summer in missouri

liquid coconut oil
washing dishes in cold water
no blankets just sheets
no sheets
frozen banana snack
hair up
salty lip
face in fridge

sorry it's been so long!

So... I graduated from the University of Missouri last Friday, and I've been busy with that. But iphoto has been broken on my laptop for the last 3 weeks, and that's the main reason I haven't been blogging. But now.. It's finally fixed! Thanks to my friend Ryan. Thank you Ryan, and all the other good people who've tried to help me.

Let me explain some of these photos..

1. A salad I was eating a lot of.. spinach from Phil at the farmers market, with shredded carrot and sliced pieces of roasted red bell pepper, with this delicious Italian dressing I made up.

1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup flax seed oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp shallot salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1 dash paprika
1 dash garlic powder

2. New plants in my window.. and boy, has this spring been raaaaaaainy.

3. My new Toms shoes! And another herb to add to my collection: savory.

4. My new favorite meal: broccoli, onions, garlic, and cashews sauteed in schmaltz! YUMMMM! And it makes my apartment smell AMAZING.

5. Soaked oatmeal for breakfast with my sister, who flew in from NYC for my graduation weekend. Oatmeal soaked the night before, as usual (with water and about 1 tbsp lemon juice) then instead of water, add coconut milk in the morning, with cinnamon, honey, and raisins. :)

6. That's me.

7. Spinach, dried cherries, walnuts, and chicken with spicy honey lemon dressing


I promise you'll hear more from me.. now that school's out and I have so much free time! (that was a joke.) But really.. I hope to be blogging more. Peace out.

coconut curry soup

I think I'm turning out more recipes during this week of craziness (I'm graduating from MU on Friday) than I was over the summer.. I specifically start to prepare a simple dinner, knowing I don't have extra time for something special.. then all of a sudden, my creative juices start to flow - and I end up with something seriously delicious! Like this soup.. I think it also has something to do with not shopping for a specific recipe, but just having good ingredients around - so I am forced to make due with what I have. And when I am left with fewer options, I get very creative. Kind of like squeezing out a new awesome outfit from my closet when I really need to do laundry - and I don't think I have anything left to wear.

So! Bet you're wondering how to make this soup.. It's easy..

Gather (these are the ingredients for 1 bowl! - maybe 2 cups if you're having it as a side)
1 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin and organic are implied)
2 tsp coconut oil (extra virgin and organic are implied)
1/2 onion, diced
1 handful of chopped spinach
1/4 cup whole coconut milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 tbsp green onion, chopped
1/4 tsp curry powder
1 dash of salt

In big pan, sauté the onions in the two oils until they are translucent, then add the curry powder. mix. Next add the chopped spinach and sauté for a couple minutes.
Pour in the coconut milk and broth, and add the green onion, and simmer until it's the perfect temperature. Salt to taste :)
Enjoy!

brodo di pollo

Chicken broth, Italian style! I sautéed some onion in olive oil, then added a huge clove of garlic. Then came the chicken broth with 1/2 a tomato, seeded and chopped, and finally some fresh parsley and basil. Oh yeah, and some salt. :)
These posts are short, I know - but I shouldn't even be blogging right now.. there are 5 more days left of possible school work.. Or should I say 120 hours..

where was this photo taken?

there might be a prize if you get it right...

to-go where? to school.

Yummy day at school with my to-go ware lunch "box."

I packed a salad of butter lettuce, my special walnuts, and a 1/4 of a tomato (seeded, in case it wasn't obvious) with some sesame ginger salad dressing.
+
an avocado with a side of sea salt, and a handful of crispy almonds (prepared the same way as the walnuts)
YUM!

my last week of college

Studying + dish washing. I am a pro multi-tasker.

pineapple & coconut quinoa

I've been eying The Spunky Coconut's pineapple coconut quinoa recipe for over a week now.. and I finally collected and readied all the ingredients I needed. You can check her recipe out - but mine's a little bit different.. I changed the proportions a bit, and soaked the quinoa for over 12 hours, so it changed the amount of liquid I needed. This was SOO good. I'm going to make it for a bigger group of people next time..

Serves 4-6
You will need:

1 1/2 cups quinoa (soaked in water for at least 12 hours to remove the outer coating of saponin, which gives it a bitter taste. After soaked, rinse rinse rinse then strain to remove all the soapy sud like bubbles. Now you'll have about 2 1/2 cups of prepped quinoa.)
1/2 yellow or white onion, finely chopped
3 tbsp coconut oil
2/3 cup pineapple, chopped
1/4 cup whole coconut milk
1/4-1/2 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8-1/4 tsp cayenne, how hot do you like it?

1/2 tsp Herbamare or slightly less if you use plain sea salt
1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups chopped pineapple

1/2 cup chopped walnuts ooh! or cashews.. man. I wish I thought of that before. Cashews would be so good..

2 cups fresh finely chopped spinach (I used butter lettuce - any leaf will do)

optional: hemp seeds - for nutritional, not taste value

Ready?

1 - Sauté the onion in the coconut oil in a medium pot.
2 - Purée 2/3 cup pineapple with coconut milk and chicken/veggie broth
3 - Add the liquid mixture to the pot and bring to a simmer.
4 - Add the pre-soaked, rinsed, and strained quinoa. Simmer with lid on for about 14ish minutes.
5 - Remove the lid and let it rest for a few minutes.

6 - Mix in the spices, walnuts, chopped pineapple, green leaves, and optional hemp seeds
7 - Enjoy!!

**I'm making an addition to this post! I'm having leftovers right now for dinner.. and I heated it up with some more chicken broth, plus some chicken shredded up from the broth I made yesterday. AND I also added a handful of chopped up green onion. YUM.

chicken stock and schmaltz

It's been a while since I made chicken stock.. this time I did it a little differently than before, and the process went SO much faster. Or maybe, I'm just getting good :)

1 as whole as you can find, organic chicken (include feet, necks, and other bony parts)
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 onion, roughly chopped
3 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
4 quarts of filtered water
1 bunch parsley - which I always forget.. I need to figure out a way not to forget..

1 - I get my chicken frozen, so I let it thaw all the way out in the fridge first.
2 - Cut up chicken, and cut breast meat off the bone, because you'll be taking the large portions of meat out of the stock after about 1-2 hours (take the liver out and save it for later!)
3 - Put all ingredients, san parsely, in a large stock pot and let it sit for 30 minutes to 1 hour
4 - Bring to a boil, then skim the foam off the top. Then bring down to a low low low simmer.. and leave it alone (covered, of course)
5 - After 1-2 hours, remove the breast meat as well as the legs and thighs - this is good meat to use, as it hasn't been simmering for 12-24 hours.. put away for later use.
6 - After 12-24 hours, remove from heat and strain out vegetables and leftover chicken.
7 - Return stock to the big pot it was just in, or dirty up another one if you'd like, and let it sit out on the counter until it cools off a bit.. so you don't put it in the fridge when it's still piping hot.
8 - Put the pot of broth in the fridge, and wait for the schmaltz (chicken fat) to collect and harden at the top. Then remove the schmaltz, and save it in a different container.
9 - Pour stock into different containers - I keep some in jars in the fridge and the rest I put in single serving sizes in the freezer for my future chicken soup lunches.

(I don't have a photo of this.. But I sautéed the liver from the chicken with chopped onions thyme, rosemary, and garlic in a spoonful of the schmaltz.. and it was awesome. I'll make it again and post it later..)

apple, lamb, and butter lettuce

This butter lettuce was so beautiful... it was a shame to cut it up..
Here's the ultimate, and yet simple, hunt & gather diet salad. I guess it could use some nuts or seeds..

1/2 fugi apple, cut into bites
small patty of lamb meat, grilled (on the stove) then broken into bites
butter lettuce.. as much as your heart desires
I dressed the dish with a little EVOO and salt.

enjoy! if you are lucky..

farmer's market loot

The green is flowing :)