Bacon, lettuce, tomato and avocado pizza. BLAT pizza heaven!

Friday night pizza with the neighbors turned into me eating super healthy all week so I can dream and devise the most perfectly delicious pizza and not hold any lingering guilt. Great!

BLT pizza started as a dream and morphed into my mouth a smoky, creamy, cool and cheesy delight. You will have those who love you love you even more after this pizza. It's that good. Try it!

Enjoy!

Pizza dough: (I always remove 1/4 lb of dough some the 2 lb ball to make a small cheese pizza for the kids enjoyment! We adult refer to it as the appetizer pizza!)

Pizza dough for bread machine- 2 pounds

1 1/2 cups Clean water- 80-90 F
1 teaspoon natural cane sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt or sea salt
2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
3 1/4 cups organic unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup organic whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour
few dashes of dried basil and garlic, each
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Place ingredients in order listed in bread pan with kneading paddle. Select dough/pizza dough setting. Press start. When done remove. Roll out how you wish and top!

BLAT-Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Tomato pizza

1 onion, diced
4-5 garlic cloves, minced
olive oil
3/4 block organic Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
10-12 slices good quality bacon- no preservatives, no hormones! I like apple wood smoked uncured from TJ'S
2 fresh organic tomatoes, diced
4 cups finely shredded greens- I used green leaf lettuce
2 avocados, diced

Heat oven to 450F. Roll out dough and transfer to pan. Set aside.

Cook bacon until crisp. Drain, cool and roughly chop. Set aside.

Saute onions and garlic in olive oil until soft and translucent. Do no over cook the garlic. Keep it on med heat.

Top pizza with onions, garlic and olive oil mixture. Top with bacon and tomatoes. Sprinkle shredded cheese over pizza.

Bake about 25-ish minutes. (I have yet to clock the cooking time.)

When pizza is done let sit for 10 min. Then top with lettuce and avocado. Slice up and serve!

Tacos al Pastor- easy and good!

What can I say. Smoky, earthy chunks of pork. Handmade corn tortillas. Fresh juicy tomatoes tossed with lime, creamy perfect avocados, garlic and cilantro. Wrapped up and fit perfectly to the hand. Tacos al pastor and a simple and totally satisfying little taco and couldn't be easier. I served the tacos with grilled zucchini spears and yellow peppers tossed with black beans and lightly seasoned. When the weather is toasty these perfect tacos just need a beer for the other hand and all is well!

The marinade came together in the blender. I used 1/4 of an ancho chile pepper that I ground up in the spice grinder. Fresh is really best since you can really get the full flavor. If you can't find whole dried ancho chile peppers you can use a dried chile powder like New mexico or pasiilla, not cayenne!
Enjoy!

1 pork tenderloin, diced in chunks
1 large white onion, roughly chopped
3/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup chile powder
3 tbl ancho chile powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried oregano
3 garlic cloves, peeled
pinch of salt

In a blender combine onion through salt. Pour over pork in a bag and marinate for at least a few hours or over night. I had a little marinade left over which I plan to use on chicken for enchiladas next week!

Heat grill pan to med high heat with a touch of oil. Add pork and some marinade to coat all over. This stuff is good! Saute until cooked through 5-9 min, depending.

Serve in a corn tortilla with you favorite salsa, avocados or guacamole. Cilantro, lime wedges and a side of veggies.

Orange cinnamon muffins

Each month I spend $25 and receive a big box filled to the top with locally and organically grown oranges of all varieties. My favorite right now are the blood oranges! The box also contains the BEST! avocados I think I have tasted. Creamy, beautiful green and the best addition to almost any meal. All this produce comes from a farm in San Diego courtesy of one farmer Steve.

I use the oranges mainly for juicing each day for our beet, spinach and strawberry smoothies. They also make there way into our baked goods! These little muffins are super light and fluffy and warm up or cool off any early morning or mid day slump. They are easy to make and easy to eat!

Enjoy!

2 cups organic whole wheat or white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup organic pure cane sugar
2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/3 cup organic butternut squash puree (Trader Joe's make a great canned alternative to fresh.) (you can also use unsweetened applesauce or vegetable oil)
1/2 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice
1 TB orange zest
1/2 cup organic unsweetened coconut milk (can use buttermilk, milk, almond milk or soy milk)
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 lg organic eggs
1/4 cup organic flax seeds- the whole seed

3 TB organic pure cane brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

handful of raw wheat germ for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 359F. Line muffin tin with liners. Combine brown sugar and cinnamon together in small bowl.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, salt in large bowl. Whisk squash puree, orange juice, zest, coconut milk, vanilla extract and eggs together until combined. Pour into dry and gently fold until just combined. It should be nice and fluffy. Fold in flax seeds.

Spoon a few TB into muffins liners and sprinkle with about a half TB of brown sugar/cinnamon mixture. Top with remaining batter. Sprinkle wheat germ on top of muffins.

Bake 22 mins. Cool and serve.

The best cinnamon raisin bread for the bread machine!

This loaf was soft and slightly sweet and probably the most precise and perfect recipe I have used. It makes a great snack and even better french toast! The littlefoodie loves cinnamon raisin bread as much as he loves telling jokes about pooping on someone's head. Kids are fun!

1 cup organic milk
1/4 cup unsalted butter or organic coconut oil, melted
1 lg organic egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup organic pure cane sugar
1/2 cup organic unsweetened coconut flakes
3 cups organic white whole wheat flour
1 tsp aluminum free baking soda
2 1/2 tsp instant yeast

1 cup organic raisins

Combine ingredients in order listed in bread pan fitted with kneading paddle for bread machine with an exception of the raisins.
Set the bread machine to white bread. I am not sure how different each bread maker is so you will just have to follow your machines directions. This recipe will yield a 1 1/2 pound loaf. When my mix-in signal beeps I add the raisins right before the rise.
When done let it cool off and then slice. It is truly delicious!

Strawberry, beet and spinach smoothie- kid approved!

I pretty much make this everyday for either a breakfast treat, snack or just when the mood strikes. First I juice the veggies and then I add the rest to the blender with the frozen fruit. The kid loves it, downs it and asks for more. To be honest, he has no clue of what is in it. Am I lying? Of course not, its just that he has never asked... he trusts me to not put those horrible vegetables in his beloved smoothie, hee. I stick with same ratio just about every time I make this. Occasionally, there isn't much sweetness for one reason or another and I add just a touch of organic agave nectar to the kids. I like mine more on the veggie side. A handful of flax seeds is also a nice little addition as well. I omit the flax seeds for the kid since flax seeds help to keep those bowels healthy if you know what I mean and he'd be in the bathroom not a happy camper. Oh, and the promise of pink pee- from the beets- is pretty awesome to a 4 1.2 year old.

Enjoy!

1 peeled whole organic beet
2 carrots, cleaned
2 stalks celery
2 cup organic washed spinach
1 whole organic apple, washed
2 handfuls organic whole frozen strawberries
1 handful organic frozen blackberries
small handful of frozen pineapple tidbits (TraderJoe's make some seriously yummy frozen fruits!)
1 handful of frozen mango
juice of 1 organic orange
sprinkling of frozen blueberries

In a juicer, juice beets, carrots, spinach, celery and apple.

Pour juice into blender and squeeze in orange juice. Add in frozen fruits and blend. Drink and be healthy!

Friday Pizza night- BBQ chicken pizza and sneaky chocolate chip cookies

This Christmas I became the proud owner of a Cuisinart 2-pound Convection Automatic Bread Maker). To say I am happy with it is downplaying my giddiness. Every loaf, roll and pizza dough has turned out gigantically fantastical (as the kid would say). From the moment I ripped that sucker out of the package I have been using it non-stop. A couple months ago we started a new family tradition- Friday night pizza- with the neighbors! Once a week I can count on good friends, BOOZE, pizza of all varieties, laughter and well, booze! Sound great? It is!

Last night we had a very simple and totally and insanely delicious pizza. BBQ chicken with black beans. The best part of this pizza is that unlike the take-out or frozen versions there is very little fat, all coming from the cheese which was in part low-fat! The sauce came from Trader Joe's and the the pizza maker took care of the dough! Easy as pizza pie!

For dessert, I made a recipe from the book Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld. I have been twisting and turing all these recipes because well, for the most part- the recipes are very poorly executed and I get the feeling that someone didn't really test these out prior. They are awesome in theory but not so perfect in practicality. I have seen these chocolate chip cookies with the addition of chickpeas or garbanzos floating on the information super highway for a long time now and finally decided to make them. They turned out pretty good and the kid liked them. I am in awe of how the book is supposed to be aimed at healthy cooking for our kids but really aside from the sneaky veggies here and there, there is no real nutritional added value to the recipes- no whole wheat flours, organic ingredients, natural sugars or butters. I think it's time!

Enjoy!

Pizza dough for bread machine- 2 pounds

1 1/2 cups Clean water- 80-90 F
1 teaspoon natural cane sugar
2 teaspoons kosher salt or sea salt
2 tbls extra virgin olive oil
3 1/4 cups organic unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup organic whole wheat flour or white whole wheat flour
few dashes of dried basil and garlic, each
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast

Place ingredients in order listed in bread pan with kneading paddle. Select dough/pizza dough setting. Press start. When done remove. Roll out how you wish and top!


BBQ Chicken Pizza

2 lb pizza dough- roll out to desired shape- set aside for topping
3 organic boneless, skinless chicken breasts- I like to use poached chicken but you can slice and saute
1 can organic black beans, rinsed and drained
1 chopped organic tomato
half of red bell pepper, diced
giant handful of roughly chopped organic cilantro
salt and pepper
1 bottle of fav bbq sauce- I use trader joes- it is very mild!
few cups of organic mozzarella cheese
cup of shredded cheddar (use as much or as little cheese as you like!)

Preheat oven to 450F.

Toss chopped chicken, beans, cilantro, tomato, bell pepper and salt and pepper together to combine.

Spread a nice thick layer of bbq sauce over rolled out dough. Top with chicken mixture.

Sprinkle very generously with cheese. I like a lot of cheese!

Bake for 25 minutes. At this point I don't follow how high or how long I bake things. It has become a sixth sense of sorts. When it is bubbly and cheese is brown then take out, slice up and devour.


Chocolate Chip Cookies with Garbanzo Beans

1 cup organic dark brown cane sugar
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 lg organic egg
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 15 oz can of organic chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 cups chocolate chips
2 cups organic whole wheat flour or white whole wheat
1/2 cup organic oats
1 tsp baking soda
1.4 tsp sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F.

In mixer beat sugar and butter until fluffy and combined. Add in egg, beat. Add vanilla and chickpeas and mix until combined. Add chocolate chips.

Combine flour, oats, baking soda and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix until combined.

Drop dough by large tbl onto baking sheet and flatten just a bit. Cook for 11-13 minutes.

Eat!

Here we go again....

Long time no blog! Seems life's taken its toll on the blog time and I find myself playing Candyland more than one should. The good news is we are back from the sleep now that it is spring. The sun is up, the days are longer and the kitchen and garden and screaming.

Next up is homemade pizzas, breads! We've decided to dedicate Friday nights to homemade pizza/family night. Tonight's adventure will be BBQ'd chicken pizza, salad, good old fashioned cheese pizza for the less adventurous 4 1/2 year old and strawberry lemon bars. Spring time meal at its yumminess!

So here we are once and again! We'll be seeing you soon!

all he wants for x-mas is his 2 front teeth..... tooth #2

Memo to the rest of littlefoodies mouth- Spare us the abandonment and money. This kid is growing up waaaaaaaaay too fast and for a more than likely only child this makes the parents weepy and emotional and full of baby memories of past. He won't even be 4 1/2 for another month... The first tooth brought a dollar, the 2nd-due to being totally unprepared brought 5$.
Now I know they can grasp the concept of money at a young age because the look on his face was gummy and priceless and full of pleas to trudge thru this x-mas craziness and take him to target for 5$ worth of (crap) goodies. It's not my cash no mo so what can I do.

Merry x-mas and happy tooth loss to all!

best and easiest gingerbread cookies ever!

These really were perfect. The dough was pliable and not too soft which meant the kid could roll and mold without getting all frustrated. They came out chewy and spicy and soooo good! The recipe came from Epicurious.com and I didn't change a thing in the actual recipe, although it does call for molasses and states not robust i did use black strap which obviously worked just fab! we also rolled them out to be bout 1 in thick. We like em big and cakey like that.

Enjoy!

2/3 cup molasses (not robust)
2/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground ginger
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3 3/4 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Bring molasses, brown sugar, and spices to a boil in a 4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, and remove from heat. Stir in baking soda (mixture will foam up), then stir in butter 3 pieces at a time, letting each addition melt before adding next, until all butter is melted. Add egg and stir until combined, then stir in 3 3/4 cups flour and salt.

Preheat oven to 325°F.

Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and knead, dusting with as much of remaining 1/4 cup flour as needed to prevent sticking, until soft and easy to handle, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Halve dough, then wrap 1 half in plastic wrap and keep at room temperature.

Roll out remaining dough into a 14-inch round (1/8 inch thick) on a lightly floured surface. Cut out as many cookies as possible with cutters and carefully transfer with offset spatula to 2 buttered large baking sheets, arranging them about 1 inch apart.

Bake cookies in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are slightly darker, 10 to 12 minutes total (watch carefully toward end of baking; cookies can burn easily). Transfer cookies to racks to cool completely. Make more cookies with remaining dough and scraps (re roll once).

Put icing in pastry bag (if using) and pipe or spread decoratively onto cookies.

chocolate mocha milk chocolate chip cookies

Needing chocolate and coffee and more chocolate? Here ya go! These also get better the next day. I make the dough, bake a few and freeze the remaining dough to pop out and bake when I "need" them. I tweaked the recipe off of the nestle website, reducing sugar, changing up butter content. They are great!

Enjoy!

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup good quality cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1/2 cup unsalted organic butter, room temp
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated shortening, Spectrum brand is great. The crisco stuff.... baaaaaad stuff!
1/2 cup organic pure cane sugar
1/2 cup organic dark brown sugar
1 tbl cooled, coffee
splash of pure vanilla extract
2 large organic fresh eggs
1 package milk chocolate chips (trader joes chips! yum!)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine flour thru salt.

Beat sugar and butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Add in coffee and vanilla. Beat in eggs one and a time. Gradually beat in flour. Stir in chocolate chips. Drop onto parchment lined sheet.

Bake 10 min. Remove and cool. Eat!

roly poly santa cookies and the easiest all purpose sugar cookie dough

(DON'T MIND THE GREATLY USED SILPAT!)

Its time for all those x-mas cookies and the kid knows it for sure this year. I love christmas and having a kid is like living the magic all over again. This sugar cookie dough was so easy to whip together, no egg which made littlefoodie happy to indulge in eating that dough. Also, which is a great bonus is that it can be made vegan with non dairy margarine like Earth's Balance, which I love. The dough itself is sturdy and can be shaped and colored into just abut anything you can think of. When they were done it was buttery and flaky and yummy. Make sure to use quality flour and butter and sugar as the ingredient list is pretty minimal you want to get the most out of the flavors.

ENJOY!

1 cup margarine or butter, room temp.
1/2 organic pure cane sugar
1 tbl milk or half and half
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups of unbleached all purpose flour-King Arthur Flour results in the best product!
red paste food coloring
raisins, diced up for little eyes and buttons
White frosting of your choice

Preheat oven to 350F.
In the mixer beat butter until light and fluffy. Add in sugar and beat to combine. Beat in milk and vanilla. Add flour and beat to combine. Remove 1 cup of dough and set aside. Tint the rest of the dough with red food coloring and stir until its the color you want your little Santa to be.
So, who wants boring measurements on how to roll balls the right size. Not I. Then- roll the balls in different sizes to make body parts. You will need a red belly ball-slightly larger than the rest. A white head-slightly smaller then the belly. 4 small balls for the arms and legs. 4 even small white dough balls for the hands and feet. Shape the red dough for Santa's hat. Arrange them together on the baking sheet and don't let them run away with the gingerbread men! That's done!
Put them together.
Cut the raisins up small enough for the eyes and buttons and place on cookie.
Bake 12-15 minutes.
Remove and cool.
When cool pipe your frosting of choice for the little ball on his hat, whiskers and beard, sleeves, pants and jacket.
Now eat them!

soft and chewy, yummy pretzels....

and that they were. The kid and the dad loved em. In fact, I will be making batch 2 today to satisfy the littlefoodies pretzel love!
Surprisingly, the recipe came from cooking light and didn't involve their usual pounds of sugar. I do believe that this might be the best pretzel recipe going. I plan on throwing a little cocoa powder in a half batch this time. I did half cinnamon/sugar and half salt... one for the dad, one for the kid.

Because I am lazy and off to play I will just copy and paste cooking lights recipe here with a link above. Remember, unbleached white flour is best (King Arthur Brand of course!)

Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 package dry yeast (about 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1 cup warm water (100° to 110°)
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (about 14 1/2 ounces)
1 teaspoon salt
Cooking spray
6 cups water
2 tablespoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cornmeal
1 teaspoon water
1 large egg
2 teaspoons kosher salt
Preparation
Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in a large bowl, and let stand for 5 minutes.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add 3 cups flour and 1 teaspoon salt to yeast mixture; stir until a soft dough forms. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic (about 8 minutes). Add enough of remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, to prevent dough from sticking to hands (dough will feel slightly sticky).

Place dough in a large bowl coated with cooking spray, turning to coat top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (85°), free from drafts, 40 minutes or until doubled in size. (Gently press two fingers into dough. If indentation remains, the dough has risen enough.) Punch dough down; cover and let rest 5 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°.

Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Working with one portion at a time (cover remaining dough to prevent drying), roll each portion into an 18-inch-long rope with tapered ends. Cross one end of rope over the other to form a circle, leaving about 4 inches at end of each rope. Twist the rope at the base of the circle. Fold the ends over the circle and into a traditional pretzel shape, pinching gently to seal. Place pretzels on a baking sheet lightly coated with cooking spray. Cover and let rise 10 minutes (pretzels will rise only slightly).

Combine 6 cups water and baking soda in a nonaluminum Dutch oven. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer. Gently lower 1 pretzel into simmering water mixture; cook 15 seconds. Turn pretzel with a slotted spatula; cook an additional 15 seconds. Transfer pretzel to a wire rack coated with cooking spray. Repeat procedure with remaining pretzels.

Place pretzels on a baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal. Combine 1 teaspoon water and egg in a small bowl, stirring with a fork until smooth. Brush a thin layer of egg mixture over pretzels; sprinkle with kosher salt. Bake at 425° for 12 minutes or until pretzels are deep golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

The tooth fairy cometh

All he wants for x-mas is his bottom left tooth! The tooth fairy came last night and brought $1 and a pack of growing animal capsules. The cutest 4 yr old toothless grin ever!

Vegetarian black lentil stew with soy chorizo and pumpkin puree

Wow was this delicious. If you are skeptical about soy chorizo don't be. I love the real stuff but really pig's butts and snouts just can't make it into this belly or my families. Soy chorizo really has all the flavor of the regular chorizo. It cooks up differently of course but with a little extra liquid it is amazing... and we are not big fans of soy but this is stellar. There is the Soyrizo brand and then Trader Joe's makes there own version that I prefer.... and its inexpensive and so worth the try!
Black beluga lentils are a staple here and Trader Joe's makes them in a vacuum pack already cooked so just cut heat and serve. I threw a about a half cup of pumpkin puree for extra measure and it really brought out the flavor. I served this along side some steamed broccoli and yellow squash that was then stir fried with some olive oil and garlic- the kid's method of choice for veggies! I have been adding it to everything lately, including a turkey bolognese which was out of sight!

Enjoy!

1 small yellow onion, diced
1 bell pepper, diced (your choice on the color- I use red or yellow mostly)
A few garlic cloves, diced
Couple carrots, diced small
1 bag Black Beluga Lentils (from Trader Joe's) or use black beans!
1 package Soy Chorizo
veggie broth
chili powder
cumin
salt and pepper
oregano
pinch of cinnamon
3/4-1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree
Organic cilantro
monterey jack cheese

Saute onions, garlic, carrots and bell peppers in olive oil until tender and onions are translucent. Add a chili powder (about 1 tsp), cumin (about 1 tbl), a shake of some dried oregano, teensy pinch of cinnamon and salt and pepper. Cook over med heat until spices become super fragrant. Add in lentils or beans. Add in soy chorizo and cook until heated. Dump in pumpkin and stir up. Add some broth as needed to help prevent it from being too dry. Add in a generous handful of chopped cilantro. Cook until heated through. Spoon into dish and sprinkle with monterey jack cheese. Serve over stir fried veggies.

Caramel apple muffins

Little foodie and I have been putting some effort into some fall baking. It's a little hard these days when the weather tops 80 degrees and the smell of smoke from fires miles and miles away cake your lungs. Anyone know why fall has been non-existent around these parts this year? Hard to put a mama in the baking mood.

Mama's little golfer in training!

Anyway, these little muffins were gooey, caramel-y and full of juicy organic gala's, granny smith's and golden delicious apples.. make sure you cut them in hearty chunks because then its reminiscent of a big ol caramel apple and yeah, what is better than that. Pears would be a wonderful substitute if preferred but keep the caramel! oh yes! Give it a try and you won't be disappointed!

Enjoy!

Caramel Apple Muffins

2 C. whole wheat flour
1/2 C. organic pure cane dark brown sugar
2 1/2 t. cinnamon
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 C. warm milk
1/4 C. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 t. vanilla extract
4 apples, diced ( i used bigger size so it seemed like there was more apple than batter but it turned out amazing!)
1 cup caramel bits ( i used this bag of tiny caramel bits/balls that worked great but you could cut up the caramel squares. i got the nibblets at target but maybe a big grocery store would carry them, I believe they are Kraft brand but not entirely sure.)

Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease muffin tins or line with paper cups.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

In another bowl, combine egg and milk. Stir in butter and vanilla extract. Add flour mixture and stir just to blend. Stir in apples and caramels. Divide batter evenly among prepared cups. Sprinkle with flax seed for extra goodness or to fool yourself! Bake for 25 minutes or until tops spring back when lightly pressed. Serve warm.

Makes 12-14 muffins.

Civil Rights for Everyone!

It was a bittersweet day here in California, Nov 4th. With the passing of prop 8 here in California it makes me wonder just how far the American people (voters of yes on 8, that is) are going to go to strip the fundamental civil rights of people that they disagree with. Civil rights-the basic right to be recognized as a human being, as an American, with the rights to vote, marry, practice their own faith, to work, etc. I wonder, if its that easy to deny a person the right to marry is stripping a woman's right to vote next? to work? Segregation in schools, transportation? Do the gay and lesbian American people have the right to not pay taxes, seeing as how they are not fully recognized? Where are we? Fortunately, there are people out there right now opposing the discrimination and hate and fighting that and they need help.

On Saturday, Nov. 15th there will be a nationwide protest in all states in many major cities all over the country. This country that people come to to be free. To avoid oppression (HA, so much for that!) Above you can click on the link and it will take you to a detailed page where you can find where your local peaceful protest will be held. As a parent now I am passionate about issues that will strengthen this country and the people, the place my son may live in as an adult. So, if you can, if you care, if you HATE the injustice and denying of BASIC! CIVIL RIGHTS of the American people than join up and let your voice be hear! It's not just a gay and lesbian issue it is a human rights issue and involves our whole society! Let's stop this ignorant crap!

http://jointheimpact.wetpaint.com/

onion smothered pork loin topped with double cream gouda

The weather has finally cooled down some which makes it a little easier to cook in my little kitchen. A simple pork loin is jazzed up with sweet, caramel onions and creamy Gouda. I served up some roasted acorn squash topped with maple syrup, salt/pepper, and butter and steamed green beans. A really nice and easy fall meal.

Enjoy!

1 pork loin
salt and pepper
paprika
few fresh thyme sprigs

2 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
tsp of sugar
salt and pepper
4 lg garlic cloves, minced
2 cups organic beef broth

1 cup shredded Gouda

Preheat oven to 425F. Season pork with salt and pepper and paprika. Brown in a little oil in saute pan on each side. Remove and add to baking dish. set aside.

Add onions to pan and sprinkle sugar over. cook on low for 10-15 min until caramelized and soft. add garlic and cook another 5 min. add in thyme and season with salt and pepper and more paprika. Cover pork with onion mixture in pan. Add in beef broth.

Cook about 30 min.

remove from oven. set pork aside and rest. drain broth from onions, reserving liquid in bowl. in skillet heat a few TB of unsalted butter and add 1 TB of flour. cook a few minutes until bubbly and no lumps of flour remain, slowly pour in broth. bring to boil then turn off. dump in onions and test for seasoning.

slice pork and top with onions and shredded Gouda.

Dark cherry and white chocolate pound cake

This was good and totally bad for you but never mind that. The recipe was changed from the original that came from allrecipes.com. For a pound cake it is incredibly airy and fluffy. I think using coconut oil to replace butter is a smart move, not only is it much better for you but it gives amazing results. The og recipe called for maraschino cherries which, while totally yummy are totally rotten for you. A better and tastier way is to use a jar of Trader Joe's Dark Morello Cherries or even fresh or frozen sweet cherries..... maraschino cherries are best left to Manhattan's (hold the vermouth) and Fruit cake (ewww!) This is a perfect little holiday treat!

Enjoy!


2 cups white whole wheat flour, King Arthur Brand
3 tsp aluminum free baking powder
pinch of salt
dash of allspice
1 cup organic virgin coconut oil or unsalted butter (coconut oil gives great results and interchangeable with butter)
1 pkg cream cheese, room temp
3/4 cup organic pure cane sugar
4 fresh organic eggs
tsp of pure vanilla extract
tsp of pure almond extract
1 cup Dark Morello cherries, drained well
1 cup good quality white chocolate chunks.
few tbl of flour for dredging cherries in

preheat oven to 350F. Grease tube pan or bundt pan.

Combine flour, b powder, salt and allspice.

Cream coconut oil/butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat eggs one at a time. Scrap down sides and add extracts. Beat in flour.

Sprinkle just enough flour to coat cherries. like with blueberries, this helps the cherries from falling to the bottom of the cake and keeps them scattered throughout.

Fold cherries into cake along with white chocolate.

Bake 60 min. Insert knife if not ready. Cool a few minutes than turn out and eat or cool or eat and be cool!

And just like that a new wind is blowing......

Certainly time for a change, right? America made that known tonight as McCain graciously gave his concession speech and Obama historically changed the tide.

I am happy to have been a part of that vote for change and cannot wait to see what is in store for this amazing country soon enough.

Here's to renewed faith and in our country and its leaders! Cheers!





(and here's to Palin crawling back in her igloo! yay!)

oh baby!

i just wanted to shout out a little "CONGRATULATIONS" to my friend rebecca over at girls gone child for birthin' out real good a cute little bundle of baby joy!

welcome to world little fable luella. (awesome name!)