At my mom's request I made Northern Bean Soup and Cornbread for dinner tonight...a first for cooking beans for this girl. I have made a lot of cornbread in my life but I don't really remember making it from scratch...both were delish-ous! I brought two cups of beans to a boil after rinsing and making sure there weren't any bad beans in the bunch. Let them sit for two hours and then rinsed them and brought them to a boil under 2" of cold water to begin. After they had simmered for a half hour I added 2 cloves of garlic, 1 walla walla sweet onion, 3 carrots finely sliced, 2 bay leaves, 4 chicken bouillon cubes, a piece of random pork I found in the freezer some parsley and a buttload of pepper (oops) simmered for about 45 more minutes and soup and cornbread filled the house with a savory smell. It was fairly easy and probably pretty cheap if I were to do a cost analysis!
So, the Northern Bean soup wouldv'e made my Southern Fried Grandparents proud (my mom's words)!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Soul Food
I don't suppose that grilled pork steak, garlic mashed potatoes, steamed asparagus and peach cobbler are really classified as soul food but I think that cooking for others when your soul feels a little bruised is good medicine.
This past weekend has been a somber one; my children's stepmother passed away on Sunday from complications that arose from chemotherapy. She was 36 and her cancer was in remission, she left behind four children and many friends and family. At one time we were good friends. The last time I spoke with her was in January when I asked her if I could run in her honor at the Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon. She told me it would mean a lot to her and I am at peace that our last conversation was a good one. Our relationship has often been rocky over the past eleven years.
Along with this rather drastic wind that has blown across my life there are other things that trouble me, aging relatives, a mom I did alterations for last fall is missing under suspicious circumstances, the economy, missing loved ones and a whole host of other worries.
But I have so much to be thankful for while I am walking through this time...and probably the biggest thing I am thankful for right now is time...I have time to create, work on my art, work on my body, spend time with my mom and family, time to cook, walk my dog, learn new things, read, and just really breathe and enjoy my life! This is huge because for years and years I have been running around like a crazy woman, working, raising kids, getting my degrees, always too busy to do the things I want and need to do...So I say thank you so much God for giving me the time and the realization that for the first time in a long time I have the gift of time, and I pray that I will use it wisely!
Buon appetito!
This past weekend has been a somber one; my children's stepmother passed away on Sunday from complications that arose from chemotherapy. She was 36 and her cancer was in remission, she left behind four children and many friends and family. At one time we were good friends. The last time I spoke with her was in January when I asked her if I could run in her honor at the Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon. She told me it would mean a lot to her and I am at peace that our last conversation was a good one. Our relationship has often been rocky over the past eleven years.
Along with this rather drastic wind that has blown across my life there are other things that trouble me, aging relatives, a mom I did alterations for last fall is missing under suspicious circumstances, the economy, missing loved ones and a whole host of other worries.
But I have so much to be thankful for while I am walking through this time...and probably the biggest thing I am thankful for right now is time...I have time to create, work on my art, work on my body, spend time with my mom and family, time to cook, walk my dog, learn new things, read, and just really breathe and enjoy my life! This is huge because for years and years I have been running around like a crazy woman, working, raising kids, getting my degrees, always too busy to do the things I want and need to do...So I say thank you so much God for giving me the time and the realization that for the first time in a long time I have the gift of time, and I pray that I will use it wisely!
Buon appetito!
Friday, April 30, 2010
The Lemon Bars? NOT so good!
i will be the first to admit when my baking or cooking falls short...the low fat lemon bars? Tasted like rubber...the crust was actually not bad but it was hard to determine with the slightly lemon glue that was holding on fast. We tried one with tea last night and then I tried it with my coffee this morning but really it's like eating a piece of gluey rubber! I will try another recipe for lemon squares soon.
I think that if you make a normal recipe (that isn't modified) but you eat just one small/regular portion as opposed to eating a lot more of the low fat/cal/sugar kind you come out ahead. I think we justify eating larger portions of something supposedly healthy for us rather than just showing some restraint and eating one serving of something really delicious that may have real butter or sugar in it...in doing so I think we are missing out on the joy of eating! BTW I'm guilty of this but I am working on it!
So today I'm going to ask myself a question...if anybody reads this they can ask it of themselves.
What are you really hungry for? Am I using food to fill in some of the spots that I don't want to deal with sadness, confusion and uselessness OR am I using food to nourish my body, enjoy in moderation and show a little love to others with?
Thursday, April 29, 2010
new work out video
I used to faithfully work out to my TaeBo videos, one of the few work out series at home that I was dedicated to...as they are currently in storage and I can't find my Turbo Jam videos (that I am certain I packed and brought to Seattle with me) I went to Wal Mart in search of another work out. I found 'Billy Blanks Ultimate TaeBo 10th Anniversary edition'. I'm pretty excited to get my booty kicked my Billy although I'm pretty sure I will be crying within the first 20 minutes. A good deal for the my budget too... I had some money on a gift card and that combined with the scavenged quarters from my car's ash tray and the bottom of my purse I walked out with an inspirational butt-kicking work out for $10.
Fresh Blog
April 29, 2010
All day I have thought that it was Wednesday...but here I am with Thursday half over! Tonight I am making Easy Italian Fish, zucchini and lemon squares. Both these recipes come from Prevention magazine March 2010.
Easy Italian Fish
Heat Oven to 425. Trim ends off 2 or 3 small zucchini and cut lengthwise into quarters. Put on nonstick baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast 5 minutes. Meanwhile, wrap 1 slice proscuitto around each of 4 halibut or cod fillets (4-5oz each). Remove pan from oven, flip zucchini and push to one side, and put fish on pan. Roast until fish is just opaque and zucchini are tender, about 8 minutes. Top each fillet with a little pesto. Serves 4
Lemon Squares
Heat oven to 350. Spray 8x8 baking pan with oil. Mix 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/8 teasp. salt in medium bowl until well combined. Cut 1/4 cup butter into flour mixture with pastry blender until a crumbly dough forms. Press dough evenly into bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake until lightly golden, 10 50 12 minutes. Cool.
Whisk 1 egg, 1 egg white and 1/2 cup of sugar in large bowl until combined. Grate zest and squeeze juice from 1 large lemon and add to egg mixture. Add 1/8 teasp. baking powder and 3 Tablespoons flour. Mix thoroughly. Pour lemon mixture over cooled shortbread base. Bake until set and lightly brown at edges, 20-25 minutes. Cool and dust lightly with 1 teaspoon powdered confectioners sugar. Cut into 16 squares. (103 calories, 2g protien, 17g carb, .5 g fiber, 3.5 g fat, 50mg sodium)
All day I have thought that it was Wednesday...but here I am with Thursday half over! Tonight I am making Easy Italian Fish, zucchini and lemon squares. Both these recipes come from Prevention magazine March 2010.
Easy Italian Fish
Heat Oven to 425. Trim ends off 2 or 3 small zucchini and cut lengthwise into quarters. Put on nonstick baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Roast 5 minutes. Meanwhile, wrap 1 slice proscuitto around each of 4 halibut or cod fillets (4-5oz each). Remove pan from oven, flip zucchini and push to one side, and put fish on pan. Roast until fish is just opaque and zucchini are tender, about 8 minutes. Top each fillet with a little pesto. Serves 4
Lemon Squares
Heat oven to 350. Spray 8x8 baking pan with oil. Mix 1 cup flour, 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/8 teasp. salt in medium bowl until well combined. Cut 1/4 cup butter into flour mixture with pastry blender until a crumbly dough forms. Press dough evenly into bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake until lightly golden, 10 50 12 minutes. Cool.
Whisk 1 egg, 1 egg white and 1/2 cup of sugar in large bowl until combined. Grate zest and squeeze juice from 1 large lemon and add to egg mixture. Add 1/8 teasp. baking powder and 3 Tablespoons flour. Mix thoroughly. Pour lemon mixture over cooled shortbread base. Bake until set and lightly brown at edges, 20-25 minutes. Cool and dust lightly with 1 teaspoon powdered confectioners sugar. Cut into 16 squares. (103 calories, 2g protien, 17g carb, .5 g fiber, 3.5 g fat, 50mg sodium)
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