Roast LAMB

I am so looking forward to tonight's dinner. My entire house smells like garlic, olive oil and rosemary and I wouldn't have it any other way. Fresh lamb leg roasted with have a bulb of garlic and lots and lots of frozen rosemary (courtesy of the 12 inches of snow outside). I'm serving the local free ranged lamb with roasted rutabaga, sweet potatoes and broccoli. I also made something that is a mix between pita, naan and pizza loaded with olive oil, rosemary, pink Himilayan salt, and garlic.

Here's what I did.

1 leg of lamb
1/2 bulb garlic
3 long springs of rosemary (Enough for about 3 Tbs chopped)
olive oil
pink Himalayan salt
Black pepper

Preheat oven to 400. Smash about 3/4 of the garlic and all of the rosemary with morter and pestal. Whip in about 1/4 cup olive oil. Rub leg with mixture until well covered. Make several slits in meat, insert remaining garlic bulbs. Split in half in necessary. Roast in oven for 30 minutes at 400, reduce to 350 and cook another hour. Let set for 15-20 minutes before slicing. BOOM.

Oatmeal Pumpkin cookies

When the weather starts to get chilly, I turn to creature comforts: moccasins, extra blankets, coffee (even more than usual), hot tea, and FOOD. Tonight I made a really great, lean dinner and I was left with a craving for sweets. I'm not a "sweets" person. In fact, I blame my husband for me eating any sweets at all. Sure, holiday sweets or the occasional summer ice cream, but I used to be the type of person to pass on birthday cake. Not anymore. After 13 years of feeding my husband's sweet tooth, I've kind of developed one of my own.

So tonight I wanted cookies. I had a little Cinderella pumpkin just waiting to be used, so I decided on Oatmeal Pumpkin cookies and threw some raisins and cranberries in there. To use an old friend's favorite saying, they are thebomb dot com.

Oatmeal Pumpkin Cookies

1 cup white whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 Tbs. oil
4 Tbs. apple sauce
1 cup shredded fresh pumpkin or winter squash
1 to 1 1/3 cup organic cane sugar
1 tsp molasses
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 cups rolled oats
1/4 c raisins (optional)
1/4 c dried cranberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine wet ingredients, including sugar. In seperate bowl, combine dry ingredients. Slowly add dry ingredients to wet. Spoon onto baking sheet and bake 16-18 minutes.

Healthy "Oatmeal Cookies"

I'm not the type of mom to try to pull one over on my kids, but... Maybe I have by accident with this recipe. I make these little biscuits that I refer to as cookies... They look like cookies, taste like a yummy snack, but are devoid of the copious amounts of butter and refined sugar that you get in a "regular" cookie. They are the perfect finger food, great for snacks, breakfast, or whenever.

Healthy Breakfast "Cookies"

2 cups old fashioned oats
3/4 cup apple sauce
1/4-1/2 cup maple syrup or honey
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour or spelt flour
1 tsp cinnamon or five spice powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg
1 cup raisins, cranberries, or chopped prunes
1/2 cup walnuts (optional)


Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, baking soda, salt, spice, and oats in medium mixing bowl or kitchen aid mixer. Mix in remaining ingredients until a stiff but pliable batter is formed. If too stiff, add more apple sauce. If too runny, add more flour and oats.

Drop by the tablespoon onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Cook 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Healthy, Everyday Pancakes

I make pancakes for my three year old all the time. She loves them. She likes it when I make shapes and faces out of the dough. I've done some pretty creative designs--a flower, Diego, hearts, smiley faces, Mickey, etc. They rarely look like what they're supposed to, but it doesn't matter, she loves them. We top our pancakes with plain, whole cow's milk yogurt and/or pure maple syrup. If I'm feeling adventurous I'll make a fruit dressing for them, but mostly we're purists here.

This recipe is fluid. In fact, I've made it so many times, I don't measure anymore. Experiment with ingredients you like. Sometimes I add nuts, seeds, or fruit, sometimes not. You can substitute cow's milk for almond milk, if you would like. We cut cow's milk out a while ago. As a nursing mom to a babe with food irritations, I avoid most cow's milk products, with the exception of yogurt. I've even substituted water for almond milk and cut out the egg, so that my 7 month can enjoy some finger food. The basic proportions are what are important, experiment!

Pancakes are a great finger food to keep on hand. I usually make 4-6" pancakes for my daughter's breakfast, then a series of 2" medallions to keep in the frig. She snacks on them throughout the day.

Easy, Everyday Pancakes

1 cup flour (Preferably organic spelt or white whole wheat)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup whole grains (old fashioned oats)
1/2 cup boiling water
1/2 cup almond milk, cow's milk or water

Add-ons
2 Tbs. nuts, seeds or dried fruit (chia, flax, cranberries, raisins, walnuts, etc) (optional)
1 tsp vanilla extract (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 egg (optional)


I start by placing the uncooked oats into a bowl and pouring the boiling water over them. Let them sit while you get the rest of the ingredients ready. Mix the flour with the baking soda and salt so there are no lumps. Add the nuts or seeds and mix. Add the almond milk and the egg, if using. Add the vanilla and cinnamon. Mix in the soaked oats.

The viscosity of the mix will depend on which ingredients you use. For instance, if you did not use the egg, you may need to add more liquid. If the mixture is too thin, add more flour. If the mixture is too thick, add more almond milk.

Rosemary Soft-Pretzels (Whole Wheat) (Vegan)

We weren't feeling well today so I decided that some old-fashioned chicken noodle soup was in order but we needed something else to lighten up the day and make things more exciting. So, I decided that the perfect accompaniment would be big, chewy, salty soft pretzels. I looked at two recipes for inspiration, two peas & their pods and Will Cook for Smiles. Both had the same great ideas, but I needed to make some slight variations, as I wouldn't be using eggs nor would I be using sugar.

Rosemary Soft Pretzels

For dough:
1 1/4 cup warm water
2 1/2 tsp yeast
3 cups white whole wheat flour
1 tsp Kosher salt
2 tsp maple syrup
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs. fresh Rosemary, chopped finely

For topping:
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Fresh rosemary, chopped finely

Additional:
1 large pot of boiling water with 3 Tbs of baking soda in it

Throw the ingredients for the dough into kitchen mixer and mix on low for two minutes. Continue to beat on med-high for an additional 5 minutes. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap. Let rise 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll out and form into pretzel shapes on parchment covered baking sheets. Allow to rise for an additional 20-30 minutes. (Note: the pretzel will rise a good amount still, so when forming them you may want to keep this in mind or you could get pretzel rolls).

Boil each pretzel for 1-2 minutes on each side in the pot of water with baking soda in it. Remove from water, brush with olive oil and sprinkle kosher salt and additional rosemary on top. Bake at 450 degrees for approximately 10 minutes or until golden brown.

The Perfect Tomato Sandwich (Vegan Optional)

Aahhhh... In a perfect world, I would eat a tomato sandwich every day. The chewyness of homemade bread, the fresh tomato bursting with awesome old-fashioned tangy fruity flavor, the creaminess of the mayo and a little heat from the fried hot peppers that top it. I am salivating just thinking about it. So, everyone has ideas on what makes the perfect tomato sandwich, I'm not knocking yours, I'm just telling you mine. You can do these vegan or not. You can use any tomatoes, but they really should be homegrown and/or heirloom to get the best flavors. Today I used Constolato Genovese and Paul Robensons. I really like these two varieties because they both have a deep, striking tomato flavor that I can not get enough of.

Since my tomatoes have been ripening in my garden, this is what I've been eating everyday.

The Perfect Tomato Sandwich (vegan optional)

1-2 Heirloom Tomatoes
2 slices of crusty homemade bread, whole grain or whole wheat
1-2 Tbs Vegenaise or homemade mayonnaise (recipe to follow)
2-4 slices of fried peppers (recipe to follow)



Slather both sides of bread with mayo, stack the tomatoes high and place the peppers on top. Repeat several times. Slice sandwiches in half, sit down and enjoy!


Homemade Mayonnaise

• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• Kosher salt
• 1 1/2 cups oil (olive oil, canola, peanut)

 Whip the egg yolks, vinegar, mustard and salt in a small bowl, slowly add the oil while continuously whipping until the desired texture is formed. Alternatively, add the first 4 ingredients into a food processor, turn it on and slowly drizzle the oil in until the desired texture is formed.

Italian Fried Mangoes (Peppers)

1-2 pounds banana peppers (we use Hungarian Wax), sliced in half with seeds and stems removed
1/4 cup good olive oil
2 garlic cloves
Kosher salt

Over low-med heat, toss the peppers with oil and fry until they begin to soften. Do not turn the heat up too much or they will cook unevenly. After they begin to soften, add the two cloves of garlic and the Kosher salt liberally. Cook for a few more minutes until tender. Remove and eat copious amounts with every meal.

Tropical smoothies

It's going to be 97 degrees today and so Ellie and I wanted to start the day off with something like and refreshing. We have a plethora of fruit that is on the verge of being overripe sitting around (pineapple, mango, coconut, avocados, apples), so I'm thinking smoothies for the next week! I am also coming off my month long vegan adventure and missing my plain organic yogurt pretty bad, so it's a perfect match. No, plain soy yogurt did not cut it. The shakes I made today were incredible! I can't wait for the rest of the week.


Tropical Smoothies

1/2 c fresh pineapple
1/2 mango
3/4 c fresh coconut water
3/4 c yogurt
1 cardamom pod

Crack the cardamom pod with a mortar and pestle. Remove green shell. Grind spice very finely. Add all ingredients in blender and purée.