Warm Up To Melanie

I realized a moment ago as I curled up with one of my favorite comforting hot beverages on this snowy night, that I cannot keep this secret to myself. I must go now and blog this simple cozy recipe. Now!

Here is how you make a Melanie.

Warm raw milk on the stove just enough that it is pleasurable to drink. Be careful not to get it too hot and pasteurize it! (Gosh I wish I could see people's faces when they read that :) If it's boiling, you've gone too far.

Pour into your favorite mug and add a drop of pure organic vanilla. As you stir be sure to take in that soothing aroma. The smell alone is almost as comforting as being wrapped in the quilt my grandmother made for me. Almost.

This warm creamy beverage was named by my myself and my old best friend, Carly in Junior High after a beloved character from our favorite movie at the time. The character was genuinely sweet, not too sweet mind you, reliable, comforting, and nourishing. Okay, I must tell you that is was Melanie Hamilton from Gone With The Wind. Cheesy, isn't it? None the less, you will love it!

Pork Steak with Green Onions

From our kitchen:

Pork Steaks with Green Onions

3-4 Pork Steaks (our came from truefields.com)
1/4 cup farm fresh or homemade butter
1/4 cup organic soy sauce
1 bunch green onions (organic of course!)
2 garlic cloves

Melt butter in skillet and brown onions and garlic slightly. Add soy sauce and steaks. Cover and cook 8-10 minutes on each side and then another 10 minutes with the lid off.

I served this with pineapple chutney and a red cabbage recipe from Nourishing Traditions. Each item complemented the others well. A friend of mine mentioned on her blog that she has trouble coming up with side dishes that are not carbs. This red cabbage recipe is one of my favorites and I do not normally like cabbage. And a s a bonus, it's and an easy and cheap recipe! Seriously, buy the cookbook. I promise I do not have a financial relationship with them. It's just that good.

Cleaning the Refrigerator for Lunch

In a rush and on my way out the door for work the other day I realized I needed something for lunch. I rummaged the fridge and found several fresh ingredients to throw together for a salad.

Mixed greens

Fresh spinach

Blackberries picked the previous day at a local farm

Crispy pecans

Feta fresh from the dairy

Cinnamon salad dressing leftover from the salad made the night before

Oh my, let me tell you how awesome the cinnamon salad dressing tasted with the juicy blackberries, salty feta, and nutty pecans! I could eat this all summer.

Pick your own blackberries and blueberries at Martin's Berry Patch
4534 Farm Rd 968 West
Marshall, TX 75670
903-660-3283
Only $9.50 to fill a whole bucket!
They store easily by freezing flat on a cookie sheet and then once frozen place them in a freezer bag. Don't wash them before you freeze them. It toughens the skins.

Fresh from the farm feta

Texas Daily Harvest

A certified organic dairy and farm.

275 CR 1455

Yantis, TX 75497

903/975/1100

They have wonderful organic raw and pasteurized cheeses but the feta is by far my favorite. This farm has been featured in the Dallas Morning News and can be found at a few farmers markets in Dallas. The Granary in Longview and Tyler often carry their cheeses. If you don't see them, ask for them and they will order them for you.

This farm also offers butter, yogurt, produce, eggs, and fresh grains.

Talk about one top shopping!

For more information you can always email me or check out the link below.

http://www.localharvest.org/farms/M33172

The city may have Whole Foods but out here in the country we have access to the actual whole foods before the go to Whole Foods!

Country living is the Good Life.

Frizzled Egg Spinach Salad

A couple of weeks ago we had a magazine swap at our MOPS meeting. I hadn't read a Better Homes and Garden in years so I picked one up. My eyes rarely scan the recipe section in these types of magazines because the ingredient lists usually call for a variety of processed foods some of which even masquerade as health foods. Then I began monologuing to the magazine about what real food is. Good rarely comes from this.

But this time I was delightfully surprised to come across a fresh and delicious recipe. Frizzled Egg Spinach Salad (click for recipe) was a huge hit at our house. Don't let the sunny side up egg atop the salad scare you. Not only does breaking the yolk and letting it mix in with the dressing taste wonderful but the runny yolk is a gold mine of fat soluble vitamins and omega 3 fatty acids (if it is fresh from your local farm or backyard) some of which would be lost if the yolk was cooked until hard.

And speaking of the dressing, the mixture of cinnamon and cumin in AMAZING in combination with the egg, spinach, and mushrooms. This salad encompasses a full meal of multiple veggies, protein, carbs, and good fat. It is gluten free (as long as you guy gluten-free, nitrate-free bacon and dressing ingredients), soy free, and dairy free. But most importantly it's pleasurable.

Side note: we used nitrate free bacon, olive oil instead of canola, balsamic vinegar instead of raspberry (I did not have raspberry), a lot less honey than it called for, and pepper jelly instead of chipolte pepper sauce (again, it's what I had on hand).