Sweet 'N Sour Sauce

One of my daughter's favorite things to eat is sweet 'n sour chicken. We often will get some kind of oriental food, and the restaurants often have a version of this famous American-Chinese food dish. Jocelyn has always loved to eat steamed rice, and the sweetness of the sauce with the standard child protein - fried chicken in bite sizes - makes this dish a winner.

The problem with this is the sauce. Most places have this IMMENSELY red sauce that obviously contains some sort of food coloring, probably red #40 or some other dye that we'd prefer not to eat in such high quantities. If it was just a little, that'd be one thing, but she eats lots of this sauce, and at least once a week, and it stains her fingers, it has so much dye in it. This is not what we'd consider healthy, and to top it off, it stains worse than almost anything else. (And is drippy to boot.) My husband and I have always wanted to try to make our own sweet 'n sour sauce.

Today, we ordered Chinese food from a delivery place nearby, Dragon Cafe Express. We ordered Sweet 'N Sour Chicken for Jocelyn and my husband to share, a family size, and (this is the first time this has happened with this restaurant) we did not receive the sauce, just the entree without sauce. This, as any parent will understand, was a disaster, because without sauce, the chicken might as well be fried radishes or something - it's inedible to a three year old expecting sweet sauce!

We both ran to the computer to Google a recipe, and pieced one together. This is basically what we got:

• 1/2 c ketchup
• 1/3 c vinegar
• 2/3 c brown sugar
• 1/2 c water
• 1 TBS corn starch

First three ingredients: mix in pan, heat until simmering, remove from heat to slowly add in the water + cornstarch mixture, whisking as you add.  Return to heat and simmer, then turn off heat, stirring occasionally.  The sauce will thicken as it cools.

We decided to use some of the other recipes' ideas, and add a little bit of soy sauce and, since we didn't have straight pineapple juice, some of the Simply Orange juice with added pineapple we had bought for our daughter.  Probably about 1 - 2 TBS of each.

The sauce was a hit!  It was a bit thick once it cooled to luke warm (a good eating temperature), and we decided we would use a different recipe without ketchup next time to adapt to the thickness problem as well as the pseudo-ketchup flavor.  It kind of reminded me of a mild BBQ sauce you might get on deli meatloaf or something.  We also thought we'd use apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar instead of the plain white vinegar, just to give it dimension.   I actually liked the orange+pineapple; you could almost make an "Orange Chicken" sauce by adapting this sauce to have more of the juice.  Some of the recipes called for adding minced garlic, ginger, or chives/green onions, and some called for making an infusion with said ingredients, also perhaps adding crushed red pepper flakes or a red pepper itself for flavor.  Also, many added salt, but if we are adding soy sauce, we decided not to add the salt.

All-in-all, it was fun, fast, and easy to make, and making the chicken itself wouldn't be that hard!  (Though maybe a little messy... I'm not a fan of frying at home, especially without a deep fryer.)

I was so impressed with my husband and I, both that we were working so well as a team, had the same idea, and carried it out to a yummy completion!  My daughter never knew that we didn't actually receive the sauce.  A beautiful way to do lunch (and to learn a new, quick weeknight recipe)!

RECIPE TIME!: Swiss Chard, Macaroni and Cheese

I apologize that I haven't posted in such a long time! I will try to make them at least once a week, as I was doing previously.

However:
I have been going crazy with cooking this past week. I have some interesting CSA vegetables from Saturday, and I've been trying to find the best ways, or at least some interesting ways, to use them. The first thing I found was a recipe using the Swiss Chard that I received. I'm not certain that I used enough chard, but I don't think the proportions matter that much in this case. It is a Mac 'N Cheese with Swiss Chard recipe that I found in a "bon appetit" cook book my mom gave me. I also found it on epicurious.com, lucky enough for the blog and my fingers that now don't have to type the VERY LONG recipe!

Basically, it's a normal mac n cheese recipe. It uses Gouda and Edam cheeses... Gouda is pretty moderate in price, but to get 2 cups of packed, shredded Edam, you'd have to spend at least $20 (or I would have). Thus I halved the amount of Edam, added extra Gouda, and added some Gruyere for good measure. I also added an extra garlic clove, even though my garlic was pretty large to begin with, because... well, that's me. I didn't think that 2 cloves of garlic for 12 ounces of pasta was near enough, but I didn't want to change too much, so I only added... probably another 100% of what was expected. I seasoned most of the cooking steps with salt and fresh cracked pepper, as it sort of tells you to do, but not specifically. I might also add extra of all of the seasonings; I can hardly taste the cayenne, and wouldn't mind a touch more, and I loved the smell of the nutmeg and cumin seeds together, but I don't get that same effect in the overall dish, so I might add another 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg. I liberally salted the cooking water as well, and LOVED the fact that you blanch the chard in the same water you will be cooking the macaroni in... helps retain some of the nutrients lost in the necessary blanching step, and probably adds flavor.

My only other change, which I didn't think of as much of a change until after I did it, was to use whole, non-homogonized milk. Oops. I need to learn more about cooking with non-homogonized milk. I don't very often make "creamy" recipes for 2 reasons: they tend to be much higher in fat/calories, and my husband doesn't really like them much (though he does like mac 'n cheese and seemed okay with trying this recipe). The milk, being almost raw/straight from the cow, ended up making it's own "cheese" in a way and became kind of clumpy in the sauce. I should have known that was going to happen, but I totally forgot. This could also be due to the fact that my daughter was "helping" me with the cheese and I didn't get to whisk it as much as I'd like, or keep as close of an eye on it as I'd like. HOWEVER...

It does make an ENTIRE 13x9x2 pan, full to the brim, of mac 'n cheese. And it does make a "healthy" mac 'n cheese, as you can control the butter, milk, cheese, etc that you use, and it does add in a dark green leafy vegetable, of the type which Americans don't get near enough.

We grilled some bratwurst, cut up a watermelon, and had the mac 'n cheese for dinner.

The most important thing is: how did the Swiss Chard taste in the macaroni? Decadent. Truly great. I LOVED the change up, and for those of you that, like me, worried about the mouth-feel and texture: don't. The chard melts in your mouth, and you barely can tell it's there in that sense. The mild flavor permeates the entire dish, leaving you with a different, but silky and perhaps not-so-rich mac 'n cheese that could be served at a fine dining restaurant.

Cheeses being disproportionate did not bother me. I don't know if it would be better or worse changing the proportions of Edam, but to me, this was great. I might actually add a bit of Asiago or Parmesan, especially to the topping, next time. And, to speak of the topping: LOVE the crunchy bread crumb topping. I might add fresh parsley to that next time as well, for the extra peppery bite and for the color. I would also salt the pasta/cheese mixture more liberally than I did. Definitely needs a bit more salt to bring out the flavors.

Amazing recipe. Loved it. Don't mind that I just about ruined my lower back doing the prep work for it!! I suggest you try it... even if you don't care about your health. You'll be getting immense health benefits from the dark leafy greens, but the flavor will BLOW YOUR MIND.

Migraines, Part Two

So, I've given the background info on my own personal migraines, and the stages of a migraine or "how to spot" one. Here's the part that I find interesting: how to prevent them, and how to get rid of one once you have it.

The first thing that I've learned: acetaminophen (Tylenol) does NOT help. In fact, most OTC drugs do not help. Naproxen sometimes can lessen the pain if, in fact, the migraine is partially a tension headache. Excedrin can also do some good, however, only if you're in need of caffeine. In the long run, taking these kids of drugs will cause more frequent migraines and headaches, and trying some of the natural remedies will not work as well until your body is un-trained from having these drugs at the first sign of pain. Acetaminophen is actually poisonous to your nervous and immune systems, so unless it is necessary, my opinion is, do not give into temptation to take it. It will cause you more pain in the long run.

The second thing I've learned: In this case, the old adage "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is Gospel truth. I can't stress this enough with health in general, but especially for me in the case of migraines.

Honestly, my main level of protection against getting migraines is eating well and regular exercise. This is all about avoiding "triggers" and keeping the blood vessels open and clear. So, "eating well," in my case means eating something every couple of hours; eating as much fresh, raw food as possible (CSA helps); eat hormone-free meats as often as possible; use minimally-processed foods including fats; avoid sodas and other "empty foods"; avoid any processed foods with artificial sweeteners, high fructose corn syrup (or any corn syrup if I can help it), large amounts of plain sugar (if I can help it, though this is least of the "evils" in this way), sodium benzoate, citric acid, mono-sodium glycol or MSG, and other processing products.
Not all the time, not in every case, but... certainly maintaining good overall health is the main thing that has worked for me in prevention of many issues, migraine being at the front.

Finally: Chiropractic care. This is so important for so many things, not just for migraines. But I know that if I don't go when I need to, I will get a migraine. Or, when I do finally go, if I don't ice my neck afterward (because I went too long and the adjustment causes a little bit of swelling in this case), then I might get a migraine. Apparently, the vertebrate of my neck that is constantly pushing itself out of place also causes some of the constriction and spasm of the blood vessels in my head/brain that cause my migraines. This makes sense, of course, because chiropractic is all about having a healthy nervous system, of which the brain is, of course, a major part.


Once I do get a migraine, I personally will try all of these things (though, again, each person and migraine is different):

• eating a green apple or a teaspoon of raw (local) honey (I've heard tell of studies that say the smell of a green apple can for some reason give 30% of sufferers relief. Either way, migraines can be caused by low blood sugar, so if I have a green apple, I eat it and kill two birds with one stone. Honey is a great way to boost your blood sugar quickly, too, but I follow that up with something more substantial so I'm not right back where I was.)
• drinking a couple of glasses of cold water
• ice pack on my neck, base of skull, and/or temples
• between drinks of water, if I have not had any caffeine that day, I'll drink a small amount of coffee, tea, or soda (if my husband has an energy drink, when I'm not pregnant anyway, I'll drink some of one of those), just to get the caffeine into me
• taking my multi-vitamin multi-mineral (or one of each, if I don't have a combined one at the time), and DHA or Omega fatty acids/fish oil. I'm not sure why I do the fish oil, except it is supposed to help with brain function and it just seems like a smart thing to do if I'm already taking a vitamin. However, riboflavin (vitamin B-2) plays a critical role in the proper function of the mitochondria, and it has been shown in studies that a high does (400mg or more per day) can reduce the severity and frequency of migraines. Also (I learned from my neurologist and researched it myself), half of migraine sufferers were found to be deficient in magnesium while in the throws of an attack. Magnesium opens constricted blood vessels, slows inflammation and interrupts the action of neurotransmitters that can lead to migraine. All good reasons to take an extra vitamin if you're suffering, or to start taking one if you don't already.
  
• lay down and relax in a quiet, dark place. This one is dependent on my mommy duties for the moment. I used to ask for a break if I was at work to go lay in the break room with no lights on and relax, hoping that in 30 minutes or so, it would subside enough to finish the day.
• If all else fails... sleeping may be the only option. Or dealing with the pain and doing my best not to be the crankiest person in town.
  

"Green Pharmacy" or "Natural Cures" for Migraines: Dr. James A. Duke is known as the "Green Pharmacist" and has written a few books about herbal remedies. He is supposedly the "world's foremost authority on healing herbs," but he also talks about OTC drugs and remedies that are more commonplace in the US (which is weird to me, because they've been around shorter periods of time and have not been proven to work as effectively, and they're more expensive most of the time; but that is another post for another time). I learned this statistic about migraines from his book, The Green Pharmacy: "For unknown reasons, about three times as many women as men experience this painful condition [migraines]. Women often develop migraines just prior to menstrual periods or during pregnancy, and migraines disappear after menopause in about three-quarters of women." Whew, that's a relief. He also reminds us that no single therapy works for every type of headache or for every person. Any kind of herb that contains "parthenolides" are extremely useful in preventing migraine. Dr. Duke's suggestion is to make a tea/tincture of Bay leaves, which are high in parthenolides, and feverfew. Feverfew is a flower in the family of dandelion and marigold, and is famous in the green community for preventing and curing migraines and other headaches. Steeping 2-8 fresh leaves of feverfew (with the bay, if you desire) leaves in boiling water (but do not boil them, as the parthenolides and anti-inflamatory effects can break down) can create what is called a "tincture" that you can ingest just like a tea. This was Dr. Duke's suggestion and what he would try himself if he suffered migraines.

Other beneficial herbs include willow (the OTC derivative for willow bark is aspirin, and is useful because it contains salicin, a pain-relieving chemical similar to what is in modern aspirin), evening primrose, garlic and onion (blood-thinning herbs etc, also great for preventing heart attack and hardening of arteries), ginger (large quantities, usually combined with other herbs such as turmeric), ginko (improves blood flow to brain), hot peppers/red peppers (capsaicin is what makes things "hot" and spicy, and can also relieve pain; you can snort it, which I've seen done and though effective, is not recommended; you can also use it as a topical treatment, which works kinda like "IcyHot" or other products such), lemon balm/melissa (can be added to the above tea, if anything it improves the flavor), peppermint (mix w/ alcohol or carrier oil and rub on temples a/o pressure points; can be used with rosemary a/o eucalyptus, but be warned that eucalyptus in high doses can cause contractions in pregnant women), and again, turmeric (anti-inflammatory).

Rubbing the rind of a lemon on your temples has been said to work. I've never received much relief from this. Maybe I'm doing it wrong.

Caffeine can either help or hurt migraines. If you drink a lot of caffeine and get frequent migraines, cut your caffeine intake to one or two caffeinated beverages a day, and wait a week or two for the withdrawal to wear off. If you don't intake ANY caffeine, try some at the first sign of a migraine, or drink one lightly caffeinated drink a day for a couple of weeks, and see what happens.

Something that may sound "kooky" or crazy: one of the so-called "super juices", Noni juice, prevents migraines better than any medication I've been given. Two ounces or so every day seems to prevent the spasm or constriction of the blood vessels. I heard this after I had already bought a mixture of four juices, mangosteen, noni, gogi, and acai. However, I did not want to drink 8 ounces of this a day to get the amount recommended for migraine prevention, as it is nasty-tasting and expensive, so I bought some noni separately. It does seem to work to prevent about 80-90% of my migraines. But it tastes TERRIBLE! So, I often don't take it. I know, I know...

I think, in this vein, my next post will be about my chiropractor and chiropractic care as a whole. I feel like, just like with modern medicine and doctors, I only know the "tip of the iceberg" as far as what there is to know about chiropractic. But... it's important, and a fairly regular part of my life, my husband's life, and my daughter's life. And it is directly related to health and wellness, and, obviously, to this post on migraines!

So, migraine sufferers, I hope this was of some help, and if you have any remedies to comment/add, feel free! I love to find out what works for different people.

Migraines, Part One

So, a few thoughts occurred to me this week, as I suffered 2 migraines a few days apart. Now, this is not unusual for me. I typically suffer 1 or 2 migraines a week. And when I say "migraines," I don't mean headaches that I can just work through, I mean real migraines. Let me describe them to you. Then I'll post another about how to prevent migraines, and some other "natural cures" for when you are in the throws of an attack.

My migraines, the day of the migraine, usually begin with what are called "halos": things that I see, which are not really there. No, I don't see people or phantasms or anything like that. I see basically what looks like the metallic swirls on the surface of gasoline... except they are geometric in organization and typically consist of a pattern made with a bunch of triangles. Sometimes, it just begins with my inability to read, missing words, etc. I almost always try for a few minutes to shake it off before I realize that, yes, this is going to be a migraine. You'd think, with the warning signs of the previous day or two, I would be prepared, but I usually am not. Here is what I describe as a typical 'migraine timeline':

1. "The Wind-up." The day before, I am exceptionally cranky and my muscles feel fatigued. I am tired, and caffeine doesn't do anything for it, nor do B vitamins, drinking extra water or yerba mate, or anything else that usually helps. Sometimes, going for a walk can help, but other times, it makes my sore muscles cramp.
2. "The Warning." The day of, I usually have muscle stiffness in my neck. Then I see the halos or auras. Usually this lasts about 20-30 minutes before I actually get a full-blown migraine, and before the pain settles in. RARELY have I had what could be called a tactile hallucination. I'll explain this in the ER story further down.
3. "The Migraine." Pain. Throbbing, pounding, pulsing pain. Not searing pain, not dull pain, but very localized and sharp. Sometimes, moving around helps. Sometimes an ice pack on my neck or temples helps. Sometimes, taking an extra multi-vitamin and multi-mineral helps. Sometimes... only sleeping in a dark, cold, quiet room will get rid of the pain.
4. "Headache Hangover." Later that day, or the next day, or both, I have what my mom and I have called "headache hangover." My neurologist loves this term. Basically, it's the time after the headache in which you're unsure if the headache will come back. The back of my eyes will hurt if I move my eyes too quickly, my muscles are still sore, though not fatigued, and my eyes are still sensitive to light. My head might throb a bit if there are loud or screechy noises.

Different people have different experiences with migraines. Some are sensitive to smells, some have nausea, and some are worse than others. My neurologist describes my typical headache as a moderate migraine, and the kind I described to her as being about once a month or every other month as a severe migraine. The kind I had early last week was probably mild; it went away with little intervention. The kind I had a couple of nights ago was... well, one of the most severe I've had.

Anecdote time: The aforementioned "ER" example from 3 months ago.
I was 20-some weeks pregnant at the time, right around 5 months. I had a headache that was more like a tension or stress headache all day, from about 10am, which sometimes would happen when I was working at the preschool. (I mean, I loved that job, but 15+ four-year-olds all day long can be quite taxing). I finished my day and went to my in-laws' house because they had picked my daughter up early and were going to have dinner at their house. As we were eating dinner, my right arm started doing things, completely out of my control. It was nuts! If I thought about it a certain way, I could concentrate and get it to stop, which was good, because I wasn't sure what was happening and I was too embarrassed to say anything to my in-laws.

After dinner, I reclined on the loveseat and my daughter laid with me for a little bit. Something about that, maybe the position, maybe just relaxing, made my head feel marginally better, so we went home and I put her to bed with no problems. I took 2 extra strength Tylenol, my prenatal vitamin, reheated some coffee, drank some water, and did everything I could to ensure that it didn't get any worse. My husband came home, and he immediately asked what was wrong. I told him, and he suggested I go to bed with my "neck pillow" on; this pillow is "u"-shaped and you can heat it in the microwave and set it around your neck. I did this (probably about 9:30 at night), and fell asleep pretty well.

At 2 a.m., my husband had just laid down to bed when he awoke to the sound of me groaning in my sleep. My right hand and foot were numb, and my right arm from the shoulder down was tingling and hurt terribly. My husband looked some things up on the internet; most of them said that these symptoms during pregnancy were enough for an immediate trip to the doctor or the ER. Being two o'clock Friday morning, he told me he wanted to take me to the ER. I objected, and finally we compromised: he would call my obstetrician, and if she told us to, we'd head to the ER. She did, and we did, after calling my father-in-law to have him come over and basically sleep in our recliner so that Jocelyn wasn't alone and didn't have to be woken up to be taken with mommy and daddy to the ER.

Long story short, we were there for 7 or 8 hours. I got multiple blood tests and an MRI. Nothing. (This is the reason I objected initially... I figured that would be the case.) Eventually, my symptoms subsided considerably. The ER doc called a neurologist for a consult. This part of the experience was so "cool" in a way. It was the first time I'd ever felt validated about my migraines. I described my migraines to her, as I did above. She said that was a great basic description of the stages of migraines. I also told her that stage 4 sometimes collided with stage 1 for another migraine. The look on the good Dr.'s face was... well, to me, hilarious. She informed me that was too many, and put her name and number on my discharge papers so I could contact her at another time. She basically told me there was nothing much she could do for me while I was pregnant, and gave me some guidelines, which will be in the next post. After another hour waiting for the attending, I was discharged. Diagnosis? Severe migraine with halos. Like I didn't already know that. Look for Part Two... will have some great migraine relief, naturally.

My CSA with Tomāto Tomäto

So, I was looking at what I was going to pick up tomorrow when I pick up my CSA share for the week, and though I had many other things to blog about, it dawned on me: DUH! I should share about my CSA.

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. How it works, basically, is I purchase a "share" from a farm, or in this case, multiple farms working as a co-op of sorts through Tomāto Tomäto, which is actually an "indoor farmer's market" as well. Here's the description of the CSA from their site:

Community Supported Agriculture, most commonly known as a CSA, has become a very popular way to get healthy local foods and support your local farm economy at the same time.

Interested consumers purchase a share, or membership, and in return receive a bag of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season. The Tomāto Tomäto CSA will begin May 8th and continue for 20 weeks. This will secure you with fresh produce for almost half the year.

I was so excited to be a part of a CSA this year, and I LOVE the company. There are multiple farms that are contributing, and I decided to purchase our little family a "big bag", which is supposed to be for a larger number of people, but we actually have used most of what we've been given every week (and plan to have people over to feed, or give away produce in the event that we will not use it all). I do have to tailor my weekly menu around the produce we get, but that's fine with me. Sometimes working from scratch with just about anything you could want from the grocery is taxing, and I end up falling into a funk or just not planning anything. I still have go-to recipes, but this pushes me to try new things and to utilize the freshest of ingredients.

For instance, last week, we got the BEST lettuces, one head of green and one of "purple" which was mostly green with purple at the edges. We used them for salads 3 different nights, one of which was for 4 adults. My parents were over, and they thought it was the best, freshest salad! And we only put lettuce, tomatoes, and radishes in it. But I had just picked up the produce less than 12 hours before, and it was just harvested less than 48 hours before. So... it made a huge difference. Another great thing about it was that, another night this week, my daughter helped me tear up the other lettuce leaves to make another salad, and she actually tried some. She has been wary of trying salad all her short life! But because she helped make it, she actually tried it. Knowing her, and early-childhood development, she will most likely try it again next time and actually eat some of it without complaint.

This week, this is what we are getting in our bag:

• green cabbage
• turnips
• asparagus
• rhubarb
• cucumbers
• fresh bread
• either eggs or cheese, depending on if we are group A or B (I actually don't remember what we got last week, as sad as that is, because we used it all.)

Last week, we also received rhubarb, and I was SO EXCITED... but I had a busy weekend, and I forgot to use it. Luckily, I store produce correctly immediately upon getting it, a tip I learned from the Food Network a long time ago to keep produce fresher, longer, and to cut down on prep time. I LOVE rhubarb. I also LOVE strawberry rhubarb deserts, so I will be cooking at least one, and for the first time in my life, using fresh rhubarb. (Tomāto Tomäto also provided us with some recipes for rhubarb, correctly predicting that some of their shareholders would not have used it before.) If you've ever wondered about fresh rhubarb, stay tuned, because I will definitely post details about what to do with it and how, and if I have any roadblocks along the way. I'll also post a recipe or two!

Some tips, if you decide to join a CSA:

• Unfortunately, it's probably too late in the season now. Farmers have to get a certain number of shares in order to survive via CSAs, and so you could get on a waiting list or get lucky, but most likely, the memberships for 2010 are closed.
• Expect to pay up front, at least for part of the season. You might be used to buying groceries once or twice a week; you'll still have to use the grocery store for things other than what's in your CSA bag, so try to budget for both, and realize it will probably save you money to buy a CSA share by the end of the season... but you won't see the savings until then.
• CSA shares start out with fewer items and typically end with more. In this particular CSA, they give us a growth chart for the season and it tells us what is in season when. This helps us prepare for what we will receive. They also informed us that in our area of the country, the produce will be more like a bell curve: we will receive the most in the middle, with it tapering at the end. I have already seen this begin to happen, as the first few weeks were lighter amounts of produce, and this past week's bag was rather large and heavy!
• Get used to using seasonal produce, and don't expect to plan your menu around things that aren't in season, or you'll end up buying just as much from the grocery store and wasting what is in your share of the CSA.
• Research seasonal produce and it's benefits! I'll have another post on this, but there is research that people have eliminated toxins to the point of having 10-year-old hair dye come out of their pores and gross things like that, just by eating locally (I believe that person in particular was also eating organic, and only local and organic, foods.)
• See if the CSA has an option to buy things like eggs, cheese, bread, or meats, as Tomāto Tomäto offers. Not a bad option if you're looking for it!
• Look into the sustainability of the CSA you're looking to join, or ask.

This website has GREAT information about local food: Sustainable Table It also deals with sustainability and other such subjects very well.

In order to keep this from becoming multiple pages long, I will end it here. Basically, the idea is that I LOVE my CSA, and I love buying local, fresh food. And I'm SUPER EXCITED about RHUBARB! If anyone has recipes to share that include one or more of my CSA ingredients, please share! I'd love to try some.

Dinner With the Family - Sans TV

We had dinner tonight as a family, but because I have a small kitchen table and used it for my cooking, it was not cleared off enough for the three of us to eat at (me, my husband, and my 3-year-old), thus we ate in the "front room"... Not a large enough room to call a living room, and not really utilized in the traditional "living room" style, but basically, that's what it is. There are 3 chairs, set up in a kind of "conversation pit" style, though one is an armchair, one is a glider with a stool, and one is a toddler armchair. Regardless, this is where we ate dinner, which I don't typically like. I really believe in the old concept of a "family dinner." Why else would dinner be the perfect place to go on a date? You look each other in the face, if not the eyes, you talk about things that are important, or about your day, or whatever, and you get to know the people you're engaged with.

I admit, I've done my share of dinners in which the toddler was watching a show, and I was trying to get my food eaten before I had more to do with her or cleaning up or what have you, however I firmly believe in having at least one meal a day that the family eats together, distraction-free. This is a very important part of being a happy, healthy family, in multiple ways: physical, emotional, and relational/psychological health. Paying attention to my daughter fosters her self-confidence, shows her I love and respect her, and allows her to tell me about things that she might want to talk through. Actually, I'm sure it does that for me and my husband as well. In the book "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman, one of the languages is quality time, while another deals with speech and conversation. By utilizing the family meal, you are hitting at least 2 of 5 ways that humans communicate love to one another. Why not try it for a week and see if it makes a difference?! Or do what I do, and try it for 21 days.

I learned when I was a child that it takes 21 days to change a habit or for your brain to make a change. Now, as an adult, I try to persevere in something that I am trying to change, or something new that I'm trying, for 21 days. After this amount of time, I feel it's possible to assess whether or not this change is truly desired, or whether it has made a positive difference. Now, recently, I heard that it only takes 3 days for a preschooler to adopt a change. This was nice to hear, as my daughter has a few habits that, frankly, I've been afraid to get rid of, because I didn't want to deal with a month or two of poor sleeping or other consequences. I know, this isn't the best example of great parenting! But it happens. Now I'm not so afraid. I can plan that, for the next 3 to 5 days/nights, I can expect a struggle, and then it will fade or dissipate altogether, and that is reassuring as well as motivating.



Anyway, back to dinner: tonight I made an old recipe of my mom's, which I believe she took from a Cooking Light magazine in the late '90s. It amounts to "Penne Pasta w/ Sausage and Peppers", though I'm not sure the exact name of the recipe. Here it is:

6 4-oz hot Italian turkey sausages
2 cups (or about 2) green pepper, sliced approx 1/4" thick and 1" long
1 cup (or about 1) red bell pepper, " " " " "
1 cup (or about 1) yellow or orange bell pepper, " " " " "
6 garlic cloves, minced (or more, depending on your taste! This sauce is not garlicky)
1 onion (I used a medium white one & that was great), halved and sliced
1/2 cup mozzarella cheese (I used fresh, low fat from the cheese part of Whole Foods, shredded)
3 TBS grated fresh parmesan (for garnish)
6 cups hot cooked penne pasta (cook while making the sauce)
* 1 25-oz bottle of Emeril's Roasted Pepper and Garlic pasta sauce *

* I could not find this ANYWHERE this time, and I'm pretty sure now he has either "Roasted Red Pepper" sauce, or "GAAAAHLIC" sauce. I couldn't find the Roasted Red Pepper, so I made do with fire-roasted tomato from Newman's Own (a favorite brand), and combined it with the "GAAAAHLIC" sauce, which was fine, but it would be great to find the pepper sauce again. I know, picky picky. You can however look the recipe up and make it yourself, by Google-ing (yes, spell-check, that is a word now) "Emeril's roasted pepper and garlic sauce."

On another note, Emeril's sauces are great because they really ARE all-natural, even though they don't have to be just because they say it on the label. As far as you can tell from the ingredients, there are no "natural flavors", "artificial flavors", preservatives, or anything else that would indicate that it is not 90% natural. Okay, on with the recipe:

Directions:
- Heat a large skillet (here is says "coated with cooking spray" to which I say "w/ a TBS or two of cold-pressed high-heat vegetable oil") over medium-high heat (my stove ended up needing to be medium). (I would also start your water pot for the pasta, so it's boiling by the time you need it and you don't have to wait for the pasta to finish cooking.) Add sausage, cook 8 minutes turning occasionally. ( I did not time this, I just cooked each side until browned.) Remove from heat, let sausage rest, and when ready, cut into 2 inch thick slices. (I cut these much smaller, probably smaller than 1 inch, and I liked this better, personally. But my sausages were also quite thick.)
- Wipe pan with paper towels and re-coat with cooking spray (or if you are me, just return it to the stove; the sausages, being turkey, don't make much grease). **This would be the stage I would throw the pasta into the water, so it will be done by the time you're ready to eat.)
- Saute peppers and onions for 6 minutes (I turned the heat from medium to medium high for this step).
- Add sausage back in, saute for 2 minutes.
- Add garlic, saute for 2 minutes (try not to burn it, as it will turn very bitter).
- Add sauce and simmer over low heat for 5 minutes (up to 10, if you need the extra time)
- Remove from heat, add mozzarella, stirring constantly until melted.

The serving size is 1 cup pasta, with 1 cups sauce over top and sprinkle with parmesan. If done this way, it should make 6 servings at "483 calories" a piece.

I'm not sure why they don't just say "about 480" because they have no idea if it's 483, or 458, or 501 calories that particular time you've made it. But, I guess it makes people feel better. All-in-all, I like Cooking Light recipes (my mom has gotten me 2 of the "Annual Recipes" compilation cook books, and I use them!), but you have to tweak a little bit if you want to be 'healthy' and not just 'low calorie' or 'low fat'. As you do with everything! Eating low-cal and low fat does remove a big chunk of the things that cause dis-ease and poor health related to diet, however, it's not even close to enough, and sometimes it can add unhealthy ingredients into your diet. For example: aspartame and other artificial sweeteners. I could go on, but you get the point. You have to look at the ingredients that are going into your body, and not be afraid to change to something that is inherently healthier!

That's all for the evening, folks! Have a lovely Tuesday night.

My first post... is going to be a-typical!

Now, normally, and probably later today, I will not be posting mere things related to my life in journalistic style. But I thought this was extremely significant, and somewhat related to this blog.

Since I've known my husband, I've known a guy named "John". I won't divulge too much about "John" that anyone could guess his real identity. However, today, my husband and I were going to get bagels after going to the chiropractor together, and we ran across "John" at his work. Now, this might not seem really inspired or strange, however, we have not had a good phone number or address for John for some time now, probably about 2 years. We've had a few conversations about him, mainly because we wonder and worry about him. We have run into him previously in the strangest places, seems most of the time to be the current place that he works. Most of the time, if you lose contact with someone you don't know especially well, then you don't think much about it, but I have thought about John multiple times each year.

Let me give you some background about John:

John is a recovering drug addict. He had been clean since we had known him, starting about 6 or 7 years ago, but he had some major life drains and just "bad luck." I mean, think of Charlie Brown's luck; John's luck is worse. He's the sweetest, greatest guy. Really, one of the best I've ever met. But his life just kept throwing things at him that were just so much harder to handle, so much different than my own life's experience, that I just can't hardly fathom.

After talking with him today, I found out that he down-spiraled into a need for rehab again after we lost contact with him. He spent a short time in jail, was a GED tutor while there, and got into a rehab program again. But, it must have been significantly different this time, because in the short 20 minutes that we chatted with him, after he asked and we told about our current lives, he divulged to us about why his rehab didn't work in the past, and why it's working much better now. He was using his AA guys and guys in the houses he was living in as his "higher power," and in his words, he was "praying to the guys in the house, which of course, didn't work and let me down." As you may have guessed this time, a true "higher power" was the answer. He mentioned that running into us was a "God thing," which wasn't at all something he would have said previously, but it sounded so right coming from him.

Not to mention: he has gained 60 pounds. He looks AWESOME. This is how thin he was before: his countenance was gray, his bright blue-gray eyes lacked luster, his face was all cheekbones and his clothes draped his body much like a large hanger. Even his hair seemed thin, though I just assumed that was healthy for him. Now, he looks straight and strong. You can see the frame of his body as well as the muscles supporting it. His face is full, and his skin glows. His hair is a thick, curly auburn. His eyes are clear Pacific blue, and sparkle. Realize that when I last saw him, he was completely drug free and had been for years. But he was not healthy. He did not glow. He was not anywhere near the level of happiness he is now. Not that I assume, after just 7 or 8 months of rehab and living in a House, that he is perfectly happy and loves his life. But there is some contentment and some happiness behind his fresh new countenance.

John is a caring, concerned, naturally loyal, great person. I honestly don't know many better people in this life, and I don't know many that deserve the best out of life the way that he does. Which is why I hope, and will pray, that his Charlie-Brown thunder cloud has finally rolled away, and he can begin experiencing life in a whole new way. I was so happy to run into him, and hope that he and my husband and I can keep in contact this time, and that we can do something, anything, to support him in his new life... because... I want to do something! And he deserves it. And he's in the negatives as far as that goes.

So, again, this is not a typical post for this blog. BUT... from it gleam some great things about life, parenting, health... that I can refer back to later.

All for now...