Finn Cooks Coq au Vin

Finn had an assignment for French class: make a French dish.  So he chose the New York Times coq au vin recipe. Which, of course, had a million steps, including lighting the dish on fire (I was not part of this escapade; if I had been, I would have moved that wooden spoon!). 

But let me tell you: it was so, so good!  I've had my share of coq au vin in restaurants, and this one rivaled the best.  The one thing that my husband and I agreed upon was the fact that the flavor wasn't quite as deep as we typically get, and I attribute that to the fact that we didn't use a robust-enough red wine. But no matter.  It was still absolutely delicious. 

Merci, Finn!

White Bean & Ham Soup and Whole Wheat Rolls

Yesterday was gorgeous and springy, with lots of sunshine and birdsong. I spent the afternoon and part of the early evening putting in most of our garden.  I planted tomatoes, a couple of butternut squash plants, peppers, basil, and some late lettuce plants, and also sowed the seeds for three types of pumpkins, green beans, cucumbers, acorn squash, and more butternut squash. When I began, I thought, our garden space is so large, I certainly will have lots of room left but by dinner last night I was thinking we really need to till up another garden plot.

Here's the sketch of this year's planting!  I will be rotating in zucchini, yellow squash, more tomatoes, and more beans in a week or two.

I wanted to get everything in yesterday because I knew today was supposed to be rainy, and it is! In fact, it's both rainy and cold.  I had to wake both of my children around 8:30. We have spent the morning reading in separate corners of the living room while the washer and dryer do my chores.  It's not even lunchtime and I've already had a cup of coffee and a cup of Yorkshire Gold tea!  

Well: some days are meant to be quiet and cozy, so I'm just going to let this one unfold that way. If the rain ceases later today, I'll take my walk; if not, I'll just make peace with having a sedentary Tuesday!

One extra cozy thing to have on a rainy, cold day is soup.  I make lots of different soups, but this one is a newer favorite.  Although I tend not to eat much meat, this soup does contain ham, because it adds such a good flavor.  It's the simplest soup in the world to throw into the crockpot in the morning, and it cooks all day and infuses the house with coziness.  Later today I'll start a batch of rolls with freshly-milled wheat--another cozy touch, and another recipe I'll include below!

White Bean and Ham Soup

1 lb. dried white beans (great northern or navy) 

32 ounces chicken stock 

2 cups diced ham*

1 onion

3 cups water

Place these ingredients into a crockpot and turn it on high.  Let it cook all day; after a few hours I usually turn it to low or warm and let it simmer.  

Half an hour or so before serving, stir in 1c. of milk (or, if you're really needing some energy, heavy cream or half-and-half!). 

The recipe is deceptively simple!  I'm serious: this may be my favorite soup of all-time. The flavor combination is just so satisfying on a cold day. 

Easy Whole Wheat Rolls 

1 c. warm water

1/4 c. sugar

1 egg

1 tsp. salt

2 T. butter

1 packet (or 2.5 tsp) yeast

3 1/4 c. flour** 

Combine 1 c. warm water and yeast in a bowl, and stir.  Let it sit for a few minutes.

Add 3 c. flour and 1/4 c. sugar plus 1 egg and 1 tsp salt, then chop the 2 T. butter into bits and add that. Mix with a dough hook. (I have also just mixed by hand.)

If the dough is still too wet, add 1/4 c. flour and mix. It should form a ball that is not sticky. 

Cover with a towel and let rise 1.5 hours. 

Flour hands and punch down dough, then form it into a ball again. On a lightly-floured cutting board, cut the ball in half, then cut eat half in half again, and so forth, until you have 16 mostly-equal pieces of dough.  Form these into roll shapes and place in a lightly-greased pan.

Cover with a towel and let rise 45 minutes.

Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Optional: brush tops with butter when they are hot out of the oven. 

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I like to serve the soup and rolls with a side of fresh fruit (or a salad for grown-ups who like raw vegetables!).  And that's dinner here tonight!

*For the ham: I buy a ham and dice it (a laborious task made better by listening to something uplifting) and freeze in 2 cup quantities in quart freezer bags for the sole purpose of making this soup! Because frankly, we don't eat ham otherwise--but it's so nice to have on hand for soup.

**You may use all-purpose flour, or half all-purpose and half whole wheat; I grind wheat berries and make these rolls 100% whole wheat, but I don't think you can do that with store-bought wheat!

Let's Talk about Homemade Pizza

Now that we have more time at home, I'm enjoying a lot more baking.  I already bake--but now I really bake!

Also, pizza is a great food if you need to cook from your pantry.  Crust is easy to make.  Pizza sauce can be made in bulk (here's the recipe I've used in the past) or purchased in a jar, and live in the pantry or freezer for weeks or months.  Same thing with cured meat, like pepperoni.  I like my pizza with more vegetables than anything else--and last week I made one with the first shoots of asparagus from our garden.  Cheese will usually keep for a long time in the fridge (fresh mozzarella is an exception, and of course, it's delicious!). 

Pizza crust used to annoy me. I've tried many recipes over the years and none of them have really made me particularly happy.  But they were sufficient.  For weeks my children have pestered me to get "Miss Naomi's" recipe--she's our neighbor--because they ate pizza at her house once that was apparently wonderful.  I finally got it!

She told me the secret to the crust is pounding the dough.  For real: actually pounding it for ten solid minutes. This apparently activates the gluten, which is apparently what you want. (Who knew?)  I will say that the first time I made this, I was impressed at how well the dough behaved once I began to roll it out. I am able to toss it without ever having it tear or rip, which is more than I can say for any other pizza crust recipe I've tried. 

She uses bread flour, but I recently purchased a means of grinding my own wheat, so I am making this with freshly-milled wheat flour.  I am able to eat that without a spike in my blood sugar (I have a touch of hypoglycemia and generally avoid all bread except sprouted grain because of it).  Hooray!

Naomi's recipe also makes "one 16-inch crust."  However, we decided this makes a crust that it too thick for our tastes.  I love a very thin, crispy crust.  So I divide this and make two 16-inch crusts out of it, and that works better for me.  

{This is the thicker version.}

My children like their pizza with pepperoni and spinach!

I like my pizza with lots of vegetables--whatever I have on hand.  This one had spinach, asparagus, peppers, and sundried tomatoes. 

So here's the recipe for 1 thicker 16" crust or 2 thinner 16" crusts:

1 T. yeast

1 1/2 T. sugar

1 1/3 c. hot water

1 1/2 T oil 

Mix together and let sit for 5 minutes (while it's sitting, I grind my wheat).

Then add: 

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. italian seasoning 

1/4 tsp. basil

3 1/4- 3 1/2 cups bread flour (or freshly-milled wheat flour!)

Dough should be a tiny bit sticky.  Grease hands with a little soft butter, then pound with both fists for 10 minutes.  Place dough in a butter-greased bowl, cover, and let rise for an hour.

When preparing pizza pan, spray with baking spray, then spread with 2 T. oil.  Sprinkle a little corn meal if you wish.  Place dough on pan and spread to edges. [Polly's note: I roll it out with my rolling pin, then toss to get it evenly thin.]  Put on toppings [note: I like to use about 1/2 cup of sauce per pizza] and bake at 425 until crust is browned. [She says 12-15 minutes; in my oven, it's a scant 8.]

A few more notes:

I would like to get a pizza stone. I'm hoping that will crisp the crust up even more (we really like a crispy crust!)

Naomi also told me you can brush melted butter along the edge of the crust before baking to give it a nice extra flavor. 

 {Tip: cut with scissors!}

Making good food for my family is a comforting exercise these days!

Hope everyone is staying healthy and well. Happy pizza baking!

Pantry-ish Menus for Days of Isolation

God remains sovereign, even in the midst of pandemics.  

Here are the dinner meals I have planned for a couple of weeks as I prepare to hunker down at home (mostly) with my family--they are meals that I can make with ingredients I have on hand in the pantry, fridge, or freezer, which keep well for a longer period of time:

*red lentil soup & biscuits

*spinach quiche, roasted carrots, & bread (homemade crust; eggs from our chickens)

*16-bean and ham soup and homemade rolls

*black bean soup and cornbread 

*salmon burgers (from canned salmon), fresh or frozen broccoli, roasted sweet potatoes

*tex-mex cavatappi (beef + cheese + cilantro + salsa + pasta)

*spinach squares (a sort of egg/flour/spinach combo) and homemade rolls or roasted carrots and cauliflower

*chicken enchiladas (from frozen chicken)

*homemade pizza 

*tilapia, roasted potatoes, and steamed or frozen broccoli

*cuban black beans and rice; veggies 

*chili with cornbread; salads 

For breakfast I generally eat either eggs with veggies or Greek yogurt.  I'll make buckwheat pancakes, waffles, or baked oatmeal for my children. For lunch I always eat a salad and will continue to do so as long as I have access to fresh vegetables; my children will have leftovers from dinner, grilled cheese or PB&J sandwiches, homemade pizza, spinach squares, or quiche. And I always try to give them fruit at lunch. My husband usually has leftovers for lunch. 

Keeping certain things on hand is helpful: rice, dried beans of various types, chicken stock, salsa, flour, salmon, and tuna in the pantry; in the freezer, it's nice to have chicken, sausage, or beef (I only have a little chicken and a tiny bit of beef, but will try to acquire a little more beef from my cousin tomorrow); in the fridge, I like to have yogurt, milk, butter, cheese, carrots, some other fresh veggies and fruits (spinach, broccoli, and cauliflower usually keep well), and eggs.  

I am not hoarding food, and I absolutely refuse to "buy out" what the stores have, because I think that removes foods and supplies from other people who may need it just as much or more than I do. I'm just planning ahead to stay home from the shops for a couple of weeks--but not more than that.

 I trust that all shall be well, and that this too shall pass!

Peace in the Home: Five Tips for Meal Planning

Last week in the space of less than 24 hours I had two different close friends, at two different times, express interest in how I organize my life.  The first heard me mention "menu plan" and she said--that's how you do things? you plan out what you will have for dinner?  that must help so much because then you don't have to think about it!  Yes, she's right!

The second was a text I got from another dear friend, who said I'm overwhelmed. I need your help, organizing/time management guru.  So I called her, we talked, and I sent an email as well. She was overwhelmed by trying to balance her domestic and professional responsibilities, as well as family life, and felt like she needed guidance on how to make things at home run more smoothly. She wanted to know how I ran things, so I told her.

So that got me thinking about efficiency in domestic life and how routines help make life peaceful. My house is by no means perfectly-run, perfectly-organized, or (alas!) perfectly-clean, but it's pretty efficiently managed and we're functional and I'm not overwhelmed, so I am happy with it.  Unannounced guests can drop by and I don't panic or want to crawl into a hole, so I think things are okay. However, I haven't always been like this, and I realize lots of people struggle with making meals and cleaning house.  But these things do help foster peace in the home!

So this week I am going to talk about meal planning and next week I'll talk about housework.

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Planning meals makes sense to me because we have to eat every day, multiple times a day, and although some people might be creative enough to stand at the fridge at 5pm and decide what to eat for dinner, that kind of last-minute decision-making causes me anxiety.

Here are my tips for meal planning:

1. Shop the fridge, freezer, and pantry first: to save money and reduce food waste, check what you have on hand already.  Is there a zucchini in the fridge that needs to be used?  A package of frozen beef you could defrost and work into the plan?  Half a jar of leftover pasta sauce?  A dozen extra eggs sitting around?  Take these things into account.

2. Think realistically about the week ahead.  For instance, I know that on Wednesday evenings, dinner needs to be ready when I walk in the door from taking Annie to ballet.  And on Thursdays I get home just in time to start making dinner.  So on Wednesdays I'll plan a meal for the slow cooker and on Thursdays I'll plan something quick and easy. 

3. Make things now to make your future life easier.  I love doing this!  For instance, when I make a pie crust (which I do fairly often because my children love quiche), I will quadruple the recipe, then freeze balls of dough.  When it's time to make quiche, I just defrost the pre-made dough.  This saves time on a busy night and makes quiche one of my fastest, simplest meals. Another example: if I'm making a large pot of soup and my family doesn't eat it all at dinner and lunch the next day, I'll freeze the extra soup so that I can pull it out for a quick dinner another night.  Every so often, I'll have a dedicated hour or two to do some "batch cooking" for the freezer, so I'll put together chicken curry, various soups, chicken pot pie, etc. and freeze those for easy meals later.  Anytime I make muffins or gingerbread I freeze about half the batch and can pull those out for breakfasts, snacks, or supper soup supplements.  Having meals or components of meals already stocked in the freezer saves so much time, and I think it saves money, too. 

4. Use the slow cooker.  On a day when we'll be out and about most of the afternoon, I will happily put dinner in the slow cooker earlier in the day.  I like to do this with chili, curries, and soups: perfect foods for this time of year. 

5. Write it down, but hold it loosely.  I am flexible with my plans, although I generally do stick with them once they are made. But sometimes my mother-in-law will send over a casserole or my husband will suggest pizza, and I am happy to change plans to accommodate those things!

Once I have written my menu plan down, I jot down any ingredients or staples I need to purchase at the grocery store or farmers' market, and then I look through my (simple) coupon collection to see if anything correlates.  

Knowing what's for dinner gives me mental peace. I don't like going through my day and wondering what I'll cook that night...at least I don't like that at this stage of my life, because there are too many other demands on my time and mind.  So it's well worth it for me to spend a little time on the weekend planning ahead and creating a menu!

Curried Red Lentil Soup (Gluten-Free, Vegan)

This is a recipe for a family staple that I make at least twice a month.  Finn absolutely loves it; Annie tolerates it; and my husband and I never tire of it.  When Finn was a little guy, our local natural foods co-op had a great little deli restaurant.  He was gluten-free and dairy-free in those days, so our Tuesday treat was to go into the city, go to the farmers' market, and have lunch at the co-op deli.  I always got this soup for Finn, and he loved it so much that one day I asked the waitress if I could get the recipe.

"Oh, I don't know," she said, "he [meaning the chef] is kind of funny about those things...."

She went to the back.  I saw the chef looking at us. He'd seen us a million times before.  A few minutes later, he shuffled out to my table, tossed a sheet of paper on it, said "hope you're good at math" with a wry chuckle, then walked away.

YES! I got the coveted recipe! And I *am* good at math, so I could reduce the enormous quantities of the original recipe in proportion and come up with something appropriate for the home cook.  Since then I've tweaked it slightly (and memorized it so I never actually look at the recipe), and the chef has moved on, and I haven't seen this soup at that deli for a long time, so I will post it here in case you need a bit of curried carrot comfort during these chilly autumn days--at least for those of us in the northern hemisphere!

*Curried Red Lentil Soup*

2 T. olive oil

2 large onions, diced (you can definitely use more!)

8 c. water

2 cups dry red lentils (rinsed and drained)

2 pounds carrots, peeled and chopped 

2 14-oz coconut milk

1 tsp. salt

2 bay leaves

for the spices

1 T. olive oil

2 T. fresh ginger, minced

2 T. curry powder

1 T. fresh garlic, minced

1 bunch cilantro, chopped

Heat oil in a large soup pot. Add onions and cook until they begin to brown slightly.  Add water, lentils, carrots, coconut milk, salt and bay leaves. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the carrots and lentils are tender. Remove from heat.

In a small saute pan, heat the oil over medium heat, and then add the ginger, curry powder, garlic and cilantro, and saute for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add to the lentil mixture.

Remove the bay leaf, puree with an immersion blender, and serve. 

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Although it seems like a beta carotene overkill, we like to eat this soup with my vegan, gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip muffins.  The recipe for those is here (and I actually double this and make 24 muffins every time, freezing leftovers for to have for quick breakfasts or my children's bedtime snacks).  Something about the curry flavor of the soup and the warm cinnamon and ginger spices of the muffins works quite well together, at least in our opinions.

Happy cooking!

Easy Hospitality Supper, Key Lime Pie Cheesecake Recipe & A Prayer Request

I'm just wrapping up "peak week" of May in our household.  This month is extremely busy, and this week saw the perfect storm of nearly everything: from the normal (piano, violin, co-op, art, ballet, Bible study) to the less common (haircut, ballet rehearsal, attending a play, houseguests).  

Annie's ballet recital is this afternoon and her costume is enchanting: ice blue over a pinkish-beige, with a pinkish-beige flower in her hair, and blue fairy wings.  She is nervous and excited.  Three-fourths of the grandparents will be in attendance, and I'm about to go pick flowers for her bouquet.  I could have ordered roses from the ballet school, but the coral bells and peonies and lilacs are peppering my flower beds right now! And they're free! 

Tonight we're hosting grandparents after the show, so here's my Easy Hospitality Menu:

*bacon-wrapped chicken

*roasted Yukon gold potatoes

*steamed broccoli

*key lime pie cheesecake 

It's simple, healthy (I mean, minus the pie), and easy. This morning I'm prepping the chicken and bacon, cutting the broccoli, and making the pie.  So this evening all I'll need to do is cut and roast the potatoes (easy), steam the broccoli, and cook the chicken!

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The key lime pie cheesecake recipe is a standby here and one of my signature desserts, so I'd love to share it:

*Two-Layer Key Lime Pie Cheesecake*

Acquire or make a graham cracker crust. 

Set out an 8-oz package of cream cheese to soften. 

For the baked layer: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together a can of sweetened condensed milk, 1/2 cup key lime juice (I sometimes just use regular lime juice) and 3 large egg yolks. Pour into the crust and bake until set--about 8-9 minutes in my oven. Let cool.

Once the baked layer is cool, use an electric mixer to beat the cream cheese with 1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk  (yes, more of that!), 1/4 cup of lime juice, and a little dash of vanilla. Beat until smooth, then pour over cooled baked layer, and smooth the top.  

Cover and chill until firm--at least four hours or so. If you want, pipe whipped cream around the edges before serving, but I never do it!

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And finally, if you feel led, please join me in praying for my husband.  His routine 3-month checkup with the surgeon on Wednesday revealed some anomaly that may be scar tissue from his surgery in January or it may be a recurrence of cancer. He will go in next Friday the 18th for a PET scan.  We always want to pray that God's will be done, but I'm also praying that God's will is that this is merely scar tissue.  I spent a little while in agony over the "what ifs", which are scary to consider, given this particular type of cancer, and now we're just waiting.  God very clearly gave me this Bible verse on Thursday morning: 

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord. 

-Psalm 27:13-14

And so we do. 

Lovely, Simple Granola

Granola is one of those foods that is often very expensive to purchase but is quite easy and inexpensive to make.  Here's the recipe I use, which we love!

Ingredients:

4 c. rolled oats

1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup sliced almonds or whole pecans 

1 T. cinnamon 

2 T. ground flax seeds

1/3 c. coconut oil (or any other oil you'd like to try--but coconut gives a nice flavor)

2/3 c. honey (I use a raw honey that I buy in bulk)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Blend all ingredients together. I use my KitchenAid mixer to mix at the lowest setting, with the paddle attachment, for a minute or so.  Bake on parchment paper at 300 degrees for 10 minutes, then stir and bake another 10 minutes, but be very careful not to burn!  My oven runs hot so I typically do 300 for about 10 minutes, then stir, then another 5 minutes, then I cut the oven off and let it sit for a few more minutes because I really like to dry it out.

After baking and cooling, you can add in other goodies, such as dark chocolate chips, bits of dried cherry, etc.  During baking you can stir in some coconut, just take care not to burn it--so I'd put it in near the end.

My husband loves this granola, which helps fuel all those long runs he does.  I like a tablespoon sprinkled on my Greek yogurt sometimes. (But I don't run up and down mountains, so portion control is essential for me.)

Annie likes this mixed with a sugar-free compote of summer berries. 

And for most of her life she has called it "granana," which is, of course, so endearing.  Finn is the only one who doesn't like "granana," but that's alright: more for the rest of us!

Trying Out the Crepes

A week or two ago I made crepes for the first time. I used a recipe my cousin sent, and filled the crepes with a melted cheese and turkey filling for lunch.  Both of my children politely declined seconds.  I made a mental note to try it with nutella next time.....

So, I've not yet perfected crepes.  Mine turned out beautifully, but I haven't nailed down the filling that will induce my children to eat them.  And I'm pretty sure they both said they didn't like the crepe itself anyhow.  Who doesn't like crepes?!

This week I'm on to a different type of crepe.  Although I've owned the pattern for a few years, I'm only now sewing the Colette Crepe dress. I decided to try to make a wearable muslin, so I cut the pattern out using some thrifted fabric I bought ages ago. 

So far I've finished the bodice and the waist ties, and I cut bias strips (I'm skipping the facings, too annoying).  The trickiest bit for me is always fit. I'm rarely able to wear a dress right off the rack...something to do with having one shoulder and hip 2" higher than the other, and a seriously protruding shoulder blade.  I'm also extremely short-waisted thanks to my scoliosis. I tried to fit the bodice to my duct tape dress form last night, but I almost think my dress form needs revamping.  She seems a little--squished.  So I tried the bodice on in front of the mirror, but it's a back-wrapping dress and seemed virtually impossible for me to tell how it will fit without, you know, the rest of it done.  I keep reminding myself that the goal of this dress is to have something light and cool to wear in the morning for housework and teaching.  That's it. I'm not wearing it to the opera!

If the fussy Crepe doesn't work out, I've already got my consolation prize all lined up: another Alabama Chanin camisole dress.  It's comforting and familiar and cozy--basically the macaroni and cheese of my sewing world. 

Three-Oat Baked Oatmeal (Vegan, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free)

Baked oatmeal is a breakfast staple in our house.  I was introduced to baked oatmeal by my friend Allison, and I have tweaked and changed her recipe over the years to suit our tastes and dietary requirements.  I drastically cut the sugar, use several types of oats, used a different spice mixture, replaced the eggs with flax meal, and substituted almond milk for regular milk. It's flexible. I also grease the pan and mix everything up right there in it, because I don't want to fiddle around with dishes early in the morning.

Grease a baking dish--I typically use something that is about 9x9.  Preheat oven to 350.

In the dish, combine 2 T. flaxmeal with 6 T. water.  Then add 1.5 cups milk (I use almond) and 1/4 c. oil (I use olive).  Whisk.  Add a scant 1/2 c. of sugar (I use sucanat, and generally am several tablespoons shy of a half-cup).  Whisk again, then add 2 T. baking powder, a dash of salt, and at least 2 T. pumpkin pie spice blend (cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc.). Whisk very well, then add a total of 3 c. oats.  You can use all old-fashioned or all quick, but I typically do 1.5 cups old-fashioned, 1 c. quick, and 1/2 cup of steel cut . (If you're gluten-free, use gluten-free oats--obviously!) Stir well and then bake until done.  My oven runs very hot and fast, so it takes about 15 minutes, just long enough for me to run through the shower.  I imagine it takes longer in normal ovens. 

My children eat these oats topped with peanut butter and, yes, mini chocolate chips.  On the rare occasion that I eat them, I like a bit of almond butter and a dollop of Greek yogurt.  You can slice fruit on top, too. They're quite nice with blueberries, sliced almonds, and yogurt!

Shades of Green in Early Spring

The unintentional theme for the evening was shades of green: starting with the pale green linen tablecloth, continuing on through the jadeite, and crowned by the bouquet of hyacinth, lavender, and not-yet-blooming snowball bush branches. 

I wandered the yard searching for Something Green to balance out the white hyacinth and more silvery lavender.  Snowballs did the trick. 

For supper I made roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, salad, butternut squash-kale gratin, and for dessert, a cool chocolate pie accompanied with whipped cream and hazelnut coffee.

Takeaways from dinner tonight: 1) I need to perfect my chicken roasting skills (it was okay, but it could have been better); 2) I need to perfect my coffee making skills; 3) three hours is just not long enough to visit with our dear pastor and his sweet wife. 

Three Cheese Asparagus Tart

Our simple supper from earlier this week: a three cheese and asparagus tart.  Easy and delicious. 

Spring, you are so welcome here. 

Favorite Snacks

My children aren't big snackers most days (they eat very well at meals!) but I do like to offer a mid-morning snack most of the time, and on some occasions we need an afternoon or evening snack also--typically if we have an evening activity like ballet or our scouting group, and our dinner is either unusually early or a little late. I'm trying to come up with a few more snack ideas.  Our requirements are preferably gluten-free (Finn eats some gluten now and I can't even tell you how much easier my life is because of that), whole foods, and reasonably healthy.  Here are the snacks we typically have:

*cheese slices
*nuts (sometimes nuts mixed with rice chex--not really a whole food!)
*popcorn (always with a side of cheese or nuts)
*apple slices with peanut butter
*banana boats--half a banana, sliced lengthwise, spread with a nut butter and topped with a few mini chocolate chips
*Larabars (on grocery shopping days I usually allow a Clif or Luna bar)
*gluten-free pumpkin-chocolate chip muffins
*on occasion, smoothies (w/ peanut butter/banana/almond milk/spinach)
*gluten-free gingerbread (yum, more like dessert) topped with nut butter or yogurt, depending on the child

I'd like to try homemade granola. I don't think Finn will eat it, but Annie would.  Annie likes yogurt; Finn does not.  And I have yet to find a good homemade granola-ish bar recipe that suits Finn.  I know this makes him sound very picky,  He is a little picky, but I roll with it because he eats so well of so many healthy foods (fish, chicken, broccoli, oatmeal, eggs). I think his issues are texture-related. In any case, I don't make a big deal out of it because in all honesty I think I'm fairly particular myself. (I never thought this until I visited a friend and she was amazed at my eating habits. Ha!)

So I'm casting about for some new snack ideas to freshen up the list.  Fresh fruit is always nice, but this time of year all we can get are bananas, apples, and citrus--everything else is pretty yucky.  And Finn and I don't really eat citrus....wait, did I mention we're the picky ones?

If you have any favorite snack ideas to share, I'm all ears!

Pizza on the Cheap

I make a nice inexpensive cheese pizza.  We've started giving Finn some gluten these days (!!!) and my children loved the most recent incarnation of pizza.

I buy my cheese in bulk for $2.99/lb. 

The tomato paste was about .30/can at Aldi. The pizza sauce recipe was easy and tasty! It does use a fair amount of olive oil, but I buy mine on deep sale, so it's pretty inexpensive.

This is my favorite gluten-filled pizza crust recipe.  

I'm not going to try to break down the ingredients and determine how much the pizza costs to make (maybe one day I will--no promises).  But I'd guess that it costs about $3 for two large cheese pizzas.  The dough can be mixed up the night before or in the morning.  The sauce just sits around and cooks.  I shred my cheese and freeze it so it's ready to go.....so it's a very easy meal.  

I do like to add spinach to assuage my guilt at feeding my children cheese and bread for supper, or sometimes I'll steam broccoli as a side dish.  And there's always a lot leftover for their lunches for a few days!

And now I have a vegan pizza on the cheap, too! My husband has started making his own hummus in large quantities--definitely cheap.  I press out the pizza crust, spread on a layer of hummus, spread on a layer of pizza sauce, then put the toppings on (I like to roast veggies, slice tomatoes, etc., which is not very cheap during the off-season, but is free during the gardening season!).  My husband LOVES the pizza made with hummus instead of cheese.  

Much healthier and thriftier than Domino's!

Creating a Sabbath (and a Gluten-Free Sunday Morning Breakfast Casserole)

Our culture does not value Sabbath Rest.  A few years ago my husband and I decided that even if our culture doesn't value it, we do!  And we take the Sabbath seriously now. 

For a mother with young children, there's really no total rest day, so it's really about making the day as easy as possible.  This starts on Saturday. (It took me years to fully comprehend that obvious truth.)

On Saturday:

*do enough laundry to get you through Sunday and Monday, at least!

*choose church clothes for everyone and make sure they're presentable

*make breakfast! for years I tried to throw together a breakfast on Sunday morning--often something "nice" like pancakes and sausage or eggs, but cooking on Sunday is just not restful for me, and then there are the dishes, and the rush to leave the house on time.......so my solution is my gluten-free Sunday Morning Breakfast Casserole, which I make on Saturday night, bake on Sunday morning, and which is hearty enough to make my children survive until Sunday lunch (which is usually between 1:00-1:30 at our house).

*make sure there are sufficient leftovers for dinner tomorrow night

*grind the coffee and fill the electric kettle!

*set the table for breakfast 

*make sure all needed items for church are in a tote bag (Bibles, journal, water bottles, etc.)

On Sunday morning:

*coffee, coffee, coffee (especially if my husband and I have stayed up late--it's the one night a week he can stay up past about 9pm!)

*pop the casserole in the oven

*mix up a fast batch of chocolate gingerbread and pop that in the oven 

(husband usually makes tuna salad for the children for lunch at this point)

*relax

*enjoy a relaxed and delicious breakfast, with minimal cleanup (casserole container goes in fridge, gingerbread gets covered, dishes go in the dishwasher)

*shower, dress, get the children dressed, and go to church

On Sunday afternoon:

*serve kids tuna and potato chips and fruit--their junky Sunday tradition!  My husband and I usually have salads. Some people do a big Sunday midday dinner. I love that concept, but for me that's not relaxing during this stage of life. I'd rather have my nice breakfast!

*send the kids to quiet time in their rooms and then we settle in for a Sunday nap....so luxurious. My husband is a Real Napper but I only nap for about 20-30 minutes. 

*after nap, we putter around, maybe take a walk--sometimes I leave the house for a couple of hours, etc. 

*dinner: leftovers

*after dinner: in winter, we like to watch episodes of Planet Earth or Cosmos; in summer, catch lightning bugs, take walks, and talk; any time of year we like to play Skip-Bo!

*get to bed early-ish because Monday morning comes whether we're ready or not!

*                      *                     * 

Sunday Morning Breakfast Casserole

On Saturday night, grease a 9x13 glass pan. 

Cook a pound of sausage (you could use bacon!).

Line the glass pan with a thin layer of frozen shredded potatoes, then top with sausage.  

Beat 12-14 eggs with a splash of milk (about half a cup, at most).  I like to add some Crazy Salt or Herbamere.  Pour this over the sausage/potatoes in pan. 

Grate enough cheese to lightly cover the egg.  My children love green onion cheese, so that's what I use! You can use any kind you like. 

Cover with foil and place in the refrigerator overnight.

On Sunday morning, put into the oven and bake at 350 degrees until the eggs are cooked. I think this takes about half an hour in my oven, which runs hot. 

We like this with a side of hot gingerbread topped with whipped cream or Greek yogurt (decadent), and for me--lots of coffee.  

Happy resting!

Summery Corn Chowder

What possessed me to make corn chowder when the thermostat read 101 degrees this morning?

Finding last year's corn in the freezer...the morning after I got fresh corn from my uncle. This is really a soup for winter time, when you want to taste corn and basil...

Simmer for 15 minutes in a pot:

*3-4 small potatoes  (I bought some for .20/lb this weekend!), diced

*half an onion, diced

*1/2 a carrot, diced

*1/2 cup of water

*1/2 cup of stock (I used chicken)

*I also gave a nice grind of pepper, a shake or two of salt, and later I think I shook in some Herbamere.

When the potatoes are fairly soft, add:

*2 c. corn (fresh or frozen--I like to run mine through a food processor to mash it up a bit)

Simmer for 5-10 more minutes, then add:

*1 1/2 cups milk 

Cook for a few minutes until everything is warm. At the end I added in an ice cube of frozen basil, let that melt, and blended it all very well with my stick blender. (If it's summertime, you can add fresh basil!) If the soup were for me only, I wouldn't do this, but I have a child with Texture Issues. 

I served this to the children for lunch with cheese slices and "banana boats" (half or a fourth of a banana, sliced lengthwise, with a bit of peanut butter and a tiny sprinkling of mini dark chocolate chips on top). My children added Crazy Salt to the soup at the table.  Yum!

I splurged (I don't eat white potatoes or corn) and had a small bowl myself--topped with avocado.  It was creamy and so satisfying, but will be even better on a winter night.

I also made a batch of blueberry popsicles and a loaf of zucchini bread....plowing through the freezer now!

Breakfast

My favorite meal of the day....I adore breakfast.  I love the hot beverage + the fresh day ahead + the delicious food. I typically choose either Greek yogurt with sliced almonds and flax meal or scrambled vegetables, eggs, spicy cheese, half an avocado, and a bit of salsa.  I tend to like tea with the former and coffee with the latter. I am particular about my teacups--a thin lip and a foot are musts; this one is my favorite.  I use my pretty silverware and right now I'm using jadeite as my everyday dishes.

Eating a breakfast you enjoy on dishes you like is a way to be kind and gentle to yourself, and a great way to start the day. (I especially like having my breakfast before my children rise!) But I will add that when my babies were actual babies, breakfast for me was a lot less civilized....though I truly miss those squishy baby cheeks and legs. Sigh. 

Every season has its benefits!

In the Kitchen with Finn

Today Finn requested to make lunch.  I almost said no, because I was feeling a little unhinged, but am so glad I acquiesced and agreed! I taught him the simplest of simple: the cheese quesadilla. It's our house version of a grilled cheese sandwich, since we don't do bread. I gave him verbal instructions step-by-step while hanging out at his elbow.

  With a dollop of salsa and some sliced apple, it made a semi-monochromatic, but quick and simple, lunch.  He wanted more food after he finished eating his first two quesadillas, so he went to the kitchen and made two more all by himself....as well as an extra one for Annie.

I could get used to this!

Sunday Salad

My husband is the king of caramelizing onions in a cast-iron skillet, and he made some today for his lunchtime sandwich.  I eat a salad for lunch every day, but I wanted some of those onions! So I took a few generous spoonfuls and put them on my big bed of (red leaf) lettuce, added some pecans and a tiny sprinkling of sunflower seeds, and crumbled on chunks of chevre.  Then for icing on the cake I sprinkled on some pink Himalayan salt and raspberry balsamic vinegar.  

Shazam!  That was one good salad. The onions + chevre + raspberry sent it over the top. 

Now it's time for Sunday afternoon: a nap for the mister and creamy coffee and books for me.  (With some intermittent childcare....of course!)

And finally today we celebrate the baptism of Jesus. 

"Here is my servant, whom I uphold, 

my chosen one in whom I delight; 

I will put my Spirit on him,

and he will bring justice to the nations..." (1st verse of Isaiah 42)

May it be so. 

Mr. Polly Makes Salad

Last weekend I came huffing in rather late from a strenuous afternoon of errands, after my family had eaten their dinner, and my husband had my dinner all ready for me: a beautiful salad + a glass of chardonnay.  He's nice like that. 

I snapped a fast phone-photo. I have to say that I'm grateful for my husband, who has so many wonderful traits (not just salad-making!).  My children decided to name our family in the manner of kings and queens, attached a suitably descriptive trait to each person's name (inspired by Narnia, of course).  We have King Finn the Great and Queen Annie the Brave.  My husband is most fittingly King Husband the Lionhearted. 

I am trying to get them to name me Queen Pauline the Mean, but they won't do it!