Happenings at the Fuller House

Are you ready for an update post? Because even though I think the details of my life are not interesting, you probably do. At least those of you that I am related to or are good friends. I know am bad at communicating. Talk to anyone that knows me. If I don't see you on a regular basis then I probably don't talk to you very often. I do come by it honestly as I come from a whole family of non-communicators. Needless to say, I going to try and incorporate more about my life in this blog instead of just about the food. How does that sound?

So, what's up with me? On Friday I successfully completed my second semester at Gainesville State College. I am proud to say that I maintained my 4.0 GPA and received A's in all my classes. I can't believe I already have two semesters in the books. The time is passing quicker than I could have ever imagined. As stressful as school sometimes can be, I find a lot of enjoyment in all the new things I am learning. I felt like an official nerd the other day in Chemistry class when the teacher shared a joke about valence electrons and I laughed really hard. Who knew electron configurations of atoms could be comical?

I have big plans for my first week off of school. Tomorrow I am going with my hubby to school to sit in on a few of his band classes. I have never seen him teach a full class before and I am so excited. I get to see him teach the 7th and 8th graders. They are currently preparing for their Christmas concert on Tuesday so I will get to hear a lot of Christmas tunes. The rest of the week will be spent cleaning, catching up on laundry and ironing, and working on all the different homemade Christmas presents I am giving this year. I can't tell you what they are yet, because I don't want to give it away. But I promise I will post all about them after Christmas.

Friday, the hubby and I are flying out to Chicago to visit my Aunt, Grandparents, and some other extended family. We are going with my brother and sister-in-law and we will spend the first few days in Rockford visiting family. The last two days we will spend in Chicago exploring the city. Chris and I have never flown before, or taken a trip anywhere since we've been married. So, this is really special to me and I can't wait to spend time with family. Then it's Christmas, New Years, and back to school for both Chris and I on January 3rd.

There you have it. The happenings of the Fuller house this Christmas Season. Thanks for listening :).

New Garden Beds

I sincerely hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving. I certainly did. My husband and I and three of our friends went to spend Thanksgiving with my family in Douglasville. We had a wonderful day, and finished it off with some black Friday shopping at the Tanger outlets in Commerce by where we live. 

Last week my husband built me new garden beds and I am excited to show them off. 

Here is a picture of the old ones before I filled them with compost. As you can see there aren't very big. I believe they were 4' by 2'. 

The new ones he built are a whopping 8' by 4'!

I have so much more room now, and I am excited by being able to plant more vegetables next year. To fill the beds we just moved the existing dirt from the previous beds into the new ones. Then I moved 16 buckets worth of grass clippings and leaves that were in a big pile on the other side of the yard to fill them some more. As more leaves fall we will crush them up with the lawnmower and add them to the beds.

Two of the old beds we moved to the side of the house. I plan on putting up trellising and planting cucumbers and green beans in them next spring. 

In other news, I only have two more weeks of school until this semester is over! I am really looking forward to Christmas break.

Dandelion Green Chicken Broth

I recently read that dandelion greens are very nutritious. As luck would have it, we have lots of them in our yard. What else was I to do but harvest some and see what they tasted like? 

Dandelion greens are a wonderful tonic. They support digestion, reduce swelling and inflammation, and treat viruses. This sunflower relative boasts potent medicinal properties with laxative and diuretic properties. Sounds too good to be true from a weed in your front yard, right? 

Like I said we have lots in our yard and I happily harvested a big bunch of them, and planned to use them in chicken stock.

 I simply cleaned off the greens and placed them in a crockpot with chicken bones from 4 bone in chicken breasts, 2 carrots, 3 ribs of celery, and spices. Then I filled the crockpot to the top with filtered water. 

It cooked for a day and produced a beautiful and flavorful chicken broth. I ended up drinking most of it by itself, and it was extremely delicious. Hooray for free nutritious weeds :). 

UGAly Cake

I know I know, long time no see. Life has been kicking me in the butt lately with everything going on. Classes, working with the band, work, and a husband have been keeping me busy. Today I don't have to go anywhere though, and I am really happy about it. Chris and I can be at home and catch up on some work and homework respectively. However, as I contemplated revising my essay for English class I thought about how long it had been since I updated, and decided blogging sounded like way more fun.

I was looking back at some pictures of the last few months and realized I never blogged about making a Dog Bone UGA cake. I made it for a lady to take to a tailgating party after one of their football games. It was a blast to make, and I think it turned out really cute. 

It was a chocolate cake with buttercream icing. I baked a 9x11 cake, and 12 cupcakes. I cut down the 9x11 cake to size, and cut the corner of four cupcakes out to fit into the four corners of the cake. I cut off the tops of four more cupcakes to get the corners more domed and rounded to make it look for more like a dog bone. 

Everything was very crumby from so much cutting and shaping, so I did a fairly heavy crumb-coat to keep everything in place.

 This was after I finished icing before I smoothed it out. The lady didn't want fondant so I smoothed out the buttercream the best that I could. 

Chris made the UGA logo to go on the cake. I am always amazed and impressed by his mad skills in the kitchen. 

Here is the finished cake. 

Packaged and ready to go out the door.

It was a fun project and I always enjoy it when Chris and I get to work together. 

Thanks for reading!

Garlic Basil Spaghetti Squash with Parmesan and Arugula

 This was a particularly delicious lunch I made the other day. I came home from school very hungry and remembered I had some leftover cooked spaghetti squash in the fridge. 

Here are the players. 3 cloves of garlic, about 10 medium sized basil leaves,  2 cups of arugula, 2 cups spaghetti squash, salt, pepper, lots of red pepper flakes, and a sprinkling of parmesan. I put a little olive oil in a pan and sauteed the garlic. I added all the other ingredients and cooked until everything was heated through. I dumped it all in a bowl and sprinkled parmesan on top. It was delicious!

In other news, I met with my academic advisor today at school. We came up with plan that will have me graduating in Spring 2013. I wrote out what I need to take for each semester to be able to finish. I am very excited to have a goal to work towards. It will be a little rough with having to complete 6 more science courses in three semesters. But I believe I am up to the challenge. I also found out that there is an Organic Gardening/Environmental Awareness club that meets at the school. They even have their own greenhouse. Today someone invited me to come to one of their meetings and it sounds very cool! 

Today was a good day.

Masa Harina and Besan Pancake (Gluten Free)

I have so many things to post about! I have been cooking up a storm this last week and took pictures of it all. Now I just need to find the time to write about everything. Unfortunately, the time for writing on this blog gets pushed aside with all my other commitments. I really appreciate those of you who continue to read even when my posts are sporadic. Thank you!

Today I want to tell you about my wonderful breakfast.

Masa Harina and Besan Pancake with a Fried Egg and Pepper Jack Cheese on top. 

Let me tell you, this was completely delicious. I make pancakes a lot. But they aren't your normal every day pancake. Mine have brown rice flour, chickpea flour (Besan), and lately I have been putting in a couple Tablespoons of masa harina (corn flour) for a little twist. I usually put a 1/3 to 1/2 cup flour with baking soda, salt, packet of stevia, and water and it makes two pancakes. Then I make it like a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and eat it as I run out the door to either clean a house or get to school early to workout. I like it because it is filling and it stays with me for a long time. 

Today I wanted something different, and I wanted something savory. To make my pancake, I put in 2 T or brown rice flour, 1 T besan flour, 1 T of masa harina, 1/2 tsp baking powder, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes and fresh cilantro then I added water and a splash of buttermilk that we have leftover in the fridge from a cake I made yesterday. It made one pancake and then I fried an egg to put on top with some pepper jack cheese. 

It was a beautiful sight when I cut open the egg yolk and let it's satisfying creamy liquid gold run all over the pancake. Oh my... 

 You should try the savory pancake with egg combo. It is quite tasty. 

Seaweed as a Condiment

Happy Labor Day everyone! I have had a great weekend so far and I am excited to spend some time with hubby today and get caught up on some homework. Lazy days at home at the best!

I got some laver seaweed the other week, which is an edible seaweed that has high levels of iodine and iron. It is paper thin, and has a little crunch when you bite into it, but then easily dissolves in your mouth. It has a wonderful savory, sea-salty taste that makes it a great condiment. If you have tried sushi, which is wrapped in a similar type of seaweed called nori, I think you know what I am talking about. I have been finding different ways to incorporate it into some asian inspired meals. 

For lunch as school last week, I brought some brown rice mixed with rice vinegar, thinly sliced cucumber and carrot, and torn laver on top. 

For dinner two nights ago, I made a Quinoa Stir-Fry with carrots, peas, chicken, fresh garlic and ginger, and sesame oil. I scooped it up with my chopsticks and some torn laver. 

Here is a close-up of my chopstick skills :). 

Confession: 

When I finished the seaweed and still had more stir-fry left, I couldn't get the rest up with my chopsticks, so I switched to a fork.

School is back in session

Well, it's that time again. I started classes again last week. I am taking Chemistry, Precalculus, English, Communication, and PE. I am really enjoying all my classes, and all my teachers. It just means lots of homework and early mornings. It is definitely an adjustment, and I need to be so careful about how I manage my time to get everything done. 

A perk about being back at school again is a Costco and Super H Mart that are only twenty minutes from the school. I went the other day with my sister Jenna and we had a blast! I had not been in a long time and needed to stock up on a few essentials. 

I got a big bag of besan (chickpea) flour, rice paper wrappers, korean chili powder, seaweed, rice noodles, wasabi peas and a few other items. It is very exciting to have a stocked pantry!!

Every-time I go to Super H I try to pick up something I have never tried before. This time I picked up some hijiki. It is a dried seaweed that can be reconstituted in water and takes on the flavor of whatever you cook it with. I will hopefully be posting a recipe soon once I try it. 

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The other thing I got is korean chili powder. I heard that it is a little like normal chili powder but spicier and more floral. I purchased it to make traditional korean kimchi. My goal is to make some in the next month or so when all the cabbages are in season. 

Yay for new ingredients :).

Dark Chocolate Pancakes (Free of Gluten, Dairy, Refined Sugar, and Eggs)

I wanted chocolate for breakfast. So I made chocolate pancakes. 

Mission accomplished.

Dark Chocolate Pancakes (Free of Gluten, Dairy, Refined Sugar, and Eggs)

Makes enough for two pancakes

1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp Brown Rice Flour

2 Tbsp Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey's Dark Cocoa)

1/2 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Baking Powder

pinch of salt

1 Tbsp Coconut Oil

1 Tbsp Honey

1/4-1/3 cup water (add a little at a time until you get the right consistency)

Mix dry ingredients together. Add wet ingredients. Heat up a nonstick pan, add a little bit of butter, pour half the batter in. Flip and wait until cooked through. Repeat with the rest of the batter. Enjoy with your topping of choice. 

I spread a little bit of peanut butter and drizzled some honey on top. But I also think that some blueberries or strawberries would be amazing. I like very dark chocolate so I barely sweetened the pancake. If you like something a little sweeter you can add some stevia or a little more honey. I thought these were really great. I loved the rich flavor. I may have it again for breakfast tomorrow. :)

Sauteed Okra and a Tomato and Herb Quesadilla

Before I got married I definitely did not like okra. My experience was with okra that had been fried and had sat too long, and tasted like greasy mush. Not very appetizing. But my husband, he loves okra. Rumor has it when he was a kid he requested a fried okra cake for his birthday. He got it too. I wish I could see the picture of his big bowl of okra with candles pushed in for him to blow out. I am sure it was a magical experience. Since we got married I have had good fried okra when it is fresh out of the pan and super crispy. So, I like it now. But, for the two of us at home I hate frying stuff. The main reason is not even because it isn't healthy, but because it makes a big mess. I have to clean so much anyway, why would I do that to myself? 

My new mission was to find ways of preparing okra that didn't require frying. I found that roasting it in the oven produced very tasty, slightly crispy, nuggets of okra gold and I have been doing that since last summer. But roasting takes a long time and I wanted something a little quicker. 

Enter the saute.

Start off with some fresh garlic. I used 2 cloves for my one serving of okra for lunch. My husband definitely smelled me later that evening. If you are like me and don't mind garlic coming out of your pours up to 8 hours later then use two cloves. If you prefer your garlic fragrance to be slightly less pungent, then use about a half of one clove for one serving.

Slice about 10-12 okra pods fairly thin on the diagonal. Heat up a pan with 1 Tablespoon of olive oil. Once the pan is nice and hot add the okra and garlic with salt, pepper, and a few dashes of red pepper flakes if you like it spicy. Cook for about ten minutes until it is well browned.  

This recipe will yield one big bowl of sauteed garlic and okra. I know a lot of people don't like okra because of the slime, but sautéing it takes away the slime. You are left with okra that is a little crispy around the edges, soft in the middle, and really quite wonderful to bite into. I thoroughly enjoyed it for lunch the other day and I can't wait to make it with dinner for my husband to try tonight. 

I was at Ingles the other day and found brown rice flour tortillas in the freezer section with the Ezekial bread. It was an exciting discovery. So, to go with my okra I made a quesadilla with extra sharp cheddar cheese, quartered cherry tomatoes, and a sprinkling of fresh thai basil from the garden. It was ridiculously delicious. 

Water Kefir and a Great Tomato Harvest

I told you the other day that I had started drinking kefir. Now, there are two different kinds of kefir. Milk kefir, which you may have seen at your local grocery store and is similar to yoghurt but a more pour-able consistency, and water kefir. I have been making the water version of kefir. It is made from little grains of yeast and friendly bacteria that feed off of sugar water creating natural carbonation and lactic acid in the process. It is a refreshing, sweet and sour, effervescent drink that is high in beneficial bacteria, and therefore, good for you.

This is my most recent batch. It is a light brown color from the molasses. I put a little bit of lemon juice and fresh mint after I strained it out, and it was very refreshing. 

There are recipes and information all over the internet about different ways to do it. It is pretty forgiving, and everyone has their own unique technique. However, to start home brewing water kefir you must first obtain water kefir 'grains'. Unlike sourdough or other fermenting processes you cannot create the grains to make it. For my birthday my Mother bought me a water kefir kit off of ebay with live grains and had it shipped to my house. It was a great birthday present! You can get them either dried or live. I have heard that the dried ones are harder to get hydrated and aren't as reliable. So, you can order hydrated ones off the internet or find someone you know that brews it themselves. 

Once you get your grains you will need a glass jar, piece of cloth or coffee filter, rubber band, non-metal spoon, sugar, a slice of lemon, and water. 

Step One:

Place the grains in the bottom of your glass jar and add the correct amount of sugar and water. As a rule of thumb, to every tablespoon of kefir there should be a tablespoon of sugar and 1 cup of water. Stir with a non-metal spoon to dissolve. It's okay if it is not all dissolved at once. You can stir it again in a few hours and it should be good by then. 

Step Two: 

Add a large slice of an organic lemon. If you can't find an organic lemon, just peel off the waxed part of a conventionally grown one. It is not good for the grains to be in contact with the pesticides in the lemon peel. The lemon slice serves to balance the pH in the kefir. 

You can also add different flavorings like slices of fresh ginger or carrot and dried unsulphered fruits depending on your tastes. 

Step 3:

Once you have all your ingredients together in the jar, place a cloth or coffee filter over the top of the jar and secure it with a rubber band. Then let it sit in an out of the way part of your kitchen for 24-48 hours depending on the temperature, the type of sugar used, the desired sourness, etc. You can taste it along the way and strain it out once you think it is ready. 

Step 4: 

Strain it right into a glass and drink, or you can store it in a sealed glass container in the fridge until you are ready to drink it. If it has been 48 hours and it still isn't as sour as you like it, strain it out anyway, put a fresh batch of sugar water with the grains. Then you can let your strained kefir go through a second ferment on the counter until it reaches your desired taste. 

With my kefir I have been using a mixture of 80/20 white sugar and molasses, and about 50% of the time a slice of lemon. For some reason, since the summer started and it has been so hot, my grains have not been doing so good. When they are healthy and thriving they can multiply anywhere from 5-400% in days. Mine have not multiplied in the last month or two and some of the grains look like the texture of sand. I was doing some research and I think I haven't been changing the sugar water often enough. I may need to start changing it every 12-24 hours because of the high temperatures in our kitchen. I have found a great informational website on water kefir. It has the answer to any type of question you might have. It is a company called Yemoos Nourishing Cultures and you can click here for their water kefir webpage. 

Also, as a quick side-note, here is the exciting harvest from our garden this morning. We woke up and literally half the tomatoes on the plants were ripe. We harvested 6 swiss chard leaves, 2 okra pods, 1 little bell pepper, a lot of cherry tomatoes :), and about 16 brandywine tomatoes. Some of them have to ripen on the counter for a few days still. They were weighing down the bushes and we thought it would be better just to go ahead and pick them. I am excited about some wonderful fresh pasta sauce!

This is a close-up of our mini pepper. Unfortunately, it didn't taste that good. It was very bitter. Maybe I left it on the plant too long thinking it needed to grow bigger. I will let you know on the next one. 

Garden Update - 8/05/2011

So, I told you that I would post a picture of my first tomato two days ago. But... I ate it before I got a picture. It was a very good :).

Here are my okra plants. We have been harvesting an average of 3-4 pods a day. Once we collect enough for a meal, we enjoy it roasted with salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.

I planted 2 bell pepper, and 4 jalapeno pepper plants. They have not grown much, and most of the flower blossoms withered. I am averaging about one small pepper per plant so far. They will probably be the spiciest jalapenos ever. I kept them in pots too long, and I also over watered them when they were in the pots. I definitely learned a lot about how to do peppers better next year. 

Here is my itty bitty little bell pepper. It is about the size of a quarter. I kept waiting for it to grow bigger, but the last week it has turned red. So, I guess it is ready to pick. What should I make with a quarter sized bell pepper?

My cherry tomatoes are doing very well. I have harvested about 2 pounds so far. The skin is a little tough but the flavor is very good. 

My brandywine tomato plants have definitely outgrown their cages. We keep having to stake them up and tie them together because they just want to fall over. I have harvested two so far and a lot more are ripening. It is very exciting!

They are huge. A lot of them are as big as my hand!

Finally, my herbs are doing very well. The Thai basil in the back has just taken off. It is so good in asian stir-fries. The one in front is a mint cutting that I transplanted. I am very excited it took root. Now I can make mint iced tea. Yum! I picked a bunch of basil yesterday and the plant looks a little scrawny so I didn't take a picture of it. But the basil tastes amazing! 

Hope you enjoyed the tour of my garden :). 

Lacto-Fermented Sauerkraut

For those of you reading this, thanks for not giving up on me. I am sorry for the lack of posts. I haven't been in the kitchen much this summer. We don't have central AC, so we only turn on our window unit in the bedroom at night for when we sleep, and it is just too dang hot during the day to feel like cooking anything. But I miss writing, and I have so many things to tell you. I will post tomorrow about my garden. I harvested my first brandywine tomato today and it is a beauty! 

I have been on a fermenting kick lately. My journey started by reading about all the benefits of fermented food. The process of lacto-fermentation is where veggies and a simple brine of salt, water, and naturally occurring vegetable juices are left to sit out at room temperature. As the food ferments. lactic acid is created which preserves the food in place of using large amounts of vinegar. The finished product will keep for months in the fridge (if it is not eaten up right away), and will develop flavor as it ages. It is full of probiotics and enzymes, and the fermenting makes the nutrients in the food more available and easier for your body to digest. So, not only does it taste great, but it is also good for your gut. Definitely good news :).

My very first experience with fermenting was last fall with a modified version of kimchi. It had cabbage, onion, carrot, ginger, garlic, and red pepper flake. Kimchi is a traditional fermented Korean condiment, similar to our sauerkraut. I admit that the sour taste of fermented vegetables is a somewhat acquired one. Especially for those of you who didn't grow up eating that sort of thing. When I made my first batch I could only eat it in small amounts mixed in with other stuff. It took me a long time to get through to the end. 

It took me a while to try again, but I knew that fermented foods were very good for me and I wanted to like them. So I tried making a ferment chili paste with five different kinds of spicy peppers, garlic, and salt. It turned out great, and I used it to spice up everything from my breakfast omelette, to my evening bowl of chicken soup. Then I started making a fermented beverage called kefir. I have started drinking that every day, but I will wait and write a whole post on it later once I get some good pictures. 

Then a couple of weeks ago my friend gave me a cabbage and I decided to try again and make sauerkraut this time. I put in cabbage, carrot, red onion, and salt. Once it had soured to my liking I put it in the fridge , and then tried to figure out how I was going to eat it. I just started trying it with different foods and realized to my amazement and joy that it tasted good on everything! 

I started eating it every day, and before I knew it, this jar that was 2/3 full was gone. 

So I made another batch, this time with more carrot (the natural juices from the carrot is what makes the brine so orange). The basic recipe is to thinly slice one medium size head of cabbage and whatever veggies you have on hand, I used several carrots and some red onion. Then add 1 to 2 Tablespoons of salt, and pound the veggies until they release enough natural juices to create the brine. 

Then you pack it in jars as tight as possible, and if there is not enough brine to cover the cabbage then you can mix together a little bit of salt and water and pour in just enough to cover. Place something on top to weigh down the cabbage and keep it under the brine. If the cabbage is exposed to the air it might start to mold, and we don't want that. What I do to keep the cabbage submerged is put a plastic bag in the opening of the jar and push the bag in as far as I can to make sure the cabbage is really well packed, and then just fill the bag with water. You could get a lot of fancy fermenting equipment, but this technique works really well for me.Then let it sit in an out-of-the-way place in your kitchen covered with a towel to keep all the fruit flies away, and let it ferment anywhere from 1 to 10 days depending on the temperature. The hotter it is in your kitchen the faster it will ferment. My kitchen is around 85-90 degrees F and it only took two days to get to the desired sourness, but when it is cooler it will take longer. 

Once it is to your liking, store in the fridge and enjoy it on all your favorite foods. Just make sure that when you dish some out, pack down the jar again to keep the rest of it under the brine so it stays nice and crisp. 

Here is my sauerkraut, tomato, pickled jalapeno, and mustard sandwich. I thought this was so good.

Besides that I have eaten it on a savory pancake, on burgers, in a sushi roll, in an omelette, on a sandwich, in a taco, in salsa, with beans and rice. It really goes with anything, and one day I literally ate it with breakfast lunch and dinner.  

For dinner tonight I enjoyed some kraut with diced tomatoes, pickled jalapenos, and raw corn eaten with tortilla chips. I have eaten this combination for at least four meals in the last week and it is such a good blend of sour, salty, spicy, soft, and crunchy. You should try it :).

So there you have it. My new favorite condiment. I am so glad I didn't stop when my first experience with fermented food wasn't what I thought it was going to be. Now I love it and it goes to show that it is always good to try something at least twice. 

Plants Make Me Smile

Great things are happening in the garden. All my plants have started flowering and I am giddy with excitement. 

These are my cherry tomato plants that are full of flower blossoms.

A few okra on each plant are starting to grow. By the way, I didn't know this was how okra grew. How cool!

The brandywine tomato plants are shooting up and we finally got cages around this morning to keep them supported. 

For the last couple of weeks this "weed" has been growing in the bed I am going to use for the pepper plants. I have been lazy and have just been letting it grow until I need to transplant the peppers. One of our friends came over for breakfast this morning, and I was showing her the garden. I pointed to the chard, the tomatoes, the okra, and showed her the huge weed that I needed to deal with. In shock she said, "that's not a weed, that is a squash plant". I guess one of the squash seeds from the compost in the garden bed germinated and we now have a mystery squash plant in our garden. I was looking online at pictures of different squash plants and they all look the same to me.

Realizing that it is actually a plant I want to keep in my bed, I started watering it today. Isn't it beautiful with the curling tendrils and unfurling leaves?! If any of you are good at identifying plants, let me know if you know what this is. I am rooting for it to be spaghetti squash.  

 Did you know this is what green onions look like when they flower? Don't worry, I didn't either. You see, I have been letting a green onion, that I bought at a farmers market two weeks ago, grow on my bakers rack. I know I should eat it, and not let it go to waste. But it is so cool how it has kept growing toward the light in the kitchen window and started flowering. Uh, I am such a romantic :).

Vegetables can be so beautiful!