Good Afternoon !
I have moved this blog to continue it at a new address!
the new address isssss:
www.adventures-in-the-kitchen.blogspot.com
see you there!!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Meatless Monday!
So, Jeremy and I have started following the mantra that is "Meatless Mondays." We were entirely successful last night! We had the littlest pants join us for a delectable meal of Falafel Salad, and let me tell you, it was glorious.
Is there really anything better than three-four falafels laying on a bed of lettuce with cucumbers, tomatoes, and banana peppers surrounding them? Not on meatless Monday there's not.
Jeremy whipped up the falafel, while my sister (the littlest pants) and I prepared smoothies for dessert, and spun the romaine lettuce, and diced tomatoes and cucumbers. A great effort by all!
Falafel is delicious and if you haven't had any get yourself to a Mediterranean restaurant and try some real falafel, mmm so yummy.
With the falafel we prepared hummus (same recipe that was listed earlier)
and used Delicious raw tahini dressing...mmmm
all in all it was glorious!
After dinner we enjoyed a round of mini-sized smoothies, a great night.
Until Next time! Keep Keepin it healthy, and eat some falafel!
Is there really anything better than three-four falafels laying on a bed of lettuce with cucumbers, tomatoes, and banana peppers surrounding them? Not on meatless Monday there's not.
Jeremy whipped up the falafel, while my sister (the littlest pants) and I prepared smoothies for dessert, and spun the romaine lettuce, and diced tomatoes and cucumbers. A great effort by all!
Falafel is delicious and if you haven't had any get yourself to a Mediterranean restaurant and try some real falafel, mmm so yummy.
With the falafel we prepared hummus (same recipe that was listed earlier)
and used Delicious raw tahini dressing...mmmm
all in all it was glorious!
After dinner we enjoyed a round of mini-sized smoothies, a great night.
Until Next time! Keep Keepin it healthy, and eat some falafel!
Monday, July 6, 2009
"Welcome to Dunkin Donuts, are you interested in trying one of our new egg white flatbread sandwiches?"
Right, Imagine asking that question for 8-10 hours a day, from 5am to 3pm or so. I know what you're thinking, who, honestly, who would choose that life? I didn't choose, but my bills sure chose, things like rent, auto, renters, and health insurance, credit card payments, and bank accounts. THAT is who chose, if it were left up to me, I would start my own business and clean my house a lot. I spend days at home experimenting making new juices and smoothies for my future smoothie/juice bar I plan to open on Park Ave. Everyone who had a birthday would receive a card in the mail from me, friends who live in far away lands wouldn't have to wait so long before I could call them again...unfortunately none of those things (at least not right away) allow for any of those bills to get paid.
Anyways, I no longer am a slave to dunkin donuts, instead I work in insurance, and spend time helping people, or calling people telling them they are late on their payments, when I myself haven't quite found the time to pay my own auto insurance. I work 50+ hours a week, and only get paid for 40, and my boss is most often inn appropriate, and even more often obviously sexist. But I fight those battles every day so that I don't have to work at dunkin donuts.
I told you I would find some time to tell you all about my adventures in the dunkin donuts world.
Working in Dunkin Donuts, despite what many may have heard is certainly no picnic. In order for them to be qualified in any realm of sanitation in any way at all there had to be rules. I mean, there were rules, and making rules. There were unflattering terrible uniforms, with even more uncomfortable headsets (for the drive thru) and if all of that wasn't bad enough...there were "up selling phrases" everyone was "required" to say. Personally I didn't take part in that, not because I'm a bad employee, but rather because I knew what I was selling could be partially blamed for the death of certain people, of that much I was sure and certain.
There is mopping that occurs 2-3 times a day
There is re-stocking
The "sandwich" egg/meat are refreshed every 10 minutes (so only the freshest most processed foods are ingested)
There are specific orders in which the coffee, sugar and cream/skim milk/2% milk are to be added to the cup.
You MUST write the order on the cup.
As for the severe health downsides...
Here's one or two things to think about:
One Large Iced Dunkin Donuts Coffee / Latte = 32 ounces. That is far too much for anyone to consume, and incredible unhealthy.
The Delicious coffee cake muffins, amongst a few other muffins, have 400+ calories in them.
in ONE muffin folks...ONE muffin.
All of Dunkin's health info can be found conveniently at their website, but certainly not in store. They also are sure to keep the health information from their employees, and should any find out, we were instructed fiercly not to report our findings, or what we knew, we were instructed to instead, refer customers and consumers to the website for specific ingredients.
That would have been fine with me except that there was the slight issue involving ingredients for less than just health purposes, for food allergy. We had to appear dumbfounded and useless when asked questions regarding ingredients in order to protect the Dunkin name.
Here are a few other fun tips:
All the donuts in the greater Rochester area come from ONE donut shop in Buffalo. At said shop the donuts are all prepared at 3am, at which point they are driven to Rochester for store openings at 5:30am. By the time those of you who enjoy these "treats" or "death sentences" depending on which side of the fence you sit on, by the time they reach you, or your mouth, they've already been shelved for almost 12 hours. How about that one to think about?
Just a few notes on my experience at working at dunkin donuts, it is only opinion, and while i appreciate the job, so that all those bills could be paid, I'm not sure how i ever worked there.
So then after working there, i officially loved the D&D medium iced coffee, with 2.5 pumps of Carmel...This was until just recently really, I've been off DD for about a month now, but it swear they put something in their coffee to keep you coming back. Folks there is nothing cool about DD...find a cafe, if you're a real coffee drinker places like Starbucks and DD can't be pleasing because (and i was a Barista at a few real cafes for some time) they don't make half the drinks the right way.
Well, another post later, on the most delicious round of smoothies Jeremy and I have come up with, our latest on meatless Mondays, and how we're surviving life without meat, a posting of a "Day in the life, Raw food lifestyle at 50-50 for now"
Until next time....keep keepin it healthy, have you tried a new fruit yet today?
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Dunkin Donuts The Evil Empire
PS. Just a quick note about Dunkin Donuts and Their Evil Empire...
Salmonella Poisoning in all their powdered drinks...
I used to work there, more on that later, however,
All you super trendy cool chai-tea drinkers from dunkin donuts, or ice tea drinkers, just a heads up...ALL of those drinks are powdered drinks at Dunkin...Don't get poisoned! steer clear of D&D!
Salmonella Poisoning in all their powdered drinks...
I used to work there, more on that later, however,
All you super trendy cool chai-tea drinkers from dunkin donuts, or ice tea drinkers, just a heads up...ALL of those drinks are powdered drinks at Dunkin...Don't get poisoned! steer clear of D&D!
Hum..Hum...Hummus!
Gooood Morning all my health food gurus!,
As I eat my 11:00 snack I wanted to share the creation of this snack with everyone.
Is there anything better/healthier/tastier than hummus as a snack? The answer is no, there is not. Hummus is one of my absolute favorite snacks!
So, since Jeremy and I are such "do-it-yourselfers" we of course decided to have a mediterranian meal last night, which of course hummus is a staple of. So, we made our very own Hummus
Here's how we did it:
The Ingredients:
2 Cans of chick peas drained, washed and dried
Juice of three bright yellow, freshly squeezed Lemons
A small cup of water
3-4 tablespoons of Tahini (we buy ours raw from the co op)
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
4 Cloves of Garlic
Drop the Garlic into the food processer first, with just a handful of the chickpeas, grind that up, when that is ground add 4 tablespoons of the lemon juice, and another two handfuls of chickpeas. When that is starting to look smooth add the rest of the chick peas, the olive oil and a little water to achieve the consistency that you want. Grind again, as you're grinding notice the consistency, and add more lemon and juice to get that nice smooth consistency.
when you reach the consistency that you desire, pour it out of the food processor, and into a beautiful dish and put in the refridgerator. (the colder the better!)
Dice up some veggies, my favorite are cucumbers, and tomatoes, and kalamata olives, grab some gluten free crackers, and snack away!
Just a quick post for those of you attempting to be more "do it yourselfers" too!
Peace, Love, and Hummus!
Until next time, keep keepin it healthy!
As I eat my 11:00 snack I wanted to share the creation of this snack with everyone.
Is there anything better/healthier/tastier than hummus as a snack? The answer is no, there is not. Hummus is one of my absolute favorite snacks!
So, since Jeremy and I are such "do-it-yourselfers" we of course decided to have a mediterranian meal last night, which of course hummus is a staple of. So, we made our very own Hummus
Here's how we did it:
The Ingredients:
2 Cans of chick peas drained, washed and dried
Juice of three bright yellow, freshly squeezed Lemons
A small cup of water
3-4 tablespoons of Tahini (we buy ours raw from the co op)
2 Tablespoons of Olive Oil
4 Cloves of Garlic
Drop the Garlic into the food processer first, with just a handful of the chickpeas, grind that up, when that is ground add 4 tablespoons of the lemon juice, and another two handfuls of chickpeas. When that is starting to look smooth add the rest of the chick peas, the olive oil and a little water to achieve the consistency that you want. Grind again, as you're grinding notice the consistency, and add more lemon and juice to get that nice smooth consistency.
when you reach the consistency that you desire, pour it out of the food processor, and into a beautiful dish and put in the refridgerator. (the colder the better!)
Dice up some veggies, my favorite are cucumbers, and tomatoes, and kalamata olives, grab some gluten free crackers, and snack away!
Just a quick post for those of you attempting to be more "do it yourselfers" too!
Peace, Love, and Hummus!
Until next time, keep keepin it healthy!
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
My Superfood Smoothie Recipe
Good Morning (I believe it still counts as morning since it doesn't actually say 12:00 on my computer clock)
Today, I'm going to talk about my favorite concoction of smoothie that I have invented. I call it my superfood smoothie. I really enjoy it when i get back from a really rigorous work out, or I'm feeling sluggish and tired. It has lots of replenishing and cramp-preventing fruit, and the flavor is amazing!
I make it two different ways depending on funds, and resources.
Here is the first way:
1 Ripe Banana (diced)
1 Sweet Pear (it can be any pear you like that has a sweet flavor) Diced
7-10 HOME grown strawberries* sliced
5-10 ice cubes (depending on your size of the ice cube, and what consistency you're looking for)
blend it, pour it, drink it! feel replenished!
Here is way # 2
1 Ripe Banana diced
1 Sweet pear cored and diced
7-10 HOME grown strawberries*
5-10 ice cubes
1/2 of the bottle of Odwalla's "original superfoods" fruit / vegetable juice ( i know it looks gross, but it is SO good for you, and the flavor is Delicious) since its expensive i pour only half the bottle in per smoothie (the small 12 oz bottle)
blend, and enjoy
both of these smoothie recipes usually yield two smoothies, in my case i share the other half with my love, Jeremy. But you could always just put it in the fridge for after another work out, the next morning etc. Its a great smoothie and i love it!
I hope you try it at home, let me know what you think or your variations of it.
or YOUR favorite smoothie recipe.
** In regards to strawberries. I just wanted to make a quick note here it is best to use home grown strawberries for this recipe because homegrown strawberries have a sweeter taste naturally. Store bought strawberries (which are just fine in the winter...but cmon is strawberry season!) are meant to last for days on shelves in stores in order to be profitable. Homegrown strawberries, while they don't last long, not any more than 5 days in the refridgerator, have great flavor and are full of sweet juices. As a result of this it is best reccomended to go to your local farmers market and get yourself some of those home grown strawberries!
Until next time...keep keepin it healthy!
Today, I'm going to talk about my favorite concoction of smoothie that I have invented. I call it my superfood smoothie. I really enjoy it when i get back from a really rigorous work out, or I'm feeling sluggish and tired. It has lots of replenishing and cramp-preventing fruit, and the flavor is amazing!
I make it two different ways depending on funds, and resources.
Here is the first way:
1 Ripe Banana (diced)
1 Sweet Pear (it can be any pear you like that has a sweet flavor) Diced
7-10 HOME grown strawberries* sliced
5-10 ice cubes (depending on your size of the ice cube, and what consistency you're looking for)
blend it, pour it, drink it! feel replenished!
Here is way # 2
1 Ripe Banana diced
1 Sweet pear cored and diced
7-10 HOME grown strawberries*
5-10 ice cubes
1/2 of the bottle of Odwalla's "original superfoods" fruit / vegetable juice ( i know it looks gross, but it is SO good for you, and the flavor is Delicious) since its expensive i pour only half the bottle in per smoothie (the small 12 oz bottle)
blend, and enjoy
both of these smoothie recipes usually yield two smoothies, in my case i share the other half with my love, Jeremy. But you could always just put it in the fridge for after another work out, the next morning etc. Its a great smoothie and i love it!
I hope you try it at home, let me know what you think or your variations of it.
or YOUR favorite smoothie recipe.
** In regards to strawberries. I just wanted to make a quick note here it is best to use home grown strawberries for this recipe because homegrown strawberries have a sweeter taste naturally. Store bought strawberries (which are just fine in the winter...but cmon is strawberry season!) are meant to last for days on shelves in stores in order to be profitable. Homegrown strawberries, while they don't last long, not any more than 5 days in the refridgerator, have great flavor and are full of sweet juices. As a result of this it is best reccomended to go to your local farmers market and get yourself some of those home grown strawberries!
Until next time...keep keepin it healthy!
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
grass-good for the soul?
Good Afternoon!
Today I wanted to take a few moments to talk about Wheatgrass. Since theres only ONE juice bar I know if in Rochester, I went there and tried it, but more on that later.
Are you wondering what is wheatgrass? why would you eat/drink it, and who drinks grass honestly?!
Totally normal questions to find yourself asking...
There are a few websites that discuss or include wheatgrass in their recipes, and the truth is, its absolutely amazing for our bodies.
a couple of the websites that I found to be really worth while in explaining this are
www.welikeitraw.com and www.rawfoodnation.org
If you go to these sites and check out what they have to say you'll see that not only can you do shots of wheatgrass juice, grow it yourself and juice it...but it also works as a sleep aid,
relieves dry irritated and or ichy skin.
My personal review would tell you that it is a very, VERY unique flavor at first, but the more you have it the better it is. I also have a very sensitive scalp and it drys out quickly on occasion, especially in Rochester NY with all the weather changes. So I used it as a PRE-shampoo measure and I haven't had an itch in four days! Amazing...if you want to read on, i made it easy and
I borrowed this article from rawfoodnation.org, which is what inspired me to try wheatgrass for all different purposes. check it out...
10 Benefits of Wheatgrass Juice:
10. Wheatgrass juice loves your blood (not in a vampire kind of way). It increases red blood-cell count and lowers blood pressure. It cleanses the blood, organs and gastrointestinal tract of debris. Wheatgrass also stimulates metabolism and the body’s enzyme systems by enriching the blood. It also aids in reducing blood pressure by dilating the blood pathways throughout the body.
9. It also works great on your skin! Externally applied to the skin can help eliminate itching almost immediately. Will soothe sunburned skin and act as a disinfectant. Rubbed into the scalp before a shampoo, it will help mend damaged hair and alleviate itchy, scaly, scalp conditions. Is soothing and healing for cuts, burns, scrapes, rashes, poison ivy, athlete’s foot, insect bites, boils, sores, open ulcers, tumors, and so on. Use as a poultice and replace every two to four hours.
8. Wheatgrass gives you sweet dreams. And this is without you juicing it. Wheatgrass works as a sleep aide. Just place a tray of living wheatgrass near the head of your bed. It will enhance the oxygen in the air and generate healthful negative ions to help you sleep more soundly. Oh yeah, no work involved there!
7. It’s great for your mouth! Yes, it sweetens the breath and firms up and tightens gums. Just gargle with the juice.
6. Wheatgrass contains beneficial enzymes. Whether you have a cut finger you want to heal or you desire to lose five pounds…enzymes must do the actual work. The life and abilities of the enzymes found naturally in our bodies can be extended if we help them from the outside by adding exogenous enzymes, like the ones found in wheatgrass juice.
5. It’s a powerful detoxifier, and liver and blood protector. The enzymes and amino acids found in wheatgrass can protect us from carcinogens like no other food or medicine. It strengthens our cells, detoxifies the liver and bloodstream, and chemically neutralizes environmental pollutants.
4. Wheatgrass juice restores alkalinity to the blood. The juice’s abundance of alkaline minerals helps reduce over-acidity in the blood. It can be used to relieve many internal pains, and has been used successfully to treat peptic ulcers, ulcerative colitis, constipation, diarrhea, and other complaints of the gastrointestinal tract.
3. It also stimulates the thyroid gland, correcting obesity, indigestion, and a host of other complaints.
2. Wheatgrass juice s a beauty treatment that slows down the aging process when the juice is consumed. Wheatgrass will cleanse your blood and help rejuvenate aging cells, slowing the aging process way down, making you feel more alive right away. It will help tighten loose and sagging skin. No prescription from a dermatologist or laser skin procedure will take care of you inside and out like wheatgrass.
1. Wheatgrass juice is 70% chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the first product of light and contains more light energy than any other element. Chlorophyll is the basis of all plant life. So drinking wheatgrass juice is like drinking life! Bottoms up!
Quick Tips For Getting Some Green:
To give wheatgrass juice a try, do an internet search for local juice bars and raw/vegan friendly local restaurants. A lot of these establishments are introducing more raw options into their menu, including juices.
Fresh wheatgrass juice is best. Local organic markets and larger chains (such as Wholefoods) carry wheatgrass. You’ll have to invest in a juicer, but wow will that juice really be fresh!
Grow your own! Do a quick internet search for wheatgrass growing kits.
No room for wheatgrass kit and juicer? No worries. Some larger chains offer flash frozen wheatgrass cubes that you can purchase in bulk. Naturally thaw a serving as needed, pour in shot glass, and enjoy. Be proactive for this one. Call your local store and ask them if they carry frozen wheatgrass juice. Do an internet search for your area and wheatgrass juice distributors. See if you can pair the two together.
As a last resort, although its only half as powerful as the juice, you can purchase the powder and add it to smoothies, water and juices.
Consider really showing the world that you’ve gone green.
So today's post is all about keeping that body of yours running strong and keeping it youthful. Go out and try wheatgrass shots! post your opinions of that first time tasting it in the comments...its definitly something you have to get used to!
until next time, keep keepin it healthy, and try some wheatgrass!
Today I wanted to take a few moments to talk about Wheatgrass. Since theres only ONE juice bar I know if in Rochester, I went there and tried it, but more on that later.
Are you wondering what is wheatgrass? why would you eat/drink it, and who drinks grass honestly?!
Totally normal questions to find yourself asking...
There are a few websites that discuss or include wheatgrass in their recipes, and the truth is, its absolutely amazing for our bodies.
a couple of the websites that I found to be really worth while in explaining this are
www.welikeitraw.com and www.rawfoodnation.org
If you go to these sites and check out what they have to say you'll see that not only can you do shots of wheatgrass juice, grow it yourself and juice it...but it also works as a sleep aid,
relieves dry irritated and or ichy skin.
My personal review would tell you that it is a very, VERY unique flavor at first, but the more you have it the better it is. I also have a very sensitive scalp and it drys out quickly on occasion, especially in Rochester NY with all the weather changes. So I used it as a PRE-shampoo measure and I haven't had an itch in four days! Amazing...if you want to read on, i made it easy and
I borrowed this article from rawfoodnation.org, which is what inspired me to try wheatgrass for all different purposes. check it out...
10 Benefits of Wheatgrass Juice:
10. Wheatgrass juice loves your blood (not in a vampire kind of way). It increases red blood-cell count and lowers blood pressure. It cleanses the blood, organs and gastrointestinal tract of debris. Wheatgrass also stimulates metabolism and the body’s enzyme systems by enriching the blood. It also aids in reducing blood pressure by dilating the blood pathways throughout the body.
9. It also works great on your skin! Externally applied to the skin can help eliminate itching almost immediately. Will soothe sunburned skin and act as a disinfectant. Rubbed into the scalp before a shampoo, it will help mend damaged hair and alleviate itchy, scaly, scalp conditions. Is soothing and healing for cuts, burns, scrapes, rashes, poison ivy, athlete’s foot, insect bites, boils, sores, open ulcers, tumors, and so on. Use as a poultice and replace every two to four hours.
8. Wheatgrass gives you sweet dreams. And this is without you juicing it. Wheatgrass works as a sleep aide. Just place a tray of living wheatgrass near the head of your bed. It will enhance the oxygen in the air and generate healthful negative ions to help you sleep more soundly. Oh yeah, no work involved there!
7. It’s great for your mouth! Yes, it sweetens the breath and firms up and tightens gums. Just gargle with the juice.
6. Wheatgrass contains beneficial enzymes. Whether you have a cut finger you want to heal or you desire to lose five pounds…enzymes must do the actual work. The life and abilities of the enzymes found naturally in our bodies can be extended if we help them from the outside by adding exogenous enzymes, like the ones found in wheatgrass juice.
5. It’s a powerful detoxifier, and liver and blood protector. The enzymes and amino acids found in wheatgrass can protect us from carcinogens like no other food or medicine. It strengthens our cells, detoxifies the liver and bloodstream, and chemically neutralizes environmental pollutants.
4. Wheatgrass juice restores alkalinity to the blood. The juice’s abundance of alkaline minerals helps reduce over-acidity in the blood. It can be used to relieve many internal pains, and has been used successfully to treat peptic ulcers, ulcerative colitis, constipation, diarrhea, and other complaints of the gastrointestinal tract.
3. It also stimulates the thyroid gland, correcting obesity, indigestion, and a host of other complaints.
2. Wheatgrass juice s a beauty treatment that slows down the aging process when the juice is consumed. Wheatgrass will cleanse your blood and help rejuvenate aging cells, slowing the aging process way down, making you feel more alive right away. It will help tighten loose and sagging skin. No prescription from a dermatologist or laser skin procedure will take care of you inside and out like wheatgrass.
1. Wheatgrass juice is 70% chlorophyll. Chlorophyll is the first product of light and contains more light energy than any other element. Chlorophyll is the basis of all plant life. So drinking wheatgrass juice is like drinking life! Bottoms up!
Quick Tips For Getting Some Green:
To give wheatgrass juice a try, do an internet search for local juice bars and raw/vegan friendly local restaurants. A lot of these establishments are introducing more raw options into their menu, including juices.
Fresh wheatgrass juice is best. Local organic markets and larger chains (such as Wholefoods) carry wheatgrass. You’ll have to invest in a juicer, but wow will that juice really be fresh!
Grow your own! Do a quick internet search for wheatgrass growing kits.
No room for wheatgrass kit and juicer? No worries. Some larger chains offer flash frozen wheatgrass cubes that you can purchase in bulk. Naturally thaw a serving as needed, pour in shot glass, and enjoy. Be proactive for this one. Call your local store and ask them if they carry frozen wheatgrass juice. Do an internet search for your area and wheatgrass juice distributors. See if you can pair the two together.
As a last resort, although its only half as powerful as the juice, you can purchase the powder and add it to smoothies, water and juices.
Consider really showing the world that you’ve gone green.
So today's post is all about keeping that body of yours running strong and keeping it youthful. Go out and try wheatgrass shots! post your opinions of that first time tasting it in the comments...its definitly something you have to get used to!
until next time, keep keepin it healthy, and try some wheatgrass!
Monday, June 29, 2009
Graduation Parties means lots of different kinds of dip....Here's what we brought to the table to share
Graduation season, we all know it well...its a great excuse for us all to just go about eating our way from party to party, floating in pools, and playing rousing games of volleyball, and boccie to work it all off.
My sister graduated last Friday, her party was yesterday. Therefore, our Saturday was dedicated to cooking and preparations for said party.
Jeremy and I wanted to bring some of our own favorite dips to the table, here's what we had to offer:
Layered Taco Dip - (we like to call it "The Classic")
Grab your favorite casserole dish, and start layering!
2 Cans Re fried beans
(we do one can fat free, and one can not)
1 Container of Sour Cream
1 Layer of Salsa
1 minced Jalapeno (optional adds a little spice!)
1 Layer of Mexican Cheese (about 8 oz)
1 Layer of black canned olives (sliced)
1 Diced green pepper sprinkled on top (optional)
Layer up and serve with Tortilla chips (we especially love the lime kind)
This is a great graduation party dish to pass, and its relatively cheap too!
Another one of our favorites:
Pico De Gallo
A large amount of what Pico De Gallo has to offer involves seasoning to taste, so you'll just have to keep adding little by little until it flatters your taste buds!
2 Large Beefsteak Tomatoes (or about 6 Roma Tomatoes) Diced
1 Large Spanish Onion Diced
2 Small Jalapenos Minced
3 Cloves of Garlic Minced
1/3 A Bunch of Cilantro Minced
2 Limes and 1 Lemon Freshly squeezed over the bowl
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Large amount of Cumin to taste (this really brings all the flavors together)
This is a great dish, and its pretty healthy. Just serve with your favorite style tortilla chips and enjoy!
Lastly and thirdly -
Guacamole!
2 Ripe Avocados
1/2 Spanish Onion (make sure its crunchy!) diced
1 Lemon, and 1 Lime Freshly squeezed into the bowl
1/4 bunch of cilantro minced
2 Jalapenos minced
Salt, Pepper, and Cumin to taste
Combine all dishes in one bowl and serve with your favorite tortilla chips!
Feel free to tweak the recipes however you feel is necessary, these just happen to be the ways we really enjoy ours to taste, but it took a long time for us to finally get the right balance of different flavor elements.
feel free to share any suggestions here!
Until next time!
keep eating!
My sister graduated last Friday, her party was yesterday. Therefore, our Saturday was dedicated to cooking and preparations for said party.
Jeremy and I wanted to bring some of our own favorite dips to the table, here's what we had to offer:
Layered Taco Dip - (we like to call it "The Classic")
Grab your favorite casserole dish, and start layering!
2 Cans Re fried beans
(we do one can fat free, and one can not)
1 Container of Sour Cream
1 Layer of Salsa
1 minced Jalapeno (optional adds a little spice!)
1 Layer of Mexican Cheese (about 8 oz)
1 Layer of black canned olives (sliced)
1 Diced green pepper sprinkled on top (optional)
Layer up and serve with Tortilla chips (we especially love the lime kind)
This is a great graduation party dish to pass, and its relatively cheap too!
Another one of our favorites:
Pico De Gallo
A large amount of what Pico De Gallo has to offer involves seasoning to taste, so you'll just have to keep adding little by little until it flatters your taste buds!
2 Large Beefsteak Tomatoes (or about 6 Roma Tomatoes) Diced
1 Large Spanish Onion Diced
2 Small Jalapenos Minced
3 Cloves of Garlic Minced
1/3 A Bunch of Cilantro Minced
2 Limes and 1 Lemon Freshly squeezed over the bowl
Salt and Pepper to Taste
Large amount of Cumin to taste (this really brings all the flavors together)
This is a great dish, and its pretty healthy. Just serve with your favorite style tortilla chips and enjoy!
Lastly and thirdly -
Guacamole!
2 Ripe Avocados
1/2 Spanish Onion (make sure its crunchy!) diced
1 Lemon, and 1 Lime Freshly squeezed into the bowl
1/4 bunch of cilantro minced
2 Jalapenos minced
Salt, Pepper, and Cumin to taste
Combine all dishes in one bowl and serve with your favorite tortilla chips!
Feel free to tweak the recipes however you feel is necessary, these just happen to be the ways we really enjoy ours to taste, but it took a long time for us to finally get the right balance of different flavor elements.
feel free to share any suggestions here!
Until next time!
keep eating!
Friday, June 26, 2009
Wal...wha? Waldorf!
Happy Friday Everyone!
a few updates, a few things to say, I'll be updating twice today, because I'd like to dedicate this post strictly to the creation of our Waldorf Salad.
Our review...it was delicous! We as always of course also altered the classic recipe quite a bit.
We used the skeleton recipe from http://www.allrecipes.com/
here's
Their Recipe My Rendition
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 apples -- peeled, cored, and chopped
1 cup thinly sliced celery
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
My Rendition of the Recipe
1 cup Low fat Mayo
forget refined sugar, fruit is sweet enough!
2 table spoons Lemon Juice
a dash of sea salt
2 medium sized gala apples cored, peeled and chopped
1/2 we like pecans
Shredded chicken (Optional)
DIRECTIONS
Whisk together the mayo and the lemon juice (prevents curdling)
then just add everything in piece by piece gently turning the mixture over to nicely coat everything.
Place on a nice bed of romaine lettuce and enjoy!
or chill and enjoy later!
I like this one, sometimes we substitute the mayo with vegannaise and its just as delicious!
try it and tell me what you think!
until next time...keep eating (just make it healthy!)
Thursday, June 18, 2009
WARNING: this is not a post about a recipe, and may be too involved and personal with possible profanity...read at your own risk
Good Afternoon!
I am still trying new recipes, and experimenting in the kitchen, however, I thought it would be beneficial to also integrate my ideas / relationship with food into my blog as well. I thought it might help this blog become more personal, and allow whoever so chooses to read it on the journey I have embarked on...more on that later...
for this afternoon here is what I have to say, there will be a new recipe update later, and for those of you who have looked into the "RAW/LIVE foods diet", it will be all raw, and all delicious.
Anyways:
The Question:
Does anyone have any idea how much Corn we consume on a daily basis?
The answer:
Probably Not.
Recently, Jeremy and I have started to turn a new leaf, and boy am I glad about that.
I had a slight breakdown after a fierce verbal attack on my body, and how much hate I had harboring for it. Lucky for me Jeremy thinks I'm beautiful...always. Unfortunately in regards to society, I am too fat - this makes me horribly miserable. well anyways, I tend to have an all or nothing personality and after cry-fest 2009 Jeremy and I decided that's it, we're going to push it into high gear, and really start being healthy.
Now, don't get me wrong because We've always been all about healthy eating. We don't have gobs of money between the two of us either, so the things that you'll find us buying in our house are veggies, and fruits, and crackers, Pastas, and bread, and things of sustenance not gluttony.
So, then, why-how, could we still be over-weight. How we could be constantly fighting off ear infections, sinus infections, fatigue, Migraines, etc...
Good Question.
I have been doing extensive research in regards to "the raw food diet" this is to say that food is not cooked above 118 degrees (from my research it tends to range between 110 and 118). The basic point is to eat food as the earth and nature intended us too. I have been looking into this more and more. So far today, I have eaten 80% Raw, and I think that that is a great start. I am attempting to maintain at least 60% Raw, which allows for some cooked food. There are different websites that talk all about Raw eating. One of my favorites is www.welikeitraw.com If anyone else has recently embarked on this journey, or wants to know more about it let me know, I'd be happy to share some other websites and blogs with you.
Okay, so - back to corn. which would mean back to processed foods. which would mean, eating food that we have as a society conditioned our bodies to accept despite their foul responses to it. Have you ever noticed that High Fructose Corn Syrup, or Corn Syrup in some form or another is in almost everything. This includes bread, its almost impossible to find bread without it!
Whats worst about all this is that truly nutritionally, Corn does not really have anything that benefits our bodies in any way. Its no wonder we suffer illness, and headaches, and body aches.
our bodies detest our choice in processed foods, with chemicals we can't understand or pronounce. Let me tell you, our earth doesn't much appreciate it either.
So then anyways, what a difficult entry to follow...
Back to me and Jeremy. Turning over a new leaf, it involves a waking early, and walking every morning before departing for work, it involves visits to the market three to four times a week to have the freshest most ripe delicious fruits and veggies. In Rochester there is a market almost every day we can attend, and we are, rain or shine. We are acknowledging the strain in our enlarged stomachs and their yearning for unnecessary foods. We are getting out of the house, and watching less TV visiting coffee shops, working on Art projects, walking everywhere we can, eating breakfast every morning, enjoying smoothies full of raw organic fruits, experimenting with new recipes that are healthy, amongst other things. We are working on this, and working towards this.
I think it is sad that our society has incorporated eating such unhealthy choices, not only that, but eating them faster, and more "on the go."
I put in some time working at Dunkin' Donuts - more on that later.
anyways, that's all for now. Look up raw and live food diets, read about it, learn about it, and then think about how we are the only mammal to enjoy another mammal's milk.
until next time!
I am still trying new recipes, and experimenting in the kitchen, however, I thought it would be beneficial to also integrate my ideas / relationship with food into my blog as well. I thought it might help this blog become more personal, and allow whoever so chooses to read it on the journey I have embarked on...more on that later...
for this afternoon here is what I have to say, there will be a new recipe update later, and for those of you who have looked into the "RAW/LIVE foods diet", it will be all raw, and all delicious.
Anyways:
The Question:
Does anyone have any idea how much Corn we consume on a daily basis?
The answer:
Probably Not.
Recently, Jeremy and I have started to turn a new leaf, and boy am I glad about that.
I had a slight breakdown after a fierce verbal attack on my body, and how much hate I had harboring for it. Lucky for me Jeremy thinks I'm beautiful...always. Unfortunately in regards to society, I am too fat - this makes me horribly miserable. well anyways, I tend to have an all or nothing personality and after cry-fest 2009 Jeremy and I decided that's it, we're going to push it into high gear, and really start being healthy.
Now, don't get me wrong because We've always been all about healthy eating. We don't have gobs of money between the two of us either, so the things that you'll find us buying in our house are veggies, and fruits, and crackers, Pastas, and bread, and things of sustenance not gluttony.
So, then, why-how, could we still be over-weight. How we could be constantly fighting off ear infections, sinus infections, fatigue, Migraines, etc...
Good Question.
I have been doing extensive research in regards to "the raw food diet" this is to say that food is not cooked above 118 degrees (from my research it tends to range between 110 and 118). The basic point is to eat food as the earth and nature intended us too. I have been looking into this more and more. So far today, I have eaten 80% Raw, and I think that that is a great start. I am attempting to maintain at least 60% Raw, which allows for some cooked food. There are different websites that talk all about Raw eating. One of my favorites is www.welikeitraw.com If anyone else has recently embarked on this journey, or wants to know more about it let me know, I'd be happy to share some other websites and blogs with you.
Okay, so - back to corn. which would mean back to processed foods. which would mean, eating food that we have as a society conditioned our bodies to accept despite their foul responses to it. Have you ever noticed that High Fructose Corn Syrup, or Corn Syrup in some form or another is in almost everything. This includes bread, its almost impossible to find bread without it!
Whats worst about all this is that truly nutritionally, Corn does not really have anything that benefits our bodies in any way. Its no wonder we suffer illness, and headaches, and body aches.
our bodies detest our choice in processed foods, with chemicals we can't understand or pronounce. Let me tell you, our earth doesn't much appreciate it either.
So then anyways, what a difficult entry to follow...
Back to me and Jeremy. Turning over a new leaf, it involves a waking early, and walking every morning before departing for work, it involves visits to the market three to four times a week to have the freshest most ripe delicious fruits and veggies. In Rochester there is a market almost every day we can attend, and we are, rain or shine. We are acknowledging the strain in our enlarged stomachs and their yearning for unnecessary foods. We are getting out of the house, and watching less TV visiting coffee shops, working on Art projects, walking everywhere we can, eating breakfast every morning, enjoying smoothies full of raw organic fruits, experimenting with new recipes that are healthy, amongst other things. We are working on this, and working towards this.
I think it is sad that our society has incorporated eating such unhealthy choices, not only that, but eating them faster, and more "on the go."
I put in some time working at Dunkin' Donuts - more on that later.
anyways, that's all for now. Look up raw and live food diets, read about it, learn about it, and then think about how we are the only mammal to enjoy another mammal's milk.
until next time!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
There isn't anything quite like Grandma's cooking...but we did our best..
Good Afternoon!
I have been so busy with work and school, and planning things for my sister who's graduating etc etc I haven't had a change to post!
So, anyways, Grandma's Potato Salad - that is...MY Grandmother's potato salad. Specifically speaking, my Mothers mother. Now, although no one can really do it exactly how Grandma did, its still one of our favorite dishes, and it happens to go especially well with BBQ which is great and here's why:
This past Friday my boyfriend (Jeremy) and I hosted an excellent BBQ where Jeremy and I served (after he smoked it allll day) Pulled Pork, Sliders (those mini burgers), and chicken.
For the side dishes we served My mac salad (which jeremy looooves), G-ma's potato salad, Coleslaw, etc etc...
So I've tried my Grandma's potato salad before, and completely botched it. This time I got it right! very exciting!
Here's the ingredients:
I have been so busy with work and school, and planning things for my sister who's graduating etc etc I haven't had a change to post!
So, anyways, Grandma's Potato Salad - that is...MY Grandmother's potato salad. Specifically speaking, my Mothers mother. Now, although no one can really do it exactly how Grandma did, its still one of our favorite dishes, and it happens to go especially well with BBQ which is great and here's why:
This past Friday my boyfriend (Jeremy) and I hosted an excellent BBQ where Jeremy and I served (after he smoked it allll day) Pulled Pork, Sliders (those mini burgers), and chicken.
For the side dishes we served My mac salad (which jeremy looooves), G-ma's potato salad, Coleslaw, etc etc...
So I've tried my Grandma's potato salad before, and completely botched it. This time I got it right! very exciting!
Here's the ingredients:
- Red Potatoes
- Orange Pepper
- Onion Powder
- Garlic Powder
- Mayo
- Poppy Seed Dressing
- Salt
- Pepper
Here's how you do it:
- Boil the potatoes carefully, as soon as you can stick a fork through easily remove them from water.
- Let the potatoes cool down <--- THIS STEP IS KEY!!!
- While the potatoes are cooling dice the orange pepper and put into the large mixing bowl
- Once the potatoes are cooled down, cube them and put them into a large mixing bowl
- Add some Mayo and mix it around while mixing stir in some garlic powder, black pepper, and onion powder
- Add a few tablespoons of the poppy seed dressing and mix
- Taste for salt, if it needs more add more (I generally keep the salt light myself, but that is because I don't like salty food)
- Then....ENJOY!
Unfortunately I don't have any photos for this one, but it was delicious and there is still some leftovers in my fridge, perhaps i will take a photo of the final product to share.
If you try it let me know how you like it!
Until next time, Keep Eating!
Monday, June 8, 2009
A Sloppy Success!
The title is quite fitting for this dish that I tried on Sunday. I thought I'd start off with something slightly simple, but that I hadn't actually cooked myself before, thats right, "Sloppy Joes."
Getting messy when you're a kid (and maybe a grown-up too) is a whole lot of fun, so its no wonder that this is certainly a delightful memory of my favorite childhood meals!
The recipe that was used was from:
and as my mother taught me...I only used it as a skeleton, and a basic structure of what I was going for.
Here is the recipe, and then the adjustments I made:
Actual Recipe ---------------------------------------------> My Rendition of the Recipe
2 pounds lean ground beef <--------------> 1 1/4 ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onion <-----------------> 1 whole chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery <--------------------> 1 whole orange pepper
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup<-----> We used home made Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup ketchup <-------------------------> we squeezed some in there
1 tablespoon white vinegar <-----------> Red wine Vinegar instead
1/4 cup packed brown sugar <-------------> 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce <--------> 10 shakes of the bottle
1/2 teaspoon salt <----------------------> three sprinkles across the meat
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder <--------------> fresh is best! we minced our own garlic
1/2 cup chopped onion <-----------------> 1 whole chopped onion
1 cup chopped celery <--------------------> 1 whole orange pepper
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup<-----> We used home made Tomato Sauce
1/4 cup ketchup <-------------------------> we squeezed some in there
1 tablespoon white vinegar <-----------> Red wine Vinegar instead
1/4 cup packed brown sugar <-------------> 1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce <--------> 10 shakes of the bottle
1/2 teaspoon salt <----------------------> three sprinkles across the meat
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder <--------------> fresh is best! we minced our own garlic
-----> also for mine add generous cayenne pepper, pinch of chili powder, and some black pepper
Needless to say, I made a few adjustments here and there, but it came out fantastic. Jeremy and I enjoyed ours greatly. Whats best of all was i used all left-over ingredients to make these, so they were virtually free, and free is always nice!
Breaking down the steps:
here's how I made it
Simultaneously I browned the ground beef in our cast iron pan, while working that around i heated some olive oil, when it was completely warmed i added the onions and let them cook a little while stirring them, shortly after that i added the orange peppers that i had diced up.
after adding the peppers i minced our garlic and tossed that into the pot allowing it to cook for about thirty more seconds (the onions were almost translucent at this point) after which i removed from heat and set aside. The beef had to be done in two batches, once it had all been browned i combined the two into a large pot and heated everything together.
At this point we began to add the ingredients to make the delicious sauce we added them in no particular order, and just kept tasting it until we got the flavor we were looking for. When we achieved this, we poured the delicious sloppy joe combination over the top of two pieces of sliced bread, poured a glass of water and enjoyed!
if you have any questions about trying this one yourself please feel free to ask me!
until next time!
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Food, its whats for dinner!
As a class assignment I have started this blog.
As a new way to keep track of my favorite receipes I've tried, I'll use it forever.
I am the kind of person who sticks to what they know in the kitchen, fortunately for me, I met a man who has taught me that you can make something from nothing, and its always more fun to take chances. Since meeting him (over a year ago now) I have started to find myself taking more chances and experimenting even more with the different types of flavor combinations within the kitchen. While embarking on this new journey, I thought why not use this blog to share my new creations and exciting experiments with my fellow classmates/instructor?
So then, I will be attempting two or more new receipes each week, here I will post pictures of the finished product, (you'll have to excuse the kitchen in my apartment, its slightly less than fabulous) I will also write detailed explainations for those of you who like me find yourself curious about trying new receipes. After each of those I will give my review, and those of whoever is with me to try it. Most often the name Jeremy will be mentioned as he is my boyfriend who is embarking with me on this adventure for new flavor in our kitchen!
Along side of this blog I have started a list, the list will grow and grow, and I will continue the blog despite the ending of class in July, so feel free to check back in case you are looking for something new. My choices as stated in the description will be from my favorite new experimental way of life - the raw diet, where I will be pulling receipes from websites such as ------>http://www.welikeitraw.com I will also be experimenting with cooking meat differently such as ceviche (which is to chemically cook meat) to flavors from my family's hometown in Trieste Italy with recipes similar to http://www.lidiasitaly.com/ many of my Nonna's(Grandmother) recipes fall slow close to Lidia's I can't help but desire to try some things out...after all its where my family is from! I will also be pulling different recipes off other websites, and blogs such as http://allrecipes.com/ etc, etc.
Other foods I plan to take a chance on are traditional polish foods, and German, Asian, French, Latin, Mid-West (steak and potatoes style) and as many more as I can come up with.
I would also like to mention that there is no limit or particular dish that goes with any particular time of day. That is to say that I am not only trying to dishes for dinner, or for breakfast, or for lunch, some will be snack foods, or special taco-dips that have been passed down in my family for years. Others will include intricate dishes that have a high level of difficulty (those will be interesting I'm sure).
So welcome to curiosity in the kitchen, I hope you enjoy my journey with new flavors and new foods and I hope even more that you will try them with me! If you have any good suggestions please feel free to mention them in an email or in a comment.
until next time!
As a new way to keep track of my favorite receipes I've tried, I'll use it forever.
I am the kind of person who sticks to what they know in the kitchen, fortunately for me, I met a man who has taught me that you can make something from nothing, and its always more fun to take chances. Since meeting him (over a year ago now) I have started to find myself taking more chances and experimenting even more with the different types of flavor combinations within the kitchen. While embarking on this new journey, I thought why not use this blog to share my new creations and exciting experiments with my fellow classmates/instructor?
So then, I will be attempting two or more new receipes each week, here I will post pictures of the finished product, (you'll have to excuse the kitchen in my apartment, its slightly less than fabulous) I will also write detailed explainations for those of you who like me find yourself curious about trying new receipes. After each of those I will give my review, and those of whoever is with me to try it. Most often the name Jeremy will be mentioned as he is my boyfriend who is embarking with me on this adventure for new flavor in our kitchen!
Along side of this blog I have started a list, the list will grow and grow, and I will continue the blog despite the ending of class in July, so feel free to check back in case you are looking for something new. My choices as stated in the description will be from my favorite new experimental way of life - the raw diet, where I will be pulling receipes from websites such as ------>http://www.welikeitraw.com I will also be experimenting with cooking meat differently such as ceviche (which is to chemically cook meat) to flavors from my family's hometown in Trieste Italy with recipes similar to http://www.lidiasitaly.com/ many of my Nonna's(Grandmother) recipes fall slow close to Lidia's I can't help but desire to try some things out...after all its where my family is from! I will also be pulling different recipes off other websites, and blogs such as http://allrecipes.com/ etc, etc.
Other foods I plan to take a chance on are traditional polish foods, and German, Asian, French, Latin, Mid-West (steak and potatoes style) and as many more as I can come up with.
I would also like to mention that there is no limit or particular dish that goes with any particular time of day. That is to say that I am not only trying to dishes for dinner, or for breakfast, or for lunch, some will be snack foods, or special taco-dips that have been passed down in my family for years. Others will include intricate dishes that have a high level of difficulty (those will be interesting I'm sure).
So welcome to curiosity in the kitchen, I hope you enjoy my journey with new flavors and new foods and I hope even more that you will try them with me! If you have any good suggestions please feel free to mention them in an email or in a comment.
until next time!
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