Foodie Friday

Food is always a priority around here. I will happily surrender whatever "wiggle room" there may be in our budget for groceries - I can happily go weeks at a time without purchasing anything else. I read recently that it costs an average of $191 a week to feed a family of four real, unprocessed, whole foods. We may not spend that much each week, but when push comes to shove, I'd rather buy a few extra organic food items than a new shirt. It's just worth it to me. Here's a look at what happened in our kitchen this week, not an all-inclusive menu - just a few highlights:

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

• I already shared this recipe, but wanted to put it back out here because it is so easy and makes such a good loaf of bread. I made this for John and the girls to enjoy for tuna sandwiches the night that I taught Baby Sing and Sign this week and we've been enjoying it toasted in the mornings with a shmear of coconut oil.

Lemon Chicken and Orzo Soup - Using egg yolks in soup may seem odd - it did to me at first. But I've made this soup several times and the egg yolks give it such a great creaminess and, combined with the lemon, a wonderful flavor. I don't add any extra salt or other seasonings - just the veggies, chicken, broth, egg yolks, and lemon.

adapted from Good Life eats

• 1 large organic chicken breast
• 1/2 organic onion
• 2 organic carrots
• 1 large organic garlic clove; pressed
• 2 backyard egg yolks
• 1/2 organic lemon; juiced
• 1 32-ounce box organic, low-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 C whole wheat orzo
• 2 C organic kale; chopped
• Saute the chicken breasts until cooked through; shred and set aside
• Saute the onion and carrots for 5-10 minutes in olive oil; add garlic and saute 2-3 minutes more
• In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks and lemon juice
• After veggies are softened and fragrant, pour in chicken broth; bring to a boil
• Temper egg yolks slowly with 1 C hot broth; add all back into pot
• Keep heat at or below medium - do not boil again
• Add shredded chicken and orzo; simmer until orzo is cooked
• Add kale and simmer until kale is wilted

Simple Whole Wheat Muffins
adapted from Pastry Affair

• 3 T organic, unsalted butter; melted
• 2 T organic coconut oil; melted
• 1/2 C organic coconut sugar
• 1 backyard egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 C organic whole wheat flour
• 3/4 C organic whole wheat pastry flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt (I've started using pink Himalayan salt for all my baking)
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 - 3/4 C whole milk (add milk last as the quantity depends on your flours - whole wheat varieties need more liquid)
• Bake at 350 degrees in a greased muffin tin
• I made mini-muffins and I think they baked for 10 minutes, or so (but keep an eye if you make these as I'm not positive); made 24 mini muffins

Whole Wheat Brownies
adapted from Brown Eyed Baker

• 1 stick organic, unsalted butter; melted
• 1 C organic coconut sugar
• 1 1/8 oz organic, unsweetened cocoa powder (I weighed this on our kitchen scale because I was dividing a recipe in half)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp instant espresso powder
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 2 large, backyard eggs
• 3/4 C organic, whole wheat pastry flour
• 3/4 C semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 C homemade toffee chips (this is the result of the over-cooked batch of Christmas caramels that we're putting to good use!)
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees
• Combine melted butter and sugar in a heat-proof bowl; place bowl over a pot of simmering water and heat until fully combined
• Remove from heat and add cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, and vanilla
• Stir in eggs one at a time
• Add flour
• Mix in chocolate chips and toffee (or any other additions)
• Butter an 8x8 glass pan
• Bake for approximately 25 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean
• This batter was thick... but the brownies are soft and delish! As you can see, the 8x8 pan produces thick brownies - I might try the same recipe next time but a slightly larger dish with a decreased baking time, just to make some flatter treats. Not that we're complaining... these will be served up at our weekly group dinner tonight with Talenti vanilla bean gelato and Valentine's sprinkles, per the request of my lovely sous chefs. :)