My First Freezer Meal Swap

I'm really quite fond of communal gatherings that center around food... have you noticed? From potlucks to picnics to food swaps, I just love the way food brings people and families together. So of course I was over the moon to be invited to a "freezer meal swap" last weekend.

I joined five lovely young mamas, most with babies in tow, as they prepped and packed wholesome freezer meals to swap. The goal: to ease the challenge of cooking and serving a healthy, homemade meal every night. Basically, every participant shopped for and prepared one meal, five times (six if they included themselves). Then, we all gathered at one person's home and exchanged our meals (which were to be six-serving portions) to take home and freeze.

Swappers were instructed to bring our own dishes for the meals to be assembled and stored in, to make the swap as sustainable as possible. So rows of casserole dishes and storage jars lined the host's kitchen counters and farmhouse table, as we dished out our offerings in assembly line fashion.

Sides... rice, quinoa, and whole grain noodles... were packaged separately to be cooked along with their respective meals (butternut squash chicken curry, hearty chicken stew, roasted eggplant & basil parmesean). Pre-cooked cornbread accompanied a turkey & white bean tomatillo chili. And one-pot meals included a farmhouse turkey potpie and a roasted butternut squash, caramelized onion & spinach lasagna (my meal!).

The entire swap was organized via a Facebook, where each invitee posted two potential meals - with recipes and container needs - to an event wall. The meals were then voted on a week before the swap, so everyone had plenty of time to shop and prep.   

 The six-portion meals were a bit big for my crew, since my little chicks are a wee bit particular (ahem). Knowing it would be mostly me and my hubby enjoying these meals, I was able to portion them out into two-meal servings each... so I have 10 meals ready to go. Of course, we've already gotten into a few... what a lifesaver for busy nights!

~ Do you have any favorite, go-to freezer meals? I'd love some suggestions for the next swap! ~

Garden to Pantry :: Hot Pepper Honey Mustard

As you know (since I've been bemoaning it here all summer) it's been only herbs and hot peppers in my little patch of earth lately. This morning, I transformed my harvest of Santa Fe Grande Peppers into Hot Pepper Honey Mustard.

I had exactly 20 usable peppers, all in different stages of maturation - aren't they gorgeous? After removing the seeds, I popped them in the blender and processed until smooth. Then, they went into a large pot with yellow and dijon mustard, raw local honey, organic cane sugar, unfiltered apple cider vinegar, and a bit of sea salt. Once boiling, a mix of flour and water was stirred in to thicken it.

I ladled the hot mustard into 4oz. canning jars, and processed them in a hot water bath for 5 minutes. This is a thick and sticky treat, folks! I couldn't stop scraping off what was stuck to the side of the pot with pretzel sticks... hmm! It's sweet, tangy, and not too spicy - just a nice kick.

Fifteen jars are now cooling on the kitchen windowsill. Some will stock our own pantry, some will go to my next homemade food & craft swap (perhaps with some homemade soft pretzels for dunking!), and some will be tucked away for hostess and holiday gifts.

After tasting it, I believe this honey mustard will not only be delish for dunking pretzels in and spreading on ham sandwiches... it would also make a zesty glaze for pretty much any kind of meat (think chicken, pork, salmon, shrimp kebabs...) and would give winter root vegetables (like carrots, potatoes and parsnips) a nice zing. Any other ideas?

~

Hot Pepper Honey Mustard (Mild)

20-30 hot peppers, depending on desired level of heat (I used homegrown Santa Fe Grande)
2 cups prepared mustard (I used about 1 1/2 cups yellow, 1/2 cup dijon)
2 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
1/2 cup raw local honey
2 cups organic, unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1/2 Tbsp. sea salt
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup water

Remove the seeds from the hot peppers and place them in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Pour into a large pot and stir in mustard, sugar, honey, apple cider vinegar and salt. Bring to a hard boil.

Whisk together flour and water until smooth. Pour into the boiling mustard mixture and continue to boil, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Ladle into sterile canning jars and seal with new lids and rings. Process in a boiling water bath for 5 to 10 minutes, depending on your altitude.

Makes 15-16 4oz. jars; or 7-8 half pint jars.

The First Harvest Meal

Our little backyard garden is starting to produce. We ate our first meal from a small harvest this week. We had bowtie pasta tossed with pesto made from our basil, and topped with home-grown tomatoes, yellow peppers and green onions (as well as some leftover peas, kalamata olives and feta cheese). On the side was tender spring lettuce, grown in a pot on my deck, and fresh Florida-grown corn (not by me) with cilantro from our herb garden. It was one of the best meals I ever ate. Really.

An extra bonus, two of the three little mouths I was feeding gobbled up every last bite of that pesto pasta... the other ate tender lettuce leaves by the handful. This is progress for my picky eaters. Big time.

Growing your own food rocks!

Earth Day-Easter Eggs

We dyed our Easter eggs today. In honor of Earth Day, we used all-natural dyes and created several botanical eggs.

Our dyes were made from beets (red), yellow onions skins (yellow) and purple cabbage (blue) [see this post for a list of natural egg-dying resources and recipes]. Then, we mixed the colors to create more shades.

The botanical designs were created by laying a flower or leaf face down against an egg, wrapping it in a square of pantyhose secured with a knot, then lowering it into the dye.

We wrapped a few eggs with rubber bands, and others we wrote on with a white crayon. I couldn't believe how many different colors and effects we got from just three dyes. Two dozen naturally, beautiful eggs.

*Note: This was not very time-consuming, difficult or expensive. The project held the attention of my 3 and 6 year old girls for well over an hour. They loved the idea of using natural dyes and materials from around our home and garden to color the eggs. And I love how simple and natural they turned out.

Domestic Bliss

Sunday morning sweetness: french toast made with locally-baked bread, farm fresh eggs & buttermilk. Homemade butter from local cream. Freshly-made orange vanilla marmalade. Sticky, smiling faces all around.

Wishing you a week of sweet, simple pleasures.

Today's My Lucky Day

Yesterday I took Sage to the doctor for pink eye. Both of her sweet eyes were swollen, red and pouring all kinds of goop. On the way out, she got to pick a sticker from the basket. Right on top lay a shiny Dora and Diego sticker (to my horror, she really loves Dora). And despite the fact that she felt really bad, she happily stuck that sticker to her jacket, looked up at me all icky eyed, but smiling, and announced: "Today's my lucky day!" I couldn't really see how such a small, ordinary thing could bring her so much pleasure that it transformed a pretty rotten day into a 'lucky' one. But for the rest of the day, she showed everyone in our household that sticker; and each time she proclaimed "today's my lucky day!"

Today, I found myself particularly grumpy for no particular reason. Wanting to do something for me, I headed out to the farm, where I was surrounded by gorgeous locally-grown, organic produce. (If you read much of this blog, you know I have a thing for fresh produce; and this is the cream of the crop!) It had been so long since I'd visited the farm, I'd forgotten how truly fabulous the selection is. First off, I reached for a bunch of fresh-from-the-earth dill and there, in the delicate green fluff, was a bright red ladybug. I smiled and proclaimed, "Today's my lucky day!"

And just like that, things shifted. I filled my basket, making a bouquet of bok choy, swiss chard, red leaf lettuce, arugula, leeks and sorrell. I left believing I'd struck gold! Back home, I got to work prepping my leafy green treasures for the week, concocting homemade vegetable soup and - best of all - feeling genuinely blessed.

Many thanks to my sweet Sage, and that lucky ladybug, for the reminder that the true treasures are usually hiding in the most ordinary of moments and things.

First Meal of Fall

Despite the craziness of the move, I managed to pull off a proper "Welcome Fall" dinner on the Autumn Equinox. We feasted on a few of my favorites: Kale Salad from Love Soup, Butternut Soup with Pear, Cider and Vanilla Bean from A Homemade Life, baked chicken with herbes de provence and ginger cookies for dessert. There was no time to make homemade cookies, so I tried the organic Ginger Spice cookie dough from Immaculate Baking Co. The cookies were nowhere near as good as our favorite Fresh Ginger Cookies, but OK in a pinch. Yay to the flavors of Fall!

The Perfect Recipe Collection

After much procrastination, I'm taking on the project of organizing my recipes. I don't know how to keep it simple; it's just not in my nature. I want a recipe collection that's functional, creatively put together and pretty to look at. And it has to be organized just right too - I want it to be not only by the type of dish, but by season as well.

A writer by nature, I think it would be nice to include stories with some of the special recipes that have been passed down from family members; or anecdotes about when or how I've served certain favorites. I want room on the recipe pages for new notes, too.

So you can imagine, with all these lofty ideas for the perfect collection, plus a basket stuffed with recipes I've collected over the years, it's a project that has felt just too overwhelming to tackle. But now, for some unknown reason, I feel ready to try.

In searching for ideas of how to make my creative vision into a reality, I found these great vintage-inspired digital images on Digital Two for Tuesday. I was so inspired by the five different ways these images were used to create personalized, artistic recipe collections. (Go to the blog archive for June 2010 and follow the links for the recipe challenge; be sure to visit all 5 days to see all the images offered). Plus, check out this link I found in the comment section to a post I can't read a word of, but her recipe book looks beautiful.

How have you organized your recipes? I'd love to hear your ideas as I get started!

Season-Crossing in the Kitchen

Fall is in the air... OK not really in our air. It's hot and muggy and raining here in southwest Florida. But it's in the stores, and it's in the magazines, and there are murmurs of Autumn throughout the blogosphere. So, the changing season is on my mind (a gal can dream, right?).

With tomatoes still aplenty (and groans from DaddyBird at even the mention of more gazpacho), I took some inspiration from SouleMama's Carrot-Tomato Soup and Rose's Tomato (Alphabet) Soup, and pulled out my soup pot today. I've been working through the seasons in Anna Thomas' fantastic Love Soup, and settled on a hearty summer Kale and Tomato Soup. Thomas calls this a "truly season-crossing tomato soup" where "flavors from summer and winter meet beautifully in early fall..." I served it, as recommended, with a spoonful of her Simple Basil Pesto and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese toasts.

I also turned out a batch of Lemon-Zucchini Cornmeal Cookies, another great season-crossing recipe, which I made last year about this same time. (I used 1/2 the sugar called for this time and they are perfect and kid-approved).

In case you're up for some season-crossing cooking, here's the recipe from Love Soup. (Note: like most of the recipes in this cookbook, it takes a long time to prep and cook this concoction, which is overflowing with farm-fresh ingredients.)

Kale and Tomato Soup (from Love Soup)

8 oz. Russian kale, or any kale
12 oz. Yukon Gold potatoes
1 1/2 lbs. red tomatoes
1 stalk celery
8 oz. leeks
1 1/2 tsp. sea salt, plus more to taste
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, plus more to taste
3 cups vegetable broth

Wash the kale & trim away the hard stems. Cut the leaves into 1-inch strips (cut them in half if they are long). Scrub the potatoes & cut them into 1/2-inch dice. Peel the tomatoes & chop them coarsely, and thinly slice the celery. Trim the leeks, cut them in half lengthwise, wash them thoroughly, and them slice them, using only the white & palest green parts (yields about 1 1/2 cups).

In a large soup pot, combine the kale, potatoes, tomatoes, celery, about 3 1/2 cups water and a teaspoon of sea salt. Bring the water to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, covered, for about half and hour, or until the vegetables are soft.

Meanwhile, heat a tablespoon of oil in a saute pan and cook the chopped red onion in it over medium heat until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add half the chopped garlic & 1/2 teaspoon salt and continue cooking, stirring often, until the onion is beginning to color, about 20 minutes. Add the leeks to the pan and keep cooking until the leeks are soft, then add the mixture to the soup, along with the basil and parsley.

In a small saute pan, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add the remaining chopped garlic and stir for a minute or two, just to let it lose its raw edge. Add the red pepper flakes and stir over medium heat for another minute or so until garlic turns golden. Immediately pour this mixture into the soup, deglazing the pan with a ladle of the broth, then adding it back to the soup.

Add the vegetable broth, correct the seasoning with a bit more salt & red pepper to taste, and gently simmer for another few minutes to marry the flavors.

Adventures In Produce

Today, I dragged all three kids (my 2 gals and my nephew) to the produce market with me. I dreaded going ... it's so hot and I had, well you know, three kids tagging along. But we needed veggies & fruit and milk & bread to even make it through the day.

To my delight, the kids were amazing. They have perfected their market game, which goes something like this:

Selby (6) holds up a piece of produce and asks little sister Sage (2), "Is this a banana?"

Sage giggles and replies, "Nooooo. It's a (insert whatever it is)."

Then it's Ethan's (8) turn to ask "is this a banana?" while holding up an eggplant, or bunch of cilantro or whatever.

They all thought it was hilarious and kept this game up the whole time I shopped. And as I half-listened in, I was completely amazed to hear how many items Sage knew by name. I may not be able to get them to eat much of it yet, but these kids are getting something from our weekly produce foragings.

As we left, all three kids became enamored with a bin of Florida key limes. They were smelling them and squeezing them and running their fingers through the pile of little yellow-green fruits. They begged me to buy them each one; at 10 cents a piece it was an easy request. And they carried those little limes around for a strangely long time.

So everyone went home happy. Now, what to make with 3 key limes...

On Fast Food (a call for ideas)

Although I love to cook elaborate meals, there are times when I need (or want) a meal quick & easy. Since traditional convenience foods are basically garbage, I've been working on developing a repertoire of fast real food.

Two mornings a week I work at my husband's business; often, I don't eat before I get the girls out the door and dropped off at camp/school/grandparents. There was a time I regularly picked up breakfast on-the-go (oh, the shame). But now, I pack a quick breakfast if I need to. A favorite: one hard-boiled egg (I keep a bowl in the fridge), fresh seasonal fruit, a piece of whole grain bread spread with homemade butter (I toast it at the office) and fresh-brewed coffee. Another easily-totable breakfast is homemade granola, yogurt & fruit.

I've also been working on developing go-to fast real-food dinners for those nights when "I just can't cook." A regular this summer has been a Rose-inspired meal of fresh gazpacho and a fritatta. The one above is filled with roasted veggies and goat cheese. Coupled with a buttery chardonnay, it tastes near gourmet and is ready in a flash (this dinner is fastest when you use gazpacho made ahead of time & leftovers as filling for your fritatta).

It's not so much coming up with ideas for fast meals that is challenging, it's the execution of quick meals made from real food ingredients (seasonal vegetables & fruits; fresh eggs, dairy & meat; minimally processed whole grains) that typically take an investment of time to prepare. I've acquired and implemented a few tips...

• Make double recipes of meals and freeze half for later
• After shopping, clean & prep produce and store it for the week for easy access
• Make a big batch of things like soup and granola for quick meals & snacks throughout the week
• Use the seasonal things you've preserved/frozen in quick meals (think canned or sundried tomatoes on pasta; or pureed frozen berries or jam on pancakes)

...but I'm in search of more. What are your favorite fast real-food meals? What tips & tricks do you use? I'd love to hear your thoughts...

Red, White & Blue, Part 2

Mini apple pies were a simple, sweet way to celebrate America's birthday. The girls really got into making these single-size treats, inspired by this recipe and this one; Sage scooped the filling and Selby cut the stars. Made in a muffin tin, these pies would be a great way to use all those yummy berries and stone fruits of summer. Check out these cute little mini blueberry pies for more inspiration.

Red, White & Blue, Part I

Fresh pureed berries + vanilla yogurt, frozen on a stick = pure sticky pleasure.

Taste of Summer: Blueberries

On Memorial Day, we met up with some friends and family to pick blueberries at a nearby organic farm. It was so very hot. Everyone began to drop from the relentless heat. Not me; I kept on picking. My sister and I, another keep-going-despite-all-odds kind of gal picked near 6 lbs and then decided we'd better stop. At $7 per pound, this was not an economically-friendly endeavor. It was an experience and one I enjoyed immensely.

Most of our berries went to make blueberry jam (so good warm on top of vanilla yogurt and homemade granola). We netted 5 jars, split between my sister and me, the extra going to Mom. The rest of the berries were gobbled up in handfuls straight from the fridge. And just like that, they were gone.

So recently, when blueberries (and raspberries and blackberries) saw seasonal low prices in the range of 2 pints for $3, I filled a shopping cart full. And now, I have a pantry full of jam... 5 jars of each berry, as well as 5 peach and 5 remaining strawberry. And just for extra measure, I froze a gallon-bag of blueberries in hopes that this sweet taste of summer might live on in muffins and pancakes all year long.

Taste of Summer :: Peaches

A couple of weeks ago, locally-grown peaches arrived in my supermarket. Fragrant, juicy Georgia-variety peaches grown just miles from my Florida home - I felt like I struck gold! Wary at first of my treasure, I bought only a few to taste. As soon as I got home, I cut one open; the flesh was bright orange, juice oozed out and it promised perfect sweetness as it perfumed the air all around me. A first taste did not disappoint - sweet as sugar, the girls and I quickly devoured our loot. The next day, I brought home a bag full and sliced them up for dessert with homemade whipped cream. Bliss!

So my plan was to return over the weekend and fill a basket. I was planning to make peach jam, slice & freeze some, oven dry some... but I was sidetracked. The culprit was the fiery-red, vine-ripe tomato. You see, the local food goddess called with news that the local u-pick was offering all-u-can-pick for $1. Yes, you read that right, one dollar for an endless supply of on-the-vine Romas. That's another story -which I will share - but the bottom line is my week was stolen by about 75 pounds of ruby-red jewels. The golden peaches would have to wait.

By the time I returned to the supermarket, the Florida peaches were gone. "Season's over," I was told. "We'll have California peaches here in a week." California?!? Oh the horror. I could have cried. Even the jars upon jars of canned tomatoes and sauce cooling on my counters could not console.

Then yesterday I happened upon some Georgia-grown Georgia peaches at a farm stand. For only 99 cents a pound! Happy days again... Georgia suddenly seemed local enough and I quickly bought up several pounds. Last night, I made peach jam, smiling the whole time. And still more peaches line my counter top, ripening and awaiting their sweet golden fate.

Homemade Butter!

Making butter from the cream from our local dairy was so easy, I can't believe I haven't made it before. Here's all I did - first, I poured a half-gallon of cream into the KitchenAid bowl and turned it on medium-high. While I did some other chores, it whisked the butter around until it turned into whipped cream and then began to curdle (about 7 minutes). When the liquid -the buttermilk - separated from the solid, I turned the mixer off.

Next I drained the buttermilk into a separate container and rinsed the butter under cold water until the water ran clear. Them I kneaded it with my hands & a wooden spatula, squeezing out any extra moisture. And voila, butter! I put it back in the KitchenAid to whip it up with a bit of sea salt.

Then, I divided it and added honey to some and fresh sage to some . Finally, I pressed it into different molds (ahem, little pans from the girls' kitchen and a mini-muffin tin). Some I just wrapped in wax paper to store in the freezer.

I put the molds in the freezer to chill, and then turned them out onto a plate to wrap & prep for Mother's Day gifts for my mom and sister (hope they don't read my blog until after Mother's Day!). I'm using the buttermilk to make Buttermilk Banana Bread that will complete their gifts. Oh, and the mainstay of our Mother's Day brunch will be Rich Buttermilk Waffles.

I guess you could say I'm really "milking" my $4 local cream score! (So sorry for the bad, but irresistible, pun).

Spring Kitchen

Roasted zucchini to be tossed with linguine, olive oil & lemon zest, then topped with with ricotta.

Delicate baby greens, harvested on Monday from a friend's backyard garden, ready to be drizzled with a light, honey vinaigrette.

Fresh dill from the same garden, finely diced for my first Spring soup: Asparagus Bisque from Love Soup. Here it is before pureeing, full of asparagus, leeks, fennel, and lemon zest & juice.

And here it is, all bright green, creamy and smooth, ready to be served with five-grain baguette rounds, goat cheese, pesto & sundried tomatoes.

I'm positivelly swooning over all this fresh, green nourishment filling my kitchen with the first tastes of spring.