Well, I did say low carbs, last week, didn’t I? Yet sometimes I get a hungering for the tastes of days gone by. I remember an egg and oatmeal dish from my youth called Golden Oats. When I looked it up, I found far more oat than egg, a sort of crumbly mix to which you add juice. Too many carbs! What do I do?
I eat oatmeal.
Of course, if I overdid it, I would ruin the diet, so I allow myself about one tablespoon of it. Are you confused, yet? Let’s just have the recipe and get on with it!
A-OK Oatmeal
1 T. uncooked oatmeal
1 T. butter
1 serving stevia powder
1 t. cinnamon
2 eggs
a dash of cream
Brown the oatmeal in the butter lightly, over medium heat.
Frying Oatmeal
Whip eggs, cream, cinnamon, and stevia together thoroughly.
Eggs in Cream
Pour over oatmeal in pan, stirring and chopping until eggs are set. Serve hot with additional cream, and a small serving of pomegranate juice, and/or coffee or tea.
A-Ok Oatmeal
Tastes a LOT like a bowl of oatmeal. No need to add sweetener. Of course, in this land of free speech, it is illegal to say the stevia adds sweetness, so I won’t say that!
The hardest thing about dieting, for me, is that the only way I can really lose weight and stay healthy is to cut carbohydrates. I dread that. I love chocolate-coated sugar bombs with milk and cream on them. I love pancakes with too much syrup. I love granola bars, instant milk stir ins, and smoothies.
The only way I can make myself follow a low-carb diet is to keep telling myself that sweet = poison. In a way, it is true, for me. Sugar sure is sweet and sure is poison. Most sugar substitutes are, also. Since I stopped allowing sugar past my lips, I have been tons healthier. I try hard to stick to only 10 grams of sugar per day, although I often go up to 15 or 20. Still, I try.
Now, lest we be confused, in my book, starch = sugar. If you paid attention in school, you learned that starch changes to sugar in the body, often as soon as while it is in the mouth. So–no sugar = no starch.
Exit: breakfast as we know it. Enter: eggs, the wonder-food.
Long ago when scientific empiricism ruled, children learned in school that eggs are nearly a perfect food. Soon after that, media sensationalism took over and we all became scared of the egg. Impossible! Now, surprise, surprise! the egg is coming back into vogue, probably because if we want, we can circumvent media tripe by watching the computer, instead, choosing to read the research for ourselves, instead of trusting the interpretation of those who have agendas.
Slowly it trickles down and grows to a deep sea of truth. The truth is, I cannot eat the average donut or cereal breakfast and lose. I ate that way for most of my life, and now, the part of me that processes sugar is worn out. It’s gotta be protein and greens for me.
I have learned, from long years of perfecting my breakfast menus, that I cannot tolerate egg after egg after egg, unless I do something drastic about the boredom. So I collect amazing egg recipes. Thinking others may be in the same boat, I have decided to share, every Monday, how I have beat egg boredom. (Yes, I know today is Wednesday. Minor glitch. Just think–you only have to wait five more days for the next installment.)
Today will be the Vegetable Frittata. It is so NOT breakfast-y, that it shocks the taste buds into sobriety while delivering tons of great nutrients to the fasting body, including one of the most easily digested protein sources, the lowly egg.
Here it is, in all its glory. Adjust it to meet your taste buds and your veggies on hand. Enjoy!
Vegetable Frittata
2 T. olive oil or butter
4″ sprig rosemary
1 or 2 green onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 or 2 mushrooms, sliced
1 small tomato, chunked
2 eggs
grated parmesan cheese (opt.)
Warm oil with rosemary in covered saute pan for a minute. Add onion and garlic and saute briefly, stirring, until clear. Add mushrooms and increase heat slightly. Saute, stirring, until mushroom begins to shrink and brown. Onion should brown, also, and garlic should be nearly overdone. Increase heat slightly and add tomato. Stir and fry until tomato just begins to peel.
Just After Adding Tomato
Beat eggs with 1 teaspoon water and add to pan, stirring constantly until done. If desired, contents of pan may be pushed into interesting shapes before egg sets.
Prepared with Love
Sprinkle lightly with parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper, if desired, and serve with 2 ounces of pomegranate juice and/or 1 cup coffee or tea. Serves one.
Enjoy!
Okay, I know it’s a shock. Move to a sunny window, close your eyes, pretend you’re in Italy, and learn a new thing.
I just sent my brother on his way from visiting us for a long weekend. It was wonderful to have him and his two grown kids here with us. All my own offspring came to honor him and the long trip he made to be here, and to visit with their seldom-seen cousins. I enjoyed them all, too.
Of course, there is work involved in having important company, which my brother is. If someone makes a twelve to fourteen hour trip just to see me, I feel it important I bother with his comfort once he is here.
What does a guest need? Several things:
A light meal for the first meal. After traveling, snacking, and sitting for a whole day, a guest wants a simple, easily digestible meal. Not knowing when the guest will actually arrive, you also do not want time-sensitive foods. Put the two together and you get SOUP! I served my visitors a light, homemade chicken noodle soup and an apple salad with honey/yogurt dressing. They loved it.
Privacy. A person naturally wants to be able to dress, brush teeth, and snore in peace, without feeling watched, censored, or odd in any way. He also needs a place to hang clothing. I put my nephew with my son on twin beds, my niece with my daughter in bunked beds, and my brother in our sunroom on the daybed with doors shut and curtains drawn.
Bath Tap (Photo credit: butkaj.info)
Cleanliness. You may know the smear on your vanity faucet is just a dab of soap, but your guest wants it off, wants clean. Extreme clean. Towels must be fresh, and if possible, color coded, so your guest knows his is his. Sheets should be your best set with pillow cases ironed to kill germs. Bathroom surfaces should shine and all dust, hair, and smears should be removed daily, during their stay. (You may be comfortable staring at your husband’s toothpaste droppings from yesterday while you brush your teeth, but who else would be?)
Entertainment. Find out what your guest might like to experience. We live rural, so it’s mostly parks and other natural events. We took my brother and kids to one he and I had visited as children. His own had never seen it. It is impressive and they were impressed. Anything, though, to break up sitting and chatting, will suffice. Bike riding, fishing, antiquing, strolling through woods, or rock collecting are affordable and fun ways I would enjoy burning a few calories and getting out.
Internet access. Not all want this, but if you do not have Internet in your home, seek the nearest hot spot.
We had the best old time. I taught him how we make grilled cheese sandwiches and he taught me how he makes French toast. Mmm.
Here are your recipes:
Chicken Noodle Soup
One whole chicken, cleaned
one cup plain salt
one gallon water
whole onion
stalk celery
clove garlic
3 – 5 sage leaves
salt and pepper
1 ½ bags egg noodles or homemade noodles from 3 eggs (for homemade noodles, see here)
The night before, soak chicken in covered bowl, in gallon water with one cup salt added. In the morning, drain and rinse chicken. Make sure it is cleaned of unnecessary parts. Boil chicken covered with water in large pot. Add all ingredients but salt. Simmer until flesh falls from bones, at least three hours. Cool. Debone. Return meat to broth, boil, and add egg noodles. Simmer until noodles are tender, thinning broth with added water, as desired. Adjust salt, if needed. Remove vegetables, if desired. Serve hot with crackers or bread and butter. Serves eight or more.
Simple Fruit Salad
one yellow apple (Opal?)
one red apple (Roma?)
one pear
one orange
one banana
½ cup golden raisins
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 carton Greek yogurt
¼ cup raw honey
Peel orange and banana. Wash apples and pear. Cut all fruit into bite sizes. Mix all fruit together with remaining ingredients until well blended. This salad is outstanding for aiding digestion.
My Brother’s French Toast, Which Is Better Than Mine!
For ten slices of bread:
ten eggs (yes, one egg for each slice of bread!)
half that volume of milk
1 Tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
dash vanilla
butter
Beat egg, milk, spices, and vanilla, thoroughly. Seriously soak each slice in some of this egg mixture until completely sogged. Set aside until all pieces are soaked. Pour any remaining mixture over already-soaked bread, using it all up.
Fry soaked bread in butter, at pancake temperature, until lightly browned. Turn and repeat. Serve with syrup, powdered sugar, and/or pureed fruit. Serves five.
We just returned last night from visiting our Texas granddaughter for her birthday. Now our fires are rebuilt, house is re-warmed, chicken water is thawed, and icy crud on the car is knocked off. We literally had to plow our way through winter precipitation along a three-hour drive.
In four hours.
I was surprised and blessed at how excited our passengers were. Our adult offspring, home on winter break, were like little children as they recalled rare snow days from their past and giggled in excitement over the frightening but beautiful scenes around us.
We all learned much about snow tires, black ice, legalities, and travel safety in snow-slush-ice. My husband, born in Iowa and raised in northern Missouri, practiced every safety tip he knew, as he drove us home. Since we were experiencing his expertise first hand, he used it for a teachable moment, in hopes the rest of us could somehow be safer one day, should we have to drive in such conditions.
We probably won’t drive anywhere today, though. When universities and government buildings close, it’s time to stay home.
Instead, we will build a snowman. The snow will be perfect and it is deep, from our southern viewpoint: six inches. We will make snow angels and have at least one good snowball fight, although, YES, we’re all adults. We’ll have a huge breakfast with meat, and I’ll cook chili for lunch. Of course, we need more hot cocoa mix, so I’ll stir that up, too.
It’ll be a family day off. Why not join us?
Hot Cocoa Mix
3 cups instant non-fat dry milk
1 cup sugar (OR 1 teaspoon stevia powder)
1/4 cup pure cocoa powder
Place all in blender and blend on high until pulverized and thoroughly mixed. Use 1/4 to 1/3 cup mix for each serving hot water.
Chili
1 pound ground beef
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1/4 cup chili powder (or less, to taste)
1 quart whole tomatoes
1 pint cannellini beans
1 large can Mexican style hominy
Black pepper to taste
Fry beef in oil until browned. Add onion and fry until clear and soft. Stir in rest, bring to boil, and serve with corn chips and grated cheese.
⭐ Caramelized Onions and Green Beans 2 Tablespoons real butter
1/4 cup sliced almonds (opt.)
5 green onions
1 clove garlic, pressed
1 large bunch green beans
1 bell or jalapeño pepper (opt.)
Clean onions and cut into long halves or quarters. Stem and rinse beans. Brown almonds, if desired, in butter, in a good fry pan, then remove from pan and set aside.Throw rest of ingredients into pan. Begin on high heat, but turn to low before it burns. Cover. Stir often. When beans wrinkle some, it probably is done. Test for tenderness of carrots. Add salt and fresh pepper, if desired. We love it!
I’ve also been known to add summer squash, cauliflower, and/or carrots to this dish. Just cook it all until you are afraid it might burn, then pour into serving dish before it does!
⭐ The Secret to My Meat Salad 2 cups ground, cooked meat, such as roast or turkey
1 chopped egg
½ cup chopped celery
½ cup chopped apple, skin on
½ cup pickle, dill or sweet
¼ cup real mayonnaise
1 tablespoon mustard
few drops liquid smoke
Stir all together well. May need more mayonnaise.
⭐ Brined Chicken Thaw chicken meat in 1 gallon warm water with 1 cup salt added. Rinse. Prepare as usual for your recipe; taste before you salt. You will appreciate the difference.
⭐ Homemade Kosher Dill Pickle Bring to a boil:
3 quarts water
1 quart real cider vinegar (5% acidity!)
1 cup plain salt
Heat lids according to package instructions. Tightly pack small cucumbers into clean jars. To each jar add 1 clove garlic, 1 cayenne pepper, and 1 teaspoon dill seed. Pour boiling brine into jars to ½ inch below rim. Wipe rim. Apply lid and screw band. May at this point use hot water bath for 15 minutes.
I cannot overemphasize how we wives need to stick together and help each other.
Candle in the window (Photo credit: Paul Bowman)
Used to be, home schoolers were odd because they homeschooled.
Now days, it’s just rare to find a mom at home, at all. Like it or not, we live in what amounts to the wilderness days, when women kept homemade candles glowing in windows just to cheer each other at night. How kind we used to be, reminding each other, when the coyotes were howling, that someone else was braving it through that lonely existence, too!
The duty of visiting each other and showing hospitality actually had meaning and value, then. Nowadays, we cannot justify visiting unless someone is homebound. Isn’t that us? How else can we keep home, unless we are home? So here I come, through the wilderness, visiting you with news of tips I’ve learned along the way.
It beats gossip.
Out of laundry detergent? Use about 1/8 cup hand-dishwashing liquid in a full load of laundry. This cleans well, but is not quite as easy on clothing as laundry detergent, so do buy the right stuff when you get the chance. It’s great, though, for those days when all the jeans are muddy and you’re out of detergent. Do not use with bleach, however.
For cleaner clothes and less wear on the washer and use of electricity, wash with the lid open (top loaders, only!) on a shorter, gentler cycle. After it agitates, it will soak. Later, re-run the agitation cycle for a few moments with the lid closed. The cycle will complete as usual and the new level of clean will surprise you.
Rather than waste money on aerosol cans of starch, try starching in the washer. Place all starch items together, for this short time, unless they are terrible bleeders. (Do not put your husband’s white shirts with your new red doily, etc.) Fill with warm water, less than usual for that size load. For medium water level, prepare starch thus: Bring one quart water to boil. Thoroughly stir ½ cup cornstarch into 2 cups cold water. Slowly pour this into the boiling water, whisking constantly. Remove from heat. Pour into washer and agitate on gentle cycle. Drain and spin on gentle cycle that does not add much water to the spin. The idea is to eliminate dripping and still leave a goodly amount of starch in the clothing. Drip dry—no dryer, please. Iron using steam and a spray bottle of water to dampen as you go. Starch makes important clothing nice and crisp. I absolutely love what it does for rayon. Sometimes starched clothing fares so well, it is wearable for two days. Collars and yokes pick up less body oil, too, if starched.
Baking soda really does almost anything. I hate to sound like our favorite matron of homemaking, but just try some, in a paste, on your toaster, to see. I even clean ovens with it. I used to think this advice was too hoaky, but it’s for real. Baking soda works just like scouring powder, but is gentler on the item you clean and tougher, if possible, on grunge. I was so shocked when I first learned this. I used to think, “Yeah. Right!” But no more.
To remove permanent ink try hair spray. Rub and launder. If it doesn’t work, hardly anything else will. To remove wax from fabric try ammonia. Get the worst out first, with heating or scraping. It may take a while, but it will dissolve.
Sift together three times. Store very tightly covered. Substitute for self-rising flour.
This really works and adds fiber to your diet. Great for pancakes, biscuits, anything you usually make with self-rising flour. So handy!
Sometimes, you may notice a slight difference in consistency. This comes from the fiber in the whole wheat. You may use a bit more if you feel your batter or dough is too soft or runny. Or add regular whole wheat flour to make consistency you expected. You can do this. It’s how new recipes come about.
Emergency Homemade “Cake Flour” Place 2 tablespoons cornstarch into one-cup measure. Lightly add enough flour to fill cup. Sift together, well. Substitute for 1 cup cake flour. To make in advance for general use:
1 cup cornstarch
7 cups flour
Sift together three times. Store tightly covered. Makes eight cups “cake flour”.
Emergency Frosting without Powdered Sugar 5 Tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup (2 sticks) soft butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
Whisk together flour and milk. Slowly cook, stirring constantly, until it boils and is very thick. Refrigerate until completely cooled.
Whip rest of ingredients in large mixer bowl until fluffy. Gradually add flour mixture and beat until fluffy, the longer, the better. May add 2 T. cocoa with 1 t. milk to first flour mixture, if desired. Enough for two-layer cake. Store refrigerated.
Home's Cool! 