Green Smoothie???

I've been having a hard time getting through all of our veggies, mostly all the leafy green stuff. I've been trying to figure out a way to get more veggies into my diet and use up all the CSA stuff each week. Well, I think I've figured it out. I had been wanting a juicer for a while now, but they are so pricey... I just can't justify spending the money right now. I decided to try using my blender and see what would happen if I ran some spinach... or kale through it with some other fruit and veggies. Yesterday I made my first "green smoothie" and it wasn't so bad! I used 4 cups of spinach, 2 cups of water, a nectarine and 10 strawberries. It was a little thicker like a shake and I could taste the spinach... but it wasn't gross. I decided to try making another one....

This morning I had the following: 1 bunch of kale, 2 celery stalks, 10 strawberries, 1 apple, 2 cups of water, 1 cup unfiltered apple juice and 1 tbsp minced ginger. I really enjoyed it and I think I've got close to or all of my f/v servings in for the day! Plus.... I feel great... virtuous! I just don't think that I'll be able to convince anyone else that it tastes good... since it looks like green sludge!

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!

Just say "NO" to GMO!

So, now that I've taken off my blinders and started looking at the food I've been feeding my family I have a vast range of feelings.

I am angry

I am scared

I feel HOPEFUL!

I feel EMPOWERED!!!

I'm making a push to switch over to an organic diet. I've already started making a lot of what we're eating from scratch, but it's time to take things further. I never realized how much of the processed crap in the stores is made using Genetically Modified/Manufactured/Mutated ingredients! What scares me is that companies are not required to tell you that their products are made using these GMO products. In fact, one way to guarantee that you aren't buying these kind of products is to buy Organic. I also discovered that Trader Joe's line of foods are all GMO Free. I found quite a few resources on "How to avoid GMO" and a shopping guide with a detailed list of Brands containing GMO and ones that don't.

We don't have a big budget for groceries so it's hard sometimes to think about spending more money on Organic Milk ($6/gallon) versus Generic store brand milk ($3.49/gallon). However, if spending a little more money on quality, healthy, and natural products will make an improvement in our health, I'm all for it. If spending a little more money helps support our local farmers, I'm all for it.

Every time we go to the grocery store, we "cast our vote" and what we buy lets the big food manufacturers know what we want.... and if we're buying crap, that's what they'll g ive us more of... an if we want some thing better than what they are offering... they'll hear us! Maybe then a real Food Revolution will start... and just maybe more an more people will start taking back their kitchens!

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!

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!!