CALABAZA CRUNCHIES

Coming up next……

Almost 3

My little baby is almost three. Time to pick her school and watch her meet many new friends that hopefully bring her much joy in the years ahead.  With one always-on-the-go Mom (and one unpaying, unavailable Dad), an Aunt who spoils and loves her more than life and 2 sets of happy, healthy grandparents that do the same, my almost three year old is a delight! I’ve made lots of fun recipes, got a 2year old to drink beet-blueberry-cucumber smoothies (daily) and shared in the joy of watching my neice grow up right next to her, forming a BFF for life!

Nothing compares to the nusery school my mother and I attended but, luckily she is so ready she didn’t even want to leave the first few choices, and cried the whole way home.

So now it’s time to find the best care and get my little darling ready for her new day school! I have to admit that I cannot wait to buy her a cute, little uniform. They are too cute!

Any reader have any recommendations or experiences

Boca Raton, Florida. Caboose (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

for schools in Delray or Boca Raton please reply to goodgoldenruler@yahoo.com

The Train Museum in Boca for anyone interested–>

CRANBERRY BALLING

Amongst the madness of going back to work while being the single mother, and acting as father, the cleaner, the laundry mat, the nurse, the electrician, the teacher, the plumber and the car mechanic and the maintenance man, I’ve managed to fit in my daily exotic recipes using my beloved blender. I was determined to get my holiday allowance of cranberries in regardless of my nontraditional Thanksgiving dinner and untraditional Christmas a la’ home. I turned to my strong glass power blender and threw in one fresh cranberry after another until it was just tart enough to tolerate yet still be banana-ice-creamy with bits of red speckles for color and some contrasting green flecks for the Christmas spirit!

Banana Guava Cranberry Spinach Smoothies Yum!

Handful of cranberries (rinse first and freeze the rest)

1/2 pack of Goya frozen guava pulp (about 1 cup)

Handful of spinach the more the merrier

1-2 Bananas (I use perfectly sweetened & ripened frozen bananas)

Water, soymilk, OR juice

BLEND~BLEND~BLEND

D-R-I-N-K

with a cute curly straw preferably

BAGELS & BUTTERNUTS

Squash being perparing for steaming (Photo credit: javajoba)

Awesome I just made a new cream cheese….something I LOVE trying through out the year. Steamed butternut squash DOES in fact taste absolutely delicious on a bagel with plain cream cheese. Just grab a butter knife and smoosh it on like the yellowish golden chutney that it is for breakfast, brunch (or my dinner time)!

EnjOY!!!

How to Make the Most Bitter Leafy Greens Absolutely Delicious

Photo Red Dandelion Chef courtesy of FoodMayhem

So, I was recently blessed with good news from my doctor that could’ve given me two possible answers, benign or malignant. I heard the word benign and thought, “WOW,” I’m lucky and very thankful that I am going to live longer!  I began forcing myself to eat a bag of greens every week just to keep up this new found lease on life. With the help of an apple infused balsamic dressing so far, my plan is working.

I love salad, but I have been privy to picking out that bitter stuff like radicchio, and curly endive because it is just gross and way too bitter for my sweet- tooth- taste -bud- tongue. I’ve searched for recipes to un-do the bitter in bitter greens, made a few lovely variations and came up with an amazing creamy soup, and a wonderful, addicting salad dressing to get those healthy leaves down the hatch. I am not one for vinegary dressings but, somehow grated apples added to vinegar, and a bit of sugar did the trick to tame the pungent bunches.

Anyone in the Delray Beach area has heard or been to the chaotic, always packed, fresh market called “The BOYS.” I am happy to be so close to it, but amongst the masses just as happy to be done with my shopping there until next month when I will once again be run over (with baby in tow) by 85 year olds all in some odd hurry in their South Florida retirement and vicious in their shopping. I pick up most of my unique foods there and this week picked out a Hemi Melon (?), red dandelion greens, 2 packages of  blackberries (for under $4 total), more watercress, and two cheeses I haven’t dared try yet, and fresh made chunky cherry jam.

In an effort to eat even healthier and to continue getting great news from the docs, I have been making this killer cream soup with all available vegetables. Mostly, incorporating the bunches of greens I have and adding them during the last five to ten minutes to my stewed broth with some cream has also given me great results.  Even I, the chef, wouldn’t know I stuck a bunch of dandelion in the brew! Somehow, the most bitter of the bitter greens: watercress and dandelion leaves (in my edible opinion) taste heavenly when blended with a potato and some squash and my toddler LOVES it.

The DANDELION WATERCRESS LEAF BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP (The DWB soup)

1 small potato (I’ve always liked the pink ones)

1/2 sweet potato sliced or grated

A few large chunks of butternut squash (I suppose any squash would work here)

Generous handful (or bunch if you’re daring) of fresh washed greens: Dandelion, Arugula and/or Watercress

Adobo Spice  (the yellow one, get it, it’s cheap and I use it for almost any recipe and kids love it)

Medium yellow or Vidalia onion chopped

2-3 cloves garlic minced

3 TBSP olive oil

1/2 cup cream

salt, pepper, cayenne to taste, and/or basil

Sautee’ the onion and garlic in the oil in a large, deep saute pan. Add the chopped or sliced potatoes and the butternut squash. If you are short on time just use the grater and shred all the thick veggies (it’s all going into the blender anyway). Tonight I added small zucchini and did nothing but enhance an already decadent soup so play around with what you have. Once the onion is clearish and the home smells good of garlic add 2 cups of water and the Adobo spice. If you don’t have that you can substitute it with 2 tsp or more of salt, generous sprinkling of pepper and 1 tsp of tumeric. Chicken stock or broth will work just as well, I just don’t usually have that on hand or use it often. Add the greens, if it’s watercress make sure you’ve removed tough stems, same with endive ends. Cook lightly over medium heat for about 12 minutes. Add 1/2 cup half and half or cream.

Turn off heat and cover.  Set up blender. While it’s cooling add a few ice cubes to blender and make sure lid is ajar to let the steam out. Blend in small quantities, taste, add more spice, or enjoy as is! The pototoes blend up quickly and turn creamy, the greens are still al dente’ and give a nice crunch to an otherwise creamy, extremely healthy soup!!!!

After I get some more to eat, I will publish the dressing recipe that will surprise anyone and get all those picky adults to get down those greens!

Vanes =)

I Miss Posting

Oh, my poor, neglected blog, how I’ve missed  posting and spending  time  here. Good news is that I’ve been busy writing for other online sites  and got my articles published on Yahoo!!!!!!! So excited. The time spent away was at least  productive, yet a strange sense of  guilt overcame me  as I disappointed new and loyal readers. My lovely rambunctious two year old dismantled my SPACEBAR so bear with me  as I have to pound heartily and sometimes twice to write a d@#% sentence.

Just finished making a gigantic stuffed artichoke, trying to take a picture before I nibble off all the leaves I packed so tightly with my baby bella mushroom stuffing. Yum yum! Finally hired  my first TWO babysitters and can not wait to have just that pinch more  energy and bit more time to write more. Fare well for now and look forward  to much, much more!

Vanes

 

Never enough time with the terrible two’s

It’s been so long since I’ve been able to post! Thankfully, I’ve been busy writing and signing up for some cool work-from-home sites and trying to get some of the widgets on here, unsuccessfully I see.