ox tail with tomato spinach risotto

saute onions in oil and butter

add the rice until coated with oils. add 1/2 cup white wine and/or apple juice until absorbed in the rice, stirring constantly. continue to this with all the liquid.  reserving one cup of broth and place in the blender.

add tomatoes and spinach to the broth in the blend and blend. add to the rice at the end stirring constantly until completely absorbed.

add cheese, salt, parsley to the rice mixture and serve.

ox tail with tomato spinach risotto

ox tail (my friend buchi's recipe)
4-6 lbs ox tail
1 whole onion
3 dashes of worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt

1. preheat oven to 375*
2. place all ingredients in a dutch oven cover and place in the middle rack of the oven.
3. cook for 3 hours

spinach risotto
1 1/2 cups arborio rice
1/2 cup white wine (or apple juice)
1 quart of chicken stock
1 cup tomatoes
1 cup spinach
1 med onion
3 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon parsley
salt to taste

1. heat chicken stock in a small sauce pan and keep warm to the side.
2. in a saute pan saute onion in oil and butter
3. add the rice to the saute pan and coat the rice will with the oils coating every piece of rice.
4. add 1/2 cup of white wine or apple juice. stir contstantly until liquid is absorbed.
5. reserve 1/2 cup of broth and add to a blender with one cup of tomatoes and one cup of spinach. blend all ingredients.
6. add 1/2 cup of the chicken stock to the rice until liquid is absorbed. continue adding broth until all the liquid is gone.
7. add the spinach/tomato mixture to the rice until completely absorbed.
8. add cheese, salt, and parsley.
9. serve right away

i taught summit to roll over a couple of weeks ago.  it is our favorite trick he does. he loves treats so much we could teach this dog to do cartwheels.  that will be the next trick. =]

kinfolk magazine is my favorite. when it shows up in my mailbox i could even do cartwheels. i love their kinfolk table as well. i read reviews and people dislike that the book feels more like a photography book than a cookbook. that is what i love about it. great photography and great recipes.

chalk talk this month is all about gratitude. i started and soon after everyone in the house started adding their thoughts. can't wait for the full thirty days.

cozy sunday :: banana bread recipe

we started off our day by taking summit on a ride and then letting him run. he loves to run and we love to let him run.

soup on the stove always makes my sunday cozy. my daughter hates soup. she claims soup does not make a meal it is what we have before the meal. so i try to bake on soup days....it softens her for the soup blow.

i am a genius because she was so excited about licking the bowl clean she did not even mention the soup. 

 banana bread

• 3 large extra ripe bananas
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup almond or coconut flour or you can use all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ cup white sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar 
• 8 tablespoons butter or coconut oil
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• ½ cup buttermilk

1. preheat oven to 325.
2. grease and flour a loaf pan.
3. in a medium size bowl, mash bananas until creamy and stir in lemon juice.
4. in a medium size bowl, whisk together flour,baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. 
5. in a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars.
6. beat in the eggs until combined.
7. fold in the bananas.
8. add in the vanilla extract and milk.
9. beat until combined.
10. add the dry mixture into the wet mixture. mix until incorporated but do not over mix.
11. pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
12. bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes.

i doubled the recipe for two loaves and it worked out perfectly.  

i ended the day with some herbal tea. i love tea and i always wake up with a cup and have another one before bed. somehow a day started and ended with a warm cup of tea can never go wrong.