SEED: The Untold Story (Official Theatrical Trailer) from Collective Eye Films on Vimeo.

This is a new documentary that a film school friend of mine, Taggart Siegel, made. This looks like it’s going to be amazing. I can’t wait to see it. It’s coming to theaters across the country.

 I love seeds! They’re fascinating and are the most basic part of all of life. Please check it out if you can. This is a very important film because there are greedy bastage corporations, who, for the past several years have been trying to patent the entirety of seeds. They’re doing it so they can control the food supply. If you control the food supply, you control the people. Fuck that. Check out this very important and amazing looking film at a theatre near you! 

Sweet Peppers and Eggs

On chilly mornings I love turn the oven on to warm up the kitchen while we make coffee. I like making roasted peppers and eggs so I don’t waste valuable oven heat. This is delicious and very easy. I had a bunch of extra peppers left from a bag of multi colored peppers I bought for a Bacon Wrapped Jalapeño dish I made for a party, (recipe coming soon) So I made this. 

Rough chop a bunch of sweet peppers and any spicy peppers you have, along with a couple chopped tomatoes and shallots or small sweet onions. Add a crushed and chopped garlic clove, drizzle with olive oil and a sprinkle of Italian seasoning and maybe a pinch of red pepper flakes if you like it spicy. Toss it all together and add to small baking dishes. Bake at 350 until the peppers start to roast and the tomatoes become a bit bubbly, about 15 to 20 min. Take the dishes out of the oven and crack an egg into each one. Bake another 5 minutes or so until the egg is cooked the way you like. 

Serve with toast. Yum.

Meyer Lemon Ginger Honey Lemonade

This is one of my all time favorite beverages besides water or beer. This lemonade will help cure a cold! Ginger is a powerful antiviral and anti-inflammatory. Also, this is a great tonic if you have any kind of stomach ailment. The heat of the spicy ginger kills bad bugs in your gut. I drink it because the combination of sweet honey, tart lemon and spicy ginger is so yum! I need to make more of this today because now I'm craving it.

Slice a big piece of ginger root, about 3 or 4 inches, and simmer in 4-6 cups of water for 35 to 45 minutes. Cool to lukewarm, then add 4 tablespoons fresh local honey*. Strain into a pitcher of of ice. Add fresh lemon slices and lots of fresh lemon juice. I used Meyer lemons from the tree in our back yard. I love my Meyer lemon tree! I've had it for a long time and it's a great plant. 

*Locally produced honey supposedly helps with allergies when the spring bloom happens. It has to do with bees & pollen and science. Or it's a wives tale. I'm not sure. It seems to work for me though. I used to have terrible spring allergies and they're not so bad anymore. I buy it at the health food store or the farmers market. If the trees are budding out where you live and you're sneezing your face off, get some locally produced honey. This would be honey where the bees and the hive are in your neighborhood or thereabouts, maybe within a 100 mile radius? Not positive. Anyway, we drizzle it on ice cream and oatmeal and use it to sweeten home made salad dressing. Bees are awesome. 

Edible Landscape Update, Dec 6, 2013

We have so much beautiful Radicchio growing in our front garden. It's such a gorgeous plant! Each radicchio head takes a slightly different shape and one is prettier than the next. This plant grows in cool temps, but  can handle a bit of warm weather too. I let it flower during the summer, and then go to seed. Now we have volunteer Radicchio all over this one section of the front garden. It's got a slightly bitter taste and is so delicious. Now that daytime temps are nice and cold, all of our garden greens are doing really well. I have them growing in any sunny spot thats free. I love Winter because I rarely have to buy salad greens until spring. It's really fun to go outside with the salad spinner and cut fresh greens for lunch.

The last picture in this set is the salad I made for lunch. In addition to the radicchio, I cut some spinach greens, baby red chard, red leaf lettuce, green kale and some dill leaves. To dress the salad I rubbed the bowl with a smashed open garlic clove, chopped 1 tblsp of sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, drizzled with a tblsp or 2 of of balsamic vinegar and seasoned with salt and pepper. I also added a little crumbled feta cheese for briny creaminess. This was delicious and so fresh!

Smoky and Spicy Sweet Potato & Black Bean Empanadas

These Sweet Spicy empanadas are so delicious! I make the pastry with cream cheese, butter and extra fine pastry flour.  It's just like the pastry crust my Mom makes for her Christmas kolachy cookies. Yum! I decided to use the kolachy cookie pastry and added some smoked paprika and chili powder as an experiment to make it savory and spicy. It came out so delicious.

I'm making these for a party. Empanadas are great party food because they're delectable little bites that don't cost a whole lot to make, so you can feed a crowd for very little money.

In a food processor, cream together 2 sticks butter, 1 package cream cheese.  Add 2 cups sifted flour and 1 tsp salt, along with a little smoked paprika and chili powder (optional)

For the Sweet Potato and Black Bean filling, saute 2 chopped sweet potatoes, 1 sweet onion, 2 cloves garlic, minced, 1 or 2 carrots, 2 stalks of celery,1 chopped Jalapeno pepper, 1 red bell pepper from the garden, fresh chopped cilantro, fresh chopped parsley, salt and pepper, smoked paprika, Ancho chili powder, 1/2 cup raisins, 1 can of rinsed and drained black beans, 1/4 cup chopped olives, and 2 tblsp worcestershire sauce. 

Let the filling cool down in the fridge while you roll out the pastry and cut it into circles. 

Fill each pastry disk with about 1 tsp filling and crimp the edges with a fork or crimp and roll them with your fingers. I prefer this method because it's more fun. Stick the top of the empanadas with the tip of a knife forming air holes for steam to escape.

Brush the empanadas with a scrambled egg wash and bake for 15 to 20 minutes until piping hot and delicious. Serve with salsa and guacamole.  

Harvested a gazillion lemons from my friends tree. These will be sent to friends and family who are sick of winter, and I might have to make some ginger lemonade. Yum!

Lemony Kale Spaghetti

This is delicious, easy, healthy, and very inexpensive if you're already growing kale and basil. You can swap out any garden greens, like chard or spinach, for the kale in this recipe. I used spaghetti, but you can use any kind of pasta you like.

Here's how I made this delicious dish.

Boil a pot of salted water for pasta.

In a separate skillet, saute 1 chopped shallot in a little olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Wash, stem and chop any kind of kale, I used curly kale. Add it to the skillet and sauté. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions.

Keep stirring and cooking your kale until it's cooked to desired doneness, I like mine to be cooked, but not mushy, and still have a bite to it. So I only cooked mine for about 10 minutes total.

Squeeze the juice from 1/2 lemon over the kale in the skillet. Add a big handful of fresh chopped basil. Drain the noodles and toss them with the lemony kale. 

Serve with parmesan cheese, a drizzle of olive oil and lemon wedges. Yum!

Whole Wheat Fruit Salad Pancakes

The batter for these pancakes includes mashed banana and whole blueberries. Then you cook them and top with chopped fresh fruit. Mmm. This was a delicious and very satisfying breakfast on a day when we were out of toast.

The basic recipe is...

Miix with a fork: 1 mashed ripe banana, 1 cup milk, 1 egg, 1 tsp vanilla and 1 tsp canola oil.

Sift the dry ingredients into the egg mixture:  1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tsp baking powder.

Add blueberries and cook on a hot griddle on both sides. Flip when the first side forms bubbles and becomes a bit dry at the edge.

Serve with lots of fruit salad, garnish with maple syrup or plain yogurt.

Yummy. My husband's favorite.

washing vegetables for fennel radicchio slaw

Black Rice and Wilted Chard Salad with Cilantro Dressing

This was our lunch today and it was really delicious. I used leftover cooked rice from dinner last night, and chard from the front garden. It's starting to get hot here so I'm trying to use up as much of the garden chard as possible, before it starts to bolt and set seed. The watermelon radishes are from the garden too! It's my first time growing these and they're beautiful, peppery and delicious.

Cook black rice or any rice in broth or stock. Mince one shallot. Heat a skillet to medium, add olive oil and the chopped shallot, season with salt and pepper. Let this cook for a few minutes. Stem and chop rainbow or red chard. Add the chopped greens to the skillet, stir it around, cover and cook until wilted and cooked through.

For the cilantro dressing: In a blender mix 1 cup plain yogurt, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 tsp rice vinegar, 1 minced garlic clove, about 1/2 cup of de stemmed cilantro leaves, 1 tsp honey, salt & pepper. Blend and slowly add olive oil, about 3 tblsp. 

Toos the cooked rice with the wilted greens and dress with the cilantro dressing. In the background is Sweet Beet and Mango salad. (Recipe below.) Yummy!

Sweet Beet, Mango and Arugula Salad with Garlicky Meyer Lemon Dressing

This is a very simple recipe that lets the flavors of the ingredients shine through. The arugula and nasturtiums in this photo are from our edible back yard. The peppery arugula and nasturtiums compliment the sweet and tangy veggies and fruits.  This salad is delicious and very healthy!

Wash and cook beets. I used golden and red beets and cooked them in a pot of simmering water for about 45 minutes. You could also roast them in the oven. Once they're cooked, let them cool, peel and chop into small squares or any way you like. Chop fresh mango. 

Wash and spin salad greens. Make a dressing with the juice of 1 meyer lemon, 1 tsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp honey, 1 smashed open garlic clove (if you let it sit in the dressing, it'll flavor it just enough), salt and pepper,  pinch of dried basil. 

Place the chopped beets and mango on the bed of arugula, dress with the garlicky lemon dressing, garnish with any edible flowers you have. Yummy!

Kale Chips

I know, I know, every food blogger, magazine and Gwenyth Paltrow in the world is making these. But I have a ton of kale growing in my garden. And they're damn good. And easy. And as far as chips go, kinda sorta healthy. These go great with any kind of sandwich. Here's how:

Heat oven to 375. Wash & dry some fresh kale (you can do this with any kind, this picture is Red Kale).  Remove the stems & toss in a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, kosher salt & fresh ground pepper.

Spread the kale leaves in a single layer on a cookie sheet and bake for about 5-10 minutes, stirring them around here and there for even cooking. Serve with sandwiches or dip.

Whole Roast Chicken

It saves a lot to buy a whole chicken, it's easy to cook, and makes the house smell yummy on a cool autumn day. And then you have leftovers. Leftovers rule!! because most of your work is already done for the next meal. Yayy to less work.

Here's how to make a whole roast chicken ( I buy free range, organic chicken):

Remove the package of gizzards & neck, use those for chicken stock or discard.

Rinse the chicken w/ cold water, dry with kitchen towels, rub it inside and out with salt, pepper, chopped garlic, dried tarragon (or any favorite herbs), and lemon juice. Put 1 cup of water in the bottom of the roasting pan. Roast your chicken @ 350 for 1 1/2 hours or more until it reaches 160 in the thickest part of the thigh. I basted mine a few times and had it tented with foil for the first hour of cooking.

For the gravy, put the cooked chicken on a platter to rest. Skim some of the fat from the top of the pan juices, add 1/2 cup water or stock, and cook on the stove to dissolve any flavorful bits from the pan. Add 1 tblsp flour or corn starch whisked into a 1/4 cup water and heat to thicken.

Serve with mashed potatoes, pan gravy, sweet potatoes, green beans, & sauteed spinach or bread stuffing. 

Yum, I think I have to make this again for Sunday dinner.

Cranberry Curried Chicken Salad

The other night we made a whole roast chicken for dinner. It was really delicious. I used cranberries in this recipe because I was out of raisins. Sometimes it's good to run out of an ingredient & make yourself experiment with substitutions. 

Chop about 1 cup of cooked chicken, add 2 chopped celery stalks, 2 shredded carrots, 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion, 1/4 cup dried cranberries, fresh chopped parsley, 1/4 cup mayo, 1/2 cup plain yogurt, pinch of cayenne, 1/2 tsp curry powder, juice of 1/2 lemon, celery salt and pepper.

Mix it all together and serve on a salad or toasted bread.

Perfect Banana Pancakes

This recipe was easy, light, & fluffy. I usually don't go for sweets at breakfast, I prefer savory things. But, I made these for my husband because he really likes sweets and especially loves bananas. A mashed banana added to the batter results in a wonderful, light, bananafluff texture. Who knew? This was my first time making this and I can't wait to make it again.

Mash 1 banana in a bowl. Add 1 cup milk, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1 egg, and 1 tsp canola oil and mix with a fork.

In another bowl sift 1 cup flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tblsp sugar, and 2 tsp baking powder.

Add the wet mix into the dry. Heat a griddle to med - high, brush with butter and cook the pancakes on both sides until done. Serve with fresh fruit, powdered sugar and maple syrup. YUM!

Not Too Kale-y   Kale Hash and Eggs

The new food trend is to rave about how delicious kale is. It's ok. It has tremendous health benefits!! That's the real reason to eat it. If you can make it taste less kale-y, then you win. This hash has onions, apples and leftover baked potato in it. Yum!! Those things all taste great and they make healthy old kale taste soooo good.

Chop 1 leftover baked potato and saute in 1 tblsp butter in a skillet. Add 1/2 chopped onion and saute till the onion softens. Add 1 chopped apple and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and some chopped green kale. Season with salt & pepper, 1/4 tsp sugar, a pinch of cinnamon, dried basil, garlic powder and celery salt. 

Cook all these together till golden brown. Scoot all the cooked veggies to the sides of the skillet and crack an egg in the center, maybe use a little more butter so it doesn't stick. Flip the egg and serve it all with a sprinkle of smoked paprika. 

Not too kaley at all.

Turkey & Vegetable Sloppy Joe's

This is healthy and soooo delicious! I literally had to stop myself from eating bite after bite so I could take the picture. You can make it vegan by substituting Morningstar Crumbles instead of turkey.

I like lots of veggies in my Sloppy Joes. I made these open faced using a half burger bun leftover from yesterday's Big Mac recipe.

Sloppy Joes are so easy, there's no need to buy canned sauce. 

Chop 1 onion, 1 red bell pepper, 2 carrots, & 2 celery stalks. Saute in a skillet with a tblsp olive oil, salt and pepper. Add 1/2 package of leanest ground turkey and 2 smashed garlic cloves. Let the meat cook. Add 1 can of organic tomato sauce and 3/4 cup BBQ sauce. Season with 1 tsp smoked paprika and 1/2 tsp Ancho chili powder. Taste it once the turkey is all the way cooked. If it's not sweet enough to your liking, add 1 tblsp brown sugar and a bit more salt and pepper. I also added a chopped patty pan squash to mine because I have so many of them in the garden. 

Serve on whole wheat burger buns. Yummy!