It’s been 85 days or 13 weeks since the smell of dying kitchen led to it’s full blown demise. Let me tell you, when you are eating almost every meal out, it feels more like a year.
We are still in final stages of the remodel. The back-splash still needs to be installed, and there are a few cabinet/drawer details that need to be addressed. Other than that we are back to full function. I have never been so happy to wash dishes.
Our kitchen went back to fully functional at 8 p.m. the night before Thanksgiving. If we had been crazy enough to host the holiday at our home it would have been a nail biting finish.
Making pancakes for my family on Thanksgiving morning truly encompassed the meaning of the day. Obviously I have more than a kitchen to be thankful for, but I appreciate the first world convenience more than ever before.
The old adage, “you don’t appreciate what you have till it’s gone”, held true during the last three months. Each day that we had to go out and purchase pre-made, non-organic food from restaurants or grocery stores made us realize how spoiled we are.
During the remodel I was unknowingly conducting an experiment. I normally get sick maybe once a year. During the three months I was sick multiple times. I am sure stress played a part, but I can truly say that I believe it was due to the quality of food I was eating. Although I ate as healthy I could at most places, I know not everything is scratch made. A majority, if not all, was not organic.
There is something to be said for that. It was a good experiment, but not one I would like to repeat any time soon, or ever. On the flip side I am happy for the experience, because it confirmed what I already knew. You are what you eat.
I am ecstatic to start developing recipes and blogging about them again. I have so many ideas planned for the very near future and plan to start offering cooking classes out of my beautiful new classroom. Stay tuned!
Now for the unveiling of my beautiful new work place.
Here is the before again for shock value:
Here is the beautiful after:
And a side by side:
This experience has also taught me that there is beauty in every situation, even the stressful, inconvenient, stinky ones.
Have you missed me? Wondered where I went? This should clear things up.
I notoriously have an extremely sensitive nose. When food is involved my super smeller is a great asset. When bad smells are involved it is a curse, usually. In this case it was a blessing.
Four weeks ago, on a normal summer morning I stumbled into my kitchen half awake. As I made my way to the Keurig, I noticed a distinct, awful smell. After a quick check on the usual smelly suspects, I spent the day searching for the ghostly smell. I took out the trash and washed the trash can. I bleached the sink. I cleaned out the fridge. The smell still held firm to it’s position in my culinary domain. Not only did it hold on, a couple of days went by and it got worse. Much, much worse.
My gut instinct told me we needed to look behind the dishwasher. Easier said than done. The people before us had remodeled the kitchen, but did so in an extremely strange fashion. One of their decisions was to not put tile under the dishwasher or cabinets. Instead they are below floor level about an inch and a half. Due to this there was no pulling the dishwasher out without pulling the counter top off. Thinking that the smell was only the dishwasher we were not willing to create that much damage.
With my husband curiously watching me, I removed the bottom face plate of the dishwasher. Immediately the smell grew ten times worse, and we saw the inch of standing water. That oh (fill in the blank) look crossed our faces. The husband quickly grabbed a flash light and revealed mold growing on the back wall. Not the most exciting thing to find in your kitchen.
We had no idea the controlled chaos this revelation would create. In the past few weeks we have had an abatement company remove half of our kitchen cabinets and a large portion of the back wall, 4 feet high. The removal had to be done in a controlled environment due to asbestos being present in the joint compounds of the wall.
We had multiple visits with cabinet companies, the insurance adjustor and a general contractor. The process has had it’s moments of seamless orchestration and moments where I feel like I have just walked out of a tornado. At this point I just want my kitchen back.
We wanted to remodel the kitchen eventually, but the timing isn’t the greatest. But, when would it have been?
I have decided my attitude on this is one of gratitude. I am grateful we have insurance. I am grateful for wonderful friends taking care of us. I am grateful that because of this I appreciate my modern conveniences on a new level.
As you have most likely assumed my cooking is very limited at this point. Without a sink, counter, dishwasher, range or disposal it’s very hard to prep, cook or clean up a meal.
So, in the next couple months this blog will be taking some what of a detour. I will still be posting recipes (cooking in some amazing kitchens of friends), but I will also be posting what to order at restaurants to stay on a healthy road. A lot of the recipes I post will be in the appliances I have available to me (crock pot, toaster oven, oven while it is still in tact).
Detours don’t have to mean derailment. Two weeks before our kitchen fiasco my husband decided to jump on the healthy band wagon. This could have been a huge blow to his new plan. I am happy to say we are both still on target to reach our goals. Even though we have eaten out a majority of our meals in the last 25 days.
Lesson to this story: Regardless of your situation, if you have a goal in mind, you will get there. If you want it bad enough, nothing will get in your way. The lack of kitchen hasn’t hurt our waist lines. The temptation of tons of options on a menu, or the lack of healthy prepped meals, are just small obstacles to over come.
I’ll also be posting periodic updates on the progress of our kitchen (with pictures). Here is what it looks like currently and what it looked like before.
Every year I plant a summer garden in my backyard. I use a 4 X 8 raised planter bed and fence out the animals (bunnies & squirrels) with chicken wire.
I spend a good amount of time planting each plant carefully. Making sure each has a symbiotic plant to fight off disease and pests. When everything is planted, I watch those babies like a hawk. I go out everyday and make sure they have enough water, sun, and aren’t being invaded by insects. In a nutshell, I love gardening.
Unfortunately, this year, I have not been able to plant one. We tore up our back yard last December. Now, very slowly it is being put back together. Slow, like dripping molasses.
I miss the tomatoes right off the vine. I miss the wafting smell of the basil as I approach the planter bed. Most of all, I miss being able to harvest the vegetables of my labor.
I really shouldn’t complain though, I have an ever better substitute for my garden. My neighbors L & L have the best home garden I have ever seen. No exaggeration. Rows of high tomato plants, zucchini, cucumber, apples, avocado, grapefruit, oranges, lemons and peaches.
L is very good at what he does. He had special soil, called sandy loam, trucked in just for his garden. Whether it be the soil or his green thumb, the quality and the quantity he produces far exceed what my little 4 X 8 bed could.
L & L zucchini & eggs
That being said, I have been able to survive the summer with the fruits of his labor. Once a week I receive a surprise delivery on my door step. Sometimes that even includes eggs. We are very spoiled by them.
Recently Mrs. L had surgery that limited her mobility. Mr. L was going to have to take care of the Mrs. and her live in mother on a daily basis. Upon hearing this, I immediately offered to make them dinners. It was least I could do for all they have done for us. Not only have they been generous with their crops, but also a myriad of other things. We are blessed to live next door to them.
It just so happened that the day before I was to begin working on their meals, L dropped off one of his infamous bags of produce. It had all the usual suspects, including a few gorgeous zucchinis.
There are so many ways to prepare zucchini, but one of my absolute favorites is a zucchini lasagna. A zucchini lasagna replaces the pasta sheets with zucchini. Lowering the carb count and increasing the nutrients.
In my recipe, I make two sauces, a marinara and bechamel. Marinara is a fancy name for tomato sauce. Bechamel is a fancy name for cheese sauce. I make my bechamel lower in fat and carbs by using chicken broth instead of milk, Melt, instead of butter. The two sauces intertwine in each bite, creating a tomato cream sauce.
The sauces are layered between the zucchini ‘noodles’. It is up to the chef whether to add ground turkey, pork, or sausage. The sauces are bold enough to stand with the zucchini alone, for a vegetarian version.
This lasagna can be baked and served immediately or it can be covered tightly with plastic wrap and foil, then frozen for up to 3 months. Either way, it’s worth the work. You won’t be disappointed I promise.
It’s a dish that feels indulgent, yet is much healthier than eating a traditional lasagna. According to L & L it was a great use of their zucchini, and helped Mrs. L get on the road to recovery.
Recipe
3 – 4 large zucchini, sliced on a mandoline ( <— click for the same one I use)
sea salt
16 oz. mozzarella low moisture, part skim or any cheese blend (I used a pizza blend)
1 lb. ground turkey, pork or turkey sausage, cooked and any fat drained
Marinara
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 28 oz can organic diced tomatoes
1/2 brown onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small carrot, diced
2 teaspoons dried basil
sea salt and pepper to taste
Place zucchini slices on a paper towel and sprinkle lightly with sea salt. Let sit for an hour. Blot dry, turn over and repeat step on other side. This will pull excess moisture out of the zucchini, so your lasagna won’t be soupy.
Heat the olive oil in a large pot. Add the carrots and basil, saute for 2 – 3 minutes. Add in the onions and saute till translucent. Add in the garlic and saute for 1 minute, constantly stirring so it doesn’t burn. Stir in the tomatoes, and de-glaze the pan (scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan). Simmer for 20 minutes on low, stirring every 3 minutes or so to avoid burning the sauce. Using a stick blender, blend the sauce partially. I like mine to still have some chunks. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside. (Whatever you have left after making the lasagne can be frozen).
Bechamel (not traditional)
4 tablespoons Melt butter (smart balance or ghee)
4 tablespoons whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups low sodium organic chicken broth
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
Melt the ‘butter’ over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, stirring constantly for 3 – 5 minutes or until the mixture smells like popcorn. Constantly whisking, slowly stir in the chicken broth. Continue to whisk till the mixture is fully incorporated. Lower the heat to low. Stir in cheese and pepper. Take off heat.
To Assemble Lasagna
1. Ladle a thin layer of marinara on the bottom of a 9X13 pan.
2. Layer zucchini noodles on top of the marinara, overlapping slightly.
3. Ladle 1/2 of the bechamel on top of the zucchini.
4. If you have a meat layer, add it on top of the bechamel.
5. Layer 1/3 of the cheese on top of the meat.
6. Ladle the remaining 1/2 of the marinara on top of the cheese.
7. Repeat steps 2 – 6 one more time.
8. The last layer should be the remaining cheese.
9. Bake for 20 – 30 minutes or until bubbling and golden brown.
Fair season in the O.C. is upon us. The G family loves the fair for many different reasons. Mr. G and I love trying the various foods offered. We used to seek out the Australian Battered Potatoes, but have since moved onto the Texas Sized Maple Bacon Donut. For the most part, the fried menu items don’t interest us as much as they used to. Probably because our stomachs really can’t handle the grease anymore.
Our boys love all the rides, and playing the games to win yet another stuffed animal to add to the menagerie. They also love the corn dogs and the roasted corn.
I can remember loving corn dogs at the fair when I was little. For some reason they taste much better there. It has to be the ambiance that enhances their flavor.
We live 45 minutes from the above mentioned fair. We will most likely go once during the season. So if any of the G family wants to eat a corn dog any other time of the year we must venture off to the frozen food aisle or make our own. I’m sure you can guess which one I prefer.
I’m going to go off onto a completely differently tangent for a bit and then come back full circle. Bear with me.
Buy your cookbook on Melissas.com
Recently, I was invited to Melissa’s Produce Hatch Chili Cookbook Launch Event. Their wonderful chefs Ida Rodriguez and Marco Zapien made a delicious lunch for us with Hatch Chili as the main ingredient in every dish.
For those of you who have never had a Hatch chili grace your presence, let me introduce you. The chili is grown in a region of New Mexico, surprisingly named, Hatch. Hatch is the perfect breeding grounds for this chili due to the hot days and cool evenings.
They are large, green peppers, with a waxy appearance, similar to an Anaheim pepper. The heat sneaks up on you and builds, but it is not an unbearable heat.
The growing season is only 6 weeks, and usually begins the first week of August. The estimated start of the 2013 season is August 8th. The most interesting part about the chili is that it can vary in heat from mild to hot. They are wonderful roasted or used in the powder form.
Hatch Lemonade
It was fun tasting each of the 15 items, with the chili being used differently in the individual dishes. My favorites were the *Honey Mustard Pretzel Crunch, Chocolate Chip cookies, Chicken Salad Sandwich and the Cornbread. But the item that pushed the menu over the edge was the hatch chili lemonade. Each guest added their own hatch chili ice-cube to fresh lemonade. It was refreshing, sour, sweet and spicy. Perfect.
After I left the event, warmed by the heat of the chilies, I immediately started pondering how to use them in a healthy dish. On my way home I saw a billboard for the O.C. Fair, and started dreaming of the food. That is when it hit me. I said to myself, “I bet the hatch chili powder would be awesome in the corn dog batter!”.
There are times when my ideas and reality don’t mesh well. There have been many disasters. I can say without question that my little experiment worked well. I was able to concoct a healthy version of a spicy corn dog.
foil boats
In this recipe I took an organic, nitrate and preservative free hot dog, and covered it with a sweet and spicy hatch chili and honey cornbread coating. To leave room in my arteries for the fatty fair version, I baked this version. I replaced the milk in the mix for club soda for a fluffier texture. Coconut oil replaced the vegetable oil. I used foil boats (see pic to the left) to maintain their form. Although, they still took on a funky shape, they still looked like the original version.
This substitution will knock your socks off and even make your nose run a little. You won’t have to feel guilty about eating these. Just remember, even though they are healthier, they are not low-fat. So remember to share with a neighbor or two.
Recipe
1 box Natural Honey Corn bread mix (I used Krusteaz)
3/4 cup to 1 cup club soda (depending on thickness of batter , it must stick to the dog)
1 egg (room temp)
1/3 cup coconut oil
2 1/2 teaspoons mild hatch chili powder (this will be remotely spicy, adjust to your tastes)
10 -12 organic, nitrate, preservative free hot dogs (Applegate is wonderful)
10 -12 Popsicle sticks or skewers
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
Make foil boats for the amount of hot dogs you have. Place each boat side by side on a cookie sheet. Spray each boat with olive oil cooking spray.
Thread a skewer or Popsicle stick into each hot dog. Leave enough room for a handle.
Pat each hot dog dry with a paper towel. Roll each dog into the dry corn dog mix. Set aside.
Mix the remainder of ingredients in box until combined.
Using a spoon, cover each dog with the cornbread mixture, till completely covered. Shake any large clumps off into the bowl. Set the covered dog in the foil boat. Repeat till all dogs are covered.
Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until completely cooked and slighting golden.
Chef’s Note:
If your kids won’t touch spicy with a ten foot pole, divide the mixture in half and only add half of the hatch powder to one half. Or don’t.
If you aren’t familiar with chia seeds other than the infamous pets, you probably clicked on this post out of sheer curiosity. I personally was a skeptic at first. I immediately added them to my mental list of foods that are a hippy gimmick. I even tried to convince myself that I wasn’t a hippy at heart. Then I went over my life passions in my head. Oh yeah, I am part hippy. I figured I at least owed it to my fellow hippys to try the seeds. If I didn’t like them, I could move on to something else weird.
Ok, seriously people, they don’t taste like anything. If you like tapioca, you will like them. If you don’t like tapioca, grind them up and drink them in a shake, use them like a flour, so on. There are tons of uses for the nutrient packed seeds. Here is a short list of benefits these poppy seed like beauties contain:
Full of omega-3’s (improves mental performance)
High in fiber
High in protein
High in calcium
High in antioxidants
Helps with weight loss (gives you a full feeling)
Redeuces inflamtion (great for those with arthiritis)
Absorbs extra acid (great for reflux sufferers)
Lowers cholesterol
Lowers the risk of heart disease
With all of these benefits and no taste, I will be adding these to whatever I can. The reccomended amount for an adult is 2 tablespoons a day. An easy amount to add to a morning smoothie, shake, eggs, yogurt, cereal, toast, or even sorbet for dessert. Honestly, I would reccomennd starting off with the recipe below as an introduction. It’s an easy recipe to make, and tastes amazing! The chia seeds act as the thickener. They absorb the liquid and grow 8 times in size. The gelatenous coating creates the pudding like texture. The hardest part in making this is waiting for it to thicken. It will start thickening immediately, but I noticed the greatest consistency 12 hours in.
You can buy these little beauties at your local health food store or by clicking here.
Recipe
2 ripe bananas, mashed
2 cups almond mlik
2 tablespoons real maple extract (vanilla works too)
7 tablespoons chia seeds
Mix the ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. Cover and chill 6 hours. Serve by itself or with fresh berries.
Marketing is everything. For someone just starting to join the Food Revolution and eat healthier, a food product with the word diet seems appealing. Trust me, I fell for it too, in my early weight loss days. For a long time ‘sugar-free’, ‘diet’ and ‘low-fat’ reeled me in. I bought products that contained these labels religiously. I thought I was doing myself and my family a favor. I couldn’t figure out why I wasn’t losing weight.
Then I learned that there are no free calories. There is an inherent costs to chemical substitutions. We think we are eating healthy by choosing low-fat, sugar free options, but in reality they are more harmful than their original counterparts. If one ingredient is taken out, another equally bad component is usually added in so the flavor isn’t jeopardized.
As consumers, especially consumers trying to purchase healthy consumables, we need to get in the habit of reading labels. My rule of thumb is to try to buy as few products with ingredients that I am not familiar with. I love the Dryer’s commercial with the child trying to pronounce ingredients off of another brands ice cream label. Such chemicals are not in our everyday language, because we don’t know what they are. Food companies don’t want us to know. If they were good for us, we would know. They would be advertising the benefits. I have never seen an ice cream commercial, organic or not, educating the population about healthy benefits. My thought is, if I am going to eat something that isn’t healthy I might as well not poison myself too. So, yes, I will eat the full fat version with the best ingredients, in moderation. Preferably home-made. (Home-made ice cream is the BEST!)
My point is, living a clean diet is all about knowledge. Look for people and brands that support a clean, healthy way of living and learn from them. Don’t get trapped by the buzz words that make you think you are living healthy. Double check labels that contain these words: low-fat, sugar-free, fat-free, reduces cholesterol, helps digestion, natural, reduced sodium, etc. Make sure they do what they claim before you sabotage your goals.
What are some of your favorite truly healthy brands?
Yes, this has been posted before. I am re-blogging this gem of a tip for an excellent reason. I am going to summer camp this weekend, and I am giving away matcha green tea with my business card.
Yes, you heard that correctly. Not, my kids, but me, I am going to summer camp. Specifically, a summer camp for food bloggers. Complete with cabins, and bunk beds. I am so excited! Not only because I could use this as a recharge, as the school year ended a couple of days ago. Also, I am walking into this camp as a sponge. As Johnny #5 so eloquently stated, “Need input!”.
I am hoping to make this site even better by attending. So wish me luck as I head into the woods and learn all about the art of blogging. Of course, I will be surrounded by other food bloggers, wine and great food. I’ll also come home with a great bag of swag, so I guess I really don’t need luck.
I hope you all have a safe, healthy Memorial Day weekend! Don’t forget to thank our service men and women, veterans or active military. They are the reason, we get to read blogs and live out our dreams. Thank you!
This recipe is great served over cauliflower rice. I like the salty sweet, crunchy textures in this dish. The delicious sauce soaks into the cauliflower rice and becomes a whole new layer of yummy-ness. I use chicken thighs in this dish, that I remove any visible fat from. If you want the fat content to go even lower, use chicken breasts, but adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Serves 2 – 4
5 chicken thighs, all visible fat removed, cut into 1 inch cubes
olive oil (in misto spray bottle or olive oil non-stick spray)
1/2 cup brown onion
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
1 cup red bell peppers, sliced
1/2 c. green onions, sliced diagonal in 1/2 inch pieces
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup unsalted cashews, chopped
3 tablespoons agave or honey
3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 tablespoon sesame oil
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
1 – 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes (optional)
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cover a cookie sheet with foil, and place a cooling rack on top of the cookie sheet without expanding the legs (so it sits low on the pan). Spray the cooling rack with olive oil spray. Lightly spray the chicken with olive oil, then sprinkle the chicken pieces with the salt and pepper. Put the chicken pieces on the cooling rack. Bake in the over 5 – 10 minutes, or until done. It depends on how big your pieces are.
While the chicken is baking combine the soy sauce, corn starch, oils, agave or honey, green onions and garlic and pepper flakes. Set aside. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot saute onion, mushroom and bell peppers together for about 5 minutes. (If you are using the cauliflower rice I would turn the microwave on now).
Once the chicken is done add it to the vegetables. Mix together and saute till chicken is browned sightly. Do not over cook, especially if you are using breast meat. Turn the heat down to medium. Pour the sauce over the vegetable chicken mixture and coat evenly. Cook the mixture till it begins to thicken and take off heat. Top each dish with cashews, serve immediately over the rice of your choice.
This is my second blog. My first came out of a necessity to kill the boredom I would face while on bed rest with my second son. I have always had a love of writing. When I was told I had to stay in a bed for 3 months it came naturally to write about it. Here I am five years later and I have come to terms that there is an inherent theme to my other blog. Food. more specifically, healthy comfort food. In light of my discovery, I felt the need to separate the two, and make something more out of a new blog. Something that could encompass my passion for healthy food and exercise. A place that I could send someone who asks, “What do you do to be healthy?” All of this (points to self) does not come naturally. I had to work hard to get to where I am now, and have learned a lot to get here.
I have had a passion to cook since I was little. I craved gourmet foods that did not exist in my lower middle class suburban home. So I made them. Delicious, fattening creations were born out of cravings and boredom. (Can you sense that I can’t be bored). I love creating something delicious from nothing. To my mother’s dismay, she wold come home from work and there would be pies, cookies and home-made spaghetti sauce scattered about her once clean kitchen. She always forgave me after tasting my latest edible experiment. Well, until she discovered I had used her ingredients for dinner that night. At one point she was working 2 hours away, and it was then that I was assigned to dinner duty every night. She unknowingly unleashed a culinary dragon that has not been tamed since.
It is always a bonus if amazingly delicious food doesn’t reside permanently on my tush. No one should have to eat boring, bland food in an attempt to get healthy or regain health. I was most certainly not going to. In my journey to reach my health goal I started turning a once fat laden comfort food into a healthy, nutrient rich version. To my surprise even my picky meat and potato eating husband would eat my makeover meals. I have always been asked how to make my recipes, so now I have a place for my recipes to live and be seen.
This blog is going to be a living, breathing document. I’m not sure exactly what direction it will take, but I am excited to find out. If you have a dish you wold like see transformed, please contact me. After all, the food we consume could be the medicine that heals us. Oh, and please subscribe so you can receive the latest recipes and tips. Thank you!
It’s been 85 days or 13 weeks since the smell of dying kitchen led to it’s full blown demise. Let me tell you, when you are eating almost every meal out, it feels more like a year.
( <— click for the same one I use)
