"It Ain't Easy Being Green"

Howdy, folks!

Today I'd like to introduce you to my long-time friend Becky, who is an awesome woman and a mom to three-now-FOUR little ones, the youngest of whom has just announced his or her presence by means of a second pink line! Congratulations, Becky!

Becky has experienced severe, life-threatening hyperemesis gravidarum with her  pregnancies, and she has started a new blog to document her journey through this pregnancy:

It Ain't Easy Being Green

Please join me in praying that this pregnancy would not be a hyperemetic one for Becky, and that she would receive the good care that she needs and deserves during this time. Please also hop on over to her blog and give her lots of loving support and encouragement as she begins her pregnancy journey!

Back in the (Slow-Cooking) Saddle Again!

This week, our oven decided to go out! It's been going... going... going... for many months, and now it seems like it's finally taken the final dive. Not that I won't try it again anyway, but it seems pretty much gone. 

However, on our current budget, repairs and replacements are both out. While we wait, this means that it's back to the Crock-pot! I have been big on Crock-pots for the last three or so years, being that they are such a blessing in enabling me to cook dinner in the morning rather than the awful-horrible-hour-o'-crank known as "dinnertime." However, this past year or so I've gotten away from the Crock-pot just because Crock-pot recipes tend to be very high-carb, and thus very difficult to combine with the VLC diet. 

But I'm back! And ready to give it a go! Here are some of my latest projects:

Crock-pot Salsa (I would be doing this in the Crock-pot even if we had an oven, so this doesn't technically count!):

Crock-pot coffee cake! This got rave reviews! (Below was a half-recipe made in a 1 1/2-quart dish.)

Crockpot custard - custards do really well in the Crock-pot (2 1/2-3 hours on HIGH, covered with foil, lifted off the bottom with rolled-up foil, with 2-3 cups hot water added). 

I also made a friend's granola recipe in the Crock-pot - assemble as usual, and cook 2-4 hours on LOW, stirring every half hour. I did the full four hours and did end up burning the bottom, so next time I'll stop at three hours (and be careful of the stirring!).

I am looking forward to trying more Crock-pot desserts, as well as main dishes. I don't think I will try things like pizza and French fries, but everything else is fair game! I have learned that there are low-carb versions of most dishes, and now I am learning that there are Crock-pot versions of most dishes as well!

Things I already love cooking in the Crock-pot:

- Meat stock (meat bones, celery/carrot/onion, peppercorns, bay leaf, water + 24 hours = stock!)

- Soups or stews

- Wet-cook meats

- Vegetables for baby food, especially winter squashes

- Date-nut bread

- Spaghetti sauce

- Roast beef

- Mexican casserole

One of my favorite Crock-pot books is Mabel Hoffman's "Crockery Cookery" - highly recommended! Her Shell Casserole is always a huge hit, even with the kidlets. 

If you have any awesome recipes or other Crock-pot ideas to pass along, please do! 

Surviving an Attack of Hearts!

I thought about titling this quick post "Surviving a Heart Attack," but figured that that might lead to unpleasant rumors!

For Valentine's Day, I had planned for us to do this awesome Valentine's idea for one of our neighbors. However, I chickened out - it just seemed like it would be super-awkward to explain if caught in the middle of putting it up! (I did think later of forewarning them so that they would expect our "surprise," but it was a bit late. Next year!) However, so as not to waste all those good hearts, we did it anyway as a surprise for Daddy!

Possibly less photogenic than the original, but still appreciated!

For fun, I also added a few "Name That Quote" hearts for hubby - this is an ongoing game that we have between ourselves (randomly quoting a book or film, upon which the other person has to name the title, character, and situation). He got both of them! Anyone else?

Forgive the typo - this was from memory! 

Anyone? (I deleted the one identifying word from this quote that would have made it too easy.)

Next year - the real thing for one of our sweet neighbors!

Homemade Panda Express Orange Chicken

When our son was little (around age 2), he developed a very odd habit that puzzled us completely - when we were out and about in the car, he would suddenly exclaim, "Catfish!" and usually get very excited and then very upset about it. It took us months to realize that "catfish" was his version of "Panda Express"! He later updated to "Panda Effresk" and then finally to the real deal. It is still his favorite food. However, with a budget of, oh, zero, it isn't an indulgence that we can afford!

With that in mind, last week I decided to try making our own. It was fun! We first tried this recipe, but the consensus was that the sauce was not sweet enough. I then made extra sauce from a different recipe to go with the leftovers, and it was highly approved by all involved. (The two recipes are identical except for the sauce.)

Oddly enough, that sauce doesn't actually include any orange products (zest or juice), so next time I'm going to add some zest. But one way or another, reports are that it was pretty good!

Mise en place for sauce #1 (with eggs on the right for me since I couldn't eat any of it!). 

Plan on spending some serious time with the frying process - at least half an hour if not more. My husband did all the frying while I attended to everything else, and it was definitely quite a process!

Our in-house fry cook. 

Frying in process. It took ALL NIGHT to recover the kitchen after this! 

I spent some time rearranging the recipe to make it more user-friendly - the way that it is written out in the various versions online is fairly confusing and difficult to wade through (at least to me!). Hopefully this version will be easier for the reader to use!

Before sauce.... 

And the finished product! Voila!  I served it over whole-wheat spaghetti because I was too tired to even think about making chow mein! 

Panda Express Style Orange Chicken 

Sauce: Combine and set aside:

1 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce 
1 1/2 tablespoon water 
5 tablespoons sugar 
5 tablespoons white vinegar 
1 tsp. orange zest, optional 

Mix together:

2 pounds chicken pieces, boneless and skinned 
1 egg 
1 1/2 teaspoons salt 
White pepper (I used 1/2 tsp. black pepper)
1 tablespoon oil 

Mix together, then add chicken and stir to coat:

1/2 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup flour

Heat oil for deep-frying in wok or deep-fryer to 375 degrees F. Add chicken pieces, a small batch at time, and fry 3 to 4 minutes or until golden and crisp. Do not overcook or chicken will be tough. Remove chicken from oil with slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

(See below for amounts) Clean wok and heat 15 seconds over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon oil. Add ginger and garlic and stir-fry until fragrant. Add and stir-fry crushed chiles and green onions. Add rice wine and stir 3 seconds. Add Orange Sauce and bring to boil. Add cooked chicken, stirring until well mixed.

1 tablespoon ginger root, minced 
1 teaspoon garlic, minced 
1 dash red hot chilies 
1/4 cup green onions, chopped 
1 tablespoon rice wine (or sherry) 

Stir together, add to above, stir till thick: 

1 tablespoon cornstarch 
1/4 cup water 

Add: 
1 teaspoon sesame oil

Enjoy! Let me know if you have any input or suggestions!

Rights for Homebirth Activism

In case y'all are not aware... There is a lot of work being done right now in the state of Arizona to update the state midwifery laws and make more choices available to birthing mothers in our state. This work is being done by a dedicated group of midwives and citizens, and they need our support! To join the ongoing conversations and receive updates on progress, as well as notification of upcoming meetings, please like the "Rights for Homebirth" Facebook group and catch up on all the latest!

One Moment of Brilliance in a Sea of Incompetency!

This January, our family celebrated four years of being in our home! It's the longest we've lived in one place, and we hope to be here many more years, if not forever! It's been a great home, and a wonderful neighborhood. We love it.

One of my biggest disappointments in the home, however, has been the fact that despite our four-year residency, the house remains undecorated! Seriously! Doesn't that just happen gradually over time?

I jest, but in all seriousness, I did somewhat assume that I would gain artistic inspiration for decorating once we moved in. Nope. Our walls are just as bare as the day we moved in, and I am just as uninspired. After my sweet aunt gave me a well-deserved scolding for leaving our house so dull-looking, I went to the library and checked out every book I could find on decorating - and read them all! I learned a lot and enjoyed them immensely, but they couldn't solve the root problem - a complete and utter lack of talent.

Hopefully some day I shall be able to gain that talent - or just copy someone who has it! (The latter is much more likely.) But in the meantime, I thought I'd share the one idea that has worked and that we love - our Christmas card wall! This idea came about through sheer laziness, but we've kept it up ever since because we love getting to see everyone's pictures all year 'round rather than just for a month at Christmas.

Yes, those are Christmas decorations still up in the background. And our glitter pumpkins from last fall. Have I mentioned that we have a problem with procrastination?

This idea has been sheer joy for us, and we hope to continue it every year. (Local friends, if you don't see your card up here... it's because we haven't finished opening our Christmas cards yet. Ack!!)

Have a wonderful Sabbath, everyone!

Three Techniques for Dealing with Morning Sickness

The title is something of a misnomer, since in many circumstances there aren't many ways to "deal" with morning sickness - one simply survives it and recovers afterward! But there are some tips and tricks to getting through that time period, and here are a couple:

(*Note: You'll notice that I said "morning sickness" and not "hyperemesis" - the two are entirely different beasts, and these tips aren't too applicable to hyperemesis, where the whole name of the game is simple survival. These tips are for a mama who is feeling badly - but well enough to be at least moderately functional - in other words, normal to moderate NVP rather than active HG.)

Nix the Kids' Pajamas

I actually learned this tip from a friend in culinary school many, many years ago. She had to get her three children up and out, and herself to school, by 5:30 a.m. in the morning. Definitely not an ideal situation, but one of the ways she made it work was by dressing all the kids (and doing the girls' hair) at night so that they could skip the "getting dressed" stage in the morning. Results aren't perfect, of course, but this technique works well to reduce laundry and mama's workload - especially if your husband helps with nighttime routines (like mine does!). This actually works so well that... we're still doing it, at least with our eldest. (I know, shameful! But it works so well!)

Bring on the Disposables

Real dishes are great... but in times of great stress and strain, the niceties of life go to the wall. Disposable plates, napkins, cups, silverware, etc., are indispensably helpful when one is too sick to deal with mountains of dishes.

Break the Laundry Rules

Here is what I did for laundry - I did one load a day, and that load contained everything. Darks, whites, lights, jeans, towels, kitchen laundry - whatever needed to be done that day was washed together and dried together. I daresay I broke some universal laundry laws and should be punished harshly, but it was a real life-saver. I still do it when I'm in a big rush!

***

Again, these rules only apply for a mama who is only moderately ill (as I was during my last two pregnancies, due to proper medication and God's mercy). Almost nothing applies when there is true hyperemesis and a mama is confined to bed (or hospital), as happened to us during our first pregnancy. But when NVP is mild to moderate, various lifestyle modifications like these can be very helpful.

What suggestions would you add to this list for a mama dealing with morning sickness?