A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Merry Almost New Year's Eve 2016

                                  

Don't know about the rest of y'all but I'm not going to say goodbye to 2016 with any lingering feelings of affection.  Not that everything in my life was bad but it just seemed like that Facebook meme was true "Dear Life, when I asked if my day (year) could get any worse, I didn't mean that as a challenge."  Am I right?

The one GREAT thing this year was that the hubs, here within the last week of the year, got a job going back into the career love of his life: radio. He started out on the air at the age of 15 and is going back into the studio at the ripe old age of...nevermind.  But for THAT we are very grateful!

On the other hand, forgive me while I complain just a wee bit before I wrap it up with another bit of gratitude and hope.  2016 for me, this blog, and my health seemed to start out well. I joined a group at work, a knock off of The Biggest Loser that we called The Biggest Loser Respiratory Department Version.  Using my meal planning system that I blogged the first three months of the year I lost 25 pounds and have kept that off all year although both blogging and meal planning as I had blogged it fell by the wayside as my health declined.  By May, when I finally made an appointment with my Primary Care Doctor, I was sleeping 14 hours a day, could hardly move out of the chair, was short of breath even walking the length of the house, had chest pain, muscle aches, and my hair was falling out to the tune of a full hairbrush every day.  Blogging? That simply didn't/couldn't happen.  Working?  Could barely get through a shift and used my days off to recover. Cooking?  Maybe once a week. We lived on sandwiches, soup, and cheap take-out. How I managed not to gain the weight back I have no idea. 

Should I have gone for help sooner? Absolutely! But I'm stubborn and love to live in denial. You know how that goes. We all think "But if I just try harder and ignore this, mind over matter, this will go away."  But it didn't.

After bloodwork, a chest x-ray, and a stress echo to check my heart I learned both good news and bad news: my heart is beautiful!  Isn't that a wonderful thing to find out?  But my endocrine system and blood work up were not.  All of my symptoms:  extreme fatigue, shortness of breath, chest pain, muscle aches, thinning hair, were all brought on by out of whack values (low) on both my thyroid and hemoglobin (anemia).  Maybe I should have known better than to put off going to the doctor. I'm medical, after all, but I'm respiratory and while I "get" the anemia and its affects better than most, the endocrine system is not really my "deal", so to speak, so I didn't realize how far reaching the systems of hypothyroidism could be.  But having suffered through them and the six months it's taken me to take my life back and not feel like sh&& day after day, the point of all this confession is to be a cautionary tale to others.  If YOU don't feel good, if you have any, part, or all of the same symptoms I experienced, please do not suffer and try to fake it till you make it. Please go to the doctor. And if you have chest pain, please go IMMEDIATELY to the ER.  I admit, and fully admit that I was wrong in this, but we medical people sometimes tend to be the worst patients, assuming we can figure it out and cure ourselves but in thinking that way we sometimes do ourselves a great disservice.

Back to the hope and gratitude part of the "public service announcement":  I'm finally feeling better!  Maybe still not 100% and I have cranky knees but I'm pumped up and ready to tackle the new year, a new Biggest Loser of the Respiratory  Department challenge, and a home program to strengthen my aging knees, low back, and core.  Starting January 1, the blog will have a slightly new look and I'm going back to full meal planning that worked so well for me the first quarter of last year. Between now and next Thursday I will be uploading several new recipes that I have made during the last six months I've been on hiatus but hadn't had the energy to finish writing.  My planning method is pretty straight forward:  The grocery ads come out on Wednesday, I plan my weekly menus, shop on Thursday, and begin my new menus on Friday or Saturday night.

 For those who went along that journey with me, it's all about a little planning each week to make sure my crisper has items for a specific salad of the week for lunches or dinner additions, the fridge always has a container of healthy soup for lunches and snacks, the bread box a couple of homemade options for any meal, and I have the ingredients on hand to make from scratch dinners, some a little fancy, some quick and delicious but not fancy at all, so that we can skip the drive thru's, the grocery store processed stuff, and the take-away to eat great tasting, cleanly prepared food at home.  It takes a little time to plan, shop, and afternoon or a few hours here and there to cook ahead, but it's so worth it.  And one of the other big lessons I learned was to use simple shortcuts where I could, such as making and baking double batches and freezing half for a later time, especially times when we get busy with social obligations and all the minutia of life. I also don't plan specific meals for specific days. I have the ingredients for six meals on hand for the week (and one day off for date night) and then I use them as our quirky cravings of the day or last minute plans in life call for them.  Like most people who love to cook, I spend more time on meals on my days off and more crockpot/casseroles when I work, especially since I work 12 hour shifts overnight. Night shift and 12 hours can make life a little more complicated in the kitchen but I thank God every day for whomever invented the crockpot. What a lovely little machine that is!

I invite you to come along with me in any way that works for you.  Use my menus to make your life easier, use the concept and plug in your own menus,  cook my recipes that appeal to you, but more than anything, let's all have a happiest, healthiest, and cheeriest of new years. Welcome 2017!

                                                                      

Greek Do Nothing Pineapple Coconut Cake

 OMG, Auntie Miranda made this cake for cousin James' birthday dinner, our theme being "Greek", and it was absolutely divine!  She said it was very quick and easy to put together, which is a definite plus, and the recipe writer states that it only gets better with a day or two, and can freeze well. I believe all of those things and will definitely be making this again and again.  Two thumbs up from the whole family--thumbs up since our mouths were busy eating this awesome cake!

Other Greek Recipes from James' birthday dinner:

Ina Garten's Pastitsio (Greek Lasagna)

Greek Dinner Salad with Easy Homemade Greek Vinaigrette 

Ina Garten's Pastitsio (Greek Lasagna)

It's March which means the "madness" in our family is always the family game we play called "What does James want for dinner for his birthday?"

Since I was a child, the tradition in our family was always that the birthday boy or girl got to choose their birthday menu, anything under the sun they wanted. As a kid, I always wanted my Mom's Chicken Chow Mein and my Nannie's (grandmother) Banana Bread. 

As adults, we've created a slight twist on the tradition with my cousin James where he tries (not very hard, LOL) to "stump" Auntie Miranda and I with his menu choices.  I usually make the dinner and Auntie does his cake from a clue or direction rather than a specific dish.  Last year he said "European peasant food" and since we're Swedish/Norwegian I went to from scratch Swedish Meatballs with cranberry sauce and Jansson's Temptation, while his direction to Auntie was "checkerboard cake" from which she created an incredible Cherry/Vanilla checkerboard cake. Yum!

This year we were told "Greek"  and "Pineapple Upside Down Cake".  Since I had to work the night before, Auntie very kindly created both the cake and the entree:  Pastitsio and Greek Pineapple/Coconut cake.  Holy Crap, she "did good!", as we told her last night.  Today I have Pastitsio recipe and tomorrow will upload the cake recipe and link back.  These are great recipes for anytime but, definitely, any birthday boy or girl would give you tons of hugs and kisses for making these!

 

Auntie Miranda's Cherry and Vanilla Checkerboard Cake

 

  I just love this cake of Auntie Miranda's and it tasted every bit as good as it looks!  

She made it last year for James' birthday, the same birthday that I made the from scratch Swedish Meatballs with cranberries and the Jansson's Temptation.

For those who don't know, our family has a little tradition of cooking whatever the birthday boy or girl wants for his birthday dinner.  With James, our tradition is that I make the meal and Auntie creates the cake, all from James' directional whim of the year. We tease him that no matter how hard he tries to stump us, we will always win.  His choices for this year?  Greek food with Pineapple Upside Down Cake for dessert.  Just wait, James, we've got both under control, actually there's no "we". I work the night before so Auntie has it all under control and she even found a Greek version of pineapple upside down cake.  Bring it on, Big Boy!

 

St. Paddy's Day Cocktail: Irish Duck Fart

  

Niece Jordan came over Saturday night after she finished her work shift to help play with St. Pat's Day cocktails. She actually came over just to visit but the "working on St. Pat's Day cocktails" turned out to be a a fun add-on treat since this is her first St. Pat's Day as a 21 year old. Most kids her age would find hanging with Auntie and Uncle boring but I'm thankful my girl still enjoys spending time with us.

We looked at a million Jameson and/or Bailey's cocktails and ended up going with what sounded like the weirdest one: Irish Duck Fart, a combination of Irish whiskey, Irish cream, and coffee liqueur that can be shaken over ice and served as a shooter, or over ice as a cocktail.  To us, even though the combination sounded weird, to be honest, it goes down smooth like an amped up Irish cream.

 

(Click  the "continue reading..." link for the Irish Duck Fart recipe)

For more St. Pat's Day recipes:

Guiness Irish Stew with Roasted Garlic/Rosemary Dumplings

Russet Potato Colcannon

Sweet Potato Colcannon

"Brown Bread" Irish Soda Bread

 

Jansson's Frestelese aka Jansson's Temptation: Swedish Scalloped Potatoes

 Another Swedish dish from James's Birthday menu, these are one of the two best scalloped potato dishes I've ever eaten or made, the other being Cook's Illustrated Scalloped Potatoes with Thyme and Bay. What sets both of these dishes apart from the rest is the amped up seasoning. In the latter it's the thyme and bay, and in the former it's sardines.  Yes, you read that right: sardines. But before you turn your mind off, like I almost did when I read the recipe, let me say that I didn't tell my guests what was in the potatoes until after everyone had already eaten quite a bit and said they'd loved the dish.  It's just a psychological thing, sort of like when I introduced the hubs to sushi. I ordered several rolls, had him eat without knowing what he was eating, and to his surprise, his favorite things were the raw tuna roll and the eel sauce...on anything.

But if you're still a little nervous, like I admit I was when I first made the dish too, only use half a tin of sardines and smoosh them up a bit so they're evenly spread through the layers without any one big bite of them in a lump.  But do try this.  Like the hubs and his sushi, you might surprise yourself.

Swedish Meatballs with Cranberry Sauce

 

 For my cousin James's birthday, we usually have a small get together of the Dexter Dinner crowd.  The hallmark of this get together is James's annual game of "Stump the Cooks" where he challenges Auntie Miranda and I on his choice of meal.  So far we have ALWAYS risen to the challenge, I'm proud to say! 

This year he challenged me to a dinner menu of "European peasant food" and since our family is primarily Scandinavian, that's the direction I went. His challenge to Auntie was "cherry and vanilla checkerboard".  Yup, nailed it on both!  Today, I present Swedish Meatballs (not made with the cream of mushroom soup man of us grew up on) with cranberry sauce.  Later this week I'll have recipes for Jannsson's Temptation, Cucumber Salad, and Auntie's Cherry and Vanilla Checkerboard Cake.

 

Nannie's Banana Pudding for Gene

 

Suzanne's Cookies, Cookies, and Turnovers

 Mmmmmm...look all the cookiesand  goodies my sister, Suzanne, has been baking at work (Casey's at South Campbell and James River Freeway).  AND she even brought us doughnuts the morning before my gall bladder surgery.  One of her husband's, Charles, white-iced, cake doughnuts was the very first thing I ate on the morning after my surgery, that would be TODAY.  No nause, no puking, no discomfort (except for my incicions, of course). I will always remember that dughnut with great pleasure!

By the way, the butterfly is in honor of Suzanne's youngest daughter's, Sydney, favorite and the lady bug is honor of her oldest daughter's, Jordan, favorite.  They've loved butterflies and ladybugs since they were little girls.  So cute.

My first post-gallbladder dinner is not quite decided yet and I intend to keep off the 20 lbs I lost, but tonight I feel like celebrating--no chicken and rice soup, no dry toast, no plain baked potato. I won't go crazy but I can't wai to eat a real meal again, and cook again!  I've actually missed cooking (even the smell of food made me nauseated for weeks) more than eating so the next couple of weeks should be great for Gene. In  a couple of days I'll be able to take over the kitchen again.  Not that he's a bad cook, but I'm sure, even though he doesn't complain, that he's tired of cooking and taking care of me.  I'm so thrilled to see a light at the end of the pain and nausea tunnel!

Huge thanks to everyone who's helped me:  Gene, my sister, my niece Jordan, Auntie Miranda, Ann:  thank you thank you thank you!

Love the heart cookie! 

Mmmmmm...turnovers! Someday soon....

Kids Decorate Their Own Cake: Sydney's Butterfly Cake

One of my nieces' and nephew's favorite birthday cakes wasn't one that I decorated elaborately, but that I baked and put borders on, then let them decorate with candy pieces.  Sydney has always had a love affair with butterflies so for her 10th birthday I baked a simple butterfly-shaped cake (Wilton pan), piped purple borders and simple wing marking patterns, bought skittles, M & M's, gumballs, and sweet/sour candies and assigned each of them one quarter of the cake space. 

Look at those serious faces! They enjoyed it, as you can see in later pics, but they took the decorating seriously, carefully choosing their colors and gently placing the candies on the cake. 

Look at those adorable faces!

 I'm pretty sure Sydney LOVED her cake, aren't you?