Crock Pot Carnitas with Roasted Vegetables

I am going to start by saying sorry. This is not an all-in-one crock pot meal. It is however easy, and the pork carnitas that is in the crock pot will provide you with many delicious meals!

This is one of those recipes that if you can spend 1-1/2 hours on a Sunday (or some week day when your kid(s) are in school), you will have many meals out of it. The 1-1/2 hours includes all the prep and getting the pork into the crockpot, prepping the veggies for roasting at dinner time, and cleaning up!

Step 1:

So, it starts with the pork carnitas. I used the recipe Crock Pot Carnitas from Popular Paleos website. It is an easy recipe to follow, all you need to do is mix spices, sear the meat, get it in the crock pot and deglaze the pan. Please go to the link to find the ingredients and directions. The only thing I have changed is that I double the spices that go on the meat (I just don't feel like there is enough) and I also sometimes use 1 cup of 100% orange juice instead of juicing two oranges.

Here is the seared meat in the crockpot.

Seared meat with the deglazed pan juices and citrus added. Note that I cut one of the pork pieces in half so that all the meat is in the liquid. It doesn't need to be covered in liquid, but at least sitting in it is best. 

Step 2:

After I get the meat in the crock pot and set the timer for it to cook for 5 hours on low, I like to prep the vegetables for the roasted vegetables I will be making at supper. This means they are ready to go, and I can clean up the kitchen! 

For this meal I decided to cut up broccoli (my all time favorite vegetable roasted), sweet bell peppers, leek and potatoes. I should also mention that all the beautiful vegetables came from our local CSA Crossroads Community farm, that is how I selected what to roast. You can mix all the veggies, except put the potatoes in a seperate bowl with cold water so that they don't brown. You can then stick both bowls into the refridgerator until ready to cook.

Step 3:

Dinner!

Heat the oven to 450 degrees. Drain the water out of the potatoes, dry off in a clean towel, and toss with your cooking fat of choice and salt and pepper. Do this with the other bowl of vegetables also. I like to then put the potatoes on one cookie sheet, and the rest of the vegetables on a seperate cooking sheet. Once the oven is preheated I put in the potatoes first for 10 minutes (they take longer). After 10 minutes I mix the potatoes around so that they continue to brown evenly and then I add the other pan of vegetables into the oven also.  Cook both pans for another 15 minutes and check. At this point I usually mix both pans again and give them another 10-15 minutes or so. It is really up to you how brown you like your veggies. We like them really crispy!

While you are cooking the vegetables (or when the 5 hours are up) you should follow the carnitas recipe. I would like to add also that if your crockpot runs a little hot, you may want to check the pork after 4 hours. Pork can dry out easily. After it is done, I like to shred and brown enough of the pork for this meal and for one more meal in the next day or two. After browning the meat I like to add in enough of the cooking liquid to make it moist and cook a few more minutes. This step is especially important if your pork is on the drier side. With this meal I will be eating the meat by itself while my family will eat it in buns. I will serve it with the roasted vegetables.

 

Meat with added cooking liquid.

The second portion will be used in tacos for my family and on a taco salad for me. You need to decide how much meat will be enough for your family. As suggested in the recipe, I store the rest of the meat in whole pieces and save the cooking liquid in a separate container. This freezes well!

I promise you that the meat tastes better then it looks in this photo! Enjoy!

14 Cleaning Projects That Go a Little Deeper Naturally From Houzz

Life is insanely crazy for us right now as a family, so I have not really had any time to write. I do however have time to read a few quick articles from one of my favorite websites Houzz, and share them. The following article gave some great ideas, especially #11. Though not all ideas were new to me, they are great reminders, especially at this time of year when illnesses start!

14 Cleaning Projects That Go a Little Deeper Naturally

8 Ways to Embrace the Wonder of Fall from the Houzz Website

After I get over the depressing fact that summer is over, I really do love fall. #4 is my favorite as I love sleeping and therefore want my bed to be a little piece of heaven.

8 Ways to Embrace the Wonder of Fall

Kitchen Tips and Tricks from the Whole30 Website

It doesn't matter if your are doing a Whole30 or follow a Paleo lifestyle, the link below is filled with fabulous ideas to make cooking and eating easier!

Kitchen Tips and Tricks

Light Coconut Milk and Red Curry Soup with Chicken

I didn't use light coconut milk to lower the fat content, I am all about using healthy fat sources. The reason I choose light coconut milk was to make this more pleasing to picky palates. I also found that I like that you can taste the homemade chicken broth along with the subtle flavor of the coconut milk. I used only 1 tablespoon of the red curry in my recipe for the above mentioned palates, but feel free to add more! When the soup was finished I felt like it was missing something. I added some Sriracha, and then it tasted just right. It is best to make this soup ahead of time to let all the flavors mix, even a day ahead of time. This is a great soup to make after you have roasted a chicken and have leftover meat to use, and homemade chicken broth. This recipe makes 4-6 servings.

Ingredients:

1 Small onion, chopped

2 Garlic cloves, minced

1/4 Cup parsley, chopped

1 Tablespoon coconut oil

3-4 Medium potatoes (red or white skinned), cubed

1 Medium sweet potato, cubed

Juice of 2 small Limes (1-2 Tablespoons)

2 Teaspoons Fish sauce

1-2 Tablespoons red curry paste

1 Can coconut milk

6 Cups chicken broth (homemade if available)

Shredded chicken (however much you like, but I would suggest at least 2 chicken breasts worth)

Salt to taste

Optional: Sriracha (start with 1 tablespoon, then to taste)

Directions:

-Melt coconut oil over medium heat in a 4-5 quart Dutch oven or pot, then add onions, garlic and parsley. Sauté for 10 minutes over medium heat, or until softened.

-Add both types of potatoes, mix and cook for 5 minutes.

-Add the lime juice, fish sauce and red curry paste. Mix well to coat the potatoes, then add chicken broth and coconut milk.

-Cover and cook over medium to medium-low heat until potatoes are easily pierced with a fork, aproximately 10 minutes. 

-Season with salt and optional Sriracha. 

 

5 Ways to Put Leaves to Work in Your Garden from Houzz

I came across this great little article this morning. As fall is officially upon us, it is time to start cleaning up our yards and time to put our gardens to rest. Here are some ways to use your leaves instead of just sending them off in a city truck.

5 Ways to Put Your Leaves to work in Your Garden

BBQ Pork Cobb Salad

I originally had a version of this at a restaurant in Madison. It had oven roasted cherry tomatoes (instead of fresh) and oven roasted red onions also. It was so amazing I wanted to create a version at home. I chose to not roast tomatoes and onions as this was an extra step, but if you have the time I highly suggest it! The original salad also came with blue cheese dressing. I found that if you use some BBQ sauce on your pork that the salad is plenty dressed. But again, feel free to add the dressing!

For the pork I have included a link to the pulled pork recipe we used, but any leftover pulled pork would do. When I make side pork or bacon I like to make the whole pack and use it over a couple of days in other dishes or on salads. I also like to hard boil eggs and have them in the fridge for salads or a quick protein.

BBQ Pork Cobb Salad

Makes 2 servings

Ingredients:

-6 Ounces pulled BBQ pork in your favorite BBQ sauce, shredded (here is a great multi-purpose recipe: Crispy Skin Pork Shoulder)

-3 Hard boiled eggs, quarted

-3 Pieces cooked side pork (or bacon), chopped

-1 Avocado, cut up

-5 ounces salad greens and/or spinach

-6-8 ounces of cherry tomatoes, halved

-Blue Cheese dressing (optional)

Grow Something!

As the summer season is winding down, it is time to say good-bye to this season's garden. Every year I look forward to starting my garden(s), every year I am also so happy to wrap up the season. It is truly a labor of love. I always tell people to grow something, be it vegetables and/or flowers. Start small. If you have never grown anything, the last thing you should do is start digging up your yard to plant 15 different varieties of vegetables. Also, you really need to think about what you like to eat and/or what flowers you like to look at (and what will look good in your yard or on your patio). I will talk more about gardening next spring, but for now I thought I would share some of our projects from this past season.


My daughter Marie's Begonia plant. She picked it out, we took care of it (of course). I have always loved Begonias as they continue to bloom all season.


My absolute favorite shade plant, Coleus. They add tons of color, and again look beautiful all season!

My perennial and herb garden. Vegetables are more my thing, so I love planting flowers (and herbs) that essential take care of themselves (and come back each year). 

One of three raised beds. My wonderful husband built these for me. I love mixing flowers with vegetables. My little rosemary plant is on the corner in a pot so that we can take it in when it starts to get too cold. If taken care of properly, it will be a perennial herb for us in Wisconsin. 

A view of all my front yard gardens.

Plants like tomatoes and zucchini do well at the ends of the beds where they can spill over the sides. 

Herb-y with basil, mint, thyme and oregano flowers. 

Herb-y with a basil fro and a Zinnia, by favorite annual flower. 

Early season before every thing explodes!

As cold and dreary days come knocking at our door, I like to be reminded of the beauty of summer, and what will come again. I hope this inspires you to think about next spring and what you could plant. Even if it is just a pot of flowers and a patio tomato plant on your porch, anything you grow is good for you (and the environment). Think of all those happy bees! 

12 Ways to Perk Up Your House For Fall from the Houzz Website

After spending a morning at IKEA, my head was filled with fun design ideas. Then I came across this article on the Houzz website. There are some fun ideas!

12 Ways to Perk Up Your House For Fall

Food Friends

No, I am not talking about the ingredients in the meal shown below working well together ( they do by the way). I am talking about my mother-in-law Sheila and I. Ever since I started eating meat again, we talk the same food language. We eat real food. Whole food. We know that fat, protein, vegetables, and some fruit and nuts are the things to fuel our bodies and minds. 

Whenever we go to stay with her, she always checks with us about what groceries she should buy. I always tell her to buy what she normally gets (plus milk for our daughter and a little extra fruit). It is so wonderful to know that I don't have to worry about food while we stay with her! 

Below is a meal she prepared for us while we were visiting. It was simple and tasty! She pounded chicken breasts to flatten them, wrapped them in Prosciutto, and cooked them in a skillet on medium heat in olive oil, 5 minutes each side. She served it with oven roasted vegetables and greens. Viola! 

This meal is a reminder that good food does not have to be hard to make (or time consuming). My favorite teacher in design school used to always say K.I.S.S.(keep it simple stupid). She obviously wasn't calling us stupid, but you get the point!

Booch!

Nope, I am not talking about something a parent needs at the end of a long day. I am talking about Kombucha, also known as fermented tea.

Kombucha is a fermented tea, usually starting with black or green tea. You have a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) also know as the "mother" that eats the sugar you add to the tea. The "mother" then starts to produce a new "baby" and releases good bacteria as the sugar is ingested. For more on the background of Kombucha go to this great website The Food Renegade- Kombucha Health Benefits.

My daugher and I love it! For a about a year I made it myself at home. It was kind of cool, like a science experiment at school meets snack time. It was fairly easy to make, pretty cheap and tasty. In fact, as I just wrote that I thought, "why am I not making it myself?!?"

The reason, we moved into a much smaller house. While I was making it we were caretaking a house that is about 3 times as big as our current house. I had a seperate counter and sink to deal with it and store it. In our current house a large jar of it would take up precious counter (or cabinet) space. It also tends to draw fruit flies in the summer, which can again be overwhelming in a small space (fruit flies, take a small bowl, some apple cider vinegar and add a few drops of dish soap, they are attracted and drown. Thanks Momma Sheila!).

Another problem I had with making it is I was never 100% confident I was doing it right. Fermented too long and it can turn into alcohol (not something you want to be giving your 3 year old), not long enough and the sugar is not completely "eaten" by the "mother". Not brewing it long enough is not the end of the world, but then you are just drinking another sugary beverage and not getting the complete health benefits of Kombucha. 

So now I just suck it up and buy it. I figured that since we don't have pop or regular juice in our fridge, we can afford to grab a few bottles when we go shopping. In fact, I apologize, if you come over to our house I can offer you water, whole milk, coffee or tea. My daugher and I don't drink it every day, and we split a bottle between us (or even make it last for 2 days), but it is a nice change from water. I like to believe that all the good bacteria is making our tummies happy!

The two NessAlla bottles are local kombucha brewed in Madison, WI. The two Synergy bottles are kombucha brewed by G.T.'s Kombucha a national brand. These are our favorite flavors!

Fish sauce and Coconut Aminos

Yuk! That is what I thought every time I saw a recipe using fish sauce. Not only is it called "fish" sauce, it is made from anchovies. I hate anchovies.

However, I kept finding recipes that I wanted to try, and I swear they all contained fish sauce. On my favorite food website Nom Nom Paleo I came across Red Boat fish sauce because it was an approved condiment during my Whole30. I still passed it by. Mostly because at the time I would have had to order it. Then one day recently I was at my Co-op and I came across Red Boat fish sauce. I figured it was a sign that I was supposed to try it.

I also grabbed another new product, the Organic Soy Sauce Alternative made out of aminos from coconuts. What?!? This product is what has replaced my Tamari (made of soy) which had replaced my soy sauce (made mostly of wheat). I have another type of coconut aminos in my fridge, but was excited to see the new organic type. 

So what is so special about these two products? Well if you love to cook, you probably have heard of the word "umami". It is considered the fifth taste after sweet, salty, sour and bitter. In Japanese it means "deliciousness" and describes a robust, savory, mouth filling quality to food. Foods like mushrooms, tomatoes and condiments like fish sauce and soy sauce, tamari and coconut aminos add "umami". There is a longer list of "umami" foods and information at Umami Information Center. 

Armed with these two new condiments I decided to try a variation of my favorite sauteed greens, chicken sausages and cashews. I was blown away! I did not take a photo because it just wasn't pretty (I used red cabbbage which made everything purple) and I fear if someone saw it they would say, "nope". 

Sauteed Cabbage and Mushrooms with Chicken Sausages and Cashews

Makes 2-3 Servings

Ingredients:

1 Small to medium head of cabbage (red or green), chopped 

8 Ounces of button mushrooms, quartered

2 Chicken Sausages (precooked), sliced into coins

1/2 Cup chopped cashews

Fish Sauce

Coconut Aminos (or soy or tamari)

Garlic Salt to taste (optional)

2 Tablespoons cooking fat (olive oil, coconut oil, etc...)

Directions:

-Heat cooking fat over medium heat in a large skillet.

-Add chopped cabbage and mushrooms, season with garlic salt, stir to combine. Stir occassionally, cooking until mushrooms start to release liquid and cabbage starts to soften. 

-Add in Chicken sausages, cashews and sprinkle a few drops each of fish sauce and coconut aminos into the mixture.  Mix and taste, add a few more drops of each sauce if needed. The reason I suggest adding a few drops of each only is because a little goes a long way!

-Cook until chicken sausages are heated through. 

Serve and be prepared for all the "umami" layers of flavor! You're welcome!

Nom Nom Paleo's Super Porktastic Bacon-Topped Spinach and Mushroom Meatloaf

With Fall approaching, the following recipe from one of my favorite websites, Nom Nom Paleo, seems like it would hit the spot on a chilly day!

Super Porktastic Bacon-Topped Spinach and Mushroom Meatloaf

Don't Let It In!

Or 'How to Pare Down Your Stuff from the Houzz Website'

My husband says I get too many emails, and I do, but my daily email from Houzz is one I look forward too!

Below is a great, quick article about paring down your things before they even enter your house. As someone who lives in a 800 square foot house ( on a good day) with two other humans and two cats I know how important this is!

How to Pare Down Your Stuff- Before It Gets in the Door

A Date With Myself

As I am writing this it is 3pm on a Friday afternoon. My husband and daughter have gone camping. After one false start (Marie forgot her "brother" who is also her "sister", a stuffed cat) I am blissfully alone. I finally took a shower (everyone showers at 3pm in the afternoon, right?) and am now sitting in my PJ's.

I am experiencing all those mixed emotions I am sure most parents face when given some alone time. I am super excited to have a QUIET house all to myself. I will get to sleep uninterrupted for a WHOLE night, and get to wake up when I want to. As we only have one car, I already purchased the ingredients for the special meal I will make for myself, something my husband and daughter would not want to eat. I picked up a DVD, and did I mention I am in my PJ's already? I figured I have no where I need to go and no one is coming over.

The mixed part is that I know I will miss my family, and I am also missing out on a special experience with our daughter. I have not been away from her too many times (I can still count them on two hands and she is going to be 4 in October). She was so excited to go camping for a night, and kept asking why I was not going with? How do you answer that without making her feel bad? I couldn't tell her that I am with her all day, all the time, and that I need a little break. I can not tell her that I LOVE when I have the house to myself. I don't want to tell her that the thought of camping and sleeping out in a tent when it is raining and going to be in the 40's sounds like h-e-double hockey sticks to me. I don't want to put a negative spin on camping as it is something I hope we can do more as a family. I just want her to have a little more practice with it first (and my husband is up to the challenge).

Though these mixed emotions exsist, I also know that as an introvert, I need to take advantage of this lovely gift my husband has given me. I need some 'me' time to recharge. I know some people would take better advantage of their night off from family and demands and go hit the town. Not me. I want to curl up on the couch in my PJ's with a book, a movie, a great dinner and give the cat some much needed attention (he doesn't talk much, so that's good).

I think as parents we feel like our lives should revolve around our kid(s) 24/7. This isn't fair, because as parents we still need to find a way to have some time to ourselves. Be it hanging out with girlfriends, or a wonderful plate of sauteed scallops and mushrooms that you get to savor in silence, we need to find a way to recharge and not forget ourselves. 

Thank you sweetie for carving out some time for me to relax. You know me so well, you didn't even suggest I invite a friend over or that I go out! 

Eat Local!

September is 'Eat Local' month at our local Willy Street Co-op. As I was making the meal below I realized it contained all local ingredients (or at the very least, local vendors). It made me feel happy, because that is what we do. Whenever possible, we try to support local farmers and vendors. Our meal contained beans from our garden, tomato sauce from tomatoes and onions grown by our CSA, brats from Willy Street (labeled essentially local), and gluten free pasta from our local pasta maker, RP's Pasta. The meal was simple and delicious! I truly believe it is because all the ingredients were fresh and local. 

Over the years I have stopped following recipes. I love looking at them for ideas, but I rarely make them. Instead, I love taking what is seasonally and/or locally available and making simple meals. If something contains a long list of ingredients, I skip it. I truly believe that less is more and love tasting each ingredient that goes into a meal. 

For the tomato sauce I simply sautéed a small diced onion until soft and added in about 4 cups diced tomatoes, a little garlic salt and a small amount of red pepper flakes. I cooked this down until it was thickened. It intensifies the tomato flavor, and you do not need to add tomato paste to thicken it.

If your are following a gluten-free diet (and still eat other grains) and live in Madison, this pasta is amazing! A little spendy, but it is a "treat".

As the summer bounty is finishing up here in Madison, our family is enjoying the last tastes of summer. This is a great time for people to try eating locally more, even if it is just challenging yourself and your family for one week. You will be amazed at what you can find locally and how tasty fresh food is when it has not traveled 1000+ miles.

Eat Local!

Those Tricky Nightshades

Nope, I am not talking about window treatments. Nightshades are not something that trick our daughter into thinking it is nighttime and therefore bedtime.

Nightshades are fruits and vegetables that belong to the family of Solanaceae plants. You say what?!? I know, I had never heard of them either until I worked on a vegetable farm. Even then, I did not pay much attention to what they were. I was told that nightshades are actually poisonous, but that the ones we eat are okay ( not that poisonous).

I thought this news was great because I love tomatoes, which are part of the nightshade family. During tomato season I used to practically eat them with every meal (oh how I miss tomatoes and fresh mozzarella). Then a couple years ago a friend noticed that I was not feeling great in September. She asked me if maybe I was sensitive to nightshades? I had not really thought about it much, but yes, every year around late summer I start to feel not so good. 

I am writing this post because I have just hit that point again. I know I am sensitive to nightshades, but I still eat them in smaller quantities. The reason I know I have reached my limit is because my knees are starting to hurt a little. Not too bad as the rest of my diet is clean, but enough for me to think it is time to lay off the tomatoes. 

So what are nightshades? The most common ones are tomatoes, tomatillos, potatoes (not sweet potatoes), peppers and eggplants. However, there are more then 2,500 species of plants that fall into this category, so if you are sensitive to nightshades you really need to research what you eat and also what medicines and supplements you take.

If you are sensitive to nightshades you may experience diarrhea, gas, bloating, nausea, depression, headaches and my personal favorite, painful joints. In my case this does not happen overnight. The nightshades build up in my system until one day I start to notice that I am having some of the issues listed above. 

I laugh about the Ratatouille I used to make the last couple of years. Tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, it's a triple whammy! So, I don't make it anymore. Honestly, it's not one of our favorite things, I just made it because I had those vegetables to use. Now instead of eating tomatoes at every meal, I try to limit myself to once a day. I pass on the eggplant, use peppers sparingly and potatoes for the most part are saved for parts of the year where fresh vegetables are harder to find. I still eat some nightshades right now, but like gluten and dairy for me, at some point in my life eating them may become unbearable. I hope not though, because I sure do love tomatoes!!

If you think you may have a nightshade sensitivity,the following websites will give you more information:

What are Nightshades? The Paleo Mom

The Link Between Nightshades, Chronic Pain and Inflammation

Division of Labor

My husband and I have been together for 15 years, today is the anniversary of our first date. We also just celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary last May.

The other day as we were driving somewhere he showed me his "To-do" list. It involved what would have been called "manly" things 60+ years ago. Things like painting some doors, rehanging a door, shaving a window sill, fertilizing our lawn, painting an outside gutter, cutting a tree root, etc...

I have to admit that after being together for 15 years, I enjoy the fact that he takes care of these things. He also mows the lawn. I don't think I have mowed a lawn since I was in high school and living at home. I always joke that he takes care of the outside and I take care of the inside.

I do most of the grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning and laundry. I don't always enjoy doing these tasks, it just makes it easier to know that I will get these things done and that my husband will do the other things. We have developed a nice division of labor. It may sound 50's housewife-ish, but it works for us.

Now, there are some places that we cross over the old time gender lines. I deal mostly with our finances, and Mark is in charge of his own laundry. Thankfully this is not the era of starch and ironing boards, because I don't own either (and would definitely not be starching and ironing his shirts). He leaves the finances to me because I want to know at all times what is in the bank, and I leave his laundry to him because he has some picky way he likes his shirts folded (sorry honey). He is also GREAT at dishes. Not that he loves doing them, but he just does them faster with less complaining then I would (I cook and prepare all our meals from scratch, so there are A LOT of dishes). And I do wash dishes, but not happily.

I could go on with our chores list, but the point is, I am happy to know that we choose our division of labor and that it is not a thing dictated by society. I enjoy taking care of our house, not because I have to, but because I love to and am good at it. I also know though that Mark is happy to pull out "his" vacuum cleaner ( it is made by Makita, a power tool company) and vacuum around the house.

After 15 years, it is nice to know how, when and by whom things will be done. It makes for a happy and healthy relationship (and home). Happy anniversary sweetie! Thanks for keeping me smiling and laughing at some point every day!

Greens with Chicken Sausages and Cashews

Since I am still fairly new to this meat eating business, I have found the easiest way for me to add meat protein to meals is by adding chicken sausages. I start with one of my favorite vegetarian dishes, add cooked sausages, and voila! A complete meal! This is by far my favorite easy meal to make when I have greens around. It works best with kale or collard greens, but a hearty spinach would also work (you would just want to cook the spinach less). My favorite is collard greens!

Ingredients:
-1 Medium leek, sliced in half the long way to remove dirt, then in to 1/4 slices up the leek

-2 Chicken sausages, sliced into coins

-1 Large bunch greens, ribs removed then chopped or sliced into ribbons

-2 Tbls. Cooking fat (clarifed butter, olive oil, animal fat)
-Handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced in half (8-10)
-1/2 Cup cashews
-Garlic salt to taste (start with 1/2 teaspoon)
-1/4-1/2 Teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

-Honey (optional)

Directions:
-Melt cooking fat over medium heat, then add in the chopped up leek.

-Cook for 3 minutes or until a bright lime green.

-Add in the sausages and cook for another 5 minutes.
-Turn your skillet down to low and add in your first batch of cut up greens. You will not be able to fit all your greens into the pan, so add some in and mix it around to cook it down, then add in more. Continue to do this until all the greens are in the pan. 

-It will take approximately 10-15 minutes for the greens to cook.
-Depending on what greens you cook with you may want to add a sweetener if the greens are a little bitter. I prefer to add a little drizzle of honey, but you could use sugar if you would like.

-Add tomatoes, 1/2 cup cashews, garlic salt, red pepper flakes.
-Cook a few more minutes until the greens are cooked to your liking.

This makes two servings. This is my favorite go-to-meal! I CRAVE it! If you are a fan of greens, give it a try. After you make it a few times, you could do it in your sleep.

Carolyn's Salsa

I have never met Carolyn Walsh, but I will tell you she makes the best salsa! My husband and the co-author of the two books they wrote, Jim Draeger, stopped at her house to spend the night while they were researching one of their books (Carolyn is Jim's sister). My husband came home with a couple of jars of her salsa, and I was determined to make it. She thankfully gave me the recipe, and I have been given permission to share it! In her honor, our house salsa is 'Carolyn's Salsa'. It is the only thing I hot water can, that is how much we love it!

It all starts with the tomatoes. The tomatoes you see above came from our local CSA Crossroads Community Farm. They came in two 5/9 bushel boxes. One box I will use for the salsa, the other box will be for freezing. Honestly, I planned to hot water can all the tomatoes in some form, but ran out of time and found the freezer space for bags of chopped up tomatoes.

I decided to break up the canning into 2 days as I am not a morning person and did not want to work from sun up until midnight to get this all done in one day. Between getting the tomatoes prepped and everything else ready, making the salsa and doing the actual canning, it took me about 10 hours total. By all means, feel free to do it in one day if you like.

Day 1:

I cleaned up all the tomatoes, cut off the core end and x'ed the blossom end. 

I dunked them in simmering water for 1-2 minutes until the skin started to peel away.

This is what they should look like after you carefully take them out of the water with a slotted spoon. I put them on a cookie sheets to cool down. Some recipes say to put them in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, then dunk them in cold water to make the skin start to peel off. I find this step unnecessary. By cooking a little longer, the skin comes off on its own. I usually watch them closely, and when I start to see the first peels starting to pull off the tomatoes, that is when I start taking them out.
I should also note that if you don't mind the peels in your salsa, you can completely skip this step (you just need to cut off the tops and chop them up). I take the peels off for my husband who I love so much that I will do this extra step for him!

For my recipe I found that one 5/9 bushel box was plenty for my salsa. I peeled them, chopped them and stuck them in covered bowls in the refrigerator for the next day. I had an additional box and no time to can them. So I pulled off the skins like I did for the salsa, chopped up the tomatoes, and put them in BPA-free quart size freezer bags. I weighed them out to be approximately 28 ounces, which is what the large cans of tomatoes are at the grocery store. Though I am a big fan of just cutting off the ends, halving them and throwing them in freezer bags (unpeeled), this way does save space (and my freezer is starting to fill up with vegetables).

Day 2:

I pulled out my favorite canning book and read the section on how to can. Even though I am going to give you a recipe (that is not in the book), I highly recommend the 'Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving' seen below as a guide. Every year I need to look at it to remind myself how to can properly. It also has some great recipes, if you decide you love to can. 

Here it is! I would describe this salsa as a little sweet and a little spicy, and completely delicious!

Carolyn's Salsa

I have doubled the original recipe. You can obviously cut the recipe in half again. 

This made (2) quart jars, (14) pint jars and (6) 1/2 pint jars. 

Ingredients:

-1 Cup diced hot peppers (I remove the seeds from half of them, you could leave them or remove all of them depending on how hot you like your salsa)

-6 Cups diced bell peppers (I like to use red peppers)

-8 Cups diced white or yellow onion

-20 Cloves garlic, minced

-28 Cups Roma tomatoes 

-36 Ounces tomato paste

-3 Cups apple cider vinegar

-4 Teaspoons Oregano

-4 Tablespoons Chili powder

-4 Tablespoons Cumin

-4 Tablespoons Salt

Directions:

-Blanch and peel tomatoes (this I did on day 1).

-Combine onions, both kinds of peppers, garlic and tomatoes in a large kettle (I believe mine is a 12 quart).

-Mix together the vinegar, oregano, chili powder, cumin and salt in a bowl, then mix into the vegetables in the large kettle.

-Simmer for 1 hour. 

-Add tomato paste and simmer on low for 20 minutes, stir often.

-Put in clean jars and add boiled lids. Put in hot water bath with water covering jars.

-Boil for 20 minutes, then turn off heat and take off lid and let the jars sit in the water for 5 minutes.

-Remove carefully so as not to tip the jars and store in a draft free area for 24 hours (you can lightly cover with a dish towel).

-After 24 hours check to make sure seal is good. 

-Store for up to 1 year.

Note: If this is your first time canning, PLEASE buy a canning guide for more details, above is just the basics, I still look at my Ball canning guide for more info.  

All the vegetables in the large stock pot ready to go!

The spices and vinegar added.

The salsa canned and ready to be stored.

The photo below makes me so happy! As I was canning this year I realized I was using some of my Grandma Leona's old canning jars. She gave them all to me about 5 years ago as she can no longer can. She used to have a huge garden, plus they lived on a farm. She used to can everything! I knew these were her cans because I have only purchased the Ball brand, and you can faintly see the Kerr on these. Though the salsa would be too spicy for her, I know she will be happy when I tell her I have used her old jars!

Eggs with Sautéed Sungold Tomatoes and Side Pork

When I did my first Whole30 I discovered side pork. It is what they make bacon out of, but it is just the meat (no added sugar or nitrates). I love to bake it in the oven, then keep it in the refrigerator for a few days. I use it by itself, or in other dishes, like this egg "frittata".

Ingredients:

Organic virgin coconut oil (or other cooking fat) enough to coat pan, 1-2 tablespoons

10-12 Sungolds, halved

3 Slices pre-cooked side pork ( or bacon), chopped

3 Eggs, mixed with 1 tablespoon water

Directions:

-Heat oil over medium heat, add bacon and tomatoes (cut side down). I like to lightly salt the pork and tomatoes at this point.

-Cook the bacon and tomatoes until the tomatoes start to get golden on the cut side and the bacon starts to crisp.

-Turn the heat down to low and pour in eggs. Gently move the eggs towards the center so that the wet eggs run off to the outside of the skillet.

-When the eggs are mostly set, I like to take a large spatula and divide the eggs into quarters. I then carefully flip each quarter. 

-Once you have flipped each quarter over, turn off heat and let the eggs finish cooking.

I like making my "frittatas" this way, instead of finishing them off in the oven, or trying to flip it whole onto a plate and sliding it back into the skillet. I don't want to have to turn on my oven, and my skillet is too heavy to flip over. What makes this so tasty is making sure the tomatoes are browning, this makes them almost caramelized. 

This makes one large serving, or two with an addition side. Serve with a lovely cup of coffee and enjoy your morning!

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable "Salad"

AKA fajita fillings

AKA pasta toppings

AKA frittata fillings

So, this is not a typical salad, nor is it a recipe. It is a suggestion.

Whenever we go to our cabin I try to make cooking as easy as possible. A lot of times this involves grilling. I love this because my husband is the household grill master ( less cooking for me, which I love at the cabin). When figuring out the menu for the cabin, we always include grilling extra vegetables for future meals. During our last trip we made the "salad" shown above.

Here are some other ideas:

-Our favorite thing to do is make fajitas. We make sure to grill extra peppers, onions and chicken. The next night for dinner we heat this up with fajita seasoning and stuff it in crisped corn tortillas or put on top of lettuce for a salad. We top either with avocado/guacamole and salsa and have one of our favorite meals! It reminds me of my favorite salad from a tex-mex chain named after a pepper.

-The second most common thing we do is add extra grilled vegetables to eggs the next day. Scrambled or in a frittata, it takes a few minutes to heat up the veggies then pour in the eggs. I like to add in some cherry tomatoes and fresh herbs (like flat leaf parsley, basil, cilantro or lemon thyme).

-The last thing we like to do is mix grilled vegetables into pasta. If you have extra grilled chicken that is tasty too. I use Jovial, which is a gluten free pasta made out of brown rice. It is made in Italy and tastes as close to real pasta as possible. It can be spendy, $4 something a box, but every three to four months our local Willy Street Co-op has it on special for around $2.50. I use it sparingly as a treat, and use about 2/3 vegetables to 1/3 pasta. 

I am sure there are other ideas I have forgotten. The point is, be it traveling or at home, making extra vegetables and proteins to create another meal just makes sense. It's like having leftovers, but better because you are not eating the same meal!

Who Has Time to Keep a Journal?!?

All right. I am guessing a lot of people faithfully keep journals. I love the idea. I have bought (or been given) beautiful journals in the past all excited to start journaling. I mean, I like writing. Plus, my memory is not the best, so of course I should write important things down. The problem is the guilt that comes with it. After awhile I can't keep up with a daily journal, then I start to feel guilty. Then I write in it because I feel I HAVE to. 

After our daughter was born was the last time I attempted a daily journal. At first it was fun! I would write about every amazing thing she did. Then over time I realized a lot of days were the same and I was really searching for something new and exciting to write about. Daily entries turned into weekly, then monthly entries. 

See the problem is, I need to do something daily (like walking) to create healthy habits. I think this applies to most people. If I am going to keep a journal, I need to do it every day, and without the guilt hanging over me. 

I have found the perfect solution: the one sentence journal. You do not need to write a story of your day. Just one (or two) sentences that remind you of the day.  It does not have to be poetic, in fact, that would be a waste of the few lines you are given.

Below is an article written by the author of 'The Happiness Project'. She is also the creator of the one sentence journal seen above. I love it! Not only is it small and friendly to use, it is so pretty sitting out on a table (where I will remember to use it). 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gretchen-rubin/happiness-tip-of-the-day_b_105605.html

So, if you want to keep a journal, but don't have the time, think about trying this. I mean, even on my laziest day, what excuse do I have to not write one sentence (especially if I have the time to post to Facebook).

Write on!

Dragon Tongue Beans in Garlic Butter and Parsley

You could technically make this with any kind of beans, but these are the ones our CSA is giving us right now, and they are tasty! If you do use green or wax beans, your cooking time will be a few minutes less. Feel free to use a different nut and/or herb. Basil and pine nuts, cilantro and peanuts, parsley with cashews or hazelnuts. If this is your main dish, adding sliced up chicken sausages is a nice way to add some additional protein. This makes a great side to a burger!

Dragon Tongue Beans in Garlic Butter and Parsley
2-4 Side servings

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons of clarified butter
2-3 Garlic cloves, sliced
1 Pound dragon tongue beans, cut in half or thirds
1 Small to medium tomato, chopped
1 Small bunch parsley, chopped
1/2 cup roughly chopped almonds
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
-Sauté garlic in butter over medium low heat until it browns. This should only take a few minutes, stir often so it does not burn. Remove garlic with slotted spoon and set aside.
-Add beans and chopped parsley. Cook covered over medium heat for 5-7 minutes.
-Uncover, add almonds and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper,stir to combine everything.
-Cover, cook for 3-5 more minutes.
-Uncover and stir. Cook a few more minutes uncovered until tomato pieces have broken down and coated the beans, and beans are starting to brown. Add in reserved garlic and take off heat.

Sweet Potato Hash with Pecans

On our recent trip to the cabin I decided to make my sweet potato hash with pecans. It is the first time my husband had had it, and I am proud to say he found it quite tasty!
An important thing I learned this weekend is that cooking on an electric stove in a non-stick pan is COMPLETELY different then cooking in my cast iron skillet on a gas stove.  The hashbrowns were tasty at the cabin, but they did not get as crispy as they do at home in my skillet. They also had to be watched way more closely as the cooking heat did not seem to be consistent on our electric range. At home I can walk away from my gas stove for a few minutes and know things will not burn, at the cabin I can not. Keep this in mind if you decide to try this recipe.

Leftover sweet potato hash with pecans used as an omelet filling

Sweet Potato Hash

3-4 Servings

This is one of my favorite breakfast sides to make. I usually make it for myself once a week. Because it makes a few servings, I then have leftovers for the next couple of days. On the first day my favorite way to eat it is as a side, or on top of spinach with crumbled bacon and a couple of fried eggs also on top. On the following days I love it as a filling in a 2 egg omelet.

Ingredients:

-1 Large or 2 small sweet potatoes, diced 

-1 Large or 2 small white potatoes, diced (if you are avoiding white potatoes, use more sweet potatoes)

-1 Small onion, diced

-1/4-1/2 Cup chopped pecans

- Garlic salt to taste (optional)

- 1-2 Tablespoons cooking fat (bacon fat is delicious!)

Directions: 

-In a large skillet heat the cooking fat over medium heat until melted, then add onions and both kinds of potatoes. Move around to coat everything in the cooking fat.
-Cover and let cook for 5 minutes. This helps steam the potatoes and also keeps the cooking fat from splattering.
-Uncover and stir. If your potatoes have softened and are starting to brown, leave off cover so they can continue to brown (a splatter screen is handy here).
-Season with garlic salt ( if using). Cook a few more minutes, then add chopped pecans. Stir, continue cooking until potatoes are desired crispness. Watch the hash carefully at this time as the pecans and sweet potatoes can burn easily. 

Enjoy!