I Love Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday of the year. Food and family, and congregating at Grammy's house are the best times of the year.Sterlin and I outside in Grammy's backyard before lunch, thanks H for taking the picture!

I have always been partial to the turkey, cranberry sauce (the jelly stuff of course!) and the sweet potatoes. So this year I made sure we had things just the way I like them!

I made a tofurkey for S and I. I am pretty proud of myself, I used a roasting bag and added some onions, potatoes and even onions. I coated it all with olive oil, black pepper and parsley flakes. Easy and fast! My cousin Courtney even ate some! I love adventurous family and friends.

I am an expert Chef!

I also made the sweet potatoes so I wouldn't have to worry about the marshmallow thing (they have gelatin which we try not to eat). So I made them in the crock pot and took marshmallow fluff (gelatin free!). The funny thing was we were late getting to Grammy's and therefore the crock pot didn't get plugged in until about 2.5 hours before eating. Needles to say they were finaly done for dinner after the movie!

Crock-pot linners- a nessecity for holiday slow cooking!

No big deal, every one thought it was funny- and they tasted great!So easy, and even (pretty) healthy- recipe soon!

*Yummy!: I ate some of the leftover veggies fromt the roast for lunch yeasterday. Next time (I still have two foux turkeys in the freezer) I am going to make soup with the extra veggies!

I Just had my Interview!!!

They said I was the first person they talked to as a group but they were talking to a few more people and that would take a week or two- so be patient, but I WILL here from him again.

He actual told me to be patient! Maybe because I called everyday for a week straight until someone would talk to me!

Yeah! I am so excited and scared! and Hungry! And....

Yeah!

Halloween M&M's- not the same

As the OSU v. OU games draws near I have started to get things together- but this year I have been thrown a wrench!

Halloween is an OSU fans favorite time of year. Everything is orange and black! For the previous 4 years it has also been my time to buy a years supply of Halloween edition M&M's (yup! They are orange and black!).

But not this year. For some reason the marketing masterminds at M&M's decided to make a "Cool Ghoul's Mix" which includes an (ironically) chartreuse and periwinkle color.

So if I want to make anything with OSU edition M&M's I have to separate out the other unwanted (but still edible!) colors.
For the past year or so I have been loving all the creative special edition M&M's. At Valentines Day I was so thrilled to find a an entire bag of green (my favorite!) ones. I thing the slogan was "Green... the new color of Love".

Ever since, I have been thinking about looking to see if there is a marketing job open! I think I would also be good at writing the cool recipes and tips on the bag of the bag.

If you want some other cool M&M recipes you should check out the idea website at BrightIdeas.com.

*Yes Jessica, this is where the M&M's for my cereal came from!

Spoon Update- up to 5!

Today I located another spoon!

S cleaned out the Vibe a few days ago and put all the stuff in one of my famous huge Rubbermaid tubs. It took a few days to get to the bottom of it but I finally did.

And to my surprise, sitting right there in the bottom of the bucket was another spoon! One of our nice matching ones from when S first got this house before we were married.

This gives me hope! Maybe I will get around to cleaning out the Rodeo tomorrow and find a few more! The set we bought, the matching ones came with 4 of 2 different sized spoons. So that means I should have 8 matching spoons plus the random miss matched ones.

Well- up to 5 is a start, right?

*Side note: the in-laws are here and the new tractor was delivered on Friday! Yeah! S and his dad apparently had tons of fun with it when it came and even mowed down the forest growing by the road around our driveway. I got very confused coming home last night!

Here comes tofurkey day!

S and I have already started our all out tofurkey binge!

We have already had several "turkey" and ... meals.

Monday was turkey and mashed potatoes! I haven't made mashed potatoes in quite a while because I thought they took too long and I had one very fateful mess where I ended up making potato paste with the hand mixer (oh the horrors!).

We used to eat potatoes all the time and then we just... stopped.

I think one of our problems was the lack of a potato masher so last time we were at the grocery store and I bought a huge 10lb. bag of potatoes, S ran off and grabbed a potato masher.

Well I get emails from MarthaStewart.com, like 5 a day at least! Cookie of the Day, Everyday with Martha, etc.

Last week or so I got a message about a Mashed Potato How-to. Yeah! Martha is going to help me make potatoes!

According to Martha a potato masher is alright if you like and "inconstant" texture, but if you want smooth mashers you can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment! (Thanks G-mama and Pap for my Kitchen Aid!). S was still scared from the electric mixer instead and insisted I use his new masher. So, I did.

I used 1/4 stick of butter, two heaping spoonfuls of sour cream (1/4 cup maybe) and a few splashes of milk.

They turned out great! And we ate it with our new favorite meatless turkey product!

*More on our new favorite "turk'y roast" to come in a few days!

What I am eating for lunch!

Just in case you were interested this is what I decided to make for lunch!

I sauted in a pan with a little oil till good and~ roasted?

• Diced Onion
• Frozen corn
• Peeled, sliced carrots
• Canned Lima Beans

I let it simmer and bubble and crackle and get all brown while I cooked the pasta.

Right now we are addicted to this mini farfalli (bow tie) pasta- it is great!

Pour veggies over pasta and eat! (I am doing this now!)

*I have been productive all day! I almost have our master bedroom super clean and organized! I just have to put away all the stuff that didn't belong in there- this may inadvertently make all the rest of my rooms dirty!

Lacoste Scarf!

I found the most amazing knit Lacoste scarf at a local store called Wall's. Its a lot like Ross where they just have lots of random stuff.

The scarf was with a bunch of stuff that said it came from a Cruise ship boutique store and all the items were 50% off their marked price.

The scarf- was ticketed at $185.

It was awesome as a scarf and pretty cool that it was Lacoste but seriously- $90 + tax? The only logo on it was the tag I it said it was 100% baby Aplaca.

I looked at it for a few moments and counted the pattern. It used a pretty easy pattern! It had 4 knit, 2 pearl, 6 stitch rope cable, and 2 pearl again. Pretty easy!

When I got home I scoured the internet to find a picture. I started at the Lacoste webside and it does not appear to be this years style. Another reason not to pay for it, but rather harvest it for inspartation!

After I finish a few more projects I am going to hunt out some great yarn and get to knitting this up!

* I tried to take a pic of the scarf in the store by my phone was dying! Ah! I wish batteries didn't die!

Ahh!!!! A mouse!!!

When Cache was a puppy she would catch mice at the farm. It was gross and creappy! I put out mouse traps and caught most of them (1 a week or so) and she stopped catching them.

Until today.....

Actually, I am pretty sure that the mouse was already dead because I smelled something funky (i.e. dead mouse smell) but decided to make S look harder when he came home.

And then- it happened...

I turned around and Cache was standing over her prize! A gross, medium sized field mouse (dead of course).

So I shooed her outside and then created an attack plan. I chose to scoop it up on newspaper and then shove it in a plastic Wal-Mart sack (now I am glad I have a few around!).

Into the trash and the trash went outside to the DOG PROOF trash bin!

Eww... MICE!

*On a sad note- it made me think of Hammy! I miss Hammy! I can't even go into PetsMart without being tempted to get a new one- but as this proves small rodents and dogs DO NOT go together.

$40 in baking suplies and gifts!

Why do the sales of grocery stores always suck me in!

Things I needed:

• mouse traps
• spider glue traps
• batteries
• spaghetti sauce
• mozzarella cheese
• string cheese
• glue
  

Things I bought

• sweetened condensed milk (2 cans)- full price
  
• evaporated milk (2 cans)- full price
  
• 6 bags of assorted chocolate baking chips- on sale for 2 for $3 or 2 for $4
  
• Cream of Mushroom Soup (2 cans)- on sale for $.65
  
• Clear cellophane "treat" bags for all this baking! Duh!
• Pack of 50 blank note cards for the card craft project
• Assorted OSU stuff for a young family friend- clearance isle
• A new cloth shopping bag because I forgot mine and felt bad getting plastic- $.50
  

So yes, maybe I went a little overboard but I have been doing good only going to the store one a week and trying not to buy craft stuff! I was going to go get some yarn to recreate a hat I saw at American Eagle but after this little extravagance, I decided not to.

Now- I must get baking! (and no, I did not buy anything on my list of things I NEEDED!)

Where have all the spoons gone?

We are officially down to 3 regular spoons and one "tea" spoon.

I don't know where they went! We have enough forks although I can tell some are missing and more than enough butter and "steak" knifes!

But spoons? No idea!

Now I am on a recovery mission! The Vibe was cleaned out before S went to Arkansas and now all the previous contents are in a large bucket next to me. I am planning on cleaning it out soon and then refill the bucket with the contents of the Rodeo.

I know the Rodeo has lots to hide! I hope it produces some spoons though!

Right now we use our ZooPals utensils when the 4 spoons are dirty. Mainly for ceareal in the morning and yogurt at night.

I will keep you updated!

M&M's in My Cereal!

Right now I am eating cereal- with M&M's in it!

I know that this could be considered unhealthy but I really wanted to just eat a bunch of M&M's so I compromised with myself and let me have (quite) a few if they were in my Honey Bunches of Oats with Almonds! Oh- and its with almond milk... YUM!

I would highly recommend M&M's in your morning breakfast for an extra chocolate fix.

I would however advise AGAINST M&M's in your omelet- that sounds gross!

Eating by the Sason

I have been thinking a lot about how to eat fresher and cheaper. Every time I stand in the produce section I keep thinking "What is in Season?".

Right now we have some butternut squash soup in the crock-pot, and late last week we had acorn squash for the simple fact that I know winter squash are in season. They are also fairly cost effective!

I found this simple list of Fall produce

Fall favorites include:

apples	Brussels sprouts
bok choy	cabbage
carrots	cauliflower
celeriac	cranberries
collard	cress
kale	horseradish
kohlrabi	jicama
lettuces	mushroom (fall varieties)
mustard greens	onions
parsnips	pears
pomegranates	potatoes
pumpkins	radishes
rutabaga	shallots
sweet potatoes	turnips
winter squash

The Benefits of Eating What's in Season, an article by GaiamLife.com also says that we can help reduce world wide gas consumption because when we buy local and in season (i.e. not grown on the other side of the world). More nutrients are also retained because they are picked closer to ripeness the lest distance they have to travel.

WhatsCookingAmerica.net has a great Squash Glossary complete with pictures, cooking, cleaning and storage tips.

This article from Real Simple suggests how to select and store various Fall produce.

Eating by the season can also improve your diet and mood by providing variety. This summer we ate a lot of food from the farmers market such as summer squash, cucmbers, tomatoes, etc. The winter farmers market will be moving around since they don't really have place, but I have really got to get there (and remember to take cash).

*Side note: S has decited he wants to eat "normal" things like potates and carrots. He used to complain that I didn't use any spices, now he things I use too many. Last nights bean thing was spicy but I didn't do that, it came with a spice packet! The soup (which we are now eating), apparently has too much ciniman, or corriander, or something. Oh well, I guess I can go back to spigetti, frozen french fries, and grilled cheese.

Fish Bowling

On Monday, Grace got the great idea that we should all go bowling. We called it "cheepie" night because games were only $2.25 a pieces (plus $2.75 for shoe rental) after 9pm.

We had been needing a night out and though this would be fun so we headed to town around 8pm or so. We called the Lauren and Jared but Lauren was studding for a test in Econ (EEK!!). Jared was at Hastings so we called and asked what he was up to. Then we decided what the heck lets go find him!

Jared headed home and we headed to the bowling ally. Jared called while we were on his way saying that Lauren said he could come play while she studied (thanks Lauren!). While we were waiting I worked on coming up with our bowling names.

The tradition for a while has been Whinny the Pooh names (I am Piglet, Grace is Eeyore, and S is Pooh).

Then I thought how about colors!

I made me Pink
S was Blue, then Red.
I made Grace Orange,
but she like Jared's Green better.

Then Grace wanted to Chartreuse but I told her no because Chartreuse was a green color and I didn't know how to spell it.

Then S suggested since Jared still wasn't there so we should change his to Salmon.

And then we were all fish!!!

I made Grace Trout (her new nickname!!!)
S was named Big Mouth Bass (but the first time I typed it the B's didn't type- figure that one out yourself!)

And I was--- Walleye!!!

*Last night at our "Get Smart" dinner and movie night we named Lauren Red Snapper (no she is not a red head, she is actually blond)*

Bowling was fun. The first game went really well for S and Jared (Big Mouth Bass and Salmon).

But... the second game I WAS ON!!! Yeah! I even made the guys do a print out! (Yup! Thats my 154 is 1,2,3..4 Strikes! And 1 spare. In every frame I knocked down at least 8 pins! yeah!)

I want to go bowling again- soon!

*Side note: the wind is blowing at ~32 mph. and S is out riding his bike around the section getting ready for a race. It is super windy! We also have some "server weather" approaching including hail and possible tornadoes.

I Voted!

This morning Grace, S and I got up early and headed out to our local poling place. We thought getting there right at 7am when they opened would be sufficient.

I made some small town jokes and S got mad at me- thinking I would offend the locals. We have to go into Glencoe to vote. I think the town only has one polling place- the community center. It was easy to identify as they random building in town that had about 30 cars around it. We took some pictures and everyone chatted about the length of the line and what they had to do today.

When I put my ballot in the box it said that it counted it showed that mine was the 25th ballot.

And the volunteers had cookies! Yeah for small towns!

As always I was a faster test taker. I beat both Grace and S, even though Grace went before me. I also had the "privilege" of getting to use the handicap booth because the other 6 or so were full. When we left S made sure to point out how good he did in not making a joke about it- haha.

Yeah for voting!

I have got to go get my free coffee from Starbucks, ice cream from Chick-fil-a, and if we had a Krispy Kreme I would go get a star shaped donut and if we had a Ben and Jerrys Scoop Shop I would go get a free scoop today also! Guess I will have to settle with the coffee and ice cream we have here.

Just a Note: I am testing a new bannana muffin recipe right now (can you smell it baking- I can!). I had no nuts but I did ad golden raisens. As normal I subed the oil for applesauce but this one has eggs in it where as my normal recipe does not. Hope they are good! 25 min to go!

The Dirty Dozen

The question about organic food and what things it is worth spending your money on has been on my mind this week as I transition out of full time employment. Jessica and I started talked about the dirty dozen and I went in search of more information.

What I found was the Environmental Work Group and there page on Food News.

The thing I was most interested in was pesticide contamination in produce.

The Full List: 43 Fruits & Veggies

RANK	FRUIT OR VEGGIE	SCORE
1 (worst)	Peaches	100 (highest pesticide load)
2	Apples	96
3	Sweet Bell Peppers	86
4	Celery	85
5	Nectarines	84
6	Strawberries	83
7	Cherries	75
8	Lettuce	69
9	Grapes - Imported	68
10	Pears	65
11	Spinach	60
12	Potatoes	58
13	Carrots	57
14	Green Beans	55
15	Hot Peppers	53
16	Cucumbers	52
17	Raspberries	47
18	Plums	46
19	Oranges	46
20	Grapes-Domestic	46
21	Cauliflower	39
22	Tangerine	38
23	Mushrooms	37
24	Cantaloupe	34
25	Lemon	31
26	Honeydew Melon	31
27	Grapefruit	31
28	Winter Squash	31
29	Tomatoes	30
30	Sweet Potatoes	30
31	Watermelon	25
32	Blueberries	24
33	Papaya	21
34	Eggplant	19
35	Broccoli	18
36	Cabbage	17
37	Bananas	16
38	Kiwi	14
39	Asparagus	11
40	Sweet Peas-Frozen	11
41	Mango	9
42	Pineapples	7
43	Sweet Corn-Frozen	2
44	Avocado	1
45 (best)	Onions	1 (lowest pesticide load)

You can print a handy wallet shopping guide from this page

The funny thing about this list is I did know some of the things such as strawberries should never be eaten non-organic because their thin skin allows pesticides into the fruit. Peaches with there fuzzy skin also hang on to pesticides even after being washed. I have been buying organic onions and grapes from Wal-Mart for a while now because the price differnce was verry little. I think I will ditch the organic onions now, since it appears I should be buying organic bell peppers because we eat a lot of them. I am also going to try and find organic potatoes at the natural food store.

The article notes that measurements were taken after the food was prepared in "traditional" ways such as after washing (berries, peaches, etc.) and peeling (bananas, mangoes, etc.). Some fruits could reduce their pesticide load by peeling such as peaches and apples, but many of the vital nutrients are also lost.

Side note: I have got to make a crock-pot post- soon!!!

Eat your Veggies

Tonight we had the most wonderful dinner. S got the idea to do a cookout so we started brainstorming things that were (kinda) in season that we could grill. Our inspiration came from the very tasty "stuffed poblano pepper" you often find at Mexican restaurants.

We purchased some green peppers, corn on the cob, and hamburger buns. I know I should have had homemade buns made but it just didn't happen this week.

Lauren and Jared came out to hang out with us this afternoon so we made sure we had enough for the 5 of us.

After some playing with the tractor and a walk though the fields we started the fire.

I cut and scooped all the seeds out of the peppers while Lauren shucked and buttered the corn. Jared shredded the random pieces of cheese we had (some block mozzarella and sharp cheddar). Lauren and I also spooned melted butter over the cut side of all the buns so they would toast up on the grill.

S and Jared started the coals (with LOTS of lighter fluid).

We grilled the peppers and corn on the cob, flipping them a few times. On the last flip, with cut side up we filled the peppers with shredded cheese. After everything was sufficiently grilled the veggies were removed and the buns toasted.

I sliced some tomato and the some slathered mayo on their sandwiches.

The corn on the cob was great!

Grace provided sprite and BBQ Baked Lays (to make up for here eating mine yesterday!).

Jared commented on how colorful of a meal it was. You know you are getting a good mix of nutrients when you eat a colorful diet!

Just a Note:

All in all this meal cost us less than $10. We had the cheese left over from meal this week. We purchased 3 peppers and 4 cobs of corn were around $0.50 a piece. The buns were around $2 for a pack of 8, which we ate 5. We did buy charcoal and lighter fluid but there is plenty left over for other adventures. I had bought the tomato last week and it needed to be used ASAP.