This week for Fennel Friday, we are featuring Fennel and FRUIT recipes.  Fennel is a natural companion to many fruits; the sweet aromatic flavor complements a citrus tang or the sweetness of apples and pears, plus gives a great crunch!

A Few Fabulous Fennel and Fruit Pairings:

• Apple
• lemon
• lime
• oranges
• star anise
• pear
• mango
• blood orange
• apricot
• pomegranate
• cranberries
• gooseberries
• black currants
• fig

Get creative – fennel and fruit go well together for tarts, salads, snacks, smoothies, or on top of fish and pork!

Need a quick snack?  Chop some fennel, orange sections and drizzle some olive oil, sprinkle salt and enjoy.  We want to get you in the mood for fennel and fruit so try some of these delish recipes that we curated for Fennel Friday.

One of our faves is the Sweet Quinoa and Fennel Pollen using Divine Desserts spice from Pollen Ranch (and berries!) and that is our feature for the week – start your day with fennel, your digestive system and palate will THANK YOU!

Do you have a Fennel and Fruit recipe?  Share it in the comments below and tweet it into #fennelfriday so we can share it!

Next week is Fennel and Pasta!  Get those recipes ready!

Normally, my breakfast is quinoa with vegetables or leftovers from a delicious meal the night before.  Starting your morning with broccoli and quinoa may sound a bit non-breakfast but it’s soooo good; however, for all of you that need breakfast-y style morning meals – I found the answer that still lets me eat my quinoa!

Pollen Ranch created a Divine Desserts Fennel Pollenspice blend that is….well….divine.  Divine Desserts is an aromatic spice blend with 12 spices:

• Pollen Ranch Fennel Pollen, Orange Peel, Lemon Grass, Cayenne Pepper, Sour Plum Powder, Star Anise, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cardamom, Ginger, Vanilla Powder, Glove, Coriander

While I am still eating my veggies every morning, Divine Desserts has become a Divine Distraction for me and a welcome weekly morning treat!  Maybe this is the way to start every Fennel Friday!

Choose any fruit combo to add to this dish and you can even get creative and add some flax seed at the end.  I eat a piece of toast on the side – usually, Udi’s Gluten Free Whole Grain Bread.

Thank you Pollen Ranch for providing the Divine Desserts … next stop for this DIVINE Delight?  ICE CREAM!

Who is the grill master in your house?  And what are your favorite sides for a barbecue?  We have put together some scrumptious ideas from our favorite foodies … Ready. Set. Grill!

Before you start grilling, check in with Housewife Bliss and Coryanne Ettienne on how to love your barbecue and get it ready for the grillfest.  She has some great tips to check out before the meat hits the grill!

Aggie’s Kitchen takes summer salads and adds an Asian twist with her delightful Last Minute Sesame Noodles and Asian Couscous salad - sometimes traditional is just what you need and sometimes a little twist is just right!  Imagine these salads with delicious chicken breasts with a light teriyaki or ginger marinade – YUM!

Big Red Kitchen did a review from Guy Fieri’s new cookbook and shared the Watermelon Pork Taco recipe - the pork is marinaded and cooked on the grill and got all kinds of thumbs up from Big Red Kitchen which is good enough for us!

Cookin Canuck has a marinade that she uses for steaks, chicken thighs and pork but for me, I love how the Grilled Tri-Tip Steak with Molasses Chili Marinade Recipe sounds!

Smitten Kitchen – Flank Steak on the Grill

I must be craving steak because when I saw the Skirt Steak with Bloody Mary Tomato Salad from Smitten Kitchen, I had to wipe the drool away!

Need some ideas to spice up those plain ole burgers?  Cooking with Caitlin created a Gourmet Burger page - take your pick of a Cordon Bleu Burger or the side dish that would go with everything:  Red Onion-Apple Slaw!

Nothing goes with grilled fish like a festive and flavorful mango salsa – The Hungry Goddess gives us a brief primer on how to grill fish and choose your type of fish and then tops it all with a delish mango salsa!

Can’t wait for dessert?  Me either!  Especially when the dessert is homemade ice cream!  Daydreamer Desserts is serving up White Chocolate Chunk Strawberry Ice Cream - it may not go on the grill but it is definitely a welcome guest at the barbecue!

Dishing Up Delights has a cucumber obsession currently and we benefit as she shares her cucumber cocktails – perfect with or without alcohol – check out the Cucumber Mint Lemonade and the Cucumber Basil Limeade - Refreshing!

The flavor combos in Guilty Kitchen’s Mango & Prosciutto Salad will be a hit and keep them coming back for more!  I love summer salads so use whatever fresh veg is local to your area to really make it outstanding!

What do you get when you have romaine hearts and a delish black bean salad?  Black Bean Salad Boats of course!  This amazing recipe is from She Wears Many Hats and the presentation makes a tray a these just perfect for a barbecue!

We could go on for the whole summer on awesome grilling and barbecue friendly recipes but since it is quite a bit early, we just wanted to get your inspirational juices flowing to take advantage of the recent warm weather!

What are your favorite warm weather recipes?

And don’t forget – 4virtu is free to join and gives you the ability to create lists, send the list to a mobile for free and more!

Happy Grilling!

See you Wednesday!

Can you smell it?  That is the smell of grills and BBQ’s being fired up across America!  Warm weather brings outdoor activities which for a foodie means – outdoor cooking and eating!  *Insert Happy Dance*

Cooking on the grill was something I grew up watching my Dad do.  Although we lived in the Northeast, he would roll the grill out to the edge of the garage in freezing temperatures and snow.  Rain, Shine, Winter, Summer – we grilled.  And it was delicious!

I recently started grilling again after living in non-grill friendly accommodations (but I had my grill pan!) and I have to say – I am loving it!

On Twitter, I asked our #HGEATS visitors to share what they want to talk about and @OrderIt suggested a GRILLING #HGEATS and here we are!

Grill, BBQ, Propane, Charcoal or creative uses of your broiler, grill pan and George Foreman – we welcome it all for the #HGEATS Adventures in Grilling on Wed April 18 at 12n eastern!

Need some inspiration?  The Hungry Goddess did an Adventures in Grilling Pinterest Board to get the grill juices flowing!!

All you need to participate is a free Twitter account!

Hostesses: @HungryGoddess    @Healthy_Goddess   @HGEATS

Special Co-Host:  YOU!

What: The Hungry Goddess Eats Food Twitter Chat

Topic:  Adventures in Grilling

Giveaway:  One copy of The Gardener and The Grill by the BBQ Queens – Karen Adler and Judith Fertig

When: 12noon – 1pm eastern Wednesday April 18, 2012

Where: #HGEATS hashtag on Twitter

How:  Tweetchat, Hootsuite, and Tweetgrid are the tools we suggest to optimize your twitter chat experience

Join us Wednesday and Bring your Grill Techniques and side dish recipes!

Join the Hungry Goddess Eats Chat Facebook Group and interact all week with the awesome Foodies from #HGEATS!

Raw Fennel is …

• Crunchy
• Tender
• Subtly Sweet
• Aromatic
• Clean
• Lightly Licorice
• Good for you!
• A burst of fresh
• An AntiOxidant
• High in fiber, folate and potassium
• An Immune Booster & full of Vitamin C

We could keep going but we want to get to the good stuff – HOW you should be eating your RAW Fennel!

Adding raw fennel to a salad, whether chopped or sliced thin on a mandolin, is the perfect way to incorporate raw fennel into your weekly salad regime!

Use it as a Scoop – I am currently munching on a fabulous whitefish dip and using fennel as my scoop.  Try this with hummus or a green goddess dip – the sky is the limit and a fennel scoop is far better for you than a corn chip scoop!

Just Eat It – Another great way to eat your raw fennel is on a plate drizzled with EVOO, sea salt and cracked pepper!

Smoothies – fennel is a gorgeous addition to smoothies both for its healthful benefits and flavor!

Happy Fennel Friday and enjoy some of our RAW Fennel Inspirations!

It has been a looooooong and busy week and what better way to rejuve ourselves than with Fennel?  And since we are all cooking for holidays or just for the weekend, let’s drink our fennel this week!

Dionysus is the Greek God of Wine and Celebrations (Bacchanalia!) and he carried a fennel scepter to symbolize the life-giving benefits of fennel … both bacchic and health oriented!  Cheers to Dionysus and Cheers to Fennel!

We have cocktails and mocktails, smoothies and spritzers all containing FENNEL in some form…

So lift your glasses and celebrate Fennel Friday!

To that end and to complement your Easter Brunch, we present the Spicy Fennel Pollen Bloody Mary – light, delicious with a bit of kick, plus all of the delish of FENNEL POLLEN!  Amazing – Fennel Pollen is even good in a cocktail!

Get your Happy Hour juices going – and don’t forget to bring your Fennel Pollen to Easter Brunch!

Happy Fennel Friday!

Ingredients for a Bloody Mary

• 1 1/2 ounces (1 jigger) Citron vodka (really lightens it up!)
• 1/2 cup tomato juice or V8 (or to top of glass)
• 1 teaspoon of Spicy Fennel Sea Salt
• Worcestershire sauce to taste
• Tabasco to taste
• 1 fennel frond for garnish
• Spicy Fennel Sea Salt for around the glass
• Sprinkle of Fennel Pollen or Zen-sational Fennel Pollen Blend for garnish

Directions to Mix a Bloody Mary

Combine the vodka, the tomato juice, Spicy Fennel Sea Salt, the Worcestershire sauce, the Tabasco, 1 cup ice cubes, and salt and pepper to taste in a shaker and shake well.  Coat the outside lip of the glass with Spicy Fennel Sea Salt.  Strain into a glass filled with ice cubes and pop in the fennel fronds.

If you like the hotter Bloody Mary – add some horseradish and I love shrimp as a garnish as well, although the standby classic with the fennel additions does just fine!

Hat Tips

Our delightful Fennel Pollen blends were provided by Pollen Ranch – our partner for Fennel Friday!

Our divine Glass Straw was provided by Glass Dharma - stay tuned for our review!

Easter has always been one of my favorite eating holidays.  My Mom and my Grandmother would have food from dawn to late evening – breakfast, brunch, lunch, grazing and dinner – and never forget the dessert.

The best part of this Easter?  We are going to have my Grandmother’s Hot Milk Sponge Cake for the first time in years!

EASTER NOSH.  Add the extraordinary amounts of chocolate and jelly beans and it was amazing that anyone could walk away.

Going through the recipes on all of the Foodies Unite Network sites, I compiled a list for Easter Inspiration!

Happy Easter!

Cinnamon Buns – I add this because it is an annual Easter morning tradition & we grab buns from a yummy bakery to heat up in the morning!

Gluten Free Easter Candy List – Gluten Free Foodies Unite

Easter Brunch Inspirations …

Chard and Saffron Omelette  - The Hungry Goddess

Mini Frittatas - The Beehive Blog

Best Breakfast Casserole Ever - Foodies Unite

Scrambled Omelette with Quinoa and Veggies – The Beehive Blog

Beet and Fennel Soup – Fennel Friday

Chocolate and Banana Crepes – The Hungry Goddess

Pear Champagne Cocktail - Life Liberty and Lip Gloss

Peach Bellini - Life Liberty and Lip Gloss

Easter Dinner Inspirations …

The Amanda – Curry Shrimp and Cheese Canapes – Foodies Unite

Prosciutto Wrapped Asparagus with Lemon Mayo – The Beehive Blog

Beet and Egg Salad with Tarragon Dressing – The Beehive Blog

Grilled/Broiled Brussel Sprouts (6 ways to make them!) – Foodies Unite

Four Onion Gratin - Foodies Unite

Boursin Creamed Spinach – Foodies Unite

Lamb Marinated in Meyer Lemon and Fennel Pollen – Foodies Unite

Wines for Easter - Foodies Unite

Raspberry Quinoa Cake – The Hungry Goddess

Lamb Leftovers and Lamb Pitas - Foodies Unite

Lamb Pita Pizzas - Foodies Unite

We would LOVE to hear what you are having for Easter!  Leave us a link to your Easter posts!

This strange looking vegetable caught my attention while I was shopping at Publix.  The sign said  two for 2.49 and I thought why not try this.  I really do like experimenting in the kitchen.  Sometimes the experiment goes well and sometimes not too great but this experiment was a total surprise.

The flavor from the Chayote is mildly sweet and juicy and taste a little like an apple.  It is about the size of an apple and as I sliced it open I saw a large seed in the center.  After tasting and exploring, it was time to find a recipe!

Chayote Squash Soup – I got the recipe from All Recipes

Ingredients:

2 cubes chicken bouillon (crumbled) – substituted with Organic Chicken Stock

2 cups hot water

1 tbsp unsalted butter

1 yellow onion (minced)

3 cloves minced garlic

1 tsp red pepper flakes (crushed) -  substituted 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (little spicy)

2 Chayote squashes peeled and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

2 tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped)

salt

black pepper

1 tbsp fresh cilantro (chopped) to top finished soup

Instructions:

1.  Dissolve the bouillon in the hot water or if using stock, just heat.

2.  Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Cook and stir the onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper in the butter until the onion is soft.

3.  Add the squash, 2 tablespoons cilantro, salt, and pepper and stir continually for 5 minutes.

4.  Stir in the chicken stock and 1 tablespoon cilantro; cover.  Simmer about 20 minutes.

5.  Pour the mixture into a blender and puree until smooth.

6.  Pour into bowls and garnish with a sprig of cilantro to serve.  Also can be served cold.

The soup was slightly spicy so adjust the red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper to taste.  The Chayote Squash is really wonderful – creamy, light and almost sweet but not too sweet.  I can’t wait to try it again!

I prepared an artisan salad with a lite vinaigrette dressing and added some sweet peppers and enjoyed a nice light, delicious dinner.  Great idea for a Meatless Monday!

In prepping the shot - my assistant fell asleep on the job but he is so damn cute I couldn’t fire him.

Sharon is a Kosher Food Writer and Blogger, Wife, Mom to a gorgeous group of kids AND the Pastry Chef at Edible Experience by Sharon Matten.  Her recipes have been syndicated to aish.com, Mishpacha Magazine’s Kosher Inspired Magazine, The Chicago Tribune Syndication and more.

Sharon is what we call WONDER WOMAN.  And she cooks.  like a CHAMP.

All of her recipes are Kosher, many are Gluten Free and all of them are family friendly.

We are thrilled that Sharon shared her Passover links … I heard that you can have 4 glasses of wine at the Seder this Friday so CHEERS!  and THANKS, Sharon!

Gluten Free for Pesach - includes Broccoli Noodle Kugel and Gluten Free Matzoh Poultry Stuffing

Passover Cholent

Roasted Turkey with Matzoh Stuffing 

Sharon Matten’s Famous Matzoh Ball Recipe

The Coca Cola Roast

Passover Meat Thing (also pronounced “Thang”)

Broccoli Noodle Kugel

Mainly Meringues for Passover

Watch Passover Desserts with Sharon and Rabbi Doug

Please connect with Sharon and check out all of her wonderful recipes!

Kosher Everyday Blog

Edible Experience with Sharon Matten on Facebook

@KosherEveryday on twitter (Sharon is new to twitter so tweet her and say HI!)