Elana’s Pantry

Green Goddess Dressing

Posted under condiments, salads on July 25, 2008

I confess. I ate the photo shoot. I made a huge salad this afternoon, drizzled it with Green Goddess Dressing and proceeded to devour it. The food prepared for photographing was instead inhaled. As in, scarfed immediately.
Now normally, I’m a fairly disciplined person, so this was a bit odd. Maybe [...]

Tuscan White Bean Salad

Posted under salads on July 22, 2008

It has been so hot here –Sunday was a scorching 104 degrees. Because of the toasty weather, I’ve been looking for quick, cool ways to get hits of protein.
Really, all I want to eat is fruit and lemon slushes these days. However, this white bean concoction has been a winner for the family [...]

Lemon Cooler

Posted under beverages on July 18, 2008

Looking for some cool refreshment? Then look below, not to the “recipe” above. I found this little yellow post-it in the kitchen today after my husband made the boys breakfast. It seems my younger son did a bit of cooking (when dad went upstairs to take a shower) and has also [...]

Mustard Lime Chicken

Posted under entrees on July 15, 2008

It’s too darn hot here to turn on the oven; the high today is supposed to get up to 100 degrees. The solution? Fire up the grill and throw on some chicken breasts ever so briefly. The mustard lime chicken pictured above is a tangy hit of protein on a hot summer’s [...]

Macadamia Caramel Clusters

Posted under desserts on July 11, 2008

We have a big all star game tomorrow, though unfortunately I will be missing it. One of my parents was hospitalized this week so I am flying back to California for a weekend visit.
As I tucked my older son into bed tonight he said, “I want extra snuggles since I won’t see you until [...]

Coleslaw

Posted under snacks on July 8, 2008

We had a quiet July 4th celebration with Martha, her daughter Erin and a friend of Erin’s named Sarah Rose. These two girls go to the same school as my boys so they all had a great time bouncing on the trampoline in our backyard while Martha and I made a couple of salads [...]

Celebrating Independence

Posted under activism, community, desserts on July 1, 2008

Yesterday my son and I made the delicious strawberry sorbet pictured above.
As July 4th approaches, our ice cream maker has been getting a real workout. It’s hotter now so we’re always looking for good frozen treats to cool us off. When I asked my older son what he thought about the sorbet, he [...]

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Posted under salads on June 27, 2008

Usually I plant my garden on Mother’s Day with my husband and the boys –it is their annual gift to me.
This year, we did things a bit differently. We had someone help us with the yard and basically ripped all the flowers out of the beds and replanted with edibles. This took place [...]

Mango Chicken

Posted under entrees on June 24, 2008

My favorite thing about the picture above? The cilantro on the Mango Chicken and in the glass cup is from my garden. Now, that’s something to get pumped about considering I barely have a yard. And what little yard I do have is taken over by a trampoline for the boys.
We live [...]

Cherry Arugula Solstice Salad

Posted under salads on June 20, 2008

The boys were buzzed this afternoon –their hair that is. Now the little baldies will be nice and cool in the warm weather.
It hasn’t been all that hot though lately. In fact, we’ve had many cloudy afternoons and so far this summer haven’t made it to the pool yet. I have a [...]

Iced Tea

Posted under beverages on June 17, 2008

Baseball is indeed over. However, all-stars have begun and my son and several of his little cohorts are on the team. We are now therefore faced with practice daily from 5:30 to 7:30. Thank goodness I am not coaching!
I will however, be providing the team with lots of snacks and good beverages such [...]

Community Supported Spinach Cake

Posted under community, cooked veggies on June 13, 2008

Our weekly CSA share kicked in yesterday and we received a ton of fresh organic produce! For those of you who aren’t familiar, “CSA” stands for community supported agriculture. This relatively new socio-economic concept changes the way food is produced, distributed and sold, creating small scale closed markets for farmers in which the [...]

Flapjacks

Posted under breakfasts on June 10, 2008

Baseball is finally over. We lost in the semifinals yesterday to the Rockies. It was a good game; we fought to the end.
This last week, the tournament had virtually taken over our lives with 7 games straight, all during dinner time. This successfully disturbed the rhythm and routine in my household, so [...]

Survey Says: Candy Bars

Posted under desserts on June 6, 2008

Baseball is what it’s all about in our house these days. We lost in the main bracket of the post-season tournament and are now playing in the consolation round and doing well. We were winning our game yesterday against the Red Socks and had the game postponed due to rain in the bottom of [...]

Thai Iced Tea

Posted under beverages, desserts on June 3, 2008

We are in the middle of our little league baseball tourney (presently in quarterfinals) and play tonight to see if we can advance to the semis. My older son has been playing first base while the little one is bat boy.
We have had much fun, though it is getting quite competitive and the team [...]

Clean Green: Kitchen Spray

Posted under activism, products on May 30, 2008

I must confess, for more than a year, my friend Elizabeth has been asking me to do a post on homemade household cleaners. As a result of her prodding, I am proud to present part 1 of a series on non-toxic cleaners for your home. We’ll start off with a cleaning spray for my [...]

Rosemary Chocolate Truffles

Posted under desserts, snacks on May 27, 2008

Last night was the conclusion of a “grand” Memorial Day weekend. My parents came in and took the boys down to the Boulder Creek Fest where they all had a blast. There was much spoiling –meals out, bowling, batting practice at the amusement park and overall non-stop fun. A perfect weekend with [...]

Top 10 Healthy Memorial Day Recipes

Posted under beverages, condiments, desserts, salads on May 24, 2008

Memorial Day weekend is a great time for picnics and barbecues. Below you will find some of my favorite festive dishes for this great little three day weekend. These are perfect for warm weather parties. Packed with nutrition as well as flavor, this simple, healthy grub will wow your guests.
Select 3 or [...]

Raw Chocolate Fudge

Posted under desserts on May 23, 2008

A few of my favorite things? Coaching baseball. Growing vegetables. Walking on a sunny day. Hanging with my husband late at night after the boys have gone to bed. Cooking with children –of any age.
Recently I have had the opportunity to teach cooking to my son’s third grade class. [...]

Carrot Cake

Posted under desserts on May 20, 2008

You may have noticed a new little feature on the sidebar of this website –in computer programming terms it is called the “democracy poll.” Basically it is a survey that allows you to vote for the dish you would most like to see me post. The current competition is between Chocolate Cupcakes, Mango [...]

Coconut Cream Frosting

Posted under condiments, desserts on May 16, 2008

Frosting is one of my favorite foods; in fact, I consider it an actual food group. After all, what is a cupcake without frosting? It’s nothing!
Lately I have been stymied when it comes to the frosting creation process. Yes, I have my delicious vegan chocolate frosting recipe, however, I have been lacking [...]

Spinach Salad with Pistachios

Posted under community, salads on May 13, 2008

Well, Mother’s Day was gorgeous. A warm and balmy 70 degrees, we went for a lovely hike and after that, I prepared a big dinner for my husband, the boys, our friends Chris and Larry and their little ones. We had Chicken Marbella (delicious) and a big spinach salad. Chris helped [...]

Almond Butter Blondies

Posted under desserts on May 9, 2008

Kelly over at Celiac Chicks does a fabulous job covering the latest in gluten-free news. On top of that, she is a lovely person. It has been great getting to know her through our email conversations these past few months.
I recently spent some time looking through the recipe section of Kelly’s site and [...]

BBQ Sauce

Posted under condiments on May 6, 2008

Spring is in full bloom here in Colorado and it’s gorgeous. Bright clear days in the high 70’s, perfect for hiking, taking the boys to the park and breaking out the grill! While the lucky folks in California probably start grilling a bit earlier, we usually wait until May to fire ours up.
Luckily, [...]

Cashew Milk

Posted under beverages on May 2, 2008

Cashew milk is my new favorite. I use it in smoothies and tea or splashed over a bowl full of granola.
Smooth, creamy and naturally sweet, this milk offers a much needed respite from the ubiquitous almond, which reigns supreme in my kitchen –unlike my almond milk recipe, this cashew milk does not require [...]

Salmon with Cucumber Chile Relish

Posted under entrees on April 29, 2008

The salmon series continues, as does my love affair with Cook’s Illustrated. The recipe below is another one that I have adapted from this fantastic magazine.
On the comments front, my cup overfloweth. I am so happy with the participation, support and community that is developing on this site. Recently, one of my [...]

Thai Chicken Soup

Posted under entrees, soups on April 25, 2008

I have to give full credit for this photo to my boys. They helped me stage the shot and then sat with me at the computer to crop and size the photo. They are becoming such little artists, having far surpassed me in this arena.
The delicious Thai soup above is based on a [...]

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting

Posted under desserts on April 22, 2008

Passover really threw me for a loop. It wasn’t the guests we had visit for the holiday. It was the 100 matzo balls for my son’s third grade seder. That, plus charoset and maror for everyone at the event. My house was overtaken by a cooking frenzy last week; I focused [...]

Vegan Chocolate Frosting

Posted under desserts on April 22, 2008

This is my all time favorite icing recipe. Lately, I’ve been using it to frost cakes, cupcakes, and also as a filling between chocolate wafers. My son loves this double chocolate treat –chocolate wafers with chocolate frosting– packed in his school lunch.
I promise, I’ll put chocolate wafers up here on the boards soon. [...]

Passover Round Up

Posted under cooked veggies, desserts, entrees, soups on April 15, 2008

Passover is this Saturday! I have been cooking up many Pesach dishes of late and am happy to provide a round-up below.

charoset
maror
matzoh ball soup
chipotle orange chicken
squash “kugel”
coconut macaroons
passover torte

A couple of notes:
I did not include a vegetable dish in the above list. Generally, I like to serve steamed broccoli or broiled asparagus with [...]