Thursday, December 20, 2012

Brainstorming and Writing

Every year, I say that I am going to write at least one post a week. This year has been a miserable attempt that I can always blame on - I'm too busy, or I'm not creative right now, or I have nothing to write about. No excuses this year, even though I was just interrupted from writing for about 10 minutes.

My plan for 2013 will be what I did for my two daughters when they were younger every night before they went to bed. After reading a story or two - sometimes a picture book and sometimes a chapter book, I would have them give me two things - a name, an idea, a thing, a place, an animal or any other topics - and I would make up a story. For my blog this year, I am going to make lists of places (worldwide, home and office bound), things (foods, accessories, toys, cars, gadgets, etc.) and people (male/female, old/young, daring/timid and other characteristics). Each week (because my goal is 50 blogs) I will choose two items and either incorporate it into current events, address the meaning of them or make up a fantasy story.

So - Look forward to some good writing in 2013 - and you may just see more than 50 blogs!

Merry Christmas!



Thursday, December 13, 2012

I Love Beans

Bean soup, beans and rice, beans on nachos, beans with enchiladas, beans with sausage - I love beans! SO healthy and delicious, I could eat them every day. My family is not as fond of them, maybe because I don't usually add meat, although I usually prepare the beans with homemade chicken broth. I make the broth from a chicken that I've baked and then boiled the remaining bones, along with the drippings from the pan for good use of the entire chicken, fat skimmed off the top of course.

Enough about the real beans, what I'm getting at is that I have a book in my head and halfway in my computer that addresses a little girl who plants her mother's discarded beans and discovers a world of adventure with them. My pleasure writing is so limited these days with two teenagers and a very preoccupied husband, plus a couple of part time marketing gigs, school events, grocery shopping, house maintenance, laundry, and certainly cooking beans and baking more edible treats. As I close out another year without finishing my book started in 2008, I have to consider my goals for 2013.

Here it is, December 13, and I'm just posting my 6th blog of the year. So many aspirations to write away every day, week, and month, yet just a half dozen have been written. I didn't begin the blog to make money with advertisements, although I've heard that it's a good idea. For 2013, I will again have a goal to write at least one a week, then, one a month - with at least a dozen by the end of the year. I will keep the faith and write 50 articles in 2013! On top of that, I hope to at least soft publish my book about beans and get it distributed to family members, maybe obtain the input from a few writer friends, and who knows where it will go from there? Next on the list is my novel/cookbook ...

Cheers to December and a great writing year in 2013!

Friday, November 30, 2012

Writing in the Kitchen

How I wish that every time I had an awesome thought that I had a fast computer to jot it down upon. If I did, I would be writing fervently throughout the day, blogging to beat all the reading odds with advertisers flocking to post on my site. But alas, I have two teenage daughters and a husband to serve. That means encouraging them to rise in the morning, making coffee, breakfast and lunches, and transporting them across three counties (really) to get to school and events each day (Kevin does have his own car). By the time I've gone to my part time job, done the grocery shopping, prepared meals, paid the bills, completed the laundry, cleaned the house, volunteered at schools and church, worked on another part time job; that leaves me little time to exercise, read and do pleasure writing.

My original thought when I sat down was to address that if I would spend all my creativity on writing instead of cooking and baking, I might have that first book written. I have at least three in the works now, each in their own stage of gestation. One, a children's book, is three quarters written but I haven't had the courage to finish it and put it out there. My second has reached the analytical stage with characters, timeline and a plot idea developed all on virtual paper - on a file on my slow computer. The third book is merely fertilized and still floating around in the gray space of my brain, and is one of my favorites because it has to do with baking and cooking. By the time I do have time to finish these projects I do hope that the actual book exists and it doesn't have to become a mere payment of $9.99 online to pop on a portable screen.I don't disdain the eBooks and audiobooks, I will just admit that I enjoy the feeling of a good book in my hands, turning the pages in anticipation of a superb finale.

Today I've accomplished a lot outside of writing. I have prepared two tasty treats outside of the usual breakfast and coffee. The first is a newbie but not really if you consider that I made almost the exact same one two weeks ago with another vegetable. The recipe is for a yellow-orange soup - Butternut squash the first time and sweet potato today. Creamy and delicious, it's exactly what I'm thinking about when I see fancy soups at the grocery. Why would I ever buy that if I can make it myself? Therein lies my problem. I like my cooking better than anybody else's.

The second edible item that I conjured up today was Christmas tree sugar cookies., another item I would never buy. A wonderful recipe from a composite children's pre-school cookbook is my latest favorite sugar cookie formula. You can't go wrong with 1 cup sugar, 1 cup buter, 3 cups flour, cream, an egg, vanilla and baking powder. I've been through probably about five different sugar cookie concoctions, and while I love them all, some are easier than others, and some I may not have particular ingredients such as cream or parchment paper.

This Friday was a wonderful day for me, wherein I got to cook, bake and write - all quite successfully, I might add.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Alee's Broccoli Casserole

"What I made when I didn't have all the ingredients for a broccoli casserole from three different cookbooks" is the official name of this recipe, but I didn't think it would be a very appealing title for readers. The recipe is below, and it was very easy and quite tasty!

1 head of broccoli, chopped into florets
2-3 T butter 1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 T flour 1 1/4 cup milk
1 1/4 cup grated cheese - divided
salt and pepper
1/3 cup chopped, salted almonds
2 pieces of bread and butter for it

Cook broccoli in microwave or on stove until bright green, and still fairly crisp. Meanwhile, spray Pam on 2 qt baking dish and toast two pieces of bread - a slow toast in the toaster oven works well. Butter the bread and put it back in the toaster/oven to dry out some more. When the broccoli is cooked, pour it into the dish.
Place almonds on top of the broccoli.

Melt butter on stove in a small saucepan on medium heat and when melted and hot, add the onion and saute for 5 min. Add the flour and stir for a couple minutes more. Slowly add the milk and stir for few more minutes until hot, add salt and pepper, stir, and then sprinkle in 1 cup of cheese. Stir until melted. Pour the sauce over the broccoli and nuts, add the cheese, then take the toast and break (or cut) it into small pieces and sprinkle over the top. Cook in the oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes at 325 degrees.

By the way, I entered this recipe while eating "what I made with navy beans when I didn't have the ingredients listed on the bean bag."

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

Tough to be a Writer

I just read an interesting, funny and engaging article about writing. The first instruction was that to be a writer, you must write every day. The writer has to "just say no" to the demons of folding the laundry, preparing and eating a snack, texting a friend, and the worst offender - perusing their Facebook page. "I need more time than 30 minutes," "I don't feel creative," "I don't remember what I want to write about," and my latest excuse, "I'm more of an editor than a writer," all crop up when I have that 30 minute time span available. Yes, I have promised here before to engage in the writing of my eventual book that will include drama, suspense, weird and wild (ok, interesting) characters, and recipes. The problem is that when I have my waves of creative energy flowing and I'm ready to start writing as soon as I open my back door and sit down at the computer, I may never even get there. Okay, excuses again. I walk through that back door and see the laundry that needs to be folded or remember that the wash needs to go in the dryer. Or, I make it to the kitchen table and see a bill in the mail and have to sit down and write a check. Or, I make it past the table to the kitchen sink and realize that I must clean up the dishes, which leads into deciding what to have for dinner, which leads to me looking in a cook book for recipes ... you can see where I'm headed. So, I might as well spit out what I was thinking of today on my walk that I wanted to enter. I've thought about entering some mystique to my book in answering the question of: What goes on inside each house? Answering that question is not the mystique though, it's the question it presents when you find out what's going on which is: Why? I suppose it's the wanna be psychologist in me. I have known many a wacky individual in my small post office address community, and I have a good enough imagination to add more details as needed. Let me know if you've been intrigued. I would have written this today, but of course as I was entering my driveway a client called and needed clarification of my email address. We took about a half hour of emailing and texting to try to resolve the problem (not happening). During that time Kevin called and then I returned his call and discussed our issues, then I had to get in the shower to go get the girls from school, get them home and go run another errand, to be back at the house to cook dinner. I just sat down half an hour ago. See why it's tough to be a writer?

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Aging and Wisdom

As I am aging, I see things more clearly. Not that it means that its easier to make decisions, but that I have more choices. I want to make a difference in my lifetime, and choosing what I need to invest the time in is a consistent battle. My primary responsibility is as a wife and mother, and then to pursue my cause(s).

Over the past year, I've read about and watched several documentaries on cancer treatment and prevention using a holistic method. Thankfully, no one in my family has suffered or is suffering from cancer*, and healthy eating, exercise and preventative measures have kept us healthy. But as a mother and wife, I want to keep the cancer at bay, through not only my immediate family, but also my siblings, parents and in-laws.

My sister Jennifer has been on the healthy eating/vegetarian lifestyle for over 20 years. My youngest daughter, Kristin, jumped on the pescetarian (veggies, nuts, eggs, dairy and fish)diet recently, but the draw of a P.Terry's burger or a Chick-fil-A was too strong one day when we were rushed for time the other day. A veggie sub sandwich (which she did have early in the process) or some tasty, greasy chicken or beef?

A cancer-surviving friend, Katelyn, put it well the other day when she said that people who eat chips, candy, meat, much restaurant food and other unhealthy items need to consider it a treat when they consume items that are unhealthy. This is the way I prefer to live, and have not only the fried foods, but also the beef and chicken occasionally instead of on a regular basis.

My input is merely that if we want to be old and wise, we need to eat healthy, and research has shown that healthy living and eating (broccoli, fish, grapes, greens, blueberries and other high anti-oxidant foods) is good for the brain. Old is defined in different ways for different people, but I hope to be movin' and shakin' when I'm in my 80's, yet peacefully being waited on when I'm in my 90's.




*my grandfather, a chain-smoker for at least 50 years who worked in/owned an auto paint shop for at least 30 years died of lung cancer that had metastasized to most of his major organs in a short period of time.

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Things to Do with Leftover Cheese

Wow. You have an incredible party celebrating a significant event with all your loved family members in attendance. You send invitations, plan for the location, order food, decorate the venue, set up the music, and the attendees come. In addition to a meeting and greeting of the guests, there is a toast, photo time, and good cheer held by all. The food, the food is awesome. Meatballs, cheese balls and crackers, bruschetta with sliced french bread, a veggie tray and yes, you guessed it, a cheese tray. Havarti, jalapeno jack cheese, a smoky cheddar and an herbed white cheese fill the tray adorned with grapes. For dessert, there's a delicious white cake with cream cheese in the middle and a delightful, fluffy frosting. Since the party begins after meal time, about 30 guests nibble and munch, but come nowhere close to devouring the entire spread. What to do with all the leftovers?

The good news is that all of the foods above can be and were re-created in new forms to offer a delicious solution to the no food waste concept. Yes, new items will be purchased to invent additional treats, but it works very well. Here's what was left over:

A 3/4 full crock pot with meatballs in a delicious sauce.
At least 16 oz. of 3 types of olive, artichoke and tomato bruschetta spread
2+ pounds of veggies - carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, cherry tomatoes + dip
At least 400 cubes of cheese
Lots of crackers
Cake

Two days post party, we had another smaller gathering with 14 people in attendance, and here's what we did with it:

Meatball Sandwiches - We first reheated the meatballs on the stove and cut up the Havarti cheese cubes into small pieces. We purchased bolillo rolls - submarine sandwich rolls - split them in the middle, toasted them in the oven with butter and garlic salt, then laid cheese in them, meatballs second and cheese on top. They were toasted in the broiler, cut in half and served. All of the meatballs were consumed, along with probably 40 chunks of cheese.

Broiled Bruschetta - The bolillo rolls were split lengthwise and spread with the olive, tomato and artichoke mixtures and topped with the cheese, sliced into smaller pieces. All of the spreads and about 10-15 cubes of cheese were consumed. Yum-eee.

Fresh veggies and Dip - all of the leftover veggies were set out with the dip and at least half were eaten and the dip finished off.

Cheese and crackers - at least 25 cubes of cheese were taken and the majority of the crackers were eaten.

Cake - The pretty top of the cake was sliced and served with other holiday goodies.

After the second gathering of the food, leftovers of cake, veggies, crackers and cheese, cheese and cheese remained! Here is how they were incorporated into daily use:

When the hosting party left on an airplane back home, a bag with 20+ cubes of cheese and the remaining crackers went with them. For dinner one night, the veggies were incorporated into a salad, and three days later, chopped and cooked in with Lentil soup. Almost daily, a piece of cake was had. And the cheese ... put on a grilled cheese sandwich, used as a topping for black-eyed peas (jalapeno cheese made it so tasty!), the smoky cheese was placed on lentil soup and random cubes were used as food fuel. But there is still cheese left!

Down to fifty cube split evenly between smoky cheddar, jalepeno and herb cheese - this next week will see it slowly wane down. Used as food fuel, in the remaining lentil soup and possibly a quiche, the cheese should be gone by the end of the week. The lesson I hope to impart here is that leftovers, especially cheese, which lasts a long time in the refrigerator, should be consumed, and not tossed out.

Thank you to my sister Jenny and brother-in-law Matt, for having the 25th anniversary party in Austin and leaving us with all the cheese!