Nathalie's Notes

{What’s working–simplicity}

 

Two fun facts about me:

1) I’m the kind of person who can make simple complicated. But, I’m happy to share that a shift in how I spend my energy and money has lead to my working out a system for truly simple dinners that taste good, are generally healthy and not even a little bit gourmet, but work fine for weeknight “get ‘em fed” meals. Details below.

2) For the last couple years I’ve spent an inordinate time loathing dinner and everything about it from meal planning to grocery shopping to the actual making of meals while one, or two, hungry/cranky/daddy-craving kids clung to various parts of my body. By the time I finally got dinner on the table if someone so much as suggested they didn’t like something I had to resist the urge to dump the plate on their head, whether they were 3 or 38. This is a stress (and rage) I know I share with some of my friends and readers … so, here is my solution:

Grain + Protein + Vegetable + Sauce = Dinner.

Favorite grains: quinoa, brown rice (freeze batches add water and defrost), tortillas

Favorite proteins: eggs, canned tuna or salmon, chicken breasts, beans, cheese

Favorite veggies: whatever deal I can get on fresh or frozen

Favorite sauce: When my computer broke, I had to use my trust old cookbooks and learned to make a white sauce … really, it was new information to me and has changed how I make dinner. Sam hates tomatoes. Every time he tries a bite, he still hates it. So learning to make and dress up white sauce has been huge for us. I add artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes, kalamata olives, capers, sautéed onions, lemon juice … whatever. It’s been good every time. If anyone wants details or specifics, email me … when in a real hurry, melt butter, add lemon sauce and chopped up herbs, fresh if you can.

Another thing I’ve been doing is saving myself steps and cents, even little ones, where I can … hence, the homemade taco seasoning packets.

1 Tbsp chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 onion powder

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/4 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp cumin

tsp salt

tsp pepper

repeat into as many snack-size baggies as you’d like and stash in your pantry.

I still wish dinner wasn’t every day … but I’m adjusting.

I get these ideas …

 

I get these ideas … a half an hour of my life, gone. What do I have to show for it? A sticky, green mess and another story for my “not like the picture” memoir.

Ever since I saw this cute idea for “Clever clovers in Family Fun magazine, I knew I’d be making them today. Above you can see evidence of my attempts as I acted out a real-life Amelia Bedelia in the kitchen story. I burned the white chocolate, tried to use peanut butter to “stick” the clovers together instead. It didn’t work. I couldn’t figure out how to use the stupid icing things and then decided to make my own icing and just ended up with more of a sticky, green mess. I finally drizzled them with the icing, sprinkled them with green and orange and walked away.

I also tried to make Leprechaun pudding where you put green drops in the bottom of a bowl, top with vanilla pudding and act surprised when it turns green. Fun idea. Except Sam decided he doesn’t like vanilla pudding and refused to try it even if it meant no dessert. He is, however, still begging for “one more white messy thing” aka “clever clovers.”

I think I’ll stick to writing.

Especially because the kids were just as delighted with a few drops of green in their oatmeal and clover-shaped toast with sprinkles.

 

Spinning leftovers into souffles … or something like that

 

This is what leftovers can look like. Trust me, I wouldn’t know that if we weren’t doing this budget thing. Tonight I had $11 to buy whole milk for the baby, regular milk for Matt and Sam and soymilk for me, and coffee. (Cheap coffee and non-organic milk if you’re wondering).

Leftover spaghetti noodles, leftover chicken, peanut butter, onion, ginger, garlic … see recipe below.

What to make for dinner when you can’t just run out and grab something? I had a package of smoked salmon and eggs. We had scrambled eggs too recently. So I hit up Google: “easy recipes for salmon.” I must’ve clicked too many times because I web-wandered into a soufflé recipe. “Yeah, I’ll try that one!” I had the basic ingredients, what’s the problem? The problem, it turns out, is that with dinner hour being our Insanity Hour where everyone gets their crazy on I have no business cooking anything that requires “constant stirring.” But I was committed, I already separated the eggs.

It was more quiche than soufflé, but all four of us liked it so there you go .. .

Linguine with Chicken and peanut sauce

– original recipe from Heather Franklin

8 oz. dried linguine (cook as directed on package) {or leftover already cooked noodles}

14 oz. can chicken broth

2 Tbsp. water or orange juice

2 Tbsp soy sauce

1 Tbsp corn starch

1/4 tsp ground red pepper

a few shakes of curry powder

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 Tbsp cooking oil

2 cloves garlic {or 6}

2 chicken breasts, slice or chunk {or whatever leftover meat/tofu you have}

1 medium onion sliced thin

2 tsp ginger

1 green bell pepper {or not}

In saucepan stir together chicken broth, water/OJ, soy sauce, cornstarch, curry, red pepper. Stir in peanut butter until smooth. Keep warm.

In wok – heat oil, onion, garlic, ginger until onion is tender. Remove onion mixture and cook chicken in wok. add pepper if using one, cook until crisp. Stir sauce, chicken, onion mixture until thick and bubbly. Spoon mixture over pasta.

Salmon Soufflé – click link for recipe. I did a lot different from the original recipe, which explains the unsouffleness, but I’ll try this again another  day year.

Cooking with Sam … Dora, Diego and the Naked Chef

 

Cooking with Dora, Diego and my own little Naked Chef. At first glance this might seem rather, uh, unsanitary but we’re on our 3rd round of potty-training and this is what’s working so I’m cool with it.

This week Sam picked this “Silly Face Salad” to make for Jake’s birthday dinner.

ingredients

1/4 cup orange juice

1 green onion, sliced (white portion only)

1 Tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 Tablespoons olive oil

2 carrots, peeled

2 cups shredded lettuce or whole lettuce leaves

1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved or thin wedges of tomato

1/4 cup green or black olives, halved

Fresh herb sprigs such as dill, parsley or basil

1. For dressing combine in a blender: orange juice, green onion, lemon juice and mustard. Blend until onion is minced. With blender running on low speed, slowly add olive oil. Transfer to a small container; set aside until ready to serve.

2. Cut carrots into small bite-size slices and/or use a peeler to create thin carrot ribbons. On 4 salad plates, place lettuce leaves and use carrots and other vegetables and herbs to make silly faces.

3. When ready to serve, drizzle with dressing.

Makes 4 servings.

{What’s working: bagged baked goods}

 

 

I saw this idea on a favorite blog of mine, Erin Goodman’s “exhale. return to center.” and wrote for permission to copy it to use here.She cheerfully said “yes” and told me that there’s a whole blog carnival thing on this site: We are THAT family about “Works for me Wednesdays.” Love it.

I love reading tips and tricks about how people handle the most ordinary of things, so I figured I’d share some of mine in hopes that you join in with sharing some of yours.

I’ve been making our own bread since I figured out how to use my machine. My friend Booker was over while I was carefully measuring and re-measuring my ingredients. He said his old roommate used to make bread every day but didn’t remember him being so careful with the measurements. Well, when you’ve made enough weapon loafs you learn to stick with what works. Later he told me that he remembered his roommate used to keep the dry ingredients pre-measured in baggies and that’s why it looked like he just dumped them in and pressed a few buttons.

Genius. I wrote all I need to do on the bags and am good to go. With my little helpers it’s nice to cut any corner I can so we can still cook together without all the extra clean up time.

Works great for scone mixes too. I’ve been pre-measuring the base ingredients and just adding whatever sweet thing to them and they are the bomb. Even with whole wheat flour.

DIY Granola

 

Granola

From: “Eating your way back to health” by Dr. Jessica Black

Ingredients:

7 1/2 cups rolled oats

1 1/4 cups unsweetened coconut

1 cup nuts

1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup sesame seeds

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup canola oil (In the updated version of her book, Dr. Black recommends coconut oil)

Instructions:

1. Mix dry ingredients together (use a big bowl)

2. Heat honey and oil and pour over dry ingredients. Mix well and flatten on a baking pan.

3. Bake at 325 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Cool and store in airtight container. Serve with milk substitute and/or fresh fruit.

Substitutions:
You can do this recipe with many different nuts, seeds, etc. I occasionally will add 1/2 cup of almond butter or tahini to the recipe to change it sometimes. You can also try brown rice syrup instead of honey.

Healthy Tidbit:

The botanical name for oats is Avena sativa. One of my favorite uses for Avena is as adrenal supportive herb. It can help increase energy and tonify the adrenals while still aiding in anxiety or irritability. That is what is so amazing about this herb. Because it supports the adrenals and energy production, it is an aid to balance the endocrine system. I also use it for people who have difficulty sleeping related to overactive mind or anxiety. Eating oats has also been known to help decrease cholesterol.

Nathalie’s Notes: Mine turned out less “clumpy” than the kind we buy at the store, I need to figure out how to bind it together better because my next goal, after learning to make keeping our granola jar stocked, is to learn to make granola bars. As you might know, we’re changing up the way we handle our money so buying convenience foods like granola bars is coming off our grocery list. Which is both exciting and nerve-wracking.

To learn more about Dr. Black and the awesome Family Healing Center in McMinnville visit: http://www.afamilyhealingcenter.com/

to learn more about her cookbooks: http://www.amazon.com/Eating-Your-Back-Health-Guide/dp/B004HE3IHC/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294847983&sr=1-2

Cooking with Sam … Dora and Diego

 

I Santa got Sam a Dora and Diego cookbook with the idea that he and  I would pick one  recipe to make each week, including getting the ingredients. Weekly might be ambitious but the goal is just to encourage him to be excited about cooking and bringing something of himself to the table.

The first recipe he picked was: “Scrambled Eggs in River Rafts”

We used celery for our paddles because a) red peppers were crazy expensive and b) Sam won’t eat them.

We made it for Matt’s birthday breakfast. It looks more like an appetizer than a meal, I know. We added bacon and extra scrambled eggs.

Make whole wheat biscuits, scramble eggs with red peppers (or celery), add bacon (we added that, or add whatever you like). Top each biscuit with egg scramble mixture, add cheese on top bake for a couple minutes to melt cheese, make paddles with sticks of red peppers (or celery) and serve.

Nathalie’s Notes: This seems quick. But don’t forget to factor in time to make the biscuits!

{Meatless Monday: Kale chips}

 

I play this little game called: “Good or gross?” I make something for dinner that may, or may not, be good but I’m kind of the “you’ll eat it and you’ll like it” type of mom so even if it’s gross, it’s what’s for dinner. Sometimes the English major in Matt needs to know what something is called. I have no idea. It’s leftovers in a blender with some cumin and salsa mixed in and wrapped in a tortilla. So, I say, “It’s called dinner.”

Tonight we played “good or gross?” And I was sure we’d all agree the vegetable side was disgusting, but it wasn’t. All that is to say, you should totally try this at home: Kale chips.

At first Sam wasn’t buying it. But we have a try it once, spit it out in your napkin if you must, and we’ll leave you alone about it rule, at least until we think you’ve forgotten. Before he could have his bread he had to have a bite. Yep, he liked it too. It was a hit with Jake as well. When I read the reviews and someone said they were “like potato chips” I laughed out loud: LIARS!

Well … I have to tell you – they’re kind of like potato chips, only super good for you.

Preheat the oven to 350.

Kale – wash, tear off stems, rip into pieces and spread out on baking sheet.

Sprinkle with olive oil and sea salt.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until crunchy.

Done. Delicious, really! Let me know if you try it.

 

Meatless Monday: Harvest Salad

 
I made this Monday's recipe for our Halloween dinner with the Faulkners, we ate it with their delicious Shepherd's Pie but for a meatless meal I'd suggest pairing this salad with a good, creamy soup. I got this recipe from ... my head.

Spinach - use kitchen scissors to cut it up

Yams/Sweet Potatoes - I happened to be cubing some for Jake and decided to toss them in - they made a nice, unexpected touch

Blue cheese crumbles

Sliced almonds - I think walnuts would be tasty, too

Pomegranate seeds - pain to get the seeds out, yes - but worth it! If you really aren't feelin' the pomegranate seeds try dried cherries.

I mixed it all up but think it would've been better to make "rings" out of the ingredients on top and then toss before serving.

Served with Blue Heron's Blue Cheese salad dressing

Also in retrospect ...note to self: take food pictures before serving instead of limpy leftovers!

Meatless Monday & Food for Thought

Happy Monday! Meatless recipe to follow as well as some "Food for Thought" from Leanne Ely, C.N.C.

I discovered a new magazine to love recently: Family Fun where I found all sorts of inspiring and cool ideas including this weeks Meatless Monday selection - which I'll be making later in the week so I can't post my notes yet - instead, in case you're a stickler for your meatless day being on Monday - here is a link with a recipe for cooking white beans from dried to delicious so you can freeze for later use in recipes like the tasty looking sesame bean-and-pasta salad.  

Beautifully Basic White Beans: http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/beautifully-basic-white-beans-922817/

Sesame Bean-and-Pasta Salad: http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/sesame-bean-and-pasta-salad-922825/

The article below is long but worth sharing. I'd love to hear your thoughts on this essay by Leanne Ely, C.N.C. (The bolds and underlines are mine).

It occurred to me as I was watching the news about the approaching Hurricane Earl, that being prepared for a disaster (flashlights, water, food) needs to be front and center on everyone's list; to be unprepared would be a secondary disaster. And then I took it step further and began thinking about menu planning (really!). You see, not planning is choosing to live in an unprepared state and invites it's own disastrous conclusion. Think about what that means for a minute. Being unprepared means chaos, confusion and regret. Living life in a state of perpetual unpreparedness is highly stressful. Why do we do this to ourselves?

In the kitchen and in the food department of life, being unprepared translates to not having the food you need to cook and feed your family and yourself well. Unprepared means unhealthy, expensive and wanting in nutrition. And when you consider that 70% of all disease is lifestyle-induced (by making poor choices in food, drink, not exercising, smoking and being stressed out), it's astounding that we are surprised when handed a less than healthy diagnosis from our doctors. We have got to take responsibility!!

Here's the thing, menu planning isn't sexy and glamorous. However, it's necessary and one of the easiest ways to get a grip on your health. The simple art of menu planning is too often passed up by adventure seekers living on adrenaline and the thrill of the hunt. You know what I mean, right? Hunting for something to throw together for dinner at the very last minute. Hunting for a fast food place to get your whining children and cranky spouse fed. Hunting for a place to park at the grocery store at rush hour, hoping to score an already cooked rotisserie chicken to feed your family.

This kind of hunting is not feeding your family the way you want to. It's stressing you out, neglecting your health and not helping you with the body clutter you may be sitting on.

Instead of being hunters, we need to be gatherers. Gatherers always have food because they have a plan. They use menus. They make grocery lists. They gather their groceries, they chop, they cook and they feed. It's deliberate preparedness that gives them a sense of calm and peace. Yes, preparedness is that powerful and when applied to all things food-related, it will revolutionize your health, your well-being, your finances and that of your family's as well.

The beginning place is a menu plan for the week. Pull recipes as necessary, make a list for the grocery store and then implement your plan. It's that simple.

Don't put this off and invite chaos and disaster into your home come each and every mealtime. There's too much at stake to be so capricious with your health. Do it today.