Pesto Presto!

Well, I've just finished an energy bar that has the same flavor profile of what I would imagine a Christmas scented candle tasting like. I can't figure out if I love it or hate it. (Clif's Carrot Cake)

Alright. Let's get down to the pesto. My recipe is one I just made up. Mom and I have been making pesto for years, from the plethora of basil we both seem to plant every year. This year my basil is out of control! I don't go out to visit my little garden much at all now...now that it's 97 degrees everyday with a chance of heat stroke. But everyday, I would say to myself how I must get to making some pesto before the basil goes to seed. I finally did it. I was greeted by a caterpillar, a baby lizard, lots of mosquitoes and a the biggest (and littlest) cucumbers I have ever seen! See what you can grow when you don't pay attention to your garden?

For this recipe, I made it up as I went. I love "eyeballing" stuff when I cook. It's freedom. Recipes are great, but I swear, I can't make one without tweaking it somehow. I like having a base recipe that I can put my own mark on or just start from nothing. Saying it's my own, is a good feeling.

Luckily, my eyeballs were doing their job. This recipe turned out great. Mom suggested we use pecans instead of pine nuts or walnuts. That's a little something she came up with recently and it works great. It sorta makes sense to use pecans, being in the South and all.

Note on the pecans (or almonds, walnuts, whatever): a really quick way to toast them and without dirtying up a pan, is to place them on a paper plate and toast them in the microwave oven. I do 1 minute intervals on 100% and give them a shimmy. When they are fragrant and toasted as you like, they are done! (I will say that pecans toast much faster than almonds because of the high oil content. Approx. 1 1/2 minutes, longer for almonds and walnuts) I love that there's no need to add addition oil, just perfectly toasted nuts. My father-in-law was the one who taught me that little trick.

Now, if you are a raw garlic lover simply dismiss my next comment. I am not a big fan of raw garlic. I find it over powers everything and makes my breath unbearable, not only to others but to myself. To curb the bite of garlic for this recipe, Mom toasted the cloves in a bit of oil in a saute pan over medium heat. I would not say they were caramelized, just half cooked and brown on the outside. It seems to relive the harshness of the little bulb and make it more friendly to my delicate palate.

This makes a big batch of pesto. I'm going to say around 4 cups. Freeze, make tons of pasta, give it away or simple cut the recipe in half.

Here's the recipe:

Foodie House Pesto

Makes approx. 4 cups
Prep time: 20 min.

8 cups packed fresh basil leaves, washed and dried
1 1/2 cups toasted pecans
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves toasted garlic
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 tsp salt
20 cranks of the pepper mill

Dump everything into your food processor and turn it on. I will say, 8 cups is a lot of basil, so I put in 4 cups, broke it down, then added everything else. Blend until smooth and mid-way, scrap down the sides.

A pretty straight forward recipe, but so versatile in it's uses. I for one, love pesto mayo on a turkey sandwich. For a quick tomato basil soup just plop in a spoonful of this pesto into your tomato soup base...voila!

I hope this pesto finds you well, Foodie Friends.

P.S. I must thank my cutest, but not quite dependable, key grip for the photography sessions. You can see her doing what she does best, (smiling for the camera) while trying to hold the reflector (also known as a waddy piece of watercolor paper) with her Afro (this was right after we took out all her cornrows. I'm pretty sure she could give Tina Turner a run for her money). Thank you, my little Boo!

Note: that is not bloated road-kill in the background. No, that is a my son's newly acquired Pillow Pet...the knock-off brand you get at the mall called "Animallows". Who comes up with this stuff?

Viet-Me 2: Won-Ton Soup and Mr. Grumpers

I need toothpicks to pry my eyelids open this morning. I've had my energy bar and coffee, but no luck. Just groggy and saggy.

I'm doing my best to press through and bring you a post. I definitely think it's worth it. Comfort in a bowl. A bowl which we arranged ourselves around, on Saturday at my kind neighbor's house (Teri), to drink in the homemade broth and a buffet of additions.

She had everything ready as we walked in. The beauty of the ingredients, colors, textures and smells was exhilarating to the senses. I was one tired Mama and I needed that meal. I was outta breath from doing a mad dash grocery run, chaotic grocery puttin-away and crazy child round-up, all without forgetting the following: cupcakes that I made during the morning madness, (pre-grocery), ingredients to make icing, dressing for salad and salad components, diapers, wipes, sippy cups, baby snacks, banana, baby food, baby spoon, bottle with milk, pacifier with pacifier holder and most importantly the Mickey Mouse DVD that the 3 year old tots are obsessed with right now. That DVD means I can eat in peace. Phew.

Teri started by escorting us through the won-ton soup procession. Noodles first, then lettuce, green onion, fried onion, fried pork, boiled shrimp, imitation crab meat, chives and finally the won-tons. Then everything was covered in a hot broth that she made. It was delicious! After the broth, you can top that with sesame oil and soy sauce. I love sesame oil. So rich and toasty tasting. It made the meal.

Check out the Hubs' special giant bowl. He took care of business, no problem-o.

We took turns holding Wil and eating. The kids ate pretty good but being how Bubba was feeling a bit grumpy we just left him to himself during lunch.

I mean really...if looks could kill.

After lunch, she made us Vietnamese coffee. Such a treat! I was in love with the process that made this caffeine-packed liquor. Sweetened condensed milk sits in the bottom of the cup, awaiting the hot coffee to come and drip down upon it. Stir and drink hot, or like Teri made for us, pour it over ice. It's so damn hot here. We had to cool down.

Then of course, we needed some sweets. I made the orange chocolate cupcakes again. This time I used a Cara Cara orange...amazing flavor! Bubba was still Mr. Grumpers, mainly because Mommy put the kibosh on him having another cupcake. It was going to be nap time in 15 minutes and with his sleepy disposition, I knew we must be successful with nap time. So no double cake time. Sorry, Bud. I did assure him, however, that there would be a cupcake with his name on it after dinner that night.

He continued to swat at the cupcakes to show his irritation with my matriarchal decree, but I caught his hand each time just before he took down a row of the chocolaty cakes.

All in all, it was a fun time. Teri is such a gracious host, pampering us with her food and love. I look forward to any time spent with her. Thank you, Teri!

New Kid in My Pantry...Bob. Fabulous Blueberry Pancakes

Well, I spent most of the day out yesterday...alone! It was refreshing. I went to the museum, had lunch, people watched and shopped. But I'll tell you more about that in another post. This post is about is dinner last night.

Occasionally I will make a pancake dinner. The kid's love it, I love it but I've had to sell the hubs on it over the years. But tonight, I think that all changed.

We have been slowly changing our diets to a healthier, more "clean" diet, I guess you could say. There is still the occasional crap food session at a Chick-fil-a or Burger King, but at home, we keep it pretty clean. I've been slowly weeding out the cream sauces and replacing them with vegetables. BUT, there is always a time and place for a luscious, creamy chowder or mustard marscapone chicken scallopini, but just not as often.

Back to the pancakes! They were surprisingly good. I say surprisingly because I tried for the first time an egg substitute - flax seeds and water! Who knew? I found it online. I was determined that my littlest one would be able to enjoy pancakes with us all, so no eggs. I used the flax seed method and it worked out beautifully. It was very exciting.

I've sorta found someone new in the department of pancake mixes. His name is Bob. Bob's Red Mill Organic 7 Grain Pancake and Waffle Whole Grain Mix. Wow, that's a mouthful, truly. Aunt Jemina is still the cutest pancake purveyor, but she's not as healthful so we sent her packing. Sorry Auntie. I think it just came down to Bob's beard. He's rocking the beard and that little Irish-looking, walking-the-rolling-green-hills-of-Ireland hat.

I followed the directions on the back but with a little tweeking. Firstly, I doubled it. There was no way the recipe on the back would serve 3 adults, 2 kids and a baby. Doubled, it made 12 pancakes. I realized too, if I had not used milk in the batter, these would have been completely vegan friendly! Secondly, I used the flax seed "egg" and lastly, I added vanilla extract.

I had the most beautiful basket of blueberries from Whole Foods. They were just perfect in every way. Sweet, firm and juicy. They were just what Bob ordered (I think) for these whole grain pancakes.

I kept having to "shoo!" the little birdies away, a.k.a my kids, from these little blue treats.

My oldest son modeled for me. He got paid in blueberries. He did such a great job.

I also did something else a bit different for the syrup. I used agave nectar. It was even better than that horrible stuff in the squeeze bottle. I was able to taste the pancake. What a concept. Now, in the past, it may not have been so bad to not taste the pancake, but with Bob's pancake mix, the treat is the pancake not the syrup. Did I say pancake enough? What? You want me to say it one more time? Sure. Pancake. 

I served these beauties with some Whole Foods turkey sausage that is from their meat counter, and well, it kinda bombed. I thought it was terrible. The hubs said the he would eat it over the artery-clogging pork sausage; I said I would take my chances. If you have any suggestions for a good, wholesome, great tasting turkey breakfast sausage, please do share.

So as you can see, we topped off our pancakes with more blueberries, toasted walnuts and bananas. OH MY! So stinkin' good. I'm craving some right now...

Bob's Fabulous Pancakes

Makes 12, 3-4" wide pancakes

2 cups mix

1/2 cup flax seed "egg" (make this by mixing 1/4 c boiling water with 1/4 c flax seeds, ground or not. It will get gooey like an egg, totally weird science-y)

3/4 cup cold water

3/4 cup milk (or soy milk for vegans)

2 tbls. olive oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Garnishes:

1 pint fresh blueberries

1 banana, sliced

1 cup toasted walnuts

Agave syrup to your hearts delight

Mix it all together, let it stand a bit. Now, my was like wet cement, so I added about 1/4 cup more cold water to loosen it up. This is a thick batter, but it's okay.

Heat up your skillet or griddle to med. high heat. Let it heat for a good 2 minutes. Add some oil and then start adding (I used a 1/4 cup measurer) scoops of pancake batter to the pan and topping with blueberries. Once nice and golden on one side, flip and continue cooking. It takes about 2-3 minutes per side.

Serve up hot with your garnishes and eat quickly! This will be one of your new favorites.

So happy he was wearing it.

Happy Pancake Breakfasts, Foodie Friends. I hope this one finds it's way to your plate some time soon. Cheers!

Orange You Glad? Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Dark chocolate is my weakness. Forget milk chocolate or the wretched white chocolate. Only dark for me, please. Rarely do I want anything messing with my dark chocolate. Except for the occasional toasted almond or orange zest.
Okay, I think this may be the third time I've referred to this recipe, but who cares? Good is good. Here it is again. The first installment, I used it as an egg-free option for my tiny-hiney's first birthday, and then for my emergency chocolate craving satisfied through it's moist texture and a rich waterfall of ganache. Craving chocolate yet?

This rif on the the above recipe was born out of, once again, necessity. I didn't have the heavy cream for the ganache and I was out of powdered sugar for the icing. I wanted something to dress up these cupcakes, so I perused the kitchen and there before me was a giant orange that had been setting on my counter for...a while. It ended up being just what the mama ordered.

Your wondering, how did she make the icing then? Well, leftover from Tiny's birthday, was a container of totally allergy-free frosting. Weirdo consistency, kinda runny/sticky. Stretches way out and hangs, BUT it tastes very good. It's great for making old man frosting beards on unsuspecting three year old children.

I added half of the giant orange zest to the cupcake batter and the other half to the frosting. I made supremes out of the orange and placed them on top. It was just a delightful layering of textures! First, juicy bursting orange segment. Followed by sticky, extremely sweet frosting with a punch of orange esscence, then the soft, moist, less sweet crumb of the chocolate cake. They were so good!

So! If you do not have the allergy free frosting, (I apologize for not having the name brand to tell you. I did get it at Super Target- of all places.) I would make a simple glaze of powdered sugar, milk or water, vanilla and add the zest. Like you would for a cinnamon roll.

Here's the recipe for chocolate cupcakes...remember it's egg-free and vegan friendly!

How Does She Do It?...Or Not Do It. Waking Up, Foodie House Style

I find the mornings I try my best to be quiet, down here in the kitchen, are the mornings that the kitchen comes alive and is determined to foil my plans.

When you live in a house and are mother to 3 very small children, you fight for your right to...have peace and quiet. No matter how small the window of time may be. I can be pretty fierce about my quiet time. This isn't the first time I've written about it. (see Mommy Snack) I write about it because my mind is allowed to have it's own thoughts, not the thoughts of my brood. As much as I do love them, I'm tried of answering "why", "what are you doing, Mommy?", "what's that, Mommy?" (that one I get ALL the time and its for something they know exactly what it is. So I just answer them with the same question, because I refuse to answer it.) or the always dependable, "We go shopping?" (a.k.a. "are we going somewhere today?)

I get up an hour and half before my children do. I sneak around the kitchen trying to make my coffee in the the coffee pot that has the completely wrong time on it and that I am too lazy to change. I make my movements extra "stealth" but in reality it's as if my limbs work in a less graceful manner than if I weren't trying hard at all.

I open the cabinet door to reveal the holy grail of coffee cups...mine. "Mine" happens to be the cup that is the biggest and is located in the front portion of the shelve, keeping things quiet and peaceful. Right. Getting it out is easy, its the setting down of the mug on granite that proves to be a 9 on the difficulty scale. You see, I have NOT yet had my coffee, so it's definitely a challenge. I would love to have a butler for coffee retrieval, like the one in Meet Joe Black. He gives Brad Pitt peanut butter for the first time. Yeah, that guy would be great.

So, I somehow get the coffee made, but not without banging the glass coffee pot on the edge of the sink, dropping a spoon or slamming closed a drawer that I had no intention of slamming. I was trying to use my hip to gently scoot the drawer to a semi-shut position, but no, I don't know how, but it still slams.

I'm not what you would call hungover, but I did have a glass or two of sangria last night. Your probably wondering why this post is not about that. I concur (love that word, it's up there with rogue). I tried to get you some pictures last night of that giant jug of fruity wine perfection, but no go. The pictures were just terrible! Stuff was stuck to the sides of the pitcher, finger prints danced around the edge and I had no time to mess with it because my littlest child was screaming constantly if he was not being held and my neighbor Teri was over showing me how to make stir-fry. I will make you the sangria again, I promise. It was truly delish, but now I'm super duper groggy. Bad mommy!

Final wardrobe note: I have the most ridiculous concoction of fashion seen on a mommy this year. You see, I really do use clothes to merely cloth myself in the morning. Fashion goes out the window with my pride. I mean, who cares what I look like when I'm wiping poopy butts and bathing my duo of 3 year old madness? I found it so amusing at how far down hill my morning fashion has gone that I had to share.

Setting: Catwalk constructed of kitchen tile, flanked by strewn kitchen stuff and half-prepared breakfast foods.
MC: [enter Lauren, gimping down the catwalk, frying pan in hand, disheveled hair and a crooked smile on her face] Lauren is wearing mis-matched perfection. Donning a robe 2 sized too small with a belt that belongs to her army green skirt, she emanates practicality and inventiveness. Her leggings are functionality at it's best, with slits cut at the kneecaps for maximum movement and comfort. Lauren enjoys strolls on the beach and margaritas. Thank you Lauren! [wimpy "golf clap" is heard in the audience, residing on this side of crazy!]

So anyways, I'm nursing my gigantor mug of coffee while writing to you Foodie Friends. I've gotta say, I love you all quite dearly. When I don't post, I feel a disconnect. It's possible I am addicted. I've made so many new friends through this journey of blogging. When I read your comments, my heart just soars. I wish I could hug everyone of you.

Much love and thank you for reading my mind wanderings, powered by a half-mug of coffee and a Clif bar.

She Raided the Hurricane Stash...Quickie Summer Chicken and Pasta Salad

Nap time is a time for mommies to get much needed breaks from their cherub children. Sometimes mommies will indulge in a movie and completely forget that they still have to make dinner and care for children once they wake up. Sometimes mommies forget to defrost some meat for dinner and are left wondering what to make with an hour to spare. (the movie was Alice in Wonderland, Tim Burton's newest creation. It was delightful and I had a hard time snapping out of it and back into reality)

I enter the pantry and start digging. I have to say, I did tap into the Hurricane Stash. Cringe. Cardinal sin this time of year and to make it even more sinful, I used canned chicken. Please don't stop reading now...pretty sure you've all done it at one time or another. Anyways, this was an emergency in it's own right.

I grab the forbidden canned chicken breast (the giant can-size you get at Sam's Club) all the while waiting for the Red Queen, (or the Queen of Hearts), to start screaming "Off with her head!". But I left the pantry unscathed and head attached.

Raiding the frig is so much fun. Especially when I don't know what I am doing. As I peer into the vegetable drawers, my mind is ticking away at how I can form what is in there into food that will be good, creative and fun to eat. I am reminded of a pasta salad my mom used to make when I was a kid.

We would spend all day at the pool. Once we got home, the only thing we could focus on was our hunger. (swimming always makes me insanely hungry.) We would make whatever was quick and didn't heat up the house. One of those dishes was a cold tuna pasta salad with peas and tiny chunks of cheddar cheese. There was lots of mayo and green onion. I think the peas were there only to create what looked nutritious. It was cold, creamy and filled up our swimmer-hungry bellies just fine.

So, inspired by such a salad but not by the calories, I skimmed it down to lighter ingredients and injected fresh herbal and citrus notes. I threw in some fruit for sweetness too. I think the greatest thing about this all-in-one meal is that you could use shrimp or flaked fish from the night before. It could be one of those salads where you dump in all the veggies that are on their way to veggie heaven, before they expire, that is. It would be great for a girls luncheon (though, I never go to anything called a "luncheon", don't quite know why I'm even using that word, except this is the kind of food us girls like.) or a baby shower. But as feminine as this salad may be, it was still masculine enough for the hubs to chomp it down like a man.

 light sour cream

light mayo

me chopping, seemingly incredibly fast, but not.

organic Gala apples, small dice

lemon squeezy

salad being mixed and making that luscious, sticky-smooshy sound

The soft focus on this pic makes me want to sing an angelic "Ahhh-hh!"

sprouts for crunch

toasty bread for even more crunch...you know I like my crunch.

marveling at the crunch...the fork is jealous in a "forky" kind of way.

Summer Chicken and Pasta Salad

prep time: 1hr.

serves: 4

1/2 lb. orecchiette pasta, or whatever you like, cooked al dente, cooled under cold running water
1/4 c. (heaping) light sour cream
1/4 c. (heaping) light mayo
Zest of one lemon
Juice of half a lemon
1/3 c. finely chopped fresh basil (about 4 large sprigs)
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1 gala (or other) apple, small dice
1 handful of grapes, cut in half
1 large can of chicken breast or 1 cup cooked chicken, fish, shrimp
Salt and Pepper
Clover sprouts for garnish
Toasty, crusty bread to eat with it

Dump everything into a large bowl and mix it up. Now if you are super hungry, like we were, just eat right away, but otherwise letting it set in the frig for an hour will give the flavors time to marry. Top with your crunchy sprouts and serve with bread.

Stay cool, Foodies!