Running around..how fun

It was another beautiful day on the island and a busy day today.  So busy I got home and just wanted to crash for the evening.  My day started bright and early with a 7:45am meeting.  Then after a long day of teaching, I tutored for an hour.  I also had to take Buster to get his nails clipped before coming home.  Buster was a lucky boy today; he spent the day in my classroom.  The kids love it when he visits… he was a well behaved dog, except for when he stole someone’s bagel out of their desk.  No matter how many times I tell them to not put any food in their desks, some still don’t learn.  Thankfully this boy also had more lunch in his lunch bag for lunch. 

As for my eats today, breakfast was a bowl of oatmeal.  Nothing worth taking a picture of really. 

Lunch was leftover dinner from last night:  Kasha with Roasted Butternut Squash.

For dinner I decided to make a Spinach Cauliflower Dip.  I also ate the last of the leftover lasagne. 

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sPINACH CAULIFLOWER DIP

This is an easy recipe to make.  I was inspired by another recipe I read somewhere in the blogo’sphere, but not sure where anymore.  If anyone knows, please feel free to let me know   This is also another GLUTEN-FREE dish. 

To make this yummy dip, follow these simple instructions:

1.  Cook one of these until very soft.  Allow to cool.

2.  When your cauliflower is cool enough, place in a food processor and pulse until smooth and creamy.  Then add about 1/4 cup reduced fat mayonnaise, 4 ounces of Dill Havarti Cheese, 1 jalapeno pepper (seeded and finely chopped), 2 cloves of garlic, a pinch of salt and 3 cups of shredded Cheddar Cheese. 

Transfer to a bowl and mix in about 3 cups of chopped fresh baby spinach. 

Transfer the entire mixture into a ovenproof baking dish or casserole.  Sprinkle with another 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese and bake until hot and bubbly, about 35 minutes.

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Hope you guys had a great Tuesday. 

I’m off to relax for a bit on the couch.  Will be an early night tonight.

Bea

xox

Kasha..what’s that?

How was everyone’s Monday?  Ours was sunny, but a bit chilly.  The day went by smoothly, the kids were awesome at school today and we got lots accomplished.  We even had a drama workshop for the school today and my class loved it.  It was really neat to see some of them come out of their shells.  After work I went for a run with another teacher.  It was pretty chilly, but a clear blue sky with the sun shining definitely made up for that. 

After work it was time to prepare dinner.  On tonight’s menu:

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KASHA with roasted Butternut Squash

This was an experimental meal.  I’ve never made Kasha before but I was pleasantly surprised.  It’s another great Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free meal.  So what is Kasha?  It’s roasted Buckwheat.  First off, it’s not wheat.  Actually it’s not even a distant relative of wheat.  Did you know that it’s a seed from the rhubarb family.  I did some research on the health benefits of buckwheat and this is what I came up with:

• high in protein
• good source of fibre, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and copper
• 1 cup of cooked groats (Kasha) has 4.5 g of fibre, 5.6 g of protein, 1.3mg of iron, 1mg of zinc and more. 
• It’s low in fat and has no cholesterol

So here is what I did:

Turn oven to 400F.  Slice a butternut squash in half, scoop out the seeds and place on baking sheet.  Roast in oven until skin can be peeled off, about 40 minutes or so.

Now you’ll need to roast your buckwheat groats to make the Kasha.  Take a pan and turn heat of medium.  Keep an eye on the groats so they don’t burn.  You’ll want to stir constantly.

 

 

 

 

 

Before                                                                     After

Then I boiled 2 cups of Chicken broth.  When the broth began to boil, add a pinch of salt and one Tbsp of oil.  Add your Kasha, cover and cook for about 15 minutes or until cooked through.  It should look like this when ready.  Set aside and cover until ready to serve.

While your buckwheat is cooking in water, prepare the chickpeas.  I like to peel mine because it just tastes a lot better.  And you’ll be done peeling them by the time the buckwheat is cooked.

Now make your vegetable mixture.  Chop up 1 onion, 3 garlic, 450g mushrooms and one red pepper. 

Heat olive oil in a large pot.  Add the onions, garlic, pepper and mushrooms.  Cook until translucent, about 10 minutes.

Add 1 tsp Thai Red curry paste, 3 splashes of Worcestershire Sauce, 1 Tbsp bouillon and 1/2 cup of water. 

You can also chop up some fresh herbs such as parsley, thyme and cilantro.  Add this to the mixture. 

Add cut up roasted squash and your prepared chickpeas to the pot.

Mix well and allow to simmer for another 5 minutes or so. 

To serve, serve vegetable mixture over a bed of the Kasha.  Top with a sprinkle of shredded cheese.  (or leave off the cheese of course if you want it to be dairy-free). 

 Have you ever made Kasha? How do you prepare it? Did you like it?

 

And thanks again to everyone for following my stories and foodie blogs…it really does put a smile on my face when I read all your lovely comments.  I love creating good eats. 

 

Night all

Bea

xoxo