Living the Simple Life

100 Foot Diet Challenge Meal for Sunday November 16, 2008

This week our 100 Foot Diet Challenge meal is Sunday night’s supper, we are having Spinach salads, pasta with portabella mushrooms, crusty garlic bread and for dessert Blackberry cobbler. All the ingredients for this meal were either grown here at home or purchased at our local co-op all are organically grown.

Pasta with Portabella Mushrooms

1/4 cup pine nuts

21⁄2 cups small dried pasta shapes

21⁄2 Tbs. olive oil

8 oz. portobello mushrooms

11⁄2 tsp. salt

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 large red onion, thinly sliced

11⁄2 Tbs. minced fresh rosemary

1⁄2 to 1 tsp. crushed red pepper

1⁄4 cup vegetable stock

1⁄2 cup mirin or dry white wine

1⁄2 cup Dijon mustard

Cook pine nuts in dry wok over low heat until

lightly toasted, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to plate.

 Bring 21⁄2 quarts of water to a boil in wok. Add

pasta; cook until tender, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain.

 Heat 11⁄2 Tbs. oil in wok over high heat; add

mushrooms and 1 tsp. salt; stir-fry until tender,

about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl.

 Return wok to high heat; add 1 Tbs. oil, garlic

and onion; stir-fry 11⁄2 minutes. Add 1⁄2 tsp. salt,

rosemary and pepper; stir-fry 11⁄2 minutes. Add

stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook,

stirring, 2 minutes. Add to bowl.

Return wok to high heat. Add mirin and

mustard, and blend with wire whisk. Bring to

a boil; add pasta and mushroom mixture, and

cook 2 minutes. Toss in pine nuts, and serve.

From The Vegetarian Times Web Site

100 Foot Diet Challege Meal for November1, 2008

This weeks 100 foot Diet challenge meal was lunch today Saturday; we started off with Butternut soup and a fresh green salad , and Pannini's made with mozzarella , sliced tomato and basil leaves. Dessert was balckerry cobbler.Butternut Squash Soup

1 Medium Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded, and cubed
1 medium vadalia onion, diced
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
Fresh Filtered Water

In a medium saucepan, add olive oil and onion and sauce until soft. Add ginger and garlic and mix. Add butternut squash and just enough water to the pot to cover squash. Cover and bring to a boil. Turn heat down and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until butternut squash is soft. Add mixture to blender or use an immersion blender to blend soup until smooth. Serve and eat!

100 Foot Diet Challenge Meal for October 25, 2008

This weeks 100 Foot diet Challenge meal was supper tonight and we had Angel hair pasta with creamy pesto and sun-dried tomato sauce, Apple cabbage salad, asparagus with lemon butter and for dessert blackberry pie. All the ingredients for this meal were either grown by us or purchased at out co-op and were organically grown.

Angel Hair Pasta with Creamy Pesto and Sun dried tomato Sauce

4 T. olive oil
4 T. butter
1 tsp. fennel seed
1/2 C. shredded Parmesan
6 garlic cloves
2 C. basil
1 C. sun-dried tomatoes
1/2 C. heavy cream
1/2 C. dry white wine

Shred 3 cloves garlic, basil, and the sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor or blender. Heat oil over high heat in a large frying pan with the three large garlic cloves. Remove the garlic and discard when they begin to brown. Lower heat, then add the chopped garlic, brown basil and sun-dried tomato mixture. Saute until garlic begins to turn brown. Add the butter. When butter begins to bubble, stir in wine and fennel seed. Cover and bring to a slow boil. Mix cream and Parmesan well and then slowly stir in. Add salt and pepper to taste, and allow to simmer. Serve over angel hair pasta.

Apple Cabbage Salad

1/4 C sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp celery seed
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp dry mustard
3/4 C water
3 tsp cider vinegar
2 Tbs salad dressing
2 Tbs plain yogurt
6 C shredded cabbage
2 apples, cored and chopped

Combine sugar, cornstarch, celery seed, salt and dry mustard in 2-C microwave safe C or bowl. Gradually stir in water and vinegar until smooth. Microwave on high, uncovered, for 3 to 3 1/2 minutes or until mixture boils and thickens slightly, stirring once. Refrigerate until chilled, about 3 hours. Mix in salad dressing and yogurt. Combine cabbage and apples in serving bowl and pour on dressing. Combine cabbage and apples in serving bowl and pour on dressing. Toss lightly to coat. Serve immediately or refrigerate. Makes 4 servings.

Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular program. -- Spencer W. Kimball, 1976

The 100 Foot Diet Challenge Meal for October 18, 2008

Last night was our 100 Foot Diet Challenge meal for this week. The temperatures have cooled doff quiet a bit this past week so soup weather ifs finally here. My family loves a nice steaming bowl of homemade soup some crusty bread and a cool green salad for supper. So we had; Italian Pasta and Bean soup along with a crisp green salad and a loaf of crusty garlic bread. All of the ingredients used to prepare this meal were either raised here at home or bought organic at the local co op.

 ITALIAN PASTA AND BEAN SOUP

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 medium onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium carrot, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 large celery stalk, cut into 1/4-inch dice

Two 16-ounce cans cannellini (large white beans), drained and rinsed

7 cups water

2 cups diced zucchini

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 teaspoons Italian herb seasoning mix

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 1/2 cups ditalini (tiny tubular pasta)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

 Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, and celery, and sauté over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the onion is golden. Add the beans, cooking liquid or water, zucchini, bay leaves, herb mix, and tomato paste. Bring to a simmer, then simmer gently, covered, until the zucchini is just tender, about 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow the soup to stand for an hour or so to develop flavor.

In a separate saucepan, cook the pasta al dente. Rinse briefly under cool water until it stops steaming. Add the parsley to the soup and heat it through. When the soup is hot, add the cooked pasta and season with salt and pepper. Serve at once.

From In a Vegetarian Kitchen

Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular program. -- Spencer W. Kimball, 1976

October 7, 2008 100 Foot Diet Challenge Meal

Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular program. -- Spencer W. Kimball, 1976

Tonights supper in keeping with the 100 Foot diet Challenge at Path To Freedoom.org will be Spicy Red Lentil Soup from Vegetartian Times along with a green salad adn some hearty homemade rye bread.

                                          Spicy Red Lentil Soup

      1 cup red lentils 

           1 tsp salt

           1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (i use home canned)

2        2 Tbs. minced fresh ginger

1        1  Tbs. vegetable oil

2        2  cloves garlic, minced (2 tsp.)

1        1 15-oz. can light, unsweetened coconut milk

1        1 Tbs. tamarind concentrate or paste, optional

1        1 Tbs. ground coriander

         1 tsp ground cumin

1        1 tsp tumeric powder

1        1 small 1 jalapeño, stemmed, seeded and minced

1        1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Combine lentils, salt and 5 cups water in large saucepan. Cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer, partially covered, 20 to 25 minutes, or until lentils are tender. Blend lentils with whisk for rustic texture, or purée in food processor for creamier feel. Purée tomatoes and ginger in blender or food processor until smooth. Set aside.

Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add garlic, and cook 30 seconds, or until just golden, stirring often. Add tomato mixture, coconut milk, tamarind if desired, coriander, cumin, turmeric and jalapeño. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in lentils, and simmer, partially covered, 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle with cilantro, and serve.

100 Foot Diet Challenge

Our Supper tonight’s supper theme was the 100 Foot Challenge;

We had Eggplant Parmesan, we grew the eggplant, the tomato sauce was canned form our tomatoes, the herbs were grown in our herb garden, the bread crumbs were made from leftover bread baked with organic wheat berries, the mozzarella cheese was made here at home form our own milk, I did buy a ½ pound of organic mushrooms to add to the sauce.

We had a fresh green salad chock full of veggies from the garden and whole wheat French bread made into garlic bread rounded out the meal. For desert we had apple cobbler from our own apples.

Preparedness, when properly pursued, is a way of life, not a sudden, spectacular program. -- Spencer W. Kimball, 1976