boo!

October 31, 2012 4 Comments

did I a-scare you? sorry about that…

I know its been awhile… I’m not proud of my behavior…

that’s not true. I am proud. I was able to make the * very difficult * switch from one server to another. Greek to some of you? good… let it stay that way…. it really wasn’t fun.. buuuut it’s done 🙂

I will have many more fun things on this server… like the ziplist feature. Don’t know what that is? no worries…. I’ll ‘splaine.

click on save this recipe and it will bring you to a create and account page . ( if you don’t have a zip list account, trust me, you want one)

think of it as your cyber recipe box. You can save any recipe to you box ( once your account is opened ) and create and print shopping lists.

it’s awesome.

soooo to try out this new feature I will share one of my oldest recipes.. Creamy Cheesy Chicken.
This recipe goes back to our camping days. I used to make meals ahead of time & freeze them so that I could just pop them in the oven in our camper. Over the years I have continued to make this, using many variations… it is always a hit!

[amd-zlrecipe-recipe:2]

I do not remember where I first saw this recipe… I just know that it is a family favorite. its great because you can have all of the ingredients on hand and whip it up in no time!

since I am on a new server.. anyone who had followed the blog by email will need to re follow. on the bottom right side of the screen is a ‘follow’ button.. just click that and enter your email and you are good to go!

happy halloween, friends…. I leave you with a picture of Ali’s costume this year.. along with her friends. They are the Rugrats.. form the popular 90’s cartoon… Ali made the costumes last night. I am so proud of her.. not only for wanting to be a cartoon character , but for being as creative as she was….

and lastly…. my most fav Halloween ever…..I remember it like it was yesterday…. Ryan and I painted his costume in the fornt yard and making Ali’s costume was so much fun. I’ve never been one for a pre bought costume… making them was almost as fun as the actual trick or treating 🙂

this is my last Halloween that I will be sending trick or treaters out into the world to fetch some good candy for their dad 😉 It’s quite bittersweet.

so happy halloween, my friends… be careful out there… those little witches and munchkins are very excited 🙂

xooxoxox

Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Food?

October 29, 2012 Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized

Test post

October 29, 2012 2 Comments

.

Hiya!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

service.. with a smile?

October 23, 2012 4 Comments

It has come to my attention that I have actually been missed.

This makes me happy to feel so loved 🙂  Life is a bit of a whirlwind right now and support, wherever I can get it, is greatly appreciated.

I want to point out that I’ve been doing a lot of ‘behind the scenes’ stuff here at barefootgirl….   I’m liking the way the blog is looking, but the ‘inside the computer confusing internet stuff’ has me more than confuzzled.

let me try to explain. Picture that you are at a food truck and have a sandwich.. a really GREAT looking sandwich. But it really doesn’t taste good.  I mean, you want it to taste good, but really, it looks much better than the taste.

kind of a let down… ya think?

But over at the next food truck… the sandwich doesn’t LOOK quite as nice… I mean, it looks pretty good, but not mouth watering to look at.  But when you taste it.. OH MY GOD when you taste it… it is out of this world!

But there is more! You can add all sorts of toppings to it… side dishes.. pickles… chips… salads… dessert.. the possibilities are endless! 

It takes someone to take the chance and try it to see that it is that good.

Have I lost you? so sorry…

Back in high school, one of my best friends and I used to sometimes treat ourselves to one of the deliscious lookig brownies covered with frosting.  They looked yummy.

and it was a great experience.

Until 30 minutes later, when your stomach realized what you had put in there and immediately hated you and let you know just how horrid it actually was.  We used to say the brownie had ‘ landed’… we nicknamed them ‘ landing squares’…. because once they hit your stomach.. it was all over.

where the heck was I going with this?? oh . yeah.

I like the blog the way that it is…. but there is so much more that I want to be able to do with it. This is more than just a blog to me…  this is me  sharing.. and extension of myself.. my life.

and my life is getting crazier by the day and I want to share so much… I am always learning and love to share things with  you.. my friends 😉

So even though I have not been posting, I have been setting up my food truck.. and although a nice looking truck with ok food is the norm… I’m not normal.  at. all.

I’m working really hard on an Ok looking truck with tons of sides and knock your socks off flavor:)

maybe I should just stick to soup instead?

fun posts coming soon… I promise.. I have tons of pictures and recipes for you.. and one really fun home made giveaway….  If I can just get the engine in my truck all souped up…

oxoxooxox  thanks for standing by me 🙂

shel

Filed Under: random, Uncategorized

Ethiopian spiced coconut-tofu

October 15, 2012 9 Comments

When I was a young girl, I used to pray nightly for the children in Ethiopia

Truth is…. I had no idea where Ethiopia was, nor why I prayed for them.. But somewhere along the line I heard that they needed help and so each and every night right before I’d fall asleep, I’d ask God to do so. ( I also prayed for the children in Cambodia and the hostages in Iran — I remember Easter morning watching the tv waiting for my grandparents to arrive ,watching some of the hostages being released… And crying thinking that prayers are sometimes answered)

Ok… I’ve never told anyone that story. And yet I just shared it with the world 🙂

I haven’t thought of Ethiopia in a very long time.. Then last week , I bought an ‘Ethiopian ‘ blend coffee..

And I’ve seen Ethiopian restaurants ( not that I’ve tried any..) must-change-this

And when I was in Denverat a yummy sandwich shop (ironically where I bumped into Scott with his co-workers) I saw an Ethiopian spice blend .. And despite the 10 dollar price tag.. I bought it.

I’m-so-glad-that-I-did

Everyone say hi to my blankie… I’m writing this 38,000 ft in the air 🙂

It is a mixture of
Fenugreek
Cardamom
Cloves
Paprika
Cinnamon
Cayenne pepper
Chili powder

Near as I can tell it was equal parts of everything except for them paprika and chili powder. Those packets had a little more than twice as much. (Maybe 2 teaspoons of everything and a tablespoon of the paprika and chili powder

I simply mixed it all together then stored it in a jar .

So while I was putting my laundry away yesterday ( for the first time in 2 months— like tell me you’ve never done that)

I got hungry . And I remembered that I wanted to try this. And I remembered that I had half a block of pressed tofu to use . And I walked away from the laundry. And into the kitchen

Which by the way is why my laundry never gets put away… I can’t stay out of the kitchen.. *le sigh*

And in less than 10 minutes I had the MOST delicious little lunch.

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Ethiopian spiced coconut tofu

1 tablespoon spice mix

1/2 block pressed tofu ( I use a tofu press. If you eat tofu ..it’s the best investment you can make.. You’ll pay for it in saved paper towel money in under a month;)

1 tablespoon coconut oil ( this stuff rocks! It should be on your shopping list)

1/4 red onion, chopped

About 1/3-1/2 cup light coconut milk ( I like trader joes the best)

1/4 bunch cilantro , rinsed and chopped ** optional — see note below

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium high heat. Meanwhile cut tofu into cubes and toss it with spice mixture . Add to heated oil and let tofu crisp and get a light crust .. Turning occasionally . Add chopped onion and stir . Add 1/3 cup of coconut milk, and scrape up the bits from the pan

Once coconut milk is heated , stir in cilantro, transfer to serving dish and squeeze a wedge of lime on top.

You can thank me later …

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If you don’t eat tofu.. I’m sure this would be good with boneless chicken breast.. Just make sure your internal temp of the chicken ta-tas is 165 degrees before eating 🙂

** cilantro note… I’ve mentioned this before but I’m throwing it out there again.. Some folks don’t like cilantro .. They think it tastes like soap. And guess what? To them it DOES! It’s a chemical In Their bodies ( that is hereditary ) that makes cilantro taste like soap. ( or cat pee as a friend once told me, but I’m pretty sure she never tasted cat pee so I’m going with the soap 🙂

If you are one of these people.. Then I am sorry. Because cilantro is truly a wonderful herb.. But I ‘get’ it… Just sub out fresh parsley instead ( if you don’t like parsley, then I can’t help you today .. Check back tomorrow 🙂

And I just read the spice package and it was 7.99 not 9.99 ..

Don’t have those spices on hand? No worries.. I’ve got your back .. Did you know that in most health food stores you there is a section that you can buy herbs in bulk ??? It’s true! You can buy just a teaspoon of something by putting it in a Baggie with the code on the box:). It’s soo much cheaper than buying a whole bottle And you won’t end up with jars of unused spices..(which go bad fairly quickly. If you’ve had it for over a year.. There is dust mixed in.. Yuck. Unless of course you like dusty- soup )

Maybe I’ll try that some time..

Eh… Maybe not.

Honestly… as I end this post it has me thinking about how long it has been since I recited those particular prayers nightly.. life kind of happened and my prayers started to become more personal.. still are in fact .. when i think back to my innocence and how big my heart was despite how little I was.. it kind of makes me smile :).

and makes me want to shout out a silent prayer to the whole wide world 🙂

Gotta run… Snack time :).

(What us it about getting so excited for snack time on an airplane????)

Filed Under: Main dish, quick and easy Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Cooking in Colorado

October 8, 2012 5 Comments

yes. friends, I am here confessing to you.. I am in love with white beans.

it’s true. and on my recent trip to Denver I told you about a situation that I go myself into.

you see… I was able to use an entire kitchen to make dinner…except, other that appliances and cookware, I had zero food. I mean nada. zilch. less than nothing.

I did not even have salt or pepper 😦

We had stopped at the whole paycheck store the day before I decided to cook ( to buy apples and kombucha… I’m addicted to the booch.. Lord help me) when I saw a container of cooked white beans.

I kid you not when I tell you that I kept thinking about these beans.

I may have had a dream about them that night.

or not.

but probably.

like yes.. it’s true I dreamt about the dang beans

could I even MAKE this up?

So when Scott suggested that we cook in Sat night rather go out and deal with the crowds.. i was all over it.

Except that we were starting from scratch.

so I put my thinking cap on….. *psst… it’s pink 😉 *

I knew I had to have those white beans. I just had to ..

and white beans marry so well with greens. When I saw local spinach at the store, I knew I was onto something.. But Scott and Ali would want an additional protein… chicken thighs were on sale.. so I added that to the basket. and a lemon. I love lemons. Like maybe too much. I start most days with warm lemon water

I wanted fresh pasta, but at 8.99 a whack, I skipped it in favor of dried linguine.

and the smallest jar of oil that i could find.. which happened to be truffle flavored.. which is ok.. I was going to make it work.

and some light cream.. to round the dish out. and finally, frozen peas.

and since this is how I cook…. ( all willy- nilly, most of the time sans- recipe ) I give you

ingredient-challenged barefootgirl cooks in another kitchen white beans & greens with pan seared chicken thighs in a lemon garlic cream sauce sprinkled with peas.

my fingers just hurt even typing that..

so grocery list…….

cooked white beans

garlic cloves ( 3)

bunch of fresh spinach

a lemon

small jar of oil ( truffle in our case, but any heart healthy oil will do)

chicken thighs ( skinless)

light cream

dried pasta

parmesan cheese shreds

frozen peas

*pick up chicken stock. I’ll explain in a bit*

( I was hoping to find salt and pepper packets so that I didn’t need to buy salt and pepper to then have to throw out, but the register lady ( my hopefully someday job) told me to go to the salad bar and sprinkle s&p into a salad dressing container.

pure.

genius.

I started by draining & rinsing the beans and heating a saute pan with a bit of the oil… adding the beans, season them with salt and pepper, adding 1/ the chopped garlic and smashing a few of the beans.

I then added the rinsed spinach right on top

( don’t worry about the extra water on the spinach, it will help the steaming process).. add the spinach directly on top, cover immediately and remove from heat.

don’t peek.. you sneaky- peeker- you…

next. add oil to another saute pan, season thighs with genius salt and pepper and place thighs in pan, allowing them to brown.

Once browned on one side, using tongs.( not to self and all of you… oxo makes the BEST tongs. I unfortunately did not have those there.. I will be changing that very soon ) anyway.. using the tongs. flip the thighs over and allow to brown on the other side. add the remaining garlic and then I added the cream.

* now here is where I would make a change.. I would use chicken stock here instead, and add the cream at the very end. the cream started to curdle a bit.. it was still really good, but if you use chicken stock now to cook the chicken in.. you will be happy 😉 *

cover the chicken and allow to simmer until chicken is fully cooked.

this is an excellent time to cook the pasta in boiled salted water 🙂

add frozen peas once chicken is cooked.. allow peas to just heat through.

next remove the lid from the bean mixture

isn’t it pretty 🙂

and if you are feeling like it’s a wild and crazy night since you are in another city, mix in a bit of cream

and a squeeze of lemon juice. and just to take it over-the-top

some parm cheese

this.. was my dinner….

and this was theirs..

I topped each with a squeeze of lemon for freshness..

yum 🙂

now when all was said and done.. I added the leftovers to one pot ( cutting up the pasta) and made the base of a soup… all that you would need to do is add a bit of chicken broth and heat for a quick weeknight soup 🙂

going out in the city is nice, but every once in awhile, it is nice to just stay in and enjoy the view and the cooking…. and that is how this family spent our Saturday night. And not one of us would have changed it 🙂

enjoy this recipe.. now that I’m done typing, My tummy is rumbly and I’m on the hunt for the ingredients to make it again..

caio friends 🙂

psst.. if you haven’t read it on facebook.. congrats to Lynn on winning the hand knit socks! remember, mom is offering free shipping on any of her items for the month of Oct with 100% of her proceeds going to ward breast cancer research… thank you to all who have taken advantage of this.. I guarantee you… her fingerless gloves are the best!

oxoxo~shel

Filed Under: Dinner Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

crock pot potato cheese soup

October 4, 2012 4 Comments

it’s FALL here in the Northeast.. which of course you already know that I LOVE !!!!! 

one of the many things ( # 19 on that list to be exact) is SOUP!!

this here, my friends is the easiest soup that you will ever make. And it rivals Panera’s. I promise.

I pinky promise 🙂

Crock pot Potato Soup

you will need

1~ a bag of frozen hash browns ( $2)

2~ a package of Mccormick country gravy mix ( near the spices) ( $1.50)

3~ a box o stock ( $2) ( for vegetarian, use veg stock)

4~ shredded cheddar ( $2) ( optional)

place all ingredients except cheese in a crock pot on low for 6 hours… stir in cheese during last 1/2 hour

OR place all ingredients except cheese in a stock pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are soft.. stir in cheese at the end until melted.

you can keep it as is.. and have it chunky ( yum) or you can use an immersion blender and blend until smooth..

season with salt & pepper.. voila! an awesome autumn soup 🙂

you could get all crazy and add broccoli.. or bacon… or asparagus…. use your imagination! get down with your bad self!

For those of you who are campers ( you know who you are 😉 ) this is a perfect dinner to whip up at the campground !

and the grand total..

$4.50 for the whole pot without cheese ( cheaper than a bowl of soup at Panera)

or $ 6.50 with the cheese ( go for the cheese 😉 it makes me happy 🙂 🙂 🙂

thanks to my hoski friends for allowing me to share this recipe 🙂

and remember.. there is still time to register to win a pair of Mom’s hand knit SOCKS

oxooxoxox

Filed Under: Soup Tagged With: , , , , ,

being rich *giveaway*

October 3, 2012 25 Comments

 friends, I have a story to share ( I know big surprise. ) you see, I like to talk, and my pup , Fenway can only listen to me for so long, so I’m chatting with you !

You may know that in my past life I was a cosmetologist. I worked in the same building for over 20 years. ( the ownership changed 3 times, but like the bathroom, I always stayed… I was a fixture there)

Over the years , I made a lot of friends, both co workers and clients.  To this day i am still friends with so many people who I met there.  I am actually still friends with 2 girls that I gave their first day of school kindergarten haircuts to! They are both married with children now.. ghheese…. I sound old when I say that..

Anyhoo… I was kind of an amazing nail tech back in the day. And what happens when you ‘do nails?’  you sit across from someone, hold their hand, and talk for an hour… it doesn’t get more intimate than that… you really get to know someone.

Like Mrs. m.

Mrs. m was a hot ticket.  She had an ‘air’ about her that turned some off, but I just loved her. She said it like it was.. like it or not.

Mrs.m and her husband had a very nice house in an upscale neighborhood in the outskirts on NYC. They also summered on the Cape. ( where I met her)..

After a few years, they sold their NYC house , put everything in storage and starting renting a place in Sedona for the winter.

They talked about buying a place out  in AZ.  They spent the summer talking about what they wanted  and they disagreed ( c’mon friends, they  are married!) 

Mr. m was still traveling for business a lot during this time period..

So the fall came, and they headed to AZ to what she thought was a meeting with a realtor. Turns out, it was a closing. He had bought the house that he liked without her.

She was furious. She stood up, walked out of the room and caught the next flight back to Boston.

About a month later , when she came in to see me at the salon, she had her car FULL of all of her kitchen items. She had her kitchen storage locker delivered to the cape and gave it ALL to me.

Now picture.. I am newly married with just the basics… she gave me a kitchenaid mixer, matching food processor, blender, ice cream maker, entire set of pots and pans, serving dishes.EVERYTHING

I was in Heaven 🙂

She was so furious with Mr. m that she told me that he was going to buy her all new kitchen items once they resolved the AZ. issues.

So one day, we are facing each other, I’m about to paint her nails with OPI ‘ Chicago Champagne Toast’ ( yes, I still remember this, I pay extreme attention to detail… and this was her color)

She looked into my eyes and said ” what makes you rich?”

Now I was confused, because I was anything BUT rich… Scott was still in school and we lived off of my paycheck.. And the tips that I made paid for groceries for the 3 of us)

She then said, ” picture that you could have anything that you want..it’s not as cool as you’d think. Now think about that one thing that just makes you happy. that you feel happy just because you have it and you want to surround yourself with it..it’s the thing that makes you rich”

her thing? was kitchen clips. She could have had anything that she wanted, but kitchen clips made her rich.

So that got me to thinking…  what makes me ‘rich’

the answer?

socks.

I

puffy heart

socks.

And they don;t even need to match :).. A few years ago my mom knit socks for everyone for Christmas.  When we opened them, we all had mismatched socks. She had wanted us to search out which family member had our matching sock.

here’s the thing.. we all liked that they were miss matched and that she had done it that way .. we kept our socks that we had opened

so the following year she gave us these for Christmas

I KNOW!  how cool are these????

I love love love the fingerless gloves!!!!  everyone say hi to Fenway pup 🙂

then earlier this year she made me these…

YOGA socks!

( sorry about my crazy legs & feet 🙂

so there you have it. Mrs. m was a very  wealthy woman, but it was a $5 item that made her rich.

now, because I puffy heart all of my wonderful friends.. I have a surprise for you….

Look what mom made Just for one of you!!!!!!

there are many ways to enter…

1~ like seabreeze designs~ cape cod socks on Facebook

2~ Leave a comment on the blog telling me what makes YOU rich

3~ Share a barefootgirlinthekitchen on Facebook

4~ refer a friend to barefootgirlinthekitchen

5~ ‘Like barefootgirlinthekitchen on facebook ( if you havent’ already)

6~ sign up for new posts via email

7~ pin a barefootgirl recipe or post to pinterest

now… I found this really cool way to host a giveaway ( please forgive my newbie-ness) but I cannot install it here on this blog until I learn how to speak a foreign computer language… It’s just not working for me… so to enter the contest, head over to  hand knit socks by mom giveawayand check off all that applies to you 🙂 ( but remember to tell me what makes you rich.. I really want to know.. and it just might help me with my Christmas shopping 😉

***Don’t forget that after you comment to head over HERE ( click on the word here) to officially enter :).. sorry about the confusion… hopefully someday I can have that directly on the blog….***

Mom is also offering an October special…  All of the proceeds from everything that she knits goes toward our big 40 mile breast cancer walk in May.  So for the month of October she is offering free shipping on any item !! With all proceeds going toward finding a cure for breast cancer

check out her stuff.. she makes the most amazing fingerless gloves ( perfect for texting , and driving, but never texting and driving at the same time, because that is very very bad)

She had tons of stuff that she has already made, and she is more than happy to take custom orders… think ahead to the Holidays, these are all perfect gifts 🙂

This post has taken me forever to type… I need an internet fairy to come help me with the behind the scenes part of the blog….

*waves my magic wand*

xooxox

and good luck!

ps…..   HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD !!!! oxoxox

Filed Under: giveaway, goofy, Knits Tagged With: , , ,
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