Afterwork Snack

I made these potato chips for the Mr. afterwork yesterday and he flipped over them! I had one idea and it sort of went it's own way and turned into these lovelies.
Super easy to make.
I had baked potatoes left over from the night before in the fridge so I sliced them at an angle, heated some olive oil and a drizzle of my garlic oil (here) and fried them up. When they were done, I put them on a cooling rack and salted them while hot so the salt would stick.
Served with hot mustard and catsup.
I handed them to him, answered the phone and when I was done...they were gone.
Good thing I snagged one before handing them over.

Hearty White Bean Soup

Hearty White Bean Soup
16 oz cannellini beans (soaked overnight)
3 large carrots chopped
3 celery ribs + heart with greens chopped
1 onion diced
2 cloves of garlic minced
drizzle of olive oil
4 sprigs of fresh thyme
1 sprig of rosemary
1 bay leaf
1 cup white wine (optional but has a lot of flavor)
6 cups veggie broth (or chicken if you'd like - I use the non-chicken, chicken broth)
ground white pepper (optional)
salt (if needed)

In a large pot, add a drizzle of olive oil, onions, celery, herbs, garlic and white wine and simmer together for about 2 minutes until fragrant.  Add carrots, beans and broth and simmer together until beans are soft and ready to eat. Mine took a couple hours and my house smelled amazing!
This usually last us a few meals - feel free to cut it in half if you need to it does make a lot.
Easy. Cheap. Delicious.

Studio Clean-out Fun

I found a box of tags the other day when going through some stuff in my studio.
I made this picture to use when playing phone tag.
Feel free to save and reuse.

GFV Chocolate Chip Bars

Made these last night and got rave reviews from the Mr.
They are gluten free and vegan but are by no means low fat or low calorie but they sure are delicious.

GFV Chocolate Chip Bars
Preheat oven to 350.
Grease a 9x11 baking pan - I just wiped mine with the buttery sticks wrapper.
::  1 Cup Melted Earth Balance buttery sticks
::  1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla
::  2 Cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
::  1/2 tsp. Xanthan Gum
::  1 tsp. Salt
::  1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
::  1/2 Cup White Sugar
::  1 bag vegan Chocolate Chips

Sift dry ingredients together in a bowl.
Add melted "butter" and vanilla and mix until everything comes together.
Add chocolate chips and mix again.
Press into baking pan.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Cool, cut and enjoy!

Garlic Saver

I don't know about you, but I never go through an entire head of garlic and I hate throwing it away! So I devised a plan and so far, so good!

Here is what I did:

• On a solid surface lay the head of the garlic down with the point facing up.
• With a heavy bowl - bash the entire head and it should seperate or even come apart pretty easy.
• Pull the cloves off of the head and put them in a stainless bowl.
• Take a second stainless bowl and put it on top of the other (opening to opening so it looks like a globe).
• Shake it violently - you can count this as cardio for the day if you would like, I won't tell.
• When you peak inside - most of the skins should have come right off of the garlic!
• Take out the peeled cloves and keep shaking the remaining until the skins are off.
• Put peeled cloves in a small jar.
• Add a spring of thyme or rosemary if you want.
• Cover everything completely with olive oil.
• Close jar and store in a dark, dry place.
• When you need a clove fish it out with a fork and use it.
• The cloves will last a loooong time as long as they are covered in the oil.
• When the cloves are gone, use the oil for something yunmy. As my garlic disappears, I like to sprinkle a spoonful of the delicious golden garlic oil on popcorn!

Yes, I buy this brand of jam because I love to reuse the jars!

Kitchen Inspiration

French music inspires me in the kitchen, always has. Stacey Kent, Edith Piaf, Serge Gainsbourg, you name it - if it's French, it's playing when I am cooking dinner.  I sing along mostly knowing what the words mean (thanks to Madame Ogle, my High School French teacher) the others I just mimick (one of my secret talents).  I have always had a love for international music - I am also a lover of Arabic and Greek music. I can sing an entire Greek pop song and have no idea what I am saying which I think is pretty funny!

Besides my new La Chamba pot mentioned in my last post, my boss also got me a great knife for Christmas that has left me chopping as fast as Jaques Pepin (again with the French).  New tools lead to kitchen inspiration, wanting to try new recipes and venture out a bit but I am telling you - that pot beckons me each week to make a one pot meal and I always follow. This week's was a doozy and so delicious. The Mr and I each ate two bowls full and he even took some for lunch today! SCORE! Luckily he doesn't have a picky palette and is willing to try anything.

I got the recipe here - check it out, make it and get ready to taste something so lovely and warm.  I added an entire bunch of Tuscan Kale (stripped of the spine and chopped). I also served mine with some steamed jasmine rice on the side of the bowl. My mouth is watering now and I must heat some for lunch.

See that turmeric there? I had to buy it at Safeway - ech! It is organic at least and no harm done - unless you count that I left Korra out of her crate while I ran down the hill and when I came back the cat food was mysteriously gone. She was still in her bed, but licking her chops...sneaky little pup.

What inspires you in the kitchen?