Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

Chocolate Chip Cookie Recipes are all pretty standard, but around the holidays I did something a little different to my chocolate chip cookies that had people reeling with delight- i put orange extract in my cookies instead of vanilla. I'm sharing this twist on the old favorite with you, because IT'S DELICIOUS and should be shared!

Orange Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 325*F

• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
• 1c Brown Sugar
• 1/2 c Granulated Sugar
• 3/4 c Melted Butter

Mix the above wet ingredients before adding following dry ingredients:

• 1 1/2 Tbs Orange Extract (i use an oil based extract)
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
• 2 c Flour

Mix thoroughly before adding:

• 1 bag of chocolate chips (i use enjoy life minis. I like the ratio you get with mini chips, and enjoy life brand is soy free for me)

I usually make a batch of dough and roll it up in a tube of waxed paper so i can freeze it. Then i use it as a slice and bake recipe. i like bigger cookies so this recipe usually makes 18 large chocolate chip cookies. Bake @325*F for 12-15 minutes.

*Occasionally i'll zest an orange and add that too, but it's really not necessary for the flavor.

*I believe that freezing the dough makes better cookies, but when i'm not in the mood to wait, i use baking powder in place of the baking soda for a fluffier cookie. 

A Very Harry X-Mas

Harry Potter Theme Party

Universal is hosting a special Hogwarts Christmas Dinner this year which (we obviously can't attend put) prompted DH to ask for a Harry Potter Party.

*I found a lot of my templates using google, but did not keep track of where and altered most of them. Suffice to say, any unlinked template was on the freewebs.

DH saw marauders map invitations and asked me to make them. I put platform tickets inside

I printed them on this paper and provided templates at the bottom. I put a platform 9 3/4 ticket inside before folding it in thirds and sealing with wax.

Tip: Dip the stamp in olive oil and blot on a paper towel. Let the glue sit for ~20 seconds before stamping. I found my best stamps were when i let the stamp sit til the glue hardened and then removed the metal from the rubbery seal Alternatively you can do the wax thing.

Harry Potter merchandise costs a pretty penny, so I've opted for the DIY on a lot of things. I've made chocolate frogs in the past, but for our party i found the fold your own box pictures. 

(I'm going to be attaching jpg files here and full disclosure- they were free on the interwebs and i don't remember where i got them from.)

This is a photo of my chocolate frogs from last year's halloween party. These are with homemade chocolate, but this year i'll just be melting down soy-free chips and maybe filling with peanutbutter

Bertie Botts Every Flavor Beans are always a crowd pleaser, but I wanted the movie box for effect. You can buy them online for ~$10/box before shipping, but i just printed out a template and coated it in packing tape and bought the less cool boxes to fill it with for $5:

pay attention to where the bottom folds. i folded mine wrong the first time and had to refold it

I bought a 24ct of 5oz bottles and modpodged labels on for premade cocktails:

In this photo, the felix felicis and butterbeer are only half filled because i need to buy cream soda and won't be adding lemonade until closer to the party date. The ones that are liquor and soda are being made ahead of time, the one with juice needs to be fresher :)

Recipes are for 8 bottles (40oz total) since we did 3 different cocktails in our 24 bottle pack.

• Butterbeer: 26oz Butterscotch schnapps, 7oz Rumchata (cinnamon almond cream liquer), 7oz Tuaca(vanilla liquer), 2 drops yellow food color *I originally posted this recipe with cream soda, but it made the rumchata curdle. I opted to just eliminate the cream soda because I'm very happy with the liquer recipe I have, but you can substitute something non-cream based if you'd like to use cream soda.
• Polyjuice Potion: 20oz St. Germaine (elderflower liquer), 6oz Absolut Wild Tea, 6oz Orient Apple, 8oz Club Soda, 2 drops green food color 1 drop brown food color
• Felix Felicis: We did a lynchberg lemonade: 16oz Honey Whiskey, 8oz Triple Sec, 16oz lemonade. 1/8 tsp gold disco dust (disco dust is food grade glitter made for cupcakes and makes a very beautiful glittering snowglobe effect in drinks)

Pumpkin Juice: apple juice, pumpkin pie puree, and apricot juice. We just bought the orange naked juice and added pumpkin

We had Wizarding World themed snacks and decorations:

Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, Golden Ferrero Rocher Snitches, Sorting Hat Caramels, Licorice Wands, Cauldron Cake Brownies, Ron Weasley's Reubens, and we also served chicken wings (I originally was going to do all drumsticks so it had the turkey leg motif, but then I decided boneless wings were both yummy and easy and I put them in a big copper chafing dish). We did "exploding chocolate" with Chuao's mini firecracker chocolates (they have cayenne and poprocks.) You can see the drink table in the background with the pumpkin beverage dispenser (of pumpkin juice) and the assorted "potion" bottles

I actually leave the floating candles up year round. I watched the tutorial on Epbot and added extra "wax" drippies, but found it easier to just tie fishing line around the base of the flame and back up to the tip of the flame(so it hangs straight) than to drill or poke holes. Ours flicker and look very realistic. Super pleased with them. We replaced the curtain in the doorway with a "brick" curtain for entering platform 9 3/4

Our mini tree, topped with its very own Hedwig topper

Ornaments were mostly cheap ebay finds: time turners, wand charms, deathly hallows charms, golden snitches, tiny potion bottles, etc.

Look for updates! we'll be having a HP mini tree, floating candles, ferrero rocher snitches, sorting hat caramels, exploding chocolate, treacle fudge and more!

Link to original map template

Meatloaf Cupcakes

I've been on hiatus for awhile because...I HAD A BABY!!! And for approximately 10 months I have not felt like cooking much of anything, let alone anything new. I've made some soups, but nothing exciting. Yesterday I made meatloaf cupcakes! Super cute and delicious.

1.5 lbs ground meat (i use turkey)
1 egg
3/4 c diced onion, cooked til translucent
1 c bread crumbs (i just stick the end piece of bread in a blender)
1 1/2 Tbs worchestershire sauce
1 Tbs Dijon or whole grain mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cayenne powder
Salt and Pepper

Mash it all together and spoon it into a muffin tin. Mine made 8 cupcakes. Bake at 350*F for 25 minutes.

When you put the meatloaf in the oven, start your potatoes.
(I used about 4-5 potatoes, enough to cover the bottom of a medium pot, covered with ~1 inch of water and boiled for 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes, add 2 Tbs of butter and ~1/4 c of milk and blend with a hand mixer til smooth. You're going to put it through a piping bag, so you want it smooth)

Pull the meatloaf out of the oven, pipe mashed potato "icing" on top and return to the oven for ~10 minutes. Serve. (We had 2 per person)

Our side dish was pan roasted turnips and carrots, buttered and glazed with honey

Homemade Marshmallows

I recently realized that I've never blogged the recipe for homemade marshmallows. The texture is ever so slightly different and i still prefer real marshmallows in a s'mores, but these are fluffy/spongey, sweet, AND good for you and make an excellent sweet snack. The best part is that you can flavor them however you want.

These are NOT vegan, but here a link to Vegan Marshmallow Fluff which a friend made and passed the kid test.

I use this recipe for Gelatin Marshmallows, and i made and ate them frequently when i was repairing my gut. (For those that don't read all the little bits of my blog, i developed a food allergy to soy at age 21 and spent ~7 years adapting to a soyfree lifestyle with hives, rashes, swelling, and gastric distress anytime i strayed. January 2014, I embarked on a healthy gut diet which operates on the theory that most food allergies are caused by a damaged digestive system. While i still avoid soy in my life, i have not had a visible reaction in a year and a half, and i am so happy about that)

1 c water
3Tbs Gelatin
2-3 Tbs Raw Honey (or maple syrup)

• Pour half a cup of water into a mixer bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top. Pour vanilla (or any flavoring you like) on top if desired. Let it sit.
• Meanwhile, bring the other half cup of water to a boil and stir in your honey to melt. I use an electric tea kettle (because i have one) and mix it in a measuring cup. I also had cocoa powder at this stage if i'm using it.
• Pour hot water over cold water and turn on mixer with the beater attachment
• Turn on your mixer and start at a low speed, upping the speed as the mixture begins frothing. It takes about 10-15 minutes to get a big voluminous mass in your mixer bowl. i usually put it at medium speed and walk away for 10 minutes, then up the speed for another 5 minutes.
• Pour into a mold (either an 8x8 or a bread loaf) and chill for several hours.
• Store in the refrigerator.

*Tip: You really want to beat the sh*t out of these. Think meringue. It should be super super fluffy. I usually stop beating when i can hear the air being folded in. I have not tried letting the gelatin mixture cool a bit before beating, but if i only had a hand mixer, i probably would since you're beating it as the gelatin sets.

*Tip #2: I don't stir my gelatin powder in when i put it in the cold water, because it has a tendency to stick to the bottom. Even so, i will often mix it up with the beater, stop and stir the bottom with a spoon just to make sure there isn't gelatin stuck to the bottom of the mixer. You want all the gelatin to mix in appropriately.

Almond Flour Waffles

I spent a significant amount of time on the GAPS/Paleo diet for my allergies, and I know how hard it can be to find carb substitutes that taste like the real thing. While we eat flour in moderation these days, almond flour waffles are absolutely delicious for those that DON'T eat flour. Because I have these recipes at my disposal, it's always good to share them.

These cook beautifully, and taste like the real deal.

I adapted this recipe from Taylor Made It Paleo and am cross-posting from my GAPS blog, Modern Mischief Managed


3/4 cup canned coconut milk
3 Tbs Honey

3 egg yolks (*keep the whites)
1/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup nut butter- I used hemp butter. Soak your nuts/seeds with boiling water for approx. 30 minutes before blending.
1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups almond flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
cinnamon, to taste


3 eggs whites- beaten til stiff


-I always begin by melting my coconut solids in a saucepan. Since I use a lot of raw honey, I add that to the pan too. Heat until melted but do not boil.
-Mix ALL wet ingredients except whites in a mixer (egg yolks, coconut milk, almond milk, vanilla, honey, and nut butter).
-With the mixer on, blend in almond flour, baking powder, and cinnamon.
-Fold in the beaten egg whites. Most recipes tell you not to overmix your egg whites. I say "to hell with that!" Whisk in your egg whites until the mixture is fully incorporated. If you don't, you're going to have random sections of cooked egg white in your waffles. They will still come out fluffy, I promise.
-Spray down your waffle iron, I use a misto spray bottle filled with olive oil. Cook waffles following waffle iron instructions (Mine has a light that indicates when they are done). These waffles tend to stick so I like to use a chopstick to help remove waffles from the iron.

Drizzle with topping of your choice: Butter/Ghee, Maple Syrup (not GAPS), Honey melted with cinnamon, reduced fruit juice, fresh fruit or fruit puree.
* These waffles aren't super sweet so I recommend toppings.

Soy-Free Teriyaki Sauce & Mandarin Pasta Salad

Soy-Free Teriyaki
I LOVE asian food. LOVE it. Although most asian soy is fermented, and therefore doesn't pose a health risk with my allergy, it really isn't something I keep in the house. I wanted to make This Recipe for Mandarin Pasta Salad, but didn't have teriyaki or soy sauce, and didn't really want to bring them into my house, SO I sat and thought about the flavor profile of soy sauce:

Mostly, it's salty right? And so I began

-1 c water
-1 tsp black truffle salt (any salt will do, but i thought the mushroom salt especially mimicked that soy flavor. I bought this a long time ago at the oil and vinegar taproom i mentioned before. It's pricey, but also intensely flavored so something i use sparingly.)
-1/4 c Brown Sugar
-1 Tbs Honey (i used ginger infused honey)
-1/2 tsp Garlic
-1/4 tsp Ginger

Everything into the pot! Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add in a slurry of:

-1/2 tsp cornstarch and 1/4 c cold water.

Simmer until desired thickness. I just let it go on medium-low heat for like 20 minutes. Let it cool. This recipe is also gluten free so...bonus? *This isn't going to be super dark in color like a traditional sauce.

Mandarin Pasta Salad
*As usual, I've tweaked the recipe and reduced the portion for 2, but this link will take you to the original recipe.

• 1-2 c bowtie pasta noodles- cooked and cooled
• 2 cups spinach leaves
• ⅓ cup peanuts
• 1-2 mandarin oranges, peeled and divided (we buy halo brand oranges, they're like cuties but mandarin instead of clementine)
• ¼ cup cilantro leaves, roughly chopped

dressing

• 1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar (rice wine would be better but is harder to find)
• 1/4 cup oil (we use peanut oil)
• 1 tablespoon minced red onion
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• Additional garlic and ginger to taste (i did about 1/8 tsp each)

Combine everything, toss w/ dressing just before serving and yum!

Salmon Salad

Salmon is actually something we eat pretty frequently. One of my favorite preparations is grilled over salad. I always pair it with fruit and nuts and some sort of olive oil vinaigrette. Today, Bob happened to be slicing up a fresh pineapple while i was cooking the salmon and i decided to use that as the fruit. YUM!!!

(I can never remember to take a picture BEFORE i start eating...)

Step 1: Cook your Salmon

Step 2: While the salmon is cooking, prep your salad

• 1 cup baby spinach
• 1 Tbs Black Walnuts
• 1-2 Fresh pineapple rings
• Drizzle with olive oil and an acid. I had pineapple balsamic, so i used that, but some pineapple juice would work equally great!

Step 3: Serve Salmon over salad, drizzle with a little more vinegar/pineapple juice and devour!

Feel free to mix up your fruit combos. We frequently do strawberries with goat cheese and balsamic, cranberry and walnut, and a grapejuice vinaigrette is super yummy with salmon!

Food Benefits!!!

Salmon: Omega 3s!!! Vitamin D!!! Iodine!!!

Spinach: Iron! Vitamins: A, C, E, K, beta-carotene, and Fiber!!!

Pineapple: Digestive Enzymes!!! Vitamin C, Calcium, Potassium, and Fiber!!!

Sweet Potato Pasta

Most of our meals are not planned. I got a new veggie spiraler the other day and also found a bag of sweet potatoes in my pantry from before thanksgiving. I'm not huge on sweet potatoes, despite them being super super healthy for you, and despite having been on GAPS before, but I thought why not. I spiraled them up and just kind of went with it. It was the first time I ever attempted this dish, and while tasty had some lessons to be learned :)

• 2 Tbs Butter (or ghee or omit)
• 2-3 Tbs Olive Oil
• 1 Small Onion, minced
• 2-3 Cloves of Garlic, minced
• 2 Large sweet potatoes, noodled 
• 2 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 Tbs Sour Cream (optional)

If you don't have a spiraler, you can use a veggie peeler to make flat fettucine noodles. If you are using a spiraler, I have read that most have issues with sweet potatoes- personally i think because of the shape. For my spiralizer, i had to choose potatoes that were skinny enough to turn. I did spaghetti noodles, but wonder if the fettuccine style might be more pleasing to look at on the plate

I melted the butter, added the olive oil, and sauteed the onions and garlic. I also added some crushed red pepper because i like it. I added the noodles, tossed to coat, put a lid on it and left it to steam. I waited til they were cooked through before adding the balsamic, but i don't know that that was necessary.

This is sauteeing in olive oil with onions and garlic. Leaving it uncovered and just sauteeing for 2-3 minutes would have given me curly, al dente noodles.

 I melted in the sour cream around the 5 minute mark and it added a very pleasant richness to the dish. Add your protein so it is warmed through (i did canned clams) and devour.

*This is admittedly not the prettiest dish I've ever made, but it was tasty at every stage in the cooking process (it smelled amazing cooking in the butter and onions and tasted great too). The sweet potato is definitely edible at every stage in cooking, so i might make them more al dente in the future. The balsamic cream sauce was also delicious, but the dish would probably be prettier if i made the sauce separately :)

Vegetarian Lumpia

My mom traveled a lot as a kid (and is now a travel agent) and lived some pretty incredible places. I'm sure you know by now means that i grew up eating some rather non-traditional dishes for an American kid. One of my favorites growing up was Lumpia- a phillippino springroll filled with beef, bacon, potato, onion, carrot, and cabbage. I made this recently, but without the proper wrappers had some trouble rolling and frying them, so we ended up just eating the filling out the bowl. Tonight I needed a quick sidedish, so i omitted the meat and ended up with tasty pan fried vegetables.

Vegetarian Lumpia Sidedish

Time: 10-15 minutes
Serves: 2

• 1 Large Potato, peeled and diced
• 1/2 Small Onion, diced
• 1 Carrot, julienned, minced, or in peels (however you like)
• ~1/4 head of Cabbage, sliced thin.
• ~1 tsp Black Pepper

Place all the vegetables in a hot pan with about 1 Tbs of oil. Cover with a lid and cook until potatoes are done, about 10 minutes. Coat liberally in cracked black pepper, stir, and salt to taste. Serve alongside protein of choice.

I always have these vegetables in my house so it's a quick and tasty choice

*For the full version, add 6 strips of bacon, diced and 1lb of ground beef. Let the filling cool before you roll it into eggrolls. Lumpia wrappers are a special kind of wrapper- wheat and rice and super thin. Look for them in an Asian grocery store!

Scratch Waffles

With a soy allergy, there are a lot of conveniences I simply can't have. One of those conveniences is instant pancake batter. I prefer waffles (i like all the little crevices), but we use the same batter for pancakes and waffles so to each their own. Click here for my GAPS/Paleo version.

Dry:

• 1 c flour (this recipe adapted to cup4cup GF flour like a champ!)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 Tbs sugar

Wet:

• 1 Egg
• 3/4 c Warm Milk
• 1/4 c  Melted Butter
• 1 Tbs Vanilla

Mix Wet ingredients in a separate bowl from dry ingredients. Add wet to dry. Makes ~5 Waffles (cuz we cook for 2). There is no reason you can't premix the dry ingredients (mix them well so they are evenly distributed) and store them in a cannister to make this process easier, using 1 cup of mix to the wet ingredients.

Lemon Garlic Chicken

We've been taking a sort of winter lazy holiday this week since we work all major holidays. It's cold, and we don't heat the kitchen beyond the open doorway to the rest of the house so i am loathe to spend much time NOT being lazy on my lazy holiday. So when I decided I was hungry, I wanted something fast but tasty. I made this with frozen chicken and my Lemony Cabbage Recipe and was still done in under 20 minutes.

• 1-2 TBS olive oil (i use lemon - obviously i cook with it a lot. great salad dressing too!)
• Zest of 1/2 lemon
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 Chicken Breast per person, cubed
• 2 Garlic Cloves (i use the paste from a tube)
• 1/4 tsp Turmeric
• 1 tsp Ginger Honey (or 1 tsp Honey w/ 1/4 tsp Ginger)

In a pan on medium-medium high heat, Add 1-2 Tbs of lemon olive, the juice of half a lemon (I made 1/4 head of cabbage for 2 sides and used the other half lemon in that recipe), and the zest of half a lemon (i used the zest from 1.5 lemons on the cabbage), 2 minced garlic cloves, and 1/4 tsp turmeric to the hot pan. Add chicken and stir to coat. Cook through, turning once. When the chicken is cooked, stir in 1 tsp Honey and Stir to coat. Let simmer ~1minute. Serve over lemony cabbage.

*I added a dash of cayenne to my lemony cabbage to pair well with the asian flavors of the chicken.

Chili and Corn Muffins

Chili

Serves ~10-12?

This is, admittedly, one of the most stuff-from-cans things that i make, but most of the stuff-from-cans is organic/beans so ::shrug::. We generally buy organic everything, but non-organic is still going to taste fine.

-4, 15oz cans of Kidney beans (I like 2 light and 2 dark because i enjoy the color contrast)
*I use 4, 15.5oz cans instead of 2, 33oz cans because it just fits in my crockpot better. 2 large cans works fine too, it just fits a little less comfortably.
-1, 18oz Can of Tomato Paste
-2 lbs ground beef.
-1 Onion, minced (i stick this in a personal blender because my husband has a thing about onions)
-2 Tbs Chili Powder
-2 Tbs Cumin Powder
-1 Tbs Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
-1 tsp Garlic Powder
-1 tsp Cayenne Powder (Optional, we like it spicy)

Mix the beans, tomato paste, and spices in your crock and set to low. Cook beef on the stove and drain off the fat.  Add onions to the pan and cook for ~5 minutes so the meat is super flavorful. Add to the crock and turn to low or high depending on desired cook time.

Corn Muffins

Bake at: 350*F for 10-15 minutes
Makes: 4 dozen minis

I use Ina Garten's Corn Muffin Recipe. and, because we're a family of 2, I do a couple of things different from her recipe: Firstly, I make minis and secondly, there is enough butter in these, you don't need paper liners. I either make a half batch (~24 minis) while my chili is cooking OR I make a whole batch (which is about 4 dozen minis) and freeze them, keeping the bag of frozen muffins next to the containers of frozen leftover chili. They DO reheat well.

This is a wet/dry deal so use 2 bowls, dry ingredients in 1 and wet ingredients in the other
-3 cups Flour
-1 cup Corn Meal
-1 cup sugar
-2 Tbs Baking Powder
-1 1/2 tsp Salt

-1 1/2 cups Whole Milk
-2 Large Eggs
-2 Sticks Unsalted Butter, Melted

Add Wet to dry and combine until just mixed. You don't want to overmix. I pour this (and all batters i do) into a large ziplock and cut the tip off so i can squeeze it into the muffin tins. Bake at 350* for ~12 minutes

Curry

Asian food is a favorite for us and over the years I've tried my hand at making different dishes. For 2 years, I've been telling my husband I could make curry if i tried and today I did it. The important thing in this recipe is making the sauce, and you can put whatever vegetables you want in it.

Time: ~30minutes
Serves: 2-4 depending on how soupy you like it

Step 1: Begin making rice- my husband HAS to have rice with a curry dish
Step 2: The Sauce

-2 cans of coconut milk (i buy this in bulk from back in my GAPS days)
~12inches of lemongrass (since it's january, we just bought the two stalk pack at the grocery store), sliced and separated
-1 Shallot minced
-2-3 garlic cloves minced
-1/4 tsp ginger powder or a thumbnail piece of ginger
-2 Tbs Red Curry Powder
*Extra Cayenne to taste
-1/2 tsp fish sauce
-2 Tbs Brown Sugar (or Honey for GAPS/paleo)
-Juice of half lime

Bring coconut milk to a simmer. Add lemongrass stalks and shallots. Simmer ~5 minutes before adding remaining ingredients.

Step 3: At this point i also added my vegetables (we did sliced carrots and cabbage with cashews, but bell peppers, water chestnuts, stewed tomatoes, snow peas, broccoli, and bok choy are good too) Simmer for 5-10 minutes before adding a cooked protein. We bought our shrimp pre-steamed so they just needed heated through. Curry can simmer for quite sometime so if your protein is raw, just add it and cook it through (or cook it separately and add to the pan). Serve over rice. Optional: Top with crushed peanuts and fresh cilantro. Turned out yum! just like the Thai restaurant. I won't say I'd try to compete with anyone who makes curry as a staple part of their diet, but as an avid consumer of Thai food, this was delicious!

Bonus: You can also cut out 1 can of coconut milk and thicken this recipe with 2-3 TBS of peanut butter for a great curried peanut sauce to dip shrimp or chicken in!

The Winston (Street Bagels)

I think every college has that street vendor, the one that all the college kids go to after the bars close for some deliciously addictive food from a cart. My college street vendor was Winston's Bagels and we waited in line many nights and paid $3.75 for a char-grilled bagel topped with:

 butter and cream cheese, apples and onions, cinnamon and garlic, cucumbers, raisins, sunflower seeds, and bacon bits.

 It sounds crazy, but it works. Winston grilled the bagels and sliced the toppings for each order right in front of you, but to make every bite a perfect bite, i created Winston's Bagel Spread, with all the ingredients diced up and blended together. We leave out the raisins and sunflower seeds, So good, you can't eat just one.

-1 bag of bagels- we like mini bagels. (This is one of those things we don't make from scratch, but can still buy soy-free)
-2 large apples- peeled and diced
-2 small onions- peeled and diced
-1 cucumber- peeled and diced
-1 stick of butter- cubed
-1 pack of cream cheese
-Real diced bacon
-Cinnamon and garlic

In a bowl, combine all the diced fruit/vegetables. Sprinkle cinnamon and garlic to coat the surface and stir everything up. Honestly, if you're going healthy, you could stop at this stage and eat it like a waldorf salad. It's yummy.

Stir in the cubed butter and then add the cream cheese. It will take a lot of smearing with the back of a spoon to get everything integrated.

Toast your bagel and top it with the mix while warm and sprinkle with chopped bacon.Eat it as a sandwich. Start toasting your next bagel.

Lemony Cabbage

This is primarily a sidedish, but i also make it as a snack!

-1/2 cabbage
-2 Lemons, zested
-1 Tbs of Lemon Infused Oil
-Salt and Pepper to Taste
-Basil (optional)

Cut the cabbage to pieces of your liking, i generally cut it in 1"-2" squares, or thick slaw straws. Add cabbage to a hot pan and top with lemon oil. Stir to coat. Add zest of 2 lemons and juice of 1 lemon. Let simmer to a doneness of your liking- i like just barely translucent with crunch. Salt and pepper before serving. If desired, toss with basil before serving with a protein of your choice.

A Vegan For Dinner- Mushroom Tarragon Pierogi, Grilled Vegetable Salad, and Cucumber Slaw

Tomorrow, an old friend is coming to visit, and has over the years transitioned to veganism. I will be sharing the recipes for our vegan table spread.

First thing first is to understand what veganism is and to what degree your guest follows it. Vegans do not eat animals or animal by-products. The big difference here between cooking vegetarian and cooking vegan is that most vegetarians are lacto-ovo, meaning they eat milk and eggs. Vegans do not. Most vegans do not eat honey and a small percentage do not eat fungus (mushrooms, the yeast in beer). I roll my eyes at the fact that a great number of them wear leather, but such is life. A bigger challenge here is that in our house, we don't eat soy which is often what would replace dairy. My guest eats both honey(logic: without bees there are no fruit and vegetables and beekeepers have a vested interest in fighting colony collapse disorder) and fungus (cuz who really feels bad for the fungus? it's so hard to empathize with fungus). I googled vegan dishes and found this link, which is excellent, and selected the grilled vegetable salsa from there! The rest are vegan adaptations of things we eat everyday.

Our vegan lunch will consist of: Mushroom Tarragon Pierogi,Grilled Vegetable Salsa, Thai Cucumber Salad, and Fresh Watermelon. I prepared most of it this evening for serving tomorrow.


Mushroom Tarragon Pierogi
While pierogi are not grain free for the paleo people, they are something i make by hand and keep in the freezer. More importantly, the super basic dough recipe that i use just so happens to be vegan.

-1 pack Mixed Shrooms (about 1 cup)
-2-3 Tbs Tarragon
-Salt to Taste

In a food processor, blend mushrooms and tarragon into a finely minced paste. Transfer into a pan with olive oil, add more tarragon if desired and salt to taste. Make your pierogi shells, fill, boil, freeze, and sautee. 1 pack of mushrooms will fill approximately 15 pierogi.


Grilled Vegetable Salad
*While I'm calling this grilled, the lazy in me just used my stove top
-1 Zucchini- chopped
-5 Ears of Corn
-1 Onion- diced

Basically, grill up your favorite seasonal vegetables and mix them together in a bowl. Then toss them with this dressing:

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (2 limes) I’m sure lemon works too

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 small garlic cloves, minced

2 tbsp minced fresh cilantro (or herb of choice)

1 tsp maple syrup (or other sweetener)

1 tsp Dijon mustard

Salt & Pepper, to taste

I made this the day of, but prepped the dressing the night before

Thai Cucumber Salad

2 cucumbers, spiraled or slices (I spiral mine on basically an apple-corer-peeler-slicer)

1 Tbs peanut butter- melted

1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil (I keep this in the cupboard because I love Asian cooking)

2 Tbs Apple Cider Vinegar

Toss all ingredients together and serve immediately. You can also use this sauce for "Asian slaw" with cabbage and carrots

Let's Talk About Eggs

We buy cage-free, hormone-free, certified humane brown eggs in recycled packaging. As simple as eggs sound, there can definitely be a learning curve, so let's talk about eggs:

Scrambling
I am definitely a fan of the omelette. Arguably the easiest way to do eggs, I add sundried tomato and basil to my eggs and add the to a hot pan with a little oil.  I also like to put a lid on it to help them along before flipping. In my experience, a bigger spatula is always better.

Sundried tomato and basil omelette with sour cream and finishing salt

Hardboiling
Hard boiling is one of those things that can be very easy to mess up. I like to follow this method: for perfect eggs everytime:
-Use older eggs (so they will be easier to peel)
-Cover eggs with 1-2 inches of water.
-Bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and cover the pot with a lid. Let the eggs sit in the hot pot on the (off)burner for 10-12 minutes. Longer is ok as it is difficult to overcook the yolks this way. Drain and rinse with cold water. Dry and store covered in the refrigerator. Eat within 5 days.


Poaching
Poached eggs are by far my favorite. Poached eggs are traditionally served runny and are just sooooo pretty on the plate. I have tried ladles, molds, and parachuting (in a deep steamer pot), but my favorite (and the prettiest) is the vortex method:
-Fill a pot with water and add 2TBS of vinegar.
-Bring the water to a rolling boil and then lower the heat to a simmer (so the water isn't churning)
-Crack your egg into a small bowl
-Using a spoon (or i like to use a chopstick) begin stirring circles around the edge of the pan, creating a vortex
-While keeping the vortex going with one hand, Pour the egg down the middle of that tornado and stop stirring. The vortex will keep the whites centered in the pan as they cook for 1-2 minutes.
-Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

Fluffy Poached egg on a bagel with Old Bay Seasoning and Balsamic Caviar.

We don't use teflon in our house, but they do make special poached egg pans that put out a beautiful poached egg if you want to take the skill set out of the equation

Eggplant w/ Carmelized Shallot

I have never been a very big fan of eggplant, BUT that's what's in season right now in our CSA box so when I was looking for a fast side dish to go with my protein this evening, i grabbed the eggplant off the counter and went to town. To be fair, I floured and pan-fried it, but you could substitute a gluten-free flour and/or bake the eggplant if that is your preference.

This is pan-fried eggplant topped with carmelized shallots and crabcake

-1 small eggplant, cut into 1/4" thick slices
-1/2 c flour- seasoned to your liking
-1/2 cup milk or cream
-1-2 Shallots sliced

Dredge the eggplant slices in cream and flour twice. Pour 2TBS of oil (we don't use soy in our house so for us it's usually olive or peanut oil- remember that olive oil has a low smoking point) into a hot pan and fry the eggplant about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to papertowels to drain and carmelize shallots in the same pan. Top with finishing salt.

How we cook Salmon

Growing up, I really hated salmon. It's still a hit or miss experience when dining out, because Salmon can be VERY fishy/stinky if prepared improperly. So here are some tips and tricks for cooking salmon properly, so you can enjoy it as intended.

Couldn't resist tasting before the photo op. This is a 1/4lb wild caught salmon served with homegrown blue potatoes(with thyme and butter) and local green beans

• Always buy fresh. We live across the street from a grocery store which makes this easier
• Know your portion. We portion at around 1/4lb so while wild caught salmon costs ~$12/lb, it costs us $6 for dinner.
• Always dry off fish before cooking it in oil. Water and hot oil are not a good combination.
• Black Walnut oil helps negate that fishy flavor. Our local grocery stores sell this. Since I use it mostly for cooking fish, i keep it in the fridge. It remains liquid in the fridge.
• The skin scrapes right off after you cook it. I like to put mine in the pan skin side down first so i can remove the skin while the other side is cooking. We give the crispy skin to our dog as a special treat.
• Cook salmon 5-7 minutes or to a doneness of your liking
• Salmon is versatile and pairs well with many flavors. It goes great with fruity dressings or with dill and cream, and is a favorite in our house.

Homemade Pierogi

Salmon pierogi up top, mushroom pierogi on the bottom

I have yet to find frozen pierogi without soy in them. By making them myself, i not only get to cut all the crap out, but i get to make some pretty unique fillings since pierogi ARE dumplings. The recipe below comes from a genuine Polish friend who taught me how to make them during a summer stay in the U.S.

Pierogi Dough

-2cups Flour (i haven't tried wheat or rice flour, but they would probably substitute fine)
-3Tbs Olive Oil
-1/2-3/4c Warm Water
-Dash of Salt

This is basically pie dough, which is crumbled and mixed on a countertop with your hands like any other pie dough. This can be difficult to get thin enough, so divide your dough in 2 and cover the extra to keep it from drying out while you roll it as thin as you can, around 1/16th of an inch is ideal. Use a glass or large round cookie cutter to cut your circles. I find a goblet to be slightly smaller than a pint but still a great size. Take the extra dough, add a little water, and re-roll it once. The dough gets tougher with each rolling so it is just not worth it a second time. You should get about 3 dozen circles from 1 batch of dough.

 Fill them, making sure all the edges are pinched well (forking the edge is a great failsafe) and boil them for about 10 minutes or 5 minutes past when they float. The thicker your dough was, the longer they will take to boil. Drain on a tea towel.

You can eat them right then, or freeze them for later. To freeze them, you want to lay them out on waxed paper on a sheet that fits in your freezer (a smaller sized cookie sheet fits in mine) and freeze them individually so they don't stick together. Once frozen, you can toss them all in a ziplock bag and store them. As Americans, we like to eat them fried up/sauteed in a pan with a little butter. Don't thaw them out, just throw them right into the skillet.

Fillings:
These are homemade so you can fill them with whatever you want!We fill them with:

*Crumbled Salmon sauteed with dill and cream
*Minced Wild Mushroom and tarragon
*Geleed Blueberries with honey (puree, reduce, and chill for a gelee like consistency)
*Spiced and Sweetened Pumpkin (tossed in cinnamon sugar after)
*Traditional Mashed Potatoes with Cheese and Onion

The runnier fillings can make the pierogi harder to stuff. I recommend chilling when you can, and pinching the outer corners of the pierogi prior to filling when you can't. When freezing multiple flavors, i like to do different edges on each type of pierogi so i can mix them together and still make sure everyone gets some of each.

Blueberry Pierogi with Cream