Thinking "Outside of the Box" Inside of the Kitchen

Grayson, Zeke and I have spent the past 5 weeks with my parents in their "off-grid" home in the magnificent Ozark mountains. A couple of weeks ago I wrote in my first "off-grid" post that dad and mom have been treating us to some great food here in the Ozarks, not only in their own kitchen, but also out and about the mountains and city. One of my (and Zeke's) favorite stops has been a local bakery that leaves you speechless as you walk in to bright displays of beautiful cakes, cookies, doughnuts, petite fours, cupcakes, and even a great coffee bar! Well, okay--it left me speechless. Zeke, on the other hand, let out a great, loud squeal and ran full-speed toward the display of brightly-iced cookies. The first time we stopped, I asked him to pick out what cookie he would like. I must have mistaken the direction of his finger point, because when I asked the worker behind the display for a chocolate chip, and she began to pull back the tray, he made his frantic displeasure known. I quickly asked instead for one of the bright M&M cookies on the next tray over. This sufficed and made for one happy little boy!

My choice of birthday cake from the bakery:  Raspberry Chocolate Ganache!

Zeke's choice of treat for my birthday

Before we embarked on this grand adventure, I found myself wondering what exactly cooking would look like without electricity or running water. My mind flashed back to images of growing up, sitting around a camp fire roasting hot dogs, or cooking boxed mac n cheese over our small propane camp stove. Although nostalgic, and fitting for a camp setting, I was a little less than enthusiastic about "camp cooking" for five weeks.

I found that my expectations of my parent's kitchen were a little low. It took me a couple days of careful observation of how they run the kitchen, but by week two I found myself capable of lending a hand washing dishes and preparing a meal from time to time. It turns out that my parent's kitchen is fully capable of cooking a meal much like we would at home. Although I have realized that I would most definitely need running water of some sort to continue the standard of cooking to which I've set myself. Other than that small detail, cooking "off-the-grid" is not difficult in the least!

One thing I've come to respect about my parent's way of life is their resourcefulness. They have set themselves up a very comfortable and convenient life, proving you can do so without the help of the electrical grid and water line. How this looks in the kitchen can be seen in my mom's cupboard full of her own canned meats, and the meals she conjures up with what's on hand. They are a bit of a drive from the nearest grocery store, and quite a drive from the nearest city with, what I could consider, an adequate grocery store. This would be one of my biggest challenges, as the bulk of our groceries at home are fresh produce, which must be bought every few days in order to keep fresh ingredients on hand. My mom has proven herself extremely resourceful in feeding all five of us with what's already in the house. I will admit that a few of her meals I held some great skepticism over as she set them on the table. However, with the exception of just one meal, I have been quite impressed by both the creativity and taste of what she's come up with.  (we won't go into the details of the re-hydrated potato, canned ham and cheese powder sauce "potato au' gratin"...)

My parent's resourcefulness is one trait that I like to believe has been ingrained into me, by their example, while growing up. Dad and mom always put a great emphasis on problem solving. I can see now how resourcefulness is a vital key in problem solving. Often times in order to solve a problem, you need a certain tool. If you don't have that tool, you must consider all that you do have on hand, and find a way to use that which you do have to solve your problem. This take creativity and ingenuity, as well as "thinking outside the box", which is something my dad always taught us and encouraged us to do.

Resourcefulness looks a little different in my kitchen back home. I do have running water, electricity, and several adequate grocery stores (stocked with an array of fresh produce), within 5 miles. When Grayson and I began this journey of wholesome eating last year, one of our goals was to waste less, in other words, to be resourceful with the money we have and the food we buy with it. I was concerned that increasing our intake of fresh produce would also increase our waste. That is, after all, one excuse some people use for not eating fresh produce:  they end up throwing so much away! I find this excuse pathetic, to be blunt. If you learn to properly cook vegetables how you and your family enjoy them, you will be eager to fix them up and enjoy them before they spoil. If you set a grocery budget and are conscious of your spending, you'll use what you buy in order to get the most of your money. Along with that, if you are buying quality produce, you'll respect the product itself (think Farmer's Market), and be careful to not let any of those great ingredients end up in the trash can.

I was very surprised by how little we waste with our new way of eating. In fact, we waste even less than before we began a diet rich in fresh produce! This is due mostly to the reasons listed above. We respect the ingredients. We are conscious of our spending and stewardship of money. And, apart from the occasional "flop" meal, we thoroughly enjoy what we are cooking with all of this produce! How have we practically avoided and reduced food waste? For one, we are intentional about what we buy. I usually plan about half of our dinners for the week, so I know what I need when I'm at the store. I only buy what I need for those meals. One trick I have found is to utilize the self-serve salad bars that are popping up in many markets. If I need, for instance, just a handful of cherry tomatoes, I'll grab them from the salad line, that way I can get exactly the amount we need, and none goes to waste. I've actually found I can buy our organic spinach, which we go through a lot of, by weight at the salad bar for half the price than pre-packaged!

Along with meal planning, there must also be room for flexibility and creativity. I only plan half of our dinners because I like to leave room for coming up with meals when inspiration strikes. When at the market, and particularly at the farmers market, if I find something that simply appeals to me on attraction, I'll usually grab it knowing it will inspire some meal throughout the week. This inevitably leads to "unclaimed" produce in the house which I have the responsibility then of utilizing in a creative, delicious meal. Often times I'll take stock of what produce I have on hand in the morning, and consult the internet for a recipe, or combination of recipes, to inspire dinner for that evening.

In short, try planning about half your meals and creating a shopping list accordingly. If you only need one tomato, buy only one tomato. It's not against the rules to break apart those pretty "on-the-vine" tomato clusters! Beyond your planned meals, leave room for some spontaneous meals, and keep staple items (whole grains such as rice, couscous, and barley) on hand. Buy some exciting produce you know you'll be eager to use along with those on-hand staple items in your pantry.

This orzo skillet with corn, cherry tomatoes, and green onions is one of the first meals I attempted while cooking off-grid. Of course, once I had prepared the meal, I did realize that cooking this meal off-grid, with the exception of unlimited water, is just as easy as cooking it at home. This recipe originally comes from Everyday Food magazine (my favorite culinary magazine). I adjusted the vegetables called for in the recipe. I also swapped out the called-for shrimp for grilled chicken. It's a very versatile, simple, and delicious side dish to serve on it's own, or alongside any protein.

Orzo Skillet with Corn, Cherry Tomatoes and Green Onions 

2 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil
6 cloves garlic, minced
2-3 cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
   (or grape tomatoes, halved)
2 cups frozen corn
1 bunch green onions, chopped and divided in half
sea salt and pepper
3/4 pound dry orzo
3 1/4 cups all-natural or organic chicken broth

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, with rack in top position. In a large broilerproof skillet (I used cast iron), heat olive oil over medium. Add garlic and cook until just beginning to brown, 1 minute. Increase heat to medium-high and add tomatoes and half of green onions; season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomatoes are softened, 6 minutes. Add orzo, corn, and broth and bring to a simmer. Cover with tinfoil, transfer to oven, and bake until liquid is mostly absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes. Top with remaining green onions.

Cookie Crumb Face

First-Trimester Hiatus Blog 2: "Onions, hormones, and soup...."

First-Trimester Hiatus Blog 2:  "Onions, hormones, and soup...."
Blog Written at 10 Weeks pregnant, November 5, 2012


The onset of hormones and related nausea make for a quick transition from home-cooked meals every night, to no dinner on the table. Needless to say, we've had a lack of meals from scratch lately. I've managed the occasional home made pizza or simple casserole, only to deem the act of cooking worthy enough an effort to warrant dining out the next evening.

One day at around 6 weeks pregnant, I found myself determined to have a good meal awaiting Grayson when he got home from work. I concocted a plan. I would cook in the afternoon, when I wasn't feeling quite as queezy, then let it sit in the crock pot until Gray got home. I even executed the plan! When Zeke went down for his nap, I began washing and chopping potatoes and leeks. It was simple enough, with minimum preparation I sauteed the leeks in a little bit of butter, salt and pepper. To this I added vegetable broth, the potatoes, and some more seasoning. I allowed the soup to cook through for 20 minutes, then I scooped half out, pureed it in the blender, then mixed it back into the pan, creating a finished Potato and Leek Soup (made without cream, but super creamy and delicious--or so Grayson says it was) Into the crock pot I poured it. Dinner was made! I felt quite accomplished for about a half hour, that is, until the usual lovely-but-now-stomach-turning aroma began to waft through the house. Four more hours until Grayson arrived home, meaning at least four more hours of sitting in this house filled with foodie smells. By the time Gray got home and we sat down to enjoy the soup, I wanted nothing to do with it. It's marvelous stench wafting through the house had completely turned me off to the soup. I managed four small bites and then ordered a pizza.

Grayson had a couple of rain days this week, and by his last day he was feeling slightly in a rut from not working. It's funny how a trip to the grocery store and some time in the kitchen can aid this man's ruts. Clam chowder was on his mind. It was definitely not on mine, but hey, whatever to make the man happy! And so he perused through the market and selected his ingredients. Clams, carrots, celery, red wine vinegar  and half and half. Returning home I opted for something quick to fill my sick belly, but Grayson set to work in the kitchen. As usual, his first step in cooking was to consult the internet. He watched three videos on how to make a proper clam chowder. He spent the next hour bent over the counter chopping and preparing his ingredients. He chopped a rather potent (fresh) onion from the farmers market. One onion was enough to send me to tears even in the next room over. However, it could have been the combination of onion juice along with my hormonal self watching Parenthood on Netflix. Indeed, onions and hormones are enough to send any pregnant woman into tears over a sitcom.

As Grayson cooked, I avoided the usually alluring smells from the kitchen, but he found me and commented that, "Cooking makes me feel so much better about life!" His comment made me stop and appreciate what we've been able to accomplish over the past months of eating real food. We've always enjoyed cooking, but throughout this journey we've been pushed and stretched in learning new techniques, and how to properly prepare foods that we'd never even brought into our kitchen before this all began. With the learning curve has also come a great appreciation for cooking. Some days it is indeed a chore, and some days require more time and energy than others, but overall we've found a great joy and creative outlet in the kitchen. Grayson's comment also made me very glad to have my man chef back, even if I wouldn't be enjoying his delicious soup. Unfortunate, too, because there is now a huge pot-- 8 servings to be exact-- of clam chowder sitting atop our stove. I keep telling myself, and I know it is true, this is just for a time.  There are seasons to life, and even some passions might require a break for certain seasons. This is such a tiny sacrifice, anyways--giving up for a time the joy of cooking and enjoying food--to bring this little precious life into the world next May. And I take comfort knowing that in just a short time I will again be able to share great food with my family around our dinner table, and that the dinner table will have one more chair around it.

Escaping the Rut of What We Know

I just devoured one of the greatest meals I have ever had set before me. Truly I would dare to rate this plate of food in the top five dishes I have ever eaten. Unfortunately, I failed to take a photograph of this delectable concoction before I tore it to pieces and thoroughly finished off the entire massive plate-- and so I will do my best to illustrate with this 5-minute sketch:

Okay...so maybe that illustration took me closer to 10 minutes to create, and it may not bid due justice to the brilliance of my brunch, but maybe I can fill the void with a written description. First, begin with a buckwheat crepe of massive proportion. Fill the crepe to overflowing with a great array of fresh, roasted vegetables, including orange cherry tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, zucchini, and yellow squash. Pour over your crepe a well-executed homemade hollandaise sauce. Top your masterpiece with a farm-fresh egg cooked over medium (so that the brilliant, creamy, yellow goodness will pour over your creation when prodded with fork). Crown with two additional spears of asparagus. Serve alongside a fresh salad of spring greens and arugula, garnished with a creamy ricotta dressing. Brunch is served! I discovered this take on Eggs Benedict Crepe-style at a nifty little coffee shop in a college town while Grayson and I had a most-appreciated no-baby date-day. My mom and dad are watching Zeke for us as we explore, sip coffee, process life, and eat delicious food together.

My parents recently moved to the Ozark mountains to pursue their dream of, well, living in the mountains and enjoying life together! This is Gray and my first time down to visit (first of many, I'm sure!), and we are thoroughly enjoying our time in the Ozarks. Fortunately, my parents also enjoy a plate of good food, and we've been eating plenty of it while here! We're approaching week three of our month-long-stay, and here are just some of the delicious foods we've tried: Real southern BBQ, southern chicken, some of the best macaroni and cheese I've ever tasted (Zeke was a huge fan!), fried okra, real small-town breakfast including biscuits and gravy from scratch, very authentic Mexican cooking, local elk, wild razorback hog, and plenty of scrumptious peach and blackberry cobbler!

Now, let me add my disclaimer here:  I claim my blog to be one focused around real, wholesome cooking and eating--that which benefits our bodies and health. So what place does biscuits, gravy, and cobbler have here in my real-food blog? Well, as explained in one of my "First-Trimester Hiatus" blog posts, there is a "time for everything"! This month while we visit my parents, we are, to a degree, simply resolving ourselves to enjoy good food and pursuing the experience of food in another culture! (Although I am currently planning our "detox" diet for when we return home) You see, Grayson and I are very intrigued by the culture of food. Let me explain by taking you to a small little "dive" buried deep in a valley in a tiny little town nestled in the mountains.

Mom and Dad had heard great reviews of this small-town cafe, and so we set off on an all-morning adventure to drive a couple of hours and explore this notorious joint.

Now, when we pulled up into the almost-packed parking lot, and set sight on this trailer-like restaurant, I stepped out of the truck with slight skepticism. Grayson always says that a packed parking lot is a sure sign of a great restaurant. However, even the lack of empty parking spaces did little to ease my apprehension. When we stepped inside, I quickly took inventory and began my cross-examination of the place. I know I should learn by now to hold judgement until I can judge by way of taste, but still I couldn't help but notice the small room to the right with two household freezers, the sketchy buffet table boasting a small bowl of iceberg lettuce, a well-picked-over tray of olives and who knows what else was on it, a banana pudding and a plate of oreo-like pie.

We found our seats at a table situated between another table of older woman sipping coffee on one side of us, and on the other a space heater plugged into a wall adorned with sports paraphernalia and mismatched antique photographs--and dust. A kind, plump waitress, who we would soon discover to be the owner, approached our table and asked us in a southern accent if we'd like to order something off the menu, or try the buffet. "Fried chicken on the buffet today!" she exclaimed, pride lacing her drawn-out accent. Although I'm no fan of fried chicken, I opted for the buffet for ease of decision. I grabbed a plate off a pile of mismatched ceramic and plastic dishware and embarked upon the lunch buffet line. Corn, baked beans, fried chicken, some sort of substance--gravy, perhaps? And about 4 empty containers hinting at some fried side dish and mashed potatoes. It seemed to be a "first come first serve" sort of buffet, and we had not been first. The owner had kindly explained that the buffet included "...anything you can find lying around! Just don't wander too far back, or we'll have you washing dishes!" And so I began my search for additional goods to fill my plate. To the left was a side table with a pan of dinner rolls, and flat corn bread pancake sort-of-things, and a couple more picked-over desserts. I took a roll.

Now, my husband has taught me well, and I should have known better than to allow such pessimism to creep in before I set bite into the food because, let me tell you, it was good! It just goes to show that good food is found in unlikely dives. With each bite I began to realize the authenticity of this small little place. The women next to us sipping their coffee had now pulled out a game of sequence, surely this was how they spent their mornings. The owner's family had arrived and she had sat down to catch up with them. She had earlier explained to us that she, her aunt, and her mother ran the place and did all of the cooking. I'd guess this place to be the sort of restaurant where a woman simply found her house full of friends drawn to her great southern cooking, and decided to make a living out of it by slapping a "cafe" sign out front and setting up a few extra tables inside.

Let this cafe be a reminder to me to be more optimistic and embracing of culture in my food endeavors. For little did it matter that the womens room was located through another door outside, and was adorned with fake flowers in a plastic basket resting in a urinal, or that a posse of cats outside the kitchen door were feasting on leftover chicken bones. This place had character! And character is a necessary ingredient for good food.

We also got to experience the Ozark's offering of local food culture at a winters farmers market. Although small, I was quite impressed by the vendors offering local pork, lamb, chicken, beef and sausages, along with fresh chicken and duck eggs, winter produce, bakery and crafts. Ezekiel ran from vendor to vendor, and settled down with dad in front of a woman who spent her days carving wooden spoons. Although not my idea of retirement, she was quite interesting and her spoons-- a work of art. We left with a basket of fresh apples, along with some strudel, a pecan pie, and amazing ginger cookies. Farmers markets being right up my alley, I really enjoyed strolling through the small tent and taking in the offering of local culture and handiwork.

 Sometimes we can get stuck in a rut of returning always to what we know. Out of ignorance, or simple hunger, we resort back to what we know is familiar. This morning as I stood in line at the little crepe coffee shop waiting for a refill on my (delicious) sport tea, I overheard a young boy of about 13 complaining to his mom as he looked over the drink menu that they did not have a "Frappuccino". He lamented to his mom that, "They have to have a Starbucks around here..." They set down the menu and walked out. He sought a label--the "Frappuccino" he knew--and that blinded him to trying something new. I ached a little for them, knowing they were missing out on a great taste of local coffee and culture.

I would feel comfortable claiming that food is 50% taste and 50% culture, and that if we never step outside of what we know, we will only enjoy a mere 50%, at most, of what food has to offer. This would be why Grayson and I rarely find ourselves inside of a chain or franchise restaurant. We enjoy far too much the adventure and discovery of food prepared with thought towards ingredients, composure, and the resulting flavor. For a young family on a tight budget, when we go out to eat we want it to count. We seek not only a full belly, but memories to coincide with where and what we ordered. I would scarcely remember a dish served to me at a mediocre chain restaurant. However, the inspiring plate of food I was served this morning while sitting with my husband in a small coffee shop-- that plate I will remember, equating it with creativity and deliciousness, and pairing it alongside a memory of fond time spent with my hubby. Food is not solely substance, not solely flavor, but culture, inspiration, and memories.

First-Trimester Hiatus Blog 1: A bump in the Belly, a Bump in our Plan to Better Eating...

As promised, from time to time I will post a blog I wrote during my first trimester of this pregnancy. My hope is that these posts may both cause a laugh and give a little insight into how to handle life when circumstances call for us to make allowances, for a time, in our goals and plans. This was my first blog written during my 3-month hiatus from cooking.

First-Trimester Hiatus Blog 1:  "A bump in the Belly, a Bump in our Plan to Better Eating..."
Blog Written at 8 Weeks pregnant, October 22, 2012

My poor husband may suffer through this first trimester a little more than I will. Well, okay, I take that back as I veg out on the sofa, deemed useless by nausea and exhaustion. However, he will suffer this first trimester more than he did during my first trimester of pregnancy with Ezekiel. With Zeke, the early weeks of my pregnancy brought about a strong aversion to anything fresh--fruits or vegetables. This really wasn't big deal because there wasn't much of that matter in our diet anyways. The early weeks also brought a strong inclination to processed foods. Again, this was no big ordeal, as we were accustomed to our occasional frozen pizza or Mac N Cheese dinner. These would now simply become a more prevalent staple on our dinner menu for a while.

Zeke may have to take over some of the responsibilities in the kitchen for a while...

However, between my last and present pregnancy, much transition and growth has taken place in our way of eating. Now frozen pizza is archaic, lost in our minds as a past time of old, a mistake, an error in our previous judgment of what food is. Instead our meals are filled with fresh vegetables and tasty whole grains. Grayson has grown quite fond of wholesome, delicious homemade meals on the dinner table virtually every night of the week.

And so, going into this pregnancy, I resolved to continue our current way of eating. It has become such a primary importance and priority in my life to feed my family well, to fuel them up for their days with energizing food, to bring them around a table of good conversation centered around delicious food. I couldn't give this all up, not after all of our work, progress, and growth.

Zeke doesn't always want to eat his veggies either...

And so we set out, as ritual on Saturday mornings, to the Farmers Market. As we strolled along, Grayson commented on the great array of colors and variety of produce that week. I was just approaching my 7th week of pregnancy. My normal feelings of excitement and adventure surrounding the possibilities of new and unfamiliar produce was now replaced by a queezy unsteadiness in my stomach. I just wanted to get in and get out before the once beautiful produce turned my breakfast of carbs in my stomach enough to expel them in front of one of the vendors....

Instead of our usual overflowing stroller packed with fresh veggies, we left the market that day with some potatoes, cranberries, and decorative gourds (oh, and cookies!). The potatoes and cranberries still stand untouched on my hutch a week and a half later. For a first of the season, we didn't even visit the market this week.

And so, Grayson, so accustomed to delicious meals at the end of his work day, now comes home to a wife laying on the couch, water and crackers on hand; a wife who has no desire, and in fact a strong aversion to step foot in the kitchen.

Staying active during early pregnancy

It has been a blow to my confidence, yes, but humbling all the same. I set out this first trimester telling myself, "We need a plan." I thought that maybe if I just forced myself to cook despite my nausea, or maybe if Gray cooked a few nights a week, or maybe if I could focus on what I could stomach and only cook those meals, we could press on. However, I've come to see that I need to focus less on the "how" we will go about this, and more on the "why". Why have I been so adamant on continuing just as strong as I have been in cooking and seeking better nutrition for my family? Part of it was pride, my avoidance to admit a weakness, that I simply cannot handle as much responsibility in the kitchen while I'm growing a little being in my belly. Especially to admit, here, to my readers, that  there have to be allowances in our diet for times such as these.

I kept focusing on the plan, the how of making this work for the next few months, when all the while I was ignoring the why. Why, in the first place, did we begin this journey? We did it to better the health of our family, to set our children up with a healthy understanding of food, and how God designed to bless us through it. We did this to protect our family from disease and harm. I realize, now, that all the stress over "how" to cook well while pregnant is more damaging to my baby than a grilled cheese sandwich from Culvers. The stress is what I must avoid. We set out on this venture to learn. A new challenge always presents opportunity for further education and a deeper knowledge. That's just what I must see this as. Yes, a bump in the road, but one I must see as an opportunity to learn and grow even further in our venture of good health. I take it day by day. On good days I take advantage of the opportunity to cook, even if not the healthiest of meals, it's still cooked in our kitchen by my hands. On days I find myself comatose on the couch watching Netflix for a lack of ability to do anything else, those days we will reserve for pizza (takeout--we draw the line at frozen pizza, now), or Chinese. It's give and take, but not so much stressful anymore. I recognize my limits and embrace them, as this is a time of rest, a precious time of nurturing this child within me.

The Marriage of Beef Bacon and Marshmallows - A Tribute to Mike

Mmmmmm, the rich fragrance of gooey, smouldering, sizzling,  and eventually flaming cheese-like substance wrapped so delicately in plastic--or maybe that's the "cheese" itself--searing ever so elegantly atop the grill. Two years ago the waft of this aroma sent my stomach turning. Fortunately, this year I was further along in my pregnancy--12 weeks instead of 5--allowing me to partake whole-heartily in my family's annual "Cheese Races", no nausea sending me to the bench!

 

Cheese Races, simply put, is a double elimination competition in which two contestants participate at a time. At the count of 3, each contestant throws their piece of cheese ("cheese" is debatable here, as the four choices in "cheese" all consist of individually-wrapped cheese impersonators, a.k.a American cheese). When both pieces of cheese land in their strategically-chosen destinations atop the grill, contestants cheer on their brave little cheese to see who's will inflate (yes...inflate), and lift all four corners of plastic off the grill grates first, proclaiming that round's winner.

Held back by no nausea this year, I took championship cheese racer status! Along with an extravagant trophy!

Cheese Races are just one of my family's quirky yet brilliant traditions we have adopted over the past years, integrated into our week-long celebration of Thanksgiving, otherwise known in my family as "Turkey Pallooza".

Now I know, we're about a week out from Christmas and I am just now making my Thanksgiving post, what's with that? Well, with this little being growing inside of me and concurrently embezzling all of my energy, everything around here gets accomplished a bit slower these days. Well, except for entering rooms. Thanks to my ever-expanding babybump I now enter the threshold of rooms a nano-second quicker than the rest of my body. Now that's productivity!



Grayson adds an addition mystery ingredient, cheetos.

Another one of my family's Turkey Palooza traditions is the ever-famous cooking competition. This contest is based off of the BravoTV television series, Top Chef. A couple of days before the competition, each contestant pulls a plastic knife out of our styrofoam knife block. Each knife has written upon it a mystery ingredient. These ingredients range from quite useful with a little bit of creativity, to downright awful. This year's lot fared well, leaving me with a pomegranate-raspberry vinaigrette. However, upon opening the bottle I wondered how well I had actually fared, finding my vinaigrette a bit ripe--fermented, in fact. That was a tad too far for a "mystery" ingredient; I was allowed to replace my vinaigrette with a fresh bottle form the supermarket. Other mystery ingredients included marshmallows, tikka masala curry sauce, meatless chili beans, wasabi peas, and brie cheese, to name a few.

 

Zeke helps Grandpa mix ingredients

After receiving our mystery ingredients, we again pull knives, this time to discover a number written on them. Proteins are then revealed to us to choose according to our number pulled. Some of this year's proteins included veal breast (which I chose), beef bacon, ground lamb, and frozen breaded corn dogs--again, some desirable, some not so much. It's always interesting, and a bit frightening, to observe which proteins get paired with which mystery ingredients. This year's strangest pairing would have to be my brother-in-law Mike's fare with marshmallows and beef bacon.

We then have a day to research, make a meal plan and purchase any additional ingredients we may need. On Saturday we have meal time and judging set for 4:00pm. There is usually a slow hum in the kitchen all day long, but at about 2:00pm, things begin to buzz as competitors grasp, wrestle and grapple for available pots, pans, tools and stove burners.

My mom was the wisest one in this arena, as she obtained a small electric burner and set-up kitchen camp in a back hallway, staying clear of the chaos and confusion in the main kitchen. Although, she did look a bit suspicious in the dimly-lit stairway cooking, well, who knew what!

What most concerned me this year during the competition was the fact that Mike, who had ended up with marshmallows and beef bacon, had completed the preparation AND cooking of his meal the night before. As each of us rushed around and pushed our way through the frantic kitchen on Saturday, Mike sat and enjoyed some beer, his meal long accomplished. It wasn't his efficiency that scared me, it was the idea of a secret dish comprised of beef bacon and marshmallow hidden somewhere within the house, requiring no refrigeration or heating before being served. Sick.

The action intensifies as 2:00pm rolls around. Andi almost sets her hot oil on fire. A recap of her oil fire from a couple of years ago during the same competition...

Now Gray gets some kitchen tips from Zeke

Ian prepares an array of veggies for his Chicken Fried Rice with Wasabi Peas Two Ways

Dad re-hydrates his frozen breaded corn dogs....spreading a bit of concern throughout the kitchen...

The past two years I have had to plan more strategically for my cooking time in the competition, in order to assure no needy toddler (wonderful as he is) at my feet as I readied my ingredients and hustled around the workspace. And so I very carefully planned Ezekiel's nap time for 1:30, when I could begin prepping my veal breast to slow-cook in white wine. After rubbing the veal in salt, pepper, and a savory spice mix, I browned it in its own fat trimmings (hey, all wholesome eating is off for this competition!). I then slow-cooked the roast for about a hour in white wine. I was pleasantly surprised, as I had never before attempted to cook veal, to find it quite tender once finished. I wrapped the roast in tinfoil and set it aside, and then began to cook down the white wine and veal juices, adding my pomegranate vinaigrette to make a new dressing all my own. With 5 minutes left on the clock, I sliced my veal roast, laid it atop a bed of fresh spring mix, and topped it with some smoked Gouda cheese, fresh pomegranate pearls, and my pomegranate-infused dressing. Beautiful, and done on time!

With all creations spread across the table, our bellies grumbled in anticipation, and possibly some apprehension, at the plates set before us. Each contestant received a scoring sheet, with which we would rate each competitors dish on a number scale according to overall flavor, creativity of mystery ingredients, and presentation (which included an oral explanation of the dish)

No one left the table hungry, which is a good sign that most of the food was indeed edible. Actually, it ends up I come from a family of very creative chefs. Each year I am impressed by the display of artistry and ingenuity displayed in how each person utilizes their ingredients into a surprising and, most of the time, pleasant dish!

Just some of this year's completed dishes included: Fried ravioli with meat sauce dipped in Baked Brie, Lamb burgers with a spicy Tiki Massala Curry Sauce, Chili with Fried Gnocchi Fritters, and Inside-Out Fried Dumplings.

Sadly, the Lynums did not place in the top rankings this year. I blame it on my rusty cooking skills due to the pregnancy and not having touched a pot or pan in the weeks leading up to this great competition. Grayson and I indeed ended up on the bottom half of the ranks. There's always next year--and I'll be ready!

More surprising, however, was that Mike with his pre-prepared beef bacon and marshmallow concoction claimed first place! And it was the first-ever attempt in our cooking competition history at a dessert! It may have been the pregnancy, but the bacon-hot sauce-infused fudge layered atop the rice crispy with chunks of beef bacon bits, all topped off with a toasted marshmallow left me picking left overs from others' plates.

The traditions lend their necessary fun and nostalgia to our Thanksgiving celebration, and year after year we are building a legacy. A legacy of family. My parents first decided to make Thanksgiving so big and extravagant so that this holiday could be our family holiday--one to come together and simply enjoy one another, enabling us without any guilt to go then and enjoy Christmas with our other families. It's their gift to us. Yes, a gift that I'm sure digs a bit of a hole in their pockets around November, but one they freely and eagerly give to see their family blessed, to allow us to know one another even now that we are separated by miles. It allows me to look back and remember years past growing up, sitting around a table surrounded by those dearest to me, recalling to mind the innumerable blessings God has bestowed on us. Looking forward it gives me vision for my own family--to create memories, to invest time in those we love, to take every opportunity to know my kids, and inspire them to enjoy life.

Thanks mom and dad.

Ezekiel's Great-Grandpa reading him a story

Gram with her great-granddaughter, Hanna

Ian and Andi help mom begin baking her array of pies for Thanksgiving (She makes one for each person) 

Zeke hanging out with his second cousins who came to visit for a day

Beware of the Bread Thief

I realize I've had a slight hiatus in blogging. Trust me, it has not been specific to blogging. No, I fear this hiatus also enveloped my cooking, pursuit of good food, judgment of what good food is, and consumption of real food. What could cause such a detour in what seemed so strong--our pursuit of real food? This, I tell you!

14 Weeks!

Now, I determined, I even prayed, that with my next pregnancy I would continue strong in well-eating, for the sake of my health, the baby, and my family. However, by the time this little guy (yes--guy!) reached the size of a sesame seed deep within my abdomen, all bets were off. It's as if one morning I woke up, and takeout pizza reigned supreme! This was followed by a good month of a cuisine, if you could call it that, of takeout, dine in, or bagels. Without getting into all of the details (I have upcoming blog entries to entail those), at the end of 4 weeks of eating, well crap, my poor husband had had enough. Enough greasy sausage pizza, enough mediocre Chinese, enough evenings of coming home from work to no good food. Of course I was guilt ridden, and he did all he could to assure me it was not my fault, and it was only for a time, but something had to change

Slowly, surely, I took step by step back into the kitchen, toward the counter, then the cupboard, still avoiding the fridge knowing full well of the untouched, rotting produce leftover in the bottom shelves form our days of good food. Meal by meal I pushed myself. I found tricks. Make a simple casserole before noon (before my nausea would creep in), something I can pop in the oven while Grayson commutes home. I tried the slow cooker, but that ended up a big mistake come 3:00pm when stomach-turning fumes--I mean, delicious aromas of soup came wafting through the house. Grayson was thankful I'd cooked. I wanted to hurl.

Simple meal by simple meal I pressed on. Stuffed shells. Burrito pie. Tacos. I used be judgemental about those flashy cookbooks staring at innocent bystanders in Barnes in Nobles "Five ingredients or less!" "15-minute meals!". However, these I found in my first trimester were my refuge. If there were more than five ingredients, I would lessen the load by cheating. Canned enchilada sauce? Why not!? After all, it was better than takeout.

I knew from experience this illness would just be for a time. However, my question remained, how long a time? During my pregnancy with Ezekiel, I did get over the nausea around 12 weeks, but my standards of eating were different back then, and my return to food was characterized by many bagels, and ice cream every day. I feared the worst, that even after the sickness of this pregnancy subsided, I would remain unable to touch a vegetable until this child was born.

But then came my break--Thanksgiving vacation, or "Turkey Palooza", as it's known in my family (blog post to come)! Every year my parents rent a large house for all of our family to spend Thanksgiving week together, complete with wild, wacky traditions. I look forward to it all year, every year. And this year I had an additional anticipation for this week: a whole 7 days of other people cooking food, and no take out or restaurants! I did challenge myself and volunteered to cook a couple of meals throughout the week. Tuesday evening I prepared iron-skillet lemon, garlic, and dill chicken drumsticks, served alongside homemade potato and cheese pierogies. Saturday I had signed Gray and myself up to make everyone breakfast. We needed to use up leftover ingredients in the fridge, and so I slyly dropped the responsibility of breakfast in my blessed husband's lap by declaring "we" would make omelets. He makes the best omelets around, after all!

Our Thanksgiving vacation served as my transition back into real food. We've been home from vacation for four days now, and I am proud to announce I have made dinner three of those nights! Okay, last night resulted in a run to Noodles and Company, but it was an "off" day. This morning I played my usual game of "what sounds good, or edible, for dinner?" The first viable option to pop into my mind is what is on the dinner menu for that night. I rush to the store before I can change my mind, returning home with bags in hand--there's no turning back now! Today's winner was Chicken Saltimbocca. Someone gave me a recipe for this a couple of years back, and although I was highly impressed, the recipe has since sat in my cupboard untouched--until tonight. I've put a slight spin on the recipe, mostly due to ingredient variations and a lack of grocery funds, but this spin ended up a great success!

Chicken Saltimbocca is an Italian dish comprised of chicken breast cooked with veal or prosciutto and white wine. The original recipe I was given had this dish served over rice cooked in onions. My variation is a "Violet Rice", the name was deemed after I chose to use an "Imperial Blend" of white, purple, and Jasmine rice, resulting in a surprising, bright, almost obnoxious (but delicious), purple rice!


My next variation was my choice of meat. I did opt for the called for chicken breast. However, being at the end of our budget week, our allotted grocery allowance was running on change, and I couldn't bring myself to spend our last grocery dollars on a $5.99 package of 3oz of prosciutto. So, although I would recommend prosciutto for this dish, I found that some thick-cut Virginia ham made a much heftier but still suitable exchange for the prosciutto ham.

My final variation was my herb mix. The original recipe called for Herbes de Provence, which is usually a staple in my home, and I did indeed have some on hand. However, this particular container of Herbes de Provence I had brought home from the bulk section of a local market. I found it a little bit too coarse for my liking, and so I poured the lovely herbs into our coffee grinder. However, I must have gotten a little carried away with the grinder, because when I was finished the herb mix resembled a sort of "herb dust". It has remained untouched on my spice shelf since. And so for this recipe I opted for some "Fines Herbes" I had on hand. Fines Herbes is a lighter variation, I find, of Herbes de Provence, a little more delicate in nature, and ideal for eggs, fish, and chicken. Fines Herbes is a mixture of parsley, chives, tarragon, and chervil.

This is the "fanciest" dish I've prepared in the past 3 months, and pleasantly simple. I prepped the chicken and ham in the morning, so that shortly before Grayson arrived home I simply had to chop an onion, cook the rice, fry up the chicken, and mix the sauce--a total cooking time of about 30 minutes. I do realize this dish contains one little veggie (the onion), and the sauce is comprised of wine, sour cream and sugar. These facts would usually disqualify this dish from a veggie-full, real food pursuit dinner. However, I'm pregnant, and this is what the pregnant woman wanted, and it may have only had one veggie, but it had a veggie!

Sometimes our goals in life  acquire a relative facet to them. Circumstances force us to be flexible. We have to assess our original intent and purposes, and align them with new developments. For instance, I would have to admit that in the past 3 months we have compromised our standards of eating, and veered from our goals. However, I can choose to sit in guilt and wonder at the negative affects all of those poor food choices will have on this child and my family. Or, I can give myself some slack. I can be thankful that in the past 3 months my nausea was relatively mild, and that I was able to eat at all, taking in calories to help my baby thrive. I can choose to move on, embrace a new day, take it one step at a time and return to good eating as I'm able.

During my hiatus from good food, I have been working on several blog entries documenting this struggle of mind, will, and nausea. I plan to post these in the coming weeks in hopes of encouraging some other pregnant soul somewhere that 1. It's ok to eat pizza, for a time. And 2. You can return to good food after nausea! For those who have been pregnant, hopefully these posts will be a simple humorous relief, a look back on those fond mornings of crackers and ginger ale at the bedside. And for others, my hope is to provide a humorous tale, and a word of encouragement that a detour from your goal is not the end of the world. After all, in the little things of life there must be wiggle room, and in the big things of life, there must be grace.

Chicken Saltimbocca over Violet Rice

 

• 1 medium chopped onion
• 1 tbs real butter
• 1 cup uncooked purple rice blend
• (I used Imperial Jasmine Blend from world market)
• you can use good old white rice, or brown rice. Experiment, rice can be exciting
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 4 all-natural boneless chicken breasts
• 4 slices prosciutto ham, or regular ham
• "Herbs de Provence" mix (or "Fines Herbes")
• salt and pepper
• 3 Tbs extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1-2 Tbs sugar

• Saute onion in butter until tender. Add rice and saute for 2 minutes. Stir in broth, bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover, and simmer 15-20 minutes until rice is tender.
• Cut slit lengthwise in each chicken breast, fill with sliced ham. Rub some olive oil over chicken. Lightly salt and pepper, and sprinkle both sides with herb mixture.
• Be careful not to over-salt the chicken, as the ham will lend quite a bit of salt to the dish itself.
• Brown chicken in oil for 2-3 minutes per side. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook 8-10 minutes, or until juices run clear. Remove chicken and keep warm.
• Add the wine to the pan your chicken was in, scrape bottom to mix in all of the flavor. Bring wine to a boil, reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 3 minutes. Stir in sour cream, sugar, 1 tsp of your herb mixture, and a pinch of salt to taste
• Taste the sauce after each addition of sugar. This sauce is intended to be quite sweet, but can easily become overly-sweet
• Serve your chicken over a bed of rice, and drizzle with sauce

Enjoy this dish with some warm, fresh Italian bread. However, if you have a sneaky little bread thief in the house, beware he doesn't snatch the loaf before dinner....