Company in the Kitchen

I really do love to host holiday meals, in general, but this year I decided to pass on the opportunity for this particular Thanksgiving to just ... rest. The reason, in part, goes back to the beginning of summer when my FIL and his wife (who live in CA) were in a very serious accident in VA that left them both hospitalized, she near death. My husband (dh) spent most of his summer there helping his father. He went for 3 weeks, came home for less than 2, then stayed for another 3 weeks arriving home just in time for his faculty responsibilities for the fall semester to begin. We are so very glad he was able spend the time helping his father as it was certainly needed and appreciated. His father needed physical help in errands and driving among other things, and importantly- companionship- as his wife was hospitalized for months. With no ability over the summer to prepare as planned and two new classes to teach as well as his administrative responsibilities as Department Head, and a few other pressing projects with tight deadlines dh hit the ground running and has been pressed from all sides just trying to keep up. Understandably, that resulted in a trickle down effect in the family. We've all had to adapt for this semester to keep things moving forward while dealing with being literally one man down. The two teens began their high school year with it's varied demands for after school events, and soccer and such and the school year also began with the three children at home. We've one car and I'm the primary chauffeur. So...it's been a crazy semester. It's not quite over, however this holiday break is the first one of the year, I think, that my husband has not had to run out of town for one of his many trips. One major project has come to an end, and the other is at a level that requires less vigilance on dh's part. I felt we all just needed a small bit of time with nothing pressing us. Ok- at least *I* needed it. :)

Though no one has crossed our threshold this holiday I have found warmth and reminiscing in my life from years past. As I was preparing the turkey with it's seasonings I was recalling the Thanksgiving gathering we hosted when we lived in NYC. We had a great loft apartment in Fort Green with a great room and were able to host for about 20 people, if I recall correctly. It was great fun, and it was that Thanksgiving I learned through my friend Toni (and 'right hand' for that event) that it is sacrilege to just toss a turkey into the oven as is. My husband has hence forth proclaimed that I shall repeat Toni's recipe each and every time I prepare a turkey. And really, one can never have too much garlic. :)

As I was chopping and preparing the ingredients for the dressing I was thrust down memory lane to the many years I assisted my dear Mother-in-Law in preparing her special recipe for family gatherings. I was glad for the warm memories as my dearly loved MIL is no longer with us, but also for the experience of cooking with her as I seem to have misplaced her treasured (by us) recipe. I was very blessed to be able to recall the recipe well enough to 'wing it' which was the very spirit with which my MIL cooked - by feel. She would have been proud of me- for I recall poignantly and with a chuckle how she said I was 'stifling' her the year I watched her make several of her recipes and encouraged her to use measuring spoons/cups in order for me to write them down more accurately. :) MIL's dressing turned out very well, I'm glad to report! Next time I just need to add a bit more liquid and it should be just about as good as MIL's. I very much enjoyed visiting with her in my mind through memories of years gone by as I not only prepared her dressing, but also as I prepared her pumpkin pie recipe which is highly requested among my family. I'm so very glad I had not misplaced the pie recipe as I'm not sure I could have recalled it!

We have our own tradition of having cinnamon rolls and orange rolls for breakfast each Thanksgiving. We eat them as we watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. I have fond memories of parade watching tradition growing up with my family. I had always dreamed of seeing it in person ... some day. I was able to do just that one year when we went with our friend Karen to her office building one Thanksgiving and watched from her employer's offices. Since we had small children at the time- it was awesome! Bathrooms and snacks and most of all- warmth! It was a very frigid parade day that year. One can see via TV all the spectators on the street, but it was really neat to see that hundreds more were watching like ghosts inside the many storied buildings that line the parade route. Seemingly every window we could see into had someone peering out, also watching the parade. Ahh ... good friends and good times. :) There is no place like NYC during the holiday season.

My departed grandmother made an appearance in the form of her milk glass dishes I received after she passed away. I use them every holiday and really enjoy them. They can add a bit of quirkiness to the celebration as the dishes are really 3 luncheon sets of non- standard sized plates with huge platters, smaller dessert plates, dessert cups and tiny coffee mugs and such. I enjoy the quirkiness as Grandma possessed quite a number of her own quirks. :)

I am grateful for the many blessings in my life, but the most important blessings are the family and friends who leave indelible marks upon our memories for us to treasure no matter where time and life may take us.

Now, off to grab a Fuyu persimmon and eat it in memory of my MIL who loved them and got me hooked. :)

Meal Plan/List

I can't believe it's October- and barely still so. It's high time to dust my blog off. :) Life has been crazy with...well everything. The boys are in soccer, school is in full swing and my dh began the year quite behind in preparations for a couple of classes from to being away for 6 weeks this summer due to a family emergency. He is trying diligently to keep his head above water amidst all of his responsibilities. I have found if he's behind, so am I. The trickle down effect is subtle, yet it exists.

In my efforts to utilize my time and finances more efficiently at home and in the grocery store AND actually get dinner on the table at a more consistent time I am going back to a system I instituted while expecting my 3rd child.

Hunger is a great motivator! ;)

I have been continually battling with myself about 4pm most days contemplating what I should make for dinner and most times realizing I had neglected to pull anything from the freezer the previous night.

~headache~

I have recently switched my diet to a more whole foods based diet. (Eating Clean) It is amazing how much better I feel and the weight loss is nice as well! The meal plan (which is about 98% 'clean' with a few fudges allowing for the family) will help me to keep to it and be less tempted to head for Little Ceasar's 15 minutes before the food is to hit the table. :)

A friend asked if I'd be willing to share so I figured I'd just post it here as I could not find an effective way to share on Facebook. There must be a way- I just don't know it.

The information inside the ( ) are my notes to myself on where to find the listed recipe. On some recipes I have listed white rice/brown rice- it's not that I wish to cook both, however my husband is the lone hold-out for white rice. ~Drat!~

When I print the list I print the meals on one side, the shopping list on the other. I then go through my pantry/freezer and cross off what I already have and then go shopping. Once I've shopped I post the list on my fridge door and cross off the meals as I make them. The meals are pretty simple and in keeping with my current lifestyle. Did I mention I have 5 kids?? :)

Unfortunately, the formatting of the Word document did not hold for the list part- but it's 3 columns across with the appropriate items in each column. I think one can get the gist.

2 Week Meal Plan #1

Fall/ Winter 2010

1- Skillet Beef w/ Lentils** (mwl p 107), Salsa, Salad

2- Sweet ‘n Sour Chicken** (Clean Recipes) (or Pork –mwl- p 177), Wh/Br Rice, Salad

3- Greek Chicken** (Clean Recipes), Roasted Broccoli, Whole Grain Pasta Shells

4- Fish Sticks (ECFamily- 297), Peas, Baked Sweet Potato Wedges (Family- 272)

5- Leftovers

6- Recipe to Try: __________________________

Ingredients:

7- CrockPot Roasted Chicken, Green Beans (garlic and sesame oil), Roasted Root Vegs. (Family- 264)

8- Skillet Ginger Chicken w/ Cilantro and Lime, Whole Gr. Pasta, Gingered Carrots Ginger

9- Hawiian Pork Chops** (recipe box), Wh/Br Rice, Broccoli

10- Key West Chicken** (CR’s), Mixed Veggies/Leftover Veggies

11- Honey Chicken (CR’s) , Wh/Br Rice, Green Beans

12- Leftovers

13- Recipe to Try: _________________________

Ingredients:

14- Braised Balsamic Chicken (CR’s), Whole Grain Vermicelli, Salad

** = Preparation: make tortillas, marinade or make ketchup

Breakfast recipe to try:

*************************************************************************************************

Meal Plan #1 Shopping List

Bakery Jarred Canned

2 packs tortillas Tabasco Chipotle 4 lg cans pineapple

(in case I can't make) ½ C Balsamic vinegar 2 cans diced tomatoes w/ basil/oregano

1C Soy sauce Tomato paste

Olive oil // Peanut oil// Sesame oil

Honey// Lime Juice// Apple cider vin.

Herbed Seasoning (Fish Sticks- Old Bay?)

Frozen Dairy Meat

2 meals Green Beans Sm. Sour Cream ½ lb. Ground Beef

1 meal Mixed Veggies plain yogurt= yogurt cheese 7 pork chops

1 bag peas Cheddar (2lbs pork Loin cubes- if sw/sr pork)

1 whole Chicken

25ct (or 13 lbs) Lg. Chicken breasts

Pamela- __ add'l Chick breasts

__ lb gr Turkey

8-6oz Tilapia Filets

Produce Dry Goods End of Week 1

1 Ginger root 1C Lentils 1 meal Salad

1 lg tomatoes /// 8 Romas 3 C Wh. Rice /// 5 C Br. Rice 2 heads Broccoli

2 red Peppers 1 box Whole Grain Pasta Shells 1 head garlic/2-3parsnips/3 yams/6 reds

2 lbs Carrots 1 box WG Vermicelli 1 lg Tomato /// 2 Romas

1 meal Salad 1 box WG Spiral Pasta Scallions

Cilantro /// 2 Limes 2 Beef Bouillon cubes

2 heads Broccoli Cornmeal OR Kashi 7 grain TLC Crackers

6 med. White Onions basil / oregano / cumin / thyme / garlic salt

Pamela- ___ Sw. Potatoes Crushed Rosemary Miscellaneous

Spaghetti Squash- where have you been all my life??

I used this recipe as the base for dinner tonight. It was really good!

I had never cooked a spaghetti squash in my life, nor eaten one.

First, I used a metal skewer to pierce the squash in many places all around. Then I put it on a jelly roll pan and baked it for about 45 minutes @ 400. Once done cooking and cool enough to handle I split it, removed the seeds and pulp, then scraped the flesh out with a fork.

I had thawed 2 large chicken breasts and sliced them thinly. These I sautéed in EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) with onion and garlic, a couple splashes of lemon juice and a couple splashes of Chardonnay and some sea salt.

When the chicken was done I put it aside in a bowl. I then followed the above recipe with the following changes:

- substituted EVOO for the vegetable oil

-finely diced about 1/4 of a red bell pepper and added it after the onions were softened

- simply chopped 2 mid-sized vine ripened tomatoes

-nixed the feta because I abhor it

-nixed the olives (ick!)

- easily doubled the basil because 1- I like it, 2- I have it growing out my ears

-added a light dusting of sea salt and a touch of pepper

I did toss the squash into the pan with everything else to warm it all up nicely. I did not add in all of the chicken to the finished product. I left about 1/3 of it out for other uses.

I was the only one who ate this for dinner as my husband had been traveling and was not hungry (though he liked the taste he had) and it was well after 8PM by the time I ate. The children had already eaten...pizza. :) Since I was famished I easily ate half of it.

I look forward to the rest for lunch tomorrow.

My weekend project.

So glad to be nearly done. :) The closet doors have been primed, yet still await paint. I love the color! It is a grey/blue (Sherwin-Williams "Sleepy Blue") which provides a very nice backdrop for the lighter furniture in particular. It sure beats the former white which was peeling in a few spots revealing a sickly yellow underneath. I'm so glad for the ONE coat of primer needed vs. the three coats the girls room (2x's the size!) required on walls and ceiling.

I'm still waiting for enough inspiration to tackle the master bedroom. The former owners painted over the not-so-lovely oil based Pepto-Bismol pink that covered all moldings and built-ins/closet doors with a much preferred white. Only the white is latex. Can you guess what it looks like now? Yep- like it's been bombed. (Is this where I mention that pink is certainly NOT one of my favorite colors?) Dh and I had the Master bedroom assigned a week this past summer, however, a family emergency requiring 6 of dh's weeks took priority. Hopefully we will be able to work on it during Christmas break. :)

Flavorful beans/rice/meat

I made this for dinner and thought I'd share. It was an instant favorite when I first tasted it sometime after moving to NYC. :)

Start by making "Sofrito".
(Here is my modified version as I can't get all the original ingredients (ajises, recaito) outside of NYC.)


3 bunches of cilantro
1 can mild green chili's
1 lg white onion
1/2-1 bell pepper
6 cloves garlic
olive oil to liquefy
1 tsp of original "Adobo" seasoning
(You can add in red bell pepper or pimentos if you choose. I do not.)
Puree it all together. It will fill a blender. I store it in quart-sized ziplocs frozen flat and chop off what I need. (One recipe make about 3 ziplocs divided evenly.) I like a lot of flavor so I use at 1/3 to 1/2 of a frozen bag for each recipe.

Sofrito can be used as a seasoning base not only for rice and beans, but also for meat dishes- like pork roast, or arroz con pollo.

*********************

To make beans and rice-

Dump one can of black beans (my favorite! Or pink beans, or kidney, or chick peas, or white beans) into a pot on med heat.

Add in the sofrito (frozen or thawed), a good dose of oregano (like at least a TBSP of dried) and a touch of olive oil.

Dump in one 8 oz. can of Spanish style tomato sauce if you can get it or just regular if you cannot. (Alternatively, you can use 3 'ice cubes' of frozen tomato paste. I have come to prefer this method over tomato sauce.)

Add in a ham packet (Goya ham flavored concentrate) and a Goya Sazon (accent mark over the 'e') packet. (These both contain MSG. You can add in some small bits of ham in place of the ham packet, and the sazon packet has some garlic, cumin and coriander.)

Simmer for a couple minutes on low for flavors to blend.

Add to pot 4 cups of water, stir, then add in 2 cups rice. Give a stir, let sit for a couple minutes, then stir again then DON'T touch for the rest of the cooking time. Turn to low. It's done when the rice is cooked.
My Puerto Rican friends tend to let the water boil down to the top of the rice then cover- but the rice is a bit drier that way- which we do not prefer.

***********************

If you were to make Arroz con Pollo (Chicken w/ rice) you follow the same basic directions with these modifications:

Leave out the beans.
Get 6 leg quarters (with skin) and cut at joint and I also cut off the last 1" or so of the drum bone.

Dredge chicken in some Adobo and oregano and minced garlic. Brown in the sofrito/tom. sauce (or paste)/oregano/oil mix.

Follow the rest of the recipe as written. You can add in chicken bullion granules with the water or use chicken broth in place of the water. With meat in the pot I do add in more sofrito- doubleing what I'd use for rice and beans, and Oregano. I also double the 2 flavor packets.

I am not one who typically leaves the skin on chicken. I do not eat it, BUT in this recipe the bones and skin make a huge difference and are much more authentic. I have tried it with chicken breasts both with and w/o bone and they are always pretty dry. The dark meat is the best! (I only like dark meat in this recipe and in the form of BBQ'd chicken.)

Ha!

I have rescued my blog from "The Cutest Blog on the Block"! The background went funky and the colors awry. I replaced it with a template for Blogger and found and removed the code that was partially blocking the template and writing over my Sonlight widget.

~Whew!~

It now looks normal. Even ok. :) Next task at some point...to set about 'cute- ning' it again. Dang. I rather liked what I had.

If Poison Ivy, Oak or Sumac are your nemesis- you need these!

I'm new to the south and it's vegetation. I have had the unfortunate experience of having several interactions with poison ivy (or possibly poison oak). Each reaction has been more severe than the previous one. This current one is a doozy. My arms are covered, mostly the tender under sides with raised weeping sores. It has spread behind my knees, the sides of my torso, even my neck and face have splotches. I had to remove my wedding ring due to an outbreak on my finger. Did I say it was miserable?

I have found two things of significant help. The first is an oatmeal bath that I do each night just before bed. It says it is useful for poison oak, ivy, sumac... or other contact dermatitis issues.

Oatmeal/ Essential Oil Bath
(from "The Complete Book of Essential Oils & Aromatherapy" by Valerie Ann Worwood)

2 - 2 1/2 Cups oatmeal flour ( recipe says 4 cups quick cooking oats- I grind rolled oats in my Vita Mix)

1 cup Epsom Salts
3 drops lavender oil
1 drop peppermint oil
1 drop chamomile oil
1 drop geranium oil

Tie this all up in muslin or a sock. (My dh's wears a size 15 and his socks aren't large enough so I use a bird's eye cloth diaper with the edges pulled together and rubber banded.) Let this float around as the tub fills and keep it in the bath.

The bath helps to reduce the horrible itch and I think it has also aided in reducing the weeping.

The most amazingly beneficial product (homeopathic) is Jewelweed. I purchased this after 3 days of pretty intense suffering. Of course, that means I've had it for even longer. The Jewelweed took 2 days to arrive. Here I now sit - almost 24 hours after it arrived and I feel light years better! The itch has subsided substantially, as has the redness. The healing has begun. The weeping has also decreased considerably. I feel almost human again.

At the advanced stage I was at the soap does sting. The spray stings even more. The salve- is wonderful!! It does sting some as well, but is more gentle than the spray. I'd certainly NOT fore-go the soap. When I begin to itch- I head for the salve. It is worth EVERY penny.

I say if you or anyone you love suffers from Poison Ivy- be prepared and get the kit! (and the oils!)

Here are photos taken the day I received the Jewelweed kit and the same spots 2 days later.

(The photos are 'before' and 'after' in sets of 2 on down.)