Ja cię kocham…

I discovered Polish Pottery last year at my dear friend Christie’s bridal shower.

This is Christie with her hubby Eric.  (We were making homemade pizzas one night… what was I thinking giving Eric a knife?!?  Hehe.)

At Christie’s bridal shower, I was instantly drawn to the stunning deep cobalt and white pottery all over the house.   The hostess told me that she had registered for Polish Pottery for her wedding.  Dang it – why didn’t I think of that?!?!   Polish Pottery is incredibly durable and can go from your oven to your table to your dishwasher.  And it’s hand painted with love from Boleslawiec, a 13th century town on the far west side of Poland.  Boleslaweic (Bo-le- swa-vitz) is famous for it’s high quality pottery.

I chose the more traditional pattern of Peacock and Nature/Mosquito for my collection, but there are MANY other patterns to choose from – there are even Christmas patterns!  You can get all kinds of pieces.  Platters, coffee/tea serving items, place settings, and much much more are all available.  Several pieces are on display in my kitchen and in my “china” cabinet.  Of course, I use them frequently, but its too pretty to hide in a closet.  They need to be on display.

Jay and I registered for Cobalt Blue Fiestaware for our wedding, and the Polish Pottery matches perfectly with it.

Click here and here for online Polish Pottery websites.  I get monthly 10-25% of coupons for the online stores, which is fantastic!  You can also find it in local stores that sell pottery.   These are the kind of pieces that last a lifetime and can be passed on to your children and grandchildren.  Given that my family has strong Polish roots, I’m absolutely excited to add these pieces to my collection.

Happy 100th post, Ja cie Kocham!  This blog was started merely for me to keep track of my own recipes.  I’m notorious for cooking something and not being able to find the recipe for future use so this blog was initially meant to serve as a private food diary for me.  Well, that lasted all about a month when my friends and family kept asking to see it.  So I gave in and made my Ja Cie Kocham visible to the public.  And here I am 100 posts deep.

To make this post even more special it happens to fall on my beautiful puppy’s 1st Birthday.

We don’t have children of our own (yet) so Noodles gets all of our energy and love.  We HAD to celebrate her birthday!  What kind of parents would we be if we didn’t?   I know it sounds corny and quite frankly even ridiculous – I have seen those crazy Dog Moms on Oprah and Dr. Phil that treat their dogs like humans and even chew their food for them – but rest assured that we’re not THAT crazy.  We just love any excuse to celebrate.  And yes, we love our Bean!

And Bean loves her Peanut Butter!  (I let her lick the spoon after I was done scooping the peanut butter…)  She also loves getting presents…  she waits patiently… well, as patiently as a birthday puppy can!

When we first got Noodles, she was so little and had lots of black hair.

As you can clearly see in her more recent posts, her dark black hair has turned a whitish-gray.  She’s half Maltese and half Yorkie so I guess the Maltese in her is coming through!

So let’s talk about these dog cookies.

1. They are so simple to make.
2. You can’t screw them up.  It’s impossible.
3. The original recipe CLAIMS to yield 10 “biscuits”, but mysteriously I ended up with 36!
   
4. And you can eat them, too.  They are not sweet at all so I added some chocolate
   

Please note that Noodles is watching Mommy partake in a cookie….

Peanut Butter Banana Doggie Cookies

Source: Allrecipes

Yields A LOT of cookies…

**Feel free to make the cookies really thick to cut back on the amount and to appease your larger doggies.  My dog is little (10 lbs) so I made the cookies thin so she could easily consume them.**

Ingredients:

1 egg
1/3 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup mashed banana
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat germ
1 egg white, lightly beaten, for brushing

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Stir together the egg, peanut butter, banana, and honey in a medium bowl; blend thoroughly. Stir in the flour and wheat germ; mix well.

Turn dough out onto a floured board and roll to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into desired shapes with a cookie cutter, place on prepared baking sheet, and brush tops with egg white.

Bake biscuits in preheated oven until dried and golden brown, about 30 minutes, depending on size. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.

Today we had a heat index of 105 degrees F.  And I was outside pretty much allll day looooong.  Needless to say, I wasn’t about to have anything hot for dinner.  I needed something cool and refreshing.  It was a night for salad.  I did it a little differently.  Instead of throwing it all in a bowl, I decided to make a platter out of it and put the lettuce on the side.  So go ahead.  Make a salad platter.  It makes the simplest of meals look beautiful and fancy.

My platter from Left to Right:

Red bell peppers
Green hot peppers
Avocado
Bacon
Chicken
Eggs
Scallions
Mushrooms
Roma tomatoes

I used endive lettuce and ranch dressing.  I know I should have used blue cheese, but I just love ranch!

ENJOY!

I bought all of this at a local Amish produce stand on my way home from work for $6!

For the next 21 days, I am participating in the Buy Fresh, Buy Local 21-day challenge.  Basically you just alter your lifestyle for 21 days to support local business.  The change can be as minimal or as large as you want it to be.  Buying local is good for the environment because excess fuel isn’t wasted on transporting foods from one country to another, it’s good for YOU because the ingredients are much fresher than they would be in a grocery store (do you really know how old that watermelon is in the grocery store?????), and it’s good for local business because they are getting your business!

I’m lucky because I live in an area surrounded by the Amish who are known for their local produce stands with fresh breads, homemade butters and jellies, and homegrown fruits and vegetables.  I pass a stand everyday to and from work, so it’s really easy for me to make the effort to buy fresh and local.

Needless to say, I purchased zucchini from the “bargain bin”.  It was $1.25 for 3 enormous zucchini because they were picked yesterday rather than today.  As if that really matters to me!   I also picked up some purple and white eggplants and a few tomatoes.  And yes, they were all organic.  I know, I know.  It was a sweet deal!

Then to make matters more convenient for me, Cindy, my husband’s mommy dearest, sent us home a huge bag filled with fresh herbs from her garden.  I was set!  Dinner is served!

I made baked eggplant wraps with zucchini, tomatoes, basil and mozzarella.   In the past, I have used roasted red peppers instead of tomatoes.   Mushrooms would also be good in this.  Whatever works for you!

Stuffed Eggplants

Serves 4 as side dish

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil
2 small eggplants, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 small zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 tomato, thinly sliced
handful of fresh basil
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (I used shredded this time, but I normally buy the ball of mozzarella and slice it.)
salt and pepper
toothpicks

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

On a large baking sheet, sprinkle olive oil.  Place eggplant and zucchini slice on sheet.  Bake for 5-7 minutes or until slightly tender.  Allow to cool.

Place eggplant back on oiled baking sheet.  Place a zucchini slice on top of each eggplant, followed by a slice of tomato, some mozzarella, and a few basil leaves.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Tightly roll eggplant, placing a toothpick in them to secure.  Have patience with them as they may be challenging to roll.  Place seams face down on baking sheet.  Bake until cheese is melted (about 3-4 minutes).

I wish I could relive this moment over and over….

Despite the fact that our wedding day has passed, Jason and I continue to create and enjoy memories that are tender, loving, and sweet.

 

One fond memory is this weekend’s feast in celebration of our upcoming anniversary – made from scratch and made from love.

 

As I mentioned in my previous post, we wanted a fun and exciting meal, but we didn’t want to gorge ourselves into utter guilt and discomfort.  Our meal was made from just about all clean ingredients (we did have some wine spritzers!).  Eating clean simply means that you are staying away from processed foods.   Slightly processed items such as spices and extra virgin olive oil are perfectly fine, but the key is staying away from packaged goods with chemicals and scary toxins.

I will be the first to admit that I am not always good at eating clean.  Cake and ice cream just tempt me beyond belief (you know, the kind with all that high fructose corn syrup and “natural flavors”, which are nothing more than chemicals), but just know that it is okay to eat that kind of stuff as a treat every once in a while.  Just don’t make it a daily ritual.

I am reminded of an episode of Oprah I watched last year; a girl in her twenties was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer and was basically handed a death sentence.  She decided that it was not her time, bought a juicer and began consuming loads of fresh fruits and vegetables.  Her clean diet saved her life.  She is now in remission.  REMISSION!!!  Healthy food has power, people!  It saves lives!

Now that I have said my piece, I will step off of my soap box and focus on our anniversary meal ;o) …

Jason and I thoroughly enjoyed our clean meal.  We ate until we were full and an hour later, we felt great!  (Even ready to eat a little more!)   The next day, my little pudgy belly was flatter, and I felt incredible!   Need I say more?!

 

Here is our wonderful pre-anniversary dinner menu with recipes:

Roasted Eggplant Dip with Herb Rubbed Pita

Adapted from: Martha Stewart Living, July 2009

Serves: a hungry crowd

 

Ingredients for Dip:

3 medium eggplants
1 small garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup + 2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt (the recipe calls for full-fat, but I used non-fat and it turned out well)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (from two lemons)
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Chop up eggplant into small chunks.  Place on baking sheet, toss in 2 Tbs. olive oil, and bake for 20 minutes or until browned and tender.

Using a knife, press the flat side of the blade back and forth across the garlic with 1.5 tsp. salt to create a garlic paste.

Add eggplant and garlic into food processor.  Gradually add the remaining olive oil while processing.   Once done with processing, place mixture into a bowl.  Gently stir in yogurt and lemon juice.  Season with salt and pepper.

 

Ingredients for pitas:

1/4 cup finely chopped mint
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
Coarse salt and pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
4-6 pitas, sliced horizontally if thick

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degree F.  Stir herbs together in a small bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.

Rub over pitas, and slice into triangles.

Place on baking sheets and bake for 10-14 minutes until golden brown.

 

 

Pumpkin & Pear Soup

Source: Oxygen Magazine, June 2009

Serves: 4-6

 

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil
1 chopped onion
1/2 cup fresh ginger, minced
3 pears, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 small cans pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups chicken broth

 

Directions:

Put first four ingredients in a large soup pot and saute until tender, about 10 minutes.

Stir in remaining ingredients and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Puree in batches in a blender or use a stick blender to blend until soup is smooth.

 

 

Moroccan Chicken and Lentils

Source: The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook, p. 150

Serves: 12 (we made 4 servings for our meal)

 

Ingredients:

8 cups water
3 tsp. sea salt, divided
1 lb dried lentils, rinsed drained and picked over

1 cup plus 2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
3 Tbs. ground cumin, divided
2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. chili powder
2 garlic clove, peeled and minced

1 large onion, peeled and chopped
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken or turkey breast, thinly sliced
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cup fresh parsley or cilantro

 

Directions:

Combine water and 1 tbs. salt in stock pot over high heat.  Add lentils.  Bring to a boil.  Cover and reduce to medium heat.  Simmer until lentils are soft, about 20-25 minutes.  Drain well.  Rinse under cold water and drain well.  Place in a large bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl, mix 1 cup oil, vinegar, 2 Tbs. cumin, 2 Tbs. chili powder, garlic and 1 tsp. salt.  Pour all but 2 Tbs. of this dressing over lentils.  Toss gently and set aside.

In a large skillet, heat 2 Tbs. oil.  Add onion and saute until well cooked, about 5 minutes.  Onion should appear dark brown and soft.  Add chicken or turkey and saute 2 minutes more.  Add 1 tsp salt, 1 Tbs. cumin, 2 tsp. chili powder and cinnamon.  Saute until chicken/turkey is cooked through.

Arrange lentils on a large serving platter.  Place sliced chicken on top of lentils.  Use any remaining dressing to pour on top.  Sprinkle with chopped parsley.  Serve at room temperature.

 

 

Marinated Zucchini with Mint

Source: Everyday Food, July/August 2009

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients:

3 zucchini, thinly sliced lengthwise
4 Tbs. olive oil
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs. white wine vinegar
2 Tbs. fresh mint

 

Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.  On two large rimmed baking sheets toss zucchini with 2 Tbs. oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Roast until tender and brown underneath, about 10-15 minutes.

On a serving platter, sprinkle zucchini with garlic and 2 Tbs. oil and vinegar.  Let stand for an hour.  (If you don’t have time to let it stand, don’t worry about it.  It tastes great served immediately!)

Sprinkle with fresh mint.

Our 3 year wedding anniversary is coming up this week, and we like to not only celebrate on our anniversary but also on the weekend.  It makes it fun to celebrate twice!  We both decided that we wanted a romantic dinner, but we also wanted something healthy.  Each and every component of this menu is completely healthy.  Thanks to the Eat Clean Diet Cookbook, we had ourselves a hearty and healthy meal.

To tease you a bit, I decided to post pictures of our dinner with recipes to come in the next day or so.  Since there are so many recipes to include, it will take me a little time to post, but I was so excited to share this with you that I wanted to give you a little taste.

I love you, Jason!  Happy (Early) Anniversary!

Sneak peak of what’s to come:

Roasted Eggplant Dip with Herb Rubbed Pita Chips

 

 

Pumpkin & Pear Soup

 

 

Moroccan Chicken with Lentils

 

 

Marinated Zucchini with Mint

Mmmmm…. Greek yogurt jumped right to the top of my favorite yogurts.  And Greek yogurt with HONEY is a MUST.  It comes in a small package OR you can by plain Greek yogurt and add your own honey (or agave nectar) to it.  The Stonyfield Farm brand is really good – I use it for a fruit dip (especially strawberries), but it can be rather sweet on its own.  That’s why I suggest adding your own honey to plain yogurt.  You can make it as sweet or unsweetened as you want it to be!  Either way, you must try Greek yogurt with honey!

I love fruit salad!  And nooooo, not store bought fruit salad that gets you all excited with the lone kiwi on top (which you thought would be throughout the salad).  I’m talking about all-out cutting board, big knives fruit salad with some elbow grease put into it!  Getting creative with your fruit salad when you have guests over is an instant hit!  Throw in some papaya, mango, or white peaches and the crowd goes nuts!

Check out my Caribbean Fruit Salad back during the days when the mango and I had battles.  I have since conquered the stubborn fruit.

And click here to find out how to successfully cut a mango.

Egg white and goat cheese omelettes cooked in olive oil… enough said.   This and the honey yogurt tend to be my daily breakfast.

My Gevalia coffee in a french press.

My Bean.  Her name is Noodles, but  I always call her “Bean”.  Because that makes sense ;o)

I was going to put a picture of my hubby, but he is too shy….

And you, of course!  If it weren’t for you, I’d have no one to post for!

You should really sit down and think about your favorite things… food, travel, family, friends… Just sharing these few favorites with you puts an enormous smile on my face….

Clean?  What is clean food?

Eating clean simply means eating fresh, whole foods in their natural state.   The food is minimally processed and does not contain any additives or preservatives.   Fresh fruits and veggies, lean protein, whole grains and legumes are all a part of eating clean.

I purchased an incredible cookbook: The Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook by Dr. Lisa Hark, PhD, RD.  It is FILLED with wonderful clean versions of our favorite dishes.  If you’re looking for a way to eat without feeling deprived or famished, I suggest you look at this cookbook.  All of the meals are beautifully presented, flavorful, natural and filling.  Nothing frustrates me more than feeling starved after a meal.  This isn’t the case here!

Jay and I have a thing for ethnic food – African, Thai, Middle Eastern, you name it!  The only problem is that going out all the time gets expensive, and I would much rather make my own meals so I know what is in them.

Dr. Hark included a Pad Thai recipe that looked very light and figure-friendly.  We LOVE pad thai so I wanted to give this a try.  After making the sauce, I was initially put-off because it didn’t taste super delicious.  I felt the sauce had too much concentrated tomato flavor that overpowered it.   But I was determined to make it work since I had done all the legwork for it already.  And you know what?  It turned out pretty good!  I used about a 1/3 of the sauce that the recipe calls for, which I think was a smart move.  Personally, I have never tasted pad thai like this before, but I know what I have eaten in the past was very bad for me.

I enjoyed this meal.  I wouldn’t give myself a high-five or anything… I would give it a 3 out of 5, but next time I will use less tomato paste and I think that will do the trick!

Clean Pad Thai

Eat-Clean Diet Cookbook, p. 266

Serves 8

Ingredients:

8 oz. rice noodles, flat
1 Tbs. canola oil
2 cloves garlic, passed through garlic press
2 cups shredded savoy cabbage
2 thick carrots, peeled and cut into thin slices
5 egg whites, lightly beaten
3 cups bean sprouts
1 cup thinly sliced zucchini
1 cup green onions, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped for garnish

Sauce:

3 Tbs. rice wine vinegar or rice vinegar
2-3 Tbs. tomato paste (original recipe calls for 1/4 cup)
2 Tbs. reserved noodle water
2 Tbs. unsulfured molasses
2 Tbs. low sodium soy sauce

Directions:

Cover rice noodles with boiling water in a ceramic bowl.  Read directions on container to determine length of time.

Drain, reserving 2 Tbs. of noodle water

In a small bowl, whisk together all sauce ingredients.  Set aside.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat.  Stir in garlic, cabbage, and carrot.  Stir-fry for 5 minutes.

Make a well in the middle of the pan and scramble the egg whites.

Add noodles and sauce and cook for 5 minutes.

Add bean sprouts, zucchini and green onions and cook to heat through.

Remove from heat, garnish with cilantro, and serve.

Brrrr!  This time last week I was in sunny, warm Ft. Lauderdale getting ready to sail to The Bahamas and now I’m snowed in.  Believe it or not, it was 60+ degrees HERE on Friday.  By Monday we have several inches of snow at our feet.

This post is just to share with you how much I love having breakfast with my husband.  We relish the days we have time to sit in the morning, sipping coffee and enjoying each other.  Typically Jay is rushing off to work while I’m up to my ears in textbooks, work, and laundry so today was a special treat for us.  Weekends are great for these type of breakfasts.  (Today we didn’t eat until 11 or so…)

On the Menu:

Veggie Omelet with Feta and Salsa Verde
Soy Yogurt topped with fresh fruit and granola or ground flax seeds
Whole Wheat toast with yogurt butter
Gevalia coffee (my FAVORITE)
Water with fresh lemon
Skim Milk (because it’s not breakfast for Jay without his milk!)

The omelet was a GREAT way for me to use up even more of my peppers.  I just sauteed them for a few minutes with some chopped leeks before adding the eggs.  I like to use 1 whole egg per 3 egg whites.  A pinch of sea salt and that fantastic chipotle chile pepper and breakfast was served!

For those of you that know me personally, you understand that I’m going to grad school for Global/International/Peace Education.  I yearn to help children in developing nations that do not have the same rights and privileges that many of us take for granted.  I came across this website Blogger Aid through another food blog and was absolutely moved by its mission.  Blogger Aid is a group of bloggers that are uniting to help fight world hunger.  The program used by Blogger Aid targets a particular mission of the World Food Programme, which is affiliated with the United Nations.  A cookbook created by bloggers is being produced to raise money and awareness of world hunger.  People are also welcome to host events and volunteer in any way that they can.  It’s a noble cause that I am proud to now be a part of.  You need to check it out.  You don’t have to be a member of Blogger Aid to participate.  The deadline for cookbook submissions is March 31.