Happy Friday and Happy Cooking!  Some links from this week:

1. Our Best Bites: Single Serving Pie in a Jar The most creative pie making I’ve ever seen.
2. Spanish Vines: Travel the Vine College friend and voted one of Business Week’s 2008 America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs, follow Josh Hackler’s journey and love of wine.
3. Mendelson’s Musings:  Beer Archive Whether your looking for a good Belgium or if you just want to try some new delicious brews- Jason provides a ton of great beer drinking posts.
4. Tall Tara: Post-Paleo Ponderings Tara recently completed a difficult Paleo challenge (I don’t think I could it), read about her discoveries and Paleo

When things are topsy-turvy, I crave things that restore a feeling of calm, balance and wellness to my system: a long, hot yoga class, a really silly comedy, a truly delicious glass of red.  In addition to Yogi Teas, and the perfect Pinot, I also seek out drinks that will act as elixirs in giving me energy or making my body feel more in tune and healthy. Kombucha is one of these power drinks.

Just what is Kombucha, you ask?  I’ll let GT’s do the explaining:

Kombucha is alternately known as a Chinese tea, a plant, or a mushroom. But it’s not really any of these. It’s a living culture of beneficial microorganisms, and in Kombucha’s case, the whole is infinitely greater than the sum of its parts! Our Kombucha is delicately cultured – some liken it to fermentation – for 30 days. During this period, essential nutrients form like active enzymes, viable probiotics, amino acids, antioxidants and polyphenols. All of these combine to create an elixir that immediately works with the body to restore balance and vitality. Kombucha has been used for hundreds of years throughout the world as a daily health tonic. The culture resembles a light brown, tough, gelatinous disk—and because it’s a living, growing entity, it can regenerate and create new cultures with every batch. In fact, GT’s Kombucha and Synergy are made from Kombucha cultures that are descendants of the original culture GT grew to create his first bottles.

Sounds funky, I know, but if you can get past the slightly tart flavor and the floating cultures, this is really tasty stuff, and it is miraculous how downing a bottle really can make you feel like you got a full night of sleep and went for a run, even if you did neither.

I’m not sure if its the above 30 degrees and sunny weather we have been having or the sunny disposition I have had this week, but I am really itching to swap out all my dark fall/winter decor for some fresh and light spring/summer decor.  I am in the mood for spring!!!!  I want white hydrangeas, fresh green plants,  and sunlight streaming in our windows.  I want bright and cheery not dark and dreary. Since it seems like spring can’t come soon enough I thought I would post some yummy fresh green foodie links.  And to all my east coast friends, stay warm and think spring.  Happy Friday!

1. Foraging at Home: Eat Your Lawn
2. Have Recipes- Will Cook: Grilled Artichokes with Red Pepper Aioli
3. A Cozy Kitchen: Arugula Soup with Goat Cheese
4. Soy and Pepper: Indoor Herb Garden
5. Fat of the Land: Spring Porcini Salad

Ingredients:

1. 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed
2. fresh cracked black pepper and kosher salt
3. 1/4 cup all purpose flour
4. 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
5. 2 tablespoons olive oil
6. 3 tablespoons butter, divided
7. juice of 1/2 lemon
8. 1/4 cup white wine
9. 1/4 cup chicken broth
10. 3 tablespoons nonpareil capers, rinsed
11. 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Method:

1. Place chicken breasts into a resealable plastic bag. Pound with a meat mallet (a rolling pin would work as well) until flattened to 1/4 inch thick.  Remove from bag and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Note: You want them a uniform thickness so they cook evenly.
2. Mix together flour and panko bread crumbs on a plate. Dredge chicken breasts in mixture. Allow to set for 10 minutes.
3. In a large pan heat olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter over medium heat. Once butter melts cook chicken until browned, 3-4 minutes per side. Remove, transfer to a plate and cover to keep warm. Reserve pan drippings.
4. To the same pan that you cooked the chicken in combine lemon juice, white wine, chicken broth and capers with the pan drippings. Cook over medium heat until reduced by 1/3 about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add in remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Swirl sauce in pan until butter melts.
5. Uncover chicken, transfer to serving platter. Pour sauce over the top. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve.

While this is delicious on its own- place on a plate and serve over a bed of angel hair pasta for a simply satisfying meal.

I rarely head to Denver- if I am going to go it usually means meeting friends for dinner and the likely-hood of that happening is once every two months.  Boulder spoils me, and I’ve been happy with all my culinary finds thus far. As a result, I rarely make it to Denver for my finer grocery needs.  A  few weeks ago, a friend was telling me about Marczyk’s in Denver claiming it was worth the drive.

Marczyk’s is a full- service grocery store, by which I mean it offers fresh produce, both raw and cured meat, fish, pre-made foods, an entire rack of spices and condiments. And for true one-stop shopping, Marczyk Wines, at the back of the store, will help you select a wine to complement your meal. These folks specialize in naturally raised meats, cheeses from around the world, an unbelievable selection of pantry items (all top of the line ingredients), fresh produce, and a to-go lunch and picnic selection to make you drool.

Marczyk’s exceeded my expectations, the helpful staff is full of knowledge preparing cuts of meat to my liking.  The wonderful variety of European goods is astounding, providing options that aren’t available in your local grocery store.

The trip was worth the hull, and you can bet I didn’t leave Marczky’s empty handed-

The 2010 Olympics are being held in Vancouver, Canada.  I’ve been watching these games like none other than I can remember.  Jason and I are spending a lot of time watching all the events, and its been a lot of fun.  I think I want to attempt to make some Canadian cuisine to celebrate the games next week, and here are some Canadian foodies I stumbled across.  Perhaps I’ll give some of these a go- Happy Friday and Happy Canadian cooking:

1. Suzie the Foodie: Food Networks Cooking Club Challenge: Michael Smith’s Cinnamon Rolls
2. Fixed Priced Sunday’s: Meat Teasing…round two
3. Dinner With Julie: Multigrain Bread with Cherry-Bourbon Butter and Maple Canada Day Cupcakes
4. Foodista: fiddleheads

I’ve never ventured to The Great White North though friends have told me one too many stories about their ventures across the border.

With the Olympics taking place, I am looking for Canadian recipes to cook in the next few weeks. I figured two weeks of eating Canadian Bacon and Pineapple pizzas might not cut it.  Beaver Tails sounded interesting (Beaver Tails as a snack food is something like a Funnel Cake). But I’ve still got that fear of baking with that yeast thing going on. Moose stew? Hard to find moose in these parts. Haven’t seen any fiddlehead ferns sold around these parts either. Flipper Pie? Okay, I admit, that one, consisting of seal flippers, ain’t gonna be something I try at home…er or ever. Butter Tarts? Toutins?

So while I sit on my couch in front of the TV the next couple of weeks, watching triple axles,folks running around with guns in the snow, and amazing skiers skiing at speeds I would never attempt  I’m hoping to have a bit of Canadian cuisine to feast on along the way. And please, if you do have a recipe for some wonderful Canadian dish, please pass it along.

Happy Olympics!

It’s that time of year again where couples surprise each other with romantic gifts, a dozen red roses become ‘the thing’ to order, and a cozy romantic dinner for two virtually a requirement.

However, Valentine’s Day is not about love and romance, but rather a license to print money.  While I would be lying if I said, I don’t like receiving a card or a token of love- Valentine’s Day is a booming business.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a holiday where consuming chocolate is the national norm, and for an occasion that is marked with a indulgent feast.  And though I realize that Valentine’s Day has been escalating in its commercial nature over the past two decades a gander at one two many pre-fixed restaurant menus.

Of course, restaurants should not be blamed for feeding a consumer- driven hunger for extravgance and excess on February 14. No doubt, some meals, and the ultimate experience of spending time with your sweetheart could be worth every penny. Also, some restaurants do offer embellishments – providing a rose to the lady, employing a musician to set the ambiance, offering a treat at meal’s end – but could it really be worth the heightened price tag?

For me, the answer is simply no.  Rent a movie, order in pizza, and aviod the over-priced choas of endlessly trying to make this Valentine’s top the last- simply relax and do what you love instead of doing what you loathe.

Happy Valentine’s Day

With Valentine’s Day right around the corner- I thought I would provide you with some heartfelt foodie links.  Happy Friday and Happy Valentine’s Day!

1. My Kitchen Addiction: Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches
2. Cinemon Girl: Change Of Heart
3. Canela and Comino: Sweet Hearts
4. Dirty Kitchen Secrets: My Heart Beets For You

A few weeks ago, a article in the New York Times titled When Chocolate and Chakras Collied infiltrated the internet.  Food is always a big issue when it comes to yoga, it’s one thing that no one can seem to agree on. What should we eat, when should we eat, does it all even matter?

This particular article put a new spin on the whole yoga/food debate. Should yoga and food be combined? Is the mat a place to share a meal or is it just a sweaty piece of equipment, a tool of the trade? Can sharing a meal after a yoga class be a sensual experience? Should it be? These were all questions raised by the article and discussed amongst the yoga community.

Yoga and food can most definitely be mixed, in my opinion. Both food and yoga are nourishing physically and spiritually. Food that is prepared in a mindful, compassionate, and loving way fills a person with compassionate, loving energy. After all, food is energy, both physically in the form of fuel for our bodies, but also energetically in the form of Prana. Food is also a way of community building. Community is an important means of support for our spiritual growth. Growing is hard and it’s best done with the support and guidance of others.

I don’t really think there’s much debate on whether food and yoga can be mixed. I think the real issue presented in this article is this, should food and yoga be mixed as a means to draw more people to yoga, and to essentially make money. As David Romanelli, founder of the “Yoga for Foodies” series puts it, “It’s a way of getting people in the door,” he said in an interview. “The world is a better place if people do yoga. And if they come because chocolate or wine is involved, I’m fine with it.” I don’t disagree that the World would indeed be a better place if more people did yoga, but I don’t believe that’s the motivation here. Bringing someone to yoga under false pretenses, doesn’t serve the yoga community as a whole. People will find yoga when they are ready, and they will find it for the right reasons, not because someone gave them a piece of chocolate cake and a glass of wine when they were finished. Indeed, Mr. Romanelli even admits in the article that he saw yoga as a business opportunity before a spiritual one. “The “yoga industry” now represents about $6 billion in annual spending by American consumers on classes, videos, mats and apparel like the $158 Apres Yoga jacket at the upscale chain Lululemon, according to Yoga Journal magazine”. Yoga is not an industry, you don’t need special apparel, special equipment, or any other material things to follow a yogic lifestyle. This article is just another commentary on the American bastardization of what yoga really is.