What I ate Wednesday 2

Well let's see how long I can keep up a What I ate Wednesday post.  The problem will be remembering to take pictures of everything, but I'll do my best.  I do enjoy reading about what people are eating so I hope you enjoy as well.

I always start my day with exercise.  Yesterday was a yoga and weight lifting day.  Okay so mostly yoga and meditation for 40 minutes and 10 minutes of lifting weights. 

Breakfast: Carrot bread from my freezer and cottage cheese topped with berries.  Coffee and splash of milk to drink of course.  My husband went shopping at Costco so I have a lot of berries; they are a nice change of pace. 

Lunch is always in my classroom on Wednesday.  My oldest made me sesame chickpeas.  I added them to a grain bowl of Basmati rice, buffalo cauliflower, shredded carrots, spinach and avocado.  I also added a splash of soy sauce. I made white rice the night before because it was simply easier.

Dinner: I had leftover frozen sea food medly from our Christmas fish soup so I wanted to use it up.  I found this recipe for seafood rice skillet.  It was delicious; my son ate seconds.  I served it with a green salad and homemade olive oil/balsamic vinaigrette. 

We served our house wine.

For dessert my daughter made cranberry bliss bars.  She needs to be gluten free; I do not.  I can say these were delicious and I would continue to make this recipe.  They were way better than Starbucks'. 

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

Winter Fun

Well if you looked out my window at this time you'd see a darkening sky, about 1" of snow and wet drizzly weather.  The temperature is about 38 degrees.  Yes it gets like this in Northeast Wisconsin in January.  At this time of year I feel I really need to keep my creativity flowing in several ways. It's so easy to get caught in a rut.  This rut can be of foods to cook to books to read. 

I'm still working on my paintings this year.  Yesterday I went with my middle daughter to a coffee shop and painted for 1 1/2.  It was so nice just to paint and not have the distractions of home.  I came home  with 2 small watercolor paintings in my little notebook.    Obviously I need some work, however I'm still proud of myself for sitting down to paint.

I'm currently reading A State of Wonder by Anne Patchet for a new book club.  I'm very excited about this new book club our first meeting is in a few weeks.  

Also I'm try to shake up my exercise routine a bit during the winter.  My oldest daughter just introduced me to MADFIT on you-tube. There are a lot of excellent videos that require no equipment at all.  How easy is that?  

And last but not least let's not forget about food.  I just tried these spinach banana muffins, and they were really good.  There are so many fun things to try out there; just keep cooking!

As always,

With love from the Midwest,

Beth

What I ate to Start the Year or Wednesday

I love reading about what people are eating in a day.  It's kind of like taking a walk for me at dusk when I can see how people decorate their houses without really looking inside.  It's a glimpse into someone's life.  

Well to start of yesterday I ate my absolute favorite avocado toast with a sunny side-up egg and my coffee.  I've got this down to a science and can cook it in about 5 minutes on a school day.  It always keeps me full until lunch.

Yesterday's lunch was soup and salad.  Kale salad with pepitas, oranges and leftover baked falafel.  All of these things I had in my fridge.

Roasted cauliflower soup that I made the day before as well.  I served it with a bit of Aleppo pepper and chia seeds. 

Dinner was tamale beef pie.  It kind of fell apart, but the base and top crust were polenta.  I browned ground beef with refried beans, salsa, cumin and coriander.  I topped it with cheddar cheese and baked in the oven.  On the side we ate sautéed cabbage .  Of course we drank our house wine, which is currently Chateau Ste. Michelle chardonnay. 

It was a delicious and veggie packed way to start the year.  For dessert?  Yes I still have rum balls and fudge.  I love to enjoy a little sweet.  Everything in moderation.

Bon Appétit! 

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

December's Eats

Well Christmas is coming up soon.  And I could do a post of all of the Christmas cookies I have been making, believe me our kitchen island is very festive with all sorts of cookie tins.  However, I do believe in balance so along with my cookies I still like to continue to eat healthy whole foods that have a minimum of processed ingredients.  (Dessert does not fall into this category at all.)  

Last Friday, my husband and I were alone for dinner so it was cheese souffle.  When all 5 or even 4 of us are at home the dish is not enough for us all, but for 2 it's perfect maybe even a bit much.  Served with homemade bread, a green salad and wine and dinner is all set.

I love kale, especially in salads.  I can make a large batch, and it will keep for a few days.  So of course I made some for lunch this past weekend and topped it with roasted squash, feta, avocado and pepitas. Delish!

Another lunch:  left over mix roasted veggie soup.  On the side sautéed chanterelle mushrooms on top of sourdough bread and grated manchego cheese.

We had a crazy night of meetings, concerts and work the other day.  I made taco meat so my son could have something to eat early and others could eat when they needed to.  I also roasted some cabbage.  Most of my family had regular soft tacos, but I thought I'd take a different spin on dinner and use some of our leftover rice and beans, taco meat, the cabbage and a little cheese.   It also worked well for lunch the next day.

Breakfast Tuesday: Sunny side-up eggs over left over roasted veggies and a piece of toast.  I know I made this after a 4 mile morning run.  This has become one of my go-to breakfasts because it's an easy way to add more veggies in my day and super quick to prepare. I try to make a large amount of mixed  roasted veggies once or twice a week to have on hand for such breakfasts or any other thing I can dream up.

Bon Appétit! 

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

Rum Balls

As with many other people who like to cook and bake, this time of year revolves around the kitchen.  I can't think of a better way to spend a day than with family members, listening to Christmas music and making a treat.  The other day I made an old family recipe, rum balls.  They used to be bourbon balls, but I don't like bourbon so I switched my alcohol to my liking.  The recipe is simple enough to make on a weekday after school, especially if you have help.  The problem is waiting to eat them.  They really are best if you wait a week before eating them.

The ingredients are simple enough: 1 box vanilla wafers, 1 T cocoa powder, 3 1/2 T corn syrup, 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 cup walnuts or pecans and 1/2 cup rum.  This can easily be doubled. 

After I pulverized the wafers and nuts in a food processor, I combined the wafers, nuts, cocoa and powdered sugar in a large bowl and mixed together. 

This is what the mixture looks like after I added 1 cup rum and 3 1/2 T corn syrup.  It's not very pretty, but it will taste so good.

Shape into small balls, about 1 1/2" in diameter and roll in granulated sugar.  Let the rum balls sit out for about 1 hour so they can set before putting them in a cookie tin.

Remember a week is usually good enough before eating, however they age very well.  

Bon appétit and as always with love from the Midwest, 

Beth 

Thanksgiving Eating and More

Going back to  work today was difficult; I won't lie.  Primarily because Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holiday.  It is almost better than Christmas, because I don't have to worry about presents.  I love a holiday that revolves around cooking.  However I always start my Thanksgiving with our cities 5 mile turkey trot and this year my daughter Sophie decided to join us.  Of course afterwards we always stop for coffee.  I've got to have my latte.  

We serve dinner around 6:30 so I have plenty of time to make dinner, grill the turkey and do any finishing touches.  Most of this menu I made ahead on Wednesday and earlier.  So yes I did make 3 desserts for 7 people and we ate everything over the weekend.

The table is all set for the meal.  I like to use my real silver and good china; it is Thanksgiving after all.  This year we served Beaujolais Nouveau and Chateau Ste. Michelle with dinner. 

Saturday I went to my indoor farmers' market and picked up some quail eggs.  My husband thought they'd be super cute on top of a steak for lunch.  They are so buttery and fragile.  

Of course what would the end of Thanksgiving be without making the start of the Christmas goodies? White chocolate covered pretzels are a family favorite.

I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with many things for which you are thankful.  

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Muffins for Madeleine

In the past I wouldn't have given a recipe for gluten free bread a second look.  Now that I have a daughter who needs to be gluten free, if I see something that might be good I give it a try.  I love the magazine Eating Well.  If you haven't looked through it's pages I highly recommend.  A couple of weeks ago I came across this recipe for pumpkin oat muffins.    They are quick and easy to make and can be made gluten free who needs to be completely gluten free.  The recipe calls for making oat flour in the blender.  That is super easy even without a Vitamix.  Please note that not all oats are free of wheat contaminants and need to say gluten free. 

Starting a month or so ago I found a local source for free range chicken eggs!  I pick them up weekly and if I'm lucky they are still warm.  They haven't been washed, so I just store them on my baker's table in my dining room.  They are delicious.

The recipe calls for either cranberries or chocolate chips.  In my mind there is no question.  I didn't have minis so I just chopped up some regular sized chips.  

The final product.  I made regular sized muffins and it only made 9.  I did cook them for a full 20 minutes even in my convection oven.  They stayed good for 5 days until there were no more.

I sent down a second batch to my daughter, and she loved them.  They didn't last long between her and her roommate.  

Bon Appétit!

and as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth