What I Eat - Day Thirty-Seven

Sorry for the delay in this week's post, I've gone on vacation!!!!  My next post will be on Wednesday, September 4th.   I'm looking forward to posting (and eating) lots of great food in the fall, along with continuing to briefly address topics like:
-genetically modified foods
-ideal oils to use for any cooking situation
-eating seasonally
Do you have a question you'd like me to answer or would you like to be a 'guest chef'?  Contact me at [email protected].   Stay tuned!

Breakfast - Sweet Potato/Beet Hash

Ingredients:
-beets (boiled to soften, skins removed by just pressing enough they slide off, and cut into chunks)
-sweet potatoes (peeled, cut into chunks)
-red skinned potatoes (skin left on, cut into chucks)
-black beans (cooked in a slow-cooker overnight with a stick of cinnamon)
-dried parsley
Combined in a ceramic frying pan and warmed through.

Lunch - Piebird Picnic Garden Concert!

I decided it would be fun to feature what I ate at the picnic, including:
-plentils crunchy lentil chips 
-sliced pickled beets
-olives (the jar hidden behind the beets)
-sliced cucumber
-hummus (store bought, a number of them are marked gluten free now)
-fava bean dip (I put fried onions, 2 tsp. cumin powder, and fava beans [cooked from scratch] into a food processor with a few tablespoons of water).  I was surprised by how delicious this turned out, it was quite popular at the picnic. 

Dinner - Pesto and Garden-Fresh Vegetables

The zucchinis came from my Field Good Farms CSA, the green beans came from my parents' garden, and the organic butternut squash came from the grocery store.  I steamed the green beans over a stainless steel steamer basket, removed them, and then steamed the zucchini.  I saved the steaming liquid for smoothies (it is very helpful for producing an acid/alkaline balance in the body). I cut the squash in half, removed the skin with a sharp knife, cut it into chunks, and cooked it in my cast iron dutch oven with a bit of water and oil. 

Pesto Ingredients (mixed up in the attachment to my immersion blender, pictured above)
-one large bunch of basil (also from my CSA basket), leaves removed and rinsed
-one cup of raw sunflower seeds
-two small cloves of garlic
-1/2 cup of oil