Snow Day!....And What I Would Have Bought at the Market

I've heard snow predictions a couple of times since living here. How much snow have we had? None!....until yesterday! : ) 

It snowed the whole day starting at about 11am. It was so beautiful! The difference between here and Illinois is that when we woke up in the morning, even though the snow had stopped overnight, the roads still had snow (and ice!) on them, and it was SO quiet outside because very few people were going to work. Not even me! I was pleasantly surprised to receive a text saying that I didn't need to come. I am now sitting on our couch while Marshall is on a conference call that would normally take place at his advisor's office, however his advisor will not be in the office to lead the call. Two inches of snow makes a big difference for a city with 6 plows and no (or very little) salt.

I won't be going to the market today either. This means the leek and sausage pasta will not be made tomorrow since the leeks and sausage will still be at the market! Rosa sauce will probably take its place since I have everything to make it again.

I was planning to do a "My Cart From the Market" post, but since I'm not going to the market, you're going to get a "What I Will Miss that I Would Have Bought at the Market" post. Here it goes:

Parsley - I've made it a rule to always buy parsley at the market. It's so fresh that it usually lasts a month in the fridge, and it's much more tender than what I buy at Publix. And it's 39 cents!

Kale - unbeatable freshness and price!

Dried Cherries - was going to buy them mostly for salads, and also snacking on with nuts. Don't remember the exact cost, but they are much less than at your average grocery store.

Loose Leaf Early Gray Tea - great taste, great price -- Have you detected a theme here?

Hibiscus Licorice Tea - Sounds kind of strange, but it's a fabulous, unique tea they have that I am out of....will miss it for a couple of weeks.

Nicoise olives - a new type of olive that I discovered....so tasty!

Well, there's a summary of the food I will not be eating this week.... : ) In the meantime, I'll enjoy the snow since it may be all we get for the next 2 1/2 years!

Menu and Two Successful Bread Experiments

Monday - pasta with rosa sauce and chicken

Wednesday - spicy peanut soup

Thursday - buttery leek and sausage pasta

Friday - homemade spaghetti and bread (which will be another batch of this no knead-artisan bread {in the dutch oven} seen below)

Sunday - cassoulet 

Dinner vegetables for the week: brussel sprouts and kale are the two I know of. Others will be picked based on what looks good at the market.....Oh how I enjoy the market : )

Yay for a new bread recipe!

I was introduced to this bread by two people that I love over Christmas. Since I love-love-love making bread, and Marshall loves-loves-loves eating bread, this was a must-try recipe! (I wonder if I could have just won an award for most amount of hyphens used in one sentence! : )

Anyway, to all very experienced bread makers out there.....this is a bizarre way to make bread! I mean, no knead isn't a new concept to me, but the only thing that felt normal about making this bread was that there is flour and water in it. Just follow the directions (and use plenty of flour when transferring your dough from it's original rising bowl to whatever surface/bowl you are using for the second rising), and it should come out great! It came together SO easily and tasted so.........well.......tasty!  

To all not as experienced bread makers.....this is SO easy and SO tasty that you need not be afraid, need not make excuses, and you need try! Have fun!

This loaf of bread represents my first time using my sourdough only (no yeast) to rise dough! I have tried this two other times and, though the bread was fine, it didn't rise nearly as much as it should have so the bread was very dense. I have also made versions of sourdough that also use yeast. I was so happy that the bread came out well. So proud of my healthy, hard-working sourdough starter : ) 

Coconut Chocolate Chip Muffins

In my most recent "what I ate Wednesday" post I mentioned how the coconut chocolate chip muffin was my favorite thing I ate. Well, I knew I needed to share the recipe, but when I originally made them I used sourdough. I don't consider sourdough starter a household item, so I wanted to make a variation. I got around to that a few days ago and it turns out the variation is better than the original!

Coconut Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 cup rolled oats

1 1/4 cups coconut milk (I used the boxed kind)

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted*

1 egg

1 cup white whole wheat flour

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 12 muffin cups; set aside (or line with paper cups).
2. In a small bowl combine rolled oats and coconut milk. Set aside to soak for a few minutes.
3. Mix oil and egg into soaked oats.
4. In a large bowl mix together both flours, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
5. Add oat mixture and chocolate chips to dry ingredients, stirring until just combined.
6. Divide batter among the 12 cups and bake for 15 - 18 minutes.

7. Let cool for a few minutes in the muffin tin before placing them on a wire rack to cool.....You can also eat them warm : )

*I haven't used coconut oil in a muffin before this (and the original batch with the sourdough) and, though the muffins turned out great, both times the oil seemed to come out of the muffin in the cooking process and end up in the bottom of the muffin tin. I am thinking that if I melted the coconut oil in the milk (so that the milk was also warm....meaning the oil would also go in with the oats to soak) that this may not happen. You can decide if you want to use coconut oil or some other kind of fat. However, the coconut oil and coconut milk are what make this muffin taste like........you guessed it, coconut!

Does anyone with more experience with coconut oil in muffins have a different suggestion?

Dinner Menu - Snacks - Oatmeal

Monday - sliced bratwurst in sauerkraut (made with apples, onions, bacon, and beer)
Wednesday - baked French onion soup
Thursday - buttery leek and sausage pasta
Friday - homemade spaghetti and bread
Sunday - chicken tortilla soup

Dinner veggies for the week: kale, spinach, leeks, and probably green beans (they didn't look good today, but hopefully there will be some new beans on Wednesday!)

Some breakfasts and snacks I'll make during/for the week: hard-boiled eggs, green smoothies, blueberry cream cheese muffins, and chocolate chip cookie balls.

I have a new favorite way to make oatmeal lately...

Cook oats in half milk half water (any kind of milk will do), when most of the liquid is absorbed I add a sliced banana for the last couple minutes of cooking, then transfer to a bowl and top with dark chocolate chips. I prefer to put the chocolate in, give it a stir, and eat it immediately so that the chocolate isn't completely melted, but do as you please : )

I have learned that the key to making good oatmeal is adding that pinch of salt that Quaker calls "optional"....it's actually not optional.....do yourself a favor and add the salt. I had been tired of oatmeal and didn't really like it for a while, but now I have been enjoying it again thanks to the salt, banana and chocolate!

What I Ate Wednesday

Breakfast - half an English muffin with butter, hard-boiled egg, half a grapefruit, and passion fruit tea 

 Lunch - leftover curried quinoa with chicken and vegetables and a spinach-grapefruit-banana smoothie

Snack - coconut chocolate chip muffin

Second snack - didn't get a picture since my camera was at home...It was a kiwi, a strawberry, and half of an Asian pear (sometimes called apple pears)

Dinner - chicken dumpling soup, bread and butter, and the frothed milk chai that Marshall made me while I was cooking and I didn't get around to until dinner

Yum yum yum! Out of everything I ate today my favorite thing was probably that coconut chocolate chip muffin. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they turned out. Just did a bit of tweaking to my  oatmeal raisin muffin recipe, and bam!....a deliciously new and exciting muffin : ) 

Menu

Monday - quinoa pasta (which is made with quinoa flour and corn flour) tossed with chicken, kale, roasted brussel sprouts, sharp cheddar, and a bit of olive oil

Tuesday - salsa chicken, rice, green beans

Wednesday - pasta with beans -- let me explain -- After soaking and boiling black beans you break them up while cooking them in bacon fat, and serve tossed with homemade pasta and the bacon from which the bacon fat was reserved. Kale on the side

Thursday - tuna cakes with creamy chive sauce on English muffins, brussel sprouts

Friday - layered kale -- let me explain again : ) -- think of this like a cabbage roll...kale layered with a mix of beef, rice, onions, and seasonings

Sunday - homemade tamales!!! (no idea about the sides yet...)

So let's talk tamales - I have been wanting to make these for about a year. Why has it not happened?

Because first I could not find masa flour, then, after finding it in McHenry and bringing it back in my suitcase, I could not find corn husks (which I had previously seen at Publix), and after finding those buried on the bottom of a shelf at a Korean grocery I had already used the beef that I had originally bought for them. I puchased some new beef, found the time to cook the tamale meat, put it in the freezer, and then the holidays came around and there was no time for such endeavors.

So in other words - I have been waiting for these a long time (and so has Amber)! So in more words - I am really hoping the long anticipation does not outdo the outcome.

These tamales better be good!

What I Ate on Friday (almost 3 weeks ago)

This was the day before we left for Christmas. Meaning, my day of eats was planned around what was in the fridge and needed to be eaten! The only fruit I ate was the blueberries in my breakfast....had to save the apples for our airport breakfast!

Breakfast - quinoa cooked with coconut milk, coconut flakes, and blueberries - drizzled with maple syrup. It was so purple! 

 Lunch - half a bowl of baked French onion soup leftover from the night before and 2 stalks of celery

Nibble - Lindor ball! Yum!

Snack - piece of leftover sausage and olive pizza

 Dinner - chinese delivery....sesame chicken, rice, 2 egg rolls and egg drop soup, and I also steamed the beans you'll see below.

Dessert - this is half chocolate milk and half coconut milk - a successful experiment : )

What was YOUR favorite thing YOU ate today (or 2 1/2 weeks ago on Friday : )?

**I was informed recently that commenting on my blog was restricted to Gmail users...oops! Problem is solved now : ) 

First Menu of 2014

Monday - shepherd's pie, broccoli (I used this recipe as a base - get creative to suit your taste)
Tuesday - curried quinoa tossed with chicken and veggies (probably kale, broccoli, and onion)
Wednesday - chicken dumpling soup
Thursday - Most likely leftover shepherd's pie, and most likely more broccoli (can't let it go to waste!)
Friday - paprika fish soup (basically tilapia, onion, and a whole bunch of paprika)
Sunday - pork chops, dumplings, and green beans

After arriving home today and unpacking I had a stack of 10 new books from Christmas, half of which were cooking books! Can't wait to try more new recipes.

That's all for now, but I should have some fun posts coming up over the next few weeks.

Happy cooking! : )