speaking of salads and such, sometimes i just want a huge bowl of healthy and tender winter greens – lightly sautéed and wilted in garlic and olive oil… so colourful and vibrant and good for you!!
before and after…
Tag Archives: eat the rainbow
{final tomato harvest of 2022}
14 Octthis foto captures only a fraction of the amount of tomatoes i harvested a couple of weeks ago…
easily, upwards of 10 pounds of tomatoes were on the plants before i decided to pull them up. i lovingly called them “jelly bean tomatoes” and to be honest, i think they may have been a self-seed/rogue plant. they are so prolific and delicious! i am going to save some seeds in hopes of planting them again next year…
since so many of them were still green, i pickled some for the first time ever. and i also made some sauce with a blend of both. 🙂
{homemade chow chow}
14 Sepi had never heard of chow chow until i lived in the south a few years back. y’all know i’m a big fan of sauerkraut… and this has similar ingredients, but with a different taste and process. chow chow is not fermented, although i’m certain you could change the ingredients and i bet a ferment would also taste amazing!
what i enjoy about making stuff like this is you don’t have to be so specific. you can play around with different measurements and/or sizes of veggies, combinations of veggies, etc. being in the kitchen is all about exploring, and i love to “play” with my food… and that is something i will never stop doing! 😀
some recipes that i explored suggested adding green tomatoes and/or spices or hot peppers… but this is what i came up with :
simple ingredients :
- cabbage
- onion
- green pepper
- red/yellow pepper
simple brine :
- 1/4 cup salt
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 cup vinegar
- 1 cup water
start by heating brine ingredients in a sauce pan on low-medium heat until salt and sugar dissolve, then allow to cool to room temperature.
if you find that you have extra brine, you can always save it for something else like pickles or whatever other veggie you may want to use.
meanwhile, finely chop up all of the veggies…
pour {slightly cooled} brine mixture over the ingredients…
take some pictures, if you fancy…
then, add lid and store in the refrigerator for about a week. you can also use this same recipe and then pressure can or water-bath can and store in the pantry.
i made it both ways and both were delicious! i have one more jar left in the pantry, and i have been using the jar in the fridge for all kinds of fun stuff! it is SO GOOD with sausage or on a pork roll/bun… it adds the perfect balance of sweet to the savory. and it’s also good as a little snack or adding it to a charcuterie board or on a cracker, etc.
one thing I do like about the “canning” method is that the texture is a little softer. heat-processing this does break down the veggies a bit more and although i like it both ways, i do prefer the canning method. the nice thing is, canning is always an option even if i start with the fridge method.
do you like and/or make chow chow?! please share your comments and/or recipes below!
{candy cane beets – aka chioggia beets}
19 Julthese are one of my all-time favourite vegetables! i do enjoy beets, but i mostly enjoy these because of the way they look! from the outside, you wouldn’t know that they looked like this inside. but that’s part of what i love about them!
please meet the “candy cane beet” – also known as “chioggia beet” – aren’t they just magnificent?!
my two favourite ways to eat them are :
- raw, sliced thin, with himalayan pink salt
- steamed then cooled to room temp, just as is
fun food facts :
also known as “bulls eye beets” – this unique specialty produce item has a sweeter, more robust flavour profile compared to its other beet cousins. they are named after a region in italy, where they predominantly grow. chioggia beets are an excellent source of manganese, folate, vitamin c, magnesium, potassium, and fiber. the leaves of this vegetable are also edible, and serve well sautéed, steamed, or as a chard substitute.
{bodacious blood oranges}
14 Deci think it is so incredible how nature provides us with the right types of food for each season.
for example – blood oranges are in season from december to march. which is the perfect time to consume them for that extra vitamin c punch during the winter months!
and aren’t they just so magical?!
{simple (rainbow) pasta salad}
22 Sep
as you probably know by now, i like to eat with the seasons as much as i possibly can. i enjoy it for lots of reasons. i always look forward to eating whatever vegetables or fruit are best during that particular time of year… and it makes me appreciate them more.
that said, i often struggle with “transitional” times of year – such as the month of september. i find myself unsure about what to wear, what to eat, when to go to sleep. it’s kind of funny but it’s true. {this also applies in the month of may.}
anyway, because i find september to be a transitional month, i also find myself eating transitional foods. i made that term up, but my point is that i’m not ready to start eating soups and squash, but i’m also done with light foods like salads and such. during this transitional time, i usually prepare foods that can be enjoyed hot or cold. and pasta salad is one of those dishes i could enjoy every day during transitional months.
i also really love orzo and i don’t use it often enough.
i whipped up this simple {rainbow} pasta salad and made a huge batch to take to work for lunches.
it’s so easy and so i thought i’d share the recipe… even though i didn’t measure anything, as per usual… but it’s so simple – just chop and toss!
————————————
simple pasta salad :
- cooked orzo
- diced summer sausage
- chopped tomatoes
- sliced olives {black & green}
- diced red onion
- diced banana pepper
- diced green pepper
- diced cucumber
- roasted garlic
- crumbled parmigiano reggiano
homemade dressing :
- olive oil
- apple cider vinegar
- spices :
- oregano
- sage
- parsley
- comfrey
- basil
- dill
- tarragon
- garlic
- onion
- salt
- pepper
- bit o’ parm reg
i like to serve mine at room temperature and i sprinkle crumbled italian breadsticks on top…
SO GOOD!
{foto friday : cabbage guts}
24 Augyou know i love this stuff, right?!
sorry if it’s redundant…
sorry, not sorry.
{happy (belated) asparagus season!}
18 Juni’ve been getting my fill of delicious organic asparagus!
it is a marvelous food to eat in spring because it is very cleansing to the body and blood. asparagus is also in season during the spring, which just further proves how awesome and intelligent nature is! 🙂
i like to enjoy asparagus raw or lightly sautéed in grass-fed butter with a dash of himalayan pink salt and black pepper. sometimes i like to add it to risotto with wild mushrooms. when i lived in the mountains years ago, i had a lot of fun foraging for asparagus because it grows wild on the western slope of colorado. pretty cool, huh?!
a tip for keeping asparagus : treat it like fresh-cut flowers. keep the ends trimmed and leave them in a little water in the fridge until ready to use.
do you love asparagus? how do you like to prepare yours?
{seriously obsessed with spices}
5 Febeveryone knows i love to cook.
for the most part, i keep it super simple when making meals. and my philosophy is :
quality in = quality out.
in other words – if you start with good ingredients, you generally end with a good meal…
i have only recently begun experimenting with spices in my cooking. i have been collecting spice jars over the last few years, as i was gypsy-ing around the country… and when i settled in a place i feel at home in, i felt super excited to finally display my spice jars.
i received these cool 3-tiered bamboo spice racks as a christmas gift, and i was so eager to get my spice jars out of the cabinet and onto the counter.
it’s the little things, right?!
something about seeing this beautiful rainbow collection of spices just makes me feel so happy inside. and it’s really been fun to experiment with the different aromas/flavours.
of course, in true audrey michelle form, i alphabetized my spices.
here’s what is in my collection :
- some kind of awesome spice my friend brought me from argentina
- all-spice
- bay leaves
- celery seed
- chives
- cilantro {homegrown and dried}
- cinnamon
- comfrey
- coriander
- cumin
- curry powder
- dill {homegrown and dried}
- garlic
- ginger
- herbs de province
- kelp
- lemon peel
- marjoram
- nutmeg
- old bay seasoning (can’t live without it)
- onion
- oregano
- parsley
- paprika
- pickling spices
- rosemary
- sage
- sesame seed (black)
- salt (black)
- tarragon (LOVE THIS STUFF!)
- turmeric
- saffron
- vanilla
{foodie friday : vegetarian buffalo cauliflower bites}
2 Febi kind of made these by accident… as in, i-got-super-hungry-and-didn’t-have-much-in-the-fridge-to-eat-but-got-creative-and made-these-buffalo-cauliflower-bites-which-accidentally-turned-out-to-be-ahhhmazing!
…and so i just had to share the recipe. these {veggie} buffalo cauliflower bites would make a great game-day snack for superbowl sunday! and they are a great vegetarian alternative to the classic buffalo wing. {i would devour both!}
i was inspired to make this dish because i was scrolling through instagram and spotted a recipe for cauliflower florets that were battered & fried, and served with buffalo sauce and ranch – like a chicken wing! and i was thinking, “that’s probably sooooo delicious!”
then i remembered that i had frozen riced cauliflower, and i created my own version based on what i had in the fridge…
very simple ingredients :
- frozen riced cauliflower
- chopped celery hearts
- buffalo sauce {i opt for franks!}
- ranch dressing {i use brianna’s!}
i began by chopping the celery into approximately 1-inch pieces…
next, i sautéed the cauliflower with a little butter over medium to high heat, adding a little water as i went along to soften the cauliflower a bit more…
then, i added in some buffalo sauce to taste, and cooked until almost al dente…
finally, i scooped some of the cauliflower mixture into the celery bites and drizzled a little ranch dressing on top. it can be a little messy, but that’s what buffalo sauce is all about, right?! 😉
these little buffalo cauliflower bites are soooooo yummy and i will definitely be making them on game-day! it’s always funny to me when i cook something on the fly and it turns out to be my new favourite thing ever.
this was one of those recipes. 🙂
by the way, i didn’t watch one single football game this season, and i could care less about the patriots or the eagles… but it should still be a fun day full of snacks and silliness!
{what’s in my refrigerator}
28 Jan
on sundays i like to do my meal-prepping for the week. i have lots of containers and jars for storing my dry goods as well as my make-ahead meals.
here’s what i created to eat last week :
- raw spinach salad
- hard-boiled eggs
- sautéed veggies for an asian-inspired dish
- blanched broccoli
- citrus baked salmon
- roasted garlic israeli cous-cous
- my famous mashed potatoes
- raw celery sticks
- curried lentils with ham and veggies
- sauerkraut (not homemade)
- garlic dill pickles (homegrown and homemade)
- roasted tomato soup
- homemade beef bone broth
- potstickers (to go with asian dish)
- turmeric tea w/ coconut milk
do you like to make your meals ahead of time? batch-cooking has been something i’ve adopted into my lifestyle over the last few years and it’s really helped me save money and keep my diet in check.
{homemade relish with my homegrown cucumbers!}
11 Jul
so, as i mentioned in my last blog – i have harvested well over 200 cucumbers this year from my garden! i wish i would’ve been weighing my harvests, to get more of an idea of yields. however, looking back through the fotos i snapped every time i harvest – it’s safe to say that number is pretty accurate. crazy, right?
anyway, on top of sharing my harvests with neighbors, and consuming a cucumber a day, i also enjoy making pickles and relish with my cucumbers! that’s why i specifically grow the pickling cucumbers. that, and i just think they taste better.
i will share my pickle recipe soon, but for now i want to share this super yummy relish recipe that a good friend of mine passed along to me last year. i love it because it’s very simple and does not have added sugar. the only sweetener is honey and i think it is so well-balanced in flavour. i love add my relish to egg salad or tuna salad. it’s also just good right out of the jar!
homemade pickle relish recipe :
- 1.5 pounds {pickling} cucumbers, finely diced {mine was homegrown}
- 1 small onion, finely diced
- 1 green bell pepper, finely diced
- 1.5 cup distilled white vinegar
- 6 tbsp honey
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh dill {mine was homegrown! 🙂}
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp kosher salt {i used himalayan pink salt}
- 1 tsp celery ceeds
- 1.5 cornstarch
directions :
- in large saucepan, combine all ingredients except cornstarch. simmer over medium-high head until vegetables are tender – about 8-10 minutes.
- in small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 2-3 tbsp of the cooking liquid until smooth. add to pan and let cook another 3-5 minutes. cool.
- use canning method to preserve, or store in airtight container, chilled, up to 1 month. also freezes well.
i made a lot more than what is pictured – this jar i gave to my neighbours. 🙂
i also tasted mine before adding the cornstarch. if i needed to increase any of the ingredients, i did. i think i added a little extra honey and vinegar to mine because i had a little more than 1.5 pounds of cucumbers. the key is to start with small amounts… you can always add more. i love the colour it turns out – that’s largely due to the turmeric.
i hope you enjoy this recipe and please do let me know if you ever try it out!
thanks for reading! 🙂
{foodie friday : the teeniest strawberry}
9 Jun
actually, the teeniest strawberries probably grow wild in our back yard…
but i don’t think these are edible… 😉
{portrait of an egg}
17 Mayfarm fresh eggs are just so beautiful! and they are so much more nutrient-dense than store-bought eggs!
i hope to have backyard chickens one day in the near future!
i just love all the colours!
and the flavour can’t be matched! farm fresh is the best!
i just love the variety… eat the rainbow!
#eggportraits
{first asparagus of the season}
9 Mar
fresh from the farmer’s market! 🙂
looking at the different shapes of this asparagus, had me thinking similar to when i looked at all those cool seashells…
—
i love asparagus so much and i only eat it when it’s in season.
did you know that asparagus is loaded with fiber and actually aids in cleansing our gut and also offers awesome detoxifying benefits? i think that’s so cool, considering it is in season in spring and that is a perfect time to prep our bodies for cleansing and switching gears to lighter foods. furthermore, asparagus is a natural diuretic… which may be TMI, but hey, it’s just a fact.
on a different note – i’m so ready for the time change and gaining more evening light! i am so super excited to start a garden this year!!
{dehydrated baby bananas}
2 Mar
whenever i notice any kind of produce is starting to lose its freshness, such as these adorable baby bananas, i know it’s time to bust out the dehydrator.
banana faces 🙂
banana chips make for some great snacks!!
i also love to throw them in smoothies, as an alternative to frozen or fresh ones.
do you use a dehydrator? what are some of your favourite things to dehydrate?
{farmers market ginger root}
12 Dec
i love finding produce in its most natural state – like this cool ginger root with the actual root still attached. the shape looks like some kind of animal or something, no?! i found it at the farmer’s market {of course} and i bought it mostly because it looked cool, but also because i just like to keep ginger around to nibble on. a lot of times i’ll make it into a tea with some lemon or just shave off a little bit and eat it after meals to accompany the digestion process.
ginger nutritional fun facts :
ginger is great for stomach ailments such as nausea or diarrhea and can be great for helping keep motion sickness at bay. boiled as a tea, it has tremendous healing properties for common cold symptoms. ginger is also {surprisingly} high in b-vitamins. furthermore, ginger has wonderful anti-inflammatory properties, making it a fantastic support for healthy joints.
{what real strawberries look like}
6 Decsomething i need to write about is how i spent my summer vacation… even though it’s long passed now.
one of the things that took up the majority of my free time this summer was participating in a community garden. it was basically one of the best things i’ve ever done for myself. growing your own food is truly one of the most rewarding things one can do! i would constantly remark, “all i did was put a seed in the ground – and this happened!” because i was constantly blown away at how cool nature is! my cucumber plants literally took over and my neighbours were calling it “the cucumber farm” 😉
the reason i bring this up is because i inherited a small strawberry plant in my summer garden plot. many of my neighbours had strawberry plants and i was fortunate to have one reseed itself in my plot. i didn’t get a lot of strawberries from it, but the few i did harvest looked like these strawberries. they were more cone-shaped than heart-shaped. and i’m telling you – the flavour in these things is just out of this world! SO sweet and SO juicy and SO delicious! better than any store-bought strawberry i’ve ever had!
do you ever compare conventional produce to farmer’s market produce?! the differences kind of blow my mind! the last time i was at the grocery store looking at apples, they were bigger than a softball! that’s just not normal. or fruit so waxy i could use it as a candle?! yikes.
for me, i like things to be as close to their natural state as possible. food, soil, water, me, and everything in between.
and that got me thinking about these strawberries i picked up at the farmer’s market last week. i was looking at them and decided to snap a couple fotos because i was thinking to myself, “i bet there are lots of people out there who don’t even know what REAL strawberries look like.”
these strawberries were SO full of flavour, too! something else that lacks in conventional produce. maybe it’s got something to do with mass producing them and lack of nutrient-rich soil.
anyway, i love that i can still find strawberries this time of year – as north carolina has a year-round farmer’s market and excellent long growing season. i hope to find some more when i go back this week!
{baby pineapple!}
30 Novcheck out this cute tiny little pineapple i dropped a whopping five bucks on! haha
i have to say, i think i’ve decided that pineapple might be my favourite fruit.
this one was so adorably cute, i just had to have it!
i obviously ate the whole thing in one sitting 🙂
pineapple nutrition fun facts :
pineapples are totally loaded with vitamin c – tons of it! they are also high in manganese and fiber. furthermore, they help support a healthy digestive track. pineapples are, somewhat surprisingly, a good source of b-vitamins, as well. and don’t throw out that core! – it’s full of fiber and can be tossed into your blender to make an awesome smoothie!
i am audrey michelle
i am a minimalist
i am a ritualist
f&f on your boards
food & foto 