Move Over Turkey!

It's Thanksgiving time again, and turkey is on everyone's mind. Oh, for the love of stuffing, what's a vegetarian family to do?

Well, for the first year of our marriage, we tried to keep it somewhat traditional and had tofurky with all the usual trimmings on the side. How was it, you ask? Um ... I think it's enough to say that we didn't do it again the next year. We were still eating some fish very rarely then, so for the next few years we made a special occasion of it with some small pieces of salmon. And then ...

(Dal with homemade cheese (paneer) and peas; homemade naan, apple salad, and the potatoes-with-gravy that I'd choose over the mashed kind any day)

... and then! One fateful year my husband decided to try cooking Indian food. It was an instant success, and that's what we've done every year since then. It's so much fun to cook, and it fills the house with the yummiest smells, and the kids roll up their sleeves and pitch in too - which means no one person is stuck in the kitchen all by his or her lonesome - and I love this tradition so much that even if the world turns upside-down and we go back to eating meat, I think we'd still make Indian food on Thanksgiving.

(Making the Naan, Thanksgiving 2008)

And so. For your reference and inspiration, here are some of our favorite books to get ideas and recipes from:

Truly, if you're going to try cooking a different cuisine - besides Mexican or Italian - Indian is the most fun and the easiest, I think, by far. I dare you to give it a try!

And for dessert, as long as we're being non-traditional, we've also abandoned pumpkin pie for this:


Which is my bunt-pan take on this cake, which I blogged on just about a year ago, right here.

A Praiseworthy Moment in Time

Just wanted to share a moment that inspired me, and maybe will inspire you too.

We took a page from SouleMama's book today and made a better effort to make dinner time special. Even if it was just pizza and orange juice!

Both of my tablecloths are special to me. Splurges, purchased at a store I can't afford anymore, they remind me of all the good friends we've had around our table in the 7 1/2 years we've been a family. Even if I never iron them anymore.

We have fancy napkin rings, which I do love to use. But these ones are extra special. My daughter and I made them last summer with a sturdy cardboard tube and extra paper from her birthday invitations.

Handmade flowers created by one of my dearest friends. A happy reminder that fresh-cut flowers are just around the corner!

By the way, tonight's spinach and olive pizza was a raging success! Neither of my kids picked off a single topping (they normally pull off everything and just eat bread and sauce). Definitely doing that again!

Defined Tastes

There are plenty of foods I could live without. Mushrooms, fish, shrimp, lobster, cream corn, artichokes, squeaky cheese, well all cheese except cheddar and mozzarella pretty much, lemon meringue pie, pie crust with sweet pie filling (I like it with savory things like chicken pot pie, but not sweet things), the list goes on. I can not think of any more at the moment, but I know there are more. I am probably considered a picky eater. I just consider myself defined in the food world. My son only likes carbs and protein. He is pretty defined in his food habits too. He is young, it can change.

My mother-in-law is a dietitian. She has a lot of ideas on how to get kids to eat new things. I have have been using them on myself too. Here is some advice if you or your child needs it.

1) If your child or you say you don't like it, keep serving it anyways. It takes 13 times before a child may actually try something.

2) A rule at our house is you are not aloud to say you don't like it unless you have tried it. So our kids have to taste one of everything at dinner. They don't have to eat it all, they just have to taste it. I have been doing this too. My husband has been proud when I will taste his fish or shrimp when we are out to eat. I am trying to grow my pallet.

3) Let your kids help in the kitchen. If they help make it, they are more enthusiastic to try it.

4) Don't let your child snack all day and then expect them to eat dinner. They will not be hungry. Don't give them snacks or juice in the hour before dinner.

5) Make food fun. Kids love to dip there food and they love there food in fun shapes. You can also serve many colors of food. Make it look appealing.

6) Turn of the TV during dinner. No books or newspapers at the table. Minimize the distractions around you. It is better for family meal time anyways.

7) Don't be a short order cook! This is the most important of all. If you make yourself dinner and your kids something else you are only making things worse. You are encouraging the behavior. Make dinner and give choices. If they are really picky you can offer one thing you know they will eat as a side dish, but don't offer them something else if they will not eat dinner. My kids go to bed hungry some nights, but I am not a short order cook. I think too many people fall into this habit. I have done it before. Your kids will pick up that dinner time is eating-what-is-offered not eating-what-I-want time. Eventually they will eat dinner by cutting out the rest of the fillers you give them when they won't eat.

So what do my kids love for dinners (my 4-year-old daughter is right here, these are her exact answers). Noodles, green beans, pancakes, chicken, beans, quesadilas, sour cream, mashed potatoes, carrots, etc... She is my awesome eater. We have to be careful while we are cutting up our green peppers because she will eat them all before they make it in the pan if we are not careful. The "picky" eater is a new thing for us with my youngest. He will come around, I know he will.

To share a recipe, we had this last night for dinner Fettuccine with Sweet Pepper Cayenne Sauce. The only difference was we added an onion and used gamelli pasta instead of fettuccine. My kids ate more then my husband and me combined. It was delicious!

Pairings

We live in wine country...and coffee country, two epicurean concoctions I know very little about. But considering many of my Catholic friends are giving them up for Lent, I'm assuming that for many people, they're difficult to live without. There are different beverages to pair with certain cuisines, and in case you didn't know, you never EVER drink wine from a box or coffee with crystals in it.

Anywho, onto something I do know about. And if I were observing Lent, you can bet it would be a huge sacrifice to give up this:

I'm somewhat of a sommelier for non-alcoholic libations. Wonder what beverage pairs best with Mexican food? Diet Coke. What about bbq? Why, lemonade of course. And pizza? Root beer or creme soda, unless you're in the Seattle area and you get your pizza here, in which case you MUST get this.

(rosemary lemonade)

But, the quintessential pairing that goes with EVERYTHING is milk. I buy 2 gallons each week, and we use it all up. We slurp it from our cereal bowls, gulp it from tall glasses, and whisk it up in our creamy scrambled eggs. Growing up, my dad's coworker had a few milk cows, and we regularly trekked to their house for giant 2-gallon glass jars of milk, and that was some of the best white heaven I've ever had. We skimmed the cream off the top and ladled it on top of waffles and strawberry jam. Don't knock it before you try it!

Of course, we must have milk with an occasionally cookie treat, although I'm not a dunker...I like to keep my milk white and free of "floaties." In honor of this classic duo, here's one of my new favorite recipes. It's a revision of one I grew up enjoying, healthy alterations courtesy of one of my big sisters, Gerilyn. You only need these 5 ingredients:

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 box cake mix (I used carrot cake, but you can also use spice cake or even gingerbread)

3 mashed ripe bananas

2/3 cup egg substitute (or 3 eggs)

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 cup chocolate chips

Combine all together and drop by teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 9-10 minutes. These are VERY moist, so when you put them away in a plastic tub or ziploc bag, I would recommend not shutting the lid or zip top tight. Recipe makes 4 dozen cookies, and I figured out the nutrition facts per cookie: 61 calories, 1 gram fat, less than 1 gram fiber, 1 gram protein.

One more favorite with milk:

Slow Cooker Rice Pudding

1 quart milk

1 cup sugar

1 cup long grain rice (not Minute)

1 teaspoon lemon flavoring

1 teaspoon nutmeg

pinch of salt

2 eggs

Combine milk, sugar, rice, lemon, nutmeg and salt in slow cooker. Cook on the lowest setting for 6-8 hours or until rice is tender. Beat eggs. Turn off slow cooker and fold in eggs. Stir thoroughly and let stand for 10 minutes. The heat from the rice will cook the eggs without scrambling them. Serve warm or cold with raisins, nuts and/or additional milk on top.

What's your favorite way to use milk?

Missing Meat, or Where's the Beef?

If all else fails, play with your food!

When people ask me about my decision to become a vegetarian, they will often remark that they couldn't possibly live without eating meat. In fact, I've been without meat for so long that I sometimes will forget that it's even out there. But I do appreciate the sentiment and how it makes me think about what foods I couldn't - or wouldn't want to - live without. And there are so many! Here are a few of my recent and classic favorites:

Perfect Protein Salad from the Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen. I always use frozen soybeans and have never made it with cottage cheese or tofu. Make a big batch and keep it in the fridge for quick, yummy lunch all week.

Moosewood Muffins are another favorite from the Moosewood folks. Have you not heard of the Moosewood Restaurant? Oh my goodness, I dream of eating there, their cookbooks are so fabulous. I love these muffins because they're simple and versatile. In fact, I just made a couple dozen (with peaches and pecans) to put in the freezer.

My daughter, as a rule, will not eat soup. Except when I make Colorful Corn Chowder. I use about half the corn (or less) than the recipe says to, though, and will sometimes add in some "real" potatoes.

While we haven't historically been big fans of tofu, it's been making a more frequent appearance at our house with Spicy Tofu Bento Bowl from Vegetarian Times magazine and Pastor Ryan's Tikka Masala (which we made with garbanzo beans and tofu instead of the chicken), both of which were instant hits.

And it just wouldn't be a favorites list without Spanakopita, which always reminds me of my mother even though I don't make it like she does; and Cincinnati Chili, which reminds me of my dad and I haven't had in forever because I haven't figured out a way to make it meatless and delicious at the same time. I think it's the only meat dish I really miss.

As for the grocery list, I simply cannot make macaroni and cheese without Beecher's Flagship cheese and Tim's Cascade Jalapeno potato chips (crumbled on top instead of bread crumbs). And there is a gaping hole in our pantry whenever we run out of Dilettante's Bittersweet Ephemere chocolate sauce. Heaven forbid we ever move away from the Pacific Northwest!

How about you?
What are your tried-and-true favorite foods?
Have you deleted something from your diet? How do you live without it?

Food for Thought

This morning, waking up with enough time to enjoy the quiet peaceful dawn break, I sat at my kitchen table thinking about and planning for my week ahead. 

I knew that I wanted it to be better then the last.

I wanted to keep the spirit of my uplifting weekend with me for as long as possible.

And that I was going to finally act on some reaccuring promtings I had been having.

There are actually a lot of foods that I would miss if they were to disapear from my home like this one

or my favorite grab and go snack

but nothing I couldn't really live without... unless of course you count my morning ritual of baked steel cut oats and some feasting on my favorite word. 

Recently I have thought a lot about Rachel's fun idea on rituals instead of routines and have discovered some of my favorite moments and some of my sweetest thoughts have come while doing this particular one:

I wake up early (before my kids need my attention and after I  have sent cute hubby off to work).

Then I turn on some sort of calm music.

I put something yummy in the oven just for me. 

Steel cut oats (not rolled).

Rinse and put in covered (ceramic) baking dish.

Cold water to cover by a scant inch.

Pinch salt.

Add a little vanilla or brown sugar.

Lid on.

400 degrees for 45 minutes, untouched. 

So yummy if dreid cranberries are added afterwards or almonds.

...and while I wait I read something old and something new.

So, here is my favorite way to study the gospel I believe in.

I love the words of the leaders of the church. I love how the scriptures are woven in and how they relate personally to me. So, I pick a talk...usually from general conference or one that has a specific topic or question to be answered and I begin to read. I highlight and I look for the little numbers indicating footnotes and scriptures I can turn to and get excited. Then I like to combine the old scripture wisdom with the new knowledge of our prophets by writing their words, as they pertain to the scriptures, in the margins. When I go back I can see what the promises and blessings are from living that gospel principle and I get to remember why I felt prompted to add that to my Book of Mormon.

2 Nephi 31:20
Wherefore, ye must press forward with a steadfastness in Christ, having a perfect brightness of hope, and a love of God and of all men. Wherefore, if ye shall press forward, feasting upon the word of Christ, and endure to the end, behold, thus saith the Father: Ye shall have eternal life.

Taking the time to be still and to be quiet is important. Our lives are so busy and usually so noisy that we forget to listen to our hearts. After reading and being filled this morning I have a new desire to seek out those quiet moments and then act on what I feel is right.

When I take the time to start my day out right and be receptive and open to those special personal promptings I feel good, I feel okay with things that don't seem to go my way and I have a better perspective on life and being a mommy. I hope that your mornings are filled with warm tummies and full hearts.

 

How to Make Your Home Feel Warm and Cozy Without Cranking Up that Darn Thermostat

Anybody out there have an energy efficient husband who likes to keep things brisky just to save a buck?  Well I do and I am learning to love him for it.  Our house is set to be no warmer then 65 chilly degrees.  I know that's not awful and I should be happy to have a home that keeps me out of the rain and out of the wind but when mommy's little toes are cold then mommy doesn't want to anything but sit on the couch, light a fire and eat popcorn.  My first instinct was to crank up the heat but when I did I found myself getting sweaty and yucky feeling just from scrubbing the floors or running up and down the stairs to get things for my Sadie.  I had to think of some other ways to make my home seem warmer so that I could function the way I was designed to function.  After trying out a few of my methods I came to see that not only had I created the illusion of warm, cozy and inviting home but the thermostat was registering a higher degree of yummy warmness without having the heat kick on at all.  So we are going to use every sense we have to create our perfect winter refuge.  No more trips to the mall just to get out of the cold house or excuses to be lazy.  It can be done just by living well...

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Sound:  Crank up the tunes!  Having music on makes me dance, helps me enjoy my work and creates a more inviting enviroment.  When I dance and sing and act silly my kids want me to hold them and go crazy and they are always warm.  Essentially you are raising your body temperature just by having fun.  Turn it on first thing in the morning and watch what happens.  Life becomes snappy and silly and kid like.  If you need to relax and are not into the dancing then put on some awsome classical stuff or some smooth jazz (jk about the jazz...unless, of course, that's your thing!)  Bonus:  you'll also burn some extra calories.  Music just makes everything more fun...even cold yucky toilets seem less daunting when there's music echoing in the bathroom.

My favorite muffin recipe

Smell:  Bake something first thing in the morning.  If you have bread to make that day then do it right away.  Make some of your families favorite muffins even on a Thursday and then freeze the leftovers for another morning.  Make something yummy for dinner or, heaven forbid, dessert for later. The smell will be warm.  Your tummy will be warm and yup...your hot oven will cozy up your rooms.  You will want people to come over and be there just to smell what you are smelling.  Cooking is one of my favorite easy ways to warm things up. 

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Sight: This one is easy!  Vacume your carpet and turn on a few lamps or light some candles.  The lines that the vacume makes in your carpet will make you feel warm I promise.  Plus doing a dance with your vacume will get you up and moving, will make you happy to see a clean floor and the vacume produces heat.  Also turning on a few lamps creates a warm type of light.  Open up your blinds, even if it's gray out there and think about how much cozier your house is then that dark wet sidewalk.  You could also always paint your walls a yummy warm color but for now I am sticking with the easy solutions.

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Taste:  Eat or drink something warm!  It could be as labor intensive as homemade soup or pasta or it could be a simple piece of toast or warm popcorn with some hot chocolate.  Just standing by the oven or stove and warming your hands can make a huge difference too.  I sometimes even drink herbal tea.  This one's my favorite.  It's calming and well...warmer then water or milk.  A comfy tummy is a happy tummy.

 

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Touch:  This one is my very favorite!  Slippers with furry centers, baby cheeks and hands right after they wake up, layers and layers of homemade quilts, fireplace heat, a husbands hand, cozy socks, cuddling with your 4 year old in the morning while you watch cartoons and oh how I wish I had flannel sheets right now. 

So you see...easy solutions and they are all really pretty fun.  The key is to do it before you find yourself trapped in your bed wishing you didn't have any resposibilities or any place to go and still shivering because all you can think about is how cold it will be to pull off the covers.  Start the day out right and you'll be amazed at how much living can go on in a home that's full of warm comforts.