Last night I tried something new. I followed the directions for a 1.5 pound loaf basic white bread, however I used 1 cup of wheat with 2 cups of white flour. Delicious! The resulting bread was light, yet hardy. Fluffy, but more substantial than the bread when I used all white flour. I believe I just found my new default House Bread. Yay! I will leave the world of trial and error behind me for now. Flounder can have sandwiches again.

In addition to solving our bread problems, I have also made a few vary nice meals. On Sunday I made a peppercorn boneless rib roast. With baked potato and salad, Flounder was pleased as punch. Then last night I took mushrooms, bell peppers, pinto beans (from the freezer!), brown rice and a little left over beef and made up burritos. Yum! Since the meat was cooked, it was a quick meal to make up. Mi Mama ate with us, and then she helped me prep for tonight's dinner.

Tonight we are having Micah over for his birthday dinner. We will be having grilled lemon chicken, Greek salad, spinach pie and fruit. Mi Mama is bringing the cake. Micah deserves to be celebrated. I sure hope he loves his gift - and his dinner!

On another topic, I have discovered a terrible flaw. When I feel like I have "creative control" over a project (be it my wedding, or the dinner menu) I have a hard time taking suggestions with good grace. I know it sounds really dramatic and over-the-top but I really feel like my creative vision is being compromised by other people's ideas. As if I can't take credit (which I very dearly want) if I take suggestions. I know this is ludicrous. The worst part of this flaw is that it makes me a hypocrite. I am so quick to offer other people my opinion that having this "creative control" issue is laughably bad. This is something I want to work on in myself, but I am not sure how. It’s funny the stuff that shakes out when you start making changes!

Last weekend I found I didn't need to do a cook-a-thon because our fridge-top freezer was full. I had cooked up beans and marinara sauce, not to mention meatloaf and tons of frozen veggies. I was very pleased that my cooking and freezing seemed to be paying off. But now that I am staring down a busy weekend, I regret that I didn't do some prep last week. Now the marinara is gone and so are a lot of the veggies. Perhaps if I had a larger freezer, I could have prepped even more items last week, because I had somewhere to store them?

I will admit that if (or when?) we get a chest freezer; we will need to do a major rearrangement of the laundry room. Not an activity I am fond of. What do you think? How long should I have to commit to this new lifestyle before I earn the new expensive tools that would make my life easier?

That question aside, I have to say I am quite happy since I started this project. Not just pleased with my success, but just happier in general. This is a nice surprise. I know it sounds hokey, but I do believe that working in the spirit of adventure and forgiveness is the key. I am doing good, and feeling good. Now what's to eat for next week?

My second attempt to use the bread machine ended with comedic results. I decided to try the egg bread recipe for a two pound loaf. Whoa! The dough looked large as it was rising but what did I know? I left the machine alone for the last two hours of the cycle and boy was I surprised when the final beep came. The loaf overflowed the pan and pressed against the lid of the machine. It was a real trick to get that Monster Loaf first out of the machine, and then out of the loaf pan.

Good news: the Monster bread is still tasty! Bad news: the Monster Loaf is totally unwieldy. I think I will test out the 1.5 pound loaf and shelve any plans to make 2 pounders for the time being. The bounty of that Monster Loaf may have been a fluke, but I am not going to take chances for now. Let me also say that storing the monster load was also a hassle. The rein of the Monster Loaf came to an end last night when I tried to make Monster Loaf garlic bread and burnt the bejezus out of it. Sad. RIP Monster Loaf!

Last night upon procuring whole wheat flour, I gave the machine a third go. This attempt was a total failure. I noticed that when I hit the Start button, the machine didn't launch into action, but paused for about 30 minutes before turning the paddle. That seems strange to me, especially since the water in the recipe needs to be a specific temp to activate the yeast. However, I was using a different setting for this wheat bread than I did for the white and egg. I thought it might have been the nature of the new setting. The bread dough just didn't mix up the way it should, and never really rose properly. Perhaps a mix of user and machine error? It is very possible that I miss-measured. User error is very likely. I had to throw the dough away sadly. But I am not discouraged! I will try again this weekend and report back on the results of Wheat Bread Test #2.

As I mentioned before, we are making budget changes along with our diet changes. One place I am looking to save money is my morning coffee. In the past Flounder and I would swing through a local drive-through on the way to work. We would each get the caffeine delivery system of our choice and be on our way. At home I had a french press which is not the world's speediest coffee making device. But sometimes you have to spend money to save money. For $30 I picked up a simple programable coffee machine, a reusable filter and some coffee. I was good to go. I love when I can save without sacrificing.

In other news, because of all the cooking I have done over the last two weeks, I won't have to stand by the stove for 5 hours this weekend. How sweet it is! Even if I wanted to have another cook-a-thon, my freezer can't take it. It is way too full already. Another example of spending to save - I think it will soon be time purchase a separate freezer. Since I have been freezing about half of what I cook, the freezer has been getting heavy use and I have been wasting far less food. In the past when I would cook, it was very likely that the left overs wouldn't be eaten, or I wouldn't cook what I intended and the ingredients would spoil. It was rather demoralizing actually. So yeah, I am looking forward to getting that additional freezer. Less wasted food, less wasted effort, and what's best, less wasted money.

While cooking last weekend there was a tragic accident. While washing the glass lid of my crockpot slipped from my grasp and shattered on the lip of my cast iron dutch oven. Oh, what a mess! Tons of tiny glass squares all over the sink. Good news, the shards did stay mostly in the sink. Bad news, now I need to figure out how to order a new lid. Suckage.

The Something New is pinto beans. It boggles my mind that this is true. Never before this weekend have I cooked beans from scratch from a dry package. Canned yes, dry no. I managed to be a vegetarian for several years without trying this. I do remember I once tried to cook lentils but I never got past the soaking stage. If I remember correctly the lentils sprouted before I managed to cook them. To be honest after that experience, dried beans scared me a little.

Then this past week I was surfing around looking for sites that supported natural cooking. What caught my eye was The Hillbilly Housewife. Surprising, no? The author of the site is a country homemaker who is apparently a practical expert on feeding a family cheaply and healthfully on as little money as possible. She is also excellent at explaining how to properly prepare and cook dry beans.

Little did I know I love pinto beans. They are delicious and filling and inexpensive. All hail the dry pinto bean! After cooking them up as directed with delicious bacon, I used the beans to make stuffed green peppers. Beans, onions, brown rice, diced tomatoes and marinara sauce. Healthy, hearty and filled with yum! I see more dried beans in my future.

Another Something New I cooked up was Apple Cinnamon muffins. They turned out to be tasty but small. Very small. I think I over-mixed the batter. Given the way the banana bread turned out last week, I think over-mixing may be a major weakness in my baking. And that is something to work on.

Dinner I have down. Breakfast and lunch are still works in progress. More on this soon!

Flounder has never been one for carrying a lunch, and has very limited space in the office to refridgerate food. On the other hand, my office has several giant fridges and a whole bank of microwaves. I can take leftovers or meals I have pre-cooked without a problem. In fact this could be my golden opportunity to cook up foods that Floumder doesn't enjoy, (Squash!) and gobble them for lunch. He will need something more along the lines of an "elementry school lunch" a la sandwich, fruit and cookie.

Which brings me to my new nemisis: bread. Grocery store bread is very full of unecessary crud! This leaves me with three options: find a local all-natural bakery, buy my bread at whole foods, make my own bread.

We do have a great local bakery, but I don't yet know how additive-free their products are. I will also do an investigation of bread at Whole Foods this weekend. It has been a few years since I last bought wheat products there. I am curious to learn more about the cost and longevity of their bread products. I realize that taking away preservatives also means loosing long-term freshness. Like so many things in life, it's a tradeoff.

Quick breads like banana bread are one thing, but I am not interested in making homemade yeast bread on a weekly basis. Enter Maryment! She has very kindly offered to lend us her underused bread machine. Yay! So that is a good option I will try out and report back on in the coming weeks.

Finally, on the topic of lunch...I have been considering the downsides of eating well and economizing. One downer that comes with brown-bagging-it is the deminished in-the-moment freedom of choice. When you pack your lunch you don't get to relish the "what's for lunch?" ponder. You know what's for lunch. You packed it! And when you are trying to limit your spending, it get's harder to justify a splurge just cuz that PB&J is looking squished and dull. Boo!

Next time: What's for breakfast? Can you really eat homecooked eggs on-the-go?

Because I am a lazy cook and I work full time I REALLY don't want to come home and make a full meal in the evening. That wasn't a problem when I could rely convenience foods and takeout. LOTS of takeout in fact. So I decided to give pre-cooking a try. I take a few hours during the weekend to prepare a few dishes for this week. This time around I made:

Banana Bread
Marinara Sauce
Slow cooker Potato and Leek Soup
Pot Roast

How did it go?

I am not sure why, but the banana bread came out quiet dry. The recipe I used seemed pretty standard, but this coming week I will up the banana content and lower the cooking time. I will also be careful not to over mix. That said, the dough/batter seemed dry as I worked with it. Maybe a little apple sauce too for good measure?

This marinara sauce came out great and it sure to be an old standby. I did use canned tomatoes (organic, with only 3 ingredients: tomatoes, sea salt, basil) which made the whole process a snap. The true test will come this summer when I try my hand a fresh tomato sauce.

The slow cooker soup was a little deviation from GOAL ONE. Since I am just starting this adventure there are still some processed foods in the house that need to be used up (or in some cases given away, like the Crisco.) This recipe was one I had all of the ingredients for before committing to drop the processed foods from our diet. It called for evaporated milk. I was really alarmed by just how many ingredients are in a can of evaporated milk. Shouldn't there just be one? At any rate, I am sure I can find a substitute for the evaporated milk in this recipe. I also threw in a bunch of beautiful young turnips I picked up at the farmers market. They were a yummy, tender and sorta sweet addition to the pot.

Now we have come to the pot roast. I am going to be very honest and say I don't know a thing about braising. I should have read up a bit before taking on an Emeril recipe. The meat turned out tender, but dry. Far too dry. The meat shrank to such a point that I will likely only get 4 moderate servings when I was hope for 6 to 8. Not a success story. But an experience to grow on right? Right?!

The verdict is still out on the usefulness of the pre-cooking approach. I think it will take a few weeks to determine its total worth. I will say that dinner (soup, bread and veggies) last night was very easy to throw together. I do see one weakness in my approach at this point. I need to chop a whole slew of veggies during this pre-cooking time to ensure the easy composition of salads for the week. I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that What I pre-cook is just as important as If I pre-cook.

I have several quandaries that need serious consideration and probably creative solutions. Stuff like: Finding, using and paying for "additional crud"-free bread, what's for lunch when you aren't eating out & what's for breakfast (ditto).

Time for Shout Outs: I am also very fortunate to have a husband like Flounder who is willing to ride out these food experiments while I find my stride. He has a big heart and an iron gut.

Stay tuned! These and other privileged-people-problems next time!

This week I am kicking off a new approach to eating in our house. I want to strip as much processed/artificial food out of our family diet as I reasonably can. Sounds tough, right? I know! Truly, I love Velveeta and Twinkies even more than the average person, but these "foods" aren't helping me to live to a spry 100 are they? The plan is to create a diet comprised of whole, natural and homemade foods with a little wiggle-room for when Life gets in the way. We are not moving off the gird to farm for subsistence here. I will be working with all the same resources I always have: the standard grocery store, the local (and beloved) Farmers Markets and when the going gets desperate, Whole Foods. I am also still saddled withthe same "issues" from the past as well, a severely overweight body and a unholy love of processed starches and sugars. Which is why I am taking on this challange in a spirit of adventure and forgiveness. I am not going to do this perfectly. Perfect isn't possible here, and that's ok. I would love to eat all organic, local & cruelty free as well but for the moment Goal One is to cook and serve unadulterated foods free of what I will deem "unnecessary crud."

I don't intend to preach or tell others what to do. I truly have no high ground here. What I do have is a desire to show off what I am up to (I crave gold stars) and document all the progress I make toward Goal One as a reminder of success when I inevitably backslide.

For now I will focus on cooking fresh food, serving it up and telling you how I've done each week. Sometimes with photos! Sidenote: I have turned off the comments for now because the spambots love to punish me for having readers in the past. One of these days I may find a way to turn them back on in a spam-free-ish format.

I will be back soon with my first cooking post. First subject: Pot Roast!

Finally, the disclaimer: I am not going to spend any time justifying this choice or trying to back it up with science. This is a move I am making because it feels like to right thing to do for me and my family. I also don't claim to be a foodie, a great cook or a nutrition expert. And that's all folks!

Thing #1 - Dad is reportedly back in the hospital with a post hip-replacement staph infection. I can't get a hold of him (no one answers phones!) so I can't confirm first hand. My through-the-grapevine understanding is that he is back in the hospital so they can open this hip back up and deal with the infection. Just days before Christmas, this really sucks. It also sucks that Micah and Dad's wife(-ish person) and other daughter LC are on the outs (because they are hateful creatures) and I have declared myself on Team Micah. It's not like I knocked on their door and made this declaration, but Micah know that if I had to make a choice, I would chose him everytime. All this turmoil is really sad, especially this time of year. And I am not sure how Dad's weakened heart will deal with this infection. Prayers are welcome.

Thing #2 - Bangs 2.0! A couple months ago I cut real bangs again for the first time in years and they were WAY too short. Like they do, the bangs grew and then they were just ok. Two days ago I went back to my old stylist. Why did I leave her in the first place? I don't ever remember, but all I can say is that choice was a big mistake. She is fast and fun and did I mention awesome? All that said I love Love LOVE my new bangs. So when you see me next, if you don't love them like do, keep it to yourself. I will allow nothing can sully my affection.

Thing #3 - One of the best things that has happened in my life this year is the bonding that occured with my sister-in-law. Growing up I didn't miss having a sister. Micah was great, and it was nice not to have to share Mi Mama with another girl. When my step-half-sister LC was born I was 11, and she was a little monster -- not exactly from birth, but close enough. It should go without saying we have never been close. So there I was, sisterless in a sea of extended family. Then I got married, and it took a little while to settle into my new family. Everyone was kind and welcoming, but they weren't quite MY family yet, you know? This year has been a real turning point. I stopped trying to be "on good behavior" and somewhere along the line Jords (my s-i-l) and I realized "oh yeah, we have a lot in common!" and "hey, I really like you!" and not to mention "Did you see what Frak just posted?" A sister is someone who you call when your bangs are too short, you gang up on your husband with and cling to while surviving Christmas. That is how I know I have a sister. Love you Jords!

Thing #4 - Anyone else having a little surviors guilt that they still have a job/good health/money for gifts this Christmas? It feels like so many people are going without this year. Please, if you have anything you can give the less fortunate this year, do it. They need a hand more than you need another patch-work sweater.

With that I will sign off. I am not going to make any promises about when I might blog again, but watch this space. I hope to be back soon!

Quote of the Day:
Engrave this Quote Oh how sweet it is to hear one's own convictions from another's lips.
-Johann von Goethe

1) I am thankful for my general good health. Now that I am gallbladder (and gallstone) free, and have returned to my previous state of (mostly) good health I am so grateful. It seems like a sin that I didn't recognize it before. I have been taking my ability to move through life (walking, sitting, laughing, talking) pain-free for granted, like most of us do. I hope I never loose sight of how precious and fragile good health is!

2) I am thankful for health insurance. Thanks to my excellent coverage Flounder and I won't be out more that a few hundred dollars for my 2 emergency room trips, surgery and hospitalization. Not to mention all the drugs (morphine drip!) and office visits. Without insurance, we would be thousands and thousands of dollars in debt right now.

3) I am grateful for my support system. Flounder & Mi Mama have been rocks through this entire ordeal. Friends and Family have kept a watchful eye on me with phone calls, emails, visits and message. My co-workers have completely covered for me, and even drove me to the hospital one afternoon during an attack at work. I know that I could call on any number of people in a moment of real need. How lucky am I?

4) I am grateful for trip insurance. This week Flounder and I were supposed to be on a cruise. The cruise we have been looking forward to for a year. We of course had to cancel in order to deal with the complications of my surgery. With out trip insurance, we would be out all the money we put into the trip. Now with a little luck, we can get most of it back!

5) I am grateful for October. I am amazed how quickly I was able to look on the sunny side of missing out on the cruise (for the moment) and turn my eye toward the joys of Fall. October it my favorite month and I can't wait to engage in all kinds of Autumny activities this weekend. RennFest? You bet! Pumpkin Picking? Of Course!

So Thanksgiving has come a little early for me this year. I am sure I will quickly get caught up in the re-planning of our trip, and the coming Christmas festivities, but in the meantime...I am just really happy to be who I am, where I am.

Quote of the Day:
The arrogance of the young is a direct result of not having known enough consequences. The turkey that every day greedily approaches the farmer who tosses him grain is not wrong. It is just that no one ever told him about Thanksgiving.
-Harry Golden

Then I went in for a scheduled colonoscopy (I will spare you the gorrey details.) The prep was extremely disgusting, don't let Katie Couric try to convince you otherwise. Other than the prep, the proceedure went well. I will need to have another test in a year and probably every few years for the rest of my life. So I have that torture to look forward too.

The same day I endured the colonoscopy I had a horrible gallstone attack! Those paying attention at home will remember that I had kidney stones a few years back that were amazingly painful. The gallstones were less bad, but it still meant a trip with the emergency room (two trips to the hospital in one day!) and a fair amount of pain. How many different kinds of stones can one person have? Wait, don't anwer that.

In a couple weeks I have a consultation with a surgeon to discuss removing the offending gallbladder. Yippee, surgery!

But I am not the only one dealing with health fun this month. My blessed sister-in-law has her second carpal tunnel surgery last week. And in vomitting cat news, our poor Josie is still a shedding allergy ridden mess, just itchy as all get out.

Just when I thought the worst this that could happen to me this month was turning 30...

Quote of the Day:
"Then I win the
I get everything I ever
All the cash
all the fame
and social change."
- Dr. Horrible

Poor Josie cat! It was very clear last night that she didn't feel well. She was very itchy, her face looked puffy to me and she wouldn't stop carrying on. Then there was the poop. Poop on the floor. Very uncharacteristic. She also developed a couple crusty bumps under her coat.

Fast forward to this morning, when I found her drinking from a tiny pool of water in the bathtub. I spotted a completely bald spot on her left shoulder which materialized over night. More carrying on and finally the vomit attack. Thank God Flounder was there to help me remove the offending blanket. I really wouldn't have guessed Josie was capable of creating such a large mess. Yucks!

Saint Flounder stayed home today to take the sick kitty to the vet where it was discovered that she has a bacterial infection. Poor Josie! I can't help but think there must have been something we could have done to prevent it. I just hope she is feeling better by the time I get home tonight.

I really don't want to witness a repeat performance.

Quote of the Day:
I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.
-Thomas Jefferson

MobileMe it turns out, was not ready for prime time. Not only are the updates slow, and the interface sluggish, but a very unlucky 1% of customers are currently not able to send or receive mail. In fact they can't even see their previously received mail. I am one of those 1%. The most egregious sin Apple has committed to date is their lack of communication on the issue. I am a paying customer who has not had access to my email for 7 days! Yep, 7 days. I am really disappointed. Like with all Apple products and services, I wanted to embrace MobileMe.

Why Apple, why?

I still love my hand-me-down iPhone, semi-complete as I use Gmail for me current email needs, but I remain disappointed.

Quote of the Day:
“We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand.”
—Randy Pausch

R.I.P. Randy Pausch

When I awoke to a sunny morning and cool breezes a little bud of hope was formed. Now back at my desk in the office things are looking a little better, a little brighter and not so sucky.

Sleep is powerful and so are hugs.

Quote of the Day:
"Wisdom is supreme; therefore make a full effort to get wisdom. Esteem her and she will exalt you; embrace her and she will honor you."
- Proverbs 4: 7-8