Farmer Jo

Handy Kitchen Tool: Chalk Pens

2013-05-21T14:02:00.002-07:00

I recently made a great discovery! Chalk Pens! I got a few (from Dick Blick) thinking I could use them to write on my mason jar lids, which I use for pantry storage. They are perfect because you can wash off the words with a damp rag when you finish up your jar of quinoa, but now need to fill it with oatmeal (or, um, animal crackers). The best discovery though, has been writing on dishes

Sooper Cooking Camp 2013

2013-05-20T13:48:00.002-07:00

I am a little late in announcing the details this year - but Sooper Cooking Camp 2013 is ready to roll. Do you have students age 4th - 12th who are interested in learning to cook from scratch? Do you want your student to come up full of delicious food and great ideas? I am a teacher who also loves to cook. I love combining my two loves into a fun camp experience. I focus on basic skills that

Cinnamon Roll Waffles

2013-05-20T08:44:00.002-07:00

This was an idea I saw floating around Pintrest. I tucked in the back of my mind, thinking it would be fun to make with my 2 year old. This isn't my normal style of cooking, but I do love anything remotely like a cinnamon roll. And really, if you can't make these for your two-year old, who can you make them for? I was at the local health-food store and they had the fancy, canned cinnamon

Caesar Salad Dressing

2013-05-06T12:38:00.000-07:00

We are having a run of spectacular summer-like weather right now. We dusted off the grill (on our NEW DECK! At our NEW HOUSE!!!) and dug out our bags of charcoal this weekend. As soon as the chicken was settled into its marinade I knew I wanted to have grilled caesar salad along side. We make this pretty often, but I usually dress it with store bought cesar. But, as we were breaking in a new

Cutest, Prettiest Refrigerator EVER!

2012-12-07T13:33:00.004-08:00

I am not a fan of current refrigerator. It is too small, with the freezer up top. That said I am totally enamored with this very small, retro Smeg refrigerator! West Elm is now selling retro Smeg refrigerators in all sorts of fabulous colors. I am particular to the pastel green, or the bright red. I can imagine them in a hip bar filled with local brews and icy white wines. Or in my dream

Cauliflower Soup with Garlic Croutons

2012-11-29T15:12:00.000-08:00

My hubby and I just celebrated our 5th wedding anniversary. We headed out for a date night to a local French restaurant, and upon parusing the menu my husband immediately requested the cauliflower soup. I was sort of appalled by this request. Nothing about cauliflower soup screams romantic! Decadent! Worthy appetizer to celebrate 5 years of marriage! But, I will admit, when the tureen of silky

The Dog Days of Summer

2012-08-15T13:11:00.002-07:00

This has been a crazy summer for our family! We have braved the wilds to take our 1 1/2 year old camping, we have played in Eastern Oregon, celebrated multiple birthdays and decided to sell our house and move into a rental. We are finally settled into our new house. I am still getting used to the kitchen, it isn't as large as my old one and not all the burners work on the stove. I never

Roasted Stawberry Muffins (The Hoods are Here!!!) (Sorta)

2012-06-09T22:10:00.000-07:00

This recipe is majorly inspired by from White On Rice's recipe for Roasted Strawberry Whole Wheat muffins. I just wanted to get that out of the way. Although I am a bit obsessive about roasting vegetables it had never occurred to me to roast strawberries. Also, they have much prettier pictures on their blog! Stunning, actually. I tend to take pictures while balancing a toddler in one arm who

Portland, Oregon

2012-06-07T09:30:00.003-07:00

Silver Creek Falls Summer is coming and it is always good to have a check list of activities to keep you busy. Posie Gets Cozy posted a fabulous list of tourist sites, things to eat, drink, shop and places to hike. We are going to work our way through (at the very least) the eating and hiking side of this list! Have any other family friendly hikes to suggest? We would love to hear about them

We Have A Winner!

2012-06-01T14:01:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Kristin from (a favorite blog) Lovely Apidae! She won the OXO Salad Dressing Shaker. Thanks to all who entered and to OXO for helping me with my first blog contest.

Last Day to Enter the Giveaway!

2012-05-31T07:58:00.000-07:00

You have a few more hours to enter to win an OXO Salad Dressing Shaker! Free stuff makes life more fun.

Need a Project? Here Comes a Long Weekend!

2012-05-25T13:00:00.000-07:00

Photo by Amy Wing I am lucky enough to be scooting out to the coast this weekend for a little sand between my toes. I am hoping the weather cooperates and we can leave our raincoats at home. Last time we were there my friends and I cooked up a simple bowl of mussels which we enjoyed with wine, asparagus, and a loaf of crusty bread. It was beachy perfection! (Aren't these photos fabulous? Amy

There is Still Time!

2012-05-24T09:00:00.000-07:00

Summer is fast approaching. Do you know what your 4th -9th grader are going to be doing? I still have a few spots available in Sooper Summer Cooking Camp! Check here for more information. (A note to address some questions I have gotten about it: I am open to traveling around the Portland area to do smaller camps. The camp is PTA sponsored by the school I work at, if you have a school with a

Accidental Yummy

2012-05-22T10:00:00.000-07:00

This is what happens when life gets crazy and you are supposed to bring a side dish to a potluck. I had made a pot of quinoa in a fit of healthiness which has been sitting in the fridge. I will admit to being prejudice against quinoa. It is too hip for its own good. All healthy and full of protein. It is like the doll of Pinterest. :) I also don't really like the taste...unless in this soup,

Salads and a Give Away!!!

2012-05-20T14:55:00.001-07:00

Big bowl of arugula with anchovies :) As Spring warms up toward summer the greens in the garden are starting to pop. I have been trying to make a habit of eating a big salad each day for lunch. Right about the time I started this habit, OXO contacted me to test out their Good Grips Salad Dressing Shaker. It is part of their Healthy Eating Tools series. I had been in the habit of just

Baby Waffles

2012-05-15T12:59:00.000-07:00

One of the challenges of being a working mom is getting Levi out the door and fed in the morning. It finally came down to needing something not messy that he could eat while in his car seat. He already loves waffles so I decided to try packing them full of nutrients but still keep them tasty so he would actually eat them. I came up with adding kefir, egg, and grated pear, apples and carrots

Peanut Tomato Thai Soup

2012-05-03T11:55:00.000-07:00

A few rainy Sundays ago, my mom was over hanging out with Levi and I when she started telling me about this amazing soup she made the previous night. Veggies, noodles, ginger, tomatoes and peanut butter! Peanut butter? I demanded she recreate it immediately. Luckily, my kitchen had practically everything needed to make a big pot of soup. The soup was a family hit. Levi slurped down a bowl as

Green Pea Gougeres

2012-05-01T10:00:00.000-07:00

Have you been to Bob's Red Mill? It is an actual place, not just a business which packages every sort of flour, bean, grain, or mix you could imagine. Levi and I love to go to the Mill for an afternoon field-trip - lunch (delicious deli!) and a bit of shopping. Anything that Bob's Red Mill sells packaged is available in bulk at the store. I have brought home 5, 6, 7, and 12 grain cereals,

Kobe Beef Scam?

2012-04-27T19:19:00.001-07:00

Here is an interesting article from Forbes.com about Kobe beef. Apparently, Kobe beef is very rare and can not be bought in the United States. So all those fancy steak houses serving it are lying. EEEKKKK! (This makes me think about the VERY expensive steak I ate at the Urban Farmer.)

Summer Sooper Cooking Camp

2012-04-27T08:00:00.000-07:00

Have a kiddo in the Portland Area looking for a culinary summer camp? Check out my camp - information here.

Making Kefir

2012-04-22T21:43:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I attempted to transition my baby to cow's milk. This did not well. Levi really wants nothing to do with "moo milk". Luckily, he loves plain yogurt, so he was getting plenty of goodness from that, but I wanted Levi to try something new, kefir. Kefir is another cultured dairy product full of probiotics. It is like a drinkable yogurt, tangy and a little sweet. I loved it while

Chilaquiles

2012-04-09T10:00:00.000-07:00

It drives me crazy to have food go to waste. Whenever I had odds and ends in the kitchen I turn toward eggs to bring it all together into one meal. After a family dinner of tacos I had corn tortillas, sour cream and cilantro hanging out in the refrigerator. Chilaquiles were on the menu! Instead of frying the corn tortillas I baked them until crispy. I think this lowers the calories in the

Quinoa Shrimp Soup

2012-04-04T20:52:00.000-07:00

I made Peruvian Quinoa Chowder from the Oregonian's FoodDay tonight. It was fabulous. A great combination of corn, jalepenos and shrimp. There is just enough quinoa in it to add some weight to the soup. It is a quick soup too - I made it in about 20 minutes. I subbed a pound of wild salad shrimp and used less 1/2 and 1/2, but other then that stuck with the recipe. (Which is odd for me!) :)

Sooper Cooking Camp 2012 for Kids!

2012-04-01T18:35:00.000-07:00

Check out the updated Sooper Camp Page. This year there are more classes, covering more topics. Do you have a student going into 4th - 9th grade? Do you live in Oregon? Check out the page to learn more about the camp.

Canning Jar to To-Go Mug

2012-03-29T10:00:00.000-07:00

A year ago I was the very thankful and lucky recipient of multiple boxes of canning jars. I used them in the summer and fall for canning pickles, tomatoes, jams and chutneys. I fill them weekly with Levi's lunches and dinners. The freezer is stocked with canning jars of chicken stock, roasted tomatoes and soups. I adore these jars! (Thank you Dee!!) I just stumbled across Cuppow on one of