Merry Liquid Christmas

So I had my wisdom teeth plowed out a few weeks ago, and I have been on a liquid only diet ever since (a fractured jaw for Christmas sure is festive).

I thought it might prove helpful to share how I am tackling this new diet in a fairly healthy and mostly dairy free way, with a sweet-but-clingy baby and a husband working 6-12 hour days a week. During Christmas. Oh boy!

I have tried different things, but many of them proved unrealistic in the long run (due to time, money, or lack of nutritional value for this nursing mama).

In case you ever get stuck in a similar situation here is what I typically eat these days...

Brekky: drinkable overnight oats with chia seeds and bananas (maybe I will post a recipe soon)

Mid-morning: V-8 "healthy greens" or "purple power" / pear-carrot sauce / chocolate plant milk, plus tea if there is time

Lunch: leftover soup

Mid-afternoon: same options as mid-morning, plus fenugreek tea

Dinner: some kind of puréed veggie soup or an occasional green smoothie with ground granola

If I get carried away, I will have to post some of my soup recipes for you. I use steamable vegetables from the freezer aisle mostly, since I have to also make Red Beard's chewable dinner and heat up Little Man's homemade baby food (which all has to be replaced, btw, after our freezer decided to thaw itself the other night).

I have a go-to mashed potato and white bean soup that I have been making when we eat at my mom's. Yum! Plus we made an Oriental veggie soup the other night to help lend me some flavor variety.

Anyway, I hope you are able to chew your way through the holidays.

Love,
Mrs. D.

Fall is in the Air!

Fall has subtly crept back into our lives, and I guess I can no longer deny it.

I noticed this shift of season most acutely when we sat inside the office of our local rental company on Friday, waiting to sign the lease agreement for our new apartment. A stuffed scarecrow greeted us when we first arrived, and every corner of the rental office displayed leaves, gourds, pumpkins, and the like.

Fall decorating will be pointless in our home this year because we'll be moving right in the thick of the season. Although not decorating makes me a little sad, an even greater part of me is simply reveling in the idea of moving to a nicer apartment!

Size-wise, it's not much bigger than what we have now, but it has one claim that our current apartment cannot boast of--washer and dryer hook-ups!

For the last year and a half, our washer and dryer have been sitting in storage, neglected. But very soon, we shall be able to use them again, and I could not be more grateful.

As for our lack of interior decorating, I think it's beyond safe to say that God is a much better decorator than myself. We are already enjoying His handiwork: vibrant green leaves becoming lovely jewel-tones and local farms brimming with pumpkins and various squash.

And just because we won't be decorating our home doesn't mean we can't enjoy our favorite fall foods.

Candy corn sugar cookies! I used the idea/ technique from Our Best Bites and the sugar cookie dough recipe from Chocolate-Covered Katie.

Last week, we made pumpkin-peanut soup. Sometimes we use sweet potato, sometimes pumpkin; either way, it must be eaten with sriracha sauce!

This week, we're trying a Dorito-beef casserole. We're going to use Cool Ranch Doritos. Red Beard and I are both pretty excited about this one. :)

As the chilly air rushes in to signal the change of season, I can't help but think about how much our lives have changed in the last year (I know, I know... sentimental cliche... oh well).

We're at a new church, working with new people. Red Beard has had several promotions at work, and he is almost done with the first leg of his college career. And I'm now a FT wife (so weird!).

I know sometimes we can feel trapped in a particular season of life. Maybe "stuck" in high school or "stuck" being single or childless or jobless or whatever. But the truth is, as the Bible tells us, our lives are but a vapor (James 4:14).

One of the things God has really been pressing upon my heart lately is to not wish any time away--savor what you have, because tomorrow the winds of change will blow through and you'll wonder where the time went.

That's kind of how my dad felt post-surgery. He had to be out of work for several months to recover. At first, he was very frustrated to not be able to work, but he eventually realized how valuable his time at home was--to the point that he didn't want to go back to work when it was time to!

I know sometimes, in certain seasons, you get that same feeling you got as a kid when you received socks or underwear for Christmas instead of another toy. As a kid, it seemed lame and disappointing. But later, as an adult, it makes more sense. Maybe your family was poor and didn't have money for necessities.

I mean, what if you didn't have socks or underwear? I'm pretty sure underwear takes precedent over a toy (just sayin').

Kids don't get new toys for other reasons, too. Perhaps the kid was so rotten, he or she didn't deserve a new toy... or maybe he or she wanted a toy that was for an older child. I mean, you can't give a toy with small pieces to an infant; it wouldn't be safe.

And the same is true in our lives as Christians.

We are God's kids. Sometimes we get only what we need (the proverbial socks and underwear) and not what we want (the proverbial toy). Does that make God a bad Father? By no means!

He knows what we need, and if we are mature enough to handle more. Maybe we want something we aren't ready for or something we don't have the character to handle.

I know that if my husband had come along when I wanted to have a husband (at least 7 years prior to when God placed him in my life), Red Beard would have (or should have) run the other direction! I would have made a mess of a marriage, no matter how ready thought I was.

I pray that you are enjoying the new season of fall and, more importantly, enjoying the season of life in which you currently find yourself. Thank God for what you have, and let Him decide when you need more.

--Mrs. D.

What a Peach!

Yes, yes. I've been MIA for a little while. The canning season has gotten crazy busy in the last couple of weeks, plus we've had Red Beard's birthday, a visit from his mother (who lives out of state), Red Beard's final exams for summer classes, a yard sale, a major purge/re-vamp of the living room and kitchen, and a broken-down truck.

Somewhere in the midst of all this zaniness, too, my camera died. I didn't drop it or submerge it or anything. I just turned it on one day, and the screen went white. LOL!

Even as I type this, I am not angry or super upset about the camera. Things break, and that's part of life! While it does mean that I will have to use more creative methods to share things on my blog until I get a new camera, there are much worse things that can go wrong in life. Amen?

Anyhoo, I first wanted to share the links for the recipes I've canned this year so far. They have all turned out fantastic!

I've made: 

Strawberry-Lemon Marmalade, 

Kosher Dill Pickles (I used dill SEEDS), 

Plum Sauce, 

Bruschetta in a Jar, 

Vanilla-Pear Jam, 

and--I'll share it again because it's so simple--Freezer Tomatoes.

Then there's today's bounty mentioned in the title: PEACHES!

I think that out of everything we can year-to-year, peaches end up being my favorite because in the midst of dreary winter weather, preserved peaches give me a taste of summer and a taste of happiness--knowing warmer days are on the way!

Here's the "BEFORE" photo of this year's peaches:

These are some of the prettiest (and juiciest) peaches we've ever had to can! And for some reason, I didn't think the yield on these babies would be so high.

Using a little under a peck (because a few were consumed prior to today), we ended up with 9 pints of sliced peaches (canned in 100% apple juice, instead of syrup)...

Yes, this is only 7 cans. 2 are in the fridge because we're going to use them for breakfast shakes tomorrow through Tuesday.

...AND a peach cobbler that I'm going to freeze (sorry, no link on this one!)...

This will be a welcomed treat in October or November!

...AND a loaf of peach bread for breakfasts later this week.

This quick bread recipe is one I based loosely on a recipe from the Better Homes & Gardens: New Cookbook. I found the recipe online so you could see the original.

If you want to make this peach bread, though, here's what to do:

PEACH QUICK BREAD: Combine 1 cup of wheat flour, 1 cup of all purpose flour, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 cup of white sugar, 1 Tablespoon of baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. Make a well in the center. 

In a separate bowl, combine 1 cup of apple juice, 1 egg, and 1/4 cup of olive oil. Pour in the center of the well and mix. Once most of the flour is incorporated, mix in 1 cup of peach slices (loosely packed). 

Pour the batter into a greased 8x4 loaf pan, and bake at 350-deg. for 45-55 minutes. Cool in pan for a few minutes, then finish cooling on a rack.

Our shelves (and our freezer) are quickly filling up... Praise God for the blessings of a garden, generous farmer friends, and the provision of food for the winter!

I hope you're enjoying the sunny days of summer.

Love,
--Mrs. D.

Pumpkin Peanut Scones

Yesterday was the first day I have spent at home in a long time. Kitty was thrilled to have company, and Red Beard (my husband) was jealous. I can't say that I blamed him, though. Poor guy has been working 50+ hours a week, taking final exams, and applying for summer classes. Not to mention that whole hospital thing.

Anyhow, I spent a few hours of my day experimenting with new recipes, because my dad is on a much more restrictive diet post-surgery. A basic summary of his restrictions: reduced consumption of sugar, carbs, salt, and fat.

Sounds fun, huh?

The biggest thing that the nutritionist emphasized, however, was portion control. Yes, you can eat fruit, but maybe not a whole piece in one sitting. Yes, you can have bread or pasta if it's whole grain and you have it with some protein. It's all about healthy fats, healthy carbs, and overall balance.

One of the recipes I made yesterday needs a little tweaking, but one tasted so good I decided to post it. So, here goes...

...Introducing "Pumpkin Peanut Scones" (the crowd goes wild)!

I thought they tasted great. And Red Beard even enjoyed them, which is always a reassuring sign. (He is rather selective when it comes to eating healthy food. Something about being scarred by spirulina shakes as a child.)

These scones are filling because they have plenty of fiber; they also are high in vitamins, like Vitamin A and Iron. For the half without icing, the sugar content is very low (1.5 teaspoons). The complete list of nutrition info. is below my signature.

One scone is one serving, and they are really great as an all-inclusive breakfast.

N.B. My recipe is based on this recipe by Cookie & Kate. Undoubtedly her scones taste muy fabulosa, but my dad wouldn't be able to eat them. :(

Pumpkin Peanut Scones

Ingredients:
3/4 cup of dry roasted peanuts
1 cup of unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup of baker's bran wheat
1 Tablespoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 cup of olive oil
1 cup of pumpkin puree (Mine was homemade so it was a little watery; but if you're using canned, you may want to use a heaping 3/4 c. of pumpkin, filled to the 1 c. mark with water.)
1/4 cup of brown sugar (yep, totally forgot to include this on here! Edited: 5/20/14)
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions:
Line a round cake pan with parchment paper, and set it aside. Chop the nuts fairly small. In a bowl combine the flour, bran, powder, cinnamon, and salt. Mix in the chopped nuts. Pour in the olive oil and mix it all together very well. Measure out your pumpkin and add the vanilla and sugar to it in the measuring cup. Pour the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture and combine thoroughly. Pour/ spread the batter evenly into the prepared cake pan. With your fingers "score" the batter, fairly deeply, into 8 equal pieces. Put the cake pan (and batter) into the freezer (where it will stay 20 mins.), and preheat your oven to 425. Bake 15-16 minutes. Pull out, and let them cool for several minutes.

Notes:
--If you want any icing, be sure to use the maple icing recipe from Cookie & Kate (my husband said it was really good). Halving the recipe worked just fine.
--You can chop some extra nuts to sprinkle on top of the icing. Kate does this for her scones.
--I think raisins, currants, or golden raisins would taste really awesome in this batter, too. I was trying to limit extra sugar for my dad, but if I were making the scones for just Red Beard and myself, I would use golden raisins. (Just remember that addition will change the nutritional content.)
--UPDATE 5/20/14: These are EVEN better with walnuts subbed for peanuts, plus 1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg and 1 cup of fresh blueberries. :)


I hope everybody is having a terrific week! The sun is shining here today, and I'm hopeful we'll get some of our grown-up seedlings planted before church tonight.

Have a good one,
--Mrs. D.


Nutrition Info. (for 1 scone, sans icing)*
Calories: 213
Fat: 12.5g
Sat. Fat: 1.325g
Fiber: 4.75g
Carbs: 24.8g
Protein: 5.5g
Vitamin A: 30.6% RDA
Iron: 10.9% RDA
Potassium: 3.78% RDA
Vitamin C: 2.37% RDA

*Remember, everyone has different dietary needs. I've done the math and made sure the nutritional value met the long, long list of specifications for my dad's diet.

Pre-Hospital Grocery Haul

Before my dad goes into the hospital for surgery tomorrow, I'm doing my best to ensure that my husband and I have food for on-the-go.

If all goes well, Hubby will be working every day but Sunday, and he will be studying for final exams, writing papers, etc. in addition to visiting us at the hospital. I go back to work on Monday to finish up the school year with my students--to prepare them for writing their final papers and taking their final exams. "Oy to the vey!"

This is definitely one of those situations where I know that we will be eating nothing but fast food, hospital food, and junky snacks from vending machines--unless I plan ahead.

Eating a few of these items is fine, but for an entire week or more? Gross.

And besides the gross factor, I am hypoglycemic. This means that I have to be more careful about what I eat than most people, and I have to eat more frequently than most people. I don't want to spend this already stressful time hunting down vending machines or begging someone to take me to McDonald's or worrying about what's for dinner, etc.

I want to be able to focus on what's really important right now: my family.

I also thought you might want to see what I have assembled, should you ever find yourself in a similarly busy circumstance. There are ideas here (and a few how-to's) for breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, and sweets.

Breakfasts:
Pre-made

I am head-over-heals for this yogurt! I had the opportunity to sample it for free a few weeks ago, and let me tell you--yogurt never tasted so wonderful in my life!

For the kid in you. Or in your husband, as the case may be.

Homemade: Egg & Cheese "Mc"Muffins

If you want your eggs to be the same size as your muffins, use an English muffin ring to fry them in. Don't forget to spray the ring so the egg doesn't stick to it...

If you don't like runny yolks, I recommend puncturing them with the corner or your spatula while the egg is still in the ring. Obviously, you need to remove the ring before frying the other side of the egg. 

Last night, we had cheese toast with dinner. I took an entire package of Thomas English Muffins, sprinkled cheese on them (two sides for cheese toasts, one side only for the "Mc"Muffins), and baked them about 10 minutes at 400 degrees. These four were spared and placed in the fridge overnight. 

Place your eggs on the bottom halves of the muffins.

Ta-da!

Wrap them individually and freeze in a big ziploc. They re-heat in the microwave in 1-2 minutes, depending on your microwave oven.

Snacks:
Pre-made

I got this for $1. I portion it out in sandwich bags (yes, I literally measure 1 cup per bag).

Homemade: Granola Bars

I made these based loosely on this CCK recipe. I subbed 2 eggs for the applesauce, prunes for the dates, almonds for the hazelnuts, and 1 c. this PBP granola for the puffed wheat and oats. I may have also sprinkled on a few chocolate chips...

Individually bagged, they are ready for the fridge or freezer.

Homemade: Hummus & Veggies

I love hummus! I follow this basic recipe, and it turns out amazing every time.

I divide one recipe's worth into fourths. I am using a metal measuring cup to help hold open my bag so I can spoon the hummus with less mess.

I orient it in the corner so it's easier to eat later. 

Time to wash the veggies!

I use a muffin tin to help hold open multiple bags at a time for veggies.  Yes, you could do this with the hummus, too.

All bagged and ready for the fridge!

Lunches:
Homemade: PBJ

Never underestimate PBJ and its ability to bring comfort. If you want to freeze PBJ by the way, just be sure to put peanut butter on both sides of the bread.

Dinners:
Pre-made

My husband's favorite brand of frozen pizza. It has a really thin crust and it's cheap. Definitely a win-win situation.

Homemade: Pasta + Pasta Sauce (+ Meatballs already in the freezer!)

I softened a white onion with 1 clove of freshly chopped garlic. I added quartered Roma tomatoes (about 7), salt, fresh black pepper, and let it simmer down, covered (30 minutes or so). It's ready to be frozen.

I really enjoy this pasta. Although, the only bad pasta to me is gushy pasta.

After you boil it to al dente, toss it with oil, spread it on a sheet pan (covered with foil), and freeze it. Once it's frozen, you can put it in a bag or container for longer-term freezer storage. I am going to use this with the above pasta sauce and some of the deer meatballs I talked about in this post here.

Sweets:

For the hubs. 

For me. (Portable fruit!)

I anticipate not blogging for several days, but I will try to at least give a shout out as to how the surgery goes. My family and I appreciate your prayers.

Blessings,
--Mrs. D.

Lighter Fare: Italian Comfort Food

We are not anti-carb by any means. We eat bread, pasta, and rice--no problem, Jack! However, I do my best to ensure that only one of those three items is present in any single meal.

For example, I made a sausage, vegetable, and rice casserole as our main course last night, so I chopped up a nice, green salad to go with it instead of biscuits or bread. With this system, I don't feel completely deprived of my beloved carb-filled foods, but I also don't feel like a walrus either (coo coo ka choo).

Recently, I was craving lasagna. As far as I'm concerned, y'all, the best part about lasagna is the ricotta cheese layer. And while the simplest solution to this craving would have been plain old lasagna roll-ups, I decided to replace the noodles with... collard greens. Yes, you read that right.

Collard greens in lieu of noodles may sound crazy, but not only was it cheaper ($1 for collard greens vs. $2.50 for a box of lasagna noodles), the taste difference was nil. We didn't miss the noodles. The dish was still filling, and yet it was light. Not to mention, full of ricotta cheese. Mmmmm.

It was nice to eat a "comforty" Italian meal and to not feel like the top button of my jeans, in protest of the newly acquired girth around my mid-section, would violently fling itself across the room to take out somebody's eye.

In case you'd like to re-create this meal, let me show you what I did.

I pulled out the last loaf of Ciabatta I had in the freezer. This is our absolute favorite Italian dinner bread. Whether you make your own or find some in a bakery, I highly recommend Ciabatta ("slipper bread"). Maybe I'll do a bread post sometime. :)

I also made our own tomato sauce. I chose to make Emeril's "Viva Las Vegas Tomato Sauce" since we can finally get the first tomatoes of the season. It is super fresh tasting and very simple.

Ok, on to the main dish. First, rinse your collard leaves. Then, prep them by cutting off the biggest parts of the stem. For me, this left a "v" in the bottom of each leaf.

Bring a pot of water to a boil while prepping your leaves. We need to wilt the leaves slightly to make them pliable.

Once you've got the stems cut off, you'll want to grab some tongs that can be plunged into boiling water without melting.

Also, you need a colander. I set mine on an extra dinner plate to catch any drips. Here's the set up. 

Drop collard leaves into the boiling water.

After 1 minute, pull it out (promptly) with your tongs...

... and set it in the colander. Once you've boiled each leaf, it's time to make the filling!

You need one cup of ricotta cheese. Oh, yeah. The good stuff! By the way, I don't use skim milk anything. 

To the ricotta, you'll want to add an egg, salt, and pepper.

And, of course, sautéed mushrooms if you fancy them. Here's a tip: Add some lemon juice or vinegar to your sautéed mushrooms once they've absorbed most of the cooking liquid.

Oh, yeah. Stir in that mushroomy goodness.

Time to preheat your oven to 350.

Put 1/3 - 1/2 of your tomato sauce in the bottom of a sprayed 9x13.

Then, add a spoonful of the ricotta mixture to each wilted leaf.

Roll each up as best you can.

And place them on top of the sauce in the 9x13.

Once you've gotten all of the ricotta rolled up in greens (I got 10 roll-ups total), top it with the remaining tomato sauce.

And 2 cups of mozzarella shreds.

Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, and voila! FYI-- This lasted us for two meals. I ate two roll-ups at each meal, and my husband ate three.

If you're really "on the ball," you can follow up this meal with those carrot cake cupcakes you baked this morning. That is, unless you got hung up making boxes out of old magazines and Elmer's glue instead. (Oops!)

No need to fear, though; you can whip these up in no time if you've got the ingredients on hand. (I know the recipe says "for one," but for the two of us, it was enough for, well, two. Also, I subbed carrot juice for the carrots and cut back on some of the other liquid ingredients in the recipe.)

Top each cupcake with a cream cheese, coconut milk, and powdered sugar icing, and you are all set, my friend!

Happy cooking, friends!
--Mrs. D.