tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-31571008228189155102024-02-19T03:38:48.450-05:00The Küchen BlogUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-84868510194067978002013-04-15T12:29:00.004-04:002013-04-15T12:29:58.331-04:00Asheville Trip {very photo heavy post!}<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Mike and I went up to Asheville for a few days and had so much fun. I decided that I would be one of those girls that took photos of everything for the sake of her blog. Yes, including meals! </div>
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We stayed at the Aloft in downtown Asheville and loved it. We're able to use the SPG points + cash deal to get a great price on the hotel. It is super nice to be able to not have to drive at all! One of my favorite things about this Aloft was the chalkboard wall. Our last day in Asheville, there was an engagement announcement! So sweet! :)</div>
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Like I said: photos of everything. :) We love staying in hotels because we get cable TV. Awww yeah! We spent a lot of time watching ESPN and HGTV. Also, I had to take a photo of the Bliss products that Aloft hotels have. I <3 Bliss!</div>
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I posted on Facebook & Google+ that our trip was all about eating good food. Everything else was just waiting for the next meal. This was so true and there are a LOT of photos of food in this post! </div>
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Sunday night dinner was Salsa! I had put out an inquiry on Facebook asking friends where to eat and this is one of the places that was recommended. It was also right around the corner from our hotel which made it an obvious choice for our first night. When you eat at Salsa, you are definitely packed in there, but it's not terrible. Also, the chairs looked like they'd be uncomfortable, but they were actually quite nice. The room is painted a bright yellow, but most of the walls are covered in very cool pieces of art.</div>
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Mike and I split the "Fifth Element" Fajitjas--a lot of the meals had movie names, like the "Pulp Fiction" Plantains--and I had a pineapple margarita--yummy! We find that when we split meals not only do we save money, but we don't stuff ourselves so full that we're wandering around going, "Ohhhhhh I ate tooo much..." Because that's never fun. I am certain we will be back because our meal was amazing. Best fajitas I'd ever had.</div>
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After dinner at Salsa, we went next door to Bomba for some coffee (or hot chocolate for me!) and biscotti. Bomba and Salsa are owned by the same person, but Bomba has a very different feel. The walls are grey and the room was dimly lit. The coffee was very good--or so Mike tells me. The hot chocolate was rich and delicious and the perfect way to top off my night. </div>
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Monday morning, we went to Early Girl Eatery for breakfast. From what I read online, if you visit this place on the weekends, you can expect to have quite the wait. If you visit on Monday, you get seated right away. :) Working for yourselves and not being restricted to the weekends FTW! There was adorable folk-y farm and animal themed art on the walls and there were hanging baskets of greenery in the windows. The room was open and airy, but they still put your table two inches away from the next table. I didn't like that and found it to be very odd. I'm sure it's so when they are busy they can fit the maximum number of customers in the restaurant...but it was still a little too close for me.</div>
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Mike got granola with fruit for breakfast and I got the Southern Breakfast. It was exactly what you would expect: two eggs, toast, grits, and your choice of bacon or sausage. While we both enjoyed our meals, we didn't think it was anything spectacular. Other than the table situation, we didn't really dislike anything. But we weren't wowed either and probably won't be back. (Try instead: Tupelo Honey. Went there last time and LOVED it! However, from what I understand they also have a ridiculously long wait time on the weekends.)</div>
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We spent the rest of the morning wandering around and poking into shops.</div>
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For lunch, we visited Doc Chey's. Also recommended by my friends and also right near our hotel. I got the Pad Thai and Mike got the Chinese Stir-Fry. I wish we had decided to split because I only ate about half of my meal. I love Pad Thai, but it was just a lot of it. The Pad Thai was delicious but, again, nothing spectacular. I actually thought that Mike's looked yummier. We might visit this place again and split something next time!</div>
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After a nice nap, Mike and I popped into the French Broad Chocolate Lounge. Our first time there! We got three different flavors for a chocolate ganache tasting: Indian (cinnamon and pistachio), lavender & honey, and pure dark. My favorite was the pure dark, I think. They were all delicious and very rich. I think Mike ended up consuming most of the chocolate because I couldn't. But oh, sooo yummy! I can't wait to go back and visit--I need to try their truffles!</div>
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We stopped by The Gourmet Chip Company to get some yummy yummy chips to eat while watching the final March Madness game that night. If you have never been to the Gourmet Chip I would *highly* recommend it. Easily the tastiest and most creative chips I have ever had in my whole life. I forget which ones we got <a href="http://www.gourmetchipcompany.com/#!in-house-menu">The Parisian and The Americana</a>. SO GOOD. Oh, and guess what? They <a href="http://www.gourmetchipcompany.com/#!packaged-chips">ship some of their chips</a>! Definitely worth a stop.</div>
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Ohhh...yum. In typing up this blog, I'm remembering what an amazing food day the Monday was. Ohhh....so good. Okay, for dinner, we went to the Black Bird. It's located in the same building as our hotel. Again with the super convenient. We weren't super hungry, so we both got a glass of wine (red for him, white for me) to go with our cheese board and meat board. I have never liked brie until I tried their brie. On a cracker, with some kind of jellied something. The boards were full of local yummy goodness (some of it award winning!) Feta, goat cheese, bleu cheese, chicken liver pate, prosciutto, pickled vegetables, etc. It was a seriously delicious meal and I would totally have it again.</div>
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Tuesday breakfast consisted of us going across the street to City Bakery & Cafe. This time, I was the one who got granola (in the form of a parfait) and Mike got a bagel. I don't get granola much but man was my granola tasty. We loved City Bakery and it made us wish that Greenville had a place like that. </div>
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Our trip demanded a stop at White Duck Taco Shop. Partly because it is amazing and partly because last time we went, I was so not hungry that I didn't order anything. White Duck Taco Shop is in the River Arts District and it is a long way to walk (trust us!), so after checking out of our hotel, we stopped there on our way out of town.<br /><br />The place was packed and the line was very very long. They have indoor and outdoor seating. We shared our picnic table with another couple, because one of the nicest days of spring, everyone wants to eat lunch outside! I normally would have ordered a fish taco, but I decided to get something different and go with the Jerk Chicken. It was spicy--very spicy for me! I'm a spicy food wimp!--and I drank a LOT of water, but it was really really yummy! It took a little while to get our tacos, so I was glad we got an order of queso and chips. Some of the yummiest queso every, you guys. So delicious. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;">Our food was so good, we didn't even stop of a McDonald's ice cream cone on the way home! Something that almost always happens when we are in the car for an hour or longer. We did stop at Greenlife for some GreenMan IPA and Hive Five Coffee Bar for an americano.<br /><br />Hope you enjoyed this little tour of Asheville with us! There are good posts to come. I've decided to join Mike in trying to cook yummy things and I'll be sure to blog about that!</span></div>
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-85712568275890897812013-01-03T16:09:00.003-05:002013-04-15T12:36:29.929-04:00Peggy & Joan, Urban Chickies<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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Meet Peggy and Joan, brave and adventurous Urban Chickies. Can you figure out which is which? Here's a clue:</div>
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<a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/52881-us-poll-who-had-the-bigger-mad-men-bombshell-peggy-or-joan/1338325082_elisabeth-moss-christina-hendricks-lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="548" src="http://www.usmagazine.com/uploads/assets/articles/52881-us-poll-who-had-the-bigger-mad-men-bombshell-peggy-or-joan/1338325082_elisabeth-moss-christina-hendricks-lg.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Yep, our chickies were named after Peggy & Joan from MadMen. It actually all started with the name Joan for the Rhode Island Red, but then we decided to name the White Leghorn Peggy to go with the theme. I suspect if we ever got a rooster (which we have absolutely no plans on doing), we would name him Don.</div>
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Joan is the friendlier of the two. When I saw them out front scratching around, I went outside to grab a few pictures. As I walked down my front steps, Joan came rushing over. <i>"Hello human! Have you got any scratch for me?"</i><br />
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Peggy kept her distance.</div>
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We were about to leave, so we tossed them back over the fence where they could scratch in safety. I think these two chickies need their wings clipped! I love that they feel comfortable but am a bit scared for their safety sometimes.</div>
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Likes:<br />
Scratch<br />
Mike (Joan only)<br />
Exploring<br />
Their coop<br />
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Dislikes:<br />
Bella<br />
Neighbor cats<br />
Being picked up (mostly Peggy)<br />
When you accidentally peek in on them while they are laying eggs<br />
Flying into the window</div>
Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-35719133818051043172012-09-11T09:07:00.000-04:002013-04-15T12:36:50.875-04:00Michigan Sweet Corn<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
At the end of August, Mike and I took a few days to visit family in Michigan. And, because we timed our trip just right, we were able to bring home some of that yummy Michigan Sweet Corn! We stopped by the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cornmobile/98310184905">Cornmobile</a> in Richmond and loaded up our car with<i> five dozen ears </i>of sweet corn.<br />
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Two dozen were for Cathie, a friend who knew Mike back when the both lived in MI, and the rest of the ears were to blanched, cut off the cob, and froze for future use. Except, of course, for a few to snack on. ;)<br />
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Last year, we brought home corn after a cousin's Labor Day weekend wedding. The frozen corn in the freezer lasted us until the spring. We used it in soups, chilis, and other yummy meals.<br />
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Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-49579186576534558092012-06-25T12:48:00.001-04:002012-06-25T12:49:38.609-04:00The TV fastSummer is here, the garden is in bloom and theres lots to do. So Tiff and I decided to try something new this summer. We're going to not watch TV, play video games, or even watch TV online for the next two months. Our hope is this will be an opportunity to go to bed early, get up early, break bad living habits and start new healthy ones. I'm looking forward to getting my day started earlier and having time to read my Bible, exercise, and start the work day ahead rather than even at best.<br />
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We have so many exciting things we're a part of, its nice to trade a lesser joy for a greater joy. The first of September we'll reassess and decide what we want to do. I'll miss my Xbox friends, but this doesn't mean we can't hang out in real life!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-61984039510943060562012-06-13T14:14:00.000-04:002012-06-13T14:14:03.905-04:00Greenbrier Farms CSA: Weeks 7 and 8Sorry for not posting for a couple weeks. Not that there's nothing to write about, actually quite the opposite. Lots of good food coming and going and lots of neat experiments and things we're learning about.<div>
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Week 7 of our CSA included cabbage, fennel, leeks, carrots, kale, cilantro, and fresh homemade pesto. The pesto used walnuts an economical substitute for the typical pine nuts. </div>
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Week 8 or our CSA included cabbage, fennel, carrots, rainbow chard, green beans, beats, and pizza dough. </div>
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The past month, we haven't been cooking as much as freezing, drying and canning. The hot summer is bringing the end of the green vegetables, so I bought more kale and have frozen about 20 servings. I take back everything bad I ever said about kale. But I still hate chard. We've also been freezing beans from the garden as well as leeks and green onions. </div>
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We've canned salsa verde and dill pickles. Tried adding red pepper flakes to a couple jars to give them some kick. We also invested in a pressure canner and lots of pint-size canning jars.</div>
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The cilantro went to seed so now we have some dried coriander. Also cut the fronds off the fennel and dried those for a simple licorice tea. This rain has caused our herbs to grow like crazy, so we're drying and putting up for winter soups.</div>
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I've never done much with cabbage and we've had a steady supply through the CSA. So I'm trying several approaches to making sauerkraut. You can see how the color changes, the jar on the left is a few days old, the jar on the far right is two weeks. It all smells terrible, but I cooked a sample yesterday and it was good! In fact it'll probably need another week or two.</div>
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This week, I was surprised to learn that fermented foods are actually <a href="http://naturalhealthdossier.com/2009/01/fermented-foods-and-gut-health/" target="_blank">very good for you</a>. Saurkraut in particular is <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/374784-what-are-the-health-benefits-of-sauerkraut/" target="_blank">good for you</a>. I've been homebrewing this year as well, so its interesting to apply the same principles to preserving these kinds of foods. </div>
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The garden is loving all this rain and I've picked my first tomatoes. These are supposed to be Roma, but as you can see they aren't getting much bigger than cherry tomatoes. This is my first time planting in this part of my yard, I guess the soil will need some work.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-14257913612372766822012-05-31T22:48:00.002-04:002012-05-31T22:55:34.038-04:00Greenbrier Farms CSA: Week 6Hard to believe it's already week six of our CSA. It's a been a cool experience and this week we got a couple new vegetables. This week we received a couple kinds of salad, arugula, rainbow chard, cabbage, carrots, leeks, cauliflower, and fennel.<br />
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We've gotten into the routine of consuming a large amount of salad every week. Finishing the carrots is no problem. The arugula will go into a stir fry and the leeks will go into the freezer for soup later this year. I'll fry the chard with some garlic and I've already used the cabbage for my second batch of sauerkraut. I'm going to try roasting the cauliflower and fennel.</div>
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Tonight's dinner was an epic fail. I tried making chicken butter masala with some spices from the Indian store. They were burn through your stomach hot. So this was our back-up plan, and it was so good...<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-49323637502333877762012-05-27T15:34:00.000-04:002012-05-27T15:34:29.647-04:00Greenbrier Farms CSA: Week 5Life has been busy, busy, busy, but here's a belated updated for this past week.<br />
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This week in our CSA we received carrots, greens, green onions, leeks, kale, two heads of cabbage and some tasty raisin bread. The bread was perfect toasted with a little butter, it is long gone. I finally took all our green onions and leeks and froze them for later. Carrots and greens for salads. And kale was blanched and frozen along with peas and beans from our garden. After two years, I finally went under the house and hooked up the ice maker on the fridge so no more going to gas station to buy ice!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Removing the stems, prepping to freeze</td></tr>
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I wasn't too sure what to do with the cabbage, so I'm trying my hand at making sauerkraut. It sounds <a href="http://germanfood.about.com/od/saladsandsides/r/Sauerkraut.htm" target="_blank">simple enough</a>, we'll see how it turns out. Tiff won't eat it, but I'll find an evening when she has other plans and stink the whole house up with it.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Improvised weight to press the cabbage down</td></tr>
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The freezer is slowly filling up with things for the rest of the year. I've frozen a lot of strawberries, kale, green onions and leeks, some broccoli, beans and peas. I boil and freeze batches of beans as we go through them. I'll keep adding as the growing season progresses. Our grocery budget is $400/month. We've been spending more than that, but will save later in the year. </div>
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Trying to start two businesses and our neighborhood association, I haven't time to cook much new. I made some mediocre salmon the other day. And I improved on our saag paneer this week. My basil needed to be topped off and I had some left-over parmesan so I made <a href="http://www.chow.com/recipes/30245-emilia-terragnis-basil-pesto" target="_blank">pesto</a>. Mixed with pasta, it makes a nice early summer meal. Or spread on some rye bread and made into a grilled cheese. I plan on making a bunch and freezing it before summer's over.</div>
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The garden is doing well, though we're having a serious lack of rain. My beans and tomatoes are both fighting some bacterial thing (early blight?), so I'm treating them with selectively placed fungicide. We have a perfectly good growing area along a fence, so I built 3 new 1 x 4 foot raised boxes and planted more peas and pole beans. I also had the opportunity to be a part of the community garden up the street so I planted a 4 x 12 foot section of corn and quinoa. </div>
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-81511441969055877532012-05-20T22:19:00.004-04:002012-05-20T22:19:57.115-04:00Artisphere & Saturday Market<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
So, in the summer months, there is a Farmers Market that takes up a few blocks of Downtown Greenville's Main Street. The first Saturday it was open, it just happened to coincide with Artisphere. One of our annual art festivals. I'm not sure if this is a regular happening or if it was just a coincidence, but it was nice to hit both events in one stop.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC1Nv_zpyh1SUdYp6VVwFnN-3h1zkqATVHrCmPtL_2m2-W305ClcAf2oGm7h5yLhC821heNBdgYKIB_ecFlJ6JOAbIR9JzxdtJEKLvmmAlLAKRu1XviorRTYRqbrikSKZ3BUw47vI5QPAG/s500/05.05.12%2520Saturday%2520Market%2520%2526%2520Artisphere-1.jpg" /><br />
The Saturday Market is usually pretty crowded. Add in Artisphere and there are even more people milling about! The two events wove pretty seamlessly together separated by maybe one block. I don't really remember.<br />
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We decided we would walk all the way down through the market to Artisphere first. Check out the veggies and their prices as we walked, but wait until we came back through to buy any as to not have to lug bags of kale up and down Main Street.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67hVLaXlshj4CxZ-m6GdYOG6Ruxl4Y9_hO7jxizNb3MloCBfwT1E6WL9u7O8t__3BKUgozXuTG5vyvo5eQpbXeIO69x6BSKAkN7qtE60njGz8IoqiiKIsEv6QPlpRM4DHVOmmiKkL3ZPO/s500/05.05.12%2520Saturday%2520Market%2520%2526%2520Artisphere-2.jpg" /><br />
My favorite part of Artisphere were the demonstrators. Glass Blower Ryan Gothrup from Virginia made a beautiful drinking glass which was promptly recycled for the next demonstration.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8THab0pQBO4A4N7lQZWTSWW8y6DlMm6FByyZgJoe6sJl1h6qHmPivswVWxv7QldSR0gdLdq_OFsgmu66uIDLUY9QO783BftcPp4tys7noE8aABFec4l-2PlMdP-wgyXrzfXXLiNh2lYmP/s500/05.05.12%2520Saturday%2520Market%2520%2526%2520Artisphere-5.jpg" /><br />
Ryan Calloway is a local blacksmith who had some amazing work on display. He was making curlicues for another piece.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXWhfYWYRQIYMeZXHaaJkFnEktpfzmXPW18vPHIkXXZHB9qnwkHCDmqUjZ_jwmdMg36kV2dJYJ6x-hV_hC4PSv6wdzR8o00Mbv0qeuR8jSiRXfVVksTBPNCONz2L-LGzJ4fxVwXOTkHAyB/s500/05.05.12%2520Saturday%2520Market%2520%2526%2520Artisphere-6.jpg" /><br />
I didn't get the name of this artist, they were giving away free prints! You would pick which one you wanted and they'd make the print right then. Pretty cool, eh?<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcOTC0K5CliwEATanpV7mo2FTebG-h4AGONXuOqsvhfwNuomv1u9nBEb0X_V9Yq64MFE5CxXQ3IQWCKBuOFVMlVS1tMPh1Dkbqi5X1B1jnFo3f7w-AyWoqNPS-kesQr1TwFbkZzeDZxUoc/s500/05.05.12%2520Saturday%2520Market%2520%2526%2520Artisphere-12.jpg" /><br />
On our way back through the market, we stopped at Parson's Produce for a couple bunches of kale.<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9x4gmfJrG8XcErMb5jZmJEnsmrpSZ_-ugOA7QWPOzdjIbVlthv27n1xCGTYdAwnWC-q1tHKwNDhqjyEooLj5HMhnsdodzJ1ELeyUHPsxTwAVtAc_Gio8s3CaAcI6LI_yoab7BiT-ZXxr_/s500/05.05.12%2520Saturday%2520Market%2520%2526%2520Artisphere-10.jpg" /><br />
They also had some other pretty produce that we didn't purchase, but I just loved their set up I had to grab a few photos!<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYLNoJIolNDc0Hb32f2qZFuzh3bzJO0kuoFQb50Re4IzwOv6Xutzktg5_jZgnkoCUi9d_aidYopxmRt8pgRoYoPI8D9Vrqf6xtsZ0Chi8NaQdVkiJ2LqN7ovfaXALd_r5LbWhgbEzNc8Jy/s500/05.05.12%2520Saturday%2520Market%2520%2526%2520Artisphere-8.jpg" /><br />
We also bought some broccoli from a vendor whose name I committed to memory but now cannot drudge up. It was delicious, though!<br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP-BAks8AZy4G5e4LOPU1_75Pc5EL3JcztUAZ5p_A84ata6hCRzqJeQRcVp9CqaUv3uOXlvQ5Z6LOBjTwC4eflyviRBpgQBwKXqTOffzk7YfBMwOz3Am9gSn1ZfyNTwqlNw_YWJrApKHVd/s500/05.05.12%2520Saturday%2520Market%2520%2526%2520Artisphere-7.jpg" /><br />
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<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBY3O_6wR5C_7YGFHonRrfk34UHbNuY-agHbWy-k_-s8t1PDaWwim41-kHCGsqWHsJYKNsD6TmLlN568SZD_DjAsKz1h6b-ZzPz_4GY7QKIPIH2wxs3UiICtHKkIkR2zvs4kl3XObv7EF/s500/05.05.12%2520Saturday%2520Market%2520%2526%2520Artisphere-9.jpg" /><br />
And fresh peaches from Watsonia! I love getting peaches from these people because their tee shirts say "Peaches make you sexy!" Haha. :)</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-63921493401541910192012-05-16T22:01:00.000-04:002012-05-16T22:09:41.709-04:00Greenbrier Farms CSA: Week 4Yesterday I completely forgot to pick up our CSA, so thanks to the guys at <a href="http://www.thecommunitytap.com/" target="_blank">Community Tap</a> for putting it in the fridge for us.<br />
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This week we received: three kinds of salad greens, leeks and green onions, kale, and broccoli. We still have spinach, green onions, and arugula from last week, so we need to eat some serious salad. Honestly I'm a little tired of salad and green onions, but that's part of eating with the seasons I guess. The kale will go in the freezer. I've been pretty busy too, so not much time to try anything new.<br />
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Tonight we made quick work of most of the broccoli. I've been wanting to try this recipe for <a href="http://pinchofyum.com/rustic-garlic-butter-pasta" target="_blank">Rustic Garlic Butter Pasta with Roasted Broccoli</a>. It was very good. My only complaint is now its 9:45 and I'm starving again. This was the first time I roasted broccoli and I'll definitely do it again. Shaved parmesan is a nice treat.<br />
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Tomorrow night will be stir-fry with tofu, broccoli, green onions, arugula, snow peas from the garden, and a daikon radish from our friend Jessica. I'll probably fry the tofu in peanut oil, sauté the vegetables, then add the tofu with some teriyaki sauce and top with sesame seeds. Now I'm even hungrier.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-65942918218215290812012-05-12T14:51:00.000-04:002012-05-12T14:51:04.674-04:00Miso SoupIn our CSA we've been getting a regular supply of green onions. So with our efforts to not waste everything we've had to get creative. We were out eating sushi a few weeks ago and had miso soup with green onions in it. Which got me thinking about making it at home.<br />
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I visited the asian market and bought miso (soy paste). Miso is fermented soy beans. Its been eaten for centuries across Japan and China and has <a href="http://bodyecology.com/articles/miso_health_and_anti-aging.php" target="_blank">great health benefits</a>.<br />
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I also bought some wakame, a dried seaweed. The tiny pellets turn into 1" sheets of seaweed in the hot water. Wakame is <a href="http://food-nutrition.knoji.com/wakame-health-treasure-from-the-sea/" target="_blank">super good for you</a>.<br />
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Chop one green onion and cut up a little tofu.<br />
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For one serving, I boil 3 cups of water with a couple heaping teaspoons of miso paste. But easy on the paste, it's high in sodium. Add a tablespoon of wakame, simmer a couple more minutes and pour into the bowl with green onion and tofu. For a more filling meal, I put 1/2 cup of rice in the cooker and eat it on the side. </div>
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The container of miso will go a long way, as will the wakame. And they both keep a long time. Total cost for a bowl of miso soup is about fifty cents. I'll keep these on hand for when I need a good quick meal.</div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-88245793070582291082012-05-10T19:23:00.001-04:002012-05-10T19:35:04.033-04:00Coconut Curry PaneerOur friend Gloria started a new blog called <a href="http://foodiegonevegan.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Foodie Gone Vegan</a> and posted a delicious Indian recipe. I wasn't feeling very vegan tonight, so I made it slightly less healthy. Tiff and I enjoy paneer, an Indian cheese. You can <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/diy-recipe-homemade-paneer-che-57008" target="_blank">make it yourself</a> or pick some up at the Indian grocery. I've found most Indian recipes you can kinda interchange chicken, paneer, tofu and sometimes chickpeas.<br />
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You can't even begin to imagine how good this smells. Coconut milk, basil, garlic, and all those Indian spices. I didn't have chili sauce, but added a little garam masala. I also used cashews instead of peanuts because I had those on hand. I added the cashews at the beginning so they'd get a little soft. Also the basil so that flavor would get all over everything.<br />
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Delicious paneer. You know it's authentic when they get it from a freezer in the back and its in a ziploc bag. I paid $8.99 for a couple pounds I think. This'll make three meals.</div>
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Added the paneer and some baby bella mushrooms. And a little salt to taste. This meal takes almost no prep work. Just throw everything in. This is my new favorite Indian recipe to make at home.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Yum. Namaste.</span></td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-7897666898523756242012-05-09T11:33:00.000-04:002012-05-09T11:33:18.870-04:00Greenbrier Farms CSA: Week 3Well the past two days we've finally gotten rain. My garden is happy and my rain barrels are full once again. I've been picking a handful of snap peas from my garden every day and i'm getting ready for (hopefully) a whole lot of beans and tomatoes here soon.<br />
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We just received our third installment of our CSA. This week we got a couple kinds of lettuce, spinach, arugula, green onions, bread, and rainbow chard. Chard is one of my least favorite things, someone please tell me how to make it taste good. Otherwise, I think we're just going to eat a ton of salad this next week. So far the amount of vegetables has been pretty much perfect for two people. We finish almost everything just in time for the next batch.<br />
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I hear huckleberries and peaches are ripe or almost there. Scheming to make some more preserves. Also planning to buy a few pounds of spinach, kale, and snap peas at market to freeze for winter soups and stir fries. Next year I know to plant way more. Also have been going through frozen strawberries like crazy since I started going to the gym and drinking smoothies afterward. I think I can still snag a bucket or two to freeze.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-66500694671885352742012-05-02T09:23:00.001-04:002012-05-02T09:23:16.412-04:00Greenbrier Farms CSA: Week 2Yesterday we picked up the second bag of goodies from our CSA. Sorry for no picture, it's all in the fridge and I'm not dragging it all back out. This week we received a couple different kinds of lettuce, a big bag of spinach, more kale, more green onions, bok choy and pizza dough!<br />
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So here's the plan. With some tofu in the fridge, we have all the ingredients for my <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Stir-Fried-Bok-Choy-and-Mizuna-with-Tofu-362936" target="_blank">very favorite stir-fry</a> (will use spinach for the asian greens). We also have everything we need to make another batch of <a href="http://kuechenmeisters.blogspot.com/2012/04/cornmeal-and-kale-spoon-bread.html">Cornmeal and Kale Spoon Bread</a>. We ate that pretty much every meal all weekend and don't hate it yet. I'll also buy a nice heirloom tomato and make a margarita and pizza.<br />
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The best thing is this first couple weeks we've been able to make use of everything. We've also been able to stretch it pretty far so we're eating a lot of healthy meals and spending hardly anything on groceries.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-41723754019773397062012-04-30T22:35:00.001-04:002012-04-30T22:35:55.216-04:00Black Bean Tacos with Corn SalsaTiff and I love Mexican food. Or at least our American version of it. Because seriously, who doesn't love greasy ground beef and cheese. So I decided to try a healthy recipe that would also fulfill our need for Mexican flavors.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The last of our Michigan sweet corn from last fall</td></tr>
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Epicurious has a recipe for <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Black-Bean-Tacos-with-Corn-Salsa-395098" target="_blank">Black Bean Tacos with Corn Salsa</a> that looked intriguing, so we gave it a try. I cooked the beans a little less than called for. I cheated and added just a touch of oil and a little cumin. Because cumin makes everything better. And I added a fresh chopped tomato to the corn salsa. Because how can you have salsa without tomato? Everything in this recipe is good for you and there's nothing not good for you. Except too much salt if you're not careful.<br />
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The results were very good. A nice healthy spring meal. And I had most the ingredients on hand or in the freezer. I ate about four of them to get full so the bean mixture is pretty filling. All in all, super easy to make and a nice healthy meal.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-83514798721109887302012-04-29T13:04:00.001-04:002012-04-29T13:04:27.559-04:00How the Garden GrowsHere in South Carolina the past few months have been incredible for growing (except for the occasional hail storm). It seems like we'll have great sunshine for several days and then a good rain and then a few more days of sun, etc. I've watered my garden here and there, but nature's done most the work for me.<br />
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The peas are loaded with floors and I picked my first handful this week. It's doubtful any even make it into the house, they usually serve as my snack while I work outside.</div>
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This past week, the kudzu bugs have given my beans a reprieve. I noticed big new leaves and they've yet to get eaten. The dog finally succeeded in destroying my herb garden. So, using the new plants from our CSA this past week, I've replanted and wrapped the whole thing in chicken wire. I also cut the last of the spinach to freeze and replaced with chives and yet more pepper plants.<br />
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The tomatoes are all off to the races. I've planted some in the ground, some in buckets. Three different varieties. And some in compost, some in garden soil. So this will be a good year of learning. Overall, they're all doing well. I swear if you sat and concentrated, you could see them grow. I'm learning the importance of good soil. If the soil is good, the plant will be strong and healthy and you'll have much fewer issues with pest and disease.<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-37413840170958624722012-04-27T19:20:00.000-04:002012-04-27T19:20:39.252-04:00Cornmeal and Kale Spoon BreadI enjoy kale about as much as a mouthful of chicken wire. So you can imagine my enthusiasm when I found about a pound of it in our <a href="http://kuechenmeisters.blogspot.com/2012/04/greenbrier-farms-csa-week-1.html">CSA this week</a>. But that's part of this deal, eating with the seasons, eating even those things we're not excited about, and eating it all before it goes bad. So I had my work cut out.<br />
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On the Epicurious iPhone app, you can enter multiple ingredients to sort recipes. <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/reviews/Cornmeal-and-Kale-Spoon-Bread-with-Red-Peppers-105790" target="_blank">Cornmeal and Kale Spoon Bread</a> sounded like it might be alright and used a bunch of our items. The reviews said it was nothing special. Long story short, it was a lot of work, but turned out REALLY good. I'd totally make it again. And you know, I really haven't given kale a fair shot. I put it in soup once and didn't trim the tough stems off, yuck. My bad.<br />
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Since strawberries are everywhere, we've also been enjoying strawberry shortcake. I just slice the fresh strawberries thin, sprinkle with sugar and mix.<br />
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Let them sit out about 30 minutes so the sugar can draw out all that great flavor and juice. Then serve with a slice of shortcake (or angel food cake) and a little whip cream. Eating with the seasons is pretty awesome.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-11209937296226325532012-04-25T23:17:00.002-04:002012-04-25T23:17:59.428-04:00Greenbrier Farms CSA, week 1<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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This week, we got our first bag o' goodies from our CSA from Greenbrier Farms. As you know, we recently had some <a href="http://kuechenmeisters.blogspot.com/2012/04/summer-is-here.html">hail</a> as well as some unseasonably cold days in the area, so our first delivery was going to be a bit sparse. Here's what was in our bag: kale, green onions, bread, a dozen eggs, and six different plants: lavender, parsley, oregano, sage, thyme, and green onion. </div>
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I am particularly excited about the lavender! And the eggs, too. I really miss having fresh eggs.</div>
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Oh, and also, all of this is locally grown and organic!</div>
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Mike scoured Epicurious.com after getting the kale and decided to make <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Cornmeal-and-Kale-Spoon-Bread-with-Red-Peppers-105790">Cornmeal and Kale Spoon Bread with Red Peppers</a>! Should be yummy, as always. I'm pretty lucky to have such a great cook for my husband. :)</div>
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<br /></div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-73920279326881543792012-04-23T22:41:00.000-04:002012-04-23T22:47:18.594-04:00Strawberry SeasonHere in Greenville, it's that time of year when the strawberry stands come out. Last year we discovered the sweet tasty goodness that are local strawberries. Months after we purchased a couple gallons from up the road, we bought some from our local grocery. Not nearly as tasty, what a difference! It was obvious they had been picked before ripe and then ripened en route to the grocery. But not those guys up the street. So we've been making our plan ever since.<br />
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I've bought some at various places and even picked my own. My favorite are the <a href="http://www.strawberryhillusa.com/" target="_blank">Strawberry Hill</a> ones sold at the roadside stands just north of Travelers Rest. At $13 a bucket they aren't the cheapest, but they taste the best to me. So this season I've come home with four buckets.<br />
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This past week we've dried a batch for my favorite granola. Frozen a whole lot for smoothies and strawberry shortcake. And for the first time, I've tried making strawberry preserves. My first attempt didn't gel so I attempted to fix that batch with an online remedy of more pectin, sugar and lemon juice.<br />
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These berries are hardly cheaper than frozen ones from the store. But they taste much better. And they're local which is always a plus to me. And I figure my homemade preserves cost less than $1 for a half pint each which is a great deal. I made 8 half pints, enough to last us at least a year.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-9790504149197730202012-04-15T18:01:00.001-04:002012-04-15T18:11:21.625-04:00Summer Is Here!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
Sorry for no update lately, but summer is here and there's been lots going on. I put my garden in a month ago and despite a freak hailstorm, most of my garden has survived. Unfortunately, I'm losing the battle with the kudzu bugs to save my beans and basil and battling my dog to stay out of my herb garden.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Penny size hail collects in the street</td></tr>
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Even though my garden is all planted I still manage to come home every week with some new plant that I wind up putting into an orange 5 gallon Home Depot bucket. Classy, I know. So far I've planted:</div>
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<li>2 types of peas</li>
<li>Green and yellow bush beans, green pole beens</li>
<li>2 types of carrots</li>
<li>Garlic and shallots (planted in winter, will harvest soon)</li>
<li>Spinach</li>
<li>8 tomato plants (Roma, Goliath and an heirloom)</li>
<li>Basil, parlsey, cilantro, sage, rosemary, and thyme.</li>
<li>Assorted colors of Bell peppers</li>
<li>Peppermint and lemon balm</li>
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To help keep my water bill from going through the roof, I added a water barrel to the front of the house and am working on adding one to the back. I've found its easier to dunk a couple watering cans rather than drag the hose out. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="padding-top: 4px; text-align: center;">Basil plant: round two. Growing indoors.</td></tr>
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Most of time has been spent outside, but otherwise I've been homebrewing, and making the usual <a href="http://kuechenmeisters.blogspot.com/2012/01/tofu-stir-fry-with-vegetables-and-rice.html">stir fry</a>, <a href="http://kuechenmeisters.blogspot.com/2012/01/mexican-burritos.html">burritos</a>, <a href="http://kuechenmeisters.blogspot.com/2012/03/homemade-granola.html">granola</a> and <a href="http://kuechenmeisters.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2012-03-02T19:59:00-05:00&max-results=7">dried tea</a>. I even made a funky version of my <a href="http://kuechenmeisters.blogspot.com/2012/03/tuscan-vegetable-soup.html">tuscan vegetable soup</a> by adding cabbage and purple sticky rice. The rice turned everything an intense purple color! Not what I was going for but tasted alright. We froze some fresh local strawberries last week and our <a href="http://www.greenbrierfarms.com/" target="_blank">CSA program</a> starts soon. We'll have lots of fun food adventures here soon. </div>
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I'm hunting recipes for tomato sauce, salsa, and pesto if anybody has one they'd like to share!</div>
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</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-7762828243734158262012-03-15T20:34:00.001-04:002012-03-15T20:34:18.378-04:00Steak and PotatoesThese days, we don't eat red meat too often. But my philosophy is if I'm going to eat red meat, I'm going to make it count! Tonight we had New York strip steak, roasted carrots, field greens and purple potatoes. It was top notch and super easy.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDI4WMFlce4N2EY0b7ipefiqYRgoIllXfvOghPEVeFARPJDGUg0BN38EJGAnrUTerG6dnQIieGK29mFjkWK-IY5eIor_e-lpQ0w7JiIZmxCLvtj5-hCbgSzJK9T7afGqwMvZj8B_k8AH34/s1600/IMG_0632.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDI4WMFlce4N2EY0b7ipefiqYRgoIllXfvOghPEVeFARPJDGUg0BN38EJGAnrUTerG6dnQIieGK29mFjkWK-IY5eIor_e-lpQ0w7JiIZmxCLvtj5-hCbgSzJK9T7afGqwMvZj8B_k8AH34/s320/IMG_0632.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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We found the organic purple potatoes at Swamp Rabbit Cafe and Grocery a month ago, but I kept them in a breathable bag hanging in the pantry, so they kept well. They have a thicker skin, but you peal them just like a regular potato. They taste like a musky sweat potato, they're definitely unique. And <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2010-11-03/a-z/ct-food-1103-health-purple-spuds-20101103_1_health-benefits-potatoes-antioxidants" target="_blank">good for you</a>. I prepared them just like regular potatoes, boiling the potatoes and then mixing with butter, salt and a splash of cream.</div>
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I stumbled on the multi-colored carrots at Publix, they were $2 for a small bag and I just roasted them on the grill with the steak. The greens are just greens with a splash of balsamic. </div>
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The steak is organic New York strip, $12 at Publix. We've found that because organic meat is more expensive, we eat smaller quantities. Which is fine with us. I eat a steak like this a few of times a year, but I have big healthy soup plans for this weekend again, so this won't become a habit.</div>
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No, I'm not going to tell you how I cooked the steak, because <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/12/health/red-meat-shorten-lifespan/index.html" target="_blank">red meat will kill you</a>.</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-42967725884961521782012-03-11T20:52:00.001-04:002012-03-11T20:52:58.456-04:00Why I Eat HealthySo I can enjoy a slice (or two) of key lime pie. During the college basketball games his weekend, Publix has been pushing their pie pretty hard. So they had me ready and salivating by the time we went grocery shopping today. I'm not a key lime aficionado, and I'm sure their pie doesn't compare to a good homemade recipe, but dang this pie is good. I guess you could make your own, but at $6.50 each, I'm good to just let them do the work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpAgGCdaPPhdZgZuOjqum4kqvA3KTVp7Li3MXBF_OVIj3eCIQ_QeM9IbzZ-VXjML__clmsh9okdvgn1oFyDUbrCA5WpRRr9lSmaMw2Go9RCZ2KoxeV7wyw5-_R-aZuaqpFpEPQhnzgMD7/s1600/4813341665_2ee350df49.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvpAgGCdaPPhdZgZuOjqum4kqvA3KTVp7Li3MXBF_OVIj3eCIQ_QeM9IbzZ-VXjML__clmsh9okdvgn1oFyDUbrCA5WpRRr9lSmaMw2Go9RCZ2KoxeV7wyw5-_R-aZuaqpFpEPQhnzgMD7/s320/4813341665_2ee350df49.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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And no, there's <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/306752-the-calories-in-publix-key-lime-pie/" target="_blank">not much healthy about it</a>.<br />
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If you're a coffee drinker, try your key lime pie with some beans from Africa. I made a french press of <a href="http://counterculturecoffee.com/" target="_blank">Counter Culture beans</a> from Ethiopia (I think, threw away the packaging). From what I know of them, Counter Culture seems to be a great company and I enjoy their product. I've found their coffee sold locally at <a href="http://coffeeandcrema.com/coffee.html" target="_blank">Coffee and Crema</a> and at <a href="http://www.thefreshmarket.com/" target="_blank">The Fresh Market</a>. Coffee beans from Africa (Ethiopia, Rwanda, Zimbabwe, etc.) have a citrusy quality which typically makes them a good paring for key lime pie, lemon bars. etc.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-86291903376923950282012-03-10T21:37:00.002-05:002012-03-10T21:37:52.860-05:00Tuscan Vegetable SoupI'm always up for a bowl of good soup. My friend Audrey sent me this Tuscan Vegetable soup recipe earlier this week and I thought I'd give it a try. And I'm glad I did. Here's the recipe.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chuck helps me chop a mountain of vegetables while Bella watches...</td></tr>
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One 15.5 ounce can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained<br />
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1 tablespoon olive oil<br />
1/2 large onion, diced (1 cup)<br />
1 medium carrot, diced (1/2 cup)<br />
2 stalks of celery, diced (1/2 cup)<br />
1/2 bulb fennel, trimmed and diced<br />
1 small zucchini, diced<br />
1 clove garlic, minced<br />
1 teaspoon thyme (I used more)<br />
1/2 teaspoon sage (I used more)<br />
1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
1/4 teaspoon black pepper (I used more)<br />
4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth<br />
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice<br />
2 ounces baby spinach leaves, rustic chopped, about 2 cups lightly packed<br />
freshly grated Parmesan cheese<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Put olive oil in the bottom of a heavy soup pot. Saute garlic, onion, carrot, celery, and fennel until soft, but still a little crunchy. Pour in beans, diced tomatoes, broth, and spices to taste.</span></td></tr>
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A few minutes before serving, stir in the zucchini and spinach.</div>
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Garnish with Parmesan cheese. Serve with sourdough bread. Yum. Yum.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fresh dried sage and thyme</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our new secret weapon we found at Whole Foods</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo11iICWztiIXjcHPHjULkhXK4d-IJG7Al-7To0cwuCfxqIoChGM86IIcRv3iYpc2y7FFa9TQw8XD_XJjksqNkwidy9IhMTqFoll4Cq3SZUc4qdE3cq5WWl7tgkInvQKxLeaEkIE7ysxKF/s1600/IMG_0628.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo11iICWztiIXjcHPHjULkhXK4d-IJG7Al-7To0cwuCfxqIoChGM86IIcRv3iYpc2y7FFa9TQw8XD_XJjksqNkwidy9IhMTqFoll4Cq3SZUc4qdE3cq5WWl7tgkInvQKxLeaEkIE7ysxKF/s320/IMG_0628.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The healthiest soup ever?</td></tr>
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I made a double batch, but between me, Chuck and Tiffany, we ate half so I only froze about three servings. This soup has a rich hearty vegetable quality to it. Adding the fennel and zucchini to the usual staples is a nice touch. Only thing I'll do differently next time is to add barley in place of the beans. I love cannellini beans, but they kinda turned to mush. This is going to be my go-to healthy soup now. Thanks Audrey!<br />
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<br /></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-89259297553915959882012-03-07T22:26:00.000-05:002012-03-07T22:26:07.641-05:00Homemade GranolaBecause I'm not a morning person, breakfast has always gotten short-changed for me. But not anymore. I've gotten a good routine of going to the store Sunday and buying fresh fruit for the whole week. I keep it at my desk at work or bring it with me in the morning. And I drink black coffee.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakwETk7_mtnDbqp2ELB8G5wm61ks4PAZspKZLJjCo67NAqJf_PS-p9dnEpVI6isANWvZ1ZuBMioakjZXAQeCj33DB20QDgM5mAOhDSy8gIvOLlqrROSdjxDZ8d_0FJlgY_-JrhIuNjKHv/s1600/149adaa6469711e1a87612313804ec91_7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgakwETk7_mtnDbqp2ELB8G5wm61ks4PAZspKZLJjCo67NAqJf_PS-p9dnEpVI6isANWvZ1ZuBMioakjZXAQeCj33DB20QDgM5mAOhDSy8gIvOLlqrROSdjxDZ8d_0FJlgY_-JrhIuNjKHv/s320/149adaa6469711e1a87612313804ec91_7.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The breakfast routine</td></tr>
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But the best part of my breakfast is homemade granola. Last year I found this recipe, maybe from Rachel Ray, but now I'm not sure. You won't be disappointed.</div>
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Ingredients:</div>
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1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats</div>
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1 cup slivered almonds</div>
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1/2 cup wheat germ</div>
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1/2 teaspoon cinnamon</div>
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1/2 cup dark (or amber) agave nectar</div>
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any dried fruit you like<br />
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Directions:</div>
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Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a medium bowl, toss together the oats, almonds, wheat germ and cardamom. Pour in the agave and mix well (add extra agave if necessary). Transfer the mixture to the sheet pan and bake until golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan.<br />
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The result is a giant granola bar. I let it cool and break it into huge chunks. I've made this probably 10 or 15 times with all different combinations of dried fruit (strawberries, cranberries, bananas, apricots). The agave nectar has a maple syrup'ish taste and is <a href="http://www.allaboutagave.com/health-benefits-of-agave-nectar.php" target="_blank">better for you as it has a low glycemic index</a>. And I like to chop whole unsalted organic almonds from at <a href="http://swamprabbitcafe.com/" target="_blank">Swamp Rabbit Cafe</a> ($5.99/lb).<br />
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Homemade granola and fresh fruit is a tasty way to get a big serving of whole grains and fruit to start your day. There are huge health benefits to <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/4699-need-health-benefits-oats/" target="_blank">oats</a>, <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/277719-health-benefits-of-wheat-germ/" target="_blank">wheat germ</a>, <a href="http://www.organicfacts.net/health-benefits/seed-and-nut/health-benefits-of-almonds.html" target="_blank">almonds</a>, and <a href="http://www.livestrong.com/article/22014-cinnamon-health-benefits/" target="_blank">cinnamon</a>. And by planning ahead by doing the prep on Sunday, I have no prep during the week. Making your own granola isn't cheap. Agave nectar is a little pricey (I hear you can find it discounted at TJ Maxx) and almonds and wheat germ aren't cheap. But the result is so worth it, there's no way I'd rather start my day.</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-12373453022332080062012-03-03T22:59:00.000-05:002012-03-03T23:10:07.988-05:00Places We Love: Live Oak Farms in Woodruff, SC<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLinZcR4-sjlgtjVAtOP-WK9Lh1Rh68QPqQjTFwmgwBz9iAJvadCd5HUtSzpYtREwbKOiLCCamdBvy0vGxiBs-IS_MVaC7GjHYhnby2zLSImo_0s0OmKLKUcqnyQJ9SPhfSkrwe9Q9THft/s750/web-6880.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLinZcR4-sjlgtjVAtOP-WK9Lh1Rh68QPqQjTFwmgwBz9iAJvadCd5HUtSzpYtREwbKOiLCCamdBvy0vGxiBs-IS_MVaC7GjHYhnby2zLSImo_0s0OmKLKUcqnyQJ9SPhfSkrwe9Q9THft/s640/web-6880.jpg" width="500" /></a></div>
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I first heard about Live Oak Farms from advertisements in various local magazines or papers. We've been down to the farm a few times. Every time we go, we're looking for one thing: grass fed ground beef. While we always end up getting other things from the farm store (chicken, cheese, snacks, etc) we usually walk out with about 10lbs of ground beef.</div>
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Live Oak Farms is about a hour away, but the trip is SO worth it. First of all, we love that we're supporting a local farm and second? It's cheaper! The grass fed ground beef is $4.75/lb as opposed to ~$7/lb at Whole Foods, Publix, etc.</div>
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A little math to see if the drive is actually worth it:</div>
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It's about a 64 mile round trip and we averaged 25 mpg. At $3.45/gal that means we spent about $8.83 to get there. We saved $22.50 buying beef from the farm as opposed to Publix [($7-$4.75)*10]. And, after all that math, considering only the ground beef and gas, we saved $13.67.</blockquote>
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We went to the farm this morning and I brought my camera this time. We've been meaning to highlight local places we love and what's a better time to start than now? So, below are some of the photos I took today.</div>
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This friendly fellow always greets us when we visit the Farm Store. My mom has a crush on him.</div>
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Beef sticks! Yum! These are kind of like slim jims except without all the chemicals. We always grab one of these and a yummy drink to wash 'em down. </div>
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Look at this popcorn! Wait--I haven't written that post about my love of popcorn yet. Well, just so you know, we definitely got some popcorn. The colorful ones, of course!</div>
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Mike's the shopper when we visit Live Oak Farms. Do we need this big bag of oatmeal? I think yes. He'll be using it to make some of his yummy granola.</div>
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Lots of yummy cheeses from Live Oak Farms and other local places, like Happy Cow Creamery!</div>
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</div>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3157100822818915510.post-64743848776639026132012-03-02T19:59:00.000-05:002012-03-02T20:00:46.540-05:00Buying in BulkSo I've always heard of this great destiny of health food known as Whole Foods. Well this weekend I finally made the trek to Woodruff Road and visited for myself. Most of my time was in the bulk food section and I was very impressed to say the least.<br />
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The past few months our diet has included lots of rice, beans and quinoa. We've been purchasing these in small quantities at our local grocery store. What could be better than that? Buying giant portions of these at discount prices. We purchased 3.5 pounds of organic long grain brown rice at $1.59/lb, 5 pounds of organic black beans at $1.69/lb, and 4 pounds of organic quinoa at $3.69/lb.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Load the covered wagon...</td></tr>
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Whole Foods also has a really cool assortment of rices. Just for fun, we bought some <a href="http://www.purple-sticky-rice.com/" target="_blank">purple sticky rice</a>, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bhutanese_red_rice" target="_blank">Bhutanese red rice</a>, and <a href="http://www.rawmazing.com/forbidden-rice/" target="_blank">black forbidden rice</a>.<br />
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We also found upon some <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Rapunzel-Vegetable-Bouillon-3-1-Ounce-Packages/dp/B001E5DZJ8" target="_blank">neat bouillon cubes</a>. Can't wait to try.<br />
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So all in all, we dropped less than $60. If we passed on the fancy rices, we could have spent about $40. This will take us well through the year. And maybe then I'll be ready to brave Woodruff Road again.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2