Field Trip to the Farmers Market

I know this seems crazy to some of you out there, but I don’t go to the Farmers Market. I work all weekend, every weekend and I have for the past ten years. I am always so jealous of everyone who goes to these mystical markets every weekend and shop for foods I’ve never even heard of before. Anyway, I got inspired the other day when Skagit River Ranch came to our Whole Foods Production Class at Bastyr University and talked about how they run their organic farm. They treat their animals with respect and kindness and they take so much pride in the produce and the way they run their farm; from soil to cattle. When they announced their participation at local Farmers Markets, I knew I had to go. Fortunately, they attend the Bellevue Farmers Market on Thursdays, so four of us students made the trek during a break from class yesterday. It was a blast and I truly recommend anyone who has never been to look up a local Farmers Market in their area and take a little day trip. Once we arrived, our main objective was to go to the Skagit River Ranch stand and get some fresh eggs. Their chickens are pasture raised and eat grass and worms all day, so I couldn’t wait to get my hands on them. I’m sorry to say that I’ve never before in my life had access to a fresh farm egg. Apparently, the eggs sell out within minutes, so we were among the first to get there and I bought two dozen large brown eggs at $6 a pack. They were also grilling their famous grass-fed beef. Heather and I tried our first bite of beef in YEARS! Here is a picture of us with farm owner Eiko Vojkovich:


As a former vegetarian and someone who avidly avoids pork and beef products, I have to say that I have recently started to change my opinion about meat in general as I learn more about the options available. I do believe that eating meat can be an important part of nutrients for humans, but I just can’t stand the way animals are treated and slaughtered inhumanely. The way many producers raise their animals in the US is not right, not fair, and not healthy. However, if you have access to meat that has been raised with respect and health, slaughtered humanely, and treated well – it is worth considering consuming this type of food in my opinion.

I’ll get off my soap box now and quickly mention a couple other things I bought: a chocolate roll from Preston Hill Bakery out of Issaquah who sells only at the market – DELICIOUS toasted with a little bit of butter. Also, I bought a variety of potatoes grown organically because apparently, potatoes are sprayed with chemicals and pesticides that you seriously don’t want anything to do with consuming. I would have bought more items, but I ran out of cash! Whoops…next time. I’ll be going again soon.

Pizza Mania

I can’t live in this world for very long without access to pizza. My personal whole foods movement is still going strong, so I knew that I would have to learn how to make pizza dough at some point. My first attempt occurred about a week ago. It looked fabulous and when I pulled it out of the oven, but it was ROCK HARD. We decided that I had been very successful….at making crackers. The same night, I whipped up another batch (reading the directions more carefully), and it was a little better; soggy in the middle, but edible. Some days, dough just won’t cooperate, so I tried yet again last night. SUCCESS! Thanks Better Homes and Gardens:

Pizza Dough
1 ¼ cup all-purpose, unbleached flour
1 package (7 oz) active dry yeast
½ tsp salt
1 cup warm water (120-130 F)
2 T olive oil
1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 ¼ white flour, yeast and salt. Add warm water and oil. Beat with an electric mixer on low for 30 seconds, scraping the sides with a spatula. Use a wooden spoon to stir in as much of the remaining whole wheat flour as you can until the dough is dry enough to knead (last night it was exactly 1 ¼ cup).

2. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and kneed in enough of any remaining whole wheat flour (a few tablespoons) to make a moderately stiff dough that is smooth and elastic (about 5-6 minutes). Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.

3. Cut the dough in half, and put one in the freezer for next time. Heat the oven to 425 F. Divide the remainder by half and roll each piece into a 6 inch circle on a floured surface. Now you can make one baby pizza for yourself and one for your friend. Cook the dough on a greased cookie sheet for about 7 minutes, then take them out and add your favorite toppings. I like to use a lot of fresh, organic red sauce, a little bit of pepper-jack cheese, some spinach, and lots of herbs and crushed red pepper flakes. Pop them back in for 5 minutes of so (until the cheese is melted and the crust is golden). Enjoy!

Adapted from: Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book (14th ed), Meredith Books, 2007.

In short, it turned out great! I added a salad and made my own dressing. (*note: you MUST make your own dressing. It is insanely easy and so much more delicious than the bottled kind from the grocery store. Just play around with it: a few tablespoons of olive oil, a tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, add a teaspoon of honey or maple syrup, a grind of pepper or herbs, and a teaspoon of Dijon mustard. I adapted that from Cynthia Lair’s recipe in my whole foods cooking class, but the possibilities are endless.) Now I can have pizza as often as I want – for better or for worse – the whole foods lifestyle is fitting nicely into my own crazy lifestyle!

Oven Glory

I have a new trick. It is a crafty and committed way to get a lot of things done in the evenings. I prepare chicken, potatoes, and vegetables so that they can be roasted. Then, I put them all next to each other in the oven, set it to a “good enough” temperature that they all can be cooked at, and leave! I go to the gym for the hour that my food is cooking, and by the time I get home, dinner is ready and I’ve gotten a work out in. So far, it is has cut down on my exercise procrastination by about 80%. Last night, I also made baked apples and they were AMAZING. However, until I start making my own ice cream, I had to buy some at the store. My new cheat is, when I have to buy something that I can’t (or don’t have time to make) I make sure that there are no preservatives, added color or corn syrup, and that the first ingredient is the product I’m after.

Example: ice cream’s first ingredient must be “milk”.

Example: jam’s first ingredient must be “fruit”.

And so on….

ANYWAY, baking saves me time and energy. It also frees me up to do other things that I would otherwise put off if I had to be actively cooking dinner. Thanks oven. I love you.




Baked Apples
2 large apples, cored (but not all the way through at the bottom)
4 slivers of butter
2 T brown sugar
2 T crushed walnuts or pecans
½ t cinnamon
½ t nutmeg

1. Place a sliver of butter in the bottom of each cored apple.
2. Mix sugar, nuts, and spices together and spoon into each cored apple
3. Place another sliver of butter on top of the mixture in the apple
4. Cook apples at 375 degrees for 40 minutes in a baking pan filled with 1 inch of water


They really are best with a little vanilla ice cream on top. Also, you can use raisins in the filling, but I hate raisins. Sorry.

A request for granola

How rude of me! I put my tempting picture of home-made granola on my last post, but neglected to add it to my blog! Here you go:

"Ginger's Almondy Granola"

2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped almonds

1/2 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (i use salted)

1/2 cup toasted sunflower seeds

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

1 cup unsweetened, dried cranberries

1. mix all dry ingredients (except cranberries) together in a large bowl

1/4 cup real maple syrup

1/4 cup honey

2 T olive oil

1.5 T almond extract

1 T vanilla extract

1 T salt

2. mix all wet ingredients (plus the salt) in a small bowl

3. pour over oat and nut mixture and stir until everything is coated well

4. spread mixture onto a cookie sheet and flatten out the pile the best you can

5. bake at 300 for 30 minutes (stir 1/2 way through at the 15 minute mark) do not overcook!

6. stir in cranberries while the granola is still warm

7. spread out to cool on foil and then store in an airtight container

I feel so much better knowing that I am eating granola I made myself on top of plain yogurt, free from preservatives, additives, sugar, and artificial color. Its so easy and so worth it. Something that really concerns me is that many highly sweetened yogurts are marketed towards children (and adults) as a "health food". "How to find real food" has a great blog post right now with more information about yogurt. Personally, I called it quits when I realized that I was consuming as much as 20 grams per tiny container. It seems different at first, but I have become very accustomed to the plain flavor. YUM!!