Soup's On!

Over the past month I've been playing around with some new soup recipes, just the thing on a cold, snowy evening.  The top one is a wonderful Tortelli en Brodo with a chicken stock broth, spinach, carrots from my garden, and a bit of herbs. 

This next one below is a vegetable broth with grilled tofu noodles, mushrooms, corn (from my garden) and spinach again plus this one was super spiced with curry, turmeric and anise. Very tasty, the boys hardly noticed there was tofu in it.

I also used more of my frozen home grown corn to make a fantastic Chicken Corn Chowder that turned out fabulously.  So good we got right to eating and I forgot to take a quick picture.  I used potatos in it, onions, milk and half/half, seasoned with salt, pepper, dry mustard, and dill.

One of my greatest defenses against illness that I use in pretty much everything I cook is herbs and spices.  When you buy processed foods they use natural and artificial flavorings which gives you nothing nutritionally.  Using these flavorful and healthful plants made a world of difference for your body, mind, and taste buds!  Even something as simple as sunny-side up eggs I add a little dill on top with the salt and pepper.  Pumps up the flavor and looks pretty too!  Stir-fying is a staple for my family, it is an easy way to get great ingredients into one pan.  Sometimes it is served over rice, sometimes noodles, or it can get a little more exotic with couscous and quinoa.  I also try to use as many colors in my cooking so we can "eat a rainbow" every week.

It is rare that I eat in restaurants for a variety of reasons but one near our home that I am always excited to visit is the Flint Crepe Company.  Click on the name to visit the website.  Their recipe guidelines alone make me happy.  From the site:

Our recipes will...
​-be made from scratch.

-be driven by the food that is currently available based on our region and season.

-be sourced from growers and producers that operate their businesses ethically and responsibly.

-Offer something for everyone (ask us*).

The menu constantly changes depending on what is available seasonally and they never dissappoint.  Last week I went on a field trip with a friend and we stopped in for lunch.  I had an incredible Reuben Crepe and a loose leaf green tea.  Heaven.

What was the field trip you ask?  We went to the Flint Institute of Arts to see an A la Carte program about Women in Art.  The original film has some technical difficulties but the replacement was just as amazing, informative, and inspiring.  It was about Kiki Smith, an amazing artist who works in many mediums, as she prepared for a house museum exhibit in Venice, France.  After the movie we perused the galleries with new pieces and were fortunate enought to have a delightful interchange with one of the museums trustees.  We also got to see the new ceramic and welding wing that had recently been added to the art school.  That is something on my bucket list, to take a ceramics class again someday.  I had done many art classes as a kid but got away from it as an adult.  It has been my experience that people who completely imerse themselves in artful endeavors and keep their youthful thinking tend to live more healthy and ultimately longer lives.

Eat Happy.  Art Happy.

Waste Audit

Well, with the weather being the way its been we're off our regular routine. Greatly. This means the recycling has been piling up in the back of the garage. What does our refuse look like after three months? For a family of five basically.

In addition to this we've also generated 4 kitchen trash bags and 2 42lb dog food bags of various other (mostly paper and plastic bags) trash. I'll spare you the photo of that. While I still mostly shop the perimeter when I go for groceries there are certain condiment and staple items that we still purchase. But the worst culprit of refuse is the milk jugs! With four males in the house they easily go through a gallon a day and would go through more if I bought it. Prices going up as they are we may be going on a serious milk fast.

Surveying our accumulation I've been convicted once again to find a way to cut back on our trash generation. This winter I've been baking a lot, making our own sweet goodies for not only the idea of cutting down on packaging but also because of the nutritional benefits of being able to control the amounts of sugars and types of ingredients. The results of this has been a great loosening of all my pants! I am constantly persusing various books from the library on green choices, thrifty suggestions, and healthy/economical foods. My latest favorite is “The Homemade Pantry: 101 Foods You Can Stop Buying & Start Making” by Alana Chernila, and found it to be a fantastic resource. Some items are beyond what I would attempt such as graham crackers or bread stix.  Many recipes I've seen before and have put together myself from time to time such as pancake mixes and granolas. Where I need to put more effort into producing my own in bulk or per use is in the area of condiments. Suzanne Sommers had a great recipe in her diet books for ketchup, it's a little time consuming but definitely worth the effort, the flavors are much stronger and natural than the store bought variety.  I haven't attempted it yet, but I've always been curious about making mayonnaise.

Household items are an area that can get out of hand when it comes to packaging and disposal. Paper and plastic products for quick meals and lunches can be a great temptation as well. We try to use cloth as much as possible for napkins, rags, etc. Convienent as they are, believe it or not, paper towels contribute to 3,000 pounds of waste in landfills each day.

So, what's in your garbage?

Still working on a major overhaul of things accumulated around here.  We've seemed to become the donation zone for many, which is cool if you know you're going to use something but it's time to whittle down and make the tough choices, if it's been sitting for five years, time to go.  Just waiting to hit the ground running once all this snow-jazz is over with!

iBid Farewell

Outside my Window:  Cold, windy, several inches of snow on the ground and everything looking like crystals.  We had an ice storm earlier this week and are currently without power.  I am blogging from a remote location.  It looks beautiful but the rustic living is getting a bit old.  People are beginning to get power back so hopefully we'll be restored by the weekend.

What's on my Mind:  Making choices about which organizations and activities to stay involved in both personally and with/for the kids.  There comes a point when you can't do everything and you need to prioritize.

Had a fun outing a while back with my choir buddies to Columbiaville.  We went to lunch then shopped at a new choir supporter, Inspired, a really cool repurpose shop, then went on a tour of the William Peters Mansion, who was a lumber baron.  Very cool place, wonderfully renovated, they do parties and murder mystery dinners there plus it is a bed and breakfast.

Thankful for: Two wonderful concerts with an amazing group of singers.  Very impressed with how our sound is developing.  The Friday performance was packed out and we had a great turnout on Sunday as well.  Looking forward to "All Creation Sings" in the Spring. 

Creative Endeavors: Working on a poster design for the 2nd Annual North Branch Cross Country Spring Fitness 5K.  Almost complete and will be distributed about town after the new year.  Also lighting the fire under the Lapeer County Concert Choir board of directors to expand our educational outreach, more info to follow.

My Latest Project:  Setting up attendance at National Honor Society meetings in schools around the area to go in a recruit kids for 4H camp counselor training.  Rob and I have also become involved with the FRC Robotics team for Ed-Tech and North Branch.  The kick off is at Kettering on January 4th then the real excitment begins!

My 3 Sons:  Ben's experience at the First Tech Robotics challenge was a bit of a frustrating day but he kept it together and came in 10th out of 21 teams which isn't bad considering he never got to drive the robot before the competition due to technical difficulties.

Ethan made it to finals at his first middle school forensics tournament at Hartland and finished 6th in his category (Poetry).  The state competition at Central Michigan University was pretty fierce and he did not receive any awards there.  He is going to use his 3 Wizard poems by Jack Prelutsky piece one more time in January then begin working on a duo with his buddy Noah for the spring tournaments.  

Fox did his first Model U.N. event and is looking forward to the new topice of World Economics which he feels will be more interesting for him.  He is also waiting to do an interview for National Honor Society to be a buddy to an elementary student and has started attending meetings for the high school robotics team, they are pursuing him to be their "money man" and keep track of their financials as well as acting as a team manager. 

The First Born:  Single again.  Down to one job but that's good.  Judged her first Forensic Tourny at Central and is planning to do more and try and come help mentor the middle school team.

Employment News: I worked at Honeyflow filling holiday orders and have been subbing.  Rob is at the end of his unemployment and we just got the account for his new business, Kings Mill Technical Services, set up at a bank in town.  The calls have been coming in pretty steady and hopefully will continue.  Since we've been down this road of self-employment before we have a little bit better plan going into it so I believing this will a succesfully move.

Hoping to Improve:  Making time to write.  Running schedule has been messed up because of the icy conditions.  Looking forwarding to running my first 8K on Jan 31st regardless of training.  Below is the HSXC team at the Fall Sports Banquet.

Food for Thought: I've been reading a great book called Food Rules: An Eater's Manual by Michael Pollen that really enforces the thought behind the food choices we make.  It helps me stay true to the cause of fresh eating especially when the schedule gets busy and "fast food" gets tempting.  My friend who battles with arthrtis has adopted a no wheat and no sugar routine over the past few months and has noticed a remarkable difference in her condition, basically no inflamation and very little pain/discomfort.  What you eat matters and heals if we just give it time for the body to accept the change.  Taking a pill just covers symptoms for a time but doesn't really heal anything.....just saying.

Last Words:  Here is my mantra for the new year ....
 

   

iHave no Expectations

Outside my Window:  We have been having the most wonderful weather lately, warm but not miserable, mixed with some cooler days that start you off with sweatshirts in the morning but by 11a it's t-shirt and shorts all the way.  The activity around the Buddliea bushes in the Gramma Garden has been crazy, very hard to capture these busy creatures on film.

What's on my Mind:  Mental health, forgiveness, family.  I just finished reading the book "Silver Linings Playbook" for our next book club meeting.  I had seen the movie in theaters but it had been enough time that I could forget what I saw and really get into the characters as written.  It really made me think more about the influence of family and relationships; when you need to forgive, let go and keep connection; and when you need to completely release any contact for the sake of your mental well-being.  It's a very fine line and a tricky road to cross. 

Thankful for:  A great first cross country meet at Croswell-Lexington High School this morning.  The weather was perfect, we had the biggest team since my boys have been involved, and Fox had his old mojo back, having fun with his running buddies and taking it all in stride.  Coach wasn't pushing anybody, this was an invitational meet and the goal was just to get a baseline time set to work off of for the rest of the season.

Creative Endeavors:  Putting together a Fundraising Packet for the Lapeer County Concert Choir 2013-14 campaign.  Rearranging perennials from various garden areas.

Latest Project:  Getting the donations to the 4H Feeds Families Committe delivered and/or stored until the organizations can use it.  Since there was so much meat donated I had to get resourceful and got a freezer donated from the Habitat for Humanity Restore.  We gave some to House of Hope which prepares hot meals weekly at various locations, some to North Branch Emergency Aid which distributes weekly food boxes, and some to the United Methodist Women for their shut-in meals that they prepare and deliver to the elderly in the community.

My 3 Sons:  Getting put to work around the property quite a bit, luggin tree limbs, raking grass clipping, push mowing, cleaning out and rearranging the back of the garage.  Still to come, closing down the piggie pen and making modifications for next time.  Went to Junior orientation with Fox this week and got his schedule. These his classes for the entire year:
AP Prep English, Pre-Calc, AP US Government, Economics, Physics, Drafting, 3D Design, Intro Stats, Current Events, You and the Law

Middle School open house is coming up this week for Ben and Ethan although they've already gone online and peeked at their classes.  E wanted to find out if he made it into PreAlgebra....he did!  He's also got Drama class for first trimester and Ben will be in the S.T.E.M. class again which he loved.

I've also asked all the boys to find a non-sport actvity or club to do during the winter months.  Ethan is going to try Forensics, Fox is thinking about Model U.N. and/or Legislative Debate, Ben is not sure what he'll do yet.  We talked about maybe trying F.F.A. (Future Farmer of America) but he's not that convinced.

The first Born:  Putting in applications EVERYWHERE, finally started getting calls for interviews.  Had a job offer today to start training next week.  Has another 2nd interview tomorrow and is hoping to be able to work at both places since they've been talking to her about different shifts.  Both are far closer to home so gas expenses will be extremely less plus no more BK drama.  You go girl!

Employment News:  Did my renewal tutorials for subbing but have also been putting in online applications looking for a regular secretarial or administrative assistant job in the area.  Also going to be working weekends at Honeyflow.

Hoping to Improve:  I've begun reading a very disconcerting book "Pandora's Lunchbox: How Processed Food Took Over the American Meal" by Melanie Warner.  My crusade to cut out processed food began awhile back, this information will certainly propel me to stay on track.  These food scientists are so proud of their preserving accomplishments but what has transpired in the meantime is not even close to real food any more, it's really just food representation.

Food for Thought:  Since our employment change we have been blessed with donations from neighbors' gardens and freezers plus our garden is coming in nicely.  It has been a joy to cook for my men regularly again with locally grown/raised produce/livestock. I've also been working on freezing zucchini, swiss chard, and apples.  From garden to bowl....quick and easy coleslaw!

Last Words: 

Life is 10% what you make it

and 90% how you take it.

~Irving Berlin