Red Pork and Cabbage with Beets

A one skillet meal of sautéed red vegetables--beets, cabbage, and radishes--with a bit of pork for protein. I nicknamed this low carb grain free meal Red Power Dish.

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It's interesting how my consumption of the news has changed. I remember when I was a kid Sunday morning was for piling up on my folks' bed and reading the paper. Primarily I read the Sunday comic section and accompanying magazine. I don't think I paid any attention to the daily paper the rest of the week, unless I had a project for school.

Mardi Gras Bread

This festive bread is naturally colored with sweet potatoes and green tea to make a sweet braided loaf that's fun and nutritious. A wholesome way to let the good times roll.

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One of the awesome joys of being part of a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share is getting my mittens on brilliantly colored vegetables, then playing around with them to make neat things. Often, if you're not already enjoying a farm share or farmer's market, I'll tell you you're S.O.L. in terms of finding unique vegetables.

Not this time. You could hit a regular grocery store and make this bread.

For more recipes using sweet potatoes, please see my Sweet Potato Recipe Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me whose farmers grow delicious sweet potatoes that end up hanging out in my Strategic Winter Squash Reserve waiting to jump into game day appetizers and chili. Want more recipe ideas? Follow me on Pinterest. Want interesting articles that catch my eye? Follow my FB page. Want snapshots of my day? Follow me on Instagram. Want to know How To Use This Blog? Want to come clean my house? Pretty please?

Glazed Orange Poppyseed Muffins #MuffinMonday

These bright sweet muffins have a snappy crunch when you bite into them. The orange juice and zest pairs nicely with poppy seeds and makes a sweet addition to a morning tea break, knitting club, or after school snack.

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Poppy seeds are not something I typically keep in my kitchen. I got out of the habit of eating them when I was in the military and subject to random drug testing. No desire for false positives--no muffin is worth that. How did I get from muffins to drug testing in a single paragraph? Back to poppy seeds, because it is #MuffinMonday and I've got poppy seeds on my brain.

Here's the thing (also the title of my current favorite podcast to listen to while working out in the basement)--I know oranges + poppy seeds rock the Salmon in the Company of Good Oranges. It stood to reason (in my mind) that, having a crisper drawer full of juice oranges and a container of poppy seeds left from an annual bowlful of pasta, I could swap the citrus in a poppy seed muffin.

I looked around online for Lemon Poppyseed Muffins Using Buttermilk. (I'm working on a soaked oat and buttermilk bread recipe and had plenty on hand. When it's 25 cents for a half gallon you tend not to hoard.) I didn't see anything that appealed, so I consulted my trusty red checkered Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book. I found a poppy seed muffin recipe that I used as a guideline for these tasty gems.

For more recipes using oranges, from a Marching Band Fruit Fundraiser or just because they are in season and on sale, please see my Orange Recipes Collection. It's part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks like me who have an alarming tendency to go big when it comes to seasonal produce. I'm sharing seasonal recipes on my FB page, pinning them to my Pinterest boards, and even giving you a taste of what's coming up on my Instagram feed. Want to know How to Use This Blog?

Sriracha Butternut Squash & Portobello Pizza

Spicy sriracha-seasoned grilled butternut squash and portobello mushrooms make a winter vegetarian pizza with a kick. You can break out the grill for this one if you dare.

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I'm pulling out another long-storing butternut squash from the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve for today's pizza. Friday nights are pizza nights around here, and I like to change it up to keep things spicy. Sriracha-spicy, that is.

The Sriracha I use is locally produced, House Made Sriracha. Until I started eating locally grown fruits and vegetables, and then eggs and beef, I never really thought about locally made sauces. It's neat how your horizons get expanded just by the simple act of choosing where to source your salad greens.

Shrimp Taco Bowls with Roasted Butternut Squash

A fresh way to spice up a winter salad, these taco bowls are filled with spicy shrimp and taco-seasoned roasted butternut squash cubes. The components can be made ahead and assembled when you're ready to eat.

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Winter squash are one of the gems of the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share. These long-storing vegetables (mine hang out in the Strategic Winter Squash Reserve for 3 to 4 months) can be roasted and pureed and added to anything from muffins [Herbed Butternut Squash and Cottage Cheese Muffins] to soup  [Stupefyingly Simple Butternut Squash, Chicken, and Rice Soup] to waffles [Butternut Squash Waffles]. They can be peeled and cubed or sliced for a colorful side dish [Colorful Roasted Squash & Potatoes] or main dish [Roasted Winter Squash Tacos]. While I am not usually in the mood for peeling acorn squash, it's a dream to cube up a butternut squash. Alanna has an excellent tutorial here. Heck, you can even buy it peeled, cubed, and ready to go if you need.

I was envisioning a seafood version of taco night, and looking to my Strategic Winter Squash Reserve for inspiration, when I decided to toss butternut squash cubes with taco seasoning and add them to a taco salad. The chunks added a nice flavor and texture contrast to our bowls, which is always appreciated in a winter salad. The shrimp kept things interesting, and with the color palette you can tell this is not your typical taco salad.

I'd like to point out that, by spending some time putting up produce when it's ripe, we can eat locally-grown produce year round. In this recipe I've use home-canned salsa verde, tomato salsa, and pickled peppers. If you've never tried canning, Food In Jars is a terrific book, and website, to help take the intimidation factor out of trying a new technique. Pick Your Own is another terrific resource.

For more recipes using butternut squash, please see my Buttercup/Butternut Squash Recipe Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. This index is for folks like me looking for something a little different to do with the piles of squash stockpiled in the basement, or wherever you find yourself hoarding these terrific keepers. I've got a Pinterest board devoted to the squash recipes I find around the web, and I contribute to Laura's Winter Squash Lovin' board. Follow me on Pinterest for more recipe ideas.  Want to see what's up in my day? Follow me on Instagram. Want to read something that I thought worthy to share? Follow and Like my Facebook page. Want to know How To Use This Blog?

Chocolate Cherry Beet Brownies

These fudgy brownies are topped with dried cherries and white chocolate chips, stuffed with beets, and a divinely sweet way to enjoy beets from the farm share.

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My son had a school project--to make a recipe utilizing a vegetable, document it, and write it up for submission.  Sounds like a blog post, no? Especially fitting for a blog that provides ideas and inspiration for feeding family-friendly recipes using seasonal ingredients from the Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farm share, the farmer's market, and the garden.


I had plenty of beets from the farm share (and had not discovered this amazing Beet, Orange and Cranberry Smoothie) so I asked him to find a recipe using beets.  He found this Fudgy Dark Chocolate Beet Brownies recipe from Pinch and Swirl. I gave my thumbs up and then sat back and filmed him for his project. Leaving my kid to figure it out on his own (to be clear, the instructions in the recipe were excellent and my son followed them easily) helps create independence in the kitchen. This in turn creates independence in life, which is what I want in a kid I'm raising. I wanted to make these brownies a wee bit seasonally festive, so I had him add a topping of dried cherries and white chocolate chips before baking.


I originally was going to share this recipe for #ChristmasWeek but got distracted with My Scottish Grandma's Shortbread and decided that they'd be an excellent Valentine's day treat. Perhaps as the finish for a kid-made meal of Baked Ravioli Valentines? Just a suggestion. I'm all about the suggestions here.

Want more suggestions for beets? Try my Beet Recipes Collection, part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient. This is a resource for folks like me trying to feed them family from the farm share without getting bogged down in the same old same old. Want more recipe ideas? I've got 'em on my Pinterest boards. I'm sharing them on my FB page. I'm finding them on Instagram. Want to know How to Use this Blog?

Baked Ravioli Valentines

Heart-shaped cheese-filled ravioli dipped in a tangy sauce and coated with seasoned breadcrumbs, then baked. Serve with sauce to dunk and you've got a kid friendly vegetarian Valentine's day meal.

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After sharing the contents of my fridge--as is--on my Instagram feed and Facebook page I figured I'd pan back from the tight Polish Pottery hearts photo to instead show the real state of one of my cookbook shelves.

For the past few years we've been eating this simple supper on Valentine's day. It's festive, but easy to get in the oven and it cooks quickly. I usually don't take photos--after all, I just picked up the package of ravioli at Costco and didn't make them myself--but I figured I'd share since the idea is a simple and good one. I got the idea from this recipe.

Sauerkraut and Summer Sausage Pizza

Ball park flavors in a home made pizza. This pie takes the sausage & sauerkraut combo and tops it with smoked mozzarella for a new twist on pizza night. If you've got holiday leftovers you're nearly ready to bake.

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In addition to the chocolate oranges, My Mother's Lefse and the Swedish meatballs, another traditional holiday food is a beef stick or summer sausage. If I don't get one, I pick one up at the store. A quick snack of a few slices of sausage + cheese + crackers + fruit is a welcome treat this time of year.

The sauerkraut is a slightly different topping for pizza. I was inspired to use it watching the folks at Dewey's Pizza make a ball park pizza using mustard as sauce and topping with bratwurst and kraut. It tasted pretty darn awesome, and I wanted to make a version at home. When I learned that folks around the region eat sauerkraut during the holidays and at New Year's, I figured I had my topping combo for a pizza. Getting a marked down ball of smoked mozzarella from the fancy cheese counter was just bonus, you know?

Easy Chile Relleno Dip

This hot, spicy, cheesy vegetarian dip has the flavor of a cheese-stuffed chile pepper similar to a jalapeño popper without all the fuss (or the jalapeños).  Salsa verde provides the heat in a smooth dip great for parties and game day snacking.

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I know I'm supposed to be all "eat healthier in the New Year" but the fact is that New Year's Resolutions, made during the post holiday let down while you're hungover from too much akavit, don't stick.

Small changes do stick. (Here's a link to how I increased the number of servings of fruits and vegetables over the course of my deployment. Here's another link to tips for increasing the amount of vegetables throughout your day.)

My small change for today is to offer a vegetarian alternative for your game day snack spread, evening cocktail party, or Cinco de Mayo fiesta.  While this recipe may not qualify as healthy, my grandmas--born around the turn of the previous century--would recognize the ingredients used to make it.

I tried my first Chile Relleno in Cody, Wyoming over the summer vacation. A roasted Hatch chile stuffed with Monterey Jack cheese, dipped in an egg batter, fried, then covered in a sauce made from more roasted chiles. And more cheese. I've ordered that dish twice more since we came home, made the flavor combo into a pizza even, but didn't think about making it into a dip until I spied twin warming trays at a holiday party. Little signs labelled one tray Buffalo Chicken Dip and the other Jalapeño Popper Dip. 

It was like dueling hot spicy cheesy dips--one for omnivores, one friendly to vegetarians. What a brilliant idea.

For more awesome veggie apps and snacks, please see my Pinterest board. For more game day snacks, just use the search bar on the sidebar to search for 'game day snacks'. For more recipes using Hatch chiles, please see my Hatch Chile Recipes Collection. For more recipes using tomatillos, please see my Tomatillo Recipe Collection. These are part of the Visual Recipe Index by Ingredient, a resource for folks trying to support their local producers by sourcing winter game day snacks out of produce grown locally during the summer.