Sunday Farmer's Market Brunch Feast and Make Your Own Taco Dinner

On Sunday mornings we go to our local Farmer's Market.  In the last 3 years, we've probably only missed a total of 6 markets (one for the birth of my son and the others while we were out of town).  We think of it as our "church" time - our own way of giving thanks for the food that nourishes us.  When we don't go, we really miss the food from the farms.

On the flip side, it's quite a time investment.  If I go alone, I can do it in 45 minutes.  But then I have to carry all the bags myself! So usually we make it a family event and the kids get to play at the playground as well.  They know the farmers by name and which stand we get each type of food from.  Kaelyn knows we have to get their early to be sure to get eggs.  I like that.  But the family outing is rarely less than 2 hours.  Then when we get home we have to put it all away and prepare the veggies for the week!!!  Needless to say - we don't do many other things on Sundays!

The beauty is enjoying the bounty for lunch.  As I put away the different food items, I prepare a portion for us to eat for lunch.  This weekend, Andrew made a "train" of all the different plates of food. Then he named each food.

 Grapes...avocados....strawberries...mixed fruit (raspberries, French Breakfast melon, and peaches), 3 variety of cucumbers sliced...water.

Then for dinner I arranged diced vegetables and bib lettuce for tacos.  Kaelyn loves making her own taco in the lettuce leaf. Andrew grazes on the veggies.  This night we had tomatoes, avocados, cilantro, red and yellow peppers, sliced olives (from a can!).

We then stuff them with either ground beef or garbanzo beans with taco seasoning as follows:

Taco "meat"
1 lb ground beef or 1 can organic garbanzo beans (preferably Eden Organics since the can is BPA free)
1 T chili powder
1 T ground cumin
1 T garlic powder
1 t  onion powder
1/2 t ground sea salt
1/2 c water to use as necessary to keep moist as you cook

I make this really easy and throw it all into a pan and cook it till the meat is browned or the garbanzo beans have absorbed the spices.

Sour Cream Topping
1/2 cup Greek Yogurt
1 t chili powder
1/2 lime (juiced)
1/2 t garlic powder

Mix all together and add a dollop your taco!


Keeping it real! Kathy

Move over Quaker! Better Peaches and Cream Oatmeal

I used to LOVE those easy packages of quaker oatmeal when I was in high school.  You know the box that came with the variety of flavors?  Maple Syrup, Strawberries and Cream, Peaches and Cream, etc? My favorite was Peaches and Cream. Hands down. And I was so excited when they started to make a box of only Peaches and Cream.  No more choosing. No more carefully selecting which day got which flavor so you could have your favorite only when you needed it most!

Well I was inspired by the peaches in season. Peaches are one of my favorite fruits.  My kids love them too.  So this morning, when we had slim pickings for breakfast, I decided to make my own version of Peaches and Cream Oatmeal.

It was a hit!

Peaches and Cream Oatmeal

1 cup organic old fashioned oats (really, steel cut are best but they take so much longer)

1 cup milk or non-dairy milk substitute

3/4 cup water

1/2 t vanilla

1 peach, diced small

1 T maple syrup

Additional maple syrup to taste

Combine oats and liquids (first 4 ingredients) and bring to a boil.  Continue cooking over medium heat until liquid is absorbed and oats become thick (about 5 minutes)...stir frequently to avoid burning.  Turn off heat.

Add peaches and maple syrup and stir.  Let sit for a minute so the peaches get soft.

Transfer to bowls and add maple syrup to your perfect taste.

This serves about 2-4 depending on appetite. In my case, my kids polished it all off and I only got a little taste.

On another note, after about a month of neglecting our garden, we have blight on our front yard tomatoes and our accidental pumpkin patch (a result of our lazy attempt at composting and using the dirt that obviously still had viable seeds!) died off early.  We are having an early harvest.  What cute pumpkins! I just hope they'll last till October.

Keeping it real! Kathy

Torture or reality? The Roasting of a Pig

I'll admit - I'm a little chicken to post about this experience on this site.  I had a somewhat hard time dealing with it myself.  But it's part of life - so why hide it?

We went to visit my family in Chicagoland this summer.  We had a family picnic - kind of a reunion-slash-birthday party. My dad turned 80, another uncle turned 85 and yet another is turning 70. 

Let me pause just to reiterate that we were in the midwest.

Hopefully that's all the context you'll need.

My mom has wanted to have a pig roast for years.  This was her opportunity.  It takes a lot of people to eat a whole pig.  So you need to have quite the party.

In the midwest, pig roasts are pretty common.  They are a feature of many weddings even.  

We don't eat much meat - especially from pigs. Given the common practices of feeding and treating pigs, I don't really want that stuff in my body.  Nor my children's.  But when in Rome...

As Kaelyn has grown, she's started to ask about where the food comes from.  Last year for Thanksgiving she asked about the Turkey.  I told her all about it and thought she'd never eat meat again.  But she happily ate up the turkey dinner.  Now this pig - that's another story.  She asked if it was alive before?  Why do they have to cook it dead?  It was interesting to reflect on her unexposed brain trying to make sense of it.  You can see from the photo below that she was quite horrified.

She did not partake in eating the pig.  She was quite upset about it.  She also didn't really make the connection from this roasted pig to the one in the petting zoo we visited 5 minutes after this photo. 

And she did partake in eating bacon a few days later - even though we told her it came from a pig like the one at the park.

Overall, I'm glad for the opportunity to have the kids see where the meat comes from.  The turkey at Thanksgiving comes without a head or feet. This pig came in all it's pighood glory.  When I came back and told people in California, they were horrified that we would show this to children. They thought it was torture. But I actually think it's very important. It's reality.  It's another example of how far we've come from our food.  We don't see, touch, smell, or know what our food was before it was on our plate.  

When the kids are a little older, old enough to keep the memory in their brain, we plan to spend a week on a farm - where we get to know the animals and the process of killing them.  Personally, I think we should all experience the context of where our food comes from.  My mom did.  My dad did.  They both butchered their own animals when they were young kids.  And they still eat meat.  But at least they are connected to the whole purpose of being a meat eater - and they are able to make a choice with all the information at hand.  

On the flipside, here is quick, easy to watch, educational video on the downside of meat - specifically beef.

The Hidden Costs of Beef

Keeping it real! Kathy

Who doesn't love watermelons?

I've only met one person who doesn't like watermelon (my niece!) I definitely love watermelon.  This year it's taken forever to get a good one. I think we've thrown out 5-6 since May because they were so bad.  Last week was the magic week - we've had about 5 that have been super sweet (no, we don't eat that much watermelon - we always share them!).

Yesterday Mike bought two. So I decided this was the opportunity to make some watermelon popsicles. I've always wanted to try watermelon-mint...so I found me some mint.  I gave it a whirl in the Vitamix blender (yes, just watermelon and chopped mint - nothing else).  It was one of the yummiest things I've ever tasted. I could have drank the whole pitcher.  But I filled up the popsicle containers and lucky me, there was extra! So I added ice and a little rum, and Mike and I enjoyed a little after-dinner fun beverage.  I think I'll be making a habit of this mixture.  So refreshing.
 Even the kids helped!

The kid's version...

The adult version...

Happy summer!

Keeping it real! Kathy

Veggie Hodgepodge

I'm really starting to get into the summer vegetable mood.  I'm trying to come up with creative and EASY ways to use as many veggies as possible - without having to plan or look at recipes.  This meal was inspired by what was in my fridge and garden.

I can't even think of a name for it. It's a hodgepodge...but it was super yummy.

I had some Tofu in my fridge that I bought a few weeks ago. I haven't been making tofu over the last couple years b/c I'm on the fence about whether it's okay for you or not. But this brand is pretty well done - Organic AND it contains natural Nigiri which I'm told is a good thing.  Anyway - I needed to use this or it was going to go bad. 

 

After slicing it into bite sized pieces I sauteed it with some spices and garlic.  Note the browning that I like to do - it gives it more of a texture similar to chicken.  I highly recommend this.

As the tofu was cookin' and I was nearly done with the saute...I decided to add a little salt.  This is where things got really fun.  I just bought a new grinder of Himalayan Sea Salt from Trader Joes.  I had to take the plastic wrap off and then I flipped it over to grind the salt.  Apparently the lid was not attached so it fell off and HALF of the bottle of salt spewed all over the cooktop and into the sauteed veggies.  AGH! Nothing like your meal being wrecked when you're about to put it on the table!

 See the little pink crystlals? That's salt! Imagine how salty that would be?

I was able to dig out all the veggies and clean out the pan.  I did NOT add more salt to the final dish.  It was salty but not too bad.

For a little more heft for Mike I added some Soba Noodles.  He loved it and so did Kaelyn.  Next time, I'll make it with Spinach or Chard. The kale was a little chewy. 

Kale Tofu Pasta with Mushrooms and Sherry

Ingredients

1 lb kale, ribbed and shredded

1/2 cup sherry 

2/3 cup water

2 cloves garlic, minced

3 t olive oil

2 c mushrooms (crimini or button), sliced

1 large tomato, diced

2 t spice mix (chives, tarragon, parsley or something similar)

1 package firm tofu, sliced

Sea salt to taste

Directions

Boil water and cook soba noodles until tender (follow package instructions).  Set aside.

Heat 1.5 t of olive oil in a pan and saute one clove of garlic.  Pan fry the tofu over medium heat to brown the sides.  Add spice mix and keep warm over low heat.

Heat 1.5 t olive oil in a pan and saute mushrooms with remaining clove of garlic.  When mushrooms begin to soften, add 1/4 cup of the sherry. Saute until the mushrooms are soft, but not too soft.  As the sherry evaporates, add the kale and water as necessary to keep moist.  Once the kale and mushrooms are softened to your preference, add the tomato, additional sherry, tofu, and salt.  Saute until all is warm and combined.

Even Kaelyn was surprised how much she liked this. There is something magical about sherry and mushrooms that makes anything good!

Keeping it real! Kathy