A Simple, Lovely Friday

Whew! What a day! I stayed up last night getting lists made for this weekend and finishing prep work for one of my courses. Once finally in bed, I just couldn't fall asleep. Thus at 7am, I fed and let the dogs out, then crawled back in for some more shut eye. Next thing I knew it was 10:20 and Roxi was barking outside---she must have known I wanted to see if the Freddie's sock sale was really something to talk about.....Somehow I still made it cutely dressed, face-on, and checked out of Freddies with wool socks (at $4 a pair) and a Christmas candle (for $5) by 11:05am. 

On the way home I stopped at the local feed store to buy a 25lb bag of chicken feed and yummy chicken "scratch" for them. The ladies sure clucked in approval as I filled up their feeder and spread some scratch on the floor of their home!

After brewing up morning espresso, I thought about getting started on some work, but instead took care of a few financial to-dos and then pulled down our crock pot recipe books as I have been wanting to make a pot of soup for weeks. I started out with the intent to make some veggie chili based off a recipe I'd made before, but once I chopped and added half an onion, some celery, carrots, and sweet potato to my chicken broth.....I just kept chopping and peeling through half the squashes I'd used as fall decorations.......threw in some dry white beans and added a variety of good smelling spices from the cupboard....I'm calling it mixed squash soup and it's been simmering in the crock for a few hours now---yum!

The rest of those squash halves got chopped in larger chunks and thrown with some baby carrots, chopped turnips, rosemary, olive oil, garlic salt, and ground peper into a greased pan. I slid the mixture into the fridge til I got home this evening and then I roasted them in the oven at 375 for about an hour---delish dinner!

The chickens gladly gobbled up some of the squash peelings and the rest got added to the compost, as well as one of the bags of shavings and chicken droppings. Next the box of old bras to donate to The Bra Recyclers finally got wrapped and then mailed.  And I picked up one of my cousins to go check out boots at Penney's and to chat for a bit. From there I decided to look for a wreath and some other Christmas decor---and I came home with two poinsettas and hung a wreath on the front of our house.

This evening hub texted to say they didn't see any sign of elk today, but hopefully he's having a good hunting trip with his buddy all the same. I've missed having him around and will look forward to us putting up our tree and adding our LED Christmas lights to some part of house once he's returned. Two pairs of boots ordered from Penney's online (my suede boots that I already own are not going to survive all this rain---time for slick leather boots since we're not in Louisiana anymore), and I've vegged out to a DVR'd episode of What Not to Wear (with a great explanation of the concept of CPU--Cost Per Usage! :)).

Now it's time to shower, make some tea, and do some lecture prep/other work for the rest of the evening! Unless of course a few of those magazines from the stack call my name---sometimes I enjoy too much a simple day of rest.

Hope you all had a wonderful Friday too!

The (Quasi) Clean

I've been sitting on this post and many others for two weeks--although I've answered many questions about the cleanse by family and friends.

Somehow CLEAN went well for week 1. I started feeling great, no real withdrawal headaches from caffeine although it felt weird not to make my morning cuppa joe, however hub struggled with energy and an on-coming cold during the week. The cold is very unusual for him but a frequent occurrence when one starts a detox diet. That first Sunday happened to be hub's birthday and neither one of us was too excited to not be able to celebrate it with good food and drinks, however we were going to trudge along until the neighbor down the way invited us over for a BBQ. Since we're trying to widen our social circle here in Portland and have been wanting to befriend this couple down the street, we felt that it was more important to focus on building community so we took a break from the cleansing for the day. (Plus we got to have rhubarb/blueberry crisp to celebrate!)

Ironically the next week on the detox started great for hub and turned into a plain struggle for me ie moodiness and lack of energy galore. I made it until Wednesday and then broke down and made a whole wheat veggie sandwich that made my energy and spirit soar....and that was more or less the end of the total cleanse....except not exactly....

We actually are still continuing with the basic components of the cleanse--starting the morning with a smoothie, eating one big meal during the day, and snacking on fresh fruits, veggies, and nuts. Daily we might eat a few eliminated items (wheat, dairy, or citrus), but it's usually in much smaller quantities and more limited than before. We continue to explore and produce new recipes and meals (fyi quinoa patties are delicious but take forever!!). Starbucks does not hold the same appeal (too much sugar and caffeine in one!)and somehow even my love of beer for the time being has switched to wine or purer-seeming alcohols.

Even with not following the cleanse completely, between eating healthier and continued physical activity, we've both dropped down a size and feel pretty dang good overall. Honestly based on all the inches hub has lost off his waist in the last few months, I'd have been a little nervous to see just how thin 21 total days on the cleanse may have made him! So even if we didn't follow it to a T, it was definitely worth attempting and doing, and I'm pretty sure we'll continue follow much of it! If you're interested, give it a try---it just might improve your health and energy ;)

Some Favorite Kitchen Things:

Anyone that knows hub and I knows that hub is the primary chef in this house and I am kitchen side-kick, but I still have a few favorite things that reside in our kitchen that DO get use when I spend more time in there:

Hub's multicolored stacking mixing bowls: a color and size for everything you can imagine. Great for mixing, preparing, and for serving... (There's a red one not pictured.)

Freebies and spice! We got this from a hometown friend of his who no longer used/needed it. It rotates and almost none of the spices had been used. We love flavor, especially garlic salt. LOVE THIS!

BREW---this one especially. We love good wine and beer. Period.

I've already shared our love of spice but this one deserves its own picture. Tony's is our cajun go-to spice that energizes our breakfast burritos and just about ruined my love affair with the breakfast burrito when I thought we could not purchase it here---thanks to Winco, we found it!

My camp pot which now is our compost pot: coffee grounds, veg & fruit scraps get to hang out in here under the sink until we transport them out to the big compost bin in back. (PS Have I mentioned the dog's love affair with the compost bin and the fact that we have to block the door with heavy bricks?! The compost bin to them is like an outdoor accessible garbage can---full of wonderful scraps for them to eat!)

My insulated Klean Kanteen (here shown with cafe lid). One of many that accompanies me to work and on hikes. This one lives beside the kitchen sink 75% of the time where its easily accessible for water or coffee additions.

NOT PICTURED: My stainless-steel, copper-bottomed pots, the wire-strainer used as our fruit basket, the fridge covered in coupons and inspiration, and the stove-top espresso brewer you've already seen! ;)

Glorious, Slow Morning

Today I woke up just plain thankful to be alive. You know those mornings when you wake up and everything just feels like it must be right in the world? You could go for some more sleep, but you feel rested by the hours of snooze you did get? You feel that it's a day where the sun just has to be out....and let me tell you it is!

The day is starting off with THAT feeling. I contine(d) to lay in bed relishing the extra moments and waking up slow. Any movement in the morning's sheets, prompts the dogs to gleefully come investigate, pushing their snauzes up on the bed and wagging their tails. Soon after I let them outside and let the cats in. Major, per usual, came barreling in through the back door running into the dogs legs as they scrambled to get outside. His demands for food began the moment his paws crossed the hearth and Lady took up the tune from outside the front door until I could let her in too. Both cats ran straight for their food bowl and I dutifully scooped nuggets into the two dog bowls, while still allowing the dogs some time outside to relieve, play, and catch up on the neighborhood patrol gossip from their furry buddies down the street.

In another ten minutes I'll get out of bed for real this morning, turning on the retrieved Ipod that finally made its way back to the bedroom docking station last night and listening to music that will just make me continue to feel good. I'll wash the face, put on the make-up and clothes for the day, and start preparing my dishes for the potluck style brunch I'm hosting for some of the wives late morning. Most the legit cleaning and nesting was completed yesterday, so today I just need to bake and put out utensils and dishes for use. What's on the agenda on my end: German Apple Pancake, box cranberry-orange muffins, mimosas, and coffee---sort of an equal attempt at cooking and baking with some liquids thrown in.

The rest of the day should include reviewing the seminar slides I will be giving in the morning, hopefully working on an application package for a new job I discovered, and I wouldn't be surprised if some sort of walk or run with the dogs gets thrown in there too.

Regardless, here's hoping this beautiful feeling stays the whole day through....for me....and for you! ;)

An Afternoon in the Kitchen

 Thanks to today being a Federal holiday, I indulged in a great day of restfulness which ended with an afternoon spent in the kitchen. I definitely love cooking from scratch but one of the hardest parts of marriage has been trying to integrate our very different eating/cooking styles and having enough time to truly devote toward cooking most meals. The hub prefers a lot of flavor so frequently the cooking falls to him, where as I prefer basic simple meals. However, I've been itching to make my veggie lasagna that I love but also know that the hub isn't a huge fan of lasagna. Since he'll be working a lot more the next few weeks, today was a great opportunity for me to fix one of my old favorites knowing it'll feed me for a few dinners and work lunches too. And then I threw open multiple cookbooks and scanned the internet for a hub approved dinner option.

I have 100% missed chopping up veggies for my homemade pasta sauce. The chunks are perfect for layering with garlic salt & rosemary seasoned tofu and cheese between lasagna noodles. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes and its delish! In the picture you'll also see what's left of my container garden....the rosemary and the chopped green pepper. The rest came from the store.

Usually I cook with a glass of wine (which I passed over this time due to still having the cold) and music playing. I love being able to look out the back window of our house and this afternoon Major was enjoying the view too, while feeling the slight breeze attempting to cool off the 85 degree weather.

The final hub approved dinner: Indian fare. Coconut brown rice (altered from the Moosewood cookbook), cumin spiced new potatoes, and my first ever successful curry! It really tasted pretty good if I can say so (and the hub thought it was one of the best things I've made). The potatoes I served with plain yogurt to give it that extra cooling, and most the dishes I had to alter slightly. For dessert we had left-over homemade pumpkin pie from my dinner over at my coworker/friend's last night. DELISH!

*Update*: The curry and rice taste delish with a bit of plain yogurt all rolled up in a tortilla for left overs!

Breakfast Variety

Breakfast. A meal that I never indulged in ten years ago, yet a meal I consistently enjoy on a daily basis at this stage in my life. It has been called the meal of champions. It has been determined to increase one's ability to learn and to set the stage for physical endurance.

Lately I've been getting a lot of questions from people about foods pertaining to what are healthy meals and snacks, etc, and I've been thinking a lot about my new love of breakfast.  One thing that I absolutely enjoy though is a great variety in my food. The husband has taught me a great love of breakfast for dinner and we tend to indulge in pancakes at least once on most weekend mornings. The great thing about pancakes is that you can make so many different types and add so many different toppings. We've had buckwheat, blue berry, whole wheat, pecan, and regular. We've put peanut butter, butter, whipped cream, various fruits, and syrup on top. Not all together of course. ;)

However, when we're not indulging in a weekend morning of pancakes, I scrounge together my own variety of breakfast during the week. Since I only have about 15-20 minutes most mornings to throw something together, eat it, and move on to the next morning task, most breakfasts are pretty straightforward and simple. Even with simple meals though, I try to pack them as full of healthy nutrients as possible.

So these are some of the breakfasts I eat on a regular basis:

Fruit Smoothie (this actually gets made and consumed at least 3-4 times a week at other times too)
--one banana and a handful of frozen fruit
--couple Tbs of nuts and honey
--dash of cinnamon, one Emergency packet, & about a teaspoon of flax seed
--enough soy milk to just about cover the ingredients pre-blending
--blend and enjoy

Quinoa
---1/2 cup rinsed quinoa, 1 cup water, bring to boil, cover, and reduce to low for 15 minutes
--put half in a bowl w/ cut fruit, syrup, and soy milk
(sometimes I make this with organic yogurt instead of soymilk)

Kashi Cereal w/ soymilk

Omelet w/ Cheese and a cut tomato or salsa on top

Yogurt w/ fruit, nuts, cinnamon, & honey OR museli

Banana w/ peanut butter & a glass of soymilk

Bagel w/ cream cheese

In winter: Oatmeal w/ brown sugar, soymilk, & pecans.

On the weekends we also sometimes eat french toast and/or breakfast burritos. And always the morning starts out with my Klean Kanteen full of coffee/espresso and creamer/soymilk for transport to work.

If you're facing a breakfast rut, maybe one of these suggestions will help. What do you eat for breakfast?!

Weekend: Trucks, Cajun Fest & Crawfish

Lots happened this weekend.  Made a trip to Houston and found a truck for the hub.  We will have to drive back to pick it up on Saturday, as not all the paperwork was able to be completed on a Friday evening.  We feel we got a good deal since the final price was $3,000 under Blue Book.  We'll be trying to roll more into the trip this coming weekend for sure.

I went to CajunFest here on post--a little festival put together for the local community and those that live on the military installation.  Cajun food, Cajun music, and a variety of booths with freebies/info/fundraisers.  The music was pretty fun and it was a great way to "work" two additional hours this week. (We had an informational booth.)

After Cajun Fest, the hub and I loaded up the dogs and ourselves and headed out to the lake on the Texas/Louisiana border.  We stopped and picked up a bunch of jumbo crawfish and arrived to meet other people from his work who had rented cabins out there.  After purging the crawfish, they got thrown into a big boiling pot of water that already had seasoning, potatoes, onions, mushrooms, sausage, and shrimp cooking.  Once ready it drains and all gets dumped on a covered table.  People eat it straight from the table, grabbing each item piece by piece, and shells go straight into the trash along the table.  Here are some pictures for you to enjoy:

  Hope each of you had an amazing week/end! :)

Photo Project Day 6: Edible

EDIBLE

Two things that now get used most frequently in our kitchen: the bread maker and the slow cooker.  This last week alone we made a loaf of white/wheat bread and wheat pizza doughs in the bread maker.  The slow cooker concocted butternut squash soup, Italian soup, French lentil soup, and BBQ pork roast--all in the last week too.  We've fallen in love....

Cooking from Scratch

So one of the things that I know can be much cheaper and much healthier is that of cooking from scratch. However while in thought this morning, it crossed my mind at how much easier and cheaper it used to be to cook from scratch when more individuals lived on a farm or had more access to fresh dairy products. When you needed eggs or milk, you could just go out to the barn to get what you needed without too much thought. Flour and sugar were also bought in much greater bulk and stored in big bins that were accessible in the kitchen.

All this crossed my mind as I contemplated making my granny's pecan rolls this morning. While they are delicious, the recipe calls for eggs, milk, and butter---all of which we are currently running low on and none of which are sold organically in the corner store. And when we're purchasing free range, organic eggs, 2 eggs out of a dozen for one recipe is still a decent lil sum of money just to bake from scratch. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that most of the time when I do cook from scratch using dairy products, the final product (while definitely healthier and providing more entertainment) costs more than any comparable product from the store.

In contrast, watching the film Julie & Julia yesterday motivated me to cook some part of dinner from "scratch" last night using items that we had on hand. However after looking up several recipes online about how to make stuffed bell peppers (3 of which had been languishing in our fridge for weeks), I decided to try to improvise my own version...and I think they turned out fairly well. (I'm sure the husband was thrilled to wake up from his nap to the news that I wasn't exactly sure what I was concocting in the kitchen....especially when I almost ruined his frozen pizza the night before just by putting it in the oven.....)

In the cupboards I'd discovered a bag of asparagus risotto and in the freezer we had a bag of frozen veggies given to us months ago by another couple. The risotto took forever to make (even though the instructions said it'd take under 20 minutes) but turned out well. I also made a small pan of stuffing using bread, celery, and spices--improvising vegetable stock with hot water left over from boiling the peppers, white wine, and salt & pepper. The peppers themselves were stuffed with a mix of the risotto, stuffing, and veggies with Parmesan cheese and more breadcrumbs for additional flavoring. Since I know that stuffed peppers aren't a favorite of the husband, I also did a side of pasta with sauce to boot. Turned out well, took two hours, and I used quite a few of the ingredients that had been hanging out in our fridge and cupboards for weeks--altogether worthwhile!

So I guess the moral of my morning thoughts is that at times cooking from scratch makes more sense than others from a simplicity and cost effectiveness stand point. Although, the bottom line is that made from scratch is almost always the healthier option.....

Walking Away and Bringing the Smoothie Back...

So as I stood looking at myself in the mirror last night, I got that highly annoyed feeling; as in "hmmm something doesn't look quite so right here?!" I'd been noticing that my jeans and other bottoms were feeling tighter lately, but I attributed it to less walking while on my trip and the treats in recent care packages. I had figured the 12-15 miles a week walking the dog would right the clothes and comfort ratio back to normal, until noticing last night that several other areas of my body were also starting to fill in. Luckily my husband will be honest and understanding with me, and he pointed out that since relocating, I'm walking less over all and eating more, especially richer foods. A recent article I read had reported that 3-4 daily miles is needed in order to maintain weight. Since I've been doing 1.5 daily exercise miles and minimal routine walking, except from the living to the kitchen to the bedroom etc, then it made sense that I'm just not getting enough movement.

After moaning to my hub last night, he did agree to try to start running with me, but he also offered the question, "Really, what about motivating yourself?" Hmmmm.....good one!! So this morning, I went for what was my usual run before we got the animals. (Originally I'd hoped the dog would be a running companion...and while taking her gives me an extra arm work-out it really doesn't help with the running rhythm.) However, I had scheduled to meet another gal and take our dogs on the trail this morning also; so 45 minutes after running, Anna and I headed out to meet the two of them. I hadn't expected that the dogs would do so well today and that us two gals would enjoy talking so much again (last week I had an ear ache)! Thus after calculating my total distance today, it has to be somewhere around 8 miles. Hopefully I'll be able to start routinely moving more and thus keep the extra pounds at bay.

Lately I've been thinking about food too and ways in which to reduce over all calories. I've always been a fan of healthy eating, but I really enjoy some of the higher calorie foods and sweets that have become regulars in our home. So I've been slowly bringing back the smoothie again to make sure I'm getting wonderful nutrients and great taste all in one. (Beyond fruits and soy milk, I add sunflower seeds, flaxseed, cinnamon, honey, and a packet of Emergenc-E.) Now the trick is to watch the rest of what I'm eating and monitor just how many servings I'm getting each day. However, I'm definitely a fan of good food, so as long as it's healthy overall I'm much more the type of person to up my work out than decrease my taste buds in the long run.

Here are some pictures from the walk today:

Starting out on the paved trail. The trail itself is supposed to be about 10 miles long I think and the head of it is 1 mile from our house.

A surprise group of flowers along the path. They were full of bumble bees which was nice to see!

Anna and her friend Wall-E. (Yes, this means that I may have finally found a like-minded friend too....although again it's a friendship that is just blossoming...Here's hoping though!)

An enjoyable afternoon

After receiving my box of produce today, I thoroughly enjoyed getting out my cookbooks and searching for ways to prepare the bounty of produce I received today. One of my recent goals has been to try to prepare food that I can take with me in my lunch throughout the week. While I'm a huge fan of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I also believe I could probably benefit from a more varied diet during the week. Yet, when I'm busy, it seems the last thing I really want to do is put effort into anything other than pb&j.

So what a great afternoon! I chopped cucumbers, bell peppers, onions, olives, and tomatoes before adding in cooked rotini and italian dressing for a pasta salad. I made a huge pot of brown rice which was used for my bell pepper, tomato, soy cheese, olive, and rice quesadillas tonight, and provided me with enough left over that I can easily create several other dishes out of it. I brought in the basil plant off the back porch to remind me to make and freeze pesto in the next couple of days. And throughout the afternoon, sunshine streamed through the kitchen, a local musician crooned from the stereo, and the cats wandered around aimlessly.

Even after dinner and the salad, I still have an entire drawer full of produce and all that stuff in the freezer still to use. I learned that the greens that I had no clue about are collards, so I'll have to come up with some way to use them...or pass them off to my housemate. I never expected that cooking and veggies could make me so happy, but playing around with produce was one of the best parts of my day.

Some other beautiful parts to this day included:
-waking up to the sound of rain on my roof and the hollowness of my windchime
-crunching through the red, rust, and yellow leaves
-sitting on the back porch to finish my reading and enjoying the intermittent sun and rain passing by
-scritching the heads of cats and hearing their contented purrs
-the feel of leaves as I ran my hand across multiple bushes
-the 2 beautiful roses blooming on the newly hacked bush
-a mid afternoon phone call with my father
-a supportive chat session with my sister
-and researching local organic food options for my SIL

I hope you all have been passing through a beautiful day yourselves!

Food, food, glorious food

Okay, so I've pretty much been bristling with excitement like a kid on Christmas. Not only have I been prancing around through leaves on my walk downtown today, but I was at the front door to retrieve my delivery this afternoon before the van had even left the curb. Today was my first Organics to You delivery and now my little side of the fridge is packed! So exciting!

This what the delivery box actually looked like:


It contained:
2 little acorn squash, 2 big onions, 4 red potatoes, 6 apples, a bunch of carrots, a head of cabbage, a bag of grapes, 2 large tomatoes, 1 red pepper, 3 pears, 2 large cucumbers, a bunch of leeks, and a bunch of green leafy things that I have no clue what they are (I'm sure my housemate will though). I am currently signed up for a once a month delivery, as it will take me about that long to get through all of that probably. I still had a bunch of veggies left from the past month, and my side of the freezer still has plenty of items in it as well.
Add to that the leeks, spinach, arugula, collards, beets, and other greens my housemate has growing in the back yard, and I think I'm pretty well set. Mainly all I have to buy from the store is bread (which truthfully I know I could make my own) and soy milk. Very nice.

All of this comes as I've been reading this week about population growth, food, and hunger throughout the world.....Such a sad topic, as enough food exists to feed everyone on the planet--it just doesn't get distributed fairly. I never knew that many low-income countries actually produce a large quantity of food, but they depend upon the money they can make from exporting it. Can you imagine? Growing food, watching your children and fellow citizens be hungry, and yet because of the world market, needing to sell that food in order to feed your children substandard fare....
Makes me desire all the more to eat even more local, although I'm sure there is much more to the story than I know....

Sometimes, You Just Have to Roll With It

I have a friend from high school who was always very shy, but never failed to keep me quite entertained with the antics we would get into back in the day. So it never should have surprised me to find myself climbing trees, snipping branches, and keeping the spiders away from her while we gathered apples on a "vacant" lot this afternoon. I vaguely recall asking at one point, "Um are you sure we're okay to be here? I mean we're not 16 anymore and can't bluff our way out of trespassing." However, we made it through fine and gathered 2 large buckets full of apples.

What impressed me even more was meeting her cousin. Four years younger than us, heading off to the Peacecorps soon, and already able to brew her own beer, can, jam, and do just about any other "preservation" you can imagine. What a pleasant way to spend the afternoon. Picking, peeling, cutting apples and just chit chatting about girl stuff. I didn't stick around for the entire finished product (applesauce and apple butter) as I needed to get in some quality time with my family also today.

However how great to come back, get together with an old friend who I hadn't seen in over a year, and realize that sometimes our lives continue on similar value paths. The conversation included discussion on owning property, adopting children, trying to live more self-sustaining lives, and also wanting to learn the tricks that our grandparents survived on. Maybe if we can continue to support each other's dreams, we'll all be able to achieve them.

Tomorrow will be church and then she and I will take an afternoon hike along the coast. More pictures to follow. Enjoy the weekend!

A Kitchen Afternoon

My first time blanching green beans!

Making pasta sauce:
And then the rest of the afternoon loving on the friend's baby.....wonderful way to spend the day!