My Mayo Recipe

I have tried several mayo recipes and I have finally put together what I liked best about all of them. Here is the recipe I came up with for a creamy mayo that is not too lemony.

Ingredients:

1 egg at room temperature
1 TBSP of lemon juice at room temperature
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp Dijon mustard
1 cup of light olive oil (you HAVE to use light or it will have an olive oil taste)*

*Macadamia nut oil or avocado oil works too, I have made it with expeller pressed avocado oil before with success)

I usually put the egg and lemon juice in my food processor and let it sit for about 30 minutes so it can come to room temperature.

Then I add in the mustards and salt. I get the oil in a cup ready to pour and then I turn on the processor and add the oil into the cup with the small hole in the bottom so it can slowly drizzle in. I usually only need to let it run for about a minute and then I have homemade mayo!

Weekly Meal Planner Using Produce from my Abundant Harvest Organics Box

The box arrived with a strong smell of fresh basil. Time to make some pesto! Pesto one of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh basil. I have been making this every time we get basil in the box. I have even been buying basil as an add-on some weeks just so I can make pesto. One of these days I need to get around to planting some of my own basil but for now I am going to keep on enjoying the fresh basil from Abundant Harvest Organics.

So what else came in the box this week?

Weekly Meal Planner Using Produce from my Abundant Harvest Organics Box

Summer has brought many yummy treasures in our Abundant Harvest Organics produce boxes! The boxes keep getting heavier every week as they are loaded down with fresh sweet corn, juicy stone fruits, delicious melons, and ripe tomatoes.

Ma must have really loved summer!

We don't eat much corn in our house since it is really just a starchy grain but when it comes in the box we do indulge. As you can see from the smile on little Jad's face he is a fan!

More corn is on its way this week along with the other usual summer goodies. I also ordered some irresistible extras this week.

So what is coming in the box this week?

I Lost a Dear Friend to Cancer

Angel Eddie

The past several months have been very emotional for me as I stood by and watched my friend die. He finally passed on June 12th but it has taken me this long to make here to write about this experience.

During the months he was sick I sacrificed everything I could to be there with him. When he finally did pass several weeks ago I had a lot of catching up to do at work and at home. Hence the reason the blog has gone silent for quite some time. I know I posted other reasons for the silence and while they were true the main force behind all the silence was me spending every second I could spare with my dear friend Eddie. I wasn't ready to talk about that yet though, talking about it would have made it too real and I could not handle that at the time.

Weekly Meal Planner Using Produce from my Abundant Harvest Organics Box

This lovely pie was made with last week's apriums. It tasted even better than is looks! It was a simple homemade grain-free nut crust filled with fresh cut apriums and sprinkled with palm sugar (more info on this at the bottom of the post). It is actually the first pie I have ever made from scratch! I am happy it was a success!

The Little House books describe many different home cooked pies, sweet and savory. The Little House Cookbook lists all of these in the index under pie: apple, blackbird, chicken, cream, custard, dried apple and raisin, green pumpkin, huckleberry, lemon, mince, pigeon, poor man's, pumpkin, and vinegar.

My favorite story of pie was Ma's green pumpkin pie from the book, The Long Winter. Pa took a bite and he thought it was apple pie and he wanted to know where in the world Ma got apples! I love this story about Ma, she was so creative with what she had on hand. Who says you can't make "apple" pie with green pumpkins? Ma did it and we can too. Get creative in your kitchen! Look at recipes as an invitation and then use what you have on hand to make something delicious.

On to what came in the box this week:

100% "Real"-ly Good Chicken Nuggets!

These nuggets are so moist and tasty you will think you are at a upscale cafe with gourmet nuggets on the menu when you sit down to a plate of these bad boys!

More good news: these nuggets are grain and dairy free and best of all they are easy to make!

Ma never made chicken nuggets but she did make lot of nugget like foods: cornmeal fried cornmeal mush, johnny cakes, and corn dodgers.(pages 21-23 of The Little House Cookbook).

She was also said to have sat down to a plate of Codfish balls which definitely qualify in the nugget department. (pages 31-31 of The Little House Cookbook). This recipe could actually work with fish too but I have not tried that yet. Please let me know how it goes if you do.

My kids have always loved chicken nuggets, heck I have always loved chicken nuggets too! When we went gluten free in our house chicken nuggets were definitely off the menu.

Little Pots of Gold (Veggie Meatballs)

What is at the end of this rainbow of veggies? Delicious little meatballs! Ma would have never been able to make these little pots of gold but thanks to my amazing food processor I can!

This recipe was inspired by the recipe Garden Fresh Meatballs from Sarah of  Everyday Paleo.

Here is the rainbow of veggies I include in my version. There is a lot of green for extra luck and good health!

Roasted Red Peppers

Orange Carrots

Yellow Yams

Yellow/Green Artichoke Hearts

Green Zucchinis

Dark Green Kale

Deep Purple Cabbage

Time Saving/Parenting Tip: Consider Limiting Your Options

The first thing I am going to have to admit in this post is the fact that I am not very good at following the advice I am about to give. That is actually one of the reasons I wanted to write this post though. I need to remind myself that limiting my options is always a choice and sometimes it is a very good choice to make!

So what am I talking about here? I am talking about how life is so complicated these days. Many families have

What Would Ma Do? She Would Put Family First!

Thanksgiving at YMCA Family Camp in Julian, CA

Some of you may be wondering why this blog has gone silent for a few weeks. I am here tonight to answer just that question!

First I am going to pose a question about "Ma". When things got crazy in Ma's life what do you think she did? When I say crazy I mean
Pa is out of town, the crops need extra love, the hens are having trouble laying, one of the horses has a hurt foot, the weather is extreme outside etc. That kind of thing. I am thinking Ma would focus on just getting through the major MUST HAPPEN tasks each day. During times like these she probably did not get much time to work on any of her special sewing projects.

Or if we are talking about Laura in the context of "Ma", any of her writing projects would go on hold during busy times. Laura did a lot of writing for in journals and for magazines before she ever wrote the Little House books. Writing was one of her loves. But I can bet that writing had to take a back burner sometimes when things got extra "crazy" in her life.

In my case extra "crazy" involves things like

Weekly Meal Planner using Produce from my Abundant Harvest Organics Box

Today was the "box" day, YEAH!

I don't have time to have my own garden so I truly appreciate this lovely gift each week of beautiful organic produce from farmers across CA. Even if I did have time to garden I would never be able to grow all of these amazing goodies.

What a wonder to see the variety and bright colors each week!. Thank you to the farmers who make it possible for my family to eat a rainbow of colors every single week!

So...What came in the box this week?

Weekly Meal Planner using Produce from my Abundant Harvest Organics Box

Last week more than half of what arrived in the box went right into my slow cooker for another rendition of a new favorite: Spaghetti Sauce Stew.

Here is a list of what came in my small box from Abundant Harvest Organics this week:

• apples
• kiwis
• carrots
• cauliflower
• Italian herb mix
• lettuce
• mache (salad greens)
• lemons
• potatoes
• broccoli
• spinach
• green garlic

Here is a meal plan using all of these items! I even included two dessert ideas this week!

Poem: The Two Sides of Two

As my newest baby boy is approaching 1 1/2 I am seeing signs of these two year old behaviors already! I wrote this poem back when my first son was two years old and I remember this stage well with my daughter too.

I wonder what Ma did with her 4 daughters during this tricky stage where your child wants to exert their will but cannot communicate well enough yet to allow you to reason and negotiate with them. I bet Laura was Ma's biggest challenge.  I am thinking Jad might end up being mine. We shall have to wait and see...

The Two Sides of Two

Tyrant                                                             

Want it your way NOW!                                

Only your way...                                              

YOUR WAY                                                   

Every single time!                                            

Are you aware of the                                        

Ruckus you cause?                                          

Or do you merrily                                             

Live to fulfill your own                                      

Demands and dreams?                                     

Timid at times
When you are unsure and want mom near 
Overly proud of all 
Your BIG accomplishments
Ever curious explorer of
All the things. You want to know the world!  
Ready with a smile and a hug 
Or a
Little Chat
Darling demanding dear one you are my BIG accomplishment!

If you are a parent of little ones at home try to focus on remembering the moments when they are your darling little dear ones. This is a good reminder for me too!

Weekly Meal Planner using Produce from my Abundant Harvest Organics Box

What was in the box this week?

• apples
• pomegranates
• turnips
• lettuce
• potatoes
• rainbow chard
• Herbes De Provence (pictured right)
• winter squash
• spinach
• dill
• yu choy sum (similar to bok choy)

What to do with all this lovely produce? Here is my plan:

Spaghetti Sauce Stew

Ma would not have had the option to buy a jar of good spaghetti sauce but since I do I am happy to make my life simpler by doing just that!

Finding a good sauce can be tough. You have to read the ingredients carefully. Anything with "sugar" or "canola oil" is not coming home with me!  Nothing modified or partially hydrogenated is going to cut it either. I also don't want any added starches. I just want veggies, spices, and olive oil please. Turns out this is a tall order!

Trader Joe's makes a roasted garlic sauce that meets my criteria but it is not organic. I have found a good plain basil and tomato flavored sauce at Sprouts that was organic but I cannot remember the brand. I will update this post with this info next time I buy some. This time I used a non organic brand from Costco that fit the bill of only including real ingredients.

A Post about Lack of Posts on this Blog

Happy New Year Everyone!

I thought I would take a moment to explain why this blog has been so quiet for a few weeks.

I took a much needed  2 week vacation from my job as an Instructional Designer. In the week leading up to this vacation I was REALLY busy focusing on getting things done so I could take my nice break.

During the break I decided to take a break from sitting at my computer desk too. I spent time enjoying the outdoors, family, holiday traditions, cooking, and good old fashioned book reading! Well some of the reading was on a kindle so that is not 100% old fashioned but you get the idea about what my vacation was like, NO sitting in front of a computer!

The week back at work was of course EXTRA busy and I tried to catch up on everything so there was barely enough time for working and taking care of myself and my family. No time available for blogging, a girl has got to sleep too!

The point of this blog is to try be happy living a simpler life taking inspiration from the Little House family. I think Ma would have been proud about my decision to take a break from blogging.

I hope my readers feel the same!

Now that I am back in front of this computer everyday again and things are starting to get back to the normal pace at work you will start to see more blog posts from me again.

Did any of you get to take a technology break over the holidays? I would love to hear from you!