I absolutely love the taste of grilled fruit.  I love how the natural sugars carmelize and turn into a beautiful golden char, and the smoky flavor that lingers even after you've chewed and swallowed each delicious bite.  I'm a huge fan of grilled pineapple, but didn't have any on hand this week.  I did have peaches, which were amazing. 

Just before our beef skewers were done cooking I sliced my peaches in half, removed the pit and placed them on the open flame.  After a few minutes I flipped them and let them get grill marks on the other side.  I gave them a rough chop and tossed them with fresh strawberries.

No bowl of fruit is complete (if it's being eaten for desssert, that is) without a yummy sauce to pull it all together.  I found this sauce on Green Kitchen Stories last year when I was making my birthday cake.  I decided it would be delicious over the grilled fruit, and it did not disappoint.

Vanilla Maple Sauce
serves 2, from Green Kitchen Stories

1/2 c plain, whole fat yogurt
1 T pure maple syrup
1/2 t pure vanilla extract

Whisk until smooth.  Pour over fruit (or whatever you plan to eat it with!)

What is your favorite fruit to grill?

Enjoy!
XoXo,
Nicole

About two years ago I gave up drinking coffee and soda.  Whenever I would crave either, I would drink a huge glass of water and carry about my day.  I found that it was actually very simple, and decided not to stop there.  I no longer drink milk (for other reasons saved for another post), juice (unless it's fresh squeezed) or any other sugary beverage.  I do still drink wine and beer, but on a daily basis I drink tea or bone broth in the morning and then water throughout the remainder of the day.

Whenever I'm working with someone that needs to drink more water, I encourage them to add flavors to it.  No, not those gross crystal light packets - real flavor, from real food.  You'd be amazed at what a cucumber or lime can do to a glass of water!  While plain ol' H2O doesn't bother me, it is nice and refreshing to add citrus to it in the warm summer months.

While you can mix and match whatever fruit you have on hand, I find that citrus produces the most refreshing flavors.  This time I had oranges, lemons and limes on hand.  I also had cucumbers and some fresh herbs.  Citrus helps to detoxify, so adding it to your water is a great way to stay hydrated while flushing out your lymphatic system.

Citrus Water
makes 6 servings

2 oranges
2 lemons
2 limes
1 cucumber
1 handful of fresh basil
fresh, purified water

Peel your fruit and cucumber.  Slice each piece of fruit into 6 slices.  Slice the cucumber into even slices.  Put 2 slices each of the orange, lemon and lime, an even amount of cucumber slices and a few basil leaves into a mason jar.  Fill with purified water and refrigerate overnight to a week.

I found that once I drank the water, I could usually fill it up throughtout the day (with the same fruit), shake the water a little and keep drinking.  I used the soaked fruit, cucumber and basil the next morning in my smoothie (don't throw it away!)

You could easily use berries or pineapple in your water too.  I would stay away from bananas though, as they don't hold water very well (;

Do you have trouble drinking enough water?

Enjoy!
XoXo,
Nicole

During the warm summer months I try to cook as little as possible.  Not because I don't like cooking (obviously), but because I like the taste of fresh, raw foods - and I'd much rather be spending time outside, tending to my flowers and herbs, walking my dogs ....you get the point.  Summer in Wisconsin doesn't last too long, so you've got to make the most of it while it lasts, which means little time over a hot stove.

A few nights ago I was looking for a quick side dish that I could serve with fresh bratwurst (literally, just picked up from the butcher as a part of the hog we purchased!) that I was grilling.  Anytime I grill I like to have something cool to serve alongside.  Since we are getting ready to leave the country for a few weeks, I need to eat up as much of the produce in my fridge as I can.  I had carrots, celery and a bag of mini bell peppers - and my carrot and red pepper slaw was born.

Carrot and Red Pepper Slaw
serves 4

2 carrots, peeled and grated
2 stalks celery, sliced real thin
7-8 mini red bell peppers (can use regular sized), seeded and sliced real thin

Place all veggies in a bowl and toss with the dressing.

Dressing:
1/4 c olive oil
3-4 T champagne vinegar
1 t dijon mustard
1 small clove garlic, minced
salt & pepper to taste

Whisk all together and pour over the veggie slaw.  Feel free to adjust the vinegar to your taste, some like it more tart.

You could easily add some red onion or scallions for a little flare, but it tasted delicious without.  The dressing is one I use often, it tastes wonderful over a standard green salad too.

Enjoy!
XoXo,
Nicolo

This is the first year I planted herbs.  I have such a difficult time growing anything in my yard because I get very little sunshine.  There is a spot on my deck; however, that gets sunlight for at least 5 hours or so a day.  I thought I might try planing herbs in planter boxes and containers to see how they would do. 

I love using fresh herbs, but find that they are so expensive to get at the store, and I never need the full bunch at once.  Rather than than throw unused herbs away, growing them on my own allows me to snip what I need for my meals - and (bonus) some of them will come up each year.

I used a couple of websites to help me determine which herbs would do best on my deck.  Better Homes and Gardens had a great overview of each type of herb, how it should be planted, how often it should be watered, etc.  When it came to fertilizer/soil, I went to the Herb Gardening Guru.  I ended up going with an organic blend that I found at my local co-op, but there were still some great tips.  The Tasteful Garden had some great tips for beginners, as well.

For someone like me who loves to cook, but DOES NOT have a green thumb, I'm really hoping that I can make this work.  So far, so good.

If your weather has been anything like ours, it's probably not too late to plant some herbs for the summer and fall.

This is what I ended up with:
Basil
Mint
Chives
Thyme
Oregano
Sage
Tarragon
Parsley
Lavender
Dill
Cilantro
Rosemary

Do you have an herb garden?  What do you grow?

XoXo,
Nicole

Yesterday was my husband's birthday.  Normally I cook at home for his birthday, and he treats me to a night of no cooking for mine.  Our CSA recently started, and we've been getting quite a bit of Hakurei turnips.  Turnips look similar to radishes, but have a much more mild taste.  They can be eaten raw or cooked, and the greens are excellent to eat too.  Turnips are a fantastic source of many minerals and nutrients, such as calcium, vitamin C, phosphorous and potassium.

Since we had another bunch I decided to add them to the sweet potato hash I was making to eat with our fish.  They added a wonderful texture, and I ended up with this delicious recipe!

Sweet Potato and Turnip Hash
serves 4

1 bunch turnips, cleaned and trimmed
1 sweet potato, peeled
1 celery stalk
1/2 red onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
olive oil
1/2 t cinnamon
salt & pepper to taste

Chop the turnips, sweet potato and celery into small, uniform pieces.

Add 2 T olive oil to a cast iron skillet (or similar frying pan) over medium high heat.  Meanwhile, add all of your veggies to a bowl and toss with salt, pepper and cinnamon.  I do this before adding to my pan so that everything is mixed together nicely and I don't have to do a lot of flipping and mixing in my skillet.  I don't know about you, but I'm messy and end up with tons of food all over my stovetop.  But, do as you wish.

I let it sit for about 5 minutes before I flipped the vegetables around.  You want the veggies to get soft, but also to get a nice carmelized color and crust on them.

I flipped every 5 minutes or so, and after 20 mintues my hash was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.  Each time you flip, use your spatula to push the veggies down onto the pan.  You almost have to smoosh them (not too hard though, you're making a hash - not a mash!)

Serve with your favorite main dish (although I seriously could have eaten a whole bowl of just this!)  I also think this would be excellent as a breakfast, with a fried egg on top!

Are you a fan of turnips?  How do you like to eat them?

Enjoy!
XoXo,
Nicole