Scotty's Bday Continued, and Summer Berry Trifle

Wow this post is long in coming, but better late than never.......

More birthday fun at the Rooster, a local restaurant in Utah. I had a hard time finding gluten free options at the Rooster, but if you aren't gluten intolerant they did have quite a few veggie noodle dishes that looked really good.

For Scottie's birthday I made him a strawberry, brownie, trifle. It seems to me theres is a reoccurring theme here, with celebrations and whip cream. I realized from the previous posts that whip cream usually makes its way into the party.

Summer Berry Trifle

Strawberries, raspberries, really whatever berry is in season

Agave whip cream (recipe below)

Gluten Free Brownies

In a glass serving dish, layer first with the brownies, then the whip cream, and then berries. On the last layer end with whip cream and put a few berries on top for decoration. I also added some dark chocolate curls, that I made with a vegetable peeler and a dark chocolate bar. Just run the peeler along the edge of the chocolate bar, and it makes cute little curls. It looks super fancy, but takes fives seconds to do.

Agave Whip Cream

2 C heavy cream

3 T agave

1 T vanilla

In a mixer whip the cream, agave, and vanilla for 2-3 minutes until you can make peaks with the whip cream. Be careful not to overmix or you will have butter instead. When it looks like the whip cream is getting close I turn the mixer down to the lowest speed and mix it until it is done, to avoid making homemade butter!

****For sake of time, I did a gluten free boxed mix. I used the trader joe's gluten free brownies. They have decent ingredients, and are mostly starch free, but the best part is they taste good. If you want to make this trifle even better make these brownies. Gluten Free Brownies

Scotty's Bday and Good Eats

The last two birthday celebrations for Scotty have consisted of mountain biking in Park City and going to dinner. The trails in Park City are always fun, but we really lucked out with dinner this time. We ended up going to Reef's Kitchen, a Medeteranian restaurant owned by a family from Jerusalem. The dad, and daughter wait tables, and the family cooks. It is authentic, homey, and SO good. It also has a gluten free menu which is a big plus. We ended up getting the salmon cooked in this fabulous sauce, which by the way is on Salt Lakes top 50 things that you must do, I can vouch for that it is a must do. We also ordered the hummus, with pita (they gave me veggies for the gluten free option), lentils and rice, fries, and the most amazing hebal tea, I think it was cardamom. The waiter was surprised that we finished all of the food, just the two of us, but the meal was so balanced, flavorful, and good that we devoured it.

The restuarant itself is kind of pricey, I guess everything in Park City is, so to make it affordable do what we did. I got a gift certificate to Reef's Kitchen on restaurant.com. The gift certificate was good for 25.00 and it only cost me around 3 DOLLARS!!! Restaurant.com is a great sight, but you have to wait for when the gift certificates go on sale for 80% off and read all of the stipulations with each restaurant. At Reef's Kitchen you had to spend 35 dollars on the 25 dollar gift certificate, which was easy to do. All in all our meal ended up costing us around 15 dollars plus tip, and it was one of the better meals I have ever had, which is saying alot.

Biking in Park City, I wish it was closer so that we could do those trails more often. They are so well groomed and packed down, that it makes for a really fun ride. Plus they link onto so many trails that you can go forever.

Farmers Market

I went to the farmers market today, and I am kicking myself that I haven't made it there more often this summer. The produce was amazing and surprisingly affordable. I got a huge summer squash fro 50 cents, a cucumber for 25 cents, a bunch of carrots for a dollar, and peaches for 25 cents each. I am definitely going to go back next week for a cantaloupe one farmer promised me. I took a gardening class and he said that cantaloupes unlike some other fruits don't keep ripening once they are picked. He said that the time of peak sweetness is when they are fully ripe on the vine. I have never had the luxury of having a cantaloupe that was completely ripe before it was picked. I am sure the cantaloupe in the grocery store is picked weeks before it get boughten. Anyway, I will report back next week on my cantaloupe experience, I can't wait!
As for the produce I bought, I made a simple dinner with the summer squash, broccoli, and fresh tomatoes from my neighbors massive garden. It was simple, but really good and fresh.

Not really a recipe but I will explain how I made it:


1 summer squash
1/2 head of broccoli
1 lemon
Fresh tomatoes, from the garden
herbamare, or sea salt would do
pepper


Chop up the summer squash and broccoli. Squeeze the lime juice over it and cook until still crisp but cooked through. Season with herbamare and pepper. Serve over hot quinoa. Add chopped tomatoes on top, and just for kicks some grated Parmesan cheese. Enjoy!


Quinoa


1 C quinoa
1 1/2 C broth, chicken or veggie, or just plain boring water


Rinse the quinoa in a fine mesh strainer, to take off the saponin a bitter coating that keeps the birds from eating it. Bring the broth to a boil, add the quinoa and cook until the quinoa is soft, about 15 minutes. Easier than rice, and in my humble opinion way better.

Pesto Quinoa Salad with Roasted Red Peppers and Broccoli

1/2 C pest
1 bunch broccoli
2 roasted red peppers (see explanation how below, or buy jarred)
1 C cooked garbanzo beans
2 1/2 C quinoa
4 C water, or broth
1 t. salt

1. Add the quinoa, water and salt, to a medium size sauce pan. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until tender.

2. Meanwhile, cut the broccoli into little florets. Lightly steam them in salted boiling water, so that they are bright green and slightly crunchy. Once done, drain the broccoli and run cold water over it.

3. Take the quinoa off the stove and let it cool. Once the quinoa is compelety cool, add the pesto, garbanzo beans, broccoli, and red peppers.

4. Toss to coat well, enjoy!

Blend Tec Tamper What You Have All Been Waiting For

This post is for you wonderful ladies’ question, who I met last night in Melissa's cooking class: Where to get a Blendtec tamper. Before I answer that question, I just want to put in a plug for Melissa's cooking classes. It was so fun! She did a healthy desserts class, and all of the desserts were fabulous, fast, and GOOD FOR YOU!! She is teaching more classes at Jacobs Farm. They are a great deal and worth attending to learn how to cook with seasonal fresh foods. The link to her website is rawmelissa.com. I will have to make her apple crisp and post about it because it is that good. She doesn't cook it, which saves time, making it fresher and better for you.

Ok, on to the question......

It might be blasphemous to even say there was something that I didn't like about my Blendtec, because it is my FAVORITE thing in the kitchen, but the first couple of days I owned it I almost returned it because of the lack of a tamper. I shredded a few spatulas trying to make hummus and peanut butter and almost threw in the towel with the pricey appliance, but then I found this tamper and my love affair with the blender began. I can't find the exact place I got mine, but this is the same thing that I have, just a different company. The website is http://www.3blenders.com/BlendtecAccessories.html. The tamper is just a wooden dowel, with a small wooden cross bar that fits the blender perfectly so you can push stuff down without hitting the blade. It costs $8.75. You could probably make one really easy, but if you want to save time just buy one of these babies. It is worth it!