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Appetites and Adventures

Cinnamon Cacao Nut Butter

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“Everything But the Kitchen Sink” Butter might be a more appropriate name.

Often on cloudy days I get wild hairs in the kitchen.  Today was no exception – for some reason I decided to clean out my nut collection.  Maybe it’s all the balls I’ve been making lately.

This spread was cinnamon-flavored before it the nut butter idea was born.  Someone once told me you can make your own cinnamon powder by grinding up cinnamon sticks.  Fresh cinnamon sounds like a cool idea, right?

Maybe I should have done some research or purchased a VitaMix.  My blender wasn’t up to the task.  I shifted gears and eventually used a coffee grinder (which does work, btw), but not before cracking the lid of my blender and adding some groovy permanent cinnamon marks to the bottom.

Anyhow, the cinnamon does taste good.

With a cinnamon-dusted counter top blender in mind, the nut butter idea was born.  Toss in some nuts, blend, and add more cinnamon.  Taste.  Eye coffee grinder.  Stream of consciousness wanders to cacao nibs (they’re like coffee beans, no?).

Result?  A winter-y nut butter with cocoa crunches and cinnamon swirls that makes you want to stir it into apple cider.

Perhaps dipping apples into it is a smarter choice… I’ve had enough kitchen excitement for one day. 🙂

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Cinnamon Cacao Nut Butter

  • 4-5 Brazil nuts
  • 1/2 C hazelnuts
  • 1/4 C peanuts (salted)
  • 1/8 C walnuts
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 T cacao nibs

Place the nuts in a blender and blend until beginning to become creamy, stopping to scrape down the sides as necessary.  Add cinnamon and continue to blend until smooth,  pausing once or twice to adjust taste as you may want to add salt depending on your preference.

Lastly, add the cacao nibs and pulse just enough to incorporate.  The goal is to have some crunchy bites remaining.

Notes: If your nuts aren’t blending into a cream, add a bit of olive, canola, or coconut oil.  You may also use chocolate chips in place of cacao nibs, or omit completely.

***

Every time I make nut butter I wonder why I ever use store bought.  Check out this spiced almond butter for a more savory flavor.

Do you make your own nut butter?

What is your favorite spread?

Boozy, Herby Fig Jam

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Fig.  Balsamic.  Lavender.  Booze.

Is there a more perfect combination?  I don’t think so.

Growing up my grandmother always made muscadine jam using muscadines right fresh from my grandad’s vines (where I was stung on the lip by a bee, couldn’t be a flower girls in my aunt’s wedding, and was scarred for life 🙂 ).

Grandaddy’s Vineyard (I think this was taken by my baby sister, Madison)

The jam was sweet and fresh, the perfect accompaniment to a slice of toast in the morning or a grilled PB&J on a cold winter evening.  Basically, it’s the jam.

After I moved out of my mom’s house, my jam supply was cut off!  Hearing about my cravings for it, my grandmother began giving me jars for Christmas.  The perfect gift!  She would even make a meat sauce with it that is wonderful on pork or tempeh mixed with spicier, Asian-inspired flavors.

Christmas back in the day… can you tell which one I am?

All of this to say I never had any idea how to make jam.   Truthfully, I never felt particularly move to try.  Why bother when my Grandmother is my supplier?!

Until I stumbled upon this article about a jam stand (not to be confused with a jam band) in NYC and began thinking about the possibilities…

They make Drunken Monkey Jam – banana, rum, and lime.  Best.  Idea.  Ever.

But it is winter and those are summer flavors.  Then I saw this fig conserve by the lovely Grubarazzi.

In my version I replaced the honey with a bit of agave and Stevia.  It wasn’t detectable at all – probably because the figs were so ripe and sweet.  I also increased the rosemary and added Grand Marnier.  The orange liquor was awesome with the savory rosemary flavor and the touch of acid from the balsamic.

Is it my grandmother’s jam?  No.  It’s a different jam, and I still ate it with joy.

I even ate some with peanut butter on toast one morning, reminiscent of my childhood grilled PB&J.

Fig and Rosemary Jam

by Laura Hall

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 25 mins

Keywords: appetizer side snack breakfast brunch vegan vegetarian low-sugar nut-free low-sodium low-carb balsamic fig rosemary fall

Ingredients (1 jar)

  • 1 C fresh black mission figs, quartered and stemmed
  • 2/3 C water
  • 1 T light agave nectar
  • 10 drops NuNaturals Pure Liquid Vanilla Stevia
  • 1 T good-quality balsamic (I used a 12-year aged)
  • 2 T Grand Mariner (optional)
  • 2 T fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 1/2 tsp Guar Gum

Instructions

In a sauce pan stir together ingredients (except Guar) and bring to a boil.

Reduce to simmer, cover pan, and let cook for 20 mins, or until liquid reduces.

Mash with a fork to break up the fig (chunks will remain).

Stir, returning lid and simmering as necessary until most of liquid is evaporated and the mixture begins to thicken.

Mix Guar Gum with a tsp of cold water and immediately pour in to pan.

Stir immediately, as mix will thicken nearly instantaneously.

Transfer to a standard jelly jar (or other glass jar) and allow to cool before covering. Store in fridge.

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***

My first “real” jam.  I’m over the hump – beware!

What is your favorite jam flavor?

What new things have you tried lately?

Slow Food and Curried Butternut Squash Dip

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Remembering hurts sometimes.

Morning view from our B&B

Maybe I’m being a little dramatic… but I fell in love in the Piedmont region of Italy.  Specifically in Alba.

Our first day in the region was spent bumming around the small town of Alba.  Two important things to note about Alba:

  1. Ferrero (the company that makes Nutella) is based there
  2. It is most famous for its magnificent white truffles (tartufi bianco), which are in season from October-December

Therefore, the city smells of chocolate and truffles.  How could I not fall in love?

We took our time at the B&B sleeping in and getting ready for the day.  All of the train travel, 55 lb bag carrying, and late night arrivals were taking a toll!  We arrived in the city center just in time for lunch at one of the original Slow Food restaurants – Osteria dell’Arco.

Not familiar with the Slow Food movement?  Briefly, from their website:

Slow Food is a global, grassroots organization with supporters in 150 countries around the world who are linking the pleasure of good food with a commitment to their community and the environment.

To say that it was a religious experience would be an understatement.

To begin, I was THRILLED with my massive salad topped with perfect late-season tomatos, carrots, and yellow peppers.  The glass of Nebbiolo was pretty tasty too.

Insalada Mista

We ordered a Primi to share, followed by two Secondi.

The primi was so good it almost made me cry – gnocchi with shaved black truffles.  That was the lightest, fluffiest gnocchi that I have ever put in my mouth (and we ate quite a bit on this trip).  The sauce was perfectly creamy with a touch of salt – just enough to complement the earthy, rich truffles.

The following dishes were also excellent: Brasato di vitello al barolo (braised veal in Barolo wine) and an eggplant dish with red peppers and creamy lemony ricotta.

Check out the Slow Food plate!

Post-lunch explorations took us all over the city, admiring truffles, pastas, and various meats.

We wandered into one particular truffle shop and were admiring the jars truffle-laced goodies when I did something embarrassing.  I knocked a 25 Euro jar of anchovies with white truffles off the shelf.  It shattered onto the floor and the store filled with the aroma of truffles… which gave way to the less pleasant smell of anchovies.  Call me Grace.

I apologized profusely to the man working and mentally prepared myself to have to shell out the money for the merch.  much to my surprise, the man insisted I not worry about it and – since I wouldn’t stop apologizing – he gave me a piece of truffled chocolate!

To this day I’m not sure how the next part of this story came to be.  The man – Tomi – ended up talking to us for a bit.  We told him how much we wanted to have some good white truffles, which are hard to find on menus early in the season.  It turns out it isn’t uncommon for people to buy truffles to bring to a restaurant for dinner (BYOT), and he knew of a shop where we could buy them (with his 50% off discount!!!).  The really mind-blowing part is that Tomi offered to drive us to his friend’s restaurant in the neighboring town of Teriso for dinner!

How does this stuff happen to us?!

We decided to take our chances that he wouldn’t be a mass murderer (he wasn’t – he was a very nice Japanese-transplant to Italia) and accepted his generous offer.  Off to the store to buy truffles!

Clockwise: local hazelnuts, black truffles, white truffles, samples of various truffle spreads

You lick it, you bought it!

Our very own 0.26 ounces of white truffles

.26 oz of white truffles would normally cost about 100 euro.  We got it for 50.  That’s cheap compared to what you find in the States – I just heard that a local Atlanta restaurant is offering a white truffle pasta dish for $60.  Thanks Tomi!

Profumo di Vino has the coolest menu design I’ve ever seen!

Profumo di Vino’s chef/owner, Memo, offered a delicious tasting menu… all of which i can no longer name, but I’ll do my best!  ‘Scuse the nighttime low-quality shots.

2008 Elio Grasso Barbera d’Alba

Pumpkin mousse

Encrusted poached egg (post-cut) over a potato puree

Memo shaving our truffles over his olive-oil coated tajarin

Eggs, white truffles, and a phenomenal Hilberg Barbera d’Alba.

This was incredibly tender and moist… I think he said it was quail but it seems too big?!

Molten chocolate cake. Served with a side of jalapeno gelato.

Normal people might go home after all that.  We aren’t normal.

The whole kitchen came out to talk to us and we shared drinks with a staff from the following countries: Mexico, America, Sweden, and Japan.  There may have been a push-up contest involved.  Only in Italy.

Who needs a dose of health food after that smorgasbord?  Are you seeing why I need to cleanse?  LOL!  🙂

I had a little bit of butternut squash left over and wanted to eat it in a new way.  Remembering the Butternut Rosemary Hummus I made last spring, I decided on a dip.  Curried Butternut Squash Dip.

The curry and ginger flavors with the sweetness of the squash was delicious.  I enjoyed the whole dish with carrots, red bell peppers, and celery.  Then I cleaned the bowl with my fingers.

The garnish is simply roasted butternut squash seeds.  They are just like pumpkin seeds and super easy to make:

  1. Pick them out of the “guts” and give them a good rinse
  2. Spread them out and allow to dry overnight 
  3. Coat with a bit of coconut oil and cinnamon (careful not to get them too moist)
  4. Roast them in the oven on 325 for ~30 mins, stirring once or twice
  5. Allow to cool completely before storing in an airtight container

They make a great grab and go snack!

Curried Butternut Squash Dip

  • 1/2 C butternut squash, roasted
  • 2 tsp rosemary
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, minced
  • 1/2 tsp curry powder
  • 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
  • Juice from a wedge of lemon
  • S+P, to taste

Place all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth.  Adjust spices and add more oil (or water) as needed.

Use as a dip for your favorite veggies and chips or as a spread on sandwiches or wraps.  Or simply eat with a spoon while standing over the blender.

***

I think the Piedmont recaps have been hard for me to begin because I’m still sad I had to leave.

Have you ever had white truffles?

What’s your favorite way to eat butternut squash?

Healthy (Meatless) Meal Ideas for Busy People

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Today I am in Valpolicella tasting Amarone – my favorite wine. 🙂

Lisa from Healthful Sense has graciously composed a rockin’ guest post for you all.  This is the first in a serious of guest posts from some of my FAVORITE bloggers.  Lisa’s blog is fairly new to me.  It was love at first visit to her site when I saw her innvoative, tasty-looking recipes.  (Epecially the vegan brownies – OMG).  

Hopefully you will discover some new bloggers through this guest series!

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Morning!  I’m Lisa and I blog over at Healthful Sense!

I’m so excited to be a guest poster on Laura’s blog today!  We have alot in common – we love to eat healthy, make crazy food concoctions, and share a love of peanut flour (yeah baby).  She definitely has me beat on the exercise though!

One other commonality that we share is that we are extremely busy… she with work and working out… and I with kids (3 rugrats).  I still haven’t decided which is more exhausting — working 3 jobs (before I had kids) or being a stay-at-home mom of 3 little ones.

Anyway, since we are both busy people it’s safe to say that we’ve both become “experts” on making quick, healthy meals.  So quick & healthy meals are going to be the theme of today’s post.

 

Quick & Healthy Meal Ideas

1. Greek Yogurt

Greek yogurt is usually put in the snack category but because it’s so rich in protein you can easily make a quick meal out of it.

Here are some fabulous ideas:

Laura’s cinnamon roll oats:

 

 

And her Sweet Potato Greek Yogurt:

 

You have got to try the sweet potato/greek yogurt combo… it is amazing!!

Another fabulous combo is peanut flour/greek yogurt!!  It’s packed with protein from both the peanut flour and the greek yogurt.  I recently did a post about peanut flour — it’s a great product that you can add to just about anything!

 

One last idea is this dark chocolate hemp mousse made with greek yogurt.

 

 

2. Smoothies

Smoothies might just be the perfect quick & healthy meal.  We both make killer green smoothies!

Laura’s Avocado Green Smoothie:

 

 

And my High Protein Green Smoothie:

 

3. Pudding

These pudding ideas are packed with protein and sure to satisfy.

 

Chocolate Breakfast Pudding:

 

Sweet Potato Pudding:

 

 

4.  Bananas & Peanut butter

This is my all-time favorite quick/healthy meal.  Simply a banana with peanut butter, cococa powder and cinnamon.

Now you have no excuse for skipping a meal due to the lack of time 😉

What is your favorite quick and healthy meal?

 

♥ Lisa

Stop by and visit me soon at Healthful Sense … muah!

***

I’m with Lisa – PB and banana is the best snack. 🙂

Have you ever put avocado in your smoothie?

What’s your favorite wine?

 

 

 

Skinny Girl Thai Greek Sauce

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Do you enjoy Skinnygirl Margaritas?

 

 

Apparently they are in hot water (as opposed to frosty boozy deliciousness).  According to TMZ, there has been a class action lawsuit filed against the and Whole Foods has removed the products from the shelf.

The drink claims to be “all-natural” right on the bottle… yet it has a preservative called sodium benzoate in it.  Alone it’s not so bad… but when combined vitamin C  (absorbic acid) it forms a carcinogen.  I couldn’t find an ingredient list online to determine if the Skinnygirl Margarita contains vitamin C.

 

Creator Bethenny Frankel released the following statement:

I wouldn’t sell anything that I don’t drink myself.

 

I don’t actually like these.  What I do like is that they inspired restaurants to make their own “skinny” margaritas using agave and fresh lime juice.  They are SO much better than the sour mix ickiness!

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I’m happy to report that my dinner was natural and had a generous helping of a skinny sauce.

 

It was intended to be a wrap… then I got carried away with the greens!

After a travel-heavy week I always crave fresh, raw food.  I topped an Ezekial 4:9 Sprouted Grain Tortilla with plenty of it!

 

My pile of raw greens:

  • Spinach
  • French green beans
  • Sprouts
  • Zucchini
  • Cucumber
  • Broccoli

 

The secret’s in the sauce.  Thai Greek Sauce.  Thai because of the curry paste and peanut flavor. Greek thanks to the yogurt and lemon.  With basil for good measure.

Tangy, spicy, and a little nutty.  Like your favorite aunt.

 

This tasty sauce made the perfect spread for my open-faced wrap.  Is there such a thing as an open-faced wrap?  There is now!

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Thai Greek Sauce

  • 1/4 C Greek yogurt
  • Juice of 1/4 small lemon
  • 5-6 basil leaves, chopped
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tsp peanut flour
  • 1/8 tsp red curry paste
  • shake of cumin
  • S+P, to taste

 

Mix together in small bowl, spread on the nearest victim item, and devour!

***

I just realized there’s no point in unpacking from this week’s travels before I head out next week.  Lovely.

Do you like Skinnygirl Margaritas?  Do you care about the inclusion of a preservative?

What’s everyone getting into this weekend?

 

Smoked Almond-Avocado Pesto

By

I got to see my baby this weekend!

Relax – I didn’t become the Virgin Mary on you (and that would be the situation at this point).

Remember with my BFF had her baby?  Jackson is now 6 weeks old and SO cute.  Big blue eyes, chunky little cheeks… he doesn’t look like a monkey at all!

 

I took the new parents dinner Friday night and had a great time catching up and hearing all the fun new parent stories.

We had a Whole Foods rotisserie chicken.  I love you, WF… but your rotisserie chicken is ALWAYS dry.

I also made some bulgar and pesto to go with it.

Please ignore the terrible picture.  This is what happens wthen you eat after the sun goes down.

Clearly I can’t make anything too normal… this pesto contained smoked almonds and  avocado!

Who doesn’t love a creamy sauce?

 

Crisco was nice enough to send me 3 of their olive oils to taste.*  I was excited to have the opportunity to use the Extra Virgin variety in this pesto.

It was good – it’s not a $30 bottle of rich, buttery olive oil (oh, how I’m looking forward to Italy!), but it is perfect to mix into items such as this.  It blended well and didn’t fight the other flavors.

A few things to think about when making and dip/sauce:

  • Add the olive oil in slowly with the processor running – this is the trick to getting the smooth, creamy texture
  • Don’t be afraid to taste/adjust the spices –  I like to play with different herbs and heat levels (yes, you should half the jalapeno if you don’t like a little kick 🙂 )
  • Add things in small amounts – you can always increase flavors, but you can’t take them back!

*I received Crisco’s Olive Oil as part of the FoodBuzz Tastemaker Program; however, all opinions are my own!*

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Smoked Almond-Avocado Pesto

  • 1 large bunch basil (~20 leaves)
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 1 jalapeno, seeded
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1/4 C smoked almonds
  • Juice from 1/2 lemon
  • 2 T Crisco Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • S+P, to taste

 

Place all ingredients except the olive oil, salt, and pepper in food processor.  Blend until just combined.  

Slowly add olive oil with processor on low speed.  Adjust flavors, salt and pepper as needed.

Use as a dip or a topping on your favorite grain/pasta/salad.

***

My calf feels so much better… except when I was icing my knees tonight it seized up.  Weird.

Do you have a favorite herb or spice to add to foods?

Has anyone ever had weird calf pain?  Any advice?

 

Beet Sunflower Pesto

By

The beat goes on…

Ok, this post isn’t about Sonny & Cher.  You can thank you later when you’re humming this song.

I made pesto!  Oil-free, vegan, purple pesto.

 

With beets.  Don’t be scared – it really is good.  I don’t even like beets and I loved it.

Why buy beets if I don’t even like them?  Because they are really good for you!

Among their long list of benefits:

  • Beets are high in nitrates, which can increase exercise endurance
  • are rich in dietary fiber, vitamins and minerals such as: Vitamin C, Niacin (B-3), Pantothenic acid (B-5), Pyridoxine (B-6), carotenoids, iron, manganese, magnesium, potassium, and folates
  • They are a source of betalains, which provide antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and detoxification support
  • They contain two carotenoids, lutein and zeaxanthin, which are unique good for eye health
  • Betanin pigments from beets have been shown to lessen tumor cell growth and may have other anti-cancer benefits

The secret to making beets taste good is to add distinct flavors to them.  The citrus from the lemon and the sweet nuttiness from the toasted sunflower seeds did a lot to help.  Basil and garlic are, of course, is a great flavors to use in pesto.  The balsamic gave the flavor a last little push over the edge.

You could also add some goat cheese or nutritional yeast to the mix to further amp up the flavor.  Mine would have included goat cheese… but I planned poorly and used it all in my morning eggs.

For the “pasta” I improvised spiralized zucchini.  Using a cheese slicer.  Who says I don’t use all my kitchen gadgets?!

Topped with more sunflower seeds, red pepper flakes, and a tasty new French raw milk cheese: Raclette.

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Beet Sunflower Pesto (Oil-Free and Vegan)

  • 2 medium beets (I cheated used packaged, pre-cooked)
  • ~15 large basil leaves
  • 1/4 C toasted sunflower seeds
  • 1 large garlic clove
  • 2 tsp balsamic vinegar
  • Juice of 1/2 fresh lemon
  • S+P, to taste

Toast sunflower seeds on stove top (~4-5 mins).  Watch them closely and still as needed for an even toast.  

Place all ingredients in food processor and blend until smooth.

Makes about 1/2 cup.

***

I went back for seconds thirds.  It’s also good atop brussels, FYI.

Do you have a favorite non-traditional pesto?

Do you ever eat things just because you know they are beneficial?  Were you successful in making it taste good?

Chipotle Corn Hummus

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This weekend is going to be already hella awesome.

Last night I tried a new restaurant – Escorpian – before going to see Florence and the Machine.

My chicken con red mole and grapefruit was tasty (aside from an incredibly salty side salad). I really liked how the tart grapefruit played with the heat of the red mole.

Springer Mountain chicken with red mole and grapefruit

The stars of this meal were the beverages.  Escorpian’s mixologist has put together a creative, fresh bar menu. I can’t wait to go back and try more!

The El Chamuco consists of blanco tequila, ginger, blackberries, lime, creme de cassis, and sage.

El Chamuco

I did NOT try my friend’s appetizer: octopus ceviche (she claims it was fantastic).

Octopus Ceviche

Would you have eaten that?!

Florence and the Machine put on an amazing show.  Florence’s voice is massive.  Her tiny self filled the room and had us mesmerized for close to 3 hours.

Today I am headed to the lake with a couple of treats to share on the boat.

In honor of the 4th of July (and my love of hummus), I decided to turn grilled corn on the cob into hummus.  Who doesn’t like a little smoky-sweetness to their hummus?

Since my building doesn’t allow grills I had to cheat a bit.

I bought the grilled corn from the counter at Whole Foods.  It was advertised as being cilantro-lime grilled corn… but it really didn’t have much flavor.

After I turned it into hummus it didn’t suffer from a lack of flavor!  This will knock your socks off.

The chipotles are especially good with the sweetness of the corn.  Add the chipotles and adobo sauce one at a time to adjust the spice-level to your taste (you guys know how I am with the heat!).

Chipotle Corn Hummus

Chipotle Corn Hummus

  • 2 ears of grilled corn
  • 1 C chickpeas
  • 2-3 T adobo sauce
  • 3 chipotle peppers
  • 1 serrano pepper
  • Juice of 1/2 large lime
  • 1T tahini
  • 2 green onions
  • 1/3 C cilantro
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp cayenne
  • S+P, to taste

Put it all in a blender and mix until smooth.  You may need to scrape down the sides periodically or add a bit of liquid (water or olive oil) if it isn’t mixing well.

Serve with your favorite chips, celery, carrots, or other fun veggie sides.

***

I’m looking forward to running Atlanta’s massive Peachtree Road Race (the largest 10K in the world!) Monday with 60,000+ of my closest friends. 🙂

Is anyone else running a race?

What are your big plans for fireworks this weekend?

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