Purcavru in Agru Durci garnished with mirto

I told you all I was going to be making things interesting on here with different recipes from a variety of different world cuisines!

With the first in this series, I am giving a nod to my husband’s Sardinian roots. Sardinia is a small island off the coast of Italy in the vicinity of Rome. I was lucky enough to go there this past year when Roberto and I went with our moms on the “roots tour” of Italy. Roberto was born in Sardinia to Sardinian parents, but grew up in Rome. On our visit there last fall, we spent time with the extended family. It was lovely.

Sardinia is an interesting place, I immediately loved it because it has a rich culture both with herding animals (sheep and goats) but is also the place in Europe which has the greatest amount of megalithic structures, making this farm girl and history buff very happy!

These megalithic structures, round tower-fortresses called nuraghi, which ancient villages were built around are over 35,000 years old and there are over 8,000 of them on Sardinia, an island that is about the size and shape as Vermont. So that is a lot of pre-history going on there! If you aren’t into history, Sardinia is home to some of the most beautiful beaches in the world, La Costa Smeralda- The Emerald Coast. There are also beautiful mountains (yes they get snow!) and lunar looking rock formations. There is an area towards the middle of the island that is called Valle Della Luna – The Valley of the Moon and looks just like Rohan from the Lord of the Rings movies. Fascinating landscape!

But the thing I loved about it most is that it is home to some of the oldest trees in Europe. We were able to visit 2 of these old olives, the oldest being 5,000 years old and the second oldest being around 3,000 – and still producing olives!!! For me, a nature worshiper it was akin to meeting Gandhi. The most amazing thing about Italy in general is that you can grow so much food! Nearly everyone that has even a small plot of land has fruit trees, some grapes to make homemade wine, nut and olive trees, veggie gardens, etc. I saw tons of pomegranate and fig trees. There is just so much abundance there!

Sardinia actually has its own language, Sardu, of which there are several dialects. Sardu has been influenced by Catalan, Spanish and indigenous Nuragic elements with some roots from Phoenician and Etruscan. So instead of the more familiar Italian “a” and “o” word endings, Sardinian words end with “u” and “s”, like our last name, Campus. This is because Sardinian is much like Latin. You can see this in the name of this dish Purcavru Agru Durci, which in Italian would be Cinghiale Agrodolce.

So what about the food? Well because of its location, Sardinian cuisine has been able to capture tastes from various Mediterranean influences: Catalan, Corsican, Spanish, Italian. The diet is rich in meats, like lamb, goat and pork, fresh vegetables, wonderful cheeses, fresh veggies and of course copious amounts of olive oil and rich red wine, famed for its high level of antioxidants- Cannonou. On the coast, where we didn’t spend much time, there is also a lot of fish and seafood consumed. And, like the rest of Italy the population consumes large amounts of pasta and bread. In fact as a gluten-intolerant, I had a hard time in Italy in general staying away from wheat as it is in almost everything from bread and pasta, to a thickener in sauces and a coating on vegetables and meats. I asked the question on facebook the other day after reading an article about how wheat is killing the world, how people like Italians, and especially Sardinians, known the world over as healthy and one of the longest living peoples could be in such a good state of health (the island has the world’s highest documented percentage of people who have passed the century threshold.) if wheat is the only factor. It was an interesting discussion, but none of us were able to really make sense of that!

But I digress. One thing which is very unique to Sardinian cuisine is the use of Mirto, or Myrtle. The plant is symbolic of love and immortality, and in Sardinia it is an essential plant. The berries (which look a bit like small blueberries, although there is a white version as well )are used to make a delicious aperitif, called “mirto”, which uses both varieties of berries separately, creating a red and white version and the leaves. Sardinians also use the leaves in cooking, similar in manner to bay leaves or other herbaceous plants. I was able to get some to bring home with me, and this is one of the ingredients that really makes this dish. The taste is very hard to place for me, but is most similar to a bay leaf.

I wasn’t able to get wild boar for this dish, but we did use meat from the half pig we bought this year (and butchered ourselves) from a local farmer.

Purcavru in Agru Durci (from Cooking in Sardinia)

INGREDIENTS:

4-5 TBS olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp myrtle leaves (substitute bay leaf)
1 ½ lbs boneless boar or pork meat, cut into bite sized pieces
1 tsp sugar
1 TBS red wine vinegar
1 TBS tomato Paste
Salt to taste

METHOD:
Sauté onion in a pan (I used cast iron) with 4-5 TBS of olive oil. Add about a tsp of chopped myrtle leaves. Add the meat and a pinch of salt and brown over medium heat. Blend sugar and vinegar, stir and pour over the meat. Then dilute tomato paste in a cup of warm water, add to the pan, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 45 mins. You will have to add more water intermittently so the stew doesn’t dry out. During the last five minutes, uncover pan to reduce the sauce.

I never understood why some people would return to the same places over and over again when traveling. With a whole world to explore out there and so much to see that no human could do it all in just one lifetime, how could anyone ever justify going back to the same place twice? That was before I ever made any profound connections to the people at a certain place, a vacation spot, before I met my favorite chef in the world, before I drank my favorite wines and fell in love with the peace and joy a certain place can bring. That was all before Torraccia Di Chiusi.

Over three years ago, Roberto and I first had the opportunity to visit the Agro-Turismo,Torraccia Di Chiusi. We had a wonderful time there soaking in the beautiful landscapes, visiting medieval villages, eating amazing food, meeting wonderful people who would become friends. While that was all happening, other important changes were going on internally for both of us that were helped along by this visit to this amazing place. Some places give you peace of mind, time away from the grind to have a quiet place to listen to the stirrings of your soul. Torraccia di Chiusi is one of those places for me, where I feel at home, away from home.

Three years ago, we were still living in Florida, planning to move to Vermont and begin our homestead lifestyle. We were full of big dreams and super excited for the change. La Torraccia was like a place of confirmation. Donatella and Stefano, the owners and all the people like Grazia and Bruno, that make the place what it is were already doing the kinds of things we wanted to – raising animals, fruits and vegetables for food and making artisanal products out of those labors of love. Their place, ideas and philosophy were truly beautiful and inspirational, a bucolic dream. We spent time after dinner each night talking about the simple, good life. Just being there and talking to everyone made us see that these dreams we had were very possible. Not just possible, but in many parts of the world very normal. This touched us both deeply and firmly footed us in our dream moving forward.

Things began to change after that trip. First and foremost my food philosophy changed after I met Bruno, my favorite chef, who cooks the amazing dinners at Torraccia di Chiusi. He is truly a master of simplicity. Pasta sauced with butter, oil, cheese and sage was a revelation. Bruno is the true personification of simple is better, and if you want simple, you better get the best ingredients. Bruno doesn’t understand fine dining where the portions are too small, and you leave hungry. He doesn’t see the point. Better to fill people up and really nourish them with good, healthy and soul filling food. He does this, every night at La Torraccia. His integrity when it comes to cooking and life really, I have never seen surpassed. I have to say that Bruno, along with Grazia, Stefano and Donatella are inspirations for Roberto and I, and the way we are now living out our lives, with purpose.

(photo courtesy of Bruno and Grazia)

I would highly recommend Bruno and Grazia’s cookbook, Cucinar Cantando*  which is a mixture of food philosophy, artwork (he is also a painter) and words of wisdom, as well as recipes. Well worth it. Not only that, but it was entirely produced by Bruno and Grazia themselves – the writing, the translations from Italian to English, the illustrations, etc. I am the lucky recipient of one of the original 11 copies, each of which have unique covers. The production of those original editions were paid for with all the tips Bruno and Grazia had received from guests over the summer before, another labor of love, to be sure.

When I returned to my own kitchen after that first visit, I really started paring it all down to the basics. My dishes became much more rustic, and I began to rely on simple herbs, good oil and salt to season food, instead of my array of exotic spices I had always relied on before. I had a new and profound appreciation for butter and stock as well as the art of braising and slow cooking. I learned that you can never really use too much olive oil and that local and fresh produce is paramount. If it is not in season, and not fresh what is the point in preparing it? It will never be as good as something that is in season. In Tuscany, you would never think of preparing a dish without local products, let alone produce from another country. Why bother? When dishes start getting too out of touch from these simple philosophies, I summon Bruno in my mind and I am put back on track. Simple is best, simple is art.

Bruno and Grazia especially have become our good friends over the years. We have stayed in touch via facebook and email, and we even did a giveaway of their cookbook Cucinar Cantando on The Foodie Blogroll and there is another one in the works soon! I came to find out that my posts about our visit to La Torraccia has brought them business over the years, and for that I am profoundly pleased because they definitely deserve it. Due to this fact, Donatella and Stefano invited us to be their guests at La Torraccia for a few days to thank us for our support over the years. How could we say no?

We spent 3 wonderful nights and 2 very restful days there. The first day all we did was rest, nap, eat, and spend time walking around the farm seeing all the changes and improvements they have done over the three years. I can tell you, I did not build up the place unrealistically in my mind. It was even better this time around! One of the biggest changes is the developments in their wine-making, which I will talk about in another post. But we had a great time seeing how much they had done in just 3 years!

The second day we took another attempt at walking the Via Francigena to San Gimignano. It was a perfect sunny, cool day and we didn’t get lost! We spent the day in San Gimignano eating (of course) wonderful cheeses, and we went back to Beppone to have a repeat of the meal we have been thinking about for years -stewed wild boar, perfect gnocchi in truffle cream sauce and we topped it off with what I believe to be the best gelato in the world.

La Torraccia and Tuscany hold a very dear and special place in my heart. The people are committed to their local food traditions and the landscape with all its farms and trees remind me so much of Vermont. I just wish we could grow olives here! If we did, my life would be perfect.

*If you wish to order a copy of Cucinar Cantando (and I highly recommend it!) please contact Grazia and Bruno at cucinarcantando@libero.it

BOOTH BAY HARBOR

We just got back from a family trip to Maine. We spent a week in Booth Bay Harbor with Gwen, my dad and stepmom and some family friends. It was nice getting away and having a change of scenery. Living in a land-locked state, it is always enjoyable to be near the ocean and this trip was especially nice as we were able to bring our dogs!

MINI P and PEPINO hanging out at Damariscotta Lake State Park

Too bad they don’t consider goats, sheep or chickens as pets!

One of my goals of the trip was to eat lobster every day. At about $5.99/lb market price, this was super easy to do. We cooked every dinner but one at the house, to showcase the many wonderful cooks that were on this trip! This made the whole thing much more economic – and we thought, way more fun! We enjoyed whole steamed lobsters, lobster sushi, lobster pizzas, lobster deviled eggs, lobster rolls, lobster club sandwiches, lobster and corn brulee, lobster risotto and lobster gnocchi.  Of course we also ate some other wonderful seafood such as mussels, oysters, shrimp, clams and scallops. I probably ate more seafood in one week, than I do in months here at home and we all really enjoyed it.

We had a few dinners that included fresh chicken that we raised , as well as some local beef. But even with that, we were totally “lobstered out” by the end of it! But come this winter we will be enjoying some beautiful lobster stock, and saffron Spanish style mussels for a stew base made by our friend Alice. Thanks Alice!

Anyway, we are adjusting to being back at home, and so I feel as though this post is rather boring, so I will just let the pictures explain!

Even though I grew up in an Italian household, I have never been a huge fan of pasta. Don’t get me wrong, I love the filled pastas – tortellini, ravioli, cannelloni, etc. but just regular ‘ol pasta…meh. However, when it comes to gnocchi, I just can’t get enough of it. Maybe that is because I have always loved potatoes, and those soft pillows that just soak in the sauce, have always been irresistible to me.

When I became gluten-free, my pasta options reduced significantly. Pasta is such a quick and easy meal to prepare when you don’t have as much time to spend in the kitchen as you would like, and it is so easy to dress up with veggies, meats, cheeses and various sauces. Plus my husband, born and raised in Italy grew up eating it 2 times a day.  Like Roberto always says, you can eat pasta twice a day your whole life and never get bored of it because of all the various ways it can be prepared.  I can’t say I agree, but I do enjoy the convenience of it once in a while. Commercially I can get corn pasta, in two shapes – spaghetti and elbows. That is fine, but sometimes you want something a little different!

(The First Attempt)

For New Year’s Eve 2011, when my step-daughter Gwen was visiting, we decided to try our hand at homemade gnocchi. I made a big mistake and mixed it in the food processor the first time. It turned out kind of gummy, but was still pretty good. We made the gnocchi gluten-free by using potatoes and potato starch. However, for me, the consistency was still too gummy – it wasn’t just the fault of the food processor.

Gwen was visiting again last week and wanted to make gnocchi again, this time instead of the potato starch, I suggested we use gluten-free oat flour. This made the gnocchi much more like I remember – a bit firmer and toothsome. We served it with a tomato sauce that Gwen and Roberto made on New Year’s Eve – it made a lot, so we froze the leftovers.

I also like these gnocchi served with brown butter cream sauce with truffle oil. When Roberto and I were in San Gimignano, in Tuscany, almost 2 years ago, we had the most amazing truffle gnocchi, and since then, I have been dreaming about it. The version we make at home comes pretty darn close!

Tonight we are going to have the leftovers with butter, peas and prosciutto. Like I said, so versatile!

Making homemade gnocchi is very easy and straightforward and much less time consuming than other types of homemade pasta. Since we have made it a few times, we no longer use a recipe, but this is a good starter recipe from Italian: The Definitive Professional Guide to Italian Ingredients and Cooking Techniques, Including 300 Step-by-step Recipes..

A note about the book – this book includes all the Italian classics, and has detailed process pictures as well. Roberto loves this cookbook because everything we have made from it turns out like an Italian in Italy made it.

Gnocchi di Patate

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs waxy potatoes, scrubbed
1 TBS sea salt
2 – 2 1/2 cups of flour (we use gluten-free oat flour)
2 TBS butter

METHOD:

Place the un-peeled potatoes in a large pot of salted water, Bring to a boil and cook until potatoes are tender, but not falling apart. Drain, and peel the potatoes as soon as possible, while they are still hot.

On a work surface spread out a layer of flour. Mash the potatoes with a hand masher directly onto the flour. You can also use a food mill or ricer if you have those.  Sprinkle the top of the potatoes with about half of the remaining flour and mix lightly. Begin to knead the dough, drawing in more flour as you knead.  Keep doing this until the dough is light to the touch, no longer sticky or moist, and can be rolled easily. Do not overwork the dough, or the gnocchi will become too heavy.

Divide the dough into 4 parts. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a snake about ¾ inch thick, and cut the dough into ¾ inch long pieces.  Hold an ordinary table fork, with long tines sideways.  Once by one press and roll the gnocchi onto your thumb, making ridges on one side and a depression from your thumb on the other side.

Bring large pan of salted water to boil. Then drop about ½ the gnocchi in.  When the gnocchi rise to the top, after about 3-4 minutes they are done. Scoop them out, allow them to drain and place in a serving bowl. Dot them with butter.  Keep warm while remaining gnocchi are cooking. AS soon as they are done, stir in with other gnocchi and more butter. Then serve with extra butter and Parmesan cheese, tomato sauce or any other sauce you wish.

Serves 4-6

A season full of sweets and baked goods for those of us who are gluten-intolerant or go without refined sugar can be a bit daunting. I have made plenty of sweet treats that are not GF to send to family and friends this year. But I want to enjoy some treats too! So I have been having fun experimenting in the kitchen and making some delicious GF cookies. That is why I was really excited to find a biscotti recipe in Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen by Gina De Palma, using polenta as a base flour. The rest of the recipe is easy to convert to make it GF and refined sugar free!

Polenta or cornmeal is a staple dish in the north of Italy, and always reminds me of when we were visiting Venice and Tuscany.  Funny how eating a certain food can so readily return vibrant memories…So, I like to say these are Northern Italian inspired cookies. Venetian in particular, with the use of sesame seeds and sweetened with honey hearkening to the days of ancient Venice and the use of exotic spices and ingredients.

Making biscotti with cornmeal is very easy and the results are crunchy and delicious – probably my favorite as far as biscotti go. These are very unique and therefore special biscotti, making them great gifts. I made the version inDolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen to send to friends and family, and made this version to satisfy my own sweet tooth!

Polenta and Sesame Biscotti
adapted from Dolce Italiano

INGREDIENTS:

3 cups GF flour – try a GF baking mix, or even oat or coconut flour
1 ¼ cup fine polenta
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
¾ cup raw honey
4 large farm fresh eggs
3 large farm fresh egg yolks, plus 1 egg white for glaze
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
½ cup sesame seeds (I used a combination of white and black)

METHOD:

In a large bowl mix together GF flour, polenta, baking powder and salt and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter and honey, about 2 minutes. Then add the eggs one at a time then the yolks one at a time beating well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the vanilla extract. Add the dry ingredients and beat on low to form a soft dough. Beat in ½ cup of sesame seeds until they are thoroughly incorporated. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hours, or until firm enough to handle.

Preheat oven to 325F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from the refrigerator. Using well floured hands(the dough is very sticky), divide it into 4 equal portions and roll each portion into a log about 1 ½ inches in diameter and 12 inches long. Place 2 logs spaced 3 inches apart on eah sheet.

In a small bowl beat the egg white until frothy, and with a pastry brush glaze the surface of the logs with the egg white. Then sprinkle them with the remaining sesame seeds. Bake logs unti; the are golden brown and feel somewhat firm to the touch – about 30-35 minutes. Rotate the sheets 180 degrees halfway through baking to ensure even baking.

Allow the logs to cool on the baking sheets or on a wire rack until cool to the touch – about 40 minutes.

With a sharp serrated knife slice the biscotti, slightly on the bias into ¼ inch wide slices. Lay sices on the baking sheets in a single layer and bake in the oven for about 15 to 20 minutes more until they are toasted, dry and crisp. Cool biscotti completely n baking sheets. Store in a clean airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Makes about 6 dozen biscotti

Today I am going to interrupt the holiday focused posts and take a quick detour to Québec City. I am a very lucky lady, my husband is wonderfully romantic. When we first met over 5 years ago, he jokingly told me that in Italy, they have “romance classes” for young boys in school along with art, math, sciences, history and languages. It was meant in jest, but if you know Roberto, you would believe that he attended those classes as a young man growing up in Rome.

So my lovely, romantic husband whisked me away on a surprise trip to Vieux-Québec (Old Quebec) City to celebrate my birthday, this past weekend. Living in rural, Northern Vermont, the closest city to us is Burlington. But Burlington is the smallest large city of any state in the USA. So for us to get a taste of the city life, we generally head to Montréal, which is the closest large city to us, closer than New York City or Boston. That said we are not really city people but we love French-speaking Canada because it is very European. The streets are full of cafés, bistros, and shops displaying beautiful handmade items, either made locally,or imported from Europe. I didn’t pick up a single item the whole weekend that was made in China. Even the utensils at the restaurants were from France and the dishes from England.

Another aspect that we so enjoy about visiting Québec Province is that breakfasts are usually included with the room… and you actually want to eat it. When I stay at hotels in the US, I always have to bring my own food for breakfast. Being gluten-intolerant, and not eating sugar, HFCS, food dyes, etc there is very little at the continental breakfast that I can eat. But in Québec there is incredible variety. During our trip, the hotel we stayed at offered a breakfast buffet with our room. We got to chose from a variety of amazing choices each day: Fresh fruit smoothies, 3 types of fresh cooked eggs, bacon, sausages, baked beans, potatoes, crepes, yogurt w/ fresh berry coulis and maple sugar, muesli, oatmeal, fresh fruit (including figs), hard boiled eggs, smoked salmon, rillettes, cretons, local cheeses and of course about 20 different varieties of croissants, breakfast pastries, brioche and breads. I ate until my heart’s content every morning, and Roberto was happy to have real, European style breads to chose from – a real luxury for him. I particularly enjoyed the whole fillets of smoked salmon, the quality which is far superior to anything I can get in my local area. As well as the rillettes and local cheeses!

We enjoyed a lot of delicious food in many quaint establishments in Vieux-Québec, including Cassoulet avec lapin (rabbit), Bourguignon de caribou sauvage (wild caribou stew in a wine and blueberry cream sauce), various Pate (wild meat pies) quebecoise,  and yes, I did splurge on a crepe, and a croissant filled with pastry cream and apricots washed down with a perfect Café au lait.

We made up for all the eating with taking several long walks, and hikes around the city on Friday and Saturday. Vieux-Québec is a walled city with a fort, and during this time of year, the Citadelle is pretty deserted. The Citadelle is surrounded by The Plains of Abraham, a park and green space that runs parallel to the Saint Lawrence River. Historically it was grazing land from about the late1500′s to the mid 1600′s and was the place of the last battle between the French and the English in 1759. This place was a wonderfully quiet and magical place to take a walk on Saturday morning. There were a few other brave tourists, and some locals, snowshoeing and Telemark skiing, but for long stretches there was no one but us. It snowed all of Friday night with huge, fluffy flakes and on the Plains of Abraham the snow was at least a foot deep. I am really glad that Roberto told me to bring my winter boots! This hike was one of my favorite parts of the trip! I wouldn’t have wanted to miss it for lack of proper footwear.

Vieux-Québec has an interesting layout with an upper and lower city. There is a Funiculaire or Funicular that links the two parts of the city, and has been in use since 1879. Or you can use the stairs, which on a freezing cold day, definitely counts as an intense hike. The Funicular freaked me out, so we did the stairs or climbed our way up steep winding sidewalks to get between the upper and lower city. This also ensured our ability to eat our way through Québec guilt free.

Vieux-Québec is an unparalleled destination for those seeking a European experience in North America without having the expense of overseas travel. The skyline is dominated by The Château Frontenac, the most photographed hotel in the world. It sits on a bluff overlooking the Saint Lawrence River, and looks every bit like a medieval castle bedecked with turrets, flags and sparkling lights. Truly a sight to behold, and certainly the architectural cornerstone of Vieux-Québec. It doesn’t stop there though, all the streets are lined with ancient stone buildings, many part of the original capital city of New France.

During the holiday season, there are a variety of holiday markets, including the German Christmas Market where we enjoyed spiced wine, traditional bratwurst with sauerkraut and roasted chestnuts. We also visited a large public market at the Old Port where we bought rillettes, cured salami, smoked fishes and fresh pasta and tasted traditional meat pies only made during the holiday season.

This is a great time of year to visit Quebec. One of the servers at the crêperie we went to told us that the mayor of Quebec wants to make Quebec THE city of Christmas. It has my vote. With its streets looking like something out of a magical Christmas village, all the beautiful holiday decorations and all the special events and holiday experiences to be had.  It is a perfect destination to get you into the magical spirit of the season. Even Bon Appetit agrees!

Life in its fullness is Mother Nature obeyed ~ Dr. Weston A. Price

I had the honor of attending the Wise Traditions Conference in King of Prussia, PA this past weekend. This was the first time I attended the conference, but not the first time I wanted to go. I wanted to attend last year, but found out about it too late to make the plans necessary to travel across country. This year I was invited by the Weston A. Price foundation to attend the event and cover it for my blog. So Roberto and I were given free press passes to the conference on Saturday giving us the chance to attend many of the talks, and meet many vendors, some of whom I have known for a long time, online, but not in person. And of course we were also able to meet a few food bloggers, too!

The Weston A. Price Foundation or WAPF, is at the heart of the fight for real food. The conference this year focused on The Politics of Food. The topic was perfect timing in light of the many government crackdowns that many small family farms and food artisans have been facing in recent months, which calls into question whether people in the USA have a right to choose what foods they eat. It is also timely as another Food Safety bill is about to be voted on.

(Jenn with Jill Cruz at WAPF table, Jenn with Sharon Kane, Sally Fallon Morell and Jeffrey Smith)

For those who are new to the work of Dr. Price, Saturday’s conference opened with a talk by Sally Fallon Morell, President of the WAPF and author of the wildly popular book Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats. Her talk was extremely informative. Dr Price was a prominent dentist of his day. In 1939 Price published Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, a book that details a series of ethnographic nutritional studies performed by him across diverse cultures of isolated non-industrialized peoples from the Swiss Alps to the South Seas and although the foods in the diets were different, there were some key similarities like the consumption of animal fats and fermented foods.

Price believed that various diseases endemic to Western cultures of the 1920s and 30s – from dental caries to tuberculosis – were rarely present in non-Western cultures. He argued that as non-Western groups abandoned indigenous diets and adopted Western patterns of living they also showed increases in typically Western diseases, and concluded that Western methods of commercially preparing and storing foods stripped away vitamins and minerals necessary to prevent these diseases.

Well, I for one appreciate and agree with Dr. Price’s findings. Which is why I follow the foundation’s guidelines for preparing whole foods. We have been eating this way for over a year and it has made a tremendous difference in our health from digestive and skin issues to emotional balance and energy. It has been profound. With a diet rich in full fat, good quality (humanely raised, grass and pasture raised) animal products, I have lost and then maintained a healthy stable weight for over a year, gained more energy to sustain my busy and active lifestyle, and despite popular and mis-informed belief, I have maintained an excellent cholesterol level and all my other blood tests came back normal or above average. All this on a diet full of cream, butter, cheese, raw milk, bacon fat, etc. *

In Fallon’s talk she discussed how eating local, sustainable, non-industrial foods is a political act these days since it keeps money local, brings prosperity to small farms, instead of commodity farms and produces healthy people, which means less money for the pharmaceutical industry. Very wise woman.

We also listened to two other amazing talks on Saturday. One by a hero in my book Jeffrey Smith, founder of the Institute for Responsible Technology and author of Seeds of Deception: Exposing Industry and Government Lies About the Safety of the Genetically Engineered Foods You’re Eating

Jeffrey opened his talk with some interesting reports:

* In 2010 Monsanto went from being Forbes company of the year to the worst stock of 2010.

* The Nielson Survey named “GMO Free” the fastest growing claim for store brands in 2010. Meaning the trends are moving in the direction that consumers want – which is non-GMO foods!

* The American Academy of Environmental Medicine stated that all Mds should prescribe non-GMO foods to all of their patients.

For helpful tools to make sure you are not eating GMO foods look on the package for these words “Non-GMO Project Verified” in the coming months and visit this page to download the Non-GMO Shopping Guide.

The third talk we attended was given by Judith McGeary of the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance . Judith has been working to amend the Food Safety Bill, so that it will not destroy small farms. To find out more about how you can help please voice your concern to your senators as this bill is about to be voted on. Also make sure to check out the Farm to Consumer Legal Defense Fund to learn more about your right to eat the foods you want and those rights that may be taken away.

In between talks we took a break to peruse the vendors at the conference. I had a great time meeting some new friends and seeing face to face some people that I have been working with online for a long time. Some of my favorite vendors were:

WAPF
Sharon Kane who wrote “The Art of Gluten Free Sourdough Baking”
Cultures for Health
Farm Fromage
Shiloh Farms
To Your Health Sprouted Flour Co.
U.S. Wellness Meats
Vital Choice

There was also an amazing farmers market, featuring the local bounty and many Amish vendors from nearby Lancaster County, PA. We bought some delicious cheeses and fresh raw apple cider for lunch. Between that and all the samples we were able to try, we were quite satisfied!

To end our day at the conference we listened to some fellow bloggers on a panel about how to use social media for effective food activism. It was a great talk that was presided over by the wonderful and fabulous Kimberly Hartke from Hartke is Online! Other panel members included:

Kari Carlysle, Linked In guru
Kelly The Kitchen Kop
Jenny McGruther of Nourished Kitchen
Ann Marie Michaels of Cheeseslave
Jill Nienhiser, webmaster for WAPF

There is so much to learn at Wise Traditions. All of the talks we attended were just part of what was available during the 3 day event. It is remarkable how much they offer and how well organized it was. My hat off to the organizers who did a superb job with every last little detail. I have decided to make this conference a yearly event. The information obtained is too important not to go.

If this sounds right up your alley and you are sad to have missed the event this year, fear not! All talks were recorded for your listening pleasure! You can purchase them here.

*Disclaimer: I am not a doctor or medical professional. This information is based solely on my own personal experiences with dietary change. Please consult a medial professional before making any major changes to your diet. Also the animals the products I eat come from are raised humanely on small family farms on diets of grass. Do not expect these results from the same products at a regular grocery store.

(Gal, Liz and Jenn making Pizza)

Pizza night is a weekly tradition in this house, and something we love to share with friends and family when they come to visit the homestead. Two weeks ago, I had a reunion with my best friend from high school, Liz, or as she is affectionately known to me, Lizard. We fell out of touch, like many of us do, over some boys…and we hadn’t been in touch for nearly 10 years. BAD BOYS. I thought about her often over the years, and we were so happy to be reunited on Facebook! She lives in Brooklyn, with her beautiful family, and she and her awesome husband came to visit us.

Pizza is the perfect food for entertaining. It is also a great way to feed a crowd when you are not sure what kinds of dietary restrictions people might have. Toppings can range from all veggies, to anchovies, some sausages, or whatever. You can even use pesto or barbecue sauce in place of traditional tomato sauce. You can even forego the cheese, if someone in your group is lactose intolerant. Making pizza together is a great way to spend time with friends – rolling out the dough, making personal pizzas, and then enjoying it together, with a nice glass of red, maybe a beer, and a lot of laughs! See how much fun we are having?

We are really passionate about our pizza here. Roberto grew up eating pizza in Italy, and I grew up thinking I didn’t like pizza (don’t blame me, blame “cheesefood”). This all changed when I discovered thin, crunchy, crust, fresh mozzarella cheese and the amazing array of fresh toppings that one can come up with when you make pizza at home! So you could say that we are both very picky pizza eaters. We might even be pizza snobs. So, in order to do justice to homemade pizza, we have been experimenting and creating for the past two years to come up with THE PERFECT PIZZA (TM).

We used to use the Olive Oil bread dough from Artisan Bread in 5, religiously. However, during that time, we had a bit of a wrench thrown into the works, when I discovered that I was having trouble with wheat. So we experimented with gluten free flours, and pizza dough recipes, and all of them really left a lot to be desired. So we had some sad and disappointing Friday nights. I was determined to find a pizza dough that was up to par taste and texture wise, and at the same time didn’t make me wake up with a hangover feeling the next day. This is where the sourdough comes in. I had heard through the blogosphere that people with wheat intolerance (NOT Celiac) were able to tolerate sourdough bread products. It has to do with neutralizing enzyme inhibitors, which interfere with digestion and breaking down phytic acid, which generally blocks mineral absorption. Sourdough cultures also predigest or completely break down the gluten during the fermentation process. Creating a bread that is more digestable. I also used spelt flour, because I have found that it is not as “heavy” as whole wheat, and closer to the feeling of a traditional pizza crust, like you would find in Italy.

For us, one of our secrets to making a super flavorful pizza is to use tomato paste in place of tomato sauce. This is a family secret, that one of my great aunts came up with. Roberto feels that this “proprietary” information should not be shared with the public. But like I told him, now maybe if we have homemade pizza at someone else’s house, maybe they read my post, and we will like it all the better! That punch of tomato paste flavor really comes through in all its sweetness once it is baked in the oven. Also, the cheese matters. Get the best quality mozzarella that you can, not the shredded stuff. Nice slices of fresh mozzarella add something wonderfully light to the pizza – and go easy on it. It is OK to have some bare spots, where you can actually see only sauce. Trust us…

Some of our favorite toppings are: fresh tomato slices, fresh mushrooms, prosciutto, arugula, anchovies, olives (capers if we are too lazy to pit olives) peperoncini peppers, and sun dried tomatoes. And you must remember to salt and pepper your pizza, and a nice drizzle of olive oil over top doesn’t hurt either!  We mix and match the toppings on different pizzas. Usually we make 2 pizzas, and then have leftover for lunches. Another favorite is using pesto as the sauce, and then adding thinly sliced potatoes, that you have baked slightly beforehand.

Perhaps the most important aspect  to the perfect pizza is a HOT oven. We preheat our oven 20 minutes ahead to 500 F. We bake our pizzas on cookie sheets, lined with parchment paper. This makes the crust super crisp and delicious! I have heard all the rage about pizza stones, and one day I might add one to my kitchen tools. But I use my Italian husband as a barometer for a good pizza, and so far, we have done well without the need for a pizza stone.

So we suggest you get your crust ready tonight to have pizza tomorrow!

INGREDIENTS:

¼ cup sourdough starter

5 cups spelt flour

2 TBS olive oil

1 TBS salt

2 cups water

3 cups sprouted spelt flour (or you can use regular, if you prefer)

1 tsp olive oil

METHOD:

Combine starter, 5 cups spelt flour, olive oil, salt and water in a large bowl. Cover loosely with a towel or lid and allow to stand in a warm place for 5-10 hours, or overnight is best. Next add 3 cups of sprouted spelt flour and work it into the dough, enough so you can handle it without it being too sticky. Form the dough into a ball, and rub 1 tsp of olive oil all over it. Place it back in the bowl and let it stand 20 minutes. Then knead the dough with your hands until it is smooth and elastic, then place it back in the bowl, and allow it to double in bulk – about 1 hour. At this point you can use it to make pizza. This recipe makes about 4 large cookie sheet rectangular pizzas. If you are not going to use it all, you can rip off 4 grapefruit sized balls and store each one in a freezer bag, until you want to use it. When you want to use it, take it out to defrost, and then roll out, and put your favorite toppings on.

]]> http://www.leftoverqueen.com/2010/08/06/sourdough-spelt-pizza-dough/feed 25 http://www.leftoverqueen.com/2010/07/06/fruits-and-nuts-of-the-forest-kefir-ice-cream http://www.leftoverqueen.com/2010/07/06/fruits-and-nuts-of-the-forest-kefir-ice-cream#comments Tue, 06 Jul 2010 15:22:51 +0000 The Leftover Queen http://www.leftoverqueen.com/?p=3046 Pin it

We have had some really scorching days lately! The past several of them have been in the 90′s! I thought I left Florida to get away from the heat, but it looks like it must have followed my mom up here. She arrived on the coolest day we’d had in weeks, lending credence to her idea that we live in The Great White North, but in less than 48 hours, it became an absolute inferno. She loves the heat, so she’s not complaining, but the rest of us are lethargic, even the pets!

So naturally this kind of weather calls for ice cream! But really, we love ice cream and have it quite often no matter what the weather. When I was in Italy, I fell in love with what I called my perfect combination of gelato – one scoop of Frutti di Bosco and one of Nocciola – “Fruits of the Forest” or mixed berries and hazelnut. Such a dreamy combination. Light yet rich at the same time. So I decided to make my own perfect flavor at home, using kefir, a fermented, probiotic dairy drink as the base. We make kefir here at the homestead fresh every day and I love finding new uses for it, beyond a glass straight up for breakfast! So I can now confirm it makes a really delicious ice cream! Next time I will probably add an egg or two to the mix, for a more creamy consistency. But there was nothing lacking in the taste department here! So if you are as hot as we are, or just looking for a different kind of ice cream flavor to cool off on a hot summer day, give this one a try! I promise you will love it!

INGREDIENTS:

4 cups of plain whole organic dairy kefir
1/3 cup of fresh organic heavy cream
¼ cup Frangelico (hazelnut liqueur)
½ cup of raw hazelnuts, toasted
1 cup frozen or fresh organic raspberries
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp ground cinnamon

METHOD:

I have a Vitamix, so I placed all the ingredients, in order listed into the Vitamix and blended just until the nuts were pulverized. I was looking for a creamy consistency. Then I placed all of it, in my ice cream maker and made it according to the manufacturer’s instructions. You can serve it before placing in the freezer for a more “soft serve” texture, or freeze for a harder consistency. I have also found that adding a ¼ cup of alcohol also lends to better scoopability.

I have been wanting to sit down and write this post for days now. As I type this, we are experiencing our first rain in about a week, which means I can take time from the fevered pace I have been working at, enjoy a cup of teeccino (yes, I have finally made the commitment to quit coffee) and get typing! All the while out lovely little seedlings and plants are getting a nice watering!

Although it has been 2 weeks since I enjoyed this meal, the memories are still fresh in my mind. Maybe that is because Bistro Sauce is part of The Vermont Fresh Network, or maybe that is coincidental. I rather think not. Every single eatery I have been to from fine dining to order-at-the-counter places that are part of the Fresh Network have all been memorable.

I really must repeat what I have said before, Vermont is really ahead of the curve when it comes to local eating and the extremely important relationship between farmers and chefs. Without farms we would have no food. Vermont gets that, as do most Vermonters. Gosh, I love my new home state.

(photo courtesy of CrankyCakes)

So to end our fabulous first Foodie Tour of Burlington ( if you missed the first leg of the tour, you can catch up here ) and to celebrate Restaurant Week, Cheryl took us to Bistro Sauce to meet up with Lara, who we had met earlier to kick off Restaurant Week, at one of my all time favorite places, Applecheek Farm .

(photo courtesy of CrankyCakes)

We were really hot when we arrived from a day out in the sunshine, so we started with a local beer at the bar. I had nice and refreshing Switchback which also happened to go really well with my first course – a delicious baby greens salad with pears, aged cheddar and candied hazelnuts. Roberto had the olive plate with grilled bread and the ladies had the Caesar salad with anchovies. Everyone was pleased with their choices.

(grilled olive plate, brandade, baby greens salad, pork shoulder)

The next course was my absolute favorite – Brandade. It was a smoked haddock and potaotes mashed and then fried in a crispy crust, served with remoulade and greens. On top was a beautiful deep fried wild leek, or ramp. The smoked fish and potatoes had the perfect creamy consistency inside to juxtapose the crispy outer coating and the flavor was deep and delicious. Everyone else got the risotto with wild mushrooms and fiddleheads. It was good too, but I was so happy I chose the Brandade.

Third course was pork – Vermont pork shoulder laid on top of garlic mashed potatoes and local spring veggies with a pepita romesco sauce and jus. We all got the same course. Cheryl had some intel that this was the best dish in the course, and we all went for it, not regretting a single bite. The pork was absolutely tender, the potatoes perfect and the sauces divine. Very good course.

For dessert, we all decided to go light with homemade ice cream or sorbet. I went for the bay leaf. I remember how amazing this bay leaf custard was and knew this was a taste I would love. Roberto got vanilla bean, which he felt was not very impressive. Cheryl went for, I believe mango…but the craziest choice, was the cucumber sorbet that Lara opted for. It was totally refreshing.

(photo courtesy of CrankyCakes)

All in all it was a very nice night. For $25 per person, I also believe it was very much a steal. We had a 6 PM reservation, and by 7 PM, the place was packed full of happy diners with smiles on their faces. I would say it was a successful event for Bistro Sauce and a great evening for foodies!

photo courtesy of CrankyCakes

So we have been here officially on the homestead for less than a month, and already I have had the great opportunity to meet some awesome people, as well as reacquaint myself with some that we have met on previous trips to the area. I have certainly learned that people in Vermont love good food, and care about where their food comes from, they also care about their fellow Vermonters.

Vermont has just come off Restaurant Week . It is a big deal here – participating restaurants offer special, prix-fixe menus showcasing their chefs’ greatest dishes. Those menus will feature discounted, three-course “tasting-style” dinners (e.g. appetizer, entreé and dessert) priced at $15, $25 or $35 per person. 10% of the proceeds from event admissions, sponsorships and restaurant participation fees will be donated to Vermont Foodbank.

(Inside Sugar Snap, checking out the produce at City Market, with Cheryl outside of Sugar Snap and City Market!)

To celebrate Restaurant Week and all the fine food that Vermont has to offer, Burlington resident, fellow food blogger, Vermont Fresh Networker and all around Vermont local food expert Cheryl from Cranky Cakes offered to take Roberto and I to all her favorite foodie spots in and around Burlington, ending with dinner at Bistro Sauce in Shelburne, a participant in Restaurant Week, which I will talk about in an upcoming post . We were in for quite a day!

We started the tour off at Cheryl’s Residence, Burlington Co-Housing. It is such an interesting place, the grounds are full of acres and acres perfect for wildcrafting and gardening. She took us on a tour of the grounds where plants, berry bushes, and everything in between are growing, all over the place. Her partner Greg told us that at the height of summer, it likens to a real life Hobbiton with everyone outside working the grounds. All they need are some livestock running around, and I can totally see it!

But the tour must go on, so we headed out in Cheryl’s car. Car conversations revolved around food in the front seat, while in the backseat between Roberto and Greg, major comic drawing and illustrator geekness abounded. It was the perfect arrangement! Geeks unite!

photo courtest of CrankyCakes

Our first stop on the tour was Sugar Snap – an awesome little takeout joint, serving lunch and dinner. Situated right at the beginning of Burlington’s REAL Food Hub, The Intervale . Before hitting the ‘Vale, we needed to fortify ourselves. We hadn’t had lunch yet, so I went with half of their secret recipe chicken salad sandwich on sourdough. Roberto had the Dark and Stormy – ham, mustard sauteed portabellos, on a delicious roll. Cheryl and Greg shared goat cheese quiche. It was a very good start to the tour.

We took a drive through the Intervale, home to many of Burlington’s small farms and community gardens. It was once full of cows, then became more of an industrial center, but is now finding it’s roots again in the natural world. This is where Cheryl and Greg’s CSA, Intervale Community Farm (the second largest CSA in Vermont) is located. The Intervale has a lot of interesting events throughout the year, including Slow Food tastings on Thursdays…sounds like another reason to go to Burlington.

After that we drove through the Old North End, home to many ethnic restaurants and groceries – everything from Middle Eastern and African to Himalayan. This part of town is also home to the Sustainability Academy , in partnership with Shelburne Farms , is the nation’s first K-5 magnet school with a sustainability theme. From their website: “The goal of the Academy is to prepare students to be responsible citizens and agents for change, in their community and beyond. The Academy is an international model for using sustainability as a lens for place-based education and service learning. We maintain the highest expectations for academic and personal growth for all of our students and embrace the rich economic and cultural diversity of our community”. WOW. If I could only go back in time to be a student there!!!

(Roberto and Greg chatting it up in Bulk Foods – but likely not ABOUT bulk foods….Photo courtesy of CrankyCakes)

From the North End we headed to City Market a fabulous co-op full of local, organic and fair trade foods. Kind of like a Whole Foods, but owned by the community – even better in my book! I got some lovely and tasty souvenirs, including cheese from Doe’s Leap. Doe’s Leap, who recently broke my heart. It is a sad tale, indeed.  They advertised a most incredible internship opportunty on their website-  teaching interns about raising goats, goat healthcare, artisan cheesemaking and training herd dogs – all the things I want to learn. But unfortunately they are not offering the program anymore. BOOHOO!!! So I drowned my sorrows in goat cheese from their farm, instead.

I was also able to get some lovely local non-GMO cornmeal from Butterworks Farms, and some black turtle beans from another local farm, both in City Market’s extensive Bulk Food section! After all the shopping efforts, we needed a pick me up, so we left with some amazing Serchan’s Potato salad – a Nepali potato salad, made by one of Cheryl’s neighbors…of course! I swear she knows everyone who has anything to do with good food in Burlington!

(Lambs at Shelburne Farms, a delicious pit stop at August First, Red Wagon Plants, and Sicilian donkeys at Shelburne Farms)

We drove into downtown Burlington for a stop at August First, one of Cheryl’s favorite bakeries. We had been hearing about how wonderful their breads are, from Cheryl and Greg all day, so we were lucky enough to get the LAST baguette of the day to taste. We were lucky enough that they were already out of iced coffee, since the owner Phil then had to improvise by giving us a shot of delicious espresso, that we filled halfway with filtered water and then topped off with cream. YUM. I told him he should always do iced coffee this way. I put a drizzle of honey in mine and it was so good. We decided to catch our breath on their beautiful outdoor patio with the iced coffees and a chocolate, apricot and hazelnut scone, which was out of this world. The name August First comes from the traditional date for the early European harvest festival called Lammas, which celebrates the annual wheat harvest. Way cool.

At this point Greg had to leave the tour to go back home and draw…ah, the life of an artist…so the three of us dropped him off and continued on our way. First stop, plant heaven – Red Wagon Plants , purveyors of heirloom and specialty plants. It was perfect, since Roberto, this family’s resident gardener, had been wanting to go there anyway! We met the fabulous owner, Julie, and then took a tour of their greenhouses looking at all the beautiful flowers, and smelling the best chocolate mint ever! Going back there this weekend to get some for our garden, because we can’t stop talking about it!!!

(photo courtesy of CrankyCakes)

Then we walked over to the neighbors, Family Cow Farmstand , a raw milk farm. They sell their milk to the community and also have home dairy making courses. They had two sweet calves in the barn that after a bit of coaxing came up to sniff and lick us. Their tongues were a bit like a cat’s tongue – a little rough. But their fur was soft and thick. We spent a few minutes checking out their beautiful views and breathing in the fresh farm air.

(The Intervale, view driving through Shelburne Farms, The “Barn” at Shelburne Farms, The Inn at Shelburne Farms)

Our last stop before dinner was Shelburne Farms . This is truly an incredible place, and if you come to visit, a definite stop on our tour of Northern Vermont. I think at this point Cheryl was realizing what a lover of farm animals I am, so she knew that no matter how tight our time was, we had to make this stop.

(photo courtesy of CrankyCakes)

Shelburne Farms is an amazing place that we literally just touched the surface of. Our main focus on this trip was the animals – cows, pigs, sheep, goats, chickens and donkeys. We met some really cute friends along the way . So cute that if we had brought our truck, I might have had to smuggle! Shelburne Farms offers cheese tours, wagon rides, snowshoeing in the winter, hiking trails in the summer, a sugar shack, a farm store, a farm eats stand and even an Inn – where you can stay or enjoy a rather swanky meal. I will certainly enjoy going there time and again.

I hope you enjoyed the first leg of the tour with me. Join me next time for dinner at Bistro Sauce in Shelburne. If you still want more, and believe me, you so do, you can check out Cheryl’s take on the day here, at Cranky Cakes. She has a great blog!

Well we have finally arrived in Vermont! After two days of driving, and two days of settling, I am online, although briefly. We won’t have reliable internet access until next week. But I couldn’t resist coming online to share this post with you, my loyal readers!

We arrived at night, in the dark, but woke the next day to paradise – green grass, flowers blooming, sweet breeze blowing. We had two glorious days like this, and now there is almost 2 feet of snow on the ground! But that is what you can expect at this time of year in Northern New England. In any case, I wanted to talk about food – and more specifically food while on the road…

If you are like me, planning a trip inevitably involves food. Many times I will choose a travel destination based on what the food scene is like there – are there good quality restaurants with local farms to supply them? Are there unique foodie experiences to be had? New exotic foods to try? Etc… But what do you eat on your way there, where often the choices are less than optimal?

If you are driving, your choices are extremely limited. At the airports, there is little better – mostly in both instances it is a sea of fast food, or if you are “lucky”, sit down chain restaurants, none of which are a part of my food plan because you never know what goes into the food they are cooking. Even so called “healthy” choices on the menu can be cooked with bad oils, and salad dressings can have corn syrup, or the worst of the worst, anything can be loaded with MSG, hydrogenated oils, food dyes or other food preservatives. No, you really never know what you are getting, and eating bad food on the way to your travel destination can have you feeling poorly once you get there – which really defeats the whole purpose of enjoying your time away. In my experience, only in Italy was I able to literally stop at a rest stop and get good, fresh and locally made food– but that is a post for another time, perhaps.

So since I don’t live in Italy, what I have been doing lately is making food for us to take on our trips. This year all of our trips have been road trips, and that makes packing food to take along a little easier, especially if you go with foods that are easy to eat with your hands. All you need is a small lunch box sized cooler (depending on the size of your travel party), a few ice packs, and a smaller grocery bag with non-perishable items. For long trips, remember to pack enough meals for everyone you are traveling with and plenty of water. For Roberto and I, when we head up to New England for example, we need a total of 4 breakfasts, 4 lunches and 4 dinners – 2 of each meal for two days. Imagine how much money that will save you in road meals!

Also, remember, that you don’t need to eat something different everyday for every meal. Usually we take 4 of the same thing for all the breakfasts, and then create a large batch of 2 other choices – one for dinners and one for lunches. If you add some fruit, carrot sticks, cherry tomatoes, or maybe even some kettle chips and a little dark chocolate, you have enough variety to keep it interesting, as well as some treats to keep you motivated to keep on truckin’!

Here are some of our favorite meals to take along:

1) Oat Cakes with various cheeses, sliced, smoked salmon, or salami (you can pre-package the cheeses and meats into ziplock bags, and pack the oat cakes separately to keep them crunchy. This is a great breakfast choice.

2) Hard Boiled Eggs – which you can either have for breakfast with an oat cake or create an egg salad with for one of the other meals and serve on rolls, or wraps, etc.

3) Lettuce Wraps – large romaine lettuce leaves stuffed with tuna, salmon or egg salad, or beans and corn with salsa, or chunks of mozzarella and tomato drizzled with balsamic vinaigrette or any other creation you can come up with. You can even make a “turkey sandwich” and put it in a lettuce wrap.

4) Homemade Chicken Salad – served on rolls or bread or stuffed in a lettuce wrap. I like putting sun-dried tomatoes in my chicken salad

5) Green Salad Wraps – make a delicious tossed salad full of crunchy veggies, dress it, and fill wraps with the mixture, or one of the other mixtures above, under lettuce wraps.
6) Homemade Maki Rolls – these are the best little finger foods in the world!

For our most recent trip – the drive from Florida to our new hometown in Vermont, we took #1 for breakfasts, and #’s 2 and 4 to divide over lunches and dinners. The prep time for this was about 15 minutes. Enough time to cook the chicken for the chicken salad and mix up both the salads (I had hardboiled the eggs in advance). Plus I did this with my kitchen PACKED for the move – so trust me, anyone can do this! LOL! We are lucky enough to stay with my aunt in Virginia half way, so she lets us tuck our little cooler in her fridge, overnight and sends us on our way the next morning with full bellies!

What kinds of foods and snacks do you like to bring on your trips? What is your worst road food experience?

You can check out my mom’s posts here and here on her blog Travel Closeup for more road trip food ideas!