Hay! :: Autumn Stew

We are enjoying the pure joys of Autumn around here and we made an amazing stew to suit the season for dinner tonight. It isn't great in photos though so I added this adorable photo of our hay rides instead.

While we were getting seeds and seedlings at Common Grounds, Gracie spotted the hay and wanted a bale "so we will be prepared when we have a farm someday!"

Autumn Stew:

you can put all ingredients in the crockpot in this order and cook on low all day, add kale last 20 min

or brown meat in large pot then add other ingredients, bring to boil, stir then cook on low +/-2 hours adding kale at the end as well

all cut into big chunks:

2 large sweet potatoes

8 carrots

2 sweet onions

red bell pepper

fennel bulb

top with:

2 lbs(?) stew meat (I get natural beef, grass fed, no antibiotics, etc. etc.) tossed in flour

combine:

28 oz diced tom

1 cup red wine

1 Tsp whole grain dijon mustard

1 tsp thyme

and pour over meat and veggies

6-8 hours later...

top with

4 cups chopped kale

You will be glad for the cool weather and the rain in the forecast.

Chicken Provencal

My cousin Steve made a great dinner (with great appetizers from Dave) for the entire family at our family gathering at Pajaro this year. After having a great conversation with his wife about the families that she consults because they have Type 2 diabetes, I am working on healthy, quick, affordable meals that ANY and EVERY family should be able to eat.

This week I bought groceries at Whole Foods to see how inexpensively we could do this using organic ingredients. If you make something similar let me know how much it costs for you to make shopping somewhere else. Where is the best deal for those that are less fortunate than us but deserve to eat just as well as we do?

Chicken Provencal:

1-2  lbs organic chicken thighs ($3.60 - on sale for $1.99 lb)

1 28 oz can Muir Glen crushed organic tomatoes with basil (on sale for $2.50)

1 16 0z jar roasted bell peppers, rinsed to remove excess salt (4.99)

1 4.8 oz jar pitted kalamata olives, rinsed ($3.50)

1 Tsp herbs de provence (25 cents) estimated but probably less since I buy in bulk at Whole Foods

1 tsp dried shallots (15 cents)

1/2 tsp dried garlic (10 cents)

2 cups dried brown rice ($1? was on sale for $1.50/lb this week in the bulk section)

6 cups water

Combine all ingredients in slow cooker and cook for 6 hours on low. add rice for last hour

 OR brown chicken in pot add other ingredients and cook on medium heat for 30 minutes

serve over cooked brown rice

Prep Time:

5 minutes or less

Cooking Time:

6-8 hours on low in the slow cooker

30 minutes on the stove

Cost: $16.10

Feeds Four: for one to two nights (On the second night add chicken broth and turn it into soup)

Make it a Meal: with a side salad or throw spinach/kale onto the top for one pot cooking (it was great with kale this week.)

What is Fast Food?

I had a great conversation with my cousin Sue at the beach this weekend and we came up with a great idea. She is a nutritionist for families that are battling Type 2 diabetes that really need help making nutritious, simple, affordable meals at home (instead of getting supper at McDonald's. I hope everyone has seen Food Inc. and the amazing work by Jamie Oliver and the effects that typical fast food is having on our children.)

So I am going to try to help. I am creating a label called "Fast Food" that will include posts of meals that I make (or links to other sources) so that we can spread that word that it IS possible to feed your family delicious, nutritious, affordable, quick and easy meals. 

Along with recipes we will have a price breakdown, maybe a shopping list from where we bought it and a nutritional analysis (by Sue if she is reading and willing :-)

Want to help? 

I need guest bloggers with recipes that are:

1. family friendly 

2. affordable (which means different things for different people-farmer's market, bulk at Whole Foods, WalMart-they all need to have healthy, affordable options)

3. quick and easy to make (community cooking, slow cookers for working moms, batch cooking, microwave)

Let's redefine FAST FOOD!!!

Giving Thanks

While we were giving thanks and gratitude at the dinner table the other night, Ryan said he was grateful for "this wonderful meal and every meal that mama makes."
Gracie said "Yeah, except that one one time."
Me: " Which time honey?"
Gracie: "The split pea soup."

So...maybe it isn't her favorite :-)

Split Pea Soup

One of my favorite soups when I was a little girl (and also when I was pregnant with my little girls!) was split pea soup. We'll find out tonight if it is also Gracie's favorite. It is such a simple slow cooker recipe.

Split Pea Soup

2 Tsp olive oil

8 small carrots - diced

1 onion - diced

8-12 oz cured ham - chopped - 

    I found Niman Ranch Smoked Ham at TJ's!!! saving half in the freezer for next time

4 cups split peas

12 cups water

cook on high until peas are soft

cook on low until dinner time

A Pizza Party

We had dear friends over last night for a pizza party so I thought I would share just exactly how we make pizza here in The Coffee Cottage. A few friends have asked for more recipes and how-to's.

So here goes...

First prep toppings.

I like taking a look at Delancy for inspiration and seasonal ideas. i.l.o.v.e.m.o.l.l.y. and have enjoyed reading her book, her blog and watching her dream restaurant become a reality.

Tonight we are having four pizzas (actually 2 topped half and half)

1. Gracie and Nyla's favs : mozzerela, artichoke hearts and black olives

2. The Crimini: shaved crimini mushrooms (use a cheese grater or mandoline), mozz, olive oil and thyme

3. The Margarita: mozz, sliced grape tomatoes and chopped fresh basil

and a new AMAZING pizza. I could have this again

4. The Romana: anchovies, garlic, sliced grape tomatoes, kalamata olives, oregano, grana

and this chili oil. Add more oil after cooking.

***Thanks Auntie Beth for the Sotto Voce Oils!!!***

Put pizza stone into the oven and Preheat the oven to 425.

Take pizza dough (I like TJ's whole wheat dough) out of fridge to rise (on flour) for twenty minutes wile oven and stone heat up.

Flatten dough into 12" circle and then carefully pick up and throw up into air to spread out without breaking dough. This takes practice but is incredibly fun and once you get the hang of it, it is like riding a bike...a skill you always have and a good skill to have in my opinion.

I like a thin crispy crust so I make a large pizza. Take HOT stone out of oven , sprinkle with course cornmeal, put dough onto crust and quickly top and get back into the oven as quickly as possible. Cook 15-20 minutes.

Being quick also takes a lot of practice. I like to be able to do this in a couple of minutes to get the best pizza possible. We have pizza almost every Friday night so we are efficient around here now but I had lots of torn crust, under cooked, overcooked pizza,  etc. for a long time.

I encourage you to try this at home. You may just never want to eat at a pizzeria again. After having the Romana last night, I probably won't. It is really that AMAZING!

Meatless Monday :: Homemade Spaghetti Sauce

For part of my new year's list of resolutions, we are going to have Meatless Mondays here in the Coffee Cottage. Not that it will be too hard as we were vegetarian for a long time and still have many meatless meals but I have noticed that we are eating meat more often than I would like. I want to be more mindful of our choices for food, for our health and for the health of the planet. HERE is the link to the Meatless Monday campaign if you would like to read more about the benefits and would like to join us. Leave a comment and maybe a link to one of your favorite meatless dishes below. 

Homemade Meatless Spaghetti Sauce (using the LAST of our summer tomatoes in the freezer)

Saute:

evoo

one package TJ's mirepoix (onions, carrots, celery)

one package TJ's sliced crimini mushrooms

garlic

herbs de provence

one can tomato paste

one can water

1/2 gallon bag frozen tomatoes from the garden

s+p

Bring to a boil. Crush tomatoes and try to remove tomato skins. Simmer until ready to eat. 

I may puree it a bit with an immersion blender so it is smoother over the w/w angel hair and so Gracie gets more of it in her stomach than on her face. 

We met a sweet family (Shannon, Michael, Catalina and Sydney) at Refugio and they commented that Catalina (age 5) who doesn't care much for veggies and won't eat spaghetti sauce if it "has stuff in it" so HERE is another favorite pasta sauce without "stuff." I hope our paths cross again!