COERNI

Now, I don't know about you, but in my book nothing combats nasty weather and cooties better than a steaming hot bowl of homemade chicken soup. This is one of those recipes you don't want to get into, if you don't have at least a couple of hours at home, but it does mostly cook away by itself, so there's plenty of time to get caught up on laundry, e-mails or just snuggle up with the munchkins and watch a movie. You will need: 1 chicken (cut up or whole) 2 small or 1 large onion 4 garlic cloves 1 lb carrots 1 bunch of celery 1 lemon 2 bay leaves salt & pepper water For the broth: Put your chicken, the onion (peeled & halved), the garlic (peeled), about 4 of the carrots (peeled & cut in half), about 4 stalks of celery (rinsed & cut in half), the lemon (rinsed & cut in half), the bay leaves and some salt and pepper in a large stock pot and cover with about 2 quarts of cold water. Bring this to a slow boil, turn down to low, cover and simmer...

As I had been complaining about all of the additives in most ice creams, a 'sweet' friend of mine presented me with an ice cream maker at my last birthday. This one of the old fashion variety requires ice and rock salt, but no hand cranking. While playing around with ideas, we came up with this recipe, which according to my daughter makes the best ice cream EVER (I love it, too). You will need: 1-1/2 pounds frozen strawberries 2 cups heavy cream 1-6 oz. container vanilla yogurt 1 cup sugar juice of 1 lemon Put all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor and hit liquefy or pulse until smooth. Then pour the mixture into an ice cream maker and process until ready. The way you get from A to B will obviously depend on the type of machine you're using. In the case of my Ice cream maker we end up with a smooth semi frozen mass, which requires further freezing for a few hours, but is so worth the wait. You can also try to freeze the mixture you get from the ble...

I have been on the Hunt for a true Belgian Waffle recipe for a while. What is generally perceived to be a Belgian Waffle usually turns out to be a basic Waffle, baked in a certain Waffle Iron. Yet, I had this memory of a dense, slightly sweet, slightly decadent Waffle. Finally I found this recipe for a true Brussels Waffle (in Belgium, there are Brussels and Liege Waffles) at: http://www.waffle-recipe.com/recipes/brussles-waffle-recipe/ So here goes: 1 cup Milk, lukewarm 1 pkg. active dry Yeast (2 1/4 tsp.) 2 sticks Butter, melted 4 Eggs, separated 1 lb (3 1/4 cup) unbleached all purpose Flour 1 pkg. Vanilla Sugar (substitute: 3 tsp. sugar + 1 tsp. vanilla extract) dash of Salt Warm your Milk to slightly above Room Temperature and add the Yeast. Let this bloom for about five Minutes. Then add your cooled, melted Butter and Egg yolks, combine well. Beat your Egg whites until stiff, in a separate Bowl. Add the dry Ingredients to your Milk Mixture and mix well and finally fold in your ...

"Jamie Oliver's Basic Bread Recipe" has been my go-to Bread recipe for a while. It's super easy, I usually have everything for it on hand and it makes a great basic Loaf for Everyday Sandwiches. Jamie Oliver's Basic Bread Recipe 1 pint tepid Water 2 Tbsp. Honey or Sugar 3 pkgs . active dry Yeast (each pkg . = 1/4 oz. or 2 1/4 tsp.) 6-8 cups Bread Flour 2 level Tbsp. Salt Now, I have used this as my starting point for all kinds of different Breads, by using half white and half whole wheat Flour, adding some Butter and Eggs, Raisins, Cinnamon and so on, but last week I happened to have Buttermilk (who knows, why I bought it in the first place), so I ended up with this. Beautiful Buttermilk Bread 1 pint slightly warmed Buttermilk 2 Tbsp. Honey 7 tsp. dry Yeast 2 Eggs 3 Tbsp. soft Butter 6 cups unbleached all purpose Flour 1 Tbsp. Salt I put all of the Ingredients in a Bread machine on the Dough Setting, but you can certainly make this Dough in a Stand...

Pantry Staples Olive Oil: Use Extra Virgin Olive Oil, whenever possible. Anything else will be diluted with other oils and therefore won't posses the same health benefits as Extra Virgin, also you just can't beat the flavor. Garlic: I fell into this particular trap for a while, jarred, chopped Garlic. Seems like a great Idea. Not so, when you consider, that garlic starts losing it's medicinal qualities once chopped, the stuff in the jar therefore does not provide many of the benefits of fresh, chopped garlic. Sugar: This has become one of those reasons, why we try to stay away from processed 'foods'. Have you any idea as to how many products contain High Fructose Corn Syrup? It's mind boggling! Personally, I don't care how many cutesy commercials the big Companies put out to make us believe, that HFCS is not any worse than sugar, if you pay attention, you know it is! I still use regular granulated Sugar in some baking, but in many instances it can a...

Full Circle 100% biodegradable Trash Bags This sort of fascinates me (I realize, that I'm easily entertained): These Trash Bags are made out of 80% recycled materials and not only the bags, but also the packaging are (ready for this?) 100% biodegradable! I love finds like this. The thing about this particular find is, it really isn't one. They are being sold right next to the other Trash Bags (at least at Meijer, for those of you in Michigan) and don't really cost more per bag. Now, why can't everything in Life be this easy???

Absolutely Yummy Dryer Sheets Of course I know, that it would be best for the Environment, not to use any fabric softeners at all and I tried, believe me I did. Now, this is in the Grand Scheme of Things certainly no big Sacrifice. But, if I'm honest I missed the smell and the soft shirts. So I found these and I've never looked back. Method Dryer Sheets are made from a Wood Fiber Base and rely on natural Plant Oils (as opposed to Animal Fats, YUCK) for softness and scent. You really only ever need one of these Babies per load and the smell is heavenly (they do come in several scents). Method products are widely available and quite economically priced.

Natural Value Waxed Paper Bags We are using these in place of the plastic Sandwich bags . They are made from unbleached Fibers, will not contaminate Groundwater, are Landfill safe and non toxic when Incinerated. Little Bonus in my book: when I pack cut up Apples for my daughters lunch, they do not turn brown, as they did in plastic. So far I have only found these at Harvest Health Foods and Horrocks , but since each box contains 60, they last us quite a while. Price $3.15 at Harvest Health Foods. You can also order them at Amazon online.

O.K. so right off I want to admit that I am not one to measure, when I cook. Since I shop by what's good and on Sale, I get what I get and use things as they are available. I use recipes, when it comes to cooking, really only for inspiration, never as a step by step guide. Which is only to say, that I am trying to be as precise as possible, when posting recipes, but if you think something is too bland or spicy or you have some more veggies, that need to be used up, run with that and adjust recipes as they fit your budget, the season and your family's taste. Ingredients: 3 lbs. beef cut into large chunks (I happened to have an English Roast, that I boned and trimmed of some of the fat, but a nice piece of chuck or round should work great for this) 1 small onion, diced 4 cloves of garlic, minced 1 lb of carrots, peeled and cut into thick slices 1 small (6 oz) can of tomato paste 6-8 cups of beef broth or stock (substitute: water + bouillon or beef base) 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil...

This is actually something my Grandfather taught me. Once retired he spent a good amount of his time at his second home in Tuscany. One of his friends there had an Olive Grove and we never lacked amazing Olive Oil. Since salad is a major staple at our house, it is absolutely essential to know how to dress a salad well and I have to say, nowadays my daughters skills put all others to shame. Ingredients: 3 Tbsp. Olive Oil 1 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar 1 tsp. Salt 1/2 tsp. Pepper Just whisk everything up really well and toss it with your salad. This is the very basic version, which is delicious tossed with just about any lettuce or fresh vegetable. Now, make it your own! Mediterranean version: add a squeeze of Lemon and some chopped Garlic, some fresh Herbs, if you have them. Summery Salads: whisk in some pureed Raspberries . Go Asian: replace your Olive Oil and Balsamic with Soy Oil and Rice Vinegar, then add a squeeze of Lime and some Soy Sauce. Your options are only limited by your imagina...

I recently discovered a place to get the most fantastic lettuce, you're likely to find in our area. At Mud Lake Farm all of the lettuce varieties are grown hydroponically, meaning in water, instead of soil. They are using sustainable practices and no pesticides. Lettuce is delivered to several locations in the G.R. area on a weekly basis and you can sign up to purchase a weekly or biweekly share. For more information, check out the website: http://mudlakefarm.com/

Ingredients Organic I have seen a lot of 'information' lately, claiming that organic foods are only labeled as such to ensure the company selling them a higher profit and that they do not actually provide more nutrition. The fact of the matter is that you wouldn't buy organic to get more vitamins, minerals or what have you, but to avoid all the added pesticides, preservatives and hormones found in most conventional food products. It is true, that in most cases you'll pay extra not to have those things in your food (ironic, isn't it?), but if you consider cutting some of the processed stuff (store bought cookies, chips, snacks of all sorts and really any prepackaged junk with a list of ingredients, a mile long) from your shopping list, you will quickly make up the difference. Don't get me wrong, we're on a budget here. The times I'm able to walk out of the store with all organic groceries are still few and far between, BUT if you're interested, you...

Meat Free Mondays No, I'm not trying to convert you into a vegetarian! Meat Free Monday is an Initiative to get people experimenting with meat free dishes, at least once a week. I consider this a freak-out proof way to try something new. In all seriousness though, meat consumption has risen to such dramatic proportions in the past few decades, that it now has a greater effect on the environment than pollution due to transportation. Sounds crazy? I couldn't believe it either, but once you start looking into, what it takes to produce a steak or pork chop or whatever, you'll be surprised at the amount of resources used. Also, as most of us are aware by now, it does not 'do our body good' to live on a diet largely made up of animal products. We could all use more whole grains, veggies and fruit. If you're interested in learning a bit more about this, check out this website: http://www.meatfreemondays.co.uk/ I also recommend the book 'Food Matters' by Ma...

This is just about my favorite way to have Spaghetti and it is a great option for Meat free Monday. Ingredients: 1 lb Spaghetti 1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes 1/2 small onion 3-4 cloves of garlic Olive Oil Salt & Pepper If you like your pasta really 'saucy', go for it, double the tomatoes, onion, garlic, oil and seasonings or simply reduce your Spaghetti to 1/2 pound. Preparation: Cut all of your tomatoes in half and put them in an oven safe pan. Chop your onion and garlic and add to the tomatoes. Drizzle a good amount of Olive oil on top of all this and season with Salt and Pepper. Now make sure to give it a good toss, before you put it in the oven, so everything is coated in Oil and seasoned. Stick your pan in a preheated 350 degree oven and get a large pot of water going on high heat. Make sure you check and stir your tomatoes, every so often, since you want them broken down, sweet and gooey, but not superglued to the pan. Once your water comes to a rolling boil...