DirectionsCombine rice, orange juice, water and salt in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan. Heat to boiling; stir once or twice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes

While rice is cooking, melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add almonds and cook and stir until golden, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove almonds and set aside

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in skillet. Add chicken; cook until brown on both sides. Add orange marmalade to skillet and stir to coat chicken.

To serve, spoon rice onto plate, top with chicken. Sprinkle with toasted almonds and green onions

Servings:  4

Enjoy!

4 chicken leg quarters, skinned
1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbs minced ginger
2 medium carrots, cut into chunks
1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
2 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp tumeric
5 cups water
2 medium zucchini, cut into chunks
2 cups cous cous

Directions

In large, non-stick soup pot, place olive oil over high heat. Add chicken and cook about 10 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Stir in onion, garlic, chickpeas, ginger, carrots, cinnamon, cumin, tumeric and water. Bring to simmer, reduce heat and cook for about 20 minutes. Stir in zucchini and simmer an additional 10 minutes. Remove cinnamon sticks. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve. Serve in large bowls, over cous cous.

To freeze, transfer Moroccan Chicken to plastic container with tight fitting lid. Let cool, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Refrigerate, uncovered, until cold, about 40 minutes. Cover tightly and freeze until needed. To thaw, transfer from freezer to refrigerator 12 – 24 hours before needed. Reheat in a large, covered soup pot over medium-low heat. Bring to simmer and cook for 5 minutes

Servings 4-6

Enjoy!

The event has been posted by sam sullivan on facebook, called “Greensboro Loves Haiti”
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=Sam+Sullivan&init=quick#/event.php?eid=291364021755&ref=share

Location:  1214 Grove Street, Greensboro, NC  (The Greensboro HIVE) – 5 to 8pm.

“The event is a benefit dinner for disaster relief in Haiti. We’re asking for a $5 dollar suggested donation per plate. But, don’t let that discourage you from coming. Bring whatever you can, especially a sense of solidarity

The event will include an open mic for speakers/poetry. People planning to attend are encouraged to bring their own poetry, rhymes, as well as statements and commentary. Music may be happening too, but as of now it’s T.B.A. If anyone wants to play some music appropriate for this type of event message us!

The event officially starts at 5pm but folks are welcome to come and go whenever they please.

Food will be cooked by Food Not Bombs and provided by them as well as some individual donors.”

Food not Bombs needs help collecting and/or buying food by Saturday, the 30th in order to make a delicious meal!

Best,

Food not Bombs

The event has been posted by sam sullivan on facebook, called “Greensboro Loves Haiti”
http://www.facebook.com/search/?q=Sam+Sullivan&init=quick#/event.php?eid=291364021755&ref=share

“The event is a benefit dinner for disaster relief in Haiti. We’re asking for a $5 dollar suggested donation per plate. But, don’t let that discourage you from coming. Bring whatever you can, especially a sense of solidarity

The event will include an open mic for speakers/poetry. People planning to attend are encouraged to bring their own poetry, rhymes, as well as statements and commentary. Music may be happening too, but as of now it’s T.B.A. If anyone wants to play some music appropriate for this type of event message us!

The event officially starts at 5pm but folks are welcome to come and go whenever they please.

Food will be cooked by Food Not Bombs and provided by them as well as some individual donors.”

Food not Bombs needs help collecting and/or buying food by Saturday, the 30th in order to make a delicious meal!

What we can use:

canned or dried vegetarian beans
brown or white rice
eggs
milk
fish or chicken
tofu or veggie sausage
butter
canned or fresh tomatoes
canned or fresh green beans
canned or fresh corn
chips for salsa
onions and garlic
drink mixes or juice

anything else is appreciated to continue to help stock the pantry at the HIVE so that Food not Bombs can continue to help events with low-to-no-cost food prep.!

Best,
Food not Bombs

Travis’ Baked Brie

1 round or slice of brie (however – the rounds work better if you are going to bake them)
1 cup of walnuts – then chop them up fairly fine
1 cup of honey – I buy local from Honeybee Harvest
1 shot glass of brandy

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Place brie round in the middle of an oven safe baking dish.  Spread chopped walnuts on top – cover with honey and then sprinkle the brandy over the honey and walnuts.  Bake in oven until the center of the brie is 85 degrees.  Eat with fresh whole grain bread or whole grain crackers.

Enjoy!

Sunday morning at Caribou Coffee (Friendly Center).  It is interesting to just sit and watch people coming in.  Singles, couples, friends meeting for a morning cup and then the families (now I could do without the screaming kids – LOL).

This time of year is so amazing.  Now, granted I dislike the winter more and more the older I get – however – it is still an awesome time of year.  The sky seems to be more clear – if you saw the moon last night it looked like you could reach up and touch it.  And, the food – this is the best time of year for food, soups, stews and other hardy foods that you would not normally cook in the summer time.  I just prepared two wonderful stews a week ago – and will start posting some recipes this week.  Now that the holidays are past – I promise to be better about posts this year.

If any of you have awesome winter recipes please share as well.

Enjoy!!

TODAY!!

After all the hard work by elected officials and advocates from across the state to pass HB 2.

Today is the day NORTH CAROLINA RESTAURANTS AND BARS BECOME SMOKE-FREE!!

Today, we make history in our tobacco-producing state and join 25 other states that have enacted smoke-free restaurants and bars legislation.

Today, 395,000 restaurant and bar workers will go to work knowing that their hearts and lungs will be protected from the dangerous health effects of secondhand smoke and millions more North Carolinians are now protected from short-term exposure when spending time in restaurants and bars.

Today, local communities now have authority to pass local ordinances restricting smoking in other indoor, public places to further protect additional workers and visitors from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Today is a day to celebrate!

Take this opportunity to enjoy your favorite venue that is now smoke-free. Remember to tell the owner that you are happy to have smoke-free air to breathe. Remember to thank your state representative and senator for their support of this new law.

As you circulate in your community, you and others may have questions about the new law. You are encouraged you to visit www.smokefree.nc.gov for much more detailed information about the new law.This new website was created by the state health department to address questions about the law. In addition, there is a section of the website which will allow you to report a violation of the smoke-free law or send a thank you note to a restaurant or bar. This website also contains tools for businesses.

You may also access the NC Alliance for Health website for additional information about the smoke-free law, such as talking points and sample letters to the editor.

This time of year begins with Halloween. Costumes and candy, spooks and parties, and decorations to excite the heart. Parties of all kinds lurk in the shadows waiting for the guest to appear. Halloween can be an exciting time to prepare regular holiday treats in a different way. It is always fun to see if you can create a spooking Halloween feast. And, then the beverages that appear, ghoul punch, vampire wine, and so many other ghostly creations. I hope everyone had the spookiest Halloween ever.

Next down the line is Thanksgiving. Turkey, ham, deviled eggs, green bean casserole, candied yams, pumpkin pie, and stuffing – oh stuffing – that is what it all is – stuffing for us. This is the one time a year when it is somewhat expected of you to eat more than you really should. Friends and families gather together over a four day weekend to cook, eat and drink. There is usually always leftovers for the next day and by the time the four day weekend has come to an end – you have probably eaten enough turkey for the entire year – no – not really – keep it coming.

Then there are all the Christmas parties that follow Thanksgiving. Every weekend until Christmas it’s self – small parties, medium size parties and large parties. Some focus on food, while others are mainly concerned with how many cocktails you can consume in a few short hours. No matter the theme it is always fun to see what wonderful and delicious delights await us at each stop.

With all the food and drinks that surround this time of year, I hope we all take a few minutes to remember that this is the time of year to rejoice in the love that surrounds us all. Make time to think about all people in your life and ask yourself if there is something you can do for them that would make their holiday a little nicer. It could be something as simple as sending a card or making a phone call. There are also those that we come across for just a few moments – the people who are far less fortunate that we are – the neighbor who might have just lost a job – the person who has been homeless for weeks now – or the kid who is being passed from one relative to the other just to have a place to sleep and food to eat.

So take a moment out of your life and give something to someone else. Sometimes just a few moments of your time can make a huge difference in someone’s life. Go ahead, I challenge you to step out of your box and make a difference – it does not have to be a big difference – just a difference.

I wish you all the merriest Christmas ever.

Sleeping the night before vacation is alway a difficult process – why? – because it is vacation.  After making myself stay in bed until the alarm clock sounded (6:00 am), I rose and got ready.  Completing the final tasks before departure, loading the last of the never ending list of items for the trip and saying good bye to the four legged kids (Teddy and Tira – both rescue cats from the shelter), with that done we were off.

The trip down included an interesting breakfast at the Asheboro Huddle House, complete with costumes (which the employees wore not us).  Breakfast included everything from scrambled eggs with cheese to something that was covered and smothered (not sure what it was – however – the friend eating it said it was good).  After we were fueled and ready to ride – the trip continued.

It always amazes me at how diverse the landscape is in the state of North Carolina.  Traveling from Greensboro to the beach almost seems as if you are traveling to an entirely different country.  I love the pine trees (reminds me of Florida where I grew up) and then you have the swamps (OK, more Florida reminders), and then there are the people – everyone just seems to be in a vacation state of mind – even those working.

We arrive at the beach house – and the first thing is to check out the beach – kind of like making sure it is really there.  Once that has been established we proceed to unpack all – and I do mean all – the stuff we loaded into the cars for the trip down.  After unpacking and arranging we head back down to the beach for a nice walk in the surf.

From there, we headed across the bridge back to the main land in search of Captain Jack’s for fresh seafood for Sundays menu (more on that later).

The menu for Saturday night however included chili with green chili cornbread.

Chili recipe (very easy):

Once package of country style sausage – about a pound (I prefer the Lowes Foods brand)
One pound hamburger meat
Two large onions
Two large cans of diced tomatoes
Six regular size cans of dark kidney beans (drained)
Three packs of McCormick’s low sodium chili seasoning
Two big teaspoons of chipotle chili pepper
One big teaspoon each of garlic and onion powder
Salt to taste

Chop onions and saute in pot (I use a large cast iron dutch oven)
Brown the sausage and hamburger – drain off the grease
Add the seasoning and spices
Add the diced tomatoes (plus the juice in the can) – remember to stir well after adding each ingredient
Add the drained kidney beans
Stir well and cook the chili on medium until it is bubbly, then turn down to a slow simmer and cook for about an hour.

Serve with homemade cornbread.
Enjoy!

After dinner we finished the night off watching the sunset and waves crash into the beach.  Dessert included fresh baked chocolate chip cookies and well the rest of the wine and other beverages.

It was a great first day of vacation.  More to come.