Pesto Tomato Pasta

1 package (16 oz) thin spaghetti (preferably whole wheat)
1 large bunch fresh basil (can be replaced with arugula or spinach)
1 Small garlic clove, peeled (I personally used chopped garlic)
5 tbsp olive oil (I use extra virgin for the pesto part)
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (I used shredded)
1 1/2 pints red and/or yellow cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
8 oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 3/4 inch cubes

Prepare pasta as directed
Researve 12 small basil leaves for garnish (I never do this but feel free to). From remaining basil remove enough leaves for 2 firmly packed cups. Wash basil and pat dry with a paper towel. In food processor blend basil, garlic 4 tbsp oil, and 1/2 tsp salt until smooth. Add parmesean cheese and pulse to combine. (If you use shredded add it at the same time as the other ingredients)

In medium bowl, toss tomatoes with vinegar, pepper, and remaining 1 tbsp oil and 1/4 tsp salt. Gently stir in mozzarella.

Drain spaghetti and researve 1/2 cup of cooking water. Return pasta and reserved cooking water to the pot. Stir in pesto and toss to coat pasta. Place pasta in large bowl and top with tomato-mozzarella mixture. Garnish with reserved basil leaves.

The picture is shown with homemade garlic bread and dipping sauces. Simply get a baguette from the store (the more adventurous can make your own), top with crushed garlic (I buy a big jar and keep it for easy adding) and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in the oven at 350 until browned and crispy. Serve with a bowl of the red wine vinegar and a bowl of the extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) for dipping. Or you can skip the dipping and top your bread with a little butter, garlic, and shredded cheese and cook as mentioned. Experiment with different types of herbs to find your favorite and add variety to your meals.

*Alternations: Add nuts to your pesto many people like pine nuts but I prefer pistacchios or walnuts. Add your nuts and blend well.

You can change up the pesto by using the argula or spinach for a great flavor. The spinach is milder and the argula gives you a bit of a bite. You can do any combination of the three for your favorite flavor.

You can also add chicken to your pesto instead of the tomato-mozzarella salad to appease your non-vegetarians eaters. Change up the noodles and play with what you add to your pesto for great, quick main dishes.

Don't be afraid to add your pesto to other things as well! Put it on pizza instead of marinara or on a sandwich instead of mayo! It is great with fresh veggies in a pita as well. YUMMY!

Roasted Vegetable Pasta

This one takes a bit longer to make but it is soooooooooo worth it! It is light, healthy, and filling.

3 large red peppers, chopped
4 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil (you can cut this in half and use only 1/2 tbsp on each pan)
1/2 tsp salt
1 large head cauliflower, chopped
12 oz of any small pasta you like (I used whole wheat spiral pasta. I encourage whole-wheat!! But you can pick the noodle type ex. cavatelli or bow tie etc)
1 tbsp conrstarch
14 1/2 oz of your favorite vegetable broth (preferably organic. I used my homemade chicken broth and it turned out yummy.)
1/2 cup cold water
1/3 cup loosely pack fresh parsley leaves, chopped
3 tbsp grated Parmesan (calls for fresh but I bought mine already grated)
1/4 tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)
1/8 tsp dried thyme
4 ounces ricotta salata cheese, crumbled (I couldn't find any of this so I used crumbled feta for the same result. I also shaved on some Asiago since I had some in my fridge. The kids loved the feta)

Preheat oven to 450. In baking pan, toss 1 tbsp oil and 1/4 tsp salt with red peppers and garlic. In another pan toss cauliflower with remaining oil and salt.

Place pans on 2 oven racks. Roast vegetables until browned aprx 30 minutes. Rotate pans and stir halfway through (15 mins). Remove vegetables and set oven to 400.

Meanwhile, in large saucepot, cook pasta as directed.

In 2-qt saucepan, with wire whisk, mix cornstarch with broth and water until blended; heat to boiling over medium-high heat. Boil 1 minute.

Combine vegetables, parsley, Parmesean, ground red pepper and thyme with broth mixture. Drain noodles and add to mixture.

Transfer mixture to deep 2 1/2-quart baking pan or casserole dish. Bake 15 mins.

Remove from oven and top with cheese. Bake until hot, about 5 min longer.

Spinach Brownies

By popular request, I will start posting some of my favorite recipes for all the enjoy.

These brownies sound weird but they taste really good so don't diss until you try it.

3 cups raw baby spinach leaves
1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (no syrup or sugar added)
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons water

Rinse spinach. If you're using frozen blueberries, rinse them in cold water and draw to thaw them just a little. Combine all the ingredients in the food processor until it turns to a smooth puree (add spinach first and pulse to reduce size). You can add more water to make it smooth. (I personally didn't use the lemon juice so feel free to try it)
This will make 1 cup so you will have 1/4 cup left over to add to a smoothie while you're waiting for your brownies to bake.

3 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1/4 cup vanilla yogurt
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup of spinach/blueberry pure
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp instant coffee powder (I omitted this from my brownies and it turned out great)
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used baking cocoa as this was all I had)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup Whole-grain pastry flour*
1/4 cup oat bran
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
Powdered sugar, for dusting

Preheat oven to 350
Butter or spray, then lightly flour, the bottom of a 9-inch square baking pan. (I don't have a 9in pan so i used foil in my 9x13 to make the square and they turned out good so don't go but a pan or discount this recipe because you don't have a 9in square pan)
Melt the butter and chocolate chips in a metal bowl (or any pot will do) over simmering water. (You can also do this in the microwave just be sure to check it every 15 seconds) Remove from heat and allow it to cool a bit.

In another bowl, whisk eggs, yogurt, vanilla, sugar, and spinach/blueberry puree. Combine this with the cooled chocolate mixture.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together cinnamon, coffee (if you use it), cocoa, salt, flour, oat bran, and baking powder. Add the chocolate mix to the mixing bowl and blend thoroughly. Pour into the baking pan.

Bake in oven for 36-40 mins or until toothpick comes out clean. (Mine was in for 40 ish minutes and the toothpick didn't come out clean so I took it out anyway.) Allow to cool before cutting. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

This can keep in the fridge for a week if covered tightly.

Makes about 30 brownies with 53 calories per brownie! YUM!

*I replaced the whole-wheat pastry flour with the following using only half a cup of the mixture and storing the rest in the fridge for future use.
1 cup all-purpose, unbleached white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup wheat germ, unsweetened

For more recipes with secret veggies hidden in them, check out the wonderful book "The Sneaky chef to the rescue" by Missy Chase Lapine. You will not be disappointed!

Compost

The more processed foods you eat the more garbage you create but eating whole foods you make garbage too. All those uneaten apple cores, banan peels, juicer pulp, stems, scraps etc. end up in your trash and fill up our landfills. It's a shame that our landfills are being filled with items that could be put right back into the land and make our planet a greener place. What is this amazing thing that saves our enviornment? COMPOST!! All you have to do is collect those scraps and other compostable items (paper napkins/towels, q-tips, hair, paper plates) and put them in your compost bin and make great soil for your garden. Many people don't do this because they think it is hard. IT IS EASY! If I can start a compost in my apartment so can you! How did I do it? I bought some cheap plastic boxes from Costco and had my wonderful hubby punch some holes in the whole thing. Got some top soil and filled my box about 3 inches. Then I just put all my compostable items in the box and top with newspaper. Easy, easy, lemon squeezy!

You can make a difference in your community by starting a compost in your home. You can even make some money by selling your wonderful soil on Craigslist or simply give it back to the earth and put it in your garden, backyard, or under a tree. You can help save the environment by making this simple change in your home today.

Check out this website to get started on your compost today!

Internet resources rock!

This site is a resource gold mine!!!! It tells you what vegetables are in season and recipes based on season as well. Please check it out for a whole lot of information... http://cuesa.org/node/1357

You will be so happy with all the information about what fruits and vegetables are fresh and when to get them. YAY. Two birds with one stone!

Looking for state specific information? Check out this website. This one is for Washington State but has links to all other states as well. I will be putting this into a better looking document similar to the first site for my state. http://localfoods.about.com/od/searchbyregion/a/washingtonseasons.htm

On hold...

UGH! So I didn't get a chance to sign up for the CSA for this week to get the whole Spring season. I have so much going on with school and bills and kids that it just didn't work out. Now all the our funds are sent to bills so that part is on hold and it is back to researching for a little while. In the meantime I wanted to share some lessons that I've learned...

Cans of beans are not equal to dried beans!! 2 cans of bean is equal to 1 cup of dry beans.
 - Now I have a lot of black beans to put to use!!

Canned tomatoes are just as good as fresh tomatoes, actually they are probably better when tomatoes are not in season. I spent a lot of money on fresh tomatoes (not in season) that then were squished into a chili. It turned out good but after realizing this tomato fact, I should have just opted for the canned.

Now how am I going to eat fresh if I'm doing canned? WELL I need to think more about recipes that have vegetables that are in season. What is in season? Good questions. I need to figure that out. Also, I can can my own vegetables when they are in season so I can control what goes in to them. So I need to learn how to can/preserve fresh vegetables. This week's lesson got me on my way. Here's what you can expect to come:

- What is in season now?
- How to can/preserve fresh vegetables?
- Determining exactly what my plan is for fresh products
- Finding recipes that I can alter based on what is in season

Now are you wondering what I made to learn these valuable lessons? I made Squash and Black bean chili. It was yummy. I'll post the recipe soon. Including my alterations.

Start your own Food Renaissance

Are you wanting to eat healthier? There is no better place to start than at the farm. You can't get fresher, healthier food than that directly from the source. If you think that the food you get at the store is just fine check out this website that entails some nasty stuff that you may actually be eating. Bet you didn't know you ate maggots when you have canned mushrooms. What about toxic lead in your salad dressing? Find out what you're really eating.

Ready to change what you're eating? Check out the Real Time Farms website to find out where your food is coming from. It's a great place to see local organic farms right in your neighborhood. The site is constantly growing so if you don't see your neighborhood today then check back. Better yet. Why not get involved and update the website with farms that you know? Let's find out where our food is coming from and exactly what we are eating. You are what you eat. Let's eat the best we can and support local, sustainable resources in our communities.

Baby steps...

Finally got a chance to talk to the husband today about the different options I have found so far. He likes Abundantly Green's CSA program. We are going to sign-up for the Spring season to test out how we like it. There will be 8-weeks of pick-ups about every few weeks. It starts next week and goes until May. I am excited to see what kinds of vegetables we will get. I'll post recipes I use with the new vegetables so that you can have some ideas about what you would do with yours.

As for the milk....Well the only price I have found so far is about $8/gallon. Way too steep for the hubby so I will keep looking. We go through about a gallon and a half every week. I have 4 more contacts to call, all of which I have only names, numbers, and addresses - No idea what business any of them are in. Maybe one is a dairy farm!

I am excited about the vegetables and can't wait to see what my first bag brings. On the to do list is to finish contacting everyone on my list and see what options are available. I'm surprise at how quickly this is coming together but the hard part will be getting adjusted to seasonal eating and not being able to have whatever vegetables I want when I want them. The fruits will be the hardest as you can't really get fresh fruit off the orchard year round....I don't think. Well I have a paper to write and an exam this weekend so I better get to it. Will keep you posted with the progress of my renaissance!

Local farms found!

My path to finding milk directly from a farmer lead me to find some other fabulous sources!!! I started with a google source for local dairy farms in Silverdale and pulled up Kim's Garden. Excited about getting this first product checked off my list I called them up. No one answered so I left a message. While waiting for a return phone call I found their website and realized that they were NOT a dairy farm. I emailed them to elaborate on what I was looking for and I also let them know that I was the person who called.

Hi,

My name is Katie and I am trying to get my family eating local, fresh food that I know where it is coming from. In doing a search for dairy farms your business came up. That was me who left you a voicemail today. After looking at your website it looks like you are a nursery who provides plant starts?

I am trying to get produce and products directly from the farmers. I am blogging about my journey @ http://food-renaissance.blogspot.com/. I would appreciate any help that you can give me. I am new to the area and would love any tips or contacts that you can provide. I hope you're doing well. I look forward to hearing from you!

Regards,

Katie

I received a reply shortly after saying that they are a nursery plant producer. Luckily for me however, included in this email were a list of their friends who provide fresh produce during the season and CSAs!!!! All of these amazing contacts are now at my fingertips just waiting for me to utilize them. I had some time today between class and picking up the girls to check some of them out.

For those of you who don't know what CSA is (and I didn't until this afternoon) it is Community-Supported Agriculture. From the Pheasant Fields Farm website:

"In a typical CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture) program, customers become shareholders of a farm by purchasing a share at the beginning of the season, usually in late winter or early spring. Shareholders then receive a weekly farmer-selected share of produce including whatever is fresh and abundant that week."

Pheasant Fields is a local farm in Silverdale. They offer a unique twist on this program by allowing you to buy Bonus Books that are basically discount coupons that can be redeemed where there products are sold. Instead of simply getting what the farmer wants to send you, you can pick which produce is right for you and your family. All of this is at a discounted price!

The other farm that I found is  Abundatly Green located in Poulsbo, Washington which is only about 15 minutes north of Silverdale depending on where exactly it is. They have everything you could want from a farm: Milk, eggs, veggies, fruit, chicken, lamb, and beef. All in one stop. Check out their brochure below. I haven't decided exactly which one I am going to go with yet. I also have other sources to call and research but the spring season starts on February 21st! I better get on it! Just goes to show you that asking questions can get you more than what you could ever hope for. I will be calling and researching more sources tomorrow between writing a reading and writing a paper. Wish me luck!

For more information on the farms please check out their websites. For those of you in the area, seriously consider signing up with me!

Here we go!!

Today is day one of my journey to changing the food my family and I eat. I am a mother of two girls with a husband who loves to eat! We are new to Silverdale, Washington recently moving here for my husband's job. Being a mother I want the best for my children - the best education, the best health, the best start. For me, today, that means giving them the best food. I am going to renaissance our food and where it comes from. There is a lot of challenge on parents to make sure kids are getting all the nutrients they need to be healthy. I am stepping up to this challenge and hoping what I write will help you to do the same. Let's make our family healthier.

The first step to this process for me is to know EXACTLY where the food we eat is coming from and what is in it! Product of U.S.A. or India or China will no longer cut it. I want to know what happens to the food I eat and who is handling it. I feel that the first step to revitalizing our health is by eating the freshest ingredients possible. My first food source is Milk. Today I am going to find a place to get local milk from a local farmer who feeds his/her dairy cows natural ingredients without any hormones. I will be blogging about how to renaissance the food that we eat! So here it goes!!!