Easter Menu and 52 for 52 Week 15

Hello! I hope you are all doing well.  It's blustery cold here today, but that's nothing new for northeast Wisconsin in April.  2 years ago we got 2 feet of snow; so I guess I should be thankful.  Sunday was Easter and since it rained and snowed all day what else was there to do but to eat well, read, watch some TV and be creative.  I thought I do a combo post of my Easter eats and new recipes.  The whole day was an ode to spring. 

Breakfast: Cinnamon Rolls, fruit and hard boiled eggs. The cinnamon rolls are super easy so I prepped them the day before,  pulled them out of the fridge while I went on a morning walk and then cooked them for 20 minutes.  We get local eggs and thought about dying them with natural dyes, yet the brown shells made us think better of it.  Who knows what color we'd get. I always pick up favorite candy for the family.  This year the girls wanted to try HU brand chocolate, yummy! and my boys (husband and son) love their jellybeans from Starburst.  

Lunch: Kale salad with pea shoots, first radishes of the spring, carrots, apples, smoked salmon and avocado.  I made a lemon miso dressing.  

Dinner: New recipe - lemon roasted chicken with roasted potatoes and I served it with steamed broccoli.  I've never roasted lemons before in the oven and they gave a great flavor to this dish along with the honey at he end. It was really easy, just took a little time. However most of the cooking was hands-off so no big deal.  It gave me some time to sit with my glass of wine and read. This is an easy make for a dinner party. It can mostly be done ahead of time. 

Dessert: New recipe as well.  Flourless chocolate cake.  This was super rich, yet easy to prepare. It is perfect if you are feeding a larger group of people.  I still, today is Tuesday, have 2 servings left for dessert.  My middle daughter, Sophie, and I will enjoy it tonight.  Again another must make ahead so easy for a dinner party - when we get to see people again in person. 

I hope you are inspired to cook up something delicious this week. Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth

52 for 52 Week 14

Hello!  Happy Friday to you all.  I hope you are all doing well both physically and mentally.  For this week's new recipe I have a grain free fruit crisp.  There were a couple of unusual ideas in here for me.  First the choice of fruits was just a little different: clementines, apples and cranberries.  We subbed frozen blueberries for blackberries since I still have some from last year in my freezer. No pomegranate seeds around so we did without.   We also used a grain free granola topping so my eldest could eat it.  Since I served it as a breakfast there was no extra yogurt topping.  This was delicious and a great way to use up extra fruit that might be in your freezer from last year especially if you are like me and froze a lot of fruits. We served this with local scrambled eggs and local micro greens. Delicious! 

Bon Appétit!

And as always with love from the Midwest, 

Beth 

Eats and More during Safter at Home.

Hello!  Have you found a rhythm to your day yet? I have; see this recent post.  It just looks a little different yet in a way similar to my summers.   The only exception is that I have everyone at home, and I haven't for a while.  

Here are some delicious recipes my eldest daughter and I have been trying.  She likes to make lunch a few days out of the week for me.  I love this.  I try something new and don't have to cook 3 meals everyday.  

Lunches: Carrot miso soup with hummus deviled eggs.  I loved these eggs.  I really don't care for mayo that much and henceforth don't care for deviled eggs.  These were a game changer.  

Tomato white bean soup.  I served it with some leftover kale salad, artichokes from a previous dinner and roasted brussel sprouts. 

Breakfasts: I love my local eggs.  Chanterelle omelet topped with micro greens, peach muffins and apple slices.  

Waffles topped with peanut butter, hemp and flax seeds, banana and maple syrup.  This kept me full all morning.  I also swapped about 1/4 buckwheat flour for white flour in the waffles.

Dessert: Pink lemonade cupcakes.  Both the cupcakes and the frosting had a great lemon kick. I found this recipe in an older cookbook of mine, Dessert of the Day by William Sonoma.  

What I've watched:  Just Eat It. This is a documentary about a couple who lives off of food waste for 6 months.  It really made me think about the state of my fridge and pantry.  

What I read: Big Little Lies by Liane Moriarty.  I love it.  This is a great spring break read. 

I hope your week has been treating you well and that you are staying well.

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

52 for 52 Week 13

Hello all!  I hope this post finds you well.  We're staying home and going for walks, runs and bike rides like most people around here.  Luckily for the moment the weather has been lovely, 50 degrees and sunny, so that helps a lot.  With all of the extra time on my hands my son suggested that we make Poutine for lunch one day.  This is not my usual lunch fare, but why not? It sure is good comfort food.   If you don't know what Poutine is it is a Canadian specialty of french fries, cheese curds and gravy. So one day the two of us had a lunch of Poutine.  

For Poutine

French fries - I just used oven baked fries. Super easy

Cheese Curds

Gravy

Gravy: 

2 T cornstarch 

1 1/2 T water

mix together and set aside.

Make a roux:

4 T butter - 

3 T flour

2 cups beef broth - I tried with chicken, but I would like heartier taste

Melt the butter in a sauce pan and then add the flour.  Bring the ingredients together and let cook for about 1 minute.  Slowly add the beef broth.  Bring to a boil and let the gravy thicken.  When it looks to be done add the cornstarch mixture to thicken up the gravy even more.

To serve:

Place hot fries in a large bowl or platter and top with a bit of gravy. Stir this around to get every fry covered.  Add the cheese curds so they melt a bit and and add more gravy to your preference.  Enjoy!

This could be made with may styles of potatoes, cheese curds and various sauces, even tomato.  

Stay well and safe,

and as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Anatomy of a Safer at Home Day

Hello! I hope this post finds you well.  I love my lists and a minor schedule in my life.  I don't like to be super busy ever! However I know I need a bit of structure in my day.  It does help that I teach online and have virtual office hours I need to keep.  But I thought I'd share what the rest of the day looks like. 

6:00 am - Yup I'm still up early.  I either run 3-5 miles or do yoga in my basement.  

7:30 am - I'm usually ready for breakfast.  I make some coffee for the household and figure out what delicious food I want.  Today steel cut oats in the crock pot. I served it with frozen local cherries from last year, peanut butter, 1/2 a baked apple and chia & hemp seeds.  Yummy!

8-9 am I get ready for the day.  Honestly I try to not lounge around in my yoga or running clothes all day.  However it doesn't always work.  

9-11:30 am I work.  Teaching French at home is a lot different, but I'm adjusting. 

11:30- 1 pm I make lunch and relax.  For this lunch my daughter made me cauliflower fried rice which we served with PB toast for a bit more protein.  I also just take time to read and if there is an essential errand to run I do it usually now.  

1-3 pm I'm back to work.

3- 4 pm A walk.  Usually I go with my husband and our oldest daughter.  It's always good to get some fresh air. We go for either a mile or 2, depending on the weather. 

4-6:30 pm -Art, knitting or reading time or a combination of the three. Most days I get my art supplies out and do something.   

6:30 pm Yup its wine time! I pour my self a glass of wine and then start making dinner.  I set the table like this every night, candles and we listen to relaxing music.  Tonight's dinner was mac and cheese with roasted brussel sprouts and shredded carrots, for more veg! We have dinner around 7:30. 

8-10 pm - Sometimes we linger at the dinner table a little longer if we are discussing something, but if not we watch a little TV or a movie or more likely my husband and I read together.  At 10 pm I'm off to bed.  I might as well be well rested.

What is your day like?  

Stay safe and well.

As always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

52 for 52 Week 12

Hello!  Even in this crazy time I'm still finding new recipes or food combinations to try.  It's been almost 2 weeks, as I write this, since I have gone to the grocery store.  I planned for 2 weeks of dinners for my family that would give a variety, some old favorites and some new.  One of the new recipes we tried was a variation on my regular my sloppy joe recipe.  I added lentils to the meat in order to make our beef go further.  I really liked it.  Honestly there wasn't any taste difference.  I will say my husband did not care for it at all.  He doesn't like his beef messed with.  I served it with broccoli and for those who wanted it either bread for sandwiches or sweet potatoes.  It was a good comforting meal.

Sloppy Joes: (original recipe)

1  pound  ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 cup ketchup (or a bit more)

1 T vinegar

1 T Worcestershire sauce

1 t dijon mustard

1 t brown sugar

1 t paprika

Lentils: 3/4 cup dried lentils cooked in water for about 20-25 minutes. 

I added about 1/2 of the cooked lentils, but I could have easily added more and made more sauce.

The leftovers reheated beautifully. 

Stay well!

And as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth 

Recent Eats and More

Hello! I hope this post finds you well, both physically and mentally.  So much has changed for all of us in a week.  Last Saturday we were still wondering if our college children would go back in a few weeks, the answer is no.  We found out the Friday before that Monday was our last day of school with students, so my juniors last day of school for a while.  I now teach French completely online.  I'm learning a lot of new skills.  However, I'm still taking time to make delicious meals, enjoy my hobbies and in general try to enjoy the new "normal".  So I thought I'd share some delicious eats for the week.

Chicken Marsala, parsley buttered potatoes and roasted broccoli.  I love mushrooms and chicken. It's always such a comforting flavor to me. 

My eldest made me vegan mac and cheese, leftover roasted veggies and spinach.  Neither of us is vegan, but this was really good.  We also used Banza pasta which amped up the protein.  This is a make again. (Last lunch at school)

Leftover steel cut oats, topped with avocado, egg and micro greens, a kiwi and tumeric-ginger juice shot on the side. 

Chickpea scramble for lunch one day with spinach. I topped it off with 1/2 avocado and salsa.  This was delicious.  I also had 1/2 a honey crisp apple from our favorite farmer, who gets them from an orchard in Michigan - they are last years apples and still fantastic!

What else have I been doing? 

Exercising: Running, walking, and yoga (both on my own and virtual classes from my studio) 

Watching: Frankie & Grace, The Crown and finishing up Victoria

Listening: Podcasts while I fold some laundry and fining new music on Spotify 

Reading:  I'm a big fan of Julia Child

And of course I have to have a pandemic knitting project.  I just need to finish the thumb.  

Stay well,

and as always with love from the Midwest,

Beth