Dreading the Detox...

But in a very weird way looking forward to it too.

Looking forward to hopefully not feeling bloated all the time...like this morning I was very hungry with a rumbly stomach but in a different way felt full and bloated...what to do?

So starting next Tuesday when we get back from our trip to Whistler, I'm going on the MediClear detox. No dairy, gluten, soy, chocolate, alcohol, sugar, peanut butter, tomatoes, corn, beef, pork...I'm going to stop there so I don't start crying.

All that to say I'll be doing a lot of different cooking in those 3 (yes THREE) weeks, and will hopefully find or come up with some diary-free gluten-free recipes that actually taste decent.

Lord help me.

Aprons...anyone?

I love making aprons.

There's a zillion ways to make them individual, they're practical, they're irresistably cute, and I can make them in a few hours!

Its been my tradition to give aprons and a wooden spoon as a bridal shower gift, or aprons in the wedding colors as part of a wedding gift. I love doing something that personal and hope the brides like it too!

As I'm working on my 9th apron I'm beginning to think about maybe starting a little side business of selling these. I've come a long way since those first few, and the ones I'm finishing now are sturdier and cuter!

I'll post pics later, but if you're interested in an apron either for yourself or for a friend, give me a holler. They take about 3-4 hours to make, and I haven't quite added up what materials would cost generally (it largely depends on the price of the fabric), but I'm guesstimating to make it worth my time I would sell them for about $35-40. That means I'd probably be making $5 an hour profit, but I enjoy making these anyways and its something that can be unique and personalized.

Thoughts?

What To Do With Those Braising Greens!

Since we've joined our CSA, Jubilee Farms, we've gotten a very large bag of mixed braising greens every week. Sometimes two bags!  What to do with all this! One can only eat so many stir frys!

Last week I went straight to work.

Preheating the oven to 200 degrees, I washed the greens then spread them out on a cookie sheet. 

Then I let them dry to a crisp in the oven for about 2 hours.

Once they were crispy and cool, I put them in a zip lock bag and pounded the heck out of them until they were pretty fine.

The result was I had a huge bag of greens that would have taken 3 stir frys reduced to a small bag! Much more manageable!

A few evenings later we were looking for an easy dinner to make. Pasta and a jar of marinara is always an easy fix, but I wanted to use some of our greens.

I warmed up the marinara (Trader Joe's Organic Marinara) in a small saucepan, then tossed in the entire baggy of braising greens! 

I gave it a few stirs and let it simmer for awhile. 

After the pasta was done cooking we tossed it altogether and topped it with grated Parmesan.

And we each got a half a bag worth of all the good stuff in the braising greens in one dish! Oh, and you couldn't even taste a difference!

This dish can be vegetarian, or you can cook up some chicken in olive oil and garlic to add some protein.

Rogue John John Beer

One of the current trends with microbreweries is to age brewed beer in oak barrels. It is something that will at a distinct pungency to the beer. In this case, Rouge Brew Master John Maier has paired up with Master Distiller, John Couchot. The John John  Juniper Berry Beer is one of 3 beers Rouge has released this year that use this unique method of aging in different barrels that are used to distill different types of liquor. 


In this case, gin is aged in the oak barrels to absorb the flavor, emptied and then impacts the flavor of the beer that is aged in it. They age a rogue pale ale with juniper berries. 


So I bought myself a bottle of this beer the other day, in fond memories of the original John John ale I had, which was taking their Dead Guy ale and aging it is whiskey barrels. Much to my surprise, instead of a amber aged  brew with whiskey impacts resulting in a malt aroma, and a finish of caramel, vanilla, and oak, I found a beer that resulted in a very spicy berry flavor. That is the best way I can describe it, a medium body with a large amount of spice and sour berry in the after taste. While I appreciate the hopes and aspirations of this series, this wasn't one of my favorites, especially at 11 dollars for a big bottle. To further support my point, on some popular sites like beer advocate or rate beer, this averaged 87 out of a hundred. 


My bottom line: Interesting beer and flavor, but more of a beer to try for something different, not something worth 11 dollars for a bottle. 


My rating: 6 out of 10. 

Columbia Crest Merlot-Cabernet 2007

DISCLAIMER: Wine tastes different to everyone and this is just our opinion.  You may love something we despise and loathe something we could drink every day. This is just our opinion because that's the only one that matters...right?


This wine is pretty clear in color...and I just found a small gnat in mine but I don't know if that was here or the winery.  It seems Columbia Crest wouldn't allow that.


The smell...oh I'm pretty bad at this and its all just a guess...but it smells like...alcohol.  Is that bad of me to think that? Others smell like blackberries or coffee undertones but this is a distinct smell not akin to anything that comes to mind no matter how many times I swirl it and stick my nose deep in the glass.  Okay maybe I get a bit of the vanilla when I added a bit more...


The taste is dry with a bite. I'm eating it with some garlic bread (cloves baked in it...not the buttery/garlic salted kind) dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar and its a nice balance. With some carbs on your tongue the taste isn't quite so sharp but more of a currant-y taste.


Overall I don't think I would get this wine again...not quite as drinkable as others to me and that's what I like...but not a bad wine.

Dutch Oven Dinner Rolls

This recipe is a combination of a dinner roll recipe taken from The Dutch Oven Cookbook by the Kohler and Michaud families and The Pioneer Woman's Buttered Rosemary Rolls.

 While I think it best made in either a Dutch oven or cast iron skillet to absorb some flavor, you can make it in a greased baking dish or tin as well. With the cast iron, though, I let it warm up on a low heat burner for 20 minutes or so, then turned the burner off and let the skillet or whatever stay sitting on it. Coat it with a thin layer of Crisco and it will be all warm and prepped for your roll's second rising. No sacrilege intended.

(if you need a crash course in cast iron cookware, check out my article Cast Iron: The Only Pan You'll Ever Need)

Dutch Oven Dinner Rolls (makes approx 1 dozen rolls)

Time: 15 minutes prep. 2 hours rising time. 15 minute cooking time.

Ingredients

1 Tbl yeast
1/4 cup warm water (I think its more like hot water that you can stand...120 to 130 degrees...haven't had yeast die on me yet!)
1/8 tsp sugar (a pinch)
1 tsp salt
1 Tbl sugar
3 cups flour
1 cup milk
1 Tbl butter

sea salt and melted butter and rosemary (if you like it) for during baking time

Directions

1.  In a small bowl, mix the yeast, water and the pinch of sugar. Let sit until foamy and it smells yummy (unless I'm the only one who likes that smell).

2. In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter over medium heat. Dissolve the salt and the rest of the sugar in the mix and stir well.

3. Transfer to a large bowl and add half the flour (1 1/2 cups in case you're not great at math).  Mix thoroughly.

4.  Add the yeast mixture, stir well, then add another cup of flour (retaining half a cup). The dough will be stiff. Don't worry.

5.  Sprinkle some of the flour on a flat (clean) surface and knead until the dough is smooth.  Enjoy this part...its my favorite.  

6.  The Dutch Oven Cookbook says to put in a greased bowl but I think dishes are awful and don't want to add another one.  So put it back in that same large bowl and it will be just okay.  Or mostly okay.  Or if you're anal-retentive you can break out another bowl and grease it up and put your dough baby in that.  Whatever you put it in, place it in a warm place and cover with a clean towel and leave it alone until its doubled. (an hour or so)

7.  When its all nice and puffy, use some Crisco and grease up your cast iron or baking dish. Rub a little of that Crisco on your hands and grab a hunk of that delicious dough. Shape it into a nice round ball and place it in the dish. Repeat with the rest until your little dough babies are all shaped.

8.  Cover with a towel and let it double again. I know. Sigh. Set your timer for 35 minutes or so and when that goes off, pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees. Set your timer for another 10-15 minutes and by the time your rolls are done rising your oven will be ready.

9.  Pop those suckers in for 10-12 minutes.

10.  Pull them out and have your melted butter and a brush ready. Coat the top with luscious butter and sprinkle with coarse ground sea salt (or just salt..but the coarse really makes it) and the rosemary on top. Thank you Pioneer Woman. Pop it back in for 2-4 more minutes or until the tops are nicely browned.

The nice thing about making it in cast iron is the bread will stay warm for hours.

Excuse me, I Charded.

Last night while talking to my mom I told her I was making chard for dinner and she had heard of chard before. Since I'm a big fan of this vegetable I thought I would give y'all a little tour of this heavyweight veggie in terms of nutrition.

This is Swiss chard. Red stalks, big dark green leaves packed with Vitamins K, A and C.


below is Rainbow Chard...and yes those colors are all real and natural!

To make it you can saute, steam, or blanch it (there's probably more ways, those are just the ones I've done). Previously I rolled it up, cut it in ribbons and steamed it with garlic and orzo...but I couldn't find the recipe last night and almost drove myself crazy looking for it.

So instead I tried out a new recipe from the Alton Brown cookbook I got for Christmas, which has onions, LOTS of garlic, which after you cook for awhile you add a paste of butter and flour and toast it all, then add crushed tomatos, chicken broth and whisk till the sauce becomes creamy goodness. Throw in whole wheat pasta (boiled in the water the chard was blanched in to get extra minerals and goodness) and the chopped up chard. Topped with parmesan or feta (the parm was better) it was pretty darn good! I think I may add a few of my own tweaks, but Matt ate 4 servings so it couldn't be that bad!

mmmm...we're both having it again for lunch today too...


and did I mention this entire meal costs about $6 or $7?

Here is Alton Brown's recipe from his book, I'm Just Here For the Food (with my own tweaking)

Chard with Garlic and Tomato

Ingredients

2 Tbl butter, softened

2 Tbl flour

2 Tbl olive oil

1/2 cup diced onion (or couple of shallots)

8 cloves garlic, sliced thin (if you use a garlic press that's just fine too, don't freak out)

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (more if you're of the daring sort)

2 cups canned crushed tomatoes (or you can use fresh tomatoes, dropped in boiling water, skinned and seeded. Then crushed. Crushing is the fun part.)

1 cup chicken stock

16 oz dry bowtie pasta (or penne, or whatever is left in your cupboard)

1 bunch Swiss or rainbow chard, trimmed and chopped

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I know the pics show feta...but that wasn't a homerun...)

1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped fine (or dried, I guess. sigh)

salt & freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Bring a big pot of water to a rolling boil. Have another bowl with ice cold water in it ready. You're going to blanch the chard first.

2.  Drop the chard in the boiling water, blanch for 3 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon or pasta server to the cold water bowl and submerge to stop the cooking. Once its cooled, strain it and let it dry out a bit.

3.  Keep that water boiling, and notice that its greenish colored now? All those nice nutrients are still floating around in there. Add a bunch of salt, and add the pasta. Cook until al dente.

Note: People like their pasta at different consistencies. I have a tendency to forget about the pasta unless I set a timer, so if the cooking time says 10-12 minutes, I'll set a timer for 9 minutes. When it goes off, I'll keep testing the pasta every minute or so until its the texture I like.

4. While the pasta is cooking, blend the butter and flour in a small bowl until a smooth paste is formed.

5. Head the olive oil in the sauté pan over medium heat.  Add the onion and red pepper flakes, and sauté until the onions turn golden - about 7-10 minutes. In the last minute or so add the garlic (the directions say add when you add the onions, but I find my garlic burns by the time the onions are done). 

Oh, check on your pasta. It might be done now.

6. Drop the head to medium-low, whisk in the flour and butter mixture and cook for 5 minutes.

7. Add those tomatoes and keep whisking for 2-3 minutes. 

8. Add the chicken stock and whisk until the sauce is smooth and creamy. 

9. Throw in that cooked pasta and the chard, season with salt and pepper and stir until heated through.

10.  Top off with the Parmesan and rosemary. 

This dinner is also easy to add chicken too. Just cook the chicken before tossing it in at the end with the pasta and chard. 

To further impress upon you the goodness of chard, here's a link to a chart showing how much good stuff it has...
http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=16

Thus endeth my acolade of chard.