Foods We've Been Loving

Apple Pie

Behold, my very first 2 crust pie!

It's a little shaggy around the edges, but the taste & texture are what pie is all about. Everyone says the crust is the worst part of making pies, but if you ask me, it's all the chopping/peeling. As you can see if you look closely at the picture, many of my apple slices still had peels on them. I did a haphazard peeling, mostly because I hate doing it, but also because the skins hold so many of the nutrients. I hate to throw them into the compost!

I followed a Betty Crocker recipe from an old cookbook I got at our church bazaar. The apples came from trees around our cabin. Most of them got made into applesauce for a grand total of 65 pints & 6 quarts of applesauce.

[Almost Chipotle Burritos]

Enchiladas

After my Chipotle burrito remake last week, I was still hungry for more beans & tortillas. I had a link saved for Roasted Butternut Squash & Black Bean Enchiladas from Daily Garnish that I was anxious to try, so I made it for dinner with my parents. I made a few changes & additions, as usual, but not as many as I do for some recipes. These were SO good. All of the textures & flavors just blended together perfectly. The prep time was long, with cutting & roasting the squash & cooking the sauce, but it was completely worth it!

Green Smoothies

Our kale crop is seriously out of control, and this is the fastest way of ingesting it (kale chips rank right up there, though!). Kale is pure health food, nourishing our bodies in so many ways. Just a few examples include Vitamins A,C & K, manganese, fiber & calcium. With the addition of the VitaMix to our lives, we're especially loving these thick & creamy smoothies.

Fresh Tomato Soup

The tomato crop is slowing down, but they're still coming in. With all the rain we've had lately, they're a little ragged & split, so I've had to use them quickly. The best use we've found so far is tomato soup. We can't stop eating it! I've made it several times already, with plans to make it again this weekend. I just chop & core the tomatoes, add a few handfuls of basil, and puree it in the VitaMix. (Can you tell I'm obsessed with this thing? It's crazy!)

Recipe coming soon!

What are you loving right now?

Mini Pita Tea Sandwiches

I'm obsessed with all things mini. Mini automatically equals cute. When I saw the mini pitas at Trader Joe's the first time, I restrained myself. But when I went back a week later & saw them again, I had to get some.

I'm also obsessed with hummus. Any vehicle that will get more into my mouth makes me happy. When I started thinking of what to do with the mini pitas, the two automatically had to go together.

It seemed like they needed a crunch, so I added a slice of zucchini in each pita. They were the perfect size!

So cute! So crunchy! So good!

We had ours with Cranberry Green Tea, an apple, bell pepper slices & popcorn. It was a cute little Sunday lunch. The Bup felt very un-manly but somehow he got over it and ate every last bite. 

I packed more in my lunch box for work the next day. They're very transportable & make a packed lunch feel more elegant.

Mini Pita Tea Sandwiches

Serves 2

10 mini whole wheat pitas

3-5 T hummus, any variety (I used Roasted Red Pepper & White Bean Basil)

1 small zucchini, sliced into 1/4" thick coins

Carefully open the pitas by cutting around the edge. Place a slice of zucchini into each pita and top with 1-2 teaspoons of hummus. Close pitas. Enjoy!

Wine, Food & Kittens

 

Happy Monday! We took a mini-trip this weekend to visit Aunt Connie. Despite the dreary weather, we still did a lot of visiting, playing with kittens, eating, wine tasting, & shopping.

First up, playing with her new kittens, Martha & Quinn. They have SO much energy & were into everything. We left them home to get into mischief while we did some shopping.

As usual, we went to Lowe's, Trader Joe's & Roots. After last weekend's trip to Trader Joe's, I didn't need much, but I didn't have to look hard to find a few things. :-)

For dinner, we went to El Azteca. The service was super prompt, almost to the point of speedy. We were in & out in less than an hour. Plenty of time for a margarita, though!

I enjoyed the Plato Salud which was mixed veggies, Mexican rice & black bean soup. The veggies were cooked just the way I like them & were nice and crunchy. I usually feel like Mexican is too laden with cheese & glop, so this was perfect for me!

Both restaurants we visited this weekend had an entire vegetarian section on their menu! Yay for ethnic cuisines!

The Bup got the Vegetarian Dinner, which was a vegetarian burrito, cheese enchilada, bean taco, beans & a side salad. His was the more stereotypical cheesey dish.

Connie got Crab & Shimp Enchiladas which came with Mexican rice & refried beans. The picture got washed out cause of the lighting in there, sorry.

After dinner we went back to the house to play with the kittens some more. Martha was on the prowl, ready to attack!

They were both interested in the Bup's tools & our Trader Joe's bags. Any cat that likes Trader Joe's is a smart cat!

He just couldn't resist & had to climb right up and sniff around.

They loved my pants with the drawstrings at the bottom. So cute!

Look at that picnic spread Connie prepared for us! We had veggie pitas, hummus & pita chips, pesto penne pasta, and green bean chips.

Elk Run was the first winery we visited. 10:30am wine tasting, anyone?

It hadn't started to rain yet, so we were able to step into the vineyards for a quick peek. The bunches of grapes were almost black & so pretty.

As we were driving down the road from Elk Run to our next stop, we spotted a sign for Loew Vineyards. I'm so glad we turned around & went to check it out! Their wines were very good & the people were friendly.

Our favorites were the Country Classic, which has blackberry undertones, & the Apples & Honey, which was just that - apples & honey flavored. When we both agree on wine, it must be good! The Bup likes dry & I like sweet. Maybe our palates are maturing...

Our final winery stop was Tarara Winery. It was by far the most sophisticated & established of the 3 stops.

They had gorgeous stonework & nature surrounding the tasting room. This area even smelled like wine, and they were just storing their equipment there. It was neat to see it & compare the crusher in size to Dad's. Their crusher sure will smash a lot of grapes! 

We started out with 2 white wines, both on the drier side. The Charval 2009 was billed as the white wine for red wine drinkers because of it's layers of flavor.

I actually drank all 4 tastings of the dry reds! The real question is, were they that good, or had I already had a lot of wine? I'm going with a combination of the two. :-)

Our plan was to have a picnic on the deck at Tarara, but the rains spoiled that.

We ate in the car, but that didn't stop us from having a gourmet feast! My pita had mushrooms, lettuce, carrots, bell peppers, and hummus in it. On the side, we had penne pasta with pesto & green bean chips. Everything was delicious!

A little bit down the road was a tent that was making and selling kettle corn. Connie had been there before and remembered that it was amazing. This bag was HUGE! It went all the way to the floor of the car. We're still eating away at it, and it's the best we've had.

We headed to the Leesburg Outlets & then to dinner at a little Thai place near Connie's house. I got the Tofu Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce (YUM! I could eat that with a spoon.) & Coconut Soup.

Yes, that's how I feel, too. So sleepy!

Thanks for the fun time & company, Connie!