Absolutely Passionate Skinny Girlfriend Bliss

Absolutely Passionate Skinny Girlfriend Bliss

Cute crimson 80 calorie cocktails for two

I recently had a glass of iced tea at Wok'n Fire in Elmhurst and was blown away by how fruity it was, without being too sweet. The waiter said they brew regular iced tea, then add fruit puree. I was intrigued, and naturally began to hatch a plan for how I could add alcohol, subtract calories, and become a super fruity cocktail hero without too much effort.

Glancing at recipes online, there were ways to make puree, and none of them sounded simple. I mean, if I was relaxed enough to spend 30 minutes in the kitchen, I wouldn't want a cocktail, right? Even simple syrup sounded too much time for me and my BFF.  Then, like a thunderbolt, it hit me. I know what's simple..a cup of tea!

If there is one thing living in England taught me, it's to never underestimate the value of a hot cup of tea. I tip my hat to the UK and give you my beloved new cocktail...the Absolutely Passionate Skinny Girlfriend Bliss.

Why pay a lot of money for someone else's version of a skinny girl drink when you can whip up your own at home and elevate the recipe by using Tazo Passsion tea, Absolut Vodka* a teaspoon of organic sugar, and pouring it all over ice--twice.  Grab a slice of lemon, lime for the garnish, or dip into that bag of frozen berries you keep for smoothies for the kids and toss a couple on top. They will melt by the time you finish your drink and you can eat them for dessert.

80 Calories a drink?  Grab your girlfriend, kick the kids out of the house and kick up your heels! My jeans may actually fit in the morning.

Skinny Slurp!

• pour boiling water onto Tazo Passion Tea bag in a cup
• add 2 tsp sugar and stir
• heap your cutest glass with ice and pour a measure of vodka on top (gin is lovely too)
• ladle tea on top of your ice
• (adjusting when it is full to take a few cubes of ice out, add a little more tea if necessary)
• Top with a couple of cute berries and repeat for your cute BFF

*Absolut vodka is GMO free because it is made in Sweden which is a GMO-free zone

Sneaky Vegan Organic Whole Wheat Pasta with Field Roast "Sausages", Bok Choy and Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

Sneaky Vegan Organic Whole Wheat Pasta with Field Roast "Sausages", Bok Choy and Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

The story behind those sneaky vegan sausages from Seattle

 and how to roast your cauliflower (without losing your head.)

Recipe follows story

This blog took an incredibly long time to write because I had to keep getting up and going in the kitchen to eat more of these sausages. And they aren't even sausages, really. They're vegan. But these sausages were so good, even my strapping teenage carnivore son gobbled these down while grunting,  "erg, good, erg, mmm hmm, good."

I picked these Field Roast Sausages up at Costco and wasn't sure if I would like them. I noticed they were soy free, artisan (food as art!) and from Seattle so I suspected they were worthy of a risk.  The risk paid off! They have a very complex texture that is similar to regular sausage, and doesn't taste like other soy sausage. The wheat, yukon gold potato, herbs and spices combine to create a really wonderful taste sensation. There are three flavors in the Costco pack, for this dish I used the Mexican Spicy Chipotle flavor. These vegan sausages may fool your meat eaters, and at the very least will impress them, which can be quite hard.

As you may know by now, my daughters are vegetarian (one is vegan), my son is a meat lover, and my husband and I like to mix it up.  Therefore, I am a veritable Venn diagram of menu ideas, constantly cooking up meals that will reach beyond borders and straddle the common ground.  No, we aren't talking about international relations here, just the modern family dinner table. How did my life get this complicated?! What can I say, I'm a food enabler.

Truth be told, I love the challenge.

If you are not a food enabler, then today's dish would be quite simple to just 'meat up' with real sausage or even a bit of leftover roast chicken.  You could also omit the sausage completely. If you want extra protein, toss in a handful of beans which will be more cost effective than artisan vegan sausages.  But the Mexican Spicy Chipotle sausage adds a real kick to this dish, so you may want to add a little cayenne,  hot smoked chili pepper,or your favorite chipotle powder to the dish instead.

This is a one dish wonder, filled with hearty fiber rich pasta, spicy and dense sausages, and water laden cauliflower and bok choy to lighten it all up, giving a nice balance to the other strong flavors.

I serve the pasta, sauteed bok choy, cauliflower and sausage separately, and let everyone "dress" their plates at the kitchen table.  Naturally I combined all of my ingredients into one big party. It was so good, I forgot to even think of grated cheese, which of course would be an excellent addition too.

Sneaky vegan slurp!

RECIPE

 Sneaky Vegan Organic Whole Wheat Pasta with Field Roast "Sausages", Bok Choy and Garlic Roasted Cauliflower

• 1 pound pkg Delallo organic Italian pasta (or similar, I used these shells which have 6g fiber/serving) http://www.delallo.com/video/commercials/whole-wheat-pasta
• 1 pkg Field Roast Grain Meat Sausages (I used Hot-n-Spicy Mexican Chipotle flavor, but bundle from Costco comes with other flavors) http://fieldroast.com/products/
• 1 large head of bok choy, chopped
• 1 large wholehead of cauliflower
• 6 cloves (+/-) garlic, chopped 
• As much olive oil as you like so your pants fit comfortably
• A few freshly chopped herbs (optional, such as thyme or parsley)

I have included 'Super Hurry Mama' variations for this recipe

Put your largest pot of water on the stove to boil and preheat your oven to 350F.

(Super Hurry Mama-- you could roast pre-cut cauliflower florets just as easily, or even just microwave bags of cauliflower florets.)

Roasted Cauliflower:  Take your whole head of cauliflower to a cutting board and carefully slice into thick discs, like you are cutting bread.  Some of the pieces will fall off because raw cauliflower is not as easy to slice as bread.  No matter. Those little 'crumbs' will be the best part. You do not need to cut the base out when you roast cauliflower, you can just roast that too, then cut the little florets off when they are soft. 

Place discs and crumbs and any florets onto baking sheet and smear each piece with some of your freshly chopped garlic. Sprinkle a little thyme or parsley on top if you have some, but it's not essential.  Drizzle liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper, pop in to the oven and roast for about 35-45 minutes or until all florets soft (I like them browned, mmm.) 

Sauteed Bok Choy:  In a large pan, saute 2 (+/-) cloves garlic and olive oil in pan until fragrant, then add chopped head bok choy and half a glass of water. (about 3 fingers high), sprinkle with a little salt, stir, cover and cook until bok choy is soft, about 5-10 minutes.  

Pasta: Salt your boiling water and boil whole wheat pasta according to time on package, drain and put in large bowl.

Field Roast Grain Meat Company Sausage: Slice each sausage into little discs, then place in a pan and saute until looking browned and gorgeous, about 5 minutes. (The advantage of vegetarian sausage is that it doesn't need to cook as long as regular sausage so good for Super Hurry Mama!)

When roasted cauliflower done, take out of oven and cut all yummy bits up, discarding any hard or leafy pieces.  Pour all juices, garlic oil and cauliflower over pasta.

Add sauteed bok choy. 

Top with browned sausage. 

Toss through and take a picture of your fiber rich, vegetable laden, glorious tasting sneaky 'sausage' dish. 

You are a kitchen hero. Be proud of your creation!

Organic Steel Cuts Oats@15 Cents a Bowl!

Organic Steel Cut Oats at 15 Cents a Bowl

(organic steel cut oats: 4g fiber, 7g protein, gluten-free, GMO-free, low calorie, low glycemic)

It's time to GET HEALTHY! The deep freeze is over, and if you just know your shorts don't fit, weekends are great for pre-prepping your powerful weekday meals.

An hour of preparation in between computer tasks is all you need to keep a batch of low cost, organic, steel cut oats in your fridge for the week. You will be dipping into this powerhouse of nutrition all week!

 Cook 3 parts water to 1 part organic steel cut oats ($1.39/lb from Wholefoods...you can DO this!) for about 45 minutes until soft.  Stir occasionally. I use a non-stick pan because it's easier for clean up.  (Some people think non-stick is toxic. I am still researching this material.)
 
Pour oats into container in fridge. When cold, take out a cup at a time, micro for a minute or so  (+/-)with a handful of frozen blueberries, raspberries, walnuts, a little sugar if you need it. Or cut up into squares and bring to work with add-ins thrown on top.

When oats are hot, frozen blueberries will just melt right in and create a gorgeous work of pink/red/blue art. This breakfast will set your metabolism straight! Get ready to feel HEALTHY!

If you use go with USDA certified organic, you will be GMO free for a whole week of breakfast, at a very reasonable price! I get about 10 servings from $1.52 worth of organic, steel cut oats. If I add a few organic walnuts, organic frozen bluberries, a sprinkle of organic sugar, I am still only up to about 35 cents per breakfast.

Start your day with an affordable, healthy, non-toxic and most importantly--DELICIOUS breakfast!

 This is a rich, satisfying, 'slow burning', go-to breakfast or snack!

1 cup oats: 3 cups water (pinch of salt if ya want)

Put in pot on medium high heat until it comes to boil (10 min or so) then reduce to low for simmer (tiny bubbles)

 Stir occasionally and cook until oats are soft, all water is absorbed. If oats are still too hard for you, add a little extra water and keep cooking until they are as soft as you like them.

 Eat immediately or put in container for a whole week's worth of breafast.  Cuts nicely into squares to take to work in container with frozen or fresh berries added on top in a hurry before you leave.

Additional add ins: Almond slivers, raspberries, raisins, cinnamon, brown sugar, a teensy splash of vanilla, apples, bananas, you name it!

Fexting--The Modern Art of Texting about Food

Fexting—The Modern Art of Texting about Food

(and a ‘text-ipe’ from my mom)

by Renee Gough

“This morning I woke up thinking about the beet, the lovely beet,” my morning text reads from my mom. 

My mom, Nita Tribo, nobody 'beets' her!

Food texts in our family are sometimes glorious works of art; modern day poetry I would even say.  Forget sexting, my family and friends are big on ‘fexting’, the glorious shared appreciation of the flavors of the day.

“Everybody throws out the beautiful green stalks of the beet, instead of rinsing and cooking with garlic in a pan,” she adds.

Ah, my mom, the champion of the underdog! Her wise words are a reminder she may have learned from her Polish or Italian ancestors-- that every bit of this beautiful bounty we are given is worthy.

Apparently the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, or in this case, the stalk doesn't grow far from the bulb. 

My mom and I are like birds flying in tandem, our kitchens 30 miles apart, but our nests filled with similar treats we have plucked and brought back to nourish our families.

(Mom and I were both recently excited when a bird built a nest on my front step.)

I am so grateful that my mom, aged 75, has mastered the technology of her IPhone, because these fexts of hers add serious flavor to my life.  I read on, my empty tummy rumbling.  She then fexted me an alternative way to cook my beet bulbs after I rescue and relish the green stalks.

“Save the beet itself for a different day.  Then boil, peel, slice and make with a touch of olive oil, salt and pepper, and white balsamic vinegar.  Mmmmmm.”  (Mom’s fext is sealed with her signature emoji—the smiley face with two hearts instead of eyeballs.)

Some people admonish serial fexters like us.  But we can’t seem to stop ourselves from sharing wherever technology takes us.  My family and friends have been known to post dinner photos to Facebook and tweet breakfast bowls to the world.  One of us has even decided to build a career out of sharing food, beautiful food!

You will never please all of the people, all of the time.  So I say, if “fexting” makes you happy, do it.  There are certainly other things you could text about.  But this morning, to stir my appetite, nothing ‘beet’ this delicious “text-ipe” from my mom.  

My Mom's Recipe Crusade: 

Nita Tribo's Save the Stalks!

Buy a lovely bunch of beetroot with the long, glorious stalks.  Look for stalks with purple veins bursting with life throughout the gorgeous, deep green leaves. This is an item at Wholefoods that won't cost the whole paycheck! Lots of other places sell them with the luxurious stalks still intact.  Farmer's markets will be here soon!

Rinse the beets and trim the stalks, reserving the beet bulbs for another time.

Cut your stalks in whatever way makes you happy.  Small, medium or large pieces are all OK.  

Sautee 2 (+/-) cloves of garlic in a pan coated with olive oil.  Add chopped stalks and saute until soft and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, and devour, knowing you have contributed to my mom's "Save the Stalks" crusade. 

I think she deserves to be awared a " Purple Art"  for this recipe, don't you?

Mom and I enjoying the great city of Chicago