The Intermingling of Summer and Fall

I got my first taste of Fall today! Literally. We got Honeycrisp apples at the farmer's market. From what I have observed, these apples are only available in the Fall (In North Carolina anyway). They are appropriately described as "explosively crisp" on the Honeycrsip website I checked out today. While it still feels like summer here and there are still plenty of summer fruits and veggies available, I was pleased to dip into this Fall flavor I love so much!

We got cherries and Honeycrisps at the market today.

A beautiful combination of Summer and Fall flavors.

Simple. Pretty. Colorful.

After tasting this apple, my mind has been in complete Autumn mode the rest of the day. My little sweetheart Lilly turns five tomorrow! I decided to make her "Pumpkin Muttins" as a birthday treat. The entire house smelled of pumpkin goodness.

These muffins are so good- I tried a piece, and people can not only eat, but enjoy these! This recipe is much sweeter than other dog treat recipes I have made, so give them sparingly to your pet!

Pumpkin Muttins
(Print Recipe)
Adapted from Organic Dog Biscuit Cookbook

Ingredients
1 cup oat flour
1 cup brown rice flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
3 flax eggs (3 tablespoons flaxseed meal, mixed with 1/2 cup water plus one tablespoon water)
3/4 cups honey
1/4 cup safflower oil or canola oil
1 15 ounce can pumpkin
pepita seeds for garnish

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a mini muffin pan with cupcake liners. Mix the flax egg and set aside. Mix the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Make a well in the dry ingredients. Pour all wet ingredients into the well, including the flax egg (make sure it has thickened up first). Mix the wet ingredients together, then begin mixing in the dry ingredients until everything is well combined. Pour into cupcake liners in the mini muffin pan. Fill all the way to the top- these will not rise much. Stick one pepita seed into the center of each muffin, so it is showing half way. Bake 15-17 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out clean. Let cool completely. Store in a sealed container in the fridge or freezer.

This is before I baked them. Notice how much I filled them.

And here they are all ready for pups to enjoy!

Happy birthday Lilly!

Enjoy your pumpkin muttins!

And I'll enjoy the intertwining flavors of Summer and Fall!

And maybe... just maybe, I'll have a pumpkin muttin too... don't judge me. You'd eat one if you knew how good they were :)

Potato Salad

Surprisingly today, my husband requested that we make potato salad. I think the last time I had potato salad was a very long time ago and it included a lot off mayonnaise and egg. I came up with a nontraditional recipe that is much lighter and in my opinion, more refreshing.

All of our ingredients (minus the dressing ingredients) were bought at the farmer's market- even better! I loved the purple basil we picked up!

Lightened-Up Potato Salad
(Print Recipe)

Ingredients
4 cups (about two pounds) potatoes, cut into bite size pieces (if the skins are tender, leave them on)
1 cup green beans, chopped and blanched (boil for 2 minutes, transfer to an ice bath)
2-3 radishes, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons fresh dill, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, finely chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

For the dressing
3 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

Directions
Boil the potatoes until tender (about 10 minutes). Drain and set aside to cool. Whisk together the dressing ingredients. Once the potatoes are cool add the blanched green beans, radishes, herbs, salt and pepper. Drizzle the dressing over the top. Stir gently to combine. Serve cold or at room temperature.

This would be perfect to bring to a summer BBQ! I'd double the recipe if you are making it for more than 4 or 5 people.

On another note, I wanted to share some photos I took last night. Before I really started taking lots of pictures, I never realized how many beautiful things I could capture that are right in my own backyard!

This butterfly LOVED our Stargazer Lilies. It would fly off for a few minutes and then come back again. I took pictures of the sky every time the butterfly flew away... it worked out perfectly!

Bring this to your next backyard BBQ or eat it in your own backyard... and keep your eyes open for the pretty little things right in front of you!

Peach Raspberry Popsicles

Talk about a breakfast that shouts SUMMER!!

What better to accompany fresh peaches and raspberries, than a peach raspberry popsicle! These peaches are the sweetest juiciest peaches ever- we bought two of them at the farmer's market and as soon as we tried a bite, went back for a whole bag of them.

I have had popsicle molds in my cabinet forever and don't even remember the last time I used them. I was intrigued by an all fruit popsicle at the farmer's market yesterday and decided to buy it. It was so fruity and natural tasting that I immediately decided to make them myself when I got home. The flavor I tried at the market was nectarine cherry- also a fantastic combo! My popsicle molds are small so it only took 3 peaches to make 6 popsicles.

My method was quite simple: Put 3 sliced peaches in the food processor, add a little sweetener if desired- I added 2 teaspoons of Truvia, food process until smooth. Pour the peach puree into popsicle molds, along with some fresh halved raspberries. Freeze, eat, love.

Today my lunch was the same as dinner last night, but with red beets this time and a side of sauteed beet greens with sauteed summer squash and zucchini. To saute beet greens simply blanch them in boiling water for two minutes, cool off in an ice bath, squeeze out excess water, chop them, and saute in a little olive oil and minced garlic. I skipped the blanching step and my greens were more bitter than usual. Lesson learned. I won't skip that step next time.

I loved all the pretty colors!

All these beet greens...

Sauteed down to this.

Luckily I had some squash too!

Today's cooking outcome: Yummy lunch!

And refreshing fruit!

I'd call it a success.

Roasted Veggie Wrap

Nothing beats fresh cherry tomatoes from the farmer's market. As the sign said, these little tomatoes provide a burst of flavor when you pop one into your mouth!

After I bought these, I snacked on them from my basket as I continued to shop.

I'm surprised I had any left by the time we got home.

After taking these pictures, I made a quick and delicious roasted veggie wrap, inspired by The Alkaline Sisters.

Basically, you dice and roast any desired root veggies at 350 for about 20 minutes. I used sweet potato, carrot, parsnip, and yellow beets. Then you wrap the veggies up with some mixed greens, pea shoots, or sprouts... and add some avocado for some creaminess. I also added a few cherry tomatoes, since I couldn't resist them. The part that makes it all come together is this chipotle dip!

Chipotle Dip

(Print Recipe)

Recipe from The Alkaline Sisters, slightly tweaked

Ingredients
1 cup raw sliced almonds, soaked 30-60 minutes
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoons chipotle pepper spice, the more, the hotter
1 1/4 teaspoons paprika
1 clove garlic crushed
3 tbsp fresh squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon water 

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Directions
Combine above ingredients in blender and combine until creamy and smooth, adding 1-2 tablespoons of additional water for consistency only if needed. Use as spread inside wraps and serve extra along side.

YUM!!! I drizzled the dip on my roasted veggies in my wrap and served extra along side it for dipping! This is great served at room temperature, so don't worry about trying to keep the roasted veggies hot. For dessert? Maybe a few more bursts of flavor- for real!

I might be making another trip back for more of these, sooner than originally planned.

Atherton Market, A Photo Filled Blog

Atherton Market is one of my favorite farmer's markets in the Charlotte area! This time of year, they are loaded with tons of fruits, veggies, and more! Check out this cute set-up at the entrance way this morning.

Right when you walk in, you will notice they have burlap shopping bags for sale. I have to convince myself not to buy one every time. We own far too many canvas/reusable bags. More than a family of 2 (or 6) would ever need. 

The first thing we bought- organic, fresh, local blueberries!

Atherton is very dog friendly. It goes without saying, but we love dog friendly places!

Lilly actually kinda liked this "hippie" dog... she kept sniffing it. I think it must've smelled like patchouli. Or incense :) And it was cute.

We always walk around the market a few times. It is in a small area and there is so much to look at. And buy!

Rainbow radishes anyone?

Multi colored beets? Yes, please.

A vegetable I have never seen, heard of, and will need to google to find out what to do with it? Why not.

Maybe some green onions and kale?

Need any wine, soap, bread, or jam?

What about local candles, handmade earrings, handmade toys, and fresh flowers?

I think at this point Nate was ready to go. He told me the rule is: You must buy what you photograph. So, I can't wait to have this new bird house in my backyard. I think Nate would change that rule if he asked about the price. Imagine how much time and work went into it!

So, we headed out, only to go to another farmer's market for a few more things. One last picture was snapped on the way out. 

Can you tell it was a bit warm on our drive over?

 We wanted this raspberry bush!

And some flowers.

But we came home with an abundance of fresh veggies instead. Here is some of the stuff we brought home.

Kale!

I'd definitely call this a successful Saturday morning! I think I'm going to sneak my camera into Anthropologie later and see if Nate's rule applies there. Enjoy the weekend!