Author: cmgift

Banana and Blueberry Pancakes

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The past few weeks have been a season of extremes…full schedules, warmer weather, husband traveling, conferences, school play (you name it!) then sickness and cleared schedules, snuggling on the couch, reading 3 books at a time and freezing weather.  I was sick this week and called in from work for the first time I can remember in a long time.  I watched the snow fall all day and didn’t do anything productive.  And my daughter had her tonsils out and we are staying in, watching movies, snuggling on the couch while she recovers.  It’s inevitable that we will be busy with 3 kids, but we try not to let business define us.  And sometimes we are forced to slow down.  I’ll take it and breathe a little.  When I have some downtime I love to cook and experiment with recipes. I am not a huge fan of pancakes, but I do love blueberry pancakes. These pancakes have no added sugar…yes, they taste kind of “healthy” and my kids much prefer my husband’s famous “real” pancakes, but I love them.  Add a little butter and a dash of cinnamon or a little real maple syrup and you won’t miss the “real” pancakes!  These were so good this morning with coffee and a nice sunny window on this frigid day!!

Ingredients:

1 ripe banana, mashed

1 egg, beaten add

1 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tablespoon almond butter

1 tablespoon coconut oil, melted

1/4 c. almond milk

1/2 c. rolled oats

1/4 c. whole wheat flour

1/4-1/2 c. blueberries

In a large mixing bowl, mash the bananas add the rest of the ingredients in the bowl and stir until combined.  Make the pancakes on a griddle or frying pan on low heat.  Makes 6 small-medium pancakes.  Instead of blueberries, try chocolate chips and it tastes like banana bread!

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Green Smoothie and Notes for the New Year

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January is usually a time of reflection for me.  I don’t write resolutions or bold new goals, but I take stock of where I am; what is important to me, what I learned the previous year, what I want to accomplish this year.  I try and recalibrate and renew, not start again or rebuild, but build on what I learned already.  Last year was crazy…I could not have anticpated what 2015 brought in my life. It was an incredible time of growth, uncertainty, sacrifice, joy and life.  I learned to follow what really makes my heart race and say yes.

I love to use words to describe the seasons in life….2014 was a year of BRAVE, 2015 became ABLE then REST.  2016 is still REST but also feels like INSPIRE.  I learned how important rest and reflection are in my life and the need to create a rhythm that fosters growth.  That’s my intention for this year and that rhythm will include more self care, time to work on relationships, being present in small moments, time to encourage and inspire and intentional yeses/permission to say no.  For me, self care looks like eating well, exercising daily, tea and a good book, walks outdoors and sitting on park benches.  Taking this time for self care and rest will give me the energy to inspire and be inspired.

 

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Walks in the Winter…

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Small Moments….

 

This smoothie is a great way to start your day and pack in some healthy fruits and vegetables!

Ingredients:

1 cup almond milk or coconut water

1/3 cup pineapple

1/2 pear

1/2 frozen banana

1 cup kale or spinach

Blend in a high powered blender and enjoy!!

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Chicken, Brown Rice and Fennel Soup

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We’ve been experiencing an unseasonably warm winter here in PA…I’m not complaining.  I’m not a huge fan of the cold, but the cold weather does make warm comforting foods even more enjoyable.  This weekend I saw the first snow of the season while visiting up home in Central PA.  It was a dusting really, but a sign of the changing season.  I did find comfort in the tiny bit of snow this weekend…it felt familiar and predicable.  Seasons in life change and they are not always predicable…that’s both the beauty and struggle of our seasons.  But the difficult seasons are often the ones that produce the most beauty in the end.

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We bought a fall CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) this year for the first time.  I LOVE fall vegetables. We got fennel in the CSA and  while some people shy away from fennel because of the strong “licorice” scent, fennel is one of my favorite vegetables.  When it cooks, the licorice scent goes away and cooks similar to celery.  Fennel is oddly shaped.  There is a core in the center of the bulb that can be cut out and the rest of the fennel can be eaten- the bulb, the stalk and fronds.  I love to use fennel in stews, when roasting meats and in soups like this one!

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Ingredients:

1 onion, chopped

1 fennel bulb, cored and chopped

2 carrots, chopped

olive oil

6 cups of chicken broth

1/2  cup brown rice

2 cups cooked chicken, cubed

juice from one lemon

fennel fronds, chopped (optional)

salt and pepper

I modified this recipe from the book Savor by Shauna Niequist.  In a dutch oven, cook the chopped onion, carrots, fennel ( salt and pepper) in olive oil until translucent.  Add the chicken broth and brown rice and cook until 5 minutes before the rice is cooked through.  Add the chicken, lemon juice and chopped fennel fronds (optional) and cook until the rice is tender.  Add salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy for a light meal this holiday week!

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Sausage, Lentil and Kale Soup and Being Still

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As fall sets in, I am embracing the change in weather, the colors, the crisp cool air with autumn rituals of picturesque walks, warm drinks and sun filled windows that only fall can bring.  Fall is a time when things slow down. When the world is so loud, it’s nice to slow down and just be still and listen. That’s what fall has become for me, a season of being still.  Recently I started a ritual of just sitting in a park or outdoors once a week for 15 minutes and just being still…not trying to get in a quick walk, not catching up on emails or some reading, but just time to be still and present and take in what’s around me.  Some people are able to get this quiet time in the morning, but not me.  As soon as I get up, no matter what time, kids are right behind me and my day has started.  So I schedule it in my day just once a week.  It grounds me, it gets me ready to think well and feel deeply.  Maybe someday I will actually do this everyday, but for now in this season, 15 minutes in my week is what I have. Since starting this practice, I found that I’m taking bits and pieces of each day to be more present as a result of this intentional time.

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Usually I have a recipe I want to share, then I write a post.  But this time I started writing and I wasn’t inspired by the recipe I was going to share.  But today I was inspired to make this beautiful soup and feel good about sharing it!! It has wonderfully layered flavors and tastes amazing! I still have some kale left in my garden, the last lonely crop that loves the crisp cold air!  And this soup is perfect accompanied by being still and taking in your surroundings and enjoying the loveliness that only fall can bring!

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1 lb Sausage, casing removed (I used apple turkey sausage, but any sausage will do!)

1 onion, diced

1 large carrot, shredded

fresh rosemary, chopped (or dried or use other fresh herbs if you have them)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 tsp cumin

1 bundle of kale, stems removed, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

4 cups of chicken stock

2 cups of water

1/2 cup of red wine (optional)

1 3/4 cup of lentils

In a dutch oven, brown the sausage in olive oil.  Add the onion, garlic and carrot until tender (salt and pepper at this stage). Pour in about a half cup of red wine and reduce by half (this is optional, but makes another layer of flavor).  Add the herbs, diced tomatoes, water, chicken stock and lentils.  Salt and pepper again and simmer for 35-45 minutes until the lentils are tender.  Add the kale in the last 10 minutes of cooking.  Serve with a drizzle of good olive oil and balsamic vinegar and enjoy!

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Broccoli Cheddar Soup

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It is officially soup season, and boy have I been making the soup lately!!  We had some beautiful broccoli in our CSA and it’s abundant all over with these cooler fall temps. This soup is so good and very easy to make.  I’ve been finding solace in chopping, simmering, cooking- something I can control and see the results of my work in a tasty bowl of soup or meal.  When other things seem too big and out of my control, it’s nice to balance with simple tasks that give me pleasure.   Invite some friends over, make some soup and feed your soul this weekend!!

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Ingredients:

1 large head of broccoli (including stalk), cubed

1 tbs olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 medium sized potatoes, peeled and cubed (or I’ve also used turnips)

2 cups of chicken stock

2 cups of water

2-3 carrots, shredded

2 cups cheddar cheese, shredded

2 tablespoons of greek yogurt

Dice the broccoli florets, reserve half and set aside (use the stalk too…just peel the tough outer layer with a vegetable peeler) and chop the rest of your vegetables.  Add olive oil, onions and salt to a stock pot and cook until translucent.   Add the chicken stock, water, 1/2 of the cubed broccoli (reserve some florets to add texture to the soup later), 1/2 of the cubed potato, and more salt and pepper.  Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.  Puree the soup with an immersion blender or in a blender in batches.  Add the reserved broccoli florets and potato and the shredded carrots.  Simmer until the vegetables are tender.  Turn heat to low and add the shredded cheese until melted.  Add the greek yogurt and serve!!

 

 

 

Rustic Butternut Squash Soup and a note on Seasons…They are a changin’

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This past weekend was the first weekend that actually felt like fall.  The weather was crisp and there were obvious gold, red and brown tones taking over the green of the summer and a freshness to the air that only fall can bring.  I spent the weekend in jeans and a t-shirt…with some nice bright sun sprinkled in, I could live with this weather all year long!  But I do love the changing seasons…a parallel to life and the changing seasons we encounter.

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Some seasons sneak in and before you know it, you are there.  Smack in the middle of a season you didn’t even know was coming.  That is what happened this winter.  I could feel the shift then, but I had no idea what was coming when my friend yelled to me from the next room “Hey, we are going to start a social enterprise!”.  My response….”Ok!”.  The past 7 months were a whirlwind.  A season that brought 7 women together and birthed a non-profit and social enterprise built on empowering women in homelessness, building relationships, learning stories, and loving those in front of us.  For me it was a season fraught with uncertainty, excitement, hard work and hope…hope for what was to come, hope that all of this work was going to pay off!  Last week our social enterprise endeavor ended the first chapter of planning, dreaming, casting vision and we are now entering the “let’s get this thing started” phase!  I can feel the shift and the new season to come.  I reflected on the verse Isaiah 43:19 “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?”   As much as I want to know what this new season will bring, as much as I want certainty and a well laid out plan, I hang my hat on Faith.  Faith that God will provide in this season in His time.  He will equip us with what is good and what we need to fulfill His work. I ended my time of reflection with this sunset on a perfect fall evening. So friends, I urge you to say yes and take the leap into a new season!

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So let’s talk about food a moment.  I LOVE fall produce.  It is my favorite….winter squash, root vegetables and slow, simmered deep flavors.  The house smells fabulous all day when I cook in the fall. The summer vegetables can’t hold up to that kind of cooking!  And not to mention hot coffees and teas and switch back to red wine!  I love the rich flavors of fall!  This soup is a very easy weeknight soup and freezes well for lunches.  My Aunt and Uncle gave me a gigantic butternut squash from their garden.  I made this soup and had enough left over to roast and use in a roasted butternut squash, goat choose and arugula salad…can’t go wrong with that!  I used celery root and turnips but you can easily use celery and potatoes or add an apple and other spices for some sweetness.  Have fun with it and enjoy!

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Ingredients:

4-6 cups of peeled, diced butternut squash

1 celery root, peeled and rough chopped (or 2 stalks of celery)

1 or 2 medium onions, rough chopped

2 turnips or potatoes, peeled and rough chopped

4-6 cups of chicken stock (homemade if you have it!)

handful of fresh sage, chopped

salt and peper

1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper (optional)

Chop all of your vegetables.  Add olive oil to a stockpot and cook onions and salt and pepper until translucent.  Add the other vegetables, chicken stock, sage and other spices including more salt.  Simmer until all of the vegetables are tender.  Puree the soup in batches or use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth.  Eat with a drizzle of cream and olive oil (trust me, don’t skip this!).  This soup is even better the next day, so make ahead for an easy meal!

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Salsa, Roasted Tomato Sauce and Why it’s ok to not deal with the tomatoes…

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First of all, I wanted to post this a few weeks ago. I hope you all still have tomatoes and can enjoy these recipes!!  Just the story of my life right now!

The other week I looked at my kitchen counter and saw all of the tomatoes and I’m like, I just can’t.  I can’t deal with the tomatoes.  In a previous life (a mere few months ago actually), I would take joy in arranging these tomatoes in a nice scattered yet organized way on an old tray or cutting board and take pictures in preparation for a blog post.  Then I would cook something up that’s simple and nutritious and tell the world, hey, this is soooooo easy guys.  There is no excuse to not eat this way.  And the other day, I threw a away a whole bowl of tomatoes that rotted on my counter…..this is not ok.  What IS okay, is not dealing with the tomatoes.  If you love to grow tomatoes and you can’t deal with them, give them away to a neighbor, take them to work, put a table out of “free tomatoes”.  Or just don’t buy the tomatoes.  Buy a jar of sauce, cut up a few vegetables and be done with it because you have chosen to do other things with your time at the moment.  Maybe you have said “yes” to a big project that is taking your time, maybe you are being present with your family, maybe you are just busy enough with everyday life.  Whatever it is, it’s ok and you can’t do it all.  Obviously, this is not about the tomatoes but intentionally saying yes or no to the important things in your life and being okay with it.  Here are two very easy recipes so you can deal with those tomatoes without too much thinking involved!

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Salsa

6 Larger Tomatoes, diced

small red onion, minced (about 1-2 tablespoons)

Juice of 1 lime

1/2 tsp salt

2 garlic cloves, minced

Dash of balsamic vinegar

1 small jalapeño paper, minced (optional)

bunch of fresh cilantro, chopped (optional)

Combine the onion, lime juice and salt in a medium bowl first (this mellows out the onion).  Then mix all of the ingredients together.  Eat with tortilla chips and it’s also excellent with eggs!!

 

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Roasted Tomato Sauce

Tomatoes, quartered (around 2 lbs) or 6-8 larger tomatoes

1 onion, quartered

any type of pepper, quartered

fresh oregano and rosemary (or dried Italian herbs)

olive oil

salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 375.  Chop all of the vegetables and toss with herbs, olive oil, salt and pepper.  Place on a baking sheet with sides and line with parchment paper if you prefer easy clean up.  Roast for 45 min-1 hour.  Remove the vegetables and place in a pot and either puree with an immersion blender, place in a blender or just smash with a fork or potato masher if you prefer chunky  sauce.  Eat with pasta or over zucchini “noodles” or an easy dinner!

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Simple Chickpea Salad

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Yesterday we were at our parents house spending our Sunday relaxing outdoors and at the pool and I finally finished a blog post that I started, um…two weeks ago!  I love writing outside listening to the birds, woodpeckers and…who am I kidding…the kids bickering at the pool. But it’s all music to my ears. I do love the summer and I am loving the fresh produce of the season, but struggling with balancing my time to both cook it and write about it! My meals these days are super quick, simple, full of greens, but nothing fancy.  Actually, this is the way I prefer it.

Now that we are in the full swing of summer and summer swim,  I need to be prepared with easy go-to meals that can be prepared in minutes.  With fresh herbs and vegetables in the garden, it’s so easy to whip up a quick salad like this one.  Make a double batch of this to eat by itself or over greens though the week.

I used whatever fresh herbs were spouting out of my garden at that time…some parsley, cilantro and garlic chives.  If you don’t have a red pepper, use tomatoes instead.  You can add avocado or eat over greens or add feta cheese.  This salad is very versatile.  I like to grill extra vegetables when we grill out to use for salads like this.

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Ingredients:

1 15 oz. can of chickpeas

1 small red onion (a tablespoon or 2 is plenty)

a bunch of fresh herbs, chopped (I used parsley, cilantro and garlic chives)

juice of 1 lime

1/2 red bell pepper, roasted

olive oil

1/4 tsp of cumin or to taste

salt and peper to taste

To roast a red pepper, cut into strips and toss with olive oil.  Place under boiler for 20-30 minutes until roasted around the edges.  OR grill the red pepper strips.  Drain the chickpeas and add toss all of the ingredients together.  I don’t measure the olive oil, just give it a drizzle.  I also don’t measure the herbs, just use as little or as much as you like (but don’t skimp on these, the herbs make the salad!).  Season with cumin, salt and pepper to taste.  Enjoy on a beautiful summer evening!!

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Asparagus and Spinach Frittata

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I am so psyched that spring is here!! It’s been the coldest year ever, like literally.  I saw that on the news.  (I have no idea the details on that or where they were reporting, but in my mind it’s true.) But the roadside markets are open now, there is fresh seasonal produce available, my garden is in, I feel like cooking again…things are getting more right in the wold.  In seasons defined by workloads, projects, school, activities, saving the world (you have to dream big! ;-)) I can always come back to the kitchen, my garden, running with friends, the woods, a good book and feel more centered.  Feeding the soul with these things in life that center me gives me the energy to do the hard stuff.  The projects and goals that seem impossible and big and having faith to just forge on day after day doing my part.  I ran with a friend today for the first time in while.  Just running and having her by my side fed by soul.  I need more feeding of the soul, more faith and trust and less striving and controling.

To me the perfect weekend brunch (or breakfast, lunch or dinner any day of the week for that matter) is anything with eggs.  While we can’t have chickens in our back yard, the next best thing is being able to visit the chickens that lay our eggs.  My youngest and I did that this week and picked up some local asparagus and spinach.  It was a good day!  Right where I needed to be when I thought that life was too big.

 

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Ingredients:

8 eggs

2 Tbsp milk of choice

olive oil

1 bunch of fresh asparagus

1 cup fresh spinach

fresh thyme (or herbs of choice)

grated parasean cheese

salt and pepper

In a broiler-proof pan, cook the asparagus and spinach in olive oil until just tender.  Mix the eggs, milk and cheese and a handful of chopped herbs.  Add the egg mixture to the cooked vegetables and cook a few minutes until firm on medium to medium/low heat (not too high). Then cook under the broiler for 2-4 minutes.  I cooked mine too long, so watch it before it gets too brown (like mine).  But it was still good!!  Grab a book, some coffee, enjoy it outdoors and feed your soul (and your belly!)

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Zucchini Pizza Crust and Some Thoughts on Clean Eating

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I have been having many conversations with friends and family around healthy and clean eating lately. It’s probably the impending warm weather that will eventually come that is inspiring people to give more thought to what they are eating.  The visions of fresh, local produce dancing in our heads…UM, or maybe that’s just me. Or it could just be that we all sat around this LONG, COLD winter eating the bread, milk and eggs we got in preparation for the next snow storm.  Whatever the reason, I have given my “list” of foods to a couple of people who are contemplating their eating habits.  Inspired by the book 7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker where she writes about excess in food, clothes, spending, waste, possessions, media, and stress, I made a list of 7 food categories that I would eat for 7 days. JH (that’s what I call her because we are tight now…I follow her on Instagram) went so far as picking 7 foods and ate only those foods for 30 days.  So I’m not that crazy, but my little experiment made me think about the foods I was eating and totally eliminated processed foods and sugar.  That’s good!  But I also felt really weak and headachy so I added some grains to the mix because I’m just not good with totally eliminating grains.  It’s just not sustainable for me personally.  So here are my adjusted food categories:

1. Fruits/Vegetables

2. Meat/Eggs

3. Nuts (inclues nut butters and almond milk)

4. Plain Greek Yogurt

5. Beans

6. Grains (sprouted grain breads, oats, brown rice and quinoa)

7. Healthy fats (Like Olive Oil and Coconut Oil)

I’m not a nutritionist and I know that these categories are broad and up to interpretations, but in general if I eat this way, eliminating processed foods and sugar, I feel good.  You can adjust the list to what works for you.  I’m certainly not perfect, and have a hard time eating like this all the time. One way our family can keep on track to start off the weekend is to have pizza night on Friday night.

Friday nights we are usually tired and just want to get take-out, but if we plan to make our own pizza we can have something that is healthier.  And it takes the guess out of what to make for dinner.  Sometimes I make my own whole wheat pizza crust and sometimes we get already made pizza crusts from a local bread maker-Thom’s Bread.  We get it at a market close by and it’s really good and made with simple ingredients- flour, water, olive oil, salt and yeast.  Today I wanted to try another gluten free option.  I’ve made cauliflower crusts in the pasts, but this time I tired a zucchini crust and it turned out great.  Now, this is not real bread pizza crust….I think I will always prefer real bread, but for gluten free and veggie-packed, it’s good!  Give it a try!  Top with your favorite pizza ingredients.  I put turkey sausage, kale, tomatoes and cheese on this one.  I know that cheese is not on my list…case in point that I’m not perfect and have my weaknesses!!

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Ingredients

2 smaller zucchinis, shredded (or one larger/med zucchini)

1/2 c. almond flour

1/4 c. parmesan cheese, grated

1 egg

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

1/2 tsp Italian seasoning

salt and peper

Preheat oven at 450 degrees.  Grate the zucchini and to and get as much moisture out as possible, lay out a dish towel with a paper towel on top.  Put the zucchini on the paper towel and dish towel, wrap it up and really wring it out.  You want the zucchini to be as dry as possible so the crust does not get soggy.  Then mix all of the above ingredients together.  Place a piece of parchment paper on a pizza stone or a baking sheet and brush with olive oil.  Spread out the mixture to form the crust.  Brush crust with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.  Then flip the crust over right on to the pizza stone and bake another 5-10 minutes on the other side.  Then put on the pizza ingredients of your choice and bake another 5-10 minutes until your cheese is melted.  Enjoy!!

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