Wow!

One country is taking the problem with obesity seriously.
I wonder how effective this will be.

Freezing

No, not outside...

I just keep on freezing foods.
Today:
Cauliflower Soup and Broccoli Soup.
Nothing is easier than to have those on the stove simultaneously.:)

I use Leeks for both, Vegetable Broth. The only difference is the seasoning:
for Cauliflower I used Turmeric. For the Broccoli soup, I used thyme. A little salt and pepper at the end, then blenderize them and there we go. Sometimes, I might add potatoes, to thicken the soup as needed.

Bread crumbs

I think I must be losing it...
I can't believe I'm posting about bread crumbs...
For years we used to buy breadcrumbs. Then, one fine day, I discovered that it was very simple to make -
much better fresh than the store-bought kind. I never looked back since.
Now, I have an even better idea:
I should just take the two end pieces of each loaf of bread and either save them for crumbs or process them immediately and freeze them.
Hmmm....

It Makes Sense

Here is a link for a blog.
I can't say that I've been following this blog for a long time or that I may have used the recipes on it.
It's quite possible that I don't agree with everything posted but:
I think the concept of using "real foods", staying away from packaged, processed foods or "non-foods" (as I like to call them), is good idea any day.
It is not a new idea but we all can use a little reminder.

Market Ideas

It's nice to get inspired by all the wonderful fresh food at the market.

This time, it was not the fresh food that did it: I found these lovely Royal Gala Dried Apples there and built a salad around them. The apple slices looked so appetizing with their peel on...  and they taste great.

I used a Romaine lettuce base, added some toasted Pecans, and Walnuts with small pieces of Cheddar cheese. (My choice was goat cheese  but I was voted down:( )  I sprinkled it with Shelled Hemp Seeds and Voila!

10K

Another one - this time at the Zoo.
I forgot that the zoo had hills... a major difference:)

Mushrooms

I came home with some lovely mushrooms yesterday...
The beautiful, delicate Oyster mushrooms were turned into Frittatas - with the assistance of some equally delicate leeks (also from the market).
The other mushrooms were made into Mushroom-Cheese Stratas. I used Gruyere with them and froze some for future use.
I just learned that Shiitake can be frozen, as is... Next time I might just have to get some of those.

Farmer's Market

A nice discovery:
Many of the farmers bringing their produce to the market have their own blogs:

One example. I've enjoyed their heirloom tomatoes, peppers, gorgeous peaches, pears,  and more recently: squash.

Another one has the most amazing breads ( I'm sure, cookies, too) . We really enjoy their Irish Soda Bread.

Fairly new to the market is the gentleman with the nicest dried fruit.

Then there is this farm. I love their colourful cauliflowers, broccoli, beets, corn... and just about everything else.

Then, there is the stand with the most amazing mushrooms (I may have mentioned before) - with no blog but that is OK with organic mushrooms like these:

Veggie and Mushroom Loaf recipe added to my list of Recipes.
(You'll need to scroll down)

Freezer

The freezer is a girl's best friend when we get busy with "other stuff".
I've been filling it diligently for the last little while: fresh produce,  cooked meals, soups, etc.  Today, I added Ribollita to my collection.  It's a wonderful soup on cooler days. I used fresh Romano beans, aka borlotti beans for it. Delicious.
I now have 3 different soups: Coconut Red Pepper, Mushroom Barley and a Ribollita. :)

It's Been A While...

... since I made this dish.
It's wonderful - you don't need to follow it exactly. You can use veggies of your choice (read: whatever needs to be used up in your veggie drawer).  I cut the veggies small and roast them. In the end, I bake the dish in the oven. Delicious and waist-line friendly!

Terry Fox Run 2011

Ok.  Part run - part walk.
Beautiful day: sunshine, pleasant temperature. Lots of people - many families, dogs.
A great cause.

He was so young...
This was the 31st year of the Terry Fox Run

Walkers, runners, young and old...

Wild grapes growing in the park

Almost a Week

It's been almost a week since I posted...

Another version of the Breakfast Cookies was made - and it's a hit:

The changes:
- raisins were replaced by:  chopped Dates and Carob chips (1/2 cup each)
- Nonfat dry milk powder (1 tbsp only) - was replaced by Hemp Protein powder
- chunky peanut butter- replaced by Raw Almond butter
- added 1 TBSP milled Flaxseed

Great Cookies!
I freeze some, I keep some in a jar on the counter for quick breakfast/afternoon snack.
I feel better knowing what exactly went into them.:)

Guilt-free and Delicious

... what is: Spaghetti Squash. :)

And it's in season.

So, tonight, I made the following dish:

Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and Sage with Spaghetti Squash

I roasted a Spaghetti squash (let it cool, discarded seeds/centre, shell and broke it into strands.)
I sliced a dozen Plum Tomatoes, roasted them in olive oil (at 400F)- sprinkled them with minced garlic
(I used a head of garlic) and salt and pepper. I have some fresh Sage growing on my front porch, so I added some for good measure (and apparently, good memory:) ).
Once the tomatoes  were done, I mixed them with the Spaghetti Squash and if I had some Parmesan cheese I may have sprinkled some on top. As it was, I was out of it and the dish was delicious nonetheless.

I found it delicious. The male members of the family were not so enthusiastic about it.

A Run In the Dogpark

The off-leash park is a great place for a good run with my daughter's dog. Hills, stairs, uneven ground provide the challenges. At the end of it all the reward is a tired, but happy dog:).

Excitement

Discovering new foods, new recipes is always exciting.

Yesterday's find was quite amazing.  I found Black Barley in the frozen section of the supermarket. I just had to try it.  So, yesterday, I made a wonderfully fragrant  Oven Roasted Ratatouille (Mollie Katzen Recipe) - and served it over Black Barley. Well...  I love barley normally but - this is special. The texture is firmer, there is nothing mushy about it. It's more nutty in flavour.  Now, I'm on a mission to find raw Black Barley because while the frozen one is extremely convenient, it is also very expensive.

Two new foods in little more than one week is pretty good (Turkish Eggplant was the other).