Red Quinoa Frittata with Chard and Pea Shoots

My sweet pea loves to eat sweet peas!

We had some friends over for brunch last weekend and served this quick spring frittata with chard and pea shoots from the garden. 

Red Quinoa Frittata with Ruby Chard and Pea Shoots:

heat a large fry pan over medium heat

warm olive oil and add a few cloves of garlic

add chard and pea shoots (or any greens you have on hand)

when they have wilted a bit  sprinkle cooked quinoa over the top

beat 6-8 eggs and pour over green

sprinkle a bit of cheese on top

cook until bottom is firm then place under broiler to finish top

White Bean Soup with Kale and Winter Squash

We had this soup this week while a friend came over to discuss some business ideas. Serve with toasted sourdough and a peppery olive oil. Oh so good!

This simple, flexible soup is better the next day. Just add a few more handfuls of kale to brighten it up.

`2 cups white beans. Cover with water and cook until tender.

Then add extra water.

one chopped butternut squash or other winter squash. maybe even canned pumpkin in a pinch

one sweet onion

4-6 large chopped carrots

3 stalks celery

1 Tsp herbs de provence

salt and pepper

one HUGE bunch of assorted kale (dinosaur, curly blue, red russian, etc. ) 

any green would work here. kale, collards, chard, bok choy, spinach.

Sopa de Lima

I am wishing we were exploring the Yucatan peninsula instead of home with colds...again! We are swimming in chicken soup, but I decided to spice mine up a bit to make a simplified version of Sopa de Lima. Basically, you add chicken soup to your bowl, top it with crushed tortilla chips, the juice from half of a lime, a large dash of habenero picante sauce and you are good to go. Sand, waves and hammock optional. 

Like Mother, Like Child :: Yummy Yeasty Popcorn

My little YEASTY BEASTIES! One of my earliest memories as a child was eating popcorn just like this at preschool. It is, by far, our favorite snack. As soon as I turn on the air popper, Emily comes walking as fast as her little legs will carry her, yelling "bopcone, bopcone!" 

Then we all have the biggest smiles as we sit down on the kitchen floor around this huge bowl.

Yummy Yeasty Popcorn:

Pop half a cup of popcorn in an air popper

Heat  a combination of olive oil, butter, unrefined coconut oil (LOVE this oil for cooking and body care)

and three pressed garlic cloves 

Pour over popcorn and sprinkle with

a dash of kelp powder, loaded with minerals

lots of nutritional yeast (found at most health food stores) for protein and B vitamins

Creamy Vegetable Chowder

We had a fun but cold day playing in the rain today for our Nature Awareness Class. We had a dear friend missing from that community today. We miss him dearly. Hopefully this chowder will help warm our bones and our spirits.

This recipe is adapted from a chowder in my favorite cookbook, Moosewood Restaurant Daily Special.

Creamy Vegetable Chowder:

saute one onion in

1 Tsp evoo

add 4 celery stalks, chopped

4 large carrots

5 red potatoes

4 cups water

1 bay leaf

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground pepper

bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer until tender

use immersion blender to puree half until creamy

add one red bell pepper

one bag TJ's organic foursome frozen veggies(peas, corn, carrots, green beans)

or chopped zucchini and peas if in season

cook for a couple of minutes

lower heat and add

1 cup milk

1 cup grated cheddar cheese

4 oz cream cheese

heat gently and serve with a zippy salad like arugula tossed in a lemon vinaigrette

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.)