Monday Again! I think I missed last Monday?! :)- The Green Drink

Well I've been trying to think of a good excuse for missing a week of blogging and I don't have one. So instead of talking about last week let's just look at the week to come. For the last year I've been starting each morning with what I like to call ' the green drink '. Now let's get something straight I know this may sound like a lot of work but the way I feel every morning after drinking this mixture is well worth it. I feel like no matter what I had the day before I'm starting my day off right. Juicing is a great way to get extra fruits and vegetables in our bodies without having to wreck our jaws gnawing on loads of veggies! Before I had a juicer I would put everything (minus the wheat grass) in the blender with a splash of water and blend away. Next I would strain it through a strainer into a bowl. Drink to a new day.

-The Green Drink-

3 to 4 stalks of celery
1/2 cucumber
1 apple cored
1 inch ginger peeled
1 lemon peeled
1 lime peeled
half a bunch parsley
handful of spinach or swiss chard
wheat grass ( if you have a juicer)

Juice all together, if using blender refer to blog above.

* Juicing is thought to to provide even better mineral absorption compared to intact fruit or vegetable because juicing liberates the minerals into a highly bio available medium and separates the minerals some of the fiber constituents, which can interfere with absorption. The green leafy vegetables are the best source of many of the minerals, especially calcium, and this source is made more available by juicing.

Farmer's Market

I LOVE FARMER'S MARKET! Did I mention that I love farmers market. It's the best reason to get up early on a Saturday morning, I've always loved getting up early but now that I'm married I really like staying in bed and snuggling with my sweetie. But fresh veggies are winning the battle between snuggling and rubbing elbows with our community. We're sure to run into our friends and neighbors and even maybe my 81 yr. old grandma, Little Polly. This is of course when she feels like dealing with all the people and her favorite, the dogs! No one messes with Polly and when my friend the Soap Lady sees her coming, gives her a free slice of her homemade soap. The smell of fresh flowers and savory barbecue are in the air and anything you can imagine your sure to find. I'm sure it's not any different than any other market, but it's ours. I have alot of the same vendors that I like to visit every week but I'm branching out. My husband says I look for the 'most scraggly' farmers I can find this somehow ensures they really are the ones doing the farming. Our market also lets the prison come and sell the crops from their garden, kind of cool. The mornings are fresh and the air is crisp and I couldn't imagine spending those EARLY Saturday mornings anywhere else. We bought everything from tee shirts, earrings, a bird house for my father in law, homemade pesto, artisan cheeses and lots of veggies. I hope you grab some coffee and if your like my husband you'll run to your local farmer's market.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY

Happy Dad Day, I thought I would dedicate this blog to my father in law Mr. Bill. I also call him Big Bill due to the fact that I'm married to Little Bill. My father in law is a tall man with big features, big hands, big feet and a big heart. The first time I saw my husband and my father in law hug ,it was one of the sweetest exchanges between two men that I had ever seen. He's the kind of dad that let's us borrow his truck anytime, he's the kind of dad that helped us pull thousands of staples out of the floor in our new house. He's the kind of dad who talks about his children as though they are still 4 and 6 when they lived in Europe for a year. He tells this story about how the Italians just loved my husband and my sister in law because of their blonde hair and rosy cheeks, and they would say "bellisimo"! He's the kind of of dad who got choked up during the speech he gave at our wedding reception, and most of all he's the kind of dad who has been married to my husband's mother for 40YEARS. He is a very sweet man and I am so glad that Little Bill had him for a dad. Thank you for your love, thank you for your knowledge and thank you for you. We had a wonderful day up at Snowbird and you looked very daper, did I mention that Mr. Bill smokes a pipe and wears an Indiana Jones like hat. AWESOME!

Hummus

I took a little break to make a batch of tortilla soup, it's raining so I want to to advantage of soup weather while I can! My husband is off playing poker so it's just you and me. This hummus recipe came from my mother in law and we make it all the time, I'm actually snacking on it right now. I have served this with some colorful veggies for Friday cocktail night with friends or I make it for Billy to snack on with carrots and jicama after work before I get home, if not he'll eat everything in the cabinets. NOT GOOD ! Or I'll pack it up for our weekly lunches. It's creamy, a little spicy and super easy. ENJOY.

-Hummus-

1 can (15oz) chickpeas
zest and juice of 1 lemon
1/2 c. tahini (sesame paste)
1/4 c. chopped yellow onion
3 cloves garlic, chopped lightly
2 T. - 1/2 c. olive oil
2 tsp. cumin
1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp. - 1 tsp. salt and or garlic salt (according to taste)

1. Drain chickpeas, reserving 1/4 - 1/2 c. of the liquid.
2. Combine chickpeas, zest and lemon juice, tahini, onion, garlic, cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper in a food processor. Turn on and start to puree.
3. Stream in the reserved chickpea liquid and olive oil. Make sure to scrape down side and puree all together.
4. Refrigerate for at least and hour before serving. ( the longer the better)

Trying Again!- Quinoa Salad

It's a rainy Saturday afternoon and I am just getting time to re-update from Monday Housewife Day. I didn't sleep at all that night thinking about the fact that I wouldn't be able to get back to this until now. Life was happening this week I'm moving locations of my job and finishing my enrollment and loan process for school, all of which I am very excited about. So thanks for being patient with me, I love that I have taken this step to share my food and local endeavors. So let's get on with it. Monday Housewife Day used to frustrate me, I would get so worried that I was spending all this time in the kitchen and neglecting the rest of the house. I had to let it go and tell myself how lucky I was to be able get this time to devout to our health and well being, along with piece of mind that this part of our life is simple the rest of the week. Well enjoy these recipes and tomorrow's blog will be all about Farmers Market. See you then.

-Quinoa Salad- Makes 6 1/2 c. servings

1 1/2 c. quinoa
2 1/4 c. water
2 T. liguid aminos or light soy sauce
zest and juice of one lemon
handful of scallions (green and white parts)

1. Place all of this in a medium sauce pan and turn oven on high. When this mixture begins to boil turn heat down to low and cover with a lid, cook for 10 to 15 minutes until liquid absorbs. When done take lid off and let cool.

In the mean time prepare all the other ingredients.

1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 to 1 c. edamame, cook according to directions, drain and cool
1 and 1/2 cucumbers, diced
1 package brocco sprouts or any other sprouts

2. When the quinoa is cooled get ready to layer. In six containers start with 1/2 c. of quinoa in each container. Next add the sprouts and then layer the rest of the vegetables. Put on lids and and place in the fridge.

* If you haven't tried quinoa give it a try it has a fun texture like couscous. It's a super grain that the Inca's have been eating for centuries, and it's a complete protein and gluten free!

-Dressing- I divide this into 6 little containers ( just so the salad doesn't get nasty by the end of the week)

2/3 c. lemon and or lime juice
2 T. liquid aminos or light soy sauce
1/4 c. olive oil
2 tsp. sesame oil
1/2 tsp. chili oil
pepper

Monday Housewife Day

Tortilla Soup...YUMMY!

Okay kids here's a good one for you, this soup is a staple in our house during the cold month's. Lucky for me and my family it was soup weather this weekend! ENJOY.

Soup:

3 lrg carrots, chopped into bite size pieces

3 stalks of celery, diced

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

-Start by sauting these ingredients in a medium size soup pot with some olive oil over medium heat.

1 package baby bella mushrooms, sliced or chopped

2 c. rainbow swiss chard or spinach

16 oz to 32 oz canned tomato's ( I can my own and they really make the soup awesome)

32 oz/4 c/1 quart vegetable broth

2 chipotles in adobo sauce, chopped ( can be found in any supermarket), ( put the left overs in a zip lock bag and store in the freezer)

2 tsp. adobo sauce

salt and pepper ( My store had this smoked salt and I use it in place of regular salt, delish!)

-When the other ingredients have started to soften make sure to stir and season with salt and pepper. Then add the mushrooms, let them saute a minute or two before you season or the salt will draw all the moisture out, and we want them to brown a bit first. Next add tomato's, chipotles, adobo sauce, and vegetable broth. Let it come to a boil and turn to medium low and simmer 10 min. When those ten minutes are up turn heat to low or simmer and add the chard or spinach.

* optional indredients

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 c. fresh corn, or canned

-So when the chard/spinach has wilted at this point you could add the optional ingredients. This is the first time I've pureed this soup and it was great. So if your going to puree it do that first, and then add beans and or corn.

-We like to top our soup with local beehive sharp cheese and tofutti sour cream (vegan). We also use hot sauce and diced avocado, oh yes and my homemade tortilla strips.

Tortilla Strips:

1 package corn tortillas ( you might only use half the package)

olive oil

spices: ( your choice) 1/8 tsp. - 1/4 tsp. salt, pepper, cumin, garlic salt or garlic powder, paprika, chili powder, cayenne pepper.

- Take two tortillas at a time, cut in half stack the two half moon shaped pieces on to of each other and then cut into strips. Do this to at least six tortillas, then toss in a bowl with olive oil and spices of choice. Line a baking sheet with foil, heat the oven to 375 . Place strips onto baking sheet and bake for 10 to 15 min. 

First ever BLOG!

Well here I go into the information highway, I can't believe it. It's Sunday afternoon, me, the hubby and our fat spoiled cats are hanging in our green room. It's the space in the house where we come to read, meditate, or if your the cats leave you cat hair all over the furniture. We just got through having veggie bagel sandwiches and yerba latte's for lunch...yum! Yesterday was the opening of our local farmers market, I almost cried when we walked in because I was sooo excited. I was focused on getting fresh ingredients for my famous vegetarian tortilla soup that I had to make for a family get together, it was a hit. I can't wait to go again next weekend. I got fresh garlic, spinach, swiss chard, onion's, and carrots all of which went into the soup. Oh, we picked up some gorgeous flowers, and a clock made of bicycle parts that my friend Lizzy's husband made for her jewelry booth. She's the one who gave me the kick in the butt I needed to get this blog going, thanx Lizzy (Elizabeth Terry Jewelry) she'll kill me for the shout out! Oh and one other thing I picked up the cutest vintage tee shirt from these fun girls, White Elephant is there company and I'll keep you posted on them they had some great stuff . Tomorrow is Monday housewife day, we'll get into that later.