The Exciting World of Phytonutrients 
and
What we ate for
Sunday Evening Dinner

Roasted Kabocha Squash

Sauteed Broccoli

Baked Potatoes with Toppings

My plate full of baked potato with topping, broccoli, and roasted kabocha squash.

I've been taking an online course on health, nutrition, and lifestyle.  This last week's topic was "Super Foods" and the lectures which caught my attention were on phytonutrients.  

Phytonutrients are constituents found in whole plant foods  which have antioxidant properties and play a role in reduction of disease.  Scientists have found and named over 2,000 phytonutrients to date and more are being discovered all the time.  

Some examples of Super Foods are:

Blueberries (and other berries)

Beans

Kale and broccoli and all cruciferous vegetables

Walnuts (seeds like chia and other nuts)

Oranges and Citrus Fruit

Pumpkin (and other winter squash and yams)

Oats

Salmon

Yogurt

Quinoa

This is not a complete list and different sources list different foods as "super".  The thing about the plant based foods on these lists is that they have amazing phytonutrients in them.  For instance, orange foods like carrots, yams, winter squash and pumpkin, tomatoes and watermelon all have carotenoids and/or lycopene.  The potential benefits of these particular phytonutrients are cancer prevention, boosting immunity, and antioxidant coverage.  

These Super Foods have a function above and beyond nutrition because they have disease fighting aspects.  I think this is super cool!

Some of us are already eating a diet high in these types of food and reaping the benefits of many many phytonutrients in the food we choose and eat. I like to think of these thousands of phytonutrients as a little army of beneficial naturally occurring chemicals happily invading my body and making me a stronger vehicle for health and well being! If you don't eat a lot of these foods on a regular basis then you might consider just adding one "super food" per meal or snack so that you can begin to reap the benefits of all they contain.

Tonight's dinner was colorful and full of plant foods with lots of phytonutrients!  We had baked potatoes, sautéed broccoli, and roasted kabocha squash.

Here's the kabocha squash cut into moon shapes and coated with olive oil, sea salt, and pepper. They are in a big mixing bowl I bought this week at a yard sale - reminds me of the bowls my Grandma used in her kitchen.

 The kabocha laid out on a cookie tray lined with parchment paper.

Roasted and ready to eat.  Yum!

Roasted Kabocha Squash

1 kabocha squash sliced into moon shape slices

Olive oil

Sea salt

Ground Pepper

1.  Carefully slice the kabocha squash in half and then carve slices off, about 1/2 inch thick. This is a squash whose skin you can eat and it is delicious! Toss in a bowl with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, some sea salt, and ground pepper to taste.

2.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper (this will make clean up so easy!).  Lay the moon shaped slices on the sheet and roast in the oven at 400 degrees.  Check after 15 minutes and see how the squash is doing.  It will get soft and the edges may begin to brown a bit.  It will take 20 or more minutes to roast completely.

Here are the potatoes baking!  Wash the potatoes, poke with a fork or blade of a knife.  If you are watching your fat intake and salt content then just put these bad boys into the oven at 400 degrees for about an hour.  If you are less worried about fat or salt in your diet at this point then rub the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.  Yep, this is the way to go if you can afford the extra calories and a bit of salt.

Potatoes get a bad rap in the carbohydrate world.  Yes, it's true, a yam may have more overall benefits, but a potato is a good food.  It really is.  It's a healthy choice depending on how you cook it and what you put on it. Did you know that the average American eats 29 pounds of french fries?  Let's keep it all in perspective, folks!

This is the "cashew cheddar cheese" spread we used on our bakers.  We also had some Tofutti sour cream, chopped olives, and soy baco bits.

The "cashew cheddar cheese" recipe is from a new cookbook called "The Ayurvedic Vegan Kitchen" by Talya Lutzker.  I am going to post the recipe but I really want you to go buy this book and support my friend Talya!  Talya is a yoga and foodie friend who lives here in Santa Cruz.  You can order her book at Amazon.  Here's the link:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_20?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+ayurvedic+vegan+kitchen&sprefix=The+Ayurvedic+vegan+%2Cstripbooks%2C959

Cashew Cheddar Cheese

Recipe by Talya Lutzker

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1/4 cup water

1 cup raw cashews

1 tablespoon raw tahini

2 tablespoons Nutritional Yeast Flakes

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons onion powder

2 - 4 cloves garlic, minced

juice of 1 lemon

1/8 teaspoon cayenne or ground pepper

1.  Put all ingredients in a food processor or blender.  Process until smooth, stopping to scrape down the work bowl or blender jar.  

2.  Serve as a dip, spread, or topping.

Note:  If you are sensitive to bell pepper or vegetables in the nightshade family, substitute 1/2 small jicama for the red bell pepper.

I reduced the amount of cumin in our "cheese", as well.  1/2 teaspoon seems to suit us better.  This is the kind of recipe you can play with to better suit your tastes and needs.

We cut the baked potato open and dump a bunch of dollops of this cashew yumminess on top.  We've also used this cashew cheddar cheese as topping on enchiladas, vegetables, and plain quinoa.  It's really amazing.  I am so happy Talya made this delicious spread and shared it with the world in her cookbook.

Our friends, Deb and Bryce, served us broccoli we could not stop eating!  We have learned their secret and have been cooking our broccoli like this all fall and winter.  

Sauteed and Steamed Broccoli

A big bunch of broccoli, washed, heads cut off stems

1 - 2 tablespoons oil

2 tablespoons water

small amount of sea salt

small amount of ground pepper

1.  Wash the broccoli and then cut the heads off the stems.  (you can save the stems to juice or add to smoothies)

2.  Heat a pan with 2 tablespoons of high heat oil.

3.  Add the broccoli and cover.  Cook for 2 minutes on medium high heat.

4.  Lift the cover and add the 2 tablespoons of water with the salt and pepper mixed in.  Pour over the broccoli and cover tightly.  Cook for 2 minutes.  This will stem the seared broccoli.

5.  Eat it all up.  Yum.  Yum.

Here's our dinner plate.  A big baked potato covered with the cashew cheddar cheese (it's under the olives and soy baco bits), a big pile of broccoli, and a big pile of roasted kabocha squash.  Where are the phytonutrients?  The orange squash, the green cruciferous broccoli, the potato and skin, the red bell pepper in the sauce, and the cashews in the sauce.  

Enjoy!!!

Split Pea Soup

Split Pea Soup

It's been an abnormally warm and weird winter in Santa Cruz thus far.  Although the sun has been fabulous and my garden is growing I miss rainy weekends where I feel like I have "permission" to stay inside and do some kitchen hibernating!

Saturday morning when I awoke it was cold.  Finally.  I decided that after I taught my morning class and ran errands, that part of my afternoon, even if the sun did come out, would be making a wintery warm filling soup. (and I'm glad I did because it rained today, Sunday!!!) If you follow my blog you know that I make a lot of soup and we almost always have a big pot of it in the fridge.  So, here's another one.

Split Pea Soup

with vegetables

3 cups split peas, rinsed and picked through  

3 quarts of stock or a combo of stock and water (add more if the soup becomes too thick)

1 - 2 tablespoons of oil

1 large onion, diced

4 large carrots, chopped

4 celery ribs, diced

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 rutabaga (or parsnip, potato, etc), diced

2 - 4 cups of spinach, washed and chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tsp tarragon

1/2 teaspoon oregano

salt and pepper to taste

1.  Heat oil on low.  Add onions and saute' on low for about 3 minutes.

2.  Add chopped carrots and celery and saute' for another 3 or 4 minutes.

Did you know that your dogs love to be in the kitchen with you while you are cooking and they are happy to eat the ends of the carrots and then go back to sleep until the next tasty treat falls to the floor?

3.  Add minced garlic and saute' for another bit.  Basically, just watch your pot as you are chopping the next item and let everything saute' into a nice glistening mess.

4.  Add stock and water, split peas, rutabaga or other root vegetable, bay leaves and other spices.  Bring to a boil.  Turn the heat down and simmer for about 45 minutes to an hour or until everything is tender and mushy.

5.  Add more salt and pepper if warranted (that means if you want to!) Remove bay leaves.

6.  Take about a cup of the soup out of the pot and blend it (please be very careful to cover the top of your blender with a towel so that no HOT soup comes spurting out at you in a very dangerous way).  Add the blended soup back into the pot to make a creamier split pea.

7.  Add the spinach or other greens at this point and simmer for about 5 - 6 more minutes.  I forgot to do this but will add the spinach in today.  Never too late for more greens in your diet.

Now eat tons of it with toasted crusty bread or a big green salad! Or just by its lonesome in a big bowl by the fire (or here in Santa Cruz, on the beach)

And to prove to you that we do more than simply garden, cook, and eat (although those are all amazing things to do with one's time!), here's a photo of my husband's weekend project.  He took the chainsaw out to a big piece of redwood and made us a bear!

How cute is that??????

Hippocrates Soup

Hippocrates Soup

A few years ago I was introduced to a documentary about the Gerson Institute and the work of Dr. Gerson and his daughter to cure cancer and other diseases with a diet of fresh juice and raw and cooked plant foods. 

From the Gerson web site:

A patient on the Gerson Therapy receives the nutritional equivalent of fifteen pounds of fresh, raw produce in his daily consumption of 104 ounces of juice. The cooked food is intended for ease of digestion, to provide bulk and carbohydrates, to supplement mineral intake, and to serve as a buffer for the juices.

https://gerson.org/gerpress/

 It has intrigued me greatly and I have thought long and hard about how food is our most important "medicine" and tried to implement that concept into our daily eating lives here at home. We try to juice everyday, drink a green smoothie, eat a big salad, and lots and lots of cruciferous and green vegetables. We also eat nuts, seeds, beans, fruit, and grains daily.

“Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”

― Hippocrates

I know that the Gerson Institute serves a soup called 

"Hippocrates" soup. I believe it is served both at lunch and 

dinner. I have never studied at the Gerson Institute, although 

it is something I would very much like to do.  I felt very lucky 

when I ran across a recipe on Juicing For Health  http://juicing-for-

health.com for "Hippocrates Soup".  I am not sure this is exactly 

what the Gerson Institute serves but after making this 

amazing delicious soup I am a convert!


This soup is made with no oil and filled with vegetables.  It is

smooth, sublime, and has the "rich" taste of a cream of

 potato/tomato/and more soup. When my husband first tasted 

it he said, "This tastes like green looks." By the way, that was

 a huge compliment... like a beautiful field of green.


On busy morning I have been drinking a mug of Hippocrates

 soup on my way to work.  It's a great filling start to a busy

 day.  We have had big bowls with toasted Ezekiel bread for

 dinner, bowls and green salads for lunch... we are just eating

 bowls of this stuff.  Try it.  I don't think it will disappoint.

Hippocrates Soup

Use a large pot, dutch oven, or slow cooker

1 Celery Root (if you can't find the root, you can use celery stalks, instead)

Handful Parsley

2 Onions

1 large or 2 small leeks

2 - 4 Cloves Garlic

1 pound Potatoes

1 1/2 pounds Tomatoes

Pinch of sea salt

Wash the vegetables, scrubbing the skin of celery root and 

potatoes.

Chop the celery root, onions, leeks,garlic, parsley and stems, potatoes, and tomatoes.

Put everything into a slow cooker or a dutch oven.  Add water 

just to cover the vegetables.

If using a slow cooker turn on low and cook until the 

vegetables are very tender. I let it sit all night.

If using a dutch oven, bring to a light boil and then simmer on

 very low for about 2 hours.

Once cooked, puree the vegetables in a blender.  Remember

 to wait until the vegetables have cooled a bit before using

 the blender.

No way, tomatoes at the Farmer's Market in January!?  Yes! Using fresh tomatoes in this recipe is a bonus.  However, there are gallon bags of frozen tomatoes from my garden ready for when winter truly hits California.

What is this?  This is a celery root.  I cut off some of the bottom, cut the top off for juicing, and then washed and scrubbed the skin of the root.  I chopped it up for the soup, skin and all.

Here is the celery root, leek, onion, parsley, and garlic layered into my dutch oven.

And now the tomatoes and potato on top.  Just add water to cover, a pinch of salt, and cook on low heat for 2 - 3 hours.  Then puree once the soup is no longer boiling hot.  Unbelievably delicious!  Yum.

Bonus photos below!

My favorite very close to home walk with the dogs or Saturday morning run is "Top Of The World".  When I get there I look out over Delaveaga, the bay, and over to Monterey on a clear day.  I feel lucky every single time.

Here is the fabric I am using for the new quilt which will reside in my bedroom!  All 25 squares are now made.  The fun part is deciding how I will put those squares together to make a beautiful quilt top.  I'll post when it is finished.  

Be well!

KOFTA CURRY - INDIAN INSPIRED COMFORT FOOD!

KOFTA CURRY

(aka Chandra Malai Kofta)

My daughter got me the new Isa Chandra Moskowitz cookbook , "Isa Does It", for Christmas. Yippee Hurray! I was jumping for joy!  I have already perused it cover to cover several times.  I've made two of these fabulous recipes for our dinners. I see a strong future relationship with this cookbook --- much like my relationship with two of her other vegan cookbooks, "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" and "Veganomicon". Isa is a bit of a cooking idol for me!

Last night I took on the Indian inspired kofta curry dish on page 216 of "Isa Does It".  The list of ingredients was a bit overwhelming so I chose to make this dish on an evening when I had plenty of time and patience.  I also followed Isa's advice and got everything that I was going to need out, set on the counter, and ready to be prepped

                      The ingredients set out ready for action.

Isa writes about using her cast iron skillet so I got mine out from storage and started to use it!  Love it.  Here are the sliced almonds toasting.

Toasting the cumin seeds.

Chopped cilantro, garlic, and fresh ginger. (A delightful trio)

Kofta Curry

(aka Chandra Malai Kofta)

from "Isa Does It"

For the Kofta:

---1/2 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained, about 3/4 cup

---1/2 cup slivered almonds

---1 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed

---8 ounces zucchini, shredded (I used the large holes on the box grater)

---1/4 cup chopped cilantro (I used at least 1/2 cup)

---1 tablespoon minced ginger

---2 cloves garlic, minced

---1/2 teaspoon salt

---black pepper

---1 1/4 cups panko bread crumbs

For the Sauce:

---1 cup cashews (if you don't own a Vitamix, you will need to soak the cashews for at least 2 hours so they blend into cashew cream with no lumps or bumps)

---2 cups vegetable broth

---1 tablespoon coconut oil

---1 medium yellow onion, finely diced

---3 cloves garlic, minced

---1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced

---1 tablespoon mild curry powder

---1 teaspoon garam masala

---1 teaspoon ground cumin

---1 14 ounce can lite coconut milk

---3 tablespoons tomato paste

---1 teaspoon salt

---1 cup frozen peas

---2 handfuls fresh chopped spinach ( I added this to the recipe but it was delicious!)

Prepare the Kofta Mixture:

1.  In a medium bowl, mash the chickpeas until they are mushy but not pureed.

2.  Preheat a large heavy pan over medium heat.  Toast the almonds for about 7 minutes, tossing frequently, until they are golden and browned in some spots.  Transfer immediately to the mashed chickpea bowl.  Next, toast the cumin seeds in the same pan for 3 minutes or so, until fragrant and a shade or two darker.  Transfer those to the bowl, as well.

3.  Add the zucchini, cilantro, ginger, garlic, salt, and black pepper to the chickpea bowl and mix well.

4.  Add the bread crumbs and use your hands to mix and mush until it holds together.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Prepare the sauce:

1.  Drain the cashews and add them to a blender with the 2 cups broth.  Blend until very smooth.  This is called "cashew cream" and is often used in vegan recipes to make things taste super yummy and rich!  It may take 1 - 5 minutes to blend this smooth so give the blender a break every now and then. (My Vitamix blended unsoaked raw cashews with the broth in about a minute to a smooth cream)

2.  Preheat a 4 quart pot over medium heat and add the coconut oil.  Saute' the onion in the oil for about 3 minutes, until translucent.  Add the garlic and ginger, and cook just until fragrant, 15 seconds or so.  Add the curry powder, garam masala, and cumin and toss for a minute or so, just to toast the spices a bit.

3.  Add the coconut milk, tomato paste, blended cashews, and salt.  Bring to a low simmer and let cook for 15 minutes or so.  It should thicken up nicely.  Add the peas and spinach and allow them to warm through.  Taste for seasonings, then turn off the heat and cover until ready to serve.

Cook the Kofta:

1. Line the counter with parchment paper to keep the formed kofta from sticking.  Scoop up a scant 1/4 cup of the mixture and roll between your hands to pack it well and roll into football shapes.  Set on the parchment and continue to form balls - should make about 12.

2.  Preheat a large cast iron skillet, add some coconut oil and make sure it coats the bottom of the pan.  Now add the kofta balls, rolling each one around in the pan when you add it, making sure to coat all sides.  Use extra oil as necessary - this is not a low fat meal!

3.  Fry them for about 7 minutes, rolling them around in the pan to get them browned on all sides.  They don't have to be uniformly browned.  Do your best and be careful because they may start to fall apart.  Once browned, turn off the heat.

To Assemble:

Scoop some rice onto each plate, place 3 koftas on top of the rice, and cover with sauce.  Garnish with more chopped cilantro, if you like, and serve.

Foot ball shaped koftas awaiting the cook!

The curry sauce all thickened up and ready for pouring over kofta and rice!

Up close view of a kofta cut in half, smothered in yummy delicious rich curry sauce, over brown basmati!  

This was really a delicious meal and worth the effort.  It's not hard work, just a lot of steps.  One thing I would suggest is to look at both the kofta and sauce recipes and do things like chopping all the garlic and ginger at once so you can expedite the process.  This is the kind of recipe where you can be cooking the onions for the sauce while forming the kofta after refrigerating the mixture.  This planning ahead really saves time while cooking.

We made two full meals out of this recipe and had a large portion of sauce left over.  We used the curry sauce on some rice and beans later in the week. 

Yes, and finally.... two of my dogs sleeping butt to butt over Christmas vacation.

Best Beans Ever!

 BEST BEANS EVER!!!!!

Red beans in a tomato curry like broth

My friend, Bryce, grows cranberry beans in his garden. He cooks with them all year and I have loved eating them at his house.They are a fancy colored pinto bean and cook up to a plump "meaty" bite.  Yummy.  Super yummy.

I decided to grow them myself a couple seasons ago.  Beans are super easy to grow - they just need some good compost and soil, water, sunshine, and a tall tripod or other bean pole set up. Once they are looking ripe and green you just leave them on the vine until the outer hull turns brown and the beans have dried out.  However, the sad news is... gophers love beans and they found mine this year.  Boo!  The gophers left me a small handful of these lovely colorful pinto beans but I have resorted to spending far more than I am comfortable with at the local Farmer's Market where they can be purchased!  However, it's local and I know the farmers work hard and I just love these beans.

Live Earth Farms is not the local farm stand where I buy my beans but man oh man do I love this sentiment!  I really do believe more of us should know where our food comes from and how it was grown and/or produced.  I think we would eat really differently if we had any idea.

Back to beans....

I recently had a vegan feast at a friends house.  She is not vegan and this was her first vegan dinner party.  She did an amazing job!  One of the things she served us were bowls of savory red beans in a mildly spicy curry like broth.  Her inspiration was the Smitten Kitchen http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/02/red-kidney-bean-curry/


I decided to try my own beans inspired by Smitten Kitchen (which is an awesome blog and many of the recipes can be made vegetarian or vegan)

Laurie's Best Beans Ever!!

adapted from Smitten Kitchen

2 or more cups of Cranberry Beans 

Olive Oil

1 onion chopped

1/8 - 1/4 cup grated ginger

Box or can of Tomato Sauce

3 or more garlic cloves, minced

2 teaspoons cumin

2 teaspoons coriander

1 or more teaspoon turmeric 

1/4 or more teaspoon cayenne

1 teaspoon or less paprika

1 bouillon cube and lots of water

Chopped fresh tomato, if in season and on hand

1.  Soak beans overnight and rinse before using

2.  Heat oil in a large skillet and add chopped onion, grated ginger and minced garlic. Saute' until translucent.  Add spices and saute' for a minute or so.  Add tomato sauce.  Simmer until everything is fragrant and mixed - maybe 5 minutes or so.

3.  Dump onion/spice/tomato mix into a large crock pot, add soaked and rinsed beans, the cube of stock and enough water to cover the beans, the chopped tomato, and salt and pepper.

4.  Cook on low for 6 - 8 hours.

5.  Serve over rice, next to stir fry greens, or in tortilla or chapati like bread!  Top with chopped cilantro if you like.

Remember that you can used canned beans. I would suggest some sort of red bean or hearty larger bean. Adjust the spices to your enjoyment level. Add less spice for milder beans and a bit more cayenne and some sort of chili pepper if you'd like a stronger bite!

This is originally a red bean "curry" but it can be made with a stronger chili flavor, as well.

Play with the recipe and come up with what works best for you.

Use a ginger planer for best results when grating ginger.  Ginger is so good for you!  Great for digestion.

I have quart bags of sauce that I made tucked away in my freezer but it has a distinctly Italian flavor.  I used this Pomi tomato in the box.  What a debate there currently is about tomatoes and cans!  I am trying to stay away from cans.

Here is the saute' pan full of onion, ginger, garlic, and the spices.  

These are the soaked cranberry beans.  They lose the beautiful red color after being soaked.  This kind of pinto is so much meatier than a regular pinto.  You gotta try them.

 The crock pot is full and ready to simmer for hours.  I try to cook at night or put it all together in the morning so it is ready by the time we are all home and eating dinner.  Yum!

And how can I post without a photo of my doggies?  Here I am giving the black doggy a big hug! The brown spots are sitting in the background awaiting their turn! By the way... they don't eat beans.

Savory Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins

Savory Pumpkin Applesauce

Muffins

(yum! -vegan baking is easy)

I have frozen roasted pumpkin puree and frozen home made applesauce in my freezer.  The pumpkin needs to be used so I can roast more pumpkin and squash this season for  2013/2014 baking and soup making.  I looked online for a good vegan pumpkin applesauce muffin recipe.  I used a combination of several online sources to make these yummy savory muffins that were delightful with coffee in the morning.  They are not too sweet and the "pumpkin pie" spice flavoring is not overpowering at all.  All in all this is an easy recipe to whip up if you've got pumpkin puree and applesauce on hand.

I froze large containers of pumpkin puree and I'm glad because I ended up making 2 large batches of the muffins and freezing the extra muffins.  Frozen muffins are easy to thaw and even reheat and they lose very little of their yumminess.  Throw them in a gallon zip lock bag and take the extra air out - voile'.

This is an easy recipe to follow because you simply mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients into another bowl and then combine and stir gently.

The wet ingredients mixed together.

Adding the wet ingredients to the dry a little at a time.

Almost 2 dozen yummy muffins ready to be popped into the oven.

Pumpkin Applesauce Muffins

(makes 1 dozen)

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 cup of all purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 cup applesauce

1/2 cup canola or other oil

1 tablespoon vanilla

1.  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2.  Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice into a large mixing bowl.  Stir together and set aside.

3.  Combine pumpkin puree, applesauce, oil and vanilla.  Stir.

4.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just mixed.  I did this in 3 steps - a little bit at a time and just stirred to combine.

5.  Spray muffin tins with spray oil. 

6.  Fill muffin tins about 2/3 - 3/4 and bake for about 15 - 18 minutes in a 325 degree oven.  I turned the muffin pan half way through for more even cooking (but my oven is almost 30 years old!)

Finished muffins with a few missing!

-----  I didn't have any pumpkin pie spice so I put together a mixture of cinnamon, ginger and cardamon.  Now I have the real mixture and I liked it much better in the second batch.

----- I froze a bunch of these muffins in a big ziplock bag and they thawed beautifully and tasted really fresh.

----- Try to time the cooking of these muffins with a cup of coffee or tea because the warm steaming muffin with hot cup of something is about the best thing!

----- Enjoy!

And finally.. here is what we hope is a bomber of a garden box with the right kind of gopher resistance!  It's filled with 12 broccoli plants, 18 kale plants, 6 chard plants, 6 spinach plants, and 6 snap peas.  I'm crossing my fingers that this lovely box can help get us through the winter with green vegetables!

Eat green, stay healthy, and practice gratitude!