glut(tons) of rhubarb

Lucky me! A friend has a huge, gorgeous rhubarb plant and she was willing to share...we cut about eight pounds or so (my guesstimate)...

I chopped and chopped...and chopped and chopped...and ended up freezing 27 cups of raw, chopped rhubarb...

I also made two rhubarb crumbles plus a really nice gingery compote (based on this recipe, but I also added 2 tablespoons raw grated ginger--gave it a good kick)...

It's great in green smoothies, too!

hot-dog hilarity

The beans think this is so, so funny: Put your ketchup, mustard, and pickle relish in the order shown above and you've got yourself a traffic light.

(And don't forget to buy all-natural, chemical-free hot dogs! Your bod will thank you.)

cauliflower and cornmeal pizza crust

Believe it or not, this entire (gorgeously yummy) pizza is completely gluten and dairy free.

Yep, you read that right, folks!

I loosely based it on Eat Drink Smile's cauliflower crust, but made it my own and we will be putting this in our tummies quite often from here on out.

I started with raw cauliflower (and used the stems, too)...then food processed it till grainy (don't process too much or it will turn to mush)...

Then microwave it in a big bowl till soft. You mix it with cornmeal, egg, some Daiya "mozzarella", and spices, flatten it out onto a cookie sheet, and bake.

Pull it out of the oven, top as you like, and broil till bubbly and browny and happy.

We have to section ours because some folks don't like anything except sauce and "cheese", others only like pepperoni, and then the Big Beans (that's hubby and me) like everything. Yes, please.

 Twenty minutes later...

For the crust, you'll need (for a 10 inch X 15 inch rectangular cookie sheet):

• 2 1/2 c. cooked cauliflower (after processing and microwaving)
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1 c. cornmeal
• 1 c. Daiya mozzarella
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 t. Italian seasoning (rosemary, savory, basil, marjoram, and oregano)
• 1/2 t. salt
• olive oil for brushing on just before baking

Do this:

Wash and chop your precious cauliflower (one of my favorite veggies!), then process till grainy and not mushy. Put into a microwave-safe bowl, cover, and microwave 7.5 minutes. Preheat your oven to 450 F, spray a cookie sheet with oil, and add your eggs, cornmeal, mozzarella, garlic, spices, and salt to the cooked cauliflower. Press into the pan and brush with olive oil.

Bake about 15 minutes. Then add sauce...

For the sauce, you'll need (I base it on this recipe):

• 1 small can tomato paste (4.5 oz.)
• enough water to make a smooth sauce
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 t. Italian seasonings
• sugar to taste (I use about 1/2 t.)
• dash of pepper 

Feeling saucy!

Add the toppings of your choice and some more Daiya mozzarella on top, a sprinkling of Italian seasoning, and it's going to grab you and never let you go.

I had some cooked cauliflower left over (I had a big head) and I froze it. Will let you know when I make my next lovely pizzer (as my grandma calls it)!

sriracha pickles

 Red cabbage pickles and rainbow chard stem pickles.

After I made my rainbow chard smoothie the other day, I had the stems left over and I COULD NOT compost them. They were too pretty and I knew they had a kind of crunchy salty flavor. I thought PICKLES! And sure enough, when I searched for chard stem pickles, I found a recipe. And there I was thinking that I was the only one on earth who had imagined that combo.

The recipe I found is from Bon Appetit and it's called Sriracha Fridge Pickles. I keep sriracha hot sauce on hand, so with vinegar, sugar, and onions, I was good to go. (Didn't have celery seed so used celery salt.)

My lovelies. So bright they're almost iridescent.

I tripled the pickling brine and used some red cabbage I had on hand for a second batch.

You'll need:

• 1 1/2 c. chopped chard stems (I prefer rainbow for the brightness and happy factor)
• 1 c. distilled white vinegar
• 2 c. sugar (I used 1 c. instead and it was a good amount of sweetness for us)
• 1/2 onion, halved and then thinly sliced
• 3 T. sriracha (I used 2 T. and that was plenty of heat for our taste buds)
• 1/2 t. celery seeds (I used 1/2 t. celery salt)

Do this:

Stir the vinegar and sugar together in a bowl, then throw in the celery salt (or seeds), onion, and sriracha. Pour it over your rainbowy stems and let it hibernate in the fridge for a few days (two was fine).

Oooooh, man. This is good stuff. We ate them a few nights ago with tahini-lemon burgers (recipe to come!) and this made me so, so happy. Looking forward to having them again.

I've always been a pickles girl and just can't get enough--my mom said I used to ask her to buy pickles and olives for me when I was a kid and went to the grocery store with her. So there you have it: I've always been a bit odd. Odd, but with good taste buds.

rainbow chard smoothie

1/2 pineapple, 1 Granny Smith apple, 1 banana, key lime juice, water, rainbow chard, sweet baby lettuces. With some apple seeds in the background for the beans to plant later.

greenberry smoothie

3 leaves chard, 2 big leaves kale, 2 bananas, 3 navel oranges, 2 apples, 1 avocado, key lime juice, frozen blueberries. Blend. Yum.

breakfast of champions

Energy on a plate! Scrambled eggs with roasted red peppers, diced turkey breast, spinach, and tomatoes, with avocado on top. Super yum with a cuppa tea for breakie.

PW

One of my bloggin' heroes: The Pioneer Woman. I got to see her at Third Place Books recently with some friends, and even though we had to stand way in the back and my camera zoom doesn't do her justice, we had a great time laughing. The woman is a hoot and a holler!