Stepping Outside

It is amazing what we find when we open our eyes to our surroundings. You don't have to hop on your bike or into your car and go somewhere to see something amazing (although it certainly can be fun). Sometimes all you have to do is step out your front door. Here are some of the sites I saw today...









I hope that next time you step out your front door, you'll take a moment to see the amazing sites that surround you (if you don't already).

In The News

Here are some articles I have been reading about our food industry and its effect on us and nature.  Some are quite lengthy, so grab a cup of coffee/tea and read away...
Monsanto’s Harvest of Fear - 5/08
Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch - 7/29/09
Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food - 8/21/09

Countdown to Kickoff

GO BUCKS!
Today's tailgating menu:
Beer Bratts (Bob Evans bratts imported from Ohio, boiled in Guiness Draught and then grilled)
Candy Buckeyes (of course)
Homemade Hummus and veggie sticks
Whatever else I have that I think to add to it. After all, we're tailgating at home.

Game's on ESPN at noon!

White Bean Dip with Pita Chips

A couple of years ago, my mom bought me Giada de Laurentis's book Everyday Italian.  I have leafed through it and used a recipe or two, but had not explored it in depth.  Then, I recently watched The Food Network's Chef0graphy about Giada de Laurentis.  Even though it was late, I was inspired to grab her book off the shelf and go exploring.  The next morning I made two recipes to eat at a picnic we were going to that day.  One of those recipes was the White Bean Dip with Pita Chips.  It essentially is the Italian version of hummus.  It is so incredibly good!  Last night my husband asked if there was any left to dip some vegetable sticks in.  There wasn't, but there is now.  I actually made a double batch.  I hope there's still some left by the time he gets home from work!  Just kidding.  It's tempting though.  It's also wonderful in tuna salad instead of using mayo.  It adds more flavor, not to mention nutritional value.
White Bean Dip with Pita Chips
1 (15 oz) can cannellini (white kidney) beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (or 2 tbsp dried)
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)
1 garlic clove
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
In the bowl of a food processor, combine all ingredients except the olive oil.  Pulse on and off until the mixture is coarsely chopped.  With the machine running, gradually mix in the olive oil until the mixture is creamy.  Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired.  Serve with pita wedges, toasted baguette slices, vegetable slices, etc.
Personal Note:  I substitute half the olive oil with plain, low-fat yogurt.  I also usually make a double batch since it goes so quickly

Smoothies

I love smoothies! I especially love homemade smoothies. I know exactly what wonderful, flavorful, healthy ingredients the smoothie-of-the-moment is made of when I make it myself. Smoothies are a great way to enjoy seasonal fruit. Below is my basic smoothie recipe. Each smoothie tends to be unique, depending on what I have on hand (i.e. what is in season at the local farmer's market). Today we enjoyed blueberry smoothies and blackberry smoothies. The other day it was peach/blackberry smoothies. I have also been known to use frozen fruit from the grocer's freezer, but it's not quite the same. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do.
Smoothie

½ cup water or juice
½ cup plain yogurt (low or fat free)
½ banana
½ - ¾ cup fruit (blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, or pineapple, etc.), mix and match as desired
¼ tsp. cinnamon (optional)
2 tbsp. wheat germ (optional)

Blend.

Personal Notes:
I add ice or use frozen fruit for a slushy smoothie.

I use water if the fruit is local and in season or a particularly flavorful fruit, juice if fruit is from the frozen section of grocery store.

If I use juice, I use apple juice with berries and orange juice with pineapple or
peaches.

World's Best Cookies

Summer and picnic season has me thinking about family.  My mom's family has a reunion every year.  Usually I am unable to attend, but I think about the whole family often.  One of my favorite summer/reunion time memories is my grandma making World's Best Cookies.  She would make these during the last week of July as my cousins were scheduled to roll in from where ever they were stationed at the time (my uncle was in the Army).  Then, on the first Sunday in August, we would pile into our cars, with the cookies, and caravan to Washington, PA for the family reunion.  Aside from the samples at Grandma's house, she would (try to) keep the cookies under tight wraps so that there would be some left for the reunion lunch.
Grandma got sick and passed away rather quickly in late 1997.  We didn't get a chance to ask her about every detail we now wish we had.  Several favorite recipes I think she had committed to memory and are now gone.  However, we did find this one and I made sure that I copied it for my files.  I have held on to it tightly.
Although we will not be able to make it to the reunion this year, I am looking forward to an upcoming picnic with my Mom and Grandpa.  My goal is to make a batch of Grandma's World's Best Cookies for dessert.
World's Best Cookies
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup cooking oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup corn flakes -- crushed
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup nuts -- chopped
3 1/2 cups flour -- sifted

Combine ingredients.  Shape into small balls.  Bake at 325 for 12 minutes.
This was all the direction that I found.  I start with softened butter in my mixer and gradually add the ingredients in the order given.  Years later I found this recipe in Southern Living's 30 Years of Our Best Recipes as Crispy Oat Cookies.  I was so thrilled to see it in published form that I bought the book on the spot.

Roses

  Stainless Steel bud
  Olympiad blossom
I love flowers:  tulips, grape hyacinths, carnations, starburst lilies, roses...  They add such color and beauty to the world.  Each one also reminds me of various times in my life as they were notebly present during those times.  Tulips and grape hyacinths welcomed us to our new home when we moved during my elementary school years.  Carnations, the state flower of Ohio, always seemed present during my childhood and were wonderful for placing (white ones) in colored water for showing how xylem worked.  Stargazer lilies were carried by my bridesmaids.
Roses have also been constant.  Each color has a different meaning.  For Valentine's Day at my school, student organizations would sell roses for fundraisers.  Individuals would buy a rose to be sent to someone special and that person's significance was indicated by the color of the rose.  As an adult, the colors stir other feelings.  Yellow reminds me of our grandmothers because yellow was their favorite rose color.  Bright red reminds me of love, but also of home.  I am a Buckeye, and BCS or not, nothing is like a good ol' fashioned Rose Bowl at the end of the season.  Over the course of a few years, I was gifted with a rose garden.  It started as four rose bushes (two Oklahomas and two Olympiads).  Next we added three Stainless Steels.  Finally, the border was added.  I now have a beautiful scarlet and grey rose garden!  It's a touch of home built with a lot of love.
Many people tell me that they don't have roses because they have heard about how much work they entail.  Please, don't let this stop you!  They are really not that labor intensive and the reward is well worth the effort!  I spray my rose garden weekly and fertilize it monthly.  If it hasn't rained within the past week, I water it.  I honestly think the most labor comes from the harvesting, and that is labor well rewarded.  The other day I counted 50+ buds on my seven rose bushes.  50!  When harvested correctly (and it's not that difficult), each bush will produce dozens of roses each year.  We decorate the house, take them to work, give them to friends and new neighbors, etc.
There is also a certain zen in caring for a garden, be it rose, vegetable, or other.  It's a time of hands-on caring when you can reflect on life or just focus on being a caregiver to a silent, yet responsive, recipient.  It's almost like going for a long, contemplative walk in the woods.  It's very theraputic and well worth the effort.