Delicious Dishes From a Box of Good

Every other Tuesday the Roops receive a "Box of Good" from the wonderful people at Klesick Family Farms. In the box are beautiful, organic, Northwest grown produce. The quality, variety and value never cease to amaze each Tuesday. I love it because we not only receive healthy food and useful recipes, but we also help to support our local neighbor Farmers and reduce our carbon footprint.  If you are interested in learning more please visit their web site, http://www.klesickfamilyfarm.com, you will not be disappointed!


In my most recent delivery I received an assortment of goodies! Among the assortment were parsnips and a braising mix, which I made two delicious and nutritious dishes with. 

The first dish I made with Israeli couscous, which I bought at Trader Joe's. Israeli coucous, not to be confused with North African couscous, is a new love of mine. Its' distinctive, chewy texture, the perfect little pearl shapes, I love it! Also, called pearl couscous and maftoul, Israeli couscous is a wheat based and back in the day was used as a substitute for rice during times when rice was in short supply, (sorry gluten free peeps).

Israeli Couscous with Parsnips, Spinach, Pecans & Dried Cherries

Ingredients
1 cup cooked Israeli couscous
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon rosemary
3 medium parsnips chopped
1 cup spinach
1/2 cup toasted pecans
1/4 dried cherries
sea salt & pepper to taste

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and toast pecans.

In a 2 quart saucepan sauté 1cup couscous with 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1/2 teaspoon curry powder over medium heat until couscous is lightly browned, (about 5 minutes). The curry powder is to stain the little pearls a beautiful golden color. Slowly add 1 3/4 cups boiling water and bring to a boil. reduce heat to medium low and cover. Simmer for 12 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Set couscous aside to cool.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat. Add parsnips and rosemary. Sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Sauté until edges are brown, about 10 minutes. Add spinach, toasted pecans and dried cherries and sauté for 3-4 minutes.

Combine with prepared couscous and enjoy!

A perfect complement to the coucous is the braising mix! 

Braised Greens with Balsamic Vinegar

Ingredients

1 bag of Klesick Farm braising mix chopped

1 small yellow onion

2 garlic cloves pressed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup carrots cut ribbon style

2 cups water

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

sea salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in large stock pot over medium heat. Sauté onion, garlic, sea salt and pepper until onion is translucent. Add the braising mix and water. Stir occasionally until the greens are wilted. Cook covered for 12 minutes. Remove cover and stir continuing to cook uncovered for 12 minutes. Add carrots and balsamic vinegar. Simmer for 5 minutes. Serve hot with previous dish. Yum!!!!

Cheers,

Megan

Gingerbread Fun

Per my Lover's request I made Gingerbread People today. We had a blast decorating and as you can see we definitely have a future in professional cookie decorating. :)

Joe loves the cookies and I think they are pretty good. But that might be that I prefer a good sugar cookie to a gingerbread cookie any day. Also, not much of a fan for the taste of royal icing. However, it was super fun to decorate with and  it is pretty rad how it sets up hard.

Joe won the best decorator award with Gingerbread Baby. A tribute to Baby Bean Dailey who is expected to arrive in early June. They are having a girl!!!! CONGRATS to the K-Dailey's!!!!!

I used Martha Stewart's recipe. I heart Martha...don't judge. I love her Cookies Cookbook, as well as her Cookie of the Day e-mails that arrive in my inbox every morning. I highly recommend signing up for this service.

Gingerbread People

Ingredients 

FOR COOKIES

3 cups flour (plus a little more for rolling)

2 teaspoons ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (room temperature)

1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup unsulfured molasses 

FOR ROYAL ICING

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup water

4 tablespoons meringue powder

Directions

In a large bowl, combine flour, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder and salt, set aside. Using an electric mixer beat together brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy, beat in egg and molasses. With mixer on low, gradually add flour mixture, mixing just until combined.

Divide dough in half and flatten into disks. Wrap in plastic or a resealable plastic bag and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days. Can freeze dough for up to 3 months.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Caution, this dough can get super sticky fast! I found it easiest to roll out parchment paper on my counter and sprinkle four on to the parchment paper and also on my rolling pin. Roll out the dough and cut away! Try to get an even 1/8 inch thick cookie, they bake up a lot better.

For softer cookies bake 8 to 10 minutes; for crunchier cookies bake 11 to 12 minutes, rotating sheets half way. We tried both times and preferred the 8 minute cookie. Cool on wire racks before decorating.

For the icing, whisk together powdered sugar, meringue powder and 1/4 cup water. Transfer icing to a pastry bag or place in a resealable plastic bag and snip a small hole in the corner. Have fun decorating! We found the red hots to be essential. :)

Happy Holidays! 

Megan

Get Well Lover!

My husband Joe, is super sick with mono. Poor lover! Recovery can take any where from 4-6 weeks. There is not a lot he can do other than wait, let the virus take its’ course and get lots of rest. I feel awful for him, but with patience, rest  and some good food he will be back in no time. :) I am a firm believer that good food can help speed along recovery.  It is also important for this good food to be simple and easy to make during stressful times.

Here are a few of my trusted, simple recipes for when your loved ones are not feeling so great. I used to call the soup, “Sick Day Soup”, but it looks like this one might be more than a day. For the soup I apologize in advance for the lack of measurements. I do not really measure things and usually use a dash of this and a scoop of that. Baking recipes are the only recipes I some times use recipes for. There are endless options with the soup, so have fun and be creative!  The tea was given to me by my dear, sweet, friend, Lea and although it is not the greatest tasting, it works! The muffins are really yummy and will make you forget how bad the tea tasted. Enjoy!

Sick Day Week(s) Soup


Ingredients


onion
garlic
cilantro
coconut oil
chili paste
veggie broth or water
red pepper
green pepper
carrots
celery
snow peas
broccoli
cauliflower

Heat coconut oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, chili paste and sauté for 3 minutes. Add chopped veggies and sauté for 5 minutes. Add veggie broth or water and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer, cooking until veggies reach desired firmness. Sprinkle in some cilantro. Add cooked rice or rice noodles if you are in the mood. Season with salt and pepper.

Lea's Tea

Ingredients

4 cups water

4 garlic cloves

2 inch chunk of ginger

½ cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (2-3 lemons)

Honey

Put water in a medium saucepan with garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil.

Turn off heat and add lemon juice. Add just the right amount of honey for you and sip throughout the day. Refrigerate leftover for later.

Some times I try to healthify my bake goods and while these recipes are in fact more healthy, they can some times taste like card board. Joe is always a great sport with all of my ventures in cooking. But being that my husband is so very sick, I decided to skip all of the alternative ingredients and just make him Plain Jane Blueberry Muffins. No subbing spelt flour for white flour or using applesauce instead of oil to lower the fat content…just plain and simple. 

Plain Jane Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients

FOR MUFFINS

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tablespoon of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup melted butter
1/4 cup butter milk
1/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg

2 cups frozen blueberries (can also use fresh or dried)

FOR CRUMBLE

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and prepare muffin tin. 

Mix crumble ingredients together in a small bowel and set aside for later. 

Combine sugar, egg, melted butter, buttermilk and milk in a small bowel. In separate bowel combine flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Poor the wet ingredients into the dry. Key here is not to mix too much! Add blueberries. Poor into prepared muffin tin and generously cover the tops with crumble topping. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Yum!

Happy Birthday to Cupcake!!!!

This is my little Sister Kristen….

I some times call her Cupcake, because she is the Cupcake Master. She is the funniest, most hilarious person I know. Our laughing fits are some of my most favorite moments together. 

To say that my Sister is dear to me would be a total understatement. I love that girl with every ounce of me. Her love and friendship mean the world to me. I am grateful that she is a part of my life and for each moment that we have had together. We are just about as opposite as they come, but through this she brings me balance, strength and inspiration. But what I admire most about my Sister is that no matter what comes her way, she always stays grounded, holds strong and perseveres.

                                  

Thank you for all that you are and every thing that you inspire me to be, Kristen. You mean more to me than I can ever find the words for. I could not ask for a better or more beautiful Sister.  Happy Birthday Cupcake! Sending you lots of LOVE from Washington!

Can you guess what I might be making today in honor of my Sister????? You guessed it, CUPCAKES!!! Kristen loves Chai flavored things, so I naturally decided on a Chai Cupcake with butter cream frosting of course! (we are butter cream aficionadas) This is my first go at cupcakes and I am psyched at how they turned out!

Vanilla Chai Cupcakes
Makes 24

(Recipe source  http://thenovicechefblog.com/)

Ingredients

FOR CHAI SPICE MIX

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom

1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg


FOR CUPCAKE
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter

1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 of chai spice mix
1 1/4 cups plain flour, sifted
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar (don’t worry about the smell it bakes off)

FOR VANILLA CHAI BUTTERCREAM
2 stick (1 cup) butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 of chai spice mix
1-2 tbs cold milk, if needed

Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix spices together for Chai Spice Mix in small bowl.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla and beat in one egg at a time. Stir in half the quantity of chai spice mix. Fold in the flour and buttermilk alternately and stir until combined, don’t over mix. Mix together the baking soda and vinegar and mix into the batter.

Spoon into prepared cupcake cases until 3/4 full and bake 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. If you can smell the cupcakes earlier, check to make sure they aren't browning earlier (this means they're ready). If you aren't certain, turn off the oven earlier and let them sit for a few more minutes rather than baking them until they are hard as a rock.

For the frosting beat the butter until it is creamy. On low, mix in the vanilla and the rest of the chai spice mix. Carefully beat in the powdered sugar about ½ cup at a time. If the buttercream is too thick add 1-2 tbs of cold milk until the desired consistency is reached.  I found licking the spoon was a very important step at this point. :) Then have fun decorating onto cooled cupcakes with your favorite frosting tip.  

For the special occasion of my Sis’ Birthday and our first blog entry I decided to buy the Cupcake Decorating Kit by Wilton. So fun!!!! I definitely need to practice, but I highly recommend getting one of these, easy to use and great instructions!

This recipe would also be great with a strussel/crumble on top, served for brunch. I think I will try this soon!