Holy Moly Batman, thats a LOT of honey!

We harvested honey yesterday! We use the crush and strain method which is pretty messy. I will be cleaning up honey in the kitchen forever. But after it was all said and done we ended up with about 35# of honey. That is only a small part of what is out there. We have five hives this year when we only had two last year and it was our first year so I am excited to see how much we end up getting. We might even have enough to sell. That is, after we give all the family their share of the bounty LOL.

Stepping out of my comfort zone with a Cauliflower Frittata

I have been loving our CSA program. I wonder sometimes if I could buy the same things in the store for less money though. The key reason I do it is that I am buying local and organic. It also challenges me to expand my menu and cook things beyond my comfort zone since I have no control over what I get each week. Some of the things I have been getting are Shonkyu Radishes, Bok Choy, Lacinato Kale, Red Russian Kale, Arugula, Rainbow Chard, Baby Beets, Cauliflower, Kohlrabi and Fennel. A few of these things I have never even heard of much less cooked. I admit some of the recipes I have tried have not been all that great but for the most part things turn out good. Last week I took the Kohlrabi and peeled and diced it. Then I tossed it in olive oil and sprinkled salt, pepper and thyme on it and baked it. It turned out fantastic and it tasted almost like a potato. Tonight for dinner I tried out a recipe that came with the weekly bag of veggies. I did make some changes. I substituted onion for the shallot, broccoli for the chard and I used sharp cheddar cheese instead of the parmesan cheese because that is all I had. The end result was good enough that I think I will make it again and play around with ingredients. Here is the actual recipe that I used.

Cauliflower Frittata with Swiss Chard and Parmesan

Serves 4- 6

Preheat oven to 375°.

2 pieces bacon

1 shallot, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 Cups cauliflower, florets and stems cut into bite-size pieces

4 – 5 leaves Swiss chard, ribs removed, cut into 3” ribbons

1 round, glass pie plate, sprayed with non-stick cooking spray

½ Cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Put your strips of bacon into a large skillet and turn your heat to medium low.  Cook bacon until crisp and brown on both sides.  Remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate.  Add shallot and cook for about 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Then add garlic and stir for about a minute.  Add the cauliflower to the pan, season with a pinch of salt and pepper, and turn your heat up to medium.  Cook the cauliflower, stirring or tossing often, for about a minute.  Add Swiss chard ribbons and cook about a minute longer.  Then, remove the veggies from the heat.   Place them in your prepared glass dish in an even layer.  Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top of the vegetables.

In a large bowl:

6 eggs

½ Cup milk

¼ t freshly grated nutmeg

1 T fresh herbs of your choice, chopped or 1 t dried Italian Seasoning

½ t salt

fresh cracked pepper

Cooked bacon, crumbled

Mix the ingredients above with a fork or whisk to combine well.  Pour the egg mixture over the vegetables in your pie plate.  Lastly, sprinkle the bacon evenly across the eggs.  Place the frittata in the hot oven and cook for about 25 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and the eggs are cooked, but not dry.

Mongolian Beef

Sunday night I cooked Mongolian Beef for dinner. I have had this recipe from a couple years now and I finally decided to try it. I wish I had tried it sooner! I think next time I might try it with chicken. Not sure how that would work with the cornstarch though. Sorry I forgot to take pictures.

Ingredients:

1 lb flank steak

¼ cup cornstarch

2 teaspoons vegetable oil

½ teaspoon ginger (minced)

1 tablespoon garlic (minced)

½ cup soy sauce

1/2 cup water

½ cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons rice wine

½ teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 green onions (sliced)

1 medium onion (sliced)

Oil (for frying)

Cooking Instructions:

Step 1: To make the sauce- in a sauce pan heat 2 teaspoons of oil. Add garlic and ginger, stir fry 10 seconds. Add soy sauce, wine and water. Add brown sugar and dissolve into the sauce. Add red pepper flakes. Bring the sauce to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Step 2: Slice the flank steak against the grain into ¼” thick slices. Tilt the knife blade at a 45 degree angle to the top of the steak to get wider cuts. Toss the steak slices with cornstarch and let the beef sit for 10 minutes (this is very important, do not skip).

Step 3: Heat up about a cup of oil in your wok to about medium heat. Add the beef slices to the wok and cook for 3 minutes (or use a deep fryer). 

Step 4: Remove the meat from the wok with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Drain all of the oil from the wok expect about a tablespoon. Add onions to the wok and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add the steak back to the wok and pour in the sauce. Cook while stirring until the sauce began to bubble.

Here is the website I found the recipe on: http://blogchef.net/mongolian-beef-recipe/

On another note I got the results back of my blood work and it was not good. My A1C was 6.1 which isn't too bad but it still went up from 5.8. The really bad thing was they checked my liver function and it came back bad. I can't remember what it was but basically not only am I fat but my liver is fat too. Heh. The Gastro doctor did tell me to stop taking the Zantac and take a Prilosec in the AM and the PM and it seems to be helping A LOT. I have had very little stomach issues at all since!

Hello, it's your wake up call

Both me and the hubster have been pretty lazy lately. I blame it on the winter but my boss says that is just an excuse. She's right of course but I ain't gonna admit that to her. Warm weather is finally here though and I really need to get a move on. Our CSA program started this week so I have a bag of fresh organic veggies to look forward to each week on top of what I can get at the local market. At the end of this month we have a 1/4 of a cow we ordered coming in so we will have grass fed beef coming out of our ears. This will force me to start cooking again.

I finally made a doctor appointment and went in for my yearly. I am just waiting for the blood work to come back and tell me how much I have messed up. Last time I had my A1C down to 5.8 and my blood pressure and cholesterol under control. I was also 15 pounds lighter. I had lost a total of 40 pounds and was so proud so I guess I really screwed up there. My blood pressure was 130/100 this time too. Needless to say the Doc was not happy with me.

On top of all this they sent me to a Gastroenterology doctor because I have been having terrible stomach issues. They give me a list of what not do eat (No coffee? Ugh!) and want to shove a camera down my throat. That's not cool at all. But I have been taking Prilosec, Zantac, Maalox AND Tums at the same time with very little relief  and I cannot take it anymore.

So I guess it is time for a change. There are a lot of foods I cannot eat anymore but there will be a lot of new foods to try with the CSA program. Time to dig out those cookbooks I collect and plan some new menus!

~Liz