Things have been slowly moving along, some days, and others I’m not sure what hit me.  Between balancing work, the kids, the house, the husband (who admittedly gets the short end of the stick at times), I’m pretty much spinning in circles for most of my days/nights.  The growing of this baby is getting near completion, and thank goodness for (small?) miracles.  I feel/am/look gigantic!  People comment on the hugeness, to the extent that they say things like “Are you ok?” and “When were you due?”  Apparently there’s a limit to the size one can be when pregnant and still be considered socially acceptable…Emily Post didn’t cover that, I guess. 

 So it’s becoming more crucial to getting a quick and healthy meal together, though the two don’t always seem to merge as well as I’d normally like.  This one was so simple, tasty, and so healthy that I couldn’t believe it.  Next time I would definitely throw in some capers or olives, maybe a sprinkle of some salty feta or parmesan. 

 Even though we’re busy planning for our new arrival in the next few weeks, I’ve also got many garden plots and planning simmering in the back of my brain.  I hope to share them with you all soon!

Quinoa & Black Bean Saute

2 cups cooked black beans 2 cups cooked quinoa 1 lg yellow onion, diced 1 lb jerusalem artichokes, cleaned & sliced into rounds 1 tbsp olive oil 1 lb frozen broccoli rabe 3 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup veg broth ½ tsp white pepper 1 tsp red pepper flakes 1 ½ tsp kosher salt

Heat olive oil in non-stick pan on medium heat, add onions and sauté until soft and turning golden.  Add garlic and artichokes and sauté for about 5-10 minutes, until artichokes are softening but still have firm texture when poked with a fork.  Add the black beans, quinoa and broccoli rabe and mix thoroughly.  Once heated add spices and salt, adjust to taste.  If so desired serve with chopped kalamata or green olives, or sprinkle with capers, parmesan, or feta cheese.  Enjoy!

Chickpea Noodle Soup

1 tbsp canola oil 1 small red onion 4 carrots, sliced into half moons 2 celery stalks, diced 2 cups cooked chickpeas 3 tbsp No Chicken Vegetable Base ½ tsp ground black pepper 3 cups farfalle or similar noodle, dry

 Sauté onion in canola oil in medium stock pan over medium heat.  Add carrots, celery and sauté another minute or two until softening.  Add the water, vegetable base, chickpeas, and pepper.  Bring to a boil, then add noodles and reduce heat to low.  Simmer until vegetables and noodles are tender but still have texture.  Enjoy with crackers, cheese, or whatever brings you back!

This recipe is one I tweaked and it turned out WAYYYYY too well, in that the batch I made for a holiday gathering was gone before we got there, so I had to make another. Oh darn.  Can you really have too much chocolate and peanut butter deliciousness? I hope to have an ultimate version with a coffee ganache at some point in the future, but for now this could very well be your go-to bars recipe. You could definitely play around with the nut butters and chocolate types, even adding or subtracting the flavoring, but I really liked the almond extract, it played nicely off the peanut flavor.

I have also been looking at what I want to do with the blog as I approach the first anniversary of a year of blogging, and will be moving towards some changes that I’m pretty excited about. Some of these include enhancing the homemaking, childrearing, and DIY aspects of the blog, as well as garden planning and implementation for the upcoming season. I’m also very excited to introduce you to the newest member of our family upon his/her arrival. No worries though, my passion for cooking and eating whole foods that taste good will continue to shine through (yes, I will still post many recipes).  Some of these plans have been long in the making, and I will also be creating a reading list of some of our family’s favorite books to learn new things and ideas with as well, and attempt to do some photo journalling of more complex projects. Granola will be chiming in here more often on some things he’s doing and creating as well. Some of the impetus has been to make 2012 The Year of No T.V.  We actually sold the t.v. recently, after having had it set up over the holiday season, and are pleased and somewhat amazed at the immediate increase in time, interest, and activity levels on everyone’s part. More on that later though. For the time, enjoy the oddly warm weather if you’ve got it, and I’ll be writing soon.

Nutty Chocolate Chip Bars

adapted from Kitchen Simplicity

1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter

1/3 cup butter, softened

1 ¼ cup white sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

½ cup white flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

⅔ teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

Cream together butters. Beat in sugars, eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour, baking powder and salt until evenly blended. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spread into a greased 9×9 or 7×11 inch baking pan. Bake at 350ºF for approximately 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in centre comes out with fudgy crumbs. Allow to cool before slicing.

Ribollita

2 tbsp olive oil 3 medium onions, diced 6 carrots, sliced into rounds 5 celery ribs 28 oz/6 medium red potatoes, diced 1 oz sundried tomatoes, (½  cup reconstituted) 12 cups/6 qts vegetable stock 3 oz tomato paste 1 tsp thyme 1 tsp oregano ½ tsp basil 2 ½ cups cooked navy beans 1 cup yellow split peas, washed 4 large handfuls of baby kale or greens, washed 1 10 oz bag frozen mixed vegetables (optional)

In a large stock pot, heat olive oil on medium low heat, and once warmed, add onions to saute until they are golden and soft.  While onions are cooking, slice carrots into rounds and celery into half moons.  Add to onions and allow to simmer until fragrant and softening, about five minutes.  While the celery and carrots are simmering, cut potatoes into smallish cubes, and wash the split peas and kale.  You can substitute any hardier green for the kale, but if it’s large-leafed, cut into smaller pieces and remove stems, if needed.  After the celery/carrot mixture has finished simmering, add the stock along with the carrots, tomato paste, split peas, and spices.  Allow soup to simmer on medium heat until carrots, potatoes, and split peas are mostly done.  At this time add the navy beans and handfuls of kale, as well as the bag of mixed veggies if so desired.  Allow to simmer up to thirty minutes or so, tasting periodically to see if the ingredients are ready.  Once the soup is ready, scoop into bowls, garnish with red pepper, bread chunks or croutons, and parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

I remember the first time that I had monkey bread, as a child; it was at my best friend’s house and she pulled a can of biscuit dough out of the refrigerator and said “Have you ever had monkey bread?”  If the name isn’t enough catch the attention of a kid, the flavors and whole idea will surely sweep them [you] off their [your] feet.  So I was engaging my oldest daughter about the charm of monkey bread; little pieces of sweetened yeast dough covered in cinnamon, sugar, and butter.  She liked it.  She wanted to make it immediately.  It was actually a few days later that we got around to making it, and it ended up being just me rolling out little chunks of dough in the cinnamon sugar mix for about a half hour.  It was worth it, though, to make this from scratch.  I especially liked the dense chewy texture of the bread after it came out of the oven.  This makes an excellent breakfast side, after school snack, or potluck item.  Or just tasty for whenever you feel like reminiscing to the flavors of sweet bread coated in buttery sugar cinnamon goodness.    Of course, I couldn’t resist adding a little squash to the recipe to help its moisture content along and sneak in a few extra nutrients, to take the edge off the annoying fact you’re eating chunks of dough rolled in butter and sugar.  Um, yes it does help.