Proper Chicken Caesar Salad. This chicken is very good (and very easy) and there are basically just four ingredients. Instead of an ingredient list, I'm just going to put ingredients in all caps.

1. Take 4-6 CHICKEN THIGHS (I used boneless, skinless thighs) and season, lightly, with sea salt and black pepper.

2. Take SOURDOUGH, FRENCH BREAD OR CIABATTA (day old or fresh works fine) and tear into bite-sized pieces (enough to line your baking pan).

3. Line a baking pan (that has been sprayed with cooking spray) with the torn bread and lay chicken thighs on top of the bread.

4. Drizzle with OLIVE OIL and mix the olive oil around (so that it gets on the thighs and bread). After mixing the olive oil, make sure the thighs are resting back on top of the bread.

5. Cook chicken (and bread underneath) at 400 degrees for 45 minutes.

6. Top chicken with PANCETTA and cook for an additional 15-20 minutes.

The result is delicious chicken. The bread is perfect as croutons tossed in a salad and the pancetta is great tossed in your salad as well (tear the pancetta into smaller pieces).

I used this chicken in a Caesar salad (that I also put the bread/croutons and pancetta in).

On another night, I prepared chicken the same way, but this time used chicken breast tenders and ended up cutting up the chicken and using it as a pizza topping (for delicious chicken pesto pizza) and I put the pancetta and croutons into a side garden salad to go with the pizza.

Yum. Yum. Yum. Easy. Easy. Easy.

I'm starting to think I don't have to hate chicken -- eating it or cooking it and love having control over the type of chicken our family eats.

Soup Week - Soup #3 - TPP Soup (Turnips, Potatoes and Pears)

I'm a few days past the official "week" of soup week, but I had to share today's soup inspiration. TPP soup may sound a bit odd to some, and I was a little worried about trying to make a soup with these key ingredients, but I also thought it just might work -- and it did. This soup is smooth and tasty. It is definitely one of my most creative and unusual recipes/soups, but was inspired by the items in my Farmshare box. I had lots of pears and some turnips, so I decided to try it all together in a soup.

Ingredients:

1 white onion (diced)
2 russet potatoes (diced, I didn't peel them, but you could)
3 pears (diced and peeled-make sure pears are ripe and soft)
4 turnips (diced, I didn't peel them, but you could)
1-2 pats of butter (or so)
About 4 cups of chicken stock (I used homemade, but you could use store bought or use vegetable stock to make it vegetarian).
1 tsp cinnamon
2-3 tsp thyme
2 tsp curry powder
Salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large, heavy, thick-bottomed pot, melt the butter. then add the onions and cook until translucent about 5 minutes. Next, add the diced turnips and potatoes and stir to coat with the butter (add more butter, if necessary. I did).

2. Pour in enough chicken stock to just cover potatoes, turnips and onions. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low - adding salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the turnips and potatoes are tender, about 15-20 minutes.

3. Add pears and the rest of chicken stock and spices and stir. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 10-15 more minutes, until all vegetables are tender. (This is the part where the soup starts to smell amazing because of the spices).

4. Puree in food processor or blender.

5. Enjoy!!

Soup Week - Soup #2 - Taco Soup

This Taco Soup is really, really easy and really perfect for leftovers. It also takes very little dishes -- I make mine in my crockpot. It can be made vegetarian or with meat. I'll give you the run down on what I dumped in my crockpot this time, and give examples for swap outs. It's great for a busy week because you can literally dump and turn the crockpot on and it will be done. Plus, the soup can be used as a great baked potato topper as well.

So, my ingredients this time were:

1 cup (about) of ground turkey (leftover from tacos a few nights before)
1 can of red beans
1/2 cup of black bean soup (or you could use 1 can of black beans)
1 cup or can of white beans (or whatever other bean you like - chili beans, garbanzo beans, etc. I had some white beans leftover from another recipe)
1-1 1/2 cups of corn (I used frozen corn that I had shaved off the cob when corn was in season and cheap. You could also use 1 can of corn, if you wanted).
1-2 cans of diced tomatoes (or fresh tomatoes, 1-2 cups, depending on how tomato-ey you want it).
1 packet of taco seasoning

I just dump all of these items in the crockpot and a few hours later you really do have a great soup. Just add salt and pepper to taste.

Garnishing with this soup is key - it's a great way to use up the crumbs at the bottom of a tortilla chip bag and anything you would top a taco with, is great on this soup, notably shredded cheese, avocado, sour cream, diced red onions, etc.

I also topped a baked potato with the soup one night, which was also quite good.

For swap outs, I recommend any ground beef you have or leftover fajita meat or even shredded chicken. It's also a great vegetarian soup in which I just up the amount of canned beans (usually putting two of kidney and two of black because those are my favorites. My mom usually adds frozen green beans as well.) You might also need to add more taco seasoning, if you make an extra full pot of it.

Enjoy!!

Soup Week - Soup #1 - Carrot Soup

I've been making a lot of soups lately. It seems appropriate as it's finally starting to feel like Fall here in SoCal. What's interesting about soup is that I always used to think I didn't like soup, until I started making my own soups. I had really only eaten soup out of can, and that I don't like, but I love making my own soups (and eating them!).

My latest new soup was created through a recipe blunder. My first attempt to make a carrot soup (motivated by a farmer selling me a bunch of carrots for basically $1) went awry, but my "fix" resulted in a soup that was rather delectable. I based my attempt on this recipe. It was not the recipe's fault that my soup didn't turn out. The problem came when I decided to add my own choice of spices (mainly because I didn't have on hand the herbs/spices recommended in the recipe). I added cumin, curry powder, thyme and then put in some cayenne pepper (for a little kick, or so I thought). I wasn't really measuring any of these, but was just eyeballing.

Apparently, I used too much cayenne because the soup was so spicy that it was not really edible. But, my "fix" led me to create a smooth carrot soup with a lot of depth of flavor and with protein. I added a white bean puree to it. So, here's how I did it.

Ingredients:

6 carrots (sliced)
Olive oil (or grapeseed or avocado oil), salt, black pepper
Vegetable Stock (probably 6-8 cups between the carrot and white bean puree - I always just eyeball my stock and don't measure)
1/2 white onion (diced)
6 garlic cloves (1/2 for carrot puree and 1/2 for white bean puree)
1 tsp each of cumin, curry powder, thyme
cayenne pepper to taste
1/2 cup dried white beans (or 1/2-1 can of white beans)

1. If you don't use organic carrots, then I recommend peeling them. If you do use organic, then you don't really need to peel them. Slice them into rounds, then toss the carrots with olive oil, salt and black pepper and spread them out on a baking sheet. Add 2-4 cloves of garlic to roast with the carrots as well. Broil for about 15-20 minutes (I stirred them up and turned them about halfway through)

2. Sautee onions in olive oil (I did this in my stock pot, so that I didn't dirty any extra dishes).

3. Add stock (probably 3-6 cups, it will depend on your carrots - you want to make sure you have a nice ratio to puree it) to onions and bring to a boil. Add carrots and garlic from oven and simmer until carrots get soft.

4. Put in food processor (or blender) and puree. Set aside and make white bean puree.

Since I used dried beans, I'll include instructions here for using dried beans, but you can also use canned. (First, you need to soak the white beans in water overnight the night before. Then, I bring the beans to boil in vegetable stock and then simmer for a few hours until they are soft. It usually takes about 3-4 hours with the white beans. I do this in my cast iron dutch oven and think it works really well and that the beans taste much better than canned).

5. Sautee garlic and add white beans with vegetable stock (make sure the white beans are covered with vegetable stock. You want to have enough stock to be able to puree them). Simmer for about 3-5 minutes.

6. Puree white beans, streaming in olive oil as you do (to taste).

7. Mix the two purees together.

This soup really is delicious. I think it could be a good choice for Thanksgiving (you'd probably need to make more. This is really 4 servings, max). It's a nice soup that is not expensive at all to make, but is an enjoyable Fall-inspired dish.

Wish I had pictures as it is a really pretty soup, but the friend I shared the soup with -- well, we enjoyed it so much that I forgot to take a picture.

Oh - I think it would be great to garnish it with diced avocado, caramelized onions or toasted almonds.

Taco soup recipe coming soon!

Cherry Tomato Salsa

At the end of summer (through September, if you live in California or some other parts of the country as well), cherry tomatoes are overflowing at farmer's markets and vegetable stands.

At our Swapmeet this past Sunday, I got a huge bowlful for practically nothing (for $5 I got at least 2 pounds of grapes, 2 pounds of cherry tomatoes, 5 onions and probably 16 carrots) - what a deal.

Of course, since I love tomatoes, I ate some of the cherry tomatoes by the handful, but I also made a sweet (and delicious) cherry tomato salsa.

Ingredients:

2 cups cherry tomatoes, sliced in half or quarters (depending on the size)
1/2 of a red onion (diced)
1/2 of a green bell pepper (diced)
1 small jalapeno pepper (diced)
black pepper and salt to taste

I threw all of the ingredients in my food processor (a blender would work well) and that was that. I typically add cilantro to my salsa, but didn't have any. With a sweeter salsa, though, I found that I didn't miss the cilantro nor the fact that I used such a small jalapeno (it was super, duper tiny - wish I had a photo to prove it.)

Simple, quick and delicious. The only negative to the salsa was that it caused me to eat way too many chips and that I devoured it before I got a good picture.

Coming soon -- roasted carrot soup made with the abundance of carrots I got. I promise to take pictures, since I know that is one of the best parts of food blogs.

To Squash or Not To Squash

That is the question. It has been quite sometime since I've posted anything. Since my last post, over a year ago, I've gotten pregnant and had a second baby (my first son is almost two), and my husband and I spent last school year shooting and editing a documentary film (which we are still working on--watch a teaser at www.thinktenmediagroup.com). Plus, we shot a narrative feature film this past July, right before having our second baby in August.

So, hopefully you will understand why I haven't been blogging or, frankly, cooking as much as I would have liked to. Now, even though I certainly have my hands full with productions, arts education (generationarts.org) and the two little guys, I am able to primarily work from home and am making a commitment (a New Year's Resolution, if you will, just starting in September rather than January) to cook much, much more.

My primary motivations: save money, be healthier, set a good example for my children. Hopefully, this commitment will find me sharing some good recipes and tips along the way.

I've digressed. Back to the current question at hand - To Squash or Not To Squash. At the moment, I have some precious time where neither child has any immediate needs and my primary work objective for the day has already been completed. Plus, I already made a batch of homemade granola (adapted from this recipe: http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/maple-almond-granola-recipe/ - I did not add any raisins, neither my husband or I like them, and used honey instead of agave nectar because we didn't have any agave nectar. I also, slightly, increased the amount of brown sugar and cinnamon to make it a tad sweeter, particularly since there was no dried fruit in the mix).

Let me say, on the saving money tip, that making your own granola is definitely a great way to save money, especially if you can buy key ingredients (oats, nuts, dried fruit) at a grocery store with a bulk food section (for readers with a Sprouts nearby, all of their bulk stuff is 25% this week). Plus, you can make the granola the way you like it - adding or deleting ingredients as you like.

With all of that said (since I digressed again), I am torn between two equally appealing options: write (well, I'm doing that right now), but I was thinking of doing some work-related writing for a new film project we're developing or get busy with some squash. In the summer and winter, my wonderful produce box (http://www.abundantharvestorganics.com/) comes with lots of squash.

Typically, I dice it and add it in when I make breakfast potatoes (which I believe I've posted a recipe for before) or throw squash in with a marinara sauce, since no one really notices. But, I've been researching some other recipes and am intrigued by Jamie Oliver squash ribbon salad, an herbed squash salad with a yogurt dressing or a vegetable dip that includes squash.

The answer is To Squash and To Write, though I doubt my two little lovelies will grant me the opportunity to do both, but I am going to try going with the Herbed Squash Salad with Yogurt Dressing for two reasons: 1) it seems like the quickest choice and 2) I have plain yogurt that needs to be used.

This is a key tip in the saving money category, simple, but often forgotten or overlooked: use what you got!! Don't run to the store to get some other ingredient. Adapt, adapt, adapt recipes and look at what you have and build meals/snacks around those ingredients. I really dove in and started doing this last month when I was housebound with the new baby and discovered that I could be way more creative in the kitchen than I thought and really did save money that month (plus, we ate a lot healthier).

So, here's the squash (adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe in Everyday Food).

2 yellow squash, cut into half-moons (my 2 squash were small, so I adjusted the rest accordingly)
1/4 red onion, slivered

Toss in a bowl with a squeeze of lemon juice, a drizzle of olive oil and a heaping tablespoon or two of plain yogurt. Add salt and pepper to taste and any fresh herbs you have on hand. Martha suggests parsley and mint.

This was my first experience with non-cooked squash and I enjoyed it. Simple and fresh -- a perfect, quick and healthy snack to hold me until dinner. Now, let's see if I can squeeze in some writing.