potatoes are pretty much amazing.  they are kind of a big deal.  cheap. comforting.  they make cameos on breakfast, lunch, and dinner plates. basically i curse them for existing.  i also want to set up an altar, ancient egyptian style, and leave offerings of butter, chives and herb gardens at it's feet. yes, at it's big potato sphinx feet.

this recipe is super yummy and literally has 3 ingredients (besides salt and pepper).  for reals, i make this for holiday dinz all the time.  it's that spesh, but also is a healthy potato dish and laughs in the face of other potato dishes that lavishly soak themselves in creamy baths of caloric cray cray.  not this one.  you think you are indulging, but really, you are at the heavenly boom boom room of spud paradise deluxoid. 

first, dust off the mandolin you know you have somewhere, but can't really remember where. figure it out, it's easier than you think, and get ready for kitchen fun times. it is very sharp, however, so wait on pouring that second glass of wine until after your spuds are sliced right up. thinner the better. i peel them prior. this recipe just works better without the skins.  how many potatoes you will need really will depend on their size. i have made this dish with every type of potato and gotta say, use your fave. they all work beautifully. have a sack of them by your size and make a mound of coins. i usually start with about 8-10.  

you will also need to mandolin a couple onions.  white, yellow, again, use what you like.

start layering. salt and pepper between each layer. start with 2 layers of potatoes and then one layer of onion rounds. keep that up until your baking dish is pretty full. leave a 1/4 to a 1/2 inch at the top for the stock to bubble a bit...mmm...yum.

then, you will take your stock, in this case, i am using homemade fennel chicken stock, but you can use whatever you've got, and pour it over your potatoes until it is just covering them. now, pop it into the oven covered with tin foil for 20 minutes.  should be all bubbly and delish when you uncover it and throw it back in for another 20-half hour till its golden brown and the edges of the potatoes are slightly curling up. it will cook down till these beautiful layers fuse together and you can cut perfect slices of heaven onto anxiously awaiting plates. you will swear you're eating some creamy gratin, but really, it's just the starches from the spuds and onions coming together in a beautiful symphony of comforting goodness. enjoy!

here's a lil quickie guys. we were drentched in hot fun summer times for a while there and then boom. crash. (lightning strobes and sounds). rain for like, three days. phewf.  gave me some time to catch up on and get my man hooked on the show i am watching, orange is the new black. (more lightning sounds...actually, to be honest, more like cute pitter patters of summer rain, but you know...)

so, anyway, really wanted to throw the corn on the bbq but didn't wanna ask the man to brave the storm. my (not very) subtle hints i was dropping about craving the cob were not working and turning into "that's what she said" jokes... why had i showed him my new show? slay! 

had an idea. turned the stove burner on, husked the corn, fire roasted dem babies in just a few minutes. kinda was giving myself mini pats on the back as i turned them with my tongs in all their toasty summer glory. mmm.   shaved them into a mexi salad with left over quinoa, crumbled goat feta, a poached egg, a dollop of greek yogurt, cilantro, salsa and arugula...and hot sauce...duh!

could somebody grab me a beer? the next episode is about to start!!

y'all betta' get ready for this.  you will literally be smothering this chimichuri on every single thing you eat until every last speck of green is swooped by fingers and tongues from the jar.  f'reals.  it is fresh, tangy, and such a fla'blamo flavour pop that anything it gets to hang out with on your plate will be made light years more glorious.  pop rock candy might make a come back if they made a chimichuri flavour.  

now, i know i have mentioned this before, but i believe that the best recipes are the ones that live in your head.  ones with no real weights and measurements, it's more about handfuls, bunches and pinches.  that's how i love to cook.  

chimichurri is a pesto'esk herb sauce that can vary a lot in ingredients based on it's spanish and italian influence.  it's from Argentina and is used as a sauce or is a sublime marinade on meats.  i personally love it so much, i could swirl it into my cereal and smile.  my biggest crush, david rocco, made a version close to this one on his show, dulce vita, and i've been savouring the flavour ever since.  whoa. have you checked that show out?  best ever.  i want to marry him, his wife and his whole rustic italian life when i grow up. 

throw a couple garlic cloves in the food processor with a small handful of capers.  buzz these real quick and then fill the bowl with parsley (cleaned and chopped a bit.  discard the bottom 1/3rd of the stem but keep the rest...it's filled with flavour).  now pulse those all together.

once it looks a bit like this, scoop out the herby delish into a mason jar.  now squeeze a whole lemon into the jar.  if it's an organic lemon, zest it prior  to cutting and squeezing, for extra brownie points.

throw some sea salt "up in the mug" and drizzle extra virgin olive oil into the jar until it is just covering the goodness.  taste and adjust seasoning if needed.  i love doing this with green apple as a scooper.  

some things i use this churri on:

• as a salad dressing...add a bit more oil and or lemon juice for added drizzle factor and use on an arugula, green apple, feta and caper salad. boom. so good.  straight sexy time salad.
• a marinade for virtually ANY meat.  it is a dream on halibut, beautiful on venison, and chicken was born to be drenched in it (umm, that sounds bad).
• pasta. pizza. bread products. oh. my. gawd.
• piled up on a melty brie round on a cheese plate.  expect proposals.  people will bow dow to you on one knee.  i might be exaggerating. i might not be. try it and you will see. 
• as a face mask.  okay, i am kidding.  but i have contemplated it before.  it's that good.

i was so excited about my morning off of work and kidlets to have a lil bit'a blog time that i almost forgot to eat breky.  so, whipped up a "quickie" and thought i'd share it.  you should try this delish and nutrish version of "the sexy mason jar breakfast"…derived from memory, like all really good recipes are, from a recipe on sexyfoodtherapy.com.  Melissa Ramos.  love her.  seriously love her. check her website...it is so awesome.  anyway, i think the only difference is that i omit the ground flax seed.  i like the texture  better without it, myself.  hers also calls for ground chia, which i always just use the whole seeds and love.  try both.  

ingredients:

2 tbsp chia seeds
2 tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tbsp nuts and or seeds (i like a mix of chopped almond, sunflower and pumpkin…or pecan, hemp seeds and walnut…just use what you have)
1/2 a chopped apple
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dashes of fresh nutmeg, and cardamom, a couple grated clove buds in there are very good too.
1 scoop of your fave protein powder (i love the vanilla Sun Warrior)
if you have a sweet tooth, add a packet or a few drops of stevia (sub any sweetner you'd like-doesn't really need it though, in my opinion)

and then just fill with boiling water when you are ready to eat.  give it a good slow stir...needs to be mixed up or the chia will clump up a bit.  yu-um.

soooo goood! you can make a few ahead of time to have on hand to take with you to school or work. just mix the dry ingredients in mason jars and chop 1/2 and apple to toss in before you head out the door.  you just need boiling water to mix in when you are ready to eat.   bon appetite!

okay...calm down...take a few breaths and repeat after me, " you can do this"!  say it a few times and pour a glass of wine or whiskey and really get cozy to the idea of making brittle.  i finally did it. so can you.  if you have a candy thermometer, it's go time.  guess what, i thrifted mine, brand new for 25 cents.  let's do this!

brittle is so good on it's own or crushed up on ice cream.  hello!  delish.  this recipe makes 2 pounds, so there is enough to go around. yu-umm.

i adapted this recipe from Ted Allen's cook book, In My Kitchen, which is one of my faves.  for reals... i have a huuuge crush on him and want to invite him over to my crib for a dinner party. making his brittle was kind of a way to...uh... ehem...err... have a reason to send him fan mail.  just kidding. but kind of not.   think i will.  

anyway, Ted's recipe calls for corn syrup, which i am totes not down with (the #1 reason i haven't made fancy cute time marshmallows yet, which are, in fact, why i purchased a candy thermometer in the first place) so i decided to go a bit cray cray and use brown rice syrup.  i was thinking i could try agave syrup and it might be a closer fit, as far as a substitute, but didn't have enough...you may try to sub agave...tell me how it goes.  i am going to try marshmallows with it. i will share.  obvz.   however, the brown rice syrup made such yummers brittle, i dunno if i would switch it up again.  

ingredients:

4 tbsp (1/2 stick) unsalted butter (plus more for baking sheets)
3 cups pecans (i did 2 cups pecans and 1 cup pumpkin seeds)
2 cups sugar (yup, i went white sugar on this one)
1 cup brown rice syrup (or agave syrup)
3 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract (i used our homemade rum vanilla extract)
3/4 tsp  flaky salt (cyprus or maldon sea salt is the best here)

3.   measure out and have ready your butter, baking soda, and vanilla.

4.   butter 3 baking sheets and set aside. 

5.   combine brown rice syrup, sugar, and 1/2 cup water in a large saucepan over medium heat, stirring occasionally until sugar is dissolved and the liquid is clear'ish.  use a pastry brush dipped in water or silicon spatula to brush/wash any remaining sugar crystals down the sides of the sauce pan.  stick a candy thermometer into the pot, increase the heat to medium high and cook without stirring until mixture thickens and the thermometer reads 230F. 

6.   add the pecans, pumpkin seeds and butter, and stirring constantly, cook until the temp reaches 305F.  remove from heat, and quickly stir in baking soda and vanilla.  be super careful, as the mixture might sputter and foam.

7.   pour the mixture in 3 equal portions onto the buttered baking sheets.   butter the back of a wooden spoon or the spatula you are using, and use it to spread mixture out as thinly as possible. sprinkle the sea salt over the brittle.  allow to cool and then break into pieces.  store it in an air tight container for up to a month.  ha.  as if you will have it for that long.

this is a pretty unbelievable crown pleaser.  it is my "go to"  party food/pot luck/ladies night/craft night dish that i whip up when i am short on time.  for reals, it takes about 10 minutes and the delish factor is through the roof. 

prep and cook time: 10 minutes

ingredients:

• package of Medjool dates  (amount will simply depend on how much you are wanting to make. you cut them in half, so if you get 10 dates, there will be 20 yummy stuffed dates)
  
• organic cream cheese (i get it made from raw milk on a local farm-umm. sigh. best ever.)
• a handful or two of almonds, chopped 
• honey
  
• an apple
  
• a lemon wedge
  

in a skillet, cast iron is my fave, toast up the almonds until they look and smell...well...toasty. careful not to burn them. obviously.  i almost always have to go round two'sies on nut toasting (umm, i am sure there is a "that's what she said" joke in there somewhere).  put them in a bowl and set aside.


now cut the dates in half longways and remove the pits.  spoon cream cheese into the middle and fill the hole where the pit used to live.  then, roll the cream cheese top in the almonds to coat each date, placing them on the plate you will be using in a circle, with space in the middle for your apple rose.

wash the apple and using a peeler, start peeling strips of apple as long as you can get them by going around and around it. squeeze some lemon juice on them and toss them to coat.  the lemon prevents them from oxidizing and browning.  try to arrange them curled around each other until it looks like a rose and place in the middle of the plate.

now drizzle, drizzle, drizzle the whole masterpiece with honey, dates and the rose, until well coated.  enjoy.

these roasted tomatoes are the easiest thing in the world to do and bring the most insane flavour to any dish, o.m.f.g.! seriously. for reals. and totally.  best part is, if you pay attention, lots of times, at farmers markets, farm stands, and/or local grocery stores will put tomatoes on special when they are perfectly ripe to move them out before they go bad.  i nab them from Seaweeds (my local health food store) when they do and make a huge batch of these...

first, preheat your oven to 250, wash your tom toms, take the stem tops off, and quarter them if they are big like this.  if you have romas or smaller tomatoes, halving them is great.

ready for the ingredients?  you will need tomatoes and time.  that is it.....

ready for the hardest part?  resist any temptation to put ANYTHING on them. not salt, not oregano, not italian seasoning, not even unicorn blessings of good tidings to all.  well, i guess you can put a tini drizzle of the last one on them babies, but, at least just try them out unadulterated one time before getting cray cray with additions.  these are sooo sooo good as an ingredient in their perfect pop of tomato glory.

speaking of pop, pop them in the oven and check the time.  leave them in there for 4 hours, check them, try one, and see if they can go in for another hour or so. it really will depend on the size, ripeness and lusciousness of the tomato you have.  these ones were in for 5 hours. mmmmmm. my mouth is watering just looking at these.

my favourite use for these is to make quinoa, make pesto, and mix them together.  folding these in along with fresh buffalo mozzarella (or as Loji calls it, monster'ella).  chop some fresh herbs (whichever you used in the pesto-basil, parsley, mint, chives, etc) and garnish that dish right up.  a little arugula salad and your man won't know which to devour first; you or the pretty plate.

hi buddies! i know...i know...it has been way too long.  for reals.  i promise i am going to make it up to you today and tomorrow! blog days baby! i really want to show you these crackers i made for my boys last week. they were a big hit.  they were so fun to put in Loji's lunch with little hearts of cheese and organic buffalo salami.  i used the same heart shaped cookie cutter, so they stacked together in tiny adorable cracker sammies.  i seriously wished i was a techie spy mom and had a tiny camera hiding in his lunch to catch his reaction when he opened the little tin up that had these inside.  did i just say that all out loud?

i made them with quinoa flour this time, which works well, but usually go with wheat for these ones.   the taste of the quinoa kinda takes over the subtler sesame, but if you are super ultra mega gluten free and looking for a cracker situation...these are your girls!

aiight...here's the spekz:

1 cup whole wheat flour (you can sub quinoa flour or all purpose)
1/2 cup grated extra sharp cheddar cheese
teaspoon salt
2 tbsp canola oil (yes you can sub whatchya have!)
1/2 cup water
toasted sesame seeds, for sprinkling

preheat oven to 375

combine flour, cheese, and salt in the bowl of your food processor and pulse until well blended. add the oil and pulse again.  now add the water. blend well.

turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and make a ball with it.  flour your rolling pin (if you don't have one, use a wine bottle. you will feel really cool and resourceful if you do this.  when you are finished with this step, pop her up to make sure she's still good! mm.:) and roll the dough out till it's about 1/8 inch thick.  sprinkle with sesame seeds and roll again to embed them into the dough a bit. 

you can cut into squares with a knife or pizza cutter or use cookie cutters and cut out crackers. place on an ungreased baking sheet and prick each cracker with a fork.  bake about 20 minutes or until golden.  be sure to check on them if you do little shapes because they will cook faster then bigger ones.

if your dough sticks to your counter tops for some reason, just use a spatula and scoop them right up.

now spend entirely waaaay too much time placing them on a baking sheet as if anyone was going to see it (umm, except for you guys, of course. ehem.)

use the slot on the side of your cheese grater to get uniform thickness on your ridiculously adorable cheese hearts. i know guys, try to contain yourselves!  you probz don't really use this part of your grater so much...this might be kind of exciting for you. it was for me. go big or go home!

now enjoy! seriously, you can form fit (pun intended) this to any holiday or occasion with the shape you make these into.  bon appetite! 

alright, who doesn't want to trick their kids into eating "good for you" candy and thinking they are just as spoiled as can be?  alright, calm down moms in the back!  you can put your waving arms down now.  don't make me pull over the car!  

i made these orange juice lego gummies yesterday to bring in for Loi's valentines day party at school.  see, i used the lego molds after this to make chocolates for his valentines he's going to pass out today...post to follow... so, i figured they would tie into his "we click together" theme he (i) had going on.  i had found the molds online last year and went cray cray with them for the lego birthday party he had last year.  hmm, also...post to follow...  

anyhoo, the recipe i used yesterday for these is suuuper easy, fast and you probz have everything you need in your kitchen right now.   ingredients...orange juice and gelatin.  i used grass fed gelatin, but normal gelatin packets are easily found at any grocery store.  now, the recipe is from a super cute book from 1964 called Sugar Free Toddlers.  i only used this one, because, as i said, i had all the ingredients here.  had i not been sick as a dog all week, i would have gone to buy lemons and used the second recipe i will list down yonder.  they are my fave.  my son loved these oj ones...so, in a pinch, here yar:

prep time: 2 mins
cook time: 5 mins

ingredients

3 cups fruit juice 
5 packets unflavored gelatin powder

in a mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of juice with the gelatin powder.  bring 1 cup of juice to a boil, then stir in the gelatin mixed juice. add remaining cup of juice and stir until gelatin is completely dissolved.  pour into molds or into an 8 x 8 pan and chill until set.  if you use a pan, you can cut out shapes with a cookie cutter.

this one is the jam guys.  try this recipe.  kinda addictive.  did you know there is tons of protein in gelatin? who knew.  


one word of advice: pick a simple mold! these legos were hard to pop out perfectly. the dots at the top were giving me a run for my money (seriously, what does that even mean? c'mon quotes! make more sense sometimes!).  pick a solid form that'll pop out easy.

pink lemonade protein gummy candy
prep time: 5 minutes

total time: 5 minutes


ingredients

• 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp lemon juice (not from concentrate)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 full dropper of berry stevia drops
• 1-2 drops lemon or orange doTerra essential oil or extract (optional)
• 1-2 drops natural food coloring (optional)
• 1/4 cup grass-fed gelatin

instructions

1. in a small saucepan over low heat, whisk together honey, lemon juice, stevia drops, lemon extract and food coloring(optional).
2. add in gelatin and continue to whisk constantly until smooth and there are no lumps.
3. transfer into a liquid measuring cup to easily pour into your molds.
4. place in fridge or freezer to let gelatin set for a a while before removing from molds.

Notes:

store in an airtight container, will stay firm at room temperature. if there's any left after a few days (nom nom), refrigerate for up to two weeks.

i know, some of you can't get down with stevia...but the flavored stevia drops (Sweetleaf Sweet Drops) they are making are seriously awesome. not a fan of the valencia orange, but all the others i've tried are totes the jam.  we have a soda stream and make "soda" all the time with bubbly water and a few drops of the falva'flave droplets.  i feel like i'm doing an infomercial here...but i do use these in recipes some times, so here's a link and the flavors they carry....  http://www.sweetleaf.com/products/sweet-drops-products

Coconut • Watermelon • Cola • Lemon Drop • Valencia Orange • Berry 
Chocolate Raspberry • English Toffee • Vanilla Crème • Hazelnut • Peppermint • Root Beer
Grape • Apricot Nectar • Chocolate • Cinnamon

make your own tootsie rolls at home using this easy recipe!  there's no cooking or baking required and it's made using simple pantry staples.  go on...try it out.  up..up...up...

i never liked them when i was a child.  gave them away or traded them when i'd get them in my bag of halloween loot.  but when i ran across this recipe a couple years ago, i thought i'd try it out.  in love.  you seriously will not believe how much (better) they taste like the real dealio. cray cray.