?????

Today I have some questions that I can never find the answers to.  Before I begin let me tell you just a little bit about me. I have been a SAHM since my first child was born, and now that the youngest is away at school I guess I am just a SAH.  I was always the one who did without so whoever needed shoes, jeans, school fees, or whatever could have it, and honestly I never really minded. There were a lot of tight financial times, but one thing we never compromised on was food.  I have always been a pretty decent cook and could always make something really delicious using inexpensive ingredients.

 I love good and tasty food.  I would love to have a month of deliciousness and never repeat the same meal twice.  I would love to have the meals prepared for me and never have to worry about cleaning the kitchen.  And I know how delusional all those loves are, which brings me to my questions.


Why am I the only one who can eat the same thing 2 days in a row?  I hate wasting food so if I have to have leftover vegetable soup 5 days for lunch to finish it, I will do it.

Why am I the only one who sees a box of Corn Flakes with 1 serving left and will eat it for breakfast or lunch even though I really don't like cereal at all?

Why am I the one who will actually look in the refrigerator and see the half clamshell of strawberries that have to be eaten today or tossed and eat them instead of what I really want.

Why am I the only one who will look and see if a box of crackers is empty before opening another one? (Same question applies to any and all snack foods)

Why am I supposed to know at 10 am what I am going to cook for supper so other unnamed individuals can plan their lunch without the possibility of having to eat chicken prepared 2 different ways in the same day? (For the record, I rarely have any idea what I am going to cook until I am actually in the kitchen cooking)

Why am I the only one who can empty the dishwasher?

And the most important question is, after all these years of never having these questions answered, why am I even wondering what the answer is?

The Silver Lining AKA Pip

My dad passed away one week ago. I feel his absence daily when I don't get to see him or hear his voice and know I will spend the rest of my life missing him. But, even with all the sadness that goes along with a loss, there have been moments of sheer bliss this week.  Son1 and his family flew in for the services and all stayed a few days.  Mama K had to fly back early for work but Son1 and The Cutest Girl in the World (also known as the granddaughter) stayed a few extra days.

Instead of grief I was surrounded by the presence of an 18 month old filled with sheer happiness and wonder.  At a time when my mom, sister and I would have been feeling the most grief and sense of loss, we were being delighted by her antics and songs. I am fairly certain there is nothing in this world sweeter than a little voice singing "Twinkle, Twinkle" or "ABCD".  I believe the universe often sends the right medicine at the right time and Pip was just what the doctor ordered.

                                                        Pop would love it!

p.s. Oh, and I may or may not have taught this sweet girl to jump on the bed.  Hey! Someone has to, right?

In Memory

Today Dad left this plane to begin his voyage on the other side. I am very fortunate to have had both of my parents for so long and now begin the rest of my life missing one of them.

I want to thank you Pop for keeping us laughing until today.  I am forever in your debt for your unconditional love and support and so grateful you were my dad.

Pop's all-time favorite hymn

Table for One

While TheHub was on extended business travel I went to Sprouts and bought a ton of salad fixings and other types of produce. I had mentally decided to eat salads and whatever I had on hand to grill as an entree, nothing exciting but certainly sustenance.  Life intervened and a little (OK a lot of) chaos ensued.  At the end of the day when I would finally head home, I'd realize I had consumed tons of coffee and nothing else, so I'd stop by Chipolte or Purple Onion where I can always find a paleo salad meal to bring home and eat. (Doesn't everyone traditionally eat their meal for the day at ten or eleven p.m.?)

One morning before I left the house I was looking through the fridge and realized I had to do something with all the lovely produce I had bought but had not even touched. Cooking green beans, broccoli and asparagus was easy to do, but some of the salad items required some serious restructuring.  I chopped some of them up added some olive oil and red wine vinegar to marinate for a bit.  A bit turned into the next day (ahh life!) so I had some super marinated veggies and a well thawed chicken breast.  Dinner for one was about to begin finally.

5 campari tomatoes cut in half (easy substitute: about 12 cherry tomatoes)
2 scallions sliced
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped yellow onion
1 very small clove garlic or 1/2 regular size clove, finely minced
1/2 small yellow pepper (for color only, green or red works the same for flavor), diced
10 or so fresh basil leaves, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
salt and pepper to taste (I used one shake from the salt shaker and a good twist of the pepper mill)

Mix together in a small bowl with a lid.  Cover and let sit for at least 2 hours. (Or longer covered in the refrigerator)

1 small chicken breast cut in pieces
1 small bunch kale chopped (about 5 small leaves) de-veined and chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons water
1 small clove garlic or the other half of the regular sized clove
1 teaspoon olive oil (I used a non-stick ceramic pan, it might take more oil for a non-stick skillet)

raw zucchini "noodles"

Heat oil in the skillet until it is fairly hot, add the chicken and cook stirring almost constantly until no trace of pink shows on the chicken.  Remove the chicken from the pan, add the kale and garlic and wilt.  Turn the heat down and add the water. Place the chicken pieces on top of the kale, cover the pan and cook until the kale is soft and the chicken is cooked through.  Add salt and pepper to taste. Remove the chicken and kale with a slotted spoon and place it on a bed of raw zucchini noodles or cooked spaghetti.  Top immediately with the tomato mixture.  I confess I used a slotted spoon to arrange the tomatoes on top of the chicken for the picture, but poured all the delicious juice over it right before I ate.

This was so good and such an easy meal for one.  I probably had enough of the topping for 2 but I was very glad TheHub was out of town so I didn't have to share one tiny bite of it.  For 2 servings just double the chicken and kale.  Add another couple of very small tomatoes and a couple of extra basil leaves and it should make a pretty tasty meal for 2.

As much as I loved this with the chicken and kale, I have made the tomato topping twice since and served it over sprouts and also alone over zucchini shreds.  If I had to tell you in one word what it tastes like I would have to say it tastes like summer.  This is going to become one of my go-to hot night meals.

So go dive into summer with some delicious marinated tomatoes over whatever sounds best to you!

Old Fashioned Oatmeal Cookies

The other day while I was making the 2nd best cookies ever I decided since all my baking ingredients were on the counter anyway I might as well try a new to me recipe I had bookmarked.  After all the mixer was out, the oven was hot and I had already messed up the kitchen. I could see no reason to wait, other than the fact that 2 freshly baked recipes of cookies were way more than we needed. Luckily I have never been bound by logic, so here is a look at cookie recipe #2.

These were touted as delicious oatmeal cookies like your grandmother used to make.  I don't recall either of my grandmothers ever making cookies, so to me these would have to be more like cookies someone else's granny made. (Both of my grandmothers were cake and pie ladies not cookie gals.) The recipe looked intriguing so I followed it almost as it was written.  I  am including the link to Cooking Classy if you care to see the original, but am posting it here as I made it.

                                              Old Fashioned Iced Oatmeal Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1 1/2 cup quick oats
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg (I am not a nutmeg fan, the original recipe calls for 1/2 tsp)
1 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar (using some dark brown sugar increases the molasses taste)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Measure the quick oats and set aside.  Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and set aside.  With a mixer beat the butter until it is fluffy.  Add the sugars and beat until it is a uniform light color. Add the eggs and beat until it is very fluffy than add the vanilla and mix well.  Turn the mixer to low and slowly add the dry ingredients.  When they are blended and show no sign of raw flour, turn the mixer up and beat for about 1 minute.  Add the oatmeal and blend until it is thoroughly combined.

Line baking sheets with parchment (Oh who am I kidding? I lined one pan with parchment and baked the remaining cookies on the same sheet of paper). Drop by tablespoons onto the parchment leaving a couple of inches between each cookie.  Bake 11-13 minutes for crisp cookies. (my oven took the entire 13 minutes) Cool for 1 minute then remove cookies from the pan to a rack to cool completely.  When all the cookies are baked and nicely cooled mix 1 cup of confectioners sugar with 1 tablespoon of milk and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.  Using a spoon swirl the frosting over the tops of the cookies while they are still on the rack.  Let them dry and enjoy.

I only iced 1/2 of the cookies because we do not eat iced cookies often.  The iced ones were very good.  It was a crisp cookie with hardened glaze on top.  I may have used a little too much glaze on each cookie, because I thought they were a little too sweet.  As a family we preferred the plain ones to the glazed ones, but either way they were delicious cookies.  These were good enough and simple enough to become everyday cookies for someone who needs to keep the cookie jar filled.  My granddaughter will be here in August and I plan on having a huge supply of them.  Maybe she can think of me as a grandmother who always has cookies.

Because I had just made the Levain knock off cookies the same day, we had cookies coming out of our ears.   I am a gooby person who keeps bakery bags on hand just in case I need to take something to another person. These cookies were easy to bag and get rid of give to someone who has helped me recently.* They would probably ship well also, since there is nothing that would melt during shipping.  I have a son and his family in the N.W.  I think I will make a batch and send it to them just to test how easily they do or do not ship.

So be a good grandmother (or practice being a grand something) and go bake cookies!

* And wouldn't you know, just as soon as I had given the cookies away TheHub came in the kitchen looking for them!

This week

This last week turned out to be a fairly difficult week.  Sometimes life turns topsy turvy and this is one of those times, so nothing on my to-do list got done and most likely it will not get done this week either. But, there are people who are so much more important than chores, and right now my time and heart are being spent with them.

1. Pasta with alfredo sauce
2. Lamb chops, rice (them) broccoli, tossed salad
3. Chicken with stir fried vegetables, cauliflower rice, pineapple slices
4. Hamburgers, cole slaw, sweet potato "fries"
5. Grilled chicken, grilled vegetables, tossed salad, grilled pineapple
6. Grilled fish, baked potato (them) baked sweet potato (me) cucumber, tomato and onion salad, grilled squash
7. Tacos (them)  taco salad(me)

Actual food
Bow tie pasta with alfredo sauce
Hamburger helper and coleslaw (found a box in the back of the pantry_just getting rid of it)
Variation of sweet and sour chicken with onions, bell pepper and pineapple over rice
grilled chicken, tomatoes, asparagus, tossed salad
grilled hamburger patty,grilled squash, tossed salad
hamburger (desperation fast food meal)
grilled pork tenderloin, tossed salad, watermelon

Upcoming week
This week TheHub is out of town and I will be spending massive amounts of time with the parents, so the food plan is virtually nonexistent. I hope to stay on a paleo  plan but it will be just catch as catch can.
salad, chicken
salad, something meaty
salad, something
salad, something
chicken salad
huge tossed salad
salad something grilled

Weekly to-do list
Help the folks however it is needed
Clean upstairs 
Help Mom with her house clean-up
Clean the pool (again) so laps can begin

2nd Best Cookies Ever

While we were in New York we had cookies from Levain Bakery.  It was the most delicious cookie I have ever put in my mouth and I knew I would have to try and mimic that deliciousness once I was home.  Since last Thursday I have been off the paleo diet and had already decided to give myself one full week  before hopping back on the caveman plan.  Well that week is up after today so I decided what better send off than knock off Levain cookies.

I spent a couple of hours searching the internet for knock off recipes and then read all the comments on each to see what had and had not worked.  I took what I guessed was the best of each recipe including several people's trial and error suggestions and mixed it up last night.  You have to portion the dough and let it sit in the refrigerator overnight, so we had no cookies until tonight.  Oh my, was it ever worth the wait.

Almost Levain Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks cold butter cut in chunks
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
3 1/4 plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 tablespoon corn starch
3/4 teaspoon salt (use plain old salt from the blue box)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups chocolate chips (use the best you can afford preferably Guittard)
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Put the sugars in a mixing bowl.  Using the beaters of a hand mixer or paddle of a stand mixer combine the sugars well.  Add the butter and beat slowly at first increasing the speed as the butter and sugar incorporates.  You want a light fluffy butter/sugar mix.  Turn the speed down and beat in the eggs, one at a time until they are well blended.
In a small bowl add the flour, cornstarch, salt, baking powder and baking soda.  Stir with a fork to combine well.
Slowly add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and start the mixer on a very slow speed. Increase it only after the flour mix is all incorporated and only beat long enough to have a smooth dough with no flour visible.
With a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts to evenly incorporate them throughout the dough.
Roll the dough into balls that are about 4 ounces each. (I actually weighed the first one to see what 4 ounces of cookie dough looked like and then I eyeballed the rest) You should get 12-13 dough balls out of this recipe. I cut strips of parchment paper and wrapped it around each ball before putting them in a ziploc bag then into the refrigerator.  They stayed there for about 13 hours before I baked them.

My oven is pretty true to temp and I have a baked goods convection setting.  I set it for a standard 350 degree setting to preheat.  Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper (important) and place the cold dough on it. (I could only bake 5 cookies* at a time on my largest cookie sheet) Bake for about 17 minutes, remove from the parchment and place on a rack to cool until warm enough to eat without burning your mouth on the melted chocolate. (5 or so minutes)  The cookies are crispy on the outside and ooey gooey chocolate deliciousness on the inside.  I suggest a large glass of milk or cup of hot coffee on the side.  One cookie is more than enough for any human, except for TheHub who not only ate 2 of them, but then argued with me when I told him he had just eaten at least 8 ounces of cookie dough. ( How would I even know that, all I did was bake them, right?)

For an honest comparison I would have to have one of the original cookies to do a taste/texture test. Since I don't have access to one I am having to rely on my memory of that cookie and to be honest these are pretty darn close.  I used Nestle's chocolate chips and there was a difference in the taste and texture of the chocolate.  I don't know if they use Guittard or not but those are the best chocolate chips I have ever used and I think they would be much better.  The texture of the cookie itself was pretty much spot on. It had a nice crisp outer coating and a very tender gooey cookie interior.

I can see making these regularly, because it is the only time I have ever eaten just one cookie (OK so the cookie is only slightly smaller than a standard hamburger bun, I still count it as eating just 1!)

If you feel like indulging try this.  You just might like love it.  Next up__Levain Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Cookies!  Unfortunately there will not be another non-paleo week until sometime in mid to late June. Singing like Carley Simon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NwP3wes4M8