Sweet Freedom!

Walking up South St in Philadelphia I saw a sign that was unfamiliar - Sweet Freedom. The sign was cute and welcoming too, and once I saw it was a bakery I had to go in.

As I walked in I was welcomed by a swanky pink chandler hanging in the middle of the bakery which was very cute inside.

I was welcome by Allison - one if the owners of Sweet Freedom. She explained to me the uniqueness of Sweet Freedom - they're
a vegan, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, corn free, wheat free, peanut free, soy free, casein free and no refined sugar bakery (whoo, that was a mouthful). I was impressed and curious to see what the beautiful array of baked goods taste like. I took my time and Allison was not only helpful but also very patient with the tons of questions I had. Once I knew what I was getting, I really felt good about bumping into this place. I purchased the.....

double chocolate chip mint cookie sandwich

the blueberry oat crumble

and a brownie (forgot to take a pic)
Here are some chocolate chip cookie sandwiches instead

I am munching on the sandwich cookie right now and it taste like a thin mint cookie in the best possible way. The brownie is rich yet light, and blueberry oat crumble is something I would look forward to after a good dinner. Everything I bought I would definitely buy again. I was really
pleasantly surprise after tasting each item. Even though my family doesn't have any allergies; this would be a bakery I would enjoy taking my kids and myself to when a sweet treat is craved. The prices maybe a slightly higher then most bakeries but the quality of goodness and
taste is well worth it. Such Sweet Freedom to treat yourself with the betterment of your health in mind.


Thanks again Allison, hope to see you again soon.

Special Suprise Delivery!!!

My good friend Dj has the kids today, so I was able to make a few errands (and also blog today - twice!!). As I waiting for them to be dropped off, I am surprised with a special surprise delivery. My good friend Nina (from that's what friends are for blog) had a bag of hot of the grill goodies dropped off to me (I love her). I even kissed the delivery man (my husband, lol) for such a special delivery. I opened the bag and it was two hot foiled wrapped hidden treasures. So like a kid, I hurried to open what was hidden inside. Whatever it was, the smells started to escape the bag and fill my nostrils with enchanting aromas that was blissful (yes, it was that serious). I finally open the bag, and.......

Grilled Tikka Chicken!!!

As I'm texting, I am eating and I must say these grilled tikki wings are grilled and seasoned to perfection. Thanks Nina! You did again

Moroccan Eggplant Salad

Have you ever look in your frig and see certain items you normally don't buy when you grocery shop, but at the time it looked so good you had to get? That's what happened to me when I bought 2 large eggplants last week. I like eggplant, I just don't cook it. When I was younger, I did try but it came out horrible. Since then I would just avoid buying or cooking it. However, a local moroccan restaurant makes this eggplant salad that is finger licking good - literally. See you eat the salad with you fingers or by scooping up with a homemade bread that is served with it. So I wanted to do something with these 2 large pretty eggplant (yes, they were pretty). I didn't want to parm it - too easy. Whatever I did, I wanted the flavors to tantalize my taste buds. The eggplant salad came into mind and I immediately attacked the frig. I looked online and found a recipe that had a list of ingredients of which I had at home. Great! The recipe was simple and I was finished in no time - less then an hour. Now, this salad can be served warm or cold. In the restaurant it was always served cold. However, last night the flavors were really good warm so I served it over some basmati rice that had a spring of rosemary and flavored olive oil. This is one of those "I want a light with substance " type of meal. It was also good the next day spread over an organic rosemary boule bread for breakfast. You should try it yourself, here's the recipe:

Moroccan Zaalouk Recipe - Cooked Eggplant and Tomato Salad

Serves four to six. Serve with crusty bread to scoop up the salad.

• 1 large eggplant - peeled and chopped
• 4 large tomatoes - peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 1 tbsp ground cumin
• 1½ tsp salt
• hot paprika or ground red pepper, to taste (optional)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup water
• small 1" wedge of lemon (optional)

Directions:

1. Place all ingredients -- except the lemon wedge -- in a 10” or 12” skillet or pot and mix.Don’t be alarmed by the quantity; the vegetables will reduce as they cook.
2. Cover the pot and bring to a fast simmer over medium-high heat. Cook, covered, for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant and tomatoes are very tender.
3. Mash the cooked eggplant and tomatoes with a potato masher or large spoon. If desired, add the wedge of lemon.
4. Continue cooking -- now uncovered -- to reduce the liquids; this could take another half hour or more. Stir frequently, and adjust the heat as necessary to avoid burning.
5. Remove the pan from the heat when the liquids are reduced to oils and the zaalouk forms a mass that can be stirred away from the sides of the pan. Adjust the seasoning as desired.
6. Serve either warm or cold. If desired, drizzle additional olive oil on the salad as a garnish.

Click here for recipe site. Enjoy!!

Dinner is Served

After a great enjoying Pasta Pomodora at a local restaurant, I had to try at home. Thankfully, the waitress shared the recipe with me. Viola! I did it. Simple and tasty .

Pasta Pomodora

4 heirloom tomatoes, diced
1 medium onion, diced
2tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
6-8 leaves of fresh basil ( I used purple basil but green basil is just as good)
1/2 cup of grated parm cheese
fusulli pasta,cooked (you can use whatever pasta you like - the kids love this one)
salt, pepper to taste

In a saucepan, add your olive oil and tomatoes on a medium heat. Cook tomatoes until they release their juices. Add onions and cook for about 2-3 mins or until the onions are transparent.
Then add garlic, and cook for another min. Once that is done, turn off your heat and immediately add your parm cheese to the sauce and stir. Once you see the cheese creaming of the sauce, take your cooked pasta* and basil and toss in sauce. Plate and serve.

*Turn heat on medium low to warm up pasta if it was cook before adding to the sauce. *

My kids loved this dish and ask me to make it again the next day, that really warmed my heart.

Enjoy!

February Free Cookbook Goes to.....

CONGRATS TO........

Kathy Petocz Gaspar

Kathy I will be shipping book out this weekend. Enjoy and anything you make please send pics of what you cooked.

Breakfast Time

This morning my 5 year old chef in training woke up with a breakfast request. " Mommy, can you make yellow grits this morning please." He never ask for cereal, but that's my fault only because I want him to have a well rounded palate with food and breakfast is much more then cereal and milk. So of course, I didn't say no. Once he received his bowl of golden yellow grits, he "buttered" me up with his usual - "Mommy, your the bestest cook ever!" Gotta love kids.

Breakfast
A yummy bowl of organic yellow grits (also called polenta or corn meal). I just added some organic butter, a litle sea salt, some borsari seasoning, and a few slivered slices of a cave aged gruyere cheese.

*You could also serve this for lunch or dinner with a spring salad dressed with an aged balsamic vinager*

Healthy Chips, Finally!

I was at my local Wholefoods Market on one of my zen escapes. On this particular day there was a vendor with a really interesting product. Chips, but not just any chip - Raw Chips!! Now I'm not a raw foodist, but I do like some of the products and recipes that are offered. Brad's Raw Chips was the vendor and Brad himself was there to offer delicious samples and informative information to all those who were opening and will to try and listen. These are the first raw chips (uncooked) to be offered in Pennsylvania and possibly the northwest region. I was gamed to try the beautiful array of colorful chips that awaited my taste buds. The flavors that he had out to sample were Indian, Kale, Sweet Potato, Red Bell Pepper, Beet, a non-dairy Cheddar, Sun Dried Tomato. My favorites were the kale, red bell pepper, and sun dried tomato. These yummy chips are ground up veggies with added seeds which is great because it still upholds good nutritional value. Making it like a meal in a bag. Now with me being a mom of a 5 year old and growing infant this is the snack I can confidently give my kids. This only reassures me as mom knowing I have good options for my children to have a healthy eating habits. What chip out there can you buy that has Vitamins A,B's, C, Calcium plus more? I only know one - Brad's Raw Chips. Thank you Brad for offering a snack that will assist in the betterment of the health of my family especially my growing children.

Get your chips at www.bradsrawchips.com and tell them Umm Food sent you.
Eat Good & Live Right

That's What Friends Are For!!!

Yesterday I was having one of those days where I just needed a helping hand. A very close friend of mines came over to the rescue without even me asking. She asked if she could cook which was fine with me. Normally, I would say no I'll cook but with a pounding headache and my precious 3 month old demanding my attention I was grateful. I had some sea scallops in the frig and also some chicken. She choose the scallops which I was happy with. She took the baby into the kitchen with her as I headed to my room for just a little rest to get rid of my headache. To my surprise I was called down maybe an hour later to something delicious.

Seared Scallops and Indian Spiced Spinach Penne Pasta

She seared the scallops in butter and simply seasoned with salt and pepper. They were delicate and yummy! As for the pasta, she use a penne pasta* I bought from Trader Joes and tossed with spinach*, garlic*, some vegetable curry (I get from my local Asian market), some extra virgin olive oil, butter*, salt & pepper and grated parm cheese.

Everything was delish, and I so appreciated this little break. Thanks Nina!! Love ya!

*Organic

Creamy Broccoli Soup

Before I even had the chance to freeze the Creamy Curry Onion Soup from my previous post, my five year old wanted some soup. He loves broccoli, so I decided to add some steamed organic broccoli to the soup. I warmed the creamy curry onion soup first and then blended it with my hand blender. Once that was done I add the steamed broccoli and some of the water that it steamed in to the pot of creamy curry onion soup.

I then took my hand blender again with all contents in the pot and blended to creamy goodness. You can obviously add more water (from the steam broccoli if there is any left) or broth to bring cream consistency to your soup. I also topped with a little bit are fresh parmigiana cheese. The flavors from the Creamy Curry Onion Soup brought a nice body of flavor to this version of a Creamy Broccoli Soup. Need I say more. Left overs brought to life once again. Enjoy!

Wholefood's Grand Opening!!

Talk about a Grand Opening, Plymouth Meeting, PA Wholefoods grand opening was that plus more. The parking lot was jammed packed with eager and anxious customers waiting to finally enter the largest Wholefoods Market in the Philadelphia Region.
With the store opening at 10am they started things off with the breaking of bread which was great. Customers were greeted pleasantly throughout the store which was warming. Everyone seemed happy to be there and welcoming. I felt like a kid in a big candy store with thousands of healthy, helpful options for everyone in my home to enjoy.

The Philadelphia Eagles Pep Band strutted throughout with a certain swagger as they played different known tunes for shopping customers.


This is a first for me, a trail mix bar.

Remember the coconut ice cream I blog about in a previous post? Here they have 11 different flavors to choose from. Some flavors are new for me, and I can't wait to try . They were on sale too.

The bakery section was divine. From freshly baked breads, danishes, muffins, cookies, pretzels, cakes, pies, and......

more, and....

and so much more.

There's a Brick Oven Pizza!! Got to try the four cheeses - so good!

Flips offer burgers, and hot dogs for those who come in for a quick munch. A good thing about flip is the beef for the burgers are from local farmer and its ground and forms by hand.

There's a bulk section that offers local honey, as well as blue agave, olive oils, and brown rice syrup along. They also provide different sized containers for all of these including the little honey bear for those who like.


I was there for a good 3 hours just going through the whole store a couple of times. These are just a few things that this huge building offers. You can find out more here: wholefoods plymouth meeting. There was also a good handful of different vendors in the store that I plan on blogging about in the very near future so stay tune. To be continued....

SOUPS UP!!!

Yesterday I went to Wholefoods and smelled something different in the hot soup section( yes, I can detect a different soup by smell without even looking, lol). So to my surprise, there was a Curry Onion Soup and when I opened it I was in love. I grabbed one of the little sample cups to fill for me to try. Oh my, it was decadent and smooth tasting. I didn't want a 8 oz or a 16oz, I wanted the big boy 32oz container. However, I had other groceries that took priority in my cart. I was determined because after tasting that, I know that's what I wanted for dinner. So I looked at the ingredients list once more - this time to memorize. I had everything at home, so why not make it myself. That's exactly what I did too. Here's what I rounded up in my lab:


Creamy Onion Curry Soup

3 large onions, sliced*
1 pint of heavy cream**
2 tablespoons of butter *,**
1 tablespoon of green chiles, diced
1 tablespoon of curry power
1 tablespoon of sofrito (click here for recipe)
1 cup of water

-In a saucepan melt the 2tbsp of butter on a medium heat, and add onions.
-Sprinkle a little bit of salt to help draw moisture out of the onions.




-Allow to cook uncovered and stirring until the onions become soft
-Once soft, add curry powder and mix into the onions
-Allow to cook for 1-2 minutes


-Add remaining ingredients and bring to a gentle boil.
-Once a gentle boil forms, turn the heat onto a low simmer
-Allow to simmer covered for 15-20 minutes. Stir occasionally
-Once done, season to your liking with salt, pepper, and fresh herbs.

It came out pretty close to the wholefoods version. However, I think I would like this version even better if I used coconut milk instead. With the remaining portion left I will blend it and freeze it. I can use for a cream of onion base for future recipes.

*organic
**can substitute with coconut milk to make vegetarian/vegan

Free Bags of Grocories at Wholefood!!!!!

A friend of mines called me telling me that the new WholeFoods (which
hasn't opened yet) is giving away free bags of groceries to the first
100 people in line at 5pm today. I only had an hour to get there
after getting her call. So I picked up kids and headed towards the
new store. Despite some traffic we pulled up 10 minutes to 5pm. I
literially scream at the size of this store - it's huge! I was so
excited being as though I'm a avid WholeFood shopper. They posted the
giveaway on there facebook account. People waiting in line where
excited almost like they were waiting in line for a concert. Everyone
standing in line received a wholefoods reusable bag filled the
following items:

1.) 365 Brand All Natural Sandwich Cremes (cookies)
2.) 365 Brand Lightly Salted Tortilla Chips (restaurant style)
3.) 365 Brand Lavender Body Lotion
4.) 365 Brand Macaroni & Cheese
5.) 365 Brand Mild Salsa
6.) 365 Brand Creamy Peanut Butter
7.) 365 Brand Organic Hot Chocolate Mix
8.) 365 Brand Organic Pasta Sauce
9.) 365 Brand Whole Wheat Penne Pasta
10. And a cool Re-Usable Wholefood Bag

The Plymouyh Meeting PA Store will open next Tuesday January 12, 2010.
Thanks Wholefoods!!!!

Did somebody say Sofrito?!?!

A few days ago I was in the market and came across 2 beautiful bouquets
of Cilantro. I know cilantro is a love it hate it herb but I
love it. So I bought two full bunches happily to take home and come up
with some creative tasty treats. Well, days went by and I didn't come
up with anything. Surprisingly the bunches were still looking great in
the Frig and I didn't want them to go to waste. So I started looking
in my cookbooks and online for some inspiration. I wanted to make soup
but that meant that I would make more then one kind of soup because it
was just that much cilantro. I came across some sites that had recipes
for sofrito. Genius! I could make Sofrito! I like to make soups and
sauces and always use the ingredients that I put into my sifrito
blend. I used both bunches of cilantro, green, red and yellow peppers,
1.5 bulbs of garlic and 2 large onions and some extra virgin olive oil.
I throw all of that into the blender and blended on a medium high speed.
You could smell the herb-y goodness through the spout. With all that I used
I had at least 4 cups to play with. So I allowed it to sit in the Frig over
night and then started freezing by the the tablespoon. I froze about 32
individual tablespoons in a freezer container awaiting future soups,
stews and sauces.

Good food, good eats!

Pick Your Own: Strawberry Festival

It's nothing like picking your own fruit and vegetables. Linvilla Orchards had a strawberry festival yesterday that was absolutely wonderful. There were plenty of activities for the children, picking of strawberries and rhubarb for both young and older, and food galore at the farmers market. The weather was perfect yesterday to go pick your own strawberries. I actually picked 10lbs of strawberries that will be eaten "naked", frozen, prerserved and made into deserts (especially with my new unused ice cream maker). For foodies, and those who appreciate where your food comes from, picking your own fruits and vegetables is an experience like no other. Especially when you get home and get to eat the "fruit" of your labor. Check your area for your local pick your own farms

CREAMY DAIRY-FREE, SOY-FREE GOODNESS

I am in awe with this product. Turtle Mountain Purely Decadent Coconut Milk Ice Cream is just that – Decadent!

The ice cream made with coconut milk is so smooth, and creamy. It melts like silk when eaten without a bad after taste.

I have tried the following flavors; Chocolate, Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl, Mint, and Mocha Almond Fudge. I love Choc. Peanut Butter Swirl – the flavor of chocolate and peanut butter in a creamy ice cream is so dangerous (because you’ll want to eat the whole pint in one setting). The Chocolate, and Mint are good ones too. I’m not a fan of the Mocha Almond Fudge Coconut version (I do like the Soy version by Purely Decant better).

Try it and you too will be hooked just like me. Not to mentioned its health benefits. That’s all I need – Ice Cream that’s good for you (in moderation of course).

Bon Appetit!