Paper Trout

Although I'm not a vegetarian anymore,
I still don't eat beef, pork or poultry.
It was always a struggle for my mom 
to get me to eat meat when I was a kid.
The last time I remember eating steak (not ordered by me),
I covered it in ketchup
and my mom finally decided to give up on the idea of me being a carnivore.
It has just never felt right for me, 
so I embraced a meat-free diet for a good, long time.
For the last 15 years or so, I have eaten fish regularly,
and feel fortunate to be able to find a good selection at our local grocery store.

 

As we are trying to eat as locally as possible,

this North Carolina trout seemed to fit the bill.

I bought the whole fish so that I could keep the bones

to make my homemade bone broth.

(I'll tell you about this magical elixur soon.)

Cooking the whole fish is not something I've done before,

but I remembered a trick my mom had used.

Parchment paper is the secret ingredient.

The technique is known as "en papillote"

or "in paper", 

and it's one of the easiest ways to cook fish.

The bonus is that clean up is a breeze!

The fish was rinsed, dried and seasoned with salt, pepper and a little olive oil.

Any choice of your favorite seasonings would work.

They were wrapped in the parchment and the ends were twisted tight.

This helps the fish to steam and keeps all of the juices inside.

 

They were placed on the same baking sheet as some veggies 

I was cooking for a soup base.

After about 20 minutes in a 375 degree oven, 

they were done.

Open the package carefully, as it is extremely hot!
The fish comes out moist, tender and delicious.
The bones are easily removed 
and can be added to my stockpile in the freezer.

The same technique can be used with chicken, turkey 
or cooked beans for a vegetarian option.
I haven't tried it, 
but I imagine this would work on the grill too.

Each package is like a small gift for each diner to open.
Who wouldn't enjoy a tasty token? 

Wordless Wednesday (the day after Valentine's Day)

Sweet Potato Soup (gf,df)

We are trying to use up the food in our fridge,

so I thought I'd whip up a batch of sweet potato soup.
The weather has been cooperating just enough,
so that a bowl of soup really hits the spot.

A handful of ingredients makes this dish 
a snap to put together in less than 30 minutes.
Sauteing the onions really brings out their sweetness.
If you don't care for sweet potatoes,
this method for soup making can be used with
white potatoes, butternut squash, or carrots,
or any combination of your favorite veg.





Sweet Potato Soup

1/2 yellow onion, diced
olive oil
3 sweet potatoes, chopped
salt
cinnamon (optional)
water or bone broth


In a medium pot, sautee onion in olive oil
until translucent (5-7 minutes).
Add sweet potatoes and cook until almost tender
(8 minutes).
Add seasonings and fill pot 3/4 full with water
or a combination of water and bone broth.
Bring to the boil,
then turn down to low heat.
Simmer with lid on about 10 minutes.
Use an immersion blender or food processor
to blend until smooth.
Enjoy! 

Want to grow your own sweet potatoes?

Simple Frozen Yogurt (With No Machine)

Although it's officially autumn,
we're still having temperatures in the 80's,
so we haven't yet traded in our frozen treats 
for hot chocolate and warm cider.

I've been wanting to make this for a while.
We don't own an ice cream maker,
and since we like to keep things simple around here,
don't plan on buying another appliance that performs just one duty.
There were several recipes found online,
but this one was the simplest and easiest.

 This is all you need to make homemade frozen yogurt.
Plain or vanilla yogurt, frozen fruit and a food processor. 
Honey or stevia could be added for sweetening,
but we kept it as basic as possible. 


The method couldn't be simpler.
Place yogurt in ice cube trays and freeze for a few hours.

Add your fruit to the processor first, it helps with the mixing.
(We added about 1/2 C.)
Next, add in your frozen yogurt cubes.
(We used one filled ice cube tray.)
Whiz away!
You may have to process it in a couple of batches,
or even add a dash of your choice of milk to aid in the blending.

before freezing

 We returned the mixed concoction to the original yogurt container
and placed it in the freezer.
You could also add in chocolate chips, coconut, 
crumbled cookie bits or nuts at this point.
Give it a stir every 15 minutes for about an hour.
That's it!

It's good to know that something so tasty
is so easy to make.
Enjoy! 



 



 

Rice Crust Quiche Remix

Lately,
I've been trying to do a better job
of using leftovers in new ways.
It makes the food more interesting,
and it's been a challenge coming up with ideas 
to use what we have.

Earlier in the week,
portobello mushroom "burgers" were on the menu.
I don't eat meat, so this is my stand in
when the boys are eating their turkey burgers.
Two kinds of steak fries were prepared as sides.
The mushrooms were huge, so there were leftovers.

They were chopped up and added to my rice crusted quiche mixture.
Included in the deliciousness was some cheddar cheese
and Malabar spinach, 
grown by my farmer friends, Faye & Lynn.
The crust was made using instant brown rice,
instead of the usual basmati.
It's the first time I've bought instant rice,
but brown rice is something that's been
difficult for me to get just right.
The difference in texture was barely noticeable,
and the brown rice is a better nutritional boost of fiber.

You can find the original recipe for rice crusted quiche here.
The leftovers of quiche were savored for lunch 
2 days in a row.
Leftovers from leftovers!
Showing gratitude for all that we have
 includes not being wasteful with food.

"Without frugality, none can be rich, 
and with it, very few would be poor."
~Samuel Johnson

Without frugality none can be rich, and with it very few would be poor. Samuel Johnson
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/search_results.html?q=frugality

Do you like to turn leftovers into something special?

Baked Spaghetti Squash (gf, df,sf,ef)

Getting more vegetables into my diet
is one of my health goals.
This is an easy way to do it.
Spaghetti squash is loaded with
vitamin A and potassium.
And because it has only a fraction of the calories of pasta,
you can chow down on a lot more of it. 
You can add any type of cheese and store bought pesto,
or keep it vegan by adding this pesto recipe and omitting the cheese altogether.
Add other veggies like broccoli or fresh green peas,
to up the fiber count even more!
It's so versatile that it can please most any palate.

Baked Spaghetti Squash
1 spaghetti squash
salt
garlic
cheese (optional)
sauce of choice
(we used homemade gravy and homemade pesto)

Cut squash in half lenghtwise.
Sprinkle with salt and place cut side down
with a garlic clove under each half.
Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes,
until a fork easily pierces skin.
Cool for about 10 minutes, until it can be easily handled.
Scrape out flesh into a bowl.
Add sauces or seasonings of choice.
Enjoy!

BBQ Sauce Without the Guilt

Having exhausted my resources of commercial barbecue sauces,
it seemed like a great time to come up with something better.
I'm a label reader, 
so most of the choices at the grocery store
didn't pass muster.  
I was looking for something with only a few recognizable ingredients,
 quick to put together and sugar-free.
Local honey was the perfect substitute for the refined sugar
found in most barbecue recipes.



Although this sauce will be mostly used by my hubby,
I wanted it to appeal to everyone.
This recipe filled the bill, as it is allergy-friendly.
As usual, we tweaked it a bit.
We didn't have Worcestershire or allspice, so they were omitted.
I ended up adding about 3-4 more tablespoons of water,
as I find that the apple cider vinegar sometimes comes on a little too strong.
The results were fantastic!
I hope you'll give this recipe a go
for your next summer barbecue or Independence Day Celebration!

No-Sugar BBQ Sauce
(SugarFreeMom)

1 C ketchup
1/2 C water
1 T onion powder
1/2 C Apple Cider Vinegar
2 T honey
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1/4 t allspice
1/4 t salt
1/4 t celery seed
1/4 t cinnamon

Bring all ingredients to a boil,
then reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
Enjoy!