Kitchens with charm

When it comes to the kitchen I'm definitely all about rustic charm, so I thought I'd share a few darling pictures I found of kitchens with this rustic charm I speak of.  Enjoy!

Did you know the importance of leaving skin on?

Did you know... that a large percentage of the nutrients in produce (fruits and vegetables) is located in the skin, the outermost layer of the fruit and vegetable? While you may not been keen on eating citrus rinds or squash skins there are plenty of other fruits and vegetables that are just as tasty (if not more tasty) eaten with the skin on, to name a few: potatoes, cucumbers, apples and pears!

Of course you must keep in mind that eating your produce with the skin on would only be safe if eating organic produce, non-organic produce which can (and most likely do) contain pesticides and other harmful sprays is a no-no to your health, therefore, if you are buying non-organic produce DO DO DO make sure to peel the skin.

Trader Joe's g* Organic Corn Chip Dippers

Maybe it's the gluten-free (g*) part that I love so much, I have my doubts on this though. I decided to try Trader Joe's brand Organic Corn Chip Dippers, at this point it was most definitely the g* that was stamped right on the front of the bag that got me, but I was to later realize that there's much more to love about this bag of corn chips than just the g*.

I went home opened a container of pico de gallo and the corn dippers, I tried the corn dippers alone and then I tried them with the pico de gallo. Fantastic! The Organic gluten-free corn chip dippers have the perfect crunch, each dipper is large and scooped shaped (as seen in the below picture) ideal for scooping and thick enough to hold pretty much any kind of dip not just watery pico de gallo but a large scoop of 7-layer dip as well (I tried this too). The crunch, the slight saltiness (not over saltiness which I find most chips to be) results in the perfect corn chip dipper perfect for eating alone too!

Now, week's later I've bought my 3rd bag of TJ's Organic g* corn chip dippers. Is it worth a try? Yes, totally.

Cooking At Home: 7-Layer Mexican Pie Dip

One thing that I've learned from being pregnant so far (so far meaning the last two & half months) is that, when you can't figure out what it is that you want to eat (and during pregnancy this can be quite aggravating) the trick is to eat things with multiple main ingredients in it... hence today's 7-Layer Mexican Pie Dip. I suppose the pie plate just makes it more beautiful not more delicious, which was all quite by accident, I've got a dishwasher loaded with dirty dishes and the pie plate was my only choice, and what a pretty accident it turned out to be- a perfect presentation for a party!

One of the great things about the 7-layer dip is that it is fairly simple to make, all one really needs to do is to put it all together, no actual cooking required, and in this way it makes a great bachelor dish (sorry boys for the reference!)

Here goes...


WHAT YOU'LL NEED:

• 1 can of black beans (or refried beans if you prefer the traditional way)
• Guacamole (homemade or simply buy the pre-made from Trader Joe's- equally as good)
• Sour cream (low fat or non-fat if your concerned for your health)
• Shredded cheese of your choice (even crumbled feta might be nice for a little twist)
• 1/2 a small red onion diced (you can knix the onions if you no likey)
• Diced tomatoes with the seeds scraped out (you don't want a watery dip!)
• Small can of sliced black olives

DIRECTIONS:

Simply layer all the ingredients one by one in a dish of your choice, a dish with at least 1" sides should do the trick.

First start with the beans, then....
Guacamole
Sour cream
Cheese
Onions (if you are using)
Tomatoes, and then...
lastly Olives

Cooking At Home: The trick to a delicious fruit salad

Fruit salads are one of my favorite things to make, maybe my love for fruit makes me biased or perhaps (and most likely it is this) that you can make so many different kinds of fruit salads. Mix and match the fruit that's in season, it really doesn't matter- it always turns out great... and it's a good for you!

There are a couple of fruits on my "boring fruit" list, grapes and bananas, these fruits I pretty much never use in my fruit salads- but of course that shouldn't deter you from doing so.

The trick to making a delicious fruit salad every single time?  Lime juice. Yes, lime juice, simple as that.  Squeeze a quarter or even better yet a half or whole lime right into your fruit mix, it'll keep the colors fresh and give it that sweet zing.

My latest Winter Fruit Salad included, half pint of blueberries, a whole red apple, a yellow pear, 3/4 of a pomegranate and the juice of 1/2 a lime

Another TIP... lime juice goes awfully well with pomegranates!  So if you've got pomegranates in your fruit salad you can bet that the lime juice is only going to make it better... and vice versa!