Apple-Pear sauce!

Our farm share has been inundating us with apples & pears over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, with the wedding and all, several bags of fruit ended up going bad before we got a chance to do anything with them. This afternoon, we decided to change that trend and make and can some applesauce. Since we had mostly apples and only a few pears, and most of the recipes I had for pear sauce had the same needs as apple sauce, we decided to mix the fruit together.

I like to leave the skins on when I make applesauce. It adds fiber, and you puree the fruit regardless, so why not?

Apple-Pear Sauce
6 lb Apples & Pears, cored & coarsely chopped
3 TB Lemon Juice
Water
1 Stick Cinnamon
Sugar, if desired.

Combine ingredients in a big stockpot. Cook on medium heat, stirring & mashing occasionally for about 20 minutes or until fruit is soft and saucy.

Remove and discard cinnamon stick. Put hot applesauce in a food processor or use an immersion blender to puree the apples to a nice, even consistency.

Return to stockpot and cook a little longer.


Can or freeze according to the Ball Blue Book recommendations.

New Addition to our staff of Domestic Robots!

I HATE cleaning floors. Because of this, I have bought into just about every floor cleaning gimmick out there (up to and including microfiber dust mop slippers). Several years ago, I got an iRobot Scooba, which has been great for mopping, but since there's water involved, it tends to get done far less often than I would hope. It also will only do one room at a time, as I have somewhat tall trim pieces on the floor of my doorways.

So, thanks to several Macy's gift cards and a 20% off coupon, Sean and I bought the Neato Robotics XV-11 vacuum off our wedding registry. Its design is slightly more sinister looking than the Roomba, but it boasts a beater brush, impressive amount of suction, the ability to climb over floor trim pieces, and an eye (Robot Positioning System).

After charging it overnight, we gave it a test run this morning. The first thing I noticed was how it saw obstacles coming its way and smartly avoided them. It did get caught on a few power cords behind the sofa that I had missed in my attempt to clear the floor for the robot, and I had stupidly forgotten to put down the black perimeter marker around the cat's bowls, so there was a minor emergency when the neato knocked over Pixie's water bowl. Luckily, I witnessed it happen and rushed over with towels and dried the neato (and the floor).

I was very impressed at its ability to clean a room, and then proceed on to the next room. I was less impressed with it insisting on getting stuck under my dresser multiple times, and it insisting that it needed its path cleared when it was in the middle of our bedroom floor. However, I told it to go to bed, and it wheeled its way back into the living room and to its charger without incident.

Watching this robot find its charging base is pure joy. It just backs right up into it and there you go.

I was amazed and somewhat horrified at the amount of cat hair in its bin after the cleaning cycle. I've scheduled it to vacuum just about every other morning, so hopefully the amounts of cat hair will decrease as the apartment becomes cleaner.

Neato's first scheduled cleaning is tomorrow morning. I'm curious to see how that works out.

Arugula Pear Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette

My good friend Adam of the Coozer Files served this unbelievably delicious salad the other night. It was so yummy, I demanded he give me the recipe to share here.

Pear & Arugula Salad (from the kitchen of Adam Coozer)

Vinaigrette:
1 tbsp champagne vinegar (apple cider vinegar should also work)
1 tbsp honey (I use clover honey)
1/2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt & 1/2 tsp coarse ground pepper

Combine the above together, then slowly mix in 2 tbsp of olive oil. Mix well.

Salad:

Arugula
2 bartlett pears, halved, cored, then thinly sliced
Shavings of ricotta salata (salted & dried ricotta). Other cheeses could work too for a slightly different taste - goat cheese, bleu cheese, etc.

Toss everything together and make sure the vinaigrette coats everything! Don't worry if there doesn't seem to be that much vinaigrette - a little goes a long way!

New Year's Resolution: Eat Tasty, yet Healthy Food!

Hello dear readers, happy New Year! Here's a favorite of mine, Curried Pumpkin Soup. My mother found the original recipe somewhere, but I've lightened it up quite a bit, with no loss of yum. It's delicious, healthy and very comforting in the cold winter months. :)

Curried Pumpkin Soup (Serves 6)

1 cup skim milk (you can use other kinds of milk, if you want it creamier. Coconut Milk is a great option)
2 tsp curry powder (I prefer the Jamaican kind)
3 cups broth, any type (vegetable bouillon works well)
1 medium apple, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cup canned pumpkin (1 15 oz can works fine)
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 Tbsp olive oil (coconut oil also works)

Put the olive oil in the bottom of a Dutch oven. Saute the onion and apple in the olive oil until tender (5-7 minutes.)
Stir in the canned pumpkin and remove from heat. Blend in food processor until smooth. Return puree to Dutch oven. Add broth and milk. Whisk in seasonings. Heat gently and serve.

This is really nice paired with whole wheat biscuits.

Enjoy!

Garlic & Spinach Chicken Sauté

This is a quick, easy and healthy summer supper with minimal prep and cooking time.
Ingredients:

1/2 lb. Boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced thin and cut into 1/2" strips.

2 TB Extra Virgin Olive Oil

2 cloves garlic, chopped or crushed

dash black pepper

dash sea salt

1 (10 oz) package spinach, washed

1/4 cup Low Fat, regular, or fat-free feta cheese, crumbled.

Directions:

Sauté the garlic & olive oil in a large skillet for a minute or so .

Add the salt and pepper.

Add the chicken strips, and sauté until no longer pink.

Add the spinach, a handful at a time, stir and cook until the spinach is wilted and bright green.

Remove from heat. Mix in crumbled feta cheese

Serve over whole wheat couscous or brown rice.

Serves 4

Valentine Cupcakes!

Well, it's a few weeks later, but these are the cupcakes I made for Valentine's Day. I used a yellow cake recipe, added a little bit of red food coloring to tint them pink, and then frosted them with chocolate icing. I then put a sweetheart candy in the center of each, and surrounded it with a circle of Valentine M & M's.

Bananas And Cream Oatmeal

This is a super healthy, warm, tasty and filling breakfast, that's super easy to do in the morning before work.
(serves 1)

1/3 cup instant oats

1/3 cup skim milk

1/3 cup water

1 tsp milled flax seed

1 banana, sliced

Sprinkling of ground cinnamon

Mix together the oats, milk, water and flax seed in a microwavable bowl. Slice in the banana, stir again, sprinkle with cinnamon, and microwave for 1-2 minutes, depending on your microwave oven. Stir again, and serve! Yum!