Summer berry balsamic salad

This is my favorite way to eat salad. You can tell because I forgot to take a picture until I'd eaten half of it! Plus it's super duper easy.

Summer berry balsamic salad

1 serving

Prep time: 5 min

• A big bowl of Baby spinach
• 4 Strawberries
• 6 Raspberries
• 2 T. Balsamic Vinaigrette
• 1 T. Toasted sliced almonds
• 1/2 rotisserie chicken breast

The beauty of this salad is that, other than toasting the almonds, I didn't have to cook anything. I could have made my own chicken but we went to Costco today and they have the most delicious rotisserie chickens for not much more than it would cost me to buy the raw meat. I also used per-made balsamic vinaigrette, though I usually make my own. I just tossed the spinach in the dressing, sliced the strawberries, sliced up one of the breasts on my rotisserie bird, and threw everything on top of the spinach. Lunch is ready!

 

Posted with Blogsy

Blondeez Daily Diary Saturday and Party Prep

I sort of made up for lost time today by spending most of it planning, shopping, and cooking!  My parents helped by entertaining the kid and acting as prep chefs.  Some cooking for today, some for the week to come, and a lot for tomorrow, when we're having a small family party for the kid's second birthday (around 20 people--yes, for my family, that's small!).  Among the guests we have two celiac, one allergic to eggs, a couple paleo fans, one who doesn't eat beef, and one who has problems with ulcers and heartburn.  So on the one hand, most of those food preferences go together.  On the other, it was a lot to think about.

I made a gluten free devil's food cake from a mix (pics tomorrow when it's frosted!) because I couldn't justify buying the ingredients for making it from scratch when I'm not likely to use most of them in the future.  The girl who is allergic to eggs will have her own vegan dessert, thanks to her mom telling me there was no need to try to make an egg and gluten free cake.

First thing, it was high time I made breakfasts for the week.  I cleaned up the slow cooker and made steel cut oats with apples and raisins.

As long as I was chopping apples, I also whipped up some homemade apple sauce on the stove.  The kid loves it and we're working on getting more fruit into her.

By the time those were done it was about time to start dinner!  I pulled out the paleo cookbook for Moroccan Chicken, and then because my parents and the kid are anything but paleo, we added some soft polenta made in the microwave, which was super easy.  And yummy!

After dinner, I threw together more food for tomorrow.  First up, Quinoa Tabbouleh, which I'm super excited for as it's a great high-protein carb with lots of veggies, and everyone except the hardcore paleo types can eat it.

Then I marinated some drumsticks and squeezed a whole lotta lemons (from my parents' backyard) so we can have fresh lemonade tomorrow.  Can't wait!

Irish Oatmeal with Apples and Raisins (America's Test Kitchen's Slow Cooker Revolution)
Serves 8
Prep Time: 20 min
Cook Time: 4 hours

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 cups steel cut oats
• 8 cups water
• 1 lb. apples (3-3), cored and shredded
• 1/2 cup dried apples, cut into 1/2 inch pieces 
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp. salt

Melt butter in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat.  Add oats and toast, stirring constantly, until golden and fragrant, about 2 minutes; transfer to slow cooker.

Stir water, apples, dried apples, raisins, sugar, cunnamon, and salt into slow cooker.  Cover and cook until oats are softened and thickened, 4-6 hours on low.  Let oatmeal sit for 10 minutes; stir well adn swerve.  Oatmeal can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.  Reheat oatmeal either in microwave or in a heavy-bottomed saucepan.

Apple Sauce (The UltraMetabolism Cookbook)
Serves 4
Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 40 min

•  4 large apples (about 2 lbs.) cored and cut into chunks
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• small pinch allspice
• 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Place the apples in a large pan with the water.  Cover and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Reduce heat to medium and cook the apples until they are soft, about 20-25 min.  When the apples are cooked, remove only the apples to the bowl of a food processor, fitted with a metal blade, leaving cooking liquid in the pan.

Bring the remaining cooking liquid in the pan to a boil over high heat until it reduces to about 1 or 2 tablespoons (it is like syrup).  Add the reduced liquid from the pan to the food processor along with the cinnamon, allspice, and lemon juice, and process to the desired consistency.

 Moroccan Chicken (from Whole9 Nutrition Guide)
Serves 2-4
Cook Time: 25 min.

• 2 Tbsp. cooking fat, divided
• 1 cup diced onion
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 tsp. coriander
• 1/4 tsp. saffron
• 1 can artichoke hearts, halved
• 3-6 sundried tomatoes, chopped
• 1 lb. diced chicken breast
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley
• 1 cup kalamata or black olives
• 2 Tbsp. lemon juice

Heat 1 Tbsp. of cooking fat in a large skillet.  Saute the onion and garlic for about 3 minutes, add the spices, and saute for another 2 minutes.  Add the artichokes and tomatoes, cook for 2 more minutes, then place the mixture aside in a bowl.  Add the second Tbsp. of  cooking fat to the skillet, then add the diced chicken.  Cook for 5 minutes, turning the meat often, until the chicken is browned.  Add the veggies back in, then add the parsley, olives,, and lemon juice.  Stir and cook until the juices reduce--5 to 7 minutes.

Soft Polenta in the Microwave (credit to my mom)
Serves 4
Cook time: 15 min.

• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 tsp. butter
• pinch fresh ground pepper
• 2 tsp. blue cheese (or other cheese, or additional butter)

Combine water, cornmeal, and salt in a microwave-safe dish (at least 6 cups).  Stir and microwave uncovered for 5 min on high.  Stir well, cover loosely with a paper towel, and microwave for another 5 minutes on high.  Stir in butter, pepper, and cheese (or butter), then let cool and thicken for at least 3 minutes before serving.

Blondeez Daily Diary Sunday

Today was supposed to be a whirlwind day of church and then a bike ride in Santa Cruz, but I have a big project at work that is going out the door tomorrow so we ended up canceling all of it in favor of making sure I had time to do everything well without being super stressed.  CJ was tired anyway, and the kid thought nudism was the word of the day, so it's just as well we only left the house to grocery shop.

 

In the morning I made myself a Nut Butter Smoothie with almond butter.  The kid was jealous and didn't want her yogurt--next time I'll have to make a double batch.  It isn't very photogenic, though.

 

 

I bought a bag of overripe bananas at a discount last weekend and they had just gotten to the "make bread" point today, so I also made a loaf of banana bread and then froze the rest of the bananas (halved and peeled) for later use in smoothies or baking.  I had the end slice when it was piping hot, and it was great on its own.

 

 

I didn't get lunch until late, but I made up for lost time by making a yummy egg salad.  No mayo or relish--this was the fancy stuff!  = P I ate it over salad greens as is my usual practice these days.  Another slice of that banana bread served as a sweet snack.

 

 

I decided we should have a light dinner after our late lunch, so I grabbed some organic creamy tomato soup while at the grocery store and added a salad of baby lettuces, avocado, cucumber, and turkey breast with a yogurt/blue cheese dressing.  I forgot to take a picture, but I packed the same thing for my lunch tomorrow so I'll snap one then!

 

Nut Butter Smoothie:
Serves 1
Prep time: 5 min.

• 1/2 cup unsweetened plain soy milk
• 1/4 sup soft tofu
• 1/2 banana, frozen
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. almond butter or cashew butter
• ice (optional)

 Combine all ingredients in a blender or in a cup using an immersion blender. 

 

Banana Bread (from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything)
Prep Time: 10 min
Cook Time: 1 hour

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed until smooth
• 1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease a standard loaf pan.

 

Combine dry ingredients well.  Cream butter and mix in eggs and banana until well-combined.  Add wet ingredients to dry, and stir until just combined.  Gently mix in coconut, nuts, and vanilla.  Pour into loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until the top is brown and a pick comes out almost clean.  This will be moister than most breads.

Fancy Egg Salad (my own concoction)
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 10 min (not including boiling eggs)

• 2 hardboiled eggs
• 1 Tbsp. dijon mustard
• 1/2 shallot, diced small
• 2 tsp. fresh or dried dillweed
• 2 tsp. capers
• 1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

Peel and dice the boiled eggs.  Add everything except the olive oil, then add olive oil until the eggs are moist enough for your taste.  Other things to throw in if you have & like them:  sundried tomatoes, fresh fennel root (diced small), olives, other fresh herbs.

Blondeez Daily Diary Tuesday

Do you ever get into cookbook ruts?  I planned this week's recipe basically using 3 cookbooks and a couple web recipes, so judging just based on this week you'd think I was obsessed with them.  I do love them, but I'll try to work in a little more variety as we go along.

I added local honey to a big dollop of greek-style yogurt for breakfast this morning.  Last week I finally broke down and bought some Fage 2% to see if it lives up to the hype (plus it was on sale) and it's definitely the best greek-style yogurt I've tried!  I was disappointed to learn that most of the commercial greek yogurts have artificial thickeners added instead of being strained, but the Fage is just milk and yogurt cultures.  It's pretty filling--I ended up eating my snack in the afternoon because I wasn't hungry midmorning.

Lunch was leftovers--drumsticks and artichoke mashed potatoes from Sunday and the last of the creamed spinach.  In the afternoon, I had a handful of Fruit and Nut Granola that I made this weekend, which I love.

Finally it was dinnertime!  I made Crabmeat Salad with Avocado and Mango, which has a citrus dressing instead of mayonnaise.  I think it's just gooey enough without being heavy.  Here is a huge platter waiting for dressing (I made a double recipe because I was feeding a crowd):

CJ and our guests ate it on hoagie rolls, Akira picked pieces out of a bowl with her fingers, and I had mine in a bowl over spinach:

I polished off the last of the Banana Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Glaze for dessert!

Crabmeat Salad with Avocado and Mango (modified from The Ultrametabolism Cookbook)
Serves 8
Prep time: 20 min

• 1 lb. lump crabmeat (I use fake because I like to eat this often and I don't have *that* much money)
• 1/4 cup minced scallion
• 1/4 cup diced fennel
• 2 avocados, diced
• 1 cup diced mango
• 1/4 cup finely diced red pepper (I leave this out because it gives me indigestion)
• 1/4 cup minced cilantro
• 1 tsp. minced jalapeno
• 1 tsp. lime zest
• 5 Tbsp. olive oil
• 4 Tbsp. lime juice
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp. black pepper
• 2 Tbsp. snipped chives

Flake the crabmeat into a bowl.  Gently fold in scallion, fennel, avocado, mango., red pepper, cilantro, jalapeno, and lime zest.

Combine the olive oil, lime juice, salt, and pepper.  Pour over the crab and gently mix.  Garnish with chives.

Fruit and Nut Granola (from The Ultrametabolism Cookbook)
Serves 12
Prep Time: 10 min.
Cook Time: 45 min.

• 3 cups rolled oats
• 1/2 cup chopped raw, unsalted almonds
• 1/4 cup chopped raw Brazil nuts (I hate them so I use walnuts or hazelnuts)
• 1/4 raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
• 1/4 cup flaxseed
• 1/4 cup wheat germ
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
• pinch ground nutmeg
• pinch kosher salt
• 3 Tbsp. canned unsweetened lite coconut milk
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. grapeseed or other neutral-flavored oil
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup dried blueberries
• 1/2 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

In a large bowl, combine oats, nuts, seeds, wheat germ, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.  In a small bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, honey, and vanilla.  Drizzle over the oat and nut mixture and combine well.

Brush a sheet pan with oil.  Transfer the granola to the sheet pan and bake for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes, until browned.  Remove from the oven and stir in the dried fruits.  Let coola nd store in an airtight container (refrigerate after 5 days).