Easy Blackberry Crisp

You can use any fruit with this. I had fresh blackberries so I used those. If using canned fruit such as peaches or pineapple, you'll need 2-3 cans.


Fruit: You'll need enough to cover the bottom of an 8 inch by 8 inch baking dish
2 T sugar for sprinkling over fruit

1 cup rolled oats (old fashion, not quick cooking)
1 cup all purpose flour
1 c packed brown sugar
1 1/2 t cinnamon
1/2    t nutmeg
8-10 T shortening or butter

Preheat oven to 375.
Spray an 8 by 8 baking dish with cooking spray
Put fruit on bottom. If using canned just use the fruit, not the liquid. Sprinkle fruit with 2 T sugar
In large bowl, combine oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg.
Now, using a fork add in your butter or shortening so it is well incorporated. It will be chunky.
Cover fruit with this flour mixture.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Serve & Enjoy!

Portabella Mushroom Pizzas

 Portabella Mushroom Pizzas

Preheat to 350. Take the portabellas and cut off any remaining stem if there is any. Put some olive oil on a baking sheet and place the domed side of the port down on the baking sheet. If you have one of those meatloaf pans that have the drainage holes you may want to use it because they can get really juicy and they will drain that way. Rub the bottom of the port in the oil so it doesn't stick. Then, just put your pizza sauce and whatever topping you want on it. I like olives, garlic and fresh basil. Top with cheese alternative and italian seasoning. Bake 20-30 minutes. Bake time really depends on how thick your ports are and what you top them with. Enjoy!

Always eat breakfast for a faster metabolism

Going without food all night causes your metabolism to slow down so you can relax & sleep. It also allows your body to devote energy to reparative work. However, your metabolism will not "turn back on" until it knows you are awake. When you break the fast by eating your favorite morning meal, you're letting your body know to get that metabolism up & running. To jump-start your metabolism & burn the most calories over the course of the day, eat as soon as you get up.

My favorite breakfast is overnight oats. You prepare them the night before and refrigerate overnight so there is no prep time in the morning. Just stir and eat!

one mashed banana
1/3 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup almond milk
1 T milled flax seed (found near the flour in your grocery store)
liquid sweetener such as stevia to taste (1 t to 1 T)

Combine all in bowl, stir, cover and refrigerate overnight.
The next morning, just stir again and eat.

You can also add other ingredients to change the flavor, such as cinnamon, pumpkin puree, nutmeg, cocoa powder, peanut butter, etc..

Easy Chickpeas with Balsamic Vinegar and Dill

I am a huge fan of chickpeas. They are so tasty alone but adding fresh herbs will give you a little variation. For this you will need:

1 16 oz can of chickpeas , rinsed well and drained

2 T extra virgin olive oil

1/2 to 1 T balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup fresh dill

1 T dried dill weed

salt and pepper to taste

Mix all together and let sit for about an hour so the flavors can blend. If you are using chickpeas that are high in sodium, you may not want to add much salt. Add it to taste. 

I can easily eat a whole can of chickpeas done this way. You can eat them alone or toss them in salads or experiment by adding other veggies to the mix.

Cheddar Herb Muffins & Southwest Chickpea Cakes

Took the day off today to do some much needed cleaning after our basement flooded. Yuck! So, while Danny was taking care of that :-) I was baking muffins and planning tonight's meal. I made the Cheddar Herb Muffins from here: http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2011/03/07/springing-up-everywhere/  I made only a few changes. I didn't have smoked paprika so I used regular. I didn't have scallions so I used chives and I didn't have fresh dill so I used dry dill. I also added 1 T nutritional yeast for extra cheesy flavor. They turned out great. Next time, I may omit the walnuts though. I wasn't really feeling them in there.

For dinner, I made Southwest Chickpea Cakes from MeatoutMonday.org:
http://www.meatoutmondays.org/emails/11-01-10.htm
I modified this recipe a bit. Instead of cayenne pepper and hot sauce I used chili sauce. Chili sauce is available in the Asian food section of most grocery stores. I didn't have fresh parsley so I used dry and I added chopped mushrooms because I needed to use them up. I doubled the flour and cornstarch to make them firmer and added them together before mixing with the rest of the ingredients.

Chickpea Cakes before Frying

I made a sauce with vegan mayo, Tofutti sour cream, spicy brown mustard, chili sauce, agave, salt & pepper and sugar for drizzling over the cakes and let it sit so the flavors could mesh while the cakes chilled. When I fried these they crumbled some, so a flax egg might be a good idea for next time. Despite the crumbling, the flavor was incredible. I think if you have a George Foreman type grill it will come in handy for these. It's the flipping that causes them to crumble. I tried coating a few in Panko and they still fell apart but tasted good. You really need some type of sauce with these, so don't skip that part. Happy cooking!

Growing Microgreens

While looking through the seeds at Lowes yesterday, I noticed something new that I'd not seen there before- Burpee Microgreens Seeds Rainbow Blend. Included are Beet Detroit Red, Cabbage Pak Choi, Kohlrabi Purple, Broccoli DeCiccio and Radish China Rose. The packet is only $1.88 and there are quite a few seeds in it. They have a harvest time of only 10-15 days. You eat them just like salad, but they're smaller. I also picked up a Jiffy windowsill greenhouse for about $2.50. Hopefully, I can fully grow these microgreens inside with the help of a plant light. This plan could fail so I kept about half the seeds to plant outside later in the season.

If you love greens, go out and get you some Burpee microgreens!

Here in Southern Ohio, it's still not completely spring but signs of spring are upon us:

Crocus

But, just when you think winter is over, you get some snow like we got this past week:

Dwarf Iris

With spring fast approaching I really need to plan the garden layout. After having such a horrible time with weeds last year, I'm thinking most of my herbs and greens will go into pots and the corn and tomatoes will go into the ground.

I have every intention of doing more posts this spring, so stay tuned :-)

Making Almond Butter At Home & A Smoothie

Almond Butter:
Once found only to health food stores, you can now buy almond butter in most grocery stores. It is less expensive and very satisfying to make it yourself at home. All you need are some almonds, a little oil (or not), and salt or sugar if you want.

To toast or not to toast: 
Some people like to toast the almonds first which can bring out more flavor but I prefer mine untoasted. If you want to toast them first just preheat your oven to 350 F, spread almonds in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast approximately 8 minutes. Let almonds cool before preparing butter.

Now for the butter: 
Add almonds to your food processor and start processing. You can gradually add in a little oil to help it get creamy, I use grapeseed, but if you let it go long enough the natural oil in the almonds will release and you won't need to add oil at all. Totally up to you and how long you want to wait. It may take up to 10 minutes for the oils to release. The longer you blend, the creamier your almond butter will get. If you want it salty add a little salt or if you prefer sweet do sugar. I don't do either, but this is your butter so go crazy :)

Other Options:
You can do this with any type of nut. If you've looked at the back of the grocery store peanut butters and seen hydrogenated oil, high fructose corn syrup and other nasty additives, you'll be happy to know that homeade peanut butter is healthy and very good.

Usage and Storage: 
Once you have made your nut butter use it just like you would if you bought it at the store. Keep it in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

The Smoothie: 
One of my favorite uses for almond butter is my nut butter and flax smoothie. To make it, add enough almond milk for the amount of smoothies you are making. If I'm drinking alone I usually do 2 cups. Then add in a generous glob of almond butter, a tablespoon of peanut butter, a banana, about 2 tablespoons flax seeds and some liquid sweetener such as agave. The result is sweet and creamy and has some chewiness from the almonds and flax seeds.