Kitchen Tour.

 We talked a bit about our space yesterday in the workshop.

Kitchen space that is.

I thought I would share some highlights of my space.

First, let me say, I am very fortunate and grateful to 

be able to do my thing in this kitchen.

I have lived in many apartments with rickety appliances 

and below average counter space.

So, in this season of my life, I am happy 

to say I have a wonderful kitchen in which 

to nourish family and friends.

It was completely gut renovated about 9 years ago.

Enjoy the tour..

Shelving space in the island provides a home for cookbooks.

Incidentally, I am just bringing them back out of hiding since this used to happen...

Why yes, that is a "bikini" onsie she's wearing.

I forgot all about that outfit.

Ah, memories.

I try to keep as many items in the pantry in glass jars. 

Some things stay in their original packaging as long 

as they can stand on their own.

I hate having bags of things piled up and hard to find.

I recently added that under shelf storage for 

potatoes, onions, garlic, and ginger.

It. is. priceless.

You may also notice the little white board on the door.

I use it to make my grocery lists.

As soon as I run out of something it goes on the board.

When I don't have time to transfer the list onto 

paper I just snap a pic with my phone and,

whammo, instant list.

This is the message center. 

You can read about that here.

It's not usually this clean.

But in a perfect world it would look like 

this all the time.

Pot rack.

Oh, how you've provided sweet sweet cabinet 

space for more kitchen gadgetry.

 More about how this came to be here.

I like to keep the mixer out because I'm more 

compelled to use it if it's in front of me.

Even the filtered water has a little space of it's own.

Here's a wide shot of the whole room.

You can see the corner of the skylight which provides

 amazing natural light.

So that's our kitchen. 

Hope you enjoyed the tour!

And, just for fun, here was yesterday's lunch

 A wrap crafted from all the little leftover 

produce scraps that were 

hanging around my fridge.

Shredded red cabbage, a handful of spinach, 

half an avocado, micro greens, 

a few slices of apple 

( a delightful addition I might add), 

and a couple of sliced cherry tomatoes.

Delish!

Morning makings.

Once again I find myself in the kitchen 

early as can be.

I love it.

I'm whipping up a little something for a friend about to bring new life into the world for the second time.

Butternut squash and swiss chard mac-n-cheese! Woot!

Before.

And after.

In all it's bubbling-golden-brown-goodness!

Nursing mama's need there iron.

One last fire on this chilly gray morning.

The aftermath.

Who could complain about dishes while 

surrounded by all this beauty?

Certainly not me.

And just because it makes me smile, and my last early morning "culinary adventures" ended in song, please enjoy this one.

Random Things.

I wasn't feeling too bloggy last week so I decided to

 give myself a break.

I like breaks.

I'm still working on my photography skills. 

Here's a little taste (punny!!) of my David Loftus FoodiePac from Hipstamatic.

Learning about lighting and some 
homemade tricks to 

help in that regard.

This little one seems to be enjoying dress up more and more.

Nothing like a mama made pillow case dress over organic terry pajamas.

It's a look worth rockin'.

I made this lovely concoction from one of my pins on Pinterest.

It's a goji berry lemonade.

Apparently, it's supposed to work like a liquid sunscreen.

I'm not sure if it worked but it sure does taste good.

And these two...

the best of friends!!

And finally, for a baby who felt less than 100%, 

a movie in a basket.

I want to start doing a kind of product review post once a month.

I've seen some things in the grocery store that have

 piqued my interest. 

I had a lightbulb moment.

It will also include anything from apps to cleaning products.

Look for that soon.

Enjoy every moment!!

What we've been eating...

I've been trying some new things around here as well as bringing back some of the healthier dishes I've made in the past.

Miso glazed salmon over Forbidden Rice with homemade peanut sauce topped with chopped unsalted peanuts and cilantro.

If you haven't tried Forbidden Rice, you must! It's a revelation!

I always cook my rice in vegetable stock instead of plain water.

I find rice to be bland otherwise.

I mix some soy sauce, jaggery, lime juice, fish sauce and miso and glaze the salmon with it as it bakes.

This is an oldie around these parts and also a favorite! You'll want to lick the plate.

The peanut sauce recipe can be found here.

Pan seared haloumi over a water cress salad with radishes, pumpkin seeds, heirloom tomatoes with a yogurt dill dressing.

This is new. I have always wanted to try haloumi ever since seeing it in the beautiful pages of Donna Hay Magazine years ago.

I finally got around to it and it was well worth it.

I simply cut it into slices, heated a nonstick pan with a scant amount of olive oil and seared it until it was brown on both sides.

The dressing is a couple tablespoons of yogurt, the juice of one lime and dill (fresh or dry). It doesn't get much easier than that. 

Haloumi (if you don't know) is a hard cheese similar to the taste of feta but far less crumbly.

Sprouted lentil pate.

Now, the original recipe calls for cooked lentils but I like to raw this one up as much as possible so I spout the lentils a few days ahead of making this. I love to have it around to spread on crackers or dipping veggies. You could spoon it into endive leaves as an hors d' oeuvres or use it as a spread on a sandwich.

Lentil pate

adapted from Angelica's Kitchen

2/3 cup sprouted lentils

2 cups walnuts

1 tbsp. avocado oil (you can use olive)

3 cups diced onion

1 tbsp. chopped garlic

1 tbsp. mirin

4-5 chopped cornichons

1 tbsp. Ume plum vinegar

1 1/2 tbsp. 

1 tbsp. dried basil

Start the lentils sprouting about 3 days ahead. When they're sufficiently sprouted, saute the onion and garlic (you can leave them raw too but I like the sweetness it adds when they're cooked).

Add all the ingredients to a food processor and blend until smooth.

If you need to loosen the mixture add a bit more vinegar and oil until you reach the desired texture.

Stuffed Zucchini with pine nuts.

I found this one through foodgawker and immediately though of G. He has a slight obsession with zucchini (soup and tomatoes too).

I served it with a salad.

Recipe.

Roasted Beet Risotto.

Ok, this is probably one of my all time favorites.

Follow a basic risotto recipe.

Before you start though, clean 2 medium sized red beets and wrap them in foil. Roast them at 375F for about and hour or until tender.

Remove from oven and let cool until they're able to be handled while making risotto.

When the risotto is almost done, peel the skins of the beets and throw them in the food processor. When they're smooth mix them into your risotto.

I saute wild mushrooms and toast pine nuts and then top the risotto with them.

I also chop up a good amount of fresh basil and sprinkle that on top.

If you want to get crazy (which I do) a drizzle of truffle oil will take this dish to the moon and back!

I hope to improve my food styling.

I even bought the David Loftus Pak on Hipstamatic.

By some miracle I think this will help. 

We'll see.

I also have some exciting things going on and I can't wait to share it all with you.

Soon.

Happy Monday Everyone!

Horchata.

After seeing this horchata recipe on Pinterest (and promptly pinning it) I knew I had to try it.

It's kind of a new spin on horchata, actually.

Less sugar.

High in protein, vitamins, minerals, 

and good fats.

Delicious.

It's my new favorite post-workout drink!

Here are my adaptations for the above recipe.

For the rice I used a very good quality Jasmine rice. 

Why not?

I also mixed in some of my homemade almond milk which is infused with dates and vanilla bean.

It gave it a real creaminess.

Instead of using sugar I used just a touch (about a tbsp. per quart) of maple syrup.

If you're using maple syrup, use 100% pure maple syrup.

I whirled it all together in a blender,

strained it as directed, placed it in a mason jar with a cinnamon stick in it, and stuck it in the fridge overnight to infuse further.

When it was ready, I shook it furiously, grated some fresh nutmeg over the top, and enjoyed.

What a refreshing beverage!

I think we'll be enjoying this one for months to come.

Grocery Challenge Update #1

So far this month I have spent $196.26 on groceries.

Yikes!

To be clear I have also:

 -included non-consumable items in the total.
-not included wine/beer
-not included eating out

We had a pretty well stocked pantry to begin with. Lots of dry ingredients like grains, rice and beans. Also, we are not vegetarian so there have been meat and fish purchases which can significantly bump up totals at the register. I only buy organic produce, meats from a local purveyor and get my fish from a quality monger. That alone can make already high prices, even higher.

I've had fun utilizing my resources and being creative in stretching meals.

One night we had salmon over curried lentils...

...and the next morning I had leftover lentils with a fried egg and a piece of naan.

Our fish monger also sells local dairy and by returning our glass bottles we recieve a discount.

I also made use of some cookbooks I had gotten from the library like this one.

Flipping through it I realized I had an unopened container of ricotta cheese that I had no plans for and made this "Warm Ricotta Custard" recipe which provided multiple desserts, snacks and even lunch for the nugget.

We had a dinner guest on Monday so I whipped up a crock pot meal of country style ribs and served it with a sweet potato and swiss chard gratin.
I used the veggie scraps to make a stock and that was used in the braising liquid, along with some red wine, for the ribs.
Taking this challenge has pushed me to use cheaper cuts of meat. A challenge I happily accept. They usually have more flavor but take longer to cook. In my opinion, it's worth the little extra effort.

I also whipped up my famous blender chocolate mousse which is little more than chocolate chips, hot water and 3 egg whites. A recipe I will share later.

 I saved the yolks and used them in the gratin.

This meal is still feeding us.

All in all I don't feel like we've had to sacrifice much. We still have guests, we still eat meat and fish (not every night), and we still eat local and organic produce. 

I've just had to be more creative in how and where I spend our money. 

The next trip to the grocery store will have to be well planned out and heavy with coupons if I'm going to stay within the budget though.

If you want to find out more about this challenge and/or follow along with other participants, click on the  Grocery Challenge badge in my sidebar.

Happy Saving!