Moms' Cafe

When our children were very young we lived in a suburb of Washington DC in Northern Virginia. Often we would meet Daddy after work and stop at a fast food place for supper. Our children became VERY familiar with them. However, as our family grew to five children we decided that eating out was too expensive. The first time we chose to eat at home the children asked, "Where are we going to eat tonight?" And we answered, "At Mom's Cafe!" They were so excited to try a new place. Ha ha! We pulled into the driveway and they were totally puzzled. It only worked a few times before they caught on and didn't want to go to "Mom's Cafe". But we didn't care, we went anyway.

Hence, my kitchen became known as Mom's Cafe.

Fast forward many years and all the children are leaving home. They asked me to put together a cookbook with all the family favorites. I promised, worked on it a bit, procrastinated and promised some more. 

This summer I decided to get it done. 

Tah-Dah! (And yes, I'm inadvertently revealing my true identity, but hey, we're among friends here.)

Each child got a different colored book.

Each Section is labeled and on the other side (sorry no photo) is a list of recipes in the section.

On a few recipes I included photos.

The Housekeeping section is to remind them of what I taught them, plus a few things for grownups

such as defrosting a chest freezer and cleaning an oven.

That's a huge project completed and crossed off my list. Now on to some T-shirt quilts and photo albums. 

Oh my. I'm tired already!

Not Your Grandma's Oatmeal

Oats are so versatile! I like to dress them up with all sorts of fruits, nuts, spices, etc. This one is Peaches and Cream. (Center is chopped walnuts and a teaspoon of brown sugar, and heavy cream over all)

I use old-fashioned thick oats for a better texture.

2 parts water to one part oats, plus a dash of salt is the ratio I always use.

Bring water and salt to a boil, add oats and reduce heat to simmer for approximately 7 minutes. Stir occasionally. Oats are done when most (99%) of the water is absorbed. Spoon into bowls and top with whatever your heart desires.

I often cook chopped apples or dried fruit with the oats. 

Last week we had Caramel Apple Oatmeal; made with a chopped Granny Smith apple cooked with the oats, then drizzled with caramel sauce (the kind you put on ice cream). Oh my was that yummy!

Okay, Back to Blogging

Long time readers will remember that I originally began this blog as a public sharing of my weight loss, sort of an accountability project. Which, ahem, didn’t work. So . . .

In June of this year I joined TOPS, weighing about 193 lbs. I say about because I stopped weighing myself when I saw 192, and I know I went up a little bit from there. So far attending TOPS I've lost 26 ¼  lbs and regained 10 ¾ lbs for a net loss of 15 ½ lbs. The “loveliest” number I saw on the scale was 172.8 (which rounds to 172 ¾). I'm looking forward to seeing it again very soon.

October was really difficult to get through. If I believed in evolution, I’d be inclined to believe I descended from a bear. Every Autumn I feel the urge to bulk up on carbohydrates, then curl up and hibernate through the cold, dark winter until the weather warms up with the sun shining longer each day. Alas, I’m a human being and don’t get to hibernate. And I must overcome my cravings.

Attending TOPS really does help; the other women are empathetic and encouraging. And it helps to be accountable, even when I know I've gained weight. So onward and upward downward!

I’ll share a really yummy recipe I make for my lunches (because I’m the only one in the house who likes tomatoes).

Tomatoes and Black Beans
1 onion (tennis ball size, or more or less as you like) chopped and sautéed in 1 tablespoon oil (your choice, I like Olive)
When the onions are soft and translucent add 1 15 oz. can of diced tomatoes and 1 15 oz. can of black beans (drained and rinsed), ½ tsp basil (or any favorite Italian spice) and ½ tsp garlic powder (not garlic salt). Simmer until heated through.
Serve over cooked brown rice. If you like, top with a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese.

For me this is comfort food! Plus, it’s low calorie and high fiber, two things that help me in my quest to lose weight and be healthy.

Show and Tell

Frugal Friday

This has been a busy and productive week. For a church Young Women's service project we are making pillow cases for a children's hospital in Omaha. I found wonderful instructions at MaryQuilts.com (sending a big thanks to her for her clarity!). Having found the instructions I cut out fabric for six or seven cases. This is the one I sewed with the girls as a demonstration.

Darling Hippos!

These pillowcases are a great way to use up leftovers, reduce your stash, or save money by using thrift store or yard sale sheets or fabric. The best part of sewing them is that it takes only three seams to make them with NO raw edges inside, so they are sturdy and long lasting.

In another area for frugality, I used up a leftover slice of toast and an English muffin to make bread crumbs for Salmon cakes. My goal is to eliminate waste in my kitchen. I do pretty good, but I want to reduce it even more. Here is one of my methods. After a meal I put the leftover toasted whatever into a (used) bread bag to save for processing. When I'm ready I get out my blender and tear the bread into small pieces and grind them in the blender. Maybe you have a food processor which would work also, I don't have one and have always used my blender. The crumbs can be made at the time you have the leftovers and saved in the freezer, or save the leftovers and make the crumbs as you need them. Works both ways.

(We have such lovely walls in our kitchen!)

Crumbs ready for making Salmon cakes (or patties)

Yummy - ready to be turned over to brown the other side.

Salmon Burgers (or cakes, patties, balls)
1 14.75 oz. can Salmon, drained and flaked
1 egg, slightly beaten
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 - 2 cups bread crumbs (amount depends on how many you're feeding)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon dried dillweed
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Combine ingredients, mix well with your hands, then form into patties. Pan fry in small amount of vegetable oil until browned on both sides. Serve as you would any other burger. For patties or cakes just make them smaller (see picture), for balls just make them round (you get the idea).

We enjoyed these the other night with homemade oven fries.

I like making things from scratch so I can control the ingredients. Recently I decided it was time to finally figure out how to make my own "condensed cream of . . ." soups. A google search came up with lots of ideas and recipes but the one I liked best is found at a wonderful site called Salad-In-A-Jar. I tried the recipe and was totally pleased with how fast, easy and tasty it turned out. I used it in a chicken casserole and thought it tasted better than any store bought. The recipe calls for 8 ounces of evaporated milk which is less than a full can so I looked up how to make my own so I wouldn't waste any from a can. Talk about easy! Instead of the liquid milk, just add 2/3 cup dry milk and 3/4 cup water to the blender with the other ingredients for the cream soup. It was fabulous. Also, I used canned mushrooms instead of fresh (easier to store and have on hand) and black pepper instead of white.

I recognized that this recipe was MSG free, very low sodium and easy to make but as I read all the comments on Paula's blog I realized that I needed to share this with my sister whose daughter eats a gluten-free diet. So this is a great recipe for many different applications. Huge thanks to Paula for developing it and sharing. I think this cream soup recipe would work with other things like chicken, celery, broccoli, asparagus, etc. which will make casserole cooking so much more healthy and frugal. It fits with my desire to store basic ingredients that can be used in many different ways.

How to Stretch a Can of Tuna Fish

I'm old enough to remember when cans of tuna fish were 7 ounces. Today they are five ounces. Some years ago I devised a way to stretch a can to make it go further.

Here's my method:

Gather whatever vegetables you have on hand; my standards are onion, carrot, celery, bell peppers (whatever color) and broccoli.

Chop each veggie as fine as you can:

Mix them in a bowl:

Add the tuna and some mayonnaise (or your choice of white salad dressing stuff):

Mix it all together and serve on bread for sandwiches or with crackers (when you forgot to get the bread out of the freezer that morning).

This batch made 2 cups (500 ml), so at 1/4 cup per sandwich, this would make 8 sandwiches; six sandwiches if you spread it a little thicker. Way better than one or two sandwiches per can; plus all those tasty, healthful veggies!

Thanks to Dandylion for helping with the Photo Booth effects shots.

Nevertheless, Wheat for Man

Guess what I did today!
That's right, I ground some whole wheat flour. Thought I'll show you a little about that.
I set everything up--you can see my grain mill, five gallon storage bucket, can opener and a #10 can.

This is wheat I canned in Washington state twenty years ago, but actually the wheat was purchased sixteen years earlier than that. I was eighteen and the ward (church congregation) placed an order for some Montana hard red wheat and I bought 150 pounds. My parents kept it in their storage until I retrieved it in 1992 and took it home to Mount Vernon, Washington, where I then took it to the church cannery and put it in steel cans. This is the best wheat I've ever had.

This is my grain grinder that I bought while living in Dale City, Virginia in 1999 for $181.00. Today the company is called Blendtec and the same grain mill sells for $179.95.

Here's a peek at the whole wheat berries. They are yummy just chewed up straight from the can.

Here's what the flour looks like: above is in the mill bucket, and below is in the five gallon bucket.

PW wanted to make some bread so I showed him my recipe for Fast and Easy French Bread and let him go to it. Here's his bread ready to rise.

And here's the finished product.

While the bread was baking I made up some Black Beans and Tomatoes to go over leftover brown rice. It is one of my favorite lunches.

For dessert Paul served me half of one of his round loaves spread with Dulce de Leche he brought home from Argentina. It was the perfect ending.

What would a blog be without a couple of recipes:

Fast and Easy French Bread

In a large bowl place: 3 cups warm (hot tap) water
                                   2 tablespoons sugar
                                   2 tablespoons yeast
                                   1 tablespoon salt
                                   2 tablespoons olive (or other) oil
When the yeast blooms, ADD 6 - 8 cups flour to make a stiff dough (I use half whole wheat and half unbleached)
Let rise 20 minutes.
Shape into loaves (whatever shape you like) and place on a greased baking sheet (or in greased loaf pans)
Let rise 20 minutes.
Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.
For shiny bread, brush on egg wash made of a whole egg and a tablespoon of water.

Black Beans and Tomatoes
1 small onion (or part of large one) chopped, saute in 1 tablespoon oil
Add 15 oz. can of stewed tomatoes, and 15 oz can of black beans, drained, 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder. Simmer until heated through. Serve over brown rice.

Today PW requested the addition of a little chili powder and it was a good choice.

We have been counseled for many decades to store wheat. I was raised by a mother who not only stored it but used it for bread. Her mother had made whole wheat bread too and it is her recipe that I use today.(Not the French Bread, I got that at a Relief Society Activity)  I not only bake bread, but I use whole wheat flour for pancakes (my husband won't eat any other kind), rolls, biscuits, muffins, sweet or nut breads, cookies, cakes, pie crust, and pizza. I like the texture and flavor of the whole wheat flour. At times when I've had the money and/or it was readily available I've used whole wheat pasta also.

It's all a matter of what you get used to. I'll share an example. I grew up eating General Mills brand Cheerios; I didn't know there were any other kind. Until I had children of my own and decided that I couldn't afford Cheerios and bought some Malto Meal Tasteos (or whatever they're called). They tasted different, but after a couple weeks I got used to them and that's all my children ever had. When we visited Grandma and she served Cheerios my children DIDN'T LIKE THEM!!! They tasted different from the ones they were used to.

Moral of the story: Give your taste buds a couple of weeks to adjust to new tastes and textures. When beginning to use whole wheat flour start with adding 1/4 of the total amount of flour, after a couple of times, up it to 1/3, then 1/2. Experiment. I found that in dark things like gingerbread or pumpkin cake I can use 100% whole wheat flour and nobody complains. In fact, the first time I made pumpkin cake using all whole wheat flour Topdad said it was the best cake he'd ever eaten!

I believe the Lord when he says "All grain is good for the food of man; . . . Nevertheless, wheat for man," (Doctrine and Covenants 89:16-17)

Potluck

Today was the monthly potluck on Fast Sunday; a true "potluck" there were six or seven pasta casseroles, a roaster of hot dogs, one quiche and one fruit pie for dessert. I think we all had the same idea--something quick, easy and filling. My poor husband didn't eat very much as he dislikes pasta. Poor him. I loved it. But I think I'm going to stick to something that is rarely there on potluck Sunday and is sorely needed. Can you guess? I'm talking about GREEN and FRESH, salad and vegetables. I think in all the year and a half I've been here in Iowa I've been the only one to bring fresh vegetables and/or salad to the potlucks. When I don't there isn't any. So in the interest of promoting health and good nutrition I'll be bringing fresh salads from now on.

By the way, my salads are either dark greens such as Romaine lettuce or spinach and whatever vegetables I have on hand, or just straight veggies, no lettuce. Topdad actually likes the veggie salads best.

I love to add garbanzo (or other) beans to a salad.