Stuffed Mushroom Pizza

Earlier last month I had the ingredients on hand for stuffed mushrooms.  But realizing our ability to eat our weight in them we decided to instead make pizza.  Basically it's a pizza crust with pesto and goat cheese topped with mushrooms and prosciutto.  G declared it the best pizza I'd ever made, which is high praise indeed.

So tonight we had that with a salad of arugula with strawberries and almonds and a little balsamic vinaigrette.  It was a little too strong flavored, and next time we'll use spinach instead, but it was worth a shot.  I just ate the strawberries and then ate the rest.

Stuffed Mushroom Pizza

• Pizza dough (either make your own or buy some pre-made....but make sure it's like real dough, not creepy roll out pie crust-esque dough)
• Basil pesto
• A log of soft goat cheese, softened
• Mushrooms (either white button or cremini), sliced
• Shallots, sliced thinly
• Prosciutto, sliced into thin strips
• Olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 425°F (or whatever your dough recommends), with a pizza stone in there.

Mix together the softened goat cheese with the pesto.  Add olive oil if it's too thick, until it's sauce-like. 

Roll out your dough to the size desired (I usually end up with a 10-12 inch pizza).  Dust pizza peel with cornmeal so that your pizza won't stick.

Place the pizza dough on the peel. Gently spread the goat cheese and pesto mixture over the dough.  I find a silicone spatula works well for this.  Then it's time to assemble.  Add mushrooms, shallot and sliced prosciutto.  I recommend adding quite a bit of everything, but specifically the prosciutto because it crisps up a lot and you don't want it sparse!

Slide pizza onto hot stone and cook for 20-25 minutes or until crust is browned and cooked crisp all the way to center.  The cheese mixture will be golden brown.  Let cool, slice and devour!

Bon Appétit!

Prep School

Spring Cleaning.  For me it's not just about your home, it's about your life as well.  And a huge part of that I touched on yesterday when it comes to providing nutrients for your body through salads.  But as simple as salads can be they can take time to prep if you don't want to shell out for the pre-cut veggies.  Now normally we buy leaf lettuce, maybe some spinach and arugula and I chop and mix them.  But for ease, we've been buying the big containers of spring mix salad. 

Still, we like a lot of vegetables in our salad.  So, in order to kind of demonstrate the easiness of it, I timed myself last night while chopping and slicing up veggies.  In an hour I had this:

That is 4 large bunches of carrots (with the greens on top so you know they're fresh), a bunch of radishes, half an English cucumber, half a large red onion, 2 red bell peppers, and a tomato.  It just took me an hour to wash and prepare all of that, and some of it (like the onions, radishes and cucumbers) I was slicing paper thin!

After that I took the time to finish tearing up the chicken we roasted (putting the bones and the gelatinous stuff in the freezer to make stock later), and also cut up 2 pineapples and 3 bananas (mixing some of the pineapple with the bananas to make a simple fruit salad for a couple days).  That bit took me less than half an hour. 

So in an hour and a half I had fresh vegetables and fruit ready, along with some protein.  Simple, no?  And we have veggies for almost the rest of the week (I'll have to slice up more onion and cucumber).  I encourage you to take an hour or 2 on a night where you have some time and just prep produce for the week.  Makes it so much simpler for the day to day!

Lighter

First I want to thank those who contacted me after yesterday's post.  Turns out I'm not the only one to experience this miracle!

Heavy stuff this week so far, so we're changing gears to talk about one of my favorite things: food.  In order to lose the last few dozen pounds, I've been having us eat a whole ton more of veggies.  I know that it's pretty normal to eat more hearty fare in the winter; and we ate a ton of soups/stews and roasts.  But now that it's warm out we've been eating salad for almost every meal.

The best piece of advice I ever read on a blog about food was this: to make a salad from whatever you ate the night before.  So we've done that, using bbq beef with onions and peppers on salad.  And we also prepared food specifically for salad, like roasted chicken, and fajitas (beef steak with onions and peppers).  Sometimes we use dressing, sometimes other toppings like bbq sauce or salsa.  I'm looking forward to whipping up a batch of hummus to use as a dressing soon.  To get some carbs in I've been baking/roasting potato chunks in the oven (leaving the skin on for the nutrients!) and then at the end melting pepperjack cheese on them.  Delicious!

I will say that I love veggies, so that helps.  For instance, my lunch usually consists of a lot of greens piled with cucumbers, tomatoes, red onion, red pepper, a pile of carrot sticks (I just slice up a bunch of carrots and keep them in the fridge).  Then I top with protein and carbs and add in a side of fruit or maybe roasted broccoli.

I understand that this might be more difficult if you have issues with vegetables.   However, my best advice is kinda harsh:  suck it up and get over it.  I used to loathe bell peppers and onions, and now eat them in most things!  It took me sitting down with G, talking about nutrition and deciding we were both going to eat these no matter whether we liked them or not.  They have amazing nutrients, so it was just how it was going to be.

So far, eating lighter and walking all the time has helped a ton.  I'm currently wearing a pair of jeans I hadn't worn since G left last year.  With our CSA starting up the beginning of June, and the farmer's markets full of brightly colored local produce, this summer should be pretty easy to eat super healthy to jump start this whole process.

Now I need to work on getting down on the floor and doing pushups and (sadly, thanks to having a baby) crunches.  I need to tone up as I slim down to avoid too much jiggle!

Are you looking forward to eating lighter during the warm months?  Have any tasty salad combinations? 

Working In The Kitchen

This last week I made:

* Baked oatmeal with blueberries, walnuts and bananas.  The next time I make this I'm omitting the chocolate...too sweet.  But I've frozen half of it to munch on for breakfasts.
* Two batches of pancakes. We froze them for quick breakfasts.
* A quiche lorraine with the addition of spinach.
* Yogurt spiced pound cake
* A roast, with paper thin crispy roasted potatoes, gravy, roasted carrots and salad galore (this is what we ate all weekend while exhausted).
* Sliced up french bread that I spread with a compound butter I made (butter, sea salt, herbes de provence), that I froze for a later meal.
* 5-6 quarts of beef stock, made from the beef bones I got as part of our cow. Took 10 hours, I thought I was losing my mind.
* Beef tallow (from the top of the stock once cooled) to use in baking.
* Homemade refried beans using lard from our pig that I used to make a dozen bean and cheese burritos to freeze for quick meals.
* Salsa, mostly to freeze to go with the burritos.

I did all of that while dealing with a 3 1/2 month old whose teething kept us up until 6:30 and 5 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday mornings.  It seems a bit insane, but it felt good to be that productive.  My biggest accomplishment was not in just making everything (and everything except the quiche and oatmeal was made from Friday-Sunday), but that I cleaned as I went, so Sunday morning with the stock cooling in containers, the dishes were done and I could go to bed without a disastrous kitchen. 

Now I'm off to finish making breakfast burritos.  I already cooked the sausage and sauteed the onion and red pepper, so now I just have to cook the eggs and spinach and roll them up to freeze.  I'm also planning to cook some taco meat this week to freeze, and maybe a meat loaf or two.  I feel like I'm nesting, but it's working out well!

French Night Out

Last night on a whim, G and I decided to head out to a favorite French restaurant, Tersiguel's to use up a Living Social deal we had.  I booked a table using Open Table and in the special requests section I mentioned we had a 3 month old and that a table where we could get up to take her outside if she got fussy would be nice.  When we arrived, they had us in one of the smaller rooms (the restaurant is in an old, old house).  They made sure we were perfectly comfortable and let us know we were fine and to not worry about the baby being disruptive at all.

G bouncing Nora.

The night was great.  The chef had made up a special amuse bouche (translated to mouth amuser) of toast with a eggplant mixture that I actually liked (and sadly eggplant is the one veggie I normally am not so into).  We began with an amazing spread of hors d'oeuvres of calamari, mussels, clams and shrimp.  I ordered the frog legs and the tomato garlic mixture that was with them was heavenly.  G had a pot with a variety of ham and sausage and veggies with sauerkraut...a sort of stew that was incredibly tasty.

Grenouille!

All through this, Nora was pretty well behaved.  She's been very interested in our food lately, staring at it intently, watching us chew.  I've been holding up things for her to smell and she seems to definitely be our child, though she'll have to wait a few months to taste anything.  And the staff!  At one point the maitre d' came to tell us that the entire staff was in love with her, and that that was why they kept peeking in.  They were all incredibly friendly and did seem to want to come look at her and talk to her (complementing her leopard leggings at one point).  She did need to be held most of the time, but we worked it out.

We rounded out the night with coffee and their divine creme caramel.  Then the maitre d' brought us out some house made blueberry sorbet that he thought would be a perfect palette cleanser.  It was delicious as well.  We gathered our things up, Nora nearly asleep, the maitre d' helped us outside and told me that we had made his day.  I assured him that their excellent staff had made our night wonderful.

She couldn't quite make it through dessert.

It was nice to get out for a nice dinner in a place where they were more than accommodating, to sort of feel out how Nora would be.  It was different than it was when it was just us two, but we did still manage to discuss world events, political ideologies, the new church we're attending, etc.  At the end of the night the bill was more than we had planned on spending, but I assure you it was worth every penny.  In fact, I'd be bold and say the night was absolutely priceless.

Valentine's Dinner

To keep from being in a food rut, we've been trying to branch out more and try new foods.  Tonight I realized that just buying a few ingredients (spinach, salmon, and broccoli) that we could have a meal with 2 new flavors.

First, we made a spiced lentil stew with sweet potatoes and spinach from Small Kitchen College. This stew was amazingly flavorful and hearty.  We ate a teacup's worth as part of our dinner and it was the perfect accompaniment to broccoli and our main course.

Maple chili salmon, recipe from The Brewer and The Baker. Mmmm.  I made enough of everything for lunch tomorrow.

I love that I'm finally beginning to make things from my Pinterest boards.  And G is loving the new flavors.  We have a roast defrosting in the refrigerator right now to have with currants, dates and a quinoa later this week!

How was your Valentine's Day?  Did you try any new foods?

P.S. I don't believe you need a significant other to have a good Valentine's Day.  My girlfriends and I have gone out together, I've celebrated with just me and a pet, and even with family.  Love is love.

Culture and Culinary Pursuits

This was when they were rehearsing before it began...much easier to snap a photo before the chairs all filled up!

Yesterday we ventured out into the snow and ice to see the Peabody String Orchestra perform here at the Walter's Art Museum.  The music was beautiful.  They performed pieces by Vivaldi, Mozart and Tchaikovsky.  It was set up in this ancient Rome rotunda, with a ton of marble in the Sculpture Court, so the acoustics were phenomenal.

Then we ended up at home, and in between sparring with Scrabble, I threw together what turned out to be a delicious dinner.  First I used a small butternut squash, a acorn squash, some leftover onion, and some leftover broth and threw it together to form a curried squash soup.  Added some creme fraiche we had bought for a meal and ended up not using, and it turned into a soup we're already planning to recreate with some fresh pumpkin I roasted last night.  All of it were items I had on hand that we needed to use. 

For the main course I had purchased a lot of green beans, and instead of having leftovers, we decided to have huge bowls of roasted green beans for dinner.  But instead of simply roasting them alone, I tossed in minced shallot, cremini mushrooms and leftover ham.  So, so good we ate in silence except groans of pleasure. 

So far that's been our weekend.  Went to Williams-Sonoma because we had an $80 credit to use and picked up the Emile Henry ruffled pie die I've been lusting after for 3 years (I'm slow to buy things that are just wants), along with 2 Apilco cafe au lait bowls, which we're utilizing this afternoon because I just want to use them!  I'll be doing a post on coffee later this week, and I think those will be the star players (other than the coffee of course!).

Hope everyone has had a lovely weekend!

Putting Thought Into It

Today G and I drove to the butchers and left with 117 lbs of beef in our trunk.  We looked upon it knowing this winter will be a good one.  We still have a lot of pork left, which we're incorporating into my meal planning every week (made a quiche last night).  Our freezer is now full, and we should make it an entire year without having to purchase beef, and hopefully until this summer without having to purchase bacon. 

The meat was not cheap, but it was far cheaper than we were paying for comparable things at the store.  We made the decision when we first got married to cut out as much hormones in our food as possible, but in England that sort of meat was not available at the store on base.  Once we moved back to the U.S. we made the switch completely, and went the further bit to not buy into the organic lie and just buy organic (which often is raised exactly the same, just with organic food...still in tight cramped spaces), but to also make a point to purchase pastured, grass fed, meat and eggs from local people.  But before linking up with this farmer, our beef was from Whole Foods and the price was ridiculous. 

The choice has been one we've never regretted or blinked an eye at.  Our eggs during the summer (when grass is lush) have deep yellow orange yolks.  The meat is delicious, and since I occasionally like to take a bite raw, I feel much safer about it.  The chickens we like to get are lean, long limbed birds who spent their lives roaming fields.  From a moral standpoint I'm happy, and from a taste standpoint I am pleased as punch.

We eat smaller portions of meat because of the cost and because both of us love veggies.  I'm glad I married someone who over time has really become just as passionate about the thought put into our food as I am.  I don't believe in gluttony as a way of life.  I believe that that way only ends up with less money in your budget, and more chances for poor health.  To counteract the natural desire to gorge, we choose quality foods, full of flavors and textures that delight the senses.  Real whipped cream, hand whipped into light as air deliciousness to top our chocolate pudding.  Pork coupled with a maple and brown sugar and mustard glaze (so odd, but out of this world amazing).  Portobello mushrooms sauteed in golden yellow Irish butter. 

I truly believe that in order for the U.S. to begin to battle obesity and heart disease that more thought needs to go into what we put into our bodies.  That we need to toss the stupid low fat concept out the window and begin to eat more full fat foods, which have been proven time and again to actually not hurt your health.  And as for weight issues, low fat satisfies no one.  We need to focus on getting more fiber, more naturally occurring vitamins and minerals, and getting all of this from real food. 

I've noticed that the majority of people don't want to know what is in their foods, because if they did, they wouldn't want to eat it.  As a quote I pinned on pinterest says, "Ignorance is not bliss, it's ignorance."  The consequences will catch up to you.  So today I'm urging you to use this year to really begin to think about what you put into your body, and ask yourself if you deserve better.  I'm not perfect, I indulge occasionally in crap food.  But you deserve for crap food to be the exception to the rule, rather than the norm.

Tip And Tale

Oh Hello!

Isn't her smooshy face the cutest?  One of her nicknames is Smooshy, because she's got these cheeks and turkey neck and she has a tendency when lying on us to get all squished.  It's adorable.

So, tip.  I am attempting to eat more yogurt, and while we normally do Greek yogurt, I wanted something smoother for this.  So I grabbed some organic whole milk yogurt (I normally grab cream top, which is even richer, but the store didn't have it).  But I didn't want plain yogurt.  So I poured a bowl of frozen strawberries, left them in the fridge overnight and the next day used my immersion blender to blend them into the yogurt.  It tasted great that night, but even better the next day.  No added sugar, just frozen strawberries and it tastes so good that it's like a decadent treat.  My recommendation is to do at least 2 cups strawberries for each container (I did more than that I think).

Also, made 4 popsicles with it...yum!

Now for a funny tale.  Max the cat is a wee bit jealous of the baby.  This is because Max is an attention whore, and will throw himself (literally) at you to be petted, and he likes to be picked up and cuddled like a baby.  So, G's arms full of Nora just pisses him off.  However, I think he's warming up to her, or rather the perks.  I caught him in her newborn napper yesterday, and not even turning the vibrating action on made him move.

The look on his face says it all.  He has since attempted repeats of this, but fears the mighty squirt bottle. 

And soon after this is how we spent the rest of the early afternoon:

Nora lies like this for feedings.  Max jumped up and pushed his rear up against hers.  As this is how he snuggles in with the puppies I'm beginning to think he sees her as another puppy.  He didn't budge, even as I moved about to get photos.

So, any tips or funny tales?  I could use them (I'm a wee bit sleep deprived but forcing myself to stay up so I'll sleep tonight!).

Seasonality

I'm on a food kick, so I've been working on several posts where I'm up on my soap box.  Be forewarned. 

For the most part G and I try to eat seasonally.  Which can be confusing when it seems everything is available, all the time, year round.  However, you can clearly tell when things are less than great because it's not the right season. 

I mentioned in my applesauce post that we only eat apples this time of year.  To help get us through, I am canning the applesauce and apple butter as well as making dried apples.  But it's not just apples.  This time of year is the only time we do things with pears, pumpkins, and other squash (unless I've pureed and frozen some, then it lasts a bit longer).  I love me some brussels sprouts, and so when tonight we saw stalks of them at Trader Joes I bought 2 stalks knowing they'd be gone by the end of next week.  (If they make it that long!)  I haven't had them since last autumn/winter.

Moving into the colder months we start to buy citrus, which contrary to the bright sunny-ness of it is actually a winter fruit.  Hence why children used to get an orange in their stocking.  So when the cold weather hits we are finally able to satisfy our craving for juicy oranges and tangy grapefruit.  We bought our first bag of grapefruit tonight (which I love because they're small...the size of medium sized oranges). 

Spring time means asparagus, peas, radishes and the beginning of berries.  Summer means tomatoes, summer squashes (zucchini, yellow squash), peaches, melons and pineapples.  I love when each one shows it's face and suddenly the flavors burst forth in my cooking.

We choose to eat seasonally because it's easier to find things locally and the flavors are far superior.  But our main reason?  It's because by eating seasonally we are constantly pleased with what we're having.  We eagerly anticipate each season, we eat our fill and then we bid adieu until the next year.  I love asparagus, but I refuse to buy it out of season when it's tough, stringy and less flavorful.  I'd rather greet it each year when the first stalks begin to be harvested. 

Some items we do eat nearly year round.  Bananas are a staple.  If I can find good looking tomatoes on the vine at the store, I'll buy those occasionally in the off months.  Things like potatoes, onions, green beans and peppers are fairly easy to find year round in good condition (though I freeze a lot of these during their peaks). 

So what to do if you suddenly want something in the winter or summer and it's not time?  I suggest looking to frozen produce, which is usually picked at the peak, flash frozen, and really good for you.  I occasionally want asparagus in pasta in the winter (when we're doing pasta with a ton of veggies), so I go to the frozen section.  It absolutely will not taste the same because freezing alters cells, so expect that.  But it's occasionally a nice way to get something you're craving. 

By eating more seasonally than not, you find that those things aren't so appealing in the off season.  I don't crave pumpkins in the spring time, but I'm more than ready for pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pie and pumpkin soup come autumn.  Your taste buds actually seem to adjust to the seasonality of things, and you appreciate the flavors so much more.  I highly encourage everyone to try and eat this way as much as possible.  You'll find yourself enjoying your meals so much more.

Every Day I'm Snufflin'

*The title is because thanks to a cute poster with snuffleupagus on it, I have been singing that all day and dancing some weird dance.

Today has been one of those great days.  The sun was out, but it was cool and crisp.  Farmer's market for our CSA, and also picked up some local free range eggs, some grapes (similar to concord), some granny smith apples (I know, I know, more apples!), some UV light apple cider (not traditionally pasteurized), and some sage to use with pork later this week.  Then it was onto our little cafe for some cafe au lait and some Irish oatmeal with cream and brown sugar. 

I came home and immediately began work in the kitchen.  I began bread dough, and while it was rising I started other things. 9 more lbs of apples have been turned into 3 pints and 6 half pints of apple butter.  I made pumpkin muffins and pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.  Both super yummy.  I reheated the pork chop and potatoes and sweet potatoes and beans from the other night for a light late lunch.  And then after everything was completely done (much, much later) I grabbed a ham steak, pan cooked it, and sliced it up for ham and cheese sandwiches on our fresh whole wheat bread.  Some end of season tomatoes accompanied it for a simple dinner that was insanely good (much better than I expected when I dreamed it up). 

Now I've got the kettle ready to make some coffee to go with some chocolate pudding.  G's been working all day, securing the bookshelves to the wall and building storage shelves in the basement.  It's kind of hot to watch him work. :) 

We still have donations to box up and load in the car, a nursery to completely clean out (most everything is in boxes, just was waiting for the books to be put on shelves to make room, and for shelves in the basement to set everything on) and vacuum so I can put everything up in there tonight.  I'll be organizing while G builds the crib.  Tomorrow we'll hopefully finally paint the dresser so that all her stuff can get put away nice and tidy.  I'm exhausted but wired, my mind a whirring disaster of a million little to dos I want to just do right now.  Ever have one of those days?

Oh, and my moment of pride? Even with all the cooking and baking, I've done 2 loads in the dishwasher, quite a bit by hand, and have a couple cookie sheets to wash.  Other than that I've already wiped down my stove (some proved difficult as that apple butter splattered a lot... I have the small burns to show for it!), cleaned up the floor, and now just have to sit back and relax. I'm proud of these changes!

Apples To Apples

So, after the orchard, we had 60 lbs of apples.  And because of Little Miss I've been super careful about washing every apple I eat with baking soda and hot water, which is a pain, so I've eaten fewer apples plain like I normally would.  Which leaves a lot of apples to have something done with them!

I decided I was going to try my hand at this whole canning thing, since last year it didn't go so well.  I don't think I processed the kumquats long enough and refused to eat them, and the apple butter I made last year (what little G didn't immediately eat) we simply kept in the fridge.  I was armed with the book "Put Em Up" and I was ready to rock this thing. 

So far I've made 7 half pints of apple butter and 7 pints of applesauce, each with a little left over for the fridge.  And other than one jar of applesauce (that I made this afternoon) that I don't think is going to seal right (all the others already have), they all came out beautifully.  I've only used about 15/20 lbs of apples though, so I'm planning to keep on going with this so we're stocked up for the year.

Because, you see, we try really hard to eat seasonally.  So that means that I only eat apples this time of year.  And I love apples.  By canning apple sauce, apple butter, and apple preserves and also making plenty of dried apples, we can enjoy them throughout the year.  I'm still trying to figure out how to successfully freeze an apple pie, and then life will be perfect!

Corned Beef and Cake

G and I sat down to coffee this afternoon.  I love that a hot drink of some sort is now an afternoon routine.  Usually accompanied with something sweet.  G has a wee bit of a sweet tooth that I had trained away, but came back during deployment.  And because he's a skinny minny I indulge him... he's had 3 different sorts of dessert today!

We spent a couple hours working on clearing out more in the nursery.  Lots of old papers to the recycle.  Several boxes full in the trunk to go to Goodwill.  And nearly half the room is cleared out.  Three huge boxes hold the 9' (very full) Christmas tree, and a couple are ornaments and whatnot.  So clearing out the Christmas items and the room will be nearly done.  I'm ordering a Christmas tree bag that rolls to put the whole tree in.  A whole corner of the room is books waiting for us to put the bookcases together in the office, which is on the books for this week as well.

For dinner we had thawed out a corned beef from Trader Joes that turned out to be pre-cooked...so dinner was fairly simple.  I put potatoes, carrots, cabbage wedges and onions in a pot, and once those were pretty much cooked we threw in the corned beef.  It was delicious.  I'd never liked cabbage much before (unless it was Indian or Ethiopian cooked with lots of spices) but this was delightfully tasty.  We have a ton left, enough for more meals and also trying our hand at reubens!  The broth has been set aside to get frozen as it is essentially veggie broth (though clearly not vegetarian), and will be perfect to use in soups this winter. 

And while that all boiled I decided to go ahead and try another of my great-grandmother's recipes.  I'm slowly making my way through some (her biscuits are already famous around here), and now with apple season here I thought an apple cake would be nice.  Oh. My. Goodness.  So, so good.  Super moist (had a hard time removing it from the pan), slightly caramelized, and we enjoyed it with some fresh whipped cream and apple cider.

A wonderful end to a productive day.

Beginning To Taste Like Fall

Our church mentioned last week an Octoberfest meal next month.  Which includes bratwurst...the only grilled sausage like product I eat (I have always and will always abhor hot dogs...I was an admittedly odd kid).  So this whole week I've been craving bratwurst, wanting some.  Tonight we swung into Trader Joes and grabbed some to cook and eat.  Originally the plan was to simply pan fry them and eat them with potato crisps.

But we got home and I got to thinking that grilled/sauteed onions sounded good.  Those cooked, and the brats were still cooking and I looked at our macintosh apples and thought, "One of the recipes for the pork chops was apples and onions, I bet they'd be good" so I peeled, cored, and sliced those up.  (and for the record everything was sauteed in the lard I rendered...mmm!)

We ended up plating it simply, the onions and apples forming the base and then the brats on top.  Add in some bordeaux (which went surprisingly well), and we had a simply elegant meal.  With a little laughter and romance added in.

We've been drinking hot apple cider and are making butternut squash soup soon and G really wants me to make an acorn squash for dessert.  It feels like fall is in the air!

Seasonality

We've really been trying to pay attention to seasonality with food.  Our pork was raised in a natural way, where it went to the butcher the old school time of year rather than all year round.  We're headed to an orchard sometime this week to pick apples, a fruit we've learned to live without when it's not fall.  September means apple pie in our house.  (and thanks to the lard, will be golden delicious!)

So last night's dinner was a nod to our love of food.  As we said our meal time prayers, we thanked God for the pig that died for our meal last week.  It's reassuring to know the sort of life it led, which led to a delicious tasting meal and a delightful conversation about food.  About how well food in the same season pairs together.

We took a couple pork chops and seasoned them simply with olive oil, salt, and pepper.  We cooked the skin, making cracklings, which unfortunately never made it to the plate.  I diced up a couple apples because we had no applesauce, and adding a bit of butter, salt, and sugar made a sort of homemade applesauce as it cooked down.  Baked potatoes, applesauce coated pork chops plated on top of the last of the apples.  It was simple.  It was wholesome.  And it was delicious.

*Oh, and for those who have asked, the pudding recipe was from The Frugal Girl and can be found HERE... though I added a touch more cocoa!

Brought To You By The Letter P

Today we picked up our pork.  I wrote up a post all about our insane adventure to figure out what size freezer was right for us, but really I can condense it to: we chose a 13.7 cubic ft. freezer on sale (10% off) from Lowes and also got another 10% for G being military making it almost $100 less than it usually is.  Turns out, our pig half was pretty small this go around (83 lbs), so it, along with the 1/4 cow and possibly 1/2 lamb this winter, will all fit in this smaller freezer with room to spare for baked goods, frozen veggies, and casseroles for once Little Miss is here (in 65 days). 

We still have to go early next month to pick up anything smoked/cured, such as our ham and bacon and British bacon, and scrapple too we think (if you don't know what scrapple is, don't look it up, just know it's surprisingly delicious as a breakfast meat).  Today we picked up 4 packages of pork chops (4 in each), 2 packages of spare ribs, 5 packages of sausage, and 2 large pork loin roasts (about 4 - 4.5 lbs. each).  Also included with our order was pig's feet, a package of pork neck bones (great for soup!), and a package of pork fat.  Normally they give you lard, but we requested the fat to render ourselves, so we'll have cracklings and lard for pies! 

We also made homemade chocolate pudding last night.  I whipped up some vanilla bean whipped cream for the top, and it is delicious!  Made a double batch, so we still have plenty for the next day or two.  Next time I'm freezing for pudding pops!

And also P's: potato leek soup, putting things together, and productivity.  We've been super busy cleaning and organizing and smooching!  G got his new play thing: a shop vac which he put together and went to town in our basement (brick walls that are 100 years old leads to brick dust...we're looking at ways to seal it).

Overall I've just been super happy lately, we haven't fought, and instead seem to really be recognizing that together is better than apart by far!

Late Night Thrown Together

G has mentioned that he's happy I seem to be eating more, and I recognize it for what it is: he worries that I don't eat enough.  Well, last night it was getting late (after 8), and I was exhausted, but I wasn't hungry at all.  I had had a decent lunch, packed full of protein and veggies, so I wasn't too concerned but knew I probably needed something.  My mind raced through the few ingredients I had on hand, decided eggs were definitely not on the menu, and finally thought about the fact that I could probably improvise some baked mac n cheese.

Keeping in mind that I had never made this, didn't have milk, only cream, on hand, and that I didn't have cheddar, but rather dubliner cheese I decided to wing it.  Found a recipe on AllRecipes and began it all.  Luckily there are a few things I always have on hand: pasta, breadcrumbs, butter, and onions.  I mixed it up with my improvisations, including adding peas, then put it in the oven to finish.

Turned out pretty good.  The dubliner cheese is definitely not a normal mac n cheese flavor, but seems to be a good substitute for things lately (used it in the quiche because I couldn't find a gruyere I could use).  I added a little bit of water to the cream to thin it out a bit, but overall, the cream made for a nice thick sauce... which may be why my mac n cheese was thick.  I liked it though, and even though I made half the recipe, which was supposed to be 3 servings, I basically got 4.

What's your favorite thing to throw together when you're hungry? 

Keeping Busy As The Countdown Begins

I think the nesting might be starting to set in.  I was doing dishes for 2 hours last night while watching The Proposal.  (It took so long because it was things like cookie sheets, which in my sink take a bit of manuevering, and a heavy cast iron coq au vin pot.) 

And then today I was off like a madwoman, going to the market for veggies.  Then I came home and whipped up a batch of banana bread.  Later I  went to pick up some diapers from craigslist.

Then I came home and without resting have been in the kitchen for the last 4 hours.  I made salsa and froze it.  I cooked ears of corn, chopped it off, and froze it into different portion sizes.  I blanched and froze green beans.  And I shelled peas and froze them.  I'm currently working on pesto to freeze for the pasta G has promised to make once he's home. 

Tonight's dinner is a quiche, I'm thinking of making 2 so that I can freeze one for later (I have a lot of eggs).  I also have a french baguette that needs to be made into croutons.  And tomatillos that I think I've decided to freeze whole.  And finally, winding down the evening I'll be oven roasting plum tomatoes to freeze for later use on sandwiches and in pasta.

Tomorrow it's off to pick up some new jars and can the rest of the tomatoes, make zucchini bread, gooseberry jam, and clotted cream.  All of this is while cleaning and doing laundry, so I'm sure I'll be exhausted by tomorrow night and sleep very well.  The clotted cream is for tea on Monday, where I'll finally be able to just sit and relax with a friend. 

I don't mind the nesting... it means I'm going to sleep well! 

An Epidemic Causing Another

I don't accept any sort of new idea when it comes to eating.  "Low Carb." "Sugar free." "Fat Free."  Those labels on foods both crack me up and make me sad.  Of course beef jerky is "low carb"... I wasn't exactly looking for my daily amount there.  Sugar free generally indicates a faux sugar.  The amount of people I know who drink diet coke makes me want to throw up. The aspartame has been found to decompose into a variety of fun things such as formaldehyde at a lower temp than your body is at.  No, it's not funny.  No, I don't get the jokes about it making you well preserved, because last time I checked, it's a poison.

I eat bread.  And potatoes (which with the skin are full of nutrients).  And pasta.  Oh, and even white rice (generally basmati).  Carbs will not kill you, in fact there is a reason they continue to be one of the most important food groups.  It is about balance.  Healthy carbs.  Not Iron Kids Bread (which has an ingredient list as long as my arm and which G freaks out over because "it's squishy."), but choosing whole grains bread.  Bread really only should have certain ingredients in it: some sort of flour (generally enriched makes me irritated as if you were eating healthy it wouldn't need to be), possibly grains, yeast, sugar or honey, water, butter, and salt.  If it has additional things, you probably shouldn't be eating it.  I've seen bread with preservative go bad quicker than anything I've made homemade.  Why?  Because while mine may dry out a bit (then it gets used for toast), it usually doesn't have anything to go bad as long as we actually eat it.

Portion sizes with carbs have a lot to do with this issue.  If we're eating things like pasta or potatoes I don't serve bread at the table as a general rule of thumb.  In courses, there might be a slice of baguette with soup.  But outside of that, I just don't.  Pasta shouldn't be the main part of a meal.  I understand that goes against the grain, but it's the truth.  A small portion of it with protein and veggies is what you should be having.  I've seen guys who can pack away in less than half an hour enough pasta to feed 3-4 people.  It's disturbing.  Same goes for potatoes.  When we make roasted potatoes we each get 4-6 small potatoes.  When we do baked potatoes, we either choose smaller potatoes or we split a larger one.  A serving of mashed potatoes is about the size of a larger scoop of ice cream.  (and for the love of all that is good about food, please use real things in your mashed potatoes, not nickel laced margarine!)

** I would like to interject here that I know athletes who carb load and that is an entirely different thing.  They're packing their bodies with a fuel for a grueling workout on their body.  The average person should not be carb loading.**

Fat free also amuses me.  I eat a lot of fat free or low fat: it's called fruits, veggies...and yes, sugar.  But I also eat a lot of normal fats.  Butter, coconut oil, lard...these all have a place in my home.  I drink whole milk (I balked at first when G wanted to buy it, but now even 2 percent tastes off to me).  What it comes down to is where you are getting your fats.  Butter spread on toast in the morning? Yum and good for you (as long as you're not eating crap bread, but that's another matter).  Deep fried twinkie? Not so good (okay, flat out bad).  Does it mean you should never eat that deep fried twinkie? (well, I find plain twinkies gross, so I'm a bad judge).  No, it doesn't... but it should be a once a year oddity at the fair sort of thing.

Now, sugar.  Hmm.  I understand there are people who get addicted to it and have to basically cut it out as much as possible for health reasons.  I also understand that there is a big difference between occasionally indulging in a delicious, rich, well made dessert and someone who has to have a hostess cupcake every afternoon.  If you find you have a problem with sugar, then yes, you need to cut it out.  But not by substituting faux sugars that your body doesn't recognize as sugar, so when you eat any real sugar it stores it as fat (which for the record is what scientists discovered is happening).  You're better off just cutting sweet things out, and letting your body slowly get back to a place where it recognizes "sweet" as a taste with more normal things, such as fruit or dark chocolate.  I love sweets... it's just the things I find sweet may not be what you find sweet.  In baking, try to slowly cut back the amount of sugar recommended.

Our country (and now others) keeps coming up with b.s. like these, only to see obesity rates rise.  There are a lot of contributing factors to this (including eating like you move a lot during the day when in fact you sit behind a desk), but I do think that the correlation has more to do with diet (as that has more to do with weight than exercise).

What's your take on it?

Tacos!

Taco Night is a simple meal that can be done fairly inexpensively and rotated into your meal planning every week or two.  Since most people like Mexican (or at least our American version of Mexican), it's a winner.  And for those of you who live outside the U.S. where it's harder to find the seasonings (and I so feel your pain... England's Mexican was as bad as drinking the water in Mexico), I'm posting a recipe to make your own at home and keep stashed in a jar!

Having a Mexican night is simple.  You can change it up each time by what you have on hand.  For mine last night I took 1 lb. of hamburger and browned it with some onions.  After draining (something you don't have to do if you used a lean meat), I added it back to the pan with some chopped up jalapenos.  I like it spicy, so I add them to my meat as well.  Then I poured 1 cup of water in, added a bunch of the seasoning mix (I use a lot more than required), and brought it to a boil.  You basically just cook it down until it's thick and no longer watery.  Part way through I added a can of no-salt added red kidney beans.  Then you just lay out a tortilla (or use hard shells), add the meat, and add your toppings!

I chose to not buy sour cream for these.  The Fage whole fat Greek yogurt I've been getting is tangy enough it works as a sour cream, and it's a multi-tasker.  I hate buying yogurt or sour cream for myself because too many times I've ended up with it going bad!  This is a way to do it cheaper, and it tastes just as good as a good full fat sour cream!  I also used a can of red kidney beans instead of dealing with the dry ones I had on hand because of my exhaustion.  Normally I recommend saving yourself money by going with a dry bean.  They're easy to cook with. 

**And for those of you who are new here, I use full fat.  I've done a lot of reading and realized that the natural types of fat are actually not only not going to kill you, but in fact can help.  Chicken fat is incredibly important when making chicken noodle soup, as it's what keeps you healthy and helps fight colds!!!   Chicken soup when you're under the weather has actually been studied and is a good medicine when made right. **

For toppings it really just depends on what I have on hand.  I picked up salsa because I didn't have the time/energy to make my own (though I'm making a huge batch today to freeze).  When G is home the toppings always include cheese, and usually guacamole, lettuce, fresh tomatoes, etc.  You can do sides of rice, whether mexican rice or cilantro lime.  In fact, a friend of mine adds that to her meat mixture.  I try to limit how many carbs I am getting.  Not because I'm one of the low-carb people, but because I like granola, french bread, croissants, etc so I get plenty throughout my day and don't want to over-do it.  Garret loves rice though, so I try and make that for him. 

For those of you who prefer seafood, you can also easily do this cheaply with tilapia.  I bake it with seasonings (usually just some lime, cumin, and garlic powder) and then tear into chunks.  This is good with a black bean, corn, and cilantro mixture. 

Taco Night gets you a well balanced meal, is tasty and really affordable.  Use beans to make the meat go further.  Even if you're not a bean person, with the seasoning you won't taste the difference! 

Taco Seasoning: 

(This makes a small batch for one meal, but tastes just like stuff you buy.  I usually make a very large batch of it to keep in a jar in my cupboard, and I suggest you do the same, though it takes buying some spices in bulk... for which I recommend health food or ethnic food stores.)

* 1 Tbsp. chili powder
* 1 1/2 tsp. cumin
* 1/4 tsp. garlic powder
* 1/4 tsp. onion powder
* 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
* 1/4 tsp. dried oregano
* 1/2 tsp. paprika
* 1 tsp. sea salt ( I use a heaping tsp. of kosher salt)
* 1 tsp. black pepper

Mix all of it up well and store in a container.  When I make a big batch I multiply the ingredients by 7-10 times this.  Keeps well in a small jar.  It's suggested you use 3 Tbsp. per lb. of meat, but to be honest, I use a heap more because I like the meat to be flavorful!