The Hazel Bloom

A Fancy Spin on Baklava

In the immortal (and slightly bastardized) words of Britney: "Oops, I made baklava again." 

The last time I made it, my guy took a few squares into the office. Janice, a fellow co-worker and all around cool gal, celebrated her birthday yesterday - and she informed my guy that she was going to work on becoming my new best friend so that next year, I'll make her a special batch of baklava for her day.

Psh. Like I could wait a year. I like her enough now. Silly girl.

This isn't a new recipe or anything. This is the same ol' Pistachio and Walnut Baklava I made before. Except... drumroll please! I added little pistachio-and-walnut "flowers!" I'm very proud, so I thought I'd share. (Hello, green flowers! I'm obsessed with green flowers.)
 

In case you want to try a similar endeavor, just prep a bunch of pistachio halves and cut some walnut "centers" while the baklava is baking. After pouring the honey syrup on, set the nuts into the baklava.
The nuts should stick fairly well because of the honey.

As you'll see, I also just chopped some nuts up and sprinkled. It's another great way to dress up your baklava.

Not that baklava isn't plenty heavenly enough naked.

The Hunger Challenge: Day 5 (aka: Last Day!)

Woo hoo, we're almost there! Today's the last day of the Hunger Challenge.

I guess my reports have been mostly optimistic, but I'd be lying if I said this experience was anything close to easy. I knew I was signing on for limited choices. I knew we'd have to plan very carefully, and stick to that plan.

But I didn't realize just how rigid I had to be with my choices, and what a pain that would be. There was no budget left to stop and pick up a coffee, to change the meal plan at the last minute because black bean soup just didn't sound that great (I was getting dang sick of black beans). Or to come up with something else for dinner because a hunk of cheese had gone missing.

Not fun!

But we're almost there, and over the course of the week, we gained new perspective, that's for sure.

Last night for dinner, we used the rest of the leftover Emerald Quinoa - I chopped up a small onion and a couple pieces of celery, mixed it into the quinoa, stuffed some green peppers (on sale for 58 cents each) with the mix, and baked at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. It was great!

But I wanted dessert. And I couldn't have it. So I brushed my teeth. Very good for the diet!

Here's our menu for today - Day 5 - the last day of the Hunger Challenge.

Friday's Menu

Quantities are per person, but cost is total for both.

Breakfast - $3.50

• Coffee and powdered non-dairy creamer - $0.50
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter on one slice of whole wheat toast - $0.60
• Pineapple-banana breakfast smoothie - $2.40

Lunch - $3.50

• Quinoa-stuffed pepper - $1.50
• Oven-baked chicken breast (only one for the meat-eater, made an extra with last night's dinner) - $2.00

Snack - $1.50

• String cheese - $0.90
• 1/2 an apple - $0.50

Dinner - $3.50

• Whole wheat penne pasta with spaghetti sauce (from a jar) - $2.50
• Spring greens salad - $1.00

TOTAL (for two): $12.00

---

Whew!

Coming soon: A recap of our experience.

My Formula for a Perfect Smoothie

Smoothies, when done right, are basically like an excuse to drink a milkshake for breakfast. Granted, they're fruity and not, say, chocolate peanut butter in a styrofoam cup with a deliciously squeaky straw, but I think you know what I mean.

As a part of the Hunger Challenge this week, I included smoothies for a couple of breakfasts. Partially because the organic frozen berries I bought weren't the cheapest in town, they've been a little pricier than some other items on our menus. But they're such a terrific, fairly complete, and fast breakfast on the go, that I fit 'em in.

Yum!

We've been making Banana Berry Smoothies this week, but just about any fruit will do ya.

Here's my formula for a perfect smoothie.

Perfect Smoothie

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces (or 1/2 a container) of vanilla yogurt
• The juice of one to two oranges (one orange for thicker, two oranges for a little thinner)
• 1/2 banana
• 1/2 cup frozen fruit (we've been using raspberries and blueberries, but you can throw in whatever you want. Mangos and strawberries are awesome, for instance. Just cut a bunch up and freeze!)
• 3 - 4 ice cubes (not necessary, but I like 'em)

Directions:

This is VERY LABOR INTENSIVE. Are you ready?

1. Dump everything in the blender
2. Blend until it's smooth.
3. Pour in a cup.
4. Drink.

Okay, I exaggerated a little. 

Oh, and feel free to add some wheat germ or some flaxseed if you really want to amp it up. Me... I've decided I'm not terribly fond of the added texture. It ruins some of the milkshake-like ambiance, know what I mean? But seriously, if you can be less of a baby than me, go for it!

The Hunger Challenge: Day 4

Day 3 of the Hunger Challenge! We ate fairly well again today, but it was a bit more of an exercise in willpower - I worked from home, and that's usually an excuse to majorly graze. But grazing wasn't on the menu - if I were living off of food stamps, I likely wouldn't have any food to graze on. So - no grazing.

Dinner, though, was delicious - I made a nice budget-friendly black bean soup in the Crock Pot. The soup was going to be accompanied by pepper jack quesadillas, but at the last minute I realized we were out of cheese - it got eaten on Sunday. Luckily, I had some cornmeal on hand, and cornbread wasn't a budget-buster. 

I was planning to post the black bean soup recipe - it's a definite keeper - but computer problems led to a disappearing recipe. So I'll recreate and post some other time.

Meanwhile, here's a photo.

It tastes better than it looks! Really. Promise.

Anyway, here's today's menu. And later today, I'll post the recipe for the breakfast smoothie we've been enjoying the last couple of days.

Thursday's Menu

Quantities are per person, but cost is total for both.

Breakfast - $1.40

• Coffee and powdered non-dairy creamer - $0.50
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter on one slice of whole wheat toast - $0.60
• 1/2 apple, sliced - $0.30

Lunch - $2.50

• Leftover black bean soup - $2.00
• Leftover cornbread - $0.50

Snack - $1.90

• String cheese - $0.70
• One apple - $1.00
• Fruit leather - $0.45

Dinner - $5.70

• Quinoa-stuffed green peppers - $2.50
• Dave's Peace Bomb bread - $1.20
• Some sort of non-fancy baked chicken breast (for one) - $2.00

TOTAL (for two): $11.50

Unrelated - isn't a pet in a cone of shame the saddest thing ever? Poor Tigger came home from the vet today and is bewildered, sad, and downright pissed off.

And actually, this could be somewhat related, because if I had to live off of food stamps, I likely could have never been able to afford his veterinary care. (And now he's on the mend! Woo hoo!)

Emerald Quinoa

I've sung the praises of quinoa before. Yet I'm tempted to sing them again.

It's just really such a super food. And it's full of tummy-satisfying protein. And it's healthy. And I love it.

But I'm sure you gathered that by now.

Today I share a recipe for something I call Emerald Quinoa.

It's a super simple little dish - quinoa, lots of chopped parsley, lots parmesan cheese, and a few touches of butter and salt to give it a glow.

I based this (very loosely) off of the Emerald Rice recipe in Ingrid Hoffman's Simply Delicioso cookbook. Which is a great cookbook - I love it - but in it, she waxes poetic about being obsessed with food and eating constantly and she's gotta weigh like a buck oh five. If she didn't seem so likeable, I'd hate her. 

This recipe is great for the Hunger Challenge - low cost, high payoff. We're enjoying it in our Days 2, 3, and 4 menus. We'll see if I'm still so in love with quinoa after Day 4.

Emerald Quinoa

Adapted from Ingrid Hoffman's Simply Delicioso

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

• 1 cup quinoa
• 2 cups water
• 1 small bunch (about a cup or cup and a half) fresh parsley, chopped
• 1 cup fresh parmesan cheese, grated (Microplane zesters work wonders), plus another 1/2 cup or so for topping
• 2 tablespoons butter
• Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Rinse and cook the quinoa according to package instructions. Let cool a tad.
2. Mix in the parsley, 1 cup parmesan cheese, butter, and salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pour into an oven-safe casserole dish.
4. Top with remaining 1/2 cup parmesan cheese.
   
   
   
5. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 - 15 minutes, until the cheese on top is melted and it begins to brown just slightly on top.
6. Serve warm, and enjoy!

The Hunger Challenge: Day 3

Day 2 went pretty well. With a yummy breakfast smoothie, a big bowl of potato soup for lunch, and a surprisingly satisfying dinner which included a great quinoa dish I'll post later today, I think we did pretty well, all told. I must admit we went without the salad at dinnertime, and instead had two packets of Amy's little bunny cookies for dessert. But hey, the goal is to keep it under 12 bucks, right? Diet guilt is another matter. (Today I'm working a pineapple nugget or two into the menu for after dinner to satisfy my sweet tooth. It's all I had money left for!)

Here's a photo of my guy's dinner from yesterday. It's certainly worth noting that we had to go very cheap on breakfast ($3.50) and lunch ($2.20) to even be able to work one piece of chicken in there for him. While we ate fairly decently yesterday, I'm not sure I'd do this well on a daily basis!

 
And here's our menu for today!

Wednesday's Menu

Quantities are per person, but cost is total for both.

Breakfast - $3.50

• Coffee and powdered non-dairy creamer - $0.50
• Healthy breakfast smoothie made with yogurt and berries - $3.00

Lunch - $3.00

• Leftover emerald quinoa - $1.00
• Oven-baked chicken breast (only one for the meat-eater, made an extra with last night's dinner) - $2.00

Snack - $1.15

• String cheese - $0.45
• Two celery stalks - $0.20
• Apple - $0.50

Dinner - $4.00

• Black bean soup - $2.00
• Pepper-jack quesadilla - $2.00

Dessert - $0.25

• A couple small hunks of pineapple - $0.25

TOTAL (for two): $12.00

You may have noticed a trend by now - this week's menus is big on leftovers for lunch - and tomorrow, I'll even be using the quinoa to stuff a few peppers for our main dish. We do this all the time - not just for the hunger challenge - make extra dinner, then pack it up to take to work for next day's lunch. We save a bunch of money, and always have a healthy lunch on hand.

Another tip: Eat what's in season. Yesterday's menu included parsnips, often a steal this time of year. Our roasted parsnips side dish cost us maybe $0.75 total. (Added benefit: Roasted parsnips are yummmmmmy!)

Black Beans and Rice

My favorite version of black beans and rice is perfect for a quick lunch or dinner. And with brown rice instead of white, it's not only toothsome and hearty, it's pretty darn healthy, too.

We also made it a point to whip up some of this good stuff for the United Way of King County Hunger Challenge, considering its super budget-friendly nature.

It takes about 20 minutes to whip up. Gotta love that!

Black Beans and Rice

Serves 2 (4 if served as a side dish)

Ingredients:

• 1 can black beans, some liquid poured off
• 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1/2 green pepper, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• Several dashes green Tabasco
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Juice of one lime

Instructions:

• In a large skillet, warm the olive oil over medium heat.
• Add the onion, celery, and pepper, cooking (and stirring often) for about 5 minutes until they start getting soft.
• Add the garlic, and continue cooking over medium for a few minutes more.
• Mix in the beans.
• Add the oregano.
• Stir in the rice.
• Add the Tabasco, and salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat through, then squeeze the lime over the top.
• Serve with additional lime wedges, if you want. Cilantro and a little sour cream are delish, too.

The Hunger Challenge: Day 2

We made it through the first day of the hunger challenge! Whew!

Granted, we're eating healthier - and less all around - so maybe I would have been hungry anyway, but, yeah. I was really sort of hungry yesterday. So much that I ate two little sweet pickles that weren't on the menu, but the cost was negligible and didn't bust our budget. Whew.

Dinner last night, though? 45 Cent Potato Soup. Muy satisfying. So there was that!

Here's our menu for today.

Tuesday's Menu

Quantities are per person, but cost is total for both.

Breakfast - $3.50

• Coffee and powdered non-dairy creamer - $0.50
• Healthy breakfast smoothie made with yogurt and berries - $3.00

Lunch - $2.20

• Leftover 45 Cent Potato Soup - $0.90
• Dave's Peace Bomb bread - $1.30

Snack - $1.50

• Granny Smith apple - $1.00
• With 1 tablespoon peanut butter - $0.50

Dinner - $4.75

• Emerald quinoa - $1.00
• Oven-roasted parsnips - $0.75
• Oven-baked chicken breast (only one for the meat-eater) - $2.00
• Spring greens salad with dressing - $1.00

TOTAL: $11.95 for two

We used up all of our budget today! But we're eating very well - and the meat eater in the family is getting some chicken, so he's happy.

You'll notice we're not including beverages here. That's because, aside from coffee, we're drinking water for our beverages. It's healthy, it's got zero calories, and it's free!

The Hunger Challenge: Day 1

 
It's Hunger Action Week, and we've decided to take United Way of King County Hunger Challenge.

The challenge? For the two of us to eat, and eat well, on only $12 per day. Sound difficult? It is. And that's what so many people have to live on - it's based on the maximum food stamp allotment for folks in our state.

Me, I know how to cook a bunch of stuff, and I had the time this week to plan a week's worth of healthy meals and do price comparisons. Plus, I've got a Costco membership - which of course can help with cost when I buy some foods in bulk (like organic Granny Smith apples for what works out to only $0.50 each). And, of course, I'm only doing this for five days, and I know it's a choice. So obviously I've already got it a lot easier than a lot of folks out there.

And so... for the remainder of the week here at The Hazel Bloom, not only are we making an effort to get healthier, but our budget is going to get a little trimmer, too.

I'll report on how it's going, post our daily menu, and share meal ideas here and there.

Monday's Menu

Quantities are per person, but cost is total for both.

Breakfast - $1.40

• Coffee and powdered non-dairy creamer - $0.50
• 1 tablespoon peanut butter on one slice of whole wheat toast - $0.60
• 1/2 apple, sliced - $0.30

Lunch - $2.75

• Black beans and brown rice - $2.50
• Carrot sticks - $0.25

Snack - $1.14

• String cheese - $0.70
• All-natural fruit leather - $0.44

Dinner - $3.20

• 45 Cent Potato Soup - $0.90
• Dave's Peace Bomb bread - $1.30
• Spring greens salad with dressing - $1.00

TOTAL: $8.49 for two

We're doing pretty good our first day! One reason? We're eating vegetarian today. Beans, for instance, are a terrific budget-friendly way to get satisfying protein in your diet without spending much.

Let's see if we can keep it up...

I Was a Winner in the December Fine Gardening Photo Challenge!

I won! I won! I won Fine Gardening's December WInter Gardens Photo Contest! I’m very excited, can you tell?

Okay, so I was one of four winners, but still. And the other three winners’ photos were far better than mine, but still.

My winning photo? This one.

“Forgotten Tomato.”

When I wrote about My Frosty Garden, this was one of the pics I included.

I miss my garden. Soon, garden, soon, I’ll be back.

Thanks to the wonderful folks over at Fine Gardening for your terrific website, for selecting my photo, and for giving me a chance to pimp The Hazel Bloom (I’m a little embarrassed that my blurb is the longest – couldn’t stop talking about myself, I guess)!