Colleen | August 17, 2010 | 10:00 pm
Today while making banana bread, I was thinking about how long it takes to bake. A loaf of bread takes 60 minutes, while muffins take 25 minutes. I opted to put the banana bread in muffin tins not only because my house was 80 degrees before turning the oven on, but because I’m thinking about energy use. There is no good reason to keep the oven on an extra half hour so my bread can taste exactly the same.
By the way, my recipe is Banana Banana Bread from Allrecipes. I made the following changes:
-instead of 1/2 cup butter, use 1/4 cup butter & 1/4 cup apple sauce
-instead of 3/4 cup sugar, use 1/2 cup sugar
-add some spice such as cinnamon, vanilla, or nutmeg
Devona | August 13, 2010 | 10:29 pm
It’s tomato time! I grew “lemon boy” and “ruffled yellow” tomatoes this year to change up my usual early girl, cherry tomatoes and romas. The harvest has been quite prolific, actually quite a bit more than I can use in just salads and sandwiches. Rather than freezing them, I decided to try to use them fresh as often as possible, and that’s how I started making my Simple Salsa.
It’s very mild, since I am always sharing it with the girls, but you can easily add a jalepeno or other hot pepper variety if you like some fire in your salsa.
The recipe is as follows:
Simple Salsa
about 6 tomatoes diced
2 small red onions diced very small
2 green peppers diced
1 clove garlic minced
1 T sugar
2 tsp salt
1 tsp cumin
black pepper to taste
Stir all ingredients together, let it set a bit for the flavors to blend together. I’ve had it 5 minutes after making it and it is great. It is even better if you can manage to wait until the next day. We can rarely wait that long!
If you like blogging, cooking, or both, you have to see the movie Julie & Julia. It’s about a woman named Julie who cooks & blogs her way through a Julia Child’s cookbook in one year. Alongside Julie’s cooking journey, there are flashes back to Julia Child’s life as she learned how to cook & got her cookbook published.
I really connected with Julie as a blogger. She continued writing even when her mom was her only reader. Julie persevered &…well I won’t spoil the ending for you. But I wonder where my perseverance will lead me as I blog, teach, and build relationships with other creative people. I also enjoyed watching Julie & Julia’s processes to getting published, especially because I have a couple book ideas in my head. It rejuvenated my book writing muse. I felt camaraderie with the characters. I relate to their highs & lows in creative pursuits and figuring out what what we can contribute to this world. And just how Julie imagined Julia Child in the kitchen with her cheering her on, this movie cheered me on.
Devona | June 25, 2010 | 10:07 pm
Tomorrow’s Clothing and Accessories Swap is upon us. Today I spent the evening making the snacks for the event and whipped up this colorful fruit pizza. It is the usual fruit pizza with a sugar cookie crust, but I changed up the frosting a little bit to pretty it up.
Here’s the recipe:
Purple Fruit Pizza Toppings
One 8oz package cream cheese
1/2 c powdered sugar
3 Tbsp frozen grape juice concentrate
Colorful fruits such as berries or mandarin oranges
In a large bowl whip cream cheese until soft and add the powdered sugar little by little. Add frozen grape fruit concentrate and whip until smooth and even in color.
Spread onto a cooled “pizza” sugar cookie crust. Slice pizza before adding fruit, then decorate the pizza with fruit slices and berries. Keep chilled and covered until ready to serve.
Last night I watched The Botany of Desire, a documentary based on the book by Michael Pollan (In Defense of Food & The Omnivore’s Dilemma). The video travels through the histories of apples, tulips, marijuana, and potatoes, considering how they metaphorically “manipulate” human desires for sweetness, beauty, intoxication and control. The basic idea shows how humans are interwoven into nature, not standing outside it.
Based on the book’s title, I wrongly suspected the documentary might be heavy on the philosophical side. Instead it’s mostly story–interesting historical story–plus science. They tell the origin locations of each plant and how the plants have evolved over the years due to human desires. (For example, we like sweet apples & choose to graft more of them.) They also show the effects of our interaction with these plants. (For example, not diversifying lessens the plants’ ability to defend against pests, increasing the need for pesticides or perhaps genetic modification).
Anyways, the video is very interesting and I recommend it for anyone fascinated with interactions of plants & people, gardening, and even cooking. I give it 5 out of 5 stars. If you have Netflix, it’s one you can watch instantly.
I just finished making these cookies for my cousin’s bridal shower this weekend. They’re wonderfully unique tasting with the rosemary/almond/marmalade trio. Plus I love opportunities to use my fresh herbs. But I’m unhappy with the amount of butter in the recipe, so I researched my options. I found a Healthy Cookies article on Active.com explaining the substitutions that can be made when making cookies. They said to use fruit puree or yogurt to replace up to half the butter and explain how to substitute whole wheat flour or reduce sugar. I’ll give you an update when I try some healthy substitutions that don’t sacrifice the quality of these cookies.
I originally bought & planted asparagus on a whim. I didn’t research it a bit besides reading instructions on the package. I wish I’d considered how little food it produces for the space it requires. But now, my little asparagus patch is in its third season, and we’ve savored 12 spears this year. And I’ve become attached. I couldn’t possibly part with them for the sake of better using my space. I figure I’m learning how to grow them better, plus my family has a greater appreciation for how food grows. And that’s worth it.
By the way, here’s my favorite asparagus recipe: Citrus Asparagus Salad (I prefer to saute the asparagus instead of boiling it.)
Mexican food is a staple in our house, especially for busy evenings. It’s popular among both vegetarians and “meat-atarians,” which is the mix in our house. One of my favorite Mexican meals is a refried black beans that can be served on its own with tortilla chips or as filling for burritos. Although canned refried beans are readily available, homemade versions are healthier and more fun. Here is the recipe along with some suggested serving ideas.
Refried Black Beans
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 small carrots, grated
1 (28oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 cup water
1/2 green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 red pepper, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped
1 cup grated cheese
1 tomato, chopped
1/4 cup fresh chives, finely chopped
Saute onion and garlic in oil for about five minutes until it begins to soften and brown. Add in carrots, black beans and water. Cook for another five minutes on medium low heat and then gently mash with a potato masher until the beans start to break down into a paste. Continue stirring until beans and vegetable mixture achieve a smooth texture, adding more water if necessary. Remove from heat, stir in the peppers and then transfer the mixture to an oven-safe casserole dish. Smooth the top and sprinkle with cheese, tomato and chives. Bake for about 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly on top. Remove from oven and serve as you wish – I’ve included a few suggestions below.
Straight up!
Set the warm black beans out on the table along with a plate of tortilla chips and let the hungry masses dive in.
Burritos or tacos
Serve the refried beans with flour or corn tortillas or taco shells, plus salsa, sour cream, guacamole and extra cheese. A self-serve assembly station on the kitchen counter is usually a good approach.
On rice
Refried beans are great served on rice with all the fixings, and having this for lunch is a great way to use up leftovers.
Read more about guest blogger Erica of Nest and Sparkle.
I love gardening. I often say to friends and family that if the lottery ever found it’s way over to my bank account I’d pack up my life and move out to the country to devote myself to puttering around in the garden all day.
Alas, until that day, I continue to look for things that are easy to grow. Cool climates, short growing seasons and all the demands of a busy life makes it a waste to spend time growing slow, finicky plants. In terms of finding success in the garden I can’t think of anything more satisfying and foolproof that growing your own salad greens. Salad mix is so easy to grow and so fast to grow! Plant seeds now and you’ll be eating tender, delicious homegrown greens in only a few weeks. Spring is the perfect time to sow a single variety of lettuce or to be more creative and plant a mixture of your favorite greens. On my list for planting this year are:
- Butter lettuce: This is your regular lettuce – leafy, green, tender and tasty.
- Red leaf lettuce: I love red leaf lettuce for the colour and contrast it adds to your garden plot and to the salad plate. It’s just as easy to grow as regular lettuce and has a bit more punch taste-wise.
- Beet greens: Beets themselves are wonderful to grow, but I enjoy baby beet greens just as much. Plant beet seeds in containers or the salad section of your garden the same as you would any leafy green and harvest the tender leaves in the first month or two of the plant’s life. After that you may want to thin them out a bit or just have the odd beet growing among your salad plants.
- Spinach: so healthy, so tasty, so versatile. In addition to clipping baby greens for salads, I also harvest spinach from the garden and freeze it in baggies for use during the winter (much better for you and your grocery bill than store bought!).
- Nasturtium: along with violets these are my favorite plants to grow if you want to add colorful edible flowers to your salad. They have a lovely peppery taste and the flowers are bright yellow, orange and red.
The planting method is very easy. Start with a clear patch of dirt in the garden or a container filled with potting soil. The size of the plot or vessel is up to you – even a small pot will work, so don’t let the lack of garden stop you. Sprinkle seeds over the dirt and then place a thin layer of dirt on top. The general rule of thumb is that the layer of dirt on top of seeds should be about the same height as the seeds themselves. If you do plant nasturtiums their seeds are bigger than the others so poke them in about an inch.
I mix all my seeds together and wait for the beautiful mishmash of color that comes up; you might also prefer a more orderly planting style like rows or patches of specific varieties. Another thing I don’t worry about is spacing. While you don’t want to be wasteful and use too many seeds, it is also really easy to thin out your salad patch if it’s getting too dense by just eating more salad!
The best way to ensure a steady supply of fresh greens all summer long is to keep harvesting the leaves as they’re ready. It’s easy for salad greens to get parched and dry in the hot sun, so definitely don’t wait for a grocery-store style head of lettuce to emerge. Baby greens and micro-greens are all the rage in fancy restaurants and for good reason: they’re delicious! Eat and enjoy!
Read more about guest blogger Erica of Nest and Sparkle.
Our second guest blogger for April is Erica of Nest and Sparkle. She writes about her home, garden, and cooking endeavors. For Clever Nesting, she’ll be writing about growing salad greens, a rhubarb coffee cake recipe, refashioning a vintage brooch and more. I really connect with Erica’s resourcefulness and how she’s working toward sustainable living & buying local, seasonal, unprocessed, and organic. And I want to have a meal at her house because all her recipes & beautiful food pictures look amazing. Plus we have commonality with our blog names (a fellow “nester” of sorts). Here are a few great posts & ideas from Nest and Sparkle: Chard & Asiago Strata, Seed Harvesting, and Chives.
More About Nest and Sparkle:
Nest and Sparkle began as a way of sharing things from Erica’s home life with family and friends. It’s a modern day version of passing along good recipes on scraps of paper after dinner or announcing the wonderful fact of something beautiful blooming in the garden. People who know her know that it’s the very simple things in life that delight her the most, and Nest and Sparkle has become a way of recording and sharing those bits of inspiration.
