This is the real deal.
This is what free range really means. And thanks to Kinderhook Farm and our amazing farmstay, we were able to experience what just-laid eggs really taste like.
Holy deliciousness, Batman.
Stay tuned for more details about our farmstay...
Olive Oil Blueberry cake!
I've got a sweet tooth but funny enough, I really don't like things that are too sweet. I'm all about the hint of sweet. So when I came across this recipe from Saveur for Olive Oil Quatre Quarts with Chopped Fruit, it looked right up my alley.
First of all, it has no dairy, which is a huge bonus for a dairy free gal like me. Second of all, I just love the flavor of olive oil desserts. I had everything on hand for this recipe and it was easy enough to whip up while my kiddos were nodding off to sleep last night. I made two changes to the original recipe – I used blueberries instead of peaches or plums, and I used a very fragrant olive oil instead of a bland and sweet variety, as the recipe called for. Yum-oh.
I initially cut this into squares because it's such a dense, rich cake and I thought it would be best in small portions. But alas... the squares were bite sized and perfect and I just kept popping them into my mouth! So I cut larger slices to stop myself from eating the entire cake!
I had a slice for breakfast this morning, truth be told! We all need departures from the healthy norm, eh? Scroll down for the recipe as I've slightly modified it (and special thanks to Saveur for the original recipe!).
I began with olive oil from Frankies 457 - my favorite!
The batter came together quickly
Fold in the egg whites
Chock full of juicy blueberries! And cooked in parchment paper to reduce cleanup time.
More batter and more blueberries.
Oh, sweet (not too sweet!) deliciousness.
INGREDIENTS
3/4 cup of sugar
3/4 cup of fruity extra-virgin olive oil
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pint blueberries
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line an 8x8 dish with parchment paper.
2. Measure the sugar and place in a mixing bowl. Remove a two tablespoons of the sugar and set aside. Add the olive oil and beat with a hand mixer until combined.
3. Separate the eggs. Add the yolks to the olive oil mixture and put the whites aside. Mix in the yolks. Slowly add the flour to the olive oil mixture, making sure to mix thoroughly before adding more. Add the salt and vanilla extract. Set the batter aside.
4. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites to soft peaks. Add the two tablespoons of sugar that had been set aside and continue to beat. Slowly fold into the batter using a spatula.
5. Pour half the batter into the 8x8 dish. Rinse the blueberries and pat them dry. Add about 3/4 of the pint on top of the batter and pour the remainder of the batter over them. Place the remaining 1/4 pint of blueberries on top. Bake for approximately 45 minutes.
Enjoy!
My nephew left for sleepaway camp on Sunday for the first time.
I was an aunt for five years before I became a mom and am a firm believer that being an aunt is one of the greater roles that life has to offer. I had a regular babysitting gig with my nephew for a while and learned some tricks of the trade that helped me enormously when I had kids of my own. For example, placing an infant on his belly with the soft part against your shin bones is a great way to get rid of gas. Frozen peas are much tastier than cooked ones. Eating too many blueberries before a bumpy car trip is a recipe for disaster. Being able to quickly spot tiny images on street signs/restaurant signs and the like vaults you to rock star status. And for picky eaters (my nephew falls into that category) renaming certain foods makes them much more appealing.
It's easy to forget so many things about being a kid and about kids in general before you're a parent. But caring for someone without the responsibility of parenting him brings back the magic of discovery and optimism that propels us forward. And for that, I am incredibly grateful.
My nephew - almost a decade ago!
My nephew had been a cheese lover since the minute it touched his lips. He's not a lover of all cheeses but the cheese that he does love, he loves deeply. He still does at age 12. He also loved eggs but in general was the kind of kid who preferred each item to be separate on his plate. While watching him one afternoon, I decided to make something familiar and delicious, yet new. It's something that aunts can get away with much more easily than moms. I've learned this the hard way.
Enter: The Chegg.
Chegg with berries
It's a flat fried egg (yolk broken, but not scrambled evenly and fried in a pan) with melted cheese on top. Cheese Egg. ChEgg! It's the easiest thing - and terrific for breakfast, lunch or dinner. My nephew LOVED it. He loved the word Chegg (I presented it with much fanfare). And a decade ago, Chegg became an official word in my family.
It's something that my own family has manually added to our Food Library in LaLa Breakfast. By the way, the Chegg is not the same as the Chomelette. A Chomelette is a scrambled egg folded over (as a classic omelette is prepared) with cheese in the middle. I got lots of Cool Aunt points for making that distinction.
This morning, in honor of my nephew and to celebrate how very far he's come and how very proud I am to be his aunt, I made a Chegg.
I'm back from vacation. It's seriously amazing what a few days away can do to the mind and body. I took two naps! TWO!
This morning, my lovely husband took the lion's share of kid-care responsibilities so that I could get in a run at the gym. This is good news for him, of course, because I'm not a good companion if I go too long without a workout. It was a quick run, but a satisfying one. And all kidding aside, it went well because I was properly caffeinated.
Upon my return home, I threw together what my tastebuds called out for and to my surprise, it was delicious. This post-workout salad has just four ingredients: wheat berries, avocado, fresh sage and lemon. Last night I cooked a big old batch of wheat berries to use in a variety of salads all week. And as I've mentioned before, I'm pretty much obsessed with avocados these days. I have fresh sage in the house to use on tonight's roasted chicken thighs and lemons are a kitchen staple I cannot live without. Check it out:
Incredibly satisfying after a run!
I find the chewiness of wheat berries to be incredibly satisfying. They are versatile and can be a great addition to sweet ensembles (think: cinnamon and fruit) as well as savory salads. How perfect does that avocado look?! It tasted great too; earthy with a slight give. The fresh sage was the wild card. I had my doubts about it and made just a small batch of this salad but it came together so pleasantly. The sage gave this salad a wonderful fruitiness. Fresh lemon juice and a bit of salt completed the dish.
After my run this morning, this salad had everything I needed; richness from the avocado, fiber from the wheat berries and a lightness from the sage and lemon. And it was ready in minutes. Perfect.
Here's the exact recipe as I made it:
1 cup cooked wheat berries
1/4 avocado, cubed
2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Salt to taste
Mix all ingredients and enjoy immediately!
We are going away for the holiday weekend. Yay! For me, part of vacation planning includes using up the food in my house that will go bad while we're gone. I hate wasted food, so finding great last minute uses for it makes me really pleased.
The Fridge-Emptying Salad! So satisfying to know that food will not be wasted when we leave town.
As I looked inside my fridge last night, I saw a bunch of kale, some baby arugula, one lemon and some cilantro that had to get used plus the last third of my favorite whole wheat bread on the counter. Those ingredients, plus a couple of household staples created a delicious salad for last night's dinner. This salad hit the spot because it had earthiness from the kale, crunch from the croutons, tartness from lemon juice, bitterness from the arugula, salt from the olives and the special secret ingredient that added the needed sweetness – raisins from Peeled Snacks!
Check it out (complete recipe below the photos):
Best wishes for a happy and healthy July 4th weekend!
First, I cut the whole wheat bread into crouton chunks and put them into a mixing bowl.
Next, I drizzled the bread with my favorite Frankies 457 olive oil and tossed with a sliced shallot.
I spread the croutons out on parchment paper and baked at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
At the same time, I sliced my bunch of kale, drizzled with olive oil and spread it onto parchment paper. I roasted it at 375 for 15 minutes.
I assembled the salad by tossing the kale with arugula, green olives (that I sliced), 1/4 cup of my favorite raisins from Peeled Snacks and fresh chopped cilantro. I squeezed fresh lemon juice and sprinkled with salt and pepper and tossed in the croutons and roasted shallots at the very end. YUM.
The Fridge-Emptying Salad
1 bunch of kale, sliced
3 tablespoons of olive oil
3 cups baby arugula
8 green olives, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup raisins (My favorite are the Raisin Expectations from Peeled Snacks)
2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro
Juice from one lemon
Whole Wheat Croutons (recipe below)
Salt and pepper to taste
Spread the sliced kale onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and drizzle with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil. Roast in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until edges are crispy.
Toss roasted kale with baby arugula, olives, raisins and cilantro until all ingredients are nicely distributed. Add lemon juice and the remaining olive oil and toss once again. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and top with homemade croutons and roasted shallot slices.
Whole Wheat Croutons
Whole wheat bread cut into chunks (I love the Pain Complet from Eric Kayser)
2 tablespoons olive oil (I swear by Frankies 457)
1 shallot, sliced
Place bread chunks into a mixing bowl and toss with olive oil. Add sliced shallot, toss again and let it sit for about 10 minutes so that the flavor of the shallot has a chance to penetrate the bread. Spread onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and bake at 375 for approximately 15 minutes.