Pantry Shopping

This year, I really have a bug about using things up and minimizing the amount of stuff around here.  In the past, this urge has led to purchases - I'm not sure of the logic there, but the irony doesn't escape me.

This year, I am truly trying to get rid of stuff, and not replace it with more stuff.  Use it up, donate it, or throw it out!  I'm really trying to upcycle, as well - repurpose stuff - as long as it doesn't involve spending lots of money.

Part of my plan is "pantry shopping".  This is helpful to do in January, when all the holiday bills come in. Instead of buying groceries, I've been trying to use up what's in the house.  In doing so, I've realized - there's a lot of stuff in the house.  Weird stuff.  What-was-I-thinking kind of stuff.

When it comes to food, up until now I've just been using up the stuff in the freezer.  With a second freezer downstairs, there's quite a supply to choose from.  Things were going well, but it was time to face the real demon - the pantry.

On Sunday, Gary and I took all of the unopened items from the upstairs pantry and cupboards, and took them to the downstairs pantry.  Once everything was in the same place, we sorted through the food by date, creating several piles.  One pile was for food past the "best by" date, another was for items with a "best by" date in the next 3 months, and then the remainder was organized and shelved in the downstairs pantry.

We reviewed the past date foods, threw out the truly bad ones, and then took the "it should still be OK" ones upstairs, along with the ones that expire soon.  I restocked the upstairs pantry, then purged the refrigerator (ugh), and even cleaned up the spice cabinet.

This leaves me with an upstairs pantry with an odd assortment of items, and a challenge of finding ways to use them.  Every meal needs to have at least one item from the pantry.

Tonight, the first night post-organizing, was a home run.  I used up the following items:

• dried hashbrowns
• canned roast beef
• canned mushrooms
• cream of celery soup
• 1/3 tub of non-dairy cream cheese

to create a roast beef hashbrown casserole.  I "hacked" a recipe I found on allrecipes.com, and it was actually pretty good.  Gary and I both ate it willingly - perhaps the addition of curry spices helped - and Madi was able to stomach it all after covering it liberally with shredded cheese... and the promise of strawberry shortcake if she finished her dinner.  Not even the shortcake could get Sarah to eat it, but 3 out of 4 is a win in my book.  I don't know if I'll ever make it again, but we were nourished.

I served the casserole with canned beets, also from the pantry, bringing the total to 6 items used.  Not a bad start, but I think things are going to start getting dicey soon.  We have way too much tuna, beans, and rice for this to end well...  :)

I HATE Cheese!

Yes, it's true.  I really, honestly, do HATE cheese.

My lactose intolerance makes it easier for people to accept that I don't like cheese, but the truth is that I honestly have never cared for it, even when I could eat it without severe gastrointestinal distress.  It is true that there are a few exceptions - pizza (which is actually common amongst the few fellow cheese haters I found via Googling), cream cheese, and Kraft Mac & Cheese (admittedly, it's a stretch to call that neon orange goop "cheese").

The informal data gathered while trying to develop weekly meal plans indicates that I am, at least within the Americas, a statistical improbability.

Now, before you rush to tell me all about the dairy-free options available at oh-so-many websites, let me tell you - I've looked.

They ALL assume that, even though you can't eat real cheese, you WANT cheese dishes.  Lactose-free cookbooks are filled with recipes "faking" cheese.

Case-in-point:  My sister gave me a link to a great website with a fantastic title: MommyHatesCooking.com  Just the title made me feel at home.  A meal plan from her would be perfect for my aversion to the kitchen!  I paid for the dairy-free, egg-free, and nut-free 4 week plan, and downloaded it, giddy with anticipation.  Here are some of the main dishes I found:

Eggplant Parmesan
Beef Stroganoff
Pizza
Chicken Tetrazzini
Lasagna
Chicken with Cream Cheese
Tacos
Baked Rice with Cheese
Veggie Primavera

So, 9 out of 28 main dishes are cheese substitutes.  Many of the lunch and breakfast options are the same.  Yes, I can substitute other things for these meals, but that kinda negates the whole "pre-planned with a shopping list" convenience.

Googling "Asian weekly meal plans" yielded better results - lots more recipes, but still not the "here's what you buy and here's what you make for a week" simplicity that I crave, not to mention simplified cooking.

A big caveat to this is, of course, vegan recipe websites, which don't use any animal products. Amazingly enough, however, they, too assume that you want to taste "cheesy goodness", just without any animals being involved.

I just want to develop meal plans that are conventional enough that my kids will actually eat them, but are not cheese-centric.

I wonder if there's a market for a product like this, or if I'm just WAY off the bell curve.  Anyway, thanks for letting me rant.  :)

Presents vs. Coal Justification PowerPoint

I think that my daughter's teachers have been influenced by the following Microsoft commercial, in which a young boy prepares a PowerPoint presentation on the benefits of dog ownership:

Today I received via email the following presentation from Madi.  Hers didn't have sound, but the basic idea is the same.   Although I'm not easily swayed, I'm pleased that the school is teaching PowerPoint in the fourth grade! Ah, technology.

ps - Madi confirmed that the teachers did have them watch the Microsoft commercial.

2011 Christmas Letter

Merry Christmas to all!

Well, this has been another pretty crazy fall and winter in our household, so I'm late to the Christmas Letter party, and writing on a deadline.  Ah, stress.

We've had a fun year, traveling to Utah for the 4th of July to spend time with Gary's family, traveling to Mackinaw City to spend time with my family, as well as having my parents and my sister & her family visit in August for a luau birthday party for Madi.  Gary also took a solo trip to Utah for the Elk hunt and to spend time with family.

Each picture on this year's Christmas card represents a personal highlight in 2011.  Clockwise, from the top...

Laura (sitting on a bridge during a hike in Northern Minnesota):

A busy year!  I tried to find more time to blog, but with limited success.  There are an unbelievable number of draft posts still awaiting completion in my inbox!

Success after the rapids!

Once again, I participated in Wahoo Adventures Pedal & Paddle - a 3 day biking and kayaking adventure in June - and again had a fabulous time.  It is one of the highlights of my year.  I spent a lot of time training for it, and was in really good shape.  I had begun serious training toward cycling my first Century (100 mile ride), and could easily complete a 62 mile ride.  I had some great adventures on that bike this summer! At the end of June, however, I injured my knee while cycling and wasn't able to do much of anything other than physical therapy and a bit of kayaking.  I never did get back on the bike before winter hit.

Some other health problems sidelined me during September - November, so now I'm slowly getting back into shape, and wishing that it wasn't such a brown winter - my xc skis are infinitely more enjoyable than the Nordic Track.  (At the risk of being mocked, I'll admit that I pray for snow daily.) All in all, I completed 940+ miles of activities (hiking, running, skiing, cycling, rowing) this year... and still don't look like someone who exercises.  Sigh.  Outside of my athletic activity - As the year began, I spent a lot of time involved in the Young Womens program at church as the president.  I truly love those wonderful girls.  I was released as Young Womens President in July, and called as the Relief Society Education Counselor.  I truly enjoy teaching, so it is a wonderful calling.  I also continue as chief family taxi driver, and have driven over 25,000 miles in the past 18 months (not including family vacations).

Madi (kayaking with Mom):

Madi is in the fourth grade this year, and is experiencing the growing pains that come with increased responsibility, both at home and at school.  She is becoming expert at dashing out the door at the very last minute and running to catch the bus, which she hasn't missed... yet.  She's had her struggles this year medically, but testing has proven that she does not have epilepsy, and with some lifestyle and medication changes we've managed to minimize the (momentary) blackouts and help her focus better.  She's independent when it comes to her social life, and calls and schedules her own playdates - which is wonderful for me.

Madi continues to reject the girly-girl life, and loves to live in yoga pants and t-shirts, play video games, listen to Elvis, and download an untold number of apps onto her iPod.  She and I also ran our first 5K in May; we're not sure either of us want to repeat that.  She's active in Girl Scouts, loves to read, wants desperately to cross country ski (no snow), loves to kayak with me, finally learned how to ride a bike, and has discovered a new sport - fencing!  Believe me, you haven't lived as a parent until you see your untrained child handed a sabre and called to battle.



Cookie:  The newest member of our household!

We adopted Cookie from a rescue organization the Saturday after Thanksgiving.  She hasn't been with us long, but has fit in perfectly from the first day.  She's an adorably goofy looking 5 year old Chihuahua/Schipperke mix.  She is very well behaved, and has endeared herself to me by her lack of chewing and almost non-existent barking.  She's mellow, but LOVES to run... and she's fast.  Don't let the little dog label fool you!  No one in this family can keep up with her, but thankfully, she would rather be by your side than running away.  She loves runs at the off-leash dog park and green beans.

Sarah (watching the high school Homecoming parade):

Sarah has become a sports fan this year. She's graduated from watching the family play Wii games to rooting for her favorite sports teams - the Minnesota Twins, Vikings, and the White Bear Lake Bears. Turns out that she loves going to the high school football games, so it looks like that's going to become a dad/daughter tradition.

One of the biggest events in Sarah's year was the purchase of her iPad.  It has truly changed her life.  She had been using one at school for classes, and buying one for home has greatly increased her independence.  Now instead of waking me up at 5 am to ask me the weather forecast, whether the Twins/Vikings/Bears won... she can check them herself! It's amazing how much she can do for herself electronically - she's a master at finding, downloading, and playing new apps, and creating mind-boggling wish lists.

Sarah is in eighth grade, and loved participating in her middle school's magazine drive (thank you to all who helped!).   She continues her obsessions with the color purple, Care Bears, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and Alvin and the Chipmunks.  Her new expression of frustration is "Oh, sweet biscuits!", which invariably brings a smile to all around her.

Gary (on his new bike): 

Gary travelled for work (with 3M) quite a bit, with 64 hotel nights this year, meaning that he will actually need to file income tax for the two states (NY and OH) in which he spends most of his time. You know that you travel too much when the manager at the local Subway restaurant knows you and is surprised to learn you're not a local.  His projects are going well, and he's definitely in demand.

A high point for Gary was getting his Trek 2.3 road bike.  He's really gotten into cycling this year. He's got quite the bicycle selection now; both mountain and road bikes at home, a hybrid bike he keeps in Buffalo, NY for his trips out there, and a loaner road bike for trips to Ohio.  He tries to get out of work as early as possible when travelling so that he can get in a ride.  Occasionally we'll ride together, but most times when he's home he either rides with his friend Joe or solo.  We did do a family ride this year, the Saint Paul Classic, with Joe and his family.  It was Madi's first organized ride, and she did a fantastic job.  She hung with (injured) me, and Gary and Joe blasted out the longer distance.  All in all, Gary rode 1569 miles this year.  His plan for next year is to complete a century ride (100 mile) in one day.

During the rest of his free time, Gary's engineering skills didn't go to waste - he competed in our ward's Pinewood Derby and Raingutter Regattas - placing Second and First respectively in his categories.  His home handyman side rejoiced in the new lawn mower, in-ground sprinkling system, and new snowblower that we purchased this year, since that made it easier to outsource the mowing (Madi), watering (automatic), and snow removal (Laura).  More time to bike!

Gary went to Utah for the Elk hunt with the guys from his family. The night before, the mountain got 8" of snow, so there wasn't elk or a deer to be seen, just a lot of hunters in a winter wonderland. Gary's dad had an injured shoulder, so he stayed in camp with Gary as the designated Jeep driver. Needless to say, Gary had a blast driving the 1976 CJ5 in all that snow, and spending time with the guys.

Marbles (the rabbit):

Not much to say about Marbles, except she continues to live with us and chew the furniture whenever she gets the chance.  She's almost as big as the dog, which makes for some interesting chases around the family room.  This year Madi finally learned how to pick her up and hold her, so (before the dog arrived) it wasn't uncommon to find them snuggled together.  Since the arrival of the dog, Marbles (aka "Bun Bun") spends a lot of time sleeping and/or looking grumpy.

Goldie & Nemo (not pictured above):

A glaring omission on my part to leave them off the Christmas card - Sarah's beloved goldfish are definitely part of the family.  The longevity of these $2 Walmart goldfish is quite impressive... they are 2 1/2 years old, and threatening to outgrow their 10 gallon tank.  Goldfish have been known to live 17 years, and I think these might just be long-timers around here.

Recipe: Brownie Mounds / Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms

Last week, we had a church service activity where we gathered at Phylis Steltzner's house to teach the young women (ages 8 - 18) how to make cookies.  Phylis was looking for a drop cookie, so I volunteered to teach my Mom's Christmas standard - Brownie Mounds - the wonderful cookie with a less than wonderful name.  Everyone raved about them, so I wanted to make sure to post the recipe, but didn't get to it right away (shocking, I know.)

In the mean time, I came across a recipe for a chocolate cookie with a candy cane (peppermint) kiss on top.  With the yumminess of the Brownie Mounds still echoing in my head, I decided to cross the two recipes.  Peppermint Brownie Mounds didn't have a great ring to it, so I renamed them Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms (after the similar Peanut Butter Blossom cookie).  You'll want to omit the walnuts if you make the blossom version. These cookies are rich but so yummy.  Enjoy!

Brownie Mounds / Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms

3 1/2 c Flour, sifted
1 t Baking Powder
1/2 t Salt
2/3 c Butter
1 1/2 c Sugar
2/3 c Karo Light Corn Syrup
2 Eggs
6 squares Bakers Unsweetened Chocolate, Melted
2 t Vanilla
3/4 c Walnuts, finely chopped (Brownie Mounds only, optional)
60 Hershey's Candy Cane Kisses (Peppermint Blossoms only), unwrapped
Granulated Sugar (Peppermint Blossoms only)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.
Mix margarine and sugar. Add Karo syrup and eggs.
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.  Melt chocolate squares according to package directions.
Stir in flour, melted chocolate, vanilla, and nuts.

Brownie Mounds:  Drop by heaping teaspoonfuls onto baking sheets. Bake in 350 oven 10-12 min. Let cool 2 minutes, then move to cooling rack.

Chocolate Peppermint Blossoms: roll a generous tablespoon size ball of dough in granulated sugar and place on baking sheet.  Bake in 350 oven 10 minutes.  Immediately upon removing them from the oven, press an unwrapped candy cane kiss gently in the center of the cookie.  Let cool 2 minutes, then transfer to cooling rack to cool completely.

Makes 5 doz.

Footnotes:  Don't double. Doesn't turn out well.

Much More Effective

Six o'clock rolled around, and Madi still hadn't fed the dog. This time, I decided to take a different approach.

It worked.

In the future, I'm going to hire Cookie to do all my nagging for me.

Meeting Santa

When we heard that Pleading Paws Pet Rescue - the rescue group that found Cookie - was sponsoring a "Photos with Santa" at Petsmart, it was a given that we would go.  Sarah insisted that Cookie needed to meet Santa.

Not surprisingly, Sarah was harder to photograph than the dog.  :)