In a Nutshell

     I think I quote movies too much. Or I think in quotes. Or something weird like that. My first thought as I was going to relay this past few weeks “in a nutshell” to you was the one Austin Powers gives all curled up on his bed yelling, “This is me in a nutshell, help help! How did I get into this nutshell?!” I know. Strange. But I really feel like I am quite literally IN a nutshell to. I will spare your interest as to What type of nutshell it actually is!
     So life is cruising along. I am all over the board constantly with eating healthy. I love it. My family doesn’t so much. Neither does my schedule, as in, I do not always have time to make vegetarian lasagna from scratch kids. Sometimes not even a super nutritious breakfast, we’re talking cheerios baby. (I am pretty sure it qualifies as healthy in this day and age right?) All depends I guess on who you talk to. I am very split between mostly veg, and this newer mindframe of “heck yeah animal fat! (so long as it’s grass fed!)” Which p.s. isn’t cheap either. Are these healthy doctors in bed with the supermarkets and quick food industry or what?! Ugh. On a lighter note, I still love food each and every day, so thats good. Kids are crazy as ever, but it is summer, no excuse for not blogging right? Plus I really need to hone in on my writing skills, as I have FINALLY decided on a major. PERMANENTLY! (Hold on to your seats! Anyone who knows me will realize this is an amazing feat. If not a miracle. It’s only changed 312 times in the last need I say how many years since I graduated?!)
     English. With a creative writing emphasis and art history minor. That way I can teach if necessary and write when desired. More on that later. AND, I begin Yoga teacher training in August! I am SO uber excited. Thanks hubs for going back to school so I can too! At this rate, I just may graduate with my kids! HA!
     So, my littlest is trying to walk (yeah he is only 8 mos old) and the boys are crazy as ever, and then here is me saying this is not quite all of them, I wonder when we should have another! Agh! In all seriousness, I love being busy, so why not?! On an even more important note, I am actually cooking one of my new favorite recipes AS I WRITE, so what a fitting time to blog all about it? I got this recipe from a fabulous gal out in St. George, UT at a Bosch cooking class of all places, and with her permission I am sharing it will all you lovely folks! It is sooo easy, refrigerates great, and is meatless, effortless, not tasteless, and.. um... money-less (cheap!), low fatless, and virtually potless! No wonder I love it!

     Penne With Broccoli and White Beans
       Courtesy of April Fazzini, from Creative Cooking with April

3 bunches broccoli (about 4 c)
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil + 1 tbsp
3/4 pound (350g) whole wheat penne pasta (I just use the 13.25 oz box)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (opt)
1 tsp fresh ground black pepper
8 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (that pre minced garlic is GREAT too!)
2 tbsp fresh oregano (or 1 tbsp dried if needed)
2 15 oz cans cannellini or other white beans, drained
4 oz crumbled feta cheese

Bring a large pot of slightly salted water to boil, adding a drop of olive oil to keep pasta from sticking. Once boiling, add pasta and set timer for 8-10 min. Rinse broccoli and cut florets off. When pasta has 3 min left, add broccoli to pot with the pasta and keep cooking. Drain pasta/broccoli and set aside. In the pot used for the pasta, heat the 1/3 oil, 1/2 tsp salt, red pepper flakes, pepper, oregano and garlic stirring constantly for about 2 minutes. Add the beans, pasta and broccoli, stir. Reduce heat to low simmer for about 2 min. Mix in feta and serve!

State Park entry fee? $6. Bait for fishing?...

     $3. Fishing licenses? Free for military. Tackle boxes and rods through the local "neighborhood fishin'' program? Also free. First ever fish caught + complete exhaustion, sunburn, and a few cuts and scrapes to boot? Priceless!
     Yep, and it was all right here in Texas! I have lived in 'outdoorsy' places for years and never was it so easy to take the kids fishing as it was this past weekend. We even found a $4 spiderman fishing rod at the local Goodwill, (along with our $5 vacuum, and $2 toaster...gotta love it!) The kids definitely loved it too. I'm so grateful they did, because it was a bit of work trying to figure that whole process out! Or to not get lost in the state park and keep the youngest from getting too involved in helping (i.e. getting wrapped up in all the fishing wire, throwing sticks that get caught instead of fish, or even just throwing mud and getting the rest of us dirty!) And although we only caught a measly little carp (sorry, not gonna eat that!) and under-estimated the sun (yeah my middle one looks like a little ripe cherry tomato!) we had a great and fulfilling outdoor adventure that reminded us why it was so important to follow the hubs out here, simply for these little weekend adventures! The culture being as it is out here too, made it quite easy to take the day and go for a sort of "country lake trip'. My next biggest challenge though is going to be staying away from all these country cookin' restaurants and all-you-can-eat chicken fried steak buffets...I didn't realize how big that old southern gene might actually be! It's all I can do not to act on one or more pregnancy cravings (I will totally blame that the whole time I am here!) and send my hubs out for some chili cheese or gravy smothered home fries, or some fantastically wicked BBQ pork ribs or shoot, anything BBQ for that matter! So just to satisfy my need for comfort food today, I have decided to share another recent Shepherd's Pie Recipe (this one was from the Healthy Kitchen book I recommend early in the month of March I believe). Only, as usual, I have a couple suggestions from my personal taste preferences.  Maybe trying the zucchini slices on top of the whole casserole (under the bread crumbs) to brown and sort of crisp up a little more.  We happened to do the recipe without mushrooms or nutritional yeast, but it is my guess that if you can get ahold of those ingredients, do so to add more flavor and depth. And most importantly, try something new and enjoy it!

Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie - Dr. Weil's Healthy Kitchen

Chocolate; My Drug of Choice

     So late last night as I am laying in bed trying to wind down after the 1/4 bag of lovely dark chocolate York Peppermint flavored hard shelled candy goodness, with a side of Dove Dark Chocolate Promises (maybe 2, or 3, or 4, I seem to have lost count!) I realized that chocolate, no, dark chocolate truly is my personal drug of choice. Others may have alcohol, prescription medication, hot bubble baths or even a few crazy hobbies (I don't know, is stamp collecting even in still?!) but I have chosen my special dark cocoa to get me over a few rough spots here and there. Last night, after a particularly nerve racking and emotionally challenging day (yeah it felt a little pathetic considering I had only spent the day with my kids, but whatever) I needed something to settle my nerves a little. Since I don't drink, getting sloshed was a little out of the question. Prescription meds are also not in the books because I try to avoid any long term mood altering chemically ridden entirely addictive colorful little pills, and lets just say that a hot bath or some side hobby was not going to cut it. Then I remembered my parents sweet little chocoholic stash in the top drawer of their dresser, and life was about to get good again.
     
     INTERMISSION:     For each of your individual nutritional and educational benefits, I am including another new and favorite website AllChocolate.Com in which you have the joy of not only discovering the many health benefits of chocolate (namely dark chocolate) but plenty of fabulous recipes, information, tips, tools, history, and pretty much anything else your little chocolate heart could possible imagine (I know I could scarcely believe it myself!) The most important health facts of which I will summarize in part below;
Chocolate (namely dark) is full of anti-oxidants (the same kind of natural compounds found in fruit, vegg, grain etc). It has also been studied to show positive effects on the cardiovascular system (including reduced blood pressure, increased blood flow etc) which would explain the amazing and quick effects of such a divine food on my system last night, increased blood flow and decreased blood pressure are all positive results when it comes to regulating your emotions and getting enough of that all important life-sustaining  element...oxygen...to your brain! Also, according to this fantastic website, chocolate has a low glycemic index (how your body reacts to the sugars you eat), plenty of minerals, and that ever important effect on your endorphins (my personal favorite).
  
     I believe it would be safe to say that dark chocolate, in moderation, is not only healthy but a nutritional and positive alternative to the other drugs out there for sustaining one's mental and emotional health and well-being. In fact, I fully support it and would go so far to say that dark chocolate is an absolute necessity when it comes to one's health (both mentally and physically!) as I can attest to it's personal benefits in my own life, *sigh*. I would also like to propose that dark chocolate can actually help with my headaches. I was so excited last night to discover, yet again, another piece of evidence to support my migraine/headache theory. I gave in to some cheapy milk chocolate less than worthy cup of hot cocoa (due to a rather crazy romp in the snow at 22 degrees, with some cabin fevered kids) and sustained a miserable headache that was not to be calmed with any assortment of OTC medicinal complexes. By the time I ate my fill of dark chocolate before bed, I had my headache completely under wraps and and my mood quite calmed down. Coincidence? I think not! For I have done, at my own personal sacrifice and the benefit of my blog and my dear readers, many personal studies of such nature for the last several weeks. The result? Dark Chocolate always wins! And for me the most important affect was I've had no sugar hangover the next morning! Glorious, Glorious food! If this is but one weakness for me in this life, then so be it! And for your personal enjoyment, thanks to a friend who shared her secret a couple years back, a delicious double chocolate cake recipe fit for a king!

     Double Yummy Chocolate Cake Goodness


1 boxed chocolate cake (I prefer Pillsbury)
1 c sour cream
required ingredients in the box less about 1/4 c water
1 small box chocolate pudding mix
1 1/2 12oz bag mini chocolate chips


Follow directions on box for regular cake mix, add the other ingredients, heat oven, lightly spray two cake pans and fill as even as possible then bake for about 45-60 min (depends on oven, just make sure you check frequently toward the end and remove when cake tester is clean and cake pulls from side of pan) Cool and top with fabulous frosting following this recipe (including a delicious frosting layer in the middle!)


     Better Homes and Gardens Chocolate Sour Cream Frosting


1 6 oz package semisweet chocolate
1/4 c butter
1/2 c sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 to 2 3/4 c confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)


Melt the chocolate and butter either in a double boiler or in the microwave (stirring every 20sec); cool slightly. Blend in cream, vanilla, and 1/4 tsp salt. Slowly beat in sugar till spreading consistency and frost those beautiful double chocolate cakes!

Comfort Food, Done Right

     I had the most amazing comfort food experience the other day. Luckily in some ways, since we are have been cooped up in an apartment in the winter here in Denver for the last week+, I have been able to experiment with some new recipes (making them my own) and the cold to inspire me for yummy comfort dishes. The only problem here is that I started a book that I couldn't put down for the weekend, and therefore could not do much else! I love that feeling of accomplishment after a great home cooked meal, 6 loads of laundry down, or even just temporarily neglecting my kids for the weekend to actually finish a book in under a month....*sigh* brings warmth to the soul.

     SO, this amazing dish. Once again inspired by a Dr. G recipe, but I personally changed it up enough so that I am pretty sure I can practically claim it myself! The beans in the dish are called Aduki Beans and here is a quick tidbit about them;
The name azuki is a transliteration of the native Japanese name. Japanese also has a Chinese loanword, Shōzu (小豆), which means "small bean" (its counterpart "large bean" (大豆; Daizu) being the soybean). It is common to write 小豆 in kanji but pronounce it as azuki (ah-zoo-kee). Dry adzuki beans are small dark red, oval beans approximately 5 mm in diameter. They have a distinctive white ridge along one side. Adzuki beans are popular across Asia, particularly in Japan, and are used to make red sweet bean paste. They are also easy to digest which makes them a great ingredient in cooking for those who have sensitivities to beans and legumes. (Ask my dad personally, not only did he do fine the night we ate the dish but he had the nerve to steal my leftovers the next day for work!) They have a low fat, high protein, high fiber (almost 9-13g per cup of cooked beans) and natural sugar content. Lets check out the recipe now...




       Aduki Bean Stew with Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes


Stew
2 15oz can Aduki Beans (you can find them at places like Vitamin Cottage or Wholefoods)           drained and rinsed
1 cube chicken bouillon or heaping tsp. chicken bouillon
1 yellow onion finely diced
2 carrots thinly sliced
1 small to medium leek thinly sliced
half butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cubed
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 bunch of curly kale thinly chopped
cornstarch and water for base


Put about 6 c. water in a large stock pot to boil with chicken stock and all the vegetables and spices EXCEPT beans, cornstarch, and kale. Boil lightly for about 10 min or so to start softening, then add the beans and cook for a further 10 min or so til all the veggies are soft. Add the chopped kale finally and about 2 TBSP cornstarch to about 1/2 c. cold water to mix it thoroughly, then slowly add to stew for more of a thick base. Taste and add more bouillon if needed or pepper for flavor.


Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes


Boil about 6-8 medium yukon gold (they are the most buttery delicious) potatoes, cleaned and some peeled, for about 15min or so. Then add almost a full head of cauliflower cleaned and chopped. It will naturally rise to the top. When all the vegg is soft, strain the cauliflower off the top and puree it. Mix your potatoes with a hand mixer, then add the cauli puree, about 2 TBSP butter and milk, then salt and pepper to taste. 


Serve this entire yummy meal with the potatoes acting as the base, and the stew as sort of a gravy or topping. Be sure to serve together as it is absolutely delish and even my picky 2 yr old ate it!