Wild Rice Pilaf with Goldenberries

 Mmmmm...  Salty, tart and yet slightly sweet, chewy, wholesome, original, filling, and beautiful, this wild rice pilaf is truly a keeper recipe.  The addition of dry goldenberries to the dish makes it just that much more delicious and unique.  The goldenberries plump out while cooking but intensify in flavor, becoming sweeter and nicely complementing the savoriness of the rice.  The pilaf comes out tasting like you've spent hours slaving over a hot stove.  Who knew it could be so easy to prepare it?

To make the pilaf, you will need:

• 1-1.5 cups of wild rice
• 2 oz. or so of dried goldenberries
• sweetener to taste (optional, I used one packet of stevia)
• 1-2 cubes of vegetable bullion
• 3-4 cups milk of choice (I used almond)

1. Put everything into a small (1.5 qt) slow cooker.  Be sure the cooker is 2/3 full.  If you want to use a different size cooker, scale your ingredients accordingly.
2. Cook on low until the wild rice achieves a desired level of doneness.
3. Stir well.
4. Enjoy!

Strawberry Mocha!

Sometimes it's the most brilliant of ideas which remain hidden in plain sight.  Such is no doubt true of the strawberry mocha.  Chocolate is of course polyamorous, and we've always known it to pair well with strawberries and with coffee.  Raspberry lattes have been en vogue for ages.  Why do we not, then, fancy strawberry lattes?  And so it was with a sudden epiphany that I read that a strawberry latte was available at local cafe, and I ordered it.  Instant, sugary and caffeinated bliss!

I will certainly make another one for myself later, using SF strawberry syrup (such as Torani), unsweetened almond milk, instant coffee granules, and unsweetened cacao powder.

Simple Italian White Bean Stew

I was craving a good old fashioned bowl of paste e fagioli, the Italian pasta and white bean soup with tomatoes that is so very good and served at most Italian joints.  Having no pasta on hand and limited prep time, I came up with this healthy slow cooker dish, which turned out to be quite tasty, satisfying, and much healthier than the original.  To make the soup you will need:

• 1 cup Dry white beans (I used fava, I think)
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes (I used frozen chopped tomatos)
• Garlic powder, salt, oregano, and black pepper to taste
• 1 spoonful of oil of choice (olive oil works well here)

1. Rinse and sort the white beans and add them to the slow cooker (I recommend a 1.5 quart cooker here - if you wish to use a larger crockpot, you'll want to scale the quantities of everything else accordingly).
2. Add tomatoes and a few shakes of the salt and spices, going a bit heavier on the garlic than on the others.
3. Add the oil and 3 cups or so of water to the pot.
4. Cook on low until the beans are tender.
5. Adjust the seasoning to taste.  You will probably want to add extra garlic, salt, and pepper.
6. Enjoy!