I found this beautiful loaf of multigrain bread this morning at our town's Farmer's Market and could not resist pairing it with this mandarin chicken salad. I dressed up chicken salad by adding mandarin oranges, sesame seeds and ginger.
pineapple coleslaw
Turn your coleslaw tropical with hints of sweetness and tangy-ness by adding crushed pineapple and lime juice. This is a great summer side dish!
thank you
I have been doing a family blog for 3 years and just recently decided to start the pleased plate as a way for my friends and family to see the different dishes I have been cookin' up. But then after commenting on a few awesome healthy living blogging sites; I, in turn have received some new readers here! I am humbled that you read my words, see my food and comment! I love getting comments and feedback and knowing that there is a little community of us that all enjoy and appreciate whole foods made at home!
I am a former 1st and 2nd grade teacher and now a stay at home mom to two wonderful daughters -- my taste testers! Everything I make at each meal is for the girls, my husband and I. I am not a short order cook -- no making separate meals for anybody. As a family, we explore the diverse tastes and flavors that you see here.
My husband has grown our all-organic garden in our backyard for the past three years. With his dedication and expertise, we have enjoyed an abundance of: swiss chard, beets, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, squash, zucchini, cucumbers, jalapenos, habanero peppers, bell peppers, serrano peppers, carrots, flat leaf parsley, basil, rosemary, oregano, eggplant, sunflower seeds, okra, strawberries and blackberries!
Thank you for visiting me and know that I value your feedback and have been greatly enriched by learning from you as well!
chocolate anise biscotti
This afternoon I felt like I was transported to a panetteria in Italy. My first try at making biscotti resulted in a huge success! I was intrigued to bake this because of the star ingredient: ground anise.
The anise has a sweet, aromatic licorice-like flavor and totally compliments the chocolate. It is subtle in the finished biscotti, but gives this a gourmet taste that is decadent!
Biscotti is twice-baked, so I first formed the mixture into a log and baked it off. After letting it cool a bit, I sliced it on the diagonal and re-baked it until golden.
I have never been a fan of store bought biscotti. I thought they were just a crumbly, dry cookie which didn't really serve any point for me. So, again, I was intrigued to bake them from scratch and yes, worlds of difference here! It is slightly crunchy, but moist at the same time. Such a beautiful texture that I am now a fan of! And the gourmet taste of chocolate with a hint of anise just puts this over the top.
I savored my coffee and biscotti and had an imaginary Italian afternoon. Oh, if only.....!!!
Ciao!
pickles
Everyday Tim comes in with an abundance of vegetables from the garden. I have had no trouble finding uses for squash, zucchini, tomatoes, basil, parsley, bell peppers and jalapenos. But the cucumbers were another story. I sliced some into my water...decorated my salad...but we had accumulated close to 8 pounds, so something had to be done!
I drew on the experience and advice of my mother-in-law (thank you Donna) to make PICKLES!
I added the liquid pickling mixture, made from Mrs. Wages all-natural quick process pickle mix, poured into the jars over the slices, closed the lids and processed them in the canner until they were sealed tight. Did you know that the salt has to be canning salt and cannot contain iodine? If it did, the liquid would be cloudy and that would not make a pretty pickle picture!
I only have 3 more hours to wait until I can try one (the wait is 24 hours)!
And so friends, when the garden gives you cucumbers, make pickles!
triple berry-lime smoothies
You only need 5 ingredients for this beautiful smoothie!
- cranberry juice
- frozen raspberries
- frozen strawberries
- honey
- lime juice
chicken and corn chowder
I had some Yukon gold potatoes left over from our garden and I found a use for them in this soup. I cooked the corn, potatoes and shallots in low-sodium chicken broth. I blended half of the soup in the blender to make it creamy, then put it back in the pot and added cooked chicken and a few tablespoons of heavy cream.
Before I used the spoon for eating, you can see me lurking in the reflection! It looks like a fun house mirror -- just a little distorted!
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