mystery solved

i must say that i am very impressed at how quickly everyone figured out the mystery food.  so here is the official answer to the mystery. 

our new fruit this week was dragon fruit.  steve wisely noted that these are also called pitaya.  i also found many other names for it, depending on what part of the world you find this fruit.  it is also called fire dragon fruit, dragon pearl fruit, sweet dragon and dragon crystal.  there are also different varieties, the one we bought had magenta flesh but they can also have white flesh.

the price was a different story.  this took a little longer to figure out.  many of you guessed reasonable prices at first.  katwmn had a more reasonable guess with $25...if i had bought two that would be close.  steve had a strong guess at $11.50 but i wasn't sure if the price is right gameshow rules applied to this game...and i made up the game.  if someone guessed over the price and then someone guessed $1 would the $1 person be right?  then i realized that's what i hate about the price is right...those pansy guessers that say $1 for 10 rounds.  come on people, take a real guess and spay and neuter your pets.  so after i settled that debate in my mind i was sure steve was going to be the winner but then i read laura's comment...

Laura said... After my whole family sat giggling reading your post, as if we were sitting right next to you, we did some research. Dragon Fruit, $10.99/lb. Samuel hope it tastes like "watermelon" and Willow thinks it tastes "yummy."

wow she nailed it!  winner winner!  good research laura.  a target gift card for $10.99 will be coming your way. 

as for samuel's hope of it tasting like a watermelon that wasn't my experience.  sorry lil buddy.  the taste is extremely mild which was is surprising because by the appearance of the fruit i would expect the taste to be bold too.  it is not very sweet either.  from the pictures i had seen online of the white-fleshed dragon fruit i was expecting the texture of a watermelon but the magenta flesh was much different.   jb and i agreed it had the same texture as a kiwi.    so willow- the jury is still out on if it is yummy.  at $10.99 we were hoping it would knock our socks off for taste and maybe give us super powers.  has anyone else tasted dragon fruit?  if so, how would you describe the taste?  charis i know you have some experience in this category.

mystery

last week i mentioned that jb and love to try new fruits and vegetables and this week i hit the new food jackpot.  as i was strolling through my local co-op i found this strange beauty sitting there...

 i thought this mystery item was a new hybrid mango artichoke but i was mistaken.  i asked one of the co-op employees how to select one of these strange things and what it tasted like.  he had no clue.  so like the indian jones of the co-op, he whipped out his blade from his produce fanny pack and sliced into it and handed me a few slices.  which was both surprising and awesome.  i thought, "this must be one of the perks of paying 3 times more for your food plus having to pay a membership fee".  i was even more intrigued  when i saw the inside of the fruit...

it was magenta. barbie-convertible-top-down-magenta!  heck yes.  i had found my new item for the week. the produce guy and i stood in the aisle eating this thing trying to figure out what it was similar to and what it tasted like.   the produce guy finally said, "well it's cool but i wouldn't waste my money on it at that price".  peesh.  waste money.  is that a challenge?  dude have you seen where you work and i am shopping?  clearly, i love throwing extra money at food.  bring it.

i won't lie when i was at the register i had a moment of clarity, this one item was a 1/6 of my weekly grocery budget and maybe it wasn't a good buy.  then i did what any good impulse buyer does and i ignored the little voice in my head.

so here's the deal...leave me a comment with two things.  1-what you think this mystery item is and 2- how much you think i paid for it.  the winner must answer both items correctly but they will receive a target gift card for the exact amount i paid for the fruit.  happy guessing!

11

dear jb better known as loco mocos-

11 months ago i said "i do".  i am grateful i did! otherwise, i would have missed out on  late night pudding runs, kitty rescues, obvious statements, the warm laundry you heap on me when i am chilly, road trips and animal hats. thanks for being the better half!

extra points for looking like the karate kid in this one!

should we try for a year?


more today than yesterday,

coco

break out

jb and i were married at los poblanos so it will always be sentimental for me.  it is a historic inn but also has an amazing organic farm.  los poblanos has an incredible presence, you can sense the history while there and there isnt much that isn't unique or magical about it.  it has a rhythm and life all of it's own.  it is a place that almost takes on a tangible persona.  have you ever been to such a place?

anyway, jb and i aim to try one new food weekly, usually a fruit of vegetable.  for me it is easy to stick to the veggies that i am familiar with and i easily can get stuck in a rut.  here is where the los poblanos farm resuces me.  los poblanos has a wonderful harvest box program.  they have several options to choose from.  i signed up for their weekly veggie box.  each week they pick $10 worth of local, organic produce for me and every tuesday i come pick it up at the farm.  i must admit that i am torn between which part of the veggie box i enjoy the most.  i love going to the farm and not knowing what veggies await me.  it's a surprise and to a health geek like me that is fun.  i usually have to do some research to discover how i will cook some of the items but it helps me shake my rut.   my other favorite bit about my veggie box is that for a few minutes each week i can escape the busyness of life.  the sounds of rushing cars are replaced with quiet.  i can walk around the beautiful landscape of los poblanos.  i always leave refreshed. 

the tomatoes are my favorite treasure this week.  i love the variety of colors, almost mimicking the hues of fall.  and, of course, i love them for their petite size.

 my favorite one was this little russian doll shaped tomato.  i still can't bring myself to eat it.


what place have captivated you?  what do you do to break out of your food ruts?

recipe swap {comfort food edition}

with cold weather and cold season upon us i thought comfort foods should be this week's recipe swap focus.  i currently have a sinus infection that literally is making my teeth hurt and making me consider investing money in kleenex.  last night when it came time to make dinner all i wanted was something that would make me feel better and would be easy to make.  i also couldn't even think about going to the grocery store so it had to be something that i had all the ingredients for so jb went..twice.   so what is my comfort dish?  chicken pot pie.

even though jb did have to go to the store twice last night (because i was heavily medicated and making a grocery list with two items was extra challenging) usually chicken pot pies are one of those meals that cleans out the fridge.  i never make the same pot pie twice.  last night our pot pies had carrots, peas, zucchini and bell peppers but i use what ever veg i have on hand.  i made a roasted whole chicken on tuesday night so i used some of the leftover meat and then took the carcass of the chicken and made chicken broth.  one bird three purposes, i really think i have a future has a frugal farmer's wife.

i again turned to comfy belly for inspiration.  the recipe that guided me is here or if you prefer the veggie version is here.   when i make my pot pies i do a few modifications to the original recipe from comfy belly's recipe.  for starters i don't use any celery.  i like celery has much as cats like baths.  i use scd yogurt in place of the almond milk but if you don't have food allergies sour cream or whole milk would be really delish in this recipe.  i don't take out a cup of the broth at the end like she recommends but that's only because we prefer a more broth-like pot pie.  we are also fudgy brownies people not cake brownie people but that is neither here nor there.  the only change i make to the crust is to add a little thyme for extra flavor.  i love the idea of individual pot pies but usually use a 8x8 glass pan instead of ramekins.

if you don't have any special dietary needs, i recommend this chicken pot pie recipe.

so what is your favorite comfort food?  i would love to see your recipes and hear the stories that come with them.

to bake list

you may remember that i started a muffin "to bake" list.  even though i can be a procrastinator, i wasted no time in starting this important project.  muffins must be made people and i am willing to answer the call.

i made the cinnamon bun muffins from the wonderful comfy belly website.  since i started the specific carb diet  the joy i normally find in cooking was put on hold while i just figured out what to eat.  websites such as comfy belly have helped me to find that joy again.  anyway, i followed the recipe exactly and would not change a thing.  these muffins are grain free but i promise anyone who tastes these little delights will love them and not suspect any healthy funny business.

i have also made this recipe without the cinnamon topping and  they are delicious too.  i think pairing a plain muffin with some warm soup would be a wonderful comfort food for the coming cold weather.

to bake:

• cinnamon bun muffins
• cherry almond meal muffins
• blueberry muffins

dietary notes:  these muffins are scd compliant but only for later stages since they contain almond flour and honey.  these muffins are not whole 30 compliant since they contain honey.  

succulents

i love having plants around the house to add color but usually the only color my house plants yield are brown.  in fact, one of my air plants is dying as we speak.  i don't know if i should consider it a huge failure or accomplishment that i may successful kill a plant that boasts only requiring air to survive.   when i choose plants for my house they can't be any geeks off the street they gotta be handy with the steel if you know what i mean.  ok maybe not that hardcore but hardy at the very least.  i truly only trust myself with air plants and succulents.  both of these plants are tough and have hundreds of varieties to keep you interested.   if you know me at all you know that i have a tender spot for all things miniature and wouldn't you know it, both air plants and succulents come in mini sizes.    

recently i was inspired by a gap store display, simple mason jars filled with succulents.  as a lover of both mason jars and succulents i was a little disappointed in myself for not thinking of this on my own.  since i was already doing a hundred projects on my last crafting spree i thought adding one more wouldn't hurt.

so i gathered a few mason jars and purchased small succulent plants from lowe's.  i had two criteria for the succulents: the plants must require little to no drainage (since they would be in a glass jar) and they had to have fun textures and shapes.  i ended up with four mini succulents which turned out to be way more than i needed for 3 mason jars.  honestly picking out succulents was like picking out a puppy, they are all so cute and need a home.  how could i just pick one?  

after i planted the mason jars i had two plants left over.  so i searched the house for something that could house the remaining succulents.  i ended up using an old candle holder.  i found these amazing candles years ago and bought them in bulk and have since used the candle holder for spoon holders while cooking, bacon grease storage, cotton ball & q-tip holder.  basically if has needed to be held this simple cermanic white jar has done it.  

  

the plants have now been settled in for a few weeks now and so far they have all survived. as the cold and barren months approach i am glad i will have some color to remind me of summer.