Spring Forward and Lighten Up

So time has sprung forward and the seasons will be changing before our eyes. What's the best way to celebrate the change of warmer weather, beautiful flowers and longer days? Through food, of course! It would not be spring or summer time if there wasn't a bountiful selections of tasty salads. Garden salads and potato salad has always been a nostalgic side dishes that always revisited almost every spring time brunch or summertime barbeque. As good as potato salad may be, its richness can be too heavy for those hot summer days along with the need to stay on ice due to the mayo. So I thought, why not merge the best of both worlds - the garden and the potato salad with a lighter dressing. When people think of garden salad they think of lettuce first. I didn't want to use lettuce in this recipe because I want the salad to hold up with the vinaigrette dressing. So I decided to use some other veggies that would hold in texture as well as flavor. I also wanted to use a seasonal vegetables that occupy most supermarkets, farmer's markets and home gardens: tomatoes and yellow squash. The other element ingredients are traditional to the potato salad with maybe a color change in the pepper and onion. Now the dressing; I wanted to lighten it up with flavors that would compliment the other ingredients. So I put together what I thought was light dressing with a kick; a Jalapeno Honey Mustard Vinaigrette. The finished product was absolutely decadent and ready for Spring/Summer time meals. Here's the recipe followed by a few tips.

Garden Potato Salad w/Jalapeno Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
Serving: 6

Vinaigrette:

4Tbsp Honey Mustard
1 Medium Jalapeno Pepper, seeded* and diced
1/4 Cup of Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice, (Freshly squeezed from a half of a lemon)
Salt to taste


Garden Potato Salad

5-6 Idaho® Yukon Gold, washed, and cut into 1 inch cubes, and boil til fork tender
1 Small Orange Pepper, diced
1 Small Red Onion, diced
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
1 Yellow Squash, thickly sliced rounds and then quarter cut each round
1 Large Roma Tomato, thickly sliced and then quartered
1/2 Cup of fresh Parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix all of vinaigrette ingredients into a bowl and whisk together. Cover bowl and allow the flavors to come together in the frig**.

In a small bowl add diced onions and lemon juice and let sit while potatoes are cooking.***

In a large pot of lightly salted boiling water, add potatoes and cook until they are fork tender (5-10minutes). Once potatoes are done, drain and rinse in cold water and drain again. Gently mix in a large bowl cooled potatoes, squash, tomatoes, red onions, orange peppers, along with jalapeno honey mustard vinaigrette. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Finally, add the parsley to the salad and serve.


* If you want more spice kick in the vinaigrette, leave some or all seeds. The heat of the jalapeno and all hot peppers are in the seeds.

** The longer the vinaigrette sits in the frig the more levels of flavors are pulled together. The vinaigrette can actually be made a day or two before you are ready to serve.

*** Adding the lemon juice to the diced onions actually take the onion-y bite out of the onion. So it wont be as strong, but it will still add flavor to the salad.

Enjoy!

Where's the Beef??

Earlier yesterday a friend was sharing some recipes that brought a great idea to mind. I have about 3 containers of slice portabella mushrooms, and a head of organic cauliflower......lets make a "meat and potato" dish!!! So I looked deeper in my frig and found some red peppers and thought about making a mock peppered steak with mock mashed potatoes. The prepping time was minimal since the mushrooms were sliced. So here's some ingredients I used:

Mock Peppered Steak

1 Container of Sliced Mushrooms (portabella mushrooms gives a "meaty" texture)
2 medium onions*, sliced (I love onions, one onion is enough)
1 red pepper*, sliced
2 garlic cloves*, crushed
2 tablespoons of oil
1/2 cup of balsamic vinegar
Salt and season to taste

On a medium heat add 1 tablespoon of oil to a sauce pan and saute mushrooms for about 2 minutes. Once mushrooms seem to absorb oil; make a well in the middle of the pan and add remain tablespoon of oil and add onions and a pinch of salt. Cook together for about 3-5 minutes, and then add red peppers. Cook for another 3 minutes on a medium heat.


Add the balsamic vinegar, and garlic and turn heat on low and allow to braise for 10-15 minutes covered. Once onions and mushrooms seem tender turn the heat off and allow to stand for 5 minutes uncovered. Enjoy with Mock Mashed Potatoes (recipe below)


Mock Mashed Potatoes (Mashed Cauliflower)


1 head of cauliflower*, core removed
1/2 cup of milk** (I used a heavy cream, but coconut milk, or other unsweetened non-dairy )
salt to taste
shredded cheese (optional)

In a pot with a tight lid add washed cauliflower with milk and allow to steam on a medium low heat covered for about 15-20 minutes. Once cauliflower is tender, pour and reserve milk***. Mash cauliflower with masher, fork or blender. Season to your liking and top with Mock Peppered Steak and some fresh chopped chives. Enjoy a meal that's flavorful, guilt-less and quick!

*Organic
**Organic & Grass-fed dairy

*** with reserved milk you can add to the Mock Peppered Steak to give a cream finishing.

Great Snack, Breakfast, or Dessert.

Recently, I had a moment and brought a large amount of steel cut oats due to a craving for oatmeal. After the first few bowls, the craving past and now I was stuck with all this uncooked steel cut oats. So of course the first thing that came to mind was......GRANOLA! I attended a food swap in my City a few months ago and was able to swap some of my ice cream for a batch of peanut butter and jelly granola that was awesome. So I wanted to try my own novice version of granola. The funny thing is I am not really a granola kinda girl but that peanut butter and jelly granola had me rethink my stance. So I began my granola journey. Here are the ingredients I used:

steel cut oats
almonds
cashews
sunflower seeds
maple syrup (organic grade B)
cinnamon
raisins
a sprinkle of kosher
vanilla

Mix all except raisins and bake in an oven on 350 for 15-20 mins. Allow to cool and then add raisins and store away in air tight container(s) or ziploc bag.

It came out great! I made this batch during the evening which was great for my night snacking. What really made me a lover of granola was having it the next morning for a bowl of cereal. It was so tasty and it really stood up to the almond milk nicely. What I love about this recipe is the versatility of additional add-ins that is almost endless. Its kid approved too, and not too much sugar. I also think this a great way to have kids be apart of making versions of their own cereals and snacks. Also, if you add flax seeds it's a great way to add fiber and they would never know the difference. Enjoy for a breakfast - hot or cold cereal. Add into your lunch salad for an added crunch and a bit of sweetness. Top and indulge with a really creamy greek yogurt for a light evening dessert. Add your own twist, enjoy and be healthy.

Buy Veggies and get Vegetable Broth for Free.

Have you ever made a big pot of soup, stew or had to chop a massive amount of veggies? Once you done chopping; you are normally left with what could be a massive pile of "peelings" that are normally trashed. STOP and back away from the garbage pail, or disposal. The bottoms and skins of those onions, those peelings from the carrots, and potatoes, and any other vegetable skin that was peeled away can turn into liquid gold aka vegetable broth. Its so simple, and easy and your getting a total use out of those veggies.

When you are prepping for chopping have a freezable container or plastic bag on hand. As you're peeling and cutting parts that cannot be used, simply place those peelings and parts into your container/bag. Once your done you can place in the freezer until you have what you feel is enough to make a broth that is to your taste. The more peelings you use the richer the broth and the least you use will result in a light flavored broth. Making the broth is simply placing your peelings in a stock pot. You should fill about 3/4 of the pot with water and allow to simmer on a medium low heat until 1/4 of the water is cooked off, leaving half the liquid. Once that is done, you can add some kosher salt or leave as is (you can always add salt and other flavorings once you are ready to use in another dish). Once its cooled, strain and then you can place in canning jars (following canning instructions of course) or you can freeze it as ice cubes or in a freezable container/bag for later use. If freezing, you should try to use within 3 months. This broth can even be used to flavor up your rice, potatoes, and roasting veggies to add a body of flavor that priceless. So when you pay $2.99 for onions, and $1.99 for carrots, and $2.50 for kale; know that you also receive 2 quarts + for free.

Gotta love those Dumplings

When you want something quick and fast yet wholesome and tasty... Go Gyozas!!!!!! Gyoza is basically an Asian filled dumpling that can be completely steamed or pan fried and then steamed. They're my favorite when it comes to those days when I want eat something good but don't have too much energy to spend hours cooking it. I normally have Trader Joe's Shrimp Gyoza's stocked in the freezer. Here are just a few dishes I used the gyozas in:

Broccoli & Shrimp Gyoza


String Bean & Mushroom Stir-Fry with Shrimp Gyoza

No recipes for these dishes; use your imagination and go for it!

Long Day + Hunger ≠ Crappy Food

So if your trying to get dinner done quickly and want it to taste like you put a lot of time into it. Visit your local Trader Joe's or Asian Market and stock up on these quick throw ins. Be creative with other ingredients that you may add into it. You can stir fry with them fresh veggies, add them to soups, or eat on their own with a simple dipping sauce made of soy, fresh ginger, crushed garlic and a little bit of chopped chives mix together. Enjoy!

Welcome to my Urban Farm...

So, this past spring and summer I decided to get over my fear....of bugs in order for me to do what has been a great thought in my head. I wanted to have a garden. Not just a flower garden, don't get me wrong flowers are cute and even beautiful at times. I am culinarian and food enthusiast so all I wanted to grow was... Yup, you guessed it right; FOOD. So with the help of a great block captain and neighbors that's what I did. I started what I thought was a garden and at the end turned into an small urban farm. It was an experience I'll never forget. The hard work to turn the soil, to prepare the area for the plants, to set up row after row and the watch it grow. We had some great sunny days too and even some scorchers, but 2 times a day I was out there watering and picking weeds. I even caught myself sitting on the steps nearby watching the beauty that was occurring in each row. Its almost like a growing baby aging before your very eyes. This was my first year at it and I must say, I enjoyed every moment of it. I can't wait til the new season to start planting. Until then I would like to say..... Hi, my name is Umm Chef and I'm an Urban Farmer :) Here's some of the jewels that I inherited:

Bouquet of Collards

Bush Green Beans

Heirloom Tomatoes

Cantaloupe..can you see it?

Eggplant hanging over my lavender

Eggplants, yummy petite bell peppers, green tomatoes, chives, and some red tomatoes too.

I'm back......with a quick dish

Its been some time since I last posted. So much has happened, but we'll get into that later. I wanted to share a quick meal that even beats Rachel Ray's 30 minute meals. Even though its quick it doesn't lack in flavor. If you have some fresh tomatoes (especial fresh from your garden) that's great. If fresh tomatoes are not in seasons, canned tomatoes work well also. Most of the ingredients you may already have on hand. Here's what I used:

1 pack of Penne Pasta, cook according to package
3 heirloom tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1 shallot
1 small orange pepper (green would work well)
1 tablespoon of butter (olive oil would work)
1/4 cup of mozzarella cheese, shreeded
*crushed seeded peppers, and/or a hefty pinch of sugar (optional)

seasoned with garlic powder (I forgot to add fresh), onion powder, sea salt, italian herb seasoning (oregano, basil, parsley, rosemary, thyme).

In a saucepan add butter and allow to melt on a medium heat. Once melted add shallot and peppers and saute for about 3 minutes.

Then add in tomatoes and a pinch of salt; allow to cook for 5 minutes. Once juices begin to release, mix in your seasonings, cover and allow to cook on low for about 10 minutes.


Once sauce is done, toss in pasta into the sauce. Once both are evenly mixed together, sprinkle shredded mozzarella cheese over pasta and cover so it can melt.

Bon Appetite!

Options: When mixing sauce and pasta together, you can add some fresh chopped basil.

FARMER'S MARKET TREASURES

A bag of goodies!!!!!

Saturdays some mom's look forward to weekend cleaning around the house, I look forward to hitting the local farmer's markets! What better place to pick you produce, dairy, and even meats. No middle man hands in my pockets - charging me extra. Plus you get to bring home the freshest groceries for you and your families to benefit from taste wise as well as health. Many of the farmers who vend at farmer's markets may not be certified organic farms but that doesn't mean they don't grow and treat their crops organically. Its always good to ask if their certified organic - most will say no. Then your next question should be if they "spray," meaning do they use any type of pesticide, fungicide, herbicide, or any other kind of cide to treat their crop. Some will say we don't spray and some may say they spray very lightly. At that point the choice is yours. But the ones who don't spray and who are not certified organic basically grow organically, but just don't have the certification to place on their produce. To become certified is a tedious process that is also costly. With me saying all of this, I just wanted to share with those who weren't aware.

Back to the beautiful treasure I was able to stumble across at the farmers market this past weekend:
(bottom) heirloom tomatoes(san marzano, and oxheart), (next row from r-l) lemon balm*, anise hyssop*, red okra*, baby bok choy*, and 3 buttery croisssnts. (next row r-l) patty pan squash, 8 ball squash (the little green one), summer squash, poblano peppers, and spaghetti squash, (next row) cremini mushrooms*, italian eggplant, string beans, and bags of fresh herbs -a beautiful large bouquet of basil with the roots, lavender*, rosemary*, tarragon*, and chives*. Whats not in the picture that I also purchase was raw goats milk and a slice of spinach & gruyere ( my fav cheese!) quiche. All these produce were under $50.00. All of these fresh produce will last my family through the week (I plan on drying some of my herbs). All Produce were certified organic and no spray. Go to your local market (especially health food markets) and you'll pay double if not more for the amount of produce I purchased (especially certified organic).

So take advantage of your local farmers market and support our farmers. Click here to find your local farms and farmers markets.

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