{"id":56195,"date":"2015-10-10T00:09:17","date_gmt":"2015-10-10T07:09:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/?p=56195"},"modified":"2015-10-10T00:09:17","modified_gmt":"2015-10-10T07:09:17","slug":"unprocessed-kitchen-merit-badge-expert-level-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/56195","title":{"rendered":"Unprocessed Kitchen Merit Badge, Expert Level"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>\t\t\t\t<span style=\"color: #800080;\">The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.farmgirlsisterhood.org\/\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">Sisterhood Merit Badge program<\/span><\/span><\/a>,<span style=\"color: #800080;\"> now with\u00a06,691 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far\u20149,460 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><span style=\"color: #339966;\">Wondering who I am? I\u2019m Merit Badge Awardee Jane (MBA Jane for short). In my<\/span> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/10477\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><span style=\"color: #000080;\">former life<\/span><\/span><\/a> \u2026<b>\u00a0<\/b><b>\u00a0<\/b><b>\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>For this week\u2019s <a href=\"http:\/\/www.farmgirlsisterhood.org\/badges-fk-unprocessed-kitchen.asp\"><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Farm Kitchen\/Unprocessed Kitchen Expert Level Merit Badge<\/span><\/a>, my plan was simple: My girlfriends and I were going to get our significant others (not to mention small ankle biters &#8230; ahem, I mean, children) to eat more salad.<\/p>\n<p>You know. Bunny food.<\/p>\n<p>Amid the wailing and gnashing of teeth from the menfolk, we concocted a plan: Come up with some super-yummy, homemade, DIY, organic salad dressings that would make our muscle men, our Hercules, our testosterone-laden overgrown boys swoon for vegetables.<\/p>\n<p>We spent weeks preparing. The men piped down and slowly stopped peering suspiciously in the fridge (probably due to their lack of energy from eating too much red meat and not enough lettuce). Our logic was simple: Swamp \u2018em with flavor. Drown \u2018em in deliciousness. Spoon them swirls of ranch-flavored goodness, and they\u2019d never even notice the absence of animal flesh.<\/p>\n<p>And the rugrats? What kind of child could resist a poppy seed and strawberry salad? Or a blueberry honey dressing? Or a barbeque chicken chopped salad? They would be powerless to resist the lure of our potluck.<\/p>\n<p>Each farmgirl brought their A game, so to speak. We brought only the best concoctions to our get-together. And the menfolk? <span style=\"text-decoration: line-through;\">Fat <\/span>Slim and happy.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_56201\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-56201\" class=\"wp-image-56201\" src=\"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/1280px-Adventures_with_salad_dressing_4432860260.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"239\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-56201\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by jeffreyw via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n<p>But that could be partially due to my homemade bacon bits, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Homemade Bacon Bits<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Thinly slice bacon (I like to use kitchen shears), Cook until crisp and drain on paper towels. Flash freeze in a single layer on a cookie sheet for about 10 minutes. Place in jar or a ziplock bag and keep in freezer. They\u2019ll defrost quickly, and you can pull them out whenever you need a shake on your salad or baked potato. Or whenever you\u2019re jonesin\u2019 for bacon.<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nAsian Dressing<\/strong> (perfect for regular salad, but even better on pasta salad, with plenty of colorful veggies mixed in)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1\/2\u00a0cup extra virgin olive oil<\/li>\n<li>1\/4 cup\u00a0soy sauce<\/li>\n<li>juice of 1 lime<\/li>\n<li>a\u00a0handful of poppy seeds and a handful of sesame seeds<\/li>\n<li>2 cloves garlic, finely minced<\/li>\n<li>2 small shallots, finely minced (can substitute red onion)<\/li>\n<li>1 t honey<\/li>\n<li>1 t minced fresh ginger<\/li>\n<li>a\u00a0splash of rice\u00a0vinegar\u00a0or apple-cider vinegar (more if you like it tangy, or if you\u2019re omitting the lime)<\/li>\n<li>salt and pepper to taste<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div id=\"attachment_56205\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-56205\" class=\"wp-image-56205\" src=\"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Smoked_chicken_and_avocado_wrap.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"360\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-56205\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by Takeaway via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Summer Rolls<\/strong> (they\u2019re like salad, to go!)<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>rice-paper sheets (If your grocery store doesn\u2019t stock them, try an Asian market. They\u2019re less than $2 for a large package.)<\/li>\n<li>thinly sliced vegetables of your choice (Good options are: purple and green cabbage, green onions, carrots, edamame, chiffonade-style spinach or kale (roll up, then slice the rolls), any and all types of lettuce, sugar-snap peas, fresh asparagus, julienned cucumbers, or zucchini.)<\/li>\n<li>fresh mint and\/or cilantro<\/li>\n<li>shrimp or chicken (optional)<\/li>\n<li>homemade Asian dressing (see above)<\/li>\n<li>cooked Asian noodles or crunchy ones (optional)<\/li>\n<li>peanuts (optional)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Soak rice paper in hot water, one at a time, until pliable (around 30 seconds). Lay flat on a kitchen towel (it will stick to your counter, so a towel works well). Lay your ingredients in the middle, drizzle with dressing, and roll as you would a burrito (sides in first). Roll tightly! This takes some practice. If your rice paper tears, just toss it and try again. The fillings for these are practically endless: try a Buffalo Chicken one with blue cheese and celery, or a Mexican-flavored roll with a taco salad filling. Perfect for lunches and great for little hands, too. Not to mention, they look amazing and you just might get the cover of your favorite foodie magazine \u2026<\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nBloody Mary Chopped Salad<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>very ripe tomatoes (halved cherry tomatoes are the prettiest)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>celery, thinly sliced on the diagonal<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>red onion, thinly sliced<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>your best dill pickles (homemade if you\u2019ve got \u2018em), chopped (could also use capers)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>1 T celery seed<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>shrimp (optional)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>1\/3 cup clam juice, vegetable juice,\u00a0or tomato juice<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>splash of Tabasco (adjust to taste)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>4 T Worcestershire sauce<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>1\/4 cup\u00a0olive oil<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>3 T horseradish (adjust to taste)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>1 T Dijon mustard<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>black pepper and salt, to taste<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>wedge of lime for each serving<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Toss together and let marinate for an hour or so. All ingredients are \u201ceye-balled,\u201d depending on how spicy and flavorful you like it. And of course, if the kiddies aren\u2019t partaking, you could always soak your tomatoes in vodka before chopping \u2026<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_56206\" style=\"width: 370px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-56206\" class=\"wp-image-56206\" src=\"http:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/Strawberries_for_Pi_Day_421519952.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"360\" height=\"240\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-56206\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by anders pearson via Wikimedia Commons<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Pink Strawberry and Poppy Seed Dressing<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1 cup fresh strawberries<\/li>\n<li>1\/3 cup white balsamic vinegar<\/li>\n<li>2 T coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil, or avocado oil<\/li>\n<li>1 clove garlic, minced<\/li>\n<li>salt and pepper to taste<\/li>\n<li>2 T poppy seeds<\/li>\n<li>a\u00a0drizzle of honey (depending on the sweetness of your strawberries)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Combine in blender. Store in fridge. If using coconut oil, you&#8217;ll want to bring to room temperature before pouring. This makes a beautiful pink dressing, perfect for the pretty princesses in your life.\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The adorable, always humorous MBA Jane is my way of honoring our Sisterhood Merit Badge program, now with\u00a06,691 dues-paying members who have earned an amazing number of merit badges so far\u20149,460 total! Take it away, MBA Jane!!! MJ\u00a0 Wondering who &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/56195\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/56195\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gladsome_sisters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56195\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.raisingjane.org\/journal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}