Baked Salmon and Carmelized Figs

My husband and I choose to buy all of our local meat from a farm where we know the farmers and can see how the animals are raised. When we moved, we knew we were leaving behind our beloved Springfield Farm and decided it was worth the drive if we couldn't find another place to go. We asked around and checked out Local Harvest before we found an amazing local organic farm called Rumbleway.  This place is a new favorite as we have quickly become regulars! The best part is last time I went to the farm they had Salmon- I am not a huge fish lover (yet) but decided it was something we had to try. 

For dinner we grabbed some veggies from the frig (cherry tomatoes from our CSA and asparagus), lined a tray with parchment paper, cut some fresh basil and topped with olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. We rolled the parchment paper into a pouch a baked at 400 degrees for 15+ mins (time varies depending on thickness of the Salmon).

It turned out perfect and we had easy clean up too!

After dinner I laid down reading the latest copy of Whole Living Magazine and as soon as I read the new fig yogurt recipe I jumped up and ran outside. My little brother gave us a mission fig tree as a housewarming gift and I saw a few ripe ones on the tree this morning. I picked two and was back in the kitchen to make a 5 minute dessert that was heavenly.

Cut figs in half. Heat pan to medium, add a TB of honey and place figs cut side down. Wait 5 mins until they caramelize.

In the meantime pour yogurt in a bowl, top with a drizzle of honey, cinnamon and we opted for sliced almonds (you could also use pistachios or walnuts). Then add the cooked figs. That's it!! 

What are your favorite healthy meals?

Sneak peak of my new pantry!

As you all know I moved from a tiny little row home in the city where storage was hard to come by. The cartoon above depicts how tiny our little make shift "pantry" was..... actually it was a storage closet to hide the switch box. So, as a girl who loves cooking I dreamed big of and organized pantry.

In preparation for the move (ok this may have been a year before we even sold our house) I used a gift card and bought all these cool glass jars from Crate & Barrel and broke out my label maker- Best Saturday Night Ever!  Then they were shoved and stacked back into our tiny little pantry just waiting for their own space one day.

Forgive the primed cabinet (we are painting them all) but here is our cool corner cabinet we are using to house our spices and liquids.

Cabinet Must Haves-

• Natural Peanut Butter
• Braggs Liquid Aminos
• Raw Honey
• Nutritional Yeast (gives dishes a "cheesy" flavor)
• Coconut Oil
• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Sea Salt

Here is a close up of our tiny little jars- I love it!

Any here is our pantry- each jar has its own space and according to my dad it looks like a "damn health food store" (that just may be the best compliment to date, or at least I am taking it as a compliment... haha!)

We have all our grains, nuts, seeds, dried fruits and flours ready to be used to create a delicious meal.

Pantry Must Haves-

• farro- perfect for any warm breakfast
• buckwheat groats- perfect for muffins or vegan overnights 
• oatmeal
• almonds
• walnuts
• raisins
• chia seeds- perfect to add to yogurt, soups, oatmeal, salads etc.
• hemp granola- perfect topping for my acai bowls
• wheatberries - one of my favorites to mix with roasted or fresh veggies
• quinoa
• chickpeas- I add these to everything
• dates- cut in half with a little sea salt and a pecan pressed inside (its like salted turtle)
• cacao- great to make impromptu hot coco or flavor a pudding or smoothie
• tuna fish
• ground flax
• steel cut oats- love these!
• lentils
• goji berries
• mulberries
• brown rice
• whole wheat flour
• cane sugar

Kitchen before and after pictures coming soon!! :) 

Grilled Vegetable Salad

After a long day of painting and yard work, I came inside hungry and with no plans for dinner. Here is an amazing salad that I quickly made, using whatever I could find in the frig. Whats perfect about this meal is you can use any produce or even top with a whole grain ( like quinoa or wheat berries) or a lean protein (chick peas, chicken, hard boiled eggs etc).

Ingredients:
Romaine lettuce (chopped)
Grilled corn (cut off the cobb)
Grilled zucchini (diced)
Grilled carrots (diced)
Sauteed avocado- this turned out great! Just a little EVOO and sea salt cooked on med heat
Feta cheese
Annie's Organic Balsamic Vinaigrette