Watermelon Gazpacho

During one of our stays at our beloved Keswick Hall (in Charlottesville, VA), the Villa chef made a delicious version of this cold soup for lunch. It was love at first bite (sip? slurp?) and I was determined to find or create a similar recipe when we got home. After a little experimenting, and using other recipes I found as guides, here is my final product. We love it, and think it tastes even better if you let the flavors meld overnight (the onion mellows the longer it sits, so don't freak out if it's strong when you first make it). So easy, light, fresh, healthy, and delicious, everyone should put some Watermelon Gazpacho on their menu for the week. Great as an appetizer, first course, BBQ side, or paired with a panini.

Watermelon Gazpacho

1 large tomato, chopped
1 serrano chili seeded and chopped (in lieu of this, you can use 1/2 t red pepper flakes)
3 cups watermelon, chopped or balled
1/4 cup sweet onion (or less, if you don't like an oniony after-taste), chopped
1 small cucumber peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded, and chopped
1/8 cup fresh mint leaves
3 T fresh lime juice
2 T raspberry wine vinegar

Use an immersion blender to liquefy all ingredients -OR- blend all ingredients together in small batches using a blender or food processor. Combine all batches, stir well, cover, and refrigerate until serving. Garnish with mint if desired. Tastes even better the second day!

Easy Fall Appetizer | Brie Stuffed Fig Flowers

Appetizers.

Aren't they just the best part of the meal? Ok, maybe not for you dessert lovers, but for those of us who are more salty than sweet, apps can be the height of decadence!

Made a little more challenging since I've gone gluten-free, I'm always thrilled to bits when I find one that is a) easy b) delicious c) seasonal d) full of umami, and e) allergy-friendly. This is just one such treat. Originally inspired by a girl who shared her version in a hygge-cultivation group that I'm a part of, I'm sharing my own take with you below today.

Perfect for a snack, as a part of a charcuterie board (which is often on our dinner menu), or just as a traditional appetizer, this can be modified with different hams (serrano, smoked...), cheeses (gorgonzola, smoked gouda...), balsamics (flavored, or not...my fav. is a cinnamon pear infusion!), and figs (mission, turkish, yellow...). Sky's the limit! 

Brie Stuffed Fig Flowers

This is really so easy, it doesn't need a recipe. :-) But here's the 411:

• Fresh Figs
• Brie (or cheese of choice) cut into 1/2" cubes corresponding to the number of figs you are using
• Prosciutto (or very thinly sliced ham of choice) - each large slice cut in half
• Good quality balsamic vinegar, reduction, or flavored balsamic infusion

Wash figs, slice off stems, and cut a + from the top to the middle of the fruit

Wrap each fig with a piece of ham - crimping as needed to form a "flower"

Place each flower in a mini muffin tin

Open the fig at the top of the +, and gently smoosh the cheese cube down the center

Bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheese is melted and the ham is lightly crisp. Cool for a few moments before removing from pan. Drizzle with balsamic, balsamic reduction, or balsamic infusion just before serving.

Enjoy!

Kale Salads

Ever since kale started making it's early spring appearance on the Farmer's Market scene, I just can't seem to say no to bringing a big beautiful bunch of it home!

Currently, I find myself mixing up huge salads with this bounty that will last us for several days. If you're anything like me, the decision for healthy eating often depends on my ambition level/energy du jour, and some days, I just don't feel like lots of washing, chopping, and tossing! So how nice is it to come home to a ready-made powerhouse of both flavor and nutrition?

The nice thing about kale is that I think it gets even better as it sits bathed in a light dressing...softening in both texture and flavor. Something we'd never dream of with spinach or lettuce! I've had a salad last us 4 or 5 days, and still be just as delicious as mixing day.

There are so many yummy fruit and veggie combinations you could try! The key is finding long lasting compadres for your kale base. For example, I don't like to use tomatoes for my original mix (because we all know refrigerators take every bit of happiness out of a tomato), but I'll toss a few grape tomatoes in just before eating - super easy. Same with most nuts, seeds, or any fruit that looses color after being exposed to air (like apples or pears).

Best part is, for days your salad will be all set for you to use as a side dish, or you can choose to add some meat and bread to quickly turn it into an entre'!

 Here are just a few combos to get your gears turning...

Kale, blue cheese, blueberries, cucumbers, onion, salad burnet. -Adding pumpkin seeds and chicken just before eating

Kale, onion, olives, red pepper, feta, bacon. -Adding tomatoes just before eating

Kale, cucumber, strawberries, quinoa, onion, brie. -Adding cashews just before eating

I usually just use a simple dressing (either evoo/balsamic/salt and pepper or honey/stoneground mustard/water) lightly dress, and massage into the salad. Then cover tightly, refrigerate, and reap the joys of food prep for the coming week!

The White Oak Tea Tavern | Salem, Virginia

One of our favorite haunts has a new home! 

The White Oak Tea Tavern used to live in a centuries old log cabin in Daleville where we became "regulars" nearly since its inception. I even remember going to a White Oak Tea in-home party (before the tavern ever existed!) and tasting Cherry Rose Festival for the first time...it was love at first sip and created a loyalist for life right then and there. ;-)

My husband and I are both self-proclaimed tea enthusiasts, and we were beyond thrilled to discover a tea tavern those many years ago far removed from the teeny cucumber sandwiches that left your tummy rumbling for more, lacy curtains circa great-grandma's house, and floral wallpaper in dizzying abundance. This was a place where men felt just as comfortable as women, you could wear your jeans and a tee shirt to dine, and you left fat and happy!

We love the relaxed pace and friendly atmosphere that owner Kim Arney brings to the tavern, and somehow, teacup in hand, Jesse and I always say we have the best and most focused conversations there. Whenever we had something important to discuss, it was time for a Tea Tavern date... Whenever we had something to celebrate, the Tea Tavern it was again! Whenever it was a gray and rainy Monday, you guessed it: the Tea Tavern made it's way onto our agenda. :-)

Nothing is predictable but change they say, and when we heard that our beloved tavern was going to be moving, our hearts broke a little for all the sweet memories those old log walls held, but Kim assured us that The Old Preston House was full of its own kind of charm, and thanks to our impending move, we'll actually be closer than we were to the Daleville location! Yay!

The grand opening was this Monday, and of course, we wouldn't have missed it for the world. Poking around all the wonderfully unpretentious nooks and crannies, somehow, it already feels like "home". Having much of the same decor helps, and "our" cozy chairs (seriously, shouldn't we get nameplates on them, Kim?! hahaha!) made the move too, much to our delight.

The food, headlined by two delicious chicken salad selections: a savory hot version served in a bread bowl, and a cold sweeter version served on a bed of lettuce (we always get one of each and share) somehow seemed better than ever! But of course the star of the show is their huge selection of delicious tea varieties: black, green, white, herbal, pu-erh, you're sure to find a few (or a dozen) favorites among them. 

 They are open from 10-5 Monday-Saturday, and reservations are no longer needed (except for large groups), so grab some friends and family and plan your visit to The White Oak Tea Tavern soon, we bet you'll become "regulars" in no time!

You can find the new location directly across the street from Walmart on Main St. in Salem.

Waste Not, Want Not

Recently, I've been trying to be more aware of our consumption level (and consequent waste) of food. Though over-buying has never been a problem for us (thanks to never having a pantry or large fridge/freezer), there are still things I find myself regularly throwing away that, with a little extra thought, could be used/consumed/enjoyed and we would consequently be getting the most thorough bang for our food budget buck each week.

It seems that this sort of thinking really comes back to mindfulness...a large pillar in the slow living lifestyle. When we finish with what a recipe requires, we seem to mentally conclude that we're "done" with an ingredient, don't we? Any leftovers are just waste or excess. But they don't have to be!

This week, when I was doing some prep cooking for the coming days, I was really mindful of what was in our refrigerator, and a) what I could do to make it most easily consumed, and b) what I could do to make the best use of the ingredients I bought. Here are a few of my findings:

One of the most-wasted fruits I buy are strawberries. We like strawberries, they just come in a larger package than most fruit, require some prep work, and often by the time we get to the last 4 or 5, they are bruised, mushy, and not consumable. So this week, as soon as I got home from the market I soaked my berries in the vinegar-water solution we use, rinsed them thoroughly, topped and sliced them, and placed them in a glass container to store in the fridge. This makes them easy to see, instantly grabbable and ready-to-use for a snack, to top some yogurt and granola for breakfast, to eat with a little fresh whipped cream for dessert, whatever! The result: we went through the entire box of strawberries with zero waste this week. Win!

Another thing I wanted to tackle was the little bits and bobs left over from recipes...mainly citrus (lemons and limes) and fresh herbs. I use these, forget about them, and then find what's left in the back of a drawer weeks later having died a slow and lonely death. - So this week, as I was making a spring pea soup requiring fresh mint, I used the several sprigs I needed from the package (can't wait to have my own herb garden again!!) and dropped the remaining sprig to two into a pitcher of water in the fridge. Incidentally, I was also cutting up a cucumber for a kale salad, and snuck a few slices of that into the pitcher too. A recipe that called for half of a lemon obligingly donated the other half to our infusion, and the result: we've been enjoying some deliciously refreshing cucumber/mint/lemon water for the last few days with no bits and bobs going to waste!

Bananas: these guys can be rather unpredictable in their ripening habits. Sometimes I find myself with a whole bunch of very ripe, quickly darkening fruit. When that happens, I often peel and freeze them to use later for smoothies - the riper, the better!

Kale is another sometimes-forgotten bottom-drawer-dweller. I'll use what I need for a salad, and then the last bit I didn't use will languish away into eternity. So now what I'm trying to do is to just wash it ALL at the same time. Use what I need for my salad, and then tear the rest into moderate stem-less pieces, dry thoroughly, and store in a paper towel ready to grab for smoothie use. Somehow, having it already washed, and de-stemmed makes all the difference. Plus knowing it's there ready for me keeps it on my radar throughout the week.

Have you found little tips and tricks that helps you use up all your food and leaves you with a cleared out fridge at the end of the week all ready for a fresh filling from the farmer's market? Please share them in the comments!

How to Eat Well Through The Holidays

So this past week, my husband and I had a sudden and urgent craving for vegetables. Like a: "GIVEMEALLTHEGREENTHINGSNOWORIWILLDIE!" kind of craving. We all know how the holidays are... Add in the birthday week of a foodie, and there has been a whole lotta yummy junk goin' on up in here.

And we're feelin' it.

Based on the response I got from my recent post on Facebook (if other people found it really difficult to eat well during the holidays), ya'll are "feelin' it" too! Indulging a bit is a part of the whole culture of the holidays, but too much of a good thing can have you feeling tired, irritable, lethargic, and sick.

While there's no magic wand I can wave to make all of the traditional holiday foods healthful foods, here are a few things that we do to make sure it's not all sugared-gravied-buttered-refined-processed-laden fuel (can we even call that fuel?) that we're giving our poor bodies to run off of for the month of December.

-ONE-

Buy plenty of easy-to-eat (no prep required) veggies and have them washed and ready to grab in your fridge or on your counter when the munchies come a-callin'. 

Examples might be: snow peas/snap peas, baby carrots, pre-cut broccoli and cauliflower florets, pre-cut pepper rings. - You may not normally spring for the slightly more expensive variety of these foods, but during the holidays, anything we can do to a) cut our workload and b) make it easy to eat well is worth it's weight in gold!

-TWO-

Be the one to bring a fruit or veggie tray to holiday pot-lucks. 

That way you'll know there will be some healthful options available, and fill your plate with them, so there's only room left for a cookie or two!

-THREE-

Make veggie-filled meals when you eat at home. 

One of the easiest ways to get those veggies in (and their needed fiber), is to make a soup laden with them. Make a huge pot, and then freeze some for later, or eat off it for several days! This week I made some easy chicken/mushroom/kale soup, and some rutabaga/onion/cabbage stew. Both keep well for ages!

-FOUR-

Prepare some healthy sides one afternoon that you can draw from throughout the week. 

This week I made a large batch of lima beans (no salt, no butter), a double batch of rustic ratatouille, and roasted some cauliflower to toss with dried apricots, mustard, curry, and a little evoo. Another fresh idea is making a large kale salad, which will stay fresh for days! One of our favorites is kale/pomegranate/pecans/blue cheese with a simple aged balsamic drizzle. Sides might not seem like a big deal, but often, when we're busy, I'll make a main dish (meat), but not take the extra time to make some vegetables to go with. When I'm too frazzled to even cook, and end up grabbing some BBQ or a burger to bring home, again, I've got some healthful sides all set to accompany. Or for lunch - if I'm grabbing a sandwich, I'll throw some limas and cauli on the plate along with it. Any way we can easily up the daily vegetable intake, is a good way.

-FIVE-

Green smoothies. 

There are some days when I just need something ALIVE! But it's winter. In the mid-Atlantic. And nothing fresh is very tasty right now. - So I'll dive into my stores of frozen fruit and veggies, and whip up a nice green smoothie. *Remember when you add greens to a smoothie, that you should also add a source of fat to the mix (yogurt, milk, or nut butter all work well) to help your body absorb the vitamin K.

-SIX-

Use a food prep service. 

There are two levels of this little gem that I utilize during the busy seasons of life (I now don't know how I'd survive with food sensitivities and the desire to eat clean without them!). One is a subscription delivery service that is essentially a mise en place. You pick your recipes, and a week later the ingredients arrive on your doorstep in perfectly portioned containers complete with step-by-step instructions. Each meal takes only 30-45 minutes to actually cook, and we've been quite pleased with the complex flavors we've found in the well-developed recipes! I have used: Marley Spoon, Blue Apron, Plated, and Hello Fresh - and would recommend them all (Should I do a comparison post on all of these one day?).

For $40 off a 3-meal box from Hello Fresh CLICK HERE (I think that makes your box $20-ish)

If you'd like to try a FREE box from Blue Apron (I only have 2 available - for new customers), send me your e-mail address, and I'll hook you up!

The second level is utilizing local food prep services that have meals already prepared for you(either cooked, or ready-to-cook). Many of these are locally sourced, organic, allergen conscious, and use clean whole ingredients. - A MUCH better option than usual take-out. Two such services in the Roanoke Valley are:

FPS Roanoke

They focus on simple choose-your-protein/choose your starch/choose your vegetable-meals. Well proportioned, and un-sauced, but with pleasant seasoning blends added. While not gourmet, these are straightforward healthful options at a great price. If you like your food simple, and you want to eat healthy (or follow portion control for some of the more popular diets - south beach, 21 day fix, paleo, etc.), this is a fabulous choice for you. Their customer service is top notch. Bonus: they deliver.

M&K Food Shop

We adore Myles and Karen (the "M" and the "K" behind the magic) and the delicious, innovative food they create. Every couple of weeks their menu changes, and is a la carte. They offer a few entree options (with starch/meat/veg), many individual course options (twice baked potatoes, quiches, stuffed mushrooms, stuffed meat, quinoa patties, etc....), soup and salads by weight/size, and desserts that are all to die for. This has been one of the most allergen-friendly places in town since the day they opened, and I love having SO MANY wonderful options as a gluten free customer every time we go there. Disclaimer: this is more in the category of gourmet comfort food, but there are always veggie and lighter options available. Bonus: they deliver too :-).

I hope these tips help you cruise on through the holidays eating well, and come out the other end on January 2nd not feeling desperately like a detox is in order! Do you have more tips for staying on the healthy train during this time of the year? Please share them in the comments!

Homemade Applesauce

One of the easiest ways to bring fall to life for your nose, is, I think, homemade applesauce simmering away on the stove. Such a cozy comforting smell that tells tales of crisp orchards, and warm evenings by the fireplace, hinting of the holidays to come.

If you've never made it before, it truly is easy as a wink! 

Wash, peel, core, and slice up your apples 

(I like using a variety of apples for depth of flavor)

Throw all of the slices into a pot, and add a smidgen of water to coat the bottom 

(just to keep them from burning before they start releasing their own juice)

Cover

Simmer away on medium-low until soft and falling apart, stirring occasionally.

When they're done, you have a few textural options:

+ Mash with a potato masher or just stir thoroughly with a spoon for a rustic texture (my favorite!)

+ Run through a food mill for a "traditional" applesauce texture

+ Give it a whirl in the blender (after it has cooled a bit) for a super-smooth baby foodish texture

 After that, the options continue! You can leave the sauce as is, add a hearty dose of cinnamon, add honey or sugar if you used tart apples, experiment with other spices (cardamom, nutmeg, ginger, allspice...) - sky's the limit! 

Ohhhhh, and the best part? Savoring that just-made warm applesauce fresh from the stove. A little bit of autumnal heaven partying in your mouth!

  

Enjoy!

Do you make homemade applesauce?