Sweet Potatoes Galore

This week has been a long one between caring for my sweet Annie after she was attacked by a boxer (she's okay) and helping my favorite food guru say goodbye to Raleigh as she is moving to Asheville.

After all the rushing around, it has been nice to enjoy my Saturday afternoon and reflect on all the wonderful memories that I made this week. I will cherish my last days with Bridger on Bickett Street, as well as, my eventful Friday afternoon spent clearing the meditation trail with my fellow AmeriCorps members at The Healing Place of Wake County.

I decided that I needed something to warm my belly and re-energize me for yet another busy week of AmeriCorps...not to mention my medical school interview on Tuesday!

I had way too many sweet potatoes in my refrigerator and thought sweet potato muffins would hit the spot!

Sweet Potato Muffins
1 1/8 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups peeled, cooked and blended sweet potato

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease muffin tins to hold 12 muffins.
• Whisk together brown sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs in a small bowl.
• Mix together the flour, baking powder, spices, salt, and grated sweet potatoes in a large bowl.
• Make a well in the center of the potato mixture, and pour in the egg mixture. Stir the egg mixture, gradually incorporating it with the flour mixture.
• Spoon the batter into the tins, filling up cups to the edge.
• Bake the muffins for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Take the muffins out of the oven and let the muffins cool on a wire rack.

Taste of Fall

I'm going to my cousin's house tonight for dinner, and I offered to bring dessert. Here is a quick and easy recipe:

Apple Cobbler
1 cup of milk
1 cup of flour
1 cup of sugar
1/2 stick of butter, melted
1.5 cups of chopped fruit (apples, berries, peaches...whatever is in season)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, sugar and milk together. Pour melted butter in the bottom of an oven proof pan. Layer flour mixture on top of butter. DO NOT STIR. Layer fruit on top. Bake for 45 minutes - 1 hr.

Spaghetti and Doulas

Doula - A support person, usually female, with no medical or midwifery training, who provides emotional assistance to a mother or pregnant couple before, during or after childbirth

Friends, I have had quite an interesting night. I decided to see an author speak at Quail Ridge Books. I've always liked that bookstore, but I had never been to any events in the past. The book was The Cotton Gown, a Midwife's Memoir.
I got to Quail Ridge about 20 minutes early to find myself surrounded by doulas, all talking about the beauty of childbirth. Two things popped into my head:
1. My best friend, Rachel, who is bit thrown off by the whole birthing process
2. The Wisconsin scene in my new favorite movie Away We Go (if you haven't seen it, netflix it immediately)
Anyway, the entire night was an adventure including, but not limited to, natural childbirth while holding a picture of Krishna, life on communes, and a hippy male nurse in a fanny pack.

Before the book review, I made homemade spaghetti:

Quick, Cheap, and Easy Marinara
Hot italian sausage
1 large can of crushed tomatoes
1 tsp. olive oil
1-2 cloves of garlic, chopped
Oregano
Red pepper flakes

Brown italian sausage with olive oil and garlic in a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add crushed tomatoes, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Decrease heat to low. Cook for ~30 minutes.

Soup Sunday

This past week, I decided to start counting calories. A bit dismayed by this decision, I put aside the delicious squash soup recipe that called for a Paula Deen amount of butter and did some research for healthier choices. I came upon this tomato soup recipe on the Cooking Light website. Though low in calories, it still had the creaminess that made it taste indulgent. Plus, the 8-serving recipe provided enough for me to have it for lunch for a week. Eat it with some fruit or a side salad...you should have at least 300 calories for lunch...believe me, I know.

Tomato-Basil Soup
CALORIES 133 (30% from fat);
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup soup and 1 bread slice)

4 cups chopped seeded peeled tomato (about 4 large)
4 cups low-sodium tomato juice (I used Low Sodium V8 instead)
1/3 cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1/2 cup (4 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
Basil leaves, thinly sliced (optional)
8 (1/2-inch-thick) slices diagonally cut French bread baguette


Bring tomato and juice to a boil in a large saucepan. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, 30 minutes.
Place tomato mixture and basil in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Return pureed mixture to pan; stir in milk, salt, and pepper. Add cream cheese, stirring well with a whisk, and cook over medium heat until thick (about 5 minutes). Ladle soup into individual bowls; garnish with sliced basil, if desired. Serve with bread.

NOTE: Refrigerate remaining soup in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

The Real Reason We Are Here

There are things you do because they feel right & they may make no sense & they may make no money & it may be the real reason we are here: to love each other & to eat each other's cooking & say it was good.
-Story People

Tonight, I am going to an engagement party for the wonderful Brooke and Matt. It's always so much fun to celebrate love and the promise of long lasting love.

While it was so enticing to pick up some takeout before the party, I decided to cook:

Portobello Mushroom Burger

Ingredients
•1 Portobello mushroom cap
•1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
•1 tsp olive oil
•1/4 green bell pepper
•1/4 cup of chopped onions (I used red onions)
•Clove of chopped garlic
•A slice or 2 of sharp cheese
•2 slices of bread (I used cheap white bread)
•1 tomato slice
•Sea salt and pepper to taste

•Place the mushroom caps, smooth side up, in a shallow dish.
•Pour balsamic vinegar over the mushroom.
•Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes or so.
•Preheat the frying pan to medium-high heat.
•Stir fry onions, bell peppers, garlic in olive oil for 5 minutes.
•Add mushrooms to the pan, and cook 5 minutes on each side.
•Top mushroom with cheese during the last 2 minutes of cooking.
•Layer mushroom with onions and bell peppers in a sandwich.
•Add a tomato slice to the sandwich...and maybe some mayo

Baked Kale Chips
(...seriously, crispy like chips!)

Ingredients
1 bunch of kale
1 tbs olive oil(or oil spray)
salt to taste(maybe a little garlic powder too)

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper. With a knife or kitchen shears remove the kale leaves from the thick stems and tear into bite size pieces. Drizzle kale with olive oil on the cookie sheet and sprinkle with salt. Bake until the edges brown but are not burnt, 10 to 15 minutes.

Tonight, I toast to the Security Guard!

As I was doing some work in my office this afternoon, one of my customers walked down the hall, dressed in his new security uniform and looking sharp. I was suddenly so overwhelmed with joy...I almost cried.
Weeks ago, this customer came into the center ready to look for a job. He had not worked in over a year, as he had an elderly dog who needed constant attention. Being an animal lover myself, I empathized with the sad final journey he had undergone with his dog. Anyway, he was in the Access JobLink center and ready to build his resume. With a learning disability and few computer skills, he leaned on me during a lot of the job search process. Over a series of weeks working together, I learned that he, at one time, had been homeless and had spent a decade working in jobs he had no passion for.
My customer's dream job was to be a security officer. And tonight, I toast to his new job and continued success!

Tandoori Chicken and Potatoes

1 part Tandoori Paste (can be purchased at an Indian Grocery Store)

2 parts Plain Yogurt

Boneless, skinless chicken breast

A few Russet Potatoes

• Combine in a bowl tandoori paste and yogurt. Mix well.
• Cut potatoes into bite-size pieces
• Combine yogurt mixture, potatoes, and chicken. Let marinate overnight (ideally)
• Pre-heat oven at 400 degrees
• Place mixture in an oven-safe dish
• Cook for 35-45 minutes

Easy and delicious!

Dinner with my Food Guru

My lovely cousin and food guru, Bridger, invited me over to her house for dinner after a wonderful Fall run (see above). Bridger has this amazing knack for creating healthy, delicious meals without a recipe or a lot of fancy ingredients. I felt it only necessary to share with you the dinner she treated me to tonight!
This recipe was, in fact, from a cookbook. It was in a well-loved vegetarian cookbook...the kind that I could easily get lost in. Make this lasagna, cut it into smaller portions, and freeze it for an especially busy week. If you don't have the exact ingredients, improvise... That's what Bridger would do!

Guru's Vege Lasagna

1.5 qt of tomato sauce (any kind will do)
1.5 lbs spinach
1 onion
1-2 tbs olive oil
1-2 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs ricotta
1/4 lb parmesan
3 eggs, beaten
salt/pepper
2-3 tbs fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 lb. mozzarella, grated
1 lb No-boil lasagna noodles
Oblong, oven safe dish and 2 square dishes

• Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
• Coarsely chop spinach
• Chop onion and saute lightly with minced garlic
• Combine in a bowl ricotta, parmesan, spinach, sauteed onions, and beaten eggs. Mix well.
• Season mixture with salt, pepper, and chopped parsley
• Arrange a layer of lasagna noodles in the bottom of the dish, spread a layer of ricotta cheese mixture, sprinkle with mozzarella, cover smoothly with tomato sauce.
• Repeat the layering once or twice more. Finish with a smooth layer of sauce regardless of the layer under.
• Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil, crimping the edges tightly.
• Bake lasagna at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, uncover and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes
• Serve with a leafy, green salad

Breakfast is Golden

Good morning! For some of you, breakfast is a granola bar as you're running out the door. For others, it's stopping by Starbucks to pick up a $4 pumpkin spice latte (one of my favorites). My mom instilled in me at a very young age that breakfast is a MUST.

One of my recent favorites is Farina or hot cereal. I discovered this recipe in last month's Real Simple, and I think I've eaten it for the last 30 mornings. Farina is SUPER cheap. I haven't even used a whole bag in the last month, and it was like $3 at Whole Foods. The almonds are an investment worth making, as they add the much needed crunch to the bowl. Enjoy!

Farina With Apricots and Almonds

(1 serving)

3/4 Cup of milk (I use vanilla soy milk. It has a longer expiration date than regular milk.)

2 and a 1/2 tbs. Farina

1 tbs. brown sugar

a few dried apricots

a few roasted almonds

Bring milk to a boil in a small saucepan. Add farina and whisk constantly for a minute or 2.

Spoon into a bowl and top with brown sugar, apricots, and almonds.

It will warm your belly on these chilly Fall mornings!

The Journey Begins

Hello friends!

Last month, I began AmeriCorps in Raleigh, NC. Along with my one-year pledge of service, I promised myself that I would not stop buying and making good, healthy food. After all, millions of people today are operating on a tiny budget, and I believe everyone should have the right to a nutritious meal.

So far, it is been quite an adventure deciding what I am going to cook every night and how I shall afford delicious food on a $200/week stipend. Today, I will begin documenting my lovely journey through the world of well rounded meals on a budget. I promise to only post recipes that I have made and enjoyed!

Why "The Only Real Currency"?

It was inspired by a quote from my favorite book, Eat, Pray, Love:

In a world of disaster and disorder and fraud, sometimes only beauty can be trusted. Only artistic excellence is incorruptible. Pleasure cannot be bargained down. And sometimes the meal is the only currency that is real.

-Elizabeth Gilbert

Baked Rosemary Lemon Chicken

4 boneless chicken breast

1 yellow onion

3 garlic cloves

4-6 sprigs of rosemary

1 large lemon

1/3 cup of red wine vinegar (I used balsamic vinegar)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Dash of Sea Salt

Dash of black pepper

Preheat oven to 375. Cut chicken breast into 3 equal parts. Place in the casserole dish. Cut onion up into wedges and place in dish. Slice the garlic up into 4-5 slices per clove and place into the dish.

Take 1/2 of lemon and cut into 4 wedges - squeeze the juice into the dish over the chicken and place the wedges in between the chicken pieces. Pour vinegar into the dish and then the olive oil. Dash on salt and pepper and then place your rosemary on top. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes.

Cut the rest of your lemon to garnish the chicken.