Chickpea Sliders and bulghur salad ... mmmmmm

A couple more Cooking Light recipes I test drove last week included delicious mini chickpea sliders and a lemony bulghur salad...any substitutions I tried are noted next to the original recipe

Chickpea Sliders...

Serve each burger on a whole-grain slider bun or we used mini pita bread with lettuce, crisp radish slices, roasted red bell pepper, and canola-based mayonnaise. Two burgers per person!

Yield: 3 servings (serving size: 2 patties)
Ingredients

* 1 (8-ounce) red potato
* 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
* 1 teaspoon minced garlic
* 1 (15.5-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed, drained, and divided
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley - I used OREGANO
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon grated lemon rind
* 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

Preparation

1. Place potato in a saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 20 minutes or until very tender. Drain. Cool slightly. Coarsely chop, and place in medium bowl. Add 1 tablespoon oil and garlic to bowl; mash potato mixture with a potato masher until slightly chunky. Remove 3 tablespoons chickpeas; place in a small bowl. Add remaining chickpeas to potato mixture; mash until well blended. Stir in remaining 3 tablespoons whole chickpeas, parsley, and remaining ingredients. With moistened hands, divide mixture into 6 equal portions (about 1/3 cup mixture per portion), shaping each into a 3-inch patty.

2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 patties to pan; reduce heat to medium, and cook 4 minutes or until bottoms are golden. Carefully turn patties over; cook 3 minutes or until bottoms are golden and patties are set. Repeat procedure with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and 3 patties.

Bulgur with dried carnberries



Serve this lemony bulgur—an American interpretation of Middle Eastern tabbouleh—instead of the more familiar and expected stuffing.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Ingredients

* 1 cup coarse-ground bulgur
* 2 cups (1/4-inch) cubed peeled English cucumber
* 1 cup dried cranberries
* 1/3 cup thinly sliced green onion
* 1 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley - I used 1 large bunch - can't get enough fresh parsley!
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
* 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
* 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil - I used less than 1/4c
* 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
* 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Place bulgur in a large bowl; cover with 2 cups boiling water. Cover; let stand 30 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Fluff with a fork. Add cucumber and remaining ingredients; toss gently to combine.

both were a huge hit!

Fishy fun...

just listed some new recycled wool sweater softies! Fish Pillows!! made from wool sweaters and dupioni silk - one of a kind creations....add some color and cheer to your winter days.

Available at gock's frocks on etsy!






and a custom top for spring!

Some Customer Appreciation....

I wanted to take a post to thank my fabulous customers without whom there would be no gock's frocks! I love getting photos from you so please... send them my way and you too may find yourself gracing my blog!


this little Tula Pink skirt went all the way to Eastern Europe!


matching doll dress!


coordinating cousins!




the little girls can't have all the fun! Happy customers of my womens yoga waist skirts!




sweet Eden who has been a customer since her 1st birthday!

What is a Quinzhee you ask.....

well, I will let my 7 year old answer that!



he built his very own show hut or quinzhee while home on february vacation! I know how I am taking with me in the winter wilderness!!



we have also been busy ski racing and training with our regular season wrapping up this Sunday


my 12 yo racing a giant slalom race


my 7yo skiing a slalom race


my 10yo skiing a slalom race

and while the kids were busy skiing I undertook my first successful quilted project - no wavy edges!



I made this little table topper for my husband for valentines day - I thought it was time he had his own gock's frocks!

I used mostly scraps from previous projects and realized I have quite a few scraps still so I am offering them by the pound at Betty's Closet on etsy



pop over and pick some up for your next project!

Another Dinner Hit!

I am feeling pretty good here - 2 for 2! Last night I tried another Cooking Light recipe and LOVED it! My changes to the recipe are noted on teh side - if you become a frequent visitor to my blog you will come to realize I almost NEVER follow a recipe exactly nor do I measure spices with a measuring spoon - more of an educated eye to the amount!

So, without further ado, may I present Chicken & Sweet Potato Curry!




Ingredients

* 2 teaspoons curry powder
* 1 teaspoon ground coriander
* 1 teaspoon ground turmeric *** I did not have tumeric so I upped the curry
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
* 1 1/2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
* 1 1/2 cups vertically sliced onion
* 1 1/2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger *** or more if you like ginger!
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth *** used 2/3 of a lg can
* 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained *** used crushed and 28oz
* 2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled sweet potato
* 3/4 cup canned chickpeas, rinsed and drained
* 1/2 cup frozen green peas *** ommitted - not a pea fan
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Preparation

1. Combine curry powder, coriander, turmeric, salt, black pepper, red pepper, and bay leaf in a small bowl.

2. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken to pan; sauté 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove chicken from pan. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to pan; cook 10 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently. Increase heat to medium-high; return chicken to pan. Cook 1 minute, stirring occasionally. Stir in ginger and garlic; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add curry powder mixture; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add broth and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 1 hour. Stir in potato and chickpeas. Cook, uncovered, 30 minutes. Add peas; cook 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice. Discard bay leaf.

If you are veg - try adding more chick peas, onion maybe some spinach in lieu of the chicken.

We garnished with Major Grey Mango Chutney and practically licked our bowls clean!

My Love/Hate Affair with Cooking Light....

I have always loved the healthy recipes from Cooking Light but never liked the layout of the magazine. I would give it a try for a few issues but then the jumble of recipes and lack of photos inevitably turned me off and I would abandon the magazine...

so you can imagine my delight when some design and editorial changes were made at the magazine and it became visually more appealing - cleaner layout, photos for the recipes etc.... I decided to give it another go and have been very pleased. It has helped me with my new resolution to plan meals and make them healthy!

Last night I tried Dan Dan Noodles from the Nov 09 issue and it received a 5 out of 5 from my gang! Give it a try and let me know what you think... I am giving the recipe as it appeared in the magazine and indicating the changes I made...




Ingredients

* 1 pound frozen fresh wide Chinese egg noodles, thawed (I used Chinese RICE Noodles as that was what I had on hand)
* 2 tablespoons canola oil
* 1/3 cup dry-roasted peanuts
* 3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
* 1 tablespoon sambal oelek (ground fresh chile paste) (subbed red hot pepper flakes)
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 2 garlic cloves
* 1 (1/2-inch) piece fresh ginger, peeled (used closer to 1 inch)
* 8 ounces lean ground pork (used 99% ff ground turkey)
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 3/4 cup thinly diagonally sliced green onions
* 1 1/4 cups chopped seeded peeled cucumber
* 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (more like 1/2 c - I love cilantro!)

Preparation

1. Cook noodles in 6 quarts boiling water for 3 minutes. Drain in a colander over a bowl, reserving 3/4 cup cooking liquid. Place noodles in a large bowl.

2. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add peanuts to pan; sauté 2 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from heat; cool slightly. Combine peanut mixture, soy sauce, and next 4 ingredients (through ginger) in a mini chopper; process until finely ground.

3. Cook pork and salt in skillet over medium-high heat 8 minutes or until done, stirring to crumble. Add peanut mixture and 3/4 cup cooking liquid to pork; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add pork mixture, juice, and onions to noodles; toss well. Place about 1 3/4 cup noodle mixture in each of 4 bowls; top each serving with 5 tablespoons cucumber and 1 tablespoon cilantro.

this could be good if you marinate the cucumber in some rice wine vinegar and sugar for a few hours before adding to the noodles!

Enjoy!

I have a confession ...

or maybe I should say obsession! I am in love with Ariat boots! I treated myself to a pair about a year and a half ago and wear them all the time. Over the holidays I spotted some new styles on sale and scooped them up ... now these are taunting me!

"buy me, buy me, buy me!"

Do shoes ever talk to you? What is your favorite place for online shoe shopping? Can I tempt you with these???





just google ariat and you will find some great sites selling them - some of my favorite include onlineshoes.com and this site endless shoes & handbags seems to have some good sales too.

A decade ... 10 years

we were just on the cusp of a new century - Y2K had passed by, who would have the first baby of the new millenium? I had a chance... I was due Jan 14th .... 2 weeks early and she could have been the first....but no, she decided to wait 10 more days and make her debut on her uncle's birthday!

It is so hard to believe that she is 10 .. I remember turning ten and thinking it was so cool I could say I was a decade old!

Happy Birthday to my sweetest Eily ... you bring sunshine into my life everyday with your love, compassion and caring for all around you!



we celebrated with a sleepover - 10 10 year old girls! amazingly enough asleep by 12:10!



we made each girl a pillowcase as part of their party favor...



eily is not a fan of frosting so her favorite cake is a tower of rice krispie treats! Regular, cocoa and fruity pebbles!


paper flowers for decoration


and ne handsome older brother headed off to his first bar mitzvah!

Be My Funky Valentine....

I have turned over the photo styling to Eily - she has such a fun fresh eye towards fashion I always love to see what she puts together...

I decided to breakout my valentines day stash of fabrics and put together a ready to ship collection ... styling by Eily! These are available in my etsy shop











some of these goodies will be given away later this week on a couple of my etsy team blogs... the etsy treasury team blog as well as the blog for the RNEST

Cool Runnings ....

with the winter olympics on the horizon we thought it would be fun to rent the old movie Cool Runnings about the Jamacian bobsled team



it was a huge hit with our little guy Leo... after the movie finished, he quietly disappeared for a bit...

you know what that means when they are little ... they are up to something! And even though he has hit the ripe old age of 7, he was still up to something!

Leo, king of creations at our house, had tracked down a cardboard box, some packing tape and tin foil and set about making his own bobsled!



his sister got in on the act and helped him decorate it with sharpies!

with sled in hand, Leo donned his ski race suit & helmet and headed for the course (otherwise known as the hill in the backyard)







a few steering issues needed to be fixed!



all in all Leo declared it to be a victory!... note the packing tape covering the bottom of the sled to make it slip over the snow better! this boy has great design ideas ...



watch our winter olympics - Leo is in training!

New Goodies on Etsy....

Now that my shows have wrapped up I have begum listing some of my show inventory in my etsy shop - these are all ready to ship and priced lower than my custom designs...

Have fun taking a peek...









valentines goodies coming soon!

Be careful ....
it's addicting

46 words

Typing Test

Rotten Bananas ......

does this happen at your house??

we go through the banana cycle .... it starts with everyone loving bananas. So much so that I buy bunch after bunch at the store only to have them gobbled up the minute they ripen or even with a tinge of green!

then the winds of change blow through - or maybe it is a secret banana boycott organized behind my back to get me to make banana bread.

Not sure ... but I do know that this is the result!



ugh!

so I decided it was time for banana bread - or rather banana muffins. A little easier to grab and go.

Of course I can never remember which recipe I used last, so I hunted through my cookbooks until I came upon Muffin Madness in the Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home Cookbook and pulled out my trusty purple kitchen-aid!



This is a great recipe because it gives you directions for a tasty muffin base that you can flavor in different ways.

-- Basic Wet Ingredients --
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 - 1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

-- Basic Dry Ingredients --
2 cup unbleached flour (I use whole wheat)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Choose one of the following combos to add to basic ingredients (the above is NOT a plain muffin recipe, but the base for the following)

Apple muffins: Add 2 cups of grated apple and 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel to wet ingredients and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon to dry ingredients.

Banana muffins: Add 1 1/2 cups of mashed banana to wet ingredients and 1 cup chopped nuts and/or 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to batter. (this can be adjusted to personal preference - we like fewer nuts and use mini-chips)

Blueberry - lemon muffins: Add 1 1/2 cups of blueberries and 1 tablespoon of grated lemon peel to wet ingredients.

Zucchini muffins: Add 2 cups of grated zucchini to wet ingredients and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom to the dry ingredients. Fold in 1/2 cup of raisins or currants and 3/4 cup of chopped nuts to batter.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine wet ingredients, combine dry ingredients. Add two mixtures together and take care not to overmix. Spoon batter into oiled standard muffins tins and bake for 20-25 minutes standard size muffins or 10-15 minutes for mini muffins

the result was so yummy I made 3 batches in 2 days... and yep, I used up all of those black bananas !