Roasted Veggie Sandwich

I've had this recipe for a while. I saw in a wedding magazine in their shape up to fit in the dress special. I have been making it ever since, since it was tasty. However, I have no doubt that 7 years removed from the original article and recipe, it is not as healthy as it once was.

But it still is tasty.

Ingredients:
1 small eggplant, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 each red, orange, yellow and green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 olive oil
salt, pepper and all purpose seasoning to taste
hummus
feta cheese
alfalfa sprouts
2 pieces of whole grain bread

Directions:
To roast veggies: Toss the veggies in the orange juice and olive oil. Season to taste with salt, pepper and all purpose seasoning. Roast in a 375 degree oven for 15-20 minutes until tender and slightly charred.

To assemble: Spread hummus on two slices of whole grain bread, top with feta cheese, roasted veggies and alfalfa sprouts.

recipe by: The Good Wife

BBQ Pork and Coleslaw

This is another recipe The Good Husband saw and wanted to try. So far he has been pretty good about picking out winners.

We had this right after Halloween, when the weather was just started to hint at the coming winter and we were longing for something that reminded us of warmer days.

This dish was both easy and tasty. The BBQ pulled pork was easy enough to make. It was the coleslaw that really made this dish. I failed making coleslaw before, so this was a huge improvement.

I normally don't like my foods to touch, so I was also shocked at how much I liked it considering I would never allow my coleslaw to touch my sandwich on my plate normally.

I did modify the original recipe as well. The original called for BBQ chicken, but we had pork chops in the fridge that needed to be used. I also didn't make them "sliders" since 1.) I hate how the term is used too often and incorrectly in the food world and 2.) I like the big kaiser buns.

Ingredients:
Slaw
½ cup mayonnaise
½ cup chopped green onion
2 tablespoons dill pickle juice (from a jar of pickles)
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon coarse salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 (16-ounce) package shredded cole slaw mix

Pork
1 cup bottled barbecue sauce
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 cups roughly shredded pork
Kaiser buns

Instructions:
~For coleslaw, whisk all ingredients together, except coleslaw mix, in a large bowl. Add coleslaw mix and toss to coat. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

~For shredded pork, cook pork in slow cooker on low for 6-8 hours or until fork tender. Shred. Combine barbecue sauce, vinegar and pork and stir to combine.

~To serve, place pork on bun bottoms, spoon coleslaw on top, top with remaining bun and serve.

recipe modified from: Relish Magazine

Last Farmer's Market

The last Farmer's Market of the season was Halloween weekend. So where the hell have I been for a month and a half?

Well, I finally finished my graduate semester from hell. Want to know everything about tax increment financing or macro and micro theories of nonprofit organizations and how they apply to board management? Yeah I didn't think so. But that's what I have been doing for the last month and a half. But the semester is behind me and while I wait for my final grades (here's hoping to two As), I promise I will update the blog more.

So in the spirit of updating - a recap on the last Farmer's Market of the season.

This is the most hyped FM of the season. There are chef demonstrations, live entertainment, costume contests for both kids and dogs and an all around party.

So I took my little hippo and headed to the market.

We saw Indian corn and bittersweet.

And live entertainment, which had to have been freezing since it was in the low 40s that day.

Veggies, of course.

Chef demonstrations. I think this was some kind of apple pancake but midwest people go apeshit for free food and as such, The Good Daughter and I couldn't make our way through the overalls and flannel to get any.

More live entertainment that was just loud enough to confirm I am getting too old.

More veggies.

I would have taken photos of the costume contest but after wandering around the FM for an hour, waiting for the start of the kid's contest, TGD had a huge meltdown and we had to leave before the dog contest. Since she was in the first group in the kid's costume contest, I was working on coaxing her across the stage and not on taking photos.

She didn't win. In fact, all the winners had some very cute, but homemade costumes. If that's what it takes to win, I don't have the time or the creativity. So it looks like we will be Halloween losers. Oh well.

Common Cloth Diaper Problems

Now even though I love cloth diapering and it has saved time, money and the environment, there are still some problems that I have encountered. In no way do I want anyone to think these problems outweigh all the benefits of CDing. They haven't. But just as there are downsides to using disposable diapers -having to drive to the store or remembering to buy them, blowout issues, chemical and environmental issues - there are downsides to CDing and not addressing them is failing to give an accurate picture.

One of the more common problems when using CDs is how to deal with diaper rash.

When The Good Daughter started cutting teeth, she developed a yeast rash and it lingered and lingered. We had to treat her twice with antibiotics. But we also had to deal with her diapers.

Yeast lives in cloth diapers so you will need to kill the yeast along with treating baby.

To treat baby, I would bathe her in lukewarm water with two very generous handfuls of baking soda. This would help relieve her irritated skin. I would rise her and not soap her up. I would also feed her yogurt twice a day. We also did lots and lost of naked time. We would even let her take a nap naked, having her sleep on several towels.

If the rash was particularly bad I would use Neosporin for overnights and California Baby Diaper Rash Cream and Diaper Area Wash with each change until she was healed.

To treat the diapers, I treat for yeast, treat for hard water (optional, but I live in an area with extremely hard water so it is a good idea to do routinely if you have hard water too) and then strip.

To treat for yeast, I fill the washer with hot water but stop the machine when the water is half full and add 2-3 pots of boiling water and some oxiclean. I wash as normal after that. The hot water will kill the yeast that would otherwise live in the diapers. If you don't want to do the boiling water method, you can also turn up the temperature on your hot water heater, allow it to heat for 10-15 minutes and then run the washer with hot water. I don't know how to change the temp on the water heater, so I do the boiling water.

To treat for hard water, I wash as normal but add a 1/2 to 1 capful of Calgon water softener. I do this once a month now since we have hard water. You can check to see if you have hard water here.

To strip diapers, the most labor intensive part by far, I fill kitchen sink with boiling water and I add a hearty squirt of regular blue Dawn dish detergent. Stir with a spoon to combine soap. Add diapers and submerge in soapy water. Allow the water to cool and you are able to immerse your hands into the warm water. Next, I use a short bristled nail brush with a little Dawn and literally scrub the shit out of the suedecloth, concentrating on areas that seem to be problems, such as the elastic around the legs. I then drain, rinse and wash diapers in the washing machine on a hot wash cycle adding about a 1/2 teaspoon of Dawn. I add one extra rinse and stop half way through to make sure all the soap has been rinsed. If there are no bubbles and the water is not filmy, then continue the rinse and dry as normal. However, if there are bubbles, rinse until gone.

I have stripped with Dawn 3 times I think and have used the Calgon treatment and LB's rash has gotten better. I also switched laundry soap to one that has no additives so it shouldn't leave anything behind.

The reason I had to treat the diapers so much was a combination of the wrong laundry soap, hard water and the initial yeast rash. If you don't have all three then you won't need to do as much work with your diapers.

Organizing the Pantry

Now that you know what you should have in your pantry, I will show you how I organize it.

I'm not really too fond of my pantry. It is too deep which makes it hard to see everything on the shelves. I want The Good Husband to modify it so the shelves will pull out but he says it can't be done. So while it is not nearly as full as it can be, it is full enough that it sometimes causes a hassle when I have to reach for something in the back.

I do have the shelves organized in a way that all common ingredients or uses are together, making it easier to find something.

Top shelf - Canned meat – tuna, chicken, salmon; Stock – beef, chicken, vegetable, seafood; Canned veggies and fruit for TGH; canned pasta for TGH; box muffin mix; tea

The second shelf is my baking shelf. This is by far the most full shelf. Baking chocolate squares – all-purpose, unsweetened, bittersweet, german, white; Baking mixes – pancake, bread, cornbread; Baking powder; Baking soda; Canned milk – sweetened condensed, evaporated; Chocolate and other baking chips – milk, semisweet, dark, white, butterscotch, peanut butter; Cocoa powder; Corn starch; Corn syrup; Cream of Wheat; Flour – all purpose, whole wheat, bread, pastry, cake; Gelatin – instant, unflavored; Honey; Instant coffee powder – coffee, espresso; Jam/jelly – grape, strawberry, boysenberry; Maple syrup; Molasses; Nuts – pine, walnut, peanut, pecan, almond; Oats – quick cooking, old fashion rolled; Oil – extra virgin olive, canola, vegetable, sesame; Peanut butter – crunchy, smooth, natural; Shortening; Sugar – white, super fine, brown; light and dark, powdered; Sun-dried tomatoes; Vinegar – white distilled, apple cider, white wine, rice wine, champagne, balsamic


Shelf three is reserved for beans, rice, canned tomatoes and pasta - things that usually go together when you are making Italian or side dishes. Anchovy paste; Breadcrumbs – plain, seasoned, panko; Canned tomatoes - whole, diced, crushed, stewed, paste; Corn meal; Dried and canned beans – pinto, black, navy, great northern, garbanzo, kidney; light and dark; Dried mushrooms – porcini, oyster, button, crimini, shiitake; Pasta; noodles – spaghetti, angel hair, fettuccini, linguini, lasagna, cellophane; Pasta; shaped – orzo, penne, shells; small and large, rotini; Polenta – quick cooking, traditional; Rice – long gain white, brown, jasmine, Arborio, basmati

The next shelf is reserved for 'taters and onions, garlic and shallots. I store them on a wooden dish rack so they have air circulation but the cold, dark they need to keep from sprouting.

The last shelf is reserved for canning materials and condiments and overflow. Ketchup; BBQ sauce; Mustard – yellow, whole grain, Dijon; Soy sauce

The Good Daughter really wanted to help when I was cleaning and reorganizing the pantry. She thought it hilarious that she could get inside and shut the door. It took forever to convince her to get out.

Pumpkin Fluff

Our local grocery store makes this stuff called fluff. It comes in a variety of different flavors and this month is pumpkin. I got a sample the other day and The Good Daughter LOVED it. Then I looked at the ingredients: High Fructose Corn Syrup, partially hydrogenated oil, red dye 40.

Nope, nope, nope.

So I thought there must be another way to make fluffy stuff but with, you know, actually food. This was simple to make and it was a nice easy dessert after lunch one afternoon.

Ingredients:
1 can pumpkin
1 package cream cheese, softened
1 cup whipped cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
~Combine pumpkin, cream cheese, vanilla and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl. Bend on medium speed until well combined.

~Gently fold in whipped cream. Cover and refrigerated for one hour before serving.

recipe by: The Good Wife

My 200th Post! Cloth Diaper Update

It has now been over a year since I have been using BumGenius one-size, all-in-one diapers for The Good Daughter. And generally we have loved them. There are days that I complain about extra laundry but I complain about the amount The Good Husband seems to generate so it's not all about the baby.

We did develop a small problem of leaking at night. It seemed that the BG, even with an additional insert just couldn't contain everything for the 12 hours TGD is sleeping. This presented a bigger problem since we co-sleep and waking up in a huge pile of pee in the middle of the night has lost it's charm since college.

Thirsties Diaper Duo in (l-r) white, honeydew, ocean blue, storm cloud, orchid

So I consulted a few friends who CD and was told about Thristies Diaper Duos. We used Thristies in the beginning, when The Good Daughter was still small and we were using prefolds and covers. I really liked Thristies and never had any problems with them.

So I hopped online to my favorite local diaper shop, Pinstripes and Polkadots, and be still my beating heart if they didn't come in prints.

After a year of looking a solid colors, it was nice to have a change of pace.

Thirsties Diaper Duo in (clockwise from upper right) Alice Brights Print, Cool Stripes Print, Blackbird Print, Warm Stripes Print)

But the best part is the insert is made of two liners buttoned together, one hemp and one microfiber, so it is super absorbent. Like Thirsties covers, it featured a double gusset at the legs which help keep all the mess contained. We have used them now for 2 weeks and have yet to have one leak. Thank god, since washing sheets daily was getting old. I did have to prep the hemp liners and I washed them a total of 5 times in a hot wash before all the oils had washed away and they were good to go.

While these are an one-size diaper, they do come in two sizes, Size 1 and Size 2, to really fit up until potty training. The Size 2s I got will fit up to a 40 pound child. TGD is 23 pounds, so we have a while to go before we run out of room in these things.

My new stash

Another huge plus is the insert actually agitates out in the wash, so I don't need to pull it out before tossing it in the diaper pail. Both the top and the bottom are open so it will just shake right out.

I also ordered some more cloth wipes, which brings my total to 54, but between all the pre-folds, covers and AIOs, I think my stash is now complete. It needs to survive through at least 2 more babies, but I think it will hold up.

These are a little more bulky on TGB but for now it is her nighttime diaper only. By the time she is ready to wear it during the day, she should be bigger so it shouldn't be as bulky.

I was not paid for this review. I just really love to talk about CDs.

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Now that we know how to make English Muffins, Holliandase, and how to poach an egg, it's time
for Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict!

I hate Canadian bacon, so while I make Eggs Benedict the traditional way for The Good Husband, I like mine with smoked salmon. Really any excuse I have to eat smoked salmon for breakfast I will use.

The richness of the butter, combined with the warm soft yolk of the poached egg and the soft butter texture of the smoked salmon, will have you in sensory overload.

Ingredients:
1 English Muffin, split and toasted
2 poached eggs
Holliandase to taste
6 oz smoked salmon

Directions:
~Top toasted English Muffin with smoked salmon, poached egg and cover with a generous portion of Holliandase. Serve immediately.

recipe by: The Good Wife

Blender Hollandaise

Since I bought a new full size food processor for my birthday, I decided one of the first things I should make was blender Hollandaise. Since I am still scared to make the real over the stove version, I thought this would be a nice introduction for me. And Eggs Benedict was something The Good Husband requested for dinner recently.

I checked out some blogs for a basic recipe and my trusty Joy of Cooking. Really all this sauce is, is butter, egg yolks and lemon juice. There didn't seem to be a consensus of the proper ratio of butter to egg. I saw everything from 4 egg yolks and 1 stick of butter to 3 egg yolks and 2 sticks of butter. So armed with the knowledge that I couldn't screw up the ingredients, I set out to use my new food processor for the first time.

While I didn't screw up the ratios, I think I could have made sure the butter was a little hotter before I added it to the processor. I added the butter while it was warm, not hot, to the processor and by the time I was finished adding all of it, the sauce had cooled considerably. That said, I probably took a gamble on having the yolks cooked enough, but I lived so it must have been ok.

Ingredients:
4 egg yolks
1 stick buttered
juice of one lemon
salt and pepper to taste
cayenne pepper to taste

Directions:
~In the bowl of a food processor or blender, add egg yolks, salt and pepper and blend for 2 minutes to combine.

~Meanwhile, in a small sauce pan over medium heat, melt butter until hot but not brown. With the food processor or blender still running, slowly pour butter into egg mixture until combined. Add the juice of one lemon and continue blending. If sauce is too thick add more lemon juice until desired consistency. Add cayenne pepper to taste and serve immediately.

recipe by: The Good Wife