Storm Preppin'

If you have not heard, the Northeast is in for a big one this week - snow that is!  No more talk about Tom's balls....we are on to the big news of 2+ feet of snow!  You know what the means right??  Prepping, cooking and baking now to get ready for the hours of snow fun ahead.  The Prepper in me is only slightly concerned that we may lose power during this storm.  Our next door neighbors have a wonderful fireplace, so we maybe camping at their house if things get bad.  Until then, I'm going to bake a few gluten free breads to be sure we all survive along with a few other goodies I will share.

My favorite new discovery is Pamela's Bread Mix which has a great recipe on the back of the package for a homemade gluten free breadmaker bread.  I've seen the Mix available before, but not until recently did I decide to give it a go.  I want to know what is in every single thing I eat.  Sounds excessive, but realistically, we should all know exactly what is in our food.  The more I can make and bake at home the more I will know.   But let's also be realistic, working full time, raising 3 children and being a wife is time consuming in and of itself these days, so finding short cuts where possible works as long as quality is not compromised.....(although, it would be fun to make homemade pizza again.)

On the Facebook page, I've linked this post with a picture of the bread after it comes out.  I tried making the bread as it calls for on the package several times now and have discovered it works well if your breadmaker has a 'rapid' or 1 rise setting.  Gluten free bread does not need the 2nd rise and the time I did try it on the regular bread setting it did not rise enough the 2nd time.  Prepping, following and baking the recipe all took less than 1.5 hours and 1.25 of those hours the breadmaker was doing the work - perfect! 

Here's the recipe from Pamela's - slightly modified for my breadmaker and preferred taste:

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups Pamela's Gluten-Free Bread Mix
• 2-1/4 tsp active dry yeast or 1 yeast packet
• 2 large eggs
• 1/3 cup oil
• warm water

Directions:

In a Bread Machine

Setting suggestion - Rapid Bread, 2 lb loaf, Dark Crust.

 

In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup, heat 2 cups of water in the microwave until warm, not boiling (2 mins on my microwave).  Add 1/3 cup oil, add 2 eggs and pour all liquids into bread maker.  Then add bread mix and yeast last. Start machine and scrape down sides and corners of pan after dough has been mixed for about 6 minutes.

After baking, remove from pan and let cool before removing paddle and slicing.

 

Summer Adventures

Every day is an adventure.  It seems that every day I'm either on an adventure or planning the next one.  Not planning in the sense that I'm not enjoying the current one, but planning in the sense that I hear or think of something I've always wanted to do and find out how we can do it as a family soon!  Our latest summer adventures have focused around local fun.  As we anticipate the arrival of my oldest coming back from his 6 week summer adventure in Montreal, the little ones and I are taking in every day around us and finding inexpensive, exciting things to do. 

Recently, we went to a local farm for pick your own blueberries.  As a child growing up, we had pick your own strawberries and I distincly remember leaving the fields with red fingers, red shoes and a slight belly ache from all the berries.  Blueberry picking is a nice alternative that does not involve discoloration of any body part or clothing, but just as much fun, finding those perfectly blue berries still attached to the tree. 

 

I even found this random pinecone that looked just yummy!

 

 

The next adventure we went on was a hike in a new section of the Blue Hills.  DCR maintains the Blue Hills so well that we usually just stick to what we know and take simlilar hikes.  I saw a friend post her adventure in a new section of the Hills and had to go.  Who knew you could have so much fun, so close to home.  We found wild blueberries, the longest 'bog boardwalk', and lots of smiles and laughs.  We sang songs on the walk, reminding me of simpler times and that there is no reason to rush anything that they are learning or doing.  We need to slow down, cherish these moments and capture their expressions of themselves in the simplest way - just being present.

 

 

Simple Summer Dressing

My little daughter loves all things farm fresh.  Red Leaf Lettuce, brussell sprouts, lavendar, you name it.  Recently, she started eating my salad, right out of the bowl....dressing and all.  If a kid will eat my homemade dressing, it should be shared with everyone.  I do tend to improvise and make the quantity that I need based on the day and week..so here goes:

Whole Grain Mustard - Cilantro Dressing
Using a Tablespoon as your measure for each serving of salad, i.e. 4 servings of salad, multiple this recipe 4x.

1 Tablespoon Whole Grain Mustard, I prefer Trader Joe's
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Tablespoon EVOO
2 Tablespoons Red Wine Vinegar
1/2 teaspoon of freshly chopped cilantro
Salt/Pepper to taste

Shake in your favorite dressing container - I love the Bonne Maman jars!
And serve - refridgerate extra up to 5 days.
Bon appetite!

Ten years

As we dance, laugh, and sing our way into the New Year, I find myself bursting with energy about how this year will transpire.  This year marks the 10 year anniversary for a few moments in my life and I am grateful for how this journey has gone.

This year I will renew my expiring passport with my married name.  10 years ago in the cold New England months, I received my passport with excitement for the summer trip to Europe that I was planning.  I had not planned to get married that year, but life took a turn for me that was the best thing that could have ever happened to me.  Seems kinda silly as I read this back to myself, but the significance of having the same last name as your husband and being 1 family, means so much to me.

This year I will return to Europe with my husband for 10 days to commemorate each year we have been married.  10 years ago I was going to complete graduate school in August and take off the next day for a month long trip through France, Italy, Greece (they were hosting the Olympics), and Spain.  I completed graduate school, hopped on a plane, but did not last the month planned, as I was 12 weeks pregnant and was missing comfort things.  However, my husband did squeeze in a proposal under the Eiffel Tower, so I hope he does it again.

This year I will run a half marathon and possibly a full marathon!  10 years ago I started training for a Marathon after being inspired watching the Marathon runners down Boylston Street.  Previous years, I had worked the infamous Boston Marathon/Opening Day, near Fenway Park, not realizing the excitement and thrilling experience that is our Boston Marathon.  In 2004, I worked at bar right on Boylston Street and after the race, clearly remember walking down Newbury Street, observing the faces of the Marathon runners as the sense of accomplishment consumed them.  I want that and need that 10 years later.

This year I will help each of our children grow and learn in the ways that they need.  10 years ago I remember the fear of being pregnant so young and not knowing if I could be responsible for such a small precious gift.  I wanted to teach my unborn child everything I knew about gratitude, love and life and wanted to learn along side him about things in life that I was not taught.  It has been an amazing journey being these 3 kids mother and I know we will continue to grow that love of learning together this year.

This year I will reaffirm my love for my rock, my lobster, my husband.  10 years ago he looked at me with such joy and excitement about the baby we had created together.  His unwavering and solid ability to believe in me, trust me and move forward when things did not go exactly as we thought they would have has been the strength I have needed to find more strength within myself.  I will be forever grateful.

Ten years.  Seems like yesterday all of these things happened.  Happy to be here.  At peace with the present and looking forward to how the next Ten Years will go.

Energy Efficient Cooking

Cooking and baking are one of my favorite ways to spend a Saturday.  Since having kids though, my time is quite limited as to how much time I can spend in the kitchen.  I have tried Once a Month Cooking, batch cooking & freezing, raw recipes that require little prep and on and on.   I've combined all of these techniques into something that works for our family and minimizes the amount of energy used.  Most recently, with my gluten allergy and intolerance, figuring out "what's for dinner" has become even more important to me so I know that I can share in the family dinner time without having to worry if I can or cannot eat it.  However, when I talk to other friends and co-workers about their kitchen strategy, most do not have a plan or barely know how to articulate how they get it done.  Here is what works at our house and maybe taking pieces of what works for us, will help you have a more effective and efficient cooking and baking experience.

First, I review the latest farm share delivery and center our meals for the week around that.  I also consider what our family/work schedule is for the next two weeks to see if there will be any large gaps of time away from the family, for either my husband or I.  If there are gaps, I plan to make larger batches of what I'm cooking to put 3-4 meals in the freezer that can easily be defrosted.  Then, I find the circular of the grocery store with the most sales and that will compliment my farm share well.  This process takes about 15 minutes, but in the long run of planning, it's the best time spent.  To have a general plan about what is for dinner, takes away the stress on the evenings when an unplanned activity arises.

Once I have all the ingredients I need to make several meals, I start the prep work.  If I need to shred zucchini, beets and onions, I use the food processor near the sink and get to work.  I think about the order of shredding the vegetables, as the onions will leave a taste on the blades and container that I may not want transferred to the zucchini, if it's going into a bread.  After everything is chopped, diced, shredded and sliced, I put together the meals that I've been preparing for.  Then I set everything on the counter and let it set.  It must be an old tradition from my grandmother, but I feel that giving the food the time to absorb the new state it is in, gives it a moment.  Figuring out the spacing in the oven sometimes takes some time.  If I've prepped 6 dishes and only have room for 4, I try to minimize the length of time the oven needs to be on to save energy.  Maximizing how many dishes I cook at a time, reduces the amount of time the oven is on.  I have also found that turning off the oven earlier than a recipe calls for allows for the food to cook internally (of course, this only works if you've already pre-cooked the meat in a lasagna for instance).  Using my slow cooker also reduces the amount of energy and electricity used in our kitchen.  I recently made a gluten free lasagna with zucchini and rice lasagna noodles in the slow cooker.  It was absolutely awesome, cooked while I was at work and there was minimal prep involved as I was already shredding zucchini for a bread and was batch cooking turkey meat to use in multiple dishes.  Although the rice lasagna noodles called for pre-cooking the noodles, I placed zucchini on each layer of noodle so the moisture from the zucchini would soak into the noodle.  The dish was so great, the kids asked for 2nds!

Here's a link to a handy list of energy efficient cooking tips:
http://www.naturalnews.com/030578_cooking_baking.html

Happy Baking!

Reminders

I may have to set myself a reminder to write a posts.  I have so many ideas of posts in my head that I think I write them to myself and never put fingers to keyboard and let the rest of the world share in them.

My oldest has been away the past few weeks at camp in Canada.  He's living with my husband's mom while he attends a day camp, where most of the kids speak French.  The town we live in offers a French Immersion program to incoming 1st graders.  For the next 12 years, these children can be on a French track, where all to most of their classes are taught in French.  The first few years all of the lessons are in French, slowly integrating English for standardized testing purposes.  We want to reinforce what he is learning during the school year in a safe, fun environment for a few weeks during the summer.  Last year, he went for 2 weeks - this year, he requested 7.  We are on week 6 and I cannot wait for him to come home.  Everywhere I look in our house are small reminders that we are temporarily missing one.  There are books that haven't been read in weeks, hockey sticks and goals that have not moved, a bed that has remained in tact.....I cannot imagine the grief parents must feel when losing a child.  The reminders of them must be in every waking corner.

Before having children, I never knew the love a person can have for another.  There is such a deep connection between my children and myself that I can actually feel when one of them is having a tough day.   Later in the day when we connect, I am reminded of the power of love and what it can do for each of us.  It shapes us, creates us, and makes us who we are.  Unconditional love from a partner, child or to a child, must be kept sacred and cared for with the kindest heart.

As you go through your day today, be mindful of the reminders all around you.  Reminisce about the moment you picked your first tomato, your child said I love you, or maybe when your partner said I do.  Find that moment to reflect on a part of you that makes you who you are today.  Relish in that moment, hold onto it, and remind yourself to have more, everyday.

Plantings

June is a fabulous month in New England.  Right before the heat and humidity of summer engulfs the region, a moment of absolute bliss happens.  Being a Jersey girl at heart, June is like an extended Jersey May.  I plant veggies in my garden too early in May and hope that the "global warming" effect doesn't effect them.

This year, I've tried to be make a conscious effort in selecting which veggie plants I put in my Earth Boxes and the garden.  Seeing as though the garden I share is in my neighbors yard, I embraced the plants that my BFFs wanted to plant and over planted what I wanted in my Earth Boxes.  These Boxes are a great way to have a slice of heaven, in your back yard, porch or deck.  I wanted to reach out on my new deck and be able to add greens and edible flowers to my salad quickly.  I planted nasturtiums plants from the local nursery on each end of the box.  Then, I filled the rest of the box with tomato plants.  The Earth Box peeps recommend 8 plants to a box this way and they have their reasons for it.  I over planted my first box and then needed to move a few tomato plants to a new box to accommodate their ever growing size.  In June, my plants look like an August tomato plant from the garden.  No joke.

My little m lady loves her baby tomatoes.  She hasn't noticed these yet, so thankfully they may have a chance.  She eats ground cherries (tomatoes) like they are candy and embraces nature just as I had hoped.

This spring I also had the chance to go to an annual pottery sale, where women were running for ceramic pots like they run for Bridal dresses in Boston.  It was nutty, but I did walk away with several large planters for my new deck.  Next year, I hope to fill them with veggies that are edible but for this year, being pressed for time, I filled them with my favorite summer hanging flower baskets from the local specialty grocery store and cut off the hanger part.  They instantly filled the planter with some color and bees, yay! bring back the bees, and completed my plantings on my deck this year....unless I find some ground cherry plants!

E