The Elusive Introvert

Ukrainian Beet Salad I love beets, so a few months ago, when I saw a something called "buryachok" in the salad bar at a natural food co-op I shop at, I thought I'd give it a try. The store listed the ingredients which were beets, onions, garlic, mayo, sea salt, prunes and walnuts.  It tasted wonderful.  When I came home, I searched online for a recipe and have made it several times since using a compilation of various recipes.  This is how I make it: 6-7 medium beets (remove leaves, leaving about an inch of stem) 2 cloves garlic, finely minced 1/2 cup onion, minced 8 dried prunes, finely chopped (now also called dried plums) 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped 2-3 Tablespoons mayonnaise 1/2 teaspoon sea salt Freshly ground pepper to taste (I used about 6 grinds) Boil the beets until fork tender (approx 50 minutes depending on size).  When done, let them cool in a colander.   While the beets are boiling and then cooling, prep the garlic, onion, prunes...

I made this pie twice in one week - it was that good!  I used Trader Joe's ready-made pie crust found in the freezer section. I discovered this recipe on www.nutmegnanny.com . Enjoy! Cinnamon Buttermilk Pie: 4 eggs 2 tablespoons flour 1 cup white sugar 1/2 cup butter – melted 1 cup buttermilk 1 teaspoon vanilla paste 2 teaspoon cinnamon (you can add more if you want) Preheat oven 325 degrees Beat eggs slightly. Add sugar and flour. Then add melted butter and mix well. Next add buttermilk, vanilla paste and cinnamon. Pour into graham shell and cook until custard is set – approximately 1 hour. Graham Crust: 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs 1/3 cup white sugar 6 tablespoons butter – melted 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon Mix all together and press into 9 inch pie plate. Pre-bake the crust 15 minutes at 350 degrees. *If you like a firmer crust I would definitely recommend not doing a graham crust and instead using your favorite pie crust. Also, I m...

I haven't posted here as much as I thought I would. Not sure why - I guess it has to do mostly with work - I have so many thoughts going through my mind that I think would make interesting topics and then I don't set aside the time to post.  I need to manage that a little better! Take my friend, Brenda - I wonder if her ears were ringing today.  I was thinking about her.  A lot.  I mean, she's got a hubby and six kids (four are her own and two step daughters) and if she can find the time to take care of her family and herself and work full time, then I can certainly find the time to post some of my thoughts and recipes more often!  I don't have any kids; I just have a boyfriend and a cat. One of the things I've been thinking about lately is how certain words are overused.  Lately the words I hear all the time are AMAZING and ROCKS.  I was watching Property Brothers a few weeks ago and this lady kept saying "Oh...

Despite reading about the importance of maintaining a food journal, I figured I could just keep track in my head. Boy was I wrong!  I thought I was doing a pretty good job of approximating the number of calories I was consuming each day.  After all, food is my passion and I have a pretty good idea of calorie counts.  Over the years, my weight has slowly and steadily crept up, up, up to an all-new high. I brown-bag it during the work-week and prepare really good lunches: usually delicious salads, sometimes brown rice and steamed or lightly sauteed veggies and fruits and cut up veggies for snacks.  But still... even though I know better, when I'm at work I find myself munching on a couple of handfuls of pretzels, some chocolates, peanuts, etc. later in the afternoon.  Then, I go home and cook a large dinner.  It's just the two of us, but I like to prepare extra so BF can take leftovers to work....

Eat more veggies... check! Drink more green drinks/smoothies... check! Read more books... check! Walk outside more often... check! Start my own blog... CHECK!!!! I wanted to start a blog last year, but I had no idea how and never bothered to learn.  I still have no idea, but it's a new year replete with new resolutions and I'm off to a good start!  The Blogger program made it pretty easy so here I am.  I'm learning as I go.  I love food and trying new recipes, so I'll be posting some of my favorite recipes and favorite cookbooks here.  Since I'm interested in whole foods, health, juicing, macrobiotics and the raw food diet, I'll share some healthier recipes as well. Welcome!