2.25.10...5 Months Later?!

It's been nagging me. Every time I log onto my sister-in-law's fabulous blog, it shouts at me,"5 months ago, 5 months ago..." It's like a loud whisper in the back of my head that creeps up on me when I should be focusing on space planning, returning client's emails, or making dinner for my hubby. Yes, I am ashamed to admit, it's been 5 months since I posted on this blog. Blogging may not be my thing, but I'm just not ready to throw in the towel quite yet.

Well, things here on Rosemary have changed a slight bit. I am happy to say that our family expanded three weeks ago with the addition of another furry child. Meet Emmy, an 11-week-old Golden Retriever that enjoys chewing, snuggling, and terrorizing her two kitty brothers, Boots and Oli. I hear over and over again that having a puppy is a good preparation for parenthood and if that is true, please let me be very clear on something: The last three weeks have definitely shown me that kids are no where in our near future! (God may be chuckling right now, because sometimes His plan and my plan don't always coordinate in timing.) But she is so darn cute, isn't she?

On to the cooking portion of this post (what this blog was supposed to be about in the first place! ha) I have been doing plenty of cooking, baking, and vegetable chopping! I have found some new favorite recipes and over Christmas, I received some GREAT vegetarian cookbooks! I just love cookbooks! Currently, my favorite is the Moosewood Restaurant's cookbook. It's great. Absolutely great. I have tried SEVERAL recipes from this cookbook and have yet to find one that I didn't love. Ahhh...cooking. For Christmas, I also received some other great kitchen favorites such as a dutch oven (Le Crueset, obvi), Microplane grater (I have been adding lemon and lime zest to everything since I got this!), and a super cute apron! Every time I put on the apron, I feel like I channel my inner Julia Child, minus the stick of butter in every recipe and the boned duck.

Happy, healthy cooking everyone! Hopefully it won't take me another five months to post again, but I make no promises! :)

9.20.09: Two months later...I'm back!

Ok, ok,ok...so come to find out, blogging isn't my thing. I believe that this is my 5th post since starting this silly blog back in April. Things here on Rosemary Ave. have been quite exciting and as summer is coming to a close and the leaves are starting to change color, I have decided to do a quick recap.

First off, some personal notes. Jeff and I have decided to stay here on Rosemary Ave. for a little longer than planned. With God's grace, we have amazingly fallen in love with our little bungalow and (*cringe*) just can't see ourselves packing up and moving quite yet. We have done some home imrpovements and yesterday we found the MOST.GORGEOUS.KITCHEN.TABLE. ever at a garage sale! Seriously, this table is right up our design alley and my heart feels warm fuzzies everytime I look at it. The family that we bought it from recently moved to Michigan from England and thankfully brought this table with them. This table is a one of a kind and lucky for us, it just didn't happen to fit in with their new house's design theme. We snatched up this table right away and it's just the type of table that beckons to you, "come eat on me, cut coupons on me, sip on a glass of wine on me, etc..." It's awesome. I'm ready to have a dinner party in honor of this table.

On the food front, we have been continuing our Door to Door Organic shipments and I am loving the produce at the Farmer's Market right now. After a long and successful inaugural season, our garden production is coming to a close and I will miss going outside to pick fresh tomatoes and peppers for the evening's salad. I have cooked some great dishes over the past couple months and of course, had some minor flops!

On a more yummy note, about two months ago, I began baking my own bread! This has saved our house quite a bit of money and there's no better smell than the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven. I also tried cooking eggplant parmesan for the first time and let me tell you, it might just be my favorite recipe ever. Every bite seemed to melt in my mouth. A new and quick favorite of the Morris household has become Taco Night Pasta. This quick, vegetarian (obvi), and healthy dish is extremely easy to put together and is also very easy on the wallet. Email me if you want any recipes!

In this month's Vegetarian Times, I found a recipe for semi-healthy cinnamon doughnuts! (did I just say healthy doughnuts?!?!) By healthy I mean, you can guilt-free enjoy one doughnut with a warm cup of apple cider, but eating the whole batch is definitely out of the question. I intend on buying a doughnut pan (not sure what category that goes under in the budget book) and I am excited to try it out! I'll let you know how it goes....hopefully before Christmas time. ;)

Happy, healthy cooking, everyone! ;)

7.10.09 I should be sleeping, but instead, I want to blog about organic produce

I am so excited! Starting next week, Jeff and I will be receiving a box full of organic fruits and vegetables. It will be delivered to our back door stoop, and I am as excited like a kid on Christmas morning! Here is the scoop:

As you all know, I am a huge fan of organic produce (ok, organic anything). Sidenote: just because it has the USDA stamp that certifies the product is organic, it's always a good choice to do some research about the organic brands that you frequently purchase. Anyways- there is a company called Door to Door Organics and they will deliver a box of organic goodies to your house every week! If you are used to shopping for organic produce, you will be surprised to see that the prices are very reasonable!

Here is the link:

http://www.doortodoororganics.com/

On Thursday, I will post a picture of our goodies.

Ok, I have a big triathlon on Sunday and I should be sleeping right now! I have been waiting for my bright pink nail polish to dry before hopping into bed. Bright pink nail polish + white comforter = not a good idea. HOWEVER, bright pink nail polish + swimming across a huge lake with a gazillion other crazy people = a good way to people to see me flailing my arms if I happen to be drowning. Alright, I am off to bed... there are two extremely cute kitties and a very cuddly hubby that are calling my name. I hope my nails are dry!

happy healthy eating everyone!

6.29.09 Baked Mac 'N Cheese

Worst. Blogger. Ever. I'm sorry! I'm sorry! My last blog post was over a month and a half ago. Things here on Rosemary Avenue have been extra crazy lately (see above pictures)! I do have a couple updates though and I am going to post what I made for dinner tonight. My first update is concerning our garden! The verdict is in: I LOVE OUR VEGETABLE GARDEN! I love going out to the yard to water (almost) every day and seeing the progress. Jeff and I haven't bought lettuce or basil in over a month thanks to our garden and now we are getting in a good amount of snow peas. They are so delicious! Hmm- in the past week, I have baked two cakes (frosting from scratch...delicious and a tad healthier) and made Jeff alligator cupcakes for his 31st birthday.

Here is the Baked Mac 'N Cheese recipe from Vegetarian Times. Unlike other recipes, I hardly change any of the ingredients because it is already healthy and so yummy. Serve with a side of carrot sticks. I forgot to take a picture before we ate it, we must have been hungry!

1 TBS. Unsalted butter

2 TBS all-purpose flour (I use whole wheat flour)

1 tbs onion powder (I liked to use fresh chopped onions)

2 tbs. garlic power (use fresh garlic, its just delicious)

2 cups skim milk (I use soy milk)

1/2 cup shredded reduced fat sharp cheddar cheese

2 tbs. grated parmesan cheese (if I'm feeling crazy, I'll use 3 tbs.)

1/2 lb (2 cups) cooked elbow macaroni (I use organic whole wheat penne noodles. It will up the nutritional value and make you feel full for longer)

1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs

(a pinch of basil)

(a little shake of red pepper flakes)

(fresh ground black pepper)

(maybe a dash of salt, or seasoned salt)

1. Preheat overn to 350. Coat 6-cup baking dish with cooking spray. (Jeff and I like the crispy over cooked noodles on the bottom of the dish, so I coat the baking dish with organic olive oil spray). Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat. Add flour, onion, and garlic, and cook 1 minute, whisking constantly (I can't find my whisk anywhere! argh.). Slowly whisk (argh. again.) in milk. Increase heat to medium-high, and bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

2. Remove from heat, and stir in cheddar and parmesan. Season with salt, pepper, basil, red pepper flakes, etc, if desired. Stir in macaroni. Transwer to prepared baking dish, and top with breadcrumbs. Bake 30 minutes until top begins to brown.

Delicious! Quick, easy, healthy, yummy.

Per 1 cup serving: 260 cal, 12 g protein, 6 g fat, 42 g carb.

5.9.09: Delicious

On Monday night, I made a Spinach, Feta, and Tomato Quiche, roasted yukon potatoes with a creamy dill topping, and mushrooms in a white wine sauce. I found the quiche recipe on this month's Vegetarian Times and let me tell you...IT IS DELICIOUS! I love recipes that are easy on the first try, delicious, and don't require me to google half of the ingredient list before heading to the grocery store. I am going to post the quiche recipe and in the (parenthesis), I will post what I actually did and some additional ingredients that I used. Here goes:

Crust:

6 sheets frozen phyllo ough (took me forever to find at the store...anyways, I ended up using 7-8 sheets)

3 tbs. olive oil (I used 2 tbs., no need to go overboard)

1-1/2 tsp. toasted sesame seeds (I used sunflower seeds, and it gave the crust a bit more kick)

Filling:

1 10-oz. pkg. frozen spinach (I used about 12-oz)

1/2 cup finely chopped red onion

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (I used reduced fat)

10 cheery tomatos, halved

(handful of basil)

(sundried tomatos)

(green onions)

Quiche Batter:

2 eggs (I used 1 whole egg and 2 egg whites)

1 cup low-fat milk

Pinch ground nutmeg

1. Coach a 9-inch pie pan (I used a different shape that was a tad bigger than 9-inches) with cooking spray. Lay 1 phyllo sheet and brush over with olive oil. Sprink small amount of sunflower seeds. Top with second phyllo sheet and brush with oil. Top with third phyllo sheet, brush with oil, and sprinkle with sunflower seeds. Repeat phyllo and oil twice more (remember: you only need a little bit of oil). Press these layers into the pie pan and trim edges with scissors.

2. To make filling: stir together spinach, onion, basil, sun dried tomatoes, and feta. Put mixture into the prepared pie pan.

3. Quiche Batter: whisk together all ingredients in medium bowl. Season with salt and papper, if desired (and any other spices that strike your fancy, just remember that they should blend well with the pinch of nutmeg). Pour batter over filling in pie pan and half the tomatoes and put on surface. Bake 50 minutes- 1 hour at 350 degrees, or until top is brown and center is set.

Enjoy!

5.4.09: Plymouth Green Fair

Yesterday, Jeff and I went to the Plymouth Green Fair and it was so great! The sun was shining brightly (I over heating in my cardigan) and it was one of the first days that we dared to break out the flip fops.

There were a ton of people there, and we had the chance to learn about a lot of new "green" and sustainable products. There was a building materials section (we spent a good amount of time in this section), food section (the busiest area, but delicious delicious delicious), clothing (I'll talk about that in a second), crafts (I still wish I bought those soy candles!), and a product section (I can't really pinpoint what that area was really focused on, but Boots and Oli really enjoyed their organic/natural petfood).

There were some great clothing vendors there, but I still wish I could find a designer that a.) uses organic cotton b.) has designs that don't make me look like a hippie c.) has designs that don't make me look like I am always going to a yoga class d.) has a print that isn't focused only on branches, trees, plants, grass, you get the picture.... e.) most importantly, don't cost an arm, leg, and half a paycheck.

Although I didn't purchase anything- I was impressed with a few of the designers. I think it's so exciting that people in the area have enough courage and ambition to start a clothing line. You could just see the pride beaming in their eyes...I was so excited for them!

PS- I am cooking a veggie quiche, yukon roasted potatoes, and mushrooms in a white wine sauce tonight. If they turn out delicious (or edible), I will post the recipes!