Quaker Big Chewy Granola Bars, Chocolate Fondue, and a Night of Television

Seth is often found working late nights and weekends.  Sometimes, however, a Saturday bestows on us a bit of serendipity and magnanimously opens itself up with freedom.  When that happens, we run into it and embrace it, in all its weekend glory.

The day quickly fills up.  Some hours are wiled away on errands and chores that had been put off, but others are used for fun - pit stops at the beach, playground time, lunches at a favorite restaurant - to make the most of our time together.

By the time we get home, it is toddler-late, and time to scoop him off to bed.  And toddler bed time means Seth and I get to do “our thing.”

“Our thing” has two components:

            1.  Our television show of the moment

            2.  Food!!

It is our time to watch our shows, or our “stories” as we like to say.  We generally have room in our hearts for one dramatic series at a time.  But there have been so many wonderful love affairs through the years - The Wire, Deadwood, Battlestar Galactica, West Wing, House of Cards, Damages, Breaking Bad, Mad Men... just to name a few.  And in this Netflix era, we can bring up our show of the moment with the click of a Wii remote and binge on back to back episodes.

And while we watch our stories we like a snack.  A snack that doesn’t involve expending a lot of energy, as that attribute has been depleted during the day’s activities.  A snack that will curb our hunger with some whole grain goodness, but a snack that is still delicious.  A snack like Quaker Oat’s Big Chewy Granola Bars.  

We love chocolate chips (seriously, we love them), so we get the Chocolate Chip Big Chewy Granola Bars.  But the snack doesn’t stop there.  We cut the granola bars and put them on a plate with some fruit - bananas (for me, we all know about Seth’s strong aversion to anything banana), strawberries, tangerines.  And a dip.  A chocolate fondue to be exact - one made with coconut milk and a hint of cardamom.  

It has been awhile since we mentioned our love of dipping.  So active! So communal! So fun! And can possibly lead to some intense debates about what the precisely most delicious combination of foods is to combine with the dip.

And while we snack on our granola bar bites and our fruit slices and fondue, we can sit side by side, watching our stories, discussing camera angles and character development, analyzing plot twists and turns, and arguing about the morality of actions that characters have taken.  And life is good.

Quaker is on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest - so follow/like them!

And now that you totally need some of these granola bars in your life right now, you need to know where to find them - look here for product locator and here for more information about the bars.

This post is brought to you by Quaker.  We were financially compensated for this post by Quaker via AOL Media.   

A Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/8 teaspoon cardamom

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

pinch fleur de sel

Instructions
In a small pot over low heat, warm the coconut milk.  Take off heat and stir in the chocolate chips.  Once they are melted, stir in the cardamom and vanilla.  Sprinkle fleur de sel on top of the fondue for serving. 

Broccoli Quesadillas - "Our Usual" and the "Fancypants"

Seth's dreams are epic dreams.   A fact that can turn bleary mornings into family story hour.  Seth regales me with a recitation of his most recent nocturnal tale while I greedily lap it up.

Tales of survival in a post apocalyptic world.  Heroic tales of saving lives - sometimes people, sometimes kitten. Tales of living life as a whale (whether that whale was a blue or a grey yet remains unclear) and fighting to stay alive in the face of killer whale attacks.  These are the dreams that Seth's subconscious produces.

I'm so eager to eat up these dreams and absorb them into my memory.  Perhaps I hope my own subconscious mind will start to produce similar results through osmosis.

Mine, are well, mundane.  At best.  If I can even remember them.  Which is a seldom occurrence in life.  The ones I usually remember are those anxiety-ridden ones, the ones where you are late and despite your best attempts to get to where you are going, you are stymied every step of the way.

Once I dreamed of a loaf of bread.  That's it.  It was the Platonic ideal of a loaf, just floating in front of a black background.  No events actually happened.  Just a floating loaf.  I strangely didn't even eat the bread, a surprising thing for me to do since I have a deep and abiding love for the stuff.

Seth's dreamscape couldn't be more different from mine.  Our quesadilla preferences suffer from similar discrepancies.  But this disparity runs the other direction - mine are the more epic quesadillas.  I started adding a mango and black bean spread to add some extra levels of flavor.  Our usual quesadilla involves broccoli and jalapeno with scallion, cilantro and cheese.  I wanted more.

When offered the quesadilla with "more," Seth determined that he still wanted his usual and not the "fancypants."  I long for more in my dreams.  Seth apparently does not feel the same about his quesadilla.  Somehow, we make it work.

Ingredients
Mango and Black Bean Spread:
1 can black beans and their liquid
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup chopped mango
1 teaspoon spice mix (below)
3 garlic cloves, minced
pinch salt

Spice Mix:
1/2 tsp roasted Saigon cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground coriander
Pinch cumin
Pinch ground ginger
Pinch ground star anise

For the quesadillas:
black bean spread
sliced jalapeno
about a 1/4 cup finely chopped broccoli florets per quesadilla
chopped scallions
chopped cilantro
grated cheddar cheese
crumbled cotija cheese
flour tortilla
canola oil, for cooking

Instructions
For the spice mix:
Mix all the spices together in a small bowl.  Keep leftovers in an airtight container.

For the mango black bean spread:
Place all the ingredients, including the spice mix, in a medium pot over medium-low heat.  Let everything cook together, and after about ten minutes, take off heat.  Use an immersion blender to puree.  Set aside.

For the quesadillas:
Take the flour tortilla and spread the mango and black bean mixture on half of the tortilla.  Then layer the jalapeno slices, broccoli florets, scallions, cilantro, and cheeses on top of the spread.  Or if you are being Seth, then just skip the mango black bean mixture part.  Once all your ingredients are in, fold the tortilla.  Heat canola oil (about a tablespoon) in a cast iron skillet.  Place the quesadilla in.  Once a side has a nice golden brown color, flip it over.  Once both sides are golden brown, take off heat and serve.

Eco Friendly Shopping Tips + Contest + Giveaway

Shopping eco friendly is easier than you might think, even at a bargain focused store like Grocery Outlet. Recently Grocery Outlet gave me a $30 gift card to see what great eco friendly bargains I could find for Earth Day. Here are my top picks:

Eco Friendly Shopping Tips

1. Buy fresh produce 

The less processed and less packaged, the better. Grocery Outlet sells some beautiful greens, I found these greens for just 99 cents a bunch. 

2. Choose recycled chlorine free paper products

Recycled paper products are better quality than you might think these days and using them is an easy way to go green.

3. Invest in stoneware and ceramic baking dishes 

Made from silica or clay and water, not noxious chemicals, they will last a lifetime if cared for properly with no warping or flaking of non-stick coatings. These beautiful pieces were only $4.99 each.

4. Pick reusable products

I found coffee "pods" for use in Keurig coffee makers and water bottles with water filters.

5. Look for products with minimal packaging

Choose staple items that are packaged in recyclable cardboard, rather than plastic. 

One of the easiest things you can do to be eco friendly when it comes to shopping is to use your own bag, rather than choosing "paper or plastic." 

Design Contest

Grocery Outlet is hosting a contest via Instagram where anyone can design their next eco-frugal reusable grocery bag. Imagine how cool it would be to see people shopping with a bag you designed! So design something amazing! Take a picture and post it to Instagram with the tag @grocery_outlet and the hashtag #GOGreenBag

The deadline to enter is April 17 and the winner will be announced on Earth Day (April 22) The prize is a $100 Grocery Outlet gift certificate, and there are runner up prizes as well. 

Gift Card Giveaway

Want to try eco friendly shopping at Grocery Outlet? Share your best tip eco friendly tip in the comments and one winner will receive a $30 Grocery Outlet gift card, courtesy of Grocery Outlet. 

This giveaway ends at midnight PST on April 21, 2013. I will draw a winner at random on April 22. Open to US residents only. If you register your comment with your email, only I will see it. Grocery Outlet has stores in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Washington and Pennsylvania. To see if there is Grocery Outlet near you, use the Grocery Outlet store locator. 

Joshua you are the winner! I have emailed you, please send me your mailing address so I can send you the gift certificate. 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Grocery Outlet for providing the gift cards for me and this giveaway

Gulf Coast Seafood

I started blogging ten years ago and since then, everything has changed. Blogging has changed, my career has changed, my shopping, cooking and eating have all changed. Hands down, the best thing about blogging is not the food, but the people I get to meet. I meet chefs, fishermen, farmers, policy makers, politicians, scientists, nutritionists, artisanal food producers, editors, other food writers, photographers and more. And all of those folks help me to appreciate and learn more about food. I'd like to think I also make more informed choices today than I did ten years ago.

A few years ago I got to attend the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Sustainable Foods Institute. Not long after I was invited to New Orleans to learn about seafood in the gulf. Both of those experiences have made me a much more thoughtful consumer of seafood. I believe in the sustainability, safety and deliciousness of gulf seafood. When I buy shrimp, it is always gulf shrimp.

I am very honored to be chosen by Gulf Coast Seafood as one of their Top 100 Bloggers. I hope you will learn about and enjoy gulf seafood too!

Spinach, Strawberry and Asparagus Salad with Lemon Saffron Dressing

Spring is a season of contrasts.  Days full of sunshine and cheer, punctuated with periods of gray skies and rain.  Crisp, chilly mornings give way to afternoon warmth and that fresh feeling of being alive, which then hands the reins back over to the coolness to close out the day.

Or, at least, that is the spring that lives in my memory.  The one formed by living on the East Coast for 23 years. At first glance, it appears that we now live in a land of eternal spring.  Occasional forays, perhaps, into some hot or cold (relatively) weather, but mostly smooth sailing with blue skies and warm temperatures.

But it isn't quite spring.  Or if it is indeed spring, it is one with some blandness, one with less roughness around the edges.  In other words, one with less contrast.

This salad embodies the memory of spring.  Cool earthy green veggies interspersed with some fiery red from the strawberries and radishes.  Crunchy asparagus and celery sharing space with soft berries.  Warm floral saffron dressing coating some crisp greens.  Spicy radishes with sweet strawberry.

A salad full of contrasts.  Which makes it particularly well-suited to serving with a big, greasy take-out pizza, all bendable and delicious, which is what we did...

Ingredients
For the salad:
3 cups spinach leaves
1 scallion, chopped
4 radishes, sliced
handful of pencil thin asparagus spears, tough ends removed, then chopped
2-3 tablespoons chopped celery
handful of strawberries, chopped
salt and pepper, to taste
bit of lemon zest

For the dressing:
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
1 small shallot, minced
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
bit of lemon zest
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions
In a medium bowl, toss spinach, scallion, radishes, asparagus, celery, and strawberries.  Sprinkle a bit of salt, pepper, and lemon zest.

In a small pot over low heat, combine the olive oil and saffron threads.  Once the mixture is fragrant - about 5 minutes, take off heat and add the minced shallots.  Let the mixture cool a bit, then whisk in the white wine vinegar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and mustard.  Adjust salt and pepper to taste.

Pour desired amount of dressing over the salad and toss to coat.

Smoky Tomato Soup Recipe

It's easy to get so caught up in the idea of eating seasonally that we forget that there are certain things that aren't necessarily seasonal, for example vegetables grown in hothouses or greenhouses like Belgian endive, cucumbers and mushrooms, also preserved produce--jams, pickles, chutney, frozen and canned foods. Which brings me to canned tomatoes, which are a great choice for recipes since fresh tomatoes are in season for a fairly short period of time.

While I wouldn't use a canned tomato on a sandwich, they are a must for most tomato based sauces. Lately I've come to appreciate canned fire roasted tomatoes for their lovely smoky flavor. They are great in stew or chili and a sneaky shortcut when making this zippy soup. A nice option in this shoulder season when somedays still feel like Winter, it's something you can make from pantry staples--a few aromatics, cans of tomatoes and broth. Having tried many brands of fire roasted tomatoes, I like Hunt's best and while I prefer homemade, Swanson's is the only canned chicken broth I use.

Another little trick in this soup is the addition of cream cheese. I don't typically keep heavy cream on hand so I am always looking for other ingredients to add creaminess to recipes. In this case a tiny bit of cream cheese adds a lot of richness. But in all honesty this soup is really wonderful even without it.


Smoky Tomato Soup
Serves 4-6

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

2 14.5 ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes
2 14.5 ounces chicken broth (or homemade)
2 Tablespoons cream cheese, optional

Instructions

Heat a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring frequently for 8 minutes or until soft and golden, but not brown. Add the garlic and cook another minute. Add the smoked paprika and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and broth and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes, or until fairly thick and saucy.

Add the cream cheese if desired. Blend the soup in batches or use a hand blender. When the soup is smooth, it's ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Roasted Spiced Strawberries with Honey Vanilla Yogurt

I'm great at holding grudges.  Forgiveness does not come easily after being betrayed.  I've held one (or continue to hold one) against each of the following:
1. granola
2. hot dogs
3. orange juice
4. Fig Newtons
5. yogurt

Most of these grudges have lasted for years.  One has lasted over two decades.  I won't get into the details of how each of these relationships went sour.  But now that we are firmly into 2013, it is perhaps time to get rid of all that bad energy and drop the hard feelings.

Yogurt is an easy food with which to get back into a relationship.  So useful as an ingredient - especially with quick breads and smoothies.  But I'd like to take things to the next level - and enjoy the stuff on its own terms.  As creamy, luxurious yogurt.

Here, Greek yogurt is mixed with honey, vanilla, and some spices.  And topped with strawberries spiced and roasted.  It is hard to stay mad at the stuff, when turned into this concoction.  I can drop the hard feelings for yogurt, and granola looks like the next food to work on - but one thing is for sure, the hot dog war will never cease.  Time doesn't heal ALL wounds.

Cooking Light has a great slideshow about yogurt - Click here to get some nutrition information, recipes, and tips about the stuff!

Ingredients
1 pound strawberries, sliced
2 tbsp dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon spice mix

Spice mix:
1/2 tsp roasted Saigon cinnamon
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp ground coriander
Pinch cumin
Pinch ground ginger
Pinch ground star anise

Yogurt:
16 ounces Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons wild dandelion honey
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch spice mix

Instructions
Place sliced strawberries in a bowl and sprinkle with the brown sugar.  Let them sit for an hour.  Meanwhile, mix together the spice mix in a small bowl.

Heat oven to 350.  Stir in olive oil, white wine vinegar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of the spice mix with the strawberries.  Spread on baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes.  Set aside to cool.

In a medium bowl, mix the yogurt, honey, vanilla, and spices.  To serve, top with the roasted strawberries.