Yardwork

Well, I didn't get much of a walk in today, but I still got a workout with more to come. My ex-husband lent me an aerator which doesn't fit through my back gate, but I was able to do the front lawn. What a MACHINE that thing is. You can barely push the bar and it's dragging you across the yard. And it's a bitch to turn. But, that's done, and I started mowing. I got about 1/3 of the yard done before my mower ran out of fuel. So now I get to wait for Mat to come home before I wrap it up and maybe even do the back yard if there's enough light. I forgot to change my shoes into my mowing-shoes though, so hopefully my super-cool skate sneaks won't be stained. LOL

I also had a fabulous experience with some local tomato growers from whom I bought 13 heirloom varieties of tomatoes. I got brown, black, yellow, green and red tomatoes and I can't WAIT to see what they produce. The plants are HUGE for this time of year and I'm just hoping I can keep them alive on my counter facing south. Hopefully I don't kill them.

So no walks, but that aerator kicked my butt. My face is red, and I've still got some mowing to do, so the day wasn't a complete loss. I got a lot of my water in too, so whoo hoo for me!

On the road again...

Today I went to the doctor to reassess my medication which was making me drag like a zombie in the morning. I wasn't showering until late in the day and felt overall pretty crappy. We decided to lower the dose, and I discussed with him the risk of diabetes which is increased with this medication (Seroquel) for pre-diabetics (which I most assuredly am). He told me that so long as I wasn't gaining weight, I'd be okay. Well, I need to do more than that - I'm feeling gross and ready now that spring is here to start walking again. Today, I walked 1.87 miles and took the boys to the library and the park. We had a nice picnic lunch and got home with time to make dinner. Right now I've got boneless country style pork ribs on the skillet. I'm not sure exactly what I'm making with them, but they're a-cooking anyway. So my plan is to walk daily, drink 64 oz. of water and try to eat reasonable food.

I've been really shocked lately at how much utter crap is on the ingredients list of just about anything you want to eat that's not produce or meat. I wanted to buy horseradish and couldn't find a one that didn't have high fructose corn syrup and xantham gum in it. For your info, I was also appalled to find that the store brand sour cream (I've noticed this with every one I've checked), you get a lot more than cream - leaving a sour taste in MY mouth. There's modified corn products and other fillers you'd never expect. So I've resigned myself to spend a little extra on Daisy brand and get the stuff that's all natural. I'd highly recommend the book In Defense of Food by Michael Pollan - it really opened my eyes to the downright conspiracy the food companies are involved in to make us all fatter and to change our diets to one of soy, corn and chemicals. Thanks, but no thanks.

Anyway, I'm on a roll again. My goal is to lose 40lbs by this summer. I think with a little effort, I can go a long way.

Would you like some mushrooms with your mushrooms?

Last night, I attempted to de-meat beef stroganoff. My plan was to make it without the beef, and instead with portabella mushrooms. The sauce also calls for button mushrooms. Lots o' mushrooms. Here's how it went:

I started with all fresh ingredients (except for the low-sodium beef broth, which was canned.) I got them all out in advance and prepped them so that it would be simple to actually cook. This is kind of a la cooking-show-cooking, the way Emeril and those guys always have everything pre-measured in convenient prep-bowls. Well, Emeril, you're the the only one with prep bowls. You may have others on your staff to fill said prep bowls, but that's all you've got on me!

Next, I sliced up all my mushrooms. The portabellas, I cut in half and then sliced width wise. I was surprised when I rinsed them that the undersides rinsed out a weird red/brown color. They rinsed clear after a few minutes though, so no big deal, just interesting.

So, here's the basic gist: I diced the red onion, sauteed it in 1/2 a stick of butter until (not) tender (enough). I should have carmelized it more. Meanwhile, I floured the mushrooms the way you'd flour the beef when making the stroganoff. I removed the onions from the skillet and put another 1/2 stick of butter in to sautee the floured portabellas. Once those were tender, I added the broth, basil, salt, pepper, 1/4 c. of sherry and the onions. This thickened and then I added 1 c. of sour cream, heated it through and served it over egg noodles.

The verdict: It was okay. I was out of Worcestershire sauce, which I think would have added the right tang, and the sherry didn't quite make up for it. It was a LOT of mushrooms. The overall flavor was very good though, Mat and I ate it just fine. The kids hated it. But here it is, in all it's glory: The finished dish.

Carrots, Celery and Onions

There's something sublime about the three of these ingredients simmering in a little butter in a pot over medium heat. The smell smacks of cold weather comfort food: of soups and stews and dishes to sop up with home-baked bread.

I opened my fridge the other day and saw some carrot and celery sticks wasting away in my veggie drawer. I'd pre-cut them for the kids thinking they'd be a convenient snack, but snacks are only convenient if your kids will actually eat them. So rather than let them dissolve into a soupy mess to be discarded weeks later (don't pretend this doesn't happen in your fridge - I know I'm not the only one!) I hauled them out, chopped them up, added some onion and voila, you add a little butter and you have the pic above.

That's my new dutch oven, btw. I'm very excited about it. I bought it to make a no-knead bread recipe. The bread came out not so good, but I'm certain that was my fault and not the bread's or the dutch oven's. My friend made some and it came out light as air. It had holes the size of Texas, and a crumb and crust to cry over, but mine, well, mine just made you want to cry. It was small, dense and very yeasty tasting. I let it sit for three days, and I think that was too long. I'm going to try a shorter set up next time.

Back to the soup. I winged this soup, but it came out pretty well. I did beef, since that's the broth I had on hand, and basically, I did two cans of broth, four cups of water and three bullion cubes. I added a bay leaf, some basil, some Italian seasoning and some white pepper. No salt. The bullion and stock had plenty already. And that's about it. Oh. Except I let it sit overnight, and added barley - 1/2 cup dry barley and it was kind of like french onion soup meets vegetable barley. The veggies got overcooked, but here's the funny thing: my one year old loved it. We put some rice in it to make it less "soupy" and he gobbled it up like a maniac.

I'm loving soups right now. They're hard to mess up. Usually, if they're bland, you add more salt. Or seasoning. But mostly, it's about playing with flavors, and if you start with those three colorful veggies at the top of this post, you really can't go wrong.