Garlic-Dill Smoked Salmon Spread

I found a forgotten piece of dry smoked salmon and immediately had to turn it into a garlicky spread. And. . .it became such a great lunch! So glad there's some left for another snacky adventure tomorrow 😃

4oz. dry smoked salmon

3oz. Neufchatel cream cheese

chopped green onion tops

1 big clove of fresh garlic
1T dry dill

cayenne pepper

garlic salt

Chop the salmon into a small glass bowl. Add the Neufchatel, green onion tops, finely minced garlic and seasonings. Heat 20 seconds or so in the microwave if needed to soften everything.

Mash it all together and serve with rice cakes, pita chips or toasted sourdough bread. . .fruit and vegetables. Salmon spread is SO good! . . Lin

Curry-Alfredo Chicken Vegetable Soup

This seemed like an odd mix of ingredients. Especially the curry sauce with Alfredo. Nine times out of ten I'd pair curry with coconut milk, but somehow Alfredo seemed the way to go this time. . .And it worked!

Chop-slice all the vegetables. Start by sauteing the hard vegetables first, then add the softer ones about 10 minutes into the cooking process. 

All of these vegetables were in my CSA box. Great quality stuff!

3 carrots (I added one after the photo)
a little of the finely chopped purple onion
4 outer stalks of celery
2-3T single source EVOO
1/2c cooking Sherry

Next add the chopped-sliced:
5 red and Yukon Gold potatoes
1/2 lg. or 2 sm. zucchini
1/2 red bell pepper
the rest of the onion
about 1c chicken bone broth

Saute-steam this for about 20 minutes. Add your favorite seasonings and:
2/3 jar curry sauce
1/2 jar Alfredo sauce
the rest of the quart of bone broth

1 big scoop of Chicken Better Than Bouillon

Simmer this another 20-30 minutes then add the finely chopped Italian parsley and 12oz. roasted chicken. 

Simmer on low until everything comes to a low bubble. . .

It's ready! 😋 . . . Lin

Breakfast. . .YES, This Is Breakfast

This is your reminder that 'breakfast' doesn't have to be eggs, pancakes, oatmeal or Fruit Loops. . .Let your cravings be your guide. I often have 'dinner' leftovers for my first meal of the day. It also doesn't have to happen between 6 and 8am. Eat when you're hungry. Often for me this doesn't happen until noon or even 2pm. Today it was earlier.

I was thinking I'd heat up the Chili Egg Bake I made the other day, but decided to bring that to my evening Bible study tonight instead of a dessert.

My Neufâtchel (cream cheese) and Braunschweiger (liver sausage) were approaching their age cut off in the 'fridge, so those morphed into this deliciousness. In a small glass bowl (heat everything 30 seconds in the microwave if needed) then mash together:

5oz. Braunschweiger
5oz. Neufâtchel cheese
1-2t dry dill
1/2T jarred garlic in EVOO
1-2T Dijon mustard

Serve as a spread on sourdough toast or with just about any cracker or vegetable for a really great start to your day. Also great for lunch, a snack, or dinner. . .Lin

Making Beef Bone Broth

I used the same method as when making chicken bone broth, but extended the simmer time to 12 hours, but from what I've read, lots of people allow the simmering to go twice that long.

First, separate all the meat from the bones and fat. Use the beef for whatever recipe you're making.

Put the bones and fat in a pan, add a little water if you want, then roast until well browned at 375° This might take a couple hours. I wasn't planning to blog this, so I didn't keep track of the time.

Transfer everything to a heavy pot with a cover. Add water to cover everything, a big splash of apple cider vinegar - about 1/3c - and any seasonings you want - as long as this is only for humans.

If you plan to give this to you cat(s) or dogs(s) keep it plain other than any animal safe vegetables you want to include for flavor. NO bay leaf, onion or garlic though. Those can be toxic to our furry friends.

Bring to a very low-bubble simmer. Cover and let do its thing for 12-24 hours checking the water level, stirring and adding more water if needed.

When you decide it's cooked enough, cool a bit, then remove all the solids. Strain this well, through successively finer mesh strainers.

Chill overnight or until the fat has solidified. Take this off, put it in a big mug, heat to remelt it then refrigerate. Use it to saute lean meat or vegetables in the future -or- pursue other ideas for uses. . .

This time I scraped off greyish residue from the bottom of the chilled, solidified beef fat to, ensure what I was working with was just fat. I put it in a clean glass container, added a little EVOO and honey to make a beef tallow face moisturizer!!

To 2.6oz. of usable fat, I added 2t single source EVOO and 1t of raw, organic honey. Softened this enough to whisk it to combine, then chilled it to keep it homogenized. You could also add a drop or two of your favorite essential oil, to scent it.

It's now in my bathroom, in a covered glass container, away from the heat. I've used it once so far and LOVE it! Benefits of beef tallow on skin

Back to the bone broth: Bring the broth almost to the boiling point, pour into jars with lids. Leave on the counter until the lids >ping< then refrigerate. Bone broth stored in this manner is not 'shelf stable' but will keep well for several weeks in the 'fridge. You cats and dogs will love it, as will you! Use it as a soup base, or it's excellent for when you feel like you're fighting a cold or the flu. Just heat a cup and drink it.

Notable differences are: the fat breaks and is removed much easier than chicken fat, which is far less solid, even after straining and chilling. The broth is nowhere near as well gelled as chicken bone broth, so the collagen content isn't as high.

The flavor is really good though, more pronounced than chicken bone broth. 'Apples and oranges' I guess. . .Lin

Beefy Chili Egg Bake

The chili I made for our church potluck this past weekend was way too complicated to blog. 3 cans of beans, 2 cans of corn, lots of canned tomatoes, beef shank steak and loads of onion, carrot, celery and bell peppers. . .A fun creation, but just too much to recount here.

I ended up with about 5 cups leftover and decided to create an egg bake with it. The liquid went into the blender, along with 10 pasture raised eggs, 1T baking powder, 1/2c rolled oats. 

Once well blended, combine this with the chili in an oiled glass baking pan. Then I stirred in some deli roast beef, chopped onion and topped it with chopped pepper jack cheese and a couple cups of shredded Jarlsberg on the top before baking.

Eggs bland the flavors quite a bit. I wish I had added more garlic salt, pepper and cumin, but extra seasonings can be sprinkled on when serving.

This baked just about an hour in a preheated 350° oven. I think of egg bakes as being a bit like soup. So fun, creative, and you just need to look in the 'fridge and pantry for ingredient ideas. 

Be Adventurous! — Happy Cooking! . . . Lin

Makin' Bacon - Two Ways

It's been a while since I baked bacon in the oven and didn't remember why I stopped that. This is helpful to know, if like me, you want to have some fried, crumbled or whole strips of bacon in the 'fridge to use in recipes. For egg bakes, potato salad, chili, loaded baked potatoes. . .

So. . .time for a little experiment. I fried half and baked the rest.

I know lots of people feel strongly about their preferred method, so I had to see if one way rose to the top for me. . .and it did. . .I'll stick with frying! 

The baked bacon didn't get done as uniformly as I like it - I like mine crispy and pretty well done. It was far more greasy. So, frying will stay my preferred method.

How about you? I also save the bacon fat to use to fry certain things like potatoes, browning meat for soups, etc. Do you also save the bacon grease? If so how do you use it? . . . Lin

A Big 'Ole Pot of Steamed Vegetables

I thought of this a while ago, but haven't been consistent in doing it. Today I'm steam-sauteing a 3-quart pot of PLAIN mixed root and cruciferous vegetables. Just the vegetables listed, NO onion or garlic, and NO seasonings since this a dog+human recipe. For me, those things can be added later.

In the pot are: Arugula, Purple Cabbage, Carrots, Celery and Kohlrabi.

Use any amounts of vegetables you want, just fill a 3-quart pot almost to the top, with everything uniformly chopped to get it all cooked the way you like, at the same time.

Drizzle 2-3T good quality extra virgin olive oil over the chopped vegetables. Add about 1/2c cold water. Cover, simmer, stir occasionally until the densest vegetable, today it was carrot slices, are done the way you like.

Oliver's typical day regarding food is: In the morning he gets about 3 oz. of animal protein. This is either canned dog food, an egg, something I've cooked for him, or Fresh Pet - a prepared, comercial, refrigerated dog food - crumbled into 2/3c of his dry food mixed with warm water or bone broth. In the afternoon, he gets another 2/3c of dry mixed with vegetables, warm water or bone broth. This has worked well to keep him healthy for 15+ years.

Today, his is on the left and mine is on the right. It's important to keep that straight 😉 I had my vegetables topped with chopped onion and seasonings, with a side of 3 oz. of roasted chicken, drizzled with a mix of pineapple-jalapeno jam and mushroom soy sauce. . .Lin

Spicy Smoked Lake Superior Salmon Spread

I only made enough of this for 2 pieces of toast.
It could easily be doubled and probably should be. . .it was SO good! I still have more salmon. . .If I were a Mac+Cheese person, I'd chop some salmon into that. I might just make more of this to have for the next few days. 

2-3 oz. Neufchâtel cream cheese
1-2T jalapeno ranch dressing
dry dill + granulated garlic

3 oz. really good dry smoked salmon

Furry beggars: Oliver & My Great Granddog-Honey

Mash the first ingredients together in a small glass bowl. You could heat this about 15 seconds in the microwave to make this easier.

Chop the salmon being sure to remove any bones then combine it with everything in the bowl. Spread this on some toasted Everything Bagel Sourdough Bread - Aldi's if you have one near you.

Serve with fresh vegetables or fruit. . .Lin

Mini Chicken-Vegetable Wontons + Carrot & Broccoli

Sometimes a spontaneous dinner turns out SO good I just have to post it as a quick, healthy dinner (lunch. . .or breakfast!) I had the idea for this, and was going to make it with a piece of frozen flounder. . .Until I saw the wontons! Mmmm!

In a 2 quart pot, pour in 1" of chicken bone broth. Bring to a simmer. Slice 4 small, scrubbed-not peeled, organic carrots. Cover and bring back to a simmer for a few minutes. Add a big handful of organic broccoli florets and about 10 of the little wontons. Simmer another couple minutes. Stir gently, add some marinara, alfredo, curry or other jarred sauce. I used a butternut squash pasta sauce and a little cooking sherry! I've never used this before. It was really good!

Stir, cover and turn off the heat. To recreate this dinner, pour 3oz. beet juice into a big glass. Add ice and 6oz. lemonade. Ahhh, Beet Lemonade ❤️ and this amazing wonton-vegetable surprise! . . Lin

Healthy Cleansing Red, Green & White Vegetable Smoothie

I saw a REEL online with similar ingredients, then expanded upon them. When I asked Google about the nutritional and health benefits of mine, it gave me this information.

Next time I make this I'll also add the entire half of a small organic seedless lemon (scrubbed, fruit and peel) and increase the honey just a bit. I should have also added some of my beautiful parsley.

Combine all the vegetables, roughly chopped, in your blender jar with the following:

1t each: Ginger and Turmeric

1-2T good quality local honey

a pinch of Himalayan pink salt

8oz. hot water (to melt the honey)

Blend well. This makes 2 10oz. servings. Breathe deeply and feel the 'healthier' starting to happen...😊...Lin

A Big Pot of CSA Parsley-Vegetable Chicken Soup

I ordered 2 big beautiful bunches of Italian flat leaf parsley to be included in my CSA farm box this time and used a whole one in this pot of soup. The broth turned an ominous green. Looked like Pond Scum Soup, so I hit it with my immersion blender. It wasn't until I later added a can of tomatoes and 12 oz. of the Alfredo that it started looking edible!

This was such a fun recipe though. The carrots, potatoes, green pepper, zucchini and onion (everything in the pan except the cabbage) were also in my CSA box.

Start by slicing and sauteeing 8oz. of mushrooms into a big frying pan with EVOO covering the bottom for several minutes. Add 1/2 a big celery heart - chopped,  about 8 or 10 small sliced carrots, a medium chopped green pepper.

Stir and saute that while you dice the potatoes, 1/4 of a big head of cabbage and slice a medium zucchini. Add those to the pan.

Once that's all in the pan, rough chop or scissor cut the parsley into a 5 quart pot containing 2-3 quarts of chicken bone broth. Add 2 big spoonfuls of Chicken Better Than Bouillon and other seasonings. (today I used 1-2 oz. of the really potent EVOO-garlic-sun-dried-tomato paste I made recently and a couple teaspoons of my rosemary seasoning.)

Blend with your immersion blender, getting it as smooth as possible, which won't be very smooth. Simmer this green broth about 15 minutes to soften the parsley. Blend again - it will be much easier to incorporate everything and smooth it out now.

Add all the vegetables, a can of petite diced tomatoes and 8 oz. roasted chicken. Stir, and simmer until the carrots are the way you like. Cool slightly and add about 12 oz. of Alfredo sauce, stir well and heat again. When steamy, ladle into bowls and serve. 

Other than a 'loaded' grilled cheese sandwich, on sourdough bread I made for lunch recently, with a side salad of avocado, tomato and cucumber, this was the best thing I've eaten in ages.

For me, soup is a year-'round thing, but for those of you just getting into the swing of it now. . .Happy Soup Season! 😃 Mmmm!!! . .Lin

Avocado-Tuna-Egg Salad

This started out simple but sort of turned into an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink recipe! I promise. . .one day I will cook simple and also figure out how to cook smaller. However, considering the chicken soup I just made, that will be posted next - since it almost overflowed my 5 quart pot - I can't say just when that will happen.

Also, not shown: I added another can of tuna, a can of drained, diced water chestnuts, some golden raisins and slivered almonds. . .

Put the UNdrained tuna in a big glass bowl. Chop the avocado, boiled eggs, 1/4 lg. purple onion and stir that together with with some sweet or dill pickle relish. I had cilantro microgreens that I also scissored into the mix. Combine all this with the add-ons not shown. Then add your 'binder'.

I used just enough mayo to hold it all together, with the addition of about 3T of the jalapeno ranch dressing to spice it up a bit.

I also cooked, rinsed and chilled, 1/2c of the dry tiny, grainy Italian pasta 'pearls' and added those - but it might have been better without them. This was really good on a rice cake. . .Lin

Fresh Mandarin Orange Cupcakes

Here it is again, the recipe I still haven't stopped experimenting with. . .This one is orange cupcakes in my new silicone pans! No paper liners needed! Preheat your oven to 350° When you bake these, be sure to put the silicone pans on a flat baking sheet -NOT- directly on the oven rack.

In your blender, combine and blend until smooth:

3 tiny Cutie type Mandarins

~ scrub, cut off the ends

~ then cut it into pieces

3 lg. pasture raised eggs

1-1/3c organic cane sugar

3/4c Chobani whole milk plain Greek yogurt

3/4c single source EVOO

~ at my little Super One grocery store,

~ this was the ONLY single source EVOO  😕

2t pure vanilla

In a large glass bowl, whisk together:

2c Caputo (Italian) Chef's Flour. . .
~ or a good American all purpose flour. . .
~ such as King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill
1T Saigon cinnamon
1T baking powder
1t Himalayan pink salt

Pour the blended ingredients into the bowl of dry ingredients, whisk until well mixed then pour into the  cupcake pan. Bake 22-25 minutes-until they pass the toothpick test. 

Cool, removed from the pan (push each one up from the bottom) then drizzle with glaze made from orange or lemon zest, orange or lemon juice whisked with powdered sugar.

I'm still focused on these lemon / orange cupcakes so I haven't gotten around to experimenting with pumpkin yet. For those I'll substitute some pure canned pumpkin for the orange, adding chopped walnuts -or- pecans, and golden raisins. Mmmm. .😃. .Lin

Quick and Delicious Fresh Beef Stew

FRESH YOU ASK. . ?

Yes! This was SO full of flavor and freshness with perfectly cooked vegetables. It's truly one of the best things I've made in recent months.

Lately I've been eating lots of vegetables and chicken, so beef sounded really good this morning.

I found 3 pieces of tenderized beef bottom round steak in the freezer which seemed perfect for a small pot of this stew.

When the meat was thawed, I cut it into bite size pieces. This was browned in a few tablespoons of good quality EVOO with a little bit of the chopped onion added. When it was nicely browned, I added about 1/2c of Marsala cooking wine and simmered it, covered for about 15 minutes.

Next, I added all the vegetables. Carrots, chopped onion, chopped potatoes and the mini peppers and about 1c of bone broth. This simmered another 15 minutes then the sauce was stirred in.

The sauce was just a 'throw together' of several things, about 1c marinara, 2/3c pesto, 2/3c sour cream and about 1/3c jarred garlic in EVOO.

I think the finished stew certainly supports the statement, 'The secret's in the sauce!'

This turned out great!. .Lin

Pesto-Parmesan Rice Cake

I love it when I put ingredients together - in no time at all - that instantly becomes something I know I'll make on repeat. This is one of those things.

I was thinking 'quick snack.' I had in mine a plain rice cake with crunchy peanut butter and jalapeño jelly. . .but instead I realized what I actually had were Quaker Tomato & Basil Rice Cakes. So. . .this happened. . .Mmmm, as I said, this one will go on 'repeat' for me! 

Spread some really good pesto on a savory rice cake. Cut some green onion, or garlic shoots on top then sprinkle with grated Parmesan-Romano cheese. Microwave 20 seconds to blend the flavors and melt the cheese just a bit. Oh boy.

Another variation of this could be to replace the pesto with half of a mashed avocado. . .Lin

Crunchy Fresh Chicken Avocado Salad

Over a bed of well washed greens: Romaine, green and purple cabbage and some pea shoots or other microgreens, put a big scoop of this on top and call it lunch, dinner. . .or anything you want. It's a great, crispy, protein packed salad.

Mash together in a medium glass bowl:

1 ripe avocado plus

an equal amount of plain Greek yogurt

garlic salt and black + cayenne pepper

1-2T fresh lemon juice

a little drizzle of vinaigrette

Once those are mashed together, chop and stir in:

2c roasted chicken

2 orange mini peppers

2 stalks celery

1/2 sm. purple onion

a handful of walnuts or pecans

This turned out great. I saw this recipe idea online, but lost it. I had read through a couple times though, so I was able to make my own version.

I didn't think of adding nuts until after I took the photo. Some honey roasted peanuts on top would also be a great option. . .Lin

Orange Spice Cupcake-Muffins

EDIT: Just out of curiosity, I did a calorie count for this exact recipe. Based on 24 muffins - each contains 160 calories.

Here it is again, the recipe I can't seem to stop experimenting with. So far, everybody who's had one of the plain lemon or orange version hasn't stopped there. . .This is quickly becoming a staple in my house and requested by my family and friends.

Today it's orange cupcake-muffins, made with dark brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice for a little added twist and depth of flavor. Preheat your oven to 350° and put paper liners in 2 cupcake pans.

1 big Caracara -or navel- orange

~ scrub, cut off the ends

~ then cut it into pieces

3 lg. pasture raised eggs

1-1/3c dark brown sugar

3/4c Chobani whole milk plain Greek yogurt

3/4c single source EVOO

~ at my little Super One grocery store,

~ this was the ONLY single source EVOO  😕

2t pure vanilla

In a large glass bowl, whisk together:

2c Caputo (Italian) Chef's Flour. . .

~ or a good American all purpose flour. . .

~ such as King Arthur or Bob's Red Mill

1T pumpkin pie spice

1T baking powder

1t Himalayan pink salt

Put the first group of ingredients in your blender jar. Pulse, then blend on high until everything's combined. Pour this into the bowl of dry ingredients, whisk until well mixed then pour into the individually lined cupcake pan. Bake 22-25 minutes-until they pass the toothpick test.

My next adventure with this will be substituting some pure canned pumpkin for the orange, adding chopped walnuts or pecan and golden raisins. Mmmm. .😃. .Lin

Quick, Lightly Cooked, Healthy Vegetables

I wonder, does anyone else crave these sort of vegetables?? I sure do! I sometimes think I cook and eat healthy to balance out my cheat days 😉

Today, it's a couple carrots, part of a head of green cabbage, purple cabbage and half of a purple onion. Drizzled with some really good extra virgin olive oil and sauteed, slow on low heat, only until the carrots start to soften. Then cover and remove from the heat.

As this cooked, I sprinkled it with Lawry's Garlic Salt and my blend of cayenne and black pepper. Ohhh, SO good!

With roasted chicken and some bacon crumbles I made last week. Also some crunchy, fresh cucumbers and tomato, ahhh, it was really good. Now for a lemon muffin. . .or maybe some blueberry lemon frozen yogurt ?? Or maybe both? . .😃. .Lin

Rhubarb-Blueberry-Banana Frozen Yogurt

In your blender jar, pulse the following together:

13oz. plain whole milk Greek yogurt

1T Vanilla bean paste

1 sprinkle of salt

2T lemon or lime juice

3-4T raw organic honey

Then add the fruit - fresh or frozen

1 sm. banana

1c blueberries

1c chopped rhubarb

Blend then freeze 3-4 hours. Any longer than that and it will be rock hard. Still good though, just thaw it for a while on your counter before serving. . .Lin

A Loaded Egg Bake

Preheat your oven to 350° Chop all the vegetables:

a few red and orange mini peppers

4-6 assorted unpeeled potatoes

1/2 med. Vidalia onion
1/2 sm. purple onion

4 stalks celery

1 dozen lg. pasture raised eggs

4oz. curry sauce

4oz. sour cream

I cut up and cooked almost 2# of bacon the other day. I love to use real bacon crumbles on vegetables and in other foods like egg bakes. Since I have lots of beautiful eggs right now. . .this happened!

Saute the vegetables in a couple tablespoons of good quality olive oil until about half done. Put the chopped chard, on top - don't stir in. Add a little water if needed, cover and let the greens steam a few minutes until wilted.

Transfer all the vegetables to a 9"x13" glass pan.

Crack the eggs into your blender jar. Pulse together with the curry sauce, sour cream, garlic salt and pepper before pouring over the chopped vegetables.

Bake about 40 minutes or until a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Sprinkle on the bacon crumbles and top with the cheese. Put back in the oven, turn off the heat and leave for about 10 minutes until the cheese is melted. Great for breakfast, lunch or breakfast-for-dinner. .😃. .Lin

Arugula-Basil-Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Today's Pesto Day!
Put these ingredients, in their group, into your blender jar and pulse just enough to blend each, starting with the first. Then add the greens and pulse until incorporated. Last add the cheese and pulse until everything's chopped and combined the way you'd like. Most people prefer doing this in a food processor which works great, but somehow I'd rather pulse all this in my blender. However, this took a lot of jar scraping to totally combine. . .Use whichever works best for you.

6oz. single source EVOO

2 big garlic cloves - chopped

zest + juice of a lemon

½T salt, pepper, garlic Kinder's Blend

½c± organic sprouted pumpkin seeds

68g - 2.4oz arugula

32g - 1.15oz. basil 

2½oz. total - of five microgreens:

- pea shoots, radish, kale,

- red cabbage and basil

3oz. grated Parmesan-Romano cheese

I wasn't planning this, but the photo below shows my late breakfast - early lunch when, after blending, I discovered it wouldn't all fit in my 16oz. container. This recipe made about 20oz. In addition to fresh basil, you can use just about any greens. In the past I've used curly as well as flat leaf Italian parsley, celery greens, spinach even some beautiful carrot tops one time! I have some beautiful chard right now, but decided I might steam that to go with salmon soon.

Now a word about pasta. . .
True Italian pasta is far healthier than our typical American variety. I've been ordering it online now since in Europe they don't use GMO wheat, no preservatives and their milling process for the wheat includes more of the healthy parts of the whole grain.

I cook my pasta using the resistant starch method. If you need pasta right away you can still accomplish this by cooking to al denté stage, draining, then rinsing and soaking a few minutes in icy cold water. Then drain, combine with the sauce and reheat. Or reheat the pasta only and add the sauce.

It's SO worth the extra steps to create a much healthier version of pasta! Happy Cooking! . .😃. .Lin

Coconut-Lemon Frozen Yogurt

In your blender jar combine:

1-1/2c whole milk plain Greek yogurt
1/2c canned coconut milk

*zest one lemon, then squeeze the juice
- set the zest aside

1/3c fresh lemon juice
4T raw local honey

a pinch of salt

1t pure vanilla**

Blend well, then add 1-2T lemon zest*
Pulse a couple times, just to distribute the zest, not to pulverize it. Pour into a 22oz. container. Freeze about 3 hours and serve. If frozen longer, you'll probably need to leave it on the counter awhile before it's scoopable. . .Lin

**Optional - Sometimes vanilla and citrus work well, sometimes they conflict. This time its warmth balanced the cool tartness of the lemon. Trust your instincts whether to include it or not. 

Roasted Beet and Orange Salad

Ohhh, no matter what variation of a Beet Salad I make, I always love it!
This might be the first time I've paired orange and beet, and definitely the first for the greens I used.

Cover the bottom of a glass pan with EVOO. Scrub and dry your beets with a paper towel. Don't peel them - root vegetables absorb so many great nutrients through the skin, so don't lose those. Cut them in similar size pieces and put them cut side down in the pan.

Brush the outsides with the oil from the pan and season with garlic salt, black and cayenne pepper. Roast in a preheated 375° oven about a half hour or until a fork inserted comes out easily.

While that's happening, make a bed of baby arugula and microgreens in a big salad bowl. Today I used red cabbage, kale and basil microgreens. Add sliced Vidalia onion, zest and segments of a Caracara orange, a big handful of sprouted pumpkin seeds and some sharp cheese (crumbled feta, blue cheese or shredded parmesan-romano work best). 

When the beets are done, cool just enough to touch and cut into chunks. Toss all this together and drizzle with raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Don't make this one ahead of time.

It's better made-and-served right away. . .And then it will be
Perfect. . .and. . .DE-licious! . .Lin