What a two pound log of butter and one night in the mountains can do...
The last few weeks I have been kind of absent due to my life being simply lived! I have been to a concert or two, baked pies, worked, played in the ocean, driven to farm parties and made countless delicious dinners. I won't bore you with too many details but will give you all a little taste of what I am feeling and where I am seeking my paths.
Last night after working at the barn in the cooling evening air, listening to my favorite book on tape, I came home and started on dinner for my Beau and I. Risotto with garlic, spinach and kale. I REALLY dig risotto because it is relatively quick, always impressive and ALWAYS delicious, regardless of what you add into it. My love of risotto started last fall when I was broke and starving. I would buy a butternut squash, a cheap bag of arborio rice and some parmesan cheese. After that first taste of rich, gooey and filling goodness, I made every kind of risotto whenever I had an hour to spare.
I finished the risotto and we downed it liked two hungry wolves, then made a quick dash to help a friend out with a broken down car. Upon arriving home, I discovered the risotto wasn't quite enough for HIS undeterred appetite and set to work making something else to satiate the male stomach. One of my favorite activities is to look at a somewhat barren fridge and cabinet and find SOMETHING to make. My eyes fixed on eggs, buckwheat flour and the remainder of greens. AHA, stuffed crepes. To most this doesn't sound quick and easy, BUT IT IS!!! And the best part of this is that a basic crepe recipe makes a BUNCH of crepes so you can have some leftover for the morning.
I discovered I had no milk or butter! HORRORS! But, I did have coconut oil and water will work instead of milk, in a pinch. I was super grateful to discover these substitutes, which make it that much closer to a vegan crepe, something I have been dying to accomplish for a while.
After making a huge stack of kale, garlic and spinach stuffed crepes sprinkled with a bit o' cheddar, he was contentedly stuffed and I put the left over crepes in the fridge for the morning to be spread with jam or BUTTER.
There is not a better feeling for me than to be able to make something out of very little and satisfy and please someone with the outcome. Cooking, baking and eating are my favorite activities and I am a lucky girl to have such a man who will happily eat just about anything I whip up...or at least try it.
Today, I discovered a recipe for a grilled cheese made with Arepas , plantains, black beans and Monterey Jack cheese...I am pretty excited about dinner. I am also making another gluten free pizza with homemade tomato sauce, local mozzarella, spinach and basil from my own front porch. My herbs are EXPLODING, which makes my heart soar.
Last week, we (when I say we, it always means my mountain man and I) went to Charlottesville for a concert and to adventure about the mountain towns nearby. We discovered a delicious breakfast joint and became pleasantly stuffed with coffee and grits galore. We drove about the valleys and towns therein, soaking in the mist and melodies from the tires through puddles and over gravel. Something about falling asleep the night before, rain soaked from a sudden storm and knowing the next day was ours, lifted our spirits and left us with a security neither of us had felt before in each other.
Amazing what one night away from the norm can do for two adventuring souls. I am itching for more, but will content myself with the promise of a road trip for my birthday in August to the North Country. Well, I've dough to make and herbs to chop and a puppy waiting at my feet to catch any chunks of butter or greens. Yes, she eats ANYTHING. She is most assuredly my dog...
Last night after working at the barn in the cooling evening air, listening to my favorite book on tape, I came home and started on dinner for my Beau and I. Risotto with garlic, spinach and kale. I REALLY dig risotto because it is relatively quick, always impressive and ALWAYS delicious, regardless of what you add into it. My love of risotto started last fall when I was broke and starving. I would buy a butternut squash, a cheap bag of arborio rice and some parmesan cheese. After that first taste of rich, gooey and filling goodness, I made every kind of risotto whenever I had an hour to spare.
I finished the risotto and we downed it liked two hungry wolves, then made a quick dash to help a friend out with a broken down car. Upon arriving home, I discovered the risotto wasn't quite enough for HIS undeterred appetite and set to work making something else to satiate the male stomach. One of my favorite activities is to look at a somewhat barren fridge and cabinet and find SOMETHING to make. My eyes fixed on eggs, buckwheat flour and the remainder of greens. AHA, stuffed crepes. To most this doesn't sound quick and easy, BUT IT IS!!! And the best part of this is that a basic crepe recipe makes a BUNCH of crepes so you can have some leftover for the morning.
I discovered I had no milk or butter! HORRORS! But, I did have coconut oil and water will work instead of milk, in a pinch. I was super grateful to discover these substitutes, which make it that much closer to a vegan crepe, something I have been dying to accomplish for a while.
After making a huge stack of kale, garlic and spinach stuffed crepes sprinkled with a bit o' cheddar, he was contentedly stuffed and I put the left over crepes in the fridge for the morning to be spread with jam or BUTTER.
There is not a better feeling for me than to be able to make something out of very little and satisfy and please someone with the outcome. Cooking, baking and eating are my favorite activities and I am a lucky girl to have such a man who will happily eat just about anything I whip up...or at least try it.
Today, I discovered a recipe for a grilled cheese made with Arepas , plantains, black beans and Monterey Jack cheese...I am pretty excited about dinner. I am also making another gluten free pizza with homemade tomato sauce, local mozzarella, spinach and basil from my own front porch. My herbs are EXPLODING, which makes my heart soar.
Last week, we (when I say we, it always means my mountain man and I) went to Charlottesville for a concert and to adventure about the mountain towns nearby. We discovered a delicious breakfast joint and became pleasantly stuffed with coffee and grits galore. We drove about the valleys and towns therein, soaking in the mist and melodies from the tires through puddles and over gravel. Something about falling asleep the night before, rain soaked from a sudden storm and knowing the next day was ours, lifted our spirits and left us with a security neither of us had felt before in each other.
Amazing what one night away from the norm can do for two adventuring souls. I am itching for more, but will content myself with the promise of a road trip for my birthday in August to the North Country. Well, I've dough to make and herbs to chop and a puppy waiting at my feet to catch any chunks of butter or greens. Yes, she eats ANYTHING. She is most assuredly my dog...
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