Happy Insides

It's Hanukkah and that can mean only one thing.  A whole lot of good food.  Not just any food either, fried food!  You eat fried foods on Hanukkah to celebrate the miracle of the oil.  For many that means latkes, but another traditional Hanukkah food is sufaganiyot, or jelly filled donuts.  Donuts were never a tradition in Cassie's family, but when we heard they were a traditional food we felt that they deserved to be part of a new tradition for the family.  So this year we gathered the ingredients and set about making some delicious donuts.  Theses were really easy to make and fun to do at the same time. 

Sufganiyot
Adapted from Epicurious.com
Makes 12 donuts
1 T. active dry yeast
4 T. evaporated cane juice, divided
3/4 c. warm water
2 1/2 c. all purpose flower
pinch of salt
1 t.ground cinnamon
2 eggs, seperated
2 T. butter, softened
Apricot preserves (or any flavor you want)
organic powdered sugar
vegetable oil for frying

1) Mix the yeast, 2 T. of the cane juice and the water.  Sit to the side and let it proof for a few minutes.  It should bubble.  If it doesn't your yeast is not active and you will need to get some more.

2) Sift the flour and mix it with 2 T. cane juice, cinnamon, and salt.  Then add the egg yolks and the yeast mixture.  Mix well until combined.  Knead the dough to form a ball and then add the butter and knead until it is well incorporated into the dough.  Place in a bowl and cover with a towel.  Let the dough rise in the refrigerator overnight. 

3) In the morning remove the dough from the refrigerator and let it come to room temperature for about half an hour.  Then roll it out till it is about 1/8 inch thick.  Take a juice glass or a any 2 inch circular cookie cutter and cut out 24 rounds.  Place a 1/2 t. of fruit preserves on 12 of the rounds.  Take the remaining 12 rounds and place them on top of the rounds with the preserves.  Using your thumb and forefinger crimp the edges of the rounds together very well and then seal them with egg whites. 

4) Cover the completed sufganiyot with a towel and let them rise for another 30 minutes. 

5) In a medium sauce pan heat about 2 inches of oil over medium heat.  Test the oil by throwing a small bit of bread into the pot.  When it bubbles your oil is ready.  Fry your donuts in small batches.  Make sure the oil doesn't get too hot.  You don't want to be left with doughy insides and burnt outsides.  You should fry the donuts about 3-4 minutes total flipping midway through.  Place them on a plate with paper towels to drain.  When they have drained roll the sufganiyo in the powdered sugar to add a thin coating.  Serve either warm or room temperature.  Enjoy!

Read More......

Recently both of us have gotten into clean eating.  Clean eating is a pretty simple concept.  You eat "real" natural food ingredients in a minimally processed state and you eat several (5-6) well balanced meals everyday.  On top of all this you reduce the amount of saturated fat and sugar in your diet.  It can be difficult to tackle some of the changes initially, but in our opinion it is well worth it.  It leaves you feeling energized and properly nourished. 

To begin researching clean eating Cassie read the book The Eat Clean Diet Recharged by Tosca Reno.  It is a really quick read and she highly recommends the book to anyone interested in eating more healthfully.  The book also has about 30 or so recipes included in it in the back.  This is where we found the recipe for the noodle bowl.  To be honest the recipe was a little poorly conceived ( for example called for way too small of a pot and we had to move the meal to a bigger pot twice), but in the end we felt like it was a good starting point for the dish and I think we ironed out most of the kinks in the recipe below. 

Read More......

Just recently Cassie's grandma celebrated her 81st birthday.  As a way to celebrate and to give a gift to the woman who has everything we decided to make a batch of chocolate chip cookies.  Grandma has always been crystal clear that she LOVES cookies and that chocolate chip is her absolute favorite cookie.  The choice was an easy one and the morning before her birthday celebration we went to work crafting some extra special cookies just for her.  Cassie even hand made the box that they are in.  If you are interested in learning how to make a gift box yourself check out her craft blog.

We found this recipe from another blog and it looked too good to not try.  The results were fantastic.  They will definitely be our go to chocolate chip cookie recipe from now on.  The cookies were soft and chewy and really packed with chocolatey goodness.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from  Baking Illustrated found via Annie's Eats

Read More......

One thing people find hard to believe is that the two of us have managed to live without a functioning microwave for over 2 and a half years now.  While microwaves are truly a convenient invention neither of us feel particularly inclined to remedy our situation any time soon.  In all honesty we do have a microwave.  There it sat, above our stove, when we purchased our house, but we soon found out that it was not a functioning appliance (ahhh the joys of buying a foreclosed home).  We haven't gotten around to replacing it as we have had many other priorities to take care of in our now cozy little home.  So there it sits and it makes a wonderful timer.  We do plan to replace it one of these days, but we are leaning more towards replacing it with a range hood rather than another over the stove microwave when we do that.  The more you live without a microwave the more you realize how it really isn't all that hard to live without one.

So why the heck are we talking about microwaves?  Well the recipe we are sharing today actually has a step with some microwaving in it.  These usually aren't a big deal and are easily adapted (as was this recipe), but there are some that tend to just throw us for a bit of a loop.  Creating a double boiler of water and a glass bowl on the stove to melt stuff can be quite a pain in the rear.  Sure it isn't that hard, but occasionally (just occasionally), life really would be simpler with one, but we still will probably be one of those crazy households without for a very long time.  So...anyway if you want to revert heating the bean mixture in this recipe back to the microwave then more power to you.

Black Bean and Salmon Toastada
Adapted from  EatingWell.com
Makes 4 servings
8 6-inch corn tortillas
non stick canola cooking spray
1/2 T. canola oil
6 oz. salmon fillet
1 avocado, diced
4 T. pickled jalapenos, mince
3 T. pickled jalapeno juice reserved
2 c. purple cabbage, shredded
1 carrot, shredded
2 T. chopped cilantro
1 15 oz. can black beans, rinsed
3 T. sour cream
2 T. prepared salsa
2 scallions, chopped
Lime wedges, optional (but highly recommended)

1) Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.  Arrange corn tortillas on 2 baking sheets in a single layer.  Spray each side of the tortillas with canola spray.  Bake for 12-14 minutes, flipping once and rotating the baking sheets midway through, until light brown.

2) Meanwhile, heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Cook salmon fillet about 6 minutes per side till it is cooked through.  When it is done flake the meat.

3)  In a food processor, process beans, sour cream, salsa and scallions until smooth.  Heat these over medium heat in a small sauce pan for about 5-8 minutes until warm.

4) Combine the salmon, avocado and jalapeno in a bowl.  Combine the cabbage, carrot, jalapeno pickling juice, and cilantro in another bowl.

5) Spread each tortilla with an 1/8 of the bean mixture.  Add an 1/8 of the salmon mixture and then top with an 1/8 of the cabbage mixture.  Serve immediately.

Read More......

When we started out to make these we were supposed to be having stuffed zucchini, but we soon realized we had a problem.  We had the tiniest zucchini on the planet.  This is what happens when Jason shops for zucchini.  He always grabs super tiny ones.  As we amassed the stuff we were supposed to actually stuff into this tiny zucchini onto the counter we realized...this isn't gonna work.  So, being the resourceful people that we are we decided to make stuffed bell pepper instead.  Regardless of the mix up it was a great dish with lots of flavor and made eating those veggies to be truly enjoyable.  Plus...bonus, these are really easy to make.    

The recipe for this wonderful side dish came from kind of a funny place...a calendar.  Way back at the beginning of 2010 our Grocery store, Natural Grocers, was giving out free calendars.  We didn't yet have a 2010 calendar so we snatched one up and brought it home.  It was filled with a new recipe card every month and a coupon.  Hooray.  Many many months passed and neither of us spent much time paying attention to our calendar as it was hanging in our spare room next to the very rarely used treadmill.  That was all until a few weeks ago when Cassie injured her knee and was unable to go running outside and had to settle for walking slowly on the treadmill.  As she passed to tedious time her gaze shifted from the wall in front of her to the October page of the calendar to her right.  She was looking at the recipe and decided that it looked pretty good and it needed to make an appearance on our menu sometime soon.  Boy are we glad it did too.  This may become one of our new favorite ways to eat a load of vegetables.

Stuffed Bell Peppers
Adapted from our Natural Grocers 2010 calendar
1 medium green bell pepper
1/2 T. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1 medium zucchini or summer squash, diced 
1 large tomato, diced
4 scallions sliced
1/4 c. Parmesan cheese, shredded
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1/4 c. whole wheat bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1 large egg, gently whisked

1) Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Slice green bell pepper in half from top to bottom, remove the seeds and the stem and set aside.

2) In a skillet heat oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and red bell pepper to the skillet and saute for about 7-10 minutes until they begin to soften.  Add the zucchini, tomato and scallions and saute another 3-5 minutes.

3) Meanwhile in a medium bowl mix together Parmesan, red pepper flakes, bread crumbs and salt and pepper.  Stir till they are well combined and then add the egg.  Mix well into the breadcrumb and cheese mixture until incorporated.  After the vegetables are done add them to the bowl with the other ingredients and mix well until they are well coated. 


4) Fill the green bell pepper halves with the vegetable mixture and place in a non stick oven dish.  Bake for about 20-30 minutes until the tops of the stuffed peppers are golden brown.  Serve hot.

Read More......

Here we go with another sweet potato recipe.  What did I say before?  We just can't get enough of these things.  They are so great for the cold fall weather.  We found this recipe and couldn't wait to make it.  Not only was it delicious looking, but it also included fresh rosemary which we happened to have on hand and wanted to use up before it dried out.  The recipe can take some time, but it is definitely worth it.  It is perfect for a hearty Sunday night meal.  We really enjoyed the flavor of the squash, caramelized onion and feta all together.  It really created a satisfying meal.  We added bacon to the pie because, well honestly, because we are both a bit of bacon fanatics.  It added another layer of flavor and was a really good addition, but certainly isn't necessary to the overall pie and would be perfectly delicious left vegetarian.

Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato and Feta Pie
Adapted from Christine's Recipes
Makes 4 generous main dish servings or 6 side dish servings

Shortcrust Pastry:
8 oz. whole wheat pastry flour 
4 oz. chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
3 T. cold water

Pie:
15 oz. butternut squash,diced
7 oz. sweet potato, diced
6 cloves garlic unpeeled
3 T. olive oil, divided
3 oz. feta cheese
2 small red onions, thinly sliced
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 T. sucanat
2 t. finely chopped fresh rosemary
4 pieces of bacon, cooked and crumbled (optional)
salt to taste
fresh ground black pepper to taste
1 egg, whisked
shortcrust pastry

To make the pastry:
1) Place the flour and butter into the food processor and pulse until well combined and crumble.  Add the cold water and pulse again until the dough begins to come together.

2) Knead the dough into a circular disc shape and wrap in plastic wrap.  Refrigerate for 30 minutes until you are ready to use it.

To make the pie:
1) Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Place the squash, sweet potatoes, and garlic cloves into a baking dish and toss with 1 1/2 T. of olive oil.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until the mixture is tender.  Remove from the oven.

2) Meanwhile, heat the remaining olive oil in a frying pan.  Cook the onions over medium heat for about 10-12 minutes.  Add the vinegar and the sucanat and cook for another 12 minutes until the onions are caramelized.

3) Squeeze the roasted garlic out of their husks and discard the husks.  Return the garlic to the roasted vegetables.  Add the onions, rosemary, feta, salt, pepper and bacon (if using) into the roasted vegetables.

4) On parchment paper roll the pastry till it is about a 11 inch circle.  Heap the vegetable mixture in the center of the pie leaving a 1 1/2 inch border of crust.  You may have some filling left over.  Fold the edges of the pastry up pleating it as you go.  Brush the crust with the whisked egg.

5) Bake for 25-30 minutes on 400 until the crust is golden.  Serve immediately.

Read More......

We have been on a pretty big sweet potato kick lately.  It is a fairly new found love as Cassie is a reformed picky eater and was pretty sure she didn't like sweet potatoes for the longest time.  It is pretty amazing how she has gone from not liking anything to now liking just about everything. 

Anyway, back to sweet potatoes and this stew...We found this recipe and it looked like a really easy, but hearty dish for a fall evening.  It is filling and warm, but still healthy and not too heavy.  We substituted red wine and red wine vinegar for white wine and white wine vinegar because that is what we had in the house and they both added a great full flavor to the meal. 

Chicken and Sweet Potato Stew
Adapted from Eatingwell.com
Serves 4
4 bone in chicken thighs with the skins removed and trimmed of fat
2 lbs. sweet potatoes, cut into spears
1/2 lb. cremini mushrooms, sliced
6 large shallots, peeled and halved
4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
1 c. dry red wine
2 t. chopped fresh rosemary
1 t. salt
1/2 t. ground black pepper
1 1/2 T. red wine-vinegar
1 c. low sodium chicken broth

1) Place all ingredients into a slow cooker and stir to combine.

2) Cook on low for 6-8 hours.  Remove the bones from the chicken if desired and serve warm over vegetables.

Read More......