While hiking at Starved Rock State Park recently, we stopped in at our favorite local shop, Foothills Organics.
We always like to peruse their unique offerings and baked goods to grab a special treat before heading home.
This time we grabbed two bags of "energy cubes" and a bag of homemade cookies.
We were told the energy cubes are raw and are made with seeds, nuts, and dried fruit.
I can decipher peanuts, cashews, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and raisins. They are absolutely delicious and wonderful!!!
This is where your knowledge will help me, GREATLY.
I've tried googling some, but cannot find anything like this. I'm not familiar with raw foods, but would like to know more about these so I don't have to drive an hour and a half each way when I want a fix!
They are chewy, but only after you bite into them. Until then they hold their shape really well and are well-formed, but not sticky or sweet. What is being used to bind these together? If anybody has any knowledge with raw foods, or a recipe that is similiar to this, please share it with me (because one bag is already gone)! Thanks!
Yes, that's right! POM Wonderful makes an iced coffee now.
I was sent two of the three flavors, Cafe au Lait and Chocolate, with a coupon to try the third, Vanilla.
First I tried Cafe au Lait. (My mom's been snagging these POM Tea glasses for me at thrift stores! I love them!)
The first thing I noticed was that it did not have that sickening artificial sweetener taste and lingering aftertaste of Starbucks bottled Frappucinos.
I tried the Chocolate the next day. I liked the chocolate, but preferred the Cafe au Lait, because I'm not a chocolate person to begin with. It tasted like an adult, more refined version of Yoo-Hoo, again without that sickening sweetness. While it has comparable calories to the Cafe au Lait version, the Chocolate flavor is Fat Free, as is the Vanilla flavor!
In case you're wondering how it's considered a POM coffee - no, there's no POM juice or fruitiness in there (yuck!). All of the beneficial properties of the POM I explored here, are extracted into a concentrate and boost this coffee drink full of the same healthy antioxidants found in POM Wonderful juice.
Currently, the POM Iced Coffee is only available in Northeast grocery stores (lucky!). You can check their website for stores that carry it in your area.
Still trying to desperately clear out my freezer (as it now needed room for 55 pounds of sausage) I thawed one of the 3.5 lb. whole fryer chickens. At first I thought beer can chicken, but it needed an hour and a half and we didn't have that much time to work with. So, we settled on another new one - Chicken Under a Brick!
Other than using their instructions for cooking time, and brick technique, I didn't use their recipe. My dad brought fresh homemade hot sauce, salsa, and jerk sauce for us, so we utilized the jerk here.
After thawing the chicken, I sat back and "ewwwwwed" as my dad took the guts and neck out of the cavity. I've never bought a whole chicken before (just boneless breasts or thighs) so I was not expecting guts in there! We cooked up the livers and other questionable stuff for the cat and dog, who enjoyed it thoroughly.
The chicken was cut in half and put in a ziploc bag with the jerk to marinate for a few hours.
We got the coals really hot, but then put them to one side so the chicken could cook over indirect heat for 30 minutes.
The chicken was layed down first, skin side down.
Next, an oiled pan (I used a cast iron griddle) lays over the chicken.
Finally, foil wrapped bricks (we used extra landscaping ones) go on top of the pan to weigh it down. They also collect and hold some of the cooking heat, so the chicken can cook from both sides and doesn't need to be flipped.
Leave the chicken alone for 30 minutes, then carefully remove the bricks and pan. Flip the chicken to the other side for a few minutes to get some color and crispness.
We also grilled two zucchini, a bunch of asparagus, and a tomato, marinated in Newman's Own Caesar.
Ohhh I wish you guys could have smelled/tasted this! It was so juicy and flavorful! You've got to try it - it was such an easy process and came out better than expected. The three of us polished off almost the entire bird - there was just one piece left!
Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) this week is chocolate! Entries are due by Sunday, September 13th to London Foodie in New York. I already have an idea, I hope it turns out as good as it is in my head!
1 whole onion, sliced 1 whole green pepper, roasted (plus a chunk that was floating around in your fridge) homemade sausages of choice unpictured Freekeh (from TJ's) 2 ears corn
We grilled everything except the freekeh, which goes into the microwave in a pouch for 90 seconds. I'd never had it before, but it's a drum wheat that looks very similiar to barley. It was really nutty and bold in flavor, so it held up nicely with the grilled foods and acted as a bed and side dish. My dad found it in TJ's by the couscous, and encouraged us to try it out!
The sausages were still juicy and flavorful on the inside, with a crunchy charred crunch on the outside.
The vegetables had roasted down with delicious smoky flavor, and the whole pepper steamed on the inside, creating a tender juicy texture. The corn, as always, was crisp and juicy and I'll be sad to see it go, it was a great season!
Johnny made little amuse bouches with a sausage slice, a piece of the green pepper, and a piece of onion.
We enjoyed the hearty, spicy dinner with a Chilean wine, bought at TJ's for around $5, as a perfect compliment.
When my dad was here, we handed him The Perfect Scoop and told him to pick a recipe he'd like to try, and we'd add the ingredients to the grocery list.
He flipped immediately to L for lemons and from there decided on the Lemon Sherbet.
Makes 1 quart:
3 cups whole milk 3/4 cup sugar 1 lemon zested, preferably unsprayed 6 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice (from 2 to 3 lemons)
*Since we used 2 lemons for the fresh juice, we just went ahead and zested both lemons for an even brighter flavor.
In a medium, nonreactive saucepan mix 1 cup of milk with the sugar and add the zest. Heat, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the remaining milk, then chill in the refrigerator.
Stir the lemon juice into the milk mixture, whisking vigorously to avoid curdling. Freeze in your ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions.
Mmmm it was silky smooth, with a bright lemon tartness. Despite being made with whole milk it wasn't heavy at all, instead really light and refreshing!
BSI (blogger secret ingredient) this week is being hosted by Jessica at Johnstone's Vin Blanc and she chose Oats. Entries due by Sunday, September 6th.
Don't forget to turn in your BFF (best foodie fotos) of the week to Laura at Hey what's for dinner Mom! She'll round up the entries for voting on Sunday - so head on over to look at the collection and vote for me! (hint, hint)
In case you've been wondering where I've been... I had a busy week!
On top of starting school again (AHHHHH!!! What was I thinking?!?!) my dad came for a visit from Friday morning until early this morning to help with some work on the house. He cut, painted, and installed crown moulding in my new office/guest room, put up some brackets for shelves, and we spent an afternoon trimming the overgrown bushes.
It wasn't all work and no play, though. We also ventured into the city on the heels of Anthony Bourdain's Chicago visit - attempting 3 of the stops featured in the show:
Hot Doug's, which we took one look at and groaned. We attempted to hit it early at about 11am, but as you can see the line already went waaaaay down the block. Spend hours in line to pay $8 for a hot dog? No thanks, as we kept driving to...
Burt's Place, which seemed so endearing on No Reservations. Not so much in real life. We hit a brief window of the business actually being open, and were very excited to try it out. Upon entering the dark (and stinky, and empty) dining area a lady came out from the back to "greet" us. Long story short, apparently you need to call ahead to make a pizza, otherwise an hour and a half isn't a big enough time frame for them to make you a pizza and you consume it. I turned on my heel and didn't look back.
We eventually ended up at Al's Italian Beef in the littlest Litty Italy ever, thoroughly enjoying some unpictured grub! On the drive home, we took a detour for the 3rd, and final attempt at No Reservations recommendations...
Calumet Fisheries!!! Where Hot Doug's and Burt's Place disappointed, Calumet Fisheries made up for it and then some! It's a tiny little building where you parallel park outside and can eat in your car, or take it to go. My dad treated us to a smoked salmon filet and it was divine. Even Mr. Johnny Fishhater himself enjoyed it! We ate it alone, on crackers, and on crackers with cream cheese. Buttery, creamy, rich, and a nice smoke in the background - it was a thing of beauty!
We also went to Navy Pier to ride the ferris wheel, see the beautiful stained glass museum, and chomp down some America's Dogs. When the GPS wasn't acting up, we attempted some local sightseeing, too.
Last but not least, we made 55 pounds of assorted sausages: sweet Italian links, hot Italian links, Cajun links, and breakfast mix. I told you a bit about his sausage making history here, but now you'll get to see it with your own eyes!
We set up shop with a big, plastic covered work station, the antique press, a sharp knife, and plenty of freezer bags.
My dad brought pre-measured bags from home of the secret blends that we added to freshly ground pork, ordered here from a local meat store.
First, he knocked out the breakfast sausage since that just requires mixing the spices with the meat and then portioning out, wrapped in plastic wrap.
Next, we worked on the link sausages. The blend we're working with at the time goes into the press, the plastic lid on top to help mush it down, and then the top swings into place, locks and you can start cranking the handle.
Once you get a long enough piece, you braid the links.
Then, highly acclaimed and expert helpers (cough, cough) bag up the sausage and label it accordingly.
Repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat..... until your fridge (then freezer) looks like this! Then, distrubute to your family, friends, co-workers, and eventually potluck food bloggers, until a respectable amount is left in your freezer.
2 lb. chuck roast (or other budget cut that will benefit from a long cooking process) 4 small potatoes, chunked 1 medium onion, chunked 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 or 4 carrots, chunked 3 or 4 stalks of celery, chunked (include some of the delicious leaves!) ~5 cups water 1 vegetable bouillion cube salt, pepper, spices to taste bay leaf
Begin by chopping and chunking all the vegetables. I literally just chunked mine up - it's a rustic, homey dish, so I wasn't concerned about beauty.
Spray the inside of your crockpot and toss all the vegetables in the bottom. Next, season both sides of your meat with spices of choice, salt, and pepper. Place over the vegetables.
Pour enough water to cover the vegetables and fill half of the crock pot. Mix in one bouillon cube for extra flavor and throw in a bay leaf. Cover the crock pot and put it on low for 6-8 hours.
The fat in the meat will render down and a lot of the moisture will come out of the vegetables, so about half-way through the cooking process the liquid should cover most of the meat. I usually come take a peek at this point to give it a quick stir and to flip the meat over. It's not necessary to do this, but I just feel like somehow it's making it "even."
When it's time to eat I remove the meat, remove the large pieces of fat, and chunk the rest into manageable bites. Then I put the meat back in with the vegetables and broth to keep it moist.
You can now choose to serve this on a plate with meat, vegetables, and potatoes strained, as most restaurants serve it. But, since we're dining at home I choose to just scoop everything into a big bowl with a little bit of the broth.
There are tons of leftovers, which I store together in the broth. I think it keeps everything moist and flavorful. If we do not finish the leftovers on their own, I will definitely be using them for a beef pot pie. Just reserve the broth, thicken it with some cornstarch, flour, and reducing, and use that as the gravy!
Another Freezer Meat Challenge victory! Have you checked out my progress lately? I've made quite a dent and my freezer seems so neat and clean now!
Blogger Secret Ingredient (BSI) this week is being hosted by Guilty Kitchen. You have until this Sunday, August 30th to turn in your Fig recipes!
This time we grabbed two bags of "energy cubes" and a bag of homemade cookies.
I can decipher peanuts, cashews, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries, and raisins. They are absolutely delicious and wonderful!!!
This is where your knowledge will help me, GREATLY.
