Roasted Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

This is a delicious salad. We got fresh beets from Kiss-im-mee Green Place farm in Orlando.

4 fresh beets
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
2 Tbsp. agave nectar
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/3 c. olive oil
2 oz. goat cheese
Spring mix salad greens

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and trim ends from beets. Wrap each in aluminum foil and place on a baking sheet. Bake for one hour. Remove from oven to cool for a bit. When cool enough to handle, peel and slice beets.

Heat chopped pecans in a skillet until they started to toast. Add agave and stir until coated. Remove from heat.

Mix vinegar and oil, along with salt, pepper and other desired seasonings.

Place salad greens on plates. Top with sliced beets, goat cheese and drizzle with dressing.

Farm Fresh Green Bean Recipe

We made a trip to a local nursery/farm yesterday - South Seminole Nursery & Farm in Casselberry, Florida. They've been there for 30 years, and we just found them! They are on 10 acres and have a ton of plants for sale; everything from bamboo to citrus to orchids. We bought some herbs to plant, and a pound of fresh green beans that were picked that morning.

I modified a recipe I found on Allrecipes.com to eliminate sugar.

I steamed the beans for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I chopped up three slices of nitrate-free bacon and cooked in a skillet until done, about 5 minutes. I drained the grease and added 1/4 cup of organic butter, a splash of Agave (instead of brown sugar), Himalayan salt and organic pepper to taste. When the beans were done, I added them to the bacon mixture in the skillet and stirred to coat the beans. Delicious!!!

Chicken Cacciatore Au Naturel

Last night I made a decadent chicken cacciatore dish. I used chicken thighs and chicken italian sausage that I bought from Publix. It's their Greenwise chicken, not organic, but antiobiotic free, and more affordable for us. I sliced an onion, put it in the bottom of the crockpot; topped it with the chicken thighs and sausage. I added a can of stewed tomatoes and a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, some minced garlic, basil, oregano, a half cup of red wine, salt and pepper. Next time I make it I will a add a can of tomato paste to thicken the sauce a bit. I cooked it on low for about 8 hours. Served with garlic mashed roast cauliflower. It was delicious and I'm sure the leftovers will be even better.

Orange-Orange Roughy

Surprisingly, Orange Roughy is an oily fish (one that has the good essential Omega oils). It is such a sweet and light fish, one of my favorites. Last night I marinated it in "fresh" (not pasturized) orange juice that we got at the Lake Eola Farmer's Market - from Scraggs Groves - and sprinkled with dried dill. I drained the marinade and sprinkled with organic pepper & himalayan salt. Baked it at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Served with a salad. Perfect meal!

Today we are taking a farm tour of the Heart of Christmas farm. Looking forward to picking up some fresh milk and greens!

Going Organic/Fresh/Real Food

My husband and I recently embarked on an exciting quest to eat better. We have been shopping at farmer's markets and buying from local farms. We are growing our own sprouts and have planted our first tomato crop. We are going to start planting more veggies. Hopefully we will be successful. I am going to post recipes here mainly to keep track of the better recipes I find. I'm by no means a chef, but I try hard to put the best tasting food on our table.

We have started making smoothies with greens added. Hopefully soon we can convert to all green smoothies, but I like having fruit in them, since I certainly don't eat enough fruit. We found some fantastic strawberries (I froze the bulk of them) at the Lake Eola farmer's market. I usually add a banana and some frozen blueberries, along with Greek yogurt and organic milk. My husband blended up some dandelion greens, parsley and watercress, that we use for our "greens". I also add some fresh baby spinach or frozen chopped spinach from Whole Foods - it comes in clumps, rather than a block of spinach.

Last weekend we visited Lake Meadows Naturals farm in Ocoee and picked our own chicken eggs. What fun! We have been eating their eggs purchased at the local farmer's markets, but picking our own was the best!

We are sprouting alfalfa, broccoli, radish and red clover. Just a few days and they are ready to add to any salad or omelet. Since I've been eating the clover (my favorite) I haven't had a hot flash or night sweat. May be coincidence, but I think not.

The quest and journey for eating real good food continues. So far, so good!