tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68340131379406016132024-02-06T18:00:39.068-08:00Groovy KitchenAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788595171407787841noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6834013137940601613.post-6464221049052098952014-05-08T15:06:00.001-07:002014-05-08T15:20:27.669-07:00Real FoodOk, this just blew my mind, don't worry I'm easily excited, it happens at least once daily. I wanted to share it with you all, because I think it explains very well this idea of "real food" I've been trying to articulate. I hope you enjoy, I love this guy!!<br />
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And F Harry Balzer!!<br />
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<em>Peace--B</em>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788595171407787841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6834013137940601613.post-50267227886534821652014-05-08T14:52:00.001-07:002014-05-08T14:56:51.889-07:00Waste Not, Want NotIf there is a quote I equate to my grandma, this is it. I remember cleaning out cottage cheese containers to be reused as Tupperware, tearing cereal boxes to their smallest components so they would take up less room in the waste basket, and therefore, fill fewer trash bags. I now hear this statement drift though my mind each time I throw out an uneaten container of leftovers or those bananas that got a little too brown. <br />
This sentence was the first thing to my mind when I recently read a frightening statistic in Relish magazine. 40 percent of the American food supply ends up in the trash. I knew we were wasters, but I didn't know it was that bad. I won't start the starving kids in Africa rant, but seriously this is a problem that needs to be fixed and the responsibility lies with the consumers. Of course, much of this waste occurs in the food supply chain before it even reaches us, but we can't demand food companies to change their ways until we fix what is happening in our kitchens. Believe me, I am still a work in progress in this (and all things), but here are a few tips I have integrated into my life.<br />
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<li>Make leftovers easy: As I have discussed before, I have a leftovers problem. I also really do not like to eat the same thing for two dinners in a row, so this creates a bit of a conundrum. I try to put my leftovers away into lunch sized portions. This way they are ready to go in the morning, you don't have to go searching for containers. A deepfreeze can be a life saver for those who, like me, like to cook for an army but don't actually have one to feed. Freeze in meal size batches and keep in the freezer for a few weeks until you forget about the first time you ate it and it's like a magic surprise from yourself.</li>
<li>Get Creative: Some people see broccoli stems as trash, I now see an awesome slaw to go with pulled pork burritos (great reuse for pork roast). When carrots, celery and other veggies get a little past their prime, throw them into a Ziploc bag and keep in the freezer. The next time you make a chicken, keep the bones and boil it up with the veggies. Trust me homemade stock tastes much better than the stuff in a box and it's basically free. You can also keep your bread ends in the freezer and run them through a blender or food processor when you need bread crumbs.</li>
<li>Grow Something: Ok, if "Waste Not, Want Not" is my grandma's quote, this one is mine. If you take the time to grow your own food, I think you will care more about it. You will probably pass by the blemished tomatoes at Safeway, but if they come from your own garden and hard work the blemish suddenly becomes character. So much waste is inherent in the industrial food system (don't even get me started) if you can extract yourself from it a little you are bound to start dropping from that 40%. Having a garden can also open the possibility of composting. Those veggies that were once destined for the trash can now become next years veggies.</li>
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Well, that's just a start. Over the past few years I have been learning more and more about how food actually gets to our plates and, to me, it is scary (and that was before I knew 40% just becomes trash). I've taken most of the above steps (still working on a compost bin) and am always looking for others. I've said before, I don't think the answer is in eating organic. The answer is in each of us taking one step to eat real food like our grandparents did, then teaching another person to take that step or learning a new step from someone else. It can change your health, your figure and your outlook on life. Ah well, I promised not to rant, so I better leave it at that. Please let me know what you do to keep your food real.<br />
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<em>Wishing you Awesomeness--B</em> Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788595171407787841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6834013137940601613.post-80314293953896218392014-05-04T17:03:00.000-07:002014-05-04T15:44:39.726-07:00Homemade Pasta Wishes and Ravioli Dreams<span style="font-family: inherit;">Lets start this out with a revelation...I can make homemade pasta. And, believe me, if I can do it so can you!! (feel free to be impressed by us both right now) I was thoroughly convinced this was a feat that should only be attempted by an Italian grandma. For some reason though, a while back inspiration (and a fridge full of eggs) struck and I decided to give it a try. 'N ya know what? Like so many other things in the culinary world it really is not as hard as they make it out to be. All you need to make this happen is flour and eggs. Anything else you might need can be omitted or improvised.</span><br />
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To make your pasta start with 1 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and two eggs. The mixing can be done in a mixer, food processor or even just by making a well in the flour on the countertop and mixing the eggs in with a fork (full disclosure: I did not have much luck with the last option, guess that's where the Italian grandma skill comes in). Mix until it all comes together into a ball, you might need to add a little water. You want the dough moist enough to stick to itself, but not to you. Once it is all worked together turn it onto a countertop and knead until it begins to feel smooth. Shape it into a disc, wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for about 15 minutes before rolling. I'm still working on a perfect dough, the Internet is filled with variations and additions, I'll make sure to post when I have my recipe down.<br />
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Now that you have your pasta dough you have unlimited pastabilites (sorry, couldn't help myself). After it has rested, split it into quarters and roll to about 1/8". A pasta machine can be a huge help here (I found one for about $25 at Hobby Lobby). Then you can slice into fettuccine, lasagna noodles or really any pasta you want. My first batch of homemade pasta went into a lasagna. It worked really well, because you can cut it to perfectly fit your dish. The noodles just need to be parboiled for about 2 minutes before you build the lasagna. While homemade pasta definitely takes some time to make, but it cooks in only 2-3 minutes. You can tell its done when it floats to the top of your pot.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Genovese Style with Chicken</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXYtUMzA9yync570RcA6GIQ4mk9TEck-JcJli-eSn-tQ4sZCyuTagRQsVDhqEBzooTSQrfo_Z_tgWXCSAMpfB0zxGq6tI4hKotUCiKND3jrJkYzgpg_sxI-KO4wBk8eRdSFi9oT3vKAg/s1600/WP_20140401_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLXYtUMzA9yync570RcA6GIQ4mk9TEck-JcJli-eSn-tQ4sZCyuTagRQsVDhqEBzooTSQrfo_Z_tgWXCSAMpfB0zxGq6tI4hKotUCiKND3jrJkYzgpg_sxI-KO4wBk8eRdSFi9oT3vKAg/s1600/WP_20140401_002.jpg" height="112" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Black Bean with Corn Salsa, Chicken and Avocado </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spinach Artichoke with Acorn Squash</td></tr>
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My favorite use for homemade pasta is to make ravioli. You can usually only find cheese and maybe meat varieties in the store, but when you make it yourself you can get really creative with your fillings. My first ravioli was inspired by this recipe for <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/genovese-style-artichokes-recipe.html">Artichokes Genovese.</a> I chopped button mushrooms, onion and bacon very fine and sauteed until the bacon was crisp then mixed with some ricotta and Parmesan. I have since made ravioli filled with black beans (served with my homemade green chili) and a spinach artichoke variety. Have you tried to make homemade pasta? Any great ravioli filling ideas?<br />
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<em>Thanks for reading--B</em><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788595171407787841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6834013137940601613.post-15907631407075812412014-05-01T12:31:00.000-07:002014-05-01T12:36:42.065-07:00Groovy Kitchen PlaylistSo, as my neighbors to the north with a view of my kitchen window can attest, this really is a groovy kitchen. I love nothing more than to throw on my apron and some great tunes and bust out a couple moves while I make dinner. I'm sure I give the neighbors a good laugh with their dinner every nite since I love to twist like it's 1953 and I consider the running man to be one of my best moves. Hey, we can't all be Beyonce. Anyways, here are my current top three albums to get your culinary groove on.<br />
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1. The Gossip-The singer Beth Ditto has a powerful voice (I may have sung along into my spoon a time or two) and the beats beg to be danced to.<br />
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2. Wild Belle- I acutally discovered these guys while listening to NPR in my kitchen (my go to when the MP3 player is dead). They are a brother/sister duo. The sis brings a sweet voice I feel I can somewhat replicate and the bro provides some awesome saxamaphone. If a round of air sax doesn't bring a smile to your face then you need to work on your life.<br />
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3. Matisyahu-I just love a little reggae beat in the kitchen, and all the better (at least weirder) when it is delivered by a Hasidic Jew. I love the lyrics to Chop 'Em Down, totally speaks to modern society's destructive tendencies...or something deep like that.<br />
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Well, I'm off the practice my worm. What are on your playlists right now?Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788595171407787841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6834013137940601613.post-73091664596673043272014-04-25T14:38:00.000-07:002014-04-25T14:43:27.753-07:00It Takes Balls<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Remember this guy? A big delicious pot of risotto...for two people. I suppose it's time I divulge one of my biggest kitchen problems. For some reason, I am always compelled to cook enough food for a family of eight, even though it is just for my boyfriend and myself. It's a problem, I know. I should get help...or open a soup kitchen. Until I do something about it, our fridge is perpetually full of leftovers. </div>
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So, what to do. The risotto is never really the same after it hits the fridge. What was once creamy is now weirdly goopy. I just don't have it in me to let that deliciousness go to waste. Here to save the day: Arancini. Or, as I so ineloquently call them, Risotto Balls. You simply roll your leftover risotto into balls (about the size of a golf ball). Then you can fill them with a chunk of cheese or maybe even some cooked chicken, or hey, more bacon anyone? <br />
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Once you've rolled and filled your balls, stick 'em in the freezer to set up a bit. Next, set up a breading station. In one bowl beat an egg with a couple tablespoons of milk or water. In another, add some bread crumbs and season them up with salt and pepper (feel free to add any spices you like). Now remove your balls from the freezer, dip in egg mixture and roll around in breading. Put them on a cookie sheet and spray with a little cooking spray to help them get crispy. Bake at 425 degrees for about 10 minutes until they are golden and crispy, but before the cheese oozes out (makes me sadder than when I break the egg yolk). Serve them with some marinara for dipping for a great snack. Add a salad and there's dinner.</div>
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Well, hope that helps you clear out some fridge space. Let me know if you have a favorite way of using up leftovers, cuz my fridge is always full of them.</div>
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<em>Have fun out there--B</em></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788595171407787841noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6834013137940601613.post-37714443349919304432014-04-21T15:16:00.000-07:002014-04-22T15:06:03.548-07:00Yeah, we can make Risotto<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">This is one of my favorite dishes ever. Not because it is delicious (eat it off the floor good). Not because it is beautiful (look at those colors). Not even because it combines some of the best flavors ever created (bacon, parmesan, butter). It's because it is fancy and when I make it I can pretend I am too!! At least in my neck of the woods, if you tell someone you made risotto they are going to be impressed...then they are going to ask you what risotto is. I must confess until I started making it myself, my only experience of risotto involved Chef Ramsey calling someone a donkey. I don't know if mine would pass his test, but it rocks the house around here.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let's start with the basics...</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">For any risotto you will need onion, garlic, fat, liquid, cheese and rice. The onion and garlic are pretty self explanatory, I suppose you could even leave them out...but not in my house! Your fat will most likely come from butter, but you could use olive oil or bacon grease (oh no she didn't). You can use most any liquid from water to fresh, homemade chicken stock and never be afraid to deglaze with a little wine. You could go crazy with the cheese, although I am partial to parmesan (which is not pictured, whoops). Finally, you need some rice or pasta. When I stated making risotto I used orzo pasta, because I could not find Arborio rice (the traditional choice for risotto). Now I have tried them both and I must say the orzo is easier to work with. It cooks quicker and is more forgiving if it's a little over or under. However, the starch in the Arborio creates a very creamy risotto, so it is worth a little extra effort.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">And we cook...</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Get your chopped onion and fat working in a large pot over medium heat. While this is working, bring the liquid to a simmer in a separate pan. Now, add some garlic and the rice to the onions. Give it a few minutes for the garlic to cook up a little and the pasta get a bit toasty (think rice-a-roni). If you're using wine throw in a little now and scrape up all the good bits. The next step is to add in your heated liquid a ladleful at a time and allow the rice to soak that up before adding more liquid. Keep your pot at a low simmer and stir, stir, stir (this is how it gets creamy). Once it is all incorporated, about 20-25 minutes, stir in some grated cheese and if you choose (no peer pressure) a bit more butter. Voila!!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">That's really it, risotto is more technique than recipe. All you need to know are some ratios. If you have 1 cup of rice, you will need about 3 cups stock, 2 tablespoons fat, 1/4 cup onion, 2 garlic cloves and 1/4 cup cheese. You will end up with about 2 1/2 cups of risotto. The most important thing is to taste as you go. Have fun mixing it up to fit your tastes and use your favorite ingredients or those that are in season. Some of my faves:</span></div>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Butternut Squash Risotto (pictured): Start the pan with a few strips of bacon, removing when crispy. Keep 1 tablespoon of grease and add 1 tablespoon butter to sauté onions. Meanwhile, roast diced butternut squash in the oven with olive oil, salt and pepper. When I add the cheese, I throw in the squash (sometimes partially pureed) and crumbled bacon. </span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Mushroom: This one is a classic just add some chopped mushrooms to the onions and proceed as usual. Some mushroom stock would be a great addition.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Pepper-Jack Chorizo: Ok, this one is still in fantasy stage, never really thought to use cheese other than parmesan 'til about half a page ago and now I'm inspired. I'll let you all know if it happens.</span></li>
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<li><span style="font-family: inherit;">Also great to throw in at the end: peas, blanched asparagus, herbs, really anything you like (please leave a comment if you have a combo you love)</span></li>
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<em><span style="font-family: inherit;">Peace and Cheese--B</span></em>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00788595171407787841noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6834013137940601613.post-28307994803929407262014-04-16T16:31:00.000-07:002014-04-21T18:04:27.090-07:00Welcome, Let's Get Groovy!!I've racked my brain for many months for the perfect name for this blog. It finally hit me as I lay in bed last night thinking of the mozzarella I would be making today and the horror movie I had just watched. (Note: do not think about cheese and ghosts before you drift off, you will have some weird dreams.) I may as well just admit to myself and the rest of the world that, deep down, I am a hippie and I just want life to be groovy. <br />
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Take my recent addiction to yoga. Or the fact that a batch of homemade granola is now a weekly tradition in my house. And believe me this isn't a recent phenomenon. I still remember the shirt I wore to the first day of 3rd grade with huge purple bubble letters spelling "groovy". I still fail to understand why all the other kids didn't bow down to my awesomeness. Oh well, I guess we can't all be groovy. And a final point since I'm traveling down memory lane here. Some of the best times of my teenagehood where walking with my best friend down the main street of our small town throwing peace signs to see how many we would get back. (Hint: In small town, red state Wyoming, the answer is not many.)<br />
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My goal with this site is to share my love of food...real food. My definition of that is still in progress. I'm not going to preach about eating only organic or putting chia seeds in your tea. I'm inspired by my grandma's kitchen, where the eggs came from chickens she had met and hashbrowns were hand cut each Sunday for my grandpa. I would hate for such great memories to be obliterated by Big Macs and sucralose. So, I'm going to keep making more of those memories and I hope you will join me. Let's see where this journey takes us.<br />
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Peace and Love-B <br />
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