Under Construction

Hello readers!

As you may have noticed, I'm doing some construction around here. The tabbed links at the top should be good to go in a few days, so please remain patient.

Thanks for your readership,
=) Megan

First Trimester Photos

I wish that the ubiquitous side pregnancy photos were easy to take by yourself. Mark took the first one, and I learned how to use the automatic timer on the others. I'll try to get Mark to take the rest because I think he does a better job with the angles. =)

So, for those of you tracking the disappearance of my abs, enjoy:

SIX WEEKS (September 8, 2009)
The day we found out

TEN WEEKS (October 7, 2009)
I felt so sick and tired the prior four weeks, this was the first time I was able to convince myself that a picture wouldn't kill me. =)


FOURTEEN WEEKS (November 3, 2009)
Part of that may be the beginning of a bump...part of it may be the three helpings of mac and cheese I had an hour before. It seems to take a while to move through the system.

Homemade Extracts

The front jar is newly made anise star extract, and the jar in the background is an in-progress jar of vanilla extract.

I used to have much prettier pictures of my clear, day old anise star extract. We did a photo shoot, the anise pods and me, of their star-shaped beauty floating around in clear vodka, but I guess those pictures were a casualty of one of my hard drive crashes back in November. I could have sworn I did a post on homemade extracts, but I've searched every corner of my blog and nothing. So, in light of a request, the holidays, and a blog carnival, I'm getting my post ready.

I'm planning to make pretty labels and divide the mason jars into smaller, decorative jars for gifts in the next few weeks. So, I'll repost this with updated gift pics for The Nourishing Gourmet's Frugal Gift Carnival on November 19. For now though, I'm posting the instructions for those who want to get a head start.

I used to spend a lot of money on vanilla extract, especially after I had the real stuff, and not just an imitation jar from Big Y. I have no idea how I realized I could make my own, but after the first batch, I was hooked. It's deceptively simple, and deliciously good. Here is all you need to brew your very own homemade extracts. Experiment with vanilla, cinnamon and anise.

The ingredients
6 vanilla beans OR 1/2 cup star anise pods OR 6 cinnamon sticks (I buy mine from Mountain Rose Herbs)
1.5 cups of vodka (or cognac, or rum, or Armagnac - though vodka lets the beans shine the most)
1 quart sized mason jar with a tight fitting lid
Time

The Method

1 Slice the beans lengthwise, splitting them almost in half, but leave one inch connected at the end. If making anise or cinnamon, skip to step 2.

2 Put beans or pods in jar. Cover with the vodka.

3 Shake the bottle once in awhile. I tend to forget this step until I go under the counter to get my food processor, which is stored in front of the jars. Keep in a dark, cool place for several months. My first batch took about 10 weeks to mellow. The batches I have going now had only 2/3 the amount of beans I should have put in, so they are still fairly strong but should be ready in time for Christmas.

These last for awhile! You can top it off with vodka every time you use a little if you don't mind a slight alcohol flavor, or alternatively, once you're done with the beans, add a fresh cup or so of vodka and it should mellow even quicker than the first batch.

You can reuse those beans one more time! Take the beans out after 6 months and put them in a cup of sugar per bean to make tasty vanilla sugar for baking!

Stay tuned for pictures of the final product.

Future Extracts

Here are a few links for extracts I'm in the process of making (so I can't exactly vouch for flavor!):

Lemon Extract

Orange Extract

Hazelnut Extract

13w6d

Yesterday I walked into the cafeteria at work and the one friend I have in the whole place comes up to me and says, "Wow, you look exhausted!"

I was dizzy, and had a headache, and felt very tired. I pleaded with her, "Lyndsey, please tell me that I will wake up one day and it will all be gone. I just need to hear those words."

"Oh yeah, definitely," she replied. "Once you hit twelve weeks, BAM!" My heart sunk.

"I'm thirteen and a half weeks," I said softly.

"Oh." Long pause. "Well fourteen weeks. You'll wake up at fourteen weeks and BAM!" she said with a clap.

Tomorrow is that day. BAM!

Homemade Smartfood...or, When Cheese Takes Over Your Life

I still have not admitted to myself that I have cravings, other than of the warm, comfy bed kind. (The 2 cups of pineapple I eat a day just count as normal daily fruit intake, right?) Today, however, I was forced to reckon with the power of cheese. I went through my day and found myself eating cheddar cheese and cashews, cheddar cheese and apple, and fresh pecorino (sheep's cheese) on my popcorn. I'm contemplating getting my lazy butt off the kitchen chair, closing the baked macaroni and cheese recipe windows, and heading to the supermarket to get the last 8 ounces of colby that I need to whip up a batch of Martha's finest Mac and Cheese. And it was then, after licking the last drop of pecorino off my fingers, I had a sinking feeling I've been lying to myself. I do have cravings, and it is everything cheese. That's OK though. Worse cravings have happened.

Some of you may not want to add brie to your turkey sandwich (that was last week's overkill - 3x a day). Maybe making boxed Annie's Shells and Cheese and dumping in copious amounts of butter and Parmesan cheese isn't your thing either. Heck, you might not even want gruyere on your eggs! But, who doesn't feel all warm and fuzzy when they think about that childhood goodness called Smartfood? Mmmm.

It's so easy, it's almost embarrassing posting a recipe. But I will, because maybe you didn't know how easy it was. Maybe it's like one of those stupid logic worksheets your teachers used to give you. You know, the ones you'd look at for a whole 45 minutes wondering what the heck the clues meant.

i i i i i i i i i i OR Head | Ache OR DES
s s s s s s s s s s DES


And then when you found out they stood for tennis, and splitting headache, and despair, you got all mad because you should have known that yourself. Yeah, well homemade Smartfood might be kind of like that. You take a large pot with a handle. Put it on the burner and heat over medium high. Melt 1 - 2 T of coconut oil. Pour in enough popcorn to cover the bottom of the pot. Grab the lid, cover the pot, and let it sit for a minute while you melt your butter and get out the cheese. (I think Parmesan would work well too - or a combination. I just had fresh Pecorino on hand.) Then, gently shake the pot back and forth over the flame. You'll start to hear popping. After a few minutes, the popping will slow down. Take the pot off the heat or you'll end up with nasty burnt popcorn. Pour several tablespoons of melted butter over the popcorn, shake on some salt, and then add about 1/4 cup of cheese or whatever amount suits your fancy. Mix it up with a wooden spoon or your clean hands and enjoy!

I'm off to have some pineapple now...

World's Best Chili

I was getting nervous for a few weeks. I could barely open the fridge without gagging. All I wanted was sourdough bread with goat cheese. Now I think about that combination and...Yeah. I'm currently eating oatmeal every morning, a turkey, brie, and apple sandwich with honey mustard for lunch, and something like guacamole with chips for dinner. I'll throw in an egg occasionally, or a piece of fish. And I always start my day with cantaloupe or grapefruit. I eat an apple and peanut butter for a snack around 4pm. That's literally been my diet for two weeks straight. Last night broke the mold though.

I'd been wanting to make homemade raviolis for a long time, and I finally felt like I could stomach a vegetable other than a red onion, so I asked my neighbor upstairs if she'd like to help me make some butternut squash ravioli. We used Emerill's recipe and it turned out FABulous. I wish I had a pasta roller, because the pasta was a bit thick, but the filling was to die for. In fact, I have a cup of squash puree left in my fridge, and I am going to add the rest of the filling ingredients and eat it plain for dinner. Yumm. I branched out and ate a salad last night too! I've been enjoying my mom's 1970s copy of the Joy of Cooking, and I found their Caesar Salad recipe to be intriguing - scary actually. You don't mix the dressing in advance. You just sprinkly some dried mustard, anchovies, oil, and an egg on top of the Romaine and then toss. That freaked me out, but it ended up being amazing. I'll post my tweaks soon. Without further ado, here's the recipe that brought me to the blog, despite a dirty kitchen floor and loads of cleaning...

You may know that I have a chili recipe on the site. It's for working moms, lazy cooks, and busy days. But now, I have a CHILI recipe. It's a little more time consuming, and requires a few more ingredients. However, this is the real deal. It's so much the real deal that I was eating it luke warm as I added ingredients to the crock pot. Mark invited some buddies over for football tomorrow and I'm considering telling the guests we just decided to order Domino's Pizza instead. They probably have, after all, undiscerning palates. Plus, I might just want it all for myself...

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 2 tablespoons bacon grease
• 1 cup diced bell pepper
  
• 1/2 t of minced dried and reconstituted chipotle peppers
• 2 yellow onions, diced (about 2 cups)
• 5 cloves of garlic, mashed (with mortar and pestle if possible
  
• 2 pounds ground beef
  
• 2 teaspoons onion powder
  
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  
• 1 teaspoon chili powder (or more according to taste)
  
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
  
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons sea salt
• 1 32 ounce can of crushed tomatoes
  
• 1 can tomato paste
• 3.5 cups chicken or beef stock
• 2.5 cups of cooked pinto beans
• 1 teaspoon raw sugar
  

• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese, sour cream, avocado slices, or crushed tortilla chips for garnish
  

Brown beef in 1 T bacon grease, unless your beef has enough of its own fat to get juicy. Add all seasonings from onion powder to salt.

Transfer to slow cooker. Add broth, tomato paste, and crushed tomatoes.

In same pan as beef, saute onions and peppers in 1 T butter and 1 T bacon grease. Add to slow cooker. Add beans, dried peppers and sugar.

Cook on high 4-6 hours or low 8 hours. It's best to make this the night before you plan to serve it to let the flavors meld, but its not necessary.

I'll be serving it with cornbread and biscuits tomorrow!

Mile High Apple Pie

What is fall if not baseball playoffs, colorful leaves, and apple pie? If you're a Sox fan and still in mourning, go out and enjoy some fall foliage, pick a peck of apples, and make this pie. After missing the miserable Sox game on Sunday so we could go apple picking, Mark asked if I would make him his very own apple pie with our bounty. He has been working so hard lately, I wanted to do something extra special. When I found this recipe on Joy of Baking's website, I absolutely fell in love. It's like nothing I've ever had before. I've taken liberally from their directions, but have made a few changes as well.

But pies are time consuming, you say? Too many dishes? Can never quite master that pie crust? Hmmm...I agree on all counts. But still, it's worth it. I promise. So grab your favorite cd, spend a day up to your elbows in dishes and apple peels, dancing around the kitchen, and prepare yourself for the most delicious pie you've ever had. And don't feel guilty when you eat it for breakfast the next morning either.

Here are the tools you'll need:
1 9" pie plate
a food processor (or electric mixer)
a colander and a bowl that will fit over the bowl
a rolling pin
tin foil
baking sheet or pizza stone

Ingredients:

Pie Crust
2 1/2 cups of flour (if you use WW, reduce to 2 1/4)
1 teaspoon salt
2 T sugar
1 c chilled butter, cut into pieces
1/2 c ice water

Apple Filling
8 cups of thinly sliced apples (I used a variety of Macoun, Empire, Golden Delicious)
1/2 c raw sugar (brown sugar may be subbed for part or whole)
2 T lemon juice
1 t cinnamon
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t salt
2 T butter
1 T arrowroot powder or flour

To make the pie crust:
Pulse flour, salt, and sugar until just combined. Add the butter and pulse until the butter pieces are about the size of peas. Slowly pour the water into the food processor spout until dough comes together. If you don't use all 1/2 c, don't worry. The whole wheat pastry flour I used soaked up the water very quickly, and I needed the whole amount. Do NOT overprocess!

Form dough into a ball. Divide it in half, flattening each half into a disk, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about one hour before using.

After the dough has chilled sufficiently, remove one portion of the dough from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll the pastry in a circle, flipping over frequently to prevent sticking, and rolling out from the center. Place in the pie pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Remove the second disk of dough and roll it into circle. I used a knife to cut into thin strips and make lattice. You can just put the whole thing on top of the pie if you'd like. Either way, lay the dough onto a flat surface, cover with plastic wrap, and put back in fridge. You can cut it at the end.

Apple Filling:

I'd have all your apples peeled, cored, and ready before you start the dough. It works best, timing wise. In a large bowl combine the sliced apples, sugars, lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Let the apples macerate at room temperature for about two hours to get them soft. Then, place the apples and their juices in a colander that is placed over a large bowl (to capture the juices). Let the apples drain for about 15 minutes or until you have at least 1/2 cup of juice. Boil the juice and 2 T of butter over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Take a few spoonfuls of the juice mixture and add the arrowroot to make a paste. Then, add the paste back to the juice and bring to a boil again. If you add the flour or arrowroot directly, it will be lumpy.

Transfer the drained apples slices to a large bowl. Then pour the reduced syrup over the apples and toss to combine. Pour the apples and their syrup into the chilled pie crust. Moisten the edges of the pie shell with a little water and then place the top crust over the apples. Tuck any excess pastry under the bottom crust and then crimp the edges using your fingers or a fork. Make five 2-inch slits from the center of the pie out towards the edge of the pie to allow the steam to escape, or make some lattice work. I even had a little extra dough and made a heart. Cover the pie with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill the pastry while you preheat the oven.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Place the oven rack at the lowest level and place a baking stone or baking sheet on the rack before preheating the oven. Place a piece of aluminum foil on the stone (or pan) to catch any apple juices.

Set the pie on the stone or pan and bake for about 45 to 55 minutes or until the juices start to bubble through the slits and the apples feel tender (not mushy) when a toothpick or sharp knife is inserted through one of the slits. Make sure to cover the edges of the pie with a foil ring to prevent over browning after about 30 minutes.

Oven Baked "Fried" Chicken

Mark said that I made the "best dinner of my life" tonight, so I had to share. I can't take credit for the recipe, nor will I repost it here. However, I will say that it was easy, frugal, nutritious and DELICIOUS! You can find the recipe at A Good Appetite.

On the menu:
Oven Baked "Fried" Chicken

• We used split chicken breasts with the bone in. I've been experiencing some pretty nasty food aversions during my first trimester, so Mark's been doing the food shopping and I am grateful. I normally wouldn't buy Roche Bros. chicken, but it was $.89 a pound and it tasted really good so I'm not stressing too much.
  

Green beans sauteed in garlic, olive oil, and butter

Kale and caramelized onions

Gluten-free corn muffins

• I modified this by quartering the recipe and making 6 muffins instead of skillet bread. I also subbed butter for the oil.

I highly recommend heading over to A Good Appetite for this recipe!