Success!!!!

Some how I managed to lock myself out of my own blog and then I saw the app on my phone and a little light bulb went off! This will do the trick till I "want" to spend the time unlocking it on my MacBook lol!

So it's Thursday which means Full Circle waiting for me on my doorstep! I really do love unpacking everything!

This week I was adventurous! I didn't log onto Full Circles site to see what would be coming - I wanted a surprise and boy did I get one!

Dark red beets!!!

My first response was "oooooo beets" which my husband followed up with a grouchy morning huff of "ugh! Beets taste like dirt".

I will admit I became a little nervous by this statement. I didn't let it get me down though and immediately flew to the computer and went on a Google hunt! If I haven't mentioned it already, I adore Google! I think I'd be lost without it!

After much reading my excitement levels started to increase! I can not wait to try these lovely little ruby miracles!!!! So tonight I'm going to make oven roasted Chicken with mashed Delicate Squash and roasted Beets drizzled with orange juice!!!

Is it dinner time yet?!?!

Monday already!

Finished up our Full Circle order last night.  I changed a few things in our standard box and we have some awesome items coming in!

Box Contents
Red Potatoes, Organic - 1 pound Full Circle, Carnation, Washington. details...
Green Beans, Organic - 0.5 pound Mexico Growers, Mexico. details...
Cremini Mushrooms, Organic - 0.4 pound Champs Mushrooms, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. details...
Rainbow Chard, Organic - 1 bunch PureVeg, Oxnard, California. details...
Ruby Grapefruit - 1 each South Texas Organics, Mission, Texas. details...
Parsnips, Organic - 0.75 pound Full Circle, Carnation, Washington. details...
Minneola Tangelos, Organic - 2 each Purity Organic Citrus, Thermal, California. details...
Purple Top Turnips, Organic - 0.5 pound Full Circle, Carnation, Washington. details...

In addition to this we also ordered:
Black Cod (which I going to have an amazing recipe to share)
Butter
Jeweled Strawberry Preserves
GF Brown Rice Caserecce (I'm thinking of using this in a chicken soup)
North Carolina Shrimp
Pork Artisan Boneless Arm Roast
Peach Preserves with vanilla and Bourbon (to go with the pork - yum!!!!)
Soup Bone
Top Sirloin Steaks
Truffle & Salt (total splurge but it will make everything taste amazing)

It's going to be another awesome week!!!!!!!

Tickled

That's what tonight's dinner made me.  I was like a 2 year old who had just learn to write their name....look what I did mom!

It was a busy afternoon of taking down the outside decorations and raking the yard.  You never quite know how bad your yard looks until you clean it up - yikes!  After the exterior activities were complete, I made my way inside.  First things first, Pandora station for Mumford & Sons, volume turned way up...check!  Bottle of red wine uncorked and glass poured....check....now we're ready to cook!

I pulled out my stock, frying and sauce pans and turned the burners on low to start heating them up.  In the frying pan I threw in some butter (seems I start every meal with butter!), shallots and mushroom.  Once they were heated up, I added some of the red wine I was drinking.  The sizzle and the smells were tantalizing.  To this lovely concoction I placed 2 of the free range tenderloin steaks we received in last weeks Full Circle delivery, turned the heat down to medium low and placed the lid on top.

To the stock pan I did pretty much the same.  Butter, scallions,  and garlic....I placed my soup bones in to sear them and the added some red wine, carrots, celery, thyme and rosemary.  It smelled so good!  I was really starting feel like a real cook.  I filled the stock pan about half way with water, placed the lid on and turned it down to low.  I let the stock cook for about 4-6 hours.

To dinner I added some mashed gold potatoes and a mixed salad with yogurt dressing.  Everything was so delicious.  I can't remember the last time I had such a tasty steak...I made "mmmmm" sounds the entire time (drove the dogs nuts)

After dinner, I pulled the chicken and vegetable stock that I made last night out of the fridge, skimmed the fat off the top and put it back on the stove to reduce.  Once that was done I put what was left in containers and placed them in the freezer.  I was so excited to have made my very first batch of stock!  Why had I never done this before?

The beef stock is finally finished and I've moved that over to it's initial cooling bowl.  This will sit in my  fridge till tomorrow night at which time I'll reduce it as well.  No freezer for this one though, as I'm planning on making a beef stew in the crock pot on Tuesday with it!  Yum!

Food for thought

As I was puttering around in the kitchen tonight, glass of wine on the counter and music filling the air I realized how much food, and the preparation of it, makes you think.  Not just about the task at hand, but of your life in general.  Slicing potatoes for some reason drifted me back to the days on my grandpa's farm in Western Maryland...back in those days, we were the ones up harvesting the food we would eat that night.

Tonight's dinner was another successful baby step.  For the most part it turned out beautifully, but I know there are ways to make the flavors explode in your mouth....rather than just taste good....does that make any sense?

I started our meal by sautéing some garlic, mushrooms, shallots, thyme and rosemary in butter and a little olive oil.  I wish there was a way to smell a picture, because oh my goodness I could not believe how lovely this made my house smell.....

I pulled the little 3lb free range chicken out of the fridge and sliced through the pieces of skin creating tiny pockets.  I then tucked small slabs of butter followed by some the above mixture into those yummy pockets....

Once the bird was "stuffed" I poured the remaining mixture over the entire top.....

I roasted the chicken in a bag at 350 degrees for about an hour and a half...probably could have done a full 2 hours, but I was too excited to feed the family....important note; if you have a teenage boy, make sure to get something larger than a 3lb chicken!  LOL!

For sides I pulled out some organic cauliflower and diced up some organic purple potatoes.

I simply boiled both of these until they were all nice and ready for their party outfits.  The potatoes were dressed up with some butter, cilantro, sea salt and a hint of pepper.  The cauliflower was made into a delicious mash using my kitchen aide mixer and then I manually stirred in some shredded cheddar cheese.  The finished product was pretty darn tasty!

The left over chicken carcass and the frozen vegetable scraps I had been keeping all week, went into a pot and are now simmering away for what I hope will end up being some amazing stock.  I've never made stock before!  I'm so excited lol!!!

So that was tonight's dinner.  Pretty easy to do and it really turned out nice.  Now I'm off to bitespirit's house next door for some wine!  She has a stock going as well and it's always such a fun time watching her cook...definitely inspiring : )

A tisket a tasket...

While at the market today I decided to grab a hanging basket for our garlic, onions and other misc items.  

We have a very small kitchen so having things organized it extremely important to me (my husband not so much).

I was tickled with the outcome:

Now I'm online researching different recipes for a Cauliflower mash (yum) to go with dinner tonight.  This evenings menu will consist of a roasted Free Range Chicken, purple potatoes with butter and chives, a fresh salad with yogurt dressing (purchased from the store) and then the mash.  I even picked up an organic sulfate free red wine to accompany everything.

Completely off topic for a sec, but do you ever get the feeling someone is intensely watching you?  My little GCC Tifa was trying her best to get my attention while typing this lol.  She just wanted to officially say hi to everyone:

We also have Sun Conure, 2 labs and 2 house cats....who I might add all eat real food. They used to actually eat better than we would - pretty sad when you think about it - but we have some happy babies.

Next weeks box menu is up!

And I am soooo excited!!!!

Mmmmm - green beans!!!!  I have some tasty raw almonds to sauté up with them.  The apples, pears and  tangelos are from farms I've yet to try, so they will all offer up new taste experiences....I'm thinking maybe another pork chop dish, but instead of savory like last night we can go in a sweet direction...sautéed pears and apples with a saucy reduction perhaps?  Guess I'll have to learn what a reduction really is first huh?  Woot!

Box Contents
Red Potatoes, Organic - 1 pound Full Circle, Carnation, Washington. details...
Green Beans, Organic - 0.5 pound Mexico Growers, Mexico. details...
Cremini Mushrooms, Organic - 0.4 pound Champs Mushrooms, Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada. details...
Romaine Lettuce, Organic - 1 bunch PureVeg, Oxnard, California. details...
Braeburn Apples, Organic - 2 each Earth Conscious Organics, Brewster, Washington. details...
D'anjou Pears, Organic - 2 each Earth Conscious Organics, Brewster, Washington. details...
Minneola Tangelos, Organic - 2 each California Growers, California. details...
Kiwi, Organic - 2 each California Growers, California. details...

Baby steps

Baby steps allow for stumbles, fumbles and flops....last night's dinner attempt is extremely grateful for baby steps lol!

I have never worked with fresh garlic or shallots so this was an adventure to say the least!

I started the dish by sautéing the above with some of the fresh organic butter we received, along with some thin strips of bacon....it smelled amazing! Then I plopped 2 pork chops in and basked in the sizzling glory!

In another pan I did the same thing but added the red chard along with a little red wine vinegar.....this I cooked for too long or too high of heat...tasted pretty ok but wan't very pretty...again....baby steps lol.

The finished outcome wasn't a feast for the eyes but man oh man it was pretty tasty!