Today is the launch of a revolutionary food website called Gojee and I’m am very honored to be apart of it as one of their writers! This isn’t you’re run of the mill recipe website. Gojee is a personalized recipe index curated just around what you have in your kitchen. In their words, their putting “the cat’s bananas back in cooking.” Here you will find unique, fresh and tempting recipes not just from anyone but from Gojee’s hand picked food writers like Ashley Rodriguez (notwithoutsalt.com), Jaden Hair (steamykitchen.com), Bobbi Bowers (freshandfoodie.com), Rachel Hutchings (lafujimama.com), Helene Dujardin (tarteletteblog.com), Chrystal and Amir (duodishes.com), Josh Stokes (grillachef.com), Food52.com and yours truley to just name a few.

Go check it out, personalize it to your cravings or what you have on hand and give it a whirl. Trust me, you will want to jump into it right away.

When I arrived home from a fantastic trip to San Francisco there was a brand new B0n Appétit sitting ever so patently in the mailbox. The unpacking would have to wait. Magazine reading always comes first, right? Ever since we left the airport I have been racking my brain to come up with new recipes based on the fresh seasonal foods I had on the west coast. With rhubarb season starting I was baffled about how to even attempt to use this fruit, vegetable, plant…uh, what is this red stalk thingy anyway? (upon further research I found it’s an ornamental vegetable for those of you who were wondering) And when I opened my favorite mag my questions were answered as there was a beautiful photo of a Rhubarb Fool from a previous issue. I immediately went to the store and grabbed me some rhubarb and got to cooking.

Can you believe I’ve never actually eaten a rhubarb! For some reason I was raised thinking they were poisonous and should only be eaten cooked down in a pie. Imagine how I freaked out when I turned around to see Mia, my two year, old chomping down on a stalk right out of the bag! I panicked, grabbed my phone to call poison control and then thought, why would they sell poisonous produce at the grocery store? My blonde moment slowly started to fade as I put down the phone and checked the Internet for a little research. Ok, so now I feel like an idiot. Rhubarb is not poisonous at all, just a little sour. Am I the only one who thought this? This is just going to have to go down in the “Blonde Moments of Meredith Book” right next to the chapter, “People don’t actually work underground changing the traffic signals, it’s done electronically.” Granted that chapter was written when I was young although I would rather not mention how old I was when I figured that one out.

This Rhubarb and Blackberry Yogurt Fool is a healthier adaption of the traditional Rhubarb Fool featured in Bon Appétit but just as delicious. A little tart but rightfully sweet this little treat disappeared fast and will be returning frequently in this house! If you are looking for a quick and easy way to use rhubarb for your family, try this today! This one is Mia approved.

Rhubarb and Blackberry Yogurt Fool serves 2
adapted from Bon Appétit April 1995

• 8 ounces fresh rhubarb stalks, trimmed, or 8 ounces frozen and thawed
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons orange juice
• 1/2 tsp orange zest
• 2 tablespoons Grand Marnier, optional
• 1/2 cup blackberries, organic if possible
• 1 cup low-fat plain Greek yogurt, organic if possible (for an even sweeter version use vanilla greek yogurt)

Cut rhubarb crosswise into 1/2-inch slices and place in a saucepan.

Add orange juice and zest.

Uh, yeah you don’t have to do this particular step but by all means if you want to suck the orange dry be my guest.

Add sugar to the rhubarb and juice.

Cook over medium-low heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Add blackberries and cook for 5 minutes or until the rhubarb has softened. Turn off heat.

Stir in the Grand Marnier. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until cold, about 15 minutes. NOTE: If you are making this for your children, add the Grand Marnier at the same time that you add the blackberries. This will give the alcohol enough time to cook out or you can leave it out all together.

To serve, add 1/4 cup of yogurt to the bottom of a cup or bowl. Top with 1/4 cup of rhubarb mixture and then place 1/4 cup yogurt on top of that. With a knife swirl yogurt and rhubarb together.

Serve and watch it disappear fast!

I can’t describe in words how good and fresh this is but maybe this picture can help you understand. Rhubarb = Awesomeness.

I love holidays! Come Halloween I become a nostalgic, sentimental, crazy woman pulling out all of the traditions I can and inviting everyone over that hasn’t had enough of my antics to celebrate. For me this means cooking. It’s the time that I fill my e-mails and feedburner with subscriptions to food blogs and drool all over my computer over the wonderful recipes out there. This Thanksgiving was no exception and I would like to share with you some of the recipes that I’ve stumbled upon recently that have inspired me, thrown me into the kitchen or I’ve bookmarked to cook up for Christmas.

Turkey Brine - The Pioneer Woman

Turkey Tamales with Guajillo Cranberry Mole – Homesick Texan

Sauteed Shredded Brussels Sprouts Evil Chef Mom

Maple Pumpkin Spice Pecans – Multiply Delicious

Green Beans with Brown Butter and Pepitas – Deliciously Organic

Wild Rice Dressing – Simply Recipes

Sausage & Cheese Pinwheels – Tickled Red

My Kind of Pie – Bakerella

Ginger Sandwich Cookies with Cinnamon Cream Filling – Sweet Pea’s Kitchen

Yum…. I am thankful for talented food bloggers.

Now back to my own kitchen to stir up some trouble. I still have leftover cranberries that are begging to be reduced down to a syrup for a little after dinner cocktail. *insert sneaky smile here*

Curried Sweet Potato Fries serves 4

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 Tbs vegetable oil
• 1 Tbs curry powder
• 1  Tbs brown sugar
• 1 tsp kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Cut sweet potatoes in 1/2 inch thick strips and place in a large bowl.
3. Pour oil over the sweet potato sticks and coat evenly.
4. Lay sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and be careful not to overcrowd.
5. Place in the oven for 20 to 30 minutes.
6. While those are cooking up, place the curry powder, brown sugar and salt in a small bowl and mix.
7. Once the fries are cooked return to the same large bowl.
8. Immediately sprinkle spice mixture over the fries and toss to coat.
9. Serve.

Drool!

Hope you enjoy this mouthwatering Colorado influenced meal. I now have to run and get back into the very messy kitchen remodel. Wish me luck and that I never have to see the plumber’s…well you know what they say, again.

Getting back to normal around here very slowly. Forgive me. Between unpacking, my child’s Elmo and raisin obsession, laundry, and waiting for the insurance adjuster to come evaluate the damage from last weeks small tornado that passed through here, I’ve been a little busy. If you’ve been keeping up with us lately, you will know we just returned from Colorado and that means we drove through New Mexico just in time for Hatch Chilie season. I LOVE this time of year because this is when I can say, “Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit, it’s fall!” {Thank You Kinky Fiedman for burning that line in my head. Side story explanation: Years ago The Husband was playing a show in honor of Texas legend, Kinky Friedman. When I went to introduce myself after the show Kinky shook my hand and said, “Well butter my butt and call me a biscuit, you are a pretty one.” Needless to say a blushed a little but now that phrase has stuck with me and it just slips out of head sometimes. Now back to the chilies}

Not only is it a sign of fall in the southwest it is somewhat of a holy foodie season in my opinion. To honor the hatch and to please the request of my husband I’m bringing back a post from the past. So old in fact, it is actually the first recipe post to appear here! Hatch Chilie Chicken and White Bean Stew. This time I used freshly roasted chilies and nothing compares to it’s greatness! If you love Hatch season as much as I, try this one out. You will not regret it.

Hatch Chili Chicken and White Bean Stew

• 3 cups of cooked and shredded chicken, preferably white and dark meat
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 4 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 cup Fresh Roasted Hatch Chilies or 2 cans Hatch Green Chilies, Chopped
• 1 pound Dried Great Northern Beans, Rinsed
• 9 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 whole Serrano pepper, chopped
• 1 cup Sweet Corn Kernels, Frozen or Fresh
• 2 Tablespoons Ground Cumin
• 1 Tablespoon Ancho Chili Powder, or any smoked chili powder
• Salt To Taste
• 1 cup warmed Whole Milk
• 2 Tablespoons Cornmeal or masa
• 1/4 cup Fresh Chopped Cilantro
• avocado, lime, sour cream, Monterrey jack cheese are all optional toppers

First of all, if you have fresh hatch chilies let’s talk about roasting. Ideally you want to roast these tasty green chilies over an open flame, blow torch, campfire, charcoal grill…you get the idea. Unfortunately, there is a hurricane of sorts outside I can not demonstrate this. So let’s just use the broiler.

For this recipe, take 8 to 9 fresh chilies and place on a baking sheet or roasting pan lined with foil, optional. Place in the oven on the top rack under the broiler. Set broiler on low.

Roast for 5 minutes or until the skin is blistered and practically burnt. Flip chilies and roast for another 5 to 10 minutes until once again the skin is blistered. Note: I’m using a gas oven. Roasting time will vary so keep an eye on the chilies. Turn off broiler and let cool down in the oven for an additional 10 minutes. Once cooled, remove the chilies from the pan and place on a cutting board. With the back of a knife, or using your fingers (just wear gloves), gently peel of the blistered skin and discard. Once you have peeled the skin off all of the chillies, chop and set aside.

Now for the stew, sorry no pics I think my back is broken from hiking so I needed a break. You can check the original post for step by step photos, just be ware they were taken a long time ago with a very tiny camera:

1. In a dutch oven or large pot saute onions and garlic until soft with a tablespoon of olive oil.
2. Add chopped chilies(again, a thousand times better if you use fresh roasted Hatch Chilies when in season), serrano, and rinsed beans.
3. Add chicken broth, cumin, and chili powder. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low.
4. Simmer for 2 hours or until beans are done. Halfway through cooking process, add 3 cups of shredded cooked chicken and corn.
5. After 2 hours of simmering away, mix the warm milk with cornmeal (flour or masa will work as well) and pour into stew.
6. Stir well and allow to simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
7. Add cilantro and stir.
8. serve

So good! I can smell football, golden leaves, halloween and 70° days now.

A simple roasted chicken is an easy one pot dish to feed a family or small dinner party. Juicy and tender I make this all of the time when I don’t want to spend hours in the kitchen. In fact, we’re having it this weekend and opening a bottle of wine because it’s been a loooong week!

Simple Roasted Chicken serves 4 to 6

• one whole chicken, about 4  to 5 lbs
• 7 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed (smash cloves w/ side of large knife and peel)
• 1 onion
• 3 turnips
• 1 lb small new potatoes, about 8
• 5 carrots
• 1 tsp Kosher salt (for potatoes, onions, carrots & turnips)
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper (for potatoes, onions, carrots & turnips)
• 2 Tbs olive oil, one Tbs for chicken, 1 Tbs for potatoes
• 1 Tbs Kosher salt (for chicken seasoning)
• 1 Tbs Herbs de Provence*
• 1/2 Tbs freshly ground pepper

Preheat oven to 425°.

Cut onion and turnips in quarters and place in a large bowl. Peel and cut carrots in two and add to the bowl. Next add 3 garlic cloves and potatoes. Strip 2 sprigs of thyme of their leaves and place in bowl. Add 1 Tbs of olive oil, 1 tsp of Kosher salt and 1 tsp ground pepper to the bowl and mix until everything is coated. Set aside.

In a small bowl place the 1 Tbs of Kosher salt, Herbs de Provence, and 1/2 Tbs of pepper and stir.

Remove the giblets (the neck and liver) that are packaged inside the chicken. You can use that in a stew, gravy or just give it to the dog. Up to you. Pat dry the chicken with a paper towel. Rub the inside of the cavity with a pinch of the Herbs de Provence/Salt mixture. Place the remaining 3 garlic cloves and 5 thyme sprigs inside the cavity. Tie the legs together with cooking twine. (If you don’t have any cooking twine it’s no big deal. It’s not like it’s going to walk off!) Next, pour the remaining olive oil on the chicken and rub to distribute evenly. Sprinkle the remaining Herbs de Province/Salt mixture over the entire chicken.

In a large cast iron skillet or roasting pan, place the potatoes, turnips, carrots, and onion creating a bed for the chicken. Place the chicken on top.

Place in oven and cook for 1 hour and 20 min or until the internal temp reaches 165°. Transfer chicken to a carving board and lightly cover with foil. Let rest for 10 minutes. Meanwhile keep the vegetables in the pan to keep warm.

Carve and serve with the vegetables.

Herbs de Provence, or Provençal herbs, is a traditional blend of aromatic herbs that flourish in hills of southern France during the hot summer months. Used by the handful when fresh, Herbs de Provence is also good using dried herbs. Bay leaf, thyme, fennel, rosemary, chervil, oregano, summer savory, tarragon, mint, marjoram, and lavender are some of the herbs typically used. http://www.theepicentre.com You can by Herbs de Provence in the spice section of your local grocery store.

I stumbled upon this recipe for Spicy Peanut Soba Noodles created by Running With Tweezers at the Tasty Kitchen the other day and knew I had to try it. It had the perfect balance of carbs and protein that the crazy hubby needs for his marathon training. Not to mention it sounded amazing. Made it for lunch today and it tasted just as good as I thought it would be. The only change I made is I used black soba noodles instead of traditional because that is all I had in the pantry. The sauce is a peanut butter base and the  spicyness comes from Sriracha Chili Sauce (God bless David Tran). Light and flavorful I will definitely be making this again.

an easy, no fuss, no oil green chicken curry

The little one is crawling all around the house today and if she was able to run there would definitely be scissors in her hand. It’s that kind of day and of course it’s raining. So, there is no relief in the form of a wide open range today full of dirt, leaves and worms for her to discover. That was yesterday and thankfully she did not get into too much trouble while I planted this season’s herb garden. {quick side brag: Mia stood on her own for a full ten seconds while discovering what a piece of bark tasted like. She didn’t know that I was watching. I think that’s why she did it because I sure can’t get her to stand while I’m in the room!}

*Food snob alert!* I’m not much of a crock pot kind of person, although I find myself using them more often since the baby came around. I like to get my hands in the food and really experience creating a dish from start to end. It’s like painting, which is something I’ve practically given up becuase of time restraints. Every stroke of the brush is different and takes it’s own technique and has it’s own purpose but in the end all of the strokes create one vission. This is why I love cooking and rarely use a crock pot, or slow cooker. I do agree that it saves time but it just takes all of the fun and excitement out of it. Just my opinion. Please don’t send angry crock pot mail!

Today is different and like most of you parents out there understand the days when you are needed every second. So, what’s going to be thrown in the crock pot tonight? Green Chicken Curry. Fast, simple, throw it in the pot and your off to go play in the dirt or if your at our house today play endless games of hide-and-go seek.

Green Chicken Curry serves 4

• 3 chicken breasts, cubed (today I used frozen and before I served I cubed the meat and returned it back to the pot)
• 1 can (14 oz) good quality coconut milk**
• 1/2 cup low sodium chicken broth
• zest of 1 lime
• 2 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tsp of fish sauce, found in the international asile at the grocery store
• 1 small onion, chopped in large cubes
• 2 Tbs Green Curry Paste, found in the international asile at the grocery store
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into sticks
• 1/4 cup cilantro, diced
• fresh basil for garnish, preferably Thai
• 4 lime wedges

Place first 8 ingredients in crock pot on high for 4 hours or on low for eight hours. 30 minutes before finish time, add the carrots. When finished, add cilantro and stir. Serve on top of 1/2 cup of cooked jasmine rice (brown or white works well too). Add a basil leaf or two and a lime wedge.

I’m not a curry expert but I think this is a great meal for a crock pot and all…

**Currently watching those love handles like me? Use coconut water in place of coconut milk. If coconut water is used, add 1 Tablespoon of cornstartch mixed with 1/4 cup of 2% milk when you add the carrots (30 minutes before finish time) and stir.

chewy chocolate cherry cayenne cookies chewy chocolate cherry cayenne cookies chewy chocolate cherry cayenne cookies chewy chocolate cherry cayenne cookies chewy chocolate cherry cayenne cookies… say that five times fast. Of course you could just sum them up by saying sinful. Simply sinful.

These amazing chocolate cookies have a chewy brownie texture with dried cherries and pecans giving an extra tart crunch. Then, then my friends the halo is thrown aside and the horns come out and give you a nice bite of heat. If you wanted to give them a cutesy name call them “angel devil” cookies or “halo horn” cookies. I just shake my head like my RoRo (my nanny) used to and say “sinful.”

Apparently, I’m on a cookie roll because I think these are just as good as the Limoncino Cookies from early February and those were seriously good. Now don’t get me wrong, these took time and lots of chocolate to perfect but I’ve finally got it down. Thanks to both of my neighbors for always being my guinea pigs! Here they are to make you smile and then kick you in the rear. Enjoy!

chewy chocolate cherry cayenne cookies

• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 8 oz (1 1/3 cups) bittersweet chocolate chips or squares, 63 % to 70% cacao
• 4 Tbs butter, unsalted
• 2 Tbs brewed espresso, it can be instant
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract (if you’re looking for a good one check out the store)
• 1 tsp cayenne powder
• 2 large eggs
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup dried cherries
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven 375°.

In a small bowl combine flour, baking powder, and sea salt. Set aside.

In a double broiler or pot of simmering (not boiling) water with a heat-safe bowl set on top as shown, melt the bittersweet chocolate and butter. When melted, turn off heat and add espresso,vanilla and cayenne. Stir. Remove from double broiler and set aside to cool.

In a large bowl or standing electric mixer (if you have one use it, I don’t and this saddens me but at least I get a workout) beat the eggs with an electric mixer on high just until frothy about 2 minutes. Slowly add sugar and beat on high until egg and sugar mixture is thick, about 13 more minutes.

Gently fold using a spoon or spatula cooled chocolate mixture into egg and sugar mixture. Fold until partially combined. Add flour and carefully fold again until partially combined. Next add the dried cherries, semi-sweet chocolate chips and pecans. Fold until everything is just mixed. Be careful not to over mix and deflate the eggs.

If the mixture is a little runny, set in refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes to set.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Place small spoonfuls of cookie batter onto baking sheet. Leave about 2 inches between each cookie.

Set in oven and bake for 9 minutes. Oven times do vary. What you are looking for is a shiny brownie like crust.

When finished, remove and place on a cooling rack.

Cool. Now eat. Pairs well with a tall glass of milk.

For those of you reading the blog today or following twitter, you know that I had an altercation with some chickens while  attempting to save their lives form the mean streets of Waco. This has now branded me the “crazy chicken lady.” It all started when my husband noticed some ornamental chickens gone rogue in our neighborhood. I immediately thought they might belong to some newcomers to the neighborhood who built a very nice garden and chicken coop on their adjoining piece of land. We do live in the city, but as most of you “foodies” know, the trend these days is to have fresh non-chemically enhanced chickens/eggs. Even my neighbor and I have thought about the possibility of starting our own little coop but after today I have decided it’s probably not a good plan.

I came up with this bright idea that rescuing chickens would be easy and I could just walk over, pick them up in my arms and return them to their rightful owners. I live in a beautiful neighborhood, but there are stray dogs from time to time and if I rescued them I would be doing a good deed as well as maybe receiving a couple of fresh eggs in return. So, off I go on a chicken rescue mission while my husband walks with Mia to the next street to knock on the chicken owners’ door. Thinking I could just pick them up, I walked over to the four chickens and they immediately huddled in a group and ran about ten feet. I tried again and again and again until I realized I was a half mile away from the house and people were staring (whether at me or the chickens, I don’t know–but not only am I known as the weird Dallas girl that waves a lot; now I’ve added “crazy chicken lady” to the repertoire.) I decided to turn around and go back home. When Tim and Mia return they said no one was home but there were still some chickens in their yard. Well, I thought the neighborly thing was to at least leave a long detailed note about where their chickens were last seen and how I tried to rescue their chickens. So, I did.

As the late afternoon approaches and Mia and I are returning from the grocery store, I drive past the chicken owners’ house to see if anyone had returned home and they had. It  looked like all of the chickens were back in their coops and happy. I turn the corner, and what do I see two blocks ahead of me? The band of chickens! They were out and this time I was going to get them. First of all, what was I thinking; and second of all, how did I plan to actually get them in my car?As I pulled up to the mischievous group not one of them flinched or ran. They knew what I was up to and they had a plan. I got out of the car and headed to the fattest one. The slowest. I knelt down in front of her holding my hand out like I had something good to eat. She crept closer and closer. My heart fluttered with the thought that I might actually capture the wild beast. Closer…Then suddenly my plan was unveiled and started to peck at me calling the rest of the group. All of the sudden a fury of feathers was coming my way and every dog on the block was barking. I think I actually screamed as I ran to my car with the evil chickens chasing me. I slammed the door and found safety in the car. I looked out the windshield to find that the chickens had gone back to pecking at the ground with a gleam of victory in their eyes.

I gave up. The chickens could get eaten by ravenous dogs. I didn’t care anymore. Finding humor in the whole situation I turned around to see if Mia had caught any of this and thankfully she was sound asleep in her car seat. Thank God she’s not old enough to remember this one! I turn the car around and head home.

Later that evening I ran into my next door neighbors and told them about the escaped convicts, leaving out all of the embarrassing details of course. Come to find out, those chickens weren’t even the new neighbors’ chickens! They belong to a home a couple of blocks from here and for years they have gotten out occasionally. No one seems to bother with it because they always find their way back home. Seriously?

The crazy waving chicken chasing lady strikes again. Thank you and goodnight Cumberland Avenue. I will for sure return to amuse you another day.

In honor of today’s festivities I have a recipe for you that coincidently has coincided with a large amount of poblano peppers I recently became in possession of (thanks, honey I had no clue what I was going to do with all of those until today.) Enjoy!

Chicken Stuffed Poblano Peppers serves 6; sorry, I had a lot of peppers

• 12 poblano peppers
• 1 pound ground chicken (turkey will work too)
• 1 Tbs of olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup of frozen corn
• 2 cups of cooked brown rice
• 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese, I used reduced fat (a race weekend is coming up for the hubby)
• 1 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese, again I used reduced fat
• 2 cans of Salsa Verde, 7 oz each
• 1 Tbs cumin
• 1 Tbs chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

Wash and dry peppers. Slice the tops off and remove the seeds. Place peppers on a sheet pan lined with foil. You can also place the tops of the peppers on sheet if you desire to plate them with the peppers. Lightly spray peppers with cooking spray or drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Place the peppers on the middle rack in the oven. Set to broil on high. Broil for 5 minutes and then turn peppers over and broil for another 5 minutes. Ovens vary so check the peppers often! You are looking for a slightly blistered skin and for the pepper to be pliable. Remove from oven and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350°

In a large skillet over medium high heat brown the chicken. When cooked through, remove and set aside an a large bowl.

In the same skillet add oil and saute onion and garlic over medium low heat until soft and onions are transparent. Add corn. When corn is warmed through turn off heat. Transfer sautéed onion and garlic to the bowl with the cooked ground chicken.

To the onion / chicken mixture add the remaining ingredients. Stir.

With a spoon, stuff the peppers tightly with this mixture.

Return stuffed peppers to sheet pan and place in oven for 25 minutes.

Revenge is sweet.

A very old box that my mother-in-law gave me filled with her and her mother’s art supplies recently. Do we even ship fresh iced chicken anymore? Because I know where to find some: