Month: June 2017

Categories
Recipes

Slow Cooker Ribs

This is always my go-to recipe when I want to make ribs.  I love the fact that I can just prep it and forget it for 7 hours in the slow cooker.  By dinnertime I just brush the ribs with bbq sauce and broil  for few minutes.  They come out off the bone tender and juicy.  I have a 4.5 QT Crock Pot and these fit in just fine.

 

Slow Cooker Ribs ( serves 8-10)

  • Baby back pork ribs, about 6-7 lbs ( comes to around 2 racks)
  • 2 tbsp sea salt
  • 1 tbsp ground pepper
  • 2 tbsp granulated garlic
  • 2 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp finely ground coffee
  • 1/2 cup favorite barbecue sauce (or more if you like)

Rinse and pat dry the rack/s of ribs.  In a small bowl mix all the spices including salt and pepper together.  Rub the ribs generously on both side with mixture.  Cut rib racks  in four equal sections by holding on to the bone and sliding knife towards your left as you go down.  Place rib sections inside your slow cooker curved side towards the wall of the pot so the bony side of the rib rack is facing center of pot see here how 

Cook ribs of high for 6-7 hours until flaky when you insert fork in them.  Before serving, turn the broiler on your oven on.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place rib sections on it facing meat side up.  Brush with your favorite barbecue sauce and broil for about 5 minutes or until bbq sauce is caramelized but not burned.  Serve with your favorite sides such as corn bread,green beans, and  Cabbage Slaw.

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Categories
Travel

New Exhibit, Pterosaurs

My youngest daughter is very interested in dinosaurs, in fact she wants to be a paleontologist when she grows up.  So exciting to travel and dig up dinosaur fossils 🙂  California Academy of Sciences is a very interesting and educational place that we have visited quite a few times.  It is located in Golden Gate Park in beautiful San Francisco, Ca.  If you have never been and are in the area I highly recommend it.

They have a new exhibit called “Flight of the Pterosaurs” which features just that, Pterosaurs.  They have on display many fossil replicas, and a very popular display which is a pterosaur flight simulator where you can fly like a pterosaur and try and catch fish from the ocean.

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Besides dino fossils, they have many other interesting things such as a live albino alligator, a rainforest exhibit complete with butterflies and plants from the area, an AWSOME planetarium, aquarium,  and earthquake simulator just to name a few things.

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Categories
Recipes

From the Garden-Grilled Balsamic Zucchini

Zucchini is growing abundantly this year.  I have a rendezvous with a fat bumblebee every morning in my garden….and it pollinates my flowers 🙂 I can tell you this, my zucchini is very happy with their friend and so am I!

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Many fruit and vegetables need to be pollinated in order to produce fruit, and zucchini is one of them. Just like humans and animals, reproduction needs to take place for certain fruits and vegetables to be “born.” My bumblebee friends is the mediator in this case, it helps transfer “the goods” from the male flower to the female  and tada…..the zucchini baby will grow! Ok, enough about zucchini reproduction, lets move on to this great summer recipe.  This grilled zucchini is wonderful on sandwiches or as a side and lasts in the fridge for up to one week.

Fire up that grill before you start!

 

Grilled Balsamic Zucchini

  • 3 lbs zucchini washed and cut into long vertical slices
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground pepper
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Place zucchini slices on a baking sheet. Drizzle generously with olive oil and season with the salt, pepper, and paprika. Turn the slices and repeat on the other side.  Turn grill down to medium/low and places zucchini on the grates. Grill about 3 minutes on each side taking care not to burn the zucchini which can happen easily.  The zucchini will be tender but not mushy, and have nice grill marks and slight char on edges when done.  Remove to a serving plate and drizzle with the balsamic vinegar while zucchini is still hot.

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Enjoy and happy official summer ( as of yesterday!)

 
Categories
Recipes

Homemade “Nutella”

I decided to make a quick dessert/snack that doesn’t require heat to prepare and it’s still oh so satisfying.  I do LOVE Nutella and that is why I don’t buy it.  I would eat the whole jar by myself, not to mention that it has a lot of sugar, some dairy and vegetable oil which doesn’t sound so great. I buy my hazelnuts from Trader Joe’s already roasted so I don’t have to roast and peel them which gets a bit messy and tiresome. This spread is delicious with pretzels as a quick snack, spread on fruit, or just eaten from the spoon (guilty!)

     

 Homemade “Nutella” (makes 16 oz)

  • 1 lb roasted and unsalted hazelnuts
  • 4 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 4 oz milk chocolate chips
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil

 

Place chocolate chips and coconut oil in microwave safe bowl and heat on 40 seconds. Remove from micro and stir gently until all chocolate is melted and smooth.

In a food processor place the hazelnuts and pulse in 10 second intervals until they are finely chopped, about 10 times.  Scrape sides of food processor bowl with spatula and process hazelnuts on high for about 5 minutes or until the mixture starts clumping together and oils from hazelnuts help it incorporate.

Turn processor to low and gently start pouring in the chocolate mixture.  Process mixture of night again for about a minute longer until spread is mostly smooth and chocolatey.

Using a spatula pour mixture into jars and close lids.  You can either place jars in the fridge, or you can leave them in the cupboard.  If you decide to place it in the fridge the spread will harden some, if you leave in cupboard it will remain softer.  I’ve had mine in the cupboard for over 2 weeks and it’s still perfect.

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Categories
Recipes

From the Garden-Garlic Beans

   This year we planted purple and yellow beans.  The flowers from the bean plants are the same color as the legume they bare, which are so pretty to look at.  Bean plants don’t need much water, and the plants produce every few days.  It’s important to harvest the bean pods in order for the plant to continue producing.

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 This recipe is a quick and simple one, great for summer bbqs.

Fill a medium pot (I used 3 QT) halfway with water and bring to a rolling boil. Fill a medium bowl with ice water.

Garlic Beans (serves 4)

  • 1 lb. green beans (or whatever color you like) washed and trimmed
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp smoked sea salt or plain sea salt
  • 1 tsp ground pepper
  • 1 clove garlic minced

Place beans in boiling water and cook for 5 minutes.  Remove from boiling water and place in bowl with iced water to stop the cooking process, leave approx 2 minutes.  Drain the beans, dry bowl which contained the iced water. Place beans inside bowl, drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle with the smoked salt, pepper and minced garlic.  Gently coat the beans with mixture and serve.

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I noticed something interesting while making this recipe.  The dark purple beans that you see in first picture turned dark green while they were cooking. Anyone know why this happened? I’m sure I can google it but it would be more fun hearing what you guys have to say about it!

 
Categories
gardening

Update to Lazy Gardeners Guide…

What a beautiful morning this is.  Walking through my garden I noticed how big the different vegetable plants have gotten over a short period of time.

IMG_0852 (2) It has to do with the weather being so warm I’m sure.  We’ve already harvested zucchini and beans.

Last  month I posted an article called Lazy Gardeners Guide to planting. Most of these tomato plants grew from my garden/kitchen compost that I had mixed into the soil at the beginning of planting season.  Now that the plants have grown, I can see how different they are.  Some are very tall with small leaves, some are short with large leaves.  I can’t wait to see what types of tomatoes will be growing.

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Over the summer and as the vegetables grow and we harvest them, I will be writing a series called “From the Garden“, where I will post recipes that I make with the crop.  Aren’t these little watermelons the cutest? They are a variety called sugar baby melons and won’t get very big.  I can’t wait to taste them!

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I hope you can join me on this fun summer trip to the garden of cuisine!

 

 

 
Categories
Recipes

Corny Corn Bread (so corny I know…)

Yes, I would eat this for dessert, or breakfast, or in fact for any meal.  This cornbread is so moist with just a hint of sweetness.  Add corn kernels to the batter and you’re all done with one vegetable serving for the day, and if you eat this for all your meals you’ll be getting all your daily vegetable servings.  Don’t worry if your dietician doesn’t agree, they’re just jealous they have to stick to their low-carb  diet.

Preheat oven to 400F, butter cast iron skillet,  9 in round or 8 in square pan.

Corny Corn Bread (makes 8-10 servings)

  • 1/2 stick butter, melted
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 1 1/4 cup yellow cornmeal
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup corn kernels ( canned, thawed, or fresh)

In a large bowl beat melted butter, milk, egg until well mixed.  Add cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and corn kernels all at once.  Stir until flour is moistened.  Pour batter into pan and spread evenly.  Bake 20 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm with butter and honey.
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Categories
Recipes

Roasted Cauliflower

Source: Roasted Cauliflower

 
Categories
Recipes

Roasted Cauliflower

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If you’re over the riced cauliflower craze, try this simple recipe instead.  One of my kids favorite ways to eat this mighty cruciferous vegetable. Cooked until fork tender but still has a bite. Great as a summer dish.

Preheat oven to 400F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.

Roasted Caulifower ( serves 4)

  • 1 large head cauliflower washed, florets separated
  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp sea salt
  • 1 tsp ground pepper
  • 2 tsp granulated garlic
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika

Place florets on baking sheet.  Drizzle with the olive oil, sprinkle evenly with the salt, pepper, garlic powder and smoked paprika.  Toss with your hands a few times until cauliflower is well coated.  Roast for 20 mins or until fork tender and slightly browned on the sides.

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Categories
Recipes

Gluten Free Hazelnut Brownies

Oh chocolate how I love thee! Add hazelnuts into the mix, turn it all into a brownie, and gluten free one at that, and it’s a ménage à trois no one can resist.  This is a very quick and simple one bowl recipe.

Preheat your oven to 325F and butter an 8×8 pan.

Gluten Free Hazelnut Brownies (serves 8)

  • 5 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 8 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/4 tsp salt (optional)
  • 1/3 cup all purpose GLUTEN FREE flour
  • 1 cup unsalted and roasted hazelnuts, chopped

 

In a large microwave safe bowl melt the butter and chocolate chips(microwave for approx. 40 seconds and stir.) Let mixture cool for about 5 minutes.  Add the sugar and whisk, mixture will be grainy.  Add eggs one at a time and whisk well after each egg.  Add vanilla extract, salt and flour. Whisk until well incorporated.  Fold in the chopped hazelnuts. Pour mixture into the pan, top with whole hazelnuts if you please and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Enjoy!

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