Spring garlic smells absolutely amazing. Especially when you cut into it.

I had some spring garlic from Jay Hill Farm, and fresh shiitake and cinnamon cap mushrooms from Hazel Dell, so I wanted to put them together in a dish.

I decided to make a stir-fry with some carrots and firm tofu that had been frozen, thawed, and pressed.

First, I sliced 4 bulbs of the spring garlic, 1 carrot, 1/2 pound of mushrooms, and cubed the tofu.

Next, I heated 1 TB of olive oil and 1 TB of butter in a wok. When that was hot, I added 1 TB of freshly grated ginger and let that get hot before adding the mushrooms and tofu. I moved this around in the wok a bit to distribute to buttery goodness as evenly as possible before adding the spring garlic and a couple tablespoons of soy sauce.

I let this cook on medium high for 10 minutes or so before adding a little more olive oil and the carrots.

Next, I squeezed 1/2 lemon, mixed it up, and added a big handful of coarsely chopped turnip greens. I mixed those in, sprinkled the top with a tablespoon or so of Cambodian Lemongrass Curry Powder from Savory Spice Shop, mixed again, and let it cook a few minutes until the greens turned a vibrant green.

I served it over brown rice and drizzled a little the following dressing, which made enough to drizzle on two plates plus extra to put in my Spring Garlic Broth:

• 2 TB soy sauce
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp Sambal Oelek (Asian Chili Paste)
• 1 TB Kecap Manis (Sweet Soy Sauce)

Enjoy.

I love that I pass a farm on my way home. Jay Hill Farm, to be exact. Beautiful bunches of spring onions were picked in the morning, so I brought them home and made a broth with:

• 1 bunch of Spring Onions with 2 feet long green stems (I cut off the bottom bulbs to use in my dinner)
• 1/2 red onion
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 TB peppercorns

I filled a large stock pot with water, added the ingredients, and brought it to a boil. I dropped it down to simmer for an hour and then removed it from heat. Next, I added approximately 2 tablespoons of the leftover sauce from my dinner that night which was: a little soy sauce, lemon juice, a bit Sambal Oelek (Asian chili paste), and Kecap Manis (aka sweet soy sauce).

I have this stored in my fridge to use in the next week.

Owning a Vita-mix has changed my life in many ways. One major change is that I no longer purchase rice milk. I make it myself in just minutes (after the 45 minutes or so it takes to cook the rice, of course).

Into the Vita-Mix goes 1.5-2 cups of rice. Experiment with this until you get the consistency you like. I lean towards 2 cups. Add water. I filled mine almost to the top.

Turn it up to speed 10, then high. Let it blend at least 2 minutes. Taste it and be sure you like the consistency. Add more water if it feels too thick. Sweeten with a few tablespoons of maple syrup if you like.

Enjoy. Store for up to a week in the fridge.

I was really glad to stumble upon this recipe posted on The Bad Girl’s Kitchen for this month’s Taste & Create because I had some of these famous Aussie Bites a couple years ago. I liked them so much that I wrote down the ingredients from the package and that little piece of paper has been in my kitchen drawer ever since.

So, I took out that paper, compared it to the recipe posted, and adapted it a little according to what I had in stock. I think they turned out nicely.

Here is the link to the Aussie Bites recipe from The Bad Girl’s Kitchen.

Here is my ingredient list:

• 1 cup whole oats (I toasted mine for 10-15 minutes on a baking sheet while preheating the oven)
• 1 cup oat bran
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup unbleached white flour
• 1 cup grated coconut (unsweetened)
• 1/3 cup sunflower kernels
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries, coarsely chopped
• 1/3 cup dried apricots (I had some California apricots) coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup raisins, coarsely chopped
• 12 TB ground flax seeds
• 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice
• 1 TB cinnamon
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1/2 cup honey
• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 cup warm water
• 1 tsp baking soda (I live at high altitude, so I used 3/4 tsp baking soda)

Preheat oven to 350. I baked at 375 since Boulder is a higher altitude city.

Combine all of the dry ingredients in a bowl except the baking soda.

In a large measuring cup, measure 1 cup of cream, add the honey, and slowly mix with a wire whisk until well combined. Then add the eggs and mix until combined. In a separate measuring cup, combine the warm water and baking soda. Let this cool a few minutes before adding it to the cream, honey, and egg mixture. Mix well, add to the dry ingredients, and pour into muffin pans.

I don’t have mini-muffin pans…yet… so I used regular muffin pans and lined them with unbleached baking cups from If You Care. My Aussie Bites took 20 minutes to bake.

They came out delicious, and I will play with this recipe in the future to make a few variations.

I came across this Malbec Tempranillo blend for a good price at our enormous local Liquor Mart, so I thought I’d give it a try.

Turned out to be pretty good.