Friday: meatballs!

Oh my daughters both love them some meatballs. Spaghetti and meatballs, again? Sigh! So I know you want the skinny on this recipe dear Grace, so here it is. I am sure everyone else reading has their own recipe, but this one is solely for you my darling.

I use the ancient Cuisineart for mixing up meat stuffs as I can't stand it on my hands that much. I also like what it does for the consistency of the end product. So: in a mixing bowl or food processor:

1 pound of organic, grass fed beef ground - make sure there is some fat in it
1/2 cup of grated fresh breadcrumbs
1 egg
1/2 cup finely chopped onion (you can do this first in the bowl if you are food processing it)
2 tsp. salt
2 tsp fresh ground pepper
1 tsp basil dried
1 tsp oregano dried
2 cloves minced garlic

Mix up this mess good and smooth. Then - pull out a cookie sheet or baking pan. Yup, I bake them. It must be against the rules but this is how I do it.

Form small balls of the mixture and put them on the pan. Coarsely chop another sweet onion (yes, indeed we eat a lot of onions in our house if you have been following along and paying attention) and sprinkle that between the meat. Drizzle a 1/3 cup of olive oil over the entire pan and grind some more pepper on top to dust them.

Bake for 45 minutes in a 350F oven. Let cool and then add to your sauce mix. I like them to cook slowly with the sauce for a good two hours or more. Can't hurt.

The onions are nice in the sauce too as they have baked and take on a nice flavor. Serve over some pasta of your choice or make them into a sandwich with a good baguette. I know you can get a good baguette in France! Bon Appetit!

Thursday: the healing soup

Oh the nasty bugs continue to roam our part of New Hampshire with a vengeance and that calls for soup. Healing soup! Get your soup pot on and add in:

1 Tablespoon of vegetable soup base (i love organic better than bullion) or start with homemade soup broth.(recipe coming)
2 quarts of filtered water
1/2 tsp tumeric
2 cloves of crushed garlic
1 sprig of rosemary

Let simmer. In another pan saute two sweet onions in small dice until translucent.

Add the onions in to the pot along with:

2 carrots cut into a small circles
2 small diced sweet potatoes
1 small bunch of kale chopped very small
1 or 2 leaves of fresh basil
1 cup of cut corn
3 small red potatoes diced
5 thinly sliced baby portabello mushrooms
and salt and pepper to taste

When all the root veggies are tender, add in a handful or two of brown basmati rice. Cook until rice is done and enjoy with your favorite bread!

Wednesday: Beans and Greens

The old standby: Beans and Greens. I started making this about 20 years ago after eating in an Italian resturant somewhere near Syracuse New York. It takes little time and effort, yet comes out delish every single time. How to make?

One or two large bunches of greens. This one pictured features beet greens and was great. Other more traditional choices might be kale or swisschard. Get the freshest you can ...

Trim the greens and cut into 2 inch sections.

Put 1/2 cup of olive oil in a large pot. Take two cloves or more of garlic and crush them and pop them into the pan with the oil.

Chop up two red onions, medium size or one large sweet onion and saute with the above until transparent. Then add two cups of beans - organic cannelli and red kidney beans are great.

Wash the greens well and leave wet. Toss into the pan with the other ingredients and liberally salt the pot as well as many turns of freshly ground black pepper. Keep the lid on and stir it occasionally until the greens are soft, the beans coated with the oil mixture and all is steaming. The cooking time will vary with the greens you use, but usually it will take around a half an hour. It holds well, as well as tastes great the next day too. And damn, it's good for you!

Tuesday: Blueberry muffins

fresh from the oven these are the best!
Two of five are ill here. The chest cold has hit. Packing some extra wonderful goodness in these healing muffins. Healing muffins you say? Well, muffins can sneak in extra goodness without much notice to those who might shy away shall we say from extra goodness. nuff said. Easy to make and bake, yummy with tea and honey. Feel better sweeties!

Mix in good sized bowl to make 12 muffins:

3 cups flours: mixed flours are good such as white, whole wheat, and a little cornmeal

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

Add in

1/2 cup honey

1/3 cup oil

1/2 finely shredded carrots (not long shreds please!)

2 fresh eggs beaten

1 and a half cups of tiny blueberries fresh or frozen dusted with flour to keep them in tact.

Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full. Bake at 360F until golden brown - about 25 minutes.

Monday: Food on the Go!

a trio of snacks which you don't have to cook or feel guilty about eating!

I have been following a detox diet and it's changed my life. I have for the first time in years rid myself of migraines and too much brain fog and congestion. But I digress. Luckily this detox has led me into some pretty nice culinary aisles as well as just simply "feeling better". So today let's talk snacks. As we all love to eat here, snacks are most definitely part of our lives. The most important thing is to make those snacks count for you and not work against you. Above is a trio of nuts and seeds which not only satisfy you but give you that nice feeling after you eat them. All raw: pumpkin seeds, cashews and almonds. Tuck them into a little bag in your handbag and nibble at will. Not shown but equally wonderful are pecans. A little goes a long way, but if you are ravenous, these babies won't let you down when you over do it. No cooking involved, but look for the best organic ones you can find -- if possible... Enjoy!