Garlic-Balsamic Pan Fried Salmon with Almonds, Squash and Chard

I am taking a little break from the usual food choices and doing a lot of veggies, fruit, and protein.  Basically sugar, salt, and grains are out.  Tonight I made one of my favorite combinations: salmon, butternut squash, yam, and chard topped with toasted almonds and raw garlic. 

Garlic-Balsamic Pan Fried Salmon with Almonds, Squash and Chard
serves 2

1 pound of salmon
bunch of chard or beet greens
a few handfuls of almonds
small butternut squash
1 yam
5 cloves of garlic
balsamic vinegar
olive oil
fresh basil

Begin by preheating an oven to 350 F Bake.  Cut butternut squash in half and scoop seeds out.  Cut Yam in half or quarters, so it will cook in about the same amount of time as the squash.  Oil a cookie sheet or pan with olive oil and place the squash and yams on it and in the preheated oven.  When they are almost done cooking you can begin to cook the salmon and chard. 

For the salmon, heat a cast iron pan on medium and add equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar, whisk together with a fork.  Use a garlic press to add 3 cloves of garlic to the cooking marinade.  Place the salmon red side down in the pan and cover.  Cook for a few minutes or until it turns from red to pink.  At this point you can add the almonds to the pan and cook them in the garlic marinade for about 3 minutes, then remove and set aside.  Flip salmon and cook covered until it is almost done and flip again or turn the heat off and allow the salmon to cook slowly to your liking.  Salmon is usually best a little red in the middle so that it is not overcooked and stiff. 

In the meantime you can cook the chard/beet greens.  I cut the stems in to 1/2 inch pieces and add them to the pan first (with some olive oil), as they take a little longer to cook than the leaves.  After a few minutes add the leaves and cover with a lid.  Chard is done when the stems and leaves are soft, but still vibrant green. 

Dice the basil for garnish.  Use a garlic press to mince garlic and garnish squash and salmon with it and the basil.  Serve with chard and yams. 

Ith gu leòir!

Sweet Orange Chicken with Wild Rice and Baked Garlic

This recipe is funny because I was looking for some pineapple to marinate my chicken in (I was loosely planning to make teriyaki sauce) and all I had was orange juice, which sounded interesting.... next thing I know I made a pretty delicious meal.  To make teriyaki sauce I mix equal parts soy sauce, pineapple juice, and mirin with a few spoonfuls of brown sugar and a lot of garlic.  So for this recipe I substituted the pineapple juice for orange juice (I added extra orange juice), and I like it better!  Much better!  Here is the recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Sweet Orange Chicken with Wild Rice and Baked Garlic
Serves 3-4

6-8 chicken thighs
1-2 cups uncooked wild rice
2 baby oranges
3-4 heads of garlic for baking (1 for each person you are serving, assuming they like garlic)
 
Sweet Orange Marinade:
1 cup orange juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4-1/2 cup mirin
2 TBS brown sugar
6+ cloves of garlic, pressed

Follow directions on wild rice and begin cooking it, It will take roughly 45 minutes to cook.  Preheat oven to 350F.  Mix all of the marinade ingredients thoroughly with a fork.  Add chicken to marinade, flipping chicken to make sure you have both sides covered in the sauce.  I like to cook it with the bumpy side up, as the smooth side tends to dry out faster.

Place chicken in oven. You can cover the chicken with aluminum foil if you like.  It will make it more tender, but it will also cook faster.  Cooking time will depending on the size of your chicken thighs (hehe) and the amount of marinade you have.  Assume it will take at least 20 minutes, and check every 5 minutes after that.

Cook the whole garlic heads at the same time you cook the chicken, although the garlic will probably be done sooner than the chicken.  Place garlic in a pie dish and cover it with olive oil.  Cook for 20-30 minutes.

Serve chicken on a bed of wild rice topped with chopped baby oranges.  Give each guest a baked garlic and green salad. 

Velbekomme!

Seafood Pesto Penne with Carmelized Onions

Alright, the recipe title is a mouthful!  It is also a yummy mouthful.  I finally made it to Trader Joe's over the weekend.  I say finally because living on an island without a TJs I don't usually make the trek to the mainland just to go there.  While I was on the other side of the water, I picked up some of my favorites: brown rice penne pasta, pesto, kalamata olives, and TJ's frozen seafood mix (shrimp, calamari rings, bay scallops).  This recipe was the result, something I thought that the kids would also enjoy.  And they did.  It would be especially delicious with homemade pesto or nettle pesto.


Seafood Pesto Penne with Carmelized Onions
Serves 4

Brown rice penne pasta (Trader Joe's) or any penne pasta
1/2 package of Trader Joe's Seafood Blend, or 1/2 pound of shrimp, Calamari, or Scallops
4 oz of pesto
1-2 heads of broccoli
1 large white onion
pitted Kalamata olives, a few handfuls
olive oil for cooking

Begin by heating a cast iron pan on medium heat.  When the pan is hot, add a dash of olive oil and chopped onions, stir occasionally to evenly brown them.  Cover.  Begin to boil water for penne pasta.  Follow directions on package, set aside when done and mix pesto in with noodles.  Start adding pesto conservatively, and add more as needed.

When onions are browned and softened, add chopped broccoli stir and cover.  Stir occasionally to evenly cook.  When the broccoli is about halfway done add the seafood.  Stir occasionally until seafood and broccoli is done to your liking. The seafood cooks quickly.

Serve pesto noodles with stir fried onions, broccoli and seafood.  Top with some kalamata olives.

Buon appetito!

Fresh Basil, Corn and Green Bean Pasta with Spicy Soy Sauce

Fresh Basil, Corn and Green Bean Pasta with Spicy Soy Sauce
Serves 4

1 package of rice or wheat spaghetti noodles, cooked
1 pound fresh green beans, de-stemmed
3 ears of corn
2 roma tomatoes, chopped
1 can of black beans
a large handful of fresh basil, diced
olive oil for cooking green beans
optional: 2 cans of albacore tuna, drained

Sauce:
5 TBS soy sauce
1 to 2 TBS Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce, depending on how spicy you like it.
Mix soy sauce and Tabasco thoroughly.  I would have people pour desired amount over their food. 

Cook noodles, set aside.  Heat a cast iron pan on medium heat, when it's hot add olive oil and green beans.  The beans should really sizzle in the pan for a good 5 minutes, stir every minute or so.  After 5 minutes cover and cook them while stirring occasionally until they are tender, but firm.  Cut corn off cobs and add to green beans, stir, let sit covered with lid.  The corn will cook quickly from the retained heat in the pan. 

Chop tomatoes and dice basil.  Heat black beans.  Serve each plate with noodles then add tomatoes, green bean-corn stir fry, black beans and fresh basil.  For a little extra oomph add tuna.  This would be especially good with fresh tuna!  Serve with spicy soy sauce.   

Here is a picture of the meal with tuna and extra black beans....

Drunk Mussels in Butter, Basil and Garlic Sauce

It's been a while since I cooked mussels, the kiddos were pretty excited about trying them, and I just bought some lovely purple garlic from the Port Townsend Farmer's Market. A nice convergence, including some inspiration for trying new shellfish recipes after some delicious barbequed oysters last weekend =).  Right here on Whidbey Island we have Penn Cove Shellfish a fresh-from-the-water shellfish growing operation in Coupeville.  Whidbey island is a great place to buy shellfish!

Drunk Mussels in Butter, Basil and Garlic Sauce
Serves 2 to 3 adults

1.5 pounds of mussels
1/2 cup butter
2 large or 4 small/medium garlic cloves, diced
1 cup white wine
2 TBS fresh chopped basil

Clean the mussels in water and pull out their beards.  Toss any that have broken shells.  Melt butter slowly on stove.  Once the butter has melted add garlic and basil, cook for several minutes on low temperature and set aside.  In a pan bring white wine to a simmer, add mussels and cook until the mussel shells open.  Serve with butter sauce drizzled over the mussels. Great served with noodles.  We combined mussels, noodles and edamame beans.  I think next time I would add fresh tomatoes and more fresh basil.

Hash Browns and fresh from the Garden Kale

 My cooking tonight included a medley of food from the fridge.  I'd usually rather go to the store and pick out a fresh feast to cook than go through my fridge, freezer and cupboards.  Hmmm, market in Paris anyone?  Despite this preference, many of my favorite meals come from my very own house and garden.  Here are a few that I made tonight, including the kale recipe I adapted from a lovely meal my sister cooked a while back with fresh from the garden kale, a hot pan and olive oil.

Hash Browns
2-4 medium sized potatoes
1-2 eggs, just enough to make the hash browns stick together when cooking.
butter to cook with
salt and pepper
ketchup

Grate the potatoes and salt them, mixing in the salt as evenly as possible.  Use only as much salt as you would like to taste in the finished hash browns.  Too much salt?  Been there, done that.   The salt will pull out the excess moisture in the potatoes and make for tastier hash browns.  Let the raw potatoes and salt sit for 5 minutes.  Preheat a cast iron pan on medium to high heat for a few minutes.  After the allotted time, squeeze out the extra water with your hands.  Mix in the egg(s) with the grated potatoes.  Add a dollop of butter to the preheated pan and add potato-egg mix, forming them into patties.  I make them about the size of a small pancake.  Pepper if desired.  Cover and cook until the hash browns are nicely browned, but not burnt.  Turn and repeat.  Serve with ketchup.

Quick Fried Kale in Olive Oil
what you'll need:
as much kale as you desire, chopped small, especially the stem pieces
olive oil
optional: pinenuts and feta

Preheat a cast iron pan on medium-high heat, hot enough to sizzle, but cool enough to not burn the olive oil.  Good luck on that one =)

When pan is heated, add a splash of olive oil, enough to coat the pan, and chopped kale.  Cover and let sizzle for a minute.  Then stir frequently until some pieces are brown tipped, but mostly green.  The stems should be soft without being soggy.  The key to the specific taste and texture I am going for is the higher heat, but not so high as to burn the kale.  Brown, not burn.  Crisp not charred.  Cooking the kale at this higher temperature and stirring often makes it tender with crunchy, crisp and flavorful tips.  You can add pine nuts and a little bit of feta to dress it up.

Red Miso with Noodles and Seaweed

This is an excellent breakfast, lunch or dinner.  It is hydrating for the body which makes it especially good post-party meal.  After all the fourth of July festivities, your body will thank you!

Red Miso with Rice Noodles and Seaweed
serves 1

1-2 TBS red miso
just boiled water
cooked rice noodles
1-2 TBS wakame, rehydrated
soy sauce, optional

Bring a pot of water to a boil, or close to it.  Use 1-2 TBS red miso, mix with 1 to 1 1/2 cups of hot water.  Make sure that you don't boil the miso as it will kill all the good bacteria in the miso.  Add a handful of noodles and rehydrated seaweed.  I also like to add a bit of soy sauce.

Happy Summer!

Pork Chops Marinated in Beer with Garlic and Fennel

This was a really easy meal. I made it for my dad for a Father's Day celebration meal with baked potatoes, a fresh garden salad, and a blueberry-raspberry-peach crumble pie, per his request.  It would have been good with polenta as well. I realize writing this recipe that I never put pork recipes on this site!  Up until now.  I just don't really think about buying pork.  I also realize that I don't cook with beef much either.  I enjoy both types of meat, I just happen to mostly eat chicken, fish or vegetarian. 

Pork Chops Marinated in Beer with Garlic and Fennel
serves 4 people

1 beer
4 pork chops
handful of diced fresh fennel
4-6 garlic cloves, diced/pressed
pepper

Place the pork chops in a baking dish, cover with beer, exposing just the surface of the meat.  Place garlic on top of the meat and then fennel.  Add some pepper.  You can marinate for several hours, or if you are pressed for time like I was, you can put it right in the oven.  Cook in preheated 350 F.  If you marinate for a longer duration, which I recommend, place pork chops and marinade in a plastic bag and refigerate for 4-24 hours.

~~~Enjoy~~~

New Baby Celebration Meal

It is always fun to cook for a family that has just had a new baby!  For this dinner I made a Chicken, Spinach and Onion Quiche with a polenta crust, green salad, and Blackberry-Raspberry Crumble pie.  Half of the quiche has noodles in it for the kids.  The new family now has 3 children, so I imagine the big kids would enjoy the noodles.

Chicken, Spinach, Onion Quiche with Noodles and a Polenta Crust
serves 4-6, makes 1 quiche

Ingredients
crust
1/2 cup dry polenta
1 1/2 cups water
splash or two of olive oil
some salt
1/3 cup grated cheese of your choice.  I used Tillamook Sharp.

Insides of quiche
4 eggs
2 cups milk
2 chicken breasts cooked and chopped into bite-size pieces
1 onion
2 fully packed cups of fresh spinach, chopped
a handful of cooked noodles ( I used leftover spaghetti noodles)- optional
black pepper

Making the Crust
Bring 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil.  Slowly add 1/2 cup dry polenta while stirring to prevent clumping.  Watch out, the polenta will spit up and bite you if the heat is too high!  Mix in about 1 TBS olive oil and a dash of salt.  Turn heat down and stir occassionally until polenta is thick.  Prepare a pie dish by oiling it with olive oil.  This will prevent the polenta crust from sticking to the pan.  Evenly spread polenta like you would a regular wheat crust.  I used a spatula and made the crust a little thicker than a regular wheat crust would be.  Bake the crust in an oven for 20 minutes on 350F.  Right before it is done cooking add the grated cheese and let it melt before taking it out of the oven.  Set crust aside and prepare the filling.

The Quiche Filling 
preheat oven to 375 Bake
1. Thoroughly mix 4 eggs with 2 cups of milk.  Set aside. 
2. Fry one chopped onion in a pan with butter for 3 minutes.  Add chicken breasts if they are not already precooked.  Cook until the chicken and onions are done to your liking.  Add some pepper.  Set aside.
3. Fill the polenta and cheese pie crust with the chopped fresh (uncooked) spinach.
4. Optional- Cover 1/2 of the quiche with cooked noodles (great for kids).
5. Cover the polenta evenly with the chicken and onions.
6. Pour the milk-egg mixture over the chicken-onion-spinach covered crust.  Leave at least 1/2 inch of the pie dish unfilled so that it won't overflow into your oven like it did mine =)
7. Cover the quiche with aluminum foil.  This keeps the pie cooking evenly.  No burned top or hard noodles!
8. Cook in preheated 350 F oven for 30 minutes or more.  I can't remember exactly how long I cooked mine, but I think it was 45 minutes to 1 hour.  Mine was really full though, so it would cook quicker the less full your pie dish is.

Now, time for DESSERT!

Blackberry-Raspberry Crumble 
When cooked right, the pie is thick enough to stay put on your spoon.  This is a very easy dessert that is sure to disappear quickly.  You can use any fruit, but the cooking times and ingredients will differ a bit.   This is my favorite dessert right now!


Makes 1 pie
Topping:
1 cup oatmeal, whole grain
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup of butter melted
Mix the oatmeal and brown sugar then mix in the butter.  Set aside. The topping gets spread evenly over the pie.  I have a hard time keeping my kids hands out of the topping-- it is delicious and simple.

Insides:
2 cups of previously frozen blackberries (de-thaw before using)
2 cups previously frozen raspberries, or enough to fill a pie dish (de-thaw before using)
5 TBS flour
3 TBS lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Mix all the above ingredients (minus the fruit and lemon juice).  When thoroughly combined, add to the fruit and pour on the lemon juice.  Be careful not to rough up the berries too much as you mix it.  They are delicate.   Spoon the mixture into the pie pan.   Next, cover the fruit mixture with the oatmeal crumble.  Bake at 350 F for as long as it takes, making sure not to burn the crumble layer. The pie should be bubbling for a while.  Keep an eye on the topping and take out of oven before it gets overcooked.  I think it took about 45 minutes, but... don't take my word for it...I time things very intuitively.  I use my nose too and can usually tell when it is done cooking by the smells.  Good luck!  Bon Appetite!

Chicken Tortilla Salad

Chicken Tortilla Salad
serves one

2 handfuls of crushed corn chips
1 small grated carrot
enough washed romaine for one salad, about 4 leaves or so
1 chicken breast
1 garlic clove
butter for frying
1 TBS olive oil
1 TBS balsamic vinegar
lemon pepper (Trader Joes)


In a cast iron pan cook one chicken breast in butter. Add a clove of pressed garlic, cover and slowly cook until done. Cut in to bite-size pieces and use a little lemon pepper to season. Set aside.

Wash romaine lettuce and break in to bite size pieces. Grate carrot and spread over lettuce.

Dressing: Mix 1 TBS olive oil with 1 TBS balsamic vinegar with a fork. Toss salad with dressing and add chicken and a couple of handfuls of crushed corn chips.

Yummy and simple.

Pan Cooked Chicken Breasts with Lemon Pepper, Fennel and Caramelized Onions

OK, I admit it, I have been to Trader Joes a lot lately. A lot for me anyway. With some frozen chicken breast and some very exciting lemon pepper I came up with this dish, a nice and easy one pan-only kind of meal. I served it with feta cheese polenta. Big hit with the kids, although take it easy on the lemon pepper for them! Lesson learned :)

Pan Cooked Chicken Breasts with Lemon Pepper, Fennel, and Caramelized Onions

4 fresh or frozen chicken breasts, I got mine frozen from Trader Joes
1 onion
1 TBS butter
handful of fresh fennel
lemon pepper to taste

Begin by heating a cast iron pan on medium. When the pan has warmed add a dollup of butter and long slices of onion. Cook for a few minutes then add chicken, stir, cover for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes turn the chicken, and cover for another 5 minutes. Depending on the size of the chicken you may need to cook it for more or less time. Several minutes before it's done add a handful of fresh fennel and grind some lemon pepper over the chicken. Cover and cook until fennel is wilted and chicken is done.

Best served with feta polenta.

Salmon, Artichokes and Polenta

Doesn't get any simpler or better than this for me! And the fresh Alaskan Salmon is finally here!!!! Buttery and delicious!

A Splash of Pinot Noir

The magnificent four: chicken thighs fried in butter, garlic, fresh thyme and steamed with a splash of Pinot Noir. 

Garlic, Thyme, and Wine Infused Chicken
serves 4
1 package of chicken thighs
3 TBS butter
3-4 cloves of garlic
6 fresh and tender sprigs of thyme
salt and pepper
splash of pinot noir

Heat a cast iron pan on medium, add 3 TBS butter, tip pan to spread the butter evenly.  Add crushed garlic and thyme sprigs.  Stir for up to a minute, being careful not to burn the garlic.  Add chicken thighs, fry for a couple of minutes, making sure to flip the thighs.  Salt and pepper to your taste.  Add a splash of Pinot Noir, flip thighs again and cover with a lid, turning the heat down slightly.  The thighs cook pretty quickly so keep an eye on them.  I think they took about 10 minutes to cook once I put the Pinot Noir in the pan.  Turn the thighs periodically as they cook. 

I made this dinner because I knew it would be delicious and quick.  I had just finished working at 7 PM, the kids were still up and hungry.  Dinner was ready within the half hour.  I served it with the always kid friendly noodles and my favorite sit fried broccoli in olive oil.  The chicken and broccoli would also be great with rice or polenta.  Have you ever used Braggs Liquid Aminos?  It is basically a soy sauce.  Add a bit of it to your noodles, chicken and broccoli.

Creamy Mashed Potato Salad with Eggs and Fennel

I like to stretch my boundaries a wee bit.  Alright, alright, a lot, okay I admit it.  I like to stretch them like a yoga posture.  Flexibility and strength... oh, and I made this awesome creamy mashed potato salad too.  I like to make sure I have a lot of time with friends, especially during the warm summer months.  My friend and I organized a weekly dinner/ BBQ at Maxwelton beach, which got me thinking about BBQ food.  I mean that traditional fat inducing American fare, not my usual thing.  I know, I usually don't post too much Americana, but like I said that's where the stretching, flexibility comes in.  What's wrong with a wee bit of comfort food, I mean really??

So here it is, partly courtesy of the great blog, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, is a lovely Creamy Mashed Potato Salad.  I changed the recipe to fit with the ingredients that I have available at my house.  Instead of pickles/and or dill I used fresh fennel and thyme.  I added garlic powder, an extra egg and less mayo than the recipe calls for.  Plus I used Vegenaise instead of regular mayonnaise.  Don't get me wrong, I have no problem with good 'ol mayo, but I really like the Vegenaise

The Mostly Homemade Pizza

Although I love baking I really have not experimented too much with it.  When I say baking I mean working with flour.  In the past I have been more interested in fresh foods.  For several years I avoided wheat due to a sensitivity I had to it.  The habit of avoiding it has stayed with me, at least to some degree, and helps me branch out.  I consider using grains that some people wouldn't.  I also practiced a raw diet for a year.  I'll have to blog about that sometime.  There is a story there.  I am more interested in enjoying food nowadays so I don't put any specific restrictions on what I cook.

I imagine you are wondering when the homemade pizza comes into the story.  The mostly homemade pizza.  Being the wheat-challenged person that I am, when I saw that Trader Joes sells already made pizza dough, I grabbed up a bag of pesto pizza dough and plain pizza dough (Marina's choice).  I even managed to wait until the dough was about to expire before getting up my pizza-making nerve.

One for adults, one for kids

Above, one of my favorite "easy" lunch or dinner ideas: BBQ chicken, chopped almonds, tomato, and avocado on Romaine tossed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  I always make my own fresh salad dressing.  It is so much better that way.

Balsamic Olive Oil Dressing
Mix equal parts balsamic vinegar and olive oil (don't skimp on purchasing a good quality olive oil)
salt and pepper to taste
Combine ingredients thoroughly!
You can change out the balsamic vinegar in this recipe for seasoned rice vinegar.  Both are great and add a unique flavor to your salad.

A meal for the kiddos (above): On occasion I have a late lunch and then I am not hungry for dinner.  On one of these occasions, I made a specifically "kid" meal.  I have a feeling that my idea of a kid's meal may differ from most people's.  For Marina, 5, and Stella, 2 1/2, I baked small corn burritos with refried beans and topped them with fresh tomatoes.  A small side salad of romaine lettuce tossed with olive oil and rice vinegar.  And lastly, I boiled some polenta grits, served them on the side with salt, drizzled with olive oil.  Believe it or not, the girls ate the whole plate of food....maybe it was the vibrant colors......or?

Barbequed Lime and Lamb Sandwich

Here on Whidbey Island there is this great little grocery store called The Star Store in downtown Langley.  It is packed full of food, with lots of natural and organic options.  It is a short walk or drive from my house so I end up shopping there a lot.  I made this lamb sandwich with ground lamb patties I got from the Star Store.  You could make it with any ground lamb.  We BBQ'd the lamb along with beef patties because the girls aren't too fond of ground lamb.  Add fresh tomatoes, avocado, lettuce tossed with olive oil and squeezed lime, all on sprouted bread and you have a healthy and filling sandwich for lunch or dinner.

Barbecued Lime and Lamb Sandwich  
makes one sandwich
2 slices of sprouted bread (I use Ezekial Sprouted Sesame bread)
wedge of lime
olive oil
1 lamb patty
1/2 avocado
2 slices of tomato
romaine lettuce, chopped
mayonnaise
provolone cheese

Barbecue the lamb patty and melt provolone cheese on it. Toast the sprouted bread and spread mayo on both slices of bread.  Use a fork to squish and spread avocado on one slice.  Add sliced tomatoes and BBQ lamb with melted cheese on avocado.  Mix a dash of olive oil with a squeezed lime slice.  Use a fork to mix it well.  Toss chopped Romaine lettuce with the lime-olive oil dressing.  Top the lamb with the Romaine and the other slice of bread.  Enjoy!

Cornish Game Hens in Tomato Bay Leaf Sauce

Two Cornish game hens fit easily in my clay pot.  I served them with purple potatoes, salad and fragrant quinoa cooked with mint leaves.  The tomato sauce was made with canned whole tomatoes crushed by hand with whole garlic cloves, bay leaves, and white wine.  Be sure to pour yourself a glass or two while you cook.  The sauce, pre-chicken is pictured below.  The hens are also great served with baked polenta.

After you have washed and dried the hens place them in the sauce covering them with the tomatoes and bay leaves, as pictured below.

I then placed the potatoes on the top, covered the clay pot and cooked the hens for about 2 hours. 

Above, hens pictured after cooking. 

Buffalo and Rice Stir Fry with Fresh Artichokes

This is my favorite food.  Favorite food of all time.  Artichokes.  I usually cook them by boiling them for 30-45 minutes.  Use a fork to poke into stem to check if they are finished cooking.  They should feel soft, but firm.  I serve them with a white sauce that my mother always used: mix a high quality mayo with soy sauce to your liking, dip artichoke hearts in sauce and enjoy.  You can also make an olive oil-lemon-honey sauce that is lovely.

Mayo sauce: mayo + soy sauce.  Is great paired with salmon and rice as well.

Buffalo and rice stir fry.  I made it with ground buffalo.  Use a tablespoon of butter in preheated cast iron pan on medium heat, add buffalo and stir, breaking up the meat. Cover with lid and let cook for several minutes.  Stir and when the meat is almost done add cooked rice (I had rice as a leftover).  Stir thoroughly and cover with lid for several minutes or until well heated.  Serve with artichokes.  

Earlier in the day the girls had a "face-painting session" without my help

Or should I say body painting session? 

Welcoming a New Baby

(pictured is the recipe below, doubled for 2 families)

Our friends just had a beautiful little girl and I cooked this dinner to feed the family during their babymoon.  The month after a baby is born is a busy, sensitive and magical time while the family gets used to a new routine.  The new mom is recovering from the birth and taking care of a new baby, a more than full-time job!  Now add in a four year old and a new family has their hands full.  During this time it is a wonderful gift to receive food from your family, friends and community.  I know it was a blessing when I had my second child!  Here is the recipe I made yesterday.  Clay pot chicken is great for this kind of thing because you can easily cook enough for 2 families.  

  

Coconut, Ginger and Fennel Chicken Thighs in a Clay Pot 
with Cauliflower
Serves 4-6, or a small family for 2 dinners 
Cooking time: about 1.5 to 2 hours

Full Menu: with a side of baked Polenta and Asparagus, side salad and dessert of Strawberry and Blackberry Crumble.  For recipes, scroll down.