monday spotlight: fambly

My sister has a food blog. Well, she has several food blogs. Kate, who used to ask for directions to boil water, is now the go-to girl for meal ideas and recipe tips in our family. Who woulda thunk?

And yes, that is us. We have a weird sort of dysfunctional relationship where we tell each other pretty much exactly what we think, and she was annoyed with me for asking for a photo of the two of us, but come on - it's the first shot we've had together in about five years!

Ahem.

Anyway, The Fresh Gourmet is a consolidation of (in my opinion) her very best recipes - the ones I can eat because they are low-fat and easy on my gall bladder (which is just gonna have to tough it out until I can do something about it when baby is older). We designed the blog together, and I am under orders to share my own recipes here as well.

I'm getting there.

But I wanted to bring Kate into the sunshine, whether I add my own recipes or not. Seriously, you have to check her place out.



...

And if I'm spotlighting people, it has been a bit since I shared photos of the kiddos here - you know, the ones I'm trying to avoid sometimes when I sit down to write. The cute ones that make me smile in spite of myself - and in spite of themselves!


Piper, the ham.


Yes, she does sleep sometimes.


Remembering what we were...


The happiest guy I know...


B likes to blow bubbles to get my attention....


Invitation...





(Image © Informal Moments Photography)

Diet Change: Help Wanted

No, we didn't make it to the beach this weekend. I am scrounging through my archives for photos lately. I apologize for this. I so want to reveal the new I am seeing, capturing, living. I have a couple hundred new ones awaiting processing, awaiting the arrival of my new computer, awaiting the software I need. I want it for you. I want it for our families. I want it for me - I take the picture because I forget.

Still, this is the same light we saw tonight on our organic co op run. The light that was streaming through bare trees onto standing water left over from last night's rain, glory reflected in pools of sky-tears.

Breathe in, breathe out. This is what the light helps me do. We had spring today - sixties and open windows. It was amazing. I love that spring comes in January here.

But I'm getting a little sidetracked. At the beginning of my post. Go figure.

...

I have been attempting to formulate a diet plan for us that began as simple meal and menu ideas to help with grocery trips and snowballed on Tuesday with our discovery that I have gallstones and must eat better for my gallbladder.

I need to cut sugar and dairy and refined flour from my diet. I have some old allergens resurfacing with the lack of sleep that contributes to my body's post-pregnancy breakdown. It is my goal to attempt to put off surgery for my gallbladder until Bredon is weaned, since I'm not sure what pumping to avoid his getting my anesthesia would do to this baby/mommy bond.

I have a few recipes left over from my old no-sugar-dairy-corn-lemon-onion diet, but with all of the changes coming at me with a new baby in the house (and the need to retry this without potatoes because of Pete's death-allergy), I'm coming up a little short on fresh ideas.

So I have a request to make:

Would you be willing to share a link to fresh, healthy, family-friendly (delicious would be good too!) recipes that are low-fat (to be gallbladder friendly) and use no sugar or dairy?

If you have a link, please leave it in my comment box or email me. I would so appreciate your ideas. After nine months of not being able to think about food, I was so hoping to help out by planning for us in this area.

...

"Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31)

There is a post coming on this soon. At least, I hope there is. I have a lot of thoughts chasing around in my brain, and when I sit down, I'm too tired to figure out what goes where. So you get my mish-mash in poetic prose.

Thanks for "listening."

...

Oh and yes, I know. What does the light on the water at the sea have to do with food?

Not much.

*happy sigh*

It's just so preeeetty, isn't it?






(Image © Informal Moments Photography)

Orange Ricotta Blintzes with Strawberry Topping

I promised a recipe a couple of weeks ago, but I had a few things I wanted to figure out before I posted it. I went looking for a recipe for orange cheese blintzes after a fabulous anniversary brunch with Pete, and found this one, which I adapted to meet my specifications.

The result is a blintz with a lovely creamy filling that hints of orange and spices. I top my blintzes with a strawberry topping - spun out of thin air usually, but I've listed the approximate proportions and instructions for you here.

It's a little time-intensive (which I hate), but I've been absolutely craving them, so we've had them three times in the last week. Ahem.

Do enjoy.

Crepes:

2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
butter for pan

Beat mixture until smooth. Melt butter in 10-inch non-stick pan. Spoon 2 TBS mixture into pan, spreading to a round crepe shape. Let cook 3-5 minutes, until small air bubbles push up from bottom. Flip crepe out of pan onto paper towel. Repeat until mixture is finished, separating crepes with paper towels.

*Note: Crepes can be made ahead and refrigerated for use at a later time.

Filling:

1 egg
1/2 cup cream cheese
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1 TBS sour cream
1 TBS sugar
1/2 tsp orange zest
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon
dash ground cloves
dash nutmeg
dash salt

3 TBS butter, melted

Mix all ingredients except butter, leaving some small chunks of cream cheese in the mixture.

Brush a large bread pan with melted butter.

Spoon 2-3 TBS filling into finished crepe. (Mixture will be runny - don't panic.) Fold crepe neatly into an envelope around filling. Place in pan. Repeat until pan is full, lining blintzes neatly against one another. (I do six blintzes to a pan.)

Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

Topping:

1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries
1 TBS sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
dash cinnamon
2 TBS water

Place ingredients in pan over high heat, watching so sugar doesn't burn. Cover. Cook until berries are soft and mixture is slightly thickened. Pour topping over finished blintzes.

Garnish with powdered sugar, berries, mint, whipped topping, orange peel - whatever floats your boat.





(Image © Informal Moments Photography)

Now you see her, now you don't.

Working this weekend while I have backup childcare. Meaning Pete and Piper get a lot of bonding time. And our very good friends get their wedding photos early next week.

But all this begins AFTER we make these for breakfast. I dug up this recipe yesterday, because I have been CRAVING blintzes since Pete's and my anniversary brunch at a Really Nice Restaurant in downtown Charleston.

(We might get a Christmas tree this weekend too. Because the baby is coming and we can justify the early.)

Ahem.

P.S. Those are Piper's footprints in that photo. I took it last Christmas. When it was 70 degrees and we went to the beach for a picnic.





(Image © Informal Moments Photography)

Refrigerator Sweet Roll Dough

The flavor on this dough is so buttery - it's amazing...

2 pkgs yeast
1/4 cup lukewarm water

1 3/4 cups scalded milk
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups butter
1/2 tsp salt

4 eggs, beaten

8 cups flour

-----------------------------

Dissolve yeast in water. Mix next four ingredients until butter is melted. Cool to lukewarm. Add yeast and eggs. Stir in half the flour until mixture is smooth. Add remaining flour. Let rise 1 hour. Punch down. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.

When ready to use, knead dough 5 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Form into rolls or bread.

-----------------------------

*TIP - I roll the dough out flat and cover it with a melted butter/cinnamon/sugar/raisin/walnuts mixture. Then I roll it up into loaves or cut it for rolls.

saturday bits and bytes

Pete took this photo during a self-portrait session this morning; I needed a shot for my website, which I am updating today. I like the mood of this shot, the soft light, the gold bokeh in the background.

It's quiet today. The wind outside is blowing the warm air out and spitting random raindrops onto my windows. We're supposed to get severe weather soon. I have periodic spasms that let me know that the barometric pressure is unstable. It's true what the old-timers say - you really can feel it in your bones.

I got up before Pete and Piper and got a bit of work done this morning; I have more to do before the day is done.

Piper got into my misplaced pills while I was shooting, and wrangled another bath out of us by covering herself in salmon oil (she just had one last night). I'm grateful everything I take is food-based, and that she won't be harmed by anything. I'm afraid that doesn't really atone for my brain-fogged, bad mom moment. Ahem. I have to get over it. She's fine. Fishy, but fine.

I made a new vegetarian chili for lunch. Soup is always wonderful for a gray day, you know. The cinnamon and cardamom twisted this right out of the Mexican chili I'm used to eating, but it was fantastic with corn chips and avocado. My mother-in-law will love this one - it uses bulgur wheat!

I'm excited that tomorrow, I'll get to post an article I wrote a few months ago for Ungrind.

Pete has left with Piper now to go find a movie for me that he's wanted to get me for a while. It's not one he's terribly excited to watch, but he doesn't get terribly excited about flowers either, and he likes to buy those for me. He really is very kind to me. As husbands go, this one is the best, I think.

And now I suppose I should get back to work. I hope your Saturday is lovely!

Morning Recipe

Every time I smell bacon in the morning, when I get up early and the sun is up and ready for the day, when the birds are singing and the air is fresh, I remember waking up at my grandma's house. She would always be up earlier than the rest of us, getting breakfast ready - eggs, bacon, fresh homegrown handpicked fruit, her homemade granola. In December, I sent out a batch of her granola for Christmas "from Grandma." I meant to include the recipe, but I forgot, and it took me until yesterday (after thinking of this in December) to get a photo too. Rather pathetic, I'd say (with a fuzzy English accent that I'd have to have Pete do to get anywhere near correct)...

Enjoy this one. It's from my heart.

garlic chicken avocado club, or...

Feel free to copy or print - we just made this one up!

Credit: The "DDO" designation came from our friend Gabe and his family when we served it to them just before he left our neck of the woods for his new job in the wild woolly west.

On December 9

Is someone praying for us? The last few days have seen a lot of productivity at our house, herxheimer reaction and all! Last night, we had Gabe and Pete's supervisor, Danielle, over to our house to help out with Christmas cookies. For the first time since I've been married, my Christmas shopping is nearly finished and I actually have Christmas cookies in my house in early December. I guess we're behind on December weather (today the temperature is in the 70's), but we're a bit ahead on the stuff we've wanted to do!

Take a look at what we made yesterday (besides the sugar cookies Piper tested in her own baking endeavor):

Chocolate Crackles
Easy, easy, easy!

1 package Devil's Food Cake mix
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 tsp. water
1/2 cup butter
Powdered sugar

Combine everything but sugar. Mix until well blended. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Roll in powdered sugar. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 8-10 minutes.

ADDITIONAL VARIATION: My friend H left me a note on Facebook about her amazing revised version of this recipe. She altered it only slightly, using "red velvet cake mix, [adding] peppermint flavoring, [and rolling] them in finely crushed peppermint candy."

Mom's Crinkles
One of my favorite recipes in the colder months. I love the spicy Christmas scent. These cookies are best served warm with a glass of milk. They make great dippers!

3/4 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. cinnamon

Mix first three ingredients until very creamy; add molasses. Sift dry ingredients into mix. Blend and chill. Roll into 1-inch balls. Roll in sugar. Bake at 375° 10-13 minutes.

Popcorn Balls
This buttery, sugary sweet treat has been the center of family Christmas memories for years. It takes a team of people, but the results are fantastic.

1 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup dark corn syrup
1/2 cup butter
1 tsp. salt
16 cups popped popcorn

Heat all ingredients except popcorn to simmering in Dutch oven over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. Add popcorn. Cook, stirring constantly, until popcorn is well-coated, about 2 minutes. Place on wax paper. Cool slightly. Dip hands into ice water; shape mixture into 2-inch balls. Cool completely. Store in plastic bags or Tupperware container.

Yield: 8 popcorn balls

Cream Cheese Walnut Muffins
I always double this recipe. A huge favorite, these cookies just don't last!

Crust
1 cup softened margarine
8 oz. cream cheese
2 cups sifted flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Beat first three ingredients together; add salt. Work in flour. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. When ready to bake, roll dough and cut to fit mini muffin tins.

Filling
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 Tbs. melted butter
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups chopped walnuts
1/4 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. salt

Mix well and fill crusts about 2/3 full. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes. Cool before removing from muffin tins.

Nana's Messy Suggestion

Yesterday while I was baking cookies, I gave Piper table privileges to work on her own baking project in accordance with my mom's suggestion that the messiest projects are sometimes the most fun. I don't know how it was for Pip, but I enjoyed grabbing these memories on camera!

Her recipe?

a little flour
a little sugar
a few raisins
some marshmallows
a dab of milk

Just enough stuff mixed up together for a little girl to enjoy a decent mess.





Though she wasn't really into the whole mash and shape and cut thing, she also sampled (and loved) a bit of sugar cookie dough from one of my recipes:

Swedish Butter Cookies

1 cup butter
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Cream everything but flour together. Add flour and mix well. Dough will be soft but not sticky. Roll out and cut with cookie cutter. Bake at 400° for 8-10 minutes. Caution: Cookies burn easily!

Playdough for Piper

Confession: I'm a stay-at-home mom who is not very good at staying at home with a child and keeping her entertained and busy. I'm out of ideas when trying to interest Piper in doing things, and I'm thinking it's a little soon for this, considering that she's only sixteen months old.

This morning, I tried to remember some things I enjoyed when I was a little kid (as if I can remember back to 16 months). What about playdough? She loves playing with her hands and touch things and examining things. Why not?

Now, I am not a big fan of store-bought playdough, especially with a daughter who puts everything into her mouth. So I called my mom, who has a lovely little book called Mudworks, which she bought in anticipation of the arrival of her grandchildren. (You have NO idea how much stuff she has for the grandkids...)

She gave me the following recipe, which came out beautifully! Fun for Piper, fun for Dad, and fun for me to go work on photos while they play.

1 cup flour
1 cup water
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp cream of tartar
2 Tbs oil

Mix ingredients in a saucepan. Cook over low heat until warm and thickened. Cool. Play.

This recipe was recommended for children ages 1+. It feels just like playdough without all the added colors and fragrances!

How about you? What ideas have you used (or plan to use) to entertain your toddlers? This uncreative mom would love some helpful suggestions!

What's In the Cupboard?

Wish I'd photographed it, but it can't be helped now.

Last night, I tried something quick with what we had in the house that came out beautifully.

*6 individually frozen pieces of chicken sauteéd until tender with spices from la Madeleine, salt, pepper, and a dash or two of garlic powder
*Tri-colored linguine cooked al dente
*1/2 cup white wine
*1/8 cup sherry
*1 TBS red wine vinegar
*1/3 cup olive oil
*1/4 cup chopped onion
*1/4 cup sundried tomatoes
*1/4 cup kalamata olives

I cooked the chicken and the linguine, set it aside, and then cooked the rest of the ingredients until the onion was tender and the sauce was reduced and slightly thickened.

I served the sauce over the chicken and the linguine with summer squash sauteéd in olive oil with salt, pepper, and garlic.

The flavors were rich, but light, and they actually made Pete want to slow down and savor them! (This is a particular goal of mine when I cook - he eats five times as fast as I do, so it's wonderful to see him enjoy a meal instead of just scarfing it!)

The proportions in this dish made enough for two.

Sunday Brunch

Crepes with Cherry-Nectarine Compote
Score one for improvisational cooking! We liked this dish best after we lined our crepes with sour cream.

Crepes:

2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups milk
1 Tbs vegetable oil
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup flour

Mix well. Heat greased non-stick skillet on medium heat. Drop 3 tablespoons mix into pan. Brown on one side, remove from pan. Keep warm.


Cherry-Nectarine Compote

2 cups frozen cherries
1 half nectarine, diced
1 Tbs brown sugar
1 Tbs white wine

Place berries in pan on high heat. Bring to boil. Add brown sugar and cook down until juice has thickened to a sauce-like consistency. Reduce heat to low. Add nectarine and wine. Simmer, stirring occasionally, on low heat ten minutes. Serve over crepes.

By Request

On Saturday, we had some good friends over - well, we've probably seen them four times in our lives (counting Saturday's visit), but we consider P and E good friends. We had lunch and conversation that left us laughing, thoughtful, and encouraged in the Lord.

P asked me for a couple of recipes that I used on Saturday, so I decided I would post them here to have them on record.

Summer Steak Salad

1-2 flank steaks, marinated in 3/4 cup olive oil, 1/2 cup lime juice, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp salt, grilled to taste, and sliced.
2-3 avocadoes, diced
1 small package cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, peeled and diced
1 bag spring mix or red lettuce

Toss together in large salad bowl and serve. Top with lime-raspberry vinaigrette.


Lime-Raspberry Vinaigrette
This is my own concoction. You can play with amounts as you like.

1/4 cup lime juice
1/2 cup olive oil
1/8 cup raspberry wine vinegar
1/8 cup cider vinegar
1 Tbs dijon mustard
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt

Shake together in well-sealed cruet until blended. Serve over steak salad.


Mom's Zucchini Bread
One of those nice-to-have-if-you-garden recipes

Combine:
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil

Add:
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups flour
2 cups grated zucchini

Bake in two greased and floured loaf pans or in one bundt pan for 50 minutes at 350°.

Chicken Scampi

2-3 chicken breasts, sliced
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 small onion, chopped
10 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 c butter
1/2 c white wine
1 c heavy whipping cream
2 tsp. Italian seasoning
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Pasta of choice for four

1.) Prepare pasta.

2.) While pasta is cooking, add butter, chicken, and vegetables to a large frying pan over medium heat. Sauté with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning until vegetables are tender. Add wine, cook until wine is reduced.

3.) Add cream. Cook until sauce is slightly thickened.

4.) Spoon over pasta. Serve warm.

When I use this recipe with farfalle or other small pasta, I like to cook the sauce together with the pasta for a bit before serving. It's not so easy to do that with angel hair pasta, though.

This is a modified recipe. Thanks to the Alexandria Girls' Trifecta for the inspiration. Their recipe does not appear that I can tell, but it was Leeann who first served us scampi.

My Mom - and Chicken Marinade

The last couple of weekends, we've gotten to see my parents for a sister/babysitter pick-up and a 4th of July/Piper's birthday celebration. During our visits, we got to observe something I had forgotten about my mom (even though we talk almost every day).

My mother, the oldest daughter of a Dutch father (his whole family came over from the Netherlands), has this incredible ability to mispronounce words. She attempts to pronounce things phonetically in an upstate-New-York-turned-Dutch-turned-Virginia-turned-exhausted-Mom accent and comes out with some of the funniest combinations I've ever heard.

Last weekend, she raved about the "wasibasi" sauce that goes with fried green beans. While I was looking for a birthday cake for Piper, I ran across a recipe that called for "Crico." On Friday, as my dad was preparing the marinade for the best grilled chicken in the whole world, he started picking on my mom about the "paltry" seasoning included.

We've gotten really good at translation - and there is nothing so fun as watching my mom die laughing when we start picking on her about it!

Anyway, here is our family favorite chicken marinade:

Cornell Chicken Marinade

2 c cider vinegar (or red or white vinegar. Combinations are nice.)
1 c olive oil
1 egg, beaten (Does this bring the "boiling in its mother's milk" into play?)
2-4 tsp salt
2 tsp pepper
1 TBS poultry seasoning

For best flavor, marinate chicken in refrigerator overnight.

Feeding Piper

Can sometimes be extremely interesting. For the last two weeks, she has flatly refused to accept any food I offer her on a spoon. This is disconcerting, especially since her pediatrician is concerned that she dropped from the 30th percentile into the 3rd percentile on her weight gain. I'm counting calories - UP.

This is one method we have tried that has shown promise. Would you believe that there is oatmeal in that popsicle?



I think she knows...

Raspberry Chicken

I had to post a link to this recipe. My sister, Kate, is totally into cooking these days - so much so that she has a blog for her favorite recipes. Her friends check it all the time for dinner ideas.

Last night, we checked the blog for a craving I had for her Raspberry Chicken, chicken simmered in a raspberry cream sauce. It was so good, we're having it again tonight (and we didn't have leftovers last night!). Tonight we're having it with pasta and vegetables in a white sauce.

It's an easy dish once you translate the recipe, so I thought I would post it here for my friends who sometimes look for easy dinner solutions. Special thanks to TheKate!

Raspberry Chicken

Dinner Tonight

I needed a post, so I decided to put up my menu for tonight. Nothing too complicated, so only one recipe included.

Dinner:
NY Strip Steak, broiled in my new toaster oven
Garlic Sweet Potato Fries, also broiled in my new toaster oven
Green Beans, steamed (not broiled)

Dessert:
Baked Apple Pie

Grandma's Perfect Pie Crust

*flour - 1 cup + 2 Tbs
*salt - 1 tsp
*Mazola corn oil - 1/3 cup
*water - 3 Tbs

Mix dry ingredients first, then add oil. Add water. Roll out between two layers of wax paper.
Makes one crust.

NOTE: Recipe can be doubled, but the crusts are best when made separately.

Something New

I've been trying to expand our quesadilla/sweet potato fries diet by adding one new recipe per shopping trip. Last week's recipe was a huge success - a potato-free almost-stew served over egg noodles. We liked it so much, I decided it was worth sharing the recipe! (I'm kicking myself for not taking a photo...)

Beef Daube Provençal

From Cooking Light Magazine, November 2004.

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons olive oil
12 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (2-pound) boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1 cup red wine
2 cups chopped carrot
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup less-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
Dash of ground cloves
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 bay leaf
3 cups cooked medium egg noodles

*Preheat oven to 300 °.
*Heat oil in a small Dutch oven over low heat.
*Add garlic; cook 5 minutes or until garlic is fragrant, stirring occasionally. Remove garlic with a slotted spoon, and set aside. Increase heat to medium-high.
*Add beef to pan; sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook 5 minutes, browning on all sides. Remove beef from pan.
*Add wine to pan; bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits.
*Add garlic, beef, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon pepper, carrot, and next 8 ingredients (through bay leaf), and bring to a boil.
*Cover and bake at 300° for 2 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. Discard bay leaf. *Serve over noodles.

Note: To make in a slow cooker, prepare through Step 2. Place beef mixture in an electric slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours.
Yield: 6 servings