Things I have learned.....

1. You can throw frozen bell peppers, oregano, basil, and red pepper flakes into regular jar marinara sauce and make it something special
2. Home made bread is always better than store bought
3. Spaggetti actually tastes better in a taco shell
4. A whole wheat tortilla and extra sharp cheddar cheese makes a mean quesadilla
5. Dinner is always better when you have someone to share it with

If my camera was working....

I would take a picture of the amazing cheese bread or Pane con Formaggio that I made for dinner tonight.

It is amazing because
1. It requires almost no work
2. It requires no weird ingredients (just flour, salt, yeast, water, cheese and a little pepper)
3. It comes out extremely impressive and looks just like an artisan loaf
4. Did I mention there is almost no work involved??
5. It costs very little to make
6. It tastes soooooooo good

The recipe came out of Jim Lahey's cookbook "My Bread" which was a very sweet gift that was left on my doorstep a couple weeks a go by a very generous person.

Tomorrow night I am trying the Irish brown bread recipe which has Guinness in it...we will see how it tastes!

Mornings

I am definitely a morning person. Everything seems so much better when you have the whole day in front of you, especially if it is accompanied by a hot cup of coffee or tea. I also love mornings because of breakfast, the greatest meal of the day! Filled with fruit, grains, nuts, and of course one of my favorite foods in the whole world muffins, there is nothing like a sweet wholesome breakfast to get your day going.

As much as I love my sweet breakfasts, I am sometimes in the mood for something more savory. I have never been a huge egg person but the recipe below (which I made up one morning) is really good...and contains whole grains, vegetables and protein.

An Unusual Breakfast Sandwich
1 bunch of collard greens (or turnip greens, chard, mustard greens, or kale*)
2 cloves of freshly pressed garlic
fresh grated ginger** (as much as you want, I think I use about 1/2 T)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
small green bell pepper (optional)
sun dried tomatoes

1. Heat olive oil in pan. Add ginger, garlic, pepper, and greens and cook for a couple of minutes on medium high until they start to wilt. Add some water and continue to cook the greens until they turn a bright green and start to soften (you can cook longer if you want them to wilt more, I prefer them less wilted). Add balsamic vinegar (I use about two T. but I like a lot of vinegar) and sun dried tomatoes (4-5) and a little more olive oil (1 t) and cook for a bit longer. Remove from heat when they seem to be dark green but not yet completely wilted. Put greens on a plate.
2. In the same pan melt one pat of butter. Crack an egg into the pan and fry the egg.
3. Meanwhile toast some rye bread (whole wheat works too but rye is really good). Drizzle toast lightly with balsamic vinegar.
4. Assemble sandwich: Toast, egg, and greens.

Using a bunch of greens will give you enough for two-three sandwich's depending on your consumption of the greens so fry as many eggs as necessary. I eat this breakfast as an open-faced sandwich but you could definitely add another piece of toast if you like.
*Kale- needs longer to cook and is a little tougher, I prefer collard greens or chard with this sandwich

**If you buy a fresh ginger root (so good!) you should store it in the freezer. It will last a lot longer and then you can have fresh ginger whenever. Just thaw a little before you use!

One final comment- if this does not sound like an appetizing breakfast try it as a fun (but super easy and cheap) dinner. Broil some french bread drizzled with olive oil and then drizzle on the balsamic vinegar and add the egg and greens.

Sabbath

I have always been inspired by people, especially really busy people, who manage to consistently set some time aside for rest and rejuvenation. Last night, I met two very busy people, who managed to set aside a whole day just to do things that they truly enjoyed. I loved the way they described their decision as "a way to recognize that our worth is not determined by our work." I hope that when I enter my graduate program I can carry a similar attitude with me.

Since I am blessed with more free time this year, I have been able to consistently rest on Sundays, but today I felt especially eager to really enjoy the day. So I baked some bread, made two delicious meals, cooked a pumpkin and roasted its seeds, took a walk, and had dinner with my grandmother.

Teach me, O Lord, your way that I may walk in your truth;

direct my heart that it may fear your name.

Psalm 86:11

Winter Salad

I love salad, all types, from tuna to arugula nothing makes me happier then a tasty, nutritious, filling and easy-to-make salad. As much as I love greens, it is sometimes not feasible to center a salad around them. Therefor, I am ever on the quest for new salads that offer vitamins, protein, and fiber to fill you up! Here is one of my favorite non-lettuce salads that evolved from things that happened to be in the fridge.

Balsamic Broccoli Salad

1 Head of Broccoli washed, chopped into smaller bits

seeds from 1/4 Pomegranate

1/2 cup chopped toasted walnuts *

2/3 cup diced red onion

4 small to medium radishes sliced (optional)

Dressing

2 T Honey Mustard

1-1.5 T. Balsamic Vinegar (depending on your tastes)

1 t. canola oil (or other neutral flavored oil)

Mix all ingredients for salad. Mix dressing ingredients in a separate container, you can control the thickness and the tartness by the amount of vinegar you add. Pour dressing over your salad, toss and enjoy!

*Walnuts can be toasted by putting them in a dry pan over medium heat on the stove for a couple minutes (until they have a nice fragrance).

Granola

This is one of my family's favorite recipes and makes a great breakfast or snack. It is wonderful on plain yogurt!

The recipe is adapted from Mollie Katzen's "Very Crunchy Granola" and it lives up to its name!

3 c. rolled oats
1 1/4 c. bran/whole grain flakes cereal (look for a kind with less then 4 g. sugar per serving)
1 c. oat bran
1 c. sunflower seeds *
1 c. whole almonds *
1 c. pumpkin seeds *
3/4 c. canola oil
1/4 c. honey
1/4 c. REAL maple syrup
1 heaping T of vanilla extract
*seeds and nuts should be raw and unsalted (buy in bulk when possible, can be pricey!)

1. Preheat oven to 325 F and grease two cookie sheets (I use a little canola oil)
2. In a large bowl mix: oats, cereal, oat bran, sunflower and pumpkin seeds and almonds.
3. In a small bowl mix: oil, honey, maple syrup, and vanilla extract
4. Pour liquid mixture over dry mixture and mix well or until the oil mixture is evenly distributed.
5. Spread out the granola on the two cookie sheets and place in oven.
6. Stir granola and flip trays every 15 minutes. Granola will take between 30-45 minutes depending on how dark you like it.
7. When granola looks to be at the right color pull it out of the oven and let it cool. Enjoy!

*Note: The granola gets crunchy AFTER you pull it out of the oven. So your granola will still look kind of "soggy" when you take it out. Let the granola sit for 10-15 minutes before you stir it and it will get nice and crunchy.

Simple Food

I have had soup on the mind lately. I can't think of a better food that provides such a large variety of flavors, textures and ingredients while filling you up healthily and inexpensively.

Home made soup seems to be a lost art. Just looking around the grocery store you can see rows and rows of canned soup...which is great for a convenient meal, but have you ever read the back of those cans? Do you really need MSG in your meal? My grandparent's grew up in Ireland and as my Nana says have "never bought that canned stuff". Maybe some of that desire to make my own food (and know what I am consuming) got passed down from them. In any case, I am enjoying my winter of soup making. There is something very satisfying about putting some ingredients, some water and a few spices in a pot, going for a walk and coming back to a house filled with the delicious smell of your meal.

In the last few weeks I have had the pleasure of indulging in:
Onion soup with home-made croutons from Jim Lahey's "No Knead Bread"
Sweet split pea soup (secret ingredient...sweet potatoes!)
Tortilla soup (with homemade salsa and some fresh cilantro)

and last night my personal favorite
Roasted sweet potato soup with curried apples accompanied with fresh out of the oven Ballymaloe Bread (a whole wheat soda bread from my Celtic cookbook) and a pomegranate, roasted walnut, Parmesan cheese and mixed green salad. A perfect winter meal!

Next on the agenda: Spicy English Parsnip soup