Oatmeal

I enjoy oatmeal but sometimes, halfway through a bowl of it I have to stop. I like the oaty flavor but the texture gets to me. I have finally figured out how to make myself the perfect bowl of oatmeal that I can fully enjoy.

3/4 cup Old Fashioned Oats (these are so much better than quick oats, they hold their shape and refuse to turn to mush)
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup apple sauce ( I have snack packs of applesauce on hand and they are the perfect amount)
2 T dried cranberries
a few drops of almond extract
a sprinkle of cinnamon

Pour the water and oats in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave for 1 minute, let sit in the microwave for 1 more minute. Remove oatmeal from microwave (it will be gluey, don't worry) add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Enjoy.


I find that most people have very specific preferences about their oatmeal. Last semester I had two breakfast shifts at Conversations and we serve oatmeal. We use quick oats and always follow the directions on the container when we make it. There was one girl who always asked for steamed soy milk instead of water. Some people add milk to theirs after we make it for them. Most choose to add honey or brown sugar and we have lots of nuts and berries for people add if they want. Most days I thought it would be easier if we just put a scoop of oats in a bowl and sent people to the hot water spigot to make their own oatmeal. Then they wouldn't be unhappy with our way being either too soupy or too dry, in their personal opinion.

When making your own oatmeal, just do what makes you happy. This recipe is what makes me happy. :)

Potato Salad and Book Update 9

A few weekends ago I visited my second cousins (once removed) in Elk River. It was great to see them and catch up on their kids, grand kids, and adorable great grand kids. For lunch Roxy made Brisket, salad with bacon grease dressing (!!!!!), and potato salad. The brisket and green salad were great, but I was apprehensive about the potato salad. I generally don't like potato salad because I don't like mayonnaise and mustard. I politely put a little on my plate when the bowl was passed and tentatively took a bite. To my great surprise it was incredibly delicious. There is not any mustard, but there is mayo, somehow it doesn't bother me. Here's the recipe:

4 hard cooked eggs (Place raw eggs in a saucepan and fill with water until the eggs are covered. Put the lid on and bring to a rolling boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat, keeping the lid on, for 15 minutes. Drain eggs and place in a bowl with ice water for 15 minutes, then peel the shell off)
4 medium russet potatoes, diced and boiled until crisp tender (I like to peel 3 of them and leave the skin on one for some texture, boiling usually takes 7-10 minutes, drain and spread on a sheet pan and refrigerate for 10 minutes until cooled.)
1/4 cup diced chives
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Put the eggs in a mixing bowl and mash with a fork (don't freak out, I know this is weird, trust me) add salt, pepper and mayo, mix well. Gently stir in chives and potatoes. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours and enjoy.

Book #9

The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose: This book is the true story of Kevin's semester at Liberty University, a conservative Christian college in Virginia headed by Jerry Falwell. Kevin, a relatively nonreligious guy going to school at Brown University decided it would be interesting to see what Liberty was like so he transferred there for a semester, pretending to be a traditional Liberty student, but write this book undercover. This book recalls the experiences he had and the people he met. I found it really neat to read about Kevin doing new things like attend a Bible Study, prayer group, church service, etc. Many of those things I do on a regular basis, so they are part of the fabric of my life, they seem natural, but to Kevin they are not. Take prayer for example. Kevin ponders what the point of prayer is, if it is a valid practice, if God really takes into consideration our requests, etc. This helped me to look more closely at my beliefs and what has shaped them. Of course Liberty is filled with homophobia, liberal bashing, and young earth creationism, but Kevin finds that things there are a lot more interesting than he expected. An awesome, awesome book. ****out of *****

Peach Melba Crunch

This recipe is based on a Pillsbury recipe by the same name. They published this a few years ago. I am not sharing recipes from the Bake-Off no matter how nice you ask me. :)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 11x7 inch baking dish.

1, 21 oz. can of peach pie filling
1, 15 oz. can sliced peaches, drained
1, 6 oz. container fresh raspberries

Mix gently in a bowl and set aside.

1, 18.25 oz. box yellow cake mix
1 cup old fashioned oats
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup softened butter (Seriously, don't use margarine. Margarine is stupid.)
1/3 cup sour cream

Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl and use a hand mixer to combine. The dough will be very thick, like cookie dough. Press half the dough into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Spoon in the fruit mixture. Scoop remaining dough by tablespoons on top of the fruit mixture. Bake for 35-45 minutes or until the top and edges are golden brown. Enjoy.

The other night I made turkey burgers. I mixed in a little applesauce, Worcestershire sauce, thyme, rosemary, Italian seasoning, Mrs. Dash Onion and Herb seasoning (I am newly obsessed with this seasoning blend. It is a great season-all and has no salt in it. It doesn't have as much black pepper as some of the other Mrs. Dash blends, which I appreciate.) I cooked the burgers on the George Foreman Grill, when they were almost done I put a little caramelized onions on top and a few slices of Swiss cheese. On toasted buns spread with some cherry jam they were divine.

On Tuesday we tried to go to the Plymouth Concert Band's concert at Parker's Lake, but it was canceled due to the heat. On Wednesday I was excited to go to the Plymouth Farmers Market, but it too was canceled due to the heat. One thing that did go as planned was the water ski show on Wednesday evening at Parker's lake. A club of water skiers came up from Shakopee and put on an amazing show. I didn't realize there were so many kinds of water skiing: knee-boarding, barefooting, using trick skis, etc. Water skiing is really a team effort and it was cool to see families and friends in the club work together to make the stunts happen.

Last night my summer parents took me to a play called She Loves Me (which is based on Shop Around the Corner(which You've Got Mail was also based on)) at Bethel University. So the story was familiar. Two people fall in love corresponding through anonymous letters while they actually work together and despising each other. It was a great show: a lot of fun and interesting musical numbers.

This morning I worked at a food pantry in South Minneapolis. The church I'm going to this summer, St. Phillip the Deacon, sends volunteers there so when I saw it listed in the bulletin I jumped at the opportunity to help there. Another volunteer from SDP was willing to pick me up at the church so I didn't have to navigate there ( I know, I know....I am a whimp). It was quite the experience. The food pantry is hosted by a church there and they convert their worship space into a food pantry twice a month. Breakfast is served at 9 and the food pantry opens at 10. One of the volunteers just stood in a corner playing his guitar and singing worship songs. It created a more peaceful and community atmosphere.

I got to serve breakfast. We had pancakes, Pillsbury breakfast croissants (eggs sausage, cheese, and phyllo dough), and tater tots. The breakfasts they serve there are completely composed of donations. I think they are bulk donations from a bigger food bank. I served the breakfast croissants and was a runner to the kitchen when things got low. There were some Muslim families so we had to check the ingredients in the breakfast croissants and they had pork sausage in them so those families couldn't eat them. The woman who was serving the pancakes is a Spanish teacher so she was able to communicate clearly with the hispanic families, that was really neat to see. One woman came through the line twice, when questioned why one plate of food wasn't enough she said that she had not eaten for two days. Uff da. That just broke my heart. Of course we gave her some more pancakes.

I'm so glad that this ministry is in place to provide food for these people in need, but the breakfast kinda bummed me out. The food filled their bellies, but it was by no means a balanced meal. It was pretty much simple carbs+more simple carbs+fat+sodium+some protien. I wish we could have served some fruit and veggies, but there is no budget for fruits and veggies, even ones from a can.

I got the chance to talk with Rich, one of the people who organizes the food pantry. He told me about one women who was a regular at the food pantry. She was homeless and survived on donations from the food pantry, Rich talked to her and found out that she loved to cook. Rich needed a new cook for the food pantry's breakfasts and offered her the position. Two years later she is still doing it and now runs the cafe located in the church where the food pantry now happens. She is fulfilling her calling to cook, has a purpose, and is no longer homeless. Rich told me a few other stories of hope and healing. All in all it was a good and eye opening experience.

Turkey Time

Slow Cooker Turkey Roast with gravy

This is adapted from a recipe for slow cooker turkey breast french dip sandwiches I saw on Kelsey's Essentials, on The Cooking Channel.

1, 3lb Turkey Roast ( mine was frozen and had to be thawed in the fridge for 2 days)
1 Tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary, divided
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage, divided
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper, divided
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 cup chicken broth
2 onions, finely chopped
3/4 cup cold water
1/3 cup flour

In a 5 quart slow cooker add onions, broth, sauce, and half of the herbs and S&P; mix. Pull the skin on top of the turkey back a little and put the other half of the herbs and S&P under it. Place the turkey on top of the onion broth mixture and put on the lid. Cook on high for 1 hour the reduce the temperature to low for 6 hours or until the internal temperature is 170 degrees.

Remove the turkey to a cutting board and cover with aluminum foil and rest for 5 minutes. In a saucepan add the water and flour, whisk until no lumps remain. Slowly pour the broth and onions into the saucepan, turn the heat to medium high and whisk continuously until the gravy thickens. Remove and discard the skin and slice the turkey as best you can, the slow cooker makes it so tender that it mostly just falls apart. If you have an electric knife now would be the time to break it out. I was too intoxicated by the smell of the turkey and my ravenous desire to eat it to care much about pretty slices.

I paired the turkey and gravy with mashed potatoes and spiced apples. YUM.

Sew, sew, sew

I have been obsessed with making hot dog pillowcases since I went to a Navigator's women's retreat in February. A women lead a pillowcase making workshop. For a lot of the gals it was the first time they had ever sewed, so the room was filled with the sound of sewing machines buzzing really fast then stopping suddenly. It reminded me of myself when I was learning to drive: too much gas, sudden stop, too much gas sudden stop. :) It takes a while to learn how to apply even pressure to a sewing machine foot pedal. Anyway, that work shop was tons of fun, so I made pillowcases for a lot of my friends for Valentine's day. These pillowcases are super easy, it usually only takes me 20 minutes to make them. Here's the link to the pattern I loosely use:

http://www.conkerrcancer.org/pdf/hotdogmethod.pdf

When I shop for fabric I get 1/4 yard for the border and 3/4 yard for the body of the pillow. I don't trim the salvage, it gets cut off when I surge the edges. (My summer parents have a surger they let me use. I don't have one at home so it is such a treat to use theirs.) I use really big seam allowances, like 1.5-2 inches, otherwise the pillowcase is bigger than a standard pillowcase.

I've made about 25 pillowcases this summer so far. I got to share this method with my summer mom and my summer dad's sister when she was here to visit. They both enjoyed making these pillowcases and have shared the pattern with others. I love this sewing project and it is so cool to see others enjoy it as well.

My newest sewing adventure has been making headbands:

http://ohsohappytogether.blogspot.com/2011/07/double-sided-fabric-headband-pattern.html

I pretty much follow this pattern but I make the elastic cover piece 1.5 inches wide, instead of 2 inches. Otherwise I find it difficult to fit the ends of the elastic cover piece evenly inside the ends of the headband piece. I make the widest part of the headband piece 2.5 inches instead of 3 inches. Otherwise I find that the headband piece is too wide and it won't sit flat on my head.

This project is so easy. I can make 2 headbands with 1 fat quarter. Last weekend when I was visiting extended family in Elk River I stopped a quilt shop there and bought 18 fat quaters, so I am stocked up! It only takes about 10 minutes to make a headband.

Book #8

Will Grayson, Will Grayson By John Green and David Levithan: Green and Levithan write alternating chapters each from the perspective of high-schoolers named Will Grayson. The stories start unrelated but eventually they overlap when Will Grayson meets Will Grayson. It is an epic book, I really enjoyed it. The book tells a beautiful tale of hope without losing sight of painful realities. David Levithan writes using correct punctuation but without any capitalization. It was kinda weird to read his chapters just because of his interesting style. There is a character that impersonates someone else to try and prove a point. When this is revealed it was deeply disturbing to me how some one could blatantly lie and deceive another person just so they could say "I told you so." It kinda still haunts me. **** out of *****

Snack Mix

Yesterday at work all the interns were given the magazine Pillsbury Bake-Off Prize Winning Recipes. It has some of the best recipes and finalist stories from most of the Pillsbury Bake-Offs. One recipe caught my attention: Cinnamon Fruit Snack Mix by Rebecca Nurse of Waterford, PA. This recipe was from Bake-Off 42 in 2006. It is a yummy mix of cereal, nuts, and dried fruit held together with condensed milk. Tomorrow I'm going to visit some of my mom's extended family in Elk River. I wanted to bring them something yummy (really I just sit around thinking of excuses to cook or bake) so when I saw this recipe I knew it would be perfect to package up in mason jars with cute fabric between the lid and the screw-on ring.

I follow recipes to the point all day at work, so in my kitchen at home I follow my whimsy. Here's the basic outline of the recipe:

2 cups of cereal ( I used 2/3 cup each: Fiber-One Honey clusters, Honey Nut Shredded Wheat, and Chex Multi-Bran)
1.5 cups flaked coconut
2.5 cups nuts ( I did 1 cup pecan halves, 1 cup slivered almonds, and 1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts)
1 cup ground flax seed
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
3 cups dried fruit (I did 1 cup each: raisins, craisins, cherries)
1 (12 oz.) bag chocolate chips (Nestle makes dark chocolate chips that are insanely good, they worked great, but I think white chocolate chips would be awesome too)

Pre heat oven to 325 degrees. Prepare two cookie sheets or jelly roll pans with enough aluminum foil to cover each one and lightly coat with cooking spray. In a large bowl mix together cereal, coconut, nuts, flax seed, oil, spices, vanilla and milk. Spread evenly on your two prepared pans. Bake 15 minutes, mix, and put the pan that was on the top rack on the bottom rack and vice-verse. Bake 15 minutes more. Remove from oven, cool. Sprinkle dried fruit and chocolate chips over cereal mix and combine Store in an air tight container.

This makes a lot of snack mix, plan on sharing it with your family and neighbors, make it for a party or give as gifts. It really looks adorable in the mason jars with fabric, I chose a deep purple fabric with a cream damask pattern on it.

Today was my first day back at work since last Thursday. That's right, I had a 5 day weekend. It was wonderful, I went back to Iowa and spent time with family and friends. On Friday my parents and brother went out to eat for supper, we were having a great time until my brother got a really bad bloody nose, it just wouldn't stop bleeding, so we left. We started heading home, when he said he could feel the blood trickling down his throat so we went to the ER. It was a quiet night at the ER, so they got him in a room immediately. The nurses and doctors were able to stop the bleeding and locate the place where it was coming from, and cauterize it. He was told not to blow his nose for a day or two and didn't have any more issues. I nervously knitted and prayed in the waiting room for two hours, what a way to spend a Friday night. It could have been much worse, I am extremely thankful for the quick and capable ER staff.

After that excitement the rest of the weekend was relatively boring. I sewed A LOT. I made 9 pillowcases (6 for friends, 3 for Riverside's annual quilt auction), 12 place mats (for my summer parents, I will give them to them at the end of the summer), and an apron. I probably spent at least 15 hours in the sewing room this weekend, it was blissful.

I stopped at Riverside to drop off my pillowcases for the auction. I ran into a friend there and we had a great chat, he had recently bought a Jewish cookbook, so it was fun to look through that and see a recipe call for schmaltz, chicken fat. I went to the kitchen and visited with the head cook and found out about the goings on of the kitchen. Their summer is going well, making delicious food as always. I miss being there but I will get to cook there for retreats, so it is not like I will never be back.

We spent the 4th with my grandparents in Ames. My grandma made 2 kinds of jello and fried the hamburgers in bacon grease. It was wonderful. I had a great time catching up with my grandpa and hearing about his bowling scores and discussing the finer points of popcorn making with my grandma.

It is good to be back at work at General Mills. We are transitioning to some different aspects of recipe testing for the Pillsbury Bake Off, so today there was a bit of a learning curve, hopefully we will do better tomorrow.