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NEW YEAR! NEW SITE!

The new word press version of this site is much cleaner and reader friendly! I have just beung revamping but am working daily to post new recipes and transfer everything over.

The new blog will also feature cook book reviews and farmers market review!!!

Homemade baked falafel with baba ghanouj and tahini sauce

Ingredients:

Tahini Sauce

1/2 cup tahini

3-5 minced garlic cloves

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup water (use to thin for preferred consistency)

Pinch cumin

Fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Baba Ghanouj

1 large eggplant

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup lemon juice

3-5 minced garlic cloves

Pinch cumin

Fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Falafel

1 15 oz can of garbanzo beans

1 15 oz can of fava beans

1 large onion, diced

3-5 minced garlic cloves

1 cup Panko or regular bread crumbs

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon

Pinch cumin

Fresh parsley

Salt and pepper to taste

Other

1 heirloom tomato

Spring greens

Garlic naan

Mediterranean feta salsa (feta, sundried tomatoes, scallions, olives, in olive oil)

Directions:

Tahini Sauce

1. Pour tahini in a bowl and whisk
2. Add olive oil, garlic, cumin and parsely
3. Slowly stir in the lemon juice
4. Lastly, add water to thin the mixture to desired consistency
5. Chill until ready to serve

Baba Ghanouj

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
2. Using a fork, poke holes in intervals up and down the skin of the eggplant
3. Place on an oiled baking sheet in the oven to roast for about an hour, rotating the eggplant occasionally**
4. While the eggplant is roasting, combine tahini, lemon juice, garlic, cumin, and parsley
5. When the skin of the eggplant appears blackened, remove from hit and let it cool briefly
6. Remove skin from the eggplant and scoop out the "meat" of the eggplant (including the seeds!) into a bowl
7. Combine the eggplant with the tahini-lemon juice mixture
8. Spread baba ghanouj in a shallow dish and top with parsley, 1 tablepoon, olive oil and splash of lemon

*** I used one big eggplant for this recipe, next time I'll use 2 smaller Italian eggplants because the thickest part of the large eggplant took a very long time to cook.

Baked Falafel

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
2. Drain and thoroughly rinse the beans
3. Mash beans in food processor
4. Add flour, baking soda, and olive oil
5. Add garlic, onion, and spices
6. Add about a 1/4 cup of bread crumbs to the mix and save the rest for caking to the outside of the falafel
7. Take the pastey mixture and form 1.5" balls and roll in Panko or breadcrumbs
8. Place on oiled baking sheet
9. Bake for about 15 minutes, occasionally flipping the patties over
10. Cook until browned and crispy on each side, cooked in the middle

Assemblage (my favorite part)

1. Lay down about 4 triangles of Naan bread
2. Next, layer with spring greens and diced heirloom tomato
3. Lay 3-5 falafel patties on the bed of greens
4. Add a generous dollop of baba ghanouj to the middle of the patties
5. Next, lay down a scoop of the Mediterranean feta salsa
6. Drizzle top-down with tahini sauce and the around the plate to dress the lettuce

Bon appetit!

So what's in it for you?

Let's talk about the magic of tahini, eggplant, and pan-frying vs. baking.

So, what is tahini? Usually found in the same aisle as peanut butter tahini is the paste of roasted, hulled (outer layer) sesame seeds. Most notably, tahini is used in hummus and endless Middle Eastern dishes. Because tahini paste is ground up it is easy to digest and the nutrients begin to the hit your blood stream within a half hour. For this reason, I made tahini and honey sandwiches while backpacking Europe to get a quick, healthy and long-lasting hunger and energy fix with about 3g protein/tablespoon. Tahini is packed with a variety of the Vitamin B's, which play a role in maintaining metabolism, the immune system, and muscle tone. Tahini is known to combat pancreatic cancer. But the real kicker? Tahini has a higher calcium concentration than any other food, making it a prime choice for lactose-intolerants to get their calcium fix. However, tahini is high in calories and oil so use with moderation.

Eggplant-- the other other white meat. I say this because I truly see why eggplant is referred to over and over again as the "savory" or "meaty" vegetable. I have a harder time cooking eggplant than I do steak. But it's always worth it! Well, unfortunately for this dish we removed the skin of the eggplant, which to me, is the most interesting and nutritional part. Nasunin is a powerful photonutrient found in the skin of the eggplant. Nasunin acts to protect the lipid membranes of brain cells to keep the bad free radicals away so they can go on doing the work that healthy brain cells do. But eggplant also has about 13 other phenolic compounds that act as antioxidants and may help to prevent cancer, lower cholesterol, improve blood flow and fight viruses and bacteria. Thus, eggplant (one of the top ten most healthful foods) is one of my favorite brain foods that is just bursting with antioxidant power!

Why did I bake my falafels? It's simple...even with olive oil pan-frying is still frying. Granted, this is not as bad as deep frying but while the oven's on why not bake? Additionally, my falafel ball mix ended up being a little more liquidy than desired so this was a good way to ensure that the inside would would cook and the outside would brown. If you choose not to bake you don't need the flour or baking soda.

Earth friendly tips.

Being a vegetarian dinner this dish was inherently more environmentally friendly than a meaty alternative (i.e; kebab or something). Disappointingly I found an irony in the tahini production system: the largest commercial producers of sesame seeds are India, China, and Mexico but the largest primary producers of tahini are Lebanon, Turkey, and Israel. For this recipe I bought Joyva Tahini from Whole Foods. Joyva is a 99-year-old family-run business based in Brooklyn. Their corporate website is down until further notice but I guess my question would be....did the seeds come all the way from India to Brooklyn? Then packaged and up to Boston? Or did they come from China, to Turkey, to Brooklyn, to Boston? Sometimes I wish the label on the back would list how many countries and how how many gallons of fuel it took to get to my apartment in Boston. Maybe I'll email the company and ask haha...

Homemade quinoa veggie burger with Tzatziki on Rosemary Foccacia Bread

I promise this is the last you'll see of quinoa for a week or so haha.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked Quinoa*

1 large carrot

4 scallions

1 egg

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 medium sized garlic clove

1 load of Rosemary foccacia bread

1 tomato

1 can of Organic Fava beans

ANY VEGGIE IS WELCOME!

*For this used leftovers from the chive-infused quinoa (see previous post, this quinoa included spinach, roasted red pepper, spinach and onion so for the full taste add those ingredients to this mix or also make the other dish and use as leftovers like I did!)

1 cucumber

1 cup of Oikos Greek yogurt

Juice from one lemon

Fresh dill sprigs

Optional: I served this with a summery black plum and kiwi fruit salad

Directions

Quinoa veggie patties

1. In a blender or food processors combine cooked quinoa, egg, veggies, beands, and breadcrumbs. Smush, mush, and blend until the mix becomes somewhat sticky and a lil bit dry.

2. Form 3-6 patties (depends on how thick and big you want them, I think next time I'll make 6 smaller thinner patties vs. 4 thicker patties)

3. Cook on the stove top with olive oil until browned on each side

Tzatziki sauce

1. Homemade Tzatziki sauce is so delcious! I combined Oikos greek yogurt with fresh dill, minced garlic, thinly sliced cucumber, and lemon juice. You can either blend or mix but you'll get different outcomes.

Blended: this turns out a lil more watery because it liquifies the cucumbers, which makes it a fun dressing but less of a sauce

Spoon mixed or whisked: I recommend this because the Tzatiki will maintain a thicker, more yogurty consistency.

Assemble

1. Halve a loaf of rosemary Foccacia bread and line the inside with Tzatziki sauce

2. Place sliced tomatos and sliced cucumber in the pocket as well if you wish!

3. Add the cooked veggie patties

4. Drizzle with more Tzatziki

5. Serve warm or cold with fruit!

So what's in it for you?

I've raved about Cannellini beans and Quinoa let's talk about fava beans, organic Greek yogurt Tzatziki sauce, and rosemary!

Favas are a favorite: Organic fava beans high in fiber, low in sodium, and fat and cholesterol free. Fava beans are also very high in iron. Thanks to iron, oxygen is carried from your blood to your muscles to make sure you get enough of it. So it is true! You can obtain a lot of iron from other sources than red meat! In fact, one cup of chick peas contains 13 mg's of iron whereas one slice of sirloin contains only 3.1 mg's.

Interestingly, fava beans are full of L-dopa (dopamine), an amino acid and neurotransmitter in the brain. Dopamine plays many roles in the brain having to do with mood, memory, energy, and sex drive.

Greek yogurt Tzatziki-OPA! Tzatziki sauce is a guilt-free way to incorporate a creamy dressing into your sandwich or salad. So much healthier than Ranch, here's why:

Yogurt promotes intestinal health, improves lactose intolerance, improves immunity, and may have anti-cancer and weight-loss effects. Other yogurts have 170 calories (of which are from fat) whereas Oikos Greek yogurt has only 110, NONE OF WHICH ARE FROM FAT! Other yogurts packs 27 grams of sugar, Oikos only 16. Plus, Oikos uses only organic sugar, milk, and fruits.

RANCH IS 91% FAT! No wonder it's so delicious. However, 2 tbsp's of Ranch packs 140 calories and 14 grams of fat! Tzatziki has only 54 calories and 0.5 grams of fat....sooooo when you pig out on veggies and or chips think Tzatziki! There's a reason why the Grecians are so good looking. Greeks say that "yogurt is an aphrodisiac!".

Ra-ra for Rosemary! It tastes delicious, what else? Dried rosemary can improve concentration by increasing blood flow to the brain, improves immune system, circulation, digestion, and also contains anti-inflammatory compounds.

Earth friendly tips.

Hidden preservatives and things I don't know what they do....

CHOOSE Tzatziki or a home-made ranch dip vs. buying bottled chain brand Ranch

Ranch:

Vegetable oil, egg yolk, sugar, salt, buttermilk, spices, garlic, onion, vinegar, phosphoric acid, xanthan gum, modified food starch, MSG, artificial flavors, disodium phosphate, sorbic acid, calcium disodium EDTA, disodium inosinate and disodium guanylate.

Why so many names of substances I don't understand?

Also, for this recipe I bought beans distributed by the a West Brae Natural vegetarian, a brand of the Hain Celestial Group--a "responsible" company that distributes greenly.

Links:

http://eating.health.com/2008/02/01/worlds-healthiest-foods-yogurt-greece/

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12396676

http://www.hain-celestial.com/press/hcg_csr_2009.pdf

Spinach, mushroom, roasted red pepper Quinoa with chive-infused olive oil

This is is a more sauteed/cooked dinner Quinoa dish that the summer dish posted earlier this week. I know we have ingredient overlap but I'm just a poor college kid trying to make a food blog! Came home tonight thinking I'd only have a pb and j sandwich but decided to make something with leftover raw ingredients from the salmon dish plus some new members. Red wine n cookin' = love

Ingredients:

2/3 cup of Quinoa

1 cup of Water

2 cloves of garlic

1/2 cup chopped fresh chive

Olive oil

1 red pepper

1/2 red onion

4-7 Crimini mushroom caps (how mushroomy you like it!?)

Sea salt

Chopped Spinach leaves

Garlic naan optional!

Directions:

Chive infused olive oil:

Make this first so it has time to marinade in it's juices!

1. In a blender (or food processor if you're lucky enough to have one) place 1/2 cup olive oil with chives and a pinch of sea salt.

2. Puree until smooth

3. Strain over bowl

4. With remaining chive place on cheese cloth and squeeze oil remaining olive oil--there's more in there than you think!

Cook quinoa as stated in previous posts

How to roast a red pepper! No need to buy the canned sliced stuff when you can do it yourself:

pre heat oven on broil (this is important you're not baking you're BROILING!)

1. Slice a red pepper in half discard stems and seeds

2. Place open face down on a baking sheet

3. Broil for 7-10 minutes of until the top skin on the red pepper is thoroughly burnt! (don't be afraid the more burnt looking across the surface the better, it means it's roasted thoroughly and it'll be easier to peel)

4. Remove from oven let cool

5. Once cooled, peel the burnt skin off to reveal delicious roasted red pepper, slice as desired!

Sauteed veggies:

1. Heat olive oil a pan and add garlic (make sure the garlic does not brown too much though!)

2. To the pan add red onions and saute diced crimini mushrooms

3. Add spinach after mushrooms and onions have softened a bit. Spinach does not take as long too cook.

Combine!

1. Fold the sauteed veggies and roasted red pepper slices into the warm quinoa and add the chive-infused olive oil.

Serve with Naan or some type of break or cracker if you wish!

Optional: I added Manchego cheese shavings and chili power to the top

So what's in it for you?

Well I've sung Quinoa's praises (almost a bit too much this week) so I'll talk about new additions to this recipe; chive, spinach, cannelli beans and crimini mushrooms.

One, two, three, four, CHIVE! Chive might just be my favorite herb, most likely because it's in the same awesome family as onion and garlic--OPA! Chives stimulate and aid digestion (particularly in fatty foods), are known to be good for your respiratory system, and have diuretic properties*.

**Diuretics augment diuresis. WTF? This means they help remove liquids (like PEE) or relieve fluid retention in the body. While it's good to be hydrated it's equally important to release salt-contianing fluids in your body that make your blood heavier.

And guys, chives had been known to reduce the chances of prostrate cancer by as much as 50% so eat up!

SPINACH like it HOT! If you don't like spinach you might want to read another blog because this will be a reoccurring veggie. Maybe it's not as crisp as iceberg but iceberg is lacking HARDCORE in the vitamins/minerals department. Plus, spinach is much for versatile and likes it hot unlike most leaf lettuces. There's a reason Popeye's so strong. Packed with vitamin A (good for weak eyes like mine), choline and inositol (keeps your arteries from thickening or hardening), antioxidants (carotenoids prevent formation of tumors!), and has anti-aging properties (I'm 23 going on 21 again!) . Got a cut? Vitamin K in spinach aids in blood clotting.

Cannellini's and Crimini's.

Crimini mushrooms provide you with zinc, which supports a healthy immune system and (my favorite) is essential/required for an optimal sense of taste and smell! Ladies, crimini's have anti-cancer (particularly breast cancer) properties. Crimini nutrients regulated estrogen levels in your blood by inhibiting aromatase (produces estrogen). By keeping the producer of estrogen in-check this produce item lowers your chance of breast cancer.

Cannellini beans! Have a delicious nut-like flavor. The white, Italian cousin of the kidney bean are LOW FAT, HIGH PROTEIN, HIGH FIBER, and VITAMIN B RICH. Ere go, lose weight, be strong, be regular, and support your immune system, skin, muscle tone, nervous system, etc!

I like chopping up white onion, mincing garlic, and throwing these beans in with lemon juice and olive oil and chilling for a delicious summer snack.

Environmentally friendly tip?

I find myself frustrated living in Boston sometimes because me and my roommates had to write to request a recycling bin to have for our apartment. Then all they delivered was a tiny bin with barely enough volume for me! Then our building got a big recycling bin. But now I'm on to where can I compost and how without getting mice?! Well, this will be addressed in a future blog but I guess I also get upset about not being able to have my own garden. Sure, there's no way I'm capable of growing tomatoes on my back deck but I think herbs are another story.

I've since looked into being sustainable by growing my own herbs! Luckily for me chives grow year round if I bring them inside and put them in the window. I'm going to try this and let you know what happens!

BEan kind to the environment and reduce gas from beans! I'm serious, methane is bad for the environment, haha. Most people avoid beans for avoid flatulent follies and embarrassment. Make sure to rinse beans before and AFTER cooking them and DO NOT use the same water you use to soak the beans to cook them.

Upcoming post will suggest what to do with leftovers...don't throw good food away or let it go to waste!

Links:

http://www.examiner.com/x-30695-Greensboro-Sustainable-Foods-Examiner~y2010m2d4-Onion-chives-be-sustainable-grow-your-own

http://penniwisner.com/grow-your-own-herbs-chives-the-harbingers-of-spring/

Smoked salmon, chive-carrot cream cheese on Oatmeal bread with lemon-dill "salsa"

This is my new favorite brunch item. My own original recipe!

Ingredients:

4 oz Alaskan smoked salmon

A few table spoons of cream cheese

1 package of fresh chives

1 large, peeled carrot

1 diced tomato

1 diced red onion

4 chopped scallions

Minced fresh dill sprigs

1 lemon

A few tablespoons of olive oil

2 slice of Organic oatmeal bread (breakfasty!)

Serves 2 hungry brunchers.

Directions:

Chive-carrot cream cheese:

1. Scoop a few tablespoons of cream cheese into a bowl and let it soften for a few minutes

2. Meanwhile finely shred the carrot and dice the chives

3. Whip carrots shreds and chives into the cream cheese (the cream cheese will turn a fun orange color from the carrot juices!)

4. Refrigerate until ready to use

Lemon-dill "salsa":

This is a fun sort of pico de gallo texture salsa suited for salmon (lemon and dill, hello?!)

1. In a bowl whisk together the olive oil and lemon juice from 1/2 of the lemon.

2. Add diced tomato*, scallions, red onions, and finely chopped dill in a bowl.

*I recommend halving the tomato and scooping out the pulp (make sure to eat it!) and only chopping the outer part of the tomato. The salsa ends up being rather liquidy anyways and we don't want our toasted bread to get too too soggy.

How to arrange:

1. Toast 2 pieces of Organic oatmeal bread (healthy alternative to the traditional bagel!)

2. Spread cream cheese evenly and all the way to the edges of the bread

3. Arrange about 2 oz of salmon onto each toast

4. Use a fork or straining spoon to top each piece with a generous amount of the lemon-dill salsa (there will be leftovers to spoon onto each bite I hope!)

5. Toss any extra chive and carrot onto the plate to garnish

Serve each with a slice of the lemon (with the remaining lemon half)

Enjoy! I had this with a chilled glass of Boathouse passionfruit-carrot juice to play off the the carrot in the cream cheese. Happy Brunch!

So what's in it for you?

This is a healthier version of lox and bagel, one of my favorite breakfast items in the whole wide world. Mostly because for this I choose a nutty Organic oatmeal bread. In terms of volume, I made up for lost bread with an improved refreshing, tangy, and potent lemon-dill salsa. Kept it traditional by serving it open-faced.

So where to start? The salmon is the lead actress in this dish so we'll start there. As mentioned previously, smoked salmon is loaded with omega-3 fatty acids! To reiterate, n-3 fatty acids raise HDL in your blood stream (a good thing!). Salmon is a good source of protein and is not packed with saturated fat like it's other breakfast counterparts (bacon or sausage ah!). Omega 3's are heart happy as they help decrease risk of heart arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats), decrease triglyceride levels, slow the growth rate of plaque in your arteries, and slightly lower blood pressure. Go salmon!

Let's talk about dill, baby. Let's talk about you and me. Fresh dill weed, as featured in the avocado soup, is not only a delicious accent herb with a unique taste it has something health benefits to offer. Dill is another fibrous, antioxidant friend loaded with vitamins A and C, beta carotene, as well as minerals and folic acid. Dill houses eugenol, an essential oil known to reduce blood sugar levels in diabetics. Dill also is a good source of copper (an important bodily enzyme co-factor) and zinc (regulates growth and development, sperm generation, and digestion).

Consider washing this down with carrot juice! Carrot juice can help prevent bodily infections, is valuable for your adrenal glands, eye health, help menstrual flow, regulate blood sugar, and promotes colon health! The natural chlorine, sulphur, phosphorus, and magnesium in carrot juice is a wonderful liver, digestive tract, and circulatory system.

Earth friendly tips:

Smoked salmon is a a touchy subject as salmon is a threatened. BE SURE TO BUY WILD SMOKED SALMON---NOT FARMED! Ensure your salmon is all natural, naturally smoked, antibiotic and hormone free because why would you want that in your body anyways? Your body is your temple.

Farmed salmon is no good for a plethora of reasons, both bad for your body and bad for the environment and even evolution: Fish farming facilities are ecologically destructive and further the protein loss in the farmed salmon. Salmon are carnivorous and our thus fed fishmeal (in which scientist have traced dioxin and PCB contamination). This doesn't make any sense to farm them like this because by feeding each pound of salmon 2-5 lbs of fish feed meal there is an overall net loss of wild marine life.

Farmed salmon are also tightly packed into close quarters in farming pens, making them more susceptible to disease and parasites that are, in turn, passed on to you! Antibiotics, hormones, and fishers nets used to farm these salmon also effect the surrounding wildlife. Hormones and antibiotics are screwing up the poor fish! Male fish are becoming more feminine (sterile) and female fish are becoming more masculine!

To recap, farmed salmon are fed contaminated fish feed, are pump them with antibiotics and hormones (to make up for protein loss), kept in crowded conditions making them more susceptible to disease and parasites, and nets from farms effect what's left of actual wild life we'd rather eat? No thank you!

So I recommend Alaska wild salmon. The Maine Stewardship Council certifies Alaska salmon as a "Best Environmental Choice".

What I'll try next time?

I enjoy the pico de gallo esque texture of the salsa but next time I might trying pureeing it so that the juices are equally distributed.

Links

http://environmentalism.suite101.com/article.cfm/top_5_sustainable_fish

http://www.smoked-fish.com/

Spanish Manchego cheese with blueberries, nectarine, and honey drizzle

Appetizer or dessert!

Ingredients:

Manchego cheese

Nectarines

Blueberries

any fruit! the sky is the limit

Honey

Butter (optional)

Directions:

1. This one's easy! String a chunk of Manchego, a piece of nectarine, and a blueberry or two onto a tooth pick and drizzle honey top-down.

Optional: if you're feeling decadent (think dessert) melt a pad of butter and mix with the honey before drizzling. This is all over the internet. I don't honestly see a big difference and it makes the bite less sweet so go healthy and just go with straight up organic wildflower honey!

So what's in it for you?

I'm loving blueberry and nectarine season...aside from that I chose these fruits for health purposes. Lil blueberries have 2x the antioxidant capacity as spinach and 3x that of oranges. Anti oxidants act to neutralize free radicals, which helps prevent cancer and other age-related diseases. Got diarrhea? Blueberry juice contains anthocyanin, which helps with the runs. Additionally, blueberries have antibiotic properties that fight intestinal bacteria that causes diarrhea.

Onwards to nectarines! Sorry to be so gross in a blog about food. Nectarines are pumped with vitamin C, vitamin A, fiber, beta carotene, potassium, calcium, and iron. Don't cut the skin off! It, like blueberries, is packed with anti oxidants. However, they are rather sugary compared to most fruits, which is why I throw them in a dessert like this!

Where would I be without Manchego cheese? My brother, who has spent much time in Spain, introduced me to Manchego. It's such a unique cheese. Made only by sheep of the Manchega breed Manchego is firm but with a buttery texture. You won't get it until you try it if you haven't already. Totally "well developed" but not too too strong. There are three types of Manchego: fresco (aged 2 weeks, rarely found outside of Spain), curado (ages 3-6 months, sweet and nutty), and viejo (or, "old" in Spanish, this cheese is aged to firmness for one year). I used curado, you can definitely taste the nuttiness. Plenty of protein, calcium, vitamin A, and no carbs. However! Don't over-do it with the Manchego because it is rather high in saturated fat. Again, why it's good as a dessert.

HONEY is great way to sweeten a dessert as it is a natural sweetener packed with antioxidants (theme of this dessert), is FAT, cholesterol, and sodium FREE! In fact, one antioxidant known as "pinocembrin" is ONLY found in honey. You'll also be drizzling on an array of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids should you chose to use it!

Earth friendly tips:

This is a perfect opportunity to stress why not only buying organic honey but organic foods is important. Bees are responsible for pollenating the agricultural crops that we eat! HOWEVER, intensive farming (cutting down trees and using pesticides) methods destroy bee colonies. Global warming, radiation from wireless communications, and genetically modified food crops might also be contributing the disappearing honey bee population. Without bees, which also pollinate alfalfa that feeds the livestock and thus our dairy industry, only 1/3 of our agricultural system would cease to exist. It has been said that bees pollinate $14 billion worth of crops per year in the U.S.

I am terrified of getting stung by a bee but I'm far more terrified of the agricultural system collapsing when all the bees disappear.

Also, the next time you have a cough or sore throat I recommend Bee M.D. cough drops! They taste like delicious honey, soothe symptoms, and a portion of proceeds go to contribute to aid in the research and protection of bees! Unlike other brands, these lozenges contain no high fructose corn syrup or other refined sugars. Healthy product and packaging.

"if the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years left to live" - Albert Einstein

What I'll try next time?

As this is more of a dessert than appetizer maybe I'd try combining Manchego with olives and perhaps roasted red peppers and garlic. If you know me this doesn't surprise you. Expect a post soon :)

Links

http://www.fourthbranchofamerica.com/Importanceofbees.shtml

http://www.beemd.com/