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Good (Food) Reads

September 28, 2016 By Holly Leave a Comment

Happy Wednesday, Friends! I am so excited to share this week’s Good Food Reads with you. One of the best parts of writing this blog is getting to read and share the fun things that others in this great community are doing in their kitchens. I don’t know about you, but they always inspire me to get up and get cooking! Right now, I’m feeling inspired by the changing season and a transition back to comfort foods. What are you loving right now? Send us your thoughts, recipes, and blogs to share! And now, here are this week’s Good Food Reads:…

Cilantro Lime Sauce

September 26, 2016 By Lane 25 Comments

Rarely have I been so excited to bring you a recipe. And sure-I know what you’re thinking-it’s a SAUCE. But trust me, if you are a sauce person like me, this is the one. This is the sauce that will change your life. This is Cilantro Lime Sauce (aka Magic Sauce!). Read on for a story about my fangirl crush on the creator of this sauce as well as the super easy recipe!

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Autumn Apple Crisp

September 23, 2016 By Lane 37 Comments

Despite the lingering warm weather, it is definitely fall here in Minnesota. The leaves are changing, the kids are back in school and the apple orchards are in full swing. On a beautiful fall Monday morning I went to the Apple House where the University of Minnesota sells apples from its orchards. Of course I bought many too bags of apples for my family to eat-and then needed a plan. My kids knew exactly what they wanted me to do with the extra apples. It was unanimous! Autumn Apple Crisp!…

Good (Food) Reads

September 21, 2016 By Holly Leave a Comment

Another week, another batch of Good Food Reads for ya’ll. This week’s picks are focused on fall salads, comfort foods, and sweet treats for all. I’m particularly excited to get back into soup season and plan to make the 5 ingredient Sweet Potato Chili later this week – that is, if it’s not still 80 degrees. Otherwise, I’ll be sticking with salads. And apples, apples, apples! (PS: If you haven’t yet gotten your first taste of honeycrisps this fall, run to your nearest grocery store! They are fantastic this year.)

First on my list of must make recipes is this gorgeous Fall Salad with Apples, Walnuts, and Stilton (Cooking Light). I am always looking for ways to up my salad game and I love that this one takes advantage of the beautiful bounty of apples we have right now.

Another fall favorite, this recipe for Cinnamon Apple Cake (Cooking Light), was first published in 1997 but continues to be a favorite.

Cooking Light really hit it out of the park this week – I want to make so many things right now! I’m loving this article on Everything You Need To Know About Quick Pickling (Cooking Light). Do you do any pickling? I’ve never really tried but can’t wait to get it a shot.

Salted Caramel Pots de Creme (Goodhousekeeping). Because sometimes you just really need dessert. And not the healthy kind, either.

Easy Chicken Nuggets via Weelicious, for the kiddos in your life. Fancy them up with a little honey mustard and everyone can enjoy in this easy, family friendly recipe!

Speaking of dessert, these Espresso Brownie Sandwich Cookies (Broma Bakery) look amazing and would be a great weekend dessert.

One of my favorite things about cooler temps is that I can really up my soup and chili intake. In my house, we probably have chili once a week in the fall and winter. I’m anxious to see if this 5 Ingredient Sweet Potato Turkey Chili (Pinch of Yum) makes it into the husband and kid approved rotation.

Another salad that would be perfect for bringing to work: Kale & Quinoa Salad with Dates, Almonds, and Citrus Dressing (The Kitchn). Yum.

Turkey Vegetable Ragu (The Baker Chick). I love that this ragu seems so versatile. I’m thinking it will be great with pasta, zoodles, or maybe even with stuffed peppers!

Grilled Blue Cheese with Honey and Walnut Pesto (Molly Yeh). I just can’t even describe how much I want one of these sandwiches right now. I’ve been sticking to pasteurized cheeses this pregnancy and am excited about some gorgeous, double cream, raw blue cheese in my future!

Well friends, that’s it for this week’s Good Food Reads. I hope you found some kitchen inspiration. As always, we love to hear from you, so send us your links, things you want to try, or your kitchen successes!

Farro Salad with Arugula

September 16, 2016 By Holly 28 Comments

The exploding popularity of traditional and ancient grains in recent years has brought with it an abundance of new options for delicious (and hearty!) salads. I love adding barley or quinoa to just about anything and recently discovered the fantastic nuttiness of farro. Once a mainstay of health food stores, this ancient relative of wheat is now widely available in grocery stores (I love Bob’s Red Mill) and is a fun addition to soups, stews, or salads. I’ve really been loving it lately in salads, and this Farro Salad with Arugula in particular.

Adapted from a recipe by Chef Ryan Hardy and the Charlie Bird Restaurant in New York, this salad is easy to make and full of great flavor. I love it for a hearty lunch but it is even great for a light dinner. The farro is best when made a little ahead and chilled and then mixed with fresh arugula, tomatoes, salty shaved parmesan, radishes and vinaigrette. It is studded with pistachios for a great little crunch. If you keep the arugula and dressing out until you’re ready to serve, the recipe is a perfect prepare ahead lunch option for the whole week!

5 from 3 votes

Farro Salad with Arugula

A hearty salad with arugula, farro, and studded with pistachios.

Course Salad

Prep Time 50 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes

Servings 4 servings

Author Adapted from Charlie Bird Restaurant

Ingredients

1 cup farro
1 cup apple cider
2 cups water
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 bay leaves
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup shaved parmesan cheese
1/2 cup chopped pistachios nuts only
2 cups arugula or arugula/spinach mix
1 cup parsley or basil leaves torn
1 cup mint leaves
¾ cup halved grape tomatoes
⅓ cup thinly sliced radish

Instructions

For the Farro:

Check your brand's package instructions. Most farro requires a cooking ratio of 1 cup grain to 3 cups liquid. Adjust recipe as necessary.
In a medium sauce pain, combine farro, apple cider, bay leaves, salt, and water.
Bring to a boil and then simmer until tender and the liquid is evaporated, approximately 30 min.
Discard the bay leaves.
Set the farro aside to cool.

For the Dressing:

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice and a small pinch of salt.

For the Salad:

In a large bowl, toss together the farro with dressing, cheese, and nuts. Just before serving, add the arugula, fresh herbs, tomatoes and radish and fold to combine.
Add a pinch of salt to taste.
Serve immediately.

Good (Food) Reads

September 14, 2016 By Holly Leave a Comment

It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the weeks go by these days. Once again, Wednesday is here and along with it are some Good Food Reads for your kitchen inspiration. I love the mish-mash of links this week. We’ve got amazing comfort foods, filled with cheese and bacon, some healthy dips and salads, and a simple banana cake that will be a great alternative to banana bread (though I personally think you can never go wrong with banana bread!) the next time you have too ripe bananas sitting on your counter. Putting together Good Food Reads is something we love to do – mostly to share all of the great foodie goodness out there on the internet so if you have a blog or a great recipe you want to share, let us know! We’d love to feature it. Send us an email at withtwospoons@gmail.com and we’ll chat! Until next week, loves…

Starting out nutritionally strong (just kidding) with these Cheesy Bacon Smashed Potatoes (Cafe Delites). I can’t even tell you how much my super pregnant self is craving these right now. Cheesy carbs, FTW.

The New York Times featured this recipe for Eleven Madison Park Granola and I’m hoping to make a batch this week. I’ve been on a major yogurt kick and I think this will be perfect with some peaches and greek yogurt.

Also from the New York Times comes this Baked Greek Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta. It’s a little lighter but completely full of flavor. Such a great weeknight dinner.

Anyone else obsessed with olives? I love everything about them. I particularly love the deep salty, earthiness of Kalamata Olives and I think this Kalamata Olive Dip (a True Food copycat) via The Fitnessista will be a perfect alternative to the party favorite hummus.

Now, before you think that I’m trying to fatten us all up, I’ve got a salad for you: Chicken, Bacon, Date and Brussels Sprout Quinoa Power Salad (Iowa Girl Eats). Ok, I know there’s still bacon in it, but the rest is full of good for your power foods. Should be a great packable lunch option!

The Best Banana Cake from Sally’s Baking Addiction. About a year ago, a friend sent me a text asking for a banana bar/cake recipe. She totally stumped me. I had never had banana cake! I’ve been looking at recipes since then and I’m really excited to try this one. Now…to let some bananas ripen up a little.

I’m always looking for kid friendly recipes and I usually love anything by Weelicious. Can’t wait to try these Fig Bars!

Sriracha and Honey Grilled Shrimp from Camille Styles.

Usually I make French 75s with gin but these French 75 Popsicles (another gem from Camille Styles) uses cognac or brandy. Can’t wait to try them in a few weeks!

Thai Chicken Soup

September 12, 2016 By Lane 34 Comments

As I sit here in my yoga pants and sweatshirt (don’t judge-it’s the weekend!), listening to the breeze ruffle the leaves, I think I finally have to admit summer is over. I am crying inside knowing that it will be a long 9 months until I can swim in the lake (fellow Minnesotans know this is actually quite optimistic, but let me have my delusions). But for all of those tears, I am also secretly excited for the beauties of fall. Football games, gorgeous brilliant leaves in all colors of the rainbow, sweatshirts (I really love them enough to give them two mentions) and of course…soup. And for the perfect meal to straddle that summer into fall weather… Thai Chicken Soup. …

Good (Food) Reads

September 7, 2016 By Holly Leave a Comment

It’s hard to believe that Labor Day has come and gone and for most of us, summer is (unofficially) over. I don’t know about you, but this time of year is a little like foodie limbo. I’m still loving all of the fresh flavors of summer but I’m also really starting to crave soups and stews and the comfort foods of fall and cooler weather. This week’s Good (Food) Reads is a mix of summer and fall recipe inspiration. We hope you find something to love and perhaps even a new family favorite! Until next week……