To Market, To Market

I love Saturday morning...it's Market Morning. Too bad I can't take a peek and show you today what will be at the farmers' market tomorrow. But, for sure, there will be some good, fresh eats available. Lovely eggs, tomatoes, cukes and plenty of squash and eggplant, and zinnias (my grandfather's favorite flower).

Just the thing to go with Market Morning? Coffee with pals and a decadent goat's milk dulce de leche-filled doughnut. Yum...I eat it like an oreo...it's all about the filling.

And so, given that a bit of a sugar and caffeine-fest await, I have this recipe ready. Actually it is one of my favorite breakfast, lunch and dinners!

Summer Breakfast Salad

1-2 farm market fresh eggs
1 tablespoon organic unsalted butter

Several handfuls of fresh mixed greens with herbs added (chives, cilantro, basil, dill)
1/4 cup of a crunch like nuts or seeds
1/3 cup or to taste raw sugar or snap peas, jicama, cukes
slices of fresh mozzarella or scoop of fresh ricotta (optional)
fresh tomatoes
few slices of avocado (optional)
sea salt and fresh black pepper
fresh lemon juice and extra virgin olive oil (optional) 

Toss together salad ingredients or layer onto a plate.

Melt butter in a pan. Gently fry the eggs until whites are firm, making sure the yolks remain runny.

Place warm eggs over salad greens. Sprinkle with extra seeds (I like chia seeds). Break the yolk as you gather up bites of salad. The textures and temperatures make every bite different and so I usually just enjoy the ride and don't add dressing to the salad. Go ahead and add a splash of lemon juice and olive oil or a full-blown dressing if you wish. Serves 1!

A Picture says 1000 words...

This is another one of those days where I don't have to write much. This picture and article say it all. Where I can help best is to keep on sharing my non-toxic message and offering up safe solutions for you and your whole family here. This article was a shocker...many more chemicals than previous reports. We really have to get in the "know" and say "no" to all this chemical sludge before it costs us what we cherish most.  

Happy Birthday!!

Tonight is the night...time to celebrate the first birthday of my discovering personal care products truly without harmful chemicals! On July 26, 2010, I found this company by accident...trolling around on my computer and thank heaven I did. Such a gift to be able to "green up" as I "clean up" and to save my health and Mother Nature from harm.

This Red, White and Food Shout-out is for Ava Anderson, the young woman herself who jumped off the couch and into action when she learned about the threat to teenagers from all those chemically-rich, perfume and contaminant heavy personal care products she and her family and friends were using. She researched and researched and dug into the "dirt" of what's really in those products and who else was at risk. The list includes all ages, very man, woman and child (even those not born yet!) in the U.S.

Her curiosity spread to ask what was really in those "pure", "safe" and "natural" formulas, too. The answers she got spurred her into more action. In December 2009, Ava's research and work turned into the cutting-edge, first-in-class personal care line...truly without harmful chemicals, of course...that I use daily and rave about here on this blog.

Click here , then "News" for more news articles on Ava. Check out the awards she has won for her environmental work!

Ava embodies vitality and gumption and is a constant reminder to me, on a daily basis, that one person counts. One person can make a huge difference. And, when others join in...why the ripple effect is positively a life force. Thank you, Ava, for your vision, hard work and commitment to making the world a happier, healthier place. xoxox   

Come celebrate with me...yes, there will be cake! Drop by Shoppes on Woodlawn tonight, from 5-8! Each guest will receive my S-AVA card! Party on!

Monday Blues

No, I am not having them but I sure would like some!

I am having a "birthday" party of a sorts tomorrow and was looking through my recipe box for one of two favorite cakes. My gosh...it was like digging through a treasure trove. So many recipes! Weirdly enough, I couldn't find either cake recipes I was looking for but I did find this one for a chilled blueberry soup.

Would love to pop one of these in my mouth!

We lived in Cleveland, Ohio when the kiddos were babies. All three of us were born there actually. During the few summers we were there when they were old enough to help, we would go to a blueberry farm about an hour away and pick and eat 'til our bellies and bags were full. I had a freezer of plump berries all winter...about 30-40 pounds worth. Seemed pretty decadent in the dead of winter! Such fun! If you are in the picking mood, here is a great link with some blueberry storage tips.

While the chilled soup picture is from the Internet...I love the presentation...the recipe is from a dear friend in Cleveland.

Chilled Blueberry Soup

2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

1-8 ounce can pineapple in water, not drained

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 cup pineapple juice

1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

3/4 cup dairy or non-dairy yogurt

2 bananas

1 1/4 cup apple juice

Set aside 1/4 cup berries.

Combine berries, pineapple, lemon juice, pineapple juice, 1/4 cup yogurt, 1 banana and 1 cup apple juice. Chill 2 hours. Blend rest of ingredients and float on top of soup.

Removing the Moustache

Have you seen those commercials for some new reality show on beards and moustaches? Very hairy guys battling it out to see who has the best? No comment on it but it did get me thinking...

When I was in the doctor's office the other day where I had the struggle to "de-smoke" my chart, I had lots of time and a smorgasbord of magazines to look through...all pretty disease specific (except for the Field and Stream) which was a little weird. However, in one issue was an article on what to eat when you don't eat dairy and gave lots of calcium-rich recipes. The dairy industry wants us to believe we get adequate calcium from dairy products, but in reality, we don't. Plants are a terrific source of calcium. Given the previous posts on eating for the environment and for staying cool, this is a great topic to end the week.

Now, despite my love of ice cream, I really don't eat dairy very often. Although yesterday, I stumbled across a recipe for a flavor from a favorite Boston ice creamery that I would delay my flight home to eat and almost posted it today! I was allergic to cow's milk as a kiddo and haven't had a glass of milk in decades. Some of the ice cream that I have as a treat is made from coconut milk...really delish. And again, it is a treat not a mainstay...

Sans meat, my kind of moustache and "smoke"

What I do eat a lot of are calcium-rich chickpeas...love hummus and have at least a dab of it every day. Here is a recipe for a lovely chickpea salad co-starring with another calcium powerhouse, spinach. The yogurt sauce is optional or just make it with non-dairy yogurt!

Chickpea and Spinach Salad (Ellie Krieger)

One 15.5-ounce cans chickpeas, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed (Eden Organic is BPA free)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup diced red onion
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Optional topping
3 tablespoons plain nonfat yogurt (try non-dairy ones)
1 tablespoons orange juice
1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
1/4 teaspoon honey

2 ounces baby spinach leaves (about 2 cups lightly packed)
1 tablespoon coarsely chopped fresh mint

In a medium bowl, combine the chickpeas, parsley, and onion. In a small bowl, whisk together the oil, lemon juice and zest, cumin, cayenne, salt, and black pepper. Pour the dressing over the chickpea mixture and toss to coat evenly. In another small bowl, stir together the yogurt, orange juice and zest, and honey.

Serve the chickpeas salad over a bed of spinach leaves. Top with the "yogurt" sauce and garnish with the mint. Makes 4 servings