Sweets!

For the past couple of weeks, our church has been participating in a Daniel fast, eating whole foods. Since standing in the pantry and downing a mouthful of honey straight from the jar is uncouth in some circles, I figured I should come up with more appropriate ways to get my fix. Because I am a girl who just can’t go a day without eating something sweet. Our time of fasting is almost at its end, but I thought I might still post a few of the sweet fast-friendly recipes that we have enjoyed along the way.

Apple Pie Oatmeal
½ cup oatmeal
1 cup water
½ Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
cinnamon
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
¼ vanilla soy milk

Mix your oats, water, diced apple, and cinnamon to taste. Cook as directed on your oatmeal package. Stir in maple syrup and vanilla soy milk. It tastes like apple pie!

Crackers Posing as Waffles
Break up Triscuit crackers and drizzle with warmed pure maple syrup. Delicious! (This little treasure was passed along to us by Pastor Scott Wilson, of FC Miami.)

Kettle Corn
For years we have had a hot-air popcorn popper, which I’m sorry to say sat unused in a cabinet until this fast. Pop the kernels, spray with canola oil, sprinkle with salt and natural sweetener. (We are using truvia.)

Chocolate Soy Milk
That’s all there is to say about that.

Sweet & Sour Sauce
½ cup water
4 tsp soy sauce
½ cup white vinegar
½ cup pineapple juice
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup honey

Combine water, soy sauce, white vinegar and pineapple juice in a small saucepan. Stir in honey and cornstarch until evenly mixed. Bring to a boil.

Simmer gently on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, remove from heat.

Serve immediately and refrigerate leftovers. Sauce will thicken to a gel when cold.

This is great on vegetables with whole grain brown rice! The recipe makes quite a lot… we had enough for two meals with plenty left over.



So, friends… What have you been eating?

Just like in the Bayou

Last night we had a fun couple over for a visit. Andy knows this couple from the office, but it was my first time to spend more than 30 seconds with them. They carried on conversation with our boys. We ate chicken and sausage gumbo and cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes. And had a hilarious time playing games.

Over dinner the husband asked me, “What’s in the roux? How do you make it?”

I kind of shrugged and humbly replied, “Oh, it’s just a mix...”

But I should have just told him… “I stew the bones of road-kill raccoons and squirrels, like I did livin’ in the bayou. Swamp rats are better, but I can’t get those here.”

Just kidding.

I never lived in the bayou.

Soda Pop

While storms raged outside, the boys and I stayed inside mixing up a new summer treat: Homemade Lemon-Lime Soda Pop.

Parker found this recipe in Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes. That boy LOVES to read. He will read just about anything, from babyish board books to biographies, and always cover-to-cover. He has even read (and retained some of) the Periodic Table of Elements from Hydrogen to Ununbium. So, naturally, as he was reading through every page of this children’s cookbook, he picked out a few things that he would like to try.

Homemade Lemon-Lime Soda Pop Recipe

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons apple juice concentrate (thawed)
3 ice cubes
1 cup soda water

1) Squeeze juice from a lemon and measure 2 tablespoons into a glass.
2) Squeeze juice from a lime and add 1 tablespoon to the glass.
2) Add everything else and stir. Enjoy!

Yield: 1 serving (easy to make more!)



This was fast, easy, and delicious! The real win is that you are using apple juice concentrate instead of sugar.

The boys had fun and loved what they made. There’s even talk of opening a “Homemade Lemon-Lime Soda Pop” stand. So if you’re in my neighborhood this weekend, and see a table and a couple of little boys out on the corner, stop by!

I Have a Hard Time Trying New Foods

I’m super weird about trying new foods. Reason number four million sixty five? Last Monday night’s dinner experiment.

I do this thing called The Grocery Game* that gets us lots of cheap food. The low expense affords me the opportunity to try new products with little financial risk. I've found some great new crackers and cereals through The Game, so I confidently branched out in the frozen food aisle. I decided to try a new product for the first time last week, because it cost me about ten cents. What’s the harm, right? If it’s bad, I’ll only lose ten cents.

And some dignity.

The product was Gorton's frozen "lemon butter fish filets." They looked more like Spongebob Squarepants than fish filets. And they tasted more like an old shoe. An old shoe that has been dusted with lemon Pledge.

Dinner was so bad that after just one taste, I said to Andy, “You don’t have to eat this. I’m not going to.” We stood up from the table, threw it all away, and went out to a restaurant. It was a bit reminiscent of A Christmas Story, when their turkey dinner was destroyed and they went out for Chinese. Only we didn’t have any tableside entertainment.

Fa-ra-ra-ra-raaaa, ri-ra-ra-raa!



This post originated on MySpace about a year ago, but the incident is still brought up in our household frequently. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it! Can you relate?

*I highly recommend that you try the Grocery Game for yourself. If you do, please enter my email address in the referral section! fcboyds@yahoo.com Thanks!

Home-Cooked Food = Food Cooked at Home

There is something deeply gratifying about preparing a delicious home-cooked dinner. And let me just say that home cooked for me does not necessarily mean that I made it all from scratch. Sunday, I made chicken enchilada soup using a Homemade Gourmet recipe and leftover Chicken Express. It’s like recycling a delicious dinner into yet another delicious but completely different dinner! Like I said, it’s not from scratch but I still made it.

Saturday night, my dad and brother joined us for a fabulous steak dinner. I had the pleasure of creating a meal, even though I did nothing more than throw salad in a bowl and bake a few potatoes. Andy is the grill master. I have absolutely no skills when it comes to charcoal, so I leave it all to the man.

Sidebar: I have this huge issue with being stereotypical. Ask Andy. I don’t like fitting in to general stereotypes. But I haven’t the slightest problem with the old 1950’s definitions of women’s work. I love being the lady of the house, taking care of my husband and our boys. I like stirring pots in the kitchen while the man stands at the grill, searing red meat with fire. It’s who I am. God made me for this.

So, anywhoo…

Wednesday, I decided to try a creamy pork tenderloin recipe from Melanie at Big Mama. Sort of. I knew I was going to make this recipe when I went to the store, but I didn’t even look at the list of ingredients until it was time to cook. So I had to improvise a few things. Still, it all worked out. I’m sure that the results of following the actual recipe would be even better, but the three people who bothered to eat this dinner really enjoyed it. (P doesn’t eat dinner most of the time. It’s a wonder that he survives.)

There’s just a special feeling that I get when I cook. Well, I guess the really good part is serving up what I have made, sitting down around the table, thanking God and enjoying the blessing of a home-cooked meal shared with loved ones.