Garden

We love summer for tons of reasons including our garden. This year we decided to have a container garden on our back porch. We used our front space for flowers as we knew whatever we plant in that space will be tramped by the neighbor children. This way our garden is safe!

Our Tomato plant! Already about 100 green tomatoes hanging and it is said to produce over 40 lbs total!

Products I Love... part 1

Since going dairy-free I have learned about a lot of great products. Here is my list of products that we are now using as staples in our house. Things we love AND they even taste amazing!

In my list you will find a lot of vegan options as well. No, we are still not vegans but I could be and I think Kevin could too with a little bit more convincing. However, for now we believe that education is key and taking a proactive stance towards what we put into our bodies is important. Finding out where our food comes from and supporting local businesses is really vital for our community.

Here is the start of my list:

(hint - if you click on the item it will take you to the website)

PROTEIN:

* Tempeh Bacon - organic soy tempeh, tastes like bacon!

* Smart Ground (mexican for tacos and original for everything else) - replaces ground beef or turkey in anything - when using the original you can season to make it taste like whatever you need it to (ie. chili, sloppy joes, etc)

* Boca Chik'n Patties - tastes just like breaded chicken patty!

* Sunshine Burgers - these GF veggie burgers are the BEST, the BBQ flavor is my personal favorite (we also love making our own vegan burgers and you can find them on this blog; search for almond or black bean burgers)

DAIRY:

* Earth Balance Butter - great vegan butter substitute comes in a tub or sticks

* Amande Yogurt - almond yogurt, Peach is my current favorite

* Green Valley Lactose Free Yogurt - this is some of the best and often more affordable yogurt

* Coconut Milk, Coffee Creamer and Yogurt - if you like coconut this is awesome - their milk and yogurt is both fantastic!

* Silk Coffee Creamer - French Vanilla is my favorite, I love it in Chai!

* Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss Icecream - personal favorite is Mint Galactica - but really they are ALL so good!

PROBIOTICS:

* Good Belly - family size quarts are the best deal price wise - we like mango and watermelon

* Attune Probiotic Chocolate Bar- mint chocolate, yes please!

SNACKS:

* O.N.E Coconut Water - best one on the market - very refreshing

* Nut Thins - try BBQ or Ranch (not dairy free) for a chip type snack but if you are looking for something to eat with hummus or dips the Pecan are great

* PopChips - all flavors!

* Seneca Crispy Apple Chips - when I don't have time to dehydrate my own these are great, try them in Caramel

Well this gets us started for now... more later! Enjoy!

Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette

Lately I haven't been baking much as I hate to heat up the house on a beautiful summer day when I can have the windows open and the air conditioning off in the house. Today I went back to experimenting with salad dressings. I love making my own and have realized how simple it is. My creation today is Honey-Mustard Vinaigrette

Combine 2/3 cup EVOO - 1/4 cup red wine vinegar (or white) - 1 Tbs dijon mustard - 2 tsp honey - salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients in a screw-top jar (I used an old jelly jar). Shake jar vigorously.

Let sit in fridge to blend flavors for several hours. Oil may settle so make sure to shake before using. Can't wait to try this on salads or as a marinade on meats!

Other ideas: add fresh herbs - garlic or shallots - swap orange juice for some vinegar.

Turkey Burgers

Image from: http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2164

For Memorial Day this year we cleaned out our basement in preparation for our community garage sale. At the end of the day we were more than hungry so I decided on some sweet potato fries w/ chipotle seasoning and turkey burgers. Here is my adapted recipe I used from Whole Foods.

Lakeside Turkey Burgers

Ingredients

1 pound white ground turkey
6 sundried tomatoes in olive oil, thinly sliced, plus 2 tablespoons olive oil from the jar
2 tablespoons chopped parsley (or 2 teaspoons dried)
2 teaspoon garlic powder
Salt and pepper

Method

Place turkey in a bowl. Gently work in sundried tomatoes plus 2 tablespoons oil from the jar, parsley, garlic, salt and pepper. Take care not to overwork the mixture.

Form into 8 patties, making an indentation in the middle of each one to help the burgers cook evenly. Cover and refrigerate an hour to blend flavors.

Grill patties until firm and browned and all pink is gone from center, about 3 to 5 minutes per side. Serve on toasted buns with mayonnaise, lettuce and tomatoes.

Hummus!

For my dear friend Julia who loves hummus.

Hummus: basic recipe

1 1/2 cups garbanzo beans (I use dried and cook in my crockpot but you can use 1 can - 15 oz)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
chopped fresh parsley

Mix in blender or food processor until smooth. I also add water to get the consistency I want.

If you want variations to this such as sun-dried tomato hummus just add sun dried tomatoes, if you want garlic hummus just add more garlic, etc!

So easy, affordable, and healthy! YUM

More Quiche!

I have been on such a quiche kick lately. I have been making it almost once a week for dinner or breakfast on the weekends. Loving all the things you can do it with it. Here is my newest combo:

Bacon Zucchini Quiche

6 eggs (beaten well)

1/2 cup milk (for dairy free use almond, coconut, soy, lactaid, etc)

salt and pepper

bacon (crumbed and cooked)

zucchini (chopped small)

green onion

tomato (sliced)

Instructions:

Precook bacon until crisp, add chopped zucchini and green onion and cook like stirfry - Grease a pie plate or any glass pan - preheat oven to 400 degrees - mix all ingredients together in a bowl and pour into glass pan - Place sliced tomatoes on top - bake in oven for 35 mins or until top starts to brown - let cool and serve

makes enough for 6

Mushroom Stroganoff (vegan)

If you like mushrooms this is an incredible recipe from one of my favorite cookbooks: The Hippy Gourmet's Quick and Simple Cookbook for Healthy Eating. We bought our mushrooms at the Boulder Farmer's Market today and served the stroganoff w/ garlic mashed potatoes. Enjoy!

Serves 8 (easily cut in half)

1 TBS extra-virgin olive oil

1 yellow onion, sliced thin

4 large portobello mushrooms, cut into chunks

5 cups shiitake mushrooms, cut into chunks

5 cups white button mushrooms, cut into chunks

1 teas paprika

1 cup vegetable stock

salt and pepper to taste

Heat pan w/ oil add onion and cook for 1-2 mins, add mushrooms and cook 1-2 mins. Sprinkle paprika and stir. Add vegetable stock. Cook until mushrooms are tender and the sauce become like gravy. Season w/ salt and pepper.

My Notes:

* We used a mix of mushrooms (just bought a "grab bag" at the market) you could use whatever you wanted.

* Mushrooms are expensive (6.00 per 1/2 lb at the market!!!) so I cut this recipe in half.

* I wasn't concerned w/ making this vegan so I used Chicken Stock instead of Veggie and added a little bit of sour cream. I also used a little cornstarch to thicken the sauce.

* You could serve over noodles but we like it over mashed potatoes:

peel and cut potatoes, add to crockpot w/ water and 2 whole garlic cloves - cook until potatoes are tender and then mash. Add butter and salt.