Monday, June 27, 2011

Yay for Bell Pepper Paella (pi-YA-yah)

Okay, so I had to take an entire week off of cooking because I had some epic events take place that were very distracting.  My poor horse had to have surgery. He kicked the fence accidently and got a puncture wound that infected his bone. Poor guy. My parents were kind enough to pay for the much needed surgery and then he had to go to the horse hospital (aka the vet) and spend over a week in intensive care.  Needless to say, time in a small box stall earned him lots of apples and carrots. Unfortunately, I didn't take the time to plan a weekly meal which means my health and blog suffered but my horse feels very loved: )



Thankfully I'm back on track this week and I chose red bell pepper as the star performer in the meal. To be honest, I don't usually use bell peppers very often unless I have some hummus on hand that transforms the bellpepper into a vehicle that downs the hummus (bad habit). But I'm discovering just how yummy they can be. I tripled the recipe this week which was risky but so far it is my favorite meal that I have posted so I'm not sorry that I did. Try it out.


Ingredients:
  • 1 1/2 Tbs. olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 2 to 3 medium cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 medium red bell pepper, cut into 2-inch-long strips
  • 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes (try to get tomatoes with no salt added)
  • 15-oz. can vegetable broth (low sodium if possible- if it needs salt you can always add it but taking it out is an issue)
  • 2 cups uncooked brown rice
  • 1 tsp. saffron threads, dissolved in small amount of hot water (warning!-saffron is very expensive. I substituted 1 t of turmeric to save some $)
  • 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
  • 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and coarsely chopped
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 tsp. salt

Directions


  1. In large pot, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes.
  2. Set aside half the red pepper strips for garnish. Add all remaining pepper strips to onion mixture and cook, stirring often, 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes (with liquid), broth, rice, saffron mixture, thyme and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer 40 minutes or until brown rice is cooked.
  3. Stir in artichoke hearts, peas, half the parsley and salt. Season with freshly ground pepper to taste and add a little water to moisten if needed. Cook, stirring, just until heated through, about 5 minutes.
  4. Transfer paella to large, shallow serving dish and garnish with circle of reserved red pepper strips. Sprinkle with remaining parsley and serve hot.
My Final Creation


Since I used all low sodium products my taste-testers decided to add a bit of himalayan sea salt to theirs. Completely your call. 
I hope you get the chance to use bell peppers soon! If not in this dish, pick some up for some raw munching. You won't be disappointed as 1 bell pepper boasts 291% of your daily vitamin C intake and 104% of your vitamin A intake. Both vitamin C and vitamin A are powerful antioxidants that neutralize the free radicals that like to wreak havoc in your body. This might sound overly simplistic but its udderly true: the brighter the color the more nutrients. In bell pepper's case it couldn't be more true. My favorite color is the red (which is what I used in my paella) but all colors are delicious. Which color is your favorite?


Monday, June 13, 2011

A Heart of Gold

This week's vegetable is an Artichoke! The fun that goes into plucking all the leaves off in great anticipation of the deliciously creamy heart at the end makes Artichokes a dinner time favorite. If all the leaves aren't dipped in some buttery sauce, the health benefits of eating these beauties is incredible. They have an antioxidant called silymarin that boosts liver function and cynarin which helps break down fatty foods. Not only that, they are great sources of magnesium, potassium and folate. Enough said?

How to Buy: Look for firm heavy, medium size artichokes. Squeeze them lightly and listen for a squeaky sound.

How to Store: Once you get them home, refrigerate them in a plastic bag and they will keep for up to five days.

Preparation: I've had a craving for a yummy artisan pizza for the past few days so an artichoke, olive and goat cheese pizza sounded fantastic to me.  Here's what I did:

Gather the follow ingredients:

4 Artichokes steamed (great way to prepare them without losing alot of their great health qualities that I outlined. It does take a while so I steamed them earlier in the day)
1 T fresh lemon juice
1 T olive oil
Whole Wheat pre-made pizza crust (grab one from a local bakery or whole foods. Makes pizza prep simple)
8 o soft goat cheese
1 can of pizza sauce ( I used Muir Glen since no sugar is added. check labels CAREFULLY)
1/4 c pitted Kalamata olives
Arugula (optional but delicious)
Salt and Pepper

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 425°
2. Roll out the dough to preferred thickness and lightly brush with olive oil ( I even brushed some crushed garlic on the top of mine: ) then put on a greased cookie sheet
3. Pop in the oven for 5 min just to get the crust partially cooked
4. Pluck artichokes, dice hearts and coat in lemon juice
5. Top pizza with sauce, artichoke hearts, cheese, olives and arugula (if using)
6. Throw pizza back in oven for about 10-12 more minutes or until the crust is the way you like it and the toppings are melted.

Here's what mine looked like right before I stuck it in the oven.

My dad got a whiff of the pizza and was patiently waiting at the table for us to all come enjoy.
I couldn't help but give everyone a whole artichoke as well!

What's your favorite kind of pizza? Try buying 2 different crusts, creatively exploring your topping options and then savoring the leftovers for the rest of the week.

Thursday, June 9, 2011

Big B's and some Fresh Mountain Air




I just returned from an overnight visit to Big B's cider mill in Paonia CO. I'll be working for Big B's as a rep in Denver and I honestly can't be more excited. Meeting the owner Jeff Schwartz and his family was so inspiring as he truly does embody an incredible passion for organic farming and eating locally. Although I'm not a huge fan of long car trips I didn't know what a treat I was in for until about 45 minutes outside of Denver when I spotted this....

It only got better as the drive continued and 4 hours later I arrived at Jeff's market and Cafe which was simply adorable.







What a fun place for people to stop and have lunch, taste wine, or simply grab some of the delicious snacks that were displayed. I was so excited by Jeff's vision for the store but also to be welcomed by such a loving community of people in Paonia. Sigh.
I got a personalized tour of the orchard:

And then I headed over to Fresh and Wylde, the most charming Farm Stay Bed and Breakfast. Long drives always make me a  little sleepy so it was perfect I had some time to rest before dinner. No worries they put me in poppyseed sunrise room that overlooked their little gardens. So perfect.





Needless to say, I had a wonderful day and it was topped off by a delicious dinner in the town of Paonia with Jeff, his wife Tracey and their son.

The smell of the sweet mountain air and a comfy bed put me right to sleep


This morning I woke up to a sunrise hike, farm fresh breakfast and a tour of the cider mill so that I'll know EXACTLY what I'm talking about when I'm telling everyone about Big B's juices in Denver.


All I can say is that I couldn't have asked for a better reset button to push to get my summer off to the right start. The night away gave me a chance get perspective on everything, set my goals and become inspired for the fun summer i have ahead of me. Its amazing what good people, fresh food and clean air will do for the mind. 




Sunday, June 5, 2011

Blushingly Beautiful Beeeeeets

Alrighty bloggies, we are closing in on summer produce which means the realm of possibility is opening wide for our weekly meal planning. This week I am going to post a meal planning "how to" so that the new possibilities for what to cook, buy and eat don't overwhelm you. As of now I have made it clear to eat seasonal produce but there's more...
I'm assuming some simple guidelines that I've found to work quite nicely in my life will be much appreciated in yours. Until I get it all organized in blog format, I wanted to post one last spring vegetable dish!

I attended the CO farmers market early saturday morning hoping to get some inspiration for this week's seasonal produce meal. To be quite honest, I was a bit disappointed at the lack of produce until I remembered that Colorado's growing season doesn't really begin until August.  I therefore resorted back to my seasonal produce chart that I posted for you last week and chose beets!! At least they are in season for most areas: )



It only took a few flips through my favorite cook books before I found the perfect recipe as well: Quinoa, beet and cilantro salad. With warm summer afternoons on the horizon this week, I envision this dish to make the perfect picnic entree... It also spotlights one of my favorite grains. QUINOA!! Once you wrap your lips around the name you'll fall in love with it because it truly is a super star in many respects. Native to South America, Quinoa used to be referred to as "gold of the Incas" and for good reason. It contains all 9 essential amino acids (the important ones that we can only get through diet) making it an excellent choice for those of us who don't eat meat everyday.  Enough said. Test out the recipe that I made this week and I think you'll have a very good introduction to the tastiness of quinoa. I could post hundreds of other quinoa recipes but I'll try to refrain myself. (I'll be throwing out plenty more quinoa ideas in the future no worries: )

Here's the recipe: 


3-4 medium beets, washed and trimmed (do not peel before you cook)- excellent support for your liver! (warning- they also put some strange hues in your pee... TOTALLY normal)

1 c. (240 ml.) dry quinoa- can be bought in the bulk section at any natural grocer

2 cups (480 ml.) water

1 white onion

2-3 cloves garlic, minced or grated

grated rind of one lemon

juice of one lemon (about 1/4 cup)

2 T. (30 ml.) apple cider vinegar

3  tsp. (10 ml.) mustard (this is what I used: Eden Brown Mustard)

1/3 cup (80 ml.) fresh cilantro, chopped-very detoxifying

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 425 F.  Wrap beets in foil and bake until extremely tender, about 45 minutes-1 hour.  Let cool, then peel off the skins and dice into 3/4 inch (2-cm.) cubes.  Set aside.

Bring water to boil in a small heavy saucepan.  Rinse quinoa well and add to water.  Return to boil, then reduce heat to low and cover.  Allow to simmer, untouched, for 25 minutes, then check to see if water has been absorbed.  

In a nonstick frypan, heat oil and add garlic, onion and lemon rind.  Cook and stir for 2 minutes, then add vinegar, lemon juice and mustard.  Remove from heat. 

Add beets to cooled quinoa.  Pour onion mixture over quinoa and beets. Toss well until quinoa is tinted pink.  Add cilantro and enjoy!!!


 This salad is even better the second day, after flavours meld.  Makes 4 servings.


My good friend Cara is in town with  me this week and together we prepared the recipe in about 15 minutes (not counting the time it took to cook the beets). 


Cara after slaughtering the beets: )


We then packed a picnic, hopped on our bikes and headed to the park...
Our arrival at the the perfect picnic area in Washington Park

What a fun evening.... Plan a fun picnic this week for yourself!: )



The Final Product!!




Saturday, June 4, 2011

The Healing Power of Single Flower


As I woke up this morning to the sweet smell of this little flower that my mom placed next to my bed yesterday, I was instantly reminded how powerful the healing touch of flowers is on the mind and body.  Nature provides us with such beautiful remedies and I don't think we take advantage of them as often as we should. I'm on the road to recovery from my little stomach flu that I acquired and this little flower is gonna hold my hand: ) Go treat yourself to a flower as well! Sick or well I think everyone deserves to enjoy simple presence of a flower in their room. 

PS. What's your favorite type of flower? I recently discovered mine to be a ranunculus.  

Thursday, June 2, 2011

The Ups and Downs of Travel

My plane about to leave Charlottesville


Whew! I feel like the past week was a dream. Packing up my life in Charlottesville, flying to Atlanta to visit my good friend Laura and then coming home to Denver has all been very exciting but extremely exhausting. I thought I had made it through pretty seamlessly until yesterday afternoon when the world began to spin... Unfortunately, I've been hit by a terrible stomach flu and can't help but sit in bed and send out my SOS to the blogging world with of course some tips for travel that will help prevent  YOU from getting sick. I'm wishing right now that I had followed my own advice more closely but I suppose all that I can do to remedy the situation now is help my bloggies from getting sick during their summer travels.  Sitting in airplanes and coming in contact with so many people in crowded spaces during travel does expose you to a host of ailments so why not pack a cute little travel kit of goodies to prevent yourself from getting sick!
Here is what I suggest:

1. Emergen C- Yummy fizzy drink that comes in individual packets. When the stewardess comes around asking what you would like to drink, all you need is a glass of water! Dump it in and you'll be providing your body with some extra defense against oxidative stress of travel.



2. Green powder drink- There are a variety sold at natural grocers.   What I do is buy a big tub of it, pour some in a small container that travels well and drink a cup a day. When I'm traveling, it is hard for me to always get a good source of greens (especially at airports) but when I have a glass of green drink I know that I'm giving my body the next best thing which will help keep its defenses up.

3. Ginger! Ahhhh how I love ginger. Anyone who has known me for more than a day will attest to the fact that I simply cannot live without ginger. As someone who struggles with motion sickness, ginger has always been my best friend. It not only helps with any type of nausea (don't worry I'm eating it like crazy right now) but it also aids with digestion. Try to avoid getting the ginger that is LOADED with sugar. One of my favorite types of ginger is a "ginger chew" made by "the ginger people". Trader Joes also makes uncrystallized ginger which is simply DELICIOUS. 



4. Tea- When the stresses of travel are wearing on you, a glass of warm tea at the end of the day will soothe your body and mind. Make sure to sleep a lot pre and post travel as well. I find that having some tea packed reminds me to take good care of myself. My favorite kind of tea for soothing my mind is Rooibos. 

All 4 things can be packed quite neatly into a little zip lock baggie  and tucked in the side of your bag. I promise your body will thank you as you enjoy some healthy travels: )