Chocolate…on my mind & needles

My favorite brand of Chocolate bars, Lillys – Gluten-free, sweetened with Stevia. My fav varieties: Almond Dark Chocolate (love almonds w/chocolate), Coconut, Salted Dark Chocolate, Blood Orange….all yummy. The Blood Orange, Coconut have subtle hints of flavor, the Salted Dark has a nice salty-sweet…not too sweet either.

On my needles, Cocoa color cowl, for my hubby…made with Red Heart Soft Essentials yarn…super soft! Using #8 circular needles.

Farmer’s Market… in the time of COVID-19

Police tape surrounds the veggie & fruit stands in this time of COVID-19. In New York, we must all continue to wear a mask, social distance and use the disposable gloves the vendors have offe if you chose to select your own goods…

On this beautiful Fall day all masked up 😷 I go early, move fast, and hope to avoid others….

New York State Apples 🍎 and Shallots

Heirloom Tomato 🍅, Garlic Chives, Green Onion Scallions.

Steaming the Red Beets, Red Cabbage, Potatoes 🥔 and a few Shallots for fab gluten-free dinner.

For the 💜 of Cowls

Cowls on my needles…sure do love Malabrigo Superwash Merino Wool Yarn!

Knitting calms the nerves during these crazy times. Keep Knitting & creating!

Looking forward to the Fall Season, with hope… 🤞

Healthy Homemade Hummus

Simple to make, healthy & super easy! No pesticides!!!

Make your own – give it a try!!

Gluten-free, & Vegan.

1 16 oz. can of Organic Chickpeas

4 T of Tahini – I use Baron’s 16 oz. – two-pack on Amazon: $12.99 – ingredients: 100% Sesame seeds – nothing else!

1 clove fresh garlic (more if you like)

1 T of Lemon juice

Salt & Black pepper to taste.

Add all of the ingredients to a blender and pulse a few seconds …creamy & yum!

This hummus can also be used as a salad dressing and thinned out with a dash of Cider Vinegar, dip for chips/veggies (cucumbers, above), corn tortilla chips, or falafel balls.

 

Finding joy…

 

in the little things of Summer… Cherries & Watermelon! 🙂

  • Cherries…

I used 1.5 lbs of mini sweet peppers …great flavor for my homemade Sofrito… minus cilantro. I collected the seeds….they sprout fast!. I have a few 2″ plants on my window sill *fingers crossed*

Looking forward to that mini Watermelon…soon.

  • Mini sweet Peppers
  • Onion, Fresh garlic cloves, Peppers

Zucchini pancake recipe – g/f

  • 2 medium sized zucchini’s – strain well in a colander after shredding …for at least 1 hour prior to mixing in the rest of the ingredients. Discard the excess water coming out of the zucchini.
  • 1/2 medium red onion – chopped
  • 1 egg
  • Add Salt & black pepper to taste
  • Add 1/4 cup of gluten-free mix (I used Bob’s Red Mill) into the mixture. You can also use any other flour.
  • Add 1/3 cup of green onion to the mixture.

Add 1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil in a cast iron pan on low to medium heat. Drop spoonful of batter and cook til crispy brown (a few minutes). Drain pancakes on paper towel to absorb oil.

Enjoy!

Life on Lockdown…

Wearing a mask it’s not easy for anyone…do it anyway!!! I saw a post on FB that read, “if you don’t like wearing a mask, you certainly won’t like having a ventilator”…truth!!

A new routine…avoid all things people. Singing birds wake us early and insist we show up each day. Morning & evening walks down a quiet residential street …embracing the quiet times at a small corner park bursts of Springtime blooms.

Pretty much everything that comes into my home is purchased online. I’m one of those cleaning cans and wiping down plastic/cardboard surfaces. I haven’t ordered open fruits nor veggies since March. I prefer the no-contact deliveries where items are left at the door. I urge everyone to at least double the Tip for all deliveries.

My favorite easy to use and reliable delivery sites: Vitacost, Target, Walmart, Amazon, as well as their Prime Now groceries delivered from Whole Foods….for a few weeks delivery was limited but with enough time to try again I usually snagged a delivery slot.

New items, I never considered before COVID-19: (in the event we need it).

My prayers for everyone enduring these difficult times…hang in there peeps!!!

 

 

 

 

Spanish rice on the menu…

It may be Sunday but this savory side dish is great any day of the week!

  • Chop then saute onions 1/2 med onion, 2 T chopped olives, & 1/4 cup green/red peppers in 2t of extra virgin olive oil.
  • Add rice (I used 1.5 c. Brown rice) to a deep saute pan.
  • Add and stir well all of the spices: 1T garlic, 2t sazon, 1T tomato paste & 4 oz of chopped tomatoes.
  • Add enough water to cover rice (about 3/4″).
  • Cover the pan and cook on very, very low flame until the rice is cooked (check after 30 minutes to see if it needs a tad bit more water).

Enjoy! 😉

Siete Almond flour

If you’re gluten-free or just looking for low carb alternatives for quesadillas …this almond flour alternative is AMAZING!!! I used a brown rice & Spanish red bean mixture and always rockin the guac. I also make a black bean and vegan cheese filling. I give it a quick toasting in a cast iron pan and voila!

Siete brand also has a Cassava flour tortilla which great too.

Some of my favs from Whole Foods. Simple Mills crackers (Rosemary & Sea Salt) are yum! The unsweetened Coconut “milk” is for my smoothies. I’ve added Arugula…tastes like peas. 🙂 Nuts of all varieties are a staple for me.

%d bloggers like this: