Some Bad, Mostly Good.

The bad news....the job in Wisconsin didn't work out.

The good news....two phone interviews for this week.  And Jesse has put out quite a few more applications.  He's been working hard.  And there are sure to be more one year positions showing up in the next month or so.  Something is bound to work out. 

More good news.  We've been boiling our sap down and making the best maple syrup ever!  I've gotten one of my friends in on the boiling fun, so no sap is going to waste.  And I'm not overwhelmed on the days its flowing like crazy.  So far, I've made almost 5 pints.  I'm getting close to my goal of making one gallon of syrup. 

The downside to all this syrup production is that we haven't made pancakes to enjoy it with!  Silly us!

Early Thanksgving

Martha's recipe for cream pie from Baking Secrets

Such great plans to craft and work on Christmas gifts.  But the family put in a request for a Thanksgiving meal.  How could I refuse? 

 

I'm frantically shopping, cleaning, cooking, packing for vacation.  Chili for the trip, fruit salad and pumpkin pie for our early Thanksgiving dinner.  I hope the pie tastes better than it looks.  Would it be too much to make that chocolate cream pie?  Will you take shortcuts this Thanksgiving?  Ready made pie crust? Stuffing mix?  I should have made a couple of batches of pate brisee last week and frozen them. 

Mornings

Image from here.  Don't you wish Claire invited you to breakfast?

Just got a little nicer. 

"Come down all dressed, with socks and shoes.  There's hot cocoa, eggs, and bacon for you."

With the help of my trusty Presto Electric Grill (They're not paying me, promise.) I can makes pancakes in a flash, eggs and bacon, or french toast.  Somedays I just make oatmeal. 

But something hot and tasty brings them downstairs so quickly.  (And no food if you're not all dressed!)  It's worth the little bit of work on my part.  It's so much more pleasant in the morning lately.  And it smells so yummy, too.

Here's the waffle/pancake recipe we use.


2 cups whole wheat flour
2 Tbsp Sugar
1Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2-4 Tbsp melted butter or canola oil (more for waffles, less for pancakes)
1-1/2 to 2 cups milk
1 tsp vanilla

Whisk the dry ingredients together.  Add eggs, butter (or oil), and 1-1/2 cups of the milk.  Beat until smooth.  Add more milk as needed.  More for pancakes, less for waffles.  This recipe makes just enough for our family of four.

Dinner for You, and You, and You

Some Pyrex I picked up at the antiques store for dinner delivery.  Might as well look nice, eh?

How do I get so lucky?  A friend of mine asked if I wanted to be part of a dinner co-op.  Um.  YES!  Here's how it works.
-One person cooks enough food for all three families once a week.
-The dinners should be healthy.
-Dessert is optional.
-Dinner is delivered by 5:30.

I love it!  Once a week I get to spend hours planning and preparing.  Twice a week I get amazing meals delivered to my front door.

Our group is working really well for a couple of reasons.  We're all quasi vegetarians.  Our families are about the same size.  No one is afraid of quinoa, kale, arugula, etc.  My kids are by far the pickiest eaters of the bunch, but nothing has totally flopped.  I love that they are trying new foods.  I also love that if they don't love it, I'm not that put out because either I didn't make it or if I did, someone else will eat it.

Have you ever been part of a dinner co-op?  Would you try it with some friends?  What would you make for your day?

Pop! Goes the canning jar. So yesterday was my strike. Today I watched three hours of Hulu television while I cored/peeled/sliced with the new gadget. One bag of dried apples, one apple crisp, one quart and six pints of apple butter later...

I'm thinking about my friend at the New Yorker festival this weekend. I am so envious. I got my first New Yorker in 1994. It took me a year or two, but the advertisements for the festival made me itching to go. All those stories. All those authors. I can't wait to live vicariously through our friend. I can't wait to hear...everything.

So I admit. I've started. Wait for it. Writing again. Nothing huge right now. Just warming up. A few thoughts here and there worth keeping, but mostly drivel. I do believe there is a story or two inside me. All the quiet time with nothing but me and the apples helped me remember. Scary and exciting all at once.

Apple Strike

I've been on apple strike today. I've walked past them several times, glared, then raised my nose in disgust. I am no slave to those apples. Even if my fingernails are dyed brown. Even if I've lost count of how much apple product I've canned this week.

I'm making sauce on Tuesday with my friend. A Lot of Apple Sauce. Because there are A Lot of Apples.

I'm beginning to hate apples.

Canning

My brother called while I was canning tomatoes. He said I was a housewife (his wife is too. And she runs marathons). I prefer hausfrau or shufu. They lend an air of weight and importance. The lady at the antiques store where I bought the canner was astounded that anyone still cans. Maybe she thought I was much too young to preserve food? The irony of purchasing a canner at an antiques store did not pass me by.

My mom once told me while we were canning jam that my grandma Ada loved the sound the lid makes when it seals. A resounding pop that signifies success. One of my jars let out the pop while I was in another room folding clothes. I couldn’t help smiling in self satisfaction. Another jar less willing to seal had to be placed on its head to encourage a seal. Success. (I’m pretty sure this is not a preferable method, but one we use when canning jams and jellies.)

My hard work payed off in 6 quarts of tomatoes. So little for so much effort. But I have great plans for more. Salsa, more tomatoes, peach, blueberry, and plum jam, orange marmalade, apple sauce and apple butter, spaghetti sauce.

Perhaps I will bring a jar of tomatoes by to the lady in the antiques shop. Preserving the plenty is not just a thing of the past.

(A lovely woman in the ward gave me this first batch of tomatoes to can. She grew them all in her garden. At the farmer’s market, they are selling a 25 pound box of tomatoes for 10 dollars.)

Homemade Yogurt

I've been on a Greek yogurt kick lately. I love it with a drizzle of honey, a sprinkle of granola, and a sliced banana. It's the perfect breakfast before a hard workout. But it's a touch expensive. At 6 bucks for 32 ounces, it's not an every day food. I thought.

But...I knew there must be some way to make it at home. I grew up with the yellow yogurt maker with its individual cups (not nearly enough yogurt for my family). When we were in Taiwan, someone let us use a thermos contraption that sometimes worked, sometimes didn't. I've had minimal success with making yogurt on the stovetop. So when I looked online and found a recipe that used the crockpot, I figured, why not?

All I can say is delish! Perfect! I love that there's not stove watching or double boilers or even thermometers. It takes time, but not much work on my part. I just had to set the timer. I did let it drain for a couple of hours to thicken it up. The recipe (1/2 gallon of milk) filled a 32 oz yogurt container. I'm so tempted to get some raw milk from our dairy farming friends and try making full cream unhomoginized yogurt.

Summer

I didn't think it was possible, but last week it got HOT! 90+ degrees HOT! I didn't know Maine had it in her, but there you go. We went to Range Pond (said rang. don't ask. i don't know why.) two times to cool off. We also busted out the somen set and ate the best summer food ever. So easy. So cool.

Cook Books I've Read This Week

I don't really think of myself as a foodie. I'm the type of person who watches the Food Network while eating a tv dinner. I do like food. I like to cook. I like to try new things. And I really like cook books.
I'm also liking that our library has been putting cookbooks on display right next to the checkout so I can grab them without having to haul my kid to nonfiction on the 2nd floor.

So here are my two latest finds:
Lobel's Meat Bible by the Lobel family of butchers in Manhattan. First of all, I plan on making a trip to their shop this Christmas time. They are a multigenerational butchering family and they take it very seriously. I'm not much of a meat eater. And ironically, I'll probably be eating it less since I've read this book. Most definitely, I will never buy ground meat again unless it's been ground fresh while I wait from one piece of meat. The recipes look amazing in the meat bible, but I really liked learning all the different cuts, and types of meat are available. I've been afraid of beef in the past, but no longer. The recipes look amazing, but I don't have any meat in my fridge right now, so I didn't try any.

The other book I read was Well-Preserved by Eugenia Bone. Oooh La! I am so inspired! I want a canner, and a pressure cooker, and I want to can my own artichoke hearts! Her recipes are for small batches, which is brilliant for small spaces or trying out a new fruit or veg. I really want to try smoking my own bacon. How cool would that be? I love that Bone gives directions for canning w/ a water bath, pressure cooker, smoking, preserving in oil, and freezing. The information is empowering. I've done jams and jellies, but not a lot of vegetable canning, and no meat. As soon as we settle down a bit, I'm going canning crazy. If only we were still in California where the produce is amazing.

Halloween Fun

Every time I pull out my super concentrated food coloring from Japan, I'm stoked. We made some wicked fun Halloween cookies last week. I found the cookie mold at Marden's (a post of its own someday) as well as the sprinkles and orange icing. The rest of the colors came courtesy of my powdered food coloring from Japan and store bought icing. Now I just have to work on my food photography.

Freeport

Monkey and I had a field trip to Freeport, the LL Bean flagship store, and the outlets that grace the downtown area. I bought some silk long johns which I hear will make me very happy this winter. I also ate my first lobster roll. One of Jesse's colleagues suggested making a sport of trying to find the best lobster roll in Maine. I think we're a little too cheap for that. But...it was delicious. Cold steamed lobster in a bun seasoned with butter and dill. A little salad dressing at the bottom. Yum! Monkey had a hot dog and Oakhurst chocolate milk.

The drive to Freeport was gorgeous. You follow the river on a small highway. The trees are starting to change color, so it's really breathtaking.

Wheat Bread. Yum

Here's my first money saving technique. One Jesse taught me years before. Looks like this picture was taken after we broke up. Man, we were hot. I'm sure the bread was good, too.

Wheat Bread
2 cups warm water
2 tsp yeast
1/4 cup honey
proof yeast
add:
2 cups wheat flour
let sit for 10 mins or so.
add:
2 tsps salt
1/4 cup oil
white flour 1 cup at a time, mixing in between.
add flour until you reach a workable consistency, but still a bit sticky.
you can also add powdered milk and an egg if you're feeling fancy.
let rise until doubled
punch down.
form into 2 loaves
let rise until doubled.
bake at 375

Scary Lunch

I bet you were wondering where FUN MOM has gone. Well, she made an appearance this morning to make the spookiest lunch she could manage on short notice.
Can you tell it's a sandwich with a face cut into it? Boo juice and Witch Noses (mandarin orange slices). Thanks to whoever gave out halloween pretzels at the trunk or treat last night.

Vegetarian Week Update part II

I think we're going on three weeks now, and Jesse is going strong. He's probably not getting enough protein, but he's a big boy. He can figure that one out for himself.

The kids, missionaries, and I are slowly chipping at the meat in the freezer. We got a new elder with a hollow leg, so we'll have him over again before he transfers.

My favorite meal thus far is Poofy Pancakes, Savory Style. They're great with syrup for breakfast, but savory is almost better. Here's the recipe.

Poofy Pancakes (puff pancakes, german pancakes, etc) Savory Style

3 T butter
6 eggs
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
pinch or more of salt
couple of grinds of pepper
1-2 fistfulls of shredded cheese lightly coated in flour
veggies of your choice
mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, onion, etc. saute first if they are high water content.
chopped ham for the kid's half of the pan

Preheat oven to 425F (I think. I know it's supposed to be hot. I've become amazingly slapdash with my crappy oven here. I think I put it at 200 Celsius.)
Place 9x13 pan in oven with butter in it.
beat eggs. Add milk. Add flour and seasoning.
Pour mixture into hot pan. Add veggies, cheese, and ham. Return to oven. Bake for 20 minutes or so. Serve with green salad. Just don't add anything from pepper on down if you want it for breakfast. Great with jam, yogurt, lemon juice, powdered sugar, syrup, you name it.

I usually make 1 1/3 recipe to make the mixture thicker.

We thought it tasted like quiche, but better. The kids liked it a lot. And that makes it a winner.

Kabocha

Jesse found me a giant Kabocha for only $4. Love that guy.

Break me off a piece of that...

I love chocolate oranges at Christmas time. They're the new Lifesavers Storybook in my stocking (you know, the one thing you can count on being there each Christmas morning). Well Japan just made them better. And made them available year round (I think). At least, if you're in Japan they're available.
"Is that a mikan flavored Kit Kat?" You ask yourself. Why yes, it is. Yum. Yum. Yum. I'm seriously thinking of stocking up to take to the US with us.

Tim Tams

Have you had these? Why must I go to Japan to eat a delicious Australian cookie? So what if they're 420 yen? Pure Yumminess!

Vegetarian Week Update

Da suggested I let you know how our Vegetarian week went. VW as I'll refer to it, also coincided with THE Busiest week I've had in ages. Jesse had something 3 of the 5 weekday nights. Of course we had no idea it was going to be like that when we started. I will admit that Friday night found me and the kids at McDonald's. We were in Shibuya, surrounded by delicious food but the kids would have none of it. Anyway, I'll try and remember what we had this week.

Vegetarian Quiche
Bean Burritos
Garlic Butter Noodles
Black Bean Soup
Lentil Soup
Scalloped Potatoes

We also had some fish and scallops because we had them in the freezer. Jesse abstained, but M attacked the salmon as if she hadn't seen meat in a week. Oh right. She hadn't. Our freezer is actually full of meat that Jesse won't eat. The kids and I will have a meatfest one of these nights when Jesse has a dinner meeting.

I haven't tried any of the recipes that you suggested, but I'm looking forward to trying them out. Jesse is serious about being vegetarian. I like seeing the kids expanding their tastes from just quesadillas. They still aren't convinced that mushrooms are divine. I'll keep trying, though.

Vegetarian Crustless Quiche

And it tasted good, too.