We went away this past weekend. We drove 5 hours to go to the mountains to hang out with Husband’s family. It was wonderful. So refreshing to be away. They’ve been painting the exterior of our apartment complex for about a month and a half now. We also live beside a freeway. It’s noisy. It was nice to be surrounded by trees, stars, family, and silence. The silence was often broken by laughter.
I don’t know if I have anything food related to talk about, oh except to tell you that we had amazing german sausage and homemade ice cream.
The weekend was part of a fundraiser. We got a few treasures at the silent auction. Be still my heart. I love this watering can. Husband had to shove his way in to get the bid in at the last second. I’d been bidding the whole time, but was at a different table standing by another item that I’d hoped to win. I got outbid on a few things (and got my hand shoved out of the way at one point by someone who desperately wanted the ice cream maker I was bidding on – yes, I’m still a little bit mad, but I’ve decided that I’ll wait until I’ve saved up for my Kitchenaid mixer and just get the ice cream maker attachment, so I’m OK, really…), but won some others. It felt like Christmas, looking at all the treats! And, it was a donation, so even better! Husband really really wanted some BBQ Sauce made by the Balakian family. He bid on all 4 or 5 of them. We won one set. I might use it in the next few weeks on my show, with chicken, in the crock pot. I can’t wait!
Our dog has to sit on a pink plastic table cloth, on his bed, when we’re in the car. He sheds a lot. We live in an apartment, and our car is parked far from us, so we can’t vacuum the car each time we travel with him. When going to and from the mountains he slides around a lot. Yesterday he ended up underneath his bed. We laugh at him a lot.
A couple of other things that are random and unrelated to the weekend:
It’s supposed to be 100 tomorrow and i’ve decided to make soup on my show. Oh. I thought fall was almost here. Apparently it’s not. Hope it’s cool enough for soup where you are. I don’t really care, I’m going to eat it anyways!
This coming Sun will make one year that I’ve been blogging (ok, officially blogging). More about that in next Monday’s post.
We all know that breakfast is said to be the most important meal of the day. OK with me. I eat it, I like it. I don’t always like to prepare it though. I’m a cereal girl. I go for things with not too many ingredients, that will keep me feeling full for longer. I mean, I love things like bacon and eggs, pancakes, french toast, but I’m just a little too lazy to make them on a regular old weekday morning.
I like to have homemade granola on hand. I like homemade things because I control what’s in them. The amount of sugar, salt, preservatives…
My friend, Sheila, makes great granola. About 6 years ago when I started making granola on my own, I used her recipe. Over the years, I’ve adapted it slightly. Today’s recipe was inspired in part by hers, part by my friend, Genevieve, who added quinoa‚ to her granola a while ago. It’s fun to be inspired by friends who love to cook like I do!
I have a fun idea for something a little different to do with the granola. I mean, I’m going to eat it with milk, or with Greek yogurt sweetened with maple syrup… the usual ways. But, I’m going to try mixing some crunchy peanut butter with it, to make a granola bar-ish treat. Perfect for a snack, or to send along with Tim to eat at work.
Dry ingredients are stirred together.
Sweet liquids are added to the oat mixture.
It’s baked up on two cookie sheets.
Cooled on a tea towel (that was a wedding gift).
Stored in a jar with a handmade label.
This granola isn’t super sweet. It’s the way I like it, but I know Tim might ask for it to be sweeter. If you want it like he does, just add more of the sweeties! You could also add roasted and chopped almonds, raisins, other nuts, seeds, and dried fruits (I would add them after the granola has baked).
Stir together oats, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and quinoa.
Whisk together water, maple syrup, honey, sugars, salt, vanilla, and oil.
Add liquid to oat mixture and stir to combine.
Spread over two cookie sheets and bake at 350 F for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, stir, reduce temp to 200F and bake 2 hours more (stirring every 30 minutes and rotating which rack each pan is on).
Cool completely (I use a clean tea towel on the counter).
I had spaghetti squash for the first time made by my mom-in-law. It was a tasty, simple, healthy meal. While my version may vary slightly, it still features a delicious roasted squash.
Roasting veggies, almost any type, is possibly my favorite way to eat them. They get kinda nutty, and are crunchy outside and tender inside. The best!!
This week’s feast features roasted spaghetti squash with a veggie rich filling. However, I realize that those who get the small Abundant Harvest Organics box didn’t get a spaghetti squash this week. Here are some other ways that you could prepare this meal: Use pasta, use another type of squash, hollowed out and roasted (for example a large zucchini); in bell peppers (as stuffed peppers), in tomatoes (as stuffed tomatoes), on top of baked potatoes, as pizza topping, to top crostini, as taco, burrito, or enchilada filling, to top taco salad, mixed with rice…
For a vegetarian version, crumble and cook some tempeh instead of the ground beef!
If you want to make this ahead of time, here’s what you can do (what I did, since I film in the afternoons and we eat what I make for dinner, usually): Make the recipe up to the topping with basil, olive oil, and cheese stage. Then scrape out the squash from the skin, along with the filling. Pour it all in a bowl and refrigerate it. Later on, with a bit of oil in a pan, reheat the filling. You could re-heat the squash skins too, but it’s not really necessary, as now they are simply the bowl. Once the filling is hot, refill the squash, top with parmesan cheese, basil, and a drizzle of good quality olive oil.
I had a hard time stopping the eating process, even though I knew that I needed to save the meal for dinner. I don’t think it was just because I hadn’t had lunch. It was just good. Lots of fresh veggies, organic ground beef, and roasted squash… it’s a recipe for deliciousness. We had it for dinner (I reheated the filling) along with some Garlic Flats. It was delicious!!!
Last modified on 2013-08-22 23:24:00 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Spaghetti Squash Rock
Recipe Type: Main
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 65 mins
Total time: 1 hour 20 mins
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
1 spaghetti squash, halved, seeds removed
1/2 lb. ground meat (I used beef), or tempeh
olive oil
2 tomatoes, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1/2 onion, diced
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 small summer squash, diced
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 t dried oregano
1/4 t dried thyme
2 T red wine vinegar
1/4 C parmesan cheese, for topping
1/4 C basil, for topping
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350F.
Drizzle squash with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Place cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake on a rack set in the middle or upper position of the oven, for 55-65 minutes, or until flesh of squash is tender (jab it with a fork to find out if it is).
Heat pan, add ground meat. Drain fat and return meat to pan. Add veggies, herbs, salt and pepper. (Add some olive oil if the pan gets dry.) Cook until reduced and saucy, about 13 minutes.
Add red wine vinegar, cook 2 min more.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Remove squash from the oven. Scrape with a fork to get the spaghetti-ness from the side. Fill with meat and veggie mixture.
Top with parmesan cheese, basil, and a drizzle of good quality olive oil (like Bari’s).
Serve with garlic twists or garlic flats.
Notes
To serve more than two as a main dish, add another spaghetti squash. There should be enough filling for 4 people.
Last modified on 2012-08-22 21:45:07 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Garlic Twists
#ratingval# from #reviews# reviews
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Recipe Type: Side, Bread, Appetizer
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Total time: 25 mins
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients
1 pizza dough
1-2 T of your favorite herbs
1 t or so of garlic powder
1/4 C parmesan cheese
salt
olive oil
Instructions
Preheat oven to 425F.
Flatten pizza dough slightly to make a round disc. Brush with a tiny bit of olive oil and sprinkle with herbs, garlic powder, parmesan cheese, and a bit of salt. Fold over and press down. Repeat times.
Roll out pizza dough to about 1/4″ thick. Brush with olive oil and a sprinkle of all toppings.
Using a knife or a pizza wheel, slice in strips, 1″ wide.
Transfer to a baking sheet.
Carefully lift one end of the dough and twist slightly (it can also be done holding both ends, with the dough in the air, but it tends to stretch a bit), twist second end.
Bake for 10 minutes, or until twists are slightly crispy.
Drizzle squash with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper. Place cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake on a rack set in the middle or upper position of the oven, for 55-65 minutes, or until flesh of squash is tender (jab it with a fork to find out if it is).
Heat pan, add ground meat. Drain fat and return meat to pan. Add veggies, herbs, salt and pepper. (Add some olive oil if the pan gets dry.) Cook until reduced and saucy, about 13 minutes.
Add red wine vinegar, cook 2 min more.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Remove squash from the oven. Scrape with a fork to get the spaghetti-ness from the side. Fill with meat and veggie mixture.
Top with parmesan cheese, basil, and a drizzle of good quality olive oil (like Bari’s).
Serve with garlic twists or garlic flats.
Notes
To serve more than two as a main dish, add another spaghetti squash. There should be enough filling for 4 people.
