#Yummers

The Easiest Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella Salad – Relish the End of Summer

October 9, 2020 By The Hungry Dater Leave a Comment

When I first started considering posting this recipe, I honestly planned on jumping on the bandwagon for a tomato basil mozzarella salad with stone fruit.

Salty, Savory, Sweet?

And I love nectarines, so I was planning to add them to the salad. Long story short, I guess my taste buds haven’t evolved from my childhood as much as I thought they had. I added the nectarines to this salad and promptly began picking them out like a three year old.

So here I am, posting another traditional tomato caprese salad for your end-of-summer enjoyment. The difference this year is, while I love the traditional tomato caprese I last posted here, I also love the idea of being able to whip up this wonderful salad at the drop of a hat for those impromptu, Saturday, Indian-Summer-BBQ’s. This does just that.
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Peach Pie with Gluten Free Crust

July 27, 2020 By The Hungry Dater Leave a Comment

I’m still in that place where I’m trying so hard not to wish the summer away. Fall is my favorite season (both generally AND, of course, food-wise). But summer is my second favorite. Summer around here is awesome. There’s yard work, outdoor BBQ’s, lots of “friend and family time,” and, of course, stone fruit! And there’s no better way to eat an abundance of peaches than in a peach pie.

I used to be that obnoxious girl who buys my fruit at Costco. This year, though, Blossom’s BiFF and I have a CSA box being delivered once a week. And I have to say, it’s still a LOT of fruit. I can’t get enough of peaches, nectarines, and cherries; so when they’re in season I go a bit crazy.

In addition to just consuming this fruit raw, at least once per year I feel a major need to bake a pie. Generally, every summer I make at least one cherry pie and one peach. They’re my favorite. …

Red Wine Cooler with Carlo Rossi Burgandy

July 24, 2020 By The Hungry Dater Leave a Comment

One of my favorite cocktails that helps me hold on to summer is a Carlo Rossi Red Wine Cooler.

I’m probably opening myself up for judgment by saying this, but Carlo Rossi wine coolers have been dear to my heart since I was about 5 years old. When I was little, whenever we would go camping, my parents and their friends would bring Carlo Rossi Burgundy, Orange Juice, and 7Up to make red wine coolers in Red Solo Cups. I used to love the fruity smell of the drink, and because it had 7Up in it (which was a treat for me) I wanted to be old enough to drink one in the worst way. Occasionally, I’d ask for sips of the cocktail, even as a wee one. Now, before someone gets too angry at this post, I can tell you, my parents handled this like champs. They made me my very own “mocktails.” 7Up and Orange Juice was my new “it” treat drink, and it made me feel special and like a grown up. (And on a parental note, it worked in place of wine coolers, mimosas and beer.)

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The Best Homemade Gluten Free Chex Mix

June 19, 2020 By The Hungry Dater Leave a Comment

I probably have a lot of food “vices.” Honestly, this is why I work so hard finding ways to recreate things at home in the most natural, healthful way possible. I have moods where probably once or twice per year, I get obsessed with one terrible food or another. High in sodium, fat, and calories; low in nutrients; and, of course, FULL of chemicals. One week out of the year it will be jarred Nacho Cheese, three months later I’ll be super into Raley’s Artichoke Dip; and at least once a year, I crave Chex Mix. Of course, I love Chex Mix in the winter when everyone’s having sports’ parties. But the BBQ season is my second favorite time to eat Chex Mix since I consider it a total party food. Now that the world is starting to open up again, hopefully pot lucks and BBQ’s will start happening again and we’ll all need a fun recipe to show up with. …

Dehydrator Review and Dog Jerky Recipe

June 15, 2020 By The Hungry Dater Leave a Comment

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My last pup, Flower, was a therapy dog. I really want the same thing for Blossom, but we always say she’s “a little cray-cray.” In other words, she needs some more training in order to get to therapy dog behavior. Treats are necessary for this training. When I first got Blossom, I knew I wanted to feed her as naturally as possible. Farmer’s Dog does that for me with her regular meals, I needed to figure out a way to do that with her training treats. I realized I needed a Food Dehydrator. While I was looking for one, I discovered this Chefman Food Dehydrator, and it does a great job of making Blossom high quality, human grade, dehydrated treats.

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CSA’s – Community Supported Agriculture and Modern City Life

June 8, 2020 By The Hungry Dater Leave a Comment

Blossom’s BiFF came to me with a suggestion last year: Would I like to share a vegetable share in a Community Supported Agriculture box? Well, anyone who knows me well knows that I don’t really dig the veggies. I’ve never been good at eating them. I don’t hate them like some people do… But let’s be honest, when eating my choice generally ISN’T going to be carrots over strawberries, or salad over cake. But BB is a veggie eater (and so is Blossom, frankly), so it’s easier for everyone if I am too. I committed.

What is a CSA?

Community Supported Agriculture, or “CSA,” is a program in which local farms deliver organic local produce to consumers directly. It cuts out the middle men so that the farmer’s aren’t losing more money on their produce. This saves money for the consumer because the farmers forward those savings to them. What the consumer ends up getting is a wonderful array of sometimes-weird, organic produce delivered at a reasonable cost.

For me, this is a good thing and a bad thing. The good is I have high-quality produce delivered no matter what, once per week; so I have to eat it. The bad is I have to eat it or it goes bad and I’m wasting. I hate that both for the purposes of money and the environment. This was exactly BB’s argument: you’ll HAVE to eat them, and by the end of the summer, you’ll love them. Well, now it’s been over a year, and while I’m not so sure about LOVE, I am starting to appreciate the bounty we get every week. The forced health coming with planning my week’s meals around the race to consume them is a bonus.

History of CSAs

My understanding is CSAs were a way for the consumers to buy into the farm to help support the farmer directly. In exchange for the consumers’ financial assistance, the farmer would send produce, eggs, meat, or milk to the supporter.

These days, CSAs are more geared toward the consumer. We’re not owners in the farm, we simply pay for the shares to be delivered weekly or biweekly. The movement is now less about “owning” a share of a farm. It’s more about acquiring quality, organic produce for our families from a source we can research directly. Most of my friends and acquaintances who participate in CSAs are doing it for a variety of reasons: 1) it’s better for the farmers; 2) you know where your food is coming from and can ask directly about how it’s grown; 3) it’s better for the environment; and 4) the indication that consuming organics improves health.

I suppose to the outsider, the whole experience seems awfully “hippie dippie.” But for me, I like the fact that I feel closer to the creation and growth of my food. There is not one box we get that isn’t covered in dirt and bugs. Call me a hippie, but I find that oddly comforting that our produce isn’t a GMO strain that is “naturally” bug-repellent, and which has also been through huge corporate washing machines with God-knows-what-kind of chemical washing agents.

Less Additives, GMOs, and Pesticides for Those Sensitive to Modern Food Alterations

Most regular readers here at THD know that I’m gluten free, and almost every recipe on here has a GF option. What may not be as well known is, I am very sensitive to several foods in general. Aspartame makes me faint, Wheat makes me break out in boil-like lesions (doctor’s word, not mine)… I’m afraid to remove milk and cheese from my diet, because honestly, I just don’t want to know what else affects me so much that I have to remove it from my diet. But the strange part is, these sensitivities (aside from the aspartame) go completely away when I’m overseas. When I was in Italy, I ate pasta, bread, croissants, and cake multiple times per day, just because I could. No reactions.

I don’t have any direct or scientific knowledge regarding this phenomenon other than what I’ve read. But what I’ve read suggests this is due to the GMOs and the treatments we use on our agricultural bounty. Other countries not only don’t use the same scientific “resources” to over-produce their food, but many countries have actually outlawed a lot of the treatments we use regularly. As far as I’m concerned, THIS is our problem in the United States, health-wise.

So, while I don’t consider myself “hippie-dippie,” I have started becoming more and more prone to supporting these “food movements,” in the name of my own health and all-around well-being. That being said, as much as I don’t love veggies themselves, it wasn’t too super hard for me to say yes to partaking in a CSA simply because I can rest assured I’m skipping a lot of the other additives that are likely affecting my health.

Types of CSAs for Every Lifestyle

CSA’s range in both flexibility and variety. When I was in SF, I was a member of a CSA that had such a big following (SF, remember) that they had a website where you went every week and picked 6 different things to come in your bag. This meant I got a CHOICE. That was epic. But now we live in Reno, and the choice is a bit more limited. It’s a “you get what you get” sort of situation in the Reno CSA world. There are advantages to this get-what-you-get situation. One of the advantages is I’m sure it’s waaaaay easier for the growers to deliver exactly what’s needed to every. Single. Customer. Another that’s become amazingly blatant while I and BB’s kids are involved is, it forces those of us who don’t always like veggies to consume things we might not otherwise buy at a grocery store. This ensures that, however, resistantly, we are expanding our palates and our individual food experiences.

Conclusion

Now, I’m not suggesting that either me nor BB’s (semi-picky) children will come out of this life broccolini-lovers… But what I am suggesting is the exposure and forced consumption has been fairly good for us–at least, that’s what BB says. Lol.

Though I’m still not a vegetable lover, I’m starting to appreciate the colorful, healthy boxes delivered to me every week. I also love that I’m both supporting a local farmer and a movement I believe in (i.e., organics and whole living). All I can say is, I hope that Reno will continue getting more into it, so maybe someday I’ll have a similar “choice” option that I once had in SF. But for now, I can only appreciate the wonderful bounty that’s been made available to me by Mountain Bounty Farms and the ever-intelligent suggestions by Blossom’s BiFF.

Happy cooking, eating, and health-ing! And HAPPY SUMMER!

Pear, Prosciutto, and Blue Cheese Bite Appetizers

February 17, 2020 By The Hungry Dater Leave a Comment

Some friends and I used to try and have dinner together once every two weeks. “Once every two weeks” turned into once every one or two months–if we’re diligent and lucky. Nowadays, it seems like it’s closer to once a year. Between big people jobs, significant others, dogs, houses, and babies; it’s just hard to make it happen. But we try. We all three know we’re happier in our lives after one of our dinner-and-a-movie nights where we can share our stories, frustrations, victories, and lessons. And because these dinners often get few and far between, we always like to make them special. That’s where these Pear, Prosciutto, and Blue Cheese Appetizers started….

Grapefruit Martini – The Perfect Pink Valentine’s Drink

February 14, 2020 By The Hungry Dater Leave a Comment

I know I’ve said I’m a seasonal drinker. But really, I have to say, vodka is my all-seasons alcohol. And this Grapefruit Martini, while beautifully pink and perfect for today’s uber-sweet holiday, is a year-round libation for me.

We’ve been a vodka drinking family for an awfully long time. And my “family,” I mean me and my mom. With the exception of his “first sips” of almost every drink the two of us make or order, my dad an appreciator of all, but a connoisseur of beer.

An advantage of having a mom who enjoys vodka and who has amazing culinary skills, is that I am able to come across the most amazing martinis on any night that I want to go to my parents’ house and convince my mom to make me one of her works of art. And in the winter, that usually means a citrus-y sweet and tart Grapefruit Martini.

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Traditional Hot Toddy with a Twist – 12 Days of Cocktails Day 7

January 10, 2020 By The Hungry Dater Leave a Comment

Sometimes you get home from work after a long cold-ass winter’s day, and all you want are 1) a cocktail; and 2) something warm. Usually for me these two things don’t go together. This ends in one of two ways: either I double fist with a cup of tea and a cocktail or glass of wine, or I turn to this spectacular Hot Toddy cocktail that covers both bases at once!

I went to one of my favorite bars in Reno one time called Chapel and it was one of the nights that a Hot Toddy was probably the ONLY thing that was going to satisfy me. But when I ordered one, it came with a bit of a surprise: a ghost pepper floated at the top of the glass. At that point, I was wary of spicy things, but I decided to try it anyway. It turns out, the pepper in the glass just blew the whole flavor out of the water! The addition of the pepper made this cocktail warm me up in ways I never imagined.

Needless to say, I don’t think I’ll ever again make a Toddy without the Cayenne Pepper.

Happy Cooking!

Traditional Hot Toddy with a Twist - 12 Days of Cocktails Day 7

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Ingredients

8 Oz. Water, boiled
Juice of 1 Lemon
1 Tablespoon Honey
⅛ - ¼ teaspoon Cayenne (or to taste)
1½ Oz. Bourbon (I prefer Four Roses)

Instructions

Boil the Water.
Add Lemon Juice and Honey and stir well.
Add Bourbon.
Top with sprinkling of Cayenne.
Enjoy!

“Tahoe Snowdrop” Lemon White Chocolate Truffle Martini

December 20, 2019 By The Hungry Dater Leave a Comment

There’s a wonderful artisan chocolate shop here in Reno called”Dorinda’s Chocolates.” They have seriously spoiled me to the point of not quite enjoying other, less wonderful, chocolate brands (of course, that doesn’t stop me really from still partaking in the other brands. Lol).

One of my favorite truffles of theirs is a lemon raspberry chocolate truffle that, for some time, I have wanted to copy in a cocktail. Last year, however, I had a really awful and wonderful lesson in culinary chemistry when trying to create this cocktail. It turns out, lemon juice curdles the milk solids in white chocolate! Who knew?! Hahaha. Apparently everyone… But I digress.

This year, I still had not forgotten my goal to make a white chocolate lemon martini for the Christmas season. And I thought I knew how to do it, but definitely took it on with more caution and experimentation this year than I did last year. I have to say, what has come out of it is nothing short of festive! Of course, Dorinda, there’s nothing that is ever going to surpass your truffle, but I think with the help of Tahoe Blue Vodka and DoTerra Essential Oils, we came really close. (The recipe below is just for one cocktail so if you’re sharing, multiply as needed.)

"Tahoe Snowdrop" Lemon White Chocolate Truffle Martini