Mock Baked Oatmeal Recipe

When the weather turns cold my breakfast turns hot and sustains me until lunch time.  I love baked oatmeal but when I'm read to eat I don't want to wait for something to bake so I came up with this quick dish.  

I start with (my homemade cranberry) granola and pour (almond or whatever milk you like) milk over it just to barely cover it.  Then I nuke it for a minute.  The milk will be absorbed into the oats.

While that is cooking, chop a couple of apples and saute in a small amount of butter,  add a handful of walnuts and sprinkle with cinnamon, stir until coated.  I always make more and have some for the next day.  Cook until desired tenderness and top granola with a few spoonfuls of this apple nut mixture.  Your home will smell like you've been baking apple pies!

The sauteed apples can be heated later and topped with Greek yogurt then a sprinkling of granola, as a healthy dessert, or another breakfast option.  They are also great cold (keep refrigerated until ready to use) I also just made a wonderful kale salad using the apples and dried cranberries with a olive oil and balsamic vinegar dressing.  Having cooked apples on hand makes me think of different creative ways to use them.

It's fall y'all !  Eat what's in season, and take it to a health new level.

Tea Time

The days are getting shorter and the nights cooler.  Thats when I start to prepare for the long winter months that we all don't really want to think about quite yet.  I'm a coffee drinker in the wee hours but then I switch to a non-caffeinated tea so that I can sleep at night.  We keep our house at a pretty cool temperature in the winter, so if you aren't moving around you are covered by a blanket or drinking tea!  My fav is lemongrass and ginger.  It not only tastes great, but there are lots of healthy benefits to drinking natural herb teas.  I found a great link here for this tea. with all the great benefits.

Last summer I planted lemon grass in my herb garden and in the fall I cut it all off and stuck the grass in my freezer.  So all winter long I made the tea.  I also keep my ginger in the freezer so it doesn't spoil.  and just cut or use a peeler to shave off what I need.  You can even use the outside layer for tea so dry it or freeze it for later.  This summer I looked high and low for the lemongrass plant and potted it so I can bring it in this winter.  It's an annual so in our area it doesn't come back in the spring.  It's great with chicken cooked in coconut milk as well!

I cut about an inch of ginger into smaller pieces and use
a stem or two of the lemongrass, just wind it up in a ring
to fit inside your tea pot.  Steep for 3 minutes and remove.

I keep my pot under a tea cozy to keep it warm for a long
while.  Then you can microwave the reserve or drink it on ice.

Musakka -A Favorite Summer Dish

My summertime favorite vegetable is eggplant and tomatoes (together) and right now my garden is rocking both of these.  Our very favorite is grilled eggplant layered with sliced tomatoes and buffalo mozzarella cheese, baked until the cheese melts and sprinkled with fresh basil.  If you think you don't like eggplant try this-it's a game changer.  

My friend Lisa shared her mom's recipe for Musakka and it has become a summer staple.  I had 6 nice sized eggplants so I made 2 pans for the freezer and one small one for dinner tonight.  I've made a few amendments to the recipe with wine and spices.

Start with 2 large eggplant chopped into bite sized pieces, sauté in olive oil until lightly browned and soft.  Pour into your greased baking dish.

Saute' 2 vadalia onions until slightly camelized and and add on top of the eggplant.

Next add garbanzo beans (I always buy a bag and soak and cook my own but you can buy canned).  One can should do it, I used one small bag of cooked beans for 2 small pans and 1 large just to use them up.  Make some hummus if you have left overs!

Spread the top with sliced tomatoes or cherry tomatoes.  I actually chopped mine and added lots to make some good liquid.  The recipe calls for 3/4 Cup of water, but I use wine for extra flavor (a dry chardonnay-It will be a nice pairing for the dinner!)  I also crushed some dried oregano (my homegrown) and will add fresh basil when it comes out of the oven.  Also salt and pepper.  Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour.

The other two pans were ready for the freezer as soon as I was finished making them. (I didn't bake them for an hour).  Everything that needed to be cooked was.  I'll get them out in the morning (this fall when I leave for work) and they will be ready to stick in the oven when I get home.  

I'm not a vegetarian because once in a great while I want a good organic steak or burger, but for the most part we are.  This is loaded with protein and is a great main dish if you are a veg head or side dish if you aren't.

If you are an eggplant lover, what are some of your favorite ways to fix it?  I'm always up for a new dish.

Strawberry Basil Lemonade

A few years ago we went to a great restaraunt in Chicago and I ordered this.  The Basil and 

strawberries help to sweeten the lemonade naturally.  I used the opal basil and it also naturally 

turns pink.  Here is my version.

1 ripe lemon (roll on the counter to soften) and squeeze into a 2 qt pitcher

Fill with ice, and add a tablespoon of Agave nectar, 

a handful of ripe strawberries and a few stems of sweet basil.

Allow to sit in the refrigerator so the sweetness develops for 

an hour or so.  Stir, taste and adjust the sugar if needed.  

Serve over ice and garnish with basil and a perfect strawberry.

Enjoy!

Harvest Quiche

It's always sad to have to pick the vines and bushes clean before the first frost comes, because it means the cold is coming and the end of a year is nearing.  It happened and I was graced with a basket of plenty.  Lots of miniature peppers, eggplant and zucchini.  I harvested my tomatoes a few days before because they were pretty much done producing.  

So then comes the question of what to do with all the produce for two people?  My go to easy dinner is quiche, and since I'm caring for a young couples chickens while they honeymoon it seemed like the perfect solution for a Sunday of cooking.

My morning walk to collect the eggs along the Pumpkin vine
trail

Homemade pie crust, it's more time consuming but worth
the effort.

 While the pie crust is chilling, sauté' onions, then add chopped peppers, garlic, zucchini and eggplant
season well with salt and pepper, I also used dried oregano and thyme from my garden.  Eggplant absorbs the flavors from whatever you cook it with, so I usually go with the Italian flavors.  My food processor made quick work of the slicing.

Saute until soft and brown, add a few chopped
tomatoes, but save some to dress the top.  While this cools down
roll out your pie crust, then put the pie pans back in the fridge.
It's important for a flaky crust to keep them cool.  Fill when the vegetables
have cooled.

These are orange banana tomatoes. 

I used small soft mozzarella balls for cheese.
(I know this doesn't look very pretty but trust me
it tastes wonderful.)

 My metal pie pans are small so I use 3 eggs per quiche, but if using a quiche dish I use 4.  Whisk eggs until light and fluffy and add your desired milk or cream, I am not very good with measuring but it was aprox 2 cups of milk.  I am lactose intolerant so I use alternative milk, but they all work fine.

after pouring on the custard, I topped it with
high quality paparika and bake for 15 min
at 400 degrees, then lower to 325 and bake for'
an additional 45 min.  

While that was in the oven I made an Apple pie,
the house smells like fall!

One for dinner and 2 for the freezer.  You can
eat quiche luke warm and it heats up nicely in
the microwave.
I'll make a nice salad and dinner is served!

And everything except the staples (like floured, butter, salt and pepper) came from my garden and the chickens!  I love knowing where my food comes from.  This dish is great for any meal, so leftovers will be breakfast!

Spring Forage

Spring time in Northern Indiana is still pretty monochromatic in other words blah.  The first green shoots you see (that look like grass) are the wild chives.  Such a welcomed herb if you like garlic and onion flavors.  I grabbed a couple of handfuls (just the top part) to use in my cooking this week while on a walk.

My husband and I love (a store bought) salad dressing called Low Fat Sweet Vadalia Onion.  Anything low fat usually has lots of added sugar so I wanted to try my hand at making it, but a healthier version.   Ed gave it two thrombus up.  So here it is.

1 tbs rice wine vinegar (you can use regular white vinegar)

2 tsp local honey

2-3 tsp onion powder

1 cup honey greek yougurt

S & P to taste

2 pinches of spring chives

Whisk together in this order, you can adjust the dressing to taste, (you may like it a little sweeter).  Plain yogurt can be used as well but you'll need more honey or natural sugar.

This dressed about 3 medium sized salads so adjust your recipe accordingly.

Walking the Pumpkin Vine

Spring chives

If you aren't sure if they are chives pick some and smell the cut end-they
smell like garlic.

Pax-the wonder dog.  My kid replacement, little buddy, constant companion :)

Chives and eggs 

store in an air tight container in the fridge.

Once they dry they loose their flavor, then it's

time to go for another walk in the woods.