Eating out of the Box

Rockin' Hard Candy!

2011-02-21T22:27:00.003-05:00

Food Optimist has been had at work creating some Rockin' Hard Candy! We love our new candy line and can't wait to experiment even more- with so many fabulous things to come I don't even know where to begin! We have our first four flavors down... Lemonade, Blackberry, Hot Cinnamon, and Sassafras! For those of you that don't know what Sassafras is it's like if a licorice stick and a root beer had a baby then it would be called... Sassafras! Definitely reminiscent of an old time Root beer!Can't wait! More to come!

The heart of my soul...

2011-01-30T23:37:00.003-05:00

So many times in life we forget or neglect those most precious and influential to us... The people that can influence us just by being present in our lives. There are times when we can take advantage of a moment in time and remember what is most important, family. I had a special opportunity this weekend to celebrate one of the greatest people in my life, my grandmother, Wilma. She is known to many, family and friends, as Granny... She reserves a special place in many hearts big and small just by being who she is. A hardworking and hard loving classic Southern Soul. In fact, the heart of my soul... Granny has been a constant presence in my life no matter where I've been in my own head throughout all my years of growing into who I am today. The influence she has had over what kind of person I am and who I will become she will never know. She has influenced who I am and how a raise my children... She has even influenced my career. She showed me at a very young age how food brings people together to celebrate family. Happy 80Th birthday Granny! We all love you!

A new Breakfast Recipe!

2010-09-25T15:53:00.002-04:00

I had an absolutely wonderful time this morning at the Peachtree Road Farmers Market... Beautiful weather, great vendors, and a sea of familiar smiling faces... One of the things I love at the market is meeting new foodies. Today I spent a little time chatting it up with Kevin Ouzts and his lovely wife from Spotted Trotter. He gifted me some fabulous Toulouse sausage with will some become a Sunday Cassoulet... Hmmmm... Just the anticipation makes me happy! Kevin also was cooking up some samples of a really nice rabbit sausage. Now, don't be scared... I know what your thinking... Rabbit??? Yes, rabbit... Having French roots myself I love eating them and will sing their praises from the rooftops if properly prepared. If you don't know how to prepare them then Kevin's sausage is a foolproof way to start. In fact, it had me thinking of a great breakfast idea. What do you say to a Rabbit Egg and Cheese Biscuit? Now hear me out! This sausage is fantastic! All it needs is a very petite Parmesan biscuit and a quail egg... I think you could even serve this at a party and people would eat it up and think it was a really fancy appetizer! Just a thought...

Take Care

2010-09-23T20:22:00.003-04:00

I have noticed that I am at as much risk as anyone else for being overworked and underfed... And, it will take it's toll on me. All it takes in this world is for us to get caught up in everything and everybody else and we forget what's most important. Ever hear the saying if you don't take care of yourself how can you care for anyone else? I believe that to be most true... I realized this as I got pretty sick this past week- and I wasn't the only one suffering. At home, being alone with my two boys, safe to say the wheels officially fell off the bus. It is hard to keep up with kids when your not feeling your best! They are fast and full of the energy I used to have! For my clients, my poor clients... I had to cancel my whole week. I couldn't very well cook anybodies food while sick- not that I had the energy mind you... So this got me thinking, taking a look at myself... How important is it for us to slow down and prioritize? What are your most important priorities? What's first? What's last? Why? Maybe, sleeping in shouldn't mean 6am instead of 4:30am...

Worst Blogger Ever!

2010-04-30T20:31:00.002-04:00

I know that I may be the worst beginning blogger ever... I didn't post for several days and I'm sorry!! The Great Blogger of our time, Hollis Gillespie, told me to post everyday for thirty days when I start. I think I've broken that rule seventeen times by now. But, I will get better! Promise!
We've cooked great food so far this week... just seem to be having a hard time getting in the habit of breaking out the camera and taking pictures. I will tell you what we've had though... I made some great Kale chips with cashew butter and peppers with the kale, lots salads with the head of lettuce that appears to be several times the size of Noah's head, and some really nice spinach soup with the onion flower stalks. Tomorrow we're going to make a quinoa salad with bok choi and mushrooms and a kale salad I've never tried before from a borrowed raw food cookbook. I would like to give you this recipe for salad dressing that I got from my friend Lisa of Lisa's Creative Cooking.All you do is combine one part apple cider vinegar, one part good honey ( I use Hidden Springs) and mix until completely combined, season with salt and pepper- the whisk in two parts Olive Oil. Everyone loves this recipe!
Tomorrow, I will be at the new Sandy Springs Market in the morning helping out Taylorganics Farm setup and get started... Then we'll be off to the Peachtree Rd market to pick up our meat from Riverview Farms... Can't wait!

Serenbe Farm CSA

2010-04-27T20:21:00.003-04:00

Hurray! Today was the first Serenbe CSA(www.serenbefarms.com) delivery of the season!We got kale, turnips,spinach, onion flower stalks, green garlic, mint, bok choi, and lettuce... So exciting to see old friends and meet new ones at Strong Box West (our new pick up location). The fresh mint smelled so good my oldest son mused it would make a great mustache! We had our bags and we packed our bounty then headed home to swoon over our loot. Then I realized... We still had a few things in the fridge from the weekend market- not complaining-that we should eat first. We already had some carrot soup and some yummy greens and mushrooms! To go with our greens we made some onion flower corn cakes... They were so good with the greens- I would venture to say a perfect match. Though we were somewhat disappointed in not being able to come home and cook all our new veggies at once, we learned an important lesson. We don't have to eat them all the first day- they are supposed to last the better part of a week. Left us thinking about the great dishes to come tomorrow... Maybe a Kale Salad?

Nobody's Perfect!

2010-04-26T23:02:00.004-04:00

As I start this blog, I would like to take the opportunity to say that nobody is perfect... Not even me! I love cooking and eating fabulous locally grown and raised foods but we all have that day when we're too tired to think. The whole point of this is to make everyone understand that anyone can do this. Anyone can prepare,cook,and eat good, local, clean food at home... You don't have to be a chef! I'm so very lucky that I get to be one, but when I'm at home, I'm really a Mom first. A busy Mom! So a lot of the food that's coming up on here isn't going to be fancy shmancy food... A nice Sunday dinner, yes. A fancy Wednesday night dinner, probably not.But, it all will be good food! It's not about perfection to eat good food, it's mostly about starting with clean food. We can work on your kitchen skills :) So if your starting at mediocre- good for you for starting!

Taylorganic Spring Fling!

2010-04-25T22:36:00.004-04:00

Every Spring and every Fall Taylorganic Farm has a party for all their CSA members and loyal customers. Today at the farm... families, couples, and chefs gathered to celebrate all good things that come from the Earth. We toured the farm, we laughed at the pigs, we splashed in the mud, we picked berries, then... we ate. We had Grilled Alaskan Salmon, salad, greens and mushrooms, rice, pasta salad, and a vast assortment of desserts. All the kids had a blast and everyone left happy with a full belly. Today was a good day.

What is a CSA?

2010-04-24T14:25:00.003-04:00

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture... Many smaller local farms form CSA Programs to benefit not only their farm but also the surrounding community. To join a CSA program you pay a flat fee upfront in the beginning of the season to receive a "box" of fresh harvested seasonal veggies, maybe fruit, every week. The farmer takes your money and buys everything that makes a farm go and grow then you get your food in return. This could be anything from seeds, labor, fixing a broken tractor, you name it... What you give up in choice you gain back in freshness, quality, and personal commitment to give you the best food available from a farmer you know and trust. When you join a CSA program your putting money directly back in to the farm, therefore into your community. Who can argue with that?? To find farmers in your area check out www.localharvest.org ...

TaylOrganic Farm Volunteer Day!

2010-04-03T21:42:00.003-04:00

Today was a great day with Taylorganic Farms... Farmer Neil Taylor welcomed CSA members and several new faces to see the farm and get a real farming experience. Everyone got their hands dirty with transplanting tomatoes, weeding garlic beds, and checking out the pigs. Farm volunteer days are a chance to get back to nature- show your kids where their food comes from... Or where it should come from anyway... The kids loved running around and exploring, laughing at the pigs, and learning about keeping bee hives to pollinate the plants. Doesn't get much better than a beautiful,clear,newly spring day to get your mind thinking of warmer months and bounty to come. Everyone one left with the satisfaction that only real hands on labor can bring,the anticipation of the fruits of our labor, and of course, a bottle of Taylorganics own Blueberry Cider.