Black Bean and Yam Quesadillas

At Birgette's cooking class last week, she made a super simple black bean/yam recipe. I'm a sucker for black beans and yams. Prep time was less than 15 minutes (IF you have a food processor) and these tasted great. Nothing fancy, but a super nutritional profile. Birgette says kale is her favorite food, so we are kindred spirits in that regard. When we had so much of it in the garden that we were eating it every morning for breakfast with our eggs, my skin looked the best it ever has. Anyway, in the class she used Ezekiel Tortillas and those are extremely hearty, but so good for you. I wondered if the kids would eat them. I figured later I could use just regular whole wheat or spelt, but went ahead with the ezekiel tortillas and surprisingly, no one complained. The creme fraiche inside and the salsa on the outside softens them enough that they aren't tough. They were just right. I wish Zig were here to try them. I know he would be stoked about these guys. Super awesome leftovers the next day! This is a keeper!

Black Bean and Yam Quesadillas
1 yam grated (2 cups)
2 medium carrots, grated
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 to 1 teaspoon chili powser
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 bunch of kale or other dark leafy greens, finely chopped
1/2 cup creme fraiche or sour creme
4 sprouted grain tortillas
16 ounce can black beans
8 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 cup salsa

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a skillet, saute the yam, carrots and onion in the olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add the spices and continue to saute for anotehr 5 minutes. Add the greens, cover and saute for another 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Spread creme fraiche on each tortilla. On one half of the tortilla sprihnkle one fourth of the sauteed vegetables and beans. Top with cheese and fold. Spread the salsa evenly on top of hte tortillas before baking. Place ona baking tray lined iwth parchment paper and bake for about 20 minutes.

Serve hot or cold.

Spotty

Nina had Spotty inside this afternoon for several hours. He stayed in her arms/lap the entire time. She almost rocked herself to sleep rocking him. He's such an easy going rabbit and Nina loves him so much. What a great little pet he's been...thanks Mom!






I had to include yet another picture of the softness that is Evan. Check out those arms! Excuse the blur. I took a photography crash course this weekend and I'm now attempting to understand manual settings. It's definitely going to get worse before it gets better.

Frittata

One of the (few) perks of having 1 o'clock church is having time to prepare a Sunday brunch. I give the kids a small bowl of cereal when they wake up to hold them over and we eat a couple hours later.

I've had my eye on the fritatta recipe below for a couple months and I finally got around to making it Sunday. I forgot to buy the cilantro so I couldn't make the chili sauce, but I made the fritatta with white, red, and purple potatoes, cauliflower and feta cheese instead of goat (I didn't have any). Oh, and some chopped and sauteed kale sprinkled on at the end. I squeezed lemon on it just before serving. Seriously, this is my favorite frittata yet! I can't wait to make it with the cilantro chili sauce.

101cookbooks delivers once again!



A Tasty Frittata Recipe

Cilantro Chile Sauce
2 large cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1 small bunch cilantro
1 green (serrano) chile, seeds removed
2 pinches ground cumin
a couple big pinches of salt

Frittata
6 large organic eggs
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
3 small potatoes, very very thinly sliced
1/2 cup yellow zucchini or cauliflower,1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup goat cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
couple pinches of salt
Preheat your oven to 450F degrees. Make the cilantro chile sauce by pureeing the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, cilantro, chile, cumin, and salt until very smooth. Taste and add more salt if needed. Set aside.

In a medium bowl whisk the eggs with a small pinch of salt. Set aside. In a (small) 8 1/2-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat add the olive oil, onion, and another pinch of salt. Saute, stirring constantly, until the onion starts to brown, 5 - 7 minutes. Add the potatoes and zucchini (or cauliflower), cover, and cook for another 3 minutes or so. Slide everything out of the skillet onto a plate and set aside.

Turn down the heat a bit. Using the same skillet, add the eggs and cook over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes or until the eggs are just set and there isn't a lot of liquid running around the pan. To facilitate this, run a spatula underneath the sides of the frittata and tilt the pan so the uncooked eggs run to the underside and cook. Drizzle the eggs with a few tablespoons of the cilantro chile sauce, now sprinkle the potato onion mixture over the top.

Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 9 minutes, or until well set and puffy. Add a crumble of goat cheese and the pumpkin seeds across the top of the frittata in the final 2 minutes of baking. Remove from oven (be careful the handle is hot!), cut into wedges and serve.

Serves 2 to 4.

chop chop

Rollin is turning out to be my most enthusiastic and skilled kitchen helper. He uses a sharp plastic knife made for chopping salad, and he goes to town. We made Potato Leek & Chicken Noodle Soup this week. Zig was out of town so some serious kid comfort food was on the menu.






Potato Leek Soup


Potato soup is not a real pretty soup, but it sure tastes good! Especially with my new favorite salad of all time, the red cabbage slaw.

sugar beast

This week Lori, Wendy, Lilian and I went to a PCC Cooking class called Taming the Sugar Beast. The teacher, Birgette, would be my personal chef in a perfect world. The class was great and it was geared towards keeping sugar cravings in check. I love anything this woman teaches, and her recipes are just so healthy and simple. I am going to post the recipes I liked the best as soon as I make them. It should be no surprise that the first recipe I tried to make at home was the Coconut Truffles. These things are delicious, insanely simple, and a very healthy treat alternative. Got the thumbs up from Sela and Nina. Not Rollin yet, but he'll come around.



Raw Coconut Truffles
1 cup raw walnuts or other nuts
1 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, plus 1/2 cup for rolling the truffles
1/4 cup raw agave syrup (she said raw agave is the best kind of agave)
1/4 cup organic virgin coconut oil
1/4 cup hemp protein powder
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt

Place the nuts and coconut in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add the rest of the ingredients and process until smooth. Roll into truffles and roll in coconut. Refrigerate to firm them up.

Of course you can always make substitutions for different nuts, protein powder, agave, etc. This is a good guideline though. During the class she used a lot less sweetener than the recipe called for and they were still quite good.

My little bookends

I never thought I'd say this but...

I LOVE my dog.

Andra, you would be so proud. I have a huge soft place in my heart for him. If we were to lose him, well, I don't even want to go there. I almost get teary-eyed just thinking about how loyal he's been and how much I secretly hated having a dog for awhile. I hate to admit it, but I'm pretty sure I was actually wishing something might happen to him a year or so ago. Like he might run off and find a new home. But, things have certainly changed. Our relationship has evolved. Now I would be devastated if something were to happen to him. And if you know me, that's a big deal. I'm not a big animal lover. I'm an animal liker, but not too much love.

But there's love for this dog.



In the past six months, Kona has become the dog we all hoped he would be. He has mellowed tremendously. He willingly gets on his leash when kids come over to play. He follows our kids around the yard and watches over them. He's gentle with Evan. He doesn't even try to lick or sniff him when he's in the jogging stroller. He scares off animals like racoons that might hurt the chickens. He doesn't jump up on people anymore. He watches us walk to the bus and waits at the corner of our property for our return. He's always there, but not in an overbearing way. In more of a comforting way. I pet him more now, even if I know my hands will smell like dog and I'm in a hurry. He still does his business in the far back corner of our yard where no one ever goes. There is no stepping in poop in our yard, ever. Oh, thank you, Mr. Kona.

Last night as I was doing one final bedtime check on the girls, I looked outside their window and saw Kona laying a few feet from their bedroom window. He knows where the kids sleep and he watches over them during the night. When I saw him out there, as on so many nights before, I actually choked up. Trust me, that was quite a shock, even to myself. So, in short, we've come a LONG way.

Kona, you're a good dog.