It's here!!

Back in April of this year, Jason and I teamed up with some friends (Chris and Amy) and Grandma Dub and placed an order for a 1/4 of a grass fed cow from Clark Summit Farms. I thought our beef would be ready in July or August, but got a call this weekend that it was ready to pick up this week. On Tuesday, I met up with a new friend of mine (who had also placed an order) and we headed off to the butcher in Penngrove. The drive was nice.. though we hit some traffic getting through San Francisco. Once we got there, the guys loaded up the van.... not only with my "tiny" little order (100+ pounds of beef) but with Danielle's order as well.... over $5000 worth of grass fed beef, pastured pork and lamb!

Once we got back to town, I helped unload the van before heading home to split up the order with Amy. I am so excited about all the wonderful dishes we're going to enjoy this fall! OH... the stews... the roasts... the chili! OH MY!! We're so excited that we thawed out 2 different steaks to enjoy this week! Tomorrow night we're having Fillet Mignon!

What a beautiful spread!

We picked up our first CSA share this afternoon. Wow, I'm glad that we're sharing this with Mom.... cause right now, I don't think that the 3 of us could eat all of this in a week if we didn't. I do hope to start incorporating more vegetables into our diet... but for now we get our 3 - 4 servings of greens and a couple servings of fruit.

The spread this week is beautiful! There are things that I've never had before... that I haven't cooked before, that I wasn't quite sure what they were. Everything we got though.. I am excited to try. Here's what we received this week: Arugula, Broccoli, Carrots, Chard, Escarole, Fava Beans, Green Garlic, Lettuce, Pac Choi, Young Onions, Spinach, Summer Squash, Tatsoi, 6 artichokes and 2 baskets of Strawberries.

We split everything up and packaged up Grandma Dub's portion and then started thinking about our "plan of attack" for eating everything before it goes bad. We decided to wash and put away all the greens. I packaged up our strawberries, carrots, onion, squash and artichokes. We ended up cooking all of the broccoli and some green garlic in a garlic/broccoli/spinach dish that Jason makes using some of our homemade beef broth. Mmmmnnn!

After dinner Keira wanted dessert, so I washed and sliced up all the strawberries. I topped them with a little homemade whipped cream and they vanished in minutes! I love that she's excited about a bowl of strawberries as dessert! (on a side note, she was quite distraught when she discovered that her "weekly strawberry" from the garden was eaten by a bird!)

I think we're going to be quite happy with our weekly CSA order! Thanks MOM!!! You rock!

CSA Membership!

I am so excited, I just have to share quickly!

After finding out recently that our neighbors (Chris and Amy) are the host site for their CSA, Mom and I decided to join! We get our first share next Thursday! Mom and I are going to share a Family Share. The picture is a sample of what a typical family share looks like! WOW, we're going to be Veggie eating Queens here pretty soon!

Jason and I were lucky enough to benefit from the misfortune of another CSA member who forgot to pick up their share last week! We received a Single Share and WOW was there a ton of produce! Things I've never had before... and certainly never made before! Now I need to figure out how to cook Fava Beans, Escarole, Tatsoi, and Mei qing choi. Oh boy this is going to be fun!!!

Adventure's in cooking....

Jason and I both had a HUGE steak left over from our anniversary dinner on Saturday. We decided to have them for dinner on Sunday. Well, when we were finished eating we were both left which a huge bone on our plate. I decided to make a beef broth, so I threw them in the crock pot with some carrots, onion, celery, rosemary, thyme and water and let it simmer overnight. YUMMY!

Keira and I also had several unloved bananas that we decided to make some Banana Bread with. I don't know what was more enjoyable... the smell of the broth or the smell of the banana bread! It was an incredible batch of banana bread though! YUMMY!

We also tried a recipe from my new cookbook "Eating Well 500 Calorie Dinners" which gives you ideas for an entrée, side dish and either a second side dish or a dessert which all add up to around 500 calories. Tonight we had the following:

Lemon-Garlic Shrimp & Vegetables. Makes 4 servings.

4 tsp EVOO, divided (I used coconut oil)

2 large red bell peppers, diced

2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1" lengths

2 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

1/2 tsp salt, divided

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 pound raw shrimp (26 - 30 per pound), peeled and deveined

1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth (I used my homemade broth)

1 tsp cornstarch

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 tbsp freshly chopped parsley

Heat 2 tsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers, asparagus, lemon zest and 1/4 tsp salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to soften, about 6 minutes. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl; cover to keep warm.

Add the remaining oil and garlic to the pan and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add shrimp and cook, stirring for one minute. Whisk broth and cornstarch in a small bowl until smooth and add to the pan along with the remaining 1/4 tsp salt. Cook, stirring until the sauce has thickened slightly and the shrimp are pink and just cooked through, about 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and parsley. Serve the shrimp over the vegetables.

1 serving = 227 calories, 7g fat, 173mg cholesterol, 14g carbs, 28g protein, 4g fiber, 618 mg sodium, 670 mg potassium. Nutritional BONUSES: Vitamin C (210% daily value), Vitamin A (80% DV), Folate (53% DV) and Iron (25% DV).

The suggested side dishes are: Cauliflower & Couscous Pilaf (162 cal) or Quinoa with fresh herbs (1/2 cup for 111 cal.) and either a Papaya-Lime Sorbet (199 cal) or a glass of white wine (5 oz for 116 cal.)

We didn't have any of the side dishes. though we decided to try with Quinoa next time. A definite make again.

Meal Plan 5/3 - 5/8

The Meal Plan from last week was mostly a success. There were a few changes made, due to last minute additions to our schedule.

Thursday Jason ended up going to a Sharks playoff game, so we didn’t barbeque. Keira and I had a nice surprise on Wednesday night (Andrea coming home for the weekend) so we decided to go to Grandma’s house for dinner and I made Chicken Enchiladas. They were so good! That was always one of my favorite dinners mom would make growing up! I should try to make them more often! We ended up barbequing steaks on Friday night. So, my first attempt at a meal plan for the week was mostly a success! We just missed one recipe that I had planned.

Here’s our menu plan for this week:

Monday - 4 Minute Spicy Garlic Shrimp (I substitute Coconut Oil for the Olive Oil… it gives it a subtle hint of coconut which is really nice!). Serving with wild rice and broccoli. Homemade ice cream for dessert!

Tuesday – Leftover Lasagna and a garden salad

Wednesday – Vermicelli Peasant Style

Thursday - Pecan Crusted Chicken with a Garden Salad

Friday - Chili Verde and Spanish Rice

Saturday we are going to celebrate our 4^th wedding anniversary by going to Benihani’s for dinner as a family. I’m just glad that we’re going somewhere that won’t have TVs… so I don’t have to share Jason’s attention with the Sharks!

Menu Plan 4/26 - 4/30

I’m trying to be better about planning ahead for things… especially dinners! It’s so much easier to start the week out with a plan of attack for things. Here’s our meal plan for this week through Friday, cause once the weekend comes planning usually goes out the window!

Monday: Left over Pizza Chicago
Tuesday: Classic Chicken and Coconut Soup
Wednesday: Chicken Lyonnaise
Thursday: Steak, Garden Salad, Artichokes
Friday: Chili Verde and Spanish Rice with Garden Salad

I'm excited to start using my chicken stock so I tried to find 2 new recipes to try and 2 family favorites!

Bird in the Oven...

Here I go again doubting myself… for no reason!

I got home from work last night planning on making a delicious sounding recipe that I found on Recipezaar. When I booted up my laptop to find the recipe it froze.

Seriously! I don’t have time for this! I need to throw together the ingredients, chop up some veggies and get this beast in the oven so I can go enjoy Happy Hour with Shelle!

What am I going to do if I don’t know what the ingredients are?
I need a recipe!
I don’t want to screw up this beautiful bird, I need someone to tell me what to do!

OK, screw it, I don’t have time for this! Man up, Amber! Or rather Wo-man up!

So, I ran out to the front yard and grabbed 4 sprigs of Fresh Rosemary, 6 sprigs of fresh Thyme and 6 Fresh Sage leaves. I love my herb garden!!

I took the 3 of the Rosemary sprigs and 4 of the Thyme Sprigs and tied together and shoved them into the bird’s cavity. I pulled the skin away from the breast meat and took the 6 Sage leaves and placed 3 on each breast underneath the skin. (I remember this being something that Mom does to our Thanksgiving Turkey, and it looks beautiful when the skin has cooked and is a crisp golden brown with the Sage leaves showing through.)

I sprayed the bird down with a bit of Olive Oil and ground fresh pepper over its breasts. I then chopped up the rest of the Thyme and rub it all over the bird’s breasts and thighs.

I had some fresh fennel from the Farmer’s Market that I wanted to cook, so I chopped it up along with some red potatoes and put those in a casserole dish along with some olive oil, garlic and the remaining (now chopped) Fresh Rosemary. I set the bird down in the middle of the dish (pushing the veggie mixture to the side) and called it good! Nervously, I shoved a meat thermometer in and put the bird in the oven, set it to 350 degrees and left to go enjoy some girl time!

After enjoying a wonderful Strawberry Margarita (or two) it was time to come home to Keira and Jason and enjoy our family dinner….. and it was great! I was pleased with myself. I didn’t have an exactly list of ingredients and measurements to guide me through and I still made something that turned out quite tasty! Now I just wish I had taken a picture of it before we cut it up!

Tonight I plan on taking the carcass (sitting in the fridge in a stockpot of water waiting for me) and throw it in the crock pot along with some onion, celery and carrot…. And the thyme and rosemary which are still in the cavity. Mmmmmm, this will be my first experience making homemade stock, but I’m excited to try! Maybe I'll get over this whole low self esteem in the kitchen thing one of these days too!

And the winner is....

Me? Really! I'm in shock! I never win anything, but that's changed now!
I'm excited for it to arrive in the mail!

Baking

While we were visiting Las Vegas, Keira fell in love with Lindsay's Bagels. I've decided to try making some homemade bread. I always doubt my abilities in the kitchen when trying new things. I am afraid I'll make a mistake... afraid that it won't turn out like I imagine it to. I don't know why I just can't trust myself to succeed, I always do.

I had a great time making Carrot Cookies with Keira while waiting for the dough for the bread to rise. Finally it did and once the bread was out of the oven...

it was a huge hit! Keira loves it!

Cleaning out the Kitchen

Last night Keira and I watched Julie & Julia. Well, truthfully I watched it while she slept on my lap, but she kept me company just the same. I thought it was such a cute movie. I loved the premise of it… didn’t realize until the end that it was a true story. Now, I’d like to read Julie’s Blog. It got me thinking…. I’m not looking to “Master the Art of French Cooking”… but I am looking for a change in the way my family eats. I want to go back to basics…. But still keep food interesting and full of flavor. I want something beyond meat and potatoes, but without all the processed/pre-packaged garbage.

I’ve recently been trying to make a major change to what I’m eating. I am trying to extend this to my whole family, but that’s going to be a work in progress as dear hubby loves his potato chips and gummy bears! I’m sticking to a diet of Fresh Fruits, Fresh Vegetables, Whole Grains/Legumes, and Real meat. If it has ingredients that I can’t pronounce I’m not buying it. If it didn’t have a mother… or come from the earth, I’m not going to eat it. I’m clearing my cupboards of items containing High Fructose Corn Syrup and replacing them with healthier options for all of us. Gone are the days of waffles and pancakes made from “Just add water” boxes…. I’ve discovered how easy it is to make them from scratch! And guess what, I’ll let you in on a little secret….. THEY TASTE BETTER! Plus, and this is my favorite part, I have “Little Chef” to teach and help me and she absolutely LOVES cooking with mommy!!