Food Lush

Homemade Breakfast Bars

By Leslie

I'm always looking for quick, healthy breakfast options that I can have ready to go.  Sometimes fruit just doesn't cut it.  I want something that has a little more staying power.  After reading Mama Pea's recipe for homemade Zee Bars, I decided I would give them a try.  I'm glad I did!  They turned out great.  Of course, I made some modifications.  (Regular milk, brown sugar instead of stevia.)  The recipe calls for oat flour.   I thought about replacing it with regular flour but the oat flour was actually pretty easy to find at the grocery store so I went ahead and bought some. 

Oat flour can be used for a bunch of other things, so I don't think it will be wasted!  It turns out the oat flour and the applesauce were the only items I needed to purchase for this recipe, which made them exremely inexpensive. 

If you like chocolate chip granola bars, I highly reccomend trying this recipe instead of shelling out $4 for one box of 5 store-bought bars. 

Grind your grapefruits!*

by Katie

Continuing my discussion of my obsession with winter citrus, today I want to talk about what you do with the leftovers: grapefruit rinds, orange peels, lemon pith, etc.

Image: cooking-books.blogspot.com

Growing up, my mother treated our garbage disposal like a cranky and very delicate great aunt, never giving it anything challenging for fear it might break. Egg shells went immediately into the trash. Citrus peels? Forget it.

Imagine my surprise, then, when a few years ago we had a garbage disposal repaired and the tech instructed me to make sure to throw all my citrus peels in there- that it was good to give the disposal's gears something to chew on and it helped freshen the works.

Ever since, I've religiously ground up all my citrus remnants, and it is awesome. My garbage disposal is hanging in just fine, and best of all it makes everything smell fresh instead of stinky. Plus, it reduces the volume of our trash! (I eat kind of a lot of grapefruit.) So fear not, garbage disposal users! Go forth and grind your grapefruits!

* Alternative titles: obliterate your oranges! liquefy your lemons! crush your clementines!  I could go on! I will spare you!

Stuff I love: Mrs Meyer's Basil Countertop Spray

By A'Dell

I'm not really into cleaning products that smell like cleaning products. Does this make sense? A fakey lemon scent is probably my top offender, but I also dislike cleaning products that smell like pine trees, apple pie, the beach, or any one of a hundred things my home shouldn't smell like.

But, then again, I don't enjoy the smell of bleach wafting through my kitchen or being overpowered with the sting of vinegar as I approach a bathroom. This is why I'm totally in love with Mrs Meyer's Basil Countertop Spray. It's a subtle scent, almost sweet, and it smells like no other cleaning product I've ever owned, which makes it a fresh choice for me, blissfully free from powerful olfactory memory associations.

(Watch out for the Lavender scent because it does not smell like lavender and I think it kind of smells like pot roast with flowers in it, which is not pleasant. At all. Meaty-floral. AVOID THE LAVENDER AT ALL COSTS.)

It's kind of pricey (about $4 for a miniature bottle at my Walmart) but it actually does a fair job at cleaning surfaces and, well, I like what I like.

Thing I Love: My Keurig

by Tara

Do you have a one-cup coffee pot? Until very recently, I had stood by the 10-12 cup pots, grinding my own beans, making a whole pot of coffee or carefully measuring out water and coffee to make a few cups at a time, etc. But then the coffee pot went kaput, and we decided to go for the Keurig. And it has changed my coffee-drinking life.

Photo credit: Keurig.com.

(The one pictured above is the one I have, but there are more basic ones, and fancier ones, depending upon your wants and needs.)

I also bought an insert that will hold my own coffee grounds (or tea bags - no steeping!). So I can still grind my own beans. And I joined Club Keurig so I get 10-15% off of the price of K-Cups, sample packs of new coffees are sent to me automatically, and I get some free K-Cups and free shipping when I buy a certain amount from Keurig directly. ALSO, Club Keurig allows you to earn points toward a new machine, more coffee, cups, etc. You can buy sampler packs or sampler boxes, and rate the coffees you buy so that you can help other Keurig customers pick which coffees they want to try.

If you don't like coffee but someone in your house does, this is a great option to let that person have coffee at their leisure, without worrying that coffee will be wasted if the whole pot isn't finished. And you can buy K-Cups of tea and cider and hot chocolate for you or your kids. I love my Keurig.

Do you have a kitchen appliance you can't live without? 

Gluten Free ICE CREAM SAMMICH!

by Slynnro

Ah, the halcyon days of GLUTENTASTIC yore, when I could eat a Skinny Cow ice cream sandwich (or let's be honest, TWO Skinny Cows). I miss them desperately. I've longed for an ice cream sandwich that met my gluten free needs, but the likelihood of me baking gluten free cookies and making them myself was pretty remote.

Luckily, Julie's Organic has solved the problem for me:

The cookies are made by Glutenfreeda, and are quite delicious. I purchased the lemon yogurt flavor, which comes in under 200 calories and 5 grams of fat. Almost as good at the Cow himself! I found them at Central Market, but they are also available at Whole Foods. They are pricey (around $7), but for a special treat, they are worth it!

Beyond the cole slaw: Cabbage. Yes, cabbage.

By Jonniker

I think cabbage gets a bad rap. Smelly, stiff and heavy, it doesn't have the cute appeal of its cousin, the petite brussels sprout. You can't really eat a lot of it in a salad, lest you have ill side effects, so it FEELS less versatile than lettuce. And cole slaw! What if you hate cole slaw? You don't have to hate cabbage!

Here are a few uses/recipes for cabbage that I love. Try them! Try ONE. 

 

-- Soggy lettuce in tacos got you down? Shred some cabbage instead. The hearty texture stands up well to the warmth of the filling and never gets gross and wilty the way lettuce does. See also: burritos.

-- Ever had halupki? (Pictured above) The Noble Pig has a glorious recipe I've been dying to try. 

-- For a quick, tasty slaw that's crunchy, sour and delicious, shred up some cabbage, squeeze some fresh lemon juice on top and salt generously. Refrigerate for an hour or two, and BLAM. Low-calorie, high-flavor salad topping, snack or side dish. The ratio is one lemon per head of cabbage, so if you shred up a quarter head, use a quarter lemon, etc.

-- Halushki! Or, if you're not Hungarian, cabbage noodles. Yes, it's simply fried cabbage with bacon served over egg noodles (with sour cream!), but it's shockingly delicious, fast, and super-inexpensive. 

Cabbage! Your new best friend. 

Excellent Chocolate from SoCal: Chuao

by Elissa

My sister Katherine lives in San Diego. While I hate that she lives across the country from me (and I envy her San Diego's perfect climate), I love it when she introduces me to new foods from the region.

Part of my Christmas gift from her included this:

  
This is another great way to brighten up a winter day: rich chocolate flavored with a bit of cinnamon, pasilla chile, and cayenne pepper. It's incredibly aromatic and has a subtle spice that makes the drink even more warming.

Chuao is a chocolatier based in Carlsbad, CA. Started by a pair of Venezuelan-born brothers, they make a number of unusual chocolate flavors, including one that features Pop Rocks. They have several cafes in the San Diego area, and their products are available at places like Whole Foods and Dean and Deluca. Plus you can buy from their online shop.

I now have a new source for interesting and delicious chocolate gifts--check out Chuao if you are looking for chocolate that's a little off the beaten track.

And thanks, Kath, for another fabulous Christmas gift!

How a Mixer Changed My Life

by Jen L.

Look at what I got for Christmas.

A KITCHENAID STAND MIXER!!!!! (In a fiery red color!)  I know a lot of you have one of these babies and have for years, but this has been the object of my DESIRE for years. To finally have one in my kitchen is, well, life-changing.

I knew I would love baking with it, but I had no idea how many other uses I'd find for this sassy little appliance.  Here's a short list of my favorite stand mixer discoveries.

Cookies.  Oh, my.  The dough is like velvet. The cookies are PERFECT.  Even my tea cakes, which sometimes end up a sandy mess in the mixing bowl, we perfectly smooth.

Meatballs.  Also? Meatloaf.  You can toss all your ingredients right into the mixer and let her go.  No kneading through raw meat with your bare hands (well, until you have to form it into balls or a loaf, but still!). 

Pulling chicken.  A friend at work shared this trick with me.  Cook boneless chicken breasts until very, very tender, then throw them into your mixing bowl, put on your hook attachment and voila! It pulls the chicken apart for you.  I'm dying to try it with pork, too.  This is great when you're making enchiladas, by the way.

What fun uses have you found for your stand mixer?

When Life Hands you Lemons, make...Limoncello?

By Nora

This week I received an offer I couldn't refuse. Elizabeth, one of the fabulous editors over at Style Lush, offered to send anyone who was interested a box of lemons direct from the prolific lemon tree(s) in her yard. All I had to do was pay shipping, and a big box of fresh, home-grown lemons would show up at my door. There wasn't even a question in my mind.  However, I realized that my use of lemons is usually limited to a garnish for an adult beverage or to add a kick to fish or chicken dishes. So what would I do with a butt-load of lemons, then? 

And then it came to me. I would make homemade limoncello and store it in my basement to age until Christmas, when I would then give away bottles as gifts. Inspired! Genius! And also somewhat CRAZY since I have never made my own alcohol before and really had no idea how to go about it. Limoncello is an Italian lemon liqueur that's made with lemon zest and grain alcohol(!) and it is a beautiful yellow color with the deep flavor of lemon, but without the sourness. I found a recipe that actually seems pretty reasonable, albeit somewhat time-intensive, but that's okay since Christmas is 11 months away. Here's the recipe I think i'm going to follow, from the aptly named site, Limoncello quest. (Also, PLEASE check out the first line in Step 1 for a good laugh.)

You know what else is awesome? The different ways you can bottle the limoncello once it's done. Go on over to Pinterest and search on "Limoncello" and see what comes up. It's a lemon-themed feast for the eyes! I think i'll package mine using the IKEA bottles featured on Leslie's post a few days ago! And I even have plenty of time to get personalized labels made up! I just love when a plan comes together...

 

{Photo from bostonist.com}

Stick Your Pinky Out - It's Time to Talk Tea

By Julie

I love tea. This probably stems from some untold number of tea parties I hosted as a kid (whether or not I served imaginary tea as a 7-year-old is beside the point). In fact, my favorite thing about my last office job was the free iced tea in the cafeteria. You can bet I partook of that little perk as often as possible. But I also adore hot tea. Although I do enjoy a Starbucks caffeinated cocktail now and again, my go-to warm beverage is tea.

I am probably too excited that my daughter has chosen celebrate her next birthday with a tea party. I can’t wait.

While visiting a local coffee shop recently, I decided to try a cinnamon spice tea latte, since I’m all about the cinnamon flavored teas. It was a revelation. This was no weak tea to sip on your sickbed, no. This one packed a punch. I was just beginning to restructure my entire monthly budget in my head so I could have as many of these heavenly drinks as possible when I noticed the teabag had a label. And the label read Harney & Sons.

Harney & Sons has every flavor tea imaginable to meet your taste. They also package their teas in several different ways, including loose, bags, and fancy sachets, so you can choose how you want to brew. I give a huge thumbs up to their cinnamon spice (one of their best sellers), and I can’t wait to try their holiday blend (I know Christmas is over, but who cares?) and Earl Grey (my usual tea of choice). So if you’re a tea lover like me and want to go beyond the typical supermarket offerings, try Harney & Sons.