Unprepared

Yesterday went relatively smoothly.  We capped off Day One with a fantastic dessert of a pseudo bananas foster - I sauteed 1 banana in coconut oil (my new best friend) and topped with nuts - the kids loved it.  We had butternut squash and sausage hash for breakfast (I am so glad I bought the cubes instead of the whole squash) and I was able to get the lunches packed with relative ease - mixed greens, topped with TJ 8 chopped veggie mix, and grilled chicken thighs - I made the dressing the night before (raw acv, dijon mustard, oil oil, & kelp seasoning).

By midmorning I realized I had skimped on the breakfast portions and hadn't provided the kids with ample snacks - we are trying to limit fruit to twice daily but they need something to ward off the temptation at school.  I ended up stopping at Nutbox in Brooklyn to pick up a snack for the drive back home and went a little overboard - I bought Turkish pistachios (they melt in your mouth), dried plums (not prunes), dried guava (my favorite), a nut mix, and coconut chips.

Despite a hectic day, we managed to make it until dinner (leftovers) and I did another fruit dessert - I cut 2 granny smith apples in half, sprinkled apple pie seasoning, and pressure cooked with coconut milk; I topped that with coconut chips, flax seed, and nuts - very good.

That's when the panic set in.  I realized that I am completely over scheduled for today and tomorrow and wasn't sure how I was going to pull off dinner.  I had my daughter peel the sweet potatoes for breakfast and decided that I would attempt to make a crockpot meatloaf somehow between my dentist appointment and my midday meeting.

This morning I went downstairs and the kitchen was in disarray, that's no good when you're racing against the clock to get breakfast prepared and lunches packed.  I got downstairs at 618, 8 minutes too late.  I started grating the potatoes because I planned to make latkas but I realized how ludicrous that was considering that the school bus driver could only wait until 650 (10 minutes past our scheduled pick up time).   So I decided to attempt sweet potato home fries.  I think I'm going to need to get a mandoline, or pull out the attachments for my stand mixer.

I sliced the sweet potatoes into sticks, diced up half a small onion, sauteed, and topped with nutmeg.  I fried the beef bacon (grain fed but nitrate free), and then fried the eggs (too hard).  It was a very good combination - my daughter loved it.  I threw the lunch salads together and as I was telling them to get some sort of vinaigrette, I realized that the added sugar would undermine our efforts so I quickly mixed up my mustard vinaigrette and added a splash of pineapple juice.

By the time everyone walked out the door (late), I felt so scattered that my was heart was racing.  I planned to relax as I ate my breakfast before I embark on this whirlwind of a day, but foolishly chose to multitask and pay bills while I ate...needless to say, I'm far from relaxed.

Will power

We got off to a rough start but we managed to make it through Day 1, kind of.  I planned to make the hash for breakfast but the sausage was still frozen so that left me scrambling for ideas.  I was ready to delay the start until my daughter suggested mango smoothies - I poured some almond milk in the blender, added some frozen mango and topped with flaxseed; we had a handful of almonds on the side.  I knew this wasn't an ideal breakfast, but it was better than nothing.

When we arrived at the MLK Jr. Day of Service the kids went crazy gobbling up muffins and donuts like they were going out of style, promising that they would start tomorrow.  Since I hadn't prepped anything at home, we stayed for the luncheon, this proved to be a bit of a challenge.  The menu was essentially chicken, mac & cheese, salad, and lots of dessert.  I chose the baked chicken, the salad dressed in balsamic vinaigrette, and a spoonful of yams...as I ate, I could taste the hidden sugar in everything.

I came home and got to work prepping because I didn't want to have another day like today.  First, I cleaned out the refrigerator and did a quick overhaul of the cabinet.  Then I set up a snack station of nuts and fruit.  Finally it was time to tackle dinner.

I had planned to make the Paleo Chili, using green beans & carrots in lieu of beans...I made some slight adjustments by making the stock veggies more prominent - onions, garlic, green peppers, celery, ground beef, tomatoes and an array of seasonings - I rolled out the Bragg sea kelp delight and the TJ South African smoke for the first time, in addition to chili powder, etc.  I ended up dropping in an entire bag of baby carrots and had no room for the green beans so I sauteed a zucchini with garlic to use as a topping.

It turned out to be a cross between a chili and a stew, but it was very good and I managed to stop them from getting thirds, so there just might be enough leftover for tomorrow.  We topped off the meal with herbal tea.

Eager anticipation

I generally prefer to go grocery shopping alone...I can stick to my list and there's no one to ask "can we get this?" Today I took the kids with me and it worked out, they bought into "the new diet we're starting," the Whole 30.  Albeit, my son is disappointed about giving up grains because of his passion for carbs - pasta, snacks, cereal, etc.   However, my daughter was able to conceptualize ways to innovate her snacking - sugar snap peas, haricots verte, in addition to the nuts that I planned.

We bought chicken thighs, veggies, frozen fruit for coconut milk smoothies (I know we should limit fruit but I'm not sure we can do that), cashews, almonds, and pistachio meat (I plan to pull out the gumball machine and stock with nuts for a quick snack).  My husband was in a slight panic about the planned snacks - turkey jerky, veggies, and nuts...he insisted on getting apples, pears, and bananas, despite the plan to limit fruit.

My menu is planned for the week and we're stocked on food, to the tune of $150 and I still need to pick up a few items - coconut creamer, beef bacon from WF, maybe some almond yogurt, kelp noodles, coconut oil, and a new gallon of Braggs.

I'm excited!

Diet reset

I've been complaining to my friend that I'm gaining inches & pounds; she suggested that we start the Whole 30 after our birthday...this means Thursday is showtime.  Today I'm all over Paleo sites trying to put together a menu.  I'm avoiding grains, legumes, dairy, and sweeteners; I think this should be relatively easy for dinner but I'm worried about breakfast, lunch, and snacks - particularly since I'm not a huge fan of eggs.  My husband wants to implement this as well but I think the kids will likely have a forbidden item or two during lunch.

Fortunately, Every Day Paleo, offers a great starting point and I was able to develop a skeleton menu plan for Thursday - Sunday and will make a plan for the following week on Sunday when I go to the market.  I'm also going to need another cow share or some lamb - we have only a few pieces remaining (london broil, cubes, tri-tip, t-bone & filet mignon, ground, and of course liver).  I have a standing Thai lunch date scheduled in the midst of this but fortunately my friend is accommodating and willing to deviate from our quest.

So here it goes, any suggestions would be greatly appreciated:

Thursday - sweet potato latkes;  broccoli, cabbage, & chicken salad; chili w/ carrots & green beans
Friday - sweet potato & sausage hash; salad; t-bone & artichokes
Saturday - veggie quiche; salad; tri-tip
Sunday - veggie quiche; lettuce wrapped burger; cod & beets

Tomato pie

My 13 year old takes her school work very seriously.  Before winter break she embarked on a creative writing assignment about Edisto - of course she was thrilled when we actually went there.  It was as if she had embarked on a research project as she made note of how long it takes to get to Edisto island (Atlantic Intercoastal Highway) from the main road and then the distance to Edisto Beach and finally to our lodging.   She also took pains to identify the various sea birds.

To invoke a sense of place, she wanted to describe the food; not the seafood, but something she considers unique to the place - tomato pie.  Her assumption is that in the north most people think of an Italian pizza style dish when you say tomato pie, however she recalls our first introduction to tomato pie almost two years ago and the Gullah woman that told me how to make it.

Needless to say, she's been nagging me for days because she wanted to experience the pie so that she could write an accurate description that would conjure up the taste.  I complained that tomatoes weren't in season but she was confident that WF would have something and they did - tomatoes from New England that weren't bad...unlike the pink Mexican tomatoes that are all over supermarkets this time of year.

She sat in the kitchen with her legal pad, taking notes as I prepared the pie.  I made one adjustment - I diced the tomatoes and mixed in the peppers, onions, basil, and seasoning rather than layering with slices - this produced a more robust flavor.  I also added a dash of tabasco to the cheese and mayo topping mix and I couldn't remember if the crackers (I use cheez-its instead of oyster or saltine crackers) went on or under the cheese.  She got a little nervous because I was deviating from what she considered authenticity but the results were superb - she actually enjoyed the pie...my little cousin on the other hand acted as if he was being poisoned with every bite.

Finally

I'm sitting here eating a coconut Liberte yogurt for dessert after what now seems like a surreal day.  I got off to a productive start and was pleasantly surprised when the PGW guy arrived at the beginning of the 12-4 service window and found nothing wrong with our hot water heater.

I planned to make curried chicken but hadn't decided if I was going to do it Caribbean, Indian, or Thai style.  It turned out that it didn't matter because the water wasn't working and of course PWD had no idea when it would be restored.  Fortunately the water was back on by 5 (although they are still doing who knows what and water has been gushing out of the street since they started "correcting" the problem at 3pm).

While my son was at ice hockey I cut up the onions & garlic; skinned & seasoned the chicken; and had my daughter peel the potatoes.  That's when I thought about salona, which I haven't made in ages - I was going to have to adjust the method a bit by using the pressure cooker and substituting okra for peas.  When we returned from hockey I seared the thighs, sauteed the onions, added tomato paste, tomatoes, and a little liquid, bizaara, then cooked the chicken under pressure for a few minutes.  I added the potatoes and okra and brought to pressure again.

I was smiling as I thought of my Emirati friend who introduced me to salona when the phone rang.  It was her!  I haven't spoken with her in at least a year so it was such a pleasant surprise that I chatted while the kids helped themselves to seconds and possibly thirds.

Slow cooked sausage

I had a surprisingly simple dinner tonight and now I'm trying to figure other recipes that are just as easy.  Last night I flipped through GRIND while my son was at yoga; the issue was about using the pig from snout to tail so it featured a recipe for sausage & cabbage.  It just so happened that my friend gave me a pack of nitrate free chicken sausages so I thought I'd give it a try.

The recipe simply calls for layering the ingredients in the crockpot and cooking on high for 3-4 hours...

1 1/2 pounds smoked sausage, cut into 2-inch pieces

3 cooking apples, thickly sliced

1/2 head cabbage, shredded

1 medium onion, sliced

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup apple juice

Because I was a little concerned about flavor intensity, I used cider instead of juice (and a splash or so more), a large onion, and I seasoned the cabbage well.  I also substituted turbinado for the brown sugar.  It was delicious - not too sweet, with a little kick.  Next time I would probably use the entire head of cabbage.

Due to ice hockey, Tuesday has become crockpot night so I'm on the hunt for yummy recipes.