Super Dooper Free Fun Event

Eat This Michigan will be sponsoring a day of fun at the Arb. There will be free snacks from the People's Food Co-op. Bring frisbees, footballs, guitars, and anything else you want to bring. Learn about local and organic foods...

This event is from 1 p.m. till dusk

for more information check out the facebook event:
Posted by Earl at 07:41 PM | Comments (0)

Fettuccini Alfredo

So fettuccini alfredo isn't the healthiest meal for you, but every once in a while this is a great dish. I add a bit of nutmeg into this recipe just to add a little bit of a different flavor. The nice thing about alfredo sauce is that many different things can be added to it to change up the meal. Chicken, fish, crab, and mushrooms all go good with this meal. Now that it's spring, take a break from studying, or after your exams are done, go out and go fishing. Fishing is a really nice way to relax, and it can be fairly cheap to participate in. Most gas stations can tell you the local and state ordinances regarding fishing, and you can get your license there also.

Posted by Earl at 04:19 PM | Comments (1)

Slow Cooked Taco Casserole

Ever get a craving for tacos? I do, almost constantly...so here is a fairly easy recipe to make a nice taco casserole, organic and local of course. Good stuff...

Posted by Earl at 01:10 AM | Comments (0)

Beer & Beef Stew (Slow Cooked)

For a second slow cooked recipe of the day... Now, most of us are in college, and I know most of us have had at the very least one or two beer while here. Here is another good use for that last bottle of beer you have from Leopold Brother's or such. Locally grown stew beef can be found at places such as Sparrow's Market. But this recipe is delicious. And again, click the picture to get a printable recipe card.

Posted by Earl at 02:58 PM | Comments (0)

Simple Slow Cooked Chicken

Hey all, here is the first slow cooker/crockpot recipe. It is about as simple as you can make a meal, just put your chicken in along with a couple cans of soup and let cook for 6 to 8 hours. The chicken can be picked up organic at the People's Food Co-Op. Click the picture to get a recipe card that you can print out.

Posted by Earl at 02:50 PM | Comments (0)

Slow Cooker Series

If you have a crock pot, your in luck. If you don't, go buy one. They are one of the most useful things i have ever bought. I can put my food in the crock pot in the morning, go to class, and then when I get home my food is cooked, moist, tender, and ready for eating. You can buy a four quart slow cooker at amazon for $19.99 and free shipping. I'm going to be doing a series of slow cooker recipes, so you should probably pick one up.

Posted by Earl at 01:15 PM | Comments (0)

TODAY!!!!!

Hey all, we're going to be in the diag today from 10 til 2. Come down and meet the three of us, and have some fun.

Posted by Earl at 07:38 AM | Comments (0)

Great Date Night Recipe Part 3 of 3!!!

Ooh child...This week has been hectic, including my computer crashing twice. ARGH! Anyway, sorry about the week without an update, I'll make it up when I get back from Chicago, with pictures.

So on to dessert...my favorite meal, though I need to stop eating it so much. One of the other problems with dessert is that it is expensive for something that is usually bad for you. Oh well... The recipe I'm going to give you is for a white chocolate cheesecake with a chocolate sauce. The white chocolate is very subtle, yet amazing, and the chocolate sauce adds a extra kick for those chocolate lovers.

White Chocolate Cheesecake w/ Chocolate Sauce

3 tsp. organic vanilla
1 lb soft organic cream cheese
1/2 lb créme fraîche
1/2 lb organic white chocolate
4 whole organic large eggs
butter or oil (you guessed it...organic)
1 package of Oreo cookie crumbs
1/2 lb organic semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup of organic whipping cream

You can buy the organic chocolate either at a local store, such as the People's Co-op, or online: here is some more reading on making a "perfect cheesecake."

To make the cheesecake first let all of your ingredients to room temperature. Preheat your oven to 300F. Take a cup of the Oreo cookie crumbs and mix it with 3 tsp of melted butter, then put into the bottom of a 9 inch pan, preferably a springform pan. Press the cookie crumbs and butter into the bottom of the pan with your fingers or the back of a spoon and make sure the bottom is covered with cookie crumbs. This part isn't an exact science, just use as much cookie crumbs and butter as needed. Beat the cream cheese in a bowl using a mixer on the lowest setting. Beat until smooth, then while still beating add the eggs one by one, along with 2 tsp. of vanilla. The key here is to beat the eggs and cream cheese as little as possible. Use either a double boiler, or the microwave to melt the white chocolate. Make sure to check the chocolate often so it doesn't burn. Once the white chocolate is completely melted fold the créme fraîche into it. Once incorporated, fold this mixture into the cream cheese and eggs.

Grease the sides of your pan with butter or oil, then pour the cream cheese mixture into your pan. Bang the pan down on a hard surface a couple times to remove any air bubbles. At this point you can either put it into the oven as is, or use a water bath to make sure there are no cracks in the cheesecake. Cook the cheesecake until the center wobbles and the top is golden brown. If it doesn't color, just make sure the center inch or two are all that wobble. It took my cheesecake 1:15 to cook, but I used a water bath which is slower.

You must let the cheesecake cool in a fridge for several hours, to firm up before cutting and serving. To make the chocolate sauce heat the organic semisweet chocolate chips and whipping cream over very low heat in a small saucepan. Cook, stirring continually until smooth, stir in vanilla. When you cut the cheesecake, if you want perfect edges, heat up your knife and wet it a bit before cutting. Serve a slice of cheesecake with the chocolate sauce, and your date will be stunned with the finish. Then surprise him/her even more and let them know mostly all of the meal was organic or local!

Posted by Earl at 08:54 PM | Comments (0)

Great Date Night Recipe Part 2 of 3

Ooooh…chicken tonight. Simply put, I love chicken. It’s so versatile. Chicken can be put into nearly any dish for flavor, and protein, without a great increase in fat. When you buy local from a butcher, the taste and tenderness of the dish is just upped tenfold. Also the fresh mozzarella is key. Fresh mozzarella is a much more creamy, mild flavor than the standard stuff we are used to. I’m going to stick with the recipe on this update so you don’t have to listen to me babble too much…

Chicken Breast Medallions Stuffed with Fresh Mozzarella and Parsley

2 (6-8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 ounces of fresh organic mozzarella
1/4 cup fresh parsley

First off you need to make the chicken manageable to roll. To do this you basically need to just pound it with a mallet until it is 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick. If you don’t have a mallet you can use a rolling pin, a heavy pan, or anything else that is heavy to pound the chicken down. Once you have the chicken pounded down cut the fresh organic mozzarella into thin slices and place on top of your chicken. Chop your parsley and place on top of the mozzarella. There is no need to completely cover the mozzarella, just need enough for the flavor. Roll the chicken up into a tight package, and put toothpicks into the chicken to keep it together.

Heat a skillet over medium heat and add your vegetable oil. Put your hand over the oil, when you can feel the heat coming up its time to add your chicken. Cook the chicken, turning occasionally, until brown on all sides, about 2 min per side. Now just cover the skillet and turn the heat down to low and let cook till done through, about 5-7 minutes. Once done take the chicken out of the skillet and let sit for 5 minutes.

Take a sharp knife and cut the chicken into 1/2-inch medallions. Place the chicken on top of the noodles from the previous recipe, and your done with the entrée.

Mmmm…….Cheesecake coming soon…

Posted by Earl at 03:08 AM | Comments (0)

Great Date Night Recipe Part 1 of 3

So it’s been a bit since my last update. I guess I could treat you to a series of recipes I was saving for later. This is the start of my date night series. I will post three recipes to make a complete date night for you and your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, or whomever else you would like to make a good meal for.

Really this meal should start with a small salad. I’m not going to post a recipe for the salad; I’ll leave it to you to be a little bit creative with this one. For the most part all you really need are some leafy organic greens with a subtle homemade vinaigrette of some sort. Later I’ll have a post for a simple, yet delicious homemade salad.

So this meal concentrates on simple flavor, nothing over the top. Since the salad is over with, I’m going to jump into the first part of the entrée, Peppered Parmesan Spaghetti. This recipe was originally found in a magazine, and then adjusted slightly to my tastes. The sauce for this is olive oil based, and very light, but full of flavor. Parmesan and pepper are both usually accents to a dish, but here they are the main feature.

A couple of the nice things about this dish are that not only is the dish fairly cheap to make organically, but also fast and easy. The dish can be reheated and served with multiple different foods. And it’s even good cold. Because this is for a date night you might want to go the extra little bit and get a good quality small chunk of Parmesan. It isn’t too expensive, and the flavor is just that much better.

To start out you need:
1 lb. Organic Pasta (about $2.89)
Olive Oil (about 12.00 for a bottle of organic that will last you a long time)
Pepper (negligible)
1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese (varies, but you still want organic)

Read the package on the pasta and check to see how much water you’ll need to bring this to a boil. Mine says 1 quart of water, but yours will probably differ. Add a pinch of salt to the water while waiting for it to boil. Take a fairly large frying pan out and turn the heat on to low. Add enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan, and then a little bit more (it isn’t an exact science). When the water boils add the pasta, and cook until al dente (cooked through, but still firm). This is personal preference; I personally like my pasta slightly al dente for this dish. While the past is cooking, add the ¼ cup of Parmesan to the olive oil and the pepper is also personal preference. Try using about a tablespoon. Stir the olive oil mixture, while letting everything combine. Once the pasta is done, drain it and put the pasta into the olive oil mixture. Lightly toss the pasta to make sure of an even coverage.

Again the focus of this meal is on two foods that are normally accents to everything else, so you aren’t going to be able to cop out with Kroger Parmesan Cheese, well unless your cooking it for yourself. If this is for date night spend the extra dollar or two and get some good pepper and some good Parmesan.

Remember this is only half of the entrée. You will get the other half soon.

Posted by Earl at 12:00 AM | Comments (0)

Odwalla Carrot and Raisin Bar

Odwalla is a company that started out in the early 80’s and has amassed quite a following. They make juices, smoothies, soymilk, and bars. I’ve tried the juices before and they were pretty decent, so I figured I’d give the bars a try. Because I had heard good things about it, I picked up a Carrot Raisin Bar for my test. Specifically, a friend related this bar to carrot cake. My expectations are probably pretty high because I do enjoy a slice of carrot cake from time to time.

First off, the packaging – very bright, and fun to look at. The bar is at the very bottom right of the packaging obscured by everything else. Seems a little bit sketchy, but I’ll move on. Looking at the back of the package, this bar is made of 34% organic. Not too bad, but could be better.

Opening the package, I get an interesting smell, mostly of raisin, though I can smell the carrot and cinnamon as well. Reminiscent slightly of the carrot cake I’m used to. Honestly though, the bar doesn’t look very good. I can see the raisins and grains that are advertised on the package, but it looks bit like poo. Not the most inviting bar in the world, but nonetheless I’ll give it a go.

The taste is not quite like carrot cake, but it isn’t too bad. It tastes a little bit vitaminy to me. The raisin definitely comes through as the biggest flavor in the bar, but I can also taste the carrot and other spices.

As for texture, the cereal grains are slightly soggy, there is a crunch but it’s a soggy crunch. It is a very interesting texture, as the bar is moist, yet when I get done eating a bite I feel that I need to drink something. This might just be a personal thing. There are raisins everywhere in this bar, which is what saves the bar. Without the raisins this bar would be very bland, but the raisins add a nice bit of fruit burst.

Overall I don’t know if I would pay this much for the bar when there are multiple other bars that are better tasting. I would be happier with just a simple banana or apple. So the final verdict is:

Eat This Rating: 4/10
Price: $1-2

Posted by Earl at 02:50 PM | Comments (0)