01-19-2012

A week well lived…

This past week I’ve been incognito on the blog so that I could spend some quality time with my kids. Sometimes its hard to balance it all and when I look back, I know it’ll be time with my kids that I’ll miss most. (Although, there are numerous moments every day when I wonder why I got myself into this mess called motherhood!)

So I thought I’d share what I’ve done in my time off…

In the summer the kids & I pick berries and sometimes we use them immediately. But often, I am so exhausted after berry picking that I freeze them for later usage. Well, that later available time on my hands finally appeared and I made berry jam and a berry crisp on Saturday.

June berries frozen for winter usage

Berry Jam made with local honey for a sweetener

Berry Crisp ~ Scrumptious!

And then last week I ordered an extra bag of carrots from the local farm grocer but had no idea how many was actually in a bag! So imagine my surprise when I saw all these carrots in my produce bags. Hence, we had to get a little creative…    Ta Da…salsa verde chicken enchiladas with roasted carrots. (On a side note…does everyone love roasted veggies as much as me? Tender and sweet on the inside and crunchy and salty on the outside.)

Carrots from a local farm

...like my new plates???

And to keep it all in perspective about what matters…here is what greeted me on the couch this evening! I am guessing this was some type of battlefield/dinosaur construction site. (A little almost 4 year old who should be sleeping but is now by my side has just informed me that it is pluff mud and they were ‘just stuck, mom’.)

A child's masterpiece

Do you enjoy eating playdoh? Random question to end with but can I just say – my daughter loves it and it is disgusting tasting. I made it myself hoping that the homemade version which is pretty much 100% salt would ward her off. Nope…

So here’s to playdoh masterpieces and spending time with your kids,

Jess

12-15-2011

Eating Crow

NOTE…this venting post is about stomach bugs…you may not want to read it! 🙂

There are lots of things I’ve judged others on and said, oh so naively, “That’ll never be me”.  But this one tops the cake… having a child who is a picky eater. I know, I know…you’re probably thinking…. ha ha, or every kid goes through this or ha ha…

I always thought if you fed them good food and ate healthy in front of them, that they’d like their veggies too. Not so much! My daughter’s so picky that the only thing she wants is MILK and she won’t eat any food that isn’t processed! It’s miserable because we’ve been quarantined in our house for the past 4+ days with a stomach bug. I’m sure you can imagine what happens when you mix milk with an empty upset stomach. It isn’t pretty!

So now I am trying to think of something, anything, she might eat tomorrow for me.

If you are at home with healthy happy kids who enjoy eating I am SO happy for you. For myself, I would just like to go through 24 hours without anyone regurgitating and to find something my 21 month old will eat besides chips and fries.

I know I can’t be the only parent out there like this, any suggestions???

Thanks for reading – Jessica

12-08-2011

2 Strikes for Greens

So my quest to be adventuresome and try new greens hasn’t resulted in the home run I was hoping for.

This past weekend, I tried making a swiss chard and cheese frittata which probably would have been fine if I hadn’t substituted kale for chard! I used my ‘not sure what this is’ green but yesterday I found out it was definitely kale. My wonderful husband said it tasted good but when I suggested giving some to the neighbors to try (maybe their taste buds are different than mine and they would enjoy it?) my husband promptly said, “let’s just leave it here”. So obviously, he just tries out my concoctions to humor me!

Now we know this is kale!

My not so great kale and cheddar frittata

I wasn’t about to let one strike keep me down though. I cleaned up my counters, retied my apron, and tried again with a Bok choy stir fry…but once more, another strike!

I don’t know why but I CANNOT find a good stir fry recipe. I am just not good at making that type food, even when I have a recipe. It simply lacks something, some type of secret pizzazz that I can’t figure out.

The stir fry had pork, mushrooms, Bok choy and lots of minced garlic and ginger. But it needed something more in the sauce. Maybe I should have started with some onions or used fish sauce (which I detest) or did a little Asian dance??? Simply put, it was bland. However, the Bok choy was delicious and I will 100% definitely use it again…in my next attempt at making a not mediocre stir fry!

The gorgeous Bok choy was the shining star in this unfortunately bland stir fry

I haven’t given up hope yet though! My next attempts with greens are to make kale chips and a soup of Cabbage, White Bean, and Kielbasa. I’ll let ya’ll know how they turn out….wish me luck! Jess

PS…thanks for humoring my baseball wording throughout this post. I’m not really much of a baseball fan but today it just kept coming up in my head so thought I’d include! Have a great afternoon!

12-01-2011

Greens, Greens, and MORE Greens

So, if you’ve read today’s earlier post, you’ll find that I have 4 different types of greens on hand at the moment!!!!! Think that is just a little too much? Well, I do! So I need your help – I’m not sure what all the different types of greens are – and am hoping someone out there might. I know I’ve got some Bok Choy in there but have never cooked with it and would love a recipe for that too.

Any takers on what this is?

I really want to figure out what the above green is…I am hoping you can cook it just like spinach or arugula. The leaves are more tender than traditional greens, such as collards, kale, etc.

On that note… During our winters in Charleston, we have greens in abundance but Southern Style collard greens are quickly becoming BORING! So, imagine what a glorious sight this book was at the library tonight!

Hopefully, I can find some good recipes in this book to share with you. And if you have any creative ways to use greens, please pass them along.

Your Faithful Greens Eater,
Jessica

10-02-2011

All about me…

As far back as I can remember food has been one of my greatest passions. Reading cookbooks, watching my mom can bushels of green beans, asking what’s for dinner, or explaining to my cousin why FROG the steer wasn’t in the pasture anymore…I simply can’t remember a time I haven’t been in love with food.

I want to share my love of food with you and most importantly, share why local food matters and how you can eat locally while on a budget. A lot of people think it is too expensive to buy locally or choose organic foods. I believe with a bit of planning and prioritizing, you can eat healthy local food on a budget. I’m a stay at home mom and my weekly food budget is to stay under $125. Sometimes I accomplish this and other times I go over.  But I really do think, overall, it is possible! In each recipe I’ll list out which ingredients are local and how obtained (aka….frozen blueberries used in a December cobbler come from a you-pick farm in June).

I hope you’ll check out my blog often to learn how to use all those local ingredients to make really yummy dishes!  Along the way I’ll share confessions of being a mom and give lots of thanks to God for His goodness.

Come cook with me!

Jessica