Cabbage Steak

Cabbage is a vegetable that has been touted for its medicinal effects for eons, from the Egyptians and Ancient Romans into today. I have read that cabbage can cure hangovers, indigestion, and that it is a serious anticarcinogenic food.  I eat it not only because I know it is good for my body, but because I think it is delicious. Especially in this recipe. I found this online originally and bastardized it to my liking. It is a flexible recipe that really makes cabbage palatable to anyone...even my children like it (one likes it without the cheese!!).

Ingredients:

One Head of Green Cabbage 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cracked Pepper

Salt

Bleu Cheese (or goat cheese would be great, too)

Crushed Red Pepper (if desired)

Other possible ingredients could be finely chopped garlic or shallot, chopped jalepeno, pretty much anything!! 

Basically, you cut the head of cabbage into slabs and lay them on a cookie sheet. drizzle some olive oil on each slab, sprinkle with peppers, salt, and cheese. Stuff in a 350 degree over for 25 or 30 minutes until the edges brown and the cheese is melty. 

Enjoy. 

Panzanella

A Tuscan bread salad, Panzanella puts to use your overly crusty bread. Substantial, delicious and with a pleasingly diverse terrain, Panzanella can be thrown together quickly and never disappoints. You can get creative with ingredients and just use whatever you have. Here is the general recipe.

Chunks of bread, a bit stale is best  

Tuscan Kale, chopped well

Tomatoes, chopped

Fresh Mozzarella hunks

Fresh Basil, chopped well

Balsamic vinegar

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

Fresh cracked pepper

Toss it all together, baby and you've got yourself a meal. Paired with a glass of wine it's even better. 

Loving You is Cherry Pie:

A quick and lusty cherry pie for cheaters.

i can't deny that i love cherry pie. and lately this single mama don't have much time...at least not for making pie crust. this simple, amazingly yummy pie will take a little over a scandalous 1/2 an hour to make. and no one will ever know you cheated...unless you confess.

you will need:
a high quality pie crust (or for you willing to slave away, make one yourself and catch up with the rest of us later)
a jar of Trader Joe's Dark Morello Cherries in light syrup.
milk
raw sugar

what to do:
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees
Spread the bottom crust in a 9" pan
Pour the jar of jerries and juice into the crust
Put the top crust on and pinch the sides to seal in the cherries
Cut a whole or two into the top..i like floral slits.
Brush the top crust with a little milk and dust with raw sugar
Bake at 375 for about 35-40 minutes, until the inside bubbles and the top is golden.

Serve with something decadent...like whole fat vanilla bean ice cream. and don't forget to moan.

On NOT Eating

eating is way sexier than not eating is. this is a truth as i know it on my first day of a spontaneous fast.

i woke up this morning, for many reasons, feeling it was time to cleanse a little bit. time to STOP eating for a while so my body had a chance to rid itself of built up toxins. and not only did i decide to give up eating, but coffee and wine as well. sigh. fun.

so today...i poured myself a piping hot cup of green tea and stirred in a little raw honey. i made my kids their lunches and fed the baby. there wasn't much food in the house so avoiding breakfast was easy.

i was forced, because i have a family to feed and cook for, to go grocery shopping. egad. my poor tummy was rumbling and tight. everything from baby bok choy and broccoli rabe to raw steak tips and gorgonzola cheese seemed to be whispering my name lasciviously in my ear. i kept trying to convince myself to just do a raw foods fast so i could at least have my way with the green sexy leafy things. but i know that inner devil voice. i know how to not listen to it. i persevered through the day. but that voice...

i'm so addicted to eating.

i made my kids some "not rice" crispy treats and as i pressed the gorgeous marshmallow & butter covered psillium into the pan my hands became coated with it...i wanted, with all of my heart, to lick each finger clean. but i didn't. sigh.

tonight...for supper i am making my new favorite mashed potato recipe with some gravied up steak and green beans for the fam. let's see how i fair with that one. the beans are what are calling to me most...with a little EV olive oil and bragg's... at least it'd not a steak i want to shove down my throat.

i am planning to not eat today, tomorrow...perhaps three days total and then do a raw diet for a week or so.

local eats

so...we are unexpeectedly spending new year's eve alone as a family...baby has been sick for a couple of days and we don't want to push him. it's sad, in a way, because we have dear friends with children that we looked forward spending the holiday with...but alas, better to be safe and keep everyone healthy.

to lift my spirits a little i am cooking a glorious feast of local yumminess for the children, jay and i this evening at home. i'll be shucking some local oysters and serving them with a mignonette as a starter. the recipe is a few entries below. you can find it here.  so. damn. sexy. and so good. and yep, my kids do eat oysters, at least the older two boys.

winter vegetables are delicious...some of the hardiest greens come in the fall and winter and are still available at good super markets in maine...i'm making some kale salad and some broccolini tonight...both of which are still available locally. my kale salad is to die for. it's amazing to think it is so good for you and so yummy. i am making a big batch tonight which will stretch through the week. jay and i like to eat it everyday. again, the recipe is available here...

for the broccolini, i am just going to sear it in a cast iron skillet with some bragg's, extra virgin olive oil and a touch of white balsamic vinegar. i won't cook it too long...just couple of minutes until it turns a deeper green. i like it to still be crunchy and it retains most of its vitamins that way, too.

of course, maine is the land of potatoes...so we've got some maine potatoes that i will peel, boil and then mash with toffuti cream cheese and kate's butter and perhaps a sprinkle of sea salt. i discovered the tofutti in mashed potatoes secret while working a catering gig this past fall...it has been a family favorite ever since and will probably be forever more.

for the main course tonight we are having good ol' maine lobster. they are crawling all over each other in a big paper bag in my fridge as i type. i will boil them later and serve them up with slices of lemon and some melted butter...Kate's butter which is made locally with sea salt (it is out of this world and will be the only thing in this lifetime that makes me fat. i swear. i look for excuses to eat it.).

i bought a yummy light prossecco to celebrate with. it isn't local, but it sure will be good. and for dessert i am preparing a flourless chocolate orange torte. again...it isn't local, but it's made from scratch and we all love it.

so...from my family to your, we wish you the happiest of years yet...<3

not-all-rice-crispies...

i'm a mom to three little sons...ages 10-2. and they like sweeties and snacks...and i am not one to disappoint despite my desire to feed my little fellas healthy food.

i've been making these yummy rice-crispy-esque treats for them lately...they are made with psyllium and oatbran cereal and a touch of heart to heart.
http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=N2-1019
http://www.amazon.com/Kashi-Heart-Toasted-Cereal-12-4-Ounce/dp/B001E5E060
i make them like regualr rice crispy treats...melting a bag of little wee marshmallows into a stick of butter and then add the cereal, mix it up and press it into a 9x11 glass dish.

the grains are so good for them...and they love them. it's usually gone before i blink.

autumn...quickly because i have too many other things i need to get done. :)

tonight i pulled a super yummy beef stew out of my arse:
i threw some beef in flour and then seared it in ev olive oil in my stew pot...i threw in some red wine, an onion and, a little later, some veg stock...added a handful of fresh savory, all chopped up and some fresh rosemary, too...then some carrots, portabellas, red cabbage and spinach...oh! and some finely chopped garlic, the juice of a lemon, and more than a touch of bragg's. then i put the lentals in. on low heat i simmered it for a while and then i added more flour (all flour used is unbleached, unbromated whole wheat) and some earth balance to thicken it as it cooked. it is WICKED yummy. baby django kept saying "yummy" as i fed it to him. from the mouths of a babe...it must be good!


<3