#and THEN we will boil hot dogs. at least 2 hours from now. delicious.

[thegeminisage]

sorry to boohoo whine woe is me but girl i am so sick to death of being hungry. every DAY you have to eat sometimes multiple times a day. and while i know how lucky i am that i have the means to acquire food my options are 1. eat junk food 2. go out of my house and spend 1 million dollars at some fast food chain i'm probably supposed to boycotting 3. remain hungry. and i have to make this decision multiple times a day!!!!!

[cocoa-dragon]

Something to chew on

When it comes to toast, my family has strong opinions. For breakfast, we’ll root around in the pantry and fridge, each of us cobbling together a different spread. My dad will chop hard-boiled eggs, mashing the yolks and bits of white into jam, delighting in my sister’s squeals of disgust. My sister’s topping is no less strange as she likes to scatter chunks of frozen salted butter on hers. Sometimes, when the salted butter “isn’t salty enough” or there’s only unsalted butter, she’ll take to the salt shaker zealously. My mother will try to stop her to no avail, but we all know not to get between her and the chocolate hazelnut spread. She’ll first trim the crusts, then slather the bread with chocolate until it forms a dense, toothsome layer.

Then, there’s the bread we choose to have for toast. Each of us are particular about the vehicle used for our chosen condiment. My dad loves bread that bear resemblance to stones, ones with a crunch and a chew. On the other side of the spectrum, my sister prefers hers akin to Wonder bread, something with enough fluff and absence of taste to accentuate the salt and fat of butter. My mom also prefers bread that is spun from air, but the local grocery store isn’t good enough. She will drive forty minutes to the nearest Japanese bakery to obtain a loaf of shokupan.

At this point, you’re probably wondering what strange toast fetish I have. One week, I’ll have Trader Joe’s peppercorn and asiago sourdough smeared with cream cheese. The next, it’ll be oatmeal sandwich bread. Or cinnamon raisin challah. Sometimes I’m so indecisive, I’ll spread my toast with a multitude of jams, making it sing with the sweetness of currants, blackberries, strawberries.

When my family devoured a focaccia at a restaurant for dinner, it seemed like we had found a bread that we could all agree on. As we licked the salt off of our fingers and stared at the loaves delivered to neighboring tables, I knew I had to try making focaccia at home. It had the potential to be the first loaf of bread we broke together.

Now, let me talk about this focaccia. Before you run away, perhaps with a scoff at bread making, or the thought of working with leaveners, stay for just a little bit longer. It’s easy to have good bread these days, but when was the last time you had bread straight from the oven? The kind that melts in your mouth? A crisp exterior that yields a soft, pillowy crumb?

This bread doesn’t demand much—you stir together flour, salt, yeast and water until they’re combined in a big, big bowl. It might be more shaggy dog and less loaf-of-bread-like, but don’t you worry. Cover it in plastic wrap and let it sleep. It will probably get more sleep than you—at least eight hours. If you do get more sleep than that, make sure to wake up at the twenty four hour mark to save your bread baby from ballooning out of control. (If you’re interested in what happens during those eight hours, Kenji Lopez-Alt breaks it all down here).

Perhaps after padding into the kitchen, the weak winter sun as pale and soft as butter on the tiles. Or maybe after your sister sneaks a peak, and tells you that “dough baby is very fluffy,” then, pour the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Plop the wobbly mass into a cast iron skillet, greased with a generous glug of olive oil. Roll the ball around until it glistens, then let it rest some more. After two hours, the ball will look like it sighed, its edges pooling outwards. If it doesn’t fit the pan completely, nudging it gently. When its stretched, dimple it so it can form pockets to hold the toppings of your choice. I scattered mine with shards of rosemary and freshly grated black pepper. I could imagine a version with Meyer lemons, bites of tartness and salt. Or one topped with slices of potato showered with cheese, a finish of caramelized crisp gold. But in truth, the focaccia doesn’t need anything. See I told you? It’s easy.

Give it another stream of olive oil and send it into the oven. The top will toast and char, bubble and brown, filling the air with a rich nuttiness. But the best part is yet to come. When I split the focaccia open, my family peering over my shoulders, it revealed a bubbly, tender crumb. Then, before I could even slice all of the focaccia, my family had beaten me to the punch. Tearing it, you can hear the delicious crackle of the crust.  

I had hopes it would last until breakfast for us the next morning. It would have been good with milky mozzarella and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. Or with a poached egg nestled in soft avocado. Or some honey-roasted grapes mashed with peppery goat cheese.

But, really those things would be for toast fanatics of another kind. Even my family agreed that it was good simply naked. Chewy, salty, juicy. There was no need for hard-boiled eggs or three different jams or varied concentrations of salted butter. As my family fought over the breadcrumbs, it seemed like our opinions on bread had finally converged. Maybe next time it would last long enough for us to make toast.

Delicious graphic created by my talented sister, Floria Tsui. 

Rosemary & Black Pepper Focaccia

Adapted from Kenji López-Alt’s “Easy No-Knead Olive-Rosemary Focaccia With Pistachios Focaccia” on Serious Eats

Ingredients:

500 grams (17 1/2 ounces, about 3 1/4 cups) all-purpose or bread flour

15 grams (.5 ounces, about 1 tablespoon) kosher salt

4 grams (.15 ounces, about 1/2 teaspoon) instant yeast

325 grams (11 1/2 ounces, about 1 1/2 cups minus 1 tablespoon) water

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided

2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary

Black pepper grinder

Coarse sea salt

Directions:

1. Combine flour, salt, yeast, and water in a large bowl. Mix with hands or a wooden spoon until no dry flour remains. The bowl should be at least 4 to 6 times the volume of the dough to account for some dramatic balloon-ing action.

2. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap, making sure that edges are well-sealed, then let rest on the countertop for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours. Dough should rise dramatically and fill bowl.

3. Sprinkle the top of the dough lightly with flour, then transfer it to a lightly-floured work surface. Form into a ball by holding it with well-floured hands and tucking the dough underneath itself, rotating it until it forms a tight ball.

4. Pour half of oil (1/8 cup) in the bottom of a 12-inch cast iron skillet. Transfer dough to pan, bath baby in oil, and position seam-side-down. Nudge the dough around the skillet, flattening it slightly and spreading oil around the entire bottom and edges of the pan. Cover skillet with a lid and let the dough stand at room temperature for 2 hours. After the first hour, adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 550°F. Things are about to get hot!

5. At the end of the 2 hours, dough should mostly fill the skillet up to the edge. Use your fingertips to press it around until it fills every corner, popping any large bubbles that appear. This part is probably more fun than should be allowed (like playing whack-a-mole but so much more visceral). You probably won’t want to stop, but when most of the air bubbles are gone and the dough is spread evenly around the skillet, you should call it a day. Sprinkle with rosemary and grate black pepper and coarse salt all over the surface of the dough and press down on them with your fingertips to give your baby lots of dimples. Drizzle with remaining olive oil and rub well. This might seem like a lot of olive oil, but trust me it’s what makes this toast, well, toast. We’re essentially pan-frying the dough. 

6. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until top is golden brown and bubbly and bottom is crispy when you lift it with a thin spatula, 16 to 24 minutes (Note: 16 minutes was perfect for my oven). Transfer out of skillet, allow to cool slightly, slice, and serve. Extra bread (a phenomenon!) should be stored in a brown paper bag at room temperature for up to 2 days. For optimal toastiness, reheat leftovers in a 300°F oven for about 10 minutes.

[a-salty-alto]

Tony Stark, Served Well Done

[A/N]: This is my fill for the “Hansel and Gretel” square on my Fairytale Bingo card. It was interesting to write, because I don’t usually write full AUs, much less in first person. I hope you like it!

Tony

I always knew this is how I was going to die.

Now you might be thinking Oh, Tony, you’re being hyperbolic, “eaten by a witch” is a weirdly specific way to go, there’s no way you could have expected it.

Yeah well, I’m not.

Ever since I stepped foot in this school I’ve known something like this was going to happen.

Okay, let me backup.

Hi, my name’s Tony Stark, soon to be dinner.

I’m a junior at Shield Highschool. Now, most people in town who don’t go here think that we’re just a bunch of stuck up genius snobs who get away with whatever we want.

That’s not true.

Well, the genius part is true, obviously, I go here. And so does Bruce, and Sam, and Natasha’s scarily good with computers and of course Jan and Bobbi- and I’m getting off topic.

Anyway we’re all actually a group of barely-functioning hot messes. If it isn’t exams, it’s school clubs, homework, the fact that none of us get enough sleep because we have to get up ass-early in the morning to get here on time, everyone’s got something to worry about here. We don’t have time to be stuck-up.

My current worry is the large boiling vat I’m dangling over.

Right, right, moving on. So, as Principal Coulson will tell you, if you’re in the mood for ten minutes of him waxing poetic about what the school,  Shield High was built on top of a potter’s field, which is a mass grave for unmarked bodies.

So yeah, school’s literally built on top of a pile of dead bodies of spirits that are probably pissed they never got a proper burial.

The first time I heard that little tidbit, my immediate thought was “some idiot is going to bring a Ouija board here and get us all killed.” It was joke, but I still called it.

So, it was after school, and I was hanging out with the D&D club that my friends and I formed with the help of the BEST PHYSICS TEACHER EVER, Mr. Yinsen, when suddenly the lights went out, a draft picked up through the school an an unearthly screech ripped through the building.

It was pitch black, so, naturally, we pulled out our phones to have some sort of light.

Natasha put her phone to her ear.

It couldn’t have rang more than once before she took it away again and shook her head.

“I don’t have any signal.”

At that, everyone else immediately started checking their phones too.

“No wifi,” Jan announced.

“Landline isn’t working either” Mr. Yinsen sighed

“This can only mean good things.” Clint muttered.

“Why don’t we take a look around?” Steve said, because he’s a giant innocent puppy dog who’s probably never actually seen a horror movie.

“Are you crazy?” Sam practically screeched. “No.”

“Rogers, what are you a, dumbass? This whole scenario screams demon attack.” Rhodey added..

“C’mon don’t we at least want to be in a room with actual, you know, windows? It’s only 3:30 in the afternoon, even if it’s cloudy, it’ll be more light than in here.” Brucie Bear suggested. It seemed like a good point. Mr. Yinsen’s room doesn’t have any windows, which makes the room darker. Even if we did walk into a monster movie, a you’d think a better lit room would have to help right?

WRONG! Oh so wrong, because as it turned out the sky had become, as Clint so eloquently put it, “a fucking bloodbath of hatred and death.”

Instead of the soft gray clouds and light snowfall that would be expected this time of year, the clouds were a hard black, and the sky was a deep crimson occasionally split in two by the crack of thunder and a lightning strike.

Like any sane person, we immediately tried to nope the fuck outta there, but the windows weren’t opening up and it took us exactly 5 minutes to realize we were very lost. In the school most of us have been attending for a little over 2 years at this point.

“Well, fuck.” I announced, because really, what else was there to say? I’m not sure if anyone else had noticed it, but the speakers which usually pumped terrible jazz music through the halls instead were playing a heaving breathing sound. I didn’t really feel like pointing it out to anyone at that moment, though.

“So. What do we do?” Clint panted.

Steve immediately took charge. I don’t remember what he said exactly, I may have been too busy staring at him as he got that stubborn look in his eyes and went into full protective mode and his eyebrows scrunched up just so and UuuuuggGgGHHhhhhhh.

Okay, so I might have a slight crush on Steve. You don’t get to make fun of it, I’m about to be boiled.

Anyway so, I wasn’t exactly paying attention but I got paired up with Natasha. I have this habit of aggressively hoarding snacks in my backpack, so I gave some to each of the pairs. In theory we’d each head in a different direction and follow the food trails back to where we started.

As Natasha and I made our way up the stairs and somehow ended up in the basement, we heard moaning. Immediately we shared a look and then ran after the voice. Who did we find but none other than Justin Hammer.

Now, Justin is a prick, but even he didn’t deserve the sorry state we’d found him in. He was pale, clutching his arm, and he had a black eye.

“Stark. Romanoff,” he grunted, as if the words hurt to say.

“Yeah, it’s us.” I helped him up and slung his arm over my shoulder.

“Justin, do you know what’s going on here?” Natasha asked taking his other arm. We shared a silent look and agreed that we should take him back to the meeting point.

“I was playing Ouija.” he said.

A few hours ago neither of us would have believed we were having this conversation, but now, the evidence was kind of hard to refute.

“Aren’t you not supposed to do that alone?” I said. “Or in a place where people are buried?

“Justin, what kind of  spirit did you summon?” Natasha asked at the same time.

Yeah, Nat was probably asking better questions than I was. I decided to leave the interrogation to her.

“A witch,” Justin whispered.

“And what does she want?”

“Him.” Justin said shifting his head in my direction.

“Wait, I’m sorry, what?” I yelped.

“When I summoned her, she wanted to eat my soul, but I knew you’d be here with your nerd club, and she said she wouldn’t eat me if I got you for her.”

“Shit.” Natasha said,  and we dropped Justin like a sack of potatoes.

It was too late though. High cackling laughter erupted from around us. Suddenly, an invisible force knocked me into a wall, and everything went dark.

*

When i came too again, i found myself in my current predicament, tied up and dangling upside-down over a vat.

“More sage.” A voice from the shadows called out, and a very grumpy Natasha was pushed in the direction of the pot.

“Hey! Leave her alone!” i yelled. I like to think I was somewhat intimidating.

The witch just laughed though, and practically glided over to me. I don’t know what she looks like other than she wears a dark robe with the hood covering her face.

“Ah, Iron Man, I’m glad to see you’re awake.”  She said, placing a bony hand to my cheek. “This is such a lovely little universe that buffoon called me to. You Avengers all have the same delicious spirit, but none of the pesky toys or skills.”

“I’m sorry, it might be the blood rushing to my head, but that doesn’t make any sense.” I bit back. Avengers? What was she going on about? “And if you just want to eat my soul, why do you need the pots and spices.”

The witch laughed again. “Oh, I want you to suffer. You’ve all wronged me, but you, Tony Stark sealed me away, so you get to feel being cooked alive. Your friends’ punishment is getting to watch.”

With that, she glided back to her corner, silently watching the two of us.

“So, Nat. Don’t suppose you can convince her I’m not fat enough to eat?

***

Steve

This isn’t good. I’m back at the meeting place, and Rhodey, Jan, Clint, Bruce, Sam and Mr. Yinsen have all made it back, but Tony and Natasha are nowhere to be found. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t an artist, because I can picture very clearly what it might be like to find the two of them ripped apart by whatever was causing this.

The school has seemingly become its own dimension. The hallways send you to completely different floors, the walls randomly become soft like flesh, and strange voices everywhere. Creepy didn’t even begin to describe it.

Not only that, the school was empty aside from the eight D&D club members and Mr. Yinsen. No other teachers, students from other clubs, or any janitors or security guards could be found.

I’m completely out of my depth when it comes to occult stuff like this. I wish Thor wasn’t out of town for family business, he’d know what to do. His brother practically lives and breathes this kind of stuff.

“How long has it been?” I ask absently while pacing the hall.

“30 seconds since you last asked, so about 5 minutes since we our agreed rendezvous time.” Bruce says. Oops. I stop and realize the others are watching me. I’m probably worrying them.

“Ok, let’s just go look for them. They did leave a trail.” Sam points out. “Either we’ll find them at the end or bump into them as they head back.”

Right. That sounds smart, why didn’t I think of that.

“Okay,” I say, “but let’s stick together, I don’t want to lose anyone else.”

With that, everyone in the group nods and we head off after Nat and Tony’s trail. We travel in relative silence, everyone’s concern is palpable.

We eventually make it to the end of the trail in the basement, where our missing friends are nowhere to be found.

“Shit.” Rhodey curses. I feel like punching a wall, but I swallow my frustrations.

“Let’s keep going. See if we can find any sign of them.” I say. It sounds like something the leader would say, which I guess I am.

We scour the basement looking for any signs of our friends, but find nothing. At least until Clint literally trips over Justin Hammer.

The guy’s unconscious, and pale in a way that doesn’t look healthy.

Immediately, Mr. Yinsen kneels down next to him and checks him over.

“He’s breathing, but it’s shallow. He needs medical attention.” The teacher’s gaze is stern. “James, Janet, and I found the Nurse’s office while we were searching. I’ll take him there.”

“I can go with you” Bruce offers, but Mr. Yinsen holds up a hand. “No, I want you all to stay together. Find the others, then meet us back at the rendezvous point in a hour.”

“Right,” Steve nods. As we watch their teacher take off with Justin in his arms, I can’t help feeling worried.

And by that I mean I’m screaming internally.

Right. Stay calm Steve. You’re in charge. You gotta at least hide your worry.

I stick up my head, and move onward.

Eventually, we find ourselves in the boiler room, and we hear voices. I motion to the others to be quiet as we sneak through. The voices stop as we enter a room, and see Nat, with her leg chained to the wall and Tony...

Tony’s being strung upside down over a large pot.

Ok. Weird, but could be worse.

"Ah, it seems the rest have arrived." A chilling  voice says from somewhere in the room. Clint and Sam scream and grab hold of eachother, but I stand my ground

"Who are you,” I definitely don’t stammer, “what are you doing to Tony and Nat?"

I actually manage to not screech when the terrifying lady appears right behind me and puts a bony hand on my shoulder. Yay me, I’m so proud of myself.

"I only wish for you all to suffer, and for his to be especially painful, and delicious." she whispers, and suddenly Tony screams as he starts dropping closer and closer to the pot.

With instincts I didn't even know I have, I grab the circular lid from a nearby garbage can and throw it.

It whizzes past Tony's head, bounces off of the wall, then another, and finally hits the lady in the face, knocking her down, and stopping Tony's descent.

I guess I meant to do that.

"Um right. Okay. She needs to be focused to do her magic. Clint, you and Jan help Nat, everybody else keep the lady busy. I’m going to get Tony down.” The others all nod and get back to work.

Rushing over to the pot, the first thing I do is try to tip it over.

“Steve.” Tony says.

It's really heavy, but Tony’s counting on me.

“Steve.”

I can’t let him down.

“Steve! It’s still on fire doesn’t that hurt?”

I look down and realize that there’s a fire lit under the cauldron and yeah, it is really hot.

But not as hot as it probably should be. Still, I jerk away.

I look at my hands and yeah, they're a little burnt but not something I can’t deal with. They’re already healing in a few places anyway.

“Oh.”

“Yeah, try snuffing out the fire first.” Tony says, misinterpretting my shock. Suddenly the rope drops some more and Tony screams again.  

That weird muscle spasm that let me throw the garbage can lid causes me to jump into the air, do a flip, and catch the rope dropping Tony.

I land balanced on the cauldron, and pull Tony into my arms.

“Impressive Cap, when did you start taking acrobatics?”

“I don’t know and- Cap?” Tony’s never called me that before and Tony looks just as confused as I do.

“Uh, just ignore me. I’m not sure how long I was upside down. Probably just woozy from all the blood rushing to my head. Anyway,” and Tony looks up at me and gives a little smile, “Thanks for the save.”

I can feel my face turning beet red. I try to tug on the rope that’s holding Tony, but it doesn’t budge. Looks like I’ll just have to carry Tony while the others deal with the witch.

It’s fine. This is fine.

I can just feel my face turning beet red.

Damn it massive crush on Tony, I thought we had an agreement where you wouldn’t do this to me anymore.

I try to focus on the others fighting the witch.

Looks like Clint and Jan have gotten Nat out, and they’ve all joined in the fight.

The Avengers are all on the defensive though. We don’t have anything that will actually hurt her, and most of us can’t survive more than one direct lightning blast. I mean none of us can, we’re all humans, what am I talking about?

“Yo, Wicked Witch!” Tony shouts. Oh god Tony please don’t antagonize the angry magic lady when we’re standing over a boiling pot of water.

Still, the witch turns to us and growls.

“You!”

“Yeah, guess you didn’t get me after all. Can’t even beat me when I don’t have my toys?” He mocks.

The witch howls and lunges towards us. Somehow I know the exact moment I need to jump to make sure she smacks face first into her own cauldron.

Her screams as she boils are going to haunt my nightmares for the rest of my life.

She finally stops, and a blinding flash of light envelops all of us. A split second later, Tony’s untied, the cauldron’s gone, and Tony is suddenly really heavy.

I put him down on the ground as the others come over to us, clearly very confused.

“So, what just happened?” Clint asks, “I mean I’ve always been awesome but I don’t think I’m usually able to dodge lightning for that long.”

“It’s almost like we were actually that thing she was talking about? The Avengers?” Tony asks, turning to Nat, who gives a nod.

“Yeah. The reason the witch wanted to eat Tony was because another version of him sealed her away with alternate versions of us. Apparently in another life, we’re superheroes.” She explains.

Superheroes, huh?

“So we accidently absorbed our other selves’ superhero skills? Is that even possible?” Rhodey asks, and Sam just shrugs.

“We just fought a witch, and didn’t die. I think it’s definitely something more than just dumb luck.”

“Cooooooool. We have to try that again some time!” Jan squeals. “I want to design all our outfits.”

Everyone laughs and starts to leave, but Tony hangs back.

“Something wrong, Tony?” I ask.

“Um yeah, I just wanted to give you something better. To thank you properly.”

“What-” And suddenly I’m cut off by Tony giving me a kiss on the cheek and running off after the others.

So today, I got transported to a weird alternate dimension, my friend/crush nearly got boiled alive, I got proxy superpowers, and my crush just kissed me.

Weird day.

Not a bad one though, so I start chasing after Tony.

[seoulfulcity]

May 29, 2018: Take Me to Macau and Guangzhou, China

你好,

"Don't be scared when a Cantonese talks to you. They are not yelling or are mad at you, that's just how they talk" - an ancient proverb.

Tuesday, May 29, 2018: Our Hong Kong trip ends with a ferry ride to the neighboring Macau. Tracy took initiative to book the hotel for us to stay in Macau - Sofitel, a hotel chain I'm very familiar with. We arrived in a sweltering 109-degree weather. Now, I'm from Los Angeles and we experience heat waves going as high up as 110 degrees, but Macau was insane. The heat was turning my skin red fast and sweat constantly dripped from my head. We were about to do a walking tour around the city under this weather.

Luckily, our hotel was situated close to the Senado Square - an area in which Portuguese influence is very palpable. I entered Macau with no idea of what the country has to offer. Is Macau a beach city? Is it a vacation place? Is it a shopping country just as Hong Kong? I had no expectations.

Voila! I came into Macau and everything was in.... Portuguese. Bus signs, warning signs, street signs, instructions, and almost, if not everything, is in Portuguese. Once again, I found myself in a huge state of culture shock. I vaguely remember learning about the Portuguese taking over East Asia way back in history, but I did not realize its culture is still as alive as ever in Macau.

I actually thanked a person in Portuguese instead of Cantonese, and they were able to understand me. Obrigado is all I needed to survive Little Lisbon.

What makes Macau very different than Hong Kong was the ubiquitous Catholic references in every corner. The streets were named after Catholic saints. Images of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary were plastered against the wall of every Chinese restaurant we pass by. No signs of Buddhism at all.

It would have been a very intriguing history and culture to learn about prior to visiting the country given the fact that is is nothing like any of its neighboring Buddhism-heavy countries.

Nonetheless, one day and one night in Macau is enough to explore and fall in love with the country. Tracy had me and Simi try the place where they're known for their beef intestines, liver, heart, and tongue. Let's leave this story with the note that I had an interesting tasting experience

The free sample culture in Macau competes against America's culture. The country is known for its jerky - different flavored beef and pork jerkies are open for everybody to taste. There is this bakery chain that stacks open boxes of cookies and breads for everybody to grab. Frankly, Simi and I scoured through the whole bakery, sampling each cookie more than twice - we ended up saving our lunch money!

Even though my blog about Macau is not as long compared to my other blogs, the country does not fall short on beauty and surprises. Macau is the place where you fall in love with its people and its Portuguese-heavy history. This is the country where European-Asian fusion food is the most delicious. This is the country where the beautiful European culture and language fuse with the ancient and timeless Asian tradition. Macau has a lot to offer if people are willing to accept them with arms wide open.

Wednesday, May 30, 2018: Our hotel in Macau offers a ride to the Chinese border for free, in which we happily utilized. The biggest worry I've had in the past few months was China. Being an American, everybody already has a generalized idea and fear with what happens in China. To name a few fears that people have mentioned prior to my departure from Los Angeles

China is filled with scammers and you have to constantly be wary of your surroundings.

Language barrier is the most terrifying thing - nobody will be able to help you since English is not widely taught; and apparently people are too impatient to even bother with a translator.

The Great Firewall. Enough said.

China has a history of tracking its citizens, and visitors need to buy things that could prevent identity theft.

Pollution. The internet needed me to buy a thick face mask to protect my respiratory system.

The hot and humid weather is unbearable. You won't be able to do a lot with how much energy you're wasting by just sweating.

Wild dogs carrying rabies everywhere, children pooping in street corners, squat toilets, and basically the complete opposite of the magnificent America. Apparently the whole country is uncivilized and unsanitary.

The food and water are very dirty. They apparently boil sewage water for consumption and the oil they use for street foods are months old. I was suggested to bring different medications for diarrhea, constipation, acid reflux, and all kinds of drugs for future stomach problems.

The people are mean and unforgiving. They will yell, hit, and shove as an instinct.

Overall, China is going to be a scary place for a first-time solo traveler.

So yes, I had fears crossing the Chinese border. Oh, a lot of fears. We expected our Chinese trip to be one big Murphy's Law, which states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong.

That law came into light when we went through customs.

I usually don't cross a country via a physical border - I accomplish it by flying and flight attendants would provide us the proper forms to fill out for customs. The bus from our hotel didn't provide it, so it never occurred to us that we needed to fill out forms - yes, we are actually first-time solo travelers.

Fear #2 seems to always make its way into our daily routine while we're here in China. The man responsible in customs for foreign passport holders was not very content with the fact that we made a mistake with forgetting to fill out the arrival form; his anger escalated when he couldn't communicate with us properly in Cantonese. He handed us the arrival form - I'm being nice here since he basically threw it to us from the window - and we filled it out. We passed customs and took the bus from the border to Tracy's second hometown of Guangzhou, or Canton as how I grew up knowing it as.

A little Philippine food discussion - I grew up with one childhood food only, Pancit Canton. Pancit is the Filipino term for noodles and Canton is the origin of the plate. It is my go-to food when I was young, and even until now. Pancit Canton is my favorite noodles.

So, imagine being in my feet, in Canton, and the first meal I had was noodles. The noodles native to Canton. This is the original Pancit Canton. My poor heart could not handle the joy.

Guangzhou is very reminiscent of the Philippines. The streets, the weather, the food, the culture, and the people. This entire trip is one big trip down memory lane; and since my ten-year anniversary of immigrating to America from the Philippines was approaching and not once have I visited my country, Guangzhou compensated for the homesickness.

Our first day in Guangzhou was nothing less than memorable. Tracy's uncle is a competitive cyclist, so he was excited for us to bike with him around Guangzhou for a few hours. Unlike Hong Kong and Macau, Guangzhou transportation culture revolves on bicycles. Everybody owned one. Going to work, going to school, going to the park. Everything is accessible via a bicycle, and the Guangzhou streets were set up to prioritize cyclists.

We cycled between cars, joined the traffic, had access to the pedestrian side walks, and beat the heat by speeding through the Pearl River (Zhujiang) with its cool misty breeze.

I've noticed that the Cantonese in Guangzhou have a very active lifestyle. Transportation via an automobile was very rare. Jogging and running were encouraged since people of all ages jogged as a group, free public aerobic exercises and tai chi at the parks and the sidewalks for those who aren't able to withstand a long run, and of course - what would Guangzhou be without its bicycles? From what I've seen that night, the Cantonese people are very communal. Everything had to be done as a community. They gave off a really welcoming and inclusive vibe.

"Why does it matter if you're a foreigner and can't speak Cantonese? Come celebrate life with us! Life is too short to be individualistic and doing things on your own! Let's do it together, as one big Cantonese family!" That was the biggest impression I had with the Cantonese people.

食在广州 (Chi zai Guangzhou) which means "Eat in Guangzhou. The city prides itself on its food. I was constantly reminded that I will never taste anything as good as Guangzhou cuisine - and boy, they were perfectly on point.

Tracy's family were so welcoming and hosted a huge seafood dinner for us in the heart of the seafood market. Her grandmother went out to purchase the fresh food, handed it to the cooks in the restaurant and they set up a grand display of seafood of every specie.

Throughout the next two days, Tracy's family fed us local foods from the spiciest restaurant in all of Guangzhou to food native only to the area. We had three large meals on our last day with her family, and Simi and I would joke about how this would provide us enough calories and energy to last us our entire Chinese trip. Tracy's family would remind us every chance they could that there will be no food up there in Beijing - or at least not as good as in Guangzhou.

Nonetheless, Simi and I were right. It's been three days since we left Guangzhou and we've only eaten two meals and we're still not starving. Our meals in Guangzhou actually lasted us a few days!

I could not fail to mention the idol culture in China, which is strikingly similar to my experience in Seoul. Faces of Chinese idols were plastered and shown (in really bright lights) in every corner - Zhang Yixing, Wu Yifan, Lu Han, Wang Jiaer, and Oppo just released a set of posters featuring the biggest Chinese stars, such as Karry Wang from TFBoys and Li Yifeng (and boy, Oppo posters were everywhere). Guangzhou's obsession is not on par as in Seoul, but I'm expecting the idolization culture to be so much worse in Beijing. It felt familiar - in a very isolating country where the language and the people remind you everyday that you're foreign with no direct association to anything and anybody - it felt familiar. Zhang Yixing, whose face I see everyday on my home screen, and Li Yifeng, who taught me some basic Chinese from his dramas - the celebrities' faces gave me the sense that everything is not so foreign after all. And that's all I've been craving since I started my trip - familiarity. It's been a while since I've understood the language around me and it makes me feel very isolated. Everyday is a culture shock and adjustment that it gets mentally draining sometimes. I'm going to continue being out of my bubble all of summer, so I suppose a sense of comfort, even just for a day, would suffice.

Tracy and her family left for Cambodia the morning we were leaving Guangzhou. Our train to Hunan was not until 8 PM, but we decided to get to the train station eight hours early to give ourselves a lot of time to get lost and make some big mistakes. In the train station, we found out Guangzhou's main form of scamming to cut in front of the lines.

The first incident was when we were in line to pick up our train tickets and this seemingly-innocent woman, in her early to mid twenties, was panicking to me saying her train leaves in 25 minutes. I tapped Simi on the shoulder to let her in. Simi half expected for some good karma to come back to us.

Not even ten minutes later, a guy did the exact same thing - his train was leaving and he's running late and needed to cut through the line. The people in front of us obliged.

Then, another older woman followed the exact same scheme. Then an older man. By that time, the people in line were unforgiving and did not let them through. The scammers argued with the people on the ticket window, showing them proof that they were indeed late. The argument every time ends when the person in line let them retrieve their ticket in a half-annoyed face and a deep sigh.

Guangzhou Station was large, with so many rooms for foreigners like us to make mistakes in. None of the signs were in English besides "entrance" and "exit". We had to learn how Guangzhou Station and Zhangjiajie Station were written in Chinese characters. All the instructions for ticket purchases, waiting, and boarding were all written in characters very foreign to us. This is when we found ourselves lost in a sea of people rushing into a station they're very familiar with - unable to communicate with us with their lack of knowledge and willingness to speak English.

People constantly dismissed us when we start our sentences with "excuse me". People back off in fear that we were somehow foreign scammers, trying to trick them in a language they're unfamiliar with - it's a scary feeling for them and for us.

Though, once in a while, people would whip out their translations to help us navigate through what we needed to be done. We have our offline translations ready for anyone willing to take the time to read what the dictionary and the app concocted.

Our lives were saved when a Chinese woman who spoke amazing English walked us into the station, get into security, and helped us to the waiting room and made sure we were in the right spot. This was within an hour before boarding. Can you imagine? We were lost and helpless for seven hours - it was a tiring (and scary) day. Simi actually said that if we missed our train to Zhangjiajie, we should just go straight to the destination right after, Fenghuang.

Nevertheless, we made it to our train where we were assigned hard sleeper beds. The bunk beds are set up as three (the lower, middle, and upper bunk beds, two sets per area where we face each other). It was about an overnight 12-hour train ride to Zhangjiajie. At least we were comfortable, right?

Our adventures with the language barrier did not end here. Zhangjiajie and Fenghuang are not metropolitan cities, where English is spoken everyday. It gets more interesting! I need to learn more basic Mandarin, at least enough that could help us navigate through an area with minimal use of translation apps. Though right now, I'll stick to my poorly-translated Chinese sentences. Until then!

谢谢,  Chris 「克里斯」

P.S. I am currently writing this blog on a slow train from Huaihua, Hunan to Chengdu, Sichuan. I share one corner of the train with six other people and we're all facing each other, so I'm not only uncomfortable, but my arms are tiring from holding up my phone to write this blog. There is no table within my reach that I could rest my elbows with and the seats don't recline, but nonetheless, I plan to discuss the ten fears I've mentioned about China right after I leave the country. Were they rational? Did I need to be fearful that much going into the country? What could I have done to possibly ease down the fear in the future, or to the prospective Chinese travelers reading this blog right now?

[benjamingarden]

This Month On The Farm: July 2020

July's weather was full-on summer complete with heat, humidity, and lots o' sunshine.  And surprisingly, a lack of mosquitoes.  Hooray for that!  We did receive some rain and when we did, oh boy was it a lot.

Tents - Not Just For Camping

As you can see in the photo above, we decided to make use of a couple of our extra craft show tents and set them up on the upper and lower decks.  On the upper deck it's wide open, used just for rain cover and shade (Ollie is afraid of the netting walls so we left them off).  On the lower deck we used the netting walls and put our outdoor table and chairs inside so we can enjoy eating or sitting outside without bugs attacking.  Ollie, as noted, is afraid of the walls but if he's sitting in his tower with me by his side, he deals with it ok.

gutters and rain barrel installed!

Barrels Of Rain

Woo hoo!  Jay was able to get the gutters installed on the outbuildings and the rain barrels are up and working.  This has been on our "someday" list for years.  Years!  We've been able to successfully use the barrels to water the garden through most of the month, only needing to resort to our well water a couple of times.

Harvesting

As I've mentioned (probably too many times), our garden is mostly shaded.  We receive morning sun over about 70% of it and afternoon sun for a few hours over it all, and it's fully shaded the remainder of the day.  And so, our harvesting starts late.  Then, of course, we had the infamous whistle pig debacle that set us back a bit but we are now enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Green beans are coming in by the bushel.  I know that many people don't enjoy frozen green beans but we do, so I grow enough to enjoy fresh weekly as well as enough to put up in the freezer for winter and springtime eating.  I planted 3 types this year: Blue Lake, Red Noodle, and Calima Bush Beans.  The Red Noodle are still small and green but this is the first year we've planted them so, fingers crossed, they are delicious.

We finally have tomatoes!!!  Well, we finally have ripe tomatoes!  We have a ton, I mean TON, of green tomatoes amidst the 25 plants so we will definitely have plenty for fresh eating as well as for oven-drying to freeze for sauce during the winter.

We are also harvesting onions, cabbage, kale, swiss chard, mixed greens, arugula, microgreens, peppers (jalapeno, ancho, and bell), summer squash, zucchini, the last of the peas, beets, blueberries, blackberries, herbs and radish.

our sweet potato hill

Sadly, our pear and asian pear trees did not do well this year.  I've ordered new "partners" for them (and the paw paw tree) so our hope is we will be swimming in their fruits in a couple of years!  And our whistle pig took out all of our summer broccoli and cauliflower so we won't be harvesting either of those until fall.

At the start of the season I would grab a big bowl from the cupboard and Ollie and I would head to the garden to harvest whatever was ready.  One day, as my bowl was so full the veggies were spilling out of it, Jay looked at me and said "you need a bucket or a basket or something".  I said "I know.  Someone I follow on Instagram just posted a picture of her harvest basket that her husband made.  It was nice - metal mesh and wood sides and handle.  You're too busy though, so maybe next year."  I didn't give it another thought.

Later in the week Jay comes out of his shop holding the PERFECT harvest basket.  He had made it in between other projects he was working on.  Such a sweet gift! 

So now, Ollie and I take our harvest basket with us to the garden on our daily check-in.

looking up one of our mammoth sunflowers

the 2 mammoth sunflowers that survived the whistle pig feast are on the left

Homestead Projects

We have a list of projects that we are hoping to accomplish before fall.  We've managed to check off some of the easier projects, but not so much the larger projects.  Here's what we're chipping away at:

paint the dining room (done)

stain the back deck (done)

paint the living room

fix columns and lay new flooring on one of the two front porches (second porch will be done next year)

paint 2 sides of the house (same color, just refreshing it - the other 2 sides will be done next year)

install fence around the garden (temporarily done - permanent fencing will be done next spring)

build and install a new outdoor pole light in the front yard

build a small nesting box area/water station for garden (so when the chickens are tasked with the garden fall clean-up, they have a place to lay eggs)

chop and stack wood for the woodstove in the shop (done although we may chop a bit more)

install gutters on the outbuildings and hook-up rain barrels (done)

create a raised bed hoop house for one of our garden beds so we can grow greens through late fall/early winter (done for now - we purchased/found the items needed to make this in fall)

Animals

We are not going to add any more animals to the homestead for now and that includes chickens.  The current flock will get smaller, gradually, as the inevitable happens.  We had one pass away this week, she was one of the older girls, and we fully anticipate a few more passing this year from old age.  It certainly doesn't get any easier to deal with death, but at least we have developed a bit of a plan now, of keeping them safe and comfortable during the process.  We also know more about signs, because with chickens, they usually mask illness.  This helps us so we can watch closer and try to make sure they are protected.  

Death is one of the parts of having animals that is so difficult.  Unfortunately, as birds become sick and/or begin the dying process, some of the others can become very cannibalistic.  It's not a pretty sight.  So once we see that one of the girls isn't feeling well, we are able to remove them, but not totally, from the flock.  They are social creatures, so full removal seems to make them stressed and upset.  Instead, we make sure they are separated by a fence allowing them to still feel a part of the flock without getting incessantly pecked at and stepped on.  And no, we don't let them suffer.  If there's any sign of that, and we've done all we can do to make them well, we step in.  

Our overall plan is to get out of the egg-selling business and keep a very small flock (6-8 girls).  With a flock of 24 girls, it will take some time for the flock to naturally reduce (we're down from the 32 we had last year), so we won't be bringing in any chicks until we have less then 8 girls.

zucchini chocolate chip muffins

What Do You Do With All Of That Zucchini?

Isn't this the question you ask yourself every single year?  I always think I have a plan to keep up with it but I struggle by August.  I give it a heck of an effort though.  Here's what we've been doing with our zucchini:

slicing it lengthwise and grilling it (alternatively, you could broil or bake it).  We both love it.  Jay sprinkles a bit of parmesan on his and I like mine plain.  It's sooooo juicy and delicious.

cutting it into chunks and sautéing it with onions and corn.  I add a bit of butter to Jay's and mine is plain.  We just love the combination.

stuffing it.  As noted in this weekending post (at the bottom), I always enjoy coming up with new stuffing ideas.  The key is to bake, boil, or grill the scooped out zucchini halves before you fill and bake them so they are nice and soft once finished.

making our very favorite chocolate zucchini cake. Even my husband who isn't the world's biggest chocolate fan LOVES both versions.  The original version is here.  The healthier/reduced oil and sugar version is here.

making Kate's recipe for healthier zucchini bread.

making zucchini and chocolate chip muffins.  They are ah-mazing!  I just realized I've never shared the recipe here.  I'll try to get that on the blog!

making zucchini noodles with homemade pesto.  Soooo good!

adding zucchini to grilled kebabs.  (everything gets marinated in italian dressing first)

adding zucchini to soups such as minestrone.

making zucchini cobbler.  (tastes just like apple cobbler)

making veggie stew.  I use zucchini and whatever fresh veg is in the garden to make stew as the temps begin to drop in the fall.

I'm not a big fan of eating it raw (there's a weirdness to it) or as zucchini "fries", so those didn't make the list.  We've made zucchini pickles in the past but we aren't huge pickle eaters so I haven't been making them.  

I'd love to hear your family's favorite ways to eat zucchini!

Oliver, my garden/kitchen/preserving/everything helper

Preserving, Or, What We'll Be Eating This Winter

Since our garden is now in full swing, the preserving process has finally begun!  

Green beans - as noted above, they are being put up in the freezer weekly.

Peppers - so far we've only collected enough jalapeno's to preserve, so those have been made into pickled jalapeno rings.

Relish - our cucumbers are struggling this year.  I've never had an issue with cukes, so I'm not sure what's happening.  So we purchased some cucumbers from the farmer's market and, along with our bell peppers and onions we'll can enough relish for my husband to enjoy with his occasional hot dog lunch.

Zucchini - I did freeze some grated zucchini (portioned into 2 cup servings) that I can add to muffins, quick breads, etc.

Onions - we are drying quite a few and then I'll chop and freeze the remainder.

How do you figure out how much veggies to preserve?  This is a question I receive a lot.  For us, this is how I plan it.  We typically rotate the same dishes all winter long so I can usually predict how often during the week we'll eat veggies such as green beans, broccoli, winter squash, tomato sauce, etc.  I then times that by how many weeks we'll need preserved food and that's how I calculate it.  So, as an example, I plan on serving green beans twice a week for 28 weeks which means I will need to freeze 56 bags of green beans (bagged in single-serving sizes).  

It gets a bit more difficult with carrots, corn, onions, canned chopped tomatoes, and peppers because I use them on their own as well as in many different dishes.  Over time, through trial and error, I've made it so I can get pretty close.  For the frozen veggies, I flash-freeze them and then store them in large, gallon-size bags, so I can just take out what I need when I'm cooking.

That's July around the homestead!

This Month On The Farm: July 2020 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)

[sea040561]

Comfort Food

Title: Comfort Food

Author: @sea040561

Beta’d by: @sofreddie (THANK YOU SO MUCH!)

Pairing: Jared x reader

Summary: You are determined to improve your cooking skills

Word Count: 3677

Warnings: uh, fluff?

Author’s Note: Written for @katymacsupernatural’s Wish Upon a Star Challenge. My quote was “Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it” from Disney’s Tangled; This is my first fan fic in 20 years. I have only written one fan fic, 20 years ago, that involved BSB, *N Sync, and NKOTB. So, please, give me your honest opinion!

“Really, guys? You actually trust me to cook something for you?” Y/N said surprised.

Jensen glanced at Jared and smirked, “Well, you’ve been saying that you wanted to do something different. Something that you have not attempted before. Boiling hot dogs and toasting bread isn’t exactly cooking.”

Y/N stared at the guys trying to figure out if they had an ulterior motive. “Where’s the camera, guys?”, as you looked around, “Seriously, this isn’t just some elaborate GISHWHES task that Misha has convinced you to do, is it?”

Jared held his hands up in surprise sneaking a glance at Jensen, “God, no! We have a fire extinguisher and band-aids in case there are any accidents.”

Jensen stifled a laugh by covering his mouth.

Y/N, with narrowed eyes, looked back and forth, repeatedly, at Jared and Jensen seriously considering what they were suggesting.

Ever since hiatus was over and the boys went back to filming, you had often found yourself with idle hands. With a break in your own movie filming schedule, you had read numerous books, played all the games on your iPad, and played with the dogs as well as taking them for a run twice a day. Crocheting and knitting weren’t your forte. Lord knows you had already tried that. Fighting your cat for control of the yarn wasn’t your idea of fun.

You had finally taken to visiting the Supernatural set daily to spend valuable time with your boyfriend but you knew you were driving Jared nuts. You were constantly trying to think of unique pranks to play on Jared with the help of either Jensen or Misha or both men. Of course, there was the hour here or there that you snuck off with Jared to his trailer and spent some ‘quality’ time together. But you knew you were distracting Jared by being on set constantly, especially if you watched him filming his scenes. Often his eyes would unknowingly migrate over to watch what you were doing.

“Listen, baby,” Jared said as he took you in his arms, hugging you to his chest, “Now would be the perfect time. You don’t have to return to filming for another four weeks so you can concentrate on this. Watch some YouTube videos, find a cooking class.”

“Hey, they even have online cooking classes,” Jensen interjected helpfully.

Sighing, you realized that they were both correct. You had always wanted to learn how to cook. Not quite french classic cooking like Julia Childs but some down home southern cooking such as Ree Drummond, otherwise known as The Pioneer Woman.

“Alright,” you agreed running your hands through your hair, “I will definitely think about it.”

Jared smiled in relief and quickly kissed your nose as he ran his fingers lightly over your cheek, “I love you, baby. You know I only want you to be happy. Now wow me with your learning skills.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now here you were a week later, plowing through episode after episode of The Next Food Network Star. You had managed to find the first season of it online. Now you were watching the current season, which was still airing on Food Network. The finale had yet to air. However, you were immensely enjoying watching other people’s amazing cooking skills, or rather lack of cooking skills in some instances.

Today was the big day for your debut. You were going to buy the ingredients for YOUR big cooking finale. You had invited Misha and Vicki over, as well as Danneel and Jensen. You opted for a kid free night so West, Maison, JJ, Zepp, and Arrow were being babysat by your sister, Tina, and her husband, Gordon.

You figured if anything went seriously wrong, like you cut off a finger or better yet, accidentally poison your guests, at least you didn’t have to wait for a sitter before going to the hospital. Hey, you had learned to see the humor in this learning journey these past 2 weeks

Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it.

You smiled wistfully to yourself as you remember those words. That is what Jared had uttered to you after he came home the first night you tried your hand at cooking a piece of filet mignon. You had aimed for medium rare but definitely overstepped that in spades. The Vancouver Canucks could have used it for a hockey puck.

Jared had walked in the door to find you crying while watching an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives. Through your blubbering sobs, you had managed to show him the charred piece of meat. Only Jared, after wiping the tears from your cheeks, would quote a Disney movie such as Tangled at a time like that. He had said to you, “Venture outside your comfort zone. The rewards are worth it.”

But that is the exact reason you had fallen in love with him. He always saw the bright side of every situation.

Humming to yourself, you carefully navigated the streets of downtown Vancouver  heading to the Vancouver Farmer’s Market at the Queen Elizabeth Theater to buy all fresh ingredients for your meal.

You knew that your boyfriend and friends would appreciate whatever you served them but considering 2 of them were over 6’ foot tall strapping Texans, you had opted to cook some down home southern BBQ. It was the one type of food that you found most comforting to prepare, as well as amazingly delicious. So you had decided on Tequila BBQ Pork Spare Ribs with Risotto Style Potatoes and Corn.

Most of the ingredients you had at home, like the potatoes, chicken stock, fresh garlic, tomato paste, and spices. You were here to buy the pork spare ribs, corn on the cob, fresh chives and limes, homemade molasses, and one New Mexican chile pepper. You were also on the search for the best bottle of white tequila. Only the best for your friends.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You arrived home with more than enough time to get the ribs prepared and in the oven.

You needed a minimum of three and a half hours to finish them. You first had to cook them for two hours in foil then cook them another one and a half hours unwrapped.

The potatoes and corn you would have to keep a close eye on. You needed to make sure that the potatoes absorbed the chicken stock without burning and drying out. You knew you needed at least an hour to prepare and cook them.

“Alexa, please play Liam Payne’s Strip That Down for me,” you shouted as you started unwrapping the spare ribs. Your hips started to move to the beat as you began to sing along.

Two and a half hours later, you had opened the foil wrapper containing the spare ribs and turned them over and had set the timer for another hour. In addition, you had sautéed your onions, garlic, and corn together and had just added the potatoes and chicken stock to the pan, allowing the potatoes to cook.

Misha, Vicki, Jensen, and Danneel were due to arrive in thirty minutes. Jared had arrived home forty minutes prior and was currently showering the dirty and grime of Sam Winchester off himself.

While the spare ribs had been cooking for the first two hours, you had taken the opportunity to indulge in something you didn’t do very often - relax in a bubble bath. You had thrown on a ratty but clean pair of shorts and one of Jared’s threadbare Always Keep Fighting shirts that you had bought and had hurried your way back to the kitchen.

Now, as the potatoes were just beginning to simmer in the onions, garlic, corn and chicken broth, you ran to the downstairs bathroom to change into the summer spaghetti strap dress you had chosen to wear. You quickly ran a brush through your hair, threw it up in a messy half ponytail/half bun (or as Jared liked to call it...your just been fucked look), applied some black eyeliner (simplicity looked better on you), and spritzed some body spray on you.

Looking into the mirror, you whispered to yourself, “Almost showtime.”

As you were exiting the bathroom, Jared was exiting the master bedroom near the top of the stairs. Your eyes roamed the length of his body as he descended the stairs, taking in the very tight dark maroon tee shirt and black jeans that he was currently wearing. Unconsciously, you wet yours lips wondering how you managed to end up so blessed.

Jared looked up and noticed you watching him. He smirked then gave a lopsided grin as he reached the bottom of the stairs, “So, are you almost ready for you big debut?” He leaned over placing a chaste kiss against your lips.

You grabbed his hand tightly, “I think I’m ready as I will ever be.” A deep breath escaped your lungs as the two of you walked towards the kitchen.

“Y/N, is there anything I can help you with?” Jared offered as he reached the kitchen island and leaned against it with his ankles crossed.

You looked around the kitchen trying to think if you had forgotten anything. You had already set the dining room table with your grandmother’s china, placed all the appropriate cutlery, made sure the candles were lit, and set down all the wine glasses. The wine was from Jared’s private collection - 2015 California "Familiar" Mourvèdre. It was known for its great taste of blood orange, raspberries, and cinnamon, as well as other flavors, which enhanced the flavor of the Tequila BBQ Pork Spare Ribs you had prepared.

You also had mugs chilling in the freezer for the beer that Jensen promised to bring from his new brewing company. You were eager to try what delectable taste he had managed to create this time.

Finally, you answered, “I don’t think so.” You turned towards the potatoes and corn risotto, stirring the mixture carefully.

Before you could say anything else, you heard the front door open and the sound of Danneel’s high heels on the foyer floor.

“It’s showtime, babe,” Jared responded as he walked to greet their guests. He gave Misha and then Jensen a one armed hug as he relieved Jensen of the case of home brewed beer he was carrying.

“Hey Jar,” Danneel said kissing him on the cheek as she smacked his ass lightly.

“HEY!” Jared squealed as Misha snickered at Danneel’s antics.

Vicki giggled as she approached Jared and gave him a hug. As she turned to walk away, unbeknownst to Jared, she quickly grabbed his left ass cheek and squeezed.

“Y/N!” Jensen exclaimed as you walked out of the kitchen.

“What is this? Feel Jared up night?” you replied cocking your eyebrow.

“Always,” Danneel answered as she walked by her husband and smacked his ass.

Jensen yelped then scowled at his wife.

You cleared your throat to get the groups attention, “Well, dinner is ready. So go take your seats in the dining room and prepare to be amazed.”

You swiftly turned on your heel and marched back to the kitchen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

An hour later, you were enjoying the sounds of bliss and content that were coming from your friends’ mouths.

Vicki looked over at you with a grin, “That was absolutely amazing, Y/N!”

“Definitely,” Jensen agreed, “That tequila BBQ sauce is amazing. Did you make that homemade?”

Y/N laughed as Jared looked at her proudly, “You bet your ass I did, with lots of sweat and tears. Oh, and a few cuts and burns.”

“Well, you can cook for me any time you want, honey,” Danneel said as she wiped her lips with her napkin.

“Well, I’m only just getting started,” Y/N answered eagerly, “I definitely intend to keep cooking. Once I got over my initial panic attack wondering what I got myself into, everything seemed to fall into place.”

Jared stood up, “Well, as a reward for cooking for us, we actually provided dessert for the night.” He turned to look at Jensen nervously and continued, “Actually, Danneel was gracious enough to help me bake something for this wonderful night.”

Jensen pushed back his chair, laying his napkin on the table, and followed Jared as he started to walk towards the kitchen.

Jared stepped into the kitchen as Y/N glanced over at Misha, Vicki, and Danneel.

In the kitchen, Jensen reached the granite countertops where the plate of cupcakes were set out, “How did you manage to sneak these in without Y/N knowing?”

“Well, you remember when Misha almost choked on the rib bone earlier as he was laughing?” Jared asked.

“Yes,” Jen answered inquisitively as he stared suspiciously at Jared.

“Well, notice how Danneel ran to the garage to get him a bottled water in the refrigerator and well, at the same time, she brought in these cupcakes that we had hidden in the there. You know that Y/N doesn’t even go in that refrigerator for anything so I knew I was pretty safe with my secret dessert.”

“So, is tonight the big night?” Jensen wondered.

Jared glanced over at Jen as he arranged the cupcakes on a plate. He gave a tiny nod as he swallowed nervously.

“You know you have nothing to worry about Jar,” Jen responded placing his hand on his friend’s shoulder, “She loves you just as much as you love her. You saved her from a horrible situation with her father. No person should ever be treated the way her father treated her. I’m sorry but you DO NOT blame your daughter for your wife’s death from a terminal illness. You showed her how love should be, especially in the world that we live in.”

“I know. But I can’t help being nervous,” Jared replied as he carefully placed the specialized spun sugar decorations that he had made for each cupcake - an impala for Jensen, a GISHWHES sign for Misha, a butterfly for Vicki, Danneel’s nickname, REDS, and a dog for Jared. “I just hope I’m not moving too fast for her.”

“Listen, Jay, you have been together for over two years now. If she hasn’t kicked your ass to the curb by now for some idiotic prank that you’ve pulled on her, she is yours forever,” Jen answered.

Jared sighed softly as he pulled the soft royal blue box out of the pocket of his jeans. His thumb rested gently on the top as he smiled at his best friend. After a moment, he placed the box on the countertop as he reached over for his last spun sugar decoration. He lifted the carefully spun red heart and swiftly pressed into into the white buttercream icing adorning the cupcake.

“Well, wish me luck,” Jared finally said as he took the engagement ring out of the jewelry box and placed it in the center of the spun sugar heart.

Jensen smiled brightly as he watched his best friend heading into the next phase of his life. He knew that Y/N was going to say yes to Jared. Y/N had finally confided in Jensen and Danneel that it was the one thing she wanted most in the world. The only other thing Y/N wanted most in the world was having a child with her boyfriend. In a few precious moments, Y/N was going to be granted her most wanted wish.

Jared rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles then proceeded to pick up the tray of delicate cupcakes in his large hand. He took a deep breath as stepped beside Jensen, smiled at him, and continued to walk back to the dining room.

When the boys entered the dining room, everyone was in hysterics as Misha was recounting the latest prank Jared and Jensen had pulled on him.

“Here is dessert,” Jared said as he briefly showed them the tray of cupcakes before beginning to give each guest their personally designed cupcake.

Jensen was the only person that knew of Jared’s plan. Unbeknownst to Jared, Jen had set up his phone on the dining room hutch and started recording. He knew that Y/N would appreciate it.

Everyone watched as Jared handed out the cupcakes. Finally, Jared approached Y/N last. Gently, he placed her cupcake in front of her, gauging her reaction. He knew that it would take her a moment to notice the ring on the cupcake.

Surprised, you looked up at Jared, “Oh my god, these are beautiful. Did you do this yourself?”

Jared glanced at Danneel then nodded slowly, “Yes, but with a lot of instruction from Dani.” He silently mouthed to Dani thank you.

You looked down at your cupcake admiring the spun sugar heart. You stared in amazement and awe as you turned the cupcake around taking in all its tasty goodness. Suddenly, a flicker of light caught your attention as you ran your finger through the icing then sucked the delicious, creamy icing off your finger. You quickly turned the cupcake around to the front wondering if your eyes were deceiving you. As you raised your eyes, searching for Jared, you realize that he was next to your kneeling on one knee. Your breath caught in your throat then began to tighten as your eyes began to tear.

“Y/N,” Jared began hesitantly clearing his throat in the process, “you came into my life during a time when I didn’t believe that things would ever get any better. I was struggling with depression and anxiety daily, hoping that something would give. I wasn’t sure I could survive much more heartache but then you walked into the Supernatural casting office and I was smitten. I said to myself that I had to meet this voluptuous, stunning y/h/c that was standing in the corner talking with Robert Singer.”

He glanced up at Y/N trying to gauge her reaction. What he saw only strengthened his resolve that they were soulmates. That the world had specifically chosen them for each other.

He cleared his throat again as he continued his speech, “Then you angled your body towards my direction, throwing your head back in laughter, as you shook hands with Bob. You turned towards the door and rushed out, squeaking out a shy, but quick hello to me. When the smell of your perfume reached my nose, I had shuddered with desire. No woman had ever affected me so quickly, so intensely without even uttering a word to me.”

Jared snuck a look at Y/N as he pulled the ring off the cupcake, “You have made me a better person, a better man, a better lover, a better friend. All of the things that I didn’t think I’d ever be able to achieve by myself. I will forever be yours. Will you forever be mine? Will you marry this 6’4” clumsy Texan who will do anything to keep you happy?”

When Jared was finally silent, he waited with baited breath for your answer.

You turned in your chair taking your boyfriend’s hands in yours. You opened your mouth a few times trying not to hysterical cry at the happiness radiating through your body, “I don’t know where I would even be without your support the last few years. You showed me a world that I never thought I could have or be a part of. A world that I never want to fathom leaving, so yes, I will marry you.”

Jared whooped as he stood up taking you with him. He crashed his lips to yours as his fingers threaded through your hair, pulling lightly. His tongue brushed your lips seeking entrance to your mouth. You moaned as Jared angled his legs between your legs. The pressure of his knees against your core sent shockwaves through your body.

“Hey hey,” Misha exclaimed, “Get a room you two!”

“Yeah,” Danneel agreed, “or you might find yourselves with some more surprises.” She looked over at her husband and winked.

You blushed fiercely and cleared your throat loudly, gaining everyone’s attention, especially Jared’s, “Uh, well, it’s a little too late for that.”

Your boyfriend looked at you in wonderment, trying to figure out what you were saying. He looked over at Jensen and Misha reading their faces trying to see if they knew what Y/N was talking about. When his gaze meandered over to Dani and Vicki’s faces, he saw two big and wide smiles.

You slowly gripped Jared’s hands in yours. You placed it over your heart, squeezing his hand lightly, “This heart will always beat for you.” Then you steadily trailed Jared’s hand down to your abdomen, “So will this one.”

Jared’s eyes widened in amazement as he dropped to his knees, for the second time that night, and laid his head against your stomach.

“Are you serious?” He inquired hurriedly, waiting for your reaction.

You reached out, tilting his head up by his chin, “You did say to venture outside my comfort zone because the rewards would be worth it. This definitely qualifies as outside my comfort zone but these rewards will be endlessly worth it. I wouldn’t want to start this next journey in my life with anyone but you.”

Jared grabbed your left hand and slid the gorgeous diamond engagement ring on your ring finger. He stood up and grabbed you around the waist, pulling you towards him. You jumped up, wrapping your legs around his waist, as you slid your fingers through his hair, “Congratulations, Daddy Padalecki.”

Jared ran his fingers over your lips, then brushed a stray piece of hair behind your ear, “Future Mrs. Mommy Padalecki, I love you to the moon and back.”

As you both embraced, you could hear your friends loudly cheering in the background.

You squeezed your eyes shut reveling in the comfort and smell of your fiancee’s body.

You were finally home.

[elane-in-the-shadows]

Red Queen Fan Fiction: Babysitting part 3

requested by anonym

Find this on wattpad

Part 1

Part 2

You might want to read this one as well, just saying for the sake of an inside joke ;-)

Mare POV

Farley’s kitchen is full of prepared food and so far unused decoration. It’s for the party she has invited us to on this evening. She has asked me to come a little earlier to help her and Clara preparing, but then had to go to a sudden meeting. I offered her only a lazy sigh when she told me, as I’ve taken care of Clara a few times by now. My niece and I get along well, even if our similar tempers clash frequently.

I take a break from setting up the patio to make me a coffee. My eyes glide over the kitchen as I wait for the water to boil. Between the bowls and the lanterns and napkins, I see a stack of papers and I start to read a little. It’s just for killing time until I see him. The photo shows him neither in his regalia nor in defeat, but Maven is recognizable enough. I flinch away from the picture and take a breath.

“Maven is a cunt,” I mutter. I’m about to throw the paper into a corner but there’s a part of me urging me to read the article, even though I have to force myself to focus on the words. I both want to deny his existence and to make sure he’s still exiled and under lock and key. Fortunately, it seems like the paper only reports about him because they’ve nothing else to write about, since I can’t glean any new information from the text.

I twitch when I hear a sound behind me. I spin. It’s Clara, getting some plates out.

“Careful, the water is very hot,” I exclaim only to say something but she’s grinning.

“Didn’t notice me before?”

I snort and cross my arms. Clara comes closer and says, “I’m just as sneaky as you are, Mare.”

“Right,” I answer, rolling my eyes. “I’ll never forget you’re a Barrow too, after all.” Finally, I get my coffee and follow her out. A thought crosses my mind – has she heard what I said? I feel myself blushing. I hope she didn’t, but I can’t ponder on the thought because I see a strange little boy in the corridor.

“Who is that?” I ask Clara, trying not to sound impolite despite my surprise.

“This is my friend Arthur, from school,” she explains and pats his shoulder. He’s significantly smaller than her. “Arthur, this is my aunt Mare Barrow, the Lightning … Girl, or whatever.”

The boy inclines his head. “Hello, Ms. Barrow, nice to meet you.” It seems like he has more manners than Clara, who adds, “Arthur just arrived to learn with me, as we planned in school. But we’ll help you first, of course.”

“Thank you very much,” I answer, smiling wryly. Luckily, the tables and benches are already outside, so we only have to attach lanterns on the patio, carry over the dishes and tinker flower and napkin decoration. Farley’s blue-eyed dog watches us but the big animal stays lolling on the side. The children are little perfectionists and for a moment I watch Arthur folding a napkin swan in utter concentration. On a closer look, I see what his brown skin has hidden at first; the greyish colouring of his lips and fingernails. He’s a little Silver and I fight the arising astonishment. This is a wonderful thing. A Red girl, the daughter of famous rebel leaders, is friends with a Silver boy and they treat each other as equals and without prejudices. Isn’t that what we wanted all along?

After little more than half an hour and several ladder jokes from Clara, I thank them for their help and sent them off. They dash to Clara’s room to do their homework or whatever they planned to do, because when I check on them, I see toys spread out as much as books. After a while, I wonder if I should go back to them and offer my assistance but that’s the moment they leave Clara’s room.

“My mom should come soon,” Arthur explains.

“Yes, he’s not staying for the party. Sad, isn’t it? He should at least have a snack,” Clara proposes.

“Why not?” I glance at the bowls. “But there’s only the food Kilorn has brought so far, so only fish dishes.”

“Nothing’s wrong with fish. At least Kilorn can cook,” Clara retorts.

“Say that after Kilorn has fed you with fish for 15 years, Clara.”

“Unlike Cal, who’s only good at eating!”

“He isn’t,” I insist. “Cal is the king of the grill!” I’m a bit too passionate, but I look forward to Cal’s steaks.

“King, you say? I thought that’s the forbidden word about Cal?” asks Clara teasingly.

My cheeks heaten at the implication. This girl is too smart for her own good, just like her parents. Just like Shade, I tell myself, and the thought sobers me as intended.

“I like fish,” Arthur gives in to stop our banter, but not Clara from raising her eyebrows tauntingly.

I lead Arthur into the kitchen to serve him some salmon with bread. He cuts the slice and picks the pieces up with a fork, weirdly well-mannered for a six-year-old. Suddenly, he stops. He looks around and clears his throat. “Ms. Barrow, Clara said … I mean, what did you mean when you said, ‘Maven is a cunt’?”

Oh damn. Damn, damn. Clara did hear what I said and immediately told her friend. I try my best to stop myself from gaping but I have no control over my blood rushing to my face. I smile to keep up a slightly neutral expression. “It’s nothing special,” I say, “it just means I think that Maven is a very bad man who deserves where he is. But I shouldn’t have said that, it’s a very terrible word to use.” I sigh. “You seem like a good boy, Arthur, so can I ask you not to use that word again? Can you just forget it?” I sound awfully pleading but this only damage control. I hope he will listen to me, and indeed, he nods.

“Certainly, Ms. Barrow. Already forgotten. Thank you so much for the food, it’s delicious.”

“I’ll tell Kilorn,” I reply, smiling again. I wish Clara was this polite but then again, it isn’t in us and that’s not a bad thing. I’m relieved when Arthur’s mother, a police officer, finally shows up to take him home, in the very moment Cal arrives as well with the meat he’s bought. Clara and I wave off Arthur who stares at Cal, the prince-no-longer, clearly recognizing him.

I give Cal a kiss. “I hope you’ve got good steaks,” I whisper.

“Only the best for you.” His gaze travels over the decoration. “Pretty. Did you do all this yourself?”

“I had help from Clara and her friend.” I search for her and find her playing with her dog and a ball. She can be so cute and innocent, yet I prepare myself mentally to explain my bad word slip to Farley who should’ve been here already. Suddenly, Cal starts giggling as if taunting my somber mood. “What?”

He can’t stop himself. “I just thought, um, we should hire Clara and her friend for our own wedding party, they’re really talented.”

I stare at him. “You don’t mean that.” He shrugs, grinning. “The future Mr. Barrow still makes too many dumb jokes,” I add. But his laugh is contagious, even more so because he continues, listing more and more ideas for our impending wedding and waking my anticipation. I pay attention to Clara not listening this time, or she’ll talk about it for the rest of the day.

Instead I hear the dog barking when Farley shows up. She caresses both her and Clara as their habit of displaying their attention still hasn’t vanished. After they’re done and Farley has inspected the patio, I clear my throat and ask her for a talk. Fortunately, she’s in a good mood, so she only gets more amused as I report of my slip. At one point, she needs to cover her mouth with her hand to quieten her laughter. “Mare, seriously, you don’t think I’ve never let a swear word slip before?” she confesses. Well, she does have a quick temper and gets often loud. “Not the first time I’ll have to handle this,” she confesses. “But that was an especially vulgar choice. Not that Maven doesn’t deserve it. Wait, no, it’s rather too good for him.”

I chuckle at the remark. “You’re right. He was beaten by girls after all.” 

@clarafarleybarrow @mareshmallow @maudthebookeater @thomaven @tiberiaschooseme @didmavenkillyou--metoo @lilyharvord @redqueenfandom @queeniriscygnet @ladyskonos @xsonnydelavegax @universegamer @mikey-waysjawline @clara-farl3y @anyone-anything-canbetrayanyone @bringaboutthestorm @calmareforever @agodscursed @asewhj @shattered-quill

[agendahammer79-blog]

Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Dip

[If you love Thai spices, you’ll adore this dip. Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Dip is sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free and low glycemic. Suitable for all stages on an anti-candida diet.]

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Stylist:Margaret Monroe Dickey

Although I love to travel, I tend not to do it so much. The HH and I do love a little junket, mind you, but haven’t really taken one of those epic “across-Europe” or “to Bali and back” or “let’s-explore-the-fjords-of-Iceland” kind of trips. (Our one big adventure happened way back when we were first together, when we spent 10 glorious days in Newfoundland, strolling through untouched forests, staying and rustic B&Bs, spotting moose wandering off the highways, or whale-watching on the ocean**).

These days, we’re more likely to take a few days here, a few days there, and chillax at a resort up north by the pool. It’s all good.

But back in the days BHH (“before the HH”), I did venture on a major trip by myself to England, to visit my dear friend Sterlin.

At that time, Sterlin had just  wrapped up one job and was staying at home for the interim before the next job began. We timed my visit to coincide with her free days. It was epic!

Besides being eternally besotted by the English accent (or, more correctly, accentS, since every 2 blocks or so, it seemed to change), I was, of course, dumbstruck by the history, the regal architecture, the small-yet-intimate feel to the towns, the culture that permeated every nook and cranny (and there were quite a few crannies, as I recall).

In my short 10 days in the country, we managed to visit London (three times), Stratford, Nottingham, Cambridge, Oxford, and a slew of other smaller spots that escape me now. I loved the historic architecture of the cities, the museums that seemed to be on every corner, pristine fields and hills out in the rural countryside, and the ingrained history in every cobblestone.

I learned about university students’ secret codes, “public” vs private schools, the true history of Robin Hood, and how taxi drivers had over 2 years of school just to memorize the labrynthine streets of the city. Everyone I met from the clerk in the grocery store to the neighbor walking her dog to Sterlin’s work colleagues all seemed possess a magical air of elegance and gravity about them, simply by virtue of having been born in that country.

Now, as I’ve mentioned before, Sterlin was not known for her culinary prowess. Nevertheless, she determined that she’d prepare a homecooked meal for meal at least once during my stay (as it turned out, she managed that feat twice in the ten days!).  Along with Date Pasta, another of her newfound staples was a Green Curry stew, made with chicken (still on regular rotation on my plate in those days) and a slew of vegetables enrobed in a rich, glossy coconut milk base and spiced with fragrant Thai green curry paste.

I was hooked immediately, demanded the recipe, and promptly made the dish as soon as I got back to North America. I’ve been a fan of all things Thai ever since.

My version of the dip. The HH and I devoured this in short order!

This Red Curry Sweet Potato Dip from Brandi Doming’s new cookbook, The Vegan 8: 100 Simple, Delicious Recipes Made with 8 Ingredients or Less may not be a stew, but just like a classic Thai recipe, its marriage of sweet, salty and spicy–with the tiniest hint of sour from the lemon and bitter from the almond butter–it will win you over with the first taste.

Both the HH and I LOVED this dip. Like, loved-so-much-I-wanted-to-kiss-it. Or loved-so-much-I-didn’t-bother-with-crackers-and-just-ate-it-off-a-spoon. And also, loved-so-much-I-would-adopt-it-if-I-could. Yeah. Loved-so-much-that-Chaser-got-jealous. THAT much. The HH said, “You really should make this again. This is delicious. Definitely make this again. . . ” all the while stuffing his face with dip-coated nacho chips.

Anyone who follows plant-based bloggers is likely already familiar with Brandi and her signature “8 ingredients or less” oil-free recipes.  I was excited to see that many of the recipes were also gluten-free and free of refined sugars, too, so they would be suitable for a diet like mine.

Along with stunning photos and recipes, the book also provides a full chapter on “The Vegan 8 Kitchen,” (with everything from “Getting Started” to baking tips, Brandi’s pantry staples, seasonings, sweeteners, nut butters and other natural fats, flours, starches and other kitchen equipment), plus individual chapters on “Breakfast,” “Scrumptious Snacks & Appetizers,” “Time-Crunch Lunches,” “Sauces and Dressings,” “Easy Entrees,” “Comforting Soups & Stews,” “Sides & Dips,” “Crowd-Pleasing Desserts,” and “Staples” (like    spaghetti sauce, BBQ sauce, spice blends or homemade nut milks). There’s also a full chart of Imperial-to-metric equivalents.

Some of the recipes I can’t wait to try include Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins, Spice-is-Nice Baked Oatmeal Squares, Sunflower-Cinnamon Chia Balls, Creamy Lemon and Garlic White Bean Crostini, 20-Minute Alfredo, Mexican Tahini Chickpeas, BBQ Chipotle Green Lentils with Potato Wedges, “My Favorite” Savory Meatless Bean Balls, Teriyaki Patties, Ultimate Broccoli-Cheese Soup, Hungarian Red Lentil Soup, Sweet Potato Cornbread and No-Bake Chocolate Espresso Fudge Cake–plus about 50 more!

Brandi and her publisher graciously allowed me to share the Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Dip here. Do give this one a try–it’s truly tantalizing and keeps nicely in the fridge. Just be warned: this dip likely won’t last very long.

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Stylist:Margaret Monroe Dickey

    Print This!    

Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Dip

reprinted with permission from The Vegan 8: 100 Simple, Delicious Recipes Made with 8 Ingredients or Less by Brandi Doming. Published by Oxmoor House.

Brandi says: “If there was ever a dip that won over taste testers, this is it! One of my tricks for super-creamy bean dips is to use white beans, which create a really smooth dip—a big help for oil-free recipes. This dip is creamy like a hummus with bold Thai curry flavors that complement the sweet potato beautifully. With the garnishes, it makes a lovely presentation for a gathering.”

1 packed cup (248g) cooked, mashed sweet potato 1 (15-ounce) can white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 1⁄2 cups cooked white beans (255g) 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lime juice 2 tablespoons (30 ml) roasted smooth almond butter 2 tablespoons (30 ml) low-sodium soy sauce [I used Braggs aminos] 1⁄4 cup (60 ml) Thai red curry paste [I used Thai Kitchen] 1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried basil 1⁄2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground coriander 1⁄4 teaspoon (1 ml) fine salt Optional: roasted sliced almonds, fresh chopped basil for garnish; crackers, chips, or sliced vegetables for serving

Add the mashed sweet potato, beans, lime juice, almond butter, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons (30g) hot water, curry paste, basil, coriander, and salt to a food processor; process for 3 to 4 minutes or until very smooth. Scrape the sides and process again. Taste and add more salt, if desired. Garnish with almonds and basil, if desired, and serve with chips, crackers, or assorted sliced vegetables. Makes about 3 cups (720 ml).

Nutrition per 1⁄2 cup: 151 calories | 3g fat | 6.8g protein | 24.7g carbs | 5.4g fiber | 3.8g sugar | 704mg sodium

NOTE: Bake the sweet potato at 400°F (200°C) for 45 minutes to an hour until very soft. I would advise against steaming or boiling, as it will add extra water to the potatoes and dilute the flavor. Peel and mash 1 cup (248g) of the cooked potatoes. The roasted almond butter is slightly sweet, which complements the spicy curry flavor well, but if you’re allergic, you can sub with tahini for a slightly different flavor profile than the original recipe.

Suitable for: ACD All stages (if you use an ACD-safe red curry paste); refined sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, vegan, low glycemic.

Disclosure: Links in this post may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase using those links, at no cost to you, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.

Subscribe for recipes and more about living well without sugar, gluten, eggs or dairy! Click here to subscribe to RickiHeller.com via email. You’ll receive emails sharing recipes and videos as soon as they’re posted, plus weekly updates and news about upcoming events. A healthy lifestyle CAN be sweet!

Source: https://www.rickiheller.com/2018/10/thai-red-curry-sweet-potato-dip/

[coffeelevel8-blog]

Corn and Chile Salsa (Trader Joe’s Copycat)

Inspired by the Trader Joe’s original, this is my copycat version of their Corn and Chile Salsa. Great with tortillas, tacos, quesadillas or as a condiment.

If you’re a reader of my newsletter, you know that I just returned from a trip to New York City. A great time was had and much delicious food was consumed. That’s what holidays are for, right?

Like all good Canadians, I had to make a stop at Trader Joe’s before returning to Canada. I picked up all my favourites, including their Corn and Chile Salsa. It’s always popular here, so we polished off the little jar we brought back far too quickly.

Since it is corn season though, I decided a little at-home recipe re-creation was in order. I had to make 4 batches of corn salsa before I got it just right, so it’s safe to say I have a lot of corn salsa now :)

If you aren’t familiar with Trader Joe’s Corn and Chile Salsa, it is all about the fresh corn taste, light on vinegar and more of a sweet with a touch of heat salsa. The fresh corn flavour is front and centre.

You can enjoy this corn salsa with tortilla chips, or on tacos or quesadillas. It’s also great on hot dogs, sausages or burgers or alongside grilled pork of chicken.

Cook’s Notes for Corn and Chile Salsa (Trader Joe’s Copycat)

If it isn’t fresh corn season, canned corn is the best alternative. Frozen and thawed corn doesn’t stand up as well in texture or flavour.

I like to do all the prep work up front and have everything ready to go before I start the salsa cooking. It makes the whole process go more smoothly.

If you like a little more heat, you can increase the amount of crushed chilis to 1/2 tsp.

This recipe will make a quart of salsa. I just keep it in the fridge to eat up in the short term. If you want to keep it for longer, you would need to “can” using the hot water bath method.

Corn and Chile Salsa (Trader Joe's Copycat)

Corn, red pepper, jalapeno and onion, in a slightly acidic and lightly spicy sauce. Perfect with tortillas, tacos, quesadillas or as a condiment with hamburgers or hot dogs.

Print

Ingredients

Vegetables:

4 cups fresh corn kernels see notes for alternative*

1 1/2 cups finely chopped red bell pepper

3 Tbsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

Brine:

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

To thicken:

2 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp water

Instructions

Combine mustard seed, coriander, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

Remove corn kernels from cobs of corn until it measures 4 cups (about 4 large cobs). Set aside. Finely chop the red pepper, jalapeno and red onion and set aside.

Mix the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring vinegar, white sugar and water to a boil. Add spice mix, red pepper, jalapeno pepper and red onion. Add 1/2 of the fresh corn kernels (about 2 cups). Stir well to combine. Return mixture to a boil, the reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, pulse the mixture about 10 times, or just until broken down slightly, but still chunky enough that you can recognize the pieces. (Alternately, if you don't have an immersion blender, remove about 1/3 of the mixture and process lightly in a food processor or blender. Again, don't process so much that you can't recognize the various vegetables).

Add the remaining fresh corn kernels and simmer for 3 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp of the cornstarch//water mixture and simmer about 2 minutes more. If necessary add another 1-2 Tbsp of the cornstarch until the liquid thickens nicely and the corn you just added no longer tastes raw (should taste "fresh", but not raw).

Using a ladle, spoon into jars, ensuring that each jar has a good amount of brine. Allow to cool in the uncovered jar for 10-15 minutes, then cover with a lid and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating.

Recipe Notes

Makes 1 quart (4 cups).

If fresh corn isn't available, canned corn would be the preferred alternative. Frozen corn doesn't work as well.

Calories are for 1 Tbsp serving.

  Source: https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/copycat-corn-chile-salsa/

[studyshrine7-blog]

Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Dip

[If you love Thai spices, you’ll adore this dip. Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Dip is sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free and low glycemic. Suitable for all stages on an anti-candida diet.]

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Stylist:Margaret Monroe Dickey

Although I love to travel, I tend not to do it so much. The HH and I do love a little junket, mind you, but haven’t really taken one of those epic “across-Europe” or “to Bali and back” or “let’s-explore-the-fjords-of-Iceland” kind of trips. (Our one big adventure happened way back when we were first together, when we spent 10 glorious days in Newfoundland, strolling through untouched forests, staying and rustic B&Bs, spotting moose wandering off the highways, or whale-watching on the ocean**).

These days, we’re more likely to take a few days here, a few days there, and chillax at a resort up north by the pool. It’s all good.

But back in the days BHH (“before the HH”), I did venture on a major trip by myself to England, to visit my dear friend Sterlin.

At that time, Sterlin had just  wrapped up one job and was staying at home for the interim before the next job began. We timed my visit to coincide with her free days. It was epic!

Besides being eternally besotted by the English accent (or, more correctly, accentS, since every 2 blocks or so, it seemed to change), I was, of course, dumbstruck by the history, the regal architecture, the small-yet-intimate feel to the towns, the culture that permeated every nook and cranny (and there were quite a few crannies, as I recall).

In my short 10 days in the country, we managed to visit London (three times), Stratford, Nottingham, Cambridge, Oxford, and a slew of other smaller spots that escape me now. I loved the historic architecture of the cities, the museums that seemed to be on every corner, pristine fields and hills out in the rural countryside, and the ingrained history in every cobblestone.

I learned about university students’ secret codes, “public” vs private schools, the true history of Robin Hood, and how taxi drivers had over 2 years of school just to memorize the labrynthine streets of the city. Everyone I met from the clerk in the grocery store to the neighbor walking her dog to Sterlin’s work colleagues all seemed possess a magical air of elegance and gravity about them, simply by virtue of having been born in that country.

Now, as I’ve mentioned before, Sterlin was not known for her culinary prowess. Nevertheless, she determined that she’d prepare a homecooked meal for meal at least once during my stay (as it turned out, she managed that feat twice in the ten days!).  Along with Date Pasta, another of her newfound staples was a Green Curry stew, made with chicken (still on regular rotation on my plate in those days) and a slew of vegetables enrobed in a rich, glossy coconut milk base and spiced with fragrant Thai green curry paste.

I was hooked immediately, demanded the recipe, and promptly made the dish as soon as I got back to North America. I’ve been a fan of all things Thai ever since.

My version of the dip. The HH and I devoured this in short order!

This Red Curry Sweet Potato Dip from Brandi Doming’s new cookbook, The Vegan 8: 100 Simple, Delicious Recipes Made with 8 Ingredients or Less may not be a stew, but just like a classic Thai recipe, its marriage of sweet, salty and spicy–with the tiniest hint of sour from the lemon and bitter from the almond butter–it will win you over with the first taste.

Both the HH and I LOVED this dip. Like, loved-so-much-I-wanted-to-kiss-it. Or loved-so-much-I-didn’t-bother-with-crackers-and-just-ate-it-off-a-spoon. And also, loved-so-much-I-would-adopt-it-if-I-could. Yeah. Loved-so-much-that-Chaser-got-jealous. THAT much. The HH said, “You really should make this again. This is delicious. Definitely make this again. . . ” all the while stuffing his face with dip-coated nacho chips.

Anyone who follows plant-based bloggers is likely already familiar with Brandi and her signature “8 ingredients or less” oil-free recipes.  I was excited to see that many of the recipes were also gluten-free and free of refined sugars, too, so they would be suitable for a diet like mine.

Along with stunning photos and recipes, the book also provides a full chapter on “The Vegan 8 Kitchen,” (with everything from “Getting Started” to baking tips, Brandi’s pantry staples, seasonings, sweeteners, nut butters and other natural fats, flours, starches and other kitchen equipment), plus individual chapters on “Breakfast,” “Scrumptious Snacks & Appetizers,” “Time-Crunch Lunches,” “Sauces and Dressings,” “Easy Entrees,” “Comforting Soups & Stews,” “Sides & Dips,” “Crowd-Pleasing Desserts,” and “Staples” (like    spaghetti sauce, BBQ sauce, spice blends or homemade nut milks). There’s also a full chart of Imperial-to-metric equivalents.

Some of the recipes I can’t wait to try include Bakery-Style Blueberry Muffins, Spice-is-Nice Baked Oatmeal Squares, Sunflower-Cinnamon Chia Balls, Creamy Lemon and Garlic White Bean Crostini, 20-Minute Alfredo, Mexican Tahini Chickpeas, BBQ Chipotle Green Lentils with Potato Wedges, “My Favorite” Savory Meatless Bean Balls, Teriyaki Patties, Ultimate Broccoli-Cheese Soup, Hungarian Red Lentil Soup, Sweet Potato Cornbread and No-Bake Chocolate Espresso Fudge Cake–plus about 50 more!

Brandi and her publisher graciously allowed me to share the Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Dip here. Do give this one a try–it’s truly tantalizing and keeps nicely in the fridge. Just be warned: this dip likely won’t last very long.

Photo: Antonis Achilleos; Prop Stylist: Mindi Shapiro Levine; Food Stylist:Margaret Monroe Dickey

    Print This!    

Thai Red Curry Sweet Potato Dip

reprinted with permission from The Vegan 8: 100 Simple, Delicious Recipes Made with 8 Ingredients or Less by Brandi Doming. Published by Oxmoor House.

Brandi says: “If there was ever a dip that won over taste testers, this is it! One of my tricks for super-creamy bean dips is to use white beans, which create a really smooth dip—a big help for oil-free recipes. This dip is creamy like a hummus with bold Thai curry flavors that complement the sweet potato beautifully. With the garnishes, it makes a lovely presentation for a gathering.”

1 packed cup (248g) cooked, mashed sweet potato 1 (15-ounce) can white cannellini beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 1⁄2 cups cooked white beans (255g) 2 tablespoons (30 ml) fresh lime juice 2 tablespoons (30 ml) roasted smooth almond butter 2 tablespoons (30 ml) low-sodium soy sauce [I used Braggs aminos] 1⁄4 cup (60 ml) Thai red curry paste [I used Thai Kitchen] 1 teaspoon (5 ml) dried basil 1⁄2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground coriander 1⁄4 teaspoon (1 ml) fine salt Optional: roasted sliced almonds, fresh chopped basil for garnish; crackers, chips, or sliced vegetables for serving

Add the mashed sweet potato, beans, lime juice, almond butter, soy sauce, 2 tablespoons (30g) hot water, curry paste, basil, coriander, and salt to a food processor; process for 3 to 4 minutes or until very smooth. Scrape the sides and process again. Taste and add more salt, if desired. Garnish with almonds and basil, if desired, and serve with chips, crackers, or assorted sliced vegetables. Makes about 3 cups (720 ml).

Nutrition per 1��2 cup: 151 calories | 3g fat | 6.8g protein | 24.7g carbs | 5.4g fiber | 3.8g sugar | 704mg sodium

NOTE: Bake the sweet potato at 400°F (200°C) for 45 minutes to an hour until very soft. I would advise against steaming or boiling, as it will add extra water to the potatoes and dilute the flavor. Peel and mash 1 cup (248g) of the cooked potatoes. The roasted almond butter is slightly sweet, which complements the spicy curry flavor well, but if you’re allergic, you can sub with tahini for a slightly different flavor profile than the original recipe.

Suitable for: ACD All stages (if you use an ACD-safe red curry paste); refined sugar-free, gluten-free, grain-free, dairy-free, egg free, vegan, low glycemic.

Disclosure: Links in this post may be affiliate links. If you choose to purchase using those links, at no cost to you, I will receive a small percentage of the sale.

Subscribe for recipes and more about living well without sugar, gluten, eggs or dairy! Click here to subscribe to RickiHeller.com via email. You’ll receive emails sharing recipes and videos as soon as they’re posted, plus weekly updates and news about upcoming events. A healthy lifestyle CAN be sweet!

Source: https://www.rickiheller.com/2018/10/thai-red-curry-sweet-potato-dip/

[teamgate26-blog]

Corn and Chile Salsa (Trader Joe’s Copycat)

Inspired by the Trader Joe’s original, this is my copycat version of their Corn and Chile Salsa. Great with tortillas, tacos, quesadillas or as a condiment.

If you’re a reader of my newsletter, you know that I just returned from a trip to New York City. A great time was had and much delicious food was consumed. That’s what holidays are for, right?

Like all good Canadians, I had to make a stop at Trader Joe’s before returning to Canada. I picked up all my favourites, including their Corn and Chile Salsa. It’s always popular here, so we polished off the little jar we brought back far too quickly.

Since it is corn season though, I decided a little at-home recipe re-creation was in order. I had to make 4 batches of corn salsa before I got it just right, so it’s safe to say I have a lot of corn salsa now :)

If you aren’t familiar with Trader Joe’s Corn and Chile Salsa, it is all about the fresh corn taste, light on vinegar and more of a sweet with a touch of heat salsa. The fresh corn flavour is front and centre.

You can enjoy this corn salsa with tortilla chips, or on tacos or quesadillas. It’s also great on hot dogs, sausages or burgers or alongside grilled pork of chicken.

Cook’s Notes for Corn and Chile Salsa (Trader Joe’s Copycat)

If it isn’t fresh corn season, canned corn is the best alternative. Frozen and thawed corn doesn’t stand up as well in texture or flavour.

I like to do all the prep work up front and have everything ready to go before I start the salsa cooking. It makes the whole process go more smoothly.

If you like a little more heat, you can increase the amount of crushed chilis to 1/2 tsp.

This recipe will make a quart of salsa. I just keep it in the fridge to eat up in the short term. If you want to keep it for longer, you would need to “can” using the hot water bath method.

Corn and Chile Salsa (Trader Joe's Copycat)

Corn, red pepper, jalapeno and onion, in a slightly acidic and lightly spicy sauce. Perfect with tortillas, tacos, quesadillas or as a condiment with hamburgers or hot dogs.

Print

Ingredients

Vegetables:

4 cups fresh corn kernels see notes for alternative*

1 1/2 cups finely chopped red bell pepper

3 Tbsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper

1/4 cup finely chopped red onion

Brine:

1/4 cup distilled white vinegar

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup water

1 1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

To thicken:

2 Tbsp cornstarch

2 Tbsp water

Instructions

Combine mustard seed, coriander, crushed red pepper, salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.

Remove corn kernels from cobs of corn until it measures 4 cups (about 4 large cobs). Set aside. Finely chop the red pepper, jalapeno and red onion and set aside.

Mix the cornstarch and water together in a small bowl and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, bring vinegar, white sugar and water to a boil. Add spice mix, red pepper, jalapeno pepper and red onion. Add 1/2 of the fresh corn kernels (about 2 cups). Stir well to combine. Return mixture to a boil, the reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, pulse the mixture about 10 times, or just until broken down slightly, but still chunky enough that you can recognize the pieces. (Alternately, if you don't have an immersion blender, remove about 1/3 of the mixture and process lightly in a food processor or blender. Again, don't process so much that you can't recognize the various vegetables).

Add the remaining fresh corn kernels and simmer for 3 minutes. Add 2 Tbsp of the cornstarch//water mixture and simmer about 2 minutes more. If necessary add another 1-2 Tbsp of the cornstarch until the liquid thickens nicely and the corn you just added no longer tastes raw (should taste "fresh", but not raw).

Using a ladle, spoon into jars, ensuring that each jar has a good amount of brine. Allow to cool in the uncovered jar for 10-15 minutes, then cover with a lid and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before eating.

Recipe Notes

Makes 1 quart (4 cups).

If fresh corn isn't available, canned corn would be the preferred alternative. Frozen corn doesn't work as well.

Calories are for 1 Tbsp serving.

  Source: https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/copycat-corn-chile-salsa/

[laurenbaker553]

Barbecue Better for Labor Day

Barbecue Better for Labor Day

Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, when many of us enjoy a long weekend with friends and family and toast the season with a backyard barbecue. The traditional meat-heavy barbecue menu can be hazardous to your health, but it doesn’t have to be. Some of the most popular barbecue foods are well-known to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes (and a number of other diseases, too!), like steak, pork ribs, processed red meats (hot dogs), refined grains (traditional pasta salads, rolls, potato chips), and processed, added sugars (sodas, desserts). But we can help you make over your Labor Day celebration menu with healthy options for a feel better BBQ!

“Pulled” Mushrooms in Barbecue Sauce over Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Pickled Onions and Peppers (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Maybe you usually go for traditional fare like pulled barbecue pork on a roll, but now you want to do better for your body. Boston-area chef de cuisine Cassidy Salus (Steel and Rye, Prairie Fire) makes a meatless version of this dish using Maitake mushrooms, also known as Hen of the Woods: “They are a much more meaty mushroom because of their lower water content, and have much more flavor… Mushrooms sautéed and then braised in barbecue sauce are delicious.” And it’s true, nothing has more healthy umami than mushrooms! Mushrooms sautéed to tender and simmered in a simple, wholesome homemade barbecue sauce, and served over steaming-hot grilled sweet potatoes and topped with tangy, low-sugar low-salt pickled onions and peppers? Even better! Sweetness comes from nutrient-rich blackstrap molasses, which contains many nutrients, including potassium and iron. As a matter of fact, one serving of this meal gets you all the vitamin D you need for the whole week (over 1,000 times the recommended daily value). Skip your supplement! If you can’t find Maitakes then any mushrooms can be used in this recipe.  The sauce and pickled onions can be made ahead of time.

Barbecue Sauce

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup dark preferred ((though any will do))

1 can tomato paste

1/2 cup blackstrap molasses

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp coconut aminos ((you can also use low-sodium soy sauce))

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

Pulled Mushrooms

6 cups mushrooms, sliced very thin ((about 2 pounds) )

1 tsp olive oil

Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes

6 sweet potatoes, about equal size, washed

Pickled Onions and Peppers

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp honey ((or agave syrup, for vegan))

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 small red onion, sliced very thin

1/2 cup thinly sliced pepper of your choice

2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, such as dill

Barbecue Sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for thirty minutes, until sauce is thickened. This will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for up to a week. 

Pulled Mushrooms

You can use any mushrooms for this vegan recipe– Baby Bellas, Portobellas, or even button mushrooms will work fine.  It may seem a large amount of mushrooms, but these cook way down.

Heat a large deep saucepan or saute pan and add oil.

When oil is very hot but not smoking, add mushrooms and turn heat to medium-low.

Sautee mushrooms, stirring frequently, until quite soft and browned, about ten minutes.

Add enough sauce to almost cover mushrooms, and reduce heat to simmer.

Simmer for about twenty minutes, until very soft and sauce is thickened.

Serve hot, over whole roasted sweet potatoes, with pickled onions and peppers on top. 

Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Aluminum foil

Wrap each potato in foil and place on a medium-hot grill or an oven at 400 degrees, and allow to cook for about thirty to forty minutes, until very soft. 

Pickled Onions and Peppers

You can make this spicy, or not. For not spicy, use half of a bell pepper. For spicy, use a jalapeno pepper. For super-spicy, use a habanero pepper. For fresh spices, I usually use dill, but you can use cilantro, oregano, mint, or a combination.

Heat vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper in a small saucepan until simmering.  Add sliced onion, peppers and herbs, and simmer for five minutes, until soft. Turn off heat.  Let sit covered for at least an hour.  These can be served right away, or placed in a covered container and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

Cajun Style Shrimp Broil Foil Packets (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

This is a really impressive-appearing and popular healthified barbecue meal that is actually really easy as well. The homemade Cajun seasoning is low sodium, and you will not miss the salt at all, it’s that flavorful. Corn on the cob is a whole grain you can feel good about, especially when paired with summer green beans, and steamed with fresh lemon. And of course, we’re not using sausage in this version. This steamed dish will be a stealth-health hit of your next backyard party!

Homemade Cajun Seasoning

2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp cayenne powder

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp salt

Packets

4 large ears corn on the cob, cut into four rounds each ( (This is easy using a large, heavy chef’s knife. Or you can buy frozen ones already cut.))

4 cups green beans ((a little over a pound))

1 large lemon, cut into six wedges

24 very large shrimp, peeled, deveined ((About a pound and a half))

Homemade Cajun Seasoning

This will make extra, which I serve out in a little bowl with a small spoon so folks can add extra if they like the spice.

Mix all spices together in a small jar or other container and shake. This will keep for weeks.

Packets

I like to use peeled and deveined shrimp, because it’s less messy for guests.

A large roll of aluminum foil

Cut a piece of foil about a foot and a half long.

Place 3 corns, a handful of green beans, and four shrimp in the center of the foil, arranged in a sort of rectangular pile. Lightly squirt with a lemon wedge and then add the lemon wedge to the pile. Sprinkle with about a half teaspoon of Cajun seasoning, or more if desired. Fold edges over so liquid produced while cooking will not leak out, and top is covered.

Heat grill to high, and place packets directly onto grill.

Do not flip.

Cook for about fifteen minutes, until corn and shrimp are cooked.

Serve in packets, with plenty of napkins!

Red and Green Summer Salad

Grilled red peppers, red onions, and fresh tomatoes are tossed with leafy red lettuce, mint, and cucumber and sprinkled with toasted pistachios. This is a light, bright, fresh salad perfect for accompanying grilled food. Grilling red onion to a nice soft char tones down its strong flavor and brings out its natural sweetness. 

Salad

1 red onion, cut into quarters

2 red peppers, sliced into quarters or sixths and seeded ((keeping pieces long so they won’t fall into the grill) )

Olive oil (for brushing or spraying)

1 cup tomatoes, sliced ((I like cherry tomatoes, but can use any ripe, red tomatoes))

6 cups red lettuce, washed well and torn into bite-size pieces ((or other leafy green lettuce) (about 5 ounces, or a large head of lettuce))

1 bunch fresh mint, washed well, stems removed, and chopped ((about a cup))

1 cucumber, peeled, chopped into small pieces

1/4 cup roasted unsalted pistachios

Dressing

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 finely chopped garlic clove

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes ((optional))

Salad

Heat grill to medium high.

Lightly brush or spray the peppers and red onions with olive oil.

Using tongs, set the onion quarters and red peppers slices cross-wise on the grill bars (so they don’t fall in. Another option is to use a grill pan, in which case you can chop the onion and red pepper as small as you like.)

Grill, flipping once, until well-browned or charred, per your preference.

Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Place all ingredients into a large attractive bowl and toss with dressing, below.

Sprinkle with pistachios. 

Dressing

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and toss with salad when ready. 

https://ift.tt/2opZiP7

[evawilliams3741]

Barbecue Better for Labor Day

Barbecue Better for Labor Day

Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, when many of us enjoy a long weekend with friends and family and toast the season with a backyard barbecue. The traditional meat-heavy barbecue menu can be hazardous to your health, but it doesn’t have to be. Some of the most popular barbecue foods are well-known to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes (and a number of other diseases, too!), like steak, pork ribs, processed red meats (hot dogs), refined grains (traditional pasta salads, rolls, potato chips), and processed, added sugars (sodas, desserts). But we can help you make over your Labor Day celebration menu with healthy options for a feel better BBQ!

“Pulled” Mushrooms in Barbecue Sauce over Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Pickled Onions and Peppers (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Maybe you usually go for traditional fare like pulled barbecue pork on a roll, but now you want to do better for your body. Boston-area chef de cuisine Cassidy Salus (Steel and Rye, Prairie Fire) makes a meatless version of this dish using Maitake mushrooms, also known as Hen of the Woods: “They are a much more meaty mushroom because of their lower water content, and have much more flavor… Mushrooms sautéed and then braised in barbecue sauce are delicious.” And it’s true, nothing has more healthy umami than mushrooms! Mushrooms sautéed to tender and simmered in a simple, wholesome homemade barbecue sauce, and served over steaming-hot grilled sweet potatoes and topped with tangy, low-sugar low-salt pickled onions and peppers? Even better! Sweetness comes from nutrient-rich blackstrap molasses, which contains many nutrients, including potassium and iron. As a matter of fact, one serving of this meal gets you all the vitamin D you need for the whole week (over 1,000 times the recommended daily value). Skip your supplement! If you can’t find Maitakes then any mushrooms can be used in this recipe.  The sauce and pickled onions can be made ahead of time.

Barbecue Sauce

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup dark preferred ((though any will do))

1 can tomato paste

1/2 cup blackstrap molasses

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp coconut aminos ((you can also use low-sodium soy sauce))

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

Pulled Mushrooms

6 cups mushrooms, sliced very thin ((about 2 pounds) )

1 tsp olive oil

Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes

6 sweet potatoes, about equal size, washed

Pickled Onions and Peppers

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp honey ((or agave syrup, for vegan))

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 small red onion, sliced very thin

1/2 cup thinly sliced pepper of your choice

2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, such as dill

Barbecue Sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for thirty minutes, until sauce is thickened. This will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for up to a week. 

Pulled Mushrooms

You can use any mushrooms for this vegan recipe– Baby Bellas, Portobellas, or even button mushrooms will work fine.  It may seem a large amount of mushrooms, but these cook way down.

Heat a large deep saucepan or saute pan and add oil.

When oil is very hot but not smoking, add mushrooms and turn heat to medium-low.

Sautee mushrooms, stirring frequently, until quite soft and browned, about ten minutes.

Add enough sauce to almost cover mushrooms, and reduce heat to simmer.

Simmer for about twenty minutes, until very soft and sauce is thickened.

Serve hot, over whole roasted sweet potatoes, with pickled onions and peppers on top. 

Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Aluminum foil

Wrap each potato in foil and place on a medium-hot grill or an oven at 400 degrees, and allow to cook for about thirty to forty minutes, until very soft. 

Pickled Onions and Peppers

You can make this spicy, or not. For not spicy, use half of a bell pepper. For spicy, use a jalapeno pepper. For super-spicy, use a habanero pepper. For fresh spices, I usually use dill, but you can use cilantro, oregano, mint, or a combination.

Heat vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper in a small saucepan until simmering.  Add sliced onion, peppers and herbs, and simmer for five minutes, until soft. Turn off heat.  Let sit covered for at least an hour.  These can be served right away, or placed in a covered container and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

Cajun Style Shrimp Broil Foil Packets (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

This is a really impressive-appearing and popular healthified barbecue meal that is actually really easy as well. The homemade Cajun seasoning is low sodium, and you will not miss the salt at all, it’s that flavorful. Corn on the cob is a whole grain you can feel good about, especially when paired with summer green beans, and steamed with fresh lemon. And of course, we’re not using sausage in this version. This steamed dish will be a stealth-health hit of your next backyard party!

Homemade Cajun Seasoning

2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp cayenne powder

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp salt

Packets

4 large ears corn on the cob, cut into four rounds each ( (This is easy using a large, heavy chef’s knife. Or you can buy frozen ones already cut.))

4 cups green beans ((a little over a pound))

1 large lemon, cut into six wedges

24 very large shrimp, peeled, deveined ((About a pound and a half))

Homemade Cajun Seasoning

This will make extra, which I serve out in a little bowl with a small spoon so folks can add extra if they like the spice.

Mix all spices together in a small jar or other container and shake. This will keep for weeks.

Packets

I like to use peeled and deveined shrimp, because it’s less messy for guests.

A large roll of aluminum foil

Cut a piece of foil about a foot and a half long.

Place 3 corns, a handful of green beans, and four shrimp in the center of the foil, arranged in a sort of rectangular pile. Lightly squirt with a lemon wedge and then add the lemon wedge to the pile. Sprinkle with about a half teaspoon of Cajun seasoning, or more if desired. Fold edges over so liquid produced while cooking will not leak out, and top is covered.

Heat grill to high, and place packets directly onto grill.

Do not flip.

Cook for about fifteen minutes, until corn and shrimp are cooked.

Serve in packets, with plenty of napkins!

Red and Green Summer Salad

Grilled red peppers, red onions, and fresh tomatoes are tossed with leafy red lettuce, mint, and cucumber and sprinkled with toasted pistachios. This is a light, bright, fresh salad perfect for accompanying grilled food. Grilling red onion to a nice soft char tones down its strong flavor and brings out its natural sweetness. 

Salad

1 red onion, cut into quarters

2 red peppers, sliced into quarters or sixths and seeded ((keeping pieces long so they won’t fall into the grill) )

Olive oil (for brushing or spraying)

1 cup tomatoes, sliced ((I like cherry tomatoes, but can use any ripe, red tomatoes))

6 cups red lettuce, washed well and torn into bite-size pieces ((or other leafy green lettuce) (about 5 ounces, or a large head of lettuce))

1 bunch fresh mint, washed well, stems removed, and chopped ((about a cup))

1 cucumber, peeled, chopped into small pieces

1/4 cup roasted unsalted pistachios

Dressing

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 finely chopped garlic clove

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes ((optional))

Salad

Heat grill to medium high.

Lightly brush or spray the peppers and red onions with olive oil.

Using tongs, set the onion quarters and red peppers slices cross-wise on the grill bars (so they don’t fall in. Another option is to use a grill pan, in which case you can chop the onion and red pepper as small as you like.)

Grill, flipping once, until well-browned or charred, per your preference.

Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Place all ingredients into a large attractive bowl and toss with dressing, below.

Sprinkle with pistachios. 

Dressing

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and toss with salad when ready. 

https://ift.tt/2opZiP7

[laurenjohnson437]

Barbecue Better for Labor Day

Barbecue Better for Labor Day

Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, when many of us enjoy a long weekend with friends and family and toast the season with a backyard barbecue. The traditional meat-heavy barbecue menu can be hazardous to your health, but it doesn’t have to be. Some of the most popular barbecue foods are well-known to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes (and a number of other diseases, too!), like steak, pork ribs, processed red meats (hot dogs), refined grains (traditional pasta salads, rolls, potato chips), and processed, added sugars (sodas, desserts). But we can help you make over your Labor Day celebration menu with healthy options for a feel better BBQ!

“Pulled” Mushrooms in Barbecue Sauce over Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Pickled Onions and Peppers (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Maybe you usually go for traditional fare like pulled barbecue pork on a roll, but now you want to do better for your body. Boston-area chef de cuisine Cassidy Salus (Steel and Rye, Prairie Fire) makes a meatless version of this dish using Maitake mushrooms, also known as Hen of the Woods: “They are a much more meaty mushroom because of their lower water content, and have much more flavor… Mushrooms sautéed and then braised in barbecue sauce are delicious.” And it’s true, nothing has more healthy umami than mushrooms! Mushrooms sautéed to tender and simmered in a simple, wholesome homemade barbecue sauce, and served over steaming-hot grilled sweet potatoes and topped with tangy, low-sugar low-salt pickled onions and peppers? Even better! Sweetness comes from nutrient-rich blackstrap molasses, which contains many nutrients, including potassium and iron. As a matter of fact, one serving of this meal gets you all the vitamin D you need for the whole week (over 1,000 times the recommended daily value). Skip your supplement! If you can’t find Maitakes then any mushrooms can be used in this recipe.  The sauce and pickled onions can be made ahead of time.

Barbecue Sauce

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup dark preferred ((though any will do))

1 can tomato paste

1/2 cup blackstrap molasses

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp coconut aminos ((you can also use low-sodium soy sauce))

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

Pulled Mushrooms

6 cups mushrooms, sliced very thin ((about 2 pounds) )

1 tsp olive oil

Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes

6 sweet potatoes, about equal size, washed

Pickled Onions and Peppers

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp honey ((or agave syrup, for vegan))

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 small red onion, sliced very thin

1/2 cup thinly sliced pepper of your choice

2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, such as dill

Barbecue Sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for thirty minutes, until sauce is thickened. This will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for up to a week. 

Pulled Mushrooms

You can use any mushrooms for this vegan recipe– Baby Bellas, Portobellas, or even button mushrooms will work fine.  It may seem a large amount of mushrooms, but these cook way down.

Heat a large deep saucepan or saute pan and add oil.

When oil is very hot but not smoking, add mushrooms and turn heat to medium-low.

Sautee mushrooms, stirring frequently, until quite soft and browned, about ten minutes.

Add enough sauce to almost cover mushrooms, and reduce heat to simmer.

Simmer for about twenty minutes, until very soft and sauce is thickened.

Serve hot, over whole roasted sweet potatoes, with pickled onions and peppers on top. 

Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Aluminum foil

Wrap each potato in foil and place on a medium-hot grill or an oven at 400 degrees, and allow to cook for about thirty to forty minutes, until very soft. 

Pickled Onions and Peppers

You can make this spicy, or not. For not spicy, use half of a bell pepper. For spicy, use a jalapeno pepper. For super-spicy, use a habanero pepper. For fresh spices, I usually use dill, but you can use cilantro, oregano, mint, or a combination.

Heat vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper in a small saucepan until simmering.  Add sliced onion, peppers and herbs, and simmer for five minutes, until soft. Turn off heat.  Let sit covered for at least an hour.  These can be served right away, or placed in a covered container and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

Cajun Style Shrimp Broil Foil Packets (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

This is a really impressive-appearing and popular healthified barbecue meal that is actually really easy as well. The homemade Cajun seasoning is low sodium, and you will not miss the salt at all, it’s that flavorful. Corn on the cob is a whole grain you can feel good about, especially when paired with summer green beans, and steamed with fresh lemon. And of course, we’re not using sausage in this version. This steamed dish will be a stealth-health hit of your next backyard party!

Homemade Cajun Seasoning

2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp cayenne powder

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp salt

Packets

4 large ears corn on the cob, cut into four rounds each ( (This is easy using a large, heavy chef’s knife. Or you can buy frozen ones already cut.))

4 cups green beans ((a little over a pound))

1 large lemon, cut into six wedges

24 very large shrimp, peeled, deveined ((About a pound and a half))

Homemade Cajun Seasoning

This will make extra, which I serve out in a little bowl with a small spoon so folks can add extra if they like the spice.

Mix all spices together in a small jar or other container and shake. This will keep for weeks.

Packets

I like to use peeled and deveined shrimp, because it’s less messy for guests.

A large roll of aluminum foil

Cut a piece of foil about a foot and a half long.

Place 3 corns, a handful of green beans, and four shrimp in the center of the foil, arranged in a sort of rectangular pile. Lightly squirt with a lemon wedge and then add the lemon wedge to the pile. Sprinkle with about a half teaspoon of Cajun seasoning, or more if desired. Fold edges over so liquid produced while cooking will not leak out, and top is covered.

Heat grill to high, and place packets directly onto grill.

Do not flip.

Cook for about fifteen minutes, until corn and shrimp are cooked.

Serve in packets, with plenty of napkins!

Red and Green Summer Salad

Grilled red peppers, red onions, and fresh tomatoes are tossed with leafy red lettuce, mint, and cucumber and sprinkled with toasted pistachios. This is a light, bright, fresh salad perfect for accompanying grilled food. Grilling red onion to a nice soft char tones down its strong flavor and brings out its natural sweetness. 

Salad

1 red onion, cut into quarters

2 red peppers, sliced into quarters or sixths and seeded ((keeping pieces long so they won’t fall into the grill) )

Olive oil (for brushing or spraying)

1 cup tomatoes, sliced ((I like cherry tomatoes, but can use any ripe, red tomatoes))

6 cups red lettuce, washed well and torn into bite-size pieces ((or other leafy green lettuce) (about 5 ounces, or a large head of lettuce))

1 bunch fresh mint, washed well, stems removed, and chopped ((about a cup))

1 cucumber, peeled, chopped into small pieces

1/4 cup roasted unsalted pistachios

Dressing

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 finely chopped garlic clove

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes ((optional))

Salad

Heat grill to medium high.

Lightly brush or spray the peppers and red onions with olive oil.

Using tongs, set the onion quarters and red peppers slices cross-wise on the grill bars (so they don’t fall in. Another option is to use a grill pan, in which case you can chop the onion and red pepper as small as you like.)

Grill, flipping once, until well-browned or charred, per your preference.

Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Place all ingredients into a large attractive bowl and toss with dressing, below.

Sprinkle with pistachios. 

Dressing

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and toss with salad when ready. 

https://ift.tt/2opZiP7

[richardgarciase23]

Barbecue Better for Labor Day

Barbecue Better for Labor Day

Labor Day marks the unofficial end of summer, when many of us enjoy a long weekend with friends and family and toast the season with a backyard barbecue. The traditional meat-heavy barbecue menu can be hazardous to your health, but it doesn’t have to be. Some of the most popular barbecue foods are well-known to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes (and a number of other diseases, too!), like steak, pork ribs, processed red meats (hot dogs), refined grains (traditional pasta salads, rolls, potato chips), and processed, added sugars (sodas, desserts). But we can help you make over your Labor Day celebration menu with healthy options for a feel better BBQ!

“Pulled” Mushrooms in Barbecue Sauce over Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Pickled Onions and Peppers (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

Maybe you usually go for traditional fare like pulled barbecue pork on a roll, but now you want to do better for your body. Boston-area chef de cuisine Cassidy Salus (Steel and Rye, Prairie Fire) makes a meatless version of this dish using Maitake mushrooms, also known as Hen of the Woods: “They are a much more meaty mushroom because of their lower water content, and have much more flavor… Mushrooms sautéed and then braised in barbecue sauce are delicious.” And it’s true, nothing has more healthy umami than mushrooms! Mushrooms sautéed to tender and simmered in a simple, wholesome homemade barbecue sauce, and served over steaming-hot grilled sweet potatoes and topped with tangy, low-sugar low-salt pickled onions and peppers? Even better! Sweetness comes from nutrient-rich blackstrap molasses, which contains many nutrients, including potassium and iron. As a matter of fact, one serving of this meal gets you all the vitamin D you need for the whole week (over 1,000 times the recommended daily value). Skip your supplement! If you can’t find Maitakes then any mushrooms can be used in this recipe.  The sauce and pickled onions can be made ahead of time.

Barbecue Sauce

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup dark preferred ((though any will do))

1 can tomato paste

1/2 cup blackstrap molasses

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

2 tbsp coconut aminos ((you can also use low-sodium soy sauce))

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp black pepper

Pulled Mushrooms

6 cups mushrooms, sliced very thin ((about 2 pounds) )

1 tsp olive oil

Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes

6 sweet potatoes, about equal size, washed

Pickled Onions and Peppers

1 cup apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp honey ((or agave syrup, for vegan))

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 small red onion, sliced very thin

1/2 cup thinly sliced pepper of your choice

2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs, such as dill

Barbecue Sauce

Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for thirty minutes, until sauce is thickened. This will keep, covered in the refrigerator, for up to a week. 

Pulled Mushrooms

You can use any mushrooms for this vegan recipe– Baby Bellas, Portobellas, or even button mushrooms will work fine.  It may seem a large amount of mushrooms, but these cook way down.

Heat a large deep saucepan or saute pan and add oil.

When oil is very hot but not smoking, add mushrooms and turn heat to medium-low.

Sautee mushrooms, stirring frequently, until quite soft and browned, about ten minutes.

Add enough sauce to almost cover mushrooms, and reduce heat to simmer.

Simmer for about twenty minutes, until very soft and sauce is thickened.

Serve hot, over whole roasted sweet potatoes, with pickled onions and peppers on top. 

Whole Roasted Sweet Potatoes

Aluminum foil

Wrap each potato in foil and place on a medium-hot grill or an oven at 400 degrees, and allow to cook for about thirty to forty minutes, until very soft. 

Pickled Onions and Peppers

You can make this spicy, or not. For not spicy, use half of a bell pepper. For spicy, use a jalapeno pepper. For super-spicy, use a habanero pepper. For fresh spices, I usually use dill, but you can use cilantro, oregano, mint, or a combination.

Heat vinegar, honey, salt, and pepper in a small saucepan until simmering.  Add sliced onion, peppers and herbs, and simmer for five minutes, until soft. Turn off heat.  Let sit covered for at least an hour.  These can be served right away, or placed in a covered container and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. 

Cajun Style Shrimp Broil Foil Packets (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

This is a really impressive-appearing and popular healthified barbecue meal that is actually really easy as well. The homemade Cajun seasoning is low sodium, and you will not miss the salt at all, it’s that flavorful. Corn on the cob is a whole grain you can feel good about, especially when paired with summer green beans, and steamed with fresh lemon. And of course, we’re not using sausage in this version. This steamed dish will be a stealth-health hit of your next backyard party!

Homemade Cajun Seasoning

2 tbsp paprika

2 tbsp garlic powder

1 tbsp onion powder

1 tbsp dried oregano

1 tsp cayenne powder

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp salt

Packets

4 large ears corn on the cob, cut into four rounds each ( (This is easy using a large, heavy chef’s knife. Or you can buy frozen ones already cut.))

4 cups green beans ((a little over a pound))

1 large lemon, cut into six wedges

24 very large shrimp, peeled, deveined ((About a pound and a half))

Homemade Cajun Seasoning

This will make extra, which I serve out in a little bowl with a small spoon so folks can add extra if they like the spice.

Mix all spices together in a small jar or other container and shake. This will keep for weeks.

Packets

I like to use peeled and deveined shrimp, because it’s less messy for guests.

A large roll of aluminum foil

Cut a piece of foil about a foot and a half long.

Place 3 corns, a handful of green beans, and four shrimp in the center of the foil, arranged in a sort of rectangular pile. Lightly squirt with a lemon wedge and then add the lemon wedge to the pile. Sprinkle with about a half teaspoon of Cajun seasoning, or more if desired. Fold edges over so liquid produced while cooking will not leak out, and top is covered.

Heat grill to high, and place packets directly onto grill.

Do not flip.

Cook for about fifteen minutes, until corn and shrimp are cooked.

Serve in packets, with plenty of napkins!

Red and Green Summer Salad

Grilled red peppers, red onions, and fresh tomatoes are tossed with leafy red lettuce, mint, and cucumber and sprinkled with toasted pistachios. This is a light, bright, fresh salad perfect for accompanying grilled food. Grilling red onion to a nice soft char tones down its strong flavor and brings out its natural sweetness. 

Salad

1 red onion, cut into quarters

2 red peppers, sliced into quarters or sixths and seeded ((keeping pieces long so they won’t fall into the grill) )

Olive oil (for brushing or spraying)

1 cup tomatoes, sliced ((I like cherry tomatoes, but can use any ripe, red tomatoes))

6 cups red lettuce, washed well and torn into bite-size pieces ((or other leafy green lettuce) (about 5 ounces, or a large head of lettuce))

1 bunch fresh mint, washed well, stems removed, and chopped ((about a cup))

1 cucumber, peeled, chopped into small pieces

1/4 cup roasted unsalted pistachios

Dressing

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 finely chopped garlic clove

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes ((optional))

Salad

Heat grill to medium high.

Lightly brush or spray the peppers and red onions with olive oil.

Using tongs, set the onion quarters and red peppers slices cross-wise on the grill bars (so they don’t fall in. Another option is to use a grill pan, in which case you can chop the onion and red pepper as small as you like.)

Grill, flipping once, until well-browned or charred, per your preference.

Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Place all ingredients into a large attractive bowl and toss with dressing, below.

Sprinkle with pistachios. 

Dressing

Mix all ingredients in a small bowl and toss with salad when ready. 

https://ift.tt/2opZiP7

[benjamingarden]

This Month On The Farm: July 2020

July's weather was full-on summer complete with heat, humidity, and lots o' sunshine.  And surprisingly, a lack of mosquitoes.  Hooray for that!  We did receive some rain and when we did, oh boy was it a lot.

Tents - Not Just For Camping

As you can see in the photo above, we decided to make use of a couple of our extra craft show tents and set them up on the upper and lower decks.  On the upper deck it's wide open, used just for rain cover and shade (Ollie is afraid of the netting walls so we left them off).  On the lower deck we used the netting walls and put our outdoor table and chairs inside so we can enjoy eating or sitting outside without bugs attacking.  Ollie, as noted, is afraid of the walls but if he's sitting in his tower with me by his side, he deals with it ok.

gutters and rain barrel installed!

Barrels Of Rain

Woo hoo!  Jay was able to get the gutters installed on the outbuildings and the rain barrels are up and working.  This has been on our "someday" list for years.  Years!  We've been able to successfully use the barrels to water the garden through most of the month, only needing to resort to our well water a couple of times.

Harvesting

As I've mentioned (probably too many times), our garden is mostly shaded.  We receive morning sun over about 70% of it and afternoon sun for a few hours over it all, and it's fully shaded the remainder of the day.  And so, our harvesting starts late.  Then, of course, we had the infamous whistle pig debacle that set us back a bit but we are now enjoying the fruits of our labor.

Green beans are coming in by the bushel.  I know that many people don't enjoy frozen green beans but we do, so I grow enough to enjoy fresh weekly as well as enough to put up in the freezer for winter and springtime eating.  I planted 3 types this year: Blue Lake, Red Noodle, and Calima Bush Beans.  The Red Noodle are still small and green but this is the first year we've planted them so, fingers crossed, they are delicious.

We finally have tomatoes!!!  Well, we finally have ripe tomatoes!  We have a ton, I mean TON, of green tomatoes amidst the 25 plants so we will definitely have plenty for fresh eating as well as for oven-drying to freeze for sauce during the winter.

We are also harvesting onions, cabbage, kale, swiss chard, mixed greens, arugula, microgreens, peppers (jalapeno, ancho, and bell), summer squash, zucchini, the last of the peas, beets, blueberries, blackberries, herbs and radish.

our sweet potato hill

Sadly, our pear and asian pear trees did not do well this year.  I've ordered new "partners" for them (and the paw paw tree) so our hope is we will be swimming in their fruits in a couple of years!  And our whistle pig took out all of our summer broccoli and cauliflower so we won't be harvesting either of those until fall.

At the start of the season I would grab a big bowl from the cupboard and Ollie and I would head to the garden to harvest whatever was ready.  One day, as my bowl was so full the veggies were spilling out of it, Jay looked at me and said "you need a bucket or a basket or something".  I said "I know.  Someone I follow on Instagram just posted a picture of her harvest basket that her husband made.  It was nice - metal mesh and wood sides and handle.  You're too busy though, so maybe next year."  I didn't give it another thought.

Later in the week Jay comes out of his shop holding the PERFECT harvest basket.  He had made it in between other projects he was working on.  Such a sweet gift! 

So now, Ollie and I take our harvest basket with us to the garden on our daily check-in.

looking up one of our mammoth sunflowers

the 2 mammoth sunflowers that survived the whistle pig feast are on the left

Homestead Projects

We have a list of projects that we are hoping to accomplish before fall.  We've managed to check off some of the easier projects, but not so much the larger projects.  Here's what we're chipping away at:

paint the dining room (done)

stain the back deck (done)

paint the living room

fix columns and lay new flooring on one of the two front porches (second porch will be done next year)

paint 2 sides of the house (same color, just refreshing it - the other 2 sides will be done next year)

install fence around the garden (temporarily done - permanent fencing will be done next spring)

build and install a new outdoor pole light in the front yard

build a small nesting box area/water station for garden (so when the chickens are tasked with the garden fall clean-up, they have a place to lay eggs)

chop and stack wood for the woodstove in the shop (done although we may chop a bit more)

install gutters on the outbuildings and hook-up rain barrels (done)

create a raised bed hoop house for one of our garden beds so we can grow greens through late fall/early winter (done for now - we purchased/found the items needed to make this in fall)

Animals

We are not going to add any more animals to the homestead for now and that includes chickens.  The current flock will get smaller, gradually, as the inevitable happens.  We had one pass away this week, she was one of the older girls, and we fully anticipate a few more passing this year from old age.  It certainly doesn't get any easier to deal with death, but at least we have developed a bit of a plan now, of keeping them safe and comfortable during the process.  We also know more about signs, because with chickens, they usually mask illness.  This helps us so we can watch closer and try to make sure they are protected.  

Death is one of the parts of having animals that is so difficult.  Unfortunately, as birds become sick and/or begin the dying process, some of the others can become very cannibalistic.  It's not a pretty sight.  So once we see that one of the girls isn't feeling well, we are able to remove them, but not totally, from the flock.  They are social creatures, so full removal seems to make them stressed and upset.  Instead, we make sure they are separated by a fence allowing them to still feel a part of the flock without getting incessantly pecked at and stepped on.  And no, we don't let them suffer.  If there's any sign of that, and we've done all we can do to make them well, we step in.  

Our overall plan is to get out of the egg-selling business and keep a very small flock (6-8 girls).  With a flock of 24 girls, it will take some time for the flock to naturally reduce (we're down from the 32 we had last year), so we won't be bringing in any chicks until we have less then 8 girls.

zucchini chocolate chip muffins

What Do You Do With All Of That Zucchini?

Isn't this the question you ask yourself every single year?  I always think I have a plan to keep up with it but I struggle by August.  I give it a heck of an effort though.  Here's what we've been doing with our zucchini:

slicing it lengthwise and grilling it (alternatively, you could broil or bake it).  We both love it.  Jay sprinkles a bit of parmesan on his and I like mine plain.  It's sooooo juicy and delicious.

cutting it into chunks and sautéing it with onions and corn.  I add a bit of butter to Jay's and mine is plain.  We just love the combination.

stuffing it.  As noted in this weekending post (at the bottom), I always enjoy coming up with new stuffing ideas.  The key is to bake, boil, or grill the scooped out zucchini halves before you fill and bake them so they are nice and soft once finished.

making our very favorite chocolate zucchini cake. Even my husband who isn't the world's biggest chocolate fan LOVES both versions.  The original version is here.  The healthier/reduced oil and sugar version is here.

making Kate's recipe for healthier zucchini bread.

making zucchini and chocolate chip muffins.  They are ah-mazing!  I just realized I've never shared the recipe here.  I'll try to get that on the blog!

making zucchini noodles with homemade pesto.  Soooo good!

adding zucchini to grilled kebabs.  (everything gets marinated in italian dressing first)

adding zucchini to soups such as minestrone.

making zucchini cobbler.  (tastes just like apple cobbler)

making veggie stew.  I use zucchini and whatever fresh veg is in the garden to make stew as the temps begin to drop in the fall.

I'm not a big fan of eating it raw (there's a weirdness to it) or as zucchini "fries", so those didn't make the list.  We've made zucchini pickles in the past but we aren't huge pickle eaters so I haven't been making them.  

I'd love to hear your family's favorite ways to eat zucchini!

Oliver, my garden/kitchen/preserving/everything helper

Preserving, Or, What We'll Be Eating This Winter

Since our garden is now in full swing, the preserving process has finally begun!  

Green beans - as noted above, they are being put up in the freezer weekly.

Peppers - so far we've only collected enough jalapeno's to preserve, so those have been made into pickled jalapeno rings.

Relish - our cucumbers are struggling this year.  I've never had an issue with cukes, so I'm not sure what's happening.  So we purchased some cucumbers from the farmer's market and, along with our bell peppers and onions we'll can enough relish for my husband to enjoy with his occasional hot dog lunch.

Zucchini - I did freeze some grated zucchini (portioned into 2 cup servings) that I can add to muffins, quick breads, etc.

Onions - we are drying quite a few and then I'll chop and freeze the remainder.

How do you figure out how much veggies to preserve?  This is a question I receive a lot.  For us, this is how I plan it.  We typically rotate the same dishes all winter long so I can usually predict how often during the week we'll eat veggies such as green beans, broccoli, winter squash, tomato sauce, etc.  I then times that by how many weeks we'll need preserved food and that's how I calculate it.  So, as an example, I plan on serving green beans twice a week for 28 weeks which means I will need to freeze 56 bags of green beans (bagged in single-serving sizes).  

It gets a bit more difficult with carrots, corn, onions, canned chopped tomatoes, and peppers because I use them on their own as well as in many different dishes.  Over time, through trial and error, I've made it so I can get pretty close.  For the frozen veggies, I flash-freeze them and then store them in large, gallon-size bags, so I can just take out what I need when I'm cooking.

That's July around the homestead!

This Month On The Farm: July 2020 was originally posted by My Favorite Chicken Blogs(benjamingardening)