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Cheers to the return of the sun, Hooray we will begin to gain daylight from here on out. Hope you take time to enjoy and celebrate each season. So light some candles or have a fire this symbolizes the return of the sun, let's just hope spring comes early.
~ HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE ~
Ok well I think we have to come to the realization that winter is upon us and you know what that means living in the midwest ... it means get ready to bunker down and try and stay warm and cozy for the next few months! So for me it means getting cozy with my dear friend cabernet :-) Now I ABSOLUETLY hate winter but I am going try very hard to stay positive and cheerful, it is quite a challenge when our winters are so brutal. So there will be many nights where I will light all my candles, turn on the jazz pour a glass of vino and dream of warm beachy places. Ah to Dream.... that is how I plan on getting through this harsh reality of winter in the midwest. I also plan on trying new yummy recipe so on that note here is my Fresh Friday recipe now I have to say this is one of my absolute favs!
Asian Lettuce Wraps
For the peanut sauce...
1/3 cup of water
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 tbs lime juice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/3 cup cooking sherry
2/3 cup peanut butter (your choice) to be healthy you can use smart balance.
blend all ingredients with a wisk and microwave until smooth.
In the meantime... saute in a wok
edamame
bean spouts
chick peas(aka garbano beans)
Shiitake mushrooms
Add 5-6 basil leaves
1/2 freshly grated ginger
2-3 fresh garlic gloves minced
pinch of red pepper flakes
2 tbs sesame oil
2 tbs soy sauce
2 tbs cooking sherry
Cook all veggies to desired doness
serve in lettuce cups now I tried butter crisp lettuce and they are great just not so sturdy I suggest iceburg, not my favorite lettuce but it is actually great for this dish
add chopped carrots, chopped peanuts or cashews and dollop a little peanut sauce on each. Fantastic, you must try this dish I REPEAT If you like asian style food you will love this and will dream about it!
I think this dish would be great paired with a nice glass of Reisling just my humble opinion on wine and food pairings. The sweetness of the wine balances the spice in this dish.
Hope you have a great weekend and try to stay warm and cozy!
Cheers~
Well it's finally friday!!! is everyone in a food coma??? I hope everyone had a wonderful thanksgiving. I have so many things to be thankful for I don't even know where to begin.... I may not be rich in the monetary sense but I have wonderful friends and family and for that I am MOST thankful. So I will keep this post simple and leave you with my fresh friday post. This was my Thanksgiving contribution...
Roasted Root Vegetables
1 large fennel bulb chopped
1 rutabaga chopped
12 Brussels sprouts
3 parsnips peeled and chopped
3 turnips chopped
shiitake mushrooms
1 small onion diced or shallots (your choice)
8 garlic gloves minced
place all veggies in a bowl and mix together olive oil teaspoon sea salt and 3tbs balsamic vinegar
place in glass baking dish and bake at 425 remove and toss all veggies with truffle oil and fresh chopped tarragon.
I have to say this was out of this world Tasty!
I hope you enjoy the rest of your weekend...
TGIF !!! well we are full swing into fall and on our way into winter. So what is a person to do to get through the long midwest winter??? Well for starters you have to stay active and find something to keep you moving.... For me it's is going to be yoga and riding the trainer. You have to keep your mind and body active along with keeping your taste buds from getting bored.
There is something comforting about a bowl of homemade soup , some good hearty bread followed with a nice glass of cabernet and some good oraganic chocolate. Now that is a match made in heaven. Since I have really gotten into cooking I am so amazed at how easy it really is to prepare a good healthy meal that is also so satisfying. I can't believe how much I have learned about flavors and using fresh seasonal ingredients. I really love the idea of cooking with seasonal ingedients it's a great way to try new things and to get out of your box. So with that I leave you with my Fresh Friday recipe...
***** Roasted Red Pepper Dip*****
One jar of roasted organic red peppers
2 tbs olive oil
Cup of sauteed mushrooms of your choice
Cup of toasted walnuts ( place on cookie sheet and toast for 5-7 min) at 375
Salt and pepper to taste
1 to 2 garlic cloves
Pinch of crush red pepper to spice it up
Throw all ingredients into food processor and puree
Serve with organic blue corn chips or all natural pita chips
Enjoy, oh and don't forget to pour yourself a glass of vino ....
- You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just good food from fresh ingredients.
- Julia Child US cook & cookbook author (1912 - 2004)
Wow Haley is almost as tall as me, not quite but I have no doubt she will be and may even be taller! Wow where does time go.... It is so cool to be passing on my traditions with my niece and nephew.
I know what you are thinking... the husband looks less than thrilled in this picture probably because it was freezing this day and I asked him to take a million pictures, none the less he was a trooper , and happily took the pictures that I asked him to take for me :-) I really do have an awesome husband he puts up with all my crazy antics!
Noah brought his chain saw so he can help cut down the tree too cute! Oh yeah and his monkey had to come along too and be part of the tradition. Do you have any family traditions? I have many traditions some new some old but none the less I love them, they mean a lot too me. I think along the way in life people have forgotten about their family traditions and it is really a shame. So I hope you get to spend time with your family this holiday season and share in a tradition or even start new ones. Traditions are a great way to spend time with and appreciate the people you love. I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. I can't wait for my next tradition, mimosas on Christmas morning. Now this was not my original tradition it was my sisters mother in laws who sadly is no longer with us , so to honor her we will be toasting to her memory on Christmas morning. Rest in peace Janis Case you are gone but not forgotten!!!
So this is how our camping weekend started out with this amazing sunrise. Now it is not very often you get to appreciate a beautiful sunrise. The sky looked like it was on fire. This was one of those moments that you just savored the experience completely. I took a deep breath and said to myself how lucky am I to be able to enjoy this.
Then we rolled into the little sleepy town of Nashville Indiana and walked around and looked at all the cute little shops that were all decked out for the holidays, I think that really got me in the Christmas spirit. We went back that same night to see the town a lit up with all the twinkle lights, they even had trolly all done up like a sleigh too cute! 
So the hubby went off to ride 20 some odd miles of mountain bike trail within the park. I stayed back at the campsite and hung out with Molly and drank vino and made my self a little campfire , so perfect and so relaxing. I really needed to recharge my batteries. We headed out the next morning to do a little hiking and we were welcomed by this nice little lake, truly a beautiful day for a hike in the woods.
The sky was so clear and blue this day... 
Well another blah day in the midwest today... So I was tinkering around and dreaming of being on the beach, which I often do and I thought I would post some pics of the beach, thought it may brighten my spirits. I didn't have a bad day I just catch myself day dreaming about warm beachy places when it is dreary here. Now don't get me wrong we had a fabulous past weekend and I definetly appreciated every last minute of it! I was so thankful to have been able to be outside and soak up all the warm sunshine, it is intoxicating to the soul. 
Well I guess we have to do what ever it takes to get through our long winters in the midwest, maybe we will get lucky and have a mild winter, until then I will have to stay inspired and try to be positive. There's always my friend red wine to get me through! oh and I did get a new awesome cook book so I am inspired to try something new I just love cooking. Hope you find things to keep you inspired this winter, until then I will just stay focused on positive things and count down the days til my toes hit the sand! 
