Hopeful Housewife

Had the most delicious and unconventional dinner tonight! It was also quite NT friendly.

We had:

deviled eggs made w/homemade mayo, mustard, salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flake. My husband makes the most amazing deviled eggs. The homemade mayo reaaaaalllly makes a difference!! The mayo is from the nourishing traditions cookbook.

We ate our eggs w/ak-mak crackers (whole wheat crackers that are amazing), organic spring mix salad w/the nourishing traditions balsamic dressing recipe, and yogurt “smoothies” made with homemade full fat yogurt, a splash of pomegranite/blueberry juice, a bit of orange juice, and ice. I sweetened it a bit with vanilla and agave nectar. I dont know what made it such a fantastic dinner, but it just hit the spot. It all tasted so, I dunno…pure?

I think maybe it tasted so amazing because the hubs helped so much.

Ok, its time for a new episode of “Confessions of a homemaker.”

I cannot hard boil eggs to save my life. No matter what “tips and tricks” I read, I can never, ever, ever get the shells to peel properly. On the off chance that I get the shells off well, it never fails; the yolks aren’t done. My name is Andrea, and I’m a hard-boiled egg failure.

The hubs, on the other hand, makes amazing hard boiled eggs, and even better deviled eggs. He was so eager to help, which was just too sweet. At one point, he sat at the table watching me eat. I stopped and said “what” surely looking quite bewildered. He giggled and said he was just happy that he could make something that I enjoyed eating. I swear, that boy can turn anything into a greeting card moment.

It was so nice to have a successful NT meal after our breakfast attempt failed so miserably. I tried the NT dutch baby recipe, and it was a flop for me. Not sure why, but perhaps I’ll give it another go some other day. Lunch, quite simply, was anti-NT. We had ramen noodles. Its what the girls wanted, and I found myself enticed by them as well. Sometimes I just have to have a packet of that nasty stuff…perhaps just to remember why I never eat it. Ha!

Tomorrow is a new day, and I look forward to finding something new to make…and maybe eating something not so pure.

I LOVE this cookbook ya’ll. LOVE IT.

I have had so much fun learning new kitchen techniques, and have really enjoyed tasting some fun stuff!

The last two days, we’ve had pancakes out of the cookbook.

2 cups flour (they say fresh ground kamut or spelt, but I use whatever I have) One day it was spelt, another just plain ol’ white bread flour. Whatever. Yeah, I know white flour is from the devil…but sometimes you gotta do what you can.

2 cups buttermilk (I use home “brewed” buttermilk)

Soak the flour in the buttermilk for 12-24 hours

In the morning, add 2 gently beaten eggs, 2 tbsp melted butter (I didnt have any butter this morning and used oil), 1 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp salt, and enough water to make it the consistency you like. I also add 2 tsp vanilla and about 1/8-1/4 cup organic sugar.

They make tasty pancakes, really. I am so happy with the results.

Buttermilk is easy to make, by the way. To 1 qt milk, add 2 tbsp store bought buttermilk. Leave it covered lightly overnight on the counter, and in the morning, the whole thing is buttermilk. Always make this in a glass container!!

Once you have your buttermilk made, you can just use your homemade buttermilk as a starter….a little tip too: If you add 4 TBSP of buttermilk to a pint size container of half and half, and leave it out covered overnight, it turns into sour cream!

 This method of eating does take some extra planning, but I am loving the results. Dont see myself eating organ meats anytime soon, but its a fun journey anyway. LOL!

Ok, so its been a few days, and I’m low on time (which is why it’s been a few days in the first place!)

 I stayed under my 100.00 budget for last week. Friday marked the end of my first week, and I think I came in somewhere around 97.00.  Meals I did not post that have been eaten include

-those delicious fresh mozzarella balls with basil, toasted ciabatta, roma tomato slices, and fresh organic apples

-hummus, ak-mak crackers, and organic greens w/balsamic vinegar and olive oil “dressing”. I bought the greens from the salad bar, only buying what we would eat that day, knowing they’d likely go bad if there were leftovers, and it ended up being just over a dollar for the greens.

Today, I got a special surprise…Something I didn’t expect to find at Whole Foods.

I had just picked up my buffalo eye of round steaks (3.35), Corn on the cob, .65 ea, and about 2 spoonfuls of toasted couscous autumn salad from the deli (2.25) when I hear the kids yell “DADDY!” Apparently the hubs is enjoying our journey so much that he went to the deli to get a slice of mozzarella, basil, and tomato pizza for lunch. He was definately the most fantastic selection in the whole store.

I’ll let ya know how the buffalo cooking goes.

I’m learning a few things in the process, even though I’m only a few days into it.

1.) I really needed to switch up things in the kitchen, and the new tastes and textures have been refreshing.

2.) Whole Foods will slice your bread purchased from the bakery if requested. They will even warn you that the slicer may have come into contact with non-organic bread in case I am concerned about that. I’m not, needless to say, but still awfully thoughtful.

3.) Whole Foods is a great place for people watching. Today I saw a woman dressed like Malibu Barbie. It was fantastic.

4.) If you eat a 365 organic brand “oreo”, and chase it with a drink of ice cold mint flavored Italian sparkling mineral water, it tastes like mint chocolate heaven. Its my new favorite indulgence.

5.) Whole Foods carries buffalo meat, and its SO on my “buy it soon” list.

6.) At the customer service counter, there is a “kids corner” that has healthy snacks. Kids 12 and under are allowed one snack each per visit. With the frequency of our visits, I should have a stash of organic raisins and fruit leathers in no time, LOL!

Ok, so today’s purchases: six apples for the kids, a loaf of organic sourdough (sliced, mind you, lol!) a half gallon of raw skim milk, an organic snickerdoodle for Miss Piper, (that she promptly gifted her Papa Motorcycle with) and a slice of Pepperoni Pizza for the boy. The kids paid for their own food, so deduct 4.00 off the top of my total for the day. Total for today was 10.92, and the only thing I needed for dinner tonight was the bread. The rest is for tomorrow. Total amount left for the week: $24.98, 3 days of eating left before my next week of purchases begin.

I have to admit, this is really fun for me.

I wish I could find my camera cable. Its in a box somewhere I’m sure, but once I find it, I will post pics of my finds and creations in this journey.

Ok, so yesterday evening’s shopping trip almost broke the bank, but I needed some spendy essentials, like olive oil, butter, eggs, and cheese.

I came home with all of those things, (goat cheese spread and a 3 cheese blend of assiago, fontina, and regiano), 2 bottles of santa cruz organic lemonaid at dh’s request, and a couple other things, and my total was 42.19. This brings my weekly total to 64.10. I have four more days to go to mark my first week, and we’ll see if I can keep it under 100.00. I’m left with $35.90, and have no doubt I can do it.

Last nights dinner was so tasty! I made some pasta out of semolina and organic spelt flour, and it was devine. I doubled the batch, so we’ll be having some form of pasta for the next two nights at least LOL. I used my pasta “machine” to make angel hair pasta last night, and tossed it with olive oil, black garlic, roma tomatoes, fresh basil, and the three cheese blend I mentioned. It was SO good. The black garlic is really different. Not sure I would use it the way I did last night again, but it would be great in asian dishes.  I served the pasta with the leftover sourdough from Sunday night, some olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dipping, and because dinner was running a little late, I spread some goat cheese on some ak-mak crackers as an appetizer. It was sooooo yummy!!

I’m really excited about tonights dinner too. I took some of my leftover pasta dough, and turned it into mini ravioli’s. I filled them with the left over goat cheese, a handful of the 3 cheese blend, and some egg to hold it all together. I went ahead and rolled them out and prepared them last night so that they’d be ready for today. I’m going to make a creamy basil sauce to serve them in, some crusty bread, and maybe some oven roasted asparagus. The only thing I need for tonight’s dinner is some garlic.  While I’m at the store, I will likely pick up a basket of strawberries to juice for the kefir that I just finished, and the kids and I will have that with breakfast tomorrow.  I will probably make the bread for dinner tonight, as I’m dying to try baking bread with the spelt flour I found at the store (finally!).

I have to admit, that there is something about Whole Foods that is incredibly intoxicating to me. Its difficult to have self control when shopping! I want almost everything I find, but I have to remind myself that we can have the “fun stuff”, just not all in one night. I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s dinner, when I’m fixing another “wine and cheese” type tray. This time, I’m going to buy those fabulous looking fresh mozzarella mini balls, and the pomegranite wine that catches my eye every time I walk in there.

Another unexpected bonus: When your food costs more, you’re less likely to eat too much. LOL… 

My husband and I have been baby-stepping this family to a more “nourishing traditions” type lifestyle for several years. Until recently, we didnt know there was a “movement” that existed for this lifestyle, but the idea of eat what grows/lives naturally makes SO much sense. Do things like they ‘ve been done before preservatives and transfats, etc.. You get the idea.

Now that we have moved, we have much better access to healthy eating, and I’m really excited about it. Trouble is, healthy eating can be soo expensive, and you all know how frugal I am.

So, I told the hubs that I wanted to give myself a challenge here at the hopeful housewife. Whole foods is less than a mile away from our home. I told him that the trouble I run into when shopping there is that things go back before we can eat them, SO, I am going to go “all European” on you guys, and make a daily trip to “the market” to get our food for that day. I’m going to stick to my usual budget of 100.00 per week, and am determined to shape up the way we eat, and explore some new techniques in the kitchen while I’m at it. So far, I’m two days into it, so here is my current grocery “log”.

Friday:  One loaf of organic wheat sourdough (I’m growing starter again, *sigh*), one chocolate bar. Total spent, $3.99. I warmed the bread and cut it into slices, sliced up some sharp cheddar I had in the fridge, cut up a few fresh peaches that my FIL brought us, and put some olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and coarsely ground black pepper on a saucer. The hubs and I reeeaaaallly enjoyed this little meal with a glass of red wine. It felt so decadent, but was so delicious.

Saturday is off the log because the hubs took me out on a date. I had the most killer four cheese ravioli with pesto sauce.

Sunday, we repeated the bread/olive oil/balsamic/pepper, and had some grilled asparagus as well. Served it up with some Alexia brand cheese sticks and peaches again. Kids loved the cheesesticks. Breakfast and lunch were not purchased as the kids were w/grandma and she fed em’. Total for Sunday: $18.92. I bought some chocolate almond milk, and a few other products (sparkling mineral water, organic “oreos” and a slice of pepperoni pizza for the kiddos.

Thus far, we’re at $22.91.

The plan for tonight is to make some pasta here, toss it in olive oil, black garlic, tomato and basil, and serve it with the rest of last nights organic wheat sourdough with (yes, again,) balsamic and olive oil. Considering I have about fifty pounds of peaches (and I am not exaggerating at all…in fact I might have more than that) we’ll have sliced peaches tonight too, lol!!! My car is in the shop at the moment, but I will be heading out for today’s market trip in a bit. I’ll update my running total once I’m home.

Ok, so it doesnt get the same vocal fanfare the KOMBUCHA! does in our house, but its still amazing stuff.

I am LOVING Kefir, gang. LOVING it. I am not, however, loving how much its costing us, LOL!! Sooo…homemade kefir it is.

 If you like yogurt, you’ll like kefir, and frankly, its so much better for you.

I went to an organic dairy today as a field trip. It was so cool to walk the fields and see cows just being cows. It didnt stink, it wasnt nasty…it was really neat. The cows just walked right up to you, and wanted to be a part of the tour. There’s even this cow that PETA rescued (oh brother), and they sent it to this dairy because they knew it would be a safe place for her, lol…The tour guide said they come out twice a week, walk her, feed her, brush her…the works. Its quite ridiculous if you ask me, but hey, I never said I was an animal rights activist.

That said, it was really refreshing to see cows (and milk) in their/its natural state.

I also managed to get some kefir grains, and since I am sure my kefir posts are buried here somewhere, I thought I’d revisit the process.

Its super easy folks. Take your grains, drop em’ in a clean quart mason jar. Fill the jar with milk (I bought whole raw milk today just for this reason!!) cover, and let it sit out of direct sunlight for a day or two, depending on how sour you like your kefir. When its the way you want it, strain out the grains (no metal here, just like kombucha), and either store in some milk or use to start a new batch depending on how quickly you’re goin’ through your kefir.

Keep in the fridge up to seven days, and flavor as you wish.

I have to laugh as I type that, because that is exactly how it is said in our home. Like this beverage is some sort of superhero or something..dun dundun….KOMBUCHA!

My kombucha journey has been an interesting one. I drove 200 miles away for a bottle of it the first time I grew a scoby, only to discover that it was actually bottled in the city I’m from. Nice. In my defense, I was in said 200 mile away town anyway, but the kombucha was a necessary stop on our trip.

I managed to not only grow a great scoby, and feed it til’ it was nice and fat, but I also ended up with about six of them. Sadly, when we made our move a couple of weeks ago, I left my kombucha brew in our “brewing cabinet” and my big beautiful scoby was invaded by ants. I was just sick.

Sooo…I had to start over, and thought I’d revisit the land of KOMBUCHA! with you all as I go through the process again.

Feel free to google the reasons to drink Kombucha. I’m not going to list them all. I’m not a doctor, and I cant prove it works, but I like the way it makes me feel, so there.

Ok, first things first. You need to grow a scoby (Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast). Is that how you spell symbiotic? Scimbiotic? simbiotic? whatever. you get the point. This is where the magic lives. You’re going to basically take some sweet tea, add this living rubbery creature to it, and end up with a fizzy sweet and tart beverage that can change your life. Ok, I’m exaggerating…at least the change your life part. Sounds appetizing, no?

Ok. Go to Whole Foods or another health food store in your area. Pick up a bottle of raw plain, unflavored kombucha. Its about 2.50 at Whole Foods here. Take your lovely tonic home, add it to a large pickle jar (or other large glass container…no plastic or metal folks!!!!!!)  Pour the kombucha into the jar, cover with a tea towel, secure with a rubber band, and LEAVE IT ALONE for 2 weeks. Leave it in the pantry or on the counter. Do not attempt to grow a scoby baby in the fridge.

Once the two weeks is up, take another large glass container, dump a cup of good ol’ white sugar into the bottom of it. I know, I know. White sugar is bad. Work with me here. The scoby needs it to grow. Sorry folks, its just the way it is.  Next, brew some tea. Use 12 cups of water and four BLACK tea bags. Once the water is boiling, add it to the jar w/the sugar, give it a stir, and add the tea bags.  Let is steep basically all day, until it is room temperature again. Once the tea is room temperature, add 1/2 cup of your kombucha liquid from your scoby “garden”, and give another stir with a wooden spoon. (remember, no metal!) Float your scoby on top, cover with a tea towel, secure with a rubber band, and put it back on the counter or in the pantry. In 7-14 days, it will be fizzy and fabulous. I like to strain it before drinking it as the yeast “floaties” (as we refer to them) gross me out. Also, drink it really, really cold.

As an added bonus, your scoby will have birthed a new scoby baby. Make sure that the scoby’s are kept in kombucha liquid at all times. Once you get your kombucha “routine” going, you should have some in the fridge keeping cool, some brewin’ away, and a jar of any scobys you dont care to float on your current brew.

Some tips: If it ever molds, you may have forgotten to add kombucha liquid to your brew. This is a necessary step. If you want to brew your kombucha with all of the scoby’s you have, you can. If you dont like the taste, try juicing some ginger, blueberries, or whatever you like really, and adding it to the kombucha when you serve it.

It’s a bird…Its a plane, No…It’s KOMBUCHA!