Macaroni and Cheese

Sauce: 1 cup of milk, 1 1/2 cup of water with 2 tbls of flour blended to make thickener, 1 tbls olive oil, 1 lb of shredded cheese, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, 1 tbls Coleman's mustard, minced sweet red pepper, 10 to 20 peas.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil 1 lb of pasta (elbow is traditional, but small penna is rather nice). Drain the pasta well. Add to a large casserole dish and pour the sauce evenly over the top. Cover and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for 5 more minutes. 

Pull from the oven and let it rest (set) for 10 minutes before serving. A splash of Frank's Red Hot Sauce on our mac & cheese is a household favorite, I recommend giving it a taste.

Served with green beans (another family favorite) and a nice big mixed herb salad makes for a very tasty dinner!

Chunky Monkey Ice Cream-No Eggs No Added Sugar

Slice two bananas and freeze.

Rough chop 1 cup of walnuts.

Add bananas, 1 pint of heavy cream and 4 tbls of organic chocolate syrup to mixer.

Add in 1 1/2 cups milk or light cream.

 Add in walnuts.

Add in large chunk chocolate.

 Mix until whipped smooth. Pack into two storage containers and freeze for one hour.

Scoop and serve!

7 Day Raw Vegan Cleanse (Dish idea and food prep)

My friend Maura has been doing a series of these 7 day raw food cleanses and I figured it would be an interesting way to go through my Solstice Fast.

"7 days of raw food's to cleanse and rejuvenate your body and your mind. 7 days is all you need to make some dramatic changes in your eating habits/patterns and experience a huge difference in the way you feel.

This will be the kickstart you need to make a permanent lifestyle change or simply give you a higher appreciation for food. All you will be eating is fresh fruits and vegetables and all you will be drinking is green smoothies and water...no alcohol, caffeine, smoking....this is a total cleanse....what your body needs even if you are a healthy eater.



Sunday= prep day...try and eat light don't gorge on things you will not be eating for 7 days this is not helpful.  After dinner you will start your fasting, which means no late night munching. ♥




Monday = Day 1- Breakfast = fasting, Lunch = fasting, Dinner = mono-fruit











Tuesday through Saturday = Breakfast = mono-fruit, Lunch = Green Smoothie and cut up veggies, Dinner = Big Green Salad and cut up veggies

Sunday = Day 7-Breakfast = Green Smoothie, Lunch = Big Green Salad, Dinner = cut up fruits and veggies."

The smoothie pictured to the left is blueberry, banana, spinach and kale. For Thursday's lunch I blended tomatoes, sage, basil, chives, romaine and clover with flowers into a cold soup and topped it with a tablespoon of raw vegan roasted red pepper pate made from peppers, sunflower seeds, tahini, green onions, lemon juice and garlic.

 Served it with a spinach salad with sliced cucumbers and peas straight from the garden. My girls had theirs with a bit of shredded Monterey Jack.

I lost 14 pounds at the end of the fast, and although I don't really feel all that different, others have commented on how happy I look. Which for me, means I had success! I'm still having green smoothies every day and my daughters love all of the extra vegetables. So there I had success too!                  

Slivered yams for smoothies

 

Summer Solstice Fast

It's that time of year again where the extras get shut off and put away.

 No electric gizmos, no television, no purchasing anything but basic essentials, no car use except when necessary, no phone use except when necessary.

 I'll welcome visitors and mail and am happy to go visit folks via walking.

Want to go on a Summer Solstice fast with me? If you do, tell me all about it.

 I'll see you all on June 23rd!

 Much love, Annie

Monster Robot Meatloaf

 My family is crazy for my monster meatloaf. It's a blend of three of the following: pork, bison, beef, elk and lamb. Then ketchup and bread crumbs and dried oregano is added. It's all mixed well. Usually it's pressed into an 8x8 pan and baked, but Leto begged in her best robot voice for a Monster Robot Meatloaf. This was my first attempt. Will try variations on the theme in future loafs.

This guy was baked at 400 degrees until he reached 170 to 175 degrees and was served with salad and mushroom medley.

Hot Night - Easy Grilled Supper

Sweet peas from the garden...

Grilled Chiavetta's chicken...

Olive bread from B. Ferrante's Bakery...

Grilled Portabella Mushrooms and Sweet Red Peppers with olive oil and Grind to a Salt and basil from the back yard...

Strawberry Ice Cream - No Eggs!

One pack of organic strawberries, hulled and halved. Washed very well.

One cup of sugar added and mixed well.

Using a potato masher, stand on a step stool, so you are directly above the bowl and mash the berries down.

The berries should have an even pulpy appearance. About 1/2 to 2/4 cup of water will be released from the fruit in the process.

Because of this you halve the usual amount of milk down to 1 cup. This batch has almond milk. Add in 2 cups organic heavy cream and then 2 tsp. vanilla paste or syrup. Blend well and then add to an ice cream machine.

 After 30 minutes it'll look like soft serve ice cream.

Pack it and freeze for at least one hour before serving.

Lemon Garlic Chicken, Wilted Ruby Swiss Chard and Arugula Wild Herb Salad

Most of the herbs in the garden have come in thick enough to start harvesting regularly. The arugula has come in all wild and woodsy and covered in flowers.

It's sharp astringent, nut flavor is an excellent addition to our herb salads. The chard too is coming in fast, so that we have to harvest handfuls every week.

My youngest can't get enough of it's bright flavor. Marinated organic chicken breast from Wegmans. Bake, with 5 tbls of water, covered, at 400 degrees for 15 min. Internal temp. should read 165 degrees.

English sage leaves. Some for our salad and some left out to dry. Will be making more sage ghee later this week.

Wooly oregano, drying on the counter. Will be used in meat balls and an Italian meatloaf I'll be making on Tuesday.

The salad was a blend of arugula, wild herbs, romaine, avocado, fruit salad and heirloom tomatoes.

This was served with a very tasty Santa Cruz Raspberry Lemonade and crusty Lexi co-op bread.

Haddock with Pesto and Fruit Salad

I've been feeling rather under the weather lately. I still am not certain what that was but suspect the temperature and moisture constantly changing had something to do with it. Because of this I decided something simple yet nutrient dense was in order.

The organic fruits at the co-op looked luscious, so I picked up watermelon, cantaloupe, peaches, golden apricots and a mango.

The wild caught haddock from Iceland was firm and without scent. In the produce section I found packs of the Lexington's Local Garlic Scape Pesto. A blend of locally sourced garlic scapes, walnuts, basil, parmigiana cheese, salt, pepper and olive oil. I foil packed each filet with two to three tablespoons of the pesto on top. Sealed the packs up tight and baked them at 400 degrees for about fifteen minutes.

This was so mouthwatering and filling and satisfying, I highly recommend  you give it a try.