Toasted Nut Granola

It's snowing out there. I'm trying to make the most of it. I have a squirmy little toddler and we go outside everyday. We go to take the compost out, we go feed the chickens their treats, we even just go to the woods to walk around and find animal tracks.

I think its worth the possibly fussy minute and thirty seconds it takes to get her all adorably bundled up if it means I can show my girl the beautiful place we are a part of. It also serves as a game changer. I've come to see that if My Little Flower is looking glum or even acting out, a quick trip to the tree line is enough fresh air to "reset" both of our patience levels and mindsets.

                                          We all need these woods and they serve us well.

Here is the one thing. This snow, though beautiful and still, is mad-cramping my style. I'm trying here, but my enthusiasm is melting because the ice won't.
My-Way-Too-Awesome-To-Be-Called-Mother-In-Law Mother in law is pretty much the only soul I know who shares this problem, but my chickens are miserable. I know that sounds so lame to people who don't have chickens, however we love those feathered losers and feel bad for them when they sit and pout all day.

My poor Gretchen, dreaming of green grass and mud baths

           

On top of that, I pulled a muscle trying to do a snow angel of death, my husband is going to figure out soon that I start my car 30 minutes in advance so I don't have to scrape snow (big trouble mister), and my skin is so pale that I fear I'll soon become transparent.

I am longing for the day when Lila can walk through the grass in her little bare feet and play beside the garden. I often catch myself daydreaming of the moment when I'll look out over the yard and see Lila Mae playing in the garden and my sweet flock pecking at green grass and taking mud baths. Hopefully my girl and I will have matching tan lines from wearing toms all the time and we'll have "Lake Hair" 24/7.

Until then, I'll settle for toasting up my life as best as I can. I'll continue to go outside and love it for the wonderful creation it is.
I'll watch the winter sun rise silently each morning I'll drink hot coffee all day. I'll keep a fire going inside to stay warm and I'll munch on homemade toasted nut granola. It doesn't seem like much, but it's enough for me.
Thanks for reading

Love, Darla



Toasted Nut Granola

(inspired by Joythebaker's toasted almond granola)

Your ingredient list is up to you, so give and take as you please.

4 cups oats
1 cup raw pecan peices
1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds
1/2 cup raw almond slices
1/4 cup milled flax seeds
1/4 cup Chia seeds
1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract                                                                                                      1 cup dried cranberries 

Set your oven to 325 and prepare two baking sheets by covering them in parchment paper.

Simply mix all of the dry ingredients together (except for cranberries). In a small sauce pan, melt your coconut oil, honey and brown sugar together until it boils. lower the heat and add your vanilla extract.

 Pour the warm mixture over your dry ingredients and incorporate well. Lay out the granola on your baking sheet in two batches that you will bake separately. Bake for 10 minutes, toss in the cranberries and mix well, then bake for another 10 minutes being careful not to burn it. Maybe you could just set a timer. It's not a sign of weakness. Ahem...Lisa ;)

Serve with cold almond milk, yogurt, or just eat it as is. Stay toasty! (did you see what I did there)

Rosemary Eggplant Sandwich

Rosemary. What a wonderful herb it is. I have been trying to find a simple and delicious recipe that incorporates the goodness of rosemary. I admit...I have been slacking a lot and not searching very hard. But then, I realized I didn't have to even look. When I was living in Vermont, this restaurant in downtown Burlington made one of the best sandwiches I have ever had. I even put it on our to-do list when Darla came to visit me. =)

I did my best to recreate it, and I think it came out great!

Ingredients:
1 large eggplant
1 red onion
rosemary infused olive oil
12 month Cabot extra sharp cheddar
1 package of ciabatta rolls

Directions:

• Slice both your eggplant and red onion into 1/4" slices.
• In medium skillet, use 2T olive oil and toss in red onions. Leave in until they caramelize.
• At 350˚, bake eggplant for about 5 minutes. Once they start to dry out a bit in oven, take them out.
• Lightly coat eggplant in olive oil, and toss into a medium skillet. I used the same one as my onions.
• Once onions and eggplant are done, set aside.
• Set oven to 385˚ and place ciabatta rolls on center rack for about 5 minutes.
• Slice roll in half and place them on a baking sheet. (Make sure you use aluminum foil)
• Assemble sandwiches to your liking with the onions and eggplant and place slices of cheddar on top.
• Turn on broiler and leave sandwich in until cheese melts.

Assembly

I hope you enjoy these as much as I did!

<3 Heika

Coconut Crusted Chicken

I've been on a mission lately. I'm meal planning at the beginning of each week and incorporating new recipes into our cycle. This was one of the first recipes I tried this year and it was an instant favorite. Jordan requested that I make it again and just make a ton so we can eat the leftovers all week. Well, I did make it again and it was great. The leftovers didn't last long because we gobbled them up! This recipe calls for the chicken to be shallow fried, but next time I'm going to bake it in a broiling pan. I'll edit this post and let you know how it goes. Heika and I are planning on trying it with tofu soon too! I think it's going to be delicious.

Here is what you need
4 chicken breasts, sliced into strips (on an angle to get at least 4 slices per breast)
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk (almond milk, or coconut milk is perfect)
1 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups panko bread crumbs
2 cups coconut shavings
oil for frying
sweet chili sauce for dipping!

First, set up your station.
Beat together your eggs and milk in a bowl and set it aside. Then mix the salt and flour into another bowl and set aside. Finally use a small food processor or blender to chop and mix the Panko and coconut to even smaller pieces to help it all stick. It's fine, if you can't do that, but it will help get an even coating. Put that in a third dish.
Now you're ready to dip, so you can start heating up your oil while you work.
Dredge all the chicken strips in the flour mixture first and then go back and dip each piece in the egg mixture and then finally, the coconut mixture.
When it's all prepped you can either bake it at 350 for 25 minutes or fry each piece for 4-5 minutes each side on medium heat!
serve with dipping sauce and enjoy!


I have served it with Hippie Fried Rice and also with Cilantro Lime Rice.

For Cilantro Lime Rice, Simply put your rice in the pot or rice cooker and throw some cilantro and then some lime zest and juice right in there. Cook it all together, S&P and dig in!

The Name of The Game: Venison

So, the new year is here. I don't think I made actual resolutions, but I've been more intentional with my life and it feels great. I've been waking up well before Jordan and Lila each day to read and have some quiet time alone. I've been meal planning each week and making super awesome things, and I've got this place clean. It feels great.
I'm ready to share it with you.
I come from a family of hunters and am, myself, a huntress of sorts. I have yet to kill, but I practice archery and have put in some time watching the sun rise and fall from a tree stand.
My father, brothers and husband all hunt too, so the freezer is full this time each year.
Venison is a great meat. It is so healthy for you and has so much culinary potential if it's cooked right. Otherwise it can taste pretty chewy and iron-y.
I've had some great experiences with some recipes, while others have been a total flop. So let me share what I've learned.
You need to give it time. Plan in advance when you're going to use the meat. Give it time to thaw and marinate properly.
Cut the Crap: take a sharp knife and trim that white membrane and any fat right off.
Leave a little life in it: With venison, you either have to cook it for 8 hours in a crock pot or cook it to medium rare. Cooking a steak through will give it a terribly chewy texture.
Finally, Flavor!: Venison, or any game, has so much natural flavor, it can handle anything you throw at it. Garlic cloves, herbs, peppercorn, chipolte; this meat can take it. So don't be shy.

So, those are the fundamentals. The following recipes are just the beginning. I would also like to add that these recipes transfer great with ground turkey instead of ground venison, and beef steaks in place of Venison steaks.

Bax Mitchen Venison Burgers
 (Adapted From Tiff and Andy Clark's Bax Mitchen Turkey Burgers) 

Ingredients:

1 cup of stuffing

1/3 cup chicken broth

5 oz frozen spinach (1/2 10 oz package)

1 pound ground venison (or turkey)

2 tbsp cilantro

1 chipolte chili in adobo sauce (i did one and a half, we like spicy things)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp seasoned salt

¼ tsp black pepper

Toppings:

avocado slices

fresh mozzarella slices

* you really don't need regular burger toppings, they would just take from the flavor.

Mush it all together, and then make 4 giant burgers out of it. grill over medium heat.

Crock Pot Recipes!

Venison does great in the crock pot. These are a couple super easy ones! 

Italian Venison 

The end result of this sandwich mimics the Italian beef we love.

Ingredients 

1 jar of pepperoncinis with the stems cut off 

        - add all the juices from the jar

        - fill the jar half way up with water and add that too

1-2 lbs venison steak 

1 loaf of italian or french bread

Optional toppings: Giardiniera and mozzarella cheese 

Put the meat and pepperoncinis and liquid in the crock pot. Cook for 8 hrs on medium or low. Until you can shred it with a fork. Shred all the meat and construct your sandwiches! 

Venison Fajitas 

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs of venison steaks

2 packages of fajita seasonings

2 cups chicken stock or water

1 package of tortillas (warmed) 

1 green pepper sliced 

1 red onion sliced 

2 tbs olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Top with 

shredded mexican mix cheese

sour cream

avocado 

Place meat, stock, water and seasonings in the crock pot for 8 hrs or until it can all be shredded easily with a fork. 

In a baking dish, toss the pepper and onion together with the olive oil and salt. Bake at 350 for 15 min or until desired tenderness. This can be done in a sauté pan as well. 

When the meat is done, construct your fajita to your liking starting with your meat and peppers. 

Venison Steaks 

I'm going to reiterate the points from before. This is where they really count! 

 You need to give it time: Plan in advance when you're going to use the meat. Give it time to thaw and marinate properly. 

Cut the Crap: take a sharp knife and trim that white membrane and any fat right off. 

Leave a little life in it: With venison, you either have to cook it for 8 hours in a crock pot or cook it to medium rare. Cooking a steak through will give it a terribly chewy texture. 

Finally, Flavor!: Venison, or any game, has so much natural flavor, it can handle anything you throw at it. Garlic cloves, herbs, peppercorn, chipolte; this meat can take it. So don't be shy.

With that said, here is a unique steak recipe:

Red Wine and Rosemary Venison Steak

Ingredients: 

2 venison steaks

2 full slices of procciuto (It really would be ok to sub bacon here if that's what you have) 

2 cups Red Wine

2 garlic cloves, diced

2 tsp cracked peppercorn (or ground pepper) 

1 bunch chopped FRESH rosemary (the freshness really matters here, but in a pinch give dried a try) 

salt and pepper to taste

Mix the wine, garlic, and pepper together in a bowl. Add the steaks and turn them to coat them regularly. Allow the meat to marinate overnight or for at least 4 hours. 

When you're ready to cook the steaks, roll them in the rosemary and then wrap them in procciuto and grill for 6 min on each side on medium heat. Give the meat  a couple minutes to rest before cutting in! 

Bacon Wrapped Venison Kabobs 

All you do for this one is chop up 2 steaks, let them marinate in soy sauce overnight and then wrap each piece with half a piece of bacon and stick in on a skewer. Grill and enjoy!



These are my main choices with Venison. What are your favorite recipes? Let me know so I can give them a try!
-D

Tomato and Asparagus Gnocchi

Happy Monday!!

I made this dish about a week ago, and it's the perfect little thing to make for barbecues, potlucks, and lunch of course. 

Tomato and Asparagus Gnocchi with Fresh Mozzarella

Ingredients:
1 bunch of asparagus
1 package (16 oz) gnocchi
1/2 cup sweet onion
2 Tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, pressed
4 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped or 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp fresh pepper
grated parmesan cheese or fresh mozzarella

Directions:
Fill a large sauce pan three-fourths full will salted water and bring to a boil. Cut off tough ends of asparagus and chop into 2 inch pieces. Add asparagus and gnocchi to boiling water. Cook 2-4 minutes or until tender (gnocchi usually will rise to the top when its done. Drain and put mixture into large serving bowl and set aside.

In separate pan, sauté onion in olive oil over medium heat for 5-6 minutes or until tender. Add in garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add in tomatoes and cook for 3-5 minutes. Remove from heat. Add mixture in with asparagus and gnocchi. Stir in fresh basil, salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cheese or your choice. Serve immediately and enjoy.
Makes about 4 servings.

Recipe adapted from here

Kale Tacos with Caramelized Onions, Tomatoes, Feta Cheese, and Balsamic Glaze

I love it. You can make anything into a taco.
I was listening to some Joy the Baker, and she inspired me to "Taco-fy" my dinner. 
I made some Kale Tacos when I got home yesterday, and they were delicious and filled with all my favorite things...cooked onions, tomatoes, and of course, kale. I did add a small amount of feta cheese to this, but you can totally enjoy the tacos without it. 
Speaking of cheese, did I tell you of my cheese binge as I was cooking? Yeah, I went to Mariano's, and I needed basil for a different recipe. All they had in the store was a huge bunch of basil. SO instead of going someplace else, I ended up purchasing a tub of fresh mozzarella balls, and I filled up on mini capreses the whole night. 


So let's talk tacos...

Kale Tacos with Caramelized Onions, Cherry Tomatoes, and Feta Cheese with a Balsamic Glaze
makes 4 tacos
Ingredients:
1 bunch of Kale, deribbed 
1/2 of a sweet/yellow onion
8-10 cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cloves garlic chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
Any tortilla of your liking ( I used small white corn tortillas)
1 ounce of chopped feta cheese (I used a goat milk style)
Balsamic glaze of your choosing (Isola Classic cream)
Salt/pepper to taste
Directions:
Heat olive oil to a medium size sauce pan. Toss in your onions and garlic and keep the heat low. When onions are looking tender, add in tomatoes and kale. Cover pot so the kale will steam. Give mixture a good 10-15 mins to cook everything down.

In a separate skillet, lightly oil and toss in tortillas to warm them up. You only need about a minute on each side.
Assembly: 
Add a small amount of mixture onto open faced tortilla. Top with some feta cheese and drizzle balsamic glaze on top. Enjoy!

Champagne Cake with Strawberry Buttercream Icing

Look. Maggie Innis is my sister in law. She is my daughter's aunt and she's my friend. It was her birthday this week and she turned 17. She has done so much for me. She watches Li so I can work, shower,  and try out for American Idol. I'm broke as a joke but I still wanted to do something special for her birthday to show her that I love and appreciate her.
Maggie's love language is food. She is someone who can really appreciate a well planned meal and then also really appreciate a bacon sunday from burger king. She's a special gal. Anyway, I figured the perfect gift for her would be a fancy cake. A real butter, white flour, white sugar, fatty, fatty, bingey pants cake.  One problem: I've never made a cake. They intimidate me. But, anything for Maggie!
To be honest, my first attempt at this cake was a nightmare. I did so many things wrong and it was awful. I was going to the store yesterday morning to just buy a box-cake-mix-of-defeat when I decided to give it one more try.
I stuck Lila in her high chair with her breakfast and got to work. I creamed butter and sugar. I peaked egg whites. I buttered pans. I fed the baby. My kitchen was a disaster and the cake was a success!

Before I even give you the recipe, please learn from my mistakes.
1. know your ingredients. I used flour from a canister that I just assumed was white flour. Later, I remembered it was a wheat blend.
2. Know your recipe. The recipe called for one 9 inch round pan. So, I thought I needed to double it. False.
3. This didn't end up applying, but if you double it, double it all. I didn't double the butter. smooth move Dar.
4. If you pathetically put the cake back in the oven because it just wouldn't cook, don't fall asleep. Jordan came home 2 hours later to a burned cake, desperate housewives on, and me, asleep on the couch saying, "I just can't. I'm sorry"

Ok, are you ready? Are you awake and smart? ok good.

For the Cake You'll need:
2 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup champagne (pick something light and sweet)
6 egg whites

For the Icing you'll need:
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted room temp butter
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup strawberry preserves
1/4 cup mashed strawberries at room temp
4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat your oven to 350 and prepare to 9 inch round cake pans. I trace the bottom of mine on parchment paper and cut out two circles. butter your pan and then put in the paper and flip it once. the butter will hold the paper in place and flipping it will grease the other side.

Cream together your butter and sugar for a few minutes or until it's light and fluffy.
In a separate bowl, sift together your flour, salt, baking powder. Alternately blend the dry mixture and champagne into your creamed sugar mix. After this step, you'll end up with a dense mixture. Don't freak out. This is gonna be great.

In a separate, clean bowl, whip your egg whites until peaks form. fold a third of your egg whites into your batter just to lighten it and then fold in the rest, careful not to over mix it. Take your time here, the batter is heavy to fold but it will smooth out if you slowly stir/mix it.

Bake for 25-30 minutes until a tooth pick entered in the middle comes out clean.
allow them to cool before frosting.

While your cake is baking, you can prepare your icing. Beat the butter for 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and beat for another minute. Add your preserves and fresh berries and beat for 2 more minutes. Then, add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time and then cream it all together for another 2-3 minutes. Lick the beaters.

I leveled off the top of one of my cakes to give my second layer a flat surface then I rounded out the second layer.
I iced the bottom layer first and topped it with a layer of fresh strawberry slices. Then I took the top layer and iced the bottom of it before placing it on top. I finished icing and decorated it with pearly sprinkles!!  Enjoy!