Browned Butter Gnocchi

Browned Butter Gnocchi:

Browned Butter Gnocchi with Broccoli

Spicy Party Nuts

Spicy Party Nuts:

Spicy Party Nuts — nothing livens up a Super Bowl bash like these roasted pecans

Spicy Honey Glazed Almonds

Spicy Honey Glazed Almonds:

A little bit spicy a little bit sweet. The irresistible combination of cayenne & honey coated almonds. The perfect snack

Liquid Gold

Chicken broth is amazing. There is something about it. It's like magic. Probably my very favorite thing to make is chicken broth. It is the beginning of many good things seen and unseen.

Broth can be made many different ways and if you are going to get technical there is Stock and then there is broth.

This particular broth-stock I call "Liquid Gold." I have adapted this recipe from SimplyRecipes.com who credit "Cook's Illustrated" and "In Pursuit of Flavor."

Ingredients:
4 lbs of chicken (use a cleaver to hack up pieces into 2 inch bits)
1 large brown or yellow onion
olive oil
2 quarts of boiling water
(optional additon of vinegar or lemon juice)
2 teaspoons of salt
2 bay leaves

Procedure:
1. Hack up those chicken pieces. Cleavers are kind of scary but they can also be empowering
2. Heat up the oil and saute your chopped onion until softened and slightly colored 2-3 minutes, set aside.
3. Add half the chicken pieces to the pot, saute till no pink shows, about 4-5 minutes, set aside.
4. Repeat with the other half of the chicken.
5. Boil 2 quarts of water. (That's 8 cups of water, remember 4 cups to a quart.)
6. Return the sauteed onion and first batch of chicken to the pot, reduce heat, cover and cook 20 minutes to allow the chicken to release its juices.
7. Add the boiling water, 2 teaspoons of salt, 2 bay leaves to the chicken. Simmer slowly and scrape up all those yummy bits at the bottom of the pan as you simmer slowly. (Don't break a boil or your stock will get cloudy)
8. Strain, first with a slotted spoon then with cheese cloth. Someday I am going to get one of those chinoises.

Carrot and Cilantro Juice

Carrot and Cilantro Juice:

I am surrounded by germs at the moment. Between my office and home, almost everyone is sick. I felt a little under the weather for several days, but so far I've been able to ward it off.  I'm definitely convinced that my strengthened immunity is due to all the fresh juices I've been drinking!

For this week's SPUD juicing box I opted for the Organic Dynamic Beauty Juicing Box, which is a beautiful combination of apples, beets, carrots, celery, chard, cilantro, cucumber, ginger, kale, lemons, green bell peppers, and spearmint. This was the first box that I tried from SPUD and I love all the different flavor combinations you can make with these juices. 

This week I've been playing around with lots of carrot-based juices. If you are new to juicing, I definitely recommend starting with a carrot-based juice because it will be incredibly sweet, even without the addition of fruit! Some of my favorite combinations from this week's produce box include: 

• 5 carrots, 3 kale leaves, and 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger
• 3 carrots, 2 beets, 1/4 apple, and 1/2-inch piece of fresh ginger
• 3 carrots, 3 celery stalks, 3 chard leaves, and small handful of mint
• 3 carrots, 1/2 cucumber, and small handful of mint

And, of course, this carrot cilantro juice.

This juice is a sweet and zesty mix between the carrots, bell pepper, and cilantro.  I also love adding a lemon for a nice tartness and even more alkalizing power.  For an additional immune boost (and to ward off vampires), try sneaking in a garlic clove or two!

I looove cilantro so I actually added quite a big handful to my juice. If cilantro's not your thing, you can either leave it out or substitute with a different fresh herb like parsley. Drink up!

Carrot Cilantro Juice
Makes one 12 - 16 oz juice

5 medium carrots
small handful cilantro
1/2 green bell pepper
1 lemon, peeled

Juice ingredients and enjoy!

Everyday Mexican Hot Cocoa

Everyday Mexican Hot Cocoa:

A frothy, chocolaty, cinnamon-scented cup of deliciousness that you can feel good about drinking every day. Loaded with anti oxidants!

Lentil & Vegetable Stew

Lentil & Vegetable Stew:

French green lentils and winter vegetable stew topped with fresh chives and toasted pine nuts (Vegan & Guten Free)

Marble Pound Cake

Marble Pound Cake:

This cake is dense and delicious with both chocolate and vanilla flavors. If you need a treat, or a thank you gift, you should give it a try

Basic Vinaigrette and Variations

Basic Vinaigrette and Variations:

Basic vinaigrette with fascinating ideas for variations

Chicken Skewers with Meyer Lemon Salsa

Chicken Skewers with Meyer Lemon Salsa:
Recipe from Bon Appétit

Raw Kale Salad with Balsamic, Pine Nuts, and Parmesan

Raw Kale Salad with Balsamic, Pine Nuts, and Parmesan:

Some things take convincing, even when they are terribly trendy. When my friend Peg first told me about a fabulous raw kale salad, I smiled politely all the while thinking, “yeah, right, have fun with that.” I mean it’s hard enough to get people to eat their greens, let alone to try something raw that they would normally only eat cooked. But when my friend Katie brought this kale salad to a dinner party, it was the one dish, among a multitude of fabulous dishes, that I kept going back to. (Oh, I’ll have seconds. Uhm, thirds. Okay I’ve stopped counting, this is good.)

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Pork Stir Fry with Green Onion

Pork Stir Fry with Green Onion:

Don’t you love a good stir-fry? Years ago I had this big wok with wooden handles, well seasoned, in spite of a housemate’s attempt one day to scour off all of the pan’s beautiful black seasoning I had worked so hard to create. I don’t know what eventually became of that wok; these days I’m loving my friend Jaden’s non-stick enamel cast iron wok. It does a great job with high heat, it’s stick-free and I don’t have to worry about it rusting. The good thing about stir-fries is that you don’t need a lot of fancy ingredients to have a perfectly presentable dish. All you need is a pan and a cooking oil that can take high heat. Woks work well for this, as do large pans of cast iron or hard anodized aluminum.
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