Making the best of things

The theme of the last few weeks has been "We'll make it work."

 Everything is going to hell at the office

We'll make it work

We do the math over and over and to our amazement, we're still stupid broke. 

We'll make it work

Or, the focus of today's post,

I get my menu all set for cooking group, only to find the store is out of pretty much everything I need.

We'll make it work.

Breakfast for dinner is what I promised the lovely participants of the New Columbia cooking group. Homemade breakfast sausage, leek and mushroom egg muffins, 

and a simple fruit salad with whipped cream.

Simple, easy, delicious.

Because work is so insane these days (commencement is in three weeks) I'd waited until a mere hour before cook time to pick up ingredients. Luckily, I thought to myself, this group takes place in the market of a little grocery store in North Portland. I figured I'd be all set.

ha.

A dismal selection of berries (there must have been a raid), no mushrooms, and no ground pork, actually no ground anything. Soooooo, off to our local friendly Fred Meyer.

Still no ground pork.

Okay not true, but no ground pork that didn't look questionable.... you know what I mean.

But they were having a sale on organic, pastured happy ground turkey.
#MakinItWork

I picked up the rest of my ingredients and raced back to the kitchen for class.

This kitchen is a pseudo industrial kitchen, the supplies are ever changing, and most things are GIANT size. So cooking a meal for five people is a comical adventure through big-land.

However, tonight's dilemma was kind of the opposite. I could not for the life of me find normal size muffin tins, just itty-itty bitty mini muffin tins.  So....we'll make... mini egg muffins! 

And apparently all the frying pans had taken a walk, so we cooked our sausage in giant stock pots.

Though we lacked proper cookware, the food turned out delicious. The mini egg muffins were perfectly bite size. We threw the leftovers in the fridge and they made an excellent snack or on-the-go breakfast in the morning.  Things always work out right?
Right.
Though making sausage in a soup pan sucks, use a frying pan. Get it together.


Homemade Breakfast Sausage (paleo, primal, 21DSD)

Ingredients

• 1 pound ground turkey or pork
• 1 apple, granny smith or gala, diced into 1/4inch pieces
• 1 onion, minced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 tsp sage
• 1tsp fennel seed
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• oil or butter for pan

Directions

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients. Work together, with your hands, to evenly distribute spices. Using your hands is really the easiest way. Form meat into small 2-3 inch patties that are no more than 1/2 inch thick.
Melt coconut oil or butter in a large fry pan over medium heat. Add patties to pan and cook for 3-4 minutes per side, or until done through. Finish with additional salt and pepper, if you like.


Leek and Mushroom Egg Muffins (vegetarian, paleo, primal, 21dsd)
Makes 12-16 large egg muffins or 24-36 mini muffins
Ingredients

• 8 eggs
• 2 small leeks, ends trimmed, diced (include the greens!)
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 cup mushrooms (we used shitakes) diced
• 1/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese (optional)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper

Preheat oven to 350F
Dice up all your veggies. You want them fairly small because they will distribute more evenly throughout the eggs.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the bejesus out of those eggs. You want them fluffy and happy. Happy eggs taste better. Fold in your leeks, garlic, mushrooms, cheese (if using), and spices.
Mix thoroughly to distribute.
Grease your muffin tin. Ladle egg batter into tin, filling each cup about 2/3 full. Place in preheated oven and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the muffins pass the toothpick test.

Refrigerate any leftovers for up to a week!

Bacon Jalapeno Winter Squash Soup

Woah. Posting two days in a row! WHAT?!

I have good reason...

Last night we resumed our Village Gardens Cooking Collective at the Village Market store. I met with five eager community members to cook and share a delightful winter meal together. In spite of some serious language barriers, we produced a beautiful blood orange kale salad and lots of winter squash soup.

The soup was stupid good. So I'm sharing the recipe with you because I'm nice like that. And I wrote this recipe, so I'm feeling proud of it.

Bacon Jalapeno Winter Squash Soup

Ingredients

• 2-3lbs Winter squash (acorn, butternut, hubbard)
• 6 strips uncured bacon, cut into 1/2inch pieces (be sure to save the fat after cooking)
• 2 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
• 1 sweet onion, minced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 apple, cored and chopped
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• ½ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. pepper
• 1 quart chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy cream or full-fat coconut milk

 

Directions

·       Preheat oven to 400F. While oven is preheating, prep all ingredients.

·       In a large soup pot, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp.

·       While bacon is cooking, halve and remove innards from squash. Cut into quarters.

·       When bacon is finished, remove and set aside. Carefully pour remaining fat into small bowl to use later in recipe.

·       Add two tablespoons of rendered bacon fat back to soup pot. Add sliced squash and stir well to coat.

·       Dump oiled squash onto a large rimmed baking sheet and place in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes. Cook until fork tender and browned on top.

·       Add remaining fat to soup pan and sauté the onions, jalapeno, and carrots over medium heat until onions are translucent and carrots begin to soften. Stir frequently so not to burn.

·       Add garlic and remaining spices, stir to coat and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until fragrant.

·       Reduce heat to low and add diced apple and chicken stock and cover pot.

·       Remove squash from oven. Let stand for a few minutes to cool then carefully remove skins from squash.

·       Add squash to soup pot and bring to contents to a  boil 

·        Once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer 10-15 minutes for flavors to meld and squash to get squishy.

·       Using an immersion blender, puree soup until smooth

·       Slowly pour in coconut milk or heavy cream and stir to incorporate.

·       Serve soup with crumbled bacon pieces on top!

January Recipe RoundUp

One of my 2014 goals is to be more adventurous in my cooking, so I've challenged myself to try one new recipe a week. Doesn't sound like a lot right?

Maybe not, but coming home after a long day the thought of cracking open the cook book or pulling something off the interwebs and HOPING it turns out well is not exactly the ideal evening for me these days.

Will it actually only take thirty minutes? 

Does it secretly require six hours of prep? 

Will this really be the best pork roast of my life?

Is this a Pinterest fail in the making?

There's still a cheesecake brownie incident I am trying to live down....

But in spite of some hesitations, I stuck to it and attempted some altogether delightful recipes this month.

To kick the month off, I made a Mexican Braised Beef in the slow cooker for our new year's goals party. This was a combination of my Mom's recipe advice and a solid recipe from The Kitchn. Follow her recipe, it'll surely be awesome. Or take my mom's advice and sub out the diced tomatoes for stewed tomatoes and create something MAGICAL. 

Mexican Braised Beef with roasted cauliflower and kale

Next up, I took some solid advice from PaleOMG and made her Almost Five Ingredient Spaghetti Pie. This was really, really good. Like really good. Like go make this right now. I added mushrooms, parsnips and extra sauce to mine because I can't leave anything alone.

Courtesy of PaleOMG (hers is prettier looking than mine)

I have to say this was almost a fail.  I fell victim to not reading the recipe all the way through first.... I'd assembled this delicious casserole, looked at the next step "Bake at 400 for about an hour." So, my own fault, but dinner was at 9 that night. Worth it.

Tonight, the Village Gardens Cooking Group starts up again and I'm preparing two new recipes. The first, a play on my favorite salad: kale, blood orange and avocado salad with a blood orange vinaigrette. I'm a big fan of raw kale salads and I'm excited to try out a new vinaigrette to mix things up! Hopefully my participants will be equally jazzed about the ease and awesomeness of making homemade salad dressing.

September's Cooking Group hard at work

We are also making a roasted jalapeno and bacon winter squash soup. Sounds tasty right? I hope so! The Food Works farm provided us with some beautiful delicata, acorn and pumpkin squash that we will roast to perfection for our soup! Love sourcing local produce!


My new recipe challenge continues and thanks to my lovely soon-to-be-sister-in-law, I am the proud new owner of Beyond Bacon: Paleo Recipes that Respect the Whole Hog. This book is brilliant and the recipe photos are just absolutely gorgeous. Go check it out! Your eyes and stomach will thank me.

Not your mother's green bean casserole

Fall has hit. I know I already dedicated a whole post to my excitement. But just in case you missed the memo. ITS HERE! Portland won't be dry again until next July.

With fall comes comfort food. As a kid this was usually in the form of my mother's clam chowder, chicken bake or the ultimate friday during lent tradition--- tuna noodle casserole.

Our family abstained from the cornflake topping or whatever you crazies would put on top. No our dish was warm and delicious and ultimately simple; literally three ingredients: bow tie pasta, canned tuna, Campbell's cream of mushroom soup.

We all grew up on Campbell's soup concentrates. I mean, tell me you can't hear the noise in your head of the mystery mix coming out of the can in one gelatinous slhhhlahhpp.

Now, call me snotty, call me informed, but I don't bake with campbell's soup anymore. And well we'll just blame my glutardness, but the noodle part of tuna noodle is right out.

So I'm just left with tuna, not as comforting.

But my lovely fiance grew up with a different mushroom soup casserole, a holiday favorite of many, but totally new to me: Green Bean Casserole.

Refusing to make the campbells soup/french onion version ( I know I'm so mean), I promised I'd make him a better version from scratch.

He scrunched up his nose as if to say "Yeah, good luck with that."

Well I finally delivered on that promise yesterday.
I made some awesomely tasty green bean casserole. (Sans, as of course was pointed out to me, the fried onions)

Ingredients

• 2 tbl bacon fat, divided.
• 1 pound mushrooms(crimini or white), sliced thinly
• 1 large leek, green stems removed, quartered and diced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 8 ounces heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chicken stock
• 1 tsp arrowroot powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 1 pound fresh green beans, stems removed, cut into 1 inch pieces

Preheat oven to 400F.
In a large saucepan, warm 1 tbl bacon fat over medium heat. Add diced leek and mushroom, and saute for 5 minutes, until leeks soften and mushrooms start to release moisture. Add garlic to the mushrooms and increase heat, cooking for 3-4 more minutes. Add chicken stock, salt and pepper Scrape bottom of pan and mix to incorporate. Cook on high for 5-7 minutes, letting the liquid reduce. Add the heavy cream and reduce heat to medium.  Lightly dust the arrowroot powder over the dish and mix well to incorporate (you dont want lumps!). Let simmer and thicken for 5-10 minutes on medium-low heat.
While mushroom sauce is cooking, spread the remaining tbls of bacon fat on the bottom of a small casserole dish and layer cut green beans on top. Pour mushroom sauce over the top of green beans and cover dish with foil.
Bake at 400F for 20 minutes.


*Note, if dairy is on your no-no list, you could replace the cream with full fat coconut milk. The flavor profile will be slightly different. But it could be worth a shot!

Its the great pumpkin!

I love fall. LOVE IT. 

Portland is in a major monsoon right now and I am giddily staring out the window, soul quenched from the sideways rain and wind beating against our sadly single paned windows. My roommate, who hails from the sunshineyland of Los Angeles, is less than impressed with the blustery, wet.
But I've fully embraced the season. Fires roaring, tea kettle whistling and the smell cinnamon, ginger and cloves wafting through the air, life is good.

Along with fall comes the great pumpkin kick. Decorations, pies, pastries, curries, charlie brown tv specials and dont get me started on that crack of a sauce starbucks uses....

PaleOmg has not helped this obsession--- she's been on what seems to be an equally aggressive pumpkin kick. Favorite thing she's posted so far is her Paleo Pumpkin Granola.

Holy Ballz. This stuff was DELIGHTFUL. My house smelled like Christmas for hours. 

I loosely followed her recipe, based on what I had in my cupboards, replacing the dates with raisins, pecans with cashews, etc. etc. 

Pumpkining continued last night along with the rain storm. I made a batch of paleo Pumpkin Banana Spice Cookies while Shane and Ted zoned in front of batman cartoons (my life has gotten weirdly domestic). 

The cookies were okay, shockingly had the Shane stamp of approval--- "Can I eat these when I'm being good (ie eating healthy)." They were far more like bites of banana bread than what I was expecting. I think next time, I'd replace the banana and use all pumpkin. They are also vegan, which is pretty cool for all my veg folks. 

Next up on the pumpkin list this week is this awesome pumpkin pudding from Grass Fed Girl . Its not vegan (good ol' gelatin), but I'm excited to try it out and perhaps top it with some of PaleOmg's delicious pumpkin granola. 

Ginger hitchin' + the kitchen expands.

So. Its been SOME TIME since my last bloggy blog. But life has been CAHRAZY. Like crazy. 

Like CHECK THIS OUT

YEAH UKELELES!?! 

Pretty cool....

BUT

AlSO

SERIOUSLY

WE'RE GETTIN' HITCHED BITCHES!

So yes, my best friend and partner in crime proposed two weeks ago and it was just absolutely the happiest day. The next year is going to be an absolute PARTY. 

We've even started CAKE TASTING!

 Yes cake. 

Thanks to lovely folks at Pentunias Pies & Pastries for these delicious GLUTEN-FREE treats. 

Yeah beezies. I said it.  

gluten-free. 

Shane couldn't even tell, so no whiners at the wedding please.

My lovely friend (AND BRIDESMAID) Jenn introduced me to this bakery. 

It spews cuteness and glitter. Seriously. There was glitter all over the cupcakes.

If you're in Portland, you should check them out. 

Other than being up to my ears in wedding business (woooooo), I am happy to say I am now working with Kitchen Commons and Village Gardens  on a Collective Cooking Group, as the cooking group coordinator. We are focused on bringing families back into the kitchen, emphasizing healthy cooking, budgeting time and money, and building community. Once a month, our group will be getting together to cook and share a meal. I'll be sharing our recipes and doing a recap of each meeting via this blog! I am super excited to help facillitate this program in my neighborhood. 

I even bought this awesome CRAZY FOR KALE cookbook as a fun recipe source....

I may just be crazy at this point...

Kombuchin' like kombitches

There has not been a dull moment since Britt and I have been reunited under the same roof.

If you missed the memo, her house burned down two weeks ago and she has relocated to a twin size air mattress in my living room. Living the dream here folks. Read about that and other crazy happenings in Danielle and Britt's lives on TwoEvilActors. 

Anyway. We have been doing awesome things like making badass music, cuddling with copious cats, and adventuring down Alberta, experiencing all Portland has to offer....

 Like beer cozies and sexy ladies

Tasty treats like Salt and Straw Ice Cream

Photo courtesy of Salt & Straw's FB

And of course..... fresh brewed KOMBUCHA on tap at Townshend Tea House

 

Yes. Those are growlers of Kombucha... 64 fluid ounces of fermented deliciousness. 

#tarotcards #Lifecolors #soportlandithurts

Our growlers have left our side, nary a moment since we purchased them. Portlandia, you are missing out on some great ideas here. In fact, I think Britt and I need our own reality tv show. Mr. Shakespeare* himself once said "This shit writes itself" Can't argue with that....



*he probably didn't say that, but Britt wore a shirt that said that... so I'm going with it. 

Anyway, whilst the rain beat down upon the earth, Britt and I swigged buch straight from the jug and made insightful revelations about our lives. Let me translate: It was raining, we were stuck inside, so we read tarot cards and drank too much kombucha. **

**we do this when its sunny too...



"Too much kombucha you say? No such thing!" Ah readers... unfortunately there is.... Drink a growler in 48 hours and see what that shit does to you... shit being the operative word. I'll spare the details.

Alas, three days later we were back in Townshend, refilling our growlers.

Please note the crazed look...

I should mention that while Kombucha is fermented, it is for all intents and purposes, non-alcoholic. It has TRACE amounts of alcohol in it, but I think you stand a better chance of getting buzzed off a tablespoon of Robitussin. Britt and I are just this crazy, naturally.

For those of you who aren't living an episode of Portlandia, Kombucha is a lightly carbonated or effervescent(bonus points for THAT word),  tart, fermented tea drink. Its packed with enzymes, aids in digestion and gut health, and contains glucosamines for joint health. And like lots of other fermented foods, it likes to power-punch that immune system into action.

While it is really fun to drink Kombucha out of a growler, a much more economical approach to buch-swigging, is to brew your own at home.

Its super, super simple, requires zero special equipment-- just the desire to brew and the ability to handle a SCOBY.

SCOBY, not to be confused with Scooby, is a symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast. Its this squishy mushroomy thing you put in the sweet tea to make it magically transform into Kombucha.
Sounds yummy right?

I have no idea who this woman is, but she is holding a SCOBY. 

Scooby

If you can handle the thought of that, then you are well on your way to home-brewing your own Buch!
Congratulations.
If you keep reading below, you'll have the instructions too... WOW. WHAT A DAY FOR YOU!