follow your bliss

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Mon, 14 Nov 2011 21:00:00 -0500

Ginger-Rosemary Farro Salad

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 20:59:27 -0500

Hi! Just made this up, and it’s delicious. I’ve been meaning to try cooking farro— it’s a grain somewhere between barley and rice with a nice earthy flavor. We have tons of squash thanks to Steve, and I’ve been trying to be more creative with them. So here’s the brief recipe (I have no amounts):

Roast chopped butternut squash, beets, & carrots with oil, red wine vinegar, chopped fresh ginger, chopped fresh rosemary, garlic, salt, & pepper

Cook farro, rinse, & drain. Add goji berries so they will soften a bit.

Combine veggies, farro, & a big handful of baby spinach.

Dress with olive oil, red wine vinegar, toasted sesame oil, chopped fresh ginger, chopped fresh rosemary, salt, & a dash of honey.

Yum!

for tara

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 12:33:51 -0400

for tara:

vegan banana zucchini bread!

new blog!

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 17:59:16 -0400

Hi! I just wanted to share with you all my new blog, blissfulbitesbymicha.wordpress.com

It’s mainly just to post some of my food photography and recipes, so check it out and please tell anyone who might enjoy reading it!

I hope we can keep using this blog through the year to keep in touch and post pictures & updates on our lives :)

-Michele

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Sat, 09 Jul 2011 23:35:47 -0400

sweet fruits of summer

Sun, 12 Jun 2011 18:59:00 -0400

My favorite part of summer has to be all the fresh fruit and the time spent making it into deelicious things! The day after I came home from my Ecuador trip, mom and I took Hana strawberry picking, and we still have bags of frozen peaches, raspberries and blueberries in the freezer to use up before we get this year’s harvest! Comus fruits are a bit different from the variety I was eating in Ecuador— fresh mangoes, maracuya (passion fruit), guayabas (guava)—and while I loved having all of these exotic flavors fresh from the vine, nothing beats the warm sweet strawberries we pick from Butlers, wild raspberries from the Martin’s farm, and Peach Tree Road peaches.

Mom whipped up a few mini berry pies to use up last year’s frozen fruit…

Then I decided to make these Strawberry Oat Squares, which I had been thinking about the whole time I was in Ecuador. I knew that right when I got home would be peak strawberry picking time, and this recipe looked like a great way to use them.

They almost taste like a good old Nutrigrain bar, which I enjoyed many of in my childhood days. But they’re much more hearty, wholesome, and healthy tasting, with homemade jam slathered and baked right on top. They’re also vegan, and interestingly made with chia seeds both in the jam and in the dough. Chia acts as a thickener in the jam and as an egg-replacer in the dough. I also like the seedy texture it gave to the jam— i love jam with chunks of fruit and seeds! Overall I loved these as a healthy treat- not too sweet but just enough. Mom even said she could eat them for breakfast. Yum!

Thennnn I made a simple peach-blueberry crisp for Grandma & Grandpa’s anniversary picnic at our house. It was a fairly healthy recipe by cutting the amount of sugar and using oats and whole wheat flour. Delicious with vanilla froyo!

yummyumyumyumyum, nothings better than a summer fruit crisp, except the one that I’m going to make when we get THIS year’s harvest!

-mich

Sleepy pup. I know this blog is for food, but if anything else...

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:48:02 -0400

Sleepy pup. I know this blog is for food, but if anything else is worthy of posting, it’s this cute puppy!

Juniper at the Martin farm

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:41:00 -0400

Juniper at the Martin farm

Nick didn’t get fat— it’s just Jeremy’s...

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:32:10 -0400

Nick didn’t get fat— it’s just Jeremy’s wide-angle lens.

Cooking a chicken on the now-famous Abbey Rotisserie with...

Fri, 10 Jun 2011 13:15:00 -0400

Cooking a chicken on the now-famous Abbey Rotisserie with lightning in the sky. Our patio is much cozier now, with flowers and plants (thanks to mom for helping), lights, and furniture! You can see a little ghost of Juniper on the right.

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Tue, 17 May 2011 22:44:38 -0400

Oatmeal Banana Bread w/Peanut Flour

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 21:58:53 -0400

http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/banana-oatmeal-bread-10000000222215/

This recipe was from Cooking Light but I modified it slightly by adding 1/2 cup peanut flour and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour in place of 1 cup while flour. Otherwise it is the same. It is a lighter version of banana bread but good. It uses oil instead of butter and the oatmeal adds to the nutrition. I put some of it in another smaller pan because it seemed like too much batter so I cooked it about 10 minutes less than called for. I ate part of that loaf and I have to say, I couldn’t really taste the peanut flour. I am not sure how much to substitute because you need the gluten of the regular flour when you make bread. Using the peanut flour though adds to the protein so it is a good substitution. I recommend it!

Next I plan on trying those rosemary nuts. They sound wonderful!

Love you all, Mom

Rosemary Spiced Nuts

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 20:19:00 -0400

Michele, I loved your pics! Especially, the ones of the chicks! So cute! Mom and I made these yummy rosemary nuts, so I thought I would share the recipe with you! They were great on salad from our garden (yes, the garden)! Enjoy! And sorry for another pictureless post!

-Melissa

Rosemary Spiced Nuts

½ cup walnuts

½ cup pecans

¼ cup almonds

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar

1½ teaspoons finely chopped fresh rosemary

½ teaspoon salt

⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 350º. Place the mixed nuts on a sheet tray. Toast the nuts for 6 minutes, or until lightly toasted.

Place the butter, brown sugar, rosemary, salt, and cayenne pepper in a medium saucepan.  Over medium heat, melt butter and whisk the mixture until well combined.

Pour the toasted nuts into the mixture and stir to coat evenly. Spread the nuts back onto the sheet tray.  Toast again for 6 minutes, or until lightly toasted. Cool the nuts and stir occasionally while cooling.

Happy Easter!

Sun, 24 Apr 2011 15:06:00 -0400

Mom you need to start photographing all these yummy sounding things!

Well I hope everyone is having a nice Easter… I’m sure it’s better than mine! I’ve been in the library since 9 this morning, took a 1 hour break to eat and lay outside, and now I’m back in for the rest of the day/night. fun. And obviously by posting on here I’m not getting much work done..

Anyway……. Spring time sure feels like summer here—I can’t sit in my room without sweating. But the spring activities have been abounding… working in gardens, visiting farms, canoeing and kayaking, laying in the sun, shopping at the farmers market….. And there’s been an abundance of baby animals in our house :)

the little peepers we rented from a farm :)

veggies at the first farmers market of the season!

someone went strawberry picking and I found these later on the counter..

my first time seeing real cotton plants

Mom and I went canoeing among the cypress trees …and alligators….

and Wagner visited again… bigger and wilder than ever. He looks so innocent lying in my room among the lei he tore apart and dispersed across my floor.

And can’t forget the April showers, which are more like floods in Charleston!

Have a happy Easter!

-mich

Yum!

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 21:30:25 -0400

Well, we made the yam scones and they were delicious! Pretty easy to make too. Also made some banana cupcakes with two frostings. Melissa wanted a buttercream and I wanted a penuche so we made both. Some got one frosting and some with both. All were good but we were sugared out. Jamie and Jeremy and Juniper are here so they helped with the cooking and the eating. Dad cooked a roast on his new rotisserie grill he made. We have done a lot of eating! (we also had pumpkin waffles with maple syrup Jeremy brought from Vermont.) Well tomorrow is Easter so have a happy day everyone. I wish we were all together! Love you and miss you Michele and Tara.

Mom

Baked Oatmeal and Choco Cake

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 10:05:00 -0400

Here are some new recipes. The delicious oatmeal we made at the beach and a yummy chocolate cake with a video of Ina Garten making the cake! Tara and Michele, we really missed you at the beach! Hope your final week of classes is going well and good luck on your finals! :)

-Melissa

Baked Oatmeal

INGREDIENTS

Serves 6 to 8.

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly, plus more for coating baking dish

2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup walnuts or almonds, toasted and chopped (we used sliced almonds)

1/3 cup fine-grain natural cane sugar (we used 1/3 cup maple syrup)

1 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

2 cups milk

1 large egg

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 ripe bananas, cut into 1/2-inch slices

1 1/2 cups huckleberries, blueberries, or mixed berries (we used apples and cranberries)

Maple syrup, for drizzling

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking dish.

Combine the oats, half the nuts, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, whisk the milk, egg, half the butter, and the vanilla.

Arrange bananas in a single layer on the bottom of the coated baking dish. Sprinkle with two-thirds of the berries, then cover with the oat mixture. Slowly drizzle milk mixture over the oats. Gently tap dish on a work surface to distribute liquid. Scatter remaining berries and nuts across the top.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the top is nicely golden and the oat mixture has set. Let cool slightly. Drizzle with remaining melted butter and maple syrup.

(I poured a little milk (or your could do yogurt) on top- yum!)

Ina Garten’s Chocolate Cake

Ingredients

• Butter, for greasing the pans

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans

• 2 cups sugar

• 3/4 cups good cocoa powder

• 2 teaspoons baking soda

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 cup buttermilk, shaken

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 cup freshly brewed hot coffee

Directions

Chocolate Buttercream, recipe follows

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans. Line with parchment paper, then butter and flour the pans.

Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and mix on low speed until combined. In another bowl, combine the buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry. With mixer still on low, add the coffee and stir just to combine, scraping the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Pour the batter into the prepared pans and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 30 minutes, then turn them out onto a cooling rack and cool completely.

Place 1 layer, flat side up, on a flat plate or cake pedestal. With a knife or offset spatula, spread the top with frosting. Place the second layer on top, rounded side up, and spread the frosting evenly on the top and sides of the cake.

Chocolate Frosting:

6 ounces good semisweet chocolate (recommended: Callebaut)

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 tablespoon instant coffee powder

Chop the chocolate and place it in a heat-proof bowl set over a pan of simmering water. Stir until just melted and set aside until cooled to room temperature.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until light yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg yolk and vanilla and continue beating for 3 minutes. Turn the mixer to low, gradually add the confectioners’ sugar, then beat at medium speed, scraping down the bowl as necessary, until smooth and creamy. Dissolve the coffee powder in 2 teaspoons of the hottest tap water. On low speed, add the chocolate and coffee to the butter mixture and mix until blended. Don’t whip! Spread immediately on the cooled cake.

Here’s a video from Stephanie’s favorite chocolate...

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 09:57:00 -0400

Here’s a video from Stephanie’s favorite chocolate cake recipe (and she knows her chocolate)! Tara, I think you already made your friend’s cake, but if you ever need another recipe this one is awesome!! It had a cup of coffee in it that really brings out the chocolate flavors. I will post the recipe as well!

oh and Happy Earth Day!!!!!

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:22:24 -0400

oh and Happy Earth Day!!!!!

chocolate cake suggestions..

Fri, 22 Apr 2011 00:01:00 -0400

Hey Tara, here’s a few chocolate cake recipes, none of which I’ve tried but they all sound super delicious! I think mom made one last winter for a party at the Hiltons which everyone loved- you should ask her about that. Oh and are you trying to make it vegan?

Hershey’s Deep Dark Chocolate Cake— it’s so bad for you, it must be good :)
Eating Well’s One-Bowl Chocolate Cake— somewhat “healthier,” but still sounds super delicious! And the only thing you need to do to make it vegan is replace the 1 egg.
Deep Dark Chocolate Cake— made with beets, hmm….
Chocolate Fudge Cake with a Secret— made with garbanzos, applesauce and date/maple syrup.
Martha Stewart’s Flourless Chocolate Cake— you can’t go wrong with this one! I actually made this recipe in cupcake form last summer and they were amazing. But definitely not vegan!

Let me know if you try any of these. And I couldn’t agree more that I’d rather be at the beach- anyyyyywhere but here at my computer, as I procrastinate writing the 12 papers I need to write by next week. And that’s no exaggeration, actually it might be more. Ahh! Anyway, I did get your email about Ecuador. I think we’re going to wait til we get there to decide on schools and where we want to be. I had read a lot about Baños though and definitely wanted to spend some time there! There’s several schools offered there too. Basically we have reservations for our first two nights in Quito, and then we’ll go from there. I can’t wait!

Have fun at the bbq- tell Laura happy birthday!

-mich

P.S. just saw the link mom posted for Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes a few posts below. They sound great- you could just bake them in a cake pan?

I need a chocolate cake

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 16:31:00 -0400

Hi!
I think I can speak for Michele and I both in being very jealous that Mom and Jamie and Melissa are at the beach. Not fair! I would so much rather be there right now than sitting in class…

Anyways, only a couple weeks of school left and I’m really excited about that. Laura’s birthday is next weekend and we’re having a big bbq and I volunteered to make the cake. She wants anything chocolate - does anyone have a great chocolate cake recipe? It can involve other things too, except for coconut. I’m looking forward to the excuse to bake something delicious because I haven’t baked anything in a long time! All of your recipes look awesome Michele - I just never have the time to make them, and if I did I’d be the only one eating them, so I just don’t really bother:) Did you get my email about language classes in Ecuador? I haven’t heard anything back from Taylor about his teacher, but I’ll let you know when I do.

Well I hope everyone is doing well! Talk to you soon!
T