Grateful for the Everyday Things

I use my stove/oven every single day, often several times a day.  This has been even more true since having Taelin (which keeps us home more) and me doing Weight Watchers (cooking more from scratch).  So when we had the fireworks show in the kitchen which was the oven element basically melting in two pieces, and after I was sure that my house wasn't going to burn down, panic set in.  How long was I going to have to improvise with the other things that I had?  How was I going to prepare some of the staples I had come to depend on?  How much was this all going to cost?  (If you didn't know already, which I am guessing you do, I am a bit of a worrier.)

But not even 12 hours later, a new element was being shipped and was going to arrive within three days...it arrived in two.  The panic subsided and I was able to make my eggs for breakfast by Thursday. Then I started thinking about how much I take for granted the things I use on a daily basis.  Things I don't even consider but if were suddenly gone, could have a impact on my daily life.

The dishwasher, the washer and dryer, my car, my phone...heaven-forbid my computer!  I use all of these things on a daily basis without giving one thought to how lucky I am to have them.  All of them could probably be consider convenience items, but yet without them I would seriously be crippled.  So this week, before I use something I am going to remember to be thankful that I even have it to use.  Life really shouldn't get that busy that we forget to remember the things that make our lives easier.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

Berry season is in full swing in Oregon right now.  My freezer is full of strawberries and raspberries that Taelin and I picked within the last month from a local grower.  (Actually..Taelin ate WAY more than she picked, but she was there and helped...kind of).  It was only $1.00 per pound and I will be so grateful for the frozen fruit in the middle of the winter so I can bake something yummy with hint of summer from the berries.  Taelin loves a good smoothie and some days it is all she wants to eat, so it will be nice to have the berries for that too.

Last year, I got a little carried away with the whole berry picking thing.  When I was younger, my family came out to Portland to visit relatives and at one point we went strawberry picking.  I have such a vivid memory of picking strawberries with my cousin (who doesn't like them) and sticking close to her so that I could pick out and eat the best ones that she picked.  (They probably should have weighed me before and after...I ate a lot of strawberries). Anyway, last summer my sister and her husband came out and we went to pick strawberries.  A month later, we went and picked blueberries...a lot of blueberries....I still have 14 cups of blueberries in my freezer from LAST year.  

So, when we were invited to a potluck BBQ this last weekend, we signed up for a dessert and I knew I needed to make something with those blueberries (because there is more produce coming and I need to make room).  I searched and read a bunch of different recipes and landed on one...changed it a little bit and it was quite tasty.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup softened butter
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 5 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (if frozen, don't thaw them out)
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 3 teaspoons cornstarch

 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F and grease a 9x13 inch pan.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
3. Combine the egg and vanilla and then cut in the butter egg, and vanilla.  (I used my Kitchen Aid Mixer)  Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.
4. In another bowl, stir together the sugar and cornstarch. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

You really do have to let the pan cool before you try to cut into them.  They need to set up otherwise they are kind of gooey and don't really work as a bar.  It tasted fine when it was still warm, I just wanted more of a bar for the BBQ.  I think the best part of this recipe is that you can use any kind of berry or mix and match; just as long as you have 5 cups total.  

I came home with an empty plate from the BBQ which was good for a couple of reasons...people liked them and I didn't have to finish the leftovers!

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

I have read a lot of books in my life.  I am lucky enough to say that a lot of the books that I have read have been pretty good, even great.  That being said, The Book Thief is the best book I have ever read. Period.

I am not even going to try and summarize this book.  Anything I say will simply take away from the actual book, which I think everyone should read.  It was just simply amazing.  The characters, the story line, the writing...all amazing.  I loved this book from the first page.  There were several times this book took my breath away (which is such a cliche) but it is true.  I actually had to tell myself to start breathing again.

I had told my friend Betty (who reads more than anyone I know) that I was reading the book and she just looked at me and said, "I love that little girl," and that is all she said.  I understand now why that is all she said. (and I have to agree with her...I love that little girl too.)

Hiking the M...it wasn't pretty, but I did it!

This is the view that I saw on a Saturday morning, not too long ago, as I stood at the bottom of Mt. Sentinel in Missoula.  For those of you that might not know, Mt. Sentinel is the mountain that borders the University of Montana and is also home of the big "M" that can be seen for miles around.  The "M" is 620 feet up from where I took this picture.  In my six years living in Missoula, I never once climbed to the "M".

There were a couple different reasons for that.  First of all, I was pretty much terrified when I first arrived at college...and by "first arrived" I mean my whole entire first year.  I don't remember specifically what my reasoning was, but I am sure that it had something to do about how it was unsafe.  Then after a few years, it was just something I would have admitted to not doing.  I mean, who had not been up to the "M" by their junior year?

By my junior year, I had been lucky enough to have spent two summers at back home in Shelby, where it was pointed out in a constant reminder how much weight I had gained.  For the record, it was hardly anything...the typical freshman 15.  But by the time I started my junior year of college (which was when I met some of my dearest friends and my husband) I was convinced that I was huge and fat and there wasn't any physical way I would actually make it up to the "M" without going into cardiac arrest before the first switchback.  From there, I stopped even considering it and when Joe and I left Missoula in the fall of 2000, I left without having climbed the "M".  So, when I was making my list I decided that enough was enough.  I was going to climb that damn mountain.

In my trip preparations, I had talked to my friend Chris about my must-do's when in Missoula.  Unlike the last time I was there when my list of must-do's was nothing but a long list of restaurants I wanted to go to, this time I only had two things: weigh-in and hike the "M".  Chris, being the awesome person he is, offered to go with me.  So, the day before Joe, Taelin and I were supposed to fly back to Oregon, I left Taelin and Joe sleeping soundly, put on my tennis shoes, climbed in Chris' car and stood at the bottom of this mountain.

Let me just say that I made it up there.  Let me also say that it was hard for me....really hard.  Some of the switchbacks were so steep that I had to stop often because my legs were burning or my heart was pounding or I was out of breath...okay, in reality, most of the time when I stopped it was because of ALL of those things at the same time.  Nevertheless, I made it.  It was a good thing that Chris was there.  I don't think I would have kept going if it weren't for him.  And he might not know this (if I had to bet I would bet he does) but there were a couple times that after stopping, resting and starting again there were a few tears on my part because I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to do it.  But I did...and here is the proof.

And, other than being able to say that I had done it and checking it off the list...here was my reward....

Pizza Dough

Homemade pizza has been a bit of an evolution in our house.  At first, I just used hollowed out french bread leftover from a different meal for the crust.  It works really well to hold lots of toppings and helps me not waste the french bread that comes in such giant loaves.  Then, I used the boxed Jiffy mix where you pretty much just add water.  It was more "pizza" like, but we either had to doctor up the crust a little bit or just eat it as is, which was a little on the cardboard side of things.  Finally, I just tried making the dough from scratch.

When I originally planned making homemade pizza for dinner, I had planned that if somehow the dough turned out awful we could just order pizza in and call it good.  I wasn't expecting to be serving it for guests.  But, as things turned out, we ended up having people over for dinner and instead of changing what I was going to make, they became guinea pigs along with Joe.  I looked up some different recipes, read some reviews and here's what I tried...

Ingredients

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup warm water;110 degrees F
• 2 cups bread flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons white sugar

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, combine 2 cups bread flour, olive oil, salt, white sugar and the yeast mixture; stir well to combine. Beat well until a stiff dough has formed. 
3. Cover the dough and let rise until doubled in volume, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. Turn dough out onto a well floured surface. Roll out into the best circle you can and place on pizza stone.  Using a fork, poke the dough a few times and bake without toppings for 3-5 minutes. 
5. Take the pizza stone out of the oven and cover with your favorite sauce and toppings. Put it back in the oven and bake until brown, about 15 more minutes.

We tried just putting the topping on without pre-baking, as well as pre-baking and Joe and I liked the pizza that had a pre-baked crust.  I made 2 batches of crust and it made 5 pizzas for the 5 adults that were eating.  (Taelin went with a more deconstructed pizza...meaning she just ate the toppings while they were sitting out for people to build their pizza.)  It really didn't take that long and it was WAY better than the Jiffy brand.  Another win!

Chicken Salad

 When I was in Montana the week before last, my friend Chris and I were talking about cooking and lunches.  Actually, we talked about WAY more than that, but for the purposes of how this post came to be we were talking about cooking and lunches.  I was talking about how I sometimes cook a turkey breast to use for sandwiches later on in the week instead of buying lunch meat.  Chris mentioned how he often does the same thing to chicken and makes chicken salad. 

That reminded me of this post, where I ranted a little bit more than necessary about my feeling about chicken salad. I mentioned to Chris my dislike for mayo and he said that sometimes his wife uses yogurt instead of mayo.  Ok...I was at least open the option now...but I still refuse to shred the chicken, you just get a gloppy mess.  After looking at a few recipes, here is what I came up with.

Ingredients:
6 oz of cubed chicken (I used a boneless, skinless chicken breast that I boiled)
1/2 cup of red grapes sliced in half
1/2 cup of celery, chopped
2 tablespoons of onion, finely diced
2 tablespoons of plain yogurt (I used a non-fat yogurt)
salt and pepper to taste
a couple shakes of celery salt

Directions:
1. Combine chicken, grapes, celery and onion.
2. Combine yogurt, salt, pepper and celery salt. (I did this mostly to control the flavor of the yogurt before mixing)
3. Mix the two together.

It was pretty easy to make and would be really simple if I had leftover chicken of any kind.  It made two servings and I used big romaine lettuce leaves and made a lettuce wrap of sorts.  Very filling and super low points.  I will definitely be making it again.  Who knew?!?

Applesauce...yeah, I know, applesauce

My need to try new recipes comes from a couple different places.  In the case of this recipe, it is my attempt to reduce our reliance on processed packaged food.  I am LONG way from doing it completely and I don't really think that is my goal, but if there are ways that I can better know what we are eating while saving money I am all for it.

Applesauce is something that all three of us like, but up until this recipe, was something I just bought.  I hadn't really considered even making it until I put pork chops on the menu plan for last week and wrote down applesauce to go with it. After I wrote it down, I thought to myself, "How hard can applesauce be to make?"  Turns out...not very hard at all.  I wanted something simple and easy to make.  Just a few ingredients and a few steps.  I looked around and came up with this recipe.  I will probably never buy applesauce again.


Ingredients:
3 apples (I used Gala apples because it was what I had on hand.  Most of the recipes suggested using Granny Smith apples but I chose not to do that so I didn't have to add as much sugar as some of the other recipes.)
1/4 cup of white sugar
1/2 cup of water
1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon (I am sure you could leave this out but I don't know why in the world you would)

Directions:
1. Core, peel, and cube apple.  Place in a pot.
2. Add sugar, water, and cinnamon.  Cover and cook on medium heat for 15-20 minutes.  I stirred a couple of times because I am a compulsive stirrer (how is that even a word?).  You just want to make sure the apples are tender.
3. Remove from heat and let cool.  Once they are cool, use a potato masher to mash the apples to whatever consistency you like.  I left mine kind of chunky.

It smelled really good as it was cooking and it tasted just like it smelled.  I am going to try and freeze some the next time I make it.  If it freezes well, I can see myself make a HUGE batch sometime this fall when apples are at their cheapest.  Either way, it will be made in this house again.

Basil Manicotti

Well, it was bound to happen.  A person can only try so many new recipes before one doesn't really come out tasting very well.  My attempt at creating a new manicotti recipe was not a success.  I had spent some time looking for a new recipe, but I either found recipes that were like what I already made (much more traditional manicotti) or recipes that looked amazingly yummy but horrible point-wise.  I don't really need anymore recipes that taste super yummy that aren't so good for me.

I had pretty much abandoned the idea of a new recipe by the time I was washing my hands to start cooking dinner.  As I was rinsing, I looked up at my poor basil plant.  I say "poor basil plant" because while it has only been in my possession for a VERY short time (a month tops) it is dying one stalk at a time.  It has fallen victim like so many plants before it....it belongs to me.  Seriously, how hard is it to keep a freakin' plant alive? If you are me, fairly hard.  Whatever the reason, the fact remains the plant is dying and I am trying to use the leaves that are there before it is too late.  SO...as I was rinsing my hands, I thought "Why not mix a bunch of basil in the cheese mixture?" 

It seemed like a perfectly good idea at the time.  Manicotti is Italian, basil is used a bunch in Italian cooking.  Spinach is often mixed with the cheese mixture for manicotti, why not basil? They are both green, right? Not so much apparently...

To my credit, the dishes looked beautiful when I took them out of the oven.  The cheese was melted and starting to brown, the tomato sauce was bubbling and oozing over the side.  I really should have taken a picture...they were beautiful.

But then we ate them, or at least tried to.  I finished one of the two of my tubes, Joe didn't even eat that much.  Why didn't we like it?  It was WAY too sweet.  Ricotta cheese already leans to the sweeter side when it comes to cheese but adding basil to it made it over the top.  What I didn't know before that I know now is that basil, in addition to adding flavor, adds sweetness to your dish.  A good thing I suppose when you are trying to cut the acidity of tomatoes...not a good thing when trying to make a savory manicotti.

Sadly, they ended up in the garbage disposal.  Perhaps the lesson here is not to mess with something good.  I guess my old standby, plain cheese manicotti is going to be the standard around here.  I was hoping it would turn out so that I could make a bunch to put in the freezer and give the rest of my basil leaves a purpose in their short life but it wasn't meant to be.  I think I am going to end up with a bunch of pesto in my freezer instead.

She laughed (of course) and she cried (thank goodness)

July 14, 2011 was a significant day for several reasons.  First, and most importantly, it was my sister's wedding day.  Second, and very important to me, it was the last time I will ever have to wear a bridesmaid dress since I was the matron of honor.  And finally, because the first two occurred, it allowed me the possibility of checking off #16 which was to write a speech that would make my sister both laugh and cry.


I am happy to report that I succeeded.  While I don't mind writing for an audience (obviously), I am less than comfortable reading something that I have written in front of a crowd.  When it really comes down to it, I don't have to see you (the reader) not laugh at something I thought was going to be funny or see you stop in the middle of reading a post to go check your facebook account.  Sitting here, I can imagine that you are all reading each of my posts, with lots of time and one of your favorite drinks beside you.  But in person, I can see the people that are listening to what I have wrote and that, quite frankly, made me a nervous wreck.  After finishing the first draft of the speech, Joe asked me how it turned out.  I responded that it was much better written than I would be able to speak it.  He responded with a simple, "Just read it slowly. It will be great."  And even though I was worried right up until the moment before the speech, I remembered his advice as I stood up and wrapped my hand around the microphone.  (The empty mason jar in front of me that had just a few minutes previous been filled with half spiced rum and half coke also helped.) 

I made Lorie laugh, even when my speech made others laugh at her.  And there was just enough to make her cry without making me into a blubbering mess trying to get through the rest of it.  It was a beautiful day (despite the thunderstorm that rolled through right as the guests were showing up for the outdoor event) and Lorie made an even more beautiful bride. 

Balsamic Glazed Carrots

Once I realized that roasting a chicken was so easy, I decided to look for a new vegetable side dish to go with my roasted chicken.  I like cooked carrots, but I have honestly only cooked them with a pot roast in the crockpot.  And I would guess that those carrots aren't quite as healthy cooked in that manor.

I have eaten glazed carrots before, but I knew my challenge would be that Joe doesn't like things too sweet....except it is a dessert, and then it can't be sweet enough.  Wanting to make something that would encourage healthy eating for all of us I ended up combining a few different recipes to make this.  It was really good and really easy.  I could easily see myself making these every other week.

Ingredients:
4 cups of carrots ( peeled them and cut them on an angle in one inch chunks)
2 teaspoon of olive oil
1/2 tablespoon of brown sugar (the needed a little sweetness)
1 1/2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

Directions:
1. Bring a pot of water to boiling.  Put carrots in boiling water for only 2-3 minutes. (some recipes suggested steaming, but I have a hate/hate relationship with my steamer)  You don't want them mushy so don't leave them in too long.
2. Drain the water out and heat the olive oil on low.  Put the carrots back in the pot along with the brown sugar and balsamic vinegar.  I cooked them for probably 6-8 more minutes and the carrots still had a bite to them, which is what I wanted.

Delicious! 

Roasted Chicken

I have never roasted a chicken before.  Well, I guess that isn't technically true anymore but it was up until recently.  Roasting a chicken is just something I have never needed to do I guess.  Joe doesn't like dark meat and it is not my favorite.  Plus, by the time I would have needed to get around to learned how to roast a chicken I could easily pick one up and any grocery store for 5 bucks.

But, in an attempt to have more control over knowing what I am eating, I decided to give a try.  Plus, I had a whole chicken in my freezer that I had purchased when they were only .99 cents a pound and needed the room for all the strawberries Taelin and I had just picked.

I went for the really simple recipe without a lot of extras.  And it was seriously the easiest thing ever..okay, all except pulling out of the gizzard and liver from the cavity of the chicken.  That was gross. But really, it was pretty easy.

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken
olive oil
salt and pepper (see...I told you...I went for a really basic recipe)

Directions:
After cleaning out the cavity, rinse and dry the chicken.  I rubbed olive oil on the skin and then sprinkled salt and pepper on the inside and out.  There were lots of recipes that suggested putting something in the cavity to help flavor the chicken but I didn't.  I might play around with this next time.

Roast the chicken in an 350 degree oven for 20 minutes for every pound plus another 15 minutes.  (I followed the directions given on www.allrecipes.com)   I ended up covering the chicken with some foil about 45 minutes in because I didn't want to burn the skin.

We easily got two meals out of my $2.94 chicken plus I made about 25 cups of chicken broth which is great but then that gave me freezer space trouble again.  All in all...a yummy meal, easy to do, and even if you don't count all the chicken broth I made (which I do) it was really economically.