I have begun noticing a trend. In the winter, there is a point at which it seems there is very little variety in seasonal foods and I start to feel like I am "culinarily"  stuck. 

At this point the only way to get unstuck is to dress up what is available in different ways to stretch my patience until the spring produce comes in. And what is more warm, inviting and exotic than the word "Moroccan"? 

(I'm half Moroccan, so I may be biased.)

So we take the bold beet, the humble potato and the common carrot and transform this trio into  an earthy salad that will warm and comfort in the dead of winter!

I give you, the Moroccan Root Vegetable Salad, also know as Moroccan Potato Salad....

Moroccan Root Vegetable Salad
Ingredients:
3 Medium Sized Beets
5 Medium-large carrots
7 Small Potatoes (if using russet potatoes use 3 large
1 Small Onion
1 Lemon (the juice of it)
Salt (to taste)
Pepper (to taste)
3 Tbs Olive Oil

Method:

1. PREHEAT oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit
2. Wash veggies, especially the beets thoroughly, making sure to scrub all traces of dirt away.
3. Peel vegetables (if you'd like, I personally don't), cut Beets, Carrots and Potatoes into large pieces, roughly the same size (as pictured)
4. Place veggies on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil.
5. Cover the vegetables with aluminum foil and place in the middle rack of the oven. Set timer for 40 minutes
6. Meanwhile, peel and dice the onion.
7. Check the vegetables by pricking them with a fork to see if they are done. When just soft, remove from oven and allow to cool uncovered.
8. When the vegetables have cooled, cut into equal sized pieces and place in bowl. Add onions.
9. Soften lemon by rolling firmly on counter. Cut in half and deseed the lemon. Squeeze juice of whole lemon into bowl.
10. Add about 2 tsp of salt (or less to taste) and ½ tsp black pepper.
11. Stir salad.
12. Add 3 TBS Olive Oil, and Stir salad once more.
13. Serve warm or chilled.   

Preheat your oven to 400 Degrees Farenheit. Wash the root vegetables thoroughly and cut all of to roughly equal size, leaving skin on.

Drizzle with Olive Oil.

Cover with aluminium foil. Place in oven for about 45 minutes. 

About 30 minutes into cooking, uncover the vegetables and stick a fork in each vegetable to check for softness. The potatoes may cook a little more quickly than the others. To avoid overcooking, remove potatoes if they have finished cooking before the carrots and beets. ​

When the veggies are done cooking, peel the beets, carrots and potatoes. (I just peel the beets and the leave the skins on the potatoes and carrots because I like the added flavor of the skins). Cut the vegetable to roughly the same medium-grade size and add half of a chopped yellow onion.

Soften your lemon by pressing down on it while rolling it on the counter (this breaks down the inside pulp so you can get more juice from it!). Cut it in half, then squeeze the lemon onto your vegetables.Make sure to avoid having the seeds slip into the salad (they will be bitter).  Also, add salt and pepper directly onto the salad (to taste). Then mix it up!

Finally, add about 3 Tablespoons of good olive oil. Then mix it up again!

Serve warm or put in the fridge for later to let the flavors develop and deepen, then served chilled! Say Bismillah and enjoy!

​We love soup, especially during this time of the year. A warm soup can do wonders for your health. Today we will be sharing how to make a delicious and richly flavorful recipe that the whole family can enjoy. This creamy soup is made from butternut and acorn squash and we enjoy it with homemade naan. It's very healthy and it's packed with yummy ingredients. This is our ultimate guilt-free comfort food!

Ingredients:
​​1 butternut squash
1 acorn squash
2 medium onion
2 carrot
 3 celery sticks
4-5 garlic cloves (Add more or less)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp Italian seasoning 
2 cups of broth (Depending on the sizes of your squash,  you can use more or less of it)

​Instruction:
Start by removing the ends of the squashes; make sure you are using a very sharp knife. Once you cut the ends off, you can start peeling it. You will need a good peeler that is sturdy. We like to peel the squash lengthwise, it's a lot easier for us. Cut the squashes in half and start cutting it into rings then into 1" cubes.

Place the cube-sized squashes in a baking tray. Then, cut the carrots, celery, and the onion into similar slices as the squashes. Place all the ingredients into a baking tray. Peel your garlic and put it in with the rest of your ingredients. Next, sprinkle EVOO and add salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning. Put it in the oven for about 30-45 minutes or until it is tender.

It should look something like this:

​Once it is ready, remove it from the oven and let it cool down for a little bit. Put everything in a blender and blend it until it is smooth in consistency. Now, pour the mixed ingredients into a saucepan and add the broth (You can use any broth of your choice). Let it simmer for at least 30 minutes. We have noticed the longer it simmers the more depth of flavor the soup develops. Enjoy!

​(This post was featured on the wellness blog Wholesome101)

First, I must admit that I never considered myself a gardener. Growing up I can remember my mom taking me out to our backyard garden in an attempt to get me interested in growing food. Unfortunately, after all her efforts I still ended up firmly convinced that I indeed have a brown thumb (both literally and figuratively), and that the grocery store was designed specifically for brown-thumbed people just like me.

Only after I had children of my own did I begin taking an interest in good food and nutrition (and how to make it affordable). Gardening, then, became a real option. Although I am by no means an expert, I have found my past 3 years of experience in growing my own food to be fundamentally life-enhancing. So much so, that I would like to share with you some amazing benefits this lifestyle can have.

Here are the five main benefits I have gained through growing my own food:

1) COST
As a mother of a growing family, food costs are forever increasing (along with clothing sizes/prices. Seriously, is there a variety of denim jean tree I could grow?). Buying one bunch of organic kale for $2.50 (on sale) is definitely not a sustainable model as the kids get older.

This year during the summer I had about 10 really good kale plants that fed us about 3 grocery-store-sized bunches of leaves per week! The seeds for those kale plants came from less than one organic kale seed packet.

So for less than $2.50 up front, some maintenance, and a bit of creative effort in finding free fertilizer, I got a nearly-endless supply of fresh kale from May through September. If you do the math, that comes out to about 60 bunches of organic kale in 20 weeks all for $2.50. Compare that to $150.00  if I had bought all that kale at the store (on sale). No bad, right?
​
If you aren't into kale, then green beans, squashes, tomatoes, peppers, and lettuce are all very easy and rewarding to grow from seed. If given the right care, your plants will produce food for several months and save your family money and time at the grocery store.


2) LOCATION
There is nothing more satisfying than being able to simply go pick what you need from your garden when you are in the middle of cooking dinner and realize you need tomatoes. A garden saves you time, as well as money on gas, both of which can really add up over the course of a season.

On average, we make about 3 to 4 grocery runs (at different stores) during the week. This summer with our earnest gardening efforts, we managed to get it down to one trip per week. For us, that was a savings of at least a whole tank of gas!

Also, you never have to worry about grocery store hours since your backyard is open 24/7 for you and your family! Even better, you don't have to get dressed up to go “out-out.” You can “shop” in your PJ's (if you have that kind of yard)!

​
4) SAFETY
Recalls are all the rage these days. It seems that every few months, food (even certified organic produce) is being recalled due to reports of people becoming extremely ill after “poor quality control” allowed listeria/salmonella/e.coli/the bubonic plague a free ride on their product.

This is inevitable, unfortunately, because supermarkets import their produce from all over the world. Even produce suppliers (in an attempt to keep up with the market for out-of-season produce) must import foods that are in-season in other parts of the world in an attempt to meet our demand. With internationally connected markets and food shipping, and the difference in standards and quality control between countries, it is to be expected that people will get sick at some point.

Opt-out! The only practical way to make sure your food is clean is to either get to know your local farmer (do it!) or grow your own food (do that too!).

When you grow your own food, you will have a complete picture of what your food was fertilized with, what pesticides were (or weren't) applied, and the hands that touched your food on the way. The chain from ground to table is short and transparent, and in fact, is how most of humanity has lived until the past century. Reconnect with your roots! (Pun fully intended!)


5) CONNECTION
Food connects by design. We need it to live, so we can't escape it. When you are in the garden, you can't help but connect. You will notice the Earth and the weather. You will appreciate the rain, and look for the sunrise and sunset. You will value the soil beneath your feet as the stuff of life itself.

You will connect with the efforts of people who produce food, the struggles and victories of stewarding vegetables and herbs. You will connect with your family, friends, neighbors, and people that love good food when you share the abundance of your garden.

Most importantly, you will connect with your Creator, who made us all from earth – the very thing you plant in. You will see the beautifully intricate web of interconnectedness that we share with all of creation as a beneficiary of food grown. And you will connect with yourself, at your core. You might just find more meaning, perspective and gratitude for your life.

I'd take that over the grocery store any day!