Watermelon, Cucumber and Basil Salad

This juicy and delicious salad was made quite by accident.  I originally planned to make a salad with strawberries and basil from a recipe i saw on Pinterest.  However, when i went grocery shopping i bought watermelon instead.  Well, turns out that watermelon and basil make a nice combination after all.

Ingredients

Watermelon, cut into chunks (i used a small melon)

Cucumber, sliced

Fresh basil, finely chopped (about 12 leaves)

1 TBSP honey

1 meyer lemon, juiced

1 TBSP apple cider vinegar

pinch, coarse sea salt

Directions

Cut and dice watermelon into nice bit sized chunks  Slice cucumber, with skin on and set aside.  Remove basil leaves from stem, layer one on top of the other, roll them up and chop finely.  In a large bowl add honey and juice of lemon.  Mix well.  Next add apple cider vinegar and sea salt.  Add chopped basil to lemon honey mixture and stir until basil is soaked and incorporated in the juices.

Next, add cucumbers and gently mix.  Last, add watermelon.  Gently stir to coat watermelon with lemon honey juice.  You may have to use our hands to be sure that everything is mixed.  Serve immediately or chill for 30 minutes and serve as a start to meal.

This salad is great on its on or as a side dish.

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Cannellini Bean Stew

 

My new favorite bean is cannellini.  I must admit that i’ve never cooked cannellini beans before this week.  I’ve only experienced them in the can or mixed in some type of entrée while dinning out.  While picking up a few items at the grocery store, i came across an end cap with lots of wonderful looking beans.  I was actually looking for garbonzo beans to cook and came across the cannellini.  I figured, why not? And threw them into my shopping cart.

Once i got them home, i wasn’t quite sure how i wanted to prepare them.  Then i thought to just cook them and can them so i could us them on salads and maybe make a few veggie burgers.  However once  i started to cook them i figured why not make a delicious stew instead?  So, here is the recipe that my family loved.  They turned out so good that i didn’t have any pictures to share BEFORE they were nearly devoured.  Enjoy

Ingredients

12 oz package uncooked cannellini beans

water

1 onion, chopped

1 TBSP olive oil

2 TBSP freshly grated ginger

5 stalks celery, including leaves

3 medium carrots, thickly sliced

about 5-8 fresh whole tomatoes, pureed

coarse sea salt

garnish with chopped green onions

Directions

Add beans and just enough water to barely cover them to a dutch oven.  Turn heat on medium high and cook beans until about half done.  Be sure to stir beans every 10 minutes to prevent beans from sticking and burning.  Once beans are partially cooked, remove from heat, drain water and set aside.

Next, puree whole tomatoes in blender and set aside.  In same dutch oven beans were cooked in, add olive oil and turn heat on medium.  Once heated, add chopped onions and stir until onions are translucent.  Add ginger and celery and stir until celery is slightly softened.  Next, add tomato puree and turn heat to low.  Add beans back into pot and stir to be sure beans are well covered in puree. Add carrots and cover pot with lid.

At this point, more water may need to be added.  Remember not to add too much so the mixture will not be too runny.  Cook on low heat and check every 15 to 20 minutes, remembering to stir the beans each time.

Beans are done when they are soft through the middle.  Add course sea salt to taste and serve.  Garnish with green onions and enjoy.  This dish can be eaten alone, over quinoa, salad and is great hot or cold.

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New Living Expo Goodness

Here are some things my family and i picked up at the New Living Expo over the week-end.  Check it out.

Vegan (Ice-cream) Frozen Dessert

 

I’ve been on a “lets see what i can create in my new mixer” kick since i got a new kitchen gadget.  Of course my smoothies are SUPER AWESOME now.  And i’ve cut the time it takes to make frozen desserts down to like 5 minutes.  *chuckle*  It’s so easy and quick to make frozen goodies, that’ i’ve made 2 different flavors in ONE day.

The one i’m sharing now is what i would call, Tropical Vegan Ice-Cream.  It doesn’t have coconut but does include pineapple.  I could really have called it anything but tropical has a nice ring to it.  And i used about 3 different fruits, so that name just seemed fitting.  The total time it took to throw everything in the blender and mix was probably about 5 minutes and it probably took another 5 minutes to churn in my countertop ice-cream maker.  Of course you can just put the mixture into a storage container and freeze but i wanted to see how it would fair in my ice cream maker.

All measurements are approximate.

Ingredients

1½ cups Raw cacao butter (I used Divine Organics Sacred Cacao Raw Cacao Butter)

½ cup strawberry puree (organic strawberry jam works too)

1 pint fresh strawberries, stems included

1 cup fresh-cut pineapple and juice

2 whole bananas

¼ cup pure maple syrup

Directions

Add all ingredients in “industrial mixer” and blend on high, intermittently until all ingredients are smooth.  Consistency should be slightly running and look like a smoothie.  Pour into an air tight container and freeze over night.  Mixture can also be poured into an ice-cream maker and prepared according to manufacturers instructions.  Serve immediately, eat and enjoy.

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Sunday Dinner – Vegetable Lasagna

I tried to keep dinner really simple.  It’s been super hot all week-end long and even hotter in my tiny home, even with the air conditioning full blast and 2 fans.  However, i still ended up in the kitchen for the better part of the day.  Not to mention i made a yummy Boston Cream Pie Cake too, because what’s a Sunday Dinner without dessert?

The base of this recipe was the chunky tomato sauce, chopped shiitake mushrooms, chopped onions and herbs.  In addition to the mozzarella and ricotta cheese, i placed grated carrots, baby spinach and chopped red bell peppers between each layer.  I served it with some boiled asparagus in meyer lemon and butter sauce.  Simple and delicious.  The extra bonus is that i made enough for leftovers the next day.  That means, no cooking in a hot kitchen!

How do you make your lasagna?

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Soft Butter Pretzels

 

I always love eating those giant, soft, buttery, pretzels that cost like $5 at the mall.  However i don’t always want to pay that price and especially for something that i could make myself and know what’s in them.

One of my mommy groups shared this recipe for pretzels and i finally made some today.  I wasn’t sure how they’d turn out.  Would they be too hard, too doughy, too small?  Well let me tell you, they were just right.  Nice on the outside with just the right amount of crunch and super soft and chewy on the inside.  I slathered melted butter all around them once i removed them from the oven.  You can only imagine the squeals of joy when my children saw the fresh pretzels i made.  Check it out and let me know what you think.

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Show Me Your Groceries!!

I love seeing what other people stock in their pantries and frig.  So as usual in the spirit of sharing my goodies, i devoted an entire video to our recent grocery store run.  And as usual, i posted the amount we spent for a family of 7 (five growing children and two adults).  Grab something to drink and get comfy.  Enjoy

Kale Pineapple Salad (video)

My newest love in food is my Kale Pineapple Salad.  I must always have kale and fresh pineapple on hand so that i can whip this salad up at any given moment.  It’s very simple and quick to make.  The most time i spend making this salad i cutting and chopping the pineapple.  The secret to this salad is the apple cider vinegar and juice of a whole lemon.  I love eating this salad just as much as i love making it.  It’s great anytime of the day and is a perfect meal or snack.

Ingredients

Whole pineapple, peeled, cored and cut in chunks

1 bunch of kale, finely chopped

3 whole carrots, grated

2 handfuls of flame raisins (or 1 cup)

1 lemon, juiced

1 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

4 TBSP apple cider vinegar

pinch of course sea salt

dash of black pepper

Directions

Remove top, bottom and outer skin of pineapple.  Lay pineapple on its side and cut into slices.  Core each slice and cut into chunks.  Place in large bowl.  Wash kale and roughly cut, then chop kale.  Place in smaller bowl and rub with extra virgin olive oil.  Then place kale in bowl with pineapple chunks.  Wash and grate carrots and add to bowl with other produce.  Add raisins and toss.  Last add apple cider vinegar, lemon, sea salt and black pepper to taste.  Mix well.

Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes or longer before serving.

Multiple Uses for “Bible Cereal”

Okay so you may be wondering, what on earth is “bible cereal?”  It’s a sprouted grain cereal that’s wheat free, as well as gluten-free.  We affectionately refer to it as “bible cereal” because of the name, Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Cereal. This cereal is a staple in our home, as well as many other cereals, because it’s a great multi-purpose cereal.  What’s a multi-purpose cereal you ask?  Well it’s one that you can do more than just pour cold milk over.

Typically everyone in our home just eats it right out of the box.  The flavor we like best is the Cinnamon Raisin.  My children and hubhy will grab handfuls of it like trail mix and dump it into their mouths.  I’ve used it between layers and as a topping for yogurt treats i make for the children. It’s also great as a hot cereal.  My toddler, who is 19 months, LOVES it when i heat this cereal with some nut milk or even water until it’s the consistency of oatmeal.  This cereal is also great for baking and can be used as a crumb topping on your favorite dessert.  It can even be used for the base in a crust that calls for graham crackers.  Those are just some of the things we use it for in my family.

So if you’re in the mood to try a different cereal that has more than one purpose, check out the Food for Life cereals.  You won’t be disappointed. 

Apple Cider Oatmeal (video)

I love adding different things to family favorites.  This quick and delicious oatmeal adds juice that’s cooked with the rolled oats.  My children always love when i make it and actually i like eating it too.

The recipe is pretty straight forward so i won’t go into all the detailed steps of how to mix the rolled oats with the liquid.  If you know how to make oatmeal, you can make this recipe.  You can even make it the night before and have it ready for a hot breakfast before staring your day.

Ingredients

Organic apple cider (or organic apple juice)

Filtered water

2 TBSP butter

Thick rolled oats

ground cinnamon

vanilla extract

diced apple with peel

raisins

Directions

Add water and apple cider to pot in equal parts.  I used 3 cups of each because i was making a large amount. Add butter.  Bring to a boil and add rolled oats.  Cook oats according to package instructions or to your liking.  Before oats are fully cooked, add diced apples, cinnamon and vanilla extract.  When oatmeal is done, remove from heat and cover with lid until ready to serve.  Add raisins and any other garnish you like and serve hot.