I live in an area of Louisiana that is just going to get grazed by Hurricane Isaac. We have giant gusts of wind right now and are expecting a lot of rain tonight and tomorrow, but that's about it. I've grown up in hurricane country. To me this is nothing new. My father helped many of his congregants pick up the pieces over and over again after storms. Sad as it is, it's part of a way of life there. They lose it all, pour bleach on what's left and start all over again. I even had my house flood once and lost everything when I was pregnant the first time. Hurricane Katrina missed us, but her sister Rita ruined most everything I owned. Such is life. It's stuff. Stuff can be replaced. That's just memories....past. I don't live to remember the past. I live to journey toward my future. The promise of Heaven and the Kingdom of God. The parents of a friend of mine are pastors in a low lying area south of New Orleans. They have just lost everything. What are they thinking of? Their people. Especially the ones who chose to stay behind. I'm praying for them today. Not only that they remain strong as the long, long process of cleaning up begins, but that they are able to show their people what really is important in this life. And it ain't a house full of stuff. You probably won't hear too much about them on the news. I read an article today that reported their area as "thinly populated". I guess if you compare it to New Orleans...
An interesting thing happened as we were preparing for this hurricane. We realized there was not much in our house that did not need to be cooked. We no longer buy prepackaged food apparently. We decided we'd better go and get some ready to eat things just in case we lose power. Roaming around the store my husband and I realized we no longer like these things. We were at a loss as to what to do! We have peanut butter, jelly and bread at home, but there must be more things! We actually ended up getting more carrots and cucumbers. We have apples and bananas. Who says ready to eat means prepackaged? We bought some peanut butter crackers that were prepackaged. This overjoyed the children. In honor of my dad (who knew how to ride out a hurricane in ultimate comfort) we got some potato chips and jalapeño cheese dip. I could not bring myself to purchase the potted meat and vienna sausages though. Ugh. I bought a couple of bottles of barbecue sauce because if we lose power we'll have plenty of meat that needs to be eaten...we might need to have a block party! Then I grabbed disposable plates and called it good. I also figure that if we lose power we'll have to make a whole meal just ice cream so that doesn't got to waste. Seriously though, it was interesting to discover that my tastes have changed so much over time. The only thing I wish I had right now is a ton of chocolate. And I'm glad I don't actually have it because by the time this hurricane is over I would have gained back all 10 pounds that I've lost.....
Wednesday, August 29, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Creamy Rock Soup....Round 2
A while back I told of an experience in which I made potato soup. The soup won. Despite cooking all day the potatoes never softened. I'm pretty sure they were mutant potato rocks not meant for human consumption.
So, I gathered my wits and tackled creamy potato soup once more. This time I used a recipe I pinned to Pinterest: Slow cooker Loaded Baked potato Soup. I was intrigued by the slow cooker part, however the slow cooker was largely un needed. As a matter of fact, if you don't have a larger slow cooker, it won't fit! My slow cooker is five quarts and it BARELY fit. I had to switch containers for the final step. This recipe is also pretty big. It fed my family of six and we still had leftovers.
This soup is creamy (without heavy cream), garlic-y and just plain old good! It would have been better with bacon, but this WAS my meatless meal for the week. I thought I'd better not crumble a bunch of bacon in it, but next time...
The prep took FOR - E - VER, dicing 5 lbs. of potatoes is not quick. I think it was worth it though. All of the children, even the finicky ones, ate a huge bowl full with cheese sprinkled on top (making yummy sounds all the way through). The time consuming part was prepping all those potatoes! I think next time I make it I'll probably forgo the slow cooker and just cook it on the stovetop. Although, the slow cooker would make it handy for days when I'll be gone all day...so rare. The best part? No mutant potatoes that refuse to get soft. No rock soup!
I just did a one hour exercise class and 10 miles on a bike yesterday evening. I'm pretty sure my legs are going to fall off. But I kinda liked it......
So, I gathered my wits and tackled creamy potato soup once more. This time I used a recipe I pinned to Pinterest: Slow cooker Loaded Baked potato Soup. I was intrigued by the slow cooker part, however the slow cooker was largely un needed. As a matter of fact, if you don't have a larger slow cooker, it won't fit! My slow cooker is five quarts and it BARELY fit. I had to switch containers for the final step. This recipe is also pretty big. It fed my family of six and we still had leftovers.
This soup is creamy (without heavy cream), garlic-y and just plain old good! It would have been better with bacon, but this WAS my meatless meal for the week. I thought I'd better not crumble a bunch of bacon in it, but next time...
The prep took FOR - E - VER, dicing 5 lbs. of potatoes is not quick. I think it was worth it though. All of the children, even the finicky ones, ate a huge bowl full with cheese sprinkled on top (making yummy sounds all the way through). The time consuming part was prepping all those potatoes! I think next time I make it I'll probably forgo the slow cooker and just cook it on the stovetop. Although, the slow cooker would make it handy for days when I'll be gone all day...so rare. The best part? No mutant potatoes that refuse to get soft. No rock soup!
I just did a one hour exercise class and 10 miles on a bike yesterday evening. I'm pretty sure my legs are going to fall off. But I kinda liked it......
Friday, August 17, 2012
Goldilocks....and Porridge
This week....Oh! this week....
We have started to prepare for our new school schedule (which starts Sept. 3rd) by getting up earlier in the mornings. The schedule I have worked up has us starting school work at 8. That means that breakfast must be eaten, chores must be done, people must be dressed and teeth brushed all before 8 a.m. Ugh. I have never been a morning person. I like to sleep. I NEED 8 hours of sleep to not feel tired. I LIKE to have more. That ain't happening. We are getting up at 6 a.m. Well except for yesterday when I forgot to turn my alarm on. I slept til 7:30. I'm sure you must feel how upset I was by that. If I sit still too long I tend to fall asleep. I keep telling myself I just need to get used to the schedule. Oh man how I wish my belly would let me have caffeine!!!
I tried a new breakfast recipe. Refrigerator Oatmeal (Summer Porridge) I'm still trying out all the various flavors. I found chia seeds on Amazon. I wonder if I could have gotten it at my local mom and pop health food store. It's so far away, I didn't even try. This stuff is delicious! The first flavor we tried was a variation of the Blueberry Maple. We don't have any maple syrup in the house so I used honey. Most everyone liked it. Not all loved it though. I had one kid that ate around the blueberries and another that ate only blueberries. Once I did a little grocery shopping I made the recipe again. I made Blueberry and Honey again for my oldest and his dad. They are some that really liked it the first time. Then, I made some of the other kids peanut butter banana. They loved this flavor! They actually said that. "I love this stuff!" I had banana cocoa. That one was very yummy. Maybe my favorite. There are so many different flavor combinations though, that I'm going to keep trying them until I find my favorites. I think apple cinnamon is next!
Our meatless meal was veggie spaghetti....again. This time I put squash and canned beans in the sauce. It was just okay. Maybe it's that we're all getting tired of veggie spaghetti. I've got to scour the internet for new veggie recipes. The same thing over and over is getting old. I really want a gumbo though. If only this weather would cool off!
I had been having a great run with my IBS. No symptoms since I changed my probiotic. Then, last weekend I went to my sister-in-law's baby shower. There was lots of rich food there. That was Saturday. Sunday, I almost died. Not really, but man I was sick. I know better, but I said "it's fine." It was not fine. I wonder if I'll ever be able to control my impulse to eat things that will hurt me. There was one thing there though, that I would love to make myself. It was a puff pastry filled with orange creme and topped with fresh fruit. I ate one. I wanted to eat them ALL! I hear my husband's aunt has this recipe. My mother in law keeps her recipe cards close to her vest, so I might have to see if I can get the recipe for these from Auntie....They really are so very good!
I've been faithfully going to the gym twice a week while my husband plays zookeeper. I haven't counted calories, but have tried to make wise choices (except for Saturday). My reward? I've lost about 10 pounds. This makes me happy. Not that I care what I look like altogether too much, but I know it means I'll be that much healthier. And next year when the doctor looks at me and says "are you exercising?" I can say, "why yes I am!"
We have started to prepare for our new school schedule (which starts Sept. 3rd) by getting up earlier in the mornings. The schedule I have worked up has us starting school work at 8. That means that breakfast must be eaten, chores must be done, people must be dressed and teeth brushed all before 8 a.m. Ugh. I have never been a morning person. I like to sleep. I NEED 8 hours of sleep to not feel tired. I LIKE to have more. That ain't happening. We are getting up at 6 a.m. Well except for yesterday when I forgot to turn my alarm on. I slept til 7:30. I'm sure you must feel how upset I was by that. If I sit still too long I tend to fall asleep. I keep telling myself I just need to get used to the schedule. Oh man how I wish my belly would let me have caffeine!!!
I tried a new breakfast recipe. Refrigerator Oatmeal (Summer Porridge) I'm still trying out all the various flavors. I found chia seeds on Amazon. I wonder if I could have gotten it at my local mom and pop health food store. It's so far away, I didn't even try. This stuff is delicious! The first flavor we tried was a variation of the Blueberry Maple. We don't have any maple syrup in the house so I used honey. Most everyone liked it. Not all loved it though. I had one kid that ate around the blueberries and another that ate only blueberries. Once I did a little grocery shopping I made the recipe again. I made Blueberry and Honey again for my oldest and his dad. They are some that really liked it the first time. Then, I made some of the other kids peanut butter banana. They loved this flavor! They actually said that. "I love this stuff!" I had banana cocoa. That one was very yummy. Maybe my favorite. There are so many different flavor combinations though, that I'm going to keep trying them until I find my favorites. I think apple cinnamon is next!
Our meatless meal was veggie spaghetti....again. This time I put squash and canned beans in the sauce. It was just okay. Maybe it's that we're all getting tired of veggie spaghetti. I've got to scour the internet for new veggie recipes. The same thing over and over is getting old. I really want a gumbo though. If only this weather would cool off!
I had been having a great run with my IBS. No symptoms since I changed my probiotic. Then, last weekend I went to my sister-in-law's baby shower. There was lots of rich food there. That was Saturday. Sunday, I almost died. Not really, but man I was sick. I know better, but I said "it's fine." It was not fine. I wonder if I'll ever be able to control my impulse to eat things that will hurt me. There was one thing there though, that I would love to make myself. It was a puff pastry filled with orange creme and topped with fresh fruit. I ate one. I wanted to eat them ALL! I hear my husband's aunt has this recipe. My mother in law keeps her recipe cards close to her vest, so I might have to see if I can get the recipe for these from Auntie....They really are so very good!
I've been faithfully going to the gym twice a week while my husband plays zookeeper. I haven't counted calories, but have tried to make wise choices (except for Saturday). My reward? I've lost about 10 pounds. This makes me happy. Not that I care what I look like altogether too much, but I know it means I'll be that much healthier. And next year when the doctor looks at me and says "are you exercising?" I can say, "why yes I am!"
Thursday, August 9, 2012
Lentils.....and Yogurt
But not together! This week our meatless meal was lentils and rice. Dad was out of town and we invited Grandma over for dinner. She liked my lentils. I'm so proud! :) All the children, even the newest additions were all about eating some rice and "beans" the littles don't exactly get what a lentil is but when I said "bean" their little Cajun hearts leapt with joy!
Lentils were not my shining culinary moment this week though. I made Greek yogurt.....in my slow cooker! I came across a recipe and "pinned" it. The recipe was simple and effective! I was so happy that I MADE organic Greek yogurt for much less than I would have paid to buy it.
Yesterday the children had a yummy breakfast of silver dollar pancakes and fruit. They dipped it all in home made yogurt sweetened with a little bit of local honey. I felt so wholesome while I watched them chow down as I sipped on my fancy smoothie made of bananas, soy milk and dates.
Soon I'll be experimenting with another "pinned" recipe for "Summer Porridge". I'm excited to try it. I wonder if the kids will like it. Stay tuned...
I'm still going to the gym regularly, which is a miracle from God only made possible by my husband's insistence that I get away. I take a class that gives me some toning exercises since I've overcome the weirdness of going to a class. I have NOT overcome the weirdness of standing in the gym and reading the sticker that shows how to use the machine...so class it is. My favorite part though is biking. Weird. My in-laws cycle and I'm always making fun of them and their long bike rides. Here I am though on a stationary bike going 12, 13, 14 miles and enjoying it! I wonder if I'd go farther if I hadn't just gotten out of a one hour exercise class. I still don't see myself ever getting into a pair of those ridiculously tight padded shorts....
Lentils were not my shining culinary moment this week though. I made Greek yogurt.....in my slow cooker! I came across a recipe and "pinned" it. The recipe was simple and effective! I was so happy that I MADE organic Greek yogurt for much less than I would have paid to buy it.
Yesterday the children had a yummy breakfast of silver dollar pancakes and fruit. They dipped it all in home made yogurt sweetened with a little bit of local honey. I felt so wholesome while I watched them chow down as I sipped on my fancy smoothie made of bananas, soy milk and dates.
Soon I'll be experimenting with another "pinned" recipe for "Summer Porridge". I'm excited to try it. I wonder if the kids will like it. Stay tuned...
I'm still going to the gym regularly, which is a miracle from God only made possible by my husband's insistence that I get away. I take a class that gives me some toning exercises since I've overcome the weirdness of going to a class. I have NOT overcome the weirdness of standing in the gym and reading the sticker that shows how to use the machine...so class it is. My favorite part though is biking. Weird. My in-laws cycle and I'm always making fun of them and their long bike rides. Here I am though on a stationary bike going 12, 13, 14 miles and enjoying it! I wonder if I'd go farther if I hadn't just gotten out of a one hour exercise class. I still don't see myself ever getting into a pair of those ridiculously tight padded shorts....
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