Local Farm Trio

I love cooking with fresh seasonal veggies especially, when I'm the one who picked it out of the field.  Everything on the plate came from Greenbluff, a farming community in Spokane, WA.
On the plate:

Roasted Spaghetti Squash
Panko Crusted Fried Green Heirloom Tomato
Swiss Chard Sauteed with Roasted Garlic and Balsamic
Grilled Polenta
Cilantro Pesto

By the time I realized I didn't have the cilantro pesto in the picture, it was too late.
The textures and fresh flavors are amazing.
Whenever my son Tanner and I pick our own produce, he always wants to help cook it.  I think its important to get your kids involved in the kitchen, and also to educate them on where our food comes from.  I think it also gets kids to be more willing to eat their veggies.  I know I'm doing something right when Tanner says, "Mom, can I have another tomato and some of the AWESOME squash!"  Hes 8.

Coming up soon:
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Zucchini Bread
Butternut Squash Gnocchi 

Bad Banana's = Yummy Frozen Yogurt

I have had my ice cream maker for about 3 years now.  I never used but maybe twice.   I love ice cream, but the cream I can do without, so I just don't make it.  So today I decided I was going to experiment with non-fat Greek yogurt and banana's.  I had like 8 banana's that were VERY ripe.  I am amazed at how both of these turned out, they are very creamy in texture, flavor is awesome, and it was so easy.  I added cinnamon and a touch of nutmeg to the banana blueberry,  yum!

Chocolate Banana Frozen Yogurt
2                Banana's, ripe
3Tbls         Cocoa powder (unsweetened)
1.5 cup       Coconut Milk
1 cup          Greek yogurt, plain non-fat
2-3 Tbls     Agave syrup or a few packets of Truvia
Combine in processor, let mixture chill and hour or two then pour into ice cream mixer for about 20 min.  Transfer to freezer.

Banana Blueberry Frozen Yogurt
4-5          Banana's,  ripe
1 1/3 c    Plain Greek yogurt,  non-fat
1/4 c       Honey,  orange blossom was really nice in here
1 t           Cinnamon
1/8 t        Nutmeg,  fresh ground
1/4 c       Almond milk
1/2 c       Blueberries, frozen

Puree banana with yogurt and honey then add all other ingredients except blueberries.
Chill mixture in fridge for an hour then pour into ice cream maker.  Put frozen blueberries into the maker at the end just so they get mixed in.  Transfer to freezer. 

So that's my creations for the day, well actually I made some navy bean soup, but I'll talk about that later.  If you ever make anything I do, let me know what you think. 

Bye For Now

Here goes nothing, my first blog. Vegetarian creations from a Chef.

I am a Chef and a pescatarian.  I add seafood and fish to my vegetarian diet.  I don't drink milk I drink almond milk, its what I've found that I like best. 
What I do best is create fantastic, fresh, flavorful dishes that are well balanced, and did I mention, flavorful.  Every time I make dinner I always think I should be sharing  the flavors and recipes with other vegetarians. 
The first picture I have on here was mixed together with a coconut curry sauce and served it with quinoa.
The second picture the grilled veggies and some whole-wheat pasta was tossed with cilantro/basil pesto.
Strawberries were picked by my son and I at a local farm.  I made a puree out of the strawberries mixed in coconut milk and made ice-cream
The last picture is a vegetarian pazole, black beans, hominy, tomatillos, garlic  etc...made this last night, its delicious.
I never cook with a recipe, I hope to write a cook book someday, if I could ever actually write down what I'm making, would be very helpful.  So this is kinda my food diary that I want to share with others.