Taste of Tuesday :: Sun Dried Tomatoes

It's difficult to think anything but pleasant thoughts while eating a homegrown tomato.  ~Lewis Grizzard

This photo above still makes me laugh as I was making tomato-less bolognese sauce while those beauties sat waiting.

And sure, it's been months since I've walked into the kitchen just to see all of our home grown tomatoes staring back at me. But it's only been minutes since I've tasted the sweetness of summer... even with all the cold weather and snow outside. This year, in my effort to not let anything from our gardens go to waste, (and doing so without canning because I haven't been brave enough to take on that endeavor) I decided to make sun dried tomatoes. But instead of the sun, we used our oven. Super easy!! 

Sun Oven Dried Tomatoes: 

Quarter larger tomatoes, half smaller romas, and leave cherry tomatoes as is. Spread onto several baking sheets. (Some websites advised not letting them touch, but mine did and they shrunk up just fine).

Set your oven to the lowest temperature and bake for 6-24 hours. I checked mine after 7 hours and they were finally done after 12 hours. But if you are using larger tomatoes it may take longer. 

Just put them into mason jars and freeze. They are great for on top of salads or just as is. On a cold, gray, dark, winter day, there is nothing better than tasting the sweetness of your homegrown tomatoes.

Taste of Tuesday: GF, SF, DF Curried Butternut Squash Soup

Mmmm... it's that time of year, when squash are abundant and the chill in the air makes me crave soup. 

Looks to me like the tree of life. 

The thing with squash is the cutting it up. I wrestled with this butternut for the better part of an hour with two dull knives (Though squash is known to give even the sharpest knife a run for it's money). I was so proud of myself though when the outcome was a delicious soup. But the very next night, I met Mara Jane King -- "Just put the whole squash in the oven on 400 until your kitchen smells delicious", she said. I couldn't be more thrilled as I have made this soup several more times since - and who cares that we don't have a sharp knife in the house. It's sooooo easy!!!


I found this beautiful recipe from Karina over at Gluten Free Goddess. My edits in red.

Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Dairy Free Curried Butternut Squash

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

2-3 teaspoons mild gluten-free curry powder

4 cups (diced) butternut squash 

4 to 6 cups light vegetable broth (or fresh water)

Sea salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

1 tablespoon pure maple syrup or raw agave nectar, to taste

½ to 1 cup coconut milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 400. Put whole butternut squash on a cookie sheet and cook until your kitchen smells delicious (45minutes to an hour). Take out of oven, let cool until you can easily peel off the skin. Scoop out seeds and such. Cut up. 
Heat the olive oil in a soup pot, over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and curry powder; stir and cook until the onion softens. Add the squash and broth. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer.

Simmer until the squash is very soft and fork tender- maybe 30 minutes. Because I cook the squash in the oven, I simmer for about 10 minutes to meld favors.  

Puree the soup with an immersion blender till smooth. Stir in the maple syrup and coconut milk. Season with sea salt and pepper, to taste.

Warm through gently and serve. Enjoy!!

Taste of Tuesday: Sugar Free, Dairy Free, Gluten Free Apple Crisp (and contemplations on food waste)

The average American wastes more than half a pound of food per day (source). 

This whole idea of food and waste has weighed on me for years. I shop with the intention of cooking up that bok choy only to find it rotting weeks later in the back of the fridge. I try to be a conscious consumer but I'm still guilty. I think I'm most especially effected when I see the food we have grown with our blood, sweat, and tears go to waste. But this year, I was trying my best to put all of our food to good use... and this is coming from someone who hasn't yet learned how to can. The basil got made into pesto which is now stored in cubes in the freezer. I picked all of the tomatoes (including the green ones) in the moonlight before the first frost. And the apples -- cortland and golden delicious -- harvested from our trees and sorted into two piles: apples for eating and apples for baking. In the past, I would have overlooked these worm laden, rotted spotted, mushy apples. Or I might have picked them all with the intention of using them, but watched as the fruit flies swarmed while they rotted in the garage or on the counter. Not this year!! I made applesauce and lots of it. But I still had apples left. And the kicker was that I was doing an intense nutritional program in which I cut out sugar, gluten, and dairy. So pies and crisps seemed out of the question. Until...

I saw this post from my friend Lisa over at Little Coffee Beans. She had concocted a crisp without sugar. Now, to go back a little, Apple Crisp... I grew up on it. Ate it for breakfast (alongside the fruity pebbles) topped with a huge blob of vanilla ice cream. I have monkeyed with the several crisp family recipes over the years and even created a gluten free version. Then a better gluten free version. It's probably the only thing that I can bake without a recipe. But I had yet to experiment with how to make this kid friendly - meaning without sugar. So Lisa inspired me to create my own crisp -- a crisp that I could enjoy even while doing this intense nutritional program and a crisp that I could share with Avi - a boy who eats his veggies and doesn't get sugar. 

So I took a bit of her concoction and tinkered with it to make it not only sugar free, but gluten free and dairy free as well! And because this isn't too sweet, it's actually great for breakfast... far greater than that sugar laden one I ate as a kid. 

Sugar Free, Gluten Free, Diary Free Apple Crisp

• Lots of Organic Apples. Cut into chunks, skins left on. (I used cortland and golden delicious).
• 1 Tbsp organic fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp arrow root powder
• 1-2 Tbsp of organic coconut oil
• 3/4 (or more) Tbsp organic cinnamon
• 2 drizzles of organic maple syrup
• 1 Cup gluten-free oats 
• 1/4 Cup brown rice flour (though I may try coconut flour next)
• Large handful of your favorite coarsely chopped nuts or seeds

Preheat oven to 375. 

In a glass baking dish (8x8 or larger if you have more apples) combine apples, lemon juice, arrow root and cinnamon together with a drizzle of maple syrup. In a separate pan melt coconut oil and stir in the oats, flour, and any nuts or seeds you are using and another drizzle of maple syrup. Once mixed together nicely (about 2 minutes), remove from heat. Spread mixture evenly over the apples. Bake uncovered for 20 minutes. If browning too much, cover with foil and then cook for another 15-20 minutes. Enjoy!!!

What are the favorites from your childhood that you have remade?

What are you doing to lessen the wasting of food? 

Taste of Tuesday: figs

Honey-Carmelized Figs with Yogurt

I made this delicious treat a few weeks ago and thought I would share it as I'm moving into a month of gluten, dairy and sugar free. I'm hoping someone else can enjoy this while I can't.

1 Tbsp honey (plus more for drizzling if you like)

8 oz fresh figs, halved

2 cups plain low-fat Greek yogurt

Pinch of cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped pistachios

1. Heat honey in medium skillet over medium heat. Cook figs, cut sides down, until caramelized, about 5 minutes. 

2. Serve over yogurt with cinnamon and pistachios. Drizzle with honey if desired. 

(Caramelize a pound or more and keep them in your fridge for pairing with oatmeal or cheese)

I pulled this recipe from a magazine but forgot to write down which one. If anyone else knows the source, let me know so I can link it. 

(these [Nine] Moments)

Yes, once again... a little bit of Thursday for Friday! 

We can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures.  ~Thornton Wilder

 A walk up to the grocery store: leads to an impromptu play date among the curly hairs!

 Everbearing Strawberries: and our daily visits to the patch to see which ones have ripened. 

 My best helper: gathering weeds & dumping them 17 times in 10 feet before reaching the compost bin.

 My best indoor helper: shortening the pole on the swiffer to make it just his size. Avi loves to mop!

 The too do list: at least this reminder on the counter is nice to look at. 

 Two of our neighborhood deer: they even know to cross in the crosswalk. 

 The neighbor's cat: and Avi trying so hard to make friends - squatting down and calling out, "Here kitty cat"

 The results of picky chickens who don't eat the sunflower seeds in their scratch: and the bees!

 Chicken sitting for my sister's two chickens: meet this lovely and her floppy comb. 

A play date that bleeds into nap time: God was on my side!! 

Nine (this moment)s!

Yes, I know it's friday, but I'm having a little bit of thursday for friday. For those of you who don't know, I decided at the eleventh hour to teach again this fall. I started on Monday and that is partly the reason you haven't seen much around here. I hope to soon post about my decision to teach. In the meantime, here are Nine Moments!!!

-- Avi a little timid in the petting zoo. Mama leads the way! Thanks Jim and Paige for the invite!!

 -- The things you never knew existed until you go to a county fair. Who eats this stuff?

 -- Sand, Dirt, Mud... the natural progression. (taken by Michelle - our new and loved nanny).

-- Plum season!!! 

-- Gluten Free Plum Ginger Crumble  almost gone.

-- Folks Fest at Planet Blue Grass!!

 -- Making shade at the Folks Fest. 

 -- Avi's harvest of tomatoes and purple beans.

-- The chicken and feta didn't come from our sunless garden, but everything else we had for this dinner did!! 

little hands, big help!

Cooking with kids is an adventure I love, when I'm in the right frame of mind. For me it requires lots of patience, a willingness to open to "yes" and the ability to relinquish control over the final product (and who am I kidding... I must relinquish control over the process too). A few weeks ago, in such a space, I got some assistance from my best little helper. We raided the pantry and made some delicious gluten free energy balls. The beauty of these is that the final product is delicious without perfect measurements. An ideal snack for 2 year olds to make. Avi was awesome in the kitchen - measuring, scooping, pouring, mixing, and tasting. I love to see him feeling helpful and important ... he shines with pride as he does his "work". (p.s. I love our learning tower for exactly days like this).

What are your favorite adventures to do with kidlets when you are in the right frame of mind?

a taste of tuesday: Quick Rhubarb Pickles

Quick Rhubarb Pickles

I love rhubarb. But not for the reasons one might think. It's not the taste I'm in love with, but the memories. 1980-something, summertime, free range of the neighborhood for whatever game we (anywhere from 4-15 neighborhood kids) came up with, munching on the tart stalks of rhubarb that grew behind the Garbe's house. 

This is an über easy recipe (from Everyday with Rachael Ray) for that overgrown rhubarb you have in your garden. 

If you'd rather use your rhubarb for something sweet, check out this rhubarb cardamom galette.

Ingredients

• 2 cups cider vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
• 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
• 10 whole cloves
• 10 whole black peppercorns
• 1 piece  (1 1/2 inch) fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 1 lemon
• 1 pound fresh rhubarb, cut crosswise into 3/4-inch pieces

Directions

1. In a nonreactive medium saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, mustard seeds, cloves and peppercorns. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is just dissolved, about 5 minutes. Add the ginger, then use a vegetable peeler to slice strips of zest from the lemon; add to the saucepan. Let the liquid cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
2. Divide the rhubarb among 3 clean, small glass jars. ladle in the cooled brine mixture. Top with the lids and refrigerate the pickles for 2 days before eating. (The pickles will keep refrigerated for up to 1 month.)

They taste great! Use as a snack, side dish, or to top a salad. 

a taste of tuesday: Energy Balls

I have been experimenting with making organic energy balls. There are a million different recipes for them. Literally. Type in "energy ball recipe" into google and come back with 4,990,000 results.  So when I say millions, I'm not lying. But I have to say that my blogger friend, Kim at your green baby, has been most of my inspiration with all the yummy delicious snacks she makes for her little guy. So, last week I scoured the pantry and came up with this concoction: 

Gluten Free Organic Energy Balls Recipe:

1 Tbsp organic hemp seeds 

1 Tbsp organic chia seeds

1 Tbsp organic honey
1/4 C organic sunflower seeds
1/4 C organic pumpkin seeds
1/4 C organic coconut flakes (I crushed them into smaller pieces after I took this photo)
1/4 C organic gluten free oats
1/4 C organic dried cranberries
1/2 C organic nut butter


Note: Next time I will use more nut butter since I kept adding more ingredients. My end product was a bit crumbly. You decide how much you need based on what texture you like. And experiment with ingredients... try adding granola instead of oats, agave instead of honey, chocolate chips or raisins instead of cranberries.  The possibilities are endless!!

Combine everything in a large bowl and mix well.

Roll into balls and set on wax paper and refrigerate minimum 1 hour. Enjoy.

Everyone in our family loved these... and they went so fast I didn't get a chance to take another 'pretty' photo of them... or a photo of any one of us enjoying them!! 

What is your favorite snack for the whole family?

an addiction

nine things....

for which I'm grateful...

...learning about sharing.

 ...a potato that screams of love.

 ...three girls in my kitchen!

 ...sharing Shabbat dinner with special friends.

 ...one more round of peanut heaven before dropping them off at the shipping store to be re-used.

 ...green smoothie moustache.

 ...mastering "knife" skills.

 ...Pant-less Farm's indoor fields are tilled.

 ...a reminder that love abounds

(a sweet sight after exchanging unpleasantries w/ Jenn).